# dict

Words: eye drops
Meaning:
eye drops\n  Eye drops are a kind of medicine that you put in your eyes one drop at a time.\n  N-PLURAL


Words: eye patch
Meaning:
eye patch  eye patches\n  An eye patch is a piece of material which you wear over your eye when you have damaged or injured it.\n  N-COUNT


Words: eye shadow
Meaning:
eye shad.ow\n   eye shadow  eye shadows   also eye-shadow\n  Eye shadow is a substance which you can paint on your eyelids in order to make them a different colour.\n  N-MASS


Words: eye socket
Meaning:
eye sock.et\n   eye socket  eye sockets\n  Your eye sockets are the two hollow parts on either side of your face, where your eyeballs are.\n  N-COUNT


Words: eye strain
Meaning:
eye strain\n  If you suffer from eye strain, you feel pain around your eyes or at the back of your eyes, because you are very tired or should be wearing glasses.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: eye teeth
Meaning:
eye teeth\n  If you say that you would give your eye teeth for something, you mean that you want it very much and you would do anything to get it. (INFORMAL)\nShe has the job most of us would give our eye teeth for.\n  PHRASE: V inflects


Words: eye up
Meaning:
eye up\n  If someone eyes you up, they look at you in a way that shows they consider you attractive. (BRIT INFORMAL)\n...a slob who eyes up the women and makes lewd comments...\nThe women sit in the corner and men eye them up.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), V n P\n  = ogle


Words: eye-catching
Meaning:
eye-catching\n  Something that is eye-catching is very noticeable.\n...a series of eye-catching ads.\n  ADJ\n  = striking


Words: eye-opener
Meaning:
eye-opener  eye-openers\n  If you describe something as an eye-opener, you mean that it surprises you and that you learn something new from it. (INFORMAL)\nWriting these scripts has been quite an eye-opener to me. It proves that one can do anything if the need is urgent.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, usu a N\n  = revelation


Words: eyeball
Meaning:
eye.ball\n   eyeball  eyeballs  eyeballing  eyeballed\n1. Your eyeballs are your whole eyes, rather than just the part which can be seen between your eyelids.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If you eyeball someone or something, you stare at them. (INFORMAL)\nThe guard eyeballed him pretty hard despite his pass.\n  VERB: V n\n\n3. If you are eyeball to eyeball with someone, you are in their presence and involved in a meeting, dispute, or contest with them. You can also talk about having an eyeball to eyeball meeting or confrontation. (INFORMAL)\n...proposals that the two armies end their eyeball to eyeball confrontation and withdraw.\n  PHRASE: PHR after v, v-link PHR, PHR n, oft PHR with n\n  = face to face\n4. You use up to the eyeballs to emphasize that someone is in an undesirable state to a very great degree. (INFORMAL)\nHe is out of a job and up to his eyeballs in debt.\n  PHRASE: usu v-link PHR, adj/-ed PHR, PHR in n  emphasis


Words: eyebrow
Meaning:
eye.brow\n   eyebrow  eyebrows\n1. Your eyebrows are the lines of hair which grow above your eyes.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl, oft poss N\n\n2. If something causes you to raise an eyebrow or to raise your eyebrows, it causes you to feel surprised or disapproving.\nAn intriguing item on the news pages caused me to raise an eyebrow over my morning coffee...\n  PHRASE: V inflects


Words: eyeful
Meaning:
eye.ful\n   eyeful  eyefuls\n  If you get an eyeful of something, especially of something that you would not normally see, you are able to get a good look at it. (INFORMAL)\nThen she bent over and gave him an eyeful of her tattoos.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, oft N of n


Words: eyeglasses
Meaning:
eye.glasses\n   eyeglasses\n  Eyeglasses are two lenses in a frame that some people wear in front of their eyes in order to help them see better. (AM; in BRIT, usually use glasses)\n  N-PLURAL


Words: eyelash
Meaning:
eye.lash\n   eyelash  eyelashes\n  Your eyelashes are the hairs which grow on the edges of your eyelids.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl


Words: eyelet
Meaning:
eye.let\n   eyelet  eyelets\n  An eyelet is a small hole with a metal or leather ring round it which is made in cloth, for example a sail. You can put cord, rope, or string through it.\n  N-COUNT


Words: eyelid
Meaning:
eye.lid\n   eyelid  eyelids\n  Your eyelids are the two pieces of skin which cover your eyes when they are closed.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl\n\nnot bat an eyelid: see bat


Words: eyeliner
Meaning:
eye.liner\n   eyeliner  eyeliners\nin AM, use eye-liner\n  Eyeliner is a special kind of pencil which some women use on the edges of their eyelids next to their eyelashes in order to look more attractive.\n  N-MASS


Words: eyepiece
Meaning:
eye.piece\n   eyepiece  eyepieces\n  The eyepiece of a microscope or telescope is the piece of glass at one end, where you put your eye in order to look through the instrument.\n  N-COUNT


Words: eyesight
Meaning:
eye.sight\n   eyesight\n  Your eyesight is your ability to see.\nHe suffered from poor eyesight and could no longer read properly.\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu supp N


Words: eyesore
Meaning:
eye.sore\n   eyesore  eyesores\n  You describe a building or place as an eyesore when it is extremely ugly and you dislike it or disapprove of it.\nPoverty leads to slums, which are an eyesore and a health hazard.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing  disapproval


Words: eyewear
Meaning:
eye.wear\n   eyewear\n  Eyewear is sometimes used to talk about glasses and sunglasses.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: eyewitness
Meaning:
eye.witness\n   eyewitness  eyewitnesses\n  An eyewitness is a person who was present at an event and can therefore describe it, for example in a law court.\nEyewitnesses say the police then opened fire on the crowd.\n...dramatic eye-witness accounts of the fighting.\n  N-COUNT


Words: eyrie
Meaning:
ey.rie\n   eyrie  eyries\nin AM, use aerie\n1. If you refer to a place such as a house or a castle as an eyrie, you mean it is built high up and is difficult to reach. (LITERARY)\n...marooned in my 48th floor eyrie in the sky.\n  N-COUNT: with supp\n\n2. An eyrie is the nest of a bird of prey such as an eagle, and is usually built high up in the mountains.\n  N-COUNT


Words: F, f
Meaning:
F, f  F’s, f’s\n1. F is the sixth letter of the English alphabet.\n  N-VAR\n\n2. In music, F is the fourth note in the scale of C major.\n  N-VAR\n\n3. f. is an abbreviation for `following’. It is written after a page or line number to indicate that you are referring to both the page or line mentioned and the one after it. You use ff. when you are referring to the page or line mentioned and two or more pages or lines after it.


Words: fab
Meaning:
fab\n  If you say that something is fab, you are emphasizing that you think it is very good. (INFORMAL)\nThe dancing is fab.\n  ADJ  emphasis\n  = great


Words: fable
Meaning:
fa.ble\n   fable  fables\n1. A fable is a story which teaches a moral lesson. Fables sometimes have animals as the main characters.\n...the fable of the tortoise and the hare...\nEach tale has the timeless quality of fable.\n  N-VAR\n\n2. You can describe a statement or explanation that is untrue but that many people believe as fable.\nIs reincarnation fact or fable?\n...little-known horticultural facts and fables.\n  N-VAR\n  = myth


Words: fabled
Meaning:
fa.bled\n   fabled\n  If you describe a person or thing as fabled, especially someone or something remarkable, you mean that they are well known because they are often talked about or a lot of stories are told about them.\n...the fabled city of Troy.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n  = legendary


Words: fabric
Meaning:
fab.ric\n   fabric  fabrics\n1. Fabric is cloth or other material produced by weaving together cotton, nylon, wool, silk, or other threads. Fabrics are used for making things such as clothes, curtains, and sheets.\n...small squares of red cotton fabric...\nWhatever your colour scheme, there’s a fabric to match.\n  N-MASS\n\n2. The fabric of a society or system is its basic structure, with all the customs and beliefs that make it work successfully.\nThe fabric of society has been deeply damaged by the previous regime...\n  N-SING: with supp, usu the N of n\n\n3. The fabric of a building is its walls, roof, and the materials with which it is built.\nCondensation will eventually cause the fabric of the building to rot away.\n  N-SING: usu the N of n


Words: fabricate
Meaning:
fab.ri.cate\n   fabricate  fabricates  fabricating  fabricated\n1. If someone fabricates information, they invent it in order to deceive people.\nAll four claim that officers fabricated evidence against them...\nEleven key officials were hanged on fabricated charges.\n  VERB: V n, V-ed\n\n=>  fab.ri.ca.tion      fabrications\nShe described the interview with her in an Italian magazine as a `complete fabrication’...\nThis story is total fabrication.\n  N-VAR\n  = invention\n2. If something is fabricated from different materials or substances, it is made out of those materials or substances.\nAll the tools are fabricated from high quality steel.\n...a plant which fabricates airplane components.\n  VERB: be V-ed from n, V n, also V n from n\n  = manufacture


Words: fabulous
Meaning:
fabu.lous\n   fabulous\n  If you describe something as fabulous, you are emphasizing that you like it a lot or think that it is very good. (INFORMAL)\nThis is a fabulous album. It’s fresh, varied, fun...\nThe scenery and weather were fabulous.\n  ADJ  emphasis\n  = wonderful


Words: facade
Meaning:
fa.cade\n   facade  facades   also facade\n1. The facade of a building, especially a large one, is its front wall or the wall that faces the street.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A facade is an outward appearance which is deliberately false and gives you a wrong impression about someone or something.\nThey hid the troubles plaguing their marriage behind a facade of family togetherness.\n  N-SING: oft N of n\n  = show, semblance


Words: face
Meaning:
NOUN USES\n   face  faces\n\nPlease look at category 25 to see if the expression you are looking for is shown under another headword.\n1. Your face is the front part of your head from your chin to the top of your forehead, where your mouth, eyes, nose, and other features are.\nA strong wind was blowing right in my face...\nHe was going red in the face and breathing with difficulty...\nShe had a beautiful face.\n  N-COUNT: oft poss N\n\n2. If your face is happy, sad, or serious, for example, the expression on your face shows that you are happy, sad, or serious.\nHe was walking around with a sad face...\nThe priest frowned into the light, his face puzzled.\n  N-COUNT: poss N, adj N\n\n3. The face of a cliff, mountain, or building is a vertical surface or side of it.\n...the north face of the Eiger...\nHe scrambled 200 feet up the cliff face.\n  N-COUNT: with supp, oft N of n\n\n4. The face of a clock or watch is the surface with the numbers or hands on it, which shows the time.\n  N-COUNT\n\n5. If you say that the face of an area, institution, or field of activity is changing, you mean its appearance or nature is changing.\n...the changing face of the British countryside...\n  N-SING: the N of n\n\n6. If you refer to something as the particular face of an activity, belief, or system, you mean that it is one particular aspect of it, in contrast to other aspects.\nWho ever thought people would see Arsenal as the acceptable face of football?\n  N-SING: the adj N of n\n\n7. If you lose face, you do something which makes you appear weak and makes people respect or admire you less. If you do something in order to save face, you do it in order to avoid appearing weak and losing people’s respect or admiration.\nTo cancel the airport would mean a loss of face for the present governor...\nShe claimed they’d been in love, but I sensed she was only saying this to save face.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n8.\n  see also about-face, face value, poker face\n9. If you say that someone can do something until they are blue in the face, you are emphasizing that however much they do it, it will not make any difference.\nYou can criticise him until you’re blue in the face, but you’ll never change his personality.\n  PHRASE: V inflects  emphasis\n\n10. If someone or something is face down, their face or front points downwards. If they are face up, their face or front points upwards.\nAll the time Stephen was lying face down and unconscious in the bath tub...\nCharles laid down his cards face up.\n  PHRASE: PHR after v, v-link PHR\n\n11. You can use the expression `on the face of the earth’ to mean `in the whole world’, when you are emphasizing a statement that you are making or making a very exaggerated statement.\nNo human being on the face of the earth could do anything worse than what he did.\n  PHRASE: n PHR, usu after adj-super/brd-neg  emphasis\n\n12. If you come face to face with someone, you meet them and can talk to them or look at them directly.\nWe were strolling into the town when we came face to face with Jacques Dubois...\nIt was the first face-to-face meeting between the two men.\n  PHRASE: PHR after v, PHR n, oft PHR with n\n\n13. If you come face to face with a difficulty or reality, you cannot avoid it and have to deal with it.\nEventually, he came face to face with discrimination again...\n  PHRASE: PHR after v, PHR n\n\n14. If an action or belief flies in the face of accepted ideas or rules, it seems to completely oppose or contradict them.\n...scientific principles that seem to fly in the face of common sense...\n  PHRASE: V inflects, PHR n\n\n15. If you take a particular action or attitude in the face of a problem or difficulty, you respond to that problem or difficulty in that way.\nThe Prime Minister has called for national unity in the face of the violent anti-government protests...\n  PREP-PHRASE\n\n16. If you have a long face, you look very unhappy or serious.\nHe came to me with a very long face.\n  PHRASE: N inflects\n\n(next)\n\nVERB AND PHRASAL VERB USES\n   face  faces  facing  faced\n\nPlease look at category 8 to see if the expression you are looking for is shown under another headword.\n1. If someone or something faces a particular thing, person, or direction, they are positioned opposite them or are looking in that direction.\nThey stood facing each other...\nThe garden faces south.\n  VERB: V n, V adv/prep\n\n2. If you face someone or something, you turn so that you are looking at them.\nShe stood up from the table and faced him...\nStand up. Face the wall.\n  VERB: V n, V n\n\n3. If you have to face a person or group, you have to stand or sit in front of them and talk to them, although it may be difficult and unpleasant.\nChristie looked relaxed and calm as he faced the press...\n  VERB: V n\n\n4. If you face or are faced with something difficult or unpleasant, or if it faces you, it is going to affect you and you have to deal with it.\nWilliams faces life in prison if convicted of attempted murder...\nWe are faced with a serious problem.\n  VERB: V n, be V-ed with n\n\n5. If you face the truth or face the facts, you accept that something is true. If you face someone with the truth or with the facts, you try to make them accept that something is true.\nAlthough your heart is breaking, you must face the truth that a relationship has ended...\nHe accused the Government of refusing to face facts about the economy...\nHe called a family conference and faced them with the problems.\n  VERB: V n, V n, V n with n\n\n  Face up to means the same as face.\nI have grown up now and I have to face up to my responsibilities...\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P P n\n\n6. If you cannot face something, you do not feel able to do it because it seems so difficult or unpleasant.\nMy children want me with them for Christmas Day, but I can’t face it...\nI couldn’t face seeing anyone.\n  VERB: with neg, V n/-ing, V n/-ing\n\n7. You use the expression `let’s face it’ when you are stating a fact or making a comment about something which you think the person you are talking to may find unpleasant or be unwilling to admit.\nShe was always attracted to younger men. But, let’s face it, who is not?\n  PHRASE: PHR with cl\n\n8.\nface the music: see music


Words: face .1
Meaning:
17. If you make a face, you show a feeling such as dislike or disgust by putting an exaggerated expression on your face, for example by sticking out your tongue. In British English, you can also say pull a face.\nOpening the door, she made a face at the musty smell...\nKathryn pulled a face at Thomas behind his back.\n  PHRASE: V and N inflect, oft PHR at n\n\n18. You say on the face of it when you are describing how something seems when it is first considered, in order to suggest that people’s opinion may change when they know or think more about the subject.\nIt is, on the face of it, difficult to see how the West could radically change its position.\n  PHRASE: PHR with cl\n\n19. If you put a brave face on a bad situation or put on a brave face, you try not to show how disappointed or upset you are about the situation. In American English you can also say put on a good face.\nFriends will see you are putting on a brave face and might assume you’ve got over your grief...\nScientists are putting a good face on the troubles.\n  PHRASE: V inflects, oft PHR n\n\n20. You can say that someone has set their face against something to indicate that they are opposed to it, especially when you want to suggest that they are wrong. (mainly BRIT)\nThis Government has set its face against putting up income tax.\n  PHRASE: V inflects, PHR n/-ing\n\n21. If you show your face somewhere, you go there and see people, although you are not welcome, are rather unwilling to go, or have not been there for some time.\nI felt I ought to show my face at her father’s funeral.\n  PHRASE: V inflects, PHR adv/prep\n\n22. If you manage to keep a straight face, you manage to look serious, although you want to laugh.\nWhat went through Tom’s mind I can’t imagine, but he did manage to keep a straight face...\nYou have to wonder how anyone could say that seriously and with a straight face.\n  PHRASE: PHR after v, with PHR\n\n23. If you say something to someone’s face, you say it openly in their presence.\nHer opponent called her a liar to her face.\n  PHRASE: PHR after v\n\n24. If a feeling is written all over your face or is written across your face, it is very obvious to other people from your expression.\nRelief and gratitude were written all over his face...\nI could just see the pain written across her face.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n25.\nto shut the door in someone’s face: see door\nto have egg on your face: see egg\nto cut off your nose to spite your face: see nose\na slap in the face: see slap


Words: face cream
Meaning:
face cream  face creams\n  Face cream is a thick substance that you rub into your face in order to keep it soft.\n  N-MASS


Words: face down
Meaning:
face down\n  If you face someone down, you oppose them or defeat them by being confident and looking at them boldly. (mainly AM)\nHe’s confronted crowds before and faced them down.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V n P, also V P n (not pron)


Words: face flannel
Meaning:
face flan.nel\n   face flannel  face flannels\n  A face flannel is a small cloth made of towelling which you use for washing yourself. (BRIT; in AM, usually use washcloth)\n  N-COUNT


Words: face mask
Meaning:
face mask  face masks\n1. A face mask is a device that you wear over your face, for example to prevent yourself from breathing bad air or from spreading germs, or to protect your face when you are in a dangerous situation.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A face mask is the same as a face pack. (mainly AM)\n  N-COUNT


Words: face pack
Meaning:
face pack  face packs\n  A face pack is a thick substance which you spread on your face, allow to dry for a short time, and then remove, in order to clean your skin thoroughly. (BRIT; in AM, use face mask)\n  N-COUNT


Words: face powder
Meaning:
face pow.der\n   face powder  face powders\n  Face powder is a very fine soft powder that you can put on your face in order to make it look smoother.\n  N-MASS\n  = powder


Words: face value
Meaning:
face value\n1. The face value of things such as coins, paper money, investment documents, or tickets is the amount of money that they are worth, and that is written on them.\nTickets were selling at twice their face value.\n  N-SING\n\n2. If you take something at face value, you accept it and believe it without thinking about it very much, even though it might untrue.\nPublic statements from the various groups involved should not necessarily be taken at face value.\n  PHRASE: PHR after v


Words: face-saver
Meaning:
face-saver  face-savers\n  A face-saver is an action or excuse which prevents damage to your reputation or the loss of people’s respect for you. (JOURNALISM)\n  N-COUNT


Words: face-saving
Meaning:
face-saving\n  A face-saving action is one which prevents damage to your reputation or the loss of people’s respect for you.\nThe decision appears to be a face-saving compromise which will allow the government to remain in office.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: facecloth
Meaning:
face.cloth\n   facecloth  facecloths   also face cloth\n  A facecloth is the same as a face flannel or washcloth. (mainly BRIT)\n  N-COUNT


Words: faceless
Meaning:
face.less\n   faceless\n  If you describe someone or something as faceless, you dislike them because they are uninteresting and have no character.\nOrdinary people are at the mercy of faceless bureaucrats.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n  disapproval


Words: facelift
Meaning:
face.lift\n   facelift  facelifts   also face-lift\n1. If you give a place or thing a facelift, you do something to make it look better or more attractive.\nNothing gives a room a faster facelift than a coat of paint.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing\n\n2. A facelift is an operation in which a surgeon tightens the skin on someone’s face in order to make them look younger.\n  N-COUNT


Words: facet
Meaning:
fac.et\n   facet  facets\n1. A facet of something is a single part or aspect of it.\nThe caste system shapes nearly every facet of Indian life.\n  N-COUNT: oft N of n\n\n2. The facets of a diamond or other precious stone are the flat surfaces that have been cut on its outside.\n  N-COUNT


Words: facetious
Meaning:
fa.cetious\n   facetious\n  If you say that someone is being facetious, you are criticizing them because they are making humorous remarks or saying things that they do not mean in a situation where they ought to be serious.\nThe woman eyed him coldly. `Don’t be facetious,’ she said.\n  ADJ  disapproval\n  = flippant


Words: facial
Meaning:
fa.cial\n   facial  facials\n1. Facial means appearing on or being part of your face.\nCross didn’t answer; his facial expression didn’t change...\nI ended up in hospital with facial injuries.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n2. A facial is a sort of beauty treatment in which someone’s face is massaged, and creams and other substances are rubbed into it.\n  N-COUNT


Words: facile
Meaning:
fac.ile\n   facile\n  If you describe someone’s arguments or suggestions as facile, you are criticizing them because their ideas are too simple and indicate a lack of careful, intelligent thinking.\nThe subject of racism is admittedly too complex for facile summarization.\n  ADJ  disapproval\n  = simplistic


Words: facilitate
Meaning:
fa.cili.tate\n   facilitate  facilitates  facilitating  facilitated\n  To facilitate an action or process, especially one that you would like to happen, means to make it easier or more likely to happen.\nThe new airport will facilitate the development of tourism...\nHe argued that the economic recovery had been facilitated by his tough stance.\n  VERB: V n, V n\n  = aid, assist


Words: facilitator
Meaning:
fa.cili.ta.tor\n   facilitator  facilitators\n  A facilitator is a person or organization that helps another person or organization to do or to achieve a particular thing. (FORMAL)\n  N-COUNT


Words: facility
Meaning:
fa.cil.ity\n   facility  facilities\n1. Facilities are buildings, pieces of equipment, or services that are provided for a particular purpose.\nWhat recreational facilities are now available?...\nThe problem lies in getting patients to a medical facility as soon as possible.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl, usu with supp\n\n2. A facility is something such as an additional service provided by an organization or an extra feature on a machine which is useful but not essential.\nIt is very useful to have an overdraft facility...\n  N-COUNT: with supp, oft n N, N to-inf


Words: facing
Meaning:
fac.ing\n   facing\n  Facing is fabric which is stitched inside the edges of a piece of clothing in order to make them look neat and strengthen them.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: facsimile
Meaning:
fac.simi.le\n   facsimile  facsimiles\n1. A facsimile of something is an copy or imitation of it. (FORMAL)\n...a facsimile edition of Beethoven’s musical manuscripts.\n  N-COUNT: oft N of n, N n\n\n2. A facsimile is the same as a fax. (FORMAL)\n  N-COUNT


Words: fact
Meaning:
fact  facts\n1. You use the fact that after some verbs or prepositions, especially in expressions such as in view of the fact that, apart from the fact that, and despite the fact that, to link the verb or preposition with a clause.\nHis chances do not seem good in view of the fact that the Chief Prosecutor has already voiced his public disapproval...\nWe have to lie and hide the fact that I have an illness...\n  PHRASE: prep PHR cl, v PHR cl\n\n2. You use the fact that instead of a simple that-clause either for emphasis or because the clause is the subject of your sentence.\nThe fact that he had left her of his own accord proved to me that everything he’d said was true.\n  PHRASE: PHR cl, oft v PHR cl, prep PHR cl\n\n3. You use in fact, in actual fact, or in point of fact to indicate that you are giving more detailed information about what you have just said.\nWe’ve had a pretty bad time while you were away. In fact, we very nearly split up this time...\nHe apologised as soon as he realised what he had done. In actual fact he wrote a nice little note to me...\n  PHRASE: PHR with cl\n\n4. You use in fact, in actual fact, or in point of fact to introduce or draw attention to a comment that modifies, contradicts, or contrasts with a previous statement.\nThat sounds rather simple, but in fact it’s very difficult...\nWhy had she ever trusted her? In point of fact she never had, she reminded herself.\n  PHRASE: PHR with cl\n  = actually\n5. When you refer to something as a fact or as fact, you mean that you think it is true or correct.\n...a statement of verifiable historical fact...\nHow much was fact and how much fancy no one knew.\n  N-VAR\n\n6. Facts are pieces of information that can be discovered.\nThere is so much information you can almost effortlessly find the facts for yourself...\nHis opponent swamped him with facts and figures...\nThe lorries always left in the dead of night when there were few witnesses around to record the fact.\n  N-COUNT\n\n7. You use as a matter of fact to introduce a statement that gives more details about what has just been said, or an explanation of it, or something that contrasts with it.\nIt’s not that difficult. As a matter of fact, it’s quite easy...\n`I guess you haven’t eaten yet.’.`As a matter of fact, I have,’ said Hunter.\n  PHRASE: PHR with cl\n  = actually\n8. If you say that you know something for a fact, you are emphasizing that you are completely certain that it is true.\nI know for a fact that Graham has kept in close touch with Alan.\n  PHRASE: PHR after v  emphasis\n\n9. You use the fact is or the fact of the matter is to introduce and draw attention to a summary or statement of the most important point about what you have been saying.\nThe fact is blindness hadn’t stopped the children doing many of the things that sighted children enjoy...\nThe fact of the matter is that student finances are stretched.\n  PHRASE: V inflects, PHR cl


Words: fact of life
Meaning:
fact of life  facts of life\n1. You say that something which is not pleasant is a fact of life when there is nothing you can do to change it so you must accept it.\nStress is a fact of life from time to time for all of us.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If you tell a child about the facts of life, you tell him or her about sexual intercourse and how babies are born.\nThere comes a time when children need to know more than the basic facts of life.\n  N-PLURAL: the N


Words: fact sheet
Meaning:
fact sheet  fact sheets\n  A fact sheet is a short, printed document with information about a particular subject, especially a summary of information that has been given on a radio or television programme.\n  N-COUNT


Words: fact-finding
Meaning:
fact-finding\n  A fact-finding mission or visit is one whose purpose is to get information about a particular situation, especially for an official group.\nA UN fact-finding mission is on its way to the region.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: faction
Meaning:
fac.tion\n   faction  factions\n1. A faction is an organized group of people within a larger group, which opposes some of the ideas of the larger group and fights for its own ideas.\nA peace agreement will be signed by the leaders of the country’s warring factions.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. Faction is also used to describe argument and disagreement within a group of people.\nFaction and self-interest appear to be the norm.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: factional
Meaning:
fac.tion.al\n   factional\n  Factional arguments or disputes involve two or more small groups from within a larger group.\n...factional disputes between the various groups that make up the leadership.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: factionalism
Meaning:
fac.tion.al.ism\n   factionalism\n  Factionalism refers to arguments or disputes between two or more small groups from within a larger group.\nThere has been a substantial amount of factionalism within the movement.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: factor
Meaning:
fac.tor\n   factor  factors  factoring  factored\n1. A factor is one of the things that affects an event, decision, or situation.\nPhysical activity is an important factor in maintaining fitness.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If an amount increases by a factor of two, for example, or by a factor of eight, then it becomes two times bigger or eight times bigger.\nThe cost of butter quadrupled and bread prices increased by a factor of five.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, usu a N of num\n\n3. You can use factor to refer to a particular level on a scale of measurement.\n...suncream with a protection factor of 8.\n  N-SING: usu a N of num\n\n4. A factor of a whole number is a smaller whole number which can be multiplied with another whole number to produce the first whole number. (TECHNICAL)\n  N-COUNT


Words: factor in
Meaning:
factor in   or factor into\n  If you factor a particular cost or element into a calculation you are making, or if you factor it in, you include it. (mainly AM)\nUsing a computer model they factored in the costs of transplants for those women who die...\nYou’d better consider this and factor this into your decision making.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), V n P n, also V n P


Words: factory
Meaning:
fac.to.ry\n   factory  factories\n  A factory is a large building where machines are used to make large quantities of goods.\nHe owned furniture factories in New York State.\n  N-COUNT: oft n N


Words: factory farming
Meaning:
fac.to.ry farm.ing\n   factory farming\n  Factory farming is a system of farming which involves keeping animals indoors, often with very little space, and giving them special foods so that they grow more quickly or produce more eggs or milk. (mainly BRIT)\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: factory floor
Meaning:
fac.to.ry floor\n   factory floor\n  The factory floor refers to the workers in a factory, as opposed to the managers. It can also refer to the area where they work.\nHe had worked on the factory floor for 16 years.\n  N-SING: the N


Words: factory outlet
Meaning:
fac.to.ry out.let\n   factory outlet factory outlets  or factory shop\n  A factory outlet is a shop where a factory sells damaged or out-of-date goods directly to customers at reduced prices.\n  N-COUNT: oft N n


Words: factory ship
Meaning:
fac.to.ry ship\n   factory ship  factory ships\n  A factory ship is a large fishing boat which has equipment for processing the fish that are caught, for example by cleaning or freezing them, before it returns to port.\n  N-COUNT


Words: factotum
Meaning:
fac.to.tum\n   factotum  factotums\n  A factotum is a servant who is employed to do a wide variety of jobs for someone. (FORMAL)\n  N-COUNT


Words: factual
Meaning:
fac.tual\n   factual\n  Something that is factual is concerned with facts or contains facts, rather than giving theories or personal interpretations.\nThe editorial contained several factual errors...\nAny comparison that is not strictly factual runs the risk of being interpreted as subjective.\n  ADJ\n\n=>  fac.tu.al.ly\nI learned that a number of statements in my talk were factually wrong.\n  ADV: ADV adj/-ed, ADV after v


Words: faculty
Meaning:
fac.ul.ty\n   faculty  faculties\n1. Your faculties are your physical and mental abilities.\nHe was drunk and not in control of his faculties...\nIt is also a myth that the faculty of hearing is greatly increased in blind people.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl, oft poss N, N of n\n\n2. A faculty is a group of related departments in some universities, or the people who work in them. (BRIT)\n...the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences.\n  N-VAR\n\n3. A faculty is all the teaching staff of a university or college, or of one department. (AM)\nThe faculty agreed on a change in the requirements...\nHow can faculty improve their teaching so as to encourage creativity?\n...eminent Stanford faculty members.\n  N-VAR: oft N n


Words: fad
Meaning:
fad  fads\n  You use fad to refer to an activity or topic of interest that is very popular for a short time, but which people become bored with very quickly.\nHamnett does not believe environmental concern is a passing fad.\n  N-COUNT\n  = craze


Words: faddish
Meaning:
fad.dish\n   faddish\n  If you describe something as faddish, you mean that it has no real value and that it will not remain popular for very long.\n...faddish footwear.\n  ADJ


Words: faddy
Meaning:
fad.dy\n   faddy\n  If you describe someone as faddy, you mean that they have very strong likes and dislikes, especially about what they eat, which you think are rather silly. (BRIT)\nMy boys have always been faddy eaters.\n  ADJ  disapproval\n  = fussy


Words: fade
Meaning:
fade  fades  fading  faded\n1. When a coloured object fades or when the light fades it, it gradually becomes paler.\nAll colour fades.especially under the impact of direct sunlight...\nNo matter how soft the light is, it still plays havoc, fading carpets and curtains in every room.\n...fading portraits of the Queen and Prince Philip.\n  VERB: V, V n, V-ing\n\n=>  fad.ed\n...a girl in a faded dress.\n...faded painted signs on the sides of some of the buildings.\n  ADJ\n\n2. When light fades, it slowly becomes less bright. When a sound fades, it slowly becomes less loud.\nSeaton lay on his bed and gazed at the ceiling as the light faded...\nThe sound of the last bomber’s engines faded into the distance.\n  VERB: V, V into n\n\n3. When something that you are looking at fades, it slowly becomes less bright or clear until it disappears.\nThey observed the comet for 70 days before it faded from sight...\nThey watched the familiar mountains fade into the darkness.\n  VERB: V from/into n, V from/into n\n\n  Fade away means the same as fade.\nWe watched the harbour and then the coastline fade away into the morning mist.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P into n, also V P\n\n4. If memories, feelings, or possibilities fade, they slowly become less intense or less strong.\nSympathy for the rebels, the government claims, is beginning to fade...\n...fading memories of better days.\n  VERB: V, V-ing


Words: fade out
Meaning:
fade out\n1. When something fades out, it slowly becomes less noticeable or less important until it disappears completely.\nHe thought her campaign would probably fade out soon in any case.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P, also V P of n\n  = fizzle out\n2. When light, an image or a sound fades out, it disappears after gradually becoming weaker.\nYou’ll need to be able to project two images onto the screen as the new one fades in and the old image fades out.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P, also V P of n


Words: faecal
Meaning:
fae.cal\n   faecal\nin AM, use fecal\n  Faecal means referring or relating to faeces. (FORMAL)\nOne of the ways the parasite spreads is through fecal matter.\n  ADJ


Words: faeces
Meaning:
fae.ces\n   faeces\nin AM, use feces\n  Faeces is the solid waste substance that people and animals get rid of from their body by passing it through the anus. (FORMAL)\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: faff
Meaning:
faff  faffs  faffing  faffed\n=>  faff about or faff around\n  If you say that someone is faffing about or faffing around, you mean that they are doing things in a disorganized way and not achieving very much. (BRIT INFORMAL)\nIt was annoying to watch them faffing around when a more direct response was required.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P


Words: fag
Meaning:
fag  fags\n1. A fag is a cigarette. (mainly BRIT INFORMAL)\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A fag is a homosexual. (mainly AM INFORMAL, OFFENSIVE)\n  N-COUNT


Words: fag end
Meaning:
fag end  fag ends   also fag-end\n1. A fag end is the last part of a cigarette, which people throw away when they have smoked the rest. (BRIT INFORMAL)\n  N-COUNT\n  = butt\n2. If you refer to the fag end of something, you mean the last part of it, especially when you consider this part boring or unimportant. (INFORMAL)\nHe never had much confidence in his judgement at the fag-end of the working day.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, N of n


Words: Fahrenheit
Meaning:
Fahr.en.heit\n   Fahrenheit\n  Fahrenheit is a scale for measuring temperature, in which water freezes at 32 degrees and boils at 212 degrees. It is represented by the symbol .F.\nBy mid-morning, the temperature was already above 100 degrees Fahrenheit.\n  ADJ: num ADJ\n\n  Fahrenheit is also a noun.\nHe was asked for the boiling point of water in Fahrenheit.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: fail
Meaning:
fail  fails  failing  failed\n1. If you fail to do something that you were trying to do, you are unable to do it or do not succeed in doing it.\nThe Workers’ Party failed to win a single governorship...\nHe failed in his attempt to take control of the company...\nMany of us have tried to lose weight and failed miserably...\nThe truth is, I’m a failed comedy writer really.\n  VERB: V to-inf, V in n, V, V-ed\n  !=succeed\n2. If an activity, attempt, or plan fails, it is not successful.\nWe tried to develop plans for them to get along, which all failed miserably...\nHe was afraid the revolution they had started would fail...\nAfter a failed military offensive, all government troops and police were withdrawn from the island.\n  VERB: V, V, V-ed\n  !=succeed\n3. If someone or something fails to do a particular thing that they should have done, they do not do it. (FORMAL)\nSome schools fail to set any homework...\nThe bomb failed to explode.\n  VERB: V to-inf, V to-inf\n\n4. If something fails, it stops working properly, or does not do what it is supposed to do.\nThe lights mysteriously failed, and we stumbled around in complete darkness...\nIn fact many food crops failed because of the drought.\n  VERB: V, V\n\n5. If a business, organization, or system fails, it becomes unable to continue in operation or in existence. (BUSINESS)\nSo far this year, 104 banks have failed.\n...a failed hotel business...\nWho wants to buy a computer from a failing company?\n  VERB: V, V-ed, V-ing\n\n6. If something such as your health or a physical quality is failing, it is becoming gradually weaker or less effective.\nHe was 58, and his health was failing rapidly...\nAn apparently failing memory is damaging for a national leader.\n  VERB: V, V-ing\n\n7. If someone fails you, they do not do what you had expected or trusted them to do.\n...communities who feel that the political system has failed them.\n  VERB: V n\n\n8. If someone fails in their duty or fails in their responsibilities, they do not do everything that they have a duty or a responsibility to do.\nIf we did not report what was happening in the country, we would be failing in our duty.\n  VERB: V in n\n\n9. If a quality or ability that you have fails you, or if it fails, it is not good enough in a particular situation to enable you to do what you want to do.\nFor once, the artist’s fertile imagination failed him...\nTheir courage failed a few steps short and they came running back.\n  VERB: V n, V\n\n10. If someone fails a test, examination, or course, they perform badly in it and do not reach the standard that is required.\nI lived in fear of failing my end-of-term exams.\n  VERB: V n\n  !=pass\n  Fail is also a noun.\nIt’s the difference between a pass and a fail.\n  N-COUNT\n\n11. If someone fails you in a test, examination, or course, they judge that you have not reached a high enough standard in it.\n...the two men who had failed him during his first year of law school.\n  VERB: V n\n  !=pass\n12. You say if all else fails to suggest what could be done in a certain situation if all the other things you have tried are unsuccessful.\nIf all else fails, I could always drive a truck.\n  PHRASE: PHR with cl\n\n13. You use without fail to emphasize that something always happens.\nHe attended every meeting without fail.\n  PHRASE: PHR with cl  emphasis\n\n14. You use without fail to emphasize an order or a promise.\nOn the 30th you must without fail hand in some money for Alex...\n  PHRASE: PHR with cl  emphasis


Words: fail-safe
Meaning:
fail-safe   also failsafe\n  Something that is fail-safe is designed or made in such a way that nothing dangerous can happen if a part of it goes wrong.\nThe camera has a built-in failsafe device which prevents it from working if the right signals aren’t received.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: failing
Meaning:
fail.ing\n   failing  failings\n1. The failings of someone or something are their faults or unsatisfactory features.\nLike many in Russia, she blamed the country’s failings on futile attempts to catch up with the West...\n  N-COUNT: usu pl, oft with poss\n  = shortcoming\n2. You say failing that to introduce an alternative, in case what you have just said is not possible.\nFind someone who will let you talk things through, or failing that, write down your thoughts.\n  PHRASE: PHR with cl/group


Words: failure
Meaning:
fail.ure\n   failure  failures\n1. Failure is a lack of success in doing or achieving something, especially in relation to a particular activity.\nThis policy is doomed to failure...\nThree attempts on the British 200-metre record also ended in failure.\n...feelings of failure.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n  !=success\n2. If something is a failure, it is not a success.\nThe marriage was a failure and they both wanted to be free of it...\nHis six-year transition programme has by no means been a complete failure.\n  N-COUNT\n  !=success\n3. If you say that someone is a failure, you mean that they have not succeeded in a particular activity, or that they are unsuccessful at everything they do.\nElgar received many honors and much acclaim and yet he often considered himself a failure...\n  N-COUNT\n  !=success\n4. Your failure to do a particular thing is the fact that you do not do it, even though you were expected to do it.\n...their failure to get the product mix right.\n  N-UNCOUNT: N to-inf, oft poss N\n\n5. If there is a failure of something, for example a machine or part of the body, it goes wrong and stops working or developing properly.\nThere were also several accidents mainly caused by engine failures on take-off...\nHe was being treated for kidney failure...\n  N-VAR: with supp, oft n N\n\n6. If there is a failure of a business or bank, it is no longer able to continue operating. (BUSINESS)\nBusiness failures rose 16% last month.\n  N-VAR: with supp\n  = collapse


Words: faint
Meaning:
faint  fainter  faintest  faints  fainting  fainted\n1. A faint sound, colour, mark, feeling, or quality has very little strength or intensity.\nHe became aware of the soft, faint sounds of water dripping...\nHe could see faint lines in her face...\nThere was still the faint hope deep within him that she might never need to know.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n=>  faint.ly\nHe was already asleep in the bed, which smelled faintly of mildew...\nShe felt faintly ridiculous.\n  ADV: usu ADV after v, also ADV adj\n  = slightly\n2. A faint attempt at something is one that is made without proper effort and with little enthusiasm.\nCaroline made a faint attempt at a laugh...\nA faint smile crossed the Monsignor’s face and faded quickly...\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n=>  faint.ly\nJohn smiled faintly and shook his head.\n  ADV: ADV after v\n\n3. If you faint, you lose consciousness for a short time, especially because you are hungry, or because of pain, heat, or shock.\nShe suddenly fell forward on to the table and fainted...\nI thought he’d faint when I kissed him.\n  VERB: V, V\n  = pass out\n  Faint is also a noun.\nShe slumped to the ground in a faint.\n  N-COUNT: oft in a N\n\n4. Someone who is faint feels weak and unsteady as if they are about to lose consciousness.\nOther signs of angina are nausea, sweating, feeling faint and shortness of breath.\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ


Words: faint-hearted
Meaning:
faint-hearted   also fainthearted\n1. If you describe someone or their behaviour as faint-hearted, you mean that they are not very confident and do not take strong action because they are afraid of failing.\nThis is no time to be faint-hearted...\n  ADJ\n\n2. If you say that something is not for the faint-hearted, you mean that it is an extreme or very unusual example of its kind, and is not suitable for people who like only safe and familiar things.\nIt’s a film about a serial killer and not for the faint-hearted.\n  PHRASE: usu v-link PHR


Words: faintest
Meaning:
faint.est\n   faintest\n  You can use faintest for emphasis in negative statements. For example, if you say that someone hasn’t the faintest idea what to do, you are emphasizing that they do not know what to do.\nI haven’t the faintest idea how to care for a snake...\n  ADJ: ADJ n, with neg  emphasis\n  = slightest, remotest


Words: fair
Meaning:
fair  fairer  fairest  fairs\n1. Something or someone that is fair is reasonable, right, and just.\nIt didn’t seem fair to leave out her father...\nDo you feel they’re paying their fair share?...\nIndependent observers say the campaign’s been very much fairer than expected...\nAn appeals court had ruled that they could not get a fair trial in Los Angeles.\n  ADJ: oft it v-link ADJ to-inf\n\n=>  fair.ly\n...demonstrating concern for employees and solving their problems quickly and fairly...\nIn a society where water was precious, it had to be shared fairly between individuals.\n  ADV: usu ADV after v, also ADV -ed\n\n2. A fair amount, degree, size, or distance is quite a large amount, degree, size, or distance.\nMy neighbours across the street travel a fair amount...\nMy mother’s brother lives a fair distance away so we don’t see him and his family very often.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n3. A fair guess or idea about something is one that is likely to be correct.\nIt’s a fair guess to say that the damage will be extensive...\nI have a fair idea of how difficult things can be.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n  = reasonable\n4. If you describe someone or something as fair, you mean that they are average in standard or quality, neither very good nor very bad.\nReimar had a fair command of English.\n  ADJ\n  = adequate\n5. Someone who is fair, or who has fair hair, has light-coloured hair.\nBoth children were very like Robina, but were much fairer than she was.\n  ADJ\n\n  Fair is also a combining form.\n...a tall, fair-haired Englishman.\n  COMB in ADJ\n\n6. Fair skin is very pale and usually burns easily.\nIt’s important to protect my fair skin from the sun.\n  ADJ\n\n  Fair is also a combining form.\nFair-skinned people who spend a great deal of time in the sun have the greatest risk of skin cancer.\n  COMB in ADJ\n\n7. When the weather is fair, it is quite sunny and not raining. (FORMAL)\nWeather conditions were fair.\n  ADJ\n  = fine\n8. A county, state, or country fair is an event where there are, for example, displays of goods and animals, and amusements, games, and competitions.\n  N-COUNT: usu n N\n\n9. A fair is an event at which people display and sell goods, especially goods of a particular type.\n...an antiques fair.\n  N-COUNT: oft n N\n\n  see also craft fair, trade fair\n10. You use fair enough when you want to say that a statement, decision, or action seems reasonable to a certain extent, but that perhaps there is more to be said or done. (mainly SPOKEN)\nIf you don’t like it, fair enough, but that’s hardly a justification to attack the whole thing...\n  PHRASE: PHR with cl\n\n11. If you say that someone plays fair, you mean that they behave or act in a reasonable and honest way.\nThe government is not playing fair, one union official told me.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n12. If you say that someone won a competition fair and square, you mean that they won honestly and without cheating.\nThere are no excuses. We were beaten fair and square.\n  PHRASE: PHR after v


Words: fair game
Meaning:
fair game\n  If you say that someone is fair game, you mean that it is acceptable to criticize or attack them, usually because of the way that they behave.\nPoliticians were always considered fair game by cartoonists.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: fair play
Meaning:
fair play\n  If you refer to someone’s attitude or behaviour as fair play, you approve of it because it shows respect and sympathy towards everyone, even towards people who are thought to be wrong or to deserve punishment.\n...a legal system that is unmatched anywhere in the world for its justice and sense of fair play.\n  N-UNCOUNT  approval


Words: fair sex
Meaning:
fair sex   also fairer sex\n  If a man talks about the fair sex, he is referring to women in general. (OLD-FASHIONED)\n  N-SING: the N


Words: fair trade
Meaning:
Fair trade is the practice of buying goods directly from producers in developing countries at a fair price.\n...fair trade coffee.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N n


Words: fair-minded
Meaning:
fair-minded\n  A fair-minded person always tries to be fair and reasonable, and always listens to other people’s opinions.\nShe is one of the most fair-minded people I know.\n  ADJ: oft ADJ n


