Definition of "as"

as¹

/æz/

adverb
not comparable
1. To such an extent or degree; to the same extent or degree.
  Quotations
  “My Continental prominence is improving,” I commented dryly. Von Lindowe cut at a furze bush with his silver-mounted rattan. “Quite so,” he said as dryly, his hand at his mustache. “I may say if your intentions were known your life would not be worth a curse.”
  1908, W[illiam] B[lair] M[orton] Ferguson, chapter IV, in Zollenstein, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company
  She was like a Beardsley Salome, he had said. And indeed she had the narrow eyes and the high cheekbone of that creature, and as nearly the sinuosity as is compatible with human symmetry. His wooing had been brief but incisive.
  1922, Ben Travers, chapter 1, in A Cuckoo in the Nest‎
2. Considered to be, in relation to something else; in the relation (specified).
  Quotations
  1865, The Act of Suicide as Distinct from the Crime of Self-Murder: A Sermon
  1937, Tobias Matthay, On Colouring as Distinct from Tone-inflection: A Lecture, London: Oxford University Press
3. (dated) For example; for instance. (Compare such as.)
  Quotations
  Likewise many other indulgences were by virtue hereof granted; as, to have a portatile altar, to receive the Sacrament privately; […]
  1820, John Strype, The Life of the Learned Sir Thomas Smith, page 48
  First; original; indigenous; primitive; native; as, the aboriginal tribes of America.
  1913, “Aboriginal”, in Webster's Unabridged Dictionary
conjunction
1. In the (same) way or manner that; to the (same) degree that.
  Quotations
  "But he's good as dead, and I ain't about to waste a bullet."
  2001, Jason Manning, Mountain Honor, Signet Book
  1. Used after so or as to introduce a comparison.
  2. Used to introduce a result: with the result that it is.
    Quotations
    [...] that the Board of Regents had fallen into disrepute; that intelligent men inquired what the board was; he said that it was a quiet body, and kept out of the newspapers — and so quiet as to lead many to suppose tho board had ceased to exist.
    1868, Proceedings and Debates of the [New York] Constitutional Convention Held in 1867 and 1868 in the City of Albany, page 2853
    It was a talent he had developed; he could actually be so quiet as to be practically invisible. In class, he was rarely called upon to answer any questions. In the crowded hallways, he could slip in and out without offending any of the local bullies ...
    2006, Eric Manasse, The Twenty-First Man, iUniverse, page 7
    Under most circumstances, it will be possible to draw a distinction sufficiently clear as to allow an unambiguous allocation to one or other category.
    2011, Herwig C. H. Hofmann, Gerard C. Rowe, Alexander H. Türk, Administrative Law and Policy of the European Union, Oxford University Press, page 507
  3. Expressing concession: though.
    Quotations
    We wish, however, to avail ourselves of the interest, transient as it may be, which this work has excited.
    1843 (first published), Thomas Babington Macaulay, Essays
    If this happens, be patient and, difficult as it may be, try not to take these reactions personally.
    2009, Matthew Friedman, Laurie B. Slone, J Friedman, After the War Zone
2. At the time that; during the time when:
  1. At the same instant or moment that: when.
  2. At the same time that, during the same time when: while.
  3. Varying through time in the same proportion that.
3. Being that, considering that, because, since.
4. (dated) Introducing a comparison with a hypothetical state (+ subjunctive, or with the verb elided): as though, as if.
  Quotations
  I start as from some dreadful dream.
  1681, John Dryden, The Spanish Fryar: Or, the Double Discovery. […], London: […] Richard Tonson and Jacob Tonson, […], (please specify the page number)
  And sodenly there cam a sounde from heven as it had bene the commynge off a myghty wynde […]
  1526, [William Tyndale, transl.], The Newe Testamẽt […] (Tyndale Bible), [Worms, Germany: Peter Schöffer], Acts ij]
  Oft haue I ſeene the haughty Cardinall, More like a Souldier then a man o' th' Church, As ſtout and proud as he were Lord of all […]
  1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Second Part of Henry the Sixt, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies. […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, [Act I, scene i]
  I feel securely fixed on the careering chair, and with the momentum gained I steer myself as on skis to the guard and come to a stop with a happy little flourish.
  1990, Andrew Fetler, “The third count”, in Triquarterly, number Spring
  They think they are romantic, tragic figures, exiled as on Elba. They picture themselves as enlightened barons bringing civilization, opportunity, and kindness to the brown-skinned.
