like

verb · noun · adjective

Simple meaning

To enjoy, be pleased by.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

lyk

US device voice

IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈlaɪk

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

verb

To enjoy, be pleased by; favor; be in favor of.
To find attractive; to prefer the company of; to have mild romantic feelings for.
To prefer and maintain (an action) as a regular habit or activity.
with 'would' and in certain other phrases
To want, desire. See also would like.
Find enjoyable or agreeable
Want to have

noun

A kind of person
“We'll not see his like again.”
chiefly in the plural
Something that a person likes (prefers).

adjective

Resembling or similar; having the same or some of the same characteristics; often used in combination

Word at a Glance

Difficulty: A1 · Beginner
Frequency: Very Common
Typical Use: Everyday English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: To prefer and maintain (an action) as a regular habit or activity.

Used this way, like is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone: Neutral
Formality: Neutral
Intensity: Not strongly marked
How common: Moderately common
Connotation: No strong connotation
Usage feel: Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use like

“How did you like the President's speech last night?”verb

Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

looked likelike manner

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Inflected forms

Grammatical variations of the same word.

likedadjectiveInflected form
Found pleasant or attractive.

Word family

Words built from the same root.

likenessnounDerived noun
Similarity in appearance or character or nature between persons or things.
likeableadjectiveDerived adjective
Evoking empathic or sympathetic feelings.
likelyadjectiveDerived adverb
Has a good chance of being the case or of coming about.
likewiseadverbDerived adverb
In like or similar manner.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

like royaltyadverbCompound term
In a royal manner.
like sinadverbCompound term
With great speed or effort or intensity.
like the deviladverbCompound term
With great speed or effort or intensity.
like thunderadverbCompound term
With great speed or effort or intensity.
like blue murderadverbCompound term
At top speed.
like an expertadverbCompound term
In an expert manner.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Antonyms

verb

Sense: to enjoy or be pleased by

dislikeunlike

noun

Sense: kind of person

dislikeunlike

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.