on |
1. adj. In the state of being active, functioning or operating. | |
2. adj. Performing according to schedule. | |
Are we still on for tonight? | |
Is the show still on? | |
3. adj. (chiefly UK, informal, usually negative) Acceptable, appropriate. | |
You can't do that; it's just not on. | |
4. adj. (informal) Destined, normally in the context of a challenge being accepted; involved, doomed. | |
"Five bucks says the Cavs win tonight." ―"You're on!". | |
Mike just threw coffee onto Paul's lap. It's on now. | |
5. adj. (baseball, informal) Having reached a base as a runner and being positioned there, awaiting further action from a subsequent batter. | |
6. adj. (euphemistic) Menstruating. | |
7. adv. To an operating state. | |
turn the television on | |
8. adv. Along, forwards (continuing an action). | |
drive on, rock on | |
9. adv. In continuation, at length. | |
and so on. | |
He rambled on and on. | |
10. adv. (not US) Later. | |
Ten years on, nothing had changed in the village. | |
11. prep. Positioned at the upper surface of, touching from above. | |
on the table; on the couch | |
The parrot was sitting on Jim's shoulder. | |
12. prep. At or near; adjacent to. | |
Soon we'll pass a statue on the left. | |
The fleet is on the American coast. | |
Croton-on-Hudson, Rostov-on-Don, Southend-on-Sea | |
13. prep. Covering. | |
He wore old shoes on his feet. | |
14. prep. At the date of. | |
Born on the 4th of July. | |
15. prep. Some time during the day of. | |
I'll see you on Monday. The bus leaves on Friday. Can I see you on a different day? On Sunday I'm busy. | |
16. prep. Dealing with the subject of, about, or concerning something. | |
A book on history. The World Summit on the Information Society. | |
17. prep. Touching; hanging from. | |
The fruit ripened on the trees. The painting hangs on the wall. | |
18. prep. (informal) In the possession of. | |
I haven't got any money on me. | |
19. prep. Because of, or due to. | |
To arrest someone on suspicion of bribery. To contact someone on a hunch. | |
20. prep. Upon; at the time of (and often because of). | |
On Jack's entry, William got up to leave. | |
On the addition of ammonia, a chemical reaction begins. | |
21. prep. Paid for by. | |
The drinks are on me tonight, boys. The meal is on the house. I paid for the airfare and meals for my family, but the hotel room was on the company. | |
22. prep. Used to indicate a means or medium. | |
I saw it on television. Can't you see I'm on the phone? | |
23. prep. Indicating a means of subsistence. | |
They lived on ten dollars a week. The dog survived three weeks on rainwater. | |
24. prep. Away or occupied with (e.g. a scheduled activity). | |
He's on his lunch break. on vacation; on holiday | |
25. prep. Denoting performance or action by contact with the surface, upper part, or outside of anything; hence, by means of; with. | |
to play on a violin or piano | |
Her words made a lasting impression on my mind. | |
26. prep. Regularly taking (a drug). | |
You've been on these antidepressants far too long. He's acting so strangely, I think he must be on something. | |
27. prep. Under the influence of (a drug). | |
He's acting crazy because he's on crack right now. | |
28. prep. (mathematics) Having identical domain and codomain. | |
a function on | |
29. prep. (mathematics) HavingV^n as domain and V as codomain, for some set V and integer n. | |
an operator on | |
30. prep. (mathematics) Generated by. | |
the free group on four letters | |
31. prep. Supported by (the specified part of itself). | |
A table can't stand on two legs. After resting on his elbows, he stood on his toes, then walked on his heels. | |
32. prep. At a given time after the start of something; at. | |
33. prep. In addition to; besides; indicating multiplication or succession in a series. | |
heaps on heaps of food | |
mischief on mischief; loss on loss | |
34. prep. (obsolete, regional) of | |
35. prep. Indicating dependence or reliance; with confidence in. | |
I depended on them for assistance. | |
He will promise on certain conditions. | |
Do you ever bet on horses? | |
36. prep. Toward; for; indicating the object of an emotion. | |
Have pity or compassion on him. | |
37. prep. (obsolete) At the peril of, or for the safety of. | |
38. prep. In the service of; connected with; of the number of. | |
He is on a newspaper; I am on the committee. | |
39. prep. By virtue of; with the pledge of. | |
He affirmed or promised on his word, or on his honour. | |
40. prep. To the account or detriment of; denoting imprecation or invocation, or coming to, falling, or resting upon. | |
On us be all the blame. | |
A curse on him! | |
Please don't tell on her and get her in trouble. | |
He turned on her and has been her enemy ever since. | |
He went all honest on me, making me listen to his confession. | |
41. v. (transitive, Singapore, Philippines) to switch on | |
Can you on the light? | |
42. prep. (UK dialectal, Scotland) Without. | |
43. n. In the Japanese language, a pronunciation, or reading, of a kanji character that was originally based on the character's pronunciation in Chinese, contrasted with kun. | |
Most kanji have two kinds of reading, called "on" and "kun". | |
