# dict

Words: martyred
Meaning:
[`mrtd;`m td]\nmar.tyred\n   martyred\n  If you describe a person or their behaviour as martyred, you mean that they often exaggerate their suffering in order to gain sympathy or praise. (LITERARY)\n`As usual,’ muttered his martyred wife...\n...with a lot of sighs, moans and a martyred air.\n  ADJ: ADJ n  disapproval


Words: marvel
Meaning:
mar.vel\n   marvel  marvels  marvelling  marvelled\nin AM, use marveling, marveled\n1. If you marvel at something, you express your great surprise, wonder, or admiration.\nHer fellow members marveled at her seemingly infinite energy...\nSara and I read the story and marveled...\n`That’s the weirdest thing I’ve ever seen,’ marveled Carl...\nHe marvelled that a man in such intense pain could be so coherent.\n  VERB: V at n, V, V with quote, V that\n\n2. You can describe something or someone as a marvel to indicate that you think that they are wonderful.\nThe whale, like the dolphin, has become a symbol of the marvels of creation...\n  N-COUNT: oft N of n\n  = wonder\n3. Marvels are things that people have done, or that have happened, which are very unexpected or surprising.\nHe’s done marvels with the team...\n  N-COUNT: usu pl\n  = wonders


Words: marvellous
Meaning:
mar.vel.lous\n   marvellous\nin AM, use marvelous\n  If you describe someone or something as marvellous, you are emphasizing that they are very good.\nHe certainly is a marvellous actor...\nHe looked marvellous.\n  ADJ\n  = wonderful\n=>  mar.vel.lous.ly\nHe always painted marvellously...\n  ADV: ADV with v, ADV adj/adv


Words: Marxism
Meaning:
Marx.ism\n   Marxism\n  Marxism is a political philosophy based on the writings of Karl Marx which stresses the importance of the struggle between different social classes.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: Marxist
Meaning:
Marx.ist\n   Marxist  Marxists\n1. Marxist means based on Marxism or relating to Marxism.\n...a Marxist state.\n...Marxist ideology.\n  ADJ\n\n2. A Marxist is a person who believes in Marxism or who is a member of a Marxist party.\n  N-COUNT


Words: marzipan
Meaning:
mar.zi.pan\n   marzipan\n  Marzipan is a paste made of almonds, sugar, and egg which is sometimes put on top of cakes.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: mascara
Meaning:
mas.cara\n   mascara  mascaras\n  Mascara is a substance used as make-up to make eyelashes darker.\n...water-resistant mascaras.\n  N-MASS


Words: mascarpone
Meaning:
mas.car.pone\n   mascarpone\n  Mascarpone is a soft white cheese traditionally made in Italy. It is used to make desserts.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: mascot
Meaning:
mas.cot\n   mascot  mascots\n  A mascot is an animal, toy, or symbol which is associated with a particular organization or event, and which is thought to bring good luck.\n...the official mascot of the Barcelona Games.\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp


Words: masculine
Meaning:
mas.cu.line\n   masculine\n1. Masculine qualities and things relate to or are considered typical of men, in contrast to women.\n...masculine characteristics like a husky voice and facial hair.\n...masculine pride.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  = male  !=female\n2. If you say that someone or something is masculine, you mean that they have qualities such as strength or confidence which are considered typical of men.\n...her aggressive, masculine image...\nThe Duke’s study was very masculine, with deep red wall-covering and dark oak shelving.\n  ADJ\n  !=feminine\n3. In some languages, a masculine noun, pronoun, or adjective has a different form from a feminine or neuter one, or behaves in a different way.\n  ADJ


Words: masculinity
Meaning:
mas.cu.lin.ity\n   masculinity\n1. A man’s masculinity is the fact that he is a man.\n...a project on the link between masculinity and violence.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. Masculinity means the qualities, especially sexual qualities, which are considered to be typical of men.\nThe old ideas of masculinity do not work for most men.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n  = manhood  !=femininity


Words: masculinize
Meaning:
mas.cu.lin.ize\n   masculinize  masculinizes  masculinizing  masculinized\nin BRIT, also use masculinise\n  To masculinize something means to make it into something that involves mainly men or is thought suitable for or typical of men. (FORMAL)\nNot all plantation work has been masculinized.\n  VERB: usu passive, be V-ed


Words: mash
Meaning:
mash  mashes  mashing  mashed\n1. If you mash food that is solid but soft, you crush it so that it forms a soft mass.\nMash the bananas with a fork.\n...mashed potatoes.\n  VERB: V n, V-ed\n\n2. Mash is mashed potato. (BRIT INFORMAL)\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: mask
Meaning:
mask  masks  masking  masked\n1. A mask is a piece of cloth or other material, which you wear over your face so that people cannot see who you are, or so that you look like someone or something else.\nThe gunman, whose mask had slipped, fled.\n...actors wearing masks.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A mask is a piece of cloth or other material that you wear over all or part of your face to protect you from germs or harmful substances.\nYou must wear goggles and a mask that will protect you against the fumes...\n  N-COUNT: oft supp N\n\n3. If you describe someone’s behaviour as a mask, you mean that they do not show their real feelings or character.\nHis mask of detachment cracked, and she saw for an instant an angry and violent man.\n  N-COUNT: oft N of n\n\n4. A mask is a thick cream or paste made of various substances, which you spread over your face and leave for some time in order to improve your skin.\nThis mask leaves your complexion feeling soft and supple.\n  N-COUNT\n\n5. If you mask your feelings, you deliberately do not show them in your behaviour, so that people cannot know what you really feel.\nDena lit a cigarette, trying to mask her agitation.\n  VERB: V n\n  = conceal, hide\n6. If one thing masks another, it prevents people from noticing or recognizing the other thing.\nToo much salt masks the true flavour of the food...\n  VERB: V n\n\n7.\n  see also death mask, gas mask, oxygen mask


Words: masked
Meaning:
masked\n  If someone is masked, they are wearing a mask.\nMasked youths threw stones and fire-bombs.\n  ADJ


Words: masking tape
Meaning:
mask.ing tape\n   masking tape\n  Masking tape is plastic or paper tape which is sticky on one side and is used, for example, to protect part of a surface that you are painting.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: masochism
Meaning:
maso.chism\n   masochism\n1. Masochism is behaviour in which someone gets sexual pleasure from their own pain or suffering.\nThe tendency towards masochism is however always linked with elements of sadism.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n  !=sadism\n=>  maso.chist      masochists\n...consensual sexual masochists.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If you describe someone’s behaviour as masochism, you mean that they seem to be trying to get into a situation which causes them suffering or great difficulty.\nOnce you have tasted life in southern California, it takes a peculiar kind of masochism to return to a British winter.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n  !=sadism\n=>  maso.chist\nAnybody who enjoys this is a masochist.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3.\n  see also sado-masochism


Words: masochistic
Meaning:
maso.chis.tic\n   masochistic\n1. Masochistic behaviour involves a person getting sexual pleasure from their own pain or suffering.\n...his masochistic tendencies.\n  ADJ\n  !=sadistic\n2. If you describe someone’s behaviour as masochistic, you mean that they seem to be trying to get into a situation which causes them suffering or great difficulty.\nIt seems masochistic, somehow.\n  ADJ\n  !=sadistic\n3.\n  see also sado-masochistic


Words: mason
Meaning:
ma.son\n   mason  masons\n1. A mason is a person who is skilled at making things or building things with stone. In American English, masons are people who work with stone or bricks.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A Mason is the same as a Freemason.\n  N-COUNT


Words: Masonic
Meaning:
Ma.son.ic\n   Masonic\n  Masonic is used to describe things relating to the organization of Freemasons.\n...a Masonic lodge on Broughton Street.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: masonry
Meaning:
ma.son.ry\n   masonry\n  Masonry is bricks or pieces of stone which have been stuck together with cement as part of a wall or building.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: masquerade
Meaning:
mas.quer.ade\n   masquerade  masquerades  masquerading  masqueraded\n1. To masquerade as someone or something means to pretend to be that person or thing, particularly in order to deceive other people.\nHe masqueraded as a doctor and fooled everyone.\n  VERB: V as n\n\n2. A masquerade is an attempt to deceive people about the true nature or identity of something.\nHe told a news conference that the elections would be a masquerade.\n  N-COUNT\n  = sham\n3. A masquerade is an event such as a party or dance where people dress up in disguise and wear masks.\n...a masquerade ball.\n  N-COUNT


Words: mass
Meaning:
mass  masses  massing  massed\n1. A mass of things is a large number of them grouped together.\nOn his desk is a mass of books and papers.\n  N-SING: N of n\n\n2. A mass of something is a large amount of it.\nShe had a mass of auburn hair.\n  N-SING: N of n\n\n3. Masses of something means a great deal of it. (INFORMAL)\nThere’s masses of work for her to do...\nIt has masses of flowers each year.\n  QUANT: QUANT of n-uncount/pl-n\n\n4. Mass is used to describe something which involves or affects a very large number of people.\n...ideas on combating mass unemployment...\n...weapons of mass destruction.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n5. A mass of a solid substance, a liquid, or a gas is an amount of it, especially a large amount which has no definite shape.\n...before it cools and sets into a solid mass...\nThe fourteenth century cathedral was reduced to a mass of rubble.\n  N-COUNT: oft N of n\n\n6. If you talk about the masses, you mean the ordinary people in society, in contrast to the leaders or the highly educated people.\nHis music is commercial. It is aimed at the masses...\n  N-PLURAL: the N\n\n7. The mass of people are most of the people in a country, society, or group.\nThe 1939-45 world war involved the mass of the population...\n  N-SING: the N of n\n  = bulk, majority\n8. When people or things mass, or when you mass them, they gather together into a large crowd or group.\nShortly after the workers went on strike, police began to mass at the shipyard...\nThe General was massing his troops for a counterattack.\n  VERB: V, V n\n  = gather\n9. If you say that something is a mass of things, you mean that it is covered with them or full of them.\nIn the spring, the meadow is a mass of daffodils.\n  N-SING: N of n\n\n10. In physics, the mass of an object is the amount of physical matter that it has. (TECHNICAL)\nAstronomers know that Pluto and Triton have nearly the same size, mass, and density.\n  N-VAR\n\n11. Mass is a Christian church ceremony, especially in a Roman Catholic or Orthodox church, during which people eat bread and drink wine in order to remember the last meal of Jesus Christ.\nShe attended a convent school and went to Mass each day.\n  N-VAR\n\n12.\n  see also massed, critical mass, land mass


Words: mass market
Meaning:
mass mar.ket\n   mass market mass markets\n1. Mass market is used to refer to the large numbers of people who want to buy a particular product. (BUSINESS)\nThey now have access to the mass markets of Japan and the UK.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. Mass-market products are designed and produced for selling to large numbers of people. (BUSINESS)\n...mass-market paperbacks.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: mass media
Meaning:
mass me.dia\n   mass media\n  You can use the mass media to refer to the various ways, especially television, radio, newspapers, and magazines, by which information and news are given to large numbers of people.\n...mass media coverage of the issue.\n  N-SING-COLL: usu the N


Words: mass murder
Meaning:
mass mur.der\n   mass murder  mass murders\n  Mass murder is the deliberate illegal killing of a large number of people by a person or an organization.\n  N-VAR


Words: mass murderer
Meaning:
mass mur.der.er\n   mass murderer  mass murderers\n  A mass murderer is someone who deliberately kills a large number of people illegally.\n  N-COUNT


Words: mass noun
Meaning:
mass noun  mass nouns\n1. A mass noun is a noun such as `wine’ which is usually uncount but is used with `a’ or `an’ or used in the plural when it refers to types of that substance, as in `a range of Australian wines’.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. In some descriptions of grammar, a mass noun is the same as an uncount noun.\n  N-COUNT


Words: mass production
Meaning:
mass pro.duc.tion\n   mass production   also mass-production\n  Mass production is the production of something in large quantities, especially by machine. (BUSINESS)\n...equipment that would allow the mass production of baby food.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N of n


Words: mass-produce
Meaning:
mass-produce  mass-produces  mass-producing  mass-produced\n  If someone mass-produces something, they make it in large quantities, usually by machine. This means that the product can be sold cheaply. (BUSINESS)\n...the invention of machinery to mass-produce footwear.\n  VERB: V n\n\n=>  mass-produced\n...the first mass-produced mountain bike.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: massacre
Meaning:
mas.sa.cre\n   massacre  massacres  massacring  massacred\n1. A massacre is the killing of a large number of people at the same time in a violent and cruel way.\nMaria lost her 62-year-old mother in the massacre.\n...reports of massacre, torture and starvation.\n  N-VAR\n\n2. If people are massacred, a large number of them are attacked and killed in a violent and cruel way.\n300 civilians are believed to have been massacred by the rebels...\nTroops indiscriminately massacred the defenceless population.\n  VERB: be V-ed, V n


Words: massage
Meaning:
mas.sage\n   massage  massages  massaging  massaged\n1. Massage is the action of squeezing and rubbing someone’s body, as a way of making them relax or reducing their pain.\nAlex asked me if I wanted a massage...\n  N-VAR\n\n2. If you massage someone or a part of their body, you squeeze and rub their body, in order to make them relax or reduce their pain.\nShe continued massaging her right foot, which was bruised and aching.\n  VERB: V n\n\n3. If you say that someone massages statistics, figures, or evidence, you are criticizing them for changing or presenting the facts in a way that misleads people.\nTheir governments have no reason to `massage’ the statistics.\n  VERB: V n  disapproval


Words: massage parlour
Meaning:
mas.sage par.lour\n   massage parlour   massage parlours\nin AM, use massage parlor\n  A massage parlour is a place where people go and pay for a massage. Some places that are called massage parlours are in fact places where people pay to have sex.\n  N-COUNT


Words: massed
Meaning:
massed\n  Massed is used to describe a large number of people who have been brought together for a particular purpose.\nHe could not escape the massed ranks of newsmen.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: masseuse
Meaning:
mas.seuse\n   masseuse  masseuses\n  A masseuse is a woman whose job is to give massages.\n  N-COUNT


Words: massif
Meaning:
mas.sif\n   massif  massifs\n  A massif is a group of mountains that form part of a mountain range.\n  N-COUNT: oft in names


Words: massive
Meaning:
mas.sive\n   massive\n1. Something that is massive is very large in size, quantity, or extent.\nThere was evidence of massive fraud.\n...massive air attacks...\nThe scale of the problem is massive.\n  ADJ  emphasis\n  = huge\n=>  mas.sive.ly\n...a massively popular game...\n  ADV\n\n2. If you describe a medical condition as massive, you mean that it is extremely serious.\nHe died six weeks later of a massive heart attack.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: mast
Meaning:
mast  masts\n1. The masts of a boat are the tall upright poles that support its sails.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A radio mast is a tall upright structure that is used to transmit radio or television signals.\n  N-COUNT


Words: mastectomy
Meaning:
mas.tec.to.my\n   mastectomy  mastectomies\n  A mastectomy is a surgical operation to remove a woman’s breast.\n  N-VAR


Words: master
Meaning:
mas.ter\n   master  masters  mastering  mastered\n1. A servant’s master is the man that he or she works for.\nMy master ordered me not to deliver the message except in private...\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A dog’s master is the man or boy who owns it.\nThe dog yelped excitedly when his master opened a desk drawer and produced his leash.\n  N-COUNT: usu poss N\n\n3. If you say that someone is a master of a particular activity, you mean that they are extremely skilled at it.\nThey appear masters in the art of making regulations work their way.\n  N-COUNT: usu N of/at/in n/-ing\n\n  see also past master\n  Master is also an adjective.\n...a master craftsman.\n...a master criminal.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n4. If you are master of a situation, you have complete control over it.\nJackson remained calm and always master of his passions...\n  N-VAR: usu N of n\n\n5. If you master something, you learn how to do it properly or you succeed in understanding it completely.\nDuff soon mastered the skills of radio production...\nStudents are expected to master a second language.\n  VERB: V n, V n\n\n6. If you master a difficult situation, you succeed in controlling it.\nWhen you have mastered one situation you have to go on to the next...\n  VERB: V n\n\n7. A famous male painter of the past is often called a master.\n...a portrait by the Dutch master, Vincent Van Gogh.\n  N-COUNT\n\n  see also old master\n8. A master copy of something such as a film or a tape recording is an original copy that can be used to produce other copies.\nKeep one as a master copy for your own reference and circulate the others.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n9. A master’s degree can be referred to as a master’s.\nI’ve a master’s in economics.\n  N-SING


Words: master bedroom
Meaning:
mas.ter bed.room\n   master bedroom  master bedrooms\n  The master bedroom in a large house is the largest bedroom.\n  N-COUNT


Words: master key
Meaning:
mas.ter key\n   master key  master keys\n  A master key is a key which will open all the locks in a set, even though each lock has its own different key.\n  N-COUNT


Words: Master of Arts
Meaning:
Mas.ter of Arts\n   Master of Arts\n  A Master of Arts degree is the same as an MA degree.\n  N-SING


Words: master of ceremonies
Meaning:
mas.ter of cer.emo.nies\n   master of ceremonies  masters of ceremonies\n  At events such as formal dinners, award ceremonies, and variety shows, the master of ceremonies is the person who introduces the speakers or performers, and who announces what is going to happen next.\n  N-COUNT


Words: Master of Science
Meaning:
Mas.ter of Sci.ence\n   Master of Science\n  A Master of Science degree is the same as an MSc or MS degree.\n  N-SING


Words: master plan
Meaning:
mas.ter plan\n   master plan  master plans\n  A master plan is a clever plan that is intended to help someone succeed in a very difficult or important task.\n...the master plan for the reform of the economy.\n  N-COUNT


Words: master’s degree
Meaning:
mas.ter’s de.gree\n   master’s degree  master’s degrees   also Master’s degree\n  A master’s degree is a university degree such as an MA or an MSc which is of a higher level than a first degree and usually takes one or two years to complete.\n  N-COUNT


Words: masterclass
Meaning:
mas.ter.class\n   masterclass  masterclasses\n  A masterclass is a lesson where someone who is an expert at something such as dancing or music gives advice to a group of good students. Masterclasses usually take place in public or are broadcast on television.\n  N-COUNT


Words: masterful
Meaning:
mas.ter.ful\n   masterful\n1. If you describe a man as masterful, you approve of him because he behaves in a way which shows that he is in control of a situation and can tell other people what to do.\nBig, successful moves need bold, masterful managers.\n  ADJ  approval\n\n2. If you describe someone’s behaviour or actions as masterful, you mean that they show great skill.\n...a masterful performance of boxing and punching skills.\n  ADJ\n  = virtuoso


Words: masterly
Meaning:
mas.ter.ly\n   masterly\n  If you describe something as masterly, you admire it because it has been done extremely well or shows the highest level of ability and skill.\nMalcolm Hebden gives a masterly performance...\n  ADJ  approval


Words: mastermind
Meaning:
master.mind\n   mastermind  masterminds  masterminding  masterminded\n1. If you mastermind a difficult or complicated activity, you plan it in detail and then make sure that it happens successfully.\nThe finance minister will continue to mastermind Poland’s economic reform...\n  VERB: V n\n\n2. The mastermind behind a difficult or complicated plan, often a criminal one, is the person who is responsible for planning and organizing it.\nHe was the mastermind behind the plan to acquire the explosives.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, usu with supp, oft N behind/of n


Words: masterpiece
Meaning:
master.piece\n   masterpiece  masterpieces\n1. A masterpiece is an extremely good painting, novel, film, or other work of art.\nHis book, I must add, is a masterpiece.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. An artist’s, writer’s, or composer’s masterpiece is the best work that they have ever produced.\n`Man’s Fate,’ translated into sixteen languages, is probably his masterpiece.\n  N-COUNT: with poss\n\n3. A masterpiece is an extremely clever or skilful example of something.\nThe whole thing was a masterpiece of crowd management.\n  N-COUNT: oft N of n


Words: masterstroke
Meaning:
master.stroke\n   masterstroke  masterstrokes\n  A masterstroke is something you do which is unexpected but very clever and which helps you to achieve something.\nGraham pulled a masterstroke by playing Paul Merson in the centre of midfield.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing


Words: masterwork
Meaning:
master.work\n   masterwork  masterworks\n  If you describe something such as a book or a painting as a masterwork, you think it is extremely good or the best that someone has produced.\nThey endure as masterworks of American musical theatre.\n  N-COUNT: oft poss N, N of n\n  = masterpiece


Words: mastery
Meaning:
mas.tery\n   mastery\n  If you show mastery of a particular skill or language, you show that you have learned or understood it completely and have no difficulty using it.\nHe doesn’t have mastery of the basic rules of grammar...\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N of n


Words: masthead
Meaning:
mast.head\n   masthead  mastheads\n1. A ship’s masthead is the highest part of its mast.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A newspaper’s masthead is the part at the top of the front page where its name appears in big letters.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, usu with poss


Words: masticate
Meaning:
mas.ti.cate\n   masticate  masticates  masticating  masticated\n  When you masticate food, you chew it. (FORMAL)\nHer mouth was working, as if she was masticating some tasty titbit...\nDon’t gulp everything down without masticating.\n  VERB: V n, V\n\n=>  mas.ti.ca.tion\nPoor digestion can be caused by defective mastication of the food in the mouth.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: masturbate
Meaning:
mas.tur.bate\n   masturbate  masturbates  masturbating  masturbated\n  If someone masturbates, they stroke or rub their own genitals in order to get sexual pleasure.\n  VERB: V\n\n=>  mas.tur.ba.tion\nThe sperm sample is produced by masturbation.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: mat
Meaning:
mat  mats\n1. A mat is a small piece of something such as cloth, card, or plastic which you put on a table to protect it from plates or cups.\nThe food is served on polished tables with mats.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A mat is a small piece of carpet or other thick material which is put on the floor for protection, decoration, or comfort.\nThere was a letter on the mat...\n  N-COUNT\n\n3.\n  see also matt, place mat


Words: matador
Meaning:
mata.dor\n   matador  matadors\n  A matador is the person in a bullfight who is supposed to kill the bull.\n  N-COUNT\n  = bullfighter


Words: match
Meaning:
match  matches  matching  matched\n1. A match is an organized game of football, tennis, cricket, or some other sport. (mainly BRIT)\nHe was watching a football match...\nFrance won the match 28-19.\n  N-COUNT\n  = game\n2. A match is a small wooden stick with a substance on one end that produces a flame when you rub it along the rough side of a matchbox.\n...a packet of cigarettes and a box of matches.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. If something of a particular colour or design matches another thing, they have the same colour or design, or have a pleasing appearance when they are used together.\nHer nails were painted bright red to match her dress...\nAll the chairs matched...\nYou don’t have to match your lipstick exactly to your outfit...\nMix and match your tableware and textiles from the new Design House collection.\n  V-RECIP: V n, pl-n V, V n to/with n, V pl-n\n\n  Match up means the same as match.\nThe pillow cover can match up with the sheets...\nBecause false eyelashes come in various lengths and shades, it’s so easy to match them up with your own.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P with/to n, V n P with/to n\n\n4. If something such as an amount or a quality matches with another amount or quality, they are both the same or equal. If you match two things, you make them the same or equal.\nTheir strengths in memory and spatial skills matched...\nOur value system does not match with their value system.\n...efforts to match demand with supply by building new schools.\n  V-RECIP: pl-n V, V with n, V n with n, also V pl-n\n\n5. If one thing matches another, they are connected or suit each other in some way.\nThe students are asked to match the books with the authors...\nIt can take time and effort to match buyers and sellers...\nThe sale would only go ahead if the name and number matched...\nPictures of road signs are matched with their Highway Code meanings.\n  V-RECIP: V n with/to n, V pl-n, pl-n V, be V-ed with n\n\n  Match up means the same as match.\nThe consultant seeks to match up jobless professionals with small companies in need of expertise...\nThey compared the fat intake of groups of vegetarians and meat eaters, and matched their diets up with levels of harmful blood fats...\nMy sister and I never really matched up...\nI’m sure that yellow lead matched up to that yellow socket.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron) with n, V n P with n, pl-n V P, V P to/with n, also V P pl-n\n\n6. If a combination of things or people is a good match, they have a pleasing effect when placed or used together.\nHelen’s choice of lipstick was a good match for her skin-tone...\nMoira was a perfect match for him.\n  N-SING: adj N\n\n7. If you match something, you are as good as it or equal to it, for example in speed, size, or quality.\nThey played some fine attacking football, but I think we matched them in every respect...\n  VERB: V n\n\n8. In a sport or other contest, if you match one person or team against another, in sports or other contests, you make them compete with each other to see which one is better.\nThe finals of the Championship begin today, matching the United States against France...\n  VERB: V n with/against n\n\n9.\n  see also matched, matching\n10. If you meet your match, you find that you are competing or fighting against someone who you cannot beat because they are as good as you, or better than you.\nI had finally met my match in power and intellect.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n11. If one person or thing is no match for another, they are unable to compete successfully with the other person or thing.\nI was no match for a man with such power...\n  PHRASE: v-link PHR, PHR n


Words: match play
Meaning:
match play\n  Match play is a form of golf where the game is scored by the number of holes someone wins rather than the number of strokes it takes them to complete the course.\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu N n


Words: match point
Meaning:
match point  match points\n  In a game of tennis, match point is the situation when the player who is in the lead can win the whole match if they win the next point.\n  N-VAR


Words: match up to
Meaning:
match up to\n  If someone or something does not match up to what was expected, they are smaller, less impressive, or of poorer quality.\nHer career never quite matched up to its promise.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P P n


Words: matchbox
Meaning:
match.box\n   matchbox  matchboxes\n  A matchbox is a small box that you buy with matches in it.\n  N-COUNT


Words: matched
Meaning:
matched\n1. If you say that two people are well matched, you mean that they have qualities that will enable them to have a good relationship.\nMy parents were not very well matched...\n  ADJ: adv ADJ\n\n2. In sports and other competitions, if the two opponents or teams are well matched, they are both of the same standard in strength or ability.\nTwo well-matched sides conjured up an entertaining game...\n  ADJ: adv ADJ


Words: matching
Meaning:
match.ing\n   matching\n  Matching is used to describe things which are of the same colour or design.\n...a coat and a matching handbag.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: matchless
Meaning:
match.less\n   matchless\n  You can use matchless to emphasize that you think something is extremely good.\nA timeless comic actor.his simplicity and his apparent ease are matchless...\nThe Savoy provides a matchless hotel experience.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n  emphasis\n  = unparalleled


Words: matchmaker
Meaning:
match.maker\n   matchmaker  matchmakers\n  A matchmaker is someone who tries to encourage people they know to form a romantic relationship or to get married.\nSome friends played matchmaker and had us both over to dinner.\n  N-COUNT


Words: matchmaking
Meaning:
match.making\n   matchmaking\n  Matchmaking is the activity of encouraging people you know to form relationships or get married.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: mate
Meaning:
mate  mates  mating  mated\n1. You can refer to someone’s friends as their mates, especially when you are talking about a man and his male friends. (BRIT INFORMAL)\nHe’s off drinking with his mates...\n  N-COUNT: usu with poss\n  = pal\n2. Some men use mate as a way of addressing other men when they are talking to them. (BRIT INFORMAL)\nCome on mate, things aren’t that bad.\n  N-VOC\n  = pal\n3. Someone’s wife, husband, or sexual partner can be referred to as their mate.\nHe has found his ideal mate.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, oft poss N\n  = partner\n4. An animal’s mate is its sexual partner.\nThe males guard their mates zealously.\n  N-COUNT: usu poss N\n\n5. When animals mate, a male and a female have sex in order to produce young.\nThis allows the pair to mate properly and stops the hen staying in the nest-box...\nThey want the males to mate with wild females...\nIt is easy to tell when a female is ready to mate.\n...the mating season.\n  V-RECIP: pl-n V, V with n, V (non-recip), V-ing\n\n6. On a commercial ship, the mate or the first mate is the most important officer except for the captain. Officers of lower rank are also called mates.\n...the mate of a fishing trawler.\n  N-COUNT\n\n7. In chess, mate is the same as checkmate.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n8.\n  see also cellmate, classmate, flatmate, playmate, roommate, running mate, schoolmate, shipmate, soul mate


Words: material
Meaning:
ma.terial\n   material  materials\n1. A material is a solid substance.\n...electrons in a conducting material such as a metal.\n...the design of new absorbent materials.\n  N-VAR\n\n2. Material is cloth.\n...the thick material of her skirt...\nThe materials are soft and comfortable to wear.\n  N-MASS\n\n3. Materials are the things that you need for a particular activity.\nThe builders ran out of materials.\n...sewing materials.\n  N-PLURAL: usu supp N\n\n4. Ideas or information that are used as a basis for a book, play, or film can be referred to as material.\nIn my version of the story, I added some new material.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n5. Material things are related to possessions or money, rather than to more abstract things such as ideas or values.\nEvery room must have been stuffed with material things.\n...the material world.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  !=spiritual\n=>  ma.teri.al.ly\nHe has tried to help this child materially and spiritually...\n  ADV: ADV with v, ADV adj/-ed, ADV with cl\n\n6. If you say that someone is a particular kind of material, you mean that they have the qualities or abilities to do a particular job or task.\nShe was not university material...\nHis message has changed little since he became presidential material.\n  N-UNCOUNT: supp N\n\n7. Material evidence or information is directly relevant and important in a legal or academic argument. (FORMAL)\nThe nature and availability of material evidence was not to be discussed...\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: materialism
Meaning:
ma.teri.al.ism\n   materialism\n1. Materialism is the attitude of someone who attaches a lot of importance to money and wants to possess a lot of material things.\n...the rising consumer materialism in society at large.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n=>  ma.teri.al.ist      materialists\nLeo is a materialist, living for life’s little luxuries.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. Materialism is the belief that only physical matter exists, and that there is no spiritual world.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: materialist
Meaning:
ma.teri.al.ist\n   materialist\n  Materialist is used to describe things relating to the philosophy of materialism.\n...the materialist view of nature and society.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: materialistic
Meaning:
ma.teri.al.is.tic\n   materialistic\n  If you describe a person or society as materialistic, you are critical of them because they attach too much importance to money and material possessions.\nDuring the 1980s Britain became a very materialistic society.\n  ADJ  disapproval


Words: materialize
Meaning:
ma.teri.al.ize\n   materialize  materializes  materializing  materialized\nin BRIT, also use materialise\n1. If a possible or expected event does not materialize, it does not happen.\nA rebellion by radicals failed to materialize...\n  VERB: usu with brd-neg, V\n\n2. If a person or thing materializes, they suddenly appear, after they have been invisible or in another place.\nTamsin materialized at her side, notebook at the ready...\n  VERB: V\n  = appear


Words: maternal
Meaning:
ma.ter.nal\n   maternal\n1. Maternal is used to describe feelings or actions which are typical of those of a kind mother towards her child.\nShe had little maternal instinct...\nHer feelings towards him were almost maternal.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n2. Maternal is used to describe things that relate to the mother of a baby.\nMaternal smoking can damage the unborn child.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n3. A maternal relative is one who is related through a person’s mother rather than their father.\nHer maternal grandfather was Mayor of Karachi.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: maternity
Meaning:
ma.ter.nity\n   maternity\n  Maternity is used to describe things relating to the help and medical care given to a woman when she is pregnant and when she gives birth.\nYour job will be kept open for your return after maternity leave...\n...maternity clothes.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: matey
Meaning:
matey\n1. If someone is matey, they behave in a very friendly way, usually without sincerity. (BRIT INFORMAL)\n...her irritatingly matey tone.\n  ADJ\n\n2. You can address someone as matey when you are being friendly towards them. People sometimes also use matey when they are annoyed with someone. (BRIT INFORMAL)\nNo problem, matey.\n  N-VOC  feelings


Words: math
Meaning:
math\n  Math is the same as mathematics. (AM; in BRIT, use maths)\nHe studied math in college.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: mathematical
Meaning:
math.emati.cal\n   mathematical\n1. Something that is mathematical involves numbers and calculations.\n...mathematical calculations...\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n=>  math.emati.cal.ly\n...a mathematically complicated formula...\n  ADV: ADV with v, ADV adj, ADV with cl\n\n2. If you have mathematical abilities or a mathematical mind, you are clever at doing calculations or understanding problems that involve numbers.\n...a mathematical genius.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n=>  math.emati.cal.ly\nAnyone can be an astrologer as long as they are mathematically minded.\n  ADV: ADV -ed/adj


Words: mathematician
Meaning:
math.ema.ti.cian\n   mathematician  mathematicians\n1. A mathematician is a person who is trained in the study of numbers and calculations.\nThe risks can be so complex that banks hire mathematicians to puzzle them out.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A mathematician is a person who is good at doing calculations and using numbers.\nI’m not a very good mathematician.\n  N-COUNT


Words: mathematics
Meaning:
math.emat.ics\n   mathematics\n1. Mathematics is the study of numbers, quantities, or shapes.\n...a professor of mathematics at Boston College.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. The mathematics of a problem is the calculations that are involved in it.\nOnce you understand the mathematics of debt you can work your way out of it.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: maths
Meaning:
maths\n  Maths is the same as mathematics. (BRIT; in AM, use math)\nHe taught science and maths.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: matinee
Meaning:
mati.nee\n   matinee  matinees\n  A matinee is a performance of a play or a showing of a film which takes place in the afternoon.\n  N-COUNT


Words: matriarch
Meaning:
ma.tri.arch\n   matriarch  matriarchs\n1. A matriarch is a woman who rules in a society in which power passes from mother to daughter.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A matriarch is an old and powerful female member of a family, for example a grandmother.\n  N-COUNT


Words: matriarchal
Meaning:
ma.tri.ar.chal\n   matriarchal\n1. A matriarchal society, family, or system is one in which the rulers are female and power or property is passed from mother to daughter.\n...the 3,000 years of the matriarchal Sumerian society.\n  ADJ\n  !=patriarchal\n2. If you describe a woman as matriarchal, you mean that she has authority and power within her family or group.\n...the matriarchal figure of his grandmother.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: matriarchy
Meaning:
ma.tri.ar.chy\n   matriarchy  matriarchies\n  A matriarchy is a system in which power or property is passed from mother to daughter.\n  N-VAR\n  !=patriarchy


Words: matriculate
Meaning:
ma.tricu.late\n   matriculate  matriculates  matriculating  matriculated\n  In some countries, if you matriculate, you register formally as a student at a university, or you satisfy the academic requirements necessary for registration for a course.\nI had to matriculate if I wanted to do a degree.\n  VERB: V\n\n=>  ma.tricu.la.tion\nThe head decided I should have another go at matriculation.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: matrimonial
Meaning:
mat.ri.mo.nial\n   matrimonial\n  Matrimonial means concerning marriage or married people. (FORMAL)\n...the matrimonial home.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: matrimony
Meaning:
mat.ri.mo.ny\n   matrimony\n  Matrimony is marriage. (FORMAL)\n...the bonds of matrimony.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: matrix
Meaning:
ma.trix\n   matrix  matrices\n1. A matrix is the environment or context in which something such as a society develops and grows. (FORMAL)\n...the matrix of their culture.\n  N-COUNT: with supp\n\n2. In mathematics, a matrix is an arrangement of numbers, symbols, or letters in rows and columns which is used in solving mathematical problems.\n  N-COUNT


Words: matron
Meaning:
ma.tron\n   matron  matrons\n  The matron in a nursing home is the woman who is in charge of all the nurses. In the past, the woman in charge of the nurses in a hospital was also called a matron. (BRIT)\nThe Matron at the nursing home expressed a wish to attend...\n  N-COUNT; N-TITLE


Words: matronly
Meaning:
ma.tron.ly\n   matronly\n  You can use matronly to describe a woman who is fairly fat and looks middle-aged, especially if you think the clothes she is wearing are not fashionable or attractive.\n...a matronly woman with an air of authority.\n  ADJ


Words: matt
Meaning:
matt\n  A matt colour, paint, or surface is dull rather than shiny.\n...a creamy white matt emulsion.\n...matt black.\n  ADJ\n  The spellings matte in British English, and matte or mat in American English are also used.


Words: matted
Meaning:
mat.ted\n   matted\n  If you describe someone’s hair as matted, you mean that it has become a thick untidy mass, often because it is wet or dirty.\nShe had matted hair and torn dusty clothes.\n  ADJ


Words: matter
Meaning:
mat.ter\n   matter  matters  mattering  mattered\n1. A matter is a task, situation, or event which you have to deal with or think about, especially one that involves problems.\nIt was clear that she wanted to discuss some private matter...\nUntil the matter is resolved the athletes will be ineligible to compete...\nDon’t you think this is now a matter for the police?...\nBusiness matters drew him to Paris.\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp\n  = affair\n2. You use matters to refer to the situation you are talking about, especially when something is affecting the situation in some way.\nIf your ordinary life is out of control, then retreating into a cosy ritual will not improve matters...\nIf it would facilitate matters, I would be happy to come to New York...\nMatters took an unexpected turn.\n  N-PLURAL: no det\n\n3. If you say that a situation is a matter of a particular thing, you mean that that is the most important thing to be done or considered when you are involved in the situation or explaining it.\nHistory is always a matter of interpretation...\nJack had attended these meetings as a matter of routine for years.\n  N-SING: a N of n/-ing\n  = question\n4. Printed matter consists of books, newspapers, and other texts that are printed. Reading matter consists of things that are suitable for reading, such as books and newspapers.\n...the Government’s plans to levy VAT on printed matter.\n...a rich variety of reading matter.\n  N-UNCOUNT: supp N\n\n5. Matter is the physical part of the universe consisting of solids, liquids, and gases.\nA proton is an elementary particle of matter.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n6. You use matter to refer to a particular type of substance.\n...waste matter from industries.\n  N-UNCOUNT: with supp\n\n7. You use matter in expressions such as `What’s the matter?’ or `Is anything the matter?’ when you think that someone has a problem and you want to know what it is.\nCarole, what’s the matter? You don’t seem happy...\nShe told him there was nothing the matter.\n  N-SING: the N, oft N with n\n\n8. You use matter in expressions such as `a matter of weeks’ when you are emphasizing how small an amount is or how short a period of time is.\nWithin a matter of days she was back at work...\n  N-SING: a N of pl-n  emphasis\n\n9. If you say that something does not matter, you mean that it is not important to you because it does not have an effect on you or on a particular situation.\nA lot of the food goes on the floor but that doesn’t matter...\nAs long as staff are smart, it does not matter how long their hair is...\nDoes it matter that people don’t know this?...\nMoney is the only thing that matters to them.\n  VERB: no cont, usu with brd-neg, V, it V wh, it V that, V to n, also it V\n\n10.\n  see also grey matter, subject matter\n11. If you say that something is another matter or a different matter, you mean that it is very different from the situation that you have just discussed.\nBeing responsible for one’s own health is one thing, but being responsible for another person’s health is quite a different matter...\n  PHRASE: v-link PHR\n\n12. If you are going to do something as a matter of urgency or priority, you are going to do it as soon as possible, because it is important.\nYour doctor and health visitor can help a great deal and you need to talk about it with them as a matter of urgency.\n  PHRASE: PHR n\n\n13. If something is no easy matter, it is difficult to do it.\nChoosing the colour for the drawing-room walls was no easy matter.\n  PHRASE: v-link PHR\n\n14. If someone says that’s the end of the matter or that’s an end to the matter, they mean that a decision that has been taken must not be changed or discussed any more.\n`He’s moving in here,’ Maria said. `So that’s the end of the matter.’\n  PHRASE\n\n15. You use the fact of the matter is or the truth of the matter is to introduce a fact which supports what you are saying or which is not widely known, for example because it is a secret.\n(next)


Words: matter .1
Meaning:
The fact of the matter is that most people consume far more protein than they actually need...\n  PHRASE: V inflects, PHR that\n\n16. You can use for that matter to emphasize that the remark you are making is true in the same way as your previous, similar remark.\nThe irony was that Shawn had not seen her. Nor for that matter had anyone else...\n  PHRASE: PHR with cl  emphasis\n  = come to that\n17. You say `it doesn’t matter’ to tell someone who is apologizing to you that you are not angry or upset, and that they should not worry.\n`Did I wake you?’.`Yes, but it doesn’t matter.’\n  CONVENTION\n\n18. If you say that something is no laughing matter, you mean that it is very serious and not something that you should laugh or joke about.\nTheir behaviour is an offence. It’s no laughing matter.\n  PHRASE: v-link PHR\n  = no joke\n19. If you say that something makes matters worse, you mean that it makes a difficult situation even more difficult.\nDon’t let yourself despair; this will only make matters worse...\n  PHRASE: V inflects, oft PHR with cl\n\n20. You use no matter in expressions such as `no matter how’ and `no matter what’ to say that something is true or happens in all circumstances.\nNo matter what your age, you can lose weight by following this program...\n  PHRASE: PHR wh\n\n21. If you say that you are going to do something no matter what, you are emphasizing that you are definitely going to do it, even if there are obstacles or difficulties.\nHe had decided to publish the manuscript no matter what...\n  PHRASE: PHR with cl  emphasis\n  = come what may\n22. If you say that a statement is a matter of opinion, you mean that it is not a fact, and that other people, including yourself, do not agree with it.\n`We’re not that contrived. We’re not that theatrical.’.`That’s a matter of opinion.’\n  PHRASE: v-link PHR\n\n23. If you say that something is just a matter of time, you mean that it is certain to happen at some time in the future.\nIt would be only a matter of time before he went through with it.\n  PHRASE: v-link PHR\n\n24.\na matter of life and death: see death\nas a matter of course: see course\nas a matter of fact: see fact\nmind over matter: see mind


Words: matter-of-fact
Meaning:
matter-of-fact\n  If you describe a person as matter-of-fact, you mean that they show no emotions such as enthusiasm, anger, or surprise, especially in a situation where you would expect them to be emotional.\nJohn was doing his best to give Francis the news in a matter-of-fact way...\n  ADJ\n\n=>  matter-of-factly\n`She thinks you’re a spy,’ Scott said matter-of-factly.\n  ADV: ADV after v


Words: matting
Meaning:
mat.ting\n   matting\n  Matting is strong thick material, usually made from a material like rope, straw, or rushes, which is used as a floor covering.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: mattress
Meaning:
mat.tress\n   mattress  mattresses\n  A mattress is the large, flat object which is put on a bed to make it comfortable to sleep on.\n  N-COUNT


Words: maturation
Meaning:
matu.ra.tion\n   maturation\n1. The maturation of something such as wine or cheese is the process of its being left for a time to become mature. (FORMAL)\nThe period of maturation is determined by the cellar master.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. The maturation of a young person’s body is the process of it becoming like an adult’s. (FORMAL)\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: mature
Meaning:
ma.ture\n   mature  matures  maturing  matured  maturer  maturest\n1. When a child or young animal matures, it becomes an adult.\nYou will learn what to expect as your child matures physically...\n  VERB: V\n  = grow up\n2. When something matures, it reaches a state of complete development.\nWhen the trees matured they were cut in certain areas...\n  VERB: V\n\n3. If someone matures, they become more fully developed in their personality and emotional behaviour.\nHopefully after three years at university I will have matured...\n  VERB: V\n\n4. If you describe someone as mature, you think that they are fully developed and balanced in their personality and emotional behaviour.\nThey are emotionally mature and should behave responsibly...\n  ADJ  approval\n\n5. If something such as wine or cheese matures or is matured, it is left for a time to allow its full flavour or strength to develop.\nUnlike wine, brandy matures only in wood, not glass.\n...the cellars where the cheeses are matured.\n  VERB: V, be V-ed\n\n6. Mature cheese or wine has been left for a time to allow its full flavour or strength to develop.\nGrate some mature cheddar cheese.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n7. When an investment such as a savings policy or pension plan matures, it reaches the stage when you stop paying money and the company pays you back the money you have saved, and the interest your money has earned. (BUSINESS)\nThese bonuses will be paid when your savings plan matures in ten years’ time.\n  VERB: V\n\n8. If you say that someone is mature or of mature years, you are saying politely that they are middle-aged or old.\n...a man of mature years who had been in the job for longer than most of the members could remember.\n  ADJ  politeness


Words: mature student
Meaning:
ma.ture stu.dent\n   mature student  mature students\n  A mature student is a person who begins their studies at university or college a number of years after leaving school, so that they are older than most of the people they are studying with. (BRIT; in AM, use adult student)\n  N-COUNT


Words: maturity
Meaning:
ma.tur.ity\n   maturity  maturities\n1. Maturity is the state of being fully developed or adult.\nHumans experience a delayed maturity; we arrive at all stages of life later than other mammals.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. Someone’s maturity is their quality of being fully developed in their personality and emotional behaviour.\nHer speech showed great maturity and humanity...\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n3. When an investment such as a savings policy or pension plan reaches maturity, it reaches the stage when you stop paying money and the company pays you back the money you have saved, and the interest your money has earned. (BUSINESS)\nCustomers are told what their policies will be worth on maturity...\n  N-VAR


Words: maudlin
Meaning:
maud.lin\n   maudlin\n1. If you describe someone as maudlin, you mean that they are being sad and sentimental in a foolish way, perhaps because of drinking alcohol.\nJimmy turned maudlin after three drinks.\n...maudlin self-pity.\n  ADJ\n\n2. If you describe a song, book, or film as maudlin, you are criticizing it for being very sentimental.\n...the most maudlin song of all time.\n...a hugely entertaining (if over-long and maudlin) movie.\n  ADJ  disapproval


