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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.
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
which
     1. det. (interrogative) What, of those mentioned or implied.
           Which song made the charts?
     2. det. (relative) The one or ones that.
           Show me which one is bigger.
           They couldn't decide which song to play.
     3. det. (relative) The one or ones mentioned.
           He once owned a painting of the house, which painting would later be stolen.
           For several seconds he sat in silence, during which time the tea and sandwiches arrived.
           I'm thinking of getting a new car, in which case I'd get a red one.
     4. pron. (interrogative) What one or ones (of those mentioned or implied).
           Which is bigger?;  Which is which?
     5. pron. (relative) Who; whom; what (of those mentioned or implied).
           He walked by a door with a sign, which read: PRIVATE OFFICE.
           We've met some problems which are very difficult to handle.
           He had to leave, which was very difficult.
           No art can be properly understood apart from the culture of which it is a part.
     6. pron. (relative, archaic) Used of people (now generally who, whom or that).
     7. n. An occurrence of the word which.
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.
descent
     1. n. An instance of descending; act of coming down.
           We climbed the mountain with difficulty, but the descent was easier.
     2. n. A way down.
           We had difficulty in finding the correct descent.
     3. n. A sloping passage or incline.
           The descent into the cavern was wet and slippery.
     4. n. Lineage or hereditary derivation.
           Our guide was of Welsh descent.
           After that, the holiday went into a steep descent.
     5. n. A falling upon or invasion.
     6. n. (topology) A particular extension of the idea of gluing. See Descent (mathematics).
Is
     1. n. plural of I
     2. v. third-person singular present indicative of be
           He is a doctor. He retired some time ago.
           Should he do the task, it is vital that you follow him.
     3. n. plural of i
           remember to dot your is
     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?
fixed
     1. v. simple past tense and past participle of fix
     2. adj. Not changing, not able to be changed, staying the same.
           fixed assets
           I work fixed hours for a fixed salary.
           Every religion has its own fixed ideas.
           He looked at me with a fixed glare.
     3. adj. Stationary.
     4. adj. Attached; affixed.
     5. adj. Chemically stable.
     6. adj. Supplied with what one needs.
           She's nicely fixed after two divorce settlements.
     7. adj. (legal) Of sound, recorded on a permanent medium.
           In the United States, recordings are only granted copyright protection when the sounds in the recording were fixed and first published on or after February 15, 1972.
     8. adj. (dialectal, informal) Surgically rendered infertile (spayed, neutered or castrated).
           a fixed tomcat; the she-cat has been fixed
     9. adj. Rigged; fraudulently prearranged.
     10. adj. (of a problem) Resolved; corrected.
     11. adj. Repaired
     fix
          1. n. A repair or corrective action.
                That plumber's fix is much better than the first one's.
          2. n. A difficult situation; a quandary or dilemma.
                It rained before we repaired the roof, and were we in a fix!
          3. n. (informal) A single dose of an addictive drug administered to a drug user.
          4. n. A prearrangement of the outcome of a supposedly competitive process, such as a sporting event, a game, an election, a trial, or a bid.
          5. n. A determination of location.
                We have a fix on your position.
          6. n. (US) fettlings (mixture used to line a furnace)
          7. v. (transitive, obsolete) To pierce; now generally replaced by transfix.
          8. v.          (transitive, by extension) (Of a piercing look) to direct at someone.
                         He fixed me with a sickly grin, and said, "I told you it wouldn't work!".
          9. v. To attach; to affix; to hold in place or at a particular time.
                A dab of chewing gum will fix your note to the bulletin board.
                A leech can fix itself to your skin without you feeling it.
                The Constitution fixes the date when Congress must meet.
          10. v.          (transitive figuratively, usually in the passive) To focus or determine (oneself, on a concept); to fixate.
                         She's fixed on the idea of becoming a doctor.
          11. v. To mend, to repair.
                That heater will start a fire if you don't fix it.
          12. v. (transitive, informal) To prepare (food).
                She fixed dinner for the kids.
          13. v. To make (a contest, vote, or gamble) unfair; to privilege one contestant or a particular group of contestants, usually before the contest begins; to arrange immunity for defendants by tam
                A majority of voters believed the election was fixed in favor of the incumbent.
          14. v. (transitive, US, informal) To surgically render an animal, especially a pet, infertile.
                Rover stopped digging under the fence after we had the vet fix him.
          15. v. (transitive, mathematics, sematics) To map a (point or subset) to itself.
          16. v. (transitive, informal) To take revenge on, to best; to serve justice on an assumed miscreant.
                He got caught breaking into lockers, so a couple of guys fixed him after work.
          17. v. To render (a photographic impression) permanent by treating with such applications as will make it insensitive to the action of light.
          18. v. (transitive, chemistry, biology) To convert into a stable or available form.
                Legumes are valued in crop rotation for their ability to fix nitrogen.
          19. v. (intransitive) To become fixed; to settle or remain permanently; to cease from wandering; to rest.
          20. v. (intransitive) To become firm, so as to resist volatilization; to cease to flow or be fluid; to congeal; to become hard and malleable, as a metallic substance.
Dictionary entries from Wiktionary