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. | |
little |
1. adj. Small in size. | |
This is a little table. | |
2. adj. Insignificant, trivial. | |
It's of little importance. | |
3. adj. (offensive) (Used to belittle a person.) | |
Listen up, you little shit. | |
4. adj. Very young. | |
Did he tell you any embarrassing stories about when she was little? | |
That's the biggest little boy I've ever seen. | |
5. adj. (of a sibling) Younger. | |
This is my little sister. | |
6. adj. Used with the name of place, especially of a country, to denote a neighborhood whose residents or storekeepers are from that place. | |
7. adj. Small in amount or number, having few members. | |
little money; little herd | |
8. adj. Short in duration; brief. | |
I feel better after my little sleep. | |
9. adj. Small in extent of views or sympathies; narrow; shallow; contracted; mean; illiberal; ungenerous. | |
10. adv. Not much. | |
This is a little known fact. She spoke little and listened less. | |
11. adv. Not at all. | |
I was speaking ill of Fred; little did I know that he was right behind me, listening in. | |
12. det. Not much, only a little: only a small amount (of). | |
There is little water left. | |
We had very little to do. | |
13. pron. Not much; not a large amount. | |
Little is known about his early life. | |
14. n. (BDSM, slang) The participant in ageplay who acts out the younger role. | |
on |
1. adj. In the state of being active, functioning or operating. | |
2. adj. Performing according to schedule. | |
Are we still on for tonight? | |
Is the show still on? | |
3. adj. (chiefly UK, informal, usually negative) Acceptable, appropriate. | |
You can't do that; it's just not on. | |
4. adj. (informal) Destined, normally in the context of a challenge being accepted; involved, doomed. | |
"Five bucks says the Cavs win tonight." ―"You're on!". | |
Mike just threw coffee onto Paul's lap. It's on now. | |
5. adj. (baseball, informal) Having reached a base as a runner and being positioned there, awaiting further action from a subsequent batter. | |
6. adj. (euphemistic) Menstruating. | |
7. adv. To an operating state. | |
turn the television on | |
8. adv. Along, forwards (continuing an action). | |
drive on, rock on | |
9. adv. In continuation, at length. | |
and so on. | |
He rambled on and on. | |
10. adv. (not US) Later. | |
Ten years on, nothing had changed in the village. | |
11. prep. Positioned at the upper surface of, touching from above. | |
on the table; on the couch | |
The parrot was sitting on Jim's shoulder. | |
12. prep. At or near; adjacent to. | |
Soon we'll pass a statue on the left. | |
The fleet is on the American coast. | |
Croton-on-Hudson, Rostov-on-Don, Southend-on-Sea | |
13. prep. Covering. | |
He wore old shoes on his feet. | |
14. prep. At the date of. | |
Born on the 4th of July. | |
15. prep. Some time during the day of. | |
I'll see you on Monday. The bus leaves on Friday. Can I see you on a different day? On Sunday I'm busy. | |
16. prep. Dealing with the subject of, about, or concerning something. | |
A book on history. The World Summit on the Information Society. | |
17. prep. Touching; hanging from. | |
The fruit ripened on the trees. The painting hangs on the wall. | |
18. prep. (informal) In the possession of. | |
I haven't got any money on me. | |
19. prep. Because of, or due to. | |
To arrest someone on suspicion of bribery. To contact someone on a hunch. | |
20. prep. Upon; at the time of (and often because of). | |
On Jack's entry, William got up to leave. | |
On the addition of ammonia, a chemical reaction begins. | |
21. prep. Paid for by. | |
The drinks are on me tonight, boys. The meal is on the house. I paid for the airfare and meals for my family, but the hotel room was on the company. | |
22. prep. Used to indicate a means or medium. | |
I saw it on television. Can't you see I'm on the phone? | |
23. prep. Indicating a means of subsistence. | |
They lived on ten dollars a week. The dog survived three weeks on rainwater. | |
24. prep. Away or occupied with (e.g. a scheduled activity). | |
He's on his lunch break. on vacation; on holiday | |
25. prep. Denoting performance or action by contact with the surface, upper part, or outside of anything; hence, by means of; with. | |
to play on a violin or piano | |
Her words made a lasting impression on my mind. | |
26. prep. Regularly taking (a drug). | |
You've been on these antidepressants far too long. He's acting so strangely, I think he must be on something. | |