Words: maul
Meaning:
maul  mauls  mauling  mauled\n  If you are mauled by an animal, you are violently attacked by it and badly injured.\nHe had been mauled by a bear...\nThe dog went berserk and mauled one of the girls.\n  VERB: be V-ed by n, V n\n  = savage


Words: Maundy Thursday
Meaning:
Maun.dy Thurs.day\n   Maundy Thursday\n  Maundy Thursday is the Thursday before Easter Sunday.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: Mauritian
Meaning:
Mau.ri.tian\n   Mauritian  Mauritians\n1. Mauritian means belonging or relating to Mauritius, or to its people or culture.\n  ADJ\n\n2. A Mauritian is a Mauritian citizen, or a person of Mauritian origin.\n  N-COUNT


Words: mausoleum
Meaning:
mau.so.leum\n   mausoleum  mausoleums\n  A mausoleum is a building which contains the grave of a famous person or the graves of a rich family.\n  N-COUNT


Words: mauve
Meaning:
mauve  mauves\n  Something that is mauve is of a pale purple colour.\nIt bears clusters of mauve flowers in early summer.\n  COLOUR


Words: maverick
Meaning:
mav.er.ick\n   maverick  mavericks\n  If you describe someone as a maverick, you mean that they are unconventional and independent, and do not think or behave in the same way as other people.\nHe was too much of a maverick ever to hold high office.\n  N-COUNT\n\n  Maverick is also an adjective.\n...a maverick group of scientists, who oppose the prevailing medical opinion on the disease...\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: maw
Meaning:
maw  maws\n  If you describe something as a maw, you mean that it is like a big open mouth which swallows everything near it. (LITERARY)\n...helping to chop wood to feed the red maw of the stove.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, usu with supp


Words: mawkish
Meaning:
mawk.ish\n   mawkish\n  You can describe something as mawkish when you think it is sentimental and silly.\nA sordid, sentimental plot unwinds, with an inevitable mawkish ending.\n  ADJ  disapproval\n  = soppy


Words: max.
Meaning:
max.\n  Max. is an abbreviation for maximum, and is often used after numbers or amounts.\nI’ll give him eight out of 10, max...\n  ADJ: num ADJ, ADJ n


Words: maxim
Meaning:
max.im\n   maxim  maxims\n  A maxim is a rule for good or sensible behaviour, especially one in the form of a saying.\nI believe in the maxim `if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’.\n  N-COUNT


Words: maximize
Meaning:
max.im.ize\n   maximize  maximizes  maximizing  maximized\nin BRIT, also use maximise\n1. If you maximize something, you make it as great in amount or importance as you can.\nIn order to maximize profit the firm would seek to maximize output...\n  VERB: V n\n  !=minimize\n=>  maxi.mi.za.tion\n...a pricing policy that was aimed at profit maximisation.\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu N of n\n\n2. If you maximize a window on a computer screen, you make it as large as possible.\nClick on the square icon to maximize the window.\n  VERB: V n\n  !=minimize


Words: maximum
Meaning:
maxi.mum\n   maximum\n1. You use maximum to describe an amount which is the largest that is possible, allowed, or required.\nUnder planning law the maximum height for a fence or hedge is 2 metres...\nChina headed the table with maximum points.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n  !=minimum\n  Maximum is also a noun.\nThe law provides for a maximum of two years in prison...\n  N-SING: oft a N of amount\n  !=minimum\n2. You use maximum to indicate how great an amount is.\n...the maximum amount of information...\nIt was achieved with minimum fuss and maximum efficiency.\n...a maximum security prison.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n  !=minimum\n3. If you say that something is a particular amount maximum, you mean that this is the greatest amount it should be or could possibly be, although a smaller amount is acceptable or very possible.\nWe need an extra 6g a day maximum.\n  ADV: amount ADV\n  !=minimum\n4. If you say that someone does something to the maximum, you are emphasizing that they do it to the greatest degree possible.\nYou have to develop your capabilities to the maximum.\n  PHRASE: PHR after v  emphasis\n  = to the full


Words: may
Meaning:
may\n\n  May is a modal verb. It is used with the base form of a verb.\n\n1. You use may to indicate that something will possibly happen or be true in the future, but you cannot be certain.\nWe may have some rain today...\nI may be back next year...\nI don’t know if they’ll publish it or not. They may...\nScientists know that cancer may not show up for many years.\n  MODAL  vagueness\n  = might\n2. You use may to indicate that there is a possibility that something is true, but you cannot be certain.\nCivil rights officials say there may be hundreds of other cases of racial violence...\n  MODAL  vagueness\n  = might\n3. You use may to indicate that something is sometimes true or is true in some circumstances.\nA vegetarian diet may not provide enough calories for a child’s normal growth...\nUp to five inches of snow may cover the mountains.\n  MODAL\n  = might\n4. You use may have with a past participle when suggesting that it is possible that something happened or was true, or when giving a possible explanation for something.\nHe may have been to some of those places...\nThe chaos may have contributed to the deaths of up to 20 people...\n  MODAL  vagueness\n\n5. You use may in statements where you are accepting the truth of a situation, but contrasting it with something that is more important.\nI may be almost 50, but there’s not a lot of things I’ve forgotten...\n  MODAL\n\n6. You use may when you are mentioning a quality or fact about something that people can make use of if they want to.\nThe bag has narrow straps, so it may be worn over the shoulder or carried in the hand...\n  MODAL\n  = can\n7. You use may to indicate that someone is allowed to do something, usually because of a rule or law. You use may not to indicate that someone is not allowed to do something.\nAny two persons may marry in Scotland provided that both persons are at least 16 years of age on the day of their marriage...\nAdolescents under the age of 18 may not work in jobs that require them to drive.\n  MODAL\n\n8. You use may when you are giving permission to someone to do something, or when asking for permission. (FORMAL)\nMr Hobbs? May we come in?...\nIf you wish, you may now have a glass of milk...\n  MODAL\n  = can\n9. You use may when you are making polite requests. (FORMAL)\nI’d like the use of your living room, if I may...\nMay I come with you to Southampton?...\n  MODAL  politeness\n  = can\n10. You use may when you are mentioning the reaction or attitude that you think someone is likely to have to something you are about to say.\nYou know, Brian, whatever you may think, I work hard for a living...\n  MODAL\n\n11. You use may in expressions such as I may add and I may say in order to emphasize a statement that you are making.\nThey spent their afternoons playing golf.extremely badly, I may add.around Loch Lomond...\nBoth of them, I may say, are thoroughly reliable men.\n  MODAL  emphasis\n\n12. If you do something so that a particular thing may happen, you do it so that there is an opportunity for that thing to happen.\n...the need for an increase in the numbers of surgeons so that patients may be treated as soon as possible...\n  MODAL\n  = can\n13. People sometimes use may to express hopes and wishes. (FORMAL)\nCourage seems now to have deserted him. May it quickly reappear.\n  MODAL: MODAL n v\n\n14.\nbe that as it may: see be\nmay as well: see well


Words: May Day
Meaning:
May Day\n  May Day is the 1st of May, which in many countries is celebrated as a public holiday, especially as one in honour of working people.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: maybe
Meaning:
may.be\n   maybe\n1. You use maybe to express uncertainty, for example when you do not know that something is definitely true, or when you are mentioning something that may possibly happen in the future in the way you describe.\nMaybe she is in love...\nI do think about having children, maybe when I’m 40...\n  ADV: ADV with cl/group  vagueness\n  = perhaps\n2. You use maybe when you are making suggestions or giving advice. Maybe is also used to introduce polite requests.\nMaybe we can go to the movies or something...\nWait a while, maybe a few days.\n  ADV: ADV with cl/group  politeness\n  = perhaps\n3. You use maybe to indicate that, although a comment is partly true, there is also another point of view that should be considered.\nMaybe there is jealousy, but I think the envy is more powerful...\n  ADV: ADV cl\n  = perhaps\n4. You can say maybe as a response to a question or remark, when you do not want to agree or disagree.\n`Is she coming back?’.`Maybe. No one hears from her.’\n  ADV: ADV as reply\n  = perhaps\n5. You use maybe when you are making a rough guess at a number, quantity, or value, rather than stating it exactly.\nThe men were maybe a hundred feet away and coming closer.\n  ADV: ADV amount  vagueness\n  = about\n6. People use maybe to mean `sometimes’, particularly in a series of general statements about what someone does, or about something that regularly happens.\nThey’ll come to the bar for a year, or maybe even two, then they’ll find another favourite spot.\n  ADV: ADV with cl/group


Words: Mayday
Meaning:
May.day\n   Mayday  Maydays\n  If someone in a plane or ship sends out a Mayday or a Mayday message, they send out a radio message calling for help because they are in serious difficulty.\nHe raced to pick up the lifejackets while his stepmother sent out a Mayday call.\n  N-COUNT


Words: mayfly
Meaning:
may.fly\n   mayfly  mayflies\n  A mayfly is an insect which lives near water and only lives for a very short time as an adult.\n  N-COUNT


Words: mayhem
Meaning:
may.hem\n   mayhem\n  You use mayhem to refer to a situation that is not controlled or ordered, when people are behaving in a disorganized, confused, and often violent way.\nTheir arrival caused mayhem as crowds of refugees rushed towards them.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n  = chaos


Words: mayonnaise
Meaning:
may.on.naise\n   mayonnaise\n  Mayonnaise is a thick pale sauce made from egg yolks and oil. It is put on salad.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: mayor
Meaning:
mayor  mayors\n  The mayor of a town or city is the person who has been elected to represent it for a fixed period of time or, in some places, to run its government.\n  N-COUNT: oft the N of n


Words: mayoress
Meaning:
mayor.ess\n   mayoress  mayoresses\n1. A woman who holds the office of mayor is sometimes referred to as a mayoress. (BRIT)\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A mayoress is the wife of a mayor. (BRIT)\n  N-COUNT


Words: maze
Meaning:
maze  mazes\n1. A maze is a complex system of passages or paths between walls or hedges and is designed to confuse people who try to find their way through it, often as a form of amusement.\nThe palace has extensive gardens, a maze, and tennis courts.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A maze of streets, rooms, or tunnels is a large number of them that are connected in a complicated way, so that it is difficult to find your way through them.\nThe children lead me through the maze of alleys to the edge of the city.\n  N-COUNT: usu N of n\n  = labyrinth\n3. You can refer to a set of ideas, topics, or rules as a maze when a large number of them are related to each other in a complicated way that makes them difficult to understand.\nThe book tries to steer you through the maze of alternative therapies.\n  N-COUNT: usu N of n


Words: MBA
Meaning:
MBA  MBAs\nin AM, also use M.B.A.\n  An MBA is a master’s degree in business administration. You can also refer to a person who has this degree as an MBA. MBA is an abbreviation for `Master of Business Administration’.\n  N-COUNT


Words: MBE
Meaning:
MBE  MBEs\n  An MBE is a British honour that is awarded to a person by the King or Queen for a particular achievement. MBE is an abbreviation for `Member of the Order of the British Empire’.\nHe had to go to Buckingham Palace to accept an MBE from the Queen.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing


Words: MBO
Meaning:
An MBO is the buying of a company by its managers. MBO is an abbreviation for `management buyout’. (BUSINESS)\n  N-COUNT


Words: McCoy
Meaning:
McCoy\n  If you describe someone or something as the real McCoy, you mean that they really are what they claim to be and are not an imitation. (INFORMAL)\n  PHRASE: v-link PHR, PHR after v\n  = the genuine article


Words: MD
Meaning:
MD  MDs\nin AM, also use M.D.\n1. MD is written after someone’s name to indicate that they have been awarded a degree in medicine and are qualified to practise as a doctor.\n\n2. MD is an abbreviation for managing director. (mainly BRIT BUSINESS)\nHe’s going to be the MD of the Park Lane company.\n  N-COUNT


Words: ME
Meaning:
ME\n  ME is a long-lasting illness that is thought to be caused by a virus. Its symptoms include feeling tired all the time and muscle pain. ME is an abbreviation for `myalgic encephalomyelitis’.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n  = chronic fatigue syndrome, CFS


Words: me
Meaning:
me  WEAK   STRONG\n  A speaker or writer uses me to refer to himself or herself. Me is a first person singular pronoun. Me is used as the object of a verb or a preposition.\nHe asked me to go to Cambridge with him...\nShe looked up at me, smiling.\n  PRON: v PRON, prep PRON


Words: meadow
Meaning:
mead.ow\n   meadow  meadows\n  A meadow is a field which has grass and flowers growing in it.\n  N-COUNT


Words: meagre
Meaning:
mea.gre\n   meagre\nin AM, use meager\n  If you describe an amount or quantity of something as meagre, you are critical of it because it is very small or not enough.\nThe bank’s staff were already angered by a meagre 3.1% pay rise...\n  ADJ  disapproval


Words: meal
Meaning:
meal  meals\n1. A meal is an occasion when people sit down and eat, usually at a regular time.\nShe sat next to him throughout the meal...\nIt’s rare that I have an evening meal with my children.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A meal is the food you eat during a meal.\nThe waiter offered him red wine or white wine with his meal...\n  N-COUNT\n\n3.\n  see also bone meal\n4. If you think someone is taking more time and energy to do something than is necessary, you can say that they are making a meal of it. (BRIT INFORMAL)\nLawyers always make such a meal of the simplest little thing.\n  PHRASE: V inflects  disapproval\n\n5. If you have a square meal, you have a large healthy meal.\n  PHRASE: N inflects


Words: meal ticket
Meaning:
meal tick.et\n   meal ticket   also meal-ticket\n  If you say that something or someone is a meal ticket, you mean that they provide a person with money or a lifestyle which they would not otherwise have.\nHis chosen field was unlikely to be a meal ticket for life...\nI don’t intend to be a meal-ticket for anyone.\n  N-SING: usu a N


Words: meals on wheels
Meaning:
meals on wheels   also Meals on Wheels\n  In Britain, meals on wheels is a service provided by the local authority that delivers hot meals to people who are too old or too sick to cook for themselves.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: mealtime
Meaning:
meal.time\n   mealtime  mealtimes   also meal time\n  Mealtimes are occasions when you eat breakfast, lunch, or dinner.\nAt mealtimes he would watch her eat...\n  N-VAR: usu pl


Words: mealy
Meaning:
mealy\n  Food that is dry and powdery can be described as mealy.\n...the mealy stodge of pulse, grain and potato dishes.\n  ADJ


Words: mealy-mouthed
Meaning:
mealy-mouthed\n  If you say that someone is being mealy-mouthed, you are critical of them for being unwilling to speak in a simple or open way because they want to avoid talking directly about something unpleasant.\nHe repeated that he did not intend to be mealy-mouthed with the country’s leaders.\n  ADJ  disapproval


Words: mean
Meaning:
NOUN USE\n   mean\n  The mean is a number that is the average of a set of numbers.\nTake a hundred and twenty values and calculate the mean.\n...the mean score for 26-year-olds.\n  N-SING: the N, oft N n\n  = average\n  see also means\n\nVERB USES\n   mean  means  meaning  meant\n\nPlease look at category 19 to see if the expression you are looking for is shown under another headword.\n1. If you want to know what a word, code, signal, or gesture means, you want to know what it refers to or what its message is.\nIn modern Welsh, `glas’ means `blue’...\nThe red signal means you can shoot.\n  VERB: no cont, V n, V that\n\n2. If you ask someone what they mean, you are asking them to explain exactly what or who they are referring to or what they are intending to say.\nDo you mean me?...\nI think he means that he does not want this marriage to turn out like his friend’s.\n  VERB: no cont, V n, V that\n\n3. If something means something to you, it is important to you in some way.\nThe idea that she witnessed this shameful incident meant nothing to him...\nIt would mean a lot to them to win.\n  VERB: no cont, V amount to n, it V amount to-inf, also V amount\n\n4. If one thing means another, it shows that the second thing exists or is true.\nAn enlarged prostate does not necessarily mean cancer...\nJust because he has a beard doesn’t necessarily mean he’s a hippy.\n  VERB: no cont, V n, V that\n\n5. If one thing means another, the first thing leads to the second thing happening.\nIt would almost certainly mean the end of NATO...\nThe change will mean that the country no longer has full diplomatic relations with other states.\n  VERB: no cont, V n, V that\n\n6. If doing one thing means doing another, it involves doing the second thing.\nManaging well means communicating well.\n  VERB: V -ing\n\n7. If you say that you mean what you are saying, you are telling someone that you are serious about it and are not joking, exaggerating, or just being polite.\nHe says you’re fired if you’re not back at work on Friday. And I think he meant it...\n  VERB: no cont, V n\n\n8. If you say that someone meant to do something, you are saying that they did it deliberately.\nI didn’t mean to hurt you...\nI can see why you believed my letters were threatening but I never meant them to be.\n  VERB: no cont, V to-inf, V n to-inf\n  = intend\n9. If you say that someone did not mean any harm, offence, or disrespect, you are saying that they did not intend to upset or offend people or to cause problems, even though they may in fact have done so.\nI’m sure he didn’t mean any harm...\n  VERB: no cont, with brd-neg, V n\n  = intend\n10. If you mean to do something, you intend or plan to do it.\nSummer is the perfect time to catch up on the new books you meant to read...\n  VERB: no cont, V to-inf\n  = intend\n11. If you say that something was meant to happen, you believe that it was made to happen by God or fate, and did not just happen by chance.\nJohn was constantly reassuring me that we were meant to be together.\n  VERB: usu passive, no cont, be V-ed to-inf\n\n12. You say `I mean’ when making clearer something that you have just said. (SPOKEN)\nIt was his idea. Gordon’s, I mean...\n  PHRASE: PHR with cl\n\n13. You can use `I mean’ to introduce a statement, especially one that justifies something that you have just said. (SPOKEN)\nI’m sure he wouldn’t mind. I mean, I was the one who asked him...\n  PHRASE: PHR with cl\n\n14. You say I mean when correcting something that you have just said. (SPOKEN)\nIt was law or classics.I mean English or classics.\n  PHRASE: PHR with cl\n\n15. If you know what it means to do something, you know everything that is involved in a particular activity or experience, especially the effect that it has on you.\nI know what it means to lose a child under such tragic circumstances.\n  PHRASE: Vs inflect, oft PHR to-inf\n\n16. If a name, word, or phrase means something to you, you have heard it before and you know what it refers to.\n`Oh, Gairdner,’ he said, as if that meant something to him...\n  PHRASE: V inflects, PHR n\n\n17. If you say that someone means well, you mean they are trying to be kind and helpful, even though they might be causing someone problems or upsetting them.\nI know you mean well, but I can manage by myself.\n(next)\n\nADJECTIVE USES\n   mean  meaner  meanest\n1. If you describe someone as mean, you are being critical of them because they are unwilling to spend much money or to use very much of a particular thing. (mainly BRIT; in AM, use cheap, stingy)\nDon’t be mean with fabric, otherwise curtains will end up looking skimpy.\n  ADJ  disapproval\n  = stingy\n=>  mean.ness\nThis very careful attitude to money can sometimes border on meanness.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. If you describe an amount as mean, you are saying that it is very small. (BRIT)\n...the meanest grant possible from the local council.\n  ADJ  disapproval\n\n3. If someone is being mean, they are being unkind to another person, for example by not allowing them to do something.\nThe little girls had locked themselves in upstairs because Mack had been mean to them...\nI’d feel mean saying no.\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ, oft ADJ to n\n\n=>  mean.ly\nHe had been behaving very meanly to his girlfriend.\n  ADV: usu ADV with v, also ADV adj\n\n4. If you describe a person or animal as mean, you are saying that they are very bad-tempered and cruel. (mainly AM)\n...the meanest fighter in the world.\n  ADJ\n\n5. If you describe a place as mean, you think that it looks poor and dirty.\nHe was raised on the mean streets of the central market district of Panama City.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n6. You can use no mean in expressions such as `no mean writer’ and `no mean golfer’ to indicate that someone does something well. (INFORMAL)\nShe was no mean performer on a variety of other instruments...\n  PHRASE: PHR n  approval\n\n7. You can use no mean in expressions such as `no mean achievement’ and `no mean task’ to indicate that someone has done something they deserve to be proud of.\nTo destroy 121 enemy aircraft is no mean record...\n  PHRASE: PHR n


Words: mean .1
Meaning:
PHRASE: V inflects\n\n18. You use `you mean’ in a question to check that you have understood what someone has said.\nWhat accident? You mean Christina’s?...\n`What if I had said no?’ `About the apartment, you mean?’\n  PHRASE: PHR with cl\n\n19.\nto mean business: see business\nif you know what I mean: see know\n  see also meaning, means, meant


Words: meander
Meaning:
me.ander\n   meander  meanders  meandering  meandered\n1. If a river or road meanders, it has a lot of bends, rather than going in a straight line from one place to another.\n...roads that meandered round the edges of the fields...\nWe crossed a small iron bridge over a meandering stream.\n  VERB: V prep/adv, V-ing, also V\n\n2. A meander is a large bend in a river.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. If you meander somewhere, you move slowly and not in a straight line.\nWe meandered through a landscape of mountains, rivers, and vineyards...\n  VERB: V prep/adv\n\n4. If a speech, account, or piece of writing meanders, it seems to move from one topic to another without any order or purpose.\nHis talk appears to meander but by the end focuses attention on the true state of affairs.\n...a rich and meandering novel.\n  VERB: V, V-ing


Words: meaning
Meaning:
mean.ing\n   meaning  meanings\n1. The meaning of a word, expression, or gesture is the thing or idea that it refers to or represents and which can be explained using other words.\nI hadn’t a clue to the meaning of `activism’...\nI became more aware of the symbols and their meanings.\n  N-VAR\n\n2. The meaning of what someone says or of something such as a book or film is the thoughts or ideas that are intended to be expressed by it.\nUnsure of the meaning of this remark, Ryle chose to remain silent...\n  N-VAR\n  = significance\n3. If an activity or action has meaning, it has a purpose and is worthwhile.\nArt has real meaning when it helps people to understand themselves.\n...a challenge that gives meaning to life.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n4. If you mention something and say that someone doesn’t know the meaning of the word, you are emphasizing that they have never experienced the thing mentioned or do not have the quality mentioned.\nDon’t mention failure when Kevin is around. He doesn’t know the meaning of the word.\n  PHRASE: V inflects  emphasis


Words: meaningful
Meaning:
mean.ing.ful\n   meaningful\n1. If you describe something as meaningful, you mean that it is serious, important, or useful in some way.\nShe believes these talks will be the start of a constructive and meaningful dialogue...\nHe asked people to tell him about a meaningful event or period in their lives.\n  ADJ\n\n2. A meaningful look or gesture is one that is intended to express something, usually to a particular person, without anything being said.\nUpon the utterance of this word, Dan and Harry exchanged a quick, meaningful look.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n=>  mean.ing.ful.ly\nHe glanced meaningfully at the other policeman, then he went up the stairs...\n  ADV: usu ADV after v, also ADV -ed\n\n3.\n  see also meaningfully


Words: meaningfully
Meaning:
mean.ing.ful.ly\n   meaningfully\n  You use meaningfully to indicate that someone has deliberately chosen their words in order to express something in a way which is not obvious but which is understood by the person they are talking to.\n`I have a knack for making friends, you know,’ she added meaningfully...\n  ADV: ADV after v\n\n  see also meaningful


Words: meaningless
Meaning:
mean.ing.less\n   meaningless\n1. If something that someone says or writes is meaningless, it has no meaning, or appears to have no meaning.\nShe is fascinated by algebra while he considers it meaningless nonsense.\n  ADJ\n\n2. Something that is meaningless in a particular situation is not important or relevant.\nFines are meaningless to guys earning millions.\n  ADJ\n\n3. If something that you do is meaningless, it has no purpose and is not at all worthwhile.\nThey seek strong sensations to dull their sense of a meaningless existence.\n  ADJ\n  = futile


Words: means
Meaning:
means\n1. A means of doing something is a method, instrument, or process which can be used to do it. Means is both the singular and the plural form for this use.\nThe move is a means to fight crime...\nThe army had perfected the use of terror as a means of controlling the population...\nBusiness managers are focused on increasing their personal wealth by any available means.\n  N-COUNT: with supp\n\n2. You can refer to the money that someone has as their means. (FORMAL)\n...a person of means...\nHe did not have the means to compensate her.\n  N-PLURAL\n\n3. If someone is living beyond their means, they are spending more money than they can afford. If someone is living within their means, they are not spending more money than they can afford.\nThe more gifts she received, the more she craved, until he was living beyond his means...\n  PHRASE: v PHR, v-link PHR\n\n4. If you do something by means of a particular method, instrument, or process, you do it using that method, instrument, or process.\nThis is a two year course taught by means of lectures and seminars...\n  PREP-PHRASE\n\n5. You can say `by all means’ to tell someone that you are very willing to allow them to do something.\n`Can I come and have a look at your house?’.`Yes by all means’.\n  CONVENTION  formulae\n\n6. You use expressions such as `by no means’, `not by any means’, and `by no manner of means’ to emphasize that something is not true.\nThis is by no means out of the ordinary...\nThey were not finished, however, not by any means.\n  PHRASE: PHR with cl/group, PHR before v  emphasis\n\n7. If you say that something is a means to an end, you mean that it helps you to achieve what you want, although it may not be enjoyable or important itself.\nWe seem to have lost sight of the fact that marketing is only a means to an end.\n  PHRASE: usu v-link PHR


Words: means test
Meaning:
means test  means tests\n  A means test is a test in which your income is calculated in order to decide whether you qualify for a grant or benefit from the state.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing


Words: means-tested
Meaning:
means-tested\n  A grant or benefit that is means-tested varies in amount depending on a means test.\n...means-tested benefits.\n  ADJ


Words: meant
Meaning:
meant\n1. Meant is the past tense and past participle of mean.\n\n2. You use meant to to say that something or someone was intended to be or do a particular thing, especially when they have failed to be or do it.\nI can’t say any more, it’s meant to be a big secret...\nI’m meant to be on holiday.\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ to-inf\n\n3. If something is meant for particular people or for a particular situation, it is intended for those people or for that situation.\nFairy tales weren’t just meant for children...\nThe seeds were not meant for human consumption...\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ for n\n\n4. If you say that something is meant to happen, you mean that it is expected to happen or that it ought to happen.\nParties are meant to be fun.\n  PHRASE\n\n5. If you say that something is meant to have a particular quality or characteristic, you mean that it has a reputation for being like that.\nBeaujolais is meant to be a really good wine.\n  PHRASE


Words: meantime
Meaning:
mean.time\n   meantime\n1. In the meantime or meantime means in the period of time between two events.\nEventually your child will leave home to lead her own life as a fully independent adult, but in the meantime she relies on your support...\nIt now hopes to hold elections in February. Meantime, the state will continue to be run from Delhi.\n  PHRASE: PHR with cl\n  = meanwhile\n2. For the meantime means for a period of time from now until something else happens.\nThe Prime Minister has, for the meantime, seen off the challenge of the opposition...\n  PHRASE: PHR with cl


Words: meanwhile
Meaning:
mean.while\n   meanwhile\n1. Meanwhile means while a particular thing is happening.\nBrush the aubergines with oil, add salt and pepper, and bake till soft. Meanwhile, heat the remaining oil in a heavy pan...\nKate turned to beckon Peter across from the car, but Bill waved him back, meanwhile pushing Kate inside.\n  ADV: ADV with cl\n\n2. Meanwhile means in the period of time between two events.\nYou needn’t worry; I’ll be ready to greet them. Meanwhile I’m off to discuss the Fowler’s party with Felix.\n  ADV: ADV with cl\n\n3. You use meanwhile to introduce a different aspect of a particular situation, especially one that is completely opposite to the one previously mentioned.\nHe had always found his wife’s mother a bit annoying. The mother-daughter relationship, meanwhile, was close.\n  ADV: ADV with cl


Words: measles
Meaning:
mea.sles\n   measles\n  Measles is an infectious illness that gives you a high temperature and red spots on your skin.\n  N-UNCOUNT: also the N


Words: measly
Meaning:
mea.sly\n   measly\n  If you describe an amount, quantity, or size as measly, you are critical of it because it is very small or inadequate. (INFORMAL)\nThe average British bathroom measures a measly 3.5 square metres.\n...a measly twelve-year-old like me.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n, oft a ADJ amount  disapproval


Words: measurable
Meaning:
meas.ur.able\n   measurable\n1. If you describe something as measurable, you mean that it is large enough to be noticed or to be significant. (FORMAL)\nBoth leaders seemed to expect measurable progress.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n=>  meas.ur.ably\nThe old man’s voice was measurably weaker than the last time they’d talked...\n  ADV: ADV adj/adv, ADV with v\n\n2. Something that is measurable can be measured.\nEconomists emphasize measurable quantities.the number of jobs, the per capita income...\n  ADJ


Words: measure
Meaning:
meas.ure\n   measure  measures  measuring  measured\n1. If you measure the quality, value, or effect of something, you discover or judge how great it is.\nI continued to measure his progress against the charts in the doctor’s office...\nIt was difficult to measure the precise impact of the labor action.\n  VERB: V n prep, V n\n\n2. If you measure a quantity that can be expressed in numbers, such as the length of something, you discover it using a particular instrument or device, for example a ruler.\nMeasure the length and width of the gap...\n  VERB: V n\n\n3. If something measures a particular length, width, or amount, that is its size or intensity, expressed in numbers.\nThe house is more than twenty metres long and measures six metres in width...\n  VERB: no cont, V amount\n  = be\n4. A measure of a particular quality, feeling, or activity is a fairly large amount of it. (FORMAL)\nThe colonies were claiming a larger measure of self-government.\n  N-SING: N of n\n\n5. If you say that one aspect of a situation is a measure of that situation, you mean that it shows that the situation is very serious or has developed to a very great extent.\nThat is a measure of how bad things have become at the bank.\n  N-SING: N of n/wh\n\n6. When someone, usually a government or other authority, takes measures to do something, they carry out particular actions in order to achieve a particular result. (FORMAL)\nThe government warned that police would take tougher measures to contain the trouble...\n  N-COUNT: oft N to-inf, N against n\n\n7. A measure of a strong alcoholic drink such as brandy or whisky is an amount of it in a glass. In pubs and bars, a measure is an official standard amount.\nHe poured himself another generous measure of malt.\n  N-COUNT: usu N of n\n\n8. In music, a measure is one of the several short parts of the same length into which a piece of music is divided. (AM; in BRIT, use bar)\n  N-COUNT\n\n9.\n  see also measured, measuring, counter-measure, half measure, tape measure\n10. If you say that something has changed or that it has affected you beyond measure, you are emphasizing that it has done this to a great extent.\nMankind’s knowledge of the universe has increased beyond measure...\n  PHRASE: PHR after v  emphasis\n\n11. If you say that something is done for good measure, you mean that it is done in addition to a number of other things.; If you get or take the measure of someone or something, you discover what they are like, so that you are able to control them or deal with them. If you have the measure of someone or something, you have succeeded in doing this.\nI repeated my question for good measure...\nThe governments of the industrialized world had failed to get the measure of the crisis...\nLili was the only person I knew who had the measure of her brother.\n  PHRASE: PHR after v, PHR with cl; PHRASE: V inflects, PHR n\n\n12. If something is true in some measure or in large measure, it is partly or mostly true. (FORMAL)\nPower is in some measure an act of will...\n  PHRASE: PHR with cl


Words: measure out
Meaning:
measure out\n  If you measure out a certain amount of something, you measure that amount and take it or mark it because it is the amount that you want or need.\nI’d already measured out the ingredients...\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron)


Words: measure up
Meaning:
measure up\n  If you do not measure up to a standard or to someone’s expectations, you are not good enough to achieve the standard or fulfil the person’s expectations.\nIt was fatiguing sometimes to try to measure up to her standard of perfection...\nShe’s always comparing me to other people, and somehow I never measure up.\n  PHRASAL VERB: usu with brd-neg, V P to n, V P


Words: measured
Meaning:
meas.ured\n   measured\n  You use measured to describe something that is careful and deliberate.\nThe men spoke in soft, measured tones...\nHer more measured response will appeal to voters...\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: measurement
Meaning:
meas.ure.ment\n   measurement  measurements\n1. A measurement is a result, usually expressed in numbers, that you obtain by measuring something.\nWe took lots of measurements...\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. Measurement of something is the process of measuring it in order to obtain a result expressed in numbers.\nMeasurement of blood pressure can be undertaken by practice nurses.\n  N-VAR: oft N of n\n\n3. The measurement of the quality, value, or effect of something is the activity of deciding how great it is.\n...the measurement of output in the non-market sector.\n  N-VAR: oft N of n\n\n4. Your measurements are the size of your waist, chest, hips, and other parts of your body, which you need to know when you are buying clothes.\n  N-PLURAL: with poss


Words: measuring
Meaning:
meas.ur.ing\n   measuring\n  A measuring jug, cup, or spoon is specially designed for measuring quantities, especially in cooking.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: meat
Meaning:
meat  meats\n1. Meat is flesh taken from a dead animal that people cook and eat.\nMeat and fish are relatively expensive.\n...imported meat products.\n...a buffet of cold meats and salads.\n  N-MASS\n\n2.\n  see also luncheon meat, red meat, white meat


Words: meat grinder
Meaning:
meat grind.er\n   meat grinder  meat grinders\n  A meat grinder is a machine which cuts meat into very small pieces by forcing it through very small holes. (AM; in BRIT, use mincer)\n  N-COUNT


Words: meat loaf
Meaning:
meat loaf  meat loaves   also meatloaf\n  Meat loaf is chopped meat made into the shape of a loaf of bread.\n  N-VAR


Words: meatball
Meaning:
meat.ball\n   meatball  meatballs\n  Meatballs are small balls of chopped meat. They are usually eaten with a sauce.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl


Words: meaty
Meaning:
meaty  meatier  meatiest\n1. Food that is meaty contains a lot of meat.\n...a pleasant lasagne with a meaty sauce.\n  ADJ\n\n2. You can describe something such as a piece of writing or a part in a film as meaty if it contains a lot of interesting or important material.\nThe short, meaty reports are those he likes best...\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n3. You can describe a part of someone’s body as meaty if it is big and strong.\nHe looked up and down the corridor, meaty hands resting on his thighs.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: mecca
Meaning:
mec.ca\n   mecca  meccas\n1. Mecca is a city in Saudi Arabia, which is the holiest city in Islam because the Prophet Mohammed was born there. All Muslims face towards Mecca when they pray.\n  N-PROPER\n\n2. If you describe a place as a mecca or Mecca for a particular thing or activity, you mean that many people who are interested in it go there.\nThailand has become the tourist mecca of Asia.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, with supp


Words: mechanic
Meaning:
me.chan.ic\n   mechanic  mechanics\n1. A mechanic is someone whose job is to repair and maintain machines and engines, especially car engines.\nIf you smell gas fumes or burning, take the car to your mechanic...\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. The mechanics of a process, system, or activity are the way in which it works or the way in which it is done.\nWhat are the mechanics of this new process?...\n  N-PLURAL: usu the N of n\n\n3. Mechanics is the part of physics that deals with the natural forces that act on moving or stationary objects.\nHe has not studied mechanics or engineering.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: mechanical
Meaning:
me.chani.cal\n   mechanical\n1. A mechanical device has parts that move when it is working, often using power from an engine or from electricity.\n...a small mechanical device that taps out the numbers.\n...the oldest working mechanical clock in the world...\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n=>  me.chani.cal.ly\nThe air was circulated mechanically.\n  ADV: ADV with v\n\n2. Mechanical means relating to machines and engines and the way they work.\n...mechanical engineering...\nThe train had stopped due to a mechanical problem.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n=>  me.chani.cal.ly\nThe car was mechanically sound, he decided.\n  ADV: ADV adj/-ed\n\n3. If you describe a person as mechanical, you mean they are naturally good at understanding how machines work.\nHe was a very mechanical person, who knew a lot about sound...\n  ADJ\n\n=>  me.chani.cal.ly\nI’m not mechanically minded.\n  ADV: ADV -ed\n\n4. If you describe someone’s action as mechanical, you mean that they do it automatically, without thinking about it.\nIt is real prayer, and not mechanical repetition...\n  ADJ\n\n=>  me.chani.cal.ly\nHe nodded mechanically, his eyes fixed on the girl.\n  ADV: ADV with v


Words: mechanism
Meaning:
mecha.nism\n   mechanism  mechanisms\n1. In a machine or piece of equipment, a mechanism is a part, often consisting of a set of smaller parts, which performs a particular function.\n...the locking mechanism...\nA bomb has been detonated by a special mechanism.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, with supp\n\n2. A mechanism is a special way of getting something done within a particular system.\nThere’s no mechanism for punishing arms exporters who break the rules.\n  N-COUNT: with supp\n\n3. A mechanism is a part of your behaviour that is automatic and that helps you to survive or to cope with a difficult situation.\n...a survival mechanism, a means of coping with intolerable stress.\n  N-COUNT: with supp\n\n4.\n  see also defence mechanism


Words: mechanistic
Meaning:
mecha.nis.tic\n   mechanistic\n  If you describe a view or explanation of something as mechanistic, you are criticizing it because it describes a natural or social process as if it were a machine.\n...a mechanistic view of things that ignores the emotional realities in people’s lives...\nMost of my colleagues in biology are still very mechanistic in their thinking.\n  ADJ  disapproval


Words: mechanize
Meaning:
mecha.nize\n   mechanize  mechanizes  mechanizing  mechanized\nin BRIT, also use mechanise\n  If someone mechanizes a process, they cause it to be done by a machine or machines, when it was previously done by people.\nOnly gradually are technologies being developed to mechanize the task...\n  VERB: V n\n\n=>  mecha.nized\n...highly mechanised production methods.\n  ADJ\n\n=>  mecha.ni.za.tion\nMechanization happened years ago on the farms of Islay.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: medal
Meaning:
med.al\n   medal  medals\n  A medal is a small metal disc which is given as an award for bravery or as a prize in a sporting event.\n  N-COUNT


Words: medallion
Meaning:
me.dal.lion\n   medallion  medallions\n  A medallion is a round metal disc which some people wear as an ornament, especially on a chain round their neck.\n  N-COUNT


Words: medallist
Meaning:
med.al.list\n   medallist  medallists\n  A medallist is a person who has won a medal in sport. (JOURNALISM)\n...the Olympic gold medallists.\n  N-COUNT: usu supp N


Words: meddle
Meaning:
med.dle\n   meddle  meddles  meddling  meddled\n  If you say that someone meddles in something, you are criticizing the fact that they try to influence or change it without being asked.\nAlready some people are asking whether scientists have any right to meddle in such matters...\nIf only you hadn’t felt compelled to meddle.\n...the inept and meddling bureaucrats.\n  VERB: V in/with n, V, V-ing  disapproval\n  = interfere\n=>  med.dler      meddlers\nThey view activists as little more than meddlers.\n  N-COUNT


Words: meddlesome
Meaning:
med.dle.some\n   meddlesome\n  If you describe a person as meddlesome, you are criticizing them because they try to influence or change things that do not concern them.\n...a meddlesome member of the public.\n  ADJ  disapproval\n  = interfering


Words: media
Meaning:
me.dia\n   media\n1. You can refer to television, radio, newspapers, and magazines as the media.\nIt is hard work and not a glamorous job as portrayed by the media.\n...bias in the news media...\nMedia coverage of cycling in July was pretty impressive.\n  N-SING-COLL: the N\n\n  see also mass media, multimedia\n2. Media is a plural of medium.


