so

[ soh ]

/ soʊ /

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adverb

in the way or manner indicated, described, or implied: Do it so.

in that or this manner or fashion; thus: So it turned out.

in the aforesaid state or condition: It is broken and has long been so.

to the extent or degree indicated or suggested: Do not walk so fast.

Informal. very or extremely: I'm so sad.

Informal. (used with the word "not" or in a generally negative statement to emphasize an adjective, noun phrase, or clause) really; surely: That is so not funny!My mom is so going to kill me!

very greatly: My head aches so!

(used before an adverb or an adverbial clause and followed by as) to such a degree or extent: so far as I know.

having the purpose of: a speech so commemorating the victory.

for this or that reason; hence; therefore: She is ill, and so cannot come to the party.

(used as an affirmative to emphasize or confirm a previous statement) most certainly: I said I would come, and so I will.

(used as an emphatic affirmative to contradict a previous statement) indeed; truly; too: I was so at the party!

likewise or correspondingly; also; too: If he is going, then so am I.

in such manner as to follow or result from: As he learned, so did he teach.

in the way that follows; in this way: The audience was seated, and so the famous speech began.

in the way that precedes; in that way: So ended the speech, and the listeners arose and cheered.

in such way as to end in: So live your life that old age will bring you no regrets.

then; subsequently: and so to bed.

conjunction

in order that (often followed by that): Check carefully, so any mistakes will be caught.

with the result that (often followed by that): He checked carefully, so that the mistakes were caught.

on the condition that; if.

pronoun

such as has been stated: to be good and stay so.

something that is about or near the persons or things in question, as in number or amount: Of the original twelve, five or so remain.

interjection

(used as an exclamation of surprise, shock, discovery, inquiry, indifference, etc., according to the manner of utterance.)

adjective

true as stated or reported; conforming with reality or the fact: Say it isn't so.

QUIZ

SHALL WE PLAY A "SHALL" VS. "SHOULD" CHALLENGE?

Should you take this quiz on “shall” versus “should”? It should prove to be a quick challenge!

Question 1 of 6

Which form is used to state an obligation or duty someone has?

shall

should

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Idioms about so

not so much, Informal. not (def. 3).

only / just so many, being a limited or small number or amount: I can eat only so many pieces of fruit.

only / just so much, being a limited amount or quantity; up to a certain point or maximum: I can eat only so much fruit; just so much that one can do in such a case.

so as,

with the result or purpose: to turn up the volume of the radio so as to drown out the noise from the next apartment.
Older Use. provided that: I like any flower, just so as it's real.

so much,

something, as an amount or cost, that is not specified or determined: The carpeting is priced at so much per yard.
all that is or needs to be said or done: So much for the preliminaries, let's get down to the real issues.

so much as, even: He doesn't so much as say hello to me.

so to speak. speak (def. 23).

so what? what (def. 27).

Origin of so

before 900; Middle English; Old English swā; cognate with Dutch zoo,German so,Gothic swa

synonym study for so

10. See therefore.

usage note for so

5. The intensive so meaning “very or extremely” ( Everything's so expensive these days ) occurs chiefly in informal speech. In writing and formal speech, intensive so is most often followed by a completing that clause: Everything is so expensive that some families must struggle just to survive.
19, 20. The conjunction so (often followed by that ) introduces clauses both of purpose ( We ordered our tickets early so that we could get good seats ) and of result ( The river had frozen during the night so people walked across it all the next day ). In formal speech and writing, so that is somewhat more common than so in clauses of purpose. Otherwise, either so or so that is standard.
Like and, but1 , and or, so can occur as a transitional word at the beginning of a sentence: So all our hard work finally brought results. See also as¹, and, but¹.

Other definitions for so (2 of 6)

so²

[ soh ]

/ soʊ /

noun Music.

sol¹.

Other definitions for so (3 of 6)

abbreviation

significant other (def. 2). Also S.O.

Other definitions for so (4 of 6)

s.o.

abbreviation

seller's option.

shipping order.

