Klryz
Pronunciation guide: IPA symbols, stress and word endings

Vowels

iːseeɪsite / ɛbedæcat
ɑːfatherɒhot (UK)ɔːlawʊput
uːtooʌcupɜːbirdəabout
eɪdayaɪmyɔɪboyaʊnow
əʊ / oʊgo (UK / US)ɪəneareəhairʊətour

Consonants that look unusual

θthinðthisʃsheʒmeasure
tʃchurchdʒjudgeŋsingjyes

p b t d k g f v s z h m n l r w sound as in ordinary English spelling.

Marks

  • ˈ main stress, before the stressed syllable: /ˈwɔːtə/ water · ˌ lighter (secondary) stress: /ˌʌndəˈstænd/ understand
  • ː a long vowel · (r) an r said only in accents that pronounce it (most American, Scottish, Irish)

Common word endings

  • -s / -es (plurals; he/she form of verbs): /s/ after voiceless sounds (cats), /z/ after voiced (dogs), /ɪz/ after s, z, sh, ch, j sounds (buses, watches). Spelling: -es after s, x, z, ch, sh; consonant + y → -ies (city → cities).
  • -ed (past): /t/ after voiceless sounds (walked), /d/ after voiced (played), /ɪd/ after t or d (wanted). Spelling: love → loved, stop → stopped, carry → carried.
  • -ing: make → making, run → running, see → seeing.
  • Irregular: go, went, gone · be, was, been · see, saw, seen · man → men · child → children · mouse → mice.
  • Older (King James) forms: -eth = -s (he loveth = he loves) · -est with “thou” (thou lovest) · spake = spoke.

English Dictionary · 107,383 entries · Sources & licences

define

/dɪˈfaɪn/ verb, noun

Forms defines defining defined

  1. verb To determine with precision; to mark out with distinctness; to ascertain or exhibit clearly. “the defining power of an optical instrument”
  2. verb (obsolete) To settle, decide (an argument etc.).
  3. verb To express the essential nature of something. “I define myself as a techno-anarchist.”
  4. verb To state the meaning of a word, phrase, sign, or symbol. “The textbook defined speed as velocity divided by time.”
  5. verb To describe, explain, or make definite and clear; used to request the listener or other person to elaborate or explain more clearly his or her intended meaning of a word or expression. “Person 1: Is she good at math? Person 2: Define "good." If you mean if she is faster than the average middle schooler at multiplication, then yes. If you mean if she is able to do multivariable calculus, then no.”
  6. verb To demark sharply the outlines or limits of an area or concept. “to define the legal boundaries of a property”
  7. verb (mathematics) To establish the referent of a term or notation.
  8. noun (programming) A kind of macro in source code that replaces one text string with another wherever it occurs.

Synonyms

specify delineate delimit delimitate set determine fix limit

Etymology

From Middle English definen, from Old French definer, variant of definir, from Latin dēfīniō (“limit, settle, define”), from dē + fīniō (“set a limit, bound, end”).

Webster’s 1913

  1. verb To fix the bounds of; to bring to a termination; to end. "To define controversies." Barrow.
  2. verb To determine or clearly exhibit the boundaries of; to mark the limits of; as, to define the extent of a kingdom or country.
  3. verb To determine; to decide. [Obs.]

Etymology [OE. definer, usually, to end, to finish, F. définir to define, L. definire to limit, define; de- + finire to limit, end, finis boundary, limit, end. See Final, Finish.]

Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “define”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details

Sanskrit

Sanskrit dictionary entries whose meaning includes “define” (best matches first).