v., liked, lik·ing, likes.

v.tr.

1. To find pleasant or attractive; enjoy.
2. To want to have: would like some coffee.
3. To feel about; regard: How do you like her nerve!
4. Archaic. To be pleasing to.

v.intr.

1. To have an inclination or a preference: If you like, we can meet you there.
2. Scots. To be pleased.

n.

Something that is liked; a preference: made a list of his likes and dislikes.

[Middle English liken, from Old English līcian, to please.]

like² (līk)
prep.

1. Possessing the characteristics of; resembling closely; similar to.
2. 1. In the typical manner of: It's not like you to take offense.
   2. In the same way as: lived like royalty.
3. Inclined or disposed to: felt like running away.
4. As if the probability exists for: looks like a bad year for farmers.
5. Such as; for example: saved things like old newspapers and pieces of string.

adj.

1. Possessing the same or almost the same characteristics; similar: on this and like occasions.
2. Alike: They are as like as two siblings.
3. Having equivalent value or quality. Usually used in negative sentences: There's nothing like a good night's sleep.

adv.

1. In the manner of being; as if. Used as an intensifier of action: worked like hell; ran like crazy.
2. Informal. Probably; likely: Like as not she'll change her mind.
3. Nearly; approximately: The price is more like 1,000 dollars.
4. Nonstandard. Used to provide emphasis or a pause: Like let's get going.

n.

1. One similar to or like another. Used with the: was subject to coughs, asthma, and the like.
2. Informal. An equivalent or similar person or thing; an equal or match. Often used in the plural: I've never seen the likes of this before. We'll never see his like again.

conj. Usage Problem.

1. In the same way that; as: To dance like she does requires great discipline.
2. As if: It looks like we'll finish on time.

idiom:

be like Informal.

1. To say or utter. Used chiefly in oral narration: And he's like, “Leave me alone!”

[Middle English, from like, similar (from Old English gelīc and Old Norse līkr) and from like, similarly (from Old English gelīce, from gelīc, similar).]

USAGE NOTE   Writers since Chaucer's time have used like as a conjunction, but 19th-century and 20th-century critics have been so vehement in their condemnations of this usage that a writer who uses the construction in formal style risks being accused of illiteracy or worse. Prudence requires The dogs howled as (not like) we expected them to. Like is more acceptably used as a conjunction in informal style with verbs such as feel, look, seem, sound, and taste, as in It looks like we are in for a rough winter. But here too as if is to be preferred in formal writing. There can be no objection to the use of like as a conjunction when the following verb is not expressed, as in He took to politics like a duck to water. See Usage Notes at as¹, together.

Our Living Language   Along with be all and go, the construction combining be and like has become a common way of introducing quotations in informal conversation, especially among younger people: “So I'm like, ‘Let's get out of here!’” As with go, this use of like can also announce a brief imitation of another person's behavior, often elaborated with facial expressions and gestures. It can also summarize a past attitude or reaction (instead of presenting direct speech). If a woman says “I'm like, ‘Get lost buddy!’” she may or may not have used those actual words to tell the offending man off. In fact, she may not have said anything to him but instead may be summarizing her attitude at the time by stating what she might have said, had she chosen to speak. See Note at all, go¹.

like³ (līk) also liked (līkt)
aux.v. Chiefly Southern U.S.

Used with a past infinitive or with to and a simple past form to indicate being just on the point of or coming near to having done something in the past: “I like to a split a gut laughin'.” “It seemed as how nobody had thought about measurin' the width of the bridge's openin', and we like to didn't make it through” (Dictionary of American Regional English).

[Middle English liken, to compare, from like, similar. See like².]

