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 | |
execute |
1. v. To kill as punishment for capital crimes. | |
There are certain states where it is lawful to execute prisoners convicted of certain crimes. | |
2. v. To carry out; to put into effect. | |
Your orders have been executed, sir! | |
I'll execute your orders as soon as this meeting is adjourned. | |
3. v. To perform. | |
to execute a difficult piece of music brilliantly | |
to execute a turn in ballet | |
4. v. To cause to become legally valid | |
to execute a contract | |
5. v. (transitive, computing) To start, launch or run | |
to execute a program | |
6. v. (intransitive, computing) To run, usually successfully. | |
The program executed, but data problems were discovered. | |
somebody |
1. pron. Some unspecified person. | |
Somebody has to clean this mess up. | |
2. n. A recognised person, a celebrity. | |
I'm tired of being a nobody – I want to be a somebody. | |
without |
1. adv. (archaic, or literary) Outside, externally. | |
2. adv. Lacking something. | |
Being from a large, poor family, he learned to live without. | |
3. adv. (euphemism) In prostitution: without a condom being worn. | |
4. prep. (archaic, or literary) Outside of, beyond. | |
The snow was swirling without the cottage, but it was warm within. | |
5. prep. Not having, containing, characteristic of, etc. | |
It was a mistake to leave my house without a coat. | |
6. prep. Not doing or not having done something. | |
He likes to eat everything without sharing. | |
He shot without warning anyone. | |
7. conj. (archaic, otherwise nonstandard) Unless, except (introducing a clause). | |
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. | |
proper |
1. adj. Suitable.: | |
2. adj. Suited or acceptable to the purpose or circumstances; fit, suitable. | |
the proper time to plant potatoes | |
3. adj. Following the established standards of behavior or manners; correct or decorous. | |
a very proper young lady | |
4. adj. Possessed, related.: | |
5. adj. (grammar) Used to designate a particular person, place, or thing. Proper nouns are usually written with an initial capital letter. | |
6. adj. Pertaining exclusively to a specific thing or person; particular. | |
7. adj. (usually postpositive) In the strict sense; within the strict definition or core (of a specified place, taxonomic order, idea, etc). | |
8. adj. (archaic) Belonging to oneself or itself; own. | |
9. adj. (heraldry) Portrayed in natural or usual coloration, as opposed to conventional tinctures. | |
10. adj. (mathematics) Being strictly part of some other (not necessarily explicitly mentioned, but of definitional importance) thing, and not being the thing i | |
proper subset — proper ideal - | |
11. adj. (mathematics, physics) Eigen-; designating a function or value which is an eigenfunction or eigenvalue. | |
12. adj. Accurate, strictly applied.: | |
13. adj. Excellent, of high quality; such as the specific person or thing should ideally be. (Now often merged with later senses.) | |
Now that was a proper breakfast. | |
14. adj. (now regional) Attractive, elegant. | |
15. adj. (often postpositive) In the very strictest sense of the word. | |
16. adj. (now colloquial) Utter, complete. | |
When I realized I was wearing my shirt inside out, I felt a proper fool. | |
17. adv. (colloquial) properly; thoroughly; completely | |
18. adv. (nonstandard, colloquial) properly | |
legal |
1. adj. Relating to the law or to lawyers. | |
legal profession | |
2. adj. Having its basis in the law. | |
legal precedent | |
3. adj. Being allowed or prescribed by law. | |
legal motion | |
4. adj. (informal) Above the age of consent or the legal drinking age. | |
5. n. (informal) The legal department of a company. | |
Legal wants this in writing. | |
6. n. (US, Canada) Paper in sheets 8½ in × 14 in (215.9 mm × 355.6 mm). | |
7. n. A spy who is attached to, and ostensibly employed by, an embassy, military outpost, etc. | |
trial |
1. n. An opportunity to test something out; a test. | |
They will perform the trials for the new equipment next week. | |
2. n. Appearance at judicial court in order to be examined. | |
3. n. A difficult or annoying experience. | |
That boy was a trial to his parents. | |
4. n. A tryout to pick members of a team. | |
soccer trials | |
5. n. (ceramics) A piece of ware used to test the heat of a kiln. | |
6. n. (UK) An internal examination set by Eton College. | |
7. adj. Pertaining to a trial or test. | |
8. adj. Attempted on a provisional or experimental basis. | |
9. v. To carry out a series of tests on (a new product, procedure etc.) before marketing or implementing it. | |
The warning system was extensively trialed before being fitted to all our vehicles. | |
10. v. To try out (a new player) in a sports team. | |
The team trialled a new young goalkeeper in Saturday's match, with mixed results. | |
11. adj. Characterized by having three (usually equivalent) components. | |
12. adj. Triple. | |
13. adj. (grammar) Pertaining to a language form referring to three of something, like people; contrast singular, dual and plural. (See Ambai language for an example.) | |
No language has a trial number unless it has a dual. | |
or |
1. conj. Connects at least two alternative words, phrases, clauses, sentences, etc. each of which could make a passage true. In English, this is the "inclusive or." The "exclusive or" is formed by "either(...) | |
In Ohio, anyone under the age of 18 who wants a tattoo or body piercing needs the consent of a parent or guardian. | |
He might get cancer, or be hit by a bus, or God knows what. | |
