(~s, ~ing, ~ed)
Frequency: The word is one of the 700 most common words in English.
1.
A ~ is something that you say or write in order to ask a person about something.
They asked a great many ~s about England...
The President refused to answer further ~s on the subject...
N-COUNT: oft N about/on n
2.
If you ~ someone, you ask them a lot of ~s about something.
This led the therapist to ~ Jim about his parents and their marriage...
VERB: V n
~ing
The police have detained thirty-two people for ~ing.
N-UNCOUNT
3.
If you ~ something, you have or express doubts about whether it is true, reasonable, or worthwhile.
It never occurs to them to ~ the doctor’s decisions...
VERB: V n
4.
If you say that there is some ~ about something, you mean that there is doubt or uncertainty about it. If something is in ~ or has been called into ~, doubt or uncertainty has been expressed about it.
There’s no ~ about their success...
The paper says the President’s move has called into ~ the whole basis of democracy in the country...
With the loyalty of key military units in ~, that could prove an extraordinarily difficult task.
N-SING: with supp, also prep N
5.
A ~ is a problem, matter, or point which needs to be considered.
But the whole ~ of aid is a tricky political one...
N-COUNT: oft N of n/wh
6.
The ~s in an examination are the problems which are set in order to test your knowledge or ability.
That ~ did come up in the examination.
N-COUNT
7.
see also ~ing , cross-~ , leading ~ , trick ~
8.
The person, thing, or time in ~ is one which you have just been talking about or which is relevant.
Add up all the income you’ve received over the period in ~.
PHRASE: n PHR
9.
If you say that something is out of the ~, you are emphasizing that it is completely impossible or unacceptable.
For the homeless, private medical care is simply out of the ~...
PHRASE: v-link PHR emphasis
10.
If you pop the ~, you ask someone to marry you. (JOURNALISM INFORMAL)
Stuart got serious quickly and popped the ~ six months later.
= propose
PHRASE: V inflects
11.
If you say there is no ~ of something happening, you are emphasizing that it is not going to happen.
As far as he was concerned there was no ~ of betraying his own comrades...
There is no ~ of the tax-payer picking up the bill for the party.
PHRASE: V inflects, PHR -ing, PHR n -ing emphasis
12.
If you do something without ~, you do it without arguing or asking why it is necessary.
...military formations, carrying out without ~ the battle orders of superior officers.
PHRASE: PHR after v
13.
You use without ~ to emphasize the opinion you are expressing.
He was our greatest storyteller, without ~.
PHRASE: PHR with cl emphasis