(~s, ~ing, ~ed)
Frequency: The word is one of the 700 most common words in English.
1.
Better is the comparative of good .
2.
Better is the comparative of well .
3.
If you like one thing ~ than another, you like it more.
I like your interpretation ~ than the one I was taught...
They liked it ~ when it rained.
ADV: ADV after v
4.
If you are ~ after an illness or injury, you have recovered from it. If you feel ~, you no longer feel so ill.
He is much ~ now, he’s fine...
The doctors were saying there wasn’t much hope of me getting ~.
ADJ: v-link ADJ
5.
You use had ~ or ’d ~ when you are advising, warning, or threatening someone, or expressing an opinion about what should happen.
It’s half past two. I think we had ~ go home...
You’d ~ run if you’re going to get your ticket...
PHRASE
•
In spoken English, people sometimes use ~ without ‘had’ or ‘be’ before it. It has the same meaning.
Better not say too much aloud.
6.
If you say that you expect or deserve ~, you mean that you expect or deserve a higher standard of achievement, behaviour, or treatment from people than they have shown you.
Our long-suffering mining communities deserve ~ than this.
PRON
7.
If someone ~s a high achievement or standard, they achieve something higher.
He recorded a time of 4 minutes 23, ~ing the old record of 4-24...
VERB: V n
8.
If you ~ your situation, you improve your social status or the quality of your life. If you ~ yourself, you improve your social status.
He had dedicated his life to ~ing the lot of the oppressed people of South Africa...
Our parents chose to come here with the hope of ~ing themselves.
VERB: V n, V pron-refl
9.
Better is used to form the comparative of compound adjectives beginning with ‘good’ and ‘well.’ For example, the comparative of ‘well-off’ is ‘~-off.’
10.
You can say that someone is ~ doing one thing than another, or it is ~ doing one thing than another, to advise someone about what they should do.
Wouldn’t it be ~ putting a time-limit on the task?...
Subjects like this are ~ left alone.
PHRASE: V inflects, PHR -ing, PHR -ed
11.
If something changes for the ~, it improves.
He dreams of changing the world for the ~.
PHRASE: PHR after v
12.
If a feeling such as jealousy, curiosity, or anger gets the ~ of you, it becomes too strong for you to hide or control.
She didn’t allow her emotions to get the ~ of her.
PHRASE: V inflects, PHR n
13.
If you get the ~ of someone, you defeat them in a contest, fight, or argument.
He is used to tough defenders, and he usually gets the ~ of them.
PHRASE: V inflects, PHR n
14.
If someone knows ~ than to do something, they are old enough or experienced enough to know it is the wrong thing to do.
She knew ~ than to argue with Adeline...
PHRASE: V inflects, oft PHR than to-inf
15.
If you know ~ than someone, you have more information, knowledge, or experience than them.
He thought he knew ~ than I did, though he was much less experienced...
PHRASE: V inflects, oft PHR than n
16.
If you say that someone would be ~ off doing something, you are advising them to do it or expressing the opinion that it would benefit them to do it.
If you’ve got bags you’re ~ off taking a taxi...
PHRASE: PHR -ing/prep/adv
17.
If you go one ~, you do something ~ than it has been done before or obtain something ~ than someone else has.
Now General Electric have gone one ~ than nature and made a diamond purer than the best quality natural diamonds.
PHRASE: V inflects, oft PHR than n
18.
You say ‘That’s ~’ in order to express your approval of what someone has said or done, or to praise or encourage them.
‘I came to ask your advice–no, to ask for your help.’—‘That’s ~. And how can I help you?’
CONVENTION
19.
You can say ‘so much the ~’ or ‘all the ~’ to indicate that it is desirable that a particular thing is used, done, or available.
Use strong white flour, and if you can get hold of durum wheat flour, then so much the ~...
PHRASE
20.
You can use expressions like ‘The bigger the ~’ or ‘The sooner the ~’ to say that you would prefer it if something is big or happens soon.
The Irish love a party, the bigger the ~...
PHRASE
21.
If you intend to do something and then think ~ of it, you decide not to do it because you realize it would not be sensible.
Alberg opened his mouth, as if to protest. But he thought ~ of it.
PHRASE: V inflects
22.
If you say that something has happened or been done for ~ or worse, you mean that you are not sure whether the consequences will be good or bad, but they will have to be accepted because the action cannot be changed.
I married you for ~ or worse, knowing all about these problems.
PHRASE: PHR after v, PHR with cl
23.
against your ~ judgment: see judgment
to be ~ than nothing: see nothing
the ~ part: see part