: to electronically register one's approval of (something, such as an online post or comment) for others to see (as by clicking on an icon designed for that purpose)
[Brittany] Bunker then thanked the 477,000 people who had liked her post for their support …—Natalie Cornish
How he picked out this seemingly random user and went ahead and liked the tweet is really surprising …—Zach Pereles
—used interjectionally in informal speech often to emphasize a word or phrase (as in "He was, like, gorgeous") or for an apologetic, vague, or unassertive effect (as in "I need to, like, borrow some money")
they raven down scenery like children do sweetmeats—John Keats
3
a
: in the way or manner that
the violin sounds like an old masterpiece should
did it like you told me
b
—used interjectionally in informal speech often with the verb be to introduce a quotation, paraphrase, or thought expressed by or imputed to the subject of the verb, or with it's to report a generally held opinion
so I'm like, "Give me a break"
it's like, "Who cares what he thinks?"
4
: such as
a bag like a doctor carries
when your car has trouble—like when it won't start
—used interjectionally in informal speech
often stays up late, until like three in the morning
Like vs. as: Usage Guide
Like has been used as a conjunction in ways similar to as since the 14th century. In the 14th, 15th, and 16th centuries it was used in serious literature, but not often; in the 17th and 18th centuries it grew more frequent but less literary. It became markedly more frequent in literary use again in the 19th century. By mid-century it was coming under critical fire, but not from grammarians, oddly enough, who were wrangling over whether it could be called a preposition or not. There is no doubt that, after 600 years of use, conjunctive like is firmly established. It has been used by many prestigious literary figures of the past, though perhaps not in their most elevated works; in modern use it may be found in literature, journalism, and scholarly writing. While the present objection to it is perhaps more heated than rational, someone writing in a formal prose style may well prefer to use as, as if, such as, or an entirely different construction instead.
Verb
He likes baseball, but he loves football.
Do you like Mexican food?
I liked the movie a lot more than I thought I would.
I don't know what it is about that guy, but I just don't like him.
They were political allies who truly liked each other.
What is it that you like or dislike about him most?
She says she likes him as a friend but she's not attracted to him.
My boss was a tough guy, but I liked him for his honesty. Noun (1)
she thought her new boyfriend was unusually interested in her likes and dislikes Adjective
you're not talking about like things when you compare football and golf Preposition
The house looks like a barn.
It's like when we were kids.
She's not at all like her sister.
The baby is more like his mother than his father.
“Who is he like?” “He's not like anyone I've ever met before.” Noun (2)
you can never trust his like, because they'll always let you down
we'd never seen its like in any other shop in town Adverb
the cat would curl up, tightly like, and just go to sleep
the distance is more like 500 miles Conjunction
it looks like it's going to rain at any moment
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
Gregory likes and wants to be with Janine; Gregory does not want to like Jacob and yet Jacob breaks him down over the course of two seasons.—Matt Brennan, Los Angeles Times, 24 May 2024 Some folks don’t like to play by the same rules as others and most of those simply like to hear the sound of their own voice.—Patrick Wallis, Baltimore Sun, 24 May 2024 In 2022, Musk liked an anti-trans tweet from the notorious right-wing account, Libs of TikTok.—Maxwell Zeff / Gizmodo, Quartz, 23 May 2024 The ticket at first drew support from young men who liked his diatribes and social media persona.—Vera Bergengruen/buenos Aires, TIME, 23 May 2024 That’s not to say people didn’t like Charlie or Ben.—Dalton Ross, EW.com, 23 May 2024 Itoh 'Canary Brilliants': This type will like a shadier spot in the garden.—Steve Bender, Southern Living, 22 May 2024 And Julie’s mother, who seems to be coming out of her grief, is dating a cheerful guy Julie tries to like but doesn’t quite make it.—Mary Ann Grossmann, Twin Cities, 12 May 2024 Kershaw tried it in between his starts and liked the shape.—Andy McCullough, Los Angeles Times, 12 May 2024
Preposition
