SO

Pronunciation (US):

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IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does so mean? 

• SO (noun)
  The noun SO has 1 sense:

1. the syllable naming the fifth (dominant) note of any musical scale in solmization

  Familiarity information: SO used as a noun is very rare.

• SO (adverb)
  The adverb SO has 10 senses:

1. to a very great extent or degree

2. in a manner that facilitates

3. in such a condition or manner, especially as expressed or implied

4. to a certain unspecified extent or degree

5. in the same way; also

6. in the way indicated

7. (usually followed by 'that') to an extent or degree as expressed

8. subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)

9. (used to introduce a logical conclusion) from that fact or reason or as a result

10. in truth (often tends to intensify)

  Familiarity information: SO used as an adverb is familiar.

 Dictionary entry details 

• SO (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The syllable naming the fifth (dominant) note of any musical scale in solmization

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

so; soh; sol

Hypernyms ("so" is a kind of...):

solfa syllable (one of the names for notes of a musical scale in solmization)

• SO (adverb)

Sense 1

Meaning:

To a very great extent or degree

Context example:

my head aches so!

Domain usage:

intensifier; intensive (a modifier that has little meaning except to intensify the meaning it modifies)

Sense 2

Meaning:

In a manner that facilitates

Context example:

he stooped down so he could pick up his hat

Sense 3

Meaning:

In such a condition or manner, especially as expressed or implied

Context example:

so live your life that old age will bring no regrets

Sense 4

Meaning:

To a certain unspecified extent or degree

Context example:

can do only so much in a day

Sense 5

Meaning:

In the same way; also

Context example:

worked hard and so did she

Sense 6

Meaning:

In the way indicated

Synonyms:

so; thus; thusly

Context example:

set up the pieces thus

Sense 7

Meaning:

(usually followed by 'that') to an extent or degree as expressed

Context example:

so dirty that it smells

Sense 8

Meaning:

Subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)

Synonyms:

and so; so; then

Context example:

and so home and to bed

Sense 9

Meaning:

(used to introduce a logical conclusion) from that fact or reason or as a result

Synonyms:

hence; so; thence; therefore; thus

Context example:

the witness is biased and so cannot be trusted

Sense 10

Meaning:

In truth (often tends to intensify)

Synonyms:

indeed; so

Context example:

he did so do it!

 Context examples 

At this moment I cannot recollect his name, though I have heard it so lately.

(Persuasion, by Jane Austen)

The process of taking nutrients from the digestive system into the blood so they can be used in the body.

(Absorption, NCI Dictionary)

She works it from the front, so that her shadow may never be seen.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

“Well, I tell you so again,” continued the lawyer.

(The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

“How can you,” said Catherine, laughing, “be so—”

(Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen)

He frightened her, and at the same time it was strangely pleasant to be so looked upon.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

But I will tell you the whole queer business, and when I have done so you will admit, I am sure, that there has been enough to excuse me.

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

The six horses were so close together that a carpet could have covered them, but half way up the yellow of the Mapleton stable showed to the front.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

I had often heard the song before, and always with lively delight; for Bessie had a sweet voice,—at least, I thought so.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

Anti-ErbB3 receptor monoclonal antibody MM-121 binds to and inhibits ErbB3 activation, which may result in inhibition of ErbB3-dependent PI3K/Akt signaling and so inhibition of cellular proliferation and differentiation.

(Anti-ErbB3 Receptor Monoclonal Antibody MM-121, NCI Thesaurus)