# dict

Words: tenderize
Meaning:
ten.der.ize\n   tenderize  tenderizes  tenderizing  tenderized\nin BRIT, also use tenderise\n  If you tenderize meat, you make it softer by preparing it in a particular way.\nWine vinegar tenderises meat.\n  VERB: V n


Words: tendon
Meaning:
ten.don\n   tendon  tendons\n  A tendon is a strong cord in a person’s or animal’s body which joins a muscle to a bone.\n  N-COUNT\n\n  see also Achilles tendon


Words: tendril
Meaning:
ten.dril\n   tendril  tendrils\n1. A tendril is something light and thin, for example a piece of hair which hangs loose and is away from the main part.\nTendrils of hair strayed to the edge of her pillow.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. Tendrils are thin stems which grow on some plants so that they can attach themselves to supports such as walls or other plants.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl


Words: tenement
Meaning:
ten.ement\n   tenement  tenements\n1. A tenement is a large, old building which is divided into a number of individual flats.\n...elegant 19th century tenement buildings.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A tenement is one of the flats in a tenement.\n  N-COUNT


Words: tenet
Meaning:
ten.et\n   tenet  tenets\n  The tenets of a theory or belief are the main principles on which it is based. (FORMAL)\nNon-violence and patience are the central tenets of their faith...\n  N-COUNT: with supp, oft N of n\n  = principle


Words: tenner
Meaning:
ten.ner\n   tenner  tenners\n  A tenner is ten pounds or a ten-pound note. (BRIT INFORMAL)\n  N-COUNT


Words: tennis
Meaning:
ten.nis\n   tennis\n  Tennis is a game played by two or four players on a rectangular court. The players use an oval bat with strings across it to hit a ball over a net across the middle of the court.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: tenor
Meaning:
ten.or\n   tenor  tenors\n1. A tenor is a male singer whose voice is fairly high.\n  N-COUNT: oft N n\n\n2. A tenor saxophone or other musical instrument has a range of notes that are of a fairly low pitch.\n...one of the best tenor sax players ever.\n  ADJ\n\n3. The tenor of something is the general meaning or mood that it expresses. (FORMAL)\nThe whole tenor of discussions has changed...\n  N-SING: with poss


Words: tense
Meaning:
tense  tenser  tensest  tenses  tensing  tensed\n1. A tense situation or period of time is one that makes people anxious, because they do not know what is going to happen next.\nThis gesture of goodwill did little to improve the tense atmosphere at the talks...\nAfter three very tense weeks he phoned again...\n  ADJ\n\n2. If you are tense, you are anxious and nervous and cannot relax.\nDart, who had at first been very tense, at last relaxed.\n  ADJ\n\n=>  tense.ly\nShe waited tensely for the next bulletin...\n  ADV: usu ADV with v\n\n=>  tense.ness\nMcKay walked slowly toward this screen, feeling a growing tenseness.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n3. If your body is tense, your muscles are tight and not relaxed.\nA bath can relax tense muscles.\n  ADJ\n\n=>  tense.ness\nIf you feel a tenseness around the eyes, relax your muscles.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n4. If your muscles tense, if you tense, or if you tense your muscles, your muscles become tight and stiff, often because you are anxious or frightened.\nNewman’s stomach muscles tensed...\nJane tensed her muscles to stop them from shaking.\n  VERB: V, V n\n\n  Tense up means the same as tense.\nWhen we are under stress our bodies tend to tense up...\nTense up the muscles in both of your legs.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P, V P n (not pron), also V n P\n\n5. The tense of a verb group is its form, which usually shows whether you are referring to past, present, or future time.\n  N-COUNT


Words: tensile
Meaning:
ten.sile\n   tensile\n  You use tensile when you are talking about the amount of stress that materials such as wire, rope, and concrete can take without breaking; a technical term in engineering.\nCertain materials can be manufactured with a high tensile strength.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: tension
Meaning:
ten.sion\n   tension  tensions\n1. Tension is the feeling that is produced in a situation when people are anxious and do not trust each other, and when there is a possibility of sudden violence or conflict.\nThe tension between the two countries is likely to remain...\n  N-UNCOUNT: also N in pl\n\n2. Tension is a feeling of worry and anxiety which makes it difficult for you to relax.\nSmiling and laughing has actually been shown to relieve tension and stress.\n  N-UNCOUNT: also N in pl\n\n3. If there is a tension between forces, arguments, or influences, there are differences between them that cause difficulties.\nThe film explored the tension between public duty and personal affections.\n  N-VAR: usu N between pl-n\n\n4. The tension in something such as a rope or wire is the extent to which it is stretched tight.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: tent
Meaning:
tent  tents\n  A tent is a shelter made of canvas or nylon which is held up by poles and ropes, and is used mainly by people who are camping.\n  N-COUNT


Words: tentacle
Meaning:
ten.ta.cle\n   tentacle  tentacles\n1. The tentacles of an animal such as an octopus are the long thin parts that are used for feeling and holding things, for getting food, and for moving.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl\n\n2. If you talk about the tentacles of a political, commercial, or social organization, you are referring to the power and influence that it has in the outside community.\nFree speech is being gradually eroded year after year by new tentacles of government control.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl, with supp  disapproval


Words: tentative
Meaning:
ten.ta.tive\n   tentative\n1. Tentative agreements, plans, or arrangements are not definite or certain, but have been made as a first step.\nPolitical leaders have reached a tentative agreement to hold a preparatory conference next month...\n  ADJ\n  = provisional  !=firm\n=>  ten.ta.tive.ly\nThe next round of talks is tentatively scheduled to begin October 21st in Washington.\n  ADV: ADV with v\n\n2. If someone is tentative, they are cautious and not very confident because they are uncertain or afraid.\nMy first attempts at complaining were rather tentative...\n  ADJ\n  !=confident\n=>  ten.ta.tive.ly\nPerhaps, he suggested tentatively, they should send for Dr Band.\n  ADV: ADV with v


Words: tented
Meaning:
tent.ed\n   tented\n1. A tented field or a tented camp is an area where a number of people are living in tents.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n2. A tented room has long pieces of material hanging down from the centre of the ceiling to the walls, so that the room has the appearance of the inside of a large tent.\n...a tented dining area...\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: tenterhooks
Meaning:
tenter.hooks\n   tenterhooks\n  If you are on tenterhooks, you are very nervous and excited because you are wondering what is going to happen in a particular situation.\nHe was still on tenterhooks waiting for his directors’ decision about the job.\n  PHRASE: v-link PHR


Words: tenth
Meaning:
tenth  tenths\n1. The tenth item in a series is the one that you count as number ten.\n  ORD\n\n2. A tenth is one of ten equal parts of something.\nWe received only two tenths of an inch of rain during the entire month of June.\n  FRACTION


Words: tenuous
Meaning:
tenu.ous\n   tenuous\n  If you describe something such as a connection, a reason, or someone’s position as tenuous, you mean that it is very uncertain or weak.\nThe cultural and historical links between the many provinces were seen to be very tenuous...\n  ADJ\n  !=strong\n=>  tenu.ous.ly\nThe sub-plots are only tenuously interconnected.\n  ADV: ADV with v


Words: tenure
Meaning:
ten.ure\n   tenure\n1. Tenure is the legal right to live in a particular building or to use a particular piece of land during a fixed period of time.\nLack of security of tenure was a reason for many families becoming homeless.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. Tenure is the period of time during which someone holds an important job.\n...the three-year tenure of President Bush...\n  N-UNCOUNT: with supp\n\n3. If you have tenure in your job, you have the right to keep it until you retire.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: tepee
Meaning:
te.pee\n   tepee  tepees   also teepee\n  A tepee is a round tent. Tepees were first made by Native American peoples from animal skins or the outer covering of trees.\n  N-COUNT\n  = wigwam


Words: tepid
Meaning:
tep.id\n   tepid\n1. Water or another liquid that is tepid is slightly warm.\nShe bent her mouth to the tap and drank the tepid water.\n  ADJ\n  = lukewarm\n2. If you describe something such as a feeling or reaction as tepid, you mean that it lacks enthusiasm.\nHis nomination, while strongly backed by the President, has received tepid support in the Senate.\n  ADJ\n  = lukewarm


Words: tequila
Meaning:
te.qui.la\n   tequila  tequilas\n  Tequila is a strong alcoholic drink made in Mexico from a type of cactus plant.\n  N-MASS


Words: tercentenary
Meaning:
ter.cen.te.nary\n   tercentenary\n  A tercentenary is a day or a year which is exactly three hundred years after an important event such as the birth of a famous person.\n...the tercentenary of Purcell’s death.\n  N-SING: oft the N of n


Words: term
Meaning:
term  terms  terming  termed\n1. If you talk about something in terms of something or in particular terms, you are specifying which aspect of it you are discussing or from what point of view you are considering it.\nOur goods compete in terms of product quality, reliability and above all variety...\nParis has played a dominant role in France, not just in political terms but also in economic power.\n  PHRASE: PHR after v, PHR with cl\n\n2. If you say something in particular terms, you say it using a particular type or level of language or using language which clearly shows your attitude.\nThe video explains in simple terms how the new tax works...\n  PHRASE: usu PHR after v, PHR with cl\n\n3. A term is a word or expression with a specific meaning, especially one which is used in relation to a particular subject.\nMyocardial infarction is the medical term for a heart attack.\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp\n\n4. If you say that something is termed a particular thing, you mean that that is what people call it or that is their opinion of it.\nHe had been termed a temporary employee...\nHe termed the war a humanitarian nightmare.\n  VERB: be V-ed n, V n n\n\n5. A term is one of the periods of time that a school, college, or university divides the year into.\n...the summer term.\n...the last day of term.\n  N-VAR\n\n6. A term is a period of time between two elections during which a particular party or government is in power.\nFelipe Gonzalez won a fourth term of office in Spain’s election.\n  N-COUNT: with supp\n\n7. A term is a period of time that someone spends doing a particular job or in a particular place.\n...a 12 month term of service...\nOffenders will be liable to a seven-year prison term.\n  N-COUNT: with supp\n\n8. A term is the period for which a legal contract or insurance policy is valid.\nPremiums are guaranteed throughout the term of the policy.\n  N-COUNT: with supp\n\n9. The term of a woman’s pregnancy is the nine month period that it lasts. Term is also used to refer to the end of the nine month period.\nWomen over 40 seem to be just as capable of carrying a baby to term as younger women.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n10. The terms of an agreement, treaty, or other arrangement are the conditions that must be accepted by the people involved in it.\n...the terms of the Helsinki agreement...\n  N-PLURAL: usu with supp\n\n11. If you come to terms with something difficult or unpleasant, you learn to accept and deal with it.\nShe had come to terms with the fact that her husband would always be crippled.\n  PHRASE: V inflects, PHR n\n\n12. If two people or groups compete on equal terms or on the same terms, neither of them has an advantage over the other.\nI had at last found a sport where I could compete on equal terms with able-bodied people...\n  PHRASE: PHR after v\n\n13. If two people are on good terms or on friendly terms, they are friendly with each other.\nMadeleine is on good terms with Sarah...\n  PHRASE: v-link PHR, PHR after v\n\n14. You use the expressions in the long term, in the short term, and in the medium term to talk about what will happen over a long period of time, over a short period of time, and over a medium period of time.\nThe agreement should have very positive results in the long term...\n  PHRASE: PHR with cl\n\n  see also long-term, medium-term, short-term\n15. If you do something on your terms, you do it under conditions that you decide because you are in a position of power.\nThey will sign the union treaty only on their terms.\n  PHRASE: PHR after v\n\n16. If you say that you are thinking in terms of doing a particular thing, you mean that you are considering it.\nUnited should be thinking in terms of winning the European Cup...\n  PHRASE: V inflects, PHR -ing\n\n17.\nin no uncertain terms: see uncertain\nin real terms: see real\non speaking terms: see speak


Words: term paper
Meaning:
term pa.per\n   term paper  term papers\n  A term paper is an essay or report which a student writes on a subject that he or she has studied during a term at a school, college, or university. (AM)\n  N-COUNT


Words: terminal
Meaning:
ter.mi.nal\n   terminal  terminals\n1. A terminal illness or disease causes death, often slowly, and cannot be cured.\n...terminal cancer.\n...his illness was terminal.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n=>  ter.mi.nal.ly\nThe patient is terminally ill.\n  ADV: ADV adj\n\n2. A terminal is a place where vehicles, passengers, or goods begin or end a journey.\nPlans are underway for a fifth terminal at Heathrow airport.\n  N-COUNT: usu supp N\n\n3. A computer terminal is a piece of equipment consisting of a keyboard and a screen that is used for putting information into a computer or getting information from it. (COMPUTING)\nCarl sits at a computer terminal 40 hours a week.\n  N-COUNT\n\n4. On a piece of electrical equipment, a terminal is one of the points where electricity enters or leaves it.\n...the positive terminal of the battery.\n  N-COUNT


Words: terminate
Meaning:
ter.mi.nate\n   terminate  terminates  terminating  terminated\n1. When you terminate something or when it terminates, it ends completely. (FORMAL)\nHer next remark abruptly terminated the conversation...\nHis contract terminates at the end of the season.\n  VERB: V n, V\n\n=>  ter.mi.na.tion\n...a dispute which led to the abrupt termination of trade.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. To terminate a pregnancy means to end it. (MEDICAL)\nAfter a lot of agonizing she decided to terminate the pregnancy...\n  VERB: V n\n\n=>  ter.mi.na.tion      terminations\nYou should also have a medical check-up after the termination of a pregnancy.\n  N-VAR\n\n3. When a train or bus terminates somewhere, it ends its journey there. (FORMAL)\nThis train will terminate at Taunton.\n  VERB: V prep/adv


Words: terminology
Meaning:
ter.mi.nol.ogy\n   terminology  terminologies\n  The terminology of a subject is the set of special words and expressions used in connection with it.\n...gastritis, which in medical terminology means an inflammation of the stomach.\n  N-VAR: usu with supp


Words: terminus
Meaning:
ter.mi.nus\n   terminus  termini\n  On a bus or train route, the terminus is the last stop, where the bus or train turns round or starts a journey in the opposite direction.\n  N-COUNT


Words: termite
Meaning:
ter.mite\n   termite  termites\n  Termites are small white insects which live in hot countries in homes made of earth. Termites do a lot of damage by eating wood.\n  N-COUNT


Words: terms of reference
Meaning:
terms of ref.er.ence\n   terms of reference\n  Terms of reference are the instructions given to someone when they are asked to consider or investigate a particular subject, telling them what they must deal with and what they can ignore. (FORMAL)\nThe government has announced the terms of reference for its proposed committee of inquiry.\n  N-PLURAL


Words: tern
Meaning:
tern  terns\n  A tern is a small black and white seabird with long wings and a forked tail.\n  N-COUNT


Words: terra firma
Meaning:
ter.ra fir.ma\n   terra firma\n  If you describe the ground as terra firma, you mean that it feels safe in contrast to being in the air or at sea.\n...his relief on finding himself once more on terra firma.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: terrace
Meaning:
ter.race\n   terrace  terraces\n1. A terrace is a row of similar houses joined together by their side walls. (BRIT)\n...a terrace of stylish Victorian houses.\n...3 Queensborough Terrace.\n  N-COUNT; N-IN-NAMES\n\n2. A terrace is a flat area of stone or grass next to a building where people can sit.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. Terraces are a series of flat areas built like steps on the side of a hill so that crops can be grown there.\n...massive terraces of maize and millet carved into the mountainside like giant steps.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl\n\n4. The terraces at a football ground are wide steps that people can stand on when they are watching a game. (BRIT)\n  N-PLURAL: the N


Words: terraced
Meaning:
ter.raced\n   terraced\n  A terraced slope or side of a hill has flat areas like steps cut into it, where crops or other plants can be grown.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: terraced house
Meaning:
ter.raced house\n   terraced house  terraced houses\n  A terraced house or a terrace house is one of a row of similar houses joined together by their side walls. (BRIT; in AM, use row house)\n  N-COUNT


Words: terracing
Meaning:
ter.rac.ing\n   terracing\n  Terracing is a sloping piece of land that has had flat areas like steps built on it, for example so that people can grow crops there.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: terracotta
Meaning:
terra.cotta\n   terracotta   also terra-cotta\n1. Terracotta is a brownish-red clay that has been baked and is used for making things such as flower pots, small statues, and tiles.\n...plants in terracotta pots.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N n\n\n2. Terracotta is used to describe things that are brownish-red in colour.\n...the soft tones of blue, cream and terracotta.\n  COLOUR


Words: terrain
Meaning:
ter.rain\n   terrain  terrains\n  Terrain is used to refer to an area of land or a type of land when you are considering its physical features.\nThe terrain changed quickly from arable land to desert.\n  N-VAR: usu with supp


Words: terrapin
Meaning:
ter.ra.pin\n   terrapin  terrapins\n  A terrapin is a reptile which has a thick shell covering its body and which lives partly in water and partly on land.\n  N-COUNT


Words: terrestrial
Meaning:
ter.res.trial\n   terrestrial\n1. Terrestrial means relating to the planet Earth rather than to some other part of the universe.\n...terrestrial life forms.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n2. Terrestrial television channels are transmitted using equipment situated at ground level, and not by satellite. (BRIT)\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: terrible
Meaning:
ter.ri.ble\n   terrible\n1. A terrible experience or situation is very serious or very unpleasant.\nTens of thousands more suffered terrible injuries in the world’s worst industrial disaster...\nI often have the most terrible nightmares...\n  ADJ\n  = dreadful\n=>  ter.ri.bly\nMy son has suffered terribly. He has lost his best friend.\n  ADV: ADV after v\n\n2. If something is terrible, it is very bad or of very poor quality.\nShe admits her French is terrible.\n  ADJ\n  = dreadful\n3. You use terrible to emphasize the great extent or degree of something.\nI was a terrible fool, you know. I remember that now...\n  ADJ: ADJ n  emphasis\n\n=>  ter.ri.bly\nI’m terribly sorry to bother you at this hour...\n  ADV: usu ADV adj


Words: terrier
Meaning:
ter.ri.er\n   terrier  terriers\n  A terrier is a small breed of dog. There are many different types of terrier.\n  N-COUNT\n\n  see also bull terrier, pit bull terrier


Words: terrific
Meaning:
ter.rif.ic\n   terrific\n1. If you describe something or someone as terrific, you are very pleased with them or very impressed by them. (INFORMAL)\nWhat a terrific idea!...\nEverybody there was having a terrific time...\n  ADJ\n  = great\n2. Terrific means very great in amount, degree, or intensity.\nAll of a sudden there was a terrific bang and a flash of smoke.\n  ADJ: ADJ n  emphasis\n  = tremendous\n=>  ter.rifi.cal.ly\n...the only child of terrifically repressed parents.\n  ADV: usu ADV adj/-ed


Words: terrify
Meaning:
ter.ri.fy\n   terrify  terrifies  terrifying  terrified\n  If something terrifies you, it makes you feel extremely frightened.\nFlying terrifies him...\n  VERB: V n\n\n=>  ter.ri.fied\nHe was terrified of heights...\nShe was terrified that Ronnie would kidnap Sam...\n  ADJ: oft ADJ of n, ADJ that, ADJ to-inf


Words: terrifying
Meaning:
ter.ri.fy.ing\n   terrifying\n  If something is terrifying, it makes you very frightened.\nI still find it terrifying to find myself surrounded by large numbers of horses...\n  ADJ: oft ADJ to-inf\n  = frightening


Words: territorial
Meaning:
ter.ri.to.rial\n   territorial\n1. Territorial means concerned with the ownership of a particular area of land or water.\nIt is the only republic which has no territorial disputes with the others...\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n2. If you describe an animal or its behaviour as territorial, you mean that it has an area which it regards as its own, and which it defends when other animals try to enter it.\nTwo cats or more in one house will also exhibit territorial behaviour.\n  ADJ


Words: Territorial Army
Meaning:
Ter.ri.to.rial Army\n   Territorial Army\n  The Territorial Army is a British armed force whose members are not professional soldiers but train as soldiers in their spare time.\n  N-PROPER: the N


Words: territorial waters
Meaning:
ter.ri.to.rial wa.ters\n   territorial waters\n  A country’s territorial waters are the parts of the sea close to its coast which are recognized by international agreement to be under its control, especially with regard to fishing rights.\n  N-PLURAL: usu poss/adj N


Words: territory
Meaning:
ter.ri.tory\n   territory  territories\n1. Territory is land which is controlled by a particular country or ruler.\nThe government denies that any of its territory is under rebel control.\n...Russian territory.\n  N-VAR\n\n2. A territory is a country or region that is controlled by another country.\nHe toured some of the disputed territories now under UN control.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. You can use territory to refer to an area of knowledge or experience.\nFollowing the futuristic The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood’s seventh novel, Cat’s Eye, returns to more familiar territory...\n  N-UNCOUNT: with supp\n  = terrain\nvirgin territory: see virgin\n4. An animal’s territory is an area which it regards as its own and which it defends when other animals try to enter it.\n  N-VAR: usu with supp\n\n5. Territory is land with a particular character.\n...mountainous territory.\n...a vast and uninhabited territory.\n  N-UNCOUNT: with supp, usu adj N\n\n6. If you say that something comes with the territory, you mean that you accept it as a natural result of the situation you are in.\nYou can’t expect not to have a debate; that’s what comes with the territory in a democracy.\n  PHRASE: V inflects


Words: terror
Meaning:
ter.ror\n   terror  terrors\n1. Terror is very great fear.\nI shook with terror whenever I was about to fly in an aeroplane...\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. Terror is violence or the threat of violence, especially when it is used for political reasons.\nThe bomb attack on the capital could signal the start of a pre-election terror campaign.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N n\n\n3. A terror is something that makes you very frightened.\nAs a boy, he had a real terror of facing people.\n...the terrors of violence.\n  N-COUNT\n\n4. If someone describes a child as a terror, they think that he or she is naughty and difficult to control. (INFORMAL)\nHe was a terror. He had been a difficult child for as long as his parents could remember.\n  N-COUNT  disapproval\n\n5.\nreign of terror: see reign


Words: terrorism
Meaning:
ter.ror.ism\n   terrorism\n  Terrorism is the use of violence, especially murder and bombing, in order to achieve political aims or to force a government to do something.\n  N-UNCOUNT  disapproval


Words: terrorist
Meaning:
ter.ror.ist\n   terrorist  terrorists\n  A terrorist is a person who uses violence, especially murder and bombing, in order to achieve political aims.\nOne American was killed and three were wounded in terrorist attacks.\n  N-COUNT: oft N n  disapproval


Words: terrorize
Meaning:
ter.ror.ize\n   terrorize  terrorizes  terrorizing  terrorized\nin BRIT, also use terrorise\n  If someone terrorizes you, they keep you in a state of fear by making it seem likely that they will attack you.\nBands of gunmen have hijacked food shipments and terrorized relief workers.\n  VERB: V n


Words: terry
Meaning:
ter.ry\n   terry\n  Terry or terry cloth is a type of fabric which has a lot of very small loops covering both sides. It is used especially for making things like towels and babies’ nappies.\n...a terry nappy.\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu N n


Words: terse
Meaning:
terse  terser  tersest\n  A terse statement or comment is brief and unfriendly.\nHe issued a terse statement, saying he is discussing his future with colleagues before announcing his decision on Monday...\n  ADJ\n  = curt\n=>  terse.ly\n`It’s too late,’ he said tersely.\n  ADV: ADV with v


Words: tertiary
Meaning:
ter.tiary\n   tertiary\n1. Tertiary means third in order, third in importance, or at a third stage of development. (FORMAL)\nHe must have come to know those philosophers through secondary or tertiary sources.\n  ADJ\n\n2. Tertiary education is education at university or college level. (BRIT; in AM, use higher education)\n...institutions of tertiary education.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: tertiary sector
Meaning:
ter.tiary sec.tor\n   tertiary sector tertiary sectors\n  The tertiary sector consists of industries which provide a service, such as transport and finance. (BUSINESS)\n...economies that are slowly increasing the proportion of their labour force in the tertiary sector.\n  N-COUNT


Words: TESL
Meaning:
TESL\n  TESL is the teaching of English to people who live in an English-speaking country, but whose first language is not English. TESL is an abbreviation for `teaching English as a second language’.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: TESOL
Meaning:
TESOL\n  TESOL is the teaching of English to people whose first language is not English. TESOL is an abbreviation for `teaching English to speakers of other languages’.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: test
Meaning:
test  tests  testing  tested\n1. When you test something, you try it, for example by touching it or using it for a short time, in order to find out what it is, what condition it is in, or how well it works.\nThe drug must first be tested in clinical trials to see if it works on other cancers.\n  VERB: V n\n\n2. A test is a deliberate action or experiment to find out how well something works.\n...the banning of nuclear tests.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. If you test someone, you ask them questions or tell them to perform certain actions in order to find out how much they know about a subject or how well they are able to do something.\nThere was a time when each teacher spent an hour, one day a week, testing pupils in every subject...\nShe decided to test herself with a training run in London.\n  VERB: V n, V pron-refl\n\n4. A test is a series of questions that you must answer or actions that you must perform in order to show how much you know about a subject or how well you are able to do something.\nOut of a total of 2,602 pupils only 922 passed the test...\nShe had sold her bike, taken a driving test and bought a car.\n  N-COUNT\n\n5. If you test someone, you deliberately make things difficult for them in order to see how they react.\nShe may be testing her mother to see how much she can take before she throws her out.\n  VERB: V n\n\n6. If an event or situation is a test of a person or thing, it reveals their qualities or effectiveness.\nIt is a commonplace fact that holidays are a major test of any relationship...\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, oft N of n\n\n7. If you are tested for a particular disease or medical condition, you are examined or go through various procedures in order to find out whether you have that disease or condition.\nMy doctor wants me to be tested for diabetes...\nGirls in an affected family can also be tested to see if they carry the defective gene.\n  VERB: usu passive, be V-ed for n, be V-ed\n\n8. A medical test is an examination of a part of your body in order to check that you are healthy or to find out what is wrong with you.\nIf necessary X-rays and blood tests will also be used to aid diagnosis...\n  N-COUNT\n\n9. A test is a sports match between two international teams, usually in cricket, rugby union, or rugby league. (BRIT)\n  N-COUNT\n\n10.\n  see also testing, acid test, breath test, means test, litmus test, test match\n11. If you put something to the test, you find out how useful or effective it is by using it.\nThe Liverpool team are now putting their theory to the test...\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n12. If new circumstances or events put something to the test, they put a strain on it and indicate how strong or stable it really is.\nSooner or later, life will put the relationship to the test.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n13. If you say that something will stand the test of time, you mean that it is strong or effective enough to last for a very long time.\nIt says a lot for her culinary skills that so many of her recipes have stood the test of time.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n14.\nto test the waters: see water


Words: test case
Meaning:
test case  test cases\n  A test case is a legal case which becomes an example for deciding other similar cases.\n  N-COUNT


Words: test match
Meaning:
test match  test matches\n  In cricket and rugby, a test match is a one of a series of matches played between teams representing two countries. (BRIT)\n  N-COUNT\n  = test


Words: test pilot
Meaning:
test pi.lot\n   test pilot  test pilots\n  A test pilot is a pilot who flies aircraft of a new design in order to test their performance.\n  N-COUNT


Words: test run
Meaning:
test run  test runs\n  If you give a machine or system a test run, you try it out to see if it will work properly when it is actually in use.\n  N-COUNT\n  = trial run


Words: test tube
Meaning:
test tube  test tubes   also test-tube\n  A test tube is a small tube-shaped container made from glass. Test tubes are used in laboratories.\n  N-COUNT


Words: test-tube baby
Meaning:
test-tube baby  test-tube babies   also test tube baby\n  A test-tube baby is a baby that develops from an egg which has been removed from the mother’s body, fertilized, and then replaced in her womb in order that it can continue developing.\n  N-COUNT


