WORD

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does Word mean? 

• WORD (noun)
  The noun WORD has 10 senses:

1. a unit of language that native speakers can identify

2. a brief statement

3. information about recent and important events

4. a verbal command for action

5. an exchange of views on some topic

6. a promise

7. a string of bits stored in computer memory

8. the divine word of God; the second person in the Trinity (incarnate in Jesus)

9. a secret word or phrase known only to a restricted group

10. the sacred writings of the Christian religions

  Familiarity information: WORD used as a noun is familiar.

• WORD (verb)
  The verb WORD has 1 sense:

1. put into words or an expression

  Familiarity information: WORD used as a verb is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• WORD (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A unit of language that native speakers can identify

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Context example:

he hardly said ten words all morning

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

language unit; linguistic unit (one of the natural units into which linguistic messages can be analyzed)

Meronyms (parts of "word"):

syllable (a unit of spoken language larger than a phoneme)

affix (a linguistic element added to a word to produce an inflected or derived form)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "word"):

quantifier ((grammar) a word that expresses a quantity (as 'fifteen' or 'many'))

meronym; part name (a word that names a part of a larger whole)

metonym (a word that denotes one thing but refers to a related thing)

monosyllabic word; monosyllable (a word or utterance of one syllable)

coinage; neologism; neology (a newly invented word or phrase)

hapax legomenon; nonce word (a word with a special meaning used for a special occasion)

oxytone (word having stress or an acute accent on the last syllable)

palindrome (a word or phrase that reads the same backward as forward)

primitive (a word serving as the basis for inflected or derived forms)

paroxytone (word having stress or acute accent on the next to last syllable)

partitive (word (such a 'some' or 'less') that is used to indicate a part as distinct from a whole)

polysemant; polysemantic word; polysemous word (a word having more than one meaning)

polysyllabic word; polysyllable (a word of more than three syllables)

proparoxytone (word having stress or acute accent on the antepenult)

anaphor (a word (such as a pronoun) used to avoid repetition; the referent of an anaphor is determined by its antecedent)

logical quantifier; quantifier ((logic) a word (such as 'some' or 'all' or 'no') that binds the variables in a logical proposition)

reduplication (a word formed by or containing a repeated syllable or speech sound (usually at the beginning of the word))

retronym (a word introduced because an existing term has become inadequate)

substantive (any word or group of words functioning as a noun)

equivalent word; synonym (two words that can be interchanged in a context are said to be synonymous relative to that context)

term (a word or expression used for some particular thing)

language; nomenclature; terminology (a system of words used to name things in a particular discipline)

trisyllable (a word having three syllables)

manner name; troponym (a word that denotes a manner of doing something)

spoken word; vocable (a word that is spoken aloud)

classifier (a word or morpheme used in some languages in certain contexts (such as counting) to indicate the semantic class to which the counted item belongs)

written word (the written form of a word)

syncategorem; syncategoreme (a syncategorematic expression; a word that cannot be used alone as a term in a logical proposition)

hybrid; loan-blend; loanblend (a word that is composed of parts from different languages (e.g., 'monolingual' has a Greek prefix and a Latin root))

anagram (a word or phrase spelled by rearranging the letters of another word or phrase)

antonym; opposite; opposite word (a word that expresses a meaning opposed to the meaning of another word, in which case the two words are antonyms of each other)

paronym (a word that strongly resembles another word in spelling)

back-formation (a word invented (usually unwittingly by subtracting an affix) on the assumption that a familiar word derives from it)

charade (a word acted out in an episode of the game of charades)

cognate; cognate word (a word is cognate with another if both derive from the same word in an ancestral language)

content word; open-class word (a word to which an independent meaning can be assigned)

contraction (a word formed from two or more words by omitting or combining some sounds)

deictic; deictic word (a word specifying identity or spatial or temporal location from the perspective of a speaker or hearer in the context in which the communication occurs)

derivative ((linguistics) a word that is derived from another word)

diminutive (a word that is formed with a suffix (such as -let or -kin) to indicate smallness)

dirty word (a word that is considered to be unmentionable)

dissyllable; disyllable (a word having two syllables)

four-letter Anglo-Saxon word; four-letter word (any of several short English words (often having 4 letters) generally regarded as obscene or offensive)

descriptor; form; signifier; word form (the phonological or orthographic sound or appearance of a word that can be used to describe or identify something)

