# dict

Words: likely
Meaning:
like.ly\n   likely  likelier  likeliest\n1. You use likely to indicate that something is probably the case or will probably happen in a particular situation.\nExperts say a `yes’ vote is still the likely outcome...\nIf this is your first baby, it’s far more likely that you’ll get to the hospital too early...\nFrancis thought it likely John still loved her.\n  ADJ: oft it v-link ADJ that\n  = probable  !=unlikely\n  Likely is also an adverb.\nProfit will most likely have risen by about .25 million...\nVery likely he’d told them he had American business interests.\n  ADV: ADV with cl/group\n  = probably\n2. If someone or something is likely to do a particular thing, they will very probably do it.\nIn the meantime the war of nerves seems likely to continue...\nOnce people have seen that something actually works, they are much more likely to accept change.\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ to-inf\n  !=unlikely\n3. A likely person, place, or thing is one that will probably be suitable for a particular purpose.\nAt one point he had seemed a likely candidate to become Prime Minister...\nWe aimed the microscope at a likely looking target.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n4. You can say not likely as an emphatic way of saying `no’, especially when someone asks you whether you are going to do something. (INFORMAL)\n`How about having a phone out here?’.`Not likely!’\n  CONVENTION  emphasis\n  = no way


Words: liken
Meaning:
lik.en\n   liken  likens  likening  likened\n  If you liken one thing or person to another thing or person, you say that they are similar.\nThe pain is often likened to being drilled through the side of the head.\n  VERB: V n to n/-ing\n  = compare


Words: likeness
Meaning:
like.ness\n   likeness  likenesses\n1. If two things or people have a likeness to each other, they are similar to each other.\nThese myths have a startling likeness to one another...\nThere might be a likeness between their features, but their eyes were totally dissimilar.\n  N-SING: oft N to/between n\n  = similarity\n2. A likeness of someone is a picture or sculpture of them.\nThe museum displays wax likenesses of every US president.\n  N-COUNT: with poss\n\n3. If you say that a picture of someone is a good likeness, you mean that it looks just like them.\nShe says the artist’s impression is an excellent likeness of her abductor.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, usu adj N


Words: likewise
Meaning:
like.wise\n   likewise\n1. You use likewise when you are comparing two methods, states, or situations and saying that they are similar.\nAll attempts by the Socialists to woo him back were spurned. Similar overtures from the right have likewise been rejected...\n  ADV: ADV with v, ADV with cl/group\n  = similarly\n2. If you do something and someone else does likewise, they do the same or a similar thing.\nHe lent money, made donations and encouraged others to do likewise.\n  ADV: ADV after v


Words: liking
Meaning:
lik.ing\n   liking\n1. If you have a liking for something or someone, you like them.\nShe had a liking for good clothes...\nMrs Jermyn took a great liking to him.\n  N-SING: with supp, oft N for n\n\n2. If something is, for example, too fast for your liking, you would prefer it to be slower. If it is not fast enough for your liking, you would prefer it to be faster.\nShe’s asking far too many personal questions for my liking.\n  PHRASE: with tooot enough, usu group PHR\n\n3. If something is to your liking, it suits your interests, tastes, or wishes.\nLondon was more to his liking than Rome...\n  PHRASE: v-link PHR, PHR after v


Words: lilac
Meaning:
li.lac\n   lilac  lilacs  or lilac\n1. A lilac or a lilac tree is a small tree which has sweet-smelling purple, pink, or white flowers in large, cone-shaped groups.\nLilacs grew against the side wall.\n...a twig of lilac.\n  N-VAR\n\n  Lilacs are the flowers which grow on this tree.\n...a vase of tulips, lilies, lilacs and primroses...\nHer hair smelt of lilac.\n  N-VAR\n\n2. Something that is lilac is pale pinkish-purple in colour.\nAll shades of mauve, lilac, lavender and purple were fashionable.\n  COLOUR


Words: lilt
Meaning:
lilt\n  If someone’s voice has a lilt in it, the pitch of their voice rises and falls in a pleasant way, as if they were singing.\nHer voice is child-like, with a West Country lilt.\n  N-SING


Words: lilting
Meaning:
lilt.ing\n   lilting\n  A lilting voice or song rises and falls in pitch in a pleasant way.\nHe had a pleasant, lilting northern accent.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: lily of the valley
Meaning:
lily of the val.ley\n   lily of the valley  lilies of the valley  or lily of the valley\n  Lily of the valley are small plants with large leaves and small, white, bell-shaped flowers.\n  N-VAR


Words: lima bean
Meaning:
lima bean  lima beans\n  Lima beans are flat round beans that are light green in colour and are eaten as a vegetable. They are the seeds of a plant that grows in tropical parts of America.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl


Words: limb
Meaning:
limb  limbs\n1. Your limbs are your arms and legs.\nShe would be able to stretch out her cramped limbs and rest for a few hours.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl\n\n2. The limbs of a tree are its branches. (LITERARY)\nThis entire rickety structure was hanging from the limb of an enormous leafy tree.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. If someone goes out on a limb, they do something they strongly believe in even though it is risky or extreme, and is likely to fail or be criticized by other people.\nThey can see themselves going out on a limb, voting for a very controversial energy bill.\n  PHRASE: PHR after v, v-link PHR\n\n4.\nto risk life and limb: see life


Words: limber
Meaning:
lim.ber\n   limber  limbers  limbering  limbered\n=>  limber up\n  If you limber up, you prepare for an energetic physical activity such as a sport by moving and stretching your body.\nNext door, 200 girls are limbering up for their ballet exams...\nA short walk will limber up the legs.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P, V P n (not pron)\n  = warm up


Words: limbo
Meaning:
lim.bo\n   limbo\n  If you say that someone or something is in limbo, you mean that they are in a situation where they seem to be caught between two stages and it is unclear what will happen next.\nThe negotiations have been in limbo since mid-December.\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu in/into N


Words: lime
Meaning:
lime  limes\n1. A lime is a green fruit that tastes like a lemon. Limes grow on trees in tropical countries.\n...peeled slices of lime...\nAdd a few drops of lime juice.\n  N-VAR\n\n2. A lime is a large tree with pale green leaves. It is often planted in parks in towns and cities.\n...dilapidated avenues of limes.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. Lime is a substance containing calcium. It is found in soil and water.\nIf your soil is very acid, add lime.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n  Lime is also a combining form.\n...lime-rich sand.\n...old lime-stained baths.\n  COMB in ADJ


Words: lime green
Meaning:
lime green   also lime-green\n  Something that is lime green is light yellowish-green in colour.\n  COLOUR


Words: limelight
Meaning:
lime.light\n   limelight\n  If someone is in the limelight, a lot of attention is being paid to them, because they are famous or because they have done something very unusual or exciting.\nTony has now been thrust into the limelight, with a high-profile job.\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu prep the N


Words: limerick
Meaning:
lim.er.ick\n   limerick  limericks\n  A limerick is a humorous poem which has five lines.\n  N-COUNT


Words: limestone
Meaning:
lime.stone\n   limestone  limestones\n  Limestone is a whitish-coloured rock which is used for building and for making cement.\n...high limestone cliffs...\nThe local limestone is very porous.\n  N-MASS: oft N n


Words: limey
Meaning:
lim.ey\n   limey  limeys\n  Some Americans refer to British people as limeys. Some people consider this use offensive. (INFORMAL)\n  N-COUNT


Words: limit
Meaning:
lim.it\n   limit  limits  limiting  limited\n1. A limit is the greatest amount, extent, or degree of something that is possible.\nHer love for him was being tested to its limits...\nThere is no limit to how much fresh fruit you can eat in a day...\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, usu with supp\n\n2. A limit of a particular kind is the largest or smallest amount of something such as time or money that is allowed because of a rule, law, or decision.\nThe three month time limit will be up in mid-June...\nThe economic affairs minister announced limits on petrol sales.\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp\n\n3. The limit of an area is its boundary or edge.\n...the city limits of Baghdad.\n  N-COUNT: with supp\n\n4. The limits of a situation are the facts involved in it which make only some actions or results possible.\nShe has to work within the limits of a fairly tight budget...\nHe outlined the limits of British power.\n  N-PLURAL: usu N of n\n\n5. If you limit something, you prevent it from becoming greater than a particular amount or degree.\nHe limited payments on the country’s foreign debt...\nThe view was that the economy would grow by 2.25 per cent. This would limit unemployment to around 2.5 million.\n  VERB: V n, V n to n\n  = restrict\n6. If you limit yourself to something, or if someone or something limits you, the number of things that you have or do is reduced.\nIt is now accepted that men should limit themselves to 20 units of alcohol a week...\nVoters cut councillors’ pay and limited them to one staff member each.\n  VERB: V pron-refl to n/-ing, V n to n/-ing, also V pron-refl\n\n=>  lim.it.ing\nThe conditions laid down to me were not too limiting.\n  ADJ\n\n7. If something is limited to a particular place or group of people, it exists only in that place, or is had or done only by that group.\nThe protests were not limited to New York...\nEntry to this prize draw is limited to UK residents.\n  VERB: usu passive, be V-ed to n/-ing, be V-ed to n/-ing\n\n8.\n  see also age limit, limited\n9. If an area or a place is off limits, you are not allowed to go there.\nA one-mile area around the wreck is still off limits...\nThese establishments are off limits to ordinary citizens.\n  PHRASE: v-link PHR, oft PHR to n\n\n10. If someone is over the limit, they have drunk more alcohol than they are legally allowed to when driving a vehicle. (BRIT)\nIf police breathalyse me and find I am over the limit I face a long ban...\n  PHRASE: usu v-link PHR\n\n11. If you say the sky is the limit, you mean that there is nothing to prevent someone or something from being very successful.\nThey have found that, in terms of both salary and career success, the sky is the limit.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n12. If you add within limits to a statement, you mean that it is true or applies only when talking about reasonable or normal situations.\nIn the circumstances we’ll tell you what we can, within limits, of course, and in confidence.\n  PHRASE: PHR with cl\n  = within reason


Words: limitation
Meaning:
limi.ta.tion\n   limitation  limitations\n1. The limitation of something is the act or process of controlling or reducing it.\nAll the talk had been about the limitation of nuclear weapons.\n...damage limitation.\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu with supp, oft N of n\n\n2. A limitation on something is a rule or decision which prevents that thing from growing or extending beyond certain limits.\n...a limitation on the tax deductions for people who make more than $100,000 a year...\nThere is to be no limitation on the number of opposition parties.\n  N-VAR: usu N on n\n\n3. If you talk about the limitations of someone or something, you mean that they can only do some things and not others, or cannot do something very well.\nParents are too likely to blame schools for the educational limitations of their children.\n  N-PLURAL: usu with poss\n\n4. A limitation is a fact or situation that allows only some actions and makes others impossible.\nThis drug has one important limitation. Its effects only last six hours.\n  N-VAR: usu with supp


Words: limited
Meaning:
lim.it.ed\n   limited\n1. Something that is limited is not very great in amount, range, or degree.\nThey may only have a limited amount of time to get their points across...\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  = small\n2. A limited company is one whose owners are legally responsible for only a part of any money that it may owe if it goes bankrupt. (mainly BRIT BUSINESS; in AM, use incorporated)\nThey had plans to turn the club into a limited company...\nHe is the founder of International Sports Management Limited.\n  ADJ: ADJ n, n ADJ


Words: limited edition
Meaning:
lim.it.ed edi.tion\n   limited edition  limited editions\n  A limited edition is a work of art, such as a book which is only produced in very small numbers, so that each one will be valuable in the future.\n  N-COUNT


Words: limitless
Meaning:
lim.it.less\n   limitless\n  If you describe something as limitless, you mean that there is or appears to be so much of it that it will never be exhausted.\n...a cheap and potentially limitless supply of energy...\nThe opportunities are limitless.\n  ADJ\n  = endless


Words: limousine
Meaning:
lim.ou.sine\n   limousine  limousines\n  A limousine is a large and very comfortable car. Limousines are usually driven by a chauffeur and are used by very rich or important people.\n  N-COUNT


Words: limp
Meaning:
limp  limps  limping  limped  limper  limpest\n1. If a person or animal limps, they walk with difficulty or in an uneven way because one of their legs or feet is hurt.\nI wasn’t badly hurt, but I injured my thigh and had to limp...\nHe had to limp off with a leg injury.\n  VERB: V, V adv/prep\n\n  Limp is also a noun.\nA stiff knee following surgery forced her to walk with a limp.\n  N-COUNT: usu a N in sing\n\n2. If you say that something such as an organization, process, or vehicle limps along, you mean that it continues slowly or with difficulty, for example because it has been weakened or damaged.\nIn recent years the newspaper had been limping along on limited resources...\nA British battleship, which had been damaged severely in the battle of Crete, came limping into Pearl Harbor.\n  VERB: V adv/prep, V adv/prep\n\n3. If you describe something as limp, you mean that it is soft or weak when it should be firm or strong.\nA residue can build up on the hair shaft, leaving the hair limp and dull looking.\n  ADJ\n\n=>  limp.ly\nFlags and bunting hung limply in the still, warm air.\n  ADV: ADV with v\n\n4. If someone is limp, their body has no strength and is not moving, for example because they are asleep or unconscious.\nHe carried her limp body into the room and laid her on the bed...\n  ADJ


Words: limpet
Meaning:
lim.pet\n   limpet  limpets\n  A limpet is a small sea animal with a cone-shaped shell which attaches itself tightly to rocks.\n  N-COUNT


Words: limpid
Meaning:
lim.pid\n   limpid\n1. If you say that something is limpid, you mean that it is very clear and transparent. (LITERARY)\n...limpid blue eyes.\n...limpid rock-pools.\n  ADJ\n  = translucent\n2. If you describe speech, writing, or music as limpid, you like it because it is clear, simple and flowing. (LITERARY)\nHe thought the speech a model of its kind, limpid and unaffected.\n  ADJ  approval


Words: linchpin
Meaning:
linch.pin\n   linchpin  linchpins   also lynchpin\n  If you refer to a person or thing as the linchpin of something, you mean that they are the most important person or thing involved in it.\nHe’s the lynchpin of our team and crucial to my long-term plans.\n  N-COUNT: with supp, usu N of n


Words: linden
Meaning:
lin.den\n   linden  lindens\n  A linden or a linden tree is a large tree with pale green leaves which is often planted in parks in towns and cities.\n  N-VAR\n  = lime


Words: line
Meaning:
line  lines  lining  lined\n1. A line is a long thin mark which is drawn or painted on a surface.\nDraw a line down that page’s center.\n...a dotted line...\nThe ball had clearly crossed the line.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. The lines on someone’s skin, especially on their face, are long thin marks that appear there as they grow older.\nHe has a large, generous face with deep lines.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl\n  = wrinkle\n3. A line of people or things is a number of them arranged one behind the other or side by side.\nThe sparse line of spectators noticed nothing unusual.\n  N-COUNT: oft N of n\n  = row\n4. A line of people or vehicles is a number of them that are waiting one behind another, for example in order to buy something or to go in a particular direction.\nChildren clutching empty bowls form a line...\n  N-COUNT\n  = queue\n5. A line of a piece of writing is one of the rows of words, numbers, or other symbols in it.\nThe next line should read: Five days, 23.5 hours...\nTina wouldn’t have read more than three lines.\n  N-COUNT\n\n6. A line of a poem, song, or play is a group of words that are spoken or sung together. If an actor learns his or her lines for a play or film, they learn what they have to say.\n...a line from Shakespeare’s Othello: `one that loved not wisely but too well’...\nLearning lines is very easy. Acting is very difficult.\n  N-COUNT\n\n7. You can refer to a long piece of wire, string, or cable as a line when it is used for a particular purpose.\nShe put her washing on the line.\n...a piece of fishing-line...\nThe winds downed power lines.\n  N-VAR: usu with supp\n\n8. A line is a connection which makes it possible for two people to speak to each other on the telephone.\nThe telephone lines went dead...\nIt’s not a very good line. Shall we call you back Susan?...\nShe’s on the line from her home in Boston.\n  N-COUNT: oft on the N\n\n9. You can use line to refer to a telephone number which you can ring in order to get information or advice.\n...the 24-hours information line.\n  N-COUNT: oft in names after n\n\n10. A line is a route, especially a dangerous or secret one, along which people move or send messages or supplies.\nNegotiators say they’re keeping communication lines open.\n...the guerrillas’ main supply lines.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl, usu with supp\n\n11. The line in which something or someone moves is the particular route that they take, especially when they keep moving straight ahead.\nWalk in a straight line...\nThe wings were at right angles to the line of flight.\n  N-COUNT\n\n12. A line is a particular route, involving the same stations, roads, or stops along which a train or bus service regularly operates.\nThey’ve got to ride all the way to the end of the line...\nI would be able to stay on the Piccadilly Line and get off the tube at South Kensington.\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp, oft in names after n\n\n13. A railway line consists of the pieces of metal and wood which form the track that the trains travel along.\n  N-COUNT\n  = track\n14. A shipping, air, or bus line is a company which provides services for transporting people or goods by sea, air, or bus. (BUSINESS)\nThe Foreign Office offered to pay the shipping line all the costs of diverting the ship to Bermuda.\n  N-COUNT: usu supp N\n  = company\n15. A state or county line is a boundary between two states or counties. (AM)\n...the California state line.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, with supp\n  = border\n16. You can use lines to refer to the set of physical defences or the soldiers that have been established along the boundary of an area occupied by an army.\nTheir unit was shelling the German lines only seven miles away.\n  N-COUNT\n\n17. The particular line that a person has towards a problem is the attitude that they have towards it. For example, if someone takes a hard line on something, they have a firm strict policy which they refuse to change.\nForty members of the governing Conservative party rebelled, voting against the government line...\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, with supp\n\n(next)


Words: line .1
Meaning:
18. You can use line to refer to the way in which someone’s thoughts or activities develop, particularly if it is logical.\nWhat are some of the practical benefits likely to be of this line of research?\n  N-COUNT: usu N of n/-ing\n\n19. If you say that something happens along particular lines, or on particular lines, you are giving a general summary or approximate account of what happens, which may not be correct in every detail.\nHe’d said something along those lines already...\nOur forecast for 1990 was on the right lines...\n  N-PLURAL: usu along/on N with supp\n\n20. If something is organized on particular lines, or along particular lines, it is organized according to that method or principle.\n...so-called autonomous republics based on ethnic lines.\n...reorganising old factories to work along Japanese lines.\n  N-PLURAL: on/along N with supp\n\n21. Your line of business or work is the kind of work that you do. (BUSINESS)\nSo what was your father’s line of business?...\nIn my line of work I often get home too late for dinner.\n  N-COUNT: usu N of n\n\n22. A line is a particular type of product that a company makes or sells.\nHis best selling line is the cheapest lager at .1.99.\n  N-COUNT\n\n23. In a factory, a line is an arrangement of workers or machines where a product passes from one worker to another until it is finished.\n...a production line capable of producing three different products.\n  N-COUNT\n\n24. You can use line when you are referring to a number of people who are ranked according to status.\nNicholas Paul Patrick was seventh in the line of succession to the throne...\n...the man who stands next in line for the presidency.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, oft N of n, ord in N\n\n25. A particular line of people or things is a series of them that has existed over a period of time, when they have all been similar in some way, or done similar things.\nWe were part of a long line of artists...\nIt’s the latest in a long line of tragedies.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, usu N of n\n\n26. If people or things line a road, room, or other place, they are present in large numbers along its edges or sides.\nThousands of local people lined the streets and clapped as the procession went by.\n...a square lined with pubs and clubs.\n  VERB: V n, V-ed\n\n=>  -lined\n...a long tree-lined drive.\n  COMB in ADJ\n\n27. If you line a wall, container, or other object, you put a layer of something such as leaves or paper on the inside surface of it in order to make it stronger, warmer, or cleaner.\nScoop the blanket weed out and use it to line hanging baskets...\nFemale bears tend to line their dens with leaves or grass.\n  VERB: V n, V n with n\n\n=>  -lined\n...a dark, suede-lined case.\n  COMB in ADJ\n\n28. If something lines a container or area, especially an area inside a person, animal, or plant, it forms a layer on the inside surface.\n...the muscles that line the intestines.\n  VERB: V n\n\n29.\n  see also lined, lining, bottom line, branch line, dividing line, front line, party line, picket line, yellow line\n30. If you draw the line at a particular activity, you refuse to do it, because you disapprove of it or because it is more extreme than what you normally do.\nLetters have come from prisoners, declaring that they would draw the line at hitting an old lady.\n  PHRASE: V inflects, oft PHR at n/-ing\n\n31. If you draw a line between two things, you make a distinction between them.\nIt is, however, not possible to draw a distinct line between the two categories.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n  = distinguish\n32. If you do something or if it happens to you in the line of duty, you do it or it happens as part of your regular work or as a result of it.\nMore than 3,000 police officers were wounded in the line of duty last year.\n  PHRASE: PHR after v, v-link PHR\n\n33. If you refer to a method as the first line of, for example, defence or treatment, you mean that it is the first or most important method to be used in dealing with a problem.\nPassport checks will remain the first line of defence against terrorists...\n(next)


Words: line .2
Meaning:
PHRASE: PHR n\n\n34. If you are in line for something, it is likely to happen to you or you are likely to obtain it. If something is in line to happen, it is likely to happen.\nHe must be in line for a place in the Guinness Book of Records...\nPublic sector pay is also in line to be hit hard.\n  PHRASE: PHR for n, PHR to-inf\n  = due\n35. If one object is in line with others, or moves into line with others, they are arranged in a line. You can also say that a number of objects are in line or move into line.\nThe device itself was right under the vehicle, almost in line with the gear lever...\nVenus, the Sun and Earth all moved into line.\n  PHRASE: v-link PHR, PHR after v, oft PHR with n\n\n36. If one thing is in line with another, or is brought into line with it, the first thing is, or becomes, similar to the second, especially in a way that has been planned or expected.\nThe structure of our schools is now broadly in line with the major countries of the world...\nThis brings the law into line with most medical opinion.\n  PHRASE: usu PHR after v, v-link PHR, oft PHR with n\n\n37. When people stand in line or wait in line, they stand one behind the other in a line, waiting their turn for something. (AM; in BRIT, use queue)\nI had been standing in line for three hours.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n38. If you keep someone in line or bring them into line, you make them obey you, or you make them behave in the way you want them to.\nAll this was just designed to frighten me and keep me in line.\n...if the Prime Minister fails to bring rebellious Tories into line.\n  PHRASE: PHR after v\n\n39. If a machine or piece of equipment comes on line, it starts operating. If it is off line, it is not operating.\nThe new machine will go on line in June 2006...\nEvery second her equipment was off line cost the company money.\n  PHRASE: usu PHR after v\n\n40. If you do something on line, you do it using a computer or a computer network.\nThey can order their requirements on line.\n...on-line transaction processing.\n  PHRASE: PHR after v, v-link PHR, PHR n\n\n41. If something such as your job, career, or reputation is on the line, you may lose or harm it as a result of what you are doing or of the situation you are in. (INFORMAL)\nHe wouldn’t put his career on the line to help a friend.\n  PHRASE: usu PHR after v, v-link PHR\n\n42. If one thing is out of line with another, the first thing is different from the second in a way that was not agreed, planned, or expected.\n...if one set of figures is sharply out of line with a trend.\n  PHRASE: usu v-link PHR, oft PHR with n\n\n43. If someone steps out of line, they disobey someone or behave in an unacceptable way.\nAny one of my players who steps out of line will be in trouble with me as well...\nYou’re way out of line, lady.\n  PHRASE: v PHR, v-link PHR\n\n44. If you read between the lines, you understand what someone really means, or what is really happening in a situation, even though it is not said openly.\nReading between the lines, it seems neither Cole nor Ledley King will be going to Japan.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n45.\nto sign on the dotted line: see dotted\nto line your pockets: see pocket\nthe line of least resistance: see resistance\nto toe the line: see toe


Words: line dancing
Meaning:
line danc.ing\n   line dancing\n  Line dancing is a style of dancing in which people move across the floor in a line, accompanied by country and western music.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: line drawing
Meaning:
line draw.ing\n   line drawing  line drawings\n  A line drawing is a drawing which consists only of lines.\n  N-COUNT


Words: line manager
Meaning:
line man.ag.er\n   line manager  line managers\n  Your line manager is the person at work who is in charge of your department, group, or project. (BRIT BUSINESS)\n  N-COUNT


Words: line of sight
Meaning:
line of sight  lines of sight\n  Your line of sight is an imaginary line that stretches between your eye and the object that you are looking at.\nHe was trying to keep out of the bird’s line of sight.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, oft with poss


Words: line of vision
Meaning:
line of vi.sion\n   line of vision\n  Your line of vision is the same as your line of sight.\nAny crack in a car windscreen always seems to be right in the driver’s line of vision.\n  N-SING: usu with poss


Words: line up
Meaning:
line up\n1. If people line up or if you line them up, they move so that they are standing in a line.\nThe senior leaders lined up behind him in orderly rows...\nThe gym teachers lined us up against the cement walls...\nWhen he came back the sergeant had lined up the terrorists.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P, V n P, V P n (not pron)\n\n2. If you line things up, you move them into a straight row.\nI would line up my toys on this windowsill and play...\nHe finished polishing the cocktail glasses and lined them up behind the bar.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), V n P\n\n3. If you line one thing up with another, or one thing lines up with another, the first thing is moved into its correct position in relation to the second. You can also say that two things line up, or are lined up.\nYou have to line the car up with the ones beside you...\nGas cookers are adjustable in height to line up with your kitchen work top...\nMahoney had lined up two of the crates...\nWhen the images line up exactly, the projectors should be fixed in place...\nAll we have to do is to get the two pieces lined up properly.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V n P with n, V P with n, V P pl-n, pl-n V P, V-ed P, also V P n with n, V pl-n P\n  = align\n4. If you line up an event or activity, you arrange for it to happen. If you line someone up for an event or activity, you arrange for them to be available for that event or activity.\nShe lined up executives, politicians and educators to serve on the board of directors...\nBob Dylan is lining up a two-week UK tour for the New Year.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n to-inf, V P n (not pron), also V n P, V n P to-inf\n\n5.\n  see also line-up


Words: line-up
Meaning:
line-up  line-ups\n1. A line-up is a group of people or a series of things that have been gathered together to be part of a particular event.\nThe programme is back for a new series with a great line-up of musicians and comedy acts.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. At a line-up, a witness to a crime tries to identify the criminal from among a line of people.\nHe failed to identify Graham from photographs, but later picked him out of a police line-up.\n  N-COUNT\n  = identity parade


Words: lineage
Meaning:
lin.eage\n   lineage  lineages\n  Someone’s lineage is the series of families from which they are directly descended. (FORMAL)\nThey can trace their lineage directly back to the 18th century.\n  N-VAR


Words: lineal
Meaning:
lin.eal\n   lineal\n  A lineal descendant of a particular person or family is someone in a later generation who is directly related to them. (FORMAL)\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n  = direct


Words: linear
Meaning:
lin.ear\n   linear\n1. A linear process or development is one in which something changes or progresses straight from one stage to another, and has a starting point and an ending point.\n...the linear view of time, with the idea that the past is moving into the present and the present into the future.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n2. A linear shape or form consists of straight lines.\n...the sharp, linear designs of the Seventies and Eighties.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n3. Linear movement or force occurs in a straight line rather than in a curve.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: linebacker
Meaning:
line.back.er\n   linebacker  linebackers\n  In American football, a linebacker is a player who tries to stop members of the other team from scoring by tackling them.\n  N-COUNT


Words: lined
Meaning:
lined\n1. If someone’s face or skin is lined, it has lines on it as a result of old age, tiredness, worry, or illness.\nHis lined face was that of an old man.\n  ADJ\n\n2. Lined paper has lines printed across it to help you write neatly.\n  ADJ\n\n3.\n  see also line


Words: linen
Meaning:
lin.en\n   linen  linens\n1. Linen is a kind of cloth that is made from a plant called flax. It is used for making clothes and things such as tablecloths and sheets.\n...a white linen suit.\n...cottons, woolens, silks and linens.\n  N-MASS\n\n2. Linen is tablecloths, sheets, pillowcases, and similar things made of cloth that are used in the home.\n...embroidered bed linen...\n  N-UNCOUNT: also N in pl\n\n3.\nto wash your dirty linen in public: see dirty


Words: liner
Meaning:
lin.er\n   liner  liners\n  A liner is a large ship in which people travel long distances, especially on holiday.\n...luxury ocean liners.\n  N-COUNT: oft n N\n\n  see also bin liner


Words: liner note
Meaning:
lin.er note\n   liner note  liner notes\n  The liner notes on record jackets are short pieces of writing that tell you something about the record or the musicians playing on the record. (AM; in BRIT, use sleeve notes)\n  N-COUNT: usu pl


Words: linesman
Meaning:
lines.man\n   linesman  linesmen\n  A linesman is an official who assists the referee or umpire in games such as football and tennis by indicating when the ball goes over the lines around the edge of the field or court.\n  N-COUNT


Words: linger
Meaning:
lin.ger\n   linger  lingers  lingering  lingered\n1. When something such as an idea, feeling, or illness lingers, it continues to exist for a long time, often much longer than expected.\nThe scent of her perfume lingered on in the room...\nHe was ashamed. That feeling lingered, and he was never comfortable in church after that...\nHe would rather be killed in a race than die a lingering death in hospital.\n  VERB: V adv/prep, V, V-ing\n\n2. If you linger somewhere, you stay there for a longer time than is necessary, for example because you are enjoying yourself.\nCustomers are welcome to linger over coffee until around midnight...\nIt is a dreary little town where few would choose to linger.\n  VERB: V adv/prep, V


Words: lingo
Meaning:
lin.go\n   lingo  lingos\n1. People sometimes refer to a foreign language, especially one that they do not speak or understand, as a lingo. (INFORMAL)\nI don’t speak the lingo.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing\n\n2. A lingo is a range of words or a style of language which is used in a particular situation or by a particular group of people. (INFORMAL)\nIn record-business lingo, that means he wanted to buy the rights to the song and market it.\n...an author who writes in a lurid lingo, freely punctuated with crude expletives.\n  N-UNCOUNT: also a N, usu with supp


Words: lingua franca
Meaning:
lin.gua fran.ca\n   lingua franca\n  A lingua franca is a language or way of communicating which is used between people who do not speak one another’s native language. (FORMAL)\nEnglish is rapidly becoming the lingua franca of Asia.\n  N-SING


Words: linguist
Meaning:
lin.guist\n   linguist  linguists\n1. A linguist is someone who is good at speaking or learning foreign languages.\nHer brother was an accomplished linguist.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A linguist is someone who studies or teaches linguistics.\n  N-COUNT


Words: linguistic
Meaning:
lin.guis.tic\n   linguistic  linguistics\n1. Linguistic abilities or ideas relate to language or linguistics.\n...linguistic skills.\n...linguistic theory.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n=>  lin.guis.ti.cal.ly\nSomalia is an ethnically and linguistically homogeneous nation.\n  ADV: usu ADV adj/-ed\n\n2. Linguistics is the study of the way in which language works.\n...applied linguistics.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: liniment
Meaning:
lini.ment\n   liniment  liniments\n  Liniment is a liquid that you rub into your skin in order to reduce pain or stiffness.\n  N-MASS


Words: lining
Meaning:
lin.ing\n   lining  linings\n1. The lining of something such as a piece of clothing or a curtain is a layer of cloth attached to the inside of it in order to make it thicker or warmer, or in order to make it hang better.\n...a padded satin jacket with quilted lining.\n  N-VAR\n\n2. You can use lining to refer to a layer of paper, plastic, metal, or another substance that is attached to the inside of something, for example in order to protect it.\n...brake linings...\nMoss makes an attractive lining to wire baskets.\n  N-VAR\n\n3. The lining of your stomach or other organ is a layer of tissue on the inside of it.\n...a bacterium that attacks the lining of the stomach.\n...the uterine lining.\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp\n\n4.\n  see also line


Words: link
Meaning:
link  links  linking  linked\n1. If there is a link between two things or situations, there is a relationship between them, for example because one thing causes or affects the other.\n...the link between smoking and lung cancer.\n  N-COUNT: usu N between/with n\n  = connection\n2. If someone or something links two things or situations, there is a relationship between them, for example because one thing causes or affects the other.\nThe UN Security Council has linked any lifting of sanctions to compliance with the ceasefire terms...\nLiver cancer is linked to the hepatitis B virus...\nThe detention raised two distinct but closely linked questions.\n  VERB: V n to/with n, V n to/with n, V-ed\n\n  see also index-linked\n3. A link between two things or places is a physical connection between them.\n...the high-speed rail link between London and the Channel Tunnel...\nStalin insisted that the radio link with the German Foreign Ministry should remain open.\n  N-COUNT: oft supp N, usu N between/with n\n\n4. If two places or objects are linked or something links them, there is a physical connection between them.\n...the Rama Road, which links the capital, Managua, with the Caribbean coast...\nThe campus is linked by regular bus services to Coventry.\n...the Channel Tunnel linking Britain and France.\n  VERB: V n with/to n, V n with/to n, V pl-n\n\n5. A link between two people, organizations, or places is a friendly or business connection between them.\nKiev hopes to cement close links with Bonn...\nIn 1984 the long link between AC Cars and the Hurlock family was severed...\nA cabinet minister came under investigation for links to the Mafia.\n  N-COUNT: usu N with/between/to n\n\n6. A link to another person or organization is something that allows you to communicate with them or have contact with them.\nShe was my only link with the past...\nThese projects will provide vital links between companies and universities.\n  N-COUNT: N with/between/to n\n\n7. If you link one person or thing to another, you claim that there is a relationship or connection between them.\nCriminologist Dr Ann Jones has linked the crime to social circumstances...\nThey’ve linked her with various men, including magnate Donald Trump.\n  VERB: V n to/with n, V n to/with n, also V pl-n\n\n8. In computing, a link is a connection between different documents, or between different parts of the same document, using hypertext.\n  N-COUNT\n\n  Link is also a verb.\nCertainly, Andreessen didn’t think up using hypertext to link Internet documents.\n  VERB: V n\n\n9. A link is one of the rings in a chain.\n  N-COUNT\n\n10. If you link one thing with another, you join them by putting one thing through the other.\nShe linked her arm through his...\nHe linked the fingers of his hands together on his stomach.\n  VERB: V n prep/adv, V n prep/adv, also V n\n\n  If two or more people link arms, or if one person links arms with another, they stand next to each other, and each person puts their arm round the arm of the person next to them.\nShe stayed with them, linking arms with the two girls, joking with the boys.\n  PHRASE: pl-n PHR, PHR with n\n\n11.\n  see also link-up


Words: link up
Meaning:
link up\n1. If you link up with someone, you join them for a particular purpose.\nThey linked up with a series of local anti-nuclear and anti-apartheid groups...\nThe Russian and American armies linked up for the first time on the banks of the river Elbe.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P with n, pl-n V P\n  = join up\n2. If one thing is linked up to another, the two things are connected to each other.\nThe television screens of the next century will be linked up to an emerging world telecommunications grid.\n  PHRASAL VERB: usu passive, be V-ed P to n, also be V-ed P\n  = connect


Words: link-up
Meaning:
link-up  link-ups\n1. A link-up is a connection between two machines or communication systems.\n...a live satellite link-up with Bonn.\n...computer link-ups with banks in Spain, Portugal, and France.\n  N-COUNT: oft N with/between n\n\n2. A link-up is a relationship or partnership between two organizations.\n...new link-ups between school and commerce...\n  N-COUNT: oft N with/between n


Words: linkage
Meaning:
link.age\n   linkage  linkages\n1. A linkage between two things is a link or connection between them. The linkage of two things is the act of linking or connecting them.\nNo one disputes the direct linkage between the unemployment rate and crime...\nWe’re trying to establish linkages between these groups and financial institutions.\n...the creation of new research materials by the linkage of previously existing sources.\n  N-VAR: oft N between/with/of n\n\n2. Linkage is an arrangement where one country agrees to do something only if another country agrees to do something in return.\nThere is no formal linkage between the two agreements...\nHe insisted that there could be no linkage with other Mideast problems...\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N between/with n


Words: linking verb
Meaning:
link.ing verb\n   linking verb  linking verbs\nin BRIT, also use link verb\n  A linking verb is a verb which links the subject of a clause and a complement. `Be’, `seem’, and `become’ are linking verbs.\n  N-COUNT\n  = copula


Words: linking word
Meaning:
link.ing word\n   linking word  linking words\nin BRIT, also use link word\n  A linking word is a word which shows a connection between clauses or sentences. `However’ and `so’ are linking words.\n  N-COUNT


Words: linoleum
Meaning:
li.no.leum\n   linoleum\n  Linoleum is a floor covering which is made of cloth covered with a hard shiny substance.\n...a gray linoleum floor.\n...black-and-white squares of linoleum.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N n


Words: linseed oil
Meaning:
lin.seed oil\n   linseed oil\n  Linseed oil is an oil made from seeds of the flax plant. It is used to make paints and inks, or to rub into wooden surfaces to protect them.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: lint
Meaning:
lint\n1. Lint is cotton or linen fabric which you can put on your skin if you have a cut.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. Lint is small unwanted threads or fibres that collect on clothes. (mainly AM)\n  N-UNCOUNT\n  = fluff


Words: lintel
Meaning:
lin.tel\n   lintel  lintels\n  A lintel is a piece of stone or wood over a door or window which supports the bricks above the door or window.\n  N-COUNT


Words: lion
Meaning:
lion  lions\n  A lion is a large wild member of the cat family that is found in Africa. Lions have yellowish fur, and male lions have long hair on their head and neck.\n  N-COUNT


Words: lion’s share
Meaning:
lion’s share\n  If a person, group, or project gets the lion’s share of something, they get the largest part of it, leaving very little for other people.\nMilitary and nuclear research have received the lion’s share of public funding.\n  N-SING: usu the N of n


Words: lionize
Meaning:
li.on.ize\n   lionize  lionizes  lionizing  lionized\nin BRIT, also use lionise\n  If someone is lionized, they are treated as if they are very important or special by a particular group of people, often when they do not really deserve to be. (FORMAL)\nBy the 1920’s, he was lionised by literary London...\nThe press began to lionize him enthusiastically...\nIn 1936, Max Schmeling had been lionised as boxing’s great hope.\n  VERB: be V-ed, V n, be V-ed as n


Words: lip
Meaning:
lip  lips\n1. Your lips are the two outer parts of the edge of your mouth.\nWade stuck the cigarette between his lips.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl, oft poss N\n\n2. The lip of something such as a container or a high area of land is its edge.\n...the lip of the jug.\n...the lip of Mount Etna’s smouldering crater.\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp, oft N of n\n  = rim\n3. If you lick your lips, you move your tongue across your lips as you think about or taste something pleasant.\nThey licked their lips in anticipation...\nWe swallowed the chocolates in one gulp, licking our lips.\n  PHRASE: V inflects


Words: lip gloss
Meaning:
lip gloss  lip glosses\n  Lip gloss is a clear or very slightly coloured substance that some women put on their lips to make them shiny.\n  N-MASS


Words: lip service
Meaning:
lip ser.vice\n   lip service\n  If you say that someone pays lip service to an idea, you are critical of them because they say they are in favour of it, but they do not do anything to support it.\nUnhappily, he had done no more than pay lip service to their views.\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu N to n/-ing  disapproval


Words: lip-read
Meaning:
lip-read lip-reads  lip-reading\nThe form lip-read is pronounced   when it is the present tense, and   when it is the past tense and past participle.\n  If someone can lip-read, they are able to understand what someone else is saying by looking at the way the other person’s lips move as they speak, without actually hearing any of the words.\nThey are not given hearing aids or taught to lip-read.\n  VERB: V\n\n=>  lip read.ing\nThe teacher should not move around too much as this makes lip reading more difficult.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: liposuction
Meaning:
lipo.suc.tion\n   liposuction\n  Liposuction is a form of cosmetic surgery where fat is removed from a particular area of the body by dissolving it with special chemicals and then sucking it out with a tube.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: lippy
Meaning:
lip.py\n   lippy  lippies\n1. If someone is lippy, they speak to other people in a way that shows no respect. (BRIT INFORMAL)\nBruce Willis plays a lippy cop battling it out with a female partner.\n  ADJ\n\n2. Lippy is short for lipstick. (BRIT INFORMAL)\n  N-MASS


Words: lipstick
Meaning:
lip.stick\n   lipstick  lipsticks\n  Lipstick is a coloured substance in the form of a stick which women put on their lips.\nShe was wearing red lipstick.\n  N-MASS\n\n  A lipstick is a small tube containing this substance.\n  N-COUNT


Words: liquefy
Meaning:
liq.ue.fy\n   liquefy  liquefies  liquefying  liquefied\n  When a gas or solid substance liquefies or is liquefied, it changes its form and becomes liquid.\nHeat the jam until it liquefies...\nYou can liquefy the carbon dioxide to separate it from the other constituents.\n...a truck carrying liquefied petroleum gas.\n  VERB: V, V n, V-ed


Words: liqueur
Meaning:
li.queur\n   liqueur  liqueurs\n  A liqueur is a strong alcoholic drink with a sweet taste. You drink it after a meal.\n...liqueurs such as Grand Marnier and Kirsch.\n...small glasses of liqueur.\n  N-MASS\n\n  A liqueur is a glass of liqueur.\n`What about a liqueur with your coffee?’ suggested the waitress.\n  N-COUNT


Words: liquid
Meaning:
liq.uid\n   liquid  liquids\n1. A liquid is a substance which is not solid but which flows and can be poured, for example water.\nDrink plenty of liquid...\nBoil for 20 minutes until the liquid has reduced by half...\nSolids turn to liquids at certain temperatures.\n  N-MASS\n\n2. A liquid substance is in the form of a liquid rather than being solid or a gas.\nWash in warm water with liquid detergent.\n...liquid nitrogen...\nFats are solid at room temperature, and oil is liquid at room temperature.\n  ADJ\n\n3. Liquid assets are the things that a person or company owns which can be quickly turned into cash if necessary. (BUSINESS)\nThe bank had sufficient liquid assets to continue operations.\n  ADJ


Words: liquid crystal
Meaning:
liq.uid crys.tal\n   liquid crystal  liquid crystals\n  A liquid crystal is a liquid that has some of the qualities of crystals, for example reflecting light from different directions in different ways.\n  N-COUNT


Words: liquid crystal display
Meaning:
liq.uid crys.tal dis.play\n   liquid crystal display  liquid crystal displays   also liquid-crystal display\n  A liquid crystal display is a display of information on a screen, which uses liquid crystals that become visible when electricity is passed through them.\n  N-COUNT\n  = LCD


Words: liquidate
Meaning:
liq.ui.date\n   liquidate  liquidates  liquidating  liquidated\n1. To liquidate a company is to close it down and sell all its assets, usually because it is in debt. (BUSINESS)\nA unanimous vote was taken to liquidate the company.\n  VERB: V n\n\n=>  liq.ui.da.tion      liquidations\nThe company went into liquidation...\nThe number of company liquidations rose 11 per cent.\n  N-VAR\n\n2. If a company liquidates its assets, its property such as buildings or machinery is sold in order to get money. (BUSINESS)\nThe company closed down operations and began liquidating its assets in January.\n  VERB: V n\n\n3. If someone in a position of power liquidates people who are causing problems, they get rid of them, usually by killing them.\nThey have not hesitated in the past to liquidate their rivals.\n  VERB: V n\n  = eliminate


Words: liquidator
Meaning:
liq.ui.da.tor\n   liquidator  liquidators\n  A liquidator is a person who is responsible for settling the affairs of a company that is being liquidated. (BUSINESS)\n  N-COUNT


Words: liquidity
Meaning:
li.quid.ity\n   liquidity\n  In finance, a company’s liquidity is the amount of cash or liquid assets it has easily available. (BUSINESS)\nThe company maintains a high degree of liquidity.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N n


Words: liquidize
Meaning:
liq.uid.ize\n   liquidize  liquidizes  liquidizing  liquidized\nin BRIT, also use liquidise\n  If you liquidize food, you process it using an electrical appliance in order to make it liquid.\n  VERB


Words: liquidizer
Meaning:
liq.uid.iz.er\n   liquidizer  liquidizers\nin BRIT, also use liquidiser\n  A liquidizer is an electric machine that you use to liquidize food. (mainly BRIT; in AM, use blender)\n  N-COUNT


Words: liquor
Meaning:
liq.uor\n   liquor  liquors\n  Strong alcoholic drinks such as whisky, vodka, and gin can be referred to as liquor. (AM; in BRIT, use spirits)\nThe room was filled with cases of liquor.\n...intoxicating liquors.\n  N-MASS


Words: liquor store
Meaning:
liq.uor store\n   liquor store  liquor stores\n  A liquor store is a store which sells beer, wine, and other alcoholic drinks. (AM; in BRIT, use off-licence)\n  N-COUNT