Words: media circus
Meaning:
me.dia cir.cus\n   media circus media circuses\n  If an event is described as a media circus, a large group of people from the media is there to report on it and take photographs.\nThe couple married in the Caribbean to avoid a media circus.\n  N-COUNT  disapproval


Words: median
Meaning:
me.dian\n   median  medians\n1. The median value of a set of values is the middle one when they are arranged in order. For example, if a group of five students take a test and their marks are 5, 7, 7, 8, and 10, the median mark is 7. (TECHNICAL)\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n2. A median is the same as a median strip. (AM)\n  N-COUNT


Words: median strip
Meaning:
me.dian strip\n   median strip  median strips\n  The median strip is the strip of ground, often covered with grass, that separates the two sides of a major road. (AM; in BRIT, use central reservation)\n  N-COUNT


Words: mediate
Meaning:
me.di.ate\n   mediate  mediates  mediating  mediated\n1. If someone mediates between two groups of people, or mediates an agreement between them, they try to settle an argument between them by talking to both groups and trying to find things that they can both agree to.\nMy mom was the one who mediated between Zelda and her mom...\nUnited Nations officials have mediated a series of peace meetings between the two sides...\nThe Vatican successfully mediated in a territorial dispute between Argentina and Chile in 1984...\nUN peacekeepers mediated a new cease-fire.\n  VERB: V between pl-n, V n between pl-n, V, V n\n\n=>  me.dia.tion\nThe agreement provides for United Nations mediation between the two sides...\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n=>  me.dia.tor      mediators\nAn archbishop has been acting as mediator between the rebels and the authorities.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If something mediates a particular process or event, it allows that process or event to happen and influences the way in which it happens. (FORMAL)\n...the thymus, the organ which mediates the response of the white blood cells...\n  VERB: V n\n\n=>  me.dia.tion\nThis works through the mediation of the central nervous system.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: medic
Meaning:
med.ic\n   medic  medics\n1. A medic is a doctor or medical student. (INFORMAL)\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A medic is a doctor who works with the armed forces, as part of a medical corps. (AM)\nA Navy medic was wounded by sniper fire.\n  N-COUNT


Words: medical
Meaning:
medi.cal\n   medical  medicals\n1. Medical means relating to illness and injuries and to their treatment or prevention.\nSeveral police officers received medical treatment for cuts and bruises.\n...the medical profession.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n=>  medi.cal.ly\nTherapists cannot prescribe drugs as they are not necessarily medically qualified.\n  ADV: ADV with v, ADV adj, ADV with cl\n\n2. A medical is a thorough examination of your body by a doctor, for example before you start a new job.\n  N-COUNT


Words: medical examiner
Meaning:
medi.cal ex.am.in.er\n   medical examiner  medical examiners\n1. A medical examiner is a medical expert who is responsible for investigating the deaths of people who have died in a sudden, violent, or unusual way. (AM)\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A medical examiner is a doctor whose job is to examine people, for example when they apply for a job or for health insurance. (AM)\n  N-COUNT


Words: medicated
Meaning:
medi.cat.ed\n   medicated\n  A medicated soap or shampoo contains substances which are intended to kill bacteria and therefore make your skin or hair healthier.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: medication
Meaning:
medi.ca.tion\n   medication  medications\n  Medication is medicine that is used to treat and cure illness.\nAre you on any medication?\n  N-VAR


Words: medicinal
Meaning:
me.dici.nal\n   medicinal\n  Medicinal substances or substances with medicinal effects can be used to treat and cure illnesses.\n...medicinal plants.\n  ADJ\n\n=>  me.dici.nal.ly\nRoot ginger has been used medicinally for centuries.\n  ADV: ADV after v


Words: medicine
Meaning:
medi.cine\n   medicine  medicines\n1. Medicine is the treatment of illness and injuries by doctors and nurses.\nHe pursued a career in medicine...\nI was interested in alternative medicine and becoming an aromatherapist...\nPsychiatry is an accepted branch of medicine.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. Medicine is a substance that you drink or swallow in order to cure an illness.\nPeople in hospitals are dying because of shortage of medicine.\n...herbal medicines.\n  N-MASS


Words: medieval
Meaning:
me.di.eval\n   medieval\nin BRIT, also use mediaeval\n  Something that is medieval relates to or was made in the period of European history between the end of the Roman Empire in 476 AD and about 1500 AD.\n...a medieval castle.\n...the medieval chroniclers.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: mediocre
Meaning:
me.dio.cre\n   mediocre\n  If you describe something as mediocre, you mean that it is of average quality but you think it should be better.\nHis school record was mediocre.\n...mediocre music.\n  ADJ  disapproval


Words: mediocrity
Meaning:
me.di.oc.rity\n   mediocrity\n  If you refer to the mediocrity of something, you mean that it is of average quality but you think it should be better.\n...the mediocrity of most contemporary literature...\n  N-UNCOUNT  disapproval


Words: meditate
Meaning:
medi.tate\n   meditate  meditates  meditating  meditated\n1. If you meditate on something, you think about it very carefully and deeply for a long time.\nOn the day her son began school, she meditated on the uncertainties of his future.\n  VERB: V on n\n\n2. If you meditate you remain in a silent and calm state for a period of time, as part of a religious training or so that you are more able to deal with the problems and difficulties of everyday life.\nI was meditating, and reached a higher state of consciousness.\n  VERB: V


Words: meditation
Meaning:
medi.ta.tion\n   meditation  meditations\n1. Meditation is the act of remaining in a silent and calm state for a period of time, as part of a religious training, or so that you are more able to deal with the problems of everyday life.\nMany busy executives have begun to practice yoga and meditation.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n  see also transcendental meditation\n2. Meditation is the act of thinking about something very carefully and deeply for a long time.\n...the man, lost in meditation, walking with slow steps along the shore...\nIn his lonely meditations Antony had been forced to the conclusion that there had been rumours.\n  N-UNCOUNT: also N in pl\n  = contemplation


Words: meditative
Meaning:
medi.ta.tive\n   meditative\n  Meditative describes things that are related to the act of meditating or the act of thinking very deeply about something.\nMusic can induce a meditative state in the listener...\n...moments of meditative silence.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n=>  medi.ta.tive.ly\nMartin rubbed his chin meditatively.\n  ADV: ADV after v


Words: Mediterranean
Meaning:
Medi.ter.ra.nean\n   Mediterranean\n1. The Mediterranean is the sea between southern Europe and North Africa.\n  N-PROPER: the N\n\n2. The Mediterranean refers to the southern part of Europe, which is next to the Mediterranean Sea.\n...one of the most dynamic and prosperous cities in the Mediterranean.\n  N-PROPER: the N\n\n3. Something that is Mediterranean is characteristic of or belongs to the people or region around the Mediterranean Sea.\n...the classic Mediterranean diet.\n  ADJ


Words: medium
Meaning:
me.dium\n   medium  mediums  media\n\n  The plural of the noun can be either mediums or media for meanings 4 and 5. The form mediums is the plural for meaning 6.\n\n1. If something is of medium size, it is neither large nor small, but approximately half way between the two.\nA medium dose produces severe nausea within hours...\nHe was of medium height with blond hair and light blue eyes.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n2. You use medium to describe something which is average in degree or amount, or approximately half way along a scale between two extremes.\nFoods that contain only medium levels of sodium are bread, cakes, milk, butter and margarine.\n...a sweetish, medium-strength beer.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n  Medium is also an adverb.\nCook under a medium-hot grill.\n  ADV: ADV adj\n\n3. If something is of a medium colour, it is neither light nor dark, but approximately half way between the two.\nAndrea has medium brown hair, grey eyes and very pale skin...\n  COMB in COLOUR\n\n4. A medium is a way or means of expressing your ideas or of communicating with people.\nIn Sierra Leone, English is used as the medium of instruction for all primary education...\nBut Artaud was increasingly dissatisfied with film as a medium.\n  N-COUNT\n\n5. A medium is a substance or material which is used for a particular purpose or in order to produce a particular effect.\nBlood is the medium in which oxygen is carried to all parts of the body...\nHyatt has found a way of creating these qualities using the more permanent medium of oil paint.\n  N-COUNT\n\n6. A medium is a person who claims to be able to contact and speak to people who are dead, and to pass messages between them and people who are still alive.\n  N-COUNT\n\n7.\n  see also media\n8. If you strike or find a happy medium between two extreme and opposite courses of action, you find a sensible way of behaving that is somewhere between the two extremes.\nI still aim to strike a happy medium between producing football that’s worth watching and getting results...\n  PHRASE: PHR after v


Words: medium wave
Meaning:
me.dium wave\n   medium wave\n  Medium wave is a range of radio waves which are used for broadcasting. (mainly BRIT)\n...a station broadcasting pop music on medium wave.\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu on N


Words: medium-sized
Meaning:
medium-sized   also medium size\n  Medium-sized means neither large nor small, but approximately half way between the two.\n...a medium-sized saucepan.\n...medium-sized accountancy firms.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: medium-term
Meaning:
medium-term\n  The medium-term is the period of time which lasts a few months or years beyond the present time, in contrast with the short term or the long term.\nThe medium-term economic prospects remained poor...\nIf a woman gives up her job to look after her baby, she will risk losing her salary in the medium-term and may seriously damage her long-term career prospects.\n  N-SING: usu N n


Words: medley
Meaning:
med.ley\n   medley  medleys\n1. In music, a medley is a collection of different tunes or songs that are played one after the other as a single piece of music.\n...a medley of traditional songs.\n  N-COUNT: oft N of n\n\n2. In sport, a medley is a swimming race in which the four main strokes are used one after the other.\nJapan won the Men’s 200 metres Individual Medley.\n  N-COUNT: oft supp N


Words: meek
Meaning:
meek  meeker  meekest\n  If you describe a person as meek, you think that they are gentle and quiet, and likely to do what other people say.\nHe was a meek, mild-mannered fellow.\n  ADJ\n\n=>  meek.ly\nMost have meekly accepted such advice...\n  ADV: ADV with v


Words: meet
Meaning:
meet  meets  meeting  met\n1. If you meet someone, you happen to be in the same place as them and start talking to them. You may know the other person, but be surprised to see them, or you may not know them at all.\nI have just met the man I want to spend the rest of my life with...\nHe’s the kindest and sincerest person I’ve ever met...\nWe met by chance.\n  V-RECIP: V n, V n, pl-n V\n\n  Meet up means the same as meet.\nWhen he was in the supermarket, he met up with a buddy he had at Oxford...\nThey met up in 1956, when they were both young schoolboys.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P with n, pl-n V P\n\n2. If two or more people meet, they go to the same place, which they have earlier arranged to do, so that they can talk or do something together.\nWe could meet for a drink after work...\nMeet me down at the beach tomorrow, at 6am sharp.\n  V-RECIP: pl-n V, V n\n\n  Meet up means the same as meet.\nWe tend to meet up for lunch once a week...\nMy intention was to have a holiday and meet up with old friends.\n  PHRASAL VERB: pl-n V P, V P with n\n\n3. If you meet someone, you are introduced to them and begin talking to them and getting to know them.\nHey, Terry, come and meet my Dad.\n  VERB: V n\n\n4. You use meet in expressions such as `Pleased to meet you’ and `Nice to have met you’ when you want to politely say hello or goodbye to someone you have just met for the first time.\n`Jennifer,’ Miss Mallory said, `this is Leigh Van-Voreen.’.`Pleased to meet you,’ Jennifer said...\nI have to leave. Nice to have met you.\n  VERB: V n, V n  formulae\n\n5. If you meet someone off their train, plane, or bus, you go to the station, airport, or bus stop in order to be there when they arrive.\nMama met me at the station...\nLili and my father met me off the boat...\nKurt’s parents weren’t able to meet our plane so we took a taxi.\n  VERB: V n prep/adv, V n off n, V n\n\n6. When a group of people such as a committee meet, they gather together for a particular purpose.\nOfficials from the two countries will meet again soon to resume negotiations...\nThe commission met 14 times between 1988 and 1991.\n  VERB: V, V\n\n7. If you meet with someone, you have a meeting with them. (mainly AM)\nMost of the lawmakers who met with the president yesterday said they backed the mission.\n  VERB: V with n\n\n8. If something such as a suggestion, proposal, or new book meets with or is met with a particular reaction, it gets that reaction from people.\nThe idea met with a cool response from various quarters...\nReagan’s speech was met with incredulity in the US.\n  VERB: V with n, V n with n\n\n9. If something meets a need, requirement, or condition, it is good enough to do what is required.\nThe current arrangements for the care of severely mentally ill people are inadequate to meet their needs...\nOut of the original 23,000 applications, 16,000 candidates meet the entry requirements.\n  VERB: V n, V n\n  = satisfy\n10. If you meet something such as a problem or challenge, you deal with it satisfactorily or do what is required.\nThey had worked heroically to meet the deadline.\n  VERB: V n\n\n11. If you meet the cost of something, you provide the money that is needed for it.\nThe government said it will help meet some of the cost of the damage...\nAs your income increases you will find less difficulty in finding the money to meet your monthly repayments.\n  VERB: V n, V n\n\n12. If you meet a situation, attitude, or problem, you experience it or become aware of it.\nI honestly don’t know how I will react the next time I meet a potentially dangerous situation...\n  VERB: V n\n  = come across, encounter\n13. You can say that someone meets with success or failure when they are successful or unsuccessful.\nAttempts to find civilian volunteers have met with embarrassing failure...\n  VERB: V with n\n\n14. When a moving object meets another object, it hits or touches it.\nYou sense the stresses in the hull each time the keel meets the ground...\nNick’s head bent slowly over hers until their mouths met.\n  V-RECIP: V n, pl-n V\n\n(next)


Words: meet .1
Meaning:
15. If your eyes meet someone else’s, you both look at each other at the same time. (WRITTEN)\nNina’s eyes met her sisters’ across the table...\nI found myself smiling back instinctively when our eyes met.\n  V-RECIP: V n, pl-n V\n\n16. If two areas meet, especially two areas of land or sea, they are next to one another.\nIt is one of the rare places in the world where the desert meets the sea.\n...the southernmost point of South America where the Pacific and Atlantic oceans meet.\n  V-RECIP: V n, pl-n V\n\n17. The place where two lines meet is the place where they join together.\nParallel lines will never meet no matter how far extended...\nThe track widened as it met the road.\n  V-RECIP: pl-n V, V n\n\n18. If two sportsmen, teams, or armies meet, they compete or fight against one another.\nThe two women will meet tomorrow in the final...\n...when England last met the Aussies in a cricket Test match.\n  V-RECIP: pl-n V, V n\n\n19. A meet is an event in which athletes come to a particular place in order to take part in a race or races.\nJohn Pennel became the first person to pole-vault 17 ft., at a meet in Miami, Florida.\n  N-COUNT\n\n20. If you do not meet someone’s eyes or meet someone’s gaze, you do not look at them although they are looking at you, for example because you are ashamed.\nHe hesitated, then shook his head, refusing to meet her eyes.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n21. If someone meets their death or meets their end, they die, especially in a violent or suspicious way. (WRITTEN)\nJacob Sinclair met his death at the hands of a soldier...\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n22.\nto make ends meet: see end\nthere’s more to this than meets the eye: see eye\nto meet someone’s eyes: see eye\nto meet someone halfway: see halfway\nto meet your match: see match


Words: meeting
Meaning:
meet.ing\n   meeting  meetings\n1. A meeting is an event in which a group of people come together to discuss things or make decisions.\nCan we have a meeting to discuss that?\n...business meetings.\n  N-COUNT\n\n  You can also refer to the people at a meeting as the meeting.\nThe meeting decided that further efforts were needed.\n  N-SING: the N\n\n2. When you meet someone, either by chance or by arrangement, you can refer to this event as a meeting.\nIn January, 37 years after our first meeting, I was back in the studio with Denis...\n  N-COUNT: oft with poss\n  = encounter


Words: meeting house
Meaning:
meet.ing house\n   meeting house  meeting houses\n  A meeting house is a building in which certain groups of Christians, for example Quakers, meet in order to worship together.\n  N-COUNT


Words: meeting place
Meaning:
meet.ing place\n   meeting place  meeting places\n  A meeting place is a place where people meet.\n  N-COUNT


Words: mega
Meaning:
mega\n1. Young people sometimes use mega in front of adjectives or adverbs in order to emphasize them. (INFORMAL)\nHe has become mega rich...\n  ADV: usu ADV adj/adv  emphasis\n  = really\n2. Young people sometimes use mega in front of nouns in order to emphasize that the thing they are talking about is very good, very large, or very impressive. (INFORMAL)\n...the mega superstar Madonna.\n  ADJ: ADJ n  emphasis


Words: mega-
Meaning:
mega-\n1. Mega- is added to nouns that refer to units of measurement in order to form other nouns referring to units that are a million times bigger.\n...a 100 megaton explosion.\n...a two thousand megawatt surge in electricity.\n  PREFIX\n\n2. Mega- combines with nouns and adjectives in order to emphasize the size, quality, or importance of something. (INFORMAL)\nNow he can begin to earn the sort of mega-bucks he has always dreamed about.\n  PREFIX  emphasis


Words: megabyte
Meaning:
mega.byte\n   megabyte  megabytes\n  In computing, a megabyte is one million bytes of data.\n  N-COUNT


Words: megahertz
Meaning:
mega.hertz\n   megahertz  megahertz\n  A megahertz is a unit of frequency, used especially for radio frequencies. One megahertz equals one million cycles per second.\n...UHF frequencies of around 900 megahertz.\n  N-COUNT: num N


Words: megalomania
Meaning:
mega.lo.ma.nia\n   megalomania\n  Megalomania is the belief that you are more powerful and important than you really are. Megalomania is sometimes a mental illness.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: megalomaniac
Meaning:
mega.lo.ma.ni.ac\n   megalomaniac  megalomaniacs\n  If you describe someone as a megalomaniac, you are criticizing them because they enjoy being powerful, or because they believe that they are more powerful or important than they really are.\n  N-COUNT: oft N n  disapproval


Words: megamall
Meaning:
mega.mall\n   megamall megamalls  also mega-mall\n  A megamall is a very large shopping area containing very many shops, cinemas, and restaurants.\n  N-COUNT


Words: megaphone
Meaning:
mega.phone\n   megaphone  megaphones\n  A megaphone is a cone-shaped device for making your voice sound louder in the open air.\n  N-COUNT


Words: megaton
Meaning:
mega.ton\n   megaton  megatons\n  You can use megaton to refer to the power of a nuclear weapon. A one megaton bomb has the same power as one million tons of TNT.\n  N-COUNT: num N


Words: megawatt
Meaning:
mega.watt\n   megawatt  megawatts\n  A megawatt is a unit of power. One megawatt is a million watts.\nThe project is designed to generate around 30 megawatts of power for the national grid.\n  N-COUNT: num N, oft N of n


Words: melancholia
Meaning:
mel.an.cho.lia\n   melancholia\n  Melancholia is a feeling of great sadness, especially one that lasts a long time. (LITERARY)\nHe sank into deep melancholia.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: melancholic
Meaning:
mel.an.chol.ic\n   melancholic  melancholics\n  If you describe someone or something as melancholic, you mean that they are very sad. (LITERARY)\n...his gentle, melancholic songs.\n  ADJ


Words: melancholy
Meaning:
mel.an.choly\n   melancholy\n1. You describe something that you see or hear as melancholy when it gives you an intense feeling of sadness.\nThe only sounds were the distant, melancholy cries of the sheep...\n  ADJ\n\n2. Melancholy is an intense feeling of sadness which lasts for a long time and which strongly affects your behaviour and attitudes. (LITERARY)\nI was deeply aware of his melancholy as he stood among the mourners...\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n3. If someone feels or looks melancholy, they feel or look very sad. (LITERARY)\nIt was in these hours of the late afternoon that Tom Mulligan felt most melancholy...\nHe fixed me with those luminous, empty eyes and his melancholy smile.\n  ADJ


Words: melange
Meaning:
me.lange\n   melange  melanges   also melange\n  A melange of things is a mixture of them, especially when this is attractive or exciting. (WRITTEN)\n...a successful melange of music styles, from soul and rhythm and blues to rap.\n...a wonderful melange of flavours.\n  N-COUNT: with supp, oft N of n


Words: melanin
Meaning:
mela.nin\n   melanin\n  Melanin is a dark substance in the skin, eyes, and hair of people and animals, which gives them colour and can protect them against strong sunlight.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: melanoma
Meaning:
mela.no.ma\n   melanoma  melanomas\n  A melanoma is an area of cancer cells in the skin which is caused by very strong sunlight.\n  N-VAR


Words: melee
Meaning:
me.lee\n   melee  melees   also melee\n1. A melee is a noisy confusing fight between the people in a crowd. (WRITTEN)\nA policeman was killed and scores of people were injured in the melee.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing\n\n2. A melee of things is a large, confusing, disorganized group of them. (WRITTEN)\n...the melee of streets around the waterfront.\n  N-SING: usu N of n


Words: mellifluous
Meaning:
mel.lif.lu.ous\n   mellifluous\n  A mellifluous voice or piece of music is smooth and gentle and very pleasant to listen to. (FORMAL)\nI grew up around people who had wonderful, mellifluous voices...\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: mellow
Meaning:
mel.low\n   mellow  mellower  mellowest  mellows  mellowing  mellowed\n1. Mellow is used to describe things that have a pleasant, soft, rich colour, usually red, orange, yellow, or brown.\n...the softer, mellower light of evening.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n/colour\n\n2. A mellow sound or flavour is pleasant, smooth, and rich.\nHis voice was deep and mellow and his speech had a soothing and comforting quality.\n...a delightfully mellow, soft and balanced wine.\n  ADJ\n\n3. If someone mellows or if something mellows them, they become kinder or less extreme in their behaviour, especially as a result of growing older.\nWhen the children married and had children of their own, he mellowed a little...\nMarriage had not mellowed him.\n  VERB: V, V n\n\n  Mellow is also an adjective.\nIs she more mellow and tolerant?\n  ADJ\n\n4. If someone is mellow, they feel very relaxed and cheerful, especially as the result of alcohol or good food. (INFORMAL)\nHe’d had a few glasses of champagne himself and was fairly mellow...\n  ADJ


Words: melodic
Meaning:
me.lod.ic\n   melodic\n1. Melodic means relating to melody.\n...Schubert’s effortless gift for melodic invention.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n=>  me.lodi.cal.ly\n...the third of Tchaikovsky’s ten operas, and melodically one of his richest scores.\n  ADV\n\n2. Music that is melodic has beautiful tunes in it.\nWonderfully melodic and tuneful, his songs have made me weep.\n  ADJ\n\n=>  me.lodi.cal.ly\nThe leader has also learned to play more melodically.\n  ADV: ADV after v


Words: melodious
Meaning:
me.lo.dious\n   melodious\n  A melodious sound is pleasant to listen to. (LITERARY)\nShe spoke in a quietly melodious voice.\n  ADJ\n  = musical


Words: melodrama
Meaning:
melo.dra.ma\n   melodrama  melodramas\n  A melodrama is a story or play in which there are a lot of exciting or sad events and in which people’s emotions are very exaggerated.\n  N-VAR


Words: melodramatic
Meaning:
melo.dra.mat.ic\n   melodramatic\n  Melodramatic behaviour is behaviour in which someone treats a situation as much more serious than it really is.\n`Don’t you think you’re being rather melodramatic?’ Jane asked...\n  ADJ\n\n=>  melo.dra.mati.cal.ly\n`For God’s sake,’ Michael said melodramatically, `Whatever you do, don’t look down.’\n  ADV: ADV with v


Words: melon
Meaning:
mel.on\n   melon  melons\n  A melon is a large fruit which is sweet and juicy inside and has a hard green or yellow skin.\n  N-VAR


Words: melt
Meaning:
melt  melts  melting  melted\n1. When a solid substance melts or when you melt it, it changes to a liquid, usually because it has been heated.\nThe snow had melted, but the lake was still frozen solid...\nMeanwhile, melt the white chocolate in a bowl suspended over simmering water...\nAdd the melted butter, molasses, salt, and flour.\n  VERB: V, V n, V-ed\n\n2. If something such as your feelings melt, they suddenly disappear and you no longer feel them. (LITERARY)\nHis anxiety about the outcome melted, to return later but not yet...\n  VERB: V\n  = dissolve\n  Melt away means the same as melt.\nWhen he heard these words, Shinran felt his inner doubts melt away.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P\n\n3. If a person or thing melts into something such as darkness or a crowd of people, they become difficult to see, for example because they are moving away from you or are the same colour as the background. (LITERARY)\nThe youths dispersed and melted into the darkness...\n  VERB: V into n\n  = disappear\n4. If someone or something melts your heart, or if your heart melts, you start to feel love or sympathy towards them.\nWhen his lips break into a smile, it is enough to melt any woman’s heart...\nWhen a bride walks down the aisle to a stirring tune, even the iciest of hearts melt.\n  VERB: V n, V


Words: melt away
Meaning:
melt away\n  If a crowd of people melts away, members of the crowd gradually leave until there is no-one left.\nThe crowd around the bench began to melt away.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P\n\n  see also melt 2


Words: melt down
Meaning:
melt down\n  If an object is melted down, it is heated until it melts, so that the material can be used to make something else.\nSome of the guns were melted down and used to help build a statue...\nWhen Jefferson didn’t like a pair of goblets given to him as a gift, he asked a local smith to melt them down...\nSome thieves do not even bother to melt down stolen silver for its scrap value.\n  PHRASAL VERB: be V-ed P, V n P, V P n (not pron)


Words: meltdown
Meaning:
melt.down\n   meltdown  meltdowns\n1. If there is meltdown in a nuclear reactor, the fuel rods start melting because of a failure in the system, and radiation starts to escape.\nEmergency cooling systems could fail and a reactor meltdown could occur.\n  N-VAR\n\n2. The meltdown of a company, organization, or system is its sudden and complete failure. (JOURNALISM)\nUrgent talks are going on to prevent the market going into financial meltdown during the summer.\n  N-UNCOUNT: with supp


Words: melting point
Meaning:
melt.ing point\n   melting point  melting points\n  The melting point of a substance is the temperature at which it melts when you heat it.\n  N-COUNT: oft with poss


Words: melting pot
Meaning:
melt.ing pot\n   melting pot  melting pots\n1. A melting pot is a place or situation in which people or ideas of different kinds gradually get mixed together.\nThe republic is a melting pot of different nationalities.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing\n\n2. If something is in the melting pot, you do not know what is going to happen to it. (mainly BRIT)\nTheir fate is still in the melting-pot.\n  PHRASE: v-link PHR, PHR after v


Words: member
Meaning:
mem.ber\n   member  members\n1. A member of a group is one of the people, animals, or things belonging to that group.\nHe refused to name the members of staff involved...\nTheir lack of training could put members of the public at risk.\n  N-COUNT: with supp, oft N of n\n\n2. A member of an organization such as a club or a political party is a person who has officially joined the organization.\nThe support of our members is of great importance to the Association...\nBritain is a full member of NATO.\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp, oft N of n\n\n3. A member country or member state is one of the countries that has joined an international organization or group.\n...the member countries of the European Free Trade Association.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n4. A member or Member is a person who has been elected to a parliament or legislature.\nHe was elected to Parliament as the Member for Leeds.\n  N-COUNT: usu N for n


Words: Member of Congress
Meaning:
Mem.ber of Con.gress\n   Member of Congress  Members of Congress\n  A Member of Congress is a person who has been elected to the United States Congress.\n  N-COUNT


Words: Member of Parliament
Meaning:
Mem.ber of Par.lia.ment\n   Member of Parliament  Members of Parliament\n  A Member of Parliament is a person who has been elected by the people in a particular area to represent them in a country’s parliament. The abbreviation MP is often used.\n  N-COUNT\n  = MP


Words: membership
Meaning:
mem.ber.ship\n   membership  memberships\n1. Membership of an organization is the state of being a member of it.\nThe country has also been granted membership of the World Trade Organisation...\nHe sent me a membership form...\n  N-UNCOUNT: also N in pl\n\n2. The membership of an organization is the people who belong to it, or the number of people who belong to it.\nThe European Builders Confederation has a membership of over 350,000 building companies.\n...the recent fall in party membership.\n  N-VAR-COLL


Words: membrane
Meaning:
mem.brane\n   membrane  membranes\n  A membrane is a thin piece of skin which connects or covers parts of a person’s or animal’s body.\n  N-COUNT


Words: memento
Meaning:
me.men.to\n   memento  mementos  or mementoes\n  A memento is an object which you keep because it reminds you of a person or a special occasion.\nMore anglers are taking cameras when they go fishing to provide a memento of catches.\n  N-COUNT: oft N of n\n  = souvenir


Words: memo
Meaning:
memo  memos\n  A memo is a short official note that is sent by one person to another within the same company or organization.\n  N-COUNT


Words: memoirs
Meaning:
mem.oirs\n   memoirs\n  A person’s memoirs are a written account of the people who they have known and events that they remember.\nIn his memoirs, De Gaulle wrote that he had come to London determined to save the French nation.\n  N-PLURAL: usu with poss


Words: memorabilia
Meaning:
memo.ra.bilia\n   memorabilia\n  Memorabilia are things that you collect because they are connected with a person or organization in which you are interested.\n  N-PLURAL


Words: memorable
Meaning:
memo.rable\n   memorable\n  Something that is memorable is worth remembering or likely to be remembered, because it is special or very enjoyable.\n...the perfect setting for a nostalgic memorable day...\nAnnette’s performance as Eliza Doolittle in `Pygmalion’ was truly memorable.\n  ADJ\n\n=>  memo.rably\nThe National Theatre’s production is memorably staged.\n  ADV: usu ADV with v, also ADV adj


Words: memorandum
Meaning:
memo.ran.dum\n   memorandum  memoranda  or memorandums\n1. A memorandum is a written report that is prepared for a person or committee in order to provide them with information about a particular matter.\nThe delegation submitted a memorandum to the Commons on the blatant violations of basic human rights.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A memorandum is a short official note that is sent by one person to another within the same company or organization. (FORMAL)\n  N-COUNT\n  = memo


Words: memorial
Meaning:
me.mo.rial\n   memorial  memorials\n1. A memorial is a structure built in order to remind people of a famous person or event.\nEvery village had its war memorial.\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp\n\n2. A memorial event, object, or prize is in honour of someone who has died, so that they will be remembered.\nA memorial service is being held for her at St Paul’s Church.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n3. If you say that something will be a memorial to someone who has died, you mean that it will continue to exist and remind people of them.\nThe museum will serve as a memorial to the millions who passed through Ellis Island...\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, N to n


Words: Memorial Day
Meaning:
Me.mo.rial Day\n   Memorial Day\n  In the United States, Memorial Day is a public holiday when people honour the memory of Americans who have died in wars. Memorial Day is celebrated in most states on the last Monday in May.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: memorialize
Meaning:
me.mo.ri.al.ize\n   memorialize  memorializes  memorializing  memorialized\nin BRIT, also use memorialise\n  If a person or event is memorialized, something is produced that will continue to exist and remind people of them.\nHe was praised in print and memorialized in stone throughout the South...\nWhen she died in 1946, her friends wanted to memorialize her in some significant way.\n  VERB: be V-ed, V n


Words: memorize
Meaning:
memo.rize\n   memorize  memorizes  memorizing  memorized\nin BRIT, also use memorise\n  If you memorize something, you learn it so that you can remember it exactly.\nHe studied his map, trying to memorize the way to Rose’s street.\n  VERB: V n


Words: memory
Meaning:
memo.ry\n   memory  memories\n1. Your memory is your ability to remember things.\nAll the details of the meeting are fresh in my memory...\nHe’d a good memory for faces, and he was sure he hadn’t seen her before...\nBut locals with long memories thought this was fair revenge for the injustice of 1961...\n  N-VAR: oft poss N\n\n2. A memory is something that you remember from the past.\nShe cannot bear to watch the film because of the bad memories it brings back...\nHer earliest memory is of singing at the age of four to wounded soldiers...\nHe had happy memories of his father.\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp, oft N of n\n\n3. A computer’s memory is the part of the computer where information is stored, especially for a short time before it is transferred to disks or magnetic tapes. (COMPUTING)\nThe data are stored in the computer’s memory.\n  N-COUNT\n\n4. If you talk about the memory of someone who has died, especially someone who was loved or respected, you are referring to the thoughts, actions, and ceremonies by which they are remembered.\nShe remained devoted to his memory...\nThe congress opened with a minute’s silence in memory of those who died in the struggle.\n  N-SING: usu with poss, also in N of n\n\n5. If you do something from memory, for example speak the words of a poem or play a piece of music, you do it without looking at it, because you know it very well.\nMany members of the church sang from memory...\n  PHRASE: PHR after v\n\n6. If you say that something is, for example, the best, worst, or first thing of its kind in living memory, you are emphasizing that it is the only thing of that kind that people can remember.\nThe floods are the worst in living memory...\n  PHRASE: n/adj PHR, usu with adj-superl/brd-neg  emphasis\n\n7. If you lose your memory, you forget things that you used to know.\nHis illness caused him to lose his memory.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n8.\nto commit something to memory: see commit


Words: memory chip
Meaning:
memo.ry chip\n   memory chip  memory chips\n  In a computer, the memory chip is the microchip in which information is stored.\n  N-COUNT


Words: memsahib
Meaning:
mem.sa.hib\n   memsahib  memsahibs\n  Memsahib was used to refer to or address white women in India, especially during the period of British rule, or sometimes to refer to or address upper-class Indian women. (OLD-FASHIONED)\n  N-COUNT; N-TITLE; N-VOC


Words: men’s room
Meaning:
men’s room  men’s rooms\n  The men’s room is a toilet for men in a public building. (mainly AM)\n  N-COUNT: usu the N in sing


Words: menace
Meaning:
men.ace\n   menace  menaces  menacing  menaced\n1. If you say that someone or something is a menace to other people or things, you mean that person or thing is likely to cause serious harm.\nIn my view you are a menace to the public.\n...the menace of fascism...\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, oft N to n, N of n\n  = threat\n2. You can refer to someone or something as a menace when you want to say that they cause you trouble or annoyance. (INFORMAL)\nYou’re a menace to my privacy, Kenworthy...\n  N-COUNT: usu sing\n  = nuisance\n3. Menace is a quality or atmosphere that gives you the feeling that you are in danger or that someone wants to harm you.\n...a voice full of menace.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n4. If you say that one thing menaces another, you mean that the first thing is likely to cause the second thing serious harm.\nThe European states retained a latent capability to menace Britain’s own security.\n  VERB: V n\n  = threaten\n5. If you are menaced by someone, they threaten to harm you.\nShe’s being menaced by her sister’s latest boyfriend.\n  VERB: be V-ed, also V n\n  = threaten


Words: menacing
Meaning:
men.ac.ing\n   menacing\n  If someone or something looks menacing, they give you a feeling that they are likely to cause you harm or put you in danger.\nThe strong dark eyebrows give his face an oddly menacing look...\n  ADJ\n  = threatening\n=>  men.ac.ing.ly\nA group of men suddenly emerged from a doorway and moved menacingly forward to block her way.\n  ADV: usu ADV after v, also ADV adj/-ed


Words: menage
Meaning:
me.nage\n   menage   also menage\n  A menage is a group of people living together in one house. (FORMAL)\n  N-SING: usu with supp


Words: menage a trois
Meaning:
me.nage a trois\n   menage a trois  menages a trois   also menage a trois\n  A menage a trois is a situation where three people live together, especially when one of them is having a sexual relationship with both of the others.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing


Words: mend
Meaning:
mend  mends  mending  mended\n1. If you mend something that is broken or not working, you repair it, so that it works properly or can be used.\nThey took a long time to mend the roof...\nI should have had the catch mended, but never got round to it.\n  VERB: V n, have n V-ed\n  = repair, fix\n2. If a person or a part of their body mends or is mended, they get better after they have been ill or have had an injury.\nI’m feeling a good bit better. The cut aches, but it’s mending...\nHe must have a major operation on his knee to mend severed ligaments.\n  VERB: V, V n\n\n3. If you try to mend divisions between people, you try to end the disagreements or quarrels between them.\nHe sent Evans as his personal envoy to discuss ways to mend relations between the two countries...\n  VERB: V n\n  = heal\n4. If a relationship or situation is on the mend after a difficult or unsuccessful period, it is improving. (INFORMAL)\nMore evidence that the economy was on the mend was needed.\n  PHRASE: v-link PHR\n\n5. If you are on the mend after an illness or injury, you are recovering from it. (INFORMAL)\nThe baby had been poorly but seemed on the mend.\n  PHRASE: v-link PHR\n\n6. If someone who has been behaving badly mends their ways, they begin to behave well.\nHe has promised drastic disciplinary action if they do not mend their ways.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n7.\nto mend fences: see fence


Words: mendacious
Meaning:
men.da.cious\n   mendacious\n  A mendacious person is someone who tells lies. A mendacious statement is one that is a lie. (FORMAL)\n  ADJ


Words: mendacity
Meaning:
men.dac.ity\n   mendacity\n  Mendacity is lying, rather than telling the truth. (FORMAL)\n...an astonishing display of cowardice and mendacity.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: mending
Meaning:
mend.ing\n   mending\n  Mending is the sewing and repairing of clothes that have got holes in them. (OLD-FASHIONED)\nWho will then do the cooking, the washing, the mending?\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n  see also mend


Words: menfolk
Meaning:
men.folk\n   menfolk\n  When women refer to their menfolk, they mean the men in their family or society.\n  N-PLURAL: usu poss N


Words: menial
Meaning:
me.nial\n   menial\n  Menial work is very boring, and the people who do it have a low status and are usually badly paid.\n...low paid menial jobs, such as cleaning and domestic work.\n  ADJ


Words: meningitis
Meaning:
men.in.gi.tis\n   meningitis\n  Meningitis is a serious infectious illness which affects your brain and spinal cord.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: menopause
Meaning:
meno.pause\n   menopause\n  The menopause is the time during which a woman gradually stops menstruating, usually when she is about fifty years old.\n  N-SING: also no det\n\n=>  meno.pau.sal\n...a menopausal woman.\n  ADJ


Words: menstrual
Meaning:
men.strual\n   menstrual\n  Menstrual means relating to menstruation.\n...the menstrual cycle.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: menstruate
Meaning:
men.stru.ate\n   menstruate  menstruates  menstruating  menstruated\n  When a woman menstruates, a flow of blood comes from her womb. Women menstruate once a month unless they are pregnant or have reached the menopause. (FORMAL)\nLean hard-training women athletes may menstruate less frequently or not at all.\n  VERB: V\n\n=>  men.strua.tion\nMenstruation may cease when a woman is anywhere between forty-five and fifty years of age.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: mental
Meaning:
men.tal\n   mental\n1. Mental means relating to the process of thinking.\n...the mental development of children.\n...intensive mental effort.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n=>  men.tal.ly\nI think you are mentally tired...\nPhysically I might not have been overseas but mentally and spiritually I was with them.\n  ADV: ADV adj/adv, ADV with v, ADV with cl\n\n2. Mental means relating to the state or the health of a person’s mind.\nThe mental state that had created her psychosis was no longer present.\n...mental health problems.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n=>  men.tal.ly\n...an inmate who is mentally disturbed.\n...the needs of the mentally ill and the mentally handicapped.\n  ADV: usu ADV with cl/group, also ADV after v\n\n3. A mental act is one that involves only thinking and not physical action.\nPractise mental arithmetic when you go out shopping...\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n=>  men.tal.ly\nThis technique will help people mentally organize information.\n  ADV: ADV with v\n\n4. If you say that someone is mental, you mean that you think they are mad. (BRIT INFORMAL)\nI just said to him `you must be mental’.\n  ADJ  disapproval\n  = crazy, mad\n5. If you make a mental note of something, you make an effort to store it in your memory so that you will not forget it.\nShe made a mental note to have his prescription refilled.\n  PHRASE: V inflects, PHR of n, PHR to-inf


Words: mental age
Meaning:
men.tal age\n   mental age  mental ages\n  A person’s mental age is the age which they are considered to have reached in their ability to think or reason.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing


Words: mental hospital
Meaning:
men.tal hos.pi.tal\n   mental hospital  mental hospitals\n  A mental hospital is a hospital for people who are suffering from mental illness.\n  N-COUNT


Words: mentality
Meaning:
men.tal.ity\n   mentality  mentalities\n  Your mentality is your attitudes and your way of thinking.\n...a criminal mentality...\nRunning a business requires a very different mentality from being a salaried employee.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, with supp


Words: menthol
Meaning:
men.thol\n   menthol\n  Menthol is a substance that smells a bit like peppermint and is used to flavour things such as cigarettes and toothpaste. It is also used in some medicines, especially for curing colds.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: mention
Meaning:
men.tion\n   mention  mentions  mentioning  mentioned\n1. If you mention something, you say something about it, usually briefly.\nShe did not mention her mother’s absence...\nI may not have mentioned it to her...\nI had mentioned that I didn’t really like contemporary music...\nShe shouldn’t have mentioned how heavy the dress was...\nI felt as though I should mention it as an option.\n  VERB: V n/-ing, V n to n, V that, V wh, V n as n\n\n2. A mention is a reference to something or someone.\nThe statement made no mention of government casualties...\n  N-VAR: oft N of n\n\n3. If someone is mentioned in writing, a reference is made to them by name, often to criticize or praise something that they have done.\nI was absolutely outraged that I could be even mentioned in an article of this kind...\n...Brigadier Ferguson was mentioned in the report as being directly responsible.\n  VERB: usu passive, be V-ed, be V-ed as n/adj\n\n4. If someone is mentioned as a candidate for something such as a job, it is suggested that they might become a candidate.\nHer name has been mentioned as a favoured leadership candidate.\n  VERB: usu passive, be V-ed as n\n\n5. A special or honourable mention is formal praise that is given for an achievement that is very good, although not usually the best of its kind.\nSo many people have helped me with this book that it is hard to pick out the few for special mention.\n  N-VAR: with supp\n  = commendation\n6. People sometimes say `don’t mention it’ as a polite reply to someone who has just thanked them for doing something.\n`Thank you very much.’.`Don’t mention it.’\n  CONVENTION  formulae\n\n7. You use not to mention when you want to add extra information which emphasizes the point that you are making.\nThe audience, not to mention the bewildered cast, were not amused...\n  PHRASE: PHR group  emphasis


Words: mentor
Meaning:
men.tor\n   mentor  mentors  mentoring  mentored\n1. A person’s mentor is someone who gives them help and advice over a period of time, especially help and advice related to their job.\n  N-COUNT: usu poss N\n\n2. To mentor someone means to give them help and advice over a period of time, especially help and advice related to their job.\nHe had mentored scores of younger doctors.\n  VERB: V n\n\n=>  men.tor.ing\n...the company’s mentoring programme.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: menu
Meaning:
menu  menus\n1. In a restaurant or cafe, or at a formal meal, the menu is a list of the food and drinks that are available.\nA waiter offered him the menu...\nEven the most elaborate dishes on the menu were quite low on calories.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing\n\n2. A menu is the food that you serve at a meal.\nTry out the menu on a few friends...\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. On a computer screen, a menu is a list of choices. Each choice represents something that you can do using the computer.\n  N-COUNT


Words: MEP
Meaning:
MEP  MEPs\n  An MEP is a person who has been elected to the European Parliament. MEP is an abbreviation for `Member of the European Parliament’.\n  N-COUNT


Words: mercantile
Meaning:
mer.can.tile\n   mercantile\n  Mercantile means relating to or involved in trade. (FORMAL)\n...the emergence of a new mercantile class.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: mercenary
Meaning:
mer.ce.nary\n   mercenary  mercenaries\n1. A mercenary is a soldier who is paid to fight by a country or group that they do not belong to.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If you describe someone as mercenary, you are criticizing them because you think that they are only interested in the money that they can get from a particular person or situation.\n  ADJ  disapproval


Words: merchandise
Meaning:
mer.chan.dise\n   merchandise\n  Merchandise is goods that are bought, sold, or traded. (FORMAL)\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: merchandiser
Meaning:
mer.chan.dis.er\n   merchandiser  merchandisers\n  A merchandiser is a person or company that sells goods to the public. (AM BUSINESS; in BRIT, use retailer)\nIn 1979, Liquor Barn thrived as a discount merchandiser.\n  N-COUNT: usu supp N


Words: merchandising
Meaning:
mer.chan.dis.ing\n   merchandising\n1. Merchandising consists of goods such as toys and clothes that are linked with something such as a film, sports team, or pop group.\nWe are selling the full range of World Cup merchandising...\nThe club says it will make increasing amounts from merchandising.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. Merchandising is used to refer to the way shops and businesses organize the sale of their products, for example the way they are displayed and the prices that are chosen. (mainly AM BUSINESS)\nCompany executives say revamped merchandising should help Macy’s earnings to grow.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: merchant
Meaning:
mer.chant\n   merchant  merchants\n1. A merchant is a person who buys or sells goods in large quantities, especially one who imports and exports them.\nAny knowledgeable wine merchant would be able to advise you.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A merchant is a person who owns or runs a shop, store, or other business. (AM; in BRIT, usually use retailer, shopkeeper)\nThe family was forced to live on credit from local merchants.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. Merchant seamen or ships are involved in carrying goods for trade.\nThere’s been a big reduction in the size of the British merchant fleet in recent years.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: merchant bank
Meaning:
mer.chant bank\n   merchant bank  merchant banks\n  A merchant bank is a bank that deals mainly with firms, investment, and foreign trade, rather than with the public. (BUSINESS)\n  N-COUNT


Words: merchant banker
Meaning:
mer.chant bank.er\n   merchant banker  merchant bankers\n  A merchant banker is someone who works for a merchant bank. (BUSINESS)\n  N-COUNT


Words: merciful
Meaning:
mer.ci.ful\n   merciful\n1. If you describe God or a person in a position of authority as merciful, you mean that they show kindness and forgiveness to people.\nWe can only hope the court is merciful.\n  ADJ\n\n2. If you describe an event or situation as merciful, you mean that it is a good thing, especially because it stops someone’s suffering or discomfort.\nEventually the session came to a merciful end.\n  ADJ


Words: mercifully
Meaning:
mer.ci.ful.ly\n   mercifully\n  You can use mercifully to show that you are glad that something good has happened, or that something bad has not happened or has stopped.\nMercifully, a friend came to the rescue...\n  ADV: ADV with cl, ADV adj, ADV with v  feelings


Words: merciless
Meaning:
mer.ci.less\n   merciless\n  If you describe someone as merciless, you mean that they are very cruel or determined and do not show any concern for the effect their actions have on other people.\n...the merciless efficiency of a modern police state.\n  ADJ\n  = ruthless\n=>  mer.ci.less.ly\nWe teased him mercilessly...\n  ADV: usu ADV with v, also ADV adj, ADV with cl


Words: mercurial
Meaning:
mer.cu.rial\n   mercurial\n  If you describe someone as mercurial, you mean that they frequently change their mind or mood without warning. (LITERARY)\n...his mercurial temperament.\n  ADJ\n  = volatile


Words: mercury
Meaning:
mer.cu.ry\n   mercury\n  Mercury is a silver-coloured liquid metal that is used especially in thermometers and barometers.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: mercy
Meaning:
mer.cy\n   mercy  mercies\n1. If someone in authority shows mercy, they choose not to harm someone they have power over, or they forgive someone they have the right to punish.\nNeither side took prisoners or showed any mercy...\nThey cried for mercy but their pleas were met with abuse and laughter...\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. Mercy is used to describe a special journey to help someone in great need, such as people who are sick or made homeless by war. (JOURNALISM)\nShe vanished nine months ago while on a mercy mission to West Africa...\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n3. If you refer to an event or situation as a mercy, you mean that it makes you feel happy or relieved, usually because it stops something unpleasant happening.\nIt really was a mercy that he’d died so rapidly at the end...\n  N-COUNT: usu a N\n\n4. If one person or thing is at the mercy of another, the first person or thing is in a situation where they cannot prevent themselves being harmed or affected by the second.\nBuildings are left to decay at the mercy of vandals and the weather...\n  PHRASE: with poss, usu PHR after v, v-link PHR\n\n5. If you tell someone who is in an unpleasant situation that they should be grateful or thankful for small mercies, you mean that although their situation is bad, it could be even worse, and so they should be happy.\nBut so low has morale sunk that the team and the fans would have been grateful for small mercies.\n  PHRASE: usu v-link PHR


Words: mercy killing
Meaning:
mer.cy kill.ing\n   mercy killing  mercy killings\n  A mercy killing is an act of killing someone who is very ill, in order to stop them suffering any more pain.\n  N-VAR


Words: mere
Meaning:
mere  merest\nMere does not have a comparative form. The superlative form merest is used to emphasize how small something is, rather than in comparisons.\n1. You use mere to emphasize how unimportant or inadequate something is, in comparison to the general situation you are describing.\n...successful exhibitions which go beyond mere success...\nThere is more to good health than the mere absence of disease...\nShe’d never received the merest hint of any communication from him.\n  ADJ: ADJ n  emphasis\n\n2. You use mere to indicate that a quality or action that is usually unimportant has a very important or strong effect.\nThe mere mention of food had triggered off hunger pangs...\nThe team manager has been quick to clamp down on the merest hint of complacency.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n3. You use mere to emphasize how small a particular amount or number is.\nSixty per cent of teachers are women, but a mere 5 percent of women are heads and deputies...\n  ADJ: a ADJ amount  emphasis


Words: merely
Meaning:
mere.ly\n   merely\n1. You use merely to emphasize that something is only what you say and not better, more important, or more exciting.\nMichael is now merely a good friend...\nThey are offering merely technical assistance.\n  ADV: ADV with cl/group, ADV before v  emphasis\n  = just, simply\n2. You use merely to emphasize that a particular amount or quantity is very small.\nThe brain accounts for merely three per cent of body weight.\n  ADV: ADV amount  emphasis\n  = only\n3. You use not merely before the less important of two contrasting statements, as a way of emphasizing the more important statement.\nThe team needs players who want to play cricket for England, not merely any country that will have them...\n  PHRASE: PHR with cl/group, PHR before v  emphasis


Words: meretricious
Meaning:
mer.etri.cious\n   meretricious\n  If you describe something as meretricious, you disapprove of it because although it looks attractive it is actually of little value. (FORMAL)\n...vulgar, meretricious and shabby souvenirs.\n  ADJ  disapproval


Words: merge
Meaning:
merge  merges  merging  merged\n1. If one thing merges with another, or is merged with another, they combine or come together to make one whole thing. You can also say that two things merge, or are merged.\nBank of America merged with a rival bank...\nThe rivers merge just north of a vital irrigation system...\nThe two countries merged into one...\nHe sees sense in merging the two agencies while both are new...\nThen he showed me how to merge the graphic with text on the same screen.\n  V-RECIP: V with n, pl-n V, pl-n V into n, V pl-n, V n with n, also V pl-n into n\n\n2. If one sound, colour, or object merges into another, the first changes so gradually into the second that you do not notice the change.\nLike a chameleon, he could merge unobtrusively into the background...\nHis features merged with the darkness...\nNight and day begin to merge.\n  V-RECIP: V into n, V with n, pl-n V


Words: merger
Meaning:
mer.ger\n   merger  mergers\n  A merger is the joining together of two separate companies or organizations so that they become one. (BUSINESS)\n...a merger between two of Britain’s biggest trades unions.\n  N-COUNT


