Dialect. about: The poor chap seemed like to run away.
–preposition
6.
in like manner with; similarly to; in the manner characteristic of: He works like a beaver.
7.
resembling (someone or something): He is just like his father. Your necklace is just like mine.
8.
characteristic of: It would be like him to forget our appointment.
9.
as if there is promise of; indicative of: It looks like rain.
10.
as if someone or something gives promise of being: She looks like a good prospect for the job.
11.
disposed or inclined to (usually prec. by feel): to feel like going to bed.
12.
similar or comparable to: There is nothing like a cold drink of water when one is thirsty. What was he like?
13.
(used correlatively to indicate similarity through relationship): like father, like son.
14.
(used to establish an intensifying, often facetious, comparison): sleeping like a log.
15.
as; such as: There are numerous hobbies you might enjoy, like photography or painting.
–adverb
16.
nearly; closely; approximately: The house is more like 40 than 20 years old.
17.
Informal. likely or probably: Like enough he'll come with us. Like as not her leg is broken.
18.
Nonstandard.
a.
as it were; in a way; somehow.
b.
to a degree; more or less: standing against the wall, looking very tough like.
–conjunction
19.
in the same way as; just as; as: It happened like you might expect it would.
20.
as if: He acted like he was afraid. The car runs like new.
21.
Informal. (used esp. after forms of be to introduce reported speech or thought): She's like, "I don't believe it," and I'm like, "No, it's true!"
–noun
22.
a similar or comparable person or thing, or like persons or things; counterpart, match, or equal (usually prec. by a possessive adjective or the): No one has seen his like in a long time. Like attracts like.
23.
kind; sort; type; ilk (usually prec. by a possessive adjective): I despise moochers and their like.
24.
the like, something of a similar nature: They grow oranges, lemons, and the like.
–interjection
25.
Informal. (used esp. in speech, often nonvolitionally or habitually, to preface a sentence, to fill a pause, to express uncertainty, or to intensify or neutralize a following adjective): Like, why didn't you write to me? The music was, like, really great, you know?
—Idioms
26.
like anything, Informal. very much; extremely; with great intensity: He wanted like anything to win.
27.
like to or liked to, South Midland and Southern U.S.was on the verge of or came close to (doing something): The poor kid like to froze.
28.
something like, Informal. something approaching or approximating: It looked something like this.
29.
the like or likes of, someone or something similar to; the equal of: I've never seen the like of it anywhere.
[Origin: 1150–1200; ME lic, lik < ON līkr; r. OE gelīc, c. D gelijk, G gleich, ON glīkr, Goth galeiks like, lit., of the same body or form. See y-, lich]
—Related forms
liker, noun
—Usage note Like1 as a conjunction meaning “as, in the same way as” (Many shoppers study the food ads like brokers study market reports) or “as if” (It looks like it will rain) has been used for nearly 500 years and by many distinguished literary and intellectual figures. Since the mid-19th century there have been objections, often vehement, to these uses. Nevertheless, such uses are almost universal today in all but the most formal speech and writing. In extremely careful speech and in much formal writing, as, as if, and as though are more commonly used than like: The commanding general accepted full responsibility for the incident, as any professional soldier would. Many of the Greenwich Village bohemians lived as if (or as though) there were no tomorrow. The strong strictures against the use of like as a conjunction have resulted in the occasional hypercorrect use of as as a preposition where like is idiomatic: She looks as a sympathetic person. Like meaning “as if” is also standard in informal speech and writing with a small number of adjectives: The crew worked like crazy (or like mad) to finish the job on time.See also as.
Possessing the characteristics of; resembling closely; similar to.
In the typical manner of: It's not like you to take offense.
In the same way as: lived like royalty.
Inclined or disposed to: felt like running away.
As if the probability exists for: looks like a bad year for farmers.
Such as; for example: saved things like old newspapers and pieces of string.
adj.
