perhaps |
1. adv. Modifies a verb, indicating a lack of certainty. | |
Perhaps John will come over for dinner. | |
2. adv. (rare) By chance. | |
3. n. An uncertainty. | |
As |
1. n. plural of A | |
She went from getting Cs and Ds to earning straight As. | |
2. adv. To such an extent or degree. | |
You’re not as tall as I am. | |
It's not as well made, but it's twice as expensive. | |
3. adv. In the manner or role specified. | |
The kidnappers released him as agreed. | |
The parties were seen as agreeing on a range of issues. | |
He was never seen as the boss, but rather as a friend. | |
4. adv. (dated) For example (compare such as). | |
5. conj. In the same way that; according to what. | |
Do as I say! | |
I'm under a lot of pressure, as you know. | |
As you wish, my lord! | |
6. conj. At the same instant that; when. | |
As I came in, she flew. | |
7. conj. At the same time that; while. | |
He sleeps as the rain falls. | |
8. conj. Varying through time in the same proportion that. | |
As my fear grew, so did my legs become heavy. | |
9. conj. Being that, considering that, because, since. | |
As it’s too late, I quit. | |
10. conj. Introducing a basis of comparison, after as, so, or a comparison of equality. | |
She's twice as strong as I was two years ago. | |
It's not so complicated as I expected. | |
11. conj. (dated) Introducing a comparison with a hypothetical state (+ subjunctive); ‘as though’, ‘as if’. | |
12. conj. Introducing a comparison with a hypothetical state with the verb elided; as if, as though. | |
13. conj. (now England, US, regional) Functioning as a relative conjunction; that. | |
14. conj. Expressing concession; though. | |
15. conj. (obsolete, rare) Than. | |
16. prep. Introducing a basis of comparison, with an object in the objective case. | |
You are not as tall as me. | |
They're big as houses. | |
17. prep. In the role of. | |
What is your opinion as a parent? | |
18. n. (unit of weight) A libra. | |
19. n. Any of several coins of Rome, coined in bronze or later copper; or the equivalent value. | |
20. n. plural of a | |
well |
1. adv. (manner) Accurately, competently, satisfactorily. | |
He does his job well. | |
2. adv. (manner) Completely, fully. | |
a well done steak | |
We’re well beat now. | |
3. adv. (degree) To a significant degree. | |
That author is well known. | |
4. adv. (degree, British, slang) Very (as a general-purpose intensifier). | |
5. adv. In a desirable manner; so as one could wish; satisfactorily; favourably; advantageously. | |
6. adj. In good health. | |
I had been sick, but now I'm well. | |
7. adj. (hypercorrect) Good, content. | |
“How are you?” — “I'm well, thank you!” | |
8. adj. (archaic) Prudent; good; well-advised. | |
9. interj. Used to acknowledge a statement or situation. | |
“The car is broken.” “Well, we could walk to the movies instead.” | |
“I didn't like the music.” “Well, I thought it was good.” | |
“I forgot to pack the tent! Well, I guess we're sleeping under the stars tonight.” | |
10. interj. An exclamation of surprise, often doubled or tripled. | |
Well, well, well, what do we have here? | |
11. interj. An exclamation of indignance. | |
Well! There was no need to say that in front of my mother! | |
12. interj. Used in speech to express the overcoming of reluctance to say something. | |
It was a bit... well... too loud. | |
13. interj. Used in speech to fill gaps; filled pause. | |
“So what have you been doing?” “Well, we went for a picnic, and then it started raining so we came home early.” | |
14. interj. (Hiberno-English) Used as a greeting | |
Well lads. How's things? | |
15. n. A hole sunk into the ground as a source of water, oil, natural gas or other fluids. | |
16. n. A place where a liquid such as water surfaces naturally; a spring. | |
17. n. A small depression suitable for holding liquid or other objects. | |
Make a well in the dough mixture and pour in the milk. | |
18. n. (figurative) A source of supply. | |
19. n. (nautical) A vertical, cylindrical trunk in a ship, reaching down to the lowest part of the hull, through which the bilge pumps operate. | |
20. n. (nautical) The cockpit of a sailboat. | |
21. n. (nautical) A compartment in the middle of the hold of a fishing vessel, made tight at the sides, but having holes perforated in the bottom to let in water to keep fish alive while they are transported | |
22. n. (nautical) A vertical passage in the stern into which an auxiliary screw propeller may be drawn up out of the water. | |
23. n. (military) A hole or excavation in the earth, in mining, from which run branches or galleries. | |
24. n. (architecture) An opening through the floors of a building, as for a staircase or an elevator; a wellhole. | |
