why |
1. adv. For what cause, reason, or purpose (interrogative adverb). | |
2. adv. Introducing a complete question. | |
Why is the sky blue? | |
Why did you do that? | |
I don’t know why he did that | |
Tell me why the moon changes phase. | |
3. adv. Introducing a verb phrase (bare infinitive clause). | |
Why spend money on something you already get for free? | |
Why not tell him how you feel? | |
4. adv. Introducing a noun or other phrase. | |
Why him? Why not someone taller? | |
5. adv. For which cause, reason, or purpose (relative adverb). | |
That's the reason why I did that. | |
6. n. reason | |
A good article will cover the who, the what, the when, the where, the why and the how. | |
7. interj. An exclamation used to express indignation, mild surprise, or impatience. | |
8. n. (dialect) A young heifer. | |
don't |
1. v. do not (negative auxiliaryArnold M. Zwicky and Geoffrey K. Pullum, , Language 59 (3), 1983, pp. 502-513) | |
2. v. (nonstandard) does not | |
3. v. (African American Vernacular English) Used before an emphatic negative subject. | |
Don’t nobody care. | |
4. interj. Stop!, Don't touch that! | |
5. n. Something that must not be done (1=usually in the phrase dos and don'ts). | |
do |
1. v. (auxiliary) A syntactic marker | |
2. v. (auxiliary) A syntactic marker in a question whose main verb is not another auxiliary verb or be. | |
Do you go there often? | |
3. v. (auxiliary) A syntactic marker in negations with the indicative and imperative moods. | |
I do not go there often. | |
Do not listen to him. | |
4. v. (auxiliary) A syntactic marker for emphasis with the indicative, imperative, and subjunctive moods. | |
But I do go sometimes. | |
Do tell us. | |
It is important that he do come see me. | |
5. v. (pro-verb) A syntactic marker that refers back to an earlier verb and allows the speaker to avoid repeating the verb; not generally used with auxiliari | |
I play tennis; she does too. | |
# They don't think it be like it is, but it do. | |
6. v. To perform; to execute. | |
All you ever do is surf the Internet. What will you do this afternoon? | |
7. v. (obsolete) To cause, make (someone) (do something). | |
8. v. (intransitive, transitive) To suffice. | |
it’s not the best broom, but it will have to do; this will do me, thanks. | |
9. v. (intransitive) To be reasonable or acceptable. | |
It simply will not do to have dozens of children running around such a quiet event. | |
10. v. To have (as an effect). | |
The fresh air did him some good. | |
11. v. (intransitive) To fare, perform (well or poorly). | |
Our relationship isn't doing very well; how do you do? | |
12. v. (transitive, chiefly in questions) To have as one's job. | |
What does Bob do? — He's a plumber. | |
13. v. To perform the tasks or actions associated with (something) | |
"Don't forget to do your report" means something quite different depending on whether you're a student or a programmer. | |
14. v. To cook. | |
I'll just do some eggs. | |
15. v. To travel in, to tour, to make a circuit of. | |
Let’s do New York also. | |
16. v. To treat in a certain way. | |
17. v. To work for or on, by way of caring for, looking after, preparing, cleaning, keeping in order, etc. | |
18. v. (intransitive, obsolete) To act or behave in a certain manner; to conduct oneself. | |
19. v. (see also do time) To spend (time) in jail. | |
I did five years for armed robbery. | |
20. v. To impersonate or depict. | |
They really laughed when he did Clinton, with a perfect accent and a leer. | |
21. v. (transitive, slang) To kill. | |
22. v. (transitive, slang) To deal with for good and all; to finish up; to undo; to ruin; to do for. | |
23. v. (informal) To punish for a misdemeanor. | |
He got done for speeding. | |
Teacher'll do you for that! | |
24. v. (transitive, slang) To have sex with. (See also do it) | |
25. v. To cheat or swindle. | |
That guy just did me out of two hundred bucks! | |
26. v. To convert into a certain form; especially, to translate. | |
the novel has just been done into English; I'm going to do this play into a movie | |
27. v. (transitive, intransitive) To finish. | |
Aren't you done yet? | |
28. v. (dated) To work as a domestic servant (with for). | |
29. v. (archaic, dialectal, transitive, auxiliary) Used to form the present progressive of verbs. | |
30. v. (stock exchange) To cash or to advance money for, as a bill or note. | |
