at |
1. prep. In, near, or in the general vicinity of a particular place. | |
Caesar was at Rome; at the corner of Fourth Street and Vine; at Jim’s house | |
2. prep. (indicating time) (Indicating occurrence in an instant of time or a period of time relatively short in context or from the speaker's perspective.) | |
at six o’clock; at closing time; at night. | |
3. prep. In the direction of (often in an unfocused or uncaring manner). | |
He threw the ball at me. He shouted at her. | |
4. prep. Denotes a price. | |
3 apples at 2¢ (each) The offer was at $30,000 before negotiations. | |
5. prep. Occupied in (activity). | |
men at work | |
6. prep. In a state of. | |
She is at sixes and sevens with him. They are at loggerheads over how best to tackle the fiscal cliff. The city was at the mercy of the occupying forces. | |
7. prep. Indicates a position on a scale or in a series. | |
Sell at 90. Tiger finished the round at tenth, seven strokes behind the leaders. I'm offering it—just to select customers—at cost. | |
8. prep. Because of. | |
to laugh at a joke mad at their comments | |
9. prep. Indicates a means, method, or manner. | |
10. prep. Holding a given speed or rate. | |
It is growing at the rate of 3% a year. Cruising along at fifty miles per hour. | |
11. prep. (used for skills (including in activities) or areas of knowledge) On the subject of; regarding. | |
The twins were both bad at chemistry. | |
He slipped at marksmanship over his extended vacation. | |
12. prep. (Ireland, stressed pronunciation) Bothering, irritating, causing discomfort to | |
13. n. The at sign (@). | |
14. n. (alt form, att) (Laos currency unit) | |
least |
1. det. superlative form of little: most little; the smallest amount of something. | |
He earns the least money in his family. Of all the sisters, she has the least patience. I can only afford to pay the least of the bills. | |
2. adv. Used for forming superlatives of adjectives, especially those that do not form the superlative by adding -est. | |
It was the least surprising thing. | |
3. adv. In the smallest or lowest degree; in a degree below all others. | |
to reward those who least deserve it | |
4. n. (philosophy) Something of the smallest possible extent; an indivisible unit. | |
5. adj. superlative form of less: most less | |
6. adj. superlative form of little: most little | |
7. prep. (informal, nonstandard) At least. | |
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. | |
nurse |
1. n. (archaic) A wet-nurse. | |
2. n. A person (usually a woman) who takes care of other people’s young. | |
They hired a nurse to care for their young boy | |
3. n. A person trained to provide care for the sick. | |
The nurse made her rounds through the hospital ward | |
4. n. One who, or that which, brings up, rears, causes to grow, trains, fosters, or the like. | |
5. n. (horticulture) A shrub or tree that protects a young plant. | |
6. n. (nautical) A lieutenant or first officer who takes command when the captain is unfit for his place. | |
7. n. A larva of certain trematodes, which produces cercariae by asexual reproduction. | |
8. n. A nurse shark. | |
9. v. to breastfeed | |
She believes that nursing her baby will make him strong and healthy. | |
10. v. to care for the sick | |
She nursed him back to health. | |
11. v. to treat kindly and with extra care | |
She nursed the rosebush and that season it bloomed. | |
12. v. to manage with care and economy | |
Synonyms: husband | |
13. v. to drink slowly | |
14. v. to foster, to nourish | |
15. v. to hold closely to one's chest | |
Would you like to nurse the puppy? | |
16. v. to strike (billiard balls) gently, so as to keep them in good position during a series of shots | |
practitioner |
1. n. A person who practices a profession or art, especially law or medicine. | |
2. n. One who does anything customarily or habitually. | |
3. n. (dated) A sly or artful person. | |
said |
1. v. simple past tense and past participle of say | |
2. adj. Mentioned earlier; aforesaid. | |
The said party has denied the charges. | |
3. det. Mentioned earlier; aforesaid. | |
Said party has denied the charges. | |
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. | |
there |
1. adv. (location) In a place or location (stated, implied or otherwise indicated) at some distance from the speaker (compare here). | |
2. adv. (figuratively) In that matter, relation, etc.; at that point, stage, etc., regarded as a distinct place. | |
