for

A1 Topic:Grammar & Function Words

Also spelled fer and f’r

US /fɔɹ/ UK /fɔː/ See IPA manual

Freq #17

Meanings

1

prep
Intended to belong to or be given to someone.

I have a present for you.
2

prep
In order to help or benefit someone or something.

She did it all for her children.
3

prep
With a particular purpose or use.

This knife is for cutting bread.
4

prep
In support of or in favour of something.

Everyone who is for the plan, please raise your hand.
5

conj
Because.

I stayed at home, for I had nowhere else to go.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

5 conj · because. because

Opposites

against

Word family

Derived forms forasmuchforcauseforeverformenismforsoothforwhyhereforhereforewhereforwherefore

Appears in

Phrases (11)

See all

ask for
to request or seek something from someone

Verb + preposition/particle
listen for
to pay alert attention in order to hear something expected or hoped for

Verb + preposition/particle
run for
to compete as a candidate for an elected position

Verb + preposition/particle
try for
To make an attempt to obtain, win, or gain entry to something competitive.

Verb + preposition/particle
sit for
to take a formal examination, or to pose while an artist paints or photographs you

Verb + preposition/particle
allow for
to take a possible event or requirement into account when planning

Verb + preposition/particle

Idioms (23)

See all

Etymology

From Middle English for, from Old English for (“for, because of”), from Proto-Germanic *furi (“for”), from Proto-Indo-European *preh₂-. Cognate with West Frisian foar (“for”), Dutch voor (“for”), German für (“for”), Danish for (“for”), Swedish för (“for”), Norwegian for (“for”), Icelandic fyrir (“for”), Latin per (“by, through, for, by means of”) and Romance language descendants (e.g. Spanish por (“for”)), Ancient Greek περί (perí, “for, about, toward”), Lithuanian per (“by, through, during”), Slovak pre (“for”), Sanskrit परि (pári, “over, around”).

*preh₂- Proto-Indo-European for Old English *furi Proto-Germanic

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Grammar & Function Words

External links

# for

**Type:** Word
**Level:** A1
**Part of speech:** prep, conj
**IPA (US):** /fɔɹ/
**IPA (UK):** /fɔː/
**Frequency rank:** 17

## Meanings
1. Intended to belong to or be given to someone.
2. In order to help or benefit someone or something.
3. With a particular purpose or use.
4. In support of or in favour of something.
5. Because.

## Examples
- I have a present for you.
- She did it all for her children.
- This knife is for cutting bread.
- Everyone who is for the plan, please raise your hand.
- I stayed at home, for I had nowhere else to go.

## Antonyms
- against

## Derived Forms
- forasmuch
- forcause
- forever
- formenism
- forsooth
- forwhy
- herefor
- herefore
- wherefor
- wherefore

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *preh₂-
- Root: for
- Root: *furi

## Etymology
From Middle English for, from Old English for (“for, because of”), from Proto-Germanic *furi (“for”), from Proto-Indo-European *preh₂-. Cognate with West Frisian foar (“for”), Dutch voor (“for”), German für (“for”), Danish for (“for”), Swedish för (“for”), Norwegian for (“for”), Icelandic fyrir (“for”), Latin per (“by, through, for, by means of”) and Romance language descendants (e.g. Spanish por (“for”)), Ancient Greek περί (perí, “for, about, toward”), Lithuanian per (“by, through, during”), Slovak pre (“for”), Sanskrit परि (pári, “over, around”).

## AI Etymology
For comes from Middle English for, from Old English for (“for, because of”), from Proto-Germanic *furi (“for”), from Proto-Indo-European *preh₂-. Cognate with West Frisian foar (“for”), Dutch voor (“for”), German für (“for”), Danish for (“for”), Swedish för (“for”), Norwegian for (“for”), Icelandic fyrir (“for”), Latin per (“by, through, for, by means of”) and Romance language descendants (e.g. Spanish por (“for”)), Ancient Greek περί (perí, “for, about, toward”), Lithuanian per (“by, through, during”), Slovak pre (“for”), Sanskrit परि (pári, “over, around”). In current use, the main senses are “Intended to belong to or be given to someone” and “In order to help or benefit someone or something”.

## Topics
- Grammar & Function Words

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