Which English word do you think has the most different meanings?

[-]

Bar as a noun has quite a few! 1. Place where you buy drinks 2. The counter over which the drinks are sold 3. A rod or pole (eg 5 bar gate) 4. An ingot or slab (eg chocolate bar) 5. The profession of barristering 6. Something that is blocking something else 7. A standard 8. (US so doesn't really count) the exam sat by aspiring lawyers

Reply

[-]

AccidentAccomplished@reddit

they call it the bar in the UK

Reply

[-]

evertonblue@reddit

Also a musical term for a segment of music

Reply

[-]

alexdelp1er0@reddit

It's set.

Reply

[-]

morris_man@reddit

It used to be "set" with 430 meanings but had been overtaken by "run" with 645 meanings.

Reply

[-]

Shitelark@reddit

How can a word just gain 200 meanings to overtake another?

Reply

[-]

Ginger_Grumpybunny@reddit

Good question. The only one I can think of is a run (aka ladder) in a pair of tights etc, which possibly only happens with relatively modern fabrics (I don't think tights as we know them existed until the mid 20th century).

Reply

[-]

ONLY_SAYS_ONLY@reddit

Hard work and a “go get ‘em” attitude.

Reply

[-]

Harrry-Otter@reddit (OP)

Good shout. I’m counting “to dry out”, “to put in place”, a sporting term, a mathematical term and a collection of things. Could be a tie on 5, am I missing any?

Reply

[-]

alexdelp1er0@reddit

Plenty. TV set. Badger's set. Set a time. To start. Etc.

Reply

[-]

Harrry-Otter@reddit (OP)

I guess you could argue “to set a time” and “to set a bone” are the same usage of “set” as “to put something in place”, and I always thought badgers lived in setts. Still though, a lot of meanings.

Reply

[-]

PM-me-your-cuppa-tea@reddit

There were 430 listed in the OED, only a few more than 5!!

Reply

[-]

nepeta19@reddit

Just looked it up and apparently "sett" or "set" can be used for the badger home.

Reply

[-]

Eoin_McLove@reddit

Yeah, this is objectively the correct answer.

Reply

[-]

vvvvaaaagggguuuueeee@reddit

Set

Reply

[-]

SloightlyOnTheHuh@reddit

The answer is "set"

Reply

[-]

Soggy_Disco_Biscuit@reddit

Set

Reply

[-]

MsDani_Marie@reddit

Something in the back of my mind is saying that the answer is 'set'. You have a set of things, game set and match, set custard, set square, a social 'set', etc. May be wrong, of course. I'm not sure where I got this from 😂

Reply

[-]

tobotic@reddit

Set has the most numbered entries in the Oxford English Dictionary.

Reply

[-]

PabloMarmite@reddit

Yeah I’m pretty sure I remember this from an ancient trivia question somewhere, I’m pretty sure it’s ‘set’.

Reply

[-]

LoudComplex0692@reddit

A badger’s sett! (Are homophones allowed?)

Reply

[-]

Dense_Imagination984@reddit

🧐☝️homonyms?

Reply

[-]

LoudComplex0692@reddit

No, homophones. They sound the same but are spelt differently. Homonyms are spelt the same but mean different things (e.g. bat 🦇 and bat 🏏)

Reply

[-]

Dense_Imagination984@reddit

Oh fuck. As I wrote the comment I knew I shouldn't have tried to get clever i feel sheepish. But now I know lol

Reply

[-]

Round_Engineer8047@reddit

I thought 'homonym' was the lyric to the Muppet song.

Reply

[-]

LoudComplex0692@reddit

It’s all good, they’re very similar sounding and meaning words (topically!)

Reply

[-]

Dense_Imagination984@reddit

easy to confuse. me also

Reply

[-]

edhitchon1993@reddit

Bastard as a noun can mean: one born out of wedlock, good friend, foe, or curmudgeon - but it's also a good exclamation and can be an adjective meaning either something no longer in its pure or original form, or particularly difficult or arduous. It's not going to win for most meanings, but it's very versatile.

