present

adj

1. Relating to now, for the time being; current.

   “The barbaric practice continues to the present day.”

   “The present manager has been here longer than the last one.”

   “up to the present day”

   “All this was extraordinarily distasteful to Churchill. It was ugly, gross. Never before had he felt such repulsion when the vicar displayed his characteristic bluntness or coarseness of speech. In the present connexion […] such talk had been distressingly out of place.”

2. Located in the immediate vicinity.

   “Only half of all present members were present at the meeting.”

   “Is there a doctor present?”

   “Several people were present when the event took place.”

   “Being the leader, Jason is always present at class.”

3. (obsolete)Having an immediate effect (of a medicine, poison etc.); fast-acting.

   “Amongſt this number of Cordials and Alteratiues, J doe not find a more preſent remedy, then a cup of wine, or ſtrong drinke, and if it be ſoberly and opportunely vſed.”

4. (obsolete)Not delayed; immediate; instant.

   “Sign me a present pardon for my brother,”

   “An ambassador[…]desires a present audience.”

5. (dated)Ready; quick in emergency.

   “a present wit”

6. (obsolete)Favorably attentive; propitious.

   “to find a god so present to my prayer”

7. Relating to something a person is referring to in the very context, with a deictic use similar to the demonstrative adjective this.

   “Near-synonyms: this (determiner), this (pronoun), current”

   “in the present study; the present article; the present results”

8. Attentive; alert; focused.

   “Sorry, I was distracted just now, I'll try to be more present from now on.”

9. Neither for or against (used in voting to express abstention)

noun

1. The current moment or period of time.
2. The present tense.
3. A gift, especially one given for birthdays, Christmas, anniversaries, graduations, weddings, or any other special occasions.

   “wedding present”

   “birthday present”

   “Oh! Thank you for the presents! How considerate of you!”

   “Only his friends attended his birthday party. They're all broke, so he got no present.”

   ““A very welcome, kind, useful present, that means to the parish. By the way, Hopkins, let this go no further. We don't want the tale running round that a rich person has arrived. Churchill, my dear fellow, we have such greedy sharks, and wolves in lamb's clothing.[…]””

4. The position of a soldier in presenting arms.

   “The platoon stands at present.”

   “He was at present near the headquarters gates.”

5. (colloquial, endearing, euphemistic)poo; feces

   “I think our toddler's just left us a little present in his diaper...”

   “She has to deal with her cats' presents in the litterboxes on a daily basis, and she doesn't mind one bit.”

verb

1. To bring (someone) into the presence of (a person); to introduce formally.

   “to present an envoy to the king”

2. (intransitive)To appear or represent oneself outwardly.

   “With your shabby attire, you do not present well as a prospective investment banking associate!”

3. (transitive)To nominate (a member of the clergy) for an ecclesiastical benefice; to offer to the bishop or ordinary as a candidate for institution.
4. (transitive)To offer (a problem, complaint) to a court or other authority for consideration.
5. (archaic, transitive)To charge (a person) with a crime or accusation; to bring before court.

   “In the diocese of Gloucester in 1548 two inhabitants of Slimbridge were presented for saying that holy oil was ‘of no virtue but meet to grease sheep’.”

6. (reflexive)To come forward, appear in a particular place or before a particular person, especially formally.

   “Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the lord.”

7. (transitive)To put (something) forward in order for it to be seen; to show, exhibit.

   “So ladies in romance assist their knight, / Present the spear, and arm him for the fight.”

   “Note: The offensive team must present a legal formation both before and after a shift.”

8. (transitive)To make clear to one's mind or intelligence; to put forward for consideration.

   “I do begin to realize that the matter must be presented in such a way as may interest the reader.”

   “Libertarian paternalism is the view that, because the way options are presented to citizens affects what they choose, society should present options in a way that “nudges” our intuitive selves to make choices that are more consistent with what our more deliberative selves would have chosen if they were in control.”

9. (transitive)To put on, stage (a play etc.).

   “The theater is proud to present the Fearless Fliers.”

10. (transitive)To point (a firearm) at something, to hold (a weapon) in a position ready to fire.
11. (reflexive)To offer oneself for mental consideration; to occur to the mind.

    “Well, one idea does present itself.”

12. (intransitive)To come to the attention of medical staff, especially with a specific symptom.

    “The patient presented with insomnia.”

    “Symptoms typically present in early childhood.”

13. (intransitive)To appear (in a specific way) for delivery (of a fetus); to appear first at the mouth of the uterus during childbirth.
14. (intransitive)To appear or represent oneself (as having a certain gender).

    “At that time, Elbe was presenting as a man.”

    “In May 2019, a case was referred to the high court in which social workers for Lancashire county council had sought orders against the parents of two trans children to take the children into care. Social services were alerted when H, the couple’s three-year-old foster child, born male, had gone into school presenting as a girl.”

15. (transitive)To act as presenter on (a radio, television programme etc.).

    “Anne Robinson presents "The Weakest Link".”

16. (transitive)To give a gift or presentation to (someone).

    “She was presented with an honorary degree for her services to entertainment.”

    “Live thou, and reign, forever, glorious Lord! / My last, least off’ring, I present thee now— / Renounce me, leave me, and be still ador’d! / Slay me, my God, and I applaud the blow.”

17. (transitive)To deliver (something abstract) as though as a gift; to offer.

    “I presented my compliments to Lady Featherstoneshaw.”

18. (transitive)To hand over (a bill etc.) to be paid.
19. (intransitive)To display one's female genitalia in a way that signals to others that one is ready for copulation. Also referred to as lordosis behaviour.
20. (slang)In omegaverse fiction, to have one's secondary sex (alpha, omega, or beta) become apparent, typically at puberty.

    “Sherlock’s gender performance itself remains unchanged, with the exception of the hormonal changes he goes through after presenting as an omega.”

    “People “present” their secondary genders during puberty, so girls and boys are raised without knowing if they will be alphas, betas, or omegas.”

21. (form-of, participle, past)simple past and past participle of presend