Ciekawostka: The word "set" has more definitions than any other word in the English language

Evidence: 77 • authority: 88

Effects of Word Definitions on Meaning Recall: A Multisite Intervention in Language‐Diverse Second Language English Classrooms. Abstract Vocabulary experts recommend first language (L1) translation equivalents for establishing form–meaning mappings for new second language (L2) words, especially for lower proficiency learners. Empirical evidence to date speaks in favor of L1 translation equivalents over L2 meaning definitions, but most studies have investigated bi‐ rather than multilingual learners. In our study, we investigated instructed English vocabulary learning through an intervention study in six language‐diverse secondary school English classrooms in Sweden ( N = 74) involving three…

Evidence: 77 • authority: 72

A word is a basic element of language that carries meaning, can be used on its own, and is uninterruptible. Despite the fact that language speakers often have an intuitive grasp of what a word is, there is no consensus among linguists on its definition and numerous attempts to find specific criteria of the concept remain controversial. Different standards have been proposed, depending on the theoretical background and descriptive context; these do not converge on a single definition. Some specific definitions of the term "word" are employed to convey its different meanings at different levels of description, for example based on phonological, grammatical or orthographic basis. Others sugges…

Evidence: 65 • authority: 71

Some of these words are called homographs . They're spelled identically but have vastly different definitions. "Go" has 368, for instance, and "set" has 430. The word "run" is anticipated to have approximately 645 different meanings in the next Oxford English Dictionary, set for a 2037 release. Referred to as the "old chestnut" in the same New York Times article, "set" previously held the top position for the English word with the most definitions. 10 words in the English language with the most definitions

Evidence: 65 • authority: 72

A definition is a semantic statement of the meaning of a term (a word, phrase, or other set of symbols). Definitions can be classified into two large categories: intensional definitions (which try to give the sense of a term), and extensional definitions (which try to list the objects that a term describes). Another important category of definitions is the class of ostensive definitions, which convey the meaning of a term by pointing out examples. A term may have many different senses and multiple meanings, and thus require multiple definitions. In mathematics, a definition is used to give a precise meaning to a new term, by describing a condition which unambiguously qualifies what the math…

Evidence: 64 • authority: 62

So yes, a few different meanings, but it probably still sounds surprising that the Second Edition of the Oxford English Dictionary contains 430 definitions for set , and most other dictionaries will have about the same number. Have a look for yourself if you have one to hand. Still, don’t get too used to set claiming the top spot. In fact, if you look in some modern editions of dictionaries, you might find that run and put take up more space. Officially though, the Second Edition of the OED is taken to be the definitive authority on words and their meanings. The problem is, it was published in 1989, and obviously things have evolved linguistically since then. Never fear though, the third edition is being worked on right now, and we can expect that once it’s published, set will have been replaced as the word with the most definitions. They’ve been working on it since 2000 and are about halfway through, so eh, not too long to wait now! We writers are told to watch for excess prepositions like set down and set up, but maybe English needs more words to replace some of these idioms? A sting is a type of setup nowadays. Yet I laugh when someone dreams up with — I should say, invents — a word like embiggen. Come off it!

Evidence: 53 • authority: 62

The Most Complicated Word in the English Language - The Scholarly Kitchen Pity the poor Oxford English Dictionary editor who was assigned to cover the word “run”. In the dictionary’s upcoming edition, run has some 645 use cases for the verb form alone, and its definitions run some 75 columns of type. According to Reader’s Digest , run alone took one lexicographer nine months of research to complete. Interestingly, in the 1928 edition, the word with the most definitions was “set” (200 meanings and 32 pages). Perhaps the switch from set to run says something about changes in the pace of life over the last century. The video below offers a run -through of just some of the many uses of this versatile word.

Evidence: 53 • authority: 62

The word with the most meanings in English is the verb 'set', with 430 senses listed in the Second Edition of the Oxford English Dictionary, published in 1989. The word commands the longest entry in the dictionary at 60,000 words, or 326,000 characters. English word with the most meanings | Guinness World Records Records change on a daily basis and are not immediately published online. For a full list of record titles, please use our Record Application Search. (You will need to register / login for access)

Evidence: 53 • authority: 72

ASD-STE100 Simplified Technical English (STE) is a controlled natural language that is designed to simplify and clarify technical documentation. It was originally developed in the 1980s by the European Association of Aerospace Industries (AECMA) at the request of the European airline industry, which wanted a standardized form of English for aircraft maintenance documentation that could be easily understood by non-native English-speakers. It has since been adopted in many other fields outside the aerospace, defense, and maintenance domains for its clear, consistent, and comprehensive nature. The current edition of the STE standard, which was published in January 2025, consists of 53 writing…

Evidence: 53 • authority: 88

Word number, level, and frequency in current English course books: Corpus study. Introducing the right English words in an adequate number and levels to beginner EFL learners is of paramount importance to enable them to communicate and develop their English further. This corpus study is meant to investigate the number and levels of English words, and their frequency of occurrences in a set of three official English course books for Indonesian junior high school students of the seventh to ninth grades, published by The Indonesian Ministry of Culture and Education. The study was conducted by converting each of the three English books into MS Word documents, eliminating the non-English and ver…

Evidence: 53 • authority: 72

Old English (Englisċ or Ænglisċ, pronounced [ˈeŋɡliʃ] or [ˈæŋɡliʃ]), Early English or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest attested form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the mid-5th century, and the first Old English literature dates from the mid-7th century. After the Norman Conquest of 1066, English was replaced as the language of the upper classes for several centuries by Anglo-Norman, a type of French. 1066 is therefore regarded as marking the end of the Old English era, since during the subsequent period the English language was heavily influ…

Evidence: 53 • authority: 72

English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family that emerged in early medieval England and has since become a global lingua franca. The language is named after the Angles, one of the Germanic peoples who migrated to Britain after the end of Roman rule. English is the most spoken language in the world, primarily due to the global influence of the British Empire (succeeded by the Commonwealth of Nations) and the rise of the United States. It is the most widely learned second language in the world, with more second‑language speakers than native speakers. However, English is only the third‑most spoken native language, after Mandarin Chinese and Spanish. English is eithe…

Evidence: 0 • authority: 62