can't |
1. v. Cannot (negative auxiliaryArnold M. Zwicky and Geoffrey K. Pullum, , Language 59 (3), 1983, pp. 502-513); is unable to; does not have the ability to. | |
I can’t quite get it to work. | |
2. v. Is forbidden to; is not permitted to. | |
You can’t enter the hall without a ticket. | |
3. v. Often with be: is logically impossible. | |
The butler can’t be the murderer because he was in London that evening. | |
can |
1. v. (auxiliary verb, defective) To know how to; to be able to. | |
She can speak English, French, and German. I can play football. Can you remember your fifth birthday? | |
2. v. (modal auxiliary verb, defective, informal) May; to be permitted or enabled to. | |
You can go outside and play when you're finished with your homework. Can I use your pen? | |
3. v. (modal auxiliary verb, defective) To have the potential to; be possible. | |
Can it be Friday already? | |
Teenagers can really try their parents' patience. | |
Animals can experience emotions. | |
4. v. (auxiliary verb, defective) Used with verbs of perception. | |
Can you hear that?. | |
I can feel the baby moving inside me. | |
5. v. (obsolete, transitive) To know. | |
6. n. A more or less cylindrical vessel for liquids, usually of steel or aluminium, but sometimes of plastic, and with a carrying handle over the top. | |
7. n. A container used to carry and dispense water for plants (a watering can). | |
8. n. A tin-plate canister, often cylindrical, for preserved foods such as fruit, meat, or fish. | |
9. n. (archaic) A chamber pot, now (US, slang) a toilet or lavatory. | |
Shit or get off the can. | |
Bob's in the can. You can wait a few minutes or just leave it with me. | |
10. n. (US, slang) Buttocks. | |
11. n. (slang) Jail or prison. | |
Bob's in the can. He won't be back for a few years. | |
12. n. (slang) Headphones. | |
13. n. (archaic) A drinking cup. | |
14. n. (nautical) A cube-shaped buoy or marker used to denote a port-side lateral mark | |
15. n. A chimney pot. | |
16. v. To preserve, by heating and sealing in a can or jar. | |
They spent August canning fruit and vegetables. | |
17. v. to discard, scrap or terminate (an idea, project, etc.). | |
He canned the whole project because he thought it would fail. | |
18. v. To shut up. | |
Can your gob. | |
19. v. (US, euphemistic) To fire or dismiss an employee. | |
The boss canned him for speaking out. | |
not |
1. adv. Negates the meaning of the modified verb. | |
Did you take out the trash? No, I did not. | |
Not knowing any better, I went ahead. | |
2. adv. To no degree. | |
That is not red; it's orange. | |
3. conj. And not. | |
I wanted a plate of shrimp, not a bucket of chicken. | |
He painted the car blue and black, not solid purple. | |
4. interj. (slang) Used to indicate that the previous phrase was meant sarcastically or ironically. | |
I really like hanging out with my little brother watching Barney... not! | |
Sure, you're perfect the way you are... not! | |
5. n. Unary logical function NOT, true if input is false, or a gate implementing that negation function. | |
You need a not there to conform with the negative logic of the memory chip. | |
6. contraction. (obsolete) Contraction of ne wot, wot not; know not; knows not. | |
you |
1. pron. (object pronoun) The people spoken, or written to, as an object. | |
2. pron. (reflexive pronoun, now US colloquial) (To) yourselves, (to) yourself. | |
3. pron. (object pronoun) The person spoken to or written to, as an object. (Replacing thee; originally as a mark of respect.) | |
4. pron. (subject pronoun) The people spoken to or written to, as a subject. (Replacing ye.) | |
Both of you should get ready now. | |
You are all supposed to do as I tell you. | |
5. pron. (subject pronoun) The person spoken to or written to, as a subject. (Originally as a mark of respect.) | |
6. pron. (indefinite personal pronoun) Anyone, one; an unspecified individual or group of individuals (as subject or object). | |
7. det. The individual or group spoken or written to. | |
Have you gentlemen come to see the lady who fell backwards off a bus? | |
8. det. Used before epithets for emphasis. | |
You idiot! | |
9. v. To address (a person) using the pronoun you, rather than thou, especially historically when you was more formal. | |
