Definitions of
sound-alike words: S
- sail
- canvas sheet attached to a boat, as in: The sail caught the wind and we went speeding across the lake.
- sale
- transfer of ownership for a price, as in: Everything on this counter is for sale.
- scene
- place where something happened, as in: The detectives roped off the scene of the crime.
- seen
- past participle of to see, as in: Have you seen
today's newspaper?
- cent
- one-hundredth of a monetary unit, as in: In the U. S., a penny is worth one cent.
- scent
- odor, as in: The detective smelled the scent of almonds-could it be cyanide poisoning?
- sent
- past tense of send, as in: I sent you Email yesterday.
- cents
- plural of cent, as in: His opinion is only worth two cents.
- scents
- uses the sense of smell, as in: A herd of zebras will flee if it scents a predator.
- sense
- method of perception, as in: Ears provide us with the sense of hearing.
- ceiling
- upper limit of a room, as in: A light-colored ceiling makes a room seem brighter.
- sealing
- closing airtight, as in: Sealing the containers is important to keep the contents fresh.
- seam
- line formed by joining two edges, as in: Every seam
bulged when he tried on his old army uniform.
- seem
- appear to be, as in: The children seem to be healthy.
- cede
- yield, as in: At the war's end, the loser had to cede the disputed territory to the winner.
- seed
- beginning of a new plant, as in: The seed of an avocado can be planted in soil or water.
- cease
- stop, as in: If someone violates your copyright, send them a Cease and
Desist letter immediately.
- seize
- grab, as in: The guerillas tried to seize control of the town.
- siege
- prolonged period of trouble or annoyance, as in: Our family has had a siege of bad colds this year.
- cell
- small room, as in: She will spend two months in a prison cell for her
mistake.
- sell
- offer for sale, as in: I will sell you my car for $2,000.
- cellar
- underground room, as in : In our house, the cellar was always damp.
- seller
- one who offers for sale, as in: Amazon.com is a seller of books in an online storefront.
- census
- population count, as in: The last census
showed an increase in single-parent families.
- senses
- sound mental faculties, as in: Don't call me until you have come to your senses.
- serge
- a kind of fabric, as in: I think I'll wear my navy blue serge suit to the meeting.
- surge
- a strong forward movement, as in: When the doors opened there was a surge in the crowd.
- cereal
- breakfast food prepared from grain, as in: My favorite cereal is Grape-Nuts; what's yours?
- serial
- arranged in a series, as in: I hope they catch that serial killer soon.
- serve
- take care of people, as in: Our mission is to serve clients by designing a Web site their customers will like.
- service
- take care of equipment, as in: We will service
your machine for one whole year at no extra charge.
- cession
- act of ceding (surrendering) to another, as in: The treaty included cession of all captured territories.
- session
- meeting or term, as in: I will take two classes
during the summer session.
- set
- place something somewhere, as in: You may set
the package on the counter.
- sit
- be seated, as in: Please, sit
here by me and tell me about your new job.
- sew
- stitch, as in: The ability to sew my own clothes has saved me a lot of money.
- so
- in such a manner or very much, as in: I am so tired I must lie down.
- sow
- scatter seed, as in: Farmers will reap the same type of crop that they sow.
- shear
- cut off, as in: It is time for us to shear the wool from the sheep.
- sheer
- (1) transparent, as in: Women usually wear sheer hosiery in warm weather.
- (2) pure, unmixed with anything else, as in: That was an act of sheer stupidity!
- shone
- past tense of shine, as in: Yesterday, the sun shone, but today it's rainy.
- shown
- past participle of show, as in: Smoking has been shown to be bad for your health.
- chute
- slanted shaft from a higher level to a lower one, as in: The gravel came rumbling down the chute.
- shoot
- to discharge a weapon, as in: Don't shoot! I'm unarmed.
- cite
- quote, as in: Your proposal will be more persuasive if you cite results of a recent survey.
- sight
- vision, as in: Our eyes provide us with one sense of sight; our imagination, another.
- site
- exact location, as in: Thank you for visiting my Web site. Please come back again.
- simple
- uncomplicated, as in: She likes to wear simple styles in beautiful colors and patterns.
