determiner

one

[wʌ̱n]
 ♦
 ones
 1) NUM One is the number 1.
  They had three sons and one daughter.
  ...one thousand years ago...
  Scotland beat England one-nil at Wembley.
  ...one of the children killed in the crash.
 2) ADJ: det ADJ (emphasis) If you say that someone or something is the one person or thing of a particular kind, you are emphasizing that they are the only person or thing of that kind.
  They had alienated the one man who knew the business...
  His one regret is that he has never learned a language.
  Syn:
  only
 3) DET: DET sing-n (emphasis) One can be used instead of `a' to emphasize the following noun.
  There is one thing I would like to know - What is it about Tim that you find so irresistible?...
  One person I hate is Russ.
 4) DET: DET adj sing-n (emphasis) You can use one instead of `a' to emphasize the following adjective or expression. [INFORMAL]
  If we ever get married we'll have one terrific wedding...
  It's like one enormous street carnival here.
 5) DET: DET n-proper You can use one in front of someone's name to indicate that you have not met them or heard of them before. [FORMAL]
  It seems that the fifth man is one John Cairncross.
  Syn:
  a certain
 6) DET: DET sing-n You can use one to refer to the first of two or more things that you are comparing.
  Prices vary from one shop to another...
  The road hugs the coast for hundreds of miles, the South China Sea on one side, jungle on the other.
 ADJ: det ADJ
 One is also an adjective. We ask why peace should have an apparent chance in the one territory and not the other.
 PRON
 One is also a pronoun. The twins were dressed differently and one was thinner than the other.
 7) PRON You can use one or ones instead of a noun when it is clear what type of thing or person you are referring to and you are describing them or giving more information about them.
  They are selling their house to move to a smaller one...
  We test each one to see that it flies well.
 8) PRON You use ones to refer to people in general.
  We are the only ones who know.
 9) PRON: PRON of n, PRON that You can use one instead of a noun group when you have just mentioned something and you want to describe it or give more information about it.
  His response is one of anger and frustration...
  The issue of land reform was one that dominated Hungary's parliamentary elections.
 10) DET: DET sing-n You can use one when you have been talking or writing about a group of people or things and you want to say something about a particular member of the group.
  `A college degree isn't enough', said one honors student.
 PRON
 One is also a pronoun. Some of them couldn't eat a thing. One couldn't even drink.
 11) QUANT: QUANT of adj-superl You use one in expressions such as `one of the biggest airports' or `one of the most experienced players' to indicate that something or someone is bigger or more experienced than most other things or people of the same kind.
  Subaru is one of the smallest Japanese car makers.
 12) DET: DET sing-n You can use one when referring to a time in the past or in the future. For example, if you say that you did something one day, you mean that you did it on a day in the past.
 one day → see day
  How would you like to have dinner one night, just you and me?...
  Then one evening Harry phoned, asking me to come to their flat as soon as possible.
 13) PRON: with supp You can use one to refer to a question, joke, remark, or subject of discussion.
  This is a tricky one to answer...
  Have you heard the one about the Irishman, the Englishman and the American?...
