Show with the aim of doing sth definition, with the aim of doing sth meaning | English Cobuild better(bettersplural & 3rd person present)(betteringpresent participle)(betteredpast tense & past participle)1Better is the comparative of good.
2Better is the comparative of well.
3advIf you like one thing betterthan another, you like it more.
ADV after v I like your interpretation better than the one I was taught..., They liked it better when it rained. 4adjIf you are better after an illness or injury, you have recovered from it. If you feel better, you no longer feel so ill.
v-link ADJ He is much better now, he's fine..., The doctors were saying there wasn't much hope of me getting better. 5phraseYou use had better or 'd better when you are advising, warning, or threatening someone, or expressing an opinion about what should happen.
It's half past two. I think we had better go home..., You'd better run if you're going to get your ticket... In spoken English, people sometimes use better without `had' or `be' before it. It has the same meaning. Better not say too much aloud. 6pronIf you say that you expect or deserve better, you mean that you expect or deserve a higher standard of achievement, behaviour, or treatment from people than they have shown you.
Our long-suffering mining communities deserve better than this. 7verbIf someone betters a high achievement or standard, they achieve something higher.
He recorded a time of 4 minutes 23, bettering the old record of 4-24...V n 8verbIf you better your situation, you improve your social status or the quality of your life. If you betteryourself, you improve your social status.
He had dedicated his life to bettering the lot of the oppressed people of South Africa...V n Our parents chose to come here with the hope of bettering themselves.V pron-refl 9Better is used to form the comparative of compound adjectives beginning with `good' and `well.' For example, the comparative of `well-off' is `better-off.'
10You can say that someone is better doing one thing than another, or it is better doing one thing than another, to advise someone about what they should do.
be better doing sth/it is better doing sthphraseV inflects, PHR -ing, PHR -ed Wouldn't it be better putting a time-limit on the task?..., Subjects like this are better left alone. 11If something changes for the better, it improves.
for the betterphrasePHR after v He dreams of changing the world for the better. 12If a feeling such as jealousy, curiosity, or anger gets the better of you, it becomes too strong for you to hide or control.
to get the better of sbphraseV inflects, PHR n She didn't allow her emotions to get the better of her. 13If you get the better of someone, you defeat them in a contest, fight, or argument.
to get the better of sbphraseV inflects, PHR n He is used to tough defenders, and he usually gets the better of them. 14If someone knows betterthan to do something, they are old enough or experienced enough to know it is the wrong thing to do.
to know betterphraseV inflects, oft PHR than to-inf She knew better than to argue with Adeline... 15If you know betterthan someone, you have more information, knowledge, or experience than them.
to know betterphraseV inflects, oft PHR than n He thought he knew better than I did, though he was much less experienced... 16If you say that someone would be better off doing something, you are advising them to do it or expressing the opinion that it would benefit them to do it.
be better offphrasePHR -ing/prep/adv If you've got bags you're better off taking a taxi... 17If you go one better, you do something better than it has been done before or obtain something better than someone else has.
go one betterphraseV inflects, oft PHR than n Now General Electric have gone one better than nature and made a diamond purer than the best quality natural diamonds. 18You say `That's better' in order to express your approval of what someone has said or done, or to praise or encourage them.
that's betterconvention `I came to ask your advice<endash>no, to ask for your help.'`That's better. And how can I help you?' 19You can say `so much the better' or `all the better' to indicate that it is desirable that a particular thing is used, done, or available.
all/so much the betterphrase Use strong white flour, and if you can get hold of durum wheat flour, then so much the better... 20You can use expressions like `The bigger the better' or `The sooner the better' to say that you would prefer it if something is big or happens soon.
the bigger/sooner/smaller etc the betterphrase The Irish love a party, the bigger the better... 21If you intend to do something and then think better of it, you decide not to do it because you realize it would not be sensible.
to think better of itphraseV inflects Alberg opened his mouth, as if to protest. But he thought better of it. 22If you say that something has happened or been done for better or worse, you mean that you are not sure whether the consequences will be good or bad, but they will have to be accepted because the action cannot be changed.
for better or (for) worsephrasePHR after v, PHR with cl I married you for better or worse, knowing all about these problems. 23
against your better judgment judgment to be better than nothing nothing the better part part
Alphabetical indexWelcome to English-Cobuild Collins dictionary ("Collins Cobuild English Dictionary for Advanced Learners 4th edition published in 2003 © HarperCollins Publishers 1987, 1995, 2001, 2003 and Collins A-Z Thesaurus 1st edition first published in 1995 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995"). Type the word that you look for in the search box above. The results will include words and phrases from the general dictionary as well as entries from the collaborative one. |
