| why |
| 1. adv. For what cause, reason, or purpose (interrogative adverb). | |
| 2. adv. Introducing a complete question. | |
| Why is the sky blue? | |
| Why did you do that? | |
| I don’t know why he did that | |
| Tell me why the moon changes phase. | |
| 3. adv. Introducing a verb phrase (bare infinitive clause). | |
| Why spend money on something you already get for free? | |
| Why not tell him how you feel? | |
| 4. adv. Introducing a noun or other phrase. | |
| Why him? Why not someone taller? | |
| 5. adv. For which cause, reason, or purpose (relative adverb). | |
| That's the reason why I did that. | |
| 6. n. reason | |
| A good article will cover the who, the what, the when, the where, the why and the how. | |
| 7. interj. An exclamation used to express indignation, mild surprise, or impatience. | |
| 8. n. (dialect) A young heifer. | |
| are |
| 1. v. second-person singular present of be | |
| Mary, where are you going? | |
| 2. v. first-person plural present of be | |
| We are not coming. | |
| 3. v. second-person plural present of be | |
| Mary and John, are you listening? | |
| 4. v. third-person plural present of be | |
| They are here somewhere. | |
| 5. v. (East Yorkshire, Midlands) present of be | |
| 6. n. (dialectal, or obsolete) grace, mercy | |
| To bid God's are. | |
| God's are is what children of God seech and seek. | |
| 7. n. (obsolete) honour, dignity | |
| 8. n. (rare) an accepted (but deprecated and rarely used) SI unit of area equal to 100 square metres, or a former unit of approximately the same extent. Symbol: a | |
| 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? | |
| 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. | |
| bothering |
| 1. v. present participle of bother | |
| bother |
| 1. v. To annoy, to disturb, to irritate. | |
| Would it bother you if I smoked? | |
| 2. v. (intransitive) To feel care or anxiety; to make or take trouble; to be troublesome. | |
| Why do I even bother to try? | |
| 3. v. (intransitive) To do something which is of negligible inconvenience. | |
| You didn't even bother to close the door. | |
| 4. n. Fuss, ado. | |
| There was a bit of bother at the hairdresser's when they couldn't find my appointment in the book. | |
| 5. n. Trouble, inconvenience. | |
| Yes, I can do that for you - it's no bother. | |
| 6. interj. A mild expression of annoyance. | |
| with |
| 1. prep. Against. | |
| He picked a fight with the class bully. | |
| 2. prep. In the company of; alongside, close to; near to. | |
| He went with his friends. | |
| 3. prep. In addition to; as an accessory to. | |
| She owns a motorcycle with a sidecar. | |
| 4. prep. Used to indicate simultaneous happening, or immediate succession or consequence. | |
| 5. prep. In support of. | |
| We are with you all the way. | |
| 6. prep. (obsolete) To denote the accomplishment of cause, means, instrument, etc; – sometimes equivalent to by. | |
| slain with robbers | |
| 7. prep. Using as an instrument; by means of. | |
| cut with a knife | |
| 8. prep. (obsolete) Using as nourishment; more recently replaced by on. | |
| 9. prep. Having, owning. | |
| 10. adv. Along, together with others, in a group, etc. | |
| Do you want to come with? | |
| 11. adv. --> | |
| 12. n. alternative form of withe | |
| 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. | |
| these |
| 1. det. plural of this | |
| 2. det. Note: depending on the context, the word those may be used either in place of or interchangeably with these. | |
| 3. pron. plural of this | |
| small |
| 1. adj. Not large or big; insignificant; few in number. | |
| A small serving of ice cream. | |
| A small group. | |
| He made us all feel small. | |
| 2. adj. (figuratively) Young, as a child. | |
| Remember when the children were small? | |
| 3. adj. (writing, incomparable) Minuscule or lowercase, referring to written letters. | |
| 4. adj. Envincing little worth or ability; not large-minded; paltry; mean. | |
| 5. adj. Not prolonged in duration; not extended in time; short. | |
| a small space of time | |
| 6. adj. topics, en, Size | |
| 7. adv. In a small fashion. | |
| 8. adv. In or into small pieces. | |
| 9. adv. (obsolete) To a small extent. | |
| 10. n. (rare) Any part of something that is smaller or slimmer than the rest, now usually with anatomical reference to the back. | |
| 11. v. (obsolete, transitive) To make little or less. | |
| 12. v. (intransitive) To become small; to dwindle. | |
| cases |
| 1. n. plural of case | |
| 2. v. third-person singular present indicative of case | |
| While the detective cases the joint, they'll get away. | |
| case |
| 1. n. An actual event, situation, or fact. | |
| For a change, in this case, he was telling the truth. | |
| It is not the case that every unfamiliar phrase is an idiom. | |
