Questions tagged [word-meaning]

For questions which a dictionary cannot answer about the meaning of a single word. It is best to include details about where you found the word, and any definitions that you have found that don't make sense, or don't fully answer your question.

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What does *monte* mean in the term *three-card-monte* game?

What does monte mean in the term three-card-monte game? I have looked up the dictionaries but couldn't find any applicable answer, I'm afraid.
philphil's user avatar
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1 answer
37 views

"Dessert/Desert" is my favorite thing. - Does English word syllable stress change when they are in a sentence or in a paragraph?

Does English word syllable stress change when they are in a sentence or in a larger unit, say, like in a paragraph? I am asking this because I have heard that some languages such as Japanese have ...
vincentlin's user avatar
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0 answers
27 views

"At a rate unparalled"

I don't understand what the word "unparalled" means, and in what context to use that word. Can anyone explain this word, please?
Hoài Thương's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
34 views

meaning of "disc" in "strewn with the white discs of morning glory"

At one point we drove to an alpine meadow strewn with the white discs of morning glory and bordered by ponderosa pines. I wonder which of the following the "disc" means here : round area ...
qna's user avatar
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1 vote
2 answers
48 views

Is "Given is .." right? [closed]

Source: https://www.dailymetalprice.com/aluminum.html The price of aluminum is based on the cumulative result of the previous trading session. Given is multitude of purposes and that many global ...
Gamal Thomas's user avatar
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3 votes
3 answers
489 views

What does "measurement" mean in the given context?

Although not the explicit goal, the best science can really be seen as refining ignorance. Scientists, especially young ones, can get too obsessed with results. Society helps them along in this mad ...
Englishgood's user avatar
-1 votes
1 answer
60 views

What does 'peachless' in this joke mean?

I saw this joke just now and have googled for a while to understand what that means but failed. I can't believe someone broke into my house and stole all of my fruit. I am peachless. I think the ...
Lerner Zhang's user avatar
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1 vote
1 answer
81 views

the reality of reflection

Today’s “Phrase of the Day” is “hold a mirror up to“ and it is a phrase meaning “to take a look at oneself objectively to examine or reflect on things (issues) stemming from the reality of reflection; ...
Englishgood's user avatar
0 votes
2 answers
66 views

What's the difference between these two definitions of ‘determination’?

These are two definitions for the noun "determination" from the same dictionary (American Heritage® Dictionary). One was right below the other. Is it me or you could basically combine these ...
Static Bounce's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
55 views

What is the meaning of "cross" in the following example?

Huawei's copy for their new smartwatch: "Fashion, never stops. Pushing boundaries through technology. To cross, to sport, to explore". What is meant by "cross" in this example?
Ivan Milošević's user avatar
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1 answer
63 views

Is "months" natural and idiomatic in "as the summer months begin to give way to autumn..."?

As the summer months begin to give way to autumn, the stoic Ukrainian soldiers are fighting through the heavily defended Russian lines across the south of their country, as multiple breaches across ...
Englishgood's user avatar
0 votes
2 answers
24 views

What does "out back" mean in this sentence: "It seems there was a little mix up out back."

This is from a famous TV show Golden girls (see:11:10-11:15) "Well, it seems there was a little mix up out back and Mrs. Clarkson was cremated by mistake." I looked "out back" up ...
yunus's user avatar
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1 answer
57 views

Do we say "your English is rusty" to a non-native English speaker who has lived in an English country for a long time?

We often say "your English is rusty" to a native English speaker who has not been speaking English for a long time because they have lived in a non-English country. Say, Bob was born in ...
Tom's user avatar
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0 votes
1 answer
30 views

the syntax and the semantics of the word 'flat' in the sentence

If they get a chance to lay their eggs, we are going to have everything eaten flat with hoppers later on. Context: People are trying to stop locusts to land on their farms. So they suppose that they ...
Abid's user avatar
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0 votes
0 answers
24 views

What'the meaning of "break and run"

What is the meaning of break in this sentence "he'd broke and run". For the context: it's a boy bullying by three other boys. They holding him to hurting him. When one of the bullies " ...
Elo's user avatar
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1 vote
3 answers
51 views

Can something be "SAFE" but "UNSECURE"?

Today I was spending my time, watching some "liminal spaces" on internet, and I saw something weird about the information of a room. It mentions: "Safe", "Unsecure" I ...
Derelict Paradise's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
31 views

What Meaning of 'in which' here

What does ‘in which’ mean in the following context? Window size (window=10000 B): receiver tells about his buffer capacity in which he has to store messages from the sender. Source: https://www....
Drown's user avatar
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1 answer
32 views

What does "compromise" mean in this sentence?

