mother |
1. n. A (human) female who (a) parents a child (b) gives birth to a baby (c) donates a fertilized egg or (d) donates a body cell which has resulted in a clone. Sometimes used in reference to a pregnant fema | |
I am visiting my mother(a) today. — My sister-in-law has just become a mother.(b) — Nutrients and oxygen obtained by the mother(c) are conveyed to the fetus. | |
2. n. A female parent of an animal. | |
The lioness was a mother of four cubs. | |
3. n. (figuratively) A female ancestor. | |
4. n. (figuratively) A source or origin. | |
The Mediterranean was mother to many cultures and languages. | |
5. n. Something that is the greatest or most significant of its kind. (See mother of all). | |
6. n. (when followed by a surname) A title of respect for one's mother-in-law. | |
Mother Smith, meet my cousin, Doug Jones. | |
7. n. (figuratively) Any elderly woman, especially within a particular community. | |
8. n. (figuratively) Any person or entity which performs mothering. | |
9. n. The principal piece of an astrolabe, into which the others are fixed. | |
10. n. The female superior or head of a religious house; an abbess, etc. | |
11. n. (obsolete) Hysterical passion; hysteria. | |
12. v. (chiefly transitive) To give birth to or produce (as its female parent) a child. (Compare father.) | |
13. v. To treat as a mother would be expected to treat her child; to nurture. | |
14. n. A stringy, mucilaginous or film- or membrane-like substance (consisting of acetobacters) which develops in fermenting alcoholic liquids (such as wine, or cider), and turns the alcohol into acetic acid | |
pieces of mother, adding mother to vinegar | |
15. v. To cause to contain mother, , that substance which develops in fermenting alcohol and turns it into vinegar. | |
mothered oil / vinegar / wine | |
16. v. (intransitive, of an alcohol) To develop mother. | |
17. n. (euphemistic, coarse, slang) Motherfucker. | |
18. n. (euphemistic, colloquial) A striking example. | |
19. n. alternative form of moth-er | |
we |
1. pron. (personal) The speakers/writers, or the speaker/writer and at least one other person (not the person being addressed). (This is the exclusive we.) | |
2. pron. (personal) The speaker(s)/writer(s) and the person(s) being addressed. (This is the inclusive we.) | |
3. pron. (personal) The speaker/writer alone. (This use of we is the editorial we, used by writers and others, including royalty—the royal we—as a less personal substitute for I. The reflexive case of this sen | |
4. pron. (personal) The plural form of you, including everyone being addressed. | |
How are we all tonight? | |
5. pron. (personal, generally considered patronising) A second- or third-person pronoun for a person in the speaker's care. | |
How are we feeling this morning? | |
6. det. The speakers/writers, or the speaker/writer and at least one other person. | |
We Canadians like to think of ourselves as different. | |
must |
1. v. (modal auxiliary, defective) To do with certainty; indicates that the speaker is certain that the subject will have executed the predicate. | |
If it has rained all day, it must be very wet outside. | |
You picked one of two, and it wasn't the first: it must have been the second. | |
2. v. (modal auxiliary, defective) To do as a requirement; indicates that the sentence subject is required as an imperative or directive to execute the sentence predicate, with failure to do so resulting in | |
You must arrive in class on time. — the requirement is an imperative | |
This door handle must be rotated fully. — the requirement is a directive | |
Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do. (Bible, Acts 9:6) | |
3. v. (modal auxiliary, defective) said about something that is very likely, probable, or certain to be true | |
The children must be asleep by now. | |
4. n. Something that is mandatory or required. | |
If you'll be out all day, a map is a must. | |
5. n. The property of being stale or musty. | |
6. n. Something that exhibits the property of being stale or musty. | |
7. n. Fruit juice that will ferment or has fermented, usually grapes. | |
8. v. To make musty. | |
9. v. (intransitive) To become musty. | |
10. n. A time during which male elephants exhibit increased levels of sexual activity and aggressiveness (also spelled musth). | |
11. n. An elephant in this sexual and aggressive state. | |
allow |
1. v. To grant, give, admit, accord, afford, or yield; to let one have. | |
to allow a servant his liberty; to allow a free passage; to allow one day for rest | |
2. v. To acknowledge; to accept as true; to concede; to accede to an opinion. | |
to allow a right; to allow a claim; to allow the truth of a proposition | |
3. v. To grant (something) as a deduction or an addition; especially to abate or deduct. | |
To allow a sum for leakage. | |
4. v. To grant license to; to permit; to consent to. | |
To allow a son to be absent. | |
Smoking allowed only in designated areas. | |
5. v. To not bar or obstruct. | |
Although I don't consent to their holding such meetings, I will allow them for the time being. | |