2. conj. (logic) An operator denoting the disjunction of two propositions or truth values. There are two forms, the inclusive or and the exclusive or. | |
3. conj. Counts the elements before and after as two possibilities. | |
4. conj. Otherwise (a consequence of the condition that the previous is false). | |
It's raining! Come inside or you'll catch a cold! | |
5. conj. Connects two equivalent names. | |
The country Myanmar, or Burma | |
6. n. (logic, electronics) alternative form of OR | |
7. n. (tincture) The gold or yellow tincture on a coat of arms. | |
8. adj. (tincture) Of gold or yellow tincture on a coat of arms. | |
9. adv. (obsolete) Early (on). | |
10. adv. (obsolete) Earlier, previously. | |
11. prep. (now archaic, or dialect) Before; ere. | |
procedure |
1. n. A particular method for performing a task. | |
2. n. A series of small tasks or steps taken to accomplish an end. | |
3. n. The set of established forms or methods of an organized body for accomplishing a certain task or tasks. | |
Ensure that you follow procedure when accessing customers' personal information. | |
4. n. The steps taken in an action or other legal proceeding. | |
5. n. (obsolete) That which results; issue; product. | |
6. n. (computing) A subroutine or function coded to perform a specific task. | |
7. n. (medicine) A surgical operation. | |
especially |
1. adv. (manner) In a special manner; specially. | |
2. adv. (focus) Particularly; to a greater extent than is normal. | |
3. adv. (focus) Used to place greater emphasis upon someone or something. | |
Invite them all, especially Molly. | |
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 | |
hanging |
1. v. present participle of hang | |
2. adj. Suspended. | |
The hanging vines made the house look older than it was. | |
3. adj. (chess, of a piece) Unprotected and exposed to capture. | |
4. adj. (baseball, slang) Hittable; poorly executed by the pitcher hence relatively easy to hit. | |
hanging breaking ball | |
hanging slider | |
5. adj. (slang) ugly; very unattractive | |
6. n. The act of hanging a person (or oneself) by the neck in order to execute that person (or to commit suicide). | |
Hanging is the punishment for one convicted of war crimes, there. | |
7. n. A sometimes public event at which a person is hanged. | |
The hanging of the bandits was attended by the whole village. | |
8. n. Anything that is hung as a decorative element (such as curtains, gobelins or posters). | |
The various hangings on that Christmas tree look nice. | |
9. n. The way in which hangings (decorations) are arranged. | |
I dislike the cramped hanging in the gallery of 18th century painters. | |
hang |
1. v. (intransitive) To be or remain suspended. | |
The lights hung from the ceiling. | |
2. v. (intransitive) To float, as if suspended. | |
The smoke hung in the room. | |
3. v. (intransitive, of a ball in cricket, tennis, etc.) To rebound unexpectedly or unusually slowly, due to backward spin on the ball or imperfections of the ground. | |
4. v. To hold or bear in a suspended or inclined manner or position instead of erect. | |
He hung his head in shame. | |
5. v. To cause (something) to be suspended, as from a hook, hanger or the like. | |
Hang those lights from the ceiling. | |
It is impossible but that offences will come: but woe unto him, through whom they come! It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than | |
6. v. (transitive, legal) To execute (someone) by suspension from the neck. | |
The culprits were hanged from the nearest tree. | |
7. v. (intransitive, legal) To be executed by suspension by one's neck from a gallows, a tree, or other raised bar, attached by a rope tied into a noose. | |
You will hang for this, my friend. | |
8. v. (intransitive, informal) To loiter, hang around, to spend time idly. | |
Are you busy, or can you hang with me? I didn't see anything, officer. I was just hanging. | |
9. v. To exhibit (an object) by hanging. | |
10. v. To apply (wallpaper or drywall to a wall). | |
Let's hang this cute animal design in the nursery. | |
11. v. To decorate (something) with hanging objects. | |
Let's hang the nursery with some new wallpaper. | |
12. v. (intransitive, figuratively) To remain persistently in one's thoughts. | |
13. v. To prevent from reaching a decision, especially by refusing to join in a verdict that must be unanimous. | |
One obstinate juror can hang a jury. | |
14. v. (intransitive, computing) To stop responding to manual input devices such as keyboard and mouse. | |
The computer has hung again. Not even pressing++ works. When I push this button the program hangs. | |
15. v. (transitive, computing) To cause (a program or computer) to stop responding. | |
The program has a bug that can hang the system. | |
16. v. (transitive, chess) To cause (a piece) to become vulnerable to capture. | |
If you move there, you'll hang your queen rook. | |
17. v. (intransitive, chess) To be vulnerable to capture. | |
In this standard opening position White has to be careful because the pawn on e4 hangs. | |
18. v. (transitive, baseball, slang) Of a pitcher, to throw a hittable off-speed pitch. | |
19. n. The way in which something hangs. | |
This skirt has a nice hang. | |
20. n. (figuratively) A grip, understanding | |
He got the hang of it after only two demonstrations | |
21. n. (computing) An instance of ceasing to respond to input devices. | |
We sometimes get system hangs. | |
22. n. A sharp or steep declivity or slope. | |
23. n. (Ireland, informal, derogatory) Cheap, processed ham (cured pork), often made specially for sandwiches. | |
24. n. alternative spelling of Hang | |