Possessing the same or almost the same characteristics; similar: on this and like occasions.
Alike: They are as like as two siblings.
Having equivalent value or quality. Usually used in negative sentences: There's nothing like a good night's sleep.
adv.
In the manner of being; as if. Used as an intensifier of action: worked like hell; ran like crazy.
Informal Probably; likely: Like as not she'll change her mind.
Nearly; approximately: The price is more like 1,000 dollars.
Nonstandard Used to provide emphasis or a pause: Like let's get going.
n.
One similar to or like another. Used with the:was subject to coughs, asthma, and the like.
Informal An equivalent or similar person or thing; an equal or match. Often used in the plural: I've never seen the likes of this before. We'll never see his like again.
conj.
Usage Problem
In the same way that; as: To dance like she does requires great discipline.
As if: It looks like we'll finish on time.
[Middle English, from like, similar (from Old English gelīc and Old Norse līkr) and from like, similarly (from Old English gelīce, from gelīc, similar); see līk- in Indo-European roots.]
Usage Note: Writers since Chaucer's time have used like as a conjunction, but 19th-century and 20th-century critics have been so vehement in their condemnations of this usage that a writer who uses the construction in formal style risks being accused of illiteracy or worse. Prudence requires The dogs howled as (not like) we expected them to.Like is more acceptably used as a conjunction in informal style with verbs such as feel, look, seem, sound, and taste, as in It looks like we are in for a rough winter. But here too as if is to be preferred in formal writing. There can be no objection to the use of like as a conjunction when the following verb is not expressed, as in He took to politics like a duck to water. See Usage Notes at as1, together.
Our Living Language: Along with be all and go, the construction combining be and like has become a common way of introducing quotations in informal conversation, especially among younger people: "So I'm like, 'Let's get out of here!'" As with go, this use of like can also announce a brief imitation of another person's behavior, often elaborated with facial expressions and gestures. It can also summarize a past attitude or reaction (instead of presenting direct speech). If a woman says "I'm like, 'Get lost buddy!'" she may or may not have used those actual words to tell the offending man off. In fact, she may not have said anything to him but instead may be summarizing her attitude at the time by stating what she might have said, had she chosen to speak. See Notes at all, go1.
like 3Audio Help (līk) Pronunciation Key
aux.v.
Chiefly Southern U.S.
Used with a past infinitive or with to and a simple past form to indicate being just on the point of or coming near to having done something in the past: "I like to a split a gut laughin'." "It seemed as how nobody had thought about measurin' the width of the bridge's openin', and we like to didn't make it through"(Dictionary of American Regional English).
[Middle English liken, to compare, from like, similar; see like2.]
Our Living Language: In certain Southern varieties of American English there are two grammatically distinct usages of the word like to mean "was on the verge of." In both, either like or liked is possible. In the first, the word is followed by a past infinitive: We liked (or like) to have drowned. The ancestor of this construction was probably the adjective like in the sense "likely, on the verge of," as in She's like to get married again. The adjective was reinterpreted by some speakers as a verb, and since like to and liked to are indistinguishable in normal speech, the past tense came to be marked on the following infinitive for clarity. From this developed a second way of expressing the same concept: the use of like to with a following finite past-tense verb form, as in I like to died when I saw that. This construction appears odd at first because it ostensibly contains an ungrammatical infinitive to died; but that is not the case at all. What has happened is that like to here has been reinterpreted as an adverb meaning almost. In fact, it is quite common to see the phrase spelled as a single word, in the pronunciation spelling liketa.
