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. | |
telephone |
1. n. A telecommunication device (originally mechanical, and now electronic) used for two-way talking with another person (often shortened to phone). | |
2. n. (North America) The game of Chinese whispers. | |
3. v. To (attempt to) contact someone using the telephone. | |
and |
1. conj. As a coordinating conjunction; expressing two elements to be taken together or in addition to each other. | |
2. conj. Used simply to connect two noun phrases, adjectives or adverbs. | |
3. conj. Simply connecting two clauses or sentences. | |
4. conj. Introducing a clause or sentence which follows on in time or consequence from the first. | |
5. conj. (obsolete) Yet; but. | |
6. conj. Used to connect certain numbers: connecting units when they precede tens (not dated); connecting tens and units to hundreds, thousands etc. (now often | |
7. conj. (now colloquial, or literary) Used to connect more than two elements together in a chain, sometimes to stress the number of elements. | |
8. conj. Connecting two identical elements, with implications of continued or infinite repetition. | |
9. conj. Introducing a parenthetical or explanatory clause. | |
10. conj. Introducing the continuation of narration from a previous understood point; also used alone as a question: ‘and so what?’. | |
11. conj. (now regional or somewhat colloquial) Used to connect two verbs where the second is dependent on the first: ‘to’. Used especially after come, | |
12. conj. Introducing a qualitative difference between things having the same name; "as well as other". | |
13. conj. Used to combine numbers in addition; plus (with singular or plural verb). | |
14. conj. Expressing a condition.: | |
15. conj. (now US dialect) If; provided that. | |
16. conj. (obsolete) As if, as though. | |
17. n. (enm, music, often informal) In rhythm, the second half of a divided beat. | |
18. n. (UK dialectal) Breath. | |
19. n. (UK dialectal) Sea smoke; steam fog. | |
20. v. (UK dialectal, intransitive) To breathe; whisper; devise; imagine. | |
television |
1. n. An electronic communication medium that allows the transmission of real-time visual images, and often sound. | |
It’s a good thing that television doesn’t transmit smell. | |
2. n. A device for receiving television signals and displaying them in visual form. | |
I have an old television in the study. | |
3. n. Collectively, the programs broadcast via the medium of television. | |
fifty-seven channels and nothing on television | |
4. n. Vision at a distance. | |
5. v. (neologism, informal) To watch television. | |
are |
1. v. second-person singular present of be | |
Mary, where are you going? | |
2. v. first-person plural present of be | |
We are not coming. | |
3. v. second-person plural present of be | |
Mary and John, are you listening? | |
4. v. third-person plural present of be | |
They are here somewhere. | |
5. v. (East Yorkshire, Midlands) present of be | |
6. n. (dialectal, or obsolete) grace, mercy | |
To bid God's are. | |
God's are is what children of God seech and seek. | |
7. n. (obsolete) honour, dignity | |
8. n. (rare) an accepted (but deprecated and rarely used) SI unit of area equal to 100 square metres, or a former unit of approximately the same extent. Symbol: a | |
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? | |
coevals |
1. n. plural of coeval | |
in |
1. prep. Used to indicate location, inclusion, or position within spatial, temporal or other limits. | |
2. prep. Contained by. | |
The dog is in the kennel. | |
3. prep. Within. | |
4. prep. Surrounded by. | |
We are in the enemy camp. Her plane is in the air. | |
5. prep. Part of; a member of. | |
One in a million. She's in band and orchestra. | |
6. prep. Pertaining to; with regard to. | |
What grade did he get in English? | |
Military letters should be formal in tone, but not stilted. | |
7. prep. At the end of a period of time. | |
They said they would call us in a week. | |
8. prep. Within a certain elapsed time | |
Are you able to finish this in three hours? The massacre resulted in over 1000 deaths in three hours. | |
9. prep. During (said of periods of time). | |
in the first week of December; Easter falls in the fourth lunar month; The country reached a high level of prosperity in his fi | |
10. prep. (grammar, phonetics, of sounds and letters) Coming at the end of a word. | |
English nouns in -ce form their plurals in -s. | |
11. prep. Into. | |
Less water gets in your boots this way. | |
12. prep. Used to indicate limit, qualification, condition, or circumstance. | |
In replacing the faucet washers, he felt he was making his contribution to the environment. | |
13. prep. Indicating an order or arrangement. | |
My fat rolls around in folds. | |
14. prep. Denoting a state of the subject. | |
He stalked away in anger. John is in a coma. | |
15. prep. Indicates, connotatively, a place-like form of someone's (or something's) personality, as his, her or its psychic and physical characteristics. | |
You've got a friend in me. He's met his match in her. | |
16. prep. Wearing (an item of clothing). | |
I glanced over at the pretty girl in the red dress. | |
17. prep. Used to indicate means, medium, format, genre, or instrumentality. | |
18. prep. (of something offered or given in an exchange) In the form of, in the denomination of. | |
Please pay me in cash — preferably in tens and twenties. | |
The deposit can be in any legal tender, even in gold. | |
