: 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. 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.” 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
No one likes pausing Succession to respond to a 9pm request, but the guilt of ignoring it and wondering whether your boss will be mad at you is also, like, not fun.—Allison Morrow, CNN, 5 Apr. 2024 Everyone’s journey to embracing their sexuality is different — and Chappell Roan would just like to wish everyone the best of luck in figuring it out.—Stephen Daw, Billboard, 5 Apr. 2024 Conversely, players Kings fans did not like, such as Joe Thornton, Joe Pavelski, and Burns, are no longer with the team.—Curtis Pashelka, The Mercury News, 5 Apr. 2024 Data can’t really help here, but according to Bradbury, powerful people may just like sports.—Andrew Van Dam, Washington Post, 5 Apr. 2024 The video garnered more than 100 likes in three weeks.—USA TODAY, 4 Apr. 2024 Many liked to go to the annual kegger in the helicopter hangar or to gather at Gallagher’s, the station’s watering hole.—David Kushner, WIRED, 4 Apr. 2024 For instance, brown rats like to hang out on or near the ground rather than in the trees or other high spots, where black rats often prefer to stay.—CBS News, 4 Apr. 2024 No one likes dealing with lag, buffering, or app freezing.—Dua Rashid / Gizmodo, Quartz, 24 Mar. 2024
Preposition
And Schiller appeared in movies like Censor, Ashes in the Snow, Universal’s The Danish Girl, Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, Suffragette, Son of God, The Mercy, A Little Chaos, Good, Tolkein and HBO’s RKO 281.—Etan Vlessing, The Hollywood Reporter, 8 Apr. 2024 Others like Yas and OK are conversions from other types of vessels.—Julia Zaltzman, Robb Report, 8 Apr. 2024 For instance, the Education Department is proposing to automate loan forgiveness programs that are already in place, like the Public Student Loan Forgiveness plan and the process that forgives the remainder of undergraduate student loan balances after 20 years of payments.—Bo Erickson, CBS News, 8 Apr. 2024 Information like legislative history or social-science data is largely irrelevant.—Louis Menand, The New Yorker, 8 Apr. 2024 For example, if there’s a piece of content like the weighted average cost of capital, there are study components to help put that into greater context to hopefully increase students’ understanding.—Sheryl Estrada, Fortune, 8 Apr. 2024 While Monday may be the first and only time some people see an eclipse, others, like Marian Garrigan, who traveled south to Carbondale, Ill., from Chicago, were excited for a second opportunity.—Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs, New York Times, 8 Apr. 2024 When Trump Media finally went public late last month, experts immediately warned that Wall Street was drastically overvaluing the company based on traditional fundamental metrics like revenue and users.—Matt Egan, CNN, 8 Apr. 2024 In Hollywood, success and struggle go together like a horse and carriage.—Michael Schneider, Variety, 28 Mar. 2024
Noun
While many of history’s most successful startups—including the likes of Nvidia Corp.—were born in the U.S., the bulk of hardware innovation now centers on Asia.—Jane Lanhee Lee / Bloomberg, TIME, 9 Apr. 2024 Raye has written for the likes of Beyoncé, including on Cowboy Carter.—Andy Hoglund, EW.com, 7 Apr. 2024 Details in Chinese media reports include that Yellen ate at a storied restaurant in Guangzhou frequented by the likes of Chinese modernist writer Lu Xun.—Lily Kuo, Washington Post, 5 Apr. 2024 That includes titles by the likes of Charles Dickens, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Edgar Allan Poe, and Arthur Conan Doyle.—Tori Latham, Robb Report, 4 Apr. 2024 The agreement will allow both countries to work together to evaluate private AI models built by the likes of OpenAI and Google and was modeled on past collaboration on matters related to intelligence and security.—John Kell, Fortune, 3 Apr. 2024 Held at Nashville's Belmont University, the red carpet gathering included an exclusive cocktail reception and country music concert attended by the likes of Sheryl Crow, Little Big Town and Jason Isbell.—Ingrid Vasquez, Peoplemag, 3 Apr. 2024 The letter was also signed by the likes of legacy artists like R.E.M., Pearl Jam, Q-tip, Darius Rucker, Smokey Robinson, Stevie Wonder, and the estates of Frank Sinatra and Bob Marley.—Laura Bratton, Quartz, 3 Apr. 2024 Sha Battle is a native Georgian and multifaceted entrepreneur who has worked for the likes of Coca Cola, Exxon, and Price Waterhouse Coopers.—Rayna Reid Rayford, Essence, 1 Apr. 2024
Adverb
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 There will be a movie theater, upstairs like, sort of, restaurant area.—Lisa Respers France, CNN, 3 July 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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