25. n. The open space between the bench and the counsel tables in a courtroom. | |
26. n. (metalworking) The lower part of a furnace, into which the metal falls. | |
27. n. A well drink. | |
They're having a special tonight: $1 wells. | |
28. n. (video games) The playfield of Tetris and similar video games, into which the blocks fall. | |
29. n. (biology) In a microtiter plate, each of the small equal circular or square sections which serve as test tubes. | |
30. v. (intransitive) To issue forth, as water from the earth; to flow; to spring. | |
31. v. (intransitive) To have something seep out of the surface. | |
Her eyes welled with tears. | |
well |
1. adv. (manner) Accurately, competently, satisfactorily. | |
He does his job well. | |
2. adv. (manner) Completely, fully. | |
a well done steak | |
We’re well beat now. | |
3. adv. (degree) To a significant degree. | |
That author is well known. | |
4. adv. (degree, British, slang) Very (as a general-purpose intensifier). | |
5. adv. In a desirable manner; so as one could wish; satisfactorily; favourably; advantageously. | |
6. adj. In good health. | |
I had been sick, but now I'm well. | |
7. adj. (hypercorrect) Good, content. | |
“How are you?” — “I'm well, thank you!” | |
8. adj. (archaic) Prudent; good; well-advised. | |
9. interj. Used to acknowledge a statement or situation. | |
“The car is broken.” “Well, we could walk to the movies instead.” | |
“I didn't like the music.” “Well, I thought it was good.” | |
“I forgot to pack the tent! Well, I guess we're sleeping under the stars tonight.” | |
10. interj. An exclamation of surprise, often doubled or tripled. | |
Well, well, well, what do we have here? | |
11. interj. An exclamation of indignance. | |
Well! There was no need to say that in front of my mother! | |
12. interj. Used in speech to express the overcoming of reluctance to say something. | |
It was a bit... well... too loud. | |
13. interj. Used in speech to fill gaps; filled pause. | |
“So what have you been doing?” “Well, we went for a picnic, and then it started raining so we came home early.” | |
14. interj. (Hiberno-English) Used as a greeting | |
Well lads. How's things? | |
15. n. A hole sunk into the ground as a source of water, oil, natural gas or other fluids. | |
16. n. A place where a liquid such as water surfaces naturally; a spring. | |
17. n. A small depression suitable for holding liquid or other objects. | |
Make a well in the dough mixture and pour in the milk. | |
18. n. (figurative) A source of supply. | |
19. n. (nautical) A vertical, cylindrical trunk in a ship, reaching down to the lowest part of the hull, through which the bilge pumps operate. | |
20. n. (nautical) The cockpit of a sailboat. | |
21. n. (nautical) A compartment in the middle of the hold of a fishing vessel, made tight at the sides, but having holes perforated in the bottom to let in water to keep fish alive while they are transported | |
22. n. (nautical) A vertical passage in the stern into which an auxiliary screw propeller may be drawn up out of the water. | |
23. n. (military) A hole or excavation in the earth, in mining, from which run branches or galleries. | |
24. n. (architecture) An opening through the floors of a building, as for a staircase or an elevator; a wellhole. | |
25. n. The open space between the bench and the counsel tables in a courtroom. | |
26. n. (metalworking) The lower part of a furnace, into which the metal falls. | |
27. n. A well drink. | |
They're having a special tonight: $1 wells. | |
28. n. (video games) The playfield of Tetris and similar video games, into which the blocks fall. | |
29. n. (biology) In a microtiter plate, each of the small equal circular or square sections which serve as test tubes. | |
30. v. (intransitive) To issue forth, as water from the earth; to flow; to spring. | |
31. v. (intransitive) To have something seep out of the surface. | |
Her eyes welled with tears. | |
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. | |
might |
1. n. Power, strength, force or influence held by a person or group. | |
2. n. Physical strength or force. | |
He pushed with all his might, but still it would not move. | |
3. adj. (obsolete) Mighty; powerful. | |
4. adj. (obsolete) Possible. | |
5. v. (auxiliary) Used to indicate conditional or possible actions. | |
I might go to the party, but I haven't decided yet. | |
6. v. (auxiliary) simple past tense of may Used to indicate permission in past tense. | |
He asked me if he might go to the party, but I haven't decided yet. | |
7. v. (auxiliary) simple past tense of may Used to indicate possibility in past tense. | |
I thought that I might go the next day. | |
8. v. Used to indicate a desired past action that was not done. | |
Hey man, you might have warned me about the thunderstorm | |