Words: lira
Meaning:
lira  lire\n  The lira was the unit of money that is used in Italy. Turkey and Syria also have a unit of money called a lira. In 2002 it was replaced by the euro in Italy.\nIt only cost me 400,000 lire...\nCoin-operated telephones took 100, 200 and 500 lire coins.\n  N-COUNT: usu num N\n\n  The lira was also used to refer to the Italian currency system, and it also sometimes refers to the currency system of other countries which use the lira.\nThe franc had been under no pressure compared with the lira and the pound.\n  N-SING: the N


Words: lisp
Meaning:
lisp  lisps  lisping  lisped\n1. If someone has a lisp, they pronounce the sounds `s’ and `z’ as if they were `th’. For example, they say `thing’ instead of `sing’.\nHe has a slight lisp.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing\n\n2. If someone lisps, they say something with a lisp or speak with a lisp.\nThe little man, upset, was lisping badly...\nBochmann lisped his congratulations.\n...her low, lisping voice.\n  VERB: V, V n, V-ing


Words: list
Meaning:
list  lists  listing  listed\n1. A list of things such as names or addresses is a set of them which all belong to a particular category, written down one below the other.\nWe are making a list of the top ten men we would not want to be married to...\nThere were six names on the list.\n...fine wine from the hotel’s exhaustive wine list.\n  N-COUNT: oft N of n\n\n  see also Civil List, hit list, honours list, laundry list, mailing list, shopping list, waiting list\n2. A list of things is a set of them that you think of as being in a particular order.\nHigh on the list of public demands is to end military control of broadcasting...\nI would have thought if they were looking for redundancies I would be last on the list...\n`First City’ joined a long list of failed banks.\n  N-COUNT: oft N of n\n\n3. To list several things such as reasons or names means to write or say them one after another, usually in a particular order.\nManufacturers must list ingredients in order of the amount used.\n  VERB: V n\n\n4. To list something in a particular way means to include it in that way in a list or report.\nA medical examiner has listed the deaths as homicides...\nHe was not listed under his real name on the residents panel.\n  VERB: V n prep, V-ed\n\n5. If a company is listed, or if it lists, on a stock exchange, it obtains an official quotation for its shares so that people can buy and sell them. (BUSINESS)\nIt will list on the London Stock Exchange next week with a value of 130 million pounds.\n  VERB: V, also V n\n\n6.\n  see also listed, listing


Words: list price
Meaning:
list price  list prices\n  The list price of an item is the price which the manufacturer suggests that a shopkeeper should charge for it.\n  N-COUNT


Words: listed
Meaning:
list.ed\n   listed\n  In Britain, a listed building is protected by law against being destroyed or altered because it is historically or architecturally important.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: listed company
Meaning:
list.ed com.pa.ny\n   listed company listed companies\n  A listed company is a company whose shares are quoted on a stock exchange. (BUSINESS)\n  N-COUNT


Words: listen
Meaning:
lis.ten\n   listen  listens  listening  listened\n1. If you listen to someone who is talking or to a sound, you give your attention to them or it.\nHe spent his time listening to the radio...\nSonia was not listening.\n  VERB: V to n, V\n\n=>  lis.ten.er      listeners\nOne or two listeners had fallen asleep while the President was speaking.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If you listen for a sound, you keep alert and are ready to hear it if it occurs.\nWe listen for footsteps approaching...\nThey’re both asleep upstairs, but you don’t mind listening just in case of trouble, do you?\n  VERB: V for n, V\n\n  Listen out means the same as listen. (BRIT)\nI didn’t really listen out for the lyrics.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P for n, also V P\n\n3. If you listen to someone, you do what they advise you to do, or you believe them.\nAnne, you need to listen to me this time...\nWhen I asked him to stop, he would not listen.\n  VERB: V to n, V\n\n4. You say listen when you want someone to pay attention to you because you are going to say something important.\nListen, I finish at one.\n  CONVENTION\n  = look


Words: listen in
Meaning:
listen in\n  If you listen in to a private conversation, you secretly listen to it.\nHe assigned federal agents to listen in on Martin Luther King’s phone calls.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P to/on n, also V P\n  = eavesdrop


Words: listenable
Meaning:
lis.ten.able\n   listenable\n  If something is listenable, it is very pleasant to listen to.\nIt’s an eminently listenable CD.\n  ADJ


Words: listener
Meaning:
lis.ten.er\n   listener  listeners\n1. A listener is a person who listens to the radio or to a particular radio programme.\nI’m a regular listener to her show...\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If you describe someone as a good listener, you mean that they listen carefully and sympathetically to you when you talk, for example about your problems.\nDr Brian was a good listener...\nIf you can be a sympathetic listener, it may put your own problems in perspective.\n  N-COUNT: adj N\n\n3.\n  see also listen


Words: listing
Meaning:
list.ing\n   listing  listings\n  A listing is a published list, or an item in a published list.\nA full listing of the companies will be published quarterly...\n  N-COUNT


Words: listless
Meaning:
list.less\n   listless\n  Someone who is listless has no energy or enthusiasm.\nHe was listless and pale and wouldn’t eat much.\n  ADJ\n\n=>  list.less.ly\nUsually, you would just sit listlessly, too hot to do anything else.\n  ADV: ADV with v\n\n=>  list.less.ness\nAmy was distressed by Helen’s listlessness.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: litany
Meaning:
lita.ny\n   litany  litanies\n1. If you describe what someone says as a litany of things, you mean that you have heard it many times before, and you think it is boring or insincere.\nShe remained in the doorway, listening to his litany of complaints against her client.\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp, oft N of n  disapproval\n\n2. A litany is part of a church service in which the priest says a set group of words and the people reply, also using a set group of words.\n  N-COUNT


Words: lite
Meaning:
lite\n  Lite is used to describe foods or drinks that contain few calories or low amounts of sugar, fat, or alcohol.\n...lite beer.\n...lite yogurt.\n  ADJ


Words: literacy
Meaning:
lit.era.cy\n   literacy\n  Literacy is the ability to read and write.\nMany adults have some problems with literacy and numeracy...\nThe literacy rate there is the highest in Central America.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: literal
Meaning:
lit.er.al\n   literal\n1. The literal sense of a word or phrase is its most basic sense.\nIn many cases, the people there are fighting, in a literal sense, for their homes.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n2. A literal translation is one in which you translate each word of the original work rather than giving the meaning of each expression or sentence using words that sound natural.\nA literal translation of the name Tapies is `walls.’\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n3. You use literal to describe someone who uses or understands words in a plain and simple way.\nDennis is a very literal person.\n  ADJ\n\n4. If you describe something as the literal truth or a literal fact, you are emphasizing that it is true.\nHe was saying no more than the literal truth.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n  emphasis


Words: literally
Meaning:
lit.er.al.ly\n   literally\n1. You can use literally to emphasize a statement. Some careful speakers of English think that this use is incorrect.\nWe’ve got to get the economy under control or it will literally eat us up...\nThe views are literally breath-taking.\n  ADV: ADV with cl/group (not last in cl), ADV before v  emphasis\n\n2. You use literally to emphasize that what you are saying is true, even though it seems exaggerated or surprising.\nPutting on an opera is a tremendous enterprise involving literally hundreds of people...\nI literally crawled to the car.\n  ADV: ADV with cl/group (not last in cl), ADV before v  emphasis\n\n3. If a word or expression is translated literally, its most simple or basic meaning is translated.\nThe word `volk’ translates literally as `folk’...\nA stanza is, literally, a room.\n  ADV: ADV with v, ADV with cl\n\n4. If you take something literally, you think that a word or expression is being used with its most simple or basic meaning.\nIf you tell a person to `step on it’ or `throw on your coat,’ they may take you literally, with disastrous consequences.\n  PHRASE: V inflects


Words: literary
Meaning:
lit.er.ary\n   literary\n1. Literary means concerned with or connected with the writing, study, or appreciation of literature.\nShe’s the literary editor of the `Sunday Review’.\n...a literary masterpiece.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n2. Literary words and expressions are often unusual in some way and are used to create a special effect in a piece of writing such as a poem, speech, or novel.\n  ADJ


Words: literary criticism
Meaning:
lit.er.ary criti.cism\n   literary criticism\n  Literary criticism is the academic study of the techniques used in the creation of literature.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: literate
Meaning:
lit.er.ate\n   literate\n1. Someone who is literate is able to read and write.\nOver one-quarter of the adult population are not fully literate.\n  ADJ\n  !=illiterate\n2. If you describe someone as literate, you mean that they are intelligent and well-educated, especially about literature and the arts.\nScientists should be literate and articulate as well as able to handle figures...\n  ADJ  approval\n\n3. If you describe someone as literate in a particular subject, especially one that many people do not know anything about, you mean that they have a good knowledge and understanding of that subject.\nHead teachers need to be financially literate...\n  ADJ: usu adv ADJ\n\n  see also computer-literate


Words: literati
Meaning:
lit.era.ti\n   literati\n  Literati are well-educated people who are interested in literature.\n...the Australian storyteller who was loved by readers but disdained by the literati.\n  N-PLURAL


Words: literature
Meaning:
lit.era.ture\n   literature  literatures\n1. Novels, plays, and poetry are referred to as literature, especially when they are considered to be good or important.\n...classic works of literature.\n...a Professor of English Literature...\nIt may not be great literature but it certainly had me riveted!...\nThe book explores the connection between American ethnic and regional literatures.\n  N-VAR\n\n2. The literature on a particular subject of study is all the books and articles that have been published about it.\nThe literature on immigration policy is almost unrelievedly critical of the state...\nThis work is documented in the scientific literature.\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu with supp\n\n3. Literature is written information produced by people who want to sell you something or give you advice.\nI am sending you literature from two other companies that provide a similar service...\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu with supp


Words: lithe
Meaning:
lithe\n  A lithe person is able to move and bend their body easily and gracefully.\n...a lithe young gymnast...\nHis walk was lithe and graceful.\n  ADJ


Words: lithograph
Meaning:
litho.graph\n   lithograph  lithographs\n  A lithograph is a printed picture made by the method of lithography.\n  N-COUNT


Words: lithography
Meaning:
li.thog.ra.phy\n   lithography\n  Lithography is a method of printing in which a piece of stone or metal is specially treated so that ink sticks to some parts of it and not to others.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n=>  litho.graph.ic\nThe book’s 85 colour lithographic plates look staggeringly fresh and bold.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: Lithuanian
Meaning:
Lithua.nian\n   Lithuanian  Lithuanians\n1. Lithuanian means belonging or relating to Lithuania, or to its people, language, or culture.\n  ADJ\n\n2. A Lithuanian is a Lithuanian citizen, or a person of Lithuanian origin.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. Lithuanian is the language spoken by people who live in Lithuania.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: litigant
Meaning:
liti.gant\n   litigant  litigants\n  A litigant is a person who is involved in a civil legal case, either because they are making a formal complaint about someone, or because a complaint is being made about them. (LEGAL)\n  N-COUNT


Words: litigate
Meaning:
liti.gate\n   litigate  litigates  litigating  litigated\n  To litigate means to take legal action. (LEGAL)\n...the cost of litigating personal injury claims in the county court...\nIf we have to litigate, we will.\n  VERB: V n, V


Words: litigation
Meaning:
liti.ga.tion\n   litigation\n  Litigation is the process of fighting or defending a case in a civil court of law.\nThe settlement ends more than four years of litigation on behalf of the residents.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: litigator
Meaning:
liti.ga.tor\n   litigator  litigators\n  A litigator is a lawyer who helps someone take legal action. (LEGAL)\n  N-COUNT


Words: litigious
Meaning:
li.ti.gious\n   litigious\n  Someone who is litigious often makes formal complaints about people to a civil court of law. (FORMAL)\n  ADJ


Words: litmus test
Meaning:
lit.mus test\n   litmus test  litmus tests\n  If you say that something is a litmus test of something, you mean that it is an effective and definite way of proving it or measuring it.\nEnding the fighting must be the absolute priority, the litmus test of the agreements’ validity...\nThe success of wind power represents a litmus test for renewable energy.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, usu N of/for n


Words: litre
Meaning:
li.tre\n   litre  litres\nin AM, use liter\n  A litre is a metric unit of volume that is a thousand cubic centimetres. It is equal to 1.76 British pints or 2.11 American pints.\n...15 litres of water...\nThis tax would raise petrol prices by about 3.5p per litre.\n...a Ford Escort with a 1.9-litre engine.\n  N-COUNT: num N, oft N of n


Words: litter
Meaning:
lit.ter\n   litter  litters  littering  littered\n1. Litter is rubbish that is left lying around outside.\nIf you see litter in the corridor, pick it up...\nOn Wednesday we cleared a beach and woodland of litter.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n  = rubbish\n2. A litter of things is a quantity of them that are lying around in a disorganized way.\nHe pushed aside the litter of books and papers and laid two places at the table.\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu N of n\n\n3. If a number of things litter a place, they are scattered untidily around it or over it.\nGlass from broken bottles litters the pavement.\n  VERB: V n\n\n=>  lit.tered\nThe entrance hall is littered with toys and wellington boots...\nConcrete purpose-built resorts are littered across the mountainsides.\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ prep\n\n4. If something is littered with things, it contains many examples of it.\nHistory is littered with men and women spurred into achievement by a father’s disregard...\nCharles’ speech is littered with lots of marketing buzzwords like `package’ and `product’.\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ with n\n\n5. A litter is a group of animals born to the same mother at the same time.\n...a litter of pups.\n  N-COUNT\n\n6. Litter is a dry substance that you put in the container where you want your cat to go to the toilet.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: litter bin
Meaning:
lit.ter bin\n   litter bin  litter bins\n  A litter bin is a container, usually in a street, park, or public building, into which people can put rubbish. (BRIT; in AM, use trash can)\n  N-COUNT\n  = rubbish bin


Words: little
Meaning:
ADJECTIVE USES\nlit.tle  ADJECTIVE USES\n   little  littler  littlest\nThe comparative littler and the superlative littlest are sometimes used in spoken English for meanings 1, 3, and 4, but otherwise the comparative and superlative forms of the adjective little are not used.\n1. Little things are small in size. Little is slightly more informal than small.\nWe sat around a little table, eating and drinking wine.\n...the little group of art students.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  = small  !=big\n2. You use little to indicate that someone or something is small, in a pleasant and attractive way.\nShe’s got the nicest little house not far from the library.\n...a little old lady...\nJames usually drives a little hatchback.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n3. A little child is young.\nI have a little boy of 8...\nWhen I was little I was very hyper-active.\n  ADJ\n\n4. Your little sister or brother is younger than you are.\nWhenever Daniel’s little sister was asked to do something she always had a naughty reply.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n  !=big\n5. A little distance, period of time, or event is short in length.\nJust go down the road a little way, turn left, and cross the bridge...\nWhy don’t we just wait a little while and see what happens...\nI’ve been wanting to have a little talk with you.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n  !=long\n6. A little sound or gesture is quick.\nI had a little laugh to myself...\nShe stood up quickly, giving a little cry of astonishment...\nHe turned with a little nod and I watched him walk away.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n7. You use little to indicate that something is not serious or important.\n...irritating little habits...\nHarry found himself getting angry over little things that had never bothered him before.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\nDETERMINER, QUANTIFIER, AND ADVERB USES\nlit.tle  DETERMINER, QUANTIFIER, AND ADVERB USES\n   little\n1. You use little to indicate that there is only a very small amount of something. You can use `so’, `too’, and `very’ in front of little.\nI had little money and little free time...\nI find that I need very little sleep these days...\nThere is little doubt that a diet high in fibre is more satisfying...\nSo far little progress has been made towards ending the fighting...\n  DET: DET n-uncount\n\n  Little is also a quantifier.\nLittle of the existing housing is of good enough quality...\n  QUANT: QUANT of def-n\n  !=much\n  Little is also a pronoun.\nIn general, employers do little to help the single working mother...\nLittle is known about his childhood.\n  PRON\n\n2. Little means not very often or to only a small extent.\nOn their way back to Marseille they spoke very little...\n  ADV: ADV with v\n\n3. A little of something is a small amount of it, but not very much. You can also say a very little.\nMrs Caan needs a little help getting her groceries home...\nA little food would do us all some good...\nI shall be only a very little time.\n  DET: DET n-uncount\n\n  Little is also a pronoun.\nThey get paid for it. Not much. Just a little.\n  PRON\n\n  Little is also a quantifier.\nPour a little of the sauce over the chicken...\nI’m sure she won’t mind sparing us a little of her time.\n  QUANT: QUANT of def-n-uncount/sing\n\n4. If you do something a little, you do it for a short time.\nHe walked a little by himself in the garden.\n  ADV: ADV after v\n\n5. A little or a little bit means to a small extent or degree.\nHe complained a little of a nagging pain between his shoulder blades...\nHe was a little bit afraid of his father’s reaction...\nIf you have to drive when you are tired, go a little more slowly than you would normally...\n  ADV: ADV after v, ADV adj/adv\n\n6. If something happens little by little, it happens very gradually.\nIn the beginning he had felt well, but little by little he was becoming weaker...\n  PHRASE: PHR with cl\n  = gradually


Words: little finger
Meaning:
lit.tle fin.ger\n   little finger  little fingers\n  Your little finger is the smallest finger on your hand.\n  N-COUNT


Words: Little League
Meaning:
Lit.tle League\n   Little League\n  The Little League is an organization of children’s baseball teams that compete against each other in the United States.\n  N-PROPER


Words: littoral
Meaning:
lit.to.ral\n   littoral  littorals\n  In geography, the littoral means the coast. (TECHNICAL)\n...the countries of the north African littoral.\n...the littoral countries of the Persian Gulf.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, usu the N, N n


Words: liturgical
Meaning:
li.tur.gi.cal\n   liturgical\n  Liturgical things are used in or relate to church services. (FORMAL)\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: liturgy
Meaning:
lit.ur.gy\n   liturgy  liturgies\n  A liturgy is a particular form of religious service, usually one that is set and approved by a branch of the Christian Church.\nA clergyman read the liturgy from the prayer-book.\n...the many similarities in ministry, liturgy and style between the two churches.\n  N-VAR


Words: live
Meaning:
ADJECTIVE USES\n   live\n1. Live animals or plants are alive, rather than being dead or artificial.\n...a protest against the company’s tests on live animals.\n...baskets of live chickens.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n  !=dead\n2. A live television or radio programme is one in which an event or performance is broadcast at exactly the same time as it happens, rather than being recorded first.\nMurray was a guest on a live radio show.\n...we were laughing and gossiping, oblivious to the fact that we were on live TV...\nA broadcast of the speech was heard in San Francisco, but it is not known if this was live.\n  ADJ\n\n  Live is also an adverb.\nIt was broadcast live in 50 countries...\nWe’ll be going live to Nottingham later in this bulletin.\n  ADV: ADV after v\n\n3. A live performance is given in front of an audience, rather than being recorded and then broadcast or shown in a film.\nThe Rainbow has not hosted live music since the end of 1981...\nA live audience will pose the questions...\nThe band was forced to cancel a string of live dates.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n  Live is also an adverb.\nKat Bjelland has been playing live with her new band.\n  ADV: ADV after v\n\n4. A live recording is a recording of a band playing at a concert, rather than in a studio.\nThis is my favourite live album of all time...\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n5. A live wire or piece of electrical equipment is directly connected to a source of electricity.\nThe plug broke, exposing live wires...\nHe warned others about the live electric cables as they climbed to safety.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n6. Live bullets are made of metal, rather than rubber or plastic, and are intended to kill people rather than injure them.\nThey trained in the jungle using live ammunition.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n7. A live bomb or missile is one which has not yet exploded.\nA live bomb had earlier been defused.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\nVERB USES\n   live  lives  living  lived\n\nPlease look at category 8 to see if the expression you are looking for is shown under another headword.\n1. If someone lives in a particular place or with a particular person, their home is in that place or with that person.\nShe has lived here for 10 years...\nShe always said I ought to live alone...\nWhere do you live?...\nHe still lives with his parents.\n  VERB: V adv/prep, V adv/prep, V adv/prep, V adv/prep\n\n2. If you say that someone lives in particular circumstances or that they live a particular kind of life, you mean that they are in those circumstances or that they have that kind of life.\nWe lived quite grandly...\nCompared to people living only a few generations ago, we have greater opportunities to have a good time...\nWe can start living a normal life again now.\n  VERB: V adv/prep, V adv/prep, V n\n\n3. If you say that someone lives for a particular thing, you mean that it is the most important thing in their life.\nHe lived for his work.\n  VERB: V for n\n\n4. To live means to be alive. If someone lives to a particular age, they stay alive until they are that age.\nHe’s got a terrible disease and will not live long...\nHe lived to be 103...\nMatilda was born in northern Italy in 1046 and apparently lived to a ripe old age...\nThe blue whale is the largest living thing on the planet...\n  VERB: V adv, V to-inf, V to n, V-ing\n\n5. If people live by doing a particular activity, they get the money, food, or clothing they need by doing that activity.\n...the last indigenous people to live by hunting...\nThese crimes were committed largely by professional criminals who lived by crime.\n  VERB: no cont, V by -ing, V by -ing\n\n6. If you live by a particular rule, belief, or ideal, you behave in the way in which it says you should behave.\nThey live by the principle that we are here to add what we can to life, not to get what we want from it.\n  VERB: V by n\n\n7.\n  see also living\n8.\nto live hand to mouth: see hand\nto live beyond your means: see means\nto live in sin: see sin


Words: live down
Meaning:
live down\n  If you are unable to live down a mistake, failure, or bad reputation, you are unable to make people forget about it.\nLabour was also unable to live down its reputation as the party of high taxes...\nI thought I’d never live it down.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), V n P


Words: live off
Meaning:
live off\n  If you live off another person, you rely on them to provide you with money.\n...a man who all his life had lived off his father.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n


Words: live on
Meaning:
live on\n  If someone lives on, they continue to be alive for a long time after a particular point in time or after a particular event.\nI know my life has been cut short by this terrible virus but Daniel will live on after me.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P\n\nlive on   or live off\n1. If you live on or live off a particular amount of money, you have that amount of money to buy things.\nEven with efficient budgeting, most students are unable to live on .4000 per year...\nYou’ll have enough to live on...\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P amount, V P amount\n\n2. If you live on or live off a particular source of income, that is where you get the money that you need.\nThe proportion of Americans living on welfare rose...\nHe’s been living off state benefits.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n, V P n\n\n3. If an animal lives on or lives off a particular food, this is the kind of food that it eats.\nThe fish live on the plankton...\nMost species live off aquatic snails.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n, V P n\n\n4. If you say that a person lives on or lives off a particular kind of food, you mean that it seems to be the only thing that they eat, for example because they like it a lot or because they do not have other foods.\nThe children live on chips...\nTheir room was bare of furniture and they lived off porridge.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n, V P n


Words: live out
Meaning:
live out\n1. If you live out your life in a particular place or in particular circumstances, you stay in that place or in those circumstances until the end of your life or until the end of a particular period of your life.\nGein did not stand trial but lived out his days in a mental asylum...\nI couldn’t live my life out on tour like he does.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), V n P\n\n2. If you live out a dream or idea, you do the things that you have thought about.\nHe began living out his rock `n’ roll fantasy during his last year in law school...\nI suppose some people create an idea of who they want to be, and then they live it out.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), V n P


Words: live through
Meaning:
live through\n  If you live through an unpleasant event or change, you experience it and survive.\nWe are too young to have lived through the war...\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n


Words: live together
Meaning:
live together\n  If two people are not married but live in the same house and have a sexual relationship, you can say that they live together.\nThe couple had been living together for 16 years.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P


Words: live up to
Meaning:
live up to\n  If someone or something lives up to what they were expected to be, they are as good as they were expected to be.\nSales have not lived up to expectations this year...\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P P n


Words: live wire
Meaning:
live wire  live wires\n  If you describe someone as a live wire, you mean that they are lively and energetic. (INFORMAL)\n  N-COUNT


Words: live-in
Meaning:
live-in\n1. A live-in partner is someone who lives in the same house as the person they are having a sexual relationship with, but is not married to them.\nShe shared the apartment with her live-in partner.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n2. A live-in servant or other domestic worker sleeps and eats in the house where they work.\nI have a live-in nanny for my youngest daughter.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: livelihood
Meaning:
live.li.hood\n   livelihood  livelihoods\n  Your livelihood is the job or other source of income that gives you the money to buy the things you need.\n...fishermen who depend on the seas for their livelihood...\nAs a result of this conflict he lost both his home and his means of livelihood.\n  N-VAR


Words: lively
Meaning:
live.ly\n   lively  livelier  liveliest\n1. You can describe someone as lively when they behave in an enthusiastic and cheerful way.\nJosephine was bright, lively and cheerful.\n  ADJ\n\n=>  live.li.ness\nAmy could sense his liveliness even from where she stood.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. A lively event or a lively discussion, for example, has lots of interesting and exciting things happening or being said in it.\nIt turned out to be a very interesting session with a lively debate...\nTheir 4-1 win in Honduras was a particularly lively affair.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n=>  live.li.ness\nSome may enjoy the liveliness of such a restaurant for a few hours a day or week.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n3. Someone who has a lively mind is intelligent and interested in a lot of different things.\nShe was a very well educated girl with a lively mind, a girl with ambition.\n...her very lively imagination.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: liven
Meaning:
liv.en\n   liven  livens  livening  livened\n=>  liven up\n\n1. If a place or event livens up, or if something livens it up, it becomes more interesting and exciting.\nHow could we decorate the room to liven it up?...\nThe multicoloured rag rug was chosen to liven up the grey carpet...\nThe arena livens up only on Saturdays and Sundays when a flea market is open there.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V n P, V P n (not pron), V P\n\n2. If people liven up, or if something livens them up, they become more cheerful and energetic.\nTalking about her daughters livens her up...\nGeorge livens up after midnight, relaxing a little.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V n P, V P\n  = perk up


Words: liver
Meaning:
liv.er\n   liver  livers\n1. Your liver is a large organ in your body which processes your blood and helps to clean unwanted substances out of it.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. Liver is the liver of some animals, especially lambs, pigs, and cows, which is cooked and eaten.\n...grilled calves’ liver.\n  N-VAR


Words: liveried
Meaning:
liv.eried\n   liveried\n  A liveried servant is one who wears a special uniform.\nThe tea was served to guests by liveried footmen.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: livery
Meaning:
liv.ery\n   livery  liveries\n1. A servant’s livery is the special uniform that he or she wears.\n  N-VAR\n\n2. The livery of a particular company is the special design or set of colours associated with it that is put on its products and possessions.\n...buffet cars in the railway company’s bright red and yellow livery.\n  N-COUNT: usu with poss


Words: livestock
Meaning:
live.stock\n   livestock\n  Animals such as cattle and sheep which are kept on a farm are referred to as livestock.\nThe heavy rains and flooding killed scores of livestock.\n  N-UNCOUNT-COLL


Words: livid
Meaning:
liv.id\n   livid\n1. Someone who is livid is extremely angry. (INFORMAL)\nI am absolutely livid about it...\nShe is livid that I have invited Dick.\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ\n  = furious\n2. Something that is livid is an unpleasant dark purple or red colour.\nThe scarred side of his face was a livid red.\n  ADJ


Words: living
Meaning:
liv.ing\n   living  livings\n1. The work that you do for a living is the work that you do in order to earn the money that you need.\nFather never talked about what he did for a living...\nHe earns his living doing all kinds of things.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing\n\n2. You use living when you are talking about the quality of people’s daily lives.\nOlivia has always been a model of healthy living.\n...the stresses of urban living.\n  N-UNCOUNT: with supp\n\n3. You use living to talk about the places where people relax when they are not working.\nThe spacious living quarters were on the second floor...\nThe study links the main living area to the kitchen.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n4. The living are people who are alive, rather than people who have died.\nThe young man is dead. We have only to consider the living.\n  N-PLURAL: the N\n  !=dead\n5.\nin living memory: see memory


Words: living room
Meaning:
liv.ing room\n   living room  living rooms   also living-room\n  The living room in a house is the room where people sit and relax.\nWe were sitting on the couch in the living room watching TV.\n  N-COUNT\n  = sitting room, lounge


Words: living standard
Meaning:
liv.ing stand.ard\n   living standard  living standards\n  Living standards or living standard is used to refer to the level of comfort in which people live, which usually depends on how much money they have.\nCheaper housing would vastly improve the living standards of ordinary people...\nCritics say his reforms have caused the fall in living standards.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl


Words: living wage
Meaning:
liv.ing wage\n   living wage\n  A living wage is a wage which is just enough to enable you to buy food, clothing, and other necessary things.\nMany farmers have to depend on subsidies to make a living wage.\n  N-SING: usu a N


Words: living will
Meaning:
liv.ing will\n   living will  living wills\n  A living will is a document in which you say what medical or legal decisions you want people to make for you if you become too ill to make these decisions yourself.\n  N-COUNT


Words: llama
Meaning:
lla.ma\n   llama  llamas\n  A llama is a South American animal with thick hair, which looks like a small camel without a hump.\n  N-COUNT


Words: lo
Meaning:
lo\n  Lo and behold or lo is used to emphasize a surprising event that is about to be mentioned, or to emphasize in a humorous way that something is not surprising at all. (HUMOROUS or LITERARY)\nHe called the minister of the interior and, lo and behold, within about an hour, the prisoners were released...\nI looked and lo! every one of the fifteen men who had been standing with me had disappeared.\n  CONVENTION  emphasis


Words: load
Meaning:
load  loads  loading  loaded\n1. If you load a vehicle or a container, you put a large quantity of things into it.\nThe three men seemed to have finished loading the truck...\nMr. Dambar had loaded his plate with lasagne...\nThey load all their equipment into backpacks...\nShe deposited the loaded tray.\n  VERB: V n, V n with n, V n into/onto n, V-ed\n\n  Load up means the same as load.\nI’ve just loaded my truck up...\nThe giggling couple loaded up their red sports car and drove off...\nWe loaded up carts with all the blankets, bandages, medication, water we could spare...\nShe loaded up his collection of vintage wines into crates.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V n P, V P n (not pron), V P n with n, V P n into/onto n, also V n P with/into/onto n\n\n=>  load.ing\n...the loading of baggage onto international flights.\n  N-SING: usu the N of n\n\n2. A load is something, usually a large quantity or heavy object, which is being carried.\nHe drove by with a big load of hay...\nHe was carrying a very heavy load.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. If you refer to a load of people or things or loads of them, you are emphasizing that there are a lot of them. (INFORMAL)\nI’ve got loads of money...\nHis people came up with a load of embarrassing information...\n...a load of kids.\n  QUANT: QUANT of n-uncount/pl-n  emphasis\n\n4. When someone loads a weapon such as a gun, they put a bullet or missile in it so that it is ready to use.\nI knew how to load and handle a gun...\nHe carried a loaded gun...\n  VERB: V n, V-ed\n\n5. To load a camera or other piece of equipment means to put film, tape, or data into it so that it is ready to use.\nA photographer from the newspaper was loading his camera with film...\nThe data can subsequently be loaded on a computer for processing.\n  VERB: V n with n, V n into/onto/on n\n\n6. You can refer to the amount of work you have to do as a load.\nShe’s taking some of the load off the secretaries.\n  N-COUNT\n\n7. The load of a system or piece of equipment, especially a system supplying electricity or a computer, is the extent to which it is being used at a particular time.\nAn efficient bulb may lighten the load of power stations...\nSeveral processors can share the load of handling data in a single program.\n  N-COUNT\n\n8. The load on something is the amount of weight that is pressing down on it or the amount of strain that it is under.\nSome of these chairs have flattened feet which spread the load on the ground...\nHigh blood pressure imposes an extra load on the heart.\n  N-SING\n\n9.\na load off your mind: see mind\n  see also loaded


Words: loaded
Meaning:
load.ed\n   loaded\n1. A loaded question or word has more meaning or purpose than it appears to have, because the person who uses it hopes it will cause people to respond in a particular way.\nThat’s a loaded question.\n...the loaded word `sexist’.\n  ADJ\n\n2. If something is loaded with a particular characteristic, it has that characteristic to a very great degree.\nThe President’s visit is loaded with symbolic significance...\nThe phrase is loaded with irony.\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ, usu ADJ with n\n\n3. If you say that something is loaded in favour of someone, you mean it works unfairly to their advantage. If you say it is loaded against them, you mean it works unfairly to their disadvantage.\nThe press is loaded in favour of this present government...\nThe article was heavily loaded against Morrissey.\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ in favour of/against n  disapproval\n  = biased


Words: loaf
Meaning:
loaf  loaves\n  A loaf of bread is bread which has been shaped and baked in one piece. It is usually large enough for more than one person and can be cut into slices.\n...a loaf of crusty bread.\n...freshly baked loaves.\n  N-COUNT: oft N of n


Words: loafer
Meaning:
loaf.er\n   loafer  loafers\n  Loafers are flat leather shoes with no straps or laces. (mainly AM)\n  N-COUNT


Words: loam
Meaning:
loam\n  Loam is soil that is good for growing crops and plants in because it contains a lot of decayed vegetable matter and does not contain too much sand or clay.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: loan
Meaning:
loan  loans  loaning  loaned\n1. A loan is a sum of money that you borrow.\nThe president wants to make it easier for small businesses to get bank loans.\n...loan repayments.\n  N-COUNT\n\n  see also bridging loan, soft loan\n2. If someone gives you a loan of something, you borrow it from them.\nHe had offered the loan of his small villa at Cap Ferrat.\n  N-SING: N of n\n\n3. If you loan something to someone, you lend it to them.\nHe had kindly offered to loan us all the plants required for the exhibit...\nWe were approached by the Royal Yachting Association to see if we would loan our boat to them.\n  VERB: V n n, V n to n, also V n\n  = lend\n  Loan out means the same as loan.\nIt is common practice for clubs to loan out players to sides in the lower divisions...\nThe ground was loaned out for numerous events including pop concerts.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron) to n, be V-ed out, also V n P, V P n\n\n4. If something is on loan, it has been borrowed.\n...impressionist paintings on loan from the National Gallery...\n  PHRASE: v-link PHR, PHR after v


Words: loan shark
Meaning:
loan shark  loan sharks\n  If you describe someone as a loan shark, you disapprove of them because they lend money to people and charge them very high rates of interest on the loan. (INFORMAL)\n  N-COUNT  disapproval


Words: loath
Meaning:
loath   also loth\n  If you are loath to do something, you do not want to do it.\nThe new finance minister seems loth to cut income tax.\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ to-inf\n  = reluctant


Words: loathe
Meaning:
loathe  loathes  loathing  loathed\n  If you loathe something or someone, you dislike them very much.\nThe two men loathe each other...\nShe loathed being the child of impoverished labourers.\n  VERB: V n, V -ing\n  = detest


Words: loathing
Meaning:
loath.ing\n   loathing\n  Loathing is a feeling of great dislike and disgust.\nShe looked at him with loathing.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n  = hatred


Words: loathsome
Meaning:
loath.some\n   loathsome\n  If you describe someone or something as loathsome, you are indicating how much you dislike them or how much they disgust you.\n...the loathsome spectacle we were obliged to witness.\n  ADJ\n  = repulsive


Words: lob
Meaning:
lob  lobs  lobbing  lobbed\n  If you lob something, you throw it so that it goes quite high in the air.\nEnemy forces lobbed a series of artillery shells onto the city...\nA group of protesters gathered outside, chanting and lobbing firebombs.\n  VERB: V n prep/adv, V n


Words: lobby
Meaning:
lob.by\n   lobby  lobbies  lobbying  lobbied\n1. If you lobby someone such as a member of a government or council, you try to persuade them that a particular law should be changed or that a particular thing should be done.\nCarers from all over the UK lobbied Parliament last week to demand a better financial deal...\nGun control advocates are lobbying hard for new laws...\n  VERB: V n, V for/against n\n\n=>  lob.by.ing\nThe aid was frozen in June after intense lobbying by conservative Republicans.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. A lobby is a group of people who represent a particular organization or campaign, and try to persuade a government or council to help or support them.\nHe set up this lobby of independent producers.\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp, oft supp N, N of n\n\n3. In a hotel or other large building, the lobby is the area near the entrance that usually has corridors and staircases leading off it.\nI met her in the lobby of the museum.\n  N-COUNT


Words: lobbyist
Meaning:
lob.by.ist\n   lobbyist  lobbyists\n  A lobbyist is someone who tries actively to persuade a government or council that a particular law should be changed or that a particular thing should be done.\n  N-COUNT


Words: lobe
Meaning:
lobe  lobes\n1. The lobe of your ear is the soft, fleshy part at the bottom.\n  N-COUNT\n  = earlobe\n2. A lobe is a rounded part of something, for example one of the sections of your brain or lungs, or one of the rounded sections along the edges of some leaves.\n...damage to the temporal lobe of the brain.\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp


Words: lobotomy
Meaning:
lo.boto.my\n   lobotomy  lobotomies\n  A lobotomy is a surgical operation in which some of the nerves in the brain are cut in order to treat severe mental illness. (MEDICAL)\n  N-VAR


Words: lobster
Meaning:
lob.ster\n   lobster  lobsters\n  A lobster is a sea creature that has a hard shell, two large claws, and eight legs.\nShe sold me a couple of live lobsters.\n  N-VAR\n\n  Lobster is the flesh of a lobster eaten as food.\n...lobster on a bed of fresh vegetables.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: lobster pot
Meaning:
lob.ster pot\n   lobster pot  lobster pots\n  A lobster pot is a trap used for catching lobsters. It is in the shape of a basket.\n  N-COUNT


Words: local
Meaning:
lo.cal\n   local  locals\n1. Local means existing in or belonging to the area where you live, or to the area that you are talking about.\nWe’d better check on the match in the local paper...\nSome local residents joined the students’ protest...\nI was going to pop up to the local library.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n  The locals are local people.\nThat’s what the locals call the place.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl, oft the N\n\n=>  lo.cal.ly\nWe’ve got cards which are drawn and printed and designed by someone locally.\n  ADV: ADV after v, ADV -ed\n\n2. Local government is elected by people in one area of a country and controls aspects such as education, housing, and transport within that area.\nEducation comprises two-thirds of all local council spending.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  !=national\n3. Your local is a pub which is near where you live and where you often go for a drink. (BRIT INFORMAL)\nThe Black Horse is my local.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, usu poss N\n\n4. A local anaesthetic or condition affects only a small area of your body. (MEDICAL)\n  ADJ


Words: local area network
Meaning:
lo.cal area net.work\n   local area network local area networks\n  A local area network is a group of personal computers and associated equipment that are linked by cable, for example in an office building, and that share a communications line. The abbreviation LAN is also used. (COMPUTING)\nUsers can easily move files between PCs connected by local area networks or the internet.\n  N-COUNT


Words: local authority
Meaning:
lo.cal author.ity\n   local authority  local authorities\n  A local authority is an organization that is officially responsible for all the public services and facilities in a particular area. (BRIT; in AM, use local government)\n  N-COUNT


Words: local colour
Meaning:
lo.cal col.our\n   local colour\nin AM, use local color\n  Local colour is used to refer to customs, traditions, dress, and other things which give a place or period of history its own particular character.\nThe fishing boat harbour was usually bustling with lots of local colour.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: local government
Meaning:
lo.cal gov.ern.ment\n   local government  local governments\n1. Local government is the system of electing representatives to be responsible for the administration of public services and facilities in a particular area.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. A local government is the same as a local authority. (AM)\n  N-COUNT


Words: local time
Meaning:
lo.cal time\n   local time\n  Local time is the official time in a particular region or country.\nIt was around 10.15 pm local time, 3.15 am at home.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: locale
Meaning:
lo.cale\n   locale  locales\n  A locale is a small area, for example the place where something happens or where the action of a book or film is set. (FORMAL)\nAn amusement park is the perfect locale for a bunch of irrepressible youngsters to have all sorts of adventures.\n  N-COUNT\n  = setting


Words: locality
Meaning:
lo.cal.ity\n   locality  localities\n  A locality is a small area of a country or city. (FORMAL)\nFollowing the discovery of the explosives the president cancelled his visit to the locality...\n  N-COUNT\n  = area


Words: localize
Meaning:
lo.cal.ize\n   localize  localizes  localizing  localized\nin BRIT, also use localise\n1. If you localize something, you identify precisely where it is.\nExamine the painful area carefully in an effort to localize the most tender point.\n  VERB: V n\n  = identify\n2. If you localize something, you limit the size of the area that it affects and prevent it from spreading.\nFew officers thought that a German-Czech war could be localized.\n  VERB: V n\n  = limit


Words: localized
Meaning:
lo.cal.ized\n   localized\nin BRIT, also use localised\n  Something that is localized remains within a small area and does not spread.\nShe had localized breast cancer and both of her doctors had advised surgery...\n  ADJ


Words: locate
Meaning:
lo.cate\n   locate  locates  locating  located\n1. If you locate something or someone, you find out where they are. (FORMAL)\nThe scientists want to locate the position of the gene on a chromosome...\nWe’ve simply been unable to locate him.\n  VERB: V n, V n\n  = find\n2. If you locate something in a particular place, you put it there or build it there. (FORMAL)\nAtlanta was voted the best city in which to locate a business by more than 400 chief executives...\nTudor Court represents your opportunity to locate at the heart of the new Birmingham.\n  VERB: V n prep/adv, V prep/adv\n\n3. If you locate in a particular place, you move there or open a business there. (mainly AM BUSINESS)\n...tax breaks for businesses that locate in run-down neighborhoods.\n  VERB: V


Words: located
Meaning:
lo.cat.ed\n   located\n  If something is located in a particular place, it is present or has been built there. (FORMAL)\nA boutique and beauty salon are conveniently located within the grounds.\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ prep, adv ADJ\n  = situated


Words: location
Meaning:
lo.ca.tion\n   location  locations\n1. A location is the place where something happens or is situated.\nThe first thing he looked at was his office’s location...\nMacau’s newest small luxury hotel has a beautiful location.\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp\n  = setting\n2. The location of someone or something is their exact position.\nShe knew the exact location of The Eagle’s headquarters.\n  N-COUNT: with poss\n  = position\n3. A location is a place away from a studio where a film or part of a film is made.\n...an art movie with dozens of exotic locations...\nWe’re shooting on location.\n  N-VAR: oft on N


Words: loch
Meaning:
loch  lochs\n  A loch is a large area of water in Scotland that is completely or almost completely surrounded by land.\n...twenty miles north of Loch Ness.\n  N-COUNT: oft in names before n


Words: lock
Meaning:
lock  locks  locking  locked\n1. When you lock something such as a door, drawer, or case, you fasten it, usually with a key, so that other people cannot open it.\nAre you sure you locked the front door?...\nWolfgang moved along the corridor towards the locked door at the end.\n  VERB: V n, V-ed\n\n2. The lock on something such as a door or a drawer is the device which is used to keep it shut and prevent other people from opening it. Locks are opened with a key.\nAt that moment he heard Gill’s key turning in the lock of the door...\nAn intruder forced open a lock on French windows at the house.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. If you lock something or someone in a place, room, or container, you put them there and fasten the lock.\nHer maid locked the case in the safe...\nThey beat them up and locked them in a cell.\n  VERB: V n in/into n, V n in/into n\n\n4. If you lock something in a particular position or if it lock there, it is held or fitted firmly in that position.\nHe leaned back in the swivel chair and locked his fingers behind his head...\nThere was a whine of hydraulics as the undercarriage locked into position.\n  VERB: V n prep/adv, V prep/adv\n\n5. On a canal or river, a lock is a place where walls have been built with gates at each end so that boats can move to a higher or lower section of the canal or river, by gradually changing the water level inside the gates.\n  N-COUNT\n\n6. A lock of hair is a small bunch of hairs on your head that grow together and curl or curve in the same direction.\nShe brushed a lock of hair off his forehead.\n  N-COUNT: usu N of n\n\n7.\nlock, stock, and barrel: see barrel


Words: lock away
Meaning:
lock away\n1. If you lock something away in a place or container, you put or hide it there and fasten the lock.\nShe meticulously cleaned the gun and locked it away in its case...\nHe had even locked away all the videos of his previous exploits.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V n P, V P n (not pron)\n\n2. To lock someone away means to put them in prison or a secure mental hospital.\nLocking them away is not sufficient, you have to give them treatment.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V n P, also V P n (not pron)\n\n3. If you lock yourself away, you go somewhere where you can be alone, and do not come out or see anyone for some time.\nI locked myself away with books and magazines.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V pron-refl P\n  = hide away, shut away


Words: lock in
Meaning:
lock in\n  If you lock someone in, you put them in a room and lock the door so that they cannot get out.\nManda cried out that Mr Hoelt had no right to lock her in.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V n P


