theatre |
1. n. (Australia, Canada, NZ, UK) alternative spelling of theater | |
2. n. (US) Often used specifically of playhouses and drama, so as to distinguish from moviehouses and cinema. | |
a |
1. art. One; any indefinite example of; used to denote a singular item of a group. | |
There was a man here looking for you yesterday. | |
2. art. Used in conjunction with the adjectives score, dozen, hundred, thousand, and million, as a function word. | |
I've seen it happen a hundred times. | |
3. art. One certain or particular; any single.Brown, Lesley, (2003) | |
We've received an interesting letter from a Mrs. Miggins of London. | |
4. art. The same; one. | |
We are of a mind on matters of morals. | |
5. art. Any, every; used before a noun which has become modified to limit its scope; also used with a negative to indicate not a single one.Lindberg, Christine A. (2007) | |
A man who dies intestate leaves his children troubles and difficulties. | |
He fell all that way, and hasn't a bump on his head? | |
6. art. Used before plural nouns modified by few, good many, couple, great many, etc. | |
7. art. Someone or something like; similar to; Used before a proper noun to create an example out of it. | |
The center of the village was becoming a Times Square. | |
8. prep. (archaic) To do with position or direction; In, on, at, by, towards, onto. | |
Stand a tiptoe. | |
9. prep. To do with separation; In, into. | |
Torn a pieces. | |
10. prep. To do with time; Each, per, in, on, by. | |
I brush my teeth twice a day. | |
11. prep. (obsolete) To do with method; In, with. | |
12. prep. (obsolete) To do with role or capacity; In. | |
A God’s name. | |
13. prep. To do with status; In. | |
King James Bible (II Chronicles 2:18) | |
To set the people a worke. | |
14. prep. (archaic) To do with process, with a passive verb; In the course of, experiencing. | |
1964, Bob Dylan, The Times They Are a-Changin’ | |
The times, they are a-changin'. | |
15. prep. (archaic) To do with an action, an active verb; Engaged in. | |
1611, King James Bible, Hebrews 11-21 | |
Jacob, when he was a dying | |
16. prep. (archaic) To do with an action/movement; To, into. | |
17. v. (archaic, or slang) Have. | |
I'd a come, if you'd a asked. | |
18. pron. (obsolete, outside, England, and Scotland dialects) He. | |
19. interj. A meaningless syllable; ah. | |
20. prep. (archaic, slang) Of. | |
The name of John a Gaunt. | |
21. adv. (chiefly Scotland) All. | |
22. adj. (chiefly Scotland) All. | |
floor |
1. n. The interior bottom or surface of a house or building; the supporting surface of a room. | |
The room has a wooden floor. | |
2. n. Ground (surface of the Earth, as opposed to the sky or water or underground). | |
3. n. The lower inside surface of a hollow space. | |
Many sunken ships rest on the ocean floor. | |
The floor of a cave served the refugees as a home. | |
The pit floor showed where a ring of post holes had been. | |
4. n. A structure formed of beams, girders, etc, with proper covering, which divides a building horizontally into storeys/stories. | |
5. n. The supporting surface or platform of a structure such as a bridge. | |
Wooden planks of the old bridge's floor were nearly rotten. | |
6. n. A storey/story of a building. | |
For years we lived on the third floor. | |
7. n. In a parliament, the part of the house assigned to the members, as opposed to the viewing gallery. | |
8. n. Hence, the right to speak at a given time during a debate or other public event. | |
Will the senator from Arizona yield the floor? | |
The mayor often gives a lobbyist the floor. | |
9. n. (nautical) That part of the bottom of a vessel on each side of the keelson which is most nearly horizontal. | |
10. n. (mining) The rock underlying a stratified or nearly horizontal deposit. | |
11. n. (mining) A horizontal, flat ore body. | |
12. n. (mathematics) The largest integer less than or equal to a given number. | |
The floor of 4.5 is 4. | |
13. n. (gymnastics) An event performed on a floor-like carpeted surface. | |
14. n. (gymnastics) A floor-like carpeted surface for performing gymnastic movements. | |
15. n. (finance) A lower limit on the interest rate payable on an otherwise variable-rate loan, used by lenders to defend against falls in interest rates. Opposite of a cap. | |
16. n. A dance floor. | |
17. n. The area in which business is conducted at a convention or exhibition | |
18. v. To cover or furnish with a floor. | |
floor a house with pine boards | |
19. v. To strike down or lay level with the floor; to knock down. | |
20. v. (driving, slang) To accelerate rapidly. | |