Words: fair-weather
Meaning:
fair-weather\n  You use fair-weather to refer to someone who offers help to someone, or who takes part in a particular activity, only when it is easy or pleasant for them to do so.\n...a fair-weather friend.\n  ADJ: ADJ n  disapproval


Words: fairground
Meaning:
fair.ground\n   fairground  fairgrounds\n  A fairground is an area of land where a fair is held.\n  N-COUNT


Words: fairly
Meaning:
fair.ly\n   fairly\n1. Fairly means to quite a large degree. For example, if you say that something is fairly old, you mean that it is old but not very old.\nBoth ships are fairly new...\nWe did fairly well but only fairly well.\n  ADV: ADV adj/adv\n  = quite\n2. You use fairly instead of `very’ to add emphasis to an adjective or adverb without making it sound too forceful.\nWere you always fairly bright at school?...\nI’ll have no income and no home and will need a job fairly badly.\n  ADV: ADV adj/adv  vagueness\n  = pretty\n3.\n  see also fair


Words: fairness
Meaning:
fair.ness\n   fairness\n  Fairness is the quality of being reasonable, right, and just.\n...concern about the fairness of the election campaign.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: fairway
Meaning:
fair.way\n   fairway  fairways\n  The fairway on a golf course is the long strip of short grass between each tee and green.\n  N-COUNT: usu the N


Words: fairy
Meaning:
fairy  fairies\n1. A fairy is an imaginary creature with magical powers. Fairies are often represented as small people with wings.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If someone describes a man as a fairy, they mean that he is a homosexual and they disapprove of this. (OFFENSIVE, OLD-FASHIONED)\n  N-COUNT  disapproval


Words: fairy godmother
Meaning:
fairy god.mother\n   fairy godmother\n  If you call a woman your fairy godmother, you are saying in a slightly humorous way that she has been very helpful in your life, often at times when you thought you had problems that could not be solved.\n  N-SING: poss N


Words: fairy lights
Meaning:
fairy lights\n  Fairy lights are small, coloured electric lights that are hung up as decorations, for example on a Christmas tree. (BRIT)\n  N-PLURAL


Words: fairy story
Meaning:
fairy sto.ry\n   fairy story  fairy stories\n  A fairy story is the same as a fairy tale.\n  N-COUNT


Words: fairy tale
Meaning:
fairy tale  fairy tales   also fairytale\n  A fairy tale is a story for children involving magical events and imaginary creatures.\nShe was like a princess in a fairy tale.\n  N-COUNT


Words: fairyland
Meaning:
fairy.land\n   fairyland  fairylands\n1. Fairyland is the imaginary place where fairies live.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. If you describe a place as a fairyland, you mean that it has a delicate beauty.\nIf you came with me to one of my toy shops, you’d think you were stepping into a fairyland.\n  N-VAR


Words: fait accompli
Meaning:
fait ac.com.pli\n   fait accompli  faits accomplis\n  If something is a fait accompli, it has already been decided or done and cannot be changed. (FORMAL)\nThey became increasingly annoyed that they were being presented with a fait accompli.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing


Words: faith
Meaning:
faith  faiths\n1. If you have faith in someone or something, you feel confident about their ability or goodness.\nShe had placed a great deal of faith in Mr Penleigh...\nPeople have lost faith in the British Parliament.\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu N in n\n  = confidence\n2. A faith is a particular religion, for example Christianity, Buddhism, or Islam.\nEngland shifted officially from a Catholic to a Protestant faith in the 16th century.\n  N-COUNT: also no det, usu adj N\n\n3. Faith is strong religious belief in a particular God.\nUmberto Eco’s loss of his own religious faith is reflected in his novels.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n4. If you break faith with someone you made a promise to or something you believed in, you stop acting in a way that supports them.\nIf we don’t, we’re breaking faith with our people!\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n5. If you do something in good faith, you seriously believe that what you are doing is right, honest, or legal, even though this may not be the case.\nThis report was published in good faith but we regret any confusion which may have been caused.\n  PHRASE: PHR after v\n\n6. If you keep faith with someone you have made a promise to or something you believe in, you continue to support them even when it is difficult to do so.\nHe has made one of the most powerful American films of the year by keeping faith with his radical principles.\n  PHRASE: V inflects, PHR n\n\n7.\n  see also article of faith, leap of faith


Words: faith healer
Meaning:
faith heal.er\n   faith healer  faith healers\n  A faith healer is someone who believes they can treat and heal sick people using prayer or supernatural powers.\n  N-COUNT


Words: faith healing
Meaning:
faith heal.ing\n   faith healing   also faith-healing\n  Faith healing is the treatment of a sick person by someone who believes that they are able to heal people through prayer or a supernatural power.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: faithful
Meaning:
faith.ful\n   faithful\n1. Someone who is faithful to a person, organization, idea, or activity remains firm in their belief in them or support for them.\nShe had been faithful to her promise to guard this secret...\nOlder Americans are among this country’s most faithful voters.\n  ADJ: oft ADJ to n\n\n  The faithful are people who are faithful to someone or something.\nHe spends his time making speeches at factories or gatherings of the Party faithful.\n  N-PLURAL: the N\n\n=>  faith.ful.ly\nHe has since 1965 faithfully followed and supported every twist and turn of government policy.\n  ADV: ADV with v\n\n2. Someone who is faithful to their husband, wife, or lover does not have a sexual relationship with anyone else.\nShe insisted that she had remained faithful to her husband...\n  ADJ: oft ADJ to n\n  !=unfaithful\n3. A faithful account, translation, or copy of something represents or reproduces the original accurately.\nColin Welland’s screenplay is faithful to the novel.\n  ADJ: oft ADJ to n\n\n=>  faith.ful.ly\nWhen I adapt something I translate from one meaning to another as faithfully as I can.\n  ADV: ADV with v


Words: faithfully
Meaning:
faith.ful.ly\n   faithfully\n  When you start a formal or business letter with `Dear Sir’ or `Dear Madam’, you write Yours faithfully before your signature at the end. (BRIT; in AM, use Sincerely yours)\n  CONVENTION\n\n  see also faithful


Words: faithless
Meaning:
faith.less\n   faithless\n  If you say that someone is faithless, you mean that they are disloyal or dishonest.\nShe decided to divorce her increasingly faithless and unreliable husband.\n  ADJ


Words: fake
Meaning:
fake  fakes  faking  faked\n1. A fake fur or a fake painting, for example, is a fur or painting that has been made to look valuable or genuine, usually in order to deceive people.\nThe bank manager is said to have issued fake certificates.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n  A fake is something that is fake.\nIt is filled with famous works of art, and every one of them is a fake.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If someone fakes something, they try to make it look valuable or genuine, although in fact it is not.\nHe faked his own death last year to collect on a $1 million insurance policy.\n...faked evidence.\n  VERB: V n, V-ed\n\n3. Someone who is a fake is not what they claim to be, for example because they do not have the qualifications that they claim to have.\n  N-COUNT\n  = fraud\n4. If you fake a feeling, emotion, or reaction, you pretend that you are experiencing it when you are not.\nJon faked nonchalance...\nMaturity and emotional sophistication can’t be faked.\n  VERB: V n, V n


Words: falcon
Meaning:
fal.con\n   falcon  falcons\n  A falcon is a bird of prey that can be trained to hunt other birds and animals.\n  N-COUNT


Words: falconer
Meaning:
fal.con.er\n   falconer  falconers\n  A falconer is someone who trains and uses falcons for hunting.\n  N-COUNT


Words: falconry
Meaning:
fal.con.ry\n   falconry\n  Falconry is the skill of training falcons to hunt, and the sport of using them to hunt.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: fall
Meaning:
fall  falls  falling  fell  fallen\n1. If someone or something falls, they move quickly downwards onto or towards the ground, by accident or because of a natural force.\nHer father fell into the sea after a massive heart attack...\nBombs fell in the town...\nI ought to seal the boxes up. I don’t want the books falling out...\nTwenty people were injured by falling masonry.\n  VERB: V prep, V, V out/off, V-ing\n\n  Fall is also a noun.\nThe helmets are designed to withstand impacts equivalent to a fall from a bicycle.\n  N-COUNT: oft N from n\n\n2. If a person or structure that is standing somewhere falls, they move from their upright position, so that they are then lying on the ground.\nThe woman gripped the shoulders of her man to stop herself from falling...\nWe watched buildings fall on top of people and pets...\nHe lost his balance and fell backwards.\n  VERB: V, V prep/adv, V prep/adv\n\n  Fall is also a noun.\nMrs Briscoe had a bad fall last week.\n  N-COUNT\n\n  Fall down means the same as fall.\nI hit him so hard he fell down...\nChildren jumped from upper floors as the building fell down around them.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P, V P\n\n=>  fall.en\nA number of roads have been blocked by fallen trees.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n3. When rain or snow falls, it comes down from the sky.\nWinds reached up to 100mph in some places with an inch of rain falling within 15 minutes.\n  VERB: V\n\n  Fall is also a noun.\nOne night there was a heavy fall of snow.\n  N-COUNT: N of n\n\n  see also rainfall, snowfall\n4. If you fall somewhere, you allow yourself to drop there in a hurried or disorganized way, often because you are very tired.\nTotally exhausted, he tore his clothes off and fell into bed...\n  VERB: V prep\n\n5. If something falls, it decreases in amount, value, or strength.\nOutput will fall by 6%...\nHer weight fell to under seven stones...\nBetween July and August, oil product prices fell 0.2 per cent...\nThe number of prosecutions has stayed static and the rate of convictions has fallen.\n...a time of falling living standards and emerging mass unemployment.\n  VERB: V by n, V to/from n, V amount, V, V-ing\n  = drop  !=rise\n  Fall is also a noun.\nThere was a sharp fall in the value of the pound.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing\n\n6. If a powerful or successful person falls, they suddenly lose their power or position.\nThere’s a danger of the government falling because it will lose its majority...\nThe moment Mrs Thatcher fell from power has left a lasting imprint on the world’s memory.\n  VERB: V, V from n\n\n  Fall is also a noun.\nFollowing the fall of the military dictator in March, the country has had a civilian government...\n  N-SING: with poss\n  !=rise\n7. If a place falls in a war or election, an enemy army or a different political party takes control of it.\nCroatian army troops retreated from northern Bosnia and the area fell to the Serbs...\nWith the announcement `Paphos has fallen!’ a cheer went up from the assembled soldiers.\n  VERB: V to n, V\n\n  Fall is also a noun.\n...the fall of Rome.\n  N-SING: usu N of n\n\n8. If someone falls in battle, they are killed. (LITERARY)\nAnother wave of troops followed the first, running past those who had fallen.\n  VERB: V\n\n9. You can use fall to show that someone or something passes into another state. For example, if someone falls ill, they become ill, and if something falls into disrepair, it is then in a state of disrepair.\nIt is almost impossible to visit Florida without falling in love with the state...\nI took Moira to the cinema, where she fell asleep...\nAlmost without exception these women fall victim to exploitation.\n  V-LINK: V in/into/out of n, V adj, V n\n\n10. If you say that something or someone falls into a particular group or category, you mean that they belong in that group or category.\nThe problems generally fall into two categories...\nBoth women fall into the highest-risk group.\n  VERB: V into n, V into n\n\n(next)


Words: fall .1
Meaning:
11. If the responsibility or blame for something falls on someone, they have to take the responsibility or the blame for it. (WRITTEN)\nThat responsibility falls on the local office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees...\n  VERB: V on n\n\n12. If a celebration or other special event falls on a particular day or date, it happens to be on that day or date.\n...the oddly named Quasimodo Sunday which falls on the first Sunday after Easter.\n  VERB: V on n\n\n13. When light or shadow falls on something, it covers it.\nNancy, out of the corner of her eye, saw the shadow that suddenly fell across the doorway.\n  VERB: V across/over/on n\n\n14. If someone’s hair or a garment falls in a certain way, it hangs downwards in that way.\n...a slender boy with black hair falling across his forehead.\n  VERB: V prep/adv\n\n15. If you say that someone’s eyes fell on something, you mean they suddenly noticed it. (WRITTEN)\nAs he laid the flowers on the table, his eye fell upon a note in Grace’s handwriting.\n  VERB: V on/upon n\n\n16. When night or darkness falls, night begins and it becomes dark.\nAs darkness fell outside, they sat down to eat at long tables.\n  VERB: V\n\n17. You can refer to a waterfall as the falls.\n...panoramic views of the falls.\n...Niagara Falls.\n  N-PLURAL; N-IN-NAMES\n\n18. Fall is the season between summer and winter when the weather becomes cooler. (AM; in BRIT, use autumn)\nHe was elected judge in the fall of 1991...\nThe Supreme Court will not hear the case until next fall.\n  N-VAR\n\n19.\n  see also fallen\n20. To fall to pieces, or in British English to fall to bits, means the same as to fall apart.\nAt that point the radio handset fell to pieces.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n21.\nto fall on your feet: see foot\nto fall foul of: see foul\nto fall flat: see flat\nto fall from grace: see grace\nto fall into place: see place\nto fall short: see short\nto fall into the trap: see trap\nto fall by the wayside: see wayside


Words: fall apart
Meaning:
fall apart\n1. If something falls apart, it breaks into pieces because it is old or badly made.\nThe work was never finished and bit by bit the building fell apart.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P\n\n2. If an organization or system falls apart, it becomes disorganized or unable to work effectively, or breaks up into its different parts.\nEurope’s monetary system is falling apart...\nI’ve tried everything to stop our marriage falling apart.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P, V P\n  = break down\n3. If you say that someone is falling apart, you mean that they are becoming emotionally disturbed and are unable to think calmly or to deal with the difficult or unpleasant situation that they are in. (INFORMAL)\nI was falling apart. I wasn’t getting any sleep.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P\n  = crack up


Words: fall away
Meaning:
fall away\n1. If something falls away from the thing it is attached to, it breaks off.\nOfficials say that one or two engines fell away from the plane shortly after takeoff.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P from n, also V P\n\n2. If you say that land falls away, you mean it slopes downwards from a particular point.\nOn either side of the tracks the ground fell away sharply.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P\n\n3. If the degree, amount, or size of something falls away, it decreases.\nHis coalition may hold a clear majority but this could quickly fall away...\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P\n  = fall off


Words: fall back
Meaning:
fall back\n1. If you fall back, you move backwards a short distance away from someone or something.\nHe fell back in embarrassment when he saw that Ross had no hair at all...\nThe congregation fell back from them slightly as they entered.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P, V P from n\n\n2. If an army falls back during a battle or war, it withdraws.\nThe Prussian garrison at Charleroi was falling back.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P


Words: fall back on
Meaning:
fall back on\n  If you fall back on something, you do it or use it after other things have failed.\nUnable to defeat him by logical discussion, she fell back on her old habit of criticizing his speech...\nWhen necessary, instinct is the most reliable resource you can fall back on.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P P n, V P P n


Words: fall behind
Meaning:
fall behind\n1. If you fall behind, you do not make progress or move forward as fast as other people.\nEvans had rheumatic fever, missed school and fell behind...\nBoris is falling behind all the top players.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P, V P n\n\n2. If you fall behind with something or let it fall behind, you do not do it or produce it when you should, according to an agreement or schedule.\nHe faces losing his home after falling behind with the payments...\nThousands of people could die because the relief effort has fallen so far behind...\nConstruction work fell behind schedule.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P with n, V P, V P n


Words: fall down
Meaning:
fall down\n1.\nsee fall 2\n2. If an argument, organization, or person falls down on a particular point, they are weak or unsatisfactory on that point.\nService was outstandingly friendly and efficient, falling down on only one detail...\nThat is where his argument falls down.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P on n, V P\n  = fail


Words: fall for
Meaning:
fall for\n1. If you fall for someone, you are strongly attracted to them and start loving them.\nHe was fantastically handsome.I just fell for him right away.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n\n\n2. If you fall for a lie or trick, you believe it or are deceived by it.\nIt was just a line to get you out here, and you fell for it!\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n


Words: fall guy
Meaning:
fall guy  fall guys\n  If someone is the fall guy, they are blamed for something which they did not do or which is not their fault. (INFORMAL)\nHe claims he was made the fall guy for the affair.\n  N-COUNT\n  = scapegoat


Words: fall in
Meaning:
fall in\n  If a roof or ceiling falls in, it collapses and falls to the ground.\nPart of my bedroom ceiling has fallen in.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P\n  = cave in


Words: fall into
Meaning:
fall into\n  If you fall into conversation or a discussion with someone, usually someone you have just met, you start having a conversation or discussion with them.\nOver breakfast at my motel, I fell into conversation with the owner of a hardware shop.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n


Words: fall off
Meaning:
fall off\n1. If something falls off, it separates from the thing to which it was attached and moves towards the ground.\nWhen your exhaust falls off, you have to replace it.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P\n  = drop off\n2. If the degree, amount, or size of something falls off, it decreases.\nUnemployment is rising again and retail buying has fallen off.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P\n\n  see also falling-off


Words: fall on
Meaning:
fall on\n  If you fall on something when it arrives or appears, you eagerly seize it or welcome it.\nThey fell on the sandwiches with alacrity.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n


Words: fall out
Meaning:
fall out\n1. If something such as a person’s hair or a tooth falls out, it comes out.\nHer hair started falling out as a result of radiation treatment.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P\n\n2. If you fall out with someone, you have an argument and stop being friendly with them. You can also say that two people fall out.\nShe fell out with her husband...\nMum and I used to fall out a lot.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P with n, pl-n V P\n\n3.\n  see also fallout


Words: fall over
Meaning:
fall over\n  If a person or object that is standing falls over, they accidentally move from their upright position so that they are then lying on the ground or on the surface supporting them.\nIf he drinks more than two glasses of wine he falls over.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P


Words: fall through
Meaning:
fall through\n  If an arrangement, plan, or deal falls through, it fails to happen.\nThey wanted to turn the estate into a private golf course and offered .20 million, but the deal fell through.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P


Words: fall to
Meaning:
fall to\n1. If a responsibility, duty, or opportunity falls to someone, it becomes their responsibility, duty, or opportunity.\nHe’s been very unlucky that no chances have fallen to him...\nIt fell to me to get rid of them.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n, it V P n to-inf\n\n2. If someone falls to doing something, they start doing it. (WRITTEN)\nWhen she had departed, they fell to fighting among themselves.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P -ing


Words: fallacious
Meaning:
fal.la.cious\n   fallacious\n  If an idea, argument, or reason is fallacious, it is wrong because it is based on a fallacy. (FORMAL)\nTheir main argument is fallacious.\n  ADJ


Words: fallacy
Meaning:
fal.la.cy\n   fallacy  fallacies\n  A fallacy is an idea which many people believe to be true, but which is in fact false because it is based on incorrect information or reasoning.\nIt’s a fallacy that the affluent give relatively more to charity than the less prosperous...\n  N-VAR: oft N that, N of n/-ing


Words: fallback
Meaning:
fall.back\n   fallback\n  Someone’s fallback position is what they will do if their plans do not succeed, or if something unexpected happens. (JOURNALISM)\nYesterday’s vote itself was a retreat from an earlier fallback position.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: fallen
Meaning:
fall.en\n   fallen\n1. Fallen is the past participle of fall.\n\n2. The fallen are soldiers who have died in battle. (LITERARY)\nWork began on establishing the cemeteries as permanent memorials to the fallen.\n  N-PLURAL: the N\n  = dead\n3.\n  see also fall


Words: fallible
Meaning:
fal.lible\n   fallible\n  If you say that someone or something is fallible, you mean that they are not perfect and are likely to make mistakes or to fail in what they are doing. (FORMAL)\nThey are only human and all too fallible...\n  ADJ\n  !=infallible\n=>  fal.libil.ity\nErrors may have been made due to human fallibility...\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu with supp


Words: falling-off
Meaning:
falling-off\n  If there is a falling-off of an activity, there is a decrease in its amount or intensity.\nThere has been a falling-off in box office income and other earnings.\n  N-SING: N of/in n\n  = decline


Words: fallopian tube
Meaning:
fal.lo.pian tube\n   fallopian tube  fallopian tubes\n  A woman’s fallopian tubes are the two tubes in her body along which eggs pass from her ovaries to her womb.\n  N-COUNT


Words: fallout
Meaning:
fall.out\n   fallout\n1. Fallout is the radiation that affects a particular place or area after a nuclear explosion has taken place.\nThey were exposed to radioactive fallout during nuclear weapons tests.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. If you refer to the fallout from something that has happened, you mean the unpleasant consequences that follow it.\nGrundy lost his job in the fallout from the incident.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N from n


Words: fallow
Meaning:
fal.low\n   fallow\n1. Fallow land has been dug or ploughed but nothing has been planted in it, especially so that its quality or strength has a chance to improve.\nThe fields lay fallow.\n  ADJ\n\n2. A fallow period is a time when very little is being achieved.\nThere followed something of a fallow period professionally, until a job came up in the summer.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: fallow deer
Meaning:
fal.low deer\n   fallow deer  fallow deer\n  A fallow deer is a small deer that has a reddish coat which develops white spots in summer.\n  N-COUNT


Words: false
Meaning:
false\n1. If something is false, it is incorrect, untrue, or mistaken.\nIt was quite clear the President was being given false information by those around him...\nYou do not know whether what you’re told is true or false...\nHis sister said he had deliberately given the hospital a false name and address.\n  ADJ\n  !=true\n=>  false.ly\n...a man who is falsely accused of a crime.\n  ADV: ADV with v\n  = wrongly\n2. You use false to describe objects which are artificial but which are intended to look like the real thing or to be used instead of the real thing.\n...a set of false teeth...\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  = artificial  !=real\n3. If you describe a person or their behaviour as false, you are criticizing them for being insincere or for hiding their real feelings.\n`Thank you,’ she said with false enthusiasm...\n  ADJ  disapproval\n  !=genuine\n=>  false.ly\nHe was falsely jovial, with his booming, mirthless laugh...\n`This food is divine,’ they murmur, falsely.\n  ADV: ADV adj, ADV after v


Words: false alarm
Meaning:
false alarm  false alarms\n  When you think something dangerous is about to happen, but then discover that you were mistaken, you can say that it was a false alarm.\n...a bomb threat that turned out to be a false alarm.\n  N-COUNT


Words: false move
Meaning:
false move\n  You use one false move to introduce the very bad or serious consequences which will result if someone makes a mistake, even a very small one.\nOne false move and I knew Sarah would be dead.\n  PHRASE


Words: false positive
Meaning:
false posi.tive\n   false positive  false positives\n  A false positive is a mistaken result of a scientific test. For example, if the result of a pregnancy test is a false positive, it indicates that a woman is pregnant when she is not.\n...a high rate of false positive results.\n  N-COUNT: oft N n


Words: false start
Meaning:
false start  false starts\n1. A false start is an attempt to start something, such as a speech, project, or plan, which fails because you were not properly prepared or ready to begin.\nAny economic reform, he said, faced false starts and mistakes.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If there is a false start at the beginning of a race, one of the competitors moves before the person who starts the race has given the signal.\n  N-COUNT


Words: falsehood
Meaning:
false.hood\n   falsehood  falsehoods\n1. Falsehood is the quality or fact of being untrue or of being a lie.\nShe called the verdict a victory of truth over falsehood.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n  !=truth\n2. A falsehood is a lie. (FORMAL)\nHe accused them of knowingly spreading falsehoods about him.\n  N-COUNT


Words: falsetto
Meaning:
fal.set.to\n   falsetto  falsettos\n  If a man sings or speaks in a falsetto, his voice is high-pitched, and higher than a man’s normal voice.\nHe sang to himself in a soft falsetto.\n...a falsetto voice.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, oft in N, N n


Words: falsify
Meaning:
fal.si.fy\n   falsify  falsifies  falsifying  falsified\n  If someone falsifies something, they change it or add untrue details to it in order to deceive people.\nThe charges against him include fraud, bribery, and falsifying business records.\n  VERB: V n\n\n=>  fal.si.fi.ca.tion      falsifications\n...recent concern about the falsification of evidence in court.\n  N-VAR: usu N of n


Words: falter
Meaning:
fal.ter\n   falter  falters  faltering  faltered\n1. If something falters, it loses power or strength in an uneven way, or no longer makes much progress.\nNormal life is at a standstill, and the economy is faltering...\n  VERB: V\n\n2. If you falter, you lose your confidence and stop doing something or start making mistakes.\nI have not faltered in my quest for a new future...\n  VERB: V


Words: faltering
Meaning:
fal.ter.ing\n   faltering\n  A faltering attempt, effort, or movement is uncertain because the person doing it is nervous or weak, or does not really know what to do.\nLeaning on Jon, Michael took faltering steps to the bathroom.\n  ADJ\n  = hesitant


Words: fame
Meaning:
fame\n  If you achieve fame, you become very well-known.\nThe film earned him international fame.\n...her rise to fame and fortune as a dramatist.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\nclaim to fame: see claim


Words: famed
Meaning:
famed\n  If people, places, or things are famed for a particular thing, they are very well known for it.\nThe city is famed for its outdoor restaurants.\n...the famed Brazilian photographer Sebastiao Salgado.\n  ADJ: oft ADJ for n\n  = renowned


Words: familial
Meaning:
fa.mil.ial\n   familial\n  Familial means relating to families in general, or typical of a family. (FORMAL)\nGerard also took on wider familial responsibilities.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: familiar
Meaning:
fa.mili.ar\n   familiar\n1. If someone or something is familiar to you, you recognize them or know them well.\nHe talked of other cultures as if they were more familiar to him than his own...\nThey are already familiar faces on our TV screens.\n...the familiar names of long-established local firms.\n  ADJ: oft ADJ to n\n\n=>  fa.mili.ar.ity\nTony was unnerved by the uncanny familiarity of her face.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. If you are familiar with something, you know or understand it well.\nLesinko is quite familiar with Central Television. He worked there for 25 years...\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ with n\n\n=>  fa.mili.ar.ity\nThe enemy would always have the advantage of familiarity with the rugged terrain.\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu N with n\n\n3. If someone you do not know well behaves in a familiar way towards you, they treat you very informally in a way that you might find offensive.\nThe driver of that taxi-cab seemed to me familiar to the point of impertinence...\n  ADJ  disapproval\n\n=>  fa.mili.ar.ity\nShe needed to control her surprise at the easy familiarity with which her host greeted the head waiter.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n=>  fa.mili.ar.ly\n`Gerald, isn’t it?’ I began familiarly.\n  ADV


Words: familiarity
Meaning:
fa.mili.ar.ity\n   familiarity\n  Familiarity is used especially in the expression familiarity breeds contempt to say that if you know a person or situation very well, you can easily lose respect for that person or become careless in that situation.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n  see also familiar


Words: familiarize
Meaning:
fa.mil.iar.ize\n   familiarize  familiarizes  familiarizing  familiarized\nin BRIT, also use familiarise\n  If you familiarize yourself with something, or if someone familiarizes you with it, you learn about it and start to understand it.\nI was expected to familiarise myself with the keyboard...\nThe goal of the experiment was to familiarize the people with the new laws.\n  VERB: V pron-refl with n, V n with n


Words: familiarly
Meaning:
fa.mili.ar.ly\n   familiarly\n  If you say that something or someone is familiarly known as a particular thing or familiarly called a particular thing, you are giving the name that people use informally to refer to it.\n...Ann Hamilton’s father, familiarly known as `Dink’.\n  PHRASE


Words: family
Meaning:
fami.ly\n   family  families\n1. A family is a group of people who are related to each other, especially parents and their children.\nThere’s room in there for a family of five...\nHis family are completely behind him, whatever he decides...\nTo him the family is the core of society...\nDoes he have any family?\n  N-COUNT-COLL\n\n2. When people talk about a family, they sometimes mean children.\nThey decided to start a family.\n...couples with large families.\n  N-COUNT-COLL\n\n3. When people talk about their family, they sometimes mean their ancestors.\nHer family came to Los Angeles at the turn of the century.\n...the history of mental illness in the family.\n  N-COUNT-COLL\n\n4. You can use family to describe things that belong to a particular family.\nHe returned to the family home...\nI was working in the family business.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n5. You can use family to describe things that are designed to be used or enjoyed by both parents and children.\nIt had been designed as a family house...\nA wedding is a family event.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n6. A family of animals or plants is a group of related species.\n...foods in the cabbage family, such as Brussels sprouts.\n  N-COUNT: with supp


Words: family doctor
Meaning:
fami.ly doc.tor\n   family doctor  family doctors\n  A family doctor is a doctor who does not specialize in any particular area of medicine, but who has a medical practice in which he or she treats all types of illness. (BRIT)\n  N-COUNT: oft poss N\n  = GP


Words: family man
Meaning:
fami.ly man\n   family man  family men\n1. A family man is a man who is very fond of his wife and children and likes to spend a lot of time with them.\nI’m very much a family man and need to be close to those I love.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A family man is a man who has a wife and children.\nI am a family man with a mortgage.\n  N-COUNT


Words: family planning
Meaning:
fami.ly plan.ning\n   family planning\n  Family planning is the practice of using contraception to control the number of children you have.\n...a family planning clinic.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N n


Words: family tree
Meaning:
fami.ly tree\n   family tree  family trees\n  A family tree is a chart that shows all the people in a family over many generations and their relationship to one another.\n  N-COUNT


Words: famine
Meaning:
fam.ine\n   famine  famines\n  Famine is a situation in which large numbers of people have little or no food, and many of them die.\nThousands of refugees are trapped by war, drought and famine...\nThe civil war is obstructing distribution of famine relief by aid agencies.\n  N-VAR


Words: famished
Meaning:
fam.ished\n   famished\n  If you are famished, you are very hungry. (INFORMAL)\nIsn’t dinner ready? I’m famished.\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ\n  = starving


Words: famous
Meaning:
fa.mous\n   famous\n  Someone or something that is famous is very well known.\nNew Orleans is famous for its cuisine.\n...England’s most famous landscape artist, John Constable.\n  ADJ: oft ADJ for n


Words: famously
Meaning:
fa.mous.ly\n   famously\n1. You use famously to refer to a fact that is well known, usually because it is remarkable or extreme.\nAuthors are famously ignorant about the realities of publishing...\n  ADV: usu ADV adj, also ADV with v\n\n2. If you get on or get along famously with someone, you are very friendly with each other and enjoy meeting and being together. (INFORMAL, OLD-FASHIONED)\nI got on famously with Leary from the first time we met.\n  ADV: ADV after v


Words: fan
Meaning:
fan  fans  fanning  fanned\n1. If you are a fan of someone or something, especially a famous person or a sport, you like them very much and are very interested in them.\nAs a boy he was a Manchester United fan...\nI am a great fan of rave music.\n  N-COUNT: usu n N, N of n\n\n2. A fan is a flat object that you hold in your hand and wave in order to move the air and make yourself feel cooler.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. If you fan yourself or your face when you are hot, you wave a fan or other flat object in order to make yourself feel cooler.\nShe would have to wait in the truck, fanning herself with a piece of cardboard...\nMo kept bringing me out refreshments and fanning me as it was that hot.\n  VERB: V pron-refl, V n\n\n4. A fan is a piece of electrical or mechanical equipment with blades that go round and round. It keeps a room or machine cool or gets rid of unpleasant smells.\nHe cools himself in front of an electric fan.\n...an extractor fan.\n  N-COUNT: oft supp N\n\n5. If you fan a fire, you wave something flat next to it in order to make it burn more strongly. If a wind fans a fire, it blows on it and makes it burn more strongly.\nDuring the afternoon, hot winds fan the flames.\n  VERB: V n\n\n6. If someone fans an emotion such as fear, hatred, or passion, they deliberately do things to make people feel the emotion more strongly.\nHe said students were fanning social unrest with their violent protests.\n  VERB: V n\n  = fuel\n7.\nto fan the flames: see flame\nthe shit hit the fan: see shit


Words: fan belt
Meaning:
fan belt  fan belts\n  In a car engine, the fan belt is the belt that drives the fan which keeps the engine cool.\n  N-COUNT


Words: fan club
Meaning:
fan club  fan clubs\n  A fan club is an organized group of people who all admire the same person or thing, for example a pop singer or pop group. Members of the fan club receive information and can take part in activities such as trips to concerts.\n  N-COUNT


Words: fan out
Meaning:
fan out\n  If a group of people or things fan out, they move forwards away from a particular point in different directions.\nThe main body of British, American, and French troops had fanned out to the west...\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P\n  = spread out


Words: fanatic
Meaning:
fa.nat.ic\n   fanatic  fanatics\n1. If you describe someone as a fanatic, you disapprove of them because you consider their behaviour or opinions to be very extreme, for example in the way they support particular religious or political ideas.\nI am not a religious fanatic but I am a Christian.\n  N-COUNT  disapproval\n  = extremist\n2. If you say that someone is a fanatic, you mean that they are very enthusiastic about a particular activity, sport, or way of life.\nBoth Rod and Phil are football fanatics.\n  N-COUNT: usu n N\n  = enthusiast\n3. Fanatic means the same as fanatical.\n  ADJ


Words: fanatical
Meaning:
fa.nati.cal\n   fanatical\n  If you describe someone as fanatical, you disapprove of them because you consider their behaviour or opinions to be very extreme.\nAs a boy he was a fanatical patriot.\n  ADJ  disapproval


Words: fanaticism
Meaning:
fa.nati.cism\n   fanaticism\n  Fanaticism is fanatical behaviour or the quality of being fanatical.\n...a protest against intolerance and religious fanaticism.\n  N-UNCOUNT  disapproval\n  = extremism


Words: fancier
Meaning:
fan.ci.er\n   fancier  fanciers\n  An animal or plant fancier is a person who breeds animals or plants of a particular type or who is very interested in them.\n...pigeon fanciers.\n  N-COUNT: supp N\n\n  see also fancy


Words: fanciful
Meaning:
fan.ci.ful\n   fanciful\n  If you describe an idea as fanciful, you disapprove of it because you think it comes from someone’s imagination, and is therefore unrealistic or unlikely to be true.\n...fanciful ideas about Martian life...\nDesigning silicon chips to mimic human organs sounds fanciful.\n  ADJ  disapproval


Words: fancy
Meaning:
ELABORATE OR EXPENSIVE\nfan.cy  ELABORATE OR EXPENSIVE\n   fancy  fancier  fanciest\n1. If you describe something as fancy, you mean that it is special, unusual, or elaborate, for example because it has a lot of decoration.\nIt was packaged in a fancy plastic case with attractive graphics.\n...fancy jewellery.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n2. If you describe something as fancy, you mean that it is very expensive or of very high quality, and you often dislike it because of this. (INFORMAL)\nThey sent me to a fancy private school.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\nWANTING, LIKING, OR THINKING\nfan.cy  WANTING, LIKING, OR THINKING\n   fancy  fancies  fancying  fancied\n1. If you fancy something, you want to have it or to do it. (mainly BRIT INFORMAL)\nWhat do you fancy doing, anyway?...\nI just fancied a drink.\n  VERB: V -ing, V n\n\n2. A fancy is a liking or desire for someone or something, especially one that does not last long.\nShe did not suspect that his interest was just a passing fancy.\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp\n  = whim\n3. If you fancy someone, you feel attracted to them, especially in a sexual way. (INFORMAL)\nI think he thinks I fancy him or something.\n  VERB: V n\n\n4. If you fancy yourself as a particular kind of person or fancy yourself doing a particular thing, you like the idea of being that kind of person or doing that thing.\nSo you fancy yourself as the boss someday?...\nI didn’t fancy myself wearing a kilt.\n  VERB: V pron-refl as n, V pron-refl -ing\n\n5. If you say that someone fancies themselves as a particular kind of person, you mean that they think, often wrongly, that they have the good qualities which that kind of person has.\nShe fancies herself a bohemian...\n...a flighty young woman who really fancies herself.\n  VERB: V pron-refl n, V pron-refl\n\n6. If you say that you fancy a particular competitor or team in a competition, you think they will win. (BRIT)\nYou have to fancy Bath because they are the most consistent team in England...\nI fancy England to win through.\n  VERB: V n, V n to-inf\n\n7. You say `fancy’ or `fancy that’ when you want to express surprise or disapproval.\nIt was very tasteless. Fancy talking like that so soon after his death...\n`Fancy that!’ smiled Conti.\n  EXCLAM  feelings\n\n8. If you take a fancy to someone or something, you start liking them, usually for no understandable reason.\nSylvia took quite a fancy to him...\n  PHRASE: V inflects, PHR n/-ing\n\n9. If something takes your fancy or tickles your fancy, you like it a lot when you see it or think of it.\nShe makes most of her own clothes, copying any fashion which takes her fancy.\n  PHRASE: V inflects


Words: fancy dress
Meaning:
fan.cy dress\n   fancy dress\n  Fancy dress is clothing that you wear for a party at which everyone tries to look like a famous person or a person from a story, from history, or from a particular profession.\nGuests were told to come in fancy dress...\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N n


Words: fandango
Meaning:
fan.dan.go\n   fandango  fandangos\n  A fandango is a Spanish dance in which two people dance very close together.\n  N-COUNT: oft the N


Words: fanfare
Meaning:
fan.fare\n   fanfare  fanfares\n1. A fanfare is a short, loud tune played on trumpets or other similar instruments to announce a special event.\nThe ceremony opened with a fanfare of trumpets.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If something happens with a fanfare, it happens or is announced with a lot of publicity. If something happens without a fanfare, it happens without a lot of fuss or publicity. (JOURNALISM)\nThe company was privatised with a fanfare of publicity...\n  N-VAR: oft N of n


Words: fang
Meaning:
fang  fangs\n  Fangs are the two long, sharp, upper teeth that some animals have.\nThe cobra sank its venomous fangs into his hand.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl


Words: fanlight
Meaning:
fan.light\n   fanlight  fanlights\n  A fanlight is a small window over a door or above another window.\n  N-COUNT


Words: fanny
Meaning:
fan.ny\n   fanny  fannies\n1. Someone’s fanny is their bottom. (AM INFORMAL, RUDE)\n  N-COUNT: usu poss N\n\n2. A woman’s fanny is her genitals. (BRIT INFORMAL, VERY RUDE)\n  N-COUNT: usu poss N


Words: fantasia
Meaning:
fan.ta.sia\n   fantasia  fantasias\n  A fantasia is a piece of music that is not written in a traditional or fixed form. (TECHNICAL)\n  N-COUNT: usu sing


Words: fantasist
Meaning:
fan.ta.sist\n   fantasist  fantasists\n  A fantasist is someone who constantly tells lies about their life and achievements in order to make them sound more exciting than they really are.\nSingleton was a fantasist who claimed to have a karate blackbelt.\n  N-COUNT


Words: fantasize
Meaning:
fan.ta.size\n   fantasize  fantasizes  fantasizing  fantasized\nin BRIT, also use fantasise\n1. If you fantasize about an event or situation that you would like to happen, you give yourself pleasure by imagining that it is happening, although it is untrue or unlikely to happen.\nI fantasised about writing music...\nHer husband died in 1967, although she fantasised that he was still alive.\n  VERB: V about n/-ing, V that\n\n2. If someone fantasizes, they try to excite themselves sexually by imagining a particular person or situation.\nResearch has shown that men are likely to fantasize far more frequently than women...\nI tried to fantasize about Christine: those wondering blue eyes, that coppery red hair of hers.\n  VERB: V, V about/over n, also V n


Words: fantastic
Meaning:
fan.tas.tic\n   fantastic\n\n  The form fantastical is also used for meaning 3.\n\n1. If you say that something is fantastic, you are emphasizing that you think it is very good or that you like it a lot. (INFORMAL)\nI have a fantastic social life...\nI thought she was fantastic.\n  ADJ  emphasis\n  = great\n2. A fantastic amount or quantity is an extremely large one.\n...fantastic amounts of money.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n=>  fan.tas.ti.cal.ly\n...a fantastically expensive restaurant.\n  ADV: ADV adj/adv\n\n3. You describe something as fantastic or fantastical when it seems strange and wonderful or unlikely.\nUnlikely and fantastic legends grew up around a great many figures, both real and fictitious...\nThe book has many fantastical aspects.\n  ADJ


Words: fantasy
Meaning:
fan.ta.sy\n   fantasy  fantasies   also phantasy\n1. A fantasy is a pleasant situation or event that you think about and that you want to happen, especially one that is unlikely to happen.\n...fantasies of romance and true love.\n  N-COUNT\n  = dream\n2. You can refer to a story or situation that someone creates from their imagination and that is not based on reality as fantasy.\nThe film is more of an ironic fantasy than a horror story.\n  N-VAR\n\n3. Fantasy is the activity of imagining things.\n...a world of imagination, passion, fantasy, reflection.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: fanzine
Meaning:
fan.zine\n   fanzine  fanzines\n  A fanzine is a magazine for people who are fans of, for example, a particular pop group or football team. Fanzines are written by people who are fans themselves, rather than by professional journalists.\n  N-COUNT


Words: FAO
Meaning:
You use FAO when addressing a letter or parcel to a particular person. FAO is a written abbreviation for `for the attention of’.\nSend the coupon with your deposit to House Beautiful Weekend, FAO Heidi Ross.