Today, for me, is like having lost a family member.—Ben Bolch, Los Angeles Times, 27 May 2024 The San Diego City Council is currently weighing whether to re-allocate millions of dollars the Housing Commission had planned on using for projects like Levant.—Blake Nelson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 27 May 2024 Some aspects of the audition — like playing for a jury hidden behind a curtain, to guard against potential bias — would be familiar to most orchestra musicians.—Sarah Diamond Christopher Lee, New York Times, 27 May 2024 Halle Berry wins the Oscar, fulfilling Dorothy Dandridge's promise, and introducing Gabourey Sidibe
Still, like many ubiquitous pop culture touchstones from 60 years ago,The Flintstones were pretty white.—Lester Fabian Brathwaite, EW.com, 27 May 2024 His two sisters — they [were] freaked out, like past freaked out.—Syra Ortiz Blanes, Miami Herald, 27 May 2024 Shop the dress in 12 colors, including summer-ready hues like green and pink.—Isabel Garcia, Peoplemag, 27 May 2024 Condo buildings like 53 West 53 in Manhattan also partner with med spas to offer at-home luxury services.—Sydney Lake, Fortune, 26 May 2024 There are a thousand girls out there just like her.—Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 16 May 2024
Noun
The enticements include the return of shows like House of the Dragon, Bridgerton, and The Bear, small-screen debuts from the likes of Jake Gyllenhaal and Natalie Portman, as well as fond and final farewells to beloved series like Cobra Kai.—Lucy Ford, TIME, 23 May 2024 With nearly a thousand likes and now finally on sale, this is a no-brainer for my shopping cart this season.—Lane Nieset, Travel + Leisure, 23 May 2024 Sweeney recently compiled a video of Swift’s 2023 plane trips, the likes of which appeared to show that the pop star had flown 178,000 miles last year—roughly the equivalent of seven trips around the Earth.—Lucas Ropek / Gizmodo, Quartz, 22 May 2024 Announced on Food Network's Instagram on May 15, the post has received nearly 228,000 likes and over 2,100 comments.—Sophia Beams, Better Homes & Gardens, 21 May 2024 The cast, meanwhile, is led by Lisa Kudrow and a young Kal-El Tuck and also features the likes of Tadhg Murphy, Charlyne Yi, and Roger Nsengiyumva.—Andrew Webster, The Verge, 20 May 2024 While previous seasons were buoyed by nine-figure collections from the likes of the real estate magnate Harry Macklowe and his former wife, Linda Macklowe, and the patron Emily Fisher Landau, this year’s auctions were put together piecemeal.—Zachary Small, New York Times, 19 May 2024 Despite the disclaimer, the meme — posted Wednesday, May 15 — has 42,000 likes as of Thursday, May 16.—Athena Sobhan, Peoplemag, 17 May 2024 The race is already somewhat crowded, with the likes of Lt. Gov. Elena Kounalakis, former state Senate President Toni Atkins, former state Controller Betty Yee and current state Schools Superintendent Tony Thurmond now running.—Thomas Elias, The Mercury News, 17 May 2024
Adverb
How has like been treating you since becoming a mother?—India Espy-Jones, Essence, 12 Apr. 2024 What was traffic like on In-N-Out's first day in Flagstaff?
As of 11:30 a.m., the drive-thru line was an hour and a half long, according to a security and traffic control worker at In-N-Out.—Michael Salerno, The Arizona Republic, 5 Apr. 2024 For a tiny hint of what that’s like, check out his speech when Yes was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2017.—Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, 22 Jan. 2024 The face of the watch isn’t flush like on the Active models, however.—Brandon Widder, The Verge, 16 Dec. 2023 Jeezy is opening up like never before in a new interview with Nia Long.—Angel Saunders, Peoplemag, 8 Nov. 2023 The trick to wearing glasses that take up half your face is to choose a pair that’s mostly clear—or even better with subtle colored lenses like at Etro or Missoni.—Laia Garcia-Furtado, Vogue, 11 Oct. 2023 From his relationship with Amber Heard to quietly welcoming a third baby with Grimes, here are some of the most surprising revelations from the new book
Elon Musk is opening up like never before in a new biography that's creating headlines.—David Chiu, Peoplemag, 12 Sep. 2023 On the back of each gift card, Best Buy warns customers to never use it for payment outside of Best Buy like for bills, bail or taxes.—USA TODAY, 23 Aug. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'like.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Verb and Noun (1)
Middle English, from Old English līcian; akin to Old English gelīc alike
Adjective
Middle English, alteration of ilich, from Old English gelīc like, alike, from ge-, associative prefix + līc body; akin to Old High German gilīh like, alike, Lithuanian lygus like — more at co-
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