Words: meridian
Meaning:
me.rid.ian\n   meridian  meridians\n  A meridian is an imaginary line from the North Pole to the South Pole. Meridians are drawn on maps to help you describe the position of a place.\n  N-COUNT


Words: meringue
Meaning:
me.ringue\n   meringue  meringues\n  Meringue is a mixture of beaten egg whites and sugar which is baked in the oven.\n  N-VAR


Words: merit
Meaning:
mer.it\n   merit  merits  meriting  merited\n1. If something has merit, it has good or worthwhile qualities.\nThe argument seemed to have considerable merit...\nBox-office success mattered more than artistic merit...\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu with supp\n\n2. The merits of something are its advantages or other good points.\n...the technical merits of a film...\n  N-PLURAL: usu with poss\n\n3. If someone or something merits a particular action or treatment, they deserve it. (FORMAL)\nHe said he had done nothing wrong to merit a criminal investigation...\n  VERB: V n\n  = deserve\n4. If you judge something or someone on merit or on their merits, your judgment is based on what you notice when you consider them, rather than on things that you know about them from other sources.\nEverybody is selected on merit...\nEach case is judged on its merits.\n  PHRASE: PHR after v


Words: meritocracy
Meaning:
meri.toc.ra.cy\n   meritocracy  meritocracies\n  A meritocracy is a society or social system in which people get status or rewards because of what they achieve, rather than because of their wealth or social status.\n  N-VAR


Words: meritocratic
Meaning:
meri.to.crat.ic\n   meritocratic\n  A meritocratic society or social system gives people status or rewards because of what they achieve, rather than because of their wealth or social position.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: meritorious
Meaning:
meri.to.ri.ous\n   meritorious\n  If you describe something as meritorious, you approve of it for its good or worthwhile qualities. (FORMAL)\nI had been promoted for what was called gallant and meritorious service.\n  ADJ  approval


Words: mermaid
Meaning:
mer.maid\n   mermaid  mermaids\n  In fairy stories and legends, a mermaid is a woman with a fish’s tail instead of legs, who lives in the sea.\n  N-COUNT


Words: merrily
Meaning:
mer.ri.ly\n   merrily\n1. If you say that someone merrily does something, you are critical of the fact that they do it without realizing that there are a lot of problems which they have not thought about.\nThere they were, merrily describing their 16-hour working days while simultaneously claiming to be happily married...\n  ADV: ADV with v  disapproval\n  = blithely\n2. If you say that something is happening merrily, you mean that it is happening fairly quickly, and in a pleasant or satisfactory way.\nThe ferry cut merrily through the water...\n  ADV: ADV with v\n\n3.\n  see also merry


Words: merry
Meaning:
mer.ry\n   merry  merrier  merriest\n1. If you describe someone’s character or behaviour as merry, you mean that they are happy and cheerful. (OLD-FASHIONED)\nFrom the house come the bursts of merry laughter...\n  ADJ\n  = jolly\n=>  mer.ri.ly\nChris threw back his head and laughed merrily.\n  ADV: ADV after v\n\n2. If you get merry, you get slightly drunk. (BRIT INFORMAL)\nThey went off to Glengarriff to get merry.\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ\n  = tipsy\n3. Some people use merry to emphasize something that they are saying, often when they want to express disapproval or humour.\nIt hasn’t stopped the British Navy proceeding on its merry way...\n  ADJ: ADJ n  emphasis\n\n4.\n  see also merrily\n5. Just before Christmas and on Christmas Day, people say `Merry Christmas’ to other people to express the hope that they will have a happy time.\nMerry Christmas, everyone...\nI just wanted to wish you a merry Christmas...\n  CONVENTION  formulae\n\n6.\nto play merry hell: see hell


Words: merry-go-round
Meaning:
merry-go-round  merry-go-rounds\n1. A merry-go-round is a large circular platform at a fairground on which there are model animals or vehicles for people to sit on or in as it turns round.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. You can refer to a continuous series of activities as a merry-go-round.\n...a merry-go-round of teas, fetes, musical events and the like.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, oft N of n


Words: merry-making
Meaning:
merry-making\n  Merry-making is the activities of people who are enjoying themselves together in a lively way, for example by eating, drinking, or dancing.\n...a time of merry-making, feasting and visiting friends.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: mesa
Meaning:
me.sa\n   mesa  mesas\n  A mesa is a large hill with a flat top and steep sides; used mainly of hills in the south-western United States. (AM)\n  N-COUNT


Words: mesh
Meaning:
mesh  meshes  meshing  meshed\n1. Mesh is material like a net made from wire, thread, or plastic.\nThe ground-floor windows are obscured by wire mesh.\n  N-VAR\n\n2. If two things or ideas mesh or are meshed, they go together well or fit together closely.\nTheir senses of humor meshed perfectly...\nThis of course meshes with the economic philosophy of those on the right...\nMeshing the research and marketing operations will be Mr. Furlaud’s job.\n  V-RECIP: pl-n V, V with n, V n-pl, also V n with n


Words: mesmerize
Meaning:
mes.mer.ize\n   mesmerize  mesmerizes  mesmerizing  mesmerized\nin BRIT, also use mesmerise\n  If you are mesmerized by something, you are so interested in it or so attracted to it that you cannot think about anything else.\nHe was absolutely mesmerised by Pavarotti on television...\nThere was something about Pearl that mesmerised her.\n  VERB: be V-ed, V n\n\n=>  mes.mer.ized\nI sat mesmerized long after the fairground closed.\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ\n\n=>  mes.mer.iz.ing\nShe has a mesmerising smile.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: mess
Meaning:
mess  messes  messing  messed\n1. If you say that something is a mess or in a mess, you think that it is in an untidy state.\nThe house is a mess...\nLinda can’t stand mess.\n  N-SING: also no det\n\n2. If you say that a situation is a mess, you mean that it is full of trouble or problems. You can also say that something is in a mess.\nI’ve made such a mess of my life.\n...the many reasons why the economy is in such a mess...\n  N-VAR\n\n3. A mess is something liquid or sticky that has been accidentally dropped on something.\nI’ll clear up the mess later.\n  N-VAR\n\n4. The mess at a military base or military barracks is the building in which members of the armed forces can eat or relax.\n...a party at the officers’ mess...\n  N-COUNT: usu sing


Words: mess around
Meaning:
mess around\n1. If you mess around or mess about, you spend time doing things without any particular purpose or without achieving anything.\nWe were just messing around playing with paint...\nBoys and girls will enjoy messing about with any kind of machine.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P, V P with n\n\n2. If you say that someone is messing around with or messing about with something, you mean that they are interfering with it in a harmful way.\nI’d like to know who’s been messing about with the pram.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P with n\n\n3. If someone is messing around or messing about, they are behaving in a joking or silly way.\nI thought she was messing about.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P\n  = fool around\n4. If you mess someone around or mess them about, you treat them badly, for example by not being honest with them, or by continually changing plans which affect them. (mainly BRIT)\nI think they’ve been messed around far too much.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V n P


Words: mess hall
Meaning:
mess hall  mess halls\n  A mess hall is a large room where a particular group of people, especially members of the armed forces, eat meals together.\n  N-COUNT


Words: mess up
Meaning:
mess up\n1. If you mess something up or if you mess up, you cause something to fail or be spoiled. (INFORMAL)\nWhen politicians mess things up, it is the people who pay the price...\nHe had messed up one career...\nIf I messed up, I would probably be fired.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V n P, V P n (not pron), V P\n\n2. If you mess up a place or a thing, you make it untidy or dirty. (INFORMAL)\nI hope they haven’t messed up your video tapes.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), also V n P\n\n3. If something messes someone up, it causes them to be very confused or worried, or to have psychological problems. (INFORMAL)\nThat really messed them up, especially the boys.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V n P, also V P n (not pron)


Words: mess with
Meaning:
mess with\n  If you tell someone not to mess with a person or thing, you are warning them not to get involved with that person or thing.\nYou are messing with people’s religion and they don’t like that...\nDo you know who you’re messing with.do you know who I am?\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n, V P n


Words: message
Meaning:
mes.sage\n   message  messages  messaging  messaged\n1. A message is a piece of information or a request that you send to someone or leave for them when you cannot speak to them directly.\nI got a message you were trying to reach me...\nWould you like to leave a message?...\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. The message that someone is trying to communicate, for example in a book or play, is the idea or point that they are trying to communicate.\nThe report’s message was unequivocal...\nI think they got the message that this is wrong.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, usu with supp\n\n3. If you message someone, you send them a message electronically using a computer or another device such as a mobile phone.\nPeople who message a lot feel unpopular if they don’t get many back...\nShe messaged him saying she wished they were together.\n  VERB: V, V n


Words: messaging
Meaning:
mes.sag.ing\n   messaging\n  Messaging is the sending of written or spoken messages using a computer or another electronic device such as a mobile phone.\nMessaging allows real-time communication by keyboard with up to five people at any one time.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: messenger
Meaning:
mes.sen.ger\n   messenger  messengers\n  A messenger takes a message to someone, or takes messages regularly as their job.\nThere will be a messenger at the Airport to collect the photographs from our courier...\n  N-COUNT: also by N


Words: messenger boy
Meaning:
mes.sen.ger boy\n   messenger boy  messenger boys\n  A messenger boy is a boy who is employed to take messages to people.\n  N-COUNT


Words: messiah
Meaning:
mes.si.ah\n   messiah  messiahs\n1. For Jews, the Messiah is the King of the Jews, who will be sent to them by God.\n  N-PROPER\n\n2. For Christians, the Messiah is Jesus Christ.\n  N-PROPER\n\n3. If you refer to someone as a messiah, you mean that they are expected to do wonderful things, especially to rescue people from a very difficult or dangerous situation, or that they are thought to have done these things.\nPeople saw Mandela as their messiah...\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp


Words: messianic
Meaning:
mes.si.an.ic\n   messianic   also Messianic\n1. Messianic means relating to the belief that a divine being has been born, or will be born, who will change the world.\nThe cult leader saw himself as a Messianic figure.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n2. Messianic means relating to the belief that there will be a complete change in the social order in a country or in the world.\nThe defeated radicals of the French Revolution were the first to have this messianic vision in 1794.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: Messrs
Meaning:
Messrs\nin AM, use Messrs.\n  Messrs is used before the names of two or more men as part of the name of a business. (BRIT)\nThe repairs were to be done by Messrs Clegg & Sons of Balham.\n  N-TITLE


Words: messy
Meaning:
messy  messier  messiest\n1. A messy person or activity makes things dirty or untidy.\nShe was a good, if messy, cook...\nAs the work tends to be a bit messy you’ll need to wear old clothes.\n  ADJ\n\n=>  messi.ly\nShe wrote it hastily and messily on a scrap of paper.\n  ADV: usu ADV with v, also ADV adj\n\n2. Something that is messy is dirty or untidy.\nDon’t worry if this first coat of paint looks messy.\n  ADJ\n\n3. If you describe a situation as messy, you are emphasizing that it is confused or complicated, and therefore unsatisfactory.\nJohn had been through a messy divorce himself...\n  ADJ


Words: metabolic
Meaning:
meta.bol.ic\n   metabolic\n  Metabolic means relating to a person’s or animal’s metabolism.\n...people who have inherited a low metabolic rate.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: metabolism
Meaning:
me.tabo.lism\n   metabolism  metabolisms\n  Your metabolism is the way that chemical processes in your body cause food to be used in an efficient way, for example to make new cells and to give you energy.\n  N-VAR: oft with poss


Words: metabolize
Meaning:
me.tabo.lize\n   metabolize  metabolizes  metabolizing  metabolized\nin BRIT, also use metabolise\n  When you metabolize a substance, it is affected by chemical processes in your body so that, for example, it is broken down, absorbed, and used. (TECHNICAL)\nDiabetics cannot metabolise glucose properly.\n  VERB: V n


Words: metal
Meaning:
met.al\n   metal  metals\n  Metal is a hard substance such as iron, steel, gold, or lead.\n...pieces of furniture in wood, metal and glass...\nHe hit his head against a metal bar.\n  N-MASS\n\n  see also base metal


Words: metalanguage
Meaning:
meta.lan.guage\n   metalanguage  metalanguages   also meta-language\n  In linguistics, the words and expressions that people use to describe or refer to language can be called metalanguage. (TECHNICAL)\n  N-VAR


Words: metalled
Meaning:
met.alled\n   metalled\n  A metalled road has a level surface made of small pieces of stone; used especially of country roads and tracks. (mainly BRIT)\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: metallic
Meaning:
me.tal.lic\n   metallic\n1. A metallic sound is like the sound of one piece of metal hitting another.\nThere was a metallic click and the gates swung open...\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n2. Metallic paint or colours shine like metal.\nHe had painted all the wood with metallic silver paint...\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n3. Something that tastes metallic has a bitter unpleasant taste.\nThere was a metallic taste at the back of his throat.\n  ADJ\n\n4. Metallic means consisting entirely or partly of metal.\nEven the smallest metallic object, whether a nail file or cigarette lighter, is immediately confiscated...\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  = metal


Words: metallurgist
Meaning:
met.al.lur.gist\n   metallurgist  metallurgists\n  A metallurgist is an expert in metallurgy.\n  N-COUNT


Words: metallurgy
Meaning:
met.al.lur.gy\n   metallurgy\n  Metallurgy is the scientific study of the properties and uses of metals.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: metalwork
Meaning:
metal.work\n   metalwork\n1. Metalwork is the activity of making objects out of metal in a skilful way.\nHe was a craftsman in metalwork from Dresden...\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. The metalwork is the metal part of something.\nRust and flaking paint mean the metalwork is in poor condition.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: metamorphose
Meaning:
meta.mor.phose\n   metamorphose  metamorphoses  metamorphosing  metamorphosed\n  To metamorphose or be metamorphosed means to develop and change into something completely different. (FORMAL)\n...hysterical laughter which gradually metamorphoses into convulsive sobs...\nThe tadpoles metamorphose and emerge onto land...\nShe had been metamorphosed by the war.\n  VERB: V into/from n, V, be V-ed, also V n\n\n  see also metamorphosis


Words: metamorphosis
Meaning:
meta.mor.pho.sis\n   metamorphosis  metamorphoses\n  When a metamorphosis occurs, a person or thing develops and changes into something completely different. (FORMAL)\n...his metamorphosis from a republican to a democrat...\n  N-VAR\n  = transformation


Words: metaphor
Meaning:
meta.phor\n   metaphor  metaphors\n1. A metaphor is an imaginative way of describing something by referring to something else which is the same in a particular way. For example, if you want to say that someone is very shy and frightened of things, you might say that they are a mouse.\n...the avoidance of `violent expressions and metaphors’ like `kill two birds with one stone’.\n...the writer’s use of metaphor.\n  N-VAR\n\n2. If one thing is a metaphor for another, it is intended or regarded as a symbol of it.\nThe divided family remains a powerful metaphor for a society that continued to tear itself apart.\n  N-VAR: oft N for n\n\n3. If you mix your metaphors, you use two conflicting metaphors. People do this accidentally, or sometimes deliberately as a joke.\nTo mix yet more metaphors, you were trying to run before you could walk, and I’ve clipped your wings...\n  PHRASE: V inflects


Words: metaphorical
Meaning:
meta.phori.cal\n   metaphorical\n  You use the word metaphorical to indicate that you are not using words with their ordinary meaning, but are describing something by means of an image or symbol.\nIt turns out Levy is talking in metaphorical terms...\n  ADJ\n\n=>  meta.phori.cal.ly\nYou’re speaking metaphorically, I hope.\n  ADV: usu ADV with cl, ADV with v


Words: metaphysical
Meaning:
meta.physi.cal\n   metaphysical\n  Metaphysical means relating to metaphysics.\n...metaphysical questions like personal responsibility for violence.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: metaphysics
Meaning:
meta.phys.ics\n   metaphysics\n  Metaphysics is a part of philosophy which is concerned with understanding reality and developing theories about what exists and how we know that it exists.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: mete
Meaning:
mete  metes  meting  meted\n=>  mete out\n  To mete out a punishment means to order that someone should be punished in a certain way. (FORMAL)\nHis father meted out punishment with a slipper.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron)


Words: meteor
Meaning:
me.teor\n   meteor  meteors\n  A meteor is a piece of rock or metal that burns very brightly when it enters the earth’s atmosphere from space.\n  N-COUNT


Words: meteoric
Meaning:
me.teor.ic\n   meteoric\n  If you use meteoric when you are describing someone’s career, you mean that they achieved success very quickly.\n...his meteoric rise to fame...\n  ADJ


Words: meteorite
Meaning:
me.teor.ite\n   meteorite  meteorites\n  A meteorite is a large piece of rock or metal from space that has landed on Earth.\n  N-COUNT


Words: meteorological
Meaning:
me.teoro.logi.cal\n   meteorological\n  Meteorological means relating to meteorology.\n...adverse meteorological conditions.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: meteorology
Meaning:
me.teor.ol.ogy\n   meteorology\n  Meteorology is the study of the processes in the Earth’s atmosphere that cause particular weather conditions, especially in order to predict the weather.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n=>  me.teor.olo.gist      meteorologists\nMeteorologists have predicted mild rains for the next few days.\n  N-COUNT


Words: meter
Meaning:
me.ter\n   meter  meters  metering  metered\n1. A meter is a device that measures and records something such as the amount of gas or electricity that you have used.\nHe was there to read the electricity meter...\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. To meter something such as gas or electricity means to use a meter to measure how much of it people use, usually in order to calculate how much they have to pay.\nOnly a third of these households thought it reasonable to meter water...\nMetered taxis are relatively inexpensive.\n  VERB: V n, V-ed\n\n3. A meter is the same as a parking meter.\n  N-COUNT\n\n4.\n  see also metre


Words: methane
Meaning:
me.thane\n   methane\n  Methane is a colourless gas that has no smell. Natural gas consists mostly of methane.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: method
Meaning:
meth.od\n   method  methods\n  A method is a particular way of doing something.\nThe pill is the most efficient method of birth control.\n...new teaching methods...\n  N-COUNT: oft N of n/-ing


Words: methodical
Meaning:
me.thodi.cal\n   methodical\n  If you describe someone as methodical, you mean that they do things carefully, thoroughly, and in order.\nDa Vinci was methodical in his research, carefully recording his observations and theories...\n  ADJ\n\n=>  me.thodi.cal.ly\nShe methodically put the things into her suitcase.\n  ADV: ADV with v


Words: Methodist
Meaning:
Meth.od.ist\n   Methodist  Methodists\n  Methodists are Christians who follow the teachings of John Wesley and who have their own branch of the Christian church and their own form of worship.\n  N-COUNT


Words: methodology
Meaning:
meth.od.ol.ogy\n   methodology  methodologies\n  A methodology is a system of methods and principles for doing something, for example for teaching or for carrying out research. (FORMAL)\nTeaching methodologies vary according to the topic...\n  N-VAR\n\n=>  meth.odo.logi.cal\n...theoretical and methodological issues raised by the study of literary texts.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: methylated spirits
Meaning:
meth.yl.at.ed spir.its\n   methylated spirits\n  Methylated spirits is a liquid made from alcohol and other chemicals. It is used for removing stains and as a fuel in small lamps and heaters. (BRIT)\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: meticulous
Meaning:
me.ticu.lous\n   meticulous\n  If you describe someone as meticulous, you mean that they do things very carefully and with great attention to detail.\nHe was so meticulous about everything...\nThe painting had been executed with meticulous attention to detail.\n  ADJ\n\n=>  me.ticu.lous.ly\nThe flat had been meticulously cleaned.\n  ADV: usu ADV with v, also ADV adj


Words: metier
Meaning:
me.ti.er\n   metier  metiers   also metier\n  Your metier is the type of work that you have a natural talent for and do well. (FORMAL)\nIt was as the magazine’s business manager that he found his true metier.\n  N-COUNT: usu with poss


Words: metre
Meaning:
me.tre\n   metre  metres\nin AM, use meter\n1. A metre is a metric unit of length equal to 100 centimetres.\nChris Boardman won the Olympic 4,000 metres pursuit...\nThe tunnel is 10 metres wide and 600 metres long.\n  N-COUNT: num N, oft N of n\n\n2. In the study of poetry, metre is the regular and rhythmic arrangement of syllables according to particular patterns. (TECHNICAL)\nThey must each compose a poem in strict alliterative metre...\nAll of the poems are written in traditional metres and rhyme schemes.\n  N-VAR


Words: metric
Meaning:
met.ric\n   metric\n  Metric means relating to the metric system.\nConverting metric measurements to U.S. equivalents is easy.\n  ADJ: usu num ADJ n


Words: metric system
Meaning:
met.ric sys.tem\n   metric system\n  The metric system is the system of measurement that uses metres, grams, and litres.\n  N-SING: the N


Words: metric ton
Meaning:
met.ric ton\n   metric ton  metric tons\n  A metric ton is 1,000 kilograms.\nThe Wall Street Journal uses 220,000 metric tons of newsprint each year...\n  N-COUNT: num N, oft N of n


Words: metro
Meaning:
met.ro\n   metro  metros   also Metro\n  The metro is the underground railway system in some cities, for example in Paris.\n  N-COUNT: usu the N in sing


Words: metronome
Meaning:
met.ro.nome\n   metronome  metronomes\n  A metronome is a device which is used to indicate how quickly a piece of music should be played. It can be adjusted to make regular sounds at different speeds.\n  N-COUNT


Words: metropolis
Meaning:
me.tropo.lis\n   metropolis  metropolises\n  A metropolis is the largest, busiest, and most important city in a country or region.\n...the bustling metropolis of Chengdu.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing


Words: metropolitan
Meaning:
met.ro.poli.tan\n   metropolitan\n  Metropolitan means belonging to or typical of a large busy city.\n...the metropolitan district of Miami.\n...a dozen major metropolitan hospitals.\n...metropolitan sophistication and rustic naivety.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: mettle
Meaning:
met.tle\n   mettle\n  Someone’s mettle is their ability to do something well in difficult circumstances.\nHis first important chance to show his mettle came when he opened the new session of the Legislature...\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu poss N


Words: mew
Meaning:
mew  mews  mewing  mewed\n  When a cat mews, it makes a soft high-pitched noise.\nFrom somewhere, the kitten mewed.\n  VERB: V


Words: mews
Meaning:
mews  mews\n  A mews is a street or small area surrounded by houses that were originally built as stables. (BRIT)\nThe house is in a secluded mews.\n  N-COUNT: oft in names


Words: Mexican
Meaning:
Mexi.can\n   Mexican  Mexicans\n1. Mexican means belonging or relating to Mexico, or to its people or culture.\n  ADJ\n\n2. A Mexican is a Mexican citizen, or a person of Mexican origin.\n  N-COUNT


Words: Mexican stand-off
Meaning:
Mexi.can stand-off\n   Mexican stand-off  Mexican stand-offs\n  A Mexican stand-off is a situation in which neither of the people or groups in a conflict or dispute can win and neither wants to give in first. (AM)\n  N-COUNT: usu sing


Words: Mexican wave
Meaning:
Mexi.can wave\n   Mexican wave  Mexican waves\n  If a crowd of people do a Mexican wave, each person in the crowd stands up and puts their arms in the air after the person to one side of them, creating a continuous wave-like motion through the crowd. (BRIT; in AM, use wave)\n  N-COUNT


Words: mezzanine
Meaning:
mez.za.nine\n   mezzanine  mezzanines\n1. A mezzanine is a small floor which is built between two main floors of a building.\n...the dining room on the mezzanine.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. The mezzanine is the lowest balcony in a theatre, or the front rows in the lowest balcony. (AM; in BRIT, usually use dress circle)\n  N-COUNT: oft the N


Words: mezzo-soprano
Meaning:
mezzo-soprano  mezzo-sopranos\n  A mezzo-soprano is a female singer who sings with a higher range than a contralto but a lower range than a soprano.\nShe became a professional mezzo-soprano.\n...her remarkable mezzo soprano voice.\n  N-COUNT


Words: MIA
Meaning:
MIA\n  MIA is used to describe members of the armed forces who do not return from a military operation but who are not known to have been killed or captured. MIA is an abbreviation for `missing in action’. (mainly AM)\nHe was listed as MIA.\n  ADJ


Words: miaow
Meaning:
miaow  miaows  miaowing  miaowed\nin AM and sometimes in BRIT, use meow\n  Miaow is used to represent the noise that a cat makes.\nHe made a frightened noise a little like the miaow of a cat.\n  N-COUNT; SOUND\n\n  Miaow is also a verb.\nCats miaow when they are unhappy, purr when they are happy.\n  VERB: V


Words: miasma
Meaning:
mi.as.ma\n   miasma  miasmas\n  You can describe something bad or confused that seems to be in the air all around you as a miasma. (LITERARY)\nAs time went on, his ambition to be part of the US Supreme Court faded in a miasma of alcohol and despair.\n  N-VAR


Words: mica
Meaning:
mica  micas\n  Mica is a hard mineral which is found as small flat crystals in rocks. It has a great resistance to heat and electricity.\n  N-MASS


Words: mickey
Meaning:
mick.ey\n   mickey\n  If you take the mickey out of someone or something, you make fun of them, usually in an unkind way. (BRIT INFORMAL)\nHe started taking the mickey out of this poor man just because he is bald.\n  PHRASE: V inflects, oft PHR out of n\n  = mock, tease


Words: Mickey Mouse
Meaning:
Mickey Mouse\n  You use Mickey Mouse to show that you think something is silly, childish, easy, or worthless.\nThis is not a Mickey Mouse course where every player has a chance...\n  ADJ  disapproval


Words: micro
Meaning:
mi.cro\n   micro\n  You use micro to indicate that something relates to a specific area, rather than a general one (mainly TECHNICAL)\nThe vital task was to allow the economy to operate freely at a micro level.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  !=macro


Words: micro-
Meaning:
micro-\n  Micro- is used to form nouns that refer to something that is a very small example or fraction of a particular type of thing.\nThese are the cells that directly attack and kill micro-organisms...\nThe pulse is usually timed in micro-seconds.\n  PREFIX


Words: micro-brewery
Meaning:
micro-brewery micro-breweries\n  A micro-brewery is a type of small brewery where beer is produced using traditional methods.\n  N-COUNT


Words: micro-organism
Meaning:
micro-organism  micro-organisms   also microorganism\n  A micro-organism is a very small living thing which you can only see if you use a microscope.\n  N-COUNT\n  = microbe


Words: microbe
Meaning:
mi.crobe\n   microbe  microbes\n  A microbe is a very small living thing, which you can only see if you use a microscope.\n  N-COUNT\n  = micro-organism


Words: microbiological
Meaning:
micro.bio.logi.cal\n   microbiological\n  Microbiological refers to studies or tests relating to very small living things such as bacteria and their effects on people.\n...microbiological testing.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: microbiology
Meaning:
micro.bi.ol.ogy\n   microbiology\n  Microbiology is the branch of biology which is concerned with very small living things such as bacteria and their effects on people.\n...a professor of microbiology and immunology.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n=>  micro.bi.olo.gist      microbiologists\n...a microbiologist at Liverpool University.\n  N-COUNT


Words: microchip
Meaning:
micro.chip\n   microchip  microchips\n  A microchip is a very small piece of silicon inside a computer. It has electronic circuits on it and can hold large quantities of information or perform mathematical and logical operations.\n  N-COUNT


Words: microcomputer
Meaning:
micro.com.put.er\n   microcomputer microcomputers  also micro-computer\n  A microcomputer is a small computer, especially one used for writing documents.\n  N-COUNT


Words: microcosm
Meaning:
micro.cosm\n   microcosm  microcosms\n  A microcosm is a small society, place, or activity which has all the typical features of a much larger one and so seems like a smaller version of it. (FORMAL)\nKitchell says the city was a microcosm of all American culture during the ’60s...\n  N-COUNT: oft N of n, also in N


Words: microcredit
Meaning:
micro.cred.it\n\n  Microcredit is credit in the form of small loans offered to local businesses, especially in developing countries. (BUSINESS)\n...a microcredit scheme which provides credit to small businesses.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: microelectronics
Meaning:
micro.elec.tron.ics\n   microelectronics\n  Microelectronics is the branch of electronics that deals with miniature electronic circuits.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n  The form microelectronic is used as a modifier.


Words: microfibre
Meaning:
micro.fibre\n   microfibre microfibres\nin AM, use microfiber\n  Microbfibres are extremely light artificial fibres that are used to make cloth.\nMicrofibre fabrics are three times finer than cotton.\n  N-VAR: oft N n


Words: microfiche
Meaning:
micro.fiche\n   microfiche  microfiches\n  A microfiche is a small sheet of film on which writing or other information is stored, greatly reduced in size.\n  N-VAR


Words: microfilm
Meaning:
micro.film\n   microfilm  microfilms\n  Microfilm is film that is used for photographing information and storing it in a reduced form.\n  N-VAR


Words: microphone
Meaning:
micro.phone\n   microphone  microphones\n  A microphone is a device that is used to make sounds louder or to record them on a tape recorder.\n  N-COUNT


Words: microprocessor
Meaning:
micro.pro.ces.sor\n   microprocessor  microprocessors\n  In a computer, the microprocessor is the main microchip, which controls its most important functions. (COMPUTING)\n  N-COUNT


Words: microscope
Meaning:
micro.scope\n   microscope  microscopes\n1. A microscope is a scientific instrument which makes very small objects look bigger so that more detail can be seen.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If you say that something is under the microscope, you mean that it is being studied very closely, usually because it is believed that something is wrong with it.\nThe media put their every decision under the microscope.\n  PHRASE: PHR after v, v-link PHR


Words: microscopic
Meaning:
micro.scop.ic\n   microscopic\n1. Microscopic objects are extremely small, and usually can be seen only through a microscope.\n...microscopic fibres of protein.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n2. A microscopic examination is done using a microscope.\nMicroscopic examination of a cell’s chromosomes can reveal the sex of the fetus.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n=>  micro.scopi.cal.ly\nThe tissue is examined microscopically to rule out or confirm cancer.\n  ADV: ADV with v\n\n3. If you say that something is done in microscopic detail, you are emphasizing that it is done in a very thorough, detailed way.\nHe carefully recounts the tale, the microscopic details of those crucial minutes.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n  emphasis


Words: microsecond
Meaning:
micro.sec.ond\n   microsecond  microseconds\n  A microsecond is one millionth of a second.\n  N-COUNT


Words: microsurgery
Meaning:
micro.sur.gery\n   microsurgery\n  Microsurgery is a form of surgery where doctors repair or remove parts of the body that are so small that they can only be seen clearly using a microscope.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: microwave
Meaning:
micro.wave\n   microwave  microwaves  microwaving  microwaved\n1. A microwave or a microwave oven is an oven which cooks food very quickly by electromagnetic radiation rather than by heat.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. To microwave food or drink means to cook or heat it in a microwave oven.\nSteam or microwave the vegetables until tender.\n  VERB: V n


Words: mid-
Meaning:
mid-\n  Mid- is used to form nouns or adjectives that refer to the middle part of a particular period of time, or the middle point of a particular place.\n...the mid-eighteenth century...\nDavis is in her mid-thirties.\n...the mid-west of America.\n  PREFIX


Words: mid-air
Meaning:
mid-air\n  If something happens in mid-air, it happens in the air, rather than on the ground.\nThe bird stopped and hovered in mid-air.\n...a mid-air collision.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: mid-range
Meaning:
mid-range\n  You can use mid-range to describe products or services which are neither the most expensive nor the cheapest of their type.\n...the price of a mid-range family car.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: midday
Meaning:
mid.day\n   midday\n1. Midday is twelve o’clock in the middle of the day.\nAt midday everyone would go down to Reg’s Cafe...\nIt’s eight minutes after midday.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft prep N\n\n2. Midday is the middle part of the day, from late morning to early afternoon.\nPeople were beginning to tire in the midday heat.\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu N n


Words: middle
Meaning:
mid.dle\n   middle  middles\n1. The middle of something is the part of it that is furthest from its edges, ends, or outside surface.\nHoward stood in the middle of the room sipping a cup of coffee...\nHyde accelerated away from the kerb, swerving out into the middle of the street...\nMake sure the roast potatoes aren’t raw in the middle.\n  N-COUNT: usu the N in sing, oft N of n\n  = centre\nthe middle of nowhere: see nowhere\n2. The middle object in a row of objects is the one that has an equal number of objects on each side.\nThe middle button of his uniform jacket was strained over his belly.\n...the middle finger of her left hand.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n3. The middle of an event or period of time is the part that comes after the first part and before the last part.\nI woke up in the middle of the night and could hear a tapping on the window...\nIt was now the middle of November, cold and often foggy...\n  N-SING: the N of n\n\n  Middle is also an adjective.\nThe month began and ended quite dry, but the middle fortnight saw nearly 100mm of rain fall nationwide.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n4. The middle course or way is a moderate course of action that lies between two opposite and extreme courses.\nHe favoured a middle course between free enterprise and state intervention...\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n5. If you divide or split something down the middle, you divide or split it into two equal halves or groups.\nThey agreed to split the bill down the middle...\n  PHRASE: PHR after v\n  = in half\n6. If you are in the middle of doing something, you are busy doing it.\nIt’s a bit hectic. I’m in the middle of cooking for nine people...\n  PHRASE: v-link PHR -ing


Words: middle age
Meaning:
mid.dle age\n   middle age\n  Middle age is the period in your life when you are no longer young but have not yet become old. Middle age is usually considered to take place between the ages of 40 and 60.\nMen tend to put on weight in middle age.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: Middle Ages
Meaning:
Mid.dle Ages\n   Middle Ages\n  In European history, the Middle Ages was the period between the end of the Roman Empire in 476 AD and about 1500 AD, especially the later part of this period.\n  N-PLURAL: the N


Words: Middle America
Meaning:
Mid.dle Ameri.ca\n   Middle America\n1. Journalists use Middle America to refer to middle class people in America who are believed not to like change.\nPeople in the United States want the president to pay attention to Middle America.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. Middle America is the same as the Midwest.\n  N-PROPER\n\n3. Middle America is used to refer to the area consisting of Mexico and Central America, sometimes including the West Indies.\n  N-PROPER


Words: middle class
Meaning:
mid.dle class\n   middle class  middle classes\n  The middle class or middle classes are the people in a society who are not working class or upper class. Business people, managers, doctors, lawyers, and teachers are usually regarded as middle class.\n...the expansion of the middle class in the late 19th century...\nThe President may have secured some support from the middle classes.\n  N-COUNT-COLL: usu the N\n\n  Middle class is also an adjective.\nHe is rapidly losing the support of blue-collar voters and of middle-class conservatives...\n  ADJ


Words: middle distance
Meaning:
mid.dle dis.tance\n   middle distance\n1. If you are looking into the middle distance, you are looking at a place that is neither near nor far away.\nHe stares detachedly into the middle distance, towards nothing in particular.\n  N-SING: the N, usu into/in the N\n\n2. A middle-distance runner is someone who takes part in races of medium length, for example 800 metres.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: Middle East
Meaning:
Mid.dle East\n   Middle East\n  The Middle East is the area around the eastern Mediterranean that includes Iran and all the countries in Asia to the west and south-west of Iran.\nThe two great rivers of the Middle East rise in the mountains of Turkey.\n  N-PROPER: the N


Words: Middle Eastern
Meaning:
Mid.dle East.ern\n   Middle Eastern\n  Middle Eastern means relating to the Middle East.\nMost Middle Eastern countries have extremely high rates of population growth...\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: Middle England
Meaning:
Mid.dle Eng.land\n   Middle England\n  Journalists use Middle England to refer to middle class people in England who are believed not to like change.\nThis shows that the people of Middle England no longer trust the Tories.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: middle management
Meaning:
mid.dle man.age.ment\n\n  Middle management refers to managers who are below the top level of management, and who are responsible for controlling and running an organization rather than making decisions about how it operates. (BUSINESS)\nThe proportion of women in middle management has risen to 40%.\n...middle-management jobs.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: middle name
Meaning:
mid.dle name\n   middle name  middle names\n1. Your middle name is the name that comes between your first name and your surname.\nHis middle name is Justin.\n  N-COUNT: usu poss N\n\n2. You can use middle name in expressions such as `discretion was her middle name’ and `his middle name is loyalty’ to indicate that someone always behaves with a great deal of a particular quality. (HUMOROUS)\nGeniality is my middle name. I rarely write a fierce word about any restaurant.\n  N-COUNT: usu poss N


Words: middle school
Meaning:
mid.dle school\n   middle school  middle schools\n1. In the United States, a middle school is a school for children in the fifth to eighth grades, between the ages of 10 and 13 or 14.\n...Harlem Park Middle School...\n  N-VAR: oft in names after n\n\n2. In Britain, a middle school is a state school that children go to between the ages of 8 or 9 and 12 or 13.\n  N-VAR: oft in names after n


Words: Middle West
Meaning:
Mid.dle West\n   Middle West\n  The Middle West is the central part of the United States.\n  N-PROPER: the N\n  = Midwest


Words: middle-aged
Meaning:
middle-aged\n1. If you describe someone as middle-aged, you mean that they are neither young nor old. People between the ages of 40 and 60 are usually considered to be middle-aged.\n...middle-aged, married businessmen.\n  ADJ\n\n2. If you describe someone’s activities or interests as middle-aged, you are critical of them because you think they are typical of a middle-aged person, for example by being conventional or old-fashioned.\nHer novels are middle-aged and boring.\n  ADJ  disapproval


Words: middle-of-the-road
Meaning:
middle-of-the-road\n1. If you describe someone’s opinions or policies as middle-of-the-road, you mean that they are neither left-wing nor right-wing, and not at all extreme.\nConsensus need not be weak, nor need it result in middle-of-the-road policies.\n  ADJ\n\n2. If you describe something or someone as middle-of-the-road, you mean that they are ordinary or unexciting.\nI actually don’t want to be a middle-of-the-road person, married with a mortgage.\n  ADJ\n\n3. Middle-of-the-road music is pop music which a large number of people like because it is pleasant and does not sound extreme or unusual. The abbreviation MOR is also used.\nI like cheerful, uplifting middle-of-the-road pop.\n  ADJ


Words: middle-ranking
Meaning:
middle-ranking\n  A middle-ranking person has a fairly important or responsible position in a particular organization, but is not one of the most important people in it.\n...middle-ranking army officers.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: middlebrow
Meaning:
middle.brow\n   middlebrow   also middle-brow\n  If you describe a piece of entertainment such as a book or film as middlebrow, you mean that although it may be interesting and enjoyable, it does not require much thought.\n...such middlebrow fare as Poirot, Sherlock Holmes and Jeeves and Wooster.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: middleman
Meaning:
middle.man\n   middleman  middlemen\n1. A middleman is a person or company which buys things from the people who produce them and sells them to the people who want to buy them. (BUSINESS)\nWhy don’t they cut out the middleman and let us do it ourselves?\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A middleman is a person who helps in negotiations between people who are unwilling to meet each other directly.\nThe two sides would only meet indirectly, through middlemen.\n  N-COUNT\n  = go-between


Words: middling
Meaning:
mid.dling\n   middling\n  If you describe a quality such as the size of something as middling, you mean that it is average.\nThe Beatles enjoyed only middling success until 1963.\n...a man of middling height.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  = average


Words: midget
Meaning:
midg.et\n   midget  midgets\n  People who are very short are sometimes referred to as midgets. (OFFENSIVE)\n  N-COUNT


Words: Midlands
Meaning:
Mid.lands\n   Midlands\n  The Midlands is the region or area in the central part of a country, in particular the central part of England.\n...an engineering company in the Midlands.\n  N-PROPER-COLL: the N


Words: midlife crisis
Meaning:
mid.life cri.sis\n   midlife crisis  midlife crises\n  A midlife crisis is a period of doubt and anxiety that some people experience in middle age, when they think about whether their life is the kind of life that they want.\nI went through my midlife crisis about four or five years ago, when I was forty.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing


Words: midnight
Meaning:
mid.night\n   midnight\n1. Midnight is twelve o’clock in the middle of the night.\nIt was well after midnight by the time Anne returned to her apartment...\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu prep N\n\n2. Midnight is used to describe something which happens or appears at midnight or in the middle of the night.\nIt is totally out of the question to postpone the midnight deadline...\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n3. If someone is burning the midnight oil, they are staying up very late in order to study or do some other work.\nChris is asleep after burning the midnight oil trying to finish his article.\n  PHRASE: V inflects


Words: midnight blue
Meaning:
mid.night blue\n   midnight blue\n  Something that is midnight blue is a very dark blue colour, almost black.\n  COLOUR


Words: midpoint
Meaning:
mid.point\n   midpoint   also mid-point\n1. The midpoint between two things is the point that is the same distance from both things.\n...the midpoint between Paris and Warsaw.\n  N-SING: oft N between/of n\n\n2. The midpoint of an event is the time halfway between the beginning and the end of it.\nShe has not yet reached the midpoint of her life.\n  N-SING: oft N of n\n  = middle


Words: midriff
Meaning:
mid.riff\n   midriff  midriffs\n  Someone’s midriff is the middle part of their body, between their waist and their chest.\n...the girl with the bare midriff.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing


Words: midsized
Meaning:
mid.sized\n   midsized   also mid-sized; midsize\n  You use midsized or midsize to describe products, cities, companies, and other things that are neither large nor small.\n...a low-cost midsized car.\n...a mid-size city.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n  = medium-sized


Words: midst
Meaning:
midst\n1. If you are in the midst of doing something, you are doing it at the moment.\nWe are in the midst of one of the worst recessions for many, many years.\n  PREP-PHRASE: usu v-link PREP -ing\n\n2. If something happens in the midst of an event, it happens during it.\nEleanor arrived in the midst of a blizzard.\n  PREP-PHRASE\n\n3. If someone or something is in the midst of a group of people or things, they are among them or surrounded by them.\nMany were surprised to see him exposed like this in the midst of a large crowd...\n  PREP-PHRASE\n  = amid, among\n4. You say that someone is in your midst when you are drawing attention to the fact that they are in your group. (FORMAL)\nWe’re lucky to have such a man in our midst.\n  PHRASE: v-link PHR


Words: midstream
Meaning:
mid.stream\n   midstream   also mid-stream\n1. Someone or something that is in midstream is in the middle of a river, where the current is strongest.\nTheir boat had capsized in midstream.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft in N\n\n  Midstream is also an adverb.\nSome of them got caught midstream by the tide.\n  ADV: usu ADV after v, also n ADV\n\n2. If someone who has been doing something such as talking stops or pauses in midstream, they stop doing it, often before continuing.\nI was cut off in midstream.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft in N\n\n  Midstream is also an adverb.\nThe most difficult thing in a fast game of rugby is to change course midstream.\n  ADV: ADV after v


Words: midsummer
Meaning:
mid.sum.mer\n   midsummer\n  Midsummer is the period in the middle of the summer.\nIn midsummer every town is impossibly crowded...\nIt was a lovely midsummer morning.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: Midsummer’s Day
Meaning:
Mid.sum.mer’s Day\n   Midsummer’s Day\n  Midsummer’s Day or Midsummer Day is the 24th of June.\n  N-PROPER


Words: midway
Meaning:
mid.way\n   midway   also mid-way\n1. If something is midway between two places, it is between them and the same distance from each of them.\nThe studio is midway between his aunt’s old home and his cottage.\n  ADV: ADV prep\n  = halfway\n  Midway is also an adjective.\n...the midway point between Gloucester, Hereford and Worcester.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n  = halfway\n2. If something happens midway through a period of time, it happens during the middle part of it.\nHe crashed midway through the race...\n  ADV: ADV after v, usu ADV through n\n\n  Midway is also an adjective.\nThey were denied an obvious penalty before the midway point of the first half.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: midweek
Meaning:
mid.week\n   midweek\n  Midweek describes something that happens in the middle of the week.\nThe package includes midweek flights from Gatwick.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n  Midweek is also an adverb.\nThey’ll be able to go up to London midweek...\n  ADV: ADV after v, prep ADV


Words: Midwest
Meaning:
Mid.west\n   Midwest\n  The Midwest is the region in the north of the central part of the United States.\n...farmers in the Midwest.\n...the Midwest states.\n  N-PROPER: usu the N


Words: Midwestern
Meaning:
Mid.west.ern\n   Midwestern\n  Midwestern means belonging or relating to the Midwest.\n...the Midwestern plains.\n...traditional Midwestern values.\n...the midwestern plains.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: midwife
Meaning:
mid.wife\n   midwife  midwives\n  A midwife is a nurse who is trained to deliver babies and to advise pregnant women.\n  N-COUNT


Words: midwifery
Meaning:
mid.wife.ry\n   midwifery\n  Midwifery is the work of delivering babies and advising pregnant women.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: midwinter
Meaning:
mid.win.ter\n   midwinter   also mid-winter\n  Midwinter is the period in the middle of winter.\n...the bleak midwinter.\n...the cold midwinter weather.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: mien
Meaning:
mien\n  Someone’s mien is their general appearance and manner, especially the expression on their face, which shows what they are feeling or thinking. (LITERARY)\nIt was impossible to tell from his mien whether he was offended.\n...his mild manner and aristocratic mien.\n  N-SING: usu poss N


Words: miffed
Meaning:
miffed\n  If you are miffed, you are slightly annoyed and hurt because of something which someone has said or done to you. (INFORMAL)\nI was a bit miffed about that...\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ


Words: might
Meaning:
NOUN USES\n   might\n1. Might is power or strength. (FORMAL)\nThe might of the army could prove a decisive factor.\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu with supp\n  = strength\n2. If you do something with all your might, you do it using all your strength and energy.\nShe swung the hammer at his head with all her might.\n  PHRASE: PHR with v\n\nMODAL USES\n   might\n\n  Might is a modal verb. It is used with the base form of a verb.\n\nPlease look at category 13 to see if the expression you are looking for is shown under another headword.\n1. You use might to indicate that something will possibly happen or be true in the future, but you cannot be certain.\nSmoking might be banned totally in most buildings...\nI might well regret it later...\nHe said he might not be back until tonight.\n  MODAL  vagueness\n  = may\n2. You use might to indicate that there is a possibility that something is true, but you cannot be certain.\nShe and Simon’s father had not given up hope that he might be alive...\nYou might be right...\n  MODAL  vagueness\n  = may\n3. You use might to indicate that something could happen or be true in particular circumstances.\nAmerica might sell more cars to the islands if they were made with the steering wheel on the right.\n...the type of person who might appear in a fashion magazine.\n  MODAL  vagueness\n  = could\n4. You use might have with a past participle to indicate that it is possible that something happened or was true, or when giving a possible explanation for something.\nI heard what might have been an explosion...\nShe thought the shooting might have been an accident...\n  MODAL\n  = could have\n5. You use might have with a past participle to indicate that something was a possibility in the past, although it did not actually happen.\nHad the bomb dropped over a populated area of the city, there might have been a great deal of damage...\n  MODAL\n\n6. You use might in statements where you are accepting the truth of a situation, but contrasting it with something that is more important.\nThey might not have two cents to rub together, but at least they have a kind of lifestyle that is different.\n  MODAL\n  = may\n7. You use might when you are saying emphatically that someone ought to do the thing mentioned, especially when you are annoyed because they have not done it.\nYou might have told me that before!\n  MODAL  emphasis\n  = could\n8. You use might to make a suggestion or to give advice in a very polite way.\nThey might be wise to stop advertising on television...\nYou might try the gas station down the street...\n  MODAL  politeness\n\n9. You use might as a polite way of interrupting someone, asking a question, making a request, or introducing what you are going to say next. (FORMAL, SPOKEN)\nMight I make a suggestion?...\nMight I draw your readers’ attention to the dangers in the Government’s proposal.\n  MODAL  politeness\n  = could\n10. You use might in expressions such as as you might expect and as you might imagine in order to indicate that the statement you are making is not surprising.\n`How’s Jan?’ she asked..`Bad. As you might expect.’...\nThe drivers, as you might imagine, didn’t care much for that.\n  MODAL\n  = would\n11. You use might in expressions such as I might add and I might say in order to emphasize a statement that you are making.\nIt didn’t come as a great surprise to me, I might say.\n  MODAL  emphasis\n\n12. You use might in expressions such as I might have known and I might have guessed to indicate that you are not surprised at a disappointing event or fact.\n`I detest clutter, you know.’.`I didn’t know, but I might have guessed.’\n  MODAL\n  = should\n13.\nmight as well: see well


Words: might’ve
Meaning:
might’ve\n  Might’ve is the usual spoken form of `might have’, especially when `have’ is an auxiliary verb.


