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. | |
light |
1. n. (physics) Visible electromagnetic radiation. The human eye can typically detect radiation (light) in the wavelength range of about 400 to 750 nanometers. Nearby shorter and longer wavelength ranges, a | |
As you can see, this spacious dining-room gets a lot of light in the mornings. | |
2. n. A source of illumination. | |
Put that light out! | |
3. n. Spiritual or mental illumination; enlightenment, useful information. | |
Can you throw any light on this problem? | |
4. n. (in the now rare) Facts; pieces of information; ideas, concepts. | |
5. n. A notable person within a specific field or discipline. | |
Picasso was one of the leading lights of the cubist movement. | |
6. n. (painting) The manner in which the light strikes a picture; that part of a picture which represents those objects upon which the light is supposed to fall; the more illuminated part of a landscape or | |
7. n. A point of view, or aspect from which a concept, person or thing is regarded. | |
I'm really seeing you in a different light today. | |
Magoon's governorship in Cuba was viewed in a negative light by many Cuban historians for years thereafter. | |
8. n. A flame or something used to create fire. | |
Hey, buddy, you got a light? | |
9. n. A firework made by filling a case with a substance which burns brilliantly with a white or coloured flame. | |
a Bengal light | |
10. n. A window, or space for a window in architecture. | |
This facade has eight south-facing lights. | |
11. n. The series of squares reserved for the answer to a crossword clue. | |
The average length of a light on a 15×15 grid is 7 or 8. | |
12. n. (informal) A cross-light in a double acrostic or triple acrostic. | |
13. n. Open view; a visible state or condition; public observation; publicity. | |
14. n. The power of perception by vision. | |
15. n. The brightness of the eye or eyes. | |
16. n. A traffic light, or, by extension, an intersection controlled by one or more that will face a traveler who is receiving instructions. | |
To get to our house, turn right at the third light. | |
17. v. To start (a fire). | |
We lit the fire to get some heat. | |
18. v. To set fire to; to set burning; to kindle. | |
She lit her last match. | |
19. v. To illuminate. | |
I used my torch to light the way home through the woods in the night. | |
20. v. (intransitive) To become ignited; to take fire. | |
This soggy match will not light. | |
21. v. To attend or conduct with a light; to show the way to by means of a light. | |
22. adj. Having light. | |
The room is light when the Sun shines through the window. | |
23. adj. Pale in colour. | |
She had light skin. | |
24. adj. (of coffee) Served with extra milk or cream. | |
I like my coffee light. | |
25. adj. Of low weight; not heavy. | |
My bag was much lighter once I had dropped off the books. | |
26. adj. Lightly-built; designed for speed or small loads. | |
We took a light aircraft down to the city. | |
27. adj. Gentle; having little force or momentum. | |
This artist clearly had a light, flowing touch. | |
28. adj. Easy to endure or perform. | |
light duties around the house | |
29. adj. Low in fat, calories, alcohol, salt, etc. | |
This light beer still gets you drunk if you have enough of it. | |
30. adj. Unimportant, trivial, having little value or significance. | |
I made some light comment, and we moved on. | |
31. adj. (rail transport, of a locomotive, usually with "run") travelling with no carriages, wagons attached | |
32. adj. (obsolete) Unchaste, wanton. | |
33. adj. Not heavily armed; armed with light weapons. | |
light troops; a troop of light horse | |
34. adj. Not encumbered; unembarrassed; clear of impediments; hence, active; nimble; swift. | |
35. adj. (dated) Easily influenced by trifling considerations; unsteady; unsettled; volatile. | |
a light, vain person; a light mind | |
36. adj. Indulging in, or inclined to, levity; lacking dignity or solemnity; frivolous; airy. | |
Ogden Nash was a writer of light verse. | |
37. adj. Not quite sound or normal; somewhat impaired or deranged; dizzy; giddy. | |
38. adj. Not of the legal, standard, or usual weight; clipped; diminished. | |
light coin | |
39. adj. Easily interrupted by stimulation. | |
light sleep; light anesthesia | |
40. adv. Carrying little. | |
I prefer to travel light. | |
41. n. (curling) A stone that is not thrown hard enough. | |
42. v. (nautical) To unload a ship, or to jettison material to make it lighter | |
43. v. To lighten; to ease of a burden; to take off. | |
44. v. To find by chance. | |
I lit upon a rare book in a second-hand bookseller's. | |
45. v. To stop upon (of eyes or a glance); to notice | |
