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. | |
battle |
1. n. A general action, fight, or encounter, in which all the divisions of an army are or may be engaged; an engagement; a combat. | |
2. n. A struggle; a contest. | |
the battle of life | |
3. n. (now rare) A division of an army; a battalion. | |
4. n. (obsolete) The main body, as distinct from the vanguard and rear; battalia. | |
5. v. (intransitive) To join in battle; to contend in fight | |
Scientists always battle over theories. | |
She has been battling against cancer for years. | |
6. v. To fight or struggle; to enter into a battle with. | |
She has been battling cancer for years. | |
7. adj. (UK dialectal, chiefly Scotland, Northern England, agriculture) Improving; nutritious; fattening. | |
battle grass, battle pasture | |
8. adj. (UK dialectal, chiefly Scotland, Northern England) Fertile; fruitful. | |
battle soil, battle land | |
9. v. (transitive, UK dialectal, chiefly Scotland, Northern England) To nourish; feed. | |
10. v. (transitive, UK dialectal, chiefly Scotland, Northern England) To render (for example soil) fertile or fruitful | |
was |
1. v. first-person singular past of be. | |
2. v. third-person singular past of be. | |
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? | |
lost |
1. v. simple past tense and past participle of lose | |
2. adj. Having wandered from, or unable to find, the way. | |
The children were soon lost in the forest. | |
3. adj. In an unknown location; unable to be found. | |
Deep beneath the ocean, the Titanic was lost to the world. | |
4. adj. Not perceptible to the senses; no longer visible. | |
an island lost in a fog; a person lost in a crowd | |
5. adj. Parted with; no longer held or possessed. | |
a lost limb; lost honour | |
6. adj. Not employed or enjoyed; thrown away; employed ineffectually; wasted; squandered. | |
a lost day; a lost opportunity or benefit | |
7. adj. Ruined or destroyed, either physically or morally; past help or hope. | |
a ship lost at sea; a woman lost to virtue; a lost soul | |
8. adj. Hardened beyond sensibility or recovery; alienated; insensible. | |
lost to shame; lost to all sense of honour | |
9. adj. Occupied with, or under the influence of, something, so as not to notice external things. | |
to be lost in thought | |
lose |
1. v. To cause (something) to cease to be in one's possession or capability due to unfortunate or unknown circumstances, events or reasons. | |
If you lose that ten-pound note, you'll be sorry. | |
He lost his hearing in the explosion. | |
She lost her position when the company was taken over. | |
2. v. To wander from; to miss, so as not to be able to find; to go astray from. | |
I lost my way in the forest. | |
3. v. To have (an organ) removed from one's body, especially by accident. | |
Johnny lost a tooth, but kept it for the tooth fairy. | |
He lost his spleen in a car wreck. | |
4. v. To fail to win (a game, competition, trial, etc). | |
We lost the football match. | |
5. v. To shed (weight). | |
I’ve lost five pounds this week. | |
6. v. To be unable to follow or trace (somebody or something) any longer. | |
The policeman lost the robber he was chasing. | |
Mission control lost the satellite as its signal died down. | |
7. v. To cause (somebody) to be unable to follow or trace one any longer. | |
We managed to lose our pursuers in the forest. | |
8. v. To experience the death of (someone to whom one has an attachment, such as a relative or friend). | |
She lost all her sons in the war. | |
9. v. To cease exhibiting; to overcome (a behavior or emotion). | |
10. v. (transitive, informal) To shed, remove, discard, or eliminate. | |
When we get into the building, please lose the hat. | |
11. v. Of a clock, to run slower than expected. | |
My watch loses five minutes a week. | |
It's already 5:30? My watch must have lost a few minutes. | |
12. v. To cause (someone) the loss of something; to deprive of. | |
13. v. To fail to catch with the mind or senses; to miss. | |
I lost a part of what he said. | |
14. v. (transitive, archaic) To cause to part with; to deprive of. | |
15. n. (obsolete) Fame, renown; praise. | |
due |
1. adj. Owed or owing. | |
He is due four weeks of back pay. | |
The amount due is just three quid. | |
The due bills total nearly seven thousand dollars. | |
He can wait for the amount due him. | |
2. adj. Appropriate. | |
With all due respect, you're wrong about that. | |
3. adj. Scheduled; expected. | |
Rain is due this afternoon. | |
The train is due in five minutes. | |
When is your baby due? | |
4. adj. Having reached the expected, scheduled, or natural time. | |
The baby is just about due. | |
5. adj. Owing; ascribable, as to a cause. | |
The dangerously low water table is due to rapidly growing pumping. | |
6. adj. On a direct bearing, especially for the four points of the compass | |
The town is 5 miles due North of the bridge. | |
7. adv. (used with compass directions) Directly; exactly. | |
The river runs due north for about a mile. | |
8. n. Deserved acknowledgment. | |
Give him his due — he is a good actor. | |
9. n. (in plural dues) A membership fee. | |
10. n. That which is owed; debt; that which belongs or may be claimed as a right; whatever custom, law, or morality requires to be done, duty. | |
11. n. Right; just title or claim. | |
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 | |
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. | |
actions |
1. n. plural of action | |
2. v. third-person singular present indicative of action | |
action |
1. n. Something done so as to accomplish a purpose. | |
2. n. A way of motion or functioning. | |
Knead bread with a rocking action. | |
3. n. Fast-paced activity. | |
a movie full of exciting action | |
4. n. A mechanism; a moving part or assembly. | |
a rifle action | |
5. n. (music): The mechanism, that is the set of moving mechanical parts, of a keyboard instrument, like a piano, which transfers the motion of the key to the sound-making device.Marshall Cavendish Corporat | |
6. n. (slang) sexual intercourse. | |
She gave him some action. | |
7. n. The distance separating the strings and the fretboard on the guitar. | |
8. n. (military) Combat. | |
He saw some action in the Korean War. | |
9. n. (legal) A charge or other process in a law court (also called lawsuit and actio). | |
10. n. (mathematics) A mapping from a pairing of mathematical objects to one of them, respecting their individual structures. The pairing is typically a Cartesian product or a tensor product. The object that | |
11. n. (physics) The product of energy and time. | |
12. n. The event or connected series of events, either real or imaginary, forming the subject of a play, poem, or other composition; the unfolding of the drama of events. | |
13. n. (art, painting and sculpture) The attitude or position of the several parts of the body as expressive of the sentiment or passion depicted. | |
14. n. (bowling) spin put on the bowling ball. | |
15. n. (business, obsolete, a Gallicism) A share in the capital stock of a joint-stock company, or in the public funds. | |
16. interj. Demanding or signifying the start of something, usually an act or scene of a theatric performance. | |
The director yelled ‘Action!’ before the camera started rolling. | |
17. v. (transitive, management) To act on a request etc, in order to put it into effect. | |
18. v. (transitive, chiefly archaic) To initiate a legal action against someone. | |
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. | |
insidious |
1. adj. Producing harm in a stealthy, often gradual, manner. | |
2. adj. Intending to entrap; alluring but harmful. | |
Hansel and Gretel were lured by the witch’s insidious gingerbread house. | |
3. adj. (nonstandard) Treacherous. | |
The battle was lost due to the actions of insidious defectors. | |
defectors |
1. n. plural of defector | |
defector |
1. n. one who defects. | |