word-vault
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A lightweight JavaScript package for English word definitions and collections.
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{
"term": "define",
"partOfSpeech": "verb",
"academic": true,
"ox3000": true,
"cefr": "b1",
"verbForms": {
"presentSimple": {
"iYouWeThey": "define",
"heSheIt": "defines"
},
"pastSimple": "defined",
"pastParticiple": "defined",
"ingForm": "defining"
},
"definitions": [
{
"senseNumber": 1,
"definition": "to say or explain what the meaning of a word or phrase is",
"sensetop": "define somethingdefine something as something",
"cefr": "b1",
"ox3000": true,
"examples": [
{
"text": "The term ‘normal’ is difficult to define.",
"contextForm": "define something"
},
{
"text": "Life imprisonment is defined as 60 years under state law.",
"contextForm": "define something as something"
},
{
"text": "Thread count is defined as the number of threads in one square inch of fabric."
},
{
"text": "Marriage is defined broadly enough in everyday English to cover same-sex marriages as well as the different-sex kind."
},
{
"text": "A ghost story may be broadly defined as a story concerned with the power of the dead to return and confront the living."
}
],
"collocations": {
"adverb": ["accurately", "carefully", "correctly"],
"verb + define": ["be difficult to", "be impossible to", "be easy to"],
"preposition": ["as", "by", "in terms of"]
}
},
{
"senseNumber": 2,
"definition": "to describe or show the nature or range of somebody/something",
"sensetop": "define somethingdefine what, how, etc…define yourself (as something)",
"cefr": "b2",
"ox3000": true,
"examples": [
{
"text": "The goals of the project are **clearly defined**.",
"contextForm": "define something"
},
{
"text": "At that time women's roles were quite **narrowly defined**."
},
{
"text": "to be **broadly/loosely defined**"
},
{
"text": "The difficulty of a problem was **defined in terms of** how long it took to complete."
},
{
"text": "It is difficult to define what makes him so popular.",
"contextForm": "define what, how, etc…"
},
{
"text": "He defines himself as an independent.",
"contextForm": "define yourself (as something)"
},
{
"text": "We have never defined ourselves in our own right."
},
{
"text": "Social values are not easy to define."
},
{
"text": "The characters and story are well defined."
},
{
"text": "The northern boundary of the US was defined through negotiation with Great Britain."
},
{
"text": "We have chosen to define the scope of our study quite broadly."
},
{
"text": "There may be problems if responsibilities are not adequately defined."
},
{
"text": "This type of lymphoma is defined by the presence of specific malignant cells."
},
{
"text": "the culturally defined role of women"
},
{
"text": "The horizontal and vertical angles of view define the limits of what is seen in the painting."
},
{
"text": "The Institute defines itself as the agency supporting basic biomedical research."
}
],
"collocations": {
"adverb": ["accurately", "carefully", "correctly"],
"verb + define": ["be difficult to", "be impossible to", "be easy to"],
"preposition": ["as", "by", "in terms of"]
}
},
{
"senseNumber": 3,
"definition": "to make or establish the essential character or somebody/something",
"sensetop": "define somebody/somethingdefine yourself",
"examples": [
{
"text": "For some, the football club defines their identity.",
"contextForm": "define somebody/something"
},
{
"text": "to define the nature/character of somebody/something"
},
{
"text": "The novel told the story of a preacher-poet, who defines himself through his art.",
"contextForm": "define yourself"
}
]
},
{
"senseNumber": 4,
"definition": "to show clearly a line, shape or edge",
"sensetop": "define something",
"examples": [
{
"text": "The mountain was **sharply defined** against the sky."
}
]
}
],
"pronunciations": {
"uk": [
{
"pronunciation": "/dɪˈfaɪn/",
"audio": "de/define/define__gb_2.mp3"
},
{
"pronunciation": "/dɪˈfaɪnz/",
"audio": "de/define/defines__gb_1.mp3"
},
{
"pronunciation": "/dɪˈfaɪnd/",
"audio": "de/define/defined__gb_1.mp3"
},
{
"pronunciation": "/dɪˈfaɪnɪŋ/",
"audio": "de/define/defining__gb_2.mp3"
}
],
"us": [
{
"pronunciation": "/dɪˈfaɪn/",
"audio": "de/define/define__us_2.mp3"
},
{
"pronunciation": "/dɪˈfaɪnz/",
"audio": "de/define/defines__us_1.mp3"
},
{
"pronunciation": "/dɪˈfaɪnd/",
"audio": "de/define/defined__us_1.mp3"
},
{
"pronunciation": "/dɪˈfaɪnɪŋ/",
"audio": "de/define/defining__us_2.mp3"
}
]
},
"wordOrigin": "late Middle English (also in the sense ‘bring to an end)’: from Old French definer, from a variant of Latin definire, from de- (expressing completion) + finire ‘finish’ (from finis ‘end’)."
}