Englishfor English speakers
punishable
Adjective
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To be punishable someone must do, or have done, something that needs to be punished.
Spitting on the floor was a punishable offence.
by
Preposition
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near or next to.
The mailbox is by the bus stop.
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at some time before (the given time).
Be back by ten o'clock!
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if something is done by somebody, it is done through their action
The matter was decided by the chairman.
The boat was swamped by the water.
He was protected by his body armour.
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if something is created by somebody, they are the creator, author, etc.
There are many well-known plays by William Shakespeare.
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shows how someone does something
I avoided the guards by moving only when they weren't looking.
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using the rules or logic of.
I sorted the items by category.
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with a change of. In this case, by shows how much something has changed.
Our stock is up by ten percent.
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shows how slowly, or how quickly, someone does something (used in the form "X by X" or "by Xs")
We went through the book page by page.
We crawled forward by inches.
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If you multiply mathx/math by mathy/math, you multiply mathx/math × mathy/math.
Five multiplied by seven is 35.
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If you divide mathx/math by mathy/math, you find how many mathy/maths are in mathx/math.
35 divided by seven is five.
fine
Adjective
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If something is fine, it is OK, not a problem, or acceptable.
She said it works -- it's fine.
"Can I put it here?" "There? Oh, yes, yes, fine! Put it there."
"How are you?" "Fine, thanks!"
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If something is fine, it is very good in quality.
This is a fine example of how we can work together.
Everyone should be able to enjoy fine music and fine art.
She's one of Spain's finest skiers.
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If the weather is fine, the sun is out and it is not raining or snowing.
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Very, very small.
Grind it into a fine powder.
It's hard to see the fine details.
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if someone is fine, then they are good-looking or attractive.
That woman is so fine!
fine
Adverb
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If something works fine, it works well, or without any problems.
Going there today would suit me fine.
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If you draw or cut something fine, you do it in very small pieces or with small detail.
fine
Noun
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A fine is money that you pay for breaking a rule or the law.
There is a $500 fine for smoking inside.
fine
Verb
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If you fine someone, you make them pay money for breaking a rule or the law.
He was fined $500 for smoking inside.
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To make something finer in quality or size.
The wine will fine with time.