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. | |
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 | |
danger |
1. n. Exposure to likely harm; peril. | |
2. n. An instance or cause of likely harm. | |
3. n. (obsolete) Mischief. | |
4. n. (mainly outside US, rail transport) The stop indication of a signal (usually in the phrase "at danger"). | |
The north signal was at danger because of the rockslide. | |
5. n. (obsolete) Ability to harm; someone's dominion or power to harm or penalise. See in one's danger, below. | |
6. n. (obsolete) Liability. | |
7. n. (obsolete) Difficulty; sparingness. | |
8. n. (obsolete) Coyness; disdainful behavior. | |
9. v. (obsolete) To claim liability. | |
10. v. (obsolete) To imperil; to endanger. | |
11. v. (obsolete) To run the risk. | |
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. | |
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 | |
affliction |
1. n. A state of pain, suffering, distress or agony. | |
2. n. Something which causes pain, suffering, distress or agony. | |
adventure |
1. n. The encountering of risks; hazardous and striking enterprise; a bold undertaking, in which hazards are to be encountered, and the issue is staked upon unforeseen events; a daring feat. | |
2. n. A remarkable occurrence; a striking event | |
A life full of adventures. | |
3. n. A mercantile or speculative enterprise of hazard; a venture; a shipment by a merchant on his own account. | |
4. n. A feeling of desire for new and exciting things | |
his sense of adventure | |
5. n. (video games) A text adventure or an adventure game. | |
6. n. (obsolete) That which happens by chance; hazard; hap | |
7. n. (obsolete) Chance of danger or loss. | |
8. n. (obsolete) Risk; danger; peril. | |
9. v. To risk or hazard; jeopard; venture. | |
10. v. To venture upon; to run the risk of; to dare. | |
11. v. (intransitive) To try the chance; to take the risk. | |
risk |
1. n. A possible, usually negative, outcome, e.g., a danger. | |
2. n. The likelihood of a negative outcome. | |
I'm taking a risk of being brutalized, arrested, imprisoned and tortured, all because I want you to know the truth about this matter. | |
3. n. (Formal use in business, engineering, etc.) The potential (conventionally negative) effect of an event, determined by combining the likelihood of the event occurring with the effect should it occur. | |
4. n. (insurance) An entity insured by an insurer or the specific uncertain events that the insurer underwrites. | |
5. v. To incur risk (of something). | |
6. v. To incur risk of harming or jeopardizing. | |
7. v. To incur risk as a result of (doing something). | |
hardship |
1. n. Difficulty or trouble; hard times. | |
He has survived periods of financial hardship before. | |
2. v. To treat (a person) badly; to subject to hardships. | |
State |
1. n. A current governing polity. | |
2. n. (often with definite article) The current governing polity under which the speaker lives. | |
3. n. A condition; a set of circumstances applying at any given time. | |
a state of being; a state of emergency | |
4. n. (physics) A complete description of a system, consisting of parameters that determine all properties of the system. | |
5. n. (computing) The stable condition of a processor during a particular clock cycle. | |
In the fetch state, the address of the next instruction is placed on the address bus. | |
6. n. (computing) The set of all parameters relevant to a computation. | |
The state here includes a set containing all names seen so far. | |
7. n. (computing) The values of all parameters at some point in a computation. | |
A debugger can show the state of a program at any breakpoint. | |
8. n. (sciences) The physical property of matter as solid, liquid, gas or plasma. | |
9. n. (obsolete) Highest and stationary condition, as that of maturity between growth and decline, or as that of crisis between the increase and the abating | |
10. n. High social standing or circumstance. | |
11. n. Pomp, ceremony, or dignity. | |
The President's body will lie in state at the Capitol. | |
12. n. Rank; condition; quality. | |
13. n. Condition of prosperity or grandeur; wealthy or prosperous circumstances; social importance. | |
14. n. A chair with a canopy above it, often standing on a dais; a seat of dignity; also, the canopy itself. | |
15. n. (obsolete) A great person, a dignitary; a lord or prince. | |
16. n. (obsolete) Estate, possession. | |
17. n. A polity. | |
18. n. Any sovereign polity; a national or city-state government. | |
19. n. A political division of a federation retaining a notable degree of autonomy, as in the United States or Germany; (by extension, informal, US) any provi | |
20. n. (obsolete) A form of government other than a monarchy. | |