31. v. (informal, transitive) To make or provide. | |
Do they do haircuts there? | |
Could you do me a burger with mayonnaise instead of ketchup? | |
32. v. (informal, transitive) To injure (one's own body part). | |
33. v. To take drugs. | |
I do cocaine. | |
34. v. (transitive, in the form be doing somewhere) To exist with a purpose or for a reason. | |
What's that car doing in our swimming pool? - | |
35. n. (colloquial) A party, celebration, social function. | |
We’re having a bit of a do on Saturday to celebrate my birthday. | |
36. n. (informal) A hairdo. | |
Nice do! | |
37. n. Something that can or should be done (usually in the phrase dos and don'ts). | |
38. n. (obsolete) A deed; an act. | |
39. n. (archaic) Ado; bustle; stir; to-do; A period of confusion or argument. | |
40. n. (obsolete, UK, slang) A cheat; a swindler. | |
41. n. (obsolete, UK, slang) An act of swindling; a fraud or deception. | |
42. n. (music) A syllable used in solfège to represent the first and eighth tonic of a major scale. | |
43. adv. (rare) (abbreviation of ditto) | |
not |
1. adv. Negates the meaning of the modified verb. | |
Did you take out the trash? No, I did not. | |
Not knowing any better, I went ahead. | |
2. adv. To no degree. | |
That is not red; it's orange. | |
3. conj. And not. | |
I wanted a plate of shrimp, not a bucket of chicken. | |
He painted the car blue and black, not solid purple. | |
4. interj. (slang) Used to indicate that the previous phrase was meant sarcastically or ironically. | |
I really like hanging out with my little brother watching Barney... not! | |
Sure, you're perfect the way you are... not! | |
5. n. Unary logical function NOT, true if input is false, or a gate implementing that negation function. | |
You need a not there to conform with the negative logic of the memory chip. | |
6. contraction. (obsolete) Contraction of ne wot, wot not; know not; knows not. | |
you |
1. pron. (object pronoun) The people spoken, or written to, as an object. | |
2. pron. (reflexive pronoun, now US colloquial) (To) yourselves, (to) yourself. | |
3. pron. (object pronoun) The person spoken to or written to, as an object. (Replacing thee; originally as a mark of respect.) | |
4. pron. (subject pronoun) The people spoken to or written to, as a subject. (Replacing ye.) | |
Both of you should get ready now. | |
You are all supposed to do as I tell you. | |
5. pron. (subject pronoun) The person spoken to or written to, as a subject. (Originally as a mark of respect.) | |
6. pron. (indefinite personal pronoun) Anyone, one; an unspecified individual or group of individuals (as subject or object). | |
7. det. The individual or group spoken or written to. | |
Have you gentlemen come to see the lady who fell backwards off a bus? | |
8. det. Used before epithets for emphasis. | |
You idiot! | |
9. v. To address (a person) using the pronoun you, rather than thou, especially historically when you was more formal. | |
all |
1. adv. (degree) intensifier. | |
It suddenly went all quiet. | |
She was all, “Whatever.” | |
2. adv. (poetic) Entirely. | |
3. adv. Apiece; each. | |
The score was 30 all when the rain delay started. | |
4. adv. (degree) So much. | |
Don't want to go? All the better since I lost the tickets. | |
5. adv. (obsolete, poetic) even; just | |
6. det. Every individual or anything of the given class, with no exceptions (the noun or noun phrase denoting the class must be plural or un). | |
All contestants must register at the scorer’s table. All flesh is originally grass. All my friends like classical music. | |
7. det. Throughout the whole of (a stated period of time; generally used with units of a day or longer). | |
The store is open all day and all night. (= through the whole of the day and the whole of the night.) | |
I’ve been working on this all year. (= from the beginning of the year until now.) | |
8. det. (obsolete) Any. | |
9. det. Only; alone; nothing but. | |
He's all talk; he never puts his ideas into practice. | |
10. pron. Everything. | |
some gave all they had; she knows all and sees all; Those who think they know it all are annoying to those of us who do. | |
11. pron. Everyone. | |
A good time was had by all. | |
12. n. (with a possessive pronoun) Everything that one is capable of. | |
She gave her all, and collapsed at the finish line. | |
13. n. The totality of one's possessions. | |
