- [only before noun] on the other side of a particular area from somebody/something and usually facing them
- Answers are given on the opposite page.
- We live further down on the opposite side of the road.
- It's not easy having a relationship when you live at opposite ends of the country.
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- (used after the noun) facing the speaker or somebody/something that has been mentioned
- I could see smoke coming from the windows of the house directly opposite.
- He sat down in the chair opposite.
- [usually before noun] as different as possible from something
- I watched them leave and then drove off in the opposite direction.
- She tried calming him down but it seemed to be having the opposite effect.
- students at opposite ends of the ability range
- a story about a pair of young boys from opposite extremes of society
- opposite to somebody/something She took a view opposite to that of Fraser.
Word Originlate Middle English: via Old French from Latin oppositus, past participle of opponere ‘set against’.
Idioms
See opposite in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee opposite in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic Englishyour opposite number
- (informal) a person who does the same job as you in another organization
- The Foreign Secretary is currently having talks with his opposite number in the White House.
the opposite sex
- the other sex
- He found it difficult to talk to members of the opposite sex.
pull in different/opposite directions
- to have different aims that cannot be achieved together without causing problems
- There are different considerations, often pulling in different directions.
Check pronunciation:
opposite