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Added 7 October 2026

even

/ˈiːvən/ adjective

In Latin: plānus Wiktionary

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

Flat and level.
Clear out those rocks. The surface must be even.
Without great variation.
Despite her fear, she spoke in an even voice.
Equal in proportion, quantity, size, etc.
The distribution of food must be even.

noun

An even number.
So let's see. There are two evens here and three odds.

adverb

Exactly; just; fully.
I fulfilled my instructions even as I had promised.
In reality (used to imply an extreme example in the case mentioned).
Did you even make it through the front door?
Used as an intensifier to emphasise that something is still the case despite circumstances.
Even a blind squirrel finds an acorn sometimes.

verb

To make flat and level.
We need to even this playing field; the west goal is too low.
To equal or equate; to make the same.
To be equal.
Thrice nine evens twenty seven.

Origin

From Middle English even, from Old English efn (“flat; level, even, equal”), from Proto-West Germanic *ebn, from Proto-Germanic *ebnaz, from Proto-Indo-European *(h₁)em-no- (“equal, straight; flat, level, even”).

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

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