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 | |
take |
1. v. To get into one's hands, possession or control, with or without force. | |
They took Charlton's gun from his cold, dead hands. | |
I'll take that plate off the table. | |
2. v. To seize or capture. | |
take the guards prisoner | |
take prisoners | |
After a bloody battle, they were able to take the city. | |
3. v. To catch or get possession of (fish or game). | |
took ten catfish in one afternoon | |
4. v. (transitive, cricket) To catch the ball; especially as a wicket-keeper and after the batsman has missed or edged it. | |
5. v. To appropriate or transfer into one's own possession, sometimes by physically carrying off. | |
Billy took her pencil. | |
6. v. To exact. | |
take a toll | |
take revenge | |
7. v. To capture or win (a piece or trick) in a game. | |
took the next two tricks | |
took Smith's rook | |
8. v. To receive or accept (something) (especially something given or bestowed, awarded, etc). | |
took third place | |
took bribes | |
The camera takes 35mm film. | |
9. v. To receive or accept (something) as payment or compensation. | |
The store doesn't take checks. | |
She wouldn't take any money for her help. | |
Do you take credit? | |
The vending machine only takes bills, it doesn't take coins. | |
10. v. To accept and follow (advice, etc). | |
take my advice | |
11. v. To receive into some relationship. | |
take a wife | |
The school only takes new students in the fall. | |
The therapist wouldn't take him as a client. | |
12. v. (transitive, intransitive, legal) To receive or acquire (property) by law (e.g. as an heir). | |
13. v. To remove. | |
take two eggs from the carton | |
14. v. To remove or end by death; to kill. | |
The earthquake took many lives. | |
The plague took rich and poor alike. | |
Cancer took her life. | |
He took his life last night. | |
15. v. To subtract. | |
take one from three and you are left with two | |
16. v. To have sex with. | |
17. v. To defeat (someone or something) in a fight. | |
Don't try to take that guy. He's bigger than you. | |
The woman guarding us looks like a professional, but I can take her! | |
18. v. To grasp or grip. | |
He took her hand in his. | |
19. v. To select or choose; to pick. | |
Take whichever bag you like. | |
She took the best men with her and left the rest to garrison the city. | |
I'll take the blue plates. | |
I'll take two sugars in my coffee, please. | |
20. v. To adopt (select) as one's own. | |
She took his side in every argument. | |
take a stand on the important issues | |
21. v. To carry or lead (something or someone). | |
She took her sword with her everywhere she went. | |
I'll take the plate with me. | |
22. v. (transitive, especially of a vehicle) To transport or carry; to convey to another place. | |
The next bus will take you to Metz. | |
I took him for a ride | |
I took him down to London. | |
23. v. (transitive, of a path, road, etc.) To lead (to a place); to serve as a means of reaching. | |
These stairs take you down to the basement. | |
Stone Street took us right past the store. | |
24. v. To pass (or attempt to pass) through or around. | |
She took the steps two or three at a time/ | |
He took the curve / corner too fast. | |
The pony took every hedge and fence in its path. | |
25. v. To escort or conduct (a person). | |
He took her to lunch at the new restaurant, took her to the movies, and then took her home. | |
26. v. (reflexive) To go. | |
27. v. To use as a means of transportation. | |
take the ferry | |
I took a plane. | |
He took the bus to London, and then took a train to Manchester. | |
He's 96 but he still takes the stairs. | |
28. v. (obsolete) To visit; to include in a course of travel. | |
29. v. To obtain for use by payment or lease. | |
She took a condo at the beach for the summer. | |
He took a full-page ad in the Times. | |
30. v. To obtain or receive regularly by (paid) subscription. | |
They took two magazines. | |
I used to take The Sunday Times. | |
31. v. To consume. | |
32. v. To receive (medicine) into one's body, e.g. by inhalation or swallowing; to ingest. | |
take two of these and call me in the morning | |
take the blue pill | |
I take aspirin every day to thin my blood. | |
33. v. To partake of (food or drink); to consume. | |
The general took dinner at seven o'clock. | |
34. v. To experience, undergo, or endure. | |
35. v. To undergo; to put oneself into, to be subjected to. | |
take sun-baths | |
take a shower | |
She made the decision to take chemotherapy. | |
36. v. To experience or feel. | |
She takes pride in her work. | |
something |
1. pron. An uncertain or unspecified thing; one thing. | |
I must have forgotten to pack something, but I can't think what. | |
I have something for you in my bag. | |
I have a feeling something good is going to happen today. | |
2. pron. (colloquial, of someone or something) A quality to a moderate degree. | |
The performance was something of a disappointment. | |
That child is something of a genius. | |
3. pron. (colloquial, of a person) A talent or quality that is difficult to specify. | |
She has a certain something. | |
4. pron. (colloquial, often with really or quite) Somebody or something who is superlative in some way. | |
He's really something! I've never heard such a great voice. | |
She's quite something. I can't believe she would do such a mean thing. | |
5. adj. Having a characteristic that the speaker cannot specify. | |
6. adv. (degree) Somewhat; to a degree. | |
The baby looks something like his father. | |
7. adv. (degree, colloquial) To a high degree. | |
8. v. Applied to an action whose name is forgotten by, unknown or unimportant to the user, e.g. from words of a song. | |
9. n. An object whose nature is yet to be defined. | |