27. prep. Under the influence of (a drug). | |
He's acting crazy because he's on crack right now. | |
28. prep. (mathematics) Having identical domain and codomain. | |
a function on | |
29. prep. (mathematics) HavingV^n as domain and V as codomain, for some set V and integer n. | |
an operator on | |
30. prep. (mathematics) Generated by. | |
the free group on four letters | |
31. prep. Supported by (the specified part of itself). | |
A table can't stand on two legs. After resting on his elbows, he stood on his toes, then walked on his heels. | |
32. prep. At a given time after the start of something; at. | |
33. prep. In addition to; besides; indicating multiplication or succession in a series. | |
heaps on heaps of food | |
mischief on mischief; loss on loss | |
34. prep. (obsolete, regional) of | |
35. prep. Indicating dependence or reliance; with confidence in. | |
I depended on them for assistance. | |
He will promise on certain conditions. | |
Do you ever bet on horses? | |
36. prep. Toward; for; indicating the object of an emotion. | |
Have pity or compassion on him. | |
37. prep. (obsolete) At the peril of, or for the safety of. | |
38. prep. In the service of; connected with; of the number of. | |
He is on a newspaper; I am on the committee. | |
39. prep. By virtue of; with the pledge of. | |
He affirmed or promised on his word, or on his honour. | |
40. prep. To the account or detriment of; denoting imprecation or invocation, or coming to, falling, or resting upon. | |
On us be all the blame. | |
A curse on him! | |
Please don't tell on her and get her in trouble. | |
He turned on her and has been her enemy ever since. | |
He went all honest on me, making me listen to his confession. | |
41. v. (transitive, Singapore, Philippines) to switch on | |
Can you on the light? | |
42. prep. (UK dialectal, Scotland) Without. | |
43. n. In the Japanese language, a pronunciation, or reading, of a kanji character that was originally based on the character's pronunciation in Chinese, contrasted with kun. | |
Most kanji have two kinds of reading, called "on" and "kun". | |
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. | |
humid |
1. adj. Containing perceptible moisture (usually describing air or atmosphere); damp; moist; somewhat wet or watery | |
humid earth | |
1667 - John Milton, Paradise Lost (1667) | |
Evening cloud, or humid bow. | |
side |
1. n. A bounding straight edge of a two-dimensional shape. | |
A square has four sides. | |
2. n. A flat surface of a three-dimensional object; a face. | |
A cube has six sides. | |
3. n. One half (left or right, top or bottom, front or back, etc.) of something or someone. | |
Which side of the tray shall I put it on? The patient was bleeding on the right side. | |
4. n. A region in a specified position with respect to something. | |
Meet me on the north side of the monument. | |
5. n. The portion of the human torso usually covered by the arms when they are not raised; the areas on the left and right between the belly or chest and the back. | |
I generally sleep on my side. | |
6. n. One surface of a sheet of paper (used instead of "page", which can mean one or both surfaces.) | |
John wrote 15 sides for his essay! | |
7. n. One possible aspect of a concept, person or thing. | |
Look on the bright side. | |
8. n. One set of competitors in a game. | |
Which side has kick-off? | |
9. n. (Australia) A sports team. | |
10. n. A group having a particular allegiance in a conflict or competition. | |
In the second world war, the Italians were on the side of the Germans. | |
11. n. (music) A recorded piece of music; a record, especially in jazz. | |
12. n. (sports) Sidespin; english | |
He had to put a bit of side on to hit the pink ball. | |
13. n. (UK, Australia, Ireland, dated) A television channel, usually as opposed to the one currently being watched (from when there were only two channels). | |
I just want to see what's on the other side — James said there was a good film on tonight. | |
14. n. (US, colloquial) A dish that accompanies the main course; a side dish. | |
Do you want a side of cole-slaw with that? | |
15. n. A line of descent traced through one parent as distinguished from that traced through another. | |
his mother's side of the family | |
16. n. (baseball) The batters faced in an inning by a particular pitcher | |
17. n. (slang) An unjustified air of self-importance. | |