Words: mightily
Meaning:
mighti.ly\n   mightily\n  Mightily means to a great extent or degree. (OLD-FASHIONED)\nHe had given a mightily impressive performance...\nShe strove mightily to put Mike from her thoughts.\n  ADV: ADV adj/adv, ADV after v  emphasis


Words: mighty
Meaning:
mighty  mightier  mightiest\n1. Mighty is used to describe something that is very large or powerful. (LITERARY)\nThere was a flash and a mighty bang.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n2. Mighty is used in front of adjectives and adverbs to emphasize the quality that they are describing. (mainly AM INFORMAL)\nIt’s something you’ll be mighty proud of...\n  ADV: ADV adj/adv  emphasis\n\n3.\n  see also high and mighty


Words: migraine
Meaning:
mi.graine\n   migraine  migraines\n  A migraine is an extremely painful headache that makes you feel very ill.\nHer mother suffered from migraines.\n  N-VAR


Words: migrant
Meaning:
mi.grant\n   migrant  migrants\n1. A migrant is a person who moves from one place to another, especially in order to find work.\nThe government divides asylum-seekers into economic migrants and genuine refugees.\n...migrant workers following harvests northward.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. Migrants are birds, fish, or animals that migrate from one part of the world to another.\nMigrant birds shelter in the reeds.\n  N-COUNT: oft N n


Words: migrate
Meaning:
mi.grate\n   migrate  migrates  migrating  migrated\n1. If people migrate, they move from one place to another, especially in order to find work or to live somewhere for a short time.\nPeople migrate to cities like Jakarta in search of work...\nFarmers have learned that they have to migrate if they want to survive.\n  VERB: V prep/adv, V\n\n=>  mi.gra.tion      migrations\n...the migration of Soviet Jews to Israel.\n  N-VAR\n\n2. When birds, fish, or animals migrate, they move at a particular season from one part of the world or from one part of a country to another, usually in order to breed or to find new feeding grounds.\nMost birds have to fly long distances to migrate.\n...a dam system that kills the fish as they migrate from streams to the ocean.\n  VERB: V, V prep/adv\n\n=>  mi.gra.tion\n...the migration of animals in the Serengeti.\n  N-VAR


Words: migratory
Meaning:
mi.gra.tory\n   migratory\n1. A migratory bird, fish, or animal is one that migrates every year.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n2. Migratory means relating to the migration of people, birds, fish, or animals.\n...migratory farm labour.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: mil
Meaning:
Mil means the same as million. (INFORMAL)\nZhamnov, 22, signed for $1.25 mil over three years...\n  NUM


Words: mild
Meaning:
mild  milder  mildest\n1. Mild is used to describe something such as a feeling, attitude, or illness that is not very strong or severe.\nTeddy turned to Mona with a look of mild confusion...\nAnna put up a mild protest...\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  !=extreme\n=>  mild.ly\nJosephine must have had the disease very mildly as she showed no symptoms.\n  ADV: usu ADV adj/adv, also ADV after v\n\n2. A mild person is gentle and does not get angry easily.\nHe is a mild man, who is reasonable almost to the point of blandness.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  !=aggressive\n=>  mild.ly\n`I’m not meddling,’ Kenworthy said mildly, `I’m just curious.’\n  ADV: ADV after v\n\n3. Mild weather is pleasant because it is neither extremely hot nor extremely cold.\nThe area is famous for its very mild winter climate.\n  ADJ\n  !=severe, harsh\n4. You describe food as mild when it does not taste or smell strong, sharp, or bitter, especially when you like it because of this.\nThis cheese has a soft, mild flavour.\n...a mild curry powder.\n  ADJ\n  !=strong\n5.\n  see also mildly


Words: mild-mannered
Meaning:
mild-mannered\n  If you describe someone as mild-mannered, you approve of them because they are gentle, kind, and polite.\n  ADJ  approval


Words: mildew
Meaning:
mil.dew\n   mildew\n  Mildew is a soft white fungus that grows in damp places.\nThe room smelled of mildew.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: mildly
Meaning:
mild.ly\n   mildly\n1.\nsee mild\n2. You use to put it mildly to indicate that you are describing something in language that is much less strong, direct, or critical than what you really think.\nBut not all the money, to put it mildly, has been used wisely...\n  PHRASE: V inflects


Words: mile
Meaning:
mile  miles\n1. A mile is a unit of distance equal to 1760 yards or approximately 1.6 kilometres.\nThey drove 600 miles across the desert...\nThe hurricane is moving to the west at about 18 miles per hour...\nShe lives just half a mile away...\n...a 50-mile bike ride.\n  N-COUNT: num N\n\n2. Miles is used, especially in the expression miles away, to refer to a long distance.\nIf you enrol at a gym that’s miles away, you won’t be visiting it as often as you should...\nI was miles and miles from anywhere...\n  N-PLURAL\n\n3. Miles or a mile is used with the meaning `very much’ in order to emphasize the difference between two things or qualities, or the difference between what you aimed to do and what you actually achieved. (INFORMAL)\nYou’re miles better than most of the performers we see nowadays...\nWith a Labour candidate in place they won by a mile...\nThe rehearsals were miles too slow and no work was getting done.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl  emphasis\n\n4. If you say that someone is miles away, you mean that they are unaware of what is happening around them because they are thinking about something else. (INFORMAL)\nWhat were you thinking about? You were miles away.\n  PHRASE: v-link PHR\n\n5. If you say that someone is willing to go the extra mile, you mean that they are willing to make a special effort to do or achieve something.\nThe President is determined `to go the extra mile for peace’.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n6. If you say that you can see or recognize something a mile off, you are emphasizing that it is very obvious and easy to recognize. (INFORMAL)\nYou can spot undercover cops a mile off.\n  PHRASE: PHR after v  emphasis\n\n7. If you say that someone would run a mile when faced with a particular situation, you mean that they would be very frightened or unwilling to deal with it. (INFORMAL)\nIf anybody had told me when I first got married that I was going to have seven children, I would have run a mile...\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n8. If you say that something or someone sticks out a mile or stands out a mile, you are emphasizing that they are very obvious and easy to recognize. (INFORMAL)\n`How do you know he’s Irish?’.`Sticks out a mile.’...\n  PHRASE: V inflects  emphasis


Words: mileage
Meaning:
mile.age\n   mileage  mileages\n1. Mileage refers to the distance that you have travelled, measured in miles.\nMost of their mileage is in and around town.\n  N-UNCOUNT: also N in pl\n\n2. The mileage of a vehicle is the number of miles that it can travel using one gallon or litre of fuel.\nThey are willing to pay up to $500 more for cars that get better mileage.\n  N-UNCOUNT: also N in pl\n\n3. The mileage in a particular course of action is its usefulness in getting you what you want.\nIt’s obviously important to get as much mileage out of the convention as possible...\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu N out of/in n/-ing


Words: milestone
Meaning:
mile.stone\n   milestone  milestones\n  A milestone is an important event in the history or development of something or someone.\nHe said the launch of the party represented a milestone in Zambian history...\n  N-COUNT


Words: milieu
Meaning:
mi.lieu\n   milieu  milieux  or milieus\n  Your milieu is the group of people or activities that you live among or are familiar with. (FORMAL)\nThey stayed, safe and happy, within their own social milieu...\n  N-COUNT: usu supp N


Words: militant
Meaning:
mili.tant\n   militant  militants\n  You use militant to describe people who believe in something very strongly and are active in trying to bring about political or social change, often in extreme ways that other people find unacceptable.\nMilitant mineworkers in the Ukraine have voted for a one-day stoppage next month.\n  ADJ\n\n  Militant is also a noun.\nThe militants might still find some new excuse to call a strike.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl\n\n=>  mili.tan.cy\n...the rise of trade union militancy.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n=>  mili.tant.ly\nTheir army is militantly nationalist.\n  ADV: usu ADV adj


Words: militarism
Meaning:
mili.ta.rism\n   militarism\n  Militarism is a country’s desire to strengthen their armed forces in order to make themselves more powerful.\nThe country slipped into a dangerous mixture of nationalism and militarism.\n  N-UNCOUNT  disapproval


Words: militarist
Meaning:
mili.ta.rist\n   militarist  militarists\n1. If you describe someone as a militarist, you mean that they want their country’s armed forces to be strengthened in order to make it more powerful.\n  N-COUNT: oft N n  disapproval\n\n2. Militarist means the same as militaristic.\n...militarist policies.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n  disapproval


Words: militaristic
Meaning:
mili.ta.ris.tic\n   militaristic\n  Militaristic is used to describe groups, ideas, or policies which support the strengthening of the armed forces of their country in order to make it more powerful.\n...aggressive militaristic governments.\n  ADJ  disapproval


Words: militarized
Meaning:
mili.ta.rized\n   militarized\nin BRIT, also use militarised\n1. A militarized area or region has members of the armed forces and military equipment in it.\n...the militarized zone that separates the faction leaders’ areas of control.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n2. You can use militarized to show disapproval of something that has many military characteristics, for example the quality of being aggressive or strict.\n...a militarized and confrontationist style of politics.\n  ADJ  disapproval


Words: military
Meaning:
mili.tary\n   military  militaries\n1. Military means relating to the armed forces of a country.\nMilitary action may become necessary...\nThe president is sending in almost 20,000 military personnel to help with the relief efforts.\n...last year’s military coup.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n=>  mili.tari.ly\nThey remain unwilling to intervene militarily in what could be an unending war...\n  ADV: ADV with v, ADV adj\n\n2. The military are the armed forces of a country, especially officers of high rank.\nThe bombing has been far more widespread than the military will admit...\n  N-COUNT-COLL: usu sing, the N\n\n3. Military means well-organized, controlled, or neat, in a way that is typical of a soldier.\nYour working day will need to be organized with military precision.\n  ADJ


Words: military police
Meaning:
mili.tary po.lice\n   military police\n1. The military police are the part of an army, navy, or air force that act as its police force.\nThe government has said it will reform the military police.\n  N-SING-COLL\n\n2. Military police are men and women who are members of the part of an army, navy, or air force that act as its police force.\nThe camp is surrounded by razor-wire fences and guarded by military police.\n  N-PLURAL


Words: military policeman
Meaning:
mili.tary police.man\n   military policeman  military policemen\n  A military policeman is a member of the military police.\n  N-COUNT


Words: military service
Meaning:
mili.tary ser.vice\n   military service\n  Military service is a period of service in the armed forces that every man in certain countries has to do.\nMany conscripts resent having to do their military service.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft with poss


Words: militate
Meaning:
mili.tate\n   militate  militates  militating  militated\n  To militate against something means to make it less possible or likely. To militate against someone means to prevent them from achieving something. (FORMAL)\nHer background militates against her...\nWe can never promise to sail anywhere in particular, because the weather might militate against it.\n  VERB: V against n, V against n


Words: militia
Meaning:
mi.li.tia\n   militia  militias\n  A militia is an organization that operates like an army but whose members are not professional soldiers.\nThe troops will not attempt to disarm the warring militias.\n  N-COUNT


Words: milk
Meaning:
milk  milks  milking  milked\n1. Milk is the white liquid produced by cows, goats, and some other animals, which people drink and use to make butter, cheese, and yoghurt.\nHe popped out to buy a pint of milk.\n...basic foods such as meat, bread and milk.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. If someone milks a cow or goat, they get milk from it, using either their hands or a machine.\nFarm-workers milked cows by hand.\n  VERB: V n\n\n3. Milk is the white liquid produced by women to feed their babies.\nMilk from the mother’s breast is a perfect food for the human baby.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n4. Liquid products for cleaning your skin or making it softer are sometimes referred to as milks.\n...sales of cleansing milks, creams and gels.\n  N-MASS\n  = lotion\n5. If you say that someone milks something, you mean that they get as much benefit or profit as they can from it, without caring about the effects this has on other people.\nA few people tried to milk the insurance companies...\nThe callous couple milked money from a hospital charity to fund a lavish lifestyle.\n  VERB: V n, V n from n  disapproval\n\n6.\n  see also coconut milk, condensed milk, evaporated milk, skimmed milk


Words: milk chocolate
Meaning:
milk choco.late\n   milk chocolate\n  Milk chocolate is chocolate that has been made with milk. It is lighter in colour and has a creamier taste than plain chocolate.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: milk float
Meaning:
milk float  milk floats\n  A milk float is a small electric van with a roof and no sides which is used to deliver milk to people’s houses. (BRIT)\n  N-COUNT


Words: milk product
Meaning:
milk prod.uct\n   milk product  milk products\n  Milk products are foods made from milk, for example butter, cheese, and yoghurt.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl\n  = dairy products


Words: milk round
Meaning:
milk round  milk rounds\n1. If someone has a milk round, they work as a milkman, going from house to house delivering milk. (BRIT)\nMilk rounds are threatened as customers switch to buying from supermarkets.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. The milk round is an event that happens once a year when people from large companies visit colleges and universities and interview students who are interested in working for them. (BRIT)\nHe obtained his first job through the milk round.\n  N-SING: the N


Words: milk tooth
Meaning:
milk tooth  milk teeth\n  Your milk teeth are the first teeth that grow in your mouth, which later fall out and are replaced by a second set.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl


Words: milk white
Meaning:
milk white\n  You can use milk white to describe things that are a milky white colour. (LITERARY)\nMist was rising, and trees and shrubs began to disappear in a milk-white haze.\n  COLOUR


Words: milkmaid
Meaning:
milk.maid\n   milkmaid  milkmaids\n  In former times, a milkmaid was a woman who milked cows and made butter and cheese on a farm.\n  N-COUNT


Words: milkman
Meaning:
milk.man\n   milkman  milkmen\n  A milkman is a person who delivers milk to people’s homes.\n  N-COUNT


Words: milkshake
Meaning:
milk.shake\n   milkshake  milkshakes   also milk shake\n  A milkshake is a cold drink made by mixing milk with a flavouring or fruit, and sometimes ice cream.\n...a strawberry milkshake.\n  N-COUNT


Words: milky
Meaning:
milky  milkier  milkiest\n1. If you describe something as milky, you mean that it is pale white in colour. You can describe other colours as milky when they are very pale.\nA milky mist filled the valley.\n  ADJ\n\n2. Drinks or food that are milky contain a lot of milk.\n...a large bowl of milky coffee.\n  ADJ


Words: Milky Way
Meaning:
Milky Way\n  The Milky Way is the pale strip of light consisting of many stars that you can see stretched across the sky at night.\n  N-PROPER: the N


Words: mill
Meaning:
mill  mills  milling  milled\n1. A mill is a building in which grain is crushed to make flour.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A mill is a small device used for grinding something such as coffee beans or pepper into powder.\n...a pepper mill.\n  N-COUNT: supp N\n  = grinder\n3. A mill is a factory used for making and processing materials such as steel, wool, or cotton.\n...a steel mill.\n...a textile mill.\n  N-COUNT: usu supp N\n\n4. To mill something such as wheat or pepper means to grind it in a mill.\nThey mill 1000 tonnes of flour a day in every Australian state.\n...freshly milled black pepper.\n  VERB: V n, V-ed\n\n5.\ngrist to the mill: see grist\n  see also milling, rolling mill, run-of-the-mill, watermill


Words: mill around
Meaning:
mill around\n  When a crowd of people mill around or mill about, they move around within a particular place or area, so that the movement of the whole crowd looks very confused. (in BRIT, also use mill about)\nQuite a few people were milling about, but nothing was happening...\nDozens of people milled around Charing Cross Road and Denmark Street.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P, V P n


Words: millennium
Meaning:
mil.len.nium\n   millennium  millenniums  or millennia\n1. A millennium is a period of one thousand years, especially one which begins and ends with a year ending in `000’, for example the period from the year 1000 to the year 2000. (FORMAL)\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. Many people refer to the year 2000 as the Millennium.\n...the eve of the Millennium.\n  N-SING: usu the N, N n


Words: miller
Meaning:
mil.ler\n   miller  millers\n  A miller is a person who owns or operates a mill in which grain is crushed to make flour.\n  N-COUNT


Words: millet
Meaning:
mil.let\n   millet  millets\n  Millet is a cereal crop that is grown for its seeds or for hay.\n  N-MASS


Words: milli-
Meaning:
milli-\n  Milli- is added to some nouns that refer to units of measurement in order to form other nouns referring to units a thousand times smaller.\n...a small current, around 5 milliamps.\n  PREFIX


Words: milligram
Meaning:
mil.li.gram\n   milligram  milligrams\nin BRIT, also use milligramme\n  A milligram is a unit of weight that is equal to a thousandth of a gramme.\n...0.5 milligrams of mercury.\n  N-COUNT: num N, oft N of n


Words: millilitre
Meaning:
mil.li.li.tre\n   millilitre  millilitres\nin AM, use milliliter\n  A millilitre is a unit of volume for liquids and gases that is equal to a thousandth of a litre.\n...100 millilitres of blood.\n  N-COUNT: num N, oft N of n


Words: millimetre
Meaning:
mil.li.metre\n   millimetre  millimetres\nin AM, use millimeter\n  A millimetre is a metric unit of length that is equal to a tenth of a centimetre or a thousandth of a metre.\n...a tiny little transparent pill, about 20 millimetres long.\n  N-COUNT: num N, oft N of n


Words: milliner
Meaning:
mil.li.ner\n   milliner  milliners\n  A milliner is a person whose job is making or selling women’s hats.\n  N-COUNT


Words: millinery
Meaning:
mil.li.nery\n   millinery\n  Millinery is used to refer to women’s hats. (FORMAL)\n...her aunt’s modest millinery shop.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N n


Words: milling
Meaning:
mill.ing\n   milling\n  The people in a milling crowd move around within a particular place or area, so that the movement of the whole crowd looks very confused.\nThey moved purposefully through the milling crowd.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: million
Meaning:
mil.lion\n   million  millions\n\n  The plural form is million after a number, or after a word or expression referring to a number, such as `several’ or `a few’.\n\n1. A million or one million is the number 1,000,000.\nUp to five million people a year visit the county...\nProfits for 1999 topped .100 million.\n  NUM\n\n2. If you talk about millions of people or things, you mean that there is a very large number of them but you do not know or do not want to say exactly how many.\nThe programme was viewed on television in millions of homes.\n  QUANT-PLURAL: QUANT of pl-n


Words: millionaire
Meaning:
mil.lion.aire\n   millionaire  millionaires\n  A millionaire is a very rich person who has money or property worth at least a million pounds or dollars.\nBy the time he died, he was a millionaire.\n  N-COUNT


Words: millionairess
Meaning:
mil.lion.air.ess\n   millionairess  millionairesses\n  A millionairess is a woman who has money or property worth at least a million pounds or dollars.\n  N-COUNT


Words: millionth
Meaning:
mil.lionth\n   millionth  millionths\n1. The millionth item in a series is the one you count as number one million.\nLast year the millionth truck rolled off the assembly line.\n  ORD\n\n2. A millionth of something is one of a million equal parts of it.\nThe bomb must explode within less than a millionth of a second.\n  FRACTION


Words: millipede
Meaning:
mil.li.pede\n   millipede  millipedes\n  A millipede is a small creature with a long narrow body and a lot of legs.\n  N-COUNT


Words: millisecond
Meaning:
mil.li.sec.ond\n   millisecond  milliseconds\n  A millisecond is a unit of time equal to one thousandth of a second.\n  N-COUNT


Words: millstone
Meaning:
mill.stone\n   millstone  millstones\n1. A millstone is a large, flat, round stone which is one of a pair of stones used to grind grain into flour.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If you describe something as a millstone or a millstone around your neck, you mean that it is a very unpleasant problem or responsibility that you cannot escape from.\nFor today’s politicians, the treaty is becoming a millstone...\nThat contract proved to be a millstone around his neck.\n  PHRASE: usu v-link PHR  disapproval


Words: mime
Meaning:
mime  mimes  miming  mimed\n1. Mime is the use of movements and gestures in order to express something or tell a story without using speech.\nMusic, mime and strong visual imagery play a strong part in the productions...\n...a mime artist.\n  N-VAR\n\n2. If you mime something, you describe or express it using mime rather than speech.\nIt featured a solo dance in which a woman in a short overall mimed a lot of dainty housework...\nI remember asking her to mime getting up in the morning.\n  VERB: V n/-ing, V n/-ing, also V\n\n3. If you mime, you pretend to be singing or playing an instrument, although the music is in fact coming from a CD or cassette.\nRichey’s not miming, he’s playing very quiet guitar...\nIn concerts, the group mime their songs...\nThe waiters mime to records playing on the jukebox.\n  VERB: V, V n, V to n


Words: mimetic
Meaning:
mi.met.ic\n   mimetic\n  Mimetic movements or activities are ones in which you imitate something. (FORMAL)\nBoth realism and naturalism are mimetic systems or practices of representation.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: mimic
Meaning:
mim.ic\n   mimic  mimics  mimicking  mimicked\n1. If you mimic the actions or voice of a person or animal, you imitate them, usually in a way that is meant to be amusing or entertaining.\nHe could mimic anybody...\n  VERB: V n\n  = imitate\n2. If someone or something mimics another person or thing, they try to be like them.\nThe computer doesn’t mimic human thought; it reaches the same ends by different means.\n  VERB: V n\n  = imitate\n3. A mimic is a person who is able to mimic people or animals.\n  N-COUNT


Words: mimicry
Meaning:
mim.ic.ry\n   mimicry\n  Mimicry is the action of mimicking someone or something.\nOne of his few strengths was his skill at mimicry.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: minaret
Meaning:
mina.ret\n   minaret  minarets\n  A minaret is a tall thin tower which is part of a mosque.\n  N-COUNT


Words: mince
Meaning:
mince  minces  mincing  minced\n1. Mince is meat which has been cut into very small pieces using a machine. (mainly BRIT; in AM, use ground beef, hamburger meat)\nBrown the mince in a frying pan.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. If you mince food such as meat, you put it into a machine which cuts it into very small pieces. (mainly BRIT; in AM, usually use grind)\nPerhaps I’ll buy lean meat and mince it myself.\n...minced beef.\n  VERB: V n, V-ed\n\n3. If you say that someone, especially a homosexual man, minces somewhere, you mean that they walk there with quick small steps.\nThey minced in, in beach costumes and make-up.\n  VERB: V prep/adv  disapproval\n\n4. If you say that someone does not mince their words, you mean that they speak in a forceful and direct way, especially when saying something unpleasant to someone.\nThe doctors didn’t mince their words, and predicted the worst...\n  PHRASE: V inflects, with brd-neg


Words: mince pie
Meaning:
mince pie  mince pies\n  Mince pies are small pies containing a sticky mixture of small pieces of dried fruit. Mince pies are usually eaten at Christmas.\n  N-COUNT


Words: mincemeat
Meaning:
mince.meat\n   mincemeat\n1. Mincemeat is a sticky mixture of small pieces of dried fruit. It is usually cooked in pastry to make mince pies.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. Mincemeat is the same as mince. (mainly BRIT; in AM, use ground beef, hamburger meat)\n  N-UNCOUNT\n  = mince\n3. If you make mincemeat of someone or make mincemeat out of them, you defeat them completely in an argument, fight, or competition.\nI can imagine a defence lawyer making mincemeat of him if we ever put him up in court.\n  PHRASE: V inflects


Words: mincer
Meaning:
minc.er\n   mincer  mincers\n  A mincer is a machine which cuts meat into very small pieces by forcing it through very small holes. (BRIT; in AM, use meat grinder)\n  N-COUNT


Words: mind
Meaning:
NOUN USES\n   mind  minds\n\nPlease look at category 45 to see if the expression you are looking for is shown under another headword.\n1. You refer to someone’s mind when talking about their thoughts. For example, if you say that something is in your mind, you mean that you are thinking about it, and if you say that something is at the back of your mind, you mean that you are aware of it, although you are not thinking about it very much.\nI’m trying to clear my mind of all this...\nThere was no doubt in his mind that the man was serious...\nI put what happened during that game to the back of my mind...\nHe spent the next hour going over the trial in his mind...\n  N-COUNT: with poss\n  = head\n2. Your mind is your ability to think and reason.\nYou have a good mind...\nStudying stretched my mind and got me thinking about things.\n  N-COUNT: supp N\n  = intellect\n3. If you have a particular type of mind, you have a particular way of thinking which is part of your character, or a result of your education or professional training.\nAndrew, you have a very suspicious mind...\nThe key to his success is his logical mind.\n...an American writer who has researched the criminal mind.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, with supp\n\n4. You can refer to someone as a particular kind of mind as a way of saying that they are clever, intelligent, or imaginative.\nShe moved to London, meeting some of the best minds of her time.\n  N-COUNT: with supp\n  = intellect\n5.\n  see also minded, -minded, frame of mind, state of mind\n6. If you tell someone to bear something in mind or to keep something in mind, you are reminding or warning them about something important which they should remember.\nBear in mind that petrol stations are scarce in the more remote areas...\nI should not be surprised about some of her comments, bearing in mind the party she belongs to.\n  PHRASE: V inflects, oft PHR that, PHR n\n\n7. If something brings another thing to mind or calls another thing to mind, it makes you think of that other thing, usually because it is similar in some way.\nThat brings to mind a wonderful poem by Riokin...\n  PHRASE: V inflects, usu PHR n\n\n8. If you cast your mind back to a time in the past, you think about what happened then.\nCast your mind back to 1978, when Forest won the title.\n  PHRASE: V and N inflect, oft PHR to n\n\n9. If you close your mind to something, you deliberately do not think about it or pay attention to it.\nShe has closed her mind to last year’s traumas.\n  PHRASE: V and N inflect, usu PHR to n\n\n10. If you change your mind, or if someone or something changes your mind, you change a decision you have made or an opinion that you had.\nI was going to vote for him, but I changed my mind and voted for Reagan...\nIt would be impossible to change his mind.\n  PHRASE: V and N inflect\n\n11. If something comes to mind or springs to mind, you think of it without making any effort.\nIntegrity and honesty are words that spring to mind when talking of the man.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n12. If you say that an idea or possibility never crossed your mind, you mean that you did not think of it.\nIt had never crossed his mind that there might be a problem...\n  PHRASE: V and N inflect, oft with brd-neg, oft it PHR that\n\n13. If you see something in your mind’s eye, you imagine it and have a clear picture of it in your mind.\nIn his mind’s eye, he can imagine the effect he’s having.\n  PHRASE: PHR after v, PHR with cl\n\n14. If you have a mind to do something, you want, intend, or choose to do it.\nThe captain of the guard looked as if he had a mind to challenge them...\n  PHRASE: V inflects, oft PHR inf\n\n15. If you say that you have a good mind to do something or have half a mind to do it, you are threatening or announcing that you have a strong desire to do it, although you probably will not do it.\nHe raged on about how he had a good mind to resign.\n  PHRASE: V inflects, usu PHR inf\n\n16. If you ask someone what they have in mind, you want to know in more detail about an idea or wish they have.\n(next)


Words: mind .1
Meaning:
`Maybe we could celebrate tonight.’.`What did you have in mind?’\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n17. If you have it in mind to do something, you intend or want to do it.\nCollins Harvill had it in mind to publish a short volume about Pasternak.\n  PHRASE: V inflects, usu PHR inf\n\n18. If you do something with a particular thing in mind, you do it with that thing as your aim or as the reason or basis for your action.\nThese families need support. With this in mind a group of 35 specialists met last weekend.\n  PHRASE: PHR after v, PHR with cl\n\n19. If you say that something such as an illness is all in the mind, you mean that it relates to someone’s feelings or attitude, rather than having any physical cause.\nIt could be a virus, or it could be all in the mind.\n  PHRASE: v-link PHR\n\n20. If you know your own mind, you are sure about your opinions, and are not easily influenced by other people.\n  PHRASE: V and N inflect\n\n21. If you say that someone is losing their mind, you mean that they are becoming mad.\nSometimes I feel I’m losing my mind.\n  PHRASE: V and N inflect\n\n22. If you make up your mind or make your mind up, you decide which of a number of possible things you will have or do.\nOnce he made up his mind to do something, there was no stopping him...\nShe said her mind was made up.\n  PHRASE: V and N inflect, oft PHR to-inf\n  = decide\n23. You can use the expression mind over matter to describe situations in which a person seems to be able to control events, physical objects, or the condition of their own body using their mind.\nGood health is simply a case of mind over matter.\n  PHRASE: oft n prep PHR\n\n24. If a number of people are of one mind, of like mind, or of the same mind, they all agree about something.\nContact with other disabled yachtsmen of like mind would be helpful...\nThe food companies are not of one mind about these new regulations.\n  PHRASE: v-link PHR\n\n25. If you say that something that happens is a load off your mind or a weight off your mind, you mean that it causes you to stop worrying, for example because it solves a problem that you had.\n  PHRASE: mind inflects, v-link PHR\n\n26. If something is on your mind, you are worried or concerned about it and think about it a lot.\nThis game has been on my mind all week...\nI just forgot. I’ve had a lot on my mind.\n  PHRASE: N inflects, v-link PHR, PHR after v\n\n27. If your mind is on something or you have your mind on something, you are thinking about that thing.\nAt school I was always in trouble.my mind was never on my work.\n  PHRASE: V and N inflect, PHR n/-ing\n\n28. If you have an open mind, you avoid forming an opinion or making a decision until you know all the facts.\nIt’s hard to see it any other way, though I’m trying to keep an open mind.\n  PHRASE: N inflects, PHR after v\n\n29. If something opens your mind to new ideas or experiences, it makes you more willing to accept them or try them.\nShe also stimulated his curiosity and opened his mind to other cultures.\n  PHRASE: V and N inflect, usu PHR to n\n\n30. If you say that someone is out of their mind, you mean that they are mad or very foolish. (INFORMAL)\nWhat are you doing? Are you out of your mind?\n  PHRASE: N inflects, v-link PHR  disapproval\n  = crazy\n31. If you say that someone is out of their mind with a feeling such as worry or fear, you are emphasizing that they are extremely worried or afraid. (INFORMAL)\n  PHRASE: N inflects, v-link PHR, usu PHR with n  emphasis\n\n32. If you say that someone is, for example, bored out of their mind, scared out of their mind, or stoned out of their mind, you are emphasizing that they are extremely bored, scared, or affected by drugs. (INFORMAL)\n  PHRASE: N inflects, v-link PHR  emphasis\n\n33. If you put your mind to something, you start making an effort to do it.\nYou could do fine in the world if you put your mind to it.\n  PHRASE: V and N inflect, PHR n\n\n34. If something puts you in mind of something else, it reminds you of it because it is similar to it or is associated with it.\n(next)


Words: mind .2
Meaning:
This put me in mind of something Patrick said many years ago.\n  PHRASE: V inflects, PHR n\n  = remind\n35. If you can read someone’s mind, you know what they are thinking without them saying anything.\nDon’t expect others to read your mind.\n  PHRASE: V and N inflect\n\n36. To put someone’s mind at rest or set their mind at rest means to stop them worrying about something.\nIt may be advisable to have a blood test to put your mind at rest...\n  PHRASE: V and N inflect\n\n37. If you say that nobody in their right mind would do a particular thing, you are emphasizing that it is an irrational thing to do and you would be surprised if anyone did it.\nNo one in her right mind would make such a major purchase without asking questions.\n  PHRASE: with brd-neg, n PHR  emphasis\n\n38. If you set your mind on something or have your mind set on it, you are determined to do it or obtain it.\nWhen my wife sets her mind on something, she invariably finds a way to achieve it.\n  PHRASE: V and N inflect, PHR n\n\n39. If something slips your mind, you forget it.\nI was going to mention it, but it slipped my mind.\n  PHRASE: V and N inflect\n\n40. If you speak your mind, you say firmly and honestly what you think about a situation, even if this may offend or upset people.\nMartina Navratilova has never been afraid to speak her mind.\n  PHRASE: V and N inflect\n\n41. If something sticks in your mind, it remains firmly in your memory.\nI’ve always been fond of poetry and one piece has always stuck in my mind.\n  PHRASE: V and N inflect\n\n42. If something takes your mind off a problem or unpleasant situation, it helps you to forget about it for a while.\n`How about a game of tennis?’ suggested Alan. `That’ll take your mind off things.’\n  PHRASE: V and N inflect, PHR n\n\n43. You say or write to my mind to indicate that the statement you are making is your own opinion.\nThere are scenes in this play which to my mind are incredibly violent.\n  PHRASE: PHR with cl\n\n44. If you are in two minds, you are uncertain about what to do, especially when you have to choose between two courses of action. The expression of two minds is also used, especially in American English.\nLike many parents, I am in two minds about school uniforms...\n  PHRASE: usu v-link PHR, oft PHR about n, PHR whether\n  = unsure, undecided\n45.\nto give someone a piece of your mind: see piece


Words: mind 1
Meaning:
VERB USES\n   mind  minds  minding  minded\n\nPlease look at category 18 to see if the expression you are looking for is shown under another headword.\n1. If you do not mind something, you are not annoyed or bothered by it.\nI don’t mind the noise during the day...\nDo you mind being alone?...\nI hope you don’t mind me calling in like this, without an appointment...\nIt involved a little extra work, but nobody seemed to mind.\n  VERB: usu with brd-neg, V n/-ing, V n/-ing, V n -ing, V\n\n2. You use mind in the expressions `do you mind?’ and `would you mind?’ as a polite way of asking permission or asking someone to do something.\nDo you mind if I ask you one more thing?...\nWould you mind waiting outside for a moment?...\n`Would you like me to read that for you?’.`If you wouldn’t mind, please.’\n  VERB: V if, V -ing, V  politeness\n\n3. If someone does not mind what happens or what something is like, they do not have a strong preference for any particular thing.\nI don’t mind what we play, really...\n  VERB: with brd-neg, V wh\n\n4. If you tell someone to mind something, you are warning them to be careful not to hurt themselves or other people, or damage something. (BRIT; in AM, usually use watch)\nMind that bike!\n  VERB: usu imper, V n\n  = watch\n5. You use mind when you are reminding someone to do something or telling them to be careful not to do something. (BRIT; in AM, usually use make sure, take care)\nMind you don’t burn those sausages.\n  VERB: only imper, V that\n  = watch\n6. If you mind a child or something such as a shop or luggage, you look after it, usually while the person who owns it or is usually responsible for it is somewhere else. (BRIT; in AM, usually use take care of, watch)\nJim Coulters will mind the store while I’m away.\n  VERB: V n\n\n7. If you are offered something or offered a choice and you say `I don’t mind’, you are saying politely that you will be happy with any of the things offered. (BRIT)\n`Which one of these do you want?’.`I don’t mind.’\n  CONVENTION  formulae\n\n8. You say `Don’t mind me’ to apologize for your presence when you think that it might embarrass someone, and to tell them to carry on with what they were doing or about to do.\n  CONVENTION\n\n9. You use don’t mind in expressions such as don’t mind him or don’t mind them to apologize for someone else’s behaviour when you think it might have offended the person you are speaking to.\nDon’t mind the old lady. She’s getting senile.\n  PHRASE: PHR n\n\n10. Some people say `Mind how you go’ when they are saying goodbye to someone who is leaving. (BRIT INFORMAL)\n  CONVENTION  formulae\n  = take care\n11. People use the expression if you don’t mind when they are rejecting an offer or saying that they do not want to do something, especially when they are annoyed.\n`Sit down.’.`I prefer standing for a while, if you don’t mind.’...\n  PHRASE: PHR with cl  feelings\n\n12. You use mind you to emphasize a piece of information that you are adding, especially when the new information explains what you have said or contrasts with it. Some people use mind in a similar way.\nThey pay full rates. Mind you, they can afford it...\nYou need a bit of cold water in there to make it comfortable. Not too cold, mind.\n  PHRASE: PHR with cl  emphasis\n\n13. You say never mind when you are emphasizing that something is not serious or important, especially when someone is upset about it or is saying sorry to you.\n  CONVENTION  emphasis\n\n14. You use never mind to tell someone that they need not do something or worry about something, because it is not important or because you will do it yourself.\n`Was his name David?’.`No I don’t think it was, but never mind, go on.’...\nDorothy, come on. Never mind your shoes. They’ll soon dry off...\n`Fewter didn’t seem to think so.’.`Never mind what Fewter said.’\n  PHRASE: oft PHR n/wh\n\n15. You use never mind after a statement, often a negative one, to indicate that the statement is even more true of the person, thing, or situation that you are going to mention next.\n(next)


Words: mind 1.1
Meaning:
I’m not going to believe it myself, never mind convince anyone else...\n  PHRASE  emphasis\n\n16. You use never you mind to tell someone not to ask about something because it is not their concern or they should not know about it. (SPOKEN)\n`Where is it?’.`Never you mind.’\n  CONVENTION\n\n17. If you say that you wouldn’t mind something, you mean that you would quite like it.\nI wouldn’t mind a coffee...\n  PHRASE: PHR n/-ing\n\n18.\nto mind your own business: see business


Words: mind-altering
Meaning:
mind-altering\n  A mind-altering drug is one that produces mood changes in the person who has taken it.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: mind-bending
Meaning:
mind-bending\n1. If you describe something as mind-bending, you mean that it is difficult to understand or think about.\n...mind-bending debates about the nature of life.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n2. Mind-bending means the same as mind-altering.\n...mind-bending drugs.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: mind-blowing
Meaning:
mind-blowing   also mind blowing\n  If you describe something as mind-blowing, you mean that it is extremely impressive or surprising. (INFORMAL)\n...a mind-blowing array of treatments...\n  ADJ\n  = incredible


Words: mind-boggling
Meaning:
mind-boggling   also mind boggling\n  If you say that something is mind-boggling, you mean that it is so large, complicated, or extreme that it is very hard to imagine. (INFORMAL)\nThe amount of paperwork involved is mind-boggling.\n  ADJ\n  = unbelievable


Words: mind-numbing
Meaning:
mind-numbing\n  If you describe an event or experience as mind-numbing, you mean that it is so bad, boring, or great in extent that you are unable to think about it clearly.\nIt was another day of mind-numbing tedium.\n  ADJ\n\n=>  mind-numbingly\n...a mind-numbingly boring sport.\n  ADV: ADV adj


Words: mind-set
Meaning:
mind-set  mind-sets   also mindset\n  If you refer to someone’s mind-set, you mean their general attitudes and the way they typically think about things.\nThe greatest challenge for the Americans is understanding the mindset of Eastern Europeans...\n  N-COUNT: oft with poss, adj N


Words: minded
Meaning:
mind.ed\n   minded\n  If someone is minded to do something, they want or intend to do it. (FORMAL)\nThe Home Office said at that time that it was minded to reject his application for political asylum...\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ, ADJ to-inf, so ADJ\n  = inclined


Words: minder
Meaning:
mind.er\n   minder  minders\n1. A minder is a person whose job is to protect someone, especially someone famous. (mainly BRIT INFORMAL)\n  N-COUNT\n  = bodyguard\n2. A minder is the same as a childminder. (BRIT)\n  N-COUNT


Words: mindful
Meaning:
mind.ful\n   mindful\n  If you are mindful of something, you think about it and consider it when taking action. (FORMAL)\nWe must be mindful of the consequences of selfishness...\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ, usu ADJ of n\n  = aware


Words: mindless
Meaning:
mind.less\n   mindless\n1. If you describe a violent action as mindless, you mean that it is done without thought and will achieve nothing. (mainly BRIT)\n...a plot that mixes blackmail, extortion and mindless violence.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n  disapproval\n  = senseless\n2. If you describe a person or group as mindless, you mean that they are stupid or do not think about what they are doing.\nShe wasn’t at all the mindless little wife so many people perceived her to be.\n  ADJ  disapproval\n\n=>  mind.less.ly\nI was annoyed with myself for having so quickly and mindlessly lost thirty dollars.\n  ADV: ADV with v\n\n3. If you describe an activity as mindless, you mean that it is so dull that people do it or take part in it without thinking.\n...the mindless repetitiveness of some tasks.\n  ADJ  disapproval\n\n=>  mind.less.ly\nI spent many hours mindlessly banging a tennis ball against the wall.\n  ADV: ADV with v


Words: mine
Meaning:
NOUN AND VERB USES\n   mine  mines  mining  mined\n1. A mine is a place where deep holes and tunnels are dug under the ground in order to obtain a mineral such as coal, diamonds, or gold.\n...coal mines.\n  N-COUNT: oft n N\n\n2. When a mineral such as coal, diamonds, or gold is mined, it is obtained from the ground by digging deep holes and tunnels.\nThe pit is being shut down because it no longer has enough coal that can be mined economically.\n  VERB: usu passive, be V-ed\n\n3. A mine is a bomb which is hidden in the ground or in water and which explodes when people or things touch it.\n  N-COUNT\n\n4. If an area of land or water is mined, mines are placed there which will explode when people or things touch them.\nThe approaches to the garrison have been heavily mined.\n  VERB: be V-ed, also V n\n\n5. If you say that someone is a mine of information, you mean that they know a great deal about something.\n  PHRASE: mine inflects, usu v-link PHR\n\n6.\n  see also mining\n\nPRONOUN USE\n   mine\n  Mine is the first person singular possessive pronoun. A speaker or writer uses mine to refer to something that belongs or relates to himself or herself.\nHer right hand is inches from mine...\nI’m looking for a friend of mine who lives here.\n  PRON: oft n of PRON


Words: minefield
Meaning:
mine.field\n   minefield  minefields\n1. A minefield is an area of land or water where explosive mines have been hidden.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If you describe a situation as a minefield, you are emphasizing that there are a lot of hidden dangers or problems, and where people need to behave with care because things could easily go wrong.\nThe whole subject is a political minefield...\n  N-COUNT: oft adj N, N of n  emphasis


Words: miner
Meaning:
min.er\n   miner  miners\n  A miner is a person who works underground in mines in order to obtain minerals such as coal, diamonds, or gold.\n  N-COUNT


Words: mineral
Meaning:
min.er.al\n   mineral  minerals\n  A mineral is a substance such as tin, salt, or sulphur that is formed naturally in rocks and in the earth. Minerals are also found in small quantities in food and drink.\n  N-COUNT


Words: mineral water
Meaning:
min.er.al wa.ter\n   mineral water  mineral waters\n  Mineral water is water that comes out of the ground naturally and is considered healthy to drink.\n  N-MASS


