if |
1. conj. Supposing that, assuming that, in the circumstances that; used to introduce a condition or choice. | |
If it rains, I shall get wet. | |
2. conj. (computing) In the event that a statement is true (a programming statement that acts in a similar manner). | |
If A, then B, else C. | |
3. conj. Supposing that; used with past or past perfect subjunctive indicating that the condition is closed. | |
I would prefer it if you took your shoes off. | |
I would be unhappy if you had not talked with me yesterday. | |
If I were you, I wouldn't go there alone. | |
4. conj. Supposing that; given that; supposing it is the case that. | |
If that's true, we had better get moving! | |
5. conj. Although; used to introduce a concession. | |
He was a great friend, if a little stingy at the bar. | |
6. conj. (sometimes proscribed) Whether; used to introduce a noun clause, an indirect question, that functions as the direct object of certain verbs. | |
I don't know if I want to go or not. | |
7. conj. (usually hyperbolic) Even if; even in the circumstances that. | |
8. conj. Introducing a relevance conditional. | |
I have leftover cake if you want some. | |
9. n. (informal) An uncertainty, possibility, condition, doubt etc. | |
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. | |
drought |
1. n. A period of unusually low rainfall, longer and more severe than a dry spell. | |
2. n. (by extension, informal) A longer than expected term without success, particularly in sport. | |
continues |
1. v. third-person singular present indicative of continue | |
continue |
1. v. To proceed with (qual, doing an activity); to prolong qual, an activity. | |
Shall I continue speaking, or will you just interrupt me again? | |
Do you want me to continue to unload these? | |
2. v. To make last; to prolong. | |
3. v. To retain (qual, someone or something) in a given state, position, etc. | |
4. v. (intransitive) To remain in a given place or condition; to remain in connection with; to abide; to stay. | |
5. v. (intransitive) To resume. | |
When will the concert continue? | |
6. v. (transitive, law) To adjourn, prorogue, put off. | |
This meeting has been continued to the thirteenth of July. | |
7. v. (poker slang) To make a continuation bet. | |
8. n. (video games) An option allowing a gamer to resume play after game over, when all life, lives have been lost. | |
9. n. (programming) A statement which causes a loop to start executing the next iteration, skipping the statements following it. | |
we |
1. pron. (personal) The speakers/writers, or the speaker/writer and at least one other person (not the person being addressed). (This is the exclusive we.) | |
2. pron. (personal) The speaker(s)/writer(s) and the person(s) being addressed. (This is the inclusive we.) | |
3. pron. (personal) The speaker/writer alone. (This use of we is the editorial we, used by writers and others, including royalty—the royal we—as a less personal substitute for I. The reflexive case of this sen | |
4. pron. (personal) The plural form of you, including everyone being addressed. | |
How are we all tonight? | |
5. pron. (personal, generally considered patronising) A second- or third-person pronoun for a person in the speaker's care. | |
How are we feeling this morning? | |
6. det. The speakers/writers, or the speaker/writer and at least one other person. | |
We Canadians like to think of ourselves as different. | |
can |
1. v. (auxiliary verb, defective) To know how to; to be able to. | |
She can speak English, French, and German. I can play football. Can you remember your fifth birthday? | |
2. v. (modal auxiliary verb, defective, informal) May; to be permitted or enabled to. | |
You can go outside and play when you're finished with your homework. Can I use your pen? | |
3. v. (modal auxiliary verb, defective) To have the potential to; be possible. | |
Can it be Friday already? | |
Teenagers can really try their parents' patience. | |
Animals can experience emotions. | |
4. v. (auxiliary verb, defective) Used with verbs of perception. | |
Can you hear that?. | |
I can feel the baby moving inside me. | |
5. v. (obsolete, transitive) To know. | |
6. n. A more or less cylindrical vessel for liquids, usually of steel or aluminium, but sometimes of plastic, and with a carrying handle over the top. | |
7. n. A container used to carry and dispense water for plants (a watering can). | |
8. n. A tin-plate canister, often cylindrical, for preserved foods such as fruit, meat, or fish. | |
9. n. (archaic) A chamber pot, now (US, slang) a toilet or lavatory. | |
