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. | |
want |
1. v. To wish for or to desire (something). | |
What do you want to eat? I want you to leave. I never wanted to go back to live with my mother. I want to be an astronaut when I'm older. I don't want him | |
2. v. (intransitive, now dated) To be lacking or deficient; not to exist. | |
There was something wanting in the play. | |
3. v. To lack, not to have (something). | |
4. v. (transitive, colloquially with verbal noun as object) To be in need of; to require (something). | |
That chair wants fixing. | |
5. v. (intransitive, dated) To be in a state of destitution; to be needy; to lack. | |
6. n. A desire, wish, longing. | |
7. n. (often, followed by of) Lack, absence. | |
8. n. Poverty. | |
9. n. Something needed or desired; a thing of which the loss is felt. | |
10. n. (mining) A depression in coal strata, hollowed out before the subsequent deposition took place. | |
people |
1. n. Used as plural of person; a body of human beings considered generally or collectively; a group of two or more persons. | |
Why do so many people commit suicide? | |
2. n. Persons forming or belonging to a particular group, such as a nation, class, ethnic group, country, family, etc; folk; a community. | |
3. n. A group of persons regarded as being employees, followers, companions or subjects of a ruler. | |
4. n. One's colleagues or employees. | |
5. n. A person's ancestors, relatives or family. | |
My people lived through the Black Plague and the Thirty Years War. | |
6. n. The mass of a community as distinguished from a special class (elite); the commonalty; the populace; the vulgar; the common crowd; the citizens. | |
7. n. plural of person. | |
8. v. To stock with people or inhabitants; to fill as with people; to populate. | |
9. v. (intransitive) To become populous or populated. | |
10. v. To inhabit; to occupy; to populate. | |
Who |
1. pron. honoraltcaps, who | |
2. pron. (interrogative) What person or people; which person or people; (asks for the identity of someone). (used in a direct or indirect question) | |
Who is that? (direct question) | |
I don't know who it is. (indirect question) | |
3. pron. (interrogative) What is one's position; (asks whether someone deserves to say or do something). | |
I don't like what you did, but who am I to criticize you? I've done worse. | |
4. pron. (relative) The person or people that. | |
It was a nice man who helped us. | |
5. pron. (relative, archaic) Whoever, he who, they who. | |
6. n. A person under discussion; a question of which person. | |
use |
1. n. The act of using. | |
the use of torture has been condemned by the United Nations; there is no use for your invention | |
2. n. (followed by "of") Usefulness, benefit. | |
What's the use of a law that nobody follows? | |
3. n. A function; a purpose for which something may be employed. | |
This tool has many uses. | |
4. n. Occasion or need to employ; necessity. | |
I have no further use for these textbooks. | |
5. n. (obsolete, rare) Interest for lent money; premium paid for the use of something; usury. | |
6. n. (archaic) Continued or repeated practice; usage; habit. | |
7. n. (obsolete) Common occurrence; ordinary experience. | |
8. n. (religion) The special form of ritual adopted for use in any diocese. | |
the Sarum, or Canterbury, use; the Hereford use; the York use; the Roman use; etc. | |
9. n. (forging) A slab of iron welded to the side of a forging, such as a shaft, near the end, and afterward drawn down, by hammering, so as to lengthen the forging. | |
10. v. To utilize or employ. | |
11. v. To employ; to apply; to utilize. | |
Use this knife to slice the bread. | |
We can use this mathematical formula to solve the problem. | |
12. v. (transitive, often with up) To expend; to consume by employing. | |
I used the money they allotted me. | |
We should use up most of the fuel. | |
She used all the time allotted to complete the test. | |
13. v. To exploit. | |
You never cared about me; you just used me! | |
14. v. To consume (alcohol, drugs, etc), especially regularly. | |
He uses cocaine. I have never used drugs. | |
15. v. (intransitive) To consume a previously specified substance, especially a drug to which one is addicted. | |
Richard began experimenting with cocaine last year; now he uses almost every day. | |
16. v. (transitive, with auxiliary "could") To benefit from; to be able to employ or stand. | |
