I

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does I mean? 

• I (noun)
  The noun I has 3 senses:

1. a nonmetallic element belonging to the halogens; used especially in medicine and photography and in dyes; occurs naturally only in combination in small quantities (as in sea water or rocks)

2. the smallest whole number or a numeral representing this number

3. the 9th letter of the Roman alphabet

  Familiarity information: I used as a noun is uncommon.

• I (adjective)
  The adjective I has 1 sense:

1. used of a single unit or thing; not two or more

  Familiarity information: I used as an adjective is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• I (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A nonmetallic element belonging to the halogens; used especially in medicine and photography and in dyes; occurs naturally only in combination in small quantities (as in sea water or rocks)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting substances

Synonyms:

atomic number 53; I; iodin; iodine

Hypernyms ("I" is a kind of...):

chemical element; element (any of the more than 100 known substances (of which 92 occur naturally) that cannot be separated into simpler substances and that singly or in combination constitute all matter)

halogen (any of five related nonmetallic elements (fluorine or chlorine or bromine or iodine or astatine) that are all monovalent and readily form negative ions)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "I"):

iodine-131 (heavy radioactive isotope of iodine with a half-life of 8 days; used in a sodium salt to diagnose thyroid disease and to treat goiter)

iodine-125 (light radioactive isotope of iodine with a half-life of 60 days; used as a tracer in thyroid studies and as a treatment for hyperthyroidism)

Holonyms ("I" is a substance of...):

brine; saltwater; seawater (water containing salts)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The smallest whole number or a numeral representing this number

Classified under:

Nouns denoting quantities and units of measure

Synonyms:

1; ace; I; one; single; unity

Context example:

they had lunch at one

Hypernyms ("I" is a kind of...):

digit; figure (one of the elements that collectively form a system of numeration)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "I"):

monad; monas (a singular metaphysical entity from which material properties are said to derive)

singleton (a single object (as distinguished from a pair))

Sense 3

Meaning:

The 9th letter of the Roman alphabet

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Hypernyms ("I" is a kind of...):

alphabetic character; letter; letter of the alphabet (the conventional characters of the alphabet used to represent speech)

Holonyms ("I" is a member of...):

Latin alphabet; Roman alphabet (the alphabet evolved by the ancient Romans which serves for writing most of the languages of western Europe)

• I (adjective)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Used of a single unit or thing; not two or more

Synonyms:

1; ane; i; one

Context example:

'ane' is Scottish

Similar:

cardinal (being or denoting a numerical quantity but not order)

 Context examples 

“But for all that,” continued the lawyer, “there’s one point I want to ask. I want to ask the name of that man who walked over the child.”

(The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

Towards morning I slept and was wakened by the continuous knocking at my door, so I guess I must have been sleeping soundly then.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

“If you strike that dog again, I’ll kill you,” he at last managed to say in a choking voice.

(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)

What should I do if they occur?

(Medication Errors, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

Is not this pessimism of the blackest?

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

And yet I believe that my eyes are as good as yours.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

“Is there a train to North Walsham to-night?”

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

"What I like about it is the struggle, the endeavor with one's own hands, the primitiveness of it, the realness."

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

"I took out six fish. One Ear didn't get no fish. I came back to the bag afterward an' got 'm his fish."

(White Fang, by Jack London)

Everyone thought soberly for a minute, then Meg announced, as if the idea was suggested by the sight of her own pretty hands, "I shall give her a nice pair of gloves."

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)