it |
1. pron. The third-person singular personal pronoun that is normally used to refer to an inanimate object or abstract entity, also often used to refer to animals. | |
Put it over there. | |
Take each day as it comes. | |
I heard the sound of the school bus - it was early today. | |
2. pron. A third-person singular personal pronoun used to refer to a child, especially of unknown gender. | |
She took the baby and held it in her arms. | |
3. pron. Used to refer to someone being identified, often on the phone, but not limited to this situation. | |
It's me. John. | |
Is it her? | |
4. pron. The impersonal pronoun, used without referent as the subject of an impersonal verb or statement. (known as the dummy pronoun or weather it) | |
It is nearly 10 o’clock. | |
It’s 10:45 read ten-forty-five. | |
It’s very cold today. | |
It’s lonely without you. | |
5. pron. The impersonal pronoun, used without referent in various short idioms. | |
stick it out | |
live it up | |
rough it | |
6. pron. The impersonal pronoun, used as a placeholder for a delayed subject, or less commonly, object; known as the dummy pronoun or, more formally in linguistics, a syntactic expletive. The delayed subject i | |
It is easy to see how she would think that. (with the infinitive clause headed by to see) | |
I find it odd that you would say that. (with the noun clause introduced by that) | |
It is hard seeing you so sick. (with the gerund seeing) | |
He saw to it that everyone would vote for him. (with the noun clause introduced by that) | |
It is not clear if the report was true. (with the noun clause introduced by if) | |
7. pron. All or the end; something after which there is no more. | |
Are there more students in this class, or is this it? | |
That's it—I'm not going to any more candy stores with you. | |
8. pron. (chiefly pejorative, offensive) A third-person singular personal pronoun used to refer to an animate referent who is transgender or is neither female nor male. | |
9. pron. (obsolete) (Followed by an omitted and understood relative pronoun): That which; what. | |
10. det. (obsolete) its | |
11. n. One who is neither a he nor a she; a creature; a dehumanized being. | |
12. n. The person who chases and tries to catch the other players in the playground game of tag. | |
In the next game, Adam and Tom will be it… | |
13. n. (British) The game of tag. | |
Let's play it at breaktime. | |
14. n. Sex appeal, especially that which goes beyond beauty. | |
15. n. (euphemism) Sexual activity. | |
caught them doing it | |
16. adj. (colloquial) Most fashionable. | |
was |
1. v. first-person singular past of be. | |
2. v. third-person singular past of be. | |
be |
1. v. (intransitive, now literary) To exist; to have real existence. | |
2. v. (with there, or dialectally it, as dummy subject) To exist. | |
There is just one woman in town who can help us. (or, dialectally:) It is just one woman in town who can help us. | |
3. v. (intransitive) To occupy a place. | |
The cup is on the table. | |
4. v. (intransitive) To occur, to take place. | |
When will the meeting be? | |
5. v. (intransitive, in perfect tenses, without predicate) Elliptical form of "be here", "go to and return from" or similar. | |
The postman has been today, but my tickets have still not yet come. | |
I have been to Spain many times. | |
Moscow, huh? I've never been, but it sounds fascinating. | |
6. v. (transitive, copulative) Used to indicate that the subject and object are the same. | |
Knowledge is bliss. | |
Hi, I’m Jim. | |
7. v. (transitive, copulative, mathematics) Used to indicate that the values on either side of an equation are the same. | |
3 times 5 is fifteen. | |
8. v. (transitive, copulative) Used to indicate that the subject plays the role of the predicate nominal. | |
François Mitterrand was president of France from 1981 to 1995. | |
9. v. (transitive, copulative) Used to connect a noun to an adjective that describes it. | |
The sky is blue. | |
10. v. (transitive, copulative) Used to indicate that the subject has the qualities described by a noun or noun phrase. | |
The sky is a deep blue today. | |
