friends - acquaintances and contemporaries

neigh‧bour S2 W2 BrE AmE British English, neighbor American English /ˈneɪbə $ -bər/ noun [countable]
[Language: Old English; Origin: neahgebur]
1. someone who lives next to you or near you:
One of the neighbors complained about the noise from the party.
FBI agents were interviewing all their friends and neighbors.
Our next-door neighbours (=the people who live in the house next to us) say they’ll look after our cat for us while we’re away.
2. a country that is next to another one ⇨ bordering:
Israel and its Arab neighbours
3. someone or something that is next to another person or thing of the same type:
The teacher saw Phil passing a note to his neighbour.
The garden was divided from its neighbour by a high wall.

Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

neighbour

neigh·bour [neighbour neighbours neighboured neighbouring] (especially US neigh·bor) [ˈneɪbə(r)] [ˈneɪbər] noun
1. a person who lives next to you or near you
• We've had a lot of support from all our friends and neighbours.

• Our next-door neighbours are very noisy.

2. a country that is next to or near another country

• Britain's nearest neighbour is France.

3. a person or thing that is standing or located next to another person or thing
• Stand quietly, children, and try not to talk to your neighbour.

• The tree fell slowly, its branches caught in those of its neighbours.

4. (literary) any other human
• We should all love our neighbours.
Word Origin:
Old English nēahgebūr, from nēah ‘nigh, near’ + gebūr ‘inhabitant, peasant, farmer’ (compare with boor).
Example Bank:
• He's having a barbecue and he's inviting all the neighbours.
• I've just met our new neighbours.
• My nearest neighbour lives a few miles away.
• Our new neighbours moved in today.
• She could hear her downstairs neighbour moving around.
• She leaned over to her nearest neighbour and whispered something.
• She's been a very good neighbour to me.
• Shh! You'll wake the neighbours.
• The country is vulnerable to attack from hostile neighbours.
• The neighbours complained about his loud music.
• The two men became neighbours.

• They are near neighbours of ours.

Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary

Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary - 4th Edition

neighbour ( US neighbor ) / ˈneɪ.bə r / / -bɚ / noun [ C ]

A2 UK someone who lives very near to you:

Some of the neighbours have complained about the noise from our party.

Have you met Pat, my next-door neighbour?

B1 A country's neighbour is one that is next to it:

The relationship between Scotland and its southern neighbour has not always been peaceful.

Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s English Dictionary

neighbour

/neɪbə(r)/
(neighbours)

Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English.

Note: in AM, use 'neighbor'

1.
Your neighbour is someone who lives near you.
I got chatting with my neighbour in the garden.
N-COUNT: oft poss N

2.
You can refer to the person who is standing or sitting next to you as your neighbour.
The woman prodded her neighbour and whispered urgently in his ear.
N-COUNT: oft poss N

3.
You can refer to something which stands next to something else of the same kind as its neighbour.
Each house was packed close behind its neighbour.
N-COUNT: usu poss N

Merriam-Webster's Advanced Learner's Dictionary

Merriam-Webster's Advanced Learner's Dictionary:

neighbor

neigh·bor US or Brit neigh·bour /ˈneɪbɚ/ noun, pl -bors [count]
1 : a person who lives next to or near another person
• We invited our friends and neighbors.
• our next-door neighbors [=the people who live in the house next to us]
2 : a person or thing that is next to or near another
• Please pass your paper to your neighbor. [=the person sitting next to you]
• Canada is a neighbor of the U.S.
• Venus is Earth's nearest neighbor.

American English

friends - acquaintances and contemporaries

A2 (مبتدی)

neighbor

noun

0

friend

friend [noun] (PERSON YOU LIKE)

Someone who you know and like very much and enjoy spending time with

UK

/frend/

دوست، رفیق

مثال:

I've made a lot of friends in this job.

من دوستان زیادی در این شغلم پیدا کرده ام.

Someone who you know and like very much and enjoy spending time with

معادل فارسی:

دوست، رفیق

مثال انگلیسی:

I've made a lot of friends in this job.

من دوستان زیادی در این شغلم پیدا کرده ام.