14. conj. (obsolete) although | |
15. adj. (dialect, Pennsylvania) All gone; dead. | |
The butter is all. | |
come |
1. v. (intransitive) To move from further away to nearer to. | |
She’ll be coming ’round the mountain when she comes... | |
2. v. To move towards the speaker. | |
I called the dog, but she wouldn't come. | |
Stop dawdling and come here! | |
3. v. To move towards the listener. | |
Hold on, I'll come in a second. | |
You should ask the doctor to come to your house. | |
4. v. To move towards the object that is the focus of the sentence. | |
No-one can find Bertie Wooster when his aunts come to visit. | |
Hundreds of thousands of people come to Disneyland every year. | |
5. v. (in subordinate clauses and gerunds) To move towards the agent or subject of the main clause. | |
King Cnut couldn't stop the tide coming. | |
He threw the boomerang, which came right back to him. | |
6. v. To move towards an unstated agent. | |
The butler should come when called. | |
7. v. (intransitive) To arrive. | |
8. v. (intransitive) To appear, to manifest itself. | |
The pain in his leg comes and goes. | |
9. v. (intransitive) To take a position relative to something else in a sequence. | |
Which letter comes before Y? Winter comes after autumn. | |
10. v. (intransitive, vulgar, slang) To achieve orgasm; to cum; to ejaculate. | |
He came after a few minutes. | |
11. v. (copulative figuratively, with close) To approach a state of being or accomplishment. | |
They came very close to leaving on time. His test scores came close to perfect. | |
One of the screws came loose, and the skateboard fell apart. | |
12. v. (figuratively, with to) To take a particular approach or point of view in regard to something. | |
He came to SF literature a confirmed technophile, and nothing made him happier than to read a manuscript thick with imaginary gizmos and whatzits. | |
13. v. (copulative, archaic) To become, to turn out to be. | |
He was a dream come true. | |
14. v. (intransitive) To be supplied, or made available; to exist. | |
He's as tough as they come. Our milkshakes come in vanilla, strawberry and chocolate flavours. | |
15. v. (slang) To carry through; to succeed in. | |
You can't come any tricks here. | |
16. v. (intransitive) Happen. | |
This kind of accident comes when you are careless. | |
17. v. (intransitive, with from or sometimes of) To have as an origin, originate. | |
18. v. To have a certain social background. | |
19. v. To be or have been a resident or native. | |
Where did you come from? | |
20. v. To have been brought up by or employed by. | |
She comes from a good family. | |
He comes from a disreputable legal firm. | |
21. v. To begin (at a certain location); to radiate or stem (from). | |
The river comes from Bear Lake. | |
Where does this road come from? | |
22. v. (intransitive, of grain) To germinate. | |
23. n. (obsolete) Coming, arrival; approach. | |
24. n. (vulgar, slang) Semen | |
25. n. (vulgar, slang) Female ejaculatory discharge. | |
26. prep. Used to indicate an event, period, or change in state occurring after a present time. | |
Leave it to settle for about three months and, come Christmas time, you'll have a delicious concoction to offer your guests. | |
Come retirement, their Social Security may turn out to be a lot less than they counted on. | |
27. interj. An exclamation to express annoyance. | |
Come come! Stop crying. Come now! You must eat it. | |
28. interj. An exclamation to express encouragement, or to precede a request. | |
Come come! You can do it. Come now! It won't bite you. | |
29. n. (typography) alternative form of comma in its medieval use as a middot ⟨·⟩ serving as a form of colon. | |
out |
See also individual phrasal verbs such as come out, go out, put out, take out, pull out, and so on. | |
1. adv. Away from the inside or the centre. | |
The magician pulled the rabbit out of the hat. | |
2. adv. Away from home or one's usual place. | |
Let's eat out tonight | |
3. adv. Outside; not indoors. | |
Last night we slept out under the stars. | |
4. adv. Away from; at a distance. | |
Keep out! | |
5. adv. Into a state of non-operation; into non-existence. | |
Switch the lights out. | |
Put the fire out. | |
6. adv. To the end; completely. | |
I hadn't finished. Hear me out. | |
7. adv. Used to intensify or emphasize. | |
The place was all decked out for the holidays. | |
