# dict

Words: spontaneity
Meaning:
spon.ta.neity\n   spontaneity\n  Spontaneity is spontaneous, natural behaviour.\nHe had the spontaneity of a child.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: spontaneous
Meaning:
spon.ta.neous\n   spontaneous\n1. Spontaneous acts are not planned or arranged, but are done because someone suddenly wants to do them.\nDiana’s house was crowded with happy people whose spontaneous outbursts of song were accompanied by lively music...\n  ADJ\n\n=>  spon.ta.neous.ly\nAs soon as the tremor passed, many people spontaneously arose and cheered...\n  ADV: usu ADV with v, also ADV adj\n\n2. A spontaneous event happens because of processes within something rather than being caused by things outside it.\nI had another spontaneous miscarriage at around the 16th to 18th week.\n  ADJ\n\n=>  spon.ta.neous.ly\nUsually a woman’s breasts produce milk spontaneously after the birth...\n  ADV: ADV after v


Words: spoof
Meaning:
spoof  spoofs\n  A spoof is something such as an article or television programme that seems to be about a serious matter but is actually a joke.\n...a spoof on Hollywood life.\n  N-COUNT


Words: spook
Meaning:
spook  spooks  spooking  spooked\n1. A spook is a ghost. (INFORMAL)\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A spook is a spy. (AM INFORMAL)\n...as a US intelligence spook said yesterday.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. If people are spooked, something has scared them or made them nervous. (mainly AM)\nBut was it the wind that spooked her?...\nInvestors were spooked by slowing economies.\n  VERB: V n, V n\n\n=>  spooked\nHe was so spooked that he, too, began to believe that he heard strange clicks and noises on their telephones.\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ


Words: spooky
Meaning:
spooky  spookier  spookiest\n  A place that is spooky has a frightening atmosphere, and makes you feel that there are ghosts around. (INFORMAL)\nThe whole place has a slightly spooky atmosphere.\n  ADJ\n  = creepy


Words: spool
Meaning:
spool  spools\n  A spool is a round object onto which thread, tape, or film can be wound, especially before it is put into a machine.\n  N-COUNT\n  = reel


Words: spoon
Meaning:
spoon  spoons  spooning  spooned\n1. A spoon is an object used for eating, stirring, and serving food. One end of it is shaped like a shallow bowl and it has a long handle.\nHe stirred his coffee with a spoon.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. You can refer to an amount of food resting on a spoon as a spoon of food.\n...tea with two spoons of sugar.\n  N-COUNT: usu N of n\n\n3. If you spoon food into something, you put it there with a spoon.\nHe spooned instant coffee into two of the mugs...\n  VERB: V n prep\n\n4.\n  see also greasy spoon, slotted spoon, soup spoon, wooden spoon\n5. If you think that someone has a lot of advantages because they have a rich or influential family, you can say that they have been born with a silver spoon in their mouth.\nShe was born with a silver spoon in her mouth and everything has been done for her.\n  PHRASE: Ns inflect


Words: spoon-feed
Meaning:
spoon-feed  spoon-feeds  spoon-feeding  spoon-fed\n1. If you think that someone is being given too much help with something and is not making enough effort themselves, you can say they are being spoon-fed.\nStudents are unwilling to really work. They want to be spoon-fed...\n  VERB: usu passive, be V-ed  disapproval\n\n2. If you say that someone is spoon-fed ideas or information, you mean that they are told about them and are expected to accept them without questioning them.\nThey were less willing to be spoon-fed doctrines from Japan...\n  VERB: usu passive, be V-ed n  disapproval\n\n3. If you spoon-feed a small child or a sick person, you feed them using a spoon.\nIt took two years for me to get better, during which time he spoon-fed me and did absolutely everything around the house.\n  VERB: V n


Words: spoonerism
Meaning:
spoon.er.ism\n   spoonerism  spoonerisms\n  A spoonerism is a mistake made by a speaker in which the first sounds of two words are changed over, often with a humorous result, for example when someone says `wrong load’ instead of `long road’.\n  N-COUNT


Words: spoonful
Meaning:
spoon.ful\n   spoonful  spoonfuls\n  You can refer to an amount of food resting on a spoon as a spoonful of food.\nHe took a spoonful of the stew and ate it.\n  N-COUNT: usu N of n


Words: spoor
Meaning:
spoor\n  The spoor of an animal is the marks or substances that it leaves behind as it moves along, which hunters can follow.\n  N-SING


Words: sporadic
Meaning:
spo.rad.ic\n   sporadic\n  Sporadic occurrences of something happen at irregular intervals.\n...a year of sporadic fighting over northern France...\n  ADJ\n  !=continuous\n=>  spo.radi.cal.ly\nThe distant thunder from the coast continued sporadically...\n  ADV: ADV with v\n  !=continuously


Words: spore
Meaning:
spore  spores\n  Spores are cells produced by bacteria and fungi which can develop into new bacteria or fungi.\n  N-COUNT


Words: sporran
Meaning:
spor.ran\n   sporran  sporrans\n  A sporran is a flat bag made out of leather or fur, which a Scotsman wears on a belt around his waist when he is wearing a skirt called a kilt.\n  N-COUNT


Words: sport
Meaning:
sport  sports\n1. Sports are games such as football and basketball and other competitive leisure activities which need physical effort and skill.\nI’d say football is my favourite sport...\nShe excels at sport...\nBilly turned on a radio to get the sports news.\n  N-VAR\n\n2. If you say that someone is a sport or a good sport, you mean that they cope with a difficult situation or teasing in a cheerful way. (OLD-FASHIONED)\nHe was accused of having no sense of humor, of not being a good sport.\n  N-COUNT  approval


Words: sport utility vehicle
Meaning:
sport util.ity ve.hi.cle\n   sport utility vehicle sport utility vehicles  also sports utility vehicle\n  A sport utility vehicle is a powerful vehicle with four-wheel drive that can be driven over rough ground. The abbreviation SUV is often used.\n  N-COUNT


Words: sporting
Meaning:
sport.ing\n   sporting\n1. Sporting means relating to sports or used for sports.\n...major sporting events, such as Wimbledon and the World Cup finals.\n...a huge sporting goods store.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n2. If you have a sporting chance of doing something, it is quite likely that you will do that thing.\nThere was a sporting chance they would meet, but not necessarily at the party.\n  PHRASE


Words: sports car
Meaning:
sports car  sports cars\n  A sports car is a low, fast car, usually with room for only two people.\n  N-COUNT


Words: sports day
Meaning:
sports day  sports days\n  In British schools, sports day is a day or an afternoon when pupils compete in athletics contests such as races and the high jump. Parents are often invited to come and watch the events.\n  N-VAR


Words: sports jacket
Meaning:
sports jack.et\n   sports jacket  sports jackets\n  A sports jacket is a man’s jacket, usually made of a woollen material called tweed. It is worn on informal occasions with trousers of a different material.\n  N-COUNT


Words: sports writer
Meaning:
sports writ.er\n   sports writer  sports writers\n  A sports writer is a journalist who writes about sport.\n  N-COUNT


Words: sportscast
Meaning:
sports.cast\n   sportscast  sportscasts\n  A sportscast is a radio or television broadcast of a sporting event. (mainly AM)\n  N-COUNT


Words: sportscaster
Meaning:
sports.caster\n   sportscaster  sportscasters\n  A sportscaster is a radio or television broadcaster who describes or comments on sporting events. (mainly AM)\n  N-COUNT


Words: sportsmanship
Meaning:
sports.man.ship\n   sportsmanship\n  Sportsmanship is behaviour and attitudes that show respect for the rules of a game and for the other players.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: sportswear
Meaning:
sports.wear\n   sportswear\n  Sportswear is the special clothing worn for playing sports or for informal leisure activities.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: sportswoman
Meaning:
sports.woman\n   sportswoman  sportswomen\n  A sportswoman is a woman who takes part in sports.\n  N-COUNT


Words: sporty
Meaning:
sporty  sportier  sportiest\n1. You can describe a car as sporty when it performs like a racing car but can be driven on normal roads.\nThe steering and braking are exactly what you want from a sporty car.\n  ADJ\n\n2. Someone who is sporty likes playing sports.\n  ADJ


Words: spot
Meaning:
spot  spots  spotting  spotted\n1. Spots are small, round, coloured areas on a surface.\nThe leaves have yellow areas on the top and underneath are powdery orange spots...\nThe swimsuit comes in navy with white spots or blue with green spots.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl\n\n2. Spots on a person’s skin are small lumps or marks.\nNever squeeze blackheads, spots or pimples.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl\n\n3. A spot of a liquid is a small amount of it. (mainly BRIT)\nSpots of rain had begun to fall...\n  N-COUNT: N of n\n\n4. If you have a spot of something, you have a small amount of it. (mainly BRIT)\nMr Brooke is undoubtedly in a spot of bother...\nWe’ve given all the club members tea, coffee and a spot of lunch.\n  QUANT: QUANT of n-uncount\n  = bit\n5. You can refer to a particular place as a spot.\nThey stayed at several of the island’s top tourist spots...\nThey all stood there staring, as if frozen to the spot.\n  N-COUNT: usu supp N\n\n6. A spot in a television or radio show is a part of it that is regularly reserved for a particular performer or type of entertainment.\nUnsuccessful at screen writing, he got a spot on a CNN film show.\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp\n  = slot\n7. If you spot something or someone, you notice them.\nVicenzo failed to spot the error...\n  VERB: V n\n\n  see also spotted, black spot, blind spot\n8. If you are on the spot, you are at the actual place where something is happening.\n...areas where troops are on the spot and protecting civilians...\n  PHRASE: v-link PHR\n\n9. If you do something on the spot, you do it immediately.\nJames was called to see the producer and got the job on the spot...\n  PHRASE: PHR after v, PHR n\n\n10. If you put someone on the spot, you cause them to have to answer a difficult question or make a difficult decision.\nHe put me on the spot a bit because he invited me right in front of his mum and I didn’t particularly want to go...\nEven clever people are not terribly clever when put on the spot.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n11.\nrooted to the spot: see rooted\nto have a soft spot for someone: see soft


Words: spot check
Meaning:
spot check  spot checks   also spot-check\n  If someone carries out a spot check, they examine one thing from a group in order to make sure that it is satisfactory.\n  N-COUNT: oft N on n


Words: spot-on
Meaning:
spot-on   also spot on\n  Spot-on means exactly correct or accurate. (BRIT INFORMAL)\nSchools were told their exam information had to be spot-on and accurate.\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ


Words: spotless
Meaning:
spot.less\n   spotless\n  Something that is spotless is completely clean.\nEach morning cleaners make sure everything is spotless...\n  ADJ\n\n=>  spot.less.ly\nThe house had huge, spotlessly clean rooms.\n  ADV: ADV adj


Words: spotlight
Meaning:
spot.light\n   spotlight  spotlights  spotlighting  spotlighted\n1. A spotlight is a powerful light, for example in a theatre, which can be directed so that it lights up a small area.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If something spotlights a particular problem or situation, it makes people notice it and think about it.\n...a new book spotlighting female entrepreneurs.\n  VERB: V n\n  = highlight\n3. Someone or something that is in the spotlight is getting a great deal of public attention.\nWebb is back in the spotlight.\n  PHRASE: v-link PHR


Words: spotlit
Meaning:
spot.lit\n   spotlit\n  Something that is spotlit is brightly lit up by one or more spotlights.\nShe caught a clear view upwards of the spotlit temple.\n  ADJ


Words: spotted
Meaning:
spot.ted\n   spotted\n1. Something that is spotted has a pattern of spots on it.\n...hand-painted spotted cups and saucers in green and blue...\nHis cheeks were spotted with blackheads.\n  ADJ: oft ADJ with n\n\n2.\n  see also spot


Words: spotter
Meaning:
spot.ter\n   spotter  spotters\n  A spotter of something such as trains or aeroplanes is someone whose hobby is watching and finding out about them. (BRIT)\nI was a devoted train spotter.\n  N-COUNT: n N


Words: spotty
Meaning:
spot.ty\n   spotty  spottier  spottiest\n  Someone who is spotty has spots on their face.\nShe was rather fat, and her complexion was muddy and spotty.\n  ADJ\n  = pimply


Words: spousal
Meaning:
spous.al\n   spousal\n  Spousal rights and duties are ones which you gain if you are married. (AM FORMAL)\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n  = marital


Words: spout
Meaning:
spout  spouts  spouting  spouted\n1. If something spouts liquid or fire, or if liquid or fire spout out of something, it comes out very quickly with a lot of force.\nHe replaced the boiler when the last one began to spout flames...\nThe main square has a fountain that spouts water 40 feet into the air...\nIn a storm, water spouts out of the blowhole just like a whale.\n  VERB: V n, V n prep, V adv/prep\n\n2. A spout of liquid is a long stream of it which is coming out of something very forcefully.\n  N-COUNT\n  = jet\n3. If you say that a person spouts something, you disapprove of them because they say something which you do not agree with or which you think they do not honestly feel.\nHe used his column to spout ill-informed criticism of the Scots rugby team.\n  VERB: V n  disapproval\n\n  Spout forth and spout off mean the same as spout.\n...an estate agent spouting forth about houses...\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P about n\n\n4. A spout is a long, hollow part of a container through which liquids can be poured out easily.\n  N-COUNT


Words: sprain
Meaning:
sprain  sprains  spraining  sprained\n1. If you sprain a joint such as your ankle or wrist, you accidentally damage it by twisting it or bending it violently.\nHe fell and sprained his ankle.\n  VERB: V n\n\n=>  sprained\n...a badly sprained ankle...\nHis wrist was sprained.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n2. A sprain is the injury caused by spraining a joint.\n  N-COUNT


Words: sprawl
Meaning:
sprawl  sprawls  sprawling  sprawled\n1. If you sprawl somewhere, you sit or lie down with your legs and arms spread out in a careless way.\nShe sprawled on the bed as he had left her, not even moving to cover herself up...\n  VERB: V prep/adv\n\n  see also sprawled\n  Sprawl out means the same as sprawl.\nHe would take two aspirin and sprawl out on his bed.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P prep\n\n2. If you say that a place sprawls, you mean that it covers a large area of land.\nThe State Recreation Area sprawls over 900 acres on the southern tip of Key Biscayne...\n  VERB: V prep\n\n3. You can use sprawl to refer to an area where a city has grown outwards in an uncontrolled way.\nThe whole urban sprawl of Ankara contains over 2.6m people.\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu with supp


Words: sprawled
Meaning:
sprawled\n  If you are sprawled somewhere, you are sitting or lying with your legs and arms spread out in a careless way.\nPeople are sprawled on makeshift beds in the cafeteria...\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ, ADJ after v


Words: spray
Meaning:
spray  sprays  spraying  sprayed\n1. Spray is a lot of small drops of water which are being thrown into the air.\nThe moon was casting a rainbow through the spray from the waterfall...\n  N-VAR: oft N from/of n\n\n2. A spray is a liquid kept under pressure in a can or other container, which you can force out in very small drops.\n...hair spray.\n...a can of insect spray.\n  N-MASS\n\n3. If you spray a liquid somewhere or if it sprays somewhere, drops of the liquid cover a place or shower someone.\nA sprayer hooked to a tractor can spray five gallons onto ten acres...\nTwo inmates hurled slates at prison officers spraying them with a hose...\nDrops of blood sprayed across the room.\n  VERB: V n prep/adv, V n with n, V prep\n\n4. If a lot of small things spray somewhere or if something sprays them, they are scattered somewhere with a lot of force.\nA shower of mustard seeds sprayed into the air and fell into the grass...\nThe intensity of the blaze shattered windows, spraying glass on the streets below...\nThe bullet slammed into the ceiling, spraying them with bits of plaster.\n  VERB: V prep, V n prep, V n with n\n\n5. If someone sprays bullets somewhere, they fire a lot of bullets at a group of people or things.\nHe ran to the top of the building spraying bullets into shoppers below...\nThe army lorries were sprayed with machine gun fire from guerrillas in the woods.\n  VERB: V n prep/adv, V n with n\n\n6. If something is sprayed, it is painted using paint kept under pressure in a container.\nThe bare metal was sprayed with several coats of primer.\n  VERB: usu passive, be V-ed with n, also V n colour\n\n7. When someone sprays against insects, they cover plants or crops with a chemical which prevents insects feeding on them.\nHe doesn’t spray against pests or diseases...\nConfine the use of insecticides to the evening and do not spray plants that are in flower...\nBecause of the immunity of the immature insects, it’s important to spray regularly.\n  VERB: V against n, V n, V, also V n prep\n\n8. A spray is a piece of equipment for spraying water or another liquid, especially over growing plants.\n  N-COUNT\n\n9. A spray of flowers or leaves is a number of flowers or leaves on one stem or branch.\n...a small spray of freesias.\n  N-COUNT: N of n


Words: spray can
Meaning:
spray can  spray cans   also spray-can\n  A spray can is a small metal container containing liquid such as paint under pressure so that it can be sprayed.\n  N-COUNT\n  = aerosol


Words: spray gun
Meaning:
spray gun  spray guns   also spray-gun\n  A spray gun is a piece of equipment which you use to spray paint under pressure onto a surface.\n  N-COUNT


Words: spray paint
Meaning:
spray paint  spray paints  spray painting  spray painted   also spray-paint\n1. Spray paint is paint bought in a special can which you spray on a surface by pressing a button on the top of the can.\nThe walls have been horribly vandalized with spray paint.\n  N-MASS\n\n2. If you spray paint a surface, you paint it using spray paint. If you spray paint something on a surface, you paint it on that surface using spray paint.\nThe youths are taught how to spray paint cars and mend fences...\nHe spray-painted his name on the wall.\n  VERB: V n, V n on n


Words: sprayer
Meaning:
spray.er\n   sprayer  sprayers\n  A sprayer is a piece of equipment used for spraying liquid somewhere.\n  N-COUNT\n  = spray


Words: spread
Meaning:
spread  spreads  spreading  spread\n1. If you spread something somewhere, you open it out or arrange it over a place or surface, so that all of it can be seen or used easily.\nShe spread a towel on the sand and lay on it...\n  VERB: V n prep\n\n  Spread out means the same as spread.\nHe extracted several glossy prints and spread them out on a low coffee table...\nIn his room, Tom was spreading out a map of Scandinavia on the bed.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V n P, V P n (not pron)\n\n2. If you spread your arms, hands, fingers, or legs, you stretch them out until they are far apart.\nSitting on the floor, spread your legs as far as they will go without overstretching...\nHe stepped back and spread his hands wide. `You are most welcome to our home.’\n  VERB: V n adv, V n adj\n\n  Spread out means the same as spread.\nDavid made a gesture, spreading out his hands as if he were showing that he had no explanation to make...\nYou need a bed that’s large enough to let you spread yourself out.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), V n P\n\n3. If you spread a substance on a surface or spread the surface with the substance, you put a thin layer of the substance over the surface.\nSpread the mixture in the cake tin and bake for 30 minutes...\nSpread the bread with the cheese.\n  VERB: V n prep, V n with n\n\n4. Spread is a soft food which is put on bread.\n...a wholemeal salad roll with low fat spread.\n  N-MASS: usu supp N\n\n5. If something spreads or is spread by people, it gradually reaches or affects a larger and larger area or more and more people.\nThe industrial revolution which started a couple of hundred years ago in Europe is now spreading across the world.\n...the sense of fear spreading in residential neighborhoods...\nHe was fed-up with the lies being spread about him.\n  VERB: V prep/adv, V, V n\n\n  Spread is also a noun.\nThe greatest hope for reform is the gradual spread of information...\n  N-SING: usu the N of n\n\n6. If something such as a liquid, gas, or smoke spreads or is spread, it moves outwards in all directions so that it covers a larger area.\nFire spread rapidly after a chemical truck exploded...\nA dark red stain was spreading across his shirt...\nIn Northern California, a wildfire has spread a haze of smoke over 200 miles.\n  VERB: V, V prep, V n prep\n\n  Spread is also a noun.\nThe situation was complicated by the spread of a serious forest fire.\n  N-SING\n\n7. If you spread something over a period of time, it takes place regularly or continuously over that period, rather than happening at one time.\nThere seems to be little difference whether you eat all your calorie allowance in one go, or spread it over the day...\n  VERB: V n over n\n\n8. If you spread something such as wealth or work, you distribute it evenly or equally.\n...policies that spread the state’s wealth more evenly...\n  VERB: V n\n\n  Spread is also a noun.\nThere are easier ways to encourage the even spread of wealth.\n  N-SING: usu N of n\n\n9. A spread of ideas, interests, or other things is a wide variety of them.\nA topic-based approach can be hard to assess in primary schools with a typical spread of ability...\n  N-SING: usu N of n\n  = range\n10. A spread is a large meal, especially one that has been prepared for a special occasion.\n  N-COUNT\n\n11. A spread is two pages of a book, magazine, or newspaper that are opposite each other when you open it at a particular place.\nThere was a double-page spread of a dinner for 46 people.\n  N-COUNT\n\n12. Spread is used to refer to the difference between the price that a seller wants someone to pay for a particular stock or share and the price that the buyer is willing to pay. (BUSINESS)\nMarket makers earn their livings from the spread between buying and selling prices.\n  N-SING\n\n13.\nto spread your wings: see wing


Words: spread betting
Meaning:
spread bet.ting\n   spread betting\n  Spread betting is a form of gambling that involves predicting a range of possible scores or results rather than one particular score or result.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: spread out
Meaning:
spread out\n  If people or things are spread out, they are a long way apart.\nThe Kurds are spread out across five nations.\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ\n\nspread out\n1. If people, animals, or vehicles spread out, they move apart from each other.\nFelix watched his men move like soldiers, spreading out into two teams.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P\n\n2. If something such as a city or forest spreads out, it gets larger and gradually begins to covers a larger area.\nCities such as Tokyo are spreading out...\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P\n\n3.\nsee spread 1\n4.\nsee spread 2


Words: spreadeagled
Meaning:
spread.eagled\n   spreadeagled   also spread-eagled\n  Someone who is spreadeagled is lying with their arms and legs spread out.\nThey lay spreadeagled on the floor.\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ


Words: spreadsheet
Meaning:
spread.sheet\n   spreadsheet  spreadsheets\n  A spreadsheet is a computer program that is used for displaying and dealing with numbers. Spreadsheets are used mainly for financial planning. (COMPUTING)\n  N-COUNT


Words: spree
Meaning:
spree  sprees\n  If you spend a period of time doing something in an excessive way, you can say that you are going on a particular kind of spree.\nSome Americans went on a spending spree in December to beat the new tax.\n  N-COUNT: usu n N


Words: sprig
Meaning:
sprig  sprigs\n  A sprig is a small stem with leaves on it which has been picked from a bush or plant, especially so that it can be used in cooking or as a decoration.\n  N-COUNT: usu N of n


Words: sprigged
Meaning:
sprigged\n  Sprigged material or paper has a pattern of small leaves or flowers on it.\n...a sprigged cotton dress...\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: sprightly
Meaning:
spright.ly\n   sprightly  sprightlier  sprightliest\n  A sprightly person, especially an old person, is lively and active.\n...the sprightly 85-year-old President.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  = spry


Words: spring
Meaning:
spring  springs  springing  sprang  sprung\n1. Spring is the season between winter and summer when the weather becomes warmer and plants start to grow again.\nWe met again in the spring of 1977.\n  N-VAR\n\n2. A spring is a spiral of wire which returns to its original shape after it is pressed or pulled.\nBoth springs in the fuel pump were broken.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. A spring is a place where water comes up through the ground. It is also the water that comes from that place.\nTo the north are the hot springs of Banyas de Sant Loan.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl\n\n4. When a person or animal springs, they jump upwards or forwards suddenly or quickly.\nHe sprang to his feet, grabbing his keys off the coffee table...\nThrowing back the sheet, he sprang from the bed...\nThe lion roared once and sprang.\n  VERB: V prep, V prep, V\n\n5. If something springs in a particular direction, it moves suddenly and quickly.\nSadly when the lid of the boot sprang open, it was empty.\n  VERB: V adj\n\n6. If one thing springs from another thing, it is the result of it.\nEthiopia’s art springs from her early Christian as well as her Muslim heritage...\n  VERB: V from n\n  = stem\n7. If a boat or container springs a leak, water or some other liquid starts coming in or out through a crack.\nThe yacht has sprung a leak in the hull.\n  VERB: V n\n\n8. If you spring some news or a surprise on someone, you tell them something that they did not expect to hear, without warning them.\nMclaren sprang a new idea on him.\n  VERB: V n on n\n\n9.\nto spring to mind: see mind


Words: spring chicken
Meaning:
spring chick.en\n   spring chicken  spring chickens\n  If you say that someone is no spring chicken, you are saying that they are not young. (HUMOROUS)\nAt 85, he is no spring chicken, but Henry Cook is busier than ever.\n  PHRASE: usu v-link PHR


Words: spring onion
Meaning:
spring on.ion\n   spring onion  spring onions\n  Spring onions are small onions with long green leaves. They are often eaten raw in salads. (BRIT; in AM, use scallion)\n  N-VAR: usu pl


Words: spring roll
Meaning:
spring roll  spring rolls\n  A spring roll is a Chinese food consisting of a small roll of thin pastry filled with vegetables and sometimes meat, and then fried.\n  N-COUNT


Words: spring tide
Meaning:
spring tide  spring tides\n  A spring tide is an unusually high tide that happens at the time of a new moon or a full moon.\n  N-COUNT


Words: spring up
Meaning:
spring up\n  If something springs up, it suddenly appears or begins to exist.\nNew theatres and arts centres sprang up all over the country.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P


Words: spring-clean
Meaning:
spring-clean  spring-cleans  spring-cleaning  spring-cleaned\n  When you spring-clean a house, you thoroughly clean everything in it.\nIt’s almost as easy these days to give your rooms a new coat of paint as it is to spring-clean them.\n  VERB: V n


Words: springboard
Meaning:
spring.board\n   springboard  springboards\n1. If something is a springboard for something else, it makes it possible for that thing to happen or start.\nThe 1981 budget was the springboard for an economic miracle...\n  N-COUNT: N for/to n\n\n2. A springboard is a flexible board from which you jump into a swimming pool or onto a piece of gymnastic equipment.\n  N-COUNT


Words: springtime
Meaning:
spring.time\n   springtime\n  Springtime is the period of time during which spring lasts.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: springy
Meaning:
springy\n  If something is springy, it returns quickly to its original shape after you press it.\nSteam for about 12 mins until the cake is risen and springy to touch in the centre.\n  ADJ


Words: sprinkle
Meaning:
sprin.kle\n   sprinkle  sprinkles  sprinkling  sprinkled\n1. If you sprinkle a thing with something such as a liquid or powder, you scatter the liquid or powder over it.\nSprinkle the meat with salt and place in the pan...\nCheese can be sprinkled on egg or vegetable dishes.\n  VERB: V n with n, be V-ed on n\n\n2. If something is sprinkled with particular things, it has a few of them throughout it and they are far apart from each other.\nUnfortunately, the text is sprinkled with errors...\nMen in green army uniforms are sprinkled throughout the huge auditorium.\n  VERB: be V-ed with n, be V-ed prep\n\n3. If it is sprinkling, it is raining very lightly. (AM; in BRIT, use spit)\n  VERB


Words: sprinkler
Meaning:
sprin.kler\n   sprinkler  sprinklers\n  A sprinkler is a device used to spray water. Sprinklers are used to water plants or grass, or to put out fires in buildings.\n  N-COUNT


Words: sprinkling
Meaning:
sprin.kling\n   sprinkling\n  A sprinkling of something is a small quantity or amount of it, especially if it is spread over a large area.\n...a light sprinkling of snow...\n  N-SING: usu N of n


Words: sprint
Meaning:
sprint  sprints  sprinting  sprinted\n1. The sprint is a short, fast running race.\nRob Harmeling won the sprint in Bordeaux.\n...the women’s 100-metres sprint.\n  N-SING: the N\n\n2. A sprint is a short race in which the competitors run, drive, ride, or swim very fast.\nLewis will compete in both sprints in Stuttgart...\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. A sprint is a fast run that someone does, either at the end of a race or because they are in a hurry.\nI broke into a sprint.\n  N-SING: a N\n\n4. If you sprint, you run or ride as fast as you can over a short distance.\nSergeant Horne sprinted to the car.\n  VERB: V adv/prep


Words: sprinter
Meaning:
sprint.er\n   sprinter  sprinters\n  A sprinter is a person who takes part in short, fast races.\n  N-COUNT


Words: sprite
Meaning:
sprite  sprites\n  In fairy stories and legends, a sprite is a small, magic creature which lives near water.\n  N-COUNT


Words: spritzer
Meaning:
spritz.er\n   spritzer  spritzers\n  A spritzer is a drink consisting of white wine and soda water.\n  N-COUNT


Words: sprocket
Meaning:
sprock.et\n   sprocket  sprockets\n  A sprocket is a wheel with teeth around the outer edge that fit into the holes in a chain or a length of film or tape in order to move it round.\n  N-COUNT


Words: sprout
Meaning:
sprout  sprouts  sprouting  sprouted\n1. When plants, vegetables, or seeds sprout, they produce new shoots or leaves.\nIt only takes a few days for beans to sprout.\n  VERB: V\n\n2. When leaves, shoots, or plants sprout somewhere, they grow there.\nLeaf-shoots were beginning to sprout on the hawthorn...\n  VERB: V prep\n\n3. If a garden or other area of land sprouts plants, they start to grow there.\n...the garden, which had had time to sprout a shocking collection of weeds.\n  VERB: no passive, V n\n\n4. If something such as hair sprouts from a person or animal, or if they sprout it, it grows on them.\nShe is very old now, with little, round, wire-rimmed glasses and whiskers sprouting from her chin...\nAs well as sprouting a few grey hairs, Kevin seems to be suffering the occasional memory loss.\n  VERB: no passive, V prep, V n\n\n5. Sprouts are vegetables that look like tiny cabbages. They are also called brussels sprouts.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl\n\n6. Sprouts are new shoots on plants.\nAfter eleven days of growth the number of sprouts was counted.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl


Words: spruce
Meaning:
spruce  spruce  spruces  sprucing  spruced\n1. A spruce is a kind of evergreen tree.\nTrees such as spruce, pine and oak have been planted.\n...a young blue spruce.\n...80-year-old spruces.\n  N-VAR\n\n  Spruce is the wood from this tree.\nEarly settlers built frames of spruce, maple and pine.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. Someone who is spruce is very neat and smart in appearance.\nChris was looking spruce in his stiff-collared black shirt and new short hair cut.\n  ADJ


Words: spruce up
Meaning:
spruce up\n  If something is spruced up, its appearance is improved. If someone is spruced up, they have made themselves look very smart.\nMany buildings have been spruced up...\nIn the evening we spruced ourselves up a bit and went out for dinner.\n  PHRASAL VERB: be V-ed P, V n P


Words: spry
Meaning:
spry\n  Someone, especially an old person, who is spry, is lively and active.\nThe old gentleman was as spry as ever.\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ\n  = sprightly


Words: spunk
Meaning:
spunk\n  Spunk is courage. (INFORMAL)\nI admired her independence and her spunk.\n  N-UNCOUNT  approval\n  = guts


Words: spunky
Meaning:
spunky  spunkier  spunkiest\n  A spunky person shows courage. (INFORMAL)\nShe’s so spunky and spirited.\n  ADJ  approval\n  = gutsy


Words: spur
Meaning:
spur  spurs  spurring  spurred\n1. If one thing spurs you to do another, it encourages you to do it.\nIt’s the money that spurs these fishermen to risk a long ocean journey in their flimsy boats...\nHis friend’s plight had spurred him into taking part.\n  VERB: V n to-inf, V n to/into n/-ing\n  = urge\n  Spur on means the same as spur.\nTheir attitude, rather than reining him back, only seemed to spur Philip on...\nCriticism can be of great use; we may not like it at the time, but it can spur us on to greater things.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V n P, V n P to n\n\n2. If something spurs a change or event, it makes it happen faster or sooner. (JOURNALISM)\nThe administration may put more emphasis on spurring economic growth...\n  VERB: V n\n\n3. Something that acts as a spur to something else encourages a person or organization to do that thing or makes it happen more quickly.\n...a belief in competition as a spur to efficiency...\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, oft N to n\n\n4. Spurs are small metal wheels with sharp points that are attached to the heels of a rider’s boots. The rider uses them to make their horse go faster.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl\n\n5. The spur of a hill or mountain is a piece of ground which sticks out from its side.\n  N-COUNT\n\n6. If you do something on the spur of the moment, you do it suddenly, without planning it beforehand.\nThey admitted they had taken a vehicle on the spur of the moment...\n  PHRASE: PHR after v, PHR n


Words: spurious
Meaning:
spu.ri.ous\n   spurious\n1. Something that is spurious seems to be genuine, but is false.\nHe was arrested in 1979 on spurious corruption charges...\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n  disapproval\n\n2. A spurious argument or way of reasoning is incorrect, and so the conclusion is probably incorrect.\n...a spurious framework for analysis...\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n  disapproval


Words: spurn
Meaning:
spurn  spurns  spurning  spurned\n  If you spurn someone or something, you reject them.\nHe spurned the advice of management consultants...\n...a spurned lover.\n  VERB: V n, V-ed


Words: spurt
Meaning:
spurt  spurts  spurting  spurted\n1. When liquid or fire spurts from somewhere, or when something spurts liquid or fire, it comes out quickly in a thin, powerful stream.\nThey spurted blood all over me. I nearly passed out...\n...a fountain that spurts water nine stories high...\nI saw flames spurt from the roof.\n  VERB: V n, V n, V prep, also V\n\n  Spurt out means the same as spurt.\nWhen the washing machine spurts out water at least we can mop it up...\nWear eye protection when opening the container, since it’s so easy for contents to spurt out.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), V P\n\n2. A spurt of liquid is a stream of it which comes out of something very forcefully.\nA spurt of diesel came from one valve and none from the other.\n  N-COUNT: oft N of n\n  = jet\n3. A spurt of activity, effort, or emotion is a sudden, brief period of intense activity, effort, or emotion.\nAt adolescence, muscles go through a growth spurt...\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp\n  = surge\n4. If someone or something spurts somewhere, they suddenly increase their speed for a short while in order to get there.\nThe back wheels spun and the van spurted up the last few feet.\n  VERB: V prep/adv\n\n5. If something happens in spurts, there are periods of activity followed by periods in which it does not happen.\nThe deals came in spurts: three in 1977, none in 1978, three more in 1979.\n  PHRASE: PHR after v


Words: sputter
Meaning:
sput.ter\n   sputter  sputters  sputtering  sputtered\n  If something such as an engine or a flame sputters, it works or burns in an uneven way and makes a series of soft popping sounds.\nThe truck sputtered and stopped...\nThe flame sputters out.\n  VERB: V, V prep/adv\n  = splutter


Words: sputum
Meaning:
spu.tum\n   sputum\n  Sputum is the wet substance which is coughed up from someone’s lungs. (MEDICAL)\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: spy
Meaning:
spy  spies  spying  spied\n1. A spy is a person whose job is to find out secret information about another country or organization.\nHe was jailed for five years as an alleged British spy...\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A spy satellite or spy plane obtains secret information about another country by taking photographs from the sky.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n3. Someone who spies for a country or organization tries to find out secret information about another country or organization.\nThe agent spied for East Germany for more than twenty years...\nEast and West are still spying on one another...\nI never agreed to spy against the United States.\n  VERB: V for n, V on n, V against n\n\n=>  spy.ing\n...a ten-year sentence for spying.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n4. If you spy on someone, you watch them secretly.\nThat day he spied on her while pretending to work on the shrubs...\n  VERB: V on n\n\n5. If you spy someone or something, you notice them. (LITERARY)\nHe was walking down the street when he spied an old friend.\n  VERB: V n\n  = spot


Words: spymaster
Meaning:
spy.master\n   spymaster  spymasters\n  A spymaster is a spy who is in charge of a group of spies.\n  N-COUNT


Words: sq
Meaning:
also sq.\n  sq is used as a written abbreviation for square when you are giving the measurement of an area.\nThe building provides about 25,500 sq ft of air-conditioned offices.


Words: squabble
Meaning:
squab.ble\n   squabble  squabbles  squabbling  squabbled\n  When people squabble, they quarrel about something that is not really important.\nMother is devoted to Dad although they squabble all the time...\nMy four-year-old squabbles with his friends...\n  V-RECIP: pl-n V, V with n\n\n=>  squab.bling\nIn recent months its government has been paralysed by political squabbling.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n  Squabble is also a noun.\nThere have been minor squabbles about phone bills.\n  N-COUNT


Words: squad
Meaning:
squad  squads\n1. A squad is a section of a police force that is responsible for dealing with a particular type of crime.\nThe building was evacuated and the bomb squad called...\nThe club is under investigation by the fraud squad.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, usu supp N\n\n2. A squad is a group of players from which a sports team will be chosen.\nSean O’Leary has been named in the England squad to tour Argentina.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. A squad of soldiers is a small group of them.\n...a squad of commandos.\n  N-COUNT: oft N of n\n\n  see also death squad, firing squad, Flying Squad, vice squad


Words: squad car
Meaning:
squad car  squad cars\n  A squad car is a car used by the police. (AM; in BRIT, usually use patrol car, police car)\n  N-COUNT


Words: squaddie
Meaning:
squad.die\n   squaddie  squaddies\n  A squaddie is a soldier of the lowest rank in the army. (BRIT INFORMAL)\n  N-COUNT


Words: squadron
Meaning:
squad.ron\n   squadron  squadrons\n  A squadron is a section of one of the armed forces, especially the air force.\nThe government said it was preparing a squadron of eighteen Mirage fighter planes.\n  N-COUNT-COLL


Words: squadron leader
Meaning:
squad.ron lead.er\n   squadron leader  squadron leaders\n  A squadron leader is an officer in the British air force who has a rank above that of flight lieutenant.\n  N-COUNT; N-TITLE


Words: squalid
Meaning:
squal.id\n   squalid\n1. A squalid place is dirty, untidy, and in bad condition.\nHe followed her up a rickety staircase to a squalid bedsit...\n  ADJ\n\n2. Squalid activities are unpleasant and often dishonest.\nThe Tory Party called the bill `the most squalid measure ever put before the Commons’.\n  ADJ  disapproval


Words: squall
Meaning:
squall  squalls  squalling  squalled\n1. A squall is a sudden strong wind which often causes a brief, violent rain storm or snow storm.\nThe boat was hit by a squall north of the island.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If a person or animal squalls, they make a loud unpleasant noise like the noise made by a crying baby.\nThere was an infant squalling in the back of the church.\n...squalling guitars.\n  VERB: V, V-ing\n  = wail


Words: squally
Meaning:
squal.ly\n   squally\n  In squally weather, there are sudden strong winds which often cause brief, violent storms.\nThe competitors had to contend with squally weather conditions.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: squalor
Meaning:
squal.or\n   squalor\n  You can refer to very dirty, unpleasant conditions as squalor.\nHe was out of work and living in squalor.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: squander
Meaning:
squan.der\n   squander  squanders  squandering  squandered\n  If you squander money, resources, or opportunities, you waste them.\nHooker didn’t squander his money on flashy cars or other vices...\nHe had squandered his chances to win.\n  VERB: V n on n, V n


Words: square
Meaning:
square  squares  squaring  squared\n1. A square is a shape with four sides that are all the same length and four corners that are all right angles.\nServe the cake warm or at room temperature, cut in squares...\nMost of the rugs are simple cotton squares.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. In a town or city, a square is a flat open place, often in the shape of a square.\nThe house is located in one of Pimlico’s prettiest garden squares...\n...St Mark’s Square.\n  N-COUNT; N-IN-NAMES\n\n3. Something that is square has a shape the same as a square or similar to a square.\nRound tables seat more people in the same space as a square table...\nHis finger nails were square and cut neatly across.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n4. Square is used before units of length when referring to the area of something. For example, if something is three metres long and two metres wide, its area is six square metres.\nCanary Wharf was set to provide 10 million square feet of office space...\nThe Philippines has just 6,000 square kilometres of forest left.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n5. Square is used after units of length when you are giving the length of each side of something that is square in shape.\n...a linen cushion cover, 45 cm square.\n...two pieces of wood 4 inches square.\n  ADJ: amount ADJ\n\n6. To square a number means to multiply it by itself. For example, 3 squared is 3 x 3, or 9. 3 squared is usually written as 32.\nTake the time in seconds, square it, and multiply by 5.12...\nA squared plus B squared equals C squared.\n  VERB: V n, V-ed\n\n7. The square of a number is the number produced when you multiply that number by itself. For example, the square of 3 is 9.\n...the square of the speed of light, an exceedingly large number.\n  N-COUNT: usu with poss\n\n8. If you square two different ideas or actions with each other or if they square with each other, they fit or match each other.\nThat explanation squares with the facts, doesn’t it...\nHe set out to square his dreams with reality.\n  VERB: V with n, V n with n\n\n9. If you square something with someone, you ask their permission or check with them that what you are doing is acceptable to them.\nShe should have squared things with Jay before she went into this business with Walker.\n  VERB: V n with n\n  = okay\n10.\n  see also squared, squarely\n11. If you say that someone squares the circle, you mean that they bring together two things which are normally thought to be so different that they cannot exist together.\nHe has squared the circle of keeping the City happy and doing something to improve business cash flow...\n`Nirvana’ squared the circle by making a record that was both superb pop and rock music at the same time.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n12. If you are back to square one, you have to start dealing with something from the beginning again because the way you were dealing with it has failed.\nIf your complaint in not upheld, you may feel you are back to square one...\n  PHRASE: v-link PHR, PHR after v\n\n13.\nfair and square: see fair


Words: square dance
Meaning:
square dance  square dances\n1. A square dance is a traditional American dance in which sets of four couples dance together, forming a square at the beginning of the dance.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A square dance is a social event where people dance square dances.\n  N-COUNT


Words: square meal
Meaning:
square meal  square meals\n  A square meal is a meal which is big enough to satisfy you.\nThey haven’t had a square meal for four or five days.\n  N-COUNT


Words: Square Mile
Meaning:
The Square Mile is the part of London where many important financial institutions have their main offices.\n  N-PROPER: the N\n\n  see also City


Words: square off
Meaning:
square off\n1. If you square something off, you alter it so that it has the shape of a square.\nPeel a thick-skinned orange and square off the ends with a sharp knife.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron)\n\n2. If one group or person squares off against or with another, they prepare to fight them. (mainly AM)\nIn Florida, farmers are squaring off against cities for rights to groundwater...\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P against


Words: square root
Meaning:
square root  square roots\n  The square root of a number is another number which produces the first number when it is multiplied by itself. For example, the square root of 16 is 4.\n  N-COUNT: usu N of num


Words: square up
Meaning:
square up\n  If you square up to a problem, person, or situation, you accept that you have to deal with them and take action to do so.\nThe world’s most prestigious insurance company was last night squaring up to take on MPs who have accused it of being riddled with corruption.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P


Words: squared
Meaning:
squared\n1. Something that is squared has the shape of a square, or has a pattern of squares on it.\nDraw up a scale floor plan on squared paper, marking in the door opening and windows.\n  ADJ\n\n2.\n  see also square


Words: squarely
Meaning:
square.ly\n   squarely\n1. Squarely means directly or in the middle, rather than indirectly or at an angle.\nI kept the gun aimed squarely at his eyes.\n  ADV: ADV with v\n\n2. If something such as blame or responsibility lies squarely with someone, they are definitely the person responsible.\nResponsibility for success or failure lies squarely with the Nigerians.\n  ADV: ADV with v\n\n3. If you face something squarely, you face it directly, without trying to avoid it.\nThe management committee have faced the situation squarely...\n  ADV: ADV with v


Words: squash
Meaning:
squash  squashes  squashing  squashed\n1. If someone or something is squashed, they are pressed or crushed with such force that they become injured or lose their shape.\nRobert was lucky to escape with just a broken foot after being squashed against a fence by a car...\nWhole neighbourhoods have been squashed flat by shelling...\nShe made clay models and squashed them flat again.\n  VERB: be V-ed prep, be V-ed adj, V n adj\n\n2. If people or things are squashed into a place, they are put or pushed into a place where there is not enough room for them to be.\nThe stage is squashed into a small corner of the field.\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ into n\n  = cram\n3. If you say that getting a number of people into a small space is a squash, you mean that it is only just possible for them all to get into it. (INFORMAL)\nIt all looked a bit of a squash as they squeezed inside the small hatchback.\n  N-SING: a N\n  = squeeze\n4. If you squash something that is causing you trouble, you put a stop to it, often by force.\nThe troops would stay in position to squash the first murmur of trouble.\n  VERB: V n\n\n5. Squash is a game in which two players hit a small rubber ball against the walls of a court using rackets.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n6. Squash is a drink made from fruit juice, sugar, and water. Squash is sold in bottles in a concentrated form to which you add water. (BRIT)\n...a glass of orange squash.\n  N-MASS\n  = cordial\n7. A squash is one of a family of vegetables that have thick skin and soft or firm flesh inside.\n  N-VAR


