of

1
[ uhv, ov; unstressed uhv or, especially before consonants, uh ]
See synonyms for of on Thesaurus.com
preposition
  1. (used to indicate distance or direction from, separation, deprivation, etc.): within a mile of the church; south of Omaha; to be robbed of one's money.

  2. (used to indicate derivation, origin, or source): a man of good family; the plays of Shakespeare; a piece of cake.

  1. (used to indicate cause, motive, occasion, or reason): to die of hunger.

  2. (used to indicate material, component parts, substance, or contents): a dress of silk; an apartment of three rooms; a book of poems; a package of cheese.

  3. (used to indicate apposition or identity): Is that idiot of a salesman calling again?

  4. (used to indicate specific identity or a particular item within a category): the city of Chicago; thoughts of love.

  5. (used to indicate possession, connection, or association): the king of France; the property of the church.

  6. (used to indicate inclusion in a number, class, or whole): one of us.

  7. (used to indicate the objective relation, the object of the action noted by the preceding noun or the application of a verb or adjective): the ringing of bells; He writes her of home; I'm tired of working.

  8. (used to indicate reference or respect): There is talk of peace.

  9. (used to indicate qualities or attributes): an ambassador of remarkable tact.

  10. (used to indicate a specified time): They arrived of an evening.

  11. Chiefly Northern U.S. before the hour of; until: twenty minutes of five.

  12. on the part of: It was very mean of you to laugh at me.

  13. in respect to: fleet of foot.

  14. set aside for or devoted to: a minute of prayer.

  15. Archaic. by: consumed of worms.

Origin of of

1
First recorded before 900; Middle English, Old English: “of, off”; cognate with German ab, Latin ab, Greek apó; cf. a-2, o', off

usage note For of

Of is sometimes added to phrases beginning with the adverb how or too followed by a descriptive adjective: How long of a drive will it be? It's too hot of a day for tennis. This construction is probably modeled on that in which how or too is followed by much, an unquestionably standard use in all varieties of speech and writing: How much of a problem will that cause the government? There was too much of an uproar for the speaker to be heard. The use of of with descriptive adjectives after how or too is largely restricted to informal speech. It occurs occasionally in informal writing and written representations of speech. See also couple, off.

Words Nearby of

Other definitions for of (2 of 4)

of2
[ uhv ]

auxiliary verbNonstandard.
  1. have: He should of asked me first.

Origin of of

2
A phonetic spelling representing the pronunciation of the word in continuous rapid speech

usage note For of

Because the preposition of, when unstressed ( a piece of cake ), and the unstressed or contracted auxiliary verb have ( could have gone, could've gone ) are both pronounced [uhv] /əv/ or [uh] /ə/ in connected speech, inexperienced writers commonly confuse the two words, spelling have as of ( I would of handed in my book report, but the dog ate it ). Professional writers have been able to exploit this spelling deliberately, especially in fiction, to help represent the speech of the uneducated: If he could of went home, he would of.
  • Compare a4.

Other definitions for OF (3 of 4)

OF

abbreviation

Other definitions for of- (4 of 4)

of-

  1. variant of ob- (by assimilation) before f: offend.

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

How to use of in a sentence

  • You never know when you are going to stumble upon a jewel in the most out-of-the-way corner.

  • But Lessard's a overbearin' son-of-a-gun all round, and he's always breakin' out in a new place.

    Raw Gold | Bertrand W. Sinclair
  • Mr. Slocum was not educated in a university, and his life has been in by-paths, and out-of-the-way places.

  • The Spanish men-of-war, which were always painted white, had their colour changed to dark grey like the American ships.

    The Philippine Islands | John Foreman
  • Later on the commander of a German man-of-war and his staff were received and fêted by the Captain-General.

    The Philippine Islands | John Foreman

British Dictionary definitions for of (1 of 2)

of

/ (ɒv, unstressed əv) /


preposition
  1. used with a verbal noun or gerund to link it with a following noun that is either the subject or the object of the verb embedded in the gerund: the breathing of a fine swimmer (subject); the breathing of clean air (object)

  2. used to indicate possession, origin, or association: the house of my sister; to die of hunger

  1. used after words or phrases expressing quantities: a pint of milk

  2. constituted by, containing, or characterized by: a family of idiots; a rod of iron; a man of some depth

  3. used to indicate separation, as in time or space: within a mile of the town; within ten minutes of the beginning of the concert

  4. used to mark apposition: the city of Naples; a speech on the subject of archaeology

  5. about; concerning: speak to me of love

  6. used in passive constructions to indicate the agent: he was beloved of all

  7. informal used to indicate a day or part of a period of time when some activity habitually occurs: I go to the pub of an evening

  8. US before the hour of: a quarter of nine

Origin of of

1
Old English (as prep and adv); related to Old Norse af, Old High German aba, Latin ab, Greek apo

of

See off

British Dictionary definitions for OF (2 of 2)

OF

abbreviation for
  1. Old French (language)

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