Words: minestrone
Meaning:
min.estro.ne\n   minestrone\n  Minestrone soup is a type of soup made from meat stock that contains small pieces of vegetable and pasta.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: minesweeper
Meaning:
mine.sweeper\n   minesweeper  minesweepers   also mine sweeper\n  A minesweeper is a ship that is used to clear away explosive mines in the sea.\n  N-COUNT


Words: mingle
Meaning:
min.gle\n   mingle  mingles  mingling  mingled\n1. If things such as sounds, smells, or feelings mingle, they become mixed together but are usually still recognizable.\nNow the cheers and applause mingled in a single sustained roar...\nForeboding mingled with his excitement.\n  V-RECIP: pl-n V, V with n\n\n2. At a party, if you mingle with the other people there, you move around and talk to them.\nGo out of your way to mingle with others at the wedding...\nGuests ate and mingled...\nAlison mingled for a while and then went to where Douglas stood with John.\n  V-RECIP: V with pl-n, pl-n V, V (non-recip)


Words: mini-
Meaning:
mini-\n  Mini- is used before nouns to form nouns which refer to something which is a smaller version of something else.\nProvisions may be purchased from the mini-market...\nWe were playing mini-golf.\n  PREFIX


Words: mini-series
Meaning:
mini-series  mini-series\n  A mini-series is a drama shown on television in two or three parts, usually in one week.\n  N-COUNT


Words: miniature
Meaning:
minia.ture\n   miniature  miniatures\n1. Miniature is used to describe something which is very small, especially a smaller version of something which is normally much bigger.\n...miniature roses...\nHe looked like a miniature version of his handsome and elegant big brother.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n2. If you describe one thing as another thing in miniature, you mean that it is much smaller in size or scale than the other thing, but is otherwise exactly the same.\nEcuador provides a perfect introduction to South America; it’s a continent in miniature...\n  PHRASE: usu n PHR, PHR after v\n\n3. A miniature is a very small detailed painting, often of a person.\n  N-COUNT\n\n4. A miniature is a very small bottle of strong alcohol such as whisky or brandy, and usually contains enough for one or two drinks.\n  N-COUNT


Words: miniaturize
Meaning:
minia.tur.ize\n   miniaturize  miniaturizes  miniaturizing  miniaturized\nin BRIT, also use miniaturise\n  If you miniaturize something such as a machine, you produce a very small version of it.\n...the problems of further miniaturizing the available technologies.\n...miniaturized amplifiers and receivers.\n  VERB: V n, V-ed\n\n=>  minia.turi.za.tion\n...increasing miniaturization in the computer industry.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: minibar
Meaning:
mini.bar\n   minibar  minibars\n  In a hotel room, a minibar is a small fridge containing alcoholic drinks.\n  N-COUNT


Words: minibus
Meaning:
mini.bus\n   minibus  minibuses   also mini-bus\n  A minibus is a large van which has seats in the back for passengers, and windows along its sides.\n  N-COUNT: also by N


Words: minicab
Meaning:
mini.cab\n   minicab  minicabs   also mini-cab\n  A minicab is a taxi which you have to arrange to pick you up by telephone. (BRIT)\nIf you want a cheap ride, take a minicab.\n  N-COUNT\n  !=hackney cab


Words: minidisc
Meaning:
mini.disc\n   minidisc minidiscs\n  A minidisc is a small compact disc which you can record music or data on. (TRADEMARK)\n  N-COUNT


Words: minidish
Meaning:
mini.dish\n   minidish minidishes\n  A minidish is a small satellite dish that can receive signals from communications satellites for media such as television programmes and the Internet.\n  N-COUNT


Words: minim
Meaning:
min.im\n   minim  minims\n  A minim is a musical note that has a time value equal to two crotchets or two quarter notes. (BRIT; in AM, use half note)\n  N-COUNT


Words: minimal
Meaning:
mini.mal\n   minimal\n  Something that is minimal is very small in quantity, value, or degree.\nThe co-operation between the two is minimal...\nOne aim of these reforms is effective defence with minimal expenditure.\n  ADJ


Words: minimalism
Meaning:
mini.mal.ism\n   minimalism\n  Minimalism is a style in which a small number of very simple things are used to create a particular effect.\nIn her own home, she replaced austere minimalism with cosy warmth and colour.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: minimalist
Meaning:
mini.mal.ist\n   minimalist  minimalists\n1. A minimalist is an artist or designer who uses minimalism.\nHe was influenced by the minimalists in the 1970s.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. Minimalist is used to describe ideas, artists, or designers that are influenced by minimalism.\nThe two designers settled upon a minimalist approach.\n  ADJ


Words: minimize
Meaning:
mini.mize\n   minimize  minimizes  minimizing  minimized\nin BRIT, also use minimise\n1. If you minimize a risk, problem, or unpleasant situation, you reduce it to the lowest possible level, or prevent it increasing beyond that level.\nMany of these problems can be minimised by sensible planning.\n  VERB: V n\n  !=maximize\n2. If you minimize something, you make it seem smaller or less significant than it really is.\nSome have minimized the importance of ideological factors...\n  VERB: V n\n  = play down  !=maximize\n3. If you minimize a window on a computer screen, you make it very small, because you do not want to use it.\nClick the square icon again to minimize the window.\n  VERB: V n\n  !=maximize


Words: minimum
Meaning:
mini.mum\n   minimum\n1. You use minimum to describe an amount which is the smallest that is possible, allowed, or required.\nHe was only five feet nine, the minimum height for a policeman.\n...a rise in the minimum wage.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n  !=maximum\n  Minimum is also a noun.\nThis will take a minimum of one hour...\nFour foot should be seen as an absolute minimum.\n  N-SING: oft a N of amount\n\n2. You use minimum to state how small an amount is.\nThe basic needs of life are available with minimum effort...\nNeil and Chris try to spend the minimum amount of time on the garden.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n  Minimum is also a noun.\nWith a minimum of fuss, she produced the grandson he had so desperately wished for.\n  N-SING: a N of n\n\n3. If you say that something is a particular amount minimum, you mean that this is the smallest amount it should be or could possibly be, although a larger amount is acceptable or very possible.\nYou’re talking over a thousand pounds minimum for one course.\n  ADV: amount ADV\n  !=maximum\n4. You use at a minimum, or at the minimum, when you want to indicate that something is the very least which could or should happen.\nThis would take three months at a minimum...\n  PHRASE: amount PHR, PHR with cl, PHR after v\n  !=at the maximum\n5. If you say that someone keeps something to a minimum, or to the minimum, you mean that they keep the amount of it as small as possible.\nOffice machinery is kept to a minimum...\n  PHRASE: PHR after v


Words: minimum security prison
Meaning:
mini.mum se.cu.rity pris.on\n   minimum security prison  minimum security prisons\n  A minimum security prison is a prison where there are fewer restrictions on prisoners than in a normal prison. (mainly AM; in BRIT, use open prison)\n  N-COUNT


Words: minimum wage
Meaning:
mini.mum wage\n   minimum wage\n  The minimum wage is the lowest wage that an employer is allowed to pay an employee, according to a law or agreement.\n  N-SING


Words: mining
Meaning:
min.ing\n   mining\n  Mining is the industry and activities connected with getting valuable or useful minerals from the ground, for example coal, diamonds, or gold.\n...traditional industries such as coal mining and steel making...\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: minion
Meaning:
min.ion\n   minion  minions\n  If you refer to someone’s minions, you are referring to people who have to do what that person tells them to do, especially unimportant or boring tasks. (LITERARY)\nShe delegated the job to one of her minions.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl, usu poss N  disapproval\n  = underling


Words: minister
Meaning:
min.is.ter\n   minister  ministers  ministering  ministered\n1. In Britain and some other countries, a minister is a person who is in charge of a particular government department.\nWhen the government had come to power, he had been named minister of culture...\nThe new Defence Minister is Senator Robert Ray.\n  N-COUNT: oft N of n, n N\n\n2. A minister is a person who officially represents their government in a foreign country and has a lower rank than an ambassador.\nHe concluded a deal with the Danish minister in Washington.\n  N-COUNT: usu supp N\n\n3. A minister is a member of the clergy, especially in Protestant churches.\nHis father was a Baptist minister.\n  N-COUNT\n\n4. If you minister to people or to their needs, you serve them or help them, for example by making sure that they have everything they need or want. (FORMAL)\nFor 44 years he had ministered to the poor, the sick, the neglected and the deprived.\n  VERB: V to n


Words: ministerial
Meaning:
min.is.terial\n   ministerial\n  You use ministerial to refer to people, events, or jobs that are connected with government ministers.\nThe prime minister’s initial ministerial appointments haven’t pleased all his supporters.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: ministrations
Meaning:
mini.stra.tions\n   ministrations\n  A person’s ministrations are the things they do to help or care for someone in a particular situation, especially someone who is weak or ill. (HUMOROUS or LITERARY)\n...the tender ministrations of the buxom woman who cut his hair.\n  N-PLURAL: usu with poss


Words: ministry
Meaning:
min.is.try\n   ministry  ministries\n1. In Britain and some other countries, a ministry is a government department which deals with a particular thing or area of activity, for example trade, defence, or transport.\n...the Ministry of Justice.\n...a spokesman for the Agriculture Ministry.\n  N-COUNT: oft N of n, n N\n\n2. The ministry of a religious person is the work that they do that is based on or inspired by their religious beliefs.\nHis ministry is among the poor.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, usu with poss


Words: mink
Meaning:
mink  minks  or mink\n1. A mink is a small animal with highly valued fur.\n...a proposal for a ban on the hunting of foxes, mink and hares.\n  N-COUNT\n\n  Mink is the fur of a mink.\n...a mink coat.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N n\n\n2. A mink is a coat or other garment made from the fur of a mink.\nSome people like to dress up in minks and diamonds.\n  N-COUNT


Words: minnow
Meaning:
min.now\n   minnow  minnows\n  A minnow is a very small fish that lives in lakes and rivers.\n  N-COUNT


Words: minor
Meaning:
mi.nor\n   minor   minors   minoring  minored\n1. You use minor when you want to describe something that is less important, serious, or significant than other things in a group or situation.\nShe is known in Italy for a number of minor roles in films...\nWestern officials say the problem is minor, and should be quickly overcome.\n  ADJ\n  !=major\n2. A minor illness or operation is not likely to be dangerous to someone’s life or health.\nSarah had been plagued continually by a series of minor illnesses...\nHis mother had to go to the hospital for minor surgery.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  !=major\n3. In European music, a minor scale is one in which the third note is three semitones higher than the first.\n...the unfinished sonata movement in F minor.\n  ADJ: n ADJ, ADJ n\n  !=major\n4. A minor is a person who is still legally a child. In Britain and most states in the United States, people are minors until they reach the age of eighteen.\nThe approach has virtually ended cigarette sales to minors.\n  N-COUNT\n\n5. At a university or college in the United States, a student’s minor is a subject that they are studying in addition to their main subject, or major.\n  N-COUNT: oft poss N\n  !=major\n6. At a university or college in the United States, if a student is, for example, a geology minor, they are studying geology as well as their main subject.\n  N-COUNT: n N\n  !=major\n7. If a student at a university or college in the United States minors in a particular subject, they study it in addition to their main subject.\nI’m minoring in computer science.\n  VERB: V in n\n  !=major


Words: minority
Meaning:
mi.nor.ity\n   minority  minorities\n1. If you talk about a minority of people or things in a larger group, you are referring to a number of them that forms less than half of the larger group, usually much less than half.\nLocal authority nursery provision covers only a tiny minority of working mothers...\n...minority shareholders.\n  N-SING: oft N of n\n  !=majority\n  If people are in a minority or in the minority, they belong to a group of people or things that form less than half of a larger group.\nEven in the 1960s, politically active students and academics were in a minority...\nIn the past conservatives have been in the minority.\n  PHRASE: usu v-link PHR\n\n2. A minority is a group of people of the same race, culture, or religion who live in a place where most of the people around them are of a different race, culture, or religion.\n...the region’s ethnic minorities...\n  N-COUNT


Words: minstrel
Meaning:
min.strel\n   minstrel  minstrels\n  In medieval times, a minstrel was a singer and musician who travelled around and entertained noble families.\n  N-COUNT


Words: mint
Meaning:
mint  mints  minting  minted\n1. Mint is a herb with fresh-tasting leaves.\nGarnish with mint sprigs.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. A mint is a sweet with a peppermint flavour. Some people suck mints in order to make their breath smell fresher.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. The mint is the place where the official coins of a country are made.\nIn 1965 the mint stopped putting silver in dimes.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, usu the N\n\n4. To mint coins or medals means to make them in a mint.\n...the right to mint coins.\n  VERB: V n\n\n5. If you say that someone makes a mint, you mean that they make a very large amount of money. (INFORMAL)\nEverybody thinks I’m making a mint...\n  N-SING: usu a N\n  = loads\n6. If you say that something is in mint condition, you mean that it is in perfect condition.\n  PHRASE: usu v-link PHR


Words: mint sauce
Meaning:
mint sauce\n  Mint sauce is a sauce made from mint leaves, vinegar, and sugar, which is often eaten with lamb.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: minted
Meaning:
mint.ed\n   minted\n  If you describe something as newly minted or freshly minted, you mean that it is very new, and that it has only just been produced or completed.\nHe seemed to be pleased by this newly minted vehicle.\n...the movie’s freshly minted script.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n, adv ADJ


Words: minuet
Meaning:
minu.et\n   minuet  minuets\n1. In the music of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, a minuet is a piece of music with three beats in a bar which is played at moderate speed.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A minuet is a fairly slow and formal dance which was popular in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.\n  N-COUNT


Words: minus
Meaning:
mi.nus\n   minus  minuses\n1. You use minus to show that one number or quantity is being subtracted from another.\nOne minus one is zero...\nThey’ve been promised their full July salary minus the hardship payment.\n  CONJ\n  = less  !=plus\n2. Minus before a number or quantity means that the number or quantity is less than zero.\nThe aircraft was subjected to temperatures of minus 65 degrees and plus 120 degrees.\n  ADJ: ADJ amount\n\n3. Teachers use minus in grading work in schools and colleges. `B minus’ is not as good as `B’, but is a better grade than `C’.\nI’m giving him a B minus.\n\n  !=plus\n4. To be minus something means not to have that thing.\nThe film company collapsed, leaving Chris jobless and minus his life savings.\n  PREP\n  = without\n5. A minus is a disadvantage. (INFORMAL)\nThe minuses far outweigh that possible gain...\n  N-COUNT\n  = drawback  !=plus\n6. You use plus or minus to give the amount by which a particular number may vary.\nThe poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 5 per cent.\n  PHRASE: PHR amount


Words: minus sign
Meaning:
mi.nus sign\n   minus sign  minus signs\n  A minus sign is the sign - which is put between two numbers in order to show that the second number is being subtracted from the first one. It is also put before a number to show that the number is less than zero.\n  N-COUNT


Words: minuscule
Meaning:
mi.nus.cule\n   minuscule\n  If you describe something as minuscule, you mean that it is very small.\nThe film was shot in 17 days, a minuscule amount of time.\n  ADJ\n  = minute


Words: minute
Meaning:
NOUN AND VERB USES\nmi.nute  NOUN AND VERB USES\n   minute  minutes  minuting  minuted\n1. A minute is one of the sixty parts that an hour is divided into. People often say `a minute’ or `minutes’ when they mean a short length of time.\nThe pizza will then take about twenty minutes to cook...\nBye Mum, see you in a minute...\nWithin minutes we realized our mistake.\n  N-COUNT: oft num N\n\n2. The minutes of a meeting are the written records of the things that are discussed or decided at it.\nHe’d been reading the minutes of the last meeting.\n  N-PLURAL: oft N of n\n\n3. When someone minutes something that is discussed or decided at a meeting, they make a written record of it.\nYou don’t need to minute that.\n  VERB: V n\n\n4.\n  see also up-to-the-minute\n5. People often use expressions such as wait a minute or just a minute when they want to stop you doing or saying something.\nWait a minute, folks, something is wrong here...\nHey, just a minute!\n  CONVENTION\n  = hang on\n6. If you say that something will or may happen at any minute or any minute now, you are emphasizing that it is likely to happen very soon.\nIt looked as though it might rain at any minute...\nAny minute now, that phone is going to ring.\n  PHRASE  emphasis\n\n7. If you say that you do not believe for a minute or for one minute that something is true, you are emphasizing that you do not believe that it is true.\nI don’t believe for one minute she would have been scared...\n  PHRASE: with brd-neg, PHR with v  emphasis\n  = for a moment\n8. A last-minute action is one that is done at the latest time possible.\nShe was doing some last-minute revision for her exams...\nHe will probably wait until the last minute.\n  PHRASE: PHR n, prep PHR\n\n9. You use the expression the next minute or expressions such as `one minute he was there, the next he was gone’ to emphasize that something happens suddenly.\nThe next minute my father came in...\nJobs are there one minute, gone the next.\n  PHRASE  emphasis\n  = the next moment\n10. If you say that something happens the minute something else happens, you are emphasizing that it happens immediately after the other thing.\nThe minute you do this, you’ll lose control...\n  PHRASE: PHR that  emphasis\n\n11. If you say that something must be done this minute, you are emphasizing that it must be done immediately.\nAnna, stop that. Sit down this minute.\n  PHRASE  emphasis\n  = now, immediately\n\nADJECTIVE USE\nmi.nute  ADJECTIVE USE\n   minute  minutest\n  If you say that something is minute, you mean that it is very small.\nOnly a minute amount is needed...\nThe party was planned in the minutest detail.\n  ADJ\n  = tiny


Words: minutely
Meaning:
mi.nute.ly\n   minutely\n1. You use minutely to indicate that something is done in great detail.\nThe metal is then minutely examined to ensure there are no cracks...\n  ADV: ADV with v\n\n2. You use minutely to indicate that the size or extent of something is very small.\nThe benefit of an x-ray far outweighs the minutely increased risk of cancer.\n  ADV: usu ADV adj/-ed


Words: minutiae
Meaning:
mi.nu.tiae\n   minutiae\n  The minutiae of something such as someone’s job or life are the very small details of it. (FORMAL)\nMuch of his early work is concerned with the minutiae of rural life.\n  N-PLURAL: usu the N of n


Words: miracle
Meaning:
mira.cle\n   miracle  miracles\n1. If you say that a good event is a miracle, you mean that it is very surprising and unexpected.\nIt is a miracle no one was killed...\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A miracle drug or product does something that was thought almost impossible. (JOURNALISM)\n...a miracle drug that is said to be a cure for Aids and cancer.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n3. A miracle is a wonderful and surprising event that is believed to be caused by God.\n...Jesus’s ability to perform miracles.\n  N-COUNT


Words: miracle worker
Meaning:
mira.cle work.er\n   miracle worker  miracle workers\n  If you describe someone as a miracle worker, you mean that they have achieved or are able to achieve success in something that other people have found very difficult.\nAt work he was regarded as a miracle worker, the man who took risks and could not lose.\n  N-COUNT  approval


Words: miraculous
Meaning:
mi.racu.lous\n   miraculous\n1. If you describe a good event as miraculous, you mean that it is very surprising and unexpected.\nThe horse made a miraculous recovery to finish a close third.\n...a miraculous escape...\n  ADJ\n\n=>  mi.racu.lous.ly\nMiraculously, the guards escaped death or serious injury...\n  ADV: usu ADV with cl, ADV with v, also ADV adj\n\n2. If someone describes a wonderful event as miraculous, they believe that the event was caused by God.\n...miraculous healing.\n...miraculous powers.\n  ADJ


Words: mirage
Meaning:
mi.rage\n   mirage  mirages\n1. A mirage is something which you see when it is extremely hot, for example in the desert, and which appears to be quite near but is actually a long way away or does not really exist.\nIt hovered before his eyes like the mirage of an oasis.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If you describe something as a mirage, you mean that it is not real or true, although it may seem to be.\nThe girl was a mirage, cast up by his troubled mind...\n  N-COUNT: usu sing\n  = illusion


Words: mire
Meaning:
mire\n1. You can refer to an unpleasant or difficult situation as a mire of some kind. (LITERARY)\n...a mire of poverty and ignorance.\n  N-SING: oft N of n\n\n2. Mire is dirt or mud. (LITERARY)\n...the muck and mire of sewers and farmyards.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: mirror
Meaning:
mir.ror\n   mirror  mirrors  mirroring  mirrored\n1. A mirror is a flat piece of glass which reflects light, so that when you look at it you can see yourself reflected in it.\nHe absent-mindedly looked at himself in the mirror...\n  N-COUNT\n\n=>  mir.rored\n...a mirrored ceiling.\n  ADJ\n\n2. If something mirrors something else, it has similar features to it, and therefore seems like a copy or representation of it.\nThe book inevitably mirrors my own interests and experiences...\n  VERB: V n\n  = reflect\n3. If you see something reflected in water, you can say that the water mirrors it. (LITERARY)\n...the sudden glitter where a newly-flooded field mirrors the sky...\n  VERB: V n\n  = reflect


Words: mirror image
Meaning:
mir.ror im.age\n   mirror image  mirror images   also mirror-image\n  If something is a mirror image of something else, it is like a reflection of it, either because it is exactly the same or because it is the same but reversed.\nI saw in him a mirror image of my younger self...\n  N-COUNT: oft N of n


Words: mirror site
Meaning:
mir.ror site\n   mirror site  mirror sites\n  A mirror site is a website which is the same as another website operated by the same person or organization but has a slightly different address. Mirror sites are designed to make it easier for more people to visit a popular website.\n  N-COUNT


Words: mirth
Meaning:
mirth\n  Mirth is amusement which you express by laughing. (LITERARY)\nThat caused considerable mirth amongst pupils and sports masters alike...\n  N-UNCOUNT\n  = hilarity


Words: mirthless
Meaning:
mirth.less\n   mirthless\n  If someone gives a mirthless laugh or smile, it is obvious that they are not really amused. (WRITTEN)\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: mis-
Meaning:
mis-\n  Mis- is added to some verbs and nouns to form new verbs and nouns which indicate that something is done badly or wrongly.\nThe local newspaper misreported the story by claiming the premises were rented...\nHe was eventually convicted for the misuse of official funds.\n  PREFIX


Words: mis-sell
Meaning:
mis-sell  mis-sells  mis-selling  mis-sold\n  To mis-sell something such as a pension or an insurance policy means to sell it to someone even though you know that it is not suitable for them. (BUSINESS)\nThe company has been accused of mis-selling products to thousands of elderly investors.\n  VERB: V n


Words: misadventure
Meaning:
mis.ad.ven.ture\n   misadventure  misadventures\n  A misadventure is an unfortunate incident. (FORMAL)\n...a series of misadventures...\nA verdict of death by misadventure was recorded.\n  N-VAR


Words: misanthrope
Meaning:
mis.an.thrope\n   misanthrope  misanthropes\n  A misanthrope is a person who does not like other people. (FORMAL)\n  N-COUNT


Words: misanthropic
Meaning:
mis.an.throp.ic\n   misanthropic\n  If you describe a person or their feelings as misanthropic, you mean that they do not like other people. (FORMAL)\n  ADJ


Words: misapplication
Meaning:
mis.ap.pli.ca.tion\n   misapplication  misapplications\n  If you talk about the misapplication of something, you mean it is used for a purpose it was not intended for.\nHe’s charged with conspiracy, misapplication of funds and other crimes.\n...a common misapplication of the law.\n  N-VAR: usu N of n\n  = misuse


Words: misapply
Meaning:
mis.ap.ply\n   misapply  misapplies  misapplying  misapplied\n  If something is misapplied, it is used for a purpose for which it is not intended or not suitable.\nMany lines from Shakespeare’s plays are misquoted and misapplied...\nThe law had been misapplied.\n  VERB: usu passive, be V-ed, be V-ed\n  = misused


Words: misapprehension
Meaning:
mis.ap.pre.hen.sion\n   misapprehension  misapprehensions\n  A misapprehension is a wrong idea or impression that you have about something.\nMen still appear to be labouring under the misapprehension that women want hairy, muscular men...\n  N-VAR: oft N that, under N\n  = misunderstanding


Words: misappropriate
Meaning:
mis.ap.pro.pri.ate\n   misappropriate  misappropriates  misappropriating  misappropriated\n  If someone misappropriates money which does not belong to them, they take it without permission and use it for their own purposes.\nI took no money for personal use and have not misappropriated any funds whatsoever...\n  VERB: V n\n\n=>  mis.ap.pro.pria.tion\nHe pleaded guilty to charges of misappropriation of bank funds.\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu N of n


Words: misbehave
Meaning:
mis.be.have\n   misbehave  misbehaves  misbehaving  misbehaved\n  If someone, especially a child, misbehaves, they behave in a way that is not acceptable to other people.\nWhen the children misbehaved she was unable to cope.\n  VERB: V


Words: misbehaviour
Meaning:
mis.be.hav.iour\n   misbehaviour\nin AM, use misbehavior\n  Misbehaviour is behaviour that is not acceptable to other people. (FORMAL)\nIf the toddler had been dealt with properly at first, the rest of his misbehaviour would have been avoided.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: miscalculate
Meaning:
mis.cal.cu.late\n   miscalculate  miscalculates  miscalculating  miscalculated\n  If you miscalculate, you make a mistake in judging a situation or in making a calculation.\nIt’s clear that he has badly miscalculated the mood of the people...\nThe government appears to have miscalculated and bills are higher as a result.\n  VERB: V n, V\n\n=>  mis.cal.cu.la.tion      miscalculations\nThe coup failed because of miscalculations by the plotters...\n  N-VAR


Words: miscarriage
Meaning:
mis.car.riage\n   miscarriage  miscarriages\n  If a pregnant woman has a miscarriage, her baby dies and she gives birth to it before it is properly formed.\n  N-VAR


Words: miscarriage of justice
Meaning:
mis.car.riage of jus.tice\n   miscarriage of justice  miscarriages of justice\n  A miscarriage of justice is a wrong decision made by a court, as a result of which an innocent person is punished.\nI can imagine no greater miscarriage of justice than the execution of an innocent man.\n  N-VAR


Words: miscarry
Meaning:
mis.car.ry\n   miscarry  miscarries  miscarrying  miscarried\n  If a woman miscarries, she has a miscarriage.\nMany women who miscarry eventually have healthy babies.\n  VERB: V, also V n


Words: miscast
Meaning:
mis.cast\n   miscast\n  If someone who is acting in a play or film is miscast, the role that they have is not suitable for them, so that they appear silly or unconvincing to the audience.\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ


Words: miscellaneous
Meaning:
mis.cel.la.neous\n   miscellaneous\n  A miscellaneous group consists of many different kinds of things or people that are difficult to put into a particular category.\n...a hoard of miscellaneous junk...\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: miscellany
Meaning:
mis.cel.la.ny\n   miscellany  miscellanies\n  A miscellany of things is a collection or group of many different kinds of things. (WRITTEN)\n...glass cases filled with a miscellany of objects...\n  N-COUNT: oft N of n\n  = assortment


Words: mischief
Meaning:
mis.chief\n   mischief\n1. Mischief is playing harmless tricks on people or doing things you are not supposed to do. It can also refer to the desire to do this.\nThe little lad was a real handful. He was always up to mischief...\nHis eyes were full of mischief.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. Mischief is behaviour that is intended to cause trouble for people. It can also refer to the trouble that is caused.\nThe more sinister explanation is that he is about to make mischief in the Middle East again...\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: mischief-maker
Meaning:
mischief-maker  mischief-makers\n  If you say that someone is a mischief-maker, you are criticizing them for saying or doing things which are intended to cause trouble between people.\nThe letter had come from an unknown mischief-maker.\n  N-COUNT  disapproval


Words: mischievous
Meaning:
mis.chie.vous\n   mischievous\n1. A mischievous person likes to have fun by playing harmless tricks on people or doing things they are not supposed to do.\nShe rocks back and forth on her chair like a mischievous child...\n  ADJ\n\n=>  mis.chie.vous.ly\nKathryn winked mischievously.\n  ADV: usu ADV with v\n\n2. A mischievous act or suggestion is intended to cause trouble.\n...a mischievous campaign by the press to divide the ANC...\n  ADJ\n  = malicious\n=>  mis.chie.vous.ly\nThat does not require `massive’ military intervention, as some have mischievously claimed.\n  ADV: usu ADV with v


Words: misconceived
Meaning:
mis.con.ceived\n   misconceived\n  If you describe a plan or method as misconceived, you mean it is not the right one for dealing with a particular problem or situation.\nThe teachers say the tests for 14-year-olds are misconceived.\n...Lawrence’s worthy but misconceived idea.\n  ADJ\n  = misguided


Words: misconception
Meaning:
mis.con.cep.tion\n   misconception  misconceptions\n  A misconception is an idea that is not correct.\nThere are many fears and misconceptions about cancer.\n  N-COUNT


Words: misconduct
Meaning:
mis.con.duct\n   misconduct\n  Misconduct is bad or unacceptable behaviour, especially by a professional person.\nDr Lee was cleared of serious professional misconduct.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: misconstrue
Meaning:
mis.con.strue\n   misconstrue  misconstrues  misconstruing  misconstrued\n  If you misconstrue something that has been said or something that happens, you interpret it wrongly. (FORMAL)\nAn outsider might misconstrue the nature of the relationship...\n  VERB: V n\n  = misinterpret


Words: miscreant
Meaning:
mis.cre.ant\n   miscreant  miscreants\n  A miscreant is someone who has done something illegal or behaved badly. (LITERARY)\nLocal people demanded that the District Magistrate apprehend the miscreants.\n  N-COUNT


Words: misdeed
Meaning:
mis.deed\n   misdeed  misdeeds\n  A misdeed is a bad or evil act. (FORMAL)\n...the alleged financial misdeeds of his government.\n  N-COUNT


Words: misdemeanour
Meaning:
mis.de.mean.our\n   misdemeanour  misdemeanours\nin AM, use misdemeanor\n1. A misdemeanour is an act that some people consider to be wrong or unacceptable. (FORMAL)\nEmily knew nothing about her husband’s misdemeanours.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. In the United States and other countries where the legal system distinguishes between very serious crimes and less serious ones, a misdemeanour is a less serious crime. (LEGAL)\nShe was charged with a misdemeanour, that of carrying a concealed weapon.\n  N-COUNT


Words: misdirect
Meaning:
mis.di.rect\n   misdirect   misdirects   misdirecting   misdirected\n1. If resources or efforts are misdirected, they are used in the wrong way or for the wrong purposes.\nMany of the aid projects in the developing world have been misdirected in the past.\n  VERB: usu passive, be V-ed\n\n=>  mis.di.rect.ed\n...a misdirected effort to mollify the bishop.\n  ADJ\n\n2. If you misdirect someone, you send them in the wrong direction.\nHe had deliberately misdirected the reporters.\n  VERB: V n


Words: miser
Meaning:
mi.ser\n   miser  misers\n  If you say that someone is a miser, you disapprove of them because they seem to hate spending money, and to spend as little as possible.\nI’m married to a miser.\n  N-COUNT  disapproval\n  = skinflint


Words: miserable
Meaning:
mis.er.able\n   miserable\n1. If you are miserable, you are very unhappy.\nI took a series of badly paid secretarial jobs which made me really miserable...\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ\n\n=>  mis.er.ably\nHe looked miserably down at his plate.\n  ADV: usu ADV after v\n\n2. If you describe a place or situation as miserable, you mean that it makes you feel unhappy or depressed.\nThere was nothing at all in this miserable place to distract him.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  = depressing\n3. If you describe the weather as miserable, you mean that it makes you feel depressed, because it is raining or dull.\nIt was a grey, wet, miserable day...\n  ADJ\n\n4. If you describe someone as miserable, you mean that you do not like them because they are bad-tempered or unfriendly.\nHe always was a miserable man. He never spoke to me nor anybody else.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n5. You can describe a quantity or quality as miserable when you think that it is much smaller or worse than it ought to be.\nOur speed over the ground was a miserable 2.2 knots...\n  ADJ: usu a ADJ amount  emphasis\n\n=>  mis.er.ably\n...the miserably inadequate supply of books now provided for schools.\n  ADV: ADV adj\n\n6. A miserable failure is a very great one.\nThe film was a miserable commercial failure both in Italy and in the United States.\n  ADJ: ADJ n  emphasis\n\n=>  mis.er.ably\nSome manage it. Some fail miserably.\n  ADV: ADV with v


Words: miserly
Meaning:
mi.ser.ly\n   miserly\n1. If you describe someone as miserly, you disapprove of them because they seem to hate spending money, and to spend as little as possible.\nHe is miserly with both his time and his money.\n  ADJ  disapproval\n  = mean\n2. If you describe an amount of something as miserly, you are critical of it because it is very small.\nBeing a student today with miserly grants and limited career prospects is difficult.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n  disapproval\n  = measly


Words: misery
Meaning:
mis.ery\n   misery  miseries\n1. Misery is great unhappiness.\nAll that money brought nothing but sadness and misery and tragedy.\n...the miseries of his youth.\n  N-VAR\n\n2. Misery is the way of life and unpleasant living conditions of people who are very poor.\nA tiny, educated elite profited from the misery of their two million fellow countrymen.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n3. If someone makes your life a misery, they behave in an unpleasant way towards you over a period of time and make you very unhappy.\n...the gangs of kids who make our lives a misery.\n  PHRASE: V and life inflect\n\n4. If you put someone out of their misery, you tell them something that they are very anxious to know. (INFORMAL)\nPlease put me out of my misery. How do you do it?\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n5. If you put an animal out of its misery, you kill it because it is sick or injured and cannot be cured or healed.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n  = put down


Words: misfire
Meaning:
mis.fire\n   misfire  misfires  misfiring  misfired\n1. If a plan misfires, it goes wrong and does not have the results that you intend it to have.\nSome of their policies had misfired.\n  VERB: V\n\n2. If an engine misfires, the fuel fails to start burning when it should.\nThe boat’s engine misfired after he tried to start it up.\n  VERB: V\n\n3. If a gun misfires, the bullet is not sent out as it should be when the gun is fired.\nThe gun misfired after one shot and jammed.\n  VERB: V


Words: misfit
Meaning:
mis.fit\n   misfit  misfits\n  A misfit is a person who is not easily accepted by other people, often because their behaviour is very different from that of everyone else.\nI have been made to feel a social and psychological misfit for not wanting children.\n  N-COUNT


Words: misfortune
Meaning:
mis.for.tune\n   misfortune  misfortunes\n  A misfortune is something unpleasant or unlucky that happens to someone.\nShe seemed to enjoy the misfortunes of others...\nHe had his full share of misfortune.\n  N-VAR


Words: misgiving
Meaning:
mis.giv.ing\n   misgiving  misgivings\n  If you have misgivings about something that is being suggested or done, you feel that it is not quite right, and are worried that it may have unwanted results.\nShe had some misgivings about what she was about to do...\n  N-VAR


Words: misguided
Meaning:
mis.guid.ed\n   misguided\n  If you describe an opinion or plan as misguided, you are critical of it because you think it is based on an incorrect idea. You can also describe people as misguided.\nIn a misguided attempt to be funny, he manages only offensiveness...\n  ADJ  disapproval


Words: mishandle
Meaning:
mis.han.dle\n   mishandle  mishandles  mishandling  mishandled\n  If you say that someone has mishandled something, you are critical of them because you think they have dealt with it badly.\nThe judge said the police had mishandled the siege.\n  VERB: V n  disapproval\n  = mismanage\n=>  mis.han.dling\n...the Government’s mishandling of the economy.\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu poss N of n


Words: mishap
Meaning:
mis.hap\n   mishap  mishaps\n  A mishap is an unfortunate but not very serious event that happens to someone.\nAfter a number of mishaps she did manage to get back to Germany...\nThe plot passed off without mishap.\n  N-VAR


Words: mishear
Meaning:
mis.hear\n   mishear  mishears  mishearing  misheard\n  If you mishear what someone says, you hear it incorrectly, and think they said something different.\nYou misheard me, Frank...\nShe must have misheard.\n  VERB: V n, V


Words: mishmash
Meaning:
mish.mash\n   mishmash   also mish-mash\n  If you say that something is a mishmash, you are criticizing it because it is a confused mixture of different types of things.\nThe letter was a mish-mash of ill-fitting proposals taken from two different reform plans.\n  N-SING: usu a N of n  disapproval\n  = hotch-potch, hodgepodge


Words: misinform
Meaning:
mis.in.form\n   misinform  misinforms  misinforming  misinformed\n  If you are misinformed, you are told something that is wrong or inaccurate.\nHe has been misinformed by members of his own party...\nThe president defended the news blackout, accusing the media of misinforming the people.\n  VERB: be V-ed, V n


Words: misinformation
Meaning:
mis.in.for.ma.tion\n   misinformation\n  Misinformation is wrong information which is given to someone, often in a deliberate attempt to make them believe something which is not true.\nThis was a deliberate piece of misinformation.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: misinterpret
Meaning:
mis.in.ter.pret\n   misinterpret  misinterprets  misinterpreting  misinterpreted\n  If you misinterpret something, you understand it wrongly.\nHe was amazed that he’d misinterpreted the situation so completely...\n  VERB: V n\n  = misread\n=>  mis.in.ter.pre.ta.tion      misinterpretations\n...a misinterpretation of the aims and ends of socialism.\n  N-VAR


Words: misjudge
Meaning:
mis.judge\n   misjudge  misjudges  misjudging  misjudged\n  If you say that someone has misjudged a person or situation, you mean that they have formed an incorrect idea or opinion about them, and often that they have made a wrong decision as a result of this.\nPerhaps I had misjudged him, and he was not so predictable after all...\n  VERB: V n


Words: misjudgment
Meaning:
mis.judg.ment\n   misjudgment misjudgments\nin BRIT, also use misjudgement\n  A misjudgment is an incorrect idea or opinion that is formed about someone or something, especially when a wrong decision is made as a result of this.\n...a misjudgment in British foreign policy which had far-reaching consequences...\nMany accidents were due to pilot misjudgement.\n  N-VAR


Words: miskick
Meaning:
mis.kick\n   miskick miskicks miskicking  miskicked\n  To miskick the ball in a game such as football means to kick it badly so that it does not go in the direction you want it to. (JOURNALISM)\nHe miskicked the ball twice at the edge of the penalty box...\nHe miskicked completely as he lost his footing.\n  VERB: V n, V\n\n  Miskick is also a noun.\nA miskick gave Mark Leonard a clear shot at goal.\n  N-COUNT


Words: mislay
Meaning:
mis.lay\n   mislay  mislays  mislaying  mislaid\n  If you mislay something, you put it somewhere and then forget where you have put it.\nI appear to have mislaid my jumper.\n  VERB: V n\n  = misplace


Words: mislead
Meaning:
mis.lead\n   mislead  misleads  misleading  misled\n  If you say that someone has misled you, you mean that they have made you believe something which is not true, either by telling you a lie or by giving you a wrong idea or impression.\nJack was furious with his London doctors for having misled him...\n  VERB: V n


Words: misleading
Meaning:
mis.lead.ing\n   misleading\n  If you describe something as misleading, you mean that it gives you a wrong idea or impression.\nIt would be misleading to say that we were friends...\nThe article contains several misleading statements.\n  ADJ: oft it v-link ADJ to-inf\n\n=>  mis.lead.ing.ly\nThe data had been presented misleadingly.\n  ADV: usu ADV with v, also ADV adj


Words: mismanage
Meaning:
mis.man.age\n   mismanage  mismanages  mismanaging  mismanaged\n  To mismanage something means to manage it badly.\n75% of voters think the President has mismanaged the economy.\n  VERB: V n\n  = mishandle


Words: mismanagement
Meaning:
mis.man.age.ment\n   mismanagement\n  Someone’s mismanagement of a system or organization is the bad way they have dealt with it or organized it.\nHis gross mismanagement left the company desperately in need of restructuring.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft poss N, N of n\n  = mishandling


Words: mismatch
Meaning:
mis.match\n   mismatch mismatches mismatching  mismatched\nThe noun is pronounced   The verb is pronounced\n1. If there is a mismatch between two or more things or people, they do not go together well or are not suitable for each other.\nThere is a mismatch between the skills offered by people and the skills needed by industry.\n...an unfortunate mismatch of styles.\n  N-COUNT: oft N between/of pl-n, N of pl-n\n\n2. To mismatch things or people means to put them together although they do not go together well or are not suitable for each other.\nShe was deliberately mismatching articles of clothing.\n  VERB: V pl-n\n\n=>  mis.matched\nThe two opponents are mismatched.\n  ADJ


Words: misnamed
Meaning:
mis.named\n   misnamed\n  If you say that something or someone is misnamed, you mean that they have a name that describes them incorrectly.\n...a high school teacher who was misnamed Mr. Witty.\n...the misnamed Grand Hotel...\nThe truth is that junk bonds were misnamed, and therefore misunderstood.\n  V-PASSIVE: be V-ed n, V-ed, be V-ed


Words: misnomer
Meaning:
mis.no.mer\n   misnomer  misnomers\n  If you say that a word or name is a misnomer, you mean that it describes something incorrectly.\nHerbal `tea’ is something of a misnomer because these drinks contain no tea at all.\n  N-COUNT: usu a N in sing


Words: misogynist
Meaning:
mi.sogy.nist\n   misogynist  misogynists\n1. A misogynist is a man who dislikes women.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. Misogynist attitudes or actions are ones that involve or show a strong dislike of women.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: misplace
Meaning:
mis.place\n   misplace  misplaces  misplacing  misplaced\n  If you misplace something, you lose it, usually only temporarily.\nSomehow the suitcase with my clothes was misplaced.\n  VERB: be V-ed\n  = mislay


Words: misplaced
Meaning:
mis.placed\n   misplaced\n  If you describe a feeling or action as misplaced, you are critical of it because you think it is inappropriate, or directed towards the wrong thing or person.\nLenders rely on the misplaced loyalty of existing borrowers to make their profit...\n  ADJ  disapproval


Words: misprint
Meaning:
mis.print\n   misprint  misprints\n  A misprint is a mistake in the way something is printed, for example a spelling mistake.\n  N-COUNT


Words: mispronounce
Meaning:
mis.pro.nounce\n   mispronounce  mispronounces  mispronouncing  mispronounced\n  If you mispronounce a word, you pronounce it wrongly.\nHe repeatedly mispronounced words and slurred his speech.\n  VERB: V n


Words: misquote
Meaning:
mis.quote\n   misquote  misquotes  misquoting  misquoted\n  If someone is misquoted, something that they have said or written is repeated incorrectly.\nHe claimed that he had been misquoted and he threatened to sue the magazine for libel...\n  VERB: be V-ed


Words: misread
Meaning:
mis.read\n   misread misreads  misreading\nThe form misread   is used in the present tense, and is the past tense and past participle, when it is pronounced\n1. If you misread a situation or someone’s behaviour, you do not understand it properly.\nThe government largely misread the mood of the electorate...\nMothers may also misread signals and think the baby is crying because he is hungry.\n  VERB: V n, V n\n  = misinterpret\n=>  mis.read.ing      misreadings\n...a misreading of opinion in France.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If you misread something that has been written or printed, you look at it and think that it says something that it does not say.\nHis chauffeur misread his route and took a wrong turning.\n  VERB: V n


Words: misremember
Meaning:
mis.re.mem.ber\n   misremember  misremembers  misremembering  misremembered\n  If you misremember something, you remember it incorrectly. (mainly AM FORMAL)\nHe proved over-confident on the witness stand, misremembering a key piece of evidence.\n  VERB: V n


Words: misrepresent
Meaning:
mis.rep.re.sent\n   misrepresent  misrepresents  misrepresenting  misrepresented\n  If someone misrepresents a person or situation, they give a wrong or inaccurate account of what the person or situation is like.\nHe said that the press had misrepresented him as arrogant and bullying...\nHollywood films misrepresented us as drunks, maniacs and murderers...\nKeynes deliberately misrepresented the views of his opponents...\n  VERB: V n as adj, V n as n, V n\n\n=>  mis.rep.re.sen.ta.tion      misrepresentations\nI wish to point out your misrepresentation of the facts...\n  N-VAR


Words: misrule
Meaning:
mis.rule\n   misrule\n  If you refer to someone’s government of a country as misrule, you are critical of them for governing their country badly or unfairly.\nHe was arrested last December, accused of corruption and misrule...\n  N-UNCOUNT  disapproval


Words: Miss
Meaning:
USED AS A TITLE OR A FORM OF ADDRESS\n   Miss  Misses\n1. You use Miss in front of the name of a girl or unmarried woman when you are speaking to her or referring to her.\nIt was nice talking to you, Miss Giroux...\n  N-TITLE\n\n2. In some schools, children address their women teachers as Miss. (mainly BRIT)\n`Chivers!’.`Yes, Miss?’\n  N-VOC


