What does word mean?
Definitions for word
wɜrdword
This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word word .
Princeton's WordNet
wordnoun
a unit of language that native speakers can identify
"words are the blocks from which sentences are made"; "he hardly said ten words all morning"
wordnoun
a brief statement
"he didn't say a word about it"
news, intelligence, tidings, wordnoun
information about recent and important events
"they awaited news of the outcome"
wordnoun
a verbal command for action
"when I give the word, charge!"
discussion, give-and-take, wordnoun
an exchange of views on some topic
"we had a good discussion"; "we had a word or two about it"
parole, word, word of honornoun
a promise
"he gave his word"
wordnoun
a word is a string of bits stored in computer memory
"large computers use words up to 64 bits long"
Son, Word, Logosnoun
the divine word of God; the second person in the Trinity (incarnate in Jesus)
password, watchword, word, parole, countersignnoun
a secret word or phrase known only to a restricted group
"he forgot the password"
Bible, Christian Bible, Book, Good Book, Holy Scripture, Holy Writ, Scripture, Word of God, Wordverb
the sacred writings of the Christian religions
"he went to carry the Word to the heathen"
give voice, formulate, word, phrase, articulateverb
put into words or an expression
"He formulated his concerns to the board of trustees"
Wiktionary
wordnoun
The fact or action of speaking, as opposed to writing or to action.
wordnoun
Something which has been said; a comment, utterance; speech.
wordnoun
A distinct unit of language (sounds in speech or written letters) with a particular meaning, composed of one or more morphemes, and also of one or more phonemes that determine its sound pattern.
wordnoun
A distinct unit of language which is approved by some authority.
wordnoun
News; tidings.
Have you had any word from John yet?
wordnoun
An order; a request or instruction.
He sent word that we should strike camp before winter.
wordnoun
A promise; an oath or guarantee.
I give you my word that I will be there on time.
wordnoun
Christ.
wordnoun
Communication from god; the message of the Christian gospel; the Bible.
Her parents had lived in Botswana, spreading the word among the tribespeople.
wordverb
To say or write (something) using particular words.
I'm not sure how to word this letter to the council.
wordnoun
A brief discussion or conversation.
Can I have a word with you?
wordnoun
Angry debate or conversation; argument.
There had been words between him and the secretary about the outcome of the meeting.
wordnoun
Any sequence of letters or characters considered as a discrete entity.
wordnoun
A unit of text equivalent to five characters and one space.
wordnoun
A fixed-size group of bits handled as a unit by a machine. On many 16-bit machines a word is 16 bits or two bytes.
wordnoun
A finite string which is not a command or operator.
wordnoun
A group element, expressed as a product of group elements.
wordnoun
Different symbols, written or spoken, arranged together in a unique sequence that approximates a thought in a person's mind.
wordinterjection
truth, to tell or speak the truth; the shortened form of the statement, "My word is my bond," an expression eventually shortened to "Word is bond," before it finally got cut to just "Word," which is its most commonly used form.
wordinterjection
An abbreviated form of word up; a statement of the acknowledgment of fact with a hint of nonchalant approval.
Wordnoun
Scripture; The Bible
Wordnoun
The creative word of God; logos
Etymology: From wurdan, from werdʰo-, from wer-; cognate with Old Frisian, Old Saxon (Dutch woord), Old High German wort (German Wort), Old Norse orð (Icelandic orð, Swedish ord), Gothic. The Proto-Indo-European root is also the source of Latin verbum, Lithuanian vardas, and, more distantly, of Ancient Greek and Old Slavonic (Russian).
Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
WORDnoun
Etymology: word , Saxon; woord, Dutch.
If you speak three words, it will three times report you the three words. Francis Bacon.
As conceptions are the images of things to the mind within itself, so are words or names the marks of those conceptions to the minds of them we converse with. Robert South, Sermons.
Amongst men who confound their ideas with words, there must be endless disputes, wrangling, and jargon. John Locke.
Each wight who reads not, and but scans and spells,
Each word catcher that lives on syllables. Alexander Pope.Shall I vouchsafe your worship a word or two?