Words: testament
Meaning:
tes.ta.ment\n   testament  testaments\n1. If one thing is a testament to another, it shows that the other thing exists or is true. (FORMAL)\nBraka’s house, just off Sloane Square, is a testament to his Gothic tastes...\n  N-VAR: usu N to n\n  = testimony\n2. Someone’s last will and testament is the most recent will that they have made, especially the last will that they make before they die. (LEGAL)\n  PHRASE: Ns inflect, usu with poss\n\n3.\n  see also New Testament, Old Testament


Words: tester
Meaning:
test.er\n   tester  testers\n1. A tester is a person who has been asked to test a particular thing.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A tester is a machine or device that you use to test whether another machine or device is working properly.\nI have a battery tester in my garage.\n  N-COUNT: usu n N


Words: testicle
Meaning:
tes.ti.cle\n   testicle  testicles\n  A man’s testicles are the two sex glands between his legs that produce sperm.\n  N-COUNT


Words: testicular
Meaning:
tes.ticu.lar\n   testicular\n  Testicular means relating to or involving the testicles.\n...testicular cancer.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: testify
Meaning:
tes.ti.fy\n   testify  testifies  testifying  testified\n1. When someone testifies in a court of law, they give a statement of what they saw someone do or what they know of a situation, after having promised to tell the truth.\nSeveral eyewitnesses testified that they saw the officers hit Miller in the face...\nEva testified to having seen Herndon with his gun on the stairs...\nHe hopes to have his 12-year prison term reduced by testifying against his former colleagues.\n  VERB: V that, V to -ing, V against/for/about n, also V\n\n2. If one thing testifies to another, it supports the belief that the second thing is true. (FORMAL)\nRecent excavations testify to the presence of cultivated inhabitants on the hill during the Arthurian period.\n  VERB: V to n


Words: testimonial
Meaning:
tes.ti.mo.nial\n   testimonial  testimonials\n1. A testimonial is a written statement about a person’s character and abilities, often written by their employer.\nShe could hardly expect her employer to provide her with testimonials to her character and ability.\n  N-COUNT\n  = reference\n2. A testimonial is a sports match which is specially arranged so that part of the profit from the tickets sold can be given to a particular player or to a particular player’s family.\n  N-COUNT


Words: testimony
Meaning:
tes.ti.mo.ny\n   testimony  testimonies\n1. In a court of law, someone’s testimony is a formal statement that they make about what they saw someone do or what they know of a situation, after having promised to tell the truth.\nHis testimony was an important element of the Prosecution case...\n  N-VAR: oft poss N\n\n2. If you say that one thing is testimony to another, you mean that it shows clearly that the second thing has a particular quality.\nThis book is testimony to a very individual kind of courage.\n  N-UNCOUNT: also a N, usu N to n


Words: testing
Meaning:
test.ing\n   testing\n1. A testing problem or situation is very difficult to deal with and shows a lot about the character of the person who is dealing with it.\nThe most testing time is undoubtedly in the early months of your return to work...\n  ADJ\n\n2. Testing is the activity of testing something or someone in order to find out information.\nThe National Collegiate Athletic Association introduced drug testing in the mid-1980s.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: testosterone
Meaning:
tes.tos.ter.one\n   testosterone\n  Testosterone is a hormone found in men and male animals, which can also be produced artificially. It is thought to be responsible for the male sexual instinct and other male characteristics.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: testy
Meaning:
tes.ty\n   testy\n  If you describe someone as testy, you mean that they easily become impatient or angry. (mainly LITERARY)\nBen’s getting a little testy in his old age.\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ\n\n=>  tes.ti.ly\nHe reacted testily to reports that he’d opposed military involvement.\n  ADV: ADV with v


Words: tetanus
Meaning:
teta.nus\n   tetanus\n  Tetanus is a serious painful disease caused by bacteria getting into wounds. It makes your muscles, especially your jaw muscles, go stiff.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: tetchy
Meaning:
tetchy  tetchier  tetchiest\n  If you say that someone is tetchy, you mean they are bad-tempered and likely to get angry suddenly without an obvious reason. (mainly BRIT INFORMAL)\nYou always get tetchy when you’re hungry...\nHe was in a particularly tetchy mood yesterday.\n  ADJ


Words: tether
Meaning:
teth.er\n   tether  tethers  tethering  tethered\n1. If you say that you are at the end of your tether, you mean that you are so worried, tired, and unhappy because of your problems that you feel you cannot cope.\nShe was jealous, humiliated, and emotionally at the end of her tether...\n  PHRASE: tether inflects, usu at PHR, v PHR\n\n2. A tether is a rope or chain which is used to tie an animal to a post or fence so that it can only move around within a small area.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. If you tether an animal or object to something, you attach it there with a rope or chain so that it cannot move very far.\nThe officer dismounted, tethering his horse to a tree.\n  VERB: V n to n


Words: Teutonic
Meaning:
Teu.ton.ic\n   Teutonic\n  Teutonic means typical of or relating to German people. (FORMAL)\nThe coach was a masterpiece of Teutonic engineering.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: Tex-Mex
Meaning:
Tex-Mex\n  You use Tex-Mex to describe things such as food or music that combine typical elements from Mexico and the south-western United States. (AM INFORMAL)\n...Tex-Mex restaurants.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: text
Meaning:
text  texts  texting  texted\n1. The text of a book is the main part of it, rather than the introduction, pictures, or notes.\nThe text is precise and informative.\n  N-SING: the N\n\n2. Text is any written material.\nA CD-ROM can store more than 250,000 pages of typed text.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n3. The text of a speech, broadcast, or recording is the written version of it.\nA spokesman said a text of Dr Runcie’s speech had been circulated to all of the bishops.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, usu N of n\n\n4. A text is a book or other piece of writing, especially one connected with science or learning.\nHer text is believed to be the oldest surviving manuscript by a female physician.\n  N-COUNT\n\n5. A text is a written or spoken passage, especially one that is used in a school or university for discussion or in an examination.\nHis early plays are set texts in universities.\n  N-COUNT\n\n6. A text is the same as a text message.\nI borrowed my wife’s mobile phone last week and a text arrived from another man.\n  N-COUNT\n\n7. If you text someone, you send them a text message on a mobile phone.\nMary texted me when she got home.\n  VERB: V n


Words: text message
Meaning:
text mes.sage\n   text message  text messages\n  A text message is a message that you send using a mobile phone.\n  N-COUNT


Words: text messaging
Meaning:
text mes.sag.ing\n   text messaging\n  Text messaging is sending written messages using a mobile phone.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: textbook
Meaning:
text.book\n   textbook  textbooks   also text book\n1. A textbook is a book containing facts about a particular subject that is used by people studying that subject.\n...a chemistry textbook.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If you say that something is a textbook case or example, you are emphasizing that it provides a clear example of a type of situation or event.\nThe house is a textbook example of medieval domestic architecture...\n  ADJ: ADJ n  emphasis


Words: textile
Meaning:
tex.tile\n   textile  textiles\n1. Textiles are types of cloth or fabric, especially ones that have been woven.\n...the Scottish textile industry.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl, usu with supp\n\n2. Textiles are the industries concerned with the manufacture of cloth.\nAnother 75,000 jobs will be lost in textiles and clothing.\n  N-PLURAL: no det


Words: textphone
Meaning:
text.phone\n   textphone textphones\n  A textphone is a telephone with a screen and a keyboard, designed for people with hearing problems.\n  N-COUNT


Words: textual
Meaning:
tex.tu.al\n   textual\n  Textual means relating to written texts, especially literary texts.\n...close textual analysis of Shakespeare.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: texture
Meaning:
tex.ture\n   texture  textures\n1. The texture of something is the way that it feels when you touch it, for example how smooth or rough it is.\nAloe Vera is used in moisturisers to give them a wonderfully silky texture...\n  N-VAR\n\n2. The texture of something, especially food or soil, is its structure, for example whether it is light with lots of holes, or very heavy and solid.\nThis cheese has an open, crumbly texture with a strong flavour...\n  N-VAR


Words: textured
Meaning:
tex.tured\n   textured\n  A textured surface is not smooth, but has a particular texture, for example, it feels rough.\nThe shoe’s sole had a slightly textured surface.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: Thai
Meaning:
Thai  Thais\n1. Thai means belonging or relating to Thailand, or to its people, language, or culture.\n  ADJ\n\n2. A Thai is a citizen of Thailand, or a person of Thai origin.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. Thai is the language spoken in Thailand.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: thalidomide
Meaning:
tha.lido.mide\n   thalidomide\n1. Thalidomide is a drug which used to be given to pregnant women, before it was discovered that it resulted in babies being born with wrongly shaped arms and legs.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. Thalidomide is used to describe someone whose arms and legs are wrongly shaped because their mother took thalidomide when she was pregnant.\n...the special needs of thalidomide children.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: than
Meaning:
than  WEAK   STRONG\n1. You use than after a comparative adjective or adverb in order to link two parts of a comparison.\nThe radio only weighs a few ounces and is smaller than a cigarette packet...\nIndian skins age far more slowly than American or Italian ones.\n  PREP: compar PREP group\n\n  Than is also a conjunction.\nHe wished he could have helped her more than he did...\nSometimes patients are more depressed six months later than when they first hear the bad news.\n  CONJ: compar CONJ cl\n\n2. You use than when you are stating a number, quantity, or value approximately by saying that it is above or below another number, quantity, or value.\nThey talked on the phone for more than an hour.\n...the three-match Test series in England, starting in less than two months time...\n  PREP: more/less PREP n\n\n3. You use than in order to link two parts of a contrast, for example in order to state a preference.\nThe arrangement was more a formality than a genuine partnership of two nations...\n  CONJ\n\n4.\nless than: see less\nmore than: see more\nmore often than not: see often\nother than: see other\nrather than: see rather


Words: thank
Meaning:
thank  thanks  thanking  thanked\n1. You use thank you or, in more informal English, thanks to express your gratitude when someone does something for you or gives you what you want.\nThank you very much for your call...\nThanks for the information...\nThanks a lot, Suzie. You’ve been great.\n  CONVENTION  formulae\n\n2. You use thank you or, in more informal English, thanks to politely accept or refuse something that has just been offered to you.\n`You’d like a cup as well, would you, Mr Secombe?’.`Thank you, Jane, I’d love one.’...\n`Would you like a cigarette?’.`No thank you.’...\n  CONVENTION  formulae\n\n3. You use thank you or, in more informal English, thanks to politely acknowledge what someone has said to you, especially when they have answered your question or said something nice to you.\nThe policeman smiled at her. `Pretty dog.’.`Oh well, thank you.’...\n`It’s great to see you.’.`Thanks. Same to you.’\n  CONVENTION  formulae\n\n4. You use thank you or thank you very much in order to say firmly that you do not want someone’s help or to tell them that you do not like the way that they are behaving towards you.\nI can stir my own tea, thank you...\nWe know where we can get it, thank you very much.\n  CONVENTION  emphasis\n\n5. When you thank someone for something, you express your gratitude to them for it.\nI thanked them for their long and loyal service...\nWhen the decision was read out Mrs Gardner thanked the judges.\n  VERB: V n for n, V n\n\n6. When you express your thanks to someone, you express your gratitude to them for something.\nThey accepted their certificates with words of thanks.\n  N-PLURAL\n\n7.\n  see also thankyou\n8. You say `Thank God’, `Thank Goodness’, or `Thank heavens’ when you are very relieved about something.\nI was wrong, thank God...\nThank heavens we have you here.\n  PHRASE: oft PHR with cl, PHR that  feelings\n\n9. If you say that you have someone to thank for something, you mean that you are grateful to them because they caused it to happen.\nI have her to thank for my life...\n  PHRASE: V inflects, oft PHR for n\n\n10. If you say that something happens thanks to a particular person or thing, you mean that they are responsible for it happening or caused it to happen.\nIt is thanks to this committee that many new sponsors have come forward...\n  PHRASE: PHR n, usu PHR with cl, v-link PHR, PHR after v\n\n11. If you say that something happens no thanks to a particular person or thing, you mean that they did not help it to happen, or that it happened in spite of them.\nIt is no thanks to the Government that net assets did rise.\n  PHRASE: PHR n, usu PHR with cl, v-link PHR


Words: thankful
Meaning:
thank.ful\n   thankful\n  When you are thankful, you are very happy and relieved that something has happened.\nMost of the time I’m just thankful that I’ve got a job...\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ, oft ADJ that, ADJ for n\n  = grateful


Words: thankfully
Meaning:
thank.ful.ly\n   thankfully\n  You use thankfully in order to express approval or happiness about a statement that you are making.\nThankfully, she was not injured...\n  ADV: ADV with cl/group


Words: thankless
Meaning:
thank.less\n   thankless\n  If you describe a job or task as thankless, you mean that it is hard work and brings very few rewards.\nSoccer referees have a thankless task.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: Thanksgiving
Meaning:
Thanks.giving\n   Thanksgiving  Thanksgivings\n  In the United States, Thanksgiving or Thanksgiving Day is a public holiday on the fourth Thursday in November. It was originally a day when people celebrated the end of the harvest and thanked God for it.\n  N-VAR


Words: thanksgiving
Meaning:
thanks.giving\n   thanksgiving\n  Thanksgiving is the giving of thanks to God, especially in a religious ceremony.\nThe Prince’s unexpected recovery was celebrated with a thanksgiving service in St Paul’s.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: thankyou
Meaning:
thank.you\n   thankyou  thankyous   also thank-you\n  If you refer to something as a thankyou for what someone has done for you, you mean that it is intended as a way of thanking them.\nThe surprise gift is a thankyou for our help.\n...a thank-you note.\n  N-COUNT: oft N n\n\n  see also thank


Words: that
Meaning:
DEMONSTRATIVE USES\n   that  WEAK   STRONG\n\nPlease look at category 20 to see if the expression you are looking for is shown under another headword.\n1. You use that to refer back to an idea or situation expressed in a previous sentence or sentences.\nThey said you particularly wanted to talk to me. Why was that?...\nSome members feared Germany might raise its interest rates on Thursday. That could have set the scene for a confrontation with the US.\n  PRON\n\n  That is also a determiner.\nThe most important purpose of our Health Care is to support you when making a claim for medical treatment. For that reason the claims procedure is as simple and helpful as possible.\n  DET\n\n2. You use that to refer to someone or something already mentioned.\nThe Commissioners get between .50,000 and .60,000 a year in various allowances. But that amount can soar to .90,000 a year...\n  DET\n\n3. When you have been talking about a particular period of time, you use that to indicate that you are still referring to the same period. You use expressions such as that morning or that afternoon to indicate that you are referring to an earlier period of the same day.\nThe story was published in a Sunday newspaper later that week...\n  DET\n\n4. You use that in expressions such as that of and that which to introduce more information about something already mentioned, instead of repeating the noun which refers to it. (FORMAL)\nA recession like that of 1973-74 could put one in ten American companies into bankruptcy...\n  PRON: PRON of n, PRON pron-rel\n\n5. You use that in front of words or expressions which express agreement, responses, or reactions to what has just been said.\n`She said she’d met you in England.’.`That’s true.’...\n`I’ve never been to Paris.’.`That’s a pity. You should go one day.’\n  PRON\n\n6. You use that to introduce a person or thing that you are going to give details or information about. (FORMAL)\nIn my case I chose that course which I considered right...\n  DET\n\n7. You use that when you are referring to someone or something which is a distance away from you in position or time, especially when you indicate or point to them. When there are two or more things near you, that refers to the more distant one.\nLook at that guy. He’s got red socks...\nWhere did you get that hat?...\n  DET\n\n  That is also a pronoun.\nThat looks heavy. May I carry it for you?\n  PRON\n\n8. You use that when you are identifying someone or asking about their identity.\nThat’s my wife you were talking to...\nI answered the phone and this voice went, `Hello? Is that Alison?’\n  PRON\n\n9. You can use that when you expect the person you are talking to to know what or who you are referring to, without needing to identify the particular person or thing fully. (SPOKEN)\nDid you get that cheque I sent?...\n  DET\n\n  That is also a pronoun.\nThat was a terrible case of blackmail in the paper today...\n  PRON\n\n10. If something is not that bad, funny, or expensive for example, it is not as bad, funny, or expensive as it might be or as has been suggested.\nNot even Gary, he said, was that stupid...\n  ADV: with brd-neg, ADV adj/adv\n\n11. You can use that to emphasize the degree of a feeling or quality. (INFORMAL)\nI would have walked out, I was that angry...\n  ADV: ADV adj/adv  emphasis\n  = so\n12.\n  see also those\n13. You use and all that or and that to refer generally to everything else which is associated with what you have just mentioned. (INFORMAL)\nI’m not a cook myself but I am interested in nutrition and that.\n  PHRASE: cl/group PHR  vagueness\n\n14. You use at that after a statement which modifies or emphasizes what you have just said.\nSuccess never seems to come but through hard work, often physically demanding work at that...\n  PHRASE: n/adj PHR  emphasis\n\n15. You use that is or that is to say to indicate that you are about to express the same idea more clearly or precisely.\nI am a disappointing, though generally dutiful, student. That is, I do as I’m told...\n  PHRASE: PHR with cl/group\n\n(next)\n\nCONJUNCTION AND RELATIVE PRONOUN USES\n   that  WEAK   STRONG\n1. You can use that after many verbs, adjectives, nouns, and expressions to introduce a clause in which you report what someone has said, or what they think or feel.\nHe called her up one day and said that he and his wife were coming to New York...\nWe were worried that she was going to die...\n  CONJ\n\n2. You use that after `it’ and a link verb and an adjective to comment on a situation or fact.\nI’ve made up my mind, but it’s obvious that you need more time to think...\n  CONJ: it v-link adj CONJ cl\n\n3. You use that to introduce a clause which gives more information to help identify the person or thing you are talking about.\n...pills that will make the problem disappear.\n...a car that won’t start...\n  PRON\n\n4. You use that after expressions with `so’ and `such’ in order to introduce the result or effect of something.\nShe became so nervous that she shook violently...\n  CONJ: so/such group CONJ cl


Words: that .1
Meaning:
16. You use that’s it to indicate that nothing more needs to be done or that the end has been reached.\nWhen he left the office, that was it, the workday was over.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n17. You use that’s it to express agreement with or approval of what has just been said or done.\n`You got married, right?’.`Yeah, that’s it.’\n  CONVENTION  formulae\n  = exactly\n18. You use just like that to emphasize that something happens or is done immediately or in a very simple way, often without much thought or discussion. (INFORMAL)\nJust like that, I was in love...\n  PHRASE: PHR with cl  emphasis\n\n19. You use that’s that to say there is nothing more you can do or say about a particular matter. (SPOKEN)\n`Well, if that’s the way you want it,’ he replied, tears in his eyes, `I guess that’s that.’\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n20.\nlike that: see like\nthis and that: see this\nthis, that and the other: see this


Words: that’d
Meaning:
that’d\n  That’d is a spoken form of `that would’, or of `that had’ when `had’ is an auxiliary verb.


Words: thatch
Meaning:
thatch  thatches\n1. A thatch or a thatch roof is a roof made from straw or reeds.\nThey would live in a small house with a green door and a new thatch.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. Thatch is straw or reeds used to make a roof.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n3. You can refer to someone’s hair as their thatch of hair, especially when it is very thick and untidy.\nTeddy ran thick fingers through his unruly thatch of hair.\n  N-SING: oft N of n


Words: thatched
Meaning:
thatched\n  A thatched house or a house with a thatched roof has a roof made of straw or reeds.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: thatcher
Meaning:
thatch.er\n   thatcher  thatchers\n  A thatcher is a person whose job is making roofs from straw or reeds.\n  N-COUNT


Words: thatching
Meaning:
thatch.ing\n   thatching\n1. Thatching is straw or reeds used to make a roof.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. Thatching is the skill or activity of making roofs from straw or reeds.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: thaw
Meaning:
thaw  thaws  thawing  thawed\n1. When ice, snow, or something else that is frozen thaws, it melts.\nIt’s so cold the snow doesn’t get a chance to thaw...\n  VERB: V\n\n2. A thaw is a period of warmer weather when snow and ice melt, usually at the end of winter.\nWe slogged through the mud of an early spring thaw.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. When you thaw frozen food or when it thaws, you leave it in a place where it can reach room temperature so that it is ready for use.\nAlways thaw pastry thoroughly...\nThe food in the freezer had thawed during a power cut.\n  VERB: V n, V\n\n  Thaw out means the same as thaw.\nThaw it out completely before reheating in a saucepan...\nI remember to thaw out the chicken before I leave home.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V n P, V P n (not pron), also V P\n\n4. If something thaws relations between people or if relations thaw, they become friendly again after a period of being unfriendly.\nAt least this second meeting had helped to thaw the atmosphere...\nIt took up to Christmas for political relations to thaw.\n  VERB: V n, V\n\n  Thaw is also a noun.\nHis visit is one of the most striking results of the thaw in relations between East and West.\n  N-SING


Words: the
Meaning:
The is the definite article. It is used at the beginning of noun groups. The is usually pronounced   before a consonant and   before a vowel, but pronounced   when you are emphasizing it.\n\n1. You use the at the beginning of noun groups to refer to someone or something that you have already mentioned or identified.\nA waiter came and hovered. John caught my look and we both got up and, ignoring the waiter, made our way to the buffet...\nSix of the 38 people were Russian citizens.\n  DET\n\n2. You use the at the beginning of a noun group when the first noun is followed by an `of’ phrase or a clause which identifies the person or thing.\nThere has been a slight increase in the consumption of meat...\nOf the 9,660 cases processed last year, only 10 per cent were totally rejected.\n  DET\n\n3. You use the in front of some nouns that refer to something in our general experience of the world.\nIt’s always hard to speculate about the future...\nAmy sat outside in the sun...\n  DET\n\n4. You use the in front of nouns that refer to people, things, services, or institutions that are associated with everyday life.\nThe doctor’s on his way...\nWho was that on the phone?...\n  DET\n\n5. You use the instead of a possessive determiner, especially when you are talking about a part of someone’s body or a member of their family.\n`How’s the family?’.`Just fine, thank you.’...\nI patted him on the head...\n  DET\n\n6. You use the in front of a singular noun when you want to make a general statement about things or people of that type.\nAn area in which the computer has made considerable strides in recent years is in playing chess...\nAfter dogs, the horse has had the closest relationship with man.\n  DET: DET sing-n\n\n7. You use the with the name of a musical instrument when you are talking about someone’s ability to play the instrument.\nShe was trying to teach him to play the guitar.\n  DET\n\n8. You use the with nationality adjectives and nouns to talk about the people who live in a country.\nThe Japanese, Americans, and even the French and Germans, judge economic policies by results.\n  DET: DET pl-n\n\n9. You use the with words such as `rich’, `poor’, `old’, or `unemployed’ to refer to all people of a particular type.\n...care for the elderly and the disabled.\n  DET: DET pl-n\n\n10. If you want to refer to a whole family or to a married couple, you can make their surname into a plural and use the in front of it.\nThe Taylors decided that they would employ an architect to do the work.\n  DET: DET pl-n-proper\n\n11. You use the in front of an adjective when you are referring to a particular thing that is described by that adjective.\nHe knows he’s wishing for the impossible...\nI thought you might like to read the enclosed.\n  DET: DET adj/-ed\n\n12. You use the to indicate that you have enough of the thing mentioned for a particular purpose.\nShe may not have the money to maintain or restore her property...\nWe must have the patience to continue to work until we will find a peaceful solution...\n  DET: DET n to-inf, DET n for n\n  = sufficient\n13. You use the with some titles, place names, and other names.\nThe company was alleged to have leaked the news to the Daily Mail.\n...the Albert Hall...\n  DET\n\n14. You use the in front of numbers such as first, second, and third.\nThe meeting should take place on the fifth of May...\nMarco Polo is said to have sailed on the Pacific on his way to Java in the thirteenth century...\n  DET: DET ord\n\n15. You use the in front of numbers when they refer to decades.\nIt’s sometimes hard to imagine how bad things were in the thirties.\n  DET: DET pl-num\n\n16. You use the in front of superlative adjectives and adverbs.\nBrisk daily walks are still the best exercise for young and old alike...\n  DET: DET superl\n\n17. You use the in front of each of two comparative adjectives or adverbs when you are describing how one amount or quality changes in relation to another.\nThe longer you have been in shape in the past, the quicker you will regain fitness in future...\n(next)


Words: the .1
Meaning:
DET: DET compar DET compar\n\n18. When you express rates, prices, and measurements, you can use the to say how many units apply to each of the items being measured.\nNew Japanese cars averaged 13 km to the litre in 1981...\nSome analysts predicted that the exchange rate would soon be $2 to the pound.\n  DET: DET sing-n\n\n19. You use the to indicate that something or someone is the most famous, important, or best thing of its kind. In spoken English, you put more stress on it, and in written English, you often underline it or write it in capitals or italics.\nCamden Market is the place to be on a Saturday or Sunday...\n  DET


Words: theatre
Meaning:
thea.tre\n   theatre  theatres\nin AM, use theater\n1. A theatre is a building with a stage in it, on which plays, shows, and other performances take place.\nI worked at the Grand Theatre.\n  N-COUNT; N-IN-NAMES\n\n2. You can refer to work in the theatre such as acting or writing plays as the theatre.\nYou can move up to work in films and the theatre...\n  N-SING: the N\n\n3. Theatre is entertainment that involves the performance of plays.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n4. A theater or a movie theater is a place where people go to watch films for entertainment. (AM; in BRIT, use cinema)\n  N-COUNT\n\n5. In a hospital, a theatre is a special room where surgeons carry out medical operations.\nShe is back from theatre and her condition is comfortable.\n  N-COUNT: also prep N\n  = operating theatre\n6. A theatre of war or other conflict is the area or region in which the war or conflict is happening.\nThe Middle East has often been a theatre of war.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, usu N of n


Words: theatre-goer
Meaning:
theatre-goer  theatre-goers\nin AM, use theatergoer\n  Theatre-goers are people who are at the theatre to see a play, or who regularly go to the theatre to see plays.\n  N-COUNT


Words: theatrical
Meaning:
the.at.ri.cal\n   theatrical\n1. Theatrical means relating to the theatre.\nThese are the prizes given for the most outstanding British theatrical performances of the year.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n=>  the.at.ri.cal.ly\nShaffer’s great gift lies in his ability to animate ideas theatrically.\n  ADV\n\n2. Theatrical behaviour is exaggerated and unnatural, and intended to create an effect.\nIn a theatrical gesture Glass clamped his hand over his eyes.\n  ADJ\n\n=>  the.at.ri.cal.ly\nHe looked theatrically at his watch.\n  ADV\n\n3. Theatrical can be used to describe something that is grand and dramatic, as if it is part of a performance in a theatre.\nThere was a theatrical air about the whole scene which had a great appeal for me...\n  ADJ\n\n=>  the.at.ri.cal.ly\n...a white hotel theatrically set along a ridge.\n  ADV


Words: thee
Meaning:
thee\n  Thee is an old-fashioned, poetic, or religious word for `you’ when you are talking to only one person. It is used as the object of a verb or preposition.\nI miss thee, beloved father.\n  PRON: v PRON, prep PRON


Words: theft
Meaning:
theft  thefts\n  Theft is the crime of stealing.\nArt theft is now part of organised crime.\n  N-VAR: oft n N, N of n


Words: their
Meaning:
their\n\n  Their is the third person plural possessive determiner.\n\n1. You use their to indicate that something belongs or relates to the group of people, animals, or things that you are talking about.\nJanis and Kurt have announced their engagement...\nHorses were poking their heads over their stall doors.\n  DET\n\n2. You use their instead of `his or her’ to indicate that something belongs or relates to a person without saying whether that person is a man or a woman. Some people think this use is incorrect.\nEvery member will receive their own `Welcome to Labour’ brochure.\n  DET


