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. | |
act |
1. n. Something done, a deed. | |
an act of goodwill | |
2. n. (obsolete) Actuality. | |
3. n. A product of a legislative body, a statute. | |
4. n. The process of doing something. | |
He was caught in the act of stealing. | |
5. n. A formal or official record of something done. | |
6. n. A division of a theatrical performance. | |
The pivotal moment in the play was in the first scene of the second act. | |
7. n. A performer or performers in a show. | |
Which act did you prefer? The soloist or the band? | |
8. n. Any organized activity. | |
9. n. A display of behaviour. | |
10. n. A thesis maintained in public, in some English universities, by a candidate for a degree, or to show the proficiency of a student. | |
11. n. A display of behaviour meant to deceive. | |
to put on an act | |
12. v. (intransitive) To do something. | |
If you don't act soon, you will be in trouble. | |
13. v. (obsolete, transitive) To do (something); to perform. | |
14. v. (intransitive) To perform a theatrical role. | |
I started acting at the age of eleven in my local theatre. | |
15. v. Of a play: to be acted out (well or badly). | |
16. v. (intransitive) To behave in a certain way. | |
He's acting strangely - I think there's something wrong with him. | |
17. v. (copulative) To convey an appearance of being. | |
He acted unconcerned so the others wouldn't worry. | |
18. v. To do something that causes a change binding on the doer. | |
act on behalf of John | |
19. v. (intransitive, construed with on or upon) To have an effect (on). | |
High-pressure oxygen acts on the central nervous system and may cause convulsions or death. | |
Gravitational force acts on heavy bodies. | |
20. v. To play (a role). | |
He's been acting Shakespearean leads since he was twelve. | |
21. v. To feign. | |
He acted the angry parent, but was secretly amused. | |
22. v. (mathematics, intransitive, construed with on or upon, of a group) To map via a homomorphism to a group of automorphisms (of). | |
This group acts on the circle, so it can't be left-orderable! | |
23. v. (obsolete, transitive) To move to action; to actuate; to animate. | |
of |
1. prep. Expressing distance or motion. | |
2. prep. (now obsolete, or dialectal) From (of distance, direction), "off". | |
3. prep. (obsolete except in phrases) Since, from (a given time, earlier state etc.). | |
4. prep. From, away from (a position, number, distance etc.). | |
There are no shops within twenty miles of the cottage. | |
5. prep. (North America, Scotland, Ireland) Before (the hour); to. | |
What's the time? / Nearly a quarter of three. | |
6. prep. Expressing separation. | |
7. prep. (Indicating removal, absence or separation, with the action indicated by a transitive verb and the quality or substance by a grammatical object.) | |
Finally she was relieved of the burden of caring for her sick husband. | |
8. prep. (Indicating removal, absence or separation, with resulting state indicated by an adjective.) | |
He seemed devoid of human feelings. | |
9. prep. (obsolete) (Indicating removal, absence or separation, construed with an intransitive verb.) | |
10. prep. Expressing origin. | |
11. prep. (Indicating an ancestral source or origin of descent.) | |
The word is believed to be of Japanese origin. | |
12. prep. (Indicating a (non-physical) source of action or emotion; introducing a cause, instigation); from, out of, as an expression of. | |
The invention was born of necessity. | |
13. prep. (following an intransitive verb) (Indicates the source or cause of the verb.) | |
It is said that she died of a broken heart. | |
14. prep. (following an adjective) (Indicates the subject or cause of the adjective.) | |
I am tired of all this nonsense. | |
15. prep. Expressing agency. | |
16. prep. (following a passive verb) (Indicates the agent (for most verbs, now usually expressed with by).) | |
I am not particularly enamoured of this idea. | |
17. prep. (Used to introduce the "subjective genitive"; following a noun to form the head of a postmodifying noun phrase) (see also 'Possession' senses below). | |
The contract can be terminated at any time with the agreement of both parties. | |
18. prep. (following an adjective) (Used to indicate the agent of something described by the adjective.) | |
It was very brave of you to speak out like that. | |
19. prep. Expressing composition, substance. | |
20. prep. (after a verb expressing construction, making etc.) (Used to indicate the material or substance used.) | |
Many 'corks' are now actually made of plastic. | |
21. prep. (directly following a noun) (Used to indicate the material of the just-mentioned object.) | |
She wore a dress of silk. | |
22. prep. (Indicating the composition of a given collective or quantitative noun.) | |
What a lot of nonsense! | |