- simplistic
- overly simplified, as in: The drug problem hasn't been solved by simplistic slogans like "Just say no".
- sleight
- skill and dexterity, as in: Magicians use sleight of hand to make illusions seem real.
- slight
- slender, as in: The weather forecaster predicted a slight chance of rain.
- soar
- fly upward, as in: We watched the eagle soar into the sky and disappear.
- sore
- painful, as in: I went for a long walk and came home with sore feet.
- soared
- flew upward or rose very high, as in: Their spirits soared when they heard about the award they received.
- sword
- a long, pointed weapon, as in: The knight buckled on his sword and went to the battle.
- sole
- (1) bottom part of the foot or shoe, as in: I have a hole in the sole of my shoe.
- (2) only one, as in: She is the sole proprietor of her business.
- soul
- person, as in: Not a soul was in the office when I arrived this morning.
- soluble
- capable of being dissolved in another substance, as in: Salt is soluble in water.
- solvable
- capable of being solved or explained, as in: I'm sure this problem is solvable if we work on it as a team.
- some
- any part of, as in: Would you like some of my cookies?
- sum
- the total of, as in: The sum
of one and one is two.
- some one
- any person in a named group, as in: Some one of the officers is going to have to tell her.
- someone
- somebody, as in: Someone is going to have to tell her.
- some time
- a period of time, as in: I will need some time to think over your offer.
- sometime
- at an unspecified time, as in: We must have lunch sometime.
- sometimes
- now and then, as in: I love my work, but sometimes I need a rest to restore my creativity.
- son
- male child, as in: He brought his son and daughter to work today to teach them about our industry.
- sun
- star that provides heat and light to the earth, as in: Too much exposure to the sun can damage skin.
- spacious
- roomy, as in: She invited me into her spacious living room.
- specious
- counterfeit, as in: Be careful, he is known for using specious arguments to back up his claims.
- especially
- standing apart uniquely from the rest, as in: The air quality where I live is especially bad. <gasp>
- specially
- given unusual treatment, as in: Look in the specially-marked
boxes for your entry blank.
- staid
- conservative or sedate, as in: She became increasingly staid as she grew older.
- stayed
- past tense of stay, as in: Her parents stayed by her side through all the trouble.
- stair
- a step, as in: The carpet is loose on that first stair.
- stare
- gaze fixedly, as in: I asked him what was wrong, but all I got in response was a vacant stare.
- stake
- strong stick or post, as in: A young tree may be tied to a stake for support.
- steak
- a slice of meat or fish, as in: We went out for dinner and he ordered steak.
- stationary
- in the same place, as in: In the ancient past, people believed the earth was stationary and that the sun revolved around it.
- stationery
- writing paper and envelopes, as in: A resume should be on fine stationery.
- statue
- carved or molded image, as in: There is a statue of a famous war hero in the town square.
- stature
- height or uprightness, as in: My father was a man of average stature.
- statute
- a law, as in: The statute of limitations has passed for that particular crime.
- steal
- commit a theft, as in: The burglars came to steal the diamond.
- steel
- alloy of iron noted for strength, as in: Superman is also called "the man of steel."
- straight
- not crooked, as in: The shortest distance between two points is a straight line.
- strait
- narrow waterway, as in: To get from the state of Washington, in the U. S., to Vancouver Island, British Columbia, in Canada, we crossed the Juan De Fuca Strait by ferry.
- straits
- distressing situation, as in: If we don't get that bank loan, we will be in dire financial straits.
- suit
- (1) a legal action, as in: They brought a class-action suit
against the tobacco companies.
- (2) a matched set of clothes, as in: He bought a business suit.
- (3) meet the requirements of, as in: This will suit our needs.
- suite
- matched furniture or connected rooms, as in: We made reservations for a suite of rooms at the hotel.
- sweet
- pleasant like sugar or honey, as in: I feel like having something sweet to eat-maybe I'll have some fruit.
This list of definitions can't replace your dictionary. Rather
than discussing every possible meaning of the words on this list,
I try to show how one word differs from another in a group of words that sound or
look very much alike.
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