for
- adposition
- /fɔr/
- for years
- for three days
- for decades
Examples
-
So I was on bed rest for six months.
-
So what you do is you let this sit for six hours.
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Or has it actually been going on for nine years now?
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The guy has been missing for about two years now.
-
We cross the bridge, following a route that lies underwater for much of the year.
Academic text (2011) -
People from the Afar tribe have lived in this desert region for hundreds of years.
Academic text (2011) -
She walked for miles along the beach, enjoying the sound of the waves.
-
The car was parked for a long time in the same spot.
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The festival lasts for three days every summer, attracting visitors from all around.
Synonyms
A short written form used to mean for in messages
Idioms
- Informal
A short response to show you are happy for someone or that you do not really care
You use it when telling someone something they may not know, often politely or to show they were wrong
- Informal
Say it when you are annoyed to ask someone to do or stop something
Compounds
A U.S. government health agency that studies and prevents diseases
A Palestinian left-wing group that carries out armed attacks against Israel
A Shia militant group linked to Iran that uses car bombs
A difficult situation that tests and makes new ideas or people stronger under pressure
An international group that helps countries destroy chemical weapons and checks they do not make or use them
Belief that each person is responsible for their own health through their choices
A Palestinian political group that seeks major national change and sometimes uses armed attacks
A strong request asking someone to explain or justify their words and actions
An Algerian extremist Islamist group that split from another militant group and tried to overthrow the government while supporting al-Qaeda
A United Nations group that helps Latin American countries grow their economies
A United Nations group that helps African countries develop their economies
An organization in the United Nations that helps European countries work together on economic matters
A code using seven bits to represent letters, numbers, and simple control characters so computers can share text
A religious group that worships Krishna, a Hindu god, and shares its beliefs worldwide
An American organization that helps older people by giving advice and speaking for them
- Specialized
A baby who is much smaller and lighter than usual for their pregnancy length
An international organization that gives loans to help developing countries build roads and schools
A private college in New York City that teaches art, architecture, and engineering
A request by a guard or official for a person to show identity papers
A senior British minister who leads the Home Office and deals with security, immigration, and law and order
The main government spy agency in Pakistan that gathers secret information about security
- Offensive
A group of armed fighters who use violence to try to take control of Rwanda
A UN group that helps Asian and Far Eastern countries develop their economies
An armed group that attacked to force Turkey to admit the Armenian Genocide, pay money, and give land to Armenia
- Offensive
A place where employers quickly judge job seekers like products
- Texting
A central website or app where popular online content spreads quickly
Surface Forms
Etymology
For is related to words like before and forward and once carried the sense of moving 'forward' through space, so it now often tells how far or how long something goes.