# dict

Words: embarrass
Meaning:
em.bar.rass\n   embarrass  embarrasses  embarrassing  embarrassed\n1. If something or someone embarrasses you, they make you feel shy or ashamed.\nHis clumsiness embarrassed him...\nIt embarrassed him that he had no idea of what was going on.\n  VERB: V n, it V n that\n\n2. If something embarrasses a public figure such as a politician or an organization such as a political party, it causes problems for them.\nThe Republicans are trying to embarrass the president by thwarting his economic program...\n  VERB: V n


Words: embarrassed
Meaning:
em.bar.rassed\n   embarrassed\n  A person who is embarrassed feels shy, ashamed, or guilty about something.\nHe looked a bit embarrassed.\n...an embarrassed silence.\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ


Words: embarrassing
Meaning:
em.bar.rass.ing\n   embarrassing\n1. Something that is embarrassing makes you feel shy or ashamed.\nThat was an embarrassing situation for me...\nMen find it embarrassing to be honest.\n  ADJ\n  = uncomfortable, awkward\n=>  em.bar.rass.ing.ly\nStephens had beaten him embarrassingly easily.\n  ADV: usu ADV adj/adv\n\n2. Something that is embarrassing to a public figure such as a politician or an organization such as a political party causes problems for them.\nHe has put the Bonn government in an embarrassing position...\nThe speech was deeply embarrassing to Cabinet ministers.\n  ADJ: oft ADJ to n


Words: embarrassment
Meaning:
em.bar.rass.ment\n   embarrassment  embarrassments\n1. Embarrassment is the feeling you have when you are embarrassed.\nIt is a source of embarrassment to Londoners that the standard of pubs is so low...\nWe apologise for any embarrassment this may have caused.\n  N-VAR: oft N prep\n\n2. An embarrassment is an action, event, or situation which causes problems for a politician, political party, government, or other public group.\nThe poverty figures were undoubtedly an embarrassment to the president.\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp\n\n3. If you refer to a person as an embarrassment, you mean that you disapprove of them but cannot avoid your connection with them.\nYou have been an embarrassment to us from the day Douglas married you.\n  N-SING: a N  disapproval


Words: embassy
Meaning:
em.bas.sy\n   embassy  embassies\n  An embassy is a group of government officials, headed by an ambassador, who represent their government in a foreign country. The building in which they work is also called an embassy.\nThe American Embassy has already complained...\nMr Cohen held discussions at the embassy with one of the rebel leaders.\n  N-COUNT: oft the adj N


Words: embattled
Meaning:
em.bat.tled\n   embattled\n1. If you describe a person, group, or organization as embattled, you mean that they are having a lot of problems or difficulties.\nThe embattled president also denied recent claims that he was being held hostage by his own soldiers.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  = beleaguered\n2. An embattled area is one that is involved in the fighting in a war, especially one that is surrounded by enemy forces.\nBoth sides say they want to try to reach a political settlement in the embattled north and east of the island.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: embed
Meaning:
em.bed\n   embed  embeds  embedding  embedded\n1. If an object embeds itself in a substance or thing, it becomes fixed there firmly and deeply.\nOne of the bullets passed through Andrea’s chest before embedding itself in a wall.\n  VERB: V n in n, also V n prep\n\n=>  em.bed.ded\nThere is glass embedded in the cut.\n  ADJ: oft ADJ in n\n\n2. If something such as an attitude or feeling is embedded in a society or system, or in someone’s personality, it becomes a permanent and noticeable feature of it.\nThis agreement will be embedded in a state treaty to be signed soon.\n  VERB: usu passive, be V-ed in n\n\n=>  em.bed.ded\nI think that hatred of the other is deeply embedded in our society.\n  ADJ: oft ADJ in n


Words: embellish
Meaning:
em.bel.lish\n   embellish  embellishes  embellishing  embellished\n1. If something is embellished with decorative features or patterns, it has those features or patterns on it and they make it look more attractive.\nThe stern was embellished with carvings in red and blue...\nIvy leaves embellish the front of the dresser...\n  VERB: be V-ed with n, V n\n\n2. If you embellish a story, you make it more interesting by adding details which may be untrue.\nI launched into the parable, embellishing the story with invented dialogue and extra details...\nIrving popularized the story in a dramatic and embellished account.\n  VERB: V n, V-ed


Words: embellishment
Meaning:
em.bel.lish.ment\n   embellishment  embellishments\n  An embellishment is a decoration added to something to make it seem more attractive or interesting.\n...Renaissance embellishments.\n...public buildings with little bits of decoration and embellishment.\n  N-VAR


Words: ember
Meaning:
em.ber\n   ember  embers\n  The embers of a fire are small pieces of wood or coal that remain and glow with heat after the fire has finished burning.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl


Words: embezzle
Meaning:
em.bez.zle\n   embezzle  embezzles  embezzling  embezzled\n  If someone embezzles money that their organization or company has placed in their care, they take it and use it illegally for their own purposes.\nOne former director embezzled $34 million in company funds.\n  VERB: V n


Words: embittered
Meaning:
em.bit.tered\n   embittered\n  If someone is embittered, they feel angry and unhappy because of harsh, unpleasant, and unfair things that have happened to them.\nHe had turned into an embittered, hardened adult...\n  ADJ


Words: emblazoned
Meaning:
em.bla.zoned\n   emblazoned\n  If something is emblazoned with a design, words, or letters, they are clearly drawn, printed, or sewn on it.\nThe republic’s new flag was emblazoned with the ancient symbol of the Greek Macedonian dynasty.\n...a T-shirt with `Mustique’ emblazoned on it.\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ, usu ADJ with n, ADJ on/across n


Words: emblem
Meaning:
em.blem\n   emblem  emblems\n1. An emblem is a design representing a country or organization.\n...the emblem of the Soviet Union.\n...the Red Cross emblem.\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp\n\n2. An emblem is something that represents a quality or idea.\nThe eagle was an emblem of strength and courage.\n  N-COUNT: usu N of n\n  = symbol


Words: emblematic
Meaning:
em.blem.at.ic\n   emblematic\n1. If something, such as an object in a picture, is emblematic of a particular quality or an idea, it symbolically represents the quality or idea.\nDogs are emblematic of faithfulness...\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ, usu ADJ of n\n  = symbolic\n2. If you say that something is emblematic of a state of affairs, you mean that it is characteristic of it and represents its most typical features.\nThe killing in Pensacola is emblematic of a lot of the violence that is happening around the world.\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ of n\n  = representative


Words: embodiment
Meaning:
em.bodi.ment\n   embodiment\n  If you say that someone or something is the embodiment of a quality or idea, you mean that that is their most noticeable characteristic or the basis of all they do. (FORMAL)\nA baby is the embodiment of vulnerability.\n  N-SING: usu the N of n


Words: embody
Meaning:
em.body\n   embody  embodies  embodying  embodied\n1. To embody an idea or quality means to be a symbol or expression of that idea or quality.\nJack Kennedy embodied all the hopes of the 1960s...\nThat stability was embodied in the Gandhi family.\n  VERB: V n, be V-ed in/by n\n  = represent\n2. If something is embodied in a particular thing, the second thing contains or consists of the first.\nThe proposal has been embodied in a draft resolution...\nUK employment law embodies arbitration and conciliation mechanisms for settling industrial disputes.\n  VERB: be V-ed in/by n, V n


Words: embolden
Meaning:
em.bold.en\n   embolden  emboldens  emboldening  emboldened\n  If you are emboldened by something, it makes you feel confident enough to behave in a particular way.\nThe Prime Minister was steadily emboldened by the discovery that he faced no opposition...\nFour days of non-stop demonstrations have emboldened the anti-government protesters.\n  VERB: be V-ed, V n


Words: embolism
Meaning:
em.bo.lism\n   embolism  embolisms\n  An embolism is a serious medical condition that occurs when an artery becomes blocked, usually by a blood clot.\n  N-COUNT: oft adj N


Words: embossed
Meaning:
em.bossed\n   embossed\n  If a surface such as paper or wood is embossed with a design, the design stands up slightly from the surface.\nThe paper on the walls was pale gold, embossed with swirling leaf designs.\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ, usu ADJ with n


Words: embrace
Meaning:
em.brace\n   embrace  embraces  embracing  embraced\n1. If you embrace someone, you put your arms around them and hold them tightly, usually in order to show your love or affection for them. You can also say that two people embrace.\nPenelope came forward and embraced her sister...\nAt first people were sort of crying for joy and embracing each other...\nHe threw his arms round her and they embraced passionately.\n  V-RECIP: V n (non-recip), V n (non-recip), pl-n V\n  = hug\n  Embrace is also a noun.\n...a young couple locked in an embrace.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If you embrace a change, political system, or idea, you accept it and start supporting it or believing in it. (FORMAL)\nHe embraces the new information age...\nThe new rules have been embraced by government watchdog organizations.\n  VERB: V n, V n\n\n  Embrace is also a noun.\nThe marriage signalled James’s embrace of the Catholic faith.\n  N-SING: usu with supp\n\n3. If something embraces a group of people, things, or ideas, it includes them in a larger group or category. (FORMAL)\n...a theory that would embrace the whole field of human endeavour.\n  VERB: V n


Words: embroider
Meaning:
em.broi.der\n   embroider  embroiders  embroidering  embroidered\n1. If something such as clothing or cloth is embroidered with a design, the design is stitched into it.\nThe collar was embroidered with very small red strawberries...\nMatilda was embroidering an altar cloth covered with flowers and birds...\nI have a pillow with my name embroidered on it.\n  VERB: be V-ed with/in n, V n, V-ed, also V\n\n2. If you embroider a story or account of something, or if you embroider on it, you try to make it more interesting by adding details which may be untrue.\nHe told some lies and sometimes just embroidered the truth...\nShe embroidered on this theme for about ten minutes.\n  VERB: V n, V on n\n  = embellish


Words: embroidery
Meaning:
em.broi.dery\n   embroidery  embroideries\n1. Embroidery consists of designs stitched into cloth.\nThe shorts had blue embroidery over the pockets...\n  N-VAR\n\n2. Embroidery is the activity of stitching designs onto cloth.\nShe learned sewing, knitting and embroidery.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: embroil
Meaning:
em.broil\n   embroil  embroils  embroiling  embroiled\n  If someone embroils you in a fight or an argument, they get you deeply involved in it.\nAny hostilities could result in retaliation and further embroil U.N. troops in fighting.\n  VERB: V n in n, also V n


Words: embroiled
Meaning:
em.broiled\n   embroiled\n  If you become embroiled in a fight or argument, you become deeply involved in it.\nThe Government insisted that troops would not become embroiled in battles in Bosnia.\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ, usu ADJ in n


Words: embryo
Meaning:
em.bryo\n   embryo  embryos\n1. An embryo is an unborn animal or human being in the very early stages of development.\n...the remarkable resilience of very young embryos.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. An embryo idea, system, or organization is in the very early stages of development, but is expected to grow stronger.\nThey are an embryo party of government...\nIt was an embryo idea rather than a fully worked proposal.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: embryology
Meaning:
em.bry.ol.ogy\n   embryology\n  Embryology is the scientific study of embryos and their development.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n=>  em.bry.olo.gist      embryologists\n...a genetic embryologist at the hospital.\n  N-COUNT


Words: embryonic
Meaning:
em.bry.on.ic\n   embryonic\n  An embryonic process, idea, organization, or organism is one at a very early stage in its development. (FORMAL)\n...Romania’s embryonic democracy.\n...embryonic plant cells.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: emcee
Meaning:
em.cee\n   emcee  emcees  emceeing  emceed\n1. An emcee is the same as a master of ceremonies. (AM)\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. To emcee an event or performance of something means to act as master of ceremonies for it. (AM)\nI’m going to be emceeing a costume contest...\nThat first night I emceed I was absolutely terrified.\n  VERB: V n, V


Words: emerald
Meaning:
em.er.ald\n   emerald  emeralds\n1. An emerald is a precious stone which is clear and bright green.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. Something that is emerald is bright green in colour.\n...an emerald valley.\n  COLOUR


Words: emerge
Meaning:
emerge  emerges  emerging  emerged\n1. To emerge means to come out from an enclosed or dark space such as a room or a vehicle, or from a position where you could not be seen.\nRichard was waiting outside the door as she emerged...\nThe postman emerged from his van soaked to the skin.\n...holes made by the emerging adult beetle.\n  VERB: V, V from n, V-ing\n\n2. If you emerge from a difficult or bad experience, you come to the end of it.\nThere is growing evidence that the economy is at last emerging from recession.\n  VERB: V from n\n\n3. If a fact or result emerges from a period of thought, discussion, or investigation, it becomes known as a result of it.\n...the growing corruption that has emerged in the past few years...\nIt soon emerged that neither the July nor August mortgage repayment had been collected...\nThe emerging caution over numbers is perhaps only to be expected.\n  VERB: V, it V that, V-ing\n\n4. If someone or something emerges as a particular thing, they become recognized as that thing. (JOURNALISM)\nVietnam has emerged as the world’s third-biggest rice exporter...\nNew leaders have emerged.\n  VERB: V as n, V\n\n5. When something such as an organization or an industry emerges, it comes into existence. (JOURNALISM)\n...the new republic that emerged in October 1917.\n...the emerging democracies of Eastern Europe.\n  VERB: V, V-ing


Words: emergence
Meaning:
emer.gence\n   emergence\n  The emergence of something is the process or event of its coming into existence.\n...the emergence of new democracies in East and Central Europe.\n  N-UNCOUNT: with supp, usu N of n


Words: emergency
Meaning:
emer.gen.cy\n   emergency  emergencies\n1. An emergency is an unexpected and difficult or dangerous situation, especially an accident, which happens suddenly and which requires quick action to deal with it.\nHe deals with emergencies promptly...\nThe hospital will cater only for emergencies.\n  N-COUNT\n  = crisis\n2. An emergency action is one that is done or arranged quickly and not in the normal way, because an emergency has occurred.\nThe Prime Minister has called an emergency meeting of parliament...\nShe made an emergency appointment.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n3. Emergency equipment or supplies are those intended for use in an emergency.\nThe plane is carrying emergency supplies for refugees...\nThey escaped through an emergency exit and called the police.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: emergency brake
Meaning:
emer.gen.cy brake\n   emergency brake  emergency brakes\n  In a vehicle, the emergency brake is a brake which the driver operates with his or her hand, and uses, for example, in emergencies or when parking. (mainly AM; in BRIT, use handbrake)\n  N-COUNT


Words: emergency room
Meaning:
emer.gen.cy room\n   emergency room  emergency rooms\n  The emergency room is the room or department in a hospital where people who have severe injuries or sudden illnesses are taken for emergency treatment. The abbreviation ER is often used. (mainly AM; in BRIT, usually use casualty, A & E)\n  N-COUNT


Words: emergency services
Meaning:
emer.gen.cy ser.vices\n   emergency services\n  The emergency services are the public organizations whose job is to take quick action to deal with emergencies when they occur, especially the fire brigade, the police, and the ambulance service.\n  N-PLURAL: usu the N


Words: emergent
Meaning:
emer.gent\n   emergent\n  An emergent country, political movement, or social group is one that is becoming powerful or coming into existence. (WRITTEN)\n...an emergent state.\n...an emergent nationalist movement.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: emeritus
Meaning:
emeri.tus\n   emeritus\n  Emeritus is used with a professional title to indicate that the person bearing it has retired but keeps the title as an honour.\n...emeritus professor of physics...\nHe will continue as chairman emeritus.\n  ADJ: ADJ n, n ADJ


Words: emetic
Meaning:
emet.ic\n   emetic  emetics\n1. An emetic is something that is given to someone to swallow, in order to make them vomit.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. Something that is emetic makes you vomit.\n  ADJ


Words: emigrant
Meaning:
emi.grant\n   emigrant  emigrants\n  An emigrant is a person who has left their own country to live in another country. Compare immigrant.\n  N-COUNT


Words: emigrate
Meaning:
emi.grate\n   emigrate  emigrates  emigrating  emigrated\n  If you emigrate, you leave your own country to live in another country.\nHe emigrated to Belgium...\nThey planned to emigrate.\n  VERB: V to n, V\n\n=>  emi.gra.tion\n...the huge emigration of workers to the West.\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu with supp


Words: emigre
Meaning:
emi.gre\n   emigre  emigres   also emigre\n  An emigre is someone who has left their own country and lives in a different country for political reasons.\nSeveral hundred Bosnian refugees and emigres demonstrated outside the main entrance.\n  N-COUNT\n  = immigrant


Words: eminence
Meaning:
emi.nence\n   eminence\n  Eminence is the quality of being very well-known and highly respected.\nMany of the pilots were to achieve eminence in the aeronautical world...\nBeveridge was a man of great eminence.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: eminent
Meaning:
emi.nent\n   eminent\n  An eminent person is well-known and respected, especially because they are good at their profession.\n...an eminent scientist.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: eminently
Meaning:
emi.nent.ly\n   eminently\n  You use eminently in front of an adjective describing a positive quality in order to emphasize the quality expressed by that adjective.\nHis books on diplomatic history were eminently readable...\n  ADV: ADV adj/-ed  emphasis\n  = highly


Words: emirate
Meaning:
emir.ate\n   emirate  emirates\n  An emirate is a country that is ruled by an emir.\n  N-COUNT: oft in names


Words: emissary
Meaning:
em.is.sary\n   emissary  emissaries\n  An emissary is a representative sent by one government or leader to another. (FORMAL)\n...the President’s special emissary to Hanoi.\n  N-COUNT


Words: emission
Meaning:
emis.sion\n   emission  emissions\n  An emission of something such as gas or radiation is the release of it into the atmosphere. (FORMAL)\nThe emission of gases such as carbon dioxide should be stabilised at their present level...\nSulfur emissions from steel mills become acid rain.\n  N-VAR


Words: emit
Meaning:
emit  emits  emitting  emitted\n1. If something emits heat, light, gas, or a smell, it produces it and sends it out by means of a physical or chemical process. (FORMAL)\nThe new device emits a powerful circular column of light.\n  VERB: V n\n\n2. To emit a sound or noise means to produce it. (FORMAL)\nPolly blinked and emitted a long, low whistle.\n  VERB: V n


Words: emollient
Meaning:
emol.lient\n   emollient  emollients\n1. An emollient is a liquid or cream which you put on your skin to make it softer or to reduce pain. (FORMAL)\n  N-MASS\n\n2. An emollient cream or other substance makes your skin softer or reduces pain. (FORMAL)\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: emolument
Meaning:
emolu.ment\n   emolument  emoluments\n  Emoluments are money or other forms of payment which a person receives for doing work. (FORMAL)\nHe could earn up to .1m a year in salary and emoluments from many directorships.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl


Words: emoticon
Meaning:
emo.ti.con\n   emoticon emoticons\n  An emoticon is a symbol used in e-mail to show how someone is feeling. :-) is an emoticon showing happiness. (COMPUTING)\n  N-COUNT\n  = smiley


Words: emotion
Meaning:
emo.tion\n   emotion  emotions\n1. An emotion is a feeling such as happiness, love, fear, anger, or hatred, which can be caused by the situation that you are in or the people you are with.\nHappiness was an emotion that Reynolds was having to relearn...\nHer voice trembled with emotion.\n  N-VAR\n  = feeling\n2. Emotion is the part of a person’s character that consists of their feelings, as opposed to their thoughts.\n...the split between reason and emotion.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: emotional
Meaning:
emo.tion.al\n   emotional\n1. Emotional means concerned with emotions and feelings.\nI needed this man’s love, and the emotional support he was giving me...\nVictims are left with emotional problems that can last for life.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  = psychological\n=>  emo.tion.al.ly\nAre you saying that you’re becoming emotionally involved with me?\n  ADV: ADV adj/-ed\n\n2. An emotional situation or issue is one that causes people to have strong feelings.\nIt’s a very emotional issue. How can you advocate selling the ivory from elephants?\n  ADJ\n  = emotive\n=>  emo.tion.al.ly\nIn an emotionally charged speech, he said he was resigning.\n  ADV: ADV adj/-ed\n\n3. If someone is or becomes emotional, they show their feelings very openly, especially because they are upset.\nHe is a very emotional man...\nI don’t get as emotional as I once did.\n  ADJ


Words: emotional capital
Meaning:
emo.tion.al capi.tal\n\n  When people refer to the emotional capital of a company, they mean all the psychological assets and resources of the company, such as how the employees feel about the company. (BUSINESS)\nUK organisations are not nourishing their intellectual and emotional capital.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: emotionless
Meaning:
emo.tion.less\n   emotionless\n  If you describe someone as emotionless, you mean that they do not show any feelings or emotions.\n  ADJ\n  !=emotional


Words: emotive
Meaning:
emo.tive\n   emotive\n  An emotive situation or issue is likely to make people feel strong emotions.\nEmbryo research is an emotive issue.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  = emotional


Words: empathetic
Meaning:
em.pa.thet.ic\n   empathetic\n  Someone who is empathetic has the ability to share another person’s feelings or emotions as if they were their own. (FORMAL)\n...Clinton’s skills as an empathetic listener.\n  ADJ


Words: empathize
Meaning:
em.pa.thize\n   empathize  empathizes  empathizing  empathized\nin BRIT, also use empathise\n  If you empathize with someone, you understand their situation, problems, and feelings, because you have been in a similar situation.\nI clearly empathize with the people who live in those neighborhoods...\nParents must make use of their natural ability to empathize.\n  VERB: V with n, V


Words: empathy
Meaning:
em.pa.thy\n   empathy\n  Empathy is the ability to share another person’s feelings and emotions as if they were your own.\nHaving begun my life in a children’s home I have great empathy with the little ones.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N with/for n


Words: emperor
Meaning:
em.per.or\n   emperor  emperors\n  An emperor is a man who rules an empire or is the head of state in an empire.\n  N-COUNT; N-TITLE


Words: emphasis
Meaning:
em.pha.sis\n   emphasis  emphases\n1. Emphasis is special or extra importance that is given to an activity or to a part or aspect of something.\nToo much emphasis is placed on research...\nGrant puts a special emphasis on weather in his paintings.\n  N-VAR: oft N on n\n  = stress\n2. Emphasis is extra force that you put on a syllable, word, or phrase when you are speaking in order to make it seem more important.\n`I might have know it!’ Miss Burnett said with emphasis...\nThe emphasis is on the first syllable of the last word.\n  N-VAR


Words: emphasize
Meaning:
em.pha.size\n   emphasize  emphasizes  emphasizing  emphasized\nin BRIT, also use emphasise\n  To emphasize something means to indicate that it is particularly important or true, or to draw special attention to it.\nBut it’s also been emphasized that no major policy changes can be expected to come out of the meeting...\nDiscuss pollution with your child, emphasizing how nice a clean street, lawn, or park looks.\n  VERB: V that, V how


Words: emphatic
Meaning:
em.phat.ic\n   emphatic\n1. An emphatic response or statement is one made in a forceful way, because the speaker feels very strongly about what they are saying.\nHis response was immediate and emphatic...\nI answered both questions with an emphatic `Yes’.\n  ADJ\n\n2. If you are emphatic about something, you use forceful language which shows that you feel very strongly about what you are saying.\nThe rebels are emphatic that this is not a surrender...\nHe is especially emphatic about the value of a precise routine.\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ, oft ADJ that, ADJ about n\n\n3. An emphatic win or victory is one in which the winner has won by a large amount or distance.\nYesterday’s emphatic victory was their fifth in succession.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: emphatically
Meaning:
em.phati.cal.ly\n   emphatically\n1. If you say something emphatically, you say it in a forceful way which shows that you feel very strongly about what you are saying.\n`No fast food’, she said emphatically...\nMr Davies has emphatically denied the charges.\n  ADV: ADV with v\n\n2. You use emphatically to emphasize the statement you are making.\nMaking people feel foolish is emphatically not my strategy...\n  ADV: ADV with cl/group  emphasis


Words: emphysema
Meaning:
em.phy.sema\n   emphysema\n  Emphysema is a serious medical condition that occurs when the lungs become larger and do not work properly, causing difficulty in breathing.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: empire
Meaning:
em.pire\n   empire  empires\n1. An empire is a number of individual nations that are all controlled by the government or ruler of one particular country.\n...the Roman Empire.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. You can refer to a group of companies controlled by one person as an empire.\n...the big Mondadori publishing empire.\n  N-COUNT: with supp


Words: empirical
Meaning:
em.piri.cal\n   empirical\n  Empirical evidence or study relies on practical experience rather than theories.\nThere is no empirical evidence to support his thesis.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n=>  em.piri.cal.ly\n...empirically based research...\nThey approached this part of their task empirically.\n  ADV: usu ADV adj/-ed, ADV after v


Words: empiricism
Meaning:
em.piri.cism\n   empiricism\n  Empiricism is the belief that people should rely on practical experience and experiments, rather than on theories as, a basis for knowledge. (FORMAL)\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n=>  em.piri.cist      empiricists\nHe was an unswerving empiricist with little time for theory.\n  N-COUNT


Words: emplacement
Meaning:
em.place.ment\n   emplacement  emplacements\n  Emplacements are specially prepared positions from which a heavy gun can be fired. (TECHNICAL)\nThere are gun emplacements every five-hundred yards along the road.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl, usu supp N


Words: employ
Meaning:
em.ploy\n   employ  employs  employing  employed\n1. If a person or company employs you, they pay you to work for them.\nThe company employs 18 staff...\nMore than 3,000 local workers are employed in the tourism industry...\nThe government counted 27,600,000 employed persons in West Germany.\n  VERB: V n, be V-ed in/as n, V-ed, also V n to-inf\n\n2. If you employ certain methods, materials, or expressions, you use them.\nThe tactics the police are now to employ are definitely uncompromising.\n...the approaches and methods employed in the study.\n  VERB: V n, V-ed, also V n as n\n  = use\n3. If your time is employed in doing something, you are using the time you have to do that thing.\nYour time could be usefully employed in attending to professional matters...\n  VERB: usu passive, be V-ed in -ing\n\n4. If you are in the employ of someone or something, you work for them. (FORMAL)\nOthers hinted that he was in the employ of the KGB...\n  PHRASE


Words: employable
Meaning:
em.ploy.able\n   employable\n  Someone who is employable has skills or abilities that are likely to make someone want to give them a job.\nPeople need basic education if they are to become employable.\n...employable adults.\n  ADJ


Words: employee
Meaning:
em.ployee\n   employee  employees\n  An employee is a person who is paid to work for an organization or for another person.\nHe is an employee of Fuji Bank...\n...a government employee.\n  N-COUNT


Words: employer
Meaning:
em.ploy.er\n   employer  employers\n  Your employer is the person or organization that you work for.\nHe had been sent to Rome by his employer...\nThe telephone company is the country’s largest employer.\n  N-COUNT


Words: employment
Meaning:
em.ploy.ment\n   employment\n1. Employment is the fact of having a paid job.\nShe was unable to find employment...\nHe regularly drove from his home to his place of employment.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. Employment is the fact of employing someone.\n...the employment of children under nine.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n3. Employment is the work that is available in a country or area.\n...economic policies designed to secure full employment.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n  !=unemployment


Words: employment agency
Meaning:
em.ploy.ment agen.cy\n   employment agency  employment agencies\n  An employment agency is a company whose business is to help people to find work and help employers to find the workers they need. (BUSINESS)\n  N-COUNT


Words: emporium
Meaning:
em.po.rium\n   emporium  emporiums  or emporia\n  An emporium is a store or large shop. (FORMAL)\n  N-COUNT


Words: empower
Meaning:
em.power\n   empower  empowers  empowering  empowered\n1. If someone is empowered to do something, they have the authority or power to do it. (FORMAL)\nThe army is now empowered to operate on a shoot-to-kill basis...\n  VERB: be V-ed to-inf\n  = authorize\n2. To empower someone means to give them the means to achieve something, for example to become stronger or more successful.\nWhat I’m trying to do is to empower people, to give them ways to help them get well.\n  VERB: V n


Words: empowerment
Meaning:
em.pow.er.ment\n   empowerment\n  The empowerment of a person or group of people is the process of giving them power and status in a particular situation.\nThis government believes very strongly in the empowerment of women.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft the N of n


Words: empress
Meaning:
em.press\n   empress  empresses\n  An empress is a woman who rules an empire or who is the wife of an emperor.\n  N-COUNT; N-TITLE


Words: emptiness
Meaning:
emp.ti.ness\n   emptiness\n1. A feeling of emptiness is an unhappy or frightening feeling that nothing is worthwhile, especially when you are very tired or have just experienced something upsetting.\nThe result later in life may be feelings of emptiness and depression.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. The emptiness of a place is the fact that there is nothing in it.\n...the emptiness of the desert.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: empty
Meaning:
emp.ty\n   empty  emptier  emptiest  empties  emptying  emptied\n1. An empty place, vehicle, or container is one that has no people or things in it.\nThe room was bare and empty.\n...empty cans of lager...\nThe roads were nearly empty of traffic.\n  ADJ: oft ADJ of n\n\n2. An empty gesture, threat, or relationship has no real value or meaning.\nHis father threatened to throw him out, but he knew it was an empty threat.\n...to ensure the event is not perceived as an empty gesture.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n3. If you describe a person’s life or a period of time as empty, you mean that nothing interesting or valuable happens in it.\nMy life was very hectic but empty before I met him.\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ\n\n4. If you feel empty, you feel unhappy and have no energy, usually because you are very tired or have just experienced something upsetting.\nI feel so empty, my life just doesn’t seem worth living any more.\n  ADJ: usu feel ADJ, also ADJ n\n\n5. If you empty a container, or empty something out of it, you remove its contents, especially by tipping it up.\nI emptied the ashtray...\nEmpty the noodles and liquid into a serving bowl...\nHe emptied the contents out into the palm of his hand.\n  VERB: V n, V n prep, V n with out\n\n6. If someone empties a room or place, or if it empties, everyone that is in it goes away.\nThe stadium emptied at the end of the first day of athletics.\n...a woman who could empty a pub full of drunks just by lifting one fist.\n  VERB: V, V n\n\n7. A river or canal that empties into a lake, river, or sea flows into it.\nThe Washougal empties into the Columbia River near Portland.\n  VERB: V into n\n\n8. Empties are bottles or containers which no longer have anything in them.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl


Words: empty-handed
Meaning:
empty-handed\n  If you come away from somewhere empty-handed, you have failed to get what you wanted.\nDelegates from the warring sides held a new round of peace talks but went away empty-handed...\n  ADJ: ADJ after v


Words: empty-headed
Meaning:
empty-headed\n  If you describe someone as empty-headed, you mean that they are not very intelligent and often do silly things.\n  ADJ


Words: emulate
Meaning:
emu.late\n   emulate  emulates  emulating  emulated\n  If you emulate something or someone, you imitate them because you admire them a great deal. (FORMAL)\nSons are traditionally expected to emulate their fathers.\n  VERB: V n\n\n=>  emu.la.tion\n...a role model worthy of emulation.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: emulsifier
Meaning:
emul.si.fi.er\n   emulsifier  emulsifiers\n  An emulsifier is a substance used in food manufacturing which helps to combine liquids of different thicknesses.\n  N-MASS


Words: emulsify
Meaning:
emul.si.fy\n   emulsify  emulsifies  emulsifying  emulsified\n  When two liquids of different thicknesses emulsify or when they are emulsified, they combine. (TECHNICAL)\nIt is the pressure which releases the coffee oils; these emulsify and give the coffee its rich, velvety texture...\nWhisk the cream into the mixture to emulsify it...\nBeeswax acts as an emulsifying agent.\n...emulsified oil.\n  VERB: pl-n V, V n, V-ing, V-ed


Words: emulsion
Meaning:
emul.sion\n   emulsion  emulsions\n1. Emulsion or emulsion paint is a water-based paint, which is not shiny when it dries. It is used for painting walls and ceilings.\n...an undercoat of white emulsion paint.\n...a matt emulsion.\n  N-MASS\n\n2. An emulsion is a liquid or cream which is a mixture of two or more liquids, such as oil and water, which do not naturally mix together.\n  N-MASS


Words: en bloc
Meaning:
en bloc\n  If a group of people do something en bloc, they do it all together and at the same time. If a group of people or things are considered en bloc, they are considered as a group, rather than separately.\nThe selectors should resign en bloc...\nNow the governors en bloc are demanding far more consultation and rights over contractual approval.\n  ADV: ADV after v, n ADV\n  = en masse


Words: en masse
Meaning:
en masse\n  If a group of people do something en masse, they do it all together and at the same time.\nThe people marched en masse.\n  ADV: ADV after v, n ADV


Words: en suite
Meaning:
en suite\n  An en suite bathroom is next to a bedroom and can only be reached by a door in the bedroom. An en suite bedroom has an en suite bathroom. (BRIT; in AM, usually use private bathroom)\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: en-
Meaning:
en-\nPronounced   or   especially in American English.\n  En- is added to words to form verbs that describe the process of putting someone into a particular state, condition, or place, or to form adjectives and nouns that describe that process or those states and conditions.\nPeople with disabilities are now doing many things to enrich their lives.\n...the current campaign to enthrone him as our national bard...\nIt is the first enthronement since 1928.\n...a more enlightened leadership.\n  PREFIX


Words: enable
Meaning:
en.able\n   enable  enables  enabling  enabled\n1. If someone or something enables you to do a particular thing, they give you the opportunity to do it.\nThe new test should enable doctors to detect the disease early.\n  VERB: V n to-inf\n\n=>  en.abling\nResearchers describe it as an enabling technology.\n  ADJ\n\n2. To enable something to happen means to make it possible for it to happen.\nThe hot sun enables the grapes to reach optimum ripeness...\nThe working class is still too small to enable a successful socialist revolution.\n  VERB: V n to-inf, V n\n\n3. To enable someone to do something means to give them permission or the right to do it.\n...the republic’s legislation which enables young people to do a form of alternative service.\n  VERB: V n to-inf\n\n=>  en.abling\nSome protection for victims must be written into the enabling legislation.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: enact
Meaning:
en.act\n   enact  enacts  enacting  enacted\n1. When a government or authority enacts a proposal, they make it into a law. (TECHNICAL)\nThe authorities have failed so far to enact a law allowing unrestricted emigration...\n  VERB: V n\n\n2. If people enact a story or play, they perform it by acting.\nShe often enacted the stories told to her by her father.\n  VERB: V n\n\n3. If a particular event or situation is enacted, it happens; used especially to talk about something that has happened before. (JOURNALISM)\nIt was a scene which was enacted month after month for eight years.\n  VERB: usu passive, be V-ed


Words: enactment
Meaning:
en.act.ment\n   enactment  enactments\n1. The enactment of a law is the process in a parliament or other law-making body by which the law is agreed upon and made official. (TECHNICAL)\nWe support the call for the enactment of a Bill of Rights.\n  N-VAR: usu N of n\n\n2. The enactment of a play or story is the performance of it by an actor or group of actors. (FORMAL)\nThe main building was also used for the enactment of mystery plays.\n  N-VAR: usu N of n\n  = performance


Words: enamel
Meaning:
enam.el\n   enamel  enamels\n1. Enamel is a substance like glass which can be heated and put onto metal, glass, or pottery in order to decorate or protect it.\n...a white enamel saucepan on the oil stove.\n...enamel baths.\n  N-MASS: oft N n\n\n2. Enamel is a hard, shiny paint that is used especially for painting metal and wood.\n...enamel polymer paints...\n  N-MASS: oft N n\n\n3. Enamel is the hard white substance that forms the outer part of a tooth.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: enamelled
Meaning:
enam.elled\n   enamelled\nin AM, use enameled\n  An enamelled object is decorated or covered with enamel.\n...enamelled plates.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: enamelling
Meaning:
enam.el.ling\n   enamelling\nin AM, use enameling\n  Enamelling is the decoration of something such as jewellery with enamel.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: enamoured
Meaning:
en.am.oured\n   enamoured\nin AM, use enamored\n  If you are enamoured of something, you like or admire it a lot. If you are not enamoured of something, you dislike or disapprove of it. (LITERARY)\nI became totally enamored of the wildflowers there...\nThe religious conservatives are not enamoured of the West and its values.\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ, usu ADJ of/with n


Words: encamped
Meaning:
en.camped\n   encamped\n  If people, especially soldiers, are encamped somewhere, they have set up camp there.\nHe made his way back to the farmyard where his regiment was encamped.\n  ADJ


Words: encampment
Meaning:
en.camp.ment\n   encampment  encampments\n  An encampment is a group of tents or other shelters in a particular place, especially when they are used by soldiers, refugees, or gypsies.\n...a large military encampment.\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp


Words: encapsulate
Meaning:
en.cap.su.late\n   encapsulate  encapsulates  encapsulating  encapsulated\n  To encapsulate particular facts or ideas means to represent all their most important aspects in a very small space or in a single object or event.\nA Wall Street Journal editorial encapsulated the views of many conservatives...\nHis ideas were encapsulated in a book called `Democratic Ideals and Reality’.\n  VERB: V n, be V-ed in n, also V n in n\n\n=>  en.cap.su.la.tion      encapsulations\n...a witty encapsulation of modern America.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, usu N of n


Words: encase
Meaning:
en.case\n   encase  encases  encasing  encased\n  If a person or an object is encased in something, they are completely covered or surrounded by it.\nWhen nuclear fuel is manufactured it is encased in metal cans...\nThese weapons also had a heavy brass guard which encased almost the whole hand...\nThe original plan was to encase a small amount of a radioactive substance in a protective steel container.\n  VERB: be V-ed in n, V n, V n in/with n


Words: enchant
Meaning:
en.chant\n   enchant  enchants  enchanting  enchanted\n1. If you are enchanted by someone or something, they cause you to have feelings of great delight or pleasure.\nDena was enchanted by the house...\nShe enchanted you as she has so many others.\n  VERB: be V-ed, V n\n\n=>  en.chant.ed\nDon’t expect young children to be as enchanted with the scenery as you are.\n  ADJ\n\n2. In fairy stories and legends, to enchant someone or something means to put a magic spell on them.\nKing Arthur hid his treasures here and Merlin enchanted the cave so that nobody should ever find them.\n...Celtic stories of cauldrons and enchanted vessels.\n  VERB: V n, V-ed


Words: enchanting
Meaning:
en.chant.ing\n   enchanting\n  If you describe someone or something as enchanting, you mean that they are very attractive or charming.\nShe’s an absolutely enchanting child...\nThe overall effect is enchanting.\n  ADJ


Words: enchantment
Meaning:
en.chant.ment\n   enchantment  enchantments\n1. If you say that something has enchantment, you mean that it makes you feel great delight or pleasure. Your enchantment with something is the fact of your feeling great delight and pleasure because of it.\nThe wilderness campsite had its own peculiar enchantment...\nPercy’s enchantment with orchids dates back to 1951.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. In fairy stories and legends, an enchantment is a magic spell.\n  N-COUNT\n  = spell


Words: enchantress
Meaning:
en.chant.ress\n   enchantress  enchantresses\n  In fairy stories and legends, an enchantress is a woman who uses magic to put spells on people and things.\n  N-COUNT


Words: enchilada
Meaning:
en.chi.la.da\n   enchilada  enchiladas\n  An enchilada consists of a flat piece of bread called a tortilla wrapped round a filling of meat or vegetables and served hot, usually with a sauce.\n  N-COUNT


Words: encircle
Meaning:
en.cir.cle\n   encircle  encircles  encircling  encircled\n  To encircle something or someone means to surround or enclose them, or to go round them.\nA forty-foot-high concrete wall encircles the jail...\n  VERB: V n\n  = surround


Words: enclave
Meaning:
en.clave\n   enclave  enclaves\n  An enclave is an area within a country or a city where people live who have a different nationality or culture from the people living in the surrounding country or city.\nNagorno-Karabakh is an Armenian enclave inside Azerbaijan.\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp


Words: enclose
Meaning:
en.close\n   enclose  encloses  enclosing  enclosed\n1. If a place or object is enclosed by something, the place or object is inside that thing or completely surrounded by it.\nThe rules state that samples must be enclosed in two watertight containers...\nEnclose the pot in a clear polythene bag...\n...the enclosed waters of the Baltic.\n  VERB: be V-ed in n, V n in n, V-ed\n\n2. If you enclose something with a letter, you put it in the same envelope as the letter.\nI have enclosed a cheque for .10...\nThe enclosed leaflet shows how Service Care can ease all your worries.\n  VERB: V n, V-ed


Words: enclosed
Meaning:
en.closed\n   enclosed\n  An enclosed community of monks or nuns does not have any contact with the outside world.\n...monks and nuns from enclosed orders.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: enclosure
Meaning:
en.clo.sure\n   enclosure  enclosures\n  An enclosure is an area of land that is surrounded by a wall or fence and that is used for a particular purpose.\nThis enclosure was so vast that the outermost wall could hardly be seen.\n  N-COUNT


Words: encode
Meaning:
en.code\n   encode  encodes  encoding  encoded\n  If you encode a message or some information, you put it into a code or express it in a different form or system of language.\nThe two parties encode confidential data in a form that is not directly readable by the other party...\n  VERB: V n\n  !=decode


Words: encompass
Meaning:
en.com.pass\n   encompass  encompasses  encompassing  encompassed\n1. If something encompasses particular things, it includes them.\nHis repertoire encompassed everything from Bach to Schoenberg.\n  VERB: V n\n  = embrace\n2. To encompass a place means to completely surround or cover it.\nThe map shows the rest of the western region, encompassing nine states.\n  VERB: V n


Words: encore
Meaning:
en.core\n   encore  encores\n  An encore is a short extra performance at the end of a longer one, which an entertainer gives because the audience asks for it.\nLang’s final encore last night was `Barefoot’.\n  N-COUNT


Words: encounter
Meaning:
en.coun.ter\n   encounter  encounters  encountering  encountered\n1. If you encounter problems or difficulties, you experience them.\nEvery day of our lives we encounter stresses of one kind or another...\n  VERB: V n\n\n2. If you encounter someone, you meet them, usually unexpectedly. (FORMAL)\nDid you encounter anyone in the building?...\n  VERB: V n\n  = meet\n3. An encounter with someone is a meeting with them, particularly one that is unexpected or significant.\nThe author tells of a remarkable encounter with a group of South Vietnamese soldiers.\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp\n\n4. An encounter is a particular type of experience.\n...a sexual encounter.\n...his first serious encounter with alcohol.\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp


Words: encourage
Meaning:
en.cour.age\n   encourage  encourages  encouraging  encouraged\n1. If you encourage someone, you give them confidence, for example by letting them know that what they are doing is good and telling them that they should continue to do it.\nWhen things aren’t going well, he encourages me, telling me not to give up.\n  VERB: V n\n\n2. If someone is encouraged by something that happens, it gives them hope or confidence.\nInvestors were encouraged by the news...\n  VERB: usu passive, be V-ed by n\n\n=>  en.cour.aged\nWe were very encouraged, after over 17,000 pictures were submitted...\nI am encouraged that more physicians are asking questions in these meetings and coming to workshops.\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ, oft ADJ that\n\n3. If you encourage someone to do something, you try to persuade them to do it, for example by telling them that it would be a pleasant thing to do, or by trying to make it easier for them to do it. You can also encourage an activity.\nHerbie Hancock was encouraged by his family to learn music at a young age...\nParticipation is encouraged at all levels.\n  VERB: V n to-inf, V n\n\n4. If something encourages a particular activity or state, it causes it to happen or increase.\n...a natural substance that encourages cell growth...\nSlow music encourages supermarket-shoppers to browse longer but spend more.\n  VERB: V n, V n to-inf


Words: encouragement
Meaning:
en.cour.age.ment\n   encouragement  encouragements\n  Encouragement is the activity of encouraging someone, or something that is said or done in order to encourage them.\nI also had friends who gave me a great deal of encouragement...\n  N-VAR: oft N of n


Words: encouraging
Meaning:
en.cour.ag.ing\n   encouraging\n  Something that is encouraging gives people hope or confidence.\nThere are encouraging signs of an artistic revival...\nThe results have been encouraging...\nIt was encouraging that he recognised the dangers facing the company.\n  ADJ: oft it v-link ADJ that\n\n=>  en.cour.ag.ing.ly\n`You’re doing really well,’ her midwife said encouragingly...\n  ADV: ADV after v, ADV adj, ADV with cl


Words: encroach
Meaning:
en.croach\n   encroach  encroaches  encroaching  encroached\n1. If one thing encroaches on another, the first thing spreads or becomes stronger, and slowly begins to restrict the power, range, or effectiveness of the second thing. (FORMAL)\nThe new institutions do not encroach on political power...\nThe movie industry had chosen to ignore the encroaching competition of television.\n  VERB: V on/upon n, V-ing  disapproval\n\n2. If something encroaches on a place, it spreads and takes over more and more of that place. (FORMAL)\nThe rhododendrons encroached ever more on the twisting drive...\nI turned into the dirt road and followed it through encroaching trees and bushes.\n  VERB: V on n, V-ing


Words: encroachment
Meaning:
en.croach.ment\n   encroachment  encroachments\n  You can describe the action or process of encroaching on something as encroachment. (FORMAL)\nIt’s a sign of the encroachment of commercialism in medicine...\n  N-VAR: usu with supp  disapproval


Words: encrustation
Meaning:
en.crus.ta.tion\n   encrustation  encrustations\n  An encrustation is a hard and thick layer on the surface of something that has built up over a long period of time.\n  N-VAR


Words: encrusted
Meaning:
en.crust.ed\n   encrusted\n  If an object is encrusted with something, its surface is covered with a layer of that thing.\n...a blue uniform coat that was thickly encrusted with gold loops.\n  ADJ: oft ADJ with n