—— Two thousand, and I’ll vouchsafe thee the hearing. William Shakespeare.A word, Lucilius,
How he receiv’d you. William Shakespeare, Julius Cæsar.A friend who shall own thee in thy lowest condition, answer all thy wants, and, in a word, never leave thee. South.
In a word, the Gospel describes God to us in all respects such a one as we would wish him to be. John Tillotson.
Why should calamity be full of words?
—— Windy attorneys to their client woes!
Let them have scope, though what they do impart
Help nothing else, yet they do ease the heart. William Shakespeare, R. III.If you dislike the play,
Pray make no words on’t ’till the second day,
Or third be past; for we would have you know it,
The loss will fall on us, not on the poet. John Denham.Cease this contention: be thy words severe,
Sharp as he merits; but the sword forbear. Dryden.If words are sometimes to be used, they ought to be grave, kind, and sober, representing the ill, or unbecomingness of the faults. John Locke.
If I appear a little word-bound in my first solutions, I hope it will be imputed to the long disuse of speech. Spectator.
In argument upon a case,
Some words there grew ’twixt Somerset and me. William Shakespeare.Found you no displeasure by word or countenance? William Shakespeare.
I’ll write thee a challenge, or I’ll deliver thy indignation to him by word of mouth. William Shakespeare, Twelfth Night.
He commanded the men to be ranged in battalions, and rid to every squadron, giving them such words as were proper to the occasion. Edward Hyde.
An easy way, by word of mouth communicated to me. Boyle.
Obey thy parents, keep thy word justly, swear not. William Shakespeare.
I take your princely word for these redresses.
—— I give it you, and will maintain my word. William Shakespeare, H. IV.The duke shall wield his conqu’ring sword,
The king shall pass his honest word. Dryden.Every soldier, kill his prisoners;
Give the word through. William Shakespeare, Henry V.Bring me word thither
How the world goes, that to the pace of it
I may spur on my journey. William Shakespeare, Coriolanus.Why should she write to Edmund? Might not you
Transport her purposes by word? William Shakespeare, King Lear.Two optick nerves she ties,
Like spectacles across the eyes;
By which the spirits bring her word,
Whene’er the balls are fix’d or stirr’d. Matthew Prior.I know you brave, and take you at your word;
That present service which you vaunt, afford. Dryden.Every person has enough to do to work out his own salvation; which, if we will take the apostle’s word, is to be done with fear and trembling. Decay of Piety.
I desire not the reader should take my word, and therefore I will set two of their discourses in the same light for every man to judge. Dryden.
They say this church of England neither hath the word purely preached, nor the sacraments sincerely ministred. John Whitgift.
Thou my Word, begotten son, by thee
This I perform. John Milton.To Wordverb
To express in proper words.
Let us blacken him what we can, said Harrison of the blessed king, upon the wording and drawing up his charge against approaching trial. Robert South, Sermons.
Whether I have improved these fables or no, in the wording or meaning of them, the book must stand or fall to itself. Roger L'Estrange.
The apology for the king is the same, but worded with greater deference to that great prince. Addison.
To Wordverb
To dispute.
Etymology: from the noun.
He that descends not to word it with a shrew, does worse than beat her. Roger L'Estrange.