18. v. (intransitive) To ally oneself, be in an alliance, usually with "with" or rarely "in with". | |
Which will you side with, good or evil? | |
19. v. To lean on one side. | |
20. v. (transitive, obsolete) To be or stand at the side of; to be on the side toward. | |
21. v. (transitive, obsolete) To suit; to pair; to match. | |
22. v. (transitive, shipbuilding) To work (a timber or rib) to a certain thickness by trimming the sides. | |
23. v. To furnish with a siding. | |
to side a house | |
24. v. (transitive, cooking) To provide with, as a side or accompaniment. | |
25. adj. Being on the left or right, or toward the left or right; lateral. | |
26. adj. Indirect; oblique; incidental. | |
a side issue; a side view or remark | |
27. adj. (UK archaic, dialectal, Northern England, Scotland) Wide; large; long, pendulous, hanging low, trailing; far-reaching. | |
28. adj. (Scotland) Far; distant. | |
29. adv. (UK dialectal) Widely; wide; far. | |
I |
1. pron. The speaker or writer, referred to as the grammatical subject, of a sentence. | |
(audio, Here I am, sir.ogg, Audio) | |
2. pron. (nonstandard, hypercorrection) The speaker or writer, referred to as the grammatical object, of a sentence. | |
3. n. (metaphysics) The ego. | |
4. n. (US, roadway) Interstate. | |
5. n. (grammar) (abbreviation of instrumental case) | |
6. pron. nonstandard spelling of I | |
must |
1. v. (modal auxiliary, defective) To do with certainty; indicates that the speaker is certain that the subject will have executed the predicate. | |
If it has rained all day, it must be very wet outside. | |
You picked one of two, and it wasn't the first: it must have been the second. | |
2. v. (modal auxiliary, defective) To do as a requirement; indicates that the sentence subject is required as an imperative or directive to execute the sentence predicate, with failure to do so resulting in | |
You must arrive in class on time. — the requirement is an imperative | |
This door handle must be rotated fully. — the requirement is a directive | |
Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do. (Bible, Acts 9:6) | |
3. v. (modal auxiliary, defective) said about something that is very likely, probable, or certain to be true | |
The children must be asleep by now. | |
4. n. Something that is mandatory or required. | |
If you'll be out all day, a map is a must. | |
5. n. The property of being stale or musty. | |
6. n. Something that exhibits the property of being stale or musty. | |
7. n. Fruit juice that will ferment or has fermented, usually grapes. | |
8. v. To make musty. | |
9. v. (intransitive) To become musty. | |
10. n. A time during which male elephants exhibit increased levels of sexual activity and aggressiveness (also spelled musth). | |
11. n. An elephant in this sexual and aggressive state. | |
say |
1. v. To pronounce. | |
Please say your name slowly and clearly. | |
2. v. To recite. | |
Martha, will you say the Pledge of Allegiance? | |
3. v. To tell, either verbally or in writing. | |
He said he would be here tomorrow. | |
4. v. To indicate in a written form. | |
The sign says it’s 50 kilometres to Paris. | |
5. v. (impersonal) To have a common expression; used in singular passive voice or plural active voice to indicate a rumor or well-known fact. | |
They say "when in Rome, do as the Romans do", which means "behave as those around you do.". | |
6. v. (informal, imperative) Suppose, assume; used to mark an example, supposition or hypothesis. | |
A holiday somewhere warm – Florida, say – would be nice. | |
Say he refuses. What do we do then? | |
Say your family is starving and you don't have any money, is it ok to steal some food? | |
7. v. (intransitive) To speak; to express an opinion; to make answer; to reply. | |
8. v. (transitive, informal, of a possession, especially money) To bet as a wager on an outcome; by extension, used to express belief in an outcome by the speaker. | |
9. n. A chance to speak; the right or power to influence or make a decision. | |
10. adv. For example; let us assume. | |
Pick a color you think they'd like, say, peach. | |
He was driving pretty fast, say, fifty miles per hour. | |
11. interj. (colloquial) Used to gain one's attention before making an inquiry or suggestion | |
Say, what did you think about the movie? | |
12. n. A type of fine cloth similar to serge. | |
13. v. To try; to assay. | |
14. n. Trial by sample; assay; specimen. | |
15. n. Tried quality; temper; proof. | |
16. n. Essay; trial; attempt. | |
17. n. (Scotland) A strainer for milk. | |