I could use a drink. My car could use a new coat of paint. | |
17. v. To accustom; to habituate. (Now common only in participial form. Note: This usage uses the nounal pronunciation of the word rather than the typically verbal one.) | |
soldiers who are used to hardships and danger (still common) | |
to use the soldiers to hardships and danger (now rare) | |
18. v. (reflexive, obsolete, with "to") To become accustomed, to accustom oneself. | |
19. v. (intransitive, now rare, literary) To habitually do; to be wont to do. | |
20. v. (intransitive, now rare, literary) To habitually employ; to be wont to employ. | |
21. v. (intransitive, past tense with infinitive) To habitually do. See used to. | |
I used to get things done. | |
22. v. (dated) To behave toward; to act with regard to; to treat. | |
to use an animal cruelly | |
23. v. (reflexive, obsolete) To behave, act, comport oneself. | |
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. | |
harbour |
The docks, which once harboured tall ships, now harbour only petty thieves. | |
That scientist harbours the belief that God created humans. | |
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). | |
recreational |
1. adj. For, or relating to, recreation. | |
fishing |
1. n. The act of catching fish. | |
a good day's fishing | |
2. n. (informal) The act of catching other forms of seafood, separately or together with fish. | |
3. n. Commercial fishing: the business or industry of catching fish and other seafood for sale. | |
the fishing industry | |
4. n. A fishery, a place for catching fish. | |
5. v. present participle of fish | |
fish |
1. n. A cold-blooded vertebrate animal that lives in water, moving with the help of fins and breathing with gills. | |
Salmon is a fish. | |
The Sun Mother created all the fishes of the world. | |
The Sun Mother created all the fish of the world. | |
We have many fish in our aquarium. | |
2. n. (archaic, or loosely) Any animal (or any vertebrate) that lives exclusively in water. | |
3. n. The flesh of the fish used as food. | |
The seafood pasta had lots of fish but not enough pasta. | |
4. n. A card game in which the object is to obtain cards in pairs or sets of four (depending on the variation), by asking the other players for cards of a particular rank. | |
5. n. (derogatory, slang) A woman. | |
6. n. (slang) An easy victim for swindling. | |
7. n. (poker slang) A bad poker player. Compare shark (a good poker player). | |
8. n. (nautical) A makeshift overlapping longitudinal brace, originally shaped roughly like a fish, used to temporarily repair or extend a spar or mast of a ship. | |
9. n. (nautical) A purchase used to fish the anchor. | |
10. n. (nautical) A torpedo. | |
11. n. (zoology) A paraphyletic grouping of the following extant taxonomic groups: | |
12. n. Class Myxini, the hagfish (no vertebra) | |
13. n. Class Petromyzontida, the lampreys (no jaw) | |
14. n. Within infraphylum Gnathostomata (jawed vertebrates (also including Tetrapoda) | |
15. n. # Class Chondrichthyes, cartilaginous fish such as sharks and rays | |
16. n. # Superclass Osteichthyes, bony fish. | |
17. n. (cartomancy) The thirty-fourth Lenormand card. | |
18. n. A period of time spent fishing. | |
The fish at the lake didn't prove successful. | |
19. n. An instance of seeking something. | |
Merely two fishes for information told the whole story. | |
20. v. (intransitive) To hunt fish or other aquatic animals. | |
She went to the river to fish for trout. | |
21. v. To search (a body of water) for something other than fish. | |
They fished the surrounding lakes for the dead body. | |
22. v. (intransitive) To (attempt to) find or get hold of an object by searching among other objects. | |
Why are you fishing through my things? | |
He was fishing for the keys in his pocket. | |
23. v. (intransitive, followed by "for" or "around for") To talk to people in an attempt to get them to say something. | |
The detective visited the local pubs fishing around for more information. | |
The actors loitered at the door, fishing for compliments. | |
24. v. (intransitive, cricket) Of a batsman, to attempt to hit a ball outside off stump and miss it. | |
25. v. (nautical) To repair a spar or mast by fastening a beam or other long object (often called a fish) over the damaged part (see Noun above). | |
