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size

noun · verb

Simple meaning

The dimensions or magnitude of a thing.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

syz
US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈsaɪz

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.

noun

  1. The dimensions or magnitude of a thing; how big something is.

  2. A large magnitude

    “He blanched when he saw the size of the bill.”

  3. A specific set of dimensions for a manufactured article, especially clothing.

  4. graph theory

    The number of edges in a graph.

  5. An instrument consisting of a number of perforated gauges fastened together at one end by a rivet, used for measuring the size of pearls

  6. A thin, weak glue used as primer for paper or canvas intended to be painted upon.

verb

  1. Cover or stiffen or glaze a porous material with size or sizing (a glutinous substance)

  2. transitive

    To apply glue or other primer to a surface which is to be painted.

  3. Make to a size; bring to a suitable size

  4. Sort according to size

  5. transitive

    To adjust the size of; to make a certain size.

  6. transitive

    To classify or arrange by size.

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: The dimensions or magnitude of a thing; how big something is.

Used this way, size 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
Matter-of-fact
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 size

  • “He blanched when he saw the size of the bill.”noun
  • “A wolf is about the size of a large dog.”noun
  • “He wears a size 13 shoe.”noun

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

Instrument

family size

Thin

sample size

Viscous

grain size

Other combinations

particle sizepopulation sizesmall sizelarge sizesize distribution

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Inflected forms

Grammatical variations of the same word.

  • sizedadjectiveInflected form

    Having a specified size.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • size of itnounCompound term

    The actual state of affairs.

  • size upverbCompound term

    To look at critically or searchingly, or in minute detail.

  • size sticknounCompound term

    A mechanical measuring stick used by shoe fitters to measure the length and width of your foot.

  • size constancynounCompound term

    The tendency to perceive the veridical size of a familiar object despite differences in their distance (and consequent differences in the size of the pattern projected on the retina of the…

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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.