Words: FAQ
Meaning:
FAQ   FAQs\n  FAQ is used especially on websites to refer to questions about computers and the Internet. FAQ is an abbreviation for `frequently asked questions’.\n  N-PLURAL


Words: far
Meaning:
far\nFar has two comparatives, farther and further, and two superlatives, farthest and furthest. Farther and farthest are used mainly in sense 1, and are dealt with here. Further and furthest are dealt with in separate entries.\n1. If one place, thing, or person is far away from another, there is a great distance between them.\nI know a nice little Italian restaurant not far from here...\nThey came from as far away as Florida...\nBoth of my sisters moved even farther away from home...\nThey lay in the cliff top grass with the sea stretching out far below...\nIs it far?\n  ADV: ADV after v, v-link ADV, usu ADV prep/adv\n  !=near\n2. If you ask how far a place is, you are asking what distance it is from you or from another place. If you ask how far someone went, you are asking what distance they travelled, or what place they reached.\nHow far is Pawtucket from Providence?...\nHow far is it to Malcy?...\nHow far can you throw?...\nYou can only judge how high something is when you know how far away it is...\nShe followed the tracks as far as the road.\n  ADV: how ADV, as/so ADV as, ADV-compar than\n\n3. When there are two things of the same kind in a place, the far one is the one that is a greater distance from you.\nHe had wandered to the far end of the room...\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n  !=near\n4. You can use far to refer to the part of an area or object that is the greatest distance from the centre in a particular direction. For example, the far north of a country is the part of it that is the greatest distance to the north.\nI wrote the date at the far left of the blackboard.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n5. A time or event that is far away in the future or the past is a long time from the present or from a particular point in time.\n...hidden conflicts whose roots lie far back in time...\nI can’t see any farther than the next six months...\nThe first day of term, which seemed so far away at the start of the summer holidays, is looming.\n  ADV: ADV after v, v-link ADV, usu ADV adv/prep\n\n6. You can use far to talk about the extent or degree to which something happens or is true.\nHow far did the film tell the truth about Barnes Wallis?...\n  ADV: ADV with v, usu how ADV\n\n7. You can talk about how far someone or something gets to describe the progress that they make.\nDiscussions never progressed very far...\nThink of how far we have come in a little time...\nI don’t think Mr Cavanagh would get far with that trick.\n  ADV: ADV with v, oft how ADV\n\n8. You can talk about how far a person or action goes to describe the degree to which someone’s behaviour or actions are extreme.\nIt’s still not clear how far the Russian parliament will go to implement its own plans...\nThis time he’s gone too far.\n  ADV: ADV with v\n\n9. You can use far to mean `very much’ when you are comparing two things and emphasizing the difference between them. For example, you can say that something is far better or far worse than something else to indicate that it is very much better or worse. You can also say that something is, for example, far too big to indicate that it is very much too big.\nWomen who eat plenty of fresh vegetables are far less likely to suffer anxiety or depression...\nThe police say the response has been far better than expected...\nThese trials are simply taking far too long...\n  ADV: usu ADV compar, ADV too adj/adv, also ADV adv/prep  emphasis\n\n10. You can describe people with extreme left-wing or right-wing political views as the far left or the far right.\nAnti-racist campaigners are urging the Government to ban all far-Right groups.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n  = extreme\n11. You can use far in expressions like `as far as I know’ and `so far as I remember’ to indicate that you are not absolutely sure of the statement you are about to make or have just made, and you may be wrong.\nIt only lasted a couple of years, as far as I know...\nSo far as I am aware, no proper investigation has ever been carried out into the subject.\n  ADV: as/so ADV as  vagueness\n\n(next)


Words: far .1
Meaning:
12. You use the expression far and away when you are comparing something or someone with others of the same kind, in order to emphasize how great the difference is between them. For example, you can say that something is far and away the best to indicate that it is definitely the best.\nHe’s still far and away the best we have.\n  PHRASE: PHR the adj-superl  emphasis\n  = easily\n13. You use the expression by far when you are comparing something or someone with others of the same kind, in order to emphasize how great the difference is between them. For example, you can say that something is by far the best or the best by far to indicate that it is definitely the best.\nBy far the most important issue for them is unemployment...\nIt was better by far to be clear-headed.\n  PHRASE: PHR with compar/superl  emphasis\n\n14. If you say that something is far from a particular thing or far from being the case, you are emphasizing that it is not that particular thing or not at all the case, especially when people expect or assume that it is.\nIt was obvious that much of what they recorded was far from the truth...\nFar from being relaxed, we both felt so uncomfortable we hardly spoke...\nIt is still far from clear exactly what the Thais intend to do.\n  PHRASE: PHR n/-ing/adj, oft v-link PHR  emphasis\n\n15. You can use the expression `far from it’ to emphasize a negative statement that you have just made.\nBeing dyslexic does not mean that one is unintelligent. Far from it.\n  PHRASE  emphasis\n\n16. You say far be it from me to disagree, or far be it from me to criticize, when you are disagreeing or criticizing and you want to appear less hostile.\nFar be it from me to criticise, but shouldn’t their mother take a share of the blame?\n  PHRASE: PHR to-inf\n\n17. If you say that something is good as far as it goes or true so far as it goes, you mean that it is good or true only to a limited extent.\nHis plan for tax relief is fine as far as it goes but will not be sufficient to get the economy moving again.\n  PHRASE: PHR with cl\n\n18. If you say that someone will go far, you mean that they will be very successful in their career.\nI was very impressed with the talent of Michael Ball. He will go far.\n  PHRASE\n\n19. Someone or something that is far gone is in such a bad state or condition that not much can be done to help or improve them.\nIn his last few days the pain seemed to have stopped, but by then he was so far gone that it was no longer any comfort...\nMany of the properties are in a desperate state but none is too far gone to save.\n  PHRASE: v-link PHR\n\n20. Someone or something that is not far wrong, not far out, or not far off is almost correct or almost accurate.\nI hadn’t been far wrong in my estimate...\nRobertson is not far off her target.\n  PHRASE: v-link PHR, oft PHR in n\n\n21. You can use the expression `as far as I can see’ when you are about to state your opinion of a situation, or have just stated it, to indicate that it is your personal opinion.\nAs far as I can see there are only two reasons for such an action.\n  PHRASE: PHR with cl\n\n22. If you say that something only goes so far or can only go so far, you mean that its extent, effect, or influence is limited.\nTheir loyalty only went so far...\nThe church can only go so far in secular matters.\n  PHRASE: PHR after v\n\n23. If you tell or ask someone what has happened so far, you are telling or asking them what has happened up until the present point in a situation or story, and often implying that something different might happen later.\nIt’s been quiet so far...\nSo far, they have met with no success...\n  PHRASE: PHR with cl\n\n24. You can say so far so good to express satisfaction with the way that a situation or activity is progressing, developing, or happening.\n  PHRASE  feelings\n\n25. If people come from far and wide, they come from a large number of places, some of them far away. If things spread far and wide, they spread over a very large area or distance. (WRITTEN)\nVolunteers came from far and wide...\n(next)


Words: far .2
Meaning:
His fame spread far and wide.\n  PHRASE: from PHR, PHR after v\n\n26. If you say that someone won’t go far wrong or can’t go far wrong with a particular thing or course of action, you mean that it is likely to be successful or satisfactory.\nIf you remember these three golden rules you won’t go far wrong.\n  PHRASE\n\n27.\nas far as I am concerned: see concern\na far cry from: see cry\nin so far as: see insofar as\nnear and far: see near


Words: Far East
Meaning:
Far East\n  The Far East is used to refer to all the countries of Eastern Asia, including China, Japan, North and South Korea, and Indochina.\n  N-PROPER: the N


Words: far off
Meaning:
far off  further off  furthest off\n1. If you describe a moment in time as far off, you mean that it is a long time from the present, either in the past or the future.\nIn those far off days it never entered anyone’s mind that she could be Prime Minister...\nAgreement is even further off.\n  ADJ\n  = distant\n2. If you describe something as far off, you mean that it is a long distance from you or from a particular place.\n...stars in far-off galaxies.\n  ADJ\n\n  Far off is also an adverb.\nThe band was playing far off in their blue and yellow uniforms.\n  ADV: ADV after v


Words: far out
Meaning:
far out   also far-out\n  If you describe something as far out, you mean that it is very strange or extreme. (INFORMAL)\nFantasies cannot harm you, no matter how bizarre or far out they are.\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ


Words: far-fetched
Meaning:
far-fetched\n  If you describe a story or idea as far-fetched, you are criticizing it because you think it is unlikely to be true or practical.\nThe storyline was too far-fetched and none of the actors was particularly good.\n  ADJ  disapproval\n  = unrealistic


Words: far-flung
Meaning:
far-flung  farther-flung  farthest-flung\n  Far-flung places are a very long distance away from where you are or from important places.\nFerries are a lifeline to the far-flung corners of Scotland.\n...one of the farthest-flung outposts of the old Roman Empire.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n  = remote


Words: far-reaching
Meaning:
far-reaching\n  If you describe actions, events, or changes as far-reaching, you mean that they have a very great influence and affect a great number of things.\nThe economy is in danger of collapse unless far-reaching reforms are implemented.\n  ADJ\n  = sweeping


Words: far-sighted
Meaning:
far-sighted\n1. If you describe someone as far-sighted, you admire them because they understand what is likely to happen in the future, and therefore make wise decisions and plans.\nHaven’t far-sighted economists been telling us for some time now that in the future we will work less, not more?...\n  ADJ  approval\n\n2. Far-sighted people cannot see things clearly that are close to them, and therefore need to wear glasses. (AM; in BRIT, usually use long-sighted)\n  ADJ\n  !=near-sighted


Words: faraway
Meaning:
far.away\n   faraway   also far-away\n  A faraway place is a long distance from you or from a particular place.\nThey have just returned from faraway places with wonderful stories to tell.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n  = distant


Words: farce
Meaning:
farce  farces\n1. A farce is a humorous play in which the characters become involved in complicated and unlikely situations.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. Farce is the style of acting and writing that is typical of farces.\nThe plot often borders on farce.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n3. If you describe a situation or event as a farce, you mean that it is so disorganized or ridiculous that you cannot take it seriously.\nThe elections have been reduced to a farce.\n  N-SING: also no det  disapproval


Words: farcical
Meaning:
far.ci.cal\n   farcical\n  If you describe a situation or event as farcical, you mean that it is so silly or extreme that you are unable to take it seriously.\n...a farcical nine months’ jail sentence imposed yesterday on a killer.\n  ADJ  disapproval


Words: fare
Meaning:
fare  fares  faring  fared\n1. A fare is the money that you pay for a journey that you make, for example, in a bus, train, or taxi.\nHe could barely afford the railway fare.\n...taxi fares.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. The fare at a restaurant or cafe is the type of food that is served there. (WRITTEN)\nThe fare has much improved since Hugh has taken charge of the kitchen.\n...traditional Portuguese fare in a traditional setting.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n3. If you say that someone or something fares well or badly, you are referring to the degree of success they achieve in a particular situation or activity.\nIt is unlikely that the marine industry will fare any better in September...\n  VERB: V adv\n  = do


Words: farewell
Meaning:
fare.well\n   farewell  farewells\n  Farewell means the same as goodbye. (LITERARY, OLD-FASHIONED)\n  CONVENTION\n\n  Farewell is also a noun.\nThey said their farewells there at the cafe.\n  N-COUNT


Words: farm
Meaning:
farm  farms  farming  farmed\n1. A farm is an area of land, together with the buildings on it, that is used for growing crops or raising animals, usually in order to sell them.\nFarms in France are much smaller than those in the United States or even Britain.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If you farm an area of land, you grow crops or keep animals on it.\nThey farmed some of the best land in Scotland...\nHe has lived and farmed in the area for 46 years.\n  VERB: V n, V\n\n3. A mink farm or a fish farm, for example, is a place where a particular kind of animal or fish is bred and kept in large quantities in order to be sold.\n...trout fresh from a local trout farm.\n  N-COUNT: n N


Words: farmers’ market
Meaning:
farm.ers’ mar.ket\n   farmers’ market farmers’ markets  also farmers market\n  A farmers’ market is a market where food growers sell their produce directly to the public.\n  N-COUNT


Words: farmhand
Meaning:
farm.hand\n   farmhand  farmhands   also farm hand\n  A farmhand is a person who is employed to work on a farm.\n  N-COUNT


Words: farmhouse
Meaning:
farm.house\n   farmhouse  farmhouses   also farm house\n  A farmhouse is the main house on a farm, usually where the farmer lives.\n  N-COUNT


Words: farming
Meaning:
farm.ing\n   farming\n  Farming is the activity of growing crops or keeping animals on a farm.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: farmland
Meaning:
farm.land\n   farmland  farmlands\n  Farmland is land which is farmed, or which is suitable for farming.\n  N-UNCOUNT: also N in pl


Words: farmyard
Meaning:
farm.yard\n   farmyard  farmyards\n  On a farm, the farmyard is an area of land near the farmhouse which is enclosed by walls or buildings.\n  N-COUNT


Words: farrago
Meaning:
far.ra.go\n   farrago  farragoes  or farragos\n  If you describe something as a farrago, you are critical of it because you think it is a confused mixture of different types of things. (FORMAL)\nHis own books and memoirs are a farrago of half-truth and outright invention.\n  N-COUNT: oft N of n  disapproval\n  = hotchpotch


Words: farrier
Meaning:
far.ri.er\n   farrier  farriers\n  A farrier is a person who fits horseshoes onto horses.\n  N-COUNT


Words: fart
Meaning:
fart  farts  farting  farted\n  If someone farts, air is forced out of their body through their anus. (INFORMAL, RUDE)\nHe’d been farting all night.\n  VERB: V\n\n  Fart is also a noun.\n...a loud fart.\n  N-COUNT


Words: farthing
Meaning:
far.thing\n   farthing  farthings\n  A farthing was a small British coin which was worth a quarter of an old penny.\n  N-COUNT


Words: fascia
Meaning:
fas.cia\n   fascia  fascias\n1. In a car, the fascia is the part surrounding the instruments and dials. (BRIT FORMAL; in AM, use instrument panel)\n  N-COUNT: usu sing\n\n2. The fascia on a shop front is the flat surface above the shop window, on which the name of the shop is written. (BRIT)\n  N-COUNT: usu sing


Words: fascinate
Meaning:
fas.ci.nate\n   fascinate  fascinates  fascinating  fascinated\n  If something fascinates you, it interests and delights you so much that your thoughts tend to concentrate on it.\nPolitics fascinated Franklin’s father...\nShe fascinated him, both on and off stage.\n  VERB: V n, V n


Words: fascinated
Meaning:
fas.ci.nat.ed\n   fascinated\n  If you are fascinated by something, you find it very interesting and attractive, and your thoughts tend to concentrate on it.\nI sat on the stairs and watched, fascinated...\nA new generation of scientists became fascinated by dinosaurs.\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ, oft ADJ by/with n


Words: fascinating
Meaning:
fas.ci.nat.ing\n   fascinating\n  If you describe something as fascinating, you find it very interesting and attractive, and your thoughts tend to concentrate on it.\nMadagascar is the most fascinating place I have ever been to...\nHer perceptions and intuitions about human nature were fascinating.\n  ADJ


Words: fascination
Meaning:
fas.ci.na.tion\n   fascination  fascinations\n1. Fascination is the state of being greatly interested in or delighted by something.\nI’ve had a lifelong fascination with the sea and with small boats.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N with/of/for n\n\n2. A fascination is something that fascinates people.\n...a series focusing on the fascinations of the British Museum.\n  N-COUNT


Words: fascism
Meaning:
fas.cism\n   fascism\n  Fascism is a set of right-wing political beliefs that includes strong control of society and the economy by the state, a powerful role for the armed forces, and the stopping of political opposition.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: fascist
Meaning:
fas.cist\n   fascist  fascists\n1. You use fascist to describe organizations, ideas, or systems which follow the principles of fascism.\n...the threatening nature of fascist ideology.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n  A fascist is someone who has fascist views.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If you refer to someone as a fascist, you are expressing disapproval of the fact that they have extreme views on something, and do not tolerate alternative views.\n...the so-called health fascists who would meddle in their lives and regulate their calorie intake.\n  N-COUNT  disapproval


Words: fashion
Meaning:
fash.ion\n   fashion  fashions  fashioning  fashioned\n1. Fashion is the area of activity that involves styles of clothing and appearance.\nThere are 20 full-colour pages of fashion for men...\nThe fashion world does not mind what the real world thinks.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. A fashion is a style of clothing or a way of behaving that is popular at a particular time.\nQueen Mary started the fashion for blue and white china in England...\nHe stayed at the top through all changes and fashions in pop music.\n  N-COUNT: oft the N\n\n3. If you do something in a particular fashion or after a particular fashion, you do it in that way.\nThere is another drug called DHE that works in a similar fashion...\nIt is happening in this fashion because of the obstinacy of one woman.\n  N-SING: with supp\n  = manner\n  see also parrot-fashion\n4. If you fashion an object or a work of art, you make it. (FORMAL)\nStone Age settlers fashioned necklaces from sheep’s teeth.\n  VERB: V n\n\n5.\n  see also old-fashioned\n6. If you say that something was done after a fashion, you mean that it was done, but not very well.\nShe was educated.after a fashion.at home...\nHe knew the way, after a fashion.\n  PHRASE\n\n7. If something is in fashion, it is popular and approved of at a particular time. If it is out of fashion, it is not popular or approved of.\nThat sort of house is back in fashion...\nMarriage seems to be going out of fashion.\n  PHRASE


Words: fashion victim
Meaning:
fash.ion vic.tim\n   fashion victim  fashion victims\n  A fashion victim is someone who thinks that being fashionable is more important than looking nice, and as a result often wears very fashionable clothes that do not suit them or that make them look silly.\n  N-COUNT  disapproval


Words: fashionable
Meaning:
fash.ion.able\n   fashionable\n  Something or someone that is fashionable is popular or approved of at a particular time.\nIt became fashionable to eat certain kinds of fish...\nChelsea Harbour is renowned for its fashionable restaurants.\n  ADJ\n\n=>  fash.ion.ably\n...women who are perfectly made up and fashionably dressed.\n  ADV: usu ADV adj/-ed


Words: fast
Meaning:
fast  faster  fastest  fasts  fasting  fasted\n1. Fast means happening, moving, or doing something at great speed. You also use fast in questions or statements about speed.\n...fast cars with flashing lights and sirens...\nBrindley was known as a very, very fast driver...\nThe party aims to attract votes from the business and professional communities, which want a faster pace of political reform...\nThe only question is how fast the process will be.\n  ADJ\n  = quick  !=slow\n  Fast is also an adverb.\nThey work terrifically fast...\nIt would be nice to go faster and break the world record...\nBarnes also knows that he is fast running out of time...\nHow fast were you driving?...\nHow fast would the disease develop?\n  ADV: ADV with v\n  = quickly  !=slowly\n2. You use fast to say that something happens without any delay.\nWhen you’ve got a crisis like this you need professional help.fast!...\nWe’d appreciate your leaving as fast as possible.\n  ADV: ADV after v\n  = soon, swiftly\n  Fast is also an adjective.\nThat would be an astonishingly fast action on the part of the Congress.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n  = swift\n3. If a watch or clock is fast, it is showing a time that is later than the real time.\nThat clock’s an hour fast.\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ\n\n4. If you hold something fast, you hold it tightly and firmly. If something is stuck fast, it is stuck very firmly and cannot move.\nShe climbed the staircase cautiously, holding fast to the rail...\nThe tanker is stuck fast on the rocks.\n  ADV: ADV after v\n  = firmly\n5. If you hold fast to a principle or idea, or if you stand fast, you do not change your mind about it, even though people are trying to persuade you to.\nWe can only try to hold fast to the age-old values of honesty, decency and concern for others...\nHe told supporters to stand fast over the next few vital days.\n  ADV: ADV after v\n  = firm\n6. If colours or dyes are fast, they do not come out of the fabrics they are used on when they get wet.\nThe fabric was ironed to make the colours fast.\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ\n\n7. If you fast, you eat no food for a period of time, usually for either religious or medical reasons, or as a protest.\nI fasted for a day and half and asked God to help me.\n  VERB: V\n\n  Fast is also a noun.\nThe fast is broken at sunset, traditionally with dates and water.\n  N-COUNT\n\n=>  fast.ing\n...the Muslim holy month of fasting and prayer.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n8. Someone who is fast asleep is completely asleep.\nWhen he went upstairs five minutes later, she was fast asleep.\n  PHRASE: v-link PHR, PHR after v\n\n9.\nto make a fast buck: see buck


Words: fast food
Meaning:
fast food\n  Fast food is hot food, such as hamburgers and chips, that you obtain from particular types of restaurant, and which is served quickly after you order it.\nJames works as assistant chef at a fast food restaurant...\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft n N


Words: fast forward
Meaning:
fast for.ward\n   fast forward  fast forwards  fast forwarding  fast forwarded   also fast-forward\n1. When you fast forward the tape in a video or tape recorder or when you fast forward, you make the tape go forwards. Compare rewind.\nJust fast forward the video...\nHe fast-forwarded the tape past the explosion...\nThe urge to fast-forward is almost irresistible.\n  VERB: V n, V n prep/adv, V, also V prep/adv\n\n2. If you put a video or cassette tape on fast forward, you make the tape go forwards. Compare rewind.\nBefore recording onto a new tape, wind it on fast forward, then rewind...\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft on N


Words: fast lane
Meaning:
fast lane  fast lanes\n1. On a motorway, the fast lane is the part of the road where the vehicles that are travelling fastest go. (mainly BRIT)\n  N-COUNT: usu the N\n\n2. If someone is living in the fast lane, they have a very busy, exciting life, although they sometimes seem to take a lot of risks.\n..a tale of life in the fast lane.\n  N-SING: usu the N


Words: fast track
Meaning:
fast track  fast tracks fast tracking fast tracked  also fast-track\n1. The fast track to a particular goal, especially in politics or in your career, is the quickest route to achieving it.\nMany Croats and Slovenes saw independence as the fast track to democracy...\n  N-SING: oft N to n, N n\n\n2. To fast track something means to make it happen or progress faster or earlier than normal.\nA Federal Court case had been fast tracked to Wednesday...\nWoodward has fast-tracked a number of youngsters into the line-up since he became coach.\n  VERB: be V-ed, V n


Words: fast-breeder reactor
Meaning:
fast-breeder re.ac.tor\n   fast-breeder reactor  fast-breeder reactors\n  A fast-breeder reactor or a fast-breeder is a kind of nuclear reactor that produces more plutonium than it uses.\n  N-COUNT


Words: fasten
Meaning:
fas.ten\n   fasten  fastens  fastening  fastened\n1. When you fasten something, you close it by means of buttons or a strap, or some other device. If something fastens with buttons or straps, you can close it in this way.\nShe got quickly into her Mini and fastened the seat-belt...\nHer long fair hair was fastened at the nape of her neck by an elastic band.\n...the dress, which fastens with a long back zip.\n  VERB: V n, be V-ed prep, V prep, also V n prep\n  = do up\n2. If you fasten one thing to another, you attach the first thing to the second, for example with a piece of string or tape.\nThere were no instructions on how to fasten the carrying strap to the box...\n  VERB: V n prep/adv\n  = attach\n3.\n  see also fastening


Words: fastener
Meaning:
fas.ten.er\n   fastener  fasteners\n  A fastener is a device such as a button, zip, or small hook that fastens something, especially clothing.\n  N-COUNT


Words: fastening
Meaning:
fas.ten.ing\n   fastening  fastenings\n  A fastening is something such as a clasp or zip that you use to fasten something and keep it shut.\nThe sundress has a neat back zip fastening.\n  N-COUNT: oft n N


Words: fastidious
Meaning:
fas.tidi.ous\n   fastidious\n1. If you say that someone is fastidious, you mean that they pay great attention to detail because they like everything to be very neat, accurate, and in good order.\n...her fastidious attention to historical detail...\nHe was fastidious about his appearance.\n  ADJ\n  = meticulous\n2. If you say that someone is fastidious, you mean that they are concerned about keeping clean to an extent that many people consider to be excessive.\nBe particularly fastidious about washing your hands before touching food.\n  ADJ\n\n=>  fas.tidi.ous.ly\nErnestine kept her daughters fastidiously clean.\n  ADV


Words: fastness
Meaning:
fast.ness\n   fastness  fastnesses\n  A fastness is a place, such as a castle, which is considered safe because it is difficult to reach or easy to defend against attack. (LITERARY)\nThey could have withdrawn into the mountain fastness of Eryri.\n  N-COUNT: with supp


Words: fat
Meaning:
fat  fatter  fattest  fats\n1. If you say that a person or animal is fat, you mean that they have a lot of flesh on their body and that they weigh too much. You usually use the word fat when you think that this is a bad thing.\nI could eat what I liked without getting fat...\nAfter five minutes, the fat woman in the seat in front of me was asleep.\n  ADJ  disapproval\n  = overweight  !=thin\n=>  fat.ness\nNo one knows whether a child’s tendency towards fatness is inherited or due to the food he eats.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. Fat is the extra flesh that animals and humans have under their skin, which is used to store energy and to help keep them warm.\nBecause you’re not burning calories, everything you eat turns to fat.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n3. Fat is a solid or liquid substance obtained from animals or vegetables, which is used in cooking.\nWhen you use oil or fat for cooking, use as little as possible.\n...vegetable fats, such as coconut oil and palm oil.\n  N-MASS\n\n4. Fat is a substance contained in foods such as meat, cheese, and butter which forms an energy store in your body.\nAn easy way to cut the amount of fat in your diet is to avoid eating red meats...\nMost low-fat yogurts are about 40 calories per 100g.\n  N-MASS\n\n5. A fat object, especially a book, is very thick or wide.\n...’Europe in Figures’, a fat book published on September 22nd...\n  ADJ\n  = thick  !=thin, slim\n6. A fat profit or fee is a large one. (INFORMAL)\nThey are set to make a big fat profit.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n7. If you say that there is fat chance of something happening, you mean that you do not believe that it will happen. (INFORMAL, mainly SPOKEN)\n`Would your car be easy to steal?’.`Fat chance. I’ve got a device that shuts down the gas and ignition.’\n  PHRASE: oft PHR of n  feelings


Words: fat cat
Meaning:
fat cat  fat cats\n  If you refer to a businessman or politician as a fat cat, you are indicating that you disapprove of the way they use their wealth and power. (INFORMAL BUSINESS)\n...the fat cats who run the bank.\n  N-COUNT  disapproval


Words: fatal
Meaning:
fa.tal\n   fatal\n1. A fatal action has very undesirable effects.\nIt would clearly be fatal for Europe to quarrel seriously with America...\nHe made the fatal mistake of compromising early...\nIt would deal a fatal blow to his fading chances of success.\n  ADJ\n\n=>  fa.tal.ly\nFailure now could fatally damage his chances in the future.\n  ADV: ADV with v\n\n2. A fatal accident or illness causes someone’s death.\nA hospital spokesman said she had suffered a fatal heart attack.\n  ADJ\n\n=>  fa.tal.ly\nThe dead soldier is reported to have been fatally wounded in the chest.\n  ADV: usu ADV with v


Words: fatalism
Meaning:
fa.tal.ism\n   fatalism\n  Fatalism is a feeling that you cannot control events or prevent unpleasant things from happening, especially when this feeling stops you from making decisions or making an effort.\nThere’s a certain mood of fatalism now among the radicals.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n  = resignation


Words: fatalistic
Meaning:
fa.tal.is.tic\n   fatalistic\n  If someone is fatalistic about something, especially an unpleasant event or situation, they feel that they cannot change or control it, and therefore that there is no purpose in trying.\nPeople we spoke to today were really rather fatalistic about what’s going to happen.\n  ADJ: oft ADJ about n\n  = resigned


Words: fatality
Meaning:
fa.tal.ity\n   fatality  fatalities\n  A fatality is a death caused by an accident or by violence. (FORMAL)\nDrunk driving fatalities have declined more than 10 percent over the past 10 years.\n  N-COUNT


Words: fate
Meaning:
fate  fates\n1. Fate is a power that some people believe controls and decides everything that happens, in a way that cannot be prevented or changed. You can also refer to the fates.\nI see no use quarrelling with fate.\n...the fickleness of fate...\nIt was just one of those times when you wonder whether the fates conspire against you.\n  N-UNCOUNT: also N in pl\n\n2. A person’s or thing’s fate is what happens to them.\nThe Russian Parliament will hold a special session later this month to decide his fate...\nHe seems for a moment to be again holding the fate of the country in his hands...\nThe Casino, where she had often danced, had suffered a similar fate.\n  N-COUNT: oft with poss\n  = destiny\n3. If something seals a person’s or thing’s fate, it makes it certain that they will fail or that something unpleasant will happen to them.\nThe call for a boycott could be enough to seal the fate of next week’s general election...\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\nto tempt fate: see tempt


Words: fated
Meaning:
fat.ed\n   fated\n  If you say that a person is fated to do something, or that something is fated, you mean that it seems to have been decided by fate before it happens, and nothing can be done to avoid or change it.\nHe was fated not to score.\n...stories of desperation, fated love, treachery and murder.\n  ADJ: oft ADJ to-inf\n  = doomed\n  see also ill-fated


Words: fateful
Meaning:
fate.ful\n   fateful\n  If an action or a time when something happened is described as fateful, it is considered to have an important, and often very bad, effect on future events.\nIt was a fateful decision, one which was to break the Government.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  = momentous


Words: father
Meaning:
fa.ther\n   father  fathers  fathering  fathered\n1. Your father is your male parent. You can also call someone your father if he brings you up as if he was this man.\nHis father was a painter...\nHe would be a good father to my children.\n...Mr Stoneman, a father of five.\n  N-FAMILY\n\n2. When a man fathers a child, he makes a woman pregnant and their child is born.\nShe claims Mark fathered her child...\nHe fathered at least three children by the wives of other men.\n  VERB: V n, V n by n\n\n3. The man who invented or started something is sometimes referred to as the father of that thing.\n...Max Dupain, regarded as the father of modern photography.\n  N-COUNT: N of n\n\n4. In some Christian churches, priests are addressed or referred to as Father.\n  N-VOC; N-TITLE; N-COUNT


Words: Father Christmas
Meaning:
Father Christ.mas\n   Father Christmas\n  Father Christmas is the name given to an imaginary old man with a long white beard and a red coat. Traditionally, young children in many countries are told that he brings their Christmas presents. (BRIT; in AM, use Santa Claus)\n  N-PROPER\n  = Santa Claus


Words: father figure
Meaning:
fa.ther fig.ure\n   father figure  father figures   also father-figure\n  If you describe someone as a father figure, you mean that you feel able to turn to that person for advice and support in the same way that you might turn to your father.\nShe believed her daughter needed a father-figure...\nHe became a father figure to the whole company.\n  N-COUNT


Words: Father’s Day
Meaning:
Fa.ther’s Day\n   Father’s Day\n  Father’s Day is the third Sunday in June, when children give cards and presents to their fathers to show that they love them.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: father-in-law
Meaning:
father-in-law  fathers-in-law\n  Someone’s father-in-law is the father of their husband or wife.\n  N-COUNT: usu poss N


Words: fatherhood
Meaning:
father.hood\n   fatherhood\n  Fatherhood is the state of being a father.\n...the joys of fatherhood.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: fatherland
Meaning:
father.land\n   fatherland  fatherlands\n  If someone is very proud of the country where they or their ancestors were born, they sometimes refer to it as the fatherland. The word fatherland is particularly associated with Germany.\nThey were willing to serve the fatherland in its hour of need.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing


Words: fatherless
Meaning:
fa.ther.less\n   fatherless\n  You describe children as fatherless when their father has died or does not live with them.\n...widows and fatherless children...\nThey were left fatherless.\n  ADJ


Words: fatherly
Meaning:
fa.ther.ly\n   fatherly\n  Fatherly feelings or actions are like those of a kind father.\nHis voice filled with fatherly concern...\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: fathom
Meaning:
fath.om\n   fathom  fathoms  fathoming fathomed\n1. A fathom is a measurement of 1.8 metres or 6 feet, used when referring to the depth of water.\nWe sailed into the bay and dropped anchor in five fathoms of water.\n  N-COUNT: oft num N\n\n2. If you cannot fathom something, you are unable to understand it, although you think carefully about it.\nI really couldn’t fathom what Steiner was talking about...\nJeremy’s passive attitude was hard to fathom.\n  VERB: no cont, oft with brd-neg, V wh, V n\n\n  Fathom out means the same as fathom.\nWe’re trying to fathom out what’s going on...\nI’m having difficulty using my video editing equipment and can’t fathom out the various connections.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P wh, V P n (not pron), also V n P


Words: fathomless
Meaning:
fath.om.less\n   fathomless\n  Something that is fathomless cannot be measured or understood because it gives the impression of being very deep, mysterious, or complicated.\n...the fathomless space of the universe...\nThe silence was fathomless and overwhelming.\n  ADJ


Words: fatigue
Meaning:
fa.tigue\n   fatigue  fatigues\n1. Fatigue is a feeling of extreme physical or mental tiredness.\nShe continued to have severe stomach cramps, aches, fatigue, and depression...\nClarke says his team could have lasted another 15 days before fatigue would have begun to take a toll.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. You can say that people are suffering from a particular kind of fatigue when they have been doing something for a long time and feel they can no longer continue to do it.\n...compassion fatigue caused by endless TV and celebrity appeals.\n...the result of four months of battle fatigue.\n  N-UNCOUNT: with supp, usu n N\n\n3. Fatigues are clothes that soldiers wear when they are fighting or when they are doing routine jobs.\nHe never expected to return home wearing US combat fatigues.\n  N-PLURAL\n\n4. Fatigue in metal or wood is a weakness in it that is caused by repeated stress. Fatigue can cause the metal or wood to break.\nThe problem turned out to be metal fatigue in the fuselage.\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu n N


Words: fatigued
Meaning:
fa.tigued\n   fatigued\n  If you are feeling fatigued, you are suffering from extreme physical or mental tiredness.\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ


Words: fatiguing
Meaning:
fa.tigu.ing\n   fatiguing\n  Something that is fatiguing makes you feel extremely physically or mentally tired.\nJet travel is undeniably fatiguing.\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ


Words: fatten
Meaning:
fat.ten\n   fatten  fattens  fattening  fattened\n1. If an animal is fattened, or if it fattens, it becomes fatter as a result of eating more.\nThe cattle are being fattened for slaughter...\nThe creature continued to grow and fatten.\n  VERB: be V-ed, V, also V n\n\n2. If you say that someone is fattening something such as a business or its profits, you mean that they are increasing the value of the business or its profits, in a way that you disapprove of. (BUSINESS)\nThey have kept the price of sugar artificially high and so fattened the company’s profits.\n  VERB: V n  disapproval\n\n  Fatten up means the same as fatten.\nThe Government is making the taxpayer pay to fatten up a public sector business for private sale.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), also V n P


Words: fatten up
Meaning:
fatten up\n  To fatten up an animal or person means to make them fatter, by forcing or encouraging them to eat more food.\nThey fattened up ducks and geese...\nYou’re too skinny.we’ll have to fatten you up.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), V n P\n\n  see also fatten 2


Words: fattening
Meaning:
fat.ten.ing\n   fattening\n  Food that is fattening is considered to make people fat easily.\nSome foods are more fattening than others.\n  ADJ


Words: fatty
Meaning:
fat.ty\n   fatty  fattier  fattiest\n1. Fatty food contains a lot of fat.\nDon’t eat fatty food or chocolates...\nThe report dispels the myth that Northerners have a fattier diet than people in the south.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n2. Fatty acids or fatty tissues, for example, contain or consist of fat.\n...fatty acids...\nThe woman lost about 1.8kg of fatty tissue during the week’s fast.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: fatuous
Meaning:
fatu.ous\n   fatuous\n  If you describe a person, action, or remark as fatuous, you think that they are extremely silly, showing a lack of intelligence or thought. (FORMAL)\nThe Chief was left speechless by this fatuous remark.\n  ADJ  disapproval\n  = idiotic


Words: fatwa
Meaning:
fat.wa\n   fatwa  fatwas   also fatwah\n  A fatwa is a religious order issued by a Muslim leader.\n  N-COUNT


Words: faucet
Meaning:
fau.cet\n   faucet  faucets\n  A faucet is a device that controls the flow of a liquid or gas from a pipe or container. Sinks and baths have faucets attached to them. (AM; in BRIT, usually use tap)\nShe turned off the faucet and dried her hands.\n  N-COUNT


Words: fault
Meaning:
fault  faults  faulting  faulted\n1. If a bad or undesirable situation is your fault, you caused it or are responsible for it.\nThere was no escaping the fact: it was all his fault...\nA few borrowers will find themselves in trouble with their repayments through no fault of their own.\n  N-SING: with poss\n\n2. A fault is a mistake in what someone is doing or in what they have done.\nIt is a big fault to think that you can learn how to manage people in business school.\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp\n  = error, mistake\n3. A fault in someone or something is a weakness in them or something that is not perfect.\nHis manners had always made her blind to his faults.\n...a short delay due to a minor technical fault...\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp, oft poss N\n  = failing, flaw\n4. If you cannot fault someone, you cannot find any reason for criticizing them or the things that they are doing.\nYou can’t fault them for lack of invention...\nIt is hard to fault the way he runs his own operation.\n  VERB: with brd-neg, V n for n/-ing, V n\n\n5. A fault is a large crack in the surface of the earth.\n...the San Andreas Fault.\n  N-COUNT\n\n6. A fault in tennis is a service that is wrong according to the rules.\n  N-COUNT\n\n7. If someone or something is at fault, they are to blame or are responsible for a particular situation that has gone wrong.\nHe could never accept that he had been at fault...\n  PHRASE: v-link PHR\n\n8. If you find fault with something or someone, you look for mistakes and complain about them.\nI was disappointed whenever the cook found fault with my work.\n  PHRASE: V inflects, usu PHR with n\n\n9. If you say that someone has a particular good quality to a fault, you are emphasizing that they have more of this quality than is usual or necessary.\nJefferson was generous to a fault...\nOthers will tell you that she is modest to a fault, funny, clever and warm.\n  PHRASE: usu adj PHR  emphasis


Words: fault line
Meaning:
fault line  fault lines\n1. A fault line is a long crack in the surface of the earth. Earthquakes usually occur along fault lines.\n  N-COUNT\n  = fault\n2. A fault line in a system or process is an area of it that seems weak and likely to cause problems or failure.\nThese issues have created a stark fault line within the Peace Process.\n  N-COUNT\n  = weakness


Words: faultless
Meaning:
fault.less\n   faultless\n  Something that is faultless is perfect and has no mistakes at all.\n...Mary Thomson’s faultless and impressive performance on the show...\nHans’s English was faultless.\n  ADJ\n  = flawless\n=>  fault.less.ly\nHoward was faultlessly dressed in a dark blue suit.\n  ADV: ADV with v, ADV adj


Words: faulty
Meaning:
faulty\n1. A faulty piece of equipment has something wrong with it and is not working properly.\nThe money will be used to repair faulty equipment.\n  ADJ\n\n2. If you describe someone’s argument or reasoning as faulty, you mean that it is wrong or contains mistakes, usually because they have not been thinking in a logical way.\nTheir interpretation was faulty.they had misinterpreted things.\n  ADJ\n  = flawed


Words: faun
Meaning:
faun  fauns\n  A faun is an imaginary creature which is like a man with goat’s legs and horns.\n  N-COUNT


Words: fauna
Meaning:
fau.na\n   fauna  faunas\n  Animals, especially the animals in a particular area, can be referred to as fauna. (TECHNICAL)\n...the flora and fauna of the African jungle...\nBrackish waters generally support only a small range of faunas.\n  N-COUNT-COLL


Words: faux pas
Meaning:
faux pas  faux pas\n  A faux pas is a socially embarrassing action or mistake. (FORMAL)\nIt was not long before I realised the enormity of my faux pas.\n  N-COUNT\n  = gaffe, blunder


Words: fava bean
Meaning:
fava bean  fava beans\n  Fava beans are flat round beans that are light green in colour and are eaten as a vegetable. (AM; in BRIT, use broad beans)\n  N-COUNT: usu pl


Words: fave
Meaning:
fave faves\n1. Your fave thing or person of a particular type is the one you like the most. (JOURNALISM BRIT INFORMAL)\nVote for your fave song by dialing 0906 474 8000.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n2. A fave is a thing or person of a particular type that you like the most. (JOURNALISM BRIT INFORMAL)\n...old faves like `Summer Babe’ and `Debris Slide’.\n  N-COUNT


Words: favour
Meaning:
fa.vour\n   favour  favours  favouring  favoured\nin AM, use favor\n1. If you regard something or someone with favour, you like or support them.\nIt remains to be seen if the show will still find favour with a 1990s audience...\nNo one would look with favour on the continuing military rule...\nHe has won favour with a wide range of interest groups.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. If you do someone a favour, you do something for them even though you do not have to.\nI’ve come to ask you to do me a favour...\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. If you favour something, you prefer it to the other choices available.\nThe French say they favour a transition to democracy...\nHe favours bringing the UN into touch with `modern realities’.\n  VERB: V n, V -ing\n\n4. If you favour someone, you treat them better or in a kinder way than you treat other people.\nThe Government came under fire yesterday for favouring elitist arts groups in the South-east...\n  VERB: V n\n\n5. If you are in favour of something, you support it and think that it is a good thing.\nI wouldn’t be in favour of income tax cuts...\nYet this is a Government which proclaims that it is all in favour of openness...\nThe vote passed with 111 in favour and 25 against.\n  PHRASE: oft v-link PHR, PHR of n\n\n6. If someone makes a judgment in your favour, they say that you are right about something.\nIf the commission rules in Mr Welch’s favour the case will go to the European Court of Human Rights.\n  PHRASE: PHR after v\n\n7. If something is in your favour, it helps you or gives you an advantage.\nFirms are trying to shift the balance of power in the labour market back in their favour.\n  PHRASE: n PHR, PHR after v, v-link PHR\n\n8. If one thing is rejected in favour of another, the second thing is done or chosen instead of the first.\nThe policy was rejected in favour of a more cautious approach.\n  PHRASE: PHR n, usu PHR after v\n\n9. If someone or something is in favour, people like or support them. If they are out of favour, people no longer like or support them.\n  PHRASE: v-link PHR


Words: favourable
Meaning:
fa.vour.able\n   favourable\nin AM, use favorable\n1. If your opinion or your reaction is favourable to something, you agree with it and approve of it.\nHis recently completed chapel for Fitzwilliam is attracting favourable comment...\nThe commission is cautiously favourable to Austrian membership, foreseeing few economic problems.\n  ADJ: ADJ n, v-link ADJ to n\n\n2. If something makes a favourable impression on you or is favourable to you, you like it and approve of it.\nHis ability to talk tough while eating fast made a favourable impression on his dining companions...\nThese terms were favourable to India.\n  ADJ: oft ADJ to n\n  = positive, good\n3. Favourable conditions make something more likely to succeed or seem more attractive.\nIt’s believed the conditions in which the elections are being held are too favourable to the government.\n...favourable weather conditions.\n  ADJ: oft ADJ to n/-ing\n\n4. If you make a favourable comparison between two things, you say that the first is better than or as good as the second.\nThe film bears favourable technical comparison with Hollywood productions costing 10 times as much.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: favourite
Meaning:
fa.vour.ite\n   favourite  favourites\nin AM, use favorite\n1. Your favourite thing or person of a particular type is the one you like most.\n...a bottle of his favourite champagne...\nHer favourite writer is Hans Christian Andersen.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n  Favourite is also a noun.\nThe Liverpool Metropole is my favourite.\n  N-COUNT: usu with poss\n\n  If you refer to something as an old favourite, you mean that it has been in existence for a long time and everyone knows it or likes it.\nEveryone must be familiar with the old favourite among roses, Crystal Palace.\n  PHRASE\n\n2. If you describe one person as the favourite of another, you mean that the second person likes the first person a lot and treats them with special kindness.\n...Robert Carr, Earl of Somerset, a favourite of King James I...\nThe Prime Minister is no favourite of the tabloids.\n  N-COUNT: usu with poss\n\n3. The favourite in a race or contest is the competitor that is expected to win. In a team game, the team that is expected to win is referred to as the favourites.\nThe Belgian Cup has been won by the favourites F.C. Liege.\n  N-COUNT: usu the N


Words: favouritism
Meaning:
fa.vour.it.ism\n   favouritism\nin AM, use favoritism\n  If you accuse someone of favouritism, you disapprove of them because they unfairly help or favour one person or group much more than another.\nMaria loved both the children. There was never a hint of favouritism.\n  N-UNCOUNT  disapproval\n  = bias


Words: fawn
Meaning:
fawn  fawns  fawning  fawned\n1. Fawn is a pale yellowish-brown colour.\n...a light fawn coat.\n  COLOUR\n\n2. A fawn is a very young deer.\nThe fawn ran to the top of the ridge.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. If you say that someone fawns over a powerful or rich person, you disapprove of them because they flatter that person and like to be with him or her.\nPeople fawn over you when you’re famous...\nNauseatingly fawning journalism that’s all it is.\n  VERB: V over/on/around n, V-ing  disapproval


Words: fax
Meaning:
fax  faxes  faxing  faxed\n1. A fax or a fax machine is a piece of equipment used to copy documents by sending information electronically along a telephone line, and to receive copies that are sent in this way.\n...a modern reception desk with telephone and fax...\nThese days, cartoonists send in their work by fax.\n  N-COUNT: also by N\n\n2. If you fax a document to someone, you send it from one fax machine to another.\nI faxed a copy of the agreement to each of the investors...\nDid you fax him a reply?...\nPop it in the post, or get your secretary to fax it...\nI faxed 10 hotels in the area to check room size.\n  VERB: V n to n, V n n, V n, V n\n\n3. You can refer to a copy of a document that is transmitted by a fax machine as a fax.\nI sent him a long fax, saying I didn’t need any help.\n  N-COUNT


Words: faze
Meaning:
faze  fazes  fazed\n  If something fazes you, it surprises, shocks, or frightens you, so that you do not know what to do. (INFORMAL)\nBig concert halls do not faze Melanie...\n  VERB: no cont, oft with brd-neg, V n


Words: FBI
Meaning:
FBI\n  The FBI is a government agency in the United States that investigates crimes in which a national law is broken or in which the country’s security is threatened. FBI is an abbreviation for `Federal Bureau of Investigation’.\n  N-PROPER: the N


Words: fealty
Meaning:
fe.al.ty\n   fealty\n  In former times, if someone swore fealty to their ruler, they promised to be loyal to him or her.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n  = allegiance


Words: fear
Meaning:
fear  fears  fearing  feared\n1. Fear is the unpleasant feeling you have when you think that you are in danger.\nI was sitting on the floor shivering with fear.\n...boyhood memories of sickness and fear of the dark...\n  N-VAR: oft N of n/-ing\n\n2. If you fear someone or something, you are frightened because you think that they will harm you.\nMany people fear change because they do not like the old ways to be disrupted.\n  VERB: V n\n\n3. A fear is a thought that something unpleasant might happen or might have happened.\nThese youngsters are motivated not by a desire to achieve, but by fear of failure...\nThen one day his worst fears were confirmed...\n  N-VAR: with supp, oft N of n/-ing, N that\n\n4. If you fear something unpleasant or undesirable, you are worried that it might happen or might have happened.\nShe had feared she was going down with pneumonia or bronchitis...\nMore than two million refugees have fled the area, fearing attack by loyalist forces.\n  VERB: V that, V n\n\n5. If you say that there is a fear that something unpleasant or undesirable will happen, you mean that you think it is possible or likely.\nThere is a fear that the freeze on bank accounts could prove a lasting deterrent to investors.\n  N-VAR: oft N that, N of n/-ing\n\n6. If you fear for someone or something, you are very worried because you think that they might be in danger.\nCarla fears for her son...\nHe fled on Friday, saying he feared for his life.\n  VERB: V for n, V for n\n\n7. If you have fears for someone or something, you are very worried because you think that they might be in danger.\nHe also spoke of his fears for the future of his country’s culture.\n  N-VAR: N for n\n\n8. You say that you fear that a situation is the case when the situation is unpleasant or undesirable, and when you want to express sympathy, sorrow, or regret about it. (FORMAL)\nI fear that a land war now looks very probable...\n`Is anything left at all?’.`I fear not.’\n  VERB: V that, V soot\n  = regret\n9. If you are in fear of doing or experiencing something unpleasant or undesirable, you are very worried that you might have to do it or experience it.\nThe elderly live in fear of assault and murder.\n  PHRASE: PHR n/-ing, usu v-link PHR, PHR after v\n\n10. If you take a particular course of action for fear of something, you take the action in order to prevent that thing happening.\nShe was afraid to say anything to them for fear of hurting their feelings...\n  PHRASE: PHR n/-ing, PHR with cl\n\n11. You use `no fear’ to emphasize that you do not want to do something. (BRIT INFORMAL)\nWhen I asked him if he wanted to change his mind, William said `No fear.’\n  CONVENTION  emphasis


