Questions tagged [definition]
Definition is a statement of the exact meaning of a word or phrase, especially when given in a dictionary.
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Is the use of the verb "match" correct at the following example sentence?
One of the definitions of the verb match at cambridg.dictionary is as follow:
to choose someone or something that is suitable for a particular
person, activity, or purpose:
In the first exercise you ...
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Correct meaning and usage of "ignorant"
I saw the question about this word, but it is more like an example of how not to use this word. From definitions I found on google, it looks like this word is used to describe someone who is not ...
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What is the difference between fight off and fight back? [closed]
Is there a clear distinction between these two phrases? are there any cases they can be used interchangeably? |Thanks.
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Does "credit" in "My phone's run out of credit" refer to an amount of money or just the right?
In the dictionary
Credit
1-[uncountable] money that you have in your bank account; if you or
your bank account are in credit, there is money in the account
You have a credit balance of £250.
My ...
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Say Someone and Tell to Someone - Grammatical Explanation
My friend often makes grammatical mistakes by adding "to" when it's not appropriate (Tell to him, ask to him...) or removing "to" when it should be included (I said him - meaning I ...
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How can I describe this kind of prostration?
To prostrate, as Collins dictionary says, means:
"If you prostrate yourself, you lie down flat on the ground, on your front, usually to show respect for God or a person in authority"
On the ...
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How should I interpret the phrase "f is applied to x" in function f(x) in math?
How should I interpret the phrase "f is applied to x" in function f(x) in math?
I found the expression:
f (x) (i.e. f applied to x)
inside the math book.
I only have the 3 definitions of &...
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"The meeting" denotes people or an event?
In the following sentence, does "the meeting" refer to an event or the people participating in the event?
The meeting broke up at eleven o'clock.
The Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary ...
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"Don't break character" meaning
I wanted to know the meaning of this phrase in the music of “be still” from “killers”:
“ Don't break character
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What could be the reason I can't understand these definitions?
This is a definition from macmillan dictionary for the word "broadside"
"broadside"
with the side facing towards something
example-sentence: His van hit the car broadside.
If I ...
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Verb *be* followed by nominative or accusative case of the pronoun
It is I who need your help.
It is me that needs your help.
Source Practical English Usage
In the first example, the verb be is followed by a nominative case of the personal pronoun and the relative ...
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Which one is more negative connotation?
I didn't like smirk on jester's face.
Or
I didn't like grin on jester's face.
Smirk means to smile in a way that annoys, and grin means to smile widely that all teeth are shown in an amusing way. ...
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Meaning of "run" in "run you around 700 dollars!"
I was watching a YouTube clip (the AVGN 3DO episode) and heard this usage of "run".
The complete copy can run you around 700 dollars today!
There should be a definition of "run" ...
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Which option best defines cause and effect? [closed]
Which one is a correct definition for cause and effect and fills the gap correctly?
______ tell the reader there might be cause and effect occurring.
A. Signal words/connectors...
OR
B. Events or ...
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cynical/cynicism
I've often found the word "cynical" or "cynicism" hard to understand when it is used in a sentence. More often than not, the meaning given in an English-English dictionary just ...
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What does "humbling words" mean?
A colleague of mine wrote:
Thank you for the kind and humbling words.
I know what's "humble" and what's "to humble someone".
I understand here positive intention, but how do you ...
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Why use the plural form of feeling?
But I always managed to forget my guilty feelings every time we sat down to plan our next month's adventure. And I haven't changed...
A particular type of feeling is always used with "a singular ...
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What on earth is the "Head On Live Television"
This article has a headline,
A Man Who Threatened To Shoot Nancy Pelosi In The Head On Live TV Has Pleaded Guilty
Googling or googling on Yahoo image shows no concrete hint what exactly it is.
I ...
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Can action and quality mean the same?
Action (verb) is not quality (adjective). But why is the definition of adjective “broken” verb “violently separated into parts”? Isn’t it proper to say adjective “broken” means “in a state of being ...
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Meaning of "of" in "the X 'of' Y"
engagement: the act of engaging : the state of being engaged
redness: the quality or state of being red or red-hot
negotiation: the action or process of negotiating or being negotiated
I’ve always ...
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Words with a negative definition
In my secret Asian language, it’s acceptable saying for example “very not comfortable” for “very uncomfortable” which is unacceptable in English.
What I wonder about is why for example “very ...
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Why does the difference happen between the dictionary and the usage?
high adjective (ABOVE AVERAGE)
B1
greater than the usual level or amount:
According to the dictionary, high water should mean lots of water, but why is it wrong in usage?
But high-tar means lots of ...
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Conjunction "either ": no paraphrase with "any"
When either is used as a conjunction, no paraphrase with any is
available, and so either is unexceptionable even when it applies to
more than two clauses:
Either the union will make a counter-offer or
...
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penalized his drug possession
Is the following use of "penalize" natural?
The court penalized his drug possession.
Could you find its definition in a non-leanrer's dictionary?
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meaning of "help"
The Cambridge Dictionary has the following definition of "help":
to do something for someone
And the example sentence:
Dad always helps me with my homework.
I'm wondering this sentence ...
