(~s)
Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English.
1.
An ~ of something is one of the parts of its character or nature.
Climate and weather affect every ~ of our lives...
He was interested in all ~s of the work here...
N-COUNT: usu with supp
2.
The ~ of a building or window is the direction in which it faces. (FORMAL)
The house had a south-west ~.
N-COUNT: usu sing, usu with supp
3.
In grammar, ~ is the way that a verb group shows whether an activity is continuing, is repeated, or is completed. For example, in ‘They were laughing’, the verb is in the progressive ~ and shows that the action was continuing. Compare tense .
N-UNCOUNT