for

Valid in Scrabble

Scrabble points
6
Words With Friends
6
Letters
3
Pronunciation
/fɔː/
See all 8 pronunciations
/fɔː/ · /fɔɹ/ · /foː/ · /fɔɾ/ · /fɒː(ɾ)/ · /fə/ · /fɚ/ · /fɘ/

Definition of for

38 senses · 5 parts of speech · etymology included

conj

  1. (formal, literary)Because.
    “I had to stay with my wicked stepmother, for I had nowhere else to go.”
    “[…]Dismount thy tuck, be yare in thy preparation, for thy assailant is quick, skillful and deadly.”
    “[…]nor is there found, in sea or on land, a sweeter or pleasanter of gifts than she; for she is prime in comeliness and seemlihead of face and symmetrical shape of perfect grace; her check is ruddy dight, her brow flower white, her teeth gem-bright, her eyes blackest black and whitest white, her hips of heavy weight, her waist slight and her favour exquisite.”
    “"By means of the Golden Cap I shall command the Winged Monkeys to carry you to the gates of the Emerald City," said Glinda, "for it would be a shame to deprive the people of so wonderful a ruler."”
    “Let me root, root, root for the home team, / If they don't win, it's a shame. / For it's one, two, three strikes, you're out, / At the old ball game.”
See all 38 definitions

conj

  1. (formal, literary)Because.
    “I had to stay with my wicked stepmother, for I had nowhere else to go.”
    “[…]Dismount thy tuck, be yare in thy preparation, for thy assailant is quick, skillful and deadly.”
    “[…]nor is there found, in sea or on land, a sweeter or pleasanter of gifts than she; for she is prime in comeliness and seemlihead of face and symmetrical shape of perfect grace; her check is ruddy dight, her brow flower white, her teeth gem-bright, her eyes blackest black and whitest white, her hips of heavy weight, her waist slight and her favour exquisite.”
    “"By means of the Golden Cap I shall command the Winged Monkeys to carry you to the gates of the Emerald City," said Glinda, "for it would be a shame to deprive the people of so wonderful a ruler."”
    “Let me root, root, root for the home team, / If they don't win, it's a shame. / For it's one, two, three strikes, you're out, / At the old ball game.”