He did not stop there, but continued his speech. | |
They patched up their differences, but matters did not end there. | |
3. adv. (location) To or into that place; thither. | |
4. adv. (obsolete) Where, there where, in which place. | |
5. adv. In existence or in this world; see pronoun section below. | |
6. interj. Used to offer encouragement or sympathy. | |
There, there. Everything is going to turn out all right. | |
7. interj. Used to express victory or completion. | |
There! That knot should hold. | |
8. n. That place. | |
9. n. That status; that position. | |
You get it ready; I'll take it from there. | |
10. pron. Used as an expletive subject of be in its sense of “exist”, with the semantic, usually indefinite subject being postponed or (occasionally) implied. | |
There are two apples on the table. =Two apples are on the table. | |
There is no way to do it. =No way to do it exists. | |
Is there an answer? =Does an answer exist? | |
No, there isn't. =No, one doesn't exist. | |
11. pron. Used with other intransitive verbs of existence, in the same sense, or with other intransitive verbs, adding a sense of existence. | |
If x is a positive number, then there exists =there is a positive number y less than x. | |
There remain several problems with this approach. =Several problems remain with this approach. | |
Once upon a time, in a now-forgotten kingdom, there lived a woodsman with his wife. =There was a woodsman, who lived with his wife. | |
There arose a great wind out of the east. =There was now a great wind, arising in the east. | |
12. pron. Used with other verbs, when raised. | |
There seems to be some difficulty with the papers. =It seems that there is some difficulty with the papers. | |
I expected there to be a simpler solution. =I expected that there would be a simpler solution. | |
There are beginning to be complications. =It's beginning to be the case that there are complications. | |
13. pron. (in combination with certain prepositions, no longer productive) That. | |
therefor, thereat, thereunder | |
14. pron. (colloquial) Used to replace an unknown name, principally in greetings and farewells | |
Hi there, young fellow. | |
15. contraction. misspelling of they’re | |
16. det. misspelling of their | |
was |
1. v. first-person singular past of be. | |
2. v. third-person singular past of be. | |
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? | |
nothing |
1. pron. Not any thing; no thing. | |
2. pron. An absence of anything, including empty space, brightness, darkness, matter, or a vacuum. | |
3. n. Something trifling, or of no consequence or importance. | |
- What happened to your face?- It's nothing. | |
4. n. A trivial remark (especially in the term sweet nothings). | |
5. n. A nobody (insignificant person). | |
You're nothing to me now! | |
6. adv. (archaic) Not at all; in no way. | |
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). | |
Me |
1. n. en-abbr | |
2. n. (chemistry) (abbreviation of methyl) | |
3. pron. alternative case form of me often used when speaking as God or another important figure who is understood from context. | |
4. pron. As the direct object of a verb. | |
Can you hear me? | |
5. pron. (obsolete) Myself; as a reflexive direct object of a verb. | |
6. pron. As the object of a preposition. | |
Come with me. | |
7. pron. As the indirect object of a verb. | |
He gave me this. | |
8. pron. (US, colloquial) Myself; as a reflexive indirect object of a verb; the ethical dative. | |
9. pron. (colloquial) As the complement of the copula (“be” or “is”). | |
It wasn't me. | |
10. pron. (Australia, British, New Zealand, colloquial) My; preceding a noun, marking ownership. | |
11. pron. (colloquial, with "and") As the subject of a verb. | |
Me and my friends played a game. | |
12. pron. (nonstandard, not with "and") As the subject of a verb. | |
13. det. (UK regional, Ireland) alternative form of my | |
to |
1. part. A particle used for marking the following verb as an infinitive. | |
I want to leave. | |
He asked me what to do. | |
I don’t know how to say it. | |
I have places to go and people to see. | |
2. part. As above, with the verb implied. | |
"Did you visit the museum?" "I wanted to, but it was closed.". | |
If he hasn't read it yet, he ought to. | |
3. part. A particle used to create phrasal verbs. | |
I have to do laundry today. | |
4. prep. Indicating destination: In the direction of, and arriving at. | |
We are walking to the shop. | |
