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. | |
ability |
1. n. (obsolete) Suitableness. | |
2. n. The quality or state of being able; capacity to do or of doing something; having the necessary power. | |
This phone has the ability to have its software upgraded wirelessly. | |
This wood has the ability to fight off insects, fungus, and mold for a considerable time. | |
3. n. The legal wherewithal to act. | |
4. n. (now limited to Scottish dialects) Physical power. | |
5. n. (archaic) Financial ability. | |
6. n. A unique power of the mind; a faculty. | |
7. n. A skill or competence in doing; mental power; talent; aptitude. | |
They are persons of ability, who will go far in life. | |
She has an uncanny ability to defuse conflict. | |
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 | |
keep |
1. v. To continue in (a course or mode of action); not to intermit or fall from; to uphold or maintain. | |
to keep silence; to keep one's word; to keep possession | |
2. v. (heading, transitive) To hold the status of something. | |
3. v. To maintain possession of. | |
I keep a small stock of painkillers for emergencies. | |
4. v. To maintain the condition of. | |
I keep my specimens under glass to protect them. | |
The abundance of squirrels kept the dogs running for hours. | |
5. v. To record transactions, accounts, or events in. | |
I used to keep a diary. | |
6. v. To enter (accounts, records, etc.) in a book. | |
7. v. (archaic) To remain in, to be confined to. | |
8. v. To restrain. | |
I keep my brother out of trouble by keeping him away from his friends and hard at work. | |
9. v. (with from) To watch over, look after, guard, protect. | |
May the Lord keep you from harm. | |
10. v. To supply with necessities and financially support a person. | |
He kept a mistress for over ten years. | |
11. v. (of living things) To raise; to care for. | |
He has been keeping orchids since retiring. | |
12. v. To maintain (an establishment or institution); to conduct; to manage. | |
13. v. To have habitually in stock for sale. | |
14. v. (heading, intransitive) To hold or be held in a state. | |
15. v. (obsolete) To reside for a time; to lodge; to dwell. | |
She kept to her bed while the fever lasted. | |
16. v. To continue. | |
I keep taking the tablets, but to no avail. | |
17. v. To remain edible or otherwise usable. | |
Potatoes can keep if they are in a root cellar. | |
Latex paint won't keep indefinitely. | |
18. v. (copulative) To remain in a state. | |
The rabbit avoided detection by keeping still. | |
Keep calm! There's no need to panic. | |
19. v. (obsolete) To wait for, keep watch for. | |
20. v. (intransitive, cricket) To act as wicket-keeper. | |
Godfrey Evans kept for England for many years. | |
21. v. (intransitive, obsolete) To take care; to be solicitous; to watch. | |
22. v. (intransitive, obsolete) To be in session; to take place. | |
School keeps today. | |
23. v. To observe; to adhere to; to fulfill; not to swerve from or violate. | |
24. v. (transitive, dated) To confine oneself to; not to quit; to remain in. | |
to keep one's house, room, bed, etc. | |
25. v. (transitive, dated, by extension) To visit (a place) often; to frequent. | |
26. n. (obsolete) Care, notice | |
27. n. (historical) The main tower of a castle or fortress, located within the castle walls. | |
28. n. The food or money required to keep someone alive and healthy; one's support, maintenance. | |
He works as a cobbler's apprentice for his keep. | |
29. n. The act or office of keeping; custody; guard; care; heed; charge. | |
30. n. The state of being kept; hence, the resulting condition; case. | |
to be in good keep | |
31. n. (obsolete) That which is kept in charge; a charge. | |
32. n. (engineering) A cap for holding something, such as a journal box, in place. | |
going |
1. v. present participle of go | |
2. n. A departure. | |
3. n. The suitability of ground for riding, walking etc. | |
The going was very difficult over the ice. | |
4. n. progress | |
We made good going for a while, but then we came to the price. | |
5. n. (figurative) Conditions for advancing in any way. | |
Not only were the streets not paved with gold, but the going was difficult for an immigrant. | |
