English Dictionary — Definitions & Meanings

i

pronoun

Used by a speaker or writer to refer to themself as the subject of a sentence.

I believe

phrase

Used to introduce something you think is true but are not certain of, softening a statement so you are not claiming it as fact.

I owe you

noun

A signed note acknowledging a debt, usually written informally and stating what is owed rather than when it will be repaid; normally written IOU.

I plead the Fifth

phrase

A statement made by a witness in the United States refusing to answer a question because the answer might help prove them guilty of a crime.

I think

phrase

Used to show that you believe something but are not completely sure of it.

i.e.

abbreviation

Used before a restatement that explains or defines exactly what has just been said, meaning 'that is' or 'in other words'.

IA

interjection

Short for "inshallah," meaning "God willing," used to express hope that something will happen.

Iad

name

A river in Romania.

Iago

name

A male given name, best known as the villainous character in Shakespeare's Othello.

Iain

name

A male given name from Scottish Gaelic, equivalent to English John.

iamb

noun

A metrical foot in verse made up of an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable.

Ian

name

A male given name from Scottish Gaelic Eòin, equivalent to English John.

IB

noun

The International Baccalaureate: an international education programme, best known for its Diploma Programme for students aged sixteen to nineteen, which is taught in schools worldwide and accepted for university entry in many countries.

ibadi

adj

Relating to Ibadism.

ibex

noun

A wild goat that lives in mountain country, with long curved horns.

ibis

noun

A long-legged wading bird with a slender, downward-curving bill, found near water in warm climates.

Ibiza

name

An island of the Balearic Islands, Spain, known for its nightlife and beaches.

ibn

noun

An Arabic word meaning "son of," used before a father's name in traditional naming patterns.

Ibrahim

name

The Arabic form of the name Abraham, used both as the Islamic prophet's name and as a common male given name.

Ibsen

name

A Scandinavian surname, most famously borne by the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen.

ibuprofen

noun

A common over-the-counter drug used to relieve pain, reduce fever, and calm inflammation.

IC

phrase

Informal shorthand for "I see," used in texting or chat to acknowledge something.

Icarus

noun

In Greek myth, the youth who flew too close to the sun on wings of feathers and wax, causing them to melt, and fell into the sea; used to describe someone whose overreaching ambition leads to their downfall.

ice

noun

Water that has frozen solid.

iceberg

noun

A huge chunk of freshwater ice that has broken off a glacier or ice shelf and floats in the ocean.

iceblock

noun

A solid lump of ice.

iceboat

noun

A yacht built to sail across ice.

icebox

noun

An old-fashioned insulated box or cabinet that used blocks of ice to keep food cool, before electric refrigerators were common.

icebreaker

noun

A ship built with a reinforced hull to smash through frozen sea ice, clearing a path for other vessels.

iced

adj

Served cold, with ice added.

icehouse

noun

A large building used to store ice for sale or business use.

Iceland

name

An island country in the North Atlantic, known for volcanoes, glaciers, and geothermal activity.

Icelandic

adj

Relating to Iceland, its people, or its language.

icelandish

name

Another word for Icelandic, the North Germanic language that is Iceland's official language.

iceman

noun

Someone who delivers or sells block ice, especially from the days before home refrigerators.

ich

pronoun

Dialectal or archaic form of "I," found in some regional English dialects.

Ichabod

interjection

Used to express sorrow that something has lost its former glory or standards.

Ichikawa

name

A Japanese surname.

Ichiro

name

A Japanese male given name, borne by the famous baseball player Ichiro Suzuki.

ichor

noun

(mythology) The fluid said to run through the veins of the gods instead of blood.

ichthyology

noun

The scientific study of fish, as a part of zoology.

icicle

noun

A thin, tapering spike of ice formed when dripping water freezes as it falls.

iciness

noun

The condition of being extremely cold.

icing

noun

A sweet coating, usually made from sugar and often butter or egg white, spread or piped onto cakes and other baked goods.

ick

interjection

Used to express disgust or revulsion.

icky

adjective

Unpleasantly sticky, slimy, or disgusting.