26. n. (obsolete) A counter, used in various games. | |
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 | |
get |
1. v. (ditransitive) To obtain; to acquire. | |
I'm going to get a computer tomorrow from the discount store. | |
Lance is going to get Mary a ring. | |
2. v. To receive. | |
I got a computer from my parents for my birthday. | |
You need to get permission to leave early. | |
He got a severe reprimand for that. | |
3. v. (transitive, in a perfect construction, with present-tense meaning) To have. (See usage notes.) | |
I've got a concert ticket for you. | |
4. v. (copulative) To become. | |
I'm getting hungry; how about you? | |
Don't get drunk tonight. | |
5. v. To cause to become; to bring about. | |
That song gets me so depressed every time I hear it. | |
I'll get this finished by lunchtime. | |
I can't get these boots off upright - (or on'upright,). | |
6. v. To fetch, bring, take. | |
Can you get my bag from the living-room, please? | |
I need to get this to the office. | |
7. v. To cause to do. | |
Somehow she got him to agree to it. | |
I can't get it to work. | |
8. v. (intransitive, with various prepositions, such as into, over, or behind; for specific idiomatic senses see individual entries get into, get over, etc.) To adopt, assume, arrive at, or progress towards | |
The actors are getting into position. | |
When are we going to get to London? | |
I'm getting into a muddle. | |
We got behind the wall. | |
9. v. To cover (a certain distance) while travelling. | |
to get a mile | |
10. v. To cause to come or go or move. | |
11. v. To cause to be in a certain status or position. | |
12. v. (intransitive) To begin (doing something). | |
We ought to get moving or we'll be late. | |
After lunch we got chatting. | |
13. v. To take or catch (a scheduled transportation service). | |
I normally get the 7:45 train. | |
I'll get the 9 a.m. flight to Boston. | |
14. v. To respond to (a telephone call, a doorbell, etc). | |
Can you get that call, please? I'm busy. | |
15. v. (intransitive, followed by infinitive) To be able, permitted (to do something); to have the opportunity (to do something). | |
I'm so jealous that you got to see them perform live! | |
The finders get to keep 80 percent of the treasure. | |
16. v. (transitive, informal) To understand. (compare get it) | |
Yeah, I get it, it's just not funny. | |
I don't get what you mean by "fun". This place sucks! | |
I mentioned that I was feeling sad, so she mailed me a box of chocolates. She gets me. | |
17. v. (transitive, informal) To be told; be the recipient of (a question, comparison, opinion, etc.). | |
"You look just like Helen Mirren." / "I get that a lot.". | |
18. v. (informal) To be. Used to form the passive of verbs. | |
He got bitten by a dog. | |
19. v. To become ill with or catch (a disease). | |
I went on holiday and got malaria. | |
20. v. (transitive, informal) To catch out, trick successfully. | |
He keeps calling pretending to be my boss—it gets me every time. | |
21. v. (transitive, informal) To perplex, stump. | |
That question's really got me. | |
22. v. To find as an answer. | |
What did you get for question four? | |
23. v. (transitive, informal) To bring to reckoning; to catch (as a criminal); to effect retribution. | |
The cops finally got me. | |
I'm gonna get him for that. | |
24. v. To hear completely; catch. | |
Sorry, I didn't get that. Could you repeat it? | |
25. v. To getter. | |
I put the getter into the container to get the gases. | |
26. v. (now rare) To beget (of a father). | |
27. v. (archaic) To learn; to commit to memory; to memorize; sometimes with out. | |
to get a lesson; to get out one's Greek lesson | |
28. v. (imperative, informal) Used with a personal pronoun to indicate that someone is being pretentious or grandiose. | |
Get her with her new hairdo. | |
29. v. (informal, mostly, imperative) Go away; get lost. | |
30. v. (euphemism) To kill. | |
They’re coming to get you, Barbara. | |
31. v. (intransitive, obsolete) To make acquisitions; to gain; to profit. | |
32. n. (dated) Offspring. | |
33. n. Lineage. | |
34. n. (sports) A difficult return or block of a shot. | |
35. n. Something gained. | |
36. n. (UK, regional) A git. | |
37. n. (Judaism) A Jewish writ of divorce. | |
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. | |
touch |
1. v. Primarily physical senses. | |
