Like vs. Liking

Likeverb

To please.

Likingnoun

A like; a predilection.

Likeverb

To enjoy, be pleased by; favor; be in favor of.

‘I like hamburgers’; ‘I like skiing in winter’; ‘I like the Seattle Mariners this season’;

Likingnoun

(archaic) Approval.

‘goods bought on liking’;

Likeverb

(obsolete) To derive pleasure of, by or with someone or something.

Liking

Looking; appearing; as, better or worse liking. See Like, to look.

‘Why should he see your faces worse liking than the children which are of your sort?’;

Likeverb

To prefer and maintain (an action) as a regular habit or activity.

‘I like to go to the dentist every six months’; ‘She likes to keep herself physically fit’; ‘we like to keep one around the office just in case’;

Likingnoun

The state of being pleasing; a suiting. See On liking, below.

Likeverb

(obsolete) To have an appearance or expression; to look; to seem to be (in a specified condition).

Likingnoun

The state of being pleased with, or attracted toward, some thing or person; hence, inclination; desire; pleasure; preference; - often with for, formerly with to; as, it is an amusement I have no liking for.

‘If the human intellect hath once taken a liking to any doctrine, . . . it draws everything else into harmony with that doctrine, and to its support.’;

Likeverb

(archaic) To come near; to avoid with difficulty; to escape narrowly.

‘He liked to have been too late.’;

Likingnoun

Appearance; look; figure; state of body as to health or condition.

‘I shall think the worse of fat men, as long as I have an eye to make difference of men's liking.’; ‘Their young ones are in good liking.’; ‘Would he be the degenerate scion of that royal line . . . to be a king on liking and on sufferance?’;

Likeverb

To find attractive; to prefer the company of; to have mild romantic feelings for.

‘I really like Sandra but don't know how to tell her.’;

Likingnoun

a feeling of pleasure and enjoyment;

‘I've always had a liking for reading’; ‘she developed a liking for gin’;

Likeverb

(obsolete) To liken; to compare.

Likeverb

To show support for, or approval of, something posted on the Internet by marking it with a vote.

‘I liked my friend's last status on Facebook.’; ‘I can't stand Bloggs' tomato ketchup, but I liked it on Facebook so I could enter a competition.’;

Likenoun

Something that a person likes (prefers).

‘Tell me your likes and dislikes.’;

Likenoun

(internet) An individual vote showing support for, or approval of, something posted on the Internet.

Likenoun

(sometimes as the likes of) Someone similar to a given person, or something similar to a given object; a comparative; a type; a sort.

‘There were bowls full of sweets, chocolates and the like.’; ‘It was something the likes of which I had never seen before.’;

Likenoun

(golf) The stroke that equalizes the number of strokes played by the opposing player or side.

‘to play the like’;

Likeadjective

Similar.

‘My partner and I have like minds.’;

Likeadjective

(obsolete) Likely; probable.

Likeadverb

(informal) For example, such as: to introduce an example or list of examples.

‘There are lots of birds, like ducks and gulls, in this park.’;

Likeadverb

Likely.

Likeadverb

In a like or similar manner.

‘Like the woman down the street so confidently sang, she wanted to be able to too.’;

Likeconjunction

(colloquial) As, the way.

Likeconjunction

As if; as though.

‘It looks like you've finished the project.’; ‘It seemed like you didn't care.’;

Likepreposition

Similar to, reminiscent of.

‘These hamburgers taste like leather.’;

Likeinterjection

Used to place emphasis upon a statement.

‘divint ye knaa, like?’;

Likeadjective

Having the same, or nearly the same, appearance, qualities, or characteristics; resembling; similar to; similar; alike; - often with in and the particulars of the resemblance; as, they are like each other in features, complexion, and many traits of character.

‘'T is as like youAs cherry is to cherry.’; ‘Like master, like man.’; ‘He giveth snow like wool; he scattereth the hoar-frost like ashes.’;

Likeadjective

Equal, or nearly equal; as, fields of like extent.

‘More clergymen were impoverished by the late war than ever in the like space before.’;

Likeadjective

Having probability; affording probability; probable; likely.

‘But it is like the jolly world about us will scoff at the paradox of these practices.’; ‘Many were not easy to be governed, nor like to conform themselves to strict rules.’;

Likeadjective

Inclined toward; disposed to; as, to feel like taking a walk.

‘Had like to have been my utter overthrow.’; ‘Ramona had like to have said the literal truth, . . . but recollected herself in time.’;

Likenoun

That which is equal or similar to another; the counterpart; an exact resemblance; a copy.

‘He was a man, take him for all in all,I shall not look upon his like again.’;

Likenoun

A liking; a preference; inclination; - usually in pl.; as, we all have likes and dislikes.

Likenoun

The stroke which equalizes the number of strokes played by the opposing player or side; as, to play the like.

Likeadverb

In a manner like that of; in a manner similar to; as, do not act like him.

‘He maketh them to stagger like a drunken man.’;

Likeadverb

In a like or similar manner.

‘Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him.’;

Likeadverb

Likely; probably.

Likeverb

To suit; to please; to be agreeable to.

‘Cornwall him liked best, therefore he chose there.’; ‘I willingly confess that it likes me much better when I find virtue in a fair lodging than when I am bound to seek it in an ill-favored creature.’;

Likeverb

To be pleased with in a moderate degree; to approve; to take satisfaction in; to enjoy.