give |
1. v. (ditransitive) To move, shift, provide something abstract or concrete to someone or something or somewhere. | |
2. v. To transfer one's possession or holding of (something) to (someone). | |
I gave him my coat. | |
I gave my coat to the beggar. | |
When they asked, I gave my coat. | |
3. v. To make a present or gift of. | |
I'm going to give my wife a necklace for her birthday. | |
She gave a pair of shoes to her husband for their anniversary. | |
He gives of his energies to the organization. | |
4. v. To pledge. | |
I gave him my word that I'd protect his children. | |
5. v. To provide (something) to (someone), to allow or afford. | |
I gave them permission to miss tomorrow's class. | |
Please give me some more time. | |
6. v. To cause (a sensation or feeling) to exist in. | |
It gives me a lot of pleasure to be here tonight. | |
The fence gave me an electric shock. | |
My mother-in-law gives me nothing but grief. | |
7. v. To carry out (a physical interaction) with (something). | |
I want to give you a kiss. | |
She gave him a hug. | |
I'd like to give the tire a kick. | |
I gave the boy a push on the swing. | |
She gave me a wink afterwards, so I knew she was joking. | |
8. v. To pass (something) into (someone's) hand or the like. | |
Give me your hand. | |
On entering the house, he gave his coat to the doorman. | |
9. v. To cause (a disease or condition) in, or to transmit (a disease or condition) to. | |
My boyfriend gave me chlamydia. | |
He was convinced that it was his alcoholism that gave him cancer. | |
10. v. (ditransitive) To estimate or predict (a duration or probability) for (something). | |
I give it ten minutes before he gives up. | |
I give it a 95% chance of success. | |
I'll give their marriage six months. | |
11. v. (intransitive) To yield slightly when a force is applied. | |
12. v. (intransitive) To collapse under pressure or force. | |
One pillar gave, then more, and suddenly the whole floor pancaked onto the floor below. | |
13. v. To provide, as, a service or a broadcast. | |
They're giving my favorite show! | |
14. v. (intransitive) To lead (onto or into). | |
The master bedroom gives onto a spacious balcony. | |
15. v. (transitive, dated) To provide a view of. | |
His window gave the park. | |
16. v. To exhibit as a product or result; to produce; to yield. | |
The number of men, divided by the number of ships, gives four hundred to each ship. | |
17. v. To cause; to make; used with the infinitive. | |
18. v. To cause (someone) to have; produce in (someone); effectuate. | |
19. v. To allow or admit by way of supposition; to concede. | |
He can be bad-tempered, I'll give you that, but he's a hard worker. | |
20. v. To attribute; to assign; to adjudge. | |
21. v. To communicate or announce (advice, tidings, etc.); to pronounce or utter (an opinion, a judgment, a shout, etc.). | |
22. v. (dated) To grant power or permission to; to allow. | |
23. v. (reflexive) To devote or apply (oneself). | |
The soldiers give themselves to plunder. | |
That boy is given to fits of bad temper. | |
24. v. (obsolete) To become soft or moist. | |
25. v. (obsolete) To shed tears; to weep. | |
26. v. (obsolete) To have a misgiving. | |
27. v. To be going on, to be occurring | |
What gives? | |
28. n. The amount of bending that something undergoes when a force is applied to it; a tendency to yield under pressure; resilence. | |
This chair doesn't have much give. | |
There is no give in his dogmatic religious beliefs. | |
our |
1. det. Belonging to us. | |
2. det. Of, from, or belonging to the nation, region, or language of the speaker. | |
3. det. (Northern England, Scotland) Used before a person's name to indicate that the person is in one's family, or is a very close friend. | |
I'm going to see our Terry for tea. | |
4. v. misspelling of are | |
leaders |
1. n. plural of leader | |
2. n. the two front horses of a team of four in front of a carriage | |
leader |
1. n. any person that leads or directs | |
2. n. one who goes first | |
Follow the leader. | |
3. n. one having authority to direct | |
We elected her team leader. | |
4. n. one who leads a political party or group of elected party members; sometimes used in titles | |
Leader of the House of Commons | |
Senate Majority Leader | |
5. n. a person or organization that leads in a certain field in terms of excellence, success, etc. | |
The company is the leader in home remodeling in the county. | |
6. n. (music) a performer who leads a band, choir, or a section of an orchestra | |
7. n. (music, UK) the first violin in a symphony orchestra; the concertmaster | |
8. n. an animal that leads | |
9. n. the dominant animal in a pack of animals, such as wolves or lions | |