  I told him I'd have to think about that one.
 14) PRON You can use one to refer to an alcoholic drink. [INFORMAL]
  Other members of the committee drifted in for a quick one before closing time.
 15) PRON You use one to make statements about people in general which also apply to themselves. One can be used as the subject or object of a sentence. [FORMAL]
  If one looks at the longer run, a lot of positive things are happening...
  Where does one go from there?...
  Shares and bonds can bring one quite a considerable additional income.
 16) PHRASE: PHR after v If a group of people does something as one, all the people do the same thing at the same time or in the same way. [WRITTEN]
  The 40,000 crowd rose as one.
 17) PHRASE: oft with brd-neg, v-link PHR n/-ing If you say that someone is one for or is a one for something, you mean that they like or approve of it or enjoy doing it.
  I'm not one for political discussions...
  She was a real one for flirting with the boys.
 18) PHRASE: PHR before v (emphasis) You can use for one to emphasize that a particular person is definitely reacting or behaving in a particular way, even if other people are not.
  I, for one, hope you don't get the job.
 19) PHRASE: usu PHR pl-n (emphasis) You can use expressions such as a hundred and one, a thousand and one, and a million and one to emphasize that you are talking about a large number of things or people.
  There are a hundred and one ways in which you can raise money.
 20) PHRASE: pl-n PHR, PHR after v You can use in one to indicate that something is a single unit, but is made up of several different parts or has several different functions.
  ...a love story and an adventure all in one...
  This cream moisturises and repairs in one.
 21) PHRASE: PHR with cl You can use in ones and twos to indicate that people do things or something happens gradually and in small groups.
  They lose interest and start drifting away in ones and twos.
 22) PHRASE: PHR with cl You use one after the other or one after another to say that actions or events happen with very little time between them.
  My three guitars broke one after the other...
  One after another, people described how hard it is for them to get medical care.
 23) PHRASE: PHR n-proper The one and only can be used in front of the name of an actor, singer, or other famous person when they are being introduced on a show.
  ...one of the greatest ever rock performers, the one and only Tina Turner.
 24) PHRASE: PHR with cl You can use one by one to indicate that people do things or that things happen in sequence, not all at the same time.
  We went into the room one by one...
  One by one the houses burst into flames.
 25) PHRASE: usu PHR of pl-n You use one or other to refer to one or more things or people in a group, when it does not matter which particular one or ones are thought of or chosen.
  One or other of the two women was wrong.
 26) PHRASE: oft PHR pl-n, PHR of pl-n One or two means a few.
  We may make one or two changes...
  I've also sold one or two to an American publisher...
  I asked one or two of the stallholders about it.
  Syn:
  a few
 27) PHRASE: PHR to-inf, usu v-link PHR If you say that someone is not one to do something, you think that it is very unlikely that they would do it because it is not their normal behaviour.
  I'm not one to waste time on just anyone.
 28) PHRASE: PHR n, usu v-link PHR, PHR after v If you try to get one up on someone, you try to gain an advantage over them.
  ...the competitive kind who will see this as the opportunity to be one up on you.