Wikipedia
Word
In linguistics, a word of a spoken language can be defined as the smallest sequence of phonemes that can be uttered in isolation with objective or practical meaning. For many languages, words also correspond to sequences of graphemes ("letters") in their standard writing systems that are delimited by spaces wider than the normal inter-letter space, or by other graphical conventions. The concept of "word" is usually distinguished from that of a morpheme, which is the smallest unit of speech which has a meaning, even if it will not stand on its own. In many languages, the notion of what constitutes a "word" may be mostly learned as part of learning the writing system. This is the case of the English language, and of most languages that are written with alphabets derived from the ancient Latin or Greek alphabets. There is still no consensus among linguists about the proper definition of "word" in a spoken language that is independent of its writing system, nor about the precise distinction between it and "morpheme". This issue is particularly debated for Chinese and other languages of East Asia, and may be moot for Afro-Asiatic languages. InEnglish orthography, the letter sequences "rock", "god", "write", "with", "the", "not" are considered to be single-morpheme words, whereas "rocks", "ungodliness", "typewriter", and "cannot" are words composed of two or more morphemes ("rock"+"s", "un"+"god"+"li"+"ness", "type"+"writ"+"er", and "can"+"not"). In English and many other languages, the morphemes that make up a word generally include at least one root (such as "rock", "god", "type", "writ", "can", "not") and possibly some affixes ("-s", "un-", "-ly", "-ness"). Words with more than one root ("[type][writ]er", "[cow][boy]s", "[tele][graph]ically") are called compound. Words are combined to form other elements of language, such as phrases ("a red rock", "put up with"), clauses ("I threw a rock"), and sentences ("I threw a rock, but missed").
ChatGPT
word
A word is a unit of language that can be spoken or written, typically consisting of one or more phonemes and representing a specific concept, object, action, or idea. Words are the basic building blocks of communication, allowing individuals to convey meaning, express thoughts, and establish shared understanding.
Webster Dictionary
Wordnoun
the spoken sign of a conception or an idea; an articulate or vocal sound, or a combination of articulate and vocal sounds, uttered by the human voice, and by custom expressing an idea or ideas; a single component part of human speech or language; a constituent part of a sentence; a term; a vocable
Wordnoun
hence, the written or printed character, or combination of characters, expressing such a term; as, the words on a page
Wordnoun
talk; discourse; speech; language
Wordnoun
account; tidings; message; communication; information; -- used only in the singular
Wordnoun
signal; order; command; direction
Wordnoun
language considered as implying the faith or authority of the person who utters it; statement; affirmation; declaration; promise
Wordnoun
verbal contention; dispute
Wordnoun
a brief remark or observation; an expression; a phrase, clause, or short sentence
Wordverb
to use words, as in discussion; to argue; to dispute
Wordverb
to express in words; to phrase
Wordverb
to ply with words; also, to cause to be by the use of a word or words
Wordverb
to flatter with words; to cajole
Wikidata
Word
In language, a word is the smallest element that may be uttered in isolation with semantic or pragmatic content. This contrasts with a morpheme, which is the smallest unit of meaning but will not necessarily stand on its own. A word may consist of a single morpheme, or several, whereas a morpheme may not be able to stand on its own as a word. A complex word will typically include a root and one or more affixes, or more than one root in a compound. Words can be put together to build larger elements of language, such as phrases, clauses, and sentences. The term word may refer to a spoken word or to a written word, or sometimes to the abstract concept behind either. Spoken words are made up of units of sound called phonemes, and written words of symbols called graphemes, such as the letters of the English alphabet.
Chambers 20th Century Dictionary
Word
wurd, n. an oral or written sign expressing an idea or notion: talk, discourse: signal or sign: message: promise: declaration: a pass-word, a watch-word, a war-cry: the Holy Scripture, or a part of it: (pl.) verbal contention.—v.t. to express in words: (Shak.) to flatter.—v.i. to speak, talk.—ns. Word′-blind′ness, loss of ability to read; Word′-book, a book with a collection of words: a vocabulary.—adj. Word′-bound, unable to find expression in words.—n. Word′-build′ing, the formation or composition of words.—adj. Wor′ded, expressed in words.—adv. Wor′dily.—ns. Wor′diness; Wor′ding, act, manner, or style of expressing in words.—adj. Wor′dish (obs.), verbose.—n. Wor′dishness.—adj. Word′less (Shak.), without words, silent.—ns. Word′-mem′ory, the power of recalling words to the mind; Word′-paint′er, one who describes vividly; Word′-paint′ing, the act of describing anything clearly and fully by words only; Word′-pic′ture, a description in words which presents an object to the mind as if in a picture.—adj. Wor′dy, full of words: using or containing many words.—Word for word, literally, verbatim.—Break one's word, to fail to fulfil a promise; By word of mouth, orally; Good word, favourable mention, praise; Hard words, angry, hot words; Have a word with, to have some conversation with; Have words with, to quarrel, dispute with; In a word, In one word, in short, to sum up; In word, in speech only, in profession only; Pass one's word, to make a promise; The Word, the Scripture: (theol.) the second person in the Trinity, the Logos. [A.S. word; Goth. waurd, Ice. orth, Ger. wort; also conn. with L. verbum, a word, Gr. eirein, to speak.]