8. adv. (of the sun, moon, stars, etc.) So as to be visible in the sky, and not covered by clouds, fog, etc. | |
The sun came out after the rain, and we saw a rainbow. | |
9. adv. (cricket, baseball) Of a player, so as to be disqualified from playing further by some action of a member of the opposing team (such as being stumped in cricket). | |
Wilson was bowled out for five runs. | |
10. prep. (nonstandard, contraction of out of) Away from the inside. | |
He threw it out the door. | |
11. prep. (colloquial) Outside. | |
It's raining out. | |
It's cold out. | |
12. n. A means of exit, escape, reprieve, etc. | |
They wrote the law to give those organizations an out. | |
13. n. (baseball) A state in which a member of the batting team is removed from play due to the application of various rules of the game such as striking out, hitting a fly ball which is caught by the fieldi | |
14. n. (cricket) A dismissal; a state in which a member of the batting team finishes his turn at bat, due to the application of various rules of the game, such as the bowler knocking over the batsman's wicke | |
15. n. (poker) A card which can make a hand a winner. | |
16. n. (dated) A trip out; an outing. | |
17. n. (mostly, in plural) One who, or that which, is out; especially, one who is out of office. | |
18. n. A place or space outside of something; a nook or corner; an angle projecting outward; an open space. | |
19. n. (printing, dated) A word or words omitted by the compositor in setting up copy; an omission. | |
20. v. To eject; to expel. | |
21. v. To reveal (a person) to be gay, bisexual, or transgender. | |
22. v. To reveal (a person or organization) as having a certain secret, such as a being a secret agent or undercover detective. | |
23. v. To reveal (a secret). | |
A Brazilian company outed the new mobile phone design. | |
24. v. (intransitive, archaic) To come or go out; to get out or away; to become public. | |
25. v. To become apparent. | |
26. adj. Not at home; not at one's office or place of employment. | |
I'm sorry, Mr Smith is out at the moment. | |
27. adj. Released, available for purchase, download or other use. | |
Did you hear? Their newest CD is out! | |
28. adj. (in various games; used especially of a batsman or batter in cricket or baseball) Dismissed from play under the rules of the game. | |
He bowls, Johnson pokes at it ... and ... Johnson is out! Caught behind by Ponsonby! | |
29. adj. Openly acknowledging that one is gay or transgender. | |
It's no big deal to be out in the entertainment business. | |
30. adj. (of flowers) In bloom. | |
The garden looks beautiful now that the roses are out. | |
31. adj. (of the sun, moon or stars) Visible in the sky; not obscured by clouds. | |
The sun is out, and it's a lovely day. | |
32. adj. (of lamps, fires etc.) Not shining or burning. | |
I called round to the house but all the lights were out and no one was home. | |
33. adj. (of ideas, plans, etc.) Discarded; no longer a possibility. | |
Right, so that idea's out. Let's move on to the next one. | |
34. adj. No longer popular or in fashion. | |
Black is out this season. The new black is white. | |
35. adj. Without; no longer in possession of; not having more | |
Do you have any bread? Sorry, we're out. | |
36. adj. (of calculations or measurements) Containing errors or discrepancies; in error by a stated amount. | |
Nothing adds up in this report. All these figures are out. | |
The measurement was out by three millimetres. | |
37. adj. (obsolete) Of a young lady: having entered society and available to be courted. | |
38. interj. (procedure word, especially, military) A radio procedure word meaning that the station is finished with its transmission and does not expect a response. | |
Destruction. Two T-72s destroyed. Three foot mobiles down. Out. | |
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. | |
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. | |
darkness |
1. n. The state of being dark; lack of light. | |
The darkness of the room made it difficult to see. | |
2. n. Gloom. | |
3. n. The product of being dark. | |
4. n. The state or quality of reflecting little light, of tending to a blackish or brownish color. | |
The darkness of her skin betrayed her Mediterranean heritage. | |
5. n. Evilness, lack of understanding or compassion, reference to death or suffering. | |