Words: encrypt
Meaning:
en.crypt\n   encrypt  encrypts  encrypting  encrypted\n  If a document or piece of information is encrypted, it is written in a special code, so that only certain people can read it.\nAccount details are encrypted to protect privacy.\n...a program that will encrypt the information before sending.\n...encrypted signals.\n  VERB: be V-ed, V n, V-ed\n\n=>  en.cryp.tion\nIt is currently illegal to export this encryption technology from the US.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N n


Words: encumber
Meaning:
en.cum.ber\n   encumber  encumbers  encumbering  encumbered\n  If you are encumbered by something, it prevents you from moving freely or doing what you want.\nLead weights and air cylinders encumbered the divers as they walked to the shore...\nIt is still labouring under the debt burden that it was encumbered with in the 1980s.\n  VERB: V n, be V-ed with n\n  = burden\n=>  en.cum.bered\nThe rest of the world is less encumbered with legislation...\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ, usu ADJ with/by n


Words: encumbrance
Meaning:
en.cum.brance\n   encumbrance  encumbrances\n  An encumbrance is something or someone that encumbers you. (FORMAL)\nMagdalena considered the past an irrelevant encumbrance.\n  N-COUNT\n  = burden


Words: encyclical
Meaning:
en.cyc.li.cal\n   encyclical  encyclicals\n  An encyclical is an official letter written by the Pope and sent to all Roman Catholic bishops, usually in order to make a statement about the official teachings of the Church.\n  N-COUNT


Words: encyclopedia
Meaning:
en.cy.clo.pedia\n   encyclopedia  encyclopedias   also encyclopaedia\n  An encyclopedia is a book or set of books in which facts about many different subjects or about one particular subject are arranged for reference, usually in alphabetical order.\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp


Words: encyclopedic
Meaning:
en.cy.clo.pedic\n   encyclopedic   also encyclopaedic\n  If you describe something as encyclopedic, you mean that it is very full, complete, and thorough in the amount of knowledge or information that it has.\nHe had an encyclopaedic knowledge of drugs.\n...an almost overwhelmingly encyclopaedic volume.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  = comprehensive


Words: end
Meaning:
end  ends  ending  ended\n1. The end of something such as a period of time, an event, a book, or a film is the last part of it or the final point in it.\nThe .5 banknote was first issued at the end of the 18th century...\nThe report is expected by the end of the year...\nYou will have the chance to ask questions at the end.\n  N-SING: the N, usu prep N, N of n\n\n2. When a situation, process, or activity ends, or when something or someone ends it, it reaches its final point and stops.\nThe meeting quickly ended and Steve and I left the room...\nTalks have resumed to try to end the fighting...\n  VERB: V, V n\n\n=>  end.ing\nThe ending of a marriage by death is different in many ways from an ending occasioned by divorce.\n  N-SING: usu the N of n\n\n3. An end to something or the end of it is the act or result of stopping it so that it does not continue any longer.\nThe French government today called for an end to the violence...\nI was worried she would walk out or bring the interview to an end...\nFrancis fined him two weeks’ wages and said: `That’s the end of the matter.’\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, oft N to/of n\n\n4. If you say that someone or something ends a period of time in a particular way, you are indicating what the final situation was like. You can also say that a period of time ends in a particular way.\nThe markets ended the week on a quiet note...\nThe evening ended with a dramatic display of fireworks.\n  VERB: V n prep/adv, V prep, also V n by -ing, V n -ing\n\n5. If a period of time ends, it reaches its final point.\nIts monthly reports on program trading usually come out about three weeks after each month ends...\nThe first figure shows sales for week ending July 27.\n  VERB: V, V\n\n6. If something such as a book, speech, or performance ends with a particular thing or the writer or performer ends it with that thing, its final part consists of the thing mentioned.\nHis statement ended with the words: `Pray for me.’...\nThe book ends on a lengthy description of Hawaii...\nDawkins ends his discussion with a call for liberation...\nThe memo ends: `Please give this matter your most urgent attention.’\n  VERB: V with/on n, V with/on n, V n with/on n, V with quote\n\n7. If a situation or event ends in a particular way, it has that particular result.\nThe incident could have ended in tragedy...\nOur conversations ended with him saying he would try to be more understanding...\nShares ended 1.7 per cent firmer on the Frankfurt exchange.\n  VERB: V in n, V with n -ing, V adv/adj\n\n8. The two ends of something long and narrow are the two points or parts of it that are furthest away from each other.\nThe company is planning to place surveillance equipment at both ends of the tunnel...\nA typical fluorescent lamp is a tube with metal electrodes at each end.\n  N-COUNT: with supp\n\n9. The end of a long, narrow object such as a finger or a pencil is the tip or smallest edge of it, usually the part that is furthest away from you.\nHe tapped the ends of his fingers together...\nShe let the long cone of ash hang at the end of her cigarette.\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp, oft N of n\n  = tip\n10. If an object ends with or in a particular thing, it has that thing on its tip or point, or as its last part.\nIt has three pairs of legs, each ending in a large claw.\n  VERB: V with/in n\n\n11. A journey, road, or river that ends at a particular place stops there and goes no further.\nThe road ended at a T-junction...\n  VERB: V prep/adv, also V\n\n12. End is used to refer to either of the two extreme points of a scale, or of something that you are considering as a scale.\nAt the other end of the social scale was the grocer, the village’s only merchant...\nThe agreement has been criticised by extremist groups on both ends of the political spectrum.\n  N-COUNT: with supp, oft N of n\n\n13. The other end is one of two places that are connected because people are communicating with each other by telephone or writing, or are travelling from one place to the other.\n(next)


Words: end .1
Meaning:
When he answered the phone, Ferguson was at the other end...\nMake sure to meet them at the other end.\n  N-COUNT: supp N\n\n14. If you refer to a particular end of a project or piece of work, you mean a part or aspect of it, for example a part of it that is done by a particular person or in a particular place. (SPOKEN)\nYou take care of your end, kid, I’ll take care of mine...\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, usu supp N\n\n15. An end is the purpose for which something is done or towards which you are working.\nThe police force is being manipulated for political ends...\nNow the government is trying another policy designed to achieve the same end.\n  N-COUNT: usu supp N\n\n16. If you say that something ends at a particular point, you mean that it is applied or exists up to that point, and no further.\nHelen is also 25 and from Birmingham, but the similarity ends there...\n  VERB: V adv/prep\n\n17. You can refer to someone’s death as their end, especially when you are talking about the way that they died or might die. (LITERARY)\nSoon after we had spoken to this man he had met a violent end.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, usu supp N\n\n18. If you end by doing something or end in a particular state, you do that thing or get into that state even though you did not originally intend to.\nThey ended by making themselves miserable...\nThey’ll probably end back on the streets.\n  VERB: V by -ing, V adv/prep\n\n19. If someone ends it all, they kill themselves.\nHe grew suicidal, thinking up ways to end it all.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n20. If you describe something as, for example, the deal to end all deals or the film to end all films, you mean that it is very important or successful, and that compared to it all other deals or films seem second-rate.\nIt was going to be a party to end all parties.\n  PHRASE: n PHR n\n\n21. If something is at an end, it has finished and will not continue.\nThe recession is definitely at an end.\n  PHRASE: v-link PHR\n\n22. If something comes to an end, it stops.\nThe cold war came to an end.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n23. You say at the end of the day when you are talking about what happens after a long series of events or what appears to be the case after you have considered the relevant facts. (INFORMAL)\nAt the end of the day it’s up to the Germans to decide...\n  PHRASE: PHR with cl\n\n24. If you are thrown in at the deep end, you are put in a completely new situation without any help or preparation. If you jump in at the deep end, you go into a completely new situation without any help or preparation. (mainly BRIT)\nIt’s a superb job. You get thrown in at the deep end and it’s all down to you...\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n25. You say in the end when you are saying what is the final result of a series of events, or what is your final conclusion after considering all the relevant facts.\nI toyed with the idea of calling the police, but in the end I didn’t...\n  PHRASE: PHR with cl\n\n26. If you consider something to be an end in itself, you do it because it seems desirable and not because it is likely to lead to something else.\nWhile he had originally traveled in order to study, traveling had become an end in itself.\n  PHRASE: usu v-link PHR\n\n27. If you find it difficult to make ends meet, you can only just manage financially because you hardly have enough money for the things you need.\nWith Betty’s salary they barely made ends meet.\n  PHRASE: make inflects\n\n28. No end means a lot. (INFORMAL)\nTeachers inform me that Tracey’s behaviour has improved no end.\n  PHRASE: PHR after v, oft PHR of n\n\n29. When something happens for hours, days, weeks, or years on end, it happens continuously and without stopping for the amount of time that is mentioned.\nHe is a wonderful companion and we can talk for hours on end...\n  PHRASE: pl-n PHR\n\n30. Something that is on end is upright, instead of in its normal or natural position, for example lying down, flat, or on its longest side.\n  PHRASE: PHR after v\n\n31. To put an end to something means to cause it to stop.\n(next)


Words: end .2
Meaning:
Only a political solution could put an end to the violence.\n  PHRASE: V inflects, PHR n\n\n32. If a process or person has reached the end of the road, they are unable to progress any further.\nGiven the results of the vote, is this the end of the road for the hardliners in Congress?\n  PHRASE: PHR after v, v-link PHR for n\n\n33. If you say that something bad is not the end of the world, you are trying to stop yourself or someone else being so upset by it, by suggesting that it is not the worst thing that could happen.\nObviously I’d be disappointed if we don’t make it, but it wouldn’t be the end of the world.\n  PHRASE: V inflects, oft it v-link PHR if\n\n34.\nthe end of your tether: see tether\nto burn the candle at both ends: see candle\nto make your hair stand on end: see hair\na means to an end: see means\nto be on the receiving end: see receive\nto get the wrong end of the stick: see stick\nto be at your wits’ end: see wit


Words: end product
Meaning:
end prod.uct\n   end product  end products\n  The end product of something is the thing that is produced or achieved by means of it.\nIt is the end product of exhaustive research and development.\n  N-COUNT: oft N of n


Words: end result
Meaning:
end re.sult\n   end result  end results\n  The end result of an activity or a process is the final result that it produces.\nThe end result of this will be unity.\n  N-COUNT: usu the N


Words: end up
Meaning:
end up\n1. If someone or something ends up somewhere, they eventually arrive there, usually by accident.\nShe fled with her children, moving from neighbour to neighbour and ending up in a friend’s cellar.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P prep/adv\n  = finish up, wind up\n2. If you end up doing something or end up in a particular state, you do that thing or get into that state even though you did not originally intend to.\nIf you don’t know what you want, you might end up getting something you don’t want...\nEvery time they went dancing they ended up in a bad mood...\nShe could have ended up a millionairess.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P -ing, V P prep/adv, V P n\n  = finish up


Words: end user
Meaning:
end user end users  also end-user\n  The end user of a product or service is the person that it has been designed for, rather than the person who installs or maintains it.\nYou have to be able to describe things in a form that the end user can understand.\n  N-COUNT


Words: end zone
Meaning:
end zone  end zones\n  In American football, an end zone is one of the areas at each end of the field that the ball must cross for a touchdown to be scored.\n  N-COUNT


Words: endanger
Meaning:
en.dan.ger\n   endanger  endangers  endangering  endangered\n  To endanger something or someone means to put them in a situation where they might be harmed or destroyed completely.\nThe debate could endanger the proposed peace talks.\n...endangered species such as lynx and wolf.\n  VERB: V n, V-ed


Words: endear
Meaning:
en.dear\n   endear  endears  endearing  endeared\n  If something endears you to someone or if you endear yourself to them, you become popular with them and well liked by them.\nTheir taste for gambling has endeared them to Las Vegas casino owners...\nHe has endeared himself to the American public.\n  VERB: V n to n, V pron-refl to n


Words: endearing
Meaning:
en.dear.ing\n   endearing\n  If you describe someone’s behaviour as endearing, you mean that it causes you to feel very fond of them.\nShe has such an endearing personality...\nHenry’s lisp is so endearing.\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ\n\n=>  en.dear.ing.ly\nHe admits endearingly to doubts and hesitations...\nShe is endearingly free of pretensions.\n  ADV: ADV with v, ADV adj


Words: endearment
Meaning:
en.dear.ment\n   endearment  endearments\n  An endearment is a loving or affectionate word or phrase that you say to someone you love.\nNo term of endearment crossed their lips.\n...flattering endearments.\n  N-VAR


Words: endeavour
Meaning:
en.deav.our\n   endeavour  endeavours  endeavouring  endeavoured\nin AM, use endeavor\n1. If you endeavour to do something, you try very hard to do it. (FORMAL)\nI will endeavour to arrange it...\n  VERB: V to-inf\n  = strive\n2. An endeavour is an attempt to do something, especially something new or original. (FORMAL)\nHis first endeavours in the field were wedding films.\n  N-VAR: usu with supp, oft N to-inf


Words: endemic
Meaning:
en.dem.ic\n   endemic\n1. If a disease or illness is endemic in a place, it is frequently found among the people who live there. (TECHNICAL)\nPolio was then endemic among children my age.\n  ADJ\n\n2. If you say that a condition or problem is endemic, you mean that it is very common and strong, and cannot be dealt with easily. (WRITTEN)\nStreet crime is virtually endemic in large cities.\n...powerful radicals with an endemic hatred and fear of the West.\n  ADJ


Words: endgame
Meaning:
end.game\n   endgame  endgames\n1. In chess, endgame refers to the final stage of a game, when only a few pieces are left on the board and one of the players must win soon.\n  N-VAR\n\n2. Journalists sometimes refer to the final stages of something such as a war, dispute, or contest, as an endgame. (JOURNALISM)\nThe political endgame is getting closer.\n  N-COUNT


Words: ending
Meaning:
end.ing\n   ending  endings\n1. You can refer to the last part of a book, story, play, or film as the ending, especially when you are considering the way that the story ends.\nThe film has a Hollywood happy ending.\n  N-COUNT: oft supp N\n\n2. The ending of a word is the last part of it.\n...common word endings, like `ing’ in walking.\n  N-COUNT: with supp\n\n3.\n  see also end, nerve ending


Words: endive
Meaning:
en.dive\n   endive  endives\n1. Endive is a type of plant with crisp curly leaves that is eaten in salads.\n  N-VAR\n\n2. Endive is a type of a plant with crisp bitter leaves that can be cooked or eaten raw in salads. (AM; in BRIT, use chicory)\n  N-VAR


Words: endless
Meaning:
end.less\n   endless\n  If you say that something is endless, you mean that it is very large or lasts for a very long time, and it seems as if it will never stop.\nThey turned into an endless street...\nThe war was endless.\n  ADJ\n\n=>  end.less.ly\nThey talk about it endlessly.\n...endlessly long arcades of shops.\n  ADV: ADV after v, ADV adj


Words: endocrine
Meaning:
endo.crine\n   endocrine\n  The endocrine system is the system of glands that produce hormones which go directly into the bloodstream, such as the pituitary or thyroid glands. (MEDICAL)\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: endorse
Meaning:
en.dorse\n   endorse  endorses  endorsing  endorsed\n1. If you endorse someone or something, you say publicly that you support or approve of them.\nI can endorse their opinion wholeheartedly.\n  VERB: V n\n\n2. If someone’s driving licence is endorsed, an official record is made on it that they have been found guilty of a driving offence. (BRIT)\nFor failing to report the accident, his licence was endorsed...\nHe also had his licence endorsed with eight penalty points.\n  V-PASSIVE: be V-ed, have n V-ed\n\n3. When you endorse a cheque, you write your name on the back of it so that it can be paid into someone’s bank account.\nThe payee of the cheque must endorse the cheque.\n  VERB: V n\n\n4. If you endorse a product or company, you appear in advertisements for it.\nThe twins endorsed a line of household cleaning products.\n  VERB: V n


Words: endorsement
Meaning:
en.dorse.ment\n   endorsement  endorsements\n1. An endorsement is a statement or action which shows that you support or approve of something or someone.\nThis is a powerful endorsement for his softer style of government.\n  N-COUNT: oft N of/for n\n\n2. An endorsement is a note on someone’s driving licence saying that they have been found guilty of a driving offence. (BRIT)\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. An endorsement for a product or company involves appearing in advertisements for it or showing support for it.\n  N-COUNT


Words: endow
Meaning:
en.dow\n   endow  endows  endowing  endowed\n1. You say that someone is endowed with a particular desirable ability, characteristic, or possession when they have it by chance or by birth.\nYou are endowed with wealth, good health and a lively intellect.\n  VERB: usu passive, be V-ed with n\n\n2. If you endow something with a particular feature or quality, you provide it with that feature or quality.\nHerbs have been used for centuries to endow a whole range of foods with subtle flavours.\n  VERB: V n with n\n  = imbue\n3. If someone endows an institution, scholarship, or project, they provide a large amount of money which will produce the income needed to pay for it.\nThe ambassador has endowed a $1 million public-service fellowships program.\n  VERB: V n\n\n4.\n  see also well-endowed


Words: endowment
Meaning:
en.dow.ment\n   endowment  endowments\n1. An endowment is a gift of money that is made to an institution or community in order to provide it with an annual income.\n...the National Endowment for the Arts.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If someone has an endowment of a particular quality or ability, they possess it naturally. (FORMAL)\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp\n\n3. In finance, an endowment policy or mortgage is an insurance policy or mortgage which you pay towards each month and which should then provide you with enough money to pay for your house at the end of a fixed period. (BRIT)\n  N-COUNT: usu N n


Words: endurance
Meaning:
en.dur.ance\n   endurance\n  Endurance is the ability to continue with an unpleasant or difficult situation, experience, or activity over a long period of time.\nThe exercise obviously will improve strength and endurance.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: endure
Meaning:
en.dure\n   endure  endures  enduring  endured\n1. If you endure a painful or difficult situation, you experience it and do not avoid it or give up, usually because you cannot.\nThe company endured heavy financial losses.\n  VERB: V n\n\n2. If something endures, it continues to exist without any loss in quality or importance.\nSomehow the language endures and continues to survive.\n  VERB: V\n  = persist\n=>  en.dur.ing\n...the start of an enduring friendship.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: enema
Meaning:
en.ema\n   enema  enemas\n  If someone has an enema, a liquid is put into their bottom in order to make them empty their bowels, for example before they have an operation.\n  N-COUNT


Words: enemy
Meaning:
en.emy\n   enemy  enemies\n1. If someone is your enemy, they hate you or want to harm you.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If someone is your enemy, they are opposed to you and to what you think or do.\nThe Government’s political enemies were quick to pick up on this series of disasters.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. The enemy is an army or other force that is opposed to you in a war, or a country with which your country is at war.\nThe enemy were pursued for two miles...\nHe searched the skies for enemy bombers.\n  N-SING-COLL: the N, N n\n\n4. If one thing is the enemy of another thing, the second thing cannot happen or succeed because of the first thing. (FORMAL)\nReform, as we know, is the enemy of revolution.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, N of n


Words: energetic
Meaning:
en.er.get.ic\n   energetic\n1. If you are energetic in what you do, you have a lot of enthusiasm and determination.\nBlackwell is 59, strong looking and enormously energetic...\nThe next government will play an energetic role in seeking multilateral nuclear disarmament.\n  ADJ\n\n=>  en.er.geti.cal.ly\nHe had worked energetically all day on his new book.\n  ADV: ADV with v\n\n2. An energetic person is very active and does not feel at all tired. An energetic activity involves a lot of physical movement and power.\nTen year-olds are incredibly energetic.\n  ADJ\n\n=>  en.er.geti.cal.ly\nGretchen chewed energetically on the gristled steak.\n  ADV: ADV with v


Words: energize
Meaning:
en.er.gize\n   energize  energizes  energizing  energized\nin BRIT, also use energise\n  To energize someone means to give them the enthusiasm and determination to do something.\nHe helped energize and mobilize millions of people around the nation...\nI am completely energized and feeling terrific.\n  VERB: V n, be V-ed\n\n=>  en.er.giz.ing\nAcupuncture has a harmonizing and energizing effect on mind and body.\n  ADJ


Words: energy
Meaning:
en.er.gy\n   energy  energies\n1. Energy is the ability and strength to do active physical things and the feeling that you are full of physical power and life.\nHe was saving his energy for next week’s race in Belgium...\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. Energy is determination and enthusiasm about doing things.\nYou have drive and energy for those things you are interested in.\n  N-UNCOUNT  approval\n\n3. Your energies are your efforts and attention, which you can direct towards a particular aim.\nShe had started to devote her energies to teaching rather than performing...\n  N-COUNT: usu pl, poss N\n\n4. Energy is the power from sources such as electricity and coal that makes machines work or provides heat.\n...those who favour nuclear energy...\nOil shortages have brought on an energy crisis...\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N n


Words: energy-efficient
Meaning:
also energy efficient\n  A device or building that is energy-efficient uses relatively little energy to provide the power it needs.\n...energy-efficient light bulbs.\n...information on how to make your home more energy efficient.\n  ADJ


Words: enervating
Meaning:
en.er.vat.ing\n   enervating\n  Something that is enervating makes you feel tired and weak. (FORMAL)\n  ADJ


Words: enfant terrible
Meaning:
en.fant ter.ri.ble\n   enfant terrible  enfants terribles\n  If you describe someone as an enfant terrible, you mean that they are clever but unconventional, and often cause problems or embarrassment for their friends or families. (LITERARY)\nHe became known as the enfant terrible of British theater.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, usu the N of n


Words: enfeebled
Meaning:
en.fee.bled\n   enfeebled\n  If someone or something is enfeebled, they have become very weak. (FORMAL)\nHe finds himself politically enfeebled.\n...the already enfeebled newspaper.\n  ADJ\n  = weakened


Words: enfold
Meaning:
en.fold\n   enfold  enfolds  enfolding  enfolded\n1. If something enfolds an object or person, they cover, surround, or are wrapped around that object or person. (LITERARY)\nAurora felt the opium haze enfold her...\nWood was now comfortably enfolded in a woolly dressing-gown.\n  VERB: V n, be V-ed in n, also V n in n\n\n2. If you enfold someone or something, you hold them close in a very gentle, loving way. (LITERARY)\nThack came up behind him, enfolding him in his arms.\n  VERB: V n in n, also V n


Words: enforce
Meaning:
en.force\n   enforce  enforces  enforcing  enforced\n1. If people in authority enforce a law or a rule, they make sure that it is obeyed, usually by punishing people who do not obey it.\nUntil now, the government has only enforced the ban with regard to American ships...\n  VERB: V n\n\n2. To enforce something means to force or cause it to be done or to happen.\nThey struggled to limit the cost by enforcing a low-tech specification...\nDavid is now living in Beirut again after an enforced absence.\n  VERB: V n, V-ed


Words: enforceable
Meaning:
en.force.able\n   enforceable\n  If something such as a law or agreement is enforceable, it can be enforced.\n...the creation of legally enforceable contracts...\n  ADJ


Words: enforcement
Meaning:
en.force.ment\n   enforcement\n  If someone carries out the enforcement of an act or rule, they enforce it.\nThe doctors want stricter enforcement of existing laws, such as those banning sales of cigarettes to children.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N of n


Words: enfranchise
Meaning:
en.fran.chise\n   enfranchise  enfranchises  enfranchising  enfranchised\n  To enfranchise someone means to give them the right to vote in elections. (FORMAL)\nThe company voted to enfranchise its 120 women members...\n  VERB: V n


Words: enfranchisement
Meaning:
en.fran.chise.ment\n   enfranchisement\n  Enfranchisement is the condition of someone being enfranchised. (FORMAL)\n...the enfranchisement of the country’s blacks.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N of n


Words: engage
Meaning:
en.gage\n   engage  engages  engaging  engaged\n1. If you engage in an activity, you do it or are actively involved with it. (FORMAL)\nI have never engaged in the drug trade...\n  VERB: V in n\n\n2. If something engages you or your attention or interest, it keeps you interested in it and thinking about it.\nThey never learned skills to engage the attention of the others.\n  VERB: V n\n\n3. If you engage someone in conversation, you have a conversation with them.\nThey tried to engage him in conversation...\n  VERB: V n in n\n\n4. If you engage with something or with a group of people, you get involved with that thing or group and feel that you are connected with it or have real contact with it.\nShe found it hard to engage with office life...\n  VERB: V with n\n\n=>  en.gage.ment\nAnd she, too, suffers from a lack of critical engagement with the literary texts.\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu N with n\n\n5. If you engage someone to do a particular job, you appoint them to do it. (FORMAL)\nWe engaged the services of a recognised engineer...\n  VERB: V n\n\n6. When a part of a machine or other mechanism engages or when you engage it, it moves into a position where it fits into something else.\nPress the lever until you hear the catch engage.\n...a lesson in how to engage the four-wheel drive.\n  VERB: V, V n\n\n7. When a military force engages the enemy, it attacks them and starts a battle.\nIt could engage the enemy beyond the range of hostile torpedoes.\n  VERB: V n\n\n8.\n  see also engaged, engaging


Words: engaged
Meaning:
en.gaged\n   engaged\n1. Someone who is engaged in or engaged on a particular activity is doing that thing. (FORMAL)\nThey found the three engaged in target practice.\n...the various projects he was engaged on.\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ in/on n\n\n2. When two people are engaged, they have agreed to marry each other.\nWe got engaged on my eighteenth birthday...\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ, oft ADJ to n\n\n3. If a telephone or a telephone line is engaged, it is already being used by someone else so that you are unable to speak to the person you are phoning. (BRIT; in AM, use busy)\nThe line is engaged...\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ\n\n4. If a public toilet is engaged, it is already being used by someone else. (BRIT; in AM, usually use occupied)\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ


Words: engagement
Meaning:
en.gage.ment\n   engagement  engagements\n1. An engagement is an arrangement that you have made to do something at a particular time. (FORMAL)\nHe had an engagement at a restaurant in Greek Street at eight.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. An engagement is an agreement that two people have made with each other to get married.\nI’ve broken off my engagement to Arthur...\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, usu poss N\n\n3. You can refer to the period of time during which two people are engaged as their engagement.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, usu poss N\n\n4. A military engagement is an armed conflict between two enemies.\nThe constitution prohibits them from military engagement on foreign soil.\n  N-VAR\n\n5.\n  see also engage


Words: engagement ring
Meaning:
en.gage.ment ring\n   engagement ring  engagement rings\n  An engagement ring is a ring worn by a woman when she is engaged to be married.\n  N-COUNT


Words: engaging
Meaning:
en.gag.ing\n   engaging\n  An engaging person or thing is pleasant, interesting, and entertaining.\n...one of her most engaging and least known novels...\nHe was engaging company.\n  ADJ


Words: engender
Meaning:
en.gen.der\n   engender  engenders  engendering  engendered\n  If someone or something engenders a particular feeling, atmosphere, or situation, they cause it to occur. (FORMAL)\nIt helps engender a sense of common humanity...\n  VERB: V n


Words: engine
Meaning:
en.gine\n   engine  engines\n1. The engine of a car or other vehicle is the part that produces the power which makes the vehicle move.\nHe got into the driving seat and started the engine.\n...an engine failure that forced a jetliner to crash-land in a field.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. An engine is also the large vehicle that pulls a railway train.\nIn 1941, the train would have been pulled by a steam engine.\n  N-COUNT


Words: engine room
Meaning:
en.gine room\n   engine room  engine rooms\n1. On a boat or a ship, the engine room is the place where the engines are.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If you refer to something as the engine room of an organization or institution, you mean it is the most important or influential part of that organization or institution.\nThese firms are regarded as the engine room of the British economy.\n  N-COUNT: oft the N of n


Words: engineer
Meaning:
en.gi.neer\n   engineer  engineers  engineering  engineered\n1. An engineer is a person who uses scientific knowledge to design, construct, and maintain engines and machines or structures such as roads, railways, and bridges.\n  N-COUNT\n\n  see also chemical engineer, civil engineer, electrical engineer, sound engineer\n2. An engineer is a person who repairs mechanical or electrical devices.\nThey send a service engineer to fix the disk drive.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. An engineer is a person who is responsible for maintaining the engine of a ship while it is at sea.\n  N-COUNT\n\n4. When a vehicle, bridge, or building is engineered, it is planned and constructed using scientific methods.\nMany of Kuwait’s spacious freeways were engineered by W S Atkins.\n...the car’s better designed and engineered rivals.\n  VERB: usu passive, be V-ed, V-ed\n\n5. If you engineer an event or situation, you arrange for it to happen, in a clever or indirect way.\nSome people believe that his murder was engineered by Stalin.\n  VERB: V n


Words: engineering
Meaning:
en.gi.neer.ing\n   engineering\n  Engineering is the work involved in designing and constructing engines and machinery, or structures such as roads and bridges. Engineering is also the subject studied by people who want to do this work.\n...graduates with degrees in engineering.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n  see also chemical engineering, civil engineering, electrical engineering, genetic engineering


Words: English
Meaning:
Eng.lish\n   English\n1. English means belonging or relating to England, or to its people or language. It is also often used to mean belonging or relating to Great Britain, although many people object to this.\n  ADJ\n\n  The English are English people.\n  N-PLURAL: the N\n\n2. English is the language spoken by people who live in Great Britain and Ireland, the United States, Canada, Australia, and many other countries.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: English breakfast
Meaning:
Eng.lish break.fast\n   English breakfast  English breakfasts\n  An English breakfast is a breakfast consisting of cooked food such as bacon, eggs, sausages, and tomatoes. It also includes toast and tea or coffee. (BRIT)\n  N-COUNT


Words: Englishwoman
Meaning:
English.woman\n   Englishwoman  Englishwomen\n  An Englishwoman is a woman who comes from England.\n  N-COUNT


Words: engorged
Meaning:
en.gorged\n   engorged\n  Something that is engorged is swollen, usually because it has been filled with a particular fluid.\n...the tissues become engorged with blood.\n  ADJ: oft ADJ with n


Words: engrave
Meaning:
en.grave\n   engrave  engraves  engraving  engraved\n  If you engrave something with a design or words, or if you engrave a design or words on it, you cut the design or words into its surface.\nYour wedding ring can be engraved with a personal inscription at no extra cost...\nHarrods will also engrave your child’s name on the side...\nI’m having `John Law’ engraved on the cap.\n...a bottle engraved with her name.\n  VERB: be V-ed with n, V n on/in n, have n V-ed prep, V-ed


Words: engraved
Meaning:
en.graved\n   engraved\n  If you say that something is engraved on your mind or memory or on your heart, you are emphasizing that you will never forget it, because it has made a very strong impression on you.\nHer image is engraved upon my heart...\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ in/on/upon n  emphasis


Words: engraver
Meaning:
en.grav.er\n   engraver  engravers\n  An engraver is someone who cuts designs or words on metal, glass, or wood.\n  N-COUNT


Words: engraving
Meaning:
en.grav.ing\n   engraving  engravings\n1. An engraving is a picture or design that has been cut into a surface.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. An engraving is a picture that has been printed from a plate on which designs have been cut.\n...a color engraving of oranges and lemons.\n  N-COUNT


Words: engrossed
Meaning:
en.grossed\n   engrossed\n  If you are engrossed in something, it holds your attention completely.\nTony didn’t notice because he was too engrossed in his work.\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ, usu ADJ in n


Words: engrossing
Meaning:
en.gross.ing\n   engrossing\n  Something that is engrossing is very interesting and holds your attention completely.\nHe is an engrossing subject for a book.\n  ADJ  approval


Words: engulf
Meaning:
en.gulf\n   engulf  engulfs  engulfing  engulfed\n1. If one thing engulfs another, it completely covers or hides it, often in a sudden and unexpected way.\nA seven-year-old boy was found dead after a landslide engulfed a block of flats...\nThe flat is engulfed in flames.\n  VERB: V n, V n\n\n2. If a feeling or emotion engulfs you, you are strongly affected by it.\n...the pain that engulfed him...\n  VERB: V n


Words: enhance
Meaning:
en.hance\n   enhance  enhances  enhancing  enhanced\n  To enhance something means to improve its value, quality, or attractiveness.\nThey’ll be keen to enhance their reputation abroad...\n  VERB: V n


Words: enhancement
Meaning:
en.hance.ment\n   enhancement  enhancements\n  The enhancement of something is the improvement of it in relation to its value, quality, or attractiveness. (FORMAL)\nHe was concerned with the enhancement of the human condition.\n  N-VAR: usu with supp, oft N of n


Words: enhancer
Meaning:
en.hanc.er\n   enhancer  enhancers\n  An enhancer is a substance or a device which makes a particular thing look, taste, or feel better.\nCinnamon is an excellent flavour enhancer.\n  N-COUNT: usu n N


Words: enigma
Meaning:
enig.ma\n   enigma  enigmas\n  If you describe something or someone as an enigma, you mean they are mysterious or difficult to understand.\nIran remains an enigma for the outside world.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing\n  = mystery


Words: enigmatic
Meaning:
en.ig.mat.ic\n   enigmatic\n  Someone or something that is enigmatic is mysterious and difficult to understand.\nHaley studied her, an enigmatic smile on his face...\nShe starred in one of Welles’s most enigmatic films.\n  ADJ\n\n=>  en.ig.mati.cal.ly\n`Corbiere didn’t deserve this,’ she said enigmatically.\n  ADV: ADV after v, ADV -ed/adj


Words: enjoin
Meaning:
en.join\n   enjoin  enjoins  enjoining  enjoined\n1. If you enjoin someone to do something, you order them to do it. If you enjoin an action or attitude, you order people to do it or have it. (FORMAL)\nShe enjoined me strictly not to tell anyone else...\nIt is true that Islam enjoins tolerance; there’s no doubt about that...\nThe positive neutrality enjoined on the force has now been overtaken by events.\n  VERB: V n to-inf, V n, V-ed\n\n2. If a judge enjoins someone from doing something, they order them not to do it. If a judge enjoins an action, they order people not to do it. (AM FORMAL)\nThe judge enjoined Varityper from using the ad in any way.\n...a preliminary injunction enjoining the practice.\n  VERB: V n from -ing, V n


Words: enjoy
Meaning:
en.joy\n   enjoy  enjoys  enjoying  enjoyed\n1. If you enjoy something, you find pleasure and satisfaction in doing it or experiencing it.\nRoss had always enjoyed the company of women...\nI enjoyed playing cricket.\n  VERB: V n/-ing, V n/-ing\n\n2. If you enjoy yourself, you do something that you like doing or you take pleasure in the situation that you are in.\nI must say I am really enjoying myself at the moment.\n  VERB: V pron-refl\n\n3. If you enjoy something such as a right, benefit, or privilege, you have it. (FORMAL)\nThe average German will enjoy 40 days’ paid holiday this year...\n  VERB: V n


Words: enjoyable
Meaning:
en.joy.able\n   enjoyable\n  Something that is enjoyable gives you pleasure.\nIt was much more enjoyable than I had expected.\n  ADJ\n\n=>  en.joy.ably\n...an enjoyably nasty thriller.\n...the place in which he has enjoyably spent his working life.\n  ADV: ADV adj, ADV with v


Words: enjoyment
Meaning:
en.joy.ment\n   enjoyment\n  Enjoyment is the feeling of pleasure and satisfaction that you have when you do or experience something that you like.\nI apologise if your enjoyment of the movie was spoiled.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N of n


Words: enlarge
Meaning:
en.large\n   enlarge  enlarges  enlarging  enlarged\n1. When you enlarge something or when it enlarges, it becomes bigger.\n...the plan to enlarge Ewood Park into a 30,000 all-seater stadium...\nThe glands in the neck may enlarge.\n  VERB: V n, V\n\n=>  en.larged\nThe UN secretary-general yesterday recommended an enlarged peacekeeping force.\n  ADJ\n\n2. If you enlarge on something that has been mentioned, you give more details about it. (FORMAL)\nHe didn’t enlarge on the form that the interim government and assembly would take...\n  VERB: V on/upon n\n  = expand


Words: enlargement
Meaning:
en.large.ment\n   enlargement  enlargements\n1. The enlargement of something is the process or result of making it bigger.\nThere is insufficient space for enlargement of the buildings.\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu with supp, oft N of n\n\n2. An enlargement is a photograph that has been made bigger.\n  N-COUNT


Words: enlarger
Meaning:
en.larg.er\n   enlarger  enlargers\n  An enlarger is a device which makes an image larger.\n  N-COUNT


Words: enlighten
Meaning:
en.light.en\n   enlighten  enlightens  enlightening  enlightened\n  To enlighten someone means to give them more knowledge and greater understanding about something. (FORMAL)\nA few dedicated doctors have fought for years to enlighten the profession...\nIf you know what is wrong with her, please enlighten me.\n  VERB: no cont, V n, V n\n\n=>  en.light.en.ing\n...an enlightening talk on the work done at the animal park...\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: enlightened
Meaning:
en.light.ened\n   enlightened\n  If you describe someone or their attitudes as enlightened, you mean that they have sensible, modern attitudes and ways of dealing with things.\nEnlightened companies include its human resources in their estimation of the firm’s worth.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n  approval


Words: enlightenment
Meaning:
en.light.en.ment\n   enlightenment\n1. Enlightenment means the act of enlightening or the state of being enlightened.\nStella had a moment of enlightenment.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. In Buddhism, enlightenment is a final spiritual state in which everything is understood and there is no more suffering or desire.\n...a sense of deep peace and spiritual enlightenment.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: enlist
Meaning:
en.list\n   enlist  enlists  enlisting  enlisted\n1. If someone enlists or is enlisted, they join the army, navy, marines, or air force.\nMichael Hughes of Lackawanna, Pennsylvania, enlisted in the 82nd Airborne 20 years ago...\nHe enlisted as a private in the Mexican War...\nThree thousand men were enlisted...\nHe decided to enlist.\n  VERB: V in n, V as n, be V-ed, V\n\n2. If you enlist the help of someone, you persuade them to help or support you in doing something.\nI had to cut down a tree and enlist the help of seven neighbours to get it out of the garden!...\nI’ve read that you’ve enlisted some 12-year-olds to help out in your campaign...\n  VERB: V n, V n to-inf


Words: enlisted
Meaning:
en.list.ed\n   enlisted\n  An enlisted man or woman is a member of the United States armed forces who is below the rank of officer.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: enlistment
Meaning:
en.list.ment\n   enlistment  enlistments\n1. Enlistment is the act of joining the army, navy, marines, or air force.\nCanadians seek enlistment in the US Marines because they don’t see as much opportunity in the Canadian armed forces.\n  N-UNCOUNT: also N in pl\n\n2. Enlistment is the period of time for which someone is a member of one of the armed forces.\nAt the end of my term of enlistment I decided to return to civilian life.\n  N-VAR\n  = service


Words: enliven
Meaning:
en.liv.en\n   enliven  enlivens  enlivening  enlivened\n  To enliven events, situations, or people means to make them more lively or cheerful.\nEven the most boring meeting was enlivened by Dan’s presence.\n  VERB: V n


Words: enmeshed
Meaning:
en.meshed\n   enmeshed\n  If you are enmeshed in or with something, usually something bad, you are involved in it and cannot easily escape from it.\nAll too often they become enmeshed in deadening routines.\n...as her life gets enmeshed with Andrew’s.\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ, usu ADJ in/with n


Words: enmity
Meaning:
en.mity\n   enmity  enmities\n  Enmity is a feeling of hatred towards someone that lasts for a long time.\nI think there is an historic enmity between them...\n  N-VAR: usu with supp, oft N between pl-n


Words: ennoble
Meaning:
en.no.ble\n   ennoble  ennobles  ennobling  ennobled\n1. To ennoble someone or something means to make them more dignified and morally better. (LITERARY)\n...the enduring fundamental principles of life that ennoble mankind.\n  VERB: V n\n\n=>  en.no.bling\n...the ennobling and civilizing power of education.\n  ADJ\n\n2. If someone is ennobled, they are made a member of the nobility. (FORMAL)\n...the son of a financier who had been ennobled.\n...the newly ennobled Lord Archer.\n  VERB: usu passive, be V-ed, V-ed


Words: ennui
Meaning:
en.nui\n   ennui\n  Ennui is a feeling of being tired, bored, and dissatisfied. (LITERARY)\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: enormity
Meaning:
enor.mity\n   enormity  enormities\n1. If you refer to the enormity of something that you consider to be a problem or difficulty, you are referring to its very great size, extent, or seriousness.\nI was numbed by the enormity of the responsibility...\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu the N of n\n\n2. If you refer to the enormity of an event, you are emphasizing that it is terrible and frightening.\nIt makes no sense to belittle the enormity of the disaster which has occurred.\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu N of n  emphasis


Words: enormous
Meaning:
enor.mous\n   enormous\n1. Something that is enormous is extremely large in size or amount.\nThe main bedroom is enormous...\nThere is, of course, an enormous amount to see.\n  ADJ\n\n2. You can use enormous to emphasize the great degree or extent of something.\nIt was an enormous disappointment.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n  emphasis\n\n=>  enor.mous.ly\nThis book was enormously influential...\n  ADV: ADV adj, ADV with v


Words: enough
Meaning:
enough\n1. Enough means as much as you need or as much as is necessary.\nThey had enough cash for a one-way ticket...\nThere aren’t enough tents to shelter them all.\n  DET: DET n-uncount/pl-n\n\n  Enough is also an adverb.\nI was old enough to work and earn money...\nDo you believe that sentences for criminals are tough enough at present?...\nShe graduated with high enough marks to apply for university.\n  ADV: adj/adv ADV, ADV after v, oft ADV to-inf\n\n  Enough is also a pronoun.\nAlthough the UK says efforts are being made, they are not doing enough.\n  PRON\n\n  Enough is also a quantifier.\nAll parents worry about whether their child is getting enough of the right foods.\n  QUANT: QUANT of def-n\n\n  Enough is also an adjective.\nIt was downright panic.the frozen expressions on the faces of the actors was proof enough of that.\n  ADJ: n ADJ\n\n2. If you say that something is enough, you mean that you do not want it to continue any longer or get any worse.\nI met him only the once, and that was enough...\nI think I have said enough...\nYou’ve got enough to think about for the moment.\n  PRON\n\n  Enough is also a quantifier.\nAnn had heard enough of this...\n  QUANT: QUANT of def-n\n\n  Enough is also a determiner.\nI’ve had enough problems with the police, I don’t need this...\nWould you shut up, please! I’m having enough trouble with these children!\n  DET: DET pl-n-uncount\n\n  Enough is also an adverb.\nI’m serious, things are difficult enough as they are.\n  ADV: adj ADV\n\n3. You can use enough to say that something is the case to a moderate or fairly large degree.\nWinter is a common enough German surname...\nThe rest of the evening passed pleasantly enough.\n  ADV: adj/adv ADV\n\n4. You use enough in expressions such as strangely enough and interestingly enough to indicate that you think a fact is strange or interesting.\nStrangely enough, the last thing he thought of was his beloved Tanya...\n  ADV: adv ADV with cl\n\n5. If you say that you have had enough, you mean that you are unhappy with a situation and you want it to stop.\nI had had enough of other people for one night.\n  PHRASE: V inflects, oft PHR of n\n\n6.\nfair enough: see fair\nsure enough: see sure


Words: enrage
Meaning:
en.rage\n   enrage  enrages  enraging  enraged\n  If you are enraged by something, it makes you extremely angry.\nHe was enraged by news of plans to demolish the pub...\nHe enraged the government by renouncing the agreement.\n  VERB: be V-ed by n, V n\n\n=>  en.raged\nI began getting more and more enraged at my father...\n  ADJ


Words: enrapture
Meaning:
en.rap.ture\n   enrapture  enraptures  enrapturing  enraptured\n  If something or someone enraptures you, you think they are wonderful or fascinating. (LITERARY)\nThe place at once enraptured me...\nThe 20,000-strong audience listened, enraptured.\n...an enraptured audience.\n  VERB: V n, V-ed, V-ed\n  = enchant


Words: enrich
Meaning:
en.rich\n   enrich  enriches  enriching  enriched\n1. To enrich something means to improve its quality, usually by adding something to it.\nIt is important to enrich the soil prior to planting.\n  VERB: V n\n\n=>  -enriched\n...nutrient-enriched water.\n  COMB in ADJ\n\n2. To enrich someone means to increase the amount of money that they have.\nHe will drain, rather than enrich, the country...\n  VERB: V n


Words: enrichment
Meaning:
en.rich.ment\n   enrichment\n  Enrichment is the act of enriching someone or something or the state of being enriched.\n...the enrichment of society.\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu with supp


Words: enrol
Meaning:
en.rol\n   enrol  enrols  enrolling  enrolled\nin AM, use enroll\n  If you enrol or are enrolled at an institution or on a course, you officially join it and pay a fee for it.\nCherny was enrolled at the University in 1945...\nShe enrolled on a local Women Into Management course...\nI thought I’d enrol you with an art group at the school.\n  VERB: be V-ed prep, V prep, V n prep, also V


Words: enrolment
Meaning:
en.rol.ment\n   enrolment\nin AM, use enrollment\n  Enrolment is the act of enrolling at an institution or on a course.\nA fee is charged for each year of study and is payable at enrolment.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: ensconced
Meaning:
en.sconced\n   ensconced\n  If you are ensconced somewhere, you are settled there firmly or comfortably and have no intention of moving or leaving.\nBrian was ensconced behind the bar...\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ prep/adv


