like

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An example may be seen in the use of the word like -- not the like of Do like I do but the like that occurs in utterances like (like) man,

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Definitions (84)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (29)

  1. transitive verb To find pleasant or attractive; enjoy.
  2. transitive verb To want to have: would like some coffee.
  3. transitive verb To feel about; regard: How do you like her nerve!
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Toggle Century definitions Century Dictionary (39)

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Toggle WordNet definitions WordNet (11)

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Examples

  • An example may be seen in the use of the word like -- not the like of Do like I do but the like that occurs in utterances like (like) man, —  VERBATIM: The Language Quarterly Vol III No 4
  • The psychologist Paul Bloom, another advocate of the 'religion is a by-product' view, points out that children have a natural tendency towards a dualistic theory of mind. —  The God Delusion
  • There are a number of possible explanations for these disappointing results: The one-billionth of a gram of cells in human saliva that would have been deposited on a stamp or envelope flap did not survive the years; heat used to laminate the Ripper letters for conservation destroyed the nuclear DNA; suboptimal storage for a hundred years caused degradation and destruction of the DNA; or perhaps the adhesives were the culprit. —  Portrait of a Killer
  • "Criticism in the chapter on Howard Cosell and the like is another matter. —  VERBATIM: The Language Quarterly Vol III No 4
  • 'A lot of words, eh? 'he said. —  The Shadow of the Wind
 

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Like has been looked up 855 times, favorited 0 times, listed 44 times, and commented on 27 times.

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Roget's II Roget's II: The New Thesaurus

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similar ·  in ·  latter ·  moral ·  terrible ·  least
Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (11)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (3)

  1. Middle English liken, from Old English līcian, to please; see līk- in Indo-European roots.
  2. Middle English, from like, similar (from Old English gelīc and Old Norse līkr) and from like, similarly (from Old English gelīce, from gelīc, similar); see līk- in Indo-European roots.
  3. Middle English liken, to compare, from like, similar; see like2.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (8)

  1. from Middle English like, lyke, in southern use assibilated lich, liche, lyche, from Anglo-Saxon līc, the body (the living body, but also sometimes a dead body), = Old Saxon līk = OFries. līk = Dutch lijk = Middle Low German līk, līch, neuter, = Old High German līh, n., feminine, Middle High German līch, līche, feminine, German leiche, feminine, the body, a dead body, = Icelandic līk = Swedish lik = Danish lig, a dead body, = Gothic (Moesogothic) leik, the body, flesh. From this noun, besides the assibilated form lich, and the compounds likam and likewake, lichwake, lichgate, etc., are ult. derived like, a. and n., (prob.) like, v. and n., with their derivatives, and the suffixes -ly, -ly, as well as the terminations of each, every, such (Scots sic), thilk, which (whilk), etc.
  2. from Middle English like, lyke, lijk, lyk, also assibilated lich, liche, lyche; not, as stated in the dictionaries, from Anglo-Saxon *līc, like, there being no such Anglo-Saxon adjective, but, by apheresis, in later Middle English, from the earlier Middle English ilike, ilyke, ilyche, alike, alyke, alyche, etc., from Anglo-Saxon gelīc, etc., like (gelīca, n., one like), the numerous Middle English forms being merged in English alike: see alike, where the relation to like, Anglo-Saxon līc, body, is explained.
  3. from Middle English like, lyke, by apheresis for alike: see alike, adv., and cf. like, a.
  4. from like, adv.; being in part an abbreviation of like as.
  5. = Dutch lijken = Middle Low German liken = German gleichen = Gothic (Moesogothic) galeikon, liken, compare; from the adjective: see like, a. Cf. liken.
  6. from Middle English liken, lyken, from Anglo-Saxon līcian, līcan, please (= Old Saxon līkōn = OFries. līkia = Dutch lijken, suit, = Old High German līchēn, līchan, Middle High German līchen, be like, suit, please, = Icelandic līka, please, like, = Gothic (Moesogothic) leikan, also in comp. galeikan, please); prob. from līc, body, form: see like. The exact transition of sense is not clear; apparently ‘be the form’ (for a person—governing the dative), i. e. the form or thing desired. It is usually explained as directly from like, a., ‘to be like or suitable’ (for a person); but the adjective does not exist in the earliest tongues (Gothic (Moesogothic), Anglo-Saxon, and Old High German) except in the full form (Gothic (Moesogothic) galeiks, Anglo-Saxon gelīc, Old High German galīh), from which the verb without the prefix (Gothic (Moesogothic) leikan, Anglo-Saxon līcian) could hardly be derived, except by assuming an apheresis impossible at this early period.
  7. from like, v.
  8. from like, a., 3.
 

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/laɪk/
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