so
adverb /səʊ/
/səʊ/
Idioms - to such a great degree
- Don't look so angry.
- There's no need to worry so.
- Why has it taken so long?
- That wasn't so bad, was it?
- so… (that)… She spoke so quietly (that) I could hardly hear her.
- What is it that's so important it can't wait five minutes?
- He was so impressed that he jumped up and down with excitement.
- She gets so caught up in her fame that she neglects her true friends.
- It was so incredibly cheap it was unbelievable.
- so… as to do something I'm not so stupid as to believe that.
- (formal, especially British English) Would you be so kind as to lock the door when you leave?
Homophones sew | so | sowsew so sow/səʊ//səʊ/- sew verb
- You should sew that hole up before it gets any bigger.
- so adverb
- It is unsurprising that the Beatles were so successful.
- sow verb
- Why would farmers want to sow GM seeds?
- very; extremely
- I'm so glad to see you.
- The girls looked so pretty in their summer dresses.
- I was pleased that so many people turned up.
- We have so much to do.
- It's so good to have you back.
- We've worked so hard to get to this point.
- They came so close to winning.
- You're going to Harvard! That's so great!
- Their attitude is so very English.
- The article was just so much (= nothing but) nonsense.
- I am so pleased with this new book.
- (British English) He sat there ever so quietly.
- (British English) I do love it so.
- not so… (as…) (used in comparisons) not to the same degree
- I haven't enjoyed myself so much for a long time.
- I have never felt so humiliated in my entire life.
- It wasn't so good as last time.
- It's not so easy as you'd think.
- He was not so quick a learner as his brother.
- It's not so much a hobby as a career (= more like a career than a hobby).
- (disapproving) Off she went without so much as (= without even) a ‘goodbye’.
- used to show the size, amount or number of something
- The fish was about so big (= said when using your hands to show the size).
- There are only so many (= only a limited number of) hours in a day.
- used to refer back to something that has already been mentioned
- ‘Is he coming?’ ‘I hope so.’
- ‘Did they mind?’ ‘I don't think so.’
- If she notices, she never says so.
- I might be away next week. If so, I won't be able to see you.
- We are very busy—so much so that we won't be able to take time off this year.
- Programs are expensive, and even more so if you have to keep altering them.
- I hear that you're a writer—is that so (= is that true)?
- George is going to help me, or so he says (= that is what he says but I am not sure if I believe him).
- They asked me to call them and I did so (= I called).
- She leaked the story to the media and, in so doing, helped bring down the president.
- He thinks I dislike him but that just isn't so.
- also
- Times have changed and so have I.
- ‘I prefer the first version.’ ‘So do we.’
- Temperatures are rising in Canada, and so too are the annual blueberry harvests.
- used to agree that something is true, especially when you are surprised
- ‘You were there, too.’ ‘So I was—I'd forgotten.’
- ‘There's another one.’ ‘So there is.’
- (informal) used, often with a negative, before adjectives and noun phrases to emphasize something that you are saying
- He is so not the right person for you.
- That is so not cool.
- (informal) used, especially by children, to say that what somebody says is not the case and the opposite is true
- ‘You're not telling the truth, are you?’ ‘I am, so!’
- used when you are showing somebody how to do something or telling them how something happened
- Stand with your arms out, so.
- (literary) So it was that he finally returned home.
Word Originadverb Old English swā, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch zo and German so.
Idioms
and so forth
(also and so on (and so forth))
- used at the end of a list to show that it continues in the same way
- We discussed everything—when to go, what to see and so on.
(all) the more so because…
- used to give an important extra reason why something is true
- His achievement is remarkable; all the more so because he had no help at all.
… or so
- used after a number, an amount, etc. to show that it is not exact
- There were twenty or so (= about twenty) people there.
- We stayed for an hour or so.
so as to do something
- with the intention of doing something
- We went early so as to get good seats.
so be it
- (formal) used to show that you accept something and will not try to change it or cannot change it
- If he doesn't want to be involved, then so be it.
so much for something
- used to show that you have finished talking about something
- So much for the situation in Germany. Now we turn our attention to France.
- (informal) used to suggest that something has not been successful or useful
- So much for that idea!
so… that
- (formal) in such a way that
- The programme has been so organized that none of the talks overlap.