Words: lock out
Meaning:
lock out\n1. If someone locks you out of a place, they prevent you entering it by locking the doors.\nThey had had a row, and she had locked him out of the apartment...\nMy husband’s locked me out.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V n P of n, V n P\n\n2. If you lock yourself out of a place, such as your house, you cannot get in because the door is locked and you do not have your keys.\nThe new tenants locked themselves out of their apartment and had to break in...\nThere had been a knock at the door and when she opened it she locked herself out...\nThe wind had made the door swing closed, and she was now locked out.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V pron-refl P of n, V pron-refl P, V-ed P\n\n3. In an industrial dispute, if a company locks its workers out, it closes the factory or office in order to prevent the employees coming to work. (BUSINESS)\nThe company locked out the workers, and then the rest of the work force went on strike.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), also V n P


Words: lock up
Meaning:
lock up\n1. If you lock something up in a place or container, you put or hide it there and fasten the lock.\nGive away any food you have on hand, or lock it up and give the key to the neighbours...\nControl of materials could be maintained by locking up bombs.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V n P, V P n (not pron)\n\n2. To lock someone up means to put them in prison or a secure psychiatric hospital.\nMr Milner persuaded the federal prosecutors not to lock up his client...\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), also V n P\n\n3. When you lock up a building or car or lock up, you make sure that all the doors and windows are locked so that nobody can get in.\nDon’t forget to lock up...\nLeave your car here and lock it up.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P, V n P


Words: lock-keeper
Meaning:
lock-keeper  lock-keepers\n  A lock-keeper is a person whose job is to be in charge of and maintain a lock or group of locks on a canal.\n  N-COUNT


Words: lock-out
Meaning:
lock-out  lock-outs\nin AM, use lockout\n  A lock-out is a situation in which employers close a place of work and prevent workers from entering it until the workers accept the employer’s new proposals on pay or conditions of work. (BUSINESS)\n  N-COUNT


Words: lock-up
Meaning:
lock-up  lock-ups   also lockup\n1. A lock-up is the same as a jail. (AM INFORMAL)\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A lock-up is a garage that is used by someone, but is not next to their house. (BRIT)\n  N-COUNT\n\n  Lock-up is also an adjective.\n...a lock-up garage.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: locked
Meaning:
locked\n  If you say that people are locked in conflict or in battle, you mean they are arguing or fighting in a fierce or determined way, and neither side seems likely to stop.\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ in n


Words: locker
Meaning:
lock.er\n   locker  lockers\n  A locker is a small metal or wooden cupboard with a lock, where you can put your personal possessions, for example in a school, place of work, or sports club.\n  N-COUNT


Words: locker room
Meaning:
lock.er room\n   locker room  locker rooms\n  A locker room is a room in which there are a lot of lockers.\n  N-COUNT


Words: locket
Meaning:
lock.et\n   locket  lockets\n  A locket is a piece of jewellery containing something such as a picture, which a woman wears on a chain around her neck.\n  N-COUNT


Words: locomotion
Meaning:
lo.co.mo.tion\n   locomotion\n  Locomotion is the ability to move and the act of moving from one place to another. (FORMAL)\nFlight is the form of locomotion that puts the greatest demands on muscles...\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: locomotive
Meaning:
lo.co.mo.tive\n   locomotive  locomotives\n  A locomotive is a large vehicle that pulls a railway train. (FORMAL)\n  N-COUNT


Words: locum
Meaning:
lo.cum\n   locum  locums\n  A locum is a doctor or priest who does the work for another doctor or priest who is ill or on holiday. (mainly BRIT)\n  N-COUNT


Words: locus
Meaning:
lo.cus\n   locus  loci\n  The locus of something is the place where it happens or the most important area or point with which it is associated. (FORMAL)\nBarcelona is the locus of Spanish industry...\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, N of n


Words: locust
Meaning:
lo.cust\n   locust  locusts\n  Locusts are large insects that live mainly in hot countries. They fly in large groups and eat crops.\n  N-COUNT


Words: lodge
Meaning:
lodge  lodges  lodging  lodged\n1. A lodge is a house or hut in the country or in the mountains where people stay on holiday, especially when they want to shoot or fish.\n...a Victorian hunting lodge.\n...a ski lodge.\n  N-COUNT: usu supp N\n\n2. A lodge is a small house at the entrance to the grounds of a large house.\nI drove out of the gates, past the keeper’s lodge.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. In some organizations, a lodge is a local branch or meeting place of the organization.\nMy father would occasionally go to his Masonic lodge.\n  N-COUNT: usu supp N\n\n4. If you lodge a complaint, protest, accusation, or claim, you officially make it.\nHe has four weeks in which to lodge an appeal.\n  VERB: V n\n  = make\n5. If you lodge somewhere, such as in someone else’s house or if you are lodged there, you live there, usually paying rent.\n...the story of the farming family she lodged with as a young teacher...\nThe building he was lodged in turned out to be a church.\n  VERB: V prep/adv, be V-ed prep/adv\n\n6. If someone lodges you somewhere, they give you a place to stay, for example because they are responsible for your safety or comfort.\nThey lodged the delegates in different hotels.\n  VERB: V n prep/adv\n\n7. If an object lodges somewhere, it becomes stuck there.\nThe bullet lodged in the sergeant’s leg, shattering his thigh bone...\nHis car has a bullet lodged in the passenger door.\n  VERB: V prep/adv, V-ed\n\n8.\n  see also lodging


Words: lodger
Meaning:
lodg.er\n   lodger  lodgers\n  A lodger is a person who pays money to live in someone else’s house.\nJennie took in a lodger to help with the mortgage.\n  N-COUNT


Words: lodging
Meaning:
lodg.ing\n   lodging  lodgings\n1. If you are provided with lodging or lodgings, you are provided with a place to stay for a period of time. You can use lodgings to refer to one or more of these places.\nHe was given free lodging in a three-room flat.\n...travel expenses including meals and lodgings while traveling away from home.\n  N-UNCOUNT: also N in pl\n\n2. If you live in lodgings, you live in a room or rooms in someone’s house and you pay them for this.\nDavid had changed his lodgings, leaving no address behind...\n  N-COUNT: usu pl\n\n3.\n  see also board and lodging


Words: lodging house
Meaning:
lodg.ing house\n   lodging house  lodging houses\n  A lodging house is a house where people can rent rooms to live in or stay in. (mainly BRIT; in AM, usually use rooming house)\n  N-COUNT


Words: loft
Meaning:
loft  lofts\n1. A loft is the space inside the sloping roof of a house or other building, where things are sometimes stored.\nA loft conversion can add considerably to the value of a house.\n  N-COUNT\n  = attic\n2. A loft is an apartment in the upper part of a building, especially a building such as a warehouse or factory that has been converted for people to live in. Lofts are usually large and not divided into separate rooms.\n  N-COUNT


Words: lofty
Meaning:
lofty  loftier  loftiest\n1. A lofty ideal or ambition is noble, important, and admirable.\nIt was a bank that started out with grand ideas and lofty ideals...\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n2. A lofty building or room is very high. (FORMAL)\n...a light, lofty apartment in the suburbs of Salzburg...\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n3. If you say that someone behaves in a lofty way, you are critical of them for behaving in a proud and rather unpleasant way, as if they think they are very important.\n...the lofty disdain he often expresses for his profession.\n...lofty contempt.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n  disapproval


Words: log
Meaning:
log  logs  logging  logged\n1. A log is a piece of a thick branch or of the trunk of a tree that has been cut so that it can be used for fuel or for making things.\nHe dumped the logs on the big stone hearth.\n...the original log cabin where Lincoln was born.\n  N-COUNT: oft N n\n\n2. A log is an official written account of what happens each day, for example on board a ship.\nThe family made an official complaint to a ship’s officer, which was recorded in the log.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. If you log an event or fact, you record it officially in writing or on a computer.\nDetails of the crime are then logged in the computer.\n  VERB: V n\n  = record\n4.\n  see also logging


Words: log book
Meaning:
log book  log books\n  A log book is a book in which someone records details and events relating to something, for example a journey or period of their life, or a vehicle.\n  N-COUNT


Words: log in
Meaning:
log in   or log on\n  When someone logs in or logs on, or logs into a computer system, they start using the system, usually by typing their name or identity code and a password.\nCustomers pay to log on and gossip with other users...\nThey would log into their account and take a look at prices and decide what they’d like to do.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P, V P n


Words: log out
Meaning:
log out   or log off\n  When someone who is using a computer system logs out or logs off, they finish using the system by typing a particular command.\nIf a computer user fails to log off, the system is accessible to all.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P


Words: loganberry
Meaning:
logan.berry\n   loganberry  loganberries\n  A loganberry is a purplish red fruit that is similar to a raspberry.\n  N-COUNT


Words: logarithm
Meaning:
loga.rithm\n   logarithm  logarithms\n  In mathematics, the logarithm of a number is a number that it can be represented by in order to make a difficult multiplication or division sum simpler.\n  N-COUNT


Words: logger
Meaning:
log.ger\n   logger  loggers\n  A logger is a man whose job is to cut down trees. (AM; in BRIT, use lumberjack)\n  N-COUNT


Words: loggerheads
Meaning:
log.ger.heads\n   loggerheads\n  If two or more people or groups are at loggerheads, they disagree very strongly with each other.\nFor months dentists and the health department have been at loggerheads over fees...\nFrance was left isolated and at loggerheads with other EU member countries over its refusal to fall into line with demands to cut state borrowing.\n  PHRASE: usu v-link PHR, oft PHR with n


Words: logging
Meaning:
log.ging\n   logging\n  Logging is the activity of cutting down trees in order to sell the wood.\nLogging companies would have to leave a central area of the forest before the end of the year.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N n


Words: logic
Meaning:
log.ic\n   logic\n1. Logic is a method of reasoning that involves a series of statements, each of which must be true if the statement before it is true.\nApart from criminal investigation techniques, students learn forensic medicine, philosophy and logic.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. The logic of a conclusion or an argument is its quality of being correct and reasonable.\nI don’t follow the logic of your argument...\nThere would be no logic in upsetting the agreements.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N of n\n\n3. A particular kind of logic is the way of thinking and reasoning about things that is characteristic of a particular type of person or particular field of activity.\nThe plan was based on sound commercial logic.\n  N-UNCOUNT: with supp, oft adj N


Words: logic bomb
Meaning:
log.ic bomb\n   logic bomb logic bombs\n  A logic bomb is an unauthorized program that is inserted into a computer system so that when it is started it affects the operation of the computer. (COMPUTING)\n  N-COUNT


Words: logical
Meaning:
logi.cal\n   logical\n1. In a logical argument or method of reasoning, each step must be true if the step before it is true.\nOnly when each logical step has been checked by other mathematicians will the proof be accepted.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n=>  logi.cal.ly\nMy professional training has taught me to look at things logically.\n  ADV: usu ADV with v\n\n2. The logical conclusion or result of a series of facts or events is the only one which can come from it, according to the rules of logic.\nIf the climate gets drier, then the logical conclusion is that even more drought will occur...\n...a society that dismisses God as a logical impossibility.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n=>  logi.cal.ly\nFrom that it followed logically that he would not be meeting Hildegarde.\n  ADV: ADV with v\n\n3. Something that is logical seems reasonable or sensible in the circumstances.\nConnie suddenly struck her as a logical candidate...\nThere was a logical explanation...\nIt is logical to take precautions.\n  ADJ: oft it v-link ADJ to-inf/that\n  = reasonable\n=>  logi.cal.ly\nThis was the one possibility I hadn’t taken into consideration, though logically I should have done.\n  ADV: ADV with cl, ADV with v


Words: logician
Meaning:
lo.gi.cian\n   logician  logicians\n  A logician is a person who is a specialist in logic.\n  N-COUNT


Words: logistic
Meaning:
lo.gis.tic\n   logistic   or logistical\n  Logistic or logistical means relating to the organization of something complicated.\nLogistical problems may be causing the delay...\nShe described the distribution of food and medical supplies as a logistical nightmare.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n=>  lo.gis.ti.cal.ly\nOrganised junior football was either restricted or logistically impossible to operate...\nIt is about time that the UN considers logistically deploying additional military resources...\nLogistically it is very difficult to value unit-linked policies.\n  ADV: ADV adj, ADV with v, ADV with cl


Words: logistics
Meaning:
lo.gis.tics\n   logistics\n  If you refer to the logistics of doing something complicated that involves a lot of people or equipment, you are referring to the skilful organization of it so that it can be done successfully and efficiently.\nThe skills and logistics of getting such a big show on the road pose enormous practical problems...\n  N-UNCOUNT-COLL


Words: logjam
Meaning:
log.jam\n   logjam  logjams\n  To break the logjam means to change or deal with a difficult situation which has existed for a long time. (JOURNALISM)\nA new initiative was needed to break the logjam.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing


Words: logo
Meaning:
logo  logos\n  The logo of a company or organization is the special design or way of writing its name that it puts on all its products, notepaper, or advertisements.\n  N-COUNT


Words: loin
Meaning:
loin  loins\n1. Someone’s loins are the front part of their body between their waist and legs, especially their sexual parts. (LITERARY, OLD-FASHIONED)\n  N-PLURAL\n\n2. Loin or a loin is a piece of meat which comes from the back or sides of an animal, quite near the tail end.\nHeat the honey and brush it on to the outside of the loin.\n...roast loin of venison.\n  N-VAR


Words: loincloth
Meaning:
loin.cloth\n   loincloth  loincloths\n  A loincloth is a piece of cloth sometimes worn by men in order to cover their sexual parts, especially in countries when it is too hot to wear anything else.\n  N-COUNT


Words: loiter
Meaning:
loi.ter\n   loiter  loiters  loitering  loitered\n  If you loiter somewhere, you remain there or walk up and down without any real purpose.\nUnemployed young men loiter at the entrance of the factory.\n  VERB: V


Words: loll
Meaning:
loll  lolls  lolling  lolled\n1. If you loll somewhere, you sit or lie in a very relaxed position.\nHe was lolling on the sofa in the shadows near the fire...\nHe lolled back in his comfortable chair.\n  VERB: V prep/adv, V prep/adv\n  = lounge, sprawl\n2. If something fairly heavy, especially someone’s head or tongue, lolls, it hangs down in a loose, uncontrolled way.\nWhen he let go the head lolled sideways...\nTongue lolling, the dog came lolloping back from the forest.\n  VERB: V adv/prep, V


Words: lollipop
Meaning:
lol.li.pop\n   lollipop  lollipops\n  A lollipop is a sweet consisting of a hard disc or ball of a sugary substance on the end of a stick.\n  N-COUNT\n  = lolly


Words: lollop
Meaning:
lol.lop\n   lollop  lollops  lolloping  lolloped\n  When an animal or a person lollops along, they run along awkwardly and not very fast. (mainly BRIT LITERARY)\nA herd of elephants lolloped across the plains towards a watering hole.\n  VERB: V prep/adv


Words: lolly
Meaning:
lol.ly\n   lolly  lollies\n  A lolly is the same as a lollipop. (mainly BRIT)\n  N-COUNT\n\n  see also ice lolly


Words: lone
Meaning:
lone\n1. If you talk about a lone person or thing, you mean that they are alone.\nHe was shot by a lone gunman.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n2. A lone parent is a parent who is looking after her or his child or children and who is not married or living with a partner. (mainly BRIT)\nNinety per cent of lone parent families are headed by mothers.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n  = single


Words: loneliness
Meaning:
lone.li.ness\n   loneliness\n  Loneliness is the unhappiness that is felt by someone because they do not have any friends or do not have anyone to talk to.\nI have so many friends, but deep down, underneath, I have a fear of loneliness.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: lonely
Meaning:
lone.ly\n   lonely  lonelier  loneliest\n1. Someone who is lonely is unhappy because they are alone or do not have anyone they can talk to.\n...lonely people who just want to talk...\nI feel lonelier in the middle of London than I do on my boat in the middle of nowhere.\n  ADJ\n\n  The lonely are people who are lonely.\nHe looks for the lonely, the lost, the unloved.\n  N-PLURAL: the N\n\n2. A lonely situation or period of time is one in which you feel unhappy because you are alone or do not have anyone to talk to.\nI desperately needed something to occupy me during those long, lonely nights.\n...her lonely childhood.\n  ADJ\n\n3. A lonely place is one where very few people come.\nIt felt like the loneliest place in the world.\n...dark, lonely streets.\n  ADJ


Words: lonely hearts
Meaning:
lone.ly hearts\n   lonely hearts\n  A lonely hearts section in a newspaper or a lonely hearts club is used by people who are trying to find a lover or friend.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: loner
Meaning:
lon.er\n   loner  loners\n  If you describe someone as a loner, you mean they prefer to be alone rather than with a group of people.\nI’m very much a loner.I never go out.\n  N-COUNT


Words: lonesome
Meaning:
lone.some\n   lonesome\n1. Someone who is lonesome is unhappy because they do not have any friends or do not have anyone to talk to. (mainly AM)\nI’ve grown so lonesome, thinking of you.\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ\n  = lonely\n2. A lonesome place is one which very few people come to and which is a long way from places where people live. (AM)\nHe was finding the river lonesome.\n  ADJ\n  = lonely


Words: long
Meaning:
PHRASES\n   long  longer\n\nPlease look at category 6 to see if the expression you are looking for is shown under another headword.\n1. If you say that something is the case as long as or so long as something else is the case, you mean that it is only the case if the second thing is the case.\nThe interior minister said he would still support them, as long as they didn’t break the rules...\nThe president need not step down so long as the elections are held under international supervision.\n  PHRASE\n\n2. If you say that someone won’t be long, you mean that you think they will arrive or be back soon. If you say that it won’t be long before something happens, you mean that you think it will happen soon.\n`What’s happened to her?’.`I’m sure she won’t be long.’...\nIf every tune from Radiohead is as good as this one it, it can’t be long before they are household names.\n  PHRASE: oft it PHR before cl\n\n3. If you say that something will happen or happened before long, you mean that it will happen or happened soon.\nGerman interest rates will come down before long...\nBefore long he took over the editing of the magazine.\n  PHRASE: PHR after v, PHR with cl\n\n4. Something that is no longer the case used to be the case but is not the case now. You can also say that something is not the case any longer.\nFood shortages are no longer a problem...\nI noticed that he wasn’t sitting by the door any longer.\n  PHRASE: PHR group/cl, PHR with v\n\n5. You can say so long as an informal way of saying goodbye.\nWell, so long, pal, see you around.\n  CONVENTION  formulae\n  = bye\n6.\na long face: see face\nat long last: see last\nin the long run: see run\na long shot: see shot\nin the long term: see term\nlong in the tooth: see tooth\nto take the long view: see view\nto go a long way: see way\n\nDISTANCE AND SIZE\n   long  longer  longest\n1. Something that is long measures a great distance from one end to the other.\n...a long table...\nA long line of people formed outside the doctor’s office...\nHer hair was long and dark...\n  ADJ\n  !=short\n2. A long distance is a great distance. A long journey or route covers a great distance.\nHis destination was Chobham Common, a long way from his Cotswold home...\nThe long journey tired him...\nI went for a long walk.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  !=short\n3. A long piece of clothing covers the whole of someone’s legs or more of their legs than usual. Clothes with long sleeves cover the whole of someone’s arms.\nShe is wearing a long black dress.\n...a long-sleeved blouse.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n  !=short\n4. You use long to talk or ask about the distance something measures from one end to the other.\nAn eight-week-old embryo is only an inch long...\nHow long is the tunnel?...\nIn the roots of the olives, you could find centipedes as long as a pencil.\n  ADJ: amount ADJ, how ADJ, as ADJ as, ADJ-compar than\n\n  Long is also a combining form.\n...a three-foot-long gash in the tanker’s side.\n  COMB in ADJ\n\nVERB USES\n   long  longs  longing  longed\n  If you long for something, you want it very much.\nSteve longed for the good old days...\nI’m longing to meet her...\nHe longed for the winter to be over.\n  VERB: V for n, V to-inf, V for n to-inf\n\n  see also longing\n\nTIME\n   long  longer  longest\n1. Long means a great amount of time or for a great amount of time.\nRepairs to the cable did not take too long...\nHave you known her parents long?...\nI learned long ago to avoid these invitations...\nThe railway had obviously been built long after the house...\n...long-established social traditions.\n  ADV: ADV with v, oft ADV adv/prep\n\n  The expression for long is used to mean `for a great amount of time’.\n`Did you live there?’.`Not for long.’...\nDeveloping countries won’t put up with the situation for much longer...\nFor too long there was a huge gap in the market.\n  PHRASE: PHR after v\n\n2. A long event or period of time lasts for a great amount of time or takes a great amount of time.\nWe had a long meeting with the attorney general...\nThey sat looking at each other for a long while...\nHe must have started writing his book a long time ago.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  !=short\n3. You use long to ask or talk about amounts of time.\nHow long have you lived around here?...\nHe has been on a diet for as long as any of his friends can remember...\nShe reflected no longer than a second before she decisively slit the envelope.\n  ADV: how ADV, as ADV as, ADV-compar than\n\n  Long is also an adjective.\nHow long is the usual stay in hospital?...\nThe average commuter journey there is five hours long.\n  ADJ: how ADJ, amount ADJ\n\n4. A long speech, book, film, or list contains a lot of information or a lot of items and takes a lot of time to listen to, read, watch, or deal with.\nHe was making quite a long speech...\nThis is a long film, three hours and seven minutes.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  !=short\n5. If you describe a period of time or work as long, you mean it lasts for more hours or days than is usual, or seems to last for more time than it actually does.\nGo to sleep. I’ve got a long day tomorrow...\nShe was a TV reporter and worked long hours...\nThis has been the longest week of my life.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  !=short\n6. If someone has a long memory, they are able to remember things that happened far back in the past.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  !=short\n7. Long is used in expressions such as all year long, the whole day long, and your whole life long to say and emphasize that something happens for the whole of a particular period of time.\nWe played that record all night long...\nSnow is sometimes found all summer long upon the highest peaks.\n  ADV: n ADV  emphasis


Words: long drawn out
Meaning:
long drawn out   also long-drawn-out\n  A long drawn out process or conflict lasts an unnecessarily long time or an unpleasantly long time.\n...a long drawn out election campaign.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: long jump
Meaning:
long jump\n  The long jump is an athletics contest which involves jumping as far as you can from a marker which you run up to.\n  N-SING: the N


Words: long wave
Meaning:
long wave\n  Long wave is a range of radio waves which are used for broadcasting.\n...broadcasting on long wave.\n...1500m on long wave.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: long-awaited
Meaning:
long-awaited\n  A long-awaited event or thing is one that someone has been waiting for for a long time.\n...the long-awaited signing of a peace agreement.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: long-distance
Meaning:
long-distance\n1. Long-distance is used to describe travel between places that are far apart.\nTrains are reliable, cheap and best for long-distance journeys.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n2. Long-distance is used to describe communication that takes place between people who are far apart.\nHe received a long-distance phone call from his girlfriend in Colorado.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  !=local\n  Long-distance is also an adverb.\nI phoned Nicola long distance to suggest it.\n  ADV: ADV after v


Words: long-haul
Meaning:
long-haul\n  Long-haul is used to describe things that involve transporting passengers or goods over long distances. Compare short-haul.\n...learning how to avoid the unpleasant side-effects of long-haul flights.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n  !=short-haul


Words: long-hours culture
Meaning:
long-hours cul.ture\n\n  The long-hours culture is the way in which some workers feel that they are expected to work much longer hours than they are paid to do. (BUSINESS)\n  N-SING


Words: long-lasting
Meaning:
long-lasting  longer-lasting   also long lasting\n  Something that is long-lasting lasts for a long time.\nOne of the long-lasting effects of the infection is damage to a valve in the heart...\n  ADJ


Words: long-life
Meaning:
long-life\n  Long-life light bulbs and batteries are manufactured so that they last longer than ordinary ones. Long-life fruit juice and milk have been specially treated so that they last a long time.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: long-list
Meaning:
long-list  long-lists  long-listing  long-listed   also longlist\n1. A long-list for something such as a job or a prize is a large group that has been chosen from all the people who applied for the job, or all the people or things that are competing for the prize. The successful ones from this group are chosen to go on the shortlist.\nThere are 27 riders on the long-list.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If someone or something is long-listed for a job or a prize, they are put on a long-list of those to be considered for that job or prize.\nShe was long-listed for the senior team last year.\n  VERB: be V-ed for n


Words: long-lived
Meaning:
long-lived   also long lived\n  Something that is long-lived lives or lasts for a long time.\nThe flowers may only last a day but the plants are long-lived.\n...huge piles of long-lived radioactive material.\n  ADJ\n  !=short-lived


Words: long-lost
Meaning:
long-lost\n  You use long-lost to describe someone or something that you have not seen for a long time.\n...finding a long-lost sixth century manuscript.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: long-range
Meaning:
long-range\n1. A long-range piece of military equipment or vehicle is able to hit or detect a target a long way away or to travel a long way in order to do something.\nHe is very keen to reach agreement with the US on reducing long-range nuclear missiles.\n...the growing use on the North Atlantic routes of long-range twin-engined aircraft.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  !=short-range\n2. A long-range plan or prediction relates to a period extending a long time into the future.\nEisenhower was intensely aware of the need for long-range planning.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: long-running
Meaning:
long-running  longest-running\n  Something that is long-running has been in existence, or has been performed, for a long time.\n...a long-running trade dispute...\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: long-sighted
Meaning:
long-sighted\n  Long-sighted people cannot see things clearly that are close to them, and therefore need to wear glasses. (BRIT; in AM, use far-sighted)\n  ADJ\n  !=short-sighted


Words: long-standing
Meaning:
long-standing\n  A long-standing situation has existed for a long time.\nThey are on the brink of resolving their long-standing dispute over money.\n...long-standing economic links between Europe and much of Africa.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: long-suffering
Meaning:
long-suffering\n  Someone who is long-suffering patiently puts up with a lot of trouble or unhappiness, especially when it is caused by someone else.\nHe went back to Yorkshire to join his loyal, long-suffering wife.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: long-term
Meaning:
long-term  longer-term\n1. Something that is long-term has continued for a long time or will continue for a long time in the future.\nA new training scheme to help the long-term unemployed is expected...\nThe association believes new technology will provide a long-term solution to credit card fraud.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  !=short-term\n2. When you talk about what happens in the long term, you are talking about what happens over a long period of time, either in the future or after a particular event.\nIn the long term the company hopes to open in Moscow and other major cities...\nOver the long term, such measures may only make the underlying situation worse.\n  N-SING: the N


Words: long-time
Meaning:
long-time\n  You use long-time to describe something that has existed or been a particular thing for a long time.\nShe married her long-time boyfriend.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: long-wearing
Meaning:
long-wearing   also long wearing\n  Something that is long-wearing is strong and well made so that it lasts for a long time and stays in good condition even though it is used a lot. (AM; in BRIT, use hard-wearing)\n...luxurious, long-wearing, real-leather slippers.\n  ADJ


Words: long-winded
Meaning:
long-winded\n  If you describe something that is written or said as long-winded, you are critical of it because it is longer than necessary.\nThe manifesto is long-winded, repetitious and often ambiguous or poorly drafted...\nI hope I’m not being too long-winded.\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ  disapproval


Words: longed-for
Meaning:
longed-for\n  A longed-for thing or event is one that someone wants very much.\n...the wet weather that prevents your longed-for picnic.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: longevity
Meaning:
lon.gev.ity\n   longevity\n  Longevity is long life. (FORMAL)\nHuman longevity runs in families...\nThe main characteristic of the strike has been its longevity.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: longhand
Meaning:
long.hand\n   longhand\n  If you write something down in longhand, you write it by hand using complete words and normal letters rather than typing it or using shortened forms or special symbols.\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu in N


Words: longing
Meaning:
long.ing\n   longing  longings\n  If you feel longing or a longing for something, you have a rather sad feeling because you want it very much.\nHe felt a longing for the familiar...\nImelda spoke of her longing to return home...\n  N-VAR: oft N for n, N to-inf


Words: longingly
Meaning:
long.ing.ly\n   longingly\n  If you look longingly at something you want, or think longingly about it, you look at it or think about it with a feeling of desire.\nClaire looked longingly at the sunlit gardens outside the window.\n  ADV: ADV with v


Words: longish
Meaning:
long.ish\n   longish\n  Longish means fairly long.\nShe’s about my age, with longish hair.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: longitude
Meaning:
lon.gi.tude\n   longitude  longitudes\n  The longitude of a place is its distance to the west or east of a line passing through Greenwich. Compare latitude.\nHe noted the latitude and longitude, then made a mark on the admiralty chart.\n  N-VAR\n\n  Longitude is also an adjective.\nA similar feature is found at 13 degrees North between 230 degrees and 250 degrees longitude.\n  ADJ: usu amount ADJ


Words: longitudinal
Meaning:
lon.gi.tu.di.nal\n   longitudinal\n  A longitudinal line or structure goes from one end of an object to the other rather than across it from side to side.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: longshoreman
Meaning:
long.shore.man\n   longshoreman  longshoremen\n  A longshoreman is a person who works in the docks, loading and unloading ships. (AM; in BRIT, use docker)\n  N-COUNT


Words: loo
Meaning:
loo  loos\n  A loo is a toilet. (BRIT INFORMAL)\nI asked if I could go to the loo.\n  N-COUNT: usu the N in sing


Words: loofah
Meaning:
loo.fah\n   loofah  loofahs\n  A loofah is a long rough sponge-like piece of plant fibre which you use to scrub your body.\n  N-COUNT


Words: look
Meaning:
APPEARANCE\n   look  looks  looking  looked\n1. You use look when describing the appearance of a person or thing or the impression that they give.\nSheila was looking miserable...\nHe does not look the most reliable of animals...\nThey look like stars to the naked eye...\nHe looked as if he was going to smile...\nEverybody in the club looked to be fourteen years old.\n  V-LINK: V adj, V n, V like n, V like/as if, V to-inf\n\n=>  -looking\nShe was a very peculiar-looking woman.\n  COMB in ADJ\n\n2. If someone or something has a particular look, they have a particular appearance or expression.\nShe had the look of someone deserted and betrayed...\nWhen he came to decorate the kitchen, Kenneth opted for a friendly rustic look...\n  N-SING: with supp\n\n3. When you refer to someone’s looks, you are referring to how beautiful or ugly they are, especially how beautiful they are.\nI never chose people just because of their looks.\n...a young woman with wholesome good looks.\n  N-PLURAL\n\n4. You use look when indicating what you think will happen in the future or how a situation seems to you.\nHe had lots of time to think about the future, and it didn’t look good...\nBritain looks set to send a major force of over 100 tanks and supporting equipment...\nSo far it looks like Warner Brothers’ gamble is paying off...\nThe Europeans had hoped to win, and, indeed, had looked like winning...\nThe team had stormed into a two-goal lead and looked to be cruising to a third round place.\n  V-LINK: V adj, V adj, it V like/as if, V like -ing, V to-inf\n\n5. You use expressions such as by the look of him and by the looks of it when you want to indicate that you are giving an opinion based on the appearance of someone or something.\nHe was not a well man by the look of him...\nBy the look of things, Mr Stone and company will stay busy.\n  PHRASE\n\n6. If you don’t like the look of something or someone, you feel that they may be dangerous or cause problems.\nI don’t like the look of those clouds.\n  PHRASE: V inflects, PHR n\n\n7. If you ask what someone or something looks like, you are asking for a description of them.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\nUSING YOUR EYES OR YOUR MIND\n   look  looks  looking  looked\n\nPlease look at category 14 to see if the expression you are looking for is shown under another headword.\n1. If you look in a particular direction, you direct your eyes in that direction, especially so that you can see what is there or see what something is like.\nI looked down the hallway to room number nine...\nShe turned to look at him...\nHe looked away, apparently enraged...\nIf you look, you’ll see what was a lake.\n  VERB: V prep/adv, V prep/adv, V prep/adv, V\n\n  Look is also a noun.\nLucille took a last look in the mirror...\nAssisi has a couple of churches that are worth a look if you have time.\n  N-SING\n\n2. If you look at a book, newspaper, or magazine, you read it fairly quickly or read part of it.\nYou’ve just got to look at the last bit of Act Three.\n  VERB: V at n\n\n  Look is also a noun.\nA quick look at Monday’s British newspapers shows that there’s plenty of interest in foreign news.\n  N-SING: oft N at n\n\n3. If someone, especially an expert, looks at something, they examine it, and then deal with it or say how it should be dealt with.\nCan you look at my back? I think something’s wrong.\n  VERB: V at n, also V\n\n  Look is also a noun.\nThe car has not been running very well and a mechanic had to come over to have a look at it.\n  N-SING: usu N at n\n\n4. If you look at someone in a particular way, you look at them with your expression showing what you are feeling or thinking.\nShe looked at him earnestly. `You don’t mind?’\n  VERB: V at n adv/prep\n\n  Look is also a noun.\nHe gave her a blank look, as if he had no idea who she was...\nSally spun round, a feigned look of surprise on her face.\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp, oft adj N, N of n\n\n5. If you look for something, for example something that you have lost, you try to find it.\nI’m looking for a child. I believe your husband can help me find her...\nI had gone to Maine looking for a place to work...\nI looked everywhere for ideas...\nHave you looked on the piano?\n  VERB: V for n, V for n, V prep/adv for n, V prep/adv\n\n  Look is also a noun.\nGo and have another look.\n  N-SING\n\n6. If you are looking for something such as the solution to a problem or a new method, you want it and are trying to obtain it or think of it.\nThe working group will be looking for practical solutions to the problems faced by doctors...\n  VERB: V for n\n  = seek\n7. If you look at a subject, problem, or situation, you think about it or study it, so that you know all about it and can perhaps consider what should be done in relation to it.\nNext term we’ll be looking at the Second World War period...\nHe visited Florida a few years ago looking at the potential of the area to stage a big match.\n  VERB: V at n, V at n\n  = examine, consider\n  Look is also a noun.\nA close look at the statistics reveals a troubling picture.\n  N-SING: oft N at n\n\n8. If you look at a person, situation, or subject from a particular point of view, you judge them or consider them from that point of view.\nBrian had learned to look at her with new respect...\nIt depends how you look at it.\n  VERB: V at n prep/adv, V at n prep/adv\n\n9. You say look when you want someone to pay attention to you because you are going to say something important.\nLook, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it...\nNow, look, here is how things stand.\n  CONVENTION\n\n10. You can use look to draw attention to a particular situation, person, or thing, for example because you find it very surprising, significant, or annoying.\nHey, look at the time! We’ll talk about it tonight. All right?...\nLook what a mess you’ve made of your life.\n  VERB: only imper, V at n, V wh\n\n11. If something such as a building or window looks somewhere, it has a view of a particular place.\nThe castle looks over private parkland...\n  VERB: V prep\n\n  Look out means the same as look.\nWe sit on the terrace, which looks out on the sea.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P prep\n\n12. If you are looking to do something, you are aiming to do it.\n(next)


Words: look .1
Meaning:
We’re not looking to make a fortune.\n  VERB: V to-inf\n\n13. If you say or shout `look out!’ to someone, you are warning them that they are in danger.\n`Look out!’ somebody shouted, as the truck started to roll toward the sea.\n  EXCLAM\n\n14.\nto look down your nose at someone: see nose


Words: look after
Meaning:
look after\n1. If you look after someone or something, you do what is necessary to keep them healthy, safe, or in good condition.\nI love looking after the children...\nPeople don’t look after other people’s property in the same way as they look after their own.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n, V P n\n\n2. If you look after something, you are responsible for it and deal with it or make sure it is all right, especially because it is your job to do so.\n...the farm manager who looks after the day-to-day organization...\nWe’ll help you look after your finances.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n, V P n


Words: look ahead
Meaning:
look ahead\n  If you look ahead, you think about what is going to happen in the future and perhaps make plans for the future.\nI’m trying to look ahead at what might happen and be ready to handle it.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P


Words: look around
Meaning:
look around\n  If you look around or look round a building or place, you walk round it and look at the different parts of it. (in BRIT, also use look round)\nWe went to look round the show homes...\nI’m going to look around and see what I can find.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n, V P


Words: look back
Meaning:
look back\n  If you look back, you think about things that happened in the past.\nLooking back, I am staggered how easily it was all arranged.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P


Words: look down on
Meaning:
look down on\n  To look down on someone means to consider that person to be inferior or unimportant, usually when this is not true.\nI wasn’t successful, so they looked down on me.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P P n


Words: look forward to
Meaning:
look forward to\n1. If you look forward to something that is going to happen, you want it to happen because you think you will enjoy it.\nHe was looking forward to working with the new Prime Minister.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P P -ing\n\n2. If you say that someone is looking forward to something useful or positive, you mean they expect it to happen.\nMotor traders are looking forward to a further increase in vehicle sales.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P P n


Words: look into
Meaning:
look into\n  If a person or organization is looking into a possible course of action, a problem, or a situation, they are finding out about it and examining the facts relating to it.\nHe had once looked into buying his own island off Nova Scotia...\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P -ing\n  = investigate


Words: look on
Meaning:
look on   or look upon\n  If you look on or look upon someone or something in a particular way, you think of them in that way.\nA lot of people looked on him as a healer...\nA lot of people look on it like that...\nEmployers look favourably on applicants who have work experience.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n as n, V P n prep/adv, V adv P n\n  = consider\n\nlook on\n  If you look on while something happens, you watch it happening without taking part yourself.\nAbout 150 local people looked on in silence as the two coffins were taken into the church.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P\n  = watch


Words: look out for
Meaning:
look out for\n  If you look out for something, you pay attention to things so that you notice it if or when it occurs.\nLook out for special deals...\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P P n\n  = watch for


Words: look over
Meaning:
look over\n  If you look something over, you examine it quite quickly in order to get a general idea of what it is like.\nThey presented their draft to the president, who looked it over, nodded and signed it...\nHe could have looked over the papers in less than ten minutes.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V n P, V P n (not pron)


Words: look through
Meaning:
look through\n1. If you look through a group of things, you examine each one so that you can find or choose the one that you want.\nPeter starts looking through the mail as soon as the door shuts.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n\n  = go through\n2. If you look through something that has been written or printed, you read it.\nHe happened to be looking through the medical book `Gray’s Anatomy’ at the time.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n


Words: look to
Meaning:
look to\n1. If you look to someone or something for a particular thing that you want, you expect or hope that they will provide it.\nThe difficulties women encounter with their doctors partly explain why so many of us are looking to alternative therapies.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n\n\n2. If you look to something that will happen in the future, you think about it.\nLooking to the future, though, we asked him what the prospects are for a vaccine to prevent infection in the first place.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n


Words: look up
Meaning:
look up\n1. If you look up a fact or a piece of information, you find it out by looking in something such as a reference book or a list.\nI looked your address up in the personnel file...\nMany people have to look up the meaning of this word in the dictionary.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V n P, V P n (not pron)\n\n2. If you look someone up, you visit them after not having seen them for a long time.\nI’ll try to look him up, ask him a few questions...\nShe looked up some friends of bygone years.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V n P, V P n (not pron)\n  = visit\n3. If a situation is looking up, it is improving. (INFORMAL)\nThings could be looking up in the computer industry.\n  PHRASAL VERB: usu cont, V P\n  = improve


Words: look up to
Meaning:
look up to\n  If you look up to someone, especially someone older than you, you respect and admire them.\nYou’re a popular girl, Grace, and a lot of the younger ones look up to you.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P P n\n  = admire


Words: look-in
Meaning:
look-in\n  If you are trying to take part in an activity and you do not get a look-in, you do not get the chance to take part because too many other people are doing it. (BRIT INFORMAL)\nThey want to make sure the newcomers don’t get a look-in.\n  N-SING: usu with brd-neg, a N


Words: lookalike
Meaning:
look.alike\n   lookalike lookalikes  also look-alike\n  A lookalike is someone who has a very similar appearance to another person, especially a famous person.\n...a Marilyn Monroe look-alike.\n  N-COUNT: usu n-proper N


Words: looker
Meaning:
look.er\n   looker  lookers\n  You can refer to an attractive man or woman as a looker or a good looker. (INFORMAL)\nShe was quite a looker before this happened.\n  N-COUNT


Words: looking glass
Meaning:
look.ing glass\n   looking glass  looking glasses   also looking-glass\n  A looking glass is a mirror. (OLD-FASHIONED)\n  N-COUNT


Words: lookout
Meaning:
look.out\n   lookout  lookouts\n1. A lookout is a place from which you can see clearly in all directions.\nTroops tried to set up a lookout post inside a refugee camp.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A lookout is someone who is watching for danger in order to warn other people about it.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. If someone keeps a lookout, especially on a boat, they look around all the time in order to make sure there is no danger.\nHe denied that he’d failed to keep a proper lookout that night.\n  PHRASE: V inflects


Words: loom
Meaning:
loom  looms  looming  loomed\n1. If something looms over you, it appears as a large or unclear shape, often in a frightening way.\n...the bleak mountains that loomed out of the blackness and towered around us.\n  VERB: V prep/adv, also V\n\n2. If a worrying or threatening situation or event is looming, it seems likely to happen soon. (JOURNALISM)\nAnother government spending crisis is looming in the United States...\nThe threat of renewed civil war looms ahead.\n...the looming threat of recession.\n  VERB: V, V adv/prep, V-ing\n\n3. A loom is a machine that is used for weaving thread into cloth.\n  N-COUNT


Words: loony
Meaning:
loony  loonies  loonier  looniest\n1. If you describe someone’s behaviour or ideas as loony, you mean that they seem mad, strange, or eccentric. Some people consider this use offensive. (INFORMAL)\nWhat’s she up to? She’s as loony as her brother!\n  ADJ  disapproval\n\n2. If you refer to someone as a loony, you mean that they behave in a way that seems mad, strange, or eccentric. Some people consider this use offensive. (INFORMAL)\nAt first they all thought I was a loony.\n  N-COUNT  disapproval


Words: loop
Meaning:
loop  loops  looping  looped\n1. A loop is a curved or circular shape in something long, for example in a piece of string.\nMrs. Morrell reached for a loop of garden hose.\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp\n\n2. If you loop something such as a piece of rope around an object, you tie a length of it in a loop around the object, for example in order to fasten it to the object.\nHe looped the rope over the wood...\nHe wore the watch and chain looped round his neck like a medallion.\n  VERB: V n prep, V-ed\n\n3. If something loops somewhere, it goes there in a circular direction that makes the shape of a loop.\nThe helicopter took off and headed north. Then it looped west, heading for the hills.\n  VERB: V prep/adv\n\n4. If someone is in the loop, they are part of a group of people who make decisions about important things, or they know about these decisions. If they are out of the loop, they do not make or know about important decisions. (mainly AM INFORMAL)\nI think that the vice president was in the loop...\nThese activists don’t want to feel out of the loop.\n  PHRASE: usu v-link PHR


Words: loophole
Meaning:
loop.hole\n   loophole  loopholes\n  A loophole in the law is a small mistake which allows people to do something that would otherwise be illegal.\nIt is estimated that 60,000 shops open every Sunday and trade by exploiting some loophole in the law to avoid prosecution.\n  N-COUNT: oft N in n


Words: loose
Meaning:
loose  looser  loosest  looses  loosing  loosed\n1. Something that is loose is not firmly held or fixed in place.\nIf a tooth feels very loose, your dentist may recommend that it’s taken out...\nTwo wooden beams had come loose from the ceiling...\nShe idly pulled at a loose thread on her skirt.\n  ADJ\n\n=>  loose.ly\nTim clasped his hands together and held them loosely in front of his belly.\n  ADV: ADV with v\n\n2. Something that is loose is not attached to anything, or held or contained in anything.\nFrank emptied a handful of loose change on the table...\nA page came loose and floated onto the tiles.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n3. If people or animals break loose or are set loose, they are no longer held, tied, or kept somewhere and can move around freely.\nShe broke loose from his embrace and crossed to the window...\nWhy didn’t you tell me she’d been set loose?...\n  ADJ: ADJ after v, ADJ n, v-link ADJ\n  = free\n4. Clothes that are loose are rather large and do not fit closely.\nWear loose clothes as they’re more comfortable.\n  ADJ\n  = baggy  !=tight\n=>  loose.ly\nHis shirt hung loosely over his thin shoulders.\n  ADV: ADV after v, ADV -ed\n\n5. If your hair is loose, it hangs freely round your shoulders and is not tied back.\nShe was still in her nightdress, with her hair hanging loose over her shoulders.\n  ADJ\n\n6. If something is loose in texture, there is space between the different particles or threads it consists of.\nShe gathered loose soil and let it filter slowly through her fingers.\n  ADJ\n\n7. A loose grouping, arrangement, or organization is flexible rather than strictly controlled or organized.\nMurray and Alison came to some sort of loose arrangement before he went home...\nHe wants a loose coalition of leftwing forces.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n=>  loose.ly\nThe investigation had aimed at a loosely organised group of criminals.\n  ADV: ADV with v\n\n8. If a person or an animal is on the loose, they are free because they have escaped from a person or place.\nUp to a thousand prisoners may be on the loose inside the jail...\n  PHRASE: v-link PHR\n\n9.\na loose cannon: see cannon\nall hell breaks loose: see hell