Words: theirs
Meaning:
theirs\n\n  Theirs is the third person plural possessive pronoun.\n\n1. You use theirs to indicate that something belongs or relates to the group of people, animals, or things that you are talking about.\nThere was a big group of a dozen people at the table next to theirs...\nIt would cost about .3000 to install a new heating system in a flat such as theirs...\n  PRON\n\n2. You use theirs instead of `his or hers’ to indicate that something belongs or relates to a person without saying whether that person is a man or a woman. Some people think this use is incorrect.\nHe would leave the trailer unlocked. If there was something inside someone wanted, it would be theirs for the taking...\n  PRON


Words: them
Meaning:
them  WEAK   STRONG\n\n  Them is a third person plural pronoun. Them is used as the object of a verb or preposition.\n\n1. You use them to refer to a group of people, animals, or things.\nKids these days have no one to tell them what’s right and wrong...\nHis dark socks, I could see, had a stripe on them.\n  PRON: v PRON, prep PRON\n\n2. You use them instead of `him or her’ to refer to a person without saying whether that person is a man or a woman. Some people think this use is incorrect.\nIt takes great courage to face your child and tell them the truth.\n  PRON: v PRON, prep PRON\n\n3. In non-standard spoken English, them is sometimes used instead of `those’.\n`Our Billy doesn’t eat them ones,’ Helen said.\n  DET


Words: thematic
Meaning:
the.mat.ic\n   thematic\n  Thematic means concerned with the subject or theme of something, or with themes and topics in general. (FORMAL)\n...assembling this material into thematic groups.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n=>  the.mati.cal.ly\n...a thematically-linked threesome of songs.\n  ADV


Words: theme
Meaning:
theme  themes\n1. A theme in a piece of writing, a talk, or a discussion is an important idea or subject that runs through it.\nThe theme of the conference is renaissance Europe...\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp\n\n2. A theme in an artist’s work or in a work of literature is an idea in it that the artist or writer develops or repeats.\nThe novel’s central theme is the perennial conflict between men and women...\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp\n\n3. A theme is a short simple tune on which a piece of music is based.\n...variations on themes from Mozart’s The Magic Flute.\n  N-COUNT\n\n4. Theme music or a theme song is a piece of music that is played at the beginning and end of a film or of a television or radio programme.\n...the theme from Dr Zhivago...\n  N-COUNT: usu N n


Words: theme park
Meaning:
theme park  theme parks\n  A theme park is a large outdoor area where people pay to go to enjoy themselves. All the different activities in a theme park are usually based on a particular idea or theme.\n  N-COUNT


Words: theme pub
Meaning:
theme pub  theme pubs\n  A theme pub is a pub that has been decorated and furnished in a style that is often based on a particular country or type of activity. (mainly BRIT)\n...Irish theme pubs.\n  N-COUNT


Words: themed
Meaning:
themed\n  A themed place or event has been created so that it shows a particular historical time or way of life, or tells a well-known story. (mainly BRIT)\n...themed restaurants, bars, and nightclubs.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: themself
Meaning:
them.self\n   themself\n  Themself is sometimes used instead of `themselves’ when it clearly refers to a singular subject. Some people consider this use to be incorrect.\nNo one perceived themself to be in a position to hire such a man.\n  PRON: v PRON, prep PRON


Words: themselves
Meaning:
them.selves\n   themselves\n\n  Themselves is the third person plural reflexive pronoun.\n\n1. You use themselves to refer to people, animals, or things when the object of a verb or preposition refers to the same people or things as the subject of the verb.\nThey all seemed to be enjoying themselves...\nThe men talked amongst themselves...\n  PRON: v PRON, prep PRON\n\n2. You use themselves to emphasize the people or things that you are referring to. Themselves is also sometimes used instead of `them’ as the object of a verb or preposition.\nMany mentally ill people are themselves unhappy about the idea of community care...\n  PRON  emphasis\n\n3. You use themselves instead of `himself or herself’ to refer back to the person who is the subject of sentence without saying whether it is a man or a woman. Some people think this use is incorrect.\nWhat can a patient with emphysema do to help themselves?...\n  PRON: v PRON, prep PRON\n\n4. You use themselves instead of `himself or herself’ to emphasize the person you are referring to without saying whether it is a man or a woman. Themselves is also sometimes used as the object of a verb or preposition. Some people think this use is incorrect.\nEach student makes only one item themselves...\n  PRON  emphasis


Words: then
Meaning:
then\n1. Then means at a particular time in the past or in the future.\nHe wanted to have a source of income after his retirement; until then, he wouldn’t require additional money...\nThe clinic opened for business last October and since then has treated more than 200 people.\n  ADV: ADV with cl, oft prep ADV\n\n2. Then is used when you refer to something which was true at a particular time in the past but is not true now.\n...the Race Relations Act of 1976 (enacted by the then Labour Government)...\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n  Then is also an adverb.\nRichard Strauss, then 76 years old, suffered through the war years in silence...\n  ADV: ADV group\n\n3. You use then to say that one thing happens after another, or is after another on a list.\nAdd the oil and then the scallops to the pan, leaving a little space for the garlic...\n  ADV: ADV cl/group, ADV before v\n\n4. You use then in conversation to indicate that what you are about to say follows logically in some way from what has just been said or implied.\n`I wasn’t a very good scholar at school.’.`What did you like doing best then?’...\n  ADV: cl/group ADV\n\n5. You use then at the end of a topic or at the end of a conversation.\n`I’ll talk to you on Friday anyway.’.`Yep. Okay then.’\n  ADV: cl/group ADV\n\n6. You use then with words like `now’, `well’, and `okay’, to introduce a new topic or a new point of view.\nNow then, you say you walk on the fields out the back?\n  ADV: adv ADV\n\n7. You use then to introduce the second part of a sentence which begins with `if’. The first part of the sentence describes a possible situation, and then introduces the result of the situation.\nIf the answer is `yes’, then we must decide on an appropriate course of action...\n  ADV: ADV cl\n\n8. You use then at the beginning of a sentence or after `and’ or `but’ to introduce a comment or an extra piece of information to what you have already said.\nHe sounded sincere, but then, he always did.\n  ADV: ADV cl\n\n9.\nnow and then: see now\nthere and then: see there


Words: thence
Meaning:
thence\n1. Thence means from a particular place, especially when you are giving directions about how to get somewhere. (FORMAL)\nI ran straight up to Columbia County, then turned East, came down the Harlem Valley and thence home...\n  ADV: usu ADV adv/prep, also ADV before v\n\n2. Thence is used to say that something changes from one state or condition to another. (FORMAL)\n...the conversion of sunlight into heat and thence into electricity.\n  ADV: usu ADV prep, also ADV before v


Words: thenceforth
Meaning:
thence.forth\n   thenceforth\n  Thenceforth means starting from a particular time in the past that you have mentioned. (FORMAL)\nMy life was totally different thenceforth.\n  ADV: ADV with cl\n  = thereafter


Words: theocracy
Meaning:
the.oc.ra.cy\n   theocracy  theocracies\n  A theocracy is a society which is ruled by priests who represent a god. (TECHNICAL)\n  N-VAR


Words: theocratic
Meaning:
theo.crat.ic\n   theocratic\n  A theocratic society is ruled by priests who represent a god. (TECHNICAL)\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  !=secular


Words: theologian
Meaning:
theo.lo.gian\n   theologian  theologians\n  A theologian is someone who studies the nature of God, religion, and religious beliefs.\n  N-COUNT


Words: theology
Meaning:
the.ol.ogy\n   theology\n  Theology is the study of the nature of God and of religion and religious beliefs.\n...questions of theology.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n=>  theo.logi.cal\n...theological books.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: theorem
Meaning:
theo.rem\n   theorem  theorems\n  A theorem is a statement in mathematics or logic that can be proved to be true by reasoning.\n  N-COUNT


Words: theoretical
Meaning:
theo.reti.cal\n   theoretical\n1. A theoretical study or explanation is based on or uses the ideas and abstract principles that relate to a particular subject, rather than the practical aspects or uses of it.\n...theoretical physics.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n2. If you describe a situation as a theoretical one, you mean that although it is supposed to be true or to exist in the way stated, it may not in fact be true or exist in that way.\nThis is certainly a theoretical risk but in practice there is seldom a problem...\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: theoretically
Meaning:
theo.reti.cal.ly\n   theoretically\n  You use theoretically to say that although something is supposed to be true or to happen in the way stated, it may not in fact be true or happen in that way.\nTheoretically, the price is supposed to be marked on the shelf...\n  ADV: ADV with cl/group


Words: theoretician
Meaning:
theo.reti.cian\n   theoretician  theoreticians\n  A theoretician is the same as a theorist.\n  N-COUNT


Words: theorist
Meaning:
theo.rist\n   theorist  theorists\n  A theorist is someone who develops an abstract idea or set of ideas about a particular subject in order to explain it.\n  N-COUNT


Words: theorize
Meaning:
theo.rize\n   theorize  theorizes  theorizing  theorized\nin BRIT, also use theorise\n  If you theorize that something is true or theorize about it, you develop an abstract idea or set of ideas about something in order to explain it.\nPolice are theorizing that the killers may be posing as hitchhikers...\nBy studying the way people behave, we can theorize about what is going on in their mind.\n  VERB: V that, V about n, also V\n\n=>  theo.riz.ing\nThis was no time for theorizing.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: theory
Meaning:
theo.ry\n   theory  theories\n1. A theory is a formal idea or set of ideas that is intended to explain something.\nEinstein formulated the Theory of Relativity in 1905.\n  N-VAR: usu with supp\n\n2. If you have a theory about something, you have your own opinion about it which you cannot prove but which you think is true.\nThere was a theory that he wanted to marry her...\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. The theory of a practical subject or skill is the set of rules and principles that form the basis of it.\nHe taught us music theory.\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu with supp, supp N, N of n\n\n4. You use in theory to say that although something is supposed to be true or to happen in the way stated, it may not in fact be true or happen in that way.\nA school dental service exists in theory, but in practice, there are few dentists to work in them.\n  PHRASE: PHR with cl\n  = theoretically


Words: therapeutic
Meaning:
thera.peu.tic\n   therapeutic\n1. If something is therapeutic, it helps you to relax or to feel better about things, especially about a situation that made you unhappy.\nAstanga Yoga is a therapeutic physical exercise that focuses on breathing and relaxation.\n  ADJ\n\n2. Therapeutic treatment is designed to treat an illness or to improve a person’s health, rather than to prevent an illness. (MEDICAL)\n...therapeutic drugs.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: therapist
Meaning:
thera.pist\n   therapist  therapists\n  A therapist is a person who is skilled in a particular type of therapy.\n  N-COUNT: usu supp N


Words: therapy
Meaning:
thera.py\n   therapy  therapies\n1. Therapy is the treatment of someone with mental or physical illness without the use of drugs or operations.\nHe is having therapy to conquer his phobia.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. A therapy is a particular treatment of someone with a particular illness. (MEDICAL)\n...hormonal therapies.\n...conventional drug therapy.\n  N-VAR: with supp


Words: there
Meaning:
Pronounced   WEAK or   STRONG for meanings 1 and 2, and   STRONG for meanings 3 to 20.\n1. There is used as the subject of the verb `be’ to say that something exists or does not exist, or to draw attention to it.\nThere are roadworks between Camblesforth and Carlton...\nAre there some countries that have been able to tackle these problems successfully?...\nThere were differences of opinion, he added, on very basic issues...\n  PRON: PRON be n\n\n2. You use there in front of certain verbs when you are saying that something exists, develops, or can be seen. Whether the verb is singular or plural depends on the noun which follows the verb.\nThere remains considerable doubt over when the intended high-speed rail link will be complete...\nThere appeared no imminent danger...\n  PRON: PRON v n\n\n3. There is used after `hello’ or `hi’ when you are greeting someone.\nOh, hi there. You must be Sidney.\n  CONVENTION\n\n4. If something is there, it exists or is available.\nThe group of old buildings on the corner by the main road is still there today...\nThe book is there for people to read and make up their own mind...\n  ADV: be ADV, oft ADV for n, ADV to-inf\n\n5. You use there to refer to a place which has already been mentioned.\nThe next day we drove the 33 miles to Siena (the Villa Arceno is a great place to stay while you are there) for the Palio...\n`Come on over, if you want.’.`How do I get there?’...\nIt’s one hell of a train trip, about five days there and back...\n  ADV: be ADV, ADV with v, n ADV, oft prep ADV\n\n6. You use there to indicate a place that you are pointing to or looking at, in order to draw someone’s attention to it.\nThere it is, on the corner over there...\nThere she is on the left up there...\nThe toilets are over there, dear...\n  ADV: ADV with be, ADV after v, oft prep ADV\n\n7. You use there in expressions such as `there he was’ or `there we were’ to sum up part of a story or to slow a story down for dramatic effect. (SPOKEN)\nSo there we were with Amy and she was driving us crazy...\n  ADV: ADV cl\n\n8. You use there when speaking on the telephone to ask if someone is available to speak to you.\nHello, is Gordon there please?\n  ADV: ADV with be\n\n9. You use there to refer to a point that someone has made in a conversation.\nI think you’re right there John...\n  ADV: ADV after v\n\n10. You use there to refer to a stage that has been reached in an activity or process.\nWe are making further investigations and will take the matter from there...\n  ADV: ADV with cl, oft prep ADV\n\n11. You use there to indicate that something has reached a point or level which is completely successful.\nWe had hoped to fill the back page with extra news; we’re not quite there yet...\nLife has not yet returned to normal but we are getting there.\n  ADV: be ADV, ADV after v\n\n12. You can use there in expressions such as there you go or there we are when accepting that an unsatisfactory situation cannot be changed. (SPOKEN)\nI’m the oldest and, according to all the books, should be the achiever, but there you go...\n  ADV: ADV cl\n\n13. You can use there in expressions such as there you go and there we are when emphasizing that something proves that you were right. (SPOKEN)\nYou see? There you go. That’s why I didn’t mention it earlier. I knew you’d take it the wrong way...\n  ADV: ADV cl  emphasis\n\n14. You use there again to introduce an extra piece of information which either contradicts what has been said or gives an alternative to it.\nAt 18 stone, I can’t run around the way I used to. There again, some people say I never did...\n  PHRASE: PHR cl\n\n15. Phrases such as there you go again are used to show annoyance at someone who is repeating something that has annoyed you in the past. (SPOKEN)\n`There you go again, upsetting the child!’ said Shirley...\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n16. You can add `so there’ to what you are saying to show that you will not change your mind about a decision you have made, even though the person you are talking to disagrees with you. (INFORMAL)\n(next)


Words: there .1
Meaning:
I think that’s sweet, so there.\n  PHRASE: cl PHR\n\n17. If something happens there and then or then and there, it happens immediately.\nMany felt that he should have resigned there and then...\n  PHRASE: PHR after v, PHR with cl\n\n18. You say `there there’ to someone who is very upset, especially a small child, in order to comfort them. (SPOKEN)\n`There, there,’ said Mum. `You’ve been having a really bad dream.’\n  CONVENTION\n\n19. You say `there you are’ or `there you go’ when you are offering something to someone. (SPOKEN)\nNora picked up the boy, and gave him a biscuit. `There you are, Lennie, you take the nice biscuit.’\n  CONVENTION  formulae\n\n20. If someone is there for you, they help and support you, especially when you have problems. (INFORMAL)\nDespite what happened in the past I want her to know I am there for her.\n  PHRASE: V inflects


Words: thereabouts
Meaning:
there.abouts\n   thereabouts\n  You add or thereabouts after a number or date to indicate that it is approximate.\nHe told us that her age was forty-eight or thereabouts...\n  PHRASE: num PHR


Words: thereafter
Meaning:
there.after\n   thereafter\n  Thereafter means after the event or date mentioned. (FORMAL)\nIt was the only time she had ever discouraged him from dangerous activities and she regretted it thereafter.\n  ADV: ADV with cl\n  = subsequently


Words: thereby
Meaning:
there.by\n   thereby\n  You use thereby to introduce an important result or consequence of the event or action you have just mentioned. (FORMAL)\nOur bodies can sweat, thereby losing heat by evaporation...\n  ADV: ADV with cl\n  = thus


Words: therefore
Meaning:
there.fore\n   therefore\n  You use therefore to introduce a logical result or conclusion.\nMuscle cells need lots of fuel and therefore burn lots of calories...\n  ADV: ADV with cl/group\n  = thus


Words: therein
Meaning:
there.in\n   therein\n1. Therein means contained in the place that has been mentioned. (FORMAL)\nBy burning tree branches, pine needles, and pine cones, many not only warm their houses but improve the smell therein.\n  ADV: n ADV\n\n2. Therein means relating to something that has just been mentioned. (FORMAL)\nAfternoon groups relate to the specific addictions and problems therein.\n  ADV: n ADV\n\n3. When you say therein lies a situation or problem, you mean that an existing situation has caused that situation or problem. (FORMAL or OLD-FASHIONED)\nSanta Maria di Castellabate is barely mentioned in guidebooks; therein lies its charm.\n  PHRASE: V inflects, PHR n


Words: thereof
Meaning:
there.of\n   thereof\n  Thereof is used after a noun to relate that noun to a situation or thing that you have just mentioned. (FORMAL)\n...his belief in God.or the lack thereof.\n  ADV: n ADV


Words: thereon
Meaning:
there.on\n   thereon\n1. Thereon means on the object or surface just mentioned. (FORMAL)\nThere was a card on each door with a guest’s name inscribed thereon.\n  ADV: ADV after v\n\n2. Thereon can be used to refer back to a thing that has previously been mentioned to show that the word just used relates to that thing. (FORMAL)\nYou will, in addition, pay to the Bank any losses, costs, expenses or legal fees (including VAT thereon).\n  ADV: n ADV, ADV after v


Words: thereupon
Meaning:
there.upon\n   thereupon\n  Thereupon means happening immediately after something else has happened and usually as a result of it. (FORMAL)\nSome months ago angry demonstrators mounted a noisy demonstration beneath his window. His neighbours thereupon insisted upon more security.\n  ADV: ADV with cl


Words: thermal
Meaning:
ther.mal\n   thermal  thermals\n1. Thermal means relating to or caused by heat or by changes in temperature.\n...thermal power stations.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n2. Thermal streams or baths contain water which is naturally hot or warm.\nVolcanic activity has created thermal springs and boiling mud pools.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n3. Thermal clothes are specially designed to keep you warm in cold weather.\nMy feet were like blocks of ice despite the thermal socks...\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n  Thermals are thermal clothes.\nHave you got your thermals on?\n  N-PLURAL\n\n4. A thermal is a movement of rising warm air.\nBirds use thermals to lift them through the air.\n  N-COUNT


Words: thermo
Meaning:
ther.mo\n   thermo\n  Thermo means using or relating to heat.\nThe main thermo power station in the area has been damaged.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n  Thermo is also a combining form.\n...the dangers of thermo-nuclear war.\n  COMB in ADJ\n\n  Thermo also combines to form nouns.\nThe body is made of mineral-reinforced thermo-plastic.\n  COMB in NOUNS


Words: thermodynamics
Meaning:
ther.mo.dy.nam.ics\n   thermodynamics\n  Thermodynamics is the branch of physics that is concerned with the relationship between heat and other forms of energy.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n  The form thermodynamic is used as a modifier.


Words: thermometer
Meaning:
ther.mom.eter\n   thermometer  thermometers\n  A thermometer is an instrument for measuring temperature. It usually consists of a narrow glass tube containing a thin column of a liquid which rises and falls as the temperature rises and falls.\n  N-COUNT


Words: thermonuclear
Meaning:
ther.mo.nu.clear\n   thermonuclear   also thermo-nuclear\n  A thermonuclear weapon or device is one which uses the high temperatures that result from a nuclear reaction in order to cause it to explode.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: thermoplastic
Meaning:
ther.mo.plas.tic\n   thermoplastic  thermoplastics\n  Thermoplastic materials are types of plastic which becomes soft when they are heated and hard when they cool down.\n  N-COUNT: usu N n


Words: Thermos
Meaning:
Ther.mos\n   Thermos  Thermoses\n  A Thermos, Thermos flask, or in American English Thermos bottle, is a container which is used to keep hot drinks hot or cold drinks cold. It has two thin shiny glass walls with no air between them. (TRADEMARK)\n  N-COUNT\n  = vacuum flask, flask


Words: thermostat
Meaning:
ther.mo.stat\n   thermostat  thermostats\n  A thermostat is a device that switches a system or motor on or off according to the temperature. Thermostats are used, for example, in central heating systems and fridges.\n  N-COUNT


Words: thesaurus
Meaning:
the.sau.rus\n   thesaurus  thesauruses\n  A thesaurus is a reference book in which words with similar meanings are grouped together.\n  N-COUNT


Words: these
Meaning:
these\n1. You use these at the beginning of noun groups to refer to someone or something that you have already mentioned or identified.\nSwitch to an interest-paying current account and stay in credit. Most banks and larger building societies now offer these accounts...\nA steering committee has been formed. These people can make decisions in ten minutes which would usually take us months.\n  DET: DET pl-n\n\n  These is also a pronoun.\nAIDS kills mostly the young population of a nation. These are the people who contribute most to a country’s economic development.\n  PRON\n\n2. You use these to introduce people or things that you are going to talk about.\nYour camcorder should have these basic features: autofocus, playback facility, zoom lens...\n  DET: DET pl-n\n\n  These is also a pronoun.\nLook after yourself properly while you are pregnant. These are some of the things you can do for yourself.\n  PRON\n\n3. In spoken English, people use these to introduce people or things into a story.\nI was on my own and these fellows came along towards me...\n  DET: DET pl-n\n\n4. You use these when you are identifying someone or asking about their identity.\nThese are my children.\n  PRON\n\n5. You use these to refer to people or things that are near you, especially when you touch them or point to them.\nThese scissors are awfully heavy.\n  DET: DET pl-n\n\n  These is also a pronoun.\nThese are the people who are doing our loft conversion for us...\n  PRON\n\n6. You use these when you refer to something which you expect the person you are talking to to know about, or when you are checking that you are both thinking of the same person or thing.\nYou know these last few months when we’ve been expecting it to warm up a little bit?...\n  DET: DET pl-n\n\n7. You use these in the expression these days to mean `at the present time’.\nLiving in Bootham these days can be depressing...\n  DET: DET pl-n


Words: thesis
Meaning:
the.sis\n   thesis  theses\n1. A thesis is an idea or theory that is expressed as a statement and is discussed in a logical way.\nThis thesis does not stand up to close inspection.\n  N-COUNT\n  = argument\n2. A thesis is a long piece of writing based on your own ideas and research that you do as part of a university degree, especially a higher degree such as a PhD.\n  N-COUNT


Words: thespian
Meaning:
thes.pian\n   thespian  thespians\n1. A thespian is an actor or actress. (HUMOROUS or OLD-FASHIONED)\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. Thespian means relating to drama and the theatre. (OLD-FASHIONED)\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: they
Meaning:
they\n\n  They is a third person plural pronoun. They is used as the subject of a verb.\n\n1. You use they to refer to a group of people, animals, or things.\nThe two men were far more alike than they would ever admit...\nPeople matter because of what they are, not what they have...\n  PRON\n\n2. You use they instead of `he or she’ to refer to a person without saying whether that person is a man or a woman. Some people think this use is incorrect.\nThe teacher is not responsible for the student’s success or failure. They are only there to help the student learn...\n  PRON\n\n3. You use they in expressions such as `they say’ or `they call it’ to refer to people in general when you are making general statements about what people say, think, or do.\nThey say there’s plenty of opportunities out there, you just have to look carefully and you’ll find them...\n  PRON  vagueness


Words: they’d
Meaning:
they’d\n1. They’d is a spoken form of `they had’, especially when `had’ is an auxiliary verb.\nThey’d both lived in this road all their lives.\n\n2. They’d is a spoken form of `they would’.\nHe agreed that they’d visit her after they stopped at Jan’s for coffee.


Words: they’ll
Meaning:
they’ll\n  They’ll is the usual spoken form of `they will’.\nThey’ll probably be here Monday and Tuesday.


Words: they’ve
Meaning:
they’ve\n  They’ve is the usual spoken form of `they have’, especially when `have’ is an auxiliary verb.\nThe worst thing is when you call friends and they’ve gone out.


