Idioms for like
Origin of like
1usage note for like
Like1 as a conjunction meaning “as, in the same way as” (
Many shoppers study the food ads like brokers study market reports ) or “as if” (
It looks like it will rain ) has been used for nearly 500 years and by many distinguished literary and intellectual figures. Since the mid-19th century there have been objections, often vehement, to these uses. Nevertheless, such uses are almost universal today in all but the most formal speech and writing. In extremely careful speech and in much formal writing,
as, as if, and
as though are more commonly used than
like :
The commanding general accepted full responsibility for the incident, as any professional soldier would. Many of the Greenwich Village bohemians lived as if (or
as though )
there were no tomorrow.
The strong strictures against the use of like as a conjunction have resulted in the occasional hypercorrect use of as as a preposition where like is idiomatic: She looks as a sympathetic person.
Like meaning “as if” is also standard in informal speech and writing with a small number of adjectives: The crew worked like crazy (or like mad ) to finish the job on time. See also as.
The strong strictures against the use of like as a conjunction have resulted in the occasional hypercorrect use of as as a preposition where like is idiomatic: She looks as a sympathetic person.
Like meaning “as if” is also standard in informal speech and writing with a small number of adjectives: The crew worked like crazy (or like mad ) to finish the job on time. See also as.
OTHER WORDS FROM like
lik·er, nounWords nearby like
Definition for like (2 of 3)
Origin of like
2
before 900; Middle English
liken, Old English
līcian; cognate with Dutch
lijken, Old Norse
līka; see
like1
Definition for like (3 of 3)
-like
a suffixal use of like1 in the formation of adjectives (childlike; lifelike), sometimes hyphenated.
British Dictionary definitions for like (1 of 3)
Word Origin for like
shortened from Old English
gelīc; compare Old Norse
glīkr and
līkr like
usage for like
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)
British Dictionary definitions for like (2 of 3)
like
2
/ (laɪk) /
verb
noun
(usually plural)
a favourable feeling, desire, preference, etc (esp in the phrase likes and dislikes)
Word Origin for like
Old English
līcian; related to Old Norse
līka, Dutch
lijken
British Dictionary definitions for like (3 of 3)
-like
suffix forming adjectives
resembling or similar to
lifelike; springlike
having the characteristics of
childlike; ladylike
Word Origin for -like
from
like
1 (prep)
Idioms and Phrases with like
like