Words: loose end
Meaning:
loose end  loose ends\n1. A loose end is part of a story, situation, or crime that has not yet been explained.\nThere are some annoying loose ends in the plot.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If you are at a loose end, you are bored because you do not have anything to do and cannot think of anything that you want to do. In American English, you usually say that you are at loose ends. (INFORMAL)\nAdolescents are most likely to get into trouble when they’re at a loose end.\n  PHRASE: v-link PHR


Words: loose-fitting
Meaning:
loose-fitting   also loose fitting\n  Loose-fitting clothes are rather large and do not fit tightly on your body.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: loosen
Meaning:
loos.en\n   loosen  loosens  loosening  loosened\n1. If someone loosens restrictions or laws, for example, they make them less strict or severe.\nDrilling regulations, too, have been loosened to speed the development of the fields.\n  VERB: V n\n  !=tighten\n=>  loos.en.ing\nDomestic conditions did not justify a loosening of monetary policy.\n  N-SING: usu N of n\n\n2. If someone or something loosens the ties between people or groups of people, or if the ties loosen, they become weaker.\nThe Federal Republic must loosen its ties with the United States...\nThe deputy leader is cautious about loosening the links with the unions...\nThe ties that bind them together are loosening.\n  VERB: V n, V n, V\n\n3. If you loosen your clothing or something that is tied or fastened or if it loosens, you undo it slightly so that it is less tight or less firmly held in place.\nLoosen the bolt so the bars can be turned...\nHer hair had loosened and was tangled around her shoulders.\n  VERB: V n, V\n  !=tighten\n4. If you loosen something that is stretched across something else, you make it less stretched or tight.\nInsert a small knife into the top of the chicken breast to loosen the skin.\n  VERB: V n\n\n5. If you loosen your grip on something, or if your grip loosens, you hold it less tightly.\nHarry loosened his grip momentarily and Anna wriggled free...\nWhen his grip loosened she eased herself away.\n  VERB: V n, V\n  = relax  !=tighten\n6. If a government or organization loosens its grip on a group of people or an activity, or if its grip loosens, it begins to have less control over it.\nThere is no sign that the Party will loosen its tight grip on the country...\nThe Soviet Union’s grip on Eastern Europe loosened.\n  VERB: V n, V\n  = relax


Words: loosen up
Meaning:
loosen up\n1. If a person or situation loosens up, they become more relaxed and less tense.\nYoung people often loosen up on the dance floor...\nI think people have loosened up their standards.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P, V P n\n\n2. If you loosen up your body, or if it loosens up, you do simple exercises to get your muscles ready for a difficult physical activity, such as running or playing football.\nSqueeze the foot with both hands, again to loosen up tight muscles...\nClose your eyes. Relax. Let your body loosen up.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), V P, also V n P


Words: loot
Meaning:
loot  loots  looting  looted\n1. If people loot shops or houses, they steal things from them, for example during a war or riot.\nThe trouble began when gangs began breaking windows and looting shops...\nThere have been reports of youths taking advantage of the general confusion to loot and steal.\n  VERB: V n, V\n\n=>  loot.ing\nIn the country’s largest cities there has been rioting and looting.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. If someone loots things, they steal them, for example during a war or riot.\nThe town has been plagued by armed thugs who have looted food supplies and terrorized the population.\n  VERB: V n\n\n3. Loot is stolen money or goods. (INFORMAL)\nMost criminals steal in order to sell their loot for cash on the black market.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n  = plunder, spoils


Words: looter
Meaning:
loot.er\n   looter  looters\n  A looter is a person who steals things from shops or houses, for example during a war or riot.\n  N-COUNT


Words: lop
Meaning:
lop  lops  lopping  lopped\n=>  lop off\n\n1. If you lop something off, you cut it away from what it was attached to, usually with a quick, strong stroke.\nSomebody lopped the heads off our tulips.\n...men with axes, lopping off branches...\nHis ponytail had been lopped off.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V n P, V P n (not pron), V P n (not pron)\n  = chop\n2. If you lop an amount of money or time off something such as a budget or a schedule, you reduce the budget or schedule by that amount. (INFORMAL)\nThe Air France plane lopped over four hours off the previous best time...\nMore than 100 million pounds will be lopped off the prison building programme.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V n P n, V n P n, also V P n (not pron), V n P


Words: lope
Meaning:
lope  lopes  loping  loped\n  If a person or animal lopes somewhere, they run in an easy and relaxed way, taking long steps.\nHe was loping across the sand toward Nancy...\nMatty saw him go loping off, running low.\n  VERB: V prep/adv, V prep/adv, also V\n\n=>  lop.ing\nShe turned and walked away with long, loping steps.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: lopsided
Meaning:
lop.sided\n   lopsided   also lop-sided\n  Something that is lopsided is uneven because one side is lower or heavier than the other.\nHis suit had shoulders that made him look lopsided.\n...a friendly, lopsided grin.\n  ADJ


Words: loquacious
Meaning:
lo.qua.cious\n   loquacious\n  If you describe someone as loquacious, you mean that they talk a lot. (FORMAL)\nThe normally loquacious Mr O’Reilly has said little.\n  ADJ\n  = talkative, garrulous


Words: lord
Meaning:
lord  lords\n1. In Britain, a lord is a man who has a high rank in the nobility, for example an earl, a viscount, or a marquis.\nShe married a lord and lives in this huge house in the Cotswolds...\nA few days earlier he had received a telegram from Lord Lloyd.\n  N-COUNT; N-TITLE\n\n2. In Britain, judges, bishops, and some male members of the nobility are addressed as `my Lord’.\nMy lord, I am instructed by my client to claim that the evidence has been tampered with.\n  N-VOC: my N  politeness\n\n3. In Britain, Lord is used in the titles of some officials of very high rank.\nHe was Lord Chancellor from 1970 until 1974.\n...Sir Brian Hutton, the Lord Chief Justice for Northern Ireland.\n\n4. The Lords is the same as the House of Lords.\nIt’s very likely the bill will be defeated in the Lords.\n  N-PROPER-COLL: the N\n\n5. In the Christian church, people refer to God and to Jesus Christ as the Lord.\nI know the Lord will look after him...\nShe prayed now. `Lord, help me to find courage.’\n...the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ.\n  N-PROPER: usu the N; N-VOC\n\n  see also Our Lord\n6. Lord is used in exclamations such as `good Lord!’ and `oh Lord!’ to express surprise, shock, frustration, or annoyance about something.\n`Good lord, that’s what he is: he’s a policeman.’...\n`They didn’t fire you for drinking, did they?’.`Lord, no! I only drink beer, nowadays.’\n  EXCLAM  feelings


Words: Lord’s Prayer
Meaning:
Lord’s Prayer\n  The Lord’s Prayer is a Christian prayer that was originally taught by Jesus Christ to his followers.\n  N-PROPER: the N


Words: lordly
Meaning:
lord.ly\n   lordly\n1. If you say that someone’s behaviour is lordly, you are critical of them because they treat other people in a proud and arrogant way.\n...their usual lordly indifference to patients.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n  disapproval\n\n2. Lordly means impressive and suitable for a lord.\n...the site of a lordly mansion.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: Lordship
Meaning:
Lord.ship\n   Lordship  Lordships\n  You use the expressions Your Lordship, His Lordship, or Their Lordships when you are addressing or referring to a judge, bishop, or male member of the nobility.\nMy name is Richard Savage, your Lordship...\nHis Lordship expressed the hope that the Law Commission might look at the subject.\n  N-VOC; N-PROPER: det-poss N  politeness


Words: lore
Meaning:
lore\n  The lore of a particular country or culture is its traditional stories and history.\n...the Book of the Sea, which was stuffed with sailors’ lore.\n...ancient Catalan lore.\n  N-UNCOUNT: with supp


Words: lorry
Meaning:
lor.ry\n   lorry  lorries\n  A lorry is a large vehicle that is used to transport goods by road. (BRIT; in AM, use truck)\n...a seven-ton lorry.\n  N-COUNT


Words: lose
Meaning:
lose  loses  losing  lost\n1. If you lose a contest, a fight, or an argument, you do not succeed because someone does better than you and defeats you.\nA C Milan lost the Italian Cup Final...\nThe government lost the argument over the pace of reform...\nNo one likes to be on the losing side.\n  VERB: V n, V n, V-ing\n\n2. If you lose something, you do not know where it is, for example because you have forgotten where you put it.\nI lost my keys...\nI had to go back for my checkup; they’d lost my X-rays.\n  VERB: V n, V n\n\n3. You say that you lose something when you no longer have it because it has been taken away from you or destroyed.\nI lost my job when the company moved to another state...\nShe was terrified they’d lose their home.\n  VERB: V n, V n\n\n4. If someone loses a quality, characteristic, attitude, or belief, they no longer have it.\nHe lost all sense of reason...\nHe had lost his desire to live.\n  VERB: V n, V n\n\n5. If you lose an ability, you stop having that ability because of something such as an accident.\nThey lost their ability to hear...\nHe had lost the use of his legs.\n  VERB: V n, V n\n\n6. If someone or something loses heat, their temperature becomes lower.\nBabies lose heat much faster than adults...\n  VERB: V n\n\n7. If you lose blood or fluid from your body, it leaves your body so that you have less of it.\nDuring fever a large quantity of fluid is lost in perspiration.\n  VERB: V n\n\n8. If you lose weight, you become less heavy, and usually look thinner.\nI have lost a lot of weight...\nMartha was able to lose 25 pounds.\n  VERB: V n, V n\n\n9. If you lose a part of your body, it is cut off in an operation or in an accident.\nHe lost a foot when he was struck by a train.\n  VERB: V n\n\n10. If someone loses their life, they die.\n...the ferry disaster in 1987, in which 192 people lost their lives...\nHundreds of lives were lost in fighting.\n  VERB: V n, V n\n\n11. If you lose a close relative or friend, they die.\nMy Grandma lost her brother in the war.\n  VERB: V n\n\n12. If things are lost, they are destroyed in a disaster.\n...the famous Nankin pottery that was lost in a shipwreck off the coast of China.\n  VERB: usu passive, be V-ed\n\n13. If you lose time, something slows you down so that you do not make as much progress as you hoped.\nThey claim that police lost valuable time in the early part of the investigation...\nSix hours were lost in all.\n  VERB: V n, V n\n\n14. If you lose an opportunity, you do not take advantage of it.\nIf you don’t do it soon you’re going to lose the opportunity...\nThey did not lose the opportunity to say what they thought of events.\n...a lost opportunity.\n  VERB: V n, V n to-inf, V-ed\n\n15. If you lose yourself in something or if you are lost in it, you give a lot of attention to it and do not think about anything else.\nMichael held on to her arm, losing himself in the music...\nHe was lost in the contemplation of the landscape.\n  VERB: V pron-refl in n, be V-ed in n\n  = absorb\n16. If a business loses money, it earns less money than it spends, and is therefore in debt. (BUSINESS)\nHis shops stand to lose millions of pounds...\n  VERB: V n\n\n17. If something loses you a contest or loses you something that you had, it causes you to fail or to no longer have what you had.\nMy own stupidity lost me the match...\nHis economic mismanagement has lost him the support of the general public.\n  VERB: V n n, V n n\n\n18.\n  see also lost\n19. If someone loses it, they become extremely angry or upset. (INFORMAL)\nI completely lost it. I went mad, berserk.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n20. If you lose your way, you become lost when you are trying to go somewhere.\nThe men lost their way in a sandstorm.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n21.\nto lose your balance: see balance\nto lose the battle but win the war: see battle\nto lose contact: see contact\nto lose your cool: see cool\nto lose face: see face\nto lose your grip: see grip\nto lose your head: see head\nto lose heart: see heart\nto lose your mind: see mind\n(next)


Words: lose .1
Meaning:
to lose your nerve: see nerve\nto lose the plot: see plot\nto lose sight of: see sight\nto lose your temper: see temper\nto lose touch: see touch\nto lose track of: see track


Words: lose out
Meaning:
lose out\n  If you lose out, you suffer a loss or disadvantage because you have not succeeded in what you were doing.\nWe both lost out...\nLaura lost out to Tom...\nWomen have lost out in this new pay flexibility...\nEgypt has lost out on revenues from the Suez Canal.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P, V P to n, V P in n, V P on n\n  = miss out


Words: loser
Meaning:
los.er\n   loser  losers\n1. The losers of a game, contest, or struggle are the people who are defeated or beaten.\n...the Dallas Cowboys and Buffalo Bills, the winners and losers of this year’s Super Bowl.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl\n  !=winner\n  If someone is a good loser, they accept that they have lost a game or contest without complaining. If someone is a bad loser, they hate losing and complain about it.\nI’m sure the prime minister will turn out to be a good loser...\nYou are a very bad loser Lou, aren’t you?\n  PHRASE: usu v-link PHR\n\n2. If you refer to someone as a loser, you have a low opinion of them because you think they are always unsuccessful. (INFORMAL)\nThey’ve only been trained to compete with other men, so a successful woman can make them feel like a real loser.\n  N-COUNT  disapproval\n  = failure\n3. People who are losers as the result of an action or event, are in a worse situation because of it or do not benefit from it.\nSome of Britain’s top business leaders of the 1980s became the country’s greatest losers in the recession.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl\n  !=winner


Words: loss
Meaning:
loss  losses\n1. Loss is the fact of no longer having something or having less of it than before.\n...loss of sight...\nThe loss of income for the government is about $250 million a month.\n...hair loss...\nThe job losses will reduce the total workforce to 7,000.\n  N-VAR: usu with supp\n\n2. Loss of life occurs when people die.\n...a terrible loss of human life...\nThe allies suffered less than 20 casualties while enemy losses were said to be high.\n  N-VAR: usu with supp\n\n3. The loss of a relative or friend is their death.\nThey took the time to talk about the loss of Thomas and how their grief was affecting them.\n...the loss of his mother.\n  N-UNCOUNT: with supp, usu the N of n\n\n4. If a business makes a loss, it earns less than it spends.\nIn 1986 Rover made a loss of nine hundred million pounds...\nThe company said it will stop producing fertilizer in 1990 because of continued losses.\n...profit and loss.\n  N-VAR\n  !=profit\n5. Loss is the feeling of sadness you experience when someone or something you like is taken away from you.\nTalk to others about your feelings of loss and grief...\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n6. A loss is the disadvantage you suffer when a valuable and useful person or thing leaves or is taken away.\nShe said his death was a great loss to herself.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing\n\n7. The loss of something such as heat, blood, or fluid is the gradual reduction of it or of its level in a system or in someone’s body.\n...blood loss.\n...weight loss.\n...a rapid loss of heat from the body.\n  N-UNCOUNT: with supp\n\n8. If a business produces something at a loss, they sell it at a price which is less than it cost them to produce it or buy it. (BUSINESS)\nNew fashion designs have to be sold off at a loss if sales are poor.\n  PHRASE: PHR after v\n  !=at a profit\n9. If you say that you are at a loss, you mean that you do not know what to do in a particular situation.\nThe government is at a loss to know how to tackle the violence.\n  PHRASE: usu v-link PHR, usu PHR for n, PHR to-inf\n\n10. If you cut your losses, you stop doing what you were doing in order to prevent the bad situation that you are in becoming worse.\nDirectors are right to cut their losses, admit they chose the wrong man and make a change.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n11. If you say that someone or something is a dead loss, you have a low opinion of them because you think they are completely useless or unsuccessful. (BRIT INFORMAL)\nI’d had no experience of organizing anything of that sort. I think I was largely a dead loss.\n  PHRASE: usu v-link PHR  disapproval


Words: loss adjuster
Meaning:
loss ad.just.er\n   loss adjuster  loss adjusters   also loss adjustor\n  A loss adjuster is someone who is employed by an insurance company to decide how much money should be paid to a person making a claim. (BRIT BUSINESS; in AM, use insurance adjuster, claims adjuster)\n  N-COUNT


Words: loss leader
Meaning:
loss lead.er\n   loss leader  loss leaders   also loss-leader\n  A loss leader is an item that is sold at such a low price that it makes a loss in the hope that customers will be attracted by it and buy other goods at the same shop. (BUSINESS)\n  N-COUNT


Words: lost
Meaning:
lost\n1. Lost is the past tense and past participle of lose.\n\n2. If you are lost or if you get lost, you do not know where you are or are unable to find your way.\nBarely had I set foot in the street when I realised I was lost...\nI took a wrong turn and we got lost in the mountains.\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ\n\n3. If something is lost, or gets lost, you cannot find it, for example because you have forgotten where you put it.\n...a lost book...\nMy paper got lost...\nHe was scrabbling for his pen, which had got lost somewhere under the sheets of paper.\n  ADJ\n\n4. If you feel lost, you feel very uncomfortable because you are in an unfamiliar situation.\nOf the funeral he remembered only the cold, the waiting, and feeling very lost...\nI feel lost and lonely in a strange town alone.\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ\n\n5. If you describe a person or group of people as lost, you think that they do not have a clear idea of what they want to do or achieve.\nThey are a lost generation in search of an identity.\n  ADJ\n\n6. If you describe something as lost, you mean that you no longer have it or it no longer exists.\n...a lost job or promotion...\nThe sense of community is lost...\nThe riots will also mean lost income for Los Angeles County.\n  ADJ\n\n7. You use lost to refer to a period or state of affairs that existed in the past and no longer exists.\nHe seemed to pine for his lost youth...\n...the relics of a lost civilisation.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n8. If something is lost, it is not used properly and is considered wasted.\nFox is not bitter about the lost opportunity to compete in the Games...\nThe advantage is lost.\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ\n\n9. If advice or a comment is lost on someone, they do not understand it or they pay no attention to it.\nThe meaning of that was lost on me...\n  PHRASE: V inflects, PHR n


Words: lost and found
Meaning:
lost and found\n1. Lost and found is the place where lost property is kept. (AM; in BRIT, use lost property)\n  N-SING\n\n2. Lost and found things are things which someone has lost and which someone else has found.\n...the shelf where they stored lost-and-found articles.\n...the local paper’s lost-and-found column.\n  ADJ


Words: lost cause
Meaning:
lost cause  lost causes\n  If you refer to something or someone as a lost cause, you mean that people’s attempts to change or influence them have no chance of succeeding.\nThey do not want to expend energy in what, to them, is a lost cause.\n  N-COUNT


Words: lost property
Meaning:
lost prop.er.ty\n   lost property\n1. Lost property consists of things that people have lost or accidentally left in a public place, for example on a train or in a school.\nLost property should be handed to the driver.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. Lost property is a place where lost property is kept. (BRIT; in AM, use lost and found)\nI was enquiring in Lost Property at Derby.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: lost soul
Meaning:
lost soul  lost souls\n  If you call someone a lost soul, you mean that they seem unhappy, and unable to fit in with any particular group of people in society.\nThey just clung to each other like two lost souls.\n  N-COUNT


Words: lot
Meaning:
lot  lots\n1. A lot of something or lots of it is a large amount of it. A lot of people or things, or lots of them, is a large number of them.\nA lot of our land is used to grow crops for export...\nI remember a lot of things...\n`You’ll find that everybody will try and help their colleague.’.`Yeah. There’s a lot of that.’...\nHe drank lots of milk...\nA lot of the play is very funny.\n  QUANT: QUANT of n\n\n  Lot is also a pronoun.\nThere’s lots going on at Selfridges this month...\nI learned a lot from him about how to run a band...\nI know a lot has been said about my sister’s role in my career.\n  PRON\n\n2. A lot means to a great extent or degree.\nMatthew’s out quite a lot doing his research...\nI like you, a lot...\nIf I went out and accepted a job at a lot less money, I’d jeopardize a good career.\n  ADV: ADV after v, oft ADV compar\n\n3. If you do something a lot, you do it often or for a long time.\nThey went out a lot, to the Cafe Royal or the The Ivy...\nHe talks a lot about his own children.\n  ADV: ADV after v\n\n4. You can use lot to refer to a set or group of things or people.\nHe bought two lots of 1,000 shares in the company during August and September...\nWe’ve just sacked one lot of builders.\n  N-COUNT: num N, oft N of n\n\n5. You can refer to a specific group of people as a particular lot. (INFORMAL)\nFuture generations are going to think that we were a pretty boring lot.\n  N-SING: adj N\n  = bunch\n6. You can use the lot to refer to the whole of an amount that you have just mentioned. (INFORMAL)\nInstead of using the money to pay his rent, he went to a betting shop and lost the lot in half an hour.\n  N-SING: the N\n\n7. Your lot is the kind of life you have or the things that you have or experience.\nShe tried to accept her marriage as her lot in life but could not...\n  N-SING: usu with poss\n\n8. A lot is a small area of land that belongs to a person or company. (AM)\nIf oil or gold are discovered under your lot, you can sell the mineral rights.\n  N-COUNT\n\n  see also parking lot\n9. A lot in an auction is one of the objects or groups of objects that are being sold.\nThe receivers are keen to sell the stores as one lot...\n  N-COUNT\n\n10. If people draw lots to decide who will do something, they each take a piece of paper from a container. One or more pieces of paper is marked, and the people who take marked pieces are chosen.\nFor the first time in a World Cup finals, lots had to be drawn to decide who would finish second and third.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n11. If you throw in your lot with a particular person or group, you decide to work with them and support them from then on, whatever happens.\nHe has decided to throw in his lot with the far-right groups in parliament.\n  PHRASE: V inflects, PHR n\n  = join forces with


Words: lotion
Meaning:
lo.tion\n   lotion  lotions\n  A lotion is a liquid that you use to clean, improve, or protect your skin or hair.\n...suntan lotion.\n...cleansing lotions.\n  N-MASS: usu n N\n  = cream


Words: lottery
Meaning:
lot.tery\n   lottery  lotteries\n1. A lottery is a type of gambling game in which people buy numbered tickets. Several numbers are then chosen, and the people who have those numbers on their tickets win a prize.\n...the national lottery.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If you describe something as a lottery, you mean that what happens depends entirely on luck or chance.\nWhich judges are assigned to a case is always a bit of a lottery.\n  N-SING: a N


Words: lotus
Meaning:
lo.tus\n   lotus  lotuses\n  A lotus or a lotus flower is a type of water lily that grows in Africa and Asia.\n  N-COUNT


Words: lotus position
Meaning:
lo.tus po.si.tion\n   lotus position\n  If someone doing meditation or yoga is in the lotus position, they are sitting with their legs crossed and each foot resting on top of the opposite thigh.\n  N-SING: usu the N


Words: louche
Meaning:
louche\n  If you describe a person or place as louche, you mean that they are unconventional and not respectable, but often in a way that people find rather attractive. (WRITTEN)\n...that section of London society which somehow managed to be louche and fashionable at the same time.\n  ADJ\n  = disreputable


Words: loud
Meaning:
loud  louder  loudest\n1. If a noise is loud, the level of sound is very high and it can be easily heard. Someone or something that is loud produces a lot of noise.\nSuddenly there was a loud bang...\nHis voice became harsh and loud...\nThe band was starting to play a fast, loud number.\n...amazingly loud discos.\n  ADJ\n  !=quiet\n  Loud is also an adverb.\nShe wonders whether Paul’s hearing is OK because he turns the television up very loud.\n  ADV: ADV after v\n\n=>  loud.ly\nHis footsteps echoed loudly in the tiled hall.\n  ADV: ADV with v\n\n=>  loud.ness\nThe students began to enter the classroom and Anna was startled at their loudness.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. If someone is loud in their support for or criticism of something, they express their opinion very often and in a very strong way.\nMr Adams’ speech yesterday was very loud in condemnation of the media...\nMr Jones received loud support from his local community.\n  ADJ: oft ADJ in n/-ing\n\n=>  loud.ly\nMac talked loudly in favour of the good works done by the Church.\n  ADV: ADV with v\n\n3. If you describe something, especially a piece of clothing, as loud, you dislike it because it has very bright colours or very large, bold patterns which look unpleasant.\nHe liked to shock with his gold chains and loud clothes...\n  ADJ  disapproval\n  = garish\n4. If you tell someone something loud and clear, you are very easily understood, either because your voice is very clear or because you express yourself very clearly.\nLisa’s voice comes through loud and clear...\nThe message is a powerful one, and I hope it will be heard loud and clear by the tobacco industry.\n  PHRASE: usu PHR after v\n\n5. If you say or read something out loud, you say it or read it so that it can be heard, rather than just thinking it.\nEven Ford, who seldom smiled, laughed out loud a few times...\nHe began to read out loud.\n  PHRASE: usu PHR after v\n\n6.\nfor crying out loud: see cry


Words: loud-mouthed
Meaning:
loud-mouthed\n  If you describe someone as loud-mouthed, you are critical of them because they talk a lot, especially in an unpleasant, offensive, or stupid way.\n...a loud-mouthed oaf with very little respect for women.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n  disapproval


Words: loudhailer
Meaning:
loud.hail.er\n   loudhailer  loudhailers   also loud-hailer\n  A loudhailer is a portable device with a microphone at one end and a cone-shaped speaker at the other end, used to make your voice heard more easily outdoors. (BRIT; in AM, use bullhorn)\n  N-COUNT\n  = megaphone


Words: loudmouth
Meaning:
loud.mouth\n   loudmouth  loudmouths\n  If you describe someone as a loudmouth, you are critical of them because they talk a lot, especially in an unpleasant, offensive, or stupid way.\n  N-COUNT  disapproval


Words: loudspeaker
Meaning:
loud.speaker\n   loudspeaker  loudspeakers   also loud speaker\n  A loudspeaker is a piece of equipment, for example part of a radio or hi-fi system, through which sound comes out.\n  N-COUNT\n  = speaker


Words: lounge
Meaning:
lounge  lounges  lounging  lounged\n1. In a house, a lounge is a room where people sit and relax. (mainly BRIT)\nThe Holmbergs were sitting before a roaring fire in the lounge, sipping their cocoa.\n  N-COUNT\n  = living room\n2. In a hotel, club, or other public place, a lounge is a room where people can sit and relax.\nI spoke to her in the lounge of a big Johannesburg hotel where she was attending a union meeting.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. In an airport, a lounge is a very large room where people can sit and wait for aircraft to arrive or leave.\nInstead of taking me to the departure lounge they took me right to my seat on the plane.\n  N-COUNT: usu supp N\n\n4. If you lounge somewhere, you sit or lie there in a relaxed or lazy way.\nThey ate and drank and lounged in the shade...\n  VERB: V prep


Words: louse
Meaning:
louse  lice\n  Lice are small insects that live on the bodies of people or animals and bite them in order to feed off their blood.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl


Words: lousy
Meaning:
lousy  lousier  lousiest\n1. If you describe something as lousy, you mean that it is of very bad quality or that you do not like it. (INFORMAL)\nHe blamed Fiona for a lousy weekend...\nIt’s lousy to be the new kid.\n  ADJ\n  = rotten\n2. If you describe someone as lousy, you mean that they are very bad at something they do. (INFORMAL)\nI was a lousy secretary...\nThere can be no argument about how lousy he is at public relations.\n  ADJ: oft ADJ at n\n  = awful, terrible\n3. If you describe the number or amount of something as lousy, you mean it is smaller than you think it should be. (INFORMAL)\nThe pay is lousy.\n  ADJ\n\n4. If you feel lousy, you feel very ill. (INFORMAL)\nI wasn’t actually sick but I felt lousy.\n  ADJ: feel/look ADJ


Words: lout
Meaning:
lout  louts\n  If you describe a man or boy as a lout, you are critical of them because they behave in an impolite or aggressive way.\n...a drunken lout.\n  N-COUNT  disapproval


Words: loutish
Meaning:
lout.ish\n   loutish\n  If you describe a man or a boy as loutish, you are critical of them because their behaviour is impolite and aggressive.\nI was appalled by the loutish behaviour.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n  disapproval


Words: louvre
Meaning:
lou.vre\n   louvre  louvres\nin AM, use louver\n  A louvre is a door or window with narrow, flat, sloping pieces of wood or glass across its frame.\n  N-COUNT: oft N n


Words: lovable
Meaning:
lov.able\n   lovable\n  If you describe someone as lovable, you mean that they have attractive qualities, and are easy to like.\nHis vulnerability makes him even more lovable.\n  ADJ\n  = endearing


Words: love
Meaning:
love  loves  loving  loved\n1. If you love someone, you feel romantically or sexually attracted to them, and they are very important to you.\nOh, Amy, I love you...\nWe love each other. We want to spend our lives together.\n  VERB: V n, V n\n\n2. Love is a very strong feeling of affection towards someone who you are romantically or sexually attracted to.\nOur love for each other has been increased by what we’ve been through together.\n...a old fashioned love story.\n...an album of love songs.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n3. You say that you love someone when their happiness is very important to you, so that you behave in a kind and caring way towards them.\nYou’ll never love anyone the way you love your baby.\n  VERB: V n\n\n4. Love is the feeling that a person’s happiness is very important to you, and the way you show this feeling in your behaviour towards them.\nMy love for all my children is unconditional...\nShe’s got a great capacity for love.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n5. If you love something, you like it very much.\nWe loved the food so much, especially the fish dishes...\nI loved reading.\n...one of these people that loves to be in the outdoors...\nI love it when I hear you laugh.\n  VERB: V n/-ing, V n/-ing, V to-inf, V it wh\n\n6. You can say that you love something when you consider that it is important and want to protect or support it.\nI love my country as you love yours.\n  VERB: V n\n\n7. Love is a strong liking for something, or a belief that it is important.\nThe French are known for their love of their language.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N of n\n\n8. Your love is someone or something that you love.\n`She is the love of my life,’ he said...\nMusic’s one of my great loves.\n  N-COUNT: usu with poss\n\n9. If you would love to have or do something, you very much want to have it or do it.\nI would love to play for England again...\nI would love a hot bath and clean clothes...\nHis wife would love him to give up his job.\n  VERB: V to-inf, V n, V n to-inf\n\n10. Some people use love as an affectionate way of addressing someone. (BRIT INFORMAL)\nWell, I’ll take your word for it then, love...\nDon’t cry, my love.\n  N-VOC  feelings\n  = dear, darling\n11. In tennis, love is a score of zero.\nHe beat Thomas Muster of Austria three sets to love.\n  NUM\n\n12. You can use expressions such as `love’, `love from’, and `all my love’, followed by your name, as an informal way of ending a letter to a friend or relation.\n...with love from Grandma and Grandpa.\n  CONVENTION\n\n13. If you send someone your love, you ask another person, who will soon be speaking or writing to them, to tell them that you are thinking about them with affection.\nPlease give her my love.\n  N-UNCOUNT: poss N\n\n14.\n  see also -loved, loving, free love, peace-loving, tug-of-love\n15. If you fall in love with someone, you start to be in love with them.\nI fell in love with him because of his kind nature...\nWe fell madly in love.\n  PHRASE: V inflects, oft PHR with n\n\n16. If you fall in love with something, you start to like it very much.\nWorking with Ford closely, I fell in love with the cinema.\n  PHRASE: V inflects, usu PHR with n\n\n17. If you are in love with someone, you feel romantically or sexually attracted to them, and they are very important to you.\nLaura had never before been in love...\nI’ve never really been in love with anyone...\nWe were madly in love for about two years.\n  PHRASE: V inflects, oft PHR with n\n\n18. If you are in love with something, you like it very much.\nHe had always been in love with the enchanted landscape of the West.\n  PHRASE: V inflects, usu PHR with n\n\n19. When two people make love, they have sex.\nHave you ever made love to a girl before?...\n  PHRASE: V inflects, oft pl-n PHR, PHR to/with n


Words: love affair
Meaning:
love af.fair\n   love affair  love affairs\n1. A love affair is a romantic and usually sexual relationship between two people who love each other but who are not married or living together.\n...a stressful love affair with a married man.\n  N-COUNT: oft N with/between n\n  = relationship\n2. If you refer to someone’s love affair with something, you mean that they like it a lot and are very enthusiastic about it.\n...the American love affair with firearms...\n  N-SING: with supp, usu N with n


Words: love bite
Meaning:
love bite  love bites   also lovebite\n  A love bite is a mark which someone has on their body as a result of being bitten by their partner when they were kissing or making love.\n  N-COUNT


Words: love child
Meaning:
love child  love children   also love-child\n  If journalists refer to someone as a love child, they mean that the person was born as a result of a love affair between two people who have never been married to each other.\nEric has a secret love child.\n  N-COUNT


Words: love letter
Meaning:
love let.ter\n   love letter  love letters\n  A love letter is a letter that you write to someone in order to tell them that you love them.\n  N-COUNT


Words: love life
Meaning:
love life  love lives\n  Someone’s love life is the part of their life that consists of their romantic and sexual relationships.\nHis love life was complicated, and involved intense relationships.\n  N-COUNT


Words: love nest
Meaning:
love nest  love nests   also love-nest\n  A love nest is a house or flat where two people who are having a love affair live or meet. (JOURNALISM)\n  N-COUNT: usu sing


Words: love rat
Meaning:
love rat love rats\n  Journalists sometimes use love rat to refer to a man who treats his wife or girlfriend in a cruel way, especially by having sexual relationships with other women. (JOURNALISM)\n...the womanising of royal love rat James Hewitt.\n  N-COUNT  disapproval


Words: love story
Meaning:
love sto.ry\n   love story  love stories\n  A love story is something such as a novel or film about a love affair.\n  N-COUNT


Words: love triangle
Meaning:
love tri.an.gle\n   love triangle  love triangles\n  A love triangle is a relationship in which three people are each in love with at least one other person in the relationship. (JOURNALISM)\n  N-COUNT: usu sing


Words: love-hate relationship
Meaning:
love-hate re.la.tion.ship\n   love-hate relationship  love-hate relationships\n  If you have a love-hate relationship with someone or something, your feelings towards them change suddenly and often from love to hate.\n...a book about the close love-hate relationship between two boys.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing


Words: love-stricken
Meaning:
love-stricken   also lovestruck\n  If you describe someone as love-stricken, you mean that they are so much in love that they are behaving in a strange and foolish way.\n  ADJ


Words: lovebirds
Meaning:
love.birds\n   lovebirds\n  You can refer to two people as lovebirds when they are obviously very much in love. (HUMOROUS)\n  N-PLURAL


Words: loveless
Meaning:
love.less\n   loveless\n  A loveless relationship or situation is one where there is no love.\nShe is in a loveless relationship.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: lovelorn
Meaning:
love.lorn\n   lovelorn\n  Lovelorn means the same as lovesick.\nHe was acting like a lovelorn teenager.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: lovely
Meaning:
love.ly\n   lovely  lovelier  loveliest\n1. If you describe someone or something as lovely, you mean that they are very beautiful and therefore pleasing to look at or listen to. (mainly BRIT)\nYou look lovely, Marcia...\nHe had a lovely voice...\nIt was just one of those lovely old English gardens.\n  ADJ\n  = beautiful\n=>  love.li.ness\nYou are a vision of loveliness.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n  = beauty\n2. If you describe something as lovely, you mean that it gives you pleasure. (mainly BRIT mainly SPOKEN)\nMary! How lovely to see you!...\nIt’s a lovely day...\nWhat a lovely surprise!\n  ADJ\n  = marvellous, wonderful\n3. If you describe someone as lovely, you mean that they are friendly, kind, or generous. (mainly BRIT)\nLaura is a lovely young woman...\nShe’s a lovely child.\n  ADJ\n  = delightful


Words: lovemaking
Meaning:
love.making\n   lovemaking   also love-making\n  Lovemaking refers to sexual activities that take place between two people who love each other.\nTheir love-making became less and less frequent.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: lover
Meaning:
lov.er\n   lover  lovers\n1. Someone’s lover is someone who they are having a sexual relationship with but are not married to.\nHe and Liz became lovers soon after they first met.\n  N-COUNT: oft poss N\n\n2. If you are a lover of something such as animals or the arts, you enjoy them very much and take great pleasure in them.\nShe is a great lover of horses and horse racing...\nAre you an opera lover?\n  N-COUNT: with supp


Words: lovesick
Meaning:
love.sick\n   lovesick\n  If you describe someone as lovesick, you mean that they are so in love with someone who does not love them, that they are behaving in a strange and foolish way.\n...a lovesick boy consumed with self-pity.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  = lovelorn


Words: lovey-dovey
Meaning:
lovey-dovey\n  You can use lovey-dovey to describe, in a humorous or slightly disapproving way, lovers who show their affection for each other very openly. (INFORMAL)\nAll my friends were either lovey-dovey couples or wild, single girls.\n  ADJ  disapproval


Words: loving
Meaning:
lov.ing\n   loving\n1. Someone who is loving feels or shows love to other people.\nJim was a most loving husband and father...\nThe children there were very loving to me.\n  ADJ\n  = affectionate\n=>  lov.ing.ly\nBrian gazed lovingly at Mary Ann.\n  ADV\n\n2. Loving actions are done with great enjoyment and care.\nThe house has been restored with loving care.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n=>  lov.ing.ly\nI lifted the box and ran my fingers lovingly over the top.\n  ADV: ADV after v, ADV -ed\n\n3.\n  see also peace-loving


Words: low
Meaning:
low  lower  lowest  lows\n1. Something that is low measures only a short distance from the bottom to the top, or from the ground to the top.\n...the low garden wall that separated the front garden from next door...\nShe put it down on the low table...\nThe Leisure Center is a long and low modern building.\n  ADJ\n\n2. If something is low, it is close to the ground, to sea level, or to the bottom of something.\nHe bumped his head on the low beams...\nIt was late afternoon and the sun was low in the sky...\nThey saw a government war plane make a series of low-level bombing raids.\n  ADJ\n\n3. When a river is low, it contains less water than usual.\n...pumps that guarantee a constant depth of water even when the supplying river is low.\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ\n  !=high\n4. You can use low to indicate that something is small in amount or that it is at the bottom of a particular scale. You can use phrases such as in the low 80s to indicate that a number or level is less than 85 but not as little as 80.\nBritish casualties remained remarkably low...\nThey are still having to live on very low incomes...\nThe temperature’s in the low 40s.\n  ADJ\n  !=high\n5. Low is used to describe people who are not considered to be very important because they are near the bottom of a particular scale or system.\nShe refused to promote Colin above the low rank of `legal adviser’.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  !=high\n6. If something reaches a low of a particular amount or degree, that is the smallest it has ever been.\nEventually my weight stabilised at seven and a half stone after dropping to a low of five and a half stone...\nThe dollar fell to a new low.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, oft N of amount\n  !=high\n7. If you drive or ride a bicycle in a low gear, you use a gear, usually first or second, which gives you the most control over your car or bicycle when travelling slowly.\nShe selected a low gear and started down the track carefully.\n  ADJ\n  !=high\n8. If the quality or standard of something is low, it is very poor.\nA school would not accept low-quality work from any student...\n...low-grade coal.\n  ADJ\n  = poor  !=high\n9. If a food or other substance is low in a particular ingredient, it contains only a small amount of that ingredient.\nThey look for foods that are low in calories.\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ in n\n  !=high\n  Low is also a combining form.\n...low-sodium tomato sauce...\nLow-odour paints help make decorating so much easier.\n  COMB in ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n10. If you describe someone such as a student or a worker as a low achiever, you mean that they are not very good at their work, and do not achieve or produce as much as others.\nLow achievers in schools will receive priority.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n  !=high\n11. If you have a low opinion of someone or something, you disapprove of them or dislike them.\nI have an extremely low opinion of the British tabloid newspapers.\n  ADJ\n  !=high\n12. You can use low to describe negative feelings and attitudes.\nWe are all very tired and morale is low...\nPeople had very low expectations.\n  ADJ\n\n13. If a sound or noise is low, it is deep.\nThen suddenly she gave a low, choking moan and began to tremble violently...\nMy voice has got so low now I was mistaken for a man the other day on the phone.\n  ADJ\n  = deep  !=high\n14. If someone’s voice is low, it is quiet or soft.\nHer voice was so low he had to strain to catch it.\n  ADJ\n\n15. A light that is low is not bright or strong.\nTheir eyesight is poor in low light.\n  ADJ\n  = dim\n16. If a radio, oven, or light is on low, it has been adjusted so that only a small amount of sound, heat, or light is produced.\nShe turned her little kitchen radio on low...\nBuy a dimmer switch and keep the light on low, or switch it off altogether...\nCook the sauce over a low heat until it boils and thickens.\n  ADJ\n\n17. If you are low on something or if a supply of it is low, there is not much of it left.\nWe’re a bit low on bed linen...\nWorld stocks of wheat were getting very low.\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ, usu ADJ on n\n\n(next)


Words: low .1
Meaning:
18. If you are low, you are depressed. (INFORMAL)\n`I didn’t ask for this job, you know,’ he tells friends when he is low.\n  ADJ\n  = down\n19.\n  see also lower\n20. If you are lying low, you are hiding or not drawing attention to yourself. (INFORMAL)\nFar from lying low, Kuti became more outspoken than ever.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n21.\nto look high and low: see high\nlow profile: see profile\nto be running low: see run


Words: low life
Meaning:
low life   also low-life; lowlife\n  People sometimes use low life to refer in a disapproving way to people who are involved in criminal, dishonest, or immoral activities, or to these activities.\n...the sort of low-life characters who populate this film.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N n  disapproval


Words: low season
Meaning:
low sea.son\n   low season\n  The low season is the time of year when a place receives the fewest visitors, and fares and holiday accommodation are often cheaper. (BRIT; in AM, use off-season)\nPrices drop to .315 in the low season.\n  N-SING: the N


Words: low tide
Meaning:
low tide  low tides\n  At the coast, low tide is the time when the sea is at its lowest level because the tide is out.\nThe causeway to the island is only accessible at low tide.\n  N-VAR: oft at N\n  !=high tide


Words: low-cal
Meaning:
low-cal\n  Low-cal food is food that contains only a few calories. People who are trying to lose weight eat low-cal food.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: low-cut
Meaning:
low-cut\n  Low-cut dresses and blouses do not cover the top part of a woman’s chest.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: low-down
Meaning:
low-down   also lowdown\n1. If someone gives you the low-down on a person or thing, they tell you all the important information about them. (INFORMAL)\nWe want you to give us the low-down on your team-mates.\n  N-SING: the N, oft N on n\n  = gen\n2. You can use low-down to emphasize how bad, dishonest, or unfair you consider a particular person or their behaviour to be. (INFORMAL)\n...a lowdown, evil drunkard...\nThey will stoop to every low-down trick.\n  ADJ: ADJ n  emphasis\n  = despicable


Words: low-flying
Meaning:
low-flying\n  Low-flying aircraft or birds are flying very close to the ground, or lower than normal.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: low-impact
Meaning:
1. Low-impact exercise does not put a lot of stress on your body.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  !=high-impact\n2. Low-impact projects, developments, and activities such as holidays are designed to cause minimum harm to the environment.\n...sensitive, enlightened, low-impact ecotourism...\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: low-key
Meaning:
low-key\n  If you say that something is low-key, you mean that it is on a small scale rather than involving a lot of activity or being made to seem impressive or important.\nThe wedding will be a very low-key affair...\nHe wanted to keep the meetings low-key.\n  ADJ


Words: low-lying
Meaning:
low-lying\n  Low-lying land is at, near, or below sea level.\nSea walls collapsed, and low-lying areas were flooded.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: low-paid
Meaning:
low-paid\n  If you describe someone or their job as low-paid, you mean that their work earns them very little money.\n...low-paid workers...\nThe majority of working women are in low-paid jobs.\n  ADJ\n\n  The low-paid are people who are low-paid.\n  N-PLURAL: the N


Words: low-pitched
Meaning:
low-pitched\n1. A sound that is low-pitched is deep.\nWith a low-pitched rumbling noise, the propeller began to rotate.\n  ADJ\n\n2. A voice that is low-pitched is very soft and quiet.\nHe kept his voice low-pitched in case someone was listening.\n  ADJ


Words: low-rent
Meaning:
low-rent\n1. If someone lives in a low-rent house, they only have to pay a small amount of money to live there.\n...a low-rent housing development.\n  ADJ\n\n2. You can use low-rent to describe something that is of poor quality, especially when it is compared with something else.\n...a low-rent horror movie.\n  ADJ  disapproval


Words: low-slung
Meaning:
low-slung\n  Low-slung chairs or cars are very low, so that you are close to the ground when you are sitting in them.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: low-tech
Meaning:
low-tech\n  Low-tech machines or systems are ones that do not use modern or sophisticated technology.\n...a simple form of low-tech electric propulsion.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  !=hi-tech


Words: lowbrow
Meaning:
low.brow\n   lowbrow   also low-brow\n  If you say that something is lowbrow, you mean that it is easy to understand or appreciate rather than intellectual and is therefore perhaps inferior.\nHis choice of subject matter has been regarded as lowbrow.\n...low-brow novels.\n  ADJ\n  !=highbrow


