here
- in this place; in this spot or locality (opposed to there): Put the pen here.
- to or toward this place; hither: Come here.
- at this point; at this juncture: Here the speaker paused.
- (used to call attention to some person or thing present, or to what the speaker has, offers, brings, or discovers): Here is your paycheck. My friend here knows the circumstances.
- present (used to answer a roll call).
- in the present life or existence (often followed by below): We want but little here below.
- under consideration, in this instance or case: The matter here is of grave concern to us all.
- this place: It's only a short distance from here.
- this world; this life; the present: The here and the hereafter are equal mysteries to all people.
- (used for emphasis, especially after a noun modified by a demonstrative adjective): this package here.
- (often used to command attention, give comfort, etc.) now; all right: Here, let me try it. Here, don't cry.
- here and now, at the present moment; without delay; immediately: We must tend to the matter here and now.
- here and now, the immediate present (usually preceded by the): You can't live only in the here and now.
- here and there,
- in this place and in that; at various times or places: He worked here and there, never for long in one town.
- hither and thither: We drove here and there in the darkness, hoping to find the right roads.
- here goes, (used to express resolution in beginning a bold or unpleasant action): You've dared me to dive from the highest board, so here goes!
- here's to, hail to; salutations to: Here's to a long and happy life! Here's to you!
- neither here nor there, without relevance or importance; immaterial: The fact that her family has no money is neither here nor there.
- up to here with,
- having a surfeit of: I'm up to here with work.
- at a high point of annoyance with: Everyone is up to here with his constant complaining.
Origin of here
Usage note
here
- in, at, or to this place, point, case, or respectwe come here every summer; here, the policemen do not usually carry guns; here comes Roy
- here and there at several places in or throughout an area
- here goes an exclamation indicating that the speaker is about to perform an action
- here's to a formula used in proposing a toast to someone or something
- here today, gone tomorrow short-lived; transitory
- here we go again an event or process is about to repeat itself
- neither here nor there of no relevance or importance
- this here See this (def. 7)
- this placethey leave here tonight
- here and now or the here and now the present time
Word Origin for here
Here
- Southern African an exclamation of surprise or dismay
Word Origin for Here
Word Origin and History for here's to
here
Old English her "in this place, where one puts himself," from Proto-Germanic pronomial stem *hi- (from PIE *ki- "this;" see he) + adverbial suffix -r. Cognate with Old Saxon her, Old Norse, Gothic her, Swedish här, Middle Dutch, Dutch hier, Old High German hiar, German hier.
Phrase here today and gone tomorrow first recorded 1680s in writings of Aphra Behn. Here's to _____ as a toast is from 1590s, probably short for here's health to _____. In vulgar speech, this here as an adjective is attested from 1762. To be neither here nor there "of no consequence" attested from 1580s. Here we go again as a sort of verbal roll of the eyes is attested from 1950. Noun phrase here and now "this present life" is from 1829.
Idioms and Phrases with here's to
here's to
One salutes someone or something. For example, Here's to Bill on his retirement, or Here's to the new project. This phrase, nearly always used as a toast to someone or something, is a shortening of here's a health to and has been so used since the late 1500s. Shakespeare had it in Romeo and Juliet (5:3): “Here's to my Love.”
here
In addition to the idioms beginning with here
- here and now
- here and there
- here goes
- here today, gone tomorrow
- here to stay
also see:
- buck stops here
- downhill all the way (from here)
- have had it (up to here)
- neither here nor there
- same here
- where do we go from here