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. | |
formal |
1. adj. Being in accord with established forms. | |
She spoke formal English, without any dialect. | |
2. adj. Official. | |
I'd like to make a formal complaint. | |
3. adj. Relating to the form or structure of something. | |
Formal linguistics ignores the vocabulary of languages and focuses solely on their grammar. | |
4. adj. Relating to formation. | |
The formal stage is a critical part of any child's development. | |
5. adj. Ceremonial or traditional. | |
Formal wear must be worn at my wedding! | |
6. adj. Proper, according to strict etiquette; not casual. | |
He's always very formal, and I wish he'd relax a bit. | |
7. adj. Organized; well-structured and planned. | |
When they became a formal club the rowers built a small boathouse. | |
8. adj. (mathematics) Relating to mere manipulation and construction of strings of symbols, without regard to their meaning. | |
Formal series are defined without any reference to convergence. | |
9. n. Formalin. | |
10. n. An evening gown. | |
11. n. An event with a formal dress code. | |
Jenny took Sam to her Year 12 formal. | |
12. n. (programming) A formal parameter. | |
lengthy |
1. adj. Having length; long and overextended, especially in time rather than dimension. | |
a lengthy text | |
a lengthy discussion | |
a laborious and lengthy process | |
She died last night after a lengthy illness. | |
They received lengthy prison terms. | |
2. adj. Speaking or writing at length; long-winded. | |
exposition |
1. n. The action of exposing something to something, such as skin to the sunlight. | |
2. n. (authorship) The act or process of declaring or describing something through either speech or writing; the portions and aspects of a piece of writing that exist mainly to describe the setting, charact | |
This essay has too much exposition in it. | |
My reviewer said she couldn't picture the setting for my story, so I'm improving the exposition. | |
3. n. (obsolete) The act of expulsion, or being expelled, from a place. | |
4. n. An event at which goods, artwork and cultural displays are open for the public to view. | |
The first prototype was unveiled at an exposition. | |
5. n. (authorship) An essay or speech in which any topic is discussed in detail. | |
I turned my research into an exposition on the traditional music of Borneo. | |
6. n. (authorship) An opening section in fiction, in which background information about the characters, events or setting is conveyed. | |
7. n. (music) The opening section of a fugue; the opening section of a movement in sonata form | |
8. n. The action of putting something out to public view; for example in a display or show. | |
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. | |
some |
1. pron. A certain number, at least one. | |
Some enjoy spicy food, others prefer it milder. | |
2. pron. An indefinite quantity. | |
Can I have some of them? | |
3. pron. An indefinite amount, a part. | |
please give me some of the cake; everyone is wrong some of the time | |
4. det. A certain proportion of, at least one. | |
Some people like camping. | |
5. det. An unspecified quantity or number of. | |
Would you like some grapes? | |
6. det. An unspecified amount of (something un). | |
Would you like some water? | |
After some persuasion, he finally agreed. | |
7. det. A certain, an unspecified or unknown. | |
I've just met some guy who said he knew you. | |
The sequence S converges to zero for some initial value v. | |
8. det. A considerable quantity or number of; approximately. | |
He had edited the paper for some years. | |
9. det. (informal) A remarkable. | |
He is some acrobat! | |
10. adv. Of a measurement: approximately, roughly | |
I guess he must have weighed some 90 kilos. | |
Some 30,000 spectators witnessed the feat. | |
Some 4,000 acres of land were flooded. | |
subject |
1. adj. Likely to be affected by or to experience something. | |
a country subject to extreme heat | |
Menu listings and prices are subject to change. | |
He's subject to sneezing fits. | |
2. adj. Conditional upon. | |
The local board sets local policy, subject to approval from the State Board. | |
3. adj. Placed or situated under; lying below, or in a lower situation. | |
4. adj. Placed under the power of another; owing allegiance to a particular sovereign or state. | |
5. n. (grammar) In a clause: the word or word group (usually a noun phrase) that is dealt with. In active clauses with verbs denoting an action, the subject and the actor are usually the same. | |
In the sentence ‘The mouse is eaten by the cat in the kitchen.’, ‘The mouse’ is the subject, ‘the cat’ being the agent. | |
6. n. An actor; one who takes action. | |
The subjects and objects of power. | |
7. n. The main topic of a paper, work of art, discussion, field of study, etc. | |
