like 1 (l?k)v. liked, lik·ing, likes v.tr.1. To find pleasant or attractive; enjoy: Do you like ice cream? I like your style.2. a. To want to have: I would like some coffee.b. To prefer: How would you like your coffee?with sugar or without?3. To feel about; regard: How do you like these new theater seats?4. To believe or predict that (a certain competitor) will win a contest: Which team do you like in tonight’s game?5. To perform well under (a given condition) or using (a given feature): This car does not like cold weather. The engine does not like enriched fuel.6. Archaic To be pleasing to.v.intr.1. To have an inclination or a preference: If you like, we can meet you there.2. Scots To be pleased.n. Something that is liked; a preference: made a list of his likes and dislikes.Idiom: like it or not No matter how one might feel: Like it or not, we have to get up early tomorrow.[Middle English liken, from Old English l?cian, to please; see l?k- in Indo-European roots.]like 2 (l?k)prep.1. Possessing the characteristics of; resembling closely; similar to: Your house is like mine.2. a. In the typical manner of: It’s not like you to take offense.b. In the same way as: lived like royalty.3. Inclined or disposed to: felt like running away.4. As if the probability exists for: looks like a bad year for farmers.5. Such as; for example: saved things like old newspapers and pieces of string.adj. Possessing the same or almost the same characteristics; similar: on this and like occasions.adv.1. In the manner of being; as if. Used as an intensifier of action: worked like hell; ran like crazy.2. Informal Probably; likely: Like as not she’ll change her mind.3. Nearly; approximately: The price is more like 1,000 dollars.4. Nonstandard Used to provide emphasis or to focus attention on something: Let’s like talk about this for a minute. It’s like so crowded you can’t move.n.1. One similar to or like another. Used with the: was subject to coughs, asthma, and the like.2. often likes Informal An equivalent or similar person or thing; an equal or match: I’ve never seen the likes of this before. We’ll never see his like again.conj. Usage Problem 1. In the same way that; as: To dance like she does requires great discipline.2. As if: It looks like we’ll finish on time.Idioms: be like Informal To say or utter. Used chiefly in oral narration: And he’s like, “Leave me alone!” like so In the manner indicated: You apply the paint like so.[Middle English, from like, similar (from Old English gel?c Old Norse l?kr) and from like, similarly (from Old English gel?ce, from gel?c, similar); see l?k- in Indo-European roots.]Usage Note: They don’t make them like they used to. I remember it like it was yesterday. As these familiar examples show, like is often used as a conjunction meaning “as” or “as if,” particularly in speech. While writers since Chaucer’s time have used like as a conjunction, the usage today has a somewhat informal or conversational flavor. Language critics and writing handbooks have condemned the conjunctive use of like for more than a century, and in accordance with this tradition, like is usually edited out of more formal prose. This is easy enough to do, since as and as if stand as synonyms: Sales of new models rose as (not like) we expected them to. He ran as if (not like) his life depended on it. · Like is acceptable at all levels as a conjunction when used with verbs such as feel, look, seem, sound, and taste: It looks like we are in for a rough winter. Constructions in which the verb is not expressed, such as He took to politics like a duck to water, are also acceptable, especially since in these cases like can be viewed as a preposition. See Usage Notes at as1, together.Our Living Language Along with be all and go, the construction combining be and like has become a common way of introducing quotations in informal conversation, especially among younger people: “So I’m like, ‘Let’s get out of here!'” As with go, this use of like can also announce a brief imitation of another person’s behavior, often elaborated with facial expressions and gestures. It can also summarize a past attitude or reaction (instead of presenting direct speech). If a woman says “I’m like, ‘Get lost buddy!'” she may or may not have used those actual words to tell the offending man off. In fact, she may not have said anything to him but instead may be summarizing her attitude at the time by stating what she might have said, had she chosen to speak. See Note at go1like 3 (l?k) also liked (l?kt)aux.v. Chiefly Southern US Used with a past infinitive or with to and a simple past form to indicate being just on the point of or coming near to having done something in the past: “I like to a split a gut laughin’.” “It seemed as how nobody had thought about measurin’ the width of the bridge’s openin’, and we like to didn’t make it through” (Dictionary of American Regional English).[Middle English liken, to compare, from like, similar; see like2.]Our Living Language In certain Southern varieties of American English there are two grammatically distinct usages of the word like to mean “was on the verge of.” In both, either like or liked is possible. In the first, the word is followed by a past infinitive: We like (or liked) to have drowned. The ancestor of this construction was probably the adjective like in the sense “likely, on the verge of,” as in She’s like to get married again. The adjective was reinterpreted by some speakers as a verb, and since like to and liked to are indistinguishable in normal speech, the past tense came to be marked on the following infinitive for clarity. From this developed a second way of expressing the same concept: the use of like to with a following finite past tense verb form, as in I like to died when I saw that. This construction appears odd at first because it ostensibly contains an ungrammatical infinitive, to died, but that is not the case at all. What has happened is that like to here has been reinterpreted as an adverb meaning almost. In fact, it is quite common to see the phrase spelled as a single word, in the pronunciation spelling liketa.American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.like (la?k) adj (prenominal) similar; resemblingprep1. similar to; similarly to; in the manner of: acting like a maniac; he’s so like his father. 