ICL

abbreviation

Used online and in messages before a frank or blunt opinion, to signal that the speaker is being honest.

icon

noun

A small picture or symbol on a screen that represents a program, file, or action.

iconic

adjective

Widely recognised as a symbol or perfect representative example of something.

iconoclast

noun

A person who challenges or attacks widely cherished beliefs, traditions or institutions.

iconography

noun

The set of symbols, images or visual conventions that a particular subject, theme or artistic tradition uses.

iconostasis

noun

A screen covered in icons that separates the sanctuary from the nave in an Eastern Orthodox church.

icosagon

noun

A polygon with twenty sides and twenty angles.

ICT

noun

Information and communications technology: computing, networks, telephony and the systems that let people store, send and access information — used especially of the technology infrastructure of a school, business or country.

icterus

noun

(medicine) A build-up of bile pigment in the blood, also called jaundice.

ICU

noun

The part of a hospital that treats patients who are critically ill and need constant monitoring and life-support equipment.

icy

adjective

Covered with ice, or extremely cold.

ID

noun

In Freudian psychology, the part of the mind driven by basic, unconscious instincts and desires.

Ida

name

A female given name of Germanic origin, also the name of sacred mountains in Turkey and Crete.

Idaho

noun

A large baking potato variety, especially the Russet Burbank, associated with the U.S. state of Idaho where it is widely grown.

IDC

abbreviation

Used in messages and online to say that you have no preference or are not bothered about something.

ide

noun

A freshwater fish related to minnows and carp, native to rivers and lakes across northern Europe and Asia.

idea

noun

A thought, plan, or mental impression formed in the mind.

ideal

adjective

Perfect or the best possible for a given purpose.

idealism

noun

The tendency to hold high, sometimes unrealistic, principles or hopes about how things should be.

idealist

noun

Someone who holds onto high principles or a vision of how things ought to be, sometimes at the expense of practicality.

idealistic

adj

Driven by high ideals or an image of perfection rather than by practical concerns.

idealized

adj

Made to look better, purer, or more perfect than the real thing actually is.

ideally

adv

In the best or most perfect way possible.

idealogue

noun

Someone who likes coming up with imaginative ideas or theories.

ideation

noun

The process of coming up with new ideas, especially as a deliberate stage in design, marketing or product development.

ideational

adj

Relating to how the mind forms ideas about things not directly seen, heard or felt.

ideator

noun

A person who comes up with ideas or puts a concept together.

ident

noun

A short audio or video clip a TV or radio station uses to identify itself, often between programs.

identic

adj

(diplomacy) Exactly matching in wording and meaning, used of a joint statement or action agreed between two or more governments.

identical

adj

Exactly the same in every detail; impossible to tell apart.

identicality

noun

Another term for identicalness.

identically

adv

In exactly the same way.

identicalness

noun

The fact of being exactly the same.

identifiable

adj

Able to be recognized or named as a specific thing or person.

identification

noun

A document that proves who someone is.

identified

verb

The past tense and past participle of identify: to have recognised or established who or what someone or something is.

identify

verb

To work out or state exactly who or what someone or something is.

identifying

adj

Serving to show clearly who or what something is.

identity

noun

Who a person is, including their name, background, and sense of self.

ideogram

noun

An ideogram is a symbol or picture that represents an idea directly, rather than spelling out the sounds of a word.

ideography

noun

A system of writing that uses symbols to represent ideas rather than sounds.

ideological

adj

Relating to a system of ideas or beliefs, especially political or social ones.

ideologue

noun

A person who advocates an ideology, especially as an official or leading spokesperson for it.

ideology

noun

A connected set of beliefs, values, or principles held by a person, group, or movement, especially a political one.

ides

noun

In the ancient Roman calendar, the middle day of the month — the 15th in March, May, July, and October, the 13th in other months.

idevice

noun

(informal) Any of Apple's portable electronic gadgets, such as the iPod, iPhone or iPad.

