preposition
1any member of a class of words found in many languages that are used before nouns, pronouns, or other substantives to form phrases functioning as modifiers of verbs, nouns, or adjectives, and that typically express a spatial, temporal, or other relationship, as in, on, by, to, since.
Origin of preposition
1Grammar notes for preposition
Other words from preposition
- prep·o·si·tion·al, adjective
- prep·o·si·tion·al·ly, adverb
- non·prep·o·si·tion·al, adjective
- non·prep·o·si·tion·al·ly, adverb
- qua·si-prep·o·si·tion·al, adjective
- qua·si-prep·o·si·tion·al·ly, adverb
Words that may be confused with preposition
- preposition , proposition
Other definitions for preposition (2 of 2)
or pre-po·si·tion
to position in advance or beforehand: to preposition troops in anticipated trouble spots.
Origin of preposition
2Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use preposition in a sentence
Purists sometimes seem to think that disregarding rules about prepositions is as heinous as torturing children.
Go Ahead, End With a Preposition: Grammar Rules We All Can Live With | Nick Romeo | November 3, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThe skillful use of prepositions and conjunctions indicates a master of words.
English: Composition and Literature | W. F. (William Franklin) WebsterNow note the value of prepositions in giving these separate sentences coherence.
English: Composition and Literature | W. F. (William Franklin) WebsterPrepositions are especially liable to be misused, and their correct use comes from a study of literature, not of the dictionary.
English: Composition and Literature | W. F. (William Franklin) WebsterPrepositions represent a few simple ways in which incomplete verbs complete themselves.
Instigations | Ezra Pound
These modes consist in the use of prepositions, and will be explained under that head.
Summary Narrative of an Exploratory Expedition to the Sources of the Mississippi River, in 1820 | Henry Rowe Schoolcraft
British Dictionary definitions for preposition
/ (ˌprɛpəˈzɪʃən) /
a word or group of words used before a noun or pronoun to relate it grammatically or semantically to some other constituent of a sentence: Abbreviation: prep
Origin of preposition
1usage For preposition
Derived forms of preposition
- prepositional, adjective
- prepositionally, adverb
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
Cultural definitions for preposition
A part of speech that indicates the relationship, often spatial, of one word to another. For example, “She paused at the gate”; “This tomato is ripe for picking”; and “They talked the matter over head to head.” Some common prepositions are at, by, for, from, in, into, on, to, and with.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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