21. v. To silence by a conclusive answer or retort. | |
floor an opponent | |
22. v. To amaze or greatly surprise. | |
We were floored by his confession. | |
23. v. (colloquial) To finish or make an end of. | |
floor a college examination | |
24. v. (mathematics) To set a lower bound. | |
under |
1. prep. In or at a lower level than. | |
2. prep. As a subject of; subordinate to. | |
He served in World War II under General Omar Bradley. | |
3. prep. Less than. | |
4. prep. Below the surface of. | |
5. prep. (figuratively) In the face of; in response to (some attacking force). | |
to collapse under stress; to give in under interrogation | |
6. prep. As, in the character of. | |
he writes books under the name John Smith | |
7. adv. In a way lower or less than. | |
8. adv. In a way inferior to. | |
9. adv. (informal) In an unconscious state. | |
It took the hypnotist several minutes to make his subject go under. | |
10. adj. Being lower; being beneath something. | |
11. adj. (medicine, colloquial) Under anesthesia, especially general anesthesia; sedated. | |
Ensure the patient is sufficiently under. | |
the |
1. art. Definite grammatical article that implies necessarily that an entity it articulates is presupposed; something already mentioned, or completely specified later in that same sentence, or assumed already | |
I’m reading the book. (Compare I’m reading a book.) | |
The street in front of your house. (Compare A street in Paris.) | |
The men and women watched the man give the birdseed to the bird. | |
2. art. Used before a noun modified by a restrictive relative clause, indicating that the noun refers to a single referent defined by the relative clause. | |
The street that runs through my hometown. | |
3. art. Used before an object considered to be unique, or of which there is only one at a time. | |
No one knows how many galaxies there are in the universe. | |
God save the Queen! | |
4. art. Used before a superlative or an ordinal number modifying a noun, to indicate that the noun refers to a single item. | |
That was the best apple pie ever. | |
5. art. Added to a superlative or an ordinal number to make it into a substantive. | |
That apple pie was the best. | |
6. art. Introducing a singular term to be taken generically: preceding a name of something standing for a whole class. | |
7. art. Used before an adjective, indicating all things (especially persons) described by that adjective. | |
Feed the hungry, clothe the naked, comfort the afflicted, and afflict the comfortable. | |
8. art. Used to indicate a certain example of (a noun) which is usually of most concern or most common or familiar. | |
No one in the whole country had seen it before. | |
I don't think I'll get to it until the morning. | |
9. art. Used before a body part (especially of someone previously mentioned), as an alternative to a possessive pronoun. | |
A stone hit him on the head. (= “A stone hit him on his head.”) | |
10. art. When stressed, indicates that it describes an object which is considered to be best or exclusively worthy of attention. | |
That is the hospital to go to for heart surgery. | |
11. adv. 1=With a comparative ormore and a verb phrase, establishes a parallel with one or more other such comparatives. | |
The hotter the better. | |
The more I think about it, the weaker it looks. | |
The more money donated, the more books purchased, and the more happy children. | |
It looks weaker and weaker, the more I think about it. | |
12. adv. 1=With a comparative, and often withfor it, indicates a result more like said comparative. This can be negated withnone. | |
It was a difficult time, but I’m the wiser for it. | |
It was a difficult time, and I’m none the wiser for it. | |
I'm much the wiser for having had a difficult time like that. | |
stage |
1. n. A phase. | |
He is in the recovery stage of his illness. | |
Completion of an identifiable stage of maintenance such as removing an aircraft engine for repair or storage. | |
2. n. (theater) A platform; a surface, generally elevated, upon which show performances or other public events are given. | |
The band returned to the stage to play an encore. | |
3. n. A floor or storey of a house. | |
4. n. A floor elevated for the convenience of mechanical work, etc.; scaffolding; staging. | |
5. n. A platform, often floating, serving as a kind of wharf. | |
6. n. A stagecoach, an enclosed horsedrawn carriage used to carry passengers. | |
The stage pulled into town carrying the payroll for the mill and three ladies. | |