Words: ensemble
Meaning:
en.sem.ble\n   ensemble  ensembles\n1. An ensemble is a group of musicians, actors, or dancers who regularly perform together.\n...an ensemble of young musicians...\n  N-COUNT: usu sing\n\n2. An ensemble of things or people is a group of things or people considered as a whole rather than as separate individuals. (FORMAL)\nThe state is an ensemble of political and social structures.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, oft N of n\n  = collection


Words: enshrine
Meaning:
en.shrine\n   enshrine  enshrines  enshrining  enshrined\n  If something such as an idea or a right is enshrined in something such as a constitution or law, it is protected by it.\nHis new relationship with Germany is enshrined in a new non-aggression treaty...\nThe apartheid system which enshrined racism in law still existed.\n  VERB: be V-ed in n, V n prep


Words: enshroud
Meaning:
en.shroud\n   enshroud  enshrouds  enshrouding  enshrouded\n  To enshroud something means to cover it completely so that it can no longer be seen. (LITERARY)\n...dispiriting clouds that enshrouded us in twilight.\n...the culture of secrecy which enshrouds our politics.\n  VERB: V n in n, V n


Words: ensign
Meaning:
en.sign\n   ensign  ensigns\n1. An ensign is a flag flown on a ship to show what country the ship belongs to.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. An ensign is a junior officer in the United States Navy.\nHe had been a naval ensign stationed off Cuba.\n...Ensign Smith.\n  N-COUNT; N-TITLE


Words: enslave
Meaning:
en.slave\n   enslave  enslaves  enslaving  enslaved\n1. To enslave someone means to make them into a slave.\nThey’ve been enslaved and had to do what they were told...\nI’d die myself before I’d let anyone enslave your folk ever again...\nGeorge was born to an enslaved African mother.\n  VERB: be V-ed, V n, V-ed\n\n2. To enslave a person or society means to trap them in a situation from which they cannot escape.\n...the various cultures, cults and religions that have enslaved human beings for untold years...\nIt would be a tragedy if both sexes were enslaved to the god of work.\n  VERB: V n, be V-ed to n, also V n to n


Words: enslavement
Meaning:
en.slave.ment\n   enslavement\n1. Enslavement is the act of making someone into a slave or the state of being a slave.\n...the enslavement of African people.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N of n\n\n2. Enslavement is the state of being trapped in a situation from which it is difficult to escape.\n...the analysis of women’s enslavement to appearance.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft poss N, adj N, N to n


Words: ensnare
Meaning:
en.snare\n   ensnare  ensnares  ensnaring  ensnared\n1. If you ensnare someone, you gain power over them, especially by using dishonest or deceitful methods.\nFeminism is simply another device to ensnare women...\nWe find ourselves ensnared in employment acts which do not help resolve industrial disputes.\n  VERB: V n, V-ed\n\n2. If an animal is ensnared, it is caught in a trap.\nThe spider must wait for prey to be ensnared on its web.\n  VERB: be V-ed on/in n


Words: ensue
Meaning:
en.sue\n   ensue  ensues  ensuing  ensued\n  If something ensues, it happens immediately after another event, usually as a result of it.\nIf the Europeans did not reduce subsidies, a trade war would ensue...\nA brief but embarrassing silence ensued.\n  VERB: no cont, V, V\n  = follow


Words: ensuing
Meaning:
en.su.ing\n   ensuing\n1. Ensuing events happen immediately after other events.\nThe ensuing argument had been bitter.\n...any ensuing problems.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n2. Ensuing months or years follow the time you are talking about.\nThe two companies grew tenfold in the ensuing ten years.\n  ADJ: det ADJ


Words: ensure
Meaning:
en.sure\n   ensure  ensures  ensuring  ensured\n  To ensure something, or to ensure that something happens, means to make certain that it happens. (FORMAL)\nBritain’s negotiators had ensured that the treaty which resulted was a significant change in direction...\n...the President’s Council, which ensures the supremacy of the National Party.\n  VERB: V that, V n


Words: entail
Meaning:
en.tail\n   entail  entails  entailing  entailed\n  If one thing entails another, it involves it or causes it. (FORMAL)\nSuch a decision would entail a huge political risk...\nI’ll never accept parole because that entails me accepting guilt.\n  VERB: V n, V n -ing


Words: entangle
Meaning:
en.tan.gle\n   entangle  entangles  entangling  entangled\n1. If one thing entangles itself with another, the two things become caught together very tightly.\nThe blade of the oar had entangled itself with something in the water.\n  VERB: V n with/in n\n\n2. If something entangles you in problems or difficulties, it causes you to become involved in problems or difficulties from which it is hard to escape.\nBureaucracy can entangle ventures for months...\nHis tactics were to entangle the opposition in a web of parliamentary procedure.\n  VERB: V n, V n in/with n


Words: entangled
Meaning:
en.tan.gled\n   entangled\n1. If something is entangled in something such as a rope, wire, or net, it is caught in it very firmly.\n...a whale that became entangled in crab nets.\n  ADJ: oft ADJ in/with n\n\n2. If you become entangled in problems or difficulties, you become involved in problems or difficulties from which it is hard to escape.\nThis case was bound to get entangled in international politics.\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ, oft ADJ in/with n


Words: entanglement
Meaning:
en.tan.gle.ment\n   entanglement  entanglements\n1. An entanglement is a complicated or difficult relationship or situation.\n...romantic entanglements.\n...a military and political entanglement the Government probably doesn’t want.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If things become entangled, you can refer to this as entanglement.\nMany dolphins are accidentally killed through entanglement with fishing equipment.\n  N-VAR


Words: entente
Meaning:
en.tente\n   entente  ententes\n  An entente or an entente cordiale is a friendly agreement between two or more countries.\nThe French entente with Great Britain had already been significantly extended...\n  N-VAR


Words: enter
Meaning:
en.ter\n   enter  enters  entering  entered\n1. When you enter a place such as a room or building, you go into it or come into it. (FORMAL)\nHe entered the room briskly and stood near the door...\nAs soon as I entered, they stopped and turned my way.\n  VERB: V n, V\n\n2. If you enter an organization or institution, you start to work there or become a member of it.\nHe entered the BBC as a general trainee...\n  VERB: V n\n\n3. If something new enters your mind, you suddenly think about it.\nDreadful doubts began to enter my mind.\n  VERB: V n\n  = cross\n4. If it does not enter your head to do, think or say something, you do not think of doing that thing although you should have done.\nIt never enters his mind that anyone is better than him...\nThough she enjoyed flirting with Matt, it had not entered her head to have an affair with him.\n  VERB: with brd-neg, it V n that, it V n to-inf\n\n5. If someone or something enters a particular situation or period of time, they start to be in it or part of it.\nThe war has entered its second month...\nA million young people enter the labour market each year...\n  VERB: V n, V n\n\n6. If you enter a competition, race, or examination, you officially state that you will compete or take part in it.\nI run so well I’m planning to enter some races...\nHe entered for many competitions, winning several gold medals...\nTo enter, simply complete the coupon on page 150.\n  VERB: V n, V for n, V\n\n7. If you enter someone for a race or competition, you officially state that they will compete or take part in it.\nHis wife Marie secretly entered him for the Championship.\n...some of the 150 projects entered for the awards.\n  VERB: V n for n, V-ed\n\n8. If you enter something in a notebook, register, or financial account, you write it down.\nEach week she meticulously entered in her notebooks all sums received...\nPrue entered the passage in her notebook, then read it aloud again.\n  VERB: V n with prep/adv, V n prep/adv\n\n9. To enter information into a computer or database means to record it there, for example by typing it on a keyboard.\nWhen a baby is born, they enter that baby’s name into the computer...\nA lot less time is now spent entering the data.\n  VERB: V n into n, V n


Words: enter into
Meaning:
enter into\n1. If you enter into something such as an agreement, discussion, or relationship, you become involved in it. You can also say that two people enter into something. (FORMAL)\nI have not entered into any financial agreements with them...\nThe United States and Canada may enter into an agreement that would allow easier access to jobs across the border...\nNo correspondence will be entered into.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n with n, pl-n V n, be V-ed P (non-recip)\n\n2. If one thing enters into another, it is a factor in it. (FORMAL)\nThere were also other factors that entered into the orchestration.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n


Words: enterprise
Meaning:
en.ter.prise\n   enterprise  enterprises\n1. An enterprise is a company or business, often a small one. (BUSINESS)\nThere are plenty of small industrial enterprises.\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp, oft adj N\n\n2. An enterprise is something new, difficult, or important that you do or try to do.\nHorse breeding is indeed a risky enterprise.\n  N-COUNT: usu supp N\n  = venture\n3. Enterprise is the activity of managing companies and businesses and starting new ones. (BUSINESS)\nHe is still involved in voluntary work promoting local enterprise.\n...a national program of subsidies to private enterprise.\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu supp N\n\n4. Enterprise is the ability to think of new and effective things to do, together with an eagerness to do them.\n...the spirit of enterprise worthy of a free and industrious people.\n  N-UNCOUNT  approval


Words: enterprise zone
Meaning:
en.ter.prise zone\n   enterprise zone enterprise zones\n  An enterprise zone is an area, usually a depressed or inner-city area, where the government offers incentives in order to attract new businesses. (BUSINESS)\nBecause it is in an enterprise zone, taxes on non-food items are 3.5% instead of the usual 7%.\n  N-COUNT


Words: enterprising
Meaning:
en.ter.pris.ing\n   enterprising\n  An enterprising person is willing to try out new, unusual ways of doing or achieving something.\nSome enterprising members found ways of reducing their expenses or raising their incomes.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: entertain
Meaning:
en.ter.tain\n   entertain  entertains  entertaining  entertained\n1. If a performer, performance, or activity entertains you, it amuses you, interests you, or gives you pleasure.\nThey were entertained by top singers, dancers and celebrities...\nChildren’s television not only entertains but also teaches.\n  VERB: V n, V\n\n=>  en.ter.tain.ing\nTo generate new money the sport needs to be more entertaining...\nThis is a surprisingly entertaining film...\n  ADJ\n\n2. If you entertain people, you provide food and drink for them, for example when you have invited them to your house.\nI don’t like to entertain guests anymore...\nThe Monroes continued to entertain extravagantly.\n  VERB: V n, V\n\n=>  en.ter.tain.ing\n...a cosy area for entertaining and relaxing.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n3. If you entertain an idea or suggestion, you allow yourself to consider it as possible or as worth thinking about seriously. (FORMAL)\nI feel how foolish I am to entertain doubts...\nI wouldn’t entertain the idea of such an unsociable job.\n  VERB: V n, V n


Words: entertainer
Meaning:
en.ter.tain.er\n   entertainer  entertainers\n  An entertainer is a person whose job is to entertain audiences, for example by telling jokes, singing, or dancing.\nSome have called him the greatest entertainer of the twentieth century.\n  N-COUNT


Words: entertainment
Meaning:
en.ter.tain.ment\n   entertainment  entertainments\n  Entertainment consists of performances of plays and films, and activities such as reading and watching television, that give people pleasure.\n...the world of entertainment and international stardom...\n  N-VAR


Words: enthral
Meaning:
en.thral\n   enthral  enthrals  enthralling  enthralled\nin AM, use enthrall, enthralls\n  If you are enthralled by something, you enjoy it and give it your complete attention and interest.\nThe passengers were enthralled by the scenery...\nThe fans sat enthralled in the darkened cinema.\n  VERB: be V-ed, V-ed


Words: enthrone
Meaning:
en.throne\n   enthrone  enthrones  enthroning  enthroned\n1. When kings, queens, emperors, or bishops are enthroned, they officially take on their role during a special ceremony. (FORMAL)\nEmperor Akihito of Japan has been enthroned in Tokyo...\nHe is expected to be enthroned early next year as the spiritual leader of the Church of England.\n  VERB: usu passive, be V-ed, be V-ed as n\n\n2. If an idea is enthroned, it has an important place in people’s life or thoughts. (JOURNALISM)\nHe was forcing the State to enthrone a particular brand of modernism.\n...the religious fundamentalism now enthroned in American life.\n  VERB: V n, V-ed\n  = enshrine


Words: enthronement
Meaning:
en.throne.ment\n   enthronement  enthronements\n  The enthronement of a king, queen, emperor, or bishop is a ceremony in which they officially take on their role. (FORMAL)\n...the enthronement of their new emperor.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, usu with poss


Words: enthuse
Meaning:
en.thuse\n   enthuse  enthuses  enthusing  enthused\n1. If you enthuse about something, you talk about it in a way that shows how excited you are about it.\nElizabeth David enthuses about the taste, fragrance and character of Provencal cuisine...\n`I’ve found the most wonderful house to buy!’ she enthused.\n  VERB: V about/over n, V with quote, also V that\n\n2. If you are enthused by something, it makes you feel excited and enthusiastic.\nI was immediately enthused...\nFind a hobby or interest which enthuses you.\n  VERB: be V-ed, V n


Words: enthusiasm
Meaning:
en.thu.si.asm\n   enthusiasm  enthusiasms\n1. Enthusiasm is great eagerness to be involved in a particular activity which you like and enjoy or which you think is important.\nTheir skill, enthusiasm and running has got them in the team.\n  N-VAR: oft N for n/-ing\n\n2. An enthusiasm is an activity or subject that interests you very much and that you spend a lot of time on.\nDraw him out about his current enthusiasms and future plans.\n  N-COUNT: oft with poss\n  = interest


Words: enthusiast
Meaning:
en.thu.si.ast\n   enthusiast  enthusiasts\n  An enthusiast is a person who is very interested in a particular activity or subject and who spends a lot of time on it.\nHe is a great sports enthusiast.\n...keep-fit enthusiasts.\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp


Words: enthusiastic
Meaning:
en.thu.si.as.tic\n   enthusiastic\n  If you are enthusiastic about something, you show how much you like or enjoy it by the way that you behave and talk.\nTom was very enthusiastic about the place...\n  ADJ: oft ADJ about n\n  = excited\n=>  en.thu.si.as.ti.cal.ly\nThe announcement was greeted enthusiastically.\n  ADV: usu ADV with v, also ADV adj


Words: entice
Meaning:
en.tice\n   entice  entices  enticing  enticed\n  To entice someone to go somewhere or to do something means to try to persuade them to go to that place or to do that thing.\nRetailers have tried almost everything to entice shoppers through their doors...\nThey’ll entice doctors to move from the cities by paying them better salaries.\n  VERB: V n prep, V n to-inf, also V n\n  = lure


Words: enticement
Meaning:
en.tice.ment\n   enticement  enticements\n  An enticement is something which makes people want to do a particular thing.\nAmong other enticements, they advertized that they would take guests to Ramsgate for the day.\n  N-VAR\n  = inducement


Words: enticing
Meaning:
en.tic.ing\n   enticing\n  Something that is enticing is extremely attractive and makes you want to get it or to become involved with it.\nA prospective premium of about 30 per cent on their initial investment is enticing.\n  ADJ\n\n=>  en.tic.ing.ly\n...laying out their stall enticingly.\n  ADV


Words: entire
Meaning:
en.tire\n   entire\n  You use entire when you want to emphasize that you are referring to the whole of something, for example, the whole of a place, time, or population.\nHe had spent his entire life in China as a doctor...\nThere are only 60 swimming pools in the entire country...\n  ADJ: det ADJ  emphasis\n  = whole


Words: entirely
Meaning:
en.tire.ly\n   entirely\n1. Entirely means completely and not just partly.\n...an entirely new approach...\nFraud is an entirely different matter...\nTheir price depended almost entirely on their scarcity...\n  ADV: ADV adj, ADV with v, ADV with cl/group\n  = completely, totally\n2. Entirely is also used to emphasize what you are saying.\nI agree entirely...\nOh, the whole episode was entirely his fault.\n  ADV: ADV with v, ADV group  emphasis


Words: entirety
Meaning:
en.tirety\n   entirety\n  If something is used or affected in its entirety, the whole of it is used or affected.\nThe peace plan has not been accepted in its entirety by all parties.\n  PHRASE: PHR after v


Words: entitle
Meaning:
en.ti.tle\n   entitle  entitles  entitling  entitled\n1. If you are entitled to something, you have the right to have it or do it.\nIf the warranty is limited, the terms may entitle you to a replacement or refund...\nThere are 23 Clubs throughout the U.S., and your membership entitles you to enjoy all of them.\n  VERB: V n to n, V n to-inf\n\n2. If the title of something such as a book, film, or painting is, for example, `Sunrise’, you can say that it is entitled `Sunrise’.\nChomsky’s review is entitled `Psychology and Ideology’.\n...a performance entitled `United States’.\n  VERB: usu passive, be V-ed quote, V-ed quote


Words: entitlement
Meaning:
en.ti.tle.ment\n   entitlement  entitlements\n  An entitlement to something is the right to have it or do it. (FORMAL)\nThey lose their entitlement to benefit when they start work.\n  N-VAR: oft N to n


Words: entity
Meaning:
en.tity\n   entity  entities\n  An entity is something that exists separately from other things and has a clear identity of its own. (FORMAL)\n...the earth as a living entity...\n  N-COUNT: usu supp N


Words: entomb
Meaning:
en.tomb\n   entomb  entombs  entombing  entombed\n1. If something is entombed, it is buried or permanently trapped by something. (FORMAL)\nThe city was entombed in volcanic lava...\nThe Tel, an artificial mountain, entombs Jericho’s ancient past.\n  VERB: be V-ed in n, V n, also V n in n\n\n2. When a person’s dead body is entombed, it is buried in a grave or put into a tomb. (FORMAL)\nNeither of them had any idea how long the body had been entombed.\n  VERB: usu passive, be V-ed


Words: entomology
Meaning:
ento.mol.ogy\n   entomology\n  Entomology is the study of insects.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n=>  ento.molo.gist      entomologists\n...a research entomologist.\n  N-COUNT


Words: entourage
Meaning:
en.tou.rage\n   entourage  entourages\n  A famous or important person’s entourage is the group of assistants, servants, or other people who travel with them.\n  N-COUNT: usu poss N, N of n


Words: entrails
Meaning:
en.trails\n   entrails\n  The entrails of people or animals are their inside parts, especially their intestines.\n  N-PLURAL\n  = innards


Words: entrance
Meaning:
VERB USE\nen.trance  VERB USE\n   entrance  entrances  entrancing  entranced\n  If something or someone entrances you, they cause you to feel delight and wonder, often so that all your attention is taken up and you cannot think about anything else.\nAs soon as I met Dick, he entranced me because he has a lovely voice...\n  VERB: V n\n  = enchant\n=>  en.tranced\nFor the next three hours we sat entranced as the train made its way up the mountains...\nHe is entranced by the kindness of her smile.\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ, ADJ after v, ADJ n\n\n=>  en.tranc.ing\nThe light reflected off the stone, creating a golden glow he found entrancing.\n  ADJ\n\nNOUN USES\nen.trance  NOUN USES\n   entrance  entrances\n1. The entrance to a place is the way into it, for example a door or gate.\nBeside the entrance to the church, turn right...\nHe was driven out of a side entrance with his hand covering his face...\nA marble entrance hall leads to a sitting room.\n  N-COUNT: oft N to/into/of n\n  = entry\n2. You can refer to someone’s arrival in a place as their entrance, especially when you think that they are trying to be noticed and admired.\nIf she had noticed her father’s entrance, she gave no indication.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, usu with poss\n  = entry\n3. When a performer makes his or her entrance on to the stage, he or she comes on to the stage.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, usu with poss, oft N on/into n\n\n4. If you gain entrance to a particular place, you manage to get in there. (FORMAL)\nHewitt had gained entrance to the Hall by pretending to be a heating engineer.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N to n\n  = entry\n5. If you gain entrance to a particular profession, society, or institution, you are accepted as a member of it.\nEntrance to universities and senior secondary schools was restricted.\n...entrance exams for the French civil service.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N to/into n\n\n6. If you make an entrance into a particular activity or system, you succeed in becoming involved in it.\nThe acquisition helped BCCI make its initial entrance into the US market.\n  N-SING: oft N into n\n  = entry


Words: entrance fee
Meaning:
en.trance fee\n   entrance fee  entrance fees\n  An entrance fee is a sum of money which you pay before you go into somewhere such as a cinema or museum, or which you have to pay in order to join an organization or institution.\n  N-COUNT


Words: entrance hall
Meaning:
en.trance hall\n   entrance hall  entrance halls\n  The entrance hall of a large house, hotel, or other large building, is the area just inside the main door.\n  N-COUNT


Words: entrant
Meaning:
en.trant\n   entrant  entrants\n1. An entrant is a person who has recently become a member of an institution such as a university.\n...a young school entrant.\n  N-COUNT: with supp\n\n2. An entrant is a person who is taking part in a competition.\nAll items entered for the competition must be the entrant’s own work.\n  N-COUNT\n  = contestant


Words: entrap
Meaning:
en.trap\n   entrap  entraps  entrapping  entrapped\n  If you entrap someone, you trick or deceive them and make them believe or do something wrong. (FORMAL)\nThe police have been given extra powers to entrap drug traffickers...\nHe claimed the government had entrapped him into doing something that he would not have done otherwise.\n  VERB: V n, V n into n/-ing


Words: entrapment
Meaning:
en.trap.ment\n   entrapment\n  Entrapment is the practice of arresting someone by using unfair or illegal methods. (LEGAL)\n...allegations of police entrapment.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: entreat
Meaning:
en.treat\n   entreat  entreats  entreating  entreated\n  If you entreat someone to do something, you ask them very politely and seriously to do it. (FORMAL)\nTrevor Steven entreated them to delay their departure...\n`Call me Earl!’ he entreated...\nI earnestly entreat that we don’t get caught out again.\n  VERB: V n to-inf, V with quote, V that, also V n, V n with quote\n  = implore


Words: entreaty
Meaning:
en.treaty\n   entreaty  entreaties\n  An entreaty is a very polite, serious request. (FORMAL)\nThe FA has resisted all entreaties to pledge its support to the campaign.\n  N-VAR: oft N to n


Words: entree
Meaning:
en.tree\n   entree  entrees   also entree\n1. If you have an entree to a social group, you are accepted and made to feel welcome by them.\nShe had an entree into the city’s cultivated society.\n  N-COUNT: oft N into n\n\n2. At restaurants or formal dinners, the entree is the main course, or sometimes a dish before the main course.\nDinner features a hot entree of chicken, veal, or lamb.\n  N-COUNT


Words: entrench
Meaning:
en.trench\n   entrench  entrenches  entrenching  entrenched\n  If something such as power, a custom, or an idea is entrenched, it is firmly established, so that it would be difficult to change it.\n...a series of measures designed to entrench democracy and the rule of law...\nThese dictators have entrenched themselves politically and are difficult to move.\n  VERB: V n, V pron-refl\n\n=>  en.trenched\nThe recession remains deeply entrenched.\n  ADJ


Words: entrenchment
Meaning:
en.trench.ment\n   entrenchment  entrenchments\n1. Entrenchments are a series of long deep holes called trenches which are dug for defence by soldiers in war.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl\n\n2. Entrenchment means the firm establishment of a system or your own position in a situation.\n...the entrenchment of democratic norms.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: entrepreneur
Meaning:
en.tre.pre.neur\n   entrepreneur  entrepreneurs\n  An entrepreneur is a person who sets up businesses and business deals. (BUSINESS)\n  N-COUNT


Words: entrepreneurial
Meaning:
en.tre.pre.neur.ial\n   entrepreneurial\n  Entrepreneurial means having the qualities that are needed to succeed as an entrepreneur. (BUSINESS)\n...her prodigious entrepreneurial flair.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: entrepreneurship
Meaning:
en.tre.pre.neur.ship\n   entrepreneurship\n  Entrepreneurship is the state of being an entrepreneur, or the activities associated with being an entrepreneur.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: entropy
Meaning:
en.tro.py\n   entropy\n  Entropy is a state of disorder, confusion, and disorganization. (TECHNICAL)\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: entrust
Meaning:
en.trust\n   entrust  entrusts  entrusting  entrusted\n  If you entrust something important to someone or entrust them with it, you make them responsible for looking after it or dealing with it.\nIf parents wanted to entrust their child to the best surgeons, they traveled to Bologna’s medical school...\nHe was forced to entrust an assistant with the important task of testing and demonstrating aircraft to prospective customers...\nThey can be entrusted to solve major national problems.\n  VERB: V n to n, V n with n, be V-ed to-inf


Words: entry
Meaning:
en.try\n   entry  entries\n1. If you gain entry to a particular place, you are able to go in.\nBill was among the first to gain entry to Buckingham Palace when it opened to the public recently...\nNon-residents were refused entry into the region without authority from their own district...\nEntry to the museum is free.\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu N to/into n\n  = entrance\n  No Entry is used on signs to indicate that you are not allowed to go into a particular area or go through a particular door or gate.\n  PHRASE\n\n2. You can refer to someone’s arrival in a place as their entry, especially when you think that they are trying to be noticed and admired.\nHe made his triumphal entry into Mexico City.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, usu with poss\n  = entrance\n3. Someone’s entry into a particular society or group is their joining of it.\nHe described Britain’s entry into the European Exchange Rate Mechanism as an historic move.\n...people who cannot gain entry to the owner-occupied housing sector.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N into/to n\n  = entrance\n4. An entry in a diary, account book, computer file, or reference book is a short piece of writing in it.\nViolet’s diary entry for 20 April 1917 records Brigit admitting to the affair...\n  N-COUNT\n\n5. An entry for a competition is a piece of work, for example a story or drawing, or the answers to a set of questions, which you complete in order to take part in the competition.\nThe closing date for entries is 31st December.\n  N-COUNT\n\n6. Journalists sometimes use entry to refer to the total number of people taking part in an event or competition. For example, if a competition has an entry of twenty people, twenty people take part in it.\nPrize-money of nearly .90,000 has attracted a record entry of 14 horses from Britain and Ireland...\nOur competition has attracted a huge entry.\n  N-SING: with supp, oft N of n\n\n7. Entry in a competition is the act of taking part in it.\nEntry to this competition is by invitation only.\n...an entry form.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft n in/to n\n\n8. The entry to a place is the way into it, for example a door or gate.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing\n  = entrance


Words: entry-level
Meaning:
1. Entry-level is used to describe basic low-cost versions of products such as cars or computers that are suitable for people who have no previous experience or knowledge of them. (BUSINESS)\nSeveral companies are offering new, entry-level models in hopes of attracting more buyers.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n2. Entry-level jobs are suitable for people who do not have previous experience or qualifications in a particular area of work. (BUSINESS)\nMany entry-level jobs were filled by school leavers.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: entryway
Meaning:
entry.way\n   entryway  entryways\n  An entryway is a passage that is used as an entrance to a building. (mainly AM)\n  N-COUNT\n  = entrance


Words: entwine
Meaning:
en.twine\n   entwine  entwines  entwining  entwined\n1. If one thing is entwined with another thing, or if you entwine two things, the two things are twisted around each other.\nHis dazed eyes stare at the eels, which still writhe and entwine...\nFacing each other, the giraffes were managing to entwine their necks in the most astonishing manner...\nHe entwined his fingers with hers.\n...with silk ribbons and flowers entwined in their hair.\n  V-RECIP: pl-n V, V pl-n, V n with n, V-ed, also V with n, V n (non-recip)\n\n2. If two things entwine or are entwined, they closely resemble or are linked to each other, and they are difficult to separate or identify.\nThe book entwines the personal and the political to chart the history of four generations of the family...\nOnce, years ago, he told me our lives should entwine.\n  VERB: V pl-n, pl-n V\n\n=>  en.twined\n...before media manipulation became entwined with management.\n  ADJ: oft ADJ with n


Words: enumerate
Meaning:
enu.mer.ate\n   enumerate  enumerates  enumerating  enumerated\n  When you enumerate a list of things, you name each one in turn.\nI enumerate the work that will have to be done.\n  VERB: V n\n  = itemize


Words: enunciate
Meaning:
enun.ci.ate\n   enunciate  enunciates  enunciating  enunciated\n  When you enunciate a word or part of a word, you pronounce it clearly. (FORMAL)\nHis voice was harsh as he enunciated each word carefully...\nShe enunciates very slowly and carefully.\n  VERB: V n, V\n\n=>  enun.cia.tion\n... his grammar always precise, his enunciation always perfect.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: envelop
Meaning:
en.vel.op\n   envelop  envelops  enveloping  enveloped\n  If one thing envelops another, it covers or surrounds it completely.\nThat lovely, rich fragrant smell of the forest enveloped us...\n...an enveloping sense of well-being.\n  VERB: V n, V-ing


Words: envelope
Meaning:
en.velope\n   envelope   envelopes\n1. An envelope is the rectangular paper cover in which you send a letter to someone through the post.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If someone pushes the envelope, they do something to a greater degree or in a more extreme way than it has ever been done before.\nThere’s a valuable place for fashion and design that pushes the envelope a bit...\n  PHRASE: V inflects


Words: enviable
Meaning:
en.vi.able\n   enviable\n  You describe something such as a quality as enviable when someone else has it and you wish that you had it too.\nJapan is in the enviable position of having a budget surplus...\nThey have enviable reputations as athletes.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: envious
Meaning:
en.vi.ous\n   envious\n  If you are envious of someone, you want something that they have.\nI don’t think I’m envious of your success...\nDo I sound envious? I pity them, actually.\n...envious thoughts.\n  ADJ: oft ADJ of n\n\n=>  en.vi.ous.ly\n`You haven’t changed,’ I am often enviously told.\n  ADV: ADV with v


Words: environment
Meaning:
en.vi.ron.ment\n   environment  environments\n1. Someone’s environment is all the circumstances, people, things, and events around them that influence their life.\nPupils in our schools are taught in a safe, secure environment...\nThe moral characters of men are formed not by heredity but by environment...\n  N-VAR\n\n2. Your environment consists of the particular natural surroundings in which you live or exist, considered in relation to their physical characteristics or weather conditions.\n...the maintenance of a safe environment for marine mammals.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, with supp\n\n3. The environment is the natural world of land, sea, air, plants, and animals.\n...persuading people to respect the environment.\n  N-SING: the N


Words: environmental
Meaning:
en.vi.ron.men.tal\n   environmental\n1. Environmental means concerned with the protection of the natural world of land, sea, air, plants, and animals.\n...the environmental claims being made for some products...\nEnvironmental groups plan to stage public protests during the conference.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n=>  en.vi.ron.men.tal.ly\n...the high price of environmentally friendly goods.\n  ADV: ADV adj\n\n2. Environmental means relating to or caused by the surroundings in which someone lives or something exists.\nIt protects against environmental hazards such as wind and sun...\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: environmentalism
Meaning:
en.vi.ron.men.tal.ism\n   environmentalism\n  Environmentalism is used to describe actions and policies which show a concern with protecting and preserving the natural environment, for example by preventing pollution.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: environmentalist
Meaning:
en.vi.ron.men.tal.ist\n   environmentalist  environmentalists\n  An environmentalist is a person who is concerned with protecting and preserving the natural environment, for example by preventing pollution.\n  N-COUNT


Words: environs
Meaning:
en.vi.rons\n   environs\n  The environs of a place consist of the area immediately surrounding it. (FORMAL)\n...the environs of Paris...\nThe town and its environs are inviting, with recreational attractions and art museums.\n  N-PLURAL: with poss


Words: envisage
Meaning:
en.vis.age\n   envisage  envisages  envisaging  envisaged\n  If you envisage something, you imagine that it is true, real, or likely to happen.\nHe envisages the possibility of establishing direct diplomatic relations in the future...\nHe had never envisaged spending the whole of his working life in that particular job...\nPersonally, I envisage them staying together.\n  VERB: V n, V -ing, V n -ing, also V that\n  = imagine, envision


Words: envision
Meaning:
en.vi.sion\n   envision  envisions  envisioning  envisioned\n  If you envision something, you envisage it. (AM; also BRIT LITERARY)\nIn the future we envision a federation of companies...\nMost people do stop at this point, not envisioning that there is anything beyond.\n  VERB: V n, V that, also V wh\n  = imagine


Words: envoy
Meaning:
en.voy\n   envoy  envoys\n1. An envoy is someone who is sent as a representative from one government or political group to another.\n  N-COUNT: with supp\n\n2. An envoy is a diplomat in an embassy who is immediately below the ambassador in rank.\n  N-COUNT


Words: envy
Meaning:
envy  envies  envying  envied\n1. Envy is the feeling you have when you wish you could have the same thing or quality that someone else has.\nGradually he began to acknowledge his feelings of envy towards his mother...\nThey gazed in a mixture of envy and admiration at the beauty of the statue.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. If you envy someone, you wish that you had the same things or qualities that they have.\nI don’t envy the young ones who’ve become TV superstars and know no other world...\nHe envied Caroline her peace...\n  VERB: V n, V n n\n\n3. If a thing or quality is the envy of someone, they wish very much that they could have or achieve it.\n...an economic expansion that was the envy of many other states.\n  N-SING: the N of n\n\n4.\ngreen with envy: see green


Words: enzyme
Meaning:
en.zyme\n   enzyme  enzymes\n  An enzyme is a chemical substance that is found in living creatures which produces changes in other substances without being changed itself. (TECHNICAL)\n  N-COUNT


Words: EP
Meaning:
EP  EPs\n  An EP is a record which lasts for about 8 minutes on each side. EP is an abbreviation for `extended play’.\n  N-COUNT


Words: epaulette
Meaning:
ep.aulette\n   epaulette  epaulettes\nin AM, use epaulet\n  Epaulettes are decorations worn on the shoulders of certain uniforms, especially military ones.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl


Words: epee
Meaning:
epee  epees   also epee\n  An epee is a thin, light sword that is used in the sport of fencing.\n  N-COUNT


Words: ephemera
Meaning:
ephem.era\n   ephemera\n1. You can refer to things which last for only a short time as ephemera. (LITERARY)\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. Ephemera is things people collect such as old postcards, posters, and bus tickets, which were only intended to last a short time when they were produced.\n...tickets and other printed ephemera.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft adj N


Words: ephemeral
Meaning:
ephem.er.al\n   ephemeral\n  If you describe something as ephemeral, you mean that it lasts only for a very short time. (FORMAL)\nHe talked about the country’s ephemeral unity being shattered by the defeat...\n  ADJ\n  = transient


Words: epic
Meaning:
epic  epics\n1. An epic is a long book, poem, or film, whose story extends over a long period of time or tells of great events.\n...the Middle High German epic, `Nibelungenlied’, written about 1200...\nAt three hours and 21 minutes, it is an over-long, standard Hollywood epic.\n  N-COUNT: usu supp N\n\n  Epic is also an adjective.\n...epic narrative poems...\nLike `Gone With The Wind’ it’s an unashamed epic romance.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n2. Something that is epic is very large and impressive.\n...Columbus’s epic voyage of discovery.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: epicentre
Meaning:
epi.cen.tre\n   epicentre  epicentres\nin AM, use epicenter\n  The epicentre of an earthquake is the place on the earth’s surface directly above the point where it starts, and is the place where it is felt most strongly.\nThe earthquake had its epicentre two-hundred kilometres north-east of the capital.\n  N-COUNT: usu with poss


Words: epicure
Meaning:
epi.cure\n   epicure  epicures\n  An epicure is someone who enjoys eating food that is of very good quality, especially unusual or rare food. (FORMAL)\n  N-COUNT\n  = gourmand


Words: epicurean
Meaning:
epi.cu.rean\n   epicurean\n  Epicurean food is of very good quality, especially unusual or rare food. (FORMAL)\n...an epicurean dish.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: epidemic
Meaning:
epi.dem.ic\n   epidemic  epidemics\n1. If there is an epidemic of a particular disease somewhere, it affects a very large number of people there and spreads quickly to other areas.\nA flu epidemic is sweeping through Moscow.\n...a killer epidemic of yellow fever.\n  N-COUNT: oft n N, N of n\n\n2. If an activity that you disapprove of is increasing or spreading rapidly, you can refer to this as an epidemic of that activity.\n...an epidemic of serial killings...\nDrug experts say it could spell the end of the crack epidemic.\n  N-COUNT: with supp, oft N of n  disapproval


Words: epidermis
Meaning:
epi.der.mis\n   epidermis\n  Your epidermis is the thin, protective, outer layer of your skin. (TECHNICAL)\n  N-SING


Words: epidural
Meaning:
epi.dur.al\n   epidural  epidurals\n  An epidural is a type of anaesthetic which is injected into a person’s spine so that they cannot feel anything from the waist downwards. Epidurals are sometimes given to women when they are giving birth.\n  N-COUNT


Words: epigram
Meaning:
epi.gram\n   epigram  epigrams\n  An epigram is a short saying or poem which expresses an idea in a very clever and amusing way.\n  N-COUNT


Words: epilepsy
Meaning:
epi.lep.sy\n   epilepsy\n  Epilepsy is a brain condition which causes a person to suddenly lose consciousness and sometimes to have fits.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: epileptic
Meaning:
epi.lep.tic\n   epileptic  epileptics\n1. Someone who is epileptic suffers from epilepsy.\nHe was epileptic and refused to take medication for his condition.\n  ADJ\n\n  An epileptic is someone who is epileptic.\nHis wife is an epileptic.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. An epileptic fit is caused by epilepsy.\nHe suffered an epileptic fit...\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: epilogue
Meaning:
epi.logue\n   epilogue  epilogues\nin AM, also use epilog\n  An epilogue is a passage or speech which is added to the end of a book or play as a conclusion.\n  N-COUNT: usu the N in sing


Words: Epiphany
Meaning:
Epipha.ny\n   Epiphany\n  Epiphany is a Christian festival on the 6th of January which celebrates the arrival of the wise men who came to see Jesus Christ soon after he was born.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: episcopal
Meaning:
epis.co.pal\n   episcopal\n1. Episcopal means relating to a branch of the Anglican Church in Scotland and the USA.\n...the Scottish Episcopal Church.\n...the Episcopal bishop of New York.\n...the Protestant Episcopal church.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n2. Episcopal means relating to bishops. (FORMAL)\n...episcopal conferences.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: Episcopalian
Meaning:
Epis.co.pa.li.an\n   Episcopalian  Episcopalians\n1. Episcopalian means belonging to the Episcopal Church.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n2. An Episcopalian is a member of the Episcopal Church.\n  N-COUNT


Words: episode
Meaning:
epi.sode\n   episode  episodes\n1. You can refer to an event or a short period of time as an episode if you want to suggest that it is important or unusual, or has some particular quality.\nThis episode is bound to be a deep embarrassment for Washington...\nUnfortunately it was a rather sordid episode of my life.\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp\n\n2. An episode of something such as a series on radio or television or a story in a magazine is one of the separate parts in which it is broadcast or published.\nThe final episode will be shown next Sunday.\n  N-COUNT: oft N of n\n  = instalment\n3. An episode of an illness is short period in which a person who suffers from it is affected by it particularly badly. (MEDICAL)\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp\n  = attack


Words: episodic
Meaning:
epi.sod.ic\n   episodic\n  Something that is episodic occurs at irregular and infrequent intervals. (FORMAL)\n...episodic attacks of fever.\n  ADJ


Words: epistle
Meaning:
epis.tle\n   epistle  epistles\n1. An epistle is a letter. (LITERARY)\n  N-COUNT: supp N\n\n2. In the Bible, the Epistles are a series of books in the New Testament which were originally written as letters to the early Christians.\n  N-COUNT: usu N to n


Words: epistolary
Meaning:
epis.to.lary\n   epistolary\n  An epistolary novel or story is one that is written as a series of letters. (FORMAL)\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: epitaph
Meaning:
epi.taph\n   epitaph  epitaphs\n  An epitaph is a short piece of writing about someone who is dead, often carved on their grave.\n  N-COUNT


Words: epithet
Meaning:
epi.thet\n   epithet  epithets\n  An epithet is an adjective or short phrase which is used as a way of criticizing or praising someone. (FORMAL)\n...the religious issue which led to the epithet `bible-basher’.\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp


Words: epitome
Meaning:
epito.me\n   epitome\n  If you say that a person or thing is the epitome of something, you are emphasizing that they are the best possible example of a particular type of person or thing. (FORMAL)\nMaureen was the epitome of sophistication...\n  N-SING: usu the N of n  emphasis


Words: epitomize
Meaning:
epito.mize\n   epitomize  epitomizes  epitomizing  epitomized\nin BRIT, also use epitomise\n  If you say that something or someone epitomizes a particular thing, you mean that they are a perfect example of it.\nLyonnais cooking is epitomized by the so-called `bouchons’.\n...the sleek lift that epitomized the hotel’s glossy decor.\n  VERB: be V-ed by n, V n


Words: EPO
Meaning:
also epo\n  EPO is a drug that can improve performance in sports and is used illegally by some sportspeople. EPO is short for `erythropoietin’.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: epoch
Meaning:
epoch  epochs\n  If you refer to a long period of time as an epoch, you mean that important events or great changes took place during it.\nThe birth of Christ was the beginning of a major epoch of world history.\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp


Words: epoch-making
Meaning:
epoch-making\n  An epoch-making change or declaration is considered to be the extremely important because it is likely to have a significant effect on a particular period of time.\nIt was meant to sound like an epoch-making declaration.\n...the epoch-making changes now taking place in Eastern Europe.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: eponymous
Meaning:
epony.mous\n   eponymous\n  An eponymous hero or heroine is the character in a play or book whose name is the title of that play or book. (FORMAL)\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: epoxy
Meaning:
epoxy\n  Epoxy resin or adhesive contains an artificial substance which sets hard when it is heated or when pressure is applied to it.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N n


Words: Epsom salts
Meaning:
Ep.som salts\n   Epsom salts\n  Epsom salts is a kind of white powder which you can mix with water and drink as a medicine to help you empty your bowels.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: EQ
Meaning:
EQ EQs\n  A person’s EQ is a measure of their interpersonal and communication skills. EQ is an abbreviation for `emotional quotient’. Compare IQ.\nGuy was elected leader and then found to have the highest EQ on a nominal measure.\n  N-VAR


Words: equable
Meaning:
eq.uable\n   equable\n  If you describe someone as equable, you mean that they are calm, cheerful, and fair with other people, even in difficult circumstances.\nHe was a man of the most equable temper...\n  ADJ\n\n=>  eq.uably\nShe wasn’t prepared to respond equably to Richardson’s mood, and she spoke curtly.\n  ADV: ADV after v


Words: equal
Meaning:
equal  equals  equalling  equalled\nin AM, use equaling, equaled\n1. If two things are equal or if one thing is equal to another, they are the same in size, number, standard, or value.\nInvestors can borrow an amount equal to the property’s purchase price.\n...in a population having equal numbers of men and women...\nResearch and teaching are of equal importance.\n  ADJ: oft ADJ to n\n\n2. If different groups of people have equal rights or are given equal treatment, they have the same rights or are treated the same as each other, however different they are.\nWe will be justly demanding equal rights at work.\n...the commitment to equal opportunities.\n...new legislation allowing building societies to compete on equal terms with their competitors.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n3. If you say that people are equal, you mean that they have or should have the same rights and opportunities as each other.\nWe are equal in every way...\nAt any gambling game, everyone is equal.\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ\n\n4. Someone who is your equal has the same ability, status, or rights as you have.\nShe was one of the boys, their equal...\nYou should have married somebody more your equal.\n  N-COUNT: poss N\n\n5. If someone is equal to a particular job or situation, they have the necessary ability, strength, or courage to deal successfully with it.\nShe was determined that she would be equal to any test the corporation put to them...\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ to n\n\n6. If something equals a particular number or amount, it is the same as that amount or the equivalent of that amount.\n9 percent interest less 7 percent inflation equals 2 percent...\n  V-LINK: V amount\n\n7. To equal something or someone means to be as good or as great as them.\nThe victory equalled Southend’s best in history...\n  VERB: V n\n\n8. If you say `other things being equal’ or `all things being equal’ when talking about a possible situation, you mean if nothing unexpected happens or if there are no other factors which affect the situation.\nOther things being equal, most tenants would prefer single to shared rooms...\n  PHRASE: PHR with cl


Words: equal opportunities
Meaning:
equal op.por.tu.nities\n\n  Equal opportunities refers to the policy of giving everyone the same opportunities for employment, pay and promotion, without discriminating against particular groups. (BUSINESS)\nThe profession’s leaders must take action now to promote equal opportunities for all.\n  N-PLURAL


Words: equal opportunities employer
Meaning:
equal op.por.tu.nities em.ploy.er\n   equal opportunities employer equal opportunities employers\n  An equal opportunities employer is an employer who gives people the same opportunities for employment, pay, and promotion, without discrimination against anyone. (BUSINESS)\nThe police force is committed to being an equal opportunities employer.\n  N-COUNT


Words: equal sign
Meaning:
equal sign  equal signs\nin BRIT, also use equals sign\n  An equal sign is the sign =, which is used in arithmetic to indicate that two numbers or sets of numbers are equal.\n  N-COUNT


Words: equality
Meaning:
equali.ty\n   equality\n  Equality is the same status, rights, and responsibilities for all the members of a society, group, or family.\n...equality of the sexes.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: equalize
Meaning:
equal.ize\n   equalize  equalizes  equalizing  equalized\nin BRIT, also use equalise\n1. To equalize a situation means to give everyone the same rights or opportunities, for example in education, wealth, or social status.\nSuch measures are needed to equalize wage rates between countries.\n  VERB: V n\n\n=>  equali.za.tion\n...the equalization of parenting responsibilities between men and women.\n  N-UNCOUNT: also a N, oft N of n\n\n2. In sports such as football, if a player equalizes, he or she scores a goal that makes the scores of the two teams equal. (BRIT)\nKeegan equalized with only 16 minutes remaining...\nThey showed little sign of equalising the Portsmouth striker’s glorious 55th-minute shot.\n  VERB: V, V n


