ofpreposition
weak /əv/ukstrong /ɒv/weak /əv/usstrong /ɑːv/of preposition (POSSESSION)
A1 used to show possession, belonging, or origin:
a friend of mine
the president of the United States
employees of the company
the colour of his hair
a habit of mine
that revolting dog of hers
the love of a good woman
the complete plays of (= written by) Lorca
More examples
- Those seats are reserved for senior members of the club.
- He was elected Member of Parliament for Rushcliffe.
- What's the name of that plant?
- Sean doesn't like the smell of garlic.
- Troops shot dead the leader of the rebels in an attack last night.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Belongings and possessions
- accoutrements
- asset
- belongings
- capital assets
- chattel
- estate
- for
- landholding
- lost property
- lost property office
- lost-and-found
- materially
- name
- possession
- property
- resource
- swag
- thing
- toxic asset
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of preposition (AMOUNT)
A1 used after words or phrases expressing amount, number, or a particular unit:
a kilo of apples
loads of food
hundreds of people
most of them
none of them
both of us
a third of all people
a speck of dust
a drop of rain
More examples
- Do all of us agree on the matter?
- He broke the world record by a tenth of a second.
- Some of the players are not performing as well as they could.
- I bought her a bunch of flowers for her birthday.
- She failed the exam because she got two of the questions wrong.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
General words for size and amount
- -sized
- a whole lot idiom
- amount
- bulk
- content
- degree
- element
- flow
- load
- measure
- number
- order
- quantity
- quota
- ration
- scale
- size
- small-scale
- strength
- take
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of preposition (CONTAINING)
A1 containing:
a bag of sweets
a bottle of beer
a book of short stories
a class of idiots
More examples
- I'll have a cup of coffee please.
- He gave two bags of old clothes to the charity shop.
- She smokes two packets of cigarettes a day.
- He dropped a jar of peanut butter onto the floor.
- The family looked through an album of old photographs.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Including and containing
- (right) down to idiom
- assimilate
- build sth in/into sth
- built-in
- carry
- cast
- cast your net wide idiom
- catholic
- extend
- factor
- factor sth in
- figure
- forget
- inbuilt
- incl
- package
- plug (sth/sb) into sth
- rich
- subsume
- throw sth in
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of preposition (POSITION)
A2 used in expressions showing position:
the top of his head
the back of your dress
on the corner of the street
the front of the queue
I've never been north of Philadelphia.
More examples
- He hit the ball over the top of the trees.
- They have recently painted the front of the house yellow.
- He built a shed at the bottom of the garden.
- The accident left him with a scar on the side of his face.
- Use the index in the back of the book.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Places and locations
- a place for everything and everything in its place idiom
- action
- core
- direction
- ground zero
- heartland
- location
- lot
- oxygen bar
- place
- point
- scene
- seat
- set
- setting
- situation
- spot
- stronghold
- the holy of holies
- venue
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of preposition (TYPICAL)
typical or characteristic of:
She has the face of an angel.
That guy's got the personality of a dead fish!
More examples
- He's got the mental age of a three-year-old.
- That was a stroke of genius.
- She has all the attributes of a great player.
- He has the patience of a saint.
- She plays the piano with the skill of a professional.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Typifying, illustrating and exemplifying
- analogy
- archetype
- be sb all over idiom
- betoken
- by way of idiom
- genre
- hold
- mirror
- Mr
- Mrs
- quintessential
- representative
- stand
- trademark
- translate
- true
- trust
- trust sb (to do sth)! idiom
- typical
- typically
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of preposition (DAYS)
A1 used to refer to a particular date in a month:
the eleventh of March
the first of the month
More examples
- My birthday's on the fifth of July.
- Today is the first of April.
- Employees get paid on the last day of each month.
- The book is published on the tenth of September.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Days & times of day
- afternoon
- afternoons
- am
- at the crack of dawn idiom
- bedtime
- circadian
- crepuscular
- in the dead of night/winter idiom
- last orders
- lighting-up time
- local time
- lunch hour
- night
- o'clock
- office hours
- opening time
- overnight
- playtime
- twilit
- watershed
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of preposition (MADE OF)
made or consisting of; having:
dresses of lace and silk
plates of gold and silver
a land of ice and snow
a woman of great charm
a subject of very little interest
More examples
- The barman made a cocktail of vodka and fruit juices.
