Word.ws English Dictionary

like

/laɪ̯k/

More pronunciations (1)Fewer pronunciations

Jamaica/læ̙ːk/

like verb: to enjoy, be pleased by; favor; be in favor of.

Verb (1)

like (third-person singular simple present likes, present participle liking, simple past and past participle liked)

  1. To enjoy, be pleased by; favor; be in favor of.
    • I like reading books.
    • I very much like hamburgers.
    1. (archaic, transitive) To please (same meaning as above but with subject and object reversed).
      • I willingly confess that it likes me much better when I find virtue in a fair lodging than when I am bound to seek it in an ill-favoured creature.16th century, Sir Philip Sidney, The Countess of Pembroke's Arcadia
      • His countenance likes me not.1608, William Shakespeare, King Lear, act 2, scene 2
    2. (obsolete) To derive pleasure [with of or by or with ‘from someone or something’].
      • And therefore it is the best way, if you like of it, to examine these taken from experiments touching the Earth, and then proceed to those of the other kind.1662, Thomas Salusbury, Galileo's Dialogue Concerning the Two Systems of the World, (Dialogue Two)
      • He used to drop into my chambers once in a while to smoke, and was first-rate company. When I gave a dinner there was generally a cover laid for him. I liked the man for his own sake, and even had he promised to turn out a celebrity it would have had no weight with me.1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter I, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC, page 2
  2. To prefer and maintain (an action) as a regular habit or activity.
    • I like to go to the dentist every six months.
    • She likes to keep herself physically fit.
  3. To find attractive; to prefer the company of; to have mild romantic feelings for.
    • I really like Sandra but don't know how to tell her.
    • ― Enju: “Apparently when you like someone, you start talking like them.”2016 December 19, Moe! Ninja Girls, Japan: NTT Solmare, iOS, Android, scene: Season 1, Enju Ending
    Synonyms:
    fancy, enjoy, love
    Antonyms:
    dislike, hate, mislike
  4. To want, desire. See also would like.
    • Would you like a cigarette?
    • We could go to the museum if you like.
  5. (Internet, transitive, social media) To show support for, or approval of, something posted on the Internet by marking it with a vote.
    • I liked my friend's last status on Facebook.
    • I can't stand Bloggs' tomato ketchup, but I liked it on Facebook so I could enter a competition.
    Antonyms:
    unlike, dislike
  6. (informal, personification) To be prone to.
    • Too bad this cheese likes to stick to the pan and ruin the whole meal.
  7. (informal) Of a computer or other system: to tolerate as an input; to accept.
    • This self-service checkout doesn't seem to like my credit card.
    • We were frustrated that our seeming innocent choice for a team name was rejected by the game. Apparently somewhere in the name is a word that the algorithm doesn’t like.
  8. (archaic) To come near; to avoid with difficulty; to escape narrowly.
    • He liked to have been too late.
    • He probably got his death, as he liked to have done two years ago, by viewing the troops for the expedition from the wall of Kensington Garden.1760, Horace Walpole, The Letters of Horace Walpole: Fourth Earl of Oxford, to George Montagu
  9. (obsolete) To have an appearance or expression; to look; to seem to be (in a specified condition).
    • You like well, and bear your years very well.c. 1598–1600 (date written), William Shakespeare, “As You Like It”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount...
  10. (obsolete) To liken; to compare.
    • And like me to the peasant boys of France.1590s, William Shakespeare, Henry VI, Part 1, act 4, scene 6

Noun (1)

like (plural likes)

  1. (in plural) Something that a person likes (prefers).
    • Tell me your likes and dislikes.
    Synonyms:
    favorite, preference
  2. (Internet) An individual vote showing support for, approval of, or enjoyment of, something posted on the Internet.
    • Social media is supervisual, and there's nothing more shareable than images, so this is a way to increase shares and likes and follows.2016, Brooke Warner, Green-Light Your Book
    • Dress for myself, I don't dress for hype / I dress for myself, you dress for the likes2019, “Balenciaga”, performed by Princess Nokia

Adjective

like (comparative more like or (archaic) liker, superlative most like or (archaic) likest)

  1. Similar.
    • My partner and I have like minds.
    • The two cats were as like as though they had come from the same litter.
  2. (Scotland, Southern US, otherwise archaic) Likely; probable.
    • But it is like the jolly world about us will scoff at the paradox of these practices.1668, Robert South, The Messiah's Sufferings for the Sins of the People (sermon, March 20, 1668)
    • Many were […] not easy to be govern'd, nor like to conform themselves to such strict rules.1702–1704, Edward [Hyde, 1st] Earl of Clarendon, (please specify |book=I to XVI), in The History of the Rebellion and Civil Wars in England, Begun in the Year 1641. […], Oxford, Oxfordshire: Printed...
  3. (Scotland, Southern US, usually, otherwise archaic) inclined (to), prone (to).
    • He seems like to run from any semblance of hard work.