2. v. To make physical contact with; to bring the hand, finger or other part of the body into contact with. | |
I touched her face softly. | |
3. v. To come into (involuntary) contact with; to meet or intersect. | |
Sitting on the bench, the hem of her skirt touched the ground. | |
4. v. (intransitive) To come into physical contact, or to be in physical contact. | |
They stood next to each other, their shoulders touching. | |
5. v. (intransitive) To make physical contact with a thing. | |
Please can I have a look, if I promise not to touch? | |
6. v. To physically disturb; to interfere with, molest, or attempt to harm through contact. | |
If you touch her, I'll kill you. | |
7. v. To cause to be briefly in contact with something. | |
He quickly touched his knee to the worn marble. | |
The demonstrator nearly touched the rod on the ball. | |
8. v. To physically affect in specific ways implied by context. | |
Frankly, this wood's so strong that sandpaper won't touch it. | |
9. v. To consume, or otherwise use. | |
Are you all right? You've hardly touched your lunch. | |
10. v. (intransitive) Of a ship or its passengers: to land, to make a short stop (at). | |
11. v. (transitive, now historical) To lay hands on (someone suffering from scrofula) as a form of cure, as formerly practised by English and French monarchs. | |
12. v. (transitive, or reflexive) To sexually excite with the fingers; to finger or masturbate. | |
Her parents had caught her touching herself when she was fifteen. | |
13. v. (intransitive, obsolete) To fasten; to take effect; to make impression. | |
14. v. (nautical) To bring (a sail) so close to the wind that its weather leech shakes. | |
15. v. (intransitive, nautical) To be brought, as a sail, so close to the wind that its weather leech shakes. | |
16. v. (nautical) To keep the ship as near (the wind) as possible. | |
to touch the wind | |
17. v. Primarily non-physical senses. | |
18. v. To imbue or endow with a specific quality. | |
My grandfather, as many people know, was touched with greatness. | |
19. v. (transitive, archaic) To deal with in speech or writing; to mention briefly, to allude to. | |
20. v. (intransitive) To deal with in speech or writing; briefly to speak or write (on or upon something). | |
21. v. To concern, to have to do with. | |
22. v. To affect emotionally; to bring about tender or painful feelings in. | |
Stefan was touched by the song's message of hope. | |
23. v. (transitive, dated) To affect in a negative way, especially only slightly. | |
He had been drinking over lunch, and was clearly touched. | |
24. v. (transitive, Scottish history) To give royal assent to by touching it with the sceptre. | |
The bill was finally touched after many hours of deliberation. | |
25. v. (transitive, slang) To obtain money from, usually by borrowing (from a friend). | |
I was running short, so I touched old Bertie for a fiver. | |
26. v. (transitive, always passive) To disturb the mental functions of; to make somewhat insane; often followed with "in the head". | |
You must be touched if you think I'm taking your advice. | |
27. v. (transitive, in negative constructions) To be on the level of; to approach in excellence or quality. | |
28. v. To come close to; to approach. | |
29. v. (transitive, computing) To mark (a file or document) as having been modified. | |
30. v. To try; to prove, as with a touchstone. | |
31. v. To mark or delineate with touches; to add a slight stroke to with the pencil or brush. | |
32. v. (obsolete) To infect; to affect slightly. | |
33. v. To strike; to manipulate; to play on. | |
to touch an instrument of music | |
34. v. To perform, as a tune; to play. | |
35. v. To influence by impulse; to impel forcibly. | |
36. n. An act of touching, especially with the hand or finger. | |
Suddenly, in the crowd, I felt a touch at my shoulder. | |
37. n. The faculty or sense of perception by physical contact. | |
With the lights out, she had to rely on touch to find her desk. | |
38. n. The style or technique with which one plays a musical instrument. | |
He performed one of Ravel's piano concertos with a wonderfully light and playful touch. | |
39. n. A distinguishing feature or characteristic. | |
Clever touches like this are what make her such a brilliant writer. | |
40. n. A little bit; a small amount. | |
Move it left just a touch and it will be perfect. | |
41. n. The part of a sports field beyond the touchlines or goal-lines. | |
