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Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
word
I.noun
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
a code word (=a secret word you must know to get information, access etc)
▪ UMBRA was the code word for top secret information.
a key word (=an important or useful word)
▪ Once you know the key words, you can make your own sentence.
a word of advicespoken (= used when advising someone what to do )
▪ A word of advice: look at the small print in the contract very carefully.
a word of comfort
▪ He tried to find some words of comfort that would help her.
a word of warning (=used before telling someone to be careful about something)
▪ A word of warning: don’t use too much glue.
a word processing program (=one that you use for writing documents)
▪ All word processing programs can check your spelling.
a word/page count (=of how many words or pages there are)
▪ Your computer can do an automatic word count.
ambiguously worded
▪ The legislation had been ambiguously worded.
at a loss for words (=unable to think what to say)
▪ He seemed, for once, at a loss for words.
break your word (=break your promise)
▪ I’ve promised to do it and I never break my word.
cautionary note/comment/words etc
▪ Most observers were optimistic, yet some sounded a cautionary note.
chose...words
▪ He chose his words carefully as he spoke.
closing remarks/words/ceremony etc
▪ The judge gave his closing speech to the jury.
code word
▪ ‘Lively discussion’ is a code word for ‘arguing’.
cuss word
dirty word
▪ She looked at me as if I had said a dirty word.
don’t believe a word of it (=I think it is completely untrue)
▪ I don’t believe a word of it.
doubt...word (=think that he is lying)
▪ I have no reason to doubt his word.
emotive issue/subject/word etc
▪ Child abuse is an emotive subject.
four-letter word
function word
go back on your word/promise/decision
▪ Delors claimed that the President had gone back on his word.
good with words (=skilful at using words)
▪ As a politician, you need to be good with words.
harsh words (=severe criticism)
▪ He had harsh words for the Government.
have/find a good word (to say)
▪ No one had a good word to say for her.
keep your word/promise
▪ How do I know you’ll keep your word?
kind words
▪ We thanked the priest for his kind words.
linking word
news/word spreads
▪ As news of his death spread, his army disintegrated.
picking...words (=choosing what to say)
▪ Russell spoke slowly, picking his words very carefully.
portmanteau word
put in a good word
▪ Dan put in a good word for you at the meeting.
put sth into words (=say what you are feeling or thinking)
▪ She couldn’t put her feelings into words.
say some words
▪ She stopped abruptly, suddenly afraid to say the words aloud.
sb's word of honour (=a promise based on strong moral beliefs)
▪ I give you my word of honour that you will not be harmed.
sb’s exact words (=the words someone actually said)
▪ Try to remember his exact words – it’s very important.
slang word/expression/term
slur your words/speech
▪ She was slurring her words as if she was drunk.
solemn word
▪ I’ll never be unfaithful again. I give you my solemn word.
spread the news/the word
▪ He has been spreading the word about ways to beat heart disease.
stick to...word
▪ It looks as if Nick will stick to his word this time.
stuck for words (=did not know what to say)
▪ For once Anthony was stuck for words.
stumped for words/an answer/a reply
▪ Travis seemed absolutely stumped for words.
swear word
take sb’s word for it/take it from sb (=accept that what someone says is true)
▪ That’s the truth – take it from me.
the exact wording (=the words that were used in a letter, speech, etc, with nothing changed)
▪ What was the exact wording of the message?
the printed word (=words that are printed on paper)
▪ As a newspaper publisher he understood the power of the printed word.
the word of God (=what God says)
▪ Missionaries traveled the world to tell people the word of God.
twist...words
▪ He’s always trying to twist my words and make me look bad.
uttering...word
▪ Cantor nodded without uttering a word.
venture an opinion/question/word etc
▪ If we had more information, it would be easier to venture a firm opinion.
▪ Roy ventured a tentative smile.
war of words
weasel word
well-chosen words
▪ He encouraged us with a few well-chosen words.
word blindness
word processor
▪ Most reports are produced on a word processor.
words cannot express sth (=it is impossible to describe something)
▪ Words can’t express how much I miss her.
words of approval
▪ a mother’s words of approval
words of encouragement (=the things you say to someone as encouragement)
▪ The rest of the team shouted out words of encouragement.
words of praise
▪ She still had some words of praise for her ex-husband’s wit and charm.
words of wisdom
▪ You can always expect a few words of wisdom from Dave.
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADJECTIVE
final
▪ He surely could not have known that in spite of his final words.
▪ These final words make clear that Zampano has jettisoned his one remaining tie to the human race: his sense of need.
▪ Scarsone, however, got the final word, following up with a two-run homer to left.
▪ One final word on buying components, keep your eyes peeled for products that are about to be discontinued.
▪ But the irrepressible Saunders had the final word in the first half.
▪ It is usual for an interviewer to show the candidate to the door with a few final words.
▪ In Lord Jim there is no final word.
other
▪ In other words, they as pupils are not living fully in accordance with the official school rhetoric.
▪ In other words, we are our own worst enemy.
▪ In other words, they needed release from stress, and occupational therapy.
▪ In other words, money supply growth is the main cause of inflation.
▪ It was equally important to outshine everyone else around me - in other words, to achieve at the expense of others.
▪ In other words the principal carer's preference is very strongly associated with where the sufferer is living one year after referral.
▪ In other words, we learn to fulfill the demands of social living without personal resentment.
▪ Life, in other words, had returned to normal.
right
▪ Tristan's arrival had prevented her and she would never have found the right words to accompany the gift in any case.
▪ In fact, the morale of the crew was very high, if morale was the right word.
▪ He found it difficult to pick the right words.
▪ Well, morality is not the right word, but you know what I mean.
▪ That is exactly the right word.
▪ With just the right word, glance or smile, they played the game just like he did.
▪ Smell wasn't the right word, nor was scent or perfume, nor yet aroma.
▪ Mrs Cigans has listened to me on the bus and told me they are the right words.
single
▪ Stephen did not speak at all until he was seven and even now at 15 only answers questions with a single word.
▪ Stephen didn't say a single word.
▪ Any small dictionary will provide an ample fund for single word technique.
▪ On observation it was clear that she had a marked language delay and could say only two or three clear single words.
▪ And then there was this shout, this single word, this name.
▪ Prefer the single word to the circumlocution. 4.
▪ At the top was a faded blue-painted door with the single word, Studio, emblazoned upon it in plain black lettering.
spoken
▪ But the power of X-Clan is not the spoken word.
▪ In cases of conduction aphasia, comprehension of spoken words and simple spoken sentences can be intact.
▪ The spoken word, after all, only becomes history when it is recorded.
▪ By the time the talking was over, the hearings had generated over nine million spoken words.
▪ One item which is becoming more significant is powers of communication - both spoken and written word.
▪ The spoken word must be heard clearly.
▪ Large halls ideal for music can be too reverberant for the spoken word.
written
▪ If you want your hand written words of wisdom saved for posterity use quality paper and permanent ink.
▪ But literacy and the written word do have a part to play.
▪ The medium of transmission is human influence of various kinds, the spoken and written word, personal example and so on.
▪ I was containing the threats in written words: I was taking control.
▪ In addition to publications, there are written words for films, video tapes, sound recordings, and for information used in broadcasting.
▪ It need not be confined to the written word - symbols such as the swastika, and other offensive images will suffice.
▪ Rules have developed restricting the admissibility of evidence other than the written words of the contract.
▪ Not only visual representation, but the written word, too, is not free of imperialism.
■ NOUN
processing
▪ The simplest form of electronic publishing is word processing with a typographic style of output; office publishing, if you will.
▪ Two years later, Acme decides to obtain some new computers and a more powerful word processing program.
▪ Training on word processing is useful to edit precedents, alter work outside office hours and to type confidential memos.
▪ Meanwhile June Fox is spending the Dons she earns teaching word processing on the services of an osteopath.
▪ A word processing program also has different types of memory.
▪ This could include word processing, a database, case management and optical character recognition.
▪ The major benefit of a word processing program is the flexibility it offers the user in amending documents.
▪ Harwood Personnel is based on Q&A, the database and word processing system.
processor
▪ This might well be the word processor that puts WordStar right back on the map in the word processor stakes.