  1992/1993 Winter, Katherine Weissman, “The Divorce Gang”, in Ploughshares, volume 18, number 4, page 202
  Newspapers and magazines would load their graphics, and you could doodle as on the Sony Reader Daily Edition.
  2011 January 30, Kyle Wagner, “E-readers lighten a traveler's load But choosing the right unit means weighing features, cost, ease of use”, in Denver Post, page Travel 1
5. (law) used before a preposition to clarify that the prepositional phrase restricts the meaning of the sentence; specifically.
6. Functioning as a relative conjunction, and sometimes like a relative pronoun: that, which, who. (See usage notes.)
  Quotations
  Now will he sit under a medlar tree,And wish his mistress were that kind of fruit,As maids call medlars, when they laugh alone.
  c. 1591–1595 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Romeo and Ivliet”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, (please specify the act number in uppercase Roman numerals, and the scene number in lowercase Roman numerals)
  the temper is to be altered and amended, with such things as fortify and strengthen the heart and brain […]
  1624, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], The Anatomy of Melancholy: […], 2nd edition, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Printed by John Lichfield and James Short, for Henry Cripps, partition II, section 5, member 1, subsection v
  ‘Sissy is not a name,’ said Mr. Gradgrind. ‘Don’t call yourself Sissy. Call yourself Cecilia.’‘It’s father as calls me Sissy, sir,’ returned the young girl in a trembling voice, and with another curtsey.
  1854, Charles Dickens, “Book I, Chapter II”, in Hard Times. For These Times, London: Bradbury & Evans, […]
  “If I had, if I could hold me head up with the better folk, perhaps I'd think again, but I don't reckon as that's very likely now.”
  2016, Alan Moore, Jerusalem, Liveright, published 2016, page 99
7. (rare, now England, Midland US and Southern US, possibly obsolete) Than.
  Quotations
  The king was not more forward to bestow favours on them as they free to deal affronts to others their superiors.The spelling has been modernized.
  1655, Thomas Fuller, edited by James Nichols, The Church History of Britain, […], new edition, volumes (please specify |volume=I to III), London: […] [James Nichols] for Thomas Tegg and Son, […], published 1837
  Darkness itself is no more opposite to light as their actions were diametricall to their words.
  1660, James Howell, Parly of Beasts, page 48
preposition
1. Introducing a basis of comparison, with an object in the objective case.
  Quotations
  A great bargain also had been the excellent Axminster carpet which covered the floor; as, again, the arm-chair in which Bunting now sat forward, staring into the dull, small fire.
  1913, Mrs. [Marie] Belloc Lowndes, chapter I, in The Lodger, London: Methuen; republished in Novels of Mystery: The Lodger; The Story of Ivy; What Really Happened, New York, N.Y.: Longmans, Green and Co., […], page 0016
  She was like a Beardsley Salome, he had said. And indeed she had the narrow eyes and the high cheekbone of that creature, and as nearly the sinuosity as is compatible with human symmetry.
  1922, Ben Travers, chapter 1, in A Cuckoo in the Nest‎
2. In the role of.
  Quotations
  Directed by Howard Hawks, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes starred Marilyn Monroe as Lorelei and Jane Russell as Dorothy.
  2000, Tom Pendergast, Sara Pendergast, St. James encyclopedia of popular culture, volume 2, page 223
  Not long ago, it was difficult to produce photographs of tiny creatures with every part in focus. […] A photo processing technique called focus stacking has changed that. Developed as a tool to electronically combine the sharpest bits of multiple digital images, focus stacking is a boon to biologists seeking full focus on a micron scale.
  2013 July-August, Catherine Clabby, “Focus on Everything”, in American Scientist
3. by way of

as²

/ˈæs/

noun
plural ases or asses
1. (unit of weight) A libra.
2. (numismatics) Any of several coins of Rome, coined in bronze or later copper; or the equivalent value.

as³

noun
1. (rare) Alternative form of a's.

as⁴

/ˈæz/

adverb
1. (New Zealand, slang) Used to intensify an adjective; very much; extremely
  Quotations
  It also appears in other positions in the sentence: his big as car could hardly fit.It's pretty scratched, and dented as.
  2021 May 17, “Language Matters: Sweet as is Kiwi as”, in Stuff‎

Definition of "as"

as1

adverb

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conjunction

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preposition

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as2

noun

as3

noun

as4

adverb

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as¹

as²

as³

as⁴