loan; loanword (a word borrowed from another language; e.g. 'blitz' is a German word borrowed into modern English)

key word (a significant word used in indexing or cataloging)

hyponym; subordinate; subordinate word (a word that is more specific than a given word)

hypernym; superordinate; superordinate word (a word that is more generic than a given word)

homonym (two words are homonyms if they are pronounced and spelled the same way but have different meanings)

holonym; whole name (a word that names the whole of which a given word is a part)

heteronym (two words are heteronyms if they are spelled the same way but differ in pronunciation)

headword (a word placed at the beginning of a line or paragraph (as in a dictionary entry))

head; head word ((grammar) the word in a grammatical constituent that plays the same grammatical role as the whole constituent)

catchword; guide word; guideword (a word printed at the top of the page of a dictionary or other reference book to indicate the first or last item on that page)

closed-class word; function word (a word that is uninflected and serves a grammatical function but has little identifiable meaning)

Derivation:

word (put into words or an expression)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A brief statement

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Context example:

he didn't say a word about it

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

statement (a message that is stated or declared; a communication (oral or written) setting forth particulars or facts etc)

Derivation:

word (put into words or an expression)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Information about recent and important events

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

intelligence; news; tidings; word

Context example:

they awaited news of the outcome

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

info; information (a message received and understood)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "word"):

good word (good news)

latest (the most recent news or development)

Sense 4

Meaning:

A verbal command for action

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Context example:

when I give the word, charge!

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

order ((often plural) a command given by a superior (e.g., a military or law enforcement officer) that must be obeyed)

Sense 5

Meaning:

An exchange of views on some topic

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

discussion; give-and-take; word

Context example:

we had a word or two about it

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

language; oral communication; speech; speech communication; spoken communication; spoken language; voice communication ((language) communication by word of mouth)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "word"):

post-mortem; postmortem (discussion of an event after it has occurred)

dialogue; negotiation; talks (a discussion intended to produce an agreement)

public discussion; ventilation (free and open discussion of (or debate on) some question of public interest)

panel discussion (discussion of a subject of public interest by a group of persons forming a panel usually before an audience)

conference; group discussion (a discussion among participants who have an agreed (serious) topic)

deliberation ((usually plural) discussion of all sides of a question)

argument; argumentation; debate (a discussion in which reasons are advanced for and against some proposition or proposal)

Sense 6

Meaning:

A promise

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

parole; word; word of honor

Context example:

he gave his word

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

promise (a verbal commitment by one person to another agreeing to do (or not to do) something in the future)

Sense 7

Meaning:

A string of bits stored in computer memory

Classified under:

Nouns denoting quantities and units of measure

Context example:

large computers use words up to 64 bits long

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

computer memory unit (a unit for measuring computer memory)

Meronyms (parts of "word"):

byte (a sequence of 8 bits (enough to represent one character of alphanumeric data) processed as a single unit of information)

Holonyms ("word" is a part of...):

K; kB; KiB; kibibyte; kilobyte (a unit of information equal to 1024 bytes)

Sense 8

Meaning:

The divine word of God; the second person in the Trinity (incarnate in Jesus)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Synonyms:

Logos; Son; Word

Instance hypernyms:

hypostasis; hypostasis of Christ (any of the three persons of the Godhead constituting the Trinity especially the person of Christ in which divine and human natures are united)

Instance hyponyms:

Messiah (Jesus Christ; considered by Christians to be the promised deliverer)

Christ; Deliverer; Good Shepherd; Jesus; Jesus Christ; Jesus of Nazareth; Redeemer; Savior; Saviour; the Nazarene (a teacher and prophet born in Bethlehem and active in Nazareth; his life and sermons form the basis for Christianity (circa 4 BC - AD 29))

Sense 9

Meaning:

A secret word or phrase known only to a restricted group

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

countersign; parole; password; watchword; word

Context example:

he forgot the password

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

arcanum; secret (information known only to a special group)

positive identification (evidence proving that you are who you say you are; evidence establishing that you are among the group of people already known to the system; recognition by the system leads to acceptance)

Sense 10

Meaning:

The sacred writings of the Christian religions

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

Bible; Book; Christian Bible; Good Book; Holy Scripture; Holy Writ; Scripture; Word; Word of God

Context example:

he went to carry the Word to the heathen

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

religious text; religious writing; sacred text; sacred writing (writing that is venerated for the worship of a deity)