6. n. (obsolete) pregnancy; gestation; childbearing | |
7. n. (in the plural) Course of life; behaviour; doings; ways. | |
8. adj. Likely to continue; viable. | |
He didn't want to make an unsecured loan to the business because it didn't look like a going concern. | |
9. adj. That attends habitually or regularly. | |
10. adj. Current, prevailing. | |
The going rate for manual snow-shoveling is $25 an hour. | |
11. adj. (especially, after a noun phrase with a superlative) Available. | |
He has the easiest job going. | |
go |
1. v. To move: | |
2. v. (intransitive) To move through space (especially to or through a place). (May be used of tangible things like people or cars, or intangible things like | |
Why don’t you go with us? This train goes through Cincinnati on its way to Chicago. Chris, where are you going? &nbs | |
3. v. (intransitive) To move or travel through time (either literally—in a fictional or hypothetical situation in which time travel is possible—or in one's m | |
Yesterday was the second-wettest day on record; you have to go all the way back to 1896 to find a day when more rain fell. | |
Fans want to see the Twelfth Doctor go to the 51st century to visit River in the library. | |
4. v. (intransitive) To navigate (to a file or folder on a computer, a site on the internet, a memory, etc). | |
5. v. To move (a particular distance, or in a particular fashion). | |
We've only gone twenty miles today. This car can go circles around that one. | |
6. v. (intransitive) To move or travel in order to do something, or to do something while moving. | |
We went swimming. Let's go shopping. | |
7. v. (intransitive) To leave; to move away. | |
Please don't go! I really must be going. Workmen were coming and going at all hours of the night. | |
8. v. (obsolete, intransitive) To walk; to travel on one's feet. | |
9. v. (intransitive, chiefly of a, machine) To work or function (properly); to move or perform (as required). | |
The engine just won't go anymore. | |
10. v. (intransitive) To start; to begin (an action or process). | |
Get ready, get set, go! On your marks, get set, go! On your marks, set, go! | |
Here goes nothing. Let's go and hunt. | |
11. v. (intransitive) To take a turn, especially in a game. | |
It’s your turn; go. | |
12. v. (intransitive) To attend. | |
I go to school at the schoolhouse. She went to Yale. They only go to church on Christmas. | |
13. v. To proceed: | |
14. v. (intransitive) To proceed (often in a specified manner, indicating the perceived quality of an event or state). | |
That went well. "How are things going?" "Not bad, thanks.". | |
15. v. (intransitive, colloquial, with another verb, sometimes linked by and) To proceed (especially to do something foolish). | |
Why'd you have to go and do that? | |
Why'd you have to go do that? | |
He just went and punched the guy. | |
16. v. To follow or travel along (a path): | |
17. v. To follow or proceed according to (a course or path). | |
Let's go this way for a while. | |
She was going that way anyway, so she offered to show him where it was. | |
18. v. To travel or pass along. | |
19. v. (intransitive) To extend (from one point in time or space to another). | |
This property goes all the way to the state line. | |
20. v. (intransitive) To lead (to a place); to give access to. | |
Does this road go to Fort Smith? | |
21. v. (copula) To become. (The adjective that follows usually describes a negative state.) | |
You'll go blind. I went crazy / went mad. After failing as a criminal, he decided to go straight. | |
22. v. To assume the obligation or function of; to be, to serve as. | |
23. v. (intransitive) To continuously or habitually be in a state. | |
I don't want my children to go hungry. We went barefoot in the summer. | |
24. v. To come to (a certain condition or state). | |
they went into debt, she goes to sleep around 10 o'clock, the local shop wants to go digital, and eventually go global | |
25. v. (intransitive) To change (from one value to another) in the meaning of wend. | |
The traffic light went straight from green to red. | |
26. v. To turn out, to result; to come to (a certain result). | |
