Englishfor English speakers
a
Determinative
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A is used when the following word could be any of a certain type.
Compare "A book I saw on the shelf" and "The book I gave you yesterday".
a
Noun
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A is the first letter of the alphabet.
The letter "a" comes before "b".
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In some schools, an A is a very high grade.
Ron got an A on his earth science test.
chip
Noun
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A small piece that is broken off of a larger object.
A chip of paint fell off the wall.
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A damaged area of a surface where a chip has broken off.
This cup has a chip in it.
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A token that is used in place of cash when gambling.
poker chip
This chip is worth $1.
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A small circuit used in certain electronic devices.
computer chip
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A thin, baked or fried piece of vegetable, usually potato.
potato chips
tortilla chips
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(British/Australian/New Zealand) A fried strip of potato, similar to French fries.
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A shot where the ball goes up more than a regular shot.
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A takeout that hits a rock at an angle.
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A dried piece of dung that is used as fuel.
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A container that is usually used for holding strawberries or other fruit.
chip
Verb
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To break an object into small pieces.
The workers chipped the dead branches into mulch.
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To break small pieces off of an object.
Be careful not to chip the paint.
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To play a shot where the ball goes mostly upwards instead of forwards.
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To upgrade an engine management system, usually to increase power.
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To become chipped.
This varnish chips easily.
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Often with "in", to ante (up).
off
Preposition
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Away from somewhere or some time.
I got ready and by 7:00 I was off to school.
There's a nice restaurant just off the main road.
Bye, I'll be off now.
He was standing about 50m off.
Your birthday's only a few days off now.
—
If something is off it is not on.
She took the hat off his head.
Keep your feet off the desk, please.
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Out of a vehicle such as a train, bus, etc.
As the train stopped, he jumped off and ran to her.
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If something that uses energy is off, it is not working.
It was dark in the room because the light was off.
He turned the TV off and went to bed.
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If you are off, you do not have to go to work or to school.
I work evenings, but I have my afternoons off.
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made smaller by a certain amount
They've taken 30% off the price.
We cut off a few pieces.
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If a plan, event, etc. is off, it will not happen.
Tonight's game is off because of the rain.
They've called off the meeting.
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If you're off something, you don't like or want something you wanted before.
That article really put me off meat.
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If you're off some medicine, you are not using it any more.
He's been off the pain killers for a few weeks.
off
Adjective
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If food is off, it is not good to eat anymore.
off
Verb
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If a person offs someone, they kill him or her.
I heard they offed Jimmy by drowning.
the
Determiner
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Used, instead of a, to reference something specific, already known to exist.
Compare "I read a book." and "I read the book."
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Used with a stress, to show that the word following is special.
Are you the John Smith that I went to school with?
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Used with an adjective that acts like a noun to mean all of the people concerned
The poor are always with us.
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Used with superlatives forms of adjectives and adverbs.
You are the best.
old
Adjective
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If someone or something is old, they are not young; they have been in existence for a long time.
An old man has gray hair.
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How old someone is, is their age.
"Ashley, how old are you?" "I'm only 16 years old."
block
Noun
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A block is a hard piece of material, usually with six smooth sides.
When I was young, I liked building things with wooden blocks.
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A city block is the distance from one road to the next.
We have to walk about three blocks to the restaurant.
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In computers, a block is a restriction that prevents access to something.
I could not start a page on Wikipedia because of a block.
block
Verb
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If mathX/math is blocking mathY/math, then mathY/math can't go past mathX/math.
The water in the bath won't go down. There's something blocking the drain.
The road was blocked by police.
Excuse me! You're blocking my view. I can't see.