11. v. (transitive, auxiliary) Used to form the passive voice. | |
The dog was drowned by the boy. | |
12. v. (transitive, auxiliary) Used to form the continuous forms of various tenses. | |
The woman is walking. | |
I shall be writing to you soon. | |
We liked to chat while we were eating. | |
13. v. (archaic, auxiliary) Used to form the perfect aspect with certain intransitive verbs, most of which indicate motion. Often still used for "to go". | |
14. v. (transitive, auxiliary) Used to form future tenses, especially the future periphrastic. | |
I am to leave tomorrow. | |
I would drive you, were I to obtain a car. | |
15. v. (transitive, copulative) Used to link a subject to a measurement. | |
This building is three hundred years old. | |
I am 75 kilograms. | |
He’s about 6 feet tall. | |
16. v. (transitive, copulative, with a cardinal numeral) Used to state the age of a subject in years. | |
I’m 20. (= I am 20 years old.) | |
17. v. (with a dummy subject) it Used to indicate the time of day. | |
It is almost eight. (= It is almost eight o’clock.) | |
It’s 8:30 read eight-thirty in Tokyo. | |
What time is it there? It’s night. | |
18. v. (With since) Used to indicate passage of time since the occurrence of an event. | |
It has been three years since my grandmother died. (similar to My grandmother died three years ago, but emphasizes the intervening period) | |
It had been six days since his departure, when I received a letter from him. | |
19. v. (often, impersonal, with it as a dummy subject) Used to indicate weather, air quality, or the like. | |
It is hot in Arizona, but it is not usually humid. | |
Why is it so dark in here? | |
20. v. (dynamic/lexical "be", especially in progressive tenses, conjugated non-suppletively in the present tense, see usage notes) To exist or behave in a certain way. | |
"What do we do?" "We be ourselves.". | |
Why is he being nice to me? | |
harder |
1. adj. comparative form of hard: more hard | |
He is more likely to succeed because he tries harder. | |
Steel is harder than copper so we use steel tools to cut copper pipes. | |
2. n. (South Africa) Any of several species of mullet often used to make bokkoms. | |
to |
1. part. A particle used for marking the following verb as an infinitive. | |
I want to leave. | |
He asked me what to do. | |
I don’t know how to say it. | |
I have places to go and people to see. | |
2. part. As above, with the verb implied. | |
"Did you visit the museum?" "I wanted to, but it was closed.". | |
If he hasn't read it yet, he ought to. | |
3. part. A particle used to create phrasal verbs. | |
I have to do laundry today. | |
4. prep. Indicating destination: In the direction of, and arriving at. | |
We are walking to the shop. | |
5. prep. Used to indicate purpose. | |
He devoted himself to education. | |
They drank to his health. | |
6. prep. Used to indicate result of action. | |
His face was beaten to a pulp. | |
7. prep. Used after an adjective to indicate its application. | |
similar to ..., relevant to ..., pertinent to ..., I was nice to him, he was cruel to her, I am used to walking. | |
8. prep. (obsolete,) As a. | |
With God to friend (with God as a friend); with The Devil to fiend (with the Devil as a foe); lambs slaughtered to lake (lambs slaughtered as a sacrifice); t | |
9. prep. (arithmetic) Used to indicate a ratio or comparison. | |
one to one = 1:1 | |
ten to one = 10:1. | |
I have ten dollars to your four. | |
10. prep. (arithmetic) Used to indicate that the preceding term is to be raised to the power of the following value; indicates exponentiation. | |
Three squared or three to the second power is nine. | |
Three to the power of two is nine. | |
Three to the second is nine. | |
11. prep. Used to indicate the indirect object. | |
I gave the book to him. | |
12. prep. (time) Preceding. | |
ten to ten = 9:50; We're going to leave at ten to (the hour). | |
13. prep. Used to describe what something consists of or contains. | |
Anyone could do this job; there's nothing to it. | |
There's a lot of sense to what he says. | |
14. prep. (Canada, UK, Newfoundland, West Midlands) At. | |
