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. | |
American |
1. n. Originally, a native or inhabitant of the British North American colonies of European descent; now, a person born in, or a citizen or inhabitant of, the United States of America. | |
2. n. An indigenous inhabitant of the Americas; a Native American or an American Indian (now chiefly with qualifying word). | |
3. n. An inhabitant of the Americas. More often this is specified as either North American, Central American or South American. | |
Every American's origin is, historically speaking, by immigration, if scientific speculation that points to a human origin in Africa and a migration to the New World from Eurasia turns out to b | |
4. n. (US printing rare dated) A size of type smaller than German, 1-point type. | |
5. adj. Of or pertaining to the Americas. More often this is specified with a qualifier, such as "North American", "Central American", "South American", etc. | |
6. adj. Of, from, or pertaining to the United States of America, its people or its culture. | |
Thanksgiving is an American tradition. | |
He married an American woman in order to get an American passport. | |
7. adj. (finance) (of an option, not comparable) Can be exercised on any date between the issue date and the expiry date. | |
dream |
1. n. Imaginary events seen in the mind while sleeping. | |
2. n. A hope or wish. | |
3. n. A visionary scheme; a wild conceit; an idle fancy. | |
a dream of bliss; the dream of his youth | |
4. v. (intransitive) To see imaginary events in one's mind while sleeping. | |
5. v. (intransitive) To hope, to wish. | |
6. v. (intransitive) To daydream. | |
Stop dreaming and get back to work. | |
7. v. To envision as an imaginary experience (usually when asleep). | |
I dreamed a vivid dream last night. | |
8. v. (intransitive) To consider the possibility (of). | |
I wouldn't dream of snubbing you in public. | |
9. adj. ideal; perfect | |
suffered |
1. v. simple past tense and past participle of suffer | |
suffer |
1. v. (intransitive) To undergo hardship. | |
2. v. (intransitive) To feel pain. | |
At least he didn't suffer when he died in the car crash. | |
3. v. (intransitive) To become worse. | |
If you keep partying like this, your school-work will suffer. | |
4. v. To endure, undergo. | |
I've been suffering your insults for years. | |
We hope you never have to suffer the same pain. | |
5. v. (transitive, archaic) To allow. | |
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. | |
debilitating |
1. adj. Causing a loss of energy or strength. | |
2. v. present participle of debilitate | |
debilitate |
1. v. To make feeble; to weaken. | |
The American Dream suffered a debilitating effect after the subprime crisis. | |
effect |
1. n. The result or outcome of a cause. See usage notes below. | |
The effect of the hurricane was a devastated landscape. | |
2. n. Impression left on the mind; sensation produced. | |
3. n. Execution; performance; realization; operation. | |
4. n. The state of being binding and enforceable, as in a rule, policy, or law. | |
The new law will come into effect on the first day of next year. | |
5. n. (filmology) An illusion produced by technical means (as in "special effect") | |
The effect of flying was most convincing. | |
6. n. (sound engineering) An alteration, or device for producing an alteration, in sound after it has been produced by an instrument. | |
I use an echo effect here to make the sound more mysterious. | |
I just bought a couple of great effects. | |
7. n. (physics, psychology, etc.) A scientific phenomenon, usually named after its discoverer. | |
Doppler effect | |
8. n. (usually plural) Belongings, usually as personal effects. | |
9. n. Consequence intended; purpose; meaning; general intent; with to. | |
10. n. (obsolete) Reality; actual meaning; fact, as distinguished from mere appearance. | |
11. n. (obsolete) Manifestation; expression; sign. | |
12. v. To make or bring about; to implement. | |
The best way to effect change is to work with existing stakeholders. | |
13. v. misspelling of affect | |
after |
1. adv. Behind; later in time; following. | |
They lived happily ever after. | |
I left the room, and the dog bounded after. | |
2. prep. Subsequently to; following in time; later than. | |
We had a few beers after the game. | |
The time is quarter after eight. | |
The Cold War began shortly after the Second World War. | |
3. prep. Behind. | |
He will leave a trail of destruction after him. | |
4. prep. In pursuit of, seeking. | |
He's after a job; run after him; inquire after her health. | |
5. prep. In allusion to, in imitation of; following or referencing. | |
We named him after his grandfather; a painting after Leonardo da Vinci. | |
6. prep. Next in importance or rank. | |
The princess is next in line to the throne after the prince. | |
7. prep. As a result of. | |
After your bad behaviour, you will be punished. | |
8. prep. In spite of. | |
After all that has happened, he is still my friend. | |
I can't believe that, after all our advice against gambling, you walked into that casino! | |
9. prep. (Irish usually preceded by a form of be followed by an -ing form of a verb) Used to indicate recent completion of an activity | |
I was after finishing my dinner when there was a knock on the door. | |
10. prep. (dated) According to an author or text. | |
11. prep. Denoting the aim or object; concerning; in relation to. | |
to look after workmen; to enquire after a friend; to thirst after righteousness | |
12. prep. (obsolete) According to the direction and influence of; in proportion to; befitting. | |
13. conj. Signifies that the action of the clause it starts takes place before the action of the other clause. | |
I went home after we had decided to call it a day. | |
14. adj. (dated) Later; second (of two); next, following, subsequent | |
15. adj. (nautical, where the frame of reference is within the ship) At or towards the stern of a ship. | |
The after gun is mounted aft. | |
The after gun is abaft the forward gun. | |
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. | |
subprime |
1. adj. Less than prime; inferior. | |
2. adj. (US, banking) (now worldwide) Designating a loan (typically at a greater than usual rate of interest) offered to a borrower who is not qualified for other loans (for example, because of a poor credit | |
3. adj. (US, banking dated) Designating a type of commercial lending rate, less than the prime rate, offered to desirable borrowers. | |
4. n. A subprime loan. | |
crisis |
1. n. A crucial or decisive point or situation; a turning point. | |
2. n. An unstable situation, in political, social, economic or military affairs, especially one involving an impending abrupt change. | |
3. n. A sudden change in the course of a disease, usually at which point the patient is expected to either recover or die. | |
4. n. (psychology) A traumatic or stressful change in a person's life. | |
5. n. (drama) A point in a drama at which a conflict reaches a peak before being resolved. | |