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. | |
canny |
1. adj. Careful, prudent, cautious. | |
The politician gave a canny response to the reporter's questions. | |
2. adj. Knowing, shrewd, astute. | |
The canny lawyer knew just how to get what he wanted. | |
3. adj. Frugal, thrifty. | |
canny investments | |
4. adj. (Scotland, Northumbria) Pleasant, fair, favorable or agreeable to deal with. | |
She's a canny lass hor like! | |
5. adj. (Scotland, Northumbria) Gentle, quiet, steady. | |
a canny horse; be canny with this letter | |
6. adv. (Northumbria) Very, considerably; quite, rather. | |
That's a canny big horse, man! | |
a canny long journey; canny near home | |
7. adv. (Scotland, Northumbria) Gently, quietly; carefully, skilfully. | |
he sits very canny; drive canny | |
lawyer |
1. n. A professional person qualified (as by a law degree and/or bar exam) and authorized to practice law, i.e. conduct lawsuits and/or give legal advice. | |
2. n. By extension, a legal layman who argues points of law. | |
3. n. (colloquial, UK) The burbot | |
4. v. (informal, intransitive) To practice law. | |
5. v. (intransitive) To perform, or attempt to perform, the work of a lawyer. | |
6. v. (intransitive) To make legalistic arguments. | |
7. v. (informal, transitive) To barrage (a person) with questions in order to get them to admit something. | |
You've been lawyered! | |
knew |
1. v. simple past tense of know | |
know |
1. v. To perceive the truth or factuality of; to be certain of or that. | |
I know that I’m right and you’re wrong. | |
He knew something terrible was going to happen. | |
2. v. To be aware of; to be cognizant of. | |
Did you know Michelle and Jack were getting divorced? ― Yes, I knew. | |
She knows where I live. | |
I knew he was upset, but I didn't understand why. | |
3. v. To be acquainted or familiar with; to have encountered. | |
I know your mother, but I’ve never met your father. | |
4. v. To experience. | |
Their relationship knew ups and downs. | |
5. v. To distinguish, to discern, particularly by contrast or comparison; to recognize the nature of. | |
to know a person's face or figure | |
to know right from wrong | |
I wouldn't know one from the other. | |
6. v. To recognize as the same (as someone or something previously encountered) after an absence or change. | |
7. v. To understand or have a grasp of through experience or study. | |
Let me do it. I know how it works. | |
She knows how to swim. | |
His mother tongue is Italian, but he also knows French and English. | |
She knows chemistry better than anybody else. | |
Know your enemy and know yourself. | |
8. v. (transitive, archaic, Biblical) To have sexual relations with. | |
9. v. (intransitive) To have knowledge; to have information, be informed. | |
It is vital that he not know. | |
She knew of our plan. | |
He knows about 19th century politics. | |
10. v. (intransitive) To be or become aware or cognizant. | |
Did you know Michelle and Jack were getting divorced? ― Yes, I knew. | |
11. v. (intransitive, obsolete) To be acquainted (with another person). | |
12. v. To be able to play or perform (a song or other piece of music). | |
Do you know "Blueberry Hill"? | |
13. n. (rare) Knowledge; the state of knowing. | |
just |
1. adj. Factually right, correct; factual. | |
It is a just assessment of the facts. | |
2. adj. Rationally right, correct. | |
3. adj. Morally right; upright, righteous, equitable; fair. | |
It looks like a just solution at first glance. | |
4. adj. Proper, adequate. | |
5. adv. Only, simply, merely. | |
Plant just a few tomatoes, unless you can freeze or dry them. | |
He calls it vermilion, but it's just red to me. | |
6. adv. (sentence adverb) Used to reduce the force of an imperative; simply. | |
Just follow the directions on the box. | |
7. adv. (speech act) Used to convey a less serious or formal tone | |
I just called to say "hi". | |
8. adv. (speech act) Used to show humility. | |
Lord, we just want to thank You and praise Your Name. | |
9. adv. (degree) absolutely, positively | |
It is just splendid! | |
10. adv. Moments ago, recently. | |
They just left, but you may leave a message at the desk. | |