سطح، موضوع و برچسب

موضوع:

friends - acquaintances and contemporaries

سطح:

A1 (پایه)

Region:

American English

British English

Oxford Essential Dictionary

friend

noun

pronunciation
The word friend sounds like send, because we don't say the letter i in this word.

a person that you like and know very well:
David is my best friend.
We are very good friends.

make friends with somebody to become a friend of somebody:
Have you made friends with any of the students in your class?

Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English

friend

I. friend¹ S1 W1 /frend/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[Word Family: noun: ↑friend, ↑friendliness, ↑friendship, ↑friendly; adjective: ↑friendly ≠ ↑unfriendly, ↑friendless; verb: ↑befriend]
[Language: Old English; Origin: freond]
1. PERSON YOU LIKE someone who you know and like very much and enjoy spending time with:
Jerry, this is my friend Sue.
She’s always out with her friends.
One of her closest friends died at the weekend.
I met Jim through a friend.
2. be friends (with somebody) to be someone’s friend:
I’ve been friends with the Murkets for twenty years.
3.
a) make friends to become friendly with people:
Jenny has always found it easy to make friends at school.
b) make friends with somebody to become friendly with someone:
He made friends with an old fisherman.
4. be just (good) friends used to say that you are not having a romantic relationship with someone:
I’m not going out with Nathan – we’re just good friends.
5. SUPPORTER someone who supports an organization such as a theatre, ↑art gallery, ↑charity etc by giving money or help
friend of
the Friends of the Tate
6. NOT AN ENEMY someone who has the same beliefs, wants to achieve the same things etc as you, and will support you:
our friends and allies around the world
She shot him a quick glance as if unsure whether he was friend or foe.
Don’t worry, you’re among friends.
7. someone who has created a link with you on a ↑social networking site on the Internet, by visiting your ↑webpage and clicking on it:
She has thousands of friends on MySpace.
8. PARLIAMENT/COURT OF LAW British English
a) my honourable friend used by a member of parliament when speaking about another member of parliament
b) my learned friend used by a lawyer when speaking about another lawyer in a court of law
9. be no friend of something to not like or be a supporter of something:
I’m no friend of socialism, as you know.
10. Friend a member of the Society of Friends SYN Quaker
11. our/your friend spoken used humorously to talk about someone you do not know, who is doing something annoying:
Our friend with the loud voice is back.
12. have friends in high places to know important people who can help you
13. a friend in need someone who helps you when you need it
• • •
COLLOCATIONS
■ ADJECTIVES/NOUN + friend
▪ sb’s best friend (=the friend you like the most) Fiona was her best friend.
▪ a good/close friend (=one of the friends you like the most) She’s a good friend of mine.
▪ a dear friend (=a friend who is very important to you) I’d like you to meet a dear friend of mine.
▪ an old friend (=someone who has been your friend for a long time) We went to see some old friends who had moved to Harlow.
▪ a lifelong friend (=someone who has been your friend for the whole of your life) The two men were lifelong friends.
▪ a childhood friend (=someone who was your friend when you were a child) She had been a childhood friend of Tony Walker.
▪ a school friend I met some old school friends for lunch.
▪ a family friend He’s visiting family friends.
▪ a personal friend Mr Hutton is a close personal friend of my father.
▪ a mutual friend (=someone who is a friend of both you and someone else) They went to a mutual friend’s home for dinner.
▪ a firm friend (=a friend you like a lot and intend to keep) They had remained firm friends ever since they first met.
▪ a trusted friend She told only a few trusted friends.
▪ male/female friends Most of my male friends are married now.
■ verbs
▪ have a friend Suzie has plenty of friends.
▪ become friends Liz and Vanessa soon became friends.
▪ remain friends We have all remained friends despite some difficult times.
■ phrases
▪ a friend of mine/yours/Bill’s etc A friend of mine is going to Tokyo next week.
▪ a friend of a friend I managed to get tickets from a friend of a friend.
▪ sb’s circle of friends (=all the friends somebody has) Her small circle of friends used to play cards together.
• • •
THESAURUS
▪ friend someone who you know and like very much and enjoy spending time with: Dad, this is my friend Steve. | She’s going to Palm Springs with some friends. | I got a letter from a friend from college. | Amy’s a close friend of mine. | John was a really good friend to me when I had all those problems last year.
▪ acquaintance /əˈkweɪntəns/ someone who you know and see sometimes, but who is not one of your close friends: We borrowed the money from one of Paul’s business acquaintances.
▪ mate British English informal a friend – used especially about boys or men: He always goes to the pub with his mates on Friday night. | Terry’s an old mate of mine.
▪ buddy American English informal a friend – used especially about men or young people: He’s out playing basketball with some of his high school buddies.
▪ pal informal a friend – pal sounds rather old-fashioned: They met at school and have remained close pals.
▪ crony [usually plural] disapproving a friend – used about powerful people who will help each other even if it is slightly dishonest: He’s one of the President’s cronies.
▪ companion written someone who spends time with you, doing the same things as you – used about animals as well as people: travelling companions | His dog was his constant companion. | the perfect companion
▪ the girls informal a woman’s female friends: We’re having a girls’ night out.
▪ the lads British English informal a man’s male friends: a night out with the lads
II. friend² BrE AmE verb [transitive]
to add someone to your list of friends on a ↑social networking site:
I never friend someone I haven’t met in real life.

Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

friend

friend [friend friends friended friending] [frend] [frend] noun

PERSON YOU LIKE
1. a person you know well and like, and who is not usually a member of your family
• This is my friend Tom.
• Is he a friend of yours?
• She's an old friend (= I have known her a long time).
• He's one of my best friends.
• a close/good friend
• a childhood/family/lifelong friend
• I heard about it through a friend of a friend.
• She has a wide circle of friends.

see also befriend, boyfriend, fair-weather, false friend, girlfriend, penfriend, school friend

SUPPORTER

2. a person who supports an organization, a charity, etc, especially by giving or raising money; a person who supports a particular idea, etc
• the Friends of St Martin's Hospital
• a friend of democracy

• Theatre tickets are 10% cheaper for Friends.

NOT ENEMY

3. a person who has the same interests and opinions as yourself, and will help and support you
• You're among friends here— you can speak freely.

• His eyes were moving from face to face: friend or foe?

SILLY/ANNOYING PERSON

4. (ironic) used to talk about sb you do not know who has done sth silly or annoying

• I wish our friend at the next table would shut up.

IN PARLIAMENT/COURT

5. (in Britain) used by a member of parliament to refer to another member of parliament or by a lawyer to refer to another lawyer in a court of law
• my honourable friend, the member for Henley (= in the House of Commons)
• my noble friend (= in the House of Lords)

• my learned friend (= in a court of law)

IN RELIGION

6. Friend a member of the Society of Friends
Syn: Quaker
more at man's best friend at man _n.
Idioms: friend in need ▪ friends ▪ good friends ▪ have friends in high places
Word Origin:
Old English frēond, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch vriend and German Freund, from an Indo-European root meaning ‘to love’, shared by free.
Thesaurus:
friend noun C
• He's one of my best friends.
companion • • acquaintance • • confidant • • ally • |BrE, informal mate • |AmE, informal buddy • |informal, old-fashioned pal • |often disapproving crony •
Opp: enemy
a friend/mate/buddy/pal of mine/yours/his/hers/ours/theirs/my mother's/Diana's, etc.
an old friend/acquaintance/ally/mate/buddy/pal
a good friend/companion/mate/buddy/pal
have friends/acquaintances/allies/mates/buddies/pals
Example Bank:
• Does your sister have any single friends?
• Even his own friends don't believe him.
• He finds it difficult to make friends.
• He introduced me to his circle of friends.
• He was last seen leaving a restaurant with a female friend.
• He won't win any friends if he carries on talking like that.
• Her best friend at school was called Anna.
• I was given this necklace by a good friend of mine.
• I'm inviting only my closest friends to the party.
• If you need a friend, just call me.
• It was so relaxing to be among old friends.
• My so-called friends are making fun of me because of my weight.
• People he had trusted turned out to be only fair-weather friends.
• She doesn't have many good friends.
• She's made friends with the little girl who lives next door.
• They became friends after meeting at college.
• We met each other through a mutual friend.
• We stayed friends even after we grew up and left home.
• a friend from high school
• He's one of my best friends.
• I heard about it through a friend of a friend.
• Is he a friend of yours?
• She has a wide circle of friends.
• She met up with some of her old school friends.
• She's an old friend.

