so
- 1Used to introduce a result, meaning therefore or for that reason; in a reply, then.
The shop was closed, so we came home.
She studied hard and so passed easily.
UsageUse so or because, not both: it rained, so we stayed (not
incorrect: because it rained, so we stayed). - 2Very, extremely, or very much; used to intensify an adjective, adverb, or verb.
Thank you, that's so kind of you.
We were so tired after the journey.
UsageBefore a + adjective + noun, use such: such a kind man (not
incorrect: a so kind man).Similarvery, really, extremely, incredibly, terribly
- 3Short for so that: in order that, used to introduce the purpose of an action.
Write it down so you don't forget.
She moved closer so she could see the screen.
UsageUsually followed by can, could or will: so she could see. So that says the same and sounds more careful.
- 4
- 5To such a degree or extent, with the degree shown by a following that-clause, a gesture or the context.
The room was so dark that we couldn't see the door.
She spoke so quietly that nobody heard.
UsageUsually followed by that and a result: so dark that we couldn't see. In speech that is often left out.
- 6Used after do, does, did or doing in place of an action just mentioned, to avoid repeating it.
Passengers may leave their seats, but they should check that the seatbelt sign is off before doing so.
The committee was asked to publish its findings and does so every spring.
UsageMore common in writing than speech: before doing so, failing to do so. In conversation, do it or do that is usual.
Note
Do so normally stands in for actions rather than states, which is why she ran and he did so too works, but she knew the answer and he did so too sounds odd.
- 7In the same way or to the same degree as already mentioned, often with the verb before its subject, as in so did I.
She left early, and so did most of the guests.
Just as the day has its dawn, so the year has its spring.
UsageMatch the helping verb: after I'm tired, say so am I; after I swim, say so do I.
- 8Used to connect what has just been said or happened to a question that arises from it.
You've read the report. So what do you think?
The train's canceled. So how do we get home?
Less common meanings
- 9Used as a one-word question asking what follows from what was said, usually rhetorical, dismissive, or rude.
"It's raining." "So? We've got umbrellas."
"You're wearing odd socks." "So?"
UsageThe fuller form is So what?
- 10Totally or absolutely, placed before 'not' in a negative clause for emphasis, often mock-dramatically.
You are so not ready for this exam.
That outfit is so not you.
UsageIn speech, stress so strongly: 'I am SO not ready.'
Similartotally, definitely, absolutely
- 11That; used after verbs of thinking and saying to stand for what has just been mentioned.
"Will it rain?" "I don't think so."
He promised to come, and he told me so himself.
UsageFollows think, hope, suppose or say: I think so. For hope, the negative is I hope not (not
incorrect: I don't hope so). - 12Used instead of repeating an adjective phrase already mentioned, meaning in that state or manner.
Everyone was nervous, and the newcomers especially so.
The bridge was unsafe, and remained so for a decade.
UsageCommon after remain, become and especially: remained so, especially so.
- 13Used with a following 'as' to mean to such an extent or degree.
So far as I can tell, nothing is missing.
The fine was never so high as to put a small shop out of business.
UsageCommon in so far as, so long as, and the pattern so ... as to: so kind as to help.
- 14
- 15Indeed; used in replies that acknowledge something just pointed out, with the verb repeated after it.
"The clock's stopped." "So it has, how odd."
"That's your bus." "So it is, thanks."
UsageThe subject comes before the verb, unlike so do I: so it is, so it has.
Similarindeed
- 16Used to introduce a rhetorical question that dismisses an objection or a worry.
"You'll be tired tomorrow." "So who isn't?"
"We haven't got tickets." "So who said we needed tickets?"
- 17In music, the solfège syllable for the fifth note of a major scale, the dominant, between fa and la.
Sing the phrase again, starting on so.
The tune leaps from do up to so.
UsageAlso spelled sol; the plural is sos.
Similarsol
Note
A deliberate respelling. The older syllable was sol, taken from the first syllable of Latin solve, which Guido of Arezzo used for the fifth degree of his hexachord. Glover's solmization dropped the l so the syllable would end in a vowel like do, re, mi, fa and la.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
- So is a deliberate shortening of sol. en.wiktionary.org
- Sol derives from the first syllable of Latin solve and named the fifth degree of Guido of Arezzo's hexachord. en.wiktionary.org
- Glover's solmization shortened sol to make its ending consistent with the other vowel-final syllables. en.wiktionary.org
- 18In the manner that is being demonstrated, described or pointed at.