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. | |
contrary |
1. adj. Opposite; in an opposite direction; in opposition; adverse. | |
contrary winds | |
2. adj. Opposed; contradictory; inconsistent. | |
What may be "politically correct" could be contrary to the teachings of Jesus. | |
3. adj. Given to opposition; perverse; wayward. | |
a contrary disposition; a contrary child | |
4. adv. Contrarily | |
5. n. The opposite. | |
6. n. (logic) One of a pair of propositions that cannot both be simultaneously true. | |
7. v. (obsolete) To oppose; to frustrate. | |
8. v. (obsolete) To impugn. | |
9. v. (obsolete) To contradict (someone or something). | |
10. v. (obsolete) To do the opposite of (someone or something). | |
11. v. (obsolete) To act inconsistently or perversely; to act in opposition to. | |
12. v. (obsolete) To argue; to debate; to uphold an opposite opinion. | |
13. v. (obsolete) To be self-contradictory; to become reversed. | |
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 | |
only |
1. adj. Alone in a category. | |
He is the only doctor for miles. | |
The only people in the stadium were the fans: no players, coaches, or officials. | |
That was the only time I went to Turkey. | |
2. adj. Singularly superior; the best. | |
He is the only trombonist to recruit. | |
3. adj. Without sibling; without a sibling of the same gender. | |
He is their only son, in fact, an only child. | |
4. adj. (obsolete) Mere. | |
5. adv. Without others or anything further; exclusively. | |
My heart is hers, and hers only. The cat sat only on the mat. It kept off the sofa. | |
6. adv. No more than; just. | |
The cat only sat on the mat. It didn't scratch it. If there were only one more ticket! | |
7. adv. As recently as. | |
He left only moments ago. | |
8. adv. (obsolete) Above all others; particularly. | |
9. conj. Under the condition that; but. | |
10. conj. But; except. | |
I would enjoy running, only I have this broken leg. | |
11. n. An only child. | |
efforts |
1. n. plural of effort | |
effort |
1. n. The work involved in performing an activity; exertion. | |
It took a lot of effort to find a decent-sized, fully-furnished apartment within walking distance of the office. He made a conscious effort to not appear affected by the stories in | |
2. n. An endeavour. | |
Although he didn't win any medals, Johnson's effort at the Olympics won over many fans. | |
3. n. A force acting on a body in the direction of its motion. | |
4. v. (uncommon, intransitive) To make an effort. | |
5. v. (obsolete, transitive) To stimulate. | |
at |
1. prep. In, near, or in the general vicinity of a particular place. | |
Caesar was at Rome; at the corner of Fourth Street and Vine; at Jim’s house | |
2. prep. (indicating time) (Indicating occurrence in an instant of time or a period of time relatively short in context or from the speaker's perspective.) | |
at six o’clock; at closing time; at night. | |
3. prep. In the direction of (often in an unfocused or uncaring manner). | |
He threw the ball at me. He shouted at her. | |
4. prep. Denotes a price. | |
3 apples at 2¢ (each) The offer was at $30,000 before negotiations. | |
5. prep. Occupied in (activity). | |
men at work | |
6. prep. In a state of. | |
She is at sixes and sevens with him. They are at loggerheads over how best to tackle the fiscal cliff. The city was at the mercy of the occupying forces. | |
7. prep. Indicates a position on a scale or in a series. | |
Sell at 90. Tiger finished the round at tenth, seven strokes behind the leaders. I'm offering it—just to select customers—at cost. | |
8. prep. Because of. | |
to laugh at a joke mad at their comments | |
9. prep. Indicates a means, method, or manner. | |
10. prep. Holding a given speed or rate. | |
It is growing at the rate of 3% a year. Cruising along at fifty miles per hour. | |
11. prep. (used for skills (including in activities) or areas of knowledge) On the subject of; regarding. | |
The twins were both bad at chemistry. | |
He slipped at marksmanship over his extended vacation. | |
12. prep. (Ireland, stressed pronunciation) Bothering, irritating, causing discomfort to | |
13. n. The at sign (@). | |
14. n. (alt form, att) (Laos currency unit) | |
advancement |
1. n. The act of advancing, ; promotion to a higher place or dignity | |
the advancement of learning | |
2. n. The state of being advanced | |
3. n. An advance of money or value; payment in advance. | |
4. n. (legal) Property given, usually by a parent to a child, in advance of a future distribution. | |
were |
1. v. Second-person singular simple past tense indicative of be. | |
John, you were the only person to see him. | |
2. v. First-person plural simple past tense indicative of be. | |
We were about to leave. | |
3. v. Second-person plural simple past tense indicative of be. | |
Mary and John, you were right. | |
4. v. Third-person plural simple past tense indicative of be. | |
They were a fine group. | |
They were to be the best of friends from that day on. | |
5. v. Simple imperfect subjunctive in all persons of be. | |
I wish that it were Sunday. | |
I wish that I were with you. | |
* with "if" omitted, put first in an "if" clause: | |