10. n. an animal placed in advance of others, especially on a team of horse, oxen, or dogs | |
11. n. someone or something that leads or conducts | |
12. n. (botany) a fast-growing terminal shoot of a woody plant | |
13. n. a pipe for conducting rain water from a roof to a cistern or to the ground | |
14. n. (UK) the first, or the principal, editorial article in a newspaper; a leading or main editorial article; a lead story | |
15. n. (fishing) a section of line between the main fishing line and the snell of a hook, intended to be more resistant to bites and harder for a fish to dete | |
16. n. a piece of material at the beginning or end of a reel or roll to allow the material to be threaded or fed onto something, as a reel of film onto a proj | |
17. n. (marketing) a loss leader or a popular product sold at a normal price | |
18. n. (printing) a type having a dot or short row of dots upon its face | |
19. n. (printing, in the plural) a row of dots, periods, or hyphens, used in tables of contents, etc., to lead the eye across a space to the right word or num | |
20. n. (fishing) a net for leading fish into a pound, weir, etc. | |
21. n. (mining) a branch or small vein, not important in itself, but indicating the proximity of a better one | |
22. n. (nautical) a block of hard wood pierced with suitable holes for leading ropes in their proper places | |
23. n. (engineering) the drive wheel in any kind of machinery | |
24. n. (meteorology) the path taken by electrons from a cloud to ground level, determining the shape of a bolt of lightning | |
Pause |
1. n. A button whose functions are pausing and resuming something, such as a DVD player, a video game or a computer. | |
2. v. (intransitive) To take a temporary rest, take a break for a short period after an effort. | |
3. v. (intransitive) To interrupt an activity and wait. | |
When telling the scary story, he paused for effect. | |
4. v. (intransitive) To hesitate; to hold back; to delay. | |
5. v. To halt the play or playback of, temporarily, so that it can be resumed from the same point. | |
to pause a song, a video, or a computer game | |
6. v. (intransitive, obsolete) To consider; to reflect. | |
7. n. A temporary stop or rest; an intermission of action; interruption; suspension; cessation. | |
8. n. A short time for relaxing and doing something else. | |
9. n. Hesitation; suspense; doubt. | |
10. n. In writing and printing, a mark indicating the place and nature of an arrest of voice in reading; a punctuation mark. | |
Teach the pupil to mind the pauses. | |
11. n. A break or paragraph in writing. | |
12. n. (music) A sign indicating continuance of a note or rest. | |
13. n. (as direct object) take pause: hesitate; give pause: cause to hesitate | |
As |
1. n. plural of A | |
She went from getting Cs and Ds to earning straight As. | |
2. adv. To such an extent or degree. | |
You’re not as tall as I am. | |
It's not as well made, but it's twice as expensive. | |
3. adv. In the manner or role specified. | |
The kidnappers released him as agreed. | |
The parties were seen as agreeing on a range of issues. | |
He was never seen as the boss, but rather as a friend. | |
4. adv. (dated) For example (compare such as). | |
5. conj. In the same way that; according to what. | |
Do as I say! | |
I'm under a lot of pressure, as you know. | |
As you wish, my lord! | |
6. conj. At the same instant that; when. | |
As I came in, she flew. | |
7. conj. At the same time that; while. | |
He sleeps as the rain falls. | |
8. conj. Varying through time in the same proportion that. | |
As my fear grew, so did my legs become heavy. | |
9. conj. Being that, considering that, because, since. | |
As it’s too late, I quit. | |
10. conj. Introducing a basis of comparison, after as, so, or a comparison of equality. | |
She's twice as strong as I was two years ago. | |
It's not so complicated as I expected. | |
11. conj. (dated) Introducing a comparison with a hypothetical state (+ subjunctive); ‘as though’, ‘as if’. | |
12. conj. Introducing a comparison with a hypothetical state with the verb elided; as if, as though. | |
13. conj. (now England, US, regional) Functioning as a relative conjunction; that. | |
14. conj. Expressing concession; though. | |
15. conj. (obsolete, rare) Than. | |
16. prep. Introducing a basis of comparison, with an object in the objective case. | |
You are not as tall as me. | |
They're big as houses. | |
17. prep. In the role of. | |
What is your opinion as a parent? | |
18. n. (unit of weight) A libra. | |
19. n. Any of several coins of Rome, coined in bronze or later copper; or the equivalent value. | |
20. n. plural of a | |
they |
1. pron. (the third-person plural) A group of people, animals, plants or objects previously mentioned. | |