6. v. (intransitive) To acknowledge or concede. | |
7. v. To take into account by making an allowance. | |
When calculating a budget for a construction project, always allow for contingencies. | |
8. v. To render physically possible. | |
9. v. (transitive, obsolete) To praise; to approve of; hence, to sanction. | |
10. v. (obsolete) To sanction; to invest; to entrust. | |
11. v. (transitive, obsolete) To like; to be suited or pleased with. | |
for |
1. conj. (dated) Because. | |
2. prep. Towards. | |
The astronauts headed for the moon. | |
3. prep. Directed at, intended to belong to. | |
I have something for you. | |
4. prep. In honor of, or directed towards the celebration or event of. | |
We're having a birthday party for Janet. | |
The cake is for Tom and Helen's anniversary. | |
The mayor gave a speech for the charity gala. | |
5. prep. Supporting. | |
All those for the motion raise your hands. | |
6. prep. Because of. | |
He wouldn't apologize; and just for that, she refused to help him. | |
(UK usage) He looks better for having lost weight. | |
She was the worse for drink. | |
7. prep. Over a period of time. | |
I've lived here for three years. | |
They fought for days over a silly pencil. | |
8. prep. Throughout an extent of space. | |
9. prep. On behalf of. | |
I will stand in for him. | |
10. prep. Instead of, or in place of. | |
11. prep. In order to obtain or acquire. | |
I am aiming for completion by the end of business Thursday. | |
He's going for his doctorate. | |
Do you want to go for coffee? | |
People all over Greece looked to Delphi for answers. | |
Can you go to the store for some eggs? | |
I'm saving up for a car. | |
Don't wait for an answer. | |
What did he ask you for? | |
12. prep. In the direction of: marks a point one is going toward. | |
Run for the hills! | |
He was headed for the door when he remembered. | |
13. prep. By the standards of, usually with the implication of those standards being lower than one might otherwise expect. | |
Fair for its day. | |
She's spry for an old lady. | |
14. prep. Despite, in spite of. | |
15. prep. Used to indicate the subject of a to-infinitive. | |
For that to happen now is incredibly unlikely. (=It is incredibly unlikely that that will happen now.) | |
All I want is for you to be happy. (=All I want is that you be happy.) | |
16. prep. (chiefly US) Out of; used to indicate a fraction, a ratio | |
In term of base hits, Jones was three for four on the day | |
17. prep. (cricket) Used as part of a score to indicate the number of wickets that have fallen. | |
At close of play, England were 305 for 3. | |
18. prep. To be, or as being. | |
19. prep. (obsolete) (Indicating that in prevention of which, or through fear of which, anything is done.) | |
20. prep. Used to construe various verbs (see the entries for individual phrasal verbs). | |
their |
1. det. Belonging to, from, of, or relating to, them (plural). | |
they will meet tomorrow at their convenience; this is probably their cat | |
2. det. Belonging to someone (one person, singular). | |
3. adv. misspelling of there | |
4. contraction. misspelling of they’re | |
sense |
1. n. Any of the manners by which living beings perceive the physical world: for humans sight, smell, hearing, touch, taste. | |
2. n. Perception through the intellect; apprehension; awareness. | |
a sense of security | |
3. n. Sound practical or moral judgment. | |
It's common sense not to put metal objects in a microwave oven. | |
4. n. The meaning, reason, or value of something. | |
You don’t make any sense. | |
the true sense of words or phrases | |
5. n. A natural appreciation or ability. | |
A keen musical sense | |
6. n. (pragmatics) The way that a referent is presented. | |
7. n. (semantics) A single conventional use of a word; one of the entries for a word in a dictionary. | |
8. n. (mathematics) One of two opposite directions in which a vector (especially of motion) may point. See also polarity. | |
9. n. (mathematics) One of two opposite directions of rotation, clockwise versus anti-clockwise. | |
10. n. (biochemistry) referring to the strand of a nucleic acid that directly specifies the product. | |
11. v. To use biological senses: to either smell, watch, taste, hear or feel. | |
12. v. To instinctively be aware. | |
She immediately sensed her disdain. | |
13. v. To comprehend. | |
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. | |
propriety |
1. n. (obsolete) The particular character or essence of someone or something; individuality. | |
2. n. (obsolete) A characteristic; an attribute. | |
3. n. (now rare) A piece of land owned by someone; someone's property. | |
4. n. (obsolete) More generally, something owned by someone; a possession. | |
5. n. The fact of possessing something; ownership. | |
6. n. (now rare) Correct language or pronunciation. | |
7. n. Suitability, fitness; the quality of being appropriate. | |
8. n. (often, in the plural) Correctness in behaviour and morals; good manners, seemliness. | |