Words: squashy
Meaning:
squashy\n  Squashy things are soft and able to be squashed easily.\n...deep, squashy sofas.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: squat
Meaning:
squat  squats  squatting  squatted\n1. If you squat, you lower yourself towards the ground, balancing on your feet with your legs bent.\nWe squatted beside the pool and watched the diver sink slowly down...\nHe came over and squatted on his heels, looking up at the boys.\n  VERB: V, V on n\n  = crouch\n  Squat down means the same as squat.\nAlbert squatted down and examined it...\nShe had squatted down on her heels.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P, V P prep\n\n  Squat is also a noun.\nHe bent to a squat and gathered the puppies on his lap.\n  N-SING: a N\n\n2. If you describe someone or something as squat, you mean they are short and thick, usually in an unattractive way.\nEddie was a short squat fellow in his forties with thinning hair.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n3. People who squat occupy an unused building or unused land without having a legal right to do so.\nYou can’t simply wander around squatting on other people’s property...\nThey earn their living by squatting the land and sharecropping.\n  VERB: V, V n\n\n4. A squat is an empty building that people are living in illegally, without paying any rent or any property tax.\nAfter returning from Paris, David moved to a squat in Brixton...\n  N-COUNT


Words: squatter
Meaning:
squat.ter\n   squatter  squatters\n  A squatter is someone who lives in an unused building without having a legal right to do so and without paying any rent or any property tax.\n  N-COUNT


Words: squaw
Meaning:
squaw  squaws\n  In the past, people sometimes referred to a Native American Indian woman as a squaw. (OFFENSIVE)\n  N-COUNT


Words: squawk
Meaning:
squawk  squawks  squawking  squawked\n1. When a bird squawks, it makes a loud harsh noise.\nI threw pebbles at the hens, and that made them jump and squawk.\n  VERB: V\n\n  Squawk is also a noun.\nA mallard suddenly took wing, rising steeply into the air with an angry squawk.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If a person squawks, they complain loudly, often in a high-pitched, harsh tone. (INFORMAL)\nMr Arbor squawked that the deal was a double-cross...\n  VERB: V that


Words: squeak
Meaning:
squeak  squeaks  squeaking  squeaked\n1. If something or someone squeaks, they make a short, high-pitched sound.\nMy boots squeaked a little as I walked...\nThe door squeaked open...\nShe squeaked with delight.\n  VERB: V, V adj, V with n\n\n  Squeak is also a noun.\nHe gave an outraged squeak.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. To squeak through or squeak by means to only just manage to get accepted, get included in something, or win something.\nThe President’s economic package squeaked through the House of Representatives by 219 votes to 213...\n  VERB: V prep/adv\n\n3.\n  see also bubble and squeak


Words: squeaky
Meaning:
squeaky\n  Something that is squeaky makes high-pitched sounds.\n...squeaky floorboards...\nHe had a squeaky voice.\n  ADJ


Words: squeaky clean
Meaning:
squeaky clean   also squeaky-clean\n  If you say that someone is squeaky clean, you mean that they live a very moral life and have never done anything wrong. (INFORMAL)\nMaybe this guy isn’t so squeaky clean after all.\n  ADJ


Words: squeal
Meaning:
squeal  squeals  squealing  squealed\n  If someone or something squeals, they make a long, high-pitched sound.\nJennifer squealed with delight and hugged me...\nThe car’s tires squealed again as it sped around the corner.\n  VERB: V with n, V\n\n  Squeal is also a noun.\nAt that moment there was a squeal of brakes and the angry blowing of a car horn.\n  N-COUNT


Words: squeamish
Meaning:
squeam.ish\n   squeamish\n  If you are squeamish, you are easily upset by unpleasant sights or situations.\nI am not squeamish about blood.\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ


Words: squeeze
Meaning:
squeeze  squeezes  squeezing  squeezed\n1. If you squeeze something, you press it firmly, usually with your hands.\nHe squeezed her arm reassuringly...\nDip the bread briefly in water, then squeeze it dry.\n  VERB: V n, V n adj\n\n  Squeeze is also a noun.\nI liked her way of reassuring you with a squeeze of the hand.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing\n\n2. If you squeeze a liquid or a soft substance out of an object, you get the liquid or substance out by pressing the object.\nJoe put the plug in the sink and squeezed some detergent over the dishes.\n...freshly squeezed lemon juice.\n  VERB: V n prep, V-ed\n\n3. If you squeeze your eyes shut or if your eyes squeeze shut, you close them tightly, usually because you are frightened or to protect your eyes from something such as strong sunlight.\nNancy squeezed her eyes shut and prayed...\nIf you keep your eyes squeezed shut, you’ll miss the show...\n  VERB: V n adj, V adj\n\n4. If you squeeze a person or thing somewhere or if they squeeze there, they manage to get through or into a small space.\nThey lowered him gradually into the cockpit. Somehow they squeezed him in the tight space, and strapped him in...\nMany break-ins are carried out by youngsters who can squeeze through tiny windows.\n  VERB: V n prep/adv, V prep/adv\n\n5. If you say that getting a number of people into a small space is a squeeze, you mean that it is only just possible for them all to get into it. (INFORMAL)\nIt was a squeeze in the car with five of them...\n  N-SING: a N\n  = squash\n6. If you squeeze something out of someone, you persuade them to give it to you, although they may be unwilling to do this.\nThe investigators complained about the difficulties of squeezing information out of residents...\n  VERB: V n from/out of\n\n7. If a government squeezes the economy, they put strict controls on people’s ability to borrow money or on their own departments’ freedom to spend money, in order to control the country’s rate of inflation.\nThe government will squeeze the economy into a severe recession to force inflation down...\n  VERB: V n\n\n  Squeeze is also a noun.\nThe CBI also says the squeeze is slowing down inflation.\n  N-SING\n\n8. Someone’s squeeze is their boyfriend or girlfriend. (INFORMAL JOURNALISM)\nJack showed off his latest squeeze at the weekend.\n  N-COUNT


Words: squeeze out
Meaning:
squeeze out\n  If a person or thing is squeezed out, they are no longer included in something that they were previously involved in.\nOther directors appear happy that Lord Hollick has been squeezed out...\nLatin and Greek will be squeezed out of school timetables.\n  PHRASAL VERB: usu passive, be V-ed P, be V-ed P of n


Words: squelch
Meaning:
squelch  squelches  squelching  squelched\n  To squelch means to make a wet, sucking sound, like the sound you make when you are walking on wet, muddy ground.\nHe squelched across the turf...\n  VERB: V prep/adv


Words: squib
Meaning:
squib  squibs\n  You can describe something such as an event or a performance as a damp squib when it is expected to be interesting, exciting, or impressive, but fails to be any of these things. (BRIT)\nThe all-party meeting was a damp squib.\n  PHRASE: N inflects, usu v-link PHR


Words: squid
Meaning:
squid  squids  or squid\n  A squid is a sea creature with a long soft body and many soft arms called tentacles.\n  N-COUNT\n\n  Squid is pieces of this creature eaten as food.\nAdd the prawns and squid and cook for 2 minutes.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: squidgy
Meaning:
squidgy\n  Something that is squidgy is soft and can be squashed easily. (BRIT INFORMAL)\n...the squidgy end of a melon.\n...a squidgy sofa.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  = squashy


Words: squiggle
Meaning:
squig.gle\n   squiggle  squiggles\n  A squiggle is a line that bends and curls in an irregular way.\n  N-COUNT


Words: squiggly
Meaning:
squig.gly\n   squiggly\n  Squiggly lines are lines that bend and curl in an irregular way.\nHe drew three squiggly lines.\n  ADJ


Words: squint
Meaning:
squint  squints  squinting  squinted\n1. If you squint at something, you look at it with your eyes partly closed.\nThe girl squinted at the photograph...\nThe bright sunlight made me squint...\nHe squinted his eyes and looked at the floor.\n  VERB: V prep/adv, V, V n\n\n2. If someone has a squint, their eyes look in different directions from each other.\n  N-COUNT


Words: squire
Meaning:
squire  squires\n  In former times, the squire of an English village was the man who owned most of the land in it.\n  N-COUNT; N-TITLE


Words: squirm
Meaning:
squirm  squirms  squirming  squirmed\n1. If you squirm, you move your body from side to side, usually because you are nervous or uncomfortable.\nHe had squirmed and wriggled and screeched when his father had washed his face...\nHe gave a feeble shrug and tried to squirm free...\nHe squirmed out of the straps of his backpack.\n  VERB: V, V adj, V adv/prep\n  = wriggle\n2. If you squirm, you are very embarrassed or ashamed.\nMentioning religion is a sure way to make him squirm.\n  VERB: V


Words: squirrel
Meaning:
squir.rel\n   squirrel  squirrels\n  A squirrel is a small animal with a long furry tail. Squirrels live mainly in trees.\n  N-COUNT


Words: squirt
Meaning:
squirt  squirts  squirting  squirted\n1. If you squirt a liquid somewhere or if it squirts somewhere, the liquid comes out of a narrow opening in a thin fast stream.\nNorman cut open his pie and squirted tomato sauce into it...\nThe water squirted from its throat...\n  VERB: V n prep/adv, V prep/adv\n\n  Squirt is also a noun.\nIt just needs a little squirt of oil.\n  N-COUNT: usu N of n\n\n2. If you squirt something with a liquid, you squirt the liquid at it.\nI squirted him with water...\n  VERB: V n with n


Words: squishy
Meaning:
squishy  squishier  squishiest\n  Something that is squishy is soft and easy to squash.\n...squishy pink leather chairs.\n  ADJ


Words: Sr
Meaning:
in AM, use Sr.\n  Sr is a written abbreviation for Senior, and is written after a man’s name. It is used in order to distinguish a man from his son when they both have the same name.\n...Donald Cunningham, Sr.


Words: St
Meaning:
also st.\n\n  The form SS or SS. is used as the plural for meaning 2.\n\n1. St is a written abbreviation for Street.\n...116 Princess St.\n\n2. St is a written abbreviation for Saint.\n...St Thomas.\n...the Church of SS Cornelius and Cyprian.


Words: st
Meaning:
st is used as a written abbreviation for stone when you are mentioning someone’s weight. (BRIT)\nHe weighs 11st 8lb.


Words: stab
Meaning:
stab  stabs  stabbing  stabbed\n1. If someone stabs you, they push a knife or sharp object into your body.\nSomebody stabbed him in the stomach...\nStephen was stabbed to death in an unprovoked attack nearly five months ago.\n  VERB: V n, V to n\n\n2. If you stab something or stab at it, you push at it with your finger or with something pointed that you are holding.\nBess stabbed a slice of cucumber...\nGoldstone flipped through the pages and stabbed his thumb at the paragraph he was looking for...\nHe stabbed at the omelette with his fork.\n  VERB: V n, V n at n, V at n\n\n3. If you have a stab at something, you try to do it. (INFORMAL)\nSeveral tennis stars have had a stab at acting.\n  N-SING: a N at n/-ing\n\n4. You can refer to a sudden, usually unpleasant feeling as a stab of that feeling. (LITERARY)\n...a stab of pain just above his eye...\nShe felt a stab of pity for him.\n  N-SING: a N of n\n\n5. If you say that someone has stabbed you in the back, you mean that they have done something very harmful to you when you thought that you could trust them. You can refer to an action of this kind as a stab in the back.\nShe felt betrayed, as though her daughter had stabbed her in the back...\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n6.\na stab in the dark: see dark


Words: stab wound
Meaning:
stab wound  stab wounds\n  A stab wound is a wound that someone has when they have been stabbed with a knife.\n  N-COUNT


Words: stabbing
Meaning:
stab.bing\n   stabbing  stabbings\n1. A stabbing is an incident in which someone stabs someone else with a knife.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A stabbing pain is a sudden sharp pain.\nHe was struck by a stabbing pain in his midriff.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: stabilize
Meaning:
sta.bi.lize\n   stabilize  stabilizes  stabilizing  stabilized\nin BRIT, also use stabilise\n  If something stabilizes, or is stabilized, it becomes stable.\nAlthough her illness is serious, her condition is beginning to stabilize...\nOfficials hope the move will stabilize exchange rates...\n  VERB: V, V n\n\n=>  sta.bi.li.za.tion\n...the stabilisation of property prices.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: stabilizer
Meaning:
sta.bi.li.zer\n   stabilizer  stabilizers\nin BRIT, also use stabiliser\n  A stabilizer is a device, mechanism, or chemical that makes something stable.\n  N-COUNT


Words: stable
Meaning:
sta.ble\n   stable  stabler  stablest  stables\n1. If something is stable, it is not likely to change or come to an end suddenly.\nThe price of oil should remain stable for the rest of 1992.\n...a stable marriage.\n  ADJ\n\n=>  sta.bil.ity\nIt was a time of political stability and progress.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. If someone has a stable personality, they are calm and reasonable and their mood does not change suddenly.\nTheir characters are fully formed and they are both very stable children.\n  ADJ\n  !=unstable\n3. You can describe someone who is seriously ill as stable when their condition has stopped getting worse.\nThe injured man was in a stable condition.\n  ADJ\n\n4. Chemical substances are described as stable when they tend to remain in the same chemical or atomic state. (TECHNICAL)\nThe less stable compounds were converted into a compound called Delta-A THC.\n  ADJ\n\n5. If an object is stable, it is firmly fixed in position and is not likely to move or fall.\nThis structure must be stable.\n  ADJ\n  !=unstable\n6. A stable or stables is a building in which horses are kept.\n  N-COUNT\n\n7. A stable or stables is an organization that breeds and trains horses for racing.\nMiss Curling won on two horses from Mick Trickey’s stable.\n  N-COUNT\n\n8. When horses are stabled, they are put into a stable.\nThe animals had been fed and stabled...\n  VERB: usu passive, be V-ed


Words: stable boy
Meaning:
sta.ble boy\n   stable boy  stable boys   also stableboy\n  A stable boy is a young man who works in a stable looking after the horses.\n  N-COUNT


Words: stable lad
Meaning:
sta.ble lad\n   stable lad  stable lads   also stable-lad\n  A stable lad is the same as a stable boy. (BRIT; in AM, use stable boy)\n  N-COUNT


Words: stablemate
Meaning:
stable.mate\n   stablemate  stablemates\n  Stablemates are race horses that come from the same stables and often compete against each other.\nThe head groom is responsible for seeing that Milton and his stablemates have safe journeys.\n  N-COUNT: usu poss N


Words: staccato
Meaning:
stac.ca.to\n   staccato\n  A staccato noise consists of a series of short, sharp, separate sounds.\nHe spoke in Arabic, a short staccato burst.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: stack
Meaning:
stack  stacks  stacking  stacked\n1. A stack of things is a pile of them.\nThere were stacks of books on the bedside table and floor.\n  N-COUNT: usu N of n\n\n2. If you stack a number of things, you arrange them in neat piles.\nMme Cathiard was stacking the clean bottles in crates...\nThey are stacked neatly in piles of three.\n  VERB: V n, V-ed\n\n  Stack up means the same as stack.\nHe ordered them to stack up pillows behind his back.\n...plates of delicious food stacked up on the counters.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), V-ed P\n\n3. If you say that someone has stacks of something, you mean that they have a lot of it. (INFORMAL)\nIf the job’s that good, you’ll have stacks of money.\n  N-PLURAL: N of n\n\n4. If someone in authority stacks an organization or body, they fill it with their own supporters so that the decisions it makes will be the ones they want it to make. (mainly AM)\nThey said they were going to stack the court with anti-abortion judges...\n  VERB: V n with n\n  = pack\n5.\n  see also stacked, chimney stack\n6. If you say that the odds are stacked against someone, or that particular factors are stacked against them, you mean that they are unlikely to succeed in what they want to do because the conditions are not favourable.\nThe odds are stacked against civilians getting a fair trial...\nEverything seems to be stacked against us.\n  PHRASE: V inflects, PHR n


Words: stack up
Meaning:
stack up\n1. If you ask how one person or thing stacks up against other people or things, you are asking how the one compares with the others. (INFORMAL)\nHow does this final presidential debate stack up and compare to the others, do you think?\n  PHRASAL VERB: no passive, V P\n  = compare\n2. If facts or figures do not stack up, they do not make sense or give the results you expect.\nThere have been a number of explanations, but none of them stack up.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P\n\n3.\nsee stack 2


Words: stacked
Meaning:
stacked\n  If a place or surface is stacked with objects, it is filled with piles of them.\nShops in Ho Chi Minh City are stacked with goods.\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ, ADJ with n


Words: stadium
Meaning:
sta.dium\n   stadium  stadiums  or stadia\n  A stadium is a large sports ground with rows of seats all round it.\n...a baseball stadium.\n...Wembley Stadium.\n  N-COUNT; N-IN-NAMES


Words: staff
Meaning:
staff  staffs  staffing  staffed\n1. The staff of an organization are the people who work for it.\nThe staff were very good...\nHe thanked his staff.\n...members of staff...\nMany employers seek diversity in their staffs.\n  N-COUNT-COLL\n\n  see also Chief of Staff\n2. People who are part of a particular staff are often referred to as staff.\n10 staff were allocated to the task...\nHe had the complete support of hospital staff.\n  N-PLURAL\n\n3. If an organization is staffed by particular people, they are the people who work for it.\nThey are staffed by volunteers...\nThe centre is staffed at all times...\n  VERB: usu passive, be V-ed by/with n, be V-ed\n\n=>  staffed\nThe house allocated to them was pleasant and spacious, and well-staffed.\n  ADJ: adv ADJ\n\n  see also short-staffed\n4. A staff is a strong stick or pole.\n  N-COUNT\n\n5. A staff is the five lines that music is written on. (AM; in BRIT, use stave)


Words: staff nurse
Meaning:
staff nurse  staff nurses\n  A staff nurse is a hospital nurse whose rank is just below that of a sister or charge nurse. (BRIT)\n  N-COUNT


Words: staff officer
Meaning:
staff of.fic.er\n   staff officer  staff officers\n  In the army and air force, a staff officer is an officer who works for a commander or in the headquarters.\n  N-COUNT


Words: staff sergeant
Meaning:
staff ser.geant\n   staff sergeant  staff sergeants   also Staff Sergeant\n  A staff sergeant is someone who ranks just above sergeant in the British army or the United States army, marines, or air force.\nHis father is a staff sergeant in the army.\n...Staff Sergeant Robert Daily.\n  N-COUNT; N-TITLE


Words: staffer
Meaning:
staff.er\n   staffer  staffers\n  A staffer is a member of staff, especially in political organizations or in journalism. (mainly AM)\nThe Sky News TV station is largely run by ex-BBC news staffers.\n  N-COUNT: usu n N


Words: staffing
Meaning:
staff.ing\n   staffing\n  Staffing refers to the number of workers employed to work in a particular organization or building. (BUSINESS)\nStaffing levels in prisons are too low.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: stag
Meaning:
stag  stags\n  A stag is an adult male deer belonging to one of the larger species of deer. Stags usually have large branch-like horns called antlers.\n  N-COUNT


Words: stag night
Meaning:
stag night  stag nights\n  A stag night is a party for a man who is getting married very soon, to which only men are invited.\n  N-COUNT


Words: stage
Meaning:
stage  stages  staging  staged\n1. A stage of an activity, process, or period is one part of it.\nThe way children talk about or express their feelings depends on their age and stage of development...\nMr Cook has arrived in Greece on the final stage of a tour which also included Egypt and Israel.\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp\n\n2. In a theatre, the stage is an area where actors or other entertainers perform.\nI went on stage and did my show.\n  N-COUNT: also on N\n\n3. You can refer to acting and the production of plays in a theatre as the stage.\nHe was the first comedian I ever saw on the stage.\n  N-SING: the N\n\n4. If someone stages a play or other show, they organize and present a performance of it.\nMaya Angelou first staged the play `And I Still Rise’ in the late 1970s.\n  VERB: V n\n  = put on\n5. If you stage an event or ceremony, you organize it and usually take part in it.\nRussian workers have staged a number of strikes in protest at the republic’s declaration of independence...\n  VERB: V n\n  = hold\n6. You can refer to a particular area of activity as a particular stage, especially when you are talking about politics.\nHe was finally forced off the political stage last year by the deterioration of his physical condition...\n  N-SING: usu supp N\n  = arena\n7.\nto set the stage: see set


Words: stage direction
Meaning:
stage di.rec.tion\n   stage direction  stage directions\n  Stage directions are the notes in the text of a play which say what the actors should do.\n  N-COUNT


Words: stage door
Meaning:
stage door  stage doors\n  The stage door of a theatre is the entrance used by actors and actresses and by employees of the theatre.\n  N-COUNT: usu the N in sing


Words: stage fright
Meaning:
stage fright   also stage-fright\n  Stage fright is a feeling of fear or nervousness that some people have just before they appear in front of an audience.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: stage left
Meaning:
stage left\n  Stage left is the left side of the stage for an actor who is standing facing the audience.\nHe entered stage left.\n  ADV: usu ADV after v, also prep ADV


Words: stage manager
Meaning:
stage man.ag.er\n   stage manager  stage managers   also stage-manager\n  At a theatre, a stage manager is the person who is responsible for the scenery and lights and for the way that actors or other performers move about and use the stage during a performance.\n  N-COUNT


Words: stage name
Meaning:
stage name  stage names\n  A stage name is a name that an actor or entertainer uses instead of his or her real name when they work.\nUnder the stage name of Beverly Brooks, Patricia had small parts in several British films.\n  N-COUNT


Words: stage right
Meaning:
stage right\n  Stage right is the right side of the stage for an actor who is standing facing the audience.\n  ADV: usu ADV after v, also prep ADV


Words: stage whisper
Meaning:
stage whis.per\n   stage whisper  stage whispers   also stage-whisper\n  If someone says something in a stage whisper, they say it as if they are speaking privately to one person, although it is actually loud enough to be heard by other people.\n  N-COUNT


Words: stage-manage
Meaning:
stage-manage  stage-manages  stage-managing  stage-managed\n  If someone stage-manages an event, they carefully organize and control it, rather than letting it happen in a natural way.\nSome radicals may oppose him in protest at the attempt of his supporters to stage-manage the congress...\n  VERB: V n  disapproval


Words: stage-struck
Meaning:
stage-struck   also stagestruck\n  Someone who is stage-struck is fascinated by the theatre and wants to become an actor or actress.\n  ADJ


Words: stagecoach
Meaning:
stage.coach\n   stagecoach  stagecoaches   also stage-coach\n  Stagecoaches were large carriages pulled by horses which carried passengers and mail.\n  N-COUNT: also by N


Words: stagecraft
Meaning:
stage.craft\n   stagecraft\n  Stagecraft is skill in writing or producing or directing plays in the theatre.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: stagehand
Meaning:
stage.hand\n   stagehand  stagehands   also stage hand\n  A stagehand is a person whose job is to move the scenery and equipment on the stage in a theatre.\n  N-COUNT


Words: stagflation
Meaning:
stag.fla.tion\n   stagflation\n  If an economy is suffering from stagflation, inflation is high but there is no increase in the demand for goods or in the number of people who have jobs. (BUSINESS)\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: stagger
Meaning:
stag.ger\n   stagger  staggers  staggering  staggered\n1. If you stagger, you walk very unsteadily, for example because you are ill or drunk.\nHe lost his balance, staggered back against the rail and toppled over...\nHe was staggering and had to lean on the bar.\n  VERB: V adv/prep, V\n\n2. If you say that someone or something staggers on, you mean that it is only just succeeds in continuing.\nTruman allowed him to stagger on for nearly another two years.\n  VERB: V adv/prep\n\n3. If something staggers you, it surprises you very much.\nThe whole thing staggers me.\n  VERB: V n\n\n=>  stag.gered\nI was simply staggered by the heat of the Argentinian high-summer.\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ\n\n4. To stagger things such as people’s holidays or hours of work means to arrange them so that they do not all happen at the same time.\nDuring the past few years the government has staggered the summer vacation periods for students.\n  VERB: V n\n\n5.\n  see also staggering


Words: staggering
Meaning:
stag.ger.ing\n   staggering\n  Something that is staggering is very surprising.\nThe results have been quite staggering.\n  ADJ\n  = astounding


Words: staging post
Meaning:
stag.ing post\n   staging post  staging posts   also staging-post\n1. A staging post on a long journey is a place where people who are making that journey usually stop, for example to rest or to get new supplies. (BRIT)\nThe island is a staging-post for many visiting yachts on their way south.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If you describe an action or achievement as a staging post, you mean that it helps you reach a particular goal that you have. (BRIT)\nPrivatisation is a necessary staging post to an open market.\n  N-COUNT


Words: stagnant
Meaning:
stag.nant\n   stagnant\n1. If something such as a business or society is stagnant, there is little activity or change.\nHe is seeking advice on how to revive the stagnant economy...\nMass movements are often a factor in the awakening and renovation of stagnant societies.\n  ADJ  disapproval\n\n2. Stagnant water is not flowing, and therefore often smells unpleasant and is dirty.\n  ADJ


Words: stagnate
Meaning:
stag.nate\n   stagnate  stagnates  stagnating  stagnated\n  If something such as a business or society stagnates, it stops changing or progressing.\nIndustrial production is stagnating...\n  VERB: V  disapproval\n\n=>  stag.na.tion\n...the stagnation of the steel industry.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: staid
Meaning:
staid\n  If you say that someone or something is staid, you mean that they are serious, dull, and rather old-fashioned.\n...a staid seaside resort.\n  ADJ


Words: stain
Meaning:
stain  stains  staining  stained\n1. A stain is a mark on something that is difficult to remove.\nRemove stains by soaking in a mild solution of bleach.\n...a black stain.\n  N-COUNT: oft supp N\n\n2. If a liquid stains something, the thing becomes coloured or marked by the liquid.\nSome foods can stain the teeth, as of course can smoking.\n  VERB: V n\n\n=>  stained\nHis clothing was stained with mud.\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ\n\n=>  -stained\n...ink-stained fingers.\n  COMB in ADJ


Words: stained glass
Meaning:
stained glass   also stained-glass\n  Stained glass consists of pieces of glass of different colours which are fixed together to make decorative windows or other objects.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: stainless steel
Meaning:
stain.less steel\n   stainless steel\n  Stainless steel is a metal made from steel and chromium which does not rust.\n...a stainless steel sink.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: stair
Meaning:
stair  stairs\n1. Stairs are a set of steps inside a building which go from one floor to another.\nNancy began to climb the stairs...\nWe walked up a flight of stairs...\nHe stopped at the top of the stairs.\n...a stair carpet.\n  N-PLURAL\n\n2. A stair is one of the steps in a flight of stairs.\nTerry was sitting on the bottom stair.\n  N-COUNT


Words: staircase
Meaning:
stair.case\n   staircase  staircases\n  A staircase is a set of stairs inside a building.\nThey walked down the staircase together.\n  N-COUNT


Words: stairway
Meaning:
stair.way\n   stairway  stairways\n  A stairway is a staircase or a flight of steps, inside or outside a building.\n  N-COUNT


Words: stairwell
Meaning:
stair.well\n   stairwell  stairwells\n  The stairwell is the part of a building that contains the staircase.\n  N-COUNT


Words: stake
Meaning:
stake  stakes  staking  staked\n1. If something is at stake, it is being risked and might be lost or damaged if you are not successful.\nThe tension was naturally high for a game with so much at stake...\nAt stake is the success or failure of world trade talks...\n  PHRASE\n\n2. The stakes involved in a contest or a risky action are the things that can be gained or lost.\nBy arresting the organisation’s two top leaders the government and the army have now raised the stakes...\n  N-PLURAL: oft supp N\n\n3. If you stake something such as your money or your reputation on the result of something, you risk your money or reputation on it.\nHe has staked his political future on an election victory...\n  VERB: V n on n\n\n4. If you have a stake in something such as a business, it matters to you, for example because you own part of it or because its success or failure will affect you.\nHe was eager to return to a more entrepreneurial role in which he had a big financial stake in his own efforts...\n  N-COUNT: N in n\n\n5. You can use stakes to refer to something that is like a contest. For example, you can refer to the choosing of a leader as the leadership stakes.\nBritain lags behind in the European childcare stakes.\n  N-PLURAL: the supp N\n\n6. A stake is a pointed wooden post which is pushed into the ground, for example in order to support a young tree.\n  N-COUNT\n  = post\n7. If you stake a claim, you say that something is yours or that you have a right to it.\nJane is determined to stake her claim as an actress...\n  PHRASE: V inflects


Words: stake out
Meaning:
stake out\n  If you stake out a position that you are stating or a claim that you are making, you are defending the boundaries or limits of the position or claim.\nThose who want to take child abuse seriously today must stake out a humane child protection practice...\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron)


Words: stakeholder
Meaning:
stake.hold.er\n   stakeholder  stakeholders\n  Stakeholders are people who have an interest in a company’s or organization’s affairs. (BUSINESS)\n  N-COUNT


Words: stakeholder pension
Meaning:
stake.hold.er pen.sion\n   stakeholder pension stakeholder pensions\n  In Britain, a stakeholder pension is a flexible pension scheme with low charges. Both employees and the state contribute to the scheme, which is optional, and is in addition to the basic state pension. (BUSINESS)\n  N-COUNT


Words: stakeout
Meaning:
stake.out\n   stakeout  stakeouts   also stake-out\n  If police officers are on a stakeout, they are secretly watching a building for evidence of criminal activity.\n  N-COUNT


Words: stalactite
Meaning:
stal.ac.tite\n   stalactite  stalactites\n  A stalactite is a long piece of rock which hangs down from the roof of a cave. Stalactites are formed by the slow dropping of water containing the mineral lime.\n  N-COUNT


Words: stalagmite
Meaning:
stal.ag.mite\n   stalagmite  stalagmites\n  A stalagmite is a long piece of rock which sticks up from the floor of a cave. Stalagmites are formed by the slow dropping of water containing the mineral lime.\n  N-COUNT


Words: stale
Meaning:
stale  staler  stalest\n1. Stale food is no longer fresh or good to eat.\nTheir daily diet consisted of a lump of stale bread, a bowl of rice and stale water.\n  ADJ\n  !=fresh\n2. Stale air or a stale smells is unpleasant because it is no longer fresh.\nA layer of smoke hung low in the stale air.\n...the smell of stale sweat.\n  ADJ\n\n3. If you say that a place, an activity, or an idea is stale, you mean that it has become boring because it is always the same.\nHer relationship with Mark has become stale...\n  ADJ  disapproval


Words: stalemate
Meaning:
stale.mate\n   stalemate  stalemates\n1. Stalemate is a situation in which neither side in an argument or contest can win or in which no progress is possible.\nPresident Bush has ended the stalemate over moves to cut the country’s budget deficit...\n  N-VAR\n  = deadlock\n2. In chess, stalemate is a position in which a player cannot make any move which is allowed by the rules, so that the game ends and no one wins.\n  N-VAR


Words: stalk
Meaning:
stalk  stalks  stalking  stalked\n1. The stalk of a flower, leaf, or fruit is the thin part that joins it to the plant or tree.\nA single pale blue flower grows up from each joint on a long stalk.\n...corn stalks.\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp\n  = stem\n2. If you stalk a person or a wild animal, you follow them quietly in order to kill them, catch them, or observe them carefully.\nHe stalks his victims like a hunter after a deer.\n  VERB: V n\n  = track\n3. If someone stalks someone else, especially a famous person or a person they used to have a relationship with, they keep following them or contacting them in an annoying and frightening way.\nEven after their divorce he continued to stalk and threaten her.\n  VERB: V n\n\n=>  stalk.ing\nThe Home Secretary is considering a new law against stalking.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n4. If you stalk somewhere, you walk there in a stiff, proud, or angry way.\nIf his patience is tried at meetings he has been known to stalk out.\n  VERB: V adv/prep


Words: stalker
Meaning:
stalk.er\n   stalker  stalkers\n  A stalker is someone who keeps following or contacting someone else, especially a famous person or a person they used to have a relationship with, in an annoying and frightening way.\n  N-COUNT


Words: stalking horse
Meaning:
stalk.ing horse\n   stalking horse  stalking horses\n1. If you describe a person or thing as a stalking horse, you mean that it is being used to obtain a temporary advantage so that someone can get what they really want.\nI think the development is a stalking horse for exploitation of the surrounding countryside.\n  N-COUNT  disapproval\n\n2. In politics, a stalking horse is someone who stands against a leader in order to see how strong the opposition is. The stalking horse then withdraws in favour of a stronger challenger.\nThe possibility of another stalking horse challenge this autumn cannot be ruled out.\n  N-COUNT: oft N n


Words: stall
Meaning:
stall  stalls  stalling  stalled\n1. If a process stalls, or if someone or something stalls it, the process stops but may continue at a later time.\nThe Social Democratic Party has vowed to try to stall the bill until the current session ends.\n...but the peace process stalled...\nNegotiations remained stalled yesterday in New York.\n  VERB: V n, V, V-ed\n\n2. If you stall, you try to avoid doing something until later.\nSome parties have accused the governor of stalling...\nThomas had spent all week stalling over his decision.\n  VERB: V, V over/on n\n\n3. If you stall someone, you prevent them from doing something until a later time.\nShop manager Brian Steel stalled the man until the police arrived.\n  VERB: V n\n\n4. If a vehicle stalls or if you accidentally stall it, the engine stops suddenly.\nThe engine stalled...\nYour foot falls off the pedal and you stall the car.\n  VERB: V, V n\n\n5. A stall is a large table on which you put goods that you want to sell, or information that you want to give people.\n...market stalls selling local fruits.\n  N-COUNT\n\n6. The stalls in a theatre or concert hall are the seats on the ground floor directly in front of the stage. (mainly BRIT; in AM, use orchestra)\n  N-PLURAL: the N\n\n7. A stall is a small enclosed area in a room which is used for a particular purpose, for example a shower. (AM; in BRIT, usually use cubicle)\n  N-COUNT


Words: stallholder
Meaning:
stall.holder\n   stallholder  stallholders\n  A stallholder is a person who sells goods at a stall in a market.\n  N-COUNT


Words: stallion
Meaning:
stal.lion\n   stallion  stallions\n  A stallion is a male horse, especially one kept for breeding.\n  N-COUNT


Words: stalwart
Meaning:
stal.wart\n   stalwart  stalwarts\n1. A stalwart is a loyal worker or supporter of an organization, especially a political party.\nHis free-trade policies aroused suspicion among Tory stalwarts...\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp\n\n2. A stalwart supporter or worker is loyal, steady, and completely reliable.\n...a stalwart supporter of the colonial government...\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: stamen
Meaning:
sta.men\n   stamen  stamens\n  The stamens of a flower are the small, delicate stalks which grow at the flower’s centre and produce pollen. (TECHNICAL)\n  N-COUNT


Words: stamina
Meaning:
stami.na\n   stamina\n  Stamina is the physical or mental energy needed to do a tiring activity for a long time.\nYou have to have a lot of stamina to be a top-class dancer.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: stammer
Meaning:
stam.mer\n   stammer  stammers  stammering  stammered\n1. If you stammer, you speak with difficulty, hesitating and repeating words or sounds.\nFive per cent of children stammer at some point...\n`Forgive me,’ I stammered...\nPeople cursed and stammered apologies.\n  VERB: V, V with quote, V n\n\n=>  stam.mer.ing\nOf all speech impediments stammering is probably the most embarrassing.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. Someone who has a stammer tends to stammer when they speak.\nA speech-therapist cured his stammer.\n  N-SING


Words: stamp
Meaning:
stamp  stamps  stamping  stamped\n1. A stamp or a postage stamp is a small piece of paper which you lick and stick on an envelope or package before you post it to pay for the cost of the postage.\n...a book of stamps...\n...two first class stamps.\n  N-COUNT\n\n  see also food stamp\n2. A stamp is a small block of wood or metal which has a pattern or a group of letters on one side. You press it onto an pad of ink and then onto a piece of paper in order to produce a mark on the paper. The mark that you produce is also called a stamp.\n...a date stamp and an ink pad...\nYou may live only where the stamp in your passport says you may.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. If you stamp a mark or word on an object, you press the mark or word onto the object using a stamp or other device.\nCar manufacturers stamp a vehicle identification number at several places on new cars to help track down stolen vehicles...\n`Eat before JULY 14’ was stamped on the label.\n  VERB: V n prep, V n prep\n\n4. If you stamp or stamp your foot, you lift your foot and put it down very hard on the ground, for example because you are angry or because your feet are cold.\nOften he teased me till my temper went and I stamped and screamed, feeling furiously helpless...\nHis foot stamped down on the accelerator...\nShe stamped her feet on the pavement to keep out the cold.\n  VERB: V, V adv/prep, V n prep/adv, also V n\n\n  Stamp is also a noun.\n...hearing the creak of a door and the stamp of cold feet.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing\n\n5. If you stamp somewhere, you walk there putting your feet down very hard on the ground because you are angry.\n`I’m going before things get any worse!’ he shouted as he stamped out of the bedroom...\n  VERB: V prep/adv\n  = stomp\n6. If you stamp on something, you put your foot down on it very hard.\nHe received the original ban last week after stamping on the referee’s foot during the supercup final.\n  VERB: V on n\n\n7. If something bears the stamp of a particular quality or person, it clearly has that quality or was done by that person.\nMost of us want to make our home a familiar place and put the stamp of our personality on its walls.\n  N-SING: usu the N of n\n  = mark\n8.\n  see also rubber stamp


Words: stamp collecting
Meaning:
stamp col.lect.ing\n   stamp collecting\n  Stamp collecting is the hobby of building up a collection of stamps.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: stamp duty
Meaning:
stamp duty\n  In Britain, stamp duty is a tax that you pay to the government when you buy a house.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: stamp on
Meaning:
stamp on\n  If someone stamps on a dishonest or undesirable activity, they act immediately to stop it happening or spreading.\nThe tone of her voice was designed to stamp on this topic of conversation once and for all...\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n


Words: stamp out
Meaning:
stamp out\n  If you stamp out something bad that is happening, you make it stop.\nDr Muffett stressed that he was opposed to bullying in schools and that action would be taken to stamp it out.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V n P


Words: stamped addressed envelope
Meaning:
stamped ad.dressed en.velope\n   stamped addressed envelope  stamped addressed envelopes\n  A stamped addressed envelope is an envelope with a stamp on it and your own name and address, which you send to someone so that something can be sent back to you. The abbreviation s.a.e. is also used. (BRIT; in AM, use SASE)\n  N-COUNT


Words: stampede
Meaning:
stam.pede\n   stampede  stampedes  stampeding  stampeded\n1. If there is a stampede, a group of people or animals run in a wild, uncontrolled way.\nThere was a stampede for the exit.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing\n\n2. If a group of animals or people stampede or if something stampedes them, they run in a wild, uncontrolled way.\nThe crowd stampeded and many were crushed or trampled underfoot...\nCountryside robbers are learning the ways of the wild west by stampeding cattle to distract farmers before raiding their homes.\n...a herd of stampeding cattle.\n  VERB: V, V n, V-ing\n\n3. If a lot of people all do the same thing at the same time, you can describe it as a stampede.\nGenerous redundancy terms had triggered a stampede of staff wanting to leave.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing


Words: stamping ground
Meaning:
stamp.ing ground\n   stamping ground  stamping grounds\n  Someone’s stamping ground is a place where they like to go often.\n  N-COUNT: usu with poss\n  = haunt


Words: stance
Meaning:
stance  stances\n1. Your stance on a particular matter is your attitude to it.\nThe Congress had agreed to reconsider its stance on the armed struggle...\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, with supp\n  = position\n2. Your stance is the way that you are standing. (FORMAL)\nTake a comfortably wide stance and flex your knees a little...\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, supp N\n  = position


Words: stanchion
Meaning:
stan.chion\n   stanchion  stanchions\n  A stanchion is a pole or bar that stands upright and is used as a support. (FORMAL)\n  N-COUNT


Words: stand
Meaning:
stand  stands  standing  stood\n1. When you are standing, your body is upright, your legs are straight, and your weight is supported by your feet.\nShe was standing beside my bed staring down at me...\nThey told me to stand still and not to turn round...\nOvercrowding is so bad that prisoners have to sleep in shifts, while others have to stand.\n  VERB: V prep, V adj, V\n\n  Stand up means the same as stand.\nWe waited, standing up, for an hour.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P\n\n2. When someone who is sitting stands, they change their position so that they are upright and on their feet.\nBecker stood and shook hands with Ben.\n  VERB: V\n\n  Stand up means the same as stand.\nWhen I walked in, they all stood up and started clapping.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P\n\n3. If you stand aside or stand back, you move a short distance sideways or backwards, so that you are standing in a different place.\nI stood aside to let her pass me...\nThe policemen stood back. Could it be a bomb?\n  VERB: V adv/prep, V adv/prep\n\n4. If something such as a building or a piece of furniture stands somewhere, it is in that position, and is upright. (WRITTEN)\nThe house stands alone on top of a small hill...\n  VERB: V prep/adv\n\n5. You can say that a building is standing when it remains after other buildings around it have fallen down or been destroyed.\nThere are very few buildings left standing.\n  VERB: V\n\n6. If you stand something somewhere, you put it there in an upright position.\nStand the plant in the open in a sunny, sheltered place.\n  VERB: V n prep/adv\n  = place\n7. If you leave food or a mixture of something to stand, you leave it without disturbing it for some time.\nThe salad improves if made in advance and left to stand.\n  VERB: V\n\n8. If you take or make a stand, you do something or say something in order to make it clear what your attitude to a particular thing is.\nHe felt the need to make a stand against racism in South Africa...\nThey must take a stand and cast their votes...\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, oft N against/on n\n\n9. If you ask someone where or how they stand on a particular issue, you are asking them what their attitude or view is.\nThe amendment will force senators to show where they stand on the issue of sexual harassment...\nSo far, the bishop hasn’t said where he stands.\n  VERB: where V on n, where V\n\n10. If you do not know where you stand with someone, you do not know exactly what their attitude to you is.\nNo-one knows where they stand with him; he is utterly unpredictable...\n  VERB: where V with n\n\n11. You can use stand instead of `be’ when you are describing the present state or condition of something or someone.\nThe alliance stands ready to do what is necessary...\nThe peace plan as it stands violates basic human rights.\n  V-LINK: V adj, V\n\n12. If a decision, law, or offer stands, it still exists and has not been changed or cancelled.\nAlthough exceptions could be made, the rule still stands...\n  VERB: V\n\n13. If something that can be measured stands at a particular level, it is at that level.\nThe inflation rate now stands at 3.6 per cent...\n  VERB: V at amount\n\n14. You can describe how tall or high someone or something is by saying that they stand a particular height.\nShe stood five feet five inches tall and weighed 120 pounds...\nShe stood tall and aloof.\n  VERB: V amount adj, V adj\n\n15. If something can stand a situation or a test, it is good enough or strong enough to experience it without being damaged, harmed, or shown to be inadequate.\nThese are the first machines that can stand the wear and tear of continuously crushing glass...\n  VERB: V n\n\n16. If you cannot stand something, you cannot bear it or tolerate it.\nI can’t stand any more. I’m going to run away...\nHow does he stand the pain?\n  VERB: V n/-ing, V n/-ing\n\n17. If you cannot stand someone or something, you dislike them very strongly. (INFORMAL)\nHe can’t stand me smoking.\n  VERB: V n/-ing\n  = bear\n(next)


Words: stand .1
Meaning:
18. If you stand to gain something, you are likely to gain it. If you stand to lose something, you are likely to lose it.\nThe management group would stand to gain millions of dollars if the company were sold...\n  VERB: V to-inf\n\n19. If you stand in an election, you are a candidate in it. (BRIT; in AM, use run)\nHe has not yet announced whether he will stand in the election...\n  VERB: V in n\n\n20. A stand is a small shop or stall, outdoors or in a large public building.\nShe bought a hot dog from a stand on a street corner.\n  N-COUNT: oft n N\n  = stall\n  see also newsstand\n21. A stand at a sports ground is a large structure where people sit or stand to watch what is happening. (BRIT)\n  N-COUNT\n\n  In American English, stands is used with same meaning.\nThe people in the stands at Candlestick Park are standing and cheering with all their might.\n  N-PLURAL\n\n22. A stand is an object or piece of furniture that is designed for supporting or holding a particular kind of thing.\nThe teapot came with a stand to catch the drips.\n  N-COUNT\n\n23. A stand is an area where taxis or buses can wait to pick up passengers.\nLuckily there was a taxi stand nearby.\n  N-COUNT: usu n N\n\n24. In a law court, the stand is the place where a witness stands to answer questions.\nWhen the father took the stand today, he contradicted his son’s testimony...\n  N-SING: the N\n\n25.\n  see also standing\n26. If you say it stands to reason that something is true or likely to happen, you mean that it is obvious.\nIt stands to reason that if you are considerate and friendly to people you will get a lot more back...\n  PHRASE: V inflects, usu it PHR that\n\n27. If you stand in the way of something or stand in a person’s way, you prevent that thing from happening or prevent that person from doing something.\nThe British government would not stand in the way of such a proposal...\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n28.\nto stand a chance: see chance\nto stand up and be counted: see count\nto stand firm: see firm\nto stand on your own two feet: see foot\nto stand your ground: see ground\nto stand someone in good stead: see stead\nto stand trial: see trial


Words: stand aside
Meaning:
stand aside\n  If someone stands aside, they resign from an important job or position, often in order to let someone else take their place. (BRIT; in AM, use stand down)\nThe President said he was willing to stand aside if that would stop the killing.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P\n  = stand down