46. v. (archaic) To alight; to land or come down. | |
She fell out of the window but luckily lit on her feet. | |
wind |
1. n. Real or perceived movement of atmospheric air usually caused by convection or differences in air pressure. | |
The wind blew through her hair as she stood on the deck of the ship. | |
As they accelerated onto the motorway, the wind tore the plywood off the car's roof-rack. | |
The winds in Chicago are fierce. | |
There was a sudden gust of wind. | |
2. n. Air artificially put in motion by any force or action. | |
the wind of a cannon ball; the wind of a bellows | |
3. n. The ability to breathe easily. | |
After the second lap he was already out of wind. | |
The fall knocked the wind out of him. | |
4. n. News of an event, especially by hearsay or gossip. (Used with catch, often in the past tense.) | |
Steve caught wind of Martha's dalliance with his best friend. | |
5. n. (India, and Japan) One of the five basic elements (see Wikipedia article on the Classical elements). | |
6. n. (colloquial) Flatus. | |
Eww. Someone just passed wind. | |
7. n. Breath modulated by the respiratory and vocal organs, or by an instrument. | |
8. n. (music) The woodwind section of an orchestra. Occasionally also used to include the brass section. | |
9. n. A direction from which the wind may blow; a point of the compass; especially, one of the cardinal points, which are often called the "four winds". | |
10. n. Types of playing-tile in the game of mah-jongg, named after the four winds. | |
11. n. A disease of sheep, in which the intestines are distended with air, or rather affected with a violent inflammation. It occurs immediately after shearing. | |
12. n. Mere breath or talk; empty effort; idle words. | |
13. n. A bird, the dotterel. | |
14. n. (boxing, slang) The region of the solar plexus, where a blow may paralyze the diaphragm and cause temporary loss of breath or other injury. | |
15. v. To blow air through a wind instrument or horn to make a sound. | |
16. v. To cause (someone) to become breathless, often by a blow to the abdomen. | |
The boxer was winded during round two. | |
17. v. (reflexive) To exhaust oneself to the point of being short of breath. | |
I can’t run another step — I’m winded. | |
18. v. (British) To turn a boat or ship around, so that the wind strikes it on the opposite side. | |
19. v. To expose to the wind; to winnow; to ventilate. | |
20. v. To perceive or follow by scent. | |
The hounds winded the game. | |
21. v. To rest (a horse, etc.) in order to allow the breath to be recovered; to breathe. | |
22. v. To turn coils of (a cord or something similar) around something. | |
to wind thread on a spool or into a ball | |
23. v. To tighten the spring of a clockwork mechanism such as that of a clock. | |
Please wind that old-fashioned alarm clock. | |
24. v. To entwist; to enfold; to encircle. | |
25. v. To travel, or to cause something to travel, in a way that is not straight. | |
Vines wind round a pole. The river winds through the plain. | |
26. v. To have complete control over; to turn and bend at one's pleasure; to vary or alter or will; to regulate; to govern. | |
27. v. To introduce by insinuation; to insinuate. | |
28. v. To cover or surround with something coiled about. | |
to wind a rope with twine | |
29. v. To make a winding motion. | |
30. n. The act of winding or turning; a turn; a bend; a twist. | |
31. n. topics, en, Atmospheric phenomena | |
from |
1. prep. With the source or provenance of or at. | |
This wine comes from France. | |
I got a letter from my brother. | |
2. prep. With the origin, starting point or initial reference of or at. | |
He had books piled from floor to ceiling. | |
He left yesterday from Chicago. | |
Face away from the wall! | |
3. prep. (mathematics, now uncommon) Denoting a subtraction operation. | |
20 from 31 leaves 11. | |
4. prep. With the separation, exclusion or differentiation of. | |
An umbrella protects from the sun. | |
He knows right from wrong. | |
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. | |
west |
1. n. One of the four principal compass points, specifically 270°, conventionally directed to the left on maps; the direction of the setting sun at an equinox, abbreviated as W. | |
2. adj. Situated or lying in or toward the west; westward. | |
3. adj. (meteorology) Of wind: from the west. | |
4. adj. Of or pertaining to the west; western. | |
5. adj. From the West; occidental. | |
6. adj. (ecclesiastial) Designating, or situated in, that part of a church which is opposite to, and farthest from, the east, or the part containing the chancel and choir. | |
7. adv. Towards the west; westwards. | |
8. v. To move to the west; (of the sun) to set. | |