7. n. (dated) A place of rest on a regularly travelled road; a station; a place appointed for a relay of horses. | |
8. n. (dated) A degree of advancement in a journey; one of several portions into which a road or course is marked off; the distance between two places of rest on a road. | |
a stage of ten miles | |
9. n. (electronics) The number of an electronic circuit’s block, such as a filter, an amplifier, etc. | |
a 3-stage cascade of a 2nd-order bandpass Butterworth filter | |
10. n. The place on a microscope where the slide is located for viewing. | |
He placed the slide on the stage. | |
11. n. (video games) A level; one of the sequential areas making up the game. | |
How do you get past the flying creatures in the third stage? | |
12. n. A place where anything is publicly exhibited, or a remarkable affair occurs; the scene. | |
13. n. (geology) The succession of rock strata laid down in a single age on the geologic time scale. | |
14. v. To produce on a stage, to perform a play. | |
The local theater group will stage "Pride and Prejudice". | |
15. v. To demonstrate in a deceptive manner. | |
The salesman’s demonstration of the new cleanser was staged to make it appear highly effective. | |
16. v. (Of a protest or strike etc.) To carry out. | |
17. v. To place in position to prepare for use. | |
We staged the cars to be ready for the start, then waited for the starter to drop the flag. | |
to stage data to be written at a later time | |
from |
1. prep. With the source or provenance of or at. | |
This wine comes from France. | |
I got a letter from my brother. | |
2. prep. With the origin, starting point or initial reference of or at. | |
He had books piled from floor to ceiling. | |
He left yesterday from Chicago. | |
Face away from the wall! | |
3. prep. (mathematics, now uncommon) Denoting a subtraction operation. | |
20 from 31 leaves 11. | |
4. prep. With the separation, exclusion or differentiation of. | |
An umbrella protects from the sun. | |
He knows right from wrong. | |
which |
1. det. (interrogative) What, of those mentioned or implied. | |
Which song made the charts? | |
2. det. (relative) The one or ones that. | |
Show me which one is bigger. | |
They couldn't decide which song to play. | |
3. det. (relative) The one or ones mentioned. | |
He once owned a painting of the house, which painting would later be stolen. | |
For several seconds he sat in silence, during which time the tea and sandwiches arrived. | |
I'm thinking of getting a new car, in which case I'd get a red one. | |
4. pron. (interrogative) What one or ones (of those mentioned or implied). | |
Which is bigger?; Which is which? | |
5. pron. (relative) Who; whom; what (of those mentioned or implied). | |
He walked by a door with a sign, which read: PRIVATE OFFICE. | |
We've met some problems which are very difficult to handle. | |
He had to leave, which was very difficult. | |
No art can be properly understood apart from the culture of which it is a part. | |
6. pron. (relative, archaic) Used of people (now generally who, whom or that). | |
7. n. An occurrence of the word which. | |
contrivances |
1. n. plural of contrivance | |
contrivance |
1. n. a (mechanical) device to perform a certain task | |
2. n. a means, such as an elaborate plan or strategy, to accomplish a certain objective | |
3. n. something overly artful or artificial | |
such |
1. det. (demonstrative) Like this, that, these, those; used to make a comparison with something implied by context. | |
I’ve never seen such clouds in the sky before. Such is life. | |
2. det. (particularly used in formal documents) Any. | |
the above address or at such other address as may notify | |
3. det. Used as an intensifier; roughly equivalent to very much of. | |
The party was such a bore. | |
4. det. (obsolete) A certain; representing the object as already particularized in terms which are not mentioned. | |
5. pron. A person, a thing, people or things like the one or ones already mentioned. | |
6. n. (philosophy) Something being indicated that is similar to something else. | |
As |
1. n. plural of A | |
She went from getting Cs and Ds to earning straight As. | |
2. adv. To such an extent or degree. | |
You’re not as tall as I am. | |
It's not as well made, but it's twice as expensive. | |
3. adv. In the manner or role specified. | |
The kidnappers released him as agreed. | |
The parties were seen as agreeing on a range of issues. | |
He was never seen as the boss, but rather as a friend. | |
4. adv. (dated) For example (compare such as). | |
5. conj. In the same way that; according to what. | |
Do as I say! | |
