a |
1. art. One; any indefinite example of; used to denote a singular item of a group. | |
There was a man here looking for you yesterday. | |
2. art. Used in conjunction with the adjectives score, dozen, hundred, thousand, and million, as a function word. | |
I've seen it happen a hundred times. | |
3. art. One certain or particular; any single.Brown, Lesley, (2003) | |
We've received an interesting letter from a Mrs. Miggins of London. | |
4. art. The same; one. | |
We are of a mind on matters of morals. | |
5. art. Any, every; used before a noun which has become modified to limit its scope; also used with a negative to indicate not a single one.Lindberg, Christine A. (2007) | |
A man who dies intestate leaves his children troubles and difficulties. | |
He fell all that way, and hasn't a bump on his head? | |
6. art. Used before plural nouns modified by few, good many, couple, great many, etc. | |
7. art. Someone or something like; similar to; Used before a proper noun to create an example out of it. | |
The center of the village was becoming a Times Square. | |
8. prep. (archaic) To do with position or direction; In, on, at, by, towards, onto. | |
Stand a tiptoe. | |
9. prep. To do with separation; In, into. | |
Torn a pieces. | |
10. prep. To do with time; Each, per, in, on, by. | |
I brush my teeth twice a day. | |
11. prep. (obsolete) To do with method; In, with. | |
12. prep. (obsolete) To do with role or capacity; In. | |
A God’s name. | |
13. prep. To do with status; In. | |
King James Bible (II Chronicles 2:18) | |
To set the people a worke. | |
14. prep. (archaic) To do with process, with a passive verb; In the course of, experiencing. | |
1964, Bob Dylan, The Times They Are a-Changin’ | |
The times, they are a-changin'. | |
15. prep. (archaic) To do with an action, an active verb; Engaged in. | |
1611, King James Bible, Hebrews 11-21 | |
Jacob, when he was a dying | |
16. prep. (archaic) To do with an action/movement; To, into. | |
17. v. (archaic, or slang) Have. | |
I'd a come, if you'd a asked. | |
18. pron. (obsolete, outside, England, and Scotland dialects) He. | |
19. interj. A meaningless syllable; ah. | |
20. prep. (archaic, slang) Of. | |
The name of John a Gaunt. | |
21. adv. (chiefly Scotland) All. | |
22. adj. (chiefly Scotland) All. | |
short |
1. adj. Having a small distance from one end or edge to another, either horizontally or vertically. | |
2. adj. (of a person) Of comparatively little height. | |
3. adj. Having little duration; opposite of long. | |
Our meeting was a short six minutes today. Every day for the past month it's been at least twenty minutes long. | |
4. adj. (followed by for) Of a word or phrase, constituting an abbreviation (for another) or shortened form (of another). | |
“Phone” is short for “telephone” and "asap" short for "as soon as possible". | |
5. adj. (cricket, of a fielder or fielding position) that is relatively close to the batsman. | |
6. adj. (cricket, of a ball) that bounced relatively far from the batsman. | |
7. adj. (golf, of an approach shot or putt) that falls short of the green or the hole. | |
8. adj. (of pastries and metals) Brittle, crumbly, especially due to the use of too much shortening. (See shortbread, shortcake, shortcrust.) | |
9. adj. Abrupt; brief; pointed; petulant. | |
He gave a short answer to the question. | |
10. adj. Limited in quantity; inadequate; insufficient; scanty. | |
a short supply of provisions | |
11. adj. Insufficiently provided; inadequately supplied; scantily furnished; lacking. | |
to be short of money | |
The cashier came up short ten dollars on his morning shift. | |
12. adj. Deficient; less; not coming up to a measure or standard. | |
an account which is short of the truth | |
13. adj. (obsolete) Not distant in time; near at hand. | |
14. adj. Being in a financial investment position that is structured to be profitable if the price of the underlying security declines in the future. | |
I'm short General Motors because I think their sales are plunging. | |
15. adv. Abruptly, curtly, briefly. | |
They had to stop short to avoid hitting the dog in the street. | |
He cut me short repeatedly in the meeting. | |
The boss got a message and cut the meeting short. | |
16. adv. Unawares. | |
The recent developments at work caught them short. | |
17. adv. Without achieving a goal or requirement. | |
His speech fell short of what was expected. | |
18. adv. (cricket, of the manner of bounce of a cricket ball) Relatively far from the batsman and hence bouncing higher than normal; opposite of full. | |
19. adv. (finance) With a negative ownership position. | |
We went short most finance companies in July. | |
20. n. A short circuit. | |
21. n. A short film. | |
22. n. Used to indicate a short-length version of a size | |
38 short suits fit me right off the rack. | |
Do you have that size in a short. | |
23. n. (baseball) A shortstop. | |
Jones smashes a grounder between third and short. | |
24. n. (finance) A short seller. | |
The market decline was terrible, but the shorts were buying champagne. | |
25. n. (finance) A short sale. | |
He closed out his short at a modest loss after three months. | |
26. n. A summary account. | |
27. n. (phonetics) A short sound, syllable, or vowel. | |
28. n. (programming) An integer variable shorter than normal integers; usually two bytes long. | |
29. v. To cause a short circuit in (something). | |
30. v. (intransitive) Of an electrical circuit, to short circuit. | |
31. v. To shortchange. | |
32. v. To provide with a smaller than agreed or labeled amount. | |
This is the third time I've caught them shorting us. | |
33. v. (transitive, business) To sell something, especially securities, that one does not own at the moment for delivery at a later date in hopes of profiting from a decline in the price; to sell short. | |
