first |
1. adj. Preceding all others of a series or kind; the ordinal of one; earliest. | |
The first day of September 2013 was a Sunday. | |
I was the first runner to reach the finish line, and won the race. | |
2. adj. Most eminent or exalted; most excellent; chief; highest. | |
Demosthenes was the first orator of Greece. | |
3. adv. Before anything else; firstly. | |
Clean the sink first, before you even think of starting to cook. | |
4. n. The person or thing in the first position. | |
He was the first to complete the course. | |
5. n. The first gear of an engine. | |
6. n. Something that has never happened before; a new occurrence. | |
This is a first. For once he has nothing to say. | |
7. n. (baseball) first base | |
There was a close play at first. | |
8. n. (UK, colloquial) A first-class honours degree. | |
9. n. (colloquial) A first-edition copy of some publication. | |
10. n. A fraction of an integer ending in one. | |
one forty-first of the estate | |
11. n. (obsolete) Time; time granted; respite. | |
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. | |
all |
1. adv. (degree) intensifier. | |
It suddenly went all quiet. | |
She was all, “Whatever.” | |
2. adv. (poetic) Entirely. | |
3. adv. Apiece; each. | |
The score was 30 all when the rain delay started. | |
4. adv. (degree) So much. | |
Don't want to go? All the better since I lost the tickets. | |
5. adv. (obsolete, poetic) even; just | |
6. det. Every individual or anything of the given class, with no exceptions (the noun or noun phrase denoting the class must be plural or un). | |
All contestants must register at the scorer’s table. All flesh is originally grass. All my friends like classical music. | |
7. det. Throughout the whole of (a stated period of time; generally used with units of a day or longer). | |
The store is open all day and all night. (= through the whole of the day and the whole of the night.) | |
I’ve been working on this all year. (= from the beginning of the year until now.) | |
8. det. (obsolete) Any. | |
9. det. Only; alone; nothing but. | |
He's all talk; he never puts his ideas into practice. | |
10. pron. Everything. | |
some gave all they had; she knows all and sees all; Those who think they know it all are annoying to those of us who do. | |
11. pron. Everyone. | |
A good time was had by all. | |
12. n. (with a possessive pronoun) Everything that one is capable of. | |
She gave her all, and collapsed at the finish line. | |
13. n. The totality of one's possessions. | |
14. conj. (obsolete) although | |
15. adj. (dialect, Pennsylvania) All gone; dead. | |
The butter is all. | |
here's |
1. contraction. Contraction of here is. | |
2. contraction. (nonstandard) Contraction of here are. | |
here |
1. adv. (location) In, on, or at this place. | |
2. adv. (location) To this place; used in place of the more dated hither. | |
Please come here. | |
3. adv. (abstract) In this context. | |
Derivatives can refer to anything that is derived from something else, but here they refer specifically to functions that give the slope of the tangent line to a curve. | |
4. adv. At this point in the argument or narration. | |
Here endeth the lesson. | |
5. n. (abstract) This place; this location. | |
An Alzheimer patient's here may in his mind be anywhere he called home in the time he presently re-lives. | |
6. adj. Filler after a noun or demonstrative pronoun, solely for emphasis. | |
John here is a rascal. | |
7. adj. Filler after a demonstrative pronoun but before the noun it modifies, solely for emphasis. | |
This here orange is too sour. | |
8. interj. (slang) (non-gloss, Used semi-assertively to offer something to the listener.) | |
Here, now I'm giving it to you. | |
9. interj. (UK, slang) Used for emphasis at the beginning of a sentence when expressing an opinion or want. | |
Here, I'm tired and I want a drink. | |
is |
1. v. third-person singular present indicative of be | |
He is a doctor. He retired some time ago. | |
Should he do the task, it is vital that you follow him. | |
2. n. plural of i | |
remember to dot your is | |
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. | |
locket |
1. n. A pendant that opens to reveal a space used for storing a photograph or other small item. | |
2. n. (archaic) The upper metallic cap of a sword’s scabbard. | |
3. n. A small white marking on a cat's coat. | |