intransitive verb to quarrel over trivial matters; bicker.We could hear them squabbling again, but these arguments were never too serious and seldom lasted very long. See the full entry
WOTD: dub
transitive verb 1. to award the title of knight to by tapping or striking lightly on the shoulder, usu. with a sword.The queen dubbed him a knight. 2. to name or call.He…
The meaning of “some” as a quantity expression
The word “some” indicates a quantity of something, but it doesn’t strongly signal any particular quantity or any particular feeling that the actual quantity is important. There is very little difference, with…
Weekly Quiz
With the Wordsmyth Vocabulary Center activities, you can study these words, play games with them, and assess your knowledge of their meanings with a quiz. Click here to go to the Vocabulary…
The meaning of quantity expressions
If we really think about it, quantity expressions, other than actual numbers and words like “none,” do not specify exact amounts, and some vary widely in the actual amounts they can refer to. The choice of any one of them—“several,” “a lot,” “a bit,” “a few,” “many”– depends on how the speaker feels about the amount being referred to, and whether that amount feels small or large or somewhere in between.