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. | |
performance |
1. n. The act of performing; carrying into execution or action; execution; achievement; accomplishment; representation by action. | |
the performance of an undertaking or a duty | |
2. n. That which is performed or accomplished; a thing done or carried through; an achievement; a deed; an act; a feat; especially, an action of an elaborate or public character. | |
3. n. (arts) A live show or concert. | |
4. n. The amount of useful work accomplished estimated in terms of time needed, resources used, etc. | |
Better performance means more work accomplished in shorter time and/or using fewer resources. | |
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? | |
disturbed |
1. adj. Showing symptoms of mental illness, severe psychosis, or neurosis. | |
2. adj. Extremely alarmed; shocked. | |
3. v. simple past tense and past participle of disturb | |
disturb |
1. v. to confuse a quiet, constant state or a calm, continuous flow, in particular: thoughts, actions or liquids. | |
The noisy ventilation disturbed me during the exam. | |
The performance was disturbed twice by a ringing mobile phone. | |
A school of fish disturbed the water. | |
2. v. to divert, redirect, or alter by disturbing. | |
A mudslide disturbed the course of the river. | |
The trauma disturbed his mind. | |
3. v. (intransitive) to have a negative emotional impact; to cause emotional distress or confusion. | |
A disturbing film that tries to explore the mind of a serial killer. | |
His behaviour is very disturbing. | |
4. n. (obsolete) disturbance | |
twice |
1. adv. Two times. | |
2. adv. (usually with "as", of a specified quality) Doubled in quantity, intensity, or degree. | |
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. | |
ringing |
1. n. The sound of something that rings. | |
2. n. The quality of being resonant. | |
3. n. A technique used in the study of wild birds, by attaching a small, individually numbered, metal or plastic tag to their legs or wings. | |
4. adj. Loud and clear. | |
5. adj. Made forcefully; powerful. | |
6. v. present participle of ring | |
ring |
1. n. (physical) A solid object in the shape of a circle. | |
2. n. A circumscribing object, (roughly) circular and hollow, looking like an annual ring, earring, finger ring etc. | |
3. n. A round piece of (precious) metal worn around the finger or through the ear, nose, etc. | |
4. n. (British) A bird band, a round piece of metal put around a bird's leg used for identification and studies of migration. | |
5. n. (UK) A burner on a kitchen stove. | |
6. n. In a jack plug, the connector between the tip and the sleeve. | |
7. n. An instrument, formerly used for taking the sun's altitude, consisting of a brass ring suspended by a swivel, with a hole at one side through which a s | |
8. n. (botany) A flexible band partly or wholly encircling the spore cases of ferns. | |
9. n. (physical) A group of objects arranged in a circle. | |
10. n. A circular group of people or objects. | |
a ring of mushrooms growing in the wood | |
11. n. (astronomy) A formation of various pieces of material orbiting around a planet. | |
12. n. (British) A large circular prehistoric stone construction such as Stonehenge. | |
13. n. A piece of food in the shape of a ring. | |
onion rings | |
14. n. A place where some sports or exhibitions take place; notably a circular or comparable arena, such as a boxing ring or a circus ring; hence the field of a political contest. | |
15. n. An exclusive group of people, usually involving some unethical or illegal practices. | |
a crime ring; a prostitution ring; a bidding ring (at an auction sale) | |
16. n. (chemistry) A group of atoms linked by bonds to form a closed chain in a molecule. | |
a benzene ring | |
17. n. (geometry) A planar geometrical figure included between two concentric circles. | |
18. n. (typography) A diacritical mark in the shape of a hollow circle placed above or under the letter; a kroužek. | |
19. n. (historical) An old English measure of corn equal to the coomb or half a quarter. | |
20. n. (computing theory) A hierarchical level of privilege in a computer system, usually at hardware level, used to protect data and functionality (also protection ring). | |
21. n. (firearms) Either of the pair of clamps used to hold a telescopic sight to a rifle. | |
22. n. (cartomancy) The twenty-fifth Lenormand card. | |
23. v. To surround or enclose. | |
The inner city was ringed with dingy industrial areas. | |
24. v. (transitive, figuratively) To make an incision around; to girdle. | |
They ringed the trees to make the clearing easier next year. | |
25. v. To attach a ring to, especially for identification. | |
We managed to ring 22 birds this morning. | |
26. v. To surround or fit with a ring, or as if with a ring. | |
to ring a pig's snout | |
27. v. (falconry) To rise in the air spirally. | |
28. n. The resonant sound of a bell, or a sound resembling it. | |
The church bell's ring could be heard the length of the valley. | |
The ring of hammer on anvil filled the air. | |
29. n. (figuratively) A pleasant or correct sound. | |
The name has a nice ring to it. | |
30. n. (figuratively) A sound or appearance that is characteristic of something. | |
Her statements in court had a ring of falsehood. | |
31. n. (colloquial) A telephone call. | |
I’ll give you a ring when the plane lands. | |
32. n. Any loud sound; the sound of numerous voices; a sound continued, repeated, or reverberated. | |
33. n. A chime, or set of bells harmonically tuned. | |
St Mary's has a ring of eight bells. | |
34. v. (intransitive) Of a bell, etc., to produce a resonant sound. | |
The bells were ringing in the town. | |
35. v. To make (a bell, etc.) produce a resonant sound. | |
The deliveryman rang the doorbell to drop off a parcel. | |
36. v. (intransitive, figuratively) To produce the sound of a bell or a similar sound. | |
Whose mobile phone is ringing? | |
37. v. (intransitive, figuratively) Of something spoken or written, to appear to be, to seem, to sound. | |
That does not ring true. | |
38. v. (transitive, colloquial, British, New Zealand) To telephone (someone). | |
I will ring you when we arrive. | |
39. v. (intransitive) to resound, reverberate, echo. | |
40. v. (intransitive) To produce music with bells. | |
41. v. (dated) To repeat often, loudly, or earnestly. | |
42. n. (algebra) An algebraic structure which consists of a set with two binary operations: an additive operation and a multiplicative operation, such that the set is an abelian group under the additive oper | |
The set of integers,\mathbbZ, is the prototypical ring. | |
43. n. (algebra) An algebraic structure as above, but only required to be a semigroup under the multiplicative operation, that is, there need not be a multiplicative identity element. | |
The definition of ring without unity allows, for instance, the set2\mathbbZ of even integers to be a ring. | |
mobile |
1. adj. Capable of being moved, especially on wheels. | |
a mobile home | |
2. adj. By agency of mobile phones. | |
mobile internet | |
3. adj. Characterized by an extreme degree of fluidity; moving or flowing with great freedom. | |
Mercury is a mobile liquid. | |
4. adj. Easily moved in feeling, purpose, or direction; excitable; changeable; fickle. | |
5. adj. Changing in appearance and expression under the influence of the mind. | |
mobile features | |
6. adj. (biology) Capable of being moved, aroused, or excited; capable of spontaneous movement. | |
7. n. (arts) A kinetic sculpture or decorative arrangement made of items hanging so that they can move independently from each other. | |
8. n. (telephony, UK) (ellipsis of mobile phone) | |
9. n. (internet) The internet accessed via mobile devices. | |
there are many business opportunities in mobile | |
10. n. Something that can move. | |
phone |
1. n. A device for transmitting conversations and other sounds in real time across distances, now often a small portable unit also capable of running software etc. | |
2. v. To call (someone) on the telephone. | |
3. n. (phonetics) A speech segment that possesses distinct physical or perceptual properties, considered as a physical event without regard to its place in the phonology of a language. | |