I'm under a lot of pressure, as you know. | |
As you wish, my lord! | |
6. conj. At the same instant that; when. | |
As I came in, she flew. | |
7. conj. At the same time that; while. | |
He sleeps as the rain falls. | |
8. conj. Varying through time in the same proportion that. | |
As my fear grew, so did my legs become heavy. | |
9. conj. Being that, considering that, because, since. | |
As it’s too late, I quit. | |
10. conj. Introducing a basis of comparison, after as, so, or a comparison of equality. | |
She's twice as strong as I was two years ago. | |
It's not so complicated as I expected. | |
11. conj. (dated) Introducing a comparison with a hypothetical state (+ subjunctive); ‘as though’, ‘as if’. | |
12. conj. Introducing a comparison with a hypothetical state with the verb elided; as if, as though. | |
13. conj. (now England, US, regional) Functioning as a relative conjunction; that. | |
14. conj. Expressing concession; though. | |
15. conj. (obsolete, rare) Than. | |
16. prep. Introducing a basis of comparison, with an object in the objective case. | |
You are not as tall as me. | |
They're big as houses. | |
17. prep. In the role of. | |
What is your opinion as a parent? | |
18. n. (unit of weight) A libra. | |
19. n. Any of several coins of Rome, coined in bronze or later copper; or the equivalent value. | |
20. n. plural of a | |
traps |
1. n. plural of trap | |
2. v. third-person singular present indicative of trap | |
trap |
1. n. A machine or other device designed to catch (and sometimes kill) animals, either by holding them in a container, or by catching hold of part of the body. | |
I put down some traps in my apartment to try and deal with the mouse problem. | |
2. n. A trick or arrangement designed to catch someone in a more general sense; a snare. | |
Unfortunately she fell into the trap of confusing biology with destiny. | |
3. n. A covering over a hole or opening; a trapdoor. | |
Close the trap, would you, before someone falls and breaks their neck. | |
4. n. A wooden instrument shaped somewhat like a shoe, used in the game of trapball | |
5. n. The game of trapball itself. | |
6. n. Any device used to hold and suddenly release an object. | |
They shot out of the school gates like greyhounds out of the trap. | |
7. n. A bend, sag, or other device in a waste-pipe arranged so that the liquid contents form a seal which prevents the escape of noxious gases, but permits the flow of liquids. | |
8. n. A place in a water pipe, pump, etc., where air accumulates for lack of an outlet. | |
9. n. (historical) A light two-wheeled carriage with springs. | |
10. n. (slang) A person's mouth. | |
Keep your trap shut. | |
11. n. (in the plural) Belongings. | |
12. n. (slang) A cubicle (in a public toilet). | |
I've just laid a cable in trap 2 so I'd give it 5 minutes if I were you. | |
13. n. (sports) Trapshooting. | |
14. n. (computing) An exception generated by the processor or by an external event. | |
15. n. (Australia, slang) A mining license inspector during the Australian gold rush. | |
16. n. (US, slang) A vehicle, residential building, or sidewalk corner where drugs are manufactured, packaged, or sold. (Also used attributively to describe things which are used for the sale of drugs, e.g. | |
17. n. A kind of movable stepladder. | |
18. n. (slang) A non-op trans woman or (femininely dressed) transvestite. | |
19. n. (slang) A fictional character from anime, or related media, who is coded as or has qualities typically associated with a gender other than the character's textual gender. | |
20. n. (music) A fusion genre of hip-hop and electronic music. | |
21. v. To physically capture, to catch in a trap or traps, or something like a trap. | |
to trap foxes | |
22. v. To ensnare; to take by stratagem; to entrap. | |
23. v. To provide with a trap. | |
to trap a drain; to trap a sewer pipe | |
24. v. (intransitive) To set traps for game; to make a business of trapping game | |
trap for beaver | |
25. v. (intransitive) To leave suddenly, to flee. | |
26. v. (US, slang) To sell narcotics, especially in a public area. | |
27. v. (computing, intransitive) To capture (e.g. an error) in order to handle or process it. | |
28. n. A dark coloured igneous rock, now used to designate any non-volcanic, non-granitic igneous rock; trap rock. | |
29. v. To dress with ornaments; to adorn (especially said of horses). | |
30. n. (slang) The trapezius muscle. | |
are |
1. v. second-person singular present of be | |
Mary, where are you going? | |
2. v. first-person plural present of be | |
We are not coming. | |