Shit or get off the can. | |
Bob's in the can. You can wait a few minutes or just leave it with me. | |
10. n. (US, slang) Buttocks. | |
11. n. (slang) Jail or prison. | |
Bob's in the can. He won't be back for a few years. | |
12. n. (slang) Headphones. | |
13. n. (archaic) A drinking cup. | |
14. n. (nautical) A cube-shaped buoy or marker used to denote a port-side lateral mark | |
15. n. A chimney pot. | |
16. v. To preserve, by heating and sealing in a can or jar. | |
They spent August canning fruit and vegetables. | |
17. v. to discard, scrap or terminate (an idea, project, etc.). | |
He canned the whole project because he thought it would fail. | |
18. v. To shut up. | |
Can your gob. | |
19. v. (US, euphemistic) To fire or dismiss an employee. | |
The boss canned him for speaking out. | |
expect |
1. v. To look for (mentally); to look forward to, as to something that is believed to be about to happen or come; to have a previous apprehension of, whether of good or evil; to look for with some confidenc | |
I expect to receive wages. I expect that the troops will be defeated. | |
2. v. To consider obligatory or required. | |
3. v. To consider reasonably due. | |
You are expected to get the task done by the end of next week. | |
4. v. (continuous aspect only, of a woman or couple) To be pregnant, to consider a baby due. | |
5. v. (obsolete, transitive) To wait for; to await. | |
6. v. (obsolete, intransitive) To wait; to stay. | |
many |
1. det. An indefinite large number of. | |
many people enjoy playing chess; there are many different ways to cook a meal | |
2. pron. A collective mass of people. | |
Democracy must balance the rights of the few against the will of the many | |
A great many do not understand this. | |
3. pron. An indefinite large number of people or things. | |
Many are called, but few are chosen. | |
4. n. A multitude; a great aggregate; a mass of people; the generality; the common herd. | |
5. n. A considerable number. | |
deaths |
1. n. plural of death | |
death |
1. n. The cessation of life and all associated processes; the end of an organism's existence as an entity independent from its environment and its return to an inert, nonliving state. | |
The death of my grandmother saddened the whole family. | |
2. n. (often, capitalized) The personification of death as a hooded figure with a scythe; the Grim Reaper. | |
When death walked in, a chill spread through the room. | |
3. n. (the death) The collapse or end of something. | |
England scored a goal at the death to even the score at one all. death of the feudalism | |
4. n. (figuratively, esp. followed by of-phrase) A cause of great stress, exhaustion, embarrassment, or another negative condition (for someone). | |
This bake sale is gonna be the death of me! | |
in |
1. prep. Used to indicate location, inclusion, or position within spatial, temporal or other limits. | |
2. prep. Contained by. | |
The dog is in the kennel. | |
3. prep. Within. | |
4. prep. Surrounded by. | |
We are in the enemy camp. Her plane is in the air. | |
5. prep. Part of; a member of. | |
One in a million. She's in band and orchestra. | |
6. prep. Pertaining to; with regard to. | |
What grade did he get in English? | |
Military letters should be formal in tone, but not stilted. | |
7. prep. At the end of a period of time. | |
They said they would call us in a week. | |
8. prep. Within a certain elapsed time | |
Are you able to finish this in three hours? The massacre resulted in over 1000 deaths in three hours. | |
9. prep. During (said of periods of time). | |
in the first week of December; Easter falls in the fourth lunar month; The country reached a high level of prosperity in his fi | |
10. prep. (grammar, phonetics, of sounds and letters) Coming at the end of a word. | |
English nouns in -ce form their plurals in -s. | |
11. prep. Into. | |
Less water gets in your boots this way. | |
12. prep. Used to indicate limit, qualification, condition, or circumstance. | |
In replacing the faucet washers, he felt he was making his contribution to the environment. | |
13. prep. Indicating an order or arrangement. | |
My fat rolls around in folds. | |
14. prep. Denoting a state of the subject. | |
He stalked away in anger. John is in a coma. | |
15. prep. Indicates, connotatively, a place-like form of someone's (or something's) personality, as his, her or its psychic and physical characteristics. | |
You've got a friend in me. He's met his match in her. | |
16. prep. Wearing (an item of clothing). | |
I glanced over at the pretty girl in the red dress. | |