Reply

[-]

Rocky-bar@reddit

Also a rough file.

Reply

[-]

plankton_lover@reddit

It's also part of some animal names (my favourite one is the Northern Bastard Codling, which is a fish)!

Reply

[-]

edhitchon1993@reddit

I know that it's probably because it's not quite a codling - but I am choosing to believe it's a particularly difficult fish to deal with and it crossed one too many biologists.

Reply

[-]

edhitchon1993@reddit

Also if you're in the environs of Derby, I've some going cheap!

Reply

[-]

Rocky-bar@reddit

The name Jack has quite a few. Car jack, jack of all trades, every man jack, she's got the jack, jacks the childrens game, jack of diamonds, jack tar, jack frost, scrumpy jack, jack plug, I'm sure there's others.

Reply

[-]

RaspberryNo101@reddit

Shit? Dog shit, bat shit, bullshit, good shit, bad shit, the shit - it just keeps on giving.

Reply

[-]

Ysbrydion@reddit

Attending language exchanges, the top contender was 'get'.

Reply

[-]

hedoesmore@reddit

Cup has got to be up there? noun cup verb to cup imperial measurement cup that's all I got.

Reply

[-]

Tumeni1959@reddit

Well, I can clearly remember seeing one in the dictionary years back that had way more than five different definitions, but I'm not inclined to go leafing through the whole volume to find it. Sorry.

Reply

[-]

Buddy-Matt@reddit

[Fuck](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=26UA578yQ5g)

Reply

[-]

ljr69@reddit

Can be used as almost every word in a sentence. Fuck the fucking fuckers!

Reply

[-]

HMSWarspite03@reddit

Fuckin right it is

Reply

[-]

Dense_Imagination984@reddit

me

Reply

[-]

NafariousJabberWooki@reddit

This.

Reply

[-]

gr33nday4ever@reddit

that

Reply

[-]

saswir@reddit

Fuck

Reply

[-]

ChillWillIll@reddit

It

Reply

[-]

Nrysis@reddit

Dude

Reply

[-]

Particular_Aide_3825@reddit

I'm fine

Reply

[-]

Mountain_Strategy342@reddit

"fine" I know when my wife says it there are a thousand different meanings but none of them are good.

Reply

[-]

Ginger_Grumpybunny@reddit

Joking aside, it does have multiple meanings, e.g. a financial penalty; to impose such a penalty; thin (e.g. a fine line); high quality; OK; consisting of small particles... I'm sure there are many more.

Reply

[-]

Londunnit@reddit

Mole (pronounced mo-lay) is an awesome sauce for chicken or enchiladas as well! [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mole\_(sauce)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mole_(sauce))

Reply

[-]

Figgzyvan@reddit

Set. Has the most definitions in the dictionary

Reply

[-]

Charlilouise03@reddit

Run

Reply

[-]

mhoulden@reddit

I've seen a whole comedy routine about "bollocks".

Reply

[-]

RikardOsenzi@reddit

[The OED says "set" has 64 meanings (17 of which are obsolete).](https://www.oed.com/dictionary/set_n1)

Reply

[-]

AlunWH@reddit

It was ‘set’ (430 different uses) but has been overtaken by ‘run’ (645 different uses).

Reply

[-]

Boroboy72@reddit

Shit

Reply

[-]

OkFlow1178@reddit

It’s “run”, according to the Oxford English Dictionary.

Reply

[-]

shushlarzid@reddit

Bollocks.

Reply

[-]

AutoModerator@reddit

**Please help keep AskUK welcoming!** - When repling to submission/post please **make genuine efforts to answer the question given**. Please no jokes, judgements, etc. - **Don't be a dick** to each other. If getting heated, just block and move on. - This is a strictly **no-politics** subreddit! Please help us by reporting comments that break these rules. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/AskUK) if you have any questions or concerns.*

Reply

Reply to Post

60 Comments