▪ Things get worse when you spend a lot of time with text-intensive programs such as word processors or spreadsheets.
▪ Such pupils should be enabled to produce their written work on a word processor or concept keyboard.
▪ I now e-mail my lessons and files to school, then simply open them into a word processor.
▪ It is possible to specify the various style elements within the word processor file so making the document generation process almost automatic.
▪ Could we find a better deal on word processors?
▪ For some years I have been thinking of buying a word processor but have not yet taken the plunge.
▪ So she pushed herself, sometimes writing longhand, sometimes on a word processor.
■ VERB
choose
▪ However, the draftsman should choose his words with care.
▪ Your editor should ask for your opinions, why you chose certain words or decided to include or omit information.
▪ He listens attentively as questions are translated, chooses words carefully and dismisses several questions as too sensitive.
▪ Her carefully chosen words, and Hattie Crews's personal insight, moved the membership.
▪ No. 12 Choose a particular key word.
▪ He chose words from a special communications program and fashioned them into sentences.
▪ I hope that I chose my words with some care.
▪ Under her page boy haircut, her brow is knit; she tries to choose her words carefully.
exchange
▪ He sat with Sir Harold for a while, but they exchanged few words.
▪ He was silent, and they walked on a few yards without exchanging a word.
▪ She smiled, and exchanged a few words with him; then others came to say farewell.
▪ Without exchanging a word we lengthened our strides, splashing through puddles, and made for the door.
▪ The man was Magnus Olesen, and he and Muus did not exchange three words all afternoon.
▪ We didn't exchange a word, or even a glance.
▪ He and I exchanged sharp words when he informed me that the hamster would have to undergo the rabies test.
hear
▪ Ask the students to tell you what they think of when they hear the word slide.
▪ Desperately, she waited to hear the words.
▪ No one knows when or how Harrison first heard word of the longitude prize.
▪ She sat sadly, in her old camel coat and her feathered hat, hearing the words.
▪ When I heard the word goons, it became no longer a matter of romance but a war of wills.
▪ She wants to be off anyway - I've heard her screaming the words along the landing.
▪ Everything was still until they all heard the hidden word in the picture.
mark
▪ But he is a much younger man, going places, mark my words.
▪ The parts of speech are syntactic as well as verbal because they mark the way words are used in sentences.
▪ Livin' with a man, mark my words.
▪ Yet it's Donne scholar Vivian Bearing who should mark the poet's words as she approaches death.
▪ The railway will come at least as far as Witney, you mark my words.
▪ Move the cursor to the name Edison and press Alt-F5 5 Enter to mark the word as a heading.
▪ Just you mark my words, he says, the Worm Will Turn.
▪ Press Alt-F5 5 Enter to mark the words as a heading. 11.
read
▪ What other kind of lexical sub-system might be accessed when one reads a word aloud?
▪ If he survived the war and should ever read these words, I hope he may resume contact after nearly fifty years.
▪ When Yoyo was done, she read over her words, and her eyes filled.
▪ She asked the stewardess for a magazine and religiously read every word until they reached their first destination.
▪ I can read the notes and words as I sing.
▪ Encourage the child to read the words under the illustrations.
▪ At that time, I could not see or read the words.
speak
▪ Seized for a moment by the power of prophesy, Caledor spoke words that would ring down the ages.
▪ Does she read as if she knows that each spoken word is represented by a clump of letters?
▪ I knew she knew me, though she never spoke word, never, night-long.
▪ But he could speak the words.
▪ Salisbury, Butler and Macmillan spoke kind words.
▪ Hal could do this when necessary, but most of his communication with his shipmates was by means of the spoken word.
▪ Actions can speak louder than words How you act at work gives certain messages to all the people you work with.
▪ After retrieving the chalice she sat at a table in her living room and began to speak the words.
spread
▪ Then, to help it develop, we spread the word.
▪ He spread the word to his fellow monks, who experimented with other ways to consume the berries.
▪ The use of the new printing technology helped in spreading the word.
▪ I welcomed the opportunity to spread the word and to broaden my knowledge about management approaches in the private sector.
▪ Paitoni is determined to spread the good word.
▪ Members of Boston's crew weren't the only ones who helped spread the word.
▪ You will help spread the word, won't you?
▪ Additionally, the Internet is helping spread the word about the Dvorak layout far wider and faster than was previously possible.
understand
▪ At first Jane could hardly understand a word Mervyn said, but he was too good-humoured to be offended.
▪ It became clear to them that she had understood their every word.
▪ Neither of them understood the words but the music represented all that was fair and just.
▪ The learner will come to understand the word.
▪ I could understand every word she said.
▪ She may not understand the words, but the feelings are unmistakable.
▪ But in time, when you live with other eagles, you learn to understand them without words.
▪ Again, your child may not understand all your words.
use
▪ It is not like grammar which defines how we should use words.
▪ Weiser uses the example of words.
▪ I had never used the word malai in her hearing; now I'd applied it to her.
▪ Compared to pidgins, a proper language can convey such complicated concepts using relatively few words.
▪ He had used the word quite automatically.
▪ The prediction: Some one from the Cowboys or Steelers will use a four-letter word during a live locker-room interview.
▪ She gave orders to the Trapper using words neither Marian nor Allen understood.
▪ That is, he uses words to tell you he likes the juice, but not the milk.
utter
▪ Gimmelmann hadn't uttered a word during dinner.
▪ The boy had lived here for weeks without uttering such words.
▪ In fact, I challenge Prescott to utter 16 words on any subject without making an utter fool of himself.
▪ Cantor was barely able to utter this single word, so full of suspense, desire, triumph, and some deviousness.
▪ As for the unemployment issue, I have never, never, uttered one word about this sensitive and intensely sad situation.
▪ Their father has not uttered a word since he arrived two days ago.
▪ The Princess - looking very thin again - merely toyed with her food and hardly uttered a word during the hour-long trip.
▪ It does not even protect a man from an injunction against uttering words that may have all the effect of force.
write
▪ She was an idiot, coming apart at the seams, and she hadn't written a word.
▪ The course involves very little writing, except for words and phrases the students must scribble in the blanks on the pages.
▪ The Bad ` Un's strategy is to prevent the written word from becoming food for hungry souls.
▪ Even readers whose knowledge of the written word comes from cereal boxes are familiar with metaphors using battlefields and quicksand.
▪ However, it is useful for the patient to practise writing words, so a typewriter or word-processor can be the answer.
▪ And while you may not swear or shout aloud, your writing slows, words dropping stiff and stilted.
▪ Remember here that some people do not like seeing you write down their words for it interrupts their flow of thought.
▪ And as I write these words I am not even sure I would really want to.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
(just) say the word
▪ Both of them said the word on the same downbeat, which made them burst into laughter at how hilarious they sounded.
▪ He could not bring himself to say the words, so great was his terror of plague.
▪ If there's anything I can do, you've only got to say the word.
▪ No one was actually prepared to say the word revolution-the one word in their vocabulary softened by success.
▪ The last team then has to say the word they had in mind.
▪ When the language helper says the words in a frame he will say them more naturally.
▪ When the truth was devastating, no wonder physicians avoided saying the words and patients refused to accept them.
(the word) failure/guilt/compromise etc is not in sb's vocabulary
(there's) many a true word spoken in jest
(you) mark my words!
Mark my words, that relationship won't last.
a few choice words/phrases
▪ Meyer had a few choice words for federal bureaucrats after an error listed him as deceased.
▪ And he also had a few choice words about my means of protecting myself.
▪ Or has rapper Puff been on the blower from New York with a few choice words?
a good word for sb/sth
▪ He put in a good word for him at meetings of the Jockey Club.
▪ No, beaming would be a better word for it.
▪ Poky would have been a good word for it, or dingy.
▪ Yes, maybe that was a good word for St Andrews.
a man of few words
▪ He was a man of few words except when he mounted the stage to recite his poetry.
▪ Bill Templeman was a man of few words.
▪ Blitherdick, usually a man of few words, had become lachrymose about Blenkinsop's enjoyment of a good wine.
▪ He had a clear scientific mind but was self-effacing, modest, and a man of few words.
▪ He was a man of few words but many graphic gestures.
▪ He was a man of few words in any case, Maggie noted.
▪ I am therefore a man of few words and I have been very brief throughout my professional career.
a man of his word
▪ He was a man of his word, and I had great respect for his intellect.
▪ But Dan is a man of his word.
▪ Crazy Horse was a man of his word and was furious at the duplicity of the white man....