Words: equalizer
Meaning:
equal.iz.er\n   equalizer  equalizers   also equaliser\n  In sports such as football, an equalizer is a goal or a point that makes the scores of the two teams equal. (BRIT)\n  N-COUNT: usu sing


Words: equally
Meaning:
equal.ly\n   equally\n1. Equally means in sections, amounts, or spaces that are the same size as each other.\nA bank’s local market share tends to be divided equally between the local branch and branches located elsewhere...\nTry to get into the habit of eating at least three small meals a day, at equally spaced intervals.\n  ADV: ADV after v, ADV -ed\n\n2. Equally means to the same degree or extent.\nAll these techniques are equally effective...\nSuccess doesn’t only depend on what you do. What you don’t do is equally important.\n  ADV: ADV adj/adv, ADV before v\n\n3. Equally is used to introduce another comment on the same topic, which balances or contrasts with the previous comment.\nThey needed his help, but equally they did not trust him.\n  ADV: ADV with cl


Words: equanimity
Meaning:
equa.nim.ity\n   equanimity\n  Equanimity is a calm state of mind and attitude to life, so that you never lose your temper or become upset. (FORMAL)\nHis sense of humour allowed him to face adversaries with equanimity...\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft with N


Words: equate
Meaning:
equate  equates  equating  equated\n  If you equate one thing with another, or if you say that one thing equates with another, you believe that they are strongly connected.\nI’m always wary of men wearing suits, as I equate this with power and authority...\nThe author doesn’t equate liberalism and conservatism...\nThe principle of hierarchy does not equate to totalitarian terror.\n  VERB: V n with n, V pl-n, V to/with n\n\n=>  equa.tion\n...the equation of gangsterism with business in Coppola’s film.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N of n with n


Words: equation
Meaning:
equa.tion\n   equation  equations\n1. An equation is a mathematical statement saying that two amounts or values are the same, for example 6x4=12x2.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. An equation is a situation in which two or more parts have to be considered together so that the whole situation can be understood or explained.\nThe equation is simple: research breeds new products...\nNew plans have taken chance out of the equation.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3.\n  see also equate


Words: equator
Meaning:
equa.tor\n   equator\n  The equator is an imaginary line around the middle of the earth at an equal distance from the North Pole and the South Pole.\n  N-SING: the N


Words: equatorial
Meaning:
equa.to.rial\n   equatorial\n  Something that is equatorial is near or at the equator.\n...the equatorial island with a hundred and twenty thousand people living there.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: equerry
Meaning:
eq.uer.ry\n   equerry  equerries\n  An equerry is an officer of a royal household or court who acts as a personal assistant to a member of the royal family.\n  N-COUNT: oft N to n


Words: equestrian
Meaning:
eques.trian\n   equestrian\n  Equestrian means connected with the activity of riding horses.\n...his equestrian skills.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: equestrianism
Meaning:
eques.tri.an.ism\n   equestrianism\n  Equestrianism refers to sports in which people demonstrate their skill at riding and controlling a horse.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: equidistant
Meaning:
equi.dis.tant\n   equidistant\n  A place that is equidistant from two other places is the same distance away from each of these places.\nHorsey is equidistant from Great Yarmouth and Mundesley.\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ, usu ADJ from/between n


Words: equilateral
Meaning:
equi.lat.eral\n   equilateral\n  A shape or figure that is equilateral has sides that are all the same length. (TECHNICAL)\n...an equilateral triangle.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: equilibrium
Meaning:
equi.lib.rium\n   equilibrium  equilibria\n1. Equilibrium is a balance between several different influences or aspects of a situation. (FORMAL)\nStocks seesawed ever lower until prices found some new level of equilibrium...\nFor the economy to be in equilibrium, income must equal expenditure.\n  N-VAR\n\n2. Someone’s equilibrium is their normal calm state of mind.\nI paused in the hall to take three deep breaths to restore my equilibrium...\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft poss N


Words: equine
Meaning:
equine\n  Equine means connected with or relating to horses.\n...an outbreak of equine influenza.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: equinox
Meaning:
equi.nox\n   equinox   equinoxes\n  An equinox is one of the two days in the year when day and night are of equal length.\nIn the Chinese calendar, the Spring Equinox always occurs in the second month.\n  N-COUNT: oft supp N


Words: equip
Meaning:
equip  equips  equipping  equipped\n1. If you equip a person or thing with something, you give them the tools or equipment that are needed.\nThey become obsessed with trying to equip their vehicles with gadgets to deal with every possible contingency...\nOwners of restaurants would have to equip them to admit disabled people...\nThe country did not possess the modern guns to equip the reserve army properly.\n  VERB: V n with n, V n to-inf, V n\n\n=>  equipped\n...well-equipped research buildings...\nThe greenhouses come equipped with a ventilating system and aluminium screen door...\n  ADJ\n\n2. If something equips you for a particular task or experience, it gives you the skills and attitudes you need for it, especially by educating you in a particular way.\nRelative poverty, however, did not prevent Martin from equipping himself with an excellent education...\nA basic two-hour first aid course would equip you to deal with any of these incidents.\n  VERB: V n with n, V n to-inf, also V n for n/-ing\n\n=>  equipped\nSome students have emotional problems that teachers feel ill equipped to handle...\nWhen they leave school, they will be equipped for obtaining office jobs.\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ to-inf, v-link ADJ for n/-ing


Words: equipment
Meaning:
equip.ment\n   equipment\n  Equipment consists of the things which are used for a particular purpose, for example a hobby or job.\n...computers, electronic equipment and machine tools.\n...outdoor playing equipment.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: equitable
Meaning:
equi.table\n   equitable\n  Something that is equitable is fair and reasonable in a way that gives equal treatment to everyone.\nHe has urged them to come to an equitable compromise that gives Hughes his proper due...\n  ADJ\n\n=>  equi.tably\n...a real attempt to allocate scarce resources more equitably.\n  ADV: ADV after v, ADV -ed


Words: equities
Meaning:
equi.ties\n\n  Equities are shares in a company that are owned by people who have a right to vote at the company’s meetings and to receive part of the company’s profits after the holders of preference shares have been paid. (BUSINESS)\nInvestors have poured money into US equities.\n  N-PLURAL\n  = ordinary shares\n  see also preference shares


Words: equity
Meaning:
equi.ty\n   equity\n1. In finance, your equity is the sum of your assets, for example the value of your house, once your debts have been subtracted from it. (BUSINESS)\nTo capture his equity, Murphy must either sell or refinance.\n...a Personal Equity Plan.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n  see also negative equity\n2. Equity is the quality of being fair and reasonable in a way that gives equal treatment to everyone.\nWe base this call on grounds of social justice and equity.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: equivalence
Meaning:
equiva.lence\n   equivalence\n  If there is equivalence between two things, they have the same use, function, size, or value.\n...the equivalence of science and rationality.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: equivalent
Meaning:
equiva.lent\n   equivalent  equivalents\n1. If one amount or value is the equivalent of another, they are the same.\nThe equivalent of two tablespoons of polyunsaturated oils is ample each day...\nEven the cheapest car costs the equivalent of 70 years’ salary for a government worker.\n  N-SING: oft N of n\n\n  Equivalent is also an adjective.\nA unit is equivalent to a glass of wine or a single measure of spirits...\nThey will react with hostility to the price rises and calls for equivalent wage increases are bound to be heard.\n  ADJ: oft ADJ to n\n  = equal\n2. The equivalent of someone or something is a person or thing that has the same function in a different place, time, or system.\n...the civil administrator of the West Bank and his equivalent in Gaza.\n...the Red Cross emblem, and its equivalent in Muslim countries, the Red Crescent.\n  N-COUNT: usu with poss\n  = counterpart\n  Equivalent is also an adjective.\n...a decrease of 10% in property investment compared with the equivalent period in 1991.\n  ADJ\n\n3. You can use equivalent to emphasize the great or severe effect of something.\nHis party has just suffered the equivalent of a near-fatal heart attack.\n  N-SING: the N of n  emphasis


Words: equivocal
Meaning:
equivo.cal\n   equivocal\n1. If you are equivocal, you are deliberately vague in what you say, because you want to avoid speaking the truth or making a decision. (FORMAL)\nMany were equivocal about the idea...\nHis equivocal response has done nothing to dampen the speculation.\n  ADJ\n\n2. If something is equivocal, it is difficult to understand, interpret, or explain, often because it has aspects that seem to contradict each other. (FORMAL)\nResearch in this area is somewhat equivocal...\nHe was tortured by an awareness of the equivocal nature of his position.\n  ADJ


Words: equivocate
Meaning:
equivo.cate\n   equivocate  equivocates  equivocating  equivocated\n  When someone equivocates, they deliberately use vague language in order to deceive people or to avoid speaking the truth.\nHe is equivocating a lot about what is going to happen if and when there are elections...\nHe had asked her once again about her finances. And again she had equivocated.\n  VERB: V about/over n, V\n\n=>  equivo.ca.tion\nWhy doesn’t the President say so without equivocation?\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu without N


Words: ER
Meaning:
ER  ERs\n  The ER is the part of a hospital where people who have severe injuries or sudden illnesses are taken for emergency treatment. ER is an abbreviation for `emergency room’. (AM; in BRIT, use casualty, A & E)\n  N-COUNT


Words: er
Meaning:
er\n  Er is used in writing to represent the sound that people make when they hesitate, especially while they decide what to say next.\nI would challenge the, er, suggestion that we’re in third place...


Words: era
Meaning:
era  eras\n  You can refer to a period of history or a long period of time as an era when you want to draw attention to a particular feature or quality that it has.\n...the nuclear era...\nIt was an era of austerity.\n  N-COUNT: usu supp N, N of n\n  = age


Words: eradicate
Meaning:
eradi.cate\n   eradicate  eradicates  eradicating  eradicated\n  To eradicate something means to get rid of it completely. (FORMAL)\nThey are already battling to eradicate illnesses such as malaria and tetanus...\nIf tedious tasks could be eradicated, the world would be much better place.\n  VERB: V n, V n\n  = eliminate\n=>  eradi.ca.tion\nHe is seen as having made a significant contribution towards the eradication of corruption.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N of n


Words: erase
Meaning:
erase  erases  erasing  erased\n1. If you erase a thought or feeling, you destroy it completely so that you can no longer remember something or no longer feel a particular emotion.\nThey are desperate to erase the memory of that last defeat in Cardiff...\nLove was a word he’d erased from his vocabulary since Susan’s going.\n  VERB: V n, V n from n\n\n2. If you erase sound which has been recorded on a tape or information which has been stored in a computer, you completely remove or destroy it.\nHe was in the studio tearfully erasing all the tapes he’d slaved over...\nIt appears the names were accidentally erased from computer disks.\n  VERB: V n, be V-ed from n, also V n from n\n  = wipe\n3. If you erase something such as writing or a mark, you remove it, usually by rubbing it with a cloth.\nIt was unfortunate that she had erased the message.\n  VERB: V n\n  = rub out


Words: eraser
Meaning:
eras.er\n   eraser  erasers\n  An eraser is an object, usually a piece of rubber or plastic, which is used for removing something that has been written using a pencil or a pen. (AM; also BRIT FORMAL)\n...a large, flat, pink India-rubber eraser.\n  N-COUNT\n  = rubber


Words: erasure
Meaning:
eras.ure\n   erasure\n  The erasure of something is the removal, loss, or destruction of it. (FORMAL)\n...a further erasure of the UK’s thin manufacturing base.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N of n


Words: ere
Meaning:
ere\n  Ere means the same as `before’. (LITERARY, OLD-FASHIONED)\nTake the water ere the clock strikes twelve.\n  CONJ


Words: erect
Meaning:
erect  erects  erecting  erected\n1. If people erect something such as a building, bridge, or barrier, they build it or create it. (FORMAL)\nOpposition demonstrators have erected barricades in roads leading to the parliament building...\nThe building was erected in 1900-1901...\nWe all unconsciously erect barriers against intimacy.\n  VERB: V n, V n, V n\n  = construct\n2. If you erect a system, a theory, or an institution, you create it.\nJapanese proprietors are erecting a complex infrastructure of political influence throughout America...\nHe erected a new doctrine of precedent.\n  VERB: V n, V n\n\n3. People or things that are erect are straight and upright.\nStand reasonably erect, your arms hanging naturally...\n  ADJ


Words: erection
Meaning:
erec.tion\n   erection  erections\n1. If a man has an erection, his penis is stiff, swollen, and sticking up because he is sexually aroused.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. The erection of something is the act of building it or placing it in an upright position.\n...the erection of temporary fencing to protect hedges under repair.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N of n


Words: ergative
Meaning:
er.ga.tive\n   ergative\n  An ergative verb is a verb that can be both transitive and intransitive, where the subject of the intransitive verb is the same as the object of the transitive verb. For example, `open’ is an ergative verb because you can say `The door opened’ or `She opened the door’.\n  ADJ


Words: ergo
Meaning:
ergo\n  Ergo is sometimes used instead of `therefore’ to introduce a clause in which you mention something that is the consequence or logical result of what you have just said. (FORMAL or LITERARY)\nNeither side would have an incentive to start a war. Ergo, peace would reign.\n  ADV: ADV with cl\n  = therefore


Words: ergonomics
Meaning:
er.go.nom.ics\n   ergonomics\n  Ergonomics is the study of how equipment and furniture can be arranged in order that people can do work or other activities more efficiently and comfortably.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: ermine
Meaning:
er.mine\n   ermine\n  Ermine is expensive white fur that comes from small animals called stoats.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N n


Words: erode
Meaning:
erode  erodes  eroding  eroded\n1. If rock or soil erodes or is eroded by the weather, sea, or wind, it cracks and breaks so that it is gradually destroyed.\nBy 1980, Miami beach had all but totally eroded...\nOnce exposed, soil is quickly eroded by wind and rain.\n  VERB: V, be V-ed\n  = wear away\n=>  erod.ed\n...the deeply eroded landscape.\n  ADJ\n\n2. If someone’s authority, right, or confidence erodes or is eroded, it is gradually destroyed or removed. (FORMAL)\nHis critics say his fumbling of the issue of reform has eroded his authority...\nAmerica’s belief in its own God-ordained uniqueness started to erode.\n  VERB: V n, V\n\n3. If the value of something erodes or is eroded by something such as inflation or age, its value decreases.\nCompetition in the financial marketplace has eroded profits...\nThe value of the dollar began to erode rapidly just around this time.\n  VERB: V n, V


Words: erogenous
Meaning:
erog.enous\n   erogenous\n  An erogenous part of your body is one where sexual pleasure can be felt or caused. (FORMAL)\nYour body contains many erogenous zones, areas that lead to a feeling of sexual excitement when they are caressed.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: erosion
Meaning:
ero.sion\n   erosion\n1. Erosion is the gradual destruction and removal of rock or soil in a particular area by rivers, the sea, or the weather.\nAs their roots are strong and penetrating, they prevent erosion.\n...erosion of the river valleys.\n...soil erosion.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. The erosion of a person’s authority, rights, or confidence is the gradual destruction or removal of them.\n...the erosion of confidence in world financial markets.\n...an erosion of presidential power.\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu N of n\n\n3. The erosion of support, values, or money is a gradual decrease in its level or standard.\n...the erosion of moral standards.\n...a dramatic erosion of support for the program.\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu N of n


Words: erotic
Meaning:
erot.ic\n   erotic\n1. If you describe something as erotic, you mean that it involves sexual feelings or arouses sexual desire.\nIt might sound like some kind of wild fantasy, but it wasn’t an erotic experience at all.\n...photographs of nude women in erotic poses.\n  ADJ\n\n=>  eroti.cal.ly\nThe film is shot seductively, erotically...\n  ADV: ADV with v, ADV adj\n\n2. Erotic art shows naked people or sexual acts, and is intended to produce feelings of sexual pleasure.\nErotic paintings also became a fine art.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: erotica
Meaning:
eroti.ca\n   erotica\n  Erotica means works of art that show or describe sexual activity, and which are intended to arouse sexual feelings.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: eroticism
Meaning:
eroti.cism\n   eroticism\n  Eroticism is sexual excitement, or the quality of being able to arouse sexual excitement. (FORMAL)\nAlmost all of Massenet’s works are pervaded with an aura of eroticism.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: err
Meaning:
err  errs  erring  erred\n1. If you err, you make a mistake. (FORMAL, OLD-FASHIONED)\nIt criticises the main contractor for seriously erring in its original estimates...\nIf you make a threat be sure to carry it out if he errs again.\n  VERB: V in n, V\n\n2. If you err on the side of caution, for example, you decide to act in a cautious way, rather than take risks.\nThey may be wise to err on the side of caution...\nHe probably erred on the conservative rather than the generous side.\n  PHRASE: V inflects


Words: errand
Meaning:
er.rand\n   errand  errands\n1. An errand is a short trip that you make in order to do a job for someone, for example when you go to a shop to buy something for them.\nShe went off on some errand...\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If you run an errand for someone, you do or get something for them, usually by making a short trip somewhere.\nShe was forever running errands for her housebound grandmother...\n  PHRASE: V inflects


Words: errant
Meaning:
er.rant\n   errant\n  Errant is used to describe someone whose actions are considered unacceptable or wrong by other people. For example, an errant husband is unfaithful to his wife. (FORMAL)\nUsually his cases involved errant husbands and wandering wives...\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: erratic
Meaning:
er.rat.ic\n   erratic\n  Something that is erratic does not follow a regular pattern, but happens at unexpected times or moves along in an irregular way.\nArgentina’s erratic inflation rate threatens to upset the plans.\n  ADJ\n  = unpredictable\n=>  er.rati.cal.ly\nPolice stopped him for driving erratically.\n  ADV


Words: erroneous
Meaning:
er.ro.neous\n   erroneous\n  Beliefs, opinions, or methods that are erroneous are incorrect or only partly correct.\nSome people have the erroneous notion that one can contract AIDS by giving blood...\nThey have arrived at some erroneous conclusions.\n  ADJ\n\n=>  er.ro.neous.ly\nIt had been widely and erroneously reported that Armstrong had refused to give evidence.\n  ADV: ADV with v


Words: error
Meaning:
er.ror\n   error  errors\n1. An error is something you have done which is considered to be incorrect or wrong, or which should not have been done.\nNASA discovered a mathematical error in its calculations...\nMPs attacked lax management and errors of judgment.\n  N-VAR: oft N prep\n\n2. If you do something in error or if it happens in error, you do it or it happens because you have made a mistake, especially in your judgment.\nThe plane was shot down in error by a NATO missile.\n  PHRASE: usu PHR after v\n\n3. If someone sees the error of their ways, they realize or admit that they have made a mistake or behaved badly.\nI wanted an opportunity to talk some sense into him and try to make him see the error of his ways.\n  PHRASE: PHR after v


Words: ersatz
Meaning:
er.satz\n   ersatz\n  If you describe something as ersatz, you dislike it because it is not genuine and is a poor imitation of something better. (WRITTEN)\n...an ersatz Victorian shopping precinct...\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n  disapproval\n  = fake


Words: erstwhile
Meaning:
erst.while\n   erstwhile\n  You use erstwhile to describe someone that used to be the type of person indicated, but no longer is. (FORMAL)\nHe fled to America with Phyllis Burton, an erstwhile friend of his wife’s.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n  = one-time


Words: erudite
Meaning:
eru.dite\n   erudite\n  If you describe someone as erudite, you mean that they have or show great academic knowledge. You can also use erudite to describe something such as a book or a style of writing. (FORMAL)\nHe was never dull, always erudite and well informed.\n...an original and highly erudite style.\n  ADJ


Words: erudition
Meaning:
eru.di.tion\n   erudition\n  Erudition is great academic knowledge. (FORMAL)\nHis erudition was apparently endless.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: erupt
Meaning:
erupt  erupts  erupting  erupted\n1. When a volcano erupts, it throws out a lot of hot, melted rock called lava, as well as ash and steam.\nThe volcano erupted in 1980, devastating a large area of Washington state...\n  VERB: V\n\n=>  erup.tion      eruptions\n...the volcanic eruption of Tambora in 1815.\n  N-VAR: usu with supp\n\n2. If violence or fighting erupts, it suddenly begins or gets worse in an unexpected, violent way. (JOURNALISM)\nHeavy fighting erupted there today after a two-day cease-fire...\n  VERB: V\n  = break out\n=>  erup.tion\n...this sudden eruption of violence.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. When people in a place suddenly become angry or violent, you can say that they erupt or that the place erupts. (JOURNALISM)\nIn Los Angeles, the neighborhood known as Watts erupted into riots...\n  VERB: V into/in n\n\n4. You say that someone erupts when they suddenly have a change in mood, usually becoming quite noisy.\nThen, without warning, she erupts into laughter...\n  VERB: V into/in n\n\n=>  erup.tion\n...an eruption of despair.\n  N-COUNT\n\n5. If your skin erupts, sores or spots suddenly appear there.\nAt the end of the second week, my skin erupted in pimples.\n  VERB: V in/into n, also V\n\n=>  erup.tion\n...eruptions of adolescent acne.\n  N-COUNT: with supp


Words: escalate
Meaning:
es.ca.late\n   escalate  escalates  escalating  escalated\n  If a bad situation escalates or if someone or something escalates it, it becomes greater in size, seriousness, or intensity. (JOURNALISM)\nBoth unions and management fear the dispute could escalate...\nThe protests escalated into five days of rioting...\nDefeat could cause one side or other to escalate the conflict.\n  VERB: V, V into n, V n\n\n=>  es.ca.la.tion      escalations\nThe threat of nuclear escalation remains.\n...a sudden escalation of violence.\n  N-VAR


Words: escalator
Meaning:
es.ca.la.tor\n   escalator  escalators\n  An escalator is a moving staircase on which people can go from one level of a building to another.\n  N-COUNT


Words: escalope
Meaning:
es.ca.lope\n   escalope  escalopes\n  An escalope is a thin slice of meat without a bone. (mainly BRIT; in AM, use scallop, cutlet)\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp


Words: escapade
Meaning:
es.ca.pade\n   escapade  escapades\n  An escapade is an exciting and rather dangerous adventure.\n...the scene of Robin Hood’s escapades.\n  N-COUNT


Words: escape
Meaning:
es.cape\n   escape  escapes  escaping  escaped\n1. If you escape from a place, you succeed in getting away from it.\nA prisoner has escaped from a jail in northern England...\nThey are reported to have escaped to the other side of the border...\nHe was fatally wounded as he tried to escape.\n  VERB: no passive, V from n, V to n, V\n\n=>  es.caped\nOfficers mistook Stephen for an escaped prisoner.\n  ADJ\n\n2. Someone’s escape is the act of escaping from a particular place or situation.\nThe man made his escape.\n  N-COUNT: usu poss N\n\n3. You can say that you escape when you survive something such as an accident.\nThe two officers were extremely lucky to escape serious injury...\nThe man’s girlfriend managed to escape unhurt...\nHe narrowly escaped with his life when suspected right-wing extremists fired shots into his office.\n  VERB: V n, V adj, V prep\n\n  Escape is also a noun.\nI hear you had a very narrow escape on the bridge.\n  N-COUNT\n\n4. If something is an escape, it is a way of avoiding difficulties or responsibilities.\nBut for me television is an escape.\n...an escape from the depressing realities of wartime.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing\n\n5. You can use escape to describe things which allow you to avoid difficulties or problems. For example, an escape route is an activity or opportunity that lets you improve your situation. An escape clause is part of an agreement that allows you to avoid having to do something that you do not want to do.\nWe all need the occasional escape route from the boring, routine aspects of our lives...\nThis has, in fact, turned out to be a wonderful escape clause for dishonest employers everywhere.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n6. If something escapes you or escapes your attention, you do not know about it, do not remember it, or do not notice it.\nIt was an actor whose name escapes me for the moment...\n  VERB: V n\n\n7. When gas, liquid, or heat escapes, it comes out from a pipe, container, or place.\nLeave a vent open to let some moist air escape.\n  VERB: V\n\n8.\n  see also fire escape


Words: escape artist
Meaning:
es.cape art.ist\n   escape artist  escape artists\n  An escape artist is the same as an escapologist. (mainly AM)\n  N-COUNT


Words: escapee
Meaning:
es.capee\n   escapee  escapees\n  An escapee is a person who has escaped from somewhere, especially from prison.\n  N-COUNT


Words: escapism
Meaning:
es.cap.ism\n   escapism\n  If you describe an activity or type of entertainment as escapism, you mean that it makes people think about pleasant things instead of the uninteresting or unpleasant aspects of their life.\nHoroscopes are merely harmless escapism from an ever-bleaker world.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: escapist
Meaning:
es.cap.ist\n   escapist\n  Escapist ideas, activities, or types of entertainment make people think about pleasant or unlikely things instead of the uninteresting or unpleasant aspects of their life.\n...a little escapist fantasy.\n  ADJ


Words: escapologist
Meaning:
es.ca.polo.gist\n   escapologist  escapologists\n  An escapologist is someone who entertains audiences by being tied up and placed in a dangerous situation, then escaping from it. (BRIT; in AM, use escape artist)\n  N-COUNT


Words: escarpment
Meaning:
es.carp.ment\n   escarpment  escarpments\n  An escarpment is a wide, steep slope on a hill or mountain.\n  N-COUNT


Words: eschew
Meaning:
es.chew\n   eschew  eschews  eschewing  eschewed\n  If you eschew something, you deliberately avoid doing it or becoming involved in it. (FORMAL)\nAlthough he appeared to enjoy a jet-setting life, he eschewed publicity and avoided nightclubs.\n  VERB: V n\n  = avoid


Words: escort
Meaning:
es.cort\n   escort escorts escorting  escorted\nThe noun is pronounced   The verb is pronounced\n1. An escort is a person who travels with someone in order to protect or guard them.\nHe arrived with a police escort shortly before half past nine.\n  N-COUNT\n\n  If someone is taken somewhere under escort, they are accompanied by guards, either because they have been arrested or because they need to be protected.\n...a group being taken under police escort to the city outskirts.\n  PHRASE: PHR after v\n\n2. An escort is a person who accompanies another person of the opposite sex to a social event. Sometimes people are paid to be escorts.\nMy sister needed an escort for a company dinner.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. If you escort someone somewhere, you accompany them there, usually in order to make sure that they leave a place or get to their destination.\nI escorted him to the door...\n  VERB: V n prep/adv


Words: escrow
Meaning:
es.crow\n   escrow\n  Escrow is money or property which is given to someone, but which is kept by another person until the first person has done a particular thing or met particular requirements. (mainly AM LEGAL)\nThey had $96,000 in their escrow account...\nHis stake has been held in escrow since the start of the year.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N n, in N


Words: Eskimo
Meaning:
Es.ki.mo\n   Eskimo  Eskimos\n  An Eskimo is a member of the group of peoples who live in Alaska, Northern Canada, eastern Siberia, and other parts of the Arctic. These peoples now usually call themselves Inuits or Aleuts, and the term Eskimo could cause offence.\n  N-COUNT\n  = Inuit


Words: ESL
Meaning:
ESL\n  ESL is taught to people whose native language is not English but who live in a society in which English is the main language or one of the main languages. ESL is an abbreviation for `English as a second language’.


Words: esoteric
Meaning:
eso.ter.ic\n   esoteric\n  If you describe something as esoteric, you mean it is known, understood, or appreciated by only a small number of people. (FORMAL)\n...esoteric knowledge.\n...a spoiled aristocrat with pretentious airs and esoteric tastes.\n  ADJ


Words: ESP
Meaning:
ESP\n1. ESP is the teaching of English to students whose first language is not English but who need it for a particular job, activity, or purpose. ESP is an abbreviation for `English for specific purposes’ or `English for special purposes’. (BRIT)\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. ESP is an abbreviation for `extra-sensory perception’.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: especial
Meaning:
es.pe.cial\n   especial\n  Especial means unusual or special in some way. (FORMAL)\nThe authorities took especial interest in him because of his trade union work.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n  = special


Words: especially
Meaning:
es.pe.cial.ly\n   especially\n1. You use especially to emphasize that what you are saying applies more to one person, thing, or area than to any others.\nMillions of wild flowers colour the valleys, especially in April and May...\nRe-apply sunscreen every two hours, especially if you have been swimming.\n  ADV: ADV with cl/group  emphasis\n  = particularly\n2. You use especially to emphasize a characteristic or quality.\nBabies lose heat much faster than adults, and are especially vulnerable to the cold in their first month.\n  ADV: ADV adj/adv  emphasis


Words: Esperanto
Meaning:
Es.pe.ran.to\n   Esperanto\n  Esperanto is an invented language which consists of parts of several European languages, and which was designed to help people from different countries communicate with each other.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: espionage
Meaning:
es.pio.nage\n   espionage\n  Espionage is the activity of finding out the political, military, or industrial secrets of your enemies or rivals by using spies. (FORMAL)\nThe authorities have arrested several people suspected of espionage.\n...industrial espionage.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n  = spying\n  see also counter-espionage


Words: esplanade
Meaning:
es.pla.nade\n   esplanade  esplanades\n  The esplanade, usually in a town by the sea, is a wide, open road where people walk for pleasure.\n  N-COUNT: usu the N in sing


Words: espousal
Meaning:
es.pous.al\n   espousal\n  A government’s or person’s espousal of a particular policy, cause, or belief is their strong support of it. (FORMAL)\n...the Slovene leadership’s espousal of the popular causes of reform and nationalism.\n  N-SING: usu poss N of n


Words: espouse
Meaning:
es.pouse\n   espouse  espouses  espousing  espoused\n  If you espouse a particular policy, cause, or belief, you become very interested in it and give your support to it. (FORMAL)\nShe ran away with him to Mexico and espoused the revolutionary cause.\n  VERB: V n


Words: espresso
Meaning:
es.pres.so\n   espresso  espressos\n  Espresso coffee is made by forcing steam or boiling water through ground coffee beans.\n...Italian espresso coffee.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n  An espresso is a cup of espresso coffee.\n  N-COUNT


Words: esprit de corps
Meaning:
es.prit de corps\n   esprit de corps\n  Esprit de corps is a feeling of loyalty and pride that is shared by the members of a group who consider themselves to be different from other people in some special way. (FORMAL)\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: espy
Meaning:
espy  espies  espying  espied\n  If you espy something, you see or notice it. (OLD-FASHIONED)\nHere, from a window, did Guinevere espy a knight standing in a woodman’s cart.\n  VERB: V n


Words: esquire
Meaning:
es.quire\n   esquire\n  Esquire is a formal title that can be used after a man’s name if he has no other title, especially on an envelope that is addressed to him. (OLD-FASHIONED)\n  N-TITLE


Words: essay
Meaning:
es.say\n   essay  essays\n1. An essay is a short piece of writing on one particular subject written by a student.\nWe asked Jason to write an essay about his hometown and about his place in it.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. An essay is a short piece of writing on one particular subject that is written by a writer for publication.\n...Thomas Malthus’s essay on population.\n  N-COUNT: oft N on n


Words: essayist
Meaning:
es.say.ist\n   essayist  essayists\n  An essayist is a writer who writes essays for publication.\n  N-COUNT


Words: essence
Meaning:
es.sence\n   essence  essences\n1. The essence of something is its basic and most important characteristic which gives it its individual identity.\nThe essence of consultation is to listen to, and take account of, the views of those consulted.\n...the essence of life...\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu N of n\n\n  You use in essence to emphasize that you are talking about the most important or central aspect of an idea, situation, or event.\nThough off-puttingly complicated in detail, local taxes are in essence simple.\n  PHRASE: PHR with cl/group  emphasis\n\n  If you say that something is of the essence, you mean that it is absolutely necessary in order for a particular action to be successful.\nSpeed was of the essence in a project of this type.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n  = crucial\n2. Essence is a very concentrated liquid that is used for flavouring food or for its smell.\n...a few drops of vanilla essence.\n  N-MASS


Words: essential
Meaning:
es.sen.tial\n   essential  essentials\n1. Something that is essential is extremely important or absolutely necessary to a particular subject, situation, or activity.\nIt was absolutely essential to separate crops from the areas that animals used as pasture...\nAs they must also sprint over short distances, speed is essential...\nJordan promised to trim the city budget without cutting essential services.\n  ADJ: oft it v-link ADJ to-inf\n  = crucial\n2. The essentials are the things that are absolutely necessary for the situation you are in or for the task you are doing.\nThe flat contained the basic essentials for bachelor life.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl\n\n3. The essential aspects of something are its most basic or important aspects.\nMost authorities agree that play is an essential part of a child’s development...\nIn this trial two essential elements must be proven: motive and opportunity.\n  ADJ\n  = fundamental\n4. The essentials are the most important principles, ideas, or facts of a particular subject.\n...the essentials of everyday life, such as eating and exercise...\n  N-PLURAL


Words: essentially
Meaning:
es.sen.tial.ly\n   essentially\n1. You use essentially to emphasize a quality that someone or something has, and to say that it is their most important or basic quality. (FORMAL)\nIt’s been believed for centuries that great writers, composers and scientists are essentially quite different from ordinary people...\nEssentially, vines and grapes need water, heat and light.\n  ADV: ADV with cl/group  emphasis\n  = fundamentally\n2. You use essentially to indicate that what you are saying is mainly true, although some parts of it are wrong or more complicated than has been stated. (FORMAL)\nHis analysis of urban use of agricultural land has been proved essentially correct...\nEssentially, the West has only two options...\n  ADV: ADV with cl/group, ADV with v  vagueness


Words: establish
Meaning:
es.tab.lish\n   establish  establishes  establishing  established\n1. If someone establishes something such as an organization, a type of activity, or a set of rules, they create it or introduce it in such a way that it is likely to last for a long time.\nThe UN has established detailed criteria for who should be allowed to vote...\nThe School was established in 1989 by an Italian professor.\n  VERB: V n, V n\n  = set up, found\n2. If you establish contact with someone, you start to have contact with them. You can also say that two people, groups, or countries establish contact. (FORMAL)\nWe had already established contact with the museum...\nSingapore and South Africa have established diplomatic relations.\n  V-RECIP: V n with n, pl-n V\n\n3. If you establish that something is true, you discover facts that show that it is definitely true. (FORMAL)\nMedical tests established that she was not their own child...\nIt will be essential to establish how the money is being spent...\nAn autopsy was being done to establish the cause of death...\nIt was established that the missile had landed on a test range in Australia.\n  VERB: V that, V wh, V n, it be V-ed that\n  = ascertain\n=>  es.tab.lished\nThat link is an established medical fact.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n4. If you establish yourself, your reputation, or a good quality that you have, you succeed in doing something, and achieve respect or a secure position as a result of this.\nThis is going to be the show where up-and-coming comedians will establish themselves...\nHe has established himself as a pivotal figure in US politics...\nWe shall fight to establish our innocence.\n  VERB: V pron-refl, V pron-refl as n, V n, also V n as n


Words: established
Meaning:
es.tab.lished\n   established\n  If you use established to describe something such as an organization, you mean that it is officially recognized or generally approved of because it has existed for a long time.\nTheir religious adherence is not to the established church.\n...the established names of Paris fashion.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: establishment
Meaning:
es.tab.lish.ment\n   establishment  establishments\n1. The establishment of an organization or system is the act of creating it or beginning it. (FORMAL)\nHis ideas influenced the establishment of National Portrait Galleries in London and Edinburgh.\n  N-SING: usu N of n\n  = creation\n2. An establishment is a shop, business, or organization occupying a particular building or place. (FORMAL)\n...a scientific research establishment.\n...shops and other commercial establishments.\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp\n\n3. You refer to the people who have power and influence in the running of a country, society, or organization as the establishment.\nShopkeepers would once have been pillars of the Tory establishment...\n  N-SING: usu the N in sing


Words: estate
Meaning:
es.tate\n   estate  estates\n1. An estate is a large area of land in the country which is owned by a person, family, or organization.\n...a shooting party on Lord Wyville’s estate in Yorkshire.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. People sometimes use estate to refer to a housing estate or an industrial estate. (BRIT)\nHe used to live on the estate.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. Someone’s estate is all the money and property that they leave behind them when they die. (LEGAL)\nHis estate was valued at $150,000.\n  N-COUNT: oft poss N\n\n4.\n  see also housing estate, industrial estate, real estate


Words: estate agency
Meaning:
es.tate agen.cy\n   estate agency  estate agencies\n  An estate agency is a company that sells houses and land for people. (BRIT)\n  N-COUNT


Words: estate agent
Meaning:
es.tate agent\n   estate agent  estate agents\n  An estate agent is someone who works for a company that sells houses and land for people. (BRIT; in AM, use Realtor, real estate agent)\n  N-COUNT


Words: estate car
Meaning:
es.tate car\n   estate car  estate cars\n  An estate car is a car with a long body, a door at the rear, and space behind the back seats. (BRIT; in AM, use station wagon)\n  N-COUNT


Words: esteem
Meaning:
es.teem\n   esteem  esteems  esteeming  esteemed\n1. Esteem is the admiration and respect that you feel towards another person. (FORMAL)\nHe is held in high esteem by colleagues in the construction industry...\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. If you esteem someone or something, you respect or admire them. (FORMAL)\nI greatly esteem your message in the midst of our hard struggle.\n  VERB: V n\n\n3.\n  see also self-esteem


Words: esteemed
Meaning:
es.teemed\n   esteemed\n  You use esteemed to describe someone who you greatly admire and respect. (FORMAL)\nHe was esteemed by his neighbours...\nIt is indeed an honour to serve my country in such an esteemed position.\n  ADJ


Words: estimable
Meaning:
es.ti.mable\n   estimable\n  If you describe someone or something as estimable, you mean that they deserve admiration. (FORMAL)\n...the estimable Miss Cartwright.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  = admirable


Words: estimate
Meaning:
es.ti.mate\n   estimate estimates estimating  estimated\nThe verb is pronounced   The noun is pronounced\n1. If you estimate a quantity or value, you make an approximate judgment or calculation of it.\nTry to estimate how many steps it will take to get to a close object...\nI estimate that the total cost for treatment will be $12,500...\nHe estimated the speed of the winds from the degree of damage...\nSome analysts estimate its current popularity at around ten per cent...\n  VERB: V wh, V that, V n, V n at amount\n\n=>  es.ti.mat.ed\nThere are an estimated 90,000 gangsters in the country.\n  ADJ: a ADJ amount\n\n2. An estimate is an approximate calculation of a quantity or value.\n...the official estimate of the election result...\nThis figure is five times the original estimate...\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp, oft N of/for n\n\n3. An estimate is a judgment about a person or situation which you make based on the available evidence.\nI hadn’t been far wrong in my estimate of his grandson’s capabilities.\n  N-COUNT: oft with poss, N of n\n\n4. An estimate from someone who you employ to do a job for you, such as a builder or a plumber, is a written statement of how much the job is likely to cost.\n  N-COUNT


Words: estimation
Meaning:
es.ti.ma.tion\n   estimation  estimations\n1. Your estimation of a person or situation is the opinion or impression that you have formed about them. (FORMAL)\nHe has gone down considerably in my estimation.\n  N-SING: usu with poss\n\n2. An estimation is an approximate calculation of a quantity or value.\n...estimations of pre-tax profits of .12.25 million.\n  N-COUNT: oft N of n\n  = estimate


Words: estranged
Meaning:
es.tranged\n   estranged\n1. An estranged wife or husband is no longer living with their husband or wife. (FORMAL)\n...his estranged wife.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n2. If you are estranged from your family or friends, you have quarrelled with them and are not communicating with them. (FORMAL)\nJoanna, 30, spent most of her twenties virtually estranged from her father.\n  ADJ: oft ADJ from n\n\n3. If you describe someone as estranged from something such as society or their profession, you mean that they no longer seem involved in it. (FORMAL)\nArran became increasingly estranged from the mainstream of Hollywood.\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ, usu ADJ from n


Words: estrangement
Meaning:
es.trange.ment\n   estrangement  estrangements\n  Estrangement is the state of being estranged from someone or the length of time for which you are estranged. (FORMAL)\nThe trip will bring to an end years of estrangement between the two countries...\n  N-VAR


Words: estuary
Meaning:
es.tu.ary\n   estuary  estuaries\n  An estuary is the wide part of a river where it joins the sea.\n...naval manoeuvres in the Clyde estuary.\n  N-COUNT; N-IN-NAMES


Words: et al.
Meaning:
et al.\n  et al. is used after a name or a list of names to indicate that other people are also involved. It is used especially when referring to books or articles which were written by more than two people.\n...Blough et al.


Words: etailer
Meaning:
e.tailer\n   etailer etailers  also e-tailer\n  An etailer is a person or company that sells products on the Internet. (COMPUTING)\nThis company is the biggest wine e-tailer in the UK.\n  N-COUNT


Words: etailing
Meaning:
e.tailing\n  also e-tailing\n  Etailing is the business of selling products on the Internet. (COMPUTING)\nElectronic retailing has predictably become known as etailing.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: etc
Meaning:
also etc.\n  etc is used at the end of a list to indicate that you have mentioned only some of the items involved and have not given a full list. etc is a written abbreviation for `et cetera’.\nShe knew all about my schoolwork, my hospital work etc.\n...a packed programme of events.shows, dances, coach tours, sports, etc.


