from

[ fruhm, from; unstressed fruhm ]
See synonyms for from on Thesaurus.com
preposition
  1. (used to specify a starting point in spatial movement): a train running west from Chicago.

  2. (used to specify a starting point in an expression of limits): The number of stores will be increased from 25 to 30.

  1. (used to express removal or separation, as in space, time, or order): two miles from shore;30 minutes from now;from one page to the next.

  2. (used to express discrimination or distinction): to be excluded from membership;to differ from one's father.

  3. (used to indicate source or origin): to come from the Midwest;to take a pencil from one's pocket.

  4. (used to indicate agent or instrumentality): death from starvation.

  5. (used to indicate cause or reason): From the evidence, he must be guilty.

Origin of from

1
First recorded before 950; Middle English, Old English, variant of fram “from, forward”; cognate with Gothic fram, Old Norse frā (see fro), fram

Words Nearby from

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

How to use from in a sentence

  • They have a nodding-from-a-motor-acquaintance with it but I like a real handshake-friendship with it.

    Patchwork | Anna Balmer Myers
  • Once more we found ourselves in the far-from-delectable town of Cape François.

    Hurricane Hurry | W.H.G. Kingston
  • It was no good trying some tricky approach; his best bet was the straight-from-the-shoulder bit.

    Greylorn | John Keith Laumer
  • Now the fugitive-from-labor clause must be interpreted in part by the light of the Purpose of the Constitution.

  • And again came that scent of cigar smoke-from the old saturated leather.

British Dictionary definitions for from

from

/ (frɒm, unstressed frəm) /


preposition
  1. used to indicate the original location, situation, etc: from Paris to Rome; from behind the bushes; from childhood to adulthood

  2. in a period of time starting at: he lived from 1910 to 1970

  1. used to indicate the distance between two things or places: a hundred miles from here

  2. used to indicate a lower amount: from five to fifty pounds

  3. showing the model of: painted from life

  4. used with the gerund to mark prohibition, restraint, etc: nothing prevents him from leaving

  5. because of: exhausted from his walk

Origin of from

1
Old English fram; related to Old Norse frā, Old Saxon, Old High German, Gothic fram from, Greek promos foremost

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