Size definition |Dictionary.com

size

15 dictionary results for: Size

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

size1

[sahyz] Pronunciation Key noun, verb, sized, siz·ing.

–noun

1.	the spatial dimensions, proportions, magnitude, or bulk of anything: the size of a farm; the size of the fish you caught.

2.	considerable or great magnitude: to seek size rather than quality.

3.	one of a series of graduated measures for articles of manufacture or trade: children's sizes of shoes.

4.	extent; amount; range: a fortune of great size.

5.	actual condition, circumstance, or state of affairs: That's about the size of it.

6.	a number of population or contents: What size is Springfield, Illinois? The size of that last shipment was only a dozen.

7.	Obsolete. a fixed standard of quality or quantity, as for food or drink.

–verb (used with object)

8.	to separate or sort according to size.

9.	to make of a certain size.

10.	Metallurgy. to press (a sintered compact) to close tolerances.

11.	Obsolete. to regulate or control according to a fixed standard.

—Verb phrase

12.

size up, Informal.

a.	to form an estimate of (a situation, person, etc.); judge: They sized him up with a look.

b.	to meet a certain standard: He doesn't size up to my expectations.

—Idioms

13.	of a size, of the same or similar size: The two poodles are of a size.

14.

try on for size,

a.	to put on briefly in order to test the fit of, as a garment or shoes.

b.	to consider, evaluate, do, or use before taking further action: We'll try the plan on for size to see whether it's practical.

[Origin: 1250–1300; (n.) ME syse orig., control, regulation, limit < OF sise, aph. var. of assise assize; (v.) in part repr. late ME sisen to regulate (itself partly deriv. of the n., partly aph. var. of assisen to fix, ordain, assess < OF assiser, deriv. of assise assize), in part deriv. of the n. in later senses

]

—Synonyms 1. Size, volume, mass, bulk are terms referring to the extent or dimensions of that which has magnitude and occupies space. Size is the general word: of great size; small in size. Volume often applies to something that has no fixed shape: Smoke has volume. Mass, also, does not suggest shape, but suggests a quantity of matter in a solid body: a mass of concrete. Bulk suggests weight, and often a recognizable, though perhaps unwieldy, shape: the huge bulk of an elephant.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

size
adjective
1.	(used in combination) sized; "the economy-size package"; "average-size house"
noun
1.	the physical magnitude of something (how big it is); "a wolf is about the size of a large dog"
2.	the property resulting from being one of a series of graduated measurements (as of clothing); "he wears a size 13 shoe"
3.	any glutinous material used to fill pores in surfaces or to stiffen fabrics; "size gives body to a fabric"
4.	the actual state of affairs; "that's the size of the situation"; "she hates me, that's about the size of it"
5.	a large magnitude; "he blanched when he saw the size of the bill"; "the only city of any size in that area"
verb
1.	cover or stiffen or glaze a porous material with size or sizing (a glutinous substance)
2.	sort according to size
3.	make to a size; bring to a suitable size