Words: stand back
Meaning:
stand back\n  If you stand back and think about a situation, you think about it as if you were not involved in it.\nStand back and look objectively at the problem.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P\n  = step back


Words: stand by
Meaning:
stand by\n1. If you are standing by, you are ready and waiting to provide help or to take action.\nBritish and American warships are standing by to evacuate their citizens if necessary...\nWe will be holding the auditions from nine o’clock tomorrow night so stand by for details.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P to-inf, V P for n\n\n  see also standby\n2. If you stand by and let something bad happen, you do not do anything to stop it.\nThe Secretary of Defence has said that he would not stand by and let democracy be undermined...\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P  disapproval\n\n3. If you stand by someone, you continue to give them support, especially when they are in trouble.\nI wouldn’t break the law for a friend, but I would stand by her if she did.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n  approval\n  = stick by\n4. If you stand by an earlier decision, promise, or statement, you continue to support it or keep it.\nThe decision has been made and I have got to stand by it...\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n\n  = stick by


Words: stand down
Meaning:
stand down\n  If someone stands down, they resign from an important job or position, often in order to let someone else take their place.\nFour days later, the despised leader finally stood down, just 17 days after taking office...\nProfits plunged and he stood down as chairman last January.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P, V P as n\n  = step down, resign


Words: stand for
Meaning:
stand for\n1. If you say that a letter stands for a particular word, you mean that it is an abbreviation for that word.\nWhat does EU stand for?\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n\n\n2. The ideas or attitudes that someone or something stands for are the ones that they support or represent.\nThe party is trying to give the impression that it alone stands for democracy...\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n\n  = represent\n3. If you will not stand for something, you will not allow it to happen or continue.\nIt’s outrageous, and we won’t stand for it any more.\n  PHRASAL VERB: with neg, V P n


Words: stand in
Meaning:
stand in\n  If you stand in for someone, you take their place or do their job, because they are ill or away.\nI had to stand in for her on Tuesday when she didn’t show up.\n...the acting president, who’s standing in while she’s out of the country.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P for n, V P\n\n  see also stand-in


Words: stand out
Meaning:
stand out\n1. If something stands out, it is very noticeable.\nEvery tree, wall and fence stood out against dazzling white fields...\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P\n\n2. If something stands out, it is much better or much more important than other things of the same kind.\nHe played the violin, and he stood out from all the other musicians...\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P from n\n\n3. If something stands out from a surface, it rises up from it.\nHis tendons stood out like rope beneath his skin...\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P\n  = stick out


Words: stand up
Meaning:
stand up\n1.\nsee stand 1, 2\n2. If something such as a claim or a piece of evidence stands up, it is accepted as true or satisfactory after being carefully examined.\nHe made wild accusations that did not stand up...\nHow well does this thesis stand up to close examination?\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P, V P to n\n\n3. If a boyfriend or girlfriend stands you up, they fail to keep an arrangement to meet you. (INFORMAL)\nWe were to have had dinner together yesterday evening, but he stood me up...\n  PHRASAL VERB: V n P


Words: stand up for
Meaning:
stand up for\n  If you stand up for someone or something, you defend them and make your feelings or opinions very clear.\nThey stood up for what they believed to be right...\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P P n\n  = stick up for


Words: stand up to
Meaning:
stand up to\n1. If something stands up to bad conditions, it is not damaged or harmed by them.\nIs this building going to stand up to the strongest gales?\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P P n/-ing\n\n2. If you stand up to someone, especially someone more powerful than you are, you defend yourself against their attacks or demands.\nHe hit me, so I hit him back.the first time in my life I’d stood up to him...\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P P n


Words: stand-alone
Meaning:
stand-alone\n1. A stand-alone business or organization is independent and does not receive financial support from another organization. (BUSINESS)\nThey plan to relaunch it as a stand-alone company.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n2. A stand-alone computer is one that can operate on its own and does not have to be part of a network. (COMPUTING)\n...an operating system that can work on networks and stand-alone machines.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: stand-in
Meaning:
stand-in  stand-ins\n  A stand-in is a person who takes someone else’s place or does someone else’s job for a while, for example because the other person is ill or away.\nHe was a stand-in for my regular doctor.\n  N-COUNT


Words: stand-off
Meaning:
stand-off  stand-offs   also standoff\n  A stand-off is a situation in which neither of two opposing groups or forces will make a move until the other one does something, so nothing can happen until one of them gives way.\nThe State Department was warning that this could lead to another diplomatic stand-off.\n  N-COUNT\n\n  see also Mexican stand-off


Words: stand-offish
Meaning:
stand-offish   also standoffish\n  If you say that someone is stand-offish, you mean that they behave in a formal and rather unfriendly way.\nHe can be quite stand-offish and rude, even to his friends.\n  ADJ  disapproval\n  = aloof


Words: stand-up
Meaning:
stand-up   also standup\n1. A stand-up comic or comedian stands alone in front of an audience and tells jokes.\nWomen do not normally break into the big time by doing stand-up comedy.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n2. If people have a stand-up argument or fight, they stand up and shout at each other or hit each other violently.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: standard
Meaning:
stand.ard\n   standard  standards\n1. A standard is a level of quality or achievement, especially a level that is thought to be acceptable.\nThe standard of professional cricket has never been lower...\nThere will be new national standards for hospital cleanliness.\n  N-COUNT: with supp\n\n2. A standard is something that you use in order to judge the quality of something else.\n...systems that were by later standards absurdly primitive.\n  N-COUNT: with supp\n\n3. Standards are moral principles which affect people’s attitudes and behaviour.\nMy father has always had high moral standards.\n  N-PLURAL: usu with supp\n\n  see also double standard\n4. You use standard to describe things which are usual and normal.\nIt was standard practice for untrained clerks to advise in serious cases such as murder...\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n5. A standard work or text on a particular subject is one that is widely read and often recommended.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: standard bearer
Meaning:
stand.ard bear.er\n   standard bearer  standard bearers   also standard-bearer\n  If you describe someone as the standard bearer of a group, you mean that they act as the leader or public representative of a group of people who have the same aims or interests.\nFarrakhan was a poor standard-bearer for the causes of African-Americans.\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp


Words: standard lamp
Meaning:
stand.ard lamp\n   standard lamp  standard lamps\n  A standard lamp is a tall electric light which stands on the floor in a living room. (BRIT; in AM, use floor lamp)\n  N-COUNT


Words: standard of living
Meaning:
stand.ard of liv.ing\n   standard of living  standards of living\n  Your standard of living is the level of comfort and wealth which you have.\nWe’ll continue to fight for a decent standard of living for our members.\n  N-COUNT


Words: standard time
Meaning:
stand.ard time\n   standard time\n  Standard time is the official local time of a region or country.\nFrench standard time is GMT plus 1 hr.\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu supp N


Words: standardize
Meaning:
stand.ard.ize\n   standardize  standardizes  standardizing  standardized\nin BRIT, also use standardise\n  To standardize things means to change them so that they all have the same features.\nThere is a drive both to standardise components and to reduce the number of models on offer...\n  VERB: V n\n\n=>  stand.ardi.za.tion\n...the standardisation of working hours in Community countries.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: standby
Meaning:
stand.by\n   standby  standbys   also stand-by\n1. A standby is something or someone that is always ready to be used if they are needed.\nHe sat through the trial as a standby juror.\n  N-COUNT: oft N n\n\n2. If someone or something is on standby, they are ready to be used if they are needed.\nSecurity forces have been put on standby in case of violence.\n  PHRASE: usu v-link PHR, PHR after v\n\n3. A standby ticket for something such as the theatre or a plane journey is a cheap ticket that you buy just before the performance starts or the plane takes off, if there are still some seats left.\nAccess International books standby flights from New York to Europe.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n  Standby is also an adverb.\nMagda was going to fly standby.\n  ADV: ADV after v


Words: standing
Meaning:
stand.ing\n   standing  standings\n1. Someone’s standing is their reputation or status.\n...an artist of international standing...\nHe has improved his country’s standing abroad...\n  N-UNCOUNT: with supp, oft adj N, with poss\n\n2. A party’s or person’s standing is their popularity.\nBut, as the opinion poll shows, the party’s standing with the people at large has never been so low...\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, with poss\n\n3. You use standing to describe something which is permanently in existence.\nIsrael has a relatively small standing army and its strength is based on its reserves...\nElizabeth had a standing invitation to stay with her.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n  = permanent\n4.\n  see also free-standing, long-standing\n5. You can use the expression of many years’ standing to say that something has had a particular function or someone has had a particular role for many years. For example, if a place is your home of ten years’ standing, it has been your home for ten years. (WRITTEN)\n...a Congressman of 24 years’ standing...\nMy girlfriend of long standing left me.\n  PHRASE: n PHR


Words: standing joke
Meaning:
stand.ing joke\n   standing joke  standing jokes\n  If something is a standing joke among a group of people, they often make jokes about it.\nHer precision became a standing joke with colleagues.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing


Words: standing order
Meaning:
stand.ing or.der\n   standing order  standing orders\n  A standing order is an instruction to your bank to pay a fixed amount of money to someone at regular times. (BRIT)\n  N-COUNT: also by N


Words: standing ovation
Meaning:
stand.ing ova.tion\n   standing ovation  standing ovations\n  If a speaker or performer gets a standing ovation when they have finished speaking or performing, the audience stands up to clap in order to show its admiration or support.\n  N-COUNT


Words: standing room
Meaning:
stand.ing room\n   standing room\n  Standing room is space in a room or bus, where people can stand when all the seats have been occupied.\nThe place quickly fills up so it’s soon standing room only.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: standout
Meaning:
stand.out\n   standout  standouts   also stand-out\n  Journalists use standout to refer to a person or thing that is much better than the other people or things involved in something. (AM, AUSTRALIAN)\nIn the earlier rounds, Ferguson and Dickinson were the standouts...\n  N-COUNT: oft N n


Words: standpipe
Meaning:
stand.pipe\n   standpipe  standpipes\n  A standpipe is a vertical pipe that is connected to a water supply and stands in a street or other public place.\n  N-COUNT


Words: standpoint
Meaning:
stand.point\n   standpoint  standpoints\n  From a particular standpoint means looking at an event, situation, or idea in a particular way.\nHe believes that from a military standpoint, the situation is under control...\nFrom my standpoint, you know, this thing is just ridiculous.\n  N-COUNT: with supp, usu from N\n  = point of view, perspective


Words: standstill
Meaning:
stand.still\n   standstill\n  If movement or activity comes to or is brought to a standstill, it stops completely.\nAbruptly the group ahead of us came to a standstill...\nProduction is more or less at a standstill.\n  N-SING: a N, usu to/at N\n  = halt


Words: Stanley knife
Meaning:
Stanley knife  Stanley knives\n  A Stanley knife is a very sharp knife that is used to cut materials such as carpet and paper. It consists of a small blade fixed in the end of a handle. (TRADEMARK)\n  N-COUNT


Words: stanza
Meaning:
stan.za\n   stanza  stanzas\n  A stanza is one of the parts into which a poem is divided. (TECHNICAL)\n  N-COUNT


Words: staple
Meaning:
sta.ple\n   staple  staples  stapling  stapled\n1. A staple food, product, or activity is one that is basic and important in people’s everyday lives.\nThe Chinese also eat a type of pasta as part of their staple diet...\nStaple goods are disappearing from the shops.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n  Staple is also a noun.\nFish is a staple in the diet of many Africans.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A staple is something that forms an important part of something else.\nPolitical reporting has become a staple of American journalism.\n  N-COUNT: usu N of n\n\n3. Staples are small pieces of bent wire that are used mainly for holding sheets of paper together firmly. You put the staples into the paper using a device called a stapler.\n  N-COUNT\n\n4. If you staple something, you fasten it to something else or fix it in place using staples.\nStaple some sheets of paper together into a book.\n...polythene bags stapled to an illustrated card.\n  VERB: V n with adv, V-ed


Words: staple gun
Meaning:
sta.ple gun\n   staple gun  staple guns\n  A staple gun is a small machine used for forcing staples into wood or brick.\n  N-COUNT


Words: stapler
Meaning:
sta.pler\n   stapler  staplers\n  A stapler is a device used for putting staples into sheets of paper.\n  N-COUNT


Words: star
Meaning:
star  stars  starring  starred\n1. A star is a large ball of burning gas in space. Stars appear to us as small points of light in the sky on clear nights.\nThe night was dark, the stars hidden behind cloud.\n  N-COUNT\n\n  see also morning star, shooting star\n2. You can refer to a shape or an object as a star when it has four, five, or more points sticking out of it in a regular pattern.\nChildren at school receive coloured stars for work well done.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. You can say how many stars something such as a hotel or restaurant has as a way of talking about its quality, which is often indicated by a number of star-shaped symbols. The more stars something has, the better it is.\n...five star hotels.\n  N-COUNT\n\n4. Famous actors, musicians, and sports players are often referred to as stars.\n...Gemma, 41, star of the TV series Pennies From Heaven...\nBy now Murphy is Hollywood’s top male comedy star...\nNot all football stars are ill-behaved louts.\n  N-COUNT: oft supp N\n\n5. If an actor or actress stars in a play or film, he or she has one of the most important parts in it.\nThe previous year Adolphson had starred in a play in which Ingrid had been an extra...\n  VERB: V in n\n\n6. If a play or film stars a famous actor or actress, he or she has one of the most important parts in it.\n...a Hollywood film, The Secret of Santa Vittoria, directed by Stanley Kramer and starring Anthony Quinn.\n  VERB: V n\n\n7. Predictions about people’s lives which are based on astrology and appear regularly in a newspaper or magazine are sometimes referred to as the stars.\nThere was nothing in my stars to say I’d have travel problems!\n  N-PLURAL\n  = horoscope


Words: star sign
Meaning:
star sign  star signs\n  Your star sign is the sign of the zodiac under which you were born.\n  N-COUNT


Words: star turn
Meaning:
star turn  star turns\n  The star turn of a performance or show is the main item, or the one that is considered to be the most interesting or exciting. (mainly BRIT)\n  N-COUNT: usu the N in sing


Words: star-crossed
Meaning:
star-crossed\n  If someone is star-crossed, they keep having bad luck. (LITERARY)\n...star-crossed lovers parted by war and conflict.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: star-gazer
Meaning:
star-gazer  star-gazers   also stargazer\n  A star-gazer is someone who studies the stars as an astronomer or astrologer. (INFORMAL)\n  N-COUNT


Words: star-gazing
Meaning:
star-gazing   also stargazing\n  Star-gazing is the activity of studying the stars as an astronomer or astrologer. (INFORMAL)\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: star-studded
Meaning:
star-studded\n  A star-studded show, event, or cast is one that includes a large number of famous performers. (JOURNALISM)\n...a star-studded production of Hamlet...\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: starboard
Meaning:
star.board\n   starboard\n  In sailing, the starboard side of a ship is the right side when you are on it and facing towards the front. (TECHNICAL)\nHe detected a ship moving down the starboard side of the submarine.\n  ADJ\n  !=port\n  Starboard is also a noun.\nI could see the fishing boat to starboard.\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu to N


Words: starburst
Meaning:
star.burst\n   starburst  starbursts\n  A starburst is a bright light with rays coming from it, or a patch of bright colour with points extending from it. (LITERARY)\n...a starburst of multi-coloured smoke.\n  N-COUNT


Words: starch
Meaning:
starch  starches\n1. Starch is a substance that is found in foods such as bread, potatoes, pasta, and rice and gives you energy.\n  N-MASS\n\n2. Starch is a substance that is used for making cloth stiffer, especially cotton and linen.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: starched
Meaning:
starched\n  A starched garment or piece of cloth has been made stiffer using starch.\n...a starched white shirt.\n...starched napkins.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: starchy
Meaning:
starchy  starchier  starchiest\n  Starchy foods contain a lot of starch.\n...starchy and sticky glutinous rices.\n  ADJ


Words: stardom
Meaning:
star.dom\n   stardom\n  Stardom is the state of being very famous, usually as an actor, musician, or sports player.\nIn 1929 she shot to stardom on Broadway in a Noel Coward play.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n  = fame


Words: stare
Meaning:
stare  stares  staring  stared\n1. If you stare at someone or something, you look at them for a long time.\nTamara stared at him in disbelief, shaking her head...\nMahoney tried not to stare.\n  VERB: V prep/adv, V\n\n  Stare is also a noun.\nHlasek gave him a long, cold stare.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If a situation or the answer to a problem is staring you in the face, it is very obvious, although you may not be immediately aware of it. (INFORMAL)\nThen the answer hit me. It had been staring me in the face ever since Lullington.\n  PHRASE: V inflects


Words: stare out
Meaning:
stare out\n  If you stare someone out, you look steadily into their eyes for such a long time that they feel that they have to turn their eyes away from you.\nHe glared at Nikitin but the General Secretary stared him out with hard, pebble-like eyes.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V n P


Words: starfish
Meaning:
star.fish\n   starfish  starfish\n  A starfish is a flat, star-shaped creature with five arms that lives in the sea.\n  N-COUNT


Words: stark
Meaning:
stark  starker  starkest\n1. Stark choices or statements are harsh and unpleasant.\nUK companies face a stark choice if they want to stay competitive...\nIn his celebration speech, he issued a stark warning to Washington and other Western capitals.\n  ADJ\n  = harsh\n=>  stark.ly\nThe point is a starkly simple one.\n  ADV: ADV with v, ADV adj\n\n2. If two things are in stark contrast to one another, they are very different from each other in a way that is very obvious.\n...secret cooperation between London and Washington that was in stark contrast to official policy.\n  ADJ\n\n=>  stark.ly\nThe outlook now is starkly different.\n  ADV: ADV with v, ADV adj\n\n3. Something that is stark is very plain in appearance.\n...the stark white, characterless fireplace in the drawing room.\n  ADJ\n\n=>  stark.ly\nThe desert was luminous, starkly beautiful...\n  ADV: ADV adj, ADV with v


Words: stark naked
Meaning:
stark na.ked\n   stark naked\n  Someone who is stark naked is completely naked.\nAll contestants competed stark naked.\n  ADJ: ADJ after v, v-link ADJ  emphasis


Words: starlet
Meaning:
star.let\n   starlet  starlets\n  A starlet is a young actress who is expected to become a film star in the future. (JOURNALISM)\n  N-COUNT


Words: starling
Meaning:
star.ling\n   starling  starlings\n  A starling is a very common bird with greenish-black feathers covered in pale spots which is found in Europe and North America. Starlings often fly around in large groups.\n  N-COUNT


Words: starlit
Meaning:
star.lit\n   starlit\n  Starlit means made lighter or brighter by the stars.\n...a clear starlit sky.\n...this cold, starlit night.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: starry
Meaning:
star.ry\n   starry\n  A starry night or sky is one in which a lot of stars are visible.\nShe stared up at the starry sky.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: starry-eyed
Meaning:
starry-eyed\n  If you say that someone is starry-eyed, you mean that they have such a positive or hopeful view of a situation that they do not see what it is really like.\nI’m not starry-eyed about Europe.\n...a starry-eyed young couple.\n  ADJ


Words: Stars and Stripes
Meaning:
Stars and Stripes\n  The Stars and Stripes is the name of the national flag of the United States of America.\n  N-PROPER: the N


Words: starstruck
Meaning:
star.struck\n   starstruck\n  If you describe someone as starstruck, you mean that they are very interested in and impressed by famous performers, or that they want to be a performer themselves.\n...a starstruck teenager who auditions for a TV dance show.\n  ADJ


Words: start
Meaning:
start  starts  starting  started\n1. If you start to do something, you do something that you were not doing before and you continue doing it.\nJohn then unlocked the front door and I started to follow him up the stairs...\nIt was 1956 when Susanna started the work on the garden...\nShe started cleaning the kitchen.\n  VERB: V to-inf, V n/-ing, V n/-ing\n  = begin\n  Start is also a noun.\nAfter several starts, she read the report properly.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. When something starts, or if someone starts it, it takes place from a particular time.\nThe fire is thought to have started in an upstairs room...\nThe Great War started in August of that year...\nAll of the passengers started the day with a swim.\n  VERB: V prep, V prep, V n\n  = begin\n  Start is also a noun.\n...1918, four years after the start of the Great War...\nShe demanded to know why she had not been told from the start.\n  N-SING: the N\n  = beginning\n3. If you start by doing something, or if you start with something, you do that thing first in a series of actions.\nI started by asking how many day-care centers were located in the United States...\nHe started with a good holiday in Key West, Florida.\n  VERB: V by -ing, V with n\n  = begin\n4. You use start to say what someone’s first job was. For example, if their first job was that of a factory worker, you can say that they started as a factory worker.\nBetty started as a shipping clerk at the clothes factory...\n  VERB: V as n\n\n  Start off means the same as start.\nMr. Dambar had started off as an assistant to Mrs. Spear’s husband.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P as n\n\n5. When someone starts something such as a new business, they create it or cause it to begin.\nNow is probably as good a time as any to start a business.\n  VERB: V n\n\n  Start up means the same as start.\nThe cost of starting up a day care center for children ranges from $150,000 to $300,000...\nHe said what a good idea it would be to start a community magazine up.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), V n P\n  = set up\n  see also start-up\n6. If you start an engine, car, or machine, or if it starts, it begins to work.\nHe started the car, which hummed smoothly...\nWe were just passing one of the parking bays when a car’s engine started.\n  VERB: V n, V\n\n  Start up means the same as start.\nHe waited until they went inside the building before starting up the car and driving off...\nPut the key in the ignition and turn it to start the car up...\nThe engine of the seaplane started up.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), V n P, V P\n\n7. If you start, your body suddenly moves slightly as a result of surprise or fear.\nShe put the bottle on the table, banging it down hard. He started at the sound...\n  VERB: V\n\n  Start is also a noun.\nSylvia woke with a start...\nHe gave a start of surprise and astonishment.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing\n\n8.\n  see also head start, false start\n9. You use for a start or to start with to introduce the first of a number of things or reasons that you want to mention or could mention.\nYou must get her name and address, and that can be a problem for a start...\n  PHRASE: PHR with cl/group\n\n10. If you get off to a good start, you are successful in the early stages of doing something. If you get off to a bad start, you are not successful in the early stages of doing something.\nThe new Prime Minister has got off to a good start, but he still has to demonstrate what manner of leader he is going to be...\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n11. To start with means at the very first stage of an event or process.\nTo start with, the pressure on her was very heavy, but it’s eased off a bit now...\n  PHRASE: PHR with cl\n\n12.\nin fits and starts: see fit\nto get off to a flying start: see flying


Words: start off
Meaning:
start off\n1. If you start off by doing something, you do it as the first part of an activity.\nShe started off by accusing him of blackmail but he more or less ignored her...\nJoe Loss started off playing piano background music for silent films in the 1920s.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P by -ing, V P -ing\n\n2. To start someone off means to cause them to begin doing something.\nHer mother started her off acting in children’s theatre.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V n P\n\n3. To start something off means to cause it to begin.\nBest results are obtained by starting the plants off in a warm greenhouse.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V n P\n\n4.\nsee start 4


Words: start on
Meaning:
start on\n  If you start on something that needs to be done, you start dealing with it.\nNo need for you to start on the washing-up yet...\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n


Words: start out
Meaning:
start out\n1. If someone or something starts out as a particular thing, they are that thing at the beginning although they change later.\nDaly was a fast-talking Irish-American who had started out as a salesman...\nWhat started out as fun quickly became hard work.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P as n, V P as n\n\n2. If you start out by doing something, you do it at the beginning of an activity.\nWe started out by looking at ways in which big projects such as railways could be financed by the private sector...\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P by -ing


Words: start over
Meaning:
start over\n  If you start over or start something over, you begin something again from the beginning. (mainly AM; in BRIT, use start again)\n...moving the kids to some other schools, closing them down and starting over with a new staff...\nIt’s just not enough money to start life over.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P, V n P


Words: start-up
Meaning:
start-up  start-ups\n1. The start-up costs of something such as a new business or new product are the costs of starting to run or produce it. (BUSINESS)\nThe minimum start-up capital for a Pizza franchise is estimated at $250,000 to $315,000.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n2. A start-up company is a small business that has recently been started by someone. (BUSINESS)\nThousands and thousands of start-up firms have poured into the computer market.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n  Start-up is also a noun.\nFor now the only bright spots in the labor market are small businesses and high-tech start-ups.\n  N-COUNT


Words: starter
Meaning:
start.er\n   starter  starters\n1. A starter is a small quantity of food that is served as the first course of a meal. (mainly BRIT; in AM, use appetizer)\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. The starter of a car is the device that starts the engine.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. The starters in a race are the people or animals who take part at the beginning even if they do not finish.\nOf the 10 starters, four were eliminated or retired.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl


Words: starter home
Meaning:
start.er home\n   starter home  starter homes\n  A starter home is a small, new house or flat which is cheap enough for people who are buying their first home to afford.\n  N-COUNT


Words: starting block
Meaning:
start.ing block\n   starting block  starting blocks\n  Starting blocks are blocks which runners put their feet against to help them move quickly forward at the start of a race.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl


Words: starting point
Meaning:
start.ing point\n   starting point  starting points   also starting-point\n1. Something that is a starting point for a discussion or process can be used to begin it or act as a basis for it.\nThese proposals represent a realistic starting point for negotiation...\n  N-COUNT: oft N for n\n  = basis\n2. When you make a journey, your starting point is the place from which you start.\nThey had already walked a couple of miles or more from their starting point.\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp


Words: startle
Meaning:
star.tle\n   startle  startles  startling  startled\n  If something sudden and unexpected startles you, it surprises and frightens you slightly.\nThe telephone startled him...\nThe news will startle the City.\n  VERB: V n, V n\n\n=>  star.tled\nMartha gave her a startled look.\n  ADJ


Words: startling
Meaning:
star.tling\n   startling\n  Something that is startling is so different, unexpected, or remarkable that people react to it with surprise.\n...startling new evidence...\n  ADJ


Words: starvation
Meaning:
star.va.tion\n   starvation\n  Starvation is extreme suffering or death, caused by lack of food.\nOver three hundred people have died of starvation since the beginning of the year.\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu of/from N


Words: starve
Meaning:
starve  starves  starving  starved\n1. If people starve, they suffer greatly from lack of food which sometimes leads to their death.\nA number of the prisoners we saw are starving...\nIn the 1930s, millions of Ukrainians starved to death or were deported...\nGetting food to starving people does nothing to stop the war.\n  VERB: V, V to n, V-ing\n\n2. To starve someone means not to give them any food.\nHe said the only alternative was to starve the people, and he said this could not be allowed to happen...\nJudy decided I was starving myself.\n  VERB: V n, V pron-refl\n\n3. If a person or thing is starved of something that they need, they are suffering because they are not getting enough of it.\nThe electricity industry is not the only one to have been starved of investment...\n  VERB: be V-ed of n


Words: starving
Meaning:
starv.ing\n   starving\n  If you say that you are starving, you mean that you are very hungry. (INFORMAL)\nApart from anything else I was starving.\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ


Words: stash
Meaning:
stash  stashes  stashing  stashed\n1. If you stash something valuable in a secret place, you store it there to keep it safe. (INFORMAL)\nWe went for the bottle of whiskey that we had stashed behind the bookcase...\n  VERB: V n prep\n\n2. A stash of something valuable is a secret store of it. (INFORMAL)\nA large stash of drugs had been found aboard the yacht.\n  N-COUNT: with supp, usu N of n\n  = hoard


Words: stasis
Meaning:
sta.sis\n   stasis\n  Stasis is a state in which something remains the same, and does not change or develop. (FORMAL)\nRock’n’roll had entered a period of stasis.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: state
Meaning:
state  states  stating  stated\n1. You can refer to countries as states, particularly when you are discussing politics.\nSome weeks ago I recommended to EU member states that we should have discussions with the Americans.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. Some large countries such as the USA are divided into smaller areas called states.\nLeaders of the Southern states are meeting in Louisville.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. The USA is sometimes referred to as the States. (INFORMAL)\n  N-PROPER: the N\n\n4. You can refer to the government of a country as the state.\nThe state does not collect enough revenue to cover its expenditure...\n  N-SING: the N\n\n5. State industries or organizations are financed and organized by the government rather than private companies.\n...reform of the state social-security system.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\nsee state school\n6. A state occasion is a formal one involving the head of a country.\nThe president of Czechoslovakia is in Washington on a state visit.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n7. When you talk about the state of someone or something, you are referring to the condition they are in or what they are like at a particular time.\nFor the first few months after Daniel died, I was in a state of clinical depression...\nLook at the state of my car!\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, with supp\n\n8. If you state something, you say or write it in a formal or definite way.\nClearly state your address and telephone number...\nThe police report stated that he was arrested for allegedly assaulting his wife...\n`Our relationship is totally platonic,’ she stated...\nBuyers who do not apply within the stated period can lose their deposits.\n  VERB: V n, V that, V with quote, V-ed\n\n9.\n  see also head of state, nation state, police state, welfare state\n10. If you say that someone is not in a fit state to do something, you mean that they are too upset or ill to do it.\nWhen you left our place, you weren’t in a fit state to drive.\n  PHRASE: V inflects, PHR to-inf\n\n11. If you are in a state or if you get into a state, you are very upset or nervous about something.\nI was in a terrible state because nobody could understand why I had this illness...\n  PHRASE: v-link PHR\n\n12. If the dead body of an important person lies in state, it is publicly displayed for a few days before it is buried.\n  PHRASE: V inflects


Words: State Department
Meaning:
State De.part.ment\n   State Department\n  In the United States, the State Department is the government department that is concerned with foreign affairs.\nOfficials at the State Department say the issue is urgent.\n...a senior State Department official.\n  N-PROPER: the N


Words: state of affairs
Meaning:
state of af.fairs\n   state of affairs\n  If you refer to a particular state of affairs, you mean the general situation and circumstances connected with someone or something.\nThis state of affairs cannot continue for too long, if parliament is to recover...\n  N-SING: usu with supp


Words: state of mind
Meaning:
state of mind  states of mind\n  Your state of mind is your mood or mental state at a particular time.\nI want you to get into a whole new state of mind...\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, usu with supp


Words: state of siege
Meaning:
state of siege\n  A state of siege is a situation in which a government or other authority puts restrictions on the movement of people into or out of a country, town, or building.\nUnder the state of siege, the police could arrest suspects without charges or warrants.\n  N-SING


Words: state school
Meaning:
state school  state schools\n  A state school is a school that is controlled and funded by the government or a local authority, and which children can attend without having to pay. (BRIT; in AM, use public school)\n  N-COUNT


Words: state-of-the-art
Meaning:
state-of-the-art\n  If you describe something as state-of-the-art, you mean that it is the best available because it has been made using the most modern techniques and technology.\n...the production of state-of-the-art military equipment.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: statehood
Meaning:
state.hood\n   statehood\n  Statehood is the condition of being an independent state or nation.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: statehouse
Meaning:
state.house\n   statehouse  statehouses\n  In the United States, a statehouse is where the governor of a state has his or her offices, and where the state legislature meets.\n  N-COUNT


Words: stateless
Meaning:
state.less\n   stateless\n  A person who is stateless is not a citizen of any country and therefore has no nationality.\nIf I went back I’d be a stateless person...\n  ADJ


Words: statelet
Meaning:
state.let\n   statelet  statelets\n  A statelet is a small independent state, especially one that until recently was part of a larger country. (JOURNALISM)\n  N-COUNT


Words: stately
Meaning:
state.ly\n   stately\n  Something or someone that is stately is impressive and graceful or dignified.\nInstead of moving at his usual stately pace, he was almost running.\n  ADJ


Words: stately home
Meaning:
state.ly home\n   stately home  stately homes\n  A stately home is a very large old house, especially one that people can pay to visit. (mainly BRIT)\n  N-COUNT


Words: statement
Meaning:
state.ment\n   statement  statements\n1. A statement is something that you say or write which gives information in a formal or definite way.\n`Things are moving ahead.’. I found that statement vague and unclear.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A statement is an official or formal announcement that is issued on a particular occasion.\nThe statement by the military denied any involvement in last night’s attack.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. You can refer to the official account of events which a suspect or a witness gives to the police as a statement.\nThe 350-page report was based on statements from witnesses to the events.\n  N-COUNT\n\n4. If you describe an action or thing as a statement, you mean that it clearly expresses a particular opinion or idea that you have.\nThe following recipe is a statement of another kind.food is fun!\n  N-COUNT\n\n5. A printed document showing how much money has been paid into and taken out of a bank or building society account is called a statement.\n  N-COUNT


Words: stateroom
Meaning:
state.room\n   stateroom  staterooms\n1. On a passenger ship, a stateroom is a private room, especially one that is large and comfortable. (OLD-FASHIONED)\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. In a palace or other impressive building, a stateroom is a large room for use on formal occasions. (mainly BRIT)\n  N-COUNT


Words: stateside
Meaning:
state.side\n   stateside   also Stateside\n  Stateside means in, from, or to the United States. (JOURNALISM or INFORMAL)\nThe band are currently planning a series of Stateside gigs.\n  ADJ\n  = American\n  Stateside is also an adverb.\nHis debut album was hugely successful Stateside.\n  ADV: ADV after v


Words: statesman
Meaning:
states.man\n   statesman  statesmen\n  A statesman is an important and experienced politician, especially one who is widely known and respected.\nHamilton is a great statesman and political thinker.\n  N-COUNT\n\n  see also elder statesman


Words: statesmanlike
Meaning:
states.man.like\n   statesmanlike\n  If you describe someone, especially a political leader, as statesmanlike, you approve of them because they give the impression of being very able and experienced.\nHe was widely respected as a wise and statesmanlike governor...\n  ADJ  approval


Words: statesmanship
Meaning:
states.man.ship\n   statesmanship\n  Statesmanship is the skill and activities of a statesman.\nHe praised the two leaders warmly for their statesmanship.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: statewide
Meaning:
state.wide\n   statewide\n  Statewide means across or throughout the whole of one of the states of the United States.\nThese voters often determine the outcome of statewide elections.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n  Statewide is also an adverb.\nIn the weeks since flooding began, 16 people have died statewide.\n  ADV: ADV after v


Words: static
Meaning:
stat.ic\n   static\n1. Something that is static does not move or change.\nThe number of young people obtaining qualifications has remained static or decreased...\n  ADJ\n\n2. Static or static electricity is electricity which can be caused by things rubbing against each other and which collects on things such as your body or metal objects.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n3. If there is static on the radio or television, you hear a series of loud noises which spoils the sound.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: station
Meaning:
sta.tion\n   station  stations  stationing  stationed\n1. A station is a building by a railway line where trains stop so that people can get on or off.\nIngrid went with him to the railway station to see him off...\n  N-COUNT: oft n N\n\n2. A bus station is a building, usually in a town or city, where buses stop, usually for a while, so that people can get on or off.\n  N-COUNT: n N\n\n3. If you talk about a particular radio or television station, you are referring to the programmes broadcast by a particular radio or television company.\n...an independent local radio station...\nIt claims to be the most popular television station in the UK.\n  N-COUNT: oft n N\n\n4. If soldiers or officials are stationed in a place, they are sent there to do a job or to work for a period of time.\nReports from the capital, Lome, say troops are stationed on the streets...\n  V-PASSIVE: be V-ed prep/adv\n\n5. If you station yourself somewhere, you go there and wait, usually for a particular purpose. (FORMAL)\nThe musicians stationed themselves quickly on either side of the stairs...\n  VERB: V pron-refl prep/adv\n  = position\n6.\n  see also fire station, gas station, petrol station, police station, power station, service station, space station, way station


Words: station wagon
Meaning:
sta.tion wag.on\n   station wagon  station wagons\n  A station wagon is a car with a long body, a door at the rear, and space behind the back seats. (AM; in BRIT, use estate car)\n  N-COUNT


Words: stationary
Meaning:
sta.tion.ary\n   stationary\n  Something that is stationary is not moving.\nStationary cars in traffic jams cause a great deal of pollution...\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: stationer
Meaning:
sta.tion.er\n   stationer  stationers\n  A stationer is a person who sells paper, envelopes, pens, and other equipment used for writing.\n  N-COUNT


Words: stationery
Meaning:
sta.tion.ery\n   stationery\n  Stationery is paper, envelopes, and other materials or equipment used for writing.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: stationmaster
Meaning:
station.master\n   stationmaster  stationmasters   also station master\n  A stationmaster is the official who is in charge of a railway station.\n  N-COUNT


Words: statist
Meaning:
stat.ist\n   statist\n  When a country has statist policies, the state has a lot of control over the economy.\n...statist economic controls.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: statistic
Meaning:
sta.tis.tic\n   statistic  statistics\n1. Statistics are facts which are obtained from analysing information expressed in numbers, for example information about the number of times that something happens.\nOfficial statistics show real wages declining by 24%...\nThere are no reliable statistics for the number of deaths in the battle.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl\n  = figure\n  see also vital statistics\n2. Statistics is a branch of mathematics concerned with the study of information that is expressed in numbers.\n...a professor of Mathematical Statistics.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: statistical
Meaning:
sta.tis.ti.cal\n   statistical\n  Statistical means relating to the use of statistics.\nThe report contains a great deal of statistical information...\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n=>  sta.tis.ti.cal.ly\nThe results are not statistically significant...\n  ADV: ADV with cl/group, ADV with v


Words: statistician
Meaning:
stat.is.ti.cian\n   statistician  statisticians\n  A statistician is a person who studies statistics or who works using statistics.\n  N-COUNT


Words: stats
Meaning:
stats\n1. Stats are facts which are obtained from analysing information expressed in numbers. Stats is an abbreviation for `statistics’. (INFORMAL)\n...a fall in April’s retail sales stats.\n  N-PLURAL\n\n2. Stats is a branch of mathematics concerned with the study of information that is expressed in numbers. (INFORMAL)\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: statuary
Meaning:
statu.ary\n   statuary\n  If you talk about the statuary in a place, you are referring to all the statues and sculpture there. (FORMAL)\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: statue
Meaning:
statue  statues\n  A statue is a large sculpture of a person or an animal, made of stone or metal.\n  N-COUNT


Words: statuesque
Meaning:
statu.esque\n   statuesque\n  A statuesque woman is big and tall, and stands straight. (WRITTEN)\nShe was a statuesque brunette.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: statuette
Meaning:
statu.ette\n   statuette  statuettes\n  A statuette is a very small sculpture of a person or an animal which is often displayed on a shelf or stand.\n  N-COUNT


Words: stature
Meaning:
stat.ure\n   stature\n1. Someone’s stature is their height.\nIt’s more than his physical stature that makes him remarkable...\nShe was a little short in stature.\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu with poss, of supp N, in N\n\n2. The stature of a person is the importance and reputation that they have.\nWho can deny his stature as the world’s greatest cellist?...\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu with poss, of supp N, in N


Words: status
Meaning:
sta.tus\n   status\n1. Your status is your social or professional position.\nPeople of higher status tend more to use certain drugs.\n...women and men of wealth and status.\n...his wife’s former status as his secretary.\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu with supp\n\n2. Status is the importance and respect that someone has among the public or a particular group.\nNurses are undervalued, and they never enjoy the same status as doctors...\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n3. The status of something is the importance that people give it.\nThose things that can be assessed by external tests are being given unduly high status...\n  N-UNCOUNT\n  = importance\n4. A particular status is an official description that says what category a person, organization, or place belongs to, and gives them particular rights or advantages.\nBristol regained its status as a city in the local government reorganisation.\n...his status as a British citizen...\n  N-UNCOUNT: with supp\n\n5. The status of something is its state of affairs at a particular time.\nWhat is your current financial status?...\n  N-UNCOUNT: with supp


Words: status quo
Meaning:
sta.tus quo\n   status quo\n  The status quo is the state of affairs that exists at a particular time, especially in contrast to a different possible state of affairs.\nThey have no wish for any change in the status quo...\n  N-SING: usu the N


Words: status symbol
Meaning:
sta.tus sym.bol\n   status symbol  status symbols\n  A status symbol is something that a person has or owns that shows they have money or importance in society.\n  N-COUNT


Words: statute
Meaning:
stat.ute\n   statute  statutes\n  A statute is a rule or law which has been made by a government or other organization and formally written down.\nThe new statute covers the care for, bringing up and protection of children...\n  N-VAR


Words: statute book
Meaning:
stat.ute book\n   statute book  statute books\n  The statute book is a record of all the laws made by the government. (mainly BRIT)\nThe Bill could reach the statute book by the summer if it attracts the support of Home Office ministers...\n  N-COUNT: the/poss N


Words: statutory
Meaning:
statu.tory\n   statutory\n  Statutory means relating to rules or laws which have been formally written down. (FORMAL)\nWe had a statutory duty to report to Parliament.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: statutory rape
Meaning:
statu.tory rape\n   statutory rape\n  In the United States, statutory rape is the crime committed by an adult when they have sex with someone who is under the age when they can legally agree to have sex.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: staunch
Meaning:
staunch  stauncher  staunchest  staunches  staunching  staunched\n1. A staunch supporter or believer is very loyal to a person, organization, or set of beliefs, and supports them strongly.\nHe’s a staunch supporter of controls on government spending.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  = steadfast\n=>  staunch.ly\nHe was staunchly opposed to a public confession.\n  ADV\n\n2. To staunch the flow of something means to stop it. (FORMAL)\nThe government claims this is the only way to staunch the annual flow to Germany of hundreds of thousands of refugees...\n  VERB: V n\n\n3. To staunch a wound, or to staunch the blood from a wound, means to stop the wound from bleeding. (FORMAL)\nTom tried to staunch the blood with his handkerchief.\n  VERB: V n


Words: stave
Meaning:
stave  staves  staving  staved\n1. A stave is a strong stick, especially one that is used as a weapon.\nMany of the men had armed themselves with staves and pieces of iron.\n  N-COUNT\n  = staff\n2. A stave is the five lines that music is written on. (mainly BRIT; in AM, use staff)\n  N-COUNT


Words: stave off
Meaning:
stave off\n  If you stave off something bad, or if you stave it off, you succeed in stopping it happening for a while.\nIn a desperate attempt to stave off defeat, he reluctantly promised wholesale reform of the constitution...\nBut the reality of discovery was a different matter, and he did all he could to stave it off.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), V n P


Words: stay
Meaning:
stay  stays  staying  stayed\n1. If you stay where you are, you continue to be there and do not leave.\n`Stay here,’ Trish said. `I’ll bring the car down the drive to take you back.’...\nIn the old days the woman stayed at home and the man earned the money.\n  VERB: V adv/prep, V adv/prep\n\n2. If you stay in a town, or hotel, or at someone’s house, you live there for a short time.\nGordon stayed at The Park Hotel, Milan...\nHe tried to stay a few months every year in Scotland.\n  VERB: V prep/adv, V n\n\n  Stay is also a noun.\nAn experienced Indian guide is provided during your stay.\n  N-COUNT: usu supp N\n\n3. If someone or something stays in a particular state or situation, they continue to be in it.\nThe Republican candidate said he would `work like crazy to stay ahead’.\n...community care networks that offer classes on how to stay healthy...\n  V-LINK: V adv/prep, V adj\n  = remain\n4. If you stay away from a place, you do not go there.\nGovernment employers and officers also stayed away from work during the strike...\nEvery single employee turned up at the meeting, even people who usually stayed away.\n  VERB: V away from n, V away\n  = keep\n5. If you stay out of something, you do not get involved in it.\nIn the past, the UN has stayed out of the internal affairs of countries unless invited in...\n  VERB: V out of n\n\n6. If you stay put, you remain somewhere.\nNigel says for the moment he is very happy to stay put in Lyon.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n7. If you stay the night in a place, you sleep there for one night.\nThey had invited me to come to supper and stay the night.\n  PHRASE: V inflects


Words: stay in
Meaning:
stay in\n  If you stay in during the evening, you remain at home and do not go out.\nBefore we had our child the idea of staying in every night would have been horrific.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P\n  !=go out


Words: stay of execution
Meaning:
stay of ex.ecu.tion\n   stay of execution  stays of execution\n  If you are given a stay of execution, you are legally allowed to delay obeying an order of a court of law. (LEGAL)\n  N-COUNT


Words: stay on
Meaning:
stay on\n  If you stay on somewhere, you remain there after other people have left or after the time when you were going to leave.\nHe had managed to arrange to stay on in Adelaide...\nSo few teenage Britons stay on at school, compared with the rest of Europe...\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P, V P


Words: stay out
Meaning:
stay out\n  If you stay out at night, you remain away from home, especially when you are expected to be there.\nThat was the first time Elliot stayed out all night...\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P\n  !=stay in


Words: stay up
Meaning:
stay up\n  If you stay up, you remain out of bed at a time when most people have gone to bed or at a time when you are normally in bed yourself.\nI used to stay up late with my mom and watch movies.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P adv/prep


Words: stay-at-home
Meaning:
stay-at-home  stay-at-homes\n  If you describe someone as a stay-at-home, you mean that they stay at home rather than going out to work or travelling.\nI was a stay-at-home mum until 1980 when my husband lost his job.\n  N-COUNT: usu N n


