rule |
1. n. A regulation, law, guideline. | |
All participants must adhere to the rules. | |
2. n. A ruler; device for measuring, a straightedge, a measure. | |
3. n. A straight line (continuous mark, as made by a pen or the like), especially one lying across a paper as a guide for writing. | |
4. n. A regulating principle. | |
5. n. The act of ruling; administration of law; government; empire; authority; control. | |
6. n. A normal condition or state of affairs. | |
My rule is to rise at six o'clock. | |
As a rule, our senior editors are serious-minded. | |
7. n. (obsolete) Conduct; behaviour. | |
8. n. (legal) An order regulating the practice of the courts, or an order made between parties to an action or a suit. | |
9. n. (math) A determinate method prescribed for performing any operation and producing a certain result. | |
a rule for extracting the cube root | |
10. n. (printing, dated) A thin plate of brass or other metal, of the same height as the type, and used for printing lines, as between columns on the same page, or in tabular work. | |
11. v. To regulate, be in charge of, make decisions for, reign over. | |
12. v. (slang) To excel. | |
This game rules! | |
13. v. To mark (paper or the like) with rules (lines). | |
14. v. (intransitive) To decide judicially. | |
15. v. To establish or settle by, or as by, a rule; to fix by universal or general consent, or by common practice. | |
by |
1. prep. Near or next to. | |
The mailbox is by the bus stop. | |
2. prep. At some time before (the given time), or before the end of a given time interval. | |
Be back by ten o'clock! We will send it by the first week of July. | |
3. prep. Indicates the actor in a clause with its verb in the passive voice: Through the action or presence of. | |
The matter was decided by the chairman. The boat was swamped by the water. He was protected by his body armour. | |
4. prep. Indicates the creator of a work: Existing through the authorship etc. of. | |
There are many well-known plays by William Shakespeare | |
5. prep. Indicates the cause of a condition or event: Through the action of, caused by, responsibility for; by dint of. | |
6. prep. Indicates a means: Involving/using the means of. | |
I avoided the guards by moving only when they weren't looking. | |
7. prep. Indicates a source of light used as illumination. | |
The electricity was cut off, so we had to read by candlelight. | |
8. prep. Indicates an authority, rule, or permission followed. | |
I sorted the items by category. By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you man and wife. | |
9. prep. Indicates the amount of some progression: With a change of. | |
Our stock is up by ten percent. | |
10. prep. In the formulae X by X and by Xs, indicates a steady progression, one X after another. | |
We went through the book page by page. We crawled forward by inches. | |
11. prep. Indicates a referenced source: According to. | |
He cheated by his own admission. | |
12. prep. Indicates an oath: With the authority of. | |
By Jove! I think she's got it! By all that is holy, I'll put an end to this. | |
13. prep. Used to separate dimensions when describing the size of something. | |
It is easy to invert a 2-by-2 matrix. The room was about 4 foot by 6 foot. The bricks used to build the wall measured 10 by 20 by 30 cm. | |
14. prep. (horse breeding) Designates a horse's male parent (sire); cf. out of. | |
She's a lovely little filly, by Big Lad, out of Damsel in Distress. | |
15. adv. Along a path which runs by the speaker. | |
I watched as it passed by. | |
16. adv. In the vicinity, near. | |
There was a shepherd close by. | |
The shop is hard by the High Street. | |
17. adv. To or at a place, as a residence or place of business. | |
I'll stop by on my way home from work. | |
We're right near the lifeguard station. Come by before you leave. | |
18. adv. Aside, away. | |
The women spent much time after harvest putting jams by for winter and spring. | |
19. adj. Out of the way, subsidiary. | |
20. n. (card games) A pass | |
21. interj. alternative spelling of bye | |
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. | |
God |
1. n. A being such as a monotheistic God: a single divine creator and ruler of the universe. | |
2. interj. (short for, oh God): non-gloss, expressing annoyance or frustration. | |
God, is this because of the "I don't love you anymore" T-shirt I bought? It was a joke fer chrissakes. | |
3. n. A deity or supreme being; a supernatural, typically immortal, being with superior powers. | |
The most frequently used name for the Islamic god is Allah. | |
4. n. alternative case form of God. | |
5. n. An idol. | |
6. n. A representation of a deity, especially a statue or statuette. | |
7. n. Something or someone particularly revered, worshipped, idealized, admired and/or followed. | |
8. n. (metaphor) A person in a high position of authority, importance or influence. | |
9. n. (metaphor) A powerful ruler or tyrant. | |
10. n. (colloquial) An exceedingly handsome man. | |
Lounging on the beach were several Greek gods. | |
11. n. (Internet) The person who owns and runs a multi-user dungeon. | |
12. v. To idolize. | |
13. v. To deify. | |