Words: fearful
Meaning:
fear.ful\n   fearful\n1. If you are fearful of something, you are afraid of it. (FORMAL)\nBankers were fearful of a world banking crisis...\nI had often been very fearful, very angry, and very isolated.\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ, oft ADJ of n, ADJ that\n\n2. You use fearful to emphasize how serious or bad a situation is. (FORMAL)\n...the fearful consequences which might flow from unilateral military moves.\n  ADJ: ADJ n  emphasis\n  = dreadful\n3. Fearful is used to emphasize that something is very bad. (INFORMAL, OLD-FASHIONED)\nYou gave me a fearful shock!\n  ADJ: ADJ n  emphasis


Words: fearless
Meaning:
fear.less\n   fearless\n  If you say that someone is fearless, you mean that they are not afraid at all, and you admire them for this.\n...his fearless campaigning for racial justice.\n  ADJ  approval


Words: fearsome
Meaning:
fear.some\n   fearsome\n  Fearsome is used to describe things that are frightening, for example because of their large size or extreme nature.\nHe had developed a fearsome reputation for intimidating people.\n...a fearsome array of weapons.\n  ADJ\n  = formidable


Words: feasible
Meaning:
fea.sible\n   feasible\n  If something is feasible, it can be done, made, or achieved.\nShe questioned whether it was feasible to stimulate investment in these regions...\n  ADJ: oft ADJ to-inf\n\n=>  fea.sibil.ity\nThe committee will study the feasibility of setting up a national computer network.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N of n


Words: feast
Meaning:
feast  feasts  feasting  feasted\n1. A feast is a large and special meal.\nLunch was a feast of meat and vegetables, cheese, yoghurt and fruit, with unlimited wine...\nThe fruit was often served at wedding feasts...\n  N-COUNT\n  = banquet\n2. If you feast on a particular food, you eat a large amount of it with great enjoyment.\nThey feasted well into the afternoon on mutton and corn stew...\n  VERB: V on n\n\n3. If you feast, you take part in a feast.\nOnly a few feet away, their captors feasted in the castle’s banqueting hall.\n  VERB: V\n\n=>  feast.ing\nThe feasting, drinking, dancing and revelry continued for several days.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n4. A feast is a day or time of the year when a special religious celebration takes place.\nThe Jewish feast of Passover began last night...\n  N-COUNT\n  = festival\n5. If you feast your eyes on something, you look at it for a long time with great attention because you find it very attractive.\nShe stood feasting her eyes on the view.\n  PHRASE: V inflects


Words: feat
Meaning:
feat  feats\n  If you refer to an action, or the result of an action, as a feat, you admire it because it is an impressive and difficult achievement.\nA racing car is an extraordinary feat of engineering.\n  N-COUNT  approval


Words: feather
Meaning:
feath.er\n   feather  feathers\n1. A bird’s feathers are the soft covering on its body. Each feather consists of a lot of smooth hairs on each side of a thin stiff centre.\n...a hat that she had made herself from black ostrich feathers.\n...a feather bed.\n  N-COUNT\n\n  see also feathered\n2.\nto ruffle someone’s feathers: see ruffle


Words: feather duster
Meaning:
feath.er dust.er\n   feather duster  feather dusters\n  A feather duster is a stick with a bunch of real or artificial feathers attached to one end. It is used for dusting and cleaning things.\n  N-COUNT


Words: feathered
Meaning:
feath.ered\n   feathered\n1. If you describe something as feathered, you mean that it has feathers on it.\n...the ceremonial feathered hat worn by Hong Kong’s governor.\n  ADJ\n\n2. Birds are sometimes referred to as our feathered friends.\n  PHRASE


Words: featherweight
Meaning:
feather.weight\n   featherweight  featherweights\n  A featherweight is a professional boxer who weighs between 53.5 and 57 kilograms, which is one of the lowest weight ranges.\n  N-COUNT


Words: feathery
Meaning:
feath.ery\n   feathery\n1. If something is feathery, it has an edge divided into a lot of thin parts so that it looks soft.\nThe foliage was soft and feathery.\n  ADJ\n\n2. Feathery is used to describe things that are soft and light.\n...flurries of small, feathery flakes of snow.\n  ADJ


Words: feature
Meaning:
fea.ture\n   feature  features  featuring  featured\n1. A feature of something is an interesting or important part or characteristic of it.\nPatriotic songs have long been a feature of Kuwaiti life...\nThe spacious gardens are a special feature of this property...\n  N-COUNT: with supp, oft N of n\n\n2. Your features are your eyes, nose, mouth, and other parts of your face.\nHis features seemed to change...\nHer features were strongly defined.\n  N-PLURAL: usu poss N\n\n3. When something such as a film or exhibition features a particular person or thing, they are an important part of it.\nIt’s a great movie and it features a Spanish actor who is going to be a world star within a year...\nThis spectacular event, now in its 5th year, features a stunning catwalk show.\n  VERB: V n, V n\n  = include\n4. If someone or something features in something such as a show, exhibition, or magazine, they are an important part of it.\nJon featured in one of the show’s most thrilling episodes.\n  VERB: V in/on n\n\n5. A feature is a special article in a newspaper or magazine, or a special programme on radio or television.\n...a special feature on the fund-raising project.\n  N-COUNT: oft N on n\n\n6. A feature or a feature film or movie is a full-length film about a fictional situation, as opposed to a short film or a documentary.\n...the first feature-length cartoon, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.\n  N-COUNT: usu N n\n\n7. A geographical feature is something noticeable in a particular area of country, for example a hill, river, or valley.\n  N-COUNT


Words: featureless
Meaning:
fea.ture.less\n   featureless\n  If you say that something is featureless, you mean that it has no interesting features or characteristics.\nMalone looked out at the grey-green featureless landscape.\n  ADJ\n  = nondescript


Words: febrile
Meaning:
fe.brile\n   febrile\n  Febrile behaviour is intensely and nervously active. (LITERARY)\nThe news plunged the nation into a febrile, agitated state.\n  ADJ\n  = feverish


Words: February
Meaning:
Feb.ru.ary\n   February  Februaries\n  February is the second month of the year in the Western calendar.\nHe joined the Army in February 1943...\nHis exhibition opens on 5 February...\nLast February the tribunal agreed he had been the victim of racial discrimination.\n  N-VAR


Words: feckless
Meaning:
feck.less\n   feckless\n  If you describe someone as feckless, you mean that they lack determination or strength, and are unable to do anything properly. (FORMAL)\nHe regarded the young man as feckless and irresponsible.\n  ADJ  disapproval\n  = incompetent


Words: fecund
Meaning:
fe.cund\n   fecund\n1. Land or soil that is fecund is able to support the growth of a large number of strong healthy plants. (FORMAL)\nThe pampas are still among the most fecund lands in the world...\n  ADJ\n\n2. If you describe something as fecund, you approve of it because it produces a lot of good or useful things. (FORMAL)\nIt has now become clear how extraordinarily fecund a decade was the 1890s.\n  ADJ  approval\n  = productive


Words: fed
Meaning:
fed  feds\n1. Fed is the past tense and past participle of feed. See also fed up.\n\n2. The feds are federal agents, for example of the American security agency, the FBI, or of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms. (AM INFORMAL)\n  N-COUNT: usu pl


Words: fed up
Meaning:
fed up\n  If you are fed up, you are unhappy, bored, or tired of something, especially something that you have been experiencing for a long time. (INFORMAL)\nHe had become fed up with city life...\nI’m just fed up and I don’t know what to do.\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ, oft ADJ with/of n/-ing


Words: federal
Meaning:
fed.er.al\n   federal  federals\n1. A federal country or system of government is one in which the different states or provinces of the country have important powers to make their own laws and decisions.\nFive of the six provinces are to become autonomous regions in a new federal system of government.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n2. Some people use federal to describe a system of government which they disapprove of, in which the different states or provinces are controlled by a strong central government.\nHe does not believe in a federal Europe with centralising powers.\n  ADJ: ADJ n  disapproval\n\n3. Federal also means belonging or relating to the national government of a federal country rather than to one of the states within it.\nThe federal government controls just 6% of the education budget.\n...a federal judge.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n=>  fed.er.al.ly\n...residents of public housing and federally subsidized apartments.\n  ADV: ADV -ed\n\n4. Federals are the same as feds.\n  N-COUNT


Words: federalism
Meaning:
fed.er.al.ism\n   federalism\n  Federalism is belief in or support for a federal system of government, or this system itself.\nThey argue that the amendment undermines Canadian federalism.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: federalist
Meaning:
fed.er.al.ist\n   federalist  federalists\n  Someone or something that is federalist believes in, supports, or follows a federal system of government.\n...the federalist idea of Europe.\n  ADJ\n\n  Federalist is also a noun.\nMany Quebeckers are federalists.\n  N-COUNT


Words: federated
Meaning:
fed.er.at.ed\n   federated\n  Federated states or societies are ones that have joined together for a common purpose.\nWhether to stay in the federated state or become independent is a decision that has to be made by the people.\n  ADJ: ADJ n, v-link ADJ to n


Words: federation
Meaning:
fed.era.tion\n   federation  federations\n1. A federation is a federal country.\n...the Russian Federation.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A federation is a group of societies or other organizations which have joined together, usually because they share a common interest.\n...the British Athletic Federation...\nThe organization emerged from a federation of six national agencies.\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp, oft in names


Words: fedora
Meaning:
fe.do.ra\n   fedora  fedoras\n  A fedora is a type of hat which has a brim and is made from a soft material such as velvet.\n  N-COUNT


Words: fee
Meaning:
fee  fees\n1. A fee is a sum of money that you pay to be allowed to do something.\nHe hadn’t paid his television licence fee.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A fee is the amount of money that a person or organization is paid for a particular job or service that they provide.\nFind out how much your surveyor’s and solicitor’s fees will be.\n  N-COUNT


Words: fee-paying
Meaning:
fee-paying\n  Fee-paying is used to talk about institutions or services which people have to pay to use, especially ones which are often provided free.\n...fee-paying schools.\n...fee-paying postgraduate students.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: feeble
Meaning:
fee.ble\n   feeble  feebler  feeblest\n1. If you describe someone or something as feeble, you mean that they are weak.\nHe told them he was old and feeble and was not able to walk so far...\nThe feeble light of a tin lamp.\n  ADJ\n\n=>  fee.bly\nHis left hand moved feebly at his side.\n  ADV: ADV with v\n\n2. If you describe something that someone says as feeble, you mean that it is not very good or convincing.\nThis is a particularly feeble argument.\n  ADJ\n  = weak\n=>  fee.bly\nI said `Sorry’, very feebly, feeling rather embarrassed.\n  ADV: ADV with v\n  = weakly


Words: feed
Meaning:
feed  feeds  feeding  fed\n1. If you feed a person or animal, you give them food to eat and sometimes actually put it in their mouths.\nWe brought along pieces of old bread and fed the birds...\nIn that part of the world you can feed cattle on almost any green vegetable or fruit...\nHe spooned the ice cream into a cup and fed it to her.\n  VERB: V n, V n on/with n, V n to n, also V pron-refl\n\n  Feed is also a noun. (mainly BRIT)\nShe’s had a good feed.\n  N-COUNT\n\n=>  feed.ing\nThe feeding of dairy cows has undergone a revolution.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. To feed a family or a community means to supply food for them.\nFeeding a hungry family can be expensive .\n...a food reserve large enough to feed the Sudanese population for many months.\n  VERB: V n, V n\n\n3. When an animal feeds, it eats or drinks something.\nAfter a few days the caterpillars stopped feeding...\nSlugs feed on decaying plant and animal material.\n  VERB: V, V on/off n\n\n4. When a baby feeds, or when you feed it, it drinks breast milk or milk from a bottle.\nWhen a baby is thirsty, it feeds more often...\nI knew absolutely nothing about handling or feeding a baby.\n  VERB: V, V n\n\n5. Animal feed is food given to animals, especially farm animals.\nThe grain just rotted and all they could use it for was animal feed.\n...poultry feed.\n  N-MASS: usu n N\n\n6. To feed something to a place, means to supply it to that place in a steady flow.\n...blood vessels that feed blood to the brain.\n...gas fed through pipelines.\n  VERB: V n prep, V n prep\n\n7. If you feed something into a container or piece of equipment, you put it into it.\nShe was feeding documents into a paper shredder.\n  VERB: V n prep\n\n8. If someone feeds you false or secret information, they deliberately tell it to you.\nHe was surrounded by people who fed him ghastly lies...\nAt least one British officer was feeding him with classified information.\n  VERB: V n n, V n with n, also V n to n\n\n9. If you feed a plant, you add substances to it to make it grow well.\nFeed plants to encourage steady growth.\n  VERB: V n\n\n10. If one thing feeds on another, it becomes stronger as a result of the other thing’s existence.\nThe drinking and the guilt fed on each other.\n  VERB: V on n\n\n11. To feed information into a computer means to gradually put it into it.\nAn automatic weather station feeds information on wind direction to the computer.\n  VERB: V n into/to n\n\n12.\nto bite the hand that feeds you: see bite\nmouths to feed: see mouth


Words: feedback
Meaning:
feed.back\n   feedback\n1. If you get feedback on your work or progress, someone tells you how well or badly you are doing, and how you could improve. If you get good feedback you have worked or performed well.\nContinue to ask for feedback on your work...\nI was getting great feedback from my boss.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N prep\n\n2. Feedback is the unpleasant high-pitched sound produced by a piece of electrical equipment when part of the signal that comes out goes back into it.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: feeder
Meaning:
feed.er\n   feeder  feeders\n1. A feeder road, railway, or river is a smaller one that leads to a more important one.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n2. Feeder airline and railway services connect major routes and local destinations.\n...a feeder to British Airways’s transatlantic destinations.\n  N-COUNT: usu N n\n\n3. A feeder school or team provides students or players for a larger or more important one.\n  N-COUNT: oft N n\n\n4. A feeder is a container that you fill with food for birds or animals.\n  N-COUNT: oft n N


Words: feeding bottle
Meaning:
feed.ing bot.tle\n   feeding bottle  feeding bottles   also feeding-bottle\n  A feeding bottle is a plastic bottle with a special rubber top through which a baby can suck milk or other liquids. (mainly BRIT; in AM, use nursing bottle)\n  N-COUNT


Words: feeding ground
Meaning:
feed.ing ground\n   feeding ground  feeding grounds\n  The feeding ground of a group of animals or birds, is the place where they find food and eat.\nThe mud is a feeding ground for large numbers of birds.\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp


Words: feel
Meaning:
feel  feels  feeling  felt\n1. If you feel a particular emotion or physical sensation, you experience it.\nI am feeling very depressed...\nI will always feel grateful to that little guy...\nI remember feeling sick...\nSuddenly I felt a sharp pain in my shoulder...\nYou won’t feel a thing...\nI felt as if all my strength had gone...\nI felt like I was being kicked in the teeth every day.\n  V-LINK: V adj, V adj, V adj, V n, V n, V as if, V like\n\n2. If you talk about how an experience or event feels, you talk about the emotions and sensations connected with it.\nIt feels good to have finished a piece of work...\nThe speed at which everything moved felt strange...\nWithin five minutes of arriving back from holiday, it feels as if I’ve never been away...\nIt felt like I’d had two babies instead of one...\n  V-LINK: no cont, it V adj to-inf/that, V adj, it V as if, it V like\n\n3. If you talk about how an object feels, you talk about the physical quality that you notice when you touch or hold it. For example, if something feels soft, you notice that it is soft when you touch it.\nThe metal felt smooth and cold...\nThe ten-foot oars felt heavy and awkward...\nWhen the clay feels like putty, it is ready to use.\n  V-LINK: no cont, V adj, V adj, V like n\n\n  Feel is also a noun.\nHe remembered the feel of her skin...\nLinen raincoats have a crisp, papery feel.\n  N-SING: usu with supp\n\n4. If you talk about how the weather feels, you describe the weather, especially the temperature or whether or not you think it is going to rain or snow.\nIt felt wintry cold that day.\n  V-LINK: no cont, it V adj, also it V like/as if\n\n5. If you feel an object, you touch it deliberately with your hand, so that you learn what it is like, for example what shape it is or whether it is rough or smooth.\nThe doctor felt his head...\nWhen dry, feel the surface and it will no longer be smooth...\nFeel how soft the skin is in the small of the back...\nHer eyes squeezed shut, she felt inside the tin, expecting it to be bare.\n  VERB: V n, V n, V wh, V prep/adv\n\n6. If you can feel something, you are aware of it because it is touching you.\nThrough several layers of clothes I could feel his muscles...\nHe felt her leg against his.\n  VERB: no cont, V n, V n prep/adv\n\n7. If you feel something happening, you become aware of it because of the effect it has on your body.\nShe felt something being pressed into her hands...\nHe felt something move beside him...\nShe felt herself lifted from her feet...\nTremors were felt 250 miles away.\n  VERB: V n -ing, V n inf, V pron-refl -ed, be V-ed\n\n8. If you feel yourself doing something or being in a particular state, you are aware that something is happening to you which you are unable to control.\nI felt myself blush...\nIf at any point you feel yourself becoming tense, make a conscious effort to relax...\nI actually felt my heart quicken.\n  VERB: V pron-refl inf, V pron-refl -ing, V n inf, also V n -ing\n\n9. If you feel the presence of someone or something, you become aware of them, even though you cannot see or hear them.\nHe felt her eyes on him...\nSuddenly, I felt a presence behind me...\nI could feel that a man was watching me very intensely...\nHe almost felt her wincing at the other end of the telephone.\n  VERB: no cont, V n, V n, V that, V n -ing\n  = sense\n10. If you feel that something is the case, you have a strong idea in your mind that it is the case.\nI feel that not enough is being done to protect the local animal life...\nI feel certain that it will all turn out well...\nShe felt herself to be part of a large business empire...\nI never felt myself a real child of the sixties.\n  VERB: no cont, V that, V adj that, V n to-inf, V pron-refl n\n\n11. If you feel that you should do something, you think that you should do it.\nI feel I should resign...\nHe felt that he had to do it...\nYou need not feel obliged to contribute...\nThey felt under no obligation to maintain their employees.\n  VERB: no cont, V that, V that, V -ed to-inf, V under n\n\n(next)


Words: feel .1
Meaning:
12. If you talk about how you feel about something, you talk about your opinion, attitude, or reaction to it.\nWe’d like to know what you feel about abortion...\nShe feels guilty about spending less time lately with her two kids...\nHe feels deep regret about his friend’s death.\n  VERB: no cont, V about n, V adj/adv about n, V n about n\n\n13. If you feel like doing something or having something, you want to do it or have it because you are in the right mood for it and think you would enjoy it.\nNeither of them felt like going back to sleep...\nCould we take a walk? I feel like a little exercise.\n  VERB: V like -ing, V like -ing\n\n14. If you feel the effect or result of something, you experience it.\nThe charity is still feeling the effects of revelations about its one-time president...\nThe real impact will be felt in the developing world.\n  VERB: V n, V n\n\n15. The feel of something, for example a place, is the general impression that it gives you.\nThe room has a warm, cosy feel.\n  N-SING: with supp\n\n  If you get the feel of something, for example a place or a new activity, you become familiar with it.\nHe wanted to get the feel of the place.\n  PHRASE: V inflects, PHR n\n\n16.\nfeel free: see free\n  see also feeling, felt


Words: feel for
Meaning:
feel for\n1. If you feel for something, for example in the dark, you try to find it by moving your hand around until you touch it.\nI felt for my wallet and papers in my inside pocket...\nI slumped down in my usual armchair and felt around for the newspaper.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n, V adv/prep P n\n\n2. If you feel for someone, you have sympathy for them.\nShe cried on the phone and was very upset and I really felt for her.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n


Words: feel-good
Meaning:
feel-good   also feelgood\n1. A feel-good film is a film which presents people and life in a way which makes the people who watch it feel happy and optimistic.\n...a bright and enjoyable feelgood romance.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n2. When journalists refer to the feel-good factor, they mean that people are feeling hopeful and optimistic about the future.\nThere were obvious signs of the feel-good factor in the last survey taken in the wake of the election result.\n  PHRASE


Words: feeler
Meaning:
feel.er\n   feeler  feelers\n1. An insect’s feelers are the two thin stalks on its head with which it touches and senses things around it.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl\n  = antenna\n2. If you put out feelers, you make careful, quiet contacts with people in order to get information from them, or to find out what their reaction will be to a suggestion.\nWhen vacancies occur, the office puts out feelers to the universities.\n  N-PLURAL


Words: feeling
Meaning:
feel.ing\n   feeling  feelings\n1. A feeling is an emotion, such as anger or happiness.\nIt gave me a feeling of satisfaction...\nI think our main feeling would be of an immense gratitude...\nHe was unable to contain his own destructive feelings.\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp, oft N of n\n\n2. Your feelings about something are the things that you think and feel about it, or your attitude towards it.\nShe has strong feelings about the alleged growth in violence against female officers...\nI think that sums up the feelings of most discerning and intelligent Indians...\nHe made no real secret of his feelings to his friends.\n  N-PLURAL: with supp, oft with poss, oft N about n/-ing\n\n3. When you refer to someone’s feelings, you are talking about the things that might embarrass, offend, or upset them. For example, if you hurt someone’s feelings, you upset them by something that you say or do.\nHe was afraid of hurting my feelings...\nHe has no respect, no regard for anyone’s feelings...\n  N-PLURAL: usu poss N\n\n4. Feeling is a way of thinking and reacting to things which is emotional and not planned rather than logical and practical.\nHe was prompted to a rare outburst of feeling.\n...a voice that trembles with feeling.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n  = emotion\n5. Feeling for someone is love, affection, sympathy, or concern for them.\nThomas never lost his feeling for Harriet...\nIt’s incredible that Peter can behave with such stupid lack of feeling.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N for n\n\n6. If you have a feeling of hunger, tiredness, or other physical sensation, you experience it.\nI also had a strange feeling in my neck...\nHe experienced feelings of claustrophobia from being in a small place.\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp, oft N of n\n\n7. Feeling in part of your body is the ability to experience the sense of touch in this part of the body.\nAfter the accident he had no feeling in his legs.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n8. If you have a feeling that something is the case or that something is going to happen, you think that is probably the case or that it is probably going to happen.\nI have a feeling that everything will come right for us one day...\nYou have a feeling about people, and I just felt she was going to be good.\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp, oft N about n, N that\n\n9. Feeling is used to refer to a general opinion that a group of people has about something.\nThere is still some feeling in the art world that the market for such works may be declining...\nIt seemed that anti-Fascist feeling was not being encouraged.\n  N-UNCOUNT: with supp, oft N that\n\n10. If you have a feeling of being in a particular situation, you feel that you are in that situation.\nI had the terrible feeling of being left behind to bring up the baby while he had fun.\n  N-SING: N of -ing\n\n11. If you have a feeling for something, you have an understanding of it or a natural ability to do it.\nTry to get a feeling for the people who live here...\nYou seem to have a feeling for drawing.\n  N-SING: a N for n\n\n12. If something such as a place or book creates a particular kind of feeling, it creates a particular kind of atmosphere.\nThat’s what we tried to portray in the book, this feeling of opulence and grandeur.\n  N-SING: with supp\n\n13.\n  see also feel\n14. Bad feeling or ill feeling is bitterness or anger which exists between people, for example after they have had an argument.\nThere’s been some bad feeling between the two families.\n  PHRASE: oft PHR between n\n\n15. Hard feelings are feelings of anger or bitterness towards someone who you have had an argument with or who has upset you. If you say `no hard feelings’, you are making an agreement with someone not to be angry or bitter about something.\nI don’t want any hard feelings between our companies...\nHe held out his large hand. `No hard feelings, right?’\n  PHRASE\n\n16. You say `I know the feeling’ to show that you understand or feel sorry about a problem or difficult experience that someone is telling you about. (SPOKEN)\n  CONVENTION  feelings\n\n(next)


Words: feeling .1
Meaning:
17. If you have mixed feelings about something or someone, you feel uncertain about them because you can see both good and bad points about them.\n  PHRASE: V inflects, usu PHR about n


Words: feelingly
Meaning:
feel.ing.ly\n   feelingly\n  If someone says something feelingly, they say it in a way which shows that they have very strong feelings about what they are saying.\n`It’s what I want,’ she said feelingly...\n  ADV: ADV after v\n  = emotionally


Words: feign
Meaning:
feign  feigns  feigning  feigned\n  If someone feigns a particular feeling, attitude, or physical condition, they try to make other people think that they have it or are experiencing it, although this is not true. (FORMAL)\nOne morning, I didn’t want to go to school, and decided to feign illness...\n`Giles phoned this morning,’ Mirella said with feigned indifference.\n  VERB: V n, V-ed, also V to-inf\n  = affect


Words: feint
Meaning:
feint  feints  feinting  feinted\n  In sport or military conflict, if someone feints, they make a brief movement in a different direction from the one they intend to follow, as a way of confusing or deceiving their opponent.\nI feinted to the left, then to the right...\nThey feinted and concentrated forces against the most fortified line of the enemy side.\n  VERB: V prep/adv, V


Words: feisty
Meaning:
feisty\n  If you describe someone as feisty, you mean that they are tough, independent, and spirited, often when you would not expect them to be, for example because they are old or ill.\nAt 66, she was as feisty as ever.\n  ADJ\n  = spunky


Words: felicitous
Meaning:
fe.lici.tous\n   felicitous\n  If you describe a remark or idea as felicitous, you approve of it because it seems particularly suitable in the circumstances. (FORMAL)\nHer prose style is not always felicitous; she tends to repetition.\n  ADJ  approval


Words: felicity
Meaning:
fe.lic.ity\n   felicity\n1. Felicity is great happiness and pleasure. (LITERARY)\n...joy and felicity.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. Felicity is the quality of being good, pleasant, or desirable. (LITERARY)\n...his conversational manner and easy verbal felicity.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: feline
Meaning:
fe.line\n   feline  felines\n1. Feline means belonging or relating to the cat family.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n2. A feline is an animal that belongs to the cat family.\nThe 14lb feline is so fat she can hardly walk.\n  N-COUNT\n  = cat\n3. You can use feline to describe someone’s appearance or movements if they are elegant or graceful in a way that makes you think of a cat. (LITERARY)\nShe moves with feline grace.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  = catlike


Words: fell
Meaning:
fell  fells  felling  felled\n1. Fell is the past tense of fall.\n\n2. If trees are felled, they are cut down.\nBadly infected trees should be felled and burned.\n  VERB: usu passive, be V-ed\n\n3. If you fell someone, you knock them down, for example in a fight.\n...a blow on the forehead which felled him to the ground.\n  VERB: V n\n\n4.\nin one fell swoop: see swoop


Words: fella
Meaning:
fel.la\n   fella  fellas   also feller\n  You can refer to a man as a fella. (INFORMAL)\nHe’s an intelligent man and a nice fella...\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp\n  = fellow


Words: fellatio
Meaning:
fel.la.tio\n   fellatio\n  Fellatio is oral sex which involves someone using their mouth to stimulate their partner’s penis.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: fellow
Meaning:
fel.low\n   fellow  fellows\n1. You use fellow to describe people who are in the same situation as you, or people you feel you have something in common with.\nShe discovered to her pleasure, a talent for making her fellow guests laugh...\nEven in jail, my fellow inmates treated me with kindness.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n2. A fellow is a man or boy. (INFORMAL, OLD-FASHIONED)\nBy all accounts, Rodger would appear to be a fine fellow.\n  N-COUNT\n  = chap\n3. Your fellows are the people who you work with, do things with, or who are like you in some way. (FORMAL)\nPeople looked out for one another and were concerned about the welfare of their fellows.\n  N-PLURAL: poss N\n\n4. A fellow of an academic or professional association is someone who is a specially elected member of it, usually because of their work or achievements or as a mark of honour.\n...the fellows of the Zoological Society of London.\n  N-COUNT: usu N of n


Words: fellow feeling
Meaning:
fel.low feel.ing\n   fellow feeling   also fellow-feeling\n  Fellow feeling is sympathy and friendship that exists between people who have shared similar experiences or difficulties.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: fellowship
Meaning:
fel.low.ship\n   fellowship  fellowships\n1. A fellowship is a group of people that join together for a common purpose or interest.\n...the National Schizophrenia Fellowship...\nAt Merlin’s instigation, Arthur founds the Fellowship of the Round Table.\n  N-COUNT: with supp\n\n2. A fellowship at a university is a post which involves research work.\nHe was offered a research fellowship at Clare College.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. Fellowship is a feeling of friendship that people have when they are talking or doing something together and sharing their experiences.\n...a sense of community and fellowship.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n  = companionship


Words: felon
Meaning:
fel.on\n   felon  felons\n  A felon is a person who is guilty of committing a felony. (LEGAL)\nHe’s a convicted felon.\n  N-COUNT


Words: felony
Meaning:
felo.ny\n   felony  felonies\n  In countries where the legal system distinguishes between very serious crimes and less serious ones, a felony is a very serious crime such as armed robbery. (LEGAL)\nHe pleaded guilty to six felonies.\n  N-COUNT


Words: felt
Meaning:
felt\n1. Felt is the past tense and past participle of feel.\n\n2. Felt is a thick cloth made from wool or other fibres packed tightly together.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: felt-tip
Meaning:
felt-tip  felt-tips\n  A felt-tip or a felt-tip pen is a pen which has a piece of fibre at the end that the ink comes through.\n  N-COUNT


Words: female
Meaning:
fe.male\n   female  females\n1. Someone who is female is a woman or a girl.\n...a sixteen-piece dance band with a female singer...\nOnly 13 per cent of consultants are female.\n  ADJ\n  !=male\n2. Women and girls are sometimes referred to as females when they are being considered as a type.\nHay fever affects males more than females.\n  N-COUNT\n  !=male\n3. Female matters and things relate to, belong to, or affect women rather than men.\n...female infertility.\n...a purveyor of female undergarments...\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n  !=male\n4. You can refer to any creature that can lay eggs or produce babies from its body as a female.\nEach female will lay just one egg in April or May.\n  N-COUNT\n  !=male\n  Female is also an adjective.\n...the scent given off by the female aphid to attract the male.\n  ADJ\n  !=male\n5. A female flower or plant contains the part that will become the fruit when it is fertilized.\nFigs have male and female flowers.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  !=male


Words: feminine
Meaning:
femi.nine\n   feminine\n1. Feminine qualities and things relate to or are considered typical of women, in contrast to men.\n...male leaders worrying about their women abandoning traditional feminine roles.\n...a manufactured ideal of feminine beauty.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  = female  !=masculine\n2. Someone or something that is feminine has qualities that are considered typical of women, especially being pretty or gentle.\nI’ve always been attracted to very feminine, delicate women...\nThe bedroom has a light, feminine look.\n  ADJ  approval\n  !=masculine\n3. In some languages, a feminine noun, pronoun, or adjective has a different form from a masculine or neuter one, or behaves in a different way.\n  ADJ


Words: femininity
Meaning:
femi.nin.ity\n   femininity\n1. A woman’s femininity is the fact that she is a woman.\n...the drudgery behind the ideology of motherhood and femininity.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n  !=masculinity\n2. Femininity means the qualities that are considered to be typical of women.\n...this courageous German tennis star’s unique blend of strength and femininity.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n  !=masculinity


Words: feminism
Meaning:
femi.nism\n   feminism\n  Feminism is the belief and aim that women should have the same rights, power, and opportunities as men.\n...Barbara Johnson, that champion of radical feminism.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: feminist
Meaning:
femi.nist\n   feminist  feminists\n1. A feminist is a person who believes in and supports feminism.\nOnly 16 per cent of young women in a 1990 survey considered themselves feminists.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. Feminist groups, ideas, and activities are involved in feminism.\n...the concerns addressed by the feminist movement.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: feminize
Meaning:
femi.nize\n   feminize  feminizes  feminizing  feminized\nin BRIT, also use feminise\n  To feminize something means to make it into something that involves mainly women or is thought suitable for or typical of women. (FORMAL)\n...their governments’ policies of feminizing low-paid factory work.\n...a feminised pinstriped suit.\n  VERB: V n, V-ed


Words: femme fatale
Meaning:
femme fa.tale\n   femme fatale  femmes fatales\n  If a woman has a reputation as a femme fatale, she is considered to be very attractive sexually, and likely to cause problems for any men who are attracted to her.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing


Words: fen
Meaning:
fen  fens\n  Fen is used to refer to an area of low, flat, wet land, especially in the east of England.\n...the flat fen lands near Cambridge.\n  N-VAR


Words: fence
Meaning:
fence  fences  fencing  fenced\n1. A fence is a barrier between two areas of land, made of wood or wire supported by posts.\nVillagers say the fence would restrict public access to the hills.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If you fence an area of land, you surround it with a fence.\nThe first task was to fence the wood to exclude sheep...\nThomas was playing in a little fenced area full of sand.\n  VERB: V n, V-ed\n\n3. A fence in show jumping or horse racing is an obstacle or barrier that horses have to jump over.\n  N-COUNT\n\n4. If one country tries to mend fences with another, it tries to end a disagreement or quarrel with the other country. You can also say that two countries mend fences.\nWashington was last night doing its best to mend fences with the Europeans, saying it understood their concerns...\n  PHRASE: V inflects, PHR with n, pl-n PHR\n\n5. If you sit on the fence, you avoid supporting a particular side in a discussion or argument.\nThey are sitting on the fence and refusing to commit themselves...\n  PHRASE: V inflects


Words: fence in
Meaning:
fence in\n1. If you fence something in, you surround it completely with a fence.\nHe plans to fence in about 100 acres of his ranch five miles north of town.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n\n\n2. If you are fenced in by someone or something, they are so close to you that you are unable to move or leave.\nShe was basically fenced in by what the military wanted to do...\nHe put his hand on the post behind her so that he had her fenced in and could look down on her.\n  PHRASAL VERB: usu passive, be V-ed P, V-ed P


Words: fencing
Meaning:
fenc.ing\n   fencing\n1. Fencing is a sport in which two competitors fight each other using very thin swords. The ends of the swords are covered and the competitors wear protective clothes, so that they do not hurt each other.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. Materials such as wood or wire that are used to make fences are called fencing.\n...old wooden fencing.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: fend
Meaning:
fend  fends  fending  fended\n  If you have to fend for yourself, you have to look after yourself without relying on help from anyone else.\nThe woman and her young baby had been thrown out and left to fend for themselves.\n  VERB: V for pron-refl


Words: fend off
Meaning:
fend off\n1. If you fend off unwanted questions, problems, or people, you stop them from affecting you or defend yourself from them, but often only for a short time and without dealing with them completely.\nHe looked relaxed and determined as he fended off questions from the world’s Press...\nHe had struggled to pay off creditors but couldn’t fend them off any longer.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), V n P\n\n2. If you fend off someone who is attacking you, you use your arms or something such as a stick to defend yourself from their blows.\nHe raised his hand to fend off the blow.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), also V n P\n  = ward off


Words: fender
Meaning:
fend.er\n   fender  fenders\n1. A fender is a low metal wall built around a fireplace, which stops any coals that fall out of the fire from rolling onto the carpet.\n...a brass fender.\n  N-COUNT\n  = guard\n2. A fender is the same as a fireguard.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. The fenders of a car are the parts of the body over the wheels. (AM; in BRIT, use wing)\n  N-COUNT\n\n4. The fender of a car is a bar at the front or back that protects the car if it bumps into something. (AM; in BRIT, use bumper)\n  N-COUNT\n\n5. The fenders of a boat are objects which hang against the outside and protect it from damage when it comes next to a harbour wall or another boat.\n  N-COUNT


Words: feng shui
Meaning:
feng shui\n  Feng shui is a Chinese art which is based on the belief that the way you arrange things within a building, and within the rooms of that building, can affect aspects of your life such as how happy and successful you are.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: fennel
Meaning:
fen.nel\n   fennel\n  Fennel is a plant with a crisp rounded base and feathery leaves. It can be eaten as a vegetable or the leaves can be used as a herb.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: feral
Meaning:
fe.ral\n   feral\n  Feral animals are wild animals that are not owned or controlled by anyone, especially ones that belong to species which are normally owned and kept by people. (FORMAL)\n...feral cats.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  !=domesticated


Words: ferment
Meaning:
fer.ment\n   ferment ferments fermenting  fermented\nThe noun is pronounced   The verb is pronounced\n1. Ferment is excitement and trouble caused by change or uncertainty.\nThe whole country has been in a state of political ferment for some months.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n  = turmoil\n2. If a food, drink, or other natural substance ferments, or if it is fermented, a chemical change takes place in it so that alcohol is produced. This process forms part of the production of alcoholic drinks such as wine and beer.\nThe dried grapes are allowed to ferment until there is no sugar left and the wine is dry...\nTo serve the needs of bakers, manufacturers ferment the yeast to produce a more concentrated product.\n  VERB: V, V n\n\n=>  fer.men.ta.tion\nYeast is essential for the fermentation that produces alcohol.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: fern
Meaning:
fern  ferns\n  A fern is a plant that has long stems with feathery leaves and no flowers. There are many types of fern.\n  N-VAR


Words: ferocious
Meaning:
fe.ro.cious\n   ferocious\n1. A ferocious animal, person, or action is very fierce and violent.\n...a ferocious guard-dog...\nThe police had had to deal with some of the most ferocious violence ever seen on the streets of London.\n  ADJ\n  = fierce\n2. A ferocious war, argument, or other form of conflict involves a great deal of anger, bitterness, and determination.\nFighting has been ferocious...\nA ferocious battle to select a new parliamentary candidate is in progress.\n  ADJ\n\n3. If you describe actions or feelings as ferocious, you mean that they are intense and determined.\nLindbergh was startled at the ferocious depth of anti-British feeling.\n  ADJ


Words: ferocity
Meaning:
fe.roc.ity\n   ferocity\n  The ferocity of something is its fierce or violent nature.\nThe armed forces seem to have been taken by surprise by the ferocity of the attack.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: ferret
Meaning:
fer.ret\n   ferret  ferrets  ferreting  ferreted\n1. A ferret is a small, fierce animal which is used for hunting rabbits and rats.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If you ferret about for something, you look for it in a lot of different places or in a place where it is hidden. (BRIT INFORMAL)\nShe nonetheless continued to ferret about for possible jobs...\nShe ferreted among some papers.\n  VERB: V about/around, V prep\n  = search


Words: ferret out
Meaning:
ferret out\n  If you ferret out some information, you discover it by searching for it very thoroughly. (INFORMAL)\nThe team is trying to ferret out missing details...\nI leave it to the reader to ferret these out.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), V n P\n  = unearth


Words: Ferris wheel
Meaning:
Fer.ris wheel\n   Ferris wheel Ferris wheels  also ferris wheel\n  A Ferris wheel is a very large upright wheel with carriages around the edge of it which people can ride in. Ferris wheels are often found at theme parks or funfairs. (AM; in BRIT, use big wheel)\n  N-COUNT


Words: ferrous
Meaning:
fer.rous\n   ferrous\n  Ferrous means containing or relating to iron.\n...ferrous metals.\n...ferrous chloride.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: ferrule
Meaning:
fer.rule\n   ferrule  ferrules\n  A ferrule is a metal or rubber cap that is fixed onto the end of a stick or post in order to prevent it from splitting or wearing down. (FORMAL)\n  N-COUNT


Words: ferry
Meaning:
fer.ry\n   ferry  ferries  ferrying  ferried\n1. A ferry is a boat that transports passengers and sometimes also vehicles, usually across rivers or short stretches of sea.\nThey had recrossed the River Gambia by ferry.\n  N-COUNT: also by N\n\n2. If a vehicle ferries people or goods, it transports them, usually by means of regular journeys between the same two places.\nEvery day, a plane arrives to ferry guests to and from Bird Island Lodge...\nIt was still dark when five coaches started to ferry the miners the 140 miles from the Silverhill colliery...\nA helicopter ferried in more soldiers to help in the search.\n  VERB: V n prep/adv, V n amount, V n with adv, also V n\n  = transport


Words: fertile
Meaning:
fer.tile\n   fertile\n1. Land or soil that is fertile is able to support the growth of a large number of strong healthy plants.\n...fertile soil.\n...the rolling fertile countryside of East Cork.\n  ADJ\n  = rich\n=>  fer.til.ity\nHe was able to bring large sterile acreages back to fertility.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. A fertile mind or imagination is able to produce a lot of good, original ideas.\n...a product of Flynn’s fertile imagination...\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n3. A situation or environment that is fertile in relation to a particular activity or feeling encourages the activity or feeling.\n...a fertile breeding ground for this kind of violent racism.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n4. A person or animal that is fertile is able to reproduce and have babies or young.\nThe operation cannot be reversed to make her fertile again.\n  ADJ\n  !=infertile, sterile\n=>  fer.til.ity\nDoctors will tell you that pregnancy is the only sure test for fertility.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n  !=infertility, sterility


Words: fertilize
Meaning:
fer.ti.lize\n   fertilize  fertilizes  fertilizing  fertilized\nin BRIT, also use fertilise\n1. When an egg from the ovary of a woman or female animal is fertilized, a sperm from the male joins with the egg, causing a baby or young animal to begin forming. A female plant is fertilized when its reproductive parts come into contact with pollen from the male plant.\nCertain varieties cannot be fertilised with their own pollen.\n...the normal sperm levels needed to fertilise the female egg...\nPregnancy begins when the fertilized egg is implanted in the wall of the uterus.\n  VERB: be V-ed with n, V n, V-ed\n\n=>  fer.ti.li.za.tion\nThe average length of time from fertilization until birth is about 266 days.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. To fertilize land means to improve its quality in order to make plants grow well on it, by spreading solid animal waste or a chemical mixture on it.\nThe faeces contain nitrogen and it is that which fertilises the desert soil.\n...chemically fertilized fields.\n  VERB: V n, V-ed\n  = enrich


Words: fertilizer
Meaning:
fer.ti.liz.er\n   fertilizer  fertilizers\nin BRIT, also use fertiliser\n  Fertilizer is a substance such as solid animal waste or a chemical mixture that you spread on the ground in order to make plants grow more successfully.\n...farming without any purchased chemical, fertilizer or pesticide...\n  N-MASS


Words: fervent
Meaning:
fer.vent\n   fervent\n  A fervent person has or shows strong feelings about something, and is very sincere and enthusiastic about it.\n...a fervent admirer of Morisot’s work.\n...the fervent hope that matters will be settled promptly.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  = ardent\n=>  fer.vent.ly\nTheir claims will be fervently denied.\n  ADV: usu ADV with v, also ADV adj


Words: fervour
Meaning:
fer.vour\n   fervour\nin AM, use fervor\n  Fervour for something is a very strong feeling for or belief in it. (FORMAL)\nThey were concerned only with their own religious fervour.\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu with supp\n  = enthusiasm


Words: fester
Meaning:
fes.ter\n   fester  festers  festering  festered\n1. If you say that a situation, problem, or feeling is festering, you disapprove of the fact that it is being allowed to grow more unpleasant or full of anger, because it is not being properly recognized or dealt with.\nResentments are starting to fester.\n...festering wounds of the legacy of British imperialism.\n  VERB: V, V-ing  disapproval\n\n2. If a wound festers, it becomes infected, making it worse.\nThe wound is festering, and gangrene has set in...\nMany of the children are afflicted by festering sores.\n  VERB: V, V-ing


Words: festival
Meaning:
fes.ti.val\n   festival  festivals\n1. A festival is an organized series of events such as musical concerts or drama productions.\nNumerous Umbrian towns hold their own summer festivals of music, theatre, and dance...\nThere are over 350 films in the Edinburgh Film Festival this year.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A festival is a day or time of the year when people have a holiday from work and celebrate some special event, often a religious event.\n...the Hindu festival of Diwali.\n  N-COUNT


Words: festive
Meaning:
fes.tive\n   festive\n1. Something that is festive is special, colourful, or exciting, especially because of a holiday or celebration.\nThe town has a festive holiday atmosphere...\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n2. Festive means relating to a holiday or celebration, especially Christmas.\nThe factory was due to shut for the festive period...\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: festive season
Meaning:
fes.tive sea.son\n   festive season\n  People sometimes refer to the Christmas period as the festive season.\n  N-SING: usu the N\n  = Christmas


Words: festivity
Meaning:
fes.tiv.ity\n   festivity  festivities\n1. Festivity is the celebration of something in a happy way.\nThere was a general air of festivity and abandon.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. Festivities are events that are organized in order to celebrate something.\nThe festivities included a huge display of fireworks.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl


Words: festoon
Meaning:
fes.toon\n   festoon  festoons  festooning  festooned\n  If something is festooned with, for example, lights, balloons, or flowers, large numbers of these things are hung from it or wrapped around it, especially in order to decorate it.\nThe temples are festooned with lights.\n  VERB: usu passive, be V-ed with/in n\n  = bedeck


Words: feta
Meaning:
feta\n  Feta is a type of salty white cheese made from goats’ or sheep’s milk. It is traditionally made in Greece.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: fetch
Meaning:
fetch  fetches  fetching  fetched\n1. If you fetch something or someone, you go and get them from the place where they are.\nSylvia fetched a towel from the bathroom...\nFetch me a glass of water...\nThe caddie ran over to fetch something for him.\n  VERB: V n, V n n, V n for n\n  = get\n2. If something fetches a particular sum of money, it is sold for that amount.\nThe painting is expected to fetch between two and three million pounds.\n  VERB: V n\n  = go for\n3.\n  see also far-fetched, fetching