Words: staying power
Meaning:
stay.ing pow.er\n   staying power   also staying-power\n  If you have staying power, you have the strength or determination to keep going until you reach the end of what you are doing.\nSomeone who lacks staying power and persistence is unlikely to make a good researcher.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n  = stamina


Words: STD
Meaning:
STD  STDs\n  STD is an abbreviation for `sexually transmitted disease’. (MEDICAL)\n...an STD clinic.\n  N-COUNT: usu N n


Words: stead
Meaning:
stead\n1. If you do something in someone’s stead, you replace them and do it instead of them. (FORMAL)\nWe hope you will consent to act in his stead...\n  PHRASE: PHR after v\n\n2. If you say that something will stand someone in good stead, you mean that it will be very useful to them in the future.\nMy years of teaching stood me in good stead.\n  PHRASE: V inflects


Words: steadfast
Meaning:
stead.fast\n   steadfast\n  If someone is steadfast in something that they are doing, they are convinced that what they are doing is right and they refuse to change it or to give up.\nHe remained steadfast in his belief that he had done the right thing.\n  ADJ: oft ADJ in n


Words: steady
Meaning:
steady  steadier  steadiest  steadies  steadying  steadied\n1. A steady situation continues or develops gradually without any interruptions and is not likely to change quickly.\nDespite the steady progress of building work, the campaign against it is still going strong...\nThe improvement in standards has been steady and persistent, but has attracted little comment from educationalists...\nA student doesn’t have a steady income.\n  ADJ\n\n=>  steadi.ly\nRelax as much as possible and keep breathing steadily...\n  ADV: ADV with v\n\n2. If an object is steady, it is firm and does not shake or move about.\nGet as close to the subject as you can and hold the camera steady...\n  ADJ\n  !=unsteady\n3. If you look at someone or speak to them in a steady way, you look or speak in a calm, controlled way.\n`Well, go on,’ said Camilla, her voice fairly steady...\n  ADJ\n\n=>  steadi.ly\nHe moved back a little and stared steadily at Elaine.\n  ADV: ADV after v\n\n4. If you describe a person as steady, you mean that they are sensible and reliable.\nHe was firm and steady unlike other men she knew.\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ\n\n5. If you steady something or if it steadies, it stops shaking or moving about.\nTwo men were on the bridge-deck, steadying a ladder...\nLovelock eased back the throttles and the ship steadied.\n  VERB: V n, V\n\n6. If you steady yourself, you control your voice or expression, so that people will think that you are calm and not nervous.\nSomehow she steadied herself and murmured, `Have you got a cigarette?’...\nShe breathed in to steady her voice.\n  VERB: V pron-refl, V n\n  = compose\n7. You say `steady on’ to someone to tell them to calm down or to be careful about what they are saying.\n`What if there’s another murder?’.`Steady on!’...\n  EXCLAM


Words: steak
Meaning:
steak  steaks\n1. A steak is a large flat piece of beef without much fat on it. You cook it by grilling or frying it.\n  N-VAR\n\n  see also rump steak, T-bone steak\n2. Steak is beef that is used for making stews. It is often cut into cubes to be sold.\n...steak and kidney pie.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n  see also stewing steak\n3. A fish steak is a large piece of fish that contains few bones.\n...fresh salmon steaks.\n  N-COUNT: usu n N


Words: steak house
Meaning:
steak house  steak houses   also steakhouse\n  A steak house is a restaurant that serves mainly steaks.\n  N-COUNT


Words: steal
Meaning:
steal  steals  stealing  stole  stolen\n1. If you steal something from someone, you take it away from them without their permission and without intending to return it.\nHe was accused of stealing a small boy’s bicycle...\nBridge stole the money from clients’ accounts...\nPeople who are drug addicts come in and steal...\nShe has since been jailed for six months for stealing from the tills.\n  VERB: V n, V n from n, V, V-ing\n\n=>  sto.len\nWe have now found the stolen car.\n  ADJ\n\n2. If you steal someone else’s ideas, you pretend that they are your own.\nA writer is suing director Steven Spielberg for allegedly stealing his film idea...\n  VERB: V n\n\n3. If someone steals somewhere, they move there quietly, in a secret way. (LITERARY)\nThey can steal away at night and join us...\nLeroy stole up the hall to the parlor.\n  VERB: V adv/prep, V adv/prep\n\nto steal a glance: see glance\nto steal a march on someone: see march\nto steal the show: see show\nto steal someone’s thunder: see thunder


Words: stealth
Meaning:
stealth\n  If you use stealth when you do something, you do it quietly and carefully so that no one will notice what you are doing.\nHe claimed Tony Blair is trying to get us into the euro by stealth...\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft by N


Words: stealthy
Meaning:
stealthy  stealthier  stealthiest\n  Stealthy actions or movements are performed quietly and carefully, so that no one will notice what you are doing.\nI would creep in and with stealthy footsteps explore the second-floor...\n  ADJ\n\n=>  stealthi.ly\nSlowly and stealthily, someone was creeping up the stairs.\n  ADV: ADV with v


Words: steam
Meaning:
steam  steams  steaming  steamed\n1. Steam is the hot mist that forms when water boils. Steam vehicles and machines are operated using steam as a means of power.\nIn an electric power plant the heat converts water into high-pressure steam.\n...the invention of the steam engine.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. If something steams, it gives off steam.\n...restaurants where coffee pots steamed on their burners.\n...a basket of steaming bread rolls.\n  VERB: V, V-ing\n\n3. If you steam food or if it steams, you cook it in steam rather than in water.\nSteam the carrots until they are just beginning to be tender...\nLeave the vegetables to steam over the rice for the 20 minutes cooking time.\n...steamed clams and broiled chicken.\n  VERB: V n, V, V-ed\n\n4. If something such as a plan or a project goes full steam ahead, it progresses quickly.\nThe Government was determined to go full steam ahead with its privatisation programme...\n  PHRASE: v PHR\n\n5. If you let off steam, you get rid of your energy, anger, or strong emotions with physical activity or by behaving in a noisy or violent way. (INFORMAL)\nRegular exercise helps to combat unwanted stress and is a good way of relaxing or letting off steam.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n6. If you run out of steam, you stop doing something because you have no more energy or enthusiasm left. (INFORMAL)\nI decided to paint the bathroom ceiling but ran out of steam halfway through.\n  PHRASE: V inflects


Words: steam ahead
Meaning:
If an economy or company steams ahead, it becomes stronger and more successful.\nThe latest figures show industrial production steaming ahead at an 8.8 per cent annual rate.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P


Words: steam iron
Meaning:
steam iron  steam irons\n  A steam iron is an electric iron that produces steam from water that you put into it. The steam makes it easier to get the creases out of your clothes.\n  N-COUNT


Words: steam up
Meaning:
steam up\n1. If someone gets steamed up about something, they are very annoyed about it.\nThe general manager may have got steamed up about nothing...\n  PHRASAL VERB: get V-ed P about n\n\n2. When a window, mirror, or pair of glasses steams up, it becomes covered with steam or mist.\n...the irritation of living with lenses that steam up when you come in from the cold.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P


Words: steamboat
Meaning:
steam.boat\n   steamboat  steamboats\n  A steamboat is a boat or ship that has an engine powered by steam.\n  N-COUNT\n  = steamer


Words: steamer
Meaning:
steam.er\n   steamer  steamers\n1. A steamer is a ship that has an engine powered by steam.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A steamer is a special container used for steaming food such as vegetables and fish.\n  N-COUNT


Words: steamroller
Meaning:
steam.roller\n   steamroller  steamrollers  steamrollering  steamrollered\n1. A steamroller is a large, heavy vehicle with wide, solid metal wheels, which is used to make the surface of a road flat. In the past steamrollers were powered by steam.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If you steamroller someone who disagrees with you or opposes you, you defeat them or you force them to do what you want by using your power or by putting a lot of pressure on them.\nThey could simply steamroller all opposition.\n  VERB: V n


Words: steamship
Meaning:
steam.ship\n   steamship  steamships\n  A steamship is a ship that has an engine powered by steam.\n  N-COUNT\n  = steamer


Words: steamy
Meaning:
steamy\n1. Steamy means involving exciting sex. (INFORMAL)\nHe’d had a steamy affair with an office colleague.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n2. A steamy place has hot, wet air.\n...a steamy cafe...\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: steel
Meaning:
steel  steels  steeling  steeled\n1. Steel is a very strong metal which is made mainly from iron. Steel is used for making many things, for example bridges, buildings, vehicles, and cutlery.\n...steel pipes.\n...the iron and steel industry...\nThe front wall is made of corrugated steel.\n  N-MASS: oft N n\n\n  see also stainless steel\n2. Steel is used to refer to the industry that produces steel and items made of steel.\n...a three-month study of European steel...\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N n\n\n3. If you steel yourself, you prepare to deal with something unpleasant.\nThose involved are steeling themselves for the coming battle...\nI was steeling myself to call round when Simon arrived.\n  VERB: V pron-refl for/against n, V pron-refl to-inf


Words: steel band
Meaning:
steel band  steel bands\n  A steel band is a band of people who play music on special metal drums. Steel bands started in the West Indies.\n  N-COUNT


Words: steel wool
Meaning:
steel wool\n  Steel wool is a mass of fine steel threads twisted together into a small ball and used for cleaning hard surfaces or removing paint.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: steelworker
Meaning:
steel.worker\n   steelworker  steelworkers   also steel worker\n  A steelworker is a person who works in a factory where steel is made.\n  N-COUNT


Words: steely
Meaning:
steely\n1. Steely is used to emphasize that a person is hard, strong, and determined.\nTheir indecision has been replaced by confidence and steely determination...\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n  emphasis\n\n2. You use steely to describe something that has the grey colour of steel.\n...steely grey hair.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: steep
Meaning:
steep  steeper  steepest  steeps  steeping  steeped\n1. A steep slope rises at a very sharp angle and is difficult to go up.\nSan Francisco is built on 40 hills and some are very steep.\n...a narrow, steep-sided valley.\n  ADJ\n\n=>  steep.ly\nThe road climbs steeply, with good views of Orvieto through the trees.\n...steeply terraced valleys.\n...houses with steeply sloping roofs.\n  ADV: ADV with v\n\n2. A steep increase or decrease in something is a very big increase or decrease.\nConsumers are rebelling at steep price increases.\n  ADJ\n  = sharp\n=>  steep.ly\nUnemployment is rising steeply.\n  ADV: ADV with v\n\n3. If you say that the price of something is steep, you mean that it is expensive. (INFORMAL)\nThe annual premium can be a little steep, but will be well worth it if your dog is injured.\n...green beans steeped in olive oil.\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ, V n, V-ed


Words: steeped
Meaning:
steeped\n  If a place or person is steeped in a quality or characteristic, they are surrounded by it or deeply influenced by it.\nThe castle is steeped in history and legend...\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ in n


Words: steepen
Meaning:
steep.en\n   steepen  steepens  steepening  steepened\n  If a slope or an angle steepens, it becomes steeper. (LITERARY)\nThe road steepened and then levelled out suddenly.\n  VERB: V


Words: steeple
Meaning:
stee.ple\n   steeple  steeples\n  A steeple is a tall pointed structure on top of the tower of a church.\n  N-COUNT\n  = spire


Words: steeplechase
Meaning:
steeple.chase\n   steeplechase  steeplechases\n1. A steeplechase is a long horse race in which the horses have to jump over obstacles such as hedges and water jumps.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A steeplechase is a 3000 metres race around a track, during which people jump over obstacles and water jumps.\n  N-COUNT


Words: steer
Meaning:
steer  steers  steering  steered\n1. When you steer a car, boat, or plane, you control it so that it goes in the direction that you want.\nWhat is it like to steer a ship this size?...\nWhen I was a kid, about six or seven, she would often let me steer the car along our driveway.\n  VERB: V n, V n prep\n\n2. If you steer people towards a particular course of action or attitude, you try to lead them gently in that direction.\nThe new government is seen as one that will steer the country in the right direction...\n  VERB: V n prep\n\n3. If you steer someone in a particular direction, you guide them there.\nNick steered them into the nearest seats.\n  VERB: V n prep\n  = guide\n4. If you steer a particular course, you take a particular line of action.\nPrime Minister Hun Sen has sought to steer a course between the two groups...\n  VERB: V n prep\n\n5.\n  see also steering\n6. If you steer clear of someone or something, you deliberately avoid them.\nI think a lot of people, women in particular, steer clear of these sensitive issues.\n  PHRASE: V inflects


Words: steering
Meaning:
steer.ing\n   steering\n1. The steering in a car or other vehicle is the mechanical parts of it which make it possible to steer.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. A steering committee or a steering group is a group of people that organizes the early stages of a project, and makes sure it progresses in a satisfactory way.\nThere will be an economic steering committee with representatives of each of the republics.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: steering column
Meaning:
steer.ing col.umn\n   steering column  steering columns\n  In a car or other vehicle, the steering column is the rod on which the steering wheel is fixed.\n  N-COUNT


Words: steering wheel
Meaning:
steer.ing wheel\n   steering wheel  steering wheels\n  In a car or other vehicle, the steering wheel is the wheel which the driver holds when he or she is driving.\n  N-COUNT


Words: stellar
Meaning:
stel.lar\n   stellar\n1. Stellar is used to describe anything connected with stars.\nA stellar wind streams outward from the star.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n2. A stellar person or thing is considered to be very good.\nThe French companies are registering stellar profits.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  = outstanding


Words: stem
Meaning:
stem  stems  stemming  stemmed\n1. If a condition or problem stems from something, it was caused originally by that thing.\nMuch of the instability stems from the economic effects of the war.\n  VERB: V from n\n\n2. If you stem something, you stop it spreading, increasing, or continuing. (FORMAL)\nAustria has sent three army battalions to its border with Hungary to stem the flow of illegal immigrants...\n  VERB: V n\n\n3. The stem of a plant is the thin, upright part on which the flowers and leaves grow.\nHe stooped down, cut the stem for her with his knife and handed her the flower.\n  N-COUNT\n  = stalk\n4. The stem of a wine glass is the long thin part which connects the bowl to the base.\n  N-COUNT\n\n5. The stem of a pipe is the long thin part through which smoke is sucked.\n  N-COUNT\n\n6. In grammar, the stem of a word is the main part of it, which does not change when the ending changes.\n  N-COUNT


Words: stem cell
Meaning:
stem cell stem cells\n  A stem cell is a type of cell that can produce other cells which are able to develop into any kind of cell in the body.\n  N-COUNT


Words: stench
Meaning:
stench  stenches\n  A stench is a strong and very unpleasant smell.\nThe stench of burning rubber was overpowering.\n  N-COUNT: oft N of n


Words: stencil
Meaning:
sten.cil\n   stencil  stencils  stencilling  stencilled\nin AM, use stenciling, stenciled\n1. A stencil is a piece of paper, plastic, or metal which has a design cut out of it. You place the stencil on a surface and paint it so that paint goes through the holes and leaves a design on the surface.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If you stencil a design or if you stencil a surface with a design, you put a design on a surface using a stencil.\nHe then stencilled the ceiling with a moon and stars motif.\n  VERB: V n with n


Words: stenographer
Meaning:
ste.nog.ra.pher\n   stenographer  stenographers\n  A stenographer is a person who types and writes shorthand, usually in an office. (AM; in BRIT, use shorthand typist)\n  N-COUNT


Words: stentorian
Meaning:
sten.to.rian\n   stentorian\n  A stentorian voice is very loud and strong. (FORMAL)\nHe bellowed in a stentorian voice.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: step
Meaning:
step  steps  stepping  stepped\n1. If you take a step, you lift your foot and put it down in a different place, for example when you are walking.\nI took a step towards him...\nShe walked on a few steps...\nHe heard steps in the corridor.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If you step on something or step in a particular direction, you put your foot on the thing or move your foot in that direction.\nThis was the moment when Neil Armstrong became the first man to step on the Moon...\nShe accidentally stepped on his foot on a crowded commuter train...\n  VERB: V prep/adv, V prep/adv\n\n3. Steps are a series of surfaces at increasing or decreasing heights, on which you put your feet in order to walk up or down to a different level.\nThis little room was along a passage and down some steps...\nA flight of stone steps leads to the terrace.\n  N-COUNT\n\n4. A step is a raised flat surface in front of a door.\nA little girl was sitting on the step of the end house...\n  N-COUNT\n\n  see also doorstep\n5. A step is one of a series of actions that you take in order to achieve something.\nHe greeted the agreement as the first step towards peace...\nShe is not content with her present lot and wishes to take steps to improve it...\n  N-COUNT: oft N prep/adv\n\n6. A step in a process is one of a series of stages.\nThe next step is to put the theory into practice...\n  N-COUNT\n  = stage\n7. The steps of a dance are the sequences of foot movements which make it up.\n  N-COUNT\n  = movement\n8. Someone’s step is the way they walk.\nHe quickened his step...\n  N-SING: poss N\n\n9. If you stay one step ahead of someone or something, you manage to achieve more than they do or avoid competition or danger from them.\nSuccessful travel is partly a matter of keeping one step ahead of the crowd...\n  PHRASE: PHR after v, v-link PHR\n\n10. If people who are walking or dancing are in step, they are moving their feet forward at exactly the same time as each other. If they are out of step, their feet are moving forward at different times.\nThey were almost the same height and they moved perfectly in step...\n  PHRASE: PHR after v\n\n11. If people are in step with each other, their ideas or opinions are the same. If they are out of step with each other, their ideas or opinions are different.\nMoscow is anxious to stay in step with Washington...\n  PHRASE: usu PHR with n\n\n12. If you tell someone to step on it, you are telling them to go faster or hurry up. (INFORMAL)\nWe’ve only got thirty-five minutes so step on it.\n  PHRASE\n  = get a move on\n13. If you do something step by step, you do it by progressing gradually from one stage to the next.\nI am not rushing things and I’m taking it step by step...\nFollow our simple step-by-step instructions.\n  PHRASE: PHR with v, PHR n\n\n14. If someone tells you to watch your step, they are warning you to be careful about how you behave or what you say so that you do not get into trouble.\n  PHRASE


Words: step back
Meaning:
step back\n  If you step back and think about a situation, you think about it as if you were not involved in it.\nI stepped back and analysed the situation...\nIt was necessary to step back from the project and look at it as a whole.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P, V P from n\n  = stand back


Words: step change
Meaning:
step change step changes\n  A step change is a sudden or major change in the way that something happens or the way that someone behaves.\nWe now need a step change in our secondary schools to match that achieved in our primaries.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, usu N in n


Words: step down
Meaning:
step down   or step aside\n  If someone steps down or steps aside, they resign from an important job or position, often in order to let someone else take their place.\nJudge Ito said that if his wife was called as a witness, he would step down as trial judge...\nMany would prefer to see him step aside in favour of a younger man.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P as n, V P\n  = stand down


Words: step in
Meaning:
step in\n  If you step in, you get involved in a difficult situation because you think you can or should help with it.\nThere are circumstances in which the State must step in to protect children.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P\n  = intervene


Words: step out
Meaning:
step out\n  If someone steps out of a role or situation, they leave it.\nI don’t regret stepping out of the security of marriage.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P of n, also V P


Words: step up
Meaning:
step up\n  If you step up something, you increase it or increase its intensity.\nHe urged donors to step up their efforts to send aid to Somalia...\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron)\n  = increase


Words: stepbrother
Meaning:
step.brother\n   stepbrother  stepbrothers   also step-brother\n  Someone’s stepbrother is the son of their stepfather or stepmother.\n  N-COUNT: oft poss N


Words: stepchild
Meaning:
step.child\n   stepchild  stepchildren   also step-child\n  Someone’s stepchild is a child that was born to their husband or wife during a previous relationship.\n  N-COUNT: oft poss N


Words: stepdaughter
Meaning:
step.daughter\n   stepdaughter  stepdaughters   also step-daughter\n  Someone’s stepdaughter is a daughter that was born to their husband or wife during a previous relationship.\n  N-COUNT: oft poss N


Words: stepfather
Meaning:
step.father\n   stepfather  stepfathers   also step-father\n  Someone’s stepfather is the man who has married their mother after the death or divorce of their father.\n  N-COUNT: oft poss N


Words: stepladder
Meaning:
step.ladder\n   stepladder  stepladders\n  A stepladder is a portable ladder that is made of two sloping parts that are hinged together at the top so that it will stand up on its own.\n  N-COUNT\n  = steps


Words: stepmother
Meaning:
step.mother\n   stepmother  stepmothers   also step-mother\n  Someone’s stepmother is the woman who has married their father after the death or divorce of their mother.\n  N-COUNT: oft poss N


Words: stepparent
Meaning:
step.parent\n   stepparent  stepparents   also step-parent\n  Someone’s stepparent is their stepmother or stepfather.\n  N-COUNT: oft poss N


Words: steppe
Meaning:
steppe  steppes\n  Steppes are large areas of flat grassy land where there are no trees, especially the area that stretches from Eastern Europe across the south of the former Soviet Union to Siberia.\n  N-UNCOUNT: also N in pl


Words: stepping stone
Meaning:
step.ping stone\n   stepping stone  stepping stones   also stepping-stone\n1. You can describe a job or event as a stepping stone when it helps you to make progress, especially in your career.\nMany students now see university as a stepping stone to a good job.\n  N-COUNT: oft N to n\n\n2. Stepping stones are a line of large stones which you can walk on in order to cross a shallow stream or river.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl


Words: stepsister
Meaning:
step.sister\n   stepsister  stepsisters   also step-sister\n  Someone’s stepsister is the daughter of their stepfather or stepmother.\n  N-COUNT: oft poss N


Words: stepson
Meaning:
step.son\n   stepson  stepsons   also step-son\n  Someone’s stepson is a son born to their husband or wife during a previous relationship.\n  N-COUNT: oft poss N


Words: stereo
Meaning:
ste.reo\n   stereo  stereos\n1. Stereo is used to describe a sound system in which the sound is played through two speakers. Compare mono.\n...loudspeakers that give all-around stereo sound.\n  ADJ\n\n2. A stereo is a cassette or CD player with two speakers.\n  N-COUNT


Words: stereotype
Meaning:
ste.reo.type\n   stereotype  stereotypes  stereotyping  stereotyped\n1. A stereotype is a fixed general image or set of characteristics that a lot of people believe represent a particular type of person or thing.\nMany men feel their body shape doesn’t live up to the stereotype of the ideal man.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If someone is stereotyped as something, people form a fixed general idea or image of them, so that it is assumed that they will behave in a particular way.\nHe was stereotyped by some as a rebel...\nI get very worked up about the way women are stereotyped in a lot of mainstream films...\n  VERB: usu passive, be V-ed as n, be V-ed


Words: stereotypical
Meaning:
ste.reo.typi.cal\n   stereotypical\n  A stereotypical idea of a type of person or thing is a fixed general idea that a lot of people have about it, that may be false in many cases.\nDara challenges our stereotypical ideas about gender and femininity.\n  ADJ


Words: sterile
Meaning:
ster.ile\n   sterile\n1. Something that is sterile is completely clean and free from germs.\nHe always made sure that any cuts were protected by sterile dressings...\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n=>  ste.ril.ity\n...the antiseptic sterility of the hospital.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. A person or animal that is sterile is unable to have or produce babies.\nGeorge was sterile.\n...a sterile male.\n  ADJ\n\n=>  ste.ril.ity\nThis disease causes sterility in both males and females.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n3. A sterile situation is lacking in energy and new ideas.\nToo much time has been wasted in sterile debate.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n  disapproval\n\n=>  ste.ril.ity\n...the sterility of Dorothea’s life in industry.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: sterilize
Meaning:
steri.lize\n   sterilize  sterilizes  sterilizing  sterilized\nin BRIT, also use sterilise\n1. If you sterilize a thing or a place, you make it completely clean and free from germs.\nSulphur is also used to sterilize equipment...\n  VERB: V n\n\n=>  steri.li.za.tion\n...the pasteurization and sterilization of milk.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. If a person or an animal is sterilized, they have a medical operation that makes it impossible for them to have or produce babies.\nMy wife was sterilized after the birth of her fourth child.\n  VERB: usu passive, be V-ed\n\n=>  steri.li.za.tion      sterilizations\nIn some cases, a sterilization is performed through the vaginal wall.\n  N-VAR


Words: sterling
Meaning:
ster.ling\n   sterling\n1. Sterling is the money system of Great Britain.\nThe stamps had to be paid for in sterling.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. Sterling means very good in quality; used to describe someone’s work or character. (FORMAL)\nThose are sterling qualities to be admired in anyone.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n  approval\n  = excellent, outstanding


Words: stern
Meaning:
stern  sterner  sternest  sterns\n1. Stern words or actions are very severe.\nMr Straw issued a stern warning to those who persist in violence...\n  ADJ\n\n=>  stern.ly\n`We will take the necessary steps,’ she said sternly.\n  ADV: ADV with v, ADV adj\n\n2. Someone who is stern is very serious and strict.\nHer father was stern and hard to please.\n  ADJ\n\n3. The stern of a boat is the back part of it.\n  N-COUNT\n  !=prow\nFrom stem to stern: see stem


Words: sternum
Meaning:
ster.num\n   sternum  sternums\n  Your sternum is the long flat bone which goes from your throat to the bottom of your ribs and to which your ribs are attached. (MEDICAL)\n  N-COUNT\n  = breastbone


Words: steroid
Meaning:
ster.oid\n   steroid  steroids\n  A steroid is a type of chemical substance found in your body. Steroids can be artificially introduced into the bodies of athletes to improve their strength.\n  N-COUNT


Words: stethoscope
Meaning:
stetho.scope\n   stethoscope  stethoscopes\n  A stethoscope is an instrument that a doctor uses to listen to your heart and breathing. It consists of a small disc that is placed on your body, connected to a hollow tube with two pieces that the doctor puts in his or her ears.\n  N-COUNT


Words: Stetson
Meaning:
Stet.son\n   Stetson  Stetsons\n  A Stetson is a type of hat with a wide brim that is traditionally worn by cowboys. (TRADEMARK)\n  N-COUNT


Words: stew
Meaning:
stew  stews  stewing  stewed\n1. A stew is a meal which you make by cooking meat and vegetables in liquid at a low temperature.\nShe served him a bowl of beef stew...\nThey made a stew.\n  N-VAR\n\n2. When you stew meat, vegetables, or fruit, you cook them slowly in liquid in a closed dish.\nStew the apple and blackberries to make a thick pulp.\n  VERB: V n


Words: steward
Meaning:
stew.ard\n   steward  stewards\n1. A steward is a man who works on a ship, plane, or train, looking after passengers and serving meals to them.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A steward is a man or woman who helps to organize a race, march, or other public event.\n  N-COUNT\n\n  see also shop steward


Words: stewardess
Meaning:
stew.ard.ess\n   stewardess  stewardesses\n  A stewardess is a woman who works on a ship, plane, or train, looking after passengers and serving meals to them.\n  N-COUNT\n  = air hostess


Words: stewardship
Meaning:
stew.ard.ship\n   stewardship\n  Stewardship is the responsibility of looking after property. (FORMAL)\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu N of n


Words: stewing steak
Meaning:
stew.ing steak\n   stewing steak\n  Stewing steak is beef which is suitable for cooking slowly in a stew. (BRIT; in AM, use stew meat)\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: stick
Meaning:
VERB USES\n   stick  sticks  sticking  stuck\n\nPlease look at category 9 to see if the expression you are looking for is shown under another headword.\n1. If you stick something somewhere, you put it there in a rather casual way. (INFORMAL)\nHe folded the papers and stuck them in his desk drawer...\nJack opened his door and stuck his head out.\n  VERB: V n prep/adv, V n prep/adv\n\n2. If you stick a pointed object in something, or if it sticks in something, it goes into it or through it by making a cut or hole.\nSome punk stuck a knife in her last night...\nThe soldiers went at once to the mound and began to stick their bayonets through it...\nThe knife stuck in the ground at his feet.\n  VERB: V n in/into/through n, V n in/into/through n, V in n\n\n3. If something is sticking out from a surface or object, it extends up or away from it. If something is sticking into a surface or object, it is partly in it.\nThey lay where they had fallen from the crane, sticking out of the water...\nHis hair sticks up in half a dozen directions.\n...when we see her with lots of tubes and needles sticking into her little body.\n  VERB: V adv/prep, V adv/prep, V adv/prep\n\n4. If you stick one thing to another, you attach it using glue, sticky tape, or another sticky substance.\nWe just stuck it to the window...\nHe has nowhere to stick up his posters...\nStick down any loose bits of flooring.\n  VERB: V n prep, V n with adv, V n with adv\n\n5. If one thing sticks to another, it becomes attached to it and is difficult to remove.\nPeel away the waxed paper if it has stuck to the bottom of the cake...\nIf left to stand, cooked pasta sticks together.\n  VERB: V to n, V together\n\n6. If something sticks in your mind, you remember it for a long time.\nThe incident stuck in my mind because it was the first example I had seen of racism in that country...\n  VERB: V in n\n\n7. If something which can usually be moved sticks, it becomes fixed in one position.\nThe needle on the dial went right round to fifty feet, which was as far as it could go, and there it stuck...\n  VERB: V\n\n8.\n  see also stuck\n9.\nto stick in your throat: see throat\n\nNOUN USES\n   stick  sticks\n1. A stick is a thin branch which has fallen off a tree.\n...people carrying bundles of dried sticks to sell for firewood.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A stick is a long thin piece of wood which is used for supporting someone’s weight or for hitting people or animals.\nHe looks old and walks with a stick...\nCrowds armed with sticks and stones took to the streets.\n  N-COUNT\n\n  see also carrot and stick\n3. A stick is a long thin piece of wood which is used for a particular purpose.\n...kebab sticks.\n...lolly sticks.\n...drum sticks.\n  N-COUNT: usu n N\n\n4. Some long thin objects that are used in sports are called sticks.\n...lacrosse sticks.\n...hockey sticks.\n...ski-sticks.\n  N-COUNT: usu n N\n\n5. A stick of something is a long thin piece of it.\n...a stick of celery.\n...cinnamon sticks.\n  N-COUNT: usu N of n, n N\n\n6. If you give someone some stick, you criticize them or tease them roughly. (BRIT INFORMAL)\nIt’s not motorists who give you the most stick, it’s the general public...\nI get some stick from the lads because of my faith but I don’t mind.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n7. If you say that someone lives in the sticks, you mean that they live a long way from any large cities. (INFORMAL)\nHe lived out in the sticks somewhere.\n  N-PLURAL: the N  disapproval\n\n8. If someone gets the wrong end of the stick or gets hold of the wrong end of the stick, they do not understand something correctly and get the wrong idea about it. (INFORMAL)\n  PHRASE: V inflects


Words: stick around
Meaning:
stick around\n  If you stick around, you stay where you are, often because you are waiting for something. (INFORMAL)\nStick around a while and see what develops...\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P


Words: stick at
Meaning:
stick at\n  If you stick at a task or activity, you continue doing it, even if it is difficult.\nYou will find it hard at first, but stick at it...\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n


Words: stick by
Meaning:
stick by\n1. If you stick by someone, you continue to give them help or support.\n...friends who stuck by me during the difficult times as Council Leader...\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n\n\n2. If you stick by a promise, agreement, decision, or principle, you do what you said you would do, or do not change your mind.\nBut I made my decision then and stuck by it.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n\n  = stick to


Words: stick insect
Meaning:
stick in.sect\n   stick insect  stick insects   also stick-insect\n  A stick insect is an insect with a long body and thin legs. It looks like a small stick.\n  N-COUNT


Words: stick out
Meaning:
stick out\n1. If you stick out part of your body, you extend it away from your body.\nShe made a face and stuck out her tongue at him...\nHe stuck his hand out and he said, `Good evening.’\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), V n P\n\nto stick your neck out: see neck\n2. If something sticks out, it is very noticeable because it is unusual.\nWhat had Cutter done to make him stick out from the crowd?\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P from n\n  = stand out\nto stick out a mile: see mile\nto stick out like a sore thumb: see thumb\n3. If someone in an unpleasant or difficult situation sticks it out, they do not leave or give up.\nI really didn’t like New York, but I wanted to stick it out a little bit longer.\n  PHRASE: V inflects


Words: stick shift
Meaning:
stick shift  stick shifts\n  A stick shift is the lever that you use to change gear in a car or other vehicle. (AM; in BRIT, usually use gear lever)\n  N-COUNT\n  = gearshift


Words: stick to
Meaning:
stick to\n1. If you stick to something or someone when you are travelling, you stay close to them.\nThere are interesting hikes inland, but most ramblers stick to the clifftops...\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n\n\n2. If you stick to something, you continue doing, using, saying, or talking about it, rather than changing to something else.\nPerhaps he should have stuck to writing...\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n\n\n3. If you stick to a promise, agreement, decision, or principle, you do what you said you would do, or do not change your mind.\nImmigrant support groups are waiting to see if he sticks to his word...\nBut one problem is that few people can stick to a diet for long.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n, V P n\n  = stick by\nto stick to your guns: see gun\n4. If you stick to rules, you do what they say you must do.\nObviously we are disappointed but the committee could do nothing less than stick to the rules...\nPolice must stick to the highest standards if they are to win back public confidence.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n, V P n


Words: stick together
Meaning:
stick together\n  If people stick together, they stay with each other and support each other.\nIf we all stick together, we ought to be okay.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P


Words: stick up for
Meaning:
stick up for\n  If you stick up for a person or a principle, you support or defend them forcefully.\nI can stick up for myself...\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P P n\n  = stand up for


Words: stick with
Meaning:
stick with\n1. If you stick with something, you do not change to something else.\nThey prefer, in the end, to stick with what they know.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n\n\n2. If you stick with someone, you stay close to them.\nTugging the woman’s arm, she pulled her to her side saying: `You just stick with me, dear.’\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n


Words: stick-in-the-mud
Meaning:
stick-in-the-mud  stick-in-the-muds\n  If you describe someone as a stick-in-the-mud, you disapprove of them because they do not like doing anything that is new or fun. (INFORMAL)\n  N-COUNT  disapproval\n  = fuddy-duddy


Words: stick-on
Meaning:
stick-on\n  Stick-on labels, shapes, and objects have a sticky material on one side so that they will stick to things.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n  = adhesive


Words: sticker
Meaning:
stick.er\n   sticker  stickers\n  A sticker is a small piece of paper or plastic, with writing or a picture on one side, which you can stick onto a surface.\n  N-COUNT\n\n  see also bumper sticker


Words: sticking plaster
Meaning:
stick.ing plas.ter\n   sticking plaster  sticking plasters\n  Sticking plaster is material that you can stick over a cut or wound in order to protect it. A sticking plaster is a piece of this material. (BRIT; in AM, use Band-Aid)\n  N-VAR


Words: sticking point
Meaning:
stick.ing point\n   sticking point  sticking points   also sticking-point\n  A sticking point in a discussion or series of negotiations is a point on which the people involved cannot agree and which may delay or stop the talks. A sticking point is also one aspect of a problem which you have trouble dealing with.\nThe main sticking point was the question of taxes.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing


Words: stickleback
Meaning:
stickle.back\n   stickleback  sticklebacks\n  A stickleback is a small fish which has sharp points along its back.\n  N-COUNT


Words: stickler
Meaning:
stick.ler\n   stickler  sticklers\n  If you are a stickler for something, you always demand or require it.\nLucy was a stickler for perfection, and everything had to be exactly right.\n  N-COUNT: usu N for n


Words: sticky
Meaning:
sticky  stickier  stickiest\n1. A sticky substance is soft, or thick and liquid, and can stick to other things. Sticky things are covered with a sticky substance.\n...sticky toffee...\nIf the dough is sticky, add more flour...\nPeel away the sticky paper.\n  ADJ\n\n2. A sticky situation involves problems or is embarrassing. (mainly BRIT INFORMAL)\nInevitably the transition will yield some sticky moments...\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n3. Sticky weather is unpleasantly hot and damp.\n...four desperately hot, sticky days in the middle of August.\n  ADJ\n  = muggy


Words: sticky tape
Meaning:
sticky tape\n  Sticky tape is clear sticky tape that is sold in rolls and that you use, for example to stick paper or card together, or to stick things onto a wall. (BRIT; in AM, use Scotch tape)\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: stiff
Meaning:
stiff  stiffer  stiffest\n1. Something that is stiff is firm or does not bend easily.\nHis waterproof trousers were brand new and stiff...\nClean the mussels with a stiff brush under cold running water.\n  ADJ\n  = rigid\n=>  stiff.ly\nMoira sat stiffly upright in her straight-backed chair.\n  ADV: ADV adj, ADV with v\n\n2. Something such as a door or drawer that is stiff does not move as easily as it should.\nTrain doors have handles on the inside. They are stiff so that they cannot be opened accidentally.\n  ADJ\n\n3. If you are stiff, your muscles or joints hurt when you move, because of illness or because of too much exercise.\nThe Mud Bath is particularly recommended for relieving tension and stiff muscles...\nI’m stiff all over right now.I hope I can recover for tomorrow’s race.\n  ADJ\n\n=>  stiff.ly\nHe climbed stiffly from the Volkswagen.\n  ADV\n\n4. Stiff behaviour is rather formal and not very friendly or relaxed.\nThey always seemed a little awkward with each other, a bit stiff and formal.\n  ADJ\n\n=>  stiff.ly\n`Why don’t you borrow your sister’s car?’ said Cassandra stiffly.\n...a stiffly worded letter of complaint.\n  ADV: ADV with v, ADV adj\n\n5. Stiff can be used to mean difficult or severe.\nThe film faces stiff competition for the Best Film nomination...\nUnder Greece’s stiff anti-drugs laws they could face twenty years in jail.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n6. A stiff drink is a large amount of a strong alcoholic drink.\n...a stiff whisky.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n  = large\n7. If you are bored stiff, worried stiff, or scared stiff, you are extremely bored, worried, or scared. (INFORMAL)\nAnna tried to look interested. Actually, she was bored stiff...\n  ADV: adj ADV  emphasis\n\n  Stiff is also an adjective.\nEven if he bores you stiff, it is good manners not to let him know it.\n  ADJ: v n ADJ


Words: stiff-necked
Meaning:
stiff-necked   also stiffnecked\n  If you say that someone is stiff-necked, you mean that they are proud and unwilling to do what other people want.\n  ADJ  disapproval


Words: stiffen
Meaning:
stiff.en\n   stiffen  stiffens  stiffening  stiffened\n1. If you stiffen, you stop moving and stand or sit with muscles that are suddenly tense, for example because you feel afraid or angry.\nAda stiffened at the sound of his voice...\n  VERB: V\n\n2. If your muscles or joints stiffen, or if something stiffens them, they become difficult to bend or move.\nThe blood supply to the skin is reduced when muscles stiffen.\n  VERB: V, also V n\n\n  Stiffen up means the same as stiffen.\nThese clothes restrict your freedom of movement and stiffen up the whole body...\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron)\n\n3. If something such as cloth is stiffened, it is made firm so that it does not bend easily.\nThis special paper was actually thin, soft Sugiwara paper that had been stiffened with a kind of paste...\n  VERB: usu passive, be V-ed


Words: stifle
Meaning:
sti.fle\n   stifle  stifles  stifling  stifled\n1. If someone stifles something you consider to be a good thing, they prevent it from continuing.\nCritics have accused the US of trying to stifle debate.\n  VERB: V n  disapproval\n  = repress\n2. If you stifle a yawn or laugh, you prevent yourself from yawning or laughing.\nShe makes no attempt to stifle a yawn...\n  VERB: V n\n  = suppress\n3. If you stifle your natural feelings or behaviour, you prevent yourself from having those feelings or behaving in that way.\nIt is best to stifle curiosity and leave birds’ nests alone...\n  VERB: V n\n  = suppress


Words: stifling
Meaning:
sti.fling\n   stifling\n1. Stifling heat is so intense that it makes you feel uncomfortable. You can also use stifling to describe a place that is extremely hot.\nThe stifling heat of the little room was beginning to make me nauseous.\n  ADJ\n\n2. If a situation is stifling, it makes you feel uncomfortable because you cannot do what you want.\nLife at home with her parents and two sisters was stifling.\n...a stifling bureaucracy.\n  ADJ\n\n3.\n  see also stifle


Words: stigma
Meaning:
stig.ma\n   stigma  stigmas\n1. If something has a stigma attached to it, people think it is something to be ashamed of.\nThere is a strong argument for remaining an unmarried mother. There’s no stigma attached any more...\n  N-VAR\n\n2. The stigma of a flower is the top of the centre part which takes in pollen. (TECHNICAL)\n  N-COUNT


Words: stigmata
Meaning:
stig.ma.ta\n   stigmata\n  Stigmata are marks that appear on a person’s body in the same places where Christ was wounded when he was nailed to the cross. Some Christians believe that these marks are a sign of holiness.\n  N-PLURAL


Words: stigmatize
Meaning:
stig.ma.tize\n   stigmatize  stigmatizes  stigmatizing  stigmatized\nin BRIT, also use stigmatise\n  If someone or something is stigmatized, they are unfairly regarded by many people as being bad or having something to be ashamed of.\nChildren in single-parent families must not be stigmatised...\nThe AIDS epidemic further stigmatised gays...\n  VERB: be V-ed, V n


Words: stile
Meaning:
stile  stiles\n  A stile is an entrance to a field or path consisting of a step on either side of a fence or wall to help people climb over it.\n  N-COUNT


Words: stiletto
Meaning:
sti.let.to\n   stiletto  stilettos\n  Stilettos are women’s shoes that have high, very narrow heels. (mainly BRIT; in AM, usually use spike heels)\n  N-COUNT: usu pl


Words: still
Meaning:
ADVERB USES\n   still\n1. If a situation that used to exist still exists, it has continued and exists now.\nI still dream of home...\nBrian’s toe is still badly swollen and he cannot put on his shoe...\nIf you don’t like the job, why are you still there?...\n  ADV: ADV before v, ADV group\n\n2. If something that has not yet happened could still happen, it is possible that it will happen. If something that has not yet happened is still to happen, it will happen at a later time.\nBig money could still be made if the crisis keeps oil prices high...\nThe details have still to be worked out...\n  ADV: ADV before v\n\n3. If you say that there is still an amount of something left, you are emphasizing that there is that amount left.\nThere are still some outstanding problems...\nThere’s still time to catch up with them.\n  ADV: be ADV n\n\n4. You use still to emphasize that something remains the case or is true in spite of what you have just said.\nI’m average for my height. But I still feel I’m fatter than I should be...\nDespite the ruling, Boreham was still found guilty.\n  ADV: ADV before v\n  = nonetheless\n5. You use still to indicate that a problem or difficulty is not really worth worrying about.\n`Any idea who is going to be here this weekend?’.`No. Still, who cares?’\n  ADV: ADV with cl\n\n6. You use still in expressions such as still further, still another, and still more to show that you find the number or quantity of things you are referring to surprising or excessive.\nWe look forward to strengthening still further our already close co-operation with the police service...\n  ADV: ADV n/adv  emphasis\n  = even\n7. You use still with comparatives to indicate that something has even more of a quality than something else.\nFormula One motor car racing is supposed to be dangerous. `Indycar’ racing is supposed to be more dangerous still.\n  ADV: ADV with compar  emphasis\n\nNOT MOVING OR MAKING A NOISE\n   still  stiller  stillest  stills\n1. If you stay still, you stay in the same position and do not move.\nDavid had been dancing about like a child, but suddenly he stood still and looked at Brad...\nHe played the tape through once, then sat very still for several minutes...\nGladys was still, then she shook her head slowly.\n  ADJ: ADJ after v, v-link ADJ\n\n2. If air or water is still, it is not moving.\nThe night air was very still...\nHe watched the still water over the side of the boat.\n  ADJ\n\n3. Drinks that are still do not contain any bubbles of carbon dioxide.\n...a glass of still orange.\n  ADJ\n  !=sparkling\n4. If a place is still, it is quiet and shows no sign of activity.\nIn the room it was very still.\n  ADJ\n  = quiet\n=>  still.ness\nFour deafening explosions shattered the stillness of the night air.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n5. A still is a photograph taken from a cinema film which is used for publicity purposes.\n  N-COUNT: oft N n\n\nEQUIPMENT\n   still  stills\n  A still is a piece of equipment used to make strong alcoholic drinks by a process called distilling.\n  N-COUNT


Words: still life
Meaning:
still life  still lifes\n  A still life is a painting or drawing of an arrangement of objects such as flowers or fruit. It also refers to this type of painting or drawing.\n  N-VAR


Words: stillborn
Meaning:
still.born\n   stillborn\n1. A stillborn baby is dead when it is born.\nIt was a miracle that she survived the birth of her stillborn baby...\n  ADJ\n\n2. An idea, action, or attempt which is stillborn is completely ineffective or unsuccessful.\nThe ceasefire itself could prove stillborn if rebel units in the bush keep on fighting.\n  ADJ


Words: stilt
Meaning:
stilt  stilts\n1. Stilts are long upright pieces of wood or metal on which some buildings are built, especially where the ground is wet or very soft.\nThey inhabit reed huts built on stilts above the water.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl, oft on N\n\n2. Stilts are two long pieces of wood with pieces for the feet fixed high up on the sides so that people can stand on them and walk high above the ground.\n  N-COUNT


