say Hear it!

say Definition

say ()

transitive verb said, say·ing, sayssez

  1. to utter, pronounce, or speak
  2. to express in words; state; declare; tell
  3. to state positively, with assurance, or as an opinion who can say what will be?
  4. to indicate or show the clock says ten
  5. to recite; repeat to say one's prayers
  6. to estimate; assume; hypothesize he is, I'd say, forty
  7. to allege; report people say he's angry
  8. to communicate (an idea, feeling, etc.) a painting that says nothing

Etymology: ME seien (< orig. 3d pers. sing., pres. indic.), seggen < OE secgan, akin to sagu, a saying, tale (ON saga), Ger sagen, to say < IE base *sekw-, to note, see, show, say (> see, L inseque (imper.), tell!), orig., to follow > L sequi

intransitive verb

to make a statement; speak; express an opinion

noun

  1. a chance to speak to have one's say
  2. power or authority, as to make or help make a final decision: often with the
  3. Archaic what a person says; dictum

adverb

  1. for example any fish, say perch
  2. about; nearly costing, say, 10 dollars

used to express surprise, admiration, etc., or to get someone's attention

say Related Forms
sayer noun
say Idioms

go without saying

to be too obvious to need explanation; be self-evident

that is to say

in other words; that means

to say the least

to understate

you can say that again!

Informal I agree with you!

say Synonyms

say

v.

tell, speak, relate, state, announce, remark, pronounce, declare, state positively, open one's mouth, have one's say, fling off, have one's ear, break silence, find words to express, rise to the occasion, put forth, let out, assert, maintain, express oneself, opine, answer, respond, reply, suppose, assume.

to say the least

at a minimum, at the very least, to put it mildly, minimally.

say Usage Examples

Object

  • something: He said something similar about those who kill the believers.
  • goodbye: The last time this had happened, Marks was dead, and Sparks was saying goodbye.
  • anything: Wishing was a showstopper and I can't really say anything which she did less well.
  • nothing: He would say nothing about the organization of mental health.
  • hello: In conclusion can I say hello to all my friends in GA everywhere.
  • yesterday: Its leadership in expanded range of that and we can get a. Software applications for defending its turf newspaper said yesterday.

Preposition: on

  • label: Straight Up Funk Go Go Style " is what is says on the label and that�s what you get here.

Preposition: that

  • government: Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, John Kachamila, said that the government had received as much as legally possible.
  • decision: He said that the decision to remake the 2003 TV drama did not betray a poverty of imagination.

Noun phrase with adjective complement

  • stupid: President Milosevic, in apparent disbelief that anybody could say something so stupid, asked the question again.

Adjective modifier

  • final: They have no final say in the decision to give you an award and a high ranking from them does not guarantee success.

Adjective complement

  • sorry: He sent a note of apology with a £ 5 note to Philadelphia police and phoned to say sorry.
  • more: Should sex education in schools say more about homosexuality?

Used with why or when

  • what: Unfortunately, he doesn't say what these other issues are.
  • that: It went too far to say that believed and averred should not be used when the averment was material to a partyâs case.
  • which: The scammed can generous gift said which bought the.
  • when: Moss said when questioned at a party about her fur coat, " I wear what I want to wear.

Infinitive complement

  • have: In the potting shed a butler is said to have hanged himself from the rafters.

Present participle complement

  • regard: What the report said regarding copyright and licensing is still valid.

Preposition: in

  • kestrel: Jolen says in kestrel, " You's my fire.
say Quotes

   It is really intolerable that we can say only one thing at a time; for social behavior displays many features at the same time, and so in taking them up one by one we necessarily do outrage to its rich, dark, organic unity.

—Homans, George C

Preach not because you have to say something, but because you have something to say.

—Whately, Richard

I've still so much music in my head.I have said nothing. I have so much more to say.

—Ravel, (Joseph) Maurice

It isn't what I do, but how I do it. It isn't what I say, but how I say itö And how I look when I do and say it.

—West, Mae

When I do not understand, I like to say nothing.

—Sophocles

The sovereign'st thing that any man may have Is little to say, and much to hear and see.

—Skelton,John

I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.

—Bible (NewTestament)

We must say something but not much because I'm being held out to dry.

—Reagan, Ronald Wilson

Quand une femme me para|"t belle, je n'ai rien a'   en dire. Je la vois sourire, tout simplement. Les intellectuels de¤  montent le visage, pour l'expliquer par les morceaux, mais ils ne voient plus le sourire. When I find a woman attractive, I have nothing at all to say. I simply watch her smile. Intellectuals take apart her face in order to explain it bit by bit, but they no longer see the smile.

—Saint-Exupe¤  ry, Antoine de

Nil est dictu facilius. Nothing is easier to say.

—Terence full name PubliusTerentius Afer

Herbert Asquith's clarity is a great liability because he has nothing to say.

—Balfour, ArthurJames Balfour, 1st Earl

When you have nothing to say, say nothing.

—Colton, Charles Caleb

That man must be very much absorbed in reflection, or stupid, or sulky, or unhappy, or a mere hog at his trough, who is not moved to say something when he dines.

—Hunt, (James Henry) Leigh

O say, can you see, by the dawn's early light, What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleamingö Whose broad stripes and bright stars, through the clouds of the fight, O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming! Keynes And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air, Gave proof through thenight that our flag was still there; O! say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave O'er the land of the free, and the home of the brave?

—Key, Francis Scott

For even bad poetry has relevance for what it does not say for what it leaves out.

—Ferlinghetti, Lawrence

To avoid criticism, say nothing, do nothing, be nothing.

—Anonymous

When you see millions of the mouthless dead Across your dreams in pale battalions go, Say not soft things as other men have said, That you'll remember. For you need not so. Give them not praise. For, deaf, how should they know It is not curses heaped on each gashed head?

—Sorley, Charles Hamilton

I am a woman of the world, Hector; and I can assure you that if you will only take the trouble always to do the perfectly correct thing, and to say the perfectly correct thing, you can do just what you like.

—Shaw, George Bernard

My people and I have come to an agreement that satisfies us both. Theyare to say what they please, and I am to do what I please.

—Frederick II, the Great

Don't quote Latin; say what you have to say, and then sit down.

—Wellington, Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of

The trouble is that I have to go with so much still to say.

—Barto¤  k, Be¤  la

   Sing 'Booh to youö Pooh, pooh to you'ö And that's what I shall say!

—Gilbert, Sir W(illiam) S(chwenck)

'Then you should say what you mean,'the March Hare went on. 'Ido,'Alicehastily replied; 'at leastöat least Imeanwhat I sayöthat's the same thing, you know.' 'Not the same thing a bit! 'said the Hatter.'Why, you might just as well say that ''I see what I eat'' is the same thing as ''I eat what I see!'''

—Dodgson

Browse dictionary entries near say

  1. saxtuba
  2. saxophone
  3. Saxony-Anhalt
  4. Saxony
  5. Saxonism
  6. Saxon
  7. Saxo Grammaticus
  8. saxitoxin
  9. saxifrage
  10. saxicolous
  1. say-so
  2. Sayan Mountains
  3. Sayers
  4. saying
  5. sayonara
  6. says
  7. sayyid
  8. sb
  9. SBA
  10. SbE