• a childhood/family/lifelong friend

Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary

Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary - 4th Edition

friend / frend / noun [ C ] (PERSON YOU LIKE)

A1 a person who you know well and who you like a lot, but who is usually not a member of your family:

She's my best/oldest/closest friend - we've known each other since we were five.

He's a family friend/friend of the family .

This restaurant was recommended to me by a friend of mine.

We've been friends for years.

José and Pilar are (good) friends of ours.

We're (good) friends with José and Pilar.

She said that she and Peter were just (good) friends (= they were not having a sexual relationship) .

I've made a lot of friends in this job.

He finds it difficult to make friends.

→ See also befriend

someone who is not an enemy and who you can trust:

You don't have to pretend any more - you're among friends now.

Word partners for friend

have / find / make friends • be / become friends with sb • sb's best / closest / oldest friend

friend / frend / noun [ C ] (PERSON GIVING MONEY)

someone who gives money to an arts organization or charity in order to support it:

The Friends of the Royal Academy raised £10,000 towards the cost of the exhibition.

Word partners for friend

have / find / make friends • be / become friends with sb • sb's best / closest / oldest friend

Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s English Dictionary

friend

/frend/
(friends)

Frequency: The word is one of the 700 most common words in English.

1.
A friend is someone who you know well and like, but who is not related to you.
I had a long talk about this with my best friend...
She never was a close friend of mine.
...Sara’s old friend, Ogden.
N-COUNT

2.
If you are friends with someone, you are their friend and they are yours.
I still wanted to be friends with Alison...
We remained good friends...
Sally and I became friends.
N-PLURAL: oft N with n

3.
The friends of a country, cause, organization, or a famous politician are the people and organizations who help and support them.
...The Friends of Birmingham Royal Ballet.
N-PLURAL; N-IN-NAMES

4.
If one country refers to another as a friend, they mean that the other country is not an enemy of theirs.
The president said that Japan is now a friend and international partner.
= ally
N-COUNT

Merriam-Webster's Advanced Learner's Dictionary

Merriam-Webster's Advanced Learner's Dictionary:

friend

friend /ˈfrɛnd/ noun, pl friends [count]
1 : a person who you like and enjoy being with
• I'd like you to meet my friend.
• She is such a good/close/dear friend (of mine).
• We're fast friends. = We're the best of friends.
• He's no friend of mine.
• He has always been a good friend to me. [=he has always helped or supported me as a good friend should]
• She's my best friend. [=my closest friend]
• We are childhood friends. [=we have been friends since we were children]
• old friends [=people who have been friends for a long time]
• She is an old family friend. = She is an old friend of the family. [=she has known and spent time with the family over many years]
• We are just friends. [=we are not in a romantic relationship]
• He wants to be friends with my younger sister. [=he wants to be my sister's friend]
• She is best friends with my younger sister. [=she is my youngest sister's closest friend]
✦Friend is sometimes used in a humorous or ironic way to refer to someone who is annoying or disliked.
• Has our friend with the rude attitude been bothering you lately?
• Don't look now. Here comes your friend.
2 : a person who helps or supports someone or something (such as a cause or charity)
• She is a friend of the environment. [=she supports environmental causes]
• The strikers knew they had a friend in the senator. [=knew that the senator supported them]
• Are you friend or foe? [=do you support us or oppose us?]
3 Friend : quaker
a friend in need is a friend indeed
- used to say that a friend who will help you when you need help is a true friend;
friends in high places
✦To have friends in high places is to know people with social or political influence or power.
• She got the job because she has friends in high places.
make friends : to become someone's friend
• Sometimes it is hard for children to make new friends.
- often + with
• She's very good at making friends with people from all walks of life.
man's best friend