FluentPlex

say

/seɪ/ verb A1
  1. To pronounce. (transitive) · Please say your name slowly and clearly.
  2. To recite. (transitive) · Martha, will you say the Pledge of Allegiance?
  3. To tell, either verbally or in writing. (transitive) · He said he would be here tomorrow.· The note I think he said she wrote is nowhere to be found.
  4. To indicate in a written form. (transitive) · The sign says it’s 50 kilometres to Paris.· What time does it say on the clock?
  5. To have a common expression; used in singular passive voice or plural active voice to indicate a rumor or well-known fact. (transitive) · They say "when in Rome, do as the Romans do", which means "behave as those around you do."
  6. Suppose, assume; used to mark an example, supposition or hypothesis. (informal, transitive) · A holiday somewhere warm – Florida, say – would be nice.· Say he refuses. What do we do then?
  7. To speak; to express an opinion; to make answer; to reply. (intransitive)
  8. To bet as a wager on an outcome; by extension, used to express belief in an outcome by the speaker. (informal, transitive)

Plural say · He/she/it says · Past said · Past participle said · -ing form saying

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Verb forms

Base form
say
He/she/it
says
Past
said
Past participle
said
-ing form
saying

An irregular verb: learn its past and past participle by heart.

From the library

They say joy never hurts, and so I came to you without any warning.
The Count of Monte Cristo, p. 12 · C1
“God forgive me,” said the young man, “for rejoicing at happiness derived from the misery of others, but, Heaven knows, I did not seek this good fortune; it has happened, and I really cannot pretend to lament it.
The Count of Monte Cristo, p. 13 · C1
“’Tis nothing, nothing; it will soon pass away”—and as he said so the old man’s strength failed him, and he fell backwards.
The Count of Monte Cristo, p. 13 · C1
“Come, come,” said the young man, “a glass of wine, father, will revive you.
The Count of Monte Cristo, p. 13 · C1

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Words, meanings, pronunciations and translations from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); how common each word is from wordfreq. Made into this dictionary by FluentPlex.