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same

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adjective, adverb, pronoun American English pronunciation: same /seɪm/
Same can be used in the following ways:
as an adjective (after "the," "this," "that," "these," or "those"): We both went to the same school. ♦ Our new competitors are those same people who once asked us to help them.
as a pronoun (after "the"): I'd do the same if I had the chance.
as an adverb (after "the"): The twins always dress the same.
The same is often followed by "as" or "that": Three-twelfths is the same as a quarter. ♦ I've got the same problem as you. ♦ It's the same film that they showed last year.
In informal spoken English "the" is sometimes left out before same: We'll meet again next week, same time, same place. But in written English same is almost always used with "the," "this," "that," etc.
 
  1. 1
    used for saying that a particular person or thing is the one that you are referring to and not a different one

    Sometimes U.N. troops and their commanders may not even speak the same language.

    the same... as:

    We were staying at the same hotel as my parents.

    the same... that:

    Was this the same Timothy Evans that Carol had gone to school with?

    this/that/these/those same:

    At first many schools resisted the reforms, but those same schools are now seeing the most improvement.

    the very same (=exactly the same):

    I was born on the very same day that my father died.

    "Do you mean Vendelin Gajdusek, the Czech writer?" "The very same!"

  2. 2
    exactly like another person, thing, or way of doing something

    She did not want to make the same mistake again.

    The two pictures look the same to me – I can't tell them apart.

    the same... as:

    Her eyes are the same color as yours.

    Animals feel pain the same as we do.

    just the same:

    Kevin gets bored very quickly. His Dad was just the same.

    much the same (=almost the same):

    Stuart's opinion on this subject was much the same as mine.

    Thesaurus entry for this meaning of same
  3. 3
    used for saying that someone or something has not changed

    The government policy has remained the same since 1991.

    the same as:

    "How is Frances?" "Oh, she's still the same as always."

    much the same (=almost the same):

    The countryside looks much the same as it did 200 years ago.

  4. 4
    used for saying that one number, amount, price, etc. is equal to another

    The four sides of a square are all the same length.

    the same as:

    One centimeter is the same as ten millimeters.

    A one-bedroom apartment in San Francisco costs almost the same as a five-bedroom house in Omaha.

    Thesaurus entry for this meaning of same

phrases

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This is the American English definition of same. View British English definition of same.

Change your default dictionary and thesaurus to British English.

View the pronunciation for same.

 

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