23. prep. (Used to link a given class of things with a specific example of that class.) | |
Welcome to the historic town of Harwich. | |
24. prep. (Links two nouns in near-apposition, with the first qualifying the second); "which is also". | |
I'm not driving this wreck of a car. | |
25. prep. Introducing subject matter. | |
26. prep. (Links an intransitive verb, or a transitive verb and its subject (especially verbs to do with thinking, feeling, expressing etc.), with its subject-ma | |
I'm always thinking of you. | |
27. prep. (following a noun (now chiefly nouns of knowledge, communication etc.)) (Introduces its subject matter); about, concerning. | |
He told us the story of his journey to India. | |
28. prep. (following an adjective) (Introduces its subject matter.) | |
This behaviour is typical of teenagers. | |
29. prep. Having partitive effect. | |
30. prep. (following a number or other quantitive word) (Introduces the whole for which is indicated only the specified part or segment); "from among". | |
Most of these apples are rotten. | |
31. prep. (following a noun) (Indicates a given part.) | |
32. prep. (now archaic, literary, with preceding partitive word assumed, or as a predicate after to be) Some, an amount of, one of. | |
On the whole, they seem to be of the decent sort. | |
33. prep. (Links to a genitive noun or possessive pronoun, with partitive effect (though now often merged with possessive senses, below).) | |
He is a friend of mine. | |
34. prep. Expressing possession. | |
35. prep. Belonging to, existing in, or taking place in a given location, place or time. Compare "origin" senses, above. | |
He was perhaps the most famous scientist of the twentieth century. | |
36. prep. Belonging to (a place) through having title, ownership or control over it. | |
The owner of the nightclub was arrested. | |
37. prep. Belonging to (someone or something) as something they possess or have as a characteristic; (the "possessive genitive". (With abstract nouns, this inter | |
Keep the handle of the saucepan away from the flames. | |
38. prep. Forming the "objective genitive". | |
39. prep. (Follows an agent noun, verbal noun or noun of action.) | |
She had a profound distrust of the police. | |
40. prep. Expressing qualities or characteristics. | |
41. prep. (now archaic, or literary) (Links an adjective with a noun or noun phrase to form a quasi-adverbial qualifier); in respect to, as regards. | |
My companion seemed affable and easy of manner. | |
42. prep. (Indicates a quality or characteristic); "characterized by". | |
Pooh was said to be a bear of very little brain. | |
43. prep. (Indicates quantity, age, price, etc.) | |
We have been paying interest at a rate of 10%. | |
44. prep. (US, informal considered incorrect by some) (Used to link singular indefinite nouns (preceded by the indefinite article) and attributive adjectives mod | |
It's not that big of a deal. | |
45. prep. Expressing a point in time. | |
46. prep. (chiefly regional) During the course of (a set period of time, day of the week etc.), now specifically with implied repetition or regularity. | |
Of an evening, we would often go for a stroll along the river. | |
47. prep. (UK dialectal, chiefly in negative constructions) For (a given length of time). | |
I've not tekken her out of a goodly long while. | |
48. prep. (after a noun) (Indicates duration of a state, activity etc.) | |
After a delay of three hours, the plane finally took off. | |
declaring |
1. v. present participle of declare | |
2. n. The act of making something known; announcing; proclaiming | |
declare |
1. v. (obsolete, transitive) To make clear, explain, interpret. | |
2. v. (intransitive) To make a declaration. | |
3. v. (card games) To show one's cards in order to score. | |
4. v. To announce one’s support, choice, opinion, etc. | |
He declared him innocent. | |
5. v. (intransitive, cricket) For the captain of the batting side to announce the innings complete even though all batsmen have not been dismissed. | |
6. v. To announce something formally or officially. | |
declare bankruptcy | |
declare victory | |
(cricket) declare (an innings) closed | |
7. v. (intransitive, politics) For a constituency in an election to officially announce the result | |
Houghton and Sunderland South was the first constituency to declare in the 2015 general election. | |
8. v. To affirm or state something emphatically. | |
9. v. To inform government customs or taxation officials of goods one is importing or of income, expenses, or other circumstances affecting one's taxes. | |
10. v. To make outstanding debts, e.g. taxes, payable. | |
11. v. (transitive, programming) To explicitly establish the existence of (a variable, function, etc.) without necessarily describing its content. | |
The counter "i" was declared as an integer. | |