Words: etch
Meaning:
etch  etches  etching  etched\n  If a line or pattern is etched into a surface, it is cut into the surface by means of acid or a sharp tool. You can also say that a surface is etched with a line or pattern.\nCrosses were etched into the walls...\nThe acid etched holes in the crystal surface...\nWindows are etched with the vehicle identification number...\nThe stained-glass panels are etched and then handpainted using traditional methods.\n  VERB: be V-ed into/in/on n, V n into/in/on n, be V-ed with n, be V-ed


Words: etching
Meaning:
etch.ing\n   etching  etchings\n  An etching is a picture printed from a metal plate that has had a design cut into it with acid.\n  N-COUNT


Words: eternal
Meaning:
eter.nal\n   eternal\n1. Something that is eternal lasts for ever.\nWhoever believes in Him shall have eternal life.\n...the quest for eternal youth.\n  ADJ\n\n=>  eter.nal.ly\nShe is eternally grateful to her family for their support...\n  ADV: ADV adj, ADV with v\n\n2. If you describe something as eternal, you mean that it seems to last for ever, often because you think it is boring or annoying.\nIn the background was that eternal hum.\n  ADJ\n  = interminable, never-ending


Words: eternal triangle
Meaning:
eter.nal tri.an.gle\n   eternal triangle  eternal triangles\n  You use the eternal triangle to refer to a relationship involving love and jealousy between two men and a woman or two women and a man.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing


Words: eternity
Meaning:
eter.nity\n   eternity\n1. Eternity is time without an end or a state of existence outside time, especially the state which some people believe they will pass into after they have died.\nI have always found the thought of eternity terrifying.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. If you say that a situation lasted for an eternity, you mean that it seemed to last an extremely long time, usually because it was boring or unpleasant.\nThe war continued for an eternity...\n  N-SING: a N\n  = age


Words: ethanol
Meaning:
etha.nol\n   ethanol\n  Ethanol is another name for alcohol. (TECHNICAL)\n  N-UNCOUNT\n  = ethyl alcohol


Words: ether
Meaning:
ether\n  Ether is a colourless liquid that burns easily. It is used in industry and in medicine as an anaesthetic.\n...a sweetish smell of ether and iodine.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: ethereal
Meaning:
ethe.real\n   ethereal\n1. Someone or something that is ethereal has a delicate beauty. (FORMAL)\nShe’s the prettiest, most ethereal romantic heroine in the movies.\n...gorgeous, hauntingly ethereal melodies.\n  ADJ\n\n2. Ethereal means unrelated to practical things and the real world. (FORMAL)\n...the ethereal nature of romantic fiction.\n  ADJ


Words: ethic
Meaning:
eth.ic\n   ethic  ethics\n1. Ethics are moral beliefs and rules about right and wrong.\nRefugee workers said such action was a violation of medical ethics.\n  N-PLURAL\n\n2. Someone’s ethics are the moral principles about right and wrong behaviour which they believe in.\nHe told the police that he had thought honestly about the ethics of what he was doing.\n  N-PLURAL: with supp\n\n3. Ethics is the study of questions about what is morally right and wrong.\n...the teaching of ethics and moral philosophy.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n4. An ethic of a particular kind is an idea or moral belief that influences the behaviour, attitudes, and philosophy of a group of people.\n...the ethic of public service.\n...an indomitable work ethic and determination to succeed.\n  N-SING: with supp


Words: ethical
Meaning:
ethi.cal\n   ethical\n1. Ethical means relating to beliefs about right and wrong.\n...the medical, nursing and ethical issues surrounding terminally-ill people.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n=>  ethi.cal.ly\nAttorneys are ethically and legally bound to absolute confidentiality.\n  ADV: ADV adj/-ed, ADV after v\n\n2. If you describe something as ethical, you mean that it is morally right or morally acceptable.\n...ethical investment schemes...\n  ADJ\n\n=>  ethi.cal.ly\nMayors want local companies to behave ethically.\n  ADV: ADV after v


Words: Ethiopian
Meaning:
Ethio.pian\n   Ethiopian  Ethiopians\n  Ethiopian means belonging or relating to Ethiopia, or to its people, language, or culture.\n  ADJ\n\n  An Ethiopian is an Ethiopian citizen, or a person of Ethiopian origin.\n  N-COUNT


Words: ethnic
Meaning:
eth.nic\n   ethnic\n1. Ethnic means connected with or relating to different racial or cultural groups of people.\n...a survey of Britain’s ethnic minorities.\n...ethnic tensions.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n=>  eth.ni.cal.ly\n...a predominantly young, ethnically mixed audience.\n  ADV: usu ADV -ed/adj\n\n2. You can use ethnic to describe people who belong to a particular racial or cultural group but who, usually, do not live in the country where most members of that group live.\nThere are still several million ethnic Germans in Russia.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n=>  eth.ni.cal.ly\n...a large ethnically Albanian population.\n  ADV: ADV adj\n\n3. Ethnic clothing, music, or food is characteristic of the traditions of a particular ethnic group, and different from what is usually found in modern Western culture.\n...a magnificent range of ethnic fabrics.\n  ADJ


Words: ethnic cleansing
Meaning:
eth.nic cleans.ing\n   ethnic cleansing\n  Ethnic cleansing is the process of using violent methods to force certain groups of people out of a particular area or country.\nIn late May, government forces began the `ethnic cleansing’ of the area around the town.\n  N-UNCOUNT  disapproval


Words: ethnicity
Meaning:
eth.nic.ity\n   ethnicity  ethnicities\n  Ethnicity is the state or fact or belonging to a particular ethnic group.\nHe said his ethnicity had not been important to him.\n  N-VAR


Words: ethnocentric
Meaning:
eth.no.cen.tric\n   ethnocentric\n  If you describe something as ethnocentric, you disagree with it because it is based on the belief that one particular race or nationality of people is superior to all others.\nHer work is open to the criticism that it is ethnocentric.\n  ADJ  disapproval


Words: ethnographic
Meaning:
eth.no.graph.ic\n   ethnographic\n  Ethnographic refers to things that are connected with or relate to ethnography.\n  ADJ


Words: ethnography
Meaning:
eth.nog.ra.phy\n   ethnography\n  Ethnography is the branch of anthropology in which different cultures are studied and described.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: ethos
Meaning:
ethos\n  An ethos is the set of ideas and attitudes that is associated with a particular group of people or a particular type of activity. (FORMAL)\nThe whole ethos of the hotel is effortless service.\n...the traditional public service ethos.\n  N-SING: usu with supp


Words: etiology
Meaning:
eti.ol.ogy\n   etiology  etiologies   also aetiology\n  The etiology of a disease or a problem is the study of its causes.\n...the etiology of psychiatric disorder.\n  N-VAR: oft the N of n


Words: etiquette
Meaning:
eti.quette\n   etiquette\n  Etiquette is a set of customs and rules for polite behaviour, especially among a particular class of people or in a particular profession.\nThis was such a great breach of etiquette, he hardly knew what to do.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n  = protocol


Words: etymological
Meaning:
ety.mo.logi.cal\n   etymological\n  Etymological means concerned with or relating to etymology. (FORMAL)\n`Gratification’ and `gratitude’ have the same etymological root.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: etymology
Meaning:
ety.mol.ogy\n   etymology  etymologies\n1. Etymology is the study of the origins and historical development of words.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. The etymology of a particular word is its history.\n  N-COUNT


Words: EU
Meaning:
EU\n  The EU is an organization of European countries which have joint policies on matters such as trade, agriculture, and finance. EU is an abbreviation for `European Union’.\n  N-PROPER


Words: eucalyptus
Meaning:
euca.lyp.tus\n   eucalyptus  eucalyptuses or eucalyptus\n  A eucalyptus is an evergreen tree, originally from Australia, that is grown to provide wood, gum, and an oil that is used in medicines.\n  N-VAR: oft N n


Words: Eucharist
Meaning:
Eucha.rist\n   Eucharist\n  The Eucharist is the Christian religious ceremony in which Christ’s last meal with his disciples is celebrated by eating bread and drinking wine.\n  N-SING: usu the N


Words: eugenics
Meaning:
eugen.ics\n   eugenics\n  Eugenics is the study of methods to improve the human race by carefully selecting parents who will produce the strongest children. (TECHNICAL)\n  N-UNCOUNT  disapproval


Words: eulogize
Meaning:
eulo.gize\n   eulogize  eulogizes  eulogizing  eulogized\nin AM, also use eulogise\n1. If you eulogize someone or something, you praise them very highly. (FORMAL)\nBarry Davies eulogized Keegan’s part in the operation...\nTaylor eulogised about Steven’s versatility.\n  VERB: V n, V prep\n  = rhapsodize\n2. If you eulogize someone who has died, you make a speech praising them, usually at their funeral. (AM)\nLeaders from around the world eulogized the Egyptian president.\n  VERB: V n


Words: eulogy
Meaning:
eulogy  eulogies\n1. A eulogy is a speech or piece of writing that praises someone or something very much. (FORMAL)\n  N-COUNT\n  = tribute\n2. A eulogy is a speech, usually at a funeral, in which a person who has just died is praised. (AM)\n  N-COUNT


Words: euphemism
Meaning:
euphemism  euphemisms\n  A euphemism is a polite word or expression that is used to refer to things which people may find upsetting or embarrassing to talk about, for example sex, the human body, or death.\nThe term `early retirement’ is nearly always a euphemism for redundancy nowadays.\n  N-COUNT: oft N for n


Words: euphemistic
Meaning:
euphemis.tic\n   euphemistic\n  Euphemistic language uses polite, pleasant, or neutral words and expressions to refer to things which people may find unpleasant, upsetting, or embarrassing to talk about, for example sex, the human body, or death.\n...a euphemistic way of saying that someone has been lying.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n=>  euphemis.ti.cal.ly\n...political prisons, called euphemistically `re-education camps’.\n  ADV: ADV with v


Words: euphoria
Meaning:
eupho.ria\n   euphoria\n  Euphoria is a feeling of intense happiness and excitement.\nThere was euphoria after the elections...\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N of/over n\n  = elation


Words: euphoric
Meaning:
euphor.ic\n   euphoric\n  If you are euphoric, you feel intense happiness and excitement.\nIt had received euphoric support from the public.\n  ADJ\n  = elated


Words: Eurasian
Meaning:
Eura.sian\n   Eurasian  Eurasians\n1. Eurasian means concerned with or relating to both Europe and Asia.\n...the whole of the Eurasian continent.\n  ADJ\n\n2. A Eurasian is a person who has one European and one Asian parent or whose family comes from both Europe and Asia.\n  N-COUNT\n\n  Eurasian is also an adjective.\nShe married into a leading Eurasian family in Hong Kong.\n  ADJ


Words: eureka
Meaning:
eureka\n  Someone might say `eureka’ when they suddenly find or realize something, or when they solve a problem. (HUMOROUS, OLD-FASHIONED)\n`Eureka! I’ve got it!’\n  EXCLAM


Words: euro
Meaning:
euro  euros\n  The euro is a unit of currency that is used by the member countries of the European Union which have accepted European monetary union.\nMillions of words have been written about the introduction of the euro...\nGovernments and businesses will start keeping accounts in euros.\n  N-COUNT: oft the N


Words: Euro-
Meaning:
Euro-\n  Euro is used to form words that describe or refer to something which is connected with Europe or with the European Union.\n...German Euro-MPs.\n  PREFIX


Words: Eurobond
Meaning:
Euro.bond\n   Eurobond  Eurobonds   also eurobond\n  Eurobonds are bonds which are issued in a particular European currency and sold to people from a country with a different currency.\n  N-COUNT


Words: Eurocentric
Meaning:
Euro.cen.tric\n   Eurocentric\n  If you describe something as Eurocentric, you disapprove of it because it focuses on Europe and the needs of European people, often with the result that people in other parts of the world suffer in some way.\n...the insultingly Eurocentric bias in the education system.\n  ADJ  disapproval


Words: Eurocrat
Meaning:
Euro.crat\n   Eurocrat  Eurocrats\n  Eurocrats are the civil servants and other people who work in the administration of the European Union. (JOURNALISM)\n  N-COUNT


Words: euroland
Meaning:
euro.land\n  also Euroland\n  Euroland is another name for the eurozone.\nIn much of euroland, inflation is already double the ceiling set by the European Central Bank.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: European
Meaning:
Euro.pean\n   European  Europeans\n1. European means belonging or relating to, or coming from Europe.\n...in some other European countries.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n2. A European is a person who comes from Europe.\n  N-COUNT


Words: European Union
Meaning:
Euro.pean Un.ion\n   European Union\n  The European Union is an organization of European countries which have joint policies on matters such as trade, agriculture, and finance.\n  N-PROPER\n  = EU


Words: eurozone
Meaning:
euro.zone\n  also Eurozone\n  The eurozone is all those countries that have joined the European single currency, considered as a group.\nHomeowners in the eurozone enjoy cheaper mortgages than we do here in Britain.\n  N-SING: the N


Words: euthanasia
Meaning:
eutha.na.sia\n   euthanasia\n  Euthanasia is the practice of killing someone who is very ill and will never get better in order to end their suffering, usually done at their request or with their consent.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: evacuate
Meaning:
evacu.ate\n   evacuate  evacuates  evacuating  evacuated\n1. To evacuate someone means to send them to a place of safety, away from a dangerous building, town, or area.\nThey were planning to evacuate the seventy American officials still in the country...\nSince 1951, 18,000 people have been evacuated from the area.\n  VERB: V n, be V-ed from\n\n=>  evacu.ation      evacuations\n...the evacuation of the sick and wounded...\nAn evacuation of the city’s four-million inhabitants is planned for later this week.\n  N-VAR\n\n2. If people evacuate a place, they move out of it for a period of time, especially because it is dangerous.\nThe fire is threatening about sixty homes, and residents have evacuated the area...\nOfficials ordered the residents to evacuate.\n  VERB: V n, V\n\n=>  evacu.ation      evacuations\n...the mass evacuation of the Bosnian town of Srebrenica...\nBurning sulfur from the wreck has forced evacuations from the area.\n  N-VAR


Words: evacuee
Meaning:
evac.uee\n   evacuee  evacuees\n  An evacuee is someone who has been sent away from a dangerous place to somewhere safe, especially during a war.\n  N-COUNT


Words: evade
Meaning:
evade  evades  evading  evaded\n1. If you evade something, you find a way of not doing something that you really ought to do.\nBy his own admission, he evaded taxes as a Florida real-estate speculator...\nDelegates accused them of trying to evade responsibility for the failures of the past five years.\n  VERB: V n, V n\n\n2. If you evade a question or a topic, you avoid talking about it or dealing with it.\nToo many companies, she says, are evading the issue.\n  VERB: V n\n\n3. If you evade someone or something, you move so that you can avoid meeting them or avoid being touched or hit.\nShe turned and gazed at the river, evading his eyes...\nHe managed to evade capture because of the breakdown of a police computer.\n  VERB: V n, V n


Words: evaluate
Meaning:
evalu.ate\n   evaluate  evaluates  evaluating  evaluated\n  If you evaluate something or someone, you consider them in order to make a judgment about them, for example about how good or bad they are.\nThe market situation is difficult to evaluate.\n  VERB: V n\n  = assess\n=>  evalu.ation      evaluations\n...the opinions and evaluations of college supervisors...\nEvaluation is standard practice for all training arranged through the school.\n  N-VAR


Words: evaluative
Meaning:
evalu.ative\n   evaluative\n  Something that is evaluative is based on an assessment of the values, qualities, and significance of a particular person or thing. (FORMAL)\n...ten years of evaluative research.\n  ADJ


Words: evanescent
Meaning:
eva.nes.cent\n   evanescent\n  Something that is evanescent gradually disappears from sight or memory. (FORMAL or LITERARY)\n...the evanescent scents of summer herbs.\n  ADJ\n  = ephemeral


Words: evangelical
Meaning:
evan.geli.cal\n   evangelical\n1. Evangelical Christians emphasize the importance of the Bible and the need for personal belief in Christ.\n...an evangelical Christian.\n  ADJ\n\n2. If you describe someone’s behaviour as evangelical, you mean that it is very enthusiastic.\nWith almost evangelical fervour, Marks warns against deliberately seeking a tan...\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: evangelism
Meaning:
evan.gelism\n   evangelism\n  Evangelism is the teaching of Christianity, especially to people who are not Christians.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: evangelist
Meaning:
evan.gelist\n   evangelist  evangelists\n  An evangelist is a person who travels from place to place in order to try to convert people to Christianity.\n  N-COUNT\n\n=>  evan.gelis.tic\n...an evangelistic meeting at All Saints Church Hall.\n  ADJ


Words: evangelize
Meaning:
evan.gelize\n   evangelize  evangelizes  evangelizing  evangelized\nin BRIT, also use evangelise\n  If someone evangelizes a group or area, they try to convert people to their religion, especially Christianity.\nIn AD 586 St Kentigern evangelized Tweeddale.\n  VERB: V n, also V\n  = proselytize


Words: evaporate
Meaning:
evapo.rate\n   evaporate  evaporates  evaporating  evaporated\n1. When a liquid evaporates, or is evaporated, it changes from a liquid state to a gas, because its temperature has increased.\nMoisture is drawn to the surface of the fabric so that it evaporates...\nThe water is evaporated by the sun.\n  VERB: V, be V-ed, also V n\n\n=>  evapo.ra.tion\nThe soothing, cooling effect is caused by the evaporation of the sweat on the skin.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. If a feeling, plan, or activity evaporates, it gradually becomes weaker and eventually disappears completely.\nMy anger evaporated and I wanted to cry...\n  VERB: V


Words: evaporated milk
Meaning:
evapo.rat.ed milk\n   evaporated milk\n  Evaporated milk is thick sweet milk that is sold in cans.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: evasion
Meaning:
eva.sion\n   evasion  evasions\n1. Evasion means deliberately avoiding something that you are supposed to do or deal with.\nMany Koreans were angered at what they saw as an evasion of responsibility...\nHe was arrested for tax evasion.\n  N-VAR: usu with supp, oft N of n, n N\n\n2. If you accuse someone of evasion when they have been asked a question, you mean that they are deliberately avoiding giving a clear direct answer.\nWe want straight answers. No evasions...\n  N-VAR


Words: evasive
Meaning:
eva.sive\n   evasive\n1. If you describe someone as evasive, you mean that they deliberately avoid giving clear direct answers to questions.\nHe was evasive about the circumstances of his first meeting with Stanley Dean...\n  ADJ\n\n=>  eva.sive.ly\n`I can’t possibly comment on that,’ Paul said evasively.\n  ADV: ADV with v\n\n=>  eva.sive.ness\nShe looked at him closely to see if his evasiveness was intentional.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft poss N\n\n2. If you take evasive action, you deliberately move away from someone or something in order to avoid meeting them or being hit by them.\nAt least four high-flying warplanes had to take evasive action.\n  PHRASE: V inflects


Words: eve
Meaning:
eve  eves\n  The eve of a particular event or occasion is the day before it, or the period of time just before it. (JOURNALISM)\n...on the eve of his 27th birthday.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, usu the N of n\n\n  see also Christmas Eve, New Year’s Eve


Words: even
Meaning:
DISCOURSE USES\n   even\n1. You use even to suggest that what comes just after or just before it in the sentence is rather surprising.\nHe kept calling me for years, even after he got married...\nEven dark-skinned women should use sunscreens...\nI cannot come to a decision about it now or even give any indication of my own views...\nHe didn’t even hear what I said.\n  ADV: ADV with cl/group, ADV before v\n\n2. You use even with comparative adjectives and adverbs to emphasize a quality that someone or something has.\nIt was on television that he made an even stronger impact as an interviewer...\nStan was speaking even more slowly than usual.\n  ADV: ADV compar  emphasis\n\n3. You use even if or even though to indicate that a particular fact does not make the rest of your statement untrue.\nCynthia is not ashamed of what she does, even if she ends up doing something wrong...\nEven though I’m supposed to be working by myself, there are other people who I can interact with.\n  PHRASE\n\n4. If one thing happens even as something else happens, they both happen at exactly the same time. (LITERARY)\nEven as she said this, she knew it was not quite true...\n  PHRASE\n\n5. You use even so to introduce a surprising fact which relates to what you have just said. (SPOKEN)\nThe bus was only half full. Even so, a young man asked Nina if the seat next to her was taken...\n  PHRASE: PHR with cl\n  = nevertheless\n6. You use even then to say that something is the case in spite of what has just been stated or whatever the circumstances may be.\nPeace could come only gradually, in carefully measured steps. Even then, it sounds almost impossible to achieve...\n  PHRASE: PHR with cl\n\nADJECTIVE USES\n   even\n\nPlease look at category 10 to see if the expression you are looking for is shown under another headword.\n1. An even measurement or rate stays at about the same level.\nHow important is it to have an even temperature when you’re working?...\nThe brick-built property keeps the temperature at an even level throughout the year.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  = constant\n=>  even.ly\nHe looked at Ellen, breathing evenly in her sleep.\n  ADV: usu ADV after v\n\n2. An even surface is smooth and flat.\nThe tables are fitted with a glass top to provide an even surface.\n  ADJ\n  = level\n3. If there is an even distribution or division of something, each person, group, or area involved has an equal amount.\nDivide the dough into 12 even pieces and shape each piece into a ball...\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  = equal\n=>  even.ly\nThe meat is divided evenly and boiled in a stew...\nThe blood vessels in the skin are not evenly distributed around the face and neck.\n  ADV: ADV after v, ADV -ed\n  = equally\n4. An even contest or competition is equally balanced between the two sides who are taking part.\n...an even match between eight nations.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n=>  even.ly\nThey must choose between two evenly matched candidates for governor.\n  ADV: ADV -ed\n\n5. If your voice is even, you are speaking in a very controlled way which makes it difficult for people to tell what your feelings are. (LITERARY)\n  ADJ\n  = steady, calm\n6. An even number can be divided exactly by the number two.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  !=odd\n7. If there is an even chance that something will happen, it is no more likely that it will happen than it will not happen.\nThey have a more than even chance of winning the next election...\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n  = fifty-fifty\n  see also evens\n8. When a company or a person running a business breaks even, they make neither a profit nor a loss. (BUSINESS)\nThe airline hopes to break even next year and return to profit the following year...\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n9. If you say that you are going to get even with someone, you mean that you are going to cause them the same amount of harm or annoyance as they have caused you. (INFORMAL)\nI’m going to get even with you for this...\nDon’t get angry, get even.\n  PHRASE: V inflects, oft PHR with n\n\n10.\nto be on an even keel: see keel


Words: even out
Meaning:
even out\n  If something evens out, or if you even it out, the differences between the different parts of it are reduced.\nRelative rates of house price inflation have evened out across the country...\nFoundation make-up evens out your skin tone and texture.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P, V P n (not pron)


Words: even up
Meaning:
even up\n  To even up a contest or game means to make it more equally balanced than it was.\nThe nation’s electronics industry made important strides this year to even up its balance of trade...\nI would like to see the championship evened up a little bit more.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), V-ed P, also V n P


Words: even-handed
Meaning:
even-handed\nin AM, also use evenhanded\n  If someone is even-handed, they are completely fair, especially when they are judging other people or dealing with two groups of people.\n...an even-handed approach to the war on drugs...\n  ADJ\n  = balanced


Words: even-tempered
Meaning:
even-tempered\n  If someone is even-tempered, they are usually calm and do not easily get angry.\n  ADJ\n  = equable


Words: evening
Meaning:
eve.ning\n   evening  evenings\n  The evening is the part of each day between the end of the afternoon and the time when you go to bed.\nAll he did that evening was sit around the flat...\nSupper is from 5.00 to 6.00 in the evening...\nTowards evening the carnival entered its final stage.\n  N-VAR


Words: evening class
Meaning:
eve.ning class\n   evening class  evening classes\n  An evening class is a course for adults that is taught in the evening rather than during the day.\nJackie has been learning flamenco dancing at an evening class for three years.\n  N-COUNT


Words: evening dress
Meaning:
eve.ning dress\n   evening dress  evening dresses\n1. Evening dress consists of the formal clothes that people wear to formal occasions in the evening.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. An evening dress is a special dress, usually a long one, that a woman wears to a formal occasion in the evening.\n  N-COUNT


Words: evening primrose
Meaning:
eve.ning prim.rose\n   evening primrose  evening primroses\n  Evening primrose is a tall plant with yellow flowers that open in the evening. Its seeds are used to make medicine.\n  N-VAR


Words: evens
Meaning:
evens\n1. In a race or contest, if you bet on a horse or competitor that is quoted at evens, you will win a sum of money equal to your bet if that horse or competitor wins. (BRIT)\nHe won his first race by six lengths at evens...\nThe Martell Cup Chase was won by the evens favourite Toby Tobias.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. If there is an evens chance that something will happen, it is equally likely that it will happen or will not happen. (BRIT)\nYou’ve then got an evens chance of doubling your money at a stroke.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n  = fifty-fifty


Words: event
Meaning:
event  events\n1. An event is something that happens, especially when it is unusual or important. You can use events to describe all the things that are happening in a particular situation.\n...the events of Black Wednesday...\nA new book by Grass is always an event.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. An event is a planned and organized occasion, for example a social gathering or a sports match.\n...major sporting events.\n...our programme of lectures and social events.\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp\n\n3. An event is one of the races or competitions that are part of an organized occasion such as a sports meeting.\nA solo piper opens Aberdeen Highland Games at 10am and the main events start at 1pm.\n  N-COUNT\n\n4. You use in the event of, in the event that, and in that event when you are talking about a possible future situation, especially when you are planning what to do if it occurs.\nThe bank has agreed to give an immediate refund in the unlikely event of an error being made...\n  PHRASE\n\n5. You say in any event after you have been discussing a situation, in order to indicate that what you are saying is true or possible, in spite of anything that has happened or may happen.\nIn any event, the bowling alley restaurant proved quite acceptable.\n  PHRASE: PHR with cl\n  = anyway\n6. You say in the event after you have been discussing what could have happened in a particular situation, in order to indicate that you are now describing what actually did happen. (BRIT)\n`Don’t underestimate us’, Norman Willis warned last year. There was, in the event, little danger of that.\n  PHRASE: PHR with cl


Words: eventful
Meaning:
event.ful\n   eventful\n  If you describe an event or a period of time as eventful, you mean that a lot of interesting, exciting, or important things have happened during it.\nHer eventful life included holding senior positions in the Colonial Service...\n  ADJ


Words: eventual
Meaning:
even.tual\n   eventual\n  You use eventual to indicate that something happens or is the case at the end of a process or period of time.\nThe eventual aim is reunification.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n  = ultimate


Words: eventuality
Meaning:
even.tu.al.ity\n   eventuality  eventualities\n  An eventuality is a possible future event or result, especially one that is unpleasant or surprising. (FORMAL)\nEvery eventuality is covered, from running out of petrol to needing water.\n  N-COUNT: with supp\n  = contingency


Words: eventually
Meaning:
even.tu.al.ly\n   eventually\n1. Eventually means in the end, especially after a lot of delays, problems, or arguments.\nEventually, the army caught up with him in Latvia...\nThe flight eventually got away six hours late.\n  ADV: ADV with cl, ADV before v\n  = finally\n2. Eventually means at the end of a situation or process or as the final result of it.\nEventually your child will leave home to lead her own life as a fully independent adult...\nShe sees the bar as a starting point and eventually plans to run her own chain of country inns.\n  ADV: ADV with cl, ADV before v\n  = ultimately


Words: ever
Meaning:
ever\n\n  Ever is an adverb which you use to add emphasis in negative sentences, commands, questions, and conditional structures.\n\n1. Ever means at any time. It is used in questions and negative statements.\nI’m not sure I’ll ever trust people again...\nNeither of us had ever skied...\nHave you ever experienced failure?...\nI don’t know if you ever read any of his books...\n  ADV: ADV before v, ADV adv\n  !=never\n2. You use ever in expressions such as `did you ever’ and `have you ever’ to express surprise or shock at something you have just seen, heard, or experienced, especially when you expect people to agree with you.\nHave you ever seen anything like it?...\nDid you ever hear anyone sound so peculiar?\n  ADV: in questions, ADV before v  emphasis\n\n3. You use ever after comparatives and superlatives to emphasize the degree to which something is true or when you are comparing a present situation with the past or the future.\nShe’s got a great voice and is singing better than ever...\nJapan is wealthier and more powerful than ever before...\nHe feels better than he has ever felt before...\nThis is the most awful evening I can ever remember.\n  ADV: ADV after compar than, ADV after adj-superl  emphasis\n\n4. You use ever to say that something happens more all the time.\nThey grew ever further apart...\n  ADV: ADV adj/adv\n\n5. You can use ever for emphasis after `never’. (INFORMAL)\nI can never, ever, forgive myself...\n  ADV: ADV before v  emphasis\n\n6. You use ever in questions beginning with words such as `why’, `when’, and `who’ when you want to emphasize your surprise or shock.\nWhy ever didn’t you tell me?...\nWho ever heard of a thing like that?\n  ADV: quest ADV  emphasis\n\n7. If something has been the case ever since a particular time, it has been the case all the time from then until now.\nHe’s been there ever since you left!...\nEver since we moved last year, I worry a lot about whether I can handle this new job...\n  PHRASE\n\n  Ever is also an adverb.\nI simply gave in to him, and I’ve regretted it ever since...\n  ADV: ADV after v, ADV with cl\n\n8. You use ever in the expressions ever such and ever so to emphasize that someone or something has a particular quality, especially when you are expressing enthusiasm or gratitude. (BRIT INFORMAL)\nWhen I met Derek he was ever such a good dancer...\nI like him ever so much...\nI’m ever so grateful...\n  ADV: ADV such/so  emphasis\n\n9.\n  see also forever\n10. You use the expression all someone ever does when you want to emphasize that they do the same thing all the time, and this annoys you.\nAll she ever does is whinge and complain...\n  PHRASE: V inflects  emphasis\n\n11. You say as ever in order to indicate that something or someone’s behaviour is not unusual because it is like that all the time or very often.\nAs ever, the meals are primarily fish-based...\n  PHRASE: PHR with cl\n\n12.\nhardly ever: see hardly


Words: ever more
Meaning:
ever more   also evermore\n  Ever more means for all the time in the future.\nThey will bitterly regret what they have done for ever more...\nThe editor’s decision is final and shall evermore remain so.\n  ADV: ADV with v, oft for ADV


Words: ever-
Meaning:
ever-\n  You use ever in adjectives such as ever-increasing and ever-present, to show that something exists or continues all the time.\n...the ever-increasing traffic on our roads.\n...an ever-changing world of medical information...\n  COMB in ADJ


Words: evergreen
Meaning:
ever.green\n   evergreen  evergreens\n  An evergreen is a tree or bush which has green leaves all the year round.\nHolly, like ivy and mistletoe, is an evergreen.\n  N-COUNT\n\n  Evergreen is also an adjective.\nPlant evergreen shrubs around the end of the month.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: everlasting
Meaning:
ever.lasting\n   everlasting\n  Something that is everlasting never comes to an end.\n...a message of peace and everlasting life.\n  ADJ\n  = eternal


Words: every
Meaning:
every\n1. You use every to indicate that you are referring to all the members of a group or all the parts of something and not only some of them.\nRecord every expenditure you make.\n...recipes for every occasion.\n  DET: DET sing-n\n\n  Every is also an adjective.\nHis every utterance will be scrutinized...\n  ADJ: poss ADJ n\n\n2. You use every in order to say how often something happens or to indicate that something happens at regular intervals.\nWe were made to attend meetings every day...\nA burglary occurs every three minutes in London...\nThey meet here every Friday morning.\n  DET\n\n3. You use every in front of a number when you are saying what proportion of people or things something happens to or applies to.\nTwo out of every three Britons already own a video recorder...\nAbout one in every 20 people have clinical depression...\n  DET: out of/in/for DET amount\n\n4. You can use every before some nouns, for example `sign’, `effort’, `reason’, and `intention’ in order to emphasize what you are saying.\nThe Congressional Budget Office says the federal deficit shows every sign of getting larger...\nI think that there is every chance that you will succeed...\nEvery care has been taken in compiling this list.\n  DET: DET sing-n  emphasis\n  !=no\n5. If you say that someone’s every whim, wish, or desire will be satisfied, you are emphasizing that everything they want will happen or be provided.\nDozens of servants had catered to his every whim.\n  ADJ: poss ADJ n  emphasis\n\n6. You use every in the expressions every now and then, every now and again, every once in a while, and every so often in order to indicate that something happens occasionally.\nStir the batter every now and then to keep it from separating...\nEvery so often the horse’s heart and lungs are checked.\n  PHRASE: PHR after v, PHR with cl\n\n7. If something happens every other day or every second day, for example, it happens one day, then does not happen the next day, then happens the day after that, and so on. You can also say that something happens every third week, every fourth year, and so on.\nI went home every other week...\n  PHRASE: PHR after v, PHR with cl\n\n8.\nevery bit as good as: see bit\nevery which way: see way


Words: everyday
Meaning:
every.day\n   everyday\n  You use everyday to describe something which happens or is used every day, or forms a regular and basic part of your life, so it is not especially interesting or unusual.\nIn the course of my everyday life, I had very little contact with teenagers.\n...the everyday problems of living in the city...\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: everyman
Meaning:
every.man\n   everyman\n  Everyman is used to refer to people in general. If you say, for example, that a character in a film or book is an everyman, you mean that the character has experiences and emotions that are like those of any ordinary person.\nDouglas plays a frustrated American everyman who suddenly loses control under the pressure of daily life.\n  N-SING


Words: everyone
Meaning:
every.one\n   everyone   or everybody\n1. You use everyone or everybody to refer to all the people in a particular group.\nEveryone in the street was shocked when they heard the news...\nWhen everyone else goes home around 5 p.m. Lynn is still hard at work...\nNot everyone thinks that the government is being particularly generous.\n  PRON: oft PRON else\n  !=no one, nobody\n2. You use everyone or everybody to refer to all people.\nEveryone feels like a failure at times...\nYou can’t keep everybody happy.\n  PRON\n  !=no one, nobody


Words: everything
Meaning:
every.thing\n   everything\n1. You use everything to refer to all the objects, actions, activities, or facts in a particular situation.\nHe’d gone to Seattle long after everything else in his life had changed...\nEarly in the morning, hikers pack everything that they will need for the day’s hike...\n  PRON: oft PRON else\n  !=nothing\n2. You use everything to refer to all possible or likely actions, activities, or situations.\n`This should have been decided long before now.’.`We can’t think of everything.’...\nNoel and I do everything together...\nAre you doing everything possible to reduce your budget?\n  PRON\n\n3. You use everything to refer to a whole situation or to life in general.\nShe says everything is going smoothly...\nIs everything all right?...\nEverything’s going to be just fine.\n  PRON\n\n4. If you say that someone or something is everything, you mean you consider them to be the most important thing in your life, or the most important thing that there is.\nI love him. He is everything to me...\nMoney isn’t everything.\n  PRON: oft PRON to n\n  !=nothing\n5. If you say that someone or something has everything, you mean they have all the things or qualities that most people consider to be desirable.\nShe has everything: beauty, talent, children...\n  PRON


Words: everywhere
Meaning:
every.where\n   everywhere\n1. You use everywhere to refer to a whole area or to all the places in a particular area.\nWorking people everywhere object to paying taxes...\nWe went everywhere together...\nDust is everywhere...\nPeople come here from everywhere to see these lights.\n  ADV: n ADV, ADV after v, be ADV, oft from ADV, ADV cl/group\n\n2. You use everywhere to refer to all the places that someone goes to.\nBradley is still accustomed to travelling everywhere in style...\nEverywhere he went he was introduced as the current United States Open Champion.\n  ADV: ADV after v, oft ADV cl/prep\n\n3. You use everywhere to emphasize that you are talking about a large number of places, or all possible places.\nI saw her picture everywhere...\nI looked everywhere. I couldn’t find him.\n  ADV: ADV after v, be ADV, ADV with cl  emphasis\n\n4. If you say that someone or something is everywhere, you mean that they are present in a place in very large numbers.\nThere were cartons of cigarettes everywhere...\n  ADV: be ADV, ADV after v


Words: evict
Meaning:
evict  evicts  evicting  evicted\n  If someone is evicted from the place where they are living, they are forced to leave it, usually because they have broken a law or contract.\nThey were evicted from their apartment after their mother became addicted to drugs...\nIn the first week, the city police evicted ten families...\nIf you don’t keep up payments you could be evicted.\n  VERB: be V-ed from n, V n, be V-ed, also V n from n


Words: eviction
Meaning:
evic.tion\n   eviction  evictions\n  Eviction is the act or process of officially forcing someone to leave a house or piece of land.\nHe was facing eviction, along with his wife and family...\n...an eviction order.\n  N-VAR


Words: evidence
Meaning:
evi.dence\n   evidence  evidences  evidencing  evidenced\n1. Evidence is anything that you see, experience, read, or are told that causes you to believe that something is true or has really happened.\nGanley said he’d seen no evidence of widespread fraud...\nThere is a lot of evidence that stress is partly responsible for disease...\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N of/for n, N that, N to-inf\n\n2. Evidence is the information which is used in a court of law to try to prove something. Evidence is obtained from documents, objects, or witnesses. (LEGAL)\nThe evidence against him was purely circumstantial.\n...enough evidence for a successful prosecution.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N against n\n\n3. If you give evidence in a court of law or an official enquiry, you officially say what you know about people or events, or describe an occasion at which you were present.\nThe forensic scientists who carried out the original tests will be called to give evidence...\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n  = testify\n4. If a particular feeling, ability, or attitude is evidenced by something or someone, it is seen or felt. (FORMAL)\nHe’s wise in other ways too, as evidenced by his reason for switching from tennis to golf...\nShe was not calculating and evidenced no specific interest in money.\n  VERB: be V-ed by n, V n\n\n5. If someone or something is in evidence, they are present and can be clearly seen.\nFew soldiers were in evidence...\n  PHRASE: V inflects


Words: evident
Meaning:
evi.dent\n   evident\n1. If something is evident, you notice it easily and clearly.\nHis footprints were clearly evident in the heavy dust...\n...the best-publicised cases of evident injustice.\n  ADJ\n  = noticeable\n2. You use evident to show that you are certain about a situation or fact and your interpretation of it.\nIt was evident that she had once been a beauty...\n  ADJ: oft it v-link ADJ that/wh  emphasis\n  = clear\n3.\n  see also self-evident


Words: evidently
Meaning:
evi.dent.ly\n   evidently\n1. You use evidently to say that something is obviously true, for example because you have seen evidence of it yourself.\nThe man wore a bathrobe and had evidently just come from the bathroom...\nThe two Russians evidently knew each other.\n  ADV: ADV with cl/group, ADV before v\n  = clearly, obviously\n2. You use evidently to show that you think something is true or have been told something is true, but that you are not sure, because you do not have enough information or proof.\nFrom childhood, he was evidently at once rebellious and precocious...\n  ADV: ADV with cl/group, ADV before v\n  = apparently\n3. You can use evidently to introduce a statement or opinion and to emphasize that you feel that it is true or correct. (FORMAL)\nQuite evidently, it has nothing to do with social background.\n  ADV: ADV with cl  emphasis


Words: evil
Meaning:
evil  evils\n1. Evil is a powerful force that some people believe to exist, and which causes wicked and bad things to happen.\nThere’s always a conflict between good and evil in his plays.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n  !=good\n2. Evil is used to refer to all the wicked and bad things that happen in the world.\nHe could not, after all, stop all the evil in the world.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n3. If you refer to an evil, you mean a very unpleasant or harmful situation or activity.\nHigher taxes may be a necessary evil.\n...a lecture on the evils of alcohol.\n  N-COUNT\n\n4. If you describe someone as evil, you mean that they are very wicked by nature and take pleasure in doing things that harm other people.\n...the country’s most evil terrorists...\nShe’s an evil woman.\n  ADJ\n\n5. If you describe something as evil, you mean that you think it causes a great deal of harm to people and is morally bad.\nAfter 1760 few Americans refrained from condemning slavery as evil...\n  ADJ\n\n6. If you describe something as evil, you mean that you think it is influenced by the devil.\nI think this is an evil spirit at work...\n  ADJ\n\n7. You can describe a very unpleasant smell as evil.\nBoth men were smoking evil-smelling pipes.\n  ADJ\n\n8. If someone is putting off the evil day or the evil hour, they have to do something unpleasant and are trying to avoid doing it for as long as possible.\nYou can simply go on putting off the evil day and eventually find yourself smoking as much as ever.\n  PHRASE: usu v PHR\n\n9. If you have two choices, but think that they are both bad, you can describe the one which is less bad as the lesser of two evils, or the lesser evil.\nPeople voted for him as the lesser of two evils...\n  PHRASE


Words: evil eye
Meaning:
evil eye\n1. Some people believe that the evil eye is a magical power to cast a spell on someone or something by looking at them, so that bad things happen to them.\n  N-SING: the N\n\n2. If someone gives you the evil eye, they look at you in an unpleasant way, usually because they dislike you or are jealous of you.\n  N-SING: usu the


Words: evildoer
Meaning:
evil.doer\n   evildoer  evildoers   also evil-doer\n  If you describe someone as an evildoer, you mean that they are wicked, and that they deliberately cause harm or suffering to others. (LITERARY or OLD-FASHIONED)\n  N-COUNT


Words: evince
Meaning:
evince  evinces  evincing  evinced\n  If someone or something evinces a particular feeling or quality, they show that feeling or quality, often indirectly. (FORMAL)\nThe entire production evinces authenticity and a real respect for the subject matter...\n  VERB: V n


Words: eviscerate
Meaning:
evis.cer.ate\n   eviscerate  eviscerates  eviscerating  eviscerated\n1. To eviscerate a person or animal means to remove their internal organs, such as their heart, lungs, and stomach. (FORMAL)\n...strangling and eviscerating rabbits for the pot.\n  VERB: V n\n\n2. If you say that something will eviscerate an organization or system, you are emphasizing that it will make the organization or system much weaker or much less powerful. (FORMAL)\nDemocrats say the petition will eviscerate state government.\n  VERB: V n  emphasis


Words: evocation
Meaning:
evo.ca.tion\n   evocation   evocations\n  An evocation of something involves creating an image or impression of it. (FORMAL)\n...a perfect evocation of the period.\n  N-VAR: usu N of n


Words: evocative
Meaning:
evoca.tive\n   evocative\n  If you describe something as evocative, you mean that it is good or interesting because it produces pleasant memories, ideas, emotions, and responses in people. (FORMAL)\nHer story is sharply evocative of Italian provincial life.\n  ADJ: oft ADJ of n\n\n=>  evoca.tive.ly\n...the collection of islands evocatively known as the South Seas.\n  ADV: ADV with v, ADV adj


Words: evoke
Meaning:
evoke  evokes  evoking  evoked\n  To evoke a particular memory, idea, emotion, or response means to cause it to occur. (FORMAL)\n...the scene evoking memories of those old movies...\n  VERB: V n


Words: evolution
Meaning:
evo.lu.tion\n   evolution   evolutions\n1. Evolution is a process of gradual change that takes place over many generations, during which species of animals, plants, or insects slowly change some of their physical characteristics.\n...the evolution of plants and animals.\n...human evolution.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. Evolution is a process of gradual development in a particular situation or thing over a period of time. (FORMAL)\n...a crucial period in the evolution of modern physics.\n  N-VAR: usu with supp\n  = development


Words: evolutionary
Meaning:
evo.lu.tion.ary\n   evolutionary\n  Evolutionary means relating to a process of gradual change and development.\n...an evolutionary process.\n...a period of evolutionary change.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: evolutionist
Meaning:
evo.lu.tion.ist\n   evolutionist   evolutionists\n  An evolutionist is someone who accepts the scientific theory that all living things evolved from a few simple life forms.\n  N-COUNT


Words: evolve
Meaning:
evolve  evolves  evolving  evolved\n1. When animals or plants evolve, they gradually change and develop into different forms.\nThe bright plumage of many male birds has evolved to attract females...\nMaize evolved from a wild grass in Mexico.\n...when amphibians evolved into reptiles.\n  VERB: V, V from n, V into n\n\n2. If something evolves or you evolve it, it gradually develops over a period of time into something different and usually more advanced.\n...a tiny airline which eventually evolved into Pakistan International Airlines...\nPopular music evolved from folk songs...\nAs medical knowledge evolves, beliefs change...\nThis was when he evolved the working method from which he has never departed.\n  VERB: V into n, V from n, V, V n


Words: ex
Meaning:
ex  exes\n  Someone’s ex is the person they used to be married to or used to have a romantic or sexual relationship with. (INFORMAL)\nHe’s different from my ex.\n...one of her exes.\n  N-COUNT: usu poss N


Words: ex gratia
Meaning:
ex gra.tia\n   ex gratia\n  An ex gratia payment is one that is given as a favour or gift and not because it is legally necessary. (mainly BRIT FORMAL)\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: ex officio
Meaning:
ex of.fi.cio\n   ex officio\n  Ex officio is used to describe something such as a rank or privilege that someone is entitled to because of the job or position they have. (FORMAL)\n...ex officio members of the Advisory Council.\n...an ex-officio degree.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: ex-
Meaning:
ex-\n  ex- is added to nouns to show that someone or something is no longer the thing referred to by that noun. For example, a woman’s ex-husband is no longer her husband.\n...my ex-wife.\n...ex-President Reagan.\n...an ex-soldier.\n  PREFIX


Words: ex-directory
Meaning:
ex-directory\n  If a person or their telephone number is ex-directory, the number is not listed in the telephone directory, and the telephone company will not give it to people who ask for it. (BRIT; in AM, use unlisted)\n  ADJ


Words: ex-serviceman
Meaning:
ex-serviceman  ex-servicemen\n  An ex-serviceman is a man who used to be in a country’s army, navy, or air force. (BRIT; in AM, use veteran)\n  N-COUNT


Words: exacerbate
Meaning:
ex.ac.er.bate\n   exacerbate  exacerbates  exacerbating  exacerbated\n  If something exacerbates a problem or bad situation, it makes it worse. (FORMAL)\nLongstanding poverty has been exacerbated by racial divisions.\n  VERB: V n\n  = aggravate\n=>  ex.ac.er.ba.tion\n...the exacerbation of global problems.\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu the N of n


Words: exact
Meaning:
ex.act\n   exact  exacts  exacting  exacted\n1. Exact means correct in every detail. For example, an exact copy is the same in every detail as the thing it is copied from.\nI don’t remember the exact words...\nThe exact number of protest calls has not been revealed...\nIt’s an exact copy of the one which was found in Ann Alice’s room.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  = precise  !=approximate\n=>  ex.act.ly\nTry to locate exactly where the smells are entering the room...\nBoth drugs will be exactly the same...\nBarton couldn’t remember exactly.\n  ADV: usu ADV with cl/group, also ADV after v\n  = precisely  !=approximately\n2. You use exact before a noun to emphasize that you are referring to that particular thing and no other, especially something that has a particular significance.\nI hadn’t really thought about it until this exact moment...\nIt may be that you will feel the exact opposite of what you expected.\n  ADJ: ADJ n  emphasis\n\n=>  ex.act.ly\nThese are exactly the people who do not vote...\nHe knew exactly what he was doing.\n  ADV: ADV n/wh\n  = precisely, just\n3. If you describe someone as exact, you mean that they are very careful and detailed in their work, thinking, or methods.\nFormal, exact and obstinate, he was also cold, suspicious, touchy and tactless.\n  ADJ\n  = meticulous\n4. When someone exacts something, they demand and obtain it from another person, especially because they are in a superior or more powerful position. (FORMAL)\nAlready he has exacted a written apology from the chairman of the commission...\n  VERB: V n from/for n\n\n5. If someone exacts revenge on a person, they have their revenge on them.\nShe uses the media to help her exact a terrible revenge.\n  VERB: V n\n\n6. If something exacts a high price, it has a bad effect on a person or situation.\nThe sheer physical effort had exacted a heavy price...\nThe strain of a violent ground campaign will exact a toll on troops.\n  VERB: V n, V n on n\n\n7.\n  see also exactly\n8. You say to be exact to indicate that you are slightly correcting or giving more detailed information about what you have been saying.\nA small number.five, to be exact.have been bad...\n  PHRASE: PHR with cl/group


Words: exact science
Meaning:
ex.act sci.ence\n   exact science\n  If you say that a particular activity is not an exact science, you mean that there are no set rules to follow or it does not produce very accurate results.\nForecasting floods is not an exact science.\n  N-SING: usu with brd-neg


Words: exacting
Meaning:
ex.act.ing\n   exacting\n  You use exacting to describe something or someone that demands hard work and a great deal of care.\nThe Duke was not well enough to carry out such an exacting task...\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: exactitude
Meaning:
ex.acti.tude\n   exactitude\n  Exactitude is the quality of being very accurate and careful. (FORMAL)\n...the precision and exactitude of current genetic mapping.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: exactly
Meaning:
ex.act.ly\n   exactly\n1. You use exactly before an amount, number, or position to emphasize that it is no more, no less, or no different from what you are stating.\nEach corner had a guard tower, each of which was exactly ten meters in height...\nAgnew’s car pulled into the driveway at exactly five o’clock...\n  ADV: usu ADV num, also ADV prep/adv  emphasis\n  = precisely\n2. If you say `Exactly’, you are agreeing with someone or emphasizing the truth of what they say. If you say `Not exactly’, you are telling them politely that they are wrong in part of what they are saying.\nEve nodded, almost approvingly. `Exactly.’...\n`And you refused?’.’Well, not exactly. I couldn’t say yes.’\n  ADV: ADV as reply\n  = precisely\n3. You use not exactly to indicate that a meaning or situation is slightly different from what people think or expect.\nHe’s not exactly homeless, he just hangs out in this park.\n  ADV: not ADV, usu ADV group  vagueness\n\n4. You can use not exactly to show that you mean the opposite of what you are saying.\nThis was not exactly what I wanted to hear...\nSailing is not exactly cheap.\n  ADV: not ADV, usu ADV group  emphasis\n\n5. You use exactly with a question to show that you disapprove of what the person you are talking to is doing or saying.\nWhat exactly do you mean?...\n  ADV: ADV with quest  disapproval\n  = precisely\n6.\n  see also exact


