be like

See also: belike

English

Pronunciation

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Verb

be like (third-person singular simple present is like, present participle being like, simple past was like, past participle been like)

1. (with a noun)
   1. To be similar to (something).

      They are like their parents in this respect.

      • 1921, Ben Travers, chapter 1, in A Cuckoo in the Nest, Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, Page & Company, published 1925, →OCLC:

        She was like a Beardsley Salome, he had said. And indeed she had the narrow eyes and the high cheekbone of that creature, and as nearly the sinuosity as is compatible with human symmetry. His wooing had been brief but incisive.

   2. To be typical or characteristic of (someone or something).
      • 1903 October 10, E. P. B., “The Children’s Column. The Sermon on the Mount. II.—The Beatitudes. Matthew v. 3–10.”, in The Inquirer: A Weekly Journal of Liberal Religious Thought and Life, volume LXII, number 3198 (302 of new series), London, page 671, column 2:

        In these great sayings Jesus shows what people are like when God is King in their hearts, and in their lives.

2. (with a clause)
   1. (informal, idiomatic, chiefly US, MLE and Internet slang) To say.

      Synonyms: be all, be all like

      If he’s like “I don’t want to”, then be like “Pretty please! – It means a lot to me”.

      • 1995, Amy Heckerling, Clueless, spoken by Dionne (Stacey Dash):

        This weekend he called me up and he’s all “Where were you today?” and I’m like “I’m at my Grandmother’s house” […]

      • 2012, Mike Lacher, On the Bro’d: A Parody of Jack Kerouac’s On the Road, page 71:

        A lotta times I grabbed bags of frozen chicken nuggets to take home. “You know what they say,” Ricky would be like. “Dude’s gotta have nugs.”

   2. To be as though.
      • 2009, Heaven Crawley, quoting Hassan, “Between a rock and a hard place: negotiating age and identity in the UK asylum system”, in Nigel Thomas, editor, Children, Politics and Communication: Participation at the Margins, Bristol: The Policy Press, →ISBN, page 98:

        When they were deciding my age in that place it was like they are going to buy you.

      • 2011, Judith G. Yates Shearer, “This County Named Christian”, in All Bones Be White, Lanham, Md.: Hamilton Books, →ISBN, page 52:

        Cassy, don’t be like you don’t understand.

      • 2016, Petina Gappah, “The News of Her Death”, in Rotten Row, London: Faber & Faber, →ISBN, section “Capital”, page 44:

        Imi, it was like she was going to a wedding, she even had makeup on, and a black hat.

      • 2017, D. E. Lee, “Jimmy Nails”, in The Sky After Rain, Omaha, Neb.: Brighthorse Books, →ISBN, page 226:

        “People bet on you. Whether you win or lose. How many rounds. Anything. You’re good for the economy. Don’t be like you don’t know.” / […] Yeah, he knew. Maybe he didn’t care.

Usage notes

• The use of “be like” to mean “say” is considered by many to be overly informal, and normally only occurs in spoken English.
• The words after the “be like” may not actually be what was said, but instead a summary of what was said. Similarly, unlike “say”, “be like” may be impersonal, e.g. ‘She was really insistent. It was like “I really need that right now!”’ Speakers who most often use “be like” may use “say” to emphasize that the words are a direct quotation, e.g. if the specific wording is relevant.
• The words after the “be like” may not actually be spoken, but instead be intended to represent a mood in which that thing might be said.
• Like can now also be used without be, as in “She walked in like ‘we’re through!’”; see the entry like.

Translations

be similar to something

• Dutch: gelijk zijn
• Hungarian: olyan, mint
• Korean: (와) 비슷하다 ((-wa) biseuthada), 닮다 (damda)

be typical or characteristic of

• Hungarian: rávall (hu), jellemző (hu), tipikus (hu)

tell — see tell

See also

• this is someone

Anagrams

• Beilke