Words: fetching
Meaning:
fetch.ing\n   fetching\n  If you describe someone or something as fetching, you think that they look very attractive.\nSue was sitting up in bed, looking very fetching in a flowered bedjacket...\n  ADJ


Words: fete
Meaning:
fete  fetes  feting  feted\nin AM and sometimes in BRIT, use fete\n1. A fete is an event that is usually held outdoors and includes competitions, entertainments, and the selling of used and home-made goods.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If someone is feted, they are celebrated, welcomed, or admired by the public.\nAnouska Hempel, the British dress designer, was feted in New York this week at a spectacular dinner...\n  VERB: usu passive, be V-ed


Words: fetid
Meaning:
fet.id\n   fetid\nin BRIT, also use foetid\n  Fetid water or air has a very strong unpleasant smell. (FORMAL)\n...the fetid river of waste.\n...the fetid stench of vomit.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  = stinking


Words: fetish
Meaning:
fet.ish\n   fetish  fetishes\n1. If someone has a fetish, they have an unusually strong liking or need for a particular object or activity, as a way of getting sexual pleasure.\n...rubber and leather fetishes.\n...fetish wear for sexual arousal.\n  N-COUNT: oft n N\n\n2. If you say that someone has a fetish for doing something, you disapprove of the fact that they do it very often or enjoy it very much.\nWhat began as a postwar fetish for sunbathing is rapidly developing into a world health crisis.\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp  disapproval\n\n3. In some cultures, a fetish is an object, especially a carved object, which is considered to have religious importance or magical powers.\n  N-COUNT


Words: fetishism
Meaning:
fet.ish.ism\n   fetishism\n  Fetishism involves a person having a strong liking or need for a particular object or activity which gives them sexual pleasure and excitement.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: fetishist
Meaning:
fet.ish.ist\n   fetishist  fetishists\n  A fetishist is a person who has a strong liking or need for a particular object or activity in order to experience sexual pleasure and excitement.\n...a foot fetishist.\n  N-COUNT: usu n N


Words: fetlock
Meaning:
fet.lock\n   fetlock  fetlocks\n  A horse’s fetlock is the back part of its leg, just above the hoof.\n  N-COUNT


Words: fetter
Meaning:
fet.ter\n   fetter  fetters  fettering  fettered\n1. If you say that you are fettered by something, you dislike it because it prevents you from behaving or moving in a free and natural way. (LITERARY)\n...a private trust which would not be fettered by bureaucracy...\nThe black mud fettered her movements.\n  VERB: be V-ed, V n  disapproval\n  = hamper\n2. You can use fetters to refer to things such as rules, traditions, or responsibilities that you dislike because they prevent you from behaving in the way you want. (LITERARY)\n  N-PLURAL: usu with supp, oft N of n  disapproval\n  = constraints


Words: fettle
Meaning:
fet.tle\n   fettle\n  If you say that someone or something is in fine fettle, you mean that they are in very good health or condition. (INFORMAL)\nYou seem in fine fettle.\n  PHRASE: v-link PHR, PHR after v


Words: feud
Meaning:
feud  feuds  feuding  feuded\n1. A feud is a quarrel in which two people or groups remain angry with each other for a long time, although they are not always fighting or arguing.\n...a long and bitter feud between the state government and the villagers.\n  N-COUNT\n  = vendetta\n2. If one person or group feuds with another, they have a quarrel that lasts a long time. You can also say that two people or groups feud.\nHe feuded with his ex-wife...\nTheir families had feuded since their teenage daughters quarrelled two years ago.\n  V-RECIP: V with n, pl-n V


Words: feudal
Meaning:
feu.dal\n   feudal\n  Feudal means relating to the system or the time of feudalism.\n...the emperor and his feudal barons.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: feudalism
Meaning:
feu.dal.ism\n   feudalism\n  Feudalism was a system in which people were given land and protection by people of higher rank, and worked and fought for them in return.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: fever
Meaning:
fe.ver\n   fever  fevers\n1. If you have a fever when you are ill, your body temperature is higher than usual and your heart beats faster.\nMy Uncle Jim had a high fever...\nSymptoms of the disease include fever and weight loss.\n  N-VAR\n\n  see also hay fever, rheumatic fever, scarlet fever\n2. A fever is extreme excitement or nervousness about something.\nAngie waited in a fever of excitement.\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp\n  = frenzy


Words: fever blister
Meaning:
fe.ver blis.ter\n   fever blister  fever blisters\n  Fever blisters are small sore spots that sometimes appear on or near someone’s lips and nose when they have a cold. (AM; in BRIT, usually use cold sore)\n  N-COUNT


Words: fever pitch
Meaning:
fe.ver pitch\n   fever pitch\n  If something is at fever pitch, it is in an extremely active or excited state.\nCampaigning is reaching fever pitch for elections on November 6.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft at N


Words: fevered
Meaning:
fe.vered\n   fevered\n1. Fevered is used to describe feelings of great excitement, and the activities that result from them. (WRITTEN)\nMeg was in a state of fevered anticipation.\n...fevered speculation over the leadership.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  = feverish\n2. If a person is fevered, or they have a fevered brow, they are suffering from a fever. (LITERARY)\n...her fevered brow.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: feverish
Meaning:
fe.ver.ish\n   feverish\n1. Feverish activity is done extremely quickly, often in a state of nervousness or excitement because you want to finish it as soon as possible.\nHours of feverish activity lay ahead. The tents had to be erected, the stalls set up.\n  ADJ\n  = frantic\n2. Feverish emotion is characterized by extreme nervousness or excitement.\n...a state of feverish excitement.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n3. If you are feverish, you are suffering from a fever.\nA feverish child refuses to eat and asks only for cold drinks...\nShe looked feverish, her eyes glistened.\n  ADJ\n\n=>  fe.ver.ish.ly\nHe slept feverishly all afternoon and into the night.\n  ADV: ADV with v, ADV adj


Words: few
Meaning:
few  fewer  fewest\n1. You use a few to indicate that you are talking about a small number of people or things. You can also say a very few.\nI gave a dinner party for a few close friends...\nHere are a few more ideas to consider...\nShe was silent for a few seconds.\n  DET: DET pl-n\n\n  Few is also a pronoun.\nDoctors work an average of 90 hours a week, while a few are on call for up to 120 hours...\nA strict diet is appropriate for only a few.\n  PRON\n\n  Few is also a quantifier.\nThere are many ways eggs can be prepared; here are a few of them.\n...a little tea-party I’m giving for a few of the teachers.\n  QUANT: QUANT of def-pl-n\n\n2. You use few after adjectives and determiners to indicate that you are talking about a small number of things or people.\nThe past few weeks of her life had been the most pleasant she could remember...\n...in the last few chapters...\nA train would pass through there every few minutes at that time of day.\n  ADJ: adj/det ADJ n\n\n3. You use few to indicate that you are talking about a small number of people or things. You can use `so’, `too’ and `very’ in front of few.\nShe had few friends, and was generally not very happy...\nFew members planned to vote for him...\nVery few firms collect the tax, even when they’re required to do so by law.\n  DET: DET pl-n\n  !=many\n  Few is also a pronoun.\nThe trouble is that few want to buy, despite the knockdown prices on offer.\n...a true singing and songwriting talent that few suspected.\n  PRON\n\n  Few is also a quantifier.\nFew of the volunteers had military experience.\n  QUANT: QUANT of def-pl-n\n\n  Few is also an adjective.\n...spending her few waking hours in front of the TV...\nHis memories of his father are few.\n  ADJ\n\n4. The few means a small set of people considered as separate from the majority, especially because they share a particular opportunity or quality that the others do not have.\nThis should not be an experience for the few.\n...a system built on academic excellence for the few.\n  N-SING: the N\n\n5. You use as few as before a number to suggest that it is surprisingly small.\nOne study showed that even as few as ten cigarettes a day can damage fertility...\n  PHRASE: PHR num  emphasis\n\n6. Things that are few and far between are very rare or do not happen very often.\nIn this economic climate new ideas were few and far between.\n  PHRASE: v-link PHR  emphasis\n  = rare\n7. You use no fewer than to emphasize that a number is surprisingly large.\nNo fewer than thirteen foreign ministers attended the session.\n  PHRASE: PHR num  emphasis


Words: fey
Meaning:
fey\n  If you describe someone as fey, you mean that they behave in a shy, childish, or unpredictable way, and you are often suggesting that this is unnatural or insincere. (LITERARY)\nHer fey charm and eccentric ways were legendary.\n  ADJ\n  = whimsical


Words: ff.
Meaning:
1. In a book or magazine, when ff. is written it refers to the page or line mentioned and two or more pages or lines after it.\n...p. 173 ff.\n\n2. In a piece of music, ff is a written abbreviation for fortissimo.


Words: fiance
Meaning:
fi.an.ce\n   fiance  fiances\n  A woman’s fiance is the man to whom she is engaged to be married.\n  N-COUNT: usu poss N


Words: fiancee
Meaning:
fi.an.cee\n   fiancee  fiancees\n  A man’s fiancee is the woman to whom he is engaged to be married.\n  N-COUNT: usu poss N


Words: fiasco
Meaning:
fi.as.co\n   fiasco  fiascos\n  If you describe an event or attempt to do something as a fiasco, you are emphasizing that it fails completely.\nThe blame for the Charleston fiasco did not lie with him...\nIt was a bit of a fiasco.\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp  emphasis\n  = debacle


Words: fiat
Meaning:
fiat   fiats\n  If something is done by fiat, it is done because of an official order given by someone in authority. (FORMAL)\nHe has tried to impose solutions to the country’s problems by fiat.\n  N-COUNT: also by N


Words: fib
Meaning:
fib  fibs  fibbing  fibbed\n1. A fib is a small, unimportant lie. (INFORMAL)\nShe told innocent fibs like anyone else.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If someone is fibbing, they are telling lies. (INFORMAL)\nHe laughs loudly when I accuse him of fibbing.\n  VERB: V


Words: fibre
Meaning:
fi.bre\n   fibre  fibres\nin AM, use fiber\n1. A fibre is a thin thread of a natural or artificial substance, especially one that is used to make cloth or rope.\nIf you look at the paper under a microscope you will see the fibres.\n...a variety of coloured fibres.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A particular fibre is a type of cloth or other material that is made from or consists of threads.\nThe ball is made of rattan.a natural fibre.\n  N-VAR\n\n3. Fibre consists of the parts of plants or seeds that your body cannot digest. Fibre is useful because it makes food pass quickly through your body.\nMost vegetables contain fibre.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n4. A fibre is a thin piece of flesh like a thread which connects nerve cells in your body or which muscles are made of.\n...the nerve fibres.\n  N-COUNT


Words: fibre optics
Meaning:
fi.bre op.tics\n   fibre optics\n\n  The spelling fiber optics is also used in American English. The form fibre optic is used as a modifier.\n\n1. Fibre optics is the use of long thin threads of glass to carry information in the form of light.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. Fibre optic means relating to or involved in fibre optics.\n...fibre optic cables.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: fibreglass
Meaning:
fibre.glass\n   fibreglass\nin AM, use fiberglass\n1. Fibreglass is plastic strengthened with short, thin threads of glass.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. Fibreglass is a material made from short, thin threads of glass which can be used to stop heat escaping.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: fibroid
Meaning:
fi.broid\n   fibroid  fibroids\n  Fibroids are lumps of fibrous tissue that form in a woman’s womb, often causing pain. (MEDICAL)\n  N-COUNT: usu pl


Words: fibrous
Meaning:
fi.brous\n   fibrous\n  A fibrous object or substance contains a lot of fibres or fibre, or looks as if it does.\n...fibrous tissue.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: fibula
Meaning:
fibu.la\n   fibula  fibulae\n  Your fibula is the outer bone of the two bones in the lower part of your leg. (MEDICAL)\n  N-COUNT


Words: fickle
Meaning:
fick.le\n   fickle\n1. If you describe someone as fickle, you disapprove of them because they keep changing their mind about what they like or want.\nThe group has been notoriously fickle in the past.\n  ADJ  disapproval\n\n=>  fick.le.ness\n...the fickleness of businessmen and politicians.\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu N of n\n\n2. If you say that something is fickle, you mean that it often changes and is unreliable.\nOrta’s weather can be fickle.\n  ADJ


Words: fiction
Meaning:
fic.tion\n   fiction  fictions\n1. Fiction refers to books and stories about imaginary people and events, rather than books about real people or events.\nImmigrant tales have always been popular themes in fiction...\nDiana is a writer of historical fiction.\n  N-UNCOUNT: also N in pl\n\n  see also science fiction\n2. A statement or account that is fiction is not true.\nThe truth or fiction of this story has never been truly determined.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n  !=truth, fact\n3. If something is a fiction, it is not true, although people sometimes pretend that it is true.\nThe idea that the United States could harmoniously accommodate all was a fiction.\n  N-COUNT\n  !=fact


Words: fictional
Meaning:
fic.tion.al\n   fictional\n  Fictional characters or events occur only in stories, plays, or films and never actually existed or happened.\nIt is drama featuring fictional characters...\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  = fictitious, imaginary


Words: fictionalize
Meaning:
fic.tion.al.ize\n   fictionalize  fictionalizes  fictionalizing  fictionalized\nin BRIT, also use fictionalise\n  To fictionalize an account of something that really happened means to tell it as a story, with some details changed or added.\nWe had to fictionalize names.\n...a fictionalised account of a true and horrific story.\n  VERB: V n, V-ed


Words: fictitious
Meaning:
fic.ti.tious\n   fictitious\n1. Fictitious is used to describe something that is false or does not exist, although some people claim that it is true or exists.\nWe’re interested in the source of these fictitious rumours.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n2. A fictitious character, thing, or event occurs in a story, play, or film but never really existed or happened.\nThe persons and events portrayed in this production are fictitious.\n  ADJ\n  = fictional, imaginary


Words: fiddle
Meaning:
fid.dle\n   fiddle  fiddles  fiddling  fiddled\n1. If you fiddle with an object, you keep moving it or touching it with your fingers.\nHarriet fiddled with a pen on the desk.\n  VERB: V with n\n\n2. If you fiddle with something, you change it in minor ways.\nShe told Whistler that his portrait of her was finished and to stop fiddling with it.\n  VERB: V with n\n\n3. If you fiddle with a machine, you adjust it.\nHe turned on the radio and fiddled with the knob until he got a talk show.\n  VERB: V with n\n\n4. If someone fiddles financial documents, they alter them dishonestly so that they get money for themselves. (BRIT INFORMAL)\nHe’s been fiddling the books...\n  VERB: V n\n\n5. Some people call violins fiddles, especially when they are used to play folk music.\nHardy as a young man played the fiddle at local dances.\n  N-VAR: oft the N\n  = violin\n6. Someone who is as fit as a fiddle is very healthy and full of energy.\nI’m as fit as a fiddle.with energy to spare.\n  PHRASE: v-link PHR\n\n7. If you play second fiddle to someone, your position is less important than theirs in something that you are doing together.\nShe hated the thought of playing second fiddle to Rose.\n  PHRASE: V inflects, oft PHR to n


Words: fiddle around
Meaning:
fiddle around\n1. If you fiddle around or fiddle about with a machine, you do things to it to try and make it work.\nTwo of them got out to fiddle around with the engine.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P with n, also V P\n  = tinker\n2. If you say that someone is fiddling around with or fiddling about with something, you mean that they are changing it in a way that you disapprove of.\nRight now in Congress, they’re fiddling around with the budget and so on...\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P P n  disapproval


Words: fiddler
Meaning:
fid.dler\n   fiddler  fiddlers\n  A fiddler is someone who plays the violin, especially one who plays folk music.\n  N-COUNT\n  = violinist


Words: fiddling
Meaning:
fid.dling\n   fiddling\n1. Fiddling is the practice of getting money dishonestly by altering financial documents. (BRIT INFORMAL)\nSalomon’s fiddling is likely to bring big trouble for the firm.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. Violin playing, especially in folk music, is sometimes referred to as fiddling.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n3. You can describe something as fiddling if it is small, unimportant, or difficult to do.\n...the daunting amount of fiddling technical detail.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: fiddly
Meaning:
fid.dly\n   fiddly  fiddlier  fiddliest\n  Something that is fiddly is difficult to do or use because it involves small or complicated objects. (BRIT)\nIt was a time-consuming and fiddly job...\nFish can be fiddly to cook.\n  ADJ: oft ADJ to-inf


Words: fidelity
Meaning:
fi.del.ity\n   fidelity\n1. Fidelity is loyalty to a person, organization, or set of beliefs. (FORMAL)\nI had to promise fidelity to the Queen.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N to n\n  = loyalty  !=disloyalty\n2. Fidelity is being loyal to your husband, wife, or partner by not having a sexual relationship with anyone else.\nWanting fidelity implies you’re thinking about a major relationship.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n  !=infidelity\n3. The fidelity of something such as a report or translation is the degree to which it is accurate. (FORMAL)\n...the fidelity of these early documents.\n  N-UNCOUNT: with poss, oft N to n\n  = accuracy


Words: fidget
Meaning:
fidg.et\n   fidget  fidgets  fidgeting  fidgeted\n1. If you fidget, you keep moving your hands or feet slightly or changing your position slightly, for example because you are nervous, bored, or excited.\nBrenda fidgeted in her seat.\n  VERB: V\n\n  Fidget around and fidget about mean the same as fidget.\nThere were two new arrivals, fidgeting around, waiting to ask questions.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P\n\n2. If you fidget with something, you keep moving it or touching it with your fingers with small movements, for example because you are nervous or bored.\nHe fidgeted with his tie...\n  VERB: V with n\n  = fiddle


Words: fidgety
Meaning:
fidg.ety\n   fidgety\n  Someone who is fidgety keeps fidgeting, for example because they are nervous or bored.\n  ADJ


Words: fiduciary
Meaning:
fi.du.ci.ary\n   fiduciary\n  Fiduciary is used to talk about things which relate to a trust, or to the people who are in charge of a trust. (LEGAL)\nThey have a case against their directors for breach of fiduciary duty.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: fief
Meaning:
fief  fiefs\n  In former times, a fief was a piece of land given to someone by their lord, to whom they had a duty to provide particular services in return.\n  N-COUNT


Words: field
Meaning:
field  fields  fielding  fielded\n1. A field is an area of grass, for example in a park or on a farm. A field is also an area of land on which a crop is grown.\n...a field of wheat...\nThey went for walks together in the fields.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A sports field is an area of grass where sports are played.\n...a football field...\nGavin Hastings was helped from the field with ankle injuries.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. A field is an area of land or sea bed under which large amounts of a particular mineral have been found.\n...an extensive natural gas field in Alaska.\n  N-COUNT: usu supp N\n\n4. A magnetic, gravitational, or electric field is the area in which that particular force is strong enough to have an effect.\nSome people are worried that electromagnetic fields from electric power lines could increase the risk of cancer.\n  N-COUNT: usu supp N\n\n5. A particular field is a particular subject of study or type of activity.\nExciting artistic breakthroughs have recently occurred in the fields of painting, sculpture and architecture...\nEach of the authors of the tapes is an expert in his field.\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp\n\n6. A field is an area of a computer’s memory or a program where data can be entered, edited, or stored. (COMPUTING)\nGo to a site like Yahoo! Finance and enter `AOL’ in the Get Quotes field.\n  N-COUNT\n\n7. You can refer to the area where fighting or other military action in a war takes place as the field or the field of battle.\nWe never defeated them on the field of battle.\n...the need for politicians to leave day-to-day decisions to commanders in the field.\n  N-COUNT: usu the N, oft N of n\n\n8. Your field of vision or your visual field is the area that you can see without turning your head.\nOur field of vision is surprisingly wide.\n  N-COUNT: with supp\n\n9. The field is a way of referring to all the competitors taking part in a particular race or sports contest.\nGoing into the fourth lap, the two most broadly experienced riders led the field...\n  N-COUNT-COLL: usu sing, the N\n\n10. You use field to describe work or study that is done in a real, natural environment rather than in a theoretical way or in controlled conditions.\nI also conducted a field study among the boys about their attitude to relationships...\nOur teachers took us on field trips to observe plants and animals, firsthand...\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n11. In a game of cricket, baseball, or rounders, the team that is fielding is trying to catch the ball, while the other team is trying to hit it.\nWhen we are fielding, the umpires keep looking at the ball.\n  VERB: usu cont, V\n\n12. If you say that someone fields a question, you mean that they answer it or deal with it, usually successfully. (JOURNALISM)\nHe was later shown on television, fielding questions.\n  VERB: V n\n\n13. If a sports team fields a particular number or type of players, the players are chosen to play for the team on a particular occasion.\nEngland intend fielding their strongest team in next month’s World Youth Championship.\n  VERB: V n\n\n14. If a candidate in an election is representing a political party, you can say that the party is fielding that candidate. (JOURNALISM)\nThere are signs that the new party aims to field candidates in elections scheduled for February next year.\n  VERB: V n\n  = put up\n15.\n  see also coalfield, minefield, playing field, snowfield\n16. If someone is having a field day, they are very busy doing something that they enjoy, even though it may be hurtful for other people.\nIn our absence the office gossips are probably having a field day...\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n17. Work or study that is done in the field is done in a real, natural environment rather than in a theoretical way or in controlled conditions.\nThe zoo is doing major conservation work, both in captivity and in the field.\n  PHRASE: usu PHR after v\n\n18. If you say that someone leads the field in a particular activity, you mean that they are better, more active, or more successful than everyone else who is involved in it.\n(next)


Words: field .1
Meaning:
When it comes to picking up awards they lead the field by miles.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n19. If someone plays the field, they have a number of different romantic or sexual relationships. (INFORMAL)\nHe gave up playing the field and married a year ago.\n  PHRASE: V inflects


Words: field event
Meaning:
field event  field events\n  A field event is an athletics contest such as the high jump or throwing the discus or javelin, rather than a race.\n  N-COUNT


Words: field hand
Meaning:
field hand  field hands\n  A field hand is someone who is employed to work on a farm. (mainly AM)\n  N-COUNT


Words: field hockey
Meaning:
field hock.ey\n   field hockey\n  Field hockey is an outdoor game played on a grass field between two teams of 11 players who use long curved sticks to hit a small ball and try to score goals. (AM; in BRIT, use hockey)\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N n


Words: field marshal
Meaning:
field mar.shal\n   field marshal  field marshals   also field-marshal\n  A field marshal is an officer in the army who has the highest rank.\n  N-COUNT; N-TITLE


Words: field mouse
Meaning:
field mouse  field mice   also fieldmouse\n  A field mouse is a mouse with a long tail that lives in fields and woods.\n  N-COUNT


Words: field sport
Meaning:
field sport  field sports\n  Hunting, shooting birds, and fishing with a rod are referred to as field sports when they are done mainly for pleasure.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl


Words: field-glasses
Meaning:
field-glasses   also field glasses\n  Field-glasses are the same as binoculars. (FORMAL)\n  N-PLURAL: also a pair of N


Words: field-test
Meaning:
field-test  field-tests  field-testing  field-tested   also field test\n  If you field-test a new piece of equipment, you test it in a real, natural environment.\nWe’ve field-tested them ourselves and are happy that they work.\n  VERB: V n


Words: fielder
Meaning:
field.er\n   fielder  fielders\n  A fielder is a player in cricket, baseball, or rounders who is fielding or one who has a particular skill at fielding.\nThe fielders crouch around the batsman’s wicket.\n  N-COUNT


Words: fieldwork
Meaning:
field.work\n   fieldwork   also field work\n  Fieldwork is the gathering of information about something in a real, natural environment, rather than in a place of study such as a laboratory or classroom.\n...anthropological fieldwork.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: fiend
Meaning:
fiend  fiends\n1. If you describe someone as a fiend, you mean that they are extremely wicked or cruel. (WRITTEN)\nA tearful husband repeated calls for help in catching the fiend who battered his wife.\n  N-COUNT\n  = monster\n2. Fiend can be used after a noun to refer to a person who is very interested in the thing mentioned, and enjoys having a lot of it or doing it often.\n...if you’re a heavy coffee drinker or strong-tea fiend.\n  N-COUNT: n N


Words: fiendish
Meaning:
fiend.ish\n   fiendish\n1. A fiendish plan, action, or device is very clever or imaginative. (INFORMAL)\n...a fiendish plot.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  = devilish\n=>  fiend.ish.ly\nThis figure is reached by a fiendishly clever equation.\n  ADV: usu ADV adj\n\n2. A fiendish problem or task is very difficult and challenging. (INFORMAL)\n...the fiendish difficulty of the questions.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n=>  fiend.ish.ly\nAmerica’s trade laws are fiendishly complex.\n  ADV: ADV adj\n\n3. A fiendish person enjoys being cruel.\nThis was a fiendish act of wickedness.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: fierce
Meaning:
fierce  fiercer  fiercest\n1. A fierce animal or person is very aggressive or angry.\nThey look like the teeth of some fierce animal.\n  ADJ\n  = ferocious\n=>  fierce.ly\n`I don’t know,’ she said fiercely.\n  ADV\n\n2. Fierce feelings or actions are very intense or enthusiastic, or involve great activity.\nCompetition has been fierce to win a stake in Skoda...\nThe town was captured after a fierce battle with rebels at the weekend...\nHe inspires fierce loyalty in his friends.\n  ADJ\n\n=>  fierce.ly\nHe has always been ambitious and fiercely competitive.\n  ADV: ADV adj, ADV with v\n\n3. Fierce conditions are very intense, great, or strong.\nThe climbers were trapped by a fierce storm which went on for days.\n  ADJ


Words: fiery
Meaning:
fiery  fieriest\n1. If you describe something as fiery, you mean that it is burning strongly or contains fire. (LITERARY)\nA helicopter crashed in a fiery explosion in Vallejo.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n2. You can use fiery for emphasis when you are referring to bright colours such as red or orange. (LITERARY)\nA large terracotta pot planted with Busy Lizzie provides a fiery bright red display.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n  emphasis\n\n3. If you describe food or drink as fiery, you mean that it has a very strong hot or spicy taste. (WRITTEN)\nA fiery combination of chicken, chillies and rice.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n4. If you describe someone as fiery, you mean that they express very strong emotions, especially anger, in their behaviour or speech. (WRITTEN)\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: fiesta
Meaning:
fi.es.ta\n   fiesta  fiestas\n  A fiesta is a time of public entertainment and parties, usually on a special religious holiday, especially in Spain or Latin America.\n  N-COUNT


Words: fifteen
Meaning:
fif.teen\n   fifteen  fifteens\n  Fifteen is the number 15.\nIn India, there are fifteen official languages.\n  NUM


Words: fifteenth
Meaning:
fif.teenth\n   fifteenth\n  The fifteenth item in a series is the one that you count as number fifteen.\n...the invention of the printing press in the fifteenth century.\n  ORD


Words: fifth
Meaning:
fifth  fifths\n1. The fifth item in a series is the one that you count as number five.\nJoe has recently returned from his fifth trip to Australia.\n  ORD\n\n2. A fifth is one of five equal parts of something.\nIndia spends over a fifth of its budget on defence.\n  FRACTION


Words: fifth columnist
Meaning:
fifth col.umn.ist\n   fifth columnist  fifth columnists\n  A fifth columnist is someone who secretly supports and helps the enemies of the country or organization they are in.\n  N-COUNT\n  = traitor


Words: fiftieth
Meaning:
fif.ti.eth\n   fiftieth\n  The fiftieth item in a series is the one that you count as number fifty.\nHe retired in 1970, on his fiftieth birthday.\n  ORD


Words: fifty
Meaning:
fif.ty\n   fifty  fifties\n1. Fifty is the number 50.\n  NUM\n\n2. When you talk about the fifties, you are referring to numbers between 50 and 59. For example, if you are in your fifties, you are aged between 50 and 59. If the temperature is in the fifties, the temperature is between 50 and 59 degrees.\nI probably look as if I’m in my fifties rather than my seventies.\n  N-PLURAL\n\n3. The fifties is the decade between 1950 and 1959.\nHe began performing in the early fifties.\n  N-PLURAL: the N


Words: fifty-fifty
Meaning:
fifty-fifty\n1. If something such money or property is divided or shared fifty-fifty between two people, each person gets half of it. (INFORMAL)\nThe proceeds of the sale are split fifty-fifty.\n  ADV: ADV after v\n\n  Fifty-fifty is also an adjective.\nThe new firm was owned on a fifty-fifty basis by the two parent companies.\n  ADJ\n\n2. If there is a fifty-fifty chance of something happening, it is equally likely to happen as it is not to happen. (INFORMAL)\nYou’ve got a fifty-fifty chance of being right.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: fig
Meaning:
fig  figs\n1. A fig is a soft sweet fruit that grows in hot countries. It is full of tiny seeds and is often eaten dried.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A fig or a fig tree is a tree on which figs grow.\n  N-COUNT


Words: fig leaf
Meaning:
fig leaf  fig leaves\n1. A fig leaf is a large leaf which comes from the fig tree. A fig leaf is sometimes used in painting and sculpture to cover the genitals of a naked body.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. People sometimes refer disapprovingly to something which is intended to hide or prevent an embarrassing situation as a fig leaf. (JOURNALISM)\nThis deal is little more than a fig leaf for the continued destruction of the landscape.\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp  disapproval


Words: fig.
Meaning:
1. In books and magazines, fig. is used as an abbreviation for figure in order to tell the reader which picture or diagram is being referred to.\nDraw the basic outlines in black felt-tip pen (see fig. 4).\n\n2. In some dictionaries and language books, fig. is used as an abbreviation for figurative.


Words: fight
Meaning:
fight  fights  fighting  fought\n1. If you fight something unpleasant, you try in a determined way to prevent it or stop it happening.\nMore units to fight forest fires are planned...\nI’ve spent a lifetime fighting against racism and prejudice.\n  VERB: V n, V against n\n\n  Fight is also a noun.\n...the fight against drug addiction.\n  N-COUNT: oft N against n\n\n2. If you fight for something, you try in a determined way to get it or achieve it.\nOur Government should be fighting for an end to food subsidies...\nI told him how we had fought to hold on to the company...\nThe team has fought its way to the cup final.\n  VERB: V for n, V to-inf, V way prep/adv\n\n  Fight is also a noun.\nI too am committing myself to continue the fight for justice.\n  N-COUNT: usu N for n\n  = battle\n3. If an army or group fights a battle with another army or group, they oppose each other with weapons. You can also say that two armies or groups fight a battle.\nThe two men fought a battle over land and water rights...\nIn the latest incident at the weekend police fought a gun battle with a gang which used hand grenades against them...\nThe Sioux had always fought other tribes for territorial rights.\n  V-RECIP: pl-n V n over/for n, V n with n, V n for/over n, also pl-n V, V n\n\n4. If a person or army fights in a battle or a war, they take part in it.\nHe fought in the war and was taken prisoner by the Americans...\nIf I were a young man I would sooner go to prison than fight for this country...\nMy father did leave his university to fight the Germans...\nLast month rebels fought their way into the capital.\n  VERB: V, V for n, V n, V way prep/adv\n\n  see also dogfight\n=>  fight.ing\nMore than nine hundred people have died in the fighting.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n5. If one person fights with another, or fights them, the two people hit or kick each other because they want to hurt each other. You can also say that two people fight.\nAs a child she fought with her younger sister...\nI did fight him, I punched him but it was like hitting a wall...\nHe wrenched the crutch from Jacob, who didn’t fight him for it...\nI refuse to act that way when my kids fight...\nYou get a lot of unruly drunks fighting each other.\n  V-RECIP: V with n, V n, V n for n, pl-n V, pl-n V pron-recip\n\n  Fight is also a noun.\nHe had had a fight with Smith and bloodied his nose.\n  N-COUNT: oft N with n\n\n6. If one person fights with another, or fights them, they have an angry disagreement or quarrel. You can also say that two people fight. (INFORMAL)\nShe was always arguing with him and fighting with him...\nGwendolen started fighting her teachers...\nMostly, they fight about paying bills.\n  V-RECIP: V with n, V n, pl-n V about/over n, also pl-n V, V with n prep, V n prep\n  = quarrel, argue\n  Fight is also a noun.\nWe think maybe he took off because he had a big fight with his dad the night before.\n  N-COUNT\n\n7. If you fight your way to a place, you move towards it with great difficulty, for example because there are a lot of people or obstacles in your way.\nI fought my way into a carriage just before the doors closed...\n  VERB: V way prep/adv\n  = battle\n8. A fight is a boxing match.\nThe referee stopped the fight.\n  N-COUNT\n  = bout\n9. To fight means to take part in a boxing match.\nIn a few hours’ time one of the world’s most famous boxers will be fighting in Britain for the first time...\nI’d like to fight him because he’s undefeated and I want to be the first man to beat him...\nI’d like to fight him for the title.\n  VERB: V, V n, V n for n\n\n10. If you fight an election, you are a candidate in the election and try to win it.\nThe former party treasurer helped raise almost .40 million to fight the election campaign.\n  VERB: V n\n\n11. You can use fight to refer to a contest such as an election or a sports match. (JOURNALISM)\n...the fight for power between the two parties.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing\n  = contest\n(next)


Words: fight .1
Meaning:
12. If you fight a case or a court action, you make a legal case against someone in a very determined way, or you put forward a defence when a legal case is made against you.\nWatkins sued the Army and fought his case in various courts for 10 years...\nThe newspaper is fighting a damages action brought by the actress.\n  VERB: V n, V n\n\n13. Fight is the desire or ability to keep fighting.\nI thought that we had a lot of fight in us.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n14. If you fight an emotion or desire, you try very hard not to feel it, show it, or act on it, but do not always succeed.\nI desperately fought the urge to giggle...\nHe fought with the urge to smoke one of the cigars he’d given up awhile ago...\nHe fought to be patient with her.\n  VERB: V n, V with n, V to-inf\n\n15. If you describe someone as fighting fit, you are emphasizing that they are very fit or healthy. (BRIT)\nAfter a good night’s sleep I feel fighting fit again.\n  PHRASE: v-link PHR  emphasis\n\n16. Someone who is fighting for their life is making a great effort to stay alive, either when they are being physically attacked or when they are very ill.\nHe is still fighting for his life in hospital.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n17.\nto fight a losing battle: see battle


Words: fight back
Meaning:
fight back\n1. If you fight back against someone or something that is attacking or harming you, you resist them actively or attack them.\nThe teenage attackers fled when the two men fought back...\nWe should take some comfort from the ability of the judicial system to fight back against corruption.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P, V P against n\n\n2. If you fight back an emotion or a desire, you try very hard not to feel it, show it, or act on it.\nShe fought back the tears.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), also V n P


Words: fight off
Meaning:
fight off\n1. If you fight off something, for example an illness or an unpleasant feeling, you succeed in getting rid of it and in not letting it overcome you.\nUnfortunately these drugs are quite toxic and hinder the body’s ability to fight off infection...\nAll day she had fought off the impulse to telephone Harry.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), V P n (not pron), also V n P\n  = resist\n2. If you fight off someone who has attacked you, you fight with them, and succeed in making them go away or stop attacking you.\nThe woman fought off the attacker.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), also V n P


Words: fight out
Meaning:
fight out\n  If two people or groups fight something out, they fight or argue until one of them wins.\nInstead of retaliating, he walks away leaving his team-mates to fight it out...\nMalcolm continued to fight it out with Julien from his self-imposed exile in Paris.\n  PHRASAL VERB: pl-n V it P, V it P with n, also pl-n V P n (not pron), V P n with n


Words: fightback
Meaning:
fight.back\n   fightback\n  A fightback is an effort made by a person or group of people to get back into a strong position when they seem likely to lose something such as an election or an important sports match. (BRIT JOURNALISM; in AM, use comeback)\nThe West Indies have staged a dramatic fightback on the first day of the fifth test.\n  N-SING


Words: fighter
Meaning:
fight.er\n   fighter  fighters\n1. A fighter or a fighter plane is a fast military aircraft that is used for destroying other aircraft.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If you describe someone as a fighter, you approve of them because they continue trying to achieve things in spite of great difficulties or opposition.\nFrom the start it was clear this tiny girl was a real fighter.\n  N-COUNT  approval\n\n3. A fighter is a person who physically fights another person, especially a professional boxer.\n...a tough little street fighter.\n  N-COUNT\n\n4.\n  see also fire fighter, freedom fighter, prize fighter


Words: figment
Meaning:
fig.ment\n   figment  figments\n  If you say that something is a figment of someone’s imagination, you mean that it does not really exist and that they are just imagining it.\nThe attack wasn’t just a figment of my imagination.\n  PHRASE: Ns inflect, usu v-link PHR


Words: figurative
Meaning:
fig.ura.tive\n   figurative\n1. If you use a word or expression in a figurative sense, you use it with a more abstract or imaginative meaning than its ordinary literal one.\n...an event that will change your route.in both the literal and figurative sense.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  !=literal\n=>  fig.ura.tive.ly\nEurope, with Germany literally and figuratively at its centre, is still at the start of a remarkable transformation.\n  ADV: ADV with cl/group, ADV with v\n\n2. Figurative art is a style of art in which people and things are shown in a realistic way.\nHis career spanned some 50 years and encompassed both abstract and figurative painting.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  !=abstract


Words: figure
Meaning:
fig.ure\n   figure  figures  figuring  figured\n1. A figure is a particular amount expressed as a number, especially a statistic.\nIt would be very nice if we had a true figure of how many people in this country haven’t got a job...\nIt will not be long before the inflation figure starts to fall...\nNew Government figures predict that one in two marriages will end in divorce.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A figure is any of the ten written symbols from 0 to 9 that are used to represent a number.\n  N-COUNT\n  = digit\n3. An amount or number that is in single figures is between zero and nine. An amount or number that is in double figures is between ten and ninety-nine. You can also say, for example, that an amount or number is in three figures when it is between one hundred and nine hundred and ninety-nine.\nInflation, which has usually been in single figures, is running at more than 12%...\nCrawley, with 14, was the only other player to reach double figures...\n  N-PLURAL: adjum N\n\n4. You refer to someone that you can see as a figure when you cannot see them clearly or when you are describing them.\nShe waited, standing on the bridge, until his figure vanished against the grey backdrop of the Palace...\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp, oft N of n\n\n5. In art, a figure is a person in a drawing or a painting, or a statue of a person.\n...a life-size bronze figure of a brooding, hooded woman.\n  N-COUNT\n\n6. Your figure is the shape of your body.\nTake pride in your health and your figure...\nJanet was a natural blonde with a good figure.\n  N-COUNT: with supp, oft poss/adj N\n\n7. Someone who is referred to as a figure of a particular kind is a person who is well-known and important in some way.\nThe movement is supported by key figures in the three main political parties.\n  N-COUNT: with supp\n\n8. If you say that someone is, for example, a mother figure or a hero figure, you mean that other people regard them as the type of person stated or suggested.\nSometimes young lads just need to turn to a mother figure for a bit of a chat and reassurance.\n  N-COUNT: with supp, usu n N, N of n\n\n9. In books and magazines, the diagrams which help to show or explain information are referred to as figures.\nIf you look at a world map (see Figure 1) you can identify the major wine-producing regions...\n  N-COUNT: also N num\n\n10. In geometry, a figure is a shape, especially a regular shape. (TECHNICAL)\nDraw a pentagon, a regular five-sided figure.\n  N-COUNT: usu supp N\n\n11. If you figure that something is the case, you think or guess that it is the case. (INFORMAL)\nShe figured that both she and Ned had learned a lot from the experience.\n  VERB: V that\n\n12. If you say `That figures’ or `It figures’, you mean that the fact referred to is not surprising. (INFORMAL)\nWhen I finished, he said, `Yeah. That figures’...\n  VERB: that/it V, also it V that\n\n13. If a person or thing figures in something, they appear in or are included in it.\nHuman rights violations figured prominently in the report.\n  VERB: no passive, V in n, also V as n


Words: figure eight
Meaning:
fig.ure eight\n   figure eight  figure eights\n  A figure eight is the same as a figure of eight. (AM)\n  N-COUNT


Words: figure of eight
Meaning:
fig.ure of eight\n   figure of eight  figures of eight\n  A figure of eight is something that has the shape of the number 8, for example a knot or a movement done by a skater. (BRIT; in AM, usually use figure eight)\n  N-COUNT


Words: figure of speech
Meaning:
fig.ure of speech\n   figure of speech  figures of speech\n  A figure of speech is an expression or word that is used with a metaphorical rather than a literal meaning.\nOf course I’m not. It was just a figure of speech.\n  N-COUNT


Words: figure on
Meaning:
figure on\n  If you figure on something, you plan that it will happen or assume that it will happen when making your plans. (INFORMAL)\nJack worked as hard as he could to build his business, but he hadn’t figured on a few obstacles.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n/-ing\n  = reckon on


Words: figure out
Meaning:
figure out\n  If you figure out a solution to a problem or the reason for something, you succeed in solving it or understanding it. (INFORMAL)\nIt took them about one month to figure out how to start the equipment...\nThey’re trying to figure out the politics of this whole situation...\nI don’t have to be a detective to figure that out.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P wh/that, V P n (not pron), V n P\n  = work out


Words: figure skating
Meaning:
fig.ure skat.ing\n   figure skating\n  Figure skating is skating in an attractive pattern, usually with spins and jumps included.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: figure-hugging
Meaning:
figure-hugging\n  Figure-hugging clothes fit very close to the body of the person who is wearing them. Figure-hugging is usually used to describe clothes worn by women.\n  ADJ


Words: figurehead
Meaning:
figure.head\n   figurehead  figureheads\n1. If someone is the figurehead of an organization or movement, they are recognized as being its leader, although they have little real power.\nThe President will be little more than a figurehead.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A figurehead is a large wooden model of a person that was put just under the pointed front of a sailing ship in former times.\n  N-COUNT


Words: filament
Meaning:
fila.ment\n   filament  filaments\n  A filament is a very thin piece or thread of something, for example the piece of wire inside a light bulb.\n  N-COUNT


Words: filch
Meaning:
filch  filches  filching  filched\n  If you say that someone filches something, you mean they steal it, especially when you do not consider this to be a very serious crime. (INFORMAL)\nI filched some notes from his wallet.\n  VERB: V n\n  = swipe


Words: file
Meaning:
file  files  filing  filed\n1. A file is a box or a folded piece of heavy paper or plastic in which letters or documents are kept.\nHe sat behind a table on which were half a dozen files.\n...a file of insurance papers.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A file is a collection of information about a particular person or thing.\nWe already have files on people’s tax details, mortgages and poll tax...\nYou must record and keep a file of all expenses.\n  N-COUNT: oft N of/on n\n\n3. If you file a document, you put it in the correct file.\nThey are all filed alphabetically under author.\n  VERB: V n\n\n4. In computing, a file is a set of related data that has its own name.\n  N-COUNT\n\n5. If you file a formal or legal accusation, complaint, or request, you make it officially.\nA number of them have filed formal complaints against the police...\nI filed for divorce on the grounds of adultery a few months later.\n  VERB: V n, V for n\n\n6. When someone files a report or a news story, they send or give it to their employer.\nCatherine Bond filed that report for the BBC from Nairobi...\n  VERB: V n\n\n7. When a group of people files somewhere, they walk one behind the other in a line.\nSlowly, people filed into the room and sat down.\n  VERB: V prep/adv\n\n8. A file is a hand tool which is used for rubbing hard objects to make them smooth, shape them, or cut through them.\n  N-COUNT\n\n9. If you file an object, you smooth it, shape it, or cut it with a file.\nManicurists are skilled at shaping and filing nails.\n  VERB: V n\n\n10.\n  see also nail file, rank and file\n11. Something that is on file or on someone’s files is recorded or kept in a file or in a collection of information.\nHis fingerprints were on file in Washington...\nWe’ll keep your details on file...\nIt is one of the most desperate cases on her files.\n  PHRASE: v-link PHR, PHR after v\n\n12. A group of people who are walking or standing in single file are in a line, one behind the other.\nWe were walking in single file to the lake.\n  PHRASE: PHR after v


Words: filial
Meaning:
fil.ial\n   filial\n  You can use filial to describe the duties, feelings, or relationships which exist between a son or daughter and his or her parents. (FORMAL)\nHis father would accuse him of neglecting his filial duties...\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: filibuster
Meaning:
fili.bus.ter\n   filibuster  filibusters  filibustering  filibustered\n1. A filibuster is a long slow speech made to use up time so that a vote cannot be taken and a law cannot be passed. (mainly AM)\nSenator Seymour has threatened a filibuster to block the bill.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If a politician filibusters, he or she makes a long slow speech in order to use up time so that a vote cannot be taken and a law cannot be passed. (mainly AM)\nThey simply threatened to filibuster until the Senate adjourns...\nA group of senators plans to filibuster a measure that would permit drilling in Alaska.\n  VERB: V, V n


Words: filigree
Meaning:
fili.gree\n   filigree\n  The word filigree is used to refer to delicate ornamental designs made with gold or silver wire.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N n


Words: filing cabinet
Meaning:
fil.ing cabi.net\n   filing cabinet  filing cabinets\n  A filing cabinet is a piece of office furniture, usually made of metal, which has drawers in which files are kept.\n  N-COUNT