Words: exactness
Meaning:
ex.act.ness\n   exactness\n  Exactness is the quality of being very accurate and precise.\nHe recalls his native Bombay with cinematic exactness.\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu with supp


Words: exaggerate
Meaning:
ex.ag.ger.ate\n   exaggerate  exaggerates  exaggerating  exaggerated\n1. If you exaggerate, you indicate that something is, for example, worse or more important than it really is.\nHe thinks I’m exaggerating...\nSheila admitted that she did sometimes exaggerate the demands of her job.\n  VERB: V, V n\n\n=>  ex.ag.gera.tion      exaggerations\nLike many stories about him, it smacks of exaggeration...\nIt would be an exaggeration to call the danger urgent.\n  N-VAR\n\n2. If something exaggerates a situation, quality, or feature, it makes the situation, quality, or feature appear greater, more obvious, or more important than it really is.\nThese figures exaggerate the loss of competitiveness...\n  VERB: V n


Words: exaggerated
Meaning:
ex.ag.ger.at.ed\n   exaggerated\n  Something that is exaggerated is or seems larger, better, worse, or more important than it actually needs to be.\nThey should be sceptical of exaggerated claims for what such courses can achieve...\nWestern fears, he insists, are greatly exaggerated.\n  ADJ\n\n=>  ex.ag.ger.at.ed.ly\n...an exaggeratedly feminine appearance...\nShe laughed exaggeratedly at their jokes.\n  ADV: ADV adj/-ed, ADV after v


Words: exalt
Meaning:
ex.alt\n   exalt  exalts  exalting  exalted\n  To exalt someone or something means to praise them very highly. (FORMAL)\nHis work exalts all those virtues that we, as Americans, are taught to hold dear.\n  VERB: V n


Words: exaltation
Meaning:
ex.al.ta.tion\n   exaltation\n  Exaltation is an intense feeling of great happiness. (FORMAL)\nThe city was swept up in the mood of exaltation.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n  = exhilaration\n  see also exalt


Words: exalted
Meaning:
ex.alt.ed\n   exalted\n  Someone or something that is at an exalted level is at a very high level, especially with regard to rank or importance. (FORMAL)\nYou must decide how to make the best use of your exalted position.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  = lofty


Words: exam
Meaning:
exam  exams\n1. An exam is a formal test that you take to show your knowledge or ability in a particular subject, or to obtain a qualification.\nI don’t want to take any more exams...\nKate’s exam results were excellent.\n  N-COUNT\n  = examination\n2. If you have a medical exam, a doctor looks at your body, feels it, or does simple tests in order to check how healthy you are. (mainly AM)\n  N-COUNT\n  = examination


Words: examination
Meaning:
ex.ami.na.tion\n   examination  examinations\n1. An examination is a formal test that you take to show your knowledge or ability in a particular subject, or to obtain a qualification. (FORMAL)\n  N-COUNT\n  = exam\n2.\n  see also examine


Words: examine
Meaning:
ex.am.ine\n   examine  examines  examining  examined\n1. If you examine something, you look at it carefully.\nHe examined her passport and stamped it...\n  VERB: V n\n\n=>  ex.ami.na.tion      examinations\nThe Navy is to carry out an examination of the wreck tomorrow...\n  N-VAR\n  = inspection\n2. If a doctor examines you, he or she looks at your body, feels it, or does simple tests in order to check how healthy you are.\nAnother doctor examined her and could still find nothing wrong...\n  VERB: V n\n\n=>  ex.ami.na.tion\nHe was later discharged after an examination at Westminster Hospital...\n  N-VAR\n\n3. If an idea, proposal, or plan is examined, it is considered very carefully.\nThe plans will be examined by EU environment ministers.\n  VERB: V n\n\n=>  ex.ami.na.tion\nThe proposal requires careful examination and consideration.\n  N-VAR\n\n4. If you are examined, you are given a formal test in order to show your knowledge of a subject.\n...learning to cope with the pressures of being judged and examined by our teachers.\n  VERB: usu passive, be V-ed


Words: examinee
Meaning:
ex.ami.nee\n   examinee  examinees\n  An examinee is someone who is taking an exam. (FORMAL)\n  N-COUNT


Words: examiner
Meaning:
ex.am.in.er\n   examiner  examiners\n  An examiner is a person who sets or marks an examination.\n  N-COUNT\n\nexternal examiner: see external\n  see also medical examiner


Words: example
Meaning:
ex.am.ple\n   example  examples\n1. An example of something is a particular situation, object, or person which shows that what is being claimed is true.\nThe doctors gave numerous examples of patients being expelled from hospital...\nListed below are just a few examples of some of the family benefits available.\n  N-COUNT: oft N of n\n\n2. An example of a particular class of objects or styles is something that has many of the typical features of such a class or style, and that you consider clearly represents it.\nSymphonies 103 and 104 stand as perfect examples of early symphonic construction...\n  N-COUNT: oft N of n\n  = illustration\n3. You use for example to introduce and emphasize something which shows that something is true.\nTake, for example, the simple sentence: `The man climbed up the hill’...\nA few simple precautions can be taken, for example ensuring that desks are the right height.\n  PHRASE: PHR with cl/group\n\n4. If you refer to a person or their behaviour as an example to other people, you mean that he or she behaves in a good or correct way that other people should copy.\nHe is a model professional and an example to the younger lads...\n  N-COUNT: oft N to n  approval\n\n5. In a dictionary entry, an example is a phrase or sentence which shows how a particular word is used.\nThe examples are unique to this dictionary.\n  N-COUNT\n\n6. If you follow someone’s example, you behave in the same way as they did in the past, or in a similar way, especially because you admire them.\nFollowing the example set by her father, she has fulfilled her role and done her duty...\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n7. To make an example of someone who has done something wrong means to punish them severely as a warning to other people not to do the same thing.\nLet us at least see our courts make an example of these despicable criminals.\n  PHRASE: V inflects, PHR n\n\n8. If you set an example, you encourage or inspire people by your behaviour to behave or act in a similar way.\nAn officer’s job was to set an example...\n  PHRASE: V inflects


Words: exasperate
Meaning:
ex.as.per.ate\n   exasperate  exasperates  exasperating  exasperated\n  If someone or something exasperates you, they annoy you and make you feel frustrated or upset.\nThe sheer futility of it all exasperates her.\n  VERB: V n\n\n=>  ex.as.pera.tion\nMahoney clenched his fist in exasperation...\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: exasperated
Meaning:
ex.as.per.at.ed\n   exasperated\n  If you describe a person as exasperated, you mean that they are frustrated or angry because of something that is happening or something that another person is doing.\nThe president was clearly exasperated by the whole saga...\n  ADJ: oft ADJ by/with/at n


Words: exasperating
Meaning:
ex.as.per.at.ing\n   exasperating\n  If you describe someone or something as exasperating, you mean that you feel angry or frustrated by them or by what they do.\nHardie could be exasperating to his colleagues...\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ


Words: excavate
Meaning:
ex.ca.vate\n   excavate  excavates  excavating  excavated\n1. When archaeologists or other people excavate a piece of land, they remove earth carefully from it and look for things such as pots, bones, or buildings which are buried there, in order to discover information about the past.\nA new Danish expedition is again excavating the site in annual summer digs.\n  VERB: V n\n\n=>  ex.ca.va.tion      excavations\n...the excavation of a bronze-age boat...\n  N-VAR\n\n2. To excavate means to dig a hole in the ground, for example in order to build there.\nA contractor was hired to drain the reservoir and to excavate soil from one area for replacement with clay.\n  VERB: V n\n\n=>  ex.ca.va.tion\n...the excavation of canals.\n  N-VAR


Words: excavator
Meaning:
ex.ca.va.tor\n   excavator  excavators\n  An excavator is a very large machine that is used for digging, for example when people are building something.\n  N-COUNT


Words: exceed
Meaning:
ex.ceed\n   exceed  exceeds  exceeding  exceeded\n1. If something exceeds a particular amount or number, it is greater or larger than that amount or number. (FORMAL)\nIts research budget exceeds $700 million a year...\nHis performance exceeded all expectations.\n  VERB: V n, V n\n\n2. If you exceed a limit or rule, you go beyond it, even though you are not supposed to or it is against the law. (FORMAL)\nHe accepts he was exceeding the speed limit...\n  VERB: V n


Words: exceedingly
Meaning:
ex.ceed.ing.ly\n   exceedingly\n  Exceedingly means very or very much. (OLD-FASHIONED)\nWe had an exceedingly good lunch...\n  ADV: usu ADV adj, also ADV after v\n  = extremely


Words: excel
Meaning:
ex.cel\n   excel  excels  excelling  excelled\n  If someone excels in something or excels at it, they are very good at doing it.\nCaine has always been an actor who excels in irony...\nMary was a better rider than either of them and she excelled at outdoor sports...\nAcademically he began to excel...\nI think Krishnan excelled himself in all departments of his game.\n  VERB: V in n, V at n, V, V pron-refl


Words: excellence
Meaning:
ex.cel.lence\n   excellence\n  If someone or something has the quality of excellence, they are extremely good in some way.\n...the top US award for excellence in journalism and the arts.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n  see also par excellence


Words: Excellency
Meaning:
Ex.cel.len.cy\n   Excellency  Excellencies\n  You use expressions such as Your Excellency or His Excellency when you are addressing or referring to officials of very high rank, for example ambassadors or governors.\nI am reluctant to trust anyone totally, Your Excellency...\nHis excellency the President will be waiting for you in the hall.\n  N-VOC: poss N; PRON: poss PRON  politeness


Words: excellent
Meaning:
ex.cel.lent\n   excellent\n1. Something that is excellent is very good indeed.\nThe recording quality is excellent...\nLuckily, Sue is very efficient and does an excellent job as Fred’s personal assistant.\n  ADJ\n\n=>  ex.cel.lent.ly\nThey’re both playing excellently...\n  ADV: ADV after v, ADV adj/-ed\n\n2. Some people say `Excellent!’ to show that they approve of something.\n  EXCLAM  feelings


Words: except
Meaning:
ex.cept\n   except\n1. You use except to introduce the only thing or person that a statement does not apply to, or a fact that prevents a statement from being completely true.\nI wouldn’t have accepted anything except a job in Europe...\nI don’t take any drugs whatsoever, except aspirin for colds...\n  PREP\n\n  Except is also a conjunction.\nFreddie would tell me nothing about what he was writing, except that it was to be a Christmas play...\n  CONJ: oft CONJ that/when/where/if\n\n2. You use except for to introduce the only thing or person that prevents a statement from being completely true.\nHe hadn’t eaten a thing except for one forkful of salad...\nEveryone was late, except for Richard.\n  PREP-PHRASE


Words: excepted
Meaning:
ex.cept.ed\n   excepted\n  You use excepted after you have mentioned a person or thing to show that you do not include them in the statement you are making. (FORMAL)\nJeremy excepted, the men seemed personable...\n  ADV: n ADV


Words: excepting
Meaning:
ex.cept.ing\n   excepting\n  You use excepting to introduce the only thing that prevents a statement from being completely true. (FORMAL)\nThe source of meat for much of this region (excepting Japan) has traditionally been the pig.\n  PREP


Words: exception
Meaning:
ex.cep.tion\n   exception  exceptions\n1. An exception is a particular thing, person, or situation that is not included in a general statement, judgment, or rule.\nFew guitarists can sing as well as they can play; Eddie, however, is an exception...\nThere were no floral offerings at the ceremony, with the exception of a single red rose...\nThe law makes no exceptions...\nWith few exceptions, guests are booked for week-long visits.\n  N-COUNT: oft with the N of n, with N\n\n2. If you make a general statement, and then say that something or someone is no exception, you are emphasizing that they are included in that statement.\nMarketing is applied to everything these days, and books are no exception...\nMost people have no real idea how to change to healthy food, and Maureen was no exception.\n  PHRASE: v-link PHR  emphasis\n\n3. If you are making a general statement and you say that something is the exception that proves the rule, you mean that although it seems to contradict your statement, in most other cases your statement will be true.\nWine-making and accountants don’t usually go together, but Thierry Hasard is an exception that proves the rule.\n  PHRASE: exception and V inflect, usu v-link PHR\n\n4. If you take exception to something, you feel offended or annoyed by it, usually with the result that you complain about it.\nHe also took exception to having been spied on...\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n  = object\n5. You use with the exception of to introduce a thing or person that is not included in a general statement that you are making.\nYesterday was a day off for everybody, with the exception of Lawrence...\n  PREP-PHRASE\n\n6. You use without exception to emphasize that the statement you are making is true in all cases.\nThe vehicles are without exception old, rusty and dented...\n  PHRASE: PHR with cl/group, PHR after v  emphasis


Words: exceptional
Meaning:
ex.cep.tion.al\n   exceptional\n1. You use exceptional to describe someone or something that has a particular quality, usually a good quality, to an unusually high degree.\n...children with exceptional ability...\nHis translation is exceptional in its poetic quality.\n  ADJ  approval\n  = extraordinary\n=>  ex.cep.tion.al.ly\nHe’s an exceptionally talented dancer...\n  ADV: ADV adj/adv\n  = extremely\n2. Exceptional situations and incidents are unusual and only likely to happen very infrequently. (FORMAL)\nSchool governors have the discretion to allow parents to withdraw pupils in exceptional circumstances.\n  ADJ\n  = unusual\n=>  ex.cep.tion.al.ly\nExceptionally, in times of emergency, we may send a team of experts...\n  ADV: ADV with cl


Words: excerpt
Meaning:
ex.cerpt\n   excerpt  excerpts\n  An excerpt is a short piece of writing or music which is taken from a larger piece.\n...an excerpt from Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker.\n  N-COUNT: oft N from n\n  = extract


Words: excess
Meaning:
ex.cess\n   excess excesses\nThe noun is pronounced   The adjective is pronounced\n1. An excess of something is a larger amount than is needed, allowed, or usual.\nAn excess of house plants in a small flat can be oppressive...\nPolyunsaturated oils are essential for health. Excess is harmful, however.\n  N-VAR: with supp, usu a N of n\n\n2. Excess is used to describe amounts that are greater than what is needed, allowed, or usual.\nAfter cooking the fish, pour off any excess fat...\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n  = surplus\n3. Excess is behaviour that is unacceptable because it is considered too extreme or immoral.\nShe said she was sick of her life of excess.\n...adolescent excess.\n  N-UNCOUNT: also N in pl\n\n4. Excess is used to refer to additional amounts of money that need to be paid for services and activities that were not originally planned or taken into account. (FORMAL)\n...a letter demanding an excess fare of .20...\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n5. The excess on an insurance policy is a sum of money which the insured person has to pay towards the cost of a claim. The insurance company pays the rest. (BRIT BUSINESS, TECHNICAL)\nThe company wanted .1,800 for a policy with a .400 excess for under-21s.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing\n\n6. In excess of means more than a particular amount. (FORMAL)\nAvoid deposits in excess of .20,000 in any one account...\n  PREP-PHRASE: PREP amount\n\n7. If you do something to excess, you do it too much.\nI was reasonably fit, played a lot of tennis, and didn’t smoke or drink to excess...\n  PHRASE: PHR after v  disapproval


Words: excess baggage
Meaning:
ex.cess bag.gage\n   excess baggage   also excess luggage\n1. On an aeroplane journey, excess baggage is luggage that is larger or weighs more than your ticket allows, so that you have to pay extra to take it on board.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. You can use excess baggage to talk about problems or events from someone’s past which you think still worry them, especially when you think these things make it difficult for the person to cope or develop.\nThe good thing about these younger players is that they are not carrying any excess baggage from less successful times.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: excessive
Meaning:
ex.ces.sive\n   excessive\n  If you describe the amount or level of something as excessive, you disapprove of it because it is more or higher than is necessary or reasonable.\n...the alleged use of excessive force by police...\nThe government says that local authority spending is excessive.\n  ADJ  disapproval\n\n=>  ex.ces.sive.ly\nManagers are also accused of paying themselves excessively high salaries...\nMum had started taking pills and drinking excessively.\n  ADV: ADV adj, ADV with v


Words: exchange
Meaning:
ex.change\n   exchange  exchanges  exchanging  exchanged\n1. If two or more people exchange things of a particular kind, they give them to each other at the same time.\nWe exchanged addresses and Christmas cards...\nHe exchanged a quick smile with her then entered the lift.\n  V-RECIP: pl-n V, V n with n\n\n  Exchange is also a noun.\nHe ruled out any exchange of prisoners with the militants.\n...a frank exchange of views.\n  N-COUNT: oft N of pl-n\n\n2. If you exchange something, you replace it with a different thing, especially something that is better or more satisfactory.\n...the chance to sell back or exchange goods...\nIf the car you have leased is clearly unsatisfactory, you can always exchange it for another.\n  VERB: V n, V n for n\n\n3. An exchange is a brief conversation, usually an angry one. (FORMAL)\nThere’ve been some bitter exchanges between the two groups.\n  N-COUNT\n\n4. An exchange of fire, for example, is an incident in which people use guns or missiles against each other.\nThere was an exchange of fire during which the gunman was wounded...\n  N-COUNT: oft N of n\n\n5. An exchange is an arrangement in which people from two different countries visit each other’s country, to strengthen links between them.\n...a series of sporting and cultural exchanges with Seoul...\nI’m going to go on an exchange visit to Paris.\n  N-COUNT: usu adj N\n\n6. The exchange is the same as the telephone exchange.\n  N-COUNT: usu the N\n\n7.\n  see also corn exchange, foreign exchange, stock exchange\n8. If you do or give something in exchange for something else, you do it or give it in order to get that thing.\nIt is illegal for public officials to solicit gifts or money in exchange for favors...\n  PHRASE: usu PHR for n, PHR with cl


Words: exchange rate
Meaning:
ex.change rate\n   exchange rate  exchange rates\n  The exchange rate of a country’s unit of currency is the amount of another country’s currency that you get in exchange for it.\n  N-COUNT


Words: Exchequer
Meaning:
Ex.cheq.uer\n   Exchequer\n  The Exchequer is the department in the British government which is responsible for receiving, issuing, and accounting for money belonging to the state.\n  N-PROPER: the N


Words: excise
Meaning:
ex.cise\n   excise excises excising  excised\nThe noun is pronounced   The verb is pronounced\n1. Excise is a tax that the government of a country puts on particular goods, such as cigarettes and alcoholic drinks, which are produced for sale in its own country.\n...this year’s rise in excise duties...\nNew car buyers and smokers will be hit by increases in taxes and excise.\n  N-VAR: usu N n\n\n2. If someone excises something, they remove it deliberately and completely. (FORMAL)\n...a personal crusade to excise racist and sexist references in newspapers.\n...the question of permanently excising madness from the world.\n  VERB: V n, V n from n\n\n=>  ex.ci.sion      excisions\nThe authors demanded excision of foreign words.\n  N-VAR


Words: excitable
Meaning:
ex.cit.able\n   excitable\n  If you describe someone as excitable, you mean that they behave in a rather nervous way and become excited very easily.\nMary sat beside Elaine, who today seemed excitable...\n  ADJ\n\n=>  ex.cit.abil.ity\nShe has always been inclined to excitability.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: excite
Meaning:
ex.cite\n   excite  excites  exciting  excited\n1. If something excites you, it makes you feel very happy, eager, or enthusiastic.\nI only take on work that excites me, even if it means turning down lots of money...\nWhere the show really excites is in the display of avant-garde photography.\n  VERB: V n, V\n\n2. If something excites a particular feeling, emotion, or reaction in someone, it causes them to experience it.\nDaniel’s early exposure to motor racing did not excite his interest...\n  VERB: V n\n  = arouse


Words: excited
Meaning:
ex.cit.ed\n   excited\n1. If you are excited, you are so happy that you cannot relax, especially because you are thinking about something pleasant that is going to happen to you.\nI’m very excited about the possibility of playing for England’s first team...\nI was so excited when I went to sign the paperwork I could hardly write.\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ, oft ADJ about n\n\n=>  ex.cit.ed.ly\n`You’re coming?’ he said excitedly. `That’s fantastic! That’s incredible!’\n  ADV: ADV with v\n\n2. If you are excited, you are very worried or angry about something, and so you are very alert and cannot relax.\nI don’t think there’s any reason to get excited about inflation...\n  ADJ\n  = agitated\n=>  ex.cit.ed.ly\nLarry rose excitedly to the edge of his seat, shook a fist at us and spat.\n  ADV: ADV with v


Words: excitement
Meaning:
ex.cite.ment\n   excitement  excitements\n  You use excitement to refer to the state of being excited, or to something that excites you.\nEveryone is in a state of great excitement.\n  N-VAR


Words: exciting
Meaning:
ex.cit.ing\n   exciting\n  If something is exciting, it makes you feel very happy or enthusiastic.\nThe race itself is very exciting...\n  ADJ\n  = thrilling


Words: exclaim
Meaning:
ex.claim\n   exclaim  exclaims  exclaiming  exclaimed\n  Writers sometimes use exclaim to show that someone is speaking suddenly, loudly, or emphatically, often because they are excited, shocked, or angry.\n`He went back to the lab’, Iris exclaimed impatiently...\nHe exclaims that it must be a typing error.\n  VERB: V with quote, V that\n  = cry


Words: exclamation
Meaning:
ex.cla.ma.tion\n   exclamation  exclamations\n  An exclamation is a sound, word, or sentence that is spoken suddenly, loudly, or emphatically and that expresses excitement, admiration, shock, or anger.\nSue gave an exclamation as we got a clear sight of the house.\n  N-COUNT


Words: exclamation mark
Meaning:
ex.cla.ma.tion mark\n   exclamation mark  exclamation marks\n  An exclamation mark is the sign ! which is used in writing to show that a word, phrase, or sentence is an exclamation. (BRIT; in AM, use exclamation point)\n  N-COUNT


Words: exclude
Meaning:
ex.clude\n   exclude  excludes  excluding  excluded\n1. If you exclude someone from a place or activity, you prevent them from entering it or taking part in it.\nThe Academy excluded women from its classes...\nMany of the youngsters feel excluded.\n  VERB: V n from n, V-ed, also V n\n\n2. If you exclude something that has some connection with what you are doing, you deliberately do not use it or consider it.\nThey eat only plant foods, and take care to exclude animal products from other areas of their lives...\nIn some schools, Christmas carols are being modified to exclude any reference to Christ.\n  VERB: V n from n, V n\n\n3. To exclude a possibility means to decide or prove that it is wrong and not worth considering.\nI cannot entirely exclude the possibility that some form of pressure was applied to the neck.\n  VERB: usu with brd-neg, V n\n\n4. To exclude something such as the sun’s rays or harmful germs means to prevent them physically from reaching or entering a particular place.\nThis was intended to exclude the direct rays of the sun...\n  VERB: V n


Words: excluding
Meaning:
ex.clud.ing\n   excluding\n  You use excluding before mentioning a person or thing to show that you are not including them in your statement.\nExcluding water, half of the body’s weight is protein.\n  PREP\n  !=including


Words: exclusion
Meaning:
ex.clu.sion\n   exclusion  exclusions\n1. The exclusion of something is the act of deliberately not using, allowing, or considering it.\nIt calls for the exclusion of all commercial lending institutions from the college loan program...\n  N-VAR: oft N of n\n\n2. Exclusion is the act of preventing someone from entering a place or taking part in an activity.\n...women’s exclusion from political power...\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu with poss, oft N from n\n\n3. If you do one thing to the exclusion of something else, you only do the first thing and do not do the second thing at all.\nDiane had dedicated her life to caring for him to the exclusion of all else.\n  PHRASE: usu PHR after v, PHR n


Words: exclusion zone
Meaning:
ex.clu.sion zone\n   exclusion zone  exclusion zones\n  An exclusion zone is an area where people are not allowed to go or where they are not allowed to do a particular thing, for example because it would be dangerous.\n  N-COUNT


Words: exclusionary
Meaning:
ex.clu.sion.ary\n   exclusionary\n  Something that is exclusionary excludes a particular person or group of people. (FORMAL)\n...exclusionary business practices.\n  ADJ


Words: exclusive
Meaning:
ex.clu.sive\n   exclusive  exclusives\n1. If you describe something as exclusive, you mean that it is limited to people who have a lot of money or who belong to a high social class, and is therefore not available to everyone.\nHe is already a member of Britain’s most exclusive club...\nThe City was criticised for being too exclusive and uncompetitive.\n  ADJ\n\n=>  ex.clu.sive.ness\n...a rising middle class, which objected to the exclusiveness of the traditional elite.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n=>  ex.clu.sivi.ty\n...a company with a reputation for exclusivity.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft the N of n\n\n2. Something that is exclusive is used or owned by only one person or group, and not shared with anyone else.\nOur group will have exclusive use of a 60-foot boat...\nMany of their cheeses are exclusive to our stores in Britain.\n  ADJ: oft ADJ to n\n\n3. If a newspaper, magazine, or broadcasting organization describes one of its reports as exclusive, they mean that it is a special report which does not appear in any other publication or on any other channel.\nHe told the magazine in an exclusive interview: `All my problems stem from drink’.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n  An exclusive is an exclusive article or report.\nSome papers thought they had an exclusive.\n  N-COUNT\n\n4. If a company states that its prices, goods, or services are exclusive of something, that thing is not included in the stated price, although it usually still has to be paid for.\nSkiing weekends cost .58 (exclusive of travel and accommodation).\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ of n\n  !=inclusive\n5. If two things are mutually exclusive, they are separate and very different from each other, so that it is impossible for them to exist or happen together.\nThey both have learnt that ambition and successful fatherhood can be mutually exclusive.\n  PHRASE: v-link PHR


Words: exclusively
Meaning:
ex.clu.sive.ly\n   exclusively\n  Exclusively is used to refer to situations or activities that involve only the thing or things mentioned, and nothing else.\n...an exclusively male domain...\nInstruction in these subjects in undergraduate classes is almost exclusively by lecture.\n  ADV: ADV with cl/group, ADV with v


Words: excommunicate
Meaning:
ex.com.muni.cate\n   excommunicate  excommunicates  excommunicating  excommunicated\n  If a Roman Catholic or member of the Orthodox Church is excommunicated, it is publicly and officially stated that the person is no longer allowed to be a member of the Church. This is a punishment for some very great wrong that they have done.\nEventually, he was excommunicated along with his mentor...\nIn 1766 he excommunicated the village for its `depraved diversion.’\n  VERB: be V-ed, V n\n\n=>  ex.com.mu.ni.ca.tion      excommunications\n...the threat of excommunication.\n  N-VAR


Words: excoriate
Meaning:
ex.co.ri.ate\n   excoriate  excoriates  excoriating  excoriated\n  To excoriate a person or organization means to criticize them severely, usually in public. (FORMAL)\nHe proceeded to excoriate me in front of the nurses.\n  VERB: V n\n  = berate


Words: excrement
Meaning:
ex.cre.ment\n   excrement\n  Excrement is the solid waste that is passed out of a person or animal’s body through their bowels. (FORMAL)\nThe cage smelled of excrement.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: excrescence
Meaning:
ex.cres.cence\n   excrescence  excrescences\n  If you describe something such as a building, addition, or development as an excrescence, you strongly disapprove of it because you think it is unnecessary, bad, or ugly. (LITERARY)\n...an architectural excrescence...\nThe trade union block vote is an excrescence on democracy.\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp, oft N on n  disapproval\n  = blot


Words: excreta
Meaning:
ex.cre.ta\n   excreta\n  Excreta is the waste matter, such as urine or faeces, which is passed out of a person or animal’s body. (TECHNICAL FORMAL)\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: excrete
Meaning:
ex.crete\n   excrete  excretes  excreting  excreted\n  When a person or animal excretes waste matter from their body, they get rid of it in faeces, urine, or sweat. (TECHNICAL or FORMAL)\nYour open pores excrete sweat and dirt...\n  VERB: V n\n\n=>  ex.cre.tion      excretions\n...the excretion of this drug from the body.\n  N-UNCOUNT: also N in pl


Words: excruciating
Meaning:
ex.cru.ci.at.ing\n   excruciating\n1. If you describe something as excruciating, you are emphasizing that it is extremely painful, either physically or emotionally.\nI was in excruciating pain and one leg wouldn’t move...\n  ADJ  emphasis\n  = unbearable\n=>  ex.cru.ci.at.ing.ly\nHe found the transition to boarding school excruciatingly painful...\n  ADV: usu ADV adj, also ADV after v\n\n2. If you describe something as excruciating, you mean that it is very unpleasant to experience, for example because it is very boring or embarrassing.\nMeanwhile, the boredom is excruciating...\nThere was a moment of excruciating silence.\n  ADJ\n\n=>  ex.cru.ci.at.ing.ly\nThe dialogue is excruciatingly embarrassing.\n  ADV: usu ADV adj, also ADV with v


Words: excursion
Meaning:
ex.cur.sion\n   excursion  excursions\n1. You can refer to a short journey as an excursion, especially if it is made for pleasure or enjoyment.\nIn Bermuda, Sam’s father took him on an excursion to a coral barrier.\n  N-COUNT\n  = trip\n2. An excursion is a trip or visit to an interesting place, especially one that is arranged or recommended by a holiday company or tourist organization.\nAnother pleasant excursion is Malaga, 18 miles away.\n  N-COUNT\n  = outing\n3. If you describe an activity as an excursion into something, you mean that it is an attempt to develop or understand something new that you have not experienced before.\n...Radio 3’s latest excursion into ethnic music, dance and literature...\n  N-COUNT: usu N into n, oft poss N


Words: excusable
Meaning:
ex.cus.able\n   excusable\n  If you say that someone’s wrong words or actions are excusable, you mean that they can be understood and forgiven.\nI then realised that he had made a simple but excusable historical mistake.\n  ADJ\n  = forgivable


Words: excuse
Meaning:
ex.cuse\n   excuse excuses excusing  excused\nThe noun is pronounced   The verb is pronounced\n1. An excuse is a reason which you give in order to explain why something has been done or has not been done, or in order to avoid doing something.\nIt is easy to find excuses for his indecisiveness...\nOnce I had had a baby I had the perfect excuse to stay at home...\nIf you stop making excuses and do it you’ll wonder what took you so long.\n  N-COUNT: oft N for n/-ing, N to-inf\n  = justification\n  If you say that there is no excuse for something, you are emphasizing that it should not happen, or expressing disapproval that it has happened.\nThere’s no excuse for behaviour like that...\nSolitude was no excuse for sloppiness.\n  PHRASE: v-link PHR, oft PHR for n/-ing  disapproval\n\n2. To excuse someone or excuse their behaviour means to provide reasons for their actions, especially when other people disapprove of these actions.\nHe excused himself by saying he was `forced to rob to maintain my wife and cat’...\nThat doesn’t excuse my mother’s behaviour.\n  VERB: V n by -ing, V n\n  = justify\n3. If you excuse someone for something wrong that they have done, you forgive them for it.\nMany people might have excused them for shirking some of their responsibilities.\n  VERB: V n for n/-ing, also V n, V n n\n  = forgive\n4. If someone is excused from a duty or responsibility, they are told that they do not have to carry it out.\nShe is usually excused from her duties during the school holidays...\nShe was excused duties on Saturday.\n  VERB: usu passive, be V-ed from n/-ing, be V-ed n\n\n5. If you excuse yourself, you use a phrase such as `Excuse me’ as a polite way of saying that you are about to leave.\nHe excused himself and went up to his room.\n  VERB: V pron-refl\n\n6. You say `Excuse me’ when you want to politely get someone’s attention, especially when you are about to ask them a question.\nExcuse me, but are you Mr Honig?\n  CONVENTION  formulae\n\n7. You use excuse me to apologize to someone when you have disturbed or interrupted them.\nExcuse me interrupting, but there’s a thing I feel I’ve got to say.\n  CONVENTION  formulae\n\n8. You use excuse me or a phrase such as if you’ll excuse me as a polite way of indicating that you are about to leave or that you are about to stop talking to someone.\n`Excuse me,’ she said to Jarvis, and left the room...\nNow if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got work to do.\n  CONVENTION  politeness\n\n9. You use excuse me, but to indicate that you are about to disagree with someone. (mainly BRIT)\nExcuse me, but I want to know what all this has to do with us.\n  CONVENTION\n\n10. You say excuse me to apologize when you have bumped into someone, or when you need to move past someone in a crowd.\n  PHRASE  formulae\n  = sorry\n11. You say excuse me to apologize when you have done something slightly embarrassing or impolite, such as burping, hiccupping, or sneezing.\n  CONVENTION  formulae\n\n12. You say `Excuse me?’ to show that you want someone to repeat what they have just said. (AM; in BRIT, usually use pardon, sorry)\n  CONVENTION  formulae


Words: execrable
Meaning:
ex.ecrable\n   execrable\n  If you describe something as execrable, you mean that it is very bad or unpleasant. (FORMAL)\nAccusing us of being disloyal to cover his own sorry behavior is truly execrable.\n...an execrable meal.\n  ADJ\n  = deplorable


Words: execute
Meaning:
ex.ecute\n   execute  executes  executing  executed\n1. To execute someone means to kill them as a punishment for a serious crime.\nHe was executed by lethal injection earlier today...\nOne group claimed to have executed the American hostage...\nThis boy’s father had been executed for conspiring against the throne.\n  VERB: be V-ed, V n, be V-ed for n/-ing\n\n=>  ex.ecu.tion      executions\nExecution by lethal injection is scheduled for July 30th.\n  N-VAR\n\n2. If you execute a plan, you carry it out. (FORMAL)\nWe are going to execute our campaign plan to the letter.\n  VERB: V n\n\n=>  ex.ecu.tion\nUS forces are fully prepared for the execution of any action once the order is given by the president.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n3. If you execute a difficult action or movement, you successfully perform it.\nThe landing was skilfully executed.\n  VERB: V n\n\n4. When someone executes a work of art, they make or produce it, using an idea as a basis.\nMorris executed a suite of twelve drawings in 1978...\nA well-executed shot of a tall ship is a joy to behold.\n  VERB: V n, V-ed\n\n=>  ex.ecu.tion\nThe ideas in the show’s presentation were good, but failed in execution.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: executioner
Meaning:
ex.ecu.tion.er\n   executioner  executioners\n  An executioner is a person who has the job of executing criminals.\n  N-COUNT


Words: executive
Meaning:
ex.ecu.tive\n   executive  executives\n1. An executive is someone who is employed by a business at a senior level. Executives decide what the business should do, and ensure that it is done.\n...an advertising executive.\n...Her husband is a senior bank executive.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. The executive sections and tasks of an organization are concerned with the making of decisions and with ensuring that decisions are carried out.\nA successful job search needs to be as well organised as any other executive task...\nI don’t envisage I will take an executive role, but rather become a consultant on merchandise and marketing.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n3. Executive goods are expensive goods designed or intended for executives and other people at a similar social or economic level.\n...an executive briefcase.\n...executive cars.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n4. The executive committee or board of an organization is a committee within that organization which has the authority to make decisions and ensures that these decisions are carried out.\nHe sits on the executive committee that manages Lloyds...\n...the executive of the National Union of Students.\n  N-SING: the N, N n\n\n5. The executive is the part of the government of a country that is concerned with carrying out decisions or orders, as opposed to the part that makes laws or the part that deals with criminals.\nThe government, the executive and the judiciary are supposed to be separate...\nThe matter should be resolved by the executive branch of government.\n  N-SING: the N, N n


Words: executor
Meaning:
ex.ecu.tor\n   executor  executors\n  An executor is someone whose name you write in your will when you want them to be responsible for dealing with your affairs after your death. (LEGAL)\n  N-COUNT


Words: exegesis
Meaning:
ex.egesis\n   exegesis  exegeses\n  An exegesis is an explanation and interpretation of a piece of writing, especially a religious piece of writing, after very careful study. (FORMAL)\n...the kind of academic exegesis at which Isaacs excels.\n...a substantial exegesis of his work.\n  N-VAR: usu with supp, oft N of n


Words: exemplar
Meaning:
ex.em.plar\n   exemplar  exemplars\n1. An exemplar is someone or something that is considered to be so good that they should be copied or imitated. (FORMAL)\nThey viewed their new building as an exemplar of taste.\n  N-COUNT: oft N of n\n  = example\n2. An exemplar is a typical example of a group or class of things. (FORMAL)\nOne of the wittiest exemplars of the technique was M. C. Escher.\n  N-COUNT: oft N of n


Words: exemplary
Meaning:
ex.em.pla.ry\n   exemplary\n1. If you describe someone or something as exemplary, you think they are extremely good.\nUnderpinning this success has been an exemplary record of innovation.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n2. An exemplary punishment is unusually harsh and is intended to stop other people from committing similar crimes.\nHe demanded exemplary sentences for those behind the violence.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: exemplify
Meaning:
ex.em.pli.fy\n   exemplify  exemplifies  exemplifying  exemplified\n  If a person or thing exemplifies something such as a situation, quality, or class of things, they are a typical example of it. (FORMAL)\nThe room’s style exemplifies Conran’s ideal of `beauty and practicality’.\n  VERB: V n


Words: exempt
Meaning:
ex.empt\n   exempt  exempts  exempting  exempted\n1. If someone or something is exempt from a particular rule, duty, or obligation, they do not have to follow it or do it.\nMen in college were exempt from military service...\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ, usu ADJ from n\n\n2. To exempt a person or thing from a particular rule, duty, or obligation means to state officially that they are not bound or affected by it.\nSouth Carolina claimed the power to exempt its citizens from the obligation to obey federal law...\n  VERB: V n from n\n\n=>  ex.emp.tion      exemptions\n...the exemption of employer-provided health insurance from taxation.\n  N-VAR: oft N from n


Words: exercise
Meaning:
ex.er.cise\n   exercise  exercises  exercising  exercised\n1. If you exercise something such as your authority, your rights, or a good quality, you use it or put it into effect. (FORMAL)\nThey are merely exercising their right to free speech...\nBritain has warned travellers to exercise prudence and care.\n  VERB: V n, V n\n\n  Exercise is also a noun.\n...the exercise of political and economic power...\nLeadership does not rest on the exercise of force alone.\n  N-SING: N of n\n\n2. When you exercise, you move your body energetically in order to get fit and to remain healthy.\nShe exercises two or three times a week...\nExercising the body does a great deal to improve one’s health.\n  VERB: V, V n\n\n  Exercise is also a noun.\nLack of exercise can lead to feelings of depression and exhaustion...\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n3. If a movement or activity exercises a part of your body, it keeps it strong, healthy, or in good condition.\nThey call rowing the perfect sport. It exercises every major muscle group.\n  VERB: V n\n\n4. Exercises are a series of movements or actions which you do in order to get fit, remain healthy, or practise for a particular physical activity.\nI do special neck and shoulder exercises...\n  N-COUNT: usu pl\n\n5. Exercises are military activities and operations which are not part of a real war, but which allow the armed forces to practise for a real war.\nGeneral Powell predicted that in the future it might even be possible to stage joint military exercises...\n  N-COUNT: usu pl, also on N\n\n6. An exercise is a short activity or piece of work that you do, for example in school, which is designed to help you learn a particular skill.\nTry working through the opening exercises in this chapter...\n  N-COUNT\n\n7. If you describe an activity as an exercise in a particular quality or result, you mean that it has that quality or result, especially when it was not intended to have it.\nAs an exercise in stating the obvious, this could scarcely be faulted...\nThink what a waste of taxpayers’ money the whole exercise was.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, usu N in n/-ing\n\n8. If something exercises you or your mind, you think or talk about it a great deal, especially because you are worried or concerned about it.\nThis has been a major problem exercising the minds of scientists around the world...\n  VERB: V n


Words: exercise bike
Meaning:
ex.er.cise bike\n   exercise bike  exercise bikes\n  An exercise bike is a special bicycle which does not move, so that you can exercise on it at home or at a gym.\n  N-COUNT


Words: exercise book
Meaning:
ex.er.cise book\n   exercise book  exercise books\n  An exercise book is a small book that students use for writing in. (mainly BRIT; in AM, usually use notebook)\n  N-COUNT


Words: exert
Meaning:
ex.ert\n   exert  exerts  exerting  exerted\n1. If someone or something exerts influence, authority, or pressure, they use it in a strong or determined way, especially in order to produce a particular effect. (FORMAL)\nHe exerted considerable influence on the thinking of the scientific community on these issues...\n  VERB: V n\n\n2. If you exert yourself, you make a great physical or mental effort, or work hard to do something.\nDo not exert yourself unnecessarily.\n  VERB: V pron-refl\n\n=>  ex.er.tion      exertions\nHe clearly found the physical exertion exhilarating...\n  N-UNCOUNT: also N in pl


Words: exfoliate
Meaning:
ex.fo.li.ate\n   exfoliate  exfoliates  exfoliating  exfoliated\n  To exfoliate your skin means to remove the dead cells from its surface using something such as a brush or a special cream.\nExfoliate your back at least once a week.\n  VERB: V n, also V\n\n=>  ex.fo.li.at.ing\n...a gentle exfoliating cream.\n  ADJ\n\n=>  ex.fo.lia.tion\nThere is little doubt that skin does benefit from exfoliation.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: exhale
Meaning:
ex.hale\n   exhale  exhales  exhaling  exhaled\n  When you exhale, you breathe out the air that is in your lungs. (FORMAL)\nHold your breath for a moment and exhale...\nWade exhaled a cloud of smoke and coughed.\n  VERB: V, V n\n  = breathe out  !=inhale\n=>  ex.ha.la.tion      exhalations\nMilton let out his breath in a long exhalation.\n  N-VAR


Words: exhaust
Meaning:
ex.haust\n   exhaust  exhausts  exhausting  exhausted\n1. If something exhausts you, it makes you so tired, either physically or mentally, that you have no energy left.\nDon’t exhaust him...\n  VERB: V n\n\n=>  ex.haust.ed\nShe was too exhausted and distressed to talk about the tragedy.\n  ADJ\n  = worn out\n=>  ex.haust.ing\nIt was an exhausting schedule she had set herself.\n  ADJ\n  = gruelling\n2. If you exhaust something such as money or food, you use or finish it all.\nWe have exhausted all our material resources...\nThey said that food supplies were almost exhausted.\n  VERB: V n, V-ed\n\n3. If you have exhausted a subject or topic, you have talked about it so much that there is nothing more to say about it.\nShe and Chantal must have exhausted the subject of babies and clothes.\n  VERB: V n\n\n4. The exhaust or the exhaust pipe is the pipe which carries the gas out of the engine of a vehicle. (mainly BRIT)\n  N-COUNT\n\n5. Exhaust is the gas or steam that is produced when the engine of a vehicle is running.\n...the exhaust from a car engine...\nThe city’s streets are filthy and choked with exhaust fumes.\n  N-UNCOUNT: also N in pl


Words: exhaustion
Meaning:
ex.haus.tion\n   exhaustion\n  Exhaustion is the state of being so tired that you have no energy left.\nStaff say he is suffering from exhaustion.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: exhaustive
Meaning:
ex.haus.tive\n   exhaustive\n  If you describe a study, search, or list as exhaustive, you mean that it is very thorough and complete.\nThis is by no means an exhaustive list but it gives an indication of the many projects taking place...\n  ADJ\n  = comprehensive\n=>  ex.haust.ive.ly\nHawley said these costs were scrutinised exhaustively by independent accountants.\n  ADV: usu ADV with v, also ADV adj


Words: exhibit
Meaning:
ex.hib.it\n   exhibit  exhibits  exhibiting  exhibited\n1. If someone or something shows a particular quality, feeling, or type of behaviour, you can say that they exhibit it. (FORMAL)\nHe has exhibited symptoms of anxiety and overwhelming worry...\n  VERB: V n\n  = show\n2. When a painting, sculpture, or object of interest is exhibited, it is put in a public place such as a museum or art gallery so that people can come to look at it. You can also say that animals are exhibited in a zoo.\nHis work was exhibited in the best galleries in America, Europe and Asia.\n  VERB: usu passive, be V-ed\n\n=>  ex.hi.bi.tion\nFive large pieces of the wall are currently on exhibition in London.\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu for/on N\n\n3. When artists exhibit, they show their work in public.\nBy 1936 she was exhibiting at the Royal Academy.\n  VERB: V\n\n4. An exhibit is a painting, sculpture, or object of interest that is displayed to the public in a museum or art gallery.\nShona showed me round the exhibits.\n  N-COUNT\n\n5. An exhibit is a public display of paintings, sculpture, or objects of interest, for example in a museum or art gallery. (AM; in BRIT, use exhibition)\n...an exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.\n  N-COUNT\n\n6. An exhibit is an object that a lawyer shows in court as evidence in a legal case.\n  N-COUNT


Words: exhibition
Meaning:
ex.hi.bi.tion\n   exhibition  exhibitions\n1. An exhibition is a public event at which pictures, sculptures, or other objects of interest are displayed, for example at a museum or art gallery.\n...an exhibition of expressionist art.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. An exhibition of a particular skilful activity is a display or example of it that people notice or admire.\nHe responded in champion’s style by treating the fans to an exhibition of power and speed.\n  N-SING: N of n\n  = display\n3.\n  see also exhibit