Words: lower
Meaning:
low.er\n   lower  lowers  lowering  lowered\n1. You can use lower to refer to the bottom one of a pair of things.\nShe bit her lower lip.\n...the lower deck of the bus...\nThe upper layer of felt should overlap the lower.\n...the lower of the two holes.\n  ADJ: ADJ n, the ADJ, the ADJ of n\n  !=upper\n2. You can use lower to refer to the bottom part of something.\nUse a small cushion to help give support to the lower back.\n...fires which started in the lower part of a tower block.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n  !=upper\n3. You can use lower to refer to people or things that are less important than similar people or things.\nAlready the awards are causing resentment in the lower ranks of council officers...\nThe nation’s highest court reversed the lower court’s decision...\nThe higher orders of society must rule the lower.\n  ADJ: ADJ n, the ADJ\n  !=higher\n4. If you lower something, you move it slowly downwards.\nTwo reporters had to help lower the coffin into the grave...\nSokolowski lowered himself into the black leather chair...\n`No movies of me getting out of the pool, boys.’ They dutifully lowered their cameras.\n  VERB: V n prep/adv, V pron-refl prep/adv, V n\n\n=>  low.er.ing\n...the extinguishing of the Olympic flame and the lowering of the flag.\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu N of n\n\n5. If you lower something, you make it less in amount, degree, value, or quality.\nThe Central Bank has lowered interest rates by 2 percent...\n  VERB: V n\n\n=>  low.er.ing\n...a package of social measures which included the lowering of the retirement age.\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu N of n\n\n6. If someone lowers their head or eyes, they look downwards, for example because they are sad or embarrassed.\nShe lowered her head and brushed past photographers as she went back inside...\nShe lowered her gaze to the hands in her lap.\n  VERB: V n, V n\n  !=raise\n7. If you say that you would not lower yourself by doing something, you mean that you would not behave in a way that would make you or other people respect you less.\nDon’t lower yourself, don’t be the way they are...\nI’ve got no qualms about lowering myself to Lemmer’s level to get what I want.\n  VERB: oft with brd-neg, V pron-refl, V pron-refl to n\n\n8. If you lower your voice or if your voice lowers, you speak more quietly.\nThe man moved closer, lowering his voice...\nHis voice lowers confidentially.\n  VERB: V n, V\n\n9.\n  see also low


Words: lower case
Meaning:
low.er case\n   lower case   also lower-case\n  Lower-case letters are small letters, not capital letters.\nIt was printed in lower case...\nWe did the logo in lower-case letters instead of capitals.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N n\n  !=upper case


Words: lower class
Meaning:
low.er class\n   lower class  lower classes   also lower-class\n  Some people use the lower class or the lower classes to refer to the division of society that they consider to have the lowest social status.\nEducation now offers the lower classes access to job opportunities...\n  N-COUNT-COLL: usu pl\n\n  Lower class is also an adjective.\n...lower-class families...\n  ADJ


Words: lowest common denominator
Meaning:
low.est com.mon de.nomi.na.tor\n   lowest common denominator  lowest common denominators\n1. If you describe a plan or policy as the lowest common denominator, you are critical of it because it has been deliberately made too simple so that nobody will disagree.\nAlthough the plan received unanimous approval, this does not mean that it represents the lowest common denominator.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing  disapproval\n\n2. If you say that something is designed to appeal to the lowest common denominator, you are critical of it because it is designed to be liked by the majority of people.\nTabloid newspapers pander to the lowest common denominator.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing  disapproval\n\n3. In mathematics, the lowest common denominator is the smallest number that all the numbers on the bottom of a particular group of fractions can be divided into. (TECHNICAL)\n  N-COUNT


Words: lowlands
Meaning:
low.lands\n   lowlands   also lowland\n  Lowlands are an area of low, flat land.\n...wherever you travel in the lowlands of the United Kingdom.\n...the fever-haunted old town on the lowland across the lake.\n...lowland areas.\n  N-PLURAL: usu the N\n  The form lowland is also used as a modifier.\n  !=uplands


Words: lowly
Meaning:
low.ly\n   lowly  lowlier  lowliest\n  If you describe someone or something as lowly, you mean that they are low in rank, status, or importance.\n...lowly bureaucrats pretending to be senators...\n  ADJ


Words: loyal
Meaning:
loy.al\n   loyal\n  Someone who is loyal remains firm in their friendship or support for a person or thing.\nThey had remained loyal to the president...\nHe’d always been such a loyal friend to us all.\n  ADJ: oft ADJ to n  approval\n  = faithful  !=disloyal\n=>  loy.al.ly\nThey have loyally supported their party and their leader.\n  ADV: ADV with v


Words: loyalist
Meaning:
loy.al.ist\n   loyalist  loyalists\n  A loyalist is a person who remains firm in their support for a government or ruler.\nParty loyalists responded as they always do, waving flags and carrying placards.\n  N-COUNT


Words: loyalty
Meaning:
loy.al.ty\n   loyalty  loyalties\n1. Loyalty is the quality of staying firm in your friendship or support for someone or something.\nI have sworn an oath of loyalty to the monarchy...\nThis is seen as a reward for the army’s loyalty during a barracks revolt earlier this month.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N to n\n\n2. Loyalties are feelings of friendship, support, or duty towards someone or something.\nShe had developed strong loyalties to the Manet family.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl, oft N to n


Words: loyalty card
Meaning:
loy.al.ty card\n   loyalty card  loyalty cards\n  A loyalty card is a plastic card that some shops give to regular customers. Each time the customer buys something from the shop, points are electronically stored on their card and can be exchanged later for goods or services.\n  N-COUNT


Words: lozenge
Meaning:
loz.enge\n   lozenge  lozenges\n1. Lozenges are sweets which you can suck to make a cough or sore throat better.\n...throat lozenges.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A lozenge is a shape with four corners. The two corners that point up and down are further away than the two pointing sideways.\n  N-COUNT\n  = diamond


Words: LP
Meaning:
LP  LPs\n  An LP is a record which usually has about 25 minutes of music or speech on each side. LP is an abbreviation for `long-playing record’.\n...his first LP since 1986.\n  N-COUNT


Words: LPG
Meaning:
LPG is a type of fuel consisting of hydrocarbon gases in liquid form. LPG is an abbreviation for `liquefied petroleum gas’.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: LSD
Meaning:
LSD\n  LSD is a very powerful illegal drug which makes the user see things that only exist in their mind.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: Ltd
Meaning:
Ltd is a written abbreviation for limited when it is used after the name of a company. Compare plc. (BRIT BUSINESS)


Words: lubricant
Meaning:
lub.ri.cant\n   lubricant  lubricants\n1. A lubricant is a substance which you put on the surfaces or parts of something, especially something mechanical, to make the parts move smoothly.\nIts nozzle was smeared with some kind of lubricant.\n...industrial lubricants.\n  N-MASS\n\n2. If you refer to something as a lubricant in a particular situation, you mean that it helps to make things happen without any problems.\nI think humor is a great lubricant for life.\n  N-COUNT: usu supp N


Words: lubricate
Meaning:
lu.bri.cate\n   lubricate  lubricates  lubricating  lubricated\n1. If you lubricate something such as a part of a machine, you put a substance such as oil on it so that it moves smoothly. (FORMAL)\nMineral oils are used to lubricate machinery.\n...lubricating oil.\n  VERB: V n, V-ing, also V\n\n=>  lu.bri.ca.tion\nUse a touch of linseed oil for lubrication.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. If you say that something lubricates a particular situation, you mean that it helps things to happen without any problems.\nFranklin’s task was to lubricate the discussions with the French.\n  VERB: V n


Words: lucerne
Meaning:
lu.cerne\n   lucerne\n  Lucerne is a plant that is grown for animals to eat and in order to improve the soil. (BRIT; in AM, use alfalfa)\n  N-UNCOUNT\n  = alfalfa


Words: lucid
Meaning:
lu.cid\n   lucid\n1. Lucid writing or speech is clear and easy to understand.\n...a lucid account of the history of mankind...\nHis prose as always lucid and compelling.\n  ADJ\n  = clear\n=>  lu.cid.ly\nBoth of them had the ability to present complex matters lucidly.\n  ADV: ADV with v\n  = clarity\n=>  lu.cid.ity\nHis writings were marked by an extraordinary lucidity and elegance of style.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. If someone is lucid, they are thinking clearly again after a period of illness or confusion. (FORMAL)\nHe wasn’t very lucid, he didn’t quite know where he was.\n  ADJ\n\n=>  lu.cid.ity\nThe pain had lessened in the night, but so had his lucidity.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: luck
Meaning:
luck\n1. Luck or good luck is success or good things that happen to you, that do not come from your own abilities or efforts.\nI knew I needed a bit of luck to win...\nThe Sri Lankans have been having no luck with the weather...\nThe goal, when it came, owed more to good luck than good planning.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. Bad luck is lack of success or bad things that happen to you, that have not been caused by yourself or other people.\nI had a lot of bad luck during the first half of this season...\nRandall’s illness was only bad luck.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n3.\n  see also hard luck\n4. If you ask someone the question `Any luck?’ or `No luck?’, you want to know if they have been successful in something they were trying to do. (INFORMAL)\n`Any luck?’.`No.’\n  CONVENTION\n\n5. You can say `Bad luck’, or `Hard luck’, to someone when you want to express sympathy to them. (INFORMAL)\nWell, hard luck, mate.\n  CONVENTION  formulae\n\n6. If you describe someone as down on their luck, you mean that they have had bad experiences, often because they do not have enough money.\n  PHRASE: usu v-link PHR\n\n7. If you say `Good luck’ or `Best of luck’ to someone, you are telling them that you hope they will be successful in something they are trying to do. (INFORMAL)\nHe kissed her on the cheek. `Best of luck!’\n  CONVENTION  formulae\n\n8. You can say someone is in luck when they are in a situation where they can have what they want or need.\nYou’re in luck. The doctor’s still in.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n9. If you say that someone is out of luck, you mean that they cannot have something which they can normally have.\n`What do you want, Roy? If it’s money, you’re out of luck.’\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n10. If you say that someone is pushing their luck, you think they are taking a bigger risk than is sensible, and may get into trouble.\nI didn’t dare push my luck too far and did not ask them to sign statements.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n11. If someone tries their luck at something, they try to succeed at it, often when it is very difficult or there is little chance of success.\nShe was going to try her luck at the Las Vegas casinos.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n12.\npot luck: see pot


Words: luckily
Meaning:
lucki.ly\n   luckily\n  You add luckily to a statement to indicate that it is good that a particular thing happened or is the case because otherwise the situation would have been difficult or unpleasant.\nLuckily, we both love football...\nLuckily for me, he spoke very good English.\n  ADV: ADV with cl\n  = fortunately


Words: luckless
Meaning:
luck.less\n   luckless\n  If you describe someone or something as luckless, you mean that they are unsuccessful or unfortunate. (WRITTEN)\n...the luckless parent of an extremely difficult child.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: lucky
Meaning:
lucky  luckier  luckiest\n1. You say that someone is lucky when they have something that is very desirable or when they are in a very desirable situation.\nI am luckier than most. I have a job...\nHe is incredibly lucky to be alive...\nThose who are lucky enough to be wealthy have a duty to give to the hungry.\n  ADJ: oft ADJ to-inf\n  = fortunate\n2. Someone who is lucky seems to always have good luck.\nSome people are born lucky aren’t they?...\nHe had always been lucky at cards.\n  ADJ\n\n3. If you describe an action or experience as lucky, you mean that it was good or successful, and that it happened by chance and not as a result of planning or preparation.\nThey admit they are now desperate for a lucky break...\nHe was lucky that it was only a can of beer that knocked him on the head.\n  ADJ\n\n4. A lucky object is something that people believe helps them to be successful.\nHe did not have on his other lucky charm, a pair of green socks.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n5.\n  see also happy-go-lucky\n6. If you say that someone will be lucky to do or get something, you mean that they are very unlikely to do or get it, and will definitely not do or get any more than that.\nYou’ll be lucky if you get any breakfast...\nThose remaining in work will be lucky to get the smallest of pay increases...\n  PHRASE: V inflects, usu PHR if, PHR to-inf\n\n7. If you strike lucky or strike it lucky, you have some good luck. (mainly BRIT INFORMAL)\nYou may strike lucky and find a sympathetic and helpful clerk, but, there again, you might not.\n  PHRASE: V inflects


Words: lucky dip
Meaning:
lucky dip  lucky dips\n  a lucky dip is a game in which you take a prize out of a container full of hidden prizes and then find out what you have chosen. (BRIT; in AM, use grab bag)\n  N-COUNT


Words: lucrative
Meaning:
lu.cra.tive\n   lucrative\n  A lucrative activity, job, or business deal is very profitable.\nThousands of ex-army officers have found lucrative jobs in private security firms.\n  ADJ


Words: lucre
Meaning:
lu.cre\n   lucre\n  People sometimes refer to money or profit as lucre, especially when they think that it has been obtained by dishonest means. (HUMOROUS or OLD-FASHIONED)\n...so they can feel less guilty about their piles of filthy lucre.\n  N-UNCOUNT  disapproval


Words: Luddite
Meaning:
Lud.dite\n   Luddite  Luddites\n  If you refer to someone as a Luddite, you are criticizing them for opposing changes in industrial methods, especially the introduction of new machines and modern methods.\nThe majority have a built-in Luddite mentality; they are resistant to change.\n  N-COUNT: oft N n  disapproval


Words: ludicrous
Meaning:
lu.di.crous\n   ludicrous\n  If you describe something as ludicrous, you are emphasizing that you think it is foolish, unreasonable, or unsuitable.\nIt was ludicrous to suggest that the visit could be kept secret...\nIt’s a completely ludicrous idea.\n  ADJ: oft it v-link ADJ to-inf  emphasis\n  = ridiculous\n=>  lu.di.crous.ly\nBy Western standards the prices are ludicrously low.\n  ADV


Words: lug
Meaning:
lug  lugs  lugging  lugged\n  If you lug a heavy or awkward object somewhere, you carry it there with difficulty. (INFORMAL)\nNobody wants to lug around huge suitcases full of clothes...\nI hastily packed the hamper and lugged it to the car.\n  VERB: V n with adv, V n prep, also V n


Words: luge
Meaning:
luge  luges\n  A luge is an object that is designed to be used for racing downhill over snow or ice. Riders lie on their backs and travel with their feet pointing towards the front of the luge.\n  N-COUNT


Words: luggage
Meaning:
lug.gage\n   luggage\n  Luggage is the suitcases and bags that you take with you when travel.\nLeave your luggage in the hotel...\nEach passenger was allowed two 30-kg pieces of luggage.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n  see also left luggage


Words: luggage rack
Meaning:
lug.gage rack\n   luggage rack  luggage racks\n1. A luggage rack is a shelf for putting luggage on, on a vehicle such as a train or bus.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A luggage rack is a metal frame that is fixed on top of a car and used for carrying large objects. (AM; in BRIT, use roof rack)\n  N-COUNT


Words: lugubrious
Meaning:
lu.gu.bri.ous\n   lugubrious\n  If you say that someone or something is lugubrious, you mean that they are sad rather than lively or cheerful. (LITERARY)\n...a tall, thin man with a long and lugubrious face...\nHe plays some passages so slowly that they become lugubrious.\n  ADJ\n  = melancholy\n=>  lu.gu.bri.ous.ly\nThe dog gazed at us lugubriously for a few minutes.\n  ADV: ADV with v, ADV adj


Words: lukewarm
Meaning:
luke.warm\n   lukewarm\n1. Something, especially a liquid, that is lukewarm is only slightly warm.\nWash your face with lukewarm water...\nThe coffee was weak and lukewarm.\n  ADJ\n  = tepid\n2. If you describe a person or their attitude as lukewarm, you mean that they are not showing much enthusiasm or interest.\nThe study received a lukewarm response from the Home Secretary.\n  ADJ: oft ADJ towards n


Words: lull
Meaning:
lull  lulls  lulling  lulled\n1. A lull is a period of quiet or calm in a longer period of activity or excitement.\nThere was a lull in political violence after the election of the current president.\n...a lull in the conversation.\n  N-COUNT: oft N in n\n\n2. If you are lulled into feeling safe, someone or something causes you to feel safe at a time when you are not safe.\nIt is easy to be lulled into a false sense of security...\nLulled by almost uninterrupted economic growth, too many European firms assumed that this would last for ever.\n  VERB: be V-ed into n/-ing, V-ed, also V n into n/-ing\n\n3. If someone or something lulls you, they cause you to feel calm or sleepy.\nWith the shutters half-closed and the calm airy height of the room to lull me, I soon fell into a doze...\nBefore he knew it, the heat and hum of the forest had lulled him to sleep.\n  VERB: V n, V n into/to n\n\n4. If you describe a situation as the lull before the storm, you mean that although it is calm now, there is going to be trouble in the future.\n  PHRASE: v-link PHR


Words: lullaby
Meaning:
lulla.by\n   lullaby  lullabies\n  A lullaby is a quiet song which is intended to be sung to babies and young children to help them go to sleep.\n  N-COUNT


Words: lumbago
Meaning:
lum.ba.go\n   lumbago\n  If someone has lumbago, they have pains in the lower part of their back.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: lumbar
Meaning:
lum.bar\n   lumbar\n  Lumbar means relating to the lower part of your back. (MEDICAL)\nLumbar support is very important if you’re driving a long way.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: lumber
Meaning:
lum.ber\n   lumber  lumbers  lumbering  lumbered\n1. Lumber consists of trees and large pieces of wood that have been roughly cut up. (mainly AM)\nIt was made of soft lumber, spruce by the look of it...\nHe was going to have to purchase all his lumber at full retail price.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. If someone or something lumbers from one place to another, they move there very slowly and clumsily.\nHe turned and lumbered back to his chair...\nHe looked straight ahead and overtook a lumbering lorry.\n  VERB: V adv/prep, V-ing


Words: lumber with
Meaning:
lumber with\n  If you are lumbered with someone or something, you have to deal with them or take care of them even though you do not want to and this annoys you. (BRIT INFORMAL)\nI was lumbered with the job of taking charge of all the money...\nShe was lumbered with a bill for about ninety pounds.\n  PHRASAL VERB: usu passive, be V-ed P n, be V-ed P n


Words: lumberjack
Meaning:
lumber.jack\n   lumberjack  lumberjacks\n  A lumberjack is a person whose job is to cut down trees.\n  N-COUNT


Words: lumberyard
Meaning:
lumber.yard\n   lumberyard  lumberyards   also lumber yard\n  A lumberyard is a place where wood is stored and sold. (AM; in BRIT, use timber yard)\n  N-COUNT


Words: luminary
Meaning:
lu.mi.nary\n   luminary  luminaries\n  If you refer to someone as a luminary, you mean that they are an expert in a particular subject or activity. (LITERARY)\n...the political opinions of such luminaries as Sartre or de Beauvoir.\n  N-COUNT\n  = expert


Words: luminescence
Meaning:
lu.mi.nes.cence\n   luminescence\n  Luminescence is a soft, glowing light. (LITERARY)\nLights reflected off dust-covered walls creating a ghostly luminescence.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: luminosity
Meaning:
lu.mi.nos.ity\n   luminosity\n1. The luminosity of a star or sun is how bright it is. (TECHNICAL)\nFor a few years its luminosity flared up to about 10,000 times the present-day luminosity of the Sun.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. You can talk about the luminosity of someone’s skin when it has a healthy glow.\nUltrafine powder with a rosy tinge gives the skin warmth and luminosity.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: luminous
Meaning:
lu.mi.nous\n   luminous\n  Something that is luminous shines or glows in the dark.\nThe luminous dial on the clock showed five minutes to seven.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: lump
Meaning:
lump  lumps  lumping  lumped\n1. A lump of something is a solid piece of it.\nThe potter shaped and squeezed the lump of clay into a graceful shape.\n...a lump of wood...\nThey used to buy ten kilos of beef in one lump.\n  N-COUNT: oft N of n\n\n2. A lump on or in someone’s body is a small, hard swelling that has been caused by an injury or an illness.\nI’ve got a lump on my shoulder...\nHoward had to have cancer surgery for a lump in his chest.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. A lump of sugar is a small cube of it.\n`No sugar,’ I said, and Jim asked for two lumps.\n  N-COUNT: oft N of n\n\n  see also sugar lump\n4.\n  see also lump sum\n5. If you say that you have a lump in your throat, you mean that you have a tight feeling in your throat because of a strong emotion such as sorrow or gratitude.\nI stood there with a lump in my throat and tried to fight back tears...\n  PHRASE: Ns inflect, usu PHR after v


Words: lump sum
Meaning:
lump sum  lump sums\n  A lump sum is an amount of money that is paid as a large amount on a single occasion rather than as smaller amounts on several separate occasions.\n...a tax-free lump sum of .50,000 at retirement age.\n  N-COUNT


Words: lump together
Meaning:
lump together\n  If a number of different people or things are lumped together, they are considered as a group rather than separately.\nPolicemen, bankers and butchers are all lumped together in the service sector...\nBecause she was lumped together with alcoholics and hard-drug users, Claire felt out of place.\n  PHRASAL VERB: usu passive, be V-ed P, be V-ed P with n


Words: lumpectomy
Meaning:
lum.pec.to.my\n   lumpectomy  lumpectomies\n  A lumpectomy is an operation in which a woman has a lump such as a tumour removed from one of her breasts, rather than having the whole breast removed.\n  N-COUNT


Words: lumpen
Meaning:
lump.en\n   lumpen\n1. A lumpen object is large, heavy, and lumpy. (mainly BRIT LITERARY)\nShe was kneading a lumpen mass of dough...\nLumpen shapes began to appear out of the shadows.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n2. If you describe people as lumpen, you think they are dull and clumsy. (mainly BRIT LITERARY)\nThe people seemed lumpen and boring.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n  disapproval


Words: lumpy
Meaning:
lumpy  lumpier  lumpiest\n  Something that is lumpy contains lumps or is covered with lumps.\nWhen the rice isn’t cooked properly it goes lumpy and gooey...\n  ADJ


Words: lunacy
Meaning:
lu.na.cy\n   lunacy\n1. If you describe someone’s behaviour as lunacy, you mean that it seems very strange or foolish.\n...the lunacy of the tax system...\nIt remains lunacy to produce yet more coal to add to power stations’ stockpiles.\n  N-UNCOUNT  disapproval\n\n2. Lunacy is severe mental illness. (OLD-FASHIONED)\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: lunar
Meaning:
lu.nar\n   lunar\n  Lunar means relating to the moon.\nThe vast volcanic slope was eerily reminiscent of a lunar landscape.\n...a magazine article celebrating the anniversary of man’s first lunar landing.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: lunatic
Meaning:
lu.na.tic\n   lunatic  lunatics\n1. If you describe someone as a lunatic, you think they behave in a dangerous, stupid, or annoying way. (INFORMAL)\nHer son thinks she’s an absolute raving lunatic.\n  N-COUNT  disapproval\n\n2. If you describe someone’s behaviour or ideas as lunatic, you think they are very foolish and possibly dangerous.\n...the operation of the market taken to lunatic extremes.\n...a country spurned until now by all except the more lunatic of journalists and adventurers.\n  ADJ  disapproval\n  = mad, insane\n3. If you describe a place or situation as lunatic, you mean that it is confused and seems out of control.\nHe pleads for sanity in a lunatic world.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n4. People who were mentally ill used to be called lunatics. (OLD-FASHIONED)\n  N-COUNT


Words: lunatic asylum
Meaning:
lu.na.tic asy.lum\n   lunatic asylum  lunatic asylums\n  A lunatic asylum was a place where mentally disturbed people used to be locked up. (OLD-FASHIONED)\n  N-COUNT


Words: lunatic fringe
Meaning:
lu.na.tic fringe\n   lunatic fringe\n  If you refer to a group of people as the lunatic fringe, you mean that they are very extreme in their opinions or behaviour.\nDemands for a separate Siberia are confined for now to the lunatic fringe.\n  N-SING: usu the N


Words: lunch
Meaning:
lunch  lunches  lunching  lunched\n1. Lunch is the meal that you have in the middle of the day.\nShall we meet somewhere for lunch?...\nHe did not enjoy business lunches...\nIf anyone wants me, I’m at lunch with a client.\n  N-VAR\n\n2. When you lunch, you have lunch, especially at a restaurant. (FORMAL)\nOnly the extremely rich could afford to lunch at the Mirabelle...\nHaving not yet lunched, we went to the refreshment bar for ham sandwiches.\n  VERB: V adv/prep, V


Words: lunch box
Meaning:
lunch box  lunch boxes   also lunchbox\n  A lunch box is a small container with a lid. You put food such as sandwiches in it to eat for lunch at work or at school.\n  N-COUNT


Words: lunch break
Meaning:
lunch break  lunch breaks   also lunchbreak\n  Your lunch break is the period in the middle of the day when you stop work in order to have a meal.\n  N-COUNT: usu poss N


Words: lunch counter
Meaning:
lunch coun.ter\n   lunch counter  lunch counters\n  A lunch counter is an informal cafe or a counter in a shop where people can buy and eat meals. (AM)\n  N-COUNT


Words: lunch hour
Meaning:
lunch hour  lunch hours\n  Your lunch hour is the period in the middle of the day when you stop working, usually for one hour, in order to have a meal.\n  N-COUNT: usu poss N


Words: luncheon
Meaning:
lunch.eon\n   luncheon  luncheons\n  A luncheon is a formal lunch, for example to celebrate an important event or to raise money for charity.\nEarlier this month, a luncheon for former UN staff was held in Vienna.\n  N-COUNT


Words: luncheon meat
Meaning:
lunch.eon meat\n   luncheon meat  luncheon meats\n1. Luncheon meat is meat that you eat in a sandwich or salad, and that is usually cold and either sliced or formed into rolls. (AM)\n  N-VAR\n\n2. Luncheon meat is a type of cooked meat that is often sold in tins. It is a mixture of pork and cereal. (BRIT)\n  N-MASS


Words: luncheonette
Meaning:
lunch.eon.ette\n   luncheonette  luncheonettes\n  A luncheonette is a small restaurant that serves light meals. (AM)\n  N-COUNT


Words: lunchroom
Meaning:
lunch.room\n   lunchroom  lunchrooms   also lunch room\n  A lunchroom is the room in a school or company where you buy and eat your lunch. (AM)\n  N-COUNT


Words: lunchtime
Meaning:
lunch.time\n   lunchtime  lunchtimes   also lunch time\n  Lunchtime is the period of the day when people have their lunch.\nCould we meet at lunchtime?\n...a lunchtime meeting.\n  N-VAR


Words: lung
Meaning:
lung  lungs\n  Your lungs are the two organs inside your chest which fill with air when you breathe in.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl


Words: lunge
Meaning:
lunge  lunges  lunging  lunged\n  If you lunge in a particular direction, you move in that direction suddenly and clumsily.\nHe lunged at me, grabbing me violently...\nI lunged forward to try to hit him.\n  VERB: V prep/adv, V prep/adv\n\n  Lunge is also a noun.\nThe attacker knocked on their door and made a lunge for Wendy when she answered.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing


Words: lungful
Meaning:
lung.ful\n   lungful  lungfuls\n  If someone takes a lungful of something such as fresh air or smoke, they breathe in deeply so that their lungs feel as if they are full of that thing. (WRITTEN)\nI bobbed to the surface and gasped a lungful of air.\n  N-COUNT: usu N of n


Words: lurch
Meaning:
lurch  lurches  lurching  lurched\n1. To lurch means to make a sudden movement, especially forwards, in an uncontrolled way.\nAs the car sped over a pothole she lurched forward...\nHenry looked, stared, and lurched to his feet...\n  VERB: V adv/prep, V adv/prep, also V\n\n  Lurch is also a noun.\nThe car took a lurch forward but grounded in a deep rut.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If you say that a person or organization lurches from one thing to another, you mean they move suddenly from one course of action or attitude to another in an uncontrolled way.\nThe state government has lurched from one budget crisis to another...\nThe first round of multilateral trade talks has lurched between hope and despair.\n  VERB: V from n to n, V prep/adv  disapproval\n\n  Lurch is also a noun.\nThe property sector was another casualty of the lurch towards higher interest rates.\n  N-COUNT: usu N prep\n\n3. If someone leaves you in the lurch, they go away or stop helping you at a very difficult time. (INFORMAL)\nYou wouldn’t leave an old friend in the lurch, surely?\n  PHRASE: V inflects


Words: lure
Meaning:
lure  lures  luring  lured\n1. To lure someone means to trick them into a particular place or to trick them into doing something that they should not do.\nHe lured her to his home and shot her with his father’s gun...\nThe company aims to lure smokers back to cigarettes.\n  VERB: V n prep/adv, V n prep/adv\n  = entice\n2. A lure is an object which is used to attract animals so that they can be caught.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. A lure is an attractive quality that something has, or something that you find attractive.\nThe excitement of hunting big game in Africa has been a lure to Europeans for 200 years...\nThe lure of rural life is proving as strong as ever.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing


Words: lurid
Meaning:
lu.rid\n   lurid\n1. If you say that something is lurid, you are critical of it because it involves a lot of violence, sex, or shocking detail.\n...lurid accounts of Claire’s sexual exploits...\nSome reports have contained lurid accounts of deaths and mutilations.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n  disapproval\n  = sensational\n=>  lu.rid.ly\nHis cousin was soon cursing luridly.\n  ADV: ADV with v\n\n2. If you describe something as lurid, you do not like it because it is very brightly coloured.\nShe took care to paint her toe nails a lurid red or orange.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n  disapproval\n\n=>  lu.rid.ly\nIt had a high ceiling and a luridly coloured square of carpet on the floor.\n  ADV: usu ADV adj/-ed


Words: lurk
Meaning:
lurk  lurks  lurking  lurked\n1. If someone lurks somewhere, they wait there secretly so that they cannot be seen, usually because they intend to do something bad.\nHe thought he saw someone lurking above the chamber during the address.\n  VERB: V\n\n2. If something such as a danger, doubt, or fear lurks somewhere, it exists but is not obvious or easily recognized.\nHidden dangers lurk in every family saloon car...\nAround every corner lurked doubt and uncertainty.\n  VERB: V, V


Words: luscious
Meaning:
lus.cious\n   luscious\n1. If you describe a woman or something about her as luscious, you mean that you find her or this thing sexually attractive.\n...a luscious young blonde...\nWhat I like most about Gabby is her luscious lips!\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n2. Luscious food is juicy and very good to eat.\n...a small apricot tree which bore luscious fruit.\n  ADJ


Words: lush
Meaning:
lush  lusher  lushest\n1. Lush fields or gardens have a lot of very healthy grass or plants.\n...the lush green meadows bordering the river...\nThe beautifully landscaped gardens sprawl with lush vegetation.\n  ADJ\n\n=>  lush.ness\n...a tropical lushness.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. If you describe a place or thing as lush, you mean that it is very luxurious.\n...a mirrored bathroom done in soft pink tiles with a lush, plush carpet...\nThe fabrics were lush.\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ


Words: lust
Meaning:
lust\n1. Lust is a feeling of strong sexual desire for someone.\nHis relationship with Angie was the first which combined lust with friendship...\nHis lust for her grew until it was overpowering.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. A lust for something is a very strong and eager desire to have it.\nIt was Fred’s lust for glitz and glamour that was driving them apart.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N for n\n  = passion


Words: lust after
Meaning:
lust after   or lust for\n1. If you lust after someone or lust for them, you feel a very strong sexual desire for them.\nFrom what I hear, half the campus is lusting after her.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n\n\n2. If you lust after or lust for something, you have a very strong desire to possess it.\nSheard lusted after the Directorship.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n


Words: lustful
Meaning:
lust.ful\n   lustful\n  Lustful means feeling or expressing strong sexual desire.\n...lustful thoughts.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: lustre
Meaning:
lus.tre\n   lustre\nin AM, use luster\n1. Lustre is gentle shining light that is reflected from a surface, for example from polished metal.\nGold retains its lustre for far longer than other metals...\nIt is softer than cotton and nylon and has a similar lustre to silk.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. Lustre is the qualities that something has that make it interesting and exciting.\nWhat do you do if your relationship is beginning to lose its lustre?\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: lustrous
Meaning:
lus.trous\n   lustrous\n  Something that is lustrous shines brightly and gently, because it has a smooth or shiny surface.\n...a head of thick, lustrous, wavy brown hair.\n  ADJ


Words: lusty
Meaning:
lusty  lustier  lustiest\n  If you say that something is lusty, you mean that it is healthy and full of strength and energy.\n...plants with large, lusty roots.\n...remembering his lusty singing in the open park.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n=>  lusti.ly\nBob ate lustily.\n  ADV: ADV with v


Words: lute
Meaning:
lute  lutes\n  A lute is a stringed instrument with a rounded body that is quite like a guitar and is played with the fingers.\n  N-VAR: oft the N


Words: luv
Meaning:
luv\n  Luv is a written form of the word `love’, when it is being used as an informal way of addressing someone. (BRIT)\n`Don’t worry, luv.’\n  N-VOC


Words: luvvie
Meaning:
luv.vie\n   luvvie  luvvies\n  People sometimes refer to actors as luvvies as a humorous way of criticizing their emotional behaviour and their feeling that they are important. (BRIT HUMOROUS, INFORMAL)\n  N-COUNT  disapproval


Words: luxuriant
Meaning:
luxu.ri.ant\n   luxuriant\n1. Luxuriant plants, trees, and gardens are large, healthy, and growing well.\nThere were two very large oak trees in front of our house with wide spreading branches and luxuriant foliage.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n2. If you describe someone’s hair as luxuriant, you mean that it is very thick and healthy.\nHair that’s thick and luxuriant needs regular trimming.\n  ADJ


Words: luxuriate
Meaning:
luxu.ri.ate\n   luxuriate  luxuriates  luxuriating  luxuriated\n  If you luxuriate in something, you relax in it and enjoy it very much, especially because you find it comfortable and luxurious.\nLie back and luxuriate in the scented oil...\nRalph was luxuriating in the first real holiday he’d had in years.\n  VERB: V in n, V in n


Words: luxurious
Meaning:
luxu.ri.ous\n   luxurious\n1. If you describe something as luxurious, you mean that it is very comfortable and expensive.\nShe had come to enjoy Roberto’s luxurious life-style.\n  ADJ\n\n=>  luxu.ri.ous.ly\nThe dining-room is luxuriously furnished and carpeted.\n  ADV\n\n2. Luxurious means feeling or expressing great pleasure and comfort.\nAmy tilted her wine in her glass with a luxurious sigh.\n  ADJ\n\n=>  luxu.ri.ous.ly\nLiz laughed, stretching luxuriously.\n  ADV: ADV after v


Words: luxury
Meaning:
luxu.ry\n   luxury  luxuries\n1. Luxury is very great comfort, especially among beautiful and expensive surroundings.\nBy all accounts he leads a life of considerable luxury...\nShe was brought up in an atmosphere of luxury and wealth.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n  = extravagance\n2. A luxury is something expensive which is not necessary but which gives you pleasure.\nA week by the sea is a luxury they can no longer afford...\nTelephones are still a luxury in some parts of Spain, Portugal, and Greece.\n  N-COUNT\n  = extravagance\n3. A luxury item is something expensive which is not necessary but which gives you pleasure.\nHe could not afford luxury food on his pay...\nHe rode on the president’s luxury train through his own state.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n4. A luxury is a pleasure which you do not often have the opportunity to enjoy.\nHot baths are my favourite luxury...\nWe were going to have the luxury of a free weekend, to rest and do whatever we pleased.\n  N-SING: with supp


Words: luxury goods
Meaning:
luxu.ry goods\n   luxury goods\n  Luxury goods are things which are not necessary, but which give you pleasure or make your life more comfortable.\n...increased taxes on luxury goods, such as boats, fur coats and expensive cars.\n  N-PLURAL


Words: lychee
Meaning:
ly.chee\n   lychee  lychees\n  Lychees are Chinese fruit which have white flesh and large stones inside and a pinkish-brown skin.\n  N-VAR


Words: Lycra
Meaning:
Ly.cra\n   Lycra\n  Lycra is a type of stretchy fabric, similar to elastic, which is used to make tight-fitting garments such as tights and swimming costumes. (TRADEMARK)\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: lymph node
Meaning:
lymph node  lymph nodes\n  Lymph nodes or lymph glands are small masses of tissue in your body where white blood cells are formed.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl


Words: lynch
Meaning:
lynch  lynches  lynching  lynched\n  If an angry crowd of people lynch someone, they kill that person by hanging them, without letting them have a trial, because they believe that that person has committed a crime.\nThey were about to lynch him when reinforcements from the army burst into the room and rescued him.\n  VERB: V n\n\n=>  lynch.ing      lynchings\nSome towns found that lynching was the only way to drive away bands of outlaws.\n  N-VAR


Words: lynch mob
Meaning:
lynch mob  lynch mobs\n1. A lynch mob is an angry crowd of people who want to kill someone without a trial, because they believe that person has committed a crime.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. You can refer to a group of people as a lynch mob if they are very angry with someone because they believe that person has done something bad or wrong.\nSomething approaching a lynch mob has been gathering against the Chancellor for even daring to consider higher interest rates.\n  N-COUNT


Words: lyric
Meaning:
lyr.ic\n   lyric  lyrics\n1. The lyrics of a song are its words.\n...Kurt Weill’s Broadway opera with lyrics by Langston Hughes.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl\n\n2. Lyric poetry is written in a simple and direct style, and usually expresses personal emotions such as love.\n...Lawrence’s splendid short stories and lyric poetry.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: lyrical
Meaning:
lyri.cal\n   lyrical\n  Something that is lyrical is poetic and romantic.\nHis paintings became more lyrical.\n...its remarkable free-flowing and often lyrical style.\n  ADJ\n\nto wax lyrical: see wax


Words: lyricism
Meaning:
lyri.cism\n   lyricism\n  Lyricism is gentle and romantic emotion, often expressed in writing, poetry, or music.\n...a natural lyricism which can be expressed through dance and music.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: lyricist
Meaning:
lyri.cist\n   lyricist  lyricists\n  A lyricist is someone who writes the words for modern songs or for musicals.\n  N-COUNT


Words: M, m
Meaning:
M, m  M’s, m’s\n1. M is the thirteenth letter of the English alphabet.\n  N-VAR\n\n2. m is a written abbreviation for metres or metre.\nThe island is only 200m wide at its narrowest point.\n\n3. m is a written abbreviation for the number million.\nLast year exports reached $150m in value.\n...500m tonnes of coal.


Words: MA
Meaning:
MA  MAs   also M.A.\n  An MA is a master’s degree in an arts or social science subject. MA is an abbreviation for `Master of Arts’.\nShe then went on to university where she got a BA and then an MA.\n  N-COUNT


Words: ma
Meaning:
ma  mas\n  Some people refer to or address their mother as ma. (INFORMAL)\nMa was still at work when I got back.\n  N-FAMILY\n  = mum


Words: ma’am
Meaning:
ma’am\n  People sometimes say ma’am as a very formal and polite way of addressing a woman whose name they do not know or a woman of superior rank. (mainly AM)\nWould you repeat that please, ma’am?\n  N-VOC  politeness\n  = madam


Words: mac
Meaning:
mac  macs\n  A mac is a raincoat, especially one made from a particular kind of waterproof cloth. (BRIT)\n  N-COUNT


Words: macabre
Meaning:
ma.ca.bre\n   macabre\n  You describe something such as an event or story as macabre when it is strange and horrible or upsetting, usually because it involves death or injury.\nPolice have made a macabre discovery...\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  = chilling


Words: macaroni
Meaning:
maca.ro.ni\n   macaroni\n  Macaroni is a kind of pasta made in the shape of short hollow tubes.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: macaroni cheese
Meaning:
maca.ro.ni cheese\n   macaroni cheese\nin AM, use macaroni and cheese\n  Macaroni cheese is a dish made from macaroni and cheese sauce.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: macaroon
Meaning:
maca.roon\n   macaroon  macaroons\n  Macaroons are sweet cake-like biscuits that are flavoured with coconut or almond.\n  N-COUNT


Words: mace
Meaning:
mace  maces\n1. A mace is an ornamental stick carried by an official or placed somewhere as a symbol of authority.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. Mace is a substance that causes tears and sickness, and that is used in sprays as a defence against rioters or attackers. (TRADEMARK)\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: macerate
Meaning:
mac.er.ate\n   macerate  macerates  macerating  macerated\n  If you macerate food, or if it macerates, you soak it in a liquid for a period of time so that it absorbs the liquid.\nI like to macerate the food in liqueur for a few minutes before serving...\nCognac is also used to macerate and flavour ingredients and casseroles...\nSeal tightly then leave for four to five days to macerate.\n  VERB: V n in n, V n, V\n  = marinate


Words: Mach
Meaning:
Mach\n  Mach is used as a unit of measurement in stating the speed of a moving object in relation to the speed of sound. For example, if an aircraft is travelling at Mach 1, it is travelling at exactly the speed of sound. (TECHNICAL)\n  N-UNCOUNT: N num


Words: Machiavellian
Meaning:
Machia.vel.lian\n   Machiavellian\n  If you describe someone as Machiavellian, you are critical of them because they often make clever and secret plans to achieve their aims and are not honest with people.\n...Machiavellian republicans plotting to destabilise the throne...\nA Machiavellian plot was suspected.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n  disapproval\n  = devious


Words: machinations
Meaning:
machi.na.tions\n   machinations\n  You use machinations to describe secret and complicated plans, especially to gain power.\n...the political machinations that brought him to power.\n  N-PLURAL: usu with supp  disapproval


Words: machine
Meaning:
ma.chine\n   machine  machines  machining  machined\n1. A machine is a piece of equipment which uses electricity or an engine in order to do a particular kind of work.\nI put the coin in the machine and pulled the lever...\n...a color photograph of the sort taken by machine to be pasted in passports.\n  N-COUNT: also by N\n\n2. If you machine something, you make it or work on it using a machine.\nThe material is machined in a factory...\nAll parts are machined from top grade, high tensile aluminium.\n...machined brass zinc alloy gears.\n  VERB: usu passive, be V-ed, be V-ed from n, V-ed\n\n=>  ma.chin.ing\n...our machining, fabrication and finishing processes.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n3. You can use machine to refer to a large and well-controlled system or organization.\n...Nazi Germany’s military machine...\nHe has put the party publicity machine behind another candidate.\n  N-COUNT: usu supp N\n\n4.\n  see also fruit machine, sewing machine, slot machine, vending machine


Words: machine code
Meaning:
ma.chine code\n   machine code\n  Machine code is a way of expressing instructions and information in the form of numbers which can be understood by a computer or microchip. (COMPUTING)\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: machine gun
Meaning:
ma.chine gun\n   machine gun  machine guns   also machine-gun\n  A machine gun is a gun which fires a lot of bullets one after the other very quickly.\n...a burst of machine-gun fire.\n  N-COUNT\n\n  see also sub-machine gun


Words: machine tool
Meaning:
ma.chine tool\n   machine tool  machine tools\n  A machine tool is a machine driven by power that cuts, shapes, or finishes metal or other materials.\n  N-COUNT


Words: machinery
Meaning:
ma.chin.ery\n   machinery\n1. You can use machinery to refer to machines in general, or machines that are used in a factory or on a farm.\n...quality tools and machinery.\n...your local garden machinery specialist...\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. The machinery of a government or organization is the system and all the procedures that it uses to deal with things.\nThe machinery of democracy could be created quickly.\n  N-SING: the N, oft N of n


Words: machinist
Meaning:
ma.chin.ist\n   machinist  machinists\n  A machinist is a person whose job is to operate a machine, especially in a factory.\n  N-COUNT


Words: machismo
Meaning:
ma.chis.mo\n   machismo\n  You use machismo to refer to men’s behaviour or attitudes when they are very conscious and proud of their masculinity.\nHooky, naturally, has to prove his machismo by going on the scariest rides twice.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: macho
Meaning:
macho\n  You use macho to describe men who are very conscious and proud of their masculinity. (INFORMAL)\n...displays of macho bravado...\n  ADJ


Words: mackerel
Meaning:
macke.rel\n   mackerel  mackerel\n  A mackerel is a sea fish with a dark, patterned back.\nThey’d gone out to fish for mackerel.\n  N-VAR\n\n  Mackerel is this fish eaten as food.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: mackintosh
Meaning:
mack.in.tosh\n   mackintosh  mackintoshes\n  A mackintosh is a raincoat, especially one made from a particular kind of waterproof cloth. (mainly BRIT)\n  N-COUNT


Words: macro
Meaning:
macro  macros\n1. You use macro to indicate that something relates to a general area, rather than being detailed or specific. (TECHNICAL)\n...coordinated programmes of regulation of the economy both at the macro level and at the micro level.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  = global  !=micro\n2. A macro is a shortened version of a computer command which makes the computer carry out a set of actions. (COMPUTING)\n  N-COUNT


Words: macro-
Meaning:
macro-\n  Macro- is added to words in order to form new words that are technical and that refer to things which are large or involve the whole of something.\n...the cornerstone of macro-economic policy.\n...the macro-relationship between unemployment and imprisonment.\n  PREFIX\n  !=micro-


Words: macrobiotic
Meaning:
macro.bi.ot.ic\n   macrobiotic\n  Macrobiotic food consists of whole grains and vegetables that are grown without chemicals. (TECHNICAL)\n...a strict macrobiotic diet.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  = wholefood


Words: macrobiotics
Meaning:
macro.bi.ot.ics\n   macrobiotics\n  Macrobiotics is the practice of eating macrobiotic food. (TECHNICAL)\n  N-UNCOUNT\n  The form macrobiotic is used as a modifier.


