| 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. | |
| variety |
| 1. n. The quality of being varied; diversity. | |
| Variety is the spice of life. | |
| 2. n. A specific variation of something. | |
| 3. n. A number of different things. | |
| 4. n. A state of constant change. | |
| 5. n. (taxonomy) A rank in a taxonomic classification, below species and subspecies. | |
| 6. n. (cybernetics) The total number of distinct states of a system. | |
| 7. n. (cybernetics) Logarithm of the base 2 of the total number of distinct states of a system. | |
| 8. n. (linguistics) A term used for a specific form of a language, neutral to whether that form is a dialect, accent, register, etc. and to its prestige level. | |
| 9. n. (algebra, esp. universal algebra) The class of all algebraic structures of a given signature satisfying a given set of identities. | |
| 10. n. The kind of theatrical entertainment given in variety shows. | |
| 11. n. The production of, or performance in, variety shows. | |
| 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. | |
| this |
| 1. det. The (thing) here (used in indicating something or someone nearby). | |
| This classroom is where I learned to read and write. | |
| 2. det. The known (thing) (used in indicating something or someone just mentioned). | |
| They give the appearance of knowing what they're doing. It's this appearance that lets them get away with so much. | |
| 3. det. The known (thing) (used in indicating something or someone about to be mentioned). | |
| When asked what he wanted for his birthday, he gave this reply: “…” | |
| 4. det. A known (thing) (used in first mentioning a person or thing that the speaker does not think is known to the audience). Compare with "a certain ...". | |
| I met this woman the other day who's allergic to wheat. I didn't even know that was possible! | |
| There's just this nervous mannerism that Bob has with his hands, and it drives me crazy. | |
| 5. det. (Of a unit of time) which is current. | |
| It snowed this week. | |
| 6. adv. To the degree or extent indicated. | |
| I need this much water. | |
| We've already come this far, we can't turn back now. | |
| 7. pron. The thing, item, etc. being indicated. | |
| This is the excellent foppery of the world, that, when we are sick in fortune,—often the surfeit of our own behaviour,—we make guilty of our disasters the sun, the moon, and the stars(...) — Sh | |
| 8. n. (philosophy) Something being indicated that is here; one of these. | |
| 9. interj. (Internet slang) Indicates the speaker's strong approval or agreement with the previous material. | |
| substance |
| 1. n. Physical matter; material. | |
| 2. n. The essential part of anything; the most vital part. | |
| 3. n. Substantiality; solidity; firmness. | |
| Some textile fabrics have little substance. | |
| 4. n. Material possessions; estate; property; resources. | |
| a man of substance | |
| 5. n. A form of matter that has constant chemical composition and characteristic properties. | |
| 6. n. Drugs (illegal narcotics) | |
| substance abuse | |
| 7. n. (theology) Hypostasis. | |
| 8. v. (rare, transitive) To give substance to; to make real or substantial. | |