| In case of fire, break glass. sign on fire extinguisher holder in public space | |
| 2. n. (now rare) A given condition or state. | |
| 3. n. A piece of work, specifically defined within a profession. | |
| It was one of the detective's easiest cases. Social workers should work on a maximum of forty active cases. The doctor told us of an interesting case he had treated that morning. | |
| 4. n. (academia) An instance or event as a topic of study. | |
| The teaching consists of theory lessons and case studies. | |
| 5. n. (legal) A legal proceeding, lawsuit. | |
| 6. n. (grammar) A specific inflection of a word depending on its function in the sentence. | |
| The accusative case canonically indicates a direct object. Latin has six cases, and remnants of a seventh. | |
| 7. n. (grammar) Grammatical cases and their meanings taken either as a topic in general or within a specific language. | |
| Jane has been studying case in Caucasian languages. Latin is a language that employs case. | |
| 8. n. (medicine) An instance of a specific condition or set of symptoms. | |
| There were another five cases reported overnight. | |
| 9. n. (programming) A section of code representing one of the actions of a conditional switch. | |
| 10. v. (obsolete) To propose hypothetical cases. | |
| 11. n. A box that contains or can contain a number of identical items of manufacture. | |
| 12. n. A box, sheath, or covering generally. | |
| a case for spectacles; the case of a watch | |
| 13. n. A piece of luggage that can be used to transport an apparatus such as a sewing machine. | |
| 14. n. An enclosing frame or casing. | |
| a door case; a window case | |
| 15. n. A suitcase. | |
| 16. n. A piece of furniture, constructed partially of transparent glass or plastic, within which items can be displayed. | |
| 17. n. The outer covering or framework of a piece of apparatus such as a computer. | |
| 18. n. (printing, historical) A shallow tray divided into compartments or "boxes" for holding type, traditionally arranged in sets of two, the "upper case" (containing capitals, small capitals, accented) and | |
| 19. n. (typography, by extension) The nature of a piece of alphabetic type, whether a “capital” (upper case) or “small” (lower case) letter. | |
| 20. n. (poker slang) Four of a kind. | |
| 21. n. (US) A unit of liquid measure used to measure sales in the beverage industry, equivalent to 192 fluid ounces. | |
| 22. n. (mining) A small fissure which admits water into the workings. | |
| 23. n. A thin layer of harder metal on the surface of an object whose deeper metal is allowed to remain soft. | |
| 24. adj. (poker slang) The last remaining card of a particular rank. | |
| He drew the case eight! | |
| 25. v. To place (an item or items of manufacture) into a box, as in preparation for shipment. | |
| 26. v. To cover or protect with, or as if with, a case; to enclose. | |
| 27. v. (transitive, informal) To survey (a building or other location) surreptitiously, as in preparation for a robbery. | |
| instead |
| 1. adv. In the place of something (usually mentioned earlier); as a substitute or alternative. | |
| I was going to go shopping, but I went dancing instead. | |
| 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. | |
| with |
| 1. prep. Against. | |
| He picked a fight with the class bully. | |
| 2. prep. In the company of; alongside, close to; near to. | |
| He went with his friends. | |
| 3. prep. In addition to; as an accessory to. | |
| She owns a motorcycle with a sidecar. | |
| 4. prep. Used to indicate simultaneous happening, or immediate succession or consequence. | |
| 5. prep. In support of. | |
| We are with you all the way. | |
| 6. prep. (obsolete) To denote the accomplishment of cause, means, instrument, etc; – sometimes equivalent to by. | |
| slain with robbers | |
| 7. prep. Using as an instrument; by means of. | |
| cut with a knife | |
| 8. prep. (obsolete) Using as nourishment; more recently replaced by on. | |
| 9. prep. Having, owning. | |
| 10. adv. Along, together with others, in a group, etc. | |
| Do you want to come with? | |
| 11. adv. --> | |
| 12. n. alternative form of withe | |
| My |
| 1. n. megayear | |
| 2. pron. alternative case form of my often used when speaking as God or another important figure who is understood from context. | |
| 3. det. First-person singular possessive determiner. See. | |
| 4. det. Belonging to me. | |
| I can't find my book. | |
| 5. det. Associated with me. | |
| My seat at the restaurant was uncomfortable. | |
| Don't you know my name? | |
| I recognised him because he had attended my school. | |
| 6. det. Related to me. | |
| My parents won't let me go out tonight. | |
| 7. det. In the possession of me. | |
| I have to take my books back to the library soon. | |
| 8. interj. Used to express surprise, shock or amazement. | |