Words: thick
Meaning:
thick  thicker  thickest\n1. Something that is thick has a large distance between its two opposite sides.\nFor breakfast I had a thick slice of bread and syrup...\nThis material is very thick and this needle is not strong enough to go through it.\n  ADJ\n  !=thin\n=>  thick.ly\nSlice the meat thickly.\n  ADV: ADV with v\n\n2. You can use thick to talk or ask about how wide or deep something is.\nThe folder was two inches thick...\nHow thick are these walls?\n  ADJ: n ADJ, how ADJ, amount ADJ, as ADJ as\n\n  Thick is also a combining form.\nHis life was saved by a quarter-inch-thick bullet-proof steel screen.\n  COMB in ADJ: ADJ n\n\n=>  thick.ness      thicknesses\nThe size of the fish will determine the thickness of the steaks...\n  N-VAR: oft N of n, N of amount, amount in N\n\n3. If something that consists of several things is thick, it has a large number of them very close together.\nShe inherited our father’s thick, wavy hair...\nThey walked through thick forest.\n  ADJ\n  = dense\n=>  thick.ly\nI rounded a bend where the trees and brush grew thickly...\n  ADV: ADV after v, ADV -ed\n\n4. If something is thick with another thing, the first thing is full of or covered with the second.\nThe air is thick with acrid smoke from the fires...\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ with n\n\n5. Thick clothes are made from heavy cloth, so that they will keep you warm in cold weather.\nIn the winter she wears thick socks, Wellington boots and gloves...\n  ADJ\n  !=thin\n6. Thick smoke, fog, or cloud is difficult to see through.\nThe smoke was bluish-black and thick...\n  ADJ\n\n7. Thick liquids are fairly stiff and solid and do not flow easily.\nThey had to battle through thick mud to reach construction workers...\n  ADJ\n\n8. If someone’s voice is thick, they are not speaking clearly, for example because they are ill, upset, or drunk.\nWhen he spoke his voice was thick with bitterness.\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ\n\n=>  thick.ly\n`It’s all my fault,’ he mumbled thickly.\n  ADV: ADV after v\n\n9. A thick accent is very obvious and easy to identify.\nHe answered our questions in English but with a thick accent...\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  = strong\n10. If you describe someone as thick, you think they are stupid. (BRIT INFORMAL)\nHow could she have been so thick?\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ  disapproval\n  = stupid\n11. If things happen thick and fast, they happen very quickly and in large numbers.\nThe rumours have been coming thick and fast...\n  PHRASE: PHR after v\n\n12. If you are in the thick of an activity or situation, you are very involved in it.\nI enjoy being in the thick of things...\n  PHRASE: PHR n, usu v-link PHR, PHR after v\n\n13. If you do something through thick and thin, you do it although the conditions or circumstances are very bad.\nShe’d stuck by Bob through thick and thin...\n  PHRASE: PHR after v\n\n14.\na thick skin: see skin


Words: thick-skinned
Meaning:
thick-skinned\n  If you say that someone is thick-skinned, you mean that they are not easily upset by criticism or unpleasantness.\nHe was thick-skinned enough to cope with her taunts.\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ\n  !=thin-skinned


Words: thicken
Meaning:
thick.en\n   thicken  thickens  thickening  thickened\n1. When you thicken a liquid or when it thickens, it becomes stiffer and more solid.\nThicken the broth with the cornflour...\nKeep stirring until the sauce thickens.\n  VERB: V n, V\n\n2. If something thickens, it becomes more closely grouped together or more solid than it was before.\nThe crowds around him began to thicken...\n  VERB: V\n\n3. People sometimes say `the plot thickens’ when a situation or series of events is getting more and more complicated and mysterious.\n`Find anything?’ he asked. `Yeah. The plot thickens,’ I said.\n  PHRASE: V inflects


Words: thickener
Meaning:
thick.en.er\n   thickener  thickeners\n  A thickener is a substance that is added to a liquid in order to make it stiffer and more solid.\n...cornstarch, used as a thickener...\nHow much thickener is used?\n  N-MASS


Words: thicket
Meaning:
thick.et\n   thicket  thickets\n  A thicket is a small group of trees or bushes which are growing closely together.\n  N-COUNT


Words: thickset
Meaning:
thick.set\n   thickset   also thick-set\n  A man who is thickset is broad and heavy, with a solid-looking body.\nHe was of middle height, thick-set.\n...his stout, thickset figure.\n  ADJ\n  = stocky


Words: thief
Meaning:
thief  thieves\n  A thief is a person who steals something from another person.\nThe thieves snatched the camera.\n...car thieves.\n  N-COUNT


Words: thieving
Meaning:
thiev.ing\n   thieving\n1. Thieving is the act of stealing things from people. (OLD-FASHIONED)\n...an ex-con who says he’s given up thieving.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. Thieving means involved in stealing things or intending to steal something.\nHe vowed to wreak vengeance on his unfaithful, thieving wife.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: thigh
Meaning:
thigh  thighs\n  Your thighs are the top parts of your legs, between your knees and your hips.\n  N-COUNT


Words: thimble
Meaning:
thim.ble\n   thimble  thimbles\n  A thimble is a small metal or plastic object which you use to protect your finger when you are sewing.\n  N-COUNT


Words: thin
Meaning:
thin  thinner  thinnest  thins  thinning  thinned\n1. Something that is thin is much narrower than it is long.\nA thin cable carries the signal to a computer...\nJames’s face was thin, finely boned, and sensitive.\n  ADJ\n\n2. A person or animal that is thin has no extra fat on their body .\nHe was a tall, thin man with grey hair...\n  ADJ\n  !=fat\n=>  thin.ness\nThere was something familiar about him, his fawn raincoat, his thinness, the way he moved.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n3. Something such as paper or cloth that is thin is flat and has only a very small distance between its two opposite surfaces.\n...a small, blue-bound book printed in fine type on thin paper...\n  ADJ\n  !=thick\n=>  thin.ly\nPeel and thinly slice the onion...\n  ADV: ADV with v\n\n4. Liquids that are thin are weak and watery.\nThe soup was thin and clear, yet mysteriously rich...\n  ADJ\n  !=thick\n5. A crowd or audience that is thin does not have many people in it.\nThe crowd, which had been thin for the first half of the race, had now grown considerably.\n  ADJ\n\n=>  thin.ly\nThe island is thinly populated.\n  ADV: ADV -ed\n\n6. Thin clothes are made from light cloth and are not warm to wear.\nHer gown was thin, and she shivered, partly from cold.\n  ADJ\n  !=thick\n=>  thin.ly\nMrs Brown wrapped the thinly clad man in her fur coat.\n  ADV: ADV adj/-ed\n\n7. If you describe an argument or explanation as thin, you mean that it is weak and difficult to believe.\nHowever, the evidence is thin and, to some extent, ambiguous...\n  ADJ\n  = weak  !=strong\n=>  thin.ly\nMuch of the speech was a thinly disguised attack on British Airways.\n  ADV: usu ADV -ed, also ADV before v\n\n8. If someone’s hair is described as thin, they do not have a lot of hair.\nShe had pale thin yellow hair she pulled back into a bun.\n  ADJ\n  !=thick\n9. When you thin something or when it thins, it becomes less crowded because people or things have been removed from it.\nIt would have been better to have thinned the trees over several winters rather than all at one time...\nBy midnight the crowd had thinned.\n  VERB: V n, V\n\n  Thin out means the same as thin.\nNATO will continue to thin out its forces...\nWhen the crowd began to thin out, I realized that most of the food was still there...\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), V P\n\n10. To thin a sauce or liquid means to make it weaker and more watery by adding another liquid to it.\nIt may be necessary to thin the sauce slightly...\n  VERB: V n\n\n  Thin down means the same as thin.\nThin down your mayonnaise with soured cream or natural yoghurt.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron)\n\n11. If a man’s hair is thinning, it has begun to fall out.\nHis hair is thinning and his skin has lost all hint of youth.\n  VERB: V\n\nthin on top: see top\n12. If someone’s patience, for example, is wearing thin, they are beginning to become impatient or angry with someone.\nParliament has not yet begun to combat the deepening economic crisis, and public patience is wearing thin.\n  PHRASE\n\n13.\non thin ice: see ice\nthin air: see air


Words: thin-skinned
Meaning:
thin-skinned\n  If you say that someone is thin-skinned, you mean that they are easily upset by criticism or unpleasantness.\nSome fear he is too thin-skinned to survive the rough-and-tumble of a presidential campaign.\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ  disapproval\n  = sensitive  !=thick-skinned


Words: thine
Meaning:
thine\n  Thine is an old-fashioned, poetic, or religious word for `yours’ when you are talking to only one person.\nI am Thine, O Lord, I have heard Thy voice.\n  PRON


Words: thing
Meaning:
thing  things\n1. You can use thing to refer to any object, feature, or event when you cannot, need not, or do not want to refer to it more precisely.\n`What’s that thing in the middle of the fountain?’.`Some kind of statue, I guess.’...\nShe was in the middle of clearing the breakfast things...\nIf you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?...\nA strange thing happened...\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp\n\n2. Thing is used in lists and descriptions to give examples or to increase the range of what you are referring to.\nThese are genetic disorders that only affect males normally. They are things like muscular dystrophy and haemophilia...\nThe Earth is made mainly of iron and silicon and things like that...\n  N-COUNT: usu pl, usu with supp\n\n3. Thing is often used after an adjective, where it would also be possible just to use the adjective. For example, you can say it’s a different thing instead of it’s different.\nTo be a parent is a terribly difficult thing...\n  N-COUNT: adj N\n\n4. Thing is often used instead of the pronouns `anything,’ or `everything’ in order to emphasize what you are saying.\nIt isn’t going to solve a single thing...\nDon’t you worry about a thing...\n  N-SING: oft with brd-neg  emphasis\n\n5. Thing is used in expressions such as such a thing or things like that, especially in negative statements, in order to emphasize the bad or difficult situation you are referring back to.\nI don’t believe he would tell Leo such a thing...\n  N-COUNT: usu with brd-neg, with supp  emphasis\n\n6. You can use thing to refer in a vague way to a situation, activity, or idea, especially when you want to suggest that it is not very important. (INFORMAL)\nI’m a bit unsettled tonight. This war thing’s upsetting me...\n  N-COUNT: supp N, usu n N  vagueness\n\n7. You often use thing to indicate to the person you are addressing that you are about to mention something important, or something that you particularly want them to know.\nOne thing I am sure of was that she was scared...\nThe funny thing is that the rest of us have known that for years...\n  N-COUNT: with supp, oft adj N\n\n8. Thing is often used to refer back to something that has just been mentioned, either to emphasize it or to give more information about it.\nI never wanted to be normal. It was not a thing I ever thought desirable...\n  N-COUNT\n\n9. A thing is a physical object that is considered as having no life of its own.\nIt’s not a thing, Beauchamp. It’s a human being!\n  N-COUNT\n\n10. Thing is used to refer to something, especially a physical object, when you want to express contempt or anger towards it. (SPOKEN)\nTurn that thing off!\n  N-COUNT  disapproval\n\n11. You can call a person or an animal a particular thing when you want to mention a particular quality that they have and express your feelings towards them, usually affectionate feelings. (INFORMAL)\nYou really are quite a clever little thing...\n  N-COUNT: adj N\n\n12. Your things are your clothes or possessions.\nSara told him to take all his things and not to return...\n  N-PLURAL: poss N\n\n13. Things can refer to the situation or life in general and the way it is changing or affecting you.\nEveryone agrees things are getting better...\n  N-PLURAL\n\n14. If you say that something is the thing, you mean that it is fashionable or popular.\nI feel under pressure to go out and get drunk because it’s the thing to do...\n  N-SING: the N, oft N to-inf\n\n15. If, for example, you do the right thing or do the decent thing in a situation, you do something which is considered correct or socially acceptable in that situation.\nPeople want to do the right thing and buy `green’...\nCarrington did the honourable thing and resigned...\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n16. If you say that something is the done thing, you mean it is the most socially acceptable way to behave. (BRIT)\nIt was not the done thing. In those days the man was supposed to be the provider.\n  PHRASE: oft with brd-neg, v-link PHR\n\n(next)


Words: thing .1
Meaning:
17. If you do something first thing, you do it at the beginning of the day, before you do anything else. If you do it last thing, you do it at the end of the day, before you go to bed or go to sleep.\nI’ll go see her, first thing...\nI always do it last thing on a Saturday...\n  PHRASE: PHR after v, PHR with cl, oft PHR prep\n\n18. If you have a thing about someone or something, you have very strong feelings about them. (INFORMAL)\nI had always had a thing about red hair...\nHe’s got this thing about ties.\n  PHRASE: V inflects, PHR n/-ing\n\n19. You say it is a good thing to do something to introduce a piece of advice or a comment on a situation or activity.\nCan you tell me whether it is a good thing to prune an apple tree?...\n  PHRASE: PHR inf\n\n20. If you make a thing of something or make a thing about it, you talk about it or do it in an exaggerated way, so that it seems much more important than it really is. (INFORMAL)\nGossips made a big thing about him going on shopping trips with her...\n  PHRASE: V inflects, PHR n/-ing\n\n21. You can say that the first of two ideas, actions, or situations is one thing when you want to contrast it with a second idea, action, or situation and emphasize that the second one is much more difficult, important, or extreme.\nIt was one thing to talk about leaving; it was another to physically walk out the door...\n  PHRASE: V inflects, oft it PHR to-inf  emphasis\n\n22. You can say for one thing when you are explaining a statement or answering a question, to suggest that you are not giving the whole explanation or answer, and that there are other points that you could add to it.\nShe was a monster. For one thing, she really enjoyed cruelty...\n  PHRASE: PHR with cl\n\n23. You can use the expression `one thing and another’ to suggest that there are several reasons for something or several items on a list, but you are not going to explain or mention them all. (SPOKEN)\nWhat with one thing and another, it was fairly late in the day when we returned to Shrewsbury...\n  PHRASE: oft with PHR\n\n24. If you say it is just one of those things you mean that you cannot explain something because it seems to happen by chance.\n`I wonder why.’ Mr. Dambar shrugged. `It must be just one of those things, I guess.’\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n25. You say one thing led to another when you are explaining how something happened, but you do not really want to give the details or you think people will be able to imagine the details.\nHe came by on Saturday to see if she was lonely. One thing led to another and he stayed the night.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n26. If you do your own thing, you live, act, or behave in the way you want to, without paying attention to convention or depending on other people. (INFORMAL)\nWe accept the right of all men and women to do their own thing, however bizarre...\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n27. If something is a thing of the past, it no longer exists or happens, or is being replaced by something new.\nPainful typhoid injections are a thing of the past, thanks to the introduction of an oral vaccine...\n  PHRASE: v-link PHR, PHR after v\n\n28. If you say that someone is seeing or hearing things, you mean that they believe they are seeing or hearing something that is not really there.\nDr Payne led Lana back into the examination room and told her she was seeing things...\n  PHRASE: V inflects, usu cont\n\n29. You can say there is no such thing as something to emphasize that it does not exist or is not possible.\nThere really is no such thing as a totally risk-free industry...\n  PHRASE: usu v-link PHR, oft PHR as n  emphasis\n\n30. You say the thing is to introduce an explanation, comment, or opinion, that relates to something that has just been said. The thing is is often used to identify a problem relating to what has just been said. (SPOKEN)\n`What does your market research consist of?’.`Well, the thing is, it depends on our target age group.’...\n  PHRASE: PHR cl\n\n(next)


Words: thing .2
Meaning:
31. If you say that something is just the thing or is the very thing, you are emphasizing that it is exactly what is wanted or needed.\nKiwi fruit are just the thing for a healthy snack...\n  PHRASE: usu v-link PHR, oft PHR for n, PHR to-inf  emphasis\n\n32. If you say that a person knows a thing or two about something or could teach someone a thing or two about it, you mean that they know a lot about it or are good at it.\nPatricia Hewitt knows a thing or two about how to be well-organised...\nThe peace movement has learnt a thing or two from Vietnam.\n  PHRASE: PHR after v, oft PHR about n\n\n33.\nother things being equal: see equal\nfirst things first: see first\nthe real thing: see real\nthe shape of things to come: see shape


Words: thingummy
Meaning:
thingum.my\n   thingummy  thingummies\n  You refer to something or someone as thingummy, thingummyjig or thingummybob when you do not know or cannot be bothered to use the proper word or name for them. (INFORMAL, SPOKEN)\nI once bought a thingummy out of one of those catalogues...\nI must say, I mean, it sounded like er thingummyjig all over again without the politics.\n  N-COUNT


Words: thingy
Meaning:
thingy  thingies\n  You refer to something or someone as thingy when you do not know or cannot be bothered to use the proper word or name for them. (INFORMAL, SPOKEN)\n...the new phone thingy.\n...what’s his name, Sir Jack Thingy.\n  N-COUNT


Words: think
Meaning:
think  thinks  thinking  thought\n1. If you think that something is the case, you have the opinion that it is the case.\nI certainly think there should be a ban on tobacco advertising...\nA generation ago, it was thought that babies born this small could not survive...\nTell me, what do you think of my theory?...\nPeter is useless, far worse than I thought...\nHe manages a good deal better than I thought possible...\n`It ought to be stopped.’.`Yes, I think so.’\n  VERB: no cont, V that, it be V-ed that, V of/about n, V, V adj, V soot\n\n2. If you say that you think that something is true or will happen, you mean that you have the impression that it is true or will happen, although you are not certain of the facts.\nNora thought he was seventeen years old...\nThe storm is thought to be responsible for as many as four deaths...\n`Did Mr Stevens ever mention her to you?’.`No, I don’t think so.’\n  VERB: no cont, V that, be V-ed to-inf, V soot\n\n3. If you think in a particular way, you have those general opinions or attitudes.\nYou were probably brought up to think like that...\nIf you think as I do, vote as I do...\nI don’t blame you for thinking that way.\n  VERB: no cont, no passive, V like n, V as/like cl, V n\n\n4. When you think about ideas or problems, you make a mental effort to consider them.\nShe closed her eyes for a moment, trying to think...\nI have often thought about this problem...\nLet’s think what we can do...\nWe had to think what to do next.\n  VERB: V, V about n/wh, V wh, V wh-to-inf\n\n  Think is also a noun. (mainly BRIT)\nI’ll have a think about that.\n  N-SING: a N\n\n5. If you think in a particular way, you consider things, solve problems, or make decisions in this way, for example because of your job or your background.\nTo make the computer work at full capacity, the programmer has to think like the machine...\nThe referee has to think the way the players do.\n  VERB: no passive, V prep, V n\n\n6. If you think of something, it comes into your mind or you remember it.\nNobody could think of anything to say...\nI was trying to think what else we had to do.\n  VERB: no cont, V of n, V wh\n\n7. If you think of an idea, you make a mental effort and use your imagination and intelligence to create it or develop it.\nHe thought of another way of getting out of the marriage...\n  VERB: V of n\n\n8. If you are thinking something at a particular moment, you have words or ideas in your mind without saying them out loud.\nShe must be ill, Tatiana thought...\nI remember thinking how lovely he looked...\nI’m trying to think positive thoughts.\n  VERB: no passive, V with quote, V wh/that, V n\n\n9. If you think of someone or something as having a particular quality or purpose, you regard them as having this quality or purpose.\nWe all thought of him as a father...\nNobody had thought him capable of that kind of thing.\n  VERB: no cont, V of n as n/-ing, V n adj\n\n10. If you think a lot of someone or something, you admire them very much or think they are very good.\nTo tell the truth, I don’t think much of psychiatrists...\nPeople at the club think very highly of him...\n  VERB: no cont, V amount of n, V adv of n\n\n11. If you think of someone, you show consideration for them and pay attention to their needs.\nI’m only thinking of you...\nYou don’t have to think about me and Hugh.\n  VERB: V of n, V about n\n\n12. If you are thinking of taking a particular course of action, you are considering it as a possible course of action.\nMartin was thinking of taking legal action against Zuckerman...\n  VERB: V of -ing\n\n13. You can say that you are thinking of a particular aspect or subject, in order to introduce an example or explain more exactly what you are talking about.\nI’m primarily thinking of the first year...\n  VERB: usu cont, V of n\n\n14. You use think in questions where you are expressing your anger or shock at someone’s behaviour.\nWhat were you thinking of? You shouldn’t steal.\n  VERB: only interrog, V of n/-ing  disapproval\n\n(next)


Words: think .1
Meaning:
15. You use think when you are commenting on something which you did or experienced in the past and which now seems surprising, foolish, or shocking to you.\nTo think I left you alone in a place with a madman at large!...\nWhen I think of how you’ve behaved and the trouble you’ve got into!\n  VERB: no cont, no passive, V that, V of n\n\n16. You can use think in expressions such as you would think or I would have thought when you are criticizing someone because they ought to or could be expected to do something, but have not done it.\nYou’d think you’d remember to wash your ears...\n`Surely to God she should have been given some proper help.’.`Well I would have thought so.’\n  VERB: no cont, V that, V so, also V  disapproval\n\n17. You can use think in expressions such as anyone would think and you would think to express your surprise or disapproval at the way someone is behaving.\nAnyone would think you were in love with the girl...\n  VERB: no cont, V that\n\n18.\n  see also thinking, thought\n19. You use expressions such as come to think of it, when you think about it, or thinking about it, when you mention something that you have suddenly remembered or realized.\nHe was her distant relative, as was everyone else on the island, come to think of it...\n  PHRASE: PHR with cl\n\n20. You use `I think’ as a way of being polite when you are explaining or suggesting to someone what you want to do, or when you are accepting or refusing an offer.\nI think I’ll go home and have a shower...\nWe need a job, and I thought we could go around and ask if people need odd jobs done...\n  PHRASE: PHR that, PHR with cl, PHR soot  politeness\n\n21. You use `I think’ in conversations or speeches to make your statements and opinions sound less forceful, rude, or direct.\nI think he means `at’ rather than `to’...\nThanks, but I think I can handle it...\n  PHRASE: PHR that, PHR with cl, PHR soot  vagueness\n\n22. You say just think when you feel excited, fascinated, or shocked by something, and you want the person to whom you are talking to feel the same.\nJust think; tomorrow we shall walk out of this place and leave it all behind us forever...\n  PHRASE: PHR with cl, PHR wh\n  = imagine\n23. If you think again about an action or decision, you consider it very carefully, often with the result that you change your mind and decide to do things differently.\nIt has forced politicians to think again about the wisdom of trying to evacuate refugees...\n  PHRASE: oft PHR about n/-ing\n\n24. If you think nothing of doing something that other people might consider difficult, strange, or wrong, you consider it to be easy or normal, and you do it often or would be quite willing to do it.\nI thought nothing of betting .1,000 on a horse.\n  PHRASE: V inflects, PHR -ing\n\n25. If something happens and you think nothing of it, you do not pay much attention to it or think of it as strange or important, although later you realize that it is.\nWhen she went off to see her parents for the weekend I thought nothing of it...\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n26.\nyou can’t hear yourself think: see hear\nto shudder to think: see shudder\nto think better of it: see better\nto think big: see big\nto think twice: see twice\nto think the world of someone: see world


Words: think back
Meaning:
think back\n  If you think back, you make an effort to remember things that happened to you in the past.\nI thought back to the time in 1975 when my son was desperately ill...\nThinking back, I don’t know how I had the courage.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P prep, V P\n  = look back


Words: think out
Meaning:
think out\n  If you think something out, you consider all the aspects and details of it before doing anything or making a decision.\nI need time alone to think things out...\nThe book is detailed and well thought out...\nHe chewed at the end of his pencil, thinking out the next problem.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V n P, V-ed P, V P n (not pron)


Words: think over
Meaning:
think over\n  If you think something over, you consider it carefully before making a decision.\nShe said she needs time to think it over...\nI suggest you think over your position very carefully.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V n P, V P n (not pron)


Words: think piece
Meaning:
think piece  think pieces   also think-piece\n  A think piece is an article in a newspaper or magazine that discusses a particular subject in a serious and thoughtful way.\n  N-COUNT


Words: think through
Meaning:
think through\n  If you think a situation through, you consider it thoroughly, together with all its possible effects or consequences.\nI didn’t think through the consequences of promotion...\nIt was the first time she’d had a chance to think it through.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), V n P


Words: think up
Meaning:
think up\n  If you think something up, for example an idea or plan, you invent it using mental effort.\nJulian has been thinking up new ways of raising money...\n`Where do you get that idea about the piano?’.`Well, I just thought it up.’\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), V n P


Words: think-tank
Meaning:
think-tank  think-tanks\n  A think-tank is a group of experts who are gathered together by an organization, especially by a government, in order to consider various problems and try and work out ways to solve them.\n...Moscow’s leading foreign policy think-tank.\n  N-COUNT-COLL


Words: thinker
Meaning:
think.er\n   thinker  thinkers\n  A thinker is a person who spends a lot of time thinking deeply about important things, especially someone who is famous for thinking of new or interesting ideas.\n  N-COUNT


Words: thinking
Meaning:
think.ing\n   thinking\n1. The general ideas or opinions of a person or group can be referred to as their thinking.\nThere was undeniably a strong theoretical dimension to his thinking.\n  N-UNCOUNT: with poss\n\n2. Thinking is the activity of using your brain by considering a problem or possibility or creating an idea.\nThis is a time of decisive action and quick thinking...\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n3. If you describe someone as a thinking man or woman, you mean that they are intelligent and take an interest in important events and issues, and you approve of this.\nThinking people on both sides will applaud this book...\nA newspaper called him `the thinking man’s Tory’.\n  ADJ: ADJ n  approval\n\n4.\nto my way of thinking: see way\n  see also wishful thinking


Words: third
Meaning:
third  thirds\n1. The third item in a series is the one that you count as number three.\nI sleep on the third floor...\nIt was the third time one of his cars had gone up in flames...\n  ORD\n\n2. A third is one of three equal parts of something.\nA third of the cost went into technology and services...\n  FRACTION\n\n3. You say third when you want to make a third point or give a third reason for something.\nFirst, interest rates may take longer to fall than is hoped. Second, in real terms, lending may fall. Third, bad loans could wipe out much of any improvement.\n  ADV: ADV with cl (not last in cl)\n  = thirdly\n4. A third is the lowest honours degree that can be obtained from a British university.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing


Words: third party
Meaning:
third par.ty\n   third party  third parties\n1. A third party is someone who is not one of the main people involved in a business agreement or legal case, but who is involved in it in a minor role.\nYou can instruct your bank to allow a third party to remove money from your account.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. Third-party insurance is a type of insurance that pays money to people who are hurt or whose property is damaged as a result of something you have done. It does not pay you any money for damage you suffer as a result of your own actions. (BRIT)\nPremiums for third-party cover are set to rise by up to 25 per cent.\n  ADJ


Words: third person
Meaning:
third per.son\n   third person\n  In grammar, a statement in the third person is a statement about another person or thing, and not directly about yourself or about the person you are talking to. The subject of a statement like this is `he’, `she’, `it’, or a name or noun.\n  N-SING: the N


Words: Third Way
Meaning:
Third Way\n  The Third Way is used to refer to a set of political beliefs and principles that is neither extremely right-wing nor extremely left-wing.\n  N-SING


Words: Third World
Meaning:
Third World\n  The countries of Africa, Asia, and South America are sometimes referred to all together as the Third World, especially those parts that are poor, do not have much power, and are not considered to be highly developed. Compare First World.\n...development in the Third World.\n...Third World debt.\n  N-PROPER: the N, N n


Words: third-class
Meaning:
third-class\n  A third-class degree is the lowest honours degree that can be obtained from a British university.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: third-degree
Meaning:
third-degree\n1. Third-degree burns are very severe, destroying tissue under the skin.\nHe suffered third-degree burns over 98 per cent of his body.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n2. If you say that someone has been given the third degree, you mean that they have been questioned or criticized extremely severely, sometimes with physical violence. (INFORMAL)\nThe next thing you know, she’s phoned to complain and you’re suddenly being given the third degree.\n  N-SING: usu the N


Words: third-rate
Meaning:
third-rate\n  If you describe something as third-rate, you mean that it is of a very poor quality or standard.\n...a third-rate movie.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: thirdly
Meaning:
third.ly\n   thirdly\n  You use thirdly when you want to make a third point or give a third reason for something.\nFirst of all, there are not many of them, and secondly, they have little money and, thirdly, they have few big businesses.\n  ADV: ADV with cl (not last in cl)\n  = third


Words: thirst
Meaning:
thirst  thirsts  thirsting  thirsted\n1. Thirst is the feeling that you need to drink something.\nInstead of tea or coffee, drink water to quench your thirst...\nI had such a thirst.\n  N-VAR\n\n2. Thirst is the condition of not having enough to drink.\nThey died of thirst on the voyage.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n3. A thirst for something is a very strong desire for that thing.\nChildren show a real thirst for learning.\n  N-SING: usu N for n\n  = hunger\n4. If you say that someone thirsts for something, you mean that they have a strong desire for it. (LITERARY)\nWe all thirst for the same things.\n  VERB: V for/after n\n  = hunger


Words: thirsty
Meaning:
thirsty  thirstier  thirstiest\n1. If you are thirsty, you feel a need to drink something.\nDrink whenever you feel thirsty during exercise.\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ\n\n=>  thirsti.ly\nThe child nodded, drinking her milk thirstily.\n  ADV: ADV after v\n\n2. If you are thirsty for something, you have a strong desire for it. (LITERARY)\nPeople should understand how thirsty for revenge they are.\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ for n\n  = hungry


Words: thirteenth
Meaning:
thir.teenth\n   thirteenth\n  The thirteenth item in a series is the one that you count as number thirteen.\n  ORD


Words: thirtieth
Meaning:
thir.ti.eth\n   thirtieth\n  The thirtieth item in a series is the one that you count as number thirty.\n  ORD


Words: thirty
Meaning:
thir.ty\n   thirty  thirties\n1. Thirty is the number 30.\n  NUM\n\n2. When you talk about the thirties, you are referring to numbers between 30 and 39. For example, if you are in your thirties, you are aged between 30 and 39. If the temperature is in the thirties, the temperature is between 30 and 39 degrees.\n  N-PLURAL\n\n3. The thirties is the decade between 1930 and 1939.\nShe became quite a notable director in the thirties and forties.\n  N-PLURAL: the N