Words: macrocosm
Meaning:
macro.cosm\n   macrocosm\n  A macrocosm is a complex organized system such as the universe or a society, considered as a single unit. (FORMAL)\nThe macrocosm of the universe is mirrored in the microcosm of the mind.\n  N-SING: usu the N\n  !=microcosm


Words: macroeconomic
Meaning:
macro.eco.nom.ic\n   macroeconomic     also macro-economic\n  Macroeconomic means relating to the major, general features of a country’s economy, such as the level of inflation, unemployment, or interest rates. (BUSINESS)\n...the attempt to substitute low inflation for full employment as a goal of macro-economic policy.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: mad
Meaning:
mad  madder  maddest\n1. Someone who is mad has a mind that does not work in a normal way, with the result that their behaviour is very strange.\nShe was afraid of going mad.\n  ADJ\n  = insane\n=>  mad.ness\nHe was driven to the brink of madness.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. You use mad to describe people or things that you think are very foolish.\nYou’d be mad to work with him again...\nIsn’t that a rather mad idea?\n  ADJ  disapproval\n  = crazy\n=>  mad.ness\nIt is political madness.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n3. If you say that someone is mad, you mean that they are very angry. (INFORMAL)\nYou’re just mad at me because I don’t want to go...\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ, oft ADJ at/about n\n\n4. If you are mad about or mad on something or someone, you like them very much indeed. (INFORMAL)\nShe’s not as mad about sport as I am...\nHe’s mad about you...\nHe’s mad on trains.\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ about/on n\n\n  Mad is also a combining form.\n...his football-mad son...\nHe’s not power-mad.\n  COMB in ADJ\n\n5. Mad behaviour is wild and uncontrolled.\nYou only have an hour to complete the game so it’s a mad dash against the clock...\nThe audience went mad.\n  ADJ\n\n=>  mad.ly\nDown in the streets people were waving madly.\n  ADV: ADV with v\n\n6. If you say that someone or something drives you mad, you mean that you find them extremely annoying. (INFORMAL)\nThere are certain things he does that drive me mad...\nThis itching is driving me mad.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n7. If you do something like mad, you do it very energetically or enthusiastically. (INFORMAL)\nHe was weight training like mad.\n  PHRASE: PHR after v\n\n8.\nmad keen: see keen\n  see also madly


Words: mad cow disease
Meaning:
mad cow dis.ease\n   mad cow disease\n  Mad cow disease is a disease which affects the nervous system of cattle and causes death. (mainly BRIT)\n  N-UNCOUNT\n  = BSE


Words: madam
Meaning:
mad.am\n   madam   also Madam\n  People sometimes say Madam as a very formal and polite way of addressing a woman whose name they do not know or a woman of superior rank. For example, a shop assistant might address a woman customer as Madam.\nTry them on, madam.\n  N-VOC  politeness


Words: madcap
Meaning:
mad.cap\n   madcap\n  A madcap plan or scheme is very foolish and not likely to succeed. (INFORMAL)\nThe politicians simply flitted from one madcap scheme to another...\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: madden
Meaning:
mad.den\n   madden  maddens  maddening  maddened\n  To madden a person or animal means to make them very angry.\nHe knew that what he was saying did not reach her. And the knowledge of it maddened him...\n  VERB: V n\n  = infuriate


Words: maddening
Meaning:
mad.den.ing\n   maddening\n  If you describe something as maddening, you mean that it makes you feel angry, irritated, or frustrated.\nShopping in the January sales can be maddening...\n  ADJ\n  = infuriating\n=>  mad.den.ing.ly\nThe service is maddeningly slow...\n  ADV: ADV adj, ADV after v, ADV with cl


Words: made
Meaning:
made\n1. Made is the past tense and past participle of make.\n\n2. If something is made of or made out of a particular substance, that substance was used to build it.\nThe top of the table is made of glass...\nWhat is the statue made out of?\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ of/out of n\n\n3. If you say that someone has it made or has got it made, you mean that they are certain to be rich or successful. (INFORMAL)\nWhen I was at school, I thought I had it made.\n  PHRASE: V inflects


Words: made-to-measure
Meaning:
made-to-measure\n  A made-to-measure suit, shirt, or other item of clothing is one that is made by a tailor to fit you exactly, rather than one that you buy already made in a shop.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: made-up
Meaning:
made-up   also made up\n1. If you are made-up, you are wearing make-up such as powder or eye shadow.\nShe was beautifully made-up, beautifully groomed...\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ, adv ADJ n\n\n2. A made-up word, name, or story is invented, rather than really existing or being true.\nIt looks like a made-up word.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  !=real


Words: madhouse
Meaning:
mad.house\n   madhouse  madhouses\n  If you describe a place or situation as a madhouse, you mean that it is full of confusion and noise.\nThat place is a madhouse.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing


Words: madly
Meaning:
mad.ly\n   madly\n1. You can use madly to indicate that one person loves another a great deal.\nShe has fallen madly in love with him...\n  ADV: ADV prep, ADV after v\n  = completely\n2. You can use madly in front of an adjective in order to emphasize the quality expressed by the adjective. (mainly BRIT)\nInside it is madly busy...\n  ADV: ADV adj  emphasis\n  = insanely


Words: madman
Meaning:
mad.man\n   madman  madmen\n  A madman is a man who is insane.\nHe wanted to jump up and run outside, screaming like a madman.\n  N-COUNT


Words: Madonna
Meaning:
Ma.don.na\n   Madonna\n  Catholics and other Christians sometimes call Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ, the Madonna.\n  N-PROPER: the N


Words: madrigal
Meaning:
mad.ri.gal\n   madrigal  madrigals\n  A madrigal is a song sung by several singers without any musical instruments. Madrigals were popular in England in the sixteenth century.\n  N-COUNT


Words: maelstrom
Meaning:
mael.strom\n   maelstrom  maelstroms\n  If you describe a situation as a maelstrom, you mean that it is very confused or violent. (LITERARY)\n...the maelstrom of ethnic hatreds and vendetta politics...\nInside, she was a maelstrom of churning emotions.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, usu with supp, oft N of n


Words: maestro
Meaning:
maes.tro\n   maestro  maestros\n  A maestro is a skilled and well-known musician or conductor.\n...the urbane maestro’s delightful first show.\n  N-COUNT; N-VOC


Words: mafia
Meaning:
ma.fia\n   mafia  mafias\n1. The Mafia is a criminal organization that makes money illegally, especially by threatening people and dealing in drugs.\nThe Mafia is by no means ignored by Italian television.\n  N-COUNT-COLL: the N\n\n2. You can use mafia to refer to an organized group of people who you disapprove of because they use unfair or illegal means in order to get what they want.\nThey are well-connected with the south-based education-reform mafia.\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp  disapproval


Words: magazine
Meaning:
maga.zine\n   magazine  magazines\n1. A magazine is a publication with a paper cover which is issued regularly, usually every week or every month, and which contains articles, stories, photographs, and advertisements.\nHer face is on the cover of a dozen or more magazines.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. In an automatic gun, the magazine is the part that contains the bullets.\n  N-COUNT


Words: magenta
Meaning:
ma.gen.ta\n   magenta  magentas\n  Magenta is used to describe things that are dark reddish-purple in colour.\n  COLOUR


Words: maggot
Meaning:
mag.got\n   maggot  maggots\n  Maggots are creatures that look like very small worms and turn into flies.\n  N-COUNT


Words: magic
Meaning:
mag.ic\n   magic\n1. Magic is the power to use supernatural forces to make impossible things happen, such as making people disappear or controlling events in nature.\nThey believe in magic...\nOlder legends say that Merlin raised the stones by magic.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. You can use magic when you are referring to an event that is so wonderful, strange, or unexpected that it seems as if supernatural powers have caused it. You can also say that something happens as if by magic or like magic.\nAll this was supposed to work magic...\nThe picture will now appear, as if by magic!\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n3. You use magic to describe something that does things, or appears to do things, by magic.\nSo it’s a magic potion?\n...the magic ingredient that helps to keep skin looking smooth.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n4. Magic is the art and skill of performing mysterious tricks to entertain people, for example by making things appear and disappear.\nHis secret hobby: performing magic tricks.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N n\n\n5. If you refer to the magic of something, you mean that it has a special mysterious quality which makes it seem wonderful and exciting to you and which makes you feel happy.\nIt infected them with some of the magic of a lost age...\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu with supp\n\n  Magic is also an adjective.\nThen came those magic moments in the rose-garden.\n  ADJ\n\n6. If you refer to a person’s magic, you mean a special talent or ability that they have, which you admire or consider very impressive.\nThe fighter believes he can still regain some of his old magic.\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu with poss\n\n7. You can use expressions such as the magic number and the magic word to indicate that a number or word is the one which is significant or desirable in a particular situation.\n...their quest to gain the magic number of 270 electoral votes on Election Day.\n  ADJ: the ADJ n\n\n8. Magic is used in expressions such as there is no magic formula and there is no magic solution to say that someone will have to make an effort to solve a problem, because it will not solve itself.\nThere is no magic formula for producing winning products...\n  ADJ: ADJ n, with neg\n\n9. If you say that something is magic, you think it is very good or enjoyable. (mainly BRIT INFORMAL)\nIt was magic.one of the best days of my life.\n  ADJ  approval\n  = brilliant


Words: magic bullet
Meaning:
mag.ic bul.let\n   magic bullet  magic bullets\n1. In medicine, a magic bullet is a drug or treatment that can cure a disease quickly and completely.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A magic bullet is an easy solution to a difficult problem. (INFORMAL)\nA lot of people are looking for some sort of magic bullet that will solve this problem.\n  N-COUNT


Words: magic carpet
Meaning:
mag.ic car.pet\n   magic carpet  magic carpets\n  In stories, a magic carpet is a special carpet that can carry people through the air.\n  N-COUNT


Words: magic mushroom
Meaning:
mag.ic mush.room\n   magic mushroom  magic mushrooms\n  Magic mushrooms are a type of mushroom which contain a drug and may make the person who eats them believe they are seeing things which are not real.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl


Words: magic realism
Meaning:
mag.ic re.al.ism\n   magic realism   also magical realism\n  Magic realism is a style of writing or painting which sometimes describes dreams as though they were real, and real events as though they were dreams.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: magic wand
Meaning:
mag.ic wand\n   magic wand  magic wands\n1. A magic wand or a wand is a long thin rod that magicians and fairies wave when they are performing tricks and magic.\n  N-COUNT\n  = wand\n2. You use magic wand, especially in the expression there is no magic wand, to indicate that someone is dealing with a difficult problem which cannot be solved quickly and easily.\nThere is no magic wand to secure a just peace...\n  N-COUNT: usu with brd-neg


Words: magical
Meaning:
magi.cal\n   magical\n1. Something that is magical seems to use magic or to be able to produce magic.\n...the story of Sin-Sin, a little boy who has magical powers.\n  ADJ\n\n=>  magi.cal.ly\n...the story of a young boy’s adventures after he is magically transported through the cinema screen.\n  ADV: ADV with v\n\n2. You can say that a place or object is magical when it has a special mysterious quality that makes it seem wonderful and exciting.\nThe beautiful island of Cyprus is a magical place to get married.\n  ADJ


Words: magician
Meaning:
ma.gi.cian\n   magician  magicians\n  A magician is a person who entertains people by doing magic tricks.\n  N-COUNT


Words: magisterial
Meaning:
mag.is.te.rial\n   magisterial\n  If you describe someone’s behaviour or work as magisterial, you mean that they show great authority or ability. (FORMAL)\n...his magisterial voice and bearing...\nThe Cambridge World History of Human Disease is a magisterial work.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: magistrate
Meaning:
mag.is.trate\n   magistrate  magistrates\n  A magistrate is an official who acts as a judge in law courts which deal with minor crimes or disputes.\n  N-COUNT


Words: magnanimity
Meaning:
mag.na.nim.ity\n   magnanimity\n  Magnanimity is kindness and generosity towards someone, especially after defeating them or being treated badly by them. (FORMAL)\nThe father of one victim spoke with remarkable magnanimity.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n  = generosity


Words: magnanimous
Meaning:
mag.nani.mous\n   magnanimous\n  If you are magnanimous, you behave kindly and generously towards someone, especially after defeating them or being treated badly by them.\nI was prepared to be magnanimous, prepared to feel compassion for him...\n  ADJ\n  = generous  !=vindictive\n=>  mag.nani.mous.ly\n`You were right, and we were wrong,’ he said magnanimously.\n  ADV: usu ADV with v


Words: magnate
Meaning:
mag.nate\n   magnate  magnates\n  A magnate is someone who has earned a lot of money from a particular business or industry.\n...a multimillionaire shipping magnate.\n  N-COUNT: usu supp N\n  = tycoon


Words: magnesium
Meaning:
mag.ne.sium\n   magnesium\n  Magnesium is a light silvery-white metal which burns with a bright white flame.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: magnet
Meaning:
mag.net\n   magnet  magnets\n1. If you say that something is a magnet or is like a magnet, you mean that people are very attracted by it and want to go to it or look at it.\nProspect Park, with its vast lake, is a magnet for all health freaks...\n  N-COUNT: usu a N in sing, oft N for n\n\n2. A magnet is a piece of iron or other material which attracts iron towards it.\n...a fridge magnet.\n  N-COUNT


Words: magnet school
Meaning:
mag.net school\n   magnet school  magnet schools\n  A magnet school is a state-funded school, usually in a poor area, which is given extra resources in order to attract new pupils from other areas and help improve the school’s performance. (JOURNALISM)\n  N-COUNT


Words: magnetic
Meaning:
mag.net.ic\n   magnetic\n1. If something metal is magnetic, it acts like a magnet.\n...magnetic particles.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n2. You use magnetic to describe something that is caused by or relates to the force of magnetism.\nThe electrically charged gas particles are affected by magnetic forces.\n  ADJ\n\n=>  mag.neti.cal.ly\n...metal fragments held together magnetically.\n  ADV: ADV after v\n\n3. You use magnetic to describe tapes and other objects which have a coating of a magnetic substance and contain coded information that can be read by computers or other machines.\n...her magnetic strip ID card.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n4. If you describe something as magnetic, you mean that it is very attractive to people because it has unusual, powerful, and exciting qualities.\n...the magnetic effect of the prosperous German economy on would-be immigrants.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: magnetic field
Meaning:
mag.net.ic field\n   magnetic field  magnetic fields\n  A magnetic field is an area around a magnet, or something functioning as a magnet, in which the magnet’s power to attract things is felt.\n  N-COUNT


Words: magnetic tape
Meaning:
mag.net.ic tape\n   magnetic tape  magnetic tapes\n  Magnetic tape is plastic tape covered with iron oxide or a similar magnetic substance. It is used for recording sounds, film, or computer information.\n  N-VAR\n  = tape


Words: magnetism
Meaning:
mag.net.ism\n   magnetism\n1. Someone or something that has magnetism has unusual, powerful, and exciting qualities which attract people to them.\nThere was no doubting the animal magnetism of the man...\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu with supp\n\n2. Magnetism is the natural power of some objects and substances, especially iron, to attract other objects towards them.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: magnetize
Meaning:
mag.net.ize\n   magnetize  magnetizes  magnetizing  magnetized\nin BRIT, also use magnetise\n  If you magnetize something, you make it magnetic.\nMake a Mobius strip out of a ribbon of mild steel and magnetise it.\n...a small metal chessboard with magnetized playing pieces.\n  VERB: V n, V-ed


Words: magnification
Meaning:
mag.ni.fi.ca.tion\n   magnification  magnifications\n1. Magnification is the act or process of magnifying something.\nPores are visible without magnification...\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. Magnification is the degree to which a lens, mirror, or other device can magnify an object, or the degree to which the object is magnified.\nThe electron microscope uses a beam of electrons to produce images at high magnifications...\n  N-VAR


Words: magnificent
Meaning:
mag.nifi.cent\n   magnificent\n  If you say that something or someone is magnificent, you mean that you think they are extremely good, beautiful, or impressive.\n...a magnificent country house in wooded grounds.\n...magnificent views over the San Fernando Valley...\n  ADJ\n  = splendid\n=>  mag.nifi.cence\n...the magnificence of the Swiss mountains.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N of n\n  = splendour\n=>  mag.nifi.cent.ly\nThe team played magnificently throughout the competition.\n  ADV: ADV after v, ADV adj/-ed\n  = splendidly


Words: magnify
Meaning:
mag.ni.fy\n   magnify  magnifies  magnifying  magnified\n1. To magnify an object means to make it appear larger than it really is, by means of a special lens or mirror.\nThis version of the Digges telescope magnifies images 11 times...\nA lens would magnify the picture so it would be like looking at a large TV screen.\n...magnifying lenses.\n  VERB: V n n, V n, V-ing\n  = enlarge  !=reduce\n2. To magnify something means to increase its effect, size, loudness, or intensity.\nTheir noises were magnified in the still, wet air.\n  VERB: V n\n\n3. If you magnify something, you make it seem more important or serious than it really is.\nThey do not grasp the broad situation and spend their time magnifying ridiculous details...\n  VERB: V n\n  = exaggerate


Words: magnifying glass
Meaning:
mag.ni.fy.ing glass\n   magnifying glass  magnifying glasses\n  A magnifying glass is a piece of glass which makes objects appear bigger than they actually are.\n  N-COUNT


Words: magnitude
Meaning:
mag.ni.tude\n   magnitude\n1. If you talk about the magnitude of something, you are talking about its great size, scale, or importance.\nAn operation of this magnitude is going to be difficult...\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu with supp\n\n2. You can use order of magnitude when you are giving an approximate idea of the amount or importance of something.\nAmerica and Russia do not face a problem of the same order of magnitude as Japan.\n  PHRASE: order inflects\n  = scale


Words: magnolia
Meaning:
mag.no.lia\n   magnolia  magnolias\n  A magnolia is a kind of tree with white, pink, yellow, or purple flowers.\n  N-COUNT


Words: magnum
Meaning:
mag.num\n   magnum  magnums\n  A magnum is a wine bottle holding the equivalent of two normal bottles, approximately 1.5 litres.\n...a magnum of champagne.\n  N-COUNT: oft N of n


Words: magnum opus
Meaning:
mag.num opus\n   magnum opus\n  A magnum opus is the greatest or most important work produced by a writer, artist, musician, or academic.\n...Gadamer’s magnum opus `Truth and Method’.\n  N-SING: oft poss N


Words: magpie
Meaning:
mag.pie\n   magpie  magpies\n  A magpie is a large black and white bird with a long tail.\n  N-COUNT


Words: maharaja
Meaning:
ma.ha.ra.ja\n   maharaja  maharajas   also maharajah\n  A maharaja is the head of one of the royal families that used to rule parts of India.\n  N-COUNT


Words: mahogany
Meaning:
ma.hoga.ny\n   mahogany\n  Mahogany is a dark reddish-brown wood that is used to make furniture.\n...mahogany tables and chairs.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N n


Words: maid
Meaning:
maid  maids\n  A maid is a woman who works as a servant in a hotel or private house.\nA maid brought me breakfast at half past eight.\n  N-COUNT\n\n  see also old maid


Words: maid of honour
Meaning:
maid of hon.our\n   maid of honour  maids of honour\n  A maid of honour is the chief bridesmaid at a wedding. (AM)\n  N-COUNT


Words: maiden
Meaning:
maid.en\n   maiden  maidens\n1. A maiden is a young girl or woman. (LITERARY)\n...stories of noble princes and their brave deeds on behalf of beautiful maidens.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. The maiden voyage or flight of a ship or aircraft is the first official journey that it makes.\nIn 1912, the Titanic sank on her maiden voyage.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: maiden aunt
Meaning:
maid.en aunt\n   maiden aunt  maiden aunts\n  A maiden aunt is an aunt who is not married. (OLD-FASHIONED)\n  N-COUNT


Words: maiden name
Meaning:
maid.en name\n   maiden name  maiden names\n  A married woman’s maiden name is her parents’ surname, which she used before she got married and started using her husband’s surname.\n  N-COUNT: usu poss N\n  !=married name


Words: maiden speech
Meaning:
maid.en speech\n   maiden speech  maiden speeches\n  A politician’s maiden speech is the first speech that he or she makes in parliament after becoming a member of it. (BRIT)\n  N-COUNT


Words: mail
Meaning:
mail  mails  mailing  mailed\n1. The mail is the public service or system by which letters and parcels are collected and delivered.\nYour check is in the mail...\nThe firm has offices in several large cities, but does most of its business by mail.\n  N-SING: the N, also by N\n  = post\n2. You can refer to letters and parcels that are delivered to you as mail.\nThere was no mail except the usual junk addressed to the occupier...\n  N-UNCOUNT: also the N\n  = post\n3. If you mail a letter or parcel to someone, you send it to them by putting it in a post box or taking it to a post office. (mainly AM; in BRIT, usually use post)\nLast year, he mailed the documents to French journalists...\nHe mailed me the contract...\nThe Government has already mailed some 18 million households with details of the public offer.\n  VERB: V n to n, V n n, V n with n, also V n\n\n4. To mail a message to someone means to send it to them by means of e-mail or a computer network.\n...if a report must be electronically mailed to an office by 9 am the next day.\n  VERB: be V-ed prep, also V n\n\n  Mail is also a noun.\nIf you have any problems then send me some mail.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n5.\n  see also mailing, chain mail, e-mail, electronic mail, hate mail, junk mail, surface mail


Words: mail merge
Meaning:
Mail merge is a word processing procedure which enables you to combine a document with a data file, for example a list of names and addresses, so that copies of the document are different for each person it is sent to. (COMPUTING)\nHe sent every member of staff a mail-merge letter wishing them a merry Christmas!\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: mail order
Meaning:
mail or.der\n   mail order  mail orders\n1. Mail order is a system of buying and selling goods. You choose the goods you want from a company by looking at their catalogue, and the company sends them to you by post.\nThe toys are available by mail order from Opi Toys...\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft by N, N n\n\n2. Mail orders are goods that have been ordered by mail order. (mainly AM)\nI supervise the packing of all mail orders.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl


Words: mail out
Meaning:
mail out\n  If someone mails out things such as letters, leaflets, or bills, they send them to a large number of people at the same time. (mainly AM; in BRIT, use send out)\nThis week, the company mailed out its annual report.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), also V n P\n  = send out


Words: mailbag
Meaning:
mail.bag\n   mailbag  mailbags   also mail bag\n  A mailbag is a large bag that is used by postal workers for carrying mail.\n  N-COUNT


Words: mailbox
Meaning:
mail.box\n   mailbox  mailboxes\n1. A mailbox is a box outside your house where your letters are delivered. (AM)\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A mailbox is a metal box in a public place, where you put letters and packets to be collected. They are then sorted and delivered. (mainly AM; in BRIT, use post box)\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. On a computer, your mailbox is the file where your e-mail is stored.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing


Words: mailing
Meaning:
mail.ing\n   mailing  mailings\n1. Mailing is the activity of sending things to people through the postal service.\nThe newsletter was printed towards the end of June in readiness for mailing...\nThe owners of the store have stepped up customer mailings.\n  N-UNCOUNT: also N in pl\n\n2. A mailing is something that is sent to people through the postal service.\nThe seniors organizations sent out mailings to their constituencies.\n  N-COUNT


Words: mailing list
Meaning:
mail.ing list\n   mailing list  mailing lists\n  A mailing list is a list of names and addresses that a company or organization keeps, so that they can send people information or advertisements.\n  N-COUNT


Words: mailman
Meaning:
mail.man\n   mailman  mailmen\n  A mailman is a man whose job is to collect and deliver letters and parcels that are sent by post. (AM; in BRIT, usually use postman)\n  N-COUNT


Words: mailshot
Meaning:
mail.shot\n   mailshot  mailshots\n  A mailshot is a letter advertising something or appealing for money for a particular charity. Mailshots are sent out to a large number of people at once. (BRIT)\n  N-COUNT


Words: maim
Meaning:
maim  maims  maiming  maimed\n  To maim someone means to injure them so badly that part of their body is permanently damaged.\nMines have been scattered in rice paddies and jungles, maiming and killing civilians...\n  VERB: V n


Words: main
Meaning:
main  mains\n1. The main thing is the most important one of several similar things in a particular situation.\n...one of the main tourist areas of Amsterdam...\nMy main concern now is to protect the children...\nWhat are the main differences and similarities between them?\n  ADJ: det ADJ\n  = chief\n2. If you say that something is true in the main, you mean that it is generally true, although there may be exceptions.\nTourists are, in the main, sympathetic people...\n  PHRASE: PHR with cl\n  = on the whole\n3. The mains are the pipes which supply gas or water to buildings, or which take sewage away from them.\n...the water supply from the mains...\nThe capital has been without mains water since Wednesday night.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl, usu with supp\n\n4. The mains are the wires which supply electricity to buildings, or the place where the wires end inside the building. (mainly BRIT)\n...amplifiers which plug into the mains...\n  N-PLURAL: usu the N


Words: main clause
Meaning:
main clause  main clauses\n  A main clause is a clause that can stand alone as a complete sentence. Compare subordinate clause.\n  N-COUNT


Words: main drag
Meaning:
main drag\n  The main drag in a town or city is its main street. (mainly AM INFORMAL)\n  N-SING: the N


Words: main road
Meaning:
main road  main roads\n  A main road is an important road that leads from one town or city to another.\nWebb turned off the main road and drove round to the car park.\n  N-COUNT


Words: Main Street
Meaning:
Main Street\n1. In small towns in the United States, the street where most of the shops are is often called Main Street.\n  N-PROPER\n\n2. Main Street is used by journalists to refer to the ordinary people of America who live in small towns rather than big cities or are not very rich. (AM)\nThis financial crisis had a much greater impact on Main Street.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: mainframe
Meaning:
main.frame\n   mainframe  mainframes\n  A mainframe or mainframe computer is a large powerful computer which can be used by many people at the same time and which can do very large or complicated tasks.\n  N-COUNT


Words: mainland
Meaning:
main.land\n   mainland\n  You can refer to the largest part of a country or continent as the mainland when contrasting it with the islands around it.\nShe was going to Nanaimo to catch the ferry to the mainland.\n...the islands that lie off the coast of mainland Britain.\n  N-SING: the N, N n


Words: mainline
Meaning:
main.line\n   mainline\n1. A mainline railway is a major railway between two important places.\n...the first mainline railway to be built in Britain for almost a hundred years...\n...London’s mainline stations.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n2. You can use mainline to describe people, ideas, and activities that belong to the most central, conventional, and normal part of a tradition, institution, or business.\nWe observe a striking shift away from a labor theory among all mainline economists...\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n  = mainstream


Words: mainly
Meaning:
main.ly\n   mainly\n1. You use mainly when mentioning the main reason or thing involved in something.\nThe stockmarket scandal is refusing to go away, mainly because there’s still no consensus over how it should be dealt with...\nThe birds live mainly on nectar.\n  ADV: ADV with cl/group, ADV with v\n  = primarily\n2. You use mainly when you are referring to a group and stating something that is true of most of it.\nThe African half of the audience was mainly from Senegal or Mali...\nThe spacious main bedroom is mainly blue.\n  ADV: ADV with group\n  = mostly


Words: mainspring
Meaning:
main.spring\n   mainspring  mainsprings\n  If you say that an idea, emotion, or other factor is the mainspring of something, you mean that it is the most important reason or motive for that thing. (WRITTEN)\nMy life has been music, and a constant search for it has been the mainspring of my life...\nYou begin to understand what actions were the mainspring of the story.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, usu the N of n


Words: mainstay
Meaning:
main.stay\n   mainstay  mainstays\n  If you describe something as the mainstay of a particular thing, you mean that it is the most basic part of it.\nFish and rice were the mainstays of the country’s diet...\nThis principle of collective bargaining has been a mainstay in labor relations in this country.\n  N-COUNT: usu the N of n


Words: mainstream
Meaning:
main.stream\n   mainstream  mainstreams\n  People, activities, or ideas that are part of the mainstream are regarded as the most typical, normal, and conventional because they belong to the same group or system as most others of their kind.\n...people outside the economic mainstream...\nThe show wanted to attract a mainstream audience.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, usu with supp


Words: maintain
Meaning:
main.tain\n   maintain  maintains  maintaining  maintained\n1. If you maintain something, you continue to have it, and do not let it stop or grow weaker.\nThe Department maintains many close contacts with the chemical industry...\n  VERB: V n\n\n2. If you say that someone maintains that something is true, you mean that they have stated their opinion strongly but not everyone agrees with them or believes them.\nHe has maintained that the money was donated for international purposes...\n`Not all feminism has to be like this,’ Jo maintains...\nHe had always maintained his innocence.\n  VERB: V that, V with quote, V n\n  = claim\n3. If you maintain something at a particular rate or level, you keep it at that rate or level.\nThe government was right to maintain interest rates at a high level.\n  VERB: V n at n\n\n4. If you maintain a road, building, vehicle, or machine, you keep it in good condition by regularly checking it and repairing it when necessary.\nThe house costs a fortune to maintain...\nThe cars are getting older and less well-maintained.\n  VERB: V n, V-ed\n  = look after\n5. If you maintain someone, you provide them with money and other things that they need.\n...the basic costs of maintaining a child.\n  VERB: V n\n  = provide for, support


Words: maintenance
Meaning:
main.te.nance\n   maintenance\n1. The maintenance of a building, vehicle, road, or machine is the process of keeping it in good condition by regularly checking it and repairing it when necessary.\n...maintenance work on government buildings...\nThe window had been replaced last week during routine maintenance.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. Maintenance is money that someone gives regularly to another person to pay for the things that the person needs.\n...the government’s plan to make absent fathers pay maintenance for their children.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n3. If you ensure the maintenance of a state or process, you make sure that it continues.\n...the maintenance of peace and stability in Asia.\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu N of n


Words: maisonette
Meaning:
mai.son.ette\n   maisonette  maisonettes\n  A maisonette is a flat that usually has a separate door to the outside from other flats in the same building. Many maisonettes are on two floors. (BRIT)\n  N-COUNT


Words: maize
Meaning:
maize\n  Maize is a tall plant which produces long objects covered with yellow seeds called sweetcorn. It is often grown as a food crop. (mainly BRIT; in AM, usually use corn)\n...vast fields of maize.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: majestic
Meaning:
ma.jes.tic\n   majestic\n  If you describe something or someone as majestic, you think they are very beautiful, dignified, and impressive.\n...a majestic country home that once belonged to the Astor family...\n  ADJ\n  = grand\n=>  ma.jes.ti.cal.ly\nFuji is a majestically beautiful mountain.\n  ADV: usu ADV with v, also ADV adj


Words: majesty
Meaning:
maj.es.ty\n   majesty  majesties\n1. You use majesty in expressions such as Your Majesty or Her Majesty when you are addressing or referring to a King or Queen.\nHis Majesty requests your presence in the royal chambers...\n  N-VOC: poss N; PRON; poss PRON  politeness\n\n2. Majesty is the quality of being beautiful, dignified, and impressive.\n...the majesty of the mainland mountains.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: major
Meaning:
ma.jor\n   major  majors  majoring  majored\n1. You use major when you want to describe something that is more important, serious, or significant than other things in a group or situation.\nThe major factor in the decision to stay or to leave was usually professional...\nDrug abuse has long been a major problem for the authorities there...\nExercise has a major part to play in preventing and combating disease.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n  = key, crucial\n2. A major is an officer who is one rank above captain in the British army or the United States army, air force, or marines.\n...Major Alan Bulman.\n  N-COUNT; N-TITLE; N-VOC\n\n3. At a university or college in the United States, a student’s major is the main subject that they are studying.\nEnglish majors would be asked to explore the roots of language.\n  N-COUNT: oft poss N\n\n4. At a university or college in the United States, if a student is, for example, a geology major, geology is the main subject they are studying.\nShe was named the outstanding undergraduate history major at the University of Oklahoma.\n  N-COUNT: n N\n\n5. If a student at a university or college in the United States majors in a particular subject, that subject is the main one they study.\nHe majored in finance at Claremont Men’s College in California.\n  VERB: V in n\n\n6. In music, a major scale is one in which the third note is two tones higher than the first.\n...Mozart’s Symphony No 35 in D Major.\n  ADJ: n ADJ, ADJ n\n  !=minor\n7. A major is a large or important company. (BUSINESS)\nOil majors need not fear being unable to sell their crude.\n  N-COUNT: oft n N\n\n8. The majors are groups of professional sports teams that compete against each other, especially in American baseball. (mainly AM)\nI knew what I could do in the minor leagues, I just wanted a chance to prove myself in the majors.\n  N-PLURAL: the N\n\n9. A major is an important sporting competition, especially in golf or tennis.\nSarazen became the first golfer to win all four majors.\n  N-COUNT


Words: major general
Meaning:
ma.jor gen.er.al\n   major general  major generals   also major-general\n  In Britain, a major general is a senior officer in the army, one rank above a brigadier. In the United States, a major general is a senior officer in the army, air force, or marines, one rank above brigadier general.\n  N-COUNT; N-TITLE; N-VOC


Words: major league
Meaning:
ma.jor league\n   major league major leagues\n1. The major leagues are groups of professional sports teams that compete against each other, especially in American baseball.\nChandler was instrumental in making Jackie Robinson the first black player in the major leagues.\n  N-PLURAL: the N\n\n2. Major league means connected with the major leagues in baseball.\n...a town with no major league baseball.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n3. Major league people or institutions are important or successful.\nJames Hawes’s first film boasts major-league stars.\n  ADJ\n\n4. If someone moves into the major league or makes it into the major league, they become very successful in their career. (JOURNALISM)\nOnce a girl has made it into the major league every detail is mapped out by her agency.\n  PHRASE: Vs inflect


Words: majorette
Meaning:
ma.jor.ette\n   majorette  majorettes\n  A majorette is one of a group of girls or young women who march at the front of a musical band in a procession.\n  N-COUNT


Words: majority
Meaning:
ma.jor.ity\n   majority  majorities\n1. The majority of people or things in a group is more than half of them.\nThe vast majority of our cheeses are made with pasteurised milk...\nStill, a majority continue to support the treaty.\n  N-SING-COLL: usu sing, usu N of n\n  !=minority\n  If a group is in a majority or in the majority, they form more than half of a larger group.\nSurveys indicate that supporters of the treaty are still in the majority.\n  PHRASE: v-link PHR\n\n2. A majority is the difference between the number of votes or seats in parliament or legislature that the winner gets in an election, and the number of votes or seats that the next person or party gets.\nMembers of parliament approved the move by a majority of ninety-nine...\nAccording to most opinion polls, he is set to win a clear majority...\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp\n\n3. Majority is used to describe opinions, decisions, and systems of government that are supported by more than half the people involved.\n...her continuing disagreement with the majority view...\nA majority vote of 75% is required from shareholders for the plan to go ahead.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n4. Majority is the state of legally being an adult. In Britain and most states in the United States, people reach their majority at the age of eighteen.\nThe age of majority in Romania is eighteen...\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft with poss\n\n5.\n  see also absolute majority, moral majority


Words: make
Meaning:
STATING AN AMOUNT OR TIME\n   make  makes  making  made\n1. You use make it when saying what you calculate or guess an amount to be.\nAll I want to know is how many T-shirts Jim Martin has got. I make it three...\n  VERB: V it amount\n\n2. You use make it when saying what time your watch says it is.\nI make it nearly 9.30...\n`What time d’you make it?’.`Thirteen past.’\n  VERB: V it n, V it n, also V n n\n\nCREATING OR PRODUCING\n   make  makes  making  made\n1. To make something means to produce, construct, or create it.\nShe made her own bread...\nHaving curtains made professionally can be costly...\nThey make compost out of all kinds of waste.\n  VERB: V n, have n V-ed, V n from/out of n\n\n2. If you make a note or list, you write something down in that form.\nMr Perry made a note in his book...\nMake a list of your questions beforehand.\n  VERB: V n, V n\n  = write\n3. If you make rules or laws, you decide what these should be.\nThe police don’t make the laws, they merely enforce them...\n  VERB: V n\n\n4. If you make money, you get it by working for it, by selling something, or by winning it.\nI think every business’s goal is to make money...\nCan it be moral to make so much money out of a commodity which is essential to life?\n  VERB: V n, V n out of/from n\n\n5. If something makes something else, it is responsible for the success of that thing.\nWhat really makes the book are the beautiful designs.\n  VERB: V n\n\n6. The make of something such as a car or radio is the name of the company that made it.\n...a certain make of wristwatch.\n  N-COUNT: supp N, N of n\n  = brand\n7. If you say that someone is on the make, you disapprove of them because they are trying to get a lot of money or power, possibly by illegal or immoral methods.\n  PHRASE: v-link PHR  disapproval\n\nACHIEVING OR REACHING\n   make  makes  making  made\n1. If someone makes a particular team or makes a particular high position, they do so well that they are put in that team or get that position.\nThe athletes are just happy to make the British team...\nHe knew he was never going to make director.\n  VERB: V n, V n\n\n2. If you make a place in or by a particular time, you get there in or by that time, often with some difficulty.\nThey were trying to make New Orleans by nightfall.\n  VERB: V n prep\n\n3. If you make it somewhere, you succeed in getting there, especially in time to do something.\n...the hostages who never made it home...\nI just made it!\n  PHRASE: V inflects, oft PHR prep/adv\n\n4. If you make it, you are successful in achieving something difficult, or in surviving through a very difficult period.\nI believe I have the talent to make it...\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n5. If you cannot make it, you are unable to attend an event that you have been invited to.\nHe hadn’t been able to make it to our dinner.\n  PHRASE: V inflects, usu with brd-neg, oft PHR to n\n\nLINK VERB USES\n   make  makes  making  made\n1. You can use make to say that someone or something has the right qualities for a particular task or role. For example, if you say that someone will make a good politician, you mean that they have the right qualities to be a good politician.\nYou’ve a very good idea there. It will make a good book...\nI’m very fond of Maurice and I’d make him a good wife.\n  V-LINK: V n, V n n\n\n2. If people make a particular pattern such as a line or a circle, they arrange themselves in this way.\nA group of people made a circle around the Pentagon.\n  V-LINK: V n\n  = form\n3. You can use make to say what two numbers add up to.\nFour twos make eight...\n  V-LINK: V amount\n\nCAUSING OR CHANGING\n   make  makes  making  made\n\nPlease look at category 11 to see if the expression you are looking for is shown under another headword.\n1. If something makes you do something, it causes you to do it.\nGrit from the highway made him cough...\nI was made to feel guilty and irresponsible.\n  VERB: V n inf, be V-ed to-inf\n\n2. If you make someone do something, you force them to do it.\nYou can’t make me do anything...\nThey were made to pay $8.8 million in taxes.\n  VERB: V n inf, be V-ed to-inf\n\n3. You use make to talk about causing someone or something to be a particular thing or to have a particular quality. For example, to make someone a star means to cause them to become a star, and to make someone angry means to cause them to become angry.\n...James Bond, the role that made him a star...\nShe made life very difficult for me...\nShe’s made it obvious that she’s appalled by me...\nRationing has made it easier to find some products like eggs, butter and meat...\nDoes your film make a hero of Jim Garrison?\n  VERB: V n n, V n adj, V it adj that, V it adj to-inf, V n of n\n\n4. If you say that one thing or person makes another seem, for example, small, stupid, or good, you mean that they cause them to seem small, stupid, or good in comparison, even though they are not.\nThey live in fantasy worlds which make Euro Disney seem uninventive...\n  VERB: V n inf adj/prep\n\n5. If you make yourself understood, heard, or known, you succeed in getting people to understand you, hear you, or know that you are there.\nAron couldn’t speak Polish. I made myself understood with difficulty...\n  VERB: V pron-refl -ed\n\n6. If you make someone something, you appoint them to a particular job, role, or position.\nMr Blair made him transport minister...\n  VERB: V n n\n\n7. If you make something into something else, you change it in some way so that it becomes that other thing.\nWe made it into a beautiful home...\n  VERB: V n into n\n\n8. To make a total or score a particular amount means to increase it to that amount.\nThis makes the total cost of the bulb and energy .27...\n  VERB: V n amount\n\n9. When someone makes a friend or an enemy, someone becomes their friend or their enemy, often because of a particular thing they have done.\nLorenzo was a natural leader who made friends easily...\nHe was unruly in class and made an enemy of most of his teachers.\n  VERB: V n, V n of n\n\n10. If someone makes something of themselves or makes something of their life, they become successful.\nMy father lived long enough to see that I’d made something of myself...\nThe nuns who taught him urged him to make something of his life and he did.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n11.\nto make friends: see friend\n\nCARRYING OUT AN ACTION\n   make  makes  making  made\nMake is used in a large number of expressions which are explained under other words in this dictionary. For example, the expression `to make sense’ is explained at `sense’.\n1. You can use make with a wide range of nouns to indicate that someone performs an action or says something. For example, if you make a suggestion, you suggest something.\nI’d just like to make a comment...\nI made a few phone calls...\nI think you’re making a serious mistake...\n  VERB: V n, V n, V n\n\n2. You can use make with certain nouns to indicate that someone does something well or badly. For example, if you make a success of something, you do it successfully, and if you make a mess of something, you do it very badly.\nApparently he made a mess of his audition...\nAre you really going to make a better job of it this time?\n  VERB: V n of n, V n of n\n\n3. If you make as if to do something or make to do something, you behave in a way that makes it seem that you are just about to do it. (WRITTEN)\nMary made as if to protest, then hesitated...\nHe made to chase Davey, who ran back laughing.\n  VERB: V as if to-inf, V to-inf\n\n4. In cricket, if a player makes a particular number of runs, they score that number of runs. In baseball or American football, if a player makes a particular score, they achieve that score.\nHe made 1,972 runs for the county.\n  VERB: V amount\n  = score\n5. If you make do with something, you use or have it instead of something else that you do not have, although it is not as good.\nWhy make do with a copy if you can afford the genuine article?...\n  PHRASE: make inflects, oft PHR with n\n\n6. If you make like you are doing something, you act as if you are doing it, and if you make like someone, you act as if you are that person. (INFORMAL)\nBob makes like he’s a fish blowing bubbles.\n  PHRASE: V inflects, PHR cl, PHR n


Words: make for
Meaning:
make for\n1. If you make for a place, you move towards it.\nHe rose from his seat and made for the door.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n\n\n2. If something makes for another thing, it causes or helps to cause that thing to happen or exist. (INFORMAL)\nA happy parent makes for a happy child.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n


Words: make of
Meaning:
make of\n  If you ask a person what they make of something, you want to know what their impression, opinion, or understanding of it is.\nNancy wasn’t sure what to make of Mick’s apology.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n


Words: make off
Meaning:
make off\n  If you make off, you leave somewhere as quickly as possible, often in order to escape.\nThey broke free and made off in a stolen car.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P


Words: make off with
Meaning:
make off with\n  If you make off with something, you steal it and take it away with you.\nMasked robbers broke in and made off with $8,000.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P P n


Words: make out
Meaning:
make out\n1. If you make something out, you manage with difficulty to see or hear it.\nI could just make out a tall, pale, shadowy figure tramping through the undergrowth...\nShe thought she heard a name. She couldn’t make it out, though...\nI heard the voices, but couldn’t make out what they were saying.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), V n P, V P wh\n\n2. If you try to make something out, you try to understand it or decide whether or not it is true.\nI couldn’t make it out at all...\nIt is hard to make out what criteria are used...\nAt first I thought it was an accident, but as far as I can make out, the police consider that’s unlikely.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V n P, V P wh, V P\n  = understand\n3. If you make out that something is the case or make something out to be the case, you try to cause people to believe that it is the case.\nThey were trying to make out that I’d actually done it...\nI don’t think it was as glorious as everybody made it out to be...\nHe was never half as bad as his teachers made out.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P that, V n P to-inf, V P\n\n4. If you make out a case for something, you try to establish or prove that it is the best thing to do.\nYou could certainly make out a case for this point of view...\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron) for/against n, also V n P\n\n5. When you make out a cheque, receipt, or order form, you write all the necessary information on it.\nIf you would like to send a donation, you can make a cheque out to Feed the Children...\nI’m going to make out a receipt for you.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V n P to n, V P n (not pron)\n\n6. If two people are making out, they are engaged in sexual activity. (mainly AM INFORMAL)\n...pictures of the couple making out in their underwear on the beach.\n  PHRASAL VERB: pl-n V P, also V P with n


