well

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The day had been radiantly calm; the sea seemed to be as still as the well, and the well was as still as a mirror.

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Definitions (143)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (45)

  1. noun A deep hole or shaft sunk into the earth to obtain water, oil, gas, or brine.
  2. noun A container or reservoir for a liquid, such as ink.
  3. noun A place where water issues from the earth; a spring or fountain.

Toggle Century definitions Century Dictionary (71)

Toggle GNU Webster definitions GNU Webster's 1913 (5)

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Examples (48)

  • After it dried up, the well was apparently used to dispose trash.
  • Radiocarbon dating has determined the well is at least 9,000 and possibly 10,500 years old.
  • He'd better be good at living the rest of his life on what he's made up to this point because the well is about to dry up. —  بالاترین
  • Some hours later when the well is almost full of dirt, everyone is amazed when the donkey steps from the top of the well and happily trots off —  Clipmarks | Live Clips
  • The solution for this which works rather well is the following: —  Electronic House Recently Filed
 

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Allen's Allen's Synonyms and Antonyms

Used in the same context Used in the Same Context

then ·  only ·  likely ·  least ·  wont ·  scarce ·  quick ·  fast ·  pretty ·  decent
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 (6)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (2)

  1. Middle English welle, from Old English; see wel-2 in Indo-European roots.
  2. Middle English wel, from Old English; see wel-1 in Indo-European roots.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (4)

  1. from Middle English wellen, from Anglo-Saxon wellan, wyllan, well or spring up (= Old High German wellōn, Middle High German G. wellen, well up, = Icelandic vella, make to boil), a secondary form, associated with the noun well, from the orig. strong verb Anglo-Saxon weallan (= OFries. walla = Old Saxon OHG.wallan = Icelandic vella = Swedish välla = Danish vælde), boil, well up: see wall, and cf. well, n. Cf. also weld.
  2. from Middle English wel (well-), also welle, wulle, wille, from Anglo-Saxon well, wyll, also wella, wylla, a well, spring (= Middle Dutch welle, Dutch wel = Old High German wella, Middle High German G. welle, a wave, billow, surge, = Icelandic vella, boiling, ebullition, = Danish væld (for *væll), a spring), from weallan, boil: see wall, and cf. wall, n., and well, v.
  3. Also English dial, wall; Scots weel, weil; from Middle English wel, weel, wal, wol, welle, wele, sometimes wela, from Anglo-Saxon wel, well = Old Saxon wel = OFries. wel, wal, wol = Dutch wel = Middle Low German wol, wal, wole, Low German wol = Old High German wela, wola, Middle High German wol, German wohl, wol = Icelandic vel (sometimes val)—Swedish väl = Danish vel = Gothic (Moesogothic) waila, well; orig. ‘as wished,’ ‘as desired.’ from the root of will; cf. Greek βέλτερος, better, Sanskrit vara, better, vara, a wish, Sanskritvar, choose. see will. Well has come to be used as the adverb of good.
  4. from well, adv., and in most uses still strictly an adverb
 

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/wɛl/
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