Meronyms (parts of "Word"):

Old Testament (the collection of books comprising the sacred scripture of the Hebrews and recording their history as the chosen people; the first half of the Christian Bible)

Testament (either of the two main parts of the Christian Bible)

New Testament (the collection of books of the Gospels, Acts of the Apostles, the Pauline and other epistles, and Revelation; composed soon after Christ's death; the second half of the Christian Bible)

text (a passage from the Bible that is used as the subject of a sermon)

Domain member category:

covenant ((Bible) an agreement between God and his people in which God makes certain promises and requires certain behavior from them in return)

eisegesis (personal interpretation of a text (especially of the Bible) using your own ideas)

exegesis (an explanation or critical interpretation (especially of the Bible))

Gabriel ((Bible) the archangel who was the messenger of God)

Noachian deluge; Noah's flood; Noah and the Flood; the Flood ((Biblical) the great deluge that is said in the Book of Genesis to have occurred in the time of Noah; it was brought by God upon the earth because of the wickedness of human beings)

demythologise; demythologize (remove the mythical element from (writings))

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "Word"):

family Bible (a large Bible with pages to record marriages and births)

Instance hyponyms:

Revised Standard Version (a revision of the American Standard Version)

American Revised Version; American Standard Version (a revised version of the King James Version)

New English Bible (a modern English version of the Bible and Apocrypha)

Authorized Version; King James Bible; King James Version (an English translation of the Bible published in 1611)

Douay-Rheims Bible; Douay-Rheims Version; Douay Bible; Douay Version; Rheims-Douay Bible; Rheims-Douay Version (an English translation of the Vulgate by Roman Catholic scholars)

Vulgate (the Latin edition of the Bible translated from Hebrew and Greek mainly by St. Jerome at the end of the 4th century; as revised in 1592 it was adopted as the official text for the Roman Catholic Church)

Revised Version (a British revision of the Authorized Version)

• WORD (verb)

Conjugation:

Sense 1

Meaning:

Put into words or an expression

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Synonyms:

articulate; formulate; give voice; phrase; word

Context example:

He formulated his concerns to the board of trustees

Hypernyms (to "word" is one way to...):

evince; express; show (give expression to)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "word"):

ask (direct or put; seek an answer to)

lexicalise; lexicalize (make or coin into a word or accept a new word into the lexicon of a language)

dogmatise; dogmatize (state as a dogma)

formularise; formularize (express as a formula)

cast; couch; frame; put; redact (formulate in a particular style or language)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

word (a unit of language that native speakers can identify)

word (a brief statement)

wording (the manner in which something is expressed in words)

 Context examples 

Mr Shepherd had once mentioned the word "advertise," but never dared approach it again.

(Persuasion, by Jane Austen)

Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative Auditory Verbal Learning Test Version A (ADNI-AVLT Version A) List A, 30 Minute Delay Recall, Word 10.

(ADNI AVLT - List A 30 Min Delay Recall Word 10, NCI Thesaurus)

For that I know my father, Bok, was a great hunter, I speak these words.

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

Auditory Verbal Learning Test Version A - List A, 30 Minute Delay Recall, Word 1.

(ADNI AVLT - List A 30 Min Delay Recall Word 1, NCI Thesaurus/CDISC)

Auditory Verbal Learning Test Version A - List A, 30 Minute Delay Recall, Word 10.

(ADNI AVLT - List A 30 Min Delay Recall Word 10, NCI Thesaurus/CDISC)

Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative Auditory Verbal Learning Test Version A (ADNI-AVLT Version A) List A, 30 Minute Delay Recall, Word 11.

(ADNI AVLT - List A 30 Min Delay Recall Word 11, NCI Thesaurus)

It was so rare to hear my mother say a hard word against anybody (unless it were General Buonaparte) that I was across the room and at the window in a jump.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Oh! It is a very nice word indeed!

(Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen)

Auditory Verbal Learning Test Version A - List A, 30 Minute Delay Recall, Word 12.

(ADNI AVLT - List A 30 Min Delay Recall Word 12, NCI Thesaurus/CDISC)

Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative Auditory Verbal Learning Test Version A (ADNI-AVLT Version A) List A, 30 Minute Delay Recall, Word 12.

(ADNI AVLT - List A 30 Min Delay Recall Word 12, NCI Thesaurus)