Words: stilted
Meaning:
stilt.ed\n   stilted\n  If someone speaks in a stilted way, they speak in a formal or unnatural way, for example because they are not relaxed.\nWe made polite, stilted conversation...\n  ADJ\n  = laboured  !=easy


Words: stimulant
Meaning:
stimu.lant\n   stimulant  stimulants\n  A stimulant is a drug that makes your body work faster, often increasing your heart rate and making you less likely to sleep.\n  N-COUNT


Words: stimulate
Meaning:
stimu.late\n   stimulate  stimulates  stimulating  stimulated\n1. To stimulate something means to encourage it to begin or develop further.\nAmerica’s priority is rightly to stimulate its economy...\nThe Russian health service has stimulated public interest in home cures.\n  VERB: V n, V n\n\n=>  stimu.la.tion\n...an economy in need of stimulation.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. If you are stimulated by something, it makes you feel full of ideas and enthusiasm.\nBill was stimulated by the challenge...\nI was stimulated to examine my deepest thoughts.\n  VERB: usu passive, be V-ed, be V-ed to-inf\n\n=>  stimu.lat.ing\nIt is a complex yet stimulating book...\nThe atmosphere was always stimulating.\n  ADJ\n\n=>  stimu.la.tion\nMany enjoy the mental stimulation of a challenging job.\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu with supp\n\n3. If something stimulates a part of a person’s body, it causes it to move or start working.\nExercise stimulates the digestive and excretory systems...\nThe body is stimulated to build up resistance.\n  VERB: V n, be V-ed to-inf\n\n=>  stimu.lat.ing\n...the stimulating effect of adrenaline.\n  ADJ\n\n=>  stimu.la.tion\n...physical stimulation.\n...the chemical stimulation of drugs.\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu with supp


Words: stimulative
Meaning:
stimu.la.tive\n   stimulative\n  If a government policy has a stimulative effect on the economy, it encourages the economy to grow.\nIt is possible that a tax cut might have some stimulative effect.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: stimulus
Meaning:
stimu.lus\n   stimulus  stimuli\n  A stimulus is something that encourages activity in people or things.\nInterest rates could fall soon and be a stimulus to the US economy...\n  N-VAR


Words: sting
Meaning:
sting  stings  stinging  stung\n1. If a plant, animal, or insect stings you, a sharp part of it, usually covered with poison, is pushed into your skin so that you feel a sharp pain.\nThe nettles stung their legs...\nThis type of bee rarely stings.\n  VERB: V n, V\n\n2. The sting of an insect or animal is the part that stings you.\nRemove the bee sting with tweezers.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. If you feel a sting, you feel a sharp pain in your skin or other part of your body.\nThis won’t hurt.you will just feel a little sting.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing\n\n4. If a part of your body stings, or if a substance stings it, you feel a sharp pain there.\nHis cheeks were stinging from the icy wind...\nSprays can sting sensitive skin.\n  VERB: V, V n\n\n5. If someone’s remarks sting you, they make you feel hurt and annoyed.\nHe’s a sensitive lad and some of the criticism has stung him...\n  VERB: no cont, V n\n  = hurt


Words: stingray
Meaning:
sting.ray\n   stingray  stingrays\n  A stingray is a type of large flat fish with a long tail which it can use as a weapon.\n  N-COUNT


Words: stingy
Meaning:
stin.gy\n   stingy  stingier  stingiest\n  If you describe someone as stingy, you are criticizing them for being unwilling to spend money. (INFORMAL)\nWinston was not a stingy man.\n  ADJ  disapproval\n  = mean  !=generous


Words: stink
Meaning:
stink  stinks  stinking  stank  stunk\n1. To stink means to smell extremely unpleasant.\nGet away from me.your breath stinks...\nThe place stinks of fried onions...\nThe pond stank like a sewer.\n  VERB: V, V of n, V like n\n\n  Stink is also a noun.\nHe was aware of the stink of stale beer on his breath...\n  N-SING\n\n=>  stink.ing\nThey were locked up in a stinking cell.\n  ADJ\n\n2. If you say that something stinks, you mean that you disapprove of it because it involves ideas, feelings, or practices that you do not like. (INFORMAL)\nI think their methods stink...\nThe whole thing stinks of political corruption.\n  VERB: V, V of n  disapproval\n\n3. If someone makes a stink about something they are angry about, they show their anger in order to make people take notice. (INFORMAL)\nThe tabloid press kicked up a stink about his seven-day visit.\n  N-SING: a N\n  = fuss


Words: stinker
Meaning:
stink.er\n   stinker  stinkers\n  If you describe someone or something as a stinker, you mean that you think they are very unpleasant or bad. (INFORMAL)\nI think he’s an absolute stinker to do that to her...\n  N-COUNT  disapproval


Words: stinking
Meaning:
stink.ing\n   stinking\n1. You use stinking to describe something that is unpleasant or bad. (INFORMAL)\nI had a stinking cold.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n2.\n  see also stink


Words: stint
Meaning:
stint  stints\n  A stint is a period of time which you spend doing a particular job or activity or working in a particular place.\nHe is returning to this country after a five-year stint in Hong Kong.\n  N-COUNT: with supp, oft adj N, N prep


Words: stipend
Meaning:
sti.pend\n   stipend  stipends\n1. A stipend is a sum of money that is paid regularly, especially to a magistrate or a member of the clergy, as a salary or for their living expenses. (mainly BRIT)\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A stipend is a sum of money that is paid to a student for their living expenses. (mainly AM)\n  N-COUNT


Words: stipendiary
Meaning:
sti.pen.di.ary\n   stipendiary\n  A stipendiary magistrate or member of the clergy receives a stipend.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: stippled
Meaning:
stip.pled\n   stippled\n  A surface that is stippled is covered with tiny spots.\nThe room remains simple with bare, stippled green walls.\n  ADJ


Words: stipulate
Meaning:
stipu.late\n   stipulate  stipulates  stipulating  stipulated\n  If you stipulate a condition or stipulate that something must be done, you say clearly that it must be done.\nShe could have stipulated that she would pay when she collected the computer...\nInternational rules stipulate the number of foreign entrants.\n  VERB: V that/wh, V n\n  = specify\n=>  stipu.la.tion      stipulations\nClifford’s only stipulation is that his clients obey his advice.\n  N-COUNT\n  = condition


Words: stir
Meaning:
stir  stirs  stirring  stirred\n1. If you stir a liquid or other substance, you move it around or mix it in a container using something such as a spoon.\nStir the soup for a few seconds...\nThere was Mrs Bellingham, stirring sugar into her tea...\nYou don’t add the peanut butter until after you’ve stirred in the honey.\n  VERB: V n, V n into n, V n with in\n\n2. If you stir, you move slightly, for example because you are uncomfortable or beginning to wake up. (WRITTEN)\nEileen shook him, and he started to stir...\nThe two women lay on their backs, not stirring.\n  VERB: V, V\n  = move\n3. If you do not stir from a place, you do not move from it. (WRITTEN)\nShe had not stirred from the house that evening...\n  VERB: usu with brd-neg, V from n\n  = move\n4. If something stirs or if the wind stirs it, it moves gently in the wind. (WRITTEN)\nPalm trees stir in the soft Pacific breeze...\nNot a breath of fresh air stirred the long white curtains.\n  VERB: V, V n\n  = move\n5. If a particular memory, feeling, or mood stirs or is stirred in you, you begin to think about it or feel it. (WRITTEN)\nThen a memory stirs in you and you start feeling anxious...\nAmy remembered the anger he had stirred in her...\nDeep inside the awareness was stirring that something was about to happen.\n  VERB: V in n, V n in n, V\n\n6. If an event causes a stir, it causes great excitement, shock, or anger among people.\nHis film has caused a stir in America.\n  N-SING\n  = commotion\n7.\n  see also stirring


Words: stir up
Meaning:
stir up\n1. If something stirs up dust or stirs up mud in water, it causes it to rise up and move around.\nThey saw first a cloud of dust and then the car that was stirring it up.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V n P\n\n2. If you stir up a particular mood or situation, usually a bad one, you cause it.\nAs usual, Harriet is trying to stir up trouble...\nI thought at first that Jay had been stirring things up.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), V n P  disapproval


Words: stir-fry
Meaning:
stir-fry  stir-fries  stir-frying  stir-fried\n1. If you stir-fry vegetables, meat, or fish, you cook small pieces of them quickly by stirring them in a small quantity of very hot oil. This method is often used in Chinese cookery.\nStir-fry the vegetables until crisp.\n...stir-fried vegetables.\n  VERB: V n, V-ed\n\n2. A stir-fry is a Chinese dish consisting of small pieces of vegetables, meat, or fish which have been stir-fried.\nServe the stir-fry with `instant’ noodles.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. Stir-fry vegetables, meat, or fish or stir-fry dishes are cooked by the stir-fry method.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: stirrer
Meaning:
stir.rer\n   stirrer  stirrers\n  If you refer to someone as a stirrer, you disapprove of them because they often try to cause trouble. (BRIT INFORMAL)\n  N-COUNT  disapproval


Words: stirring
Meaning:
stir.ring\n   stirring  stirrings\n1. A stirring event, performance, or account of something makes people very excited or enthusiastic.\nThe Prime Minister made a stirring speech...\nStowe gives a stirring performance as a strong spirited female.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  = rousing\n2. A stirring of a feeling or thought is the beginning of one.\nI feel a stirring of curiosity.\n  N-COUNT: usu N of n


Words: stirrup
Meaning:
stir.rup\n   stirrup  stirrups\n  Stirrups are the two metal loops which are attached to a horse’s saddle by long pieces of leather. You place your feet in the stirrups when riding a horse.\n  N-COUNT


Words: stitch
Meaning:
stitch  stitches  stitching  stitched\n1. If you stitch cloth, you use a needle and thread to join two pieces together or to make a decoration.\nFold the fabric and stitch the two layers together...\nWe stitched incessantly.\n...those patient ladies who stitched the magnificent medieval tapestries.\n  VERB: V n adv/prep, V, V n\n  = sew\n2. Stitches are the short pieces of thread that have been sewn in a piece of cloth.\n...a row of straight stitches...\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. In knitting and crochet, a stitch is a loop made by one turn of wool around a knitting needle or crochet hook.\nHer mother counted the stitches on her knitting needles...\n  N-COUNT\n\n4. If you sew or knit something in a particular stitch, you sew or knit in a way that produces a particular pattern.\nThe design can be worked in cross stitch.\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu n N\n\n5. When doctors stitch a wound, they use a special needle and thread to sew the skin together.\nJill washed and stitched the wound.\n  VERB: V n\n\n  Stitch up means the same as stitch.\nDr Armonson stitched up her wrist wounds...\nThey’ve taken him off to hospital to stitch him up.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), V n P\n\n6. A stitch is a piece of thread that has been used to sew the skin of a wound together.\nHe had six stitches in a head wound.\n  N-COUNT\n\n7. A stitch is a sharp pain in your side, usually caused by running or laughing a lot.\n  N-SING\n\n8. If you are in stitches, you cannot stop laughing. (INFORMAL)\nHere’s a book that will have you in stitches.\n  PHRASE: PHR after v, v-link PHR


Words: stitch up
Meaning:
stitch up\n1. To stitch someone up means to trick them so that they are put in a difficult or unpleasant situation, especially one where they are blamed for something they have not done. (BRIT INFORMAL)\nHe claimed that a police officer had threatened to stitch him up and send him to prison.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V n P, also V P n (not pron)\n  = frame, set up\n2. To stitch up an agreement, especially a complicated agreement between several people, means to arrange it. (mainly BRIT INFORMAL)\nShiraz has stitched up major deals all over the world to boost sales.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n\n  = secure\n3.\nsee stitch 5


Words: stitch-up
Meaning:
stitch-up  stitch-ups   also stitch up\n  If you describe a situation as a stitch-up, you mean that it has been arranged in a way that makes it unfair. (BRIT INFORMAL)\nMy view is that this is a stitch up.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing


Words: stitching
Meaning:
stitch.ing\n   stitching\n  Stitching is a row of stitches that have been sewn in a piece of cloth.\nThe stitching had begun to fray at the edges...\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: stoat
Meaning:
stoat  stoats\n  A stoat is a small, thin, wild animal that has brown fur. Some stoats that live in northern Europe have fur that turns white in winter.\n  N-COUNT


Words: stock
Meaning:
stock  stocks  stocking  stocked\n1. Stocks are shares in the ownership of a company, or investments on which a fixed amount of interest will be paid. (BUSINESS)\n...the buying and selling of stocks and shares...\n  N-COUNT: usu pl\n\n2. A company’s stock is the amount of money which the company has through selling shares. (BUSINESS)\nTwo years later, when Compaq went public, their stock was valued at $38 million...\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu poss N\n\n3. If a shop stocks particular goods, it keeps a supply of them to sell.\nThe shop stocks everything from cigarettes to recycled loo paper.\n  VERB: no cont, V n\n\n4. A shop’s stock is the total amount of goods which it has available to sell.\nWe took the decision to withdraw a quantity of stock from sale.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n5. If you stock something such as a cupboard, shelf, or room, you fill it with food or other things.\nI worked stocking shelves in a grocery store...\nSome families stocked their cellars with food and water...\nThe kitchen cupboard was stocked with tins of soup.\n  VERB: V n, V n with n, V-ed\n\n  Stock up means the same as stock.\nI had to stock the boat up with food...\nStart planning for Christmas now by stocking up the freezer with some festive dishes.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V n P with n, V P n (not pron) with n\n\n6. If you have a stock of things, you have a supply of them stored in a place ready to be used.\nStocks of ammunition were running low.\n  N-COUNT: with supp, usu N of n\n\n7. The stock of something is the total amount of it that is available in a particular area. (mainly BRIT)\n...the stock of accommodation available to be rented.\n  N-SING: with supp\n\n8. If you are from a particular stock, you are descended from a particular group of people. (FORMAL)\nWe are both from working class stock.\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu supp N\n\n9. Stock are cattle, sheep, pigs, or other animals which are kept by a farmer, usually ones which have been specially bred.\nI am carefully selecting the breeding stock...\n  N-PLURAL\n  = livestock\n10. A stock answer, expression, or way of doing something is one that is very commonly used, especially because people cannot be bothered to think of something new.\nMy boss had a stock response.`If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!’...\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n  = standard\n11. Stock is a liquid, usually made by boiling meat, bones, or vegetables in water, that is used to give flavour to soups and sauces.\n  N-MASS\n\n12.\n  see also stocking, laughing stock, rolling stock\n13. If goods are in stock, a shop has them available to sell. If they are out of stock, it does not.\nCheck that your size is in stock...\nLemon and lime juice were both temporarily out of stock.\n  PHRASE: usu v-link PHR\n\n14. If you take stock, you pause to think about all the aspects of a situation or event before deciding what to do next.\nIt was time to take stock of the situation...\n  PHRASE: V inflects, usu PHR of n\n\n15.\nlock, stock, and barrel: see barrel


Words: stock car
Meaning:
stock car  stock cars\n  A stock car is an old car which has had changes made to it so that it is suitable for races in which the cars often crash into each other.\nHe acted as grand marshal of a stock car race.\n  N-COUNT


Words: stock control
Meaning:
stock con.trol\n   stock control\n  Stock control is the activity of making sure that a company always has exactly the right amount of goods available to sell. (BUSINESS)\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: stock cube
Meaning:
stock cube  stock cubes\n  A stock cube is a solid cube made from dried meat or vegetable juices and other flavourings. Stock cubes are used to add flavour to dishes such as stews and soups.\n  N-COUNT


Words: stock exchange
Meaning:
stock ex.change\n   stock exchange  stock exchanges\n  A stock exchange is a place where people buy and sell stocks and shares. The stock exchange is also the trading activity that goes on there and the trading organization itself. (BUSINESS)\nThe shortage of good stock has kept some investors away from the stock exchange.\n...the New York Stock Exchange.\n  N-COUNT: usu the N in sing\n  = stock market


Words: stock market
Meaning:
stock mar.ket\n   stock market  stock markets\n  The stock market consists of the general activity of buying stocks and shares, and the people and institutions that organize it. (BUSINESS)\nThe company’s shares promptly fell by 300 lire on the stock market.\n  N-COUNT: the N


Words: stock option
Meaning:
stock op.tion\n   stock option stock options\n  A stock option is an opportunity for the employees of a company to buy shares at a special price. (AM BUSINESS; in BRIT use share option)\nHe made a huge profit from the sale of shares purchased in January under the company’s stock option program.\n  N-COUNT


Words: stock up
Meaning:
stock up\n1.\nsee stock 5\n2. If you stock up on something, you buy a lot of it, in case you cannot get it later.\nThe authorities have urged people to stock up on fuel...\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P on/with n


Words: stock-in-trade
Meaning:
stock-in-trade   also stock in trade\n  If you say that something is someone’s stock-in-trade, you mean that it is a usual part of their behaviour or work.\nPatriotism is every politician’s stock-in-trade...\n  N-SING: with poss\n  = staple


Words: stock-still
Meaning:
stock-still\n  If someone stands or sits stock-still, they do not move at all.\nThe lieutenant stopped and stood stock-still.\n  ADJ: ADJ after v


Words: stockade
Meaning:
stock.ade\n   stockade  stockades\n  A stockade is a wall of large wooden posts built around an area to keep out enemies or wild animals.\n...the inner stockade.\n  N-COUNT


Words: stockbroker
Meaning:
stock.broker\n   stockbroker  stockbrokers\n  A stockbroker is a person whose job is to buy and sell stocks and shares for people who want to invest money. (BUSINESS)\n  N-COUNT


Words: stockbroker belt
Meaning:
stock.broker belt\n   stockbroker belt  stockbroker belts\n  The stockbroker belt is an area outside a city, especially London, where rich people who travel to work in the city live. (BRIT)\nHe grew up in the comfort of the Surrey stockbroker belt.\n  N-COUNT: usu the N


Words: stockbroking
Meaning:
stock.broking\n   stockbroking\n  Stockbroking is the professional activity of buying and selling stocks and shares for clients. (BUSINESS)\nHis stockbroking firm was hit by the 1987 crash.\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu N n


Words: stockholder
Meaning:
stock.holder\n   stockholder  stockholders\n  A stockholder is a person who owns shares in a company. (AM BUSINESS; in BRIT, use shareholder)\n  N-COUNT


Words: stocking
Meaning:
stock.ing\n   stocking  stockings\n1. Stockings are items of women’s clothing which fit closely over their feet and legs. Stockings are usually made of nylon or silk and are held in place by suspenders.\n...a pair of nylon stockings.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A stocking is the same as a Christmas stocking.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3.\n  see also stock, body stocking


Words: stocking filler
Meaning:
stock.ing fill.er\n   stocking filler  stocking fillers   also stocking-filler\n  A stocking filler is a small present that is suitable for putting in a Christmas stocking. (mainly BRIT; in AM, usually use stocking stuffer)\n  N-COUNT


Words: stocking stuffer
Meaning:
stock.ing stuff.er\n   stocking stuffer  stocking stuffers\n  A stocking stuffer is the same as a stocking filler. (mainly AM)\n  N-COUNT


Words: stockinged
Meaning:
stock.inged\n   stockinged\n  If someone is in their stockinged feet, they are wearing socks, tights, or stockings, but no shoes. (LITERARY)\nHe tip-toed to the door in his stockinged feet.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: stockist
Meaning:
stock.ist\n   stockist  stockists\n  A stockist of a particular product is someone who sells this product in their shop. (BRIT)\nThe name of your nearest stockist is available from the company.\n  N-COUNT\n  = retailer


Words: stockpile
Meaning:
stock.pile\n   stockpile  stockpiles  stockpiling  stockpiled\n1. If people stockpile things such as food or weapons, they store large quantities of them for future use.\nPeople are stockpiling food for the coming winter.\n  VERB: V n\n  = hoard\n2. A stockpile of things is a large quantity of them that have been stored for future use.\nThe two leaders also approved treaties to cut stockpiles of chemical weapons.\n  N-COUNT: oft N of n\n  = stock


Words: stockroom
Meaning:
stock.room\n   stockroom  stockrooms   also stock-room\n  A stockroom is a room, especially in a shop or a factory, where a stock of goods is kept.\n  N-COUNT


Words: stocktaking
Meaning:
stock.taking\n   stocktaking\n  Stocktaking is the activity of counting and checking all the goods that a shop or business has. (BUSINESS)\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: stocky
Meaning:
stocky  stockier  stockiest\n  A stocky person has a body that is broad, solid, and often short.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: stodgy
Meaning:
stodgy  stodgier  stodgiest\n  Stodgy food is very solid and heavy. It makes you feel very full, and is difficult to digest.\nHe was disgusted with the stodgy pizzas on sale in London.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: stoic
Meaning:
sto.ic\n   stoic  stoics\n1. Stoic means the same as stoical. (FORMAL)\nThe kids of Kobe try to be as stoic as their parents in this tragic situation.\n  ADJ  approval\n\n2. If you say that someone is a stoic, you approve of them because they do not complain or show they are upset in bad situations. (FORMAL)\n  N-COUNT  approval


Words: stoical
Meaning:
stoi.cal\n   stoical\n  If you say that someone behaves in a stoical way, you approve of them because they do not complain or show they are upset in bad situations. (FORMAL)\nShe never ceased to admire the stoical courage of those in Northern Ireland...\n  ADJ  approval\n\n=>  stoi.cal.ly\nShe put up with it all stoically.\n  ADV: usu ADV with v


Words: stoicism
Meaning:
stoi.cism\n   stoicism\n  Stoicism is stoical behaviour. (FORMAL)\nThey bore their plight with stoicism and fortitude.\n  N-UNCOUNT  approval


Words: stoke
Meaning:
stoke  stokes  stoking  stoked\n1. If you stoke a fire, you add coal or wood to it to keep it burning.\nShe was stoking the stove with sticks of maple.\n  VERB: V n\n\n  Stoke up means the same as stoke.\nHe stoked up the fire in the hearth.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron)\n\n2. If you stoke something such as a feeling, you cause it to be felt more strongly.\nThese demands are helping to stoke fears of civil war.\n  VERB: V n\n\n  Stoke up means the same as stoke.\nHe has sent his proposals in the hope of stoking up interest for the idea.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron)


Words: stoker
Meaning:
stok.er\n   stoker  stokers\n  In former times a stoker was a person whose job was to stoke fires, especially on a ship or a steam train.\n  N-COUNT


Words: stolid
Meaning:
stol.id\n   stolid\n  If you describe someone as stolid, you mean that they do not show much emotion or are not very exciting or interesting.\nHe glanced furtively at the stolid faces of the two detectives.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: stomach
Meaning:
stom.ach\n   stomach  stomachs  stomaching  stomached\n1. Your stomach is the organ inside your body where food is digested before it moves into the intestines.\nHe had an upset stomach...\nMy stomach is completely full.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. You can refer to the front part of your body below your waist as your stomach.\nThe children lay down on their stomachs.\n...stomach muscles.\n  N-COUNT: oft poss N\n\n3. If the front part of your body below your waist feels uncomfortable because you are feeling worried or frightened, you can refer to it as your stomach.\nHis stomach was in knots.\n  N-COUNT: oft poss N\n\n4. If you say that someone has a strong stomach, you mean that they are not disgusted by things that disgust most other people.\nSurgery often demands actual physical strength, as well as the possession of a strong stomach.\n  N-COUNT\n\n5. If you cannot stomach something, you cannot accept it because you dislike it or disapprove of it.\nI could never stomach the cruelty involved in the wounding of animals.\n  VERB: with brd-neg, V n/-ing\n\n6. If you do something on an empty stomach, you do it without having eaten.\nAvoid drinking on an empty stomach.\n  PHRASE: PHR after v\n\n7. If you say that something turns your stomach or makes your stomach turn, you mean that it is so unpleasant or offensive that it makes you feel sick.\nThe true facts will turn your stomach...\nI saw the shots of what happened on television and my stomach just turned over.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n8.\nbutterflies in your stomach: see butterfly


Words: stomach ache
Meaning:
stom.ach ache\n   stomach ache  stomach aches   also stomachache\n  If you have a stomach-ache, you have a pain in your stomach.\n  N-VAR


Words: stomach-churning
Meaning:
stomach-churning\n  If you describe something as stomach-churning, you mean that it is so unpleasant that it makes you feel physically sick.\nThe stench from rotting food is stomach-churning.\n  ADJ


Words: stomp
Meaning:
stomp  stomps  stomping  stomped\n  If you stomp somewhere, you walk there with very heavy steps, often because you are angry.\nHe stomped out of the room.\n  VERB: V prep/adv


Words: stone
Meaning:
stone  stones  stoning  stoned\n\n  The plural is usually stone in meaning 10.\n\n1. Stone is a hard solid substance found in the ground and often used for building houses.\nHe could not tell whether the floor was wood or stone...\nPeople often don’t appreciate that marble is a natural stone.\n...stone walls.\n  N-MASS\n\n2. A stone is a small piece of rock that is found on the ground.\nHe removed a stone from his shoe...\nThe crowd began throwing stones.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. A stone is a large piece of stone put somewhere in memory of a person or event, or as a religious symbol.\nThe monument consists of a circle of gigantic stones.\n  N-COUNT\n\n4. Stone is used in expressions such as set in stone and tablets of stone to suggest that an idea or rule is firm and fixed, and cannot be changed.\nScientific opinions are not carved on tablets of stone; they change over the years.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft with brd-neg\n\n5. You can refer to a jewel as a stone.\n...a diamond ring with three stones.\n  N-COUNT\n\n6. A stone is a small hard ball of minerals and other substances which sometimes forms in a person’s kidneys or gall bladder.\nHe had kidney stones.\n  N-COUNT: usu n N\n\n7. The stone in a plum, cherry, or other fruit is the large hard seed in the middle of it. (mainly BRIT; in AM, usually use pit)\n  N-COUNT\n\n8. If you stone a fruit, you remove its stone. (mainly BRIT; in AM, usually use pit)\nThen stone the fruit and process the plums to a puree.\n  VERB: V n\n\n9. If people stone someone or something, they throw stones at them.\nA post office was set on fire and vehicles were stoned by looters.\n  VERB: V n\n\n10. A stone is a measurement of weight, especially the weight of a person, equal to 14 pounds or 6.35 kilograms. (BRIT)\nI weighed around 16 stone.\n  N-COUNT: usu num N\n\n11.\n  see also stoned, foundation stone, paving stone, precious stone, stepping stone\n12. If you say that one place is a stone’s throw from another, you mean that the places are close to each other.\n...a two-bedroom apartment just a stone’s throw from the beach...\nJust a stone’s throw away is the City Art Gallery.\n  PHRASE: PHR prep/adv\n\n13. If you say that you will leave no stone unturned, you are emphasizing that you will try every way you can think of in order to achieve what you want.\nHe said he would leave no stone unturned in the search for peace.\n  PHRASE: V inflects  emphasis\n\n14.\nkill two birds with one stone: see bird


Words: Stone Age
Meaning:
Stone Age\n  The Stone Age is a very early period of human history, when people used tools and weapons made of stone, not metal.\n  N-PROPER: the N


Words: stone deaf
Meaning:
stone deaf   also stone-deaf\n  Someone who is stone deaf cannot hear at all.\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ


Words: stone-cold
Meaning:
stone-cold\n1. If something that should be warm is stone-cold, it is very cold.\nHillsden took a sip of tea, but it was stone cold.\n  ADJ\n\n2. If someone is stone-cold sober, they are not drunk at all. (INFORMAL)\n  PHRASE: v-link PHR


Words: stone-dead
Meaning:
stone-dead\n  If you kill something such as an idea or emotion stone-dead, you completely destroy it.\nThe prospect of having to pay a graduate tax until retirement would kill the students’ enthusiasm stone dead.\n  PHRASE: V inflects  emphasis


Words: stone-ground
Meaning:
stone-ground   also stoneground\n  Stone-ground flour or bread is made from grain that has been crushed between two large, heavy pieces of stone.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: stone-washed
Meaning:
stone-washed   also stonewashed\n  Stone-washed jeans are jeans which have been specially washed with small pieces of stone so that when you buy them they are fairly pale and soft.\n  ADJ


Words: stoned
Meaning:
stoned\n  If someone is stoned, their mind is greatly affected by a drug such as cannabis. (INFORMAL)\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ


Words: stonemason
Meaning:
stone.mason\n   stonemason  stonemasons\n  A stonemason is a person who is skilled at cutting and preparing stone so that it can be used for walls and buildings.\n  N-COUNT


Words: stonewall
Meaning:
stone.wall\n   stonewall  stonewalls  stonewalling  stonewalled\n  If you say that someone stonewalls, you disapprove of them because they delay giving a clear answer or making a clear decision, often because there is something that they want to hide or avoid doing.\nThe administration is just stonewalling in an attempt to hide their political embarrassment...\n  VERB: V  disapproval\n\n=>  stone.wall.ing\nAfter 18 days of stonewalling, he at last came out and faced the issue.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: stoneware
Meaning:
stone.ware\n   stoneware\n  Stoneware is hard clay pottery which is baked at a high temperature.\n...hand-painted blue-and-white stoneware.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N n


Words: stonework
Meaning:
stone.work\n   stonework\n  Stonework consists of objects or parts of a building that are made of stone.\n...the crumbling stonework of the derelict church.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n  = masonry


Words: stony
Meaning:
stony  stonier  stoniest\n1. Stony ground is rough and contains a lot of stones.\nThe steep, stony ground is well drained.\n...a stony track.\n  ADJ\n\n2. A stony expression or attitude does not show any sympathy or friendliness.\nHe drove us home in stony silence.\n  ADJ


Words: stooge
Meaning:
stooge  stooges\n  If you refer to someone as a stooge, you are criticizing them because they are used by someone else to do unpleasant or dishonest tasks.\nHe has vehemently rejected claims that he is a government stooge...\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp  disapproval


Words: stool
Meaning:
stool  stools\n1. A stool is a seat with legs but no support for your arms or back.\nO’Brien sat on a bar stool and leaned his elbows on the counter.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If someone has fallen between two stools, they are unable to decide which of two courses of action to take and as a result they have not done either of them successfully.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n3. Stools are the pieces of solid waste matter that are passed out of a person’s body through their bowels. (mainly MEDICAL)\n  N-COUNT: usu pl\n  = faeces


Words: stoop
Meaning:
stoop  stoops  stooping  stooped\n1. If you stoop, you stand or walk with your shoulders bent forwards.\nShe was taller than he was and stooped slightly.\n  VERB: V\n\n  Stoop is also a noun.\nHe was a tall, thin fellow with a slight stoop.\n  N-SING\n\n=>  stoop.ing\n...a slender slightly stooping American.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n2. If you stoop, you bend your body forwards and downwards.\nHe stooped to pick up the carrier bag of groceries...\nTwo men in shirt sleeves stooped over the car...\nStooping down, he picked up a big stone and hurled it.\n  VERB: V, V over n, V down/over\n\n3. If you say that a person stoops to doing something, you are criticizing them because they do something wrong or immoral that they would not normally do.\nHe had not, until recently, stooped to personal abuse...\nHow could anyone stoop so low?\n  VERB: V to n/-ing, V adj  disapproval\n\n4. A stoop is a small platform at the door of a building, with steps leading up to it. (AM)\nThey stood together on the stoop and rang the bell.\n  N-COUNT


Words: stop
Meaning:
stop  stops  stopping  stopped\n1. If you have been doing something and then you stop doing it, you no longer do it.\nHe can’t stop thinking about it...\nI’ve been told to lose weight and stop smoking...\nI stopped working last year to have a baby...\nDoes either of the parties want to stop the fighting?...\nShe stopped in mid-sentence.\n  VERB: V -ing, V -ing, V -ing, V n, V\n\n2. If you stop something happening, you prevent it from happening or prevent it from continuing.\nHe proposed a new diplomatic initiative to try to stop the war...\nIf the fire isn’t stopped, it could spread to 25,000 acres...\nI think she really would have liked to stop us seeing each other...\nMotherhood won’t stop me from pursuing my acting career...\n  VERB: V n, V n, V n -ing, V n from -ing\n\n3. If an activity or process stops, it is no longer happening.\nThe rain had stopped and a star or two was visible over the mountains...\nThe system overheated and filming had to stop...\n  VERB: V, V\n\n4. If something such as machine stops or is stopped, it is no longer moving or working.\nThe clock had stopped at 2.12 a.m...\nArnold stopped the engine and got out of the car...\n  VERB: V, V n\n\n5. When a moving person or vehicle stops or is stopped, they no longer move and they remain in the same place.\nThe car failed to stop at an army checkpoint...\nHe stopped and let her catch up with him...\nThe event literally stopped the traffic...\n  VERB: V, V, V n\n  = halt\n6. If something that is moving comes to a stop or is brought to a stop, it slows down and no longer moves.\nPeople often wrongly open doors before the train has come to a stop...\nHe slowed the car almost to a stop.\n  N-SING: to a N\n  = halt\n7. If someone does not stop to think or to explain, they continue with what they are doing without taking any time to think about or explain it.\nShe doesn’t stop to think about what she’s saying...\nThere is something rather strange about all this if one stops to consider it...\nPeople who lead busy lives have no time to stop and reflect.\n  VERB: V to-inf, V to-inf, V\n  = pause\n8. If you say that a quality or state stops somewhere, you mean that it exists or is true up to that point, but no further.\nThe cafe owner has put up the required `no smoking’ signs, but thinks his responsibility stops there...\n  VERB: V adv\n  = end\n9. A stop is a place where buses or trains regularly stop so that people can get on and off.\nThey waited at a bus stop.\n  N-COUNT: oft supp N\n\n10. If you stop somewhere on a journey, you stay there for a short while.\nHe insisted we stop at a small restaurant just outside of Atlanta...\n  VERB: V prep/adv\n\n11. A stop is a time or place at which you stop during a journey.\nThe last stop in Mr Cook’s lengthy tour was Paris...\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp\n\n12. In music, organ stops are the knobs at the side of the organ, which you pull or push in order to control the type of sound that comes out of the pipes.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl\n\n13. If you say that someone will stop at nothing to get something, you are emphasizing that they are willing to do things that are extreme, wrong, or dangerous in order to get it.\nTheir motive is money, and they will stop at nothing to get it.\n  PHRASE: V inflects  emphasis\n\n14. If you pull out all the stops, you do everything you can to make something happen or succeed.\nNew Zealand police vowed yesterday to pull out all the stops to find the killer.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n15. If you put a stop to something that you do not like or approve of, you prevent it from happening or continuing.\nHis daughter should have stood up and put a stop to all these rumours.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n16. If you say that someone does not know when to stop, you mean that they do not control their own behaviour very well and so they often annoy or upset other people.\nLike many politicians before him, Mr Bentley did not know when to stop...\n  PHRASE: know inflects\n\n17.\nto stop dead: see dead\nto stop short of: see short\nto stop someone in their tracks: see track


Words: stop by
Meaning:
stop by\n  If you stop by somewhere, you make a short visit to a person or place. (INFORMAL)\nPerhaps I’ll stop by the hospital...\nI’ll stop by to see Leigh before going home.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n, V P


Words: stop off
Meaning:
stop off\n  If you stop off somewhere, you stop for a short time in the middle of a journey.\nThe president stopped off in Poland on his way to Munich for the economic summit.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P


Words: stop press
Meaning:
stop press\n  Stop press is sometimes printed next to an article in a newspaper to indicate that this is very recent news and was added after the rest of the newspaper had been printed. (BRIT)\nSTOP PRESS.Crisis in Chechnya.


Words: stop-go
Meaning:
stop-go\nin AM, also use stop-and-go\n  Stop-go is used to describe processes in which there are periods of inactivity between periods of activity.\n...stop-go economic cycles.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: stopcock
Meaning:
stop.cock\n   stopcock  stopcocks\n  A stopcock is a tap on a pipe, which you turn in order to allow something to pass through the pipe or to stop it from passing through.\n  N-COUNT


Words: stopgap
Meaning:
stop.gap\n   stopgap  stopgaps\n  A stopgap is something that serves a purpose for a short time, but is replaced as soon as possible.\nGone are the days when work was just a stopgap between leaving school and getting married...\n  N-COUNT: oft N n


Words: stoplight
Meaning:
stop.light\n   stoplight  stoplights   also stop light\n1. A stoplight is a set of coloured lights which controls the flow of traffic on a road. (AM; in BRIT, use traffic light)\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. The stoplights on a car or other vehicle are the two red lights at the back. (AM; in BRIT, use tail-lights)\n  N-COUNT


Words: stopover
Meaning:
stop.over\n   stopover  stopovers\n  A stopover is a short stay in a place in between parts of a journey.\nThe Sunday flights will make a stopover in Paris.\n  N-COUNT


Words: stoppage
Meaning:
stop.page\n   stoppage  stoppages\n1. When there is a stoppage, people stop working because of a disagreement with their employers. (BUSINESS)\nMineworkers in the Ukraine have voted for a one-day stoppage next month.\n  N-COUNT: oft supp N\n  = strike\n2. In football and some other sports, when there is a stoppage, the game stops for a short time, for example because a player is injured. The referee may add some extra time at the end of the game because of this. (mainly BRIT; in AM, use time out)\n  N-COUNT


Words: stopper
Meaning:
stop.per\n   stopper  stoppers\n  A stopper is a piece of glass, plastic, or cork that fits into the top of a bottle or jar to close it.\n...a bottle of colourless liquid sealed with a cork stopper.\n  N-COUNT\n\n  see also show-stopper


Words: stopwatch
Meaning:
stop.watch\n   stopwatch  stopwatches   also stop-watch\n  A stopwatch is a watch with buttons which you press at the beginning and end of an event, so that you can measure exactly how long it takes.\n  N-COUNT


Words: storage
Meaning:
stor.age\n   storage\n1. If you refer to the storage of something, you mean that it is kept in a special place until it is needed.\n...the storage of toxic waste...\nSome of the space will at first be used for storage...\nThe collection has been in storage for decades.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. Storage is the process of storing data in a computer.\nHis task is to ensure the fair use and storage of personal information held on computer.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n3.\n  see also cold storage


Words: store
Meaning:
store  stores  storing  stored\n1. A store is a building or part of a building where things are sold. In British English, store is used mainly to refer to a large shop selling a variety of goods, but in American English a store can be any size of shop.\n...grocery stores.\n...a record store.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. When you store things, you put them in a container or other place and leave them there until they are needed.\nStore the cookies in an airtight tin...\nSome types of garden furniture must be stored inside in the winter.\n  VERB: V n prep/adv, V n prep/adv\n  = keep\n  Store away means the same as store.\nHe simply stored the tapes away...\nHe’s stored away nearly one ton of potatoes.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V n P, V P n (not pron)\n\n3. When you store information, you keep it in your memory, in a file, or in a computer.\nWhere in the brain do we store information about colours?\n...chips for storing data in electronic equipment.\n  VERB: V n, V n\n\n4. A store of things is a supply of them that you keep somewhere until you need them.\nI handed over my secret store of chocolate biscuits...\n  N-COUNT: usu N of n\n\n5. A store is a place where things are kept while they are not being used.\n...a decision taken in 1982 to build a store for spent fuel from submarines.\n...a grain store.\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp\n\n6. If you have a store of knowledge, jokes, or stories, you have a large amount of them ready to be used.\nHe possessed a vast store of knowledge...\n  N-COUNT: usu N of n\n\n7.\n  see also chain store, cold store, department store\n8. If something is in store for you, it is going to happen at some time in the future.\nThere were also surprises in store for me...\nWho knows what lies in store for the President?\n  PHRASE: PHR after v, v-link PHR, usu PHR for n\n\n9. If you set great store by something, you think that it is extremely important or necessary. (FORMAL)\n...a retail group which sets great store by traditional values.\n  PHRASE: V inflects, PHR n


Words: store detective
Meaning:
store de.tec.tive\n   store detective  store detectives\n  A store detective is someone who is employed by a shop to walk around the shop looking for people who are secretly stealing goods.\n  N-COUNT


Words: store up
Meaning:
store up\n  If you store something up, you keep it until you think that the time is right to use it.\nInvestors were storing up a lot of cash in anticipation of disaster...\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron)


Words: storecard
Meaning:
store.card\n   storecard  storecards   also store card\n  A storecard is a plastic card that you use to buy goods on credit from a particular store or group of stores. (mainly BRIT; in AM, usually use charge card)\n  N-COUNT


Words: storefront
Meaning:
store.front\n   storefront  storefronts\n1. A storefront is the outside part of a shop which faces the street, including the door and windows. (mainly AM; in BRIT, usually use shop front)\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A storefront is a small shop or office that opens onto the street and is part of a row of shops or offices. (AM)\n...a tiny storefront office on the main street.\n  N-COUNT: oft N n


Words: storehouse
Meaning:
store.house\n   storehouse  storehouses\n  A storehouse is a building in which things, usually food, are stored.\n  N-COUNT


Words: storeroom
Meaning:
store.room\n   storeroom  storerooms\n  A storeroom is a room in which you keep things until they are needed.\n...a storeroom filled with massive old furniture covered with dust.\n  N-COUNT


Words: storey
Meaning:
sto.rey\n   storey  storeys\nin AM, use story\n  A storey of a building is one of its different levels, which is situated above or below other levels.\n...the upper storeys of the Empire State Building.\n  N-COUNT: usu supp N\n  = floor


Words: stork
Meaning:
stork  storks\n  A stork is a large bird with a long beak and long legs, which lives near water.\n  N-COUNT


Words: storm
Meaning:
storm  storms  storming  stormed\n1. A storm is very bad weather, with heavy rain, strong winds, and often thunder and lightning.\n...the violent storms which whipped America’s East Coast.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If something causes a storm, it causes an angry or excited reaction from a large number of people.\nThe photos caused a storm when they were first published...\n...the storm of publicity that Richard’s book had generated.\n  N-COUNT: oft N of n\n\n3. A storm of applause or other noise is a sudden loud amount of it made by an audience or other group of people in reaction to something.\nHis speech was greeted with a storm of applause...\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, usu N of n\n\n4. If you storm into or out of a place, you enter or leave it quickly and noisily, because you are angry.\nHe stormed into an office, demanding to know where the head of department was.\n  VERB: V adv/prep\n\n5. If a place that is being defended is stormed, a group of people attack it, usually in order to get inside it.\nGovernment buildings have been stormed and looted...\nThe refugees decided to storm the embassy.\n  VERB: be V-ed, V n\n\n=>  storm.ing\n...the storming of the Bastille.\n  N-UNCOUNT: N of n\n\n6.\n  see also firestorm\n7. If someone or something takes a place by storm, they are extremely successful.\nKenya’s long distance runners have taken the athletics world by storm.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n8. If someone weathers the storm, they succeed in reaching the end of a very difficult period without much harm or damage.\nHe insists he will not resign and will weather the storm.\n  PHRASE: V and N inflect\n\n9.\na storm in a teacup: see teacup


Words: storm cloud
Meaning:
storm cloud  storm clouds   also stormcloud\n1. Storm clouds are the dark clouds which are seen before a storm.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl\n\n2. You can use storm clouds to refer to a sign that something very unpleasant is going to happen. (FORMAL)\nOver the past three weeks, the storm clouds have gathered again over the government.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl


Words: storm trooper
Meaning:
storm troop.er\n   storm trooper  storm troopers   also stormtrooper\n  Storm troopers were members of a private Nazi army who were well-known for being violent.\n  N-COUNT


Words: stormy
Meaning:
stormy  stormier  stormiest\n1. If there is stormy weather, there are strong winds and heavy rain.\nIt had been a night of stormy weather, with torrential rain and high winds.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  !=calm\n2. Stormy seas have very large strong waves because there are strong winds.\nThey make the treacherous journey across stormy seas.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  !=calm\n3. If you describe a situation as stormy, you mean it involves a lot of angry argument or criticism.\nThe letter was read at a stormy meeting...\n  ADJ


Words: story
Meaning:
sto.ry\n   story  stories\n1. A story is a description of imaginary people and events, which is written or told in order to entertain.\nI shall tell you a story about four little rabbits.\n...a popular love story with a happy ending.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A story is a description of an event or something that happened to someone, especially a spoken description of it.\nThe parents all shared interesting stories about their children...\nIsak’s story is typical of a child who has a specific learning disability.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. The story of something is a description of all the important things that have happened to it since it began.\n...the story of the women’s movement in Ireland.\n  N-COUNT: usu N of n\n\n4. If someone invents a story, they give a false explanation or account of something.\nHe invented some story about a cousin.\n  N-COUNT\n  = tale, yarn\n5. A news story is a piece of news in a newspaper or in a news broadcast.\nThose are some of the top stories in the news...\nThey’ll do anything for a story.\n...front-page news stories.\n  N-COUNT\n\n6.\nsee storey\nsee -storey\n7.\n  see also cock-and-bull story, short story, sob story, success story, tall story\n8. In British English, you use to cut a long story short to indicate that you are going to state the final result of an event and not give any more details. In American English, you say to make a long story short.\nTo cut a long story short, I ended up as managing director.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n9. You use a different story to refer to a situation, usually a bad one, which exists in one set of circumstances when you have mentioned that it does not exist in another set of circumstances.\nWhere Marcella lives, the rents are fairly cheap, but a little further north it’s a different story.\n  PHRASE: usu v-link PHR\n\n10. If you say it’s the same old story or it’s the old story, you mean that something unpleasant or undesirable seems to happen again and again.\nIt’s the same old story. They want one person to do three people’s jobs.\n  PHRASE: v-link PHR\n\n11. If you say that something is only part of the story or is not the whole story, you mean that the explanation or information given is not enough for a situation to be fully understood.\nThis may be true but it is only part of the story...\nJane goes to great lengths to explain that this is not the whole story.\n  PHRASE: usu v-link PHR\n\n12. If someone tells you their side of the story, they tell you why they behaved in a particular way and why they think they were right, when other people think that person behaved wrongly.\nHe had already made up his mind before even hearing her side of the story.\n  PHRASE: side inflects


