Like — Meaning, Definition & Synonyms

verb noun adjective preposition adverb conjunction auxiliary verb /ˈlīk/

Meaning & Definition of Like

Like (verb)

  1. to feel attraction toward or take pleasure in, enjoy
  2. to feel toward, regard
  3. to wish to have, want

Like (noun)

  1. liking, preference
  2. something that one likes
  3. the act or an instance of liking an online comment, post, etc.
  4. one that is similar, counterpart, equal
  5. kind —usually used with a preceding possessive
  6. one of many that are similar to each other —used chiefly in proverbial expressions

Like (adjective)

  1. the same or nearly the same (as in appearance, character, or quantity) —formerly used with as, unto, of
  2. closely resembling the subject or original
  3. likely

Like (preposition)

  1. having the characteristics of, similar to
  2. typical of
  3. comparable to, approximating

Like (adverb)

  1. equally
  2. likely, probably
  3. to some extent, rather, altogether

Like (conjunction)

  1. as if
  2. —used in intensive phrases
  3. in the same way that, as

Like (auxiliary verb)

  1. came near, was near

Like (verb) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. to wish to have

    "I'd like another slice of pizza, but I've already eaten more than I should have"

    similar: care (for), want, feel like
    related: adore, delight (in), dig, enjoy, fancy, groove (on), love, relish, revel (in), welcome, covet, crave, desire, die (for), hanker (for or after), wish (for), yearn (for)

  2. to show partiality toward

    "I like romantic comedies more than action movies"

    similar: care (for), favor, lean (toward or towards), prefer, be partial to, go in for
    related: adore, cotton (to), delight (in), dig, enjoy, fancy, groove (on), relish, revel (in), choose, cull, handpick, name, pick, select, single (out), take, covet, crave, desire, hanker (for or after), want, wish (for), bias, prejudice, incline (toward), tend (to), admire, appreciate, cherish, prize, treasure, value
    near: disfavor, dislike, mislike, abhor, abominate, detest, hate, loathe, decline, refuse, reject, turn down, discard, jettison, throw away, throw out

  3. to take pleasure in

    "an adventuresome young woman who likes skydiving"

    similar: adore, delight (in), dig, enjoy, fancy, get off (on), groove (on), love, rejoice (in), relish, revel (in), savor, be partial to, get a kick out of, go for, have a soft spot for, take to
    related: admire, appreciate, cherish, revere, venerate, worship, prize, treasure, value, devour, drink (in), eat (up), feast (on), dote (on), idolize, cotton (to), favor, prefer, indulge (in), luxuriate (in), wallow (in)
    near: abhor, abominate, detest, dislike, hate, loathe, condemn, despise, scorn

  4. to see fit

    "feel free to order whatever you like from the menu"

    similar: choose, please, want, will, wish
    related: ache (for), covet, crave, desire, die (for), fancy, hanker (for), hunger (for), itch (for), long (for), lust (for or after), pant (after), pine (for), repine (for), sigh (for), thirst (for), yearn (for), decide, determine, resolve

Like (noun) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. a number of persons or things that are grouped together because they have something in common

    "you can never trust his like, because they'll always let you down"

    similar: breed, class, description, feather, genre, ilk, kidney, kind, manner, nature, order, sort, species, strain, stripe, type, variety
    related: model, sample, specimen, bracket, bunch, category, division, family, grade, group, grouping, lot, persuasion, rank(s), set, suite

  2. one that is equal to another in status, achievement, or value

    "we'd never seen its like in any other shop in town"

    similar: coequal, compeer, coordinate, counterpart, equal, equivalent, fellow, match, parallel, peer, rival
    related: analogue, double, half, mate, twin, associate, colleague, companion, copartner, partner, competitor

  3. positive regard for something

    "she thought her new boyfriend was unusually interested in her likes and dislikes"

    similar: appetite, fancy, favor, fondness, liking, love, love affair, partiality, preference, relish, shine, taste, use
    related: craving, desire, hankering, longing, thirst, yen, enthusiasm, gusto, interest, passion, bias, prejudice, bent, inclination, leaning, propensity, tendency, tooth, palate, weakness
    opposite: aversion, disfavor, disgust, dislike, distaste, hatred, loathing, mislike
    near: apathy, disinclination, indifference, unconcern

Like (adjective) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. having qualities in common