see |
1. v. (stative) To perceive or detect with the eyes, or as if by sight. | |
2. v. To witness or observe by personal experience. | |
Now I've seen it all! | |
I have been blind since birth and I love to read Braille. When the books arrive in from the library, I can’t wait to see what stories they have s | |
I saw military service in Vietnam. | |
3. v. To form a mental picture of. | |
4. v. (figuratively) To understand. | |
Do you see what I mean? | |
5. v. To come to a realization of having been mistaken or misled. | |
They're blind to the damage they do, but someday they'll see. | |
6. v. (social) To meet, to visit. | |
7. v. To have an interview with; especially, to make a call upon; to visit. | |
to go to see a friend | |
8. v. To date frequently. | |
I've been seeing her for two months | |
9. v. To be the setting or time of. | |
The 20th century saw humanity's first space exploration. | |
10. v. (by extension) To ensure that something happens, especially while witnessing it. | |
I'll see you hang for this! I saw that they didn't make any more trouble. | |
11. v. (gambling) To respond to another player's bet with a bet of equal value. | |
I'll see your twenty dollars and raise you ten. | |
12. v. (sometimes mystical) To foresee, predict, or prophesy. | |
The oracle saw the destruction of the city. | |
13. v. To determine by trial or experiment; to find out (if or whether). | |
I'll come over later and see if I can fix your computer. | |
14. v. (used in the imperative) (Used to emphasise a proposition.) | |
You see, Johnny, your Dad isn't your real dad. | |
15. v. (used in the imperative) To reference or to study for further details. | |
Step 4: In the system, check out the laptop to the student (see: "Logging Resources" in the Tutor Manual). | |
This article is about the insect. For the English rock band, see. | |
For a complete proof of the Poincaré conjecture, see Appendix C. | |
16. interj. Directing the audience to pay attention to the following | |
See here, fellas, there's no need for all this rucus! | |
17. interj. Introducing an explanation | |
See, in order to win the full prize we would have to come up with a scheme to land a rover on the Moon. | |
18. n. A diocese, archdiocese; a region of a church, generally headed by a bishop, especially an archbishop. | |
19. n. The office of a bishop or archbishop; bishopric or archbishopric | |
20. n. A seat; a site; a place where sovereign power is exercised. | |
I'm |
1. contraction. Contraction of I am. | |
I |
1. pron. The speaker or writer, referred to as the grammatical subject, of a sentence. | |
(audio, Here I am, sir.ogg, Audio) | |
2. pron. (nonstandard, hypercorrection) The speaker or writer, referred to as the grammatical object, of a sentence. | |
3. n. (metaphysics) The ego. | |
4. n. (US, roadway) Interstate. | |
5. n. (grammar) (abbreviation of instrumental case) | |
am |
1. v. first-person singular present indicative of be | |
2. adv. alternative spelling of a.m. | |
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? | |
out |
See also individual phrasal verbs such as come out, go out, put out, take out, pull out, and so on. | |
1. adv. Away from the inside or the centre. | |
The magician pulled the rabbit out of the hat. | |
2. adv. Away from home or one's usual place. | |
Let's eat out tonight | |
3. adv. Outside; not indoors. | |
Last night we slept out under the stars. | |
4. adv. Away from; at a distance. | |
Keep out! | |
5. adv. Into a state of non-operation; into non-existence. | |
Switch the lights out. | |
Put the fire out. | |
6. adv. To the end; completely. | |
I hadn't finished. Hear me out. | |
7. adv. Used to intensify or emphasize. | |
The place was all decked out for the holidays. | |
8. adv. (of the sun, moon, stars, etc.) So as to be visible in the sky, and not covered by clouds, fog, etc. | |
The sun came out after the rain, and we saw a rainbow. | |
9. adv. (cricket, baseball) Of a player, so as to be disqualified from playing further by some action of a member of the opposing team (such as being stumped in cricket). | |
Wilson was bowled out for five runs. | |
10. prep. (nonstandard, contraction of out of) Away from the inside. | |