21. n. (anthropology) A society larger than a tribe. A society large enough to form a state in the sense of a government. | |
22. n. (mathematics, stochastic processes) An element of the range of the random variables that define a random process. | |
23. v. To declare to be a fact. | |
He stated that he was willing to help. | |
24. v. To make known. | |
State your intentions. | |
25. adj. (obsolete) stately | |
of |
1. prep. Expressing distance or motion. | |
2. prep. (now obsolete, or dialectal) From (of distance, direction), "off". | |
3. prep. (obsolete except in phrases) Since, from (a given time, earlier state etc.). | |
4. prep. From, away from (a position, number, distance etc.). | |
There are no shops within twenty miles of the cottage. | |
5. prep. (North America, Scotland, Ireland) Before (the hour); to. | |
What's the time? / Nearly a quarter of three. | |
6. prep. Expressing separation. | |
7. prep. (Indicating removal, absence or separation, with the action indicated by a transitive verb and the quality or substance by a grammatical object.) | |
Finally she was relieved of the burden of caring for her sick husband. | |
8. prep. (Indicating removal, absence or separation, with resulting state indicated by an adjective.) | |
He seemed devoid of human feelings. | |
9. prep. (obsolete) (Indicating removal, absence or separation, construed with an intransitive verb.) | |
10. prep. Expressing origin. | |
11. prep. (Indicating an ancestral source or origin of descent.) | |
The word is believed to be of Japanese origin. | |
12. prep. (Indicating a (non-physical) source of action or emotion; introducing a cause, instigation); from, out of, as an expression of. | |
The invention was born of necessity. | |
13. prep. (following an intransitive verb) (Indicates the source or cause of the verb.) | |
It is said that she died of a broken heart. | |
14. prep. (following an adjective) (Indicates the subject or cause of the adjective.) | |
I am tired of all this nonsense. | |
15. prep. Expressing agency. | |
16. prep. (following a passive verb) (Indicates the agent (for most verbs, now usually expressed with by).) | |
I am not particularly enamoured of this idea. | |
17. prep. (Used to introduce the "subjective genitive"; following a noun to form the head of a postmodifying noun phrase) (see also 'Possession' senses below). | |
The contract can be terminated at any time with the agreement of both parties. | |
18. prep. (following an adjective) (Used to indicate the agent of something described by the adjective.) | |
It was very brave of you to speak out like that. | |
19. prep. Expressing composition, substance. | |
20. prep. (after a verb expressing construction, making etc.) (Used to indicate the material or substance used.) | |
Many 'corks' are now actually made of plastic. | |
21. prep. (directly following a noun) (Used to indicate the material of the just-mentioned object.) | |
She wore a dress of silk. | |
22. prep. (Indicating the composition of a given collective or quantitative noun.) | |
What a lot of nonsense! | |
23. prep. (Used to link a given class of things with a specific example of that class.) | |
Welcome to the historic town of Harwich. | |
24. prep. (Links two nouns in near-apposition, with the first qualifying the second); "which is also". | |
I'm not driving this wreck of a car. | |
25. prep. Introducing subject matter. | |
26. prep. (Links an intransitive verb, or a transitive verb and its subject (especially verbs to do with thinking, feeling, expressing etc.), with its subject-ma | |
I'm always thinking of you. | |
27. prep. (following a noun (now chiefly nouns of knowledge, communication etc.)) (Introduces its subject matter); about, concerning. | |
He told us the story of his journey to India. | |
28. prep. (following an adjective) (Introduces its subject matter.) | |
This behaviour is typical of teenagers. | |
29. prep. Having partitive effect. | |
30. prep. (following a number or other quantitive word) (Introduces the whole for which is indicated only the specified part or segment); "from among". | |
Most of these apples are rotten. | |
31. prep. (following a noun) (Indicates a given part.) | |
32. prep. (now archaic, literary, with preceding partitive word assumed, or as a predicate after to be) Some, an amount of, one of. | |
On the whole, they seem to be of the decent sort. | |
33. prep. (Links to a genitive noun or possessive pronoun, with partitive effect (though now often merged with possessive senses, below).) | |
He is a friend of mine. | |
34. prep. Expressing possession. | |
35. prep. Belonging to, existing in, or taking place in a given location, place or time. Compare "origin" senses, above. | |
He was perhaps the most famous scientist of the twentieth century. | |
36. prep. Belonging to (a place) through having title, ownership or control over it. | |
