View synonyms for for

for

[ fawr; unstressed fer ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

preposition

with the object or purpose of:
to run for exercise.
intended to belong to, or be used in connection with:
equipment for the army;
a closet for dishes.
suiting the purposes or needs of:
medicine for the aged.
in order to obtain, gain, or acquire:
a suit for alimony;
to work for wages.
(used to express a wish, as of something to be experienced or obtained):
O, for a cold drink!
sensitive or responsive to:
an eye for beauty.
desirous of:
a longing for something;
a taste for fancy clothes.
in consideration or payment of; in return for:
three for a dollar;
to be thanked for one's efforts.
appropriate or adapted to:
a subject for speculation;
clothes for winter.
with regard or respect to:
pressed for time;
too warm for April.
during the continuance of:
for a long time.
in favor of; on the side of:
to be for honest government.
in place of; instead of:
a substitute for butter.
in the interest of; on behalf of:
to act for a client.
in exchange for; as an offset to:
blow for blow;
money for goods.
in punishment of:
payment for the crime.
in honor of:
to give a dinner for a person.
with the purpose of reaching:
to start for London.
contributive to:
for the advantage of everybody.
in order to save:
to flee for one's life.
in order to become:
to train recruits for soldiers.
in assignment or attribution to:
an appointment for the afternoon;
That's for you to decide.
such as to allow of or to require:
too many for separate mention.
such as results in:
his reason for going.
as affecting the interests or circumstances of:
bad for one's health.
in proportion or with reference to:
He is tall for his age.
in the character of; as being:
to know a thing for a fact.
by reason of; because of:
to shout for joy;
a city famed for its beauty.
in spite of:
He's a decent guy for all that.
to the extent or amount of:
to walk for a mile.
(used to introduce a subject in an infinitive phrase):
It's time for me to go.
(used to indicate the number of successes out of a specified number of attempts):
The batter was 2 for 4 in the game.

conjunction

seeing that; since.
because.

for-

a prefix meaning “away,” “off,” “to the uttermost,” “extremely,” “wrongly,” or imparting a negative or privative force, occurring in verbs and nouns formed from verbs of Old or Middle English origin, many of which are now obsolete or archaic:
forbid; forbear; forswear; forbearance.

for.

abbreviation for

foreign.
forester.
forestry.

For.

⁴

abbreviation for

Forester.

F.O.R.

⁵

or f.o.r.

abbreviation for

free on rails.

f.o.r.

abbreviation for

free on rail

for

/ fə; fɔː /

preposition

intended to reach; directed or belonging to
there's a phone call for you
to the advantage of
I only did it for you
in the direction of
heading for the border
over a span of (time or distance)
the river ran for six miles
working for six days
in favour of; in support of
those for the proposal
vote for me
in order to get or achieve
what did you do that for?
I do it for money
he does it for pleasure
appropriate to; designed to meet the needs of; meant to be used in
these kennels are for puppies
in exchange for; at a cost of; to the amount of
I got it for hardly any money
such as explains or results in
his reason for changing his job was not given
in place of
a substitute for the injured player
because of; through
she wept for pure relief
with regard or consideration to the usual characteristics of
he's short for a man
it's cool for this time of year
concerning; as regards
desire for money
as being
we took him for the owner
I know that for a fact
at a specified time
a date for the next evening
to do or partake of
an appointment for supper
in the duty or task of
that's for him to say
to allow of
too big a job for us to handle
despite; notwithstanding
she's a good wife, for all her nagging
in order to preserve, retain, etc
to fight for survival
as a direct equivalent to
word for word
weight for weight
in order to become or enter
to go for a soldier
to train for the priesthood
in recompense for
he took the punishment for his crime
I paid for it last week
for it informal.
for it liable for punishment or blame
you'll be for it if she catches you
nothing for it
nothing for it no choice; no other course

conjunction

coordinating for the following reason; because; seeing that
I couldn't stay, for the area was violent

for-

prefix

indicating rejection or prohibition
forbear
forbid
indicating falsity or wrongness
forswear
used to give intensive force
forlorn
forgive

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Word History and Origins

Origin of for¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English, Old English; cognate with Old Saxon for; akin to fore ¹, Latin per “through,” Greek pró “before, ahead”

Origin of for²

Middle English, Old English; compare German ver-, Greek peri-, Latin per-

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Word History and Origins

Origin of for¹

Old English; related to Old Norse fyr for, Old High German fora before, Latin per through, prō before, Greek pro before, in front

Origin of for²

Old English for- ; related to German ver- , Latin per- , Greek peri-

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Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

for it, British. in ( def 33 ).

More idioms and phrases containing for

all for
as for
but for
do for
done for
except for
go for
going for
good for
in for
out for
uncalled for
what for

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Example Sentences

Sands was involved in a scandalous-for-the-time romance with the carpenter and there were rumors she was pregnant with his child.

From The Daily Beast

There was no mistaking this for the gaudiness and gilt of made-for-TV awards shows.

From The Daily Beast

Given the potential for a cyber tit-for-tat to escalate, Obama has even more incentive to find a diplomatic solution.

From The Daily Beast

Twenty-five more for-profits are on well on their way to doing the same thing.

From The Daily Beast

Will Christian pharmacists, county clerks, florists, and for-profit wedding chapels really withdraw from society, as you describe?

From The Daily Beast

The result of this stock-taking shows that eleven volumes were unaccounted-for, a list of which is appended.

From Project Gutenberg

At this stock-taking the number unaccounted-for is twenty-two, several of which are quite recent accessions to the Library.

From Project Gutenberg

Edna's desire to see Mademoiselle Reisz had increased tenfold since these unlooked-for obstacles had arisen to thwart it.

From Project Gutenberg

But no other instance of for-tened is known, nor yet of crece as short for increes (increase).

From Project Gutenberg

At length the long looked-for copy arrived, he saw it, composed himself and died, 1543.

From Project Gutenberg

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When To Use

What are other ways to say for?

The conjunction for means “seeing that” or “since.” Do you know when to use for, since, because, as, and inasmuch as? Learn more on Thesaurus.com.

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

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