How did your meeting with Smith go? | |
27. v. (intransitive) To tend (toward a result). | |
Well, that goes to show you. These experiences go to make us stronger. | |
28. v. To contribute to a (specified) end product or result. | |
qualities that go to make a lady / lip-reader / sharpshooter | |
29. v. To pass, to be used up: | |
30. v. (intransitive, of time) To elapse, to pass; to slip away. (Compare go by.) | |
The time went slowly. | |
31. v. (intransitive) To end or disappear. (Compare go away.) | |
After three days, my headache finally went. | |
32. v. (intransitive) To be spent or used up. | |
His money went on drink. | |
33. v. (intransitive) To die. | |
34. v. (intransitive) To be discarded. | |
This chair has got to go. | |
35. v. (intransitive, cricket) To be lost or out: | |
36. v. (intransitive, cricket, of a wicket) To be lost. | |
37. v. (intransitive, cricket, of a batsman) To be out. | |
38. v. To break down or apart: | |
39. v. (intransitive) To collapse or give way, to break apart. | |
40. v. (intransitive) To break down or decay. | |
This meat is starting to go off. My mind is going. She's 83; her eyesight is starting to go. | |
41. v. (intransitive) To be sold. | |
Everything must go. The car went for five thousand dollars. | |
42. v. (intransitive) To be given, especially to be assigned or allotted. | |
The property shall go to my wife. The award went to Steven Spielberg. | |
43. v. (transitive, intransitive) To survive or get by; to last or persist for a stated length of time. | |
How long can you go without water? We've gone without your help for a while now. I've gone ten days now without a cigarette. Can you two go twenty minutes wi | |
44. v. (transitive, sports) To have a certain record. | |
They've gone one for three in this series. The team is going five in a row. | |
45. v. To be authoritative, accepted, or valid: | |
46. v. (intransitive) To have (final) authority; to be authoritative. | |
Whatever the boss says goes, do you understand? | |
47. v. (intransitive) To be accepted. | |
Anything goes around here. | |
48. v. (intransitive) To be valid. | |
49. v. To say (something), to make a sound: | |
50. v. (transitive, slang) To say (something, aloud or to oneself). (Often used in present tense.) | |
I go, "As if!" And she was all like, "Whatever!". | |
As soon as I did it, I went "that was stupid.". | |
51. v. To make the (specified) sound. | |
Cats go "meow". Motorcycles go "vroom". | |
52. v. (intransitive) To sound; to make a noise. | |
I woke up just before the clock went. | |
53. v. To be expressed or composed (a certain way). | |
The tune goes like this. As the story goes, he got the idea for the song while sitting in traffic. | |
54. v. (intransitive) To resort (to). | |
I'll go to court if I have to. | |
55. v. To apply or subject oneself to: | |
56. v. To apply oneself; to undertake; to have as one's goal or intention. (Compare be going to.) | |
I'm going to join a sports team. I wish you'd go and get a job. He went to pick it up, but it rolled out of reach. | |
No |
1. adv. (archaic) Alternative form of No. | |
2. n. Alternative form of No. | |
3. n. Alternative form of Noh: a form of classical Japanese drama. | |
4. det. Not any. | |
no one | |
There is no water left. | |
No hot dogs were sold yesterday. | |
No customer personal data will be retained unless it is rendered anonymous. | |
There was no score at the end of the first period. (The score was 0-0.) | |
5. det. Hardly any. | |
We'll be finished in no time at all. | |
6. det. Not any possibility or allowance of (doing something). | |
No smoking | |
There's no stopping her once she gets going. | |
7. det. Not (a); not properly, not really; not fully. | |
My mother's no fool. | |
Working nine to five every day is no life. | |
8. adv. (now only used with comparatives, except in Scotland) Not, not at all. | |
It is a different kind of torture, but no less gruesome. | |
I just want to find out whether she's coming or no. | |
9. part. Used to show disagreement or negation. | |
No, you are mistaken. | |
No, you may not watch television now. | |
10. part. Used to show agreement with a negative question. | |
