Verb

1. To please.
   • 1485, Sir Thomas Malory, Le Morte Darthur, Book IV:

     And yf hit lyke yow I wille speke with hem by cause I am a knyghte of kynge Arthurs [...].

   • 1608, William Shakespeare, King Lear:

     His countenance likes me not.

2. To enjoy, be pleased by; favor; be in favor of.
   • 1865, Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, chapter 10:

     “I can tell you more than that, if you like,” said the Gryphon. “Do you know why it’s called a whiting?”

   I like hamburgers.

   I like skiing in winter.

   I like the Milwaukee Braves this season.

3. To prefer and maintain (an action) as a regular habit or activity.

   I like to go to the dentist every six months.

   She likes to keep herself physically fit.

   We like to keep one around the office just in case.

4. To find attractive; to prefer the company of; to have mild romantic feelings for.

   I really like Sandra but don't know how to tell her.

Usage notes

• In its senses of “enjoy” and “maintain as a regular habit”, is a catenative verb; in the former, it usually takes a gerund ( form), while in the latter, it takes a -infinitive. See also Appendix:English catenative verbs.
• Like is only used to mean “want” in certain expressions, such as “if you like” and “I would like”. The conditional form, , is used quite freely as a polite synonym for .

Noun

1. Something that a person likes (prefers).

   Tell me your likes and dislikes.

Etymology 2

From , from by shortening, influenced by . Cognate with .

Adjective

1. similar

   May partner and I have like minds.

   • 1843, Thomas Carlyle, Past and Present, book 2, ch. 3, Landlord Edmund

     ... and this is not a sky, it is a Soul and living Face! Nothing liker the Temple of the Highest, bright with some real effulgence of the Highest, is seen in this world.

Adverb

1. for example, such as: to introduce an example or list of examples

   There are lots of birds like ducks and gulls in this park.

Noun

1. (sometimes as the likes of) Someone similar to a given person, or something similar to a given object; a comparative; a type; a sort.

   We shall never see his like again. — Winston Churchill on T.E. Lawrence

   There were bowls full of sweets, chocolates and the like.

   It was something the likes of which I had never seen before.

Conjunction

1. As if; as though.

   It looks like you've finished the project.

   It seemed like you didn't care.

Preposition

1. Somewhat similar to, reminiscent of.

   These hamburgers taste like leather.

Particle

1. He was so angry, like.

2. She was, like, sooooo happy.

3. There were, like, twenty of them.

   And then he, like, got all angry and left the room.

4. I was like, “Why did you do that?” and he's like, “I don't know.”

Usage notes

The use as a quotative is deliberately informal and commonly used by young people, and often combined with the use of the present tense as a narrative. Similar terms are to go and all, as in I go, “Why did you do that?” and he goes, “I don't know” and I was all, “Why did you do that?” and he was all, “I don't know.” These expressions can imply that the attributed remark which follows is representative rather than necessarily an exact quotation; however, in speech these structures do tend to require mimicking the original speakers inflection in a way would not.

Interjection

1. Used to place emphasis upon a statement.

   divint ye knaa, like?