Her generosity was rewarded in the success of its recipients. | |
19. prep. Used to indicate a language, script, tone, etc. of a text, speech, etc. | |
Beethoven's "Symphony No. 5" in C minor is among his most popular. | |
His speech was in French, but was simultaneously translated into eight languages. | |
When you write in cursive, it's illegible. | |
20. v. (obsolete, transitive) To enclose. | |
21. v. (obsolete, transitive) To take in; to harvest. | |
22. adv. (not comparable) Located indoors, especially at home or the office, or inside something. | |
Is Mr. Smith in? | |
23. adv. Moving to the interior of a defined space, such as a building or room. | |
Suddenly a strange man walked in. | |
24. adv. (sports) Still eligible to play, e.g. able to bat in cricket and baseball. | |
He went for the wild toss but wasn't able to stay in. | |
25. adv. (UK) Abbreviation of in aid of. | |
What's that in? | |
26. adv. After the beginning of something. | |
27. n. A position of power or a way to get it. | |
His parents got him an in with the company | |
28. n. (sport) The state of a batter/batsman who is currently batting – see innings | |
29. n. A re-entrant angle; a nook or corner. | |
30. adj. In fashion; popular. | |
Skirts are in this year. | |
31. adj. Incoming. | |
the in train | |
32. adj. (nautical, of the sails of a vessel) Furled or stowed. | |
33. adj. (legal) With privilege or possession; used to denote a holding, possession, or seisin. | |
in by descent; in by purchase; in of the seisin of her husband | |
34. adj. (cricket) Currently batting. | |
35. n. Inch. | |
that |
1. conj. Introducing a clause which is the subject or object of a verb (such as one involving reported speech), or which is a complement to a previous statement. | |
He told me that the book is a good read. | |
I believe that it is true. — She is convinced that he is British. | |
2. conj. Introducing a subordinate clause expressing a reason or cause: because, in that. | |
Be glad that you have enough to eat. | |
3. conj. (now uncommon) Introducing a subordinate clause that expresses an aim, purpose or goal ("final"), and usually contains the auxiliaries may, might or should: so, so that. | |
4. conj. Introducing — especially, but not exclusively, with an antecedent like so or such — a subordinate clause expressing a result, consequence or effect. | |
The noise was so loud that she woke up. | |
The problem was sufficiently important that it had to be addressed. | |
5. conj. (archaic, or poetic) Introducing a premise or supposition for consideration: seeing as; inasmuch as; given that; as would appear from the fact that. | |
6. conj. Introducing a subordinate clause modifying an adverb. | |
Was John there? — Not that I saw. | |
How often did she visit him? — Twice that I saw. | |
7. conj. Introducing an exclamation expressing a desire or wish. | |
8. conj. Introducing an exclamation expressing a strong emotion such as sadness or surprise. | |
9. det. The (thing, person, idea, etc) indicated or understood from context, especially if more remote physically, temporally or mentally than one designated as "this", or if expressing distinction. | |
That book is a good read. This one isn't. | |
That battle was in 1450. | |
That cat of yours is evil. | |
10. pron. (demonstrative) The thing, person, idea, quality, event, action or time indicated or understood from context, especially if more remote geographically, temporally or mentally than one designated as "t | |
He went home, and after that I never saw him again. | |
11. pron. The known (thing); (used to refer to something just said). | |
They're getting divorced. What do you think about that? | |
12. pron. (demonstrative) The aforementioned quality; used together with a verb and pronoun to emphatically repeat a previous statement. | |
The water is so cold! — That it is. | |
13. pron. (relative) (plural that) Which, who; (representing a subject, direct object, indirect object, or object of a preposition). | |
The CPR course that she took really came in handy. | |
The house that he lived in was old and dilapidated. | |
14. pron. (colloquial) (Used in place of relative adverbs such as where or when; often omitted.) | |
the place that = where or to which I went last year | |
the last time that = when I went to Europe | |
15. adv. (degree) To a given extent or degree. | |
"The ribbon was that thin." "I disagree, I say it was not that thin, it was thicker... or maybe thinner...". | |
16. adv. (degree) To a great extent or degree; very, particularly (in negative constructions). | |
I'm just not that sick. | |
I did the run last year, and it wasn't that difficult. | |
17. adv. (obsolete, outside, dialects) To such an extent; so. (in positive constructions). | |
Ooh, I was that happy I nearly kissed her. | |
18. n. (philosophy) Something being indicated that is there; one of those. | |
film |
1. n. A thin layer of some substance; a pellicle; a membranous covering, causing opacity. | |
a clear plastic film for wrapping food | |
2. n. (photography) A medium used to capture images in a camera. | |
3. n. A movie. | |
4. n. (cinema) Cinema; movies as a group. | |
5. n. A slender thread, such as that of a cobweb. | |
6. v. To record (activity, or a motion picture) on photographic film. | |
A Hollywood studio was filming on location in NYC. | |
I tried to film the UFO as it passed overhead. | |
7. v. To cover or become covered with a thin skin or pellicle. | |