Define:Like
English
eeditPronunciation
eedit- enPR: līk, /laɪk/, X-SAMPA: /laIk/
- Audio - 'to like' (UK) (help·info)
- Audio (US) (help·info)
- Rhymes: -sco, -aɪk
Etymology 1
eeditFrom Middle Inglis
, from Old English
, from Template:Proto, from Template:Proto. Cognate with Dutch
, German
, Norse
, Albanian
arc.
.
Verb
eeditLike (third-person singular simple present Likes, present participle liking, simple past an past participle liked)
- Template:Transitive To please.
- 1485, Sir Thomas Malory, Le Morte Darthur, Book IV:
- And yf hit lyke yow I wille speke with hem by cause I am a knyghte of kynge Arthurs [...].
- 1608, William Shakespeare, King Lear:
- His countenance likes me not.
- 1485, Sir Thomas Malory, Le Morte Darthur, Book IV:
- To enjoy, be pleased by; favor; be in favor of.
- 1865, Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, chapter 10:
- “I can tell you more than that, if you like,” said the Gryphon. “Do you know why it’s called a whiting?”
- I like hamburgers.
- I like skiing in winter.
- I like the Seattle Mariners this season.
- 1865, Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, chapter 10:
- Template:Obsolete To derive pleasure of, by or with someone or something.
- 1662, Thomas Salusbury, Galileo's Dialogue Concerning the Two Systems of the World (Dialogue Two)
- And therefore it is the best way, if you like of it, to examine these taken from experiments touching the Earth, and then proceed to those of the other kind.
- 1662, Thomas Salusbury, Galileo's Dialogue Concerning the Two Systems of the World (Dialogue Two)
- To prefer and maintain (an action) as a regular habit or activity.
- I like to go to the dentist every six months.
- She likes to keep herself physically fit.
- We like to keep one around the office just in case.
- To find attractive; to prefer the company of; to have mild romantic feelings for.
- I really like Sandra but don't know how to tell her.
- Template:Internet To show support for, or approval of, something posted on the Internet by marking it with a vote.
- I liked my friend's last status on Facebook.
- I can't stand Bloggs' tomato ketchup, but I liked it on Facebook so I could enter a competition.
Usage notes
eedit- In its senses of “enjoy” and “maintain as a regular habit”,
- like
is a catenative verb; in the former, it usually takes a gerund (- -ing
form), while in the latter, it takes a- to
-infinitive. See also Appendix:English catenative verbs. - Like is only used to mean “want” in certain expressions, such as “if you like” and “I would like”. The conditional form,
- would like
, is used quite freely as a polite synonym for- want
.
Synonyms
eedit- (find attractive): fancy (British)
Antonyms
eeditDerived terms
eeditTranslations
eedit
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Noun
eeditLike (plural Likes)
- (usually plural) Something that a person likes (prefers).
- Tell me your likes and dislikes.
Synonyms
eedit- favorite (US), favourite (UK), preference
Antonyms
eeditDerived terms
eeditTranslations
eedit
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Etymology 2
eeditFrom Middle Inglis, from Old English
by shortening, influenced by Auld Norse
. Cognate with
; more distantly, with
and
.
Adjective
eeditLike (comparative lik, superlative er)
- similar
- My partner and I have like minds.
- 1843, Thomas Carlyle, Past and Present, book 2, ch. 3, Landlord Edmund
- ... and this is not a sky, it is a Soul and living Face! Nothing liker the Temple of the Highest, bright with some real effulgence of the Highest, is seen in this world.
Related terms
eeditDerived terms
eeditTranslations
eeditAdverb
eeditLike (comparative maist Like, superlative maist Like)
- Template:Informal for example, such as: to introduce an example or list of examples
- There are lots of birds like ducks and gulls in this park.
Usage notes
eeditIn formal writing, such as is preferred over like.
Synonyms
eeditTranslations
eeditNoun
eeditLike (plural Likes)
- (sometimes as the likes of) Someone similar to a given person, or something similar to a given object; a comparative; a type; a sort.
- We shall never see his like again. — Winston Churchill on T.E. Lawrence
- There were bowls full of sweets, chocolates and the like.
- It was something the likes of which I had never seen before.
Synonyms
eeditAntonyms
eeditTranslations
eedit
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Conjunction
eeditLike
Derived terms
eeditPreposition
eeditLike
- Somewhat similar to, reminiscent of.
- These hamburgers taste like leather.
Antonyms
eeditTranslations
eedit
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Particle
eedit- Template:Colloquial A delayed filler.
- He was so angry, like.
- Template:Colloquial A mild intensifier.
- She was, like, sooooo happy.
- Template:Colloquial indicating approximation or uncertainty
- There were, like, twenty of them.
- And then he, like, got all angry and left the room.
- Template:Colloquial When preceded by any form of the verb to be, used to mean “to say” or “to think”; used to precede an approximate quotation or paraphrase.
- I was like, “Why did you do that?” and he's like, “I don't know.”
- 2006, Lily Allen, Knock 'Em Out
- You're just doing your own thing and some one comes out the blue,
- They're like, "Alright"
- What ya saying, "Yeah can I take your digits?"
- And you're like, "no not in a million years, you're nasty please leave me alone."
Synonyms
eeditUsage notes
eeditThe use as a quotative is deliberately informal and commonly used by young people, and often combined with the use of the present tense as a narrative. Similar terms are to go and all, as in I go, “Why did you do that?” and he goes, “I don't know” and I was all, “Why did you do that?” and he was all, “I don't know.” These expressions can imply that the attributed remark which follows is representative rather than necessarily an exact quotation; however, in speech these structures do tend to require mimicking the original speakers inflection in a way
would not.
Translations
eedit
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Interjection
eeditLike
- Template:Liverpool Used to place emphasis upon a statement.
- divint ye knaa, like?
References
eedit- A Dictionary of North East Dialect, Bill Griffiths, 2005, Northumbria University Press, ISBN 1904794165
Statistics
eeditAnagrams
eedit
Norwegian
eeditVerb
eedit- to like
Scots
eeditVerb
eeditLike
- To like.
- To be hesitant to do something.
- I dinna like. - I'm not certain I would like to.
- To love somebody or something.
Adverb
eeditLike (nae comparable)
Interjection
eedit- ((Sooth Scots)) Used to place emphasis upon a statement.
- Oo jist saw it the now, like.
Swedish
eeditAdjective
eeditLike
Noun
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- match (someone similarly skilful)
- Han hade mött sin like
- He had met his match
- Han hade mött sin like