biology |
1. n. The study of all life or living matter. | |
2. n. The living organisms of a particular region. | |
3. n. The structure, function, and behavior of an organism or type of organism. | |
the biology of the whale | |
ecology |
1. n. (biology) The branch of biology dealing with the relationships of organisms with their environment and with each other. | |
growing |
1. v. present participle of grow | |
2. n. growth; increase | |
3. n. (attributive) Connected with growing | |
The growing season here begins in March. | |
4. adj. That grows. | |
Milk is good for growing children. | |
grow |
1. v. To become bigger. | |
Children grow quickly. | |
2. v. (intransitive) To appear or sprout. | |
Flowers grew on the trees as summer approached. | |
A long tail began to grow from his backside. | |
3. v. To cause or allow something to become bigger, especially to cultivate plants. | |
He grows peppers and squash each summer in his garden. | |
Have you ever grown your hair before? | |
4. v. (copulative) To assume a condition or quality over time. | |
The boy grew wise as he matured. | |
The town grew smaller and smaller in the distance as we travelled. | |
You have grown strong. | |
5. v. (intransitive, obsolete) To become attached or fixed; to adhere. | |
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. | |
living |
1. v. present participle of live | |
2. adj. Having life. | |
3. adj. In use or existing. | |
Hunanese is a living language. | |
4. adj. Of everyday life. | |
These living conditions are deplorable. | |
5. adj. True to life. | |
This is the living image of Fidel Castro. | |
6. adj. Used as an intensifier. | |
He almost beat the living daylights out of me. | |
7. n. The state of being alive. | |
8. n. (with "the", a demonstrative, or a possessive) Those who are alive. | |
Respect for the dead does not preclude respect for the living. | |
9. n. Financial means; a means of maintaining life; livelihood | |
What do you do for a living? | |
10. n. A style of life. | |
plain living | |
11. n. (canon law) A position in a church (usually the Church of England) that has attached to it a source of income; an ecclesiastical benefice. | |
live |
1. v. (intransitive) To be alive; to have life. | |
He's not expected to live for more than a few months. | |
2. v. (intransitive) To have permanent residence somewhere, to inhabit, to reside. | |
I live at 2a Acacia Avenue. He lives in LA, but he's staying here over the summer. | |
3. v. (intransitive) To survive; to persevere; to continue. | |
Her memory lives in that song. | |
4. v. (intransitive, hyperbole) To cope. | |
You'll just have to live with it! I can't live in a world without you. | |
5. v. (intransitive) To pass life in a specified manner. | |
It is difficult to live in poverty. And they lived happily ever after. | |
6. v. To spend, as one's life; to pass; to maintain; to continue in, constantly or habitually. | |
To live an idle or a useful life. | |
7. v. To act habitually in conformity with; to practice; to exemplify in one's way of life. | |
8. v. (intransitive) To outlast danger; to float (said of a ship, boat, etc). | |
No ship could live in such a storm. | |
9. v. (intransitive, followed by "on" or "upon") To maintain or support one's existence; to provide for oneself; to feed; to subsist. | |
It is hard to live on the minimum wage. They lived on stale bread. | |
10. v. (intransitive, informal) To make the most of life; to experience a full, rich life. | |
I'm sick of spending every day studying at home: I want to go out there and live! | |
11. adj. (only used attributively) Having life; that is alive. | |
The post office will not ship live animals. | |
12. adj. Being in existence; actual | |
He is a live example of the consequences of excessive drinking. | |
13. adj. Having active properties; being energized. | |
14. adj. Operational; being in actual use rather than in testing. | |
15. adj. Taken from a living animal. | |
live feathers | |
16. adj. (engineering) Imparting power; having motion. | |
the live spindle of a lathe | |
a live, or driving, axle | |
17. adj. (sports) Still in active play. | |
a live ball | |
18. adj. (broadcasting) Seen or heard from a broadcast, as it happens. | |
The station presented a live news program every evening. | |
19. adj. Of a performance or speech, in person. | |
This nightclub has a live band on weekends. | |
20. adj. Of a recorded performance, made in front of an audience, or not having been edited after recording. | |
21. adj. Of firearms or explosives, capable of causing harm. | |
The air force practices dropping live bombs on the uninhabited island. | |
22. adj. (circuitry) Electrically charged or energized, usually indicating that the item may cause electrocution if touched. | |
Use caution when working near live wires. | |
23. adj. (poker) Being a bet which can be raised by the bettor, usually in reference to a blind or straddle. | |
Tommy's blind was live, so he was given the option to raise. | |
24. adj. Featuring humans; not animated, in the phrases “live actors” or “live action”. | |
25. adj. Being in a state of ignition; burning. | |
a live coal; live embers | |
26. adj. (obsolete) Full of earnestness; active; wide awake; glowing. | |
a live man, or orator | |
27. adj. (obsolete) Vivid; bright. | |
28. adv. Of an event, as it happens; in real time; direct. | |
The concert was broadcast live by radio. | |
29. adv. Of making a performance or speech, in person. | |
He'll be appearing live at the auditorium. | |
30. n. (obsolete) life. | |
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. | |
many |
1. det. An indefinite large number of. | |
many people enjoy playing chess; there are many different ways to cook a meal | |
2. pron. A collective mass of people. | |
Democracy must balance the rights of the few against the will of the many | |
A great many do not understand this. | |
