many |
1. det. An indefinite large number of. | |
many people enjoy playing chess; there are many different ways to cook a meal | |
2. pron. A collective mass of people. | |
Democracy must balance the rights of the few against the will of the many | |
A great many do not understand this. | |
3. pron. An indefinite large number of people or things. | |
Many are called, but few are chosen. | |
4. n. A multitude; a great aggregate; a mass of people; the generality; the common herd. | |
5. n. A considerable number. | |
people |
1. n. Used as plural of person; a body of human beings considered generally or collectively; a group of two or more persons. | |
Why do so many people commit suicide? | |
2. n. Persons forming or belonging to a particular group, such as a nation, class, ethnic group, country, family, etc; folk; a community. | |
3. n. A group of persons regarded as being employees, followers, companions or subjects of a ruler. | |
4. n. One's colleagues or employees. | |
5. n. A person's ancestors, relatives or family. | |
My people lived through the Black Plague and the Thirty Years War. | |
6. n. The mass of a community as distinguished from a special class (elite); the commonalty; the populace; the vulgar; the common crowd; the citizens. | |
7. n. plural of person. | |
8. v. To stock with people or inhabitants; to fill as with people; to populate. | |
9. v. (intransitive) To become populous or populated. | |
10. v. To inhabit; to occupy; to populate. | |
use |
1. n. The act of using. | |
the use of torture has been condemned by the United Nations; there is no use for your invention | |
2. n. (followed by "of") Usefulness, benefit. | |
What's the use of a law that nobody follows? | |
3. n. A function; a purpose for which something may be employed. | |
This tool has many uses. | |
4. n. Occasion or need to employ; necessity. | |
I have no further use for these textbooks. | |
5. n. (obsolete, rare) Interest for lent money; premium paid for the use of something; usury. | |
6. n. (archaic) Continued or repeated practice; usage; habit. | |
7. n. (obsolete) Common occurrence; ordinary experience. | |
8. n. (religion) The special form of ritual adopted for use in any diocese. | |
the Sarum, or Canterbury, use; the Hereford use; the York use; the Roman use; etc. | |
9. n. (forging) A slab of iron welded to the side of a forging, such as a shaft, near the end, and afterward drawn down, by hammering, so as to lengthen the forging. | |
10. v. To utilize or employ. | |
11. v. To employ; to apply; to utilize. | |
Use this knife to slice the bread. | |
We can use this mathematical formula to solve the problem. | |
12. v. (transitive, often with up) To expend; to consume by employing. | |
I used the money they allotted me. | |
We should use up most of the fuel. | |
She used all the time allotted to complete the test. | |
13. v. To exploit. | |
You never cared about me; you just used me! | |
14. v. To consume (alcohol, drugs, etc), especially regularly. | |
He uses cocaine. I have never used drugs. | |
15. v. (intransitive) To consume a previously specified substance, especially a drug to which one is addicted. | |
Richard began experimenting with cocaine last year; now he uses almost every day. | |
16. v. (transitive, with auxiliary "could") To benefit from; to be able to employ or stand. | |
I could use a drink. My car could use a new coat of paint. | |
17. v. To accustom; to habituate. (Now common only in participial form. Note: This usage uses the nounal pronunciation of the word rather than the typically verbal one.) | |
soldiers who are used to hardships and danger (still common) | |
to use the soldiers to hardships and danger (now rare) | |
18. v. (reflexive, obsolete, with "to") To become accustomed, to accustom oneself. | |
19. v. (intransitive, now rare, literary) To habitually do; to be wont to do. | |
20. v. (intransitive, now rare, literary) To habitually employ; to be wont to employ. | |
21. v. (intransitive, past tense with infinitive) To habitually do. See used to. | |
I used to get things done. | |
22. v. (dated) To behave toward; to act with regard to; to treat. | |
to use an animal cruelly | |
23. v. (reflexive, obsolete) To behave, act, comport oneself. | |
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. | |
nicotine |
1. n. (organic compound) An alkaloid (C10H14N2), commonly occurring in the tobacco plant. In small doses it is a habit-forming stimulant; in larger doses it is toxic and is often used in insecticides. | |
