[like] vb liked ; lik.ing [ME, fr. OE lician; akin to OE gelic alike] vt (bef. 12c) 1 chiefly dial: to be suitable or agreeable to "I like onions but they don't ~ me"
2. a: to feel attraction toward or take pleasure in: enjoy "~s baseball" b: to feel toward: regard "how would you ~ a change"
3: to wish to have: want "would ~ a drink"
4: to do well in "this plant ~s dry soil" "my car does not ~ cold weather" ~ vi 1 dial: approve
2: to feel inclined: choose, prefer "leave any time you ~"
[2]like n (1851) 1: liking, preference
2: something that one likes [3]like adj [ME, alter. of ilich, fr. OE gelic like, alike, fr. ge-, associative prefix + lic body; akin to OHG gilih like, alike, Lith lygus like--more at co-] (13c) 1 a: the same or nearly the same (as in appearance, character, or quantity) "suits of ~ design"--formerly used with as, unto, of "it behoved him to be made ~ unto his brethren --Heb 2:17(AV)" b chiefly Brit: closely resembling the subject or original "the portrait is very ~"
2: likely "the importance of statistics as the one discipline ~ to give accuracy of mind --H. J. Laski" [4]like prep (13c) 1 a: having the characteristics of: similar to "his house is ~ a barn" "it's ~ when we were kids" b: typical of "was ~ him to do that" c: comparable to: approximating "costs something ~ fifty cents"
2: in the manner of: similarly to "acts ~ a fool"
3: as though there would be "looks ~ rain"
4: such as "a subject ~ physics" 5--used to form intensive or ironic phrases "fought ~ hell" "~ fun he did" "laughed ~ anything" [5]like n (13c) 1 a: one that is similar: counterpart, equal "have ... never seen the ~ before --Sir Winston Churchill" b: kind 4a "put him and his ~ to some job --J. R. R. Tolkien"--used with the and often followed by of and a substantive, or with a preceding possessive
2: one of many that are similar to each other--used chiefly in proverbial expressions "~ breeds like" -- and the like : et cetera -- the likes of 1: such people as: such things as "reads the likes of Austen and Browning"
2: such a one as and perhaps others similar to--often used with a singular object and usu. with disparaging overtones "have no use for the likes of you" [6]like adv (14c) 1 archaic: equally
2: likely, probably "you'll try it, some day, ~ enough --Mark Twain" 3 a: to some extent: rather, altogether "saunter over nonchalantly ~ --Walter Karig" b--used interjectionally in informal speech often to emphasize a word or phrase (as in "He was, like, gorgeous") or for an apologetic, vague, or unassertive effect (as in "I need to, like, borrow some money")
4: nearly: approximately "the actual interest is more ~ 18 percent"--used interjectionally in informal speech with expressions of measurement "it was, ~, five feet long" "goes there every day, ~" -- as like as not or like as not : probably [7]like conj (14c) 1 a: as if "middle-aged men who looked ~ they might be out for their one night of the year --Norman Mailer" b--used in intensive phrases "drove ~ mad" "hurts ~ crazy"
2: in the same way that: as "they raven down scenery ~ children do sweetmeats --John Keats" 3 a: in the way or manner that "the violin sounds ~ an old masterpiece should" "did it ~ you told me" b--used interjectionally in informal speech often with the verb be to introduce a quotation, paraphrase, or thought expressed by or imputed to the subject of the verb, or with it's to report a generally held opinion "so I'm ~, "Give me a break"" "it's ~, "Who cares what he thinks?""
4: such as "a bag ~ a doctor carries" "when your car has trouble -- ~ when it won't start"--used interjectionally in informal speech "often stays up late, until ~ three in the morning" usage Like has been used as a conjunction since the 14th century. In the 14th, 15th, and 16th centuries it was used in serious literature, but not often; in the 17th and 18th centuries it grew more frequent but less literary. It became markedly more frequent in literary use again in the 19th century. By mid-century it was coming under critical fire, but not from grammarians, oddly enough, who were wrangling over whether it could be called a preposition or not. There is no doubt that, after 600 years of use, conjunctive like is firmly established. It has been used by many prestigious literary figures of the past, though perhaps not in their most elevated works; in modern use it may be found in literature, journalism, and scholarly writing. While the present objection to it is perhaps more heated than rational, someone writing in a formal prose style may well prefer to use as, as if, such as, or an entirely different construction instead. [8]like or liked verbal auxiliary (15c) chiefly dial: came near: was near "so loud I ~ to fell out of bed --Helen Eustis"