Words: exhibitionism
Meaning:
ex.hi.bi.tion.ism\n   exhibitionism\n  Exhibitionism is behaviour that tries to get people’s attention all the time, and especially behaviour that most people think is silly.\nThere is an element of exhibitionism in the parents’ performance too.\n  N-UNCOUNT  disapproval


Words: exhibitionist
Meaning:
ex.hi.bi.tion.ist\n   exhibitionist  exhibitionists\n  An exhibitionist is someone who tries to get people’s attention all the time by behaving in a way that most people think is silly.\n  N-COUNT  disapproval


Words: exhibitor
Meaning:
ex.hibi.tor\n   exhibitor  exhibitors\n  An exhibitor is a person whose work is being shown in an exhibition.\nSchedules will be sent out to all exhibitors.\n  N-COUNT


Words: exhilarated
Meaning:
ex.hila.rat.ed\n   exhilarated\n  If you are exhilarated by something, it makes you feel very happy and excited. (FORMAL)\nHe felt strangely exhilarated by the brisk, blue morning...\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ


Words: exhilarating
Meaning:
ex.hil.arat.ing\n   exhilarating\n  If you describe an experience or feeling as exhilarating, you mean that it makes you feel very happy and excited.\nIt was exhilarating to be on the road again and his spirits rose.\n...in the exhilarating days of German unification.\n  ADJ


Words: exhilaration
Meaning:
ex.hila.ra.tion\n   exhilaration\n  Exhilaration is a strong feeling of excitement and happiness.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: exhort
Meaning:
ex.hort\n   exhort  exhorts  exhorting  exhorted\n  If you exhort someone to do something, you try hard to persuade or encourage them to do it. (FORMAL)\nKennedy exhorted his listeners to turn away from violence...\nHe exhorted his companions, `Try to accomplish your aim with diligence’.\n  VERB: V n to-inf, V n with quote\n  = urge\n=>  ex.hor.ta.tion      exhortations\nForeign funds alone are clearly not enough, nor are exhortations to reform.\n  N-VAR


Words: exhume
Meaning:
ex.hume\n   exhume  exhumes  exhuming  exhumed\n  If a dead person’s body is exhumed, it is taken out of the ground where it is buried, especially so that it can be examined in order to find out how the person died. (FORMAL)\nHis remains have been exhumed from a cemetery in Queen’s, New York City.\n  VERB: usu passive, be V-ed\n\n=>  ex.hu.ma.tion      exhumations\nDetectives ordered the exhumation when his wife said she believed he had been killed.\n  N-VAR


Words: exigency
Meaning:
exi.gen.cy\n   exigency  exigencies\n  The exigencies of a situation or a job are the demands or difficulties that you have to deal with as part of it. (FORMAL)\n...the exigencies of a wartime economy.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl, usu N of n


Words: exile
Meaning:
ex.ile\n   exile  exiles  exiling  exiled\n1. If someone is living in exile, they are living in a foreign country because they cannot live in their own country, usually for political reasons.\nHe is now living in exile in Egypt...\nHe returned from exile earlier this year.\n...after nearly six years of exile...\nDuring his exile, he also began writing books.\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu prep N\n\n2. If someone is exiled, they are living in a foreign country because they cannot live in their own country, usually for political reasons.\nHis second wife, Hilary, had been widowed, then exiled from South Africa...\nThey threatened to exile her in southern Spain.\n...Haiti’s exiled president.\n  VERB: be V-ed from n, V n, V-ed\n\n3. An exile is someone who has been exiled.\n  N-COUNT\n\n4. If you say that someone has been exiled from a particular place or situation, you mean that they have been sent away from it or removed from it against their will.\nHe has been exiled from the first team and forced to play in third team matches...\n  VERB: usu passive, be V-ed from n\n  = banish\n  Exile is also a noun.\nRovers lost 4-1 and began their long exile from the First Division.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N from n


Words: exist
Meaning:
ex.ist\n   exist  exists  existing  existed\n1. If something exists, it is present in the world as a real thing.\nHe thought that if he couldn’t see something, it didn’t exist...\nResearch opportunities exist in a wide range of pure and applied areas of entomology...\n  VERB: no cont, V, V\n\n2. To exist means to live, especially under difficult conditions or with very little food or money.\nI was barely existing.\n...the problems of having to exist on unemployment benefit.\n  VERB: V, V on n


Words: existence
Meaning:
ex.ist.ence\n   existence  existences\n1. The existence of something is the fact that it is present in the world as a real thing.\n...the existence of other galaxies...\nThe Congress of People’s Deputies in effect voted itself out of existence...\nPublic worries about accidents are threatening the very existence of the nuclear power industry.\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu with supp\n\n2. You can refer to someone’s way of life as an existence, especially when they live under difficult conditions.\nYou may be stuck with a miserable existence for the rest of your life...\n  N-COUNT: with supp


Words: existent
Meaning:
ex.ist.ent\n   existent\n  You can describe something as existent when it exists. (FORMAL)\nTheir remedy lay within the range of existent technology.\n  ADJ\n  = existing\n  see also non-existent


Words: existential
Meaning:
ex.is.ten.tial\n   existential\n1. Existential means relating to human existence and experience. (FORMAL)\nExistential questions requiring religious answers still persist.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n2. You use existential to describe fear, anxiety, and other feelings that are caused by thinking about human existence and death. (FORMAL)\n`What if there’s nothing left at all?’ he cries, lost in some intense existential angst.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: existentialism
Meaning:
ex.is.ten.tial.ism\n   existentialism\n  Existentialism is a philosophy which stresses the importance of human experience, and says that everyone is responsible for the results of their own actions. (TECHNICAL)\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: existentialist
Meaning:
ex.is.ten.tial.ist\n   existentialist  existentialists\n1. An existentialist is a person who agrees with the philosophy of existentialism.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If you describe a person or their philosophy as existentialist, you mean that their beliefs are based on existentialism.\n...existentialist theories.\n  ADJ


Words: existing
Meaning:
ex.ist.ing\n   existing\n  Existing is used to describe something which is now present, available, or in operation, especially when you are contrasting it with something which is planned for the future.\n...the need to improve existing products and develop new lines...\nExisting timbers are replaced or renewed...\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: exit
Meaning:
exit  exits  exiting  exited\n1. The exit is the door through which you can leave a public building.\nHe picked up the case and walked towards the exit...\nThere’s a fire exit by the downstairs ladies room.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. An exit on a motorway or highway is a place where traffic can leave it.\nTake the A422 exit at Old Stratford.\n  N-COUNT: with supp\n\n3. If you refer to someone’s exit, you are referring to the way that they left a room or building, or the fact that they left it. (FORMAL)\nI made a hasty exit and managed to open the gate.\n  N-COUNT: usu adj N\n  = departure\n4. If you refer to someone’s exit, you are referring to the way that they left a situation or activity, or the fact that they left it. (FORMAL)\n...after England’s exit from the European Championship...\nThey suggested that she make a dignified exit in the interest of the party.\n  N-COUNT: oft N from n\n  = departure\n5. If you exit from a room or building, you leave it. (FORMAL)\nShe exits into the tropical storm...\nAs I exited the final display, I entered a hexagonal room...\nShe walked into the front door of a store and exited from the rear.\n  VERB: V, V n, V from n\n\n6. If you exit a computer program or system, you stop running it. (COMPUTING)\nI can open other applications without having to exit WordPerfect.\n  VERB: V n\n\n  Exit is also a noun.\nPress Exit to return to your document.\n  N-SING


Words: exit visa
Meaning:
exit visa  exit visas\n  An exit visa is an official stamp in someone’s passport, or an official document, which allows them to leave the country that they are visiting or living in.\n  N-COUNT


Words: exodus
Meaning:
exo.dus\n   exodus\n  If there is an exodus of people from a place, a lot of people leave that place at the same time.\nThe medical system is facing collapse because of an exodus of doctors.\n  N-SING: oft N of n


Words: exonerate
Meaning:
ex.on.er.ate\n   exonerate  exonerates  exonerating  exonerated\n  If a court, report, or person in authority exonerates someone, they officially say or show that that person is not responsible for something wrong or unpleasant that has happened. (FORMAL)\nThe official report basically exonerated everyone...\nAn investigation exonerated the school from any blame.\n  VERB: V n, V n from n\n\n=>  ex.on.era.tion\nThey expected complete exoneration for their clients.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: exorbitant
Meaning:
ex.or.bi.tant\n   exorbitant\n  If you describe something such as a price or fee as exorbitant, you are emphasizing that it is much greater than it should be.\nExorbitant housing prices have created an acute shortage of affordable housing for the poor.\n  ADJ  emphasis\n  = excessive\n=>  ex.or.bi.tant.ly\n...exorbitantly high salaries.\n  ADV


Words: exorcism
Meaning:
ex.or.cism\n   exorcism  exorcisms\n  Exorcism is the removing of evil spirits from a person or place by the use of prayer.\nThe exorcism was broadcast on television.\n  N-VAR


Words: exorcize
Meaning:
ex.or.cize\n   exorcize  exorcizes  exorcizing  exorcized\nin BRIT, also use exorcise\n1. If you exorcize a painful or unhappy memory, you succeed in removing it from your mind.\nHe confronted his childhood trauma and tried to exorcise the pain...\n  VERB: V n\n\n2. To exorcize an evil spirit or to exorcize a place or person means to force the spirit to leave the place or person by means of prayers and religious ceremonies.\nThey came to our house and exorcised me...\n  VERB: V n


Words: exotic
Meaning:
ex.ot.ic\n   exotic\n  Something that is exotic is unusual and interesting, usually because it comes from or is related to a distant country.\n...brilliantly coloured, exotic flowers...\nShe flits from one exotic location to another.\n  ADJ\n\n=>  ex.oti.cal.ly\n...exotically beautiful scenery.\n  ADV


Words: exotica
Meaning:
ex.oti.ca\n   exotica\n  You use exotica to refer to objects which you think are unusual and interesting, usually because they come from or are related to a distant country.\n  N-PLURAL


Words: exoticism
Meaning:
ex.oti.cism\n   exoticism\n  Exoticism is the quality of seeming unusual or interesting, usually because of associations with a distant country.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: expand
Meaning:
ex.pand\n   expand  expands  expanding  expanded\n1. If something expands or is expanded, it becomes larger.\nEngineers noticed that the pipes were not expanding as expected...\nWe have to expand the size of the image.\n...a rapidly expanding universe.\n...strips of expanded polystyrene.\n  VERB: V, V n, V-ing, V-ed\n\n2. If something such as a business, organization, or service expands, or if you expand it, it becomes bigger and includes more people, goods, or activities. (BUSINESS)\nThe popular ceramics industry expanded towards the middle of the 19th century...\nHealth officials are proposing to expand their services by organising counselling.\n  VERB: V, V n


Words: expand on
Meaning:
expand on   or expand upon\n  If you expand on or expand upon something, you give more information or details about it when you write or talk about it.\nThe president used today’s speech to expand on remarks he made last month.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n


Words: expanse
Meaning:
ex.panse\n   expanse  expanses\n  An expanse of something, usually sea, sky, or land, is a very large amount of it.\n...a vast expanse of grassland.\n  N-COUNT: usu N of n


Words: expansion
Meaning:
ex.pan.sion\n   expansion  expansions\n  Expansion is the process of becoming greater in size, number, or amount.\n...the rapid expansion of private health insurance.\n...a new period of economic expansion...\n  N-VAR: oft N of n\n  = growth


Words: expansionary
Meaning:
ex.pan.sion.ary\n   expansionary\n1. Expansionary economic policies are intended to expand the economy of a country.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n2. Expansionary policies or actions are intended to increase the amount of land that a particular country rules.\n...America’s concerns about Soviet expansionary objectives.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n  disapproval


Words: expansionism
Meaning:
ex.pan.sion.ism\n   expansionism\n  If you refer to a country’s expansionism, you disapprove of its policy of increasing its land or power.\nSoviet expansionism was considered a real threat.\n  N-UNCOUNT  disapproval


Words: expansionist
Meaning:
ex.pan.sion.ist\n   expansionist\n  If you describe a country or organization as expansionist, you disapprove of it because it has a policy of increasing its land or power.\n...the intended victim of his expansionist foreign policy.\n  ADJ  disapproval


Words: expansive
Meaning:
ex.pan.sive\n   expansive\n1. If something is expansive, it covers or includes a large area or many things. (FORMAL)\n...an expansive grassy play area...\nThey have played an expansive style of rugby.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n2. If you are expansive, you talk a lot, or are friendly or generous, because you are feeling happy and relaxed.\nHe was becoming more expansive as he relaxed...\n  ADJ\n\n=>  ex.pan.sive.ly\n`I’m here to make them feel good,’ he says expansively.\n  ADV: usu ADV with v\n\n3. If you describe something such as a period of time or an economy as expansive, you mean that it is associated with growth or expansion.\nAn active and expansive market economy is a necessary condition for progress.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: expatriate
Meaning:
ex.pat.ri.ate\n   expatriate   expatriates\n  An expatriate is someone who is living in a country which is not their own.\n...British expatriates in Spain.\n  N-COUNT\n\n  Expatriate is also an adjective.\nThe French military is preparing to evacuate women and children of expatriate families.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: expect
Meaning:
ex.pect\n   expect  expects  expecting  expected\n1. If you expect something to happen, you believe that it will happen.\n...a council workman who expects to lose his job in the next few weeks...\nThe talks are expected to continue until tomorrow...\nFew expected that he would declare his candidacy for the Democratic nomination for the presidency...\nIt is expected that the new owner will change the yacht’s name...\nThey expect a gradual improvement in sales of new cars.\n  VERB: V to-inf, V n to-inf, V that, it be V-ed that, V n\n\n2. If you are expecting something or someone, you believe that they will be delivered to you or come to you soon, often because this has been arranged earlier.\nI wasn’t expecting a visitor...\nWe were expecting him home again any day now.\n  VERB: usu cont, V n, V adv n\n\n3. If you expect something, or expect a person to do something, you believe that it is your right to have that thing, or the person’s duty to do it for you.\nHe wasn’t expecting our hospitality...\nI do expect to have some time to myself in the evenings...\nI wasn’t expecting you to help...\nIs this a rational thing to expect of your partner, or not?...\nShe realizes now she expected too much of Helen.\n  VERB: V n, V to-inf, V n to-inf, V n of n, V amount of n\n\n4. If you tell someone not to expect something, you mean that the thing is unlikely to happen as they have planned or imagined, and they should not hope that it will.\nDon’t expect an instant cure...\nYou cannot expect to like all the people you will work with...\nDon’t expect me to come and visit you there.\n  VERB: with brd-neg, V n, V to-inf, V n to-inf\n\n5. If you say that a woman is expecting a baby, or that she is expecting, you mean that she is pregnant.\nShe was expecting another baby...\nI hear Dawn’s expecting again.\n  VERB: only cont, V n, V\n\n6. You say `I expect’ to suggest that a statement is probably correct, or a natural consequence of the present situation, although you have no definite knowledge. (SPOKEN)\nI expect you can guess what follows...\nI expect you’re tired...\n`Will Joe be here at Christmas?’.`I expect so.’...\n  PHRASE: PHR that, PHR soot


Words: expectancy
Meaning:
ex.pec.tan.cy\n   expectancy\n  Expectancy is the feeling or hope that something exciting, interesting, or good is about to happen.\nThe supporters had a tremendous air of expectancy.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n  = anticipation\n  see also life expectancy


Words: expectant
Meaning:
ex.pec.tant\n   expectant\n1. If someone is expectant, they are excited because they think something interesting is about to happen.\nAn expectant crowd gathered...\nShe turned to me with an expectant look on her face.\n  ADJ\n\n=>  ex.pect.ant.ly\nThe others waited, looking at him expectantly.\n  ADV: ADV after v\n\n2. An expectant mother or father is someone whose baby is going to be born soon.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: expectation
Meaning:
ex.pec.ta.tion\n   expectation  expectations\n1. Your expectations are your strong hopes or beliefs that something will happen or that you will get something that you want.\nStudents’ expectations were as varied as their expertise...\nThe car has been General Motors’ most visible success story, with sales far exceeding expectations...\n  N-UNCOUNT: also N in pl\n\n2. A person’s expectations are strong beliefs which they have about the proper way someone should behave or something should happen.\nStephen Chase had determined to live up to the expectations of the Company.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl


Words: expectorant
Meaning:
ex.pec.to.rant\n   expectorant  expectorants\n  An expectorant is a cough medicine that helps you to cough up mucus from your lungs. (MEDICAL)\n  N-COUNT


Words: expediency
Meaning:
ex.pedi.en.cy\n   expediency\n  Expediency means doing what is convenient rather than what is morally right. (FORMAL)\nThis was a matter less of morals than of expediency.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n  = convenience


Words: expedient
Meaning:
ex.pedi.ent\n   expedient  expedients\n1. An expedient is an action that achieves a particular purpose, but may not be morally right.\nSurgical waiting lists were reduced by the simple expedient of striking off all patients awaiting varicose vein operations...\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, oft N of -ing\n\n2. If it is expedient to do something, it is useful or convenient to do it, even though it may not be morally right.\nGovernments frequently ignore human rights abuses in other countries if it is politically expedient to do so.\n  ADJ: oft it v-link ADJ to-inf


Words: expedite
Meaning:
ex.pedite\n   expedite  expedites  expediting  expedited\n  If you expedite something, you cause it to be done more quickly. (FORMAL)\nWe tried to help you expedite your plans.\n  VERB: V n\n  = speed up


Words: expedition
Meaning:
ex.pedi.tion\n   expedition  expeditions\n1. An expedition is an organized journey that is made for a particular purpose such as exploration.\n...Byrd’s 1928 expedition to Antarctica.\n  N-COUNT: oft N to n\n\n2. You can refer to a group of people who are going on an expedition as an expedition.\nForty-three members of the expedition were killed.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. An expedition is a short journey or trip that you make for pleasure.\n...a fishing expedition.\n  N-COUNT\n  = trip


Words: expeditionary force
Meaning:
ex.pedi.tion.ary force\n   expeditionary force  expeditionary forces\n  An expeditionary force is a group of soldiers who are sent to fight in a foreign country. (MILITARY)\n  N-COUNT


Words: expeditious
Meaning:
ex.pedi.tious\n   expeditious\n  Expeditious means quick and efficient. (FORMAL)\nThe judge said that arbitration was a fair and expeditious decision-making process.\n  ADJ\n\n=>  ex.pedi.tious.ly\nThe matter has certainly been handled expeditiously by the authorities.\n  ADV: ADV with v


Words: expel
Meaning:
ex.pel\n   expel  expels  expelling  expelled\n1. If someone is expelled from a school or organization, they are officially told to leave because they have behaved badly.\nMore than five-thousand secondary school students have been expelled for cheating.\n...a boy expelled from school for making death threats to his teacher.\n  VERB: usu passive, be V-ed, V-ed\n\n2. If people are expelled from a place, they are made to leave it, often by force.\nAn American academic was expelled from the country yesterday...\nThey were told at first that they should simply expel the refugees.\n  VERB: be V-ed, V n\n\n3. To expel something means to force it out from a container or from your body.\nAs the lungs exhale this waste, gas is expelled into the atmosphere.\n  VERB: V n


Words: expend
Meaning:
ex.pend\n   expend  expends  expending  expended\n  To expend something, especially energy, time, or money, means to use it or spend it. (FORMAL)\nChildren expend a lot of energy and may need more high-energy food than adults.\n  VERB: V n


Words: expendable
Meaning:
ex.pend.able\n   expendable\n  If you regard someone or something as expendable, you think it is acceptable to get rid of them, abandon them, or allow them to be destroyed when they are no longer needed. (FORMAL)\nOnce our services cease to be useful to them, we’re expendable...\nDuring the recession, training budgets were seen as an expendable luxury.\n  ADJ


Words: expenditure
Meaning:
ex.pendi.ture\n   expenditure  expenditures\n1. Expenditure is the spending of money on something, or the money that is spent on something. (FORMAL)\nPolicies of tax reduction must lead to reduced public expenditure...\nThey should cut their expenditure on defence...\n  N-VAR\n\n2. Expenditure of something such as time or energy is the using of that thing for a particular purpose. (FORMAL)\nThe financial rewards justified the expenditure of effort.\n  N-UNCOUNT: N of n


Words: expense
Meaning:
ex.pense\n   expense  expenses\n1. Expense is the money that something costs you or that you need to spend in order to do something.\nHe’s bought a specially big TV at vast expense so that everyone can see properly...\nIt was not a fortune but would help to cover household expenses.\n  N-VAR\n\n2. Expenses are amounts of money that you spend while doing something in the course of your work, which will be paid back to you afterwards. (BUSINESS)\nAs a member of the International Olympic Committee her fares and hotel expenses were paid by the IOC...\nCan you claim this back on expenses?\n  N-PLURAL: oft poss N\n\n3. If you do something at someone’s expense, they provide the money for it.\nShould architects continue to be trained for five years at public expense?...\n  PHRASE: PHR after v\n\n4. If someone laughs or makes a joke at your expense, they do it to make you seem foolish.\nI think he’s having fun at our expense.\n  PHRASE: PHR after v\n\n5. If you achieve something at the expense of someone, you do it in a way which might cause them some harm or disadvantage.\nAccording to this study, women have made notable gains at the expense of men.\n  PHRASE: PHR after v, PHR n\n\n6. If you say that someone does something at the expense of another thing, you are expressing concern at the fact that they are not doing the second thing, because the first thing uses all their resources.\nThe orchestra has more discipline now, but at the expense of spirit.\n  PHRASE: PHR after v, PHR n  disapproval\n\n7. If you go to the expense of doing something, you do something which costs a lot of money. If you go to great expense to do something, you spend a lot of money in order to achieve it.\nWhy go to the expense of buying an electric saw when you can hire one?...\n  PHRASE: V inflects, oft PHR of -ing, PHR to-inf


Words: expense account
Meaning:
ex.pense ac.count\n   expense account  expense accounts\n  An expense account is an arrangement between an employer and an employee which allows the employee to spend the company’s money on things relating to their job, for example travelling or looking after clients. (BUSINESS)\nHe put Elizabeth’s motel bill and airfare on his expense account.\n...expense account lunches.\n  N-COUNT


Words: expensive
Meaning:
ex.pen.sive\n   expensive\n  If something is expensive, it costs a lot of money.\nWine’s so expensive in this country...\nI get very nervous because I’m using a lot of expensive equipment.\n  ADJ\n  = costly  !=inexpensive\n=>  ex.pen.sive.ly\nShe was expensively dressed, with fine furs and jewels...\n  ADV: ADV -ed, ADV after v\n  !=cheaply


Words: experience
Meaning:
ex.peri.ence\n   experience  experiences  experiencing  experienced\n1. Experience is knowledge or skill in a particular job or activity, which you have gained because you have done that job or activity for a long time.\nHe has also had managerial experience on every level...\nHe’s counting on his mother to take care of the twins for him; she’s had plenty of experience with them.\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu with supp\n\n  see also work experience\n2. Experience is used to refer to the past events, knowledge, and feelings that make up someone’s life or character.\nI should not be in any danger here, but experience has taught me caution...\nShe had learned from experience to take little rests in between her daily routine...\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n3. An experience is something that you do or that happens to you, especially something important that affects you.\nHis only experience of gardening so far proved immensely satisfying...\nMany of his clients are unbelievably nervous, usually because of a bad experience in the past.\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp\n\n4. If you experience a particular situation, you are in that situation or it happens to you.\nWe had never experienced this kind of holiday before and had no idea what to expect...\n  VERB: V n\n\n5. If you experience a feeling, you feel it or are affected by it.\nWidows seem to experience more distress than do widowers.\n  VERB: V n\n\n  Experience is also a noun.\n...the experience of pain.\n  N-SING: the N of n


Words: experienced
Meaning:
ex.pe.ri.enced\n   experienced\n  If you describe someone as experienced, you mean that they have been doing a particular job or activity for a long time, and therefore know a lot about it or are very skilful at it.\n...lawyers who are experienced in these matters...\nIt’s a team packed with experienced and mature professionals...\n  ADJ: oft ADJ in n/-ing


Words: experiential
Meaning:
ex.peri.en.tial\n   experiential\n  Experiential means relating to or resulting from experience. (FORMAL)\nLearning has got to be active and experiential.\n  ADJ


Words: experiment
Meaning:
ex.peri.ment\n   experiment experiments experimenting  experimented\nThe noun is pronounced   The verb is pronounced\n1. An experiment is a scientific test which is done in order to discover what happens to something in particular conditions.\nThe astronauts are conducting a series of experiments to learn more about how the body adapts to weightlessness...\nThis question can be answered only by experiment.\n  N-VAR\n\n2. If you experiment with something or experiment on it, you do a scientific test on it in order to discover what happens to it in particular conditions.\nIn 1857 Mendel started experimenting with peas in his monastery garden...\nThe scientists have already experimented at each other’s test sites.\n  VERB: V with/on n, V\n\n=>  ex.peri.men.ta.tion\n...the ethical aspects of animal experimentation.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n=>  ex.peri.ment.er      experimenters\nWhen the experimenters repeated the tests on themselves, they observed an exactly opposite effect.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. An experiment is the trying out of a new idea or method in order to see what it is like and what effects it has.\nAs an experiment, we bought Ted a watch.\n  N-VAR\n\n4. To experiment means to try out a new idea or method to see what it is like and what effects it has.\n...if you like cooking and have the time to experiment...\nHe believes that students should be encouraged to experiment with bold ideas.\n  VERB: V, V with n\n\n=>  ex.peri.men.ta.tion\nDecentralization and experimentation must be encouraged...\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: experimental
Meaning:
ex.peri.men.tal\n   experimental\n1. Something that is experimental is new or uses new ideas or methods, and might be modified later if it is unsuccessful.\n...an experimental air conditioning system...\nThe technique is experimental, but the list of its practitioners is growing.\n  ADJ\n\n2. Experimental means using, used in, or resulting from scientific experiments.\n...the main techniques of experimental science.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n=>  ex.peri.men.tal.ly\n...an ecology laboratory, where communities of species can be studied experimentally under controlled conditions.\n  ADV: ADV with v\n\n3. An experimental action is done in order to see what it is like, or what effects it has.\nThe British Sports Minister is reported to be ready to argue for an experimental lifting of the ban.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n=>  ex.peri.men.tal.ly\nThis system is being tried out experimentally at many universities...\n  ADV: ADV with v


Words: expert
Meaning:
ex.pert\n   expert  experts\n1. An expert is a person who is very skilled at doing something or who knows a lot about a particular subject.\n...a yoga expert.\n...an expert on trade in that area.\n  N-COUNT: oft n N, N on n\n  = specialist\n2. Someone who is expert at doing something is very skilled at it.\nThe Japanese are expert at lowering manufacturing costs...\n  ADJ: oft ADJ at -ing\n  = skilled\n=>  ex.pert.ly\nShopkeepers expertly rolled spices up in bay leaves.\n  ADV: ADV with v\n\n3. If you say that someone has expert hands or an expert eye, you mean that they are very skilful or experienced in using their hands or eyes for a particular purpose.\nWhen the horse suffered a back injury Harvey cured it with his own expert hands...\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n4. Expert advice or help is given by someone who has studied a subject thoroughly or who is very skilled at a particular job.\nWe’ll need an expert opinion...\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: expertise
Meaning:
ex.per.tise\n   expertise\n  Expertise is special skill or knowledge that is acquired by training, study, or practice.\nThe problem is that most local authorities lack the expertise to deal sensibly in this market.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: expiate
Meaning:
ex.pi.ate\n   expiate  expiates  expiating  expiated\n  If you expiate guilty feelings or bad behaviour, you do something to indicate that you are sorry for what you have done. (FORMAL)\nIt seemed that Alice was expiating her father’s sins with her charity work.\n  VERB: V n, also V for n\n\n=>  ex.pia.tion\n...an often painful process of evaluation and expiation.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: expiration
Meaning:
ex.pi.ra.tion\n   expiration\n  The expiration of a fixed period of time is its ending. (FORMAL)\n...a few hours before the expiration of the midnight deadline.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft the N of n


Words: expire
Meaning:
ex.pire\n   expire  expires  expiring  expired\n  When something such as a contract, deadline, or visa expires, it comes to an end or is no longer valid.\nHe had lived illegally in the United States for five years after his visitor’s visa expired.\n  VERB: V\n  = run out


Words: expiry
Meaning:
ex.pi.ry\n   expiry\n  The expiry of something such as a contract, deadline, or visa is the time that it comes to an end or stops being valid.\n...the expiry of a fixed term contract...\nMake a note of credit card numbers and check expiry dates.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N of n, N n


Words: explain
Meaning:
ex.plain\n   explain  explains  explaining  explained\n1. If you explain something, you give details about it or describe it so that it can be understood.\nNot every judge, however, has the ability to explain the law in simple terms...\nDon’t sign anything until your solicitor has explained the contract to you...\nProfessor Griffiths explained how the drug appears to work...\n`He and Mrs Stein have a plan,’ she explained...\nI explained that each person has different ideas of what freedom is.\n  VERB: V n, V n to n, V wh, V with quote, V that, also V, V to n that/wh\n\n2. If you explain something that has happened, you give people reasons for it, especially in an attempt to justify it.\n`Let me explain, sir.’.`Don’t tell me about it. I don’t want to know.’...\nBefore she ran away, she left a note explaining her actions...\nHospital discipline was broken. Amy would have to explain herself...\nExplain why you didn’t telephone...\nThe receptionist apologized for the delay, explaining that it had been a hectic day.\n  VERB: V, V n, V pron-refl, V wh, V that, also V n to n, V with quote


Words: explain away
Meaning:
explain away\n  If someone explains away a mistake or a bad situation they are responsible for, they try to indicate that it is unimportant or that it is not really their fault.\nHe evaded her questions about the war and tried to explain away the atrocities...\nI had noticed blood on my husband’s clothing but he explained it away.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), V n P


Words: explanation
Meaning:
ex.pla.na.tion\n   explanation  explanations\n1. If you give an explanation of something that has happened, you give people reasons for it, especially in an attempt to justify it.\nShe told the court she would give a full explanation of the prosecution’s decision on Monday...\n`It’s my ulcer,’ he added by way of explanation.\n  N-COUNT: also of/in N\n\n2. If you say there is an explanation for something, you mean that there is a reason for it.\nThe deputy airport manager said there was no apparent explanation for the crash...\nIt’s the only explanation I can think of.\n  N-COUNT: oft N for n\n  = reason\n3. If you give an explanation of something, you give details about it or describe it so that it can be understood.\nHaig was immediately impressed by Charteris’s expertise and by his lucid explanation of the work.\n  N-COUNT: oft N of n


Words: explanatory
Meaning:
ex.plana.tory\n   explanatory\n  Explanatory statements or theories are intended to make people understand something by describing it or giving the reasons for it. (FORMAL)\nThese statements are accompanied by a series of explanatory notes...\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: expletive
Meaning:
ex.pletive\n   expletive  expletives\n  An expletive is a rude word or expression such as `Damn!’ which you say when you are annoyed, excited, or in pain. (FORMAL)\n  N-COUNT\n  = swear word


Words: explicable
Meaning:
ex.pli.cable\n   explicable\n  If something is explicable, it can be explained and understood because it is logical or sensible. (FORMAL)\nThe older I grow, the stranger and less explicable the world appears to me.\n  ADJ


Words: explicate
Meaning:
ex.pli.cate\n   explicate  explicates  explicating  explicated\n  To explicate something means to explain it and make it clear. (FORMAL)\nWe shall have to explicate its basic assumptions before we can assess its implications.\n  VERB: V n\n\n=>  ex.pli.ca.tion      explications\nThe jury listened to his impassioned explication of article 306...\nMcKen criticises the lack of explication of what the term `areas’ means.\n  N-VAR


Words: explicit
Meaning:
ex.plic.it\n   explicit\n1. Something that is explicit is expressed or shown clearly and openly, without any attempt to hide anything.\n...sexually explicit scenes in films and books.\n...explicit references to age in recruitment advertising.\n  ADJ\n  = overt  !=implicit\n=>  ex.plic.it.ly\nThe play was the first commercially successful work dealing explicitly with homosexuality...\n  ADV: ADV with v, ADV adj\n  = overtly\n=>  ex.plic.it.ness\nWhen the book was published, the energy and explicitness caught the popular imagination.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. If you are explicit about something, you speak about it very openly and clearly.\nHe was explicit about his intention to overhaul the party’s internal voting system.\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ, oft ADJ about n\n\n=>  ex.plic.it.ly\nShe has been talking very explicitly about AIDS to these groups.\n  ADV: ADV with v


Words: explode
Meaning:
ex.plode\n   explode  explodes  exploding  exploded\n1. If an object such as a bomb explodes or if someone or something explodes it, it bursts loudly and with great force, often causing damage or injury.\nThey were clearing up when the second bomb exploded...\nA school bus was hit by gunfire which exploded the fuel tank.\n  VERB: V, V n\n\n2. If someone explodes, they express strong feelings suddenly and violently.\nDo you fear that you’ll burst into tears or explode with anger in front of her?...\n`What happened!’ I exploded...\nGeorge caught the look and decided that Bess had better leave before she exploded.\n  VERB: V with n, V with quote, V\n\n3. If something explodes, it increases suddenly and rapidly in number or intensity.\nThe population explodes to 40,000 during the tourist season...\nInvestment by Japanese firms has exploded.\n  VERB: V to n, V\n\n4. If someone explodes a theory or myth, they prove that it is wrong or impossible.\nElectricity privatisation has exploded the myth of cheap nuclear power...\n  VERB: V n


Words: exploit
Meaning:
ex.ploit\n   exploit exploits exploiting  exploited\nThe verb is pronounced   The noun is pronounced\n1. If you say that someone is exploiting you, you think that they are treating you unfairly by using your work or ideas and giving you very little in return.\nCritics claim he exploited black musicians for personal gain.\n...the plight of the exploited sugar cane workers.\n  VERB: V n, V-ed\n\n=>  ex.ploi.ta.tion\nExtra payments should be made to protect the interests of the staff and prevent exploitation.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. If you say that someone is exploiting a situation, you disapprove of them because they are using it to gain an advantage for themselves, rather than trying to help other people or do what is right.\nThe government and its opponents compete to exploit the troubles to their advantage.\n  VERB: V n  disapproval\n\n=>  ex.ploi.ta.tion\n...the exploitation of the famine by local politicians.\n  N-SING: N of n\n\n3. If you exploit something, you use it well, and achieve something or gain an advantage from it.\nCary is hoping to exploit new opportunities in Europe...\n  VERB: V n\n\n4. To exploit resources or raw materials means to develop them and use them for industry or commercial activities.\nI think we’re being very short sighted in not exploiting our own coal.\n  VERB: V n\n\n=>  ex.ploi.ta.tion\n...the planned exploitation of its potential oil and natural gas reserves.\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu N of n\n\n5. If you refer to someone’s exploits, you mean the brave, interesting, or amusing things that they have done.\nHis wartime exploits were later made into a film.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl, with poss


Words: exploitable
Meaning:
ex.ploit.able\n   exploitable\n1. If something is exploitable, it can be used or developed to make a profit.\nExploitable raw materials were in short supply...\nOf 27 new wells drilled, 16 have proved exploitable.\n  ADJ\n\n2. An exploitable situation can be used by someone to their own advantage.\nYour hope was I’d make some exploitable mistake.\n  ADJ


Words: exploitative
Meaning:
ex.ploita.tive\n   exploitative\n  If you describe something as exploitative, you disapprove of it because it treats people unfairly by using their work or ideas for its own advantage, and giving them very little in return. (FORMAL)\nThe expansion of Western capitalism incorporated the Third World into an exploitative world system.\n  ADJ  disapproval


Words: exploiter
Meaning:
ex.ploit.er\n   exploiter  exploiters\n  If you refer to people as exploiters, you disapprove of them because they exploit other people in an unfair and cruel way. (FORMAL)\n  N-COUNT  disapproval


Words: exploratory
Meaning:
ex.plora.tory\n   exploratory\n  Exploratory actions are done in order to discover something or to learn the truth about something.\nExploratory surgery revealed her liver cancer...\n  ADJ


Words: explore
Meaning:
ex.plore\n   explore  explores  exploring  explored\n1. If you explore a place, you travel around it to find out what it is like.\nAfter exploring the old part of town there is a guided tour of the cathedral...\nWe’ve come to this country, let’s explore!\n  VERB: V n, V\n\n=>  ex.plo.ra.tion      explorations\nWe devote several days to the exploration of the magnificent Maya sites of Copan...\n  N-VAR\n\n2. If you explore an idea or suggestion, you think about it or comment on it in detail, in order to assess it carefully.\nThe film explores the relationship between artist and instrument.\n  VERB: V n\n  = investigate\n=>  ex.plo.ra.tion\nI looked forward to the exploration of their theories.\n  N-VAR\n\n3. If people explore an area for a substance such as oil or minerals, they study the area and do tests on the land to see whether they can find it.\nCentral to the operation is a mile-deep well, dug originally to explore for oil...\n  VERB: V for n\n\n=>  ex.plo.ra.tion\nOryx is a Dallas-based oil and gas exploration and production concern.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n4. If you explore something with your hands or fingers, you touch it to find out what it feels like.\nHe explored the wound with his finger, trying to establish its extent.\n  VERB: V n


Words: explorer
Meaning:
ex.plor.er\n   explorer  explorers\n  An explorer is someone who travels to places about which very little is known, in order to discover what is there.\n  N-COUNT


Words: explosion
Meaning:
ex.plo.sion\n   explosion  explosions\n1. An explosion is a sudden, violent burst of energy, for example one caused by a bomb.\nAfter the second explosion, all of London’s main train and subway stations were shut down...\nThree people have been killed in a bomb explosion in northwest Spain.\n  N-COUNT\n  = blast\n2. Explosion is the act of deliberately causing a bomb or similar device to explode.\nBomb disposal experts blew up the bag in a controlled explosion...\n  N-VAR\n\n3. An explosion is a large rapid increase in the number or amount of something.\nThe study also forecast an explosion in the diet soft-drink market...\nThe spread of the suburbs has triggered a population explosion among America’s deer.\n  N-COUNT: with supp\n\n4. An explosion is a sudden violent expression of someone’s feelings, especially anger.\nEvery time they met, Myra anticipated an explosion...\n  N-COUNT\n  = outburst\n5. An explosion is a sudden and serious political protest or violence.\n...the explosion of protest and violence sparked off by the killing of seven workers.\n  N-COUNT


Words: explosive
Meaning:
ex.plo.sive\n   explosive  explosives\n1. An explosive is a substance or device that can cause an explosion.\n...one-hundred-and-fifty pounds of Semtex explosive...\n  N-VAR\n\n2. Something that is explosive is capable of causing an explosion.\nThe explosive device was timed to go off at the rush hour...\n  ADJ\n\n=>  ex.plo.sive.ly\nHydrogen is explosively flammable when mixed with oxygen.\n  ADV: ADV adj, ADV after v\n\n3. An explosive growth is a sudden, rapid increase in the size or quantity of something.\nThe explosive growth in casinos is one of the most conspicuous signs of Westernisation.\n  ADJ\n\n=>  ex.plo.sive.ly\nThese transactions grew explosively in the early 1980s.\n  ADV: ADV after v, ADV adj\n\n4. An explosive situation is likely to have difficult, serious, or dangerous effects.\nHe appeared to be treating the potentially explosive situation with some sensitivity...\nNobody knows what explosive arguments the future of Europe will bring.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n=>  ex.plo.sive.ly\nA referendum next year would coincide explosively with the election campaign.\n  ADV: ADV after v\n\n5. If you describe someone as explosive, you mean that they tend to express sudden violent anger.\nHe’s inherited his father’s explosive temper.\n  ADJ\n  = fiery\n=>  ex.plo.sive.ly\n`Are you mad?’ David asked explosively.\n  ADV: ADV after v, ADV adj\n\n6. A sudden loud noise can be described as explosive.\nHe made a loud, explosive noise of disgust.\n...an explosive drumbeat.\n  ADJ\n\n=>  ex.plo.sive.ly\nThe sound of her own chewing and swallowing were explosively loud.\n  ADV: ADV adj, ADV after v


Words: expo
Meaning:
expo  expos   also Expo\n  An expo is a large event where goods, especially industrial goods, are displayed.\n...the 1995 Queensland Computer Expo.\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp, oft in names


Words: exponent
Meaning:
ex.po.nent\n   exponent  exponents\n1. An exponent of an idea, theory, or plan is a person who supports and explains it, and who tries to persuade other people that it is a good idea. (FORMAL)\n...a leading exponent of test-tube baby techniques.\n  N-COUNT: usu N of n\n  = advocate\n2. An exponent of a particular skill or activity is a person who is good at it.\n...the great exponent of expressionist dance, Kurt Jooss.\n  N-COUNT: with supp


Words: exponential
Meaning:
ex.po.nen.tial\n   exponential\n  Exponential means growing or increasing very rapidly. (FORMAL)\nThe policy tried to check the exponential growth of public expenditure.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n=>  ex.po.nen.tial.ly\nThe quantity of chemical pollutants has increased exponentially.\n  ADV: ADV after v


Words: export
Meaning:
ex.port\n   export exports exporting  exported\nThe verb is pronounced   The noun is pronounced\n1. To export products or raw materials means to sell them to another country.\nThe nation also exports beef...\nThey expect the antibiotic products to be exported to Southeast Asia and Africa...\nTo earn foreign exchange we must export.\n  VERB: V n, be V-ed to n, V, also V n to n\n  !=import\n  Export is also a noun.\n...the production and export of cheap casual wear...\n...illegal arms exports.\n  N-UNCOUNT: also N in pl\n\n2. Exports are goods which are sold to another country and sent there.\nHe did this to promote American exports...\nGhana’s main export is cocoa.\n  N-COUNT\n  !=import\n3. To export something means to introduce it into another country or make it happen there.\nIt has exported inflation at times.\n...hecklers who said the deal would export jobs to Mexico.\n  VERB: V n, V n to n\n  !=import\n4. In computing, if you export files or information from one type of software into another type, you change their format so that they can be used in the new software.\nFiles can be exported in ASCII or PCX formats.\n  VERB: be V-ed, also V n\n  !=import


Words: exportable
Meaning:
ex.port.able\n   exportable\n  Exportable products are suitable for being exported.\nThey are reliant on a very limited number of exportable products.\n  ADJ


Words: exporter
Meaning:
ex.port.er\n   exporter  exporters\n  An exporter is a country, firm, or person that sells and sends goods to another country.\nFrance is the world’s second-biggest exporter of agricultural products.\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp\n  !=importer


Words: expose
Meaning:
ex.po.se\n   expose  exposes\n  An expose is a film or piece of writing which reveals the truth about a situation or person, especially something involving shocking facts.\nThe movie is an expose of prison conditions in the South.\n  N-COUNT: oft N of n\n\nex.pose\n   expose  exposes  exposing  exposed\n1. To expose something that is usually hidden means to uncover it so that it can be seen.\nLowered sea levels exposed the shallow continental shelf beneath the Bering Sea...\n...the exposed brickwork.\n  VERB: V n, V-ed\n\n2. To expose a person or situation means to reveal that they are bad or immoral in some way.\nThe Budget does expose the lies ministers were telling a year ago...\nHe has simply been exposed as an adulterer and a fool.\n  VERB: V n, be V-ed as n/adj, also V n as n/adj\n\n3. If someone is exposed to something dangerous or unpleasant, they are put in a situation in which it might affect them.\nThey had not been exposed to most diseases common to urban populations...\nA wise mother never exposes her children to the slightest possibility of danger.\n...people exposed to high levels of radiation.\n  VERB: be V-ed to n, V n to n, V-ed\n\n4. If someone is exposed to an idea or feeling, usually a new one, they are given experience of it, or introduced to it.\n...local people who’ve not been exposed to glimpses of Western life before...\nThese units exposed children to many viewpoints of a given issue.\n  VERB: be V-ed to n, V n to n\n\n5. A man who exposes himself shows people his genitals in a public place, usually because he is mentally or emotionally disturbed.\nSmith admitted indecently exposing himself on Wimbledon Common.\n  VERB: V pron-refl


Words: exposed
Meaning:
ex.posed\n   exposed\n  If a place is exposed, it has no natural protection against bad weather or enemies, for example because it has no trees or is on very high ground.\n...an exposed hillside in Connecticut...\n  ADJ


Words: exposition
Meaning:
ex.po.si.tion\n   exposition  expositions\n1. An exposition of an idea or theory is a detailed explanation or account of it. (FORMAL)\nThe fullest exposition of Coleridge’s thought can be found in the Statesman’s Manual.\n  N-COUNT: oft N of n\n\n2. An exposition is an exhibition in which something such as goods or works of art are shown to the public.\n...an art exposition.\n  N-COUNT\n  = exhibition


Words: expostulate
Meaning:
ex.pos.tu.late\n   expostulate  expostulates  expostulating  expostulated\n  If you expostulate, you express strong disagreement with someone. (FORMAL)\n`For heaven’s sake!’ Dot expostulated. `They’re cheap and they’re useful.’...\nFor a moment I thought she was going to expostulate...\nHis family expostulated with him.\n  VERB: V with quote, V, V with n\n  = remonstrate