    "you're not talking about like things when you compare football and golf"

    similar: akin, alike, analogous, cognate, comparable, connate, correspondent, corresponding, ditto, matching, parallel, resemblant, resembling, similar, such, suchlike, on the order of
    related: commensurate, proportionate, tantamount, virtual, allied, congeneric, congenerous, congenial, connatural, kin, kindred, relatable, related, approaching, approximating, close, coextensive, coincident, conformable, conforming, consistent, consonant, duplicate, equal, equivalent, fungible, identical, indistinguishable, interchangeable, me-too, redundant, same, selfsame, substitutable, synonymous, twin, entire, homogeneous, homogenous, unchanging, uniform, unvaried, unvarying
    opposite: different, dissimilar, diverse, unakin, unlike
    near: disparate, distinct, distinguishable, nonequivalent, noninterchangeable, variable, varied, various, varying, imprecise, inaccurate, inexact, unconnected, unrelated

Like (adverb) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. to some degree or extent

    "the cat would curl up, tightly like, and just go to sleep"

    similar: enough, fairly, kind of, kindly (chiefly Southern), moderately, more or less, pretty, quite, rather, relatively, something, somewhat, sort of, a bit, after a sort, a little, a mite, a tad, a touch, of sorts, to a degree
    related: acceptably, decently, passably, tolerably, little, negligibly, nominally, slightly, vaguely, half, halfway, incompletely, part, partially, partly, partway
    near: awfully, beastly, deadly, especially, exceedingly, exceptionally, extremely, frightfully, greatly, heavily, highly, hugely, mightily, mortally, particularly, surpassingly, terribly, very, considerably, extensively, significantly, substantially

  2. close to but not exactly

    "the distance is more like 500 miles"

    similar: about, approximately, around, more or less, much, near, plus or minus, roughly, say, some, after a fashion, somewhere about, somewhere around
    related: generally, kind of, loosely, nearly, nominally, practically, virtually, well-nigh
    opposite: exactly, precisely
    near: due, even, just, sharp, smack-dab, squarely

Like (conjunction) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. the way it would be or one would do if

    "it looks like it's going to rain at any moment"

    similar: as, as if, as though

Related Entry: Like a shot (phrase)

Like a shot is a different word from Like. The synonyms below are for like a shot, not for like.

  1. with great speed

    "The deer stopped in my headlights, then took off like a shot."

    similar: apace, briskly, chop-chop, double-quick, fast, fleetly, full tilt, hastily, hell-for-leather, hot, lickety-split, posthaste, presto, pronto, quick, quickly, rapidly, snappily, soon, speedily, swift, swiftly, a mile a minute, at full throttle, at full tilt, by leaps and bounds, in a hurry, in short order, like gangbusters, like wildfire
    related: immediately, promptly, readily, impetuously, impulsively, rashly, recklessly, abruptly, suddenly, energetically, vigorously
    opposite: slow, slowly
    near: laggardly, lingeringly, ploddingly, sluggishly, deliberately, leisurely, belatedly, delinquently, tardily

Related Entry: Like crazy (phrase)

Like crazy is a different word from Like. The synonyms below are for like crazy, not for like.

  1. with all power or resources being used

    "She studied like crazy hoping for an A."

    similar: all out, full blast, full tilt, tooth and nail, full steam ahead, in full career, to the hilt
    related: completely, comprehensively, detailedly, exhaustively, fully, minutely, roundly, thoroughly, totally, extremely, utterly

Related Entry: Like gangbusters (phrase)

Like gangbusters is a different word from Like. The synonyms below are for like gangbusters, not for like.

  1. in a vigorous and forceful manner

    "They worked like gangbusters and came out ahead of their competitors."

    similar: dynamically, energetically, explosively, firmly, forcefully, forcibly, hard, mightily, muscularly, powerfully, roundly, stiffly, stoutly, strenuously, strongly, sturdily, vigorously, to beat the band, with a vengeance, with might and main
    related: fiercely, hammer and tongs, robustly, roughshod, sharply, vehemently, violently, actively, animatedly, briskly, crisply, eagerly, gamely, heartily, lustily, snappily, spiritedly, spunkily, vivaciously, decidedly, determinedly, directly, emphatically, fast, fixedly, intensively, intently, purposefully, resolutely, rigidly, smartly, solidly, soundly, squarely, steadfastly, steadily, sturdily, surely, aggressively, assertively, manfully, potently
    opposite: feebly, gently, softly, weakly
    near: delicately, faintly, frailly, shakily, bloodlessly, halfheartedly, languidly, lazily, listlessly, spiritlessly, impotently, ineffectively, ineffectually, lamely, nervelessly, spinelessly, uncertainly

  2. with great speed

    "The show's ratings went up like gangbusters."

    similar: apace, briskly, chop-chop, double-quick, fast, fleetly, full tilt, hastily, hell-for-leather, hot, lickety-split, posthaste, presto, pronto, quick, quickly, rapidly, snappily, soon, speedily, swift, swiftly, a mile a minute, at full throttle, at full tilt, by leaps and bounds, in a hurry, in short order, like a shot, like wildfire
    related: immediately, promptly, readily, impetuously, impulsively, rashly, recklessly, abruptly, suddenly, energetically, vigorously
    opposite: slow, slowly
    near: laggardly, lingeringly, ploddingly, sluggishly, deliberately, leisurely, belatedly, delinquently, tardily

Related Entry: Like wildfire (phrase)

Like wildfire is a different word from Like. The synonyms below are for like wildfire, not for like.