Our Living Language   In certain Southern varieties of American English there are two grammatically distinct usages of the word like to mean “was on the verge of.” In both, either like or liked is possible. In the first, the word is followed by a past infinitive: We liked (or like) to have drowned. The ancestor of this construction was probably the adjective like in the sense “likely, on the verge of,” as in She's like to get married again. The adjective was reinterpreted by some speakers as a verb, and since like to and liked to are indistinguishable in normal speech, the past tense came to be marked on the following infinitive for clarity. From this developed a second way of expressing the same concept: the use of like to with a following finite past-tense verb form, as in I like to died when I saw that. This construction appears odd at first because it ostensibly contains an ungrammatical infinitive to died; but that is not the case at all. What has happened is that like to here has been reinterpreted as an adverb meaning almost. In fact, it is quite common to see the phrase spelled as a single word, in the pronunciation spelling liketa.

verb

1. To receive pleasure from: enjoy, relish, savor. Informal go for. Slang dig. See like/dislike.
2. To find agreeable: fancy, take to. Chiefly British conceit. See like/dislike.
3. To have the desire or inclination to: choose, desire, please, want, will, wish. Idioms: have a mind, see fit. See desire.

like²

adjective

Possessing the same or almost the same characteristics: alike, analogous, comparable, corresponding, equivalent, parallel, similar, uniform. See same/different/compare.

Idioms beginning with like:
like rolling off a log
like a fish out of water
like a house afire
like a bat out of hell
like a bump on a log
like a cat on hot bricks
like a champ
like a chicken with its head cut off
like a drowned rat
like anything
like a shot
likely as not
like nobody's business
like father, like son
like fun
like gangbusters
like it or lump it
like pigs in clover
like shooting fish in a barrel
like to
like water off a duck's back

See also and the like; avoid like the plague; come up (smelling like) roses; crazy like a fox; drink like a fish; drop like flies; Dutch uncle, talk to like a; eat like a bird; feel like; (like a) fish out of water; fit like a glove; fly on the wall, would like to be a; get on (like a house afire); go out (like a light); go over (like a lead balloon); grin like a Cheshire cat; (drop like a) hot potato; just like that; know like a book; live like a king; look like a million dollars; look like death; look like something the cat dragged in; look like the cat that ate the canary; make out like a bandit; manna from heaven, like; mind like a steel trap; need like a hole in the head; no fool like an old fool; not anything like; no time like the present; out like a light; packed in like sardines; sleep like a log; something like; spread like wildfire; stick out (like a sore thumb); swear like a trooper; take to (like a duck to water); tell it like it is; treat like dirt; turn up like a bad penny; wail like a banshee; watch like a hawk; work like a beaver; work like a charm.

---

adj

Definition: similar
Antonyms: different, dissimilar, unlike

v

Definition: choose, feel inclined
Antonyms: dislike, ignore

v

Definition: enjoy, be fond of
Antonyms: despise, dislike, hate

---

Origin: 1982

You may be like, "Something's wrong here. Surely like was in the American vocabulary before 1982?" Of course. Like is an old friend, going back as far as the English language itself. In the Middle Ages, centuries before America was dreamed of, like had developed most of its present versatility. Originally a verb ("I like this"), long ago it also became an adjective ("under like circumstances"), a noun ("the like of it"), a preposition ("like a winner"), and a conjunction ("like a winner is"--a usage still deplored by purists, despite its age).

As if this were not enough, however, Americans invented two new uses for like in the twentieth century. One was the hip interjection used to mark any pause in speaking, or to emphasize what follows: "I'm, like, so hungry that, like, I'm, like, going to the store, like, right now." In the 1950s, if not before, jazz musicians were employing this like, and by the 1960s it had spread to the awareness of any Teenager (1938) who wanted to appear Cool (1949).

Far more radical, however, was the innovation of like that emerged in the 1980s. It was first reported by linguist Ronald Butters in 1982: "Many speakers who use narrative go also have a narrative use of to be (usually followed by like) where what is being quoted is an unuttered thought, as in And he was like 'Let me say something.'" Perhaps this began as an accidental spin-off of the like interjection which, as it floated around in the sentence, combined with the verb be, used to introduce a speaker's thoughts. "So I'm, This is amazing!" punctuated with like became "So I'm, like, This is amazing!"