3. v. second-person plural present of be | |
Mary and John, are you listening? | |
4. v. third-person plural present of be | |
They are here somewhere. | |
5. v. (East Yorkshire, Midlands) present of be | |
6. n. (dialectal, or obsolete) grace, mercy | |
To bid God's are. | |
God's are is what children of God seech and seek. | |
7. n. (obsolete) honour, dignity | |
8. n. (rare) an accepted (but deprecated and rarely used) SI unit of area equal to 100 square metres, or a former unit of approximately the same extent. Symbol: a | |
be |
1. v. (intransitive, now literary) To exist; to have real existence. | |
2. v. (with there, or dialectally it, as dummy subject) To exist. | |
There is just one woman in town who can help us. (or, dialectally:) It is just one woman in town who can help us. | |
3. v. (intransitive) To occupy a place. | |
The cup is on the table. | |
4. v. (intransitive) To occur, to take place. | |
When will the meeting be? | |
5. v. (intransitive, in perfect tenses, without predicate) Elliptical form of "be here", "go to and return from" or similar. | |
The postman has been today, but my tickets have still not yet come. | |
I have been to Spain many times. | |
Moscow, huh? I've never been, but it sounds fascinating. | |
6. v. (transitive, copulative) Used to indicate that the subject and object are the same. | |
Knowledge is bliss. | |
Hi, I’m Jim. | |
7. v. (transitive, copulative, mathematics) Used to indicate that the values on either side of an equation are the same. | |
3 times 5 is fifteen. | |
8. v. (transitive, copulative) Used to indicate that the subject plays the role of the predicate nominal. | |
François Mitterrand was president of France from 1981 to 1995. | |
9. v. (transitive, copulative) Used to connect a noun to an adjective that describes it. | |
The sky is blue. | |
10. v. (transitive, copulative) Used to indicate that the subject has the qualities described by a noun or noun phrase. | |
The sky is a deep blue today. | |
11. v. (transitive, auxiliary) Used to form the passive voice. | |
The dog was drowned by the boy. | |
12. v. (transitive, auxiliary) Used to form the continuous forms of various tenses. | |
The woman is walking. | |
I shall be writing to you soon. | |
We liked to chat while we were eating. | |
13. v. (archaic, auxiliary) Used to form the perfect aspect with certain intransitive verbs, most of which indicate motion. Often still used for "to go". | |
14. v. (transitive, auxiliary) Used to form future tenses, especially the future periphrastic. | |
I am to leave tomorrow. | |
I would drive you, were I to obtain a car. | |
15. v. (transitive, copulative) Used to link a subject to a measurement. | |
This building is three hundred years old. | |
I am 75 kilograms. | |
He’s about 6 feet tall. | |
16. v. (transitive, copulative, with a cardinal numeral) Used to state the age of a subject in years. | |
I’m 20. (= I am 20 years old.) | |
17. v. (with a dummy subject) it Used to indicate the time of day. | |
It is almost eight. (= It is almost eight o’clock.) | |
It’s 8:30 read eight-thirty in Tokyo. | |
What time is it there? It’s night. | |
18. v. (With since) Used to indicate passage of time since the occurrence of an event. | |
It has been three years since my grandmother died. (similar to My grandmother died three years ago, but emphasizes the intervening period) | |
It had been six days since his departure, when I received a letter from him. | |
19. v. (often, impersonal, with it as a dummy subject) Used to indicate weather, air quality, or the like. | |
It is hot in Arizona, but it is not usually humid. | |
Why is it so dark in here? | |
20. v. (dynamic/lexical "be", especially in progressive tenses, conjugated non-suppletively in the present tense, see usage notes) To exist or behave in a certain way. | |
"What do we do?" "We be ourselves.". | |
Why is he being nice to me? | |
worked |
1. v. simple past tense and past participle of work | |
2. adj. Designed or executed in a particular manner or to a particular degree. | |
3. adj. Wrought. | |
4. adj. Processed in a particular way; prepared via labour. | |
5. adj. Decorated or embellished; embroidered. | |
6. adj. Prepared so as to demonstrate the steps required. | |
work |
1. n. (heading) Employment. | |
2. n. Labour, occupation, job. | |
My work involves a lot of travel. | |
3. n. The place where one is employed. | |
He hasn’t come home yet, he’s still at work. | |
4. n. One's employer | |
“I want to go to the R.E.M. reunion concert but I'm not sure if my work will let me off.” | |
5. n. (heading) Effort. | |