IDGAF

interjection

Used to state flatly that you do not care at all about something, often with a note of defiance.

idiocentric

adj

Focused mainly on oneself and one's own habits rather than on other people.

idiocity

noun

(informal) A silly or foolish thing to say or do.

idiocy

noun

Extremely foolish behavior or thinking; a stupid act.

idiolect

noun

The particular way of speaking and using language that belongs to one specific person.

idiom

noun

A phrase whose meaning can't be worked out just from the words in it, such as "kick the bucket."

idiomatic

adj

Following the natural way that a language is normally spoken or written.

idiosyncrasy

noun

An unusual habit or feature belonging to one particular person, which marks them out from everyone else.

idiosyncratic

adj

Typical of one particular person, and often a bit unusual or odd.

idiot

noun

A foolish or stupid person, or someone who makes a very poor decision.

idiotacy

noun

A foolish thing that someone says or does.

idiotic

adj

Extremely foolish or senseless.

idioticalness

noun

How idiotic someone or something is.

idioticity

noun

Another word for idiocy, that is, a lack of intelligence or sense.

idioticness

noun

How idiotic someone or something seems.

idioticy

noun

A silly thing that someone says or does.

idiotish

adj

Behaving in a silly or unintelligent way, like an idiot.

idiotism

noun

(old-fashioned) A very serious lack of mental ability.

IDK

abbreviation

Used in messages and online to say that you do not know something or have not made up your mind.

idle

adj

Not working, active, or in use.

idlehood

noun

The state of being idle, or a habit of doing nothing.

idleness

noun

The state of not working or doing anything; laziness or inactivity.

idler

noun

A person who does nothing and avoids activity.

idleship

noun

The quality of being idle, worthless, or vain.

idling

noun

The act of running an engine while it is not in gear or doing any work.

idly

adv

Without any real purpose or effort.

IDM

abbreviation

Used in messages to say that you are happy with any of the options offered.

Ido

name

A constructed international language created as a reform of Esperanto.

idol

noun

An object, often a statue or image, worshipped as a god or believed to hold spiritual power.

idolatry

noun

The worship of a physical image or object as a god, treated in Judaism, Christianity and Islam as a serious religious offence.

idolise

verb

A non-Oxford British English standard spelling of idolize.

idolization

noun

Extreme admiration or worship of someone or something.

idolize

verb

To admire someone so much that you treat them as close to perfect.

Idris

name

A male given name of Welsh and Arabic origin, popularized in English by actor Idris Elba; also a prophet in Islam identified with the biblical Enoch.

idyll

noun

A short piece of writing, especially a poem, describing peaceful country or pastoral life.

idyllic

adj

Extremely peaceful, beautiful, or happy, like something out of a perfect picture.

if

conj

Used to introduce a condition: supposing that something is or were true.

Ife

name

The largest city in Osun State, Nigeria, considered a sacred center of Yoruba culture and religion.

iffy

adj

Uncertain, doubtful, or of questionable quality.

IFG

noun

Impaired fasting glucose: a blood-sugar level that is higher than normal after a period without eating, but not high enough to be diagnosed as diabetes. It is one of the markers of prediabetes.

Ifield

name

A suburb in the borough of Crawley, West Sussex, England.

iframe

noun

An element of a web page that embeds a second, separate web page inside a rectangle on the first, so that things such as a video player, a map or a payment form can appear within a page while actually being served by another site.

IfS

name

A German policy institute, the Institut für Staatspolitik.

ig

abbreviation

Short for 'I guess', used in texting and online chat to show reluctant or half-hearted agreement.

Iga

name

An ancient province of Japan and a city in Mie Prefecture, central Japan.

iggy

verb

To ignore or block someone on a chat program or social platform.

ight

noun

Archaic word for possessions or property.

Iglesias

name

A Spanish surname, and also a commune in Sardinia, Italy.

igloo

noun

A dome-shaped shelter built from blocks of packed snow, traditionally used by Inuit people.

Ignacio

name

A Spanish male given name and surname.

Ignatius

name

A male given name of Latin origin, historically borne by Saint Ignatius of Antioch and Saint Ignatius of Loyola.

ignaty

name

A transliteration of the Russian male given name Игна́тий (Ignátij).

igneous

adj

Connected with fire, or having qualities like fire.

ignite

verb

To set something on fire, or to begin burning.

igniter

noun

A device that sets something alight, such as fuel or an explosive charge.

ignition

noun

The act or process of setting something on fire, or the point at which combustion begins.

ignitive

adj

Able to set something alight, or connected with ignition.

ignoble

adjective

Lacking honour or moral worth; shameful or unworthy of respect.