like
/laɪ̯k/ verb, noun, adjective, adverb, conjunction, preposition, particle, proper noun
Forms likes liking liked likest likedst liketh liker lak
- verb To enjoy, be pleased by; favor; be in favor of. “I like reading books.”
- verb (transitive, archaic) To please (same meaning as above but with subject and object reversed).
- verb (obsolete) To derive pleasure [with of or by or with ‘from someone or something’].
- verb To prefer and maintain (an action) as a regular habit or activity. “I like to go to the dentist every six months.”
- verb To find attractive; to prefer the company of; to have mild romantic feelings for. “I really like Sandra but don't know how to tell her.”
- verb (with ‘would’ and in certain other phrases) To want, desire. See also would like. “Would you like a cigarette?”
- verb (Internet, social media, transitive) To show support for, or approval of, something posted on the Internet by marking it with a vote. “I liked my friend's last status on Facebook.”
- verb (informal, personification) To be prone to. “Too bad this cheese likes to stick to the pan and ruin the whole meal.”
- noun (chiefly in the plural) Something that a person likes (prefers). “Tell me your likes and dislikes.”
- noun (Internet) An individual vote showing support for, approval of, or enjoyment of, something posted on the Internet.
- adjective Similar. “My partner and I have like minds.”
- adjective (Scotland, Southern US, otherwise archaic) Likely; probable.
- adjective (Scotland, Southern US, otherwise archaic; usually with to) inclined (to), prone (to). “He seems like to run from any semblance of hard work.”
- adverb (colloquial, obsolete outside dialects) Likely.
- adverb (archaic or rare) In a like or similar manner.
- noun (sometimes as the likes of) Someone similar to a given person, or something similar to a given object; a comparative; a type; a sort. “There were bowls full of sweets, chocolates and the like.”
- noun (golf) The stroke that equalizes the number of strokes played by the opposing player or side. “to play the like”
- conjunction (colloquial) As, the way.
- conjunction (usually colloquial) As if; as though. “It looks like you've finished the project.”
- conjunction (usually colloquial) Such as. “Why don’t we do something useful like clean the kitchen?”
Synonyms
fancy enjoy love favorite preference ilk for example such as as I mean you know around about well be all go the like the likes of wish care similar same alike comparable corresponding
Antonyms
dislike hate mislike disapprove unlike pet hate pet peeve antithesis opposite
Etymology
Verb from Middle English liken, from Old English līcian (“to like, to please”), from Proto-West Germanic *līkēn, from Proto-Germanic *līkāną, from Proto-Indo-European *leyg- (“image; likeness; similarity”).
Cognate with Saterland Frisian liekje (“to be similar, resemble”), West Frisian lykje (“to seem, appear, look”), Dutch lijken (“to seem”), Low German lieken (“to be like; resemble”), German gleichen (“to resemble”), Swedish lika (“to like; put up with; align with”), Norwegian like (“to like”), Icelandic and Faroese líka (“to like”).
Noun from Middle English like (“pleasure, will, like”), from the verb Middle English liken (“to like”).
Adjective from Middle English lik, lyk, lich, like, from Old English ġelīċ by shortening, influenced by Old Norse líkr, glíkr; both from Proto-Germanic *galīkaz (“like, similar, same”). Related to alike; more distantly, with lich and -ly. Cognate with West Frisian like (“like; as”), Saterland Frisian gliek (“like”), Danish lig (“alike”), Dutch gelijk (“like, alike”), German gleich (“equal, like”), Icelandic líkur (“alike, like, similar”), Norwegian lik (“like, alike”) Swedish lik (“like, similar”)
Adverb from Middle English like, lyke, liche, lyche, from Old English ġelīċe (“likewise, also, as, in like manner, similarly”) and Old Norse líka (“also, likewise”); both from Proto-Germanic *galīkê, from Proto-Germanic *galīkaz (“same, like, similar”).
Conjunction from Middle English like, lyke, lik, lyk, from the adverb Middle English like.
Preposition from Middle English like, lyke, liche, lyche, lijc, liih (“similar to, like, equal to, comparable with”), from Middle English like (adjective) and like (adverb).
From like (adverb) and like (adjective).
From the Dutch surname, probably a variant of Luik, a city in Belgium.
Webster’s 1913
- adjective Having the same, or nearly the same, appearance, qualities, or characteristics; resembling; similar to; similar; alike; --often with in and the particulars of the resemblance; as, they are like each other in features, complexion, and many traits of character.
- adjective Equal, or nearly equal; as, fields of like extent.
- noun That which is equal or similar to another; the counterpart; an exact resemblance; a copy.
- noun A liking; a preference; inclination; --usually in pl.; as, we all have likes and dislikes.
Etymology [OE. lik, ilik, gelic, AS. gelic, fr. pref. ge- + lic body, and orig. meaning, having the same body, shape, or appearance, and hence, like; akin to OS. gilik, D. gelijk, G. gleich, OHG. gilih, Icel. likr, glikr, Dan. lig, Sw. lik, Goth. galeiks, OS. lik body, D. lijk, G. leiche, Icel. lik, Sw. lik, Goth. leik. The English adverbial ending-ly is from the same adjective. Cf. Each, Such, Which.]
Etymology [AS. gelice. See Like, a.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “like”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details