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. | |
flash |
1. v. To briefly illuminate a scene. | |
He flashed the light at the water, trying to see what made the noise. | |
2. v. To blink; to shine or illuminate intermittently. | |
The light flashed on and off. | |
3. v. To be visible briefly. | |
The scenery flashed by quickly. | |
4. v. To make visible briefly. | |
A number will be flashed on the screen. | |
The special agents flashed their badges as they entered the building. | |
She flashed me a smile from the car window. | |
5. v. (ambitransitive, informal) To briefly, and in most cases inadvertently, expose one's naked body or underwear, or part of it, in public. (Contrast streak.) | |
Her skirt was so short that she flashed her underpants as she was getting out of her car. | |
6. v. (transitive, informal) To show or expose an "inappropriate" part of the body to someone for humorous reasons or as an act of contempt. | |
7. v. (figurative) To break forth like a sudden flood of light; to show a momentary brilliance. | |
8. v. To flaunt; to display in a showy manner. | |
He flashed a wad of hundred-dollar bills. | |
9. v. To communicate quickly. | |
The news services flashed the news about the end of the war to all corners of the globe. | |
to flash a message along the telephone wires; to flash conviction on the mind | |
10. v. To move, or cause to move, suddenly. | |
Flash forward to the present day. | |
11. v. To telephone a person, only allowing the phone to ring once, in order to request a call back. | |
Susan flashed Jessica, and then Jessica called her back, because Susan didn't have enough credit on her phone to make the call. | |
12. v. (intransitive, of liquid) To evaporate suddenly. (See flash evaporation.) | |
13. v. (transitive, climbing) To climb (a route) successfully on the first attempt. | |
14. v. (computing) To write to the memory of an updatable component such as a BIOS chip or games cartridge. | |
15. v. (glassmaking) To cover with a thin layer, as objects of glass with glass of a different colour. | |
16. v. (juggling) To perform a flash. | |
17. v. (metallurgy) To release the pressure from a pressurized vessel. | |
18. v. (transitive, obsolete) To trick up in a showy manner. | |
19. v. (transitive, obsolete) To strike and throw up large bodies of water from the surface; to splash. | |
20. n. A sudden, short, temporary burst of light. | |
21. n. A very short amount of time. | |
22. n. (colloquial, US) A flashlight; an electric torch. | |
23. n. (figuratively) A sudden and brilliant burst, as of genius or wit. | |
24. n. Material left around the edge of a moulded part at the parting line of the mould. | |
25. n. (Britain, Cockney) The strips of bright cloth or buttons worn around the collars of market traders. | |
26. n. (juggling) A pattern where each prop is thrown and caught only once. | |
27. n. (linguistics) A language, created by a minority to maintain cultural identity, that cannot be understood by the ruling class. | |
28. n. (photography) (clipping of camera flash, , a device used to produce a flash of artificial light to help illuminate a scene) | |
29. n. (archaic) A preparation of capsicum, burnt sugar, etc., for colouring liquor to make it look stronger. | |
30. n. (military) A form of military insignia. | |
I just got my first commando flash. | |
31. adj. (British and New Zealand, slang) Expensive-looking and demanding attention; stylish; showy. | |
32. adj. (of a person) Having plenty of ready money. | |
33. adj. (of a person) Liable to show off expensive possessions or money. | |
34. adj. (US, slang) Occurring very rapidly, almost instantaneously. | |
35. n. A pool. | |
36. n. (engineering) A reservoir and sluiceway beside a navigable stream, just above a shoal, so that the stream may pour in water as boats pass, and thus bear them over the shoal. | |
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. | |
lightning |
1. n. A flash of light produced by short-duration, high-voltage discharge of electricity within a cloud, between clouds, or between a cloud and the earth. | |
Although we did not see the lightning, we did hear the thunder. | |
2. n. A discharge of this kind. | |
The lightning was hot enough to melt the sand. | |
That tree was hit by lightning. | |
3. n. (figuratively) Anything that moves very fast. | |
4. n. The act of making bright, or the state of being made bright; enlightenment; brightening, as of the mental powers. | |
5. adj. Extremely fast or sudden. | |
6. adj. Moving at the speed of lightning. | |
7. v. (impersonal, childish, or nonstandard) To produce lightning. | |