list

LIST/lɪst/

Plurallists

Verblists, listing, listed

28 meanings of list

Practice

1
set of itemsnouncountable
A set of names, things, or jobs put one after another, usually written down.
Like writing each thing on its own line so you don't forget any of them.
She wrote a shopping list before going to the store.
My to-do list keeps getting longer every day.
UsageSay your name is on the list. Add milk to the list.
Similarcatalog, register, roster, inventory, index
Note
2
write out itemsverbtransitive
To write down or say a set of things one after another.
Like naming things one by one so none gets missed.
Please list everything you need from the store.
The teacher asked us to list three reasons for the war.
Similarenumerate, itemize, name, record, catalog
3
verbtransitive
To add something to an official list or record.
The agent will list the house for sale next week.
They listed his number in the phone book.
UsageAn agent lists a house for sale.
Similarregister, record, enter, include
4
stock marketverbintransitive
For a company, to start having its shares bought and sold on a stock market.
Like a stall opening at a market so people can come and buy from it.
The company will list on the New York exchange next month.
Their shares now list on two different markets.
UsageSay a company lists on a stock market.
Similarfloat
Oppositedelist
Note
5
heritage statusverbtransitive
To officially protect an old or important building so it cannot be changed freely.
Like putting a fence around something old so no one can knock it down.
The council voted to list the old mill because of its history.
They want to list every Victorian house on the street.
UsageSay a listed building for one that is protected.
Similardesignate, protect, schedule
Note

Less common meanings

6
nouncountable
In computing, a set of items stored together in order, one after another.
Like a row of boxes where each box holds one thing and points to the next box.
The program saves each name in a list.
In Python, a list can hold numbers, words, or a mix of both.
Note
7
tilt (ship)verbintransitive
To lean to one side, like a ship taking in water, or to make something lean.
Like a bike leaning to one side just before it tips over.
The boat began to list after it hit the rocks.
The ferry listed sharply when the cargo shifted.
UsageUse to before the direction: the ship listed to one side.
Similarlean, tilt, tip
Note
8
ship's tiltnouncountable
A lean to one side, as of a ship in the water or an old tower.
Like a stack of books that slowly leans to one side until it might fall.
The damaged ship had a dangerous list to the left.
We felt the boat's list grow worse as water came in.
UsageSay the ship had a list to the left.
Similarlean, tilt, slant
Note
9
verbintransitive
For a product, to be for sale at a certain price, usually the price the company sets.
These sneakers list at $120, but I found them on sale.
The new phone lists for $799 in most stores.
UsageSay the phone lists for $799.
Similarretail, sell
Note
10
nounhistoricalcountableplural
The fenced field where knights fought each other in contests.
Like the fence around a sports field that keeps the players inside.
The knights waited at each end of the lists before charging.
They ran down to the lists and Peter came outside the ropes to meet them, his face red and sweaty, his chest heaving.
1951, C. S. Lewis, Prince CaspianHere, lists means the fenced ground where knights fought in contests.
Similararena
Note
11
listenverbliteraryintransitive
An old word meaning to listen or to listen to something.
Like staying very quiet so you can hear a soft sound.
List, and you will hear the bells across the valley.
List! Do you hear the church bells far away?
Similarlisten, hark
Note
12
verbobsoletetransitive
To sign someone up to serve as a soldier.
"I have a gun, madam," said little Julian, "and the park-keeper is to teach me how to fire it next year." / "I will list you for my soldier, then," said the Countess.
1822, [Walter Scott], Peveril of the PeakHere, list means sign someone up as a soldier.
Note
13
nounobsolete
A stripe or band of color on a surface.
Note
14
boundarynounobsolete
A boundary, edge, or limit of an area.
Note
15
skillnounarchaicuncountable
Skill, cleverness, or cunning in doing something.
One man can accomplish with list (magic), that which a thousand could not accomplish, regardless of how strong they were.
2008, Jon B. Sherman, The Magician in Medieval German Literature (unpublished Ph.D. dissertation)Here, list means cunning or clever skill, like magic.
For when the guileful monster smiled / Snakes left their holes and hissed,— / And stroking soft his silken beard / Raised creatures full of list.
1897, Lilian Winser, “Lossenbury Woods”Here, list means cunning or craft.
Note
16
noun
The finished edge of a piece of cloth, or a strip cut from that edge and used for other jobs.
17
noun
A thin strip of wood cut from the edge of a board or plank.
18
verb
To cut a thin strip of wood from the edge of a board.
19
verb
To cover the edges of something with strips of cloth, or decorate it with stripes.
He raised his eyes and saw / The tree that shone white-listed thro' the gloom.
1859, Alfred Tennyson, “Vivien”Here, white-listed means marked with white stripes, like strips of cloth.
20
verb
To make rows of raised soil and furrows in a field, ready for planting seeds.
21
verb
To fence off an area of ground so that people can fight there.
22
noun
A small square strip used as a decorative edge in building work.
23
noun
A piece of woolen cloth a worker uses to grip the yarns.
24
noun
A thin first layer of tin, or the thin rim of tin left on a plate's edge after coating.
25
verbobsolete
To sign up to serve, especially in the army.
26
verbarchaic
To want to do something.
The spirit seemed to blow where it listed among a historically motley collection of Catholic theologians, Puritan zealots and American squires.
1994, John [Wyon] Burrow, The Historian: The Magazine for Members of the Historical Association
27
verbarchaic
To make someone happy or be what they like.
Might then I depart, and dwell as listeth me, out of all the world?
2016, Graydon Saunders, Safely You Deliver
28
nounobsolete
A wish or wanting.
I know too much: / I finde it, I; for when I ha liſt to ſleepe, / Mary, before your Ladiſhip I grant, / She puts her tongue alittle in her heart, / And chides with thinking.
c. 1603, William Shakespeare, The Tragœdy of Othello

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of list apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origins

Meanings 1–6, 9–10, 12–14

This 'list' came from old Germanic words meaning a band, strip, edge, or border. Later it came to mean a written list.

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

The word ultimately derives from Germanic words for a strip, edge, or border. upload.wikimedia.org
The meaning subsequently developed into an enumeration in writing. en.wikisource.org

Meaning 15

This 'list' came from an Old English word meaning skill, cleverness, or cunning.

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

This sense of list derives from Old English list, meaning skill, cleverness, or cunning. en.wiktionary.org

Meaning 11

This 'list' came from an Old English word meaning to listen or hearing.

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

This sense of 'list' derives from Old English hlystan, meaning 'to listen', ultimately related to hlyst, 'hearing'. en.wiktionary.org

Meanings 7–8

No one knows for sure where this word comes from. It may be linked to the "lists", the fighting grounds where riders tilted at each other in jousts. Or it may come from the idea of leaning toward something you want.

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 4 facts

The origin of list meaning to tilt or lean is uncertain. en.wiktionary.org
List may derive from tilting on lists in jousts. en.wiktionary.org
The lists were the grounds where jousting took place. en.wikipedia.org
List may derive from the idea of inclining towards something desired. en.wiktionary.org