2. n. (figuratively) tobacco, cigarettes | |
He is addicted to nicotine. | |
patch |
1. n. A piece of cloth, or other suitable material, sewed or otherwise fixed upon a garment to repair or strengthen it, especially upon an old garment to cover a hole. | |
His sleeves had patches on the elbows where different fabric had been sewn on to replace material that had worn away. | |
2. n. A small piece of anything used to repair damage or a breach; as, a patch on a kettle, a roof, etc. | |
I can't afford to replace the roof, which is what it really needs. I'll have the roofer apply a patch. | |
3. n. A repair intended to be used for a limited time; (differs from previous usage in that it is intended to be a temporary fix and the size of the repair is irrelevant). This usage can mean that the repai | |
Before you can fix a dam, you have to apply a patch to the hole so that everything can dry off.or that it is temporary because it is not meant to last long or will be removed as soon as a prope | |
"This patch should hold until you reach the city," the mechanic said as he patted the car's hood. | |
4. n. A small, usually contrasting but always somehow different or distinct, part of something else (location, time, size) | |
The world economy had a rough patch in the 1930s. | |
To me, a normal cow is white with black patches, but Sarah's from Texas and most of the cows there have solid brown, black, or red coats. | |
Doesn't that patch of clouds looks like a bunny? | |
When ice skating, be sure to stay away from reeds: there are always thin patches of ice there, and you could fall through. | |
I never get first place because on track eight, right after you pass the windmill, there's a patch of oil in the road that always gets me. | |
5. n. (specifically) A small area, a small plot of land or piece of ground. | |
Scattered patches of trees or growing corn. | |
6. n. An area of professional responsibility | |
7. n. (historical) A small piece of black silk stuck on the face or neck to heighten beauty by contrast, worn by ladies in the 17th and 18th centuries; an imitation beauty mark. | |
8. n. (medicine) A piece of material used to cover a wound. | |
9. n. (medicine) An adhesive piece of material, impregnated with a drug, which is worn on the skin, the drug being slowly absorbed over a period of time. | |
Many people use a nicotine patch to wean themselves off of nicotine. | |
10. n. (medicine) A cover worn over a damaged eye, an eyepatch. | |
He had scratched his cornea so badly that his doctor told him to wear a patch. | |
11. n. A block on the muzzle of a gun, to do away with the effect of dispart, in sighting. | |
12. n. (computing) A patch file, a file used for input to a patch program or that describes changes made to a computer file or files, usually changes made to a computer program that fix a programming bug. | |
13. n. A small piece of material that is manually passed through a gun barrel to clean it. | |
14. n. A piece of greased cloth or leather used as wrapping for a rifle ball, to make it fit the bore. | |
15. n. (often, patch cable, patch cord etc.; see also patch panel) A cable connecting two pieces of electrical equipment. | |
16. n. A sound setting for a musical synthesizer (originally selected by means of a patch cable). | |
17. v. To mend by sewing on a piece or pieces of cloth, leather, or the like | |
MY coat needs patching. | |
18. v. To mend with pieces; to repair by fastening pieces on. | |
19. v. To make out of pieces or patches, like a quilt. | |
20. v. To join or unite the pieces of; to patch the skirt. | |
21. v. A temporary, removable electronic connection, as one between two components in a communications system. | |
22. v. (generally with the particle "up") To repair or arrange in a hasty or clumsy manner | |
a truce has been patched up. | |
23. v. (computing) To make the changes a patch describes; to apply a patch to the files in question. Hence: | |
24. v. To fix or improve a computer program without a complete upgrade. | |
25. v. To make a quick and possibly temporary change to a program. | |
26. v. To connect two pieces of electrical equipment using a cable. | |
I'll need to patch the preamp output to the mixer. | |
27. n. (archaic) A paltry fellow; a rogue; a ninny; a fool. | |
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 | |
wean |
1. v. To cease giving milk to an offspring; to accustom and reconcile (a child or young animal) to a want or deprivation of mother's milk; to take from the breast or udder. | |