| My, what big teeth you have! | |
| actions |
| 1. n. plural of action | |
| 2. v. third-person singular present indicative of action | |
| action |
| 1. n. Something done so as to accomplish a purpose. | |
| 2. n. A way of motion or functioning. | |
| Knead bread with a rocking action. | |
| 3. n. Fast-paced activity. | |
| a movie full of exciting action | |
| 4. n. A mechanism; a moving part or assembly. | |
| a rifle action | |
| 5. n. (music): The mechanism, that is the set of moving mechanical parts, of a keyboard instrument, like a piano, which transfers the motion of the key to the sound-making device.Marshall Cavendish Corporat | |
| 6. n. (slang) sexual intercourse. | |
| She gave him some action. | |
| 7. n. The distance separating the strings and the fretboard on the guitar. | |
| 8. n. (military) Combat. | |
| He saw some action in the Korean War. | |
| 9. n. (legal) A charge or other process in a law court (also called lawsuit and actio). | |
| 10. n. (mathematics) A mapping from a pairing of mathematical objects to one of them, respecting their individual structures. The pairing is typically a Cartesian product or a tensor product. The object that | |
| 11. n. (physics) The product of energy and time. | |
| 12. n. The event or connected series of events, either real or imaginary, forming the subject of a play, poem, or other composition; the unfolding of the drama of events. | |
| 13. n. (art, painting and sculpture) The attitude or position of the several parts of the body as expressive of the sentiment or passion depicted. | |
| 14. n. (bowling) spin put on the bowling ball. | |
| 15. n. (business, obsolete, a Gallicism) A share in the capital stock of a joint-stock company, or in the public funds. | |
| 16. interj. Demanding or signifying the start of something, usually an act or scene of a theatric performance. | |
| The director yelled ‘Action!’ before the camera started rolling. | |
| 17. v. (transitive, management) To act on a request etc, in order to put it into effect. | |
| 18. v. (transitive, chiefly archaic) To initiate a legal action against someone. | |
| when |
| 1. adv. (interrogative) Used to introduce questions about time. | |
| When will they arrive? | |
| 2. adv. Used to introduce indirect questions about time. | |
| Do you know when they arrived? | |
| Do you know when they will arrive? | |
| Do you know when they arrive? | |
| 3. adv. At an earlier and less prosperous time. | |
| He's mister high and mighty now, but I remember him when. | |
| 4. adv. (indirect question) Used to refer to doubts about time. | |
| 5. adv. (relative) At which, on which, during which. Often omitted or replaced with that. | |
| That was the day when the Twin Towers fell. | |
| 6. conj. At what time. | |
| They were told when to sleep. | |
| He doesn't know when to stop talking. | |
| 7. conj. At such time as. | |
| I’m happiest when I’m working. | |
| 8. conj. At the time of the action of the following clause or participle phrase. | |
| It was raining when I came yesterday. | |
| The show will begin when I get there. | |
| The game is over when the referee says it is. | |
| Be careful when crossing the street. | |
| Pay attention when spoken to. | |
| When (you are) angry, count to ten before speaking or acting. | |
| That time when the dog stole the turkey from the table. | |
| 9. conj. Since; given the fact that. | |
| I don't see the point of putting up Christmas decorations when I am the only person who is going to see them. | |
| 10. pron. (interrogative) What time; which time. | |
| Since when do I need your permission? | |
| 11. n. The time at which something happens. | |
| A good article will cover the who, the what, the when, the where, the why and the how. | |
| 12. interj. That's enough, a command to stop adding something, especially an ingredient of food or drink. | |
| 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) | |
| 6. pron. nonstandard spelling of I | |
| sat |
| 1. v. simple past tense and past participle of sit | |
| I sat in the middle of the park. | |
| 2. n. (abbreviation of satellite) (artificial orbital body) | |
| sit |
| 1. v. (intransitive, of a person) To be in a position in which the upper body is upright and supported by the buttocks. | |
| After a long day of walking, it was good just to sit and relax. | |
| 2. v. (intransitive, of a person) To move oneself into such a position. | |
| I asked him to sit. | |
| 3. v. (intransitive, of an object) To occupy a given position permanently. | |
| The temple has sat atop that hill for centuries. | |
| 4. v. To remain in a state of repose; to rest; to abide; to rest in any position or condition. | |
| 5. v. (government) To be a member of a deliberative body. | |
| I currently sit on a standards committee. | |