He got the ball, and kicked it straight out into touch. | |
42. n. A relationship of close communication or understanding. | |
He promised to keep in touch while he was away. | |
43. n. The ability to perform a task well; aptitude. | |
I used to be a great chess player but I've lost my touch. | |
44. n. (obsolete) Act or power of exciting emotion. | |
45. n. (obsolete) An emotion or affection. | |
46. n. (obsolete) Personal reference or application. | |
47. n. A single stroke on a drawing or a picture. | |
48. n. (obsolete) A brief essay. | |
49. n. (obsolete) A touchstone; hence, stone of the sort used for touchstone. | |
50. n. (obsolete) Examination or trial by some decisive standard; test; proof; tried quality. | |
51. n. (music) The particular or characteristic mode of action, or the resistance of the keys of an instrument to the fingers. | |
a heavy touch, or a light touch | |
52. n. (shipbuilding) The broadest part of a plank worked top and but, or of one worked anchor-stock fashion (that is, tapered from the middle to both ends); also, the angles of the stern timbers at the coun | |
53. n. The children's game of tag. | |
54. n. (bell-ringing) A set of changes less than the total possible on seven bells, i.e. less than 5,040. | |
55. n. (slang) An act of borrowing or stealing something. | |
56. n. (plumbing) tallow | |
from |
1. prep. With the source or provenance of or at. | |
This wine comes from France. | |
I got a letter from my brother. | |
2. prep. With the origin, starting point or initial reference of or at. | |
He had books piled from floor to ceiling. | |
He left yesterday from Chicago. | |
Face away from the wall! | |
3. prep. (mathematics, now uncommon) Denoting a subtraction operation. | |
20 from 31 leaves 11. | |
4. prep. With the separation, exclusion or differentiation of. | |
An umbrella protects from the sun. | |
He knows right from wrong. | |
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. | |
mouth |
1. n. (anatomy) The opening of a creature through which food is ingested. | |
"Open your mouth and say 'aah'," directed the doctor. | |
2. n. The end of a river out of which water flows into a sea or other large body of water. | |
The mouth of the river is a good place to go birdwatching in spring and autumn. | |
3. n. An outlet, aperture or orifice. | |
The mouth of a cave | |
4. n. (slang) A loud or overly talkative person. | |
My kid sister is a real mouth; she never shuts up. | |
5. n. (saddlery) The crosspiece of a bridle bit, which enters the mouth of an animal. | |
6. n. (obsolete) A principal speaker; one who utters the common opinion; a mouthpiece. | |
7. n. (obsolete) Cry; voice. | |
8. n. (obsolete) Speech; language; testimony. | |
9. n. (obsolete) A wry face; a grimace; a mow. | |
10. v. To speak; to utter. | |
He mouthed his opinions on the subject at the meeting. | |
11. v. To make the actions of speech, without producing sound. | |
The prompter mouthed the words to the actor, who had forgotten them. | |
12. v. To pick up or handle with the lips or mouth, but not chew or swallow. | |
The fish mouthed the lure, but didn't bite. | |
13. v. (obsolete) To take into the mouth; to seize or grind with the mouth or teeth; to chew; to devour. | |
14. v. (obsolete) To form or cleanse with the mouth; to lick, as a bear licks her cub. | |
15. v. (obsolete) To make mouths at. | |
right |
1. adj. (archaic) Straight, not bent. | |
a right line | |
2. adj. (geometry) Of an angle, having a size of 90 degrees, or one quarter of a complete rotation; the angle between two perpendicular lines. | |
The kitchen counter formed a right angle with the back wall. | |
3. adj. (geometry) Of a geometric figure, incorporating a right angle between edges, faces, axes, etc. | |
a right triangle, a right prism, a right cone | |
4. adj. Complying with justice, correctness or reason; correct, just, true. | |
I thought you'd made a mistake, but it seems you were right all along. | |
It's not right that one person gets all the credit for the group's work. | |
5. adj. Appropriate, perfectly suitable; fit for purpose. | |
Is this the right software for my computer? | |
6. adj. Healthy, sane, competent. | |
I'm afraid my father is no longer in his right mind. | |
7. adj. Real; veritable (used emphatically). | |
You've made a right mess of the kitchen! | |
8. adj. (Australia) All right; not requiring assistance. | |