*: Were it simply that she wore a hat, I would not be upset at all. (= If it were simply...) | |
*: Were father a king, we would have war. (= If father were a king,...) | |
6. v. (Northern England) was. | |
7. n. (obsolete) A fine for slaying a man; weregild. | |
8. n. (fandom) (The collective name for any kind of person that changes into another form under certain conditions, including the werewolf.) | |
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? | |
devoted |
1. v. simple past tense and past participle of devote | |
2. adj. Vowed; dedicated; consecrated. | |
3. adj. Strongly emotionally attached; very fond of someone or something. | |
Bob and Sara are devoted to their children. | |
4. adj. Zealous; characterized by devotion. | |
5. adj. (obsolete) Cursed; doomed. | |
devote |
1. v. To give one's time, focus one's efforts, commit oneself, etc. entirely for, on, or to a certain matter. | |
They devoted their lives to following Jesus Christ. | |
I devoted this afternoon to repainting my study, and nothing will get in my way. | |
2. v. To consign over; to doom. | |
to devote one to destruction | |
The city was devoted to the flames. | |
3. v. To execrate; to curse. | |
4. adj. (obsolete) Devoted; addicted; devout. | |
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 | |
helping |
1. n. A portion or serving, especially of food that one takes for oneself, or to which one helps oneself. | |
She eagerly took a second helping of ice cream. | |
2. n. (figurative) An amount or quantity | |
3. v. present participle of help | |
help |
1. n. Action given to provide assistance; aid. | |
I need some help with my homework. | |
2. n. (usually) Something or someone which provides assistance with a task. | |
He was a great help to me when I was moving house. | |
I've printed out a list of math helps. | |
3. n. Documentation provided with computer software, etc. and accessed using the computer. | |
I can't find anything in the help about rotating an image. | |
4. n. (usually) One or more people employed to help in the maintenance of a house or the operation of a farm or enterprise. | |
The help is coming round this morning to clean. | |
Most of the hired help is seasonal, for the harvest. | |
5. n. Correction of deficits, as by psychological counseling or medication or social support or remedial training. | |
His suicide attempts were a cry for help. | |
He really needs help in handling customer complaints. | |
“He’s a real road-rager.” / “Yup, he really needs help, maybe anger management.” | |
6. v. To provide assistance to (someone or something). | |
He helped his grandfather cook breakfast. | |
7. v. To contribute in some way to. | |
The white paint on the walls helps make the room look brighter. | |
If you want to get a job, it helps to have some prior experience. | |
8. v. (intransitive) To provide assistance. | |
She was struggling with the groceries, so I offered to help. | |
Please, help! | |
9. v. To avoid; to prevent; to refrain from; to restrain (oneself). Usually used in nonassertive contexts with can. | |
We couldn’t help noticing that you were late. | |
We couldn’t help but notice that you were late. | |
She’s trying not to smile, but she can’t help herself. | |
Can I help it if I'm so beautiful? | |
Can I help it that I fell in love with you? | |
Are they going to beat us? Not if I can help it! | |
10. interj. A cry of distress or an urgent request for assistance | |
— Take that, you scoundrel.— Help! Robin, help! (Robin Hood (1973)) | |
writers |
1. n. plural of writer | |
writer |
1. n. A person who writes, or produces literary work. | |
Has your girlfriend written you a letter yet? She’s quite a writer! | |
2. n. (historical) A clerk of a certain rank in the service of the East India Company, who, after serving a certain number of years, became a factor. | |
3. n. Anything that writes or produces output. | |
He |
1. pron. honoraltcaps, he | |
I love the Lord for He is Great and Holy. | |
2. pron. (personal) A male person or animal already known or implied. | |
3. pron. (personal, sometimes proscribed, see usage notes) A person whose gender is unknown or irrelevant. | |
The rulebook clearly states that "if any student is caught cheating, he will be expelled", and you were caught cheating, were you not, Anna? | |
4. pron. (personal) An animal whose gender is unknown. | |
5. n. The game of tag, or it, in which the player attempting to catch the others is called "he". | |
6. n. (informal) A male. | |
Alex totally is a he. | |
7. n. The name of the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets (Phoenician, Aramaic, Hebrew, Syriac, Arabic and others). | |
admired |
1. v. simple past tense and past participle of admire | |
admire |
1. v. (obsolete, transitive) To be amazed at; to view with surprise; to marvel at. | |
2. v. To regard with wonder and delight. | |
3. v. To look upon with an elevated feeling of pleasure, as something which calls out approbation, esteem, love or reverence. | |
4. v. To estimate or prize highly. | |
to admire a person of high moral worth | |
to admire a landscape | |
5. v. (US, dialectal rare) To be enthusiastic about (doing something); to want or like (to do something). | |