Wordcyclopedia | English | keep one’s nose to the grindstone

keep Verb

— When you keep something for someone, you make something safe. I will keep your money for you. — When you keep something, you do not give it back. Keep the change. — When you keep safe, happy, quiet, etc, you stay that way. Keep quiet.

keep Noun

— A keep is a special safe area of a castle. The king lived in the keep during the battle.

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nose Verb

— If you nose, you move with caution. The ship nosed through the minefield. — If you nose you snoop. She was nosing around other people’s business. — If you nose something, you push it with your nose.

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to Verb phrase Subordinator

— To has no meaning. It is used to introduce verb phrases. It's important for you to understand. She told them to be quiet. You want me to do it, but I don't have to. To finish quickly, we must work fast. To continue like this would be foolish. I don't know how to get there. He got the keys to open the door. It's too small to see. You are all to be here at 7:30 tomorrow morning. Do you understand? He arrived only to find that everyone had gone home.

to Preposition

— To shows where something goes, the goal of movement. He went to her house. The train returned to the Shinjuku station. I went to bed but could not rest. They went to school together and played in the same soccer team. A squad car took him to hospital where he died. Many people came to me with suggestions. I wonder why you keep going to sea when you know it's dangerous. — To shows the receivers of an action or object. The goods were sold to customers at the downtown store. — To shows the result of a change or process. It switched from red to black. They came to the conclusion that I'm better than nothing. He fell on the play, but quickly got to his feet. He was crushed to death underneath the truck. — To shows the end or limit of something. Methods have been used to overcome these problems to some degree. The class is from 1:35 to 3:25. It's just another week to the end of classes. Right now it's ten minutes to four. — To shows that one thing is touching another. They stood back to back to see who was taller. — To shows how two things are connected. He attached the printer to the computer. She was married to a Canadian man. She was assistant to the general manager. — To shows a belonging or relationship. We don't owe anything to anyone. To whom does it belong? It's a benefit to the whole school. What's the answer to this problem? I can't remember the password to this account? — To shows a comparison between two things. Girls outnumber boys two to one. Older cars get fewer kilometers to a liter of gasoline. Right now you can get one Canadian dollar to $1.05 US. — To shows your feeling or opinion about something. It feels good to me. To their surprise, she got up and left. — To shows a timing relationship, often with a music. He likes to exercise to music.

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the Determiner

— Used, instead of a, to reference something specific, already known to exist. Compare "I read a book." and "I read the book." — Used with a stress, to show that the word following is special. Are you the John Smith that I went to school with? — Used with an adjective that acts like a noun to mean all of the people concerned The poor are always with us. — Used with superlatives forms of adjectives and adverbs. You are the best.

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grindstone

— noun a revolving stone shaped like a disk; used to grind or sharpen or polish edge tools

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