Stay where you're to and I'll come find you, b'y. | |
15. adv. Toward a closed, touching or engaging position. | |
Please push the door to. | |
16. adv. (nautical) Into the wind. | |
17. adv. misspelling of too | |
maintain |
1. v. (obsolete, transitive) To support (someone), to back up or assist (someone) in an action. | |
2. v. To keep up; to preserve; to uphold (a state, condition etc.). | |
3. v. To declare or affirm (a clause) to be true; to assert. | |
His |
1. pron. honoraltcaps, his | |
2. det. Belonging to him. | |
3. det. (dated) Belonging to a person of unspecified gender. | |
4. det. (obsolete) Its; belonging to it. (Now only when implying personification.) | |
5. det. (archaic) Used as a genitive marker in place of ’s after a noun, especially a masculine noun ending in -s, to express the possessive case. | |
Ahab his mark for Ahab's mark. | |
Sejanus his Fall | |
6. pron. That which belongs to him; the possessive case of he, used without a following noun. | |
The decision was his to live with. | |
7. pron. alternative spelling of His | |
8. n. plural of hi | |
sobriety |
1. n. The quality or state of being sober. | |
2. n. The quality or state of not being intoxicated. | |
3. n. The quality or state of being grave or earnestly thoughtful. | |
4. n. The state or quality of being unhurried; a state of calm. | |
5. n. A state of moderation or seriousness. | |
6. n. Modesty in color or style. | |
7. n. Soundness of judgement. | |
when |
1. adv. (interrogative) Used to introduce questions about time. | |
When will they arrive? | |
2. adv. Used to introduce indirect questions about time. | |
Do you know when they arrived? | |
Do you know when they will arrive? | |
Do you know when they arrive? | |
3. adv. At an earlier and less prosperous time. | |
He's mister high and mighty now, but I remember him when. | |
4. adv. (indirect question) Used to refer to doubts about time. | |
5. adv. (relative) At which, on which, during which. Often omitted or replaced with that. | |
That was the day when the Twin Towers fell. | |
6. conj. At what time. | |
They were told when to sleep. | |
He doesn't know when to stop talking. | |
7. conj. At such time as. | |
I’m happiest when I’m working. | |
8. conj. At the time of the action of the following clause or participle phrase. | |
It was raining when I came yesterday. | |
The show will begin when I get there. | |
The game is over when the referee says it is. | |
Be careful when crossing the street. | |
Pay attention when spoken to. | |
When (you are) angry, count to ten before speaking or acting. | |
That time when the dog stole the turkey from the table. | |
9. conj. Since; given the fact that. | |
I don't see the point of putting up Christmas decorations when I am the only person who is going to see them. | |
10. pron. (interrogative) What time; which time. | |
Since when do I need your permission? | |
11. n. The time at which something happens. | |
A good article will cover the who, the what, the when, the where, the why and the how. | |
12. interj. That's enough, a command to stop adding something, especially an ingredient of food or drink. | |
His |
1. pron. honoraltcaps, his | |
2. det. Belonging to him. | |
3. det. (dated) Belonging to a person of unspecified gender. | |
4. det. (obsolete) Its; belonging to it. (Now only when implying personification.) | |
5. det. (archaic) Used as a genitive marker in place of ’s after a noun, especially a masculine noun ending in -s, to express the possessive case. | |
Ahab his mark for Ahab's mark. | |
Sejanus his Fall | |
6. pron. That which belongs to him; the possessive case of he, used without a following noun. | |
The decision was his to live with. | |
7. pron. alternative spelling of His | |
8. n. plural of hi | |
team |
1. n. A set of draught animals, such as two horses in front of a carriage. | |
2. n. Any group of people involved in the same activity, especially sports or work. | |
We need more volunteers for the netball team. | |
The IT manager leads a team of three software developers. | |
