Skip to the word

Added 9 October 2026

alike

/əˈlaɪk/ adjective

adjective Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about alike at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

Having resemblance or similitude; similar; without difference.
Twins are physically alike, that is, similar-looking people on the outside.

adverb

In the same manner, form, or degree; in common; equally.
We are all alike concerned in religion.
Used after a list of subjects to indicate that something applies equally to all of them.
The new policy will benefit employees and customers alike.

Origin

The adjective comes from a conflation of several different terms: * Middle English alich, alych, alyke, a Late Middle English development from earlier Middle English anlich, anlyke, from Old English onlīċ, anlīċ. Compare German ähnlich. * The borrowed Old Norse cognate of the same word, álíkr, ultimately yielding similar Late Middle English forms. * Middle English ylich, ylych, ilich, ylik, ylike, ȝelic, from Old English ġelīċ (“like; alike; similar; equal”), from Proto-West Germanic *galīk, from Proto-Germanic *galīkaz (“alike, similar”).

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

Back to today's word