▪ He was, as much as was possible in a world where the buck was almighty, a man of his word.
actions speak louder than words
▪ As ever, though, actions speak louder than words.
▪ In any event the user's opinion of a product is reflected in the standard achieved so actions speak louder than words.
▪ In the kitchen, actions speak louder than words.
▪ On this playing field, actions speak louder than words.
bandy words (with sb)
▪ Voice over Here it's a virtue to have no belief in what you say, bandying words is an admired skill.
▪ We can not bandy words with Nature, or deal with her as we deal with persons.
be a household name/word
▪ Apple computers became a household word in the late '80s.
▪ He was the first Aboriginal to have mastered a western mode of painting and by 1940 his was a household name.
▪ His was a household name when the craze for stereoscopic views was fashionable.
▪ However, a number are household names; the obvious examples are the Severn and the Thames.
▪ I won't tell you who she is because the name is a household word.
▪ It sold world-wide, was a household name, and had virtually no competition.
▪ Its heroes are household names and millions of pounds are at stake when it is staged.
▪ Of course, her name was a household word.
▪ Plus, it's not as if the Barn Burners, Helm's current band, is a household name.
be as good as your word
▪ The President promised to lower income taxes, and he's been as good as his word.
be lost for words
▪ For once in her life, she was lost for words, and uncertain of her argumentative ground.
▪ He was lost for words at the time, and had to apologise and thank the donors later in private.
be the last word in sth
▪ It's the last word in luxury resorts.
▪ But if airships were the last word in luxury then the penultimate word belonged to the flying boat.
▪ It may be the last word in consumer issues but it has never been available on news stands.
▪ Needless to say, this is not going to be the last word in the debate between the constructivists and the nativists.
▪ Sandy Lyle at the new club which is the last word in luxury golfing.
▪ With its 700-feet-long façade and 600-feet-long porte cochère, it is the last word in grandiose monumentalism.
carefully/clearly/strongly etc worded
▪ A strongly worded White House statement on March 7 had appealed for international support in stopping the operation of the Rabta plant.
▪ His criticisms have become so predictable and strongly worded that they are counter-productive.
▪ In a carefully worded address, Wyman argued the paradoxical facts.
▪ In a strongly worded letter this week to several dozen television stations, Rep.
▪ On the eve of the talks, the two sides had exchanged strongly worded statements on the issue.
▪ Once again, the agency sent a strongly worded warning letter, but took no punitive action.
▪ Pete Wilson yesterday, drawing a strongly worded veto but defining the battle lines after months of debate and anguished decisions.
▪ The agreement was carefully worded to give some satisfaction to both parties.
clip your words
eat your words
▪ I never thought Clare would be any good at this job, but I've had to eat my words.
▪ They think we can't compete with them - I'll make them eat their words.
▪ When Tottenham went to the top of the league early in the season, people said it wouldn't last. They have had to eat their words.
▪ Anthony Troon, eat your words!
▪ But Sun will have to eat its words and may have to declare a product like its News windowing system dead.
▪ I reply, eating my words as I speak them.
▪ It is now time, however, that I eat my words.
▪ Lugh was going to fool Medoc very neatly, and they would all eat their words.
▪ So let the Review Board eat its words, when I win the annual all-industry award for originality.
▪ Some day they will eat their words.
▪ We check out a sound card that will make them eat their words - the Laserwave Plus.
empty words/gestures/promises etc
▪ Hadn't he said that to express it would be just empty words?
▪ He expected her to trust him, but as far as she could see they were just empty words.
▪ He listens politely, then makes plausible but essentially empty gestures.
▪ I tried to make choices, but wound up with empty gestures.
▪ These are not empty words and phrases, but principles given powerful institutional sanction.
▪ This is the circus of empty promises and dry press releases that are part and parcel of meetings like these.
▪ To all these petitions the Crown returned empty promises of redress.
exchange words/looks etc (with sb)
▪ He and Kemp pound down the stairway, exchanging words.
▪ Hughes exchanged words with umpire Steve Randell after a confident appeal against Richie Richardson was turned down when he was on 47.
▪ I would hear the women exchange words with Miss Fingerstop.
▪ Linda buried herself in the crowd, exchanging words with this one and that and heading for the bar.
▪ Nurses busily went up and down, sometimes pausing to exchange words and careless laughter.
▪ The patients loved it and several laughed out loud at her antics, while Martha and Yvonne exchanged looks of glee.
▪ They exchanged looks full of sadness, as if they had both lost something.
▪ They exchanged words, not all of which appeared to be in jest.
famous last words
▪ So he said, with those famous last words, "Don't worry, everything will be fine."
fighting words/talk
▪ And we need to warn them that the words they are using can very easily become fighting words.
▪ It sounds like good fighting talk but, beyond the active birth arena, I wonder how accurate a picture it represents.
▪ Today in the 1980s many Christians don't like this fighting talk.
▪ Where I come from that's fighting talk.
for want of a better word/phrase etc
▪ Just horses and ploughs and, for want of a better word, peasants.
▪ Now, hands are, well, handed for want of a better word.
form of words
▪ It is an attempt to find a form of words around which people of different views can unite.
▪ Not only is the subject unknown but the form of words is probably unfamiliar too.
▪ Other forms of words instilled into the young are also present.
▪ Regular inflected forms of words are not given their own specific dictionary definitions.
▪ The draftsman employed several different forms of words to achieve this result.
▪ You need to know what will be said and a suitable, accurate form of words should be specifically agreed.
hang on sb's words/every word
▪ And the children of Elvis did hang on his every word.
▪ As a result, you find yourself hanging on to every word and gesture.
▪ We weren't all hanging on your every word anyway, even back then.
have a quiet word (with sb)
▪ When all they needed to do was lift up the phone and have a quiet word.
in other words
▪ "Well, Randy's not quite ready to make a decision yet." "So, in other words, we have to wait, right?"
▪ He prides himself on his powers of persuasion -- or, in other words, his salesmanship.
▪ The books and materials are kept on closed access, in other words available only to the library staff.
▪ The tax only affects people on incomes over $200,000 - in other words, the very rich.
▪ This is supposed to be a democracy - in other words, one person one vote.
▪ What we need is a more sustainable transport system, in other words, more buses and trains, and fewer cars.
▪ An entrepreneur, in other words, uses resources in new ways to maximize productivity and effectiveness.
▪ At the beginning of the twentieth century, in other words, the hour of reform had not yet struck.
▪ It insists, in other words, that they must treat as law what conventions stipulates is law.
▪ Not a literary artist, in other words.
▪ Their utilitarian contribution to our welfare should not, in other words, be our criterion as to whether they survive or not.
▪ They signify, in other words, that everything is gift.
▪ What the king did, in other words, was to use the assembly to defuse trouble in the provinces.
▪ Why, in other words, should we want to get true beliefs rather than false ones?
magic number/word
▪ The Maharishi's followers say that 7000 is a magic number.
▪ Al knew at once that he had heard A very secret magic word.
▪ Bacon could argue that Antichrist would invoke stellar influences and magic words having the power to produce physical effects.
▪ Charles would capture one of the boys and only release him if he said the magic word.
▪ For Geteles and others, potential was the magic word, the answer to all the talk about standards.
▪ If that magic number is reached, the deal becomes an international treaty.
▪ Once a patient has his magic number, does it have any effect?
▪ The magic words had been uttered.
▪ This is done by listening to a tape and writing on your application form a magic number.
manage a few words/a smile etc
mum's the word
my word is my bond
not a solitary word/thing etc
▪ His father had not spoken a single word to him, just followed him around the house, not a solitary word.
not breathe a word
▪ You've got to promise not to breathe a word to anyone.
▪ He did not breathe a word.
not have a bad word to say about/against sb
not mince (your) words
▪ Helmut didn't mince any words in his criticism of the department.
▪ Blue does not mince words, however.
▪ Let's not mince words, Cathal Coughlan is the most compulsively watchable frontman in Britain today.
▪ That was the great thing about country music, it did not mince words.
play on words
▪ But most of all, children laugh at jokes that are a play on words.
▪ In this chapter, I hope to show that these distinctions are important and not merely a play on words.
▪ None the less the play on words is there in the text, and is appropriate.
▪ Perhaps the best solution is to see the place as a play on words.
▪ Some scholars believe that Matthew is making a play on words and that the original word was Nezer.
