like

Definition from Wiktionary, a free dictionary

Wikipedia

Contents 1 English 1.1 Pronunciation 1.2 Etymology 1 1.2.1 Verb 1.2.1.1 Usage notes 1.2.1.2 Synonyms 1.2.1.3 Antonyms 1.2.1.4 Derived terms 1.2.1.5 Translations 1.2.2 Noun 1.2.2.1 Synonyms 1.2.2.2 Antonyms 1.2.2.3 Derived terms 1.2.2.4 Translations 1.3 Etymology 2 1.3.1 Adjective 1.3.1.1 Related terms 1.3.1.2 Translations 1.3.2 Adverb 1.3.2.1 Usage notes 1.3.2.2 Synonyms 1.3.3 Noun 1.3.3.1 Synonyms 1.3.3.2 Antonyms 1.3.3.3 Translations 1.3.4 Conjunction 1.3.4.1 Derived terms 1.3.5 Preposition 1.3.5.1 Antonyms 1.3.5.2 Translations 1.3.6 Particle 1.3.6.1 Synonyms 1.3.6.2 Usage notes 1.3.6.3 Translations 1.3.7 Interjection 1.3.7.1 References 2 Mandarin 2.1 Pronunciation 2.2 Adverb 2.3 See also 3 Norwegian 3.1 Verb 4 Scots 4.1 Verb 4.2 Adverb 4.3 Interjection 5 Swedish 5.1 Noun

[edit] English

[edit] Pronunciation

• enPR: līk, IPA: /laɪk/, SAMPA: /laIk/
•  Audio (US)^{help, file}

  Rhymes: -aɪk

[edit] Etymology 1

From Old English līcian.

[edit] Verb

to like (third-person singular simple present likes, present participle liking, simple past and past participle liked)

1. (transitive, archaic) To please.
   • 1485, Sir Thomas Malory, Le Morte Darthur, Book IV:

     And yf hit lyke yow I wille speke with hem by cause I am a knyghte of kynge Arthurs [...].

   • 1608, William Shakespeare, King Lear:

     His countenance likes me not.

2. To enjoy, be pleased by; favor; be in favor of.
   • 1865, Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, chapter 10:

     “I can tell you more than that, if you like,” said the Gryphon. “Do you know why it’s called a whiting?”

   I like hamburgers.

   I like skiing in winter.

   I like the Milwaukee Braves this season.

3. To prefer and maintain (an action) as a regular habit or activity.

   I like to go to the dentist every six months.

   She likes to keep herself physically fit.

   We like to keep one around the office just in case.

4. To find attractive; to prefer the company of; to have mild romantic feelings for.

   I really like Sandra but don't know how to tell her.

[edit] Usage notes

• In its senses of “enjoy” and “maintain as a regular habit”, like is a catenative verb; in the former, it usually takes a gerund (-ing form), while in the latter, it takes a to-infinitive. See also Appendix:English catenative verbs.
• Like is only used to mean “want” in certain expressions, such as “if you like” and “I would like”. The conditional form, would like, is used quite freely as a polite synonym for want.

[edit] Synonyms

• (find attractive): fancy (British)

[edit] Antonyms

• dislike, hate

[edit] Derived terms

• dislike
• likable
• like like
• would like

[edit] Translations

[edit] Noun

like (plural likes)

1. (usually plural) Something that a person likes (prefers).

   Tell me your likes and dislikes.

[edit] Synonyms

• favorite (US), favourite (UK), preference

[edit] Antonyms

• dislike, pet hate, pet peeve

[edit] Derived terms

• like-for-like

[edit] Translations

[edit] Etymology 2

From Middle English, from Old English ġelīċ by shortening, influenced by Old Norse líkr. Cognate with līc (“‘body", "corpse’”).

[edit] Adjective

like (comparative liker, superlative likest)

1. similar

   May partner and I have like minds.

