Vary - English meaning

verb

Change in character or composition, typically in a comparatively small but significant way.

Usage examples:

Eliot was persuaded to alter the passage

verb

To change a characteristic, often slightly, or to cause this to happen

Usage examples:

[ t ] the coat was too long, so i took it back to the store to have it altered., some things in lif…

verb

To change the appearance, character, or structure of something, or to be changed in this way

Usage examples:

Just last week, the company agreed to alter some of its business practices., if they want to contin…

phrase

To be the best or much better than other people at a particular activity

Usage examples:

When it comes to mathematics, he's in a different class from his peers., as a player, she's in a di…

verb

Make (someone or something) different; alter or modify.

Usage examples:

Both parties voted against proposals to change the law

noun

An act or process through which something becomes different.

Usage examples:

The change from a nomadic to an agricultural society

verb

To exchange one thing for another thing, especially of a similar type

Usage examples:

Change jobs she's just changed jobs., change the subject let's change the subject (= talk about som…

verb

Put something on top of or in front of (something), especially in order to protect or conceal it.

Usage examples:

The table had been covered with a checked tablecloth

noun

A thing which lies on, over, or around something, especially in order to protect or conceal it.

Usage examples:

A seat cover

verb

To put or spread something over something, or to lie on the surface of something

Usage examples:

Once the rice comes to a boil, turn down the flame and cover the pot., she covered the child with a…

verb

Be unlike or dissimilar.

Usage examples:

The second set of data differed from the first

verb

To be not like something else; to be different

Usage examples:

American english and british english obviously differ in pronunciation., we may differ on what the …

verb

To be not like something or someone else, either physically or in another way

Usage examples:

Differ in the twins look alike, but they differ in temperament., differ from his views differ consi…

verb

Cause to cover a wider area; make larger.

Usage examples:

The car park has been extended

verb

Stretch out over a distance, space, time, or scope

verb

To reach, continue, or stretch

Usage examples:

[ i ] farmland extends for miles in every direction., [ i ] the meeting extended into the late hour…

verb

Rise and fall irregularly in number or amount.

Usage examples:

Trade with other countries tends to fluctuate from year to year

verb

To change or vary frequently between one level or thing and another

Usage examples:

Vegetable prices fluctuate according to the season., i fluctuate between feeling really happy and u…

verb

If prices, levels, or interest rates fluctuate, they go up and down

Usage examples:

Inflation has fluctuated in recent months along with oil prices., fluctuate between sth and sth div…

verb

Move from one place to another; travel.

Usage examples:

He went out to the shops

noun

An attempt or trial at something.

Usage examples:

Have a go at answering the questions yourself

adjective

Functioning properly.

Usage examples:

All systems go

verb

Move or swing back and forth in a regular rhythm.

Usage examples:

The grain pan near the front of the combine oscillates back and forth

verb

To move repeatedly from side to side or up and down between two points, or to vary between two states or amounts, or feelings or opinions

Usage examples:

She oscillates between cooperation and hostility., mealtimes strongly influence this daily oscillat…

verb

To move repeatedly from one position to another

Usage examples:

Oscillate between sth and sth the stock has spent most of the past five years oscillating between $…

verb

Move or cause to move in a specified direction.

Usage examples:

He passed through towns and villages

noun

An act or instance of moving past or through something.

Usage examples:

Repeated passes with the swipe card

exclamation

Said when one does not know the answer to a question, for example in a quiz.

Usage examples:

To the enigmatic question we answered ‘pass’

noun

The area of variation between upper and lower limits on a particular scale.

Usage examples:

The cost will be in the range of $1–5 million a day

verb

Vary or extend between specified limits.

Usage examples:

Prices range from £30 to £100

adjective

(of a person or their lifestyle) orderly; settled.

Usage examples:

It's possible to be too rangé

verb

Stretch out an arm in a specified direction in order to touch or grasp something.

Usage examples:

He reached over and turned off his bedside light

noun

An act of reaching out with one's arm.

Usage examples:

She made a reach for him

verb

Move at a speed faster than a walk, never having both or all the feet on the ground at the same time.

Usage examples:

The dog ran across the road

noun

An act or spell of running.

Usage examples:

I usually go for a run in the morning

verb

Move fast by using one's feet

verb

Move or cause to move from one place to another, especially over a small distance.

Usage examples:

A team from the power company came to shift the cables away from the house

noun

A slight change in position, direction, or tendency.

Usage examples:

A shift in public opinion

verb

Move very slightly

verb

(of something soft or elastic) be made or be capable of being made longer or wider without tearing or breaking.

Usage examples:

My jumper stretched in the wash

noun

An act of stretching one's limbs or body.

Usage examples:

I got up and had a stretch

verb

To reach across a distance or become longer or wider, or to cause something to do this

Usage examples:

[ i ] rubber stretches when you pull it., [ t ] the banner was stretched across the street., [ m ] …

verb

Move or cause to move back and forth or from side to side while suspended or on an axis.

Usage examples:

Her long black skirt swung about her legs

noun

A seat suspended by ropes or chains, on which someone may sit and swing back and forth.

Usage examples:

The chains that had been holding the seat of the swing up were still sticking straight out.

verb

Change direction with a swinging motion; turn

verb

Move in a quivering way; flicker.

Usage examples:

The flame wavered in the draught

verb

To begin to doubt or lose your determination to do something

Usage examples:

He never wavered as the leading voice of african-americans’ call for freedom and equality., she wav…

noun

A toy consisting of a circular object that can be made to roll down and up a string that is tied to your hand if you spin the object and move your hand quickly at the same time

Usage examples:

Research on yo-yo dieting indicates that going on and off diets repeatedly will make weight control…