Words: filings
Meaning:
fil.ings\n   filings\n1. Filings are very small pieces of a substance, especially a metal, that are produced when it is filed or cut.\n...iron filings.\n...metal filings.\n  N-PLURAL: usu n N\n\n2. Court filings are cases filed in a court of law. (AM, AUSTRALIAN)\nIn court filings, they argued that the settlement was inadequate.\n  N-COUNT: usu plural


Words: Filipino
Meaning:
Fili.pi.no\n   Filipino  Filipinos\n1. Filipino means belonging or relating to the Philippines, or to its people or culture.\n  ADJ\n\n2. A Filipino is a person who comes from the Philippines.\n  N-COUNT


Words: fill
Meaning:
fill  fills  filling  filled\n1. If you fill a container or area, or if it fills, an amount of something enters it that is enough to make it full.\nFill a saucepan with water and bring to a slow boil...\nShe made sandwiches, filled a flask and put sugar in...\nThe boy’s eyes filled with tears...\nWhile the bath was filling, he padded about in his underpants.\n  VERB: V n with n, V n, V with n, V\n  !=empty\n  Fill up means the same as fill.\nPass me your cup, Amy, and I’ll fill it up for you...\nWarehouses at the frontier between the two countries fill up with sacks of rice and flour.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V n P, V P with n, also V P, V P n (not pron)\n\n2. If something fills a space, it is so big, or there are such large quantities of it, that there is very little room left.\nHe cast his eyes at the rows of cabinets that filled the enormous work area...\nThe text fills 231 pages.\n  VERB: V n, V n\n\n  Fill up means the same as fill.\n...the complicated machines that fill up today’s laboratories.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), also V n P\n\n=>  filled\n...four museum buildings filled with historical objects.\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ with n\n\n=>  -filled\n...the flower-filled courtyard of an old Spanish colonial house.\n  COMB in ADJ\n\n3. If you fill a crack or hole, you put a substance into it in order to make the surface smooth again.\nFill small holes with wood filler in a matching colour...\nThe gravedigger filled the grave.\n  VERB: V n with n, V n\n\n  Fill in means the same as fill.\nIf any cracks have appeared in the tart case, fill these in with raw pastry.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V n P, also V P n (not pron)\n\n4. If a sound, smell, or light fills a space, or the air, it is very strong or noticeable.\nIn the parking lot of the school, the siren filled the air...\nAll the light bars were turned on which filled the room with these rotating beams of light...\n  VERB: V n, V n with n\n\n=>  -filled\n...those whose work forces them to be in dusty or smoke-filled environments.\n  COMB in ADJ\n\n5. If something fills you with an emotion, or if an emotion fills you, you experience this emotion strongly.\nI admired my father, and his work filled me with awe and curiosity...\nHe looked at me without speaking, and for the first time I could see the pride that filled him...\n  VERB: V n with n, V n\n\n6. If you fill a period of time with a particular activity, you spend the time in this way.\nIf she wants a routine to fill her day, let her do community work.\n  VERB: V n, also V n with n\n\n  Fill up means the same as fill.\nOn Thursday night she went to her yoga class, glad to have something to fill up the evening.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), also V n P\n\n7. If something fills a need or a gap, it puts an end to this need or gap by existing or being active.\nShe brought him a sense of fun, of gaiety that filled a gap in his life.\n  VERB: V n\n\n8. If something fills a role, position, or function, they have that role or position, or perform that function, often successfully.\nDena was filling the role of diplomat’s wife with the skill she had learned over the years.\n  VERB: V n\n  = perform\n9. If a company or organization fills a job vacancy, they choose someone to do the job. If someone fills a job vacancy, they accept a job that they have been offered.\nOne problem not mentioned is the unemployed may not have the skills to fill the vacancies on offer...\nA vacancy has arisen which I intend to fill.\n  VERB: V n, V n\n\n10. When a dentist fills someone’s tooth, he or she puts a filling in it.\nIt is almost impossible to find a dentist who will fill a tooth on the National Health.\n  VERB: V n\n\n11. If you fill an order or a prescription, you provide the things that are asked for. (mainly AM)\nA pharmacist can fill any prescription if, in his or her judgment, the prescription is valid.\n  VERB: V n\n\n12.\nto fill the bill: see bill


Words: fill in
Meaning:
fill in\n1. If you fill in a form or other document requesting information, you write information in the spaces on it. (mainly BRIT; in AM, usually use fill out)\nIf you want your free copy of the Patients’ Charter fill this form in...\nFill in the coupon and send it first class to the address shown.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V n P, V P n (not pron)\n  = fill out\n2. If you fill in a shape, you cover the area inside the lines with colour or shapes so that none of the background is showing.\nWhen you have both filled in your patterns, you may want to share these with each other...\nWith a lip pencil, outline lips and fill them in.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), V n P\n\n3. If you fill someone in, you give them more details about something that you know about. (INFORMAL)\nI didn’t give Reid all the details yet.I’ll fill him in...\nHe filled her in on Wilbur Kantor’s visit.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V n P, V n P on n\n\n4. If you fill in for someone, you do the work or task that they normally do because they are unable to do it.\nVice-presidents’ wives would fill in for first ladies.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P for n\n  = stand in\n5. If you are filling in time, you are using time that is available by doing something that is not very important.\nThat’s not a career. She’s just filling in time until she gets married.\n  PHRASAL VERB: usu passive, V P n (not pron)\n\n6.\n  see also fill 3


Words: fill out
Meaning:
fill out\n1. If you fill out a form or other document requesting information, you write information in the spaces on it. (mainly AM; in BRIT, usually use fill in)\nFill out the application carefully, and keep copies of it.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), also V n P\n  = fill in\n2. If a fairly thin person fills out, they become fatter.\nA girl may fill out before she reaches her full height.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P


Words: fill up
Meaning:
fill up\n1. If you fill up or fill yourself up with food, you eat so much that you do not feel hungry.\nFill up on potatoes, bread and pasta, which are high in carbohydrate and low in fat...\nWhen you are happy about yourself you won’t need to fill yourself up with food.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P on/with n, V pron-refl P with n\n\n2. A type of food that fills you up makes you feel that you have eaten a lot, even though you have only eaten a small amount.\nPotatoes fill us up without overloading us with calories.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V n P\n\n3.\n  see also fill 1, 2, 6


Words: filler
Meaning:
fill.er\n   filler  fillers\n1. Filler is a substance used for filling cracks or holes, especially in walls, car bodies, or wood.\n  N-MASS\n\n2. You can describe something as a filler when it is being used or done because there is a need for something and nothing better is available. (INFORMAL)\n  N-COUNT\n  = stopgap\n3.\n  see also stocking filler


Words: fillet
Meaning:
fil.let\n   fillet  fillets  filleting  filleted\n1. Fillet is a strip of meat, especially beef, that has no bones in it.\n...fillet of beef with shallots.\n...chicken breast fillets.\n...fillet steak.\n  N-VAR: usu with supp, also N n\n\n2. A fillet of fish is the side of a fish with the bones removed.\n...anchovy fillets...\nI ordered a fine fillet of salmon.\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp\n\n3. When you fillet fish or meat, you prepare it by taking the bones out.\nDon’t be afraid to ask your fishmonger to fillet flat fish.\n  VERB: V n


Words: filling
Meaning:
fill.ing\n   filling  fillings\n1. A filling is a small amount of metal or plastic that a dentist puts in a hole in a tooth to prevent further decay.\nThe longer your child can go without needing a filling, the better.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. The filling in something such as a cake, pie, or sandwich is a substance or mixture that is put inside it.\nSpread some of the filling over each pancake.\n  N-MASS\n\n3. The filling in a piece of soft furniture or in a cushion is the soft substance inside it.\n...second-hand sofas with old-style foam fillings.\n  N-MASS\n\n4. Food that is filling makes you feel full when you have eaten it.\nAlthough it is tasty, crab is very filling.\n  ADJ


Words: filling station
Meaning:
fill.ing sta.tion\n   filling station  filling stations\n  A filling station is a place where you can buy petrol and oil for your car. (mainly BRIT; in AM, usually use gas station)\n  N-COUNT


Words: fillip
Meaning:
fil.lip\n   fillip  fillips\n  If someone or something gives a fillip to an activity or person, they suddenly encourage or improve them. (WRITTEN)\nThe news gave a fillip to the telecommunications sector...\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, oft N to/for n\n  = boost


Words: film
Meaning:
film  films  filming  filmed\n1. A film consists of moving pictures that have been recorded so that they can be shown at the cinema or on television. A film tells a story, or shows a real situation. (mainly BRIT; in AM, use movie)\nEverything about the film was good. Good acting, good story, good fun.\n  N-COUNT\n  = movie\n2. If you film something, you use a camera to take moving pictures which can be shown on a screen or on television.\nHe had filmed her life story...\nConsidering the restrictions under which she filmed, I think she did a commendable job.\n  VERB: V n, V\n\n3. Film of something is moving pictures of a real event that are shown on television or on a screen.\nThey have seen news film of families queueing in Russia to buy a loaf of bread.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n  = footage\n4. A film is the narrow roll of plastic that is used in a camera to take photographs.\nThe photographers had already shot a dozen rolls of film.\n  N-VAR\n\n5. The making of cinema films, considered as a form of art or a business, can be referred to as film or films. (mainly BRIT)\nFilm is a business with limited opportunities for actresses...\nShe wanted to set up her own company to invest in films.\n  N-UNCOUNT: also N in pl\n\n6. A film of powder, liquid, or oil is a very thin layer of it.\nThe sea is coated with a film of raw sewage.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, usu with supp\n\n7. Plastic film is a very thin sheet of plastic used to wrap and cover things. (BRIT; in AM, use plastic wrap, Saran wrap)\nCover with plastic film and refrigerate for 24 hours.\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu adj N\n\n  see also clingfilm


Words: film noir
Meaning:
film noir  films noir\n  Film noir refers to a type of film or a style of film-making which shows the world as a dangerous or depressing place where many people suffer, especially because of the greed or cruelty of others.\n...a remake of the 1947 film noir classic, Kiss of Death.\n  N-VAR


Words: film star
Meaning:
film star  film stars\n  A film star is a famous actor or actress who appears in films. (mainly BRIT; in AM, use movie star)\n  N-COUNT


Words: film-maker
Meaning:
film-maker  film-makers   also filmmaker\n  A film-maker is someone involved in making films, in particular a director or producer. (mainly BRIT)\n  N-COUNT


Words: filming
Meaning:
film.ing\n   filming\n  Filming is the activity of making a film including the acting, directing, and camera shots.\nFilming was due to start next month.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: filmy
Meaning:
filmy  filmier  filmiest\n  A filmy fabric or substance is very thin and almost transparent.\n...filmy nightgowns.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  = diaphanous


Words: filo
Meaning:
filo   or filo pastry\n  Filo or filo pastry is a type of light pastry made of thin layers. It is traditionally used in Greek cooking.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: Filofax
Meaning:
Filo.fax\n   Filofax  Filofaxes\n  A Filofax is a type of personal filing system in the form of a small book with pages that can easily be added or removed. (TRADEMARK)\n  N-COUNT


Words: filter
Meaning:
fil.ter\n   filter  filters  filtering  filtered\n1. To filter a substance means to pass it through a device which is designed to remove certain particles contained in it.\nThe best prevention for cholera is to boil or filter water, and eat only well-cooked food.\n  VERB: V n\n\n2. A filter is a device through which a substance is passed when it is being filtered.\n...a paper coffee filter.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. A filter is a device through which sound or light is passed and which blocks or reduces particular sound or light frequencies.\nYou might use a yellow filter to improve the clarity of a hazy horizon.\n  N-COUNT\n\n4. If light or sound filters into a place, it comes in weakly or slowly, either through a partly covered opening, or from a long distance away.\nLight filtered into my kitchen through the soft, green shade of the cherry tree.\n  VERB: V into/through n\n\n5. When news or information filters through to people, it gradually reaches them.\nIt took months before the findings began to filter through to the politicians...\nNews of the attack quickly filtered through the college.\n...as indications filter in from polling stations.\n...the horror stories which were beginning to filter out of Germany.\n  VERB: V through to n, V through n, V in, V out of n\n\n6. A traffic filter is a traffic signal or lane which controls the movement of traffic wanting to turn left or right. (BRIT)\n  N-COUNT


Words: filter out
Meaning:
filter out\n  To filter out something from a substance or from light means to remove it by passing the substance or light through something acting as a filter.\nChildren should have glasses which filter out UV rays...\nPlants and trees filter carbon dioxide out of the air and produce oxygen.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), V n P of/from n, also V n P


Words: filter tip
Meaning:
fil.ter tip\n   filter tip  filter tips\n  A filter tip is a small device at the end of a cigarette that reduces the amount of dangerous substances that pass into the smoker’s body. Filter tips are cigarettes that are manufactured with these devices.\n  N-COUNT


Words: filth
Meaning:
filth\n1. Filth is a disgusting amount of dirt.\nThousands of tons of filth and sewage pour into the Ganges every day.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n  = muck\n2. People refer to words or pictures, usually ones relating to sex, as filth when they think they are very disgusting and rude.\nThe dialogue was all filth and innuendo.\n  N-UNCOUNT  disapproval


Words: filthy
Meaning:
filthy  filthier  filthiest\n1. Something that is filthy is very dirty indeed.\nHe never washed, and always wore a filthy old jacket.\n  ADJ\n  = grimy\n2. If you describe something as filthy, you mean that you think it is morally very unpleasant and disgusting, sometimes in a sexual way.\nThe play was full of filthy foul language.\n  ADJ  disapproval\n\n3.\nfilthy rich: see rich


Words: filtration
Meaning:
fil.tra.tion\n   filtration\n  Filtration is the process of filtering a substance.\nThis enzyme would make the filtration of beer easier.\n...water filtration systems.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: fin
Meaning:
fin  fins\n1. A fish’s fins are the flat objects which stick out of its body and help it to swim and keep its balance.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A fin on something such as an aeroplane, rocket, or bomb is a flat part which sticks out and which is intended to help control its movement.\n  N-COUNT


Words: fin de siecle
Meaning:
fin de sie.cle\n   fin de siecle   also fin-de-siecle\n  Fin de siecle is used to describe something that is thought to be typical of the end of the nineteenth century, especially when it is considered stylish or exaggerated. (WRITTEN)\n...fin de siecle decadence.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: final
Meaning:
fi.nal\n   final  finals\n1. In a series of events, things, or people, the final one is the last one.\nAstronauts will make a final attempt today to rescue a communications satellite from its useless orbit...\nThis is the fifth and probably final day of testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee...\nOn the last Saturday in September, I received a final letter from Clive.\n  ADJ: det ADJ\n  = last\n2. Final means happening at the end of an event or series of events.\nThe countdown to the Notting Hill Carnival is in its final hours.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n3. If a decision or someone’s authority is final, it cannot be changed or questioned.\nThe judges’ decision is final...\nThe White House has the final say...\n  ADJ\n\n4. The final is the last game or contest in a series and decides who is the winner.\n...the Scottish Cup Final...\n  N-COUNT\n\n  see also quarter-final, semi-final\n5. The finals of a sporting tournament consist of a smaller tournament that includes only players or teams that have won earlier games. The finals decide the winner of the whole tournament.\nPoland know they have a chance of qualifying for the World Cup Finals.\n  N-PLURAL\n\n6. When a student takes his or her finals, he or she takes the last and most important examinations in a university or college course.\nAnna sat her finals in the summer.\n  N-PLURAL: oft poss N


Words: finale
Meaning:
fi.na.le\n   finale  finales\n  The finale of a show, piece of music, or series of shows is the last part of it or the last one of them, especially when this is exciting or impressive.\n... the finale of Shostakovich’s Fifth Symphony...\nTonight’s light show is the grand finale of a month-long series of events.\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp


Words: finalist
Meaning:
fi.nal.ist\n   finalist  finalists\n  A finalist is someone who reaches the last stages of a competition or tournament by doing well or winning in its earlier stages.\nThe twelve finalists will be listed in the Sunday Times.\n  N-COUNT


Words: finality
Meaning:
fi.nal.ity\n   finality\n  Finality is the quality of being final and impossible to change. If you say something with finality, you say it in a way that shows that you have made up your mind about something and do not want to discuss it further. (FORMAL)\nYoung children have difficulty grasping the finality of death...\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N of n


Words: finalize
Meaning:
fi.nal.ize\n   finalize  finalizes  finalizing  finalized\nin BRIT, also use finalise\n  If you finalize something such as a plan or an agreement, you complete the arrangements for it, especially by discussing it with other people.\nNegotiators from the three countries finalized the agreement in August...\nThey have not finalized the deal with the government.\n  VERB: V n, V n with n


Words: finally
Meaning:
fi.nal.ly\n   finally\n1. You use finally to suggest that something happens after a long period of time, usually later than you wanted or expected it to happen.\nThe food finally arrived at the end of last week and distribution began...\nFinally, after ten hours of negotiations, the gunman gave himself up.\n  ADV: ADV before v, ADV with cl\n  = at last\n2. You use finally to indicate that something is last in a series of actions or events.\nThe action slips from comedy to melodrama and finally to tragedy.\n  ADV: ADV with cl/group\n  = lastly\n3. You use finally in speech or writing to introduce a final point, question, or topic.\nAnd finally, a word about the winner and runner-up.\n  ADV: ADV with cl\n  = in conclusion


Words: finance
Meaning:
fi.nance\n   finance   finances   financing   financed\n1. When someone finances something such as a project or a purchase, they provide the money that is needed to pay for them.\nThe fund has been used largely to finance the construction of federal prisons...\nGovernment expenditure is financed by taxation and by borrowing.\n  VERB: V n, be V-ed by n\n  = fund\n  Finance is also a noun.\nA United States delegation is in Japan seeking finance for a major scientific project.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. Finance is the commercial or government activity of managing money, debt, credit, and investment.\n...a major player in the world of high finance...\nThe report recommends an overhaul of public finances...\nA former Finance Minister and five senior civil servants are accused of fraud.\n  N-UNCOUNT: also N in pl\n\n3. You can refer to the amount of money that you have and how well it is organized as your finances.\nBe prepared for unexpected news concerning your finances...\nFinance is usually the biggest problem for students.\n  N-UNCOUNT: also N in pl, oft with poss


Words: finance company
Meaning:
fi.nance com.pa.ny\n   finance company  finance companies\n  A finance company is a business which lends money to people and charges them interest while they pay it back. (BUSINESS)\n  N-COUNT


Words: financial
Meaning:
fi.nan.cial\n   financial\n  Financial means relating to or involving money.\nThe company is in financial difficulties.\n...the government’s financial advisers.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n=>  fi.nan.cial.ly\nShe would like to be more financially independent...\n  ADV: ADV adj/-ed, ADV after v, ADV with cl


Words: financial adviser
Meaning:
fi.nan.cial ad.vis.er\n   financial adviser financial advisers\n  A financial adviser is someone whose job it is to advise people about financial products and services. (BUSINESS)\n  N-COUNT


Words: financial consultant
Meaning:
fi.nan.cial con.sult.ant\n   financial consultant financial consultants\n  A financial consultant is the same as a financial adviser. (BUSINESS)\n  N-COUNT


Words: financial services
Meaning:
fi.nan.cial ser.vices\n\n  A company or organization that provides financial services is able to help you do things such as make investments or buy a pension or mortgage. (BUSINESS)\n...voluntary organisations that provide independent advice to consumers on financial services.\n...financial service companies.\n  N-PLURAL\n  The form financial service is used as a modifier.


Words: financial year
Meaning:
fi.nan.cial year\n   financial year  financial years\n  A financial year is a period of twelve months, used by government, business, and other organizations in order to calculate their budgets, profits, and losses. (BRIT BUSINESS; in AM, use fiscal year)\n...33,000 possible job losses in the coming financial year.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, usu with supp\n  = fiscal year


Words: financier
Meaning:
fi.nan.ci.er\n   financier   financiers\n  A financier is a person, company, or government that provides money for projects or businesses. (BUSINESS)\n  N-COUNT


Words: find
Meaning:
find  finds  finding  found\n1. If you find someone or something, you see them or learn where they are.\nThe police also found a pistol...\nI wonder if you could find me a deck of cards?\n  VERB: V n, V n n, also V n for n\n\n2. If you find something that you need or want, you succeed in achieving or obtaining it.\nSo far they have not found a way to fight the virus...\nHe has to apply for a permit and we have to find him a job...\nDoes this mean that they haven’t found a place for him?\n  VERB: V n, V n n, V n for n, also V n for n to-inf\n\n3. If something is found in a particular place or thing, it exists in that place.\nFibre is found in cereal foods, beans, fruit and vegetables.\n  V-PASSIVE: be V-ed\n\n4. If you find someone or something in a particular situation, they are in that situation when you see them or come into contact with them.\nThey found her walking alone and depressed on the beach...\nShe returned to her east London home to find her back door forced open...\nThrushes are a protected species so you will not find them on any menu.\n  VERB: V n -ing, V n -ed, V n prep/adv\n\n5. If you find yourself doing something, you are doing it without deciding or intending to do it.\nIt’s not the first time that you’ve found yourself in this situation...\nI found myself having more fun than I had had in years...\nIt all seemed so far away from here that he found himself quite unable to take it in.\n  VERB: V pron-refl prep/adv, V pron-refl -ing, V pron-refl adj\n\n6. If you find that something is the case, you become aware of it or realize that it is the case.\nThe two biologists found, to their surprise, that both groups of birds survived equally well...\nAt my age I would find it hard to get another job...\nWe find her evidence to be based on a degree of oversensitivity...\nI’ve never found my diet a problem.\n  VERB: V that, V it adj to-inf, V n to-inf, V n n\n\n7. When a court or jury decides that a person on trial is guilty or innocent, you say that the person has been found guilty or not guilty.\nShe was found guilty of manslaughter and put on probation for two years...\nWhen they found us guilty, I just went blank.\n  VERB: be V-ed adj, V n adj\n\n8. You can use find to express your reaction to someone or something.\nWe’re sure you’ll find it exciting!...\nI find it ludicrous that nothing has been done to protect passengers from fire...\nBut you’d find him a good worker if you showed him what to do.\n  VERB: V n adj, V it adj that, V n n\n\n9. If you find a feeling such as pleasure or comfort in a particular thing or activity, you experience the feeling mentioned as a result of this thing or activity.\nHow could anyone find pleasure in hunting and killing this beautiful creature?...\nI was too tired and frightened to find comfort in that familiar promise.\n  VERB: V n in -ing, V n in n\n\n10. If you find the time or money to do something, you succeed in making or obtaining enough time or money to do it.\nI was just finding more time to write music...\nMy sister helped me find the money for a private operation.\n  VERB: V n, V n\n\n11. If you describe someone or something that has been discovered as a find, you mean that they are valuable, interesting, good, or useful.\nAnother of his lucky finds was a pair of candle-holders...\nHis discovery was hailed as the botanical find of the century.\n  N-COUNT: usu adj N\n\n12.\n  see also finding, found\n13. If you find your way somewhere, you successfully get there by choosing the right way to go.\nAfter a while I pulled myself to my feet and found my way to the street.\n  PHRASE: V inflects, oft PHR prep/adv\n\n14. If something finds its way somewhere, it comes to that place, especially by chance.\nIt is one of the very few Michelangelos that have found their way out of Italy...\n  PHRASE: V inflects, PHR adv/prep\n\n15.\nto find fault with: see fault\nto find one’s feet: see foot


Words: find out
Meaning:
find out\n1. If you find something out, you learn something that you did not already know, especially by making a deliberate effort to do so.\nIt makes you want to watch the next episode to find out what’s going to happen...\nI was relieved to find out that my problems were due to a genuine disorder...\nYesterday, the men’s families held a news conference in their campaign to find out the truth...\nAs soon as we found this out, we closed the ward...\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P wh, V P that, V P n (not pron), V n P\n  = discover\n2. If you find someone out, you discover that they have been doing something dishonest.\nHer face was so grave, I wondered for a moment if she’d found me out.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V n P


Words: finder
Meaning:
find.er\n   finder  finders\n  You can refer to someone who finds something as the finder of that thing.\nThe finder of a wallet who takes it home may be guilty of theft...\n  N-COUNT


Words: finding
Meaning:
find.ing\n   finding  findings\n1. Someone’s findings are the information they get or the conclusions they come to as the result of an investigation or some research.\nWe hope that manufacturers will take note of the findings and improve their products accordingly.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl, usu with supp\n\n2. The findings of a court are the decisions that it reaches after a trial or an investigation.\nThe government hopes the court will announce its findings before the end of the month.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl, usu with poss


Words: fine
Meaning:
ADJECTIVE USES\n   fine  finer  finest\n1. You use fine to describe something that you admire and think is very good.\nThere is a fine view of the countryside...\nThis is a fine book.\n...London’s finest art deco cinema.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n=>  fine.ly\nThey are finely engineered boats.\n  ADV: ADV -ed\n\n2. If you say that you are fine, you mean that you are in good health or reasonably happy.\nLina is fine and sends you her love and best wishes.\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ\n\n3. If you say that something is fine, you mean that it is satisfactory or acceptable.\nThe skiing is fine...\nEverything was going to be just fine...\nIt’s fine to ask questions as we go along, but it’s better if you wait until we have finished.\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ, oft it v-link ADJ to-inf\n\n  Fine is also an adverb.\nAll the instruments are working fine.\n  ADV\n\n4. You say `fine’ or `that’s fine’ to show that you do not object to an arrangement, action, or situation that has been suggested.\nIf competition is the best way to achieve it, then, fine...\nIf you don’t want to give it to me, that’s fine, I don’t mind...\n  CONVENTION  formulae\n\n5. Something that is fine is very delicate, narrow, or small.\nThe heat scorched the fine hairs on her arms...\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  !=coarse\n=>  fine.ly\nChop the ingredients finely and mix them together.\n  ADV: ADV with v\n  !=coarsely\n6. Fine objects or clothing are of good quality, delicate, and expensive.\nWe waited in our fine clothes...\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n7. A fine detail or distinction is very delicate, small, or exact.\nThe market likes the broad outline but is reserving judgment on the fine detail.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n=>  fine.ly\nThey had to take the finely balanced decision to let the visit proceed...\n  ADV: usu ADV -ed, also ADV after v\n\n=>  fine.ness\n...a sense of quality and fineness of detail.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N of n\n\n8. A fine person is someone you consider good, moral, and worth admiring.\nHe was an excellent journalist and a very fine man.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n  approval\n\n9. When the weather is fine, the sun is shining and it is not raining.\nHe might be doing a spot of gardening if the weather is fine.\n  ADJ\n\nPUNISHMENT\n   fine  fines  fining  fined\n1. A fine is a punishment in which a person is ordered to pay a sum of money because they have done something illegal or broken a rule.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If someone is fined, they are punished by being ordered to pay a sum of money because they have done something illegal or broken a rule.\nShe was fined .300 and banned from driving for one month...\nAn east London school has set a precedent by fining pupils who break the rules.\n  VERB: be V-ed, V n


Words: fine art
Meaning:
fine art  fine arts\n1. Painting and sculpture, in which objects are produced that are beautiful rather than useful, can be referred to as fine art or as the fine arts.\nHe deals in antiques and fine art.\n...the university of Cairo’s faculty of fine arts.\n  N-UNCOUNT: also N in pl\n\n2. If you have got something down to a fine art, you are able to do it in a very skilful or efficient way because you have had a lot of experience of doing it.\n  PHRASE: V inflects


Words: fine print
Meaning:
fine print\n  In a contract or agreement, the fine print is the same as the small print.\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu the N


Words: fine-tooth comb
Meaning:
fine-tooth comb   also fine tooth comb\n  If you say that you will go over something with a fine-tooth comb or go through something with a fine-tooth comb, you are emphasizing that you will search it thoroughly or examine it very carefully.\n  PHRASE: V inflects  emphasis


Words: fine-tune
Meaning:
fine-tune  fine-tunes  fine-tuning  fine-tuned\n  If you fine-tune something, you make very small and precise changes to it in order to make it as successful or effective as it possibly can be.\nWe do not try to fine-tune the economy on the basis of short-term predictions...\n  VERB: V n\n\n=>  fine-tuning\nThere’s a lot of fine-tuning to be done yet.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: finery
Meaning:
fin.ery\n   finery\n  If someone is dressed in their finery, they are wearing the elegant and impressive clothes and jewellery that they wear on special occasions. (LITERARY)\n...the guests in all their finery.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: finesse
Meaning:
fi.nesse\n   finesse\n  If you do something with finesse, you do it with great skill and style.\n...handling momentous diplomatic challenges with tact and finesse.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: finger
Meaning:
fin.ger\n   finger  fingers  fingering  fingered\n1. Your fingers are the four long thin parts at the end of each hand.\nShe suddenly held up a small, bony finger and pointed across the room...\nShe ran her fingers through her hair...\nThere was a ring on each of his fingers.\n  N-COUNT\n\n  see also light-fingered\n2. The fingers of a glove are the parts that a person’s fingers fit into.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl\n\n3. A finger of something such as smoke or land is an amount of it that is shaped rather like a finger.\n...a thin finger of land that separates Pakistan from the former Soviet Union...\nCover the base with a single layer of sponge fingers.\n  N-COUNT: N of n, n N\n  = strip\n  see also fish finger\n4. If you finger something, you touch or feel it with your fingers.\nHe fingered the few coins in his pocket...\nSelf-consciously she fingered the emeralds at her throat.\n  VERB: V n, V n\n\n5. If you get your fingers burned or burn your fingers, you suffer because something you did or were involved in was a failure or a mistake.\nHe has had his fingers burnt by deals that turned out badly...\nMr Walesa burned his fingers by promising he would give every Pole 100m zlotys to start a business.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n6. If you cross your fingers, you put one finger on top of another and hope for good luck. If you say that someone is keeping their fingers crossed, you mean they are hoping for good luck.\nI’m keeping my fingers crossed that they turn up soon.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n7. If you say that someone did not lay a finger on a particular person or thing, you are emphasizing that they did not touch or harm them at all.\nI must make it clear I never laid a finger on her.\n  PHRASE: V inflects, usu with brd-neg, PHR n  emphasis\n\n8. If you say that a person does not lift a finger or raise a finger to do something, especially to help someone, you are critical of them because they do nothing.\nShe never lifted a finger around the house...\nThey will not lift a finger to help their country.\n  PHRASE: V inflects, with brd-neg  disapproval\n\n9. If you point the finger at someone or point an accusing finger at someone, you blame them or accuse them of doing wrong.\nHe said he wasn’t pointing an accusing finger at anyone in the government or the army.\n  PHRASE: V inflects, PHR n\n\n10. If you tell someone to pull their finger out or to get their finger out, you are telling them rudely that you want them to start doing some work or making an effort. (BRIT INFORMAL)\nIsn’t it about time that you pulled your finger out?\n  PHRASE: V inflects  disapproval\n\n11. If you put your finger on something, for example a reason or problem, you see and identify exactly what it is.\nHe could never quite put his finger on who or what was responsible for all this.\n  PHRASE: V inflects, PHR n/wh\n\n12. If someone or something slips through your fingers, you just fail to catch them, get them, or keep them.\nMoney has slipped through his fingers all his life...\nYou mustn’t allow a golden opportunity to slip through your fingers or you will regret it later.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n13.\nto have green fingers: see green\nfinger on the pulse: see pulse


Words: fingering
Meaning:
fin.ger.ing\n   fingering\n  Fingering is the method of using the most suitable finger to play each note when you are playing a musical instrument, especially the piano.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: fingermark
Meaning:
finger.mark\n   fingermark  fingermarks\n  A fingermark is a mark which is made when someone puts a dirty or oily finger onto a clean surface.\n  N-COUNT


Words: fingernail
Meaning:
finger.nail\n   fingernail  fingernails   also finger-nail\n  Your fingernails are the thin hard areas at the end of each of your fingers.\n  N-COUNT\n  = nail


Words: fingerprint
Meaning:
finger.print\n   fingerprint  fingerprints  fingerprinting  fingerprinted\n1. Fingerprints are marks made by a person’s fingers which show the lines on the skin. Everyone’s fingerprints are different, so they can be used to identify criminals.\nThe detective discovered no fewer than 35 fingerprints.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl\n\n  If the police take someone’s fingerprints, they make that person press their fingers onto a pad covered with ink, and then onto paper, so that they know what that person’s fingerprints look like.\nThey were photographed and had their fingerprints taken.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n2. If someone is fingerprinted, the police take their fingerprints.\nHe took her to jail, where she was fingerprinted and booked.\n  VERB: usu passive, be V-ed


Words: fingertip
Meaning:
finger.tip\n   fingertip  fingertips   also finger-tip\n1. Your fingertips are the ends of your fingers.\nThe fat and flour are rubbed together with the fingertips as for pastry.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl\n\n2. If you say that something is at your fingertips, you approve of the fact that you can reach it easily or that it is easily available to you.\nI had the information at my fingertips and hadn’t used it.\n  PHRASE  approval


Words: fingertip search
Meaning:
finger.tip search\n   fingertip search fingertip searches\n  When the police carry out a fingertip search of a place, they examine it for evidence in a very detailed way.\nOfficers continued a fingertip search of the area yesterday.\n  N-COUNT: oft N of n


Words: finicky
Meaning:
fin.icky\n   finicky\n  If you say that someone is finicky, you mean that they are worried about small details and are difficult to please.\nEven the most finicky eater will find something appetizing here.\n  ADJ  disapproval\n  = picky


Words: finish
Meaning:
fin.ish\n   finish  finishes  finishing  finished\n1. When you finish doing or dealing with something, you do or deal with the last part of it, so that there is no more for you to do or deal with.\nAs soon as he’d finished eating, he excused himself...\nMr Gould was given a standing ovation and loud cheers when he finished his speech...\n  VERB: V n/-ing, V n/-ing\n\n  Finish up means the same as finish. (AM)\nWe waited a few minutes outside his office while he finished up his meeting.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron)\n\n2. When you finish something that you are making or producing, you reach the end of making or producing it, so that it is complete.\nThe consultants had been working to finish a report this week.\n  VERB: V n\n  = complete\n  Finish off and, in American English, finish up mean the same as finish.\nNow she is busy finishing off a biography of Queen Caroline.\n...the amount of stuff required to finish up a movie.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), V P n (not pron)\n\n3. When something such as a course, film, or sale finishes, especially at a planned time, it ends.\nThe teaching day finishes at around 4pm...\nWhen a play finishes its run, many of the costumes are hired out to amateur dramatics companies and schools.\n  VERB: V at/on/by n, V n, also V\n  = end\n4. You say that someone or something finishes a period of time or an event in a particular way to indicate what the final situation was like. You can also say that a period of time or an event finishes in a particular way.\nThe two of them finished by kissing each other goodbye...\nThe evening finished with the welcoming of three new members...\nThe American dollar finished the day up against foreign currencies...\nThe last track finishes this compilation beautifully.\n  VERB: V by -ing, V with n, V n adj/adv, V n adj/adv, also V n by -ing, V n prep, V prep\n\n5. If someone finishes second, for example, in a race or competition, they are in second place at the end of the race or competition.\nHe finished second in the championship four years in a row.\n  VERB: V ord/prep\n\n6. To finish means to reach the end of saying something.\nHer eyes flashed, but he held up a hand. `Let me finish.’\n  VERB: V\n\n7. The finish of something is the end of it or the last part of it.\nI intend to continue it and see the job through to the finish...\nFrom start to finish he believed in me, often more than I did myself.\n  N-SING: the N, with poss\n  = end\n8. The finish of a race is the end of it.\nWin a trip to see the finish of the Tour de France!...\nThe replays of the close finish showed Ottey finished ahead of the Olympic champion.\n  N-COUNT\n\n9. If the surface of something that has been made has a particular kind of finish, it has the appearance or texture mentioned.\nThe finish and workmanship of the woodwork was excellent.\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp\n\n10.\n  see also finished\n11. If you add the finishing touches to something, you add or do the last things that are necessary to complete it.\nRight up until the last minute, workers were still putting the finishing touches on the pavilions...\n  PHRASE: N inflects


Words: finish off
Meaning:
finish off\n1. If you finish off something that you have been eating or drinking, you eat or drink the last part of it with the result that there is none left.\nKelly finished off his coffee...\nHe took the bottle from her hands and finished it off in one long swallow.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), V n P\n\n2. If someone finishes off a person or thing that is already badly injured or damaged, they kill or destroy them.\nThey meant to finish her off, swiftly and without mercy.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V n P\n\n3.\nsee finish 2


Words: finish up
Meaning:
finish up\n1. If you finish up in a particular place or situation, you are in that place or situation after doing or experiencing several things.\nThey had met by chance at university and finished up getting married...\nHe’s probably going to finish up in jail for business fraud.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P -ing, V P prep\n  = end up, wind up\n2. If you finish up something that you have been eating or drinking, you eat or drink the last part of it.\nFinish up your drinks now, please.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), also V n P\n\n3.\n  see also finish 1, 2


Words: finish with
Meaning:
finish with\n  If you finish with someone or something, you stop dealing with them, being involved with them, or being interested in them.\nMy boyfriend was threatening to finish with me...\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n


Words: finished
Meaning:
fin.ished\n   finished\n1. Someone who is finished with something is no longer doing it or dealing with it or is no longer interested in it.\nOne suspects he will be finished with boxing.\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ with n\n\n2. Something that is finished no longer exists or is no longer happening.\nI go back on the dole when the shooting season’s finished.\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ\n  = over\n3. Someone or something that is finished is no longer important, powerful, or effective.\nHer power over me is finished...\nHe confessed: `I thought I was finished.’\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ


Words: finishing line
Meaning:
fin.ish.ing line\n   finishing line  finishing lines   or finish line\n  In a race, the finishing line is the place on the track or course where the race officially ends.\n  N-COUNT


Words: finishing school
Meaning:
fin.ish.ing school\n   finishing school  finishing schools\n  A finishing school is a private school where rich or upper-class young women are taught manners and other social skills that are considered to be suitable for them.\n...a Swiss finishing school.\n...where the Princess of Wales attended finishing school.\n  N-VAR


Words: finite
Meaning:
fi.nite\n   finite\n1. Something that is finite has a definite fixed size or extent. (FORMAL)\nOnly a finite number of situations can arise...\nThe fossil fuels (coal and oil) are finite resources.\n  ADJ\n  !=infinite\n2. A finite clause is a clause based on a verb group which indicates tense, such as `went’, `is waiting’, or `will be found’, rather than on an infinitive or a participle. Compare non-finite.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: Finnish
Meaning:
Finn.ish\n   Finnish\n1. Finnish means belonging or relating to Finland or to its people, language, or culture.\n  ADJ\n\n2. Finnish is the language spoken in Finland.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: fir
Meaning:
fir  firs\n  A fir or a fir tree is a tall evergreen tree that has thin needle-like leaves.\n  N-VAR


Words: fire
Meaning:
BURNING, HEAT, OR ENTHUSIASM\n   fire  fires  firing  fired\n\nPlease look at category 13 to see if the expression you are looking for is shown under another headword.\n1. Fire is the hot, bright flames produced by things that are burning.\nThey saw a big flash and a huge ball of fire reaching hundreds of feet into the sky...\nMany students were trapped by smoke and fire on an upper floor.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. Fire or a fire is an occurrence of uncontrolled burning which destroys buildings, forests, or other things.\n87 people died in a fire at the Happy Land Social Club...\nA forest fire is sweeping across portions of north Maine this evening...\nMuch of historic Rennes was destroyed by fire in 1720.\n  N-VAR\n\n3. A fire is a burning pile of wood, coal, or other fuel that you make, for example to use for heat, light, or cooking.\nThere was a fire in the grate...\nAfter the killing, he calmly lit a fire to destroy evidence.\n  N-COUNT\n\n4. A fire is a device that uses electricity or gas to give out heat and warm a room. (mainly BRIT; in AM, usually use heater)\nThe gas fire was still alight...\n  N-COUNT: oft n N\n\n5. When a pot or clay object is fired, it is heated at a high temperature in a special oven, as part of the process of making it.\nAfter the pot is dipped in this mixture, it is fired...\n  VERB: be V-ed\n\n6. When the engine of a motor vehicle fires, an electrical spark is produced which causes the fuel to burn and the engine to work.\nThe engine fired and we moved off.\n  VERB: V\n\n7. If you fire someone with enthusiasm, you make them feel very enthusiastic. If you fire someone’s imagination, you make them feel interested and excited.\n...the potential to fire the imagination of an entire generation...\nIt was Allen who fired this rivalry with real passion...\nBoth his grandfathers were fired with an enthusiasm for public speaking...\n  VERB: V n, V n with n, be V-ed with n\n\n8. You can use fire to refer in an approving way to someone’s energy and enthusiasm.\nI went to hear him speak and was very impressed. He seemed so full of fire...\n  N-UNCOUNT  approval\n  = passion\n9. If an object or substance catches fire, it starts burning.\nThe aircraft caught fire soon after take-off.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n10. If something is on fire, it is burning and being damaged or destroyed by an uncontrolled fire.\nThe captain radioed that the ship was on fire.\n  PHRASE: v-link PHR\n  = burning\n11. If you say that someone is playing with fire, you mean that they are doing something dangerous that may result in great harm for them and cause many problems.\nSchulte warned government and industrial leaders that those who even venture to think about mass layoffs are playing with fire.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n12. If you set fire to something or if you set it on fire, you start it burning in order to damage or destroy it.\nThey set fire to vehicles outside that building...\nLightning set several buildings on fire.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n13.\nto have irons on the fire: see iron\nlike a house on fire: see house\nthere’s no smoke without fire: see smoke\n\nSHOOTING OR ATTACKING\n   fire  fires  firing  fired\n\nPlease look at category 13 to see if the expression you are looking for is shown under another headword.\n1. If someone fires a gun or a bullet, or if they fire, a bullet is sent from a gun that they are using.\nSeven people were wounded when soldiers fired rubber bullets to disperse crowds...\nThe gun was fired and Beaton was wounded a second time...\nSeventeen people were killed when security forces fired on demonstrators...\nThey were firing. I screamed at them to stop.\n  VERB: V n, V n, V on n, V\n\n=>  fir.ing\nThe firing continued even while the protestors were fleeing.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. You can use fire to refer to the shots fired from a gun or guns.\nHis car was raked with fire from automatic weapons...\nThe two were reportedly killed in an exchange of fire during a police raid.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n  = gunfire\n3. If you fire an arrow, you send it from a bow.\nHe fired an arrow into a clearing in the forest.\n  VERB: V n\n  = shoot\n4. If you fire questions at someone, you ask them a lot of questions very quickly, one after another.\nThey were bombarded by more than 100 representatives firing questions on pollution.\n  VERB: V n\n\n5. If you draw fire for something that you have done, you cause people to criticize you or attack you because of it.\nThe council recently drew fire for its intervention in the dispute...\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n6. If someone holds their fire or holds fire, they stop shooting or they wait before they start shooting.\nDevereux ordered his men to hold their fire until the ships got closer.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n7. If you hold fire in a situation, you delay before taking action.\nObservers reckon the Bank of England will hold fire until nearer the Budget.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n  = hold back\n8. If you are in the line of fire, you are in a position where someone is aiming their gun at you. If you move into their line of fire, you move into a position between them and the thing they were aiming at.\nHe cheerfully blows away any bad guy stupid enough to get in his line of fire...\nThe man and his son had been pushed into the line of fire by their captors.\n  PHRASE\n\n9. If you open fire on someone, you start shooting at them.\nThen without warning, the troops opened fire on the crowd.\n  PHRASE: V inflects, oft PHR on n\n\n10. If you return fire or you return someone’s fire, you shoot back at someone who has shot at you.\nThe soldiers returned fire after being attacked.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n11. If you come under fire or are under fire, someone starts shooting at you.\nThe Belgians fell back as the infantry came under fire.\n  PHRASE: usu v PHR, v-link PHR\n\n12. If you come under fire from someone or are under fire, they criticize you strongly.\nThe president’s plan first came under fire from critics who said he hadn’t included enough spending cuts.\n  PHRASE: usu v PHR, v-link PHR\n\n13.\nto fire from the hip: see hip\n\nDISMISSAL\n   fire  fires  firing  fired\n  If an employer fires you, they dismiss you from your job.\nIf he hadn’t been so good at the rest of his job, I probably would have fired him...\nShe was sent a box of chocolates along with a letter saying she was fired.\n  VERB: V n, V n\n  = sack\n=>  fir.ing\nThere was yet another round of firings.\n  N-COUNT


Words: fire alarm
Meaning:
fire alarm  fire alarms\n  A fire alarm is a device that makes a noise, for example with a bell, to warn people when there is a fire.\n  N-COUNT


Words: fire away
Meaning:
fire away\n  If someone wants to say or ask something, you can say `fire away’ as a way of showing that you are ready for them to speak. (INFORMAL)\n`May I ask you something?’.`Sure. Fire away.’\n  PHRASAL VERB: only imper, V P


Words: fire brigade
Meaning:
fire bri.gade\n   fire brigade  fire brigades\n  The fire brigade is an organization which has the job of putting out fires; used especially to refer to the people who actually fight the fires.\nGet everyone out and call the fire brigade...\n  N-COUNT-COLL: usu the N


Words: fire department
Meaning:
fire de.part.ment\n   fire department  fire departments\n  The fire department is an organization which has the job of putting out fires. (AM; in BRIT, use fire service)\n  N-COUNT-COLL: usu the N


