(~s, ~ing, ~ed)
Frequency: The word is one of the 700 most common words in English.
1.
The ~ for something is a fact or situation which explains why it happens or what causes it to happen.
There is a ~ for every important thing that happens...
Who would have a ~ to want to kill her?
N-COUNT: usu with supp, oft N for n, N to-inf
2.
If you say that you have ~ to believe something or to have a particular emotion, you mean that you have evidence for your belief or there is a definite cause of your feeling.
They had ~ to believe there could be trouble...
He had every ~ to be upset...
N-UNCOUNT: usu N to-inf
3.
The ability that people have to think and to make sensible judgments can be referred to as ~.
...a conflict between emotion and ~...
N-UNCOUNT
4.
If you ~ that something is true, you decide that it is true after thinking carefully about all the facts.
I ~ed that changing my diet would lower my cholesterol level...
‘Listen,’ I ~ed, ‘it doesn’t take a genius to figure out what Adam’s up to.’
VERB: V that, V with quote
see also ~ed , ~ing
5.
If one thing happens by ~ of another, it happens because of it. (FORMAL)
The boss retains enormous influence by ~ of his position...
PHRASE: PHR n
6.
If you try to make someone listen to ~, you try to persuade them to listen to sensible arguments and be influenced by them.
The company’s top executives had refused to listen to ~.
PHRASE: V inflects
7.
If you say that something happened or was done for no ~, for no good ~, or for no ~ at all, you mean that there was no obvious ~ why it happened or was done.
The guards, he said, would punch them for no ~...
For no ~ at all the two men started to laugh.
PHRASE: PHR with cl
8.
If a person or thing is someone’s ~ for living or their ~ for being, they are the most important thing in that person’s life.
Chloe is my ~ for living.
PHRASE: usu poss PHR
9.
If you say that something happened or is true for some ~, you mean that you know it happened or is true, but you do not know why.
For some inexplicable ~ she was attracted to Patrick.
PHRASE: PHR with cl vagueness
10.
If you say that you will do anything within ~, you mean that you will do anything that is fair or ~able and not too extreme.
I will take any job that comes along, within ~...
PHRASE: PHR with cl, n PHR
11.
rhyme or ~: see rhyme
to see ~: see see
it stands to ~: see stand