prep

  1. Towards; in the direction of.
    “The astronauts headed for the moon.”
    “Run for the hills!”
    “He was headed for the door when he remembered.”
    “Wee ſailed from Peru, (where wee had continued by the ſpace of one whole yeare,) for China and Iapan, by the South Sea; [...]”
  2. Leading towards in time or circumstance.
    “We're heading for bankruptcy.”
    “He's set for graduating this year.”
  3. Directed at; intended to belong to.
    “I have something for you.”
    “Maya Erwin, Vice President of Marketing & Innovation at Blue Diamond added in a press release: “Partnering with Mike’s Hot Honey allowed us to create something truly unique for snack lovers.”
  4. In order to help, benefit, gratify, honor etc. (someone or something).
    “Everything I do, I do for you.”
    “We're having a birthday party for Janet.”
    “The mayor gave a speech for the charity gala.”
    “You, telling me the things you're gonna do for me.”
  5. Befitting of someone’s beliefs, needs, wants, skills, or tastes; best suited to.
    “I’ll strike a blow for you.”
    “If having to bag the groceries correctly is more than you can handle, then this isn't the job for you.”
  6. To be used or treated in a stated way, or with a stated purpose or meaning.
    “This is a new bell for my bicycle.”
    “The cake is for Tom and Helen's anniversary.”
    “This medicine is for your cough.”
    “These apples here are for eating. The rest are for throwing away.”
    “I'll buy something for killing cockroaches. We must find something to kill them all.”
  7. Supporting, in favour of.
    “All those for the motion, raise your hands.”
    “Who's for ice-cream?”
    “I'm for going by train”
    “Ten voted for, and three against.”
    “"I'll go round presently, and pay our friend off." Rather alarmed by this summary action, I was for a little delay, and even hinted that our friend himself might be difficult to deal with.”
  8. Because of.
    “He wouldn't apologize; and just for that, she refused to help him.”
    “He looks better for having lost weight.”
    “She was the worse for drink.”
    “I like her for lots of reasons.”
    “I jumped for joy.”
  9. In order to cure, remove or counteract.
    “I need to spray my house for termites.”
    “The doctor treated me for arthritis.”
    “We're protesting for climate change.”
  10. So as to allow (something or someone) to take position.
    “Make way for the president!”
    “Clear the shelves for our new Christmas stock!”
  11. In anticipation of.
    “Stand by for your cue.”
    “Prepare for battle.”
  12. As an evaluation of; as to evaluate in connection with.
    “I am grading for style on this paper.”
    “History will judge you for your actions.”
    “We're investigating you for the robbery.”
  13. So as to identify or locate.
    “They swept the area for enemy operatives.”
    “Police combed his flat for clues.”
  14. Over (a period of time).
    “I've lived here for three years.”
    “They fought for days over a silly pencil.”
    “The store is closed for the day.”
    “To guide the sun's bright chariot for a day.”
  15. Throughout or across (a distance in space).
    “I can see for miles.”
    “For many miles about / There's scarce a bush.”
  16. Used to introduce a subject of a to-infinitive clause.
    “It seems unreasonable for our boss to withhold our wages.”
    “I don't think it's a good idea for you and me to meet.”
    “For you and me to meet is not a good idea because I'm not eager for it to be a success.”
  17. On behalf of.
    “I will stand in for him.”
    “I speak for the Prime Minister.”
  18. In the role or capacity of; instead of; in place of.
    “I used a hay bale for a bed.”
    “He's got a turnip for a brain.”
  19. In exchange for; in correspondence or equivalence with.
    “I got five hundred pounds for that old car!”
    “He matched me blow for blow.”
    “And if any mischief follow, then thou shalt give life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.”
  20. In order to obtain or acquire.
    “I am aiming for completion by the end of business Thursday.”
    “He's going for his doctorate.”
    “Do you want to go for coffee?”
    “People all over Greece looked to Delphi for answers.”
    “After a split second of hesitation, the second baseman leaped for the ball—or, rather, stumbled for it.”
  21. By the standards of, usually with the implication that those standards are lower than one might otherwise expect; considering.
    “Fair for its day.”
    “She's spry for an old lady.”
    “He's very mature, for a two-year-old.”
  22. To be, or as being.
    “Don't take me for a fool.”
    “17th century Abraham Cowley, Of Wit We take a falling meteor for a star.”
    “if a man can be persuaded and fully assured of anything for a truth without having examined, what is there that he may not embrace for truth ?”
    “Most of our ingenious young men take up some cry'd-up English poet for their model.”
    “But let her go for an ungrateful woman.”
  23. Despite, in spite of.
    “For all his expensive education, he didn't seem very bright.”
    “"You must keep your head. There is still hope." "Hope!" "Yes; plentiful hope -- for all this destruction!"”
    “1892 August 6, "The Unbidden Guest", in Charles Dickens, Jr. (editor), All the Year Round, page 133, Mr. Joseph Blenkinshaw was perhaps not worth quite so much as was reported; but for all that he was a very wealthy man […]”
    “For all his faults, there had been something lofty and great about him - as a judge, as a patron of education, as a builder, as an international figure.”
  24. Indicating something desired or anticipated.
    “O for the wings of a dove.”
    “Ah! for wings to soar …”
    “And now for a slap-up meal!”
    “O For a Muſe of Fire, that would aſcend / The brighteſt Heauen of Inuention :”
    “Oh! but to breathe the air / By their side under summer skies! To watch the blush on their cheeks, / The light in their liquid eyes. / Oh! but for one short hour, / To whisper a word of love; […]”
  25. Introducing the first item(s) in a potential sequence .
    “Go scuba diving? For one thing, I can't even swim.”
    “For another, we don't have any equipment.”
  26. (US)In honor of; after.
    “He is named for his grandfather.”
  27. (UK)Due for or facing (a certain outcome or fate).
    “He totally screwed up that project. Now he's surely for the sack.”
  28. (US)Out of; used to indicate a fraction, a ratio
    “In term of base hits, Jones was three for four on the day”
  29. For the price of.
    “Special offer: three for two.”
  30. Used as part of a score to indicate the number of wickets that have fallen.
    “At close of play, England were 305 for 3.”
  31. (obsolete)Indicating that in prevention of which, or through fear of which, anything is done.
    “We'll have a bib, for spoiling of thy doublet.”
  32. (nonstandard)So (that), in order to
    “He took the swing shift for he could get more overtime.”
  33. Used in various other more-or-less idiomatic ways to construe individual verbs, indicating various semantic relationships such as target, purpose, result, etc.; see also the entries for individual phrasal verbs, e.g. ask for, look for, stand for, etc.
    “to account for one's whereabouts    to care for a relative    to settle for second best    to allow for mistakes”

particle

  1. (dated)To; (the particle for marking the following verb as an infinitive).
    “Ugh—I’ll not be able for get up. Send for M’sieu le Curé—I’ll be goin’ for die for sure.”
    “[It was a] firs rate place for shoot a woodcocks, I tell you. […] I say [it] wass no use for spen money. […] An I say in "So wass I. I see lot of sy-pokes fly up an twist off like screw-cork an spit whistle, but I wass'nt able for get aim on him."”
    “She say that when nigger people step out o’ they place and start for rub shoulders with Bacra, trouble just ‘round the corner.”

noun

  1. (abbreviation, alt-of, initialism)Initialism of field Of research.
  2. (abbreviation, alt-of, initialism)Initialism of frame of reference.

name

  1. (abbreviation, alt-of, initialism)Initialism of Fellowship of Reconciliation, any of a number of religious nonviolent organizations, particularly in English-speaking countries.

Definitions from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA.

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English for, from Old English for (“for, because of”), from Proto-Germanic *furi (“for”), from Proto-Indo-European *preh₂-. Cognate with West Frisian foar (“for”), Dutch voor (“for”), German für…

See full etymology

Inherited from Middle English for, from Old English for (“for, because of”), from Proto-Germanic *furi (“for”), from Proto-Indo-European *preh₂-. Cognate with West Frisian foar (“for”), Dutch voor (“for”), German für (“for”), Danish for (“for”), Swedish för (“for”), Norwegian Bokmål and Norwegian Nynorsk for (“for”), Icelandic fyrir (“for”), Latin per (“by, through, for, by means of”) and Romance language descendants (e.g. Spanish por (“for”)), Ancient Greek περί (perí, “for, about, toward”), Lithuanian per (“by, through, during”), Slovak pre (“for”), Sanskrit परि (pári, “over, around”).

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