Adverb

like (comparative more like, superlative most like)

  1. (colloquial, dialectal, obsolete) Likely.
    • DON PEDRO. May be she doth but counterfeit.
      CLAUDIO. Faith, like enough.1598–1599 (first performance), William Shakespeare, “Much Adoe about Nothing”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward]...
    • “You'll try it, some day, like enough; but you'll get tired of the change pretty soon.” “Why?” “Well, I'll tell you. Now you've always been a sailor; did you ever try some other business?”1909, Mark Twain, Extract from Captain Stormfield's Visit to Heaven
  2. (archaic, rare) In a like or similar manner.
    • Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Psalms 103:13

Noun (2)

like (countable and uncountable, plural likes)

  1. (sometimes) Someone similar to a given person, or something similar to a given object; a comparative; a type; a sort.
    • There were bowls full of sweets, chocolates and the like.
    • This is something the likes of which I've never seen before, and we should compare like with like instead.
  2. The stroke that equalizes the number of strokes played by the opposing player or side.
    • to play the like

Conjunction

like

  1. (colloquial) As, the way.
    • Winston tastes good like a cigarette should1966, Advertising slogan for Winston cigarettes
    • But if you do right to me, baby
      I’ll do right to you, too
      Ya got to do unto others
      Like you’d have them, like you’d have them, do unto you1978, Bob Dylan, Do Unto Others
  2. (colloquial, usually) As if; as though.
    • It looks like you've finished the project.
    • It seemed like you didn't care.
  3. (colloquial, usually) Such as.
    • Why don’t we do something useful like clean the kitchen?

Preposition

like

  1. Similar to, reminiscent of.
    • Folk like that I just can’t brook.
    • I’m very like my father.
  2. Typical of.
    • It would be just like Achilles to be sulking in his tent.
  3. Approximating.
    • Popcorn costs something like 10 dollars at the movies.
  4. In the manner of, similarly to.
    • He doesn't act like a president.
  5. Such as; including.
    • It's for websites like Wikipedia.
    • In Mars's office, near his own impressive executive desk (a Vladimir Kagan), hangs a mixed media artwork depicting legendary MCs like Queen Latifah, Slick Rick, Rakim, and Nas (a business partner of Mars's).2026 May, Lola Ogunnaike, “Major Drama”, in Architectural Digest, volume 83, number 4, pages 114-115
    Synonyms:
    for example, such as, as
  6. As if there would be.
    • It looks like a hot summer in Europe.
  7. Used to ask for a description or opinion of someone or something.
    • I hear she has a new boyfriend. What's he like? –He's intelligent and handsome.
    • What’s the weather like in Ürümqi today?

Particle

like

  1. (Geordie, Ireland, Scotland, Teesside, colloquial, Liverpool) A delayed filler.
    • He was so angry, like.
    Synonyms:
    I mean, you know
  2. (colloquial) Indicating approximation or uncertainty.
    • There were, like, twenty of them.
    • [Sally Brown:] Christmas is getting all you can get while the getting is good.
      [Charlie Brown:] GIVING! The only real joy is GIVING!
      [Sally Brown, rolling her eyes:] Like, wow!1972 December 1, Charles M. Schulz, Peanuts
    Synonyms:
    around, about
  3. (colloquial) Used to precede an approximate quotation or paraphrase or an expression of something that happened.
    • I was like, “Why did you do that?” and he's like, “I don't know.”
    • A customer walked in like, "I demand to see the manager!"
  4. (colloquial) A discourse marker used to highlight or put focus on new information or a new development in a story.
    • She was, like, sooooo happy.
    • And then he, like, got all angry and left the room.
    Synonyms:
    I mean, well, you know
  5. (colloquial) Introduces an exemplification or demonstration of the previous statement
    • And after a while I began seeing how un-hard the whole scene was. Like they had some kind of raffle + all the hard guys were looking to see if they won + then they announced everyone with a motorcycle cap or a cowboy hat on could get a free drink. How high school!1974 January 18, Lou Sullivan, Diary

Verb (2)

like (third-person singular simple present likes, present participle liking, simple past and past participle liked)

  1. (dialectal, intransitive) To be likely.
    • He probably got his death, as he liked to have done two years ago, by viewing the troops for the expedition, from the wall of Kensington garden.1837, Earl of Orford Walpole (Horace), Correspondence with George Montagu

Proper noun capitalized: Like

Like (plural Likes)