Words: this
Meaning:
this\n1. You use this to refer back to a particular person or thing that has been mentioned or implied.\nWhen food comes out of any oven, it should stand a while. During this delay the centre carries on cooking...\nOn 1 October the US suspended a proposed $574 million aid package for 1991. Of this amount, $250 million is for military purchases.\n  DET: DET sing-n-uncount\n\n  This is also a pronoun.\nI don’t know how bad the injury is, because I have never had one like this before.\n  PRON\n\n2. You use this to introduce someone or something that you are going to talk about.\nThis is what I will do. I will telephone Anna and explain.\n  PRON\n\n  This is also a determiner.\nThis report is from David Cook of our Science Unit: `Why did the dinosaurs become extinct?’\n  DET: DET sing-n-uncount\n\n3. You use this to refer back to an idea or situation expressed in a previous sentence or sentences.\nYou feel that it’s uneconomic to insist that people work together in groups. Why is this?...\n  PRON\n\n  This is also a determiner.\nThere have been continual demands for action by the political authorities to put an end to this situation.\n  DET: DET sing-n-uncount\n\n4. In spoken English, people use this to introduce a person or thing into a story.\nI came here by chance and was just watching what was going on, when this girl attacked me...\n  DET: DET sing-n\n\n5. You use this to refer to a person or thing that is near you, especially when you touch them or point to them. When there are two or more people or things near you, this refers to the nearest one.\n`If you’d prefer something else I’ll gladly have it changed for you.’.`No, this is great.’...\n`Is this what you were looking for?’ Bradley produced the handkerchief...\n  PRON\n\n  This is also a determiner.\nThis church was built in the eleventh century.\n  DET: DET sing-n\n\n6. You use this when you refer to a general situation, activity, or event which is happening or has just happened and which you feel involved in.\nI thought, this is why I’ve travelled thousands of miles...\nTim, this is awful. I know what you must think, but it’s not so...\n  PRON: PRON with be\n\n7. You use this when you refer to the place you are in now or to the present time.\nWe’ve stopped transporting weapons to this country by train...\nI think coffee is probably the best thing at this point...\n  DET: DET sing-n-uncount\n\n  This is also a pronoun.\nThis is the worst place I’ve come across...\n  PRON\n\n8. You use this to refer to the next occurrence in the future of a particular day, month, season, or festival.\nWe’re getting married this June...\n  DET: DET sing-n\n\n9. You use this when you are indicating the size or shape of something with your hands.\nThey’d said the wound was only about this big you see and he showed me with his fingers.\n  ADV: ADV adj\n\n10. You use this when you are going to specify how much you know or how much you can tell someone.\nI am not going to reveal what my seven-year plan is, but I will tell you this much, if it works out, the next seven years will be very interesting.\n  ADV: ADV adv\n\n11. If you say this is it, you are agreeing with what someone else has just said.\n`You know, people conveniently forget the things they say.’.`Well this is it.’\n  CONVENTION  formulae\n\n12. You use this in order to say who you are or what organization you are representing, when you are speaking on the telephone, radio, or television.\nHello, this is John Thompson...\n  PRON\n\n13. You use this to refer to the medium of communication that you are using at the time of speaking or writing.\nWhat I’m going to do in this lecture is focus on something very specific...\n  DET: DET sing-n\n\n14.\n  see also these\n15. If you say that you are doing or talking about this and that, or this, that, and the other you mean that you are doing or talking about a variety of things that you do not want to specify.\n`And what are you doing now?’.`Oh this and that.’\n  PHRASE


Words: thistle
Meaning:
this.tle\n   thistle  thistles\n  A thistle is a wild plant which has leaves with sharp points and purple flowers.\n  N-COUNT


Words: thither
Meaning:
thith.er\n   thither\n  Thither means to the place that has already been mentioned. (OLD-FASHIONED)\nThey have dragged themselves thither for shelter.\n  ADV: ADV after v\n  = there\nhither and thither: see hither


Words: thong
Meaning:
thong  thongs\n1. A thong is a long thin strip of leather, plastic, or rubber.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A thong is a narrow band of cloth that is worn between a person’s legs to cover up his or her sexual organs, and that is held up by a piece of string around the waist.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. Thongs are open shoes which are held on your foot by a V-shaped strap that goes between your big toe and the toe next to it. (mainly AM; in BRIT, usually use flip-flops)\n  N-COUNT: usu pl


Words: thoracic
Meaning:
tho.rac.ic\n   thoracic\n  Thoracic means relating to or affecting your thorax. (MEDICAL)\n...diseases of the thoracic area.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: thorax
Meaning:
thor.ax\n   thorax  thoraxes  or thoraces\n1. Your thorax is the part of your body between your neck and your waist. (MEDICAL)\n  N-COUNT: usu sing\n\n2. An insect’s thorax is the central part of its body to which the legs and wings are attached. (TECHNICAL)\n  N-COUNT: usu sing


Words: thorn
Meaning:
thorn  thorns\n1. Thorns are the sharp points on some plants and trees, for example on a rose bush.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A thorn or a thorn bush or a thorn tree is a bush or tree which has a lot of thorns on it.\n...the shade of a thorn bush.\n  N-VAR\n\n3. If you describe someone or something as a thorn in your side or a thorn in your flesh, you mean that they are a continuous problem to you or annoy you.\nThe Party was a thorn in the flesh of his coalition.\n  PHRASE: v-link PHR


Words: thorny
Meaning:
thorny  thornier  thorniest\n1. A thorny plant or tree is covered with thorns.\n...thorny hawthorn trees.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n2. If you describe a problem as thorny, you mean that it is very complicated and difficult to solve, and that people are often unwilling to discuss it.\n...the thorny issue of immigration policy...\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: thorough
Meaning:
thor.ough\n   thorough\n1. A thorough action or activity is one that is done very carefully and in a detailed way so that nothing is forgotten.\nWe are making a thorough investigation...\nHow thorough is the assessment?\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n=>  thor.ough.ly\nFood that is being offered hot must be reheated thoroughly.\n  ADV: ADV with v\n\n=>  thor.ough.ness\nThe thoroughness of the evaluation process we went through was impressive.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. Someone who is thorough is always very careful in their work, so that nothing is forgotten.\nMartin would be a good judge, I thought. He was calm and thorough...\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ\n\n=>  thor.ough.ness\nHis thoroughness and attention to detail is legendary.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n3. Thorough is used to emphasize the great degree or extent of something.\nWe regard the band as a thorough shambles.\n  ADJ: det ADJ  emphasis\n  = complete\n=>  thor.ough.ly\nI thoroughly enjoy your programme...\n  ADV: ADV before v, ADV adj


Words: thoroughbred
Meaning:
thorough.bred\n   thoroughbred  thoroughbreds\n1. A thoroughbred is a horse that has parents that are of the same high quality breed.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A thoroughbred is a particular breed of racing horse.\n...a thoroughbred stallion.\n  N-COUNT: oft N n


Words: thoroughfare
Meaning:
thorough.fare\n   thoroughfare  thoroughfares\n  A thoroughfare is a main road in a town or city which usually has shops along it and a lot of traffic. (FORMAL)\n...a busy thoroughfare.\n  N-COUNT: usu supp N


Words: thoroughgoing
Meaning:
thorough.going\n   thoroughgoing   also thorough-going\n1. You use thoroughgoing to emphasize that someone or something is fully or completely the type of person or thing specified.\n...a thoroughgoing conservative.\n...readers who are unhappy with such thoroughgoing materialism.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n  emphasis\n\n2. If you describe a piece of work as thoroughgoing, you approve of it because it has been carefully and thoroughly put together.\n...a thoroughgoing review of prison conditions.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n  approval\n  = thorough


Words: those
Meaning:
those\n1. You use those to refer to people or things which have already been mentioned.\nTheoretically he had control over more than $400 million in US accounts. But, in fact, it was the US Treasury and State Department who controlled those accounts...\nThey have the aircraft capable of doing significant damage, because most of those aircraft are capable of launching anti-ship missiles.\n  DET: DET pl-n\n\n  Those is also a pronoun.\nI understand that there are a number of projects going on. Could you tell us a little bit about those?...\n  PRON\n\n2. You use those when you are referring to people or things that are a distance away from you in position or time, especially when you indicate or point to them.\nWhat are those buildings?...\nOh, those books! I meant to put them away before this afternoon.\n  DET: DET pl-n\n\n  Those is also a pronoun.\nThose are nice shoes. Where’d you get them?...\n  PRON\n\n3. You use those to refer to someone or something when you are going to give details or information about them. (FORMAL)\nThose people who took up weapons to defend themselves are political prisoners...\n  DET: DET pl-n\n\n4. You use those to introduce more information about something already mentioned, instead of repeating the noun which refers to it. (FORMAL)\nThe interests he is most likely to enjoy will be those which enable him to show off himself or his talents...\n  PRON: PRON pron-rel, PRON of n\n\n5. You use those to mean `people’.\nA little selfish behaviour is unlikely to cause real damage to those around us...\n  PRON: PRON prep/adj/-ed, PRON pron-rel\n\n6. You use those when you refer to things that you expect the person you are talking to to know about or when you are checking that you are both thinking of the same people or things.\nHe did buy me those daffodils a week or so ago...\n  DET: DET pl-n


Words: thou
Meaning:
thou\n  Thou is an old-fashioned, poetic, or religious word for `you’ when you are talking to only one person. It is used as the subject of a verb.\n  PRON\n\n  see also holier-than-thou


Words: though
Meaning:
though\n1. You use though to introduce a statement in a subordinate clause which contrasts with the statement in the main clause. You often use though to introduce a fact which you regard as less important than the fact in the main clause.\nGaelic has been a dying language for many years, though children are nowadays taught it in school...\nAfter news of this new court case Ford broke down again, though he blamed the breakdown on his work...\n  CONJ\n  = although\n2. You use though to introduce a subordinate clause which gives some information that is relevant to the main clause and weakens the force of what it is saying.\nI look back on it as the bloodiest (though not literally) winter of the war...\n  CONJ\n  = although\n3. You use though to indicate that the information in a clause contrasts with or modifies information given in a previous sentence or sentences.\nI like him. Though he makes me angry sometimes...\n  ADV: ADV with cl\n\n4. You can say though I say so myself or even though I say it myself when you are praising yourself or something you have done, but do not want to sound too proud. (mainly SPOKEN)\nI’m a good cook, though I say it myself...\n  PHRASE: PHR with cl\n\n5.\nas though: see as\neven though: see even


Words: thought
Meaning:
thought  thoughts\n1. Thought is the past tense and past participle of think.\n\n2. A thought is an idea that you have in your mind.\nThe thought of Nick made her throat tighten...\nHe pushed the thought from his mind...\nI’ve just had a thought.\n  N-COUNT: oft N of n/-ing, N that\n\n3. A person’s thoughts are their mind, or all the ideas in their mind when they are concentrating on one particular thing.\nI jumped to my feet so my thoughts wouldn’t start to wander...\nIf he wasn’t there physically, he was always in her thoughts.\n  N-PLURAL: usu poss N\n\n4. A person’s thoughts are their opinions on a particular subject.\nMany of you have written to us to express your thoughts on the conflict...\nMr Goodman, do you have any thoughts on that?\n  N-PLURAL: oft poss N, N on/about n\n\n5. Thought is the activity of thinking, especially deeply, carefully, or logically.\nAlice had been so deep in thought that she had walked past her car without even seeing it...\nHe had given some thought to what she had told him...\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n6. A thought is an intention, hope, or reason for doing something.\nSarah’s first thought was to run back and get Max...\nThey had no thought of surrender...\n  N-COUNT: oft N of n\n\n7. A thought is an act of kindness or an offer of help; used especially when you are thanking someone, or expressing admiration of someone.\n`Would you like to move into the ward?’.`A kind thought, but no, thank you.’\n  N-SING: with supp, oft adj N\n\n8. Thought is the group of ideas and beliefs which belongs, for example, to a particular religion, philosophy, science, or political party.\nAristotle’s scientific theories dominated Western thought for fifteen hundred years...\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n9.\n  see also second thought


Words: thought-provoking
Meaning:
thought-provoking\n  If something such as a book or a film is thought-provoking, it contains interesting ideas that make people think seriously.\nThis is an entertaining yet thought-provoking film.\n  ADJ


Words: thoughtful
Meaning:
thought.ful\n   thoughtful\n1. If you are thoughtful, you are quiet and serious because you are thinking about something.\nNancy, who had been thoughtful for some time, suddenly spoke...\n  ADJ\n  = pensive\n=>  thought.ful.ly\nDaniel nodded thoughtfully.\n  ADV: ADV with v\n\n2. If you describe someone as thoughtful, you approve of them because they remember what other people want, need, or feel, and try not to upset them.\n...a thoughtful and caring man...\nThank you. That’s very thoughtful of you...\n  ADJ: oft ADJ of n  approval\n  = considerate  !=thoughtless\n=>  thought.ful.ly\n...the bottle of wine he had thoughtfully purchased for the celebrations.\n  ADV: ADV with v\n\n=>  thought.ful.ness\nI can’t tell you how much I appreciate your thoughtfulness.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n3. If you describe something such as a book, film, or speech as thoughtful, you mean that it is serious and well thought out.\n...a thoughtful and scholarly book.\n  ADJ\n\n=>  thought.ful.ly\n...these thoughtfully designed machines.\n  ADV: ADV with v


Words: thoughtless
Meaning:
thought.less\n   thoughtless\n  If you describe someone as thoughtless, you are critical of them because they forget or ignore other people’s wants, needs, or feelings.\nIt was thoughtless of her to mention it...\n  ADJ  disapproval\n  !=thoughtful\n=>  thought.less.ly\nThey thoughtlessly planned a picnic without him...\n  ADV: ADV with v


Words: thousand
Meaning:
thou.sand\n   thousand  thousands\n\n  The plural form is thousand after a number, or after a word or expression referring to a number, such as `several’ or `a few’.\n\n1. A thousand or one thousand is the number 1,000.\n...five thousand acres...\nVisitors can expect to pay about a thousand pounds a day.\n  NUM: usu aum NUM\n\n2. If you refer to thousands of things or people, you are emphasizing that there are very many of them.\nThousands of refugees are packed into over-crowded towns and villages...\n  QUANT: QUANT of pl-n  emphasis\n\n  You can also use thousands as a pronoun.\nHundreds have been killed in the fighting and thousands made homeless.\n  PRON\n\n3.\na thousand and one: see one


Words: thousandth
Meaning:
thou.sandth\n   thousandth  thousandths\n1. The thousandth item in a series is the one that you count as number one thousand.\nThe magazine has just published its six thousandth edition.\n  ORD\n\n  If you say that something has happened for the thousandth time, you are emphasizing that it has happened again and that it has already happened a great many times.\nThe phone rings for the thousandth time.\n  ORD  emphasis\n\n2. A thousandth is one of a thousand equal parts of something.\n...a dust particle weighing only a thousandth of a gram.\n  FRACTION


Words: thrall
Meaning:
thrall\n  If you say that someone is in thrall to a person or thing, you mean that they are completely in their power or are greatly influenced by them. (FORMAL)\nHe is not in thrall to the media...\nTomorrow’s children will be even more in the thrall of the silicon chip.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft in N to n


Words: thrash
Meaning:
thrash  thrashes  thrashing  thrashed\n1. If one player or team thrashes another in a game or contest, they defeat them easily or by a large score. (INFORMAL)\nSecond-placed Rangers thrashed St Johnstone 5-nil.\n  VERB: V n amount, also V n\n  = hammer\n2. If you thrash someone, you hit them several times as a punishment.\n`Liar!’ Sarah screamed, as she thrashed the child. `You stole it.’\n  VERB: V n\n\n3. If someone thrashes about, or thrashes their arms or legs about, they move in a wild or violent way, often hitting against something. You can also say that someone’s arms or legs thrash about.\nMany of the crew died a terrible death as they thrashed about in shark-infested waters...\nJimmy collapsed on the floor, thrashing his legs about like an injured racehorse.\n  VERB: V adv/prep, V n adv/prep\n\n4. If a person or thing thrashes something, or thrashes at something, they hit it continually in a violent or noisy way.\n...a magnificent paddle-steamer on the mighty Mississippi, her huge wheel thrashing the muddy water...\nThree shaggy-haired men thrash tunelessly at their guitars.\n  VERB: V n, V at n\n\n5.\n  see also thrashing


Words: thrash out
Meaning:
thrash out\n1. If people thrash out something such as a plan or an agreement, they decide on it after a great deal of discussion.\nThe foreign ministers have thrashed out a suitable compromise formula...\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron)\n  = hammer out\n2. If people thrash out a problem or a dispute, they discuss it thoroughly until they reach an agreement.\n...a sincere effort by two people to thrash out differences about which they have strong feelings.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), also V n P\n  = hammer out


Words: thrashing
Meaning:
thrash.ing\n   thrashing  thrashings\n1. If one player or team gives another one a thrashing, they defeat them easily or by a large score. (INFORMAL)\nCan the New Zealand bowlers fight back after their thrashing at Christchurch?\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp\n\n2. If someone gives someone else a thrashing, they hit them several times as a punishment.\nIf Sarah caught her, she would get a thrashing.\n  N-COUNT\n  = hiding, beating\n3.\n  see also thrash


Words: thread
Meaning:
thread  threads  threading  threaded\n1. Thread or a thread is a long very thin piece of a material such as cotton, nylon, or silk, especially one that is used in sewing.\n...a tiny Nepalese hat embroidered with golden threads.\n  N-VAR\n\n2. The thread of an argument, a story, or a situation is an aspect of it that connects all the different parts together.\nThe thread running through many of these proposals was the theme of individual power and opportunity...\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp\n\n3. A thread of something such as liquid, light, or colour is a long thin line or piece of it.\nA thin, glistening thread of moisture ran along the rough concrete sill.\n  N-COUNT: usu N of n\n\n4. The thread on a screw, or on something such as a lid or a pipe, is the raised spiral line of metal or plastic around it which allows it to be fixed in place by twisting.\nThe screw threads will be able to get a good grip.\n  N-COUNT\n\n5. If you thread your way through a group of people or things, or thread through it, you move through it carefully or slowly, changing direction frequently as you move.\nSlowly she threaded her way back through the moving mass of bodies...\nWe threaded through a network of back streets.\n  VERB: V way prep/adv, V prep\n\n6. If you thread a long thin object through something, you pass it through one or more holes or narrow spaces.\n...threading the laces through the eyelets of his shoes...\nInstruments developed at the hospital allow doctors to thread microscopic telescopes into the digestive tract.\n  VERB: V n through n, V n into n\n\n7. If you thread small objects such as beads onto a string or thread, you join them together by pushing the string through them.\nWipe the mushrooms clean and thread them on a string.\n  VERB: V n prep\n\n8. When you thread a needle, you put a piece of thread through the hole in the top of the needle in order to sew with it.\nI sit down, thread a needle, snip off an old button.\n  VERB: V n\n\n9. If you say that something is hanging by a thread, you mean that it is in a very uncertain state and is unlikely to survive or succeed.\nThe fragile peace was hanging by a thread as thousands of hardliners took to the streets.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n10. If you pick up the threads of an activity, you start it again after an interruption. If you pick up the threads of your life, you become more active again after a period of failure or bad luck.\nMany women have been able to pick up the threads of their former career.\n  PHRASE: V inflects


Words: threadbare
Meaning:
thread.bare\n   threadbare\n1. Threadbare clothes, carpets, and other pieces of cloth look old, dull, and very thin, because they have been worn or used too much.\nShe sat cross-legged on a square of threadbare carpet.\n  ADJ\n  = worn\n2. If you describe an activity, an idea, or an argument as threadbare, you mean that it is very weak, or inadequate, or old and no longer interesting.\n...the government’s threadbare domestic policies.\n  ADJ


Words: threat
Meaning:
threat  threats\n1. A threat to a person or thing is a danger that something unpleasant might happen to them. A threat is also the cause of this danger.\nSome couples see single women as a threat to their relationships...\nThe Hurricane Center warns people not to take the threat of tropical storms lightly...\n  N-VAR: with supp, oft N to/from n, N of n\n\n2. A threat is a statement by someone that they will do something unpleasant, especially if you do not do what they want.\nHe may be forced to carry out his threat to resign...\nThe priest remains in hiding after threats by former officials of the ousted dictatorship...\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp, oft N to-inf\n\n3. If a person or thing is under threat, there is a danger that something unpleasant might be done to them, or that they might cease to exist.\nHis position as leader will be under threat at a party congress due next month...\nShe lives daily under threat of violence...\n  PHRASE: oft PHR of/from n


Words: threaten
Meaning:
threat.en\n   threaten  threatens  threatening  threatened\n1. If a person threatens to do something unpleasant to you, or if they threaten you, they say or imply that they will do something unpleasant to you, especially if you do not do what they want.\nHe said army officers had threatened to destroy the town...\nHe tied her up and threatened her with a six-inch knife...\nIf you threaten me or use any force, I shall inform the police.\n  VERB: V to-inf, V n with n, V n, also V that\n\n2. If something or someone threatens a person or thing, they are likely to harm that person or thing.\nThe newcomers directly threaten the livelihood of the established workers...\n30 percent of reptiles, birds, and fish are currently threatened with extinction.\n  VERB: V n, be V-ed with n\n\n3. If something unpleasant threatens to happen, it seems likely to happen.\nThe fighting is threatening to turn into full-scale war...\n  VERB: V to-inf\n\n4.\n  see also threatened, threatening


Words: threatened
Meaning:
threat.ened\n   threatened\n  If you feel threatened, you feel as if someone is trying to harm you.\nAnger is the natural reaction we experience when we feel threatened or frustrated...\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ, oft ADJ by n\n\n  see also threaten


Words: threatening
Meaning:
threat.en.ing\n   threatening\n  You can describe someone’s behaviour as threatening when you think that they are trying to harm you.\nThe police could have charged them with threatening behaviour...\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n=>  threat.en.ing.ly\n`This ain’t no affair of yours, boy!’ McClosky said threateningly.\n  ADV: usu ADV with v\n\n  see also threaten, life-threatening


Words: three
Meaning:
three  threes\n  Three is the number 3.\nWe waited three months before going back to see the specialist.\n  NUM


Words: three Rs
Meaning:
three Rs\n  When talking about children’s education, the three Rs are the basic skills of reading, writing, and arithmetic.\n  N-PLURAL: the N


Words: three-cornered
Meaning:
three-cornered\n  If you describe something such as a disagreement, competition, or game as three-cornered, you mean that it involves three people, groups, or teams. (mainly BRIT)\n...the three-cornered struggle between employers and male and female workers.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: three-dimensional
Meaning:
three-dimensional\n1. A three-dimensional object is solid rather than flat, because it can be measured in three different directions, usually the height, length, and width. The abbreviation 3-D can also be used.\n...a three-dimensional model.\n  ADJ\n\n2. A three-dimensional picture, image, or film looks as though it is deep or solid rather than flat. The abbreviation 3-D can also be used.\n...new software, which generates both two-dimensional drawings and three-dimensional images.\n  ADJ\n\n3. If you describe fictional characters as three-dimensional you mean that they seem real and natural.\nShe emerges as a full, three-dimensional character in a way that few horror genre heroines ever do.\n  ADJ  approval\n\n4. Three-dimensional art or design is produced by carving or shaping stone, wood, clay, or other materials. The abbreviation 3-D can also be used.\n...a degree in three-dimensional art.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: three-fourths
Meaning:
three-fourths\n  In American English, people sometimes use three-fourths to mean three-quarters.\nThree-fourths of the apartments in the ghetto had no heat...\n  QUANT: QUANT of n\n\n  Three-fourths is also a pronoun.\nHe has just under 1,600 delegates, about three-fourths what he needs to win the Democratic presidential nomination.\n  PRON


Words: three-line whip
Meaning:
three-line whip  three-line whips\n  A three-line whip is a situation where the MPs in a political party are ordered to attend parliament and vote in a particular way on a particular issue. (BRIT)\n  N-COUNT


Words: three-piece
Meaning:
three-piece\n1. A three-piece suit is a set of three pieces of matching clothing, usually a man’s jacket, waistcoat, and trousers.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n2. A three-piece suite is a sofa and two matching armchairs. (mainly BRIT)\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: three-point turn
Meaning:
three-point turn  three-point turns\n  When the driver of a vehicle does a three-point turn, he or she turns the vehicle by driving forwards in a curve, then backwards in a curve, and then forwards in a curve.\n  N-COUNT


Words: three-quarter
Meaning:
three-quarter   also three quarter\n  You can use three-quarter to describe something which is three fourths of the usual size or three fourths of a standard measurement.\nChoose short or three-quarter sleeves for summer.\n...a session which lasted one and three-quarter hours.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: three-quarters
Meaning:
three-quarters\n  Three-quarters is an amount that is three out of four equal parts of something.\nThree-quarters of the country’s workers took part in the strike...\nIt took him about three-quarters of an hour.\n  QUANT: QUANT of n\n\n  Three-quarters is also a pronoun.\nRoad deaths have increased by three-quarters...\n  PRON\n\n  Three-quarters is also an adverb.\nWe were left with an open bottle of champagne three-quarters full...\n  ADV: ADV adj/-ed


Words: thresh
Meaning:
thresh  threshes  threshing  threshed\n  When a cereal such as corn, wheat, or rice is threshed, it is beaten in order to separate the grains from the rest of the plant.\nThe corn was still sown, cut and threshed as it was a hundred years ago.\n  VERB: usu passive, be V-ed, also V


Words: threshold
Meaning:
thresh.old\n   threshold  thresholds\n1. The threshold of a building or room is the floor in the doorway, or the doorway itself.\nHe stopped at the threshold of the bedroom...\n  N-COUNT: usu sing\n\n2. A threshold is an amount, level, or limit on a scale. When the threshold is reached, something else happens or changes.\nShe has a low threshold of boredom and needs the constant stimulation of physical activity...\nFewer than forty per cent voted.the threshold for results to be valid.\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp, oft N of n, n N\n\n3. If you are on the threshold of something exciting or new, you are about to experience it.\nWe are on the threshold of a new era in astronomy.\n  PHRASE: PHR n/-ing


Words: thrice
Meaning:
thrice\n1. Something that happens thrice happens three times. (OLD-FASHIONED)\nThey should think not twice, but thrice, before ignoring such advice...\nShe plays tennis thrice weekly.\n  ADV: ADV with v, ADV adv, ADV n\n\n2. You can use thrice to indicate that something is three times the size, value, or intensity of something else. (OLD-FASHIONED)\n...moving at thrice the speed of sound.\n  ADV: ADV n


Words: thrift
Meaning:
thrift  thrifts\n1. Thrift is the quality and practice of being careful with money and not wasting things.\nThey were rightly praised for their thrift and enterprise.\n  N-UNCOUNT  approval\n  !=extravagance\n2. A thrift or a thrift institution is a kind of savings bank. (AM)\n  N-COUNT


Words: thrift shop
Meaning:
thrift shop  thrift shops\n  A thrift shop or thrift store is a shop that sells used goods cheaply and gives its profits to a charity. (AM; in BRIT, use charity shop)\n  N-COUNT


Words: thrifty
Meaning:
thrifty  thriftier  thriftiest\n  If you say that someone is thrifty, you are praising them for saving money, not buying unnecessary things, and not wasting things.\nMy mother taught me to be thrifty.\n...thrifty shoppers.\n  ADJ  approval


Words: thrill
Meaning:
thrill  thrills  thrilling  thrilled\n1. If something gives you a thrill, it gives you a sudden feeling of great excitement, pleasure, or fear.\nI can remember the thrill of not knowing what I would get on Christmas morning...\nIt’s a great thrill for a cricket-lover like me to play at the home of cricket.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, oft N of n/-ing\n\n2. If something thrills you, or if you thrill at it, it gives you a feeling of great pleasure and excitement.\nThe electric atmosphere both terrified and thrilled him...\nThe children will thrill at all their favourite characters.\n  VERB: V n, V at/to n\n\n3.\n  see also thrilled, thrilling\n4. If you refer to thrills and spills, you are referring to an experience which is exciting and full of surprises.\nIts prime audience lies in the 17 to 24 age group, and they want instant thrills and spills.\n  PHRASE


Words: thrilled
Meaning:
thrilled\n1. If someone is thrilled, they are extremely pleased about something.\nI was so thrilled to get a good report from him...\nSue and John were especially thrilled with this award...\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ, oft ADJ to-inf, ADJ prep, ADJ that\n  = delighted\n  If you say that someone is thrilled to bits, you are emphasizing the fact that they are extremely pleased about something. You can also say thrilled to pieces, especially in American English.\nI’m thrilled to bits to have won the cash...\n  PHRASE: v-link PHR, oft PHR to-inf, PHR at/with n/-ing  emphasis\n\n2.\n  see also thrill


Words: thriller
Meaning:
thrill.er\n   thriller  thrillers\n  A thriller is a book, film, or play that tells an exciting fictional story about something such as criminal activities or spying.\n...a tense psychological thriller.\n  N-COUNT


Words: thrilling
Meaning:
thrill.ing\n   thrilling\n1. Something that is thrilling is very exciting and enjoyable.\nOur wildlife trips offer a thrilling encounter with wildlife in its natural state.\n  ADJ\n  = exciting\n=>  thrill.ing.ly\nWatson has a wonderful voice, with thrillingly clear top notes...\n  ADV: ADV adj, ADV with v\n\n2.\n  see also thrill