Orwell didn’t live to see the compromise which English Socialism now represents – a minimum of public ownership, a social-security apparatus that costs too much, a mass of ‘equalizing’ laws not easily ...
Abw's user avatar
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-2 votes
2 answers
32 views

How should I take the following sentence?

In this context, how should I take the sentence 'Concourse alone is best'? I don't catch its interpretation. What does the word 'Concourse' mean? Context: In that noble Toleration Edict, Asoka says: “...
Sakya Kim's user avatar
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-1 votes
1 answer
93 views

Is there any different between "Bring your kit/stuff/tools/equipment"? [closed]

Could you explain do we have any different between [Kit,stuff,tool,equipment]. • For example if I want to use them in this sentence, What will change about the meaning of sentence? Bring your kit. &...
Derelict Paradise's user avatar
0 votes
2 answers
39 views

What does "nuances" mean in this context?

Thirty-odd years after demobilization, there are many former other ranks who enjoy a dream of avenging old insults, injustices, nuances of upper-class disdain. 1985 by Anthony Burgess. I don't know ...
Abw's user avatar
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0 votes
1 answer
55 views

The old lady says "I liked marbles and tops." What is tops? [closed]

An old lady talks about what she would do when she was young. 101 year old (see:2:08-02:12) She says: "I liked marbles and tops." I looked up both words and I found "marbles" and ...
yunus's user avatar
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0 votes
1 answer
30 views

get through a fence? [closed]

If a dog or cat got through a fence, do they jump over a fence, or crawl through a hole in a fence, or both? The central dramas concern the exacting veterinary care of a rhinoceros in labor and the ...
Lifeispicnic's user avatar
0 votes
3 answers
50 views

meaning of pull in "pull survivors to safety"

One man took an dirt road uphill, climbing above the fire and watching as Lahaina burned. He later picked his way through the flames, smoke and rubble to pull survivors to safety.From an article in ...
Jones's user avatar
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-1 votes
2 answers
22 views

How should I understand the following sentence?

In this following context, how should I take this bold and italic sentence? The verbs 'incur' and 'enter' make me confused. What does the word 'question' mean here? Context: In Buddhism there is no ...
Sakya Kim's user avatar
  • 413
0 votes
1 answer
33 views

What does the phrase 'doubtful revelation' mean?

In this following context, how should I take the phrase 'doubtful revelation'? Does it mean teaching or information? And what does the verbal phrase 'found on' mean? Does it mean 'stem from'? ...
Sakya Kim's user avatar
  • 413
1 vote
1 answer
30 views

interrogative pronoun where vs. adverb somewhere

Tell him where he can put it. (Here, can means permission.) Can this sentence be interpreted as Tell him he can put it somewhere?
gonju yi's user avatar
14 votes
1 answer
2k views

What is the meaning of tron in jumbotron?

I know what jumbotron is, It is a screen in a stadium. I want to know what tron means? I have seen tron in other places such as scoob-tron(name of a dog). I am trying to figure out the meaning of tron....
Max's user avatar
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0 votes
0 answers
24 views

Whereas vs while to link contrasting statements [duplicate]

Is there any effective difference between while and whereas when used to link contrasting statements, or are differences in usage only a matter of style rather than grammar? See the following ...
goshawk's user avatar
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0 votes
1 answer
35 views

help him having headaches [closed]

a. The doctor couldn't help him having headaches. Does that only mean The doctor couldn't prevent him from having headaches. or could it also mean The doctor couldn't reduced the intensity or the ...
azz's user avatar
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-1 votes
1 answer
31 views

Why is it correct to say "overlooks park" instead of "oversees park"? [closed]

Choose the word or phrase that best completes each sentence. His bedroom ........... the park. a) overtakes b) undergoes c) overlooks (the right answer) d) oversees (what I have picked) When I ...
Han's user avatar
  • 159
8 votes
4 answers
2k views

Why is it correct to say "...is situated in a suburb" instead of "...is built in a suburb"?

Choose the word or phrase that best completes each sentence. The factory is ............ in a suburb of Manchester. a) placed   b) situated   c) built   d) surrounded my answer: built the right one:...
Han's user avatar
  • 159
0 votes
1 answer
48 views

condescension and can

We can talk about modal auxiliary verbs in terms of such logical notions as ‘permission’ and ‘necessity’ but, this done, we still have to consider ways in which these notions become remoulded by the ...
gonju yi's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
31 views

regularly/occasionally/sometimes

Let's say I dine out once every month. I don't suppose one could say I dine out often, but I dine out regularly although infrequently. Could one say I dine out occasionally/on occasion/now and again? ...
azz's user avatar
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0 votes
1 answer
46 views

The term 'counterpart' is used to avoid repeating a phrase

Here's an example using 'counterpart': Financial advisors report that older investors tend to be more cautious than their younger counterparts. The Cambridge Dictionary defines counterpart as ...
my goddess Zendaya's user avatar
0 votes
3 answers
62 views

Why does inhabit and inhabitable have opposite meaning?