Words: make up
Meaning:
make up\n1. The people or things that make up something are the members or parts that form that thing.\nNorth Africans make up the largest and poorest immigrant group in the country...\nInsects are made up of tens of thousands of proteins.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), be V-ed P of n, also V n P\n  = form, constitute\n2. If you make up something such as a story or excuse, you invent it, sometimes in order to deceive people.\nI think it’s very unkind of you to make up stories about him...\nI’m not making it up. The character exists in real life.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), V n P\n\n3. If you make yourself up or if someone else makes you up, make-up such as powder or lipstick is put on your face.\nShe spent too much time making herself up...\nShe chose Maggie to make her up for her engagement photographs...\nI can’t be bothered to make up my face.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V n P, V n P, V P n (not pron)\n\n4. If you make up an amount, you add something to it so that it is as large as it should be.\nLess than half of the money that students receive is in the form of grants, and loans have made up the difference...\nThe team had six professionals and made the number up with five amateurs...\nFor every .100 you invest into a pension plan the Inland Revenue makes it up to .125.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), V n P, V n P to amount\n\n5. If you make up time or hours, you work some extra hours because you have previously taken some time off work.\nThey’ll have to make up time lost during the strike.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), also V n P\n\n6. If two people make up or make it up after a quarrel or disagreement, they become friends again.\nShe came back and they made up...\nThey never made up the quarrel...\nThey should make up with their ex-enemy in the West...\nI’ll make it up with him again.\n  PHRASAL VERB: pl-n V P, pl-n V P n, V P with n, V it P with n, also pl-n V it P\n\n7. If you make up something such as food or medicine, you prepare it by mixing or putting different things together.\nPrepare the souffle dish before making up the souffle mixture.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), also V n P\n\n8. If you make up a bed, you put sheets and blankets on it so that someone can sleep there.\nHer mother made up a bed in her old room.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron)


Words: make up for
Meaning:
make up for\n  To make up for a bad experience or the loss of something means to make the situation better or make the person involved happier.\nAsk for an extra compensation payment to make up for the stress you have been caused...\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P P n\n  = compensate for


Words: make up to
Meaning:
make up to\n  If you say that you will make it up to someone, you are promising that you will do something good for them after they have been upset or disappointed, especially by you.\nI’ll make it up to you, I promise...\nI must make it up to him for the awful intrusion of last night.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V it P P n, V it P P n for n/-ing, also V n P P n


Words: make-believe
Meaning:
make-believe\n1. If someone is living in a make-believe world, they are pretending that things are better, different, or more exciting than they really are instead of facing up to reality.\n...the glamorous make-believe world of show business...\n  N-UNCOUNT  disapproval\n\n2. You use make-believe to refer to the activity involved when a child plays a game in which they pretend something, for example that they are someone else.\nShe used to play games of make-believe with her elder sister.\n...his make-believe playmate.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n3. You use make-believe to describe things, for example in a play or film, that imitate or copy something real, but which are not what they appear to be.\nThe violence in those films was too unreal, it was make-believe...\n  ADJ


Words: make-up
Meaning:
make-up   also makeup\n1. Make-up consists of things such as lipstick, eye shadow, and powder which some women put on their faces to make themselves look more attractive or which actors use to change or improve their appearance.\nNormally she wore little make-up...\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. Someone’s make-up is their nature and the various qualities in their character.\nThere was some fatal flaw in his makeup, and as time went on he lapsed into long silences or became off-hand.\n  N-UNCOUNT: with supp, usu poss N\n  = personality\n3. The make-up of something consists of its different parts and the way these parts are arranged.\nThe ideological make-up of the unions is now radically different from what it had been.\n  N-UNCOUNT: with supp


Words: makeover
Meaning:
make.over\n   makeover  makeovers\n1. If a person or room is given a makeover, their appearance is improved, usually by an expert.\nShe received a cosmetic makeover at a beauty salon as a birthday gift.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If an organization or system is given a makeover, important changes are made in order to improve it.\nThe biggest makeover has been in TV drama.\n  N-COUNT


Words: maker
Meaning:
mak.er\n   maker  makers\n1. The maker of a product is the firm that manufactures it.\n...Japan’s two largest car makers.\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp\n  = manufacturer\n2. You can refer to the person who makes something as its maker.\n...the makers of news and current affairs programmes.\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp\n\n3.\n  see also peacemaker


Words: makeshift
Meaning:
make.shift\n   makeshift\n  Makeshift things are temporary and usually of poor quality, but they are used because there is nothing better available.\n...the cardboard boxes and makeshift shelters of the homeless.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: makeweight
Meaning:
make.weight\n   makeweight  makeweights\n  If you describe someone or something as a makeweight, you think that they are not good or valuable and that they have been included in an activity in order to fill up a gap.\nHe has not been signed to the club as a makeweight to fill out the numbers.\n  N-COUNT  disapproval


Words: making
Meaning:
mak.ing\n   making  makings\n1. The making of something is the act or process of producing or creating it.\n...Salamon’s book about the making of this movie...\n  N-UNCOUNT: the N of n, n N\n\n2. If you describe a person or thing as something in the making, you mean that they are going to become known or recognized as that thing.\nHer drama teacher is confident Julie is a star in the making...\n  PHRASE: usu n PHR\n\n3. If something is the making of a person or thing, it is the reason that they become successful or become very much better than they used to be.\nThis discovery may yet be the making of him.\n  PHRASE: V inflects, PHR n\n\n4. If you say that a person or thing has the makings of something, you mean it seems possible or likely that they will become that thing, as they have the necessary qualities.\nGodfrey had the makings of a successful journalist.\n  PHRASE: V inflects, PHR n\n\n5. If you say that something such as a problem you have is of your own making, you mean you have caused or created it yourself.\nSome of the university’s financial troubles are of its own making...\n  PHRASE: v-link PHR


Words: mal-
Meaning:
mal-\n  Mal- is added to words in order to form new words which describe things that are bad or unpleasant, or that are unsuccessful or imperfect.\nForty per cent of the population is suffering from malnutrition...\nThe animals were seriously maltreated.\n  PREFIX


Words: maladjusted
Meaning:
mal.ad.just.ed\n   maladjusted\n  If you describe a child as maladjusted, you mean that they have psychological problems and behave in a way which is not acceptable to society.\n...a school for maladjusted children.\n  ADJ


Words: maladministration
Meaning:
mal.ad.min.is.tra.tion\n   maladministration\n  Maladministration is the act or process of running a system or organization incorrectly. (FORMAL)\n...a request to investigate a claim about maladministration.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: maladroit
Meaning:
mala.droit\n   maladroit\n  If you describe someone as maladroit, you mean that they are clumsy or handle situations badly. (FORMAL)\nSome of his first interviews with the press were rather maladroit.\n  ADJ


Words: malady
Meaning:
mala.dy\n   malady  maladies\n1. A malady is an illness or disease. (OLD-FASHIONED)\nHe was stricken at twenty-one with a crippling malady.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. In written English, people sometimes use maladies to refer to serious problems in a society or situation.\nWhen apartheid is over the maladies will linger on.\n  N-COUNT


Words: malaise
Meaning:
ma.laise\n   malaise\n1. Malaise is a state in which there is something wrong with a society or group, for which there does not seem to be a quick or easy solution. (FORMAL)\nThere is no easy short-term solution to Britain’s chronic economic malaise...\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. Malaise is a state in which people feel dissatisfied or unhappy but feel unable to change, usually because they do not know what is wrong. (FORMAL)\nHe complained of depression, headaches and malaise.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: malaria
Meaning:
ma.laria\n   malaria\n  Malaria is a serious disease carried by mosquitoes which causes periods of fever.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: malarial
Meaning:
ma.lar.ial\n   malarial\n  You can use malarial to refer to things connected with malaria or areas which are affected by malaria.\n...malarial parasites.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: Malay
Meaning:
Ma.lay\n   Malay  Malays\n1. Malay means belonging or relating to the people, language, or culture of the largest racial group in Malaysia.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n2. A Malay is a member of the largest racial group in Malaysia.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. Malay is a language that is spoken in Malaysia and in parts of Indonesia.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: Malaysian
Meaning:
Ma.lay.sian\n   Malaysian  Malaysians\n  Something that is Malaysian belongs or relates to Malaysia or to its people.\n  ADJ\n\n  Malaysians are people who are Malaysian.\n  N-COUNT


Words: malcontent
Meaning:
mal.con.tent\n   malcontent  malcontents\n  You can describe people as malcontents when you disapprove of the fact that they are dissatisfied with a situation and want it to change. (FORMAL)\nFive years ago a band of malcontents, mainly half-educated radicals, seized power.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl  disapproval


Words: male
Meaning:
male  males\n1. Someone who is male is a man or a boy.\nMany women achievers appear to pose a threat to their male colleagues...\nMost of the demonstrators were white and male.\n  ADJ\n  !=female\n=>  male.ness\n...the solidarity among men which is part of maleness.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. Men and boys are sometimes referred to as males when they are being considered as a type.\nA high proportion of crime is perpetrated by young males in their teens and twenties.\n  N-COUNT\n  = man  !=female\n3. Male means relating, belonging, or affecting men rather than women.\nThe rate of male unemployment in Britain is now the third worst in Europe.\n...a deep male voice.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n  !=female\n4. You can refer to any creature that belongs to the sex that cannot lay eggs or have babies as a male.\nMales and females take turns brooding the eggs.\n  N-COUNT\n  !=female\n  Male is also an adjective.\nAfter mating the male wasps tunnel through the sides of their nursery.\n  ADJ\n  !=female


Words: male chauvinism
Meaning:
male chau.vin.ism\n   male chauvinism\n  If you accuse a man of male chauvinism, you disapprove of him because his beliefs and behaviour show that he thinks men are naturally superior to women.\n  N-UNCOUNT  disapproval


Words: male chauvinist
Meaning:
male chau.vin.ist\n   male chauvinist  male chauvinists\n  If you describe an attitude or remark as male chauvinist, you are critical of it because you think it is based on the belief that men are naturally superior to women.\nThe male chauvinist attitude of some people in the company could get you down.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n  disapproval\n\n  A male chauvinist is a man who has male chauvinist views.\nI’m not a male chauvinist.\n  N-COUNT


Words: male-dominated
Meaning:
male-dominated\n  A male-dominated society, organization, or area of activity is one in which men have most of the power and influence.\n...the male-dominated world of journalism.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: malefactor
Meaning:
mal.efac.tor\n   malefactor  malefactors\n  A malefactor is someone who has done something bad or illegal. (FORMAL)\n...a well-known criminal lawyer who had saved many a malefactor from going to jail.\n  N-COUNT\n  = wrongdoer


Words: malevolent
Meaning:
ma.levo.lent\n   malevolent\n  A malevolent person deliberately tries to cause harm or evil. (FORMAL)\nHer stare was malevolent, her mouth a thin line.\n  ADJ\n  !=benevolent\n=>  ma.levo.lence\n...a rare streak of malevolence.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n  !=benevolence\n=>  ma.levo.lent.ly\nMark watched him malevolently.\n  ADV


Words: malformation
Meaning:
mal.for.ma.tion\n   malformation  malformations\n  A malformation in a person’s body is a part which does not have the proper shape or form, especially when it has been like this since birth. (WRITTEN)\n...babies with a high incidence of congenital malformations.\n  N-COUNT\n  = deformity


Words: malformed
Meaning:
mal.formed\n   malformed\n  If people or parts of their body are malformed, they do not have the shape or form that they are supposed to, especially when they have been like this since birth. (FORMAL)\n...malformed babies...\nMore rarely, the tubes have been malformed from birth.\n  ADJ\n  = deformed


Words: malfunction
Meaning:
mal.func.tion\n   malfunction  malfunctions  malfunctioning  malfunctioned\n  If a machine or part of the body malfunctions, it fails to work properly. (FORMAL)\nThe radiation can damage microprocessors and computer memories, causing them to malfunction...\n  VERB: V\n\n  Malfunction is also a noun.\nThere must have been a computer malfunction.\n  N-COUNT


Words: malice
Meaning:
mal.ice\n   malice\n  Malice is behaviour that is intended to harm people or their reputations, or cause them embarrassment and upset.\nThere was a strong current of malice in many of his portraits...\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: malicious
Meaning:
ma.li.cious\n   malicious\n  If you describe someone’s words or actions as malicious, you mean that they are intended to harm people or their reputation, or cause them embarrassment and upset.\nThat might merely have been malicious gossip...\n  ADJ\n\n=>  ma.li.cious.ly\n...his maliciously accurate imitation of Hubert de Burgh.\n  ADV: usu ADV with v, also ADV adj


Words: malign
Meaning:
ma.lign\n   malign  maligns  maligning  maligned\n1. If you malign someone, you say unpleasant and untrue things about them. (FORMAL)\nWe maligned him dreadfully when you come to think of it...\n  VERB: V n\n\n2. If something is malign, it causes harm. (FORMAL)\n...the malign influence jealousy had on their lives...\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n  = harmful  !=benign\n3.\n  see also much-maligned


Words: malignancy
Meaning:
ma.lig.nan.cy\n   malignancy  malignancies\n  A tumour or disease in a state of malignancy is out of control and is likely to cause death. (MEDICAL)\nTissue that is removed during the operation is checked for signs of malignancy.\n  N-VAR


Words: malignant
Meaning:
ma.lig.nant\n   malignant\n1. A malignant tumour or disease is out of control and likely to cause death. (MEDICAL)\nShe developed a malignant breast tumour.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  !=benign\n2. If you say that someone is malignant, you think they are cruel and like to cause harm.\nHe said that we were evil, malignant and mean.\n  ADJ


Words: malinger
Meaning:
ma.lin.ger\n   malinger  malingers  malingering  malingered\n  If someone is malingering, they pretend to be ill in order to avoid working.\nShe was told by her doctor that she was malingering.\n  VERB: usu cont, V  disapproval


Words: mall rat
Meaning:
mall rat mall rats\n  Mall rats are young people who spend a lot of time hanging around in shopping malls with their friends. (AM)\n  N-COUNT  disapproval


Words: malleable
Meaning:
mal.le.able\n   malleable\n1. If you say that someone is malleable, you mean that they are easily influenced or controlled by other people. (WRITTEN)\nShe was young enough to be malleable.\n  ADJ\n\n2. A substance that is malleable is soft and can easily be made into different shapes.\nSilver is the most malleable of all metals.\n  ADJ\n  !=rigid


Words: malnourished
Meaning:
mal.nour.ished\n   malnourished\n  If someone is malnourished, they are physically weak because they do not eat enough food or do not eat the right kind of food.\nAbout thirty per-cent of the country’s children were malnourished.\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ\n  = undernourished


Words: malnutrition
Meaning:
mal.nu.tri.tion\n   malnutrition\n  If someone is suffering from malnutrition, they are physically weak and extremely thin because they have not eaten enough food.\nInfections are more likely in those suffering from malnutrition.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: malodorous
Meaning:
mal.odor.ous\n   malodorous\n  Something that is malodorous has an unpleasant smell. (LITERARY)\n...tons of malodorous garbage bags.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  = smelly


Words: malpractice
Meaning:
mal.prac.tice\n   malpractice  malpractices\n  If you accuse someone of malpractice, you are accusing them of breaking the law or the rules of their profession in order to gain some advantage for themselves. (FORMAL)\nThere were only one or two serious allegations of malpractice.\n...alleged financial malpractices.\n  N-VAR: oft N n


Words: malt
Meaning:
malt  malts\n1. Malt is a substance made from grain that has been soaked in water and then dried in a hot oven. Malt is used in the production of whisky, beer, and other alcoholic drinks.\nGerman beer has traditionally been made from just four ingredients.hops, malt, yeast and water.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. A malt is a drink made from malted milk and sometimes other flavourings. (AM)\n  N-COUNT


Words: malt whisky
Meaning:
malt whis.ky\n   malt whisky  malt whiskies\n  Malt whisky or malt is whisky that is made from malt.\n  N-MASS


Words: malted
Meaning:
malt.ed\n   malted\n  Malted barley has been soaked in water and then dried in a hot oven. It is used in the production of whisky, beer, and other alcoholic drinks.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: Maltese
Meaning:
Mal.tese\n   Maltese  Maltese\n1. Maltese means belonging or relating to Malta, or to its people, language, or culture.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n2. A Maltese is a Maltese citizen, or a person of Maltese origin.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. Maltese is a language spoken by people who live in Malta.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: maltreat
Meaning:
mal.treat\n   maltreat  maltreats  maltreating  maltreated\n  If a person or animal is maltreated, they are treated badly, especially by being hurt.\nHe said that he was not tortured or maltreated during his detention...\n  VERB: usu passive, be V-ed\n  = mistreat


Words: maltreatment
Meaning:
mal.treat.ment\n   maltreatment\n  Maltreatment is cruel behaviour, especially involving hurting a person or animal.\n2,000 prisoners died as a result of torture and maltreatment.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N of n\n  = mistreatment


Words: mam
Meaning:
mam  mams\n  Mam is used to mean mother. (BRIT DIALECT)\nYou sit here and rest, Mam.\n  N-FAMILY\n  = mum


Words: mamma
Meaning:
mam.ma\n   mamma  mammas   also mama\n  Mamma means the same as mother. (AM INFORMAL)\n  N-FAMILY\n  = mommy


Words: mammal
Meaning:
mam.mal\n   mammal  mammals\n  Mammals are animals such as humans, dogs, lions, and whales. In general, female mammals give birth to babies rather than laying eggs, and feed their young with milk.\n  N-COUNT


Words: mammalian
Meaning:
mam.ma.lian\n   mammalian\n  In zoology, mammalian means relating to mammals. (TECHNICAL)\nThe disease can spread from one mammalian species to another.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: mammary
Meaning:
mam.ma.ry\n   mammary\n  Mammary means relating to the breasts. (TECHNICAL)\n...the mammary glands.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: mammogram
Meaning:
mam.mo.gram\n   mammogram  mammograms\n  A mammogram is a test used to check whether women have breast cancer, using x-rays.\n  N-COUNT


Words: Mammon
Meaning:
Mam.mon\n   Mammon\n  You can use Mammon to refer to money and business activities if you want to show your disapproval of people who think that becoming rich is the most important thing in life.\nIt is not every day that one meets a business-person who is not obsessed with Mammon.\n  N-UNCOUNT  disapproval


Words: mammoth
Meaning:
mam.moth\n   mammoth  mammoths\n1. You can use mammoth to emphasize that a task or change is very large and needs a lot of effort to achieve.\n...the mammoth task of relocating the library...\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n  emphasis\n  = massive\n2. A mammoth was an animal like an elephant, with very long tusks and long hair, that lived a long time ago but no longer exists.\n  N-COUNT


Words: mammy
Meaning:
mam.my\n   mammy  mammies\n  In some dialects of English, mammy is used to mean mother. (INFORMAL)\n  N-FAMILY


Words: man
Meaning:
man  men  mans  manning  manned\n1. A man is an adult male human being.\nHe had not expected the young man to reappear before evening...\nI have always regarded him as a man of integrity.\n...the thousands of men, women and children who are facing starvation.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. Man and men are sometimes used to refer to all human beings, including both males and females. Some people dislike this use.\nThe chick initially has no fear of man...\n  N-VAR\n\n3. If you say that a man is, for example, a gambling man or an outdoors man, you mean that he likes gambling or outdoor activities.\nAre you a gambling man, Mr Graham?...\n  N-COUNT: supp N\n\n4. If you say that a man is, for example, a London man or an Oxford man, you mean that he comes from London or Oxford, or went to university there.\n...as the Stockport man collected his winnings...\n  N-COUNT: n-proper N\n\n5. If you refer to a particular company’s or organization’s man, you mean a man who works for or represents that company or organization. (JOURNALISM)\n...the Daily Telegraph’s man in Abu Dhabi.\n  N-COUNT: poss N\n\n6. Some people refer to a woman’s husband, lover, or boyfriend as her man. (INFORMAL)\n...if they see your man cuddle you in the kitchen or living room.\n  N-SING: poss N\n\n7. In very informal social situations, man is sometimes used as a greeting or form of address to a man.\nHey wow, man! Where d’you get those boots?\n  N-VOC  formulae\n\n8. If you man something such as a place or machine, you operate it or are in charge of it.\n...the person manning the phone at the complaints department...\nThe station is seldom manned in the evening.\n  VERB: V n, V n\n\n9.\n  see also manned, ladies’ man, no-man’s land\n10. If you say that a man is man enough to do something, you mean that he has the necessary courage or ability to do it.\nI told him that he should be man enough to admit he had done wrong...\n  PHRASE: v-link PHR\n\n11. If you describe a man as a man’s man, you mean that he has qualities which make him popular with other men rather than with women.\n  PHRASE: v-link PHR\n\n12. If you say that a man is his own man, you approve of the fact that he makes his decisions and his plans himself, and does not depend on other people.\nBe your own man. Make up your own mind...\n  PHRASE: V inflects  approval\n\n13. If you say that a group of men are, do, or think something to a man, you are emphasizing that every one of them is, does, or thinks that thing.\nTo a man, the surveyors blamed the government...\n  PHRASE: PHR with v  emphasis\n\n14. A man-to-man conversation or meeting takes place between two men, especially two men who meet to discuss a serious personal matter.\nHe called me to his office for a man-to-man talk...\nMe and Ben should sort this out man to man.\n  PHRASE: PHR n, PHR after v\n\n15.\nthe man in the street: see street\nman of the world: see world


Words: man management
Meaning:
man man.age.ment\n\n  Man management involves controlling and organizing the people who work in a business or organization. (BUSINESS)\nTeam captains need to have effective man-management skills.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: man-eating
Meaning:
man-eating\n  A man-eating animal is one that has killed and eaten human beings, or that people think might do so.\n...man-eating lions.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: man-hour
Meaning:
man-hour  man-hours\n  A man-hour is the average amount of work that one person can do in an hour. Man-hours are used to estimate how long jobs take, or how many people are needed to do a job in a particular time.\nThe restoration took almost 4,000 man-hours over four years.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl


Words: man-made
Meaning:
man-made\n  Man-made things are created or caused by people, rather than occurring naturally.\nMan-made and natural disasters have disrupted the Government’s economic plans.\n...a variety of materials, both natural and man-made.\n  ADJ\n  !=natural


Words: manacle
Meaning:
mana.cle\n   manacle  manacles  manacling  manacled\n1. Manacles are metal devices attached to a prisoner’s wrists or legs in order to prevent him or her from moving or escaping.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl\n\n2. If a prisoner is manacled, their wrists or legs are put in manacles in order to prevent them from moving or escaping.\nHis hands were manacled behind his back...\nHe was manacled by the police.\n  VERB: usu passive, be V-ed prep/adv, be V-ed


Words: manage
Meaning:
man.age\n   manage  manages  managing  managed\n1. If you manage an organization, business, or system, or the people who work in it, you are responsible for controlling them.\nWithin two years he was managing the store...\nMost factories in the area are obsolete and badly managed...\nThere is a lack of confidence in the government’s ability to manage the economy...\n  VERB: V n, V n, V n\n  = run, organize\n2. If you manage time, money, or other resources, you deal with them carefully and do not waste them.\nIn a busy world, managing your time is increasingly important...\nJosh expects me to manage all the household expenses on very little.\n  VERB: V n, V n\n\n3. If you manage to do something, especially something difficult, you succeed in doing it.\nSomehow, he’d managed to persuade Kay to buy one for him...\nOver the past 12 months the company has managed a 10 per cent improvement.\n  VERB: V to-inf, V n\n\n4. If you manage, you succeed in coping with a difficult situation.\nShe had managed perfectly well without medication for three years...\nI am managing, but I could not possibly give up work...\n  VERB: V, V\n  = cope\n5. If you say that you can manage an amount of time or money for something, you mean that you can afford to spend that time or money on it.\n`All right, I can manage a fiver,’ McMinn said with reluctance.\n  VERB: V n\n  = spare\n6. If you say that someone managed a particular response, such as a laugh or a greeting, you mean that it was difficult for them to do it because they were feeling sad or upset.\nHe looked dazed as he spoke to reporters, managing only a weak smile...\n  VERB: V n\n\n7. You say `I can manage’ or `I’ll manage’ as a way of refusing someone’s offer of help and insisting on doing something by yourself.\nI know you mean well, but I can manage by myself...\n  CONVENTION


Words: manageable
Meaning:
man.age.able\n   manageable\n  Something that is manageable is of a size, quantity, or level of difficulty that people are able to deal with.\nHe will now try to cut down the task to a manageable size...\nThe present flow of refugees was manageable...\n  ADJ


Words: management
Meaning:
man.age.ment\n   management  managements\n1. Management is the control and organizing of a business or other organization.\nThe zoo needed better management rather than more money...\nThe dispute is about wages, working conditions and the management of the mining industry.\n...the responsibility for its day to day management.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. You can refer to the people who control and organize a business or other organization as the management. (BUSINESS)\nThe management is doing its best to improve the situation...\nWe need to get more women into top management...\n  N-VAR-COLL\n\n3. Management is the way people control different parts of their lives.\n...her management of her professional life.\n...intelligent money management, for example paying big bills monthly where possible.\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu with supp


Words: management buyout
Meaning:
man.age.ment buy.out\n   management buyout management buyouts\n  A management buyout is the buying of a company by its managers. The abbreviation MBO is also used. (BUSINESS)\nOf the first three franchises to be awarded, two went to management buyouts led by former BR executives.\n  N-COUNT


Words: management consultant
Meaning:
man.age.ment con.sult.ant\n   management consultant management consultants\n  A management consultant is someone whose job is to advise companies on the most efficient ways to run their business. (BUSINESS)\n...a leading firm of management consultants.\n  N-COUNT


Words: manager
Meaning:
man.ag.er\n   manager  managers\n1. A manager is a person who is responsible for running part of or the whole of a business organization.\nThe chef, staff and managers are all Chinese.\n...a retired bank manager.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. The manager of a pop star or other entertainer is the person who looks after their business interests.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. The manager of a sports team is the person responsible for training the players and organizing the way they play. In American English, manager is only used for baseball; in other sports, coach is used instead.\n  N-COUNT


Words: manageress
Meaning:
man.ag.er.ess\n   manageress  manageresses\n  The manageress of a shop, restaurant, or other small business is the woman who is responsible for running it. Some women object to this word and prefer to be called a `manager’.\n...the manageress of a betting shop.\n  N-COUNT


Words: managerial
Meaning:
mana.gerial\n   managerial\n  Managerial means relating to the work of a manager.\n...his managerial skills.\n...a managerial career...\nSome see themselves as the provider of ideas, while others view their role as essentially managerial.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: managing director
Meaning:
man.ag.ing di.rec.tor\n   managing director  managing directors\n  The managing director of a company is the most important working director, and is in charge of the way the company is managed. The abbreviation MD is also used. (mainly BRIT BUSINESS; in AM, usually use chief executive officer)\n  N-COUNT


Words: mandarin
Meaning:
man.da.rin\n   mandarin  mandarins\n1. Journalists sometimes use mandarin to refer to someone who has an important job in the Civil Service. (BRIT)\n...Foreign Office mandarins.\n  N-COUNT: usu supp N\n\n2. Mandarin is the official language of China.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n3. A mandarin or a mandarin orange is a small orange whose skin comes off easily.\n  N-COUNT\n\n4. A mandarin was, in former times, an important government official in China.\n  N-COUNT


Words: mandate
Meaning:
man.date\n   mandate  mandates  mandating  mandated\n1. If a government or other elected body has a mandate to carry out a particular policy or task, they have the authority to carry it out as a result of winning an election or vote.\nThe President and his supporters are almost certain to read this vote as a mandate for continued economic reform...\n  N-COUNT: oft N for n, N to-inf\n\n2. If someone is given a mandate to carry out a particular policy or task, they are given the official authority to do it.\nHow much longer does the independent prosecutor have a mandate to pursue this investigation?...\n  N-COUNT: oft N to-inf\n\n3. You can refer to the fixed length of time that a country’s leader or government remains in office as their mandate. (FORMAL)\n...his intention to leave politics once his mandate ends.\n  N-COUNT: usu with poss\n\n4. When someone is mandated to carry out a particular policy or task, they are given the official authority to do it. (FORMAL)\nHe’d been mandated by the West African Economic Community to go in and to enforce a ceasefire...\nThe elections are mandated by a peace accord signed by the government last May.\n  VERB: usu passive, be V-ed to-inf, be V-ed\n\n5. To mandate something means to make it mandatory. (AM)\nThe proposed initiative would mandate a reduction of carbon dioxide of 40%...\nQuebec mandated that all immigrants send their children to French schools.\n...constitutionally mandated civil rights.\n  VERB: V n, V that, V-ed


Words: mandatory
Meaning:
man.da.tory\n   mandatory\n1. If an action or procedure is mandatory, people have to do it, because it is a rule or a law. (FORMAL)\n...the mandatory retirement age of 65...\nAttendance is mandatory.\n  ADJ\n  = compulsory\n2. If a crime carries a mandatory punishment, that punishment is fixed by law for all cases, in contrast to crimes for which the judge or magistrate has to decide the punishment for each particular case. (FORMAL)\n...the mandatory life sentence for murder.\n  ADJ\n  !=discretionary


Words: mandible
Meaning:
man.di.ble\n   mandible  mandibles\n1. A mandible is the bone in the lower jaw of a person or animal. (TECHNICAL)\n  N-COUNT\n  = jawbone\n2. An insect’s mandibles are the two parts of its mouth which it uses for biting, similar to an animal’s jaws. (TECHNICAL)\n  N-COUNT: usu pl


Words: mandolin
Meaning:
man.do.lin\n   mandolin   mandolins\n  A mandolin is a musical instrument that looks like a small guitar and has four pairs of strings.\n  N-VAR: oft the N


Words: mane
Meaning:
mane  manes\n  The mane on a horse or lion is the long thick hair that grows from its neck.\n  N-COUNT


Words: manfully
Meaning:
man.ful.ly\n   manfully\n  If you say that someone, especially a man, does something manfully, you mean that they do it in a very determined or brave way.\nThey stuck to their task manfully.\n  ADV: ADV with v


Words: manganese
Meaning:
man.ga.nese\n   manganese\n  Manganese is a greyish-white metal that is used in making steel.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: manger
Meaning:
man.ger\n   manger  mangers\n  A manger is a low open container which cows, horses, and other animals feed from when indoors. (OLD-FASHIONED)\n  N-COUNT


Words: mangetout
Meaning:
mange.tout\n   mangetout  mangetout  or mangetouts   also mange-tout\n  Mangetout are a type of pea whose pods are eaten as well as the peas inside them. (BRIT; in AM, use snow pea)\n  N-COUNT: usu pl


Words: mangle
Meaning:
man.gle\n   mangle  mangles  mangling  mangled\n1. If a physical object is mangled, it is crushed or twisted very forcefully, so that it is difficult to see what its original shape was.\nHis body was crushed and mangled beyond recognition.\n...the mangled wreckage.\n  VERB: usu passive, be V-ed, V-ed\n\n2. If you say that someone mangles words or information, you are criticizing them for not speaking or writing clearly or correctly.\nThey don’t know what they’re talking about and mangle scientific information.\n  VERB: V n  disapproval


Words: mango
Meaning:
man.go\n   mango  mangoes  or mangos\n  A mango is a large sweet yellowish fruit which grows on a tree in hot countries.\nPeel, stone and dice the mango.\n...mango chutney.\n  N-VAR\n\n  A mango is the tree that this fruit grows on.\n...orchards of lime and mango trees.\n  N-COUNT: oft N n


Words: mangrove
Meaning:
man.grove\n   mangrove  mangroves\n  A mangrove or mangrove tree is a tree with roots which are above the ground and that grows along coasts or on the banks of large rivers in hot countries.\n...mangrove swamps.\n  N-COUNT: oft N n


Words: mangy
Meaning:
man.gy\n   mangy  mangier  mangiest\n  A mangy animal looks dirty, uncared for or ill.\n...mangy old dogs.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: manhandle
Meaning:
man.handle\n   manhandle  manhandles  manhandling  manhandled\n1. If someone is manhandled, they are physically held or pushed, for example when they are being taken somewhere.\nForeign journalists were manhandled by armed police, and told to leave...\nThey manhandled the old man along the corridor.\n  VERB: be V-ed, V n prep/adv, also V n\n\n2. If you manhandle something big or heavy somewhere, you move it there by hand.\nThe three of us manhandled the uncovered dinghy out of the shed.\n  VERB: V n prep/adv


Words: manhole
Meaning:
man.hole\n   manhole  manholes\n  A manhole is a large hole in a road or path, covered by a metal plate that can be removed. Workers climb down through manholes when they want to examine or clean the drains.\n  N-COUNT


Words: manhood
Meaning:
man.hood\n   manhood\n  Manhood is the state of being a man rather than a boy.\nThey were failing lamentably to help their sons grow from boyhood to manhood.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: manhunt
Meaning:
man.hunt\n   manhunt  manhunts\n  A manhunt is a major search for someone who has escaped or disappeared.\n  N-COUNT: oft N for n


Words: mania
Meaning:
ma.nia\n   mania  manias\n1. If you say that a person or group has a mania for something, you mean that they enjoy it very much or spend a lot of time on it.\nIt seemed to some observers that the English had a mania for travelling...\n...Mozart mania.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, oft N for n/-ing, n N\n\n2. Mania is a mental illness which causes the sufferer to become very worried or concerned about something.\n...the treatment of mania...\n  N-UNCOUNT: also N in pl


Words: maniac
Meaning:
ma.ni.ac\n   maniac  maniacs\n1. A maniac is a mad person who is violent and dangerous.\n...a drug-crazed maniac.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If you describe someone’s behaviour as maniac, you are emphasizing that it is extremely foolish and uncontrolled.\nA maniac driver sped 35 miles along the wrong side of a motorway at 110 mph.\n  ADJ: ADJ n  emphasis\n  = lunatic\n3. If you call someone, for example, a religious maniac or a sports maniac, you are critical of them because they have such a strong interest in religion or sport.\nMy mum is turning into a religious maniac.\n...football maniacs.\n  N-COUNT: supp N  disapproval\n  = fanatic


Words: maniacal
Meaning:
ma.nia.cal\n   maniacal\n  If you describe someone’s behaviour as maniacal, you mean that it is extreme, violent, or very determined, as if the person were insane.\nHe was almost maniacal in his pursuit of sporting records...\nShe is hunched forward over the wheel with a maniacal expression.\n  ADJ  disapproval\n\n=>  ma.nia.cal.ly\nHe was last seen striding maniacally to the hotel reception.\n  ADV: usu ADV with v, also ADV adj


Words: manic
Meaning:
man.ic\n   manic\n1. If you describe someone as manic, you mean that they do things extremely quickly or energetically, often because they are very excited or anxious about something.\nHe was really manic...\nHe seemed to have an almost manic energy.\n  ADJ\n\n=>  man.ic.al.ly\nWe cleaned the house manically over the weekend...\n  ADV: usu ADV with v, also ADV adj\n\n2. If you describe someone’s smile, laughter, or sense of humour as manic, you mean that it seems excessive or strange, as if they were insane.\n...a manic grin.\n  ADJ


Words: manic-depressive
Meaning:
manic-depressive  manic-depressives   also manic depressive\n  If someone is manic-depressive, they have a medical condition in which they sometimes feel excited and confident and at other times very depressed.\nShe told them that her daughter-in-law was manic-depressive...\n  ADJ\n\n  A manic-depressive is someone who is manic-depressive.\nHer mother is a manic depressive.\n  N-COUNT


Words: manicure
Meaning:
mani.cure\n   manicure  manicures  manicuring  manicured\n  If you manicure your hands or nails, you care for them by softening your skin and cutting and polishing your nails.\nHe was surprised to see how carefully she had manicured her broad hands.\n  VERB: V n\n\n  Manicure is also a noun.\nI have a manicure occasionally.\n  N-COUNT


Words: manicured
Meaning:
mani.cured\n   manicured\n  A manicured lawn, park, or garden has very short neatly cut grass. (WRITTEN)\n...the manicured lawns of Government House.\n  ADJ: oft adv ADJ


Words: manicurist
Meaning:
mani.cur.ist\n   manicurist  manicurists\n  A manicurist is a person whose job is manicuring people’s hands and nails.\n  N-COUNT


Words: manifest
Meaning:
mani.fest\n   manifest  manifests  manifesting  manifested\n1. If you say that something is manifest, you mean that it is clearly true and that nobody would disagree with it if they saw it or considered it. (FORMAL)\n...the manifest failure of the policies...\nThere may be unrecognised cases of manifest injustice of which we are unaware.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  = patent\n=>  mani.fest.ly\nShe manifestly failed to last the mile and a half of the race.\n  ADV: ADV with v, ADV with cl/group\n  = patently\n2. If you manifest a particular quality, feeling, or illness, or if it manifests itself, it becomes visible or obvious. (FORMAL)\nHe manifested a pleasing personality on stage...\nTheir frustration and anger will manifest itself in crying and screaming...\n  VERB: V n, V pron-refl in n/-ing\n  = show\n  Manifest is also an adjective.\nThe same alarm is manifest everywhere...\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ


Words: manifestation
Meaning:
mani.fes.ta.tion\n   manifestation  manifestations\n  A manifestation of something is one of the different ways in which it can appear. (FORMAL)\nDifferent animals in the colony had different manifestations of the disease...\n  N-COUNT: with supp, oft N of n


Words: manifesto
Meaning:
mani.fes.to\n   manifesto  manifestos  or manifestoes\n  A manifesto is a statement published by a person or group of people, especially a political party, or a government, in which they say what their aims and policies are.\nThe Tories are currently drawing up their election manifesto...\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, usu with poss


Words: manifold
Meaning:
mani.fold\n   manifold\n  Things that are manifold are of many different kinds. (LITERARY)\nGaelic can be heard here in manifold forms...\n  ADJ


Words: manila
Meaning:
ma.nila\n   manila   also manilla\n  A manila envelope or folder is made from a strong paper that is usually light brown.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: manipulate
Meaning:
ma.nipu.late\n   manipulate  manipulates  manipulating  manipulated\n1. If you say that someone manipulates people, you disapprove of them because they skilfully force or persuade people to do what they want.\nHe is a very difficult character. He manipulates people...\nShe’s always borrowing my clothes and manipulating me to give her vast sums of money...\nThey’ll have kids who are two, three, who are manipulating them into buying toys.\n  VERB: V n, V n to-inf, V n into -ing  disapproval\n\n=>  ma.nipu.la.tion      manipulations\n...repeated criticism or manipulation of our mind...\n  N-VAR\n\n2. If you say that someone manipulates an event or situation, you disapprove of them because they use or control it for their own benefit, or cause it to develop in the way they want.\nShe was unable, for once, to control and manipulate events...\n  VERB: V n  disapproval\n\n=>  ma.nipu.la.tion\n...accusations of political manipulation.\n  N-VAR\n\n3. If you manipulate something that requires skill, such as a complicated piece of equipment or a difficult idea, you operate it or process it.\nThe puppets are expertly manipulated by Liz Walker...\n  VERB: V n\n\n=>  ma.nipu.la.tion\n...science that requires only the simplest of mathematical manipulations.\n  N-VAR\n\n4. If someone manipulates your bones or muscles, they skilfully move and press them with their hands in order to push the bones into their correct position or make the muscles less stiff.\nThe way he can manipulate my leg has helped my arthritis so much.\n  VERB: V n\n\n=>  ma.nipu.la.tion\nA permanent cure will only be effected by acupuncture, chiropractic or manipulation.\n  N-VAR


Words: manipulative
Meaning:
ma.nipu.la.tive\n   manipulative\n  If you describe someone as manipulative, you disapprove of them because they skilfully force or persuade people to act in the way that they want.\nHe described Mr Long as cold, calculating and manipulative...\n  ADJ  disapproval


Words: manipulator
Meaning:
ma.nipu.la.tor\n   manipulator  manipulators\n  If you describe someone as a manipulator, you mean that they skilfully control events, situations, or people, often in a way that other people disapprove of.\nJean Brodie is a manipulator. She cons everybody.\n  N-COUNT


Words: mankind
Meaning:
man.kind\n   mankind\n  You can refer to all human beings as mankind when considering them as a group. Some people dislike this use.\n...the evolution of mankind.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: manly
Meaning:
man.ly\n   manly  manlier  manliest\n  If you describe a man’s behaviour or appearance as manly, you approve of it because it shows qualities that are considered typical of a man, such as strength or courage.\nHe was the ideal of manly beauty.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n  approval\n\n=>  man.li.ness\nHe has no doubts about his manliness.\n  N-UNCOUNT: poss N


Words: manna
Meaning:
man.na\n   manna\n  If you say that something unexpected is manna from heaven, you mean that it is good and happened just at the time that it was needed.\nEx-forces personnel could be the manna from heaven employers are seeking...\n  PHRASE: oft v-link PHR


Words: manned
Meaning:
manned\n  A manned vehicle such as a spacecraft has people in it who are operating its controls.\nIn thirty years from now the United States should have a manned spacecraft on Mars.\n  ADJ\n  !=unmanned\n  see also man


Words: mannequin
Meaning:
man.ne.quin\n   mannequin  mannequins\n  A mannequin is a life-sized model of a person which is used to display clothes, especially in shop windows. (OLD-FASHIONED)\n  N-COUNT


Words: manner
Meaning:
man.ner\n   manner  manners\n1. The manner in which you do something is the way that you do it.\nShe smiled again in a friendly manner...\nI’m a professional and I have to conduct myself in a professional manner...\nThe manner in which young children are spoken to varies depending on who is present.\n  N-SING: with supp\n\n2. Someone’s manner is the way in which they behave and talk when they are with other people, for example whether they are polite, confident, or bad-tempered.\nHis manner was self-assured and brusque...\n  N-SING: usu poss N\n\n=>  -mannered\nForrest was normally mild-mannered, affable, and untalkative...\nThe British are considered ill-mannered, badly dressed and unsophisticated.\n  COMB in ADJ\n\n3. If someone has good manners, they are polite and observe social customs. If someone has bad manners, they are impolite and do not observe these customs.\nHe dressed well and had impeccable manners...\nThey taught him his manners.\n  N-PLURAL\n\n4.\n  see also bedside manner, table manners\n5. If you refer to all manner of objects or people, you are talking about objects or people of many different kinds.\nMr Winchester is impressively knowledgeable about all manner of things.\n  PHRASE: PHR n\n\n6. You say in a manner of speaking to indicate that what you have just said is true, but not absolutely or exactly true.\nAn attorney is your employee, in a manner of speaking...\n  PHRASE: PHR with cl  vagueness\n  = in a way


Words: mannered
Meaning:
man.nered\n   mannered\n1. If you describe someone’s behaviour or a work of art as mannered, you dislike it because it is elaborate or formal, and therefore seems false or artificial.\n...Naomi’s mannered voice...\nIf you arrange your picture too systematically the results can look very mannered and artificial.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n  disapproval\n\n2. Mannered behaviour is polite and observes social customs.\nIts intention is to restore pride in the past and create a more mannered society...\n  ADJ\n  = well-mannered


Words: mannerism
Meaning:
man.ner.ism\n   mannerism  mannerisms\n  Someone’s mannerisms are the gestures or ways of speaking which are very characteristic of them, and which they often use.\nHis mannerisms are more those of a preoccupied math professor...\n  N-COUNT


Words: mannish
Meaning:
man.nish\n   mannish\n  If you describe a woman’s appearance or behaviour as mannish, you mean it is more like a man’s appearance or behaviour than a woman’s.\nShe shook hands in a mannish way, her grip dry and firm.\n...a mannish trouser suit.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: manoeuvrable
Meaning:
ma.noeu.vrable\n   manoeuvrable\nin AM, use maneuverable\n  Something that is manoeuvrable can be easily moved into different positions.\nFerries are very powerful and manoeuvrable compared to cargo ships.\n...the light, manoeuvrable cart.\n  ADJ


Words: manoeuvre
Meaning:
ma.noeu.vre\n   manoeuvre  manoeuvres  manoeuvring  manoeuvred\nin AM, use maneuver\n1. If you manoeuvre something into or out of an awkward position, you skilfully move it there.\nWe attempted to manoeuvre the canoe closer to him...\nI manoeuvred my way among the tables to the back corner of the place...\nThe pilot instinctively maneuvered to avoid them.\n  VERB: V n adv/prep, V way prep/adv, V\n\n  Manoeuvre is also a noun.\n...a ship capable of high speed and rapid manoeuvre.\n  N-VAR\n\n2. If you manoeuvre a situation, you change it in a clever and skilful way so that you can benefit from it.\nThe authorities have to manoeuvre the markets into demanding a cut in interest rates...\nHe manoeuvres to foster recovery.\n  VERB: V n prep/adv, V\n  = manipulate\n  Manoeuvre is also a noun.\n...manoeuvres to block the electoral process.\n  N-COUNT\n\n=>  man.oeuv.ring      manoeuvrings\n...his unrivalled skill in political manoeuvring.\n...his manoeuvrings on the matter of free trade.\n  N-VAR\n\n3. Military manoeuvres are training exercises which involve the movement of soldiers and equipment over a large area.\nAllied troops begin maneuvers tomorrow to show how quickly forces could be mobilized in case of a new invasion...\n  N-PLURAL\n\n4.\nroom for manoeuvre: see room