or |
1. conj. Connects at least two alternative words, phrases, clauses, sentences, etc. each of which could make a passage true. In English, this is the "inclusive or." The "exclusive or" is formed by "either(...) | |
In Ohio, anyone under the age of 18 who wants a tattoo or body piercing needs the consent of a parent or guardian. | |
He might get cancer, or be hit by a bus, or God knows what. | |
2. conj. (logic) An operator denoting the disjunction of two propositions or truth values. There are two forms, the inclusive or and the exclusive or. | |
3. conj. Counts the elements before and after as two possibilities. | |
4. conj. Otherwise (a consequence of the condition that the previous is false). | |
It's raining! Come inside or you'll catch a cold! | |
5. conj. Connects two equivalent names. | |
The country Myanmar, or Burma | |
6. n. (logic, electronics) alternative form of OR | |
7. n. (tincture) The gold or yellow tincture on a coat of arms. | |
8. adj. (tincture) Of gold or yellow tincture on a coat of arms. | |
9. adv. (obsolete) Early (on). | |
10. adv. (obsolete) Earlier, previously. | |
11. prep. (now archaic, or dialect) Before; ere. | |
describing |
1. v. present participle of describe | |
describe |
1. v. To represent in words. | |
The feeling is difficult to describe, but not unpleasant. | |
The geographer describes countries and cities. | |
2. v. To represent by drawing; to draw a plan of; to delineate; to trace or mark out. | |
to describe a circle by the compasses; a torch waved about the head in such a way as to describe a circle | |
3. v. (transitive, mathematics) To give rise to a geometrical structure. | |
The function describes a very complex surface. | |
4. v. (transitive, taxonomy) To introduce a new taxon to science by explaining its characteristics and particularly how it differs from other taxa. | |
The fungus was first described by a botanist. | |
5. v. (obsolete) To distribute into parts, groups, or classes; to mark off; to class. | |
something |
1. pron. An uncertain or unspecified thing; one thing. | |
I must have forgotten to pack something, but I can't think what. | |
I have something for you in my bag. | |
I have a feeling something good is going to happen today. | |
2. pron. (colloquial, of someone or something) A quality to a moderate degree. | |
The performance was something of a disappointment. | |
That child is something of a genius. | |
3. pron. (colloquial, of a person) A talent or quality that is difficult to specify. | |
She has a certain something. | |
4. pron. (colloquial, often with really or quite) Somebody or something who is superlative in some way. | |
He's really something! I've never heard such a great voice. | |
She's quite something. I can't believe she would do such a mean thing. | |
5. adj. Having a characteristic that the speaker cannot specify. | |
6. adv. (degree) Somewhat; to a degree. | |
The baby looks something like his father. | |
7. adv. (degree, colloquial) To a high degree. | |
8. v. Applied to an action whose name is forgotten by, unknown or unimportant to the user, e.g. from words of a song. | |
9. n. An object whose nature is yet to be defined. | |
10. n. An object whose name is forgotten by, unknown or unimportant to the user, e.g., from words of a song. Also used to refer to an object earlier indefinitely referred to as 'something' (pronoun sense). | |
through |
1. prep. From one side of an opening to the other. | |
I went through the window. | |
2. prep. Entering, then later leaving. | |
I drove through the town at top speed without looking left or right. | |
3. prep. Surrounded by (while moving). | |
We slogged through the mud for hours before turning back and giving up. | |
4. prep. By means of. | |
This team believes in winning through intimidation. | |
5. prep. (North America) To (or up to) and including, with all intermediate values. | |
from 1945 through 1991; the numbers 1 through 9; your membership is active through March 15, 2013 | |
6. adj. Passing from one side of something to the other. | |
Interstate highways form a nationwide system of through roads. | |
7. adj. Finished; complete. | |
They were through with laying the subroof by noon. | |
8. adj. Valueless; without a future. | |
After being implicated in the scandal, he was through as an executive in financial services. | |
9. adj. No longer interested. | |
She was through with him. | |
10. adj. Proceeding from origin to destination without delay due to change of equipment. | |
The through flight through Memphis was the fastest. | |
11. adj. (association football) In possession of the ball beyond the last line of defence but not necessarily the goalkeeper; through on goal. | |
12. adv. From one side to the other by way of the interior. | |
The arrow went straight through. | |
13. adv. From one end to the other. | |