9. adj. (dated) Most favourable or convenient; fortunate. | |
10. adj. Designating the side of the body which is positioned to the east if one is facing north. This arrow points to the right: → | |
After the accident, her right leg was slightly shorter than her left. | |
11. adj. Designed to be placed or worn outward. | |
the right side of a piece of cloth | |
12. adj. (politics) Pertaining to the political right; conservative. | |
13. adv. On the right side. | |
14. adv. Towards the right side. | |
15. adv. Exactly, precisely. | |
The arrow landed right in the middle of the target. | |
Luckily we arrived right at the start of the film. | |
16. adv. Immediately, directly. | |
Can't you see it? It's right beside you! | |
Tom was standing right in front of the TV, blocking everyone's view. | |
17. adv. (UK, US, dialect) Very, extremely, quite. | |
I made a right stupid mistake there, didn't I? | |
I stubbed my toe a week ago and it still hurts right much. | |
18. adv. According to fact or truth; actually; truly; really. | |
19. adv. In a correct manner. | |
Do it right or don't do it at all. | |
20. adv. (dated, still used in some titles) To a great extent or degree. | |
Sir, I am right glad to meet you … | |
Members of the Queen's Privy Council are styled The Right Honourable for life. | |
The Right Reverend Monsignor Guido Sarducci. | |
21. interj. Yes, that is correct; I agree. | |
22. interj. I agree with whatever you say; I have no opinion. | |
23. interj. Signpost word to change the subject in a discussion or discourse. | |
- After that interview, I don't think we should hire her.- Right — who wants lunch? | |
24. interj. Used to check agreement at the end of an utterance. | |
You're going, right? | |
25. interj. Used to add seriousness or decisiveness before a statement. | |
26. n. That which complies with justice, law or reason. | |
We're on the side of right in this contest. | |
27. n. A legal, just or moral entitlement. | |
You have no right to go through my personal diary. | |
see also in right of | |
28. n. The right side or direction. | |
The pharmacy is just on the right past the bookshop. | |
29. n. The right hand. | |
30. n. (politics) The ensemble of right-wing political parties; political conservatives as a group. | |
The political right holds too much power. | |
31. n. The outward or most finished surface, as of a piece of cloth, a carpet, etc. | |
32. v. To correct. | |
Righting all the wrongs of the war immediately will be impossible. | |
33. v. To set upright. | |
The tow-truck righted what was left of the automobile. | |
34. v. (intransitive) To return to normal upright position. | |
When the wind died down, the ship righted. | |
35. v. To do justice to; to relieve from wrong; to restore rights to; to assert or regain the rights of. | |
to right the oppressed | |
up |
1. adv. Away from the surface of the Earth or other planet; in opposite direction to the downward pull of gravity. | |
I looked up and saw the airplane overhead. | |
2. adv. (intensifier) Used as an aspect marker to indicate a completed action or state Thoroughly, completely. | |
I will mix up the puzzle pieces. | |
Tear up the contract. | |
He really messed up. | |
Please type up our monthly report. | |
3. adv. To or from one's possession or consideration. | |
I picked up some milk on the way home. | |
The committee will take up your request. | |
She had to give up her driver's license after the accident. | |
4. adv. North. | |
I will go up to New York to visit my family this weekend. | |
5. adv. To a higher level of some quantity or notional quantity, such as price, volume, pitch, happiness, etc. | |
Gold has gone up with the uncertainty in the world markets. | |
Turn it up, I can barely hear it. | |
Listen to your voice go up at the end of a question. | |
Cheer up, the weekend's almost here. | |
6. adv. (rail transport) Traditional term for the direction leading to the principal terminus, towards milepost zero. | |
7. adv. (sailing) Against the wind or current. | |
8. adv. (Cartesian graph) In a positive vertical direction. | |
9. adv. (cricket) Relatively close to the batsman. | |
The bowler pitched the ball up. | |
10. adv. (hospitality, US) Without additional ice. | |
Would you like that drink up or on ice? | |
11. adv. (academia) Towards Cambridge or Oxford. | |
She's going up to read Classics this September. | |
