IDM

like Definitions and Synonyms

adjective, adverb, conjunction, preposition

UK /laɪk/

Like can be used in the following ways:

as a preposition (followed by a noun): He looks like his father.

as a conjunction (connecting two clauses): She looked like she was about to cry.

as an adverb: I said, like, you can’t do this to me.

as an adjective, especially in the phrase ‘of like mind’

1
similar or in a similar way
1. 1a
  similar to someone or something else, or in a similar way to someone or something else
  It was a small animal like a rat.
  I think she was like me, she didn’t really want to get involved.
  No one could play the trumpet like he did.
  just like:
  I went and bought myself a new pen just like yours.
  That morning began just like any other.
  very like:
  Bruce is very like you in a lot of ways.
  seem/look/sound/smell/taste/feel like:
  Doesn’t he look like Mark?
  The cloth felt like silk against her skin.
  like new:
  Once it’s washed and ironed it’ll be like new.
  anything like (=at all similar):
  Was the office where you used to work anything like this one?
  nothing like (=not at all similar):
  I have to admit India was nothing like what I was expecting.
  Synonyms and related words
  Similar and similarly
  similar
  like
  comparable
  ...
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2. 1b
  used for emphasizing a quality in the way that someone does something or in the way that something happens
  The news spread like wildfire.
  He smokes like a chimney.
  She was crying like a baby.
3. 1c
  in the same way as usual or as before
  Why don’t you play with the other children, like you used to?
  I went to see my mother, like I always do on Tuesdays.
4. 1d
  used when the same statement applies to each of two things
  Other people’s children, like other people’s dogs, have never interested me.
2
used for introducing an example of something or someone that you have just mentioned
It eats small animals like birds and mice.
An intelligent woman like you shouldn’t have been fooled so easily.
3
used for saying that a type of behaviour is typical of a particular person
it’s just like someone:
He didn’t show up again. That’s just like him.
it’s not like someone to do something:
It’s not like him to lie.
Synonyms and related words
Typical, traditional and usual
typical
traditional
usual
...
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4
spokenused when saying that something appears to be true but may not be
He sounded like he’d only just woken up.
Sam played with the children like he was one of them.
It looks like he has his hair trimmed about three times a week.
5
spokenused when you pause while you are thinking what to say next, or because of a habit in the way that you speak
He hasn’t phoned me in, like, three weeks.
Synonyms and related words
Used when pausing while speaking
OK
well
like
...
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6
spokenused for drawing someone’s attention to what you are going to say, either because it is new information or because it is important
They were, like, so rude!
7
spokenused when asking someone to do something that they might not want to do
I was wondering if I could, like, borrow the car this evening.
8
spokenused when you are reporting what someone has said or thought
And I’m like, give me a chance, Simon.
When I first heard about this I was like ‘Give me a break’!
9
spokenused for showing that the information you are giving is not exact or that you are describing something in a way that makes it seem better, worse, larger etc than it really is
It was, like, the best meal I’d ever had.