Words: miss
Meaning:
VERB AND NOUN USES\n   miss  misses  missing  missed\n\nPlease look at category 11 to see if the expression you are looking for is shown under another headword.\n1. If you miss something, you fail to hit it, for example when you have thrown something at it or you have shot a bullet at it.\nShe hurled the ashtray across the room, narrowly missing my head...\nWhen I’d missed a few times, he suggested I rest the rifle on a rock to steady it.\n  VERB: V n, V\n  !=hit\n  Miss is also a noun.\nAfter more misses, they finally put two arrows into the lion’s chest.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. In sport, if you miss a shot, you fail to get the ball in the goal, net, or hole.\nHe scored four of the goals but missed a penalty.\n  VERB: V n, also V\n\n  Miss is also a noun.\nStriker Alan Smith was guilty of two glaring misses.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. If you miss something, you fail to notice it.\nFrom this vantage point he watched, his searching eye never missing a detail...\nIt’s the first thing you see as you come round the corner. You can’t miss it...\n  VERB: V n, V n\n  !=notice\n4. If you miss the meaning or importance of something, you fail to understand or appreciate it.\nTambov had slightly missed the point...\n  VERB: V n\n  !=get\n5. If you miss a chance or opportunity, you fail to take advantage of it.\nWilliams knew that she had missed her chance of victory...\nIt was too good an opportunity to miss.\n  VERB: V n, V n\n  !=seize\n6. If you miss someone who is no longer with you or who has died, you feel sad and wish that they were still with you.\nYour mama and I are gonna miss you at Christmas...\n  VERB: V n\n\n7. If you miss something, you feel sad because you no longer have it or are no longer doing or experiencing it.\nI could happily move back into a flat if it wasn’t for the fact that I’d miss my garden...\nHe missed having good friends.\n  VERB: V n/-ing, V n/-ing\n\n8. If you miss something such as a plane or train, you arrive too late to catch it.\nHe missed the last bus home.\n  VERB: V n\n  !=catch\n9. If you miss something such as a meeting or an activity, you do not go to it or take part in it.\nIt’s a pity Makku and I had to miss our lesson last week...\n`Are you coming to the show?’.`I wouldn’t miss it for the world.’\n  VERB: V n, V n\n\n10. If you give something a miss, you decide not to do it or not to go to it. (BRIT INFORMAL)\nDo you mind if I give it a miss?\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n11.\nto miss the boat: see boat\nnot to miss a trick: see trick\n  see also missing, hit and miss, near miss


Words: miss out
Meaning:
miss out\n1. If you miss out on something that would be enjoyable or useful to you, you are not involved in it or do not take part in it.\nWe’re missing out on a tremendous opportunity...\nWell, I’m glad you could make it. I didn’t want you to miss out.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P on n, V P\n  = lose out\n2. If you miss out something or someone, you fail to include them. (BRIT; in AM, use leave out)\nThere should be an apostrophe here, and look, you’ve missed out the word `men’ altogether!...\nWhat about Sally? You’ve missed her out.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), V n P\n  = leave out


Words: misshapen
Meaning:
mis.shap.en\n   misshapen\n  If you describe something as misshapen, you think that it does not have a normal or natural shape.\n...misshapen vegetables...\nHer hands were misshapen by arthritis.\n  ADJ


Words: missile
Meaning:
mis.sile\n   missile  missiles\n1. A missile is a tube-shaped weapon that travels long distances through the air and explodes when it reaches its target.\nThe authorities offered to stop firing missiles if the rebels agreed to stop attacking civilian targets.\n...nuclear missiles.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. Anything that is thrown as a weapon can be called a missile.\nThe football supporters began throwing missiles, one of which hit the referee.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3.\n  see also cruise missile, guided missile


Words: missing
Meaning:
miss.ing\n   missing\n1. If something is missing, it is not in its usual place, and you cannot find it.\nIt was only an hour or so later that I discovered that my gun was missing...\nThe playing cards had gone missing.\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ\n\n2. If a part of something is missing, it has been removed or has come off, and has not been replaced.\nThree buttons were missing from his shirt.\n  ADJ\n\n3. If you say that something is missing, you mean that it has not been included, and you think that it should have been.\nShe had given me an incomplete list. One name was missing from it.\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ, oft ADJ from n\n\n4. Someone who is missing cannot be found, and it is not known whether they are alive or dead.\nFive people died in the explosion and more than one thousand were injured. One person is still missing.\n  ADJ\n\n  If a member of the armed forces is missing in action, they have not returned from a battle, their body has not been found, and they are not thought to have been captured.\n  PHRASE: usu v-link PHR


Words: missing link
Meaning:
miss.ing link\n   missing link  missing links\n  The missing link in a situation is the piece of information or evidence that you need in order to make your knowledge or understanding of something complete.\nWe’re dealing with probably the biggest missing link in what we know about human evolution.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing


Words: missing person
Meaning:
miss.ing per.son\n   missing person  missing persons\n  A missing person has suddenly left their home without telling their family where they are going, and it is not known whether they are alive or dead.\n  N-COUNT


Words: mission
Meaning:
mis.sion\n   mission  missions\n1. A mission is an important task that people are given to do, especially one that involves travelling to another country.\nSalisbury sent him on a diplomatic mission to North America...\n...the most crucial stage of his latest peace mission.\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp\n\n2. A mission is a group of people who have been sent to a foreign country to carry out an official task.\n...a senior member of a diplomatic mission.\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp\n  = delegation\n3. A mission is a special journey made by a military aeroplane or space rocket.\n...a bomber that crashed during a training mission in the west Texas mountains.\n...the first shuttle mission.\n  N-COUNT: usu supp N\n\n4. If you say that you have a mission, you mean that you have a strong commitment and sense of duty to do or achieve something.\nHe viewed his mission in life as protecting the weak from the evil...\n  N-SING: usu poss N, also n of N\n  = vocation\n5. A mission is the activities of a group of Christians who have been sent to a place to teach people about Christianity.\nThey say God spoke to them and told them to go on a mission to the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.\n  N-COUNT


Words: mission control
Meaning:
mis.sion con.trol\n   mission control\n  Mission control is the group of people on Earth who are in charge of a flight by a spacecraft, or the place where these people work.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: mission statement
Meaning:
mis.sion state.ment\n   mission statement  mission statements\n  A company’s or organization’s mission statement is a document which states what they aim to achieve and the kind of service they intend to provide. (BUSINESS)\n  N-COUNT


Words: missionary
Meaning:
mis.sion.ary\n   missionary  missionaries\n1. A missionary is a Christian who has been sent to a foreign country to teach people about Christianity.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. Missionary is used to describe the activities of missionaries.\nYou should be in missionary work.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n3. If you refer to someone’s enthusiasm for an activity or belief as missionary zeal, you are emphasizing that they are very enthusiastic about it.\nShe had a kind of missionary zeal about bringing culture to the masses.\n  ADJ: ADJ n  emphasis


Words: missionary position
Meaning:
mis.sion.ary po.si.tion\n   missionary position\n  The missionary position is a position for sexual intercourse in which the man lies on top of the woman and they are facing each other.\n  N-SING: usu the N


Words: missive
Meaning:
mis.sive\n   missive  missives\n  A missive is a letter or other message that someone sends. (HUMOROUS or LITERARY)\n...the customary missive from your dear mother.\n  N-COUNT\n  = epistle


Words: misspell
Meaning:
mis.spell\n   misspell  misspells  misspelling  misspelled  or misspelt\n  If someone misspells a word, they spell it wrongly.\nSorry I misspelled your last name.\n  VERB: V n\n\n=>  mis.spell.ing      misspellings\n...a misspelling of the writer’s name.\n  N-COUNT


Words: misspend
Meaning:
mis.spend\n   misspend  misspends  misspending  misspent\n  If you say that time or money has been misspent, you disapprove of the way in which it has been spent.\nMuch of the money was grossly misspent...\n  VERB: be V-ed  disapproval\n  = waste


Words: misstate
Meaning:
mis.state\n   misstate  misstates  misstating  misstated\n  If you misstate something, you state it incorrectly or give false information about it. (mainly AM)\nLook at the false police reports that omitted or misstated crucial facts...\nThe amount was misstated in the table because of an error by regulators.\n  VERB: V n, be V-ed


Words: misstatement
Meaning:
mis.state.ment\n   misstatement  misstatements\n  A misstatement is an incorrect statement, or the giving of false information. (mainly AM)\nHe finally corrected his misstatement and offered to reduce the fee...\nWhile this booklet has become an official source of information, it is filled with misstatements of fact.\n  N-COUNT


Words: missus
Meaning:
mis.sus\n   missus   also missis\n1. Some people refer to a man’s wife as his missus. (INFORMAL)\nThat’s what bugs my missus more than anything...\nI do a bit of shopping for the missus.\n  N-SING: poss/the N\n  = old lady\n2. In some parts of Britain, people use missus as a very informal way of addressing a woman who they do not know.\nThanks, missus.\n  N-VOC


Words: mist
Meaning:
mist  mists  misting  misted\n1. Mist consists of a large number of tiny drops of water in the air, which make it difficult to see very far.\nThick mist made flying impossible...\nMists and fog swirled about the road.\n  N-VAR\n\n2. If a piece of glass mists or is misted, it becomes covered with tiny drops of moisture, so that you cannot see through it easily.\nThe windows misted, blurring the stark streetlight...\nThe temperature in the car was misting the window.\n  VERB: V, V n\n\n  Mist over and mist up mean the same as mist.\nThe front windshield was misting over...\nShe stood in front of the misted-up mirror.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P, V-ed P


Words: mistake
Meaning:
mis.take\n   mistake  mistakes  mistaking  mistook  mistaken\n1. If you make a mistake, you do something which you did not intend to do, or which produces a result that you do not want.\nThey made the big mistake of thinking they could seize its border with a relatively small force...\nI think it’s a serious mistake to confuse books with life...\nThere must be some mistake...\nHe has been arrested by mistake.\n  N-COUNT: oft N of -ing, also by N\n\n2. A mistake is something or part of something which is incorrect or not right.\nHer mother sighed and rubbed out another mistake in the crossword puzzle.\n...spelling mistakes.\n  N-COUNT\n  = error\n3. If you mistake one person or thing for another, you wrongly think that they are the other person or thing.\nI mistook you for Carlos...\n  VERB: V n for n\n\n4. If you mistake something, you fail to recognize or understand it.\nThe government completely mistook the feeling of the country...\nNo one should mistake how serious the issue is.\n  VERB: V n, V wh\n  = misjudge\n5. You can say there is no mistaking something when you are emphasizing that you cannot fail to recognize or understand it.\nThere’s no mistaking the eastern flavour of the food...\n  PHRASE: V inflects, PHR n  emphasis


Words: mistaken
Meaning:
mis.tak.en\n   mistaken\n1. If you are mistaken about something, you are wrong about it.\nI see I was mistaken about you...\nYou couldn’t be more mistaken, Alex. You’ve utterly misread the situation.\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ, oft ADJ about n\n  = wrong\n  You use expressions such as if I’m not mistaken and unless I’m very much mistaken as a polite way of emphasizing the statement you are making, especially when you are confident that it is correct.\nI think he wanted to marry her, if I am not mistaken...\nUnless I’m mistaken, he didn’t specify what time.\n  PHRASE: PHR with cl  emphasis\n\n2. A mistaken belief or opinion is incorrect.\n...a limited understanding of addiction and mistaken beliefs about how it can be overcome.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n=>  mis.tak.en.ly\nHe says they mistakenly believed the standard licenses they held were sufficient.\n  ADV: ADV with v


Words: mistaken identity
Meaning:
mis.tak.en iden.tity\n   mistaken identity\n  When someone incorrectly thinks that they have found or recognized a particular person, you refer to this as a case of mistaken identity.\nThe dead men could have been the victims of mistaken identity. Their attackers may have wrongly believed them to be soldiers.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: mister
Meaning:
mis.ter\n   mister\n  Men are sometimes addressed as mister, especially by children and especially when the person talking to them does not know their name. (INFORMAL)\nLook, Mister, we know our job, so don’t try to tell us what to do.\n  N-VOC


Words: mistime
Meaning:
mis.time\n   mistime  mistimes  mistiming  mistimed\n  If you mistime something, you do it at the wrong time, so that it is not successful.\nYou’re bound to mistime a tackle every so often.\n...a certain mistimed comment.\n  VERB: V n, V-ed


Words: mistletoe
Meaning:
mis.tle.toe\n   mistletoe\n  Mistletoe is a plant with pale berries that grows on the branches of some trees. Mistletoe is used in Britain and the United States as a Christmas decoration, and people often kiss under it.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: mistreat
Meaning:
mis.treat\n   mistreat  mistreats  mistreating  mistreated\n  If someone mistreats a person or an animal, they treat them badly, especially by making them suffer physically.\nShe has been mistreated by men in the past.\n  VERB: be V-ed\n  = ill-treat


Words: mistreatment
Meaning:
mis.treat.ment\n   mistreatment\n  Mistreatment of a person or animal is cruel behaviour towards them, especially by making them suffer physically.\n...issues like police brutality and mistreatment of people in prisons.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n  = maltreatment


Words: mistress
Meaning:
mis.tress\n   mistress  mistresses\n1. A married man’s mistress is a woman who is not his wife and with whom he is having a sexual relationship. (OLD-FASHIONED)\nShe was his mistress for three years...\n  N-COUNT: usu with poss\n\n2. A dog’s mistress is the woman or girl who owns it.\nThe huge wolfhound danced in circles around his mistress.\n  N-COUNT: usu poss N


Words: mistrial
Meaning:
mis.tri.al\n   mistrial  mistrials\n1. A mistrial is a legal trial that is conducted unfairly, for example because not all the evidence is considered, so that there must be a new trial.\nThe past has been scarred by countless mistrials and perversions of justice.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A mistrial is a legal trial which ends without a verdict, for example because the jury cannot agree on one. (AM)\nThe judge said he would declare a mistrial if the jury did not reach its verdict today.\n  N-COUNT


Words: mistrust
Meaning:
mis.trust\n   mistrust  mistrusts  mistrusting  mistrusted\n1. Mistrust is the feeling that you have towards someone who you do not trust.\nThere was mutual mistrust between the two men.\n...a deep mistrust of state banks.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n  = distrust\n2. If you mistrust someone or something, you do not trust them.\nIt frequently appears that Bell mistrusts all journalists.\n  VERB: V n\n  = distrust


Words: mistrustful
Meaning:
mis.trust.ful\n   mistrustful\n  If you are mistrustful of someone, you do not trust them.\nHe had always been mistrustful of women.\n  ADJ: oft ADJ of n\n  = distrustful


Words: misty
Meaning:
misty\n  On a misty day, there is a lot of mist in the air.\nThe air was cold and misty.\n  ADJ: oft it v-link ADJ


Words: misty-eyed
Meaning:
misty-eyed\n  If you say that something makes you misty-eyed, you mean that it makes you feel so happy or sentimental, especially about the past, that you feel as if you are going to cry.\nThey got misty-eyed listening to records of Ruby Murray singing `Danny Boy’.\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ


Words: misunderstand
Meaning:
mis.under.stand\n   misunderstand  misunderstands  misunderstanding  misunderstood\n  If you misunderstand someone or something, you do not understand them properly.\nThey have simply misunderstood what rock and roll is...\nMaybe I misunderstood you.\n  VERB: V wh, V n\n\n  see also misunderstood\n  You can say don’t misunderstand me when you want to correct a wrong impression that you think someone may have got about what you are saying.\nI’m not saying what he did was good, don’t misunderstand me.\n  CONVENTION


Words: misunderstanding
Meaning:
mis.under.stand.ing\n   misunderstanding  misunderstandings\n1. A misunderstanding is a failure to understand something properly, for example a situation or a person’s remarks.\nTell your midwife what you want so she can make a note of it and avoid misunderstandings.\n  N-VAR\n\n2. You can refer to a disagreement or slight quarrel as a misunderstanding. (FORMAL)\n...a little misunderstanding with the police.\n  N-COUNT


Words: misunderstood
Meaning:
mis.under.stood\n   misunderstood\n1. Misunderstood is the past tense and past participle of misunderstand.\n\n2. If you describe someone or something as misunderstood, you mean that people do not understand them and have a wrong impression or idea of them.\nEric is very badly misunderstood...\nThe cost of capital is widely misunderstood.\n  ADJ


Words: misuse
Meaning:
mis.use\n   misuse misuses misusing  misused\nThe noun is pronounced   The verb is pronounced\n1. The misuse of something is incorrect, careless, or dishonest use of it.\n...the misuse of power and privilege...\nThe effectiveness of this class of drug has, however, led to their misuse.\n  N-VAR: usu with supp, oft N of n\n\n2. If someone misuses something, they use it incorrectly, carelessly, or dishonestly.\nYou are protected instantly if a thief misuses your credit card...\n  VERB: V n


Words: mite
Meaning:
mite  mites\n1. A mite means to a small extent or degree. It is sometimes used to make a statement less extreme.\nI can’t help feeling just a mite uneasy about it...\n  PHRASE: PHR adj/adv\n  = a bit, a touch\n2. Mites are very tiny creatures that live on plants, for example, or in animals’ fur.\n...an itching skin disorder caused by parasitic mites.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl


Words: mitigate
Meaning:
miti.gate\n   mitigate  mitigates  mitigating  mitigated\n  To mitigate something means to make it less unpleasant, serious, or painful. (FORMAL)\n...ways of mitigating the effects of an explosion...\n  VERB: V n\n  = alleviate


Words: mitigating
Meaning:
miti.gat.ing\n   mitigating\n  Mitigating circumstances or factors make a bad action, especially a crime, easier to understand and excuse, and may result in the person responsible being punished less severely. (LEGAL or FORMAL)\nThe judge found that in her case there were mitigating circumstances...\nThere are various mitigating factors.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: mitigation
Meaning:
miti.ga.tion\n   mitigation\n1. If someone, especially in a court, is told something in mitigation, they are told something that makes a crime or fault easier to understand and excuse. (FORMAL)\nKieran Coonan QC told the judge in mitigation that the offences had been at the lower end of the scale...\n  PHRASE: PHR with cl\n\n2. Mitigation is a reduction in the unpleasantness, seriousness, or painfulness of something. (FORMAL)\n...the mitigation or cure of a physical or mental condition.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n  = alleviation


Words: mitt
Meaning:
mitt  mitts\n1. You can refer to a person’s hands as their mitts. (INFORMAL)\nI pressed a dime into his grubby mitt.\n  N-COUNT\n  = paw\n2. A baseball mitt is a large glove worn by a player whose job involves catching the ball.\n  N-COUNT: usu supp N


Words: mitten
Meaning:
mit.ten\n   mitten  mittens\n  Mittens are gloves which have one section that covers your thumb and another section that covers your four fingers together.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl


Words: mix
Meaning:
mix  mixes  mixing  mixed\n1. If two substances mix or if you mix one substance with another, you stir or shake them together, or combine them in some other way, so that they become a single substance.\nOil and water don’t mix...\nIt mixes easily with cold or hot water to make a tasty, filling drink...\nA quick stir will mix them thoroughly...\nMix the cinnamon with the rest of the sugar...\nMix the ingredients together slowly.\n  V-RECIP: pl-n V, V with n, V pl-n, V n with n, V n with adv\n\n=>  mix.ing\nThis final part of the mixing is done slowly and delicately.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. If you mix something, you prepare it by mixing other things together.\nHe had spent several hours mixing cement...\nAre you sure I can’t mix you a drink?\n  VERB: V n, V n n\n\n3. A mix is a powder containing all the substances that you need in order to make something such as a cake or a sauce. When you want to use it, you add liquid.\nFor speed we used packets of pizza dough mix...\n  N-VAR: usu supp N\n\n4. A mix of different things or people is two or more of them together.\nThe story is a magical mix of fantasy and reality...\nWe get a very representative mix of people.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, with supp\n\n5. If two things or activities do not mix or if one thing does not mix with another, it is not a good idea to have them or do them together, because the result would be unpleasant or dangerous.\nPolitics and sport don’t mix.\n...some of these pills that don’t mix with drink...\nTed managed to mix business with pleasure...\nThe military has accused the clergy of mixing religion and politics.\n  V-RECIP: usu with brd-neg, pl-n V, V with n, V n with n, V pl-n\n\n6. If you mix with other people, you meet them and talk to them. You can also say that people mix.\nI ventured the idea that the secret of staying young was to mix with older people...\nPeople are supposed to mix, do you understand?...\nWhen you came away you made a definite effort to mix.\n  V-RECIP: V with n, pl-n V, V (non-recip)\n  = socialize\n7. When a record producer mixes a piece of music, he or she puts together the various sounds that have been recorded in order to make the finished record.\nThey’ve been mixing tracks for a new album due out later this year.\n  VERB: V n\n\n=>  mix.ing\nFinal mixing should be completed by the end of this week.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n8.\nto mix your metaphors: see metaphor\n  see also mixed, cake mix


Words: mix up
Meaning:
mix up\n1. If you mix up two things or people, you confuse them, so that you think that one of them is the other one.\nPeople often mix me up with other actors...\nDepressed people may mix up their words...\nAny time you told one of them something, they’d swear you’d mixed them up and told the other.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V n P with n, V P pl-n (not pron), V pl-n P\n\n2. If you mix up a number of things, you put things of different kinds together or place things so that they are not in order.\nI like to mix up designer clothes...\nPart of the plan was that the town should not fall into office, industrial and residential zones, but mix the three up together...\nThis is music from a different era. I’ve taken those sounds from childhood and mixed them up with other things.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P pl-n (not pron), V pl-n P, V n P with n\n\n3.\n  see also mixed up, mix-up


Words: mix-up
Meaning:
mix-up  mix-ups\n  A mix-up is a mistake or a failure in the way that something has been planned. (INFORMAL)\n...a mix-up over travel arrangements.\n  N-COUNT


Words: mixed
Meaning:
mixed\n1. If you have mixed feelings about something or someone, you feel uncertain about them because you can see both good and bad points about them.\nI came home from the meeting with mixed feelings...\nThere has been a very mixed reaction to the decision.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n2. A mixed group of people consists of people of many different types.\nI found a very mixed group of individuals some of whom I could relate to and others with whom I had very little in common...\n  ADJ\n\n3. Mixed is used to describe something that involves people from two or more different races.\n...a woman of mixed race...\nShe had attended a racially mixed school.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n4. Mixed education or accommodation is intended for both males and females.\nGirls who have always been at a mixed school know how to stand up for themselves...\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n5. Mixed is used to describe something which includes or consists of different things of the same general kind.\n...a small mixed salad...\n...a teaspoon of mixed herbs.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n6.\na mixed blessing: see blessing


Words: mixed ability
Meaning:
mixed abil.ity\n   mixed ability\n  A mixed ability class or teaching system is one in which pupils are taught together in the same class, even though their abilities are different. (BRIT)\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: mixed bag
Meaning:
mixed bag\n  If you describe a situation or a group of things or people as a mixed bag, you mean that it contains some good items, features, or people and some bad ones.\nResearch on athletes and ordinary human subjects has yielded a mixed bag of results...\nThis autumn’s collections are a very mixed bag.\n  N-SING: usu a N, oft N of n


Words: mixed doubles
Meaning:
mixed dou.bles\n   mixed doubles\n  In some sports, such as tennis and badminton, mixed doubles is a match in which a man and a woman play as partners against another man and woman.\n  N-UNCOUNT: also the N


Words: mixed economy
Meaning:
mixed econo.my\n   mixed economy  mixed economies\n  A mixed economy is an economic system in which some companies are owned by the state and some are not. (BUSINESS)\n  N-COUNT


Words: mixed marriage
Meaning:
mixed mar.riage\n   mixed marriage  mixed marriages\n  A mixed marriage is a marriage between two people who are not of the same race or religion.\n  N-COUNT


Words: mixed up
Meaning:
mixed up\n1. If you are mixed up, you are confused, often because of emotional or social problems.\nI think he’s a rather mixed up kid...\n  ADJ\n\n2. To be mixed up in something bad, or with someone you disapprove of, means to be involved in it or with them.\nWhy did I ever get mixed up with you?\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ in/with n


Words: mixer
Meaning:
mix.er\n   mixer  mixers\n1. A mixer is a machine used for mixing things together.\n...an electric mixer.\n  N-COUNT: usu supp N\n\n  see also cement mixer, food mixer\n2. A mixer is a non-alcoholic drink such as fruit juice that you mix with strong alcohol such as gin.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. If you say that someone is a good mixer, you mean that they are good at talking to people and making friends.\nCooper was a good mixer, he was popular.\n  N-COUNT: adj N\n\n4. A mixer is a piece of equipment that is used to make changes to recorded music or film.\n...a three channel audio mixer.\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp


Words: mixing bowl
Meaning:
mix.ing bowl\n   mixing bowl  mixing bowls\n  A mixing bowl is a large bowl used for mixing ingredients.\n  N-COUNT


Words: mixture
Meaning:
mix.ture\n   mixture  mixtures\n1. A mixture of things consists of several different things together.\nThey looked at him with a mixture of horror, envy, and awe.\n...a mixture of spiced, grilled vegetables served cold.\n  N-SING: usu N of pl-n\n\n2. A mixture is a substance that consists of other substances which have been stirred or shaken together.\nPrepare the gravy mixture.\n...a mixture of water and sugar and salt.\n  N-COUNT: oft supp N, N of n\n\n  see also cough mixture


Words: Mk
Meaning:
Mk is a written abbreviation for mark. Mk is used to refer to a particular model or design of a car or machine.\n...a 1974 white MG Midget Mk 3.


Words: MLA
Meaning:
MLA  MLAs\n  In Australia and some other countries, an MLA is a person who has been elected as a member of parliament. MLA is an abbreviation for `member of the legislative assembly’.\n  N-COUNT


Words: mnemonic
Meaning:
mne.mon.ic\n   mnemonic  mnemonics\n  A mnemonic is a word, short poem, or sentence that is intended to help you remember things such as scientific rules or spelling rules. For example, `i before e, except after c’ is a mnemonic to help people remember how to spell words like `believe’ and `receive’.\n...mnemonic devices.\n  N-COUNT: oft N n


Words: mo
Meaning:
mo\n  A mo is a very short length of time. It is short for moment. (BRIT INFORMAL, SPOKEN)\nHang on a mo.\n  N-SING: a N\n  = sec, tick


Words: moan
Meaning:
moan  moans  moaning  moaned\n1. If you moan, you make a low sound, usually because you are unhappy or in pain.\nTony moaned in his sleep and then turned over on his side...\n`My head, my head,’ he moaned. `I can’t see.’\n  VERB: V, V with quote\n  = groan\n  Moan is also a noun.\nSuddenly she gave a low, choking moan and began to tremble violently.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. To moan means to complain or speak in a way which shows that you are very unhappy.\nI used to moan if I didn’t get at least six hours’ sleep at night.\n...moaning about the weather...\nMeg moans, `I hated it!’...\nThe gardener was moaning that he had another garden to do later that morning.\n  VERB: V, V prep/adv, V with quote, V that  disapproval\n\n3. A moan is a complaint. (INFORMAL)\nThey have been listening to people’s gripes, moans and praise.\n  N-COUNT\n\n4. If you have a moan, you complain about something. (INFORMAL)\nYou can go see him and have a good old moan.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n5. A moan is a low noise. (LITERARY)\n...the occasional moan of the wind round the corners of the house.\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp


Words: moaner
Meaning:
moan.er\n   moaner  moaners\n  If you refer to someone as a moaner, you are critical of them because they often complain about things. (INFORMAL)\nFilm critics are dreadful moaners.\n  N-COUNT  disapproval


Words: moat
Meaning:
moat  moats\n  A moat is a deep, wide channel dug round a place such as a castle and filled with water, in order to protect the place from attack.\n  N-COUNT


Words: mob
Meaning:
mob  mobs  mobbing  mobbed\n1. A mob is a large, disorganized, and often violent crowd of people.\nThe inspectors watched a growing mob of demonstrators gathering.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. People sometimes use the mob to refer in a disapproving way to the majority of people in a country or place, especially when these people are behaving in a violent or uncontrolled way.\nIf they continue like this there is a danger of the mob taking over...\n  N-SING: the N, N n  disapproval\n\n3. You can refer to the people involved in organized crime as the Mob. (INFORMAL)\n...casinos that the Mob had operated...\n  N-SING: usu the N, N n\n\n4. If you say that someone is being mobbed by a crowd of people, you mean that the people are trying to talk to them or get near them in an enthusiastic or threatening way.\nThey found themselves being mobbed in the street for autographs.\n  VERB: usu passive, be V-ed


Words: mobile
Meaning:
mo.bile\n   mobile  mobiles\n1. You use mobile to describe something large that can be moved easily from place to place.\n...the four hundred seat mobile theatre.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n2. If you are mobile, you can move or travel easily from place to place, for example because you are not physically disabled or because you have your own transport.\nI’m still very mobile.\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ\n\n=>  mo.bil.ity\nTwo cars gave them the freedom and mobility to go their separate ways.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n3. In a mobile society, people move easily from one job, home, or social class to another.\nWe’re a very mobile society, and people move after they get divorced.\n...young, mobile professionals.\n  ADJ\n\n=>  mo.bil.ity\nPrior to the nineteenth century, there were almost no channels of social mobility.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n4. A mobile is a decoration which you hang from a ceiling. It usually consists of several small objects which move as the air around them moves.\n  N-COUNT\n\n5. A mobile is the same as a mobile phone.\n  N-COUNT\n\n6.\n  see also upwardly mobile


Words: mobile home
Meaning:
mo.bile home\n   mobile home  mobile homes\n  A mobile home is a large caravan that people live in and that usually remains in the same place, but which can be pulled to another place using a car or van.\n  N-COUNT


Words: mobile phone
Meaning:
mo.bile phone\n   mobile phone  mobile phones\n  A mobile phone is a telephone that you can carry with you and use to make or receive calls wherever you are. (BRIT; in AM, use cellular phone, cellphone)\n  N-COUNT


Words: mobilize
Meaning:
mo.bi.lize\n   mobilize  mobilizes  mobilizing  mobilized\nin BRIT, also use mobilise\n1. If you mobilize support or mobilize people to do something, you succeed in encouraging people to take action, especially political action. If people mobilize, they prepare to take action.\nThe best hope is that we will mobilize international support and get down to action...\nFaced with crisis, people mobilized.\n  VERB: V n, V\n\n=>  mo.bi.li.za.tion\n...the rapid mobilization of international opinion in support of the revolution.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N of n\n\n2. If you mobilize resources, you start to use them or make them available for use.\nIf you could mobilize the resources, you could get it done.\n  VERB: V n\n\n=>  mo.bi.li.za.tion\n...the mobilisation of resources for education.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N of n\n\n3. If a country mobilizes, or mobilizes its armed forces, or if its armed forces mobilize, they are given orders to prepare for a conflict. (JOURNALISM or MILITARY)\nSudan even threatened to mobilize in response to the ultimatums...\nIndia is now in a better position to mobilise its forces...\n  VERB: V, V n\n\n=>  mo.bi.li.za.tion\n...a demand for full-scale mobilisation to defend the republic.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: mobster
Meaning:
mob.ster\n   mobster  mobsters\n  A mobster is someone who is a member of an organized group of violent criminals.\n  N-COUNT\n  = gangster


Words: moccasin
Meaning:
moc.ca.sin\n   moccasin  moccasins\n  Moccasins are soft leather shoes which have a low heel and a raised join round the top of the front part.\n  N-COUNT


Words: mock
Meaning:
mock  mocks  mocking  mocked\n1. If someone mocks you, they show or pretend that they think you are foolish or inferior, for example by saying something funny about you, or by imitating your behaviour.\nI thought you were mocking me...\n`I’m astonished, Benjamin,’ she mocked.\n  VERB: V n, V with quote\n\n2. You use mock to describe something which is not real or genuine, but which is intended to be very similar to the real thing.\n`It’s tragic!’ swoons Jeffrey in mock horror...\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n3. Mocks are practice exams that you take as part of your preparation for real exams. (BRIT INFORMAL)\nShe went from a D in her mocks to a B in the real thing.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl


Words: mock-up
Meaning:
mock-up  mock-ups\n  A mock-up of something such as a machine or building is a model of it which is used in tests or to show people what it will look like.\nThere’s a mock-up of the high street where the Goodwins go shopping.\n  N-COUNT: oft N of n


Words: mockery
Meaning:
mock.ery\n   mockery\n1. If someone mocks you, you can refer to their behaviour or attitude as mockery.\nWas there a glint of mockery in his eyes?...\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. If something makes a mockery of something, it makes it appear worthless and foolish.\nThis action makes a mockery of the Government’s continuing protestations of concern...\n  N-SING


Words: mocking
Meaning:
mock.ing\n   mocking\n  A mocking expression or mocking behaviour indicates that you think someone or something is stupid or inferior.\nShe gave a mocking smile...\nBehind the mocking laughter lurks a growing sense of unease.\n  ADJ


Words: mockingbird
Meaning:
mocking.bird\n   mockingbird  mockingbirds\n  A mockingbird is a grey bird with a long tail which is found in North America. Mockingbirds are able to copy the songs of other birds.\n  N-COUNT


Words: mod
Meaning:
mod  mods\n  Mods are young people in Britain who wear a special kind of neat clothes, ride motor scooters, and like soul music. Many young people were mods in the early 1960s.\n  N-COUNT


Words: mod cons
Meaning:
mod cons\n  Mod cons are the modern facilities in a house that make it easy and pleasant to live in. (BRIT INFORMAL)\nThe house is spacious with all mod cons, handy for the station and has a garden.\n  N-PLURAL


Words: modal
Meaning:
mod.al\n   modal  modals\n  In grammar, a modal or a modal auxiliary is a word such as `can’ or `would’ which is used with a main verb to express ideas such as possibility, intention, or necessity. (TECHNICAL)\n  N-COUNT


Words: mode
Meaning:
mode  modes\n1. A mode of life or behaviour is a particular way of living or behaving. (FORMAL)\nHe switched automatically into interview mode.\n  N-COUNT: usu N of n\n\n2. A mode is a particular style in art, literature, or dress.\n...a slightly more elegant and formal mode of dress...\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp\n\n3. On some cameras or electronic devices, the different modes available are the different programs or settings that you can choose when you use them.\n...when the camera is in manual mode.\n  N-COUNT: usu supp N


Words: model
Meaning:
mod.el\n   model  models  modelling  modelled\nin AM, use modeling, modeled\n1. A model of an object is a physical representation that shows what it looks like or how it works. The model is often smaller than the object it represents.\n...an architect’s model of a wooden house.\n...a working scale model of the whole Bay Area...\nI made a model out of paper and glue.\n  N-COUNT: oft N of n\n\n  Model is also an adjective.\nI had made a model aeroplane.\n...a model railway.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n2. A model is a system that is being used and that people might want to copy in order to achieve similar results. (FORMAL)\nHe wants companies to follow the European model of social responsibility.\n  N-COUNT: with supp\n\n3. A model of a system or process is a theoretical description that can help you understand how the system or process works, or how it might work. (TECHNICAL or FORMAL)\nDarwin eventually put forward a model of biological evolution...\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp\n\n4. If someone such as a scientist models a system or process, they make an accurate theoretical description of it in order to understand or explain how it works. (TECHNICAL or FORMAL)\n...the mathematics needed to model a nonlinear system like an atmosphere.\n  VERB: V n\n\n5. If you say that someone or something is a model of a particular quality, you are showing approval of them because they have that quality to a large degree.\nA model of good manners, he has conquered any inward fury...\n  N-COUNT: N of n  approval\n\n6. You use model to express approval of someone when you think that they perform their role or duties extremely well.\nAs a girl she had been a model pupil...\n  ADJ: ADJ n  approval\n  = exemplary\n7. If one thing is modelled on another, the first thing is made so that it is like the second thing in some way.\nThe quota system was modelled on those operated in America and continental Europe...\nShe asked the author if she had modelled her hero on anybody in particular.\n  VERB: be V-ed on/after n, V n on/after n\n\n8. If you model yourself on someone, you copy the way that they do things, because you admire them and want to be like them.\nThere’s absolutely nothing wrong in modelling yourself on an older woman...\nThey will tend to model their behaviour on the teacher’s behaviour.\n  VERB: V pron-refl on/after n, V n on/after n\n\n9. A particular model of a machine is a particular version of it.\nTo keep the cost down, opt for a basic model...\nThe model number is 1870/285.\n  N-COUNT: usu supp N\n\n10. An artist’s model is a person who stays still in a particular position so that the artist can make a picture or sculpture of them.\n  N-COUNT\n\n11. If someone models for an artist, they stay still in a particular position so that the artist can make a picture or sculpture of them.\nTullio has been modelling for Sandra for eleven years.\n  VERB: V for n, also V\n\n12. A fashion model is a person whose job is to display clothes by wearing them.\n...Paris’s top photographic fashion model.\n  N-COUNT\n\n13. If someone models clothes, they display them by wearing them.\nI wasn’t here to model clothes...\nShe began modelling in Paris aged 15.\n  VERB: V n, V\n\n=>  mod.el.ling\nShe was being offered a modelling contract.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N n\n\n14. If you model shapes or figures, you make them out of a substance such as clay or wood.\nThere she began to model in clay...\nSometimes she carved wood and sometimes stone; sometimes she modelled clay...\n  VERB: V, V n\n\n15.\n  see also role model


Words: modeller
Meaning:
mod.el.ler\n   modeller  modellers\nin AM, use modeler\n1. A modeller is someone who makes shapes or figures out of substances such as wood or clay.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A modeller is someone who makes theoretical descriptions of systems or processes in order to understand them and be able to predict how they will develop.\n...climate modellers.\n  N-COUNT: usu supp N


Words: modem
Meaning:
mo.dem\n   modem  modems\n  A modem is a device which uses a telephone line to connect computers or computer systems. (COMPUTING)\nHe sent his work to his publishers by modem.\n  N-COUNT: also by N


Words: moderate
Meaning:
mod.er.ate\n   moderate moderates moderating  moderated\nThe adjective and noun are pronounced   The verb is pronounced\n1. Moderate political opinions or policies are not extreme.\nHe was an easygoing man of very moderate views...\nBoth countries have called for a moderate approach to the use of force.\n  ADJ\n  !=extreme\n2. You use moderate to describe people or groups who have moderate political opinions or policies.\n...a moderate Democrat.\n...the moderate wing of the army.\n  ADJ\n\n  A moderate is someone with moderate political opinions.\nIf he presents himself as a radical he risks scaring off the moderates.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. You use moderate to describe something that is neither large nor small in amount or degree.\nWhile a moderate amount of stress can be beneficial, too much stress can exhaust you.\n...moderate exercise.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  = reasonable  !=excessive\n=>  mod.er.ate.ly\nBoth are moderately large insects.\n  ADV: usu ADV adj/-ed, also ADV after v\n  = reasonably\n4. A moderate change in something is a change that is not great.\nMost drugs offer either no real improvement or, at best, only moderate improvements.\n  ADJ\n\n=>  mod.er.ate.ly\nShare prices on the Tokyo Exchange declined moderately.\n  ADV: ADV after v\n\n5. If you moderate something or if it moderates, it becomes less extreme or violent and easier to deal with or accept.\nThey are hoping that once in office he can be persuaded to moderate his views...\nAmongst relief workers, the immediate sense of crisis has moderated somewhat...\n  VERB: V n, V\n\n=>  mod.era.tion\nA moderation in food prices helped to offset the first increase in energy prices.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N of/in n


Words: moderation
Meaning:
mod.era.tion\n   moderation\n1. If you say that someone’s behaviour shows moderation, you approve of them because they act in a way that you think is reasonable and not extreme.\nThe United Nations Secretary General called on all parties to show moderation.\n  N-UNCOUNT  approval\n  = restraint\n  If you say that someone does something such as eat, drink, or smoke in moderation, you mean that they do not eat, smoke, or drink too much or more than is reasonable.\nMany adults are able to drink in moderation, but others become dependent on alcohol...\n  PHRASE: PHR after v\n\n2.\n  see also moderate


Words: moderator
Meaning:
mod.era.tor\n   moderator  moderators\n1. In some Protestant churches, a moderator is a senior member of the clergy who is in charge at large and important meetings.\n...a former moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. In debates and negotiations, the moderator is the person who is in charge of the discussion and makes sure that it is conducted in a fair and organized way. (FORMAL)\n  N-COUNT\n  = chair


Words: modern
Meaning:
mod.ern\n   modern\n1. Modern means relating to the present time, for example the present decade or present century.\n...the problem of materialism in modern society.\n...the risks facing every modern marriage...\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n  = contemporary\n2. Something that is modern is new and involves the latest ideas or equipment.\nModern technology has opened our eyes to many things...\nIn many ways, it was a very modern school for its time...\n  ADJ\n\n=>  mo.der.nity\n...an office block that astonished the city with its modernity.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n3. People are sometimes described as modern when they have opinions or ways of behaviour that have not yet been accepted by most people in a society.\nShe is very modern in outlook.\n  ADJ\n  = progressive  !=traditional\n4. Modern is used to describe styles of art, dance, music, and architecture that have developed in recent times, in contrast to classical styles.\n...a modern dance company.\n...the Museum of Modern Art.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: modern languages
Meaning:
mod.ern lan.guages\n   modern languages\n  Modern languages refers to the modern European languages, for example French, German, and Russian, which are studied at school or university.\n...head of modern languages at a London grammar school.\n  N-PLURAL


Words: modern-day
Meaning:
modern-day\n  Modern-day is used to refer to the new or modern aspects of a place, an activity, or a society.\n...modern-day America.\n...the by-products of modern-day living.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n  = contemporary


Words: modernism
Meaning:
mod.ern.ism\n   modernism\n  Modernism was a movement in the arts in the first half of the twentieth century that rejected traditional values and techniques, and emphasized the importance of individual experience.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n  see also post-modernism


Words: modernist
Meaning:
mod.ern.ist\n   modernist  modernists\n  Modernist means relating to the ideas and methods of modern art.\n...modernist architecture.\n...modernist art...\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n  see also post-modernist


Words: modernistic
Meaning:
mod.ern.is.tic\n   modernistic\n  A modernistic building or piece of furniture looks very modern.\n  ADJ\n  !=old-fashioned


Words: modernize
Meaning:
mod.ern.ize\n   modernize  modernizes  modernizing  modernized\nin BRIT, also use modernise\n  To modernize something such as a system or a factory means to change it by replacing old equipment or methods with new ones.\n...plans to modernize the refinery...\n  VERB: V n\n\n=>  mod.ern.iz.ing\nIn effect, modernizing societies are portrayed as battlegrounds.\n  ADJ\n\n=>  mod.erni.za.tion\n...a five-year modernization programme.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: modernizer
Meaning:
mod.ern.iz.er\n   modernizer  modernizers\nin BRIT, also use moderniser\n  A modernizer is someone who replaces old equipment or methods with new ones.\n  N-COUNT


Words: modest
Meaning:
mod.est\n   modest\n1. A modest house or other building is not large or expensive.\n...the modest home of a family who lived off the land...\nA one-night stay in a modest hotel costs around .35.\n  ADJ\n\n2. You use modest to describe something such as an amount, rate, or improvement which is fairly small.\nSwiss unemployment rose to the still modest rate of 0.7%...\nThe democratic reforms have been modest...\n  ADJ\n\n=>  mod.est.ly\nBritain’s balance of payments improved modestly last month.\n  ADV: ADV after v, ADV adj/-ed/adv\n\n3. If you say that someone is modest, you approve of them because they do not talk much about their abilities or achievements.\nHe’s modest, as well as being a great player...\n  ADJ  approval\n\n=>  mod.est.ly\n`You really must be very good at what you do.’.`I suppose I am,’ Kate said modestly.\n  ADV: ADV with v\n\n4. You can describe a woman as modest when she avoids doing or wearing anything that might cause men to have sexual feelings towards her. You can also describe her clothes or behaviour as modest.\nAsian women are more modest and shy, yet they tend to have an inner force...\n  ADJ\n\n=>  mod.est.ly\nShe sat down cautiously on the red canvas cushions, knees modestly together.\n  ADV: ADV with v, ADV adj/adv


Words: modesty
Meaning:
mod.es.ty\n   modesty\n1. Someone who shows modesty does not talk much about their abilities or achievements.\nHis modesty does him credit, for the food he produces speaks for itself...\n  N-UNCOUNT  approval\n\n2. You can refer to the modesty of something such as a place or amount when it is fairly small.\nThe modesty of the town itself comes as something of a surprise.\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu N of n\n\n3. If someone, especially a woman, shows modesty, they are cautious about the way they dress and behave because they are aware that other people may view them in a sexual way.\nThere were shrieks of embarrassment as the girls struggled to protect their modesty.\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu with supp


Words: modicum
Meaning:
modi.cum\n   modicum\n  A modicum of something, especially something that is good or desirable, is a reasonable but not large amount of it. (FORMAL)\nI’d like to think I’ve had a modicum of success.\n...a modicum of privacy.\n  QUANT: QUANT of n-uncount


Words: modifier
Meaning:
modi.fi.er\n   modifier  modifiers\n  A modifier is a word or group of words that modifies another word or group. In some descriptions of grammar, only words that are used before a noun are called modifiers.\n  N-COUNT


Words: modify
Meaning:
modi.fy\n   modify  modifies  modifying  modified\n1. If you modify something, you change it slightly, usually in order to improve it.\nThe club members did agree to modify their recruitment policy...\nThe plane was a modified version of the C-130.\n  VERB: V n, V-ed\n\n=>  modi.fi.ca.tion      modifications\nRelatively minor modifications were required.\n  N-VAR\n\n2. A word or group of words that modifies another word describes or classifies something, or restricts the meaning of the word. (TECHNICAL)\nIt is a rule of English that adjectives generally precede the noun they modify: we say `a good cry’, not `a cry good’.\n  VERB: V n


Words: modish
Meaning:
mod.ish\n   modish\n  Something that is modish is fashionable. (LITERARY)\n...a short checklist of much that is modish at the moment.\n...modish young women from London society.\n  ADJ


