even

1
[ ee-vuhn ]
See synonyms for even on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. level; flat; smooth; without surface irregularities: The car can reach a top speed of 120 miles per hour on an even road.

  2. on the same level; in the same plane or line; parallel: Plunge the poles into the soil until the lines you marked are even with the ground.

  1. free from variations or fluctuations; regular: He rocked the baby with a careful, even motion.

  2. uniform in action, character, or quality: She governed successfully because she had managed to hold an even course between conflicting principles and parties.

  3. equal in measure or quantity: Add even amounts of oil and vinegar.

  4. (of a number) divisible by two (opposed to odd): The numbers 2, 16, and 30 are even.

  5. denoted by a number divisible by two: There are small illustrations on the top of the even pages of the book.

  6. exactly expressible in integers, or in tens, hundreds, etc., without fractional parts: It's an even seven miles there and back.

  7. Mathematics. (of a function) having a sign that remains the same when the sign of each independent variable is changed at the same time.

  8. equally balanced or divided; equal: Check to see if the scales are even.

  9. leaving no balance of debt on either side; square: We will not be even until I can repay him for saving my life.

  10. calm; placid; not easily excited or angered: If you're looking for a dog with an even temper and friendly personality, this breed is perfect.

  11. equitable, impartial, or fair: After much wrangling, they finally came to an even bargain that suited everyone.

adverb
  1. evenly: The road ran even over the fields.

  2. still; yet (used to emphasize a comparative): I liked your previous idea for Mom's gift, but I think this one is even more suitable.

  1. (used to suggest that something mentioned as a possibility constitutes an extreme case or an unlikely instance):Even the slightest noise disturbs him.Even if he attends, he may not participate.

  2. (used to emphasize the occurrence or nonoccurrence of an event, or the simultaneousness of events): Even as he lay dying, they argued over his estate.I loaned her my car for a whole week, but she didn't even fill the gas tank up before returning it to me.

  3. fully or quite: I will protect my child even to my death.

  4. indeed (used as an intensive for stressing the identity or truth of something): He is willing, even eager, to do it.

  5. exactly or precisely: It was even so.

verb (used with object)
  1. to make even; level; smooth (sometimes followed by out): The first step is to even the board with a plane.

  2. to place in an even state as to claim or obligation; balance (often followed by up): I need to even up the accounts before I do my taxes.

verb (used without object)
  1. to become even: The odds evened before the race.

Verb Phrases
  1. even out,

    • to make or become even, smooth, or flat: The wrinkles will even out when the suit dries.

    • to become equal, balanced, stable, etc.: We were optimistic that the situation would even out eventually.

Idioms about even

  1. break even, to have one's profits equal one's losses; neither gain nor lose: The company barely broke even last year.

  2. get even, to be revenged; retaliate: He vowed to get even for the insult.

Origin of even

1
First recorded before 900; (for the adjective) Middle English efn(e), emne, even, Old English ef(e)n; cognate with Gothic ibns, Old High German eban, Old Norse jafn “even, equal”; adverb and verb derivative of the adjective

synonym study For even

1. See level.

Other words for even

Opposites for even

Other words from even

  • e·ven·er, noun
  • e·ven·ly, adverb
  • e·ven·ness, noun

Words Nearby even

Other definitions for even (2 of 3)

even2
[ ee-vuhn ]

nounArchaic.
  1. evening; eve.

Origin of even

2
First recorded before 950; Middle English eve(n), Old English ǣfen, ēven; akin to German Abend, Old Frisian āvend, ēvend; see evening

Other definitions for Even (3 of 3)

Even
[ ey-wuhn, ev-uhn ]

noun,plural E·vens, (especially collectively) E·ven for 1.
  1. a member of a Siberian people living mainly in the Yakut Autonomous Republic in the Russian Federation.

  2. the Tungusic language spoken by the Even.

Origin of Even

3
<Russian ėvén<Evenki əwən

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use even in a sentence

  • Some were even re-arrested for the same nefarious purpose, and the daily papers published their names on each occasion.

    The Philippine Islands | John Foreman
  • even as they gazed they saw its roof caught up, and whirled off as if it had been a scroll of paper.

    The Giant of the North | R.M. Ballantyne
  • I presume the twenty-five or thirty miles at this end is unhealthy, even for natives, but it surely need not be so.

    Glances at Europe | Horace Greeley
  • Genoa has but recently and partially felt the new impulse, yet even here the march of improvement is visible.

    Glances at Europe | Horace Greeley
  • He was the strangest-looking creature Davy had ever seen, not even excepting the Goblin.

    Davy and The Goblin | Charles E. Carryl

British Dictionary definitions for even (1 of 2)

even1

/ (ˈiːvən) /


adjective
  1. level and regular; flat: an even surface

  2. (postpositive foll by with) on the same level or in the same plane (as): one surface even with another

  1. without variation or fluctuation; regular; constant: an even rate of progress

  2. not readily moved or excited; placid; calm: an even temper

  3. equally balanced between two sides: an even game

  4. equal or identical in number, quantity, etc: two even spoonfuls of sugar

    • (of a number) divisible by two

    • characterized or indicated by such a number: maps are on the even pages Compare odd (def. 4)

  5. relating to or denoting two or either of two alternatives, events, etc, that have an equal probability: an even chance of missing or catching a train

  6. having no balance of debt; neither owing nor being owed

  7. just and impartial; fair: an even division

  8. exact in number, amount, or extent: an even pound

  9. equal, as in score; level: now the teams are even

  10. maths (of a function) unchanged in value when the sign of the independent variable is changed, as in y = z ²: See odd (def. 8)

  11. even money

    • a bet in which the winnings are the same as the amount staked

    • (as modifier): the even-money favourite

  12. get even informal to exact revenge (on); settle accounts (with)

  13. of even date law formal, or obsolete of the same or today's date

adverb
  1. (intensifier; used to suggest that the content of a statement is unexpected or paradoxical): even an idiot can do that

  2. (intensifier; used with comparative forms): this is even better

  1. notwithstanding; in spite of: even having started late she soon caught him up

  2. used to introduce a more precise version of a word, phrase, or statement: he is base, even depraved

  3. used preceding a clause of supposition or hypothesis to emphasize the implication that whether or not the condition in it is fulfilled, the statement in the main clause remains valid: even if she died he wouldn't care

  4. archaic that is to say; namely (used for emphasis): he, even he, hath spoken these things

  5. archaic all the way; fully: I love thee even unto death

  6. even as (conjunction) at the very same moment or in the very same way that: even as I spoke, it thundered

  7. even so in spite of any assertion to the contrary: nevertheless

verb
  1. to make or become even

Origin of even

1
Old English efen; related to Old Norse jafn even, equal, Gothic ibns, Old High German eban

Derived forms of even

  • evener, noun
  • evenly, adverb
  • evenness, noun

British Dictionary definitions for even (2 of 2)

even2

/ (ˈiːvən) /


noun
  1. an archaic word for eve, evening

Origin of even

2
Old English ǣfen; related to Old Frisian ēvend, Old High German āband

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for even

even

[ ēvən ]


  1. Divisible by 2 with a remainder of 0, such as 12 or 876.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Other Idioms and Phrases with even

even

In addition to the idioms beginning with even

  • even money
  • even so

also see:

  • break even
  • never give a sucker an even break
  • on an even keel

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.