‘He proceeded from looking to liking, and from liking to loving.’;

Likeverb

To liken; to compare.

‘Like me to the peasant boys of France.’;

Likeverb

To be pleased; to choose.

‘He may either go or stay, as he best likes.’;

Likeverb

To have an appearance or expression; to look; to seem to be (in a specified condition).

‘You like well, and bear your years very well.’;

Likeverb

To come near; to avoid with difficulty; to escape narrowly; as, he liked to have been too late. Cf. Had like, under Like, a.

‘He probably got his death, as he liked to have done two years ago, by viewing the troops for the expedition from the wall of Kensington Garden.’;

Likeverb

prefer or wish to do something;

‘Do you care to try this dish?’; ‘Would you like to come along to the movies?’;

Likeverb

find enjoyable or agreeable;

‘I like jogging’; ‘She likes to read Russian novels’;

Likeverb

be fond of;

‘I like my nephews’;

Likeverb

feel about or towards; consider, evaluate, or regard;

‘How did you like the President's speech last night?’;

Likeverb

want to have;

‘I'd like a beer now!’;

Likeadjective

resembling or similar; having the same or some of the same characteristics; often used in combination;

‘suits of like design’; ‘a limited circle of like minds’; ‘members of the cat family have like dispositions’; ‘as like as two peas in a pod’; ‘doglike devotion’; ‘a dreamlike quality’;

Likeadjective

equal in amount or value;

‘like amounts’; ‘equivalent amounts’; ‘the same amount’; ‘gave one six blows and the other a like number’; ‘an equal number’; ‘the same number’;

Likeadjective

having the same or similar characteristics;

‘all politicians are alike’; ‘they looked utterly alike’; ‘friends are generaly alike in background and taste’;

Likeadjective

conforming in every respect;

‘boxes with corresponding dimensions’; ‘the like period of the preceding year’;

Likepreposition

having the same characteristics or qualities as; similar to

‘she looked nothing like Audrey Hepburn’; ‘he used to have a car like mine’; ‘they were like brothers’;

Likepreposition

in the manner of; in the same way or to the same degree as

‘he was screaming like a banshee’;

Likepreposition

in a way appropriate to

‘students were angry at being treated like children’;

Likepreposition

such as one might expect from; characteristic of

‘just like you to put a damper on people's enjoyment’;

Likepreposition

used in questions to ask about the characteristics or nature of someone or something

‘what's she like?’; ‘what is it like to be a tuna fisherman?’;

Likepreposition

used to draw attention to the nature of an action or event

‘why are you talking about me like that?’; ‘I apologize for coming over unannounced like this’;

Likepreposition

such as; for example

‘the cautionary vision of works like Animal Farm and 1984’;

Likeconjunction

in the same way that; as

‘people who change countries like they change clothes’;

Likeconjunction

as though; as if

‘I felt like I'd been kicked by a camel’;

Likenoun

used with reference to a person or thing of the same kind as another

‘the quotations could be arranged to put like with like’; ‘I know him—him and his like’;

Likenoun

a thing or things of the same kind (often used to express surprise or for emphasis)

‘did you ever hear the like?’; ‘a church interior the like of which he had never seen before’;

Likenoun

the things one likes or prefers

‘a wide variety of likes, dislikes, tastes, and income levels’;

Likenoun

(in the context of social media) an indication of approval of or support for someone or something, expressed by means of a particular icon or link

‘pages that rank well are likely to receive high numbers of likes because they are highly visible in the search engines’;

Likeadjective

(of a person or thing) having similar qualities or characteristics to another person or thing

‘I responded in like manner’; ‘the grouping of children of like ability together’;

Likeadjective

(of a portrait or other image) having a faithful resemblance to the original

‘‘Who painted the dog's picture? It's very like.’’;

Likeadverb

used in speech as a meaningless filler or to signify the speaker's uncertainty about an expression just used

‘there was this funny smell—sort of dusty like’;

Likeadverb

used to convey a person's reported attitude or feelings in the form of direct speech (whether or not representing an actual quotation)

‘so she comes into the room and she's like ‘Where is everybody?’’;

Likeadverb

in the manner of

‘like as a ship with dreadful storm long tossed’;

Likeverb

find agreeable, enjoyable, or satisfactory

‘people who don't like reading books’; ‘all his classmates liked him’; ‘I like to be the centre of attention’;

Likeverb

(in the context of social media) indicate one's approval of or support for (someone or something) by means of a particular icon or link

‘more than 15,000 Facebook users had liked his page by Monday morning’;

Likeverb

wish for; want

‘I'd like to hire a car’; ‘would you like a cup of coffee?’; ‘I'd like you to stay’;

Likeverb

used as a polite formula

‘we would like to apologize for the late running of this service’;

Likeverb

feel reluctant to do something

‘I don't like leaving her on her own too long’;

Likeverb

choose to have (something); prefer

‘how do you like your coffee?’;

Likeverb

feel about or regard (something)

‘how would you like it if it happened to you?’;

Like

In English, the word like has a very flexible range of uses, ranging from conventional to non-standard. It can be used as a noun, verb, adverb, adjective, preposition, particle, conjunction, hedge, filler, and quotative.