Words: thrive
Meaning:
thrive  thrives  thriving  thrived\n1. If someone or something thrives, they do well and are successful, healthy, or strong.\nToday his company continues to thrive...\n...the river’s thriving population of kingfishers.\n  VERB: V, V-ing\n\n2. If you say that someone thrives on a particular situation, you mean that they enjoy it or that they can deal with it very well, especially when other people find it unpleasant or difficult.\nMany people thrive on a stressful lifestyle...\n  VERB: V on n/-ing


Words: throat
Meaning:
throat  throats\n1. Your throat is the back of your mouth and the top part of the tubes that go down into your stomach and your lungs.\nShe had a sore throat...\nAs she stared at him she felt her throat go dry.\n  N-COUNT: oft poss N\n\n2. Your throat is the front part of your neck.\nHis striped tie was loosened at his throat.\n  N-COUNT: oft poss N\n\n3. If you clear your throat, you cough once in order to make it easier to speak or to attract people’s attention.\nCross cleared his throat and spoke in low, polite tones.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n4. If you ram something down someone’s throat or force it down their throat, you keep mentioning a situation or idea in order to make them accept it or believe it.\nI’ve always been close to my dad but he’s never rammed his career down my throat...\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n5. If two people or groups are at each other’s throats, they are quarrelling or fighting violently with each other.\nThe idea that Billy and I are at each other’s throats couldn’t be further from the truth.\n  PHRASE: v-link PHR, PHR after v\n\n6. If something sticks in your throat, you find it unacceptable.\nWhat sticks in my throat is that I wasn’t able to win the trophy...\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n7.\na lump in your throat: see lump


Words: throb
Meaning:
throb  throbs  throbbing  throbbed\n1. If part of your body throbs, you feel a series of strong and usually painful beats there.\nHis head throbbed...\n  VERB: V\n\n  Throb is also a noun.\nThe bruise on his stomach ached with a steady throb.\n  N-SING\n\n2. If something throbs, it vibrates and makes a steady noise. (LITERARY)\nThe engines throbbed...\n  VERB: V\n\n  Throb is also a noun.\nJake’s head jerked up at the throb of the engine.\n  N-SING


Words: throes
Meaning:
throes\n1. If someone is experiencing something very unpleasant or emotionally painful, you can say that they are in the throes of it, especially when it is in its final stages. (FORMAL)\n...when the country was going through the final throes of civil war.\n  N-PLURAL: usu prep N, N of n\n\n2. If you are in the throes of doing or experiencing something, especially something difficult, you are busy doing it or are deeply involved in it. (FORMAL)\nThe country is in the throes of a general election...\n  PREP-PHRASE\n\n3.\n  see also death throes


Words: thrombosis
Meaning:
throm.bo.sis\n   thrombosis  thromboses\n  Thrombosis is the formation of a blood clot in a person’s heart or in one of their blood vessels, which can cause death. (MEDICAL)\n  N-VAR\n\n  see also coronary thrombosis


Words: throne
Meaning:
throne  thrones\n1. A throne is a decorative chair used by a king, queen, or emperor on important official occasions.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. You can talk about the throne as a way of referring to the position of being king, queen, or emperor.\n...the Queen’s 50th anniversary on the throne.\n  N-SING: the N


Words: throng
Meaning:
throng  throngs  thronging  thronged\n1. A throng is a large crowd of people. (LITERARY)\nAn official pushed through the throng.\n  N-COUNT\n  = crowd\n2. When people throng somewhere, they go there in great numbers. (LITERARY)\nThe crowds thronged into the mall.\n  VERB: V to/into/around n\n  = flock\n3. If people throng a place, they are present there in great numbers.\nThey throng the beaches between late June and early August.\n  VERB: V n\n  = crowd\n=>  thronged\nThe streets are thronged with people.\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ with n


Words: throttle
Meaning:
throt.tle\n   throttle  throttles  throttling  throttled\n1. To throttle someone means to kill or injure them by squeezing their throat or tightening something around it and preventing them from breathing.\nThe attacker then tried to throttle her with wire...\n  VERB: V n\n  = strangle\n2. If you say that something or someone is throttling a process, institution, or group, you mean that they are restricting it severely or destroying it.\nHe said the over-valuation of sterling was throttling industry.\n  VERB: V n\n\n3. The throttle of a motor vehicle or aircraft is the device, lever, or pedal that controls the quantity of fuel entering the engine and is used to control the vehicle’s speed.\nHe gently opened the throttle, and the ship began to ease forward...\n  N-COUNT\n\n4. Throttle is the power that is obtained by using a throttle.\n...motor bikes revving at full throttle.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n5. If you say that something is done at full throttle, you mean that it is done with great speed and enthusiasm.\nHe lived his life at full throttle.\n  PHRASE: PHR after v, v-link PHR


Words: through
Meaning:
through\nIn addition to the uses shown below, through is used in phrasal verbs such as `see through’, `think through’, and `win through’.\n1. To move through something such as a hole, opening, or pipe means to move directly from one side or end of it to the other.\nThe theatre was evacuated when rain poured through the roof at the Liverpool Playhouse...\nGo straight through that door under the EXIT sign...\nVisitors enter through a side entrance...\n  PREP\n\n  Through is also an adverb.\nHe went straight through to the kitchen and took a can of beer from the fridge...\nShe opened the door and stood back to allow the man to pass through.\n  ADV: ADV after v\n\n2. To cut through something means to cut it in two pieces or to make a hole in it.\nUse a proper fish knife and fork if possible as they are designed to cut through the flesh but not the bones...\nRabbits still manage to find a way in. I am sure that some have even taken to gnawing through the metal.\n  PREP\n\n  Through is also an adverb.\nScore lightly at first and then repeat, scoring deeper each time until the board is cut through.\n  ADV: ADV after v\n\n3. To go through a town, area, or country means to travel across it or in it.\nGo up to Ramsgate, cross into France, go through Andorra and into Spain.\n...travelling through pathless woods...\n  PREP\n\n  Through is also an adverb.\nFew know that the tribe was just passing through.\n  ADV: ADV after v\n\n4. If you move through a group of things or a mass of something, it is on either side of you or all around you.\nWe made our way through the crowd to the river...\nSybil’s fingers ran through the water...\n  PREP\n\n  Through is also an adverb.\nHe pushed his way through to the edge of the crowd where he waited.\n  ADV: ADV after v\n\n5. To get through a barrier or obstacle means to get from one side of it to the other.\nAllow twenty-five minutes to get through Passport Control and Customs...\nHe was one of the last of the crowd to pass through the barrier...\n  PREP\n\n  Through is also an adverb.\n...a maze of concrete and steel barriers, designed to prevent vehicles driving straight through.\n  ADV: ADV after v\n\n6. If a driver goes through a red light, they keep driving even though they should stop.\nHe was killed at a road junction by a van driver who went through a red light...\n  PREP\n\n7. If something goes into an object and comes out of the other side, you can say that it passes through the object.\nThe ends of the net pass through a wooden bar at each end...\n  PREP\n\n  Through is also an adverb.\nI bored a hole so that the fixing bolt would pass through.\n  ADV: ADV after v\n\n8. To go through a system means to move around it or to pass from one end of it to the other.\n...electric currents travelling through copper wires...\nWhat a lot of cards you’ve got through the post!\n  PREP\n\n  Through is also an adverb.\nIt is also expected to consider a resolution which would allow food to go through immediately with fewer restrictions.\n  ADV: ADV after v\n\n9. If you see, hear, or feel something through a particular thing, that thing is between you and the thing you can see, hear, or feel.\nAlice gazed pensively through the wet glass...\n  PREP\n\n10. If something such as a feeling, attitude, or quality, happens through an area, organization, or a person’s body, it happens everywhere in it or affects all of it.\nAn atmosphere of anticipation vibrated through the crowd...\nWhat was going through his mind when he spoke those amazing words?...\n  PREP\n\n11. If something happens or exists through a period of time, it happens or exists from the beginning until the end.\nShe kept quiet all through breakfast.\n  PREP\n\n  Through is also an adverb.\nWe’ve got a tough programme, hard work right through to the summer...\n  ADV: ADV after v\n\n12. If something happens from a particular period of time through another, it starts at the first period and continues until the end of the second period. (AM; in BRIT, use to)\n...open Monday through Sunday from 7:00 am to 10:00 pm...\n(next)


Words: through .1
Meaning:
PREP\n\n13. If you go through a particular experience or event, you experience it, and if you behave in a particular way through it, you behave in that way while it is happening.\nMen go through a change of life emotionally just like women.\n  PREP\n\n14. If you are through with something or if it is through, you have finished doing it and will never do it again. If you are through with someone, you do not want to have anything to do with them again.\nI’m through with the explaining...\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ, oft ADJ with n\n\n15. You use through in expressions such as half-way through and all the way through to indicate to what extent an action or task is completed.\nA thirty-nine-year-old competitor collapsed half-way through the marathon and died shortly afterwards.\n  PREP: n PREP n\n\n  Through is also an adverb.\nStir the pork about until it turns white all the way through.\n  ADV: n ADV\n\n16. If something happens because of something else, you can say that it happens through it.\nThey are understood to have retired through age or ill health...\n  PREP\n\n17. You use through when stating the means by which a particular thing is achieved.\nThose who seek to grab power through violence deserve punishment...\n  PREP\n\n18. If you do something through someone else, they take the necessary action for you.\nDo I need to go through my doctor or can I make an appointment direct?...\n  PREP\n  = via\n19. If something such as a proposal or idea goes through, it is accepted by people in authority and is made legal or official.\nIt is possible that the present Governor General will be made interim President, if the proposals go through...\n  ADV: ADV after v\n\n  Through is also a preposition.\nThey want to get the plan through Congress as quickly as possible.\n  PREP\n\n20. If someone gets through an examination or a round of a competition, they succeed or win.\nShe was bright, learned languages quickly, and sailed through her exams...\n  PREP\n\n  Through is also an adverb.\nNigeria also go through from that group.\n  ADV: ADV after v\n\n21. When you get through while making a telephone call, the call is connected and you can speak to the person you are phoning.\nHe may find the line cut on the telephone so that he can’t get through...\n  ADV: ADV after v\n\n22. If you look or go through a lot of things, you look at them or deal with them one after the other.\nLet’s go through the numbers together and see if a workable deal is possible...\n  PREP\n\n23. If you read through something, you read it from beginning to end.\nShe read through pages and pages of the music I had brought her...\n  PREP\n\n  Through is also an adverb.\nHe read the article straight through, looking for any scrap of information that might have passed him by.\n  ADV: ADV after v\n\n24. A through train goes directly to a particular place, so that the people who want to go there do not have to change trains.\n...Britain’s longest through train journey, 685 miles.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n25. If you say that someone or something is wet through, you are emphasizing how wet they are.\nI returned to the inn cold and wet, soaked through by the drizzling rain...\n  ADV: adj ADV  emphasis\n\n26. Through and through means completely and to the greatest extent possible.\nI’ve gotten my feet thoroughly soaked and feel frozen through and through...\n  PHRASE: usu n/adj PHR, PHR after v


Words: throughout
Meaning:
through.out\n   throughout\n1. If you say that something happens throughout a particular period of time, you mean that it happens during the whole of that period.\nThe national tragedy of rival groups killing each other continued throughout 1990...\nMovie music can be made memorable because its themes are repeated throughout the film.\n  PREP\n\n  Throughout is also an adverb.\nThe first song, `Blue Moon’, didn’t go too badly except that everyone talked throughout.\n  ADV: ADV with cl\n\n2. If you say that something happens or exists throughout a place, you mean that it happens or exists in all parts of that place.\n`Sight Savers’, founded in 1950, now runs projects throughout Africa, the Caribbean and South East Asia...\n  PREP\n\n  Throughout is also an adverb.\nThe route is well sign-posted throughout...\n  ADV: ADV with cl


Words: throughput
Meaning:
through.put\n   throughput\n  The throughput of an organization or system is the amount of things it can do or deal with in a particular period of time.\n...technologies which will allow us to get much higher throughput...\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: throw
Meaning:
throw  throws  throwing  threw  thrown\n1. When you throw an object that you are holding, you move your hand or arm quickly and let go of the object, so that it moves through the air.\nHe spent hours throwing a tennis ball against a wall...\nThe crowd began throwing stones...\nSophia jumps up and throws down her knitting...\nHe threw Brian a rope.\n  VERB: V n prep/adv, V n, V n with adv, V n n\n\n  Throw is also a noun.\nOne of the judges thought it was a foul throw...\nA throw of the dice allows a player to move himself forward.\n  N-COUNT: oft N of n\n\n=>  throw.ing\nHe didn’t really know very much about javelin throwing.\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu with supp\n\n2. If you throw your body or part of your body into a particular position or place, you move it there suddenly and with a lot of force.\nShe threw her arms around his shoulders...\nShe threatened to throw herself in front of a train...\nHe set his skinny legs apart and threw back his shoulders.\n  VERB: V n prep, V pron-refl prep/adv, V n with adv\n\n3. If you throw something into a particular place or position, you put it there in a quick and careless way.\nHe struggled out of his bulky jacket and threw it on to the back seat...\n  VERB: V n prep/adv\n\n4. To throw someone into a particular place or position means to force them roughly into that place or position.\nHe threw me to the ground and started to kick...\nThe device exploded, throwing Mr Taylor from his car.\n  VERB: V n prep/adv, V n prep/adv\n\n5. If you say that someone is thrown into prison, you mean that they are put there by the authorities, especially if this seems unfair or cruel.\nThose two should have been thrown in jail...\nPolice should have the power to fine people who hamper rescue efforts. In fact I’d throw them into prison for a night.\n  VERB: be V-ed in/into n, V n in/into n\n\n6. If a horse throws its rider, it makes him or her fall off, by suddenly jumping or moving violently.\nThe horse reared, throwing its rider and knocking down a youth standing beside it.\n  VERB: V n\n\n7. If a person or thing is thrown into an unpleasant situation or state, something causes them to be in that situation or state.\nAbidjan was thrown into turmoil because of a protest by taxi drivers...\nEconomic recession had thrown millions out of work...\n  VERB: be V-ed prep, V n prep\n\n8. If something throws light or a shadow on a surface, it causes that surface to have light or a shadow on it.\nThe sunlight is white and blinding, throwing hard-edged shadows on the ground.\n  VERB: V n on/onto n\n  = cast\n9. If something throws doubt on a person or thing, it causes people to doubt or suspect them.\nThis new information does throw doubt on their choice...\n  VERB: V n on/upon n\n  = cast\n10. If you throw a look or smile at someone or something, you look or smile at them quickly and suddenly.\nEmily turned and threw her a suggestive grin.\n  VERB: no cont, V n n, also V n at n\n\n11. If you throw yourself, your energy, or your money into a particular job or activity, you become involved in it very actively or enthusiastically.\nShe threw herself into a modelling career...\nThey threw all their military resources into the battle.\n  VERB: V pron-refl into n, V n into n\n\n12. If you throw a fit or a tantrum, you suddenly start to behave in an uncontrolled way.\nI used to get very upset and scream and swear, throwing tantrums all over the place.\n  VERB: V n\n\n13. If something such as a remark or an experience throws you, it surprises you or confuses you because it is unexpected.\nThe professor rather threw me by asking if I went in for martial arts...\n  VERB: V n\n\n14. If you throw a punch, you punch someone.\nEverything was fine until someone threw a punch.\n  VERB: V n\n\n15. When someone throws a party, they organize one, usually in their own home. (INFORMAL)\nWhy not throw a party for your friends?\n  VERB: V n\n\n16. In sports, if a player throws a game or contest, they lose it as a result of a deliberate action or intention.\n...offering him a bribe to throw the game.\n(next)


Words: throw .1
Meaning:
VERB: V n\n\n17. A throw is a light rug, blanket, or cover for a sofa or bed.\n  N-COUNT\n\n18. If things cost a particular amount of money a throw, they cost that amount each. (INFORMAL)\nMost applications software for personal computers cost over $500 a throw.\n  PHRASE: amount PHR\n\n19. If someone throws themselves at you, they make it very obvious that they want to begin a relationship with you, by behaving as though they are sexually attracted to you.\nI’ll say you started it, that you threw yourself at me.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n20.\nto throw someone in at the deep end: see end\nto throw down the gauntlet: see gauntlet\nto throw light on something: see light\nto throw in your lot with someone: see lot\nto throw money at something: see money\nto throw good money after bad: see money\nto throw a spanner in the works: see spanner\na stone’s throw: see stone\nto throw in the towel: see towel\nto throw your weight about: see weight\nto throw a wrench: see wrench


Words: throw away
Meaning:
throw away   or throw out\n1. When you throw away or throw out something that you do not want, you get rid of it, for example by putting it in a rubbish container.\nI never throw anything away...\nI’m not advising you to throw away your makeup or forget about your appearance.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V n P, V P n (not pron)\n\n2. If you throw away an opportunity, advantage, or benefit, you waste it, rather than using it sensibly.\nFailing to tackle the deficit would be throwing away an opportunity we haven’t had for a generation...\nWe should have won. We threw it away.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), V n P\n\n  see also throwaway


Words: throw back
Meaning:
throw back\n1. If you throw something back at a person, you remind them of something bad they did in the past, in order to upset them.\nI should never have told you that. I knew you’d throw it back at me.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V n P at n, also V P at n n\n\n2. If someone is thrown back on their own powers or resources, they have to use them, because there is nothing else they can use.\nWe are constantly thrown back on our own resources.\n  PHRASAL VERB: usu passive, be V-ed P on n


Words: throw down
Meaning:
throw down\n  If you throw down a challenge to someone, you do something new or unexpected in a bold or forceful manner that will probably cause them to reply or react equally strongly.\nThe regional parliament threw down a new challenge to the central authorities by passing a law allowing private ownership of businesses...\nGovernment ministers have been responding to the challenge thrown down by their former colleague.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), V-ed P


Words: throw in
Meaning:
throw in\n1. If you throw in a remark when having a conversation, you add it in a casual or unexpected way.\nOccasionally Farling threw in a question.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), also V n P\n  = toss in\n2. If a person who is selling something throws in something extra, they give you the extra thing and only ask you to pay for the first thing.\nPay .4.80 for larger prints and they throw in a free photo album...\nThey were offering me a weekend break in Paris.with free beer thrown in.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), V-ed P, also V n P\n  = include


Words: throw off
Meaning:
throw off\n1. If you throw off something that is restricting you or making you unhappy, you get rid of it.\n...a country ready to throw off the shackles of its colonial past...\nOne day depression descended upon him, and wherever he went after that he could never throw it off.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), V n P\n  = cast off\n2. If something throws off a substance, it produces it and releases it into the air.\nThe belt may make a squealing noise and throw off sooty black particles of rubber...\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron)\n  = give off\n3. If you throw off people who are chasing you or trying to find you, you do something unexpected that makes them unable to catch you or find you.\nHe is said to have thrown off pursuers by pedaling across the Wisconsin state line...\nHe tried to throw police off the track of his lover.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), V n P n, also V n P


Words: throw out
Meaning:
throw out\n1.\nsee throw away 1\n2. If a judge throws out a case, he or she rejects it and the accused person does not have to stand trial.\nThe defense wants the district Judge to throw out the case.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), also V n P\n\n3. If you throw someone out, you force them to leave a place or group.\nHe was thrown out of the Olympic team after testing positive for drugs...\nI wanted to kill him, but instead I just threw him out of the house...\nThe party threw out the Trotskyist Militant Tendency.\n  PHRASAL VERB: be/get V-ed P of n, V n P of n, V P n (not pron), also V n P


Words: throw together
Meaning:
throw together\n1. If you throw something together, for example a meal or a costume, you make it quickly and not very carefully. (INFORMAL)\nToo often, picnic preparation consists of throwing together some sandwiches and grabbing an apple.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), also V n P\n\n2. If people are thrown together by a situation or event, it causes them to get to know each other, even though they may not want to.\nThe cast and crew were thrown together for 12 hours a day, six days a week, until the filming was completed...\nIf you have men and women thrown together in inhospitable surroundings, you are going to get some sexual tension...\nMy husband is constantly thrown together with young people through his work.\n  PHRASAL VERB: pl-n be V-ed P, V-ed P, be V-ed P with n, also V pl-n P, V P pl-n (not pron), V n P with n


Words: throw up
Meaning:
throw up\n1. When someone throws up, they vomit. (INFORMAL)\nShe said she had thrown up after reading reports of the trial.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P\n\n2. If something throws up dust, stones, or water, when it moves or hits the ground, it causes them to rise up into the air.\nIf it had hit the Earth, it would have made a crater 100 miles across and thrown up an immense cloud of dust.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), also V n P\n\n3. To throw up a particular person or thing means to produce them or cause them to become noticeable. (mainly BRIT)\nThe political struggle threw up a strong leader...\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron)


Words: throw-in
Meaning:
throw-in  throw-ins\n  When there is a throw-in in a football or rugby match, the ball is thrown back onto the field after it has been kicked off it.\n  N-COUNT


Words: throwaway
Meaning:
throw.away\n   throwaway\n1. A throwaway product is intended to be used only for a short time, and then to be thrown away.\nNow they are producing throwaway razors.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n2. If you say that someone makes a throwaway remark or gesture, you mean that they make it in a casual way, although it may be important, or have some serious or humorous effect.\n...a throwaway remark she later regretted...\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: throwback
Meaning:
throw.back\n   throwback  throwbacks\n  If you say that something is a throwback to a former time, you mean that it is like something that existed a long time ago.\nThe hall is a throwback to another era with its old prints and stained-glass.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, oft N to n


Words: thrum
Meaning:
thrum  thrums  thrumming  thrummed\n  When something such as a machine or engine thrums, it makes a low beating sound.\nThe air-conditioner thrummed.\n  VERB: V\n\n  Thrum is also a noun.\n...the thrum of refrigeration motors...\nMy head was going thrum thrum thrum.\n  N-COUNT; SOUND


Words: thrush
Meaning:
thrush  thrushes\n1. A thrush is a fairly small bird with a brown back and a spotted breast.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. Thrush is a medical condition caused by a fungus. It most often occurs in a baby’s mouth or in a woman’s vagina.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: thrust
Meaning:
thrust  thrusts  thrusting  thrust\n1. If you thrust something or someone somewhere, you push or move them there quickly with a lot of force.\nThey thrust him into the back of a jeep...\n  VERB: V n prep/adv\n  = shove\n  Thrust is also a noun.\nTwo of the knife thrusts were fatal.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If you thrust your way somewhere, you move there, pushing between people or things which are in your way.\nShe thrust her way into the crowd...\n  VERB: V way prep/adv\n  = push\n3. If something thrusts up or out of something else, it sticks up or sticks out in a noticeable way. (LITERARY)\nAn aerial thrust up from the grass verge...\nA ray of sunlight thrust out through the clouds.\n  VERB: V adv/prep, V adv/prep\n\n4. Thrust is the power or force that is required to make a vehicle move in a particular direction.\nIt provides the thrust that makes the craft move forward.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n5. The thrust of an activity or of an idea is the main or essential things it expresses.\nThe main thrust of the research will be the study of the early Universe and galaxy formation...\n  N-SING: adj N, usu N of n\n\n6.\ncut and thrust: see cut


Words: thrust upon
Meaning:
thrust upon\n  If something is thrust upon you, you are forced to have it, deal with it, or experience it.\nWhy has such sadness been thrust upon us?...\nSome are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.\n  PHRASAL VERB: usu passive, be V-ed P n, have n V-ed P n


Words: thruway
Meaning:
thru.way\n   thruway  thruways   also throughway\n  A thruway is a wide road that is specially designed so that a lot of traffic can move along it very quickly. It is usually divided along the middle, so that traffic travelling in one direction is separated from the traffic travelling in the opposite direction. (AM)\n  N-COUNT\n  = expressway


Words: thud
Meaning:
thud  thuds  thudding  thudded\n1. A thud is a dull sound, such as that which a heavy object makes when it hits something soft.\nShe tripped and fell with a sickening thud...\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, oft N of n; SOUND\n  = thump\n2. If something thuds somewhere, it makes a dull sound, usually when it falls onto or hits something else.\nShe ran up the stairs, her bare feet thudding on the wood...\nThere was a heavy thudding noise against the bedroom door.\n  VERB: V prep/adv, V-ing\n\n=>  thud.ding\n...the thudding of the bombs beyond the hotel.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N of n\n\n3. When your heart thuds, it beats strongly and rather quickly, for example because you are very frightened or very happy.\nMy heart had started to thud, and my mouth was dry...\n  VERB: V\n  = pound


Words: thug
Meaning:
thug  thugs\n  You can refer to a violent person or criminal as a thug.\n...the cowardly thugs who mug old people.\n  N-COUNT  disapproval


Words: thuggish
Meaning:
thug.gish\n   thuggish\n  If you describe a person or their behaviour as thuggish, you mean they behave in a violent, rough, or threatening way.\nThe owner of the stall, a large, thuggish man, grabbed Dai by the collar.\n  ADJ  disapproval


Words: thumb
Meaning:
thumb  thumbs  thumbing  thumbed\n1. Your thumb is the short thick part on the side of your hand next to your four fingers.\nShe bit the tip of her left thumb, not looking at me.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If you thumb a lift or thumb a ride, you stand by the side of the road holding out your thumb until a driver stops and gives you a lift.\nIt may interest you to know that a boy answering Rory’s description thumbed a ride to Howth...\nThumbing a lift had once a carefree, easy-going image.\n  VERB: V n to n, V n\n  = hitch\n3.\n  see also well-thumbed\n4. If you say that someone or something sticks out like a sore thumb or stands out like a sore thumb, you are emphasizing that they are very noticeable, usually because they are unusual or inappropriate.\nDoes the new housing stick out like a sore thumb or blend into its surroundings?...\n  PHRASE: V and N inflect  emphasis\n\n5. If you say that someone is twiddling their thumbs, you mean that they do not have anything to do and are waiting for something to happen.\nThe prospect of waiting around just twiddling his thumbs was appalling...\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n6. If you are under someone’s thumb, you are under their control, or very heavily influenced by them.\nI cannot tell you what pain I feel when I see how much my mother is under my father’s thumb...\n  PHRASE: v-link PHR, PHR after v\n\n7.\ngreen thumb: see green\nto thumb your nose at someone: see nose\nrule of thumb: see rule


Words: thumb through
Meaning:
thumb through\n  If you thumb through something such as a book or magazine, you turn the pages quickly rather than reading each page carefully.\nHe had the drawer open and was thumbing through the files.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n


Words: thumbnail
Meaning:
thumb.nail\n   thumbnail  thumbnails   also thumb-nail\n1. Your thumbnail is the nail on your thumb.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A thumbnail sketch or account is a very short description of an event, idea, or plan which gives only the main details.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: thumbprint
Meaning:
thumb.print\n   thumbprint  thumbprints   also thumb print\n1. A thumbprint is a mark made by a person’s thumb which shows the pattern of lines on its surface.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If you say that something such as a project has someone’s thumbprint on it, you mean that it has features that make it obvious that they have been involved with it.\nIt’s got your thumbprint all over it...\n  N-COUNT


Words: thumbs down
Meaning:
thumbs down   also thumbs-down\n  If you say that someone gives a plan, idea, or suggestion the thumbs-down, you are indicating that they do not approve of it and refuse to accept it. (INFORMAL)\n  N-SING\n  !=thumbs-up


Words: thumbs-up
Meaning:
thumbs-up   also thumbs up\n1. A thumbs-up or a thumbs-up sign is a sign that you make by raising your thumb to show that you agree with someone, that you are happy with an idea or situation, or that everything is all right.\nShe checked the hall, then gave the others a thumbs-up sign.\n  N-SING\n\n2. If you give a plan, idea, or suggestion the thumbs-up, you indicate that you approve of it and are willing to accept it. (INFORMAL)\nThe financial markets have given the thumbs up to the new policy...\n  N-SING: the N\n  !=thumbs-down


Words: thumbscrew
Meaning:
thumb.screw\n   thumbscrew  thumbscrews   also thumb screw\n1. A thumbscrew is an object that was used in the past to torture people by crushing their thumbs.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If someone puts the thumbscrews on you, they start to put you under extreme pressure in order to force you to do something.\n  N-COUNT