3. pron. An indefinite large number of people or things. | |
Many are called, but few are chosen. | |
4. n. A multitude; a great aggregate; a mass of people; the generality; the common herd. | |
5. n. A considerable number. | |
parts |
1. n. plural of part | |
2. n. (plural only) Intellectual ability or learning. | |
He was a man of great parts but little virtue. | |
3. n. (plural only, usually with “these”, colloquial) Vicinity, region. | |
4. n. (plural only, euphemistic) The genitals, short for private parts. | |
5. v. third-person singular present indicative of part | |
part |
1. n. A portion; a component. | |
2. n. A fraction of a whole. | |
Gaul is divided into three parts. | |
3. n. A distinct element of something larger. | |
The parts of a chainsaw include the chain, engine, and handle. | |
4. n. A group inside a larger group. | |
5. n. Share, especially of a profit. | |
I want my part of the bounty. | |
6. n. A unit of relative proportion in a mixture. | |
The mixture comprises one part sodium hydroxide and ten parts water. | |
7. n. 3.5 centiliters of one ingredient in a mixed drink. | |
8. n. A section of a document. | |
Please turn to Part I, Chapter 2. | |
9. n. A section of land; an area of a country or other territory; region. | |
10. n. (math, dated) A factor. | |
3 is a part of 12. | |
11. n. (US) A room in a public building, especially a courtroom. | |
12. n. Duty; responsibility. | |
to do one’s part | |
13. n. Position or role (especially in a play). | |
We all have a part to play. | |
14. n. (music) The melody played or sung by a particular instrument, voice, or group of instruments or voices, within a polyphonic piece. | |
The first violin part in this concerto is very challenging. | |
15. n. Each of two contrasting sides of an argument, debate etc.; "hand". | |
16. n. (US) The dividing line formed by combing the hair in different directions. | |
The part of his hair was slightly to the left. | |
17. n. (Judaism) In the Hebrew lunisolar calendar, a unit of time equivalent to 3⅓ seconds. | |
18. n. A constituent of character or capacity; quality; faculty; talent; usually in the plural with a collective sense. | |
19. v. (intransitive) To leave someone's company; (rare, poetic, literary) to go way; to die; to get rid of something, stop using it. | |
20. v. To cut hair with a parting; shed. | |
21. v. To divide in two. | |
to part the curtains | |
22. v. (intransitive) To be divided in two or separated; shed. | |
A rope parts. His hair parts in the middle. | |
23. v. (transitive, now rare) To divide up; to share. | |
24. v. (obsolete) To have a part or share; to partake. | |
25. v. To separate or disunite; to remove from contact or contiguity; to sunder. | |
26. v. (obsolete) To hold apart; to stand or intervene between. | |
27. v. To separate by a process of extraction, elimination, or secretion. | |
to part gold from silver | |
28. v. (transitive, archaic) To leave; to quit. | |
29. v. (transitive, internet) To leave (an IRC channel). | |
30. adj. Fractional; partial. | |
Fred was part owner of the car. | |
31. adv. Partly; partially; fractionally. | |
Part finished | |
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. | |
world |
1. n. (with "the") Human collective existence; existence in general. | |
There will always be lovers, till the world’s end. | |
2. n. The Universe. | |
3. n. (with "the") The Earth. | |
People are dying of starvation all over the world. | |
4. n. A planet, especially one which is inhabited or inhabitable. | |
Our mission is to travel the galaxy and find new worlds. | |
5. n. (by extension) Any other body, astronomical body which many be inhabitable, such as a satellite, natural satellite. | |
6. n. A very large extent of country. | |
the New World | |
7. n. (fiction, speculation) A realm, such as planet, containing one or multiple society, societies of being, beings, specially intelligent ones. | |
the world of Narnia; the Wizarding World of Harry Potter; a zombie world | |
8. n. An individual or group perspective or social setting. | |
In the world of boxing, good diet is all-important. | |
Welcome to my world. | |
9. n. (computing) The part of an operating system distributed with the kernel, consisting of the shell and other programs. | |
10. n. (tarot) The twenty-second trump or major arcana card of the tarot. | |
11. n. (informal) A great amount. | |
Taking a break from work seems to have done her a world of good. | |
You're going to be in a world of trouble when your family finds out. | |
a world of difference; a world of embarrassment | |
12. n. (archaic) Age, era | |
13. v. To consider or cause to be considered from a global perspective; to consider as a global whole, rather than making or focussing on national or other distinctions; compare globalise. | |
widely |
1. adv. commonly; generally; to a great degree | |
2. adv. separated by a large distance | |
distributed |
1. v. simple past tense and past participle of distribute | |
distribute |
1. v. To divide into portions and dispense. | |
He distributed the bread amongst his followers. | |
2. v. To supply to retail outlets. | |
The agency distributes newspapers to local shops. | |
3. v. To deliver or pass out. | |
A network of children distributes flyers to every house. | |
4. v. To scatter or spread. | |
I raked the soil then distributed grass seed. | |
5. v. To apportion (more or less evenly). | |
The robot's six legs distributed its weight over a wide area. | |
6. v. To classify or separate into categories. | |
The database distributed verbs into transitive and intransitive segments. | |
7. v. (intransitive, mathematics) To be distributive. | |
8. v. (printing) To separate (type which has been used) and return it to the proper boxes in the cases. | |
9. v. (printing) To spread (ink) evenly, as upon a roller or a table. | |
10. v. (logic) To employ (a term) in its whole extent; to take as universal in one premise. | |