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said

v.
A1 Beginner US //ˈsɛd// UK //sˈɛd// said

v. to use your voice to express thoughts, facts, or feelings. You use this when you report what someone else told you.

v. to utter words so as to convey information, an opinion, a feeling or intention, or an instruction. The past tense and past participle form of 'say'.


SIMPLE

She said hello to me this morning.

CONTEXTUAL

The manager said that the meeting would be postponed until next Tuesday at the earliest.

COMPLEX

While the report said very little about the specific causes of the failure, it highlighted several systemic vulnerabilities that required immediate attention from the board.

Synonyms
Origin

From Middle English seide (preterite) and seid, iseid (past participle), from Old English sǣde, sæġde (preterite) and ġesæġd (past participle), equivalent to say + -ed.

Usage

The verb is transitive; when used with a person as the indirect object, it requires the preposition 'to'.

Pitfall

He said me the truthHe told me the truth'Say' cannot take an indirect object (the person) without the preposition 'to'. Use 'tell' for a direct person-object construction.

Idioms5 entries

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