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. | |
passionate |
1. adj. Given to strong feeling, sometimes romantic, sexual, or both. | |
2. adj. Fired with intense feeling. | |
3. adj. (obsolete) Suffering; sorrowful. | |
4. n. A passionate individual. | |
5. v. (obsolete) To fill with passion, or with another given emotion. | |
6. v. (obsolete) To express with great emotion. | |
enthusiasm |
1. n. (obsolete, or historical) Possession by a god; divine inspiration or frenzy. | |
2. n. Intensity of feeling; excited interest or eagerness. | |
3. n. Something in which one is keenly interested. | |
for |
1. conj. (dated) Because. | |
2. prep. Towards. | |
The astronauts headed for the moon. | |
3. prep. Directed at, intended to belong to. | |
I have something for you. | |
4. prep. In honor of, or directed towards the celebration or event of. | |
We're having a birthday party for Janet. | |
The cake is for Tom and Helen's anniversary. | |
The mayor gave a speech for the charity gala. | |
5. prep. Supporting. | |
All those for the motion raise your hands. | |
6. prep. Because of. | |
He wouldn't apologize; and just for that, she refused to help him. | |
(UK usage) He looks better for having lost weight. | |
She was the worse for drink. | |
7. prep. Over a period of time. | |
I've lived here for three years. | |
They fought for days over a silly pencil. | |
8. prep. Throughout an extent of space. | |
9. prep. On behalf of. | |
I will stand in for him. | |
10. prep. Instead of, or in place of. | |
11. prep. In order to obtain or acquire. | |
I am aiming for completion by the end of business Thursday. | |
He's going for his doctorate. | |
Do you want to go for coffee? | |
People all over Greece looked to Delphi for answers. | |
Can you go to the store for some eggs? | |
I'm saving up for a car. | |
Don't wait for an answer. | |
What did he ask you for? | |
12. prep. In the direction of: marks a point one is going toward. | |
Run for the hills! | |
He was headed for the door when he remembered. | |
13. prep. By the standards of, usually with the implication of those standards being lower than one might otherwise expect. | |
Fair for its day. | |
She's spry for an old lady. | |
14. prep. Despite, in spite of. | |
15. prep. Used to indicate the subject of a to-infinitive. | |
For that to happen now is incredibly unlikely. (=It is incredibly unlikely that that will happen now.) | |
All I want is for you to be happy. (=All I want is that you be happy.) | |
16. prep. (chiefly US) Out of; used to indicate a fraction, a ratio | |
In term of base hits, Jones was three for four on the day | |
17. prep. (cricket) Used as part of a score to indicate the number of wickets that have fallen. | |
At close of play, England were 305 for 3. | |
18. prep. To be, or as being. | |
19. prep. (obsolete) (Indicating that in prevention of which, or through fear of which, anything is done.) | |
20. prep. Used to construe various verbs (see the entries for individual phrasal verbs). | |
some |
1. pron. A certain number, at least one. | |
Some enjoy spicy food, others prefer it milder. | |
2. pron. An indefinite quantity. | |
Can I have some of them? | |
3. pron. An indefinite amount, a part. | |
please give me some of the cake; everyone is wrong some of the time | |
4. det. A certain proportion of, at least one. | |
Some people like camping. | |
5. det. An unspecified quantity or number of. | |
Would you like some grapes? | |
6. det. An unspecified amount of (something un). | |
Would you like some water? | |
After some persuasion, he finally agreed. | |
7. det. A certain, an unspecified or unknown. | |
I've just met some guy who said he knew you. | |
The sequence S converges to zero for some initial value v. | |
8. det. A considerable quantity or number of; approximately. | |
He had edited the paper for some years. | |
9. det. (informal) A remarkable. | |
He is some acrobat! | |
10. adv. Of a measurement: approximately, roughly | |
I guess he must have weighed some 90 kilos. | |
Some 30,000 spectators witnessed the feat. | |
Some 4,000 acres of land were flooded. | |
cause |
1. n. (often with of, typically of adverse results) The source of, or reason for, an event or action; that which produces or effects a result. | |
They identified a burst pipe as the cause of the flooding. | |
2. n. (especially with for and a bare noun) Sufficient reason for a state, as of emotion. | |
There is no cause for alarm. | |
The end of the war was a cause for celebration. | |
3. n. A goal, aim or principle, especially one which transcends purely selfish ends. | |
4. n. (obsolete) Sake; interest; advantage. | |
5. n. (obsolete) Any subject of discussion or debate; a matter; an affair. | |
6. n. (legal) A suit or action in court; any legal process by which a party endeavors to obtain his claim, or what he regards as his right; case; ground of action. | |
7. v. To set off an event or action. | |
The lightning caused thunder. | |
8. v. To actively produce as a result, by means of force or authority. | |
His dogged determination caused the fundraising to be successful. | |
9. v. To assign or show cause; to give a reason; to make excuse. | |