10. n. An object whose name is forgotten by, unknown or unimportant to the user, e.g., from words of a song. Also used to refer to an object earlier indefinitely referred to as 'something' (pronoun sense). | |
for |
1. conj. (dated) Because. | |
2. prep. Towards. | |
The astronauts headed for the moon. | |
3. prep. Directed at, intended to belong to. | |
I have something for you. | |
4. prep. In honor of, or directed towards the celebration or event of. | |
We're having a birthday party for Janet. | |
The cake is for Tom and Helen's anniversary. | |
The mayor gave a speech for the charity gala. | |
5. prep. Supporting. | |
All those for the motion raise your hands. | |
6. prep. Because of. | |
He wouldn't apologize; and just for that, she refused to help him. | |
(UK usage) He looks better for having lost weight. | |
She was the worse for drink. | |
7. prep. Over a period of time. | |
I've lived here for three years. | |
They fought for days over a silly pencil. | |
8. prep. Throughout an extent of space. | |
9. prep. On behalf of. | |
I will stand in for him. | |
10. prep. Instead of, or in place of. | |
11. prep. In order to obtain or acquire. | |
I am aiming for completion by the end of business Thursday. | |
He's going for his doctorate. | |
Do you want to go for coffee? | |
People all over Greece looked to Delphi for answers. | |
Can you go to the store for some eggs? | |
I'm saving up for a car. | |
Don't wait for an answer. | |
What did he ask you for? | |
12. prep. In the direction of: marks a point one is going toward. | |
Run for the hills! | |
He was headed for the door when he remembered. | |
13. prep. By the standards of, usually with the implication of those standards being lower than one might otherwise expect. | |
Fair for its day. | |
She's spry for an old lady. | |
14. prep. Despite, in spite of. | |
15. prep. Used to indicate the subject of a to-infinitive. | |
For that to happen now is incredibly unlikely. (=It is incredibly unlikely that that will happen now.) | |
All I want is for you to be happy. (=All I want is that you be happy.) | |
16. prep. (chiefly US) Out of; used to indicate a fraction, a ratio | |
In term of base hits, Jones was three for four on the day | |
17. prep. (cricket) Used as part of a score to indicate the number of wickets that have fallen. | |
At close of play, England were 305 for 3. | |
18. prep. To be, or as being. | |
19. prep. (obsolete) (Indicating that in prevention of which, or through fear of which, anything is done.) | |
20. prep. Used to construe various verbs (see the entries for individual phrasal verbs). | |
wrong |
1. adj. Incorrect or untrue. | |
Some of your answers were correct, and some were wrong. | |
2. adj. Asserting something incorrect or untrue. | |
You're wrong: he's not Superman at all. | |
3. adj. Immoral, not good, bad. | |
It is wrong to lie. | |
4. adj. Improper; unfit; unsuitable. | |
A bikini is the wrong thing to wear on a cold day. | |
5. adj. Not working; out of order. | |
Something is wrong with my cellphone. | |
Don't cry, honey. Tell me what's wrong. | |
6. adj. Designed to be worn or placed inward; as, the wrong side of a garment or of a piece of cloth. | |
7. adj. (obsolete) Twisted; wry. | |
a wrong nose | |
8. adv. (informal) In a way that isn't right; incorrectly, wrongly. | |
I spelled several names wrong in my address book. | |
9. n. Something that is immoral or not good. | |
Injustice is a heinous wrong. | |
10. n. An instance of wronging someone (sometimes with possessive to indicate the wrongdoer). | |
11. n. The incorrect or unjust position or opinion. | |
12. n. The opposite of right; the concept of badness. | |
13. v. To treat unjustly; to injure or harm. | |
14. v. To deprive of some right, or to withhold some act of justice. | |
15. v. To slander; to impute evil to unjustly. | |
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. | |
illegal |
1. adj. Contrary to or forbidden by law, especially criminal law. | |
This is illegal, you know! | |
Nearly 40 million people live in UK areas with illegal air pollution | |
their illegal mining operations in Asia, Africa and elsewhere, are protected by officials and police paid to look the other way – and powerful customers in the construction industry who prefer | |
2. adj. Forbidden by established rules. | |
Moving a pawn backward is an illegal move in chess. | |
3. adj. (philately, of an issue printed for collectors) Totally fictitious, and often issued on behalf of a non-existent territory or country. | |
4. adj. (of a person, sometimes offensive) Being or doing something illegally. | |
illegal immigrant; illegal logger; illegal pilot | |
5. adj. (chiefly US, sometimes offensive) Being an illegal immigrant; residing in a country illegally. | |
6. n. (obsolete) An illegal act or technique. | |
7. n. (colloquial, as illegals) Contraband, esp. illegal substances such as drugs. | |
8. n. (colloquial, offensive) An illegal immigrant. | |
9. n. (espionage) A spy working abroad illegally and undercover, without visible ties to his or her country’s authorities. | |
purposes |
1. n. plural of purpose | |
2. v. third-person singular present indicative of purpose | |
purpose |
1. n. An object to be reached; a target; an aim; a goal. | |
2. n. A result that is desired; an intention. | |
3. n. The act of intending to do something; resolution; determination. | |
4. n. The subject of discourse; the point at issue. | |
5. n. The reason for which something is done, or the reason it is done in a particular way. | |
The purpose of turning off the lights overnight is to save energy. | |
6. n. (obsolete) Instance; example. | |
7. v. (intransitive) To have set as one's purpose; resolve to accomplish; intend; plan. | |
8. v. (obsolete, intransitive) To discourse. | |