Englishfor English speakers
um
Interjection
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You use um to show that you are thinking and not ready to speak.
We were prepared, um, in our minds, in our heart, for -- for whatever.
What she did isn't so, um, nice.
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You use um to show that you doubt or are not sure about something somebody said.
Um, I don't think that works.
What? Um, okay. Sure, I guess. I'll tell her.
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You use um with a falling tone to show that you agree.
"How does Tuesday sound?" "Um, sure. Sounds good!"
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You use um to get somebody's attention.
Um, excuse me! Are you busy?
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You use um to bring attention to something that just happened or that was just said.
Um, did you just call me "stupid"?
access
Noun
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If you have access to something, you can use it, look at it, enter it, etc.
As a student, you have access to all our facilities including the library and computers.
We will seek to provide greater access to personal records held by government.
access
Verb
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If you access something, you get information from it, usually using a computer.
The product enables multiple systems to access a single database.
Users of PCs can access images from the photo CDs using any CD-ROM input device.
telephone
Noun
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A machine used to talk to someone who is far away.
I need to find a telephone so I can tell my mother where I am.
telephone
Verb
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If you telephone someone, you use a telephone to talk to them.
I telephoned my friend yesterday.
number
Noun
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A symbol that that is used to describe quantity; a numeral.
2, 5589, and 0 are all numbers.
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A few.
She has a number of dictionaries--four or five, I think.
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A musical, theatrical, or literary selection or production.
She chose a number from "Swan Lake" for her dance recital.
number
Verb
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To label objects with numbers.
Number the baskets so that we can find them easily.
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To total or count; to amount to.
I don’t know how many books are in the library, but they must number in the thousands.