particlenoun
uk/ˈpɑː.tɪ.kəl/us/ˈpɑːr.t̬ə.kəl/particle noun (GRAMMAR)
[ C ] a word or a part of a word that has a grammatical purpose but often has little or no meaning:
In the sentence "I tidied up the room", the adverb "up" is a particle.
More examples
- A phrasal verb is a verb consisting of a verb plus a particle.
- He often comes out with the wrong particle.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Linguistics: grammatical terms
- ablative
- apposition
- attributive
- collocate
- comparative
- declension
- decline
- dependent clause
- double negative
- grammar
- grammarian
- grammatical
- independent clause
- indirect object
- inflect
- interrogative
- modifier
- plurality
- reflexive
- superlative
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You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:
Linguistics: morphology & parts of words
particle noun (SMALL PIECE)
C2 [ C ] an extremely small piece of matter:
Dust particles must have got into the motor.
Electrons are atomic particles.
[ S ] a very small amount of something:
She wouldn't give me even the slightest particle of information about what she'd been doing.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Words meaning small pieces and amounts
- by a nose idiom
- chip
- clipping
- crumb
- dollop
- droplet
- flake
- germ
- jot
- nose
- pat
- patch
- pennyworth
- pinprick
- ray
- scattering
- scintilla
- shadow
- shard
- shred
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