here

[ heer ]

/ hɪər /

adverb

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.

noun

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.

adjective

(used for emphasis, especially after a noun modified by a demonstrative adjective): this package here.

interjection

(often used to command attention, give comfort, etc.) now; all right: Here, let me try it. Here, don't cry.

Nearby words

herder, herdic, herding dog, herdsman, herdwick, here, here and now, here and there, here goes, here to stay, here today, gone tomorrow

Idioms

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

before 900; Middle English; Old English hēr; cognate with German hier, Old Norse, Gothic hēr

Can be confused

hear here (see synonym study at hear)

Usage note

10. See there.

Word story

The very basic word here, a derivative of the Proto-Indo-European root ko-, ke-, kē(i)-, ki- “this, this here,” has so many relatives in so many Indo-European languages that it is hard to choose examples.
From ke-, Latin has cedo “gimme,” cēterus (from ce-eteros ) “the other, the rest of,” hic (from hic-ce ) “this, this here,” and ecce “look!” Greek has (e)keînos (from (e)ke-enos ) “that, that one (over there),” and ekeî “there, over there.” The variant ki- yields Latin cis “on this side of” (as in Gallia Cisalpina “Cisalpine Gaul,” that part of Italy in the Po Valley between the Alps and the Apennines, where Gauls lived).
In Germanic ki- becomes hi-, from which Old English has hē, his, him and the neuter pronoun hit (English he, his, him and it ), hire, the genitive and dative singular feminine pronoun (English her ), and heom, him, the dative plural of the third person pronoun, now the colloquial English ‘em. Old High German derives hiutu “this day, today” (German heute ). Hi- and the adverbial or locative suffix -r yields Gothic hēr, Old English hēr, and German hier.
Finally, Hittite has ki “this” and kinun “now.”

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for here's to (1 of 2)

here

/ (hɪə) /

adverb

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)

noun

this placethey leave here tonight

here and now or the here and now the present time

Word Origin for here

Old English hēr; related to Old Norse hēr, Old High German hiar, Old Saxon hīr

British Dictionary definitions for here's to (2 of 2)

Here

/ (ˈjɪrə) /

interjection

Southern African an exclamation of surprise or dismay

Word Origin for Here

Afrikaans: Lord

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

Idioms and Phrases with here's to (1 of 2)

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.”

Idioms and Phrases with here's to (2 of 2)

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

here

adverb

noun

adjective

interjection

RELATED CONTENT

Nearby words

Idioms

Origin of here

Can be confused

Usage note

Word story

British Dictionary definitions for here's to (1 of 2)

here

adverb

noun

Word Origin for here

British Dictionary definitions for here's to (2 of 2)

Here

interjection

Word Origin for Here

Idioms and Phrases with here's to (1 of 2)

here's to

Idioms and Phrases with here's to (2 of 2)

here