for

for

for¹ [fôr, fʉr]

prep.

[ME < OE, akin to Ger für & Du ver- < IE base * per- > L per-, pro-, prae-, Gr pro, Sans pári]

1. in place of; instead of [to use blankets for coats]

2. as the representative of; in the interest of [acting for another]

3. in defense of; in favor of [fight for our cause; vote for the levy]

4. in honor of [to give a banquet for someone]

5. with the aim or for the purpose of [to carry a gun for protection]

6. for the purpose of going to [he left for home]

7. in order to be, become, get, have, keep, etc. [to walk for exercise, to fight for one's life]

8. in search of [to look for a lost article]

9. meant to be received by (a specified person or thing), or to be used in (a specified way) [flowers for Mother, money for paying bills]

10. suitable to; appropriate to [a room for sleeping]

11. with regard to; as regards; concerning [a need for improvement, an ear for music, a desire for power]

12. as being [I know it for a fact]

13. considering the general nature of [cool for July, clever for a child]

14. because of; as a result of [to cry for pain]

15. in proportion to; corresponding to [two dollars spent for every dollar earned]

16. to the amount of; equal to [a bill for $50 ]: when preceded and followed by the same noun, for indicates equality between things being compared or contrasted (dollar for dollar)

17.

a) at the price or by the payment of [sold for $20,000]

b) in exchange with respect to [our thanks for your help]

18. to the length, duration, or extent of; throughout; through [to walk for an hour]

19. at (a specified time) [an appointment for two o'clock]

20. Obs. before

conj.

because; seeing that; since: more formal than because and used to introduce evidence or explanation for an immediately preceding statement [comfort him, for he is sad]

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for all

in spite of; notwithstanding [stupid for all their learning]

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O! for

I wish that I had

for²

abbrev.

1. foreign

2. forestry