row
part of speech
noun (row, rows); verb (row, rows, rowed, rowing); noun and verb «row» said like «cow» (a noisy argument; to argue — UK, Ireland, Australia)
meaning for a pupil
1) A row is a line of things or people side by side: a row of chairs. tree →
2) To row is to move a boat through water using oars. tree →
3) «In a row» means one after the other with no break: three wins in a row. tree →
4) A row (said like «cow») is a noisy quarrel; to row is to argue loudly. tree →
5) In a table or spreadsheet a row goes across; a column goes down. tree →
6) (casual) «A tough row to hoe» (US) means a hard job; «kick up a row» (UK) means complain loudly; «what's all this row?» means what's the noise. tree →
7) (rough) «Have a blazing row», «get a row» (Ireland, Scotland: get told off) means a loud, angry fight or a telling-off. tree →
8) (formal) The exam voice says «a linear arrangement», «a rank», «a tier», «consecutively» (in a row), «an altercation» (a quarrel). tree →
sense in the lessons
one of several equal groups set out in a line («N rows of M» = N × M; a total put into N equal rows = divide by N); in maths arrays have rows (across) and columns (up and down); in class «sit in rows», «the front row»; in everyday life rowing a boat, «in a row», «a row of houses»; in casual and rough talk a family row, «you'll get a row»; in the exam voice «arranged in 3 rows», «a linear arrangement», «on 3 consecutive days» (in a row)
examples
- There are 2 rows of books with 7 books in every row. tree →
- Mia plants 4 rows of tulips with 5 tulips in each row. tree →
- 24 chairs are set in 3 equal rows. How many chairs are in each row? tree →
- I sit in the front row in class. tree →
- Rows go across; columns go up and down. tree →
- We rowed the boat across the lake. tree →
- Always wear a life jacket when you row a boat. tree →
- It rained three days in a row. tree →
- My brothers had a row about the TV. tree →
- you'll get a right row if you're late again tree →
- 5 rows of 4 chairs, sorry, 6 rows, how many chairs tree →
- Twenty-four seats are arranged in 3 rows of equal length; determine the number of seats per row. tree →
- They leaped into it, and rowed swiftly away. tree →
note
«N rows of M» is N × M; a total put into N equal rows is divided by N. Trap: a single row asks for a count, not a product. Rows go across and columns go down: 3 rows of 4 is an array of 12. «three days in a row» or «on 3 consecutive days» is a run with no break. In a self-correction («5 rows, sorry, 6 rows») use the last number: 6 × 4 = 24. «row» (line, boat) rhymes with «go»; «row» (fight) rhymes with «cow»: a row about the TV is not a line.
In the corpora
- Coming home with flowers the day after a row is making up, a way of saying sorry and wanting to be friends again.
- Most of the time it goes smoothly, but small things like a hedge or a parked car can grow into big rows.
- A friendly word early stops a big row later.
- Parking rows are common, and knocking politely usually works better than an angry note.
- Sharks lose teeth all the time and grow new ones from the rows behind, some tens of thousands in a lifetime.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «row» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.