- similar to somebody/something
- She's wearing a dress like mine.
- He's very like his father.
- She looks nothing like (= not at all like) her mother.
- That sounds like (= I think I can hear) him coming now.
- It tastes rather like chicken.
- used to ask somebody’s opinion of somebody/something
- What's it like studying in Spain?
- This new girlfriend of his—what's she like?
- in the same way as somebody/something
- Students were angry at being treated like children.
- He ran like the wind (= very fast).
- You do it like this.
- I, like everyone else, had read these stories in the press.
- Don't look at me like that.
- (informal) The candles are arranged like so (= in this way).
Language Bank similarlysimilarlyMaking comparisons- This chart provides a comparison of the ways that teenage boys and girls in the UK spend their free time.
- In many cases, the results for boys and girls are virtually the same/identical.
- In many cases, the results for boys are virtually the same as/identical to the results for girls.
- Both boys and girls spend the bulk of their free time with friends.
- Most of the boys do more than two hours of sport a week, as do many of the girls.
- Like many of the girls, most of the boys spend a large part of their free time using the internet.
- The girls particularly enjoy using social networking websites. Similarly, nearly all the boys said they spent at least two to three hours a week on these sites.
Extra Examples- The dark wood shone like glass.
- Stop acting like a spoilt child.
- for example
- anti-utopian novels like ‘Animal Farm’ and ‘1984’
Which Word? as / likeas / likeYou can use both as and like to say that things are similar.- Like is a preposition and is used before nouns and pronouns:
- He has blue eyes like me.
- As is a conjunction and an adverb and is used before a clause, another adverb or a clause beginning with a preposition:
- She enjoys all kinds of music, as I do.
- As ever, he was friendly and helpful.
- Repeat these five steps, as in the last exercise.
- In informal English like is frequently used as a conjunction or an adverb instead of as:
- Nobody understands him like I do.
- I don’t want to upset him again like before.
- It looks like we’re going to be late.
- used to show what is usual or typical for somebody
- It's just like her to tell everyone about it.
Word Originpreposition ,Middle English: from Old Norse líkr; related to alike.
Idioms
See like in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee like in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic Englishmore like…
- used to give a number or an amount that is more accurate than one previously mentioned
- He believes the figure should be more like $10 million.
more like (it) (informal)
- better; more acceptable
- This is more like it! Real food—not that canned muck.
- used to give what you think is a better description of something
- Just talking? Arguing more like it.
what is somebody like?
- (British English, informal) used to say that somebody has done something annoying, silly, etc.
- Oh, what am I like? I just completely forgot it.
Check pronunciation:
like