34. v. (obsolete) To shorten. | |
35. prep. Deficient in. | |
We are short a few men on the second shift. | |
He's short common sense. | |
36. prep. (finance) Having a negative position in. | |
I don't want to be short the market going into the weekend. | |
prayer |
1. n. A practice of communicating with one's God. | |
Through prayer I ask for God's blessings. | |
2. n. The act of praying. | |
In many cultures, prayer involves singing. | |
3. n. The specific words or methods used for praying. | |
Christians recite the Lord's Prayer. | |
For Baha'is there's a difference between obligatory and devotional prayer. | |
4. n. A meeting held for the express purpose of praying. | |
Grandpa never misses a chance to go to prayer. | |
5. n. A request; a petition. | |
This, your honor, is my prayer; that all here be set free. | |
6. n. (mostly in negative constructions) The remotest hope or chance. | |
That team doesn't have a prayer of winning the championship. | |
7. n. One who prays. | |
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. | |
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) | |
meals |
1. n. plural of meal | |
meal |
1. n. Food that is prepared and eaten, usually at a specific time, and usually in a comparatively large quantity (as opposed to a snack, which is a comparatively small quantity of food). | |
Breakfast is the morning meal, lunch is the noon meal, and dinner, or supper, is the evening meal. | |
2. n. Food served or eaten as a repast. | |
3. n. (obsolete) A time or an occasion. | |
4. n. The coarse-ground edible part of various grains often used to feed animals; flour or a coarser blend than flour. | |
5. n. (UK dialectal) A speck or spot. | |
6. n. A part; a fragment; a portion. | |
7. v. To defile or taint. | |
Were he meal'd with that / Which he corrects, than were he tyrannous. ― Shakespeare. | |
grace |
1. n. Elegant movement; poise or balance. | |
The dancer moved with grace and strength. | |
2. n. Charming, pleasing qualities. | |
The Princess brought grace to an otherwise dull and boring party. | |
3. n. (theology) Free and undeserved favour, especially of God. Unmerited divine assistance given to humans for their regeneration or sanctification. | |
I'm so grateful to God for the grace that He has given me. | |
4. n. (theology) Divine assistance in resisting sin. | |
5. n. Short prayer of thanks before or after a meal. | |
It has become less common to say grace before having dinner. | |
For examples of the use of this sense see: citations. | |
6. n. (finance) An allowance of time granted for a debtor during which he is free of at least part of his normal obligations towards the creditor. | |
The repayment of the loan starts after a three-year grace (period). | |
7. n. (card games) A special move in a solitaire or patience game that is normally against the rules. | |
8. v. To adorn; to decorate; to embellish and dignify. | |
He graced the room with his presence. | |
He graced the room by simply being there. | |
His portrait graced a landing on the stairway. | |
9. v. To dignify or raise by an act of favour; to honour. | |
10. v. To supply with heavenly grace. | |
11. v. (transitive, music) To add grace notes, cadenzas, etc., to. | |
a |
1. art. One; any indefinite example of; used to denote a singular item of a group. | |
There was a man here looking for you yesterday. | |
2. art. Used in conjunction with the adjectives score, dozen, hundred, thousand, and million, as a function word. | |
I've seen it happen a hundred times. | |
3. art. One certain or particular; any single.Brown, Lesley, (2003) | |
We've received an interesting letter from a Mrs. Miggins of London. | |
4. art. The same; one. | |
We are of a mind on matters of morals. | |
5. art. Any, every; used before a noun which has become modified to limit its scope; also used with a negative to indicate not a single one.Lindberg, Christine A. (2007) | |
A man who dies intestate leaves his children troubles and difficulties. | |
He fell all that way, and hasn't a bump on his head? | |
6. art. Used before plural nouns modified by few, good many, couple, great many, etc. | |
7. art. Someone or something like; similar to; Used before a proper noun to create an example out of it. | |
The center of the village was becoming a Times Square. | |
8. prep. (archaic) To do with position or direction; In, on, at, by, towards, onto. | |
Stand a tiptoe. | |
9. prep. To do with separation; In, into. | |
Torn a pieces. | |
10. prep. To do with time; Each, per, in, on, by. | |
I brush my teeth twice a day. | |
11. prep. (obsolete) To do with method; In, with. | |
12. prep. (obsolete) To do with role or capacity; In. | |
A God’s name. | |
13. prep. To do with status; In. | |
King James Bible (II Chronicles 2:18) | |
To set the people a worke. | |
14. prep. (archaic) To do with process, with a passive verb; In the course of, experiencing. | |
1964, Bob Dylan, The Times They Are a-Changin’ | |
The times, they are a-changin'. | |
15. prep. (archaic) To do with an action, an active verb; Engaged in. | |
1611, King James Bible, Hebrews 11-21 | |
Jacob, when he was a dying | |
16. prep. (archaic) To do with an action/movement; To, into. | |
17. v. (archaic, or slang) Have. | |
I'd a come, if you'd a asked. | |
18. pron. (obsolete, outside, England, and Scotland dialects) He. | |
19. interj. A meaningless syllable; ah. | |
20. prep. (archaic, slang) Of. | |
The name of John a Gaunt. | |
21. adv. (chiefly Scotland) All. | |
22. adj. (chiefly Scotland) All. | |
benediction |
1. n. A short invocation for divine help, blessing and guidance, usually after a church worship service. | |
2. n. The form of instituting an abbot, analogous to the consecration of a bishop. | |
3. n. A Roman Catholic rite by which bells, banners, candles, etc., are blessed with holy water and formally dedicated to God. | |