Words: exposure
Meaning:
ex.po.sure\n   exposure  exposures\n1. Exposure to something dangerous means being in a situation where it might affect you.\nExposure to lead is known to damage the brains of young children.\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu N to n\n\n2. Exposure is the harmful effect on your body caused by very cold weather.\nHe was suffering from exposure and shock but his condition was said to be stable...\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n3. The exposure of a well-known person is the revealing of the fact that they are bad or immoral in some way.\n...the exposure of Anthony Blunt as a former Soviet spy...\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu with poss\n\n4. Exposure is publicity that a person, company, or product receives.\nAll the candidates have been getting an enormous amount of exposure on television and in the press.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n  = publicity\n5. In photography, an exposure is a single photograph. (TECHNICAL)\nLarger drawings tend to require two or three exposures to cover them.\n  N-COUNT\n\n6. In photography, the exposure is the amount of light that is allowed to enter a camera when taking a photograph. (TECHNICAL)\nAgainst a deep blue sky or dark storm-clouds, you may need to reduce the exposure.\n  N-VAR


Words: expound
Meaning:
ex.pound\n   expound  expounds  expounding  expounded\n  If you expound an idea or opinion, you give a clear and detailed explanation of it. (FORMAL)\nSchmidt continued to expound his views on economics and politics.\n  VERB: V n\n  = explain\n  Expound on means the same as expound.\nLawrence expounded on the military aspects of guerrilla warfare.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n


Words: express
Meaning:
ex.press\n   express  expresses  expressing  expressed\n1. When you express an idea or feeling, or express yourself, you show what you think or feel.\nHe expressed grave concern at American attitudes...\nHe expresses himself easily in English...\n  VERB: V n, V pron-refl\n\n2. If an idea or feeling expresses itself in some way, it can be clearly seen in someone’s actions or in its effects on a situation.\nThe anxiety of the separation often expresses itself as anger towards the child for getting lost.\n  VERB: V pron-refl prep\n  = manifest\n3. In mathematics, if you express a quantity or mathematical problem in a particular way, you write it using particular symbols, figures, or equations. (TECHNICAL)\nIt is expressed as a percentage.\n  VERB: V n prep\n\n4. An express command or order is one that is clearly and deliberately stated. (FORMAL)\nThe ship was sunk on express orders from the Prime Minister.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n  = explicit\n=>  ex.press.ly\nHe has expressly forbidden her to go out on her own.\n  ADV: ADV before v\n\n5. If you refer to an express intention or purpose, you are emphasizing that it is a deliberate and specific one that you have before you do something.\nI had obtained my first camera for the express purpose of taking railway photographs.\n  ADJ: ADJ n  emphasis\n  = specific\n=>  ex.press.ly\n...projects expressly designed to support cattle farmers...\n  ADV: ADV before v, ADV prep/to-inf\n\n6. Express is used to describe special services which are provided by companies or organizations such as the Post Office, in which things are sent or done faster than usual for a higher price.\nA special express service is available by fax...\nIt was sent to us by express mail.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n  Express is also an adverb.\nSend it express.\n  ADV\n\n7. An express or an express train is a fast train which stops at very few stations.\nPunctually at 7.45, the express to Kuala Lumpur left Singapore station...\n  N-COUNT: oft N to/for n


Words: expression
Meaning:
ex.pres.sion\n   expression  expressions\n1. The expression of ideas or feelings is the showing of them through words, actions, or artistic activities.\nLaughter is one of the most infectious expressions of emotion...\n...the rights of the individual to freedom of expression...\nHer concern has now found expression in the new environmental protection act.\n  N-VAR: usu N of n\n\n2. Your expression is the way that your face looks at a particular moment. It shows what you are thinking or feeling.\nLevin sat there, an expression of sadness on his face...\n  N-VAR: usu with supp, oft poss N\n\n3. Expression is the showing of feeling when you are acting, singing, or playing a musical instrument.\nI don’t sing perfectly in tune, but I think I put more expression into my lyrics than a lot of other singers do.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n4. An expression is a word or phrase.\nShe spoke in a quiet voice but used remarkably coarse expressions.\n  N-COUNT


Words: expressionism
Meaning:
ex.pres.sion.ism\n   expressionism\n  Expressionism is a style of art, literature, and music which uses symbols and exaggeration to represent emotions, rather than representing physical reality.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: expressionist
Meaning:
ex.pres.sion.ist\n   expressionist  expressionists\n1. An expressionist is an artist, writer, or composer who uses the style of expressionism.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. Expressionist artists, writers, composers, or works use the style of expressionism.\n...an extraordinary collection of expressionist paintings.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: expressionless
Meaning:
ex.pres.sion.less\n   expressionless\n  If you describe someone’s face as expressionless, you mean that they are not showing their feelings.\n  ADJ


Words: expressive
Meaning:
ex.pres.sive\n   expressive\n  If you describe a person or their behaviour as expressive, you mean that their behaviour clearly indicates their feelings or intentions.\nYou can train people to be more expressive.\n...her small, usually expressive face.\n  ADJ\n\n=>  ex.pres.sive.ly\nHe moved his hands expressively.\n  ADV: ADV with v\n\n=>  ex.pres.sive.ness\nCrying is part of our natural expressiveness.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: expressway
Meaning:
ex.press.way\n   expressway  expressways\n  An expressway is a wide road that is specially designed so that a lot of traffic can move along it very quickly. It is usually divided, so that traffic travelling in one direction is separated from the traffic travelling in the opposite direction.\n  N-COUNT


Words: expropriate
Meaning:
ex.pro.pri.ate\n   expropriate  expropriates  expropriating  expropriated\n  If a government or other authority expropriates someone’s property, they take it away from them for public use. (LEGAL)\nThe Bolsheviks expropriated the property of the landowners.\n  VERB: V n\n\n=>  ex.pro.pria.tion      expropriations\n...the expropriation of property...\nOwnership is not clear because of expropriations in the Nazi era.\n  N-VAR: oft N of n


Words: expulsion
Meaning:
ex.pul.sion\n   expulsion  expulsions\n1. Expulsion is when someone is forced to leave a school, university, or organization.\nHer hatred of authority led to her expulsion from high school.\n...the high number of school expulsions...\n  N-VAR: usu with supp\n\n2. Expulsion is when someone is forced to leave a place. (FORMAL)\n...the expulsion of Yemeni workers.\n...a new wave of mass expulsions.\n  N-VAR: usu with supp\n\n3. Expulsion is when something is forced out from your body. (FORMAL)\n...their expulsion from the digestive tract.\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu with supp


Words: expunge
Meaning:
ex.punge\n   expunge  expunges  expunging  expunged\n  If you expunge something, you get rid of it completely, because it causes problems or bad feelings. (FORMAL)\nThe revolutionaries expunged domestic opposition...\nThe experience was something he had tried to expunge from his memory...\nHis name was expunged from the record books.\n  VERB: V n, V n from n, V n from n


Words: expurgate
Meaning:
ex.pur.gate\n   expurgate  expurgates  expurgating  expurgated\n  If someone expurgates a piece of writing, they remove parts of it before it is published because they think those parts will offend or shock people. (FORMAL)\nHe heavily expurgated the work in its second edition.\n  VERB: V n\n  = censor\n=>  ex.pur.gat.ed\nIt was first published in 1914 in a highly expurgated version.\n  ADJ


Words: exquisite
Meaning:
ex.quis.ite\n   exquisite\n  Something that is exquisite is extremely beautiful or pleasant, especially in a delicate way.\nThe Indians brought in exquisite beadwork to sell...\nMr Zhang’s photography is exquisite.\n  ADJ\n\n=>  ex.quis.ite.ly\n...exquisitely crafted dolls’ houses.\n  ADV: usu ADV adj/-ed


Words: ext.
Meaning:
Ext. is the written abbreviation for extension when it is used to refer to a particular telephone number.\n  N-VAR: N num


Words: extant
Meaning:
ex.tant\n   extant\n  If something is extant, it is still in existence, in spite of being very old. (FORMAL)\nTwo fourteenth-century manuscripts of this text are still extant...\nThe oldest extant document is dated 1492.\n  ADJ\n  = surviving


Words: extemporize
Meaning:
ex.tem.po.rize\n   extemporize  extemporizes  extemporizing  extemporized\nin BRIT, also use extemporise\n  If you extemporize, you speak, act, or perform something immediately, without rehearsing or preparing it beforehand. (FORMAL)\nHe completely departed from the text and extemporized in a very energetic fashion.\n  VERB: V\n  = improvise


Words: extend
Meaning:
ex.tend\n   extend  extends  extending  extended\n1. If you say that something, usually something large, extends for a particular distance or extends from one place to another, you are indicating its size or position.\nThe caves extend for some 18 kilometres...\nThe main stem will extend to around 12ft, if left to develop naturally...\nOur personal space extends about 12 to 18 inches around us...\nThe high-speed train service is planned to extend from Paris to Bordeaux...\nThe new territory would extend over one-fifth of Canada’s land mass.\n  VERB: V for amount, V to amount, V amount, V from n to n, V over n, also V to n\n\n2. If an object extends from a surface or place, it sticks out from it.\nA shelf of land extended from the escarpment.\n  VERB: V from n\n\n3. If an event or activity extends over a period of time, it continues for that time.\n...a playing career in first-class cricket that extended from 1894 to 1920...\nThe courses are based on a weekly two-hour class, extending over a period of 25 weeks.\n  VERB: V from n to n, V over n, also V to n\n\n4. If something extends to a group of people, things, or activities, it includes or affects them.\nThe service also extends to wrapping and delivering gifts...\nHis influence extends beyond the TV viewing audience.\n  VERB: V to n/-ing, V beyond n\n\n5. If you extend something, you make it longer or bigger.\nThis year they have introduced three new products to extend their range...\nThe building was extended in 1500.\n...an extended exhaust pipe.\n  VERB: V n, V n, V-ed\n\n6. If a piece of equipment or furniture extends, its length can be increased.\n... a table which extends to accommodate extra guests...\nThe table extends to 220cm.\n  VERB: V, V to amount\n\n7. If you extend something, you make it last longer than before or end at a later date.\nThey have extended the deadline by twenty-four hours.\n...an extended contract.\n  VERB: V n, V-ed\n\n8. If you extend something to other people or things, you make it include or affect more people or things.\nIt might be possible to extend the technique to other crop plants.\n  VERB: V n to n\n\n9. If someone extends their hand, they stretch out their arm and hand to shake hands with someone.\nThe man extended his hand: `I’m Chuck’.\n  VERB: V n\n  = stretch out


Words: extendable
Meaning:
ex.tend.able\n   extendable\n  Something that is extendable can be made longer.\nThese were hung in place with extendable rods.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: extended
Meaning:
ex.tend.ed\n   extended\n  If something happens for an extended period of time, it happens for a long period of time.\nObviously, any child who receives dedicated teaching over an extended period is likely to improve.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n  = lengthy\n  see also extend


Words: extended family
Meaning:
ex.tend.ed fami.ly\n   extended family  extended families\n  An extended family is a family group which includes relatives such as uncles, aunts, and grandparents, as well as parents, children, and brothers and sisters.\nThe pregnant woman in such a community has the support of all the womenfolk in her extended family.\n  N-COUNT


Words: extension
Meaning:
ex.ten.sion\n   extension  extensions\n1. An extension is a new room or building which is added to an existing building or group of buildings.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. An extension is a new section of a road or rail line that is added to an existing road or line.\n...the Jubilee Line extension.\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp\n\n3. An extension is an extra period of time for which something lasts or is valid, usually as a result of official permission.\nHe first entered Britain on a six-month visa, and was given a further extension of six months...\n  N-COUNT\n\n4. Something that is an extension of something else is a development of it that includes or affects more people, things, or activities.\nMany Filipinos see the bases as an extension of American colonial rule...\n  N-COUNT: usu N of n\n\n5. An extension is a telephone line that is connected to the switchboard of a company or institution, and that has its own number. The written abbreviation ext. is also used.\nShe can get me on extension 308...\n  N-COUNT: also N num\n\n6. An extension is a part which is connected to a piece of equipment in order to make it reach something further away.\n...a 30-foot extension cord...\n  N-COUNT


Words: extensive
Meaning:
ex.ten.sive\n   extensive\n1. Something that is extensive covers or includes a large physical area.\n...an extensive tour of Latin America...\nWhen built, the palace and its grounds were more extensive than the city itself.\n  ADJ\n\n=>  ex.ten.sive.ly\nMark, however, needs to travel extensively with his varied business interests.\n  ADV: ADV after v\n\n2. Something that is extensive covers a wide range of details, ideas, or items.\nDevelopments in South Africa receive extensive coverage in The Sunday Telegraph...\nThe facilities available are very extensive.\n  ADJ\n\n=>  ex.ten.sive.ly\nAll these issues have been extensively researched in recent years.\n  ADV: ADV after v, ADV adj/-ed\n\n3. If something is extensive, it is very great.\nThe blast caused extensive damage, shattering the ground-floor windows...\nThe security forces have extensive powers of search and arrest...\n  ADJ\n\n=>  ex.ten.sive.ly\nHydrogen is used extensively in industry for the production of ammonia.\n  ADV: ADV after v, ADV -ed


Words: extent
Meaning:
ex.tent\n   extent\n1. If you are talking about how great, important, or serious a difficulty or situation is, you can refer to the extent of it.\nThe government itself has little information on the extent of industrial pollution...\nThe full extent of the losses was disclosed yesterday.\n  N-SING: with supp, usu the N of n\n\n2. The extent of something is its length, area, or size.\nTheir commitment was only to maintain the extent of forests, not their biodiversity.\n  N-SING: with supp, usu the N of n\n\n3. You use expressions such as to a large extent, to some extent, or to a certain extent in order to indicate that something is partly true, but not entirely true.\nIt was and, to a large extent, still is a good show...\nTo some extent this was the truth...\n  PHRASE: PHR with cl  vagueness\n\n4. You use expressions such as to what extent, to that extent, or to the extent that when you are discussing how true a statement is, or in what ways it is true.\nIt’s still not clear to what extent this criticism is originating from within the ruling party...\nTo that extent they helped bring about their own destruction...\n  PHRASE  vagueness\n\n5. You use expressions such as to the extent of, to the extent that, or to such an extent that in order to emphasize that a situation has reached a difficult, dangerous, or surprising stage.\nHe said he didn’t like the president, but not to the extent of wanting to kill him...\n  PHRASE  emphasis


Words: extenuating
Meaning:
ex.tenu.at.ing\n   extenuating\n  If you say that there are extenuating circumstances for a bad situation or wrong action, you mean that there are reasons or factors which partly excuse it. (FORMAL)\nThe defendants decide to admit their guilt, but insist that there are extenuating circumstances.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  = mitigating


Words: exterior
Meaning:
ex.te.ri.or\n   exterior  exteriors\n1. The exterior of something is its outside surface.\nIn one ad the viewer scarcely sees the car’s exterior...\nThe exterior of the building was elegant and graceful.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing\n  = outside\n2. You can refer to someone’s usual appearance or behaviour as their exterior, especially when it is very different from their real character.\nAccording to Mandy, Pat’s tough exterior hides a shy and sensitive soul.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, usu with supp, oft poss N\n  = facade\n3. You use exterior to refer to the outside parts of something or things that are outside something.\nThe exterior walls were made of pre-formed concrete.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n  = outer, outside


Words: exterminate
Meaning:
ex.ter.mi.nate\n   exterminate  exterminates  exterminating  exterminated\n  To exterminate a group of people or animals means to kill all of them.\nA huge effort was made to exterminate the rats...\n  VERB: V n\n\n=>  ex.ter.mi.na.tion\n...the extermination of hundreds of thousands of their countrymen.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N of n, N n


Words: exterminator
Meaning:
ex.ter.mi.na.tor\n   exterminator  exterminators\n  An exterminator is a person whose job is to kill animals such as rats or mice, because they are annoying or dangerous.\n  N-COUNT


Words: external
Meaning:
ex.ter.nal\n   external\n1. External is used to indicate that something is on the outside of a surface or body, or that it exists, happens, or comes from outside.\n...a much reduced heat loss through external walls.\n...internal and external allergic reactions.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  !=internal\n=>  ex.ter.nal.ly\nVitamins can be applied externally to the skin.\n...externally imposed conditions.\n  ADV: usu ADV with v\n\n2. External means involving or intended for foreign countries.\n...the commissioner for external affairs.\n...Jamaica’s external debt.\n...the republic’s external borders.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n=>  ex.ter.nal.ly\n...protecting the value of the mark both internally and externally.\n  ADV: usu ADV after v\n\n3. External means happening or existing in the world in general and affecting you in some way.\n...a reaction to external events...\nSuch events occur only when the external conditions are favorable.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n4. External experts, for example external examiners, come into an organization from outside in order to do a particular job fairly and impartially, or to check that a particular job was done properly. (mainly BRIT)\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n  = outside\n=>  ex.ter.nal.ly\nThere must be externally moderated tests.\n  ADV: ADV -ed\n\n5. If medicine is for external use, it is intended to be used only on the outside of your body, and not to be eaten or drunk.\n  PHRASE: v-link PHR, PHR after v


Words: externalize
Meaning:
ex.ter.nal.ize\n   externalize  externalizes  externalizing  externalized\nin BRIT, also use externalise\n  If you externalize your ideas or feelings, you express them openly, in words or actions. (FORMAL)\nThese are people who tend to externalize blame when anything goes wrong at work.\n  VERB: V n\n  !=internalize


Words: externals
Meaning:
ex.ter.nals\n   externals\n  When you talk about externals, you are referring to the features of a situation that are obvious but not important or central.\nAll that the tourists see are the externals of our faith.\n  N-PLURAL


Words: extinct
Meaning:
ex.tinct\n   extinct\n1. A species of animal or plant that is extinct no longer has any living members, either in the world or in a particular place.\nIt is 250 years since the wolf became extinct in Britain.\n  ADJ\n\n2. If a particular kind of worker, way of life, or type of activity is extinct, it no longer exists, because of changes in society.\nHerbalism had become an all but extinct skill in the Western world.\n  ADJ\n\n3. An extinct volcano is one that does not erupt or is not expected to erupt any more.\nIts tallest volcano, long extinct, is Olympus Mons.\n  ADJ


Words: extinction
Meaning:
ex.tinc.tion\n   extinction\n1. The extinction of a species of animal or plant is the death of all its remaining living members.\nAn operation is beginning to try to save a species of crocodile from extinction...\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. If someone refers to the extinction of a way of life or type of activity, they mean that the way of life or activity stops existing.\nThe loggers say their jobs are faced with extinction because of declining timber sales.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: extinguish
Meaning:
ex.tin.guish\n   extinguish  extinguishes  extinguishing  extinguished\n1. If you extinguish a fire or a light, you stop it burning or shining. (FORMAL)\nIt took about 50 minutes to extinguish the fire...\n  VERB: V n\n  = put out\n2. If something extinguishes a feeling or idea, it destroys it.\nThe message extinguished her hopes of Richard’s return.\n  VERB: V n


Words: extinguisher
Meaning:
ex.tin.guish.er\n   extinguisher  extinguishers\n  An extinguisher is the same as a fire extinguisher.\n  N-COUNT


Words: extol
Meaning:
ex.tol\n   extol  extols  extolling  extolled\n  If you extol something or someone, you praise them enthusiastically.\nNow experts are extolling the virtues of the humble potato...\n  VERB: V n


Words: extort
Meaning:
ex.tort\n   extort  extorts  extorting  extorted\n  If someone extorts money from you, they get it from you using force, threats, or other unfair or illegal means.\nCorrupt government officials were extorting money from him...\nHer kidnapper extorted a .175,000 ransom for her release.\n  VERB: V n from n, V n\n  = extract


Words: extortion
Meaning:
ex.tor.tion\n   extortion\n  Extortion is the crime of obtaining something from someone, especially money, by using force or threats.\nHe has been charged with extortion and abusing his powers.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: extortionate
Meaning:
ex.tor.tion.ate\n   extortionate\n  If you describe something such as a price as extortionate, you are emphasizing that it is much greater than it should be.\n  ADJ  emphasis\n  = outrageous


Words: extortionist
Meaning:
ex.tor.tion.ist\n   extortionist  extortionists\n  An extortionist is a person who commits the crime of obtaining something from someone by using force or threats.\n  N-COUNT


Words: extra
Meaning:
ex.tra\n   extra  extras\n1. You use extra to describe an amount, person, or thing that is added to others of the same kind, or that can be added to others of the same kind.\nPolice warned motorists to allow extra time to get to work...\nExtra staff have been taken on to cover busy periods...\nThere’s an extra blanket in the bottom drawer of the cupboard.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n  = additional\n2. If something is extra, you have to pay more money for it in addition to what you are already paying for something.\nThe price of your meal is extra.\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ\n\n  Extra is also a pronoun.\nMany of the additional features now cost extra...\n  PRON\n\n  Extra is also an adverb.\nYou may be charged 10% extra for this service.\n  ADV\n\n3. Extras are additional amounts of money that are added to the price that you have to pay for something.\nThere are no hidden extras.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl\n\n4. Extras are things which are not necessary in a situation, activity, or object, but which make it more comfortable, useful, or enjoyable.\nOptional extras include cooking tuition at a top restaurant...\n  N-COUNT: usu pl\n\n5. The extras in a film are the people who play unimportant parts, for example as members of a crowd.\n  N-COUNT\n\n6. You can use extra in front of adjectives and adverbs to emphasize the quality that they are describing. (INFORMAL)\nI’d have to be extra careful...\nWhat makes a magnificent garden extra special?...\n  ADV: ADV adj/adv  emphasis\n  = especially\n7.\nto go the extra mile: see mile


Words: extra time
Meaning:
ex.tra time\n   extra time\n  If a game of football, hockey, or basketball goes into extra time, the game continues for a set period after it would usually have ended because both teams have the same score. (BRIT; in AM, use overtime)\nCambridge won 2-0 after extra time.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: extra-
Meaning:
extra-\n  extra- is used to form adjectives indicating that something is outside something or is not part of it. (FORMAL)\nThe move was extra-constitutional...\nThey competed for power through a combination of parliamentary and extra-parliamentary methods...\nThe report says torture was widespread, as were extra-judicial executions by government troops.\n  PREFIX


Words: extra-marital
Meaning:
extra-marital   also extramarital\n  An extra-marital affair is a sexual relationship between a married person and another person who is not their husband or wife.\nHer husband has admitted having an extra-marital affair.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: extra-mural
Meaning:
extra-mural   also extramural\n  Extra-mural courses are courses at a college or university which are taken mainly by part-time students.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: extra-sensory perception
Meaning:
extra-sensory perception   also extrasensory perception\n  Extra-sensory perception means knowing without using your ordinary senses such as sight and hearing. Some people believe this is possible. The abbreviation ESP is also used.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: extract
Meaning:
ex.tract\n   extract extracts extracting  extracted\nThe verb is pronounced   The noun is pronounced\n1. To extract a substance means to obtain it from something else, for example by using industrial or chemical processes.\n...the traditional method of pick and shovel to extract coal...\nCitric acid can be extracted from the juice of oranges, lemons, limes or grapefruit.\n...looking at the differences in the extracted DNA.\n  VERB: V n, be V-ed from n, V-ed, also V n from n\n\n=>  ex.trac.tion\nPetroleum engineers plan and manage the extraction of oil.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft the N of n\n\n2. If you extract something from a place, you take it out or pull it out.\nHe extracted a small notebook from his hip pocket...\nPatterson went straight to the liquor cabinet and extracted a bottle of Scotch...\n  VERB: V n from n, V n\n\n3. When a dentist extracts a tooth, they remove it from the patient’s mouth.\nA dentist may decide to extract the tooth to prevent recurrent trouble...\nShe is to go and have a tooth extracted at 3 o’clock today.\n  VERB: V n, have n V-ed\n\n=>  ex.trac.tion      extractions\nIn those days, dentistry was basic. Extractions were carried out without anaesthetic.\n  N-VAR\n\n4. If you say that someone extracts something, you disapprove of them because they take it for themselves to gain an advantage.\nHe sought to extract the maximum political advantage from the cut in interest rates...\n  VERB: V n from n  disapproval\n\n5. If you extract information or a response from someone, you get it from them with difficulty, because they are unwilling to say or do what you want.\nHe made the mistake of trying to extract further information from our director...\n  VERB: V n from n\n\n6. If you extract a particular piece of information, you obtain it from a larger amount or source of information.\nI’ve simply extracted a few figures...\nBritain’s trade figures can no longer be extracted from export-and-import documentation at ports.\n  VERB: V n, be V-ed from n, also V n from n\n\n7. If part of a book or text is extracted from a particular book, it is printed or published. (JOURNALISM)\nThis material has been extracted from `Collins Good Wood Handbook’.\n  V-PASSIVE: be V-ed from n\n\n8. An extract from a book or piece of writing is a small part of it that is printed or published separately.\nRead this extract from an information booklet about the work of an airline cabin crew.\n  N-COUNT: usu N from n\n  = excerpt\n9. An extract is a substance that has been obtained from something else, for example by means of a chemical or industrial process.\nBlend in the lemon extract, lemon peel and walnuts.\n  N-MASS: oft n N\n\n10.\n  see also yeast extract


Words: extraction
Meaning:
ex.trac.tion\n   extraction\n  If you say, for example, that someone is of French extraction, you mean that they or their family originally came from France. (FORMAL)\nHer real father was of Italian extraction...\n  N-UNCOUNT: with supp\n  = origin, descent


Words: extractor
Meaning:
ex.trac.tor\n   extractor  extractors\n1. An extractor or extractor fan is a device that is fixed to a window or wall to draw smells, steam, or hot air out of a room. (mainly BRIT; in AM, use ventilator)\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. An extractor is a device that squeezes liquid out of something.\n...a juice extractor.\n  N-COUNT: with supp


Words: extracurricular
Meaning:
extra.cur.ricu.lar\n   extracurricular\nin BRIT, also use extra-curricular\n1. Extracurricular activities are activities for students that are not part of their course. (FORMAL)\nEach child had participated in extracurricular activities at school.\n...extra-curricular sport.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n2. Extracurricular activities are activities that someone does that are not part of their normal work. (INFORMAL)\nThe money he made from these extra-curricular activities enabled him to pursue other ventures.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: extradite
Meaning:
extra.dite\n   extradite  extradites  extraditing  extradited\n  If someone is extradited, they are officially sent back to their own or another country to be tried for a crime that they have been accused of. (FORMAL)\nHe was extradited to Britain from the Irish Republic to face explosives charges...\nThe authorities refused to extradite him.\n  VERB: be V-ed to/from n, V n\n\n=>  extra.di.tion      extraditions\nA New York court turned down the British government’s request for his extradition...\nThere were no plans to reopen extradition proceedings against him.\n  N-VAR


Words: extraneous
Meaning:
extra.neous\n   extraneous\n  Extraneous things are not relevant or essential to the situation you are involved in or the subject you are talking about. (FORMAL)\nWe ought not to bring in extraneous matters in trying to find a basis for a settlement...\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: extraordinaire
Meaning:
extraor.di.naire\n   extraordinaire\n  If you describe someone as being, for example, a musician extraordinaire, you are saying in a slightly humorous way that you think they are an extremely good musician.\n...George Kuchar, film-maker extraordinaire.\n  ADJ: n ADJ


Words: extraordinary
Meaning:
extraor.di.nary\n   extraordinary\n1. If you describe something or someone as extraordinary, you mean that they have some extremely good or special quality.\nWe’ve made extraordinary progress as a society in that regard...\nThe task requires extraordinary patience and endurance...\nRozhdestvensky is an extraordinary musician.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n  approval\n  = exceptional, remarkable, amazing\n=>  extraor.di.nari.ly\nShe’s extraordinarily disciplined.\n  ADV: ADV adj\n  = exceptionally\n2. If you describe something as extraordinary, you mean that it is very unusual or surprising.\nWhat an extraordinary thing to happen!...\nHis decision to hold talks is extraordinary because it could mean the real end of the war.\n  ADJ  emphasis\n  = remarkable, amazing\n=>  extraor.di.nari.ly\nApart from the hair, he looked extraordinarily unchanged...\nExtraordinarily, the favourites for the title lie at the bottom of the table.\n  ADV: ADV adj/adv, ADV with cl\n  = remarkably\n3. An extraordinary meeting is arranged specially to deal with a particular situation or problem, rather than happening regularly. (FORMAL)\n...at an extraordinary meeting of the sport’s ruling body...\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: extrapolate
Meaning:
ex.trapo.late\n   extrapolate  extrapolates  extrapolating  extrapolated\n  If you extrapolate from known facts, you use them as a basis for general statements about a situation or about what is likely to happen in the future. (FORMAL)\nExtrapolating from his American findings, he reckons about 80% of these deaths might be attributed to smoking...\nIt is unhelpful to extrapolate general trends from one case.\n  VERB: V from n, V n from n\n\n=>  ex.trapo.la.tion      extrapolations\nHis estimate of half a million HIV positive cases was based on an extrapolation of the known incidence of the virus.\n  N-VAR


Words: extraterrestrial
Meaning:
extra.ter.res.trial\n   extraterrestrial  extraterrestrials   also extra-terrestrial\n1. Extraterrestrial means happening, existing, or coming from somewhere beyond the planet Earth. (FORMAL)\nNASA has started a 10-year search for extraterrestrial intelligence.\n...extraterrestrial rocks.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n2. Extraterrestrials are living creatures that some people think exist or may exist in another part of the universe.\n  N-COUNT


Words: extravagance
Meaning:
ex.trava.gance\n   extravagance  extravagances\n1. Extravagance is the spending of more money than is reasonable or than you can afford.\n...gross mismanagement and financial extravagance...\nWhen the company went under, tales of his extravagance surged through the industry.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. An extravagance is something that you spend money on but cannot really afford.\nHer only extravagance was horses...\n  N-COUNT


Words: extravagant
Meaning:
ex.trava.gant\n   extravagant\n1. Someone who is extravagant spends more money than they can afford or uses more of something than is reasonable.\nWe are not extravagant; restaurant meals are a luxury and designer clothes are out...\n  ADJ\n\n=>  ex.trava.gant.ly\nJeff had shopped extravagantly for presents for the whole family.\n  ADV: ADV with v\n\n2. Something that is extravagant costs more money than you can afford or uses more of something than is reasonable.\nHer Aunt Sallie gave her an uncharacteristically extravagant gift...\n...her extravagant lifestyle.\n  ADJ\n\n=>  ex.trava.gant.ly\nBy supercar standards, though, it is not extravagantly priced for a beautifully engineered machine.\n  ADV: ADV adj/-ed\n\n3. Extravagant behaviour is extreme behaviour that is often done for a particular effect.\nHe was extravagant in his admiration of Hellas...\nThey may make extravagant shows of generosity.\n  ADJ\n\n=>  ex.trava.gant.ly\n...extravagantly bizarre clothes.\n  ADV: ADV with v, ADV adj\n\n4. Extravagant claims or ideas are unrealistic or impractical.\nThey have to compete by adorning their products with ever more extravagant claims...\nDon’t be afraid to consider apparently extravagant ideas.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n  disapproval\n  = wild


Words: extravaganza
Meaning:
ex.trava.gan.za\n   extravaganza  extravaganzas\n  An extravaganza is a very elaborate and expensive show or performance.\n...a magnificent firework extravaganza.\n...an all-night musical extravaganza.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, with supp\n  = spectacular


Words: extreme
Meaning:
ex.treme\n   extreme  extremes\n1. Extreme means very great in degree or intensity.\nThe girls were afraid of snakes and picked their way along with extreme caution.\n...people living in extreme poverty.\n...the author’s extreme reluctance to generalise.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  = great\n2. You use extreme to describe situations and behaviour which are much more severe or unusual than you would expect, especially when you disapprove of them because of this.\nThe extreme case was Poland, where 29 parties won seats...\nIt is hard to imagine Lineker capable of anything so extreme...\n  ADJ  disapproval\n\n3. You use extreme to describe opinions, beliefs, or political movements which you disapprove of because they are very different from those that most people would accept as reasonable or normal.\nThis extreme view hasn’t captured popular opinion.\n...the racist politics of the extreme right.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n  disapproval\n  !=moderate\n4. You can use extremes to refer to situations or types of behaviour that have opposite qualities to each other, especially when each situation or type of behaviour has such a quality to the greatest degree possible.\n...a `middle way’ between the extremes of success and failure...\nThey can withstand extremes of temperature and weather without fading or cracking.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl, oft N of n\n\n5. The extreme end or edge of something is its furthest end or edge.\n...the room at the extreme end of the corridor.\n...winds from the extreme north.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n  = far\n6. If a person goes to extremes or takes something to extremes, they do or say something in a way that people consider to be unacceptable, unreasonable, or foolish.\nThe police went to the extremes of installing the most advanced safety devices in the man’s house...\nThe doctor told me not to mention dieting to her in case she took it to the extreme...\n  PHRASE: V and N inflect\n\n7. You use in the extreme after an adjective in order to emphasize what you are saying, especially when you want to indicate that it is something which is undesirable or very surprising. (FORMAL)\nIt is proving controversial in the extreme...\n  PHRASE: adj PHR  emphasis


Words: extremely
Meaning:
ex.treme.ly\n   extremely\n  You use extremely in front of adjectives and adverbs to emphasize that the specified quality is present to a very great degree.\nThese headaches are extremely common...\nThree of them are working extremely well.\n  ADV: ADV adj/adv  emphasis\n  = exceedingly, very


Words: extremism
Meaning:
ex.trem.ism\n   extremism\n  Extremism is the behaviour or beliefs of extremists.\nGreater demands were being placed on the police by growing violence and left and right-wing extremism.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: extremist
Meaning:
ex.trem.ist\n   extremist  extremists\n1. If you describe someone as an extremist, you disapprove of them because they try to bring about political change by using violent or extreme methods.\nThe country needs a strong intelligence service to counter espionage and foreign extremists...\nA previously unknown extremist group has said it carried out Friday’s bomb attack.\n...a marked rise in extremist violence.\n  N-COUNT  disapproval\n\n2. If you say that someone has extremist views, you disapprove of them because they believe in bringing about change by using violent or extreme methods.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n  disapproval


Words: extremity
Meaning:
ex.trem.ity\n   extremity  extremities\n1. The extremity of something is its furthest end or edge. (FORMAL)\n...a small port on the north-western extremity of the Iberian peninsula.\n...the extremities of the aeroplane.\n  N-COUNT: with supp\n\n2. Your extremities are the end parts of your body, especially your hands and feet.\nHe found that his extremities grew cold...\n  N-PLURAL: oft with poss\n\n3. The extremity of a situation or of someone’s behaviour is the degree to which it is severe, unusual, or unacceptable.\nIn spite of the extremity of her seclusion she was sane...\nIn the past, the region had been protected by its forbidding geography and the extremities of its climate...\n  N-UNCOUNT: also N in pl, oft N of n


Words: extricate
Meaning:
ex.tri.cate\n   extricate  extricates  extricating  extricated\n1. If you extricate yourself or another person from a difficult or serious situation, you free yourself or the other person from it.\nIt represents a last ditch attempt by the country to extricate itself from its economic crisis...\nShe tugged on Hart’s arm to extricate him from the circle of men with whom he’d been talking.\n  VERB: V pron-refl from n, V n from n\n  = free\n2. If you extricate someone or something from a place where they are trapped or caught, you succeed in freeing them. (FORMAL)\nHe endeavoured to extricate the car, digging with his hands in the blazing sunshine.\n  VERB: V n\n  = free


Words: extrinsic
Meaning:
ex.trin.sic\n   extrinsic\n  Extrinsic reasons, forces, or factors exist outside the person or situation they affect. (FORMAL)\nNowadays there are fewer extrinsic pressures to get married.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n  = external  !=intrinsic


Words: extrovert
Meaning:
extro.vert\n   extrovert  extroverts\n  Someone who is extrovert is very active, lively, and friendly. (mainly BRIT)\n...his extrovert personality.\n  ADJ\n\n  An extrovert is someone who is extrovert. (in AM, usually use extroverted)\nHe was a showman, an extrovert who revelled in controversy.\n  N-COUNT\n  !=introvert


Words: extroverted
Meaning:
extro.vert.ed\n   extroverted\n  Someone who is extroverted is very active, lively, and friendly. (mainly AM; in BRIT, usually use extrovert)\nSome young people who were easy-going and extroverted as children become self-conscious in early adolescence.\n  ADJ\n  !=introverted


Words: extrude
Meaning:
ex.trude\n   extrude  extrudes  extruding  extruded\n  If a substance is extruded, it is forced or squeezed out through a small opening. (TECHNICAL)\nThese crystals are then embedded in a plastic, and the plastic is extruded as a wire...\nI work in the extruded tube business.\n  VERB: usu passive, be V-ed, V-ed


Words: extrusion
Meaning:
ex.tru.sion\n   extrusion  extrusions\n  Extrusion is the act or process of extruding something. (TECHNICAL)\n  N-VAR


Words: exuberance
Meaning:
exu.ber.ance\n   exuberance\n  Exuberance is behaviour which is energetic, excited, and cheerful.\nHer burst of exuberance and her brightness overwhelmed me.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: exuberant
Meaning:
exu.ber.ant\n   exuberant\n  If you are exuberant, you are full of energy, excitement, and cheerfulness.\n...an exuberant young girl who decided to become a screen actress.\n  ADJ\n\n=>  exu.ber.ant.ly\nThey both laughed exuberantly.\n  ADV


Words: exude
Meaning:
ex.ude\n   exude  exudes  exuding  exuded\n1. If someone exudes a quality or feeling, or if it exudes, they show that they have it to a great extent. (FORMAL)\nThe guerrillas exude confidence. Every town, they say, is under their control...\nA dogged air of confidence exuded.\n  VERB: V n, V\n  = radiate\n2. If something exudes a liquid or smell or if a liquid or smell exudes from it, the liquid or smell comes out of it slowly and steadily. (FORMAL)\nNearby was a factory which exuded a pungent smell.\n...the fluid that exudes from the cane toad’s back.\n  VERB: V n, V from n


Words: exult
Meaning:
ex.ult\n   exult  exults  exulting  exulted\n  If you exult in a triumph or success that you have had, you feel and show great happiness and pleasure because of it. (WRITTEN)\nHe was exulting in a win at the show earlier that day...\nSome individual investors exulted at the record...\nI exulted and wept for joy...\n`This is what I’ve longed for during my entire career,’ Kendall exulted.\n  VERB: V in/at n, V in/at n, V, V with quote\n\n=>  ex.ul.ta.tion\nI felt a tremendous sense of relief and exultation.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: exultant
Meaning:
ex.ult.ant\n   exultant\n  If you are exultant, you feel very happy and proud about something you have done. (FORMAL)\nAn exultant party leader said: `He will be an excellent MP.’\n  ADJ\n  = jubilant\n=>  ex.ult.ant.ly\n`We cannot lose the war!’ he shouted exultantly.\n  ADV: ADV with v


Words: eye
Meaning:
eye  eyes  eyeing  or eying  eyed\n1. Your eyes are the parts of your body with which you see.\nI opened my eyes and looked...\nMaria’s eyes filled with tears.\n...a tall, thin white-haired lady with piercing dark brown eyes...\nHe is now blind in one eye.\n  N-COUNT: oft poss N in pl\n\n2. If you eye someone or something in a particular way, you look at them carefully in that way.\nSally eyed Claire with interest...\nMartin eyed the bottle at Marianne’s elbow.\n  VERB: V n prep/adv, V n\n\n3. You use eye when you are talking about a person’s ability to judge things or about the way in which they are considering or dealing with things.\nWilliam was a man of discernment, with an eye for quality...\nTheir chief negotiator turned his critical eye on the United States...\nHe first learnt to fish under the watchful eye of his grandmother.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, with supp, oft a N for n\n\n4. An eye on a potato is one of the dark spots from which new stems grow.\n  N-COUNT\n\n5. An eye is a small metal loop which a hook fits into, as a fastening on a piece of clothing.\n  N-COUNT\n\n6. The eye of a needle is the small hole at one end which the thread passes through.\n  N-COUNT\n\n7. The eye of a storm, tornado, or hurricane is the centre of it.\nThe eye of the hurricane hit Florida just south of Miami.\n  N-SING: the N of n\n\n8.\n  see also black eye, private eye, shut-eye\n9. If you say that something happens before your eyes, in front of your eyes, or under your eyes, you are emphasizing that it happens where you can see it clearly and often implying that it is surprising or unpleasant.\nA lot of them died in front of our eyes...\n  PHRASE: usu PHR after v, v-link PHR  emphasis\n\n10. If you cast your eye or run your eye over something, you look at it or read it quickly.\nI would be grateful if he could cast an expert eye over it and tell me what he thought of it...\n  PHRASE: V inflects, PHR prep\n\n11. If something catches your eye, you suddenly notice it.\nAs she turned back, a movement across the lawn caught her eye.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n  see also eye-catching\n12. If you catch someone’s eye, you do something to attract their attention, so that you can speak to them.\nI tried to catch Chrissie’s eye to find out what she was playing at.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n13. To clap eyes on someone or something, or set or lay eyes on them, means to see them. (INFORMAL)\nThat’s probably the most bare and bleak island I’ve ever had the misfortune to clap eyes on...\nWhat was he doing when you last set eyes on him?\n  PHRASE: V inflects, oft after superl, oft with brd-neg\n\n14. If you make eye contact with someone, you look at them at the same time as they look at you, so that you are both aware that you are looking at each other. If you avoid eye contact with someone, you deliberately do not look straight at them because you feel awkward or embarrassed.\nShe was looking at me across the room, and we made eye contact several times...\nI spent a fruitless ten minutes walking up and down the high street, desperately avoiding eye contact with passers-by.\n  PHRASE: PHR after v\n\n15. If you close your eyes to something bad or if you shut your eyes to it, you ignore it.\nMost governments must simply be shutting their eyes to the problem.\n  PHRASE: V inflects, PHR n\n\n16. If you cry your eyes out, you cry very hard. (INFORMAL)\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n17. If there is something as far as the eye can see, there is a lot of it and you cannot see anything else beyond it.\nThere are pine trees as far as the eye can see.\n  PHRASE\n\n18. If you say that someone has an eye for something, you mean that they are good at noticing it or making judgments about it.\nSusan has a keen eye for detail, so each dress is beautifully finished off.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n19. You use expressions such as in his eyes or to her eyes to indicate that you are reporting someone’s opinion and that other people might think differently.\nThe other serious problem in the eyes of the new government is communalism...\n(next)


Words: eye .1
Meaning:
Richard Dorrington was, in their eyes, a very sensible and reliable man...\n  PHRASE: PHR with cl-group\n\n20. If you keep your eyes open or keep an eye out for someone or something, you watch for them carefully. (INFORMAL)\nI ask the mounted patrol to keep their eyes open...\nYou and your friends keep an eye out.if there’s any trouble we’ll make a break for it.\n  PHRASE: V inflects, oft PHR for n\n\n21. If you keep an eye on something or someone, you watch them carefully, for example to make sure that they are satisfactory or safe, or not causing trouble.\nI’m sure you will appreciate that we must keep a careful eye on all our running costs...\nI went for a run there, keeping an eye on the children the whole time...\n  PHRASE: V inflects, PHR n\n\n22. You say `there’s more to this than meets the eye’ when you think a situation is not as simple as it seems to be.\nThis whole business is very puzzling. There is a lot more to it than meets the eye.\n  PHRASE\n\n23. If something, especially something surprising or impressive, meets your eyes, you see it.\nThe first sight that met my eyes on reaching the front door was the church enveloped in flames.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n24. If you say that all eyes are on something or that the eyes of the world are on something, you mean that everyone is paying careful attention to it and what will happen. (JOURNALISM)\nAll eyes will be on tomorrow’s vote...\nThe eyes of the world were now on the police.\n  PHRASE: V inflects, PHR n\n\n25. If someone has their eye on you, they are watching you carefully to see what you do.\nAs the boat plodded into British waters and up the English Channel, Customs had their eye on her.\n  PHRASE: V inflects, PHR n\n\n26. If you have your eye on something, you want to have it. (INFORMAL)\n...if you’re saving up for a new outfit you’ve had your eye on.\n  PHRASE: V inflects, PHR n\n\n27. If you say that you did something with your eyes open or with your eyes wide open, you mean that you knew about the problems and difficulties that you were likely to have.\nWe want all our members to undertake this trip responsibly, with their eyes open.\n  PHRASE: PHR after v\n\n28. If something opens your eyes, it makes you aware that something is different from the way that you thought it was.\nWatching your child explore the world about her can open your eyes to delights long forgotten.\n  PHRASE: V inflects, oft PHR to n\n\n29. If you see eye to eye with someone, you agree with them and have the same opinions and views.\nYuriko saw eye to eye with Yul on almost every aspect of the production...\n  PHRASE: V inflects, PHR with n, pl-n PHR\n\n30. When you take your eyes off the thing you have been watching or looking at, you stop looking at it.\nShe took her eyes off the road to glance at me...\n  PHRASE: V inflects, PHR n\n\n31. If someone sees or considers something through your eyes, they consider it in the way that you do, from your point of view.\nShe tried to see things through his eyes...\n  PHRASE: PHR after v\n\n32. If you say that you are up to your eyes in something, you are emphasizing that you have a lot of it to deal with, and often that you are very busy. (INFORMAL)\nI am up to my eyes in work...\n  PHRASE: v-link PHR, usu PHR in n  emphasis\n\n33.\nthe apple of your eye: see apple\nto turn a blind eye: see blind\nto feast your eyes: see feast\nin your mind’s eye: see mind\nthe naked eye: see naked\nto pull the wool over someone’s eyes: see wool