Other definitions for so (5 of 6)

So.

abbreviation

South.

Southern.

Other definitions for so (6 of 6)

S.O.

abbreviation

Signal Officer.

significant other (def. 2). Also SO

Special Order.

Standing Order.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

British Dictionary definitions for so (1 of 5)

so¹

/ (səʊ) /

adverb

(foll by an adjective or adverb and a correlative clause often introduced by that) to such an extentthe river is so dirty that it smells

(used with a negative; it replaces the first as in an equative comparison) to the same extent asshe is not so old as you

(intensifier)it's so lovely; I love you so

in the state or manner expressed or impliedthey're happy and will remain so

(not used with a negative; foll by an auxiliary verb or do, have, or be used as main verbs) also; likewiseI can speak Spanish and so can you

informal indeed: used to contradict a negative statementYou didn't tell the truth. I did so!

archaic provided that

and so on or and so forth and continuing similarly

just so See just (def. 19)

or so approximatelyfifty or so people came to see me

quite so I agree; exactly

so be it used to express agreement or resignation

so much

a certain degree or amount (of)
a lot (of)it's just so much nonsense

so much for

no more can or need be said about
used to express contempt for something that has failedso much for your bright idea

conjunction (subordinating; often foll by that)

in order (that)to die so that you might live

with the consequence (that)he was late home, so that there was trouble

so as (takes an infinitive) in order (to)to slim so as to lose weight

sentence connector

in consequence; henceshe wasn't needed, so she left

used to introduce a sentence expressing resignation, amazement, or sarcasmso you're publishing a book!

thereupon; and thenand so we ended up in France

used to introduce a sentence or clause to add emphasishe's crazy, so he is

so what! informal what importance does that have?

pronoun

used to substitute for a clause or sentence, which may be understoodyou'll stop because I said so

adjective

(used with is, was, etc) factual; trueit can't be so

interjection

an exclamation of agreement, surprise, etc

Word Origin for so

Old English swā; related to Old Norse svā, Old High German sō, Dutch zoo

usage for so

In formal English, so is not used as a conjunction, to indicate either purpose (he left by a back door so he could avoid photographers) or result (the project was abandoned so his services were no longer needed). In the former case to or in order to should be used instead, and in the latter case and so or and therefore would be more acceptable. The expression so therefore should not be used

British Dictionary definitions for so (2 of 5)

so²

/ (səʊ) /

noun

music a variant spelling of soh

British Dictionary definitions for so (3 of 5)

so³

the internet domain name for

Somalia

British Dictionary definitions for so (4 of 5)

abbreviation for

Somalia (international car registration)

British Dictionary definitions for so (5 of 5)

S.O.

/ baseball /

abbreviation for

strike out

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

Other Idioms and Phrases with so

In addition to the idioms beginning with so

so as to
so be it
so far
so far as
so far, so good
so help me
soil one's hands
sold on, be
sold out
so long
so long as
so many
so much
so much as
so much for
so much the
song and dance
son of a bitch
so that
so to speak
so what

also see:

and so forth (and so on)
as (so) far as
as (so) far as possible
as (so) far as that goes
as (so) long as
as (so) much as
even so
every now and then (so often)
go so far as to
how come (so)
in so many words
is that a fact (so)
I told you so
just so
never had it so good
not (so) bad
on one's say-so
or so
take it (just so much)
without so much as

so

Idioms about so

Origin of so

synonym study for so

usage note for so

Other definitions for so (2 of 6)

Other definitions for so (3 of 6)

Other definitions for so (4 of 6)

Other definitions for so (5 of 6)

Other definitions for so (6 of 6)

Words related to so

British Dictionary definitions for so (1 of 5)

Word Origin for so

usage for so

British Dictionary definitions for so (2 of 5)

British Dictionary definitions for so (3 of 5)

British Dictionary definitions for so (4 of 5)

British Dictionary definitions for so (5 of 5)

Other Idioms and Phrases with so