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preposition definition

prepo·si·tion (prep′ə zis̸h′ən)

noun

  1. in some languages, a relation or function word, as English in, by, for, with, to, etc., that connects a lexical word, usually a noun or pronoun, or a syntactic construction, to another element of the sentence, as to a verb (Ex.: he went to the store), to a noun (Ex.: the sound of loud music), or to an adjective (Ex.: good for her)
  2. any construction of similar function (Ex.: in back of, equivalent to behind)

Etymology: ME preposicioun < L praepositio (< praepositus, pp. of praeponere < prae-, before + ponere, to place: see pre- & position): transl. of Gr prothesis, prothesis

Related Forms:

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

preposition Synonyms

preposition

n.

part of speech, word of relationship, conjunctive word, copulative element, prefixed element, function word, form word; see also grammar, word 1.


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

preposition Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • follow: Direct object pronouns follow prepositions: " you can say what you want to me " .

Converse of subject

  • follow: The pattern is built around a number followed by a preposition.

Adjective modifier

  • spatial: In addition, the four output units for the spatial prepositions will encode the rating values given by subjects.

Modifies a noun

  • meaning: The first word is an early example of et as a preposition meaning ` with ' .

Preposition: of

  • place: This is a lively activity to practice prepositions of place: " Let's play basketball!

Preposition: with

  • pronoun: In some cases, use of " en " is optional and can be replaced by using the correct preposition with the disjunctive pronoun.
preposition usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

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"preposition." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 5 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/preposition>

APA Style

preposition. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 5th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/preposition

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