▪ Such, at least, is the suggestion of that play on words.
▪ This was a play on words.
▪ With Abraham's and Sarah's laughter the storyteller is indulging in another play on words.
play with words/language
▪ But why shouldn't feminists play with language for political ends?
▪ Children learn vocabulary from talking, reading, writing, and from playing with words.
▪ Recognising this, some feminists have used the alternative strategy of deliberately playing with words rather than attempting straightforwardly to redefine them.
▪ Rhymesters, poets, writers, and jokers of all kinds - and their audiences - have always loved playing with words.
▪ She was given to playing with words in that way.
▪ Young children play with language, trying out sounds before they start experimenting with words.
rumour/legend/word has it
▪ After all, stranger things have happened: legend has it that the hooked burrs of plants inspired the invention of Velcro.
▪ And rumour has it that the big-name band will be outrageous rockers Guns N' Roses.
▪ But word has it that the Tucson Symphony is taking over the building sometime in mid-December.
▪ His name is cited in the four gospels. Legend has it that he obtained the holy grail from the last supper.
▪ It started with a cross placed along the railroad tracks, where legend has it that he was lynched.
▪ Pass the spliff, mon. Word has it the band is compelling as hell in person.
▪ This was initiated, so legend has it, when the lavatories were out of order.
▪ Turn right to the Cerne Giant viewing point. Legend has it that a real giant terrorised the locals.
sb's word is law
send word
▪ Finally he sent word that he was ready for her to come and marry him.
▪ He sent word, but never sent for them.
▪ He had sent word to Eochaid, and the gates opened.
▪ He operates from Southern California and sends words of hope and encouragement worldwide.
▪ Jody sends word for the bus to take the girls back to the Hyatt hotel.
▪ Minu sent word that I should stay with her in Ghanerao.
▪ The Lord of the Manor had sent word that he wished to see the players.
▪ When Lee learned what the Federals were doing, he sent word for his scattered columns to converge west of Gettysburg.
sth is a dirty word
string words/a sentence together
▪ Female speaker I can say the odd word, but I can't string a sentence together yet.
the magic word
▪ Charles would capture one of the boys and only release him if he said the magic word.
▪ Even the magic word processor can not solve the problem of afterthoughts, which are likely to alter a complete structure.
▪ For Geteles and others, potential was the magic word, the answer to all the talk about standards.
▪ That was the secret, the magic word which would open all the doors.
▪ They can only mean the magic word - Connie!
the operative word
▪ He's a kind of amateur psychologist, and amateur is the operative word here.
▪ Edgy is the operative word here.
▪ Fast, by the way, is the operative word.
▪ I was madly - and that's the operative word - head over heels in lust.
▪ The word liberty is the operative word.
▪ There are now programs on the market that can almost read as well as humans - almost being the operative word, of course.
the spoken word
▪ But the power of X-Clan is not the spoken word.
▪ During secondary education, the use of the spoken word increases.
▪ Hal could do this when necessary, but most of his communication with his shipmates was by means of the spoken word.
▪ He showed a little smile, as if only the spoken word might perk his interest.
▪ Large halls ideal for music can be too reverberant for the spoken word.
▪ Other symptoms of dyslexia can include difficulty in writing, calculating or even understanding the spoken word.
▪ The most important bias of dictionaries is to the written rather than the spoken word.
the written word
▪ Millions of illiterate Americans do not have access to the written word.
▪ But literacy and the written word do have a part to play.
▪ Even readers whose knowledge of the written word comes from cereal boxes are familiar with metaphors using battlefields and quicksand.
▪ In fact, the 1959 Act has worked to secure a very large measure of freedom in Britain for the written word.
▪ Not only visual representation, but the written word, too, is not free of imperialism.
▪ The direct experience of oral communication was displaced by the second-hand experience of the written word.
▪ They record thoughts which apparently, at some moment in time, seemed worthy of the written word.
▪ Without the help of the written word, film and videotape can not portray temporal dimensions with any precision.
▪ WordPerfect word processing software handles both the written word and graphic interpretation with ease.
true to your word/principles etc
▪ A man true to his word.
▪ But true to his word, before I left, my uncle gave me help.
▪ Jim, true to his word, may be the man to fix it after all.
▪ Otto had been true to his word and left out for me a pair of boy's shorts.
▪ The captain was true to his word.
▪ The Characters A young girl: Lazy but true to her word.
▪ We have been true to our word and true to our mission because of your skill and professionalism.
umbrella term/word/title etc
▪ This is an umbrella term, used widely and well understood in an educational context.
▪ We use mime as an umbrella term for all the art forms.
weigh your words
▪ He began to weigh his words with great care, struggling to express himself as economically and clearly as possible.
your word of honour
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
▪ 'Casa' is the Italian word for 'house'.
▪ Are there any words in the passage that you don't understand?
▪ I don't know all the words to the song.
▪ In 500 words or less, write down why you want the scholarship.
▪ Is 'lunchtime' one word or two?
▪ Look up any words you don't know in a dictionary.
▪ On the word "go" I want you to start running.
▪ The word 'origami' comes from Japanese.
▪ What's another word for 'way out'?
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪ However, he appreciated the cathartic nature of expressing himself through the written word.
▪ In fact different groups of people see the world in different ways and develop words for their concepts.
▪ It is obvious that Matson is a poet, if only for her precise word choice.
▪ It seems only fair to allow Wordsworth the last word.
▪ It was too calculated a word to describe what had happened between them.
▪ On 4 May it was played through an Auxetophone to the diners so they could all hear his words.
▪ The word was before them, the fire ran through the brushwood.
II.verb
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADVERB
carefully
▪ The agreement was carefully worded to give some satisfaction to both parties.
▪ In a carefully worded address, Wyman argued the paradoxical facts.
▪ In the prisoners' case, letters to the authorities should be worded carefully and courteously.
strongly
▪ A strongly worded White House statement on March 7 had appealed for international support in stopping the operation of the Rabta plant.
▪ Once again, the agency sent a strongly worded warning letter, but took no punitive action.
▪ Pete Wilson yesterday, drawing a strongly worded veto but defining the battle lines after months of debate and anguished decisions.
▪ In a strongly worded letter this week to several dozen television stations, Rep.
vaguely
▪ A final warning ought not to be worded vaguely.
▪ But he said the order was vaguely worded.
■ NOUN
letter
▪ To imagine the wording of the letter to the magazine describing my own disappearance.
▪ Once again, the agency sent a strongly worded warning letter, but took no punitive action.
▪ In a strongly worded letter this week to several dozen television stations, Rep.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
(the word) failure/guilt/compromise etc is not in sb's vocabulary
(there's) many a true word spoken in jest
a few choice words/phrases
▪ Meyer had a few choice words for federal bureaucrats after an error listed him as deceased.
▪ And he also had a few choice words about my means of protecting myself.
▪ Or has rapper Puff been on the blower from New York with a few choice words?
a good word for sb/sth
▪ He put in a good word for him at meetings of the Jockey Club.
▪ No, beaming would be a better word for it.
▪ Poky would have been a good word for it, or dingy.
▪ Yes, maybe that was a good word for St Andrews.
a man of few words
▪ He was a man of few words except when he mounted the stage to recite his poetry.
▪ Bill Templeman was a man of few words.
▪ Blitherdick, usually a man of few words, had become lachrymose about Blenkinsop's enjoyment of a good wine.
▪ He had a clear scientific mind but was self-effacing, modest, and a man of few words.
▪ He was a man of few words but many graphic gestures.
▪ He was a man of few words in any case, Maggie noted.
▪ I am therefore a man of few words and I have been very brief throughout my professional career.
a man of his word
▪ He was a man of his word, and I had great respect for his intellect.
▪ But Dan is a man of his word.
▪ Crazy Horse was a man of his word and was furious at the duplicity of the white man....
▪ He was, as much as was possible in a world where the buck was almighty, a man of his word.
actions speak louder than words
▪ As ever, though, actions speak louder than words.
▪ In any event the user's opinion of a product is reflected in the standard achieved so actions speak louder than words.
▪ In the kitchen, actions speak louder than words.
▪ On this playing field, actions speak louder than words.
be a household name/word
▪ Apple computers became a household word in the late '80s.
▪ He was the first Aboriginal to have mastered a western mode of painting and by 1940 his was a household name.