Words: thumbtack
Meaning:
thumb.tack\n   thumbtack  thumbtacks\n  A thumbtack is a short pin with a broad flat top which is used for fastening papers or pictures to a board, wall, or other surface. (AM; in BRIT, use drawing pin)\n  N-COUNT


Words: thump
Meaning:
thump  thumps  thumping  thumped\n1. If you thump something, you hit it hard, usually with your fist.\nHe thumped my shoulder affectionately, nearly knocking me over...\nI heard you thumping on the door.\n  VERB: V n, V on n\n  = bang\n  Thump is also a noun.\nHe felt a thump on his shoulder.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If you thump someone, you attack them and hit them with your fist. (mainly BRIT INFORMAL)\nDon’t say it serves me right or I’ll thump you.\n  VERB: V n\n\n3. If you thump something somewhere or if it thumps there, it makes a loud, dull sound by hitting something else.\nShe thumped her hand on the witness box...\nWaiters went scurrying down the aisles, thumping down tureens of soup.\n...paving stones and bricks which have been thumping down on police shields and helmets...\n  VERB: V n prep, V n with adv, V prep/adv\n\n  Thump is also a noun.\nThere was a loud thump as the horse crashed into the van.\n  N-COUNT\n  = thud\n4. When your heart thumps, it beats strongly and quickly, usually because you are afraid or excited.\nMy heart was thumping wildly but I didn’t let my face show any emotion.\n  VERB: V\n  = pound, thud\n5.\n  see also thumping


Words: thumping
Meaning:
thump.ing\n   thumping\n1. Thumping is used to emphasize that something is very great or severe. (BRIT INFORMAL)\nThe Right has a thumping majority...\n  ADJ: ADJ n  emphasis\n  = whopping\n2.\n  see also thump


Words: thunder
Meaning:
thun.der\n   thunder  thunders  thundering  thundered\n1. Thunder is the loud noise that you hear from the sky after a flash of lightning, especially during a storm.\n...a distant clap of thunder.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. When it thunders, a loud noise comes from the sky after a flash of lightning.\nThe day was heavy and still. It would probably thunder later.\n  VERB: it V\n\n3. The thunder of something that is moving or making a sound is the loud deep noise it makes.\nThe thunder of the sea on the rocks seemed to blank out other thoughts...\n  N-UNCOUNT: N of n\n  = roar\n4. If something or someone thunders somewhere, they move there quickly and with a lot of noise.\nA lorry thundered by.\n  VERB: V prep/adv\n\n5. If something thunders, it makes a very loud noise, usually continuously.\nShe heard the sound of the guns thundering in the fog.\n...thundering applause.\n  VERB: V, V-ing\n  = resound\n6. If you thunder something, you say it loudly and forcefully, especially because you are angry. (WRITTEN)\n`It’s your money. Ask for it!’ she thundered...\nThe Prosecutor looked toward Napoleon, waiting for him to thunder an objection.\n  VERB: V with quote, V n\n  = bellow\n7. If you steal someone’s thunder, you get the attention or praise that they thought they would get, usually by saying or doing what they had intended to say or do.\nHe had no intention of letting the Foreign Secretary steal any of his thunder.\n  PHRASE: V inflects


Words: thunderbolt
Meaning:
thunder.bolt\n   thunderbolt  thunderbolts\n  A thunderbolt is a flash of lightning, accompanied by thunder, which strikes something such as a building or a tree.\n  N-COUNT


Words: thunderclap
Meaning:
thunder.clap\n   thunderclap  thunderclaps\n  A thunderclap is a short loud noise that you hear in the sky just after you see a flash of lightning.\n  N-COUNT


Words: thundercloud
Meaning:
thunder.cloud\n   thundercloud  thunderclouds\n  A thundercloud is a large dark cloud that is likely to produce thunder and lightning.\n  N-COUNT


Words: thunderous
Meaning:
thun.der.ous\n   thunderous\n  If you describe a noise as thunderous, you mean that it is very loud and deep.\nThe audience responded with thunderous applause.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  = deafening


Words: thunderstorm
Meaning:
thunder.storm\n   thunderstorm  thunderstorms\n  A thunderstorm is a storm in which there is thunder and lightning and a lot of heavy rain.\n  N-COUNT


Words: thunderstruck
Meaning:
thunder.struck\n   thunderstruck\n  If you say that someone is thunderstruck, you mean that they are extremely surprised or shocked. (FORMAL)\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ\n  = stunned


Words: thundery
Meaning:
thun.dery\n   thundery\n  When the weather is thundery, there is a lot of thunder, or there are heavy clouds which make you think that there will be thunder soon.\nHeavy thundery rain fell throughout Thursday.\n  ADJ


Words: Thursday
Meaning:
Thurs.day\n   Thursday   Thursdays\n  Thursday is the day after Wednesday and before Friday.\nOn Thursday Barrett invited me for a drink...\nI’m always terribly busy on Thursdays.\n  N-VAR


Words: thus
Meaning:
thus\n1. You use thus to show that what you are about to mention is the result or consequence of something else that you have just mentioned. (FORMAL)\nEven in a highly skilled workforce some people will be more capable and thus better paid than others.\n  ADV: ADV with cl/group\n  = therefore, hence\n2. If you say that something is thus or happens thus you mean that it is, or happens, as you have just described or as you are just about to describe. (FORMAL)\nJoanna was pouring the drink. While she was thus engaged, Charles sat on one of the bar-stools...\n  ADV: ADV with v, ADV cl


Words: thwack
Meaning:
thwack  thwacks\n  A thwack is a sound made when two solid objects hit each other hard.\nI listened to the thwack of the metal balls...\nThen the woodcutter let his axe fly.Thwack! Everyone heard it.\n  N-COUNT; SOUND


Words: thwart
Meaning:
thwart  thwarts  thwarting  thwarted\n  If you thwart someone or thwart their plans, you prevent them from doing or getting what they want.\nThe accounting firm deliberately destroyed documents to thwart government investigators...\n  VERB: V n


Words: thy
Meaning:
thy\n  Thy is an old-fashioned, poetic, or religious word for `your’ when you are talking to one person.\nHonor thy father and thy mother.\n  DET


Words: thyroid
Meaning:
thy.roid\n   thyroid  thyroids\n  Your thyroid or your thyroid gland is a gland in your neck that produces chemicals which control the way your body grows and functions.\n  N-COUNT


Words: thyself
Meaning:
thy.self\n   thyself\n  Thyself is an old-fashioned, poetic, or religious word for `yourself’ when you are talking to only one person.\nLove thy neighbour as thyself.\n  PRON


Words: tiara
Meaning:
ti.ara\n   tiara  tiaras\n  A tiara is a metal band shaped like half a circle and decorated with jewels which a woman of very high social rank wears on her head at formal social occasions; also used of similar ornaments that girls or women wear on their heads.\n  N-COUNT


Words: Tibetan
Meaning:
Ti.bet.an\n   Tibetan  Tibetans\n1. Tibetan means belonging or relating to Tibet, or to its people, language, or culture.\n  ADJ\n\n2. A Tibetan is a Tibetan citizen or a person of Tibetan origin.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. Tibetan is a language spoken by people who live in Tibet.\n  N-COUNT


Words: tibia
Meaning:
tibia  tibias\n  Your tibia is the inner bone of the two bones in the lower part of your leg. (MEDICAL)\n  N-COUNT


Words: tic
Meaning:
tic  tics\n  If someone has a tic, a part of their face or body keeps making a small uncontrollable movement, for example because they are tired or have a nervous illness.\n...people with nervous tics...\n  N-COUNT


Words: tick
Meaning:
tick  ticks  ticking  ticked\n1. A tick is a written mark like a V: y_check.. It is used to show that something is correct or has been selected or dealt with. (mainly BRIT; in AM, usually use check)\nPlace a tick in the appropriate box.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If you tick something that is written on a piece of paper, you put a tick next to it. (mainly BRIT; in AM, usually use check)\nPlease tick this box if you do not wish to receive such mailings...\n  VERB: V n\n\n3. When a clock or watch ticks, it makes a regular series of short sounds as it works.\nA wind-up clock ticked busily from the kitchen counter.\n  VERB: V\n\n  Tick away means the same as tick.\nA grandfather clock ticked away in a corner.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P\n\n=>  tick.ing\n...the endless ticking of clocks.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N of n\n\n4. The tick of a clock or watch is the series of short sounds it makes when it is working, or one of those sounds.\nHe sat listening to the tick of the grandfather clock.\n  N-COUNT\n\n5. You can use tick to refer to a very short period of time. (BRIT INFORMAL)\nI’ll be back in a tick...\n  N-COUNT\n  = sec\n6. If you talk about what makes someone tick, you are talking about the beliefs, wishes, and feelings that make them behave in the way that they do. (INFORMAL)\nHe wanted to find out what made them tick...\n  VERB: V\n\n7. A tick is a small creature which lives on the bodies of people or animals and uses their blood as food.\n...chemicals that destroy ticks and mites...\n  N-COUNT


Words: tick away
Meaning:
tick away   or tick by   tick on\n  If you say that the clock or time is ticking away, ticking by, or ticking on, you mean that time is passing, especially when there is something that needs to be done or when you are waiting for something to happen.\nThe clock ticks away, leaving little time for talks...\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P


Words: tick off
Meaning:
tick off\n1. If you tick off items on a list, you write a tick or other mark next to them, in order to show that they have been dealt with. (mainly BRIT; in AM, usually use check off)\nHe ticked off my name on a piece of paper...\nTick it off in the box.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), V n P\n\n2. If you tick someone off, you speak angrily to them because they have done something wrong. (BRIT INFORMAL)\nHis mum ticked him off at home...\nAbdel felt free to tick him off for smoking too much...\nTraffic police ticked off a pensioner for jumping a red light.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V n P, V n P for -ing, V P n (not pron) for -ing, also V P n (not pron)\n  = tell off\n  see also ticking off\n3. If you say that something ticks you off, you mean that it annoys you. (AM INFORMAL)\nI just think it’s rude and it’s ticking me off...\nShe’s still ticked off at him for brushing her off and going out with you instead.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V n P, V-ed P


Words: tick over
Meaning:
tick over\n1. If an engine is ticking over, it is running at a low speed or rate, for example when it is switched on but you are not actually using it. (BRIT)\nVery slowly he moved forward, the engine ticking over.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P\n  = idle\n2. If a person, system, or business is ticking over, they are working steadily, but not producing very much or making much progress. (BRIT)\nThe market is at least ticking over...\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P


Words: ticker tape
Meaning:
tick.er tape\n   ticker tape\n  Ticker tape consists of long narrow strips of paper on which information such as stock exchange prices is printed by a machine. In American cities, people sometimes throw ticker tape from high windows as a way of celebrating and honouring someone in public.\nA half million people watched the troops march in New York’s ticker tape parade.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N n


Words: ticket
Meaning:
tick.et\n   ticket  tickets\n1. A ticket is a small, official piece of paper or card which shows that you have paid to enter a place such as a theatre or a sports ground, or shows that you have paid for a journey.\nI queued for two hours to get a ticket to see the football game...\nI love opera and last year I got tickets for Covent Garden...\nEntrance is free, but by ticket only...\n  N-COUNT: also by N\n\n2. A ticket is an official piece of paper which orders you to pay a fine or to appear in court because you have committed a driving or parking offence.\nI want to know at what point I break the speed limit and get a ticket.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. A ticket for a game of chance such as a raffle or a lottery is a piece of paper with a number on it. If the number on your ticket matches the number chosen, you win a prize.\nShe bought a lottery ticket and won more than $33 million.\n  N-COUNT: usu n N\n\n4. The particular ticket on which a person fights an election is the party they represent or the policies they support. (BRIT)\nHe first ran for president on a far-left ticket...\n  N-SING: usu with supp\n  = platform\n5. A ticket is the list of candidates who are representing a particular political party or group in an election. (AM)\nHe plans to remain on the Republican ticket for the November election.\n  N-COUNT: usu ADJ n\n\n6. If you say that something is just the ticket, you mean that it is exactly what is needed. (INFORMAL)\nYoung kids need all the energy and protein they can get and whole milk is just the ticket.\n  PHRASE: usu v-link PHR\n\n7.\n  see also ticketing, big-ticket, dream ticket, meal ticket, parking ticket, season ticket


Words: ticketing
Meaning:
tick.et.ing\n   ticketing\n  Ticketing is the act or activity of selling tickets.\n...automatic ticketing machines.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N n


Words: ticking off
Meaning:
tick.ing off\n   ticking off  tickings off\n  If you give someone a ticking off, you speak angrily to them because they have done something wrong. (BRIT INFORMAL)\nThey got a ticking off from the police.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing\n  = telling-off


Words: tickle
Meaning:
tick.le\n   tickle  tickles  tickling  tickled\n1. When you tickle someone, you move your fingers lightly over a sensitive part of their body, often in order to make them laugh.\nI was tickling him, and he was laughing and giggling.\n  VERB: V n\n\n2. If something tickles you or tickles, it causes an irritating feeling by lightly touching a part of your body.\n...a yellow hat with a great feather that tickled her ear...\nA beard doesn’t scratch, it just tickles.\n  VERB: V n, V\n\n3. If a fact or a situation tickles you, it amuses you or gives you pleasure.\nIt tickles me to see him riled...\nThe story was really funny.it tickled me.\n  VERB: it V n to-inf, V n\n\n=>  tick.led\nThey all sounded just as tickled.\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ


Words: ticklish
Meaning:
tick.lish\n   ticklish\n1. A ticklish problem, situation, or task is difficult and needs to be dealt with carefully.\nSo car makers are faced with the ticklish problem of how to project products at new buyers.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  = delicate\n2. Someone who is ticklish is sensitive to being tickled, and laughs as soon as you tickle them.\nThis massage method is not recommended for anyone who is very ticklish.\n  ADJ


Words: tidal
Meaning:
tid.al\n   tidal\n  Tidal means relating to or produced by tides.\nThe tidal stream or current gradually decreases in the shallows...\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: tidal wave
Meaning:
tid.al wave\n   tidal wave  tidal waves\n1. A tidal wave is a very large wave, often caused by an earthquake, that flows onto the land and destroys things.\n...a massive tidal wave swept the ship up and away.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If you describe a very large number of emotions, things, or people as a tidal wave, you mean that they all occur at the same time.\nThe trade union movement was swept along by the same tidal wave of patriotism which affected the country as a whole...\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, usu N of n\n  = deluge


Words: tiddler
Meaning:
tid.dler\n   tiddler  tiddlers\n1. A tiddler is a very small fish of any kind. (BRIT INFORMAL)\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If you refer to a person or thing as a tiddler, you mean that they are very unimportant or small, especially when compared to other people or things of the same type. (BRIT INFORMAL)\nOn a world scale the earthquake was a tiddler.\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp


Words: tiddly
Meaning:
tid.dly\n   tiddly\n1. If someone is tiddly, they are slightly drunk. (BRIT INFORMAL)\n  ADJ\n  = tipsy\n2. If you describe a thing as tiddly, you mean that it is very small. (BRIT INFORMAL)\n...a tiddly picture.\n  ADJ\n  = tiny


Words: tiddlywink
Meaning:
tiddly.wink\n   tiddlywink  tiddlywinks\n1. Tiddlywinks is a game in which the players try to make small round pieces of plastic jump into a container, by pressing their edges with a larger piece of plastic.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. Tiddlywinks are the small round piece of plastic used in the game of tiddlywinks.\n  N-COUNT


Words: tide
Meaning:
tide  tides  tiding  tided\n1. The tide is the regular change in the level of the sea on the shore.\nThe tide was at its highest...\nThe tide was going out, and the sand was smooth and glittering...\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A tide is a current in the sea that is caused by the regular and continuous movement of large areas of water towards and away from the shore.\nRoman vessels used to sail with the tide from Boulogne to Richborough.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. The tide of opinion, for example, is what the majority of people think at a particular time.\nThe tide of opinion seems overwhelmingly in his favour.\n  N-SING: N of n\n\n4. People sometimes refer to events or forces that are difficult or impossible to control as the tide of history, for example.\nThey talked of reversing the tide of history...\n  N-SING: the N of n\n\n5. You can talk about a tide of something, especially something which is unpleasant, when there is a large and increasing amount of it.\n...an ever increasing tide of crime...\n  N-SING: N of n\n\n6.\n  see also high tide, low tide


Words: tide over
Meaning:
tide over\n  If you do something for someone to tide them over, you help them through a period when they are having difficulties, especially by lending them money.\nHe wanted money to tide him over...\nThe banks were prepared to put up 50 million euros to tide over the company.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V n P, V P n (not pron)


Words: tidings
Meaning:
tid.ings\n   tidings\n  You can use tidings to refer to news that someone tells you. (FORMAL, OLD-FASHIONED)\nHe hated always to be the bearer of bad tidings...\n  N-PLURAL: usu adj N, oft N of n\n  = news


Words: tidy
Meaning:
tidy  tidier  tidiest  tidies  tidying  tidied\n1. Something that is tidy is neat and is arranged in an organized way.\nHaving a tidy desk can seem impossible if you have a busy, demanding job...\n  ADJ\n  !=untidy\n=>  tidi.ly\n...books and magazines stacked tidily on shelves.\n  ADV: ADV after v, ADV -ed\n\n=>  tidi.ness\nEmployees are expected to maintain a high standard of tidiness in their dress and appearance.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. Someone who is tidy likes everything to be neat and arranged in an organized way.\nShe’s obsessively tidy, always hoovering and polishing.\n  ADJ\n  !=untidy\n=>  tidi.ness\nI’m very impressed by your tidiness and order.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n3. When you tidy a place such as a room or cupboard, you make it neat by putting things in their proper places.\nShe made her bed, and tidied her room.\n  VERB: V n\n\n4. A tidy amount of money is a large amount. (INFORMAL)\nThe opportunities are there to make a tidy profit.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n  = sizeable


Words: tidy away
Meaning:
tidy away\n  When you tidy something away, you put it in something else so that it is not in the way. (mainly BRIT)\nThe large log basket can be used to tidy toys away...\nWhen they’d gone, McMinn tidied away the glasses and tea-cups.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V n P, V P n (not pron)


Words: tidy up
Meaning:
tidy up\n  When you tidy up or tidy a place up, you put things back in their proper places so that everything is neat.\nI really must start tidying the place up...\nHe tried to tidy up, not wanting the maid to see the disarray...\nAnne made the beds and tidied up the nursery.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V n P, V P, V P n (not pron)


Words: tie
Meaning:
tie  ties  tying  tied\n1. If you tie two things together or tie them, you fasten them together with a knot.\nHe tied the ends of the plastic bag together...\nMr Saunders tied her hands and feet.\n  VERB: V n adv/prep, V n\n\n2. If you tie something or someone in a particular place or position, you put them there and fasten them using rope or string.\nHe had tied the dog to one of the trees near the canal...\nHe tied her hands behind her back.\n  VERB: V n to n, V n prep/adv\n\n3. If you tie a piece of string or cloth around something or tie something with a piece of string or cloth, you put the piece of string or cloth around it and fasten the ends together.\nShe tied her scarf over her head...\nRoll the meat and tie it with string...\nDad handed me a big box wrapped in gold foil and tied with a red ribbon.\n  VERB: V n prep/adv, V n with n, V-ed\n\n4. If you tie a knot or bow in something or tie something in a knot or bow, you fasten the ends together.\nHe took a short length of rope and swiftly tied a slip knot...\nShe tied a knot in her scarf...\nShe wore a checked shirt tied in a knot above the navel.\n  VERB: V n, V n in n, V-ed\n\n5. When you tie something or when something ties, you close or fasten it using a bow or knot.\nHe pulled on his heavy suede shoes and tied the laces.\n...a long white thing around his neck that tied in front in a floppy bow.\n  VERB: V n, V\n\n6. A tie is a long narrow piece of cloth that is worn round the neck under a shirt collar and tied in a knot at the front. Ties are worn mainly by men.\nJason had taken off his jacket and loosened his tie.\n  N-COUNT\n\n7. If one thing is tied to another or two things are tied, the two things have a close connection or link.\nTheir cancers are not so clearly tied to radiation exposure...\nMy social life and business life are closely tied.\n  VERB: usu passive, be V-ed to n, pl-n be V-ed\n  = link, connect\n8. If you are tied to a particular place or situation, you are forced to accept it and cannot change it.\nThey had children and were consequently tied to the school holidays...\n  VERB: usu passive, be V-ed to n/-ing\n\n9. Ties are the connections you have with people or a place.\nQuebec has always had particularly close ties to France...\n  N-COUNT: usu pl, oft N prep\n  = connection\n10. Railroad ties are large heavy beams that support the rails of a railway track. (AM; in BRIT, use sleepers)\n  N-COUNT\n\n11. If two people tie in a competition or game or if they tie with each other, they have the same number of points or the same degree of success.\nBoth teams had tied on points and goal difference...\nRonan Rafferty had tied with Frank Nobilo.\n  V-RECIP: pl-n V, V with n\n  = draw\n  Tie is also a noun.\nThe first game ended in a tie.\n  N-COUNT\n\n12. In sport, a tie is a match that is part of a competition. The losers leave the competition and the winners go on to the next round. (mainly BRIT)\nThey’ll meet the winners of the first round tie.\n  N-COUNT\n\n13.\nyour hands are tied: see hand\nto tie the knot: see knot\nto tie yourself in knots: see knot\n  see also tied, black tie, bow tie, old school tie


Words: tie down
Meaning:
tie down\n  A person or thing that ties you down restricts your freedom in some way.\nWe’d agreed from the beginning not to tie each other down...\nThe reason he didn’t have a family was that he didn’t want to be tied down.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V n P, V n P


Words: tie in with
Meaning:
tie in with   or tie up with\n  If something such as an idea or fact ties in with or ties up with something else, it is consistent with it or connected with it.\nOur wedding had to tie in with David leaving the army...\nI’ve got a feeling that the death may be tied up with his visit in some way.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P P n, V P P n, also V n P P n


Words: tie up
Meaning:
tie up\n1. When you tie something up, you fasten string or rope round it so that it is firm or secure.\nHe tied up the bag and took it outside.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), also V n P\n\n2. If someone ties another person up, they fasten ropes or chains around them so that they cannot move or escape.\nMasked robbers broke in, tied him up, and made off with $8,000...\nAt about 5 a.m. they struck again in Fetcham, tying up a couple and ransacking their house.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V n P, V P n (not pron)\n\n3. If you tie an animal up, you fasten it to a fixed object with a piece of rope so that it cannot run away.\nWould you go and tie your horse up please...\nThey dismounted, tied up their horses and gave them the grain they had brought.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V n P, V P n (not pron)\n  = tether\n4. If you tie up an issue or problem, you deal with it in a way that gives definite conclusions or answers.\nKingfisher confirmed that it hopes to tie up a deal within the next two weeks...\nWe could have tied the whole case up without getting you and Smith shot at.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), V n P\n\n5.\n  see also tied up, tie-up


Words: tie-break
Meaning:
tie-break  tie-breaks\n  A tie-break is an extra game which is played in a tennis match when the score in a set is 6-6. The player who wins the tie-break wins the set. (mainly BRIT; in AM, usually use tie-breaker)\n  N-COUNT


Words: tie-breaker
Meaning:
tie-breaker  tie-breakers\n  A tie-breaker is an extra question or round that decides the winner of a competition or game when two or more people have the same score at the end.\n  N-COUNT


Words: tie-dye
Meaning:
tie-dye  tie-dyes  tie-dyeing  tie-dyed\n1. If a piece of cloth or a garment is tie-dyed, it is tied in knots and then put into dye, so that some parts become more deeply coloured than others.\nHe wore a T-shirt that had been tie-dyed in bright colours...\nI bought a great tie-dyed silk scarf.\n  VERB: usu passive, be V-ed, V-ed\n\n2. A tie-dye is a garment or piece of cloth that has been tie-dyed.\nThey wore tie-dyes and ponchos.\n...a hideous tie-dye shirt.\n  N-VAR: usu N n


Words: tie-pin
Meaning:
tie-pin  tie-pins   also tiepin\n  A tie-pin is a thin narrow object with a pin on it and is used to pin a person’s tie to their shirt.\n  N-COUNT


Words: tie-up
Meaning:
tie-up  tie-ups\n1. A tie-up or a traffic tie-up is a long line of vehicles that cannot move forward because there is too much traffic, or because the road is blocked by something. (AM; in BRIT, use traffic jam)\nIn some cities this morning, there were traffic tie-ups up to 40 miles long.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A tie-up between two organizations is a business connection that has been arranged between them.\nThe deal is expected to result in similar tie-ups between big media companies and telecommunications operators.\n  N-COUNT: oft N between pl-n, N with n


Words: tied
Meaning:
tied\n1. A tied cottage or house belongs to a farmer or other employer and is rented to someone who works for him or her. (BRIT)\nHe lives with his wife in a tied cottage in Hamsey.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n2.\n  see also tie


Words: tied up
Meaning:
tied up\n  If someone or something is tied up, they are busy or being used, with the result that they are not available for anything else. (INFORMAL)\nHe’s tied up with his new book. He’s working hard, you know...\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ, oft ADJ with/in n


Words: tier
Meaning:
tier  tiers\n1. A tier is a row or layer of something that has other layers above or below it.\n...the auditorium with the tiers of seats around and above it.\n  N-COUNT: oft N of n\n\n  Tier is also a combining form.\n...a three-tier wedding cake.\n  COMB in ADJ\n\n2. A tier is a level in an organization or system.\nIslanders have campaigned for the abolition of one of the three tiers of municipal power on the island.\n  N-COUNT: oft N of n\n\n  Tier is also a combining form.\n...the possibility of a two-tier system of universities.\n  COMB in ADJ


Words: tiff
Meaning:
tiff  tiffs\n  A tiff is a small unimportant quarrel, especially between two close friends or between people in a romantic relationship.\n  N-COUNT


Words: tiger
Meaning:
ti.ger\n   tiger  tigers\n  A tiger is a large fierce animal belonging to the cat family. Tigers are orange with black stripes.\n  N-COUNT\n\n  see also paper tiger