That was, like, a way cool way of saying "I'm thinking." And since thoughts often turn into spoken words, it was also a way of saying "I said," or "she said," or "he said," with feeling. It began as a teenage fad, but in the 1990s it spread across the country and across age barriers so that even middle-aged Americans were like, "What's so strange about that?" This new use of like in place of thought or said had become a familiar, and hardly even noticed, part of the American vocabulary.

---

IN BRIEF: Enjoy: Also: Being very nearly the same.

There's no place like home, there's no place like home, there's no place like home. — Frank L. Baum from The Wizard of Oz

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

Common misspelling(s) of like

• liuke
• liek

Dansk (Danish)
1.
prep. - lignende, som, lige som
adj. - lignende, ens, lige
adv. - lignende, ens, lige
n. - noget lignende
conj. - som, lige som

idioms:

• (as) like as not    højst sandsynligt
• and the like    og den slags, og lignende
• like enough    højst sandsynligt
• more like it    det er noget af det helt rigtige
• the like(s) of which    sådan nogen som
• the likes of    sådan nogen som
• What is he like?    hvordan er han
• What is it like?    hvordan er det

2.
v. tr. - kunne lide, bryde sig om, holde af, synes om, have lyst til
v. intr. - være nær, være tæt på
n. - det man kan lide

idioms:

• as you like    som du vil
• like it or not    hvadenten du kan lide det eller ej

3.
aux. v. - det er det, det er lige det

Nederlands (Dutch)
zoals, alsof, op de wijze van, overeenkomstig, waarschijnlijk, typerend (voor), houden van, aardig vinden, graag hebben, lusten, lekker vinden, zinnen, in de stemming voor, gelijke, zijn/haar weerga, gelijkend, gelijkgestemd

Français (French)
1.
prep. - comme, à la façon de, semblable à, typique de, environ, semblant de
adj. - pareil, égal, semblable, du même genre
adv. - comme, semblable, proche de, plutôt, comment dire
n. - égal, de ce genre, chose pareille, gens comme ça, semblable
conj. - comme

idioms:

• and the like    et les semblables, et compagnie, et choses du même genre
• as like as not    probablement, vraisemblablement
• like as not    probablement
• like enough    probablement
• like so    ainsi
• like that    comme ça, choses semblables
• more like it    (voilà) qui est mieux
• the likes of    et les semblables, des gens comme
• the likes of which    des gens dont
• What is he like?    comment est-il ? (au moral)
• What is it like?    comment est-ce ?

2.
v. tr. - aimer, aimer bien, aimer (bien) faire, vouloir, plaire, approuver, tenir à faire
v. intr. - se sentir enclin/disposé à, choisir, souhaiter
n. - goût, préférence, inclination

idioms:

• as you like    comme vous voudrez
• I like that!    alors ça, c'est la meilleure (excl)
• like it or not    que cela vous plaise ou non

3.
aux. v. - (auxil. verbal) être juste sur le point de

Deutsch (German)
1.
prep. - wie
adj. - ähnlich
adv. - wie
n. - Gleicher, Vorliebe
conj. - wie

idioms:

• and the like    und dergleichen
• as like as not    wahrscheinlich
• like as not    wahrscheinlich
• like enough    wahrscheinlich
• like so    so
• like that    so
• more like it    schon besser
• the likes of    solche wie
• the likes of which    ihresgleichen
• What is he like?    wie ist er denn?
• What is it like?    wie ist es denn?

2.
v. - mögen
n. - Gleicher, Vorliebe

idioms:

• as you like    wie die magst
• I like that!    so was hab' ich gern! (ugs. iro.)
• like it or not    ob du es magst oder nicht

3.
aux. v. - gerade etw. tun

Ελληνική (Greek)
prep. - σαν, όπως, ως
conj. - σαν να
v. - αγαπώ, συμπαθώ, μου αρέσει, αρέσκομαι (να), επιθυμώ, θέλω, προτιμώ
n. - ίδιο πράγμα, (πληθ.) προτιμήσεις, γούστα
adj. - (παρ)όμοιος, ίδιος, ίσος, παρόμοιος
adv. - πιθανώς

idioms:

• (as) like as not    πιθανότατα
• and the like    και τα παρόμοια
• as you like    όπως σας αρέσει
• like enough    πιθανώς
• like it or not    είτε σ' αρέσει είτε δε σ' αρέσει
• more like it    έτσι μπράβο!, τώρα μάλιστα!
• the like(s) of which    οι παρόμοιοί του
• the likes of    οι παρόμοιοι του
• What is he like?    Πώς είναι;
• What is it like?    Πώς είναι;

Italiano (Italian)
come, come se, volere, amare, piacere a qualcuno, piacere, uguale, simile

idioms:

• (as) like as not    probabilmente
• and the like    e simili
• as you like    come ti pare
• like anything/crazy/mad    alla follia
• like enough    abbastanza simile
• like it or not    volente o nolente
• more like it    meglio
• something like    qualcosa del tipo di
• the like(s) of which    i quali/il quale
• the likes of    i tipi come
• what is someone/something like?    a cosa/chi assomiglia?

Português (Portuguese)
conj. - como
v. - gostar, querer, agradar, convir
n. - igual (m) (f), semelhante (m) (f)
adj. - igual
adv. - tal como

idioms:

• (as) like as not    como se não fosse
• and the like    e o semelhante
• as you like    como preferir
• like anything/crazy/mad    e coisas semelhantes
• like enough    gostar o bastante
• like it or not    queira ou não queira
• more like it    mais apropriado, melhor
• something like    alguma coisa parecida
• the like(s) of which    a semelhança da qual
• the likes of    qualquer pessoa ou coisa parecida
• what is someone/something like?    como é alguém/alguma coisa ?

Русский (Russian)
нравиться, предпочитать, хотеть, чье-л. подобие, похожий, равный, вероятно, как что-л., как кто-л., так, как, словно

idioms:

• (as) like as not    вероятно, не исключено
• and the like    и тому подобное
• as you like    как хотите
• like anything/crazy/mad    изо всех сил, сломя голову
• like enough    вполне возможно
• like it or not    хочется вам этого или нет
• more like it    лучше, чем предполагалось
• something like    около
• the like(s) of which    такие, как...
• the likes of    чьи-л. вкусы
• what is someone/something like?    что он собой представляет

Español (Spanish)
1.
prep. - como, del mismo modo que, como si, similar a
adj. - semejante, igual, parecido, afín, similar, análogo
adv. - como, del mismo modo que, como si, hecho, a manera de, probablemente, aproximadamente
n. - igual, similar, persona o cosa igual, parecida o semejante
conj. - como, del mismo modo que, como si, hecho, a manera de, igual que

idioms:

• and the like    y cosas por el estilo
• as like as not    probablemente
• like as not    probablemente
• like enough    probablemente
• like so    así, de este modo
• like that    como este, de este modo, así
• more like it    esto está mejor
• the likes of    personas como
• the likes of which    nunca se vio algo igual, incomparable
• What is he like?    ¿qué tal es?, ¿cómo es?
• What is it like?    ¿qué tal es?, ¿cómo es?

2.
v. tr. - tener simpatía a, apreciar, tener cariño a, querer, amar, agradar, preferir, desear
v. intr. - gustarle a una persona, desear
n. - gustos, simpatía

idioms:

• as you like    como quieras, como gustes, como digas
• I like that!    esto me gusta
• like it or not    nos guste o no

3.
aux. v. - estar justo en el punto de

Svenska (Swedish)
prep. - som, såsom, liksom, som t.ex., lik(t), typiskt för
conj. - som, såsom, som om
v. - tycka om, gilla, vilja, ha lust, vilja ha
n. - något liknande
adj. - (pred.) lik, (attr. litt.) liknande, samma, (åld. o. dial.) sannolik, trolig, nära
adv. - (åld.) på samma sätt, likadant, liksom, så att säga

中文（简体） (Chinese (Simplified))
1. 喜欢, 希望, 想要, 想, 愿意, 适合于, 爱好

idioms:

• (as) like as not    很可能
• and the like    等等
• as you like    随便你
• like enough    满像
• like it or not    不管喜欢还是不喜欢
• more like it    那样好得多了, 这才像话了
• the like(s) of which    像...样的
• the likes of    像...样的
• What is he like?    他怎么样?
• What is it like?    那是怎么样?