Fred and Jane? They just arrived. Dogs may bark if they want to be fed. Plants wilt if they are not watered. | |
I have a car and a truck, but they are both broken. | |
2. pron. (the third-person singular, sometimes proscribed) A single person, previously mentioned, especially if of unknown or non-binary gender, but not if previously named and identified as male or female. | |
3. pron. (indefinite pronoun, vague meaning) People; some people; people in general; someone, excluding the speaker. | |
They say it’s a good place to live. | |
They didn’t have computers in the old days. | |
They should do something about this. | |
They have a lot of snow in winter. | |
4. det. (now Southern England dialect, or nonstandard) The, those. | |
5. det. (US dialects including AAVE) Their. | |
6. pron. (US dialectal) There (especially as an expletive subject of be). | |
prepare |
1. v. To make ready for a specific future purpose; to set up; to assemble. | |
We prepared the spacecraft for takeoff. | |
2. v. To make ready for eating or drinking; to cook. | |
We prepared a fish for dinner. | |
3. v. (intransitive) To make oneself ready; to get ready, make preparation. | |
We prepared for a bumpy ride. | |
4. v. To produce or make by combining elements; to synthesize, compound. | |
She prepared a meal from what was left in the cupboards. | |
5. n. (obsolete) preparation | |
Us |
1. n. plural of U | |
2. pron. (personal) Me and at least one other person; the objective case of we. | |
3. pron. (colloquial) Me. | |
Give us a look at your paper. | |
Give us your wallet! | |
4. pron. (Northern England) Our. | |
We'll have to throw us food out. | |
5. det. The speakers/writers, or the speaker/writer and at least one other person. | |
It's not good enough for us teachers. | |
6. n. plural of u | |
again |
1. adv. Another time; once more. | |
2. adv. Over and above a factor of one. | |
3. adv. Used metalinguistically, with the repetition being in the discussion, or in the linguistic or pragmatic context of the discussion, rather than in the subject of discussion. | |
Great, thanks again! | |
4. adv. Tell me again, say again; used in asking a question to which one may have already received an answer that one cannot remember. | |
What's that called again? | |
5. adv. I ask again, I say again; used in repeating a question or statement. | |
Again, I'm not criticizing, I just want to understand. | |
6. adv. Here too, here also, in this case as well; used in applying a previously made point to a new instance; sometimes preceded by "here". | |
Approach B is better than approach A in many respects, but again, there are difficulties in implementing it. | |
7. adv. (obsolete) Back in the reverse direction, or to an original starting point. | |
Bring us word again. | |
8. adv. Back (to a former place or state). | |
We need to bring the old customs to life again. | |
The South will rise again. | |
9. adv. (obsolete) In return, as a reciprocal action; back. | |
10. adv. (obsolete) In any other place. | |
11. adv. (obsolete) On the other hand. | |
12. adv. Moreover; besides; further. | |
13. prep. (obsolete or dialectal) Against. | |
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). | |
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. | |
role |
1. n. A character or part played by a performer or actor. | |
My neighbor was the lead role in last year's village play. | |
Her dream was to get a role in a Hollywood movie, no matter how small. | |
2. n. The expected behaviour of an individual in a society. | |
The role of women has changed significantly in the last century. | |
3. n. The function or position of something. | |
Local volunteers played an important role in cleaning the beach after the oil spill. | |
What rôle does the wax in your earhole fulfill? | |
4. n. Designation that denotes an associated set of responsibilities, knowledge, skills, and attitudes | |
The project manager role is responsible for ensuring that everyone on the team knows and executes his or her assigned tasks. | |
5. n. (grammar): The function of a word in a phrase. | |
6. n. (historical) An ancient unit of quantity, 72 sheets of parchment. | |
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. | |
righteous |
1. adj. Free from sin or guilt. | |
2. adj. Moral and virtuous, to the point of sanctimonious. | |
Human beings should take a righteous path, and so should art. We should promote kindness and beauty through art. | |
3. adj. Justified morally. | |
righteous rage | |
4. adj. (slang) Awesome; great. | |
5. v. To make righteous; specifically, to justify religiously, to absolve from sin. | |
aggressor |
1. n. The person or country that first attacks or makes an aggression; that begins hostility or a quarrel; an assailant. | |