Words: tight
Meaning:
tight  tighter  tightest\n1. Tight clothes or shoes are rather small and fit closely to your body.\nHis jeans were too tight.\n  ADJ\n  !=loose\n=>  tight.ly\nHe buttoned his collar tightly round his thick neck.\n  ADV: ADV with v\n\n2. If you hold someone or something tight, you hold them firmly and securely.\nShe just fell into my arms, clutching me tight for a moment...\nHold on tight!\n  ADV: ADV after v\n\n  Tight is also an adjective.\nAs he and Henrietta passed through the gate he kept a tight hold of her arm.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n=>  tight.ly\nShe climbed back into bed and wrapped her arms tightly round her body.\n  ADV: ADV after v\n\n3. Tight controls or rules are very strict.\nThe measures include tight control of media coverage...\nSecurity is tight this week at the polling sites.\n  ADJ\n\n=>  tight.ly\nThe internal media was tightly controlled by the government during the war.\n  ADV: ADV after v, ADV -ed\n\n4. Something that is shut tight is shut very firmly.\nI keep the flour and sugar in individual jars, sealed tight with their glass lids...\nShe kept her eyes tight closed.\n  ADV: ADV -ed, ADV after v\n\n=>  tight.ly\nPemberton frowned and closed his eyes tightly...\n  ADV: ADV after v, ADV -ed\n\n5. Skin, cloth, or string that is tight is stretched or pulled so that it is smooth or straight.\nMy skin feels tight and lacking in moisture...\n  ADJ\n\n=>  tight.ly\nHer sallow skin was drawn tightly across the bones of her face.\n  ADV: ADV with v\n\n6. Tight is used to describe a group of things or an amount of something that is closely packed together.\nShe curled up in a tight ball, with her knees tucked up at her chin...\nThe men came in a tight group.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n  Tight is also an adverb.\nThe people sleep on sun loungers packed tight, end to end.\n  ADV\n\n=>  tight.ly\nMany animals travel in tightly packed lorries and are deprived of food, water and rest.\n  ADV: ADV after v, ADV -ed\n\n7. If a part of your body is tight, it feels rather uncomfortable and painful, for example because you are ill, anxious, or angry.\nIt is better to stretch the tight muscles first...\n  ADJ\n  = taut\n=>  tight.ness\nHeart disease often shows itself first as pain or tightness in the chest.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n8. A tight group of people is one whose members are closely linked by beliefs, feelings, or interests.\nWe’re a tight group, so we do keep in touch.\n  ADJ\n  = close\n9. A tight bend or corner is one that changes direction very quickly so that you cannot see very far round it.\nThey collided on a tight bend and both cars were extensively damaged.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  = sharp\n10. A tight schedule or budget allows very little time or money for unexpected events or expenses.\nIt’s difficult to cram everything into a tight schedule...\nFinancially things are a bit tight.\n  ADJ\n\n11. A tight contest is one where none of the competitors has a clear advantage or looks likely to win, so that it is difficult to say who the winner will be.\nIt was a very tight match...\n  ADJ\n\n12. If you say that someone is tight, you disapprove of them because they are unwilling to spend their money. (INFORMAL)\nWhat about getting new ones.Are you so tight you won’t even spend three roubles?\n  ADJ  disapproval\n  = tight-fisted, mean, stingy\n13.\n  see also airtight, skin-tight\n14. If you are in a tight corner or in a tight spot, you are in a difficult situation. (INFORMAL)\nThat puts the president in a tight spot if the vote is not a resounding `yes’...\n  PHRASE: usu prep PHR\n\n15. You can say `sleep tight’ to someone when they are going to bed as an affectionate way of saying that you hope they will sleep well.\nGood night, Davey. Sleep tight.\n  CONVENTION\n\n16.\nto keep a tight rein on: see rein\nto sit tight: see sit


Words: tight-fisted
Meaning:
tight-fisted\n  If you describe someone as tight-fisted, you disapprove of them because they are unwilling to spend money.\nHe had the reputation of being one of the most tight-fisted and demanding of employers.\n  ADJ  disapproval\n  = mean, stingy  !=generous


Words: tight-lipped
Meaning:
tight-lipped\n1. If you describe someone as tight-lipped, you mean that they are unwilling to give any information about something.\nMilitary officials are still tight-lipped about when or whether their forces will launch a ground offensive.\n  ADJ: oft ADJ about n/wh\n  !=forthcoming\n2. Someone who is tight-lipped has their lips pressed tightly together, especially because they are angry or disapproving.\nHe was sitting at the other end of the table, tight-lipped and angry.\n  ADJ


Words: tighten
Meaning:
tight.en\n   tighten  tightens  tightening  tightened\n1. If you tighten your grip on something, or if your grip tightens, you hold the thing more firmly or securely.\nLuke answered by tightening his grip on her shoulder...\nHer arms tightened about his neck in gratitude...\nStefano’s grip tightened and his tone became colder.\n  VERB: V n, V prep, V\n  !=loosen\n2. If you tighten a rope or chain, or if it tightens, it is stretched or pulled hard until it is straight.\nThe anchorman flung his whole weight back, tightening the rope...\nThe cables tightened and he was lifted gradually from the deck.\n  VERB: V n, V\n  !=slacken\n3. If a government or organization tightens its grip on a group of people or an activity, or if its grip tightens, it begins to have more control over it.\nHe knows he has considerable support for his plans to tighten his grip on the machinery of central government...\nAs the regime’s grip on the mainland tightened over the next few years, hundreds of thousands more people fled south.\n  VERB: V n, V\n\n4. When you tighten a screw, nut, or other device, you turn it or move it so that it is more firmly in place or holds something more firmly.\nI used my thumbnail to tighten the screw on my lamp...\n  VERB: V n\n\n  Tighten up means the same as tighten.\nIt’s important to tighten up the wheels properly, otherwise they vibrate loose and fall off.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), also V n P\n\n5. If a part of your body tightens, the muscles in it become tense and stiff, for example because you are angry or afraid.\nSofia’s throat had tightened and she couldn’t speak...\n  VERB: V\n  !=relax\n=>  tight.en.ing\n...a headache caused by tension which results in tightening of the muscles in the neck.\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu N of n\n\n6. If someone in authority tightens a rule, a policy, or a system, they make it stricter or more efficient.\nThe United States plans to tighten the economic sanctions currently in place...\nTake-off and landing procedures have been tightened after two jets narrowly escaped disaster.\n  VERB: V n, V n\n  !=relax\n  Tighten up means the same as tighten.\nUntil this week, every attempt to tighten up the law had failed...\nHe accused ministers of breaking election pledges to tighten up on immigration.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), V P on n, also V n P\n\n=>  tight.en.ing\n...the tightening of state control over press and broadcasting.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N of n\n\n7.\nto tighten your belt: see belt\nto tighten the screw: see screw


Words: tighten up
Meaning:
tighten up\n  If a group, team, or organization tightens up, they make an effort to control what they are doing more closely, in order to become more efficient and successful.\nI want us to be a bit more sensible this time and tighten up.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P\n  !=loosen up\n  see also tighten 4, 6


Words: tightrope
Meaning:
tight.rope\n   tightrope  tightropes\n1. A tightrope is a tightly stretched piece of rope on which someone balances and performs tricks in a circus.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. You can use tightrope in expressions such as walk a tightrope and live on a tightrope to indicate that someone is in a difficult situation and has to be very careful about what they say or do.\nSchool administrators walk a tightrope between the demands of the community and the realities of how children really behave...\n  N-COUNT: usu sing


Words: tights
Meaning:
tights\n1. Tights are a piece of clothing, usually worn by women and girls. They are usually made of nylon and cover the hips, legs and feet. (BRIT; in AM, use pantyhose)\n...a new pair of tights.\n  N-PLURAL: also a pair of N\n\n2. Tights are a piece of tight clothing, usually worn by dancers, acrobats, or people in exercise classes, and covering the hips and each leg.\n  N-PLURAL: also a pair of N


Words: tilde
Meaning:
til.de\n   tilde  tildes\n  A tilde is a symbol that is written over the letter `n’ in Spanish n and the letters `o’ o and `a’ a in Portuguese to indicate the way in which they should be pronounced.\n  N-COUNT


Words: tile
Meaning:
tile  tiles  tiling  tiled\n1. Tiles are flat, square pieces of baked clay, carpet, cork, or other substance, which are fixed as a covering onto a floor or wall.\nAmy’s shoes squeaked on the tiles as she walked down the corridor...\nThe cabins had linoleum tile floors.\n  N-VAR\n\n2. Tiles are flat pieces of baked clay which are used for covering roofs.\n...a fine building, with a neat little porch and ornamental tiles on the roof.\n  N-VAR\n\n3. When someone tiles a surface such as a roof or floor, they cover it with tiles.\nHe wants to tile the bathroom...\n  VERB: V n\n\n4.\n  see also tiling


Words: tiling
Meaning:
til.ing\n   tiling\n1. You can refer to a surface that is covered by tiles as tiling.\nThe kitchen has smart black tiling, worksurfaces and cupboards.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2.\n  see also tile


Words: till
Meaning:
till  tills\n1. In spoken English and informal written English, till is often used instead of until.\nThey had to wait till Monday to ring the bank manager...\nI’ve survived till now, and will go on doing so without help from you.\n  PREP\n\n  Till is also a conjunction.\nThey slept till the alarm bleeper woke them at four.\n  CONJ\n\n2. In a shop or other place of business, a till is a counter or cash register where money is kept, and where customers pay for what they have bought. (BRIT; in AM, use cash register)\n...long queues at tills that make customers angry.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. A till is the drawer of a cash register, in which the money is kept. (AM)\nHe checked the register. There was money in the till.\n  N-COUNT: usu the N


Words: tiller
Meaning:
till.er\n   tiller  tillers\n  The tiller of a boat is a handle that is fixed to the rudder. It is used to turn the rudder, which then steers the boat.\n  N-COUNT


Words: tilt
Meaning:
tilt  tilts  tilting  tilted\n1. If you tilt an object or if it tilts, it moves into a sloping position with one end or side higher than the other.\nShe tilted the mirror and began to comb her hair...\nLeonard tilted his chair back on two legs and stretched his long body...\nThe boat instantly tilted, filled and sank.\n  VERB: V n, V n adv/prep, V\n\n2. If you tilt part of your body, usually your head, you move it slightly upwards or to one side.\nMari tilted her head back so that she could look at him...\nHis wife tilted his head to the side and inspected the wound...\nShe tilted her face to kiss me quickly on the chin.\n  VERB: V n with adv, V n prep, V n\n\n  Tilt is also a noun.\nHe opened the rear door for me with an apologetic tilt of his head.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing\n\n3. The tilt of something is the fact that it tilts or slopes, or the angle at which it tilts or slopes.\n...calculations based on our understanding of the tilt of the earth’s axis...\nThe 3-metre-square slabs are on a tilt.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, oft N of n\n\n4. If a person or thing tilts towards a particular opinion or if something tilts them towards it, they change slightly so that they become more in agreement with that opinion or position.\nWhen the political climate tilted towards fundamentalism he was threatened...\nThe paper has done much to tilt American public opinion in favour of intervention.\n  VERB: V prep/adv, V n prep/adv\n\n5. If there is a tilt towards a particular opinion or position, that opinion or position is favoured or begins to be favoured.\nThe chairman also criticised the plan for its tilt towards higher taxes rather than lower spending.\n  N-SING: N towards n\n\n6. A tilt at something is an attempt to win or obtain it. (JOURNALISM)\nHis first tilt at Parliament came in the same year but he failed to win the seat...\n  N-COUNT: N at n\n\n7. To move full tilt or at full tilt means to move with as much speed, energy, or force as possible.\nAs John approached at full tilt he saw a queue of traffic blocking the road...\n  PHRASE: PHR after v


Words: tilting train
Meaning:
tilt.ing train\n   tilting train tilting trains\n  A tilting train is a type of train that can travel faster than ordinary trains because it tilts when the track curves.\n  N-COUNT


Words: timber
Meaning:
tim.ber\n   timber\n  Timber is wood that is used for building houses and making furniture. You can also refer to trees that are grown for this purpose as timber.\nThese Severn Valley woods have been exploited for timber since Saxon times.\n  N-UNCOUNT


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


Words: timbered
Meaning:
tim.bered\n   timbered\n  A timbered building has a wooden frame or wooden beams showing on the outside.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n  see also half-timbered


Words: timbre
Meaning:
tim.bre\n   timbre  timbres\n  The timbre of someone’s voice or of a musical instrument is the particular quality of sound that it has. (FORMAL)\nHis voice had a deep timbre...\nThe timbre of the violin is far richer than that of the mouth organ.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, oft N of n


Words: time
Meaning:
time  times  timing  timed\n1. Time is what we measure in minutes, hours, days, and years.\n...a two-week period of time...\nTime passed, and still Ma did not appear...\nThe social significance of religion has changed over time.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. You use time to ask or talk about a specific point in the day, which can be stated in hours and minutes and is shown on clocks.\n`What time is it?’.`Eight o’clock.’...\nHe asked me the time...\nWhat time did he leave?...\nThe time is now 19 minutes past the hour.\n  N-SING: wh/the N\n\n3. The time when something happens is the point in the day when it happens or is supposed to happen.\nDeparture times are 08:15 from St Quay, and 18:15 from St Helier.\n  N-COUNT\n\n  see also opening time\n4. You use time to refer to the system of expressing time and counting hours that is used in a particular part of the world.\nThe incident happened just after ten o’clock local time.\n  N-UNCOUNT: supp N\n\n5. You use time to refer to the period that you spend doing something or when something has been happening.\nAdam spent a lot of time in his grandfather’s office...\nHe wouldn’t have the time or money to take care of me...\nListen to me, I haven’t got much time...\nThe route was blocked for some time...\nFor a long time I didn’t tell anyone...\nA short time later they sat down to eat...\n  N-UNCOUNT: also a N\n\n6. If you say that something has been happening for a time, you mean that it has been happening for a fairly long period of time.\nHe stayed for quite a time...\nAfter a time they came to a pond.\n  N-SING: a N\n\n7. You use time to refer to a period of time or a point in time, when you are describing what is happening then. For example, if something happened at a particular time, that is when it happened. If it happens at all times, it always happens.\nWe were in the same college, which was male-only at that time...\nBy this time he was thirty...\nIt was a time of terrible uncertainty...\nHomes are more affordable than at any time in the past five years...\nIt seemed like a good time to tell her...\n  N-COUNT: with supp, oft prep N\n\n8. You use time or times to talk about a particular period in history or in your life.\nWe’ll be alone together, quite like old times...\nWe are in one of the most severe recessions in modern times...\n  N-COUNT: with supp, usu adj N, N of n\n\n9. You can use the times to refer to the present time and to modern fashions, tastes, and developments. For example, if you say that someone keeps up with the times, you mean they are fashionable or aware of modern developments. If you say they are behind the times, you mean they are unfashionable or not aware of them.\nThis approach is now seriously out of step with the times...\nJohnny has changed his image to fit the times.\n  N-PLURAL: the N\n\n10. When you describe the time that you had on a particular occasion or during a particular part of your life, you are describing the sort of experience that you had then.\nSarah and I had a great time while the kids were away...\nShe’s had a really tough time the last year and a half...\n  N-COUNT: adj N\n\n11. Your time is the amount of time that you have to live, or to do a particular thing.\nNow Martin has begun to suffer the effects of AIDS, and he says his time is running out...\n  N-SING: poss N\n\n12. If you say it is time for something, time to do something, or time you did something, you mean that this thing ought to happen or be done now.\nOpinion polls indicated a feeling among the public that it was time for a change...\nIt was time for him to go to work...\nThis was no time to make a speech...\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N for n, N to-inf, N that\n\n13. When you talk about a time when something happens, you are referring to a specific occasion when it happens.\nEvery time she travels on the bus it’s delayed by at least three hours...\nThe last time I saw her was about sixteen years ago...\n  N-COUNT: with supp\n\n14. You use time after numbers to say how often something happens.\nIt was her job to make tea three times a day...\n(next)


Words: time .1
Meaning:
N-COUNT: usu num/ord N\n\n15. You use times after numbers when comparing one thing to another and saying, for example, how much bigger, smaller, better, or worse it is.\nIts profits are rising four times faster than the average company...\n...an area five times the size of Britain.\n  N-PLURAL: num N compar, num N as adj/adv, num N n\n\n16. You use times in arithmetic to link numbers or amounts that are multiplied together to reach a total.\nFour times six is 24.\n  CONJ\n\n17. Someone’s time in a race is the amount of time it takes them to finish the race.\nHe was over a second faster than his previous best time...\n  N-COUNT: with supp, oft poss N, N of n\n\n18. The time of a piece of music is the number of beats that the piece has in each bar.\nA reel is in four-four time, and a jig is in six-eight time.\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu supp N, oft in N\n\n19. If you time something for a particular time, you plan or decide to do it or cause it to happen at this time.\nHe timed the election to coincide with new measures to boost the economy...\nWe had timed our visit for March 7...\nHe had timed his intervention well...\nOperation Amazon is timed to coincide with the start of the dry season.\n  VERB: V n to-inf, V n for n, V n adv, V-ed, also V n\n\n20. If you time an action or activity, you measure how long someone takes to do it or how long it lasts.\nHe timed each performance with a stop-watch.\n  VERB: V n\n\n21.\n  see also timing\n22. If you say it is about time that something was done, you are saying in an emphatic way that it should happen or be done now, and really should have happened or been done sooner.\nIt’s about time a few movie makers with original ideas were given a chance...\n  PHRASE: it v-link PHR that, PHR as reply  emphasis\n\n23. If you do something ahead of time, you do it before a particular event or before you need to, in order to be well prepared.\nFind out ahead of time what regulations apply to your situation.\n  PHRASE: PHR after v\n\n24. If someone is ahead of their time or before their time, they have new ideas a long time before other people start to think in the same way.\nMy mother was ahead of her time. She surrounded me with culture and art.\n  PHRASE: v-link PHR, oft PHR in -ing\n\n25. If something happens or is done all the time, it happens or is done continually.\nWe can’t be together all the time...\n  PHRASE: PHR after v\n  = continually\n26. You say at a time after an amount to say how many things or how much of something is involved in one action, place, or group.\nBeat in the eggs, one at a time...\n  PHRASE: amount PHR\n\n27. If something could happen at any time, it is possible that it will happen very soon, though nobody can predict exactly when.\nConditions are still very tense and the fighting could escalate at any time.\n  PHRASE: PHR with cl\n\n28. You say at the best of times when you are making a negative or critical comment to emphasize that it is true even when the circumstances are as favourable as possible.\nA trade war would be bad at the best of times, but in the current economic climate, it would be a disaster.\n  PHRASE: PHR with cl  emphasis\n\n29. If you say that something was the case at one time, you mean that it was the case during a particular period in the past.\nAt one time 400 men, women and children lived in the village.\n  PHRASE: PHR with cl\n\n30. If two or more things exist, happen, or are true at the same time, they exist, happen, or are true together although they seem to contradict each other.\nI was afraid of her, but at the same time I really liked her...\n  PHRASE: PHR with cl\n\n31. At the same time is used to introduce a statement that slightly changes or contradicts the previous statement.\nI don’t think I set out to come up with a different sound for each album. At the same time, I do have a sense of what is right for the moment.\n  PHRASE: PHR with cl\n\n32. You use at times to say that something happens or is true on some occasions or at some moments.\nThe debate was highly emotional at times...\n  PHRASE: PHR with cl/group\n\n(n


Words: time .2
Meaning:
33. If you say that something was before your time, you mean that it happened or existed before you were born or before you were able to know about it or remember it.\n`You’ve never seen the Marilyn Monroe film?’.`No, I think it was a bit before my time.’\n  PHRASE: usu v-link PHR\n\n34. If someone has reached a particular stage in life before their time, they have reached it at a younger age than is normal.\nThe small print has forced me, years before my time, to buy spectacles...\n  PHRASE: PHR after v\n\n35. If you say not before time after a statement has been made about something that has been done, you are saying in an emphatic way that you think it should have been done sooner. (BRIT)\nThe virus is getting more and more attention, and not before time...\n  PHRASE: PHR with cl  emphasis\n\n36. If you call time on something, you end it. (mainly BRIT JOURNALISM)\nScott Hastings has called time on his international career by cutting short his contract.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n37. Someone who is doing time is in prison. (INFORMAL)\nHe is serving 11 years for robbery, and did time for a similar offence before that.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n38. If you say that something will be the case for all time, you mean that it will always be the case.\nThe desperate condition of the world is that madness has always been here, and that it will remain so for all time.\n  PHRASE: usu PHR with v, PHR with group\n\n39. If something is the case or will happen for the time being, it is the case or will happen now, but only until something else becomes possible or happens.\nFor the time being, however, immunotherapy is still in its experimental stages...\n  PHRASE: PHR with cl\n\n40. If you do something from time to time, you do it occasionally but not regularly.\nHer daughters visited him from time to time when he was ill.\n  PHRASE: PHR with v, PHR with cl\n\n41. If you say that something is the case half the time you mean that it often is the case. (INFORMAL)\nHalf the time, I don’t have the slightest idea what he’s talking about.\n  PHRASE: PHR with cl\n\n42. If you say that you have no time for a person or thing, you mean you do not like them or approve of them, and if you say that you have a lot of time for a person or thing, you mean you like them or approve of them very much.\nWhen I think of what he’s done to my mother and me, I’ve just got no time for him...\n  PHRASE: V inflects, PHR n\n\n43. If you say that it is high time that something happened or was done, you are saying in an emphatic way that it should happen or be done now, and really should have happened or been done sooner.\nIt is high time the Government displayed a more humanitarian approach towards victims of the recession...\n  PHRASE: V inflects, PHR that, PHR to-inf  emphasis\n\n44. If you are in time for a particular event, you are not too late for it.\nI arrived just in time for my flight to London...\n  PHRASE: PHR after v, oft PHR for n, PHR to-inf\n\n45. If you say that something will happen in time or given time, you mean that it will happen eventually, when a lot of time has passed.\nHe would sort out his own problems, in time...\nTina believed that, given time, her business would become profitable.\n  PHRASE: PHR with cl\n\n46. If you are playing, singing, or dancing in time with a piece of music, you are following the rhythm and speed of the music correctly. If you are out of time with it, you are not following the rhythm and speed of the music correctly.\nHer body swayed in time with the music...\nWe were standing onstage playing completely out of time.\n  PHRASE: PHR after v, oft PHR with n\n\n47. If you say that something will happen, for example, in a week ’s time or in two years ’ time, you mean that it will happen a week from now or two years from now.\nPresidential elections are due to be held in ten days’ time...\n  PHRASE: PHR with cl\n\n48. If you arrive somewhere in good time, you arrive early so that there is time to spare before a particular event.\n(next)


Words: time .3
Meaning:
If we’re out, we always make sure we’re home in good time for the programme.\n  PHRASE: PHR after v, oft PHR for n\n\n49. If you tell someone that something will happen in good time or all in good time, you are telling them to be patient because it will happen eventually.\nThere will be many advanced exercises that you won’t be able to do at first. You will get to them in good time...\n  PHRASE: PHR after v, PHR as reply\n\n50. If something happens in no time or in next to no time, it happens almost immediately or very quickly.\nHe expects to be out of prison in next to no time.\n  PHRASE: PHR with cl\n\n51. If you do something in your own time, you do it at the speed that you choose, rather than allowing anyone to hurry you.\nNow, in your own time, tell me what happened.\n  PHRASE: PHR with cl\n\n52. If you do something such as work in your own time in British English, or on your own time in American English, you do it in your free time rather than, for example, at work or school.\nIf I choose to work on other projects in my own time, then I say that is my business.\n  PHRASE: PHR with cl\n\n53. If you keep time when playing or singing music, you follow or play the beat, without going too fast or too slowly.\nAs he sang he kept time on a small drum.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n54. When you talk about how well a watch or clock keeps time, you are talking about how accurately it measures time.\nSome pulsars keep time better than the earth’s most accurate clocks.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n55. If you make time for a particular activity or person, you arrange to have some free time so that you can do the activity or spend time with the person.\nBefore leaving the city, be sure to make time for a shopping trip...\n  PHRASE: V inflects, oft PHR for n, PHR to-inf\n\n56. If you say that you made good time on a journey, you mean it did not take you very long compared to the length of time you expected it to take.\nThey had left early in the morning, on quiet roads, and made good time.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n57. If someone is making up for lost time, they are doing something actively and with enthusiasm because they have not had the opportunity to do it before or when they were younger.\nFive years older than the majority of officers of his same rank, he was determined to make up for lost time.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n58. If you are marking time, you are doing something that is not particularly useful or interesting while you wait for something more important or interesting to happen.\nHe’s really just marking time until he’s old enough to leave.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n59. If you say that something happens or is the case nine times out of ten or ninety-nine times out of a hundred, you mean that it happens on nearly every occasion or is almost always the case.\nWhen they want something, nine times out of ten they get it...\n  PHRASE: PHR with cl\n\n60. If you say that someone or something is, for example, the best writer of all time, or the most successful film of all time, you mean that they are the best or most successful that there has ever been.\n`Monopoly’ is one of the best-selling games of all time...\n  PHRASE: n PHR, usu PHR after adj-superl\n\n61. If you are on time, you are not late.\nDon’t worry, she’ll be on time...\n  PHRASE: v-link PHR, PHR after v\n\n62. If you say that it is only a matter of time or only a question of time before something happens, you mean that it cannot be avoided and will definitely happen at some future date.\nIt now seems only a matter of time before they resign...\n  PHRASE: v-link PHR, oft it v-link PHR before cl\n\n63. When you refer to our time or our times you are referring to the present period in the history of the world.\nIt would be wrong to say that the Church doesn’t enter the great moral debates of our time.\n  PHRASE: usu of/in/for PHR\n\n64. If you do something to pass the time you do it because you have some time available and not because you really want to do it.\nWithout particular interest and just to pass the time, I read a story...\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n(n


Words: time .4
Meaning:
65. If you play for time, you try to make something happen more slowly, because you do not want it to happen or because you need time to think about what to do if it happens.\nThe president’s decision is being seen as an attempt to play for time.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n66. If you say that something will take time, you mean that it will take a long time.\nChange will come, but it will take time...\n  PHRASE: V inflects, oft it PHR to-inf\n\n67. If you take your time doing something, you do it quite slowly and do not hurry.\n`Take your time,’ Cross told him. `I’m in no hurry.’\n  PHRASE: V inflects, oft PHR -ing\n\n68. If a child can tell the time, they are able to find out what the time is by looking at a clock or watch.\nMy four-year-old daughter cannot quite tell the time.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n69. If something happens time after time, it happens in a similar way on many occasions.\nBurns had escaped from jail time after time...\n  PHRASE: PHR with cl, PHR after v\n  = repeatedly\n70. If you say that time flies, you mean that it seems to pass very quickly.\nTime flies when you’re having fun.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n71. If you have the time of your life, you enjoy yourself very much indeed.\nWe’re taking our little grandchild away with us. We’ll make sure he has the time of his life...\n  PHRASE: Ns inflect, PHR after v, v-link PHR\n\n72. If you say there is no time to lose or no time to be lost, you mean you must hurry as fast as you can to do something.\nHe rushed home, realising there was no time to lose.\n  PHRASE: v-link PHR, PHR after v\n\n73. If you say that time will tell whether something is true or correct, you mean that it will not be known until some time in the future whether it is true or correct.\nOnly time will tell whether Broughton’s optimism is justified...\n  PHRASE: oft PHR whether/if\n\n74. If you waste no time in doing something, you take the opportunity to do it immediately or quickly.\nTom wasted no time in telling me why he had come.\n  PHRASE: V inflects, usu PHR in -ing\n\n75.\ntime and again: see again\nin the fullness of time: see fullness


Words: time and motion
Meaning:
time and mo.tion\n   time and motion\n  A time and motion study is a study of the way that people do a particular job, or the way they work in a particular place in order to discover the most efficient methods of working.\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu N n


Words: time bomb
Meaning:
time bomb  time bombs   also time-bomb\n1. A time bomb is a bomb with a mechanism that causes it to explode at a particular time.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If you describe something as a time bomb, you mean that it is likely to have a serious effect on a person or situation at a later date, especially if you think it will cause a lot of damage.\nThis proposal is a political time bomb that could cost the government the next election...\n  N-COUNT: oft adj N


Words: time frame
Meaning:
time frame  time frames\n  The time frame of an event is the length of time during which it happens or develops. (FORMAL)\nThe time frame within which all this occurred was from September 1985 to March 1986...\n  N-COUNT\n  = timescale


Words: time lag
Meaning:
time lag  time lags   also time-lag\n  A time lag is a fairly long interval of time between one event and another related event that happens after it.\n...the time-lag between theoretical research and practical applications.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, oft N between pl-n


Words: time limit
Meaning:
time lim.it\n   time limit  time limits\n  A time limit is a date before which a particular task must be completed.\nWe have extended the time limit for claims until July 30.\n  N-COUNT


Words: time out
Meaning:
time out  time outs   also time-out\n1. In basketball, American football, ice hockey, and some other sports, when a team calls a time out, they call a stop to the game for a few minutes in order to rest and discuss how they are going to play.\n  N-VAR\n\n2. If you take time out from a job or activity, you have a break from it and do something different instead.\nHe took time out from campaigning to accompany his mother to dinner.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N from n, N to-inf


Words: time signal
Meaning:
time sig.nal\n   time signal  time signals\n  The time signal is the series of high-pitched sounds that are broadcast at certain times on the radio, for example at exactly one o’clock or exactly six o’clock. (BRIT)\n  N-COUNT: usu the N in sing


Words: time signature
Meaning:
time sig.na.ture\n   time signature  time signatures\n  The time signature of a piece of music consists of two