- For the present
- Present Pres"ent, n. [Cf. F. pr['e]sent. See {Present}, a.]
1. Present time; the time being; time in progress now, or at
the moment contemplated; as, at this present.
[1913 Webster]
Past and present, wound in one. --Tennyson. [1913 Webster]
2. pl. (Law) Present letters or instrument, as a deed of conveyance, a lease, letter of attorney, or other writing; as in the phrase, `` Know all men by these presents,'' that is, by the writing itself, `` per has literas praesentes; '' -- in this sense, rarely used in the singular. [1913 Webster]
3. (Gram.) A present tense, or the form of the verb denoting the present tense. [1913 Webster]
{At present}, at the present time; now.
{For the present}, for the tine being; temporarily.
{In present}, at once, without delay. [Obs.] ``With them, in present, half his kingdom; the rest to follow at his death.'' --Milton. [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.