3. n. (obsolete) A group of animals moving together, especially young ducks. | |
4. n. (legal) A royalty or privilege granted by royal charter to a lord of a manor, of having, keeping, and judging in his court, his bondmen, neifes, and villains, and their offspring, or suit, that is, go | |
5. v. (intransitive) To form a group, as for sports or work. | |
They teamed to complete the project. | |
6. v. (intransitive, by extension) To go together well; to harmonize. | |
7. v. To convey or haul with a team. | |
to team lumber | |
8. v. To form together into a team. | |
to team oxen | |
9. v. To give work to a gang under a subcontractor. | |
10. v. misspelling of teem | |
began |
1. v. simple past tense of begin | |
2. v. (obsolete) past participle of begin | |
begin |
1. v. To start, to initiate or take the first step into something. | |
I began playing the piano at the age of five. Now that everyone is here, we should begin the presentation. | |
2. v. (intransitive) To be in the first stage of some situation | |
The program begins at 9 o'clock on the dot. I rushed to get to class on time, but the lesson had already begun. - | |
3. v. (intransitive) To come into existence. | |
4. n. (nonstandard) Beginning; start. | |
to |
1. part. A particle used for marking the following verb as an infinitive. | |
I want to leave. | |
He asked me what to do. | |
I don’t know how to say it. | |
I have places to go and people to see. | |
2. part. As above, with the verb implied. | |
"Did you visit the museum?" "I wanted to, but it was closed.". | |
If he hasn't read it yet, he ought to. | |
3. part. A particle used to create phrasal verbs. | |
I have to do laundry today. | |
4. prep. Indicating destination: In the direction of, and arriving at. | |
We are walking to the shop. | |
5. prep. Used to indicate purpose. | |
He devoted himself to education. | |
They drank to his health. | |
6. prep. Used to indicate result of action. | |
His face was beaten to a pulp. | |
7. prep. Used after an adjective to indicate its application. | |
similar to ..., relevant to ..., pertinent to ..., I was nice to him, he was cruel to her, I am used to walking. | |
8. prep. (obsolete,) As a. | |
With God to friend (with God as a friend); with The Devil to fiend (with the Devil as a foe); lambs slaughtered to lake (lambs slaughtered as a sacrifice); t | |
9. prep. (arithmetic) Used to indicate a ratio or comparison. | |
one to one = 1:1 | |
ten to one = 10:1. | |
I have ten dollars to your four. | |
10. prep. (arithmetic) Used to indicate that the preceding term is to be raised to the power of the following value; indicates exponentiation. | |
Three squared or three to the second power is nine. | |
Three to the power of two is nine. | |
Three to the second is nine. | |
11. prep. Used to indicate the indirect object. | |
I gave the book to him. | |
12. prep. (time) Preceding. | |
ten to ten = 9:50; We're going to leave at ten to (the hour). | |
13. prep. Used to describe what something consists of or contains. | |
Anyone could do this job; there's nothing to it. | |
There's a lot of sense to what he says. | |
14. prep. (Canada, UK, Newfoundland, West Midlands) At. | |
Stay where you're to and I'll come find you, b'y. | |
15. adv. Toward a closed, touching or engaging position. | |
Please push the door to. | |
16. adv. (nautical) Into the wind. | |
17. adv. misspelling of too | |
fall |
1. n. The act of moving to a lower position under the effect of gravity. | |
2. n. A reduction in quantity, pitch, etc. | |
3. n. (chiefly North America, obsolete elsewhere) The time of the year when the leaves typically fall from the trees; autumn; the season of the year between the autumnal equinox and the winter solstice. | |
4. n. A loss of greatness or status. | |
the fall of Rome | |
5. n. That which falls or cascades. | |
6. n. (sport) A crucial event or circumstance. | |
7. n. (cricket, of a wicket) The action of a batsman being out. | |
8. n. (curling) A defect in the ice which causes stones thrown into an area to drift in a given direction. | |
9. n. (wrestling) An instance of a wrestler being pinned to the mat. | |