The owner of the nightclub was arrested. | |
37. prep. Belonging to (someone or something) as something they possess or have as a characteristic; (the "possessive genitive". (With abstract nouns, this inter | |
Keep the handle of the saucepan away from the flames. | |
38. prep. Forming the "objective genitive". | |
39. prep. (Follows an agent noun, verbal noun or noun of action.) | |
She had a profound distrust of the police. | |
40. prep. Expressing qualities or characteristics. | |
41. prep. (now archaic, or literary) (Links an adjective with a noun or noun phrase to form a quasi-adverbial qualifier); in respect to, as regards. | |
My companion seemed affable and easy of manner. | |
42. prep. (Indicates a quality or characteristic); "characterized by". | |
Pooh was said to be a bear of very little brain. | |
43. prep. (Indicates quantity, age, price, etc.) | |
We have been paying interest at a rate of 10%. | |
44. prep. (US, informal considered incorrect by some) (Used to link singular indefinite nouns (preceded by the indefinite article) and attributive adjectives mod | |
It's not that big of a deal. | |
45. prep. Expressing a point in time. | |
46. prep. (chiefly regional) During the course of (a set period of time, day of the week etc.), now specifically with implied repetition or regularity. | |
Of an evening, we would often go for a stroll along the river. | |
47. prep. (UK dialectal, chiefly in negative constructions) For (a given length of time). | |
I've not tekken her out of a goodly long while. | |
48. prep. (after a noun) (Indicates duration of a state, activity etc.) | |
After a delay of three hours, the plane finally took off. | |
being |
1. v. present participle of be | |
2. n. A living creature. | |
3. n. The state or fact of existence, consciousness, or life, or something in such a state. | |
4. n. (philosophy) That which has actuality (materially or in concept). | |
5. n. (philosophy) One's basic nature, or the qualities thereof; essence or personality. | |
6. n. (obsolete) An abode; a cottage. | |
7. conj. (obsolete) Given that; since. | |
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? | |
tried |
1. adj. Tested, hence, proven to be firm or reliable. | |
2. adj. (law) Put on trial, taken before a lawcourt. | |
3. v. simple past tense and past participle of try | |
try |
1. v. To attempt; to endeavour. Followed by infinitive. | |
I tried to rollerblade, but I couldn’t. | |
I'll come to dinner soon. I'm trying to beat this level first. | |
2. v. (obsolete) To divide; to separate. | |
3. v. To separate (precious metal etc.) from the ore by melting; to purify, refine. | |
4. v. (one sort from another) To winnow; to sift; to pick out; frequently followed by out. | |
to try out the wild corn from the good | |
5. v. (nautical) To extract oil from blubber or fat; to melt down blubber to obtain oil | |
6. v. To extract wax from a honeycomb | |
7. v. To test, to work out. | |
8. v. To make an experiment. Usually followed by a present participle. | |
I tried mixing more white paint to get a lighter shade. | |
9. v. To put to test. | |
I shall try my skills on this. | |
10. v. (specifically) To test someone's patience. | |
You are trying my patience. | |
Don't fucking try me. | |
11. v. To taste, sample, etc. | |
Try this—you’ll love it. | |
12. v. To prove by experiment; to apply a test to, for the purpose of determining the quality; to examine; to prove; to test. | |
to try weights or measures by a standard; to try a person's opinions | |
13. v. (legal) To put on trial. | |
He was tried and executed. | |
14. v. To experiment, to strive. | |
15. v. To have or gain knowledge of by experience. | |
16. v. To work on something. | |
You are trying too hard. | |
17. v. (obsolete) To do; to fare. | |
How do you try! (i.e., how do you do?) | |
18. v. To settle; to decide; to determine; specifically, to decide by an appeal to arms. | |
to try rival claims by a duel; to try conclusions | |
19. v. (euphemism, of a couple) To attempt to conceive a child. | |
20. v. (nautical) To lie to in heavy weather under just sufficient sail to head into the wind. | |
21. v. To strain; to subject to excessive tests. | |
The light tries his eyes. | |
Repeated failures try one's patience. | |
22. v. (slang) To want | |
I am really not trying to hear you talk about my mama like that. | |
23. n. An attempt. | |
I gave unicycling a try but I couldn’t do it. | |
24. n. An act of tasting or sampling. | |
I gave sushi a try but I didn’t like it. | |
25. n. (rugby) A score in rugby, analogous to a touchdown in American football. | |
Today I scored my first try. | |
26. n. (dialect) A screen, or sieve, for grain. | |
27. n. (American football) a field goal or extra point | |
28. adj. (obsolete) Fine, excellent. | |