The cow has weaned her calf. | |
2. v. (intransitive) To cease to depend on the mother for nourishment. | |
The kittens are finally weaning. | |
3. v. (transitive, by extension) To cause to quit something to which one is addicted or habituated. | |
He managed to wean himself off heroin. | |
4. v. (intransitive, by extension) To cease to depend. | |
She is weaning from her addiction to tobacco. | |
5. n. (Scotland, Ulster) A small child. | |
themselves |
1. pron. The reflexive case of they, the third-person plural personal pronoun. The group of people, animals or objects previously mentioned, as the object of a verb or following a preposition (also used for em | |
(reflexively) They’ve hurt themselves. | |
(after a preposition) They fought among themselves. | |
(for emphasis) They are going to try climbing Mount Everest themselves. | |
2. pron. The reflexive case of they, the third-person singular personal pronoun. The single person previously mentioned, as the object of a verb or following a preposition (also used for emphasis). | |
(reflexively) Would whoever stole my phone please make themselves known. | |
(after a preposition) I don't want anyone to fight among themselves. | |
(for emphasis) Everyone must do it themselves. | |
off |
1. adv. In a direction away from the speaker or object. | |
He drove off in a cloud of smoke. | |
2. adv. Into a state of non-operation; into a state of non-existence. | |
Please switch off the light when you leave. | |
die off | |
3. adv. So as to be removed or separated. | |
He bit off more than he could chew. | |
Some branches were sawn off. | |
4. adj. Inoperative, disabled. | |
All the lights are off. | |
5. adj. Rancid, rotten. | |
This milk is off! | |
6. adj. (cricket) In, or towards the half of the field away from the batsman's legs; the right side for a right-handed batsman. | |
7. adj. Less than normal, in temperament or in result. | |
sales are off this quarter | |
8. adj. Circumstanced (as in well off, better off, poorly off). | |
9. adj. Started on the way. | |
off to see the wizard | |
And they're off! Whatsmyname takes an early lead, with Remember The Mane behind by a nose. | |
10. adj. Far; off to the side. | |
the off horse or ox in a team, in distinction from the nigh or near horse | |
11. adj. Designating a time when one is not strictly attentive to business or affairs, or is absent from a post, and, hence, a time when affairs are not urgent. | |
He took an off day for fishing. an off year in politics; the off season | |
12. adj. (of a dish on a menu) Presently unavailable. | |
— I'll have the chicken please. | |
— Sorry, chicken's off today. | |
13. adj. Right-hand (in relation to the side of a horse or a vehicle). | |
14. prep. Used to indicate movement away from a position on | |
I took it off the table. | |
Come off the roof! | |
15. prep. (colloquial) Out of the possession of. | |
He didn't buy it off him. He stole it off him. | |
16. prep. Away from or not on. | |
He's off the computer, but he's still on the phone. | |
Keep off the grass. | |
17. prep. Disconnected or subtracted from. | |
We've been off the grid for three days now. | |
He took 20% off the list price. | |
18. prep. Distant from. | |
We're just off the main road. | |
The island is 23 miles off the cape. | |
19. prep. No longer wanting or taking. | |
He's been off his feed since Tuesday. | |
He's off his meds again. | |
20. prep. Placed after a number (of products or parts, as if a unit), in commerce or engineering(topics, en, Engineering). | |
Tantalum bar 6 off 3/8" Dia × 12" — Atom, Great Britain Atomic Energy Authority, 1972 | |
samples submitted … 12 off Thermistors type 1K3A531 … — BSI test report for shock and vibration testing, 2000 | |
I'd like to re-order those printer cartridges, let's say 5-off. | |
21. v. (transitive, slang) To kill. | |
He got in the way so I had him offed. | |
22. v. (transitive, Singapore, Philippines) To switch off. | |
Can you off the light? | |
23. n. (rare) Beginning; starting point. | |
He has been very obviously an untrustworthy narrator right from the off. | |
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. | |
nicotine |
1. n. (organic compound) An alkaloid (C10H14N2), commonly occurring in the tobacco plant. In small doses it is a habit-forming stimulant; in larger doses it is toxic and is often used in insecticides. | |
2. n. (figuratively) tobacco, cigarettes | |
He is addicted to nicotine. | |