Editing Like (section)

====Examples====
''Like'' can be used in much the same way as "um..." or "er..." as a [[discourse particle]]. It has become common especially among North American teenagers to use the word "like" in this way, as in Valspeak. For example:

* I, like, don't know what to do.

It is also becoming more often used (East Coast [[Scottish English]], [[Northern England English]], [[Hiberno-English]] and [[Welsh English]] in particular) at the end of a sentence, as an alternative to ''you know''. This usage is sometimes considered to be a colloquial [[interjection]] and it implies a desire to remain calm and defuse tension:

* I didn't say anything, like.
* Just be cool, like.

Use of ''like'' as a [[filler (linguistics)|filler]] has a long history in Scots English, as in [[Robert Louis Stevenson]]'s 1886 novel ''[[Kidnapped (novel)|Kidnapped]]'':

<blockquote><poem>"What'll like be your business, mannie?"
"What's like wrong with him?" said she at last.</poem></blockquote>

''Like'' can be used as [[hedge (linguistics)|hedge]] to indicate that the following phrase will be an approximation or exaggeration, or that the following words may not be quite right, but are close enough. It may indicate that the phrase in which it appears is to be taken metaphorically or as a [[hyperbole]]. This use of ''like'' is sometimes regarded as [[adverb]]ial, as ''like'' is often [[synonym]]ous here with adverbial phrases of approximation, such as "almost" or "more or less". Examples:

* I have like no money left.
* The restaurant is only like five miles from here.
* I like almost died!

Conversely, ''like'' may also be used to indicate a counterexpectation to the speaker, or to indicate certainty regarding the following phrase.<ref name="mcwhorter" /> Examples:

* There was like a living kitten in the box!
* This is like the only way to solve the problem.
* I like know what I'm doing, okay?

In the UK reality television series ''[[Love Island (franchise)|Love Island]]'' the word 'like' has been used an average of 300 times per episode, much to the annoyance of viewers.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/education/article/like-it-or-not-they-cant-stop-saying-it-on-love-island-zc8dtpkfs |title=Like it or not, they can't stop saying it on Love Island|first1=Sian |last1=Griffiths |author2=Julie Henry|date=June 16, 2019|work=[[The Times]] |location=London}}</ref>