as

The word “as” means used to compare two things that are equal, alike, or happening at the same time. In plain terms, one of English's most common small words — used for comparisons, timing, roles, and reasons.

“As” is pronounced uhz (/əz/ in IPA).

Here is “as” used in a sentence: “She sang as she worked.”

Words with a similar meaning to “as” include although, whilst and seeing that.

Depending on how it is used, “as” can be a conjunction, a preposition and an adverb.

The word “as” comes from Old English. A shortened, worn-down form of Old English eallswā ("just so, all so"), which also gave us the word "also.".

“As” is a very common word in modern English, usually learned at around the A1 level.

“As” has 4 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: used to compare two things that are equal, alike, or happening at the same time.

In careful usage, "as" is a conjunction that introduces a full clause with its own verb ("She sings as her mother did"), while "like" is a preposition followed by a noun ("She sings like her mother"). In everyday speech "like" often replaces "as" before clauses, but formal writing still prefers "as" in that position.

"As" can give a reason, just like "because," but it is weaker and can be ambiguous, since "as" also means "while" or "at the same time that." Use "because" when the reason is the main point of the sentence, and keep "as" for reasons the reader already knows or that matter less: "As it was raining, we stayed in."

The pattern "as + adjective or adverb + as" compares two things that are equal in some way: "She is as tall as her brother." In negative sentences, "not as...as" (or the more formal "not so...as") shows the first item is less: "It's not as cold as yesterday."

Yes. "As" can link two actions happening at the same time: "The phone rang as I was leaving." In this use it is close to "while," though "as" often suggests one action in progress at the exact moment another occurs.