third

[θɜ͟ː(r)d]
 ♦♦
 thirds
 1) ORD The third item in a series is the one that you count as number three.
  I sleep on the third floor...
  It was the third time one of his cars had gone up in flames...
  He came third in the poll with 149 votes...
  The attack was the third so far this year.
 2) FRACTION A third is one of three equal parts of something.
  A third of the cost went into technology and services...
  Only one third get financial help from their fathers...
  He divided their kingdom into thirds.
 3) ADV: ADV with cl (not last in cl) You say third when you want to make a third point or give a third reason for something.
  First, interest rates may take longer to fall than is hoped. Second, in real terms, lending may fall. Third, bad loans could wipe out much of any improvement.
  Syn:
  thirdly
 4) N-COUNT: usu sing A third is the lowest honours degree that can be obtained from a British university.

second

I PART OF A MINUTE
 ♦
 seconds
 N-COUNT
 (Pronounced [se̱kənd] in second 1 and 2, and [sɪkɒ̱nd] in second 3.)
 A second is one of the sixty parts that a minute is divided into. People often say `a second' or `seconds' when they simply mean a very short time.
  For a few seconds nobody said anything...
  It only takes forty seconds...
  Her orbital speed must be a few hundred meters per second...
  Within seconds the other soldiers began firing too...
  Seconds later, firemen reached his door.II COMING AFTER SOMETHING ELSE
 ♦
 seconds, seconding, seconded
 (Pronounced [se̱kənd] in second 1 and 2, and [sɪkɒ̱nd] in second 3.)
 1) ORD The second item in a series is the one that you count as number two.
  ...the second day of his visit to Delhi.
  ...their second child...
  My son just got married for the second time.
  ...the Second World War...
  She was the second of nine children.
  ...King Charles the Second...
  Britain came second in the Prix St Georges Derby.
 2) ORD: ORD adj-superl Second is used before superlative adjectives to indicate that there is only one thing better or larger than the thing you are referring to.
  The party is still the second strongest in Italy.
  ...the second-largest city in the United States.
 3) ADV: ADV cl You say second when you want to make a second point or give a second reason for something.
  First, the weapons should be intended for use only in retaliation after a nuclear attack. Second, the possession of the weapons must be a temporary expedient.
 4) N-COUNT In Britain, an upper second is a good honours degree and a lower second is an average honours degree.
  I then went up to Lancaster University and got an upper second.
 5) N-PLURAL If you have seconds, you have a second helping of food. [INFORMAL]
  There's seconds if you want them.
 6) N-COUNT: usu pl Seconds are goods that are sold cheaply in shops because they have slight faults.
  It's a new shop selling discounted lines and seconds.
 7) N-COUNT: usu pl The seconds of someone who is taking part in a boxing match or chess tournament are the people who assist and encourage them.
  He shouted to his seconds, `I did it! I did it!'
 8) VERB If you second a proposal in a meeting or debate, you formally express your agreement with it so that it can then be discussed or voted on.
  [V n] ...Bryan Sutton, who seconded the motion against fox hunting...
  [V n] Your application must be proposed and seconded by current members.
  Derived words:
  seconder plural N-COUNT Candidates need a proposer and seconder whose names are kept secret.
 9) VERB If you second what someone has said, you say that you agree with them or say the same thing yourself.
  [V n] The Prime Minister seconded the call for discipline and austerity in a speech to the assembly last week.
 10) PHRASE: PHR after v If you experience something at second hand, you are told about it by other people rather than experiencing it yourself.
 → See also second-hand
  Most of them, after all, had not been at the battle and had only heard of the massacre at second hand.
 11) PHRASE: v-link PHR (emphasis) If you say that something is second to none, you are emphasizing that it is very good indeed or the best that there is.
  Our scientific research is second to none.
 12) PHRASE: usu v-link PHR If you say that something is second only to something else, you mean that only that thing is better or greater than it.
  As a major health risk hepatitis is second only to tobacco.
 13) second nature → see nature
 in the second place → see placeIII SENDING SOMEONE TO DO A JOB
 seconds, seconding, seconded
 VERB: usu passive
 (Pronounced [se̱kənd] in second 1 and 2, and [sɪkɒ̱nd] in second 3.)
 If you are seconded somewhere, you are sent there temporarily by your employer in order to do special duties. [BRIT]
  [be V-ed prep/adv] In 1937 he was seconded to the Royal Canadian Air Force in Ottawa as air armament adviser...
  [be V-ed to-inf] Several hundred soldiers have been seconded to help farmers.