The instructor tilted the racket and said, "Keep your wrist angled like so."
Wrap the bandage once around the wrist and then over the thumb, like so, before taping the end down.
Similarthus
- 19Provided that or as long as, typically with a subjunctive verb.
Take what you will, so you leave me the horse.
As we cal money not onely that which is true and good, but also the false; so it be currant.
1603, Michel de Montaigne, The EssayesNote
A conditional conjunction standing where modern English would say so long as or provided that. Shakespeare's Launce says so she sleep not in her talk, and Milton writes so Truth be in the field. The subjunctive verb (sleep, be) marks the condition, though Robert Drury in 1729 pairs it with a plain was. In older texts, read it as a condition, not as the result conjunction.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 7 facts
- Older English so could introduce a condition meaning provided that or as long as. en.wiktionary.org
- Launce speaks the quoted words in Shakespeare's The Two Gentlemen of Verona. gutenberg.org
- John Milton wrote the quoted words in Areopagitica. en.wikisource.org
- Sleep and be are subjunctive forms in these conditional clauses. en.wikipedia.org
- Drury's narrative contains conditional so followed by was. gutenberg.org
- The narrative was first published in 1729 as Madagascar: or, Robert Drury's Journal. The first-edition title page reproduced in this scan is dated MDCCXXIX; 1743 is a later edition. archive.org
- The cited historical examples express conditions rather than results. en.wiktionary.org
- 20Homosexual, as a discreet code word used after a verb.
Similargay, homosexual
Note
Dated British slang that worked by saying almost nothing. A predicative adjective was used to hint at someone's sexuality without naming it. Is he so? therefore sounds much like the everyday is that so?, and only context separates it from the "true" meaning.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 4 facts
- So meaning homosexual is dated British slang. en.wiktionary.org
- The adjective served as a euphemism for someone's sexuality. en.wiktionary.org
- Is he so? exemplifies the predicative use. en.wiktionary.org
- So also has the meaning true. en.wiktionary.org
- 21Stand still or steady, said to a cow being milked or handled, and used by sailors at the ropes.
So, Daisy, so, the farmer murmured, easing the pail under her.
Haul away... so! Hold it there.
Note
A command to stay put, addressed above all to cows and also heard among sailors. It makes sense against the word's oldest meaning. Old English swā meant "so, as, the same," and the call asks the animal or the crew to remain just as they are.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
- So is an archaic command meaning to remain still, especially addressed to cows. en.wiktionary.org
- Sailors used so as a command to stop hauling a rope once it reached the required position. gutenberg.org
- The command belongs to inherited English so, whose Old English ancestor swā had the meanings quoted; its meaning 'remain as you are' is consistent with those senses. en.wiktionary.org
- 22Short for someone: used in dictionary entries and grammar notes as a placeholder for any person, like sb.
- 23An early Japanese dairy product made by reducing milk through long boiling, produced chiefly between the seventh and tenth centuries.
Showing meanings only.
More uses
- or soabout, or a little more or less, as in a week or so
Practice
Can you tell the meanings of so apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.
Origins
From Middle English so, from Old English swā ("so, as, the same, such"), from Proto-West Germanic *swā and Proto-Germanic *swa, probably going back to a Proto-Indo-European reflexive stem *swē. It is related to Dutch zo, German so, Swedish så, and Ancient Greek hōs ("as").
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 4 facts
- English so descends from Middle English so and Old English swā, with the stated meanings. en.wiktionary.org
- The ancestry includes Proto-West Germanic *swā and Proto-Germanic *swa. en.wiktionary.org
- Dutch zo, German so and Swedish så are related to English so. en.wiktionary.org
- Ancient Greek hōs, meaning as, is related to English so. en.wiktionary.org
Shortened from sol to make it an open syllable matching the rest of the scale. It comes through Glover's solmization from Middle English sol, the fifth note of Guido of Arezzo's scale, itself taken from the first syllable of Latin solve in the hymn Ut queant laxis.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 4 facts
- Musical so was shortened from sol to give it an open syllable matching the other scale syllables. en.wiktionary.org
- The musical term comes through Glover's solmization. en.wiktionary.org
- Middle English sol designated the fifth note of Guido of Arezzo's hexachordal scales. en.wiktionary.org
- Sol derives from the first syllable of Latin solve in Ut queant laxis. en.wikipedia.org