▪ His was a household name when the craze for stereoscopic views was fashionable.
▪ However, a number are household names; the obvious examples are the Severn and the Thames.
▪ I won't tell you who she is because the name is a household word.
▪ It sold world-wide, was a household name, and had virtually no competition.
▪ Its heroes are household names and millions of pounds are at stake when it is staged.
▪ Of course, her name was a household word.
▪ Plus, it's not as if the Barn Burners, Helm's current band, is a household name.
be as good as your word
▪ The President promised to lower income taxes, and he's been as good as his word.
be lost for words
▪ For once in her life, she was lost for words, and uncertain of her argumentative ground.
▪ He was lost for words at the time, and had to apologise and thank the donors later in private.
be the last word in sth
▪ It's the last word in luxury resorts.
▪ But if airships were the last word in luxury then the penultimate word belonged to the flying boat.
▪ It may be the last word in consumer issues but it has never been available on news stands.
▪ Needless to say, this is not going to be the last word in the debate between the constructivists and the nativists.
▪ Sandy Lyle at the new club which is the last word in luxury golfing.
▪ With its 700-feet-long façade and 600-feet-long porte cochère, it is the last word in grandiose monumentalism.
carefully/clearly/strongly etc worded
▪ A strongly worded White House statement on March 7 had appealed for international support in stopping the operation of the Rabta plant.
▪ His criticisms have become so predictable and strongly worded that they are counter-productive.
▪ In a carefully worded address, Wyman argued the paradoxical facts.
▪ In a strongly worded letter this week to several dozen television stations, Rep.
▪ On the eve of the talks, the two sides had exchanged strongly worded statements on the issue.
▪ Once again, the agency sent a strongly worded warning letter, but took no punitive action.
▪ Pete Wilson yesterday, drawing a strongly worded veto but defining the battle lines after months of debate and anguished decisions.
▪ The agreement was carefully worded to give some satisfaction to both parties.
empty words/gestures/promises etc
▪ Hadn't he said that to express it would be just empty words?
▪ He expected her to trust him, but as far as she could see they were just empty words.
▪ He listens politely, then makes plausible but essentially empty gestures.
▪ I tried to make choices, but wound up with empty gestures.
▪ These are not empty words and phrases, but principles given powerful institutional sanction.
▪ This is the circus of empty promises and dry press releases that are part and parcel of meetings like these.
▪ To all these petitions the Crown returned empty promises of redress.
famous last words
▪ So he said, with those famous last words, "Don't worry, everything will be fine."
for want of a better word/phrase etc
▪ Just horses and ploughs and, for want of a better word, peasants.
▪ Now, hands are, well, handed for want of a better word.
form of words
▪ It is an attempt to find a form of words around which people of different views can unite.
▪ Not only is the subject unknown but the form of words is probably unfamiliar too.
▪ Other forms of words instilled into the young are also present.
▪ Regular inflected forms of words are not given their own specific dictionary definitions.
▪ The draftsman employed several different forms of words to achieve this result.
▪ You need to know what will be said and a suitable, accurate form of words should be specifically agreed.
have a quiet word (with sb)
▪ When all they needed to do was lift up the phone and have a quiet word.
in other words
▪ "Well, Randy's not quite ready to make a decision yet." "So, in other words, we have to wait, right?"
▪ He prides himself on his powers of persuasion -- or, in other words, his salesmanship.
▪ The books and materials are kept on closed access, in other words available only to the library staff.
▪ The tax only affects people on incomes over $200,000 - in other words, the very rich.
▪ This is supposed to be a democracy - in other words, one person one vote.
▪ What we need is a more sustainable transport system, in other words, more buses and trains, and fewer cars.
▪ An entrepreneur, in other words, uses resources in new ways to maximize productivity and effectiveness.
▪ At the beginning of the twentieth century, in other words, the hour of reform had not yet struck.
▪ It insists, in other words, that they must treat as law what conventions stipulates is law.
▪ Not a literary artist, in other words.
▪ Their utilitarian contribution to our welfare should not, in other words, be our criterion as to whether they survive or not.
▪ They signify, in other words, that everything is gift.
▪ What the king did, in other words, was to use the assembly to defuse trouble in the provinces.
▪ Why, in other words, should we want to get true beliefs rather than false ones?
magic number/word
▪ The Maharishi's followers say that 7000 is a magic number.
▪ Al knew at once that he had heard A very secret magic word.
▪ Bacon could argue that Antichrist would invoke stellar influences and magic words having the power to produce physical effects.
▪ Charles would capture one of the boys and only release him if he said the magic word.
▪ For Geteles and others, potential was the magic word, the answer to all the talk about standards.
▪ If that magic number is reached, the deal becomes an international treaty.
▪ Once a patient has his magic number, does it have any effect?
▪ The magic words had been uttered.
▪ This is done by listening to a tape and writing on your application form a magic number.
mum's the word
my word is my bond
not a solitary word/thing etc
▪ His father had not spoken a single word to him, just followed him around the house, not a solitary word.
not have a bad word to say about/against sb
play on words
▪ But most of all, children laugh at jokes that are a play on words.
▪ In this chapter, I hope to show that these distinctions are important and not merely a play on words.
▪ None the less the play on words is there in the text, and is appropriate.
▪ Perhaps the best solution is to see the place as a play on words.
▪ Some scholars believe that Matthew is making a play on words and that the original word was Nezer.
▪ Such, at least, is the suggestion of that play on words.
▪ This was a play on words.
▪ With Abraham's and Sarah's laughter the storyteller is indulging in another play on words.
sb's word is law
sth is a dirty word
the magic word
▪ Charles would capture one of the boys and only release him if he said the magic word.
▪ Even the magic word processor can not solve the problem of afterthoughts, which are likely to alter a complete structure.
▪ For Geteles and others, potential was the magic word, the answer to all the talk about standards.
▪ That was the secret, the magic word which would open all the doors.
▪ They can only mean the magic word - Connie!
the operative word
▪ He's a kind of amateur psychologist, and amateur is the operative word here.
▪ Edgy is the operative word here.
▪ Fast, by the way, is the operative word.
▪ I was madly - and that's the operative word - head over heels in lust.
▪ The word liberty is the operative word.
▪ There are now programs on the market that can almost read as well as humans - almost being the operative word, of course.
the spoken word
▪ But the power of X-Clan is not the spoken word.
▪ During secondary education, the use of the spoken word increases.
▪ Hal could do this when necessary, but most of his communication with his shipmates was by means of the spoken word.
▪ He showed a little smile, as if only the spoken word might perk his interest.
▪ Large halls ideal for music can be too reverberant for the spoken word.
▪ Other symptoms of dyslexia can include difficulty in writing, calculating or even understanding the spoken word.
▪ The most important bias of dictionaries is to the written rather than the spoken word.
the written word
▪ Millions of illiterate Americans do not have access to the written word.
▪ But literacy and the written word do have a part to play.
▪ Even readers whose knowledge of the written word comes from cereal boxes are familiar with metaphors using battlefields and quicksand.
▪ In fact, the 1959 Act has worked to secure a very large measure of freedom in Britain for the written word.
▪ Not only visual representation, but the written word, too, is not free of imperialism.
▪ The direct experience of oral communication was displaced by the second-hand experience of the written word.
▪ They record thoughts which apparently, at some moment in time, seemed worthy of the written word.
▪ Without the help of the written word, film and videotape can not portray temporal dimensions with any precision.
▪ WordPerfect word processing software handles both the written word and graphic interpretation with ease.
true to your word/principles etc
▪ A man true to his word.
▪ But true to his word, before I left, my uncle gave me help.
▪ Jim, true to his word, may be the man to fix it after all.
▪ Otto had been true to his word and left out for me a pair of boy's shorts.
▪ The captain was true to his word.
▪ The Characters A young girl: Lazy but true to her word.
▪ We have been true to our word and true to our mission because of your skill and professionalism.
umbrella term/word/title etc
▪ This is an umbrella term, used widely and well understood in an educational context.
▪ We use mime as an umbrella term for all the art forms.
your word of honour
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
▪ Let me word the question a little differently.
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Word