5. prep. Used to indicate purpose. | |
He devoted himself to education. | |
They drank to his health. | |
6. prep. Used to indicate result of action. | |
His face was beaten to a pulp. | |
7. prep. Used after an adjective to indicate its application. | |
similar to ..., relevant to ..., pertinent to ..., I was nice to him, he was cruel to her, I am used to walking. | |
8. prep. (obsolete,) As a. | |
With God to friend (with God as a friend); with The Devil to fiend (with the Devil as a foe); lambs slaughtered to lake (lambs slaughtered as a sacrifice); t | |
9. prep. (arithmetic) Used to indicate a ratio or comparison. | |
one to one = 1:1 | |
ten to one = 10:1. | |
I have ten dollars to your four. | |
10. prep. (arithmetic) Used to indicate that the preceding term is to be raised to the power of the following value; indicates exponentiation. | |
Three squared or three to the second power is nine. | |
Three to the power of two is nine. | |
Three to the second is nine. | |
11. prep. Used to indicate the indirect object. | |
I gave the book to him. | |
12. prep. (time) Preceding. | |
ten to ten = 9:50; We're going to leave at ten to (the hour). | |
13. prep. Used to describe what something consists of or contains. | |
Anyone could do this job; there's nothing to it. | |
There's a lot of sense to what he says. | |
14. prep. (Canada, UK, Newfoundland, West Midlands) At. | |
Stay where you're to and I'll come find you, b'y. | |
15. adv. Toward a closed, touching or engaging position. | |
Please push the door to. | |
16. adv. (nautical) Into the wind. | |
17. adv. misspelling of too | |
worry |
1. v. (intransitive) To be troubled, to give way to mental anxiety. | |
Stop worrying about your test, it’ll be fine. | |
2. v. Disturb the peace of mind of; afflict with mental agitation or distress. | |
Your tone of voice worries me. | |
3. v. To harass; to irritate or distress. | |
The President was worried into military action by persistent advisors. | |
4. v. To seize or shake by the throat, especially of a dog or wolf. | |
Your dog’s been worrying sheep again. | |
5. v. To touch repeatedly, to fiddle with. | |
6. v. (transitive, obsolete, except in Scots) To strangle. | |
7. n. A strong feeling of anxiety. | |
I'm afflicted by worry throughout the night. | |
8. n. An instance or cause of such a feeling. | |
My main worry is that I'll miss the train. | |
about |
1. prep. In a circle around; all round; on every side of; on the outside of. | |
2. prep. Near; not far from; approximately; regarding time, size, quantity. | |
3. prep. On the point or verge of. | |
the show is about to start; I am not about to admit to your crime | |
4. prep. On one's person; nearby the person. | |
5. prep. Over or upon different parts of; through or over in various directions; here and there in; to and fro in; throughout. | |
6. prep. Concerned with; engaged in; intent on. | |
7. prep. Concerning; with regard to; on account of; on the subject of; to affect. | |
He knew more about what was occurring than anyone. | |
8. prep. (figurative) In or near, as in mental faculties or (literally) in possession of; in control of; at one's command; in one's makeup. | |
He has his wits about him. | |
9. prep. In the immediate neighborhood of; in contiguity or proximity to; near, as to place. | |
10. adv. Not distant; approximate. | |
11. adv. On all sides; around. | |
12. adv. Here and there; around; in one place and another; up and down. | |
13. adv. Nearly; approximately; with close correspondence, in quality, manner, degree, quantity, or time; almost. | |
about as cold; about as high | |
14. adv. Near; in the vicinity. | |
15. adv. In succession; one after another; in the course of events. | |
16. adv. On the move; active; astir. | |
17. adv. To a reversed order; half round; facing in the opposite direction; from a contrary point of view. | |
to face about; to turn oneself about | |
18. adv. (nautical) To the opposite tack. | |
19. adv. (obsolete) Preparing; planning. | |
20. adv. (archaic) In circuit; circularly; by a circuitous way; around the outside; in circumference. | |
a mile about, and a third of a mile across | |
21. adv. (chiefly North America, colloquial) Going to; on the verge of; intending to. | |
22. adj. Moving around; astir. | |
out and about; up and about | |
After my bout with Guillan-Barre Syndrome, it took me 6 months to be up and about again. | |
23. adj. In existence; being in evidence; apparent | |