11. adv. By a narrow margin; closely; nearly. | |
The fastball just missed my head! | |
The piece just might fit. | |
12. adv. Exactly, precisely, perfectly. | |
He wants everything just right for the big day. | |
13. interj. (slang) Expressing dismay or discontent. | |
14. n. A joust, tournament. | |
15. v. To joust, fight a tournament. | |
how |
1. adv. To what degree. | |
How often do you practice? | |
2. adv. In what manner. | |
How do you solve this puzzle? How else can we get this finished? | |
3. adj. In what state. | |
How are you? | |
How was your vacation? | |
4. adj. Used as a modifier to indicate surprise, delight, or other strong feelings in an exclamation. | |
How very interesting! How wonderful it was to receive your invitation. | |
5. n. The means by which something is accomplished. | |
I am not interested in the why, but in the how. | |
6. conj. In which way; in such way. | |
I remember how to solve this puzzle. | |
7. conj. That, the fact that, the way that. | |
8. n. (dialectal) An artificial barrow or tumulus. | |
9. n. (dialectal) A small hill in northern England. (Usage preserved mainly in place names.) | |
10. interj. A greeting, used in representations of Native American speech. | |
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 | |
get |
1. v. (ditransitive) To obtain; to acquire. | |
I'm going to get a computer tomorrow from the discount store. | |
Lance is going to get Mary a ring. | |
2. v. To receive. | |
I got a computer from my parents for my birthday. | |
You need to get permission to leave early. | |
He got a severe reprimand for that. | |
3. v. (transitive, in a perfect construction, with present-tense meaning) To have. (See usage notes.) | |
I've got a concert ticket for you. | |
4. v. (copulative) To become. | |
I'm getting hungry; how about you? | |
Don't get drunk tonight. | |
5. v. To cause to become; to bring about. | |
That song gets me so depressed every time I hear it. | |
I'll get this finished by lunchtime. | |
I can't get these boots off upright - (or on'upright,). | |
6. v. To fetch, bring, take. | |
Can you get my bag from the living-room, please? | |
I need to get this to the office. | |
7. v. To cause to do. | |
Somehow she got him to agree to it. | |
I can't get it to work. | |
8. v. (intransitive, with various prepositions, such as into, over, or behind; for specific idiomatic senses see individual entries get into, get over, etc.) To adopt, assume, arrive at, or progress towards | |
The actors are getting into position. | |
When are we going to get to London? | |
I'm getting into a muddle. | |
We got behind the wall. | |
9. v. To cover (a certain distance) while travelling. | |
to get a mile | |
10. v. To cause to come or go or move. | |
11. v. To cause to be in a certain status or position. | |
12. v. (intransitive) To begin (doing something). | |
We ought to get moving or we'll be late. | |
After lunch we got chatting. | |
13. v. To take or catch (a scheduled transportation service). | |
I normally get the 7:45 train. | |
I'll get the 9 a.m. flight to Boston. | |
14. v. To respond to (a telephone call, a doorbell, etc). | |
Can you get that call, please? I'm busy. | |
15. v. (intransitive, followed by infinitive) To be able, permitted (to do something); to have the opportunity (to do something). | |
I'm so jealous that you got to see them perform live! | |
The finders get to keep 80 percent of the treasure. | |
16. v. (transitive, informal) To understand. (compare get it) | |
Yeah, I get it, it's just not funny. | |
I don't get what you mean by "fun". This place sucks! | |
I mentioned that I was feeling sad, so she mailed me a box of chocolates. She gets me. | |
17. v. (transitive, informal) To be told; be the recipient of (a question, comparison, opinion, etc.). | |
"You look just like Helen Mirren." / "I get that a lot.". | |
18. v. (informal) To be. Used to form the passive of verbs. | |
He got bitten by a dog. | |
19. v. To become ill with or catch (a disease). | |
I went on holiday and got malaria. | |
20. v. (transitive, informal) To catch out, trick successfully. | |