first

[fɜ͟ː(r)st]
 ♦
 firsts
 1) ORD The first thing, person, event, or period of time is the one that happens or comes before all the others of the same kind.
  She lost 16 pounds in the first month of her diet.
  ...the first few flakes of snow...
  Two years ago Johnson came first in the one hundred metres at Seoul.
  Ant:
  last
 PRON
 First is also a pronoun. The second paragraph startled me even more than the first... He put me through a series of exercises to improve my car control. The first was to drive on simulated ice.
 2) ADV: ADV with v, ADV with cl/group If you do something first, you do it before anyone else does, or before you do anything else.
  I do not remember who spoke first, but we all expressed the same opinion...
  First, tell me what you think of my products...
  Routine questions first, if you don't mind.
 3) ORD When something happens or is done for the first time, it has never happened or been done before.
  This is the first time she has experienced disappointment...
  It was the first occasion when they had both found it possible to keep a rendezvous.
 ADV: ADV with v
 First is also an adverb. Anne and Steve got engaged two years after they had first started going out... I met him first at his house where we had a chat.
 4) N-SING: a N, oft N for n An event that is described as a first has never happened before and is important or exciting.
  It is a first for New York. An outdoor exhibition of Fernando Botero's sculpture on Park Avenue.
 5) PRON: the PRON that The first you hear of something or the first you know about it is the time when you first become aware of it.
  We heard it on the TV last night - that was the first we heard of it...
  When Mark arrived home that afternoon, it was the first he knew for sure of the surprise party.
 6) ADV: ADV before v You use first when you are talking about what happens in the early part of an event or experience, in contrast to what happens later.
  When he first came home he wouldn't say anything about what he'd been doing.
  Syn:
  initially
 ORD: usu poss ORD
 First is also an ordinal. She told him that her first reaction was disgust... My first feeling on getting into the cabin was one of dislike to everything I saw.
 7) ADV: ADV after v (emphasis) In order to emphasize your determination not to do a particular thing, you can say that rather than do it, you would do something else first.
  Marry that fat son of a fat cattle dealer? She would die first!
 8) ADV: ADV with cl/group You use first when you are about to give the first in a series of items.
  Certain basic guidelines can be given. First, have a heating engineer check the safety of the heating system.
  Syn:
  firstly
 9) ORD The first thing, person, or place in a line is the one that is nearest to you or nearest to the front.
  Before him, in the first row, sat the President...
  First in the queue were two Japanese students.
  Ant:
  last
 10) ORD You use first to refer to the best or most important thing or person of a particular kind.
  The first duty of any government must be to protect the interests of the taxpayers...
  Imagine winning the local lottery first prize of ₤5,000.
  ...first team football.
 11) ORD First is used in the title of the job or position of someone who has a higher rank than anyone else with the same basic job title.
  ...the First Lord of the Admiralty.
  ...the first mate of a British tanker.
 12) N-COUNT: oft N in n In British universities, a first is an honours degree of the highest standard.
  ...an Oxford Blue who took a First in Constitutional History.
 13) PHRASE: PHR with cl/group You use first of all to introduce the first of a number of things that you want to say.
  The cut in the interest rates has not had very much impact in California for two reasons. First of all, banks are still afraid to loan.
 14) PHRASE: PHR with cl You use at first when you are talking about what happens in the early stages of an event or experience, or just after something else has happened, in contrast to what happens later.
  At first, he seemed surprised by my questions...
  I had some difficulty at first recalling why we were there.
  Syn:
  initially
 15) PHRASE: V inflects If you say that someone or something comes first for a particular person, you mean they treat or consider that person or thing as more important than anything else.
  There's no time for boyfriends, my career comes first.
 16) PHRASE You say `first come first served' to indicate that a group of people or things will be dealt with or given something in the order in which they arrive.
  There will be five buses, first come first served.
 17) PHRASE: PHR with cl From the first means ever since something started.
  You knew about me from the first, didn't you?...
  I thought from the first that she was a little unsure about that marriage.
 18) PHRASE: PHR after v If you learn or experience something at first hand, you experience it yourself or learn it directly rather than being told about it by other people.
  He arrived in Natal to see at first hand the effects of the recent heavy fighting.
  Syn:
  from the outset
 19) PHRASE: V inflects (emphasis) If you say that you do not know the first thing about something, you are emphasizing that you know absolutely nothing about it.
  You don't know the first thing about farming.
 20) PHRASE: PHR with cl You use first off to introduce the first of a number of things that you want to say. [INFORMAL]
  First off, huge apologies for last month's confusing report.
 21) PHRASE: V inflects If you put someone or something first, you treat or consider them as more important than anything else.
  Somebody has to think for the child and put him first.
  Syn:
  firstly
 22) PHRASE You say `first things first' when you are talking about something that should be done or dealt with before anything else because it is the most important.
  Let's see if we can't find something to set the mood. First things first; some music.
 23) first and foremost → see foremost

[-fɜ͟ː(r)st]
 COMB in ADV: ADV after v
 -first combines with nouns like `head' and `feet' to indicate that someone moves with the part that is mentioned pointing in the direction in which they are moving.
  He overbalanced and fell head first.