Words: storyboard
Meaning:
story.board\n   storyboard  storyboards\n  A storyboard is a set of pictures which show what will happen in something such as a film or advertisement that is being planned.\n  N-COUNT


Words: storyline
Meaning:
story.line\n   storyline  storylines\n  The storyline of a book, film, or play is its story and the way in which it develops.\nThe surprise twists in the storyline are the film’s greatest strength.\n  N-COUNT\n  = plot


Words: storyteller
Meaning:
story.teller\n   storyteller  storytellers   also story-teller\n  A storyteller is someone who tells or writes stories.\nHe was the one who first set down the stories of the Celtic storytellers.\n  N-COUNT


Words: storytelling
Meaning:
story.telling\n   storytelling   also story-telling\n  Storytelling is the activity of telling or writing stories.\nThe programme is 90 minutes of dynamic Indian folk dance, live music and storytelling.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: stout
Meaning:
stout  stouter  stoutest\n1. A stout person is rather fat.\nHe was a tall, stout man with gray hair.\n  ADJ\n\n2. Stout shoes, branches, or other objects are thick and strong.\nI hope you’ve both got stout shoes...\n...a stout oak door.\n  ADJ\n  = sturdy\n3. If you use stout to describe someone’s actions, attitudes, or beliefs, you approve of them because they are strong and determined.\nHe produced a stout defence of the car business...\n  ADJ  approval\n  = robust\n=>  stout.ly\nShe stoutly defended her husband during the trial.\n...stoutly anti-imperialist nations.\n  ADV: ADV with v, ADV adj


Words: stove
Meaning:
stove  stoves\n  A stove is a piece of equipment which provides heat, either for cooking or for heating a room.\nShe put the kettle on the gas stove.\n  N-COUNT


Words: stow
Meaning:
stow  stows  stowing  stowed\n  If you stow something somewhere, you carefully put it there until it is needed.\nI helped her stow her bags in the boot of the car...\n  VERB: V n prep/adv, also V n


Words: stowage
Meaning:
stow.age\n   stowage\n  Stowage is the space that is available for stowing things on a ship or aeroplane.\nStowage is provided in lined lockers beneath the berths.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: stowaway
Meaning:
stow.away\n   stowaway  stowaways\n  A stowaway is a person who hides in a ship, aeroplane, or other vehicle in order to make a journey secretly or without paying.\nThe crew discovered the stowaway about two days into their voyage.\n  N-COUNT


Words: straddle
Meaning:
strad.dle\n   straddle  straddles  straddling  straddled\n1. If you straddle something, you put or have one leg on either side of it.\nHe sat down, straddling the chair.\n  VERB: V n\n\n2. If something straddles a river, road, border, or other place, it stretches across it or exists on both sides of it.\nA small wooden bridge straddled the dike.\n...this town that straddles the US-Mexico border.\n  VERB: V n, V n\n\n3. Someone or something that straddles different periods, groups, or fields of activity exists in, belongs to, or takes elements from them all.\nHe straddles two cultures, having been brought up in Britain and later converted to Islam.\n  VERB: V n


Words: strafe
Meaning:
strafe  strafes  strafing  strafed\n  To strafe an enemy means to attack them with a lot of bombs or bullets from a low-flying aircraft.\nIt seemed that the plane was going to swoop down and strafe the town, so we dived for cover.\n  VERB: V n


Words: straggle
Meaning:
strag.gle\n   straggle  straggles  straggling  straggled\n1. If people straggle somewhere, they move there slowly, in small groups with large, irregular gaps between them.\nThey came straggling up the cliff road...\n  VERB: V prep/adv\n\n2. If a small quantity of things straggle over an area, they cover it in an uneven or untidy way.\nHer grey hair straggled in wisps about her face...\nThey were beyond the last straggling suburbs now.\n  VERB: V prep, V-ing


Words: straggler
Meaning:
strag.gler\n   straggler  stragglers\n  The stragglers are the people in a group who are moving more slowly or making less progress than the others.\nThere were two stragglers twenty yards back...\n  N-COUNT: usu pl


Words: straggly
Meaning:
strag.gly\n   straggly\n  Straggly hair or a straggly plant is thin and grows or spreads out untidily in different directions.\nHer long fair hair was knotted and straggly...\n  ADJ


Words: straight
Meaning:
straight  straighter  straightest  straights\n1. A straight line or edge continues in the same direction and does not bend or curve.\nKeep the boat in a straight line...\nUsing the straight edge as a guide, trim the cloth to size...\nThere wasn’t a single straight wall in the building.\n  ADJ\n\n  Straight is also an adverb.\nStand straight and stretch the left hand to the right foot...\n  ADV: ADV after v\n\n2. Straight hair has no curls or waves in it.\nGrace had long straight dark hair which she wore in a bun.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n3. You use straight to indicate that the way from one place to another is very direct, with no changes of direction.\nThe ball fell straight to the feet of Klinsmann...\nHe finished his conversation and stood up, looking straight at me...\nStraight ahead were the low cabins of the motel.\n  ADV: ADV prep/adv\n\n4. If you go straight to a place, you go there immediately.\nAs always, we went straight to the experts for advice...\n  ADV: ADV prep/adv\n\n5. If you give someone a straight answer, you answer them clearly and honestly.\nWhat a shifty arguer he is, refusing ever to give a straight answer.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n  Straight is also an adverb.\nI lost my temper and told him straight that I hadn’t been looking for any job.\n  ADV: ADV after v\n\n6. Straight means following one after the other, with no gaps or intervals.\nThey’d won 12 straight games before they lost.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n  Straight is also an adverb.\nHe called from Weddington, having been there for 31 hours straight.\n  ADV: n ADV\n\n7. A straight choice or a straight fight involves only two people or things.\nIt’s a straight choice between low-paid jobs and no jobs...\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n8. If you describe someone as straight, you mean that they are normal and conventional, for example in their opinions and in the way they live.\nDorothy was described as a very straight woman, a very strict Christian who was married to her job.\n  ADJ\n\n9. If you describe someone as straight, you mean that they are heterosexual rather than homosexual. (INFORMAL)\nHis sexual orientation was a lot more gay than straight...\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ\n  !=gay\n  Straight is also a noun.\n...a standard of sexual conduct that applies equally to gays and straights.\n  N-COUNT\n\n10. A straight drink, especially an alcoholic drink, has not had another liquid such as water added to it.\n...a large straight whiskey without ice...\n  ADJ: ADJ n, v n ADJ\n  = neat\n11. On a racetrack, a straight is a section of the track that is straight, rather than curved.\nI went to overtake him on the back straight on the last lap.\n  N-COUNT\n\n  see also home straight\n12. If you get something straight, you make sure that you understand it properly or that someone else does. (SPOKEN)\nLet’s get things straight. I didn’t lunch with her.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n13. If a criminal is going straight, they are no longer involved in crime.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n14. If something keeps people on the straight and narrow, it helps to keep them living an honest or healthy life.\nAll her efforts to keep him on the straight and narrow have been rewarded.\n  PHRASE: PHR after v\n\n15.\na straight face: see face\nto set the record straight: see record


Words: straight arrow
Meaning:
straight ar.row\n   straight arrow straight arrows\n  A straight arrow is someone who is very traditional, honest, and moral. (mainly AM)\n...a well-scrubbed, straight-arrow group of young people.\n  N-COUNT: oft N n


Words: straight away
Meaning:
straight away   also straightaway\n  If you do something straight away, you do it immediately and without delay.\nI should go and see a doctor straight away...\n  ADV: ADV with v\n  = immediately


Words: straight-faced
Meaning:
straight-faced\n  A straight-faced person appears not to be amused in a funny situation.\n...a straight-faced, humourless character...\n`Whatever gives you that idea?’ she replied straight-faced.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n, ADJ after v


Words: straighten
Meaning:
straight.en\n   straighten  straightens  straightening  straightened\n1. If you straighten something, you make it tidy or put it in its proper position.\nShe sipped her coffee and straightened a picture on the wall.\n...tidying, straightening cushions and organising magazines.\n  VERB: V n, V n\n\n2. If you are standing in a relaxed or slightly bent position and then you straighten, you make your back or body straight and upright.\nThe three men straightened and stood waiting.\n  VERB: V\n\n  Straighten up means the same as straighten.\nHe straightened up and slipped his hands in his pockets.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P\n\n3. If you straighten something, or it straightens, it becomes straight.\nStraighten both legs until they are fully extended...\nThe road straightened and we were on a plateau.\n  VERB: V n, V\n\n  Straighten out means the same as straighten.\nNo one would dream of straightening out the knobbly spire at Empingham Church...\nThe road twisted its way up the mountain then straightened out for the last two hundred yards.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), V P


Words: straighten out
Meaning:
straighten out\n1. If you straighten out a confused situation, you succeed in getting it organized and tidied up.\nHe would make an appointment with him to straighten out a couple of things...\nMy sister had come in with her calm common sense and straightened them out.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), V n P\n  = sort out\n2.\nsee straighten 3


Words: straightforward
Meaning:
straight.forward\n   straightforward\n1. If you describe something as straightforward, you approve of it because it is easy to do or understand.\nDisposable nappies are fairly straightforward to put on...\nThe question seemed straightforward enough.\n  ADJ: oft ADJ to-inf  approval\n\n2. If you describe a person or their behaviour as straightforward, you approve of them because they are honest and direct, and do not try to hide their feelings.\nShe is very blunt, very straightforward and very honest...\n  ADJ  approval


Words: strain
Meaning:
strain  strains  straining  strained\n1. If strain is put on an organization or system, it has to do more than it is able to do.\nThe prison service is already under considerable strain...\nThe vast expansion in secondary education is putting an enormous strain on the system.\n  N-VAR: oft under N, N on n\n  = pressure\n2. To strain something means to make it do more than it is able to do.\nThe volume of scheduled flights is straining the air traffic control system...\n  VERB: V n\n  = stretch\n3. Strain is a state of worry and tension caused by a difficult situation.\nShe was tired and under great strain.\n...the stresses and strains of a busy and demanding career.\n  N-UNCOUNT: also N in pl\n  = stress\n4. If you say that a situation is a strain, you mean that it makes you worried and tense.\nI sometimes find it a strain to be responsible for the mortgage.\n  N-SING: a N\n\n5. Strain is a force that pushes, pulls, or stretches something in a way that may damage it.\nPlace your hands under your buttocks to take some of the strain off your back...\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n6. Strain is an injury to a muscle in your body, caused by using the muscle too much or twisting it.\nAvoid muscle strain by warming up with slow jogging.\n  N-VAR: usu n N\n\n7. If you strain a muscle, you injure it by using it too much or twisting it.\nHe strained his back during a practice session.\n  VERB: V n\n\n8. If you strain to do something, you make a great effort to do it when it is difficult to do.\nI had to strain to hear...\nThey strained their eyes, but saw nothing.\n  VERB: V to-inf, V n\n\n9. When you strain food, you separate the liquid part of it from the solid parts.\nStrain the stock and put it back into the pan.\n  VERB: V n\n\n10. You can use strain to refer to a particular quality in someone’s character, remarks, or work.\nThere was a strain of bitterness in his voice.\n...this cynical strain in the book.\n  N-SING: with supp\n\n11. A strain of a germ, plant, or other organism is a particular type of it.\nEvery year new strains of influenza develop.\n  N-COUNT: usu N of n\n\n12.\n  see also eye strain, repetitive strain injury


Words: strained
Meaning:
strained\n1. If someone’s appearance, voice, or behaviour is strained, they seem worried and nervous.\nGil sensed something wrong from her father’s strained voice...\n  ADJ\n  !=relaxed\n2. If relations between people are strained, those people do not like or trust each other.\n...a period of strained relations between the prime minister and his deputy.\n  ADJ


Words: strainer
Meaning:
strain.er\n   strainer  strainers\n  A strainer is an object with holes which you pour a liquid through in order to separate the liquid from the solids in it.\nPour the broth through a strainer.\n...a tea strainer.\n  N-COUNT


Words: strait
Meaning:
strait  straits\n1. You can refer to a narrow strip of sea which joins two large areas of sea as a strait or the straits.\nAn estimated 1600 vessels pass through the strait annually.\n...the Straits of Gibraltar.\n  N-COUNT; N-IN-NAMES\n\n2. If someone is in dire or desperate straits, they are in a very difficult situation, usually because they do not have much money.\nThe company’s closure has left many small businessmen in desperate financial straits.\n  N-PLURAL: adj N


Words: strait-laced
Meaning:
strait-laced   also straight-laced, straitlaced\n  If you describe someone as strait-laced, you disapprove of them because they have very strict views about what kind of behaviour is moral or acceptable.\nHe was criticised for being boring, strait-laced and narrow-minded...\n  ADJ  disapproval


Words: straitened
Meaning:
strait.ened\n   straitened\n  If someone is living in straitened circumstances, they do not have as much money as they used to, and are finding it very hard to buy or pay for everything that they need. (FORMAL)\nHis father died when he was ten, leaving the family in straitened circumstances...\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: straitjacket
Meaning:
strait.jacket\n   straitjacket  straitjackets\n1. A straitjacket is a special jacket used to tie the arms of a violent person tightly around their body.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If you describe an idea or a situation as a straitjacket, you mean that it is very limited and restricting.\nThe national curriculum must be a guide, not a straitjacket.\n  N-COUNT


Words: strand
Meaning:
strand  strands  stranding  stranded\n1. A strand of something such as hair, wire, or thread is a single thin piece of it.\nShe tried to blow a gray strand of hair from her eyes.\n...high fences, topped by strands of barbed-wire...\n  N-COUNT: usu N of n\n\n2. A strand of a plan or theory is a part of it.\nThere had been two strands to his tactics...\nHe’s trying to bring together various strands of radical philosophic thought.\n  N-COUNT\n  = element\n3. If you are stranded, you are prevented from leaving a place, for example because of bad weather.\nThe climbers had been stranded by a storm...\n  VERB: be V-ed


Words: strange
Meaning:
strange  stranger  strangest\n1. Something that is strange is unusual or unexpected, and makes you feel slightly nervous or afraid.\nThen a strange thing happened...\nThere was something strange about the flickering blue light...\nIt’s strange how things turn out.\n  ADJ: oft it v-link ADJ that/to-inf/how\n  = odd\n=>  strange.ly\nShe noticed he was acting strangely...\nThe hut suddenly seemed strangely silent.\n  ADV: ADV with v, ADV adj\n\n=>  strange.ness\n...the breathy strangeness of the music.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. A strange place is one that you have never been to before. A strange person is someone that you have never met before.\nI ended up alone in a strange city...\nShe was faced with a new job, in unfamiliar surroundings with strange people.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n  = unfamiliar  !=familiar\n3.\n  see also stranger


Words: strangely
Meaning:
strange.ly\n   strangely\n  You use strangely to emphasize that what you are saying is surprising.\nStrangely, the race didn’t start until 8.15pm...\nNo, strangely enough, this is not the case.\n  ADV: ADV with cl  emphasis\n  = surprisingly\n  see also strange


Words: stranger
Meaning:
stran.ger\n   stranger  strangers\n1. A stranger is someone you have never met before.\nTelling a complete stranger about your life is difficult...\nSometimes I feel like I’m living with a stranger.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If two people are strangers, they do not know each other.\nThe women knew nothing of the dead girl. They were strangers.\n  N-PLURAL\n\n3. If you are a stranger in a place, you do not know the place well.\n`You don’t know much about our town, do you?’.`No, I’m a stranger here.’\n  N-COUNT\n  !=local\n4. If you are a stranger to something, you have had no experience of it or do not understand it.\nHe is no stranger to controversy...\nWe were both strangers to diplomatic life.\n  N-COUNT: oft with brd-neg, N to n\n\n5.\n  see also strange


Words: strangle
Meaning:
stran.gle\n   strangle  strangles  strangling  strangled\n1. To strangle someone means to kill them by squeezing their throat tightly so that they cannot breathe.\nHe tried to strangle a border policeman and steal his gun...\n  VERB: V n\n  = throttle\n2. To strangle something means to prevent it from succeeding or developing.\nThe country’s economic plight is strangling its scientific institutions...\n  VERB: V n


Words: strangled
Meaning:
stran.gled\n   strangled\n  A strangled voice or cry sounds unclear because the throat muscles of the person speaking or crying are tight. (LITERARY)\nIn a strangled voice he said, `This place is going to be unthinkable without you.’\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: stranglehold
Meaning:
strangle.hold\n   stranglehold\n  To have a stranglehold on something means to have control over it and prevent it from being free or from developing.\nThese companies are determined to keep a stranglehold on the banana industry...\n  N-SING


Words: strangulation
Meaning:
stran.gu.la.tion\n   strangulation\n  Strangulation is the act of killing someone by squeezing their throat tightly so that they cannot breathe.\nHe is charged with the strangulation of two students.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: strap
Meaning:
strap  straps  strapping  strapped\n1. A strap is a narrow piece of leather, cloth, or other material. Straps are used to carry things, fasten things together, or to hold a piece of clothing in place.\nNancy gripped the strap of her beach bag...\nShe pulled the strap of her nightgown onto her shoulder...\nI undid my watch strap.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If you strap something somewhere, you fasten it there with a strap.\nStrapping the skis on the roof, we boarded the hovercraft in Dover...\nThrough the basement window I saw him strap on his pink cycling helmet...\n  VERB: V n prep, V n with on/in/down


Words: strapless
Meaning:
strap.less\n   strapless\n  A strapless dress or bra does not have the usual narrow bands of material over the shoulders.\n...a black, strapless evening dress.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: strapped
Meaning:
strapped\n  If someone is strapped for money, they do not have enough money to buy or pay for the things they want or need.\nMy husband and I are really strapped for cash.\n  ADJ: oft ADJ for n, adv ADJ\n\n  see also cash-strapped


Words: strapping
Meaning:
strap.ping\n   strapping\n  If you describe someone as strapping, you mean that they are tall and strong, and look healthy.\nHe was a bricklayer.a big, strapping fellow.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n  approval


Words: stratagem
Meaning:
strata.gem\n   stratagem  stratagems\n  A stratagem is a plan that is intended to achieve a particular effect, often by deceiving people. (FORMAL)\nTrade discounts may be used as a competitive stratagem to secure customer loyalty.\n  N-COUNT\n  = ploy


Words: strategic
Meaning:
stra.tegic\n   strategic\n1. Strategic means relating to the most important, general aspects of something such as a military operation or political policy, especially when these are decided in advance.\n...the new strategic thinking which NATO leaders produced at the recent London summit...\nThe island is of strategic importance to France.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n=>  stra.tegi.cal.ly\n...strategically important roads, bridges and buildings.\n  ADV\n\n2. Strategic weapons are very powerful missiles that can be fired only after a decision to use them has been made by a political leader.\n...strategic nuclear weapons.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  !=tactical\n3. If you put something in a strategic position, you place it cleverly in a position where it will be most useful or have the most effect.\n...the marble benches Eve had placed at strategic points throughout the gardens, where the views were spectacular.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n=>  stra.tegi.cal.ly\nWe had kept its presence hidden with a strategically placed chair.\n  ADV: usu ADV -ed


Words: strategist
Meaning:
strat.egist\n   strategist  strategists\n  A strategist is someone who is skilled in planning the best way to gain an advantage or to achieve success, especially in war.\nMilitary strategists had devised a plan that guaranteed a series of stunning victories.\n  N-COUNT


Words: strategy
Meaning:
strat.egy\n   strategy  strategies\n1. A strategy is a general plan or set of plans intended to achieve something, especially over a long period.\nNext week, health ministers gather in Amsterdam to agree a strategy for controlling malaria...\nWhat should our marketing strategy have achieved?...\n  N-VAR\n  = policy\n2. Strategy is the art of planning the best way to gain an advantage or achieve success, especially in war.\nI’ve just been explaining the basic principles of strategy to my generals.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: stratification
Meaning:
strati.fi.ca.tion\n   stratification\n  Stratification is the division of something, especially society, into different classes or layers. (FORMAL)\nShe was concerned about the stratification of American society.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: stratified
Meaning:
strati.fied\n   stratified\n  A stratified society is one that is divided into different classes or social layers. (FORMAL)\n...a highly stratified, unequal and class-divided society.\n  ADJ


Words: stratosphere
Meaning:
strato.sphere\n   stratosphere\n1. The stratosphere is the layer of the earth’s atmosphere which lies between 10 and 50 kilometres above the earth.\n  N-SING: the N\n\n2. If you say that someone or something climbs or is sent into the stratosphere, you mean that they reach a very high level. (JOURNALISM)\nThis was enough to launch their careers into the stratosphere...\n  N-SING: the N


Words: stratospheric
Meaning:
strato.spher.ic\n   stratospheric\n  Stratospheric means found in or related to the stratosphere.\n...stratospheric ozone.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: stratum
Meaning:
stra.tum\n   stratum  strata\n1. A stratum of society is a group of people in it who are similar in their education, income, or social status. (FORMAL)\nIt was an enormous task that affected every stratum of society...\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp\n\n2. Strata are different layers of rock. (TECHNICAL)\nContained within the rock strata is evidence that the region was intensely dry 15,000 years ago.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl


Words: straw
Meaning:
straw  straws\n1. Straw consists of the dried, yellowish stalks from crops such as wheat or barley.\nThe barn was full of bales of straw...\n...a wide-brimmed straw hat.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. A straw is a thin tube of paper or plastic, which you use to suck a drink into your mouth.\n...a bottle of lemonade with a straw in it.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. If you are clutching at straws or grasping at straws, you are trying unusual or extreme ideas or methods because other ideas or methods have failed.\n...a badly thought-out scheme from a Government clutching at straws.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n4. If an event is the last straw or the straw that broke the camel’s back, it is the latest in a series of unpleasant or undesirable events, and makes you feel that you cannot tolerate a situation any longer.\nFor him the Church’s decision to allow the ordination of women had been the last straw...\n  PHRASE: usu v-link PHR\n\n5. If you draw the short straw, you are chosen from a number of people to perform a job or duty that you will not enjoy.\n...if a few of your guests have drawn the short straw and agreed to drive others home after your summer barbecue.\n  PHRASE: usu v PHR


Words: straw poll
Meaning:
straw poll  straw polls\n  A straw poll is the unofficial questioning of a group of people to find out their opinion about something.\nA straw poll conducted at the end of the meeting found most people agreed with Mr Forth...\n  N-COUNT


Words: strawberry
Meaning:
straw.berry\n   strawberry  strawberries\n  A strawberry is a small red fruit which is soft and juicy and has tiny yellow seeds on its skin.\n...strawberries and cream.\n...homemade strawberry jam.\n  N-COUNT


Words: strawberry blonde
Meaning:
straw.berry blonde\n   strawberry blonde  strawberry blondes   also strawberry blond\n1. Strawberry blonde hair is reddish blonde.\n  ADJ\n\n2. A strawberry blonde is a person, especially a woman, who has strawberry blonde hair.\n  N-COUNT


Words: stray
Meaning:
stray  strays  straying  strayed\n1. If someone strays somewhere, they wander away from where they are supposed to be.\nTourists often get lost and stray into dangerous areas...\nA railway line crosses the park so children must not be allowed to stray.\n  VERB: V prep/adv, V\n\n2. A stray dog or cat has wandered away from its owner’s home.\n...a refuge for stray cats.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n  Stray is also a noun.\nThe dog was a stray which had been adopted.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. If your mind or your eyes stray, you do not concentrate on or look at one particular subject, but start thinking about or looking at other things.\nEven with the simplest cases I find my mind straying...\n  VERB: V\n  = wander\n4. You use stray to describe something that exists separated from other similar things.\nAn 8-year-old boy was killed by a stray bullet...\nShe shrugged a stray lock of hair out of her eyes.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: streak
Meaning:
streak  streaks  streaking  streaked\n1. A streak is a long stripe or mark on a surface which contrasts with the surface because it is a different colour.\nThere are these dark streaks on the surface of the moon...\nThe flames begin as a few streaks of red against the pale brown of the walls.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If something streaks a surface, it makes long stripes or marks on the surface.\nRain had begun to streak the window-panes...\nHis face was pale and streaked with dirt.\n  VERB: V n, be V-ed with n\n\n3. If someone has a streak of a particular type of behaviour, they sometimes behave in that way.\nHe’s still got a mean streak.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, with supp\n\n4. If something or someone streaks somewhere, they move there very quickly.\nA meteorite streaked across the sky...\n  VERB: V prep/adv\n  = dart\n5. A winning streak or a lucky streak is a continuous series of successes, for example in gambling or sport. A losing streak or an unlucky streak is a series of failures or losses.\nThe casinos had better watch out since I’m obviously on a lucky streak!\n  N-COUNT: adj N


Words: streaker
Meaning:
streak.er\n   streaker  streakers\n  A streaker is someone who runs quickly through a public place wearing no clothes, as a joke.\n  N-COUNT


Words: streaky
Meaning:
streaky  streakier  streakiest\n  Something that is streaky is marked with long stripes that are a different colour to the rest of it.\nShe has streaky fair hair and blue eyes.\n...the empty house with its streaky windows.\n  ADJ


Words: streaky bacon
Meaning:
streaky ba.con\n   streaky bacon\n  Streaky bacon is bacon which has stripes of fat between stripes of meat. (BRIT)\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: stream
Meaning:
stream  streams  streaming  streamed\n1. A stream is a small narrow river.\nThere was a small stream at the end of the garden.\n...a mountain stream.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A stream of smoke, air, or liquid is a narrow moving mass of it.\nHe breathed out a stream of cigarette smoke...\nAdd the oil in a slow, steady stream.\n  N-COUNT: with supp, usu N of n\n\n3. A stream of vehicles or people is a long moving line of them.\nThere was a stream of traffic behind him.\n  N-COUNT: with supp, usu N of n\n\n4. A stream of things is a large number of them occurring one after another.\nWe had a constant stream of visitors.\n  N-COUNT: with supp, usu N of n\n\n5. If a liquid streams somewhere, it flows or comes out in large amounts.\nTears streamed down their faces...\nShe came in, rain streaming from her clothes and hair.\n  VERB: V prep/adv, V prep/adv\n\n6. If your eyes are streaming, liquid is coming from them, for example because you have a cold. You can also say that your nose is streaming.\nHer eyes were streaming now from the wind...\nA cold usually starts with a streaming nose and dry throat.\n  VERB: usu cont, V, V-ing\n\n7. If people or vehicles stream somewhere, they move there quickly and in large numbers.\nRefugees have been streaming into Travnik for months...\n  VERB: V prep/adv\n\n8. When light streams into or out of a place, it shines strongly into or out of it.\nSunlight was streaming into the courtyard.\n  VERB: V prep/adv\n\n9. If something such as a new factory or a new system comes on stream or is brought on stream, it begins to operate or becomes available.\nAs new mines come on stream, Chile’s share of world copper output will increase sharply...\n  PHRASE: usu V PHRASE\n\n10.\n  see also jet stream


Words: stream of consciousness
Meaning:
stream of con.scious.ness\n   stream of consciousness  streams of consciousness   also stream-of-consciousness\n  If you describe what someone writes or says as a stream of consciousness, you mean that it expresses their thoughts as they occur, rather than in a structured way. (FORMAL)\nThe novel is an intensely lyrical stream-of-consciousness about an Indian woman who leaves her family home to be married...\n  N-VAR: oft N n


Words: streamer
Meaning:
stream.er\n   streamer  streamers\n  Streamers are long rolls of coloured paper used for decorating rooms at parties.\n  N-COUNT


Words: streaming
Meaning:
stream.ing\n   streaming\n  Streaming is a method of transmitting data from the Internet directly to a user’s computer screen without the need to download it. (COMPUTING)\n...web sites that feature streaming media.\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu N n\n\n  see also stream


Words: streamline
Meaning:
stream.line\n   streamline  streamlines  streamlining  streamlined\n  To streamline an organization or process means to make it more efficient by removing unnecessary parts of it.\nThey’re making efforts to streamline their normally cumbersome bureaucracy...\n  VERB: V n


Words: streamlined
Meaning:
stream.lined\n   streamlined\n  A streamlined vehicle, animal, or object has a shape that allows it to move quickly or efficiently through air or water.\n...these beautifully streamlined and efficient cars.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: street
Meaning:
street  streets\n1. A street is a road in a city, town, or village, usually with houses along it.\nHe lived at 66 Bingfield Street...\nBoppard is a small, quaint town with narrow streets.\n  N-COUNT; N-IN-NAMES\n\n2. You can use street or streets when talking about activities that happen out of doors in a town rather than inside a building.\nChanging money on the street is illegal-always use a bank...\nTheir aim is to raise a million pounds to get the homeless off the streets.\n...a New York street gang.\n  N-COUNT: the N, usu on/off N\n\n3.\n  see also back street, civvy street, Downing Street, Fleet Street, high street, Wall Street\n4. If someone is streets ahead of you, they are much better at something than you are.\nHe was streets ahead of the other contestants.\n  PHRASE: usu v-link PHR, oft PHR of n\n\n5. If you talk about the man in the street or the man or woman in the street, you mean ordinary people in general.\nThe average man or woman in the street doesn’t know very much about immune disorders.\n  PHRASE\n\n6. If a job or activity is up your street, it is the kind of job or activity that you are very interested in. (BRIT; in AM, use up your alley)\nShe loved it, this was just up her street.\n  PHRASE: usu v-link PHR


Words: street child
Meaning:
street child  street children\n  Street children are homeless children who live outdoors in a city and live by begging or stealing.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl


Words: street cred
Meaning:
street cred   also street-cred\n  If someone says that you have street cred, they mean that ordinary young people would approve of you and consider you to be part of their culture, usually because you share their sense of fashion or their views. (BRIT INFORMAL)\nHaving children was the quickest way to lose your street cred.\n  N-UNCOUNT  approval\n  = cred


Words: street credibility
Meaning:
street cred.ibil.ity\n   street credibility\n  Street credibility is the same as street cred. (mainly BRIT)\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: street crime
Meaning:
Street crime refers to crime such as vandalism, car theft and mugging that are usually committed outdoors.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: street map
Meaning:
street map  street maps\n  A street map is a map of a town or city, showing the positions and names of all the streets.\n  N-COUNT


Words: street people
Meaning:
street peo.ple\n   street people\n  Street people are homeless people who live outdoors in a town or city.\n  N-PLURAL


Words: street smart
Meaning:
street smart   also street-smart\n  Someone who is street smart knows how to deal with difficult or dangerous situations, especially in big cities. (mainly AM INFORMAL)\nHe is street smart and is not afraid of this neighborhood.\n  ADJ\n  = streetwise


Words: street smarts
Meaning:
street smarts\n  You can use street smarts to refer to the skills and intelligence people need to be successful in difficult situations, especially in a city. (AM INFORMAL)\nThe boys learned their street smarts early.\n  N-PLURAL


Words: street value
Meaning:
street value\n  The street value of a drug is the price that is paid for it when it is sold illegally to drug users. (JOURNALISM)\n...cocaine with a street value of two million pounds.\n  N-SING: usu N of amount


Words: streetcar
Meaning:
street.car\n   streetcar  streetcars\n  A streetcar is an electric vehicle for carrying people which travels on rails in the streets of a town. (AM; in BRIT, use tram)\n  N-COUNT


Words: streetlamp
Meaning:
street.lamp\n   streetlamp  streetlamps   also street-lamp\n  A streetlamp is the same as a streetlight.\nHe paused under a streetlamp and looked across at the cafe.\n  N-COUNT\n  = streetlight


Words: streetlight
Meaning:
street.light\n   streetlight  streetlights   also street light\n  A streetlight is a tall post with a light at the top, which stands by the side of a road to light it up, usually in a town.\nAs the day darkened the streetlights came on.\n  N-COUNT\n  = streetlamp


Words: streetwalker
Meaning:
street.walker\n   streetwalker  streetwalkers\n  A streetwalker is a prostitute who stands or walks in the streets in order to get customers. (OLD-FASHIONED)\n  N-COUNT


Words: streetwise
Meaning:
street.wise\n   streetwise\n  Someone who is streetwise knows how to deal with difficult or dangerous situations in big cities. (INFORMAL)\nSalt and Peppa are two streetwise and sassy girls from Queens.\n  ADJ


Words: strength
Meaning:
strength  strengths\n1. Your strength is the physical energy that you have, which gives you the ability to perform various actions, such as lifting or moving things.\nShe has always been encouraged to swim to build up the strength of her muscles...\nHe threw it forward with all his strength...\nHe leant against the wall, fighting for strength to continue.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. Someone’s strength in a difficult situation is their confidence or courage.\nSomething gave me the strength to overcome the difficulty...\nHis strength is an inspiration to me in my life...\nYou need strength of mind to stand up for yourself.\n  N-UNCOUNT: also a N\n  !=weakness\n3. The strength of an object or material is its ability to be treated roughly, or to carry heavy weights, without being damaged or destroyed.\nHe checked the strength of the cables.\n...the properties of a material, such as strength or electrical conductivity.\n  N-UNCOUNT: also N in pl\n\n4. The strength of a person, organization, or country is the power or influence that they have.\nAmerica values its economic leadership, and the political and military strength that goes with it...\nThe Alliance in its first show of strength drew a hundred thousand-strong crowd to a rally...\nThey have their own independence movement which is gathering strength.\n  N-UNCOUNT: also N in pl\n\n5. If you refer to the strength of a feeling, opinion, or belief, you are talking about how deeply it is felt or believed by people, or how much they are influenced by it.\nHe was surprised at the strength of his own feeling...\nWhat makes a mayor successful in Los Angeles is the strength of his public support.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n  = intensity, depth\n6. Someone’s strengths are the qualities and abilities that they have which are an advantage to them, or which make them successful.\nTake into account your own strengths and weaknesses...\nTact was never Mr Moore’s strength...\nOrganisation is the strength of any good army...\n  N-VAR\n  !=weakness\n7. If you refer to the strength of a currency, economy, or industry, you mean that its value or success is steady or increasing.\n...the long-term competitive strength of the American economy...\nThe drop was caused partly by the pound’s strength against the dollar.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n  !=weakness\n8. The strength of a group of people is the total number of people in it.\n...elite forces, comprising about one-tenth of the strength of the army.\n  N-UNCOUNT: also N in pl\n\n9. The strength of a wind, current, or other force is its power or speed.\nA tropical storm is gaining strength in the eastern Atlantic.\n  N-UNCOUNT: also N in pl\n\n10. The strength of a drink, chemical, or drug is the amount of the particular substance in it that gives it its particular effect.\nEach capsule contains between 30 and 100 pellets of morphine sulphate according to the strength of dose required...\n  N-UNCOUNT: also N in pl\n\n11. You can talk about the strength of a flavour, smell, colour, sound, or light to describe how intense or easily noticed it is.\nThe wine has lots of strength of flavour.\n  N-UNCOUNT: also N in pl\n\n12. If a person or organization goes from strength to strength, they become more and more successful or confident.\nA decade later, the company has gone from strength to strength.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n13. If a team or army is at full strength, all the members that it needs or usually has are present.\nHe needed more time to bring US forces there up to full strength.\n...a full-strength team.\n  PHRASE: PHR after v, v-link PHR, PHR n\n\n14. If a group turns out in strength, they arrive in large numbers.\nMr Gore called on voters and party workers to turn out in strength...\nSecurity forces have been out in strength.\n  PHRASE: PHR after v\n\n15. If one thing is done on the strength of another, it is done because of the influence of that other thing.\nHe was elected to power on the strength of his charisma...\n  PHRASE: PHR after v\n\n(next)


Words: strength .1
Meaning:
16. If an army or team is under strength or below strength, it does not have all the members that it needs or usually has.\nHis regiments were considerably under strength...\nThey had been beaten by a below-strength side.\n  PHRASE: PHR after v, v-link PHR, PHR n


Words: strengthen
Meaning:
strength.en\n   strengthen  strengthens  strengthening  strengthened\n1. If something strengthens a person or group or if they strengthen their position, they become more powerful and secure, or more likely to succeed.\n...the new constitution, which strengthens the government and enables it to balance and check the powers of parliament and president...\nHe hoped to strengthen the position of the sciences in the leading universities.\n  VERB: V n, V n\n\n2. If something strengthens a case or argument, it supports it by providing more reasons or evidence for it.\nHe does not seem to be familiar with research which might have strengthened his own arguments.\n  VERB: V n\n  = reinforce\n3. If a currency, economy, or industry strengthens, or if something strengthens it, it increases in value or becomes more successful.\nThe dollar strengthened against most other currencies...\nIf the Government wants to save the Pound it should start by strengthening the British economy.\n  VERB: V, V n\n  !=weaken\n4. If a government strengthens laws or measures or if they strengthen, they are made more severe.\nI am also looking urgently at how we can strengthen the law...\nCommunity leaders want to strengthen controls at external frontiers...\nBecause of the war, security procedures have strengthened.\n  VERB: V n, V n, V\n\n5. If something strengthens you or strengthens your resolve or character, it makes you more confident and determined.\nAny experience can teach and strengthen you, but particularly the more difficult ones...\nThis merely strengthens our resolve to win the league...\n  VERB: V n, V n\n  !=weaken\n6. If something strengthens a relationship or link, or if a relationship or link strengthens, it makes it closer and more likely to last for a long time.\nHis visit is intended to strengthen ties between the two countries...\nIn a strange way, his affair caused our relationship to strengthen.\n  VERB: V n, V\n\n7. If something strengthens an impression, feeling, or belief, or if it strengthens, it becomes greater or affects more people.\nHis speech strengthens the impression he is the main power in the organization...\nEvery day of sunshine strengthens the feelings of optimism...\nAmy’s own Republican sympathies strengthened as the days passed.\n  VERB: V n, V n, V\n  = deepen\n8. If something strengthens your body or a part of your body, it makes it healthier, often in such a way that you can move or carry heavier things.\nCycling is good exercise. It strengthens all the muscles of the body...\n  VERB: V n\n\n9. If something strengthens an object or structure, it makes it able to be treated roughly or able to support heavy weights, without being damaged or destroyed.\nThe builders will have to strengthen the existing joists with additional timber.\n  VERB: V n\n  = reinforce


Words: strenuous
Meaning:
strenu.ous\n   strenuous\n  A strenuous activity or action involves a lot of energy or effort.\nAvoid strenuous exercise in the evening...\nStrenuous efforts had been made to improve conditions in the jail...\n  ADJ


Words: stress
Meaning:
stress  stresses  stressing  stressed\n1. If you stress a point in a discussion, you put extra emphasis on it because you think it is important.\nThe spokesman stressed that the measures did not amount to an overall ban...\nThey also stress the need for improved employment opportunities, better transport and health care...\n`We’re not saying we’re outside and above all this,’ he stresses.\n  VERB: V that, V n, V with quote\n  = emphasize\n  Stress is also a noun.\nJapanese car makers are laying ever more stress on European sales.\n  N-VAR: N on n\n  = emphasis\n2. If you feel under stress, you feel worried and tense because of difficulties in your life.\nKaty could think clearly when not under stress...\n...a wide range of stress-related problems.\n  N-VAR: oft under N\n\n3. Stresses are strong physical pressures applied to an object.\nEarthquakes happen when stresses in rock are suddenly released as the rocks fracture.\n  N-VAR\n\n4. If you stress a word or part of a word when you say it, you put emphasis on it so that it sounds slightly louder.\n`Sit down,’ she replied, stressing each word.\n  VERB: V n\n\n  Stress is also a noun.\n...the misplaced stress on the first syllable of this last word.\n  N-VAR


Words: stressed
Meaning:
stressed\n1. If you are stressed, you feel tense and anxious because of difficulties in your life.\nWork out what situations or people make you feel stressed and avoid them.\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ\n  !=relaxed\n2. If a word or part of a word is stressed, it is pronounced with emphasis.\n  ADJ\n  !=unstressed


Words: stressed out
Meaning:
stressed out\n  If someone is stressed out, they are very tense and anxious because of difficulties in their lives. (INFORMAL)\n  ADJ


Words: stressful
Meaning:
stress.ful\n   stressful\n  If a situation or experience is stressful, it causes the person involved to feel stress.\nI think I’ve got one of the most stressful jobs there is.\n  ADJ


Words: stretch
Meaning:
stretch  stretches  stretching  stretched\n1. Something that stretches over an area or distance covers or exists in the whole of that area or distance.\nThe procession stretched for several miles...\n...an artificial reef stretching the length of the coast.\n  VERB: no cont, V prep/adv, V n\n  = extend\n2. A stretch of road, water, or land is a length or area of it.\nIt’s a very dangerous stretch of road...\n  N-COUNT: usu N of n\n\n3. When you stretch, you put your arms or legs out straight and tighten your muscles.\nHe yawned and stretched...\nTry stretching your legs and pulling your toes upwards...\nShe arched her back and stretched herself.\n  VERB: V, V n, V n\n\n  Stretch is also a noun.\nAt the end of a workout spend time cooling down with some slow stretches.\n  N-COUNT\n\n=>  stretch.ing\nMake sure no awkward stretching is required.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n4. A stretch of time is a period of time.\n...after an 18-month stretch in the army...\nHe would study for eight to ten hours at a stretch.\n  N-COUNT: oft N of n\n\n5. If something stretches from one time to another, it begins at the first time and ends at the second, which is longer than expected.\n...a working day that stretches from seven in the morning to eight at night.\n  VERB: V from n to n\n\n6. If a group of things stretch from one type of thing to another, the group includes a wide range of things.\n...a trading empire, with interests that stretched from chemicals to sugar.\n  VERB: V from n to n\n  = range\n7. When something soft or elastic stretches or is stretched, it becomes longer or bigger as well as thinner, usually because it is pulled.\nThe cables are designed not to stretch...\nEase the pastry into the corners of the tin, making sure you don’t stretch it.\n  VERB: V, V n\n\n8. Stretch fabric is soft and elastic and stretches easily.\n...stretch fabrics such as Lycra.\n...stretch cotton swimsuits.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n9. If you stretch an amount of something or if it stretches, you make it last longer than it usually would by being careful and not wasting any of it.\nThey’re used to stretching their budgets...\nDuring his senior year his earnings stretched far enough to buy an old car.\n  VERB: V n, V\n\n10. If your resources can stretch to something, you can just afford to do it.\nShe suggested to me that I might like to start regular savings and I said Well, I don’t know whether I can stretch to that.\n  VERB: no cont, V to n\n\n11. If something stretches your money or resources, it uses them up so you have hardly enough for your needs.\nThe drought there is stretching American resources...\nPublic expenditure was being stretched to the limit by having to support 3 million unemployed people.\n  VERB: V n, be V-ed prep/adv\n\n12. If you say that a job or task stretches you, you mean that you like it because it makes you work hard and use all your energy and skills so that you do not become bored or achieve less than you should.\nI’m trying to move on and stretch myself with something different...\nThey criticised the quality of teaching, claiming pupils were not stretched enough.\n  VERB: V pron-refl, V n  approval\n  = push\n13. If you are at full stretch, you are using the maximum amount of effort or energy.\nEveryone would be working at full stretch.\n  PHRASE: PHR after v\n\n14. If you say that something is not true or possible by any stretch of the imagination, you are emphasizing that it is completely untrue or absolutely impossible.\nHer husband was not a womaniser by any stretch of the imagination...\n  PHRASE  emphasis\n\n15. If you stretch your legs, you go for a short walk, usually after you have been sitting down for a long time.\nI stopped at the square and got out to stretch my legs.\n  PHRASE: V inflects


Words: stretch limo
Meaning:
stretch limo  stretch limos\n  A stretch limo is a very long and luxurious car in which a rich, famous, or important person is driven somewhere.\n  N-COUNT


Words: stretch marks
Meaning:
stretch marks\n  Stretch marks are lines or marks on someone’s skin caused by the skin stretching after the person’s weight has changed rapidly. Women who have had children often have stretch marks.\n  N-PLURAL


Words: stretch out
Meaning:
stretch out\n1. If you stretch out or stretch yourself out, you lie with your legs and body in a straight line.\nThe jacuzzi was too small to stretch out in...\nMoira stretched herself out on the lower bench.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P adv/prep, V pron-refl P prep/adv, also V P\n\n2. If you stretch out a part of your body, you hold it out straight.\nHe was about to stretch out his hand to grab me.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), also V n P


Words: stretcher
Meaning:
stretch.er\n   stretcher  stretchers  stretchered\n1. A stretcher is a long piece of canvas with a pole along each side, which is used to carry an injured or sick person.\nThe two ambulance attendants quickly put Plover on a stretcher and got him into the ambulance.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If someone is stretchered somewhere, they are carried there on a stretcher.\nI was close by as Lester was stretchered into the ambulance...\n  V-PASSIVE: be V-ed prep/adv


Words: stretchy
Meaning:
stretchy  stretchier  stretchiest\n  Stretchy material is slightly elastic and stretches easily.\n  ADJ


Words: strew
Meaning:
strew  strews  strewing  strewed  strewn\n  To strew things somewhere, or to strew a place with things, means to scatter them there.\nThe racoons knock over the rubbish bins in search of food, and strew the contents all over the ground...\nAn elderly woman was strewing the floor with French chalk so that the dancing shoes would not slip...\nBy the end, bodies were strewn all round the headquarters building.\n  VERB: V n prep/adv, V n with n, V-ed


Words: strewn
Meaning:
strewn\n1. If a place is strewn with things, they are lying scattered there.\nThe front room was strewn with books and clothes...\nThe riverbed was strewn with big boulders.\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ with n\n\n  Strewn is also a combining form.\n...a litter-strewn street.\n...a rock-strewn hillside.\n  COMB in ADJ\n\n2. Strewn is the past participle of strew.


