ABSTRACT
At last we have reached the point where you may have expected us to start. After all, what is the study of word meaning if not the study of how to define words? But what about the distinctions that we have built up so carefully? You should now be able to see that it is non-sense to talk of ‘defining words’ in the way that most people do, Let’s take as our starting point a typical dictionary definition (taken from the Collins Cobuild Student’s Dictionary):
(1) A bicycle is a vehicle with two wheels which you ride by sitting on it and pushing two pedals with your feet.