6. n. Effort expended on a particular task. | |
Holding a brick over your head is hard work. It takes a lot of work to write a dictionary. | |
7. n. Sustained human effort to overcome obstacles and achieve a result. | |
We know what we must do. Let's go to work. | |
8. n. Something on which effort is expended. | |
There's lots of work waiting for me at the office. | |
9. n. (physics) A measure of energy expended in moving an object; most commonly, force times distance. No work is done if the object does not move. | |
Work is done against friction to drag a bag along the ground. | |
10. n. (physics, more generally) A measure of energy that is usefully extracted from a process. | |
11. n. Sustained effort to achieve a goal or result, especially overcoming obstacles. | |
We don't have much time. Let's get to work piling up those sandbags. | |
12. n. Product; the result of effort.: | |
13. n. (often, in combination) The result of a particular manner of production. | |
There's a lot of guesswork involved. | |
14. n. (often, in combination) Something produced using the specified material or tool. | |
We've got some paperwork to do before we can get started. The piece was decorated with intricate filigree work. | |
15. n. A literary, artistic, or intellectual production. | |
It is a work of art. | |
the poetic works of Alexander Pope | |
16. n. A fortification. | |
William the Conqueror fortified many castles, throwing up new ramparts, bastions and all manner of works. | |
17. n. (slang) The staging of events to appear as real. | |
18. n. (mining) Ore before it is dressed. | |
19. n. The equipment needed to inject a drug (syringes, needles, swabs etc.) | |
Tell me you're using clean works at least. | |
20. v. (intransitive) To do a specific task by employing physical or mental powers. | |
He’s working in a bar. | |
21. v. Followed by in (or at, etc.) Said of one's workplace (building), or one's department, or one's trade (sphere of business). | |
I work in a national park | |
she works in the human resources department | |
he mostly works in logging, but sometimes works in carpentry | |
22. v. Followed by as. Said of one's job title | |
I work as a cleaner. | |
23. v. Followed by for. Said of a company or individual who employs. | |
she works for Microsoft | |
he works for the president | |
24. v. Followed by with. General use, said of either fellow employees or instruments or clients. | |
I work closely with my Canadian counterparts | |
you work with computers | |
she works with the homeless people from the suburbs | |
25. v. To effect by gradual degrees. | |
he worked his way through the crowd | |
the dye worked its way through | |
using some tweezers, she worked the bee sting out of her hand | |
26. v. To embroider with thread. | |
27. v. To set into action. | |
He worked the levers. | |
28. v. To cause to ferment. | |
29. v. (intransitive) To ferment. | |
30. v. To exhaust, by working. | |
The mine was worked until the last scrap of ore had been extracted. | |
31. v. To shape, form, or improve a material. | |
He used pliers to work the wire into shape. | |
32. v. To operate in a certain place, area, or speciality. | |
she works the night clubs | |
the salesman works the Midwest | |
this artist works mostly in acrylics | |
33. v. To operate in or through; as, to work the phones. | |
34. v. To provoke or excite; to influence. | |
The rock musician worked the crowd of young girls into a frenzy. | |
35. v. To use or manipulate to one’s advantage. | |
She knows how to work the system. | |
36. v. To cause to happen or to occur as a consequence. | |
I cannot work a miracle. | |
37. v. To cause to work. | |
He is working his servants hard. | |
38. v. (intransitive) To function correctly; to act as intended; to achieve the goal designed for. | |
he pointed at the car and asked, "Does it work"?; he looked at the bottle of pain pills, wondering if they would work; my plan didn’t work | |
39. v. (intransitive, figuratively) To influence. | |
They worked on her to join the group. | |
40. v. (intransitive) To effect by gradual degrees; as, to work into the earth. | |
41. v. (intransitive) To move in an agitated manner. | |
His fingers worked with tension. | |
A ship works in a heavy sea. | |
42. v. (intransitive) To behave in a certain way when handled | |
this dough does not work easily; the soft metal works well | |
43. v. (transitive, with two objects, poetic) To cause (someone) to feel (something); to do unto somebody (something, whether good or bad). | |
44. v. (obsolete, intransitive) To hurt; to ache. | |