2. used correlatively to express similarity in certain proverbs: like mother, like daughter. 3. such as: there are lots of ways you might amuse yourself ? like taking a long walk, for instance. adv4. a dialect word for likely5. not standard as it were: often used as a parenthetic filler: there was this policeman just staring at us, like. 6. be like ? informal used to introduce direct speech or nonverbal communication: I was like, ?You’re kidding!?. conj7. not standard as though; as if: you look like you’ve just seen a ghost. 8. in the same way as; in the same way that: she doesn’t dance like you do. n9. the equal or counterpart of a person or thing, esp one respected or prized: compare like with like; her like will never be seen again. 10. the like similar things: dogs, foxes, and the like. 11. the likes of the like of people or things similar to (someone or something specified): we don’t want the likes of you around here. [shortened from Old English gel?c; compare Old Norse gl?kr and l?kr like]Usage: The use of like to mean such as was formerly thought to be undesirable in formal writing, but has now become acceptable. It was also thought that as rather than like should be used to mean in the same way that, but now both as and like are acceptable: they hunt and catch fish as/like their ancestors used to. The use of look like and seem like before a clause, although very common, is thought by many people to be incorrect or non-standard: it looks as though he won’t come (not it looks like he won’t come)like (la?k) vb1. (tr) to find (something) enjoyable or agreeable or find it enjoyable or agreeable (to do something): he likes boxing; he likes to hear music. 2. (tr) to be fond of3. (tr) to prefer or wish (to do something): we would like you to go. 4. (tr) to feel towards; consider; regard: how did she like it?. 5. (intr) to feel disposed or inclined; choose; wish6. (tr) archaic to please; agree with: it likes me not to go. n (usually plural) a favourable feeling, desire, preference, etc (esp in the phrase likes and dislikes)[Old English l?cian; related to Old Norse l?ka, Dutch lijken]Collins English Dictionary ? Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014like1 (la?k) adj. (Poetic) lik?er, lik?est, prep., adv., conj., n., interj. adj. 1. of the same form, appearance, kind, character, amount, etc.: I cannot remember a like instance. 2. corresponding or agreeing in general or in some noticeable respect; similar; analogous: drawing, painting, and like arts. 3. bearing resemblance. 4. Dial. likely. prep. 5. similarly to; in the manner characteristic of: She works like a beaver. 6. resembling; similar to: Your necklace is like mine. 7. characteristic of: It would be like him to forget our appointment. 8. as if there is promise of; indicative of: It looks like rain. 9. disposed or inclined to (usu. prec. by feel): to feel like going to bed. 10. (used correlatively to indicate similarity through relationship): like father, like son. 11. (used to establish an intensifying, often facetious, comparison): ran like hell; sleeps like a log. adv. 12. nearly; approximately: The house is more like 40 years old. 13. likely or probably: Like enough he’ll come with us. conj. 14. in the same way as; just as; as: It happened like you said it would. 15. as if: He acted like he was afraid. 16. Informal. (used esp. after forms ofbeto introduce reported speech or thought): She’s like, “I don’t believe it,” and I’m like, “No, it’s true!” n. 17. a similar or comparable person or thing, or persons or things; counterpart, match, or equal (usu. prec. by a possessive adjective or the): No one has seen her like in a long time. 18. kind; sort (usu. prec. by a possessive adjective): I despise toadies and their like. 19. the like, something of a similar nature: They grow oranges, lemons, and the like. interj. 20. Informal. (used preceding a WH-word, an answer to a question, or other information in a sentence on which the speaker wishes to focus attention): Like, why didn’t you write to me? The music was, like, really great. Idioms: 1. like to or liked to, Nonstandard. was on the verge of or came close to (doing something): The poor kid like to froze. 2. the like or likes of, the equal of. [1150?1200; Middle English lic, lik If you like someone or something, you find them pleasant or attractive.Be Careful!Don’t use a progressive form of like. Don’t say, for example, ‘I am liking peanuts’. Say ‘I like peanuts’.You can use like in front of an -ing form to say that you enjoy an activity.You can add very much to emphasize how much you like someone or something, or how much you enjoy an activity.Be Careful!You must put very much after the object, not after like. Don’t say, for example, ‘I like very much swimming’.If someone asks you if you like something, you can say ‘Yes, I do.’ Don’t say ‘Yes, I like.’Be Careful!Don’t use ‘like’ immediately in front of a clause beginning with ‘when’ or ‘if’. For example, don’t say ‘I like when I can go home early’. Say ‘I like it when I can go home early’.You say ‘Would you like…?’ when you are offering something to someone.Be Careful!Don’t say ‘Do you like some coffee?’You say ‘Would you like…’ followed by a to-infinitive when you are inviting someone to do something.Be Careful!Don’t use an -ing form after ‘Would you like…’. Don’t say, for example, ‘Would you like meeting him?’You can say ‘I’d like…’ when asking for something in a shop or café.You say ‘I’d like you to…’ when you are telling someone to do something in a fairly polite way.You can use like, as, or the way as conjunctions when you are comparing one person’s behaviour or appearance to another’s. In the clause which follows the conjunction, the verb is usually do.For example, you can say ‘He walked to work every day, like his father had done’, ‘He walked to work every day, as his father had done’, or ‘He walked to work every day, the way his father had done’.Like and as can be prepositions, but their meaning is not usually the same. For example, if you do something like a particular kind of person, you do it the way that kind of person would do it, although you are not that kind of person.If you do something as a particular kind of person, you are that kind of person.The verbs and expressions in the following list are all used to indicate how much someone likes or dislikes something. They are arranged from ‘like most’ to ‘dislike most’: