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. | |
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? | |
calm |
1. adj. (of a person) Peaceful, quiet, especially free from anger and anxiety. | |
2. adj. (of a place or situation) Free of noise and disturbance. | |
3. adj. (of water) with few or no waves on the surface; not rippled. | |
4. adj. Without wind or storm. | |
5. n. (in a person) The state of being calm; peacefulness; absence of worry, anger, fear or other strong negative emotion. | |
6. n. (in a place or situation) The state of being calm; absence of noise and disturbance. | |
7. n. A period of time without wind. | |
8. v. To make calm. | |
to calm a crying baby | |
to calm the passions | |
9. v. (intransitive) To become calm. | |
stable |
1. n. A building, wing or dependency set apart and adapted for lodging and feeding (and training) animals with hoofs, especially horses. | |
There were stalls for fourteen horses in the squire's stables. | |
2. n. (metonymy) All the racehorses of a particular stable, i.e. belonging to a given owner. | |
3. n. (Scotland) A set of advocates; a barristers' chambers. | |
4. n. An organization of sumo wrestlers who live and train together. | |
5. v. to put or keep (an animal) in a stable. | |
6. v. (intransitive) to dwell in a stable. | |
7. v. (rail transport, transitive) to park (a rail vehicle) | |
8. adj. Relatively unchanging, permanent; firmly fixed or established; consistent; not easily moved, altered, or destroyed. | |
He was in a stable relationship. | |
a stable government | |
9. adj. (computing) Of software: established to be relatively free of bugs, as opposed to a beta version. | |
You should download the 1.9 version of that video editing software: it is the latest stable version. The newer beta version has some bugs. | |
10. adj. (computer science, of a sorting algorithm) That maintains the relative order of items that compare as equal. | |
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. | |
composed |
1. adj. showing composure. | |
2. v. simple past tense and past participle of compose | |
compose |
1. v. To make something by merging parts. | |
The editor composed a historical journal from many individual letters. | |
Try to compose your thoughts. | |
2. v. To make up the whole; to constitute. | |
A church is composed of its members. | |
3. v. (transitive, nonstandard) To comprise. | |
4. v. (transitive, or intransitive) To construct by mental labor; to think up; particularly, to produce or create a literary or musical work. | |
The orator composed his speech over the week prior. | |
Nine numbered symphonies, including the Fifth, were composed by Beethoven. | |
It's difficult to compose without absolute silence. | |
5. v. (sometimes reflexive) To calm; to free from agitation. | |
The defendant couldn't compose herself and was found in contempt. | |
6. v. To arrange the elements of a photograph or other picture. | |
7. v. To settle (an argument, dispute etc.); to come to a settlement. | |
8. v. To arrange in proper form; to reduce to order; to put in proper state or condition. | |
9. v. (printing, dated) To arrange (types) in a composing stick for printing; to typeset. | |
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. | |
under |
1. prep. In or at a lower level than. | |
2. prep. As a subject of; subordinate to. | |
He served in World War II under General Omar Bradley. | |
3. prep. Less than. | |
4. prep. Below the surface of. | |
5. prep. (figuratively) In the face of; in response to (some attacking force). | |
to collapse under stress; to give in under interrogation | |
6. prep. As, in the character of. | |
he writes books under the name John Smith | |
7. adv. In a way lower or less than. | |
8. adv. In a way inferior to. | |
9. adv. (informal) In an unconscious state. | |
It took the hypnotist several minutes to make his subject go under. | |
10. adj. Being lower; being beneath something. | |
11. adj. (medicine, colloquial) Under anesthesia, especially general anesthesia; sedated. | |
Ensure the patient is sufficiently under. | |
stress |
1. n. (biology) A physical, chemical, infective agent aggressing an organism. | |
2. n. (biology) Aggression toward an organism resulting in a response in an attempt to restore previous conditions. | |
3. n. (physics) The internal distribution of force across a small boundary per unit area of that boundary (pressure) within a body. It causes strain or deformation and is typically symbolised by σ or τ. | |
4. n. (physics) Force externally applied to a body which cause internal stress within the body. | |
5. n. Emotional pressure suffered by a human being or other animal. | |
Go easy on him, he's been under a lot of stress lately. | |
6. n. (phonetics) The emphasis placed on a syllable of a word. | |
Some people put the stress on the first syllable of “controversy”; others put it on the second. | |
7. n. Emphasis placed on words in speaking. | |
8. n. Emphasis placed on a particular point in an argument or discussion (whether spoken or written). | |
9. n. obsolete form of distress | |
10. n. (Scotland, legal) distress; the act of distraining; also, the thing distrained. | |
11. v. To apply force to (a body or structure) causing strain. | |
12. v. To apply emotional pressure to (a person or animal). | |
13. v. (informal) To suffer stress; to worry or be agitated. | |
14. v. To emphasise (a syllable of a word). | |
“Emphasis” is stressed on the first syllable, but “emphatic” is stressed on the second. | |
15. v. To emphasise (words in speaking). | |
16. v. To emphasise (a point) in an argument or discussion. | |
I must stress that this information is given in strict confidence. | |