  1. with great speed

    "Those rumors are spreading like wildfire."

    similar: apace, briskly, chop-chop, double-quick, fast, fleetly, full tilt, hastily, hell-for-leather, hot, lickety-split, posthaste, presto, pronto, quick, quickly, rapidly, snappily, soon, speedily, swift, swiftly, a mile a minute, at full throttle, at full tilt, by leaps and bounds, in a hurry, in short order, like a shot, like gangbusters
    related: immediately, promptly, readily, impetuously, impulsively, rashly, recklessly, abruptly, suddenly, energetically, vigorously
    opposite: slow, slowly
    near: laggardly, lingeringly, ploddingly, sluggishly, deliberately, leisurely, belatedly, delinquently, tardily

Synonyms, Thesaurus & Another Word for Like

The most common words with a similar meaning to Like:

Chiefly Southern: kindly
care (for), want, favor, lean (toward or towards), prefer, adore, delight (in), dig, enjoy, fancy, get off (on), groove (on), love, rejoice (in), relish, revel (in), savor, choose, please, will, wish, feel like, be partial to, go in for, get a kick out of, go for, have a soft spot for, take to, breed, class, description, feather, genre, ilk, kidney, kind, manner, nature, order, sort

Antonyms & Opposite Words for Like

Words with the opposite meaning of Like:

aversion, disfavor, disgust, dislike, distaste, hatred, loathing, mislike, different, dissimilar, diverse, unakin, unlike, exactly, precisely

Related Words for Like

welcome, covet, crave, desire, die (for), hanker (for or after), wish (for), yearn (for), cotton (to), cull, handpick, name, pick, select, single (out), take, bias, prejudice, incline (toward), tend (to), admire, appreciate, cherish, prize, treasure, value, revere, venerate, worship, devour

Near Antonyms of Like

abhor, abominate, detest, hate, loathe, decline, refuse, reject, turn down, discard, jettison, throw away, throw out, condemn, despise, scorn, apathy, disinclination, indifference, unconcern, disparate, distinct, distinguishable, nonequivalent, noninterchangeable, variable, varied, various, varying, imprecise

Word Forms of Like

Inflections: liked, liking

Origin & Etymology of Like

Middle English, from Old English līcian; akin to Old English gelīc alike

First known use: 12th centuryt

Vocabulary Lists & Topics for Like

Words & Phrases Containing Like

-like, like a shot

Frequently Asked Questions about Like

What does "Like" mean?

"Like" means to feel attraction toward or take pleasure in, enjoy. As an a verb, a noun, an adjective, a preposition, an adverb, a conjunction and an auxiliary verb, it is defined as: to feel attraction toward or take pleasure in, enjoy. It has 11 distinct senses.

What is another word for "Like"?

Other words for "Like" include care (for), want, favor, lean (toward or towards), prefer, adore, delight (in) and dig. The best synonym depends on which meaning of "Like" you intend.

What are different ways to say "Like"?

There are 274 words and phrases with a similar meaning to "Like". Common alternatives include care (for), want, favor, lean (toward or towards), prefer, adore, delight (in), dig, enjoy and fancy.

What is the opposite of "Like"?

Antonyms of "Like" include aversion, disfavor, disgust, dislike, distaste, hatred, loathing and mislike. Near antonyms include abhor, abominate, detest and hate.

How do you use "Like" in a sentence?

Examples of "Like" in a sentence: "I'd like another slice of pizza, but I've already eaten more than I should have"; "I like romantic comedies more than action movies"; "an adventuresome young woman who likes skydiving".

Is "Like" a noun, verb, or adjective?

"Like" can be used as a verb, a noun, an adjective, a preposition, an adverb, a conjunction and an auxiliary verb, depending on the context.

Is "Like" useful for IELTS, TOEFL, and other English exams?

As an A1-level word, "Like" is typical of Cambridge A1 Movers (Young Learners), TOEIC Listening & Reading 120+.

How do you pronounce "Like"?

"Like" is pronounced /ˈlīk/.