table

noun · verb

Simple meaning

Furniture with a top surface to accommodate a variety of uses.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

taybuhl

Say the bold part a little louder.

US device voice

IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈteɪbəl

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

countable
Furniture with a top surface to accommodate a variety of uses.
An item of furniture with a flat top surface raised above the ground, usually on one or more legs.
The board or table-like furniture on which a game is played, such as snooker, billiards, or draughts.
A piece of furniture having a smooth flat top that is usually supported by one or more vertical legs
A supply of food or entertainment.
A group of people at a table, for example, for a meal, meeting or game.

verb

chiefly us
To remove from the agenda, to postpone dealing with; to shelve (to indefinitely postpone consideration or discussion of something).
To tabulate; to put into a table or grid.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty: A1 · Beginner (estimated)
Frequency: Very Common
Typical Use: General English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: A piece of furniture having a smooth flat top that is usually supported by one or more vertical legs

Used this way, table 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 table

“I reserved a table at my favorite restaurant.”noun

Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

Tap the highlighted word to open its own entry.

Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

table mustardnounCompound term
Pungent powder or paste prepared from ground mustard seeds.
table napkinnounCompound term
A small piece of table linen that is used to wipe the mouth and to cover the lap in order to protect clothing.
table of contentsnounCompound term
A list of divisions (chapters or articles) and the pages on which they start.
table rappingnounCompound term
Alleged form of communication with spirits of the dead.
table saltnounCompound term
White crystalline form of especially sodium chloride used to season and preserve food.
table sawnounCompound term
A circular saw mounted under a table or bench so that the blade of the saw projects up through a slot.

Related words

Connected by subject or meaning, not by word formation.

tablewarenounRelated term
Articles for use at the table (dishes and silverware and glassware).
tabletopnounRelated term
The top horizontal work surface of a table.
tableclothnounRelated term
A covering spread over a dining table.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

Sense: furniture with a top surface to accommodate a variety of uses

board

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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.