Questions tagged [definition]
Definition is a statement of the exact meaning of a word or phrase, especially when given in a dictionary.
208
questions
0
votes
1answer
35 views
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" ...
0
votes
0answers
17 views
Ripped across meaning
One of the definitions of "to rip" is "to run very fast", while the more common one is "to tear". Then if a tornado ripped across the city, is it more appropriate to say &...
0
votes
1answer
21 views
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 ...
1
vote
2answers
41 views
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 ...
1
vote
2answers
50 views
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 ...
5
votes
3answers
106 views
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 ...
0
votes
1answer
29 views
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 ...
0
votes
2answers
35 views
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 ...
0
votes
1answer
43 views
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 ...
-1
votes
2answers
30 views
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 ...
-1
votes
3answers
61 views
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 ...
2
votes
1answer
31 views
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
...
0
votes
1answer
43 views
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?
0
votes
1answer
31 views
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 ...
0
votes
0answers
33 views
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?
0
votes
1answer
31 views
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 ?
0
votes
2answers
17 views
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 ...
0
votes
1answer
43 views
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 ...
0
votes
3answers
78 views
Why is sentence ‘a color has blue’ wrong?
Why is ‘a color has blue’ wrong but ‘a color is blue’ right?
If ‘blue’ and ‘color’ are defined, isn’t it ‘a color having blue’? A blue color’ is right though.
Or am I approaching it so mathematically?
1
vote
1answer
58 views
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, ...
1
vote
2answers
34 views
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?
0
votes
1answer
34 views
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 ...
0
votes
1answer
30 views
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?
2
votes
3answers
331 views
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 ...
0
votes
1answer
27 views
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
0
votes
2answers
47 views
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 ...
0
votes
1answer
20 views
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 ...
0
votes
3answers
74 views
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 ...
0
votes
1answer
27 views
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 ...
-2
votes
1answer
124 views
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?
0
votes
0answers
53 views
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 ...
1
vote
1answer
119 views
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 ...
1
vote
1answer
38 views
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?
0
votes
1answer
19 views
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.
0
votes
0answers
20 views
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&...
0
votes
1answer
104 views
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 ...
0
votes
1answer
38 views
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 ...
0
votes
1answer
44 views
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, "...
0
votes
1answer
49 views
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 ...
0
votes
1answer
96 views
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?
...
0
votes
1answer
539 views
What's the exact meaning of the word "nows"?
I've been reading an article from Newsela, and there was a sentence that goes
"The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC, changed its guidelines the week of March 16. It nows says ...
0
votes
2answers
45 views
half-column means terse?
In the opening paragraph to “The Adventure of the Engineer’s Thumb” by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Watson writes:
The story has, I believe, been told more than once in the newspapers,
but, like all such ...
0
votes
1answer
55 views
Definition of Forged
I am confused about how I can use the word 'forged' in my English essay.
Here is my sentence:
Through building an undying bond with his son, forged through the omnipotence of love, they survive even ...
0
votes
2answers
636 views
The difference between characteristic, feature, aspect, attribute and quality, their definitions are defined using each other
It's annoying the Dictionary always happens to me this absurdity:
Characteristic - distinguishing feature or quality
Feature - a distinctive attribute or aspect of something
Attribute - regard a ...
1
vote
1answer
38 views
"They have harmed oneself" is wrong in this sentence?
They have harmed oneself? It should be better instead they have harmed themselves? Or it's referring to they are harming someone in the highlighted part?
retaliation NOUN
mass noun
1The action of ...
0
votes
2answers
27 views
Pure meaning about people
-Thinking about the school festival's concert makes me happy
-You're so pure
What does "pure" means when we talk about people and what it means in this context?
0
votes
0answers
36 views
Not understanding the sentences with the formula 'word + out '
Exist a pattern that I already do not know to decipher each phrase with the formula word + out?
Work Out = Excercise
Deck Out = Decorate
Force out = Compel to leave
How does adding out is related to ...
0
votes
2answers
526 views
What is an entry in a dictionary?
I see the marketing on selling dictionaries "350,000 entries and meanings", I searched in the dictionary and I get
An entry is:
The description is too general, what is an item in a ...
0
votes
1answer
35 views
What place is this quote referring to?
What is "Bankers' row and sleight of hand at Seventh Avenue fashion houses" referring to?
I searched Google Maps for Seventh Avenue and 6 Seventh Avenue in the US, awkward.
1
vote
3answers
80 views
Can we call Mathematics a kind of Art?
The dictionary says Art can refer to 'skill in conducting any human activity', and it also has an archaic usage 'science, learning, or scholarship'. So can we call Mathematics a kind of art or is it ...