12. adv. To or in a position of equal advance or equality; not short of, back of, less advanced than, away from, etc.; usually followed by to or with. | |
I was up to my chin in water. | |
A stranger came up and asked me for directions. | |
13. adv. To or in a state of completion; completely; wholly; quite. | |
Drink up. The pub is closing. | |
Can you sum up your research? | |
The comet burned up in the atmosphere. | |
I need to sew up the hole in this shirt. | |
14. adv. Aside, so as not to be in use. | |
to lay up riches; put up your weapons | |
15. prep. Toward the top of. | |
The cat went up the tree. They walk up the steps. | |
16. prep. Toward the center, source, or main point of reference; toward the end at which something is attached. | |
The information made its way up the chain of command to the general. I felt something crawling up my arm. | |
17. prep. Further along (in any direction). | |
Go up the street until you see the sign. | |
18. prep. From south to north of | |
19. prep. From the mouth towards the source (of a river or waterway). | |
20. prep. (vulgar slang) Of a man: having sex with. | |
Phwoar, look at that bird. I'd love to be up her. | |
21. prep. (colloquial) At (a given place, especially one imagined to be higher or more remote from a central location). | |
22. adj. Awake. | |
I can’t believe it’s 3 a.m. and you’re still up. | |
23. adj. Finished, to an end | |
Time is up! | |
24. adj. In a good mood. | |
I’m feeling up today. | |
25. adj. Willing; ready. | |
If you are up for a trip, let’s go. | |
26. adj. Next in a sequence. | |
Smith is up to bat. | |
27. adj. Happening; new. | |
What is up with that project at headquarters? | |
28. adj. Facing upwards; facing toward the top. | |
Put the notebook face up on the table. | |
Take a break and put your feet up. | |
29. adj. Larger; greater in quantity. | |
Sales are up from last quarter. | |
30. adj. Ahead; leading; winning. | |
The home team were up by two goals at half-time. | |
31. adj. Standing. | |
Get up and give her your seat. | |
32. adj. On a higher level. | |
The new ground is up. | |
33. adj. Available; made public. | |
The new notices are up as of last Tuesday. | |
34. adj. (poker, postnominal) Said of the higher-ranking pair in a two pair. | |
AAKK = aces up | |
QQ33 = queens up | |
35. adj. Well-informed; current. | |
I’m not up on the latest news. What’s going on? | |
36. adj. (computing) Functional; working. | |
Is the server back up? | |
37. adj. (anchor, Adj_railway)(of a railway line or train) Traveling towards a major terminus. | |
The London train is on the up line. | |
38. adj. Headed, or designated to go, upward, as an escalator, stairway, elevator etc. | |
39. adj. (bar tending) Chilled and strained into a stemmed glass. | |
A Cosmopolitan is typically served up. | |
40. adj. (slang) Erect. | |
41. adj. (of the Sun or Moon) Above the horizon, in the sky (i.e. during daytime or night-time) | |
42. adj. (slang) well-known; renowned | |
43. n. The direction opposed to the pull of gravity. | |
Up is a good way to go. | |
44. n. A positive thing. | |
I hate almost everything about my job. The only up is that it's so close to home. | |
45. n. An upstairs room of a two story house. | |
She lives in a two-up two-down. | |
46. v. (transitive, colloquial) To increase or raise. | |
If we up the volume, we'll be able to make out the details. | |
We upped anchor and sailed away. | |
47. v. (transitive, colloquial) To promote. | |
It wasn’t long before they upped him to Vice President. | |
48. v. (intransitive) To act suddenly, usually with another verb. | |
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. | |
river |
1. n. A large and often winding stream which drains a land mass, carrying water down from higher areas to a lower point, ending at an ocean or in an inland sea. | |
Occasionally rivers overflow their banks and cause floods. | |
2. n. Any large flow of a liquid in a single body. | |
a river of blood | |
3. n. (poker) The last card dealt in a hand. | |
4. n. (typography) A visually undesirable effect of white space running down a page, caused by spaces between words on consecutive lines happening to coincide. | |
5. v. (poker) To improve one’s hand to beat another player on the final card in a poker game. | |
Johnny rivered me by drawing that ace of spades. | |
6. n. One who rives or splits. | |