Words: modular
Meaning:
modu.lar\n   modular\n1. In building, modular means relating to the construction of buildings in parts called modules.\nThey ended up buying a prebuilt modular home on a two-acre lot.\n  ADJ\n\n2. Modular means relating to the teaching of courses at college or university in units called modules. (BRIT)\nThe course is modular in structure.\n  ADJ


Words: modulate
Meaning:
modu.late\n   modulate  modulates  modulating  modulated\n1. If you modulate your voice or a sound, you change or vary its loudness, pitch, or tone in order to create a particular effect. (WRITTEN)\nHe carefully modulated his voice.\n  VERB: V n, also V\n\n2. To modulate an activity or process means to alter it so that it is more suitable for a particular situation. (FORMAL)\nThese chemicals modulate the effect of potassium.\n  VERB: V n\n\n=>  modu.la.tion      modulations\nThe famine turned the normal modulation of climate into disaster.\n  N-VAR


Words: module
Meaning:
mod.ule\n   module  modules\n1. A module is one of the separate parts of a course taught at a college or university. (BRIT)\nThese courses cover a twelve-week period and are organised into three four-week modules.\n  N-COUNT\n  = unit\n2. A module is a part of a spacecraft which can operate by itself, often away from the rest of the spacecraft.\nA rescue plan could be achieved by sending an unmanned module to the space station.\n  N-COUNT


Words: modus operandi
Meaning:
mo.dus op.eran.di\n   modus operandi\n  A modus operandi is a particular way of doing something. (FORMAL)\nAn example of her modus operandi was provided during a terse exchange with the defendant.\n  N-SING


Words: modus vivendi
Meaning:
mo.dus vi.ven.di\n   modus vivendi\n  A modus vivendi is an arrangement which allows people who have different attitudes to live or work together. (FORMAL)\nAfter 1940, a modus vivendi between church and state was achieved.\n  N-SING


Words: mogul
Meaning:
mo.gul\n   mogul  moguls\n1. A Mogul was a Muslim ruler in India in the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A mogul is an important, rich, and powerful businessman, especially one in the news, film, or television industry.\n...an international media mogul.\n...Hollywood movie moguls.\n  N-COUNT: usu supp N


Words: mohair
Meaning:
mo.hair\n   mohair\n  Mohair is a type of very soft wool.\n...a brown mohair dress.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N n


Words: moist
Meaning:
moist  moister  moistest\n  Something that is moist is slightly wet.\nWipe off any excess make-up with a clean, moist cotton flannel...\n  ADJ\n  !=dry


Words: moisten
Meaning:
mois.ten\n   moisten  moistens  moistening  moistened\n  To moisten something means to make it slightly wet.\nShe took a sip of water to moisten her dry throat.\n  VERB: V n


Words: moisture
Meaning:
mois.ture\n   moisture\n  Moisture is tiny drops of water in the air, on a surface, or in the ground.\nWhen the soil is dry, more moisture is lost from the plant...\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: moisturize
Meaning:
mois.tur.ize\n   moisturize  moisturizes  moisturizing  moisturized\nin BRIT, also use moisturise\n  If you moisturize your skin, you rub cream into it to make it softer. If a cream moisturizes your skin, it makes it softer.\n...products to moisturise, protect and firm your skin...\nThe lotion moisturizes while it cleanses.\n  VERB: V n, V


Words: moisturizer
Meaning:
moist.ur.iz.er\n   moisturizer  moisturizers   also moisturiser\n  A moisturizer is a cream that you put on your skin to make it feel softer and smoother.\n  N-MASS


Words: molar
Meaning:
mo.lar\n   molar  molars\n  Your molars are the large, flat teeth towards the back of your mouth that you use for chewing food.\n  N-COUNT


Words: molasses
Meaning:
mo.las.ses\n   molasses\n  Molasses is a thick, dark brown syrup which is produced when sugar is processed. It is used in cooking.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: mole
Meaning:
mole  moles\n1. A mole is a natural dark spot or small dark lump on someone’s skin.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A mole is a small animal with black fur that lives underground.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. A mole is a member of a government or other organization who gives secret information to the press or to a rival organization.\nHe had been recruited by the Russians as a mole and trained in Moscow.\n  N-COUNT


Words: molecular
Meaning:
mo.lecu.lar\n   molecular\n  Molecular means relating to or involving molecules.\n...the molecular structure of fuel.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: molecular biology
Meaning:
mo.lecu.lar bi.ol.ogy\n   molecular biology\n  Molecular biology is the study of the structure and function of the complex chemicals that are found in living things.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n=>  mo.lecu.lar bi.olo.gist      molecular biologists\nThis substance has now been cloned by molecular biologists.\n  N-COUNT


Words: molecule
Meaning:
mol.ecule\n   molecule  molecules\n  A molecule is the smallest amount of a chemical substance which can exist by itself.\n...the hydrogen bonds between water molecules.\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp, oft supp N


Words: molehill
Meaning:
mole.hill\n   molehill  molehills\n1. A molehill is a small pile of earth made by a mole digging a tunnel.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If you say that someone is making a mountain out of a molehill, you are critical of them for making an unimportant fact or difficulty seem like a serious one.\nThe British press, making a mountain out of a molehill, precipitated an unnecessary economic crisis.\n  PHRASE: V and Ns inflect  disapproval


Words: molest
Meaning:
mo.lest\n   molest  molests  molesting  molested\n  A person who molests someone, especially a woman or a child, interferes with them in a sexual way against their will.\nHe was accused of sexually molesting a female colleague.\n  VERB: V n\n\n=>  mo.les.ta.tion\nAny case of sexual molestation of a child should be reported to the police.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n=>  mo.lest.er      molesters\nHe’d been publicly labeled a child molester.\n  N-COUNT


Words: mollify
Meaning:
mol.li.fy\n   mollify  mollifies  mollifying  mollified\n  If you mollify someone, you do or say something to make them less upset or angry. (FORMAL)\nThe investigation was undertaken primarily to mollify pressure groups.\n  VERB: V n\n  = placate


Words: mollusc
Meaning:
mol.lusc\n   mollusc  molluscs\nin AM, use mollusk\n  A mollusc is an animal such as a snail, clam, or octopus which has a soft body. Many types of mollusc have hard shells to protect them.\n  N-COUNT


Words: mollycoddle
Meaning:
molly.coddle\n   mollycoddle  mollycoddles  mollycoddling  mollycoddled\n  If you accuse someone of mollycoddling someone else, you are critical of them for doing too many things for the other person and protecting them too much from unpleasant experiences.\nChristopher accused me of mollycoddling Andrew.\n  VERB: V n  disapproval


Words: Molotov cocktail
Meaning:
Molotov cock.tail\n   Molotov cocktail  Molotov cocktails\n  A Molotov cocktail is a simple bomb made by putting petrol and cloth into a bottle. It is exploded by setting fire to the cloth.\n  N-COUNT


Words: molten
Meaning:
mol.ten\n   molten\n  Molten rock, metal, or glass has been heated to a very high temperature and has become a hot thick liquid.\nThe molten metal is poured into the mould.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: mom
Meaning:
mom  moms\n  Your mom is your mother. (AM INFORMAL; in BRIT, use mum)\nWe waited for Mom and Dad to get home...\n  N-FAMILY


Words: moment
Meaning:
mo.ment\n   moment  moments\n1. You can refer to a very short period of time, for example a few seconds, as a moment or moments.\nIn a moment he was gone...\nShe stared at him a moment, then turned away...\nStop for one moment and think about it!...\nIn moments, I was asleep once more.\n  N-COUNT\n  = minute, second\n2. A particular moment is the point in time at which something happens.\nAt this moment a car stopped at the house...\nMany people still remember the moment when they heard that President Kennedy had been assassinated.\n  N-COUNT: with supp\n\n3. If you say that something will or may happen at any moment or any moment now, you are emphasizing that it is likely to happen very soon.\nThey ran the risk of being shot at any moment...\nHe’ll be here to see you any moment now.\n  PHRASE  emphasis\n\n4. You use expressions such as at the moment, at this moment, and at the present moment to indicate that a particular situation exists at the time when you are speaking.\nAt the moment, no one is talking to me...\nThis is being planned at the present moment...\n  PHRASE\n  = now, currently\n5. If you say that you do not believe for a moment or for one moment that something is true, you are emphasizing that you do not believe that it could possibly be true.\nI don’t for a moment think there’ll be a divorce.\n  PHRASE: with brd-neg, PHR with v  emphasis\n  = for a minute\n6. You use for the moment to indicate that something is true now, even if it will not be true in the future.\nFor the moment, however, the government is happy to live with it.\n  PHRASE: PHR with cl\n\n7. If you say that someone or something has their moments, you are indicating that there are times when they are successful or interesting, but that this does not happen very often.\nThe film has its moments...\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n8. If someone does something at the last moment, they do it at the latest time possible.\nThey changed their minds at the last moment and refused to go.\n  PHRASE: prep PHR\n\n9. You use the expression the next moment, or expressions such as `one moment he was there, the next he was gone’, to emphasize that something happens suddenly, especially when it is very different from what was happening before.\nThe next moment there was an almighty crash...\nHe is unpredictable, weeping one moment, laughing the next.\n  PHRASE  emphasis\n\n10. You use of the moment to describe someone or something that is or was especially popular at a particular time, especially when you want to suggest that their popularity is unlikely to last long or did not last long.\nHe’s the man of the moment, isn’t he?\n  PHRASE: n PHR\n\n11. If you say that something happens the moment something else happens, you are emphasizing that it happens immediately after the other thing.\nThe moment I closed my eyes, I fell asleep.\n  PHRASE: PHR that  emphasis\n\n12.\nspur of the moment: see spur


Words: moment of truth
Meaning:
mo.ment of truth\n   moment of truth  moments of truth\n  If you refer to a time or event as the moment of truth, you mean that it is an important time when you must make a decision quickly, and whatever you decide will have important consequences in the future.\nBoth men knew the moment of truth had arrived.\n  N-COUNT\n  = crunch


Words: momentarily
Meaning:
mo.men.tari.ly\n   momentarily\n1. Momentarily means for a short time. (mainly BRIT or WRITTEN)\nShe paused momentarily when she saw them.\n  ADV: usu ADV with v\n  = briefly\n2. Momentarily means very soon. (AM)\nThe Senate Judiciary Committee is expected to vote momentarily on his nomination to the Supreme Court.\n  ADV: usu ADV after v


Words: momentary
Meaning:
mo.men.tary\n   momentary\n  Something that is momentary lasts for a very short period of time, for example for a few seconds or less.\n...a momentary lapse of concentration...\n  ADJ\n  = brief


Words: momentous
Meaning:
mo.men.tous\n   momentous\n  If you refer to a decision, event, or change as momentous, you mean that it is very important, often because of the effects that it will have in the future.\n...the momentous decision to send in the troops...\n  ADJ


Words: momentum
Meaning:
mo.men.tum\n   momentum\n1. If a process or movement gains momentum, it keeps developing or happening more quickly and keeps becoming less likely to stop.\nThis campaign is really gaining momentum...\n  N-UNCOUNT\n  = impetus\n2. In physics, momentum is the mass of a moving object multiplied by its speed in a particular direction. (TECHNICAL)\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: mommy
Meaning:
mom.my\n   mommy  mommies\n  Some people, especially young children, call their mother mommy. (AM INFORMAL; in BRIT, use mummy)\nMommy and I went in an aeroplane.\n  N-FAMILY


Words: monarch
Meaning:
mon.arch\n   monarch  monarchs\n  The monarch of a country is the king, queen, emperor, or empress.\n  N-COUNT


Words: monarchical
Meaning:
mo.nar.chi.cal\n   monarchical\n  Monarchical means relating to a monarch or monarchs.\n...a monarchical system of government.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: monarchist
Meaning:
mon.ar.chist\n   monarchist  monarchists\n  If someone has monarchist views, they believe that their country should have a monarch, such as a king or queen.\n...the tiny monarchist party.\n  ADJ\n  = royalist  !=republican\n  A monarchist is someone with monarchist views.\n  N-COUNT


Words: monarchy
Meaning:
mon.ar.chy\n   monarchy  monarchies\n1. A monarchy is a system in which a country has a monarch.\n...a serious debate on the future of the monarchy.\n  N-VAR\n  !=republic\n2. A monarchy is a country that has a monarch.\n  N-COUNT\n  !=republic\n3. The monarchy is used to refer to the monarch and his or her family.\nThe monarchy has to create a balance between its public and private lives.\n  N-COUNT: usu the N


Words: monastery
Meaning:
mon.as.tery\n   monastery  monasteries\n  A monastery is a building or collection of buildings in which monks live.\n  N-COUNT


Words: monastic
Meaning:
mo.nas.tic\n   monastic\n  Monastic means relating to monks or to a monastery.\nHe was drawn to the monastic life.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: Monday
Meaning:
Mon.day\n   Monday   Mondays\n  Monday is the day after Sunday and before Tuesday.\nI went back to work on Monday...\nThe attack took place last Monday...\nI’m usually here on Mondays and Fridays.\n  N-VAR


Words: monetarism
Meaning:
mon.etar.ism\n   monetarism\n  Monetarism is an economic policy that involves controlling the amount of money that is available and in use in a country at any one time. (BUSINESS)\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: monetarist
Meaning:
mon.etar.ist\n   monetarist  monetarists\n  Monetarist policies or views are based on the theory that the amount of money that is available and in use in a country at any one time should be controlled. (BUSINESS)\n...tough monetarist policies.\n  ADJ\n\n  A monetarist is someone with monetarist views.\n  N-COUNT


Words: monetary
Meaning:
mon.etary\n   monetary\n  Monetary means relating to money, especially the total amount of money in a country. (BUSINESS)\nSome countries tighten monetary policy to avoid inflation...\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: money
Meaning:
mon.ey\n   money  monies  or moneys\n1. Money is the coins or bank notes that you use to buy things, or the sum that you have in a bank account.\nA lot of the money that you pay at the cinema goes back to the film distributors...\nPlayers should be allowed to earn money from advertising...\n...discounts and money saving offers.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. Monies is used to refer to several separate sums of money that form part of a larger amount that is received or spent. (FORMAL)\nWe drew up a schedule of payments for the rest of the monies owed.\n  N-PLURAL\n\n3.\n  see also blood money, pocket money\n4. If you say that someone has money to burn, you mean that they have more money than they need or that they spend their money on things that you think are unnecessary.\nHe was a high-earning broker with money to burn.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n5. If you are in the money, you have a lot of money to spend. (INFORMAL)\nIf you are one of the lucky callers chosen to play, you could be in the money.\n  PHRASE: usu v-link PHR\n\n6. If you make money, you obtain money by earning it or by making a profit.\n...the only bit of the firm that consistently made money.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n7. If you say that you want someone to put their money where their mouth is, you want them to spend money to improve a bad situation, instead of just talking about improving it.\nThe government might be obliged to put its money where its mouth is to prove its commitment.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n8. If you say that the smart money is on a particular person or thing, you mean that people who know a lot about it think that this person will be successful, or this thing will happen. (JOURNALISM)\nWith England not playing, the smart money was on the Germans...\n  PHRASE\n\n9. If you say that money talks, you mean that if someone has a lot of money, they also have a lot of power.\nThe formula in Hollywood is simple.money talks.\n  PHRASE\n\n10. If you say that someone is throwing money at a problem, you are critical of them for trying to improve it by spending money on it, instead of doing more thoughtful and practical things to improve it.\nThe Australian government’s answer to the problem has been to throw money at it.\n  PHRASE: V inflects, PHR n  disapproval\n\n11. If you say that someone is throwing good money after bad, you are critical of them for trying to improve a bad situation by spending more money on it, instead of doing more thoughtful or practical things to improve it.\nFurther heavy intervention would be throwing good money after bad.\n  PHRASE: V inflects  disapproval\n\n12. If you get your money’s worth, you get something which is worth the money that it costs or the effort you have put in.\nThe fans get their money’s worth.\n  PHRASE: PHR after v\n\n13.\nto be rolling in money: see rolling\nmoney for old rope: see rope\nto give someone a run for their money: see run


Words: money box
Meaning:
mon.ey box\n   money box  money boxes\n  A money box is a small box with an opening at the top, into which a child puts coins as a way of saving money. (mainly BRIT)\n  N-COUNT


Words: money laundering
Meaning:
mon.ey laun.der.ing\n\n  Money laundering is the crime of processing stolen money through a legitimate business or sending it abroad to a foreign bank, to hide the fact that the money was illegally obtained.\n...the largest money-laundering scandal in history.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: money market
Meaning:
mon.ey mar.ket\n   money market  money markets\n  A country’s money market consists of all the banks and other organizations that deal with short-term loans, capital, and foreign exchange. (BUSINESS)\nOn the money markets the dollar was weaker against European currencies.\n  N-COUNT


Words: money order
Meaning:
mon.ey or.der\n   money order  money orders\n  A money order is a piece of paper representing a sum of money which you can buy at a post office and send to someone as a way of sending them money by post. (AM; in BRIT, use postal order)\n  N-COUNT


Words: money supply
Meaning:
mon.ey sup.ply\n   money supply\n  The money supply is the total amount of money in a country’s economy at any one time. (BUSINESS)\nThey believed that controlling the money supply would reduce inflation.\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu the N


Words: money-maker
Meaning:
money-maker  money-makers   also moneymaker\n  If you say that a business, product, or investment is a money-maker, you mean that it makes a big profit. (BUSINESS)\n  N-COUNT\n  = money-spinner


Words: money-spinner
Meaning:
money-spinner  money-spinners   also moneyspinner\n  If you say that something is a money-spinner, you mean that it earns a lot of money for someone. (INFORMAL)\nThe films have been fantastic money-spinners.\n  N-COUNT: usu adj N\n  = money-maker


Words: moneyed
Meaning:
mon.eyed\n   moneyed   also monied\n  A moneyed person has a lot of money. (FORMAL)\nFear of crime among Japan’s new monied classes is rising rapidly.\n  ADJ\n  = affluent


Words: moneylender
Meaning:
money.lender\n   moneylender  moneylenders   also money-lender\n  A moneylender is a person who lends money which has to be paid back at a high rate of interest. (OLD-FASHIONED)\n  N-COUNT


Words: Mongol
Meaning:
Mon.gol\n   Mongol  Mongols\n1. The Mongols were an Asian people who, led by Genghis Khan and Kublai Khan, took control of large areas of China and Central Asia in the 12th and 13th centuries A.D.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. Mongol means belonging or relating to the Mongols.\n...the Mongol invasions of the 13th century.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: Mongolian
Meaning:
Mon.go.lian\n   Mongolian  Mongolians\n1. Mongolian means belonging or relating to Mongolia, or to its people, language, or culture.\n  ADJ\n\n2. A Mongolian is a Mongolian citizen, or a person of Mongolian origin.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. Mongolian is the language that is spoken in Mongolia.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: mongrel
Meaning:
mon.grel\n   mongrel  mongrels\n  A mongrel is a dog which is a mixture of different breeds.\n  N-COUNT


Words: moniker
Meaning:
moni.ker\n   moniker  monikers\n  The moniker of a person or thing is their name, especially when they have changed it. (INFORMAL)\nShe’s the author of three detective novels under the moniker of Janet Neel.\n  N-COUNT


Words: monitor
Meaning:
moni.tor\n   monitor  monitors  monitoring  monitored\n1. If you monitor something, you regularly check its development or progress, and sometimes comment on it.\nOfficials had not been allowed to monitor the voting...\nYou need feedback to monitor progress.\n  VERB: V n, V n\n\n=>  moni.tor.ing\n...analysis and monitoring of the global environment.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. If someone monitors radio broadcasts from other countries, they record them or listen carefully to them in order to obtain information.\nPeter Murray is in London and has been monitoring reports out of Monrovia.\n  VERB: V n\n\n3. A monitor is a machine that is used to check or record things, for example processes or substances inside a person’s body.\nThe heart monitor shows low levels of consciousness.\n  N-COUNT: usu n N\n\n4. A monitor is a screen which is used to display certain kinds of information, for example in airports or television studios.\nHe was watching a game of tennis on a television monitor.\n  N-COUNT: oft N n\n  = screen\n5. You can refer to a person who checks that something is done correctly, or that it is fair, as a monitor.\nGovernment monitors will continue to accompany reporters.\n  N-COUNT: usu supp N


Words: monk
Meaning:
monk  monks\n  A monk is a member of a male religious community that is usually separated from the outside world.\n...saffron-robed Buddhist monks.\n  N-COUNT


Words: monkey
Meaning:
mon.key\n   monkey  monkeys\n1. A monkey is an animal with a long tail which lives in hot countries and climbs trees.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If you refer to a child as a monkey, you are saying in an affectionate way that he or she is very lively and naughty.\nShe’s such a little monkey.\n  N-COUNT: usu adj N  feelings


Words: monkey bars
Meaning:
mon.key bars\n   monkey bars\n  Monkey bars are metal or wooden bars that are joined together to form a structure for children to climb and play on. (AM; in BRIT, use climbing frame)\n  N-PLURAL


Words: mono
Meaning:
mono\n1. Mono is used to describe a system of playing music in which all the sound is directed through one speaker only. Compare stereo.\nThis model has a mono soundtrack.\n  ADJ\n\n2. Mono is the same as mononucleosis. (AM INFORMAL)\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: mono-
Meaning:
mono-\n  Mono- is used at the beginning of nouns and adjectives that have `one’ or `single’ as part of their meanings.\n...high in mono-unsaturated fats.\n...interaction between bilingual parents and monolingual teachers.\n  PREFIX


Words: monochrome
Meaning:
mono.chrome\n   monochrome\n1. A monochrome film, photograph, or television shows black, white, and shades of grey, but no other colours.\n...color and monochrome monitors.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  = black and white\n2. A monochrome picture uses only one colour in various shades.\n...an old monochrome etching of a brewery.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: monocle
Meaning:
mono.cle\n   monocle  monocles\n  A monocle is a glass lens which people wore in former times in front of one of their eyes to improve their ability to see with that eye.\n  N-COUNT


Words: monogamous
Meaning:
mo.noga.mous\n   monogamous\n1. Someone who is monogamous or who has a monogamous relationship has a sexual relationship with only one partner.\nDo you believe that men are not naturally monogamous?...\n  ADJ\n\n2. Monogamous animals have only one sexual partner during their lives or during each mating season.\n  ADJ


Words: monogamy
Meaning:
mo.noga.my\n   monogamy\n1. Monogamy is used to refer to the state or custom of having a sexual relationship with only one partner.\nPeople still opt for monogamy and marriage.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. Monogamy is the state or custom of being married to only one person at a particular time.\nIn many non-Western societies, however, monogamy has never dominated.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: monogram
Meaning:
mono.gram\n   monogram  monograms\n  A monogram is a design based on the first letters of a person’s names, which is put on things they own, such as their clothes.\n  N-COUNT


Words: monogrammed
Meaning:
mono.grammed\n   monogrammed\n  Monogrammed means marked with a design based on the first letters of a person’s names.\n...a monogrammed handkerchief.\n  ADJ


Words: monograph
Meaning:
mono.graph\n   monograph  monographs\n  A monograph is a book which is a detailed study of only one subject. (FORMAL)\n...a monograph on her favourite author, John Masefield.\n  N-COUNT: oft N on n


Words: monolingual
Meaning:
mono.lin.gual\n   monolingual\n  Monolingual means involving, using, or speaking one language.\n...a largely monolingual country such as Great Britain.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: monolith
Meaning:
mono.lith\n   monolith  monoliths\n1. A monolith is a very large, upright piece of stone, especially one that was put in place in ancient times.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If you refer to an organization or system as a monolith, you are critical of it because it is very large and very slow to change, and it does not seem to have different parts with different characters.\nA deal between the two powerful institutions would have created a banking monolith.\n  N-COUNT  disapproval


Words: monolithic
Meaning:
mono.lith.ic\n   monolithic\n1. If you refer to an organization or system as monolithic, you are critical of it because it is very large and very slow to change, and does not seem to have different parts with different characters.\n...an authoritarian and monolithic system.\n  ADJ  disapproval\n\n2. If you describe something such as a building as monolithic, you do not like it because it is very large and plain with no character.\n...a huge monolithic concrete building.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n  disapproval


Words: monologue
Meaning:
mono.logue\n   monologue  monologues\n1. If you refer to a long speech by one person during a conversation as a monologue, you mean it prevents other people from talking or expressing their opinions.\nMorris ignored the question and continued his monologue.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A monologue is a long speech which is spoken by one person as an entertainment, or as part of an entertainment such as a play.\n...a monologue based on the writing of Quentin Crisp.\n  N-VAR


Words: mononucleosis
Meaning:
mono.nu.cleo.sis\n   mononucleosis\n  Mononucleosis is a disease which causes swollen glands, fever, and a sore throat. (mainly AM; in BRIT, usually use glandular fever)\n  N


Words: monopolistic
Meaning:
mo.nopo.lis.tic\n   monopolistic\n  If you refer to a business or its practices as monopolistic, you mean that it tries to control as much of an industry as it can and does not allow fair competition.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: monopolize
Meaning:
mo.nopo.lize\n   monopolize  monopolizes  monopolizing  monopolized\nin BRIT, also use monopolise\n1. If you say that someone monopolizes something, you mean that they have a very large share of it and prevent other people from having a share.\nThey are controlling so much cocoa that they are virtually monopolizing the market...\nJohnson, as usual, monopolized the conversation.\n  VERB: V n, V n\n\n=>  mo.nopo.li.za.tion\n...the monopolization of a market by a single supplier.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N of n\n\n2. If something or someone monopolizes you, they demand a lot of your time and attention, so that there is very little time left for anything or anyone else.\nHe would monopolize her totally, to the exclusion of her brothers and sisters.\n  VERB: V n


Words: monopoly
Meaning:
mo.nopo.ly\n   monopoly  monopolies\n1. If a company, person, or state has a monopoly on something such as an industry, they have complete control over it, so that it is impossible for others to become involved in it. (BUSINESS)\n...Russian moves to end a state monopoly on land ownership.\n...the governing party’s monopoly over the media.\n  N-VAR: oft with poss, oft N on/over n/-ing\n\n2. A monopoly is a company which is the only one providing a particular product or service. (BUSINESS)\n...a state-owned monopoly.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. If you say that someone does not have a monopoly on something, you mean that they are not the only person who has that thing.\nWomen do not have a monopoly on feelings of betrayal.\n  N-SING: with brd-neg, usu N on n


Words: monorail
Meaning:
mono.rail\n   monorail  monorails\n  A monorail is a system of transport in which small trains travel along a single rail which is usually high above the ground.\n  N-COUNT: also by N


Words: monosodium glutamate
Meaning:
mono.so.dium glu.ta.mate\n   monosodium glutamate\n  Monosodium glutamate is a substance which is sometimes added to savoury food to make it taste better. The abbreviation MSG is also used.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: monosyllabic
Meaning:
mono.syl.lab.ic\n   monosyllabic\n  If you refer to someone or the way they speak as monosyllabic, you mean that they say very little, usually because they do not want to have a conversation.\nHe could be gruff and monosyllabic.\n  ADJ


Words: monosyllable
Meaning:
mono.syl.la.ble\n   monosyllable  monosyllables\n  If you say that someone speaks in monosyllables you mean that they speak very little, usually because they do not want to have a conversation.\nA taciturn man, he replied to my questions in monosyllables.\n  N-COUNT: usu in N in pl


Words: monotone
Meaning:
mono.tone\n   monotone  monotones\n1. If someone speaks in a monotone, their voice does not vary at all in tone or loudness and so it is not interesting to listen to.\nThe evidence was read out to the court in a dull monotone.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, also in N\n\n2. A monotone sound or surface does not have any variation in its tone or colour.\nHe was seen on TV delivering platitudes about the crisis in a monotone voice.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: monotonous
Meaning:
mo.noto.nous\n   monotonous\n  Something that is monotonous is very boring because it has a regular, repeated pattern which never changes.\nIt’s monotonous work, like most factory jobs...\n  ADJ\n  = repetitive  !=varied\n=>  mo.noto.nous.ly\nThe rain dripped monotonously from the trees.\n  ADV


Words: monotony
Meaning:
mo.noto.ny\n   monotony\n  The monotony of something is the fact that it never changes and is boring.\nA night on the town may help to break the monotony of the week.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N of n


Words: Monsignor
Meaning:
Mon.sig.nor\n   Monsignor  Monsignors\n  Monsignor is the title of a priest of high rank in the Catholic Church.\nMonsignor Jaime Goncalves was also there...\n  N-TITLE; N-COUNT: usu sing


Words: monsoon
Meaning:
mon.soon\n   monsoon  monsoons\n1. The monsoon is the season in Southern Asia when there is a lot of very heavy rain.\n...the end of the monsoon.\n  N-COUNT: oft the N\n\n2. Monsoon rains are sometimes referred to as the monsoons.\nIn Bangladesh, the monsoons have started.\n  N-PLURAL: oft the N


Words: monster
Meaning:
mon.ster\n   monster  monsters\n1. A monster is a large imaginary creature that looks very ugly and frightening.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A monster is something which is extremely large, especially something which is difficult to manage or which is unpleasant.\n...the monster which is now the London marathon.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. Monster means extremely and surprisingly large. (INFORMAL)\nThe film will be a monster hit.\n  ADJ: ADJ n  emphasis\n  = giant\n4. If you describe someone as a monster, you mean that they are cruel, frightening, or evil.\n  N-COUNT


Words: monstrosity
Meaning:
mon.stros.ity\n   monstrosity  monstrosities\n  If you describe something, especially something large, as a monstrosity, you mean that you think it is extremely ugly.\nMost of the older buildings have been torn down and replaced by modern monstrosities.\n  N-COUNT  disapproval


Words: monstrous
Meaning:
mon.strous\n   monstrous\n1. If you describe a situation or event as monstrous, you mean that it is extremely shocking or unfair.\nShe endured the monstrous behaviour for years...\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  = atrocious\n=>  mon.strous.ly\nYour husband’s family has behaved monstrously.\n  ADV: ADV after v\n\n2. If you describe an unpleasant thing as monstrous, you mean that it is extremely large in size or extent.\n...a monstrous copper edifice...\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n  emphasis\n\n=>  mon.strous.ly\nIt would be monstrously unfair...\n  ADV: ADV adj/-ed\n  = hugely\n3. If you describe something as monstrous, you mean that it is extremely frightening because it appears unnatural or ugly.\n...the film’s monstrous fantasy figure.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  = hideous


Words: montage
Meaning:
mon.tage\n   montage  montages\n  A montage is a picture, film, or piece of music which consists of several different items that are put together, often in an unusual combination or sequence.\n...a photo montage of some of Italy’s top television stars.\n  N-COUNT


Words: month
Meaning:
month  months\n1. A month is one of the twelve periods of time that a year is divided into, for example January or February.\nThe trial is due to begin next month.\n...an exhibition which opens this month at London’s Design Museum...\nI send him fifteen dollars a month.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A month is a period of about four weeks.\nShe was here for a month...\nOver the next several months I met most of her family...\n...a month’s unlimited train travel.\n  N-COUNT


Words: monthly
Meaning:
month.ly\n   monthly  monthlies\n1. A monthly event or publication happens or appears every month.\nMany people are now having trouble making their monthly house payments...\n...Young Guard, a monthly journal founded in 1922.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n  Monthly is also an adverb.\nIn some areas the property price can rise monthly.\n  ADV: ADV after v\n\n2. You can refer to a publication that is published monthly as a monthly.\n...Scallywag, a London satirical monthly.\n  N-COUNT: oft in names\n\n3. Monthly quantities or rates relate to a period of one month.\nThe monthly rent for a two-bedroom flat would be .953.33...\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: monument
Meaning:
monu.ment\n   monument  monuments\n1. A monument is a large structure, usually made of stone, which is built to remind people of an event in history or of a famous person.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A monument is something such as a castle or bridge which was built a very long time ago and is regarded as an important part of a country’s history.\n...the ancient monuments of England, Scotland and Wales.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. If you describe something as a monument to someone’s qualities, you mean that it is a very good example of the results or effects of those qualities.\nBy his international achievements he leaves a fitting monument to his beliefs.\n  N-COUNT: N to n


Words: monumental
Meaning:
monu.men.tal\n   monumental\n1. You can use monumental to emphasize the size or extent of something.\n...a series of monumental disappointments.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n  emphasis\n  = huge, massive\n=>  monu.men.tal.ly\nSuddenly it was monumentally successful...\n  ADV: usu ADV adj/-ed, also ADV after v\n\n2. If you describe a book or musical work as monumental, you are emphasizing that it is very large and impressive, and is likely to be important for a long time.\n...his monumental work on Chinese astronomy.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n  emphasis\n\n3. A monumental building or sculpture is very large and impressive.\nI take no real interest in monumental sculpture.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: moo
Meaning:
moo  moos  mooing  mooed\n  When cattle, especially cows, moo, they make the long low sound that cattle typically make.\n...a sound like a cow mooing.\n  VERB: V\n\n  Moo is also a noun.\nThe cow says `moo-moo’.\n  N-COUNT; SOUND


Words: mooch
Meaning:
mooch  mooches  mooching  mooched\n=>  mooch around\n  If you mooch around or mooch about a place, you move around there slowly with no particular purpose. (in BRIT, also use mooch about)\nAndrew was left to mooch around the house on his own...\nHe was awake at 3am, mooching about in the darkness.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n, V P\n  = wander around


Words: mood
Meaning:
mood  moods\n1. Your mood is the way you are feeling at a particular time. If you are in a good mood, you feel cheerful. If you are in a bad mood, you feel angry and impatient.\nHe is clearly in a good mood today...\nWhen he came back, he was in a foul mood...\nHis moods swing alarmingly.\n  N-COUNT: with supp, oft adj N, oft in N\n\n  If you say that you are in the mood for something, you mean that you want to do it or have it. If you say that you are in no mood to do something, you mean that you do not want to do it or have it.\nAfter a day of air and activity, you should be in the mood for a good meal...\nHe was in no mood to celebrate.\n  PHRASE: v-link PHR, PHR after v, oft PHR for n/-ing, PHR to-inf\n\n2. If someone is in a mood, the way they are behaving shows that they are feeling angry and impatient.\nShe was obviously in a mood.\n  N-COUNT: oft in a N\n  = temper\n3. The mood of a group of people is the way that they think and feel about an idea, event, or question at a particular time.\nThey largely misread the mood of the electorate.\n  N-SING: usu with supp, oft with poss\n\n4. The mood of a place is the general impression that you get of it.\nFirst set the mood with music...\n  N-COUNT\n  = atmosphere\n5. In grammar, the mood of a clause is the way in which the verb forms are used to show whether the clause is, for example, a statement, a question, or an instruction.\n  N-VAR


Words: moody
Meaning:
moody  moodier  moodiest\n1. If you describe someone as moody, you mean that their feelings and behaviour change frequently, and in particular that they often become depressed or angry without any warning.\nDavid’s mother was unstable and moody...\n  ADJ\n\n=>  moodi.ly\nHe sat and stared moodily out the window.\n  ADV: usu ADV with v\n\n=>  moodi.ness\nHis moodiness may have been caused by his poor health.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. If you describe a picture, film, or piece of music as moody, you mean that it suggests particular emotions, especially sad ones.\n...moody black and white photographs.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  = atmospheric


Words: moon
Meaning:
moon  moons\n1. The moon is the object that you can often see in the sky at night. It goes round the Earth once every four weeks, and as it does so its appearance changes from a circle to part of a circle.\n...the first man on the moon...\n...the light of a full moon.\n  N-SING: usu the N, also fullew N\n\n  see also new moon\n2. A moon is an object similar to a small planet that travels around a planet.\n...Neptune’s large moon.\n  N-COUNT: usu poss N\n\n3. If you say that something happens once in a blue moon, you are emphasizing that it does not happen very often at all.\nOnce in a blue moon you get some problems.\n  PHRASE: PHR with cl  emphasis\n\n4. If you say that you are over the moon, you mean that you are very pleased about something. (BRIT INFORMAL)\n  PHRASE: v-link PHR\n  = overjoyed


Words: moonlight
Meaning:
moon.light\n   moonlight  moonlights  moonlighting  moonlighted\n1. Moonlight is the light that comes from the moon at night.\nThey walked along the road in the moonlight...\nWe went to the temple of Atlantis and saw it by moonlight.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. If someone moonlights, they have a second job in addition to their main job, often without informing their main employers or the tax office.\n...an engineer who was moonlighting as a taxi driver...\nWorkers in state enterprises were permitted to moonlight.\n  VERB: V as n, V


Words: moonlit
Meaning:
moon.lit\n   moonlit\n  Something that is moonlit is lit by moonlight.\n...a beautiful moonlit night.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: moonshine
Meaning:
moon.shine\n   moonshine\n1. Moonshine is whisky that is made illegally. (mainly AM)\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. If you say that someone’s thoughts, ideas, or comments are moonshine, you think they are foolish and not based on reality.\nAs Morison remarks, the story is pure moonshine.\n  N-UNCOUNT  disapproval\n  = nonsense


Words: moor
Meaning:
moor  moors  mooring  moored\n1. A moor is an area of open and usually high land with poor soil that is covered mainly with grass and heather. (mainly BRIT)\nColliford is higher, right up on the moors...\nExmoor National Park stretches over 265 square miles of moor.\n  N-VAR\n\n2. If you moor a boat somewhere, you stop and tie it to the land with a rope or chain so that it cannot move away.\nShe had moored her barge on the right bank of the river...\nI decided to moor near some tourist boats.\n  VERB: V n, V\n  = tie up\n3. The Moors were a Muslim people who established a civilization in North Africa and Spain between the 8th and the 15th century A.D.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl\n\n4.\n  see also mooring


Words: mooring
Meaning:
moor.ing\n   mooring  moorings\n1. A mooring is a place where a boat can be tied so that it cannot move away, or the object it is tied to.\nFree moorings will be available.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. Moorings are the ropes, chains, and other objects used to moor a boat.\nEmergency workers fear that the burning ship could slip its moorings.\n  N-PLURAL


Words: Moorish
Meaning:
Moor.ish\n   Moorish\n  Something that is Moorish belongs to or is characteristic of the Muslim civilization in North Africa and Spain between the 8th and the 15th century A.D.\n...a medieval Moorish palace.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: moorland
Meaning:
moor.land\n   moorland  moorlands\n  Moorland is land which consists of moors.\n...rugged Yorkshire moorland.\n  N-UNCOUNT: also N in pl


Words: moose
Meaning:
moose  moose\n  A moose is a large type of deer. Moose have big flat horns called antlers and are found in Northern Europe, Asia, and North America. Some British speakers use moose to refer to the North American variety of this animal, and elk to refer to the European and Asian varieties.\n  N-COUNT


Words: moot
Meaning:
moot  moots  mooting  mooted\n1. If a plan, idea, or subject is mooted, it is suggested or introduced for discussion. (FORMAL)\nPlans have been mooted for a 450,000-strong Ukrainian army...\n  VERB: usu passive, be V-ed\n  = propose, put forward\n2. If something is a moot point or question, people cannot agree about it.\nHow long he’ll be able to do so is a moot point.\n  ADJ


Words: mop
Meaning:
mop  mops  mopping  mopped\n1. A mop is a piece of equipment for washing floors. It consists of a sponge or many pieces of string attached to a long handle.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If you mop a surface such as a floor, you clean it with a mop.\nThere was a woman mopping the stairs.\n  VERB: V n\n\n3. If you mop sweat from your forehead or mop your forehead, you wipe it with a piece of cloth.\nHe mopped perspiration from his forehead...\nThe Inspector took out a handkerchief and mopped his brow.\n  VERB: V n from n, V n\n  = wipe\n4. If someone has a mop of hair, they have a lot of hair and it looks rather untidy.\nHe was long-limbed and dark-eyed, with a mop of tight, dark curls.\n  N-COUNT: usu N of n


Words: mop up
Meaning:
mop up\n1. If you mop up a liquid, you clean it with a cloth so that the liquid is absorbed.\nA waiter mopped up the mess as best he could...\nWhen the washing machine spurts out water at least we can mop it up...\nMichael mopped up quickly with his napkin.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), V n P, V P\n\n2. If you mop up something that you think is undesirable or dangerous, you remove it or deal with it so that it is no longer a problem.\nThe infantry divisions mopped up remaining centres of resistance...\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron)


Words: mope
Meaning:
mope  mopes  moping  moped\n  If you mope, you feel miserable and do not feel interested in doing anything.\nGet on with life and don’t sit back and mope.\n  VERB: V


Words: mope around
Meaning:
mope around\n  If you mope around or mope about a place, you wander around there not doing anything, looking and feeling unhappy. (in BRIT, also use mope about)\nHe moped around the office for a while, feeling bored...\nHe mopes about all day.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n, V P


Words: moped
Meaning:
mo.ped\n   moped  mopeds\n  A moped is a small motorcycle which you can also pedal like a bicycle. (mainly BRIT)\n  N-COUNT


Words: MOR
Meaning:
MOR\n  MOR is a type of pop music which is pleasant and not extreme or unusual. MOR is an abbreviation of `middle-of-the-road’.\n...MOR singer Daniel O’Donnell.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N n


Words: moral
Meaning:
mor.al\n   moral  morals\n1. Morals are principles and beliefs concerning right and wrong behaviour.\n...Western ideas and morals...\nThey have no morals.\n  N-PLURAL\n\n2. Moral means relating to beliefs about what is right or wrong.\nShe describes her own moral dilemma in making the film.\n...matters of church doctrine and moral teaching.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n  = ethical\n=>  mor.al.ly\nWhen, if ever, is it morally justifiable to allow a patient to die?...\n  ADV: ADV adj/adv, ADV after v, ADV with cl\n\n3. Moral courage or duty is based on what you believe is right or acceptable, rather than on what the law says should be done.\nThe Government had a moral, if not a legal duty to pay compensation.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n4. A moral person behaves in a way that is believed by most people to be good and right.\nThe people who will be on the committee are moral, cultured, competent people.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  = ethical\n=>  mor.al.ly\nArt is not there to improve you morally.\n  ADV: ADV with v\n\n5. If you give someone moral support, you encourage them in what they are doing by expressing approval.\nMoral as well as financial support was what the West should provide.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n6. The moral of a story or event is what you learn from it about how you should or should not behave.\nI think the moral of the story is let the buyer beware...\n  N-COUNT: usu the N in sing\n  = message\n7.\nmoral victory: see victory


Words: moral fibre
Meaning:
mor.al fi.bre\n   moral fibre\nin AM, use moral fiber\n  Moral fibre is the quality of being determined to do what you think is right.\n...a man of stern moral fibre.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: moral majority
Meaning:
mor.al ma.jor.ity\n   moral majority\n  If there is a large group in society that holds strong, conservative opinions on matters of morality and religion, you can refer to these people as the moral majority. In the United States, there is an organized group called the Moral Majority.\n...unless the writers begin to write decent comedy and stop pandering to the moral majority.\n  N-SING-COLL; N-PROPER-COLL: the N


Words: morale
Meaning:
mo.rale\n   morale\n  Morale is the amount of confidence and cheerfulness that a group of people have.\nMany pilots are suffering from low morale...\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft with poss


Words: morale booster
Meaning:
mo.rale boost.er\n   morale booster  morale boosters\n  You can refer to something that makes people feel more confident and cheerful as a morale booster.\nThis win has been a great morale booster.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing


Words: morale-boosting
Meaning:
morale-boosting\n  A morale-boosting action or event makes people feel more confident and cheerful.\n...the President’s morale-boosting visit to the troops.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: moralist
Meaning:
mor.al.ist\n   moralist  moralists\n  A moralist is someone who has strong ideas about right and wrong behaviour, and who tries to make other people behave according to these ideas.\n  N-COUNT


Words: moralistic
Meaning:
mor.al.is.tic\n   moralistic\n  If you describe someone or something as moralistic, you are critical of them for making harsh judgments of other people on the basis of their own ideas about what is right and wrong.\nHe has become more moralistic...\n  ADJ  disapproval\n  = judgmental


Words: morality
Meaning:
mo.ral.ity\n   morality  moralities\n1. Morality is the belief that some behaviour is right and acceptable and that other behaviour is wrong.\n...standards of morality and justice in society.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. A morality is a system of principles and values concerning people’s behaviour, which is generally accepted by a society or by a particular group of people.\n...a morality that is sexist.\n  N-COUNT\n  = ethic\n3. The morality of something is how right or acceptable it is.\n...the arguments about the morality of blood sports.\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu the N of n


Words: moralize
Meaning:
mor.al.ize\n   moralize  moralizes  moralizing  moralized\nin BRIT, also use moralise\n  If you say that someone is moralizing, you are critical of them for telling people what they think is right or wrong, especially when they have not been asked their opinion.\nAs a dramatist I hate to moralize...\n  VERB: V  disapproval\n  = preach\n=>  mor.al.iz.ing\nWe have tried to avoid any moralising.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: morass
Meaning:
mo.rass\n   morass  morasses\n  If you describe an unpleasant or confused situation as a morass, you mean that it seems impossible to escape from or resolve, because it has become so serious or so complicated.\nI tried to drag myself out of the morass of despair.\n...the economic morass.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, with supp, oft N of n\n  = quagmire


Words: moratorium
Meaning:
mora.to.rium\n   moratorium  moratoriums  or moratoria\n  A moratorium on a particular activity or process is the stopping of it for a fixed period of time, usually as a result of an official agreement.\nThe House voted to impose a one-year moratorium on nuclear testing.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, oft N on n


