Entry Word: very

Function: adjective

Meaning: 1 being one and not another <I ran into Sam today—the very one you went to school with> — see same 2
2 being this and no more <the very thought of having to go through that again is scary> — see mere
3 existing in fact and not merely as a possibility <tourism is the very lifeblood of this community—the town would surely die without it> — see actual