| 6. v. (legal, government) Of a legislative or, especially, a judicial body such as a court, to be in session. | |
| In what city is the circuit court sitting for this session. | |
| 7. v. To lie, rest, or bear; to press or weigh. | |
| 8. v. To be adjusted; to fit. | |
| Your new coat sits well. | |
| 9. v. (intransitive, of an agreement or arrangement) To be accepted or acceptable; to work. | |
| How will this new contract sit with the workers? | |
| I don’t think it will sit well. | |
| The violence in these video games sits awkwardly with their stated aim of educating children. | |
| 10. v. (transitive, causative) To cause to be seated or in a sitting posture; to furnish a seat to. | |
| Sit him in front of the TV and he might watch for hours. | |
| 11. v. To accommodate in seats; to seat. | |
| The dining room table sits eight comfortably. | |
| 12. v. (intransitive) shortened form of babysit. | |
| I'm going to sit for them on Thursday. | |
| 13. v. (transitive, US) To babysit | |
| I need to find someone to sit my kids on Friday evening for four hours. | |
| 14. v. (transitive, Australia, New Zealand, UK) To take, to undergo or complete (an examination or test). | |
| 15. v. To cover and warm eggs for hatching, as a fowl; to brood; to incubate. | |
| 16. v. To take a position for the purpose of having some artistic representation of oneself made, such as a picture or a bust. | |
| I'm sitting for a painter this evening. | |
| 17. v. To have position, as at the point blown from; to hold a relative position; to have direction. | |
| 18. n. (rare, Buddhism) An event, usually lasting one full day or more, where the primary goal is to sit in meditation. | |
| near |
| 1. adj. Physically close. | |
| 2. adj. Closely connected or related. | |
| 3. adj. Close to one's interests, affection, etc.; intimate; dear. | |
| a near friend | |
| 4. adj. Close to anything followed or imitated; not free, loose, or rambling. | |
| a version near to the original | |
| 5. adj. So as barely to avoid or pass injury or loss; close; narrow. | |
| a near escape | |
| 6. adj. (of an event) Approaching. | |
| The end is near. | |
| 7. adj. Approximate, almost. | |
| The two words are near synonyms. | |
| 8. adj. (dated) Next to the driver, when he is on foot; (US) on the left of an animal or a team. | |
| the near ox; the near leg | |
| 9. adj. (obsolete) Immediate; direct; close; short. | |
| 10. adj. (obsolete, slang) Stingy; parsimonious. | |
| 11. adv. Having a small intervening distance with regard to something. | |
| I'm near-sighted. | |
| 12. adv. (colloquial) nearly | |
| 13. prep. Close to, in close proximity to. | |
| There are habitable planets orbiting many of the stars near our Sun. | |
| 14. prep. Close to in time. | |
| The voyage was near completion. | |
| 15. v. To come closer to; to approach. | |
| The ship nears the land. | |
| 16. n. The left side of a horse or of a team of horses pulling a carriage etc. | |
| 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. | |
| top |
| 1. n. The highest or uppermost part of something. | |
| His kite got caught at the top of the tree. | |
| 2. n. (irrespective of present orientation) the part of something that is usually the top. | |
| We flipped the machine onto its top. | |
| 3. n. The uppermost part of a page, picture, viewing screen, etc. | |
| Further weather information can be found at the top of your television screen. Headings appear at the tops of pages. | |
| 4. n. A lid, cap or cover of a container. | |
| Put a top on the toothpaste tube or it will go bad. | |
| 5. n. A garment worn to cover the torso. | |
| I bought this top as it matches my jeans. | |
| 6. n. (nautical) A framework at the top of a ship's mast to which rigging is attached. | |
| 7. n. (baseball) The first half of an inning, during which the home team fields and the visiting team bats. | |
| 8. n. (archaic) The crown of the head, or the hair upon it; the head. | |
| 9. n. A child’s spinning toy; a spinning top. | |
| The boy was amazed at how long the top would spin. | |
| 10. n. Someone who is eminent.: | |
| 11. n. (archaic) The chief person; the most prominent one. | |
| 12. n. The highest rank; the most honourable position; the utmost attainable place. | |
| to be at the top of one's class, or at the top of the school | |
| 13. n. (BDSM) A dominant partner in a BDSM relationship or roleplay. | |
| 14. n. (LGBT, slang) A man penetrating or with a preference for penetrating during homosexual intercourse. | |
| I prefer being a top, and my boyfriend prefers being a bottom. | |
| 15. n. (physics) A top quark. | |
| 16. n. The utmost degree; the acme; the summit. | |
| 17. n. (ropemaking) A plug, or conical block of wood, with longitudinal grooves on its surface, in which the strands of the rope slide in the process of twisting. | |