8. n. A particular area of study. | |
Her favorite subject is physics. | |
9. n. A citizen in a monarchy. | |
I am a British subject. | |
10. n. A person ruled over by another, especially a monarch or state authority. | |
11. n. (music) The main theme or melody, especially in a fugue. | |
12. n. A human, animal or an inanimate object that is being examined, treated, analysed, etc. | |
13. n. (philosophy) A being that has subjective experiences, subjective consciousness, or a relationship with another entity. | |
14. n. (logic) That of which something is stated. | |
15. n. (math) The variable in terms of which an expression is defined. | |
Making x the subject of xsup - 2 − 6x + 3y = 0, we have x = 3 ± √(9 − 3y). | |
16. v. (transitive, construed with to) To cause (someone or something) to undergo a particular experience, especially one that is unpleasant or unwanted. | |
either |
1. det. One of two. | |
You can have it in either colour. | |
2. det. Each of two; both. | |
There is a locomotive at either end of the train, one pulling and the other pushing. | |
3. pron. One or other of two people or things. | |
He made me two offers, but I did not accept either. | |
4. pron. (obsolete) Both, each of two or more. | |
5. adv. (conjunctive, after a negative) As well. | |
I don't like him, and I don't like her either. | |
6. conj. (Introduces the first of two (or occasionally more) options or possibilities, the second (or last) of which is introduced by "or"). | |
Either you eat your dinner or you go to your room. | |
You can have either potatoes or rice with that, but not both. | |
You'll be either early, late, or on time. | |
spoken |
1. adj. Relating to speech | |
2. adj. Speaking in a specified way | |
soft-spoken | |
well-spoken | |
3. v. past participle of speak | |
speak |
1. v. (intransitive) To communicate with one's voice, to say words out loud. | |
I was so surprised I couldn't speak. | |
You're speaking too fast. | |
2. v. (intransitive) To have a conversation. | |
It's been ages since we've spoken. | |
3. v. (by extension) To communicate or converse by some means other than orally, such as writing or facial expressions. | |
He spoke of it in his diary. | |
Speak to me only with your eyes. | |
Actions speak louder than words. | |
4. v. (intransitive) To deliver a message to a group; to deliver a speech. | |
This evening I shall speak on the topic of correct English usage. | |
5. v. To be able to communicate in a language. | |
He speaks Mandarin fluently. | |
6. v. To utter. | |
I was so surprised that I couldn't speak a word. | |
7. v. To communicate (some fact or feeling); to bespeak, to indicate. | |
8. v. (informal, transitive, sometimes humorous) To understand (as though it were a language). | |
Sorry, I don't speak idiot. | |
So you can program in C. But do you speak C++? | |
9. v. (intransitive) To produce a sound; to sound. | |
10. v. (transitive, archaic) To address; to accost; to speak to. | |
11. n. language, jargon, or terminology used uniquely in a particular environment or group. | |
Corporate speak; IT speak. | |
12. n. Speach, conversation. | |
13. n. (dated) a low class bar, a speakeasy. | |
speek |
|
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. | |
written |
1. adj. Of, relating, or characteristic of writing (i.e., of that which has been written). | |
2. adj. Having been written. | |
I can speak Japanese fairly well, but I have no understanding whatsoever of written Japanese. | |
3. v. past participle of write | |
Has your girlfriend written you a letter yet? | |
write |
1. v. To form letters, words or symbols on a surface in order to communicate. | |
The pupil wrote his name on the paper. | |
Your son has been writing on the wall. | |
2. v. To be the author of (a book, article, poem, etc.). | |
My uncle writes newspaper articles for The Herald. | |
3. v. To send written information to. | |
(UK) Please write to me when you get there. | |
(US) Please write me when you get there. | |
4. v. To show (information, etc) in written form. | |
The due day of the homework is written in the syllabus. | |
5. v. (intransitive) To be an author. | |
I write for a living. | |
6. v. (computing, intransitive, with to) To record data mechanically or electronically. | |
The computer writes to the disk faster than it reads from it. | |
7. v. (transitive, South Africa, Canada, of an exam, a document, etc.) To fill in, to complete using words. | |
I was very anxious to know my score after I wrote the test. | |
8. v. To impress durably; to imprint; to engrave. | |
truth written on the heart | |
9. v. To make known by writing; to record; to prove by one's own written testimony; often used reflexively. | |
10. n. (computing) The operation of storing data, as in memory or onto disk. | |
How many writes per second can this hard disk handle? | |