Others slept; he worked straight through. | |
She read the letter through. | |
14. adv. To the end. | |
He said he would see it through. | |
15. adv. Completely. | |
Leave the yarn in the dye overnight so the color soaks through. | |
16. adv. Out into the open. | |
The American army broke through at St. Lo. | |
17. n. A large slab of stone laid in a dry-stone wall from one side to the other; a perpend. | |
18. n. (obsolete) A coffin, sarcophagus or tomb of stone; a large slab of stone laid on a tomb. | |
either |
1. det. One of two. | |
You can have it in either colour. | |
2. det. Each of two; both. | |
There is a locomotive at either end of the train, one pulling and the other pushing. | |
3. pron. One or other of two people or things. | |
He made me two offers, but I did not accept either. | |
4. pron. (obsolete) Both, each of two or more. | |
5. adv. (conjunctive, after a negative) As well. | |
I don't like him, and I don't like her either. | |
6. conj. (Introduces the first of two (or occasionally more) options or possibilities, the second (or last) of which is introduced by "or"). | |
Either you eat your dinner or you go to your room. | |
You can have either potatoes or rice with that, but not both. | |
You'll be either early, late, or on time. | |
speech |
1. n. The faculty of uttering articulate sounds or words; the ability to speak or to use vocalizations to communicate. | |
It was hard to hear the sounds of his speech over the noise. He had a bad speech impediment. | |
2. n. A session of speaking, especially a long oral message given publicly by one person. | |
The candidate made some ambitious promises in his campaign speech. | |
3. n. A style of speaking. | |
Her speech was soft and lilting. | |
4. n. (grammar) Speech reported in writing; see direct speech, reported speech | |
5. n. A dialect or language. | |
6. n. Talk; mention; rumour. | |
7. v. (transitive, intransitive) To make a speech; to harangue. | |
or |
1. conj. Connects at least two alternative words, phrases, clauses, sentences, etc. each of which could make a passage true. In English, this is the "inclusive or." The "exclusive or" is formed by "either(...) | |
In Ohio, anyone under the age of 18 who wants a tattoo or body piercing needs the consent of a parent or guardian. | |
He might get cancer, or be hit by a bus, or God knows what. | |
2. conj. (logic) An operator denoting the disjunction of two propositions or truth values. There are two forms, the inclusive or and the exclusive or. | |
3. conj. Counts the elements before and after as two possibilities. | |
4. conj. Otherwise (a consequence of the condition that the previous is false). | |
It's raining! Come inside or you'll catch a cold! | |
5. conj. Connects two equivalent names. | |
The country Myanmar, or Burma | |
6. n. (logic, electronics) alternative form of OR | |
7. n. (tincture) The gold or yellow tincture on a coat of arms. | |
8. adj. (tincture) Of gold or yellow tincture on a coat of arms. | |
9. adv. (obsolete) Early (on). | |
10. adv. (obsolete) Earlier, previously. | |
11. prep. (now archaic, or dialect) Before; ere. | |
writing |
1. n. Graphism of symbols such as letters that express some meaning. | |
2. n. Something written, such as a document, article or book. | |
3. n. The process of representing a language with symbols or letters. | |
4. n. A work of an author. | |
5. n. The style of writing of a person. | |
I can't read your writing. | |
6. n. (as a modifier) Intended for or used in writing. | |
a writing table | |
7. v. present participle of write | |
write |
1. v. To form letters, words or symbols on a surface in order to communicate. | |
The pupil wrote his name on the paper. | |
Your son has been writing on the wall. | |
2. v. To be the author of (a book, article, poem, etc.). | |
My uncle writes newspaper articles for The Herald. | |
3. v. To send written information to. | |
(UK) Please write to me when you get there. | |
(US) Please write me when you get there. | |
4. v. To show (information, etc) in written form. | |
The due day of the homework is written in the syllabus. | |
5. v. (intransitive) To be an author. | |
I write for a living. | |
6. v. (computing, intransitive, with to) To record data mechanically or electronically. | |
The computer writes to the disk faster than it reads from it. | |
7. v. (transitive, South Africa, Canada, of an exam, a document, etc.) To fill in, to complete using words. | |
I was very anxious to know my score after I wrote the test. | |
8. v. To impress durably; to imprint; to engrave. | |
truth written on the heart | |
9. v. To make known by writing; to record; to prove by one's own written testimony; often used reflexively. | |
10. n. (computing) The operation of storing data, as in memory or onto disk. | |
How many writes per second can this hard disk handle? | |