He keeps calling pretending to be my boss—it gets me every time. | |
21. v. (transitive, informal) To perplex, stump. | |
That question's really got me. | |
22. v. To find as an answer. | |
What did you get for question four? | |
23. v. (transitive, informal) To bring to reckoning; to catch (as a criminal); to effect retribution. | |
The cops finally got me. | |
I'm gonna get him for that. | |
24. v. To hear completely; catch. | |
Sorry, I didn't get that. Could you repeat it? | |
25. v. To getter. | |
I put the getter into the container to get the gases. | |
26. v. (now rare) To beget (of a father). | |
27. v. (archaic) To learn; to commit to memory; to memorize; sometimes with out. | |
to get a lesson; to get out one's Greek lesson | |
28. v. (imperative, informal) Used with a personal pronoun to indicate that someone is being pretentious or grandiose. | |
Get her with her new hairdo. | |
29. v. (informal, mostly, imperative) Go away; get lost. | |
30. v. (euphemism) To kill. | |
They’re coming to get you, Barbara. | |
31. v. (intransitive, obsolete) To make acquisitions; to gain; to profit. | |
32. n. (dated) Offspring. | |
33. n. Lineage. | |
34. n. (sports) A difficult return or block of a shot. | |
35. n. Something gained. | |
36. n. (UK, regional) A git. | |
37. n. (Judaism) A Jewish writ of divorce. | |
what |
1. pron. (interrogative) Which thing, event, circumstance, etc.: (used interrogatively in asking for the specification of an identity, quantity, quality, etc.) | |
2. pron. (relative, nonstandard) That; which; who. | |
3. pron. That which; those that; the thing that. | |
He knows what he wants. | |
What goes up must come down. | |
Keep up with what your friends are doing. | |
4. pron. Whatever. | |
I will do what I can to help you. | |
5. adv. (usually followed by "with") In some manner or degree; in part; partly. See also what with | |
What with singing and joking, the time passed quickly. | |
6. adv. Such. | |
What a pity. | |
What a beautiful day! | |
7. adv. (obsolete) Why? | |
8. adv. (now rare) Used to introduce each of two coordinate phrases or concepts; both…and. | |
9. adv. (Singlish) (alt form, wat) (used to contradict an assumption) | |
10. interj. An expression of surprise or disbelief. | |
What! That’s amazing. | |
11. interj. Response that enquires what the asker desires (usually said unhappily). | |
12. interj. (UK, colloquial, dated) (clipping of what do you say)? | |
It’s a nice day, what? | |
13. interj. What did you say? I beg your pardon? | |
14. det. Which; which kind of. | |
What shirt are you going to wear? | |
What time is it? | |
What kind of car is that? | |
15. det. How much; how great (used in an exclamation). | |
What talent he has! | |
What a talent! | |
16. det. (relative) Whatever | |
Write down what things come into your mind. | |
17. n. (obsolete) Something; thing; stuff. | |
18. n. The identity of a thing, as an answer to a question of what. | |
19. n. Something that is addressed by , as opposed to a person, addressed by who. | |
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). | |
wanted |
1. adj. wished for; desired; sought | |
2. adj. (legal) subject to immediate detainment by law enforcement authorities on sight. | |
3. v. simple past tense and past participle of want | |
want |
1. v. To wish for or to desire (something). | |
What do you want to eat? I want you to leave. I never wanted to go back to live with my mother. I want to be an astronaut when I'm older. I don't want him | |
2. v. (intransitive, now dated) To be lacking or deficient; not to exist. | |
There was something wanting in the play. | |
3. v. To lack, not to have (something). | |
4. v. (transitive, colloquially with verbal noun as object) To be in need of; to require (something). | |
That chair wants fixing. | |
5. v. (intransitive, dated) To be in a state of destitution; to be needy; to lack. | |
6. n. A desire, wish, longing. | |
7. n. (often, followed by of) Lack, absence. | |
8. n. Poverty. | |
9. n. Something needed or desired; a thing of which the loss is felt. | |
10. n. (mining) A depression in coal strata, hollowed out before the subsequent deposition took place. | |