Word \Word\, n. [AS. word; akin to OFries. & OS. word, D. woord, G. wort, Icel. or[eth], Sw. & Dan. ord, Goth. wa['u]rd, OPruss. wirds, Lith. vardas a name, L. verbum a word; or perhaps to Gr. "rh`twr an orator. Cf. Verb.]

  1. The spoken sign of a conception or an idea; an articulate or vocal sound, or a combination of articulate and vocal sounds, uttered by the human voice, and by custom expressing an idea or ideas; a single component part of human speech or language; a constituent part of a sentence; a term; a vocable. ``A glutton of words.''
    --Piers Plowman.

    You cram these words into mine ears, against The stomach of my sense.
    --Shak.

    Amongst men who confound their ideas with words, there must be endless disputes.
    --Locke.

  2. Hence, the written or printed character, or combination of characters, expressing such a term; as, the words on a page.

  3. pl. Talk; discourse; speech; language.

    Why should calamity be full of words?
    --Shak.

    Be thy words severe; Sharp as he merits, but the sword forbear.
    --Dryden.

  4. Account; tidings; message; communication; information; -- used only in the singular.

    I pray you . . . bring me word thither How the world goes.
    --Shak.

  5. Signal; order; command; direction.

    Give the word through.
    --Shak.

  6. Language considered as implying the faith or authority of the person who utters it; statement; affirmation; declaration; promise.

    Obey thy parents; keep thy word justly.
    --Shak.

    I know you brave, and take you at your word.
    --Dryden.

    I desire not the reader should take my word.
    --Dryden.

  7. pl. Verbal contention; dispute.

    Some words there grew 'twixt Somerset and me.
    --Shak.

  8. A brief remark or observation; an expression; a phrase, clause, or short sentence. All the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. --Gal. v. 14. She said; but at the happy word ``he lives,'' My father stooped, re-fathered, o'er my wound. --Tennyson. There is only one other point on which I offer a word of remark. --Dickens. By word of mouth, orally; by actual speaking. --Boyle. Compound word. See under Compound, a. Good word, commendation; favorable account. ``And gave the harmless fellow a good word.'' --Pope. In a word, briefly; to sum up. In word, in declaration; in profession. ``Let us not love in word, . . . but in deed and in truth.'' --1 John iii. 8. Nuns of the Word Incarnate (R. C. Ch.), an order of nuns founded in France in 1625, and approved in 1638. The order, which also exists in the United States, was instituted for the purpose of doing honor to the ``Mystery of the Incarnation of the Son of God.'' The word, or The Word. (Theol.)

    1. The gospel message; esp., the Scriptures, as a revelation of God. ``Bold to speak the word without fear.''
      --Phil. i. 14.

    2. The second person in the Trinity before his manifestation in time by the incarnation; among those who reject a Trinity of persons, some one or all of the divine attributes personified.
      --John i. 1.

      To eat one's words, to retract what has been said.

      To have the words for, to speak for; to act as spokesman. [Obs.] ``Our host hadde the wordes for us all.''
      --Chaucer.

