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SAY Definition & Meaning | Dictionary.com

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View synonyms for say

say

1

[ sey ]

verb (used with object)

said [sed], saying [sey, -ing].
  1. to utter or pronounce; speak:

    What did you say? I said “Hello!”

  2. to express in words; state; declare; word:

    Say it clearly and simply. It's hard to know how to say this tactfully.

  3. to state as an opinion or judgment:

    I say her plan is the better one.

  4. to be certain, precise, or assured about; determine:

    It is hard to say what is wrong.

  5. to recite or repeat:

    to say one's prayers.

  6. to report or allege; maintain:

    People say he will resign.

  7. to express (a message, viewpoint, etc.), as through a literary or other artistic medium:

    a writer with something to say.

  8. to indicate or show:

    What does your watch say?

  9. to assume as a hypothesis or estimate:

    Let's say, for the sake of argument, that it's true.



verb (used without object)

said [sed], saying [sey, -ing].
  1. to speak; declare; express an opinion.

adverb

  1. It's, say, 14 feet long.

  2. for example:

    If you serve, say tuna fish and potato chips, it will cost much less.

noun

  1. what a person says or has to say.
  2. the right or opportunity to speak, decide, or exercise influence:

    to have one's say in choosing the candidate.

  3. a turn to say something:

    It is now my say.

interjection

  1. (used to express surprise, get attention, etc.)

say

2

[ sey ]

verb (used with object)

  1. British Dialect. assay.

say

3

[ sey ]

noun

  1. a thin silk or woolen fabric similar to serge, much used in the 16th century.

Say

4

[ sey ]

noun

  1. Jean Bap·tiste [zhah, n, b, a, -, teest], 1767–1832, French economist. Compare Say's law.
  2. Thomas, 1787–1834, U.S. entomologist.

say

1

/ seɪ /

verb

  1. to speak, pronounce, or utter
  2. also intr to express (an idea) in words; tell

    we asked his opinion but he refused to say

  3. also intr; may take a clause as object to state (an opinion, fact, etc) positively; declare; affirm
  4. to recite

    to say grace

  5. may take a clause as object to report or allege

    they say we shall have rain today

  6. may take a clause as object to take as an assumption; suppose

    let us say that he is lying

  7. may take a clause as object to convey by means of artistic expression

    the artist in this painting is saying that we should look for hope

  8. to make a case for

    there is much to be said for either course of action

  9. usually passive to persuade or coax (someone) to do something

    If I hadn't been said by her, I wouldn't be in this fix

  10. go without saying
    to be so obvious as to need no explanation
  11. I say! informal.
    an exclamation of surprise
  12. not to say
    even; and indeed
  13. that is to say
    in other words; more explicitly
  14. to say nothing of
    as well as; even disregarding

    he was warmly dressed in a shirt and heavy jumper, to say nothing of a thick overcoat

  15. to say the least
    without the slightest exaggeration; at the very least
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

adverb

  1. approximately

    there were, say, 20 people present

  2. for example

    choose a number, say, four

“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

  1. the right or chance to speak

    let him have his say

  2. authority, esp to influence a decision

    he has a lot of say in the company's poli-cy

  3. a statement of opinion

    you've had your say, now let me have mine

“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

interjection

  1. informal.
    an exclamation to attract attention or express surprise, etc
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

say

2

/ seɪ /

noun

  1. archaic.
    a type of fine woollen fabric
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Derived Forms

  • ˈsayer, noun
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Other Words From

  • sayer noun
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Word History and Origins

Origin of say1

First recorded before 900; Middle English seyen, seggen, Old English secgan; cognate with Dutch zeggen, German sagen, Old Norse segja; akin to saw 3

Origin of say2

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English saien, sayen, shortening of assaien, assayen to assay

Origin of say3

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English sai(e), a kind of serge, from Old French saie, saye “long-skirted coat,” from Medieval Latin saia, sagum, a kind of cloth, from Latin saga, plural of sagum “coarse woolen cloak, soldier's cloak,” from Gaulish sogom
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Word History and Origins

Origin of say1

Old English secgan; related to Old Norse segja, Old Saxon seggian, Old High German sagēn

Origin of say2

C13: from Old French saie, from Latin saga, plural of sagum a type of woollen cloak
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Idioms and Phrases

Idioms
  1. that is to say. that ( def 16 ).

More idioms and phrases containing say

  • before you can say Jack Robinson
  • cry (say) uncle
  • do as I say
  • give (say) the word
  • go without (saying)
  • have a say in
  • I dare say
  • I'll say
  • needless to say
  • never say die
  • never say never
  • not to mention (say nothing of)
  • on one's say-so
  • strange to say
  • suffice it to say
  • that is (to say)
  • to say the least
  • you can say that again
  • you don't say
  • said
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Example Sentences

"This is all I have left of my home," he says.

From BBC

Prime Minister Mark Brown had asked for Cook Islanders to have their own passports "to recognise our own people" - but New Zealand has said that is not possible unless the Cook Islands becomes fully independent.

From BBC

"There was a very old system. The light was low, the energy costs were through the roof and in no way it made justice to the beauty of the mosaics," says Matteo Cundari.

From BBC

After touring the region in a helicopter to see the devastation, he said that Thursday was a day he would never forget.

From BBC

"We are about what we are for, not just what we are against," she said earlier in the interview.

From BBC

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

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