Words: stricken
Meaning:
strick.en\n   stricken\n1. Stricken is the past participle of some meanings of strike.\n\n2. If a person or place is stricken by something such as an unpleasant feeling, an illness, or a natural disaster, they are severely affected by it.\n...a family stricken by genetically inherited cancer...\nForeign aid workers will not be allowed into the stricken areas.\n  ADJ: oft ADJ by/with n\n\n  Stricken is also a combining form.\nHe was panic-stricken at the thought he might never play again.\n...drought-stricken areas.\n  COMB in ADJ


Words: strict
Meaning:
strict  stricter  strictest\n1. A strict rule or order is very clear and precise or severe and must always be obeyed completely.\nThe officials had issued strict instructions that we were not to get out of the jeep...\nFrench privacy laws are very strict...\nAll your replies will be treated in the strictest confidence...\n  ADJ\n\n=>  strict.ly\nThe acceptance of new members is strictly controlled.\n  ADV: ADV with v\n\n2. If a parent or other person in authority is strict, they regard many actions as unacceptable and do not allow them.\nMy parents were very strict.\n...a few schools selected for their high standards and their strict discipline.\n  ADJ\n\n=>  strict.ly\nMy own mother was brought up very strictly and correctly.\n  ADV\n\n3. If you talk about the strict meaning of something, you mean the precise meaning of it.\nIt’s not quite peace in the strictest sense of the word, rather the absence of war.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n=>  strict.ly\nActually, that is not strictly true...\nStrictly speaking, it is not one house at all, but three houses joined together.\n  ADV: ADV adj\n\n  see also strict\n4. You use strict to describe someone who never does things that are against their beliefs.\nFour million Britons are now strict vegetarians...\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: strictly
Meaning:
strict.ly\n   strictly\n  You use strictly to emphasize that something is of one particular type, or intended for one particular thing or person, rather than any other.\nThis session was strictly for the boys.\n  ADV: ADV group  emphasis\n  = purely


Words: stricture
Meaning:
stric.ture\n   stricture  strictures\n1. You can use strictures to refer to severe criticism or disapproval of something. (FORMAL)\n...Mencken’s strictures on the 1920s, with its self-righteous prohibition on alcohol and unconventional ideas...\n  N-COUNT: usu pl, oft N on/against n\n\n2. You can refer to things that limit what you can do as strictures of a particular kind. (mainly FORMAL)\nYour goals are hindered by financial strictures.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl, usu with supp\n  = restriction


Words: stride
Meaning:
stride  strides  striding  strode\n1. If you stride somewhere, you walk there with quick, long steps.\nThey were joined by a newcomer who came striding across a field...\nHe turned abruptly and strode off down the corridor.\n  VERB: V prep/adv, V prep/adv\n\n2. A stride is a long step which you take when you are walking or running.\nWith every stride, runners hit the ground with up to five times their body-weight...\nHe walked with long strides.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. Someone’s stride is their way of walking with long steps.\nHe lengthened his stride to keep up with her.\n  N-SING: usu poss N\n\n4. If you make strides in something that you are doing, you make rapid progress in it.\nThe country has made enormous strides politically but not economically.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl, usu adj N\n\n5. If you get into your stride or hit your stride, you start to do something easily and confidently, after being slow and uncertain.\nThe campaign is just getting into its stride...\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n6. In British English, if you take a problem or difficulty in your stride, you deal with it calmly and easily. The American expression is take something in stride.\nBeth was struck by how Naomi took the mistake in her stride.\n  PHRASE: V inflects


Words: stridency
Meaning:
stri.den.cy\n   stridency\n  Stridency is the quality of being strident.\nMany voters were alarmed by the President’s new stridency.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: strident
Meaning:
stri.dent\n   strident\n1. If you use strident to describe someone or the way they express themselves, you mean that they make their feelings or opinions known in a very strong way that perhaps makes people uncomfortable.\n...the unnecessarily strident tone of the President’s remarks...\n  ADJ  disapproval\n\n2. If a voice or sound is strident, it is loud, harsh, and unpleasant to listen to.\nShe tried to laugh, and the sound was harsh and strident...\n  ADJ


Words: strife
Meaning:
strife\n  Strife is strong disagreement or fighting. (FORMAL)\nMoney is a major cause of strife in many marriages...\n  N-UNCOUNT\n  = conflict


Words: strike
Meaning:
strike  strikes  striking  struck  stricken\n\n  The form struck is the past tense and past participle. The form stricken can also be used as the past participle for meanings 6 and 17.\n\n1. When there is a strike, workers stop doing their work for a period of time, usually in order to try to get better pay or conditions for themselves. (BUSINESS)\nFrench air traffic controllers have begun a three-day strike in a dispute over pay...\nStaff at the hospital went on strike in protest at the incidents.\n...a call for strike action.\n  N-COUNT: also on N\n\n2. When workers strike, they go on strike. (BUSINESS)\n...their recognition of the workers’ right to strike...\nThey shouldn’t be striking for more money...\nThe government agreed not to sack any of the striking workers.\n  VERB: V, V for n, V-ing\n\n=>  strik.er      strikers\nThe strikers want higher wages, which state governments say they can’t afford.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. If you strike someone or something, you deliberately hit them. (FORMAL)\nShe took two quick steps forward and struck him across the mouth...\nIt is impossible to say who struck the fatal blow.\n  VERB: V n prep/adv, V n\n\n4. If something that is falling or moving strikes something, it hits it. (FORMAL)\nHis head struck the bottom when he dived into the 6ft end of the pool...\nOne 16-inch shell struck the control tower...\n  VERB: V n, V n\n  = hit\n5. If you strike one thing against another, or if one thing strikes against another, the first thing hits the second thing. (FORMAL)\nWilde fell and struck his head on the stone floor...\nMy right toe struck against a submerged rock.\n  VERB: V n on/against n, V against n\n  = bang\n6. If something such as an illness or disaster strikes, it suddenly happens.\nBank of England officials continued to insist that the pound would soon return to stability but disaster struck...\nA powerful earthquake struck the Italian island of Sicily early this morning...\n  VERB: V, V n\n\n7. To strike means to attack someone or something quickly and violently.\nThe attacker struck as she was walking near a housing estate at Monacurra...\n  VERB: V\n\n8. A military strike is a military attack, especially an air attack.\n...a punitive air strike.\n...a nuclear strike.\n  N-COUNT: with supp, oft N against n\n\n9. If something strikes at the heart or root of something, it attacks or conflicts with the basic elements or principles of that thing. (LITERARY)\n...a rejection of her core beliefs and values, which strikes at the very heart of her being...\n  VERB: V at n\n\n10. If an idea or thought strikes you, it suddenly comes into your mind.\nA thought struck her. Was she jealous of her mother, then?...\nAt this point, it suddenly struck me that I was wasting my time.\n  VERB: no cont, V n, it V n that/how\n\n11. If something strikes you as being a particular thing, it gives you the impression of being that thing.\nHe struck me as a very serious but friendly person...\nYou’ve always struck me as being an angry man.\n  VERB: V n as n/adj, V n as -ing\n\n12. If you are struck by something, you think it is very impressive, noticeable, or interesting.\nShe was struck by his simple, spellbinding eloquence...\nWhat struck me about the firm is how genuinely friendly and informal it is.\n  VERB: be V-ed by/with n, V n\n\n13. If you strike a deal or a bargain with someone, you come to an agreement with them.\nThey struck a deal with their paper supplier, getting two years of newsprint on credit...\nThe two struck a deal in which Rendell took half of what a manager would...\nHe insists he has struck no bargains for their release.\n  V-RECIP: V n with n, pl-n V n, V n (non-recip)\n\n14. If you strike a balance, you do something that is halfway between two extremes.\nAt times like that you have to strike a balance between sleep and homework.\n  VERB: V n\n\n15. If you strike a pose or attitude, you put yourself in a particular position, for example when someone is taking your photograph.\n(next)


Words: strike .1
Meaning:
She struck a pose, one hand on her hip and the other waving an imaginary cigarette.\n  VERB: V n\n  = adopt\n16. If something strikes fear into people, it makes them very frightened or anxious. (LITERARY)\nIf there is a single subject guaranteed to strike fear in the hearts of parents, it is drugs.\n  VERB: V n into n\n\n17. If you are struck dumb or blind, you suddenly become unable to speak or to see. (WRITTEN)\nI was struck dumb by this and had to think it over for a moment...\n  VERB: usu passive, be V-ed adj\n\n18. When a clock strikes, its bells make a sound to indicate what the time is.\nThe clock struck nine...\nFinally, the clock strikes.\n  VERB: V n, V\n\n19. If you strike words from a document or an official record, you remove them. (FORMAL)\nStrike that from the minutes...\n  VERB: V n from n, also V n\n\n  Strike out means the same as strike.\nThe censor struck out the next two lines.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), also V n P\n\n20. When you strike a match, you make it produce a flame by moving it quickly against something rough.\nRobina struck a match and held it to the crumpled newspaper in the grate.\n  VERB: V n\n\n21. If someone strikes oil or gold, they discover it in the ground as a result of mining or drilling.\nHamilton Oil announced that it had struck oil in the Liverpool Bay area of the Irish Sea.\n  VERB: V n\n\n22. When a coin or medal is struck, it is made.\nAnother medal was specially struck for him.\n  VERB: usu passive, be V-ed\n\n23.\n  see also stricken, striking, hunger strike\n24. If you strike gold, you find, do, or produce something that brings you a lot of money or success. (JOURNALISM)\nThe company has struck gold with its new holiday development, Center Parcs.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n25. If you strike it rich, you make a lot of money, especially in a short time. (INFORMAL)\nHe hoped to strike it rich by investing in ginseng.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n26.\nto strike a chord: see chord\nto strike home: see home\nto strike it lucky: see lucky\nto strike a happy medium: see medium


Words: strike back
Meaning:
strike back\n  If you strike back, you harm or criticize someone who has harmed or criticized you.\nOur instinctive reaction when someone causes us pain is to strike back...\nSometimes, Kappy got angry and struck back at him in whatever way she could...\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P, V P at n


Words: strike down
Meaning:
strike down\n  If someone is struck down, especially by an illness, they are killed or severely harmed by it. (WRITTEN)\nFrank had been struck down by a massive heart attack.\n  PHRASAL VERB: usu passive, be V-ed P


Words: strike off
Meaning:
strike off\n  If someone such as a doctor or lawyer is struck off, their name is removed from the official register and they are not allowed to do medical or legal work any more. (BRIT)\n...a company lawyer who had been struck off for dishonest practices...\nHe could be struck off the medical register.\n  PHRASAL VERB: usu passive, be V-ed P, be V-ed P n


Words: strike out
Meaning:
strike out\n1. If you strike out, you begin to do something different, often because you want to become more independent.\nShe wanted me to strike out on my own, buy a business.\n...a desire to make changes and to strike out in new directions.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P, V P\n\n2. If you strike out at someone, you hit, attack, or speak angrily to them.\nHe seemed always ready to strike out at anyone and for any cause...\nFrampton struck out blindly, hitting not Waddington, but an elderly man.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P at n, V P\n\n3. If someone strikes out, they fail. (AM INFORMAL)\nThe lawyer admitted that he was the firm’s second lawyer. The first one had struck out completely.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P\n\n4.\n  see also strike 19


Words: strike up
Meaning:
strike up\n1. When you strike up a conversation or friendship with someone, you begin one. (WRITTEN)\nI trailed her into Penney’s and struck up a conversation...\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron)\n\n2. When musicians strike up a piece of music, or when music strikes up, the music begins.\nAnd then the orchestra struck up the National Anthem...\nThe band struck up, and riders paraded round the ring.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), V P


Words: strike-breaker
Meaning:
strike-breaker  strike-breakers   also strikebreaker\n  A strike-breaker is a person who continues to work during a strike, or someone who takes over the work of a person who is on strike.\n  N-COUNT


Words: striker
Meaning:
strik.er\n   striker  strikers\n1. In football and some other team sports, a striker is a player who mainly attacks and scores goals, rather than defends.\n...and the England striker scored his sixth goal of the season.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2.\n  see also strike


Words: striking
Meaning:
strik.ing\n   striking\n1. Something that is striking is very noticeable or unusual.\nThe most striking feature of those statistics is the high proportion of suicides...\nHe bears a striking resemblance to Lenin.\n  ADJ\n\n=>  strik.ing.ly\nIn one respect, however, the men really were strikingly similar.\n...a strikingly handsome man...\n  ADV: usu ADV adj\n\n2. Someone who is striking is very attractive, in a noticeable way.\nShe was a striking woman with long blonde hair.\n  ADJ\n\n3.\n  see also strike


Words: Strimmer
Meaning:
Strim.mer\n   Strimmer  Strimmers\n  A Strimmer is an electric tool used for cutting long grass or grass at the edge of a lawn. It cuts the grass with a piece of plastic cord which goes round very fast. (TRADEMARK)\n  N-COUNT


Words: string
Meaning:
string  strings  stringing  strung\n1. String is thin rope made of twisted threads, used for tying things together or tying up parcels.\nHe held out a small bag tied with string.\n...a shiny metallic coin on a string.\n  N-VAR\n\n2. A string of things is a number of them on a piece of string, thread, or wire.\nShe wore a string of pearls around her neck.\n...a string of fairy lights.\n  N-COUNT: usu N of n\n\n3. A string of places or objects is a number of them that form a line.\nThe landscape is broken only by a string of villages...\nA string of five rowing boats set out from the opposite bank.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, usu N of n\n\n4. A string of similar events is a series of them that happen one after the other.\nThe incident was the latest in a string of attacks...\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, usu N of n\n\n5. The strings on a musical instrument such as a violin or guitar are the thin pieces of wire or nylon stretched across it that make sounds when the instrument is played.\nHe went off to change a guitar string.\n...a twenty-one-string harp.\n  N-COUNT\n\n6. The strings are the section of an orchestra which consists of stringed instruments played with a bow.\nThe strings provided a melodic background to the passages played by the soloist...\nThere was a 20-member string section.\n  N-PLURAL: oft N n\n\n7. In computing, a string is a particular series of letters, numbers, symbols, or spaces, for example a word or phrase that you want to search for in a document.\n  N-COUNT\n\n8. If you string something somewhere, you hang it up between two or more objects.\nHe had strung a banner across the wall.\n  VERB: V n prep/adv\n\n  String up means the same as string.\nPeople were stringing up decorations on the fronts of their homes.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), also V n P\n\n9.\n  see also highly strung, purse strings, second string, strung out\n10. If something is offered to you with no strings attached or with no strings, it is offered without any special conditions.\nAid should be given to developing countries with no strings attached.\n...no-strings grants that last for five years.\n  PHRASE\n\n11. If you pull strings, you use your influence with other people in order to get something done, often unfairly.\n  PHRASE: V inflects


Words: string along
Meaning:
string along\n  If you string someone along, you deceive them by letting them believe you have the same desires, beliefs, or hopes as them. (INFORMAL)\nShe took advantage of him, stringing him along even after they were divorced.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V n P


Words: string bean
Meaning:
string bean  string beans\n1. String beans are long, very narrow green vegetables consisting of the cases that contain the seeds of a climbing plant. (AM; in BRIT, use French beans)\n  N-COUNT: usu pl\n\n2. String beans are vegetables similar to French beans, but thicker. (BRIT)\n  N-COUNT: usu pl\n  = runner bean


Words: string quartet
Meaning:
string quar.tet\n   string quartet  string quartets\n1. A string quartet is a group of four musicians who play stringed instruments together. The instruments are two violins, a viola, and a cello.\n...a recital by the Borodin String Quartet.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A string quartet is a piece of music played on two violins, a viola, and a cello.\n...Dvorak’s String Quartet Opus 34.\n  N-COUNT


Words: string together
Meaning:
string together\n  If you string things together, you form something from them by adding them to each other, one at a time.\nAs speech develops, the child starts to string more words together...\nThe speaker strung together a series of jokes.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V n P, V P n (not pron)


Words: string up
Meaning:
string up\n  To string someone up means to kill them by hanging them. (INFORMAL)\nGuards rushed into his cell and strung him up.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V n P, also V P n (not pron)


Words: stringed instrument
Meaning:
stringed in.stru.ment\n   stringed instrument  stringed instruments\n  A stringed instrument is a musical instrument that has strings, such as a violin or a guitar.\n  N-COUNT


Words: stringency
Meaning:
strin.gen.cy\n   stringency\n  Financial stringency is a situation in which a government or person does not have much money or is trying not to spend much. (FORMAL)\nIn times of financial stringency it is clear that public expenditure has to be closely scrutinized.\n  N-UNCOUNT: supp N


Words: stringent
Meaning:
strin.gent\n   stringent\n  Stringent laws, rules, or conditions are very severe or are strictly controlled. (FORMAL)\nHe announced that there would be more stringent controls on the possession of weapons...\nIts drug-testing procedures are the most stringent in the world.\n  ADJ\n\n=>  strin.gent.ly\nHe is determined to see the Act enforced more stringently.\n  ADV: ADV with v


Words: stringer
Meaning:
string.er\n   stringer  stringers\n  A stringer is a journalist who is employed part-time by a newspaper or news service in order to report on a particular area. (JOURNALISM)\nHe picked up extra money as a local stringer for the New York Herald.\n  N-COUNT


Words: stringy
Meaning:
stringy  stringier  stringiest\n  Stringy food contains long, thin pieces that are difficult or unpleasant to eat.\nThe meat was stringy...\n  ADJ


Words: strip
Meaning:
strip  strips  stripping  stripped\n1. A strip of something such as paper, cloth, or food is a long, narrow piece of it.\n...a new kind of manufactured wood made by pressing strips of wood together and baking them...\nServe dish with strips of fresh raw vegetables.\n  N-COUNT: usu N of n\n\n2. A strip of land or water is a long narrow area of it.\nThe coastal cities of Liguria sit on narrow strips of land lying under steep mountains.\n...a short boat ride across a narrow strip of water.\n  N-COUNT: usu N of n\n  = stretch\n3. A strip is a long street in a city or town, where there are a lot of stores, restaurants, and hotels. (AM)\n...Goff’s Charcoal Hamburgers on Lover’s Lane, a busy commercial strip in North Dallas.\n  N-COUNT\n\n4. If you strip, you take off your clothes.\nThey stripped completely, and lay in the damp grass...\nWomen residents stripped naked in protest.\n  VERB: V, V adj\n\n  Strip off means the same as strip.\nThe children were brazenly stripping off and leaping into the sea.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P\n\n5. If someone is stripped, their clothes are taken off by another person, for example in order to search for hidden or illegal things.\nOne prisoner claimed he’d been dragged to a cell, stripped and beaten.\n  VERB: usu passive, be V-ed\n\n  see also strip-search\n6. To strip something means to remove everything that covers it.\nAfter Mike left for work I stripped the beds and vacuumed the carpets...\nThe floorboards in both this room and the dining room have been stripped, sanded and sealed.\n  VERB: V n, V n\n\n7. If you strip an engine or a piece of equipment, you take it to pieces so that it can be cleaned or repaired.\nVolvo’s three-man team stripped the car and restored it.\n  VERB: V n\n\n  Strip down means the same as strip.\nIn five years I had to strip the water pump down four times...\nI stripped down the two SU carburettors, cleaned and polished the pieces and rebuilt the units.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V n P, V P n (not pron)\n\n8. To strip someone of their property, rights, or titles means to take those things away from them.\nA senior official was stripped of all his privileges for publicly criticising his employer.\n  VERB: be V-ed of n, also V n of n\n\n9. In a newspaper or magazine, a strip is a series of drawings which tell a story. The words spoken by the characters are often written on the drawings. (AM)\n...the Doonesbury strip.\n  N-COUNT\n\n10.\n  see also landing strip


Words: strip away
Meaning:
strip away\n1. To strip away something, especially something that hides the true nature of a thing, means to remove it completely.\nAltman strips away the pretence and mythology to expose the film industry as a business like any other.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron)\n\n2. To strip away a layer of something means to remove it completely.\nSensitive Cream will not strip away the skin’s protective layer...\nShe’d managed to strip the bloodied rags away from Nellie’s body.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), V n P from n


Words: strip cartoon
Meaning:
strip car.toon\n   strip cartoon  strip cartoons\n  A strip cartoon is the same as a comic strip. (BRIT)\n  N-COUNT


Words: strip club
Meaning:
strip club  strip clubs\n  A strip club is a club which people go to in order to see striptease.\n  N-COUNT


Words: strip light
Meaning:
strip light  strip lights   also strip-light\n  A strip light is an electric light in the form of a long tube. (BRIT)\n  N-COUNT


Words: strip lighting
Meaning:
strip light.ing\n   strip lighting   also strip-lighting\n  Strip lighting is a method of lighting which uses long tubes rather than light bulbs. (BRIT)\nOther causes of migraine are VDU screens and strip-lighting.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: strip mine
Meaning:
strip mine  strip mines\n  A strip mine is a mine in which the coal, metal, or mineral is near the surface, and so underground passages are not needed. (AM; in BRIT, use opencast mine)\n  N-COUNT


Words: strip mining
Meaning:
strip min.ing\n   strip mining   also strip-mining\n  Strip mining is a method of mining that is used when a mineral is near the surface and underground passages are not needed. (AM; in BRIT, use opencast mining)\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: strip off
Meaning:
strip off\n  If you strip off your clothes, you take them off.\nHe stripped off his wet clothes and stepped into the shower.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron)\n\n  see also strip 4


Words: strip-search
Meaning:
strip-search  strip-searches  strip-searching  strip-searched   also strip search\n  If a person is strip-searched, someone such as a police officer makes them take off all their clothes and searches them, usually to see if they are carrying drugs or weapons. Compare body search.\nAll 23 of them were strip-searched for drugs.\n  VERB: usu passive, be V-ed for n, also be V-ed


Words: stripe
Meaning:
stripe  stripes\n1. A stripe is a long line which is a different colour from the areas next to it.\nShe wore a bright green jogging suit with a white stripe down the sides...\nThe walls in the front bedroom are painted with broad, pale blue and white stripes.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. In the armed forces or the police, stripes are V-shaped bands of material sewn onto a uniform to indicate the rank of corporal or sergeant. In the United States, stripes can also show the length of time that a person has served in an organization.\n...a soldier with a corporal’s stripes on his arms...\n  N-COUNT: usu pl


Words: striped
Meaning:
striped\n  Something that is striped has stripes on it.\n...a bottle green and maroon striped tie.\n...striped wallpaper.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: stripling
Meaning:
strip.ling\n   stripling  striplings\n  People sometimes refer to a young man as a stripling when they want to indicate in a slightly humorous way that although he is no longer a boy, he is not yet really a man. (OLD-FASHIONED)\n...a stripling of 20.\n  N-COUNT


Words: stripper
Meaning:
strip.per\n   stripper  strippers\n  A stripper is a person who earns money by taking their clothes off in public, especially as part of a show.\nShe worked as a stripper and did some acting.\n...a male stripper.\n  N-COUNT


Words: striptease
Meaning:
strip.tease\n   striptease  stripteases   also strip-tease\n  Striptease is a form of entertainment in which someone slowly takes off their clothes in a sexually exciting way, usually while music is played.\n  N-VAR


Words: stripy
Meaning:
stripy   also stripey\n  Something that is stripy has stripes on it. (INFORMAL)\nHe was wearing a stripy shirt and baggy blue trousers.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  = stripey


Words: strive
Meaning:
strive  strives  striving\n  If you strive to do something or strive for something, you make a great effort to do it or get it.\nHe strives hard to keep himself very fit...\nMr Annan said the region must now strive for economic development as well as peace.\n  VERB: V to-inf, V for n\n  The past tense is either strove or strived, and the past participle is either striven or strived.


Words: strobe
Meaning:
strobe  strobes\n  A strobe or a strobe light is a very bright light which flashes on and off very quickly.\n  N-COUNT: oft N n


Words: stroke
Meaning:
stroke  strokes  stroking  stroked\n1. If you stroke someone or something, you move your hand slowly and gently over them.\nCarla, curled up on the sofa, was smoking a cigarette and stroking her cat...\nShe walked forward and embraced him and stroked his tousled white hair.\n  VERB: V n, V n\n\n2. If someone has a stroke, a blood vessel in their brain bursts or becomes blocked, which may kill them or make them unable to move one side of their body.\nHe had a minor stroke in 1987, which left him partly paralysed.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing\n\n3. The strokes of a pen or brush are the movements or marks that you make with it when you are writing or painting.\nFill in gaps by using short, upward strokes of the pencil.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl\n\n4. When you are swimming or rowing, your strokes are the repeated movements that you make with your arms or the oars.\nI turned and swam a few strokes further out to sea...\n  N-COUNT: usu pl\n\n5. A swimming stroke is a particular style or method of swimming.\nShe spent hours practising the breast stroke.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, supp N\n\n6. The strokes of a clock are the sounds that indicate each hour.\nOn the stroke of 12, fireworks suddenly exploded into the night.\n  N-COUNT\n\n7. In sports such as tennis, baseball, cricket, and golf, a stroke is the action of hitting the ball.\nCompton was sending the ball here, there, and everywhere with each stroke.\n  N-COUNT\n\n8. A stroke of luck or good fortune is something lucky that happens.\nIt didn’t rain, which turned out to be a stroke of luck.\n  N-SING: a N of n\n\n9. A stroke of genius or inspiration is a very good idea that someone suddenly has.\nAt the time, his appointment seemed a stroke of genius.\n  N-SING: a N of n\n\n10. If something happens at a stroke or in one stroke, it happens suddenly and completely because of one single action.\nThe disease wiped out 40 million rabbits at a stroke...\nHow can Britain reduce its prison population in one stroke?\n  PHRASE: PHR after v\n\n11. If someone does not do a stroke of work, they are very lazy and do no work at all. (INFORMAL)\nI never did a stroke of work at college.\n  PHRASE: with brd-neg, V inflects  emphasis


Words: stroll
Meaning:
stroll  strolls  strolling  strolled\n  If you stroll somewhere, you walk there in a slow, relaxed way.\nHe collected some orange juice from the refrigerator and, glass in hand, strolled to the kitchen window...\n  VERB: V prep/adv\n\n  Stroll is also a noun.\nAfter dinner, I took a stroll round the city.\n  N-COUNT


Words: stroller
Meaning:
stroll.er\n   stroller  strollers\n  A stroller is a small chair on wheels, in which a baby or small child can sit and be wheeled around. (AM; in BRIT, use pushchair)\n  N-COUNT


Words: strong
Meaning:
strong  stronger  strongest\n1. Someone who is strong is healthy with good muscles and can move or carry heavy things, or do hard physical work.\nI’m not strong enough to carry him...\nI feared I wouldn’t be able to control such a strong horse.\n  ADJ\n  !=weak\n2. Someone who is strong is confident and determined, and is not easily influenced or worried by other people.\nHe is sharp and manipulative with a strong personality...\nIt’s up to managers to be strong and do what they believe is right...\n  ADJ\n  !=weak\n3. Strong objects or materials are not easily broken and can support a lot of weight or resist a lot of strain.\nThe vacuum flask has a strong casing, which won’t crack or chip...\nGlue the mirror in with a strong adhesive...\n  ADJ\n  !=weak\n=>  strong.ly\nThe fence was very strongly built, with very large posts.\n  ADV: ADV -ed\n\n4. A strong wind, current, or other force has a lot of power or speed, and can cause heavy things to move.\nStrong winds and torrential rain combined to make conditions terrible for golfers in the Scottish Open...\nA fairly strong current seemed to be moving the whole boat...\n  ADJ\n  = powerful\n=>  strong.ly\nThe metal is strongly attracted to the surface.\n  ADV: ADV with v\n\n5. A strong impression or influence has a great effect on someone.\nWe’re glad if our music makes a strong impression, even if it’s a negative one...\nTeenage idols have a strong influence on our children...\n  ADJ\n\n=>  strong.ly\nHe is strongly influenced by Spanish painters such as Goya and El Greco...\n  ADV: ADV with v\n\n6. If you have strong opinions on something or express them using strong words, you have extreme or very definite opinions which you are willing to express or defend.\nShe is known to hold strong views on Cuba...\nThere has been strong criticism of the military regime...\nIt condemned in extremely strong language what it called Britain’s iniquitous campaign...\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n=>  strong.ly\nObviously you feel very strongly about this...\nWe are strongly opposed to the presence of America in this region...\n  ADV: usu ADV with v\n\n7. If someone in authority takes strong action, they act firmly and severely.\nThe government has said it will take strong action against any further strikes...\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n8. If there is a strong case or argument for something, it is supported by a lot of evidence.\nThe testimony presented offered a strong case for acquitting her on grounds of self-defense...\nThe evidence that such investment promotes growth is strong...\n  ADJ\n\n=>  strong.ly\nHe argues strongly for retention of NATO as a guarantee of peace...\nThese are conditions said by doctors to be strongly indicative of heart failure.\n  ADV: ADV with v, ADV adj/adv\n\n9. If there is a strong possibility or chance that something is true or will happen, it is very likely to be true or to happen.\nThere is a strong possibility that the cat contracted the condition by eating contaminated pet food.\n  ADJ\n\n10. Your strong points are your best qualities or talents, or the things you are good at.\nDiscretion is not Jeremy’s strong point...\nCynics argue that the EU is stronger on rhetoric than on concrete action.\n  ADJ: ADJ n, v-link ADJ on n\n\n11. A strong competitor, candidate, or team is good or likely to succeed.\nShe was a strong contender for Britain’s Olympic team...\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n12. If a relationship or link is strong, it is close and likely to last for a long time.\nHe felt he had a relationship strong enough to talk frankly to Sarah...\nDelhi first began to develop strong ties with Moscow in the 1950s.\n  ADJ\n\n13. A strong currency, economy, or industry has a high value or is very successful.\nThe US dollar continued its strong performance in Tokyo today...\nThe local economy is strong and the population is growing...\n  ADJ\n  = robust  !=weak\n14. If something is a strong element or part of something else, it is an important or large part of it.\n(next)


Words: strong .1
Meaning:
We are especially encouraged by the strong representation, this year, of women in information technology disciplines...\n  ADJ\n\n15. You can use strong when you are saying how many people there are in a group. For example, if a group is twenty strong, there are twenty people in it.\nUkraine indicated that it would establish its own army, 400,000 strong.\n...a 1,000-strong crowd.\n  ADJ: num ADJ\n\n16. A strong drink, chemical, or drug contains a lot of the particular substance which makes it effective.\nStrong coffee or tea late at night may cause sleeplessness...\n  ADJ\n\n17. A strong colour, flavour, smell, sound, or light is intense and easily noticed.\nAs she went past there was a gust of strong perfume...\nThe wine goes with strong and mild cheese alike.\n  ADJ\n\n=>  strong.ly\nHe leaned over her, smelling strongly of sweat...\n  ADV: ADV with v\n\n18. If someone has a strong accent, they speak in a distinctive way that shows very clearly what country or region they come from.\n`Good, Mr Ryle,’ he said in English with a strong French accent.\n  ADJ\n  = pronounced  !=slight\n19. You can say that someone has strong features or a strong face if their face has large, distinctive features.\nHe had a strong Greek nose and olive-black eyes.\n  ADJ\n\n20. If someone or something is still going strong, they are still alive, in good condition, or popular after a long time. (INFORMAL)\nThe old machinery was still going strong.\n  PHRASE: v-link PHR


Words: strong-arm
Meaning:
strong-arm\n  If you refer to someone’s behaviour as strong-arm tactics or methods, you disapprove of it because it consists of using threats or force in order to achieve something.\nThe money has been recovered without resorting to verbal abuse or strong-arm tactics...\n  ADJ: ADJ n  disapproval


Words: strong-minded
Meaning:
strong-minded\n  If you describe someone, especially a woman, as strong-minded, you approve of them because they have their own firm attitudes and opinions, and are not easily influenced by other people.\nShe is a strong-minded, independent woman.\n  ADJ  approval


Words: strong-willed
Meaning:
strong-willed\n  Someone who is strong-willed has a lot of determination and always tries to do what they want, even though other people may advise them not to.\nHe is a very determined and strong-willed person.\n  ADJ\n  = headstrong  !=weak-willed


Words: stronghold
Meaning:
strong.hold\n   stronghold  strongholds\n  If you say that a place or region is a stronghold of a particular attitude or belief, you mean that most people there share this attitude or belief.\nThe seat was a stronghold of the Labour party.\n  N-COUNT: oft N of n\n  = bastion


Words: strongman
Meaning:
strong.man\n   strongman  strongmen\n  If you refer to a male political leader as a strongman, you mean that he has great power and control over his country, although his methods may sometimes be violent or morally wrong. (JOURNALISM)\nHe was a military strongman who ruled the country after a coup.\n  N-COUNT


Words: stroppy
Meaning:
strop.py\n   stroppy  stroppier  stroppiest\n  Someone who is stroppy is bad-tempered and gets angry or upset with people. (BRIT INFORMAL)\nThe gas people haven’t called to repair the cooker so I shall have to get stroppy with them.\n  ADJ


Words: structural
Meaning:
struc.tur.al\n   structural\n  Structural means relating to or affecting the structure of something.\nThe explosion caused little structural damage to the office towers themselves.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n=>  struc.tur.al.ly\nWhen we bought the house, it was structurally sound, but I decided to redecorate throughout.\n  ADV: ADV adj/-ed, ADV with cl


Words: structural engineer
Meaning:
struc.tur.al en.gi.neer\n   structural engineer  structural engineers\n  A structural engineer is an engineer who works on large structures such as roads, bridges, and large buildings.\n  N-COUNT


Words: structuralism
Meaning:
struc.tur.al.ism\n   structuralism\n  Structuralism is a method of interpreting and analysing such things as language, literature, and society, which focuses on contrasting ideas or elements of structure and attempts to show how they relate to the whole structure. (TECHNICAL)\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: structuralist
Meaning:
struc.tur.al.ist\n   structuralist  structuralists\n1. A structuralist is someone whose work is based on structuralism.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. Structuralist is used to refer to people and things that are connected with structuralism.\nThere are two main structuralist techniques incorporated into critical social research.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: structure
Meaning:
struc.ture\n   structure  structures  structuring  structured\n1. The structure of something is the way in which it is made, built, or organized.\nThe typical family structure of Freud’s patients involved two parents and two children...\nThe chemical structure of this particular molecule is very unusual.\n  N-VAR: usu with supp, oft N of n\n\n2. A structure is something that consists of parts connected together in an ordered way.\nThe feet are highly specialised structures made up of 26 small delicate bones.\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp\n\n3. A structure is something that has been built.\nAbout half of those funds has gone to repair public roads, structures and bridges...\n  N-COUNT\n  = building\n4. If you structure something, you arrange it in a careful, organized pattern or system.\nBy structuring the course this way, we’re forced to produce something the companies think is valuable.\n  VERB: V n\n\n5.\n  see also report structure


Words: struggle
Meaning:
strug.gle\n   struggle  struggles  struggling  struggled\n1. If you struggle to do something, you try hard to do it, even though other people or things may be making it difficult for you to succeed.\nThey had to struggle against all kinds of adversity...\nThose who have lost their jobs struggle to pay their supermarket bills.\n  VERB: V prep, V to-inf\n\n2. A struggle is a long and difficult attempt to achieve something such as freedom or political rights.\nLife became a struggle for survival.\n...a young lad’s struggle to support his poverty-stricken family...\nHe is currently locked in a power struggle with his Prime Minister.\n  N-VAR: oft N prep, N to-inf\n\n3. If you struggle when you are being held, you twist, kick, and move violently in order to get free.\nI struggled, but he was a tall man, well-built.\n  VERB: V\n\n4. If two people struggle with each other, they fight.\nShe screamed at him to `stop it’ as they struggled on the ground...\nThere were signs that she struggled with her attacker.\n  V-RECIP: pl-n V, V with n\n\n  Struggle is also a noun.\nHe died in a struggle with prison officers less than two months after coming to Britain.\n  N-COUNT\n\n5. If you struggle to move yourself or to move a heavy object, you try to do it, but it is difficult.\nI could see the young boy struggling to free himself...\nI struggled with my bags, desperately looking for a porter.\n  VERB: V to-inf, V prep\n\n6. If a person or organization is struggling, they are likely to fail in what they are doing, even though they might be trying very hard.\nThe company is struggling to find buyers for its new product...\nOne in five young adults was struggling with everyday mathematics...\nBy the 1960s, many shipyards were struggling.\n  VERB: only cont, V to-inf, V prep, V\n\n7. An action or activity that is a struggle is very difficult to do.\nLosing weight was a terrible struggle.\n  N-SING: a N


Words: struggle on
Meaning:
struggle on\n  If you struggle on, you continue doing something rather than stopping, even though it is difficult.\nWhy should I struggle on to please my parents?...\nThe rest of the world struggles on with its perpetual problems, poverty and debt.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P, V P with n


Words: strum
Meaning:
strum  strums  strumming  strummed\n  If you strum a stringed instrument such as a guitar, you play it by moving your fingers backwards and forwards across the strings.\nIn the corner, one youth sat alone, softly strumming a guitar...\nVaska strummed away on his guitar.\n  VERB: V n, V prep/adv\n\n  Strum is also a noun.\nA little while later, I heard the strum of my father’s guitar as he began to sing.\n  N-SING: oft N of n


Words: strung out
Meaning:
strung out\n1. If things are strung out somewhere, they are spread out in a line.\nBuildings were strung out on the north side of the river.\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ, usu ADJ prep\n\n2. If someone is strung out on drugs, they are heavily affected by drugs. (INFORMAL)\nHe was permanently strung out on heroin.\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ, usu ADJ on n


Words: strut
Meaning:
strut  struts  strutting  strutted\n1. Someone who struts walks in a proud way, with their head held high and their chest out, as if they are very important.\nHe struts around town like he owns the place.\n  VERB: V prep/adv  disapproval\n\n2. A strut is a piece of wood or metal which holds the weight of other pieces in a building or other structure.\n...the struts of a suspension bridge.\n  N-COUNT


Words: strychnine
Meaning:
strych.nine\n   strychnine\n  Strychnine is a very poisonous drug which is sometimes used in very small amounts as a medicine.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: stub
Meaning:
stub  stubs  stubbing  stubbed\n1. The stub of a cigarette or a pencil is the last short piece of it which remains when the rest has been used.\nHe pulled the stub of a pencil from behind his ear.\n...an ashtray of cigarette stubs.\n  N-COUNT: with supp\n\n2. A ticket stub is the part that you keep when you go in to watch a performance.\nFans who still have their original ticket stubs should contact Sheffield Arena by July 3.\n  N-COUNT: usu n N\n\n3. A cheque stub is the small part that you keep as a record of what you have paid.\n  N-COUNT: usu n N\n\n4. If you stub your toe, you hurt it by accidentally kicking something.\nI stubbed my toes against a table leg.\n  VERB: V n


Words: stub out
Meaning:
stub out\n  When someone stubs out a cigarette, they put it out by pressing it against something hard.\nSigns across the entrances warn all visitors to stub out their cigarettes.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron)\n  = put out


Words: stubble
Meaning:
stub.ble\n   stubble\n1. Stubble is the short stalks which are left standing in fields after corn or wheat has been cut.\nThe stubble was burning in the fields.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. The very short hairs on a man’s face when he has not shaved recently are referred to as stubble.\nHis face was covered with the stubble of several nights.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: stubbly
Meaning:
stub.bly\n   stubbly\n  If a man has not shaved recently, he has a stubbly chin.\nHe had long unkempt hair and a stubbly chin.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: stubborn
Meaning:
stub.born\n   stubborn\n1. Someone who is stubborn or who behaves in a stubborn way is determined to do what they want and is very unwilling to change their mind.\nHe is a stubborn character used to getting his own way...\n  ADJ\n  = obstinate\n=>  stub.born.ly\nHe stubbornly refused to tell her how he had come to be in such a state.\n  ADV\n\n=>  stub.born.ness\nI couldn’t tell if his refusal to talk was simple stubbornness.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. A stubborn stain or problem is difficult to remove or to deal with.\nThis treatment removes the most stubborn stains...\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  = persistent\n=>  stub.born.ly\nSome interest rates have remained stubbornly high.\n  ADV


Words: stubby
Meaning:
stub.by\n   stubby\n  An object that is stubby is shorter and thicker than usual.\nHe pointed a stubby finger at a wooden chair opposite him.\n  ADJ\n  = stumpy


Words: stucco
Meaning:
stuc.co\n   stucco\n  Stucco is a type of plaster used for covering walls and decorating ceilings.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N n


Words: stuck
Meaning:
stuck\n1. Stuck is the past tense and past participle of stick.\n\n2. If something is stuck in a particular position, it is fixed tightly in this position and is unable to move.\nHe said his car had got stuck in the snow...\nShe had got something stuck between her teeth.\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ, oft ADJ prep/adv\n\n3. If you are stuck in a place, you want to get away from it, but are unable to.\nI was stuck at home with flu...\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ prep/adv\n\n4. If you are stuck in a boring or unpleasant situation, you are unable to change it or get away from it.\nI don’t want to get stuck in another job like that...\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ prep/adv\n  = trapped\n5. If something is stuck at a particular level or stage, it is not progressing or changing.\nThe negotiations have got stuck on a number of key issues...\nUS unemployment figures for March showed the jobless rate stuck at 7 per cent...\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ prep/adv\n\n6. If you are stuck with something that you do not want, you cannot get rid of it.\nMany people are now stuck with expensive fixed-rate mortgages...\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ with n\n\n7. If you get stuck when you are trying to do something, you are unable to continue doing it because it is too difficult.\nThey will be there to help if you get stuck...\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ, oft ADJ on n\n\n8. If you get stuck in, you do something with enthusiasm and determination. (BRIT INFORMAL)\nWe’re bottom of the league and we have to get stuck in.\n  PHRASE: V inflects


Words: stuck-up
Meaning:
stuck-up\n  If you say that someone is stuck-up, you mean that are very proud and unfriendly because they think they are very important. (INFORMAL)\nShe was a famous actress, but she wasn’t a bit stuck-up.\n  ADJ  disapproval


Words: stud
Meaning:
stud  studs\n1. A studs are small pieces of metal which are attached to a surface for decoration.\nYou see studs on lots of London front doors.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A stud is an earring consisting of a small shape attached to a bar which goes through a hole in your ear.\n...plain gold studs.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. Studs are small round objects attached to the bottom of boots, especially sports boots, so that the person wearing them does not slip. (BRIT; in AM, use cleats)\n  N-COUNT\n\n4. Horses or other animals that are kept for stud are kept to be used for breeding.\nHe was voted horse of the year and then was retired to stud.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n5.\n  see also press stud


Words: stud book
Meaning:
stud book  stud books   also studbook\n  A stud book is a written record of the breeding of a particular horse, especially a racehorse.\n  N-COUNT


Words: studded
Meaning:
stud.ded\n   studded\n1. Something that is studded is decorated with studs or things that look like studs.\n...studded leather jackets.\n  ADJ: oft ADJ with n\n\n2.\n  see also star-studded


Words: student
Meaning:
stu.dent\n   student  students\n1. A student is a person who is studying at a university or college.\nWarren’s eldest son is an art student, at St Martin’s.\n...a 23-year-old medical student.\n  N-COUNT\n\n  see also mature student\n2. A student is a child who is studying at a secondary school.\n  N-COUNT\n  = pupil\n3. Someone who is a student of a particular subject is interested in the subject and spends time learning about it.\n...a passionate student of nineteenth century history.\n  N-COUNT: N of n


Words: students’ union
Meaning:
stu.dents’ un.ion\n   students’ union  students’ unions   also student union\n1. The students’ union is the students’ organization in a university or college which organizes leisure activities, provides welfare services, and represents students’ political interests. (BRIT)\n  N-COUNT: oft the N, oft in names\n\n2. The students’ union is the building where the students’ union organization has its offices and which usually has a shop, a coffee bar, and a meeting place.\n  N-SING: the N


Words: studied
Meaning:
stud.ied\n   studied\n  A studied action is deliberate or planned.\n`We both have an interesting 10 days coming up,’ said Alex Ferguson with studied understatement.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n  !=unstudied\n  see also study


