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.

Definition for so (2 of 5)

so 2
[ soh ]
/ soʊ /

noun Music.

sol1.

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)

so 2
/ (səʊ) /

noun

music a variant spelling of soh

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