kind

phrases

• be the kind

  to be a particular type of person

  I guess I'm not the marrying kind.

  be the kind of:

  He wasn't the kind of bloke to get into trouble.

  Thesaurus entry for this meaning of kind

• the biggest/best etc of its/their kind

  used to say that one thing is bigger, better etc than other similar things

  The bridge is the largest of its kind in the world.

  products that are some of the best examples of their kind

  Thesaurus entry for this meaning of kind

• in kind

  1. 1

     payments, benefits etc in kind are in the form of goods or services instead of money

     A car is a benefit in kind.

     Many companies have donated gifts in kind.

     Thesaurus entry for this meaning of kind
  2. 2

     respond in kind

     to behave to someone in the same way that they have behaved to you

     They responded in kind, threatening to ban imports from Japan.

     Thesaurus entry for this meaning of kind

• kind of

  spoken
  used when you are talking about someone or something in a general way without being very exact or definite

  It kind of brings up an issue we talked about at the first meeting.

  He was kind of strange, but I liked him.

  Thesaurus entry for this meaning of kind

• someone's kind of

  the type of person or thing that someone likes

  It doesn't quite seem like your kind of club.

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• nothing of the kind

  1. 1

     used for emphasizing that someone or something is not of a particular type

     It is billed as a comedy, but is nothing of the kind.

     Thesaurus entry for this meaning of kind
  2. 2

     used for saying politely but firmly that you disagree with someone

     I can assure you I did nothing of the kind.

     Thesaurus entry for this meaning of kind

• of a kind

  used for saying that something is not as good as it should be

  Town planning of a kind got underway after the war.

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• one of a kind

  used for saying that someone or something is completely different from other people or things

  My Aunt Mary is one of a kind. She's eighty, and not afraid of anything.

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• something of the kind

  1. 1

     used for referring to something that has already been mentioned

     I had rather expected something of the kind might happen.

     Thesaurus entry for this meaning of kind
  2. 2

     used for describing someone in a general way

     She's a librarian, or something of the kind.

     Thesaurus entry for this meaning of kind

• two/three etc of a kind

  used to say that two, three etc people or things are very similar and therefore go well together or belong together

  I'm not surprised they're friends – they're two of a kind.

  Thesaurus entry for this meaning of kind