alike1 adjectivealike2 adverb
alikea‧like1 /əˈlaɪk/ ●●○ adjective [not before noun] 
Word OriginWORD ORIGINalike1
ExamplesOrigin:
Old English onlic, from on + lic ‘body’EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
Thesaurus- As the personal computer market matured, computer makers have realized that not all PC buyers are alike.
- I think my mother and I are very much alike in some ways.
- The album is boring - all of their songs sound alike.
- The two singers do not sound anything alike.
- You lawyers are all alike. You just talk a lot, tell a few lies, and send the bill.
- Broadly speaking, all these towns looked alike.
- Law schools, you see, are more alike than they are different.
- The number of mutations increased as the parents became more alike.
- You guys with brains are all alike, man.
THESAURUS► similar
Collocations adjective almost the same: · Jo said she’d had a similar experience.· The colours are very similar, but I like this one best.
► like preposition similar to something or someone else: · It tastes a little like chicken.· She still looks like a teenager.
► alike adjective [not before noun] very similar – used especially about the way people look or behave: · She and her sister look alike.· Lawyers are all alike - I don’t trust them.
► close adjective very similar: · The film bears a close resemblance to real life (=is very similar).· The painting is remarkably close to the original.
► much the same very similar: · The glass is still made in much the same way as it was 100 years ago.· People are much the same, wherever you go.· She still looks very much the same.
► identical adjective exactly the same: · The two computers were identical in design.· identical names
► matching adjective having the same colour, style, pattern etc as something else – used about clothes or furniture that you wear or use together: · She wore matching silver shoes and handbag.· a dining table and matching chairs
► akin to something formal fairly similar to something: · These dialects are akin to Arabic, though different in several respects.
Longman Language Activatorlike something or someone else► like similar to something or someone: · The houses here are like the ones in northern France.· My mother has a car like yours.look/feel/sound/smell/taste like: · She laughed like a child and played with her hair.· This is such beautiful material - it feels like silk.· It looks a bit like a cactus.something like (=fairly similar): · This superb almost-flourless chocolate cake is something like a brownie for grownups.nothing like (=not at all similar): · Life at college was nothing like I expected.
► similar if one thing is similar to another, or if two or more things are similar , they are like each other: · I know how you feel, because I have a similar problem.· It's bigger than Jim's room, but it's very similar.· When you look at these two carpets, you can see that the patterns are very similar.similar to: · Do you have anything similar to this material but cheaper?· The Marines also experimented with fast-attack vehicles, similar to dune buggies.
► alike if two or more things or people are alike , they are very similar in some way: · You lawyers are all alike. You just talk a lot, tell a few lies, and send the bill.· I think my mother and I are very much alike in some ways.· As the personal computer market matured, computer makers have realized that not all PC buyers are alike.look/think/sound etc alike: · The album is boring - all of their songs sound alike.
► much the same very similar: · Soldiers are much the same throughout the world.much the same as: · Bodie looks much the same as the day the mines closed down.much the same....as/that: · The glass is still made in much the same way as it was 100 years ago.· The warranty would cover the electric car's battery pack in much the same way that gasoline engines are protected.look/feel/smell/taste much the same: · All these wines taste much the same.
► resemble/bear a resemblance to to be similar in appearance or character: · Geraldine resembled her mother in every way.· Addis Ababa soon resembled an armed camp.closely resemble: · We have produced a cloth made of pineapple fibre, closely resembling cotton but stronger.bear a strong/close/striking resemblance to: · She's seventy-six, short, round and fair, and bears a strong resemblance to my own grandmother.bear some/little/no resemblance to: · The London of the new millennium bears little resemblance to the London of my youth.
► comparable similar in size, number, quality etc so that a comparison is possible: · Climatic conditions in the two countries are roughly comparable.comparable with/to: · The size of a dolphin's brain is comparable to a human's.comparable in size/importance etc: · The planet Pluto is comparable in size to our Moon.
► akin to if something is akin to something else, it is very similar to it in character - used especially in literature: · It's a language closely akin to Arabic, and most Syrians would understand it.· It was with a feeling akin to despair that I realized the car was not going to start.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADVERB► exactly
Phrases· No two people smell exactly alike - though there are similarities between races.· No two street cracks, like the whorls of fingerprints, are exactly alike.· It is certainly true that no two zebras are exactly alike in the details of their black and white lines.· Nevertheless, probably no two were exactly alike.· No two human beings are exactly alike and no two cases will follow the exact pattern.· We are all exactly alike in this respect.· Then there is the fact that two phrases that sound exactly alike can have different meanings depending on their context.
► so· The two figures so alike, dark-haired and slender both, dressed in deepest green, were mirror images of each other.· Elsie and Edith Port were so alike that Jennie dosed the wrong one with her cure for all ailments - castor oil.· And why were all the statements so alike?
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES► great minds (think alike)► share and share alike
very similar: - Great visions are the signs of great minds and there were few greater visions than those of Newton and Einstein.
- Alas, there is no space to give a proper account of the thoughts of these great minds.
- Some of the confusion would certainly have been lessened if the two great minds had had opportunities to exchange ideas.
- That presents no danger if our great minds are in Paris or London or the United States.
- The excitement of the intellectual revolution produced some great minds and some important discoveries.
- The entire estate was bequeathed to the four children, share and share alike.
My mother and I are alike in many ways.► see thesaurus at similaralike1 adjectivealike2 adverb
alikealike2 ●●○ adverb ExamplesEXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
Collocations- Politicians and voters alike are too concerned with short-term problems.
- The men in the bridal party should dress alike.
- Accommodation is at a premium in hotels and private houses alike.
- But the same rates of interest should not necessarily be paid to non-residents and residents alike.
- Conditions in the aftermath of the 1905 revolution were propitious for stable development in countryside and city alike.
- Crocker was one of the largest banks in California, and was respected by investors and rival bankers alike.
- Health risks were matters of acceptance for the most part by employers and workers alike.
- None the less, consumers and businesses alike are, in the aggregate, deeper in debt than ever before.
- Sister ministered to staff and patients alike and was known everywhere as the Lady with the Veil.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSVERB► look
Phrases· A case of forcing one set of data into mother's mould to make them look alike?· Unlike other large animal phyla all nematodes look alike except for size - at least to the common man.· I said yes to everything, but to me machines tend to look alike.· You asked if people say we looked alike.· Siblings don't always look alike.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES► great minds (think alike)► share and share alike
1in a similar way: - Great visions are the signs of great minds and there were few greater visions than those of Newton and Einstein.
- Alas, there is no space to give a proper account of the thoughts of these great minds.
- Some of the confusion would certainly have been lessened if the two great minds had had opportunities to exchange ideas.
- That presents no danger if our great minds are in Paris or London or the United States.
- The excitement of the intellectual revolution produced some great minds and some important discoveries.
- The entire estate was bequeathed to the four children, share and share alike.
The twins were dressed alike. → great minds think alike at great1(15)2used to emphasize that you mean both the people, groups, or things that you have just mentioned: I learned a lot from teachers and students alike.