10. n. A hairpiece for women consisting of long strands of hair on a woven backing, intended primarily to cover hair loss. | |
11. n. (informal, US) Blame or punishment for a failure or misdeed. | |
He set up his rival to take the fall. | |
12. n. The part of the rope of a tackle to which the power is applied in hoisting (usu. plural). | |
Have the goodness to secure the falls of the mizzen halyards. | |
13. n. See falls | |
14. n. An old Scots unit of measure equal to six ells. | |
15. n. A short, flexible piece of leather forming part of a bullwhip, placed between the thong and the cracker. | |
16. v. (heading, intransitive) To move downwards. | |
17. v. To move to a lower position under the effect of gravity. | |
Thrown from a cliff, the stone fell 100 feet before hitting the ground. | |
18. v. To come down, to drop or descend. | |
The rain fell at dawn. | |
19. v. To come to the ground deliberately, to prostrate oneself. | |
He fell to the floor and begged for mercy. | |
20. v. To be brought to the ground. | |
21. v. To be moved downwards. | |
22. v. (obsolete) To let fall; to drop. | |
23. v. (obsolete) To sink; to depress. | |
to fall the voice | |
24. v. (US) To fell; to cut down. | |
to fall a tree | |
25. v. (intransitive) To happen, to change negatively. | |
26. v. (copulative) To become. | |
She has fallen ill. The children fell asleep in the back of the car. When did you first fall in love? | |
27. v. To occur (on a certain day of the week, date, or similar); said of an instance of a recurring event such as a holiday or date. | |
Thanksgiving always falls on a Thursday. Last year, Commencement fell on June 3. | |
28. v. (intransitive) To collapse; to be overthrown or defeated. | |
Rome fell to the Goths in 410 AD. | |
29. v. (intransitive, formal, euphemistic) To die, especially in battle or by disease. | |
This is a monument to all those who fell in the First World War. | |
30. v. (intransitive) To become lower (in quantity, pitch, etc.). | |
The candidate's poll ratings fell abruptly after the banking scandal. | |
31. v. (followed by a determining word or phrase) To become; to be affected by or befallen with a calamity; to change into the state described by words follow | |
Our senator fell into disrepute because of the banking scandal. | |
32. v. (intransitive) To be allotted to; to arrive through chance, fate, or inheritance. | |
And so it falls to me to make this important decision. The estate fell to his brother; the kingdom fell into the hands of his rivals. | |
33. v. (transitive, obsolete) To diminish; to lessen or lower. | |
34. v. (transitive, obsolete) To bring forth. | |
to fall lambs | |
35. v. (intransitive, obsolete) To issue forth into life; to be brought forth; said of the young of certain animals. | |
36. v. (intransitive) To descend in character or reputation; to become degraded; to sink into vice, error, or sin. | |
37. v. (intransitive) To become ensnared or entrapped; to be worse off than before. | |
to fall into error; to fall into difficulties | |
38. v. (intransitive) To assume a look of shame or disappointment; to become or appear dejected; said of the face. | |
39. v. (intransitive) To happen; to come to pass; to chance or light (upon). | |
40. v. (intransitive) To begin with haste, ardour, or vehemence; to rush or hurry. | |
After arguing, they fell to blows. | |
41. v. (intransitive) To be dropped or uttered carelessly. | |
An unguarded expression fell from his lips. | |
apart |
1. adv. Placed separately (in regard to space or time). | |
2. adv. In a state of separation, of exclusion, or of distinction, as to purpose, use, or character, or as a matter of thought; separately; independently. | |
Consider the two propositions apart. | |
3. adv. Aside; away. | |
4. adv. In or into two or more parts. | |
to take a piece of machinery apart. | |
5. post. (following its objective complement) Apart from. | |
A handful of examples apart, an English preposition precedes its complement. | |
6. adj. Exceptional, distinct. | |
a world apart | |
7. adj. Having been taken apart; disassembled, in pieces. | |
8. n. misspelling of a part | |