17. prep. Used to indicate means, medium, format, genre, or instrumentality. | |
18. prep. (of something offered or given in an exchange) In the form of, in the denomination of. | |
Please pay me in cash — preferably in tens and twenties. | |
The deposit can be in any legal tender, even in gold. | |
Her generosity was rewarded in the success of its recipients. | |
19. prep. Used to indicate a language, script, tone, etc. of a text, speech, etc. | |
Beethoven's "Symphony No. 5" in C minor is among his most popular. | |
His speech was in French, but was simultaneously translated into eight languages. | |
When you write in cursive, it's illegible. | |
20. v. (obsolete, transitive) To enclose. | |
21. v. (obsolete, transitive) To take in; to harvest. | |
22. adv. (not comparable) Located indoors, especially at home or the office, or inside something. | |
Is Mr. Smith in? | |
23. adv. Moving to the interior of a defined space, such as a building or room. | |
Suddenly a strange man walked in. | |
24. adv. (sports) Still eligible to play, e.g. able to bat in cricket and baseball. | |
He went for the wild toss but wasn't able to stay in. | |
25. adv. (UK) Abbreviation of in aid of. | |
What's that in? | |
26. adv. After the beginning of something. | |
27. n. A position of power or a way to get it. | |
His parents got him an in with the company | |
28. n. (sport) The state of a batter/batsman who is currently batting – see innings | |
29. n. A re-entrant angle; a nook or corner. | |
30. adj. In fashion; popular. | |
Skirts are in this year. | |
31. adj. Incoming. | |
the in train | |
32. adj. (nautical, of the sails of a vessel) Furled or stowed. | |
33. adj. (legal) With privilege or possession; used to denote a holding, possession, or seisin. | |
in by descent; in by purchase; in of the seisin of her husband | |
34. adj. (cricket) Currently batting. | |
35. n. Inch. | |
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. | |
next |
1. adj. nearest, Nearest in place or position, having nothing similar intervening; adjoining. | |
2. adj. Nearest in order, succession, or rank; immediately preceding or following in order. | |
the next chapter; the next man I see; the next week; the Sunday next before Easter | |
3. adj. (figuratively) Following in a hypothetical sequence of some kind. | |
4. det. The one immediately following the current or most recent one | |
Next week would be a good time to meet. | |
I'll know better next time. | |
5. det. Closest to seven days (one week) in the future. | |
The party is next Tuesday; that is, not this Tuesday, but nine days from now. | |
6. adv. In a time, place or sequence closest or following. | |
They live in the next closest house. | |
It's the next best thing to ice cream. | |
Next, we stripped off the old paint. | |
7. adv. On the first subsequent occasion | |
Financial panic, earthquakes, oil spills, riots. What comes next? | |
When we next meet, you'll be married. | |
8. prep. On the side of; next to. | |
9. n. The one that follows after this one. | |
Next, please, don't hold up the queue! | |
few |
1. det. (preceded by another determiner) An indefinite, but usually small, number of. | |
I was expecting lots of people at the party, but very few (=almost none) turned up. Quite a few of them (=many of them) were pleasantly surprised. I don't know how | |
2. det. (used alone) Not many; a small (in comparison with another number stated or implied) but somewhat indefinite number of. | |
There are few people who understand quantum theory. Many are called, but few are chosen. | |
3. det. (meteorology of clouds) (US?) Obscuring one eighth to two eighths of the sky. | |
Tonight: A few clouds. Increasing cloudiness overnight. | |
NOAA definition of the term "few clouds": An official sky cover classification for aviation weather observations, descriptive of a sky cover of 1/8 to 2/8. This is applied only when obscuring p | |
4. det. (meteorology of rainfall with regard to a location) (US?) Having a 10 percent chance of measurable precipitation (0.01 inch); used interchangeably with isolated. | |
5. pron. Few people, few things. | |
Many are called, but few are chosen. | |
months |
1. n. plural of month | |
2. n. (obsolete, plurale tantum) A woman's period; menstrual discharge. | |
month |
1. n. A period into which a year is divided, historically based on the phases of the moon. | |
July is my favourite month. | |
2. n. A period of 30 days, 31 days, or some alternation thereof. | |
We went on holiday for two months. | |
3. n. (obsolete, in the plural) A woman's period; menstrual discharge. | |