2. 像, 如, 与相称的, 和...一样, 像要, 相像的, 类似的, 有相同性质的, 可能, 多半, 一样地, 同样的人或物, 如同, 好像

3. 喜欢, 想, 愿意

中文（繁體） (Chinese (Traditional))
1.
aux. v. - 喜歡, 想, 願意

2.
v. tr. - 喜歡, 希望, 想要, 想, 願意, 適合於
v. intr. - 喜歡, 希望, 願意
n. - 愛好

idioms:

• (as) like as not    很可能
• and the like    等等
• as you like    隨便你
• like enough    滿像
• like it or not    不管喜歡還是不喜歡
• more like it    那樣好得多了, 這才像話了
• the like(s) of which    像...樣的
• the likes of    像...樣的
• What is he like?    他怎麼樣?
• What is it like?    那是怎麼樣?

3.
prep. - 像, 如, 與相稱的, 和...一樣, 像要
adj. - 相像的, 類似的, 有相同性質的, 可能
adv. - 可能, 多半, 一樣地
n. - 同樣的人或物
conj. - 如同, 好像

한국어 (Korean)
1.
prep. - ~와 같은 방식으로, 마찬가지로, 닮아, 답게
adj. - 같은 , 동등한, 유사성을 가진, ~일 것 같은
adv. - 거의 , 대충 , 대략
n. - 닮은 사람, 대응하는 것, 같은 부류의 사람
conj. - ~과 같이, ~처럼

idioms:

• like enough    아마 ~이다
• the like(s) of which    ~에 대응하는 것[사람]
• the likes of    필적하는 것[사람]
• What is he like%?    그는 어떠니%?
• What is it like%?    그것은 어떻게 생겼니%?

2.
v. tr. - 좋아하다, 하고 싶다, 마음에 들다, 알맞다
v. intr. - 좋아하다, 바라다
n. - 기호, 좋아하는 것

idioms:

• as you like    너가 좋을 대로
• like it or not    좋든 싫든

3.
aux. v. - ~할 것 같다

日本語 (Japanese)
v. - 好む, …したい, 体に合う, 望む
n. - 似たもの, 好み
adj. - 同様な, 似ている, 類似の
prep. - 似た, …同様に, 例えば…のような, …らしい
conj. - …のように, まるで…のように

idioms:

• (as) like as not    おそらく
• and the like    その他同種類のもの, など, …と…, すると
• as you like    お好きなように
• like anything/crazy/mad    猛烈に
• Like hell!    猛烈に
• like it or not    好むと好まざるとにかかわらず
• the likes of    …のような者
• what is someone/something like?    ～はどんな人/物か

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(حرف جر) ك, مثل, من عادته, من خصائصه المميزة (حرف عطف) مثلما, وكأنه (فعل) يلائم, يرضي, يميل إلى, يود, يرغب في, يوافق, يشاء, يحب (الاسم) ما يحبه المرء, المثيل, النظير (صفه) مماثل, مشابه, ميال إلى, مرجح, مشرف على, كأنه مشرف على (ظرف) على الأرجح, إلى حد ما, تقريبا‏

עברית (Hebrew)
prep. - ‮כמו, כגון, למשל, כפי ש-‬
adj. - ‮שווה, דומים, דומה, דמוי, שקול כנגד‬
adv. - ‮כמו- (סופית), אופייני ל-‬
n. - ‮אדם דומה, דבר דומה‬
conj. - ‮כמו, כאילו‬
v. tr. - ‮חיבב, אהב‬
v. intr. - ‮רצה‬
n. - ‮חיבב, אהב, רצה, (ברבים) הדברים שאדם אוהב או מבכר‬
aux. v. - ‮כפי הנראה‬

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what i like about you	like a diamond
like father like son	like mine