adv. 1. In addition; besides. 2. Likewise; too: If you will stay, I will also. conj. And in addition: It's a pretty cat, also friendly. [Middle English, from Old English ealswā : eall, all; see al-3 in the Appendix of Indo-European roots + swā, so; see SO1.] Usage Note: Some people maintain that it is wrong to begin a sentence with also. In our 2014 survey, however, 70 percent of the Usage Panel found the usage acceptable in this example: The warranty covers all power train components. Also, participating dealers back their work with a free lifetime service guarantee. Given this high rate of acceptance, as well as the fact that it is perfectly normal to start sentences with other conjunctive adverbs such as furthermore, there seems no reason to condemn this usage of also. |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.