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She did nothing except that she complained
BUT (conjunction)
except: She did nothing but complain (= She did nothing except
that she complained).
https://www.wordreference.com/definition/but
Is the paraphrase given adequate in modern English?
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He works in like manner with a beaver
LIKE (prep.) in like manner with: He works like a beaver.
https://www.wordreference.com/definition/like
Is then He works in like manner with a beaver grammatical ?
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THEN: since that is so; therefore
in that case; in those circumstances: If you want to quit, then do so. If you're sick, then you should stay in bed. If traffic is heavy, then allow extra time.
since that is so; therefore: If the car ...
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definition of "no less a person than"
The Collins Dictionary has the following definition for "no less a person than":
a person of no lower importance, rank, etc. than
I'm wondering if it's an accurate definition.
It makes the ...
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What's the meaning of the word 'wordstruck?'
I found this term reading a novel, Presumed Innocent:
“We’ve made some decisions here,” Raymond says. He turns to Della Guardia. Silence. Delay, in his first assignment as P.A., is wordstruck. “Well, ...
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What kind of verb is "is" in this sentence?
She is crying for help.
What kind of verb is the verb "is" in this sentence? Whether it is finite or helping verb or both?
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Can the dictionary definition have two different modifiers?
The following excerpt is the definition of ‘no’
no
not any
But, here’s a problem. Can ‘not’ modify determiner ‘any’? If not, does ‘any’ modify a noun, and ‘not’ modify a verb (that is, there are two ...
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Definition of ‘In a row’
The following definition is what ‘in a row’ is defined as, in the Cambridge dictionary.
In a row
one after another without a break
What does ‘without a break’ modify?
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is there any difference between social constructs and social norms?
is there any difference between social constructs and social norms? what would we call it when a society expects you to have a good job etc. or doing the same that is accepted to be the good by ...
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Can ‘10 minus 3’ be interchanged by ‘10 with the subtraction of 3’?
10 is subtracted by 3
Can ‘10 minus 3’ be interchanged by ‘10 with the subtraction of 3’?
https://www.lexico.com/definition/minus
Is Lexico wrong? The other dictionaries says ‘deducted by’ and so on
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Which definition? "Run up debts of XXXXX"
This is the continuation of the last question.
There is a line saying,
Meanwhile, Florida’s Democratic Party ran up debts of up to $860,000 and had to cancel health insurance coverage for party ...
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Definition of adjectives
For example, ‘destruction’ means the act of destructing and the act is destructing.
Here is my question:
‘happiness’ means the quality of being happy.
Is the quality being happy? I mean, is being ...
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Meaning of "players" and "port of a bitt"
The Cotgrave Dictionarie of the French and English Tongues (1611) has this definition for the word Babillon:
Babillon: m. The players that hang to the port of a bitt.
Can anyone shed some light ...
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which sentence fits this definition of “when”?
The Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English has the following definition of "when":
used to introduce a fact or statement that makes something seem surprising
I'd like to know which of ...
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What's the meaning of "the big sort"?
I'm listening to Brene Brown's podcast. The word "big sort" comes up, and i've tried to search for meaning on the internet but there was no definition :'(
Can you please explain it to me?
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Meaning of somewhere off?
What is the definition of "somewhere off" not just in this example but also the meaning in general
Example:
Potential infinity refers to a procedure that gets closer and closer to, but never ...
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Can "annular" mean both rectangular ring and circular ring?
Some dictionaries define the term "annular" as ring-shaped.
So, I think both shapes shown above can be described as an annular shape.
If it is necessary to distinguish the two shapes, the ...
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Don't word defintions need to be in one of five phrase types?
There are noun phrases, adjective phrases, adverb phrases, verb phrases, prepositional phrases. Word definitions don't need to be in one of five types?
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Can we really call them adverbs?
Only adv. :as recently as : not before
Merely adv. :nothing more than
I think 1 is more like a preposition and 2 is a noun+preposition.
Both are from a Merriam Webster dictionary.
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Some questions about "can (not) help"
It would be highly appreciated that one helps me to find an equivalent for sentences below:
In the OALD dictionary, it was written that: "sb can (not) help (doing) sth| sb cannot help but do sth&...
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What does an "abstract model" mean?
I came across the following sentence in a book on political theory:
Political theory stands for an abstract model of the political order…
a guide to the systematic collection and analysis of ...
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What does "cosmologies" mean in this particular context?
Consider the following extract:
A skillful cook can make delectable dishes without quite being able to
tell us how. (Conversely, the possession of a good recipe book is not
sufficient to make a good ...
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What does "abstraction" mean in this particular context?
"A theory aspires to some degree of generality and abstraction." The book where I found this sentence is a book in one of the disciplines of humanities. According to Merriam-Webster, "...
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What is the meaning of "Life is true to form..."?
I've come to read this Mark Spitz' quote:
Life is true to form; records are meant to be broken.
Second part is 100% clear to me and surprisingly the first part is nearly none percent. I'm not good ...
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What does "much to the displeasure of" mean?
But he stayed put, and so did Biron, much to the displeasure of the crowd.
Did he and Biron stay put because of the crowd's displeasure or the crowd was displeasured by Biron and him to stay put?
...
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