Library / English Dictionary

SIZE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

The property resulting from being one of a series of graduated measurements (as of clothing)

Example:

he wears a size 13 shoe

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Hypernyms ("size" is a kind of...):

property (a basic or essential attribute shared by all members of a class)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "size"):

tall (a garment size for a tall person)

stout (a garment size for a large or heavy person)

small (a garment size for a small person)

regular (a garment size for persons of average height and weight)

4to; quarto (the size of a book whose pages are made by folding a sheet of paper twice to form four leaves)

petite (a garment size for short or slender women)

outsize (an unusual garment size (especially one that is very large))

8vo; eightvo; octavo (the size of a book whose pages are made by folding a sheet of paper three times to form eight leaves)

number (a clothing measurement)

large (a garment size for a large person)

extra large (a garment size for a very large person)

Derivation:

size (make to a size; bring to a suitable size)

size (sort according to size)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The physical magnitude of something (how big it is)

Example:

a wolf is about the size of a large dog

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Hypernyms ("size" is a kind of...):

magnitude (the property of relative size or extent (whether large or small))

Attribute:

big; large (above average in size or number or quantity or magnitude or extent)

little; small (limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "size"):

circumference; perimeter (the size of something as given by the distance around it)

bigness; largeness (the property of having a relatively great size)

littleness; smallness (the property of having a relatively small size)

distance; length (size of the gap between two places)

Derivation:

size (make to a size; bring to a suitable size)

size (sort according to size)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A large magnitude

Example:

the only city of any size in that area

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Hypernyms ("size" is a kind of...):

magnitude (the property of relative size or extent (whether large or small))

Sense 4

Meaning:

The actual state of affairs

Example:

she hates me, that's about the size of it

Synonyms:

size; size of it

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Hypernyms ("size" is a kind of...):

situation; state of affairs (the general state of things; the combination of circumstances at a given time)

Domain usage:

colloquialism (a colloquial expression; characteristic of spoken or written communication that seeks to imitate informal speech)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Any glutinous material used to fill pores in surfaces or to stiffen fabrics

Example:

size gives body to a fabric

Synonyms:

size; sizing

Classified under:

Nouns denoting substances

Hypernyms ("size" is a kind of...):

filler (used for filling cracks or holes in a surface)

Derivation:

size (cover or stiffen or glaze a porous material with size or sizing (a glutinous substance))

 II. (adjective) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

(used in combination) sized

Example:

average-size house

Classified under:

Adjectives

Similar:

sized (having a specified size)

Domain usage:

combining form (a bound form used only in compounds)

 III. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Make to a size; bring to a suitable size

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Hypernyms (to "size" is one way to...):

change magnitude (change in size or magnitude)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "size"):

scale (size or measure according to a scale)

resize (change the size of; make the size more appropriate)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Also:

size up (to look at critically or searchingly, or in minute detail)

Derivation:

size (the property resulting from being one of a series of graduated measurements (as of clothing))

size (the physical magnitude of something (how big it is))

Sense 2

Meaning:

Sort according to size

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

Hypernyms (to "size" is one way to...):

assort; class; classify; separate; sort; sort out (arrange or order by classes or categories)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

size (the property resulting from being one of a series of graduated measurements (as of clothing))

size (the physical magnitude of something (how big it is))

Sense 3

Meaning:

Cover or stiffen or glaze a porous material with size or sizing (a glutinous substance)

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "size" is one way to...):

coat; surface (put a coat on; cover the surface of; furnish with a surface)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

size; sizing (any glutinous material used to fill pores in surfaces or to stiffen fabrics)

Credits

 Context examples: 

Personal size and mental sorrow have certainly no necessary proportions.

(Persuasion, by Jane Austen)

It is oval and reaches 4-7 cm in size.

(Morinda citrifolia, NCI Thesaurus)

It was of such a size that a single man could just fit through by stooping.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

It is characterized by the formation of capillary-sized and cavernous vascular spaces.

(Angiomatosis, NCI Thesaurus)

A Yucatan, Gottingen, or other pig breed that is bred specifically for its small size.

(Minipig, NCI Thesaurus)

It is characterized by the presence of small to medium sized T lymphocytes that are cytotoxic and express CD56.

(Monomorphic CD56+ Intestinal T-Cell Lymphoma, NCI Thesaurus)

There was nothing remarkable about the size of the eyes.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

Is it Jane? What is it? This is her shape—this is her size— "And this her voice," I added.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

And as to smaller-sized rooms than I had been used to, I really could not give it a thought.

(Emma, by Jane Austen)

When their size changes, their properties also change.

(Materials for the next generation of electronics and photovoltaics, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)