Words: studio
Meaning:
stu.dio\n   studio  studios\n1. A studio is a room where a painter, photographer, or designer works.\nShe was in her studio again, painting onto a large canvas.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A studio is a room where radio or television programmes are recorded, CDs are produced, or films are made.\nShe’s much happier performing live than in a recording studio.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. You can also refer to film-making or recording companies as studios.\nShe wrote to Paramount Studios and asked if they would audition her.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl\n\n4. A studio is a small flat with one room for living and sleeping in, a kitchen, and a bathroom. You can also talk about a studio flat in British English or a studio apartment in American English.\nI live on my own in a studio flat.\n  N-COUNT


Words: studio audience
Meaning:
stu.dio audi.ence\n   studio audience  studio audiences\n  A studio audience is a group of people who are in a television or radio studio watching while a programme is being made, so that their clapping, laughter, or questions are recorded on the programme.\n  N-COUNT-COLL


Words: studious
Meaning:
stu.di.ous\n   studious\n  Someone who is studious spends a lot of time reading and studying books.\nI was a very quiet, studious little girl.\n  ADJ


Words: studiously
Meaning:
stu.di.ous.ly\n   studiously\n  If you do something studiously, you do it carefully and deliberately.\nWhen I looked at Clive, he studiously avoided my eyes.\n  ADV: usu ADV with v, also ADV adj


Words: study
Meaning:
study  studies  studying  studied\n1. If you study, you spend time learning about a particular subject or subjects.\n...a relaxed and happy atmosphere that will allow you to study to your full potential...\nHe went to Hull University, where he studied History and Economics...\nThe rehearsals make it difficult for her to study for law school exams.\n  VERB: V, V n, V for n\n\n2. Study is the activity of studying.\n...the use of maps and visual evidence in the study of local history...\nShe gave up her studies to have Alexander.\n  N-UNCOUNT: also N in pl\n\n3. A study of a subject is a piece of research on it.\nRecent studies suggest that as many as 5 in 1000 new mothers are likely to have this problem.\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp\n\n4. You can refer to educational subjects or courses that contain several elements as studies of a particular kind.\n...a new centre for Islamic studies...\nShe is currently doing a business studies course at Leeds.\n  N-PLURAL: supp N\n\n5. If you study something, you look at it or watch it very carefully, in order to find something out.\nDebbie studied her friend’s face for a moment.\n  VERB: V n\n\n6. If you study something, you consider it or observe it carefully in order to be able to understand it fully.\nI know that you’ve been studying chimpanzees for thirty years now...\nI invite every citizen to carefully study the document.\n  VERB: V n, V n\n\n7. A study by an artist is a drawing which is done in preparation for a larger picture.\n  N-COUNT\n\n8. A study is a room in a house which is used for reading, writing, and studying.\n  N-COUNT\n\n9.\n  see also studied, case study


Words: stuff
Meaning:
stuff  stuffs  stuffing  stuffed\n1. You can use stuff to refer to things such as a substance, a collection of things, events, or ideas, or the contents of something in a general way without mentioning the thing itself by name. (INFORMAL)\nI’d like some coffee, and I don’t object to the powdered stuff if it’s all you’ve got...\n`What do you want to know?’.`About life and stuff.’...\nHe pointed to a duffle bag.`That’s my stuff.’\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu with supp\n\n2. If you stuff something somewhere, you push it there quickly and roughly.\nI stuffed my hands in my pockets...\nHe stuffed the newspapers into a litter bin and headed down the street...\n  VERB: V n prep/adv, V n prep/adv\n  = shove\n3. If you stuff a container or space with something, you fill it with something or with a quantity of things until it is full.\nHe grabbed my purse, opened it and stuffed it full, then gave it back to me...\nHe still stood behind his cash register stuffing his mouth with popcorn.\n  VERB: V n adj, V n with n\n  = cram\n4. If you stuff yourself, you eat a lot of food. (INFORMAL)\nI could stuff myself with ten chocolate bars and half an hour later eat a big meal.\n  VERB: V pron-refl prep\n\n=>  stuffed\nBut you’re just so stuffed you won’t be able to drink anything.\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ\n\n5. If you stuff a bird such as a chicken or a vegetable such as a pepper, you put a mixture of food inside it before cooking it.\nWill you stuff the turkey and shove it in the oven for me?\n...stuffed tomatoes.\n  VERB: V n, V-ed\n\n6. If a dead animal is stuffed, it is filled with a substance so that it can be preserved and displayed.\n  VERB: usu passive\n\n7. Stuff is used in front of nouns to emphasize that you do not care about something, or do not want it. (INFORMAL)\nUltimately my attitude was: stuff them...\nStuff your money. We don’t want a handout.\n  VERB: only imper, V n, V n  emphasis\n\n8. If you say that someone knows their stuff, you mean that they are good at doing something because they know a lot about it. (INFORMAL)\nThese chaps know their stuff after seven years of war.\n  PHRASE: V inflects  approval


Words: stuffed animal
Meaning:
stuffed ani.mal\n   stuffed animal  stuffed animals\n  Stuffed animals are toys that are made of cloth filled with a soft material and which look like animals. (AM; in BRIT, use soft toy)\n  N-COUNT\n  = stuffed toy


Words: stuffed shirt
Meaning:
stuffed shirt  stuffed shirts\n  If you describe someone, especially someone with an important position, as a stuffed shirt, you mean that they are extremely formal and old-fashioned. (INFORMAL)\nIn a pinstriped suit he instantly looked like a stuffed shirt.\n  N-COUNT  disapproval


Words: stuffed toy
Meaning:
stuffed toy  stuffed toys\n  A stuffed toy is the same as a stuffed animal. (AM; in BRIT, use soft toy)\n  N-COUNT


Words: stuffing
Meaning:
stuff.ing\n   stuffing  stuffings\n1. Stuffing is a mixture of food that is put inside a bird such as a chicken, or a vegetable such as a pepper, before it is cooked.\nChestnuts can be used at Christmas time, as a stuffing for turkey, guinea fowl or chicken.\n  N-MASS\n\n2. Stuffing is material that is used to fill things such as cushions or toys in order to make them firm or solid.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: stuffy
Meaning:
stuffy  stuffier  stuffiest\n1. Stuffy people or institutions are formal and old-fashioned.\nWhy were grown-ups always so stuffy and slow to recognize good ideas?\n...a firm of lawyers in Lincoln’s Inn, immensely stuffy and respectable.\n  ADJ  disapproval\n\n2. If it is stuffy in a place, it is unpleasantly warm and there is not enough fresh air.\nIt was hot and stuffy in the classroom.\n  ADJ


Words: stultify
Meaning:
stul.ti.fy\n   stultify  stultifies  stultifying  stultified\n  If something stultifies you, it makes you feel empty or dull in your mind, because it is so boring. (FORMAL)\nThis attitude stultifies scientific progress...\n  VERB: V n\n\n=>  stul.ti.fy.ing\nA rigid routine can be stultifying and boring.\n  ADJ


Words: stumble
Meaning:
stum.ble\n   stumble  stumbles  stumbling  stumbled\n1. If you stumble, you put your foot down awkwardly while you are walking or running and nearly fall over.\nHe stumbled and almost fell...\nI stumbled into the telephone box and dialed 999.\n  VERB: V, V prep/adv\n\n  Stumble is also a noun.\nI make it into the darkness with only one stumble.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing\n\n2. If you stumble while you are reading aloud or speaking, you make a mistake, and have to pause before saying the words properly.\n...his voice wavered and he stumbled over the words at one point.\n  VERB: V over n, also V


Words: stumble across
Meaning:
stumble across   or stumble on\n  If you stumble across something or stumble on it, you find it or discover it unexpectedly.\nI stumbled across an extremely simple but very exact method for understanding where my money went...\nHistory relates that they stumbled on a magnificent waterfall.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n, V P n\n  = come across


Words: stumbling block
Meaning:
stum.bling block\n   stumbling block  stumbling blocks\n  A stumbling block is a problem which stops you from achieving something.\nPerhaps the major stumbling block to reunification is the military presence in South Korea.\n  N-COUNT: oft N to/in n


Words: stump
Meaning:
stump  stumps  stumping  stumped\n1. A stump is a small part of something that remains when the rest of it has been removed or broken off.\nIf you have a tree stump, check it for fungus...\nThe tramp produced a stump of candle from his deep pockets.\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp\n\n2. In cricket, the stumps are the three wooden sticks that are placed upright in the ground to form the wicket.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. If you are stumped by a question or problem, you cannot think of any solution or answer to it.\nJohn Diamond is stumped by an unexpected question...\nWell, maybe I stumped you on that one.\n  VERB: be V-ed, V n\n\n4. If politicians stump the country or stump for a candidate, they travel around making campaign speeches before an election. (mainly AM)\nWhen candidates went stumping around the country, people traveled for miles on foot, by horse, by carriage to hear them speak...\nHe was in Georgia stumping for Senator Wyche Fowler, a Democrat.\n  VERB: V n, V for n, also V\n\n5. If politicians are on the stump, they are campaigning for an election. (mainly AM)\nThe presidential candidates are on the stump today.\n  PHRASE: usu v-link PHR


Words: stump up
Meaning:
stump up\n  If you stump up a sum of money, you pay it, often unwillingly. (BRIT INFORMAL)\nCustomers do not have to stump up any cash for at least four weeks.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), also V P\n  = cough up


Words: stun
Meaning:
stun  stuns  stunning  stunned\n1. If you are stunned by something, you are extremely shocked or surprised by it and are therefore unable to speak or do anything.\nMany cinema-goers were stunned by the film’s violent and tragic end.\n  VERB: usu passive, be V-ed\n\n=>  stunned\nWhen they told me she had gone missing I was totally stunned...\n  ADJ\n\n2. If something such as a blow on the head stuns you, it makes you unconscious or confused and unsteady.\nSam stood his ground and got a blow that stunned him.\n  VERB: V n\n\n3.\n  see also stunning


Words: stunner
Meaning:
stun.ner\n   stunner  stunners\n  A stunner is an extremely attractive woman. (INFORMAL)\nOne of the girls was an absolute stunner.\n  N-COUNT


Words: stunning
Meaning:
stun.ning\n   stunning\n1. A stunning person or thing is extremely beautiful or impressive.\nShe was 55 and still a stunning woman...\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n2. A stunning event is extremely unusual or unexpected.\nThe minister resigned last night after a stunning defeat in Sunday’s vote...\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: stunt
Meaning:
stunt  stunts  stunting  stunted\n1. A stunt is something interesting that is done in order to attract attention and get publicity for the person or company responsible for it.\nIn a bold promotional stunt for the movie, he smashed his car into a passing truck.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A stunt is a dangerous and exciting piece of action in a film.\nSean Connery insisted on living dangerously for his new film by performing his own stunts.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. If something stunts the growth or development of a person or thing, it prevents it from growing or developing as much as it should.\nThe heart condition had stunted his growth a bit...\nHigh interest rates have stunted economic growth.\n  VERB: V n, V n\n\n=>  stunt.ed\nDamage may result in stunted growth and sometimes death of the plant.\n  ADJ


Words: stunt man
Meaning:
stunt man  stunt men   also stuntman\n  A stunt man is a man whose job is to do dangerous things, either for publicity, or in a film instead of an actor so that the actor does not risk being injured.\n  N-COUNT


Words: stunt woman
Meaning:
stunt wom.an\n   stunt woman  stunt women   also stuntwoman\n  A stunt woman is a woman whose job is to do dangerous things, either for publicity, or in a film instead of an actor so that the actor does not risk being injured.\n  N-COUNT


Words: stupefy
Meaning:
stu.pefy\n   stupefy  stupefies  stupefying  stupefied\n  If something stupefies you, it shocks or surprises you so much that you cannot think properly for a while. (FORMAL)\n...a violent slap on the side of the head, which stunned and stupefied him.\n  VERB: V n


Words: stupendous
Meaning:
stu.pen.dous\n   stupendous\n  Something that is stupendous is surprisingly impressive or large.\nHe was a man of stupendous stamina and energy...\nThis stupendous novel keeps you gripped to the end.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: stupid
Meaning:
stu.pid\n   stupid  stupider  stupidest\n1. If you say that someone or something is stupid, you mean that they show a lack of good judgment or intelligence and they are not at all sensible.\nI’ll never do anything so stupid again...\nI made a stupid mistake...\nYour father wouldn’t have asked such a stupid question...\n  ADJ\n  = foolish\n=>  stu.pid.ly\nWe had stupidly been looking at the wrong column of figures...\n  ADV: usu ADV with v, also ADV adj\n\n=>  stu.pid.ity      stupidities\nI stared at him, astonished by his stupidity.\n  N-VAR: usu with poss\n\n2. You say that something is stupid to indicate that you do not like it or care about it, or that it annoys you.\nI wouldn’t call it art. It’s just stupid and tasteless...\nFriendship is much more important to me than a stupid old ring!\n  ADJ  disapproval\n  = silly


Words: stupor
Meaning:
stu.por\n   stupor  stupors\n  Someone who is in a stupor is almost unconscious and is unable to act or think normally, especially as a result of drink or drugs.\nHe fell back onto the sofa in a drunken stupor...\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, oft in/into a N


Words: sturdy
Meaning:
stur.dy\n   sturdy  sturdier  sturdiest\n  Someone or something that is sturdy looks strong and is unlikely to be easily injured or damaged.\nThe camera was mounted on a sturdy tripod.\n  ADJ\n  = robust\n=>  stur.di.ly\nIt was a good table too, sturdily constructed of elm.\n  ADV: usu ADV with v


Words: sturgeon
Meaning:
stur.geon\n   sturgeon  sturgeon\n  A sturgeon is a large fish which lives in northern parts of the world. Sturgeon are usually caught for their eggs, which are known as caviar.\n  N-VAR


Words: stutter
Meaning:
stut.ter\n   stutter  stutters  stuttering  stuttered\n1. If someone has a stutter, they find it difficult to say the first sound of a word, and so they often hesitate or repeat it two or three times.\nHe spoke with a pronounced stutter.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing\n  = stammer\n2. If someone stutters, they have difficulty speaking because they find it hard to say the first sound of a word.\nI was trembling so hard, I thought I would stutter when I spoke.\n  VERB: V\n  = stammer\n=>  stut.ter.ing\nHe had to stop talking because if he’d kept on, the stuttering would have started.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n3. If something stutters along, it progresses slowly and unevenly.\nThe old truck stuttered along the winding road...\nThe political debate stutters on.\n  VERB: V prep/adv, V prep/adv


Words: stye
Meaning:
stye  styes   also sty\n  If you have a stye, your eyelid is red and swollen because part of it is infected.\n  N-COUNT


Words: style
Meaning:
style  styles  styling  styled\n1. The style of something is the general way in which it is done or presented, which often shows the attitudes of the people involved.\nOur children’s different needs and learning styles created many problems...\nBelmont Park is a broad sweeping track which will suit the European style of running...\n  N-COUNT: with supp, also in adj N\n\n2. If people or places have style, they are smart and elegant.\nBournemouth, you have to admit, has style...\nBoth love doing things in style...\nShe had not lost her grace and style.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft in N\n\n3. The style of a product is its design.\nHis 50 years of experience have given him strong convictions about style...\nSeveral styles of hat were available.\n  N-VAR\n\n4. In the arts, a particular style is characteristic of a particular period or group of people.\n...six scenes in the style of a classical Greek tragedy.\n...a mixture of musical styles.\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp\n\n5. If something such as a piece of clothing, a vehicle, or someone’s hair is styled in a particular way, it is designed or shaped in that way.\nHis thick blond hair had just been styled before his trip.\n  VERB: usu passive, be V-ed\n\n6.\n  see also old-style, self-styled, styling\n7.\nto cramp someone’s style: see cramp


Words: styling
Meaning:
styl.ing\n   styling\n1. The styling of an object is the design and appearance of it.\nThe car neatly blends classic styling into a smooth modern package.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft supp N\n\n2. The styling of someone’s hair is the way in which it is cut and arranged.\n...shampoos and styling products.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N n\n\n3.\n  see also style


Words: stylish
Meaning:
styl.ish\n   stylish\n  Someone or something that is stylish is smart, elegant, and fashionable.\n...a very attractive and very stylish woman of 27.\n...a varied choice of stylish designs.\n  ADJ\n\n=>  styl.ish.ly\n...stylishly dressed middle-aged women.\n  ADV


Words: stylist
Meaning:
styl.ist\n   stylist  stylists\n1. A stylist is a person whose job is to cut and arrange people’s hair.\nChoose a stylist recommended by someone whose hair you like.\n  N-COUNT\n  = hairdresser\n2. A stylist is someone whose job is to create the style of something such as an advertisement or the image of people such as pop singers.\nShe is now a writer and fashion stylist.\n  N-COUNT


Words: stylistic
Meaning:
sty.lis.tic\n   stylistic\n  Stylistic describes things relating to the methods and techniques used in creating a piece of writing, music, or art.\nThere are some stylistic elements in the statue that just don’t make sense.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: stylized
Meaning:
styl.ized\n   stylized\nin BRIT, also use stylised\n  Something that is stylized is shown or done in a way that is not natural in order to create an artistic effect.\nSome of it has to do with recent stage musicals, which have been very, very stylised.\n  ADJ


Words: stylus
Meaning:
sty.lus\n   stylus  styluses\n1. The stylus on a record player is the small needle that picks up the sound signals on the records.\n  N-COUNT\n  = needle\n2. A stylus is a device like a pen with which you can input written text or drawing directly into a computer. (COMPUTING)\nIt has a stylus-operated on-screen keyboard that takes great skill to master.\n  N-COUNT


Words: stymie
Meaning:
sty.mie\n   stymie  stymies  stymieing  stymied\n  If you are stymied by something, you find it very difficult to take action or to continue what you are doing. (INFORMAL)\nCompanies have been stymied by the length of time it takes to reach an agreement...\n  VERB: usu passive, be V-ed


Words: styrofoam
Meaning:
styro.foam\n   styrofoam\n  Styrofoam is a very light, plastic substance, used especially to make containers. (AM; in BRIT, use polystyrene)\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: suave
Meaning:
suave  suaver  suavest\n  Someone who is suave is charming, polite, and elegant, but may be insincere.\nHe is a suave, cool and cultured man.\n  ADJ\n\n=>  suave.ly\n...the skills needed to deal suavely with a company’s senior managers.\n  ADV


Words: sub
Meaning:
sub  subs\n1. In team games such as football, a sub is a player who is brought into a match to replace another player. (INFORMAL)\nWe had a few injuries and had to use youth team kids as subs.\n  N-COUNT\n  = substitute\n2. A sub is the same as a submarine. (INFORMAL)\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. A fixed amount of money that you pay regularly in order to be a member of a club or society is called your subs. (BRIT OLD-FASHIONED)\nSubs will be raised as from next year.\n  N-PLURAL\n  = subscription fees


Words: sub judice
Meaning:
sub ju.di.ce\n   sub judice   also sub-judice\n  When something is sub judice, it is the subject of a trial in a court of law. In Britain, this means that people are not allowed to discuss it in the media. (LEGAL)\nHe declined further comment on the grounds that the case was sub judice.\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ


Words: sub-
Meaning:
sub-\n1. Sub- is used at the beginning of words that have `under’ as part of their meaning.\nThe waters were rising about the rock and would soon submerge it.\n...a nuclear-powered submarine.\n  PREFIX\n\n2. Sub- is added to the beginning of nouns in order to form other nouns that refer to things that are part of a larger thing.\n...a subcommittee on family values and individual rights.\n...the subdivision of farms into smallholdings.\n  PREFIX\n\n3. Sub- is added to the beginning of adjectives in order to form other adjectives that describe someone or something as inferior, for example inferior to normal people or to normal things.\nThe cold has made already substandard living conditions even worse.\n  PREFIX


Words: sub-editor
Meaning:
sub-editor  sub-editors   also subeditor\n  A sub-editor is a person whose job it is to check and correct articles in newspapers or magazines before they are printed. (BRIT; in AM, use copy editor)\n  N-COUNT


Words: sub-machine gun
Meaning:
sub-machine gun  sub-machine guns   also sub-machine-gun, submachine gun\n  A sub-machine gun is a light portable type of machine gun.\n  N-COUNT


Words: sub-plot
Meaning:
sub-plot  sub-plots   also subplot\n  The sub-plot in a play, film, or novel is a story that is separate from and less important than the main story.\n...a fascinating sub-plot to the main drama.\n  N-COUNT


Words: sub-species
Meaning:
sub-species  sub-species   also subspecies\n  A sub-species of a plant or animal is one of the types that a particular species is divided into.\nSeveral other sub-species of gull are found in the region.\n  N-COUNT: oft N of n


Words: sub-standard
Meaning:
sub-standard   also substandard\n  A sub-standard service or product is unacceptable because it is below a required standard.\nResidents in general are poor and undereducated, and live in sub-standard housing.\n  ADJ


Words: sub-tropical
Meaning:
sub-tropical   also subtropical\n  Sub-tropical places have a climate that is warm and wet, and are often near tropical regions.\n...the sub-tropical region of the Chapare.\n  ADJ\n  = semi-tropical


Words: sub-zero
Meaning:
sub-zero   also subzero\n  Sub-zero temperatures are below 0. centigrade or, in the United States, below 0. Fahrenheit.\n...passengers stranded in sub-zero temperatures.\n  ADJ


Words: subaltern
Meaning:
sub.al.tern\n   subaltern  subalterns\n  A subaltern is any commissioned officer in the army below the rank of captain. (BRIT)\n  N-COUNT


Words: subatomic
Meaning:
sub.atom.ic\n   subatomic\n  A subatomic particle is a particle which is part of an atom, for example an electron, a proton, or a neutron. (TECHNICAL)\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: subcommittee
Meaning:
sub.com.mit.tee\n   subcommittee  subcommittees   also sub-committee\n  A subcommittee is a small committee made up of members of a larger committee.\n  N-COUNT-COLL


Words: subconscious
Meaning:
sub.con.scious\n   subconscious\n1. Your subconscious is the part of your mind that can influence you or affect your behaviour even though you are not aware of it.\n...the hidden power of the subconscious...\nThe memory of it all was locked deep in my subconscious.\n  N-SING: the N, N with poss\n\n2. A subconscious feeling or action exists in or is influenced by your subconscious.\nHe caught her arm in a subconscious attempt to detain her.\n...a subconscious cry for affection.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  !=conscious\n=>  sub.con.scious.ly\nSubconsciously I had known that I would not be in personal danger.\n  ADV: usu ADV with v, also ADV adj


Words: subcontinent
Meaning:
sub.con.ti.nent\n   subcontinent  subcontinents   also sub-continent\n  A subcontinent is part of a larger continent, made up of a number of countries that form a large mass of land. The subcontinent is often used to refer to the area that contains India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing


Words: subcontract
Meaning:
sub.con.tract\n   subcontract subcontracts subcontracting  subcontracted\nThe verb is pronounced   The noun is pronounced\n1. If one firm subcontracts part of its work to another firm, it pays the other firm to do part of the work that it has been employed to do. (BUSINESS)\nThe company is subcontracting production of most of the parts...\nThey are cutting costs by subcontracting work out to other local firms.\n  VERB: V n, V n to n\n  = contract out\n2. A subcontract is a contract between a firm which is being employed to do a job and another firm which agrees to do part of that job.\n  N-COUNT


Words: subcontractor
Meaning:
sub.con.trac.tor\n   subcontractor  subcontractors   also sub-contractor\n  A subcontractor is a person or firm that has a contract to do part of a job which another firm is responsible for. (BUSINESS)\nThe company was considered as a possible subcontractor to build the aeroplane.\n  N-COUNT


Words: subculture
Meaning:
sub.cul.ture\n   subculture  subcultures   also sub-culture\n  A subculture is the ideas, art, and way of life of a group of people within a society, which are different from the ideas, art, and way of life of the rest of the society.\n...the latest American subculture.\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp


Words: subcutaneous
Meaning:
sub.cu.ta.neous\n   subcutaneous\n  Subcutaneous is used to indicate that something is situated, used, or put under your skin.\n...subcutaneous fat.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: subdivide
Meaning:
sub.di.vide\n   subdivide  subdivides  subdividing  subdivided   also sub-divide\n  If something is subdivided, it is divided into several smaller areas, parts, or groups.\nThe verbs were subdivided into transitive and intransitive categories.\n  VERB: usu passive, be V-ed into n


Words: subdivision
Meaning:
sub.di.vi.sion\n   subdivision  subdivisions   also sub-division\n1. A subdivision is an area, part, or section of something which is itself a part of something larger.\nMonths are a conventional subdivision of the year.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A subdivision is an area of land for building houses on. (AM)\nRammick lives high on a ridge in a 400-home subdivision.\n  N-COUNT


Words: subdue
Meaning:
sub.due\n   subdue  subdues  subduing  subdued\n1. If soldiers or the police subdue a group of people, they defeat them or bring them under control by using force.\nSenior government officials admit they have not been able to subdue the rebels.\n  VERB: V n\n\n2. To subdue feelings means to make them less strong.\nHe forced himself to subdue and overcome his fears.\n  VERB: V n


Words: subdued
Meaning:
sub.dued\n   subdued\n1. Someone who is subdued is very quiet, often because they are sad or worried about something.\nThe audience are strangely subdued, clapping politely after each song.\n  ADJ\n\n2. Subdued sounds are not very loud.\nThe conversation around them was resumed, but in subdued tones.\n  ADJ\n\n3. Subdued lights or colours are not very bright.\nThe lighting was subdued.\n  ADJ


Words: subgroup
Meaning:
sub.group\n   subgroup  subgroups   also sub-group\n  A subgroup is a group that is part of a larger group.\nThe Action Group worked by dividing its tasks among a large number of subgroups.\n  N-COUNT


Words: subheading
Meaning:
sub.head.ing\n   subheading  subheadings   also sub-heading\n  Subheadings are titles that divide part of a piece of writing into shorter sections.\n  N-COUNT


Words: subhuman
Meaning:
sub.hu.man\n   subhuman   also sub-human\n  If you describe someone or their situation as subhuman, you mean that they behave or live in a much worse way than human beings normally do.\nThe Greeks treated women as subhuman...\n  ADJ


Words: subject
Meaning:
sub.ject\n   subject subjects subjecting  subjected\nThe noun and adjective are pronounced   The verb is pronounced\n1. The subject of something such as a conversation, letter, or book is the thing that is being discussed or written about.\nIt was I who first raised the subject of plastic surgery.\n...the president’s own views on the subject.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. Someone or something that is the subject of criticism, study, or an investigation is being criticized, studied, or investigated.\nOver the past few years, some of the positions Mr. Meredith has adopted have made him the subject of criticism...\nHe’s now the subject of an official inquiry.\n  N-COUNT: N of n\n\n3. A subject is an area of knowledge or study, especially one that you study at school, college, or university.\n...a tutor in maths and science subjects.\n  N-COUNT\n\n4. In an experiment or piece of research, the subject is the person or animal that is being tested or studied. (FORMAL)\n`White noise’ was played into the subject’s ears through headphones...\n  N-COUNT\n\n5. An artist’s subjects are the people, animals, or objects that he or she paints, models, or photographs.\nHer favourite subjects are shells spotted on beach walks.\n  N-COUNT: with supp\n\n6. In grammar, the subject of a clause is the noun group that refers to the person or thing that is doing the action expressed by the verb. For example, in `My cat keeps catching birds’, `my cat’ is the subject.\n  N-COUNT\n\n7. To be subject to something means to be affected by it or to be likely to be affected by it.\nPrices may be subject to alteration...\nIn addition, interest on Treasury issues isn’t subject to state and local income taxes.\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ to n\n\n8. If someone is subject to a particular set of rules or laws, they have to obey those rules or laws.\nThe tribunal is unique because Mr Jones is not subject to the normal police discipline code.\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ to n\n\n9. If you subject someone to something unpleasant, you make them experience it.\n...the man who had subjected her to four years of beatings and abuse...\n  VERB: V n to n\n\n10. The people who live in or belong to a particular country, usually one ruled by a monarch, are the subjects of that monarch or country.\nRoughly half of them are British subjects.\n  N-COUNT: with supp\n\n11. When someone involved in a conversation changes the subject, they start talking about something else, often because the previous subject was embarrassing.\nHe tried to change the subject, but she wasn’t to be put off.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n12. If an event will take place subject to a condition, it will take place only if that thing happens.\nThey denied a report that Egypt had agreed to a summit, subject to certain conditions.\n  PREP-PHRASE


Words: subject matter
Meaning:
sub.ject mat.ter\n   subject matter   also subject-matter\n  The subject matter of something such as a book, lecture, film, or painting is the thing that is being written about, discussed, or shown.\nThen, attitudes changed and artists were given greater freedom in their choice of subject matter...\nHer subject matter is herself.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n  = subject


Words: subjection
Meaning:
sub.jec.tion\n   subjection\n  Subjection to someone involves being completely controlled by them.\n...their complete subjection to their captors.\n...the worst forms of economic subjection and drudgery.


Words: subjective
Meaning:
sub.jec.tive\n   subjective\n  Something that is subjective is based on personal opinions and feelings rather than on facts.\nWe know that taste in art is a subjective matter...\nThe way they interpreted their past was highly subjective.\n  ADJ\n  !=objective\n=>  sub.jec.tive.ly\nOur preliminary results suggest that people do subjectively find the speech clearer.\n  ADV\n  !=objectively\n=>  sub.jec.tiv.ity\nThey accused her of flippancy and subjectivity in her reporting of events in their country.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n  !=objectivity


Words: subjugate
Meaning:
sub.ju.gate\n   subjugate  subjugates  subjugating  subjugated\n1. If someone subjugates a group of people, they take complete control of them, especially by defeating them in a war. (FORMAL)\nTheir costly and futile attempt to subjugate the Afghans lasted just 10 years.\n  VERB: V n\n\n=>  sub.ju.ga.tion\n...the brutal subjugation of native tribes.\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu N of n\n\n2. If your wishes or desires are subjugated to something, they are treated as less important than that thing. (FORMAL)\nAfter having been subjugated to ambition, your maternal instincts are at last starting to assert themselves.\n  VERB: usu passive, be V-ed to n, also be V-ed


Words: subjunctive
Meaning:
sub.junc.tive\n   subjunctive\n  In English, a clause expressing a wish or suggestion can be put in the subjunctive, or in the subjunctive mood, by using the base form of a verb or `were’. Examples are `He asked that they be removed’ and `I wish I were somewhere else’. These structures are formal. (TECHNICAL)\n  N-SING: the N


Words: sublet
Meaning:
sub.let\n   sublet  sublets  subletting\n  If you sublet a building or part of a building, you allow someone to use it and you take rent from them, although you are not the owner and pay rent for it yourself.\nThe company rented the building, occupied part and sublet the rest.\n  VERB: V n\n  The form sublet is used in the present tense and is the past tense and past participle of the verb.


Words: sublimate
Meaning:
sub.li.mate\n   sublimate  sublimates  sublimating  sublimated\n  If you sublimate a strong desire or feeling, you express it in a way that is socially acceptable. (TECHNICAL or FORMAL)\nHe could try to sublimate the problem by writing, in detail, about it...\n  VERB: V n


Words: sublime
Meaning:
sub.lime\n   sublime\n1. If you describe something as sublime, you mean that it has a wonderful quality that affects you deeply. (LITERARY)\nSublime music floats on a scented summer breeze to the spot where you lie.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n  approval\n\n  You can refer to sublime things as the sublime.\nShe elevated every rare small success to the sublime.\n  N-SING: the N\n\n=>  sub.lime.ly\n...the most sublimely beautiful of all living things.\n  ADV: usu ADV adj\n\n  If you describe something as going from the sublime to the ridiculous, you mean that it involves a change from something very good or serious to something silly or unimportant.\nAt times the show veered from the sublime to the ridiculous.\n  PHRASE: PHR after v\n\n2. You can use sublime to emphasize a quality that someone or something has, usually a quality that is undesirable or negative. (FORMAL or LITERARY)\nThe administration’s sublime incompetence is probably temporary...\nHe displayed a sublime indifference to the distinction between right and wrong.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n  emphasis\n\n=>  sub.lime.ly\nMrs Trollope was sublimely uninterested in what she herself wore.\n  ADV: usu ADV adj


Words: subliminal
Meaning:
sub.limi.nal\n   subliminal\n  Subliminal influences or messages affect your mind without you being aware of it.\nColour has a profound, though often subliminal influence on our senses and moods.\n...subliminal advertising.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: submarine
Meaning:
sub.ma.rine\n   submarine  submarines\n1. A submarine is a type of ship that can travel both above and below the surface of the sea. The abbreviation sub is also used.\n...a nuclear submarine.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. Submarine means existing below the surface of the sea. (FORMAL)\n...submarine caves.\n...submarine plants.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n3. A submarine sandwich is a long soft bread roll filled with a combination of things such as meat, cheese, eggs, and salad. The abbreviation sub is also used. (AM)\n  N-COUNT: usu N n


Words: submariner
Meaning:
sub.ma.rin.er\n   submariner  submariners\n  A submariner is a sailor or other person who goes in a submarine.\n  N-COUNT


Words: submerge
Meaning:
sub.merge\n   submerge  submerges  submerging  submerged\n1. If something submerges or if you submerge it, it goes below the surface of some water or another liquid.\nHippos are unable to submerge in the few remaining water holes...\nThe river burst its banks, submerging an entire village.\n  VERB: V, V n\n\n2. If you submerge yourself in an activity, you give all your attention to it and do not think about anything else.\nHe submerges himself in the world of his imagination.\n  VERB: V pron-refl in n


Words: submerged
Meaning:
sub.merged\n   submerged\n  If something is submerged, it is below the surface of some water.\nMy right toe struck against a submerged rock...\n  ADJ


Words: submersible
Meaning:
sub.mers.ible\n   submersible\n  If something is submersible, it can go or operate under water.\n...a submersible pump.\n  ADJ


Words: submission
Meaning:
sub.mis.sion\n   submission  submissions\n1. Submission is a state in which people can no longer do what they want to do because they have been brought under the control of someone else.\nThe army intends to take the city or simply starve it into submission.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft into N\n\n2. The submission of a proposal, report, or other document is the act of formally sending it to someone, so that they can consider it or decide about it. (FORMAL)\nDiploma and certificate courses do not normally require the submission of a dissertation.\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu the N of n\n\n3. A submission is a proposal, report, or other document that is formally sent or presented to someone, so that they can consider or decide about it.\nA written submission has to be prepared.\n  N-COUNT


Words: submissive
Meaning:
sub.mis.sive\n   submissive\n  If you are submissive, you obey someone without arguing.\nMost doctors want their patients to be submissive.\n  ADJ\n\n=>  sub.mis.sive.ly\nThe troops submissively laid down their weapons.\n  ADV


Words: submit
Meaning:
sub.mit\n   submit  submits  submitting  submitted\n1. If you submit to something, you unwillingly allow something to be done to you, or you do what someone wants, for example because you are not powerful enough to resist.\nIn desperation, Mrs. Jones submitted to an operation on her right knee to relieve the pain...\nIf I submitted to their demands, they would not press the allegations.\n  VERB: V to n, V to n\n\n2. If you submit a proposal, report, or request to someone, you formally send it to them so that they can consider it or decide about it.\nThey submitted their reports to the Chancellor yesterday...\nHead teachers yesterday submitted a claim for a 9 per cent pay rise.\n  VERB: V n to n, V n\n  = present


Words: subnormal
Meaning:
sub.nor.mal\n   subnormal   also sub-normal\n  If someone is subnormal, they have less ability or intelligence than a normal person of their age. (OLD-FASHIONED)\n...educationally subnormal children.\n  ADJ\n\n  The subnormal are people who are subnormal.\nShe attended a school for the educationally subnormal.\n  N-PLURAL: the N


Words: subordinate
Meaning:
sub.or.di.nate\n   subordinate subordinates subordinating  subordinated\nThe noun and adjective are pronounced   The verb is pronounced\n1. If someone is your subordinate, they have a less important position than you in the organization that you both work for.\nHaig tended not to seek guidance from subordinates...\n  N-COUNT: oft poss N\n  !=superior\n2. Someone who is subordinate to you has a less important position than you and has to obey you.\nSixty of his subordinate officers followed his example...\nWomen were regarded as subordinate to free men.\n  ADJ: oft ADJ to n\n  !=superior\n3. Something that is subordinate to something else is less important than the other thing.\nIt was an art in which words were subordinate to images.\n  ADJ: oft ADJ to n\n\n4. If you subordinate something to another thing, you regard it or treat it as less important than the other thing.\nHe was both willing and able to subordinate all else to this aim.\n  VERB: V n to n\n\n=>  sub.or.di.na.tion\n...the social subordination of women.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N of/to n


Words: subordinate clause
Meaning:
sub.or.di.nate clause\n   subordinate clause  subordinate clauses\n  A subordinate clause is a clause in a sentence which adds to or completes the information given in the main clause. It cannot usually stand alone as a sentence. Compare main clause. (TECHNICAL)\n  N-COUNT


Words: subordinating conjunction
Meaning:
sub.or.di.nat.ing con.junc.tion\n   subordinating conjunction  subordinating conjunctions\n  A subordinating conjunction is a word such as `although’, `because’, or `when’ which begins a subordinate clause. Compare co-ordinating conjunction. (TECHNICAL)\n  N-COUNT


Words: subpoena
Meaning:
sub.poe.na\n   subpoena  subpoenas  subpoenaing  subpoenaed\n1. A subpoena is a legal document telling someone that they must attend a court of law and give evidence as a witness.\nHe has been served with a subpoena to answer the charges in court.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If someone subpoenas a person, they give them a legal document telling them to attend a court of law and give evidence. If someone subpoenas a piece of evidence, the evidence must be produced in a court of law.\nSelect committees have the power to subpoena witnesses...\nThe investigation will rely on existing powers to subpoena documents.\n  VERB: V n, V n


Words: subscribe
Meaning:
sub.scribe\n   subscribe  subscribes  subscribing  subscribed\n1. If you subscribe to an opinion or belief, you are one of a number of people who have this opinion or belief.\nI’ve personally never subscribed to the view that either sex is superior to the other.\n  VERB: V to n\n\n2. If you subscribe to a magazine or a newspaper, you pay to receive copies of it regularly.\nMy main reason for subscribing to New Scientist is to keep abreast of advances in science.\n  VERB: V to n\n\n3. If you subscribe to an online newsgroup or service, you send a message saying that you wish to receive it or belong to it. (COMPUTING)\nUsenet is a collection of discussion groups, known as newsgroups, to which anybody can subscribe.\n  VERB: V to n, also V\n\n4. If you subscribe for shares in a company, you apply to buy shares in that company. (BUSINESS)\nEmployees subscribed for far more shares than were available.\n  VERB: V for n, also V n


Words: subscriber
Meaning:
sub.scrib.er\n   subscriber  subscribers\n1. A magazine’s or a newspaper’s subscribers are the people who pay to receive copies of it regularly.\nI have been a subscriber to Railway Magazine for many years.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl, oft N to n\n\n2. Subscribers to a service are the people who pay to receive the service.\nChina has almost 15 million subscribers to satellite and cable television.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl, oft N to n


Words: subscription
Meaning:
sub.scrip.tion\n   subscription  subscriptions\n1. A subscription is an amount of money that you pay regularly in order to belong to an organization, to help a charity or campaign, or to receive copies of a magazine or newspaper.\nYou can become a member by paying the yearly subscription.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. Subscription television is television that you can watch only if you pay a subscription. A subscription channel is a channel that you can watch only if you pay a subscription.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: subsection
Meaning:
sub.sec.tion\n   subsection  subsections   also sub-section\n  A subsection of a text or a document such as a law is one of the smaller parts into which its main parts are divided.\n  N-COUNT: also N num


Words: subsequent
Meaning:
sub.se.quent\n   subsequent\n1. You use subsequent to describe something that happened or existed after the time or event that has just been referred to. (FORMAL)\n...the increase of population in subsequent years...\nThose concerns were overshadowed by subsequent events.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n  !=previous\n=>  sub.se.quent.ly\nShe subsequently became the Faculty’s President...\n  ADV\n\n2. If something happened subsequent to something else, it happened after that thing. (FORMAL)\nThey won only one more game subsequent to their Cup semi-final win last year.\n  PHRASE: PHR n/-ing\n  !=prior to


Words: subservient
Meaning:
sub.ser.vi.ent\n   subservient\n1. If you are subservient, you do whatever someone wants you to do.\nShe is expected to be subservient to her uncle.\n  ADJ: oft ADJ to n\n\n=>  sub.ser.vi.ence\n...an austere regime stressing obedience and subservience to authority.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. If you treat one thing as subservient to another, you treat it as less important than the other thing.\nThe woman’s needs are seen as subservient to the group interest.\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ to n


Words: subset
Meaning:
sub.set\n   subset  subsets\n  A subset of a group of things is a smaller number of things that belong together within that group.\n...subsets of the population such as men, women, ethnic groups, etc.\n  N-COUNT: oft N of n


Words: subside
Meaning:
sub.side\n   subside  subsides  subsiding  subsided\n1. If a feeling or noise subsides, it becomes less strong or loud.\nThe pain had subsided during the night...\n  VERB: V\n\n2. If fighting subsides, it becomes less intense or general.\nViolence has subsided following two days of riots.\n  VERB: V\n\n3. If the ground or a building is subsiding, it is very slowly sinking to a lower level.\nDoes that mean the whole house is subsiding?\n  VERB: V\n\n4. If a level of water, especially flood water, subsides, it goes down.\nLocal officials say the flood waters have subsided.\n  VERB: V


Words: subsidence
Meaning:
sub.sid.ence\n   subsidence\n  When there is subsidence in a place, the ground there sinks to a lower level.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: subsidiarity
Meaning:
sub.sid.iari.ty\n   subsidiarity\n  Subsidiarity is the principle of allowing the individual members of a large organization to make decisions on issues that affect them, rather than leaving those decisions to be made by the whole group. (TECHNICAL)\nThe chancellor knows that the principle of subsidiarity must be guaranteed and shown to work.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: subsidiary
Meaning:
sub.sidi.ary\n   subsidiary  subsidiaries\n1. A subsidiary or a subsidiary company is a company which is part of a larger and more important company. (BUSINESS)\n...British Asia Airways, a subsidiary of British Airways.\n  N-COUNT: oft N of n, N n\n\n2. If something is subsidiary, it is less important than something else with which it is connected.\nThe economics ministry has increasingly played a subsidiary role to the finance ministry.\n  ADJ\n  = secondary


Words: subsidize
Meaning:
sub.si.dize\n   subsidize  subsidizes  subsidizing  subsidized\nin BRIT, also use subsidise\n  If a government or other authority subsidizes something, they pay part of the cost of it.\nAt the moment they are existing on pensions that are subsidised by the government.\n  VERB: V n\n\n=>  sub.si.dized\n...heavily subsidized prices for housing, bread, and meat.\n  ADJ\n\n=>  sub.si.diz.ing\n...the subsidising of London’s transport.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n=>  sub.si.di.za.tion\n...the federal government’s subsidisation of poorer parts of the country.\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu N of n


Words: subsidy
Meaning:
sub.si.dy\n   subsidy  subsidies\n  A subsidy is money that is paid by a government or other authority in order to help an industry or business, or to pay for a public service.\nEuropean farmers are planning a massive demonstration against farm subsidy cuts...\n  N-COUNT


Words: subsist
Meaning:
sub.sist\n   subsist  subsists  subsisting  subsisted\n  If people subsist, they are just able to obtain the food or money that they need in order to stay alive. (FORMAL)\nThe prisoners subsisted on one mug of the worst quality porridge three times a day...\n  VERB: V on n


Words: subsistence
Meaning:
sub.sist.ence\n   subsistence\n1. Subsistence is the condition of just having enough food or money to stay alive.\n...below the subsistence level...\nThe standard of living today is on the edge of subsistence.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N n\n\n2. In subsistence farming or subsistence agriculture, farmers produce food to eat themselves rather than to sell.\nMany black Namibians are subsistence farmers who live in the arid borderlands.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: subsoil
Meaning:
sub.soil\n   subsoil\n  The subsoil is a layer of earth that is just below the surface soil but above hard rock.\n...the chalk subsoil on the site.\n  N-UNCOUNT: also a N


Words: subsonic
Meaning:
sub.son.ic\n   subsonic\n  Subsonic speeds or aeroplanes are very fast but slower than the speed of sound.\nThis is 20,000 feet higher than most subsonic airliners.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: substance
Meaning:
sub.stance\n   substance  substances\n1. A substance is a solid, powder, liquid, or gas with particular properties.\nThere’s absolutely no regulation of cigarettes to make sure that they don’t include poisonous substances...\nThe substance that’s causing the problem comes from the barley.\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp\n\n2. Substance is the quality of being important or significant. (FORMAL)\nIt’s questionable whether anything of substance has been achieved...\nSyria will attend only if the negotiations deal with issues of substance.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft with brd-neg\n\n3. The substance of what someone says or writes is the main thing that they are trying to say.\nThe substance of his discussions doesn’t really matter.\n  N-SING: the N of n\n\n4. If you say that something has no substance, you mean that it is not true. (FORMAL)\nThere is no substance in any of these allegations.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n  = truth