   • 1843, Thomas Carlyle, Past and Present, book 2, ch. 3, Landlord Edmund

     ... and this is not a sky, it is a Soul and living Face! Nothing liker the Temple of the Highest, bright with some real effulgence of the Highest, is seen in this world.

[edit] Related terms

• alike

[edit] Translations

[edit] Adverb

like (comparative more like, superlative most like)

1. (informal) for example, such as: to introduce an example or list of examples

   There are lots of birds like ducks and gulls in this park.

[edit] Usage notes

In formal writing, such as is preferred over like.

[edit] Synonyms

• for example
• (formal) such as

[edit] Noun

like (plural likes)

1. (sometimes as the likes of) Someone similar to a given person, or something similar to a given object; a comparative; a type; a sort.

   We shall never see his like again. — Winston Churchill on T.E. Lawrence

   There were bowls full of sweets, chocolates and the like.

   It was something the likes of which I had never seen before.

[edit] Synonyms

• ilk

[edit] Antonyms

• antithesis, opposite

[edit] Translations

[edit] Conjunction

like

1. As if; as though.

   It looks like you've finished the project.

   It seemed like you didn't care.

[edit] Derived terms

• feel like, look like, seem like, sound like

[edit] Preposition

like

1. Somewhat similar to, reminiscent of.

   These hamburgers taste like leather.

[edit] Antonyms

• unlike

[edit] Translations

[edit] Particle

like

Wikipedia

1. (colloquial, obsolete) A delayed filler.

   He was so angry, like.

2. (colloquial) A mild intensifier.

   She was, like, sooooo happy.

3. (colloquial) indicating approximation or uncertainty

   There were, like, twenty of them.

   And then he, like, got all angry and left the room.

4. (colloquial, slang) When preceded by any form of the verb to be, used to mean “to say”; used to precede an approximate quotation or paraphrase.

   I was like, “Why did you do that?” and he's like, “I don't know.”

[edit] Synonyms

• (colloquial: used to precede paraphrased quotations): be all, go

[edit] Usage notes

The use as a quotative is deliberately informal and commonly used by young people, and often combined with the use of the present tense as a narrative. Similar terms are to go and all, as in I go, “Why did you do that?” and he goes, “I don't know” and I was all, “Why did you do that?” and he was all, “I don't know.” These expressions can imply that the attributed remark which follows is representative rather than necessarily an exact quotation; however, in speech these structures do tend to require mimicking the original speakers inflection in a way said would not.

[edit] Translations

[edit] Interjection

like

1. (Liverpudlian) (Geordie) Used to place emphasis upon a statement.

   divint ye knaa, like?

[edit] References

• A Dictionary of North East Dialect, Bill Griffiths, 2005, Northumbria University Press, ISBN 1904794165

---

[edit] Mandarin

simpl. and trad.

立刻

[edit] Pronunciation

• IPA: [ li˥˩kʰə˥˩ ]

[edit] Adverb

like (Pinyin lìkè, traditional and simplified 立刻)

1. immediately, at once

[edit] See also

• (Min Nan) trad. 連鞭, simpl. 连鞭 (liâm-mi or liâm-piⁿ or liân-mi or liân-piⁿ)

---

[edit] Norwegian

[edit] Verb

like (present tense liker; past tense likte; past participle likt; present participle likende; imperative lik)

1. to like

---

[edit] Scots

[edit] Verb

tae like (third-person singular simple present likes, present participle likin, simple past likit, past participle likit)

1. To like.
2. To be hesitant to do something.

   I dinna like. - I'm not certain I would like to.

3. To love somebody or something.

[edit] Adverb

like (not comparable)

1. like

[edit] Interjection

like!

1. (South Scots) Used to place emphasis upon a statement.

   Oo jist saw it the now, like.

---

[edit] Swedish

[edit] Noun

Inflection for like	Singular		Plural
common	Indefinite	Definite	Indefinite	Definite
Base form	like	liken	likar	likarna
Possessive form	likes	likens	likars	likarnas

like c.

1. match (someone similarly skilful)

   Han hade mött sin like — He had met his match