- He wore a coat of many colours.
- The car was a wreck of twisted metal after the collision.
- A feeling of great sadness came over him.
- The captain inspired a sense of pride in his team.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Comprising and consisting of
- be
- compose
- composition
- comprise
- consist in sth
- consist of sth
- constituent
- constitute
- constitution
- constitutive
- form
- from
- make
- make up
- make up sth
You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:
Having and owning - general words
of preposition (WITH ADJECTIVES/VERBS)
used to connect particular adjectives and verbs with nouns:
fond of swimming
sick of his excuses
scared of spiders
More examples
- I'm bored of this game.
- Paul is scared of heights.
- He's very sure of himself.
- He was wary of dogs since he was bitten as a child.
- I'm tired of your complaining.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Linguistics: connecting words joining words or phrases with similar or related meanings
- and/or 2
- anyways
- concatenate
- conjunctive
- connective
- consequently
- ergo
- hereby
- I mean idiom
- less
- mean
- moreover
- never
- so
- sure enough idiom
- the thing is idiom
- there
- thing
- what
- with that idiom
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of preposition (JUDGMENT)
B2 used after an adjective when judging someone's behaviour:
It was mean of you to mention her weight.
Thank you so much for my present. How thoughtful of you.
More examples
- It was careless of him to leave the door open.
- It was sweet of her to tidy up afterwards.
- It was reckless of her not to take precautions.
- It was very heroic of him to dive into the cold water.
- They agreed that it was naughty of him not to have asked permission.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Judgments and analyses
- acquihire
- analysis
- appraisal
- assessment
- construction
- critique
- heed
- interpretation
- job evaluation
- judgment
- misjudge
- notice
- prognostication
- rap
- rating
- review
- self-assessment
- study
- time-and-motion study
- unrated
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of preposition (RELATING TO)
C1 about; relating to:
Speaking of Elizabeth, here she is.
One of the advantages of travelling by train is being able to read.
Let us consider the events of the last five months.
Of her childhood we know very little.
formal And what of (= tell me about) young Adrian? How is he?
More examples
- Good luck in the exam. I'll be thinking of you.
- He bought a map of the area so that he wouldn't get lost.
- Going to the gym is not my idea of fun.
- I think you've got the wrong impression of Tony.
- Andrew didn't think much of the film, but I liked it.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Regarding and concerning
- about
- apropos
- as to idiom
- be/have something to do with sth idiom
- concerned
- connection
- cover
- hereof
- in respect of sth idiom
- in the brain/looks department idiom
- into
- range
- re 1
- regarding
- relate
- say
- thereof
- towards
- vis-à-vis
- wise
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of preposition (THAT IS/ARE)
that is/are:
the problem of homelessness
a rise of two percent in inflation
the skill of negotiating
the difficulty of bringing up twins
the pain of separation
At the age of six she could read a newspaper.
More examples
- It was one of the advantages of being tall.
- The students didn't understand the aim of the exercise.
- He was taught the importance of wearing a helmet when cycling.
- What is the meaning of that symbol?
- He discovered the pleasure of gardening after he retired.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Existing and being
- account for sth
- alive
- am
- are
- be
- come
- existent
- extant
- go back
- have legs idiom
- hood
- languish
- lie
- lie in sth
- live
- living
- lurk
- run
- stalk
- was
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of preposition (DONE TO)
done to:
the massacre of hundreds of innocent people
the oppression of a nation
the destruction of the rain forest
More examples
- A crowd had gathered the watch the demolition of the building.
- The agreement marked the creation of a new state.
- The newspapers reported the sacking of the manager.
- The photos show the abuse of prisoners.
- We watched the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Acting and acts
- (your) every move idiom
- -ation
- act/do sth on your own responsibility idiom
- action
- activity
- agency
- ant
- be up to sth idiom
- feel
- gambit
- get around to sth
- give yourself over/up to sth
- go about sth
- go about your business idiom
- go through with sth
- hand
- manoeuvring
- talk
- talk the talk idiom
- up to
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of preposition (FELT BY)
felt or experienced by:
the suffering of millions
the anguish of the murdered child's parents
More examples
- To the delight of the supporters, the team equalized in the last minute.
- The joy of the new parents was obvious to everyone.
- The company's results confirmed the confidence of the board.
- The singer fell off stage, much to the amusement of the crowd.