Consider the following two sentences: These undocumented locations are inhabited by mysterious creatures. Climate change is rendering many places around the world inhabitable. In the first example, ...
yst03811's user avatar
-1 votes
1 answer
45 views

"I will eat apples upto 10 hours" Does "upto" mean "with in ten hours" or "for the period/duration" of ten hours" or it could mean both? [closed]

"I will eat apples upto 10 hours". Does "upto" mean "with in ten hours" or "for the period/duration of ten hours" or it could mean both?
Bilal Zafar's user avatar
-1 votes
1 answer
32 views

Difference between stifle and choke/suffocate

I understand that the word stifle can be used in cases such as Those in the streets were stifled by the fumes She stifled a giggle I was wondering though if it could also be used as direct ...
Gianni Trattore's user avatar
-4 votes
1 answer
55 views

Does "The Lord will make you the head and not the tail" mean "you have been the tail, the Lord will make you the head"? [closed]

Does "The Lord will make you the head and not the tail" mean "you have been the tail, the Lord will make you the head"? The former is written in the Bible, and the latter was ...
Jimi A's user avatar
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4 votes
1 answer
349 views

What's the meaning of "close call" in Collins Dictionary?

Source: There have been several close calls, but no one has been able to consummate a deal. (https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/consummate) As far as I know, "close call" ...
Zhang Jian's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
31 views

the meaning of modal auxiliary verb 'would'

He was very ill at that time, but he would go. His income was still small, but she would marry him. At last she put her arms round the top, as far as they would go. Are these sentences all barely ...
gonju yi's user avatar
0 votes
2 answers
55 views

What is the meaning of the word 'play' in the sentence :'If you are playing on me, keep it on the low'?

I found the following sentence in the song 'I don't wanna know' by Mario Winans 1: If you are playing on me, keep it on the low. What is the meaning of the word play in that sentence? I found in ...
Marios Athanasiou's user avatar
3 votes
2 answers
677 views

What is the precise difference between topology and topography?

It seems that it is correct usage to talk about the topology of the brain, but not the topography of the brain. And it seems like correct usage to talk about the topography of human organs, but not ...
HolyKnowing's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
28 views

The usage of "dabbler": when a long-time dabbler who is defined as a short-time activist [closed]

I've been brooding over Buddhism lately, for several reasons. First, I read that Steve Jobs was a long-time dabbler in Buddhism and was even married in a Buddhist ceremony. Source: Scientific American ...
NewPlanet's user avatar
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0 votes
0 answers
48 views

What does 'with' mean in this context?

What does 'with' mean in the following context? A LAN encompasses two or more computers connected over a server. The two important technologies involved in this network are Ethernet and Wi-fi. It ...
Drown's user avatar
  • 21
2 votes
1 answer
175 views

Using hold on and hold off

Context: Someone is messaging me on Whatsapp frequently and trying to get attention. I can think of the following reply to ask him to wait for some time: Could you hold off for a few minutes Please ...
pensee's user avatar
  • 355
0 votes
2 answers
62 views

What Meaning of 'over' here

What does 'over' mean in the following context? Ethernet describes how network devices format and transmit data so other devices on the same LAN or campus network can recognize, receive and process ...
Drown's user avatar
  • 21
0 votes
2 answers
67 views

meaning of "meal"

What does "meal" mean in the following context? Is a meal the amount of foods for one person, or the amount of foods for multiple people at a time? Bassey cooked nonstop from Thursday ...
Apollyon's user avatar
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1 vote
1 answer
61 views

Meaning of "curtain pulls"

I have encountered curtain pulls used as a noun, seemingly to refer to pulled curtains. Is this a noun, is that what it refers to? The rays of moonlight shone through the gaps in between the curtain ...
Cheelin's user avatar
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0 votes
0 answers
40 views

from the age of 9 or 10 via puberty to solidary growing up (what's the meaning of 'solidary'?)

Morals change over time and across generations. Generational conflicts are therefore precisely due to evolution. What today’s generations in many societies regard as opportune was often unacceptable ...
gomadeng's user avatar
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