He threw it out the door. | |
11. prep. (colloquial) Outside. | |
It's raining out. | |
It's cold out. | |
12. n. A means of exit, escape, reprieve, etc. | |
They wrote the law to give those organizations an out. | |
13. n. (baseball) A state in which a member of the batting team is removed from play due to the application of various rules of the game such as striking out, hitting a fly ball which is caught by the fieldi | |
14. n. (cricket) A dismissal; a state in which a member of the batting team finishes his turn at bat, due to the application of various rules of the game, such as the bowler knocking over the batsman's wicke | |
15. n. (poker) A card which can make a hand a winner. | |
16. n. (dated) A trip out; an outing. | |
17. n. (mostly, in plural) One who, or that which, is out; especially, one who is out of office. | |
18. n. A place or space outside of something; a nook or corner; an angle projecting outward; an open space. | |
19. n. (printing, dated) A word or words omitted by the compositor in setting up copy; an omission. | |
20. v. To eject; to expel. | |
21. v. To reveal (a person) to be gay, bisexual, or transgender. | |
22. v. To reveal (a person or organization) as having a certain secret, such as a being a secret agent or undercover detective. | |
23. v. To reveal (a secret). | |
A Brazilian company outed the new mobile phone design. | |
24. v. (intransitive, archaic) To come or go out; to get out or away; to become public. | |
25. v. To become apparent. | |
26. adj. Not at home; not at one's office or place of employment. | |
I'm sorry, Mr Smith is out at the moment. | |
27. adj. Released, available for purchase, download or other use. | |
Did you hear? Their newest CD is out! | |
28. adj. (in various games; used especially of a batsman or batter in cricket or baseball) Dismissed from play under the rules of the game. | |
He bowls, Johnson pokes at it ... and ... Johnson is out! Caught behind by Ponsonby! | |
29. adj. Openly acknowledging that one is gay or transgender. | |
It's no big deal to be out in the entertainment business. | |
30. adj. (of flowers) In bloom. | |
The garden looks beautiful now that the roses are out. | |
31. adj. (of the sun, moon or stars) Visible in the sky; not obscured by clouds. | |
The sun is out, and it's a lovely day. | |
32. adj. (of lamps, fires etc.) Not shining or burning. | |
I called round to the house but all the lights were out and no one was home. | |
33. adj. (of ideas, plans, etc.) Discarded; no longer a possibility. | |
Right, so that idea's out. Let's move on to the next one. | |
34. adj. No longer popular or in fashion. | |
Black is out this season. The new black is white. | |
35. adj. Without; no longer in possession of; not having more | |
Do you have any bread? Sorry, we're out. | |
36. adj. (of calculations or measurements) Containing errors or discrepancies; in error by a stated amount. | |
Nothing adds up in this report. All these figures are out. | |
The measurement was out by three millimetres. | |
37. adj. (obsolete) Of a young lady: having entered society and available to be courted. | |
38. interj. (procedure word, especially, military) A radio procedure word meaning that the station is finished with its transmission and does not expect a response. | |
Destruction. Two T-72s destroyed. Three foot mobiles down. Out. | |
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. | |
breath |
1. n. The act or process of breathing. | |
I could hear the breath of the runner behind me. | |
The child's breath came quickly and unevenly. | |
2. n. A single act of breathing in or out. | |
I took a deep breath and started the test. | |
3. n. Air expelled from the lungs. | |
I could feel the runner's breath on my shoulder. | |
4. n. A rest or pause. | |
Let's stop for a breath when we get to the top of the hill. | |
5. n. A small amount of something, such as wind, or common sense. | |
Even with all the windows open, there is hardly a breath of air in here. | |
If she had a breath of common sense, she would never have spoken to the man in the first place. | |
6. n. (obsolete) Fragrance; exhalation; odor; perfume. | |
7. n. (obsolete) Gentle exercise, causing a quicker respiration. | |