well

Universal Words adverb, adjective, exclamation, noun, verb adverb (better ) 1 in a good, right or satisfactory way: The kids all behaved well. * The conference was very well organized. * (spoken) Well done! (= expressing admiration for what sb has done) * His campaign was not going well. * These animals make very good pets if treated well (= with kindness). * People spoke well of (= spoke with approval of) him. * She took it very well (= did not react too badly), all things considered. * They lived well (= in comfort and spending a lot of money) and were generous with their money. * She was determined to marry well (= marry sb rich and / or with a high social position). 2 thoroughly and completely: Add the lemon juice and mix well. * The surface must be well prepared before you start to paint. * How well do you know Carla? * He's well able to take care of himself. * (BrE, spoken, informal) I was well annoyed, I can tell you. 3 to a great extent or degree: He was driving at well over the speed limit. * a well-loved tale * The castle is well worth a visit. * He liked her well enough (= to a reasonable degree) but he wasn't going to make a close friend of her. 4 can / could ~ easily: She could well afford to pay for it herself. 5 can / could / may / might ~ probably: You may well be right. * It may well be that the train is delayed. 6 can / could / may / might ~ with good reason: I can't very well leave now. * I couldn't very well refuse to help them, could I? * 'What are we doing here?' 'You may well ask (= I don't really know either).' IDIOMS as well (as sb/sth) in addition to sb/sth; too: Are they coming as well? * They sell books as well as newspapers. * She is a talented musician as well as being a photographer. -< ALSO be doing well to be getting healthier after an illness; to be in good health after a birth: Mother and baby are doing well. be well on the way to sth / doing sth to have nearly achieved sth and be going to achieve it soon: She is well on the way to recovery. * He is well on the way to establishing himself among the top ten players in the world. be well out of sth (BrE, informal) to be lucky that you are not involved in sth: I don't know exactly what's been going on. I only know that you're well out of it. be well up in sth to know a lot about sth: He's well up in all the latest developments. do well to be successful: Jack is doing very well at school. do well by sb to treat sb generously do well for yourself to become successful or rich do well out of sb/sth to make a profit or get money from sb/sth do well to do sth to be sensible or wise to do sth: He would do well to concentrate more on his work. * You did well to sell when the price was high. leave / let well alone (BrE) (AmE let well enough alone) to not get involved in sth that does not concern you: When it comes to other people's arguments, it's better to leave well alone. may / might (just) as well do sth to do sth because it seems best in the situation that you are in, although you may not really want to do it: If no one else wants it, we might as well give it to him. well and truly (informal) completely: By that time we were well and truly lost. well away (BrE, informal) 1 having made good progress: If we got Terry to do that, we'd be well away. 2 drunk or fast asleep well in (with sb) (informal) to be good friends with sb, especially sb important: She seems to be well in with all the right people. well off 1 having a lot of money; rich: His family is not very well off. * The less well-off pensioners are finding it hard to survive on what they get. 2 in a good situation: Some people don't know when they're well off (= do not realize how lucky they are). well off for sth having plenty of sth: We're well off for storage space in the new offices. moreatBLOODY, FUCKING, JOLLYadv., KNOWv., MEANv., PRETTYadv. adjective (better ) 1 [notusuallybeforenoun] in good health: I don't feel very well. * Is she well enough to travel? * Get well soon! (for example, on a card) * I'm better now, thank you. * (informal) He's not a well man. -> HEALTHY 2 [notbeforenoun] in a satisfactory state or position: It seems that all is not well at home. * All's well that ends well (= used when sth has ended happily, even though you thought it might not). 3 [notbeforenoun] (as) ~ (to do sth) sensible; a good idea: It would be just as well to call and say we might be late. * (formal) It would be well to start early. IDIOMS all very well (for sb) (to do sth) (informal) used to criticize or reject a remark that sb has made, especially when they were trying to make you feel happier about sth: It's all very well for you to say it doesn't matter, but I've put a lot of work into this and I want it to be a success. all well and good (informal) good but not completely satisfactory: That's all well and good, but why didn't he call her to say so? exclamation 1 used to express surprise, anger or RELIEF: Well, well-I would never have guessed it! * Well, really! What a thing to say! * Well, thank goodness that's over! 2 used to show that you accept that sth cannot be changed: Well, it can't be helped. * 'We lost.' 'Oh, well. Better luck next time.' 3 used to agree to sth, rather unwillingly: Well, I suppose I could fit you in at 3.45. * Oh, very well, then, if you insist. 4 used when continuing a conversation after a pause: Well, as I was saying... 5 used to express uncertainty: 'Do you want to come?' 'Well, I'm not sure.' 6 used to show that you are waiting for sb to say sth: Well? Are you going to tell us or not? 7 used to mark the end of a conversation: Well, I'd better be going now. 8 used when you are pausing to consider your next words: I think it happened, well, towards the end of last summer. 9 used when you want to correct or change sth that you have just said: There were thousands of people there-well, hundreds, anyway. IDIOMS well I never (did)! (old-fashioned) used to express surprise moreatSAYv. noun 1 a deep hole in the ground from which people obtain water. The sides of wells are usually covered with brick or stone and there is usually some covering or a small wall at the top of the well: to dig / sink a well 2 = OILWELL 3 a narrow space in a building that drops down from a high to a low level and usually contains a staircase or lift/elevator seealsoSTAIRWELL 4 (BrE) the space in front of the judge in a court of law, where the lawyers sit verb [V] ~ (up) 1 (of a liquid) to rise to the surface of sth and start to flow: Tears were welling up in her eyes. 2 (literary) (of an emotion) to become stronger: Hate welled up inside him as he thought of the two of them together. ______________________________ GRAMMARPOINT well Compound adjectives beginning with well are generally written with no hyphen when they are used alone after a verb, but with a hyphen when they come before a noun: She is well dressed. * a well-dressed woman. The forms without hyphens are given here, but forms with hyphens can be seen in some examples. The comparative and superlative forms of these are usually formed with better and best: better-known poets * the best-dressed person in the room. ______________________________