The Foolish Dictionary, by Gideon Wurdz
WORD
Something you must keep after giving it to another.
Dictionary of Nautical Terms
word
The watch-word; the parole and countersign, which, being issued to the authorized persons at guard-mounting, become a test whereby spies or strangers are detected.
Rap Dictionary
wordnoun
What? None of this makes sense.
wordnoun
Really?(used in a question) Speaker 1:"Yo I got that." Speaker 2:"Oh word?"
wordnoun
money (Cuse Town shit)
Editors Contribution
word
A unit of language.
Words are an important part of language.
Submitted by MaryC on January 12, 2020
wordnoun
Slang word for Definitely! Yes! You got that right.
The BEAST was a heavy group!… WORD!( yes they were)
Etymology: Evolved from Word Is Bond. Shortened from My WORD is my bond. Right? Word is bond! Word!!
Submitted by theronnieacestation on May 2, 2023
Suggested Resources
WORD
What does WORD stand for? -- Explore the various meanings for the WORD acronym on the Abbreviations.com website.
Surnames Frequency by Census Records
WORD
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Word is ranked #5628 in terms of the most common surnames in America.
The Word surname appeared 6,177 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 would have the surname Word.
57.9% or 3,579 total occurrences were White.
37.1% or 2,295 total occurrences were Black.
2.2% or 139 total occurrences were of two or more races.
1.9% or 118 total occurrences were of Hispanic origin.
0.4% or 26 total occurrences were American Indian or Alaskan Native.
0.3% or 20 total occurrences were Asian.
Matched Categories
British National Corpus
Spoken Corpus Frequency
Rank popularity for the word 'word ' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #512
Written Corpus Frequency
Rank popularity for the word 'word ' in Written Corpus Frequency: #437
Nouns Frequency
Rank popularity for the word 'word ' in Nouns Frequency: #35
Anagrams for word »
drow
Numerology
Chaldean Numerology
The numerical value of word in Chaldean Numerology is: 1
Pythagorean Numerology
The numerical value of word in Pythagorean Numerology is: 6
Examples of word in a Sentence
I will campaign as I would serve, going everywhere, speaking to everyone, keeping my word, facing the issues without flinching and staying true to what I believe, i will take nothing and no one for granted. I will run with heart. I will run to win.
The thought that he came back and lived in New York, and this is what happens on the streets of New York, is disgusting. If that's the word, it's disgusting, we'll be sending them $5,000 a year for a few years to help them with everyday expenses because it's the least that we can do.
I'd never seen injuries this bad before. I'd been to a few bomb blasts before. This bomb is particularly, I don't know the word, vicious. It was obviously designed to cause maximum damage.
Every burned book or house enlightens the world every suppressed or expunged word reverberates through the earth from side to side.
I give my word here today that from now on, there will be no more controversy regarding succession, i do not plan to pass down my role to my children. This is something I have thought about for a long time but have been hesitant to express it openly.
