word
- noun
- /wɜrd/
- When he said he would help, I took him at his word.
- keep your word
- give your word
- true to one's word
I keep my word, I help people.
- I keep my word, I help people.
- But don't just take Hakkasan's word that Trump isn't a racist.
- He said once I give my word, I have to stand by it.
- And the only way to do that isn't by word, it's by deed.
Examples
-
I give you my word.
-
I'll take your word for it.
-
So they in fact did keep their word and I kept mine.
-
I keep my word, I help people.
-
You can take my word for it.
-
I give you my word of honor.
-
I believe him to be a man of his word.
-
Was there no one who could be trusted to keep his word anymore, not even a brother?
Fiction book (1991) -
And to my congregation, please spread the word.
-
And I am willing to take your word for it, because you are a good man, and good men don’t lie to nuns.
Synonyms
A formal promise made in a serious or official situation
A written promise that something will meet standards or happen
A firm promise to do or not do something
A serious promise to tell the truth or keep a secret
A formal statement saying something is true instead of swearing an oath
Idioms
To think carefully about what you have done and decide to act differently
Compounds
- Formal
Sacred writings and teachings believed to come from God that give guidance for living
- Specialized
A program on a computer for writing, editing and printing text documents
- Literature
Words or phrases that avoid saying something clearly and often make people believe something untrue
A word made from two words that often has a new meaning, like toothpaste or watchdog
- Informal
A polite way to mention the word love when someone feels awkward saying it
- Specialized
A word from a small fixed set that helps show grammar, like in or and
- Specialized
A word that shows person, place and time compared to the speaker or listener
- Offensive
A short rude English word of four letters that insults someone
- Specialized
A word that enters a language because of a mistake, like a misprint, and has no real use
- Specialized
A word at the top of a dictionary page showing the first or last entry on that page
- Specialized
A general word that includes more specific words like bird for sparrow
- Slur
A rude word used to insult people with an intellectual disability, replaced by the letter R
- Specialized
A word that names a more specific kind than a general word, like 'poodle' for 'dog'
How Strong
Surface Forms
Etymology
Word came to mean a promise because people used their spoken 'word' as a guarantee. That's why to 'give your word' is to promise something will happen.