Idioms for so
Origin of so
1
before 900; Middle English; Old English
swā; cognate with Dutch
zoo, German
so, Gothic
swa
synonym study for so
10. See
therefore.
usage note for so
5. The intensive
so meaning “very or extremely” (
Everything's so expensive these days ) occurs chiefly in informal speech. In writing and formal speech, intensive
so is most often followed by a completing
that clause:
Everything is so expensive that some families must struggle just to survive.
19, 20. The conjunction so (often followed by that ) introduces clauses both of purpose ( We ordered our tickets early so that we could get good seats ) and of result ( The river had frozen during the night so people walked across it all the next day ). In formal speech and writing, so that is somewhat more common than so in clauses of purpose. Otherwise, either so or so that is standard.
Like and, but1 , and or, so can occur as a transitional word at the beginning of a sentence: So all our hard work finally brought results. See also as1, and, but1.
19, 20. The conjunction so (often followed by that ) introduces clauses both of purpose ( We ordered our tickets early so that we could get good seats ) and of result ( The river had frozen during the night so people walked across it all the next day ). In formal speech and writing, so that is somewhat more common than so in clauses of purpose. Otherwise, either so or so that is standard.
Like and, but1 , and or, so can occur as a transitional word at the beginning of a sentence: So all our hard work finally brought results. See also as1, and, but1.
Words nearby so
Definition for so (2 of 5)
Definition for so (3 of 5)
Definition for so (4 of 5)
s.o.
seller's option.
shipping order.
Definition for so (5 of 5)
S.O.
Signal Officer.
Special Order.
Standing Order.
British Dictionary definitions for so (1 of 5)
Word Origin for so
Old English
swā; related to Old Norse
svā, Old High German
sō, Dutch
zoo
usage for so
In formal English,
so is not used as a conjunction, to indicate either purpose (
he left by a back door so he could avoid photographers) or result (
the project was abandoned so his services were no longer needed). In the former case
to or
in order to should be used instead, and in the latter case
and so or
and therefore would be more acceptable. The expression
so therefore should not be used
British Dictionary definitions for so (2 of 5)
British Dictionary definitions for so (3 of 5)
so
3
the internet domain name for
Somalia
British Dictionary definitions for so (4 of 5)
SO
abbreviation for
Somalia (international car registration)
British Dictionary definitions for so (5 of 5)
S.O.
/ baseball /
abbreviation for
strike out
Idioms and Phrases with so
so