      Word blindness (Physiol.), inability to understand printed or written words or symbols, although the person affected may be able to see quite well, speak fluently, and write correctly.
      --Landois & Stirling.

      Word deafness (Physiol.), inability to understand spoken words, though the person affected may hear them and other sounds, and hence is not deaf.

      Word dumbness (Physiol.), inability to express ideas in verbal language, though the power of speech is unimpaired.

      Word for word, in the exact words; verbatim; literally; exactly; as, to repeat anything word for word.

      Word painting, the act of describing an object fully and vividly by words only, so as to present it clearly to the mind, as if in a picture.

      Word picture, an accurate and vivid description, which presents an object clearly to the mind, as if in a picture.

      Word square, a series of words so arranged that they can be read vertically and horizontally with like results.

      Note: H E A R T E M B E R A B U S E R E S I N T R E N T (A word square)

      Syn: See Term.

Word

Word \Word\, v. i. To use words, as in discussion; to argue; to dispute. [R.]

Word

Word \Word\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Worded; p. pr. & vb. n. Wording.]

  1. To express in words; to phrase.

    The apology for the king is the same, but worded with greater deference to that great prince.
    --Addison.

  2. To ply with words; also, to cause to be by the use of a word or words. [Obs.]
    --Howell.

  3. To flatter with words; to cajole. [Obs.]
    --Shak.

    To word it, to bandy words; to dispute. [Obs.] ``To word it with a shrew.''
    --L'Estrange.

Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
word

c.1200, "to utter;" 1610s, "put into words," from word (n.). Related: Worded; wording.

word

Old English word "speech, talk, utterance, sentence, statement, news, report, word," from Proto-Germanic *wurdan (cognates: Old Saxon, Old Frisian word, Dutch woord, Old High German, German wort, Old Norse orð, Gothic waurd), from PIE *were- (3) "speak, say" (see verb).\n

\nThe meaning "promise" was in Old English, as was the theological sense. In the plural, the meaning "verbal altercation" (as in to have words with someone) dates from mid-15c. Word processor first recorded 1971; word processing is from 1972; word wrap is from 1977. A word to the wise is from Latin phrase verbum sapienti satis est "a word to the wise is enough." Word-for-word is late 14c. Word of mouth is recorded from 1550s.\n\nIt is dangerous to leave written that which is badly written. A chance word, upon paper, may destroy the world. Watch carefully and erase, while the power is still yours, I say to myself, for all that is put down, once it escapes, may rot its way into a thousand minds, the corn become a black smut, and all libraries, of necessity, be burned to the ground as a consequence.

[William Carlos Williams, "Paterson"]

Wiktionary
word

Etymology 1 interj. 1 (context slang AAVE English) truth, indeed, that is the truth! The shortened form of the statement "My word is my bond." 2 (context slang emphatic stereotypically AAVE English) An abbreviated form of (term word up English); a statement of the acknowledgment of fact with a hint of nonchalant approval. n. 1 The smallest unit of language which has a particular meaning and can be expressed by itself; the smallest discrete, meaningful unit of language. (qualifier: Contrast ''morpheme''.) (from 10th c.) 2 # The smallest discrete unit of spoken language which has a particular meaning, composed of one or more phonemes and one or more morphemes. 3 # The smallest discrete unit of written language which has a particular meaning, composed of one or more letters or symbols and one or more morphemes. 4 # A discrete, meaningful unit of language which is approved by some authority. 5 # A sequence of letters or characters, or sounds, which (does not necessarily belong to a language or have a meaning, but which) is considered as a discrete entity. 6 Something which is like such a unit of language: 7 # (context telegraphy English) A unit of text equivalent to five characters and one space. (from 19th c.) 8 # (context computing English) A fixed-size group of bits handled as a unit by a machine (on many 16-bit machines, 16 bits or two bytes). (from 20th c.) 9 # (context computer science English) A finite string which is not a command or operator. (from 20th or 21st c.) 10 # (context group theory English) A group element, expressed as a product of group elements. 11 The fact or act of speaking, as opposed to taking action. (from 9th c.) 12 (context now rare outside certain phrases English) Something which has been said; a comment, utterance; speech. (from 10th c.) 13 (lb en obsolete outside certain phrases) A watchword or rallying cry, a verbal signal (even when consisting of multiple words). 14 (lb en obsolete) A proverb or motto. 15 (senseid en news, tidings) news; tidings (qualifier: used without an article). (from 10th c.) 16 An order; a request or instruction; an expression of will. (from 10th c.) 17 A promise; an oath or guarantee. (from 10th c.) 18 A brief discussion or conversation. (from 15th c.) 19 (context in the plural English) Angry debate or conversation; argument. (from 15th c.) 20 (context theology sometimes '''Word''' English) Communication from God; the message of the Christian gospel; the Bible, Scripture. (from 10th c.) 21 (context theology sometimes '''Word''' English) Logos, Christ. (from 8th c.) vb. 1 (lb en transitive) To say or write (something) using particular words; to phrase (something). 2 (lb en transitive obsolete) To flatter with words, to cajole. 3 (lb en transitive) To ply or overpower with words. 4 (lb en transitive rare) To conjure with a word. 5 (lb en intransitive archaic) To speak, to use words; to converse, to discourse. Etymology 2

vb. (alternative form of worth lang=en nodot=1) (gloss: to become).

WordNet
word

v. put into words or an expression; "He formulated his concerns to the board of trustees" [syn: give voice, formulate, phrase, articulate]

word
  1. n. a unit of language that native speakers can identify; "words are the blocks from which sentences are made"; "he hardly said ten words all morning"

  2. a brief statement; "he didn't say a word about it"

  3. new information about specific and timely events; "they awaited news of the outcome" [syn: news, intelligence, tidings]

  4. the divine word of God; the second person in the Trinity (incarnate in Jesus) [syn: Son, Logos]

  5. a promise; "he gave his word" [syn: parole, word of honor]

  6. a secret word or phrase known only to a restricted group; "he forgot the password" [syn: password, watchword, parole, countersign]

  7. an exchange of views on some topic; "we had a good discussion"; "we had a word or two about it" [syn: discussion, give-and-take]

  8. the sacred writings of the Christian religions; "he went to carry the Word to the heathen" [syn: Bible, Christian Bible, Book, Good Book, Holy Scripture, Holy Writ, Scripture, Word of God]

  9. a verbal command for action; "when I give the word, charge!"

  10. a word is a string of bits stored in computer memory; "large computers use words up to 64 bits long"

Wikipedia
Word (disambiguation)

A word is a unit of language.

Word(s) may also refer to:

Word (bookstore)

The Word bookstore was formerly a chain of nineteen Christian bookstores in Australia, plus telephone, internet and mail order. In May 2015, Word announced the closure of its retail bookstores, continuing as an online-only business.

Word Australia is the wholesale distribution arm of Word, meaning that a number of Word's smaller competitors are re-sellers of Word merchandise.

Word (group theory)

In group theory, a word is any written product of group elements and their inverses. For example, if x, y and z are elements of a group G, then xy, zxzz and yzxxyz are words in the set {x, y, z}. Two different words may evaluate to the same value in G, or even in every group. Words play an important role in the theory of free groups and presentations, and are central objects of study in combinatorial group theory.

Word (Sakanaction song)

is a song by Japanese band Sakanaction. It was released on December 5, 2007 as a double A-side digital single alongside " Sample", two months before the band's second album Night Fishing. The song was inspired by frustration with the band's management during the Night Fishing writing sessions. The song received minor airplay in Hokkaido in January and February 2008, during the release of its parent album.