  1. A surname.

like meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu

like in Hindi

to enjoy
पसंद करना pasand karnā, पसंद होना pasand honā
to find attractive
पसंद होना pasand honā
similar
जैसा jaisā
similar to
... की तरह ... kī tarah, ... तरह ... tarah

like in Tamil

to enjoy
விருப்பம் viruppam

like in Marathi

आवडायला

like in Urdu

to enjoy
پَسَنْد ہونا pasand honā
to find attractive
پَسَنْد ہونا pasand honā
similar to
... کی طرح ... kī tarah, ... طرح ... tarah
More languagesFewer languages
like in Bengali
পছন্দ করা pochondo kora, মত mot
like in Telugu
ఇస్టపడు isṭapaḍu, ఇష్టము iṣṭamu, లాంటి lāṇṭi
like in Malayalam
പോലെ pōle
like in Kannada
ಇಷ್ಟ, ಇಷ್ಟಪಡಲು
like in Punjabi
ਪਸੰਦ ਕਰਨਾ
like in Gujarati
ગમવું gamvũ
like in Sanskrit
इव iva
like in Nepali
मन पराउनु man parāunu, राम्रो लाग्नु rāmro lāgnu
like in Tagalog
magustuhan
like in Arabic
حَبَّ ḥabba, أَحَبَّ ʔaḥabba, اِسْتَمْطَعَ istamṭaʕa, أَعْجَبَ ʔaʕjaba
like in Malay
suka, bagai, macam, seperti
like in Indonesian
suka, seperti, kayak
like in Persian
لایک lâyk, مثل mesl-e, مانند mânand
like in Thai
ชอบ chɔ̂ɔp, เหมือน mʉ̌ʉan, อย่าง yàang, เช่น chên
like in Vietnamese
thích, như
like in Myanmar
ကြိုက် kruik, လို lui, ပေါ့ pau.

Examples of like in a sentence

  • I like skiing in winter very much.
  • I liked her much better after I got to know her.
  • I like it when you sing.
  • We like to keep one around the office just in case.
  • May I leave now? ~ If you like.
  • I don't like to disturb him when he's working.

All 40 example sentences with like

Synonyms of like

6 more synonymsFewer synonyms

Antonyms

All synonyms and antonyms of like

Forms of like

Verb
third-person singular presentlikes
present participleliking
past participleliked
pastliked
alternative formlak
second-person singular present (archaic)likest
second-person singular past (archaic)likedst
third-person singular present (archaic)liketh
Noun
plurallikes
Adjective
comparativemore like
superlativemost like
comparative (archaic)liker

Past tense of like: liked

Plural of like: likes

Origin of like

Verb from Middle English liken, from Old English līcian (“to like, to please”), from Proto-West Germanic *līkēn, from Proto-Germanic *līkāną, from Proto-Indo-European *leyg- (“image; likeness; similarity”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian liekje (“to be similar, resemble”), West Frisian lykje (“to seem, appear, look”), Dutch lijken (“to seem”), Low German lieken (“to be like; resemble”), German gleichen (“to resemble”), Swedish lika (“to like; put up with; align with”), Norwegian like (“to like”), Icelandic and Faroese líka (“to like”). Noun from Middle English like (“pleasure, will, like”), from the verb Middle English liken (“to like”).

Adjective from Middle English lik, lyk, lich, like, from Old English ġelīċ by shortening, influenced by Old Norse líkr, glíkr; both from Proto-Germanic *galīkaz (“like, similar, same”). Related to alike; more distantly, with lich and -ly. Cognate with West Frisian like (“like; as”), Saterland Frisian gliek (“like”), Danish lig (“alike”), Dutch gelijk (“like, alike”), German gleich (“equal, like”), Icelandic líkur (“alike, like, similar”), Norwegian lik (“like, alike”) Swedish lik (“like, similar”) Adverb from Middle English like, lyke, liche, lyche, from Old English ġelīċe (“likewise, also, as, in like manner, similarly”) and Old Norse líka (“also, likewise”); both from Proto-Germanic *galīkê, from Proto-Germanic *galīkaz (“same, like, similar”). Conjunction from Middle English like, lyke, lik, lyk, from the adverb Middle English like. Preposition from Middle English like, lyke, liche, lyche, lijc, liih (“similar to, like, equal to, comparable with”), from Middle English like (adjective) and like (adverb).

From like (adverb) and like (adjective).

Words formed from like

Phrases with like

169 more phrasesFewer phrases

Words that rhyme with like

33 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about like

What does like mean?
Like means to enjoy, be pleased by; favor; be in favor of.
What is like in Hindi?
Like in Hindi is पसंद करना (pasand karnā), पसंद होना (pasand honā), जैसा (jaisā). See Like meaning in Hindi.
How do you use like in a sentence?
I like skiing in winter very much.
What part of speech is like?
Like can be a verb, a noun, an adjective or an adverb.
How do you pronounce like?
Like is pronounced /laɪ̯k/.
What is the past tense of like?
The past tense of like is liked.

Words near like in the dictionary

  1. likablest
  2. likably
  3. likams
  4. Likasi
  5. likasite
  6. like
  7. like a bag of ferrets
  8. like a bat out of hell
  9. like a bear with a sore head
  10. like a bee in clover
  11. like a big dog

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: like (page history and authors); Like (page history and authors); like (Marathi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); like (Kannada, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); like (Punjabi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-uk-to like.ogg, en-us-like.ogg.

Cite this entry: “like.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/like. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.