Words: manor
Meaning:
man.or\n   manor  manors\n  A manor is a large private house in the country, usually built in the Middle Ages, and also includes the land and smaller buildings around it. (BRIT)\nThieves broke into the manor at night.\n  N-COUNT: oft in names after n


Words: manor house
Meaning:
man.or house\n   manor house  manor houses\n  A manor house is the main house that is or was on a medieval manor. (BRIT)\n  N-COUNT


Words: manpower
Meaning:
man.power\n   manpower\n  Workers are sometimes referred to as manpower when they are being considered as a part of the process of producing goods or providing services.\n...the shortage of skilled manpower in the industry...\nThese people do not have the equipment or the manpower to cut down the trees.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: manque
Meaning:
man.que\n   manque\n  You use manque to describe someone who has never had the type of job indicated, although they had the ability for it or wanted it.\n...his inescapable feeling that he is a great actor manque...\n  ADJ: n ADJ


Words: manse
Meaning:
manse  manses\n  In some Christian churches, a manse is the house provided for a clergyman to live in. (mainly BRIT)\n  N-COUNT


Words: manservant
Meaning:
man.servant\n   manservant  manservants\n  A manservant is a man who works as a servant in a private house. (BRIT OLD-FASHIONED; in AM, use houseman)\n  N-COUNT


Words: mansion
Meaning:
man.sion\n   mansion  mansions\n  A mansion is a very large house.\n...an eighteenth century mansion in Hampshire...\n  N-COUNT


Words: manslaughter
Meaning:
man.slaughter\n   manslaughter\n  Manslaughter is the illegal killing of a person by someone who did not intend to kill them. (LEGAL)\nA judge accepted her plea that she was guilty of manslaughter, not murder.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: mantelpiece
Meaning:
mantel.piece\n   mantelpiece  mantelpieces   also mantlepiece\n  A mantelpiece is a wood or stone shelf which is the top part of a border round a fireplace.\nOn the mantelpiece are a pair of bronze Ming vases.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing


Words: mantelshelf
Meaning:
mantel.shelf\n   mantelshelf  mantelshelves   also mantleshelf\n  A mantelshelf is a mantelpiece. (OLD-FASHIONED)\n  N-COUNT: usu sing\n  = mantelpiece


Words: mantle
Meaning:
man.tle\n   mantle  mantles\n1. If you take on the mantle of something such as a profession or an important job, you take on the responsibilities and duties which must be fulfilled by anyone who has this profession or job. (WRITTEN)\nGlasgow has broadened its appeal since taking on the mantle of European City of Culture in 1990...\n  N-SING: the N of n\n\n2. A mantle of something is a layer of it covering a surface, for example a layer of snow on the ground. (WRITTEN)\nThe parks and squares looked grim under a mantle of soot and ash.\n  N-COUNT: with supp\n  = blanket\n3.\n  see also mantel


Words: mantra
Meaning:
man.tra\n   mantra  mantras\n1. A mantra is a word or phrase repeated by Buddhists and Hindus when they meditate, or to help them feel calm.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. You can use mantra to refer to a statement or a principle that people repeat very often because they think it is true, especially when you think that it not true or is only part of the truth.\nListening to customers is now part of the mantra of new management in public services.\n  N-COUNT


Words: manual
Meaning:
manu.al\n   manual  manuals\n1. Manual work is work in which you use your hands or your physical strength rather than your mind.\n...skilled manual workers...\nThey have no reservations about taking factory or manual jobs.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  = blue-collar  !=clerical\n2. Manual is used to talk about movements which are made by someone’s hands. (FORMAL)\n...toys designed to help develop manual dexterity.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n3. Manual means operated by hand, rather than by electricity or a motor.\nThere is a manual pump to get rid of the water.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n=>  manu.al.ly\nThe device is manually operated, using a simple handle.\n  ADV: ADV with v\n\n4. A manual is a book which tells you how to do something or how a piece of machinery works.\n...the instruction manual.\n  N-COUNT


Words: manufacture
Meaning:
manu.fac.ture\n   manufacture  manufactures  manufacturing  manufactured\n1. To manufacture something means to make it in a factory, usually in large quantities. (BUSINESS)\nThey manufacture the class of plastics known as thermoplastic materials...\nWe import foreign manufactured goods.\n  VERB: V n, V-ed\n  = produce\n  Manufacture is also a noun.\n...the manufacture of nuclear weapons.\n...celebrating 90 years of car manufacture.\n  N-UNCOUNT: with supp\n\n=>  manu.fac.tur.ing\n...management headquarters for manufacturing.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. Manufactures are goods or products which have been made in a factory. (BUSINESS)\n...a long-term rise in the share of manufactures in non-oil exports.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl\n\n3. If you say that someone manufactures information, you are criticizing them because they invent information that is not true.\nAccording to the prosecution, the officers manufactured an elaborate story...\n  VERB: V n  disapproval\n  = fabricate


Words: manufacturer
Meaning:
manu.fac.tur.er\n   manufacturer  manufacturers\n  A manufacturer is a business or company which makes goods in large quantities to sell. (BUSINESS)\n...the world’s largest doll manufacturer.\n  N-COUNT: oft supp N


Words: manure
Meaning:
ma.nure\n   manure  manures\n  Manure is animal faeces, sometimes mixed with chemicals, that is spread on the ground in order to make plants grow healthy and strong.\n...bags of manure.\n  N-MASS


Words: manuscript
Meaning:
manu.script\n   manuscript  manuscripts\n  A manuscript is a handwritten or typed document, especially a writer’s first version of a book before it is published.\nHe had seen a manuscript of the book...\nI am grateful to him for letting me read his early chapters in manuscript.\n  N-COUNT: also in N


Words: Manx
Meaning:
Manx\n  Manx is used to describe people or things that belong to or concern the Isle of Man and the people who live there.\n  ADJ


Words: many
Meaning:
many\n1. You use many to indicate that you are talking about a large number of people or things.\nI don’t think many people would argue with that...\nNot many films are made in Finland...\nMany holidaymakers had avoided the worst of the delays by consulting tourist offices...\nActing is definitely a young person’s profession in many ways.\n  DET: DET pl-n, oft with brd-neg\n  !=few\n  Many is also a pronoun.\nWe stood up, thinking through the possibilities. There weren’t many.\n  PRON\n  !=few, some\n  Many is also a quantifier.\nSo, once we have cohabited, why do many of us feel the need to get married?...\nIt seems there are not very many of them left in the sea...\n  QUANT: QUANT of def-pl-n\n\n  Many is also an adjective.\nAmong his many hobbies was the breeding of fine horses...\nThe possibilities are many.\n  ADJ: det ADJ, v-link ADJ\n\n2. You use many in expressions such as `not many’, `not very many’, and `too many’ when replying to questions about numbers of things or people.\n`How many of the songs that dealt with this theme became hit songs?’.`Not very many.’...\nHow many years is it since we’ve seen each other? Too many, anyway.\n  ADV: ADV as reply\n\n3. You use many followed by `a’ and a noun to emphasize that there are a lot of people or things involved in something.\nMany a mother tries to act out her unrealized dreams through her daughter...\n  PREDET  emphasis\n\n4. You use many after `how’ to ask questions about numbers or quantities. You use many after `how’ in reported clauses to talk about numbers or quantities.\nHow many years have you been here?...\nNo-one knows how many people have been killed since the war began.\n  DET: how DET pl-n\n\n  Many is also a pronoun.\nHow many do you smoke a day?\n  PRON: how PRON\n\n5. You use many with `as’ when you are comparing numbers of things or people.\nI’ve always entered as many photo competitions as I can...\nWe produced ten times as many tractors as the United States.\n  DET: as DET pl-n, usu as DET pl-n as cl/group\n\n  Many is also a pronoun.\nLet the child try on as many as she likes.\n  PRON: as PRON\n\n6. You use many to mean `many people’.\nIris Murdoch was regarded by many as a supremely good and serious writer.\n  PRON\n\n7. The many means a large group of people, especially the ordinary people in society, considered as separate from a particular small group.\nThe printing press gave power to a few to change the world for the many...\n  N-SING: the N\n\n8. You use as many as before a number to suggest that it is surprisingly large.\nAs many as four and a half million people watched today’s parade.\n  PHRASE: PHR num  emphasis\n\n9. You use a good many or a great many to emphasize that you are referring to a large number of things or people.\nWe’ve both had a good many beers...\nFor a great many men and women, romance can be a most important part of marriage.\n  PHRASE: PHR pl-n  emphasis\n\n10.\nmany happy returns: see return\nin so many words: see word


Words: Maori
Meaning:
Mao.ri\n   Maori  Maoris\n1. Maori means belonging to or relating to the race of people who have lived in New Zealand and the Cook Islands since before Europeans arrived.\n  ADJ\n\n2. The Maori or the Maoris are people who are Maori.\n  N-COUNT


Words: map
Meaning:
map  maps  mapping  mapped\n1. A map is a drawing of a particular area such as a city, a country, or a continent, showing its main features as they would appear if you looked at them from above.\nHe unfolded the map and set it on the floor...\nHave you got a map of the city centre?\n  N-COUNT: oft N of n\n\n2. To map an area means to make a map of it.\n...a spacecraft which is using radar to map the surface of Venus.\n  VERB: V n\n\n3. If you say that someone or something put a person, thing, or place on the map, you approve of the fact that they made it become well-known and important.\n...the attempts of the Edinburgh Festival’s organisers to put C.P. Taylor firmly on the map...\n  PHRASE: V inflects  approval


Words: map out
Meaning:
map out\n  If you map out something that you are intending to do, you work out in detail how you will do it.\nI went home and mapped out my strategy...\nI cannot conceive of anybody writing a play by sitting down and mapping it out...\nThis whole plan has been most carefully mapped out.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), V n P, be V-ed P


Words: maple
Meaning:
ma.ple\n   maple  maples\n  A maple or a maple tree is a tree with five-pointed leaves which turn bright red or gold in autumn.\n  N-VAR\n\n  Maple is the wood of this tree.\n...a solid maple worktop.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: maple syrup
Meaning:
ma.ple syr.up\n   maple syrup\n  Maple syrup is a sweet, sticky, brown liquid made from the sap of maple trees, that can be eaten with pancakes or used to make desserts.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: mar
Meaning:
mar  mars  marring  marred\n  To mar something means to spoil or damage it.\nA number of problems marred the smooth running of this event...\n  VERB: V n


Words: marathon
Meaning:
mara.thon\n   marathon  marathons\n1. A marathon is a race in which people run a distance of 26 miles, which is about 42 km.\n...running in his first marathon...\nRodgers can also claim four victories in the New York Marathon.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If you use marathon to describe an event or task, you are emphasizing that it takes a long time and is very tiring.\nPeople make marathon journeys to buy glass here.\n...a marathon session of talks with government representatives.\n  ADJ: ADJ n  emphasis


Words: marauder
Meaning:
ma.raud.er\n   marauder  marauders\n  If you describe a group of people or animals as marauders, you mean they are unpleasant and dangerous, because they wander around looking for opportunities to steal or kill. (LITERARY)\nThey were raided by roaming bands of marauders.\n  N-COUNT


Words: marauding
Meaning:
ma.raud.ing\n   marauding\n  If you talk about marauding groups of people or animals, you mean they are unpleasant and dangerous, because they wander around looking for opportunities to steal or kill. (LITERARY)\nMarauding gangs of armed men have been looting food relief supplies.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: marble
Meaning:
mar.ble\n   marble  marbles\n1. Marble is a type of very hard rock which feels cold when you touch it and which shines when it is cut and polished. Statues and parts of buildings are sometimes made of marble.\nThe house has a superb staircase made from oak and marble...\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N n\n\n2. Marbles are sculptures made of marble.\n...marbles and bronzes from the Golden Age of Athens.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl\n\n3. Marbles is a children’s game played with small balls, usually made of coloured glass. You roll a ball along the ground and try to hit an opponent’s ball with it.\nOn the far side of the street, two boys were playing marbles.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n4. A marble is one of the small balls used in the game of marbles.\n  N-COUNT


Words: marbled
Meaning:
mar.bled\n   marbled\n  Something that is marbled has a pattern or colouring like that of marble.\n...green marbled soap...\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n, also v-link ADJ with/in n


Words: March
Meaning:
March  Marches\n  March is the third month of the year in the Western calendar.\nI flew to Milan in early March...\nShe was born in Austria on March 6, 1920...\nThe election could be held as early as next March.\n  N-VAR


Words: march
Meaning:
march  marches  marching  marched\n1. When soldiers march somewhere, or when a commanding officer marches them somewhere, they walk there with very regular steps, as a group.\nA Scottish battalion was marching down the street...\nCaptain Ramirez called them to attention and marched them off to the main camp...\nWe marched fifteen miles to Yadkin River...\n  VERB: V prep/adv, V n adv/prep, V amount, also V\n\n  March is also a noun.\nAfter a short march, the column entered the village.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. When a large group of people march for a cause, they walk somewhere together in order to express their ideas or to protest about something.\nThe demonstrators then marched through the capital chanting slogans and demanding free elections...\n  VERB: V prep/adv\n\n  March is also a noun.\nOrganisers expect up to 300,000 protesters to join the march.\n  N-COUNT\n\n=>  march.er      marchers\nFights between police and marchers lasted for three hours.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. If you say that someone marches somewhere, you mean that they walk there quickly and in a determined way, for example because they are angry.\nHe marched into the kitchen without knocking.\n  VERB: V prep/adv\n\n4. If you march someone somewhere, you force them to walk there with you, for example by holding their arm tightly.\nI marched him across the room, down the hall and out onto the doorstep.\n  VERB: V n prep/adv\n\n5. The march of something is its steady development or progress.\nIt is easy to feel trampled by the relentless march of technology...\n  N-SING: usu the N of n\n\n6. A march is a piece of music with a regular rhythm that you can march to.\nA military band played Russian marches and folk tunes.\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp\n\n7. If you give someone their marching orders, you tell them that you no longer want or need them, for example as your employee or as your lover. (BRIT; in AM, use walking papers)\nWhat does it take for a woman to say `that’s enough’ and give her man his marching orders?\n  PHRASE: PHR after v\n\n8. If you steal a march on someone, you start doing something before they do it in order to gain an advantage over them.\nIf its strategy succeeds, Mexico could even steal a march on its northern neighbour.\n  PHRASE: V inflects, oft PHR on n


Words: march-past
Meaning:
march-past  march-pasts   also march past\n  When soldiers take part in a march-past, they march past an important person as part of a ceremonial occasion.\n  N-COUNT


Words: marching band
Meaning:
march.ing band\n   marching band  marching bands\n  A marching band is a group of musicians who play music as they march along the street or march as part of a ceremony.\n  N-COUNT


Words: marchioness
Meaning:
mar.chion.ess\n   marchioness  marchionesses\n  A marchioness is the wife of a marquis, or a woman with the same rank as a marquis.\n  N-COUNT; N-TITLE


Words: Mardi Gras
Meaning:
Mar.di Gras\n   Mardi Gras\n  Mardi Gras is the Christian festival of Shrove Tuesday, the day before Lent, which people in some places celebrate by wearing colourful costumes and dancing through the streets.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: margarine
Meaning:
mar.ga.rine\n   margarine  margarines\n  Margarine is a yellow substance made from vegetable oil and animal fats that is similar to butter. You spread it on bread or use it for cooking.\n  N-MASS


Words: margin
Meaning:
mar.gin\n   margin  margins\n1. A margin is the difference between two amounts, especially the difference in the number of votes or points between the winner and the loser in an election or other contest.\nThey could end up with a 50-point winning margin...\nThe Sunday Times remains the brand leader by a huge margin...\n  N-COUNT: with supp\n\n2. The margin of a written or printed page is the empty space at the side of the page.\nShe added her comments in the margin.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. If there is a margin for something in a situation, there is some freedom to choose what to do or decide how to do it.\nThe money is collected in a straightforward way with little margin for error...\n  N-VAR: with supp\n\n4. The margin of a place or area is the extreme edge of it.\n...the low coastal plain along the western margin...\n  N-COUNT: with supp\n  = edge, periphery\n5. To be on the margins of a society, group, or activity means to be among the least typical or least important parts of it.\nStudents have played an important role in the past, but for the moment, they’re on the margins.\n  N-PLURAL: with supp\n\n6.\n  see also profit margin


Words: marginal
Meaning:
mar.gin.al\n   marginal  marginals\n1. If you describe something as marginal, you mean that it is small or not very important.\nThis is a marginal improvement on October...\nThe role of the opposition party proved marginal.\n  ADJ\n\n2. If you describe people as marginal, you mean that they are not involved in the main events or developments in society because they are poor or have no power.\nThe tribunals were established for the well-integrated members of society and not for marginal individuals...\n  ADJ\n  !=mainstream\n3. In political elections, a marginal seat or constituency is one which is usually won or lost by only a few votes, and is therefore of great interest to politicians and journalists. (BRIT)\n...the views of voters in five marginal seats.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n  A marginal is a marginal seat. (BRIT)\nThe votes in the marginals are those that really count...\n  N-COUNT\n\n4. Marginal activities, costs, or taxes are not the main part of a business or an economic system, but often make the difference between its success or failure, and are therefore important to control. (BUSINESS)\nThe analysts applaud the cuts in marginal businesses, but insist the company must make deeper sacrifices...\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: marginalize
Meaning:
mar.gin.al.ize\n   marginalize  marginalizes  marginalizing  marginalized\nin BRIT, also use marginalise\n  To marginalize a group of people means to make them feel isolated and unimportant.\nWe’ve always been marginalized, exploited, and constantly threatened.\n  VERB: V n


Words: marginally
Meaning:
mar.gin.al.ly\n   marginally\n  Marginally means to only a small extent.\nSales last year were marginally higher than in 1991...\nThese cameras have increased only marginally in value over the past decade.\n  ADV: ADV adv/adj/prep, ADV with v\n  = slightly


Words: marijuana
Meaning:
ma.ri.jua.na\n   marijuana\n  Marijuana is a drug which is made from the dried leaves and flowers of the hemp plant, and which can be smoked.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: marina
Meaning:
ma.ri.na\n   marina  marinas\n  A marina is a small harbour for small boats that are used for leisure.\n  N-COUNT


Words: marinade
Meaning:
mari.nade\n   marinade  marinades  marinading  marinaded\n1. A marinade is a sauce of oil, vinegar, spices, and herbs, which you pour over meat or fish before you cook it, in order to add flavour, or to make the meat or fish softer.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. To marinade means the same as to marinate.\nMarinade the chicken breasts in the tandoori paste...\nLeave to marinade for 24 hours.\n  VERB: V n, V


Words: marinate
Meaning:
mari.nate\n   marinate  marinates  marinating  marinated\n  If you marinate meat or fish, or if it marinates, you keep it in a mixture of oil, vinegar, spices, and herbs, before cooking it, so that it can develop a special flavour.\nMarinate the chicken for at least 4 hours...\nPut it in a screw-top jar with French dressing and leave to marinate.\n  VERB: V n, V


Words: marine
Meaning:
ma.rine\n   marine  marines\n1. A marine is a member of an armed force, for example the US Marine Corps or the Royal Marines, who is specially trained for military duties at sea as well as on land.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. Marine is used to describe things relating to the sea or to the animals and plants that live in the sea.\n...breeding grounds for marine life.\n...research in marine biology.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n3. Marine is used to describe things relating to ships and their movement at sea.\n...a solicitor specialising in marine law.\n...marine insurance claims.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n  = maritime


Words: marionette
Meaning:
mari.on.ette\n   marionette  marionettes\n  A marionette is a puppet whose different parts you can move using strings or wires.\n  N-COUNT


Words: marital
Meaning:
mari.tal\n   marital\n  Marital is used to describe things relating to marriage.\nCaroline was keen to make her marital home in London...\nHer son had no marital problems.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: marital status
Meaning:
mari.tal sta.tus\n   marital status\n  Your marital status is whether you are married, single, or divorced. (FORMAL)\nHow well off you are in old age is largely determined by race, sex, and marital status.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: maritime
Meaning:
mari.time\n   maritime\n  Maritime is used to describe things relating to the sea and to ships.\n...the largest maritime museum of its kind.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: mark
Meaning:
mark  marks  marking  marked\n1. A mark is a small area of something such as dirt that has accidentally got onto a surface or piece of clothing.\nThe dogs are always rubbing against the wall and making dirty marks...\nA properly fitting bra should never leave red marks.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If something marks a surface, or if the surface marks, the surface is damaged by marks or a mark.\nLeather overshoes were put on the horses’ hooves to stop them marking the turf...\nI have to be more careful with the work tops, as wood marks easily.\n  VERB: V n, V\n\n3. A mark is a written or printed symbol, for example a letter of the alphabet.\nHe made marks with a pencil.\n  N-COUNT\n\n4. If you mark something with a particular word or symbol, you write that word or symbol on it.\nThe bank marks the check `certified’...\nMark the frame with your postcode...\nFor more details about these products, send a postcard marked HB/FF.\n  VERB: V n quote, V n with n, V-ed\n\n5. A mark is a point that is given for a correct answer or for doing something well in an exam or competition. A mark can also be a written symbol such as a letter that indicates how good a student’s or competitor’s work or performance is.\n...a simple scoring device of marks out of 10, where `1’ equates to `Very poor performance’...\nHe did well to get such a good mark.\n  N-COUNT: oft supp N\n\n6. If someone gets good or high marks for doing something, they have done it well. If they get poor or low marks, they have done it badly.\nYou have to give her top marks for moral guts...\nHis administration has earned low marks for its economic policies.\n  N-PLURAL: supp N\n\n7. When a teacher marks a student’s work, the teacher decides how good it is and writes a number or letter on it to indicate this opinion.\nHe was marking essays in his small study.\n  VERB: V n\n\n=>  mark.ing\nFor the rest of the lunchbreak I do my marking.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n8. A particular mark is a particular number, point, or stage which has been reached or might be reached, especially a significant one.\nUnemployment is rapidly approaching the one million mark.\n  N-COUNT: usu the supp N\n\n9. The mark of something is the characteristic feature that enables you to recognize it.\nThe mark of a civilized society is that it looks after its weakest members.\n  N-COUNT: N of n/-ing\n  = sign\n10. If you say that a type of behaviour or an event is a mark of a particular quality, feeling, or situation, you mean it shows that that quality, feeling, or situation exists.\nIt was a mark of his unfamiliarity with Hollywood that he didn’t understand that an agent was paid out of his client’s share...\n  N-SING: a N of n\n  = indication, sign\n11. If something marks a place or position, it shows where something else is or where it used to be.\nA huge crater marks the spot where the explosion happened.\n  VERB: V n\n\n12. An event that marks a particular stage or point is a sign that something different is about to happen.\nThe announcement marks the end of an extraordinary period in European history...\n  VERB: V n\n\n13. If you do something to mark an event or occasion, you do it to show that you are aware of the importance of the event or occasion.\nHundreds of thousands of people took to the streets to mark the occasion.\n  VERB: V n\n\n14. Something that marks someone as a particular type of person indicates that they are that type of person.\nHer opposition to abortion and feminism mark her as a convinced traditionalist.\n  VERB: V n as n\n\n15. In a team game, when a defender is marking an attacker, they are trying to stay close to the attacker and prevent them from getting the ball. (mainly BRIT; in AM, use guard, cover)\n...Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand, who so effectively marked Michael Owen.\n  VERB: V n\n\n=>  mark.ing\nThey had stopped Ecuador from building up attacks with good marking.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n16. The mark was the unit of money that was used in Germany. In 2002 it was replaced by the euro.\nThe government gave 30 million marks for new school books.\n(next)


Words: mark .1
Meaning:
N-COUNT: usu num N\n\n  The mark was also used to refer to the German currency system.\nThe mark appreciated 12 per cent against the dollar.\n  N-SING: the N\n\n17. Mark is used before a number to indicate a particular temperature level in a gas oven. (BRIT)\nSet the oven at gas mark 4.\n  N-UNCOUNT: N num\n\n18. Mark is used before a number to indicate a particular version or model of a vehicle, machine, or device.\n...his Mark II Ford Cortina.\n  N-UNCOUNT: N num\n\n19.\n  see also marked, marking, black mark, check mark, exclamation mark, full marks, high-water mark, punctuation mark, question mark, scuff mark, stretch marks\n20. If someone or something leaves their mark or leaves a mark, they have a lasting effect on another person or thing.\nYears of conditioning had left their mark on her, and she never felt inclined to talk to strange men.\n  PHRASE: V inflects, oft PHR on n\n\n21. If you make your mark or make a mark, you become noticed or famous by doing something impressive or unusual.\nShe made her mark in the film industry in the 1960s.\n  PHRASE: V inflects, oft PHR on/in n\n\n22. If you are quick off the mark, you are quick to understand or respond to something. If you are slow off the mark, you are slow to understand or respond to something.\n  PHRASE: usu v-link PHR\n\n23. On your marks in British English, or on your mark in American English, is a command given to runners at the beginning of a race in order to get them into the correct position to start.\nOn your marks.get set.go!\n  CONVENTION\n\n24. If something is off the mark, it is inaccurate or incorrect. If it is on the mark, it is accurate or correct.\nRobinson didn’t think the story was so far off the mark...\n  PHRASE: usu v-link PHR\n\n25. If something such as a claim or estimate is wide of the mark, it is incorrect or inaccurate.\nThat comparison isn’t as wide of the mark as it seems.\n  PHRASE: usu v-link PHR\n\n26.\nto overstep the mark: see overstep


Words: mark down
Meaning:
mark down\n1. If you mark something down, you write it down.\nI tend to forget things unless I mark them down...\nAs he marks down the prices, he stops now and then to pack things into a large bag.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V n P, V P n (not pron)\n\n2. If you mark someone down as a particular type of person, especially a type that you do not like, you consider that they have the qualities which make them that type of person.\nIf he’d taken that five pounds, I would have marked him down as a greedy fool...\n  PHRASAL VERB: V n P as n\n\n3. To mark an item down or mark its price down means to reduce its price.\nA toy store has marked down the Sonic Hedgehog computer game...\nClothes are the best bargain, with many items marked down.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), V-ed P, also V n P\n  = reduce  !=mark up\n4. If a teacher marks a student down, the teacher puts a lower grade on the student’s work because of a mistake that has been made.\nIf you mark each other’s work, they don’t mark you down because then you can mark them down.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V n P


Words: mark off
Meaning:
mark off\n1. If you mark off a piece or length of something, you make it separate, for example by putting a line on it or around it.\nHe used a rope to mark off the circle...\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron)\n\n2. If a particular quality or feature marks someone or something off from other people or things, it is unusual and makes them obviously different.\nHer clothes, of course, marked her off from a great number of the delegates at the conference...\nThe traditionalist influences within the navy marked it off as a rather old-fashioned institution.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V n P from n, V n P as n


Words: mark out
Meaning:
mark out\n1. To mark out an area or shape means to show where it begins and ends.\nWhen planting seedlings I prefer to mark out the rows in advance.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), also V n P\n\n2. If a particular quality or feature marks someone or something out, it makes them obviously different from other people or things.\nThere were several things about that evening that marked it out as very unusual...\nHer independence of spirit marked her out from her male fellow officers.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V n P as adj, V n P from n, also V P n (not pron)


Words: mark up
Meaning:
mark up\n  If you mark something up, you increase its price.\nYou can sell it to them at a set wholesale price, allowing them to mark it up for retail...\nA typical warehouse club marks up its goods by only 10 to 15 percent.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V n P, V P n (not pron)\n  = increase  !=mark down\n  see also mark-up


Words: mark-up
Meaning:
mark-up  mark-ups\nin AM, also use markup\n  A mark-up is an increase in the price of something, for example the difference between its cost and the price that it is sold for.\n  N-COUNT


Words: markdown
Meaning:
mark.down\n   markdown  markdowns\n  A markdown is a reduction in the price of something.\nCustomers know that our stocktake sales offer genuine markdowns across the store.\n  N-COUNT


Words: marked
Meaning:
marked\n1. A marked change or difference is very obvious and easily noticed.\nThere has been a marked increase in crimes against property...\nHe was a man of austere habits, in marked contrast to his more flamboyant wife...\n  ADJ\n\n=>  mark.ed.ly\nAmerica’s current economic downturn is markedly different from previous recessions...\n  ADV: ADV adj, ADV with v\n\n2. If you describe someone as a marked man or woman, you mean that they are in danger from someone who wants to harm or kill them.\nAll he needs to do is make one phone call and I’m a marked man.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: marker
Meaning:
mark.er\n   marker  markers\n1. A marker is an object which is used to show the position of something, or is used to help someone remember something.\nHe put a marker in his book and followed her out.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If you refer to something as a marker for a particular quality or feature, you mean that it demonstrates the existence or presence of that quality or feature.\nVitamin C is a good marker for the presence of other vitamins and nutrients in frozen food.\n  N-COUNT: oft N for n\n\n3. A marker or a marker pen is a pen with a thick tip made of felt, which is used for drawing and for colouring things.\nDraw your child’s outline with a heavy black marker.\n  N-COUNT


Words: market
Meaning:
mar.ket\n   market  markets  marketing  marketed\n1. A market is a place where goods are bought and sold, usually outdoors.\nHe sold boots on a market stall.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. The market for a particular type of thing is the number of people who want to buy it, or the area of the world in which it is sold. (BUSINESS)\nThe foreign market was increasingly crucial.\n...the Russian market for personal computers...\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, with supp, oft N for/in n\n\n3. The market refers to the total amount of a product that is sold each year, especially when you are talking about the competition between the companies who sell that product. (BUSINESS)\nThe two big companies control 72% of the market.\n  N-SING: the N\n\n4. If you talk about a market economy, or the market price of something, you are referring to an economic system in which the prices of things depend on how many are available and how many people want to buy them, rather than prices being fixed by governments. (BUSINESS)\nTheir ultimate aim was a market economy for Hungary...\nHe must sell the house for the current market value.\n...the market price of cocoa.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n5. To market a product means to organize its sale, by deciding on its price, where it should be sold, and how it should be advertised. (BUSINESS)\n...if you marketed our music the way you market pop music...\n...if a soap is marketed as an anti-acne product.\n  VERB: V n, be V-ed as n\n\n6. The job market or the labour market refers to the people who are looking for work and the jobs available for them to do. (BUSINESS)\nEvery year, 250,000 people enter the job market.\n...the changes in the labour market during the 1980s.\n  N-SING: the n N\n\n7. The stock market is sometimes referred to as the market. (BUSINESS)\nThe market collapsed last October.\n  N-SING: the N\n\n8.\n  see also black market, market forces, open market\n9. If you say that it is a buyer’s market, you mean that it is a good time to buy a particular thing, because there is a lot of it available, so its price is low. If you say that it is a seller’s market, you mean that very little of it is available, so its price is high. (BUSINESS)\nDon’t be afraid to haggle: for the moment, it’s a buyer’s market...\n  PHRASE: v-link PHR\n\n10. If you are in the market for something, you are interested in buying it.\nIf you’re in the market for a new radio, you’ll see that the latest models are very different.\n  PHRASE: v-link PHR, PHR n\n\n11. If something is on the market, it is available for people to buy. If it comes onto the market, it becomes available for people to buy. (BUSINESS)\n...putting more empty offices on the market.\n...new medicines that have just come onto the market.\n  PHRASE: v-link PHR, PHR after v\n\n12. If you price yourself out of the market, you try to sell goods or services at a higher price than other people, with the result that no one buys them from you. (BUSINESS)\nAt .150,000 for a season, he really is pricing himself out of the market.\n  PHRASE: V inflects


Words: market forces
Meaning:
mar.ket forces\n   market forces\n  When politicians and economists talk about market forces, they mean the economic factors that affect the availability of goods and the demand for them, without any help or control by governments. (BUSINESS)\n...opening the economy to market forces and increasing the role of private enterprise.\n  N-PLURAL


Words: market garden
Meaning:
mar.ket gar.den\n   market garden  market gardens\n  A market garden is a small farm where vegetables and fruit are grown for sale. (mainly BRIT; in AM, use truck farm)\n  N-COUNT


Words: market leader
Meaning:
mar.ket lead.er\n   market leader market leaders\n  A market leader is a company that sells more of a particular product or service than most of its competitors do. (BUSINESS)\nWe are becoming one of the market leaders in the fashion industry.\n  N-COUNT


Words: market research
Meaning:
mar.ket re.search\n   market research\n  Market research is the activity of collecting and studying information about what people want, need, and buy. (BUSINESS)\nA new all-woman market research company has been set up to find out what women think about major news and issues.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: market share
Meaning:
mar.ket share\n   market share  market shares\n  A company’s market share in a product is the proportion of the total sales of that product that is produced by that company. (BUSINESS)\nFord has been gaining market share this year at the expense of GM.\n  N-VAR: oft with poss


Words: market test
Meaning:
mar.ket test\n   market test  market tests  market testing  market tested\n1. If a company carries out a market test, it asks a group of people to try a new product or service and give their opinions on it. (BUSINESS)\nResults from market tests in the US and Europe show little enthusiasm for the product.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If a new product or service is market tested, a group of people are asked to try it and then asked for their opinions on it. (BUSINESS)\nThe company uses the simulator to market test new designs.\n  VERB: V n\n\n=>  mar.ket test.ing\nThey learnt a lot from the initial market testing exercise.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: market town
Meaning:
mar.ket town\n   market town  market towns\n  A market town is a town, especially in a country area, that has or used to have a market in it.\n  N-COUNT


Words: marketable
Meaning:
mar.ket.able\n   marketable\n  Something that is marketable is able to be sold because people want to buy it. (BUSINESS)\n...telling them how to turn their prize research projects into marketable products.\n  ADJ


Words: marketeer
Meaning:
mar.ket.eer\n   marketeer  marketeers\n  A marketeer is the same as a marketer. (BUSINESS)\n  N-COUNT\n\n  see also black marketeer, free-marketeer


Words: marketer
Meaning:
mar.ket.er\n   marketer  marketers\n  A marketer is someone whose job involves marketing. (BUSINESS)\n  N-COUNT


Words: marketing
Meaning:
mar.ket.ing\n   marketing\n  Marketing is the organization of the sale of a product, for example, deciding on its price, the areas it should be supplied to, and how it should be advertised. (BUSINESS)\n...expert advice on production and marketing.\n...a marketing campaign.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N n


Words: marketing mix
Meaning:
mar.ket.ing mix\n\n  A company’s marketing mix is the combination of marketing activities it uses in order to promote a particular product or service. (BUSINESS)\nThe key focus of the marketing mix will be on price and distribution.\n  N-SING


Words: marketplace
Meaning:
market.place\n   marketplace  marketplaces   also market place\n1. The marketplace refers to the activity of buying and selling products. (BUSINESS)\nIt’s our hope that we will play an increasingly greater role in the marketplace and, therefore, supply more jobs.\n  N-COUNT: usu the N in sing\n\n2. A marketplace is a small area in a town or city where goods are bought and sold, often outdoors.\nThe marketplace was jammed with a noisy crowd of buyers and sellers.\n  N-COUNT


Words: marking
Meaning:
mark.ing\n   marking  markings\n  Markings are coloured lines, shapes, or patterns on the surface of something, which help to identify it.\nA plane with Danish markings was over-flying his vessel...\n  N-COUNT: usu pl\n\n  see also mark


Words: marksman
Meaning:
marks.man\n   marksman  marksmen\n  A marksman is a person who can shoot very accurately.\nPolice marksmen opened fire.\n  N-COUNT


Words: marmalade
Meaning:
mar.ma.lade\n   marmalade  marmalades\n  Marmalade is a food made from oranges, lemons, or grapefruit that is similar to jam. It is eaten on bread or toast at breakfast.\n  N-MASS


Words: maroon
Meaning:
ma.roon\n   maroon  maroons  marooning  marooned\n1. Something that is maroon is dark reddish-purple in colour.\n...maroon velvet curtains.\n  COLOUR\n\n2. If someone is marooned somewhere, they are left in a place that is difficult for them to escape from.\nFive couples were marooned in their caravans when the River Avon broke its banks.\n  VERB: usu passive, be V-ed prep/adv


Words: marooned
Meaning:
ma.rooned\n   marooned\n  If you say that you are marooned, you mean that you feel alone and helpless and you cannot escape from the place or situation you are in.\n...families marooned in decaying inner-city areas.\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ, oft ADJ prep\n  = stuck


Words: marque
Meaning:
marque  marques\n  A marque is the name of a famous company that makes motor vehicles, or the vehicles it produces.\n...a marque long-associated with motor racing success, Alfa Romeo.\n  N-COUNT


Words: marquee
Meaning:
mar.quee\n   marquee  marquees\n1. A marquee is a large tent which is used at a fair, garden party, or other outdoor event, usually for eating and drinking in.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A marquee is a cover over the entrance of a building, for example a hotel or a theatre. (AM)\n  N-COUNT


Words: marquis
Meaning:
mar.quis\n   marquis  marquises   also marquess\n  A marquis is a male member of the nobility who has a rank between duke and earl.\n  N-COUNT; N-TITLE


Words: marriage
Meaning:
mar.riage\n   marriage  marriages\n1. A marriage is the relationship between a husband and wife.\nWhen I was 35 my marriage broke up...\nHis son by his second marriage lives in Paris.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A marriage is the act of marrying someone, or the ceremony at which this is done.\nI opposed her marriage to Darryl.\n  N-VAR\n\n3. Marriage is the state of being married.\nMarriage might not suit you...\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n4.\n  see also arranged marriage


Words: marriage guidance
Meaning:
mar.riage guid.ance\n   marriage guidance\n  Marriage guidance is advice given to couples who are having problems in their relationship. (BRIT)\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu N n


Words: marriageable
Meaning:
mar.riage.able\n   marriageable\n  If you describe someone as marriageable, you mean that they are suitable for marriage, especially that they are the right age to marry. (OLD-FASHIONED)\n...girls of marriageable age.\n...a marriageable daughter.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: married
Meaning:
mar.ried\n   married\n1. If you are married, you have a husband or wife.\nWe have been married for 14 years...\nShe is married to an Englishman.\n...a married man with two children.\n  ADJ: oft ADJ to n\n\n2. Married means relating to marriage or to people who are married.\nFor the first ten years of our married life we lived in a farmhouse.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n3. If you say that someone is married to their work or another activity, you mean that they are very involved with it and have little interest in anything else.\nShe was a very strict Christian who was married to her job...\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ to n


Words: marrow
Meaning:
mar.row\n   marrow  marrows\n1. A marrow is a long, thick, green vegetable with soft white flesh that is eaten cooked. (BRIT; in AM, use squash)\n  N-VAR\n\n2. The marrow of something is the most important and basic part of it.\nWe’re getting into the marrow of the film.\n  N-SING: the N, usu N of n\n  = crux


Words: marrow bone
Meaning:
mar.row bone\n   marrow bone  marrow bones   also marrowbone\n  Marrow bones are the bones of certain animals, especially cows, that contain a lot of bone marrow. They are used in cooking and in dog food.\n...marrowbone jelly.\n  N-VAR


Words: marry
Meaning:
mar.ry\n   marry  marries  marrying  married\n1. When two people get married or marry, they legally become husband and wife in a special ceremony. Get married is less formal and more commonly used than marry.\nI thought he would change after we got married...\nThey married a month after they met...\nHe wants to marry her...\nHe got married to wife Beryl when he was 19...\nI am getting married on Monday...\nShe ought to marry again, don’t you think?\n  V-RECIP: pl-n get V-ed, pl-n V, V n, get V-ed to n, get V-ed (non-recip), V (non-recip)\n\n2. When a priest or official marries two people, he or she conducts the ceremony in which the two people legally become husband and wife.\nThe local vicar has agreed to marry us in the chapel on the estate...\n  VERB: V n


Words: marshal
Meaning:
mar.shal\n   marshal  marshals  marshalling  marshalled\nin AM, use marshaling, marshaled\n1. If you marshal people or things, you gather them together and arrange them for a particular purpose.\nRichard was marshalling the doctors and nurses, showing them where to go.\n...the way in which Britain marshalled its economic and political resources to protect its security interests.\n  VERB: V n, V n\n  = organize\n2. A marshal is an official who helps to supervise a public event, especially a sports event.\nThe grand prix is controlled by well-trained marshals...\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. In the United States and some other countries, a marshal is a police officer, often one who is responsible for a particular area.\nA federal marshal was killed in a shoot-out.\n  N-COUNT\n\n4. A marshal is an officer in a fire department. (AM)\n...a Cleveland county fire marshal.\n  N-COUNT\n\n5. In Britain and some other countries, a marshal is an officer who has the highest rank in an army or air force.\n...Air Chief Marshal Sir Kenneth Cross.\n  N-COUNT; N-TITLE


Words: marshland
Meaning:
marsh.land\n   marshland  marshlands\n  Marshland is land with a lot of wet, muddy areas.\n  N-UNCOUNT: also N in pl


Words: marshmallow
Meaning:
marsh.mal.low\n   marshmallow  marshmallows\n1. Marshmallow is a soft, sweet food that is used in some cakes, puddings, and sweets.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. Marshmallows are sweets made from marshmallow.\n  N-COUNT


Words: marshy
Meaning:
marshy\n  Marshy land is always wet and muddy.\n...the broad, marshy plain of the River Spey.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: marsupial
Meaning:
mar.su.pial\n   marsupial  marsupials\n  A marsupial is an animal such as a kangaroo or an opossum. Female marsupials carry their babies in a pouch on their stomach.\n  N-COUNT


Words: mart
Meaning:
mart  marts\n  A mart is a place such as a market where things are bought and sold. (AM)\n...the flower mart.\n  N-COUNT: oft n N


Words: martial
Meaning:
mar.tial\n   martial\n  Martial is used to describe things relating to soldiers or war. (FORMAL)\nThe paper was actually twice banned under the martial regime.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n  see also court martial


Words: martial art
Meaning:
mar.tial art\n   martial art  martial arts\n  A martial art is one of the methods of fighting, often without weapons, that come from the Far East, for example kung fu, karate, or judo.\n  N-COUNT


Words: martial law
Meaning:
mar.tial law\n   martial law\n  Martial law is control of an area by soldiers, not the police.\nThe military leadership have lifted martial law in several more towns.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: Martian
Meaning:
Mar.tian\n   Martian  Martians\n1. A Martian is an imaginary creature from the planet Mars.\nOrson Welles managed to convince many Americans that they were being invaded by Martians.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. Something that is Martian exists on or relates to the planet Mars.\nThe Martian atmosphere contains only tiny amounts of water.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: martinet
Meaning:
mar.ti.net\n   martinet  martinets\n  If you say that someone is a martinet, you are criticizing them because they are very strict and demand that people obey their rules and orders. (FORMAL)\nHe’s a retired Lieutenant Colonel and a bit of a martinet.\n  N-COUNT  disapproval


Words: martyr
Meaning:
mar.tyr\n   martyr  martyrs  martyring  martyred\n1. A martyr is someone who is killed or made to suffer greatly because of their religious or political beliefs, and is admired and respected by people who share those beliefs.\n...a glorious martyr to the cause of liberty.\n...a Christian martyr...\n  N-COUNT: oft N to n\n\n2. If someone is martyred, they are killed or made to suffer greatly because of their religious or political beliefs.\nSt Pancras was martyred in 304 AD.\n...whether its martyred leader is released or not.\n  VERB: usu passive, be V-ed, V-ed\n\n3. If you refer to someone as a martyr, you disapprove of the fact that they pretend to suffer, or exaggerate their suffering, in order to get sympathy or praise from other people.\nWhen are you going to quit acting like a martyr?\n  N-COUNT  disapproval\n\n4. If you say that someone is a martyr to something, you mean that they suffer as a result of it.\nEllsworth was a martyr to his sense of honour and responsibility...\n  N-COUNT: usu N to n\n\n5.\n  see also martyred


Words: martyrdom
Meaning:
mar.tyr.dom\n   martyrdom\n1. If someone suffers martyrdom, they are killed or made to suffer greatly because of their religious or political beliefs.\n...the martyrdom of Bishop Feliciano...\nHe suffered martyrdom by stoning.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. If you describe someone’s behaviour as martyrdom, you are critical of them because they are exaggerating their suffering in order to gain sympathy or praise.\nShe sat picking at her small plate of rice salad with an air of martyrdom.\n  N-UNCOUNT  disapproval