Word

In linguistics, a word is the smallest element that may be uttered in isolation with semantic or pragmatic content (with literal or practical meaning). This contrasts deeply with a morpheme, which is the smallest unit of meaning but will not necessarily stand on its own. A word may consist of a single morpheme (for example: oh!, rock, red, quick, run, expect), or several (rocks, redness, quickly, running, unexpected), whereas a morpheme may not be able to stand on its own as a word (in the words just mentioned, these are -s, -ness, -ly, -ing, un-, -ed). A complex word will typically include a root and one or more affixes (rock-s, red-ness, quick-ly, run-ning, un-expect-ed), or more than one root in a compound (black-board, rat-race). Words can be put together to build larger elements of language, such as phrases (a red rock), clauses (I threw a rock), and sentences (He threw a rock too, but he missed).

The term word may refer to a spoken word or to a written word, or sometimes to the abstract concept behind either. Spoken words are made up of units of sound called phonemes, and written words of symbols called graphemes, such as the letters of the English alphabet.

Word (computer architecture)

In computing, a word is the natural unit of data used by a particular processor design. A word is a fixed-sized piece of data handled as a unit by the instruction set or the hardware of the processor. The number of bits in a word (the word size, word width, or word length) is an important characteristic of any specific processor design or computer architecture.

The size of a word is reflected in many aspects of a computer's structure and operation; the majority of the registers in a processor are usually word sized and the largest piece of data that can be transferred to and from the working memory in a single operation is a word in many (not all) architectures. The largest possible address size, used to designate a location in memory, is typically a hardware word (here, "hardware word" means the full-sized natural word of the processor, as opposed to any other definition used).

Modern processors, including embedded systems, usually have a word size of 8, , 24, , or bits, while modern general purpose computers usually use 32 or 64 bits. Special purpose digital processors, such as DSPs for instance, may use other sizes, and many other sizes have been used historically, including 9, 12, 18, 24, 26, 36, 39, 40, 48, and 60 bits. The slab is an example of a system with an earlier word size. Several of the earliest computers (and a few modern as well) used BCD rather than plain binary, typically having a word size of 10 or 12 decimal digits, and some early decimal computers had no fixed word length at all.

The size of a word can sometimes differ from the expected due to backward compatibility with earlier computers. If multiple compatible variations or a family of processors share a common architecture and instruction set but differ in their word sizes, their documentation and software may become notationally complex to accommodate the difference (see Size families below).

WORD (AM)

WORD, known on-air as "ESPN Upstate", is a sports-formatted radio station in the Greenville-Spartanburg area of Upstate South Carolina. The Entercom Communications outlet is licensed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to Spartanburg, SC, and broadcasts at 950 kHz with power of 5,000 watts non-directional daytime and directional at night. The programming on WORD is simulultaneously broadcast on WYRD 1330 AM Greenville and W246BU-FM 97.1 MHz, Spartanburg. Its transmitter is located on the aptly named Broadcast Drive in Spartanburg, while its studios are in Greenville.

Until its change in format from talk to sports on February 24, 2014, News Radio WORD carried Russ and Lisa, Mike Gallagher, Coast to Coast AM, Rush Limbaugh, Kim Komando, Lars Larson, Dave Ramsey, Sean Hannity and Bob McLain.

WORD (journal)

WORD, an academic journal of linguistics issued four times a year, is the publication of the International Linguistic Association(ILA). Founded in 1943 as the Linguistic Circle of New York, the ILA became one of the main sources of new ideas in American Linguistics at that time. Its journal WORD was founded in 1945 with a mission to disseminate the scholarly discussion of the day and to become the journal of record for general linguistics. During several decades of intellectual ferment in linguistics, the scholarship published by WORD continued to record the expansion of linguistic ideas - both theoretical and applied. Today, WORD continues its broadly-based mission to reflect and record contemporary linguistic scholarship.

Over the years, WORD has been privileged to serve as a platform for introducing groundbreaking scholarship in linguistics. Among these, Jean Berko Gleason's Wug test debuted in WORDin 1958 — "The Child's Learning of English Morphology" (Volume 14, 1958); Charles Ferguson's "Diglossia" was published in WORD (Volume 15, 1959); M.A.K. Halliday's first journal paper on Systemic-Functional Linguistics — "Categories of the theory of grammar" — appeared in WORD (Volume 17, 1961); and William Labov's very first journal article — "The social motivation of a sound change" — was in WORD (Volume 19, 1963).

Each issue contains articles and reviews. Occasionally, special issues on specific topics are produced. Such issues have dealt with:

Language and language planning (30/1979); The Spanish and Portuguese language in the Western Hemisphere (33/1982); Text linguistics (37/1986); Systemic linguistics (40/1989). Papers from the 1991 conference on Indo-European Linguistics have also been published in WORD.

Usage examples of "word".

I will not wear thy soul with words about my grief and sorrow: but it is to be told that I sat now in a perilous place, and yet I might not step down from it and abide in that land, for then it was a sure thing, that some of my foes would have laid hand on me and brought me to judgment for being but myself, and I should have ended miserably.

The words shimmered in her mind, his ability to use telepathy growing stronger with each use.

At any rate she had a jesting air, and the bystanders noticed that she pronounced the words of her abjuration with a smile.

Now that the words were out and there was no abjuration possible, she felt as if her bones were made of sand.

Now it is evident that in Penance something is done so that something holy is signified both on the part of the penitent sinner, and on the part of the priest absolving, because the penitent sinner, by deed and word, shows his heart to have renounced sin, and in like manner the priest, by his deed and word with regard to the penitent, signifies the work of God Who forgives his sins.

Eucharist the priest perfects the sacrament by merely pronouncing the words over the matter, so the mere words which the priest while absolving pronounces over the penitent perfect the sacrament of absolution.

I mean, why take his word for it that he caught your father abusing you?

As he said the last words my converter rose, and went to the window to dry his tears, I felt deeply moved, anal full of admiration for the virtue of De la Haye and of his pupil, who, to save his soul, had placed himself under the hard necessity of accepting alms.

SECURITY Security that relies on knowing where desired information is, and using a word or name to gain access to that information or computer system.

Pasgen would read in her words how much her arms ached to curve around a small, warm body, to hold a child that wriggled and laughed and cuddled against her for comfort.

The English, despite the fact that they are in the doctrine of faith alone, nevertheless in the exhortation to the Holy Communion openly teach self-examination, acknowledgment, confession of sins, penitence and renewal of life, and warn those who do not do these things with the words that otherwise the devil will enter into them as he did into Judas, fill them with all iniquity, and destroy both body and soul.

These words are read out by the priest in a deep voice to all who are about to observe the Holy Supper, and are listened to by them in full acknowledgment that they are true.

There are three essentials of the church: acknowledgment of the divine of the Lord, acknowledgment of the holiness of the Word, and the life which is called charity.

Malipiero would often inquire from me what advantages were accruing to me from the welcome I received at the hands of the respectable ladies I had become acquainted with at his house, taking care to tell me, before I could have time to answer, that they were all endowed with the greatest virtue, and that I would give everybody a bad opinion of myself, if I ever breathed one word of disparagement to the high reputation they all enjoyed.

Noble grief there is in him, and noble melancholy can come upon him, but acquiescence is his last word.