aloft /əlɒ ft, [AM ] əlɔː ft/ ADV [ADV after v, be ADV ] Something that is aloft is in the air or off the ground. [LITERARY ] □ He held the trophy proudly aloft.
alone ◆◆◇ /əloʊ n/
1 ADJ [v-link ADJ ] When you are alone , you are not with any other people. □ There is nothing so frightening as to be alone in a combat situation. □ He was all alone in the middle of the hall. ● ADV [ADV after v] Alone is also an adverb. □ She has lived alone in this house for almost five years now.
2 ADJ [v-link ADJ ] If one person is alone with another person, or if two or more people are alone , they are together, without anyone else present. □ [+ with ] I couldn't imagine why he would want to be alone with me. □ [+ with ] My brother and I were alone with Vincent.
3 ADJ [v-link ADJ ] If you say that you are alone or feel alone , you mean that nobody who is with you, or nobody at all, cares about you. □ Never in her life had she felt so alone, so abandoned.
4 ADV [n ADV ] You say that one person or thing alone does something when you are emphasizing that only one person or thing is involved. [EMPHASIS ] □ You alone should determine what is right for you. □ They were convicted on forensic evidence alone.
5 ADV [n ADV ] If you say that one person or thing alone is responsible for part of an amount, you are emphasizing the size of that part and the size of the total amount. [EMPHASIS ] □ The BBC alone is sending 300 technicians, directors and commentators.
6 ADJ [v-link ADJ ] If someone is alone in doing something, they are the only person doing it, and so are different from other people. □ [+ in ] Am I alone in thinking that this scandal should finish his career? ● ADV [n ADV ] Alone is also an adverb. □ I alone was sane, I thought, in a world of crazy people.
7 ADV [ADV after v] When someone does something alone , they do it without help from other people. □ Bringing up a child alone should give you a sense of achievement.
8 PHRASE If you go it alone , you do something without any help from other people. [INFORMAL ] □ I missed the stimulation of working with others when I tried to go it alone.
9 to leave someone or something alone → see leave
10 let alone → see let USAGE alone
Don’t use ‘alone’ in front of a noun. For example, don’t talk about ‘
along ◆◆◆ /əlɒ ŋ, [AM ] əlɔː ŋ/ In addition to the uses shown below, along is used in phrasal verbs such as 'go along with', 'play along', and 'string along'. 1 PREP If you move or look along something such as a road, you move or look towards one end of it. □ Newman walked along the street alone. □ The young man led Mark Ryle along a corridor. □ I looked along the length of the building.
2 PREP If something is situated along a road, river, or corridor, it is situated in it or beside it. □ …enormous traffic jams all along the roads. □ …houses built on piles along the river.
3 ADV [ADV after v] When someone or something moves along , they keep moving in a particular direction. □ She skipped and danced along. □ The wide road was blocked solid with traffic that moved along sluggishly.
4 ADV [ADV after v] If you say that something is going along in a particular way, you mean that it is progressing in that way. □ …the negotiations which have been dragging along interminably. □ My life is going along nicely.
5 ADV [ADV after v] If you take someone or something along when you go somewhere, you take them with you. □ This is open to women of all ages, so bring along your friends and colleagues.
6 ADV [ADV after v] If someone or something is coming along or is sent along , they are coming or being sent to a particular place. □ She invited everyone she knew to come along.
7 PHRASE You use along with to mention someone or something else that is also involved in an action or situation. □ The baby's mother escaped from the fire along with two other children.
8 PHRASE If something has been true or been present all along , it has been true or been present throughout a period of time. □ I've been fooling myself all along.
9 along the way → see way
along|side ◆◇◇ /əlɒ ŋsa I d, [AM ] -lɔː ŋ-/
1 PREP If one thing is alongside another thing, the first thing is next to the second. □ He crossed the street and walked alongside Central Park. □ Much of the industry was located alongside rivers. ● ADV [ADV after v] Alongside is also an adverb. □ He waited several minutes for a car to pull up alongside.
2 PREP If you work alongside other people, you all work together in the same place. □ He had worked alongside Frank and Mark and they had become friends.
3 PREP If one thing exists or develops alongside another, the two things exist or develop together at the same time. □ Her self-confidence will develop alongside her technique.
aloof /əluː f/
1 ADJ [usu v-link ADJ ] Someone who is aloof is not very friendly and does not like to spend time with other people. [DISAPPROVAL ] □ He seemed aloof and detached.
2 ADJ If someone stays aloof from something, they do not become involved with it. [FORMAL ] □ [+ from ] The Government is keeping aloof from the controversy.
aloud /əlaʊ d/