- The teacher had earned the respect of the class.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Experiencing and suffering
- afflict
- affliction
- almost/nearly die of sth idiom
- be a martyr to sth idiom
- be a victim of your own success idiom
- be devoured by sth idiom
- count
- get the short end of the stick idiom
- get/have your fingers burned idiom
- go through sth
- grip
- hands-on
- ride
- sample
- seat
- sense
- undergo
- underwent
- ups and downs
- writhe
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of preposition (THROUGH)
B1 through; having as the cause:
He died of cancer.
I didn't have to go there - I did it of my own free will.
I want to know how it happened because it certainly didn't happen of itself.
More examples
- He later died of his wounds.
- She went of her own accord. No one asked her to go.
- I'm tired of teaching. I'm going to look for a new job.
- You did that out of spite.
- He acted out of respect for his parents.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Linguistics: connecting words which introduce a cause or reason
- as
- at
- because
- because of
- behalf
- cos
- courtesy
- fear
- from
- herein
- necessarily
- on sb's account idiom
- order
- owing to
- right
- sake 1
- thanks
- through
- with
- with a view to doing sth idiom
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of preposition (COMPARING)
A2 used when comparing related things:
I liked the green one best of all .
Worst of all was the food!
He's the best looking of the three brothers.
I think that of all his books it's my favourite.
More examples
- Of all the places we visited, New Zealand was the most amazing.
- Crete is the largest of the Greek islands.
- The Eiffel Tower is the most famous of all Paris's landmarks.
- In my opinion, it's the best of all the novels he's written.
- The blue whale is the largest of all the animals.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Comparing and contrasting
- against
- analogy
- antithesis
- as against idiom
- balance
- balance sth against sth
- benchmark
- compare
- comparison
- competitive
- contrast
- contrastive
- gold standard
- measure
- perspective
- relative
- relatively
- simile
- stack up
- vis-à-vis
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of preposition (TIME)
US used in saying what the time is:
It's ten (minutes) of five (= ten minutes before five o'clock).
More examples
- It's twenty five of four.
- We got there at five of nine.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Days & times of day
- afternoon
- afternoons
- am
- at the crack of dawn idiom
- bedtime
- circadian
- crepuscular
- in the dead of night/winter idiom
- last orders
- lighting-up time
- local time
- lunch hour
- night
- o'clock
- office hours
- opening time
- overnight
- playtime
- twilit
- watershed
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of preposition (SEPARATE FROM)
used in expressions showing distance from something in place or time:
We live within a mile of the school.
She came within two seconds of beating the world record.
More examples
- The firm is within a week of going bankrupt.
- Does she live within walking distance of her parents?
- The game was much enlivened when both teams scored within five minutes of each other.
- The city was within range of the enemy missiles.
- I came within an inch of losing my life on the rocks below.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Distant in space and time
- (in) the middle of nowhere idiom
- afar
- afield
- all/the four corners of the world/earth idiom
- anywhere
- as far as the eye can/could see idiom
- away
- beaten
- far
- further
- furthermost
- furthest
- light years away idiom
- lonely
- middle
- remotely
- the back of beyond idiom
- virtually
- wide
- you're getting colder idiom
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of preposition (LOSS)
used in expressions showing loss:
They were robbed of all their savings.
I feel I've been deprived of your company.
More examples
- They robbed the company of £2 million.
- A last-minute injury robbed me of my place on the team.
- She was desolated at the loss of her sister.
- In hospital, she felt stripped of all her dignity.
- He was stripped of his knighthood after he was convicted of stealing from the company.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Taking things away from someone or somewhere
- appropriate
- confiscate
- cream sth/sb off
- de-
- debug
- denude
- drain
- impound
- infringe on/upon sth
- knock
- knock sth out of sb
- nab
- relieve
- shear
- strip sb of sth
- suck
- suck sb/sth dry idiom
- sweep
- take sth out
- tow
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of preposition (DURING)
old-fashioned during:
I like to relax with a pipe of an evening.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Simultaneous and consecutive
- accompany
- all the while idiom
- along
- along the way idiom
- alternate
- even
- in rotation idiom
- in tandem idiom
- in the process idiom
- live
- no sooner ... than idiom
- once
- over
- sync
- synchronous
- the minute (that) idiom
- through
- throughout
- together
- under
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Idiom(s)
of all people/things/places