Words: fire drill
Meaning:
fire drill  fire drills\n  When there is a fire drill in a particular building, the people who work or live there practise what to do if there is a fire.\n  N-VAR


Words: fire engine
Meaning:
fire en.gine\n   fire engine  fire engines\n  A fire engine is a large vehicle which carries firefighters and equipment for putting out fires. (BRIT; in AM, usually use fire truck)\n  N-COUNT


Words: fire escape
Meaning:
fire es.cape\n   fire escape  fire escapes   also fire-escape\n  A fire escape is a metal staircase on the outside of a building, which can be used to escape from the building if there is a fire.\n  N-COUNT


Words: fire extinguisher
Meaning:
fire ex.tin.guish.er\n   fire extinguisher  fire extinguishers   also fire-extinguisher\n  A fire extinguisher is a metal cylinder which contains water or chemicals at high pressure which can put out fires.\n  N-COUNT


Words: fire hydrant
Meaning:
fire hy.drant\n   fire hydrant  fire hydrants   also fire-hydrant\n  A fire hydrant is a pipe in the street from which fire fighters can obtain water for putting out a fire.\n  N-COUNT


Words: fire off
Meaning:
fire off\n1. If you fire off a shot, you send a bullet or other missile from a gun.\nA gunman fired off a volley of shots into the air...\n...an illustration of a guy firing a huge cannon off into the distance.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), V n P\n\n2. If you fire off a letter, question, or remark, you send or say it very quickly, often as part of a series.\nHe immediately fired off an angry letter to his ministry colleagues...\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron)


Words: fire sale
Meaning:
fire sale  fire sales\n1. A fire sale is an event in which goods are sold cheaply because the shop or storeroom they were in has been damaged by fire.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If you describe a sale of goods or other assets as a fire sale, you mean that everything is being sold very cheaply.\nThey’re likely to hold big fire sales to liquidate their inventory...\n  N-COUNT: oft N n


Words: fire service
Meaning:
fire ser.vice\n   fire service  fire services\n  The fire service is an organization which has the job of putting out fires. (BRIT; in AM, use fire department)\nCrowds of youths prevented the fire service from dealing with the blaze.\n  N-COUNT-COLL: usu the N


Words: fire station
Meaning:
fire sta.tion\n   fire station  fire stations\n  A fire station is a building where fire engines are kept, and where firefighters wait until they are called to put out a fire.\n  N-COUNT


Words: fire truck
Meaning:
fire truck  fire trucks\n  A fire truck is a large vehicle which carries fire fighters and equipment for putting out fires. (AM, AUSTRALIAN; in BRIT, usually use fire engine)\n  N-COUNT


Words: fire-eater
Meaning:
fire-eater  fire-eaters\n  Fire-eaters are performers who put flaming rods into their mouths in order to entertain people.\n  N-COUNT


Words: fire-retardant
Meaning:
fire-retardant\n  Fire-retardant substances make the thing that they are applied to burn more slowly.\n...fire-retardant foam.\n  ADJ\n  = flame-retardant


Words: firearm
Meaning:
fire.arm\n   firearm  firearms\n  Firearms are guns. (FORMAL)\nHe was also charged with illegal possession of firearms...\nHe was jailed for firearms offences.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl


Words: fireball
Meaning:
fire.ball\n   fireball  fireballs\n  A fireball is a ball of fire, for example one at the centre of a nuclear explosion.\n  N-COUNT


Words: firebomb
Meaning:
fire.bomb\n   firebomb  firebombs  firebombing  firebombed\n1. A firebomb is a type of bomb which is designed to cause fires.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. To firebomb a building, vehicle, or place means to set fire to it using a firebomb.\nProtestors firebombed the embassy building yesterday.\n  VERB: V n\n\n=>  fire.bombing      firebombings\nThe homes bore evidence of firebombing.\n  N-VAR


Words: firebrand
Meaning:
fire.brand\n   firebrand  firebrands\n  If you describe someone as a firebrand, especially someone who is very active in politics, you mean that they are always trying to make people take strong action.\n...his reputation as a young firebrand.\n  N-COUNT


Words: firebreak
Meaning:
fire.break\n   firebreak  firebreaks   also fire break\n  A firebreak is an area of open land in a wood or forest that has been created to stop a fire from spreading.\n  N-COUNT


Words: firecracker
Meaning:
fire.cracker\n   firecracker  firecrackers\n  A firecracker is a firework that makes several loud bangs when it is lit.\n  N-COUNT


Words: firefight
Meaning:
fire.fight\n   firefight  firefights\n  A firefight is a battle in a war which involves the use of guns rather than bombs or any other sort of weapon. (JOURNALISM)\nU.S. Marines had a firefight with local gunmen this morning.\n  N-COUNT


Words: firefighter
Meaning:
fire.fighter\n   firefighter firefighters  also fire fighter; fire-fighter\n  Firefighters are people whose job is to put out fires.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl\n  = fireman


Words: firefighting
Meaning:
fire.fighting\n   firefighting   also fire fighting; fire-fighting\n  Firefighting is the work of putting out fires.\nThere was no fire-fighting equipment.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N n


Words: firefly
Meaning:
fire.fly\n   firefly  fireflies   also fire fly\n  A firefly is a type of beetle that produces light from its body.\n  N-COUNT


Words: fireguard
Meaning:
fire.guard\n   fireguard  fireguards   also fire-guard\n  A fireguard is a screen made of strong wire that you put round a fire so that people cannot accidentally burn themselves.\n  N-COUNT


Words: firelight
Meaning:
fire.light\n   firelight\n  Firelight is the light that comes from a fire.\nIn the firelight his head gleamed with sweat.\n  N-UNCOUNT: also the N


Words: fireman
Meaning:
fire.man\n   fireman  firemen\n  A fireman is a person, usually a man, whose job is to put out fires.\n  N-COUNT


Words: fireplace
Meaning:
fire.place\n   fireplace  fireplaces\n  In a room, the fireplace is the place where a fire can be lit and the area on the wall and floor surrounding this place.\n  N-COUNT


Words: firepower
Meaning:
fire.power\n   firepower\n  The firepower of an army, ship, tank, or aircraft is the amount of ammunition it can fire.\nAmerica has enough firepower in the area to mount sustained air strikes.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: fireproof
Meaning:
fire.proof\n   fireproof\n  Something that is fireproof cannot be damaged by fire.\n...fireproof clothing.\n  ADJ


Words: fireside
Meaning:
fire.side\n   fireside  firesides\n  If you sit by the fireside in a room, you sit near the fire.\n...winter evenings by the fireside.\n...cosy fireside chats.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing


Words: firestorm
Meaning:
fire.storm\n   firestorm  firestorms   also fire storm\n1. A firestorm is a fire that is burning uncontrollably, usually in a place that has been bombed.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If you say that there is a firestorm of protest or criticism, you are emphasizing that there is a great deal of very fierce protest or criticism. (AM)\nThe speech has resulted in a firestorm of controversy.\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp  emphasis


Words: firewall
Meaning:
fire.wall\n   firewall firewalls\n  A firewall is a computer system or program that automatically prevents an unauthorized person from gaining access to a computer when it is connected to a network such as the Internet. (COMPUTING)\nNew technology should provide a secure firewall against hackers.\n  N-COUNT


Words: firewood
Meaning:
fire.wood\n   firewood\n  Firewood is wood that has been cut into pieces so that it can be burned on a fire.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: firework
Meaning:
fire.work\n   firework  fireworks\n  Fireworks are small objects that are lit to entertain people on special occasions. They contain chemicals and burn brightly or attractively, often with a loud noise, when you light them.\n...a firework display.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl


Words: firing line
Meaning:
fir.ing line\n   firing line  firing lines   also firing-line\n1. If you are in the firing line in a conflict, you are in a position where someone is aiming their gun at you.\nAny hostages in the firing line would have been sacrificed...\n  N-COUNT: usu the N in sing, usu prep N\n\n2. If you say that someone is in the firing line, you mean that they are being criticized, blamed, or attacked for something.\nForeign banks are in the firing line too...\n  N-SING: the N, usu in/out of N


Words: firing squad
Meaning:
fir.ing squad\n   firing squad  firing squads\n  A firing squad is a group of soldiers who are ordered to shoot and kill a person who has been found guilty of committing a crime.\nHe was executing by firing squad.\n  N-COUNT: also by N


Words: firm
Meaning:
firm  firms  firmer  firmest\n1. A firm is an organization which sells or produces something or which provides a service which people pay for.\nThe firm’s employees were expecting large bonuses.\n...a firm of heating engineers.\n  N-COUNT\n  = company\n2. If something is firm, it does not change much in shape when it is pressed but is not completely hard.\nFruit should be firm and in excellent condition...\nChoose a soft, medium or firm mattress to suit their individual needs.\n  ADJ\n  !=soft\n3. If something is firm, it does not shake or move when you put weight or pressure on it, because it is strongly made or securely fastened.\nIf you have to climb up, use a firm platform or a sturdy ladder.\n  ADJ\n  = secure\n=>  firm.ly\nThe front door is locked and all the windows are firmly shut.\n  ADV: ADV -ed, ADV after v\n\n4. If someone’s grip is firm or if they perform a physical action in a firm way, they do it with quite a lot of force or pressure but also in a controlled way.\nThe quick handshake was firm and cool...\nHe managed to grasp the metal, get a firm grip of it and heave his body upwards.\n  ADJ\n  = strong\n=>  firm.ly\nShe held me firmly by the elbow and led me to my aisle seat.\n  ADV: ADV after v\n\n5. If you describe someone as firm, you mean they behave in a way that shows that they are not going to change their mind, or that they are the person who is in control.\nShe had to be firm with him. `I don’t want to see you again.’...\nPerhaps they need the guiding hand of a firm father figure.\n  ADJ: oft ADJ with n\n\n=>  firm.ly\n`A good night’s sleep is what you want,’ he said firmly.\n  ADV: ADV with v\n\n6. A firm decision or opinion is definite and unlikely to change.\nHe made a firm decision to leave Fort Multry by boat...\nIt is my firm belief that an effective partnership approach between police and the public is absolutely necessary.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  = definite\n=>  firm.ly\nHe is firmly convinced that it is vital to do this.\n  ADV: ADV -ed, ADV after v\n  = strongly\n7. Firm evidence or information is based on facts and so is likely to be true.\nThere’s unlikely to be firm news about the convoy’s progress for some time.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n  = hard, definite\n8. You use firm to describe control or a basis or position when it is strong and unlikely to be ended or removed.\nAlthough the Yakutians are a minority, they have firm control of the territory...\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  = secure\n=>  firm.ly\nThis tradition is also firmly rooted in the past...\n  ADV: ADV -ed, ADV after v\n  = securely\n9. If a price, value, or currency is firm, it is not decreasing in value or amount.\nCotton prices remain firm and demand is strong...\nThe shares held firm at 280p...\n  ADJ\n  = steady\n=>  firm.ness\n...the firmness of the dollar against other currencies.\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu N of n\n\n10. If someone stands firm, they refuse to change their mind about something.\nThe council is standing firm against the barrage of protest...\n  PHRASE: V inflects


Words: firm up
Meaning:
firm up\n1. If you firm up something or if it firms up, it becomes firmer and more solid.\nThis treatment helps tone the body, firm up muscles and tighten the skin...\nI now go swimming five times a week, which helps firm me up...\nThe mixture will seem too wet at this stage, but it will firm up when chilled.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), V n P, V P\n\n2. If you firm something up or if it firms up, it becomes clearer, stronger, or more definite.\nLooking to the future, the Government will firm up their plans for a cleaner, greener, safer Britain...\nAt least the bank situation had firmed up.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), V P, also V n P\n\n3. If a financial institution firms up the price or value of something, they take action to protect and maintain its price or value.\nOPEC has agreed to freeze its global oil production slightly in order to firm up crude prices.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron)


Words: firmament
Meaning:
fir.ma.ment\n   firmament\n1. The firmament is the sky or heaven. (LITERARY)\nThere are no stars in the firmament.\n  N-SING: the N\n\n2. If you talk about the firmament in a particular organization or field of activity, you mean the top of it.\nHe was rich, and a rising star in the political firmament.\n  N-SING: the N, usu with supp


Words: firmware
Meaning:
firm.ware\n   firmware\n  In computer systems, firmware is a set of commands which are stored on a chip rather than as part of a program, because the computer uses them very often.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: first
Meaning:
first  firsts\n1. The first thing, person, event, or period of time is the one that happens or comes before all the others of the same kind.\nShe lost 16 pounds in the first month of her diet.\n...the first few flakes of snow...\nTwo years ago Johnson came first in the one hundred metres at Seoul.\n  ORD\n  !=last\n  First is also a pronoun.\nThe second paragraph startled me even more than the first...\nHe put me through a series of exercises to improve my car control. The first was to drive on simulated ice.\n  PRON\n\n2. If you do something first, you do it before anyone else does, or before you do anything else.\nI do not remember who spoke first, but we all expressed the same opinion...\nFirst, tell me what you think of my products...\nRoutine questions first, if you don’t mind.\n  ADV: ADV with v, ADV with cl/group\n\n3. When something happens or is done for the first time, it has never happened or been done before.\nThis is the first time she has experienced disappointment...\nIt was the first occasion when they had both found it possible to keep a rendezvous.\n  ORD\n\n  First is also an adverb.\nAnne and Steve got engaged two years after they had first started going out...\n  ADV: ADV with v\n\n4. An event that is described as a first has never happened before and is important or exciting.\nIt is a first for New York. An outdoor exhibition of Fernando Botero’s sculpture on Park Avenue.\n  N-SING: a N, oft N for n\n\n5. The first you hear of something or the first you know about it is the time when you first become aware of it.\nWe heard it on the TV last night.that was the first we heard of it...\n  PRON: the PRON that\n\n6. You use first when you are talking about what happens in the early part of an event or experience, in contrast to what happens later.\nWhen he first came home he wouldn’t say anything about what he’d been doing.\n  ADV: ADV before v\n  = initially\n  First is also an ordinal.\nShe told him that her first reaction was disgust...\n  ORD: usu poss ORD\n\n7. In order to emphasize your determination not to do a particular thing, you can say that rather than do it, you would do something else first.\nMarry that fat son of a fat cattle dealer? She would die first!\n  ADV: ADV after v  emphasis\n\n8. You use first when you are about to give the first in a series of items.\nCertain guidelines can be given. First, have a heating engineer check the safety of the system.\n  ADV: ADV with cl/group\n\n9. The first thing, person, or place in a line is the one that is nearest to you or nearest to the front.\nBefore him, in the first row, sat the President...\nFirst in the queue were two Japanese students.\n  ORD\n  !=last\n10. You use first to refer to the best or most important thing or person of a particular kind.\nThe first duty of any government must be to protect the interests of the taxpayers...\nImagine winning the local lottery first prize of .5,000.\n  ORD\n\n11. First is used in the title of the job or position of someone who has a higher rank than anyone else with the same basic job title.\n...the First Lord of the Admiralty.\n...the first mate of a British tanker.\n  ORD\n\n12. In British universities, a first is an honours degree of the highest standard.\n...an Oxford Blue who took a First in Constitutional History.\n  N-COUNT: oft N in n\n\n13. You use first of all to introduce the first of a number of things that you want to say.\nThe cut in the interest rates has not had very much impact in California for two reasons. First of all, banks are still afraid to loan.\n  PHRASE: PHR with cl/group\n\n14. You use at first when you are talking about what happens in the early stages of an event or experience, or just after something else has happened, in contrast to what happens later.\nAt first, he seemed surprised by my questions...\nI had some difficulty at first recalling why we were there.\n  PHRASE: PHR with cl\n  = initially\n(next)


Words: first .1
Meaning:
15. If you say that someone or something comes first for a particular person, you mean they treat or consider that person or thing as more important than anything else.\nThere’s no time for boyfriends, my career comes first.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n16. If you learn or experience something at first hand, you experience it yourself or learn it directly rather than being told about it by other people.\nHe arrived in Natal to see at first hand the effects of the recent heavy fighting.\n  PHRASE: PHR after v\n\n17. If you say that you do not know the first thing about something, you are emphasizing that you know absolutely nothing about it.\nYou don’t know the first thing about farming.\n  PHRASE: V inflects  emphasis\n\n18. If you put someone or something first, you treat or consider them as more important than anything else.\nSomebody has to think for the child and put him first.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n19. You say `first things first’ when you are talking about something that should be done or dealt with before anything else because it is the most important.\nLet’s see if we can’t find something to set the mood. First things first; some music.\n  PHRASE\n\n20.\nfirst and foremost: see foremost


Words: first aid
Meaning:
first aid\n  First aid is simple medical treatment given as soon as possible to a person who is injured or who suddenly becomes ill.\nThere are many emergencies which need prompt first aid treatment.\n...a first aid kit.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N n


Words: first born
Meaning:
first born   also first-born\n  Someone’s first born is their first child.\nShe was my first-born...\n  N-SING: oft N n


Words: first cousin
Meaning:
first cous.in\n   first cousin  first cousins\n  Someone’s first cousin is the same as their cousin. Compare second cousin.\n  N-COUNT: oft with poss


Words: first degree
Meaning:
first de.gree\n   first degree  first degrees\n  People who have gained a higher qualification after completing a basic university degree such as a BA or a BSc refer to that basic degree as their first degree.\nHe was born in Zimbabwe where he completed his first degree in economics.\n  N-COUNT


Words: first ever
Meaning:
first ever   also first-ever\n  Something that is the first ever one of its kind has never happened before.\nIt’s the first-ever meeting between leaders of the two countries.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: first floor
Meaning:
first floor  first floors\n1. The first floor of a building is the floor immediately above the one at ground level. (BRIT; in AM, use second floor)\n  N-COUNT: usu the N in sing\n\n2. The first floor of a building is the one at ground level. (AM; in BRIT, use ground floor)\n  N-COUNT: usu the N in sing


Words: first fruits
Meaning:
first fruits\n  The first fruits of a project or activity are the earliest results or profits.\nThe deal is one of the first fruits of a liberalization of foreign investment law.\n  N-PLURAL: usu N of n


Words: first hand
Meaning:
first hand   also first-hand, firsthand\n1. First hand information or experience is gained or learned directly, rather than from other people or from books.\nSchool trips give children firsthand experience not available in the classroom.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n  First-hand is also an adverb.\nWe’ve been through Germany and seen first-hand what’s happening there.\n  ADV: ADV after v\n\n2.\nat first hand: see first


Words: first lady
Meaning:
first lady  first ladies\n  The First Lady in a country or state is the wife of the president or state governor, or a woman who performs the official duties normally performed by the wife.\n  N-COUNT: usu the N in sing


Words: first language
Meaning:
first lan.guage\n   first language  first languages\n  Someone’s first language is the language that they learned first and speak best; used especially when someone speaks more than one language.\n  N-COUNT


Words: First Minister
Meaning:
First Min.is.ter\n   First Minister  First Ministers\n  In the Scottish Assembly and the Northern Ireland Assembly, the First Minister is the leader of the ruling party.\n  N-COUNT: usu the N; N-TITLE; N-VOC


Words: first name
Meaning:
first name  first names\n  Your first name is the first of the names that were given to you when you were born. You can also refer to all of your names except your surname as your first names.\nHer first name was Mary. I don’t know what her surname was.\n  N-COUNT: usu poss N\n\n  If two people are on first-name terms, they know each other well enough to call each other by their first names, rather than having to use a more formal title.\nThe two were said to have been on first-name terms...\n  PHRASE: usu v-link PHR, oft PHR with n


Words: first night
Meaning:
first night  first nights\n  The first night of a show, play, or performance is the first public performance of it.\n  N-COUNT: oft N n


Words: first offender
Meaning:
first of.fend.er\n   first offender  first offenders\n  A first offender is a person who has been found guilty of a crime for the first time.\n  N-COUNT


Words: first person
Meaning:
first per.son\n   first person\n  A statement in the first person is a statement about yourself, or about yourself and someone else. The subject of a statement like this is `I’ or `we’.\nHe tells the story in the first person...\n  N-SING: the N


Words: first school
Meaning:
first school  first schools\n  A first school is a school for children aged between five and eight or nine. (BRIT)\n  N-COUNT


Words: First Secretary
Meaning:
First Sec.re.tary\n   First Secretary  First Secretaries\n  The First Secretary of the Welsh Assembly is the leader of the ruling party.\n  N-COUNT: usu the N; N-TITLE; N-VOC


Words: First World
Meaning:
The most prosperous and industrialized parts of the world are sometimes referred to as the First World. Compare Third World. (BUSINESS)\nAlthough South Africa has many of the attributes of the first world - some good infrastructure, millions of rich people - it is still not part of that world.\n...wealthy First World countries.\n  N-PROPER: the N, N n


Words: First World War
Meaning:
First World War\n  The First World War or the First War is the war that was fought between 1914 and 1918 in Europe.\n  N-PROPER: the N


Words: first-class
Meaning:
first-class   also first class\n1. If you describe something or someone as first-class, you mean that they are extremely good and of the highest quality.\nThe food was first-class...\nShe has a first-class brain and is a damned good writer.\n  ADJ\n  = first-rate\n2. You use first-class to describe something that is in the group that is considered to be of the highest standard.\nHe officially announced his retirement from first-class cricket yesterday...\nHarriet graduated with a first class degree in literature...\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n3. First-class accommodation on a train, aeroplane, or ship is the best and most expensive type of accommodation.\nHe won himself two first-class tickets to fly to Dublin.\n...first-class passengers.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n  First-class is also an adverb.\nShe had never flown first class before.\n  ADV: ADV after v\n\n  First-class is the first-class accommodation on a train, aeroplane, or ship.\nHe paid for and was assigned a cabin in first class.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n4. In Britain, first-class postage is the quicker and more expensive type of postage. In the United States, first-class postage is the type of postage that is used for sending letters and postcards.\nTwo first class stamps, please...\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n  First-class is also an adverb.\nIt took six days to arrive despite being posted first class.\n  ADV: ADV after v


Words: first-degree
Meaning:
first-degree\n1. In the United States, first-degree is used to describe crimes that are considered to be the most serious of their kind. For example, first-degree murder is when a murder is planned before it is carried out.\nHe pleaded guilty to a charge of first-degree robbery.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n2. A first-degree burn is one of the least severe kind, where only the surface layer of the skin has been burnt.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: first-past-the-post
Meaning:
[fst pst `post;f:st p:st `pust]\nfirst-past-the-post\n  A first-past-the-post system for choosing members of parliament or other representatives is one in which the candidate who gets most votes wins. (BRIT)\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: first-rate
Meaning:
first-rate   also first rate\n  If you say that something or someone is first-rate, you mean that they are extremely good and of the highest quality.\nPeople who used his service knew they were dealing with a first-rate professional.\n  ADJ  approval\n  = first-class


Words: first-timer
Meaning:
first-timer  first-timers\n  A first-timer is someone who does something for the first time.\nGabrielle entered this year’s charts faster than any first-timer before her.\n  N-COUNT


Words: firstly
Meaning:
first.ly\n   firstly\n  You use firstly in speech or writing when you want to give a reason, make a point, or mention an item that will be followed by others connected with it.\nThe programme is now seven years behind schedule as a result, firstly of increased costs, then of technical problems...\n  ADV: ADV with cl/group


Words: fiscal
Meaning:
fis.cal\n   fiscal\n  Fiscal is used to describe something that relates to government money or public money, especially taxes.\n...in 1987, when the government tightened fiscal policy.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n  = financial\n=>  fis.cal.ly\nThe scheme would be fiscally dangerous...\nMany members are determined to prove that they are fiscally responsible.\n  ADV: usu ADV adj, also ADV after v\n\n  see also procurator fiscal


Words: fiscal year
Meaning:
fis.cal year\n   fiscal year  fiscal years\n  The fiscal year is the same as the financial year. (BUSINESS)\n...the budget for the coming fiscal year.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, usu with supp


Words: fish
Meaning:
fish  fish  or fishes  fishes  fishing  fished\n\n  The form fish is usually used for the plural, but fishes can also be used.\n\n1. A fish is a creature that lives in water and has a tail and fins. There are many different kinds of fish.\nI was chatting to an islander who had just caught a fish...\nThe fish were counted and an average weight recorded.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. Fish is the flesh of a fish eaten as food.\nDoes dry white wine go best with fish?\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n3. If you fish, you try to catch fish, either for food or as a form of sport or recreation.\nBrian remembers learning to fish in the River Cam.\n  VERB: V\n\n4. If you fish a particular area of water, you try to catch fish in it.\nOn Saturday we fished the River Arno.\n  VERB: V n\n\n5. If you say that someone is fishing for information or praise, you disapprove of the fact that they are trying to get it from someone in an indirect way.\nHe didn’t want to create the impression that he was fishing for information...\n`Lucinda, you don’t have to talk to him!’ Mike shouted. `He’s just fishing.’\n  VERB: V for n, V  disapproval\n  = angle\n6.\n  see also fishing\n7. If you tell someone that there are plenty more fish in the sea, you are comforting them by saying that although their relationship with someone has failed, there are many other people they can have relationships with. (INFORMAL)\n  PHRASE


Words: fish and chip shop
Meaning:
fish and chip shop  fish and chip shops\n  In Britain, a fish and chip shop is a shop which sells hot food such as fish and chips, fried chicken, sausages, and meat pies. The food is cooked in the shop and people take it away to eat at home or in the street.\n  N-COUNT\n  = chippy


Words: fish cake
Meaning:
fish cake  fish cakes   also fishcake\n  A fish cake is a mixture of fish and potato that is made into a flat round shape, covered in breadcrumbs, and fried.\n  N-COUNT


Words: fish finger
Meaning:
fish fin.ger\n   fish finger  fish fingers   also fishfinger\n  Fish fingers are small long pieces of fish covered in breadcrumbs. They are usually sold in frozen form. (mainly BRIT)\n  N-COUNT: usu pl


Words: fish knife
Meaning:
fish knife  fish knives\n  A fish knife is a knife that you use when you eat fish. It has a wide flat blade and does not have a sharp edge.\n  N-COUNT


Words: fish out
Meaning:
fish out\n  If you fish something out from somewhere, you take or pull it out, often after searching for it for some time. (INFORMAL)\nShe fished out a pair of David’s socks for her cold feet.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), also V n P


Words: fish slice
Meaning:
fish slice  fish slices   also fish-slice\n  A fish slice is a kitchen tool which consists of a flat part with narrow holes in it attached to a handle. It is used for turning or serving fish or other food that is cooked in a frying pan. (BRIT; in AM, use spatula)\n  N-COUNT


Words: fisherman
Meaning:
fisher.man\n   fisherman  fishermen\n  A fisherman is a person who catches fish as a job or for sport.\n  N-COUNT


Words: fishery
Meaning:
fish.ery\n   fishery  fisheries\n1. Fisheries are areas of the sea where fish are caught in large quantities for commercial purposes.\n...the fisheries off Newfoundland.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl\n\n2. A fishery is a place where fish are bred and reared.\n  N-COUNT


Words: fishing
Meaning:
fish.ing\n   fishing\n  Fishing is the sport, hobby, or business of catching fish.\nDespite the poor weather the fishing has been pretty good.\n...a fishing boat.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: fishing rod
Meaning:
fish.ing rod\n   fishing rod  fishing rods   also fishing-rod\n  A fishing rod is a long thin pole which has a line and hook attached to it and which is used for catching fish.\n  N-COUNT


Words: fishing tackle
Meaning:
fish.ing tack.le\n   fishing tackle   also fishing-tackle\n  Fishing tackle consists of all the equipment that is used in the sport of fishing, such as fishing rods, lines, hooks, and bait.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: fishmonger
Meaning:
fish.monger\n   fishmonger  fishmongers\n1. A fishmonger is a shopkeeper who sells fish. (mainly BRIT)\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. The fishmonger or the fishmonger’s is a shop where fish is sold. (mainly BRIT)\nPurchase your oysters from a reputable fishmonger.\n  N-COUNT: oft the N


Words: fishnet
Meaning:
fish.net\n   fishnet\n  Fishnet tights or stockings are made from a stretchy fabric which has wide holes between its threads, rather like the holes in a fishing net.\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu N n


Words: fishwife
Meaning:
fish.wife\n   fishwife  fishwives\n  If you say that someone is behaving like a fishwife, you mean that they are shouting a great deal and behaving in a very unpleasant and bad-tempered way. (mainly BRIT)\n  N-COUNT  disapproval


Words: fishy
Meaning:
fishy\n1. A fishy taste or smell reminds you of fish.\n  ADJ\n\n2. If you describe a situation as fishy, you feel that someone is not telling the truth or behaving completely honestly. (INFORMAL)\nThere seems to be something fishy going on.\n  ADJ\n  = suspicious


Words: fission
Meaning:
fis.sion\n   fission\n  Nuclear fission is the splitting of the nucleus of an atom to produce a large amount of energy or cause a large explosion.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: fissure
Meaning:
fis.sure\n   fissure  fissures\n  A fissure is a deep crack in something, especially in rock or in the ground.\n  N-COUNT


Words: fist
Meaning:
fist  fists\n  Your hand is referred to as your fist when you have bent your fingers in towards the palm in order to hit someone, to make an angry gesture, or to hold something.\nAngry protestors with clenched fists shouted their defiance...\nGary clutched a penny in his fist.\n  N-COUNT


Words: fistful
Meaning:
fist.ful\n   fistful  fistfuls\n  A fistful of things is the number of them that you can hold in your fist.\nMandy handed him a fistful of coins.\n  N-COUNT: usu N of n


Words: fisticuffs
Meaning:
fisti.cuffs\n   fisticuffs\n  Fisticuffs is fighting in which people try to hit each other with their fists. (HUMOROUS or OLD-FASHIONED)\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: fit
Meaning:
HEALTHY\n   fit  fitter  fittest\n\nPlease look at category 2 to see if the expression you are looking for is shown under another headword.\n1. Someone who is fit is healthy and physically strong.\nAn averagely fit person can master easy ski runs within a few days.\n  ADJ\n  !=unfit\n=>  fit.ness\nSquash was once thought to offer all-round fitness.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N n\n\n2.\nfit as a fiddle: see fiddle\nfighting fit: see fight\n\nBEING RIGHT OR GOING IN THE RIGHT PLACE\n   fit  fits  fitting  fitted\n\n  In American English the form fit is used in the present tense and sometimes also as the past tense and past participle of the verb.\n\nPlease look at category 13 to see if the expression you are looking for is shown under another headword.\n1. If something fits, it is the right size and shape to go onto a person’s body or onto a particular object.\nThe sash, kimono, and other garments were made to fit a child...\nShe has to go to the men’s department to find trousers that fit at the waist...\nLine a tin with lightly-greased greaseproof paper, making sure the corners fit well.\n  VERB: V n, V prep/adv, V prep/adv\n\n2. If something is a good fit, it fits well.\nEventually he was happy that the sills and doors were a reasonably good fit.\n  N-SING: adj N\n\n3. If you are fitted for a particular piece of clothing, you try it on so that the person who is making it can see where it needs to be altered.\nShe was being fitted for her wedding dress.\n  VERB: usu passive, be V-ed for n\n\n4. If something fits somewhere, it can be put there or is designed to be put there.\n...a pocket computer which is small enough to fit into your pocket...\nHe folded his long legs to fit under the table...\n  VERB: V prep/adv, V prep/adv\n\n5. If you fit something into a particular space or place, you put it there.\nShe fitted her key in the lock...\nWhen the crown has been made you go back and the dentist will fit it into place.\n  VERB: V n prep/adv, V n prep/adv\n\n6. If you fit something somewhere, you attach it there, or put it there carefully and securely.\nFit hinge bolts to give extra support to the door lock...\nPeter had built the overhead ladders, and the next day he fitted them to the wall...\n  VERB: V n, V n prep\n\n7. If something fits something else or fits into it, it goes together well with that thing or is able to be part of it.\nHer daughter doesn’t fit the current feminine ideal...\nFostering is a full-time job and you should carefully consider how it will fit into your career...\nThere’s something about the way he talks of her that doesn’t fit.\n  VERB: V n, V in/into n, V\n\n8. You can say that something fits a particular person or thing when it is appropriate or suitable for them or it.\nThe punishment must always fit the crime.\n  VERB: V n\n  = match\n9. If something is fit for a particular purpose, it is suitable for that purpose.\nOf the seven bicycles we had, only two were fit for the road.\n...safety measures intended to reassure consumers that the meat is fit to eat...\n  ADJ: oft ADJ for n, ADJ to-inf, ADJ n to-inf, ADJ n for n\n\n10. If someone is fit to do something, they have the appropriate qualities or skills that will allow them to do it.\nYou’re not fit to be a mother!...\nHe was not a fit companion for their skipper that particular morning.\n  ADJ: oft ADJ to-inf, ADJ for n, ADJ n for n, ADJ n to-inf\n\n=>  fit.ness\nThere is a debate about his fitness for the highest office...\n  N-UNCOUNT: N for n, N to-inf\n\n11. If something fits someone for a particular task or role, it makes them good enough or suitable for it. (FORMAL)\n...a man whose past experience fits him for the top job in education...\nIt is not a person’s gender that fits them to be a vicar but what is in their hearts.\n  VERB: V n for n, V n to-inf\n\n12. If you say that someone sees fit to do something, you mean that they are entitled to do it, but that you disapprove of their decision to do it. (FORMAL)\nHe’s not a friend, you say, yet you saw fit to lend him money.\n  PHRASE: V inflects  disapproval\n\n13.\nfit the bill: see bill\nto fit like a glove: see glove\nnot in a fit state: see state\n  see also fitted, fitting\n\nUNCONTROLLABLE MOVEMENTS OR EMOTIONS\n   fit  fits\n1. If someone has a fit they suddenly lose consciousness and their body makes uncontrollable movements.\nAbout two in every five epileptic fits occur during sleep...\n  N-COUNT\n  = seizure\n2. If you have a fit of coughing or laughter, you suddenly start coughing or laughing in an uncontrollable way.\nHalfway down the cigarette she had a fit of coughing...\n  N-COUNT: with supp, N of n\n\n3. If you do something in a fit of anger or panic, you are very angry or afraid when you do it.\nPattie shot Tom in a fit of jealous rage.\n  N-COUNT: N of n\n\n4. If you say that someone will have a fit when they hear about something, you mean that they will be very angry or shocked. (INFORMAL)\nHe’d have a fit if he knew what we were up to!\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n  = go mad\n5. Something that happens in fits and starts or by fits and starts keeps happening and then stopping again.\nMy slimming attempts tend to go in fits and starts...\nMilitary technology advances by fits and starts.\n  PHRASE: PHR after v


Words: fit in
Meaning:
fit in\n1. If you manage to fit a person or task in, you manage to find time to deal with them.\nWe work long hours both outside and inside the home and we rush around trying to fit everything in...\nI find that I just can’t fit in regular domestic work.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V n P, V P n (not pron)\n\n2. If you fit in as part of a group, you seem to belong there because you are similar to the other people in it.\nShe was great with the children and fitted in beautifully.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P\n\n3. If you say that someone or something fits in, you understand how they form part of a particular situation or system.\nHe knew where I fitted in and what he had to do to get the best out of me...\nThis fits in with what you’ve told me.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P, V P with n


Words: fit into
Meaning:
fit into\n1. If you fit into a particular group, you seem to belong there because you are similar to the other people in it.\nIt’s hard to see how he would fit into the team.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron)\n\n2. If something fits into a particular situation or system, that seems to be the right place for it.\nMost film locations broadly fit into two categories; those on private property and those in a public place.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n


Words: fit out
Meaning:
fit out\n  If you fit someone or something out, or you fit them up, you provide them with equipment and other things that they need. (in BRIT, also use fit up)\nWe helped to fit him out for a trip to the Baltic...\nThey spent 18 million pounds of Government funds fitting out the London headquarters.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V n P for n, V P n (not pron), also V n P\n  = kit out


Words: fit up
Meaning:
fit up\n1. If someone fits another person up, they try to make it seem that that person is responsible for a crime. (BRIT INFORMAL)\nMr Stone said inmates who had given evidence were trying to `fit him up’...\nThere can never be any legitimate basis for police officers to fit up suspects they `know’ to be guilty.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V n P, V P n (not pron)\n  = frame\n2.\n  see also fit out


Words: fitful
Meaning:
fit.ful\n   fitful\n  Something that is fitful happens for irregular periods of time or occurs at irregular times, rather than being continuous.\nColin drifted off into a fitful sleep...\n  ADJ\n  !=continuous


Words: fitted
Meaning:
fit.ted\n   fitted\n1. A fitted piece of clothing is designed so that it is the same size and shape as your body rather than being loose.\n...baggy trousers with fitted jackets.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n2. A fitted piece of furniture, for example a cupboard, is designed to fill a particular space and is fixed in place.\nI’ve re-carpeted our bedroom and added fitted wardrobes.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n3. A fitted carpet is cut to the same shape as a room so that it covers the floor completely.\n...fitted carpets, central heating and double glazing.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n4. A fitted sheet has the corners sewn so that they fit over the corners of the mattress and do not have to be folded.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: fitter
Meaning:
fit.ter\n   fitter  fitters\n  A fitter is a person whose job is to put together, adjust, or install machinery or equipment.\nGeorge was a fitter at the shipyard.\n  N-COUNT


Words: fitting
Meaning:
fit.ting\n   fitting  fittings\n1. A fitting is one of the smaller parts on the outside of a piece of equipment or furniture, for example a handle or a tap.\n...brass light fittings.\n...industrial fittings for kitchen and bathroom...\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp\n\n2. Fittings are things such as ovens or heaters, that are fitted inside a building, but can be removed if necessary.\n  N-PLURAL\n\n3. Something that is fitting is right or suitable.\nA solitary man, it was perhaps fitting that he should have died alone...\n  ADJ\n  = appropriate\n=>  fit.ting.ly\n...the four-storeyed, and fittingly named, High House...\n  ADV: ADV adj, ADV before v, ADV with cl\n  = appropriately\n4. If someone has a fitting, they try on a piece of clothing that is being made for them to see if it fits.\nShe lunched and shopped and went for fittings for clothes she didn’t need.\n  N-COUNT


Words: five
Meaning:
five  fives\n  Five is the number 5.\nEric Edward Bullus was born in Peterborough, the second of five children.\n  NUM\n\n  see also high five


Words: fiver
Meaning:
fiv.er\n   fiver  fivers\n1. A fiver is a five pound note. (BRIT INFORMAL)\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A fiver is a five dollar bill. (AM INFORMAL)\n  N-COUNT


Words: fix
Meaning:
fix  fixes  fixing  fixed\n1. If something is fixed somewhere, it is attached there firmly or securely.\nIt is fixed on the wall...\nHe fixed a bayonet to the end of his rifle.\n  VERB: be V-ed prep/adv, V n prep/adv\n  = fasten\n2. If you fix something, for example a date, price, or policy, you decide and say exactly what it will be.\nHe’s going to fix a time when I can see him...\nThe prices of milk and cereals, are fixed annually.\n  VERB: V n, V n\n  = set\n3. If you fix something for someone, you arrange for it to happen or you organize it for them.\nI’ve fixed it for you to see Bonnie Lachlan...\nIt’s fixed. He’s going to meet us at the airport...\nThey thought that their relatives would be able to fix the visas...\nHe vanished after you fixed him with a job...\nWe fixed for the team to visit our headquarters...\nThey’d fixed yesterday that Mike’d be in late today.\n  VERB: V it for n to-inf, be V-ed, V n, V n with n, V for n to-inf, V that\n\n4. If you fix something which is damaged or which does not work properly, you repair it.\nHe cannot fix the electricity...\nIf something is broken, we get it fixed.\n  VERB: V n, get/have n V-ed\n  = mend\n5. If you fix a problem or a bad situation, you deal with it and make it satisfactory.\nIt’s not too late to fix the problem, although time is clearly getting short...\nFixing a 40-year-old wrong does not mean, however, that history can be undone.\n  VERB: V n, V-ing\n\n6. You can refer to a solution to a problem as a fix. (INFORMAL)\nMany of those changes could just be a temporary fix.\n  N-COUNT: usu adj N\n\n  see also quick fix\n7. If you fix your eyes on someone or something or if your eyes fix on them, you look at them with complete attention.\nShe fixes her steel-blue eyes on an unsuspecting local official...\nHer soft brown eyes fixed on Kelly...\nThe child kept her eyes fixed on the wall behind him.\n  VERB: V n on n, V on n, V-ed\n\n8. If someone or something is fixed in your mind, you remember them well, for example because they are very important, interesting, or unusual.\nLeonard was now fixed in his mind...\nAmy watched the child’s intent face eagerly, trying to fix it in her mind.\n  VERB: be V-ed in n, V n in n\n\n9. If someone fixes a gun, camera, or radar on something, they point it at that thing.\nThe US crew fixed its radar on the Turkish ship...\n  VERB: V n on n\n\n10. If you get a fix on someone or something, you have a clear idea or understanding of them. (INFORMAL)\nIt’s been hard to get a steady fix on what’s going on.\n  N-SING: a N on n\n\n11. If you fix some food or a drink for someone, you make it or prepare it for them.\nSarah fixed some food for us...\nLet me fix you a drink...\nScotty stayed behind to fix lunch.\n  VERB: V n for n, V n n, V n\n\n12. If you fix your hair, clothes, or make-up, you arrange or adjust them so you look neat and tidy, showing you have taken care with your appearance. (INFORMAL)\n`I’ve got to fix my hair,’ I said and retreated to my bedroom...\n  VERB: no passive, V n\n\n13. If someone fixes a race, election, contest, or other event, they make unfair or illegal arrangements or use deception to affect the result.\nThey offered opposing players bribes to fix a decisive league match against Valenciennes...\n...this week’s report of match-fixing.\n  VERB: V n, V-ing  disapproval\n  = rig\n  Fix is also a noun.\nIt’s all a fix, a deal they’ve made.\n  N-COUNT\n\n14. If you accuse someone of fixing prices, you accuse them of making unfair arrangements to charge a particular price for something, rather than allowing market forces to decide it. (BUSINESS)\n...a suspected cartel that had fixed the price of steel for the construction market...\nThe company is currently in dispute with the government over price fixing.\n  VERB: V n, V-ing  disapproval\n\n15. An injection of an addictive drug such as heroin can be referred to as a fix. (INFORMAL)\n  N-COUNT\n\n(next)


Words: fix .1
Meaning:
16. You can use fix to refer to an amount of something which a person gets or wants and which helps them physically or psychologically to survive. (INFORMAL)\nThe trouble with her is she needs her daily fix of publicity.\n...a quick energy fix.\n  N-COUNT: with supp, oft N of n, n N\n\n17. If you say that you are fixing to do something, you mean that you are planning or intending to do it. (AM INFORMAL)\nI’m fixing to go to graduate school...\n  VERB: only cont, V to-inf\n\n18.\n  see also fixed, fixings


Words: fix on
Meaning:
fix on\n  If you fix on a particular thing, you decide that it is the one you want and will have.\nThe Vietnamese government has fixed on May 19th to celebrate his anniversary.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n


Words: fix up
Meaning:
fix up\n1. If you fix something up, you arrange it.\nI fixed up an appointment to see her...\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), also V n P\n\n2. If you fix something up, you do work that is necessary in order to make it more suitable or attractive.\nI’ve fixed up Matthew’s old room...\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), also V n P\n  = do up\n3. If you fix someone up with something they need, you provide it for them.\nHe was fixed up with a job.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V n P with n, also V n P


Words: fixated
Meaning:
fix.at.ed\n   fixated\n  If you accuse someone of being fixated on a particular thing, you mean that they think about it to an extreme and excessive degree.\nBut by then the administration wasn’t paying attention, for top officials were fixated on Kuwait.\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ on/with/by n


Words: fixation
Meaning:
fixa.tion\n   fixation  fixations\n  If you accuse a person of having a fixation on something or someone, you mean they think about a particular subject or person to an extreme and excessive degree.\nThe country’s fixation on the war may delay a serious examination of domestic needs.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, usu with supp


Words: fixative
Meaning:
fixa.tive\n   fixative  fixatives\n  Fixative is a liquid used to preserve the surface of things such as a drawings or photographs.\n  N-MASS


Words: fixed
Meaning:
fixed\n1. You use fixed to describe something which stays the same and does not or cannot vary.\nThey issue a fixed number of shares that trade publicly...\nTickets will be printed with fixed entry times...\nMany restaurants offer fixed-price menus.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  = set\n2. If you say that someone has fixed ideas or opinions, you mean that they do not often change their ideas and opinions, although perhaps they should.\n...people who have fixed ideas about things.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  !=flexible\n3. If someone has a fixed smile on their face, they are smiling even though they do not feel happy or pleased.\nI had to go through the rest of the evening with a fixed smile on my face.\n  ADJ\n\n4. Someone who is of no fixed address, or in British English no fixed abode, does not have a permanent place to live. (FORMAL)\nThey are not able to get a job interview because they have no fixed address...\nHe’s of no fixed abode and we found him on the streets.\n  PHRASE: of/with PHR, v PHR\n\n5.\n  see also fix