Popularity rank by frequency of use
References
Translations for word
From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary
- ажәаAbkhaz
- woord, erewoordAfrikaans
- ቃልAmharic
- parolaAragonese
- كَلِمةArabic
- শব্দAssamese
- рагӏул, рагӏиAvaric
- kəlmə, sözcük, sözAzerbaijani
- һүҙBashkir
- сло́ваBelarusian
- сло́во, ду́маBulgarian
- শব্দBengali
- ཚིགTibetan Standard
- ger, gerioùBreton
- redactar, paraula, motCatalan, Valencian
- дошChechen
- slovo boží, slovo, slibCzech
- слово, ⱄⰾⱁⰲⱁOld Church Slavonic, Church Slavonic, Old Bulgarian
- сӑмахChuvash
- gairWelsh
- ordDanish
- Wort, EhrenwortGerman
- ލަފުޒުDivehi
- λέξη, συντάσσω, λόγος, διατυπώνωGreek
- vortoEsperanto
- redactar, palabra, vocabloSpanish
- sõnaEstonian
- berba, hitzBasque
- واژه, قول, گفتار, پیمان, کلمهPersian
- Sana, uutiset, sanaaFinnish
- orðFaroese
- verbe, parole, motFrench
- wurdWestern Frisian
- focalIrish
- facal, briatharScottish Gaelic
- palabra, vocábuloGalician
- kalmaHausa
- מִלָּה, ניסחHebrew
- बात, शब्दHindi
- mo, pawòlHaitian Creole
- szóHungarian
- բան, խոսք, խոստում, բառArmenian
- parola, verbo, vocabuloInterlingua
- firman, kataIndonesian
- vortoIdo
- orða, orðIcelandic
- parola, verbo, termine, word, vocaboloItalian
- 福音, 言語, 言葉, 単語, 言質Japanese
- ukara, sabdaJavanese
- სიტყვაGeorgian
- сөзKazakh
- oqaaseqKalaallisut, Greenlandic
- ពាក្យសំដី, ពាក្យKhmer
- ಶಬ್ದ, ಪದKannada
- 말씀, 단어, 말, 낱말Korean
- peyv, kelîme, bêjeKurdish
- сөзKyrgyz
- vocabulum, verbumLatin
- WuertLuxembourgish, Letzeburgesch
- nkómbóLingala
- ຄໍາLao
- žodisLithuanian
- vārdsLatvian
- matapakinga, kupu, pūrongoMāori
- збор, сло́во, формулира, изразува, божја речMacedonian
- ശബ്ദം, പദം, വാക്ക്Malayalam
- үгMongolian
- शब्दMarathi
- perkataan, perbincangan, kabar, berita, janji, khabar, kalimah, firman, sabda, kataMalay
- kelmaMaltese
- စကားလုံးBurmese
- dorerNauru
- शब्दNepali
- woord, formuleren, verwoorden, woordenwisseling, erewoord, onder woorden brengenDutch
- ord, krangel, lovnadNorwegian
- saadNavajo, Navaho
- дзырд, ныхасOssetian, Ossetic
- ਸ਼ਬਦPanjabi, Punjabi
- słowo, słowo bożePolish
- لغت, کلمهPashto, Pushto
- verbo, palavra, promessa, palavra divina, palavra de Deus, palavra do Senhor, notícias, vocábuloPortuguese
- pled, plaidRomansh
- vorbă, [[cuvânt]] [[de]] [[onoare]], cuvântRomanian
- сло́во, слово, перебра́нка, формулироватьRussian
- पदम्, शब्दSanskrit
- لفظSindhi
- reč, реч, slovo, riječ, ријеч, словоSerbo-Croatian
- වචනයSinhala, Sinhalese
- slovo božie, slovo, božie slovo, čestné slovoSlovak
- beseda, častna besedaSlovene
- eraySomali
- llaf, fjalë, sharjeAlbanian
- lentsweSouthern Sotho
- ordSwedish
- nenoSwahili
- வார்த்தை, சொல்Tamil
- దేవుడు, మాట, సంకేత పదము, వార్త, పదము, వాణి, చర్చ, పదంTelugu
- калима, КаломTajik
- คำThai
- ቃልTigrinya
- sözTurkmen
- salitaTagalog
- lefokoTswana
- sözcük, kelimeTurkish
- сүзTatar
- parauTahitian
- سۆزUyghur, Uighur
- сло́воUkrainian
- کلمہ, شبد, باتUrdu
- soʻzUzbek
- những lời, chữ, từ, tiếng, nhời, lờiVietnamese
- vödVolapük
- motWalloon
- baatWolof
- igamaXhosa
- וואָרטYiddish
- ó̩ró̩gbólóhùn kanYoruba
- uhlamvu, igama, isithembisoZulu
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