Words nearby so
Idioms for so
Origin of so
1before 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.
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.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
British Dictionary definitions for soer (1 of 4)
SO
abbreviation for
Somalia (international car registration)
British Dictionary definitions for soer (2 of 4)
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 soer (3 of 4)
British Dictionary definitions for soer (4 of 4)
so3
the internet domain name for
Somalia
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 soer
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
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.