| 18. n. (sound) Highest pitch or loudest volume. | |
| She sang at the top of her voice. | |
| 19. n. (wool manufacture) A bundle or ball of slivers of combed wool, from which the noils, or dust, have been taken out. | |
| 20. n. (obsolete, except in one sense of phrase on top of) Eve; verge; point. | |
| 21. n. The part of a cut gem between the girdle, or circumference, and the table, or flat upper surface. | |
| 22. n. (in the slang) Topboots. | |
| 23. n. (golf) A stroke on the top of the ball. | |
| 24. n. (golf) A forward spin given to the ball by hitting it on or near the top. | |
| 25. n. (in restaurants, preceded by a number) (A table at which there is, or which has enough seats for) a group of a specified number of people eating at a restaurant. | |
| 26. v. To cover on the top or with a top. | |
| I like my ice cream topped with chocolate sauce. | |
| 27. v. To cut or remove the top (as of a tree) | |
| I don't want to be bald, so just top my hair. | |
| Top and tail the carrots. | |
| 28. v. To excel, to surpass, to beat. | |
| Titanic was the most successful film ever until it was topped by another Cameron film, Avatar. | |
| 29. v. To be in the lead, to be at number one position (of). | |
| Celine Dion topped the UK music charts twice in the 1990s. | |
| 30. v. (UK, slang) To commit suicide, (rare) to murder. | |
| Depression causes many people to top themselves. | |
| 31. v. (BDSM) To be the dominant partner in a BDSM relationship or roleplay. | |
| I used to be a slave, but I ended up topping. | |
| Giving advice to the dominant partner on how to run the BDSM session is called "topping from the bottom". | |
| 32. v. (slang) To be the partner who penetrates in anal sex. | |
| 33. v. (slang) To anally penetrate. | |
| 34. v. (archaic) To rise aloft; to be eminent; to tower. | |
| lofty ridges and topping mountains | |
| 35. v. (archaic) To predominate. | |
| topping passions | |
| 36. v. (archaic) To excel; to rise above others. | |
| 37. v. (nautical) To raise one end of (a yard, etc.), making it higher than the other. | |
| 38. v. (dyeing) To cover with another dye. | |
| to top aniline black with methyl violet to prevent greening | |
| 39. v. To put a stiffening piece or back on (a saw blade). | |
| 40. v. (slang) To arrange (fruit, etc.) with the best on top. | |
| 41. v. (of a horse) To strike the top of (an obstacle) with the hind feet while jumping, so as to gain new impetus. | |
| 42. v. To improve (domestic animals, especially sheep) by crossing certain individuals or breeds with other superior breeds. | |
| 43. v. To cut, break, or otherwise take off the top of (a steel ingot) to remove unsound metal. | |
| 44. v. (golf) To strike (the ball) above the centre; also, to make (a stroke, etc.) by hitting the ball in this way. | |
| 45. adj. Situated on the top of something. | |
| 46. adj. (informal) Best; of the highest quality or rank. | |
| She's in the top dance school. | |
| 47. adj. (informal) Very good, of high quality. | |
| He's a top lawyer. | |
| That is a top car. | |
| 48. adv. Rated first. | |
| She came top in her French exam. | |
| 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. | |
| 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. | |
| judicial |
| 1. adj. Of or relating to the administration of justice. | |
| 2. adj. Of or relating to the court system or the judicial branch of government. | |
| 3. adj. (Ireland, historical) specified by a civil bill court under the terms of the Land Law (Ireland) Act, 1881 | |
| judicial rent, judicial lease | |
| 4. adj. Of or relating to judgeship or the judiciary, the collective body of judges. | |
| 5. n. That branch of government which is responsible for maintaining the courts of law and for the administration of justice. | |
| system |
| 1. n. A collection of organized things; a whole composed of relationships among its members. | |
| There are eight planets in the solar system. | |
| 2. n. (derogatory) Preceded by the word the: the mainstream culture, controlled by the elites or government of a state, or a combination of them, seen as opp | |
| 3. n. (computing) A set of hardware and software operating in a computer. | |
| 4. n. (mathematics) A set of equations involving the same variables, which are to be solved simultaneously. | |
| 5. n. (music) A set of staves linked by a brace that indicate instruments or sounds that are to be played simultaneously. | |
| 6. n. (physiology) A set of body organs having a particular function. | |
| the digestive system the nervous system | |
| 7. n. A set of alters, or the multiple (individual with multiple personalities due to e.g. a disassociative personality disorder) who contains them. | |
| 8. n. A method or way of organizing or planning. | |
| Many people believed communism was a good system until the breakup of the Soviet Union. | |