Words: fixed asset
Meaning:
fixed as.set\n   fixed asset fixed assets\n  Fixed assets are assets which a company uses on a continuous basis, such as property and machinery. (BUSINESS)\nInvestment in fixed assets is an important vehicle for ensuring that the latest technology is available to business.\n  N-COUNT


Words: fixedly
Meaning:
fix.ed.ly\n   fixedly\n  If you stare fixedly at someone or something, you look at them steadily and continuously for a period of time. (LITERARY)\nI stared fixedly at the statue...\n  ADV: ADV after v\n  = intently


Words: fixer
Meaning:
fix.er\n   fixer  fixers\n  If someone is a fixer, he or she is the sort of person who solves problems and gets things done. (JOURNALISM)\nJohn Wakeham seems certain to become the fixer the Prime Minister will need at election time.\n  N-COUNT


Words: fixings
Meaning:
fix.ings\n   fixings\n1. Fixings are extra items that are used to decorate or complete something, especially a meal. (AM)\nHe bought a hot dog and had it covered with all the fixings.\n  N-PLURAL\n\n2. Fixings are items such as nails and screws which are used to fix things such as furniture together.\nHave you got all the screws and fixings you need?\n  N-PLURAL


Words: fixity
Meaning:
fix.ity\n   fixity\n  If you talk about the fixity of something, you talk about the fact that it does not change or weaken. (WRITTEN)\nShe believed in the fixity of the class system.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N of n


Words: fixture
Meaning:
fix.ture\n   fixture  fixtures\n1. Fixtures are pieces of furniture or equipment, for example baths and sinks, which are fixed inside a house or other building and which stay there if you move.\n...a detailed list of what fixtures and fittings are included in the purchase price.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl\n\n2. A fixture is a sports event which takes place on a particular date. (BRIT)\nCity won this fixture 3-0 last season.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. If you describe someone or something as a fixture in a particular place or occasion, you mean that they always seem to be there.\nShe was a fixture in New York’s nightclubs...\nThe cordless kettle may now be a fixture in most kitchens.\n  N-COUNT: usu N in n


Words: fizz
Meaning:
fizz  fizzes  fizzing  fizzed\n1. If a drink fizzes, it produces lots of little bubbles of gas and makes a sound like a long `s’.\nAfter a while their mother was back, holding a tray of glasses that fizzed.\n  VERB: V\n\n  Fizz is also a noun.\nI wonder if there’s any fizz left in the lemonade.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. If something such as an engine fizzes, it makes a sound like a long `s’.\nWhen I started the engine it sparked, fizzed and went dead.\n  VERB: V\n\n3. If you say that someone puts fizz into something, you mean that they make it more interesting or exciting.\nA Brazilian public relations firm has brought some fizz into his campaign.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n  = sparkle


Words: fizzle
Meaning:
fiz.zle\n   fizzle  fizzles  fizzling  fizzled\n  If something fizzles, it ends in a weak or disappointing way after starting off strongly.\nOur relationship fizzled into nothing.\n  VERB: V into/to n, also V\n\n  Fizzle out means the same as fizzle.\nThe railway strike fizzled out on its second day as drivers returned to work.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P\n  = peter out


Words: fizzy
Meaning:
fizzy  fizzier  fizziest\n  Fizzy drinks are drinks that contain small bubbles of carbon dioxide. They make a sound like a long `s’ when you pour them. (BRIT; in AM, use carbonated)\n...fizzy water.\n...a can of fizzy drink.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: fjord
Meaning:
fjord  fjords   also fiord\n  A fjord is a strip of sea that comes into the land between high cliffs, especially in Norway.\n  N-COUNT: oft in names after n


Words: flab
Meaning:
flab\n  If you say that someone has flab, you mean they have loose flesh on their body because they are rather fat, especially when you are being critical of them.\nDon had a hefty roll of flab overhanging his waistband.\n  N-UNCOUNT  disapproval


Words: flabbergasted
Meaning:
flab.ber.gast.ed\n   flabbergasted\n  If you say that you are flabbergasted, you are emphasizing that you are extremely surprised.\nEverybody was flabbergasted when I announced I was going to emigrate to Australia.\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ, oft ADJ by n, ADJ to-inf  emphasis


Words: flabby
Meaning:
flab.by\n   flabby  flabbier  flabbiest\n1. Flabby people are rather fat, with loose flesh over their bodies.\nThis exercise is brilliant for getting rid of flabby tums.\n  ADJ  disapproval\n\n2. If you describe something as flabby, you are criticizing it for being disorganized or wasteful.\nYou hear talk about American business being flabby.\n  ADJ  disapproval\n  !=lean


Words: flaccid
Meaning:
flac.cid\n   flaccid\n  You use flaccid to describe a part of someone’s body when it is unpleasantly soft and not hard or firm.\nI picked up her wrist. It was limp and flaccid.\n  ADJ\n  = limp


Words: flag
Meaning:
flag  flags  flagging  flagged\n1. A flag is a piece of cloth which can be attached to a pole and which is used as a sign, signal, or symbol of something, especially of a particular country.\nThe Marines climbed to the roof of the embassy building to raise the American flag...\nThey had raised the white flag in surrender.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. Journalists sometimes refer to the flag of a particular country or organization as a way of referring to the country or organization itself and its values or power.\nJoining John Whitaker will be his brother Michael also riding under the British flag...\n  N-COUNT: with supp, usu adj N, N of n\n\n3. If you flag or if your spirits flag, you begin to lose enthusiasm or energy.\nHis enthusiasm was in no way flagging...\nBy 4,000m he was beginning to flag.\n  VERB: V, V\n\n4.\n  see also flagged\n5. If you fly the flag, you show that you are proud of your country, or that you support a particular cause, especially when you are in a foreign country or when few other people do.\n  PHRASE: V inflects


Words: Flag Day
Meaning:
Flag Day\n  In the United States, Flag Day is the 14th of June, the anniversary of the day in 1777 when the Stars and Stripes became the official U.S. flag.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: flag day
Meaning:
flag day  flag days\n  In Britain, a flag day is a day on which people collect money for a charity from people in the street. People are given a small sticker to wear to show that they have given money.\n  N-COUNT


Words: flag down
Meaning:
flag down\n  If you flag down a vehicle, especially a taxi, you wave at it as a signal for the driver to stop.\nThey flagged down a passing family who stopped to help them...\nMarlette was already out of the door, flagging down a taxi.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), V n P\n  = hail


Words: flag-waving
Meaning:
flag-waving\n  You can use flag-waving to refer to the expression of feelings for a country in a loud or exaggerated way, especially when you disapprove of this.\nThe real costs of the war have been ignored in the flag-waving of recent months.\n  N-UNCOUNT  disapproval


Words: flagellation
Meaning:
flag.el.la.tion\n   flagellation\n  Flagellation is the act of beating yourself or someone else, usually as a religious punishment. (FORMAL)\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: flagged
Meaning:
flagged\n  A flagged path or area of ground is covered with large, flat, square pieces of stone.\n  ADJ


Words: flagon
Meaning:
flag.on\n   flagon  flagons\n1. A flagon is a wide bottle in which liquids such as wine are sold.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A flagon is a jug with a narrow neck in which wine or another drink is served.\n  N-COUNT


Words: flagpole
Meaning:
flag.pole\n   flagpole  flagpoles\n  A flagpole is a tall pole on which a flag can be displayed.\nThe new Namibian flag was hoisted up the flagpole.\n  N-COUNT


Words: flagrant
Meaning:
fla.grant\n   flagrant\n  You can use flagrant to describe an action, situation, or someone’s behaviour that you find extremely bad or shocking in a very obvious way.\nThe judge called the decision `a flagrant violation of international law’...\n  ADJ: ADJ n  disapproval\n  = blatant\n=>  fla.grant.ly\nIt is a situation where basic human rights are being flagrantly abused.\n  ADV: usu ADV with v, also ADV adj\n  = blatantly


Words: flagship
Meaning:
flag.ship\n   flagship  flagships\n1. A flagship is the most important ship in a fleet of ships, especially the one on which the commander of the fleet is sailing.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. The flagship of a group of things that are owned or produced by a particular organization is the most important one.\nThe company plans to open a flagship store in New York this month.\n  N-COUNT: oft with poss


Words: flagstone
Meaning:
flag.stone\n   flagstone  flagstones\n  Flagstones are large, flat, square pieces of stone which are used for covering a path or area of ground.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl


Words: flail
Meaning:
flail  flails  flailing  flailed\n  If your arms or legs flail or if you flail them about, they wave about in an energetic but uncontrolled way.\nHis arms were flailing in all directions...\nHe gave a choked cry, flailed his arms wildly for a moment, and then went over the edge.\n  VERB: V, V n\n\n  Flail around means the same as flail.\nHe starting flailing around and hitting Vincent in the chest.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P


Words: flair
Meaning:
flair\n1. If you have a flair for a particular thing, you have a natural ability to do it well.\n...a friend who has a flair for languages.\n  N-SING: N for n\n  = talent, gift\n2. If you have flair, you do things in an original, interesting, and stylish way.\nTheir work has all the usual punch, panache and flair you’d expect.\n  N-UNCOUNT  approval\n  = style, panache


Words: flak
Meaning:
flak\n  If you get a lot of flak from someone, they criticize you severely. If you take the flak, you get the blame for something. (INFORMAL)\nThe President is getting a lot of flak for that...\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: flak jacket
Meaning:
flak jack.et\n   flak jacket  flak jackets\n  A flak jacket is a thick sleeveless jacket that soldiers and policemen sometimes wear to protect themselves against bullets.\n  N-COUNT


Words: flake
Meaning:
flake  flakes  flaking  flaked\n1. A flake is a small thin piece of something, especially one that has broken off a larger piece.\nLarge flakes of snow began swiftly to fall.\n...oat flakes.\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp, oft N of n, n N\n\n2. If something such as paint flakes, small thin pieces of it come off.\nThey can see how its colours have faded and where paint has flaked.\n  VERB: V\n\n  Flake off means the same as flake.\nThe surface corrosion was worst where the paint had flaked off.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P


Words: flaky
Meaning:
flaky\n1. Something that is flaky breaks easily into small thin pieces or tends to come off in small thin pieces.\n...a small patch of red, flaky skin.\n  ADJ\n\n2. If you describe an idea, argument, or person as flaky, you mean that they are rather eccentric and unreliable. (INFORMAL)\nHe wondered if the idea wasn’t just a little too flaky, a little too outlandish.\n  ADJ  disapproval


Words: flamboyant
Meaning:
flam.boy.ant\n   flamboyant\n  If you say that someone or something is flamboyant, you mean that they are very noticeable, stylish, and exciting.\nFreddie Mercury was a flamboyant star of the British hard rock scene.\n  ADJ\n\n=>  flam.boy.ance\nCampese was his usual mixture of flamboyance and flair.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: flame
Meaning:
flame  flames  flaming  flamed\n1. A flame is a hot bright stream of burning gas that comes from something that is burning.\nThe heat from the flames was so intense that roads melted.\n...a huge ball of flame.\n  N-VAR\n\n2. A flame is an e-mail message which severely criticizes or attacks someone. (COMPUTING INFORMAL)\nThe best way to respond to a flame is to ignore it.\n  N-COUNT\n\n  Flame is also a verb.\nEver been flamed?\n  VERB: V n\n\n3.\n  see also flaming, old flame\n4. If something bursts into flames or bursts into flame, it suddenly starts burning strongly.\nShe managed to scramble out of the vehicle as it burst into flames.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n5. If someone or something fans the flames of a situation or feeling, usually a bad one, they make it more intense or extreme in some way.\nHe accused the Tories of `fanning the flames of extremism’.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n6. If something goes up in flames, it starts to burn strongly and is destroyed.\nFires broke out everywhere, the entire city went up in flames.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n7. Something that is in flames is on fire.\n  PHRASE: v-link PHR


Words: flame-thrower
Meaning:
flame-thrower  flame-throwers   also flame thrower\n  A flame-thrower is a gun that can send out a stream of burning liquid and that is used as a weapon or for clearing plants from an area of ground.\n  N-COUNT


Words: flamenco
Meaning:
fla.men.co\n   flamenco  flamencos\n  Flamenco is a Spanish dance that is danced to a special type of guitar music.\n  N-VAR


Words: flameproof
Meaning:
flame.proof\n   flameproof   also flame-proof\n  Flameproof cooking dishes can withstand direct heat, so they can be used, for example, on top of a cooker or stove, or under a grill.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: flaming
Meaning:
flam.ing\n   flaming\n1. Flaming is used to describe something that is burning and producing a lot of flames.\nThe plane, which was full of fuel, scattered flaming fragments over a large area.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  = blazing\n2. Something that is flaming red or orange is bright red or orange in colour.\nHe has flaming red hair.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n3. A flaming row or a flaming temper, for example, is a very angry row or a very bad temper.\nShe has had a flaming row with her lover.\n  ADJ: ADJ n  emphasis


Words: flamingo
Meaning:
fla.min.go\n   flamingo  flamingos  or flamingoes\n  A flamingo is a bird with pink feathers, long thin legs, a long neck, and a curved beak. Flamingos live near water in warm countries.\n  N-COUNT


Words: flammable
Meaning:
flam.mable\n   flammable\n  Flammable chemicals, gases, cloth, or other things catch fire and burn easily.\n...flammable liquids such as petrol or paraffin.\n  ADJ\n  = inflammable


Words: flan
Meaning:
flan  flans\n  A flan is a food that has a base and sides of pastry or sponge cake. The base is filled with fruit or savoury food.\n  N-VAR


Words: flange
Meaning:
flange  flanges\n  A flange is a projecting edge on an object. Its purpose is to strengthen the object or to connect it to another object.\n  N-COUNT


Words: flank
Meaning:
flank  flanks  flanking  flanked\n1. An animal’s flank is its side, between the ribs and the hip.\nHe put his hand on the dog’s flank.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A flank of an army or navy force is one side of it when it is organized for battle.\nThe assault element, led by Captain Ramirez, opened up from their right flank.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. The side of anything large can be referred to as its flank.\nThey continued along the flank of the mountain.\n  N-COUNT: usu N of n\n\n4. If something is flanked by things, it has them on both sides of it, or sometimes on one side of it.\nThe altar was flanked by two Christmas trees...\nBookcases flank the bed...\n  VERB: be V-ed by n, V n


Words: flannel
Meaning:
flan.nel\n   flannel  flannels\n1. Flannel is a soft cloth, usually made of cotton or wool, that is used for making clothes.\nHe wore a faded red flannel shirt.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N n\n\n2. A flannel is a small cloth that you use for washing yourself. (BRIT; in AM, use washcloth)\n  N-COUNT


Words: flap
Meaning:
flap  flaps  flapping  flapped\n1. If something such as a piece of cloth or paper flaps or if you flap it, it moves quickly up and down or from side to side.\nGrey sheets flapped on the clothes line...\nThey would flap bath towels from their balconies as they chatted.\n  VERB: V, V n\n  = flutter\n2. If a bird or insect flaps its wings or if its wings flap, the wings move quickly up and down.\nThe bird flapped its wings furiously...\nA pigeon emerges, wings flapping noisily, from the tower.\n  VERB: V pl-n, V\n\n3. If you flap your arms, you move them quickly up and down as if they were the wings of a bird.\n...a kid running and flapping her arms.\n  VERB: V n\n\n4. A flap of cloth or skin, for example, is a flat piece of it that can move freely up and down or from side to side because it is held or attached by only one edge.\nHe drew back the tent flap and strode out into the blizzard.\n...a loose flap of skin.\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp\n\n5. A flap on the wing of an aircraft is an area along the edge of the wing that can be raised or lowered to control the movement of the aircraft.\n...the sudden slowing as the flaps were lowered.\n  N-COUNT


Words: flapjack
Meaning:
flap.jack\n   flapjack  flapjacks\n1. Flapjacks are thick biscuits made from oats, butter, and syrup. (BRIT)\n  N-VAR\n\n2. Flapjacks are thin, flat, circular pieces of cooked batter made of milk, flour, and eggs. Flapjacks are usually rolled up or folded and eaten hot with a sweet or savoury filling. (AM)\n  N-COUNT\n  = pancake


Words: flare
Meaning:
flare  flares  flaring  flared\n1. A flare is a small device that produces a bright flame. Flares are used as signals, for example on ships.\n...a ship which had fired a distress flare.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If a fire flares, the flames suddenly become larger.\nCamp fires flared like beacons in the dark.\n  VERB: V\n\n  Flare up means the same as flare.\nDon’t spill too much fat on the barbecue as it could flare up.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P\n\n3. If something such as trouble, violence, or conflict flares, it starts or becomes more violent.\nEven as the President appealed for calm, trouble flared in several American cities.\n  VERB: V\n\n  Flare up means the same as flare.\nDozens of people were injured as fighting flared up.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P\n\n4. If people’s tempers flare, they get angry.\nTempers flared and harsh words were exchanged.\n  VERB: V\n\n5. If someone’s nostrils flare or if they flare them, their nostrils become wider, often because the person is angry or upset.\nI turned to Jacky, my nostrils flaring in disgust...\nHe stuck out his tongue and flared his nostrils.\n  VERB: V, V n\n\n6. If something such as a dress flares, it spreads outwards at one end to form a wide shape.\n...a simple black dress, cut to flare from the hips.\n  VERB: V\n\n7. Flares are trousers that are very wide at the bottom.\n  N-PLURAL: also a pair of N\n\n8.\n  see also flared


Words: flare up
Meaning:
flare up\n  If a disease or injury flares up, it suddenly returns or becomes painful again.\nStudents often find that their acne flares up before and during exams.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P\n\n  see also flare 2, 3, flare-up


Words: flare-up
Meaning:
flare-up  flare-ups\n  If there is a flare-up of violence or of an illness, it suddenly starts or gets worse.\nThere’s been a flare-up of violence in South Africa.\n  N-COUNT: usu a N of/in n


Words: flared
Meaning:
flared\n  Flared skirts or trousers are wider at the bottom or at the end of the legs than at the top.\nIn the 1970s they all had flared trousers.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: flash
Meaning:
flash  flashes  flashing  flashed\n1. A flash is a sudden burst of light or of something shiny or bright.\nA sudden flash of lightning lit everything up for a second...\nThe wire snapped at the wall plug with a blue flash and the light fused...\nA jay emerged from the juniper bush in a flash of blue feathers.\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp\n\n2. If a light flashes or if you flash a light, it shines with a sudden bright light, especially as quick, regular flashes of light.\nLightning flashed among the distant dark clouds...\nHe lost his temper after a driver flashed her headlights as he overtook...\nHe saw the flashing lights of the highway patrol car in his driving mirror.\n  VERB: V, V n, V-ing\n\n3. You talk about a flash of something when you are saying that it happens very suddenly and unexpectedly.\n`What did Moira tell you?’ Liz demanded with a flash of anger...\nThe essays could do with a flash of wit or humor.\n  N-COUNT: with supp, N of n\n  = burst\n4. If something flashes past or by, it moves past you so fast that you cannot see it properly.\nIt was a busy road, cars flashed by every few minutes.\n  VERB: V prep/adv\n\n5. If something flashes through or into your mind, you suddenly think about it.\nA ludicrous thought flashed through Harry’s mind...\n  VERB: V through/into n\n\n6. If you flash something such as an identity card, you show it to people quickly and then put it away again. (INFORMAL)\nHalim flashed his official card, and managed to get hold of a soldier to guard the Land Rover.\n  VERB: V n\n\n7. If a picture or message flashes up on a screen, or if you flash it onto a screen, it is displayed there briefly or suddenly, and often repeatedly.\nThe figures flash up on the scoreboard...\nThe words `Good Luck’ were flashing on the screen...\nResearchers flash two groups of different letters onto a computer screen...\nThe screen flashes a message: Try again...\nA list of items is repeatedly flashed up on the screen.\n  VERB: V up, V prep, V n prep, V n, be V-ed up, also V n up\n\n8. If you flash news or information to a place, you send it there quickly by computer, satellite, or other system.\nThey had told their offices to flash the news as soon as it broke...\nThis is, of course, international news and soon it was being flashed around the world.\n  VERB: V n, be V-ed prep/adv, also V n prep/adv\n\n9. If you flash a look or a smile at someone, you suddenly look at them or smile at them. (WRITTEN)\nI flashed a look at Sue...\nMeg flashed Cissie a grateful smile.\n  VERB: V n at n, V n n\n\n10. If someone’s eyes flash, they suddenly show a strong emotion, especially anger. (LITERARY)\nHer dark eyes flashed and she spoke rapidly.\n  VERB: V\n\n11. Flash is the use of special bulbs to give more light when taking a photograph.\nHe was one of the first people to use high speed flash in bird photography.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N n\n\n12. A flash is the same as a flashlight. (AM INFORMAL)\nStopping to rest, Pete shut off the flash.\n  N-COUNT\n\n13. If you describe something as flash, you mean that it looks expensive, fashionable, and new. (INFORMAL)\n...a flash uptown restaurant...\nYou can go for a `rostrum’ system, which sounds flash, but can be assembled quite cheaply.\n  ADJ\n\n14. If you describe an achievement or success as a flash in the pan, you mean that it is unlikely to be repeated and is not an indication of future achievements or success.\nPeople will be looking in to see how good we are now and whether our success has just been a flash in the pan.\n  PHRASE: usu v-link PHR  disapproval\n  = one-off\n15. If you say that something happens in a flash, you mean that it happens suddenly and lasts only a very short time.\nThe answer had come to him in a flash...\nIt was done in a flash.\n  PHRASE: usu PHR after v\n\n16. If you say that someone reacts to something quick as a flash, you mean that they react to it extremely quickly.\nQuick as a flash, the man said, `I have to, don’t I?’\n  PHRASE


Words: flash back
Meaning:
flash back\n  If your mind flashes back to something in the past, you remember it or think of it briefly or suddenly.\nHis mind kept flashing back to the previous night...\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P to n\n\n  see also flashback


Words: flash card
Meaning:
flash card  flash cards   also flashcard\n  Flash cards are cards which are sometimes used in the teaching of reading or a foreign language. Each card has words or a picture on it.\n  N-COUNT


Words: flash flood
Meaning:
flash flood  flash floods\n  A flash flood is a sudden rush of water over dry land, usually caused by a great deal of rain.\n  N-COUNT


Words: flashback
Meaning:
flash.back\n   flashback  flashbacks\n1. In a film, novel, or play, a flashback is a scene that returns to events in the past.\nThere is even a flashback to the murder itself.\n  N-COUNT: oft N to n\n\n2. If you have a flashback to a past experience, you have a sudden and very clear memory of it.\nHe has recurring flashbacks to the night his friends died.\n  N-COUNT: oft N to n


Words: flashbulb
Meaning:
flash.bulb\n   flashbulb  flashbulbs   also flash bulb\n  A flashbulb is a small bulb that can be fixed to a camera. It makes a bright flash of light so that you can take photographs indoors.\n  N-COUNT


Words: flasher
Meaning:
flash.er\n   flasher  flashers\n  A flasher is a man who deliberately exposes his genitals to people in public places, especially in front of women. (INFORMAL)\n  N-COUNT


Words: flashgun
Meaning:
flash.gun\n   flashgun  flashguns\n  A flashgun is a device that you can attach to, or that is part of, a camera. It makes bright flashes of light so that you can take photographs indoors.\n  N-COUNT


Words: flashlight
Meaning:
flash.light\n   flashlight  flashlights\n  A flashlight is a small electric light which gets its power from batteries and which you can carry in your hand. (mainly AM; in BRIT, use torch)\nLen studied it a moment in the beam of his flashlight...\n  N-COUNT: also by N\n  = torch


Words: flashpoint
Meaning:
flash.point\n   flashpoint  flashpoints\n1. A flashpoint is the moment at which a conflict, especially a political conflict, suddenly gets worse and becomes violent.\nThe immediate flashpoint was Wednesday’s big rally in the city centre...\n  N-VAR\n\n2. A flashpoint is a place which people think is dangerous because political trouble may start there and then spread to other towns or countries.\nThe more serious flashpoints are outside the capital...\n  N-COUNT


Words: flashy
Meaning:
flashy  flashier  flashiest\n  If you describe a person or thing as flashy, you mean they are smart and noticeable, but in a rather vulgar way. (INFORMAL)\nHe was much less flashy than his brother.\n  ADJ  disapproval


Words: flask
Meaning:
flask  flasks\n1. A flask is a bottle which you use for carrying drinks around with you.\nHe took out a metal flask from a canvas bag.\n  N-COUNT\n\n  A flask of liquid is the flask and the liquid which it contains.\nThere’s some sandwiches here and a flask of coffee.\n  N-COUNT: N of n\n\n2. A flask is a bottle or other container which is used in science laboratories and industry for holding liquids.\n...flasks for the transport of spent fuel.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3.\n  see also hip flask, vacuum flask


Words: flat
Meaning:
flat  flats  flatter  flattest\n1. A flat is a set of rooms for living in, usually on one floor and part of a larger building. A flat usually includes a kitchen and bathroom. (mainly BRIT; in AM, usually use apartment)\nSara lives with her husband and children in a flat in central London...\nIt started a fire in a block of flats...\nLater on, Victor from flat 10 called.\n  N-COUNT: also N num\n  = apartment\n2. Something that is flat is level, smooth, or even, rather than sloping, curved, or uneven.\nTiles can be fixed to any surface as long as it’s flat, firm and dry...\nAfter a moment his right hand moved across the cloth, smoothing it flat...\nThe sea was calm, perfectly flat.\n  ADJ\n\n3. Flat means horizontal and not upright.\nTwo men near him threw themselves flat...\nAs heartburn is usually worse when you’re lying down in bed, you should avoid lying flat.\n  ADJ: ADJ n, v-link ADJ, ADJ after v\n\n4. A flat object is not very tall or deep in relation to its length and width.\nEllen is walking down the drive with a square flat box balanced on one hand.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  = shallow\n5. Flat land is level, with no high hills or other raised parts.\nTo the north lie the flat and fertile farmlands of the Solway plain...\nThe landscape became wider, flatter and very scenic...\n  ADJ: ADJ n, v-link ADJ, ADJ after v\n\n6. A low flat area of uncultivated land, especially an area where the ground is soft and wet, can be referred to as flats or a flat.\nThe salt marshes and mud flats attract large numbers of waterfowl.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl, usu n N\n\n7. You can refer to one of the broad flat surfaces of an object as the flat of that object.\nHe slammed the counter with the flat of his hand.\n...eight cloves of garlic crushed with the flat of a knife.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, the N of n\n\n8. Flat shoes have no heels or very low heels.\nPeople wear slacks, sweaters, flat shoes, and all manner of casual attire for travel.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n  Flats are flat shoes. (AM)\nHis mother looked ten years younger in jeans and flats.\n  N-PLURAL\n\n9. A flat tyre, ball, or balloon does not have enough air in it.\n  ADJ\n\n10. A flat is a tyre that does not have enough air in it.\nThen, after I finally got back on the highway, I developed a flat.\n  N-COUNT\n\n11. A drink that is flat is no longer fizzy.\nCould this really stop the champagne from going flat?\n  ADJ\n  !=fizzy\n12. A flat battery has lost some or all of its electrical charge. (mainly BRIT; in AM, use dead)\nHis car alarm had been going off for two days and, as a result, the battery was flat.\n  ADJ\n\n13. If you have flat feet, the arches of your feet are too low.\nThe condition of flat feet runs in families.\n  ADJ\n\n14. A flat denial or refusal is definite and firm, and is unlikely to be changed.\nThe Foreign Ministry has issued a flat denial of any involvement...\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n=>  flat.ly\nHe flatly refused to discuss it...\n  ADV: usu ADV with v, also ADV adj\n\n15. If you say that something happened, for example, in ten seconds flat or ten minutes flat, you are emphasizing that it happened surprisingly quickly and only took ten seconds or ten minutes.\nYou’re sitting behind an engine that’ll move you from 0 to 60mph in six seconds flat...\n  ADJ: num n ADJ  emphasis\n\n16. A flat rate, price, or percentage is one that is fixed and which applies in every situation.\nFees are charged at a flat rate, rather than on a percentage basis...\nSometimes there’s a flat fee for carrying out a particular task...\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n  = fixed  !=variable\n17. If trade or business is flat, it is slow and inactive, rather than busy and improving or increasing.\nDuring the first eight months of this year, sales of big pickups were up 14% while car sales stayed flat...\n  ADJ\n  = sluggish\n18. If you describe something as flat, you mean that it is dull and not exciting or interesting.\nThe past few days have seemed comparatively flat and empty...\n  ADJ\n\n(next)


Words: flat .1
Meaning:
19. You use flat to describe someone’s voice when they are saying something without expressing any emotion.\n`Whatever you say,’ he said in a deadly flat voice. `I’ll sit here and wait.’...\nHer voice was flat, with no question or hope in it.\n  ADJ\n\n=>  flat.ly\nI know you,’ he said flatly, matter-of-fact, neutral in tone.\n  ADV: ADV after v\n\n20. Flat is used after a letter representing a musical note to show that the note should be played or sung half a tone lower than the note which otherwise matches that letter. Flat is often represented by the symbol u_flat. after the letter.\n...Schubert’s B flat Piano Trio (Opus 99).\n  ADJ: n ADJ\n  !=sharp\n21. If someone sings flat or if a musical instrument is flat, their singing or the instrument is slightly lower in pitch than it should be.\nHer vocal range was, to say the least of it, limited, and she had a distressing tendency to sing flat.\n  ADV: ADV after v\n\n  Flat is also an adjective.\nHe had been fired because his singing was flat.\n  ADJ\n\n22. If you say that something is as flat as a pancake, you are emphasizing that it is completely flat.\nMy home state of Illinois is flat as a pancake...\n  PHRASE: v-link PHR  emphasis\n\n23. If you fall flat on your face, you fall over.\nA man walked in off the street and fell flat on his face, unconscious.\n  PHRASE: V inflects, oft PHR on n\n\n24. If an event or attempt falls flat or falls flat on its face, it is unsuccessful.\nLiz meant it as a joke but it fell flat...\nIf it wasn’t for the main actress, Ellen Barkin, the plot would have fallen flat on its face.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n  = fail\n25. If you say that you are flat broke, you mean that you have no money at all. (INFORMAL)\nTwo years later he is flat broke and on the dole.\n  PHRASE: v-link PHR  emphasis\n  = skint\n26. If you do something flat out, you do it as fast or as hard as you can.\nEveryone is working flat out to try to trap those responsible...\nThey hurtled across the line in a flat-out sprint.\n  PHRASE: PHR after v, PHR n\n\n27. You use flat out to emphasize that something is completely the case. (mainly AM INFORMAL)\nThat allegation is a flat-out lie...\n  PHRASE: PHR n/adj, PHR with v  emphasis\n\n28. On the flat means on level ground.\nHe had angina and was unable to walk for more than 200 yards on the flat.\n  PHRASE\n\n29.\nin a flat spin: see spin


Words: flat pack
Meaning:
flat pack  flat packs   also flat-pack\n  Flat pack furniture is furniture such as shelves and cupboards which you buy as a number of separate pieces and assemble yourself. (BRIT)\n  N-COUNT: usu N n


Words: flat racing
Meaning:
flat rac.ing\n   flat racing\n  Flat racing is horse racing which does not involve jumping over fences.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: flat-footed
Meaning:
flat-footed\n1. If you are flat-footed, the arches of your feet are too low.\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ, ADJ n, ADJ after v\n\n2. If you describe a person or action as flat-footed, you think they are clumsy, awkward, or foolish.\n...flat-footed writing...\nThe government could be caught flat-footed.\n  ADJ: ADJ n, v-link ADJ, ADJ after v  disapproval


Words: flatbed
Meaning:
flat.bed\n   flatbed  flatbeds\n  A flatbed is a truck that has a long flat platform with no sides.\n  N-COUNT: oft N n\n  The form flatbed truck is also used, especially in American English.


Words: flatfish
Meaning:
flat.fish\n   flatfish  flatfish\n  Flatfish are sea fish with flat wide bodies, for example plaice or sole.\n  N-VAR


Words: flatmate
Meaning:
flat.mate\n   flatmate  flatmates   also flat-mate\n  Someone’s flatmate is a person who shares a flat with them. (BRIT; in AM, use roommate)\n  N-COUNT: usu poss N


Words: flatten
Meaning:
flat.ten\n   flatten  flattens  flattening  flattened\n1. If you flatten something or if it flattens, it becomes flat or flatter.\nHe carefully flattened the wrappers and put them between the leaves of his book...\nThe dog’s ears flattened slightly as Cook spoke his name.\n...the pitiful shacks built of cardboard boxes, corrugated iron sheets and flattened oil drums.\n  VERB: V n, V, V-ed\n\n  Flatten out means the same as flatten.\nThe hills flattened out just south of the mountain...\nPeel off the blackened skin, flatten the pepper out and trim it into edible pieces.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P, V n P, also V P n (not pron)\n\n2. To flatten something such as a building, town, or plant means to destroy it by knocking it down or crushing it.\n...explosives capable of flattening a five-storey building.\n...areas of flattened corn.\n  VERB: V n, V-ed\n\n3. If you flatten yourself against something, you press yourself flat against it, for example to avoid getting in the way or being seen.\nHe flattened himself against a brick wall as I passed.\n  VERB: V pron-refl against/on n, also V pron-refl\n\n4. If you flatten someone, you make them fall over by hitting them violently.\n`I’ve never seen a woman flatten someone like that,’ said a crew member. `She knocked him out cold.’\n  VERB: V n


Words: flatter
Meaning:
flat.ter\n   flatter  flatters  flattering  flattered\n1. If someone flatters you, they praise you in an exaggerated way that is not sincere, because they want to please you or to persuade you to do something.\nI knew she was just flattering me.\n...a story of how the president flattered and feted him into taking his side.\n  VERB: V n, V n into -ing  disapproval\n\n2. If you flatter yourself that something good is the case, you believe that it is true, although others may disagree. If someone says to you `you’re flattering yourself’ or `don’t flatter yourself’, they mean that they disagree with your good opinion of yourself.\nI flatter myself that this campaign will put an end to the war...\nYou flatter yourself. Why would we go to such ludicrous lengths?\n  VERB: V pron-refl that, V pron-refl\n\n3. If something flatters you, it makes you appear more attractive.\nOrange and khaki flatter those with golden skin tones...\nMy philosophy of fashion is that I like to make clothes that flatter.\n  VERB: V n, V\n\n4.\n  see also flat, flattered, flattering


Words: flattered
Meaning:
flat.tered\n   flattered\n  If you are flattered by something that has happened, you are pleased about it because it makes you feel important or special.\nShe was flattered by Roberto’s long letter...\nI am flattered that they should be so supportive...\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ, oft ADJ by n, ADJ that/to-inf


Words: flattering
Meaning:
flat.ter.ing\n   flattering\n1. If something is flattering, it makes you appear more attractive.\nSome styles are so flattering that they instantly become classics...\nIt wasn’t a very flattering photograph.\n  ADJ\n\n2. If someone’s remarks are flattering, they praise you and say nice things about you.\nThere were pleasant and flattering obituaries about him...\n  ADJ


Words: flattery
Meaning:
flat.tery\n   flattery\n  Flattery consists of flattering words or behaviour.\nHe is ambitious and susceptible to flattery.\n  N-UNCOUNT  disapproval


Words: flatulence
Meaning:
flatu.lence\n   flatulence\n  Flatulence is too much gas in a person’s intestines, which causes an uncomfortable feeling.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n  = wind


Words: flatware
Meaning:
flat.ware\n   flatware\n  You can refer to the knives, forks, and spoons that you eat your food with as flatware. (AM; in BRIT, use cutlery)\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: flaunt
Meaning:
flaunt  flaunts  flaunting  flaunted\n1. If you say that someone flaunts their possessions, abilities, or qualities, you mean that they display them in a very obvious way, especially in order to try to obtain other people’s admiration.\nThey drove around in Rolls-Royces, openly flaunting their wealth...\n  VERB: V n  disapproval\n  = show off\n2. If you say that someone is flaunting themselves, you disapprove of them because they are behaving in a very confident way, or in a way that is intended to attract sexual attention.\n...tourists flaunting themselves in front of the castle guards in bra and shorts.\n  VERB: V pron-refl  disapproval


Words: flautist
Meaning:
flau.tist\n   flautist  flautists\n  A flautist is someone who plays the flute. (mainly BRIT; in AM, usually use flutist)\n  N-COUNT


Words: flavour
Meaning:
fla.vour\n   flavour  flavours  flavouring  flavoured\nin AM, use flavor\n1. The flavour of a food or drink is its taste.\nThis cheese has a crumbly texture with a strong flavour...\nI always add some paprika for extra flavour.\n  N-VAR\n\n2. If something is orange flavour or beef flavour, it is made to taste of orange or beef.\n...salt and vinegar flavour crisps.\n...now available in three new flavours.\n  N-COUNT: oft n N\n\n3. If you flavour food or drink, you add something to it to give it a particular taste.\nFlavour your favourite dishes with exotic herbs and spices...\nLime preserved in salt is a north African speciality which is used to flavour chicken dishes.\n  VERB: V n with n, V n\n\n4. If something gives you a flavour of a subject, situation, or event, it gives you a general idea of what it is like.\nThe book gives you a flavour of what alternative therapy is about.\n  N-SING: oft a N of n\n  = taste


Words: flavoured
Meaning:
fla.voured\n   flavoured\nin AM, use flavored\n  If a food is flavoured, various ingredients have been added to it so that it has a distinctive flavour.\n...meat flavoured with herbs...\nMany of these recipes are highly flavoured.\n  ADJ: oft ADJ with n


Words: flavouring
Meaning:
fla.vour.ing\n   flavouring  flavourings\nin AM, use flavoring\n  Flavourings are substances that are added to food or drink to give it a particular taste.\nOur range of herbal teas contain no preservatives, colourings or artificial flavourings.\n...lemon flavoring.\n  N-VAR


Words: flavourless
Meaning:
fla.vour.less\n   flavourless\nin AM, use flavorless\n  Flavourless food is uninteresting because it does not taste strongly of anything.\n  ADJ


Words: flavoursome
Meaning:
fla.vour.some\n   flavoursome\nin AM, use flavorsome\n  Flavoursome food has a strong, pleasant taste and is good to eat.\n  ADJ  approval


Words: flaw
Meaning:
flaw  flaws\n1. A flaw in something such as a theory or argument is a mistake in it, which causes it to be less effective or valid.\nAlmost all of these studies have serious flaws.\n  N-COUNT: oft N in n\n\n2. A flaw in someone’s character is an undesirable quality that they have.\nThe only flaw in his character seems to be a short temper.\n  N-COUNT: oft N in n\n  = defect, failing\n3. A flaw in something such as a pattern or material is a fault in it that should not be there.\n  N-COUNT\n  = imperfection


Words: flawed
Meaning:
flawed\n  Something that is flawed has a mark, fault, or mistake in it.\nThese tests were so seriously flawed as to render the results meaningless.\n  ADJ


Words: flawless
Meaning:
flaw.less\n   flawless\n  If you say that something or someone is flawless, you mean that they are extremely good and that there are no faults or problems with them.\nShe attributed her flawless complexion to the moisturiser she used...\nDiscovery’s takeoff this morning from Cape Canaveral was flawless.\n  ADJ\n  = perfect\n=>  flaw.less.ly\nEach stage of the battle was carried off flawlessly.\n  ADV: ADV with v, ADV adj


Words: flax
Meaning:
flax\n  Flax is a plant with blue flowers. Its stem is used for making thread, rope, and cloth, and its seeds are used for making linseed oil.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: flay
Meaning:
flay  flays  flaying  flayed\n  When someone flays an animal or person, they remove their skin, usually when they are dead.\nThey had to flay the great, white, fleecy animals and cut them up for food...\n  VERB: V n


Words: flea
Meaning:
flea  fleas\n  A flea is a very small jumping insect that has no wings and feeds on the blood of humans or animals.\n  N-COUNT


Words: flea market
Meaning:
flea mar.ket\n   flea market  flea markets\n  A flea market is an outdoor market which sells cheap used goods and sometimes also very old furniture.\n  N-COUNT


Words: fleapit
Meaning:
flea.pit\n   fleapit  fleapits   also flea-pit\n  If you refer to a cinema or theatre as a fleapit, you mean that it is old and does not look very clean or tidy. (BRIT HUMOROUS, INFORMAL)\n  N-COUNT  disapproval


Words: fleck
Meaning:
fleck  flecks\n  Flecks are small marks on a surface, or objects that look like small marks.\nHis hair is dark grey with flecks of ginger.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl, oft N of n\n  = speck


Words: flecked
Meaning:
flecked\n  Something that is flecked with something is marked or covered with small bits of it.\nHis hair was increasingly flecked with grey.\n  ADJ: oft ADJ with n\n  = speckled\n  Flecked is also a combining form.\nHe was attired in a plain, mud-flecked uniform.\n  COMB in ADJ


Words: fledgling
Meaning:
fledg.ling\n   fledgling  fledglings\n1. A fledgling is a young bird that has its feathers and is learning to fly.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. You use fledgling to describe a person, organization, or system that is new or without experience.\n...the sound practical advice he gave to fledgling writers.\n...Russia’s fledgling democracy.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: flee
Meaning:
flee  flees  fleeing  fled\n  If you flee from something or someone, or flee a person or thing, you escape from them. (WRITTEN)\nHe slammed the bedroom door behind him and fled...\nHe fled to Costa Rica to avoid military service.\n...refugees fleeing persecution or torture...\nThousands have been compelled to flee the country in makeshift boats.\n  VERB: no passive, V, V prep/adv, V n, V n


Words: fleece
Meaning:
fleece  fleeces  fleecing  fleeced\n1. A sheep’s fleece is the coat of wool that covers it.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A fleece is the wool that is cut off one sheep in a single piece.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. If you fleece someone, you get a lot of money from them by tricking them or charging them too much. (INFORMAL)\nShe claims he fleeced her out of thousands of pounds.\n  VERB: V n out of n, also V n\n  = swindle\n4. Fleece is a soft warm artificial fabric. A fleece is also a jacket or other garment made from this fabric.\n  N-VAR


Words: fleecy
Meaning:
fleecy\n1. Fleecy clothes, blankets, or other objects are made of a soft light material.\n...fleecy walking jackets.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n2. Something that is fleecy is light and soft in appearance.\nIt was a lovely afternoon with a blue sky and a few fleecy white clouds.\n  ADJ


Words: fleet
Meaning:
fleet  fleets\n1. A fleet is a group of ships organized to do something together, for example to fight battles or to catch fish.\n...restaurants supplied by local fishing fleets.\n  N-COUNT: usu supp N\n\n2. A fleet of vehicles is a group of them, especially when they all belong to a particular organization or business, or when they are all going somewhere together.\nWith its own fleet of trucks, the company delivers most orders overnight...\n  N-COUNT: oft N of n


Words: Fleet Street
Meaning:
Fleet Street\n  Fleet Street is used to refer to British national newspapers and to the journalists who work for them.\nHe was the highest-paid sub-editor in Fleet Street.\n...Fleet Street journalists.\n  N-PROPER


Words: fleeting
Meaning:
fleet.ing\n   fleeting\n  Fleeting is used to describe something which lasts only for a very short time.\nThe girls caught only a fleeting glimpse of the driver...\nShe wondered for a fleeting moment if he would put his arm around her.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  = brief\n=>  fleet.ing.ly\nA smile passed fleetingly across his face...\n  ADV: usu ADV with v, also ADV adj


Words: Flemish
Meaning:
Flem.ish\n   Flemish\n1. Flemish means belonging or relating to the region of Flanders in northern Europe, or to its people, language, or culture.\n  ADJ\n\n2. Flemish is a language spoken in Belgium.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: flesh
Meaning:
flesh  fleshes  fleshing  fleshed\n1. Flesh is the soft part of a person’s or animal’s body between the bones and the skin.\n...maggots which eat away dead flesh.\n...the pale pink flesh of trout and salmon.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. You can use flesh to refer to human skin and the human body, especially when you are considering it in a sexual way.\n...the sins of the flesh.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n3. The flesh of a fruit or vegetable is the soft inside part of it.\nCut the flesh from the olives and discard the stones.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n4. You use flesh and blood to emphasize that someone has human feelings or weaknesses, often when contrasting them with machines.\nI’m only flesh and blood, like anyone else.\n  PHRASE  emphasis\n\n5. If you say that someone is your own flesh and blood, you are emphasizing that they are a member of your family.\nThe kid, after all, was his own flesh and blood. He deserved a second chance.\n  PHRASE: usu v-link PHR  emphasis\n\n6. If something makes your flesh creep or makes your flesh crawl, it makes you feel disgusted, shocked or frightened.\nIt makes my flesh creep to think of it...\nI was heading on a secret mission that made my flesh crawl.\n  PHRASE: make inflects\n\n7. If you meet or see someone in the flesh, you actually meet or see them, rather than, for example, seeing them in a film or on television.\nThe first thing viewers usually say when they see me in the flesh is `You’re smaller than you look on TV.’\n  PHRASE: usu PHR after v, v-link PHR


Words: flesh out
Meaning:
flesh out\n  If you flesh out something such as a story or plan, you add details and more information to it.\nHe talked with him for an hour and a half, fleshing out the details of his original five-minute account...\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), also V n P


