The Oxford English Dictionary is best for finding the "Descriptive" meaning. This is the literal meaning, known also as denotative. It can also help you with figurative meanings, but it is not its primary purpose.
It's D your choice as commas, split an explanation while the conjunction 'but' links two sentences. No need to separate them by using a semicolon.
It reduced to 3/20
have a nice day
I think it is the first one
The colonists protests against British taxation and led England to Institute harsh laws as punishments.