"having the same characteristics or qualities" (as another), M.E. shortening of O.E. gelic "like, similar," from P.Gmc. *galikaz "having the same form," lit. "with a corresponding body" (cf. O.S. gilik, O.N. glikr, Du. gelijk, Ger. gleich, Goth. galeiks "equally, like"), a compound of *ga- "with, together" + *likan "body" (cf. O.E. lic "body," Ger. Leiche "corpse," Dan. lig, Swed. lik, Du. lijk "body, corpse"). Analogous, etymologically, to L. conform. The modern form (rather than *lich) may be from a northern descendant of the O.E. word's O.N. cognate, likr. Formerly with comp. liker and superl. likest (still in use 17c.). The prep. (c.1200) and the adv. (c.1300) are both from the adjective. As a conjunction, first attested c.1530. Plural likes (n.) "predilections, preferences" is from 1851; earlier used in sing. in this sense (1425). The word has been used as a postponed filler ("going really fast, like") from 1778; as a presumed emphatic ("going, like, really fast") from 1950, originally in counterculture slang and bop talk. Phrase more like it "closer to what is desired" is from 1888.
O.E. lician "to please," from P.Gmc. *likojanan (cf. O.N. lika, O.Fris. likia, O.H.G. lihhen, Goth. leikan "to please"), from *liko- "body," originally "appearance, form." The basic meaning seems to be "to be like" (see like (adj.)), thus, "to be suitable." Like (and dislike) originally flowed the other way: It likes me, where we would say I like it. The modern version began to appear late 14c.
resembling or similar; having the same or some of the same characteristics; often used in combination; "suits of like design"; "a limited circle of like minds"; "members of the cat family have like dispositions"; "as like as two peas in a pod"; "doglike devotion"; "a dreamlike quality" [ant: different]
2.
equal in amount or value; "like amounts"; "equivalent amounts"; "the same amount"; "gave one six blows and the other a like number"; "the same number" [ant: unlike]
3.
having the same or similar characteristics; "all politicians are alike"; "they looked utterly alike"; "friends are generally alike in background and taste" [syn: alike] [ant: dissimilar]
4.
conforming in every respect; "boxes with corresponding dimensions"; "the like period of the preceding year" [syn: comparable]
noun
1.
a similar kind; "dogs, foxes, and the like", "we don't want the likes of you around here"
2.
a kind of person; "We'll not see his like again"; "I can't tolerate people of his ilk"
verb
1.
prefer or wish to do something; "Do you care to try this dish?"; "Would you like to come along to the movies?" [syn: wish]
2.
find enjoyable or agreeable; "I like jogging"; "She likes to read Russian novels" [ant: dislike]
3.
be fond of; "I like my nephews"
4.
feel about or towards; consider, evaluate, or regard; "How did you like the President's speech last night?"
Each\ ([=e]ch), a. or a. pron. [OE. eche, [ae]lc, elk, ilk, AS. [ae]lc; [=a] always + gel[=i]c like; akin to OD. iegelik, OHG. [=e]ogil[=i]h, MHG. iegel[=i]ch, G. jeglich. [root]209. See 3d Aye, Like, and cf. Either, Every, Ilk.]1. Every one of the two or more individuals composing a number of objects, considered separately from the rest. It is used either with or without a following noun; as, each of you or each one of you. "Each of the combatants." --Fielding. Note: To each corresponds other. "Let each esteem other better than himself." Each other, used elliptically for each the other. It is our duty to assist each other; that is, it is our duty, each to assist the other, each being in the nominative and other in the objective case. It is a bad thing that men should hate each other; but it is far worse that they should contract the habit of cutting one another's throats without hatred. --Macaulay. Let each His adamantine coat gird well. --Milton. In each cheek appears a pretty dimple. --Shak. Then draw we nearer day by day, Each to his brethren, all to God. --Keble. The oak and the elm have each a distinct character. --Gilpin. 2. Every; -- sometimes used interchangeably with every. --Shak. I know each lane and every alley green. --Milton. In short each man's happiness depends upon himself. --Sterne. Note: This use of each for every, though common in Scotland and in America, is now un-English. --Fitzed. Hall. Syn: See Every.
Ear"ly\ ([~e]r"l[y^]), adv. [OE. erli, erliche, AS. [=ae]rl[=i]ce; [=ae]r sooner + l[=i]c like. See Ere, and Like.] Soon; in good season; seasonably; betimes; as, come early. Those that me early shall find me. --Prov. viii. 17. You must wake and call me early. --Tennyson.
God"ly\, a. [God, n. + -ly. Cf. Godlike, Like.] Pious; reverencing God, and his character and laws; obedient to the commands of God from love for, and reverence of, his character; conformed to God's law; devout; righteous; as, a godly life. For godly sorrow worketh repentance. --2 Cor. vii. 10.
Good"ly\, a. [Compar. Goodlier; superl. Goodliest.] [OE. godlich, AS. g?dlic. See Good, and Like.]1. Pleasant; agreeable; desirable. We have many goodly days to see. --Shak. 2. Of pleasing appearance or character; comely; graceful; as, a goodly person; goodly raiment, houses. The goodliest man of men since born. --Milton. 3. Large; considerable; portly; as, a goodly number. Goodly and great he sails behind his link. --Dryden.
Lich\ (l[i^]ch), n. [AS. l[=i]c body. See Like, a.] A dead body; a corpse. [Obs.] Lich fowl (Zo["o]l.), the European goatsucker; -- called also lich owl. Lich gate, a covered gate through which the corpse was carried to the church or burial place, and where the bier was placed to await the clergyman; a corpse gate. [Prov. Eng.] --Halliwell. Lich wake, the wake, or watching, held over a corpse before burial. [Prov Eng.] --Chaucer. Lich wall, the wall of a churchyard or burying ground. Lich way, the path by which the dead are carried to the grave. [Prov. Eng.]
Like\ (l[imac]k), a. [Compar. Liker (l[imac]k"[~e]r); superl. Likest.] [OE. lik, ilik, gelic, AS. gel[=i]c, fr. pref. ge- + l[=i]c body, and orig. meaning, having the same body, shape, or appearance, and hence, like; akin to OS. gil[=i]k, D. gelijk, G. gleich, OHG. gil[=i]h, Icel. l[=i]kr, gl[=i]kr, Dan. lig, Sw. lik, Goth. galeiks, OS. lik body, D. lijk, G. leiche, Icel. l[=i]k, Sw. lik, Goth. leik. The English adverbial ending-ly is from the same adjective. Cf. Each, Such, Which.]1. Having the same, or nearly the same, appearance, qualities, or characteristics; resembling; similar to; similar; alike; -- often with in and the particulars of the resemblance; as, they are like each other in features, complexion, and many traits of character. 'T is as like you As cherry is to cherry. --Shak. Like master, like man. --Old Prov. He giveth snow like wool; he scattereth the hoar-frost like ashes. --Ps. cxlvii. 16. Note: To, which formerly often followed like, is now usually omitted. 2. Equal, or nearly equal; as, fields of like extent. More clergymen were impoverished by the late war than ever in the like space before. --Sprat. 3. Having probability; affording probability; probable; likely. Usage: [Likely is more used now.] --Shak. But it is like the jolly world about us will scoff at the paradox of these practices. --South. Many were not easy to be governed, nor like to conform themselves to strict rules. --Clarendon. 4. Inclined toward; disposed to; as, to feel like taking a walk. Had like (followed by the infinitive), had nearly; came little short of. Had like to have been my utter overthrow. --Sir W. Raleigh Ramona had like to have said the literal truth, . . . but recollected herself in time. --Mrs. H. H. Jackson. Like figures (Geom.), similar figures. Note: Like is used as a suffix, converting nouns into adjectives expressing resemblance to the noun; as, manlike, like a man; childlike, like a child; godlike, like a god, etc. Such compounds are readily formed whenever convenient, and several, as crescentlike, serpentlike, hairlike, etc., are used in this book, although, in some cases, not entered in the vocabulary. Such combinations as bell-like, ball-like, etc., are hyphened.
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Audio Help [lahyk] Pronunciation Key adjective, (Poetic