"Don’t you like milk?" "No" (i.e., "No, I don’t like milk.") | |
11. part. (colloquial) As if to say, "No, don’t doubt this!", or to deny an imagined contradictory statement, used to show intense agreement | |
No, totally. | |
No, yeah, that's exactly right. | |
"Wow!" "Yeah, no, it was really awful!". | |
No, yeah | |
12. n. A negating expression; an answer that shows disagreement or disapproval. | |
13. n. A vote not in favor, or opposing a proposition. | |
The workers voted on whether to strike, and there were thirty "yeses" and one "no". | |
14. adv. (archaic) Alternative form of No. | |
15. n. Alternative form of No. | |
matter |
1. n. Substance, material. | |
2. n. (physics) The basic structural component of the universe. Matter usually has mass and volume. | |
3. n. (physics) Matter made up of normal particles, not antiparticles. (Non-antimatter matter). | |
4. n. A kind of substance. | |
vegetable matter | |
5. n. Written material (especially in books or magazines). | |
printed matter; He always took some reading matter with him on the plane. | |
6. n. (philosophy) Aristotelian: undeveloped potentiality subject to change and development; formlessness. Matter receives form, and becomes substa | |
7. n. A condition, subject or affair, especially one of concern. | |
What's the matter?; state matters | |
8. n. An approximate amount or extent. | |
I stayed for a matter of months. | |
9. n. (obsolete) The essence; the pith; the embodiment. | |
10. n. (obsolete) Inducing cause or reason, especially of anything disagreeable or distressing. | |
11. n. (dated) Pus. | |
12. v. (intransitive) To be important. | |
The only thing that matters to Jim is being rich. | |
Sorry for pouring ketchup on your clean white shirt! - Oh, don't worry, it does not matter. | |
13. v. (transitive, obsolete outside dialects) To care about, to mind; to find important. | |
14. v. To form pus or matter, as an abscess; to maturate. | |
what |
1. pron. (interrogative) Which thing, event, circumstance, etc.: (used interrogatively in asking for the specification of an identity, quantity, quality, etc.) | |
2. pron. (relative, nonstandard) That; which; who. | |
3. pron. That which; those that; the thing that. | |
He knows what he wants. | |
What goes up must come down. | |
Keep up with what your friends are doing. | |
4. pron. Whatever. | |
I will do what I can to help you. | |
5. adv. (usually followed by "with") In some manner or degree; in part; partly. See also what with | |
What with singing and joking, the time passed quickly. | |
6. adv. Such. | |
What a pity. | |
What a beautiful day! | |
7. adv. (obsolete) Why? | |
8. adv. (now rare) Used to introduce each of two coordinate phrases or concepts; both…and. | |
9. adv. (Singlish) (alt form, wat) (used to contradict an assumption) | |
10. interj. An expression of surprise or disbelief. | |
What! That’s amazing. | |
11. interj. Response that enquires what the asker desires (usually said unhappily). | |
12. interj. (UK, colloquial, dated) (clipping of what do you say)? | |
It’s a nice day, what? | |
13. interj. What did you say? I beg your pardon? | |
14. det. Which; which kind of. | |
What shirt are you going to wear? | |
What time is it? | |
What kind of car is that? | |
15. det. How much; how great (used in an exclamation). | |
What talent he has! | |
What a talent! | |
16. det. (relative) Whatever | |
Write down what things come into your mind. | |
17. n. (obsolete) Something; thing; stuff. | |
18. n. The identity of a thing, as an answer to a question of what. | |
19. n. Something that is addressed by , as opposed to a person, addressed by who. | |
happens |
1. v. third-person singular present indicative of happen | |
happen |
1. v. (intransitive) To occur or take place. | |
Let me tell you how it happened. | |
2. v. (transitive, archaic) To happen to; to befall. | |
3. v. (intransitive or impersonal, with infinitive) To do or occur by chance or unexpectedly. | |
Take an umbrella in case it happens to rain. | |
Do you happen to have an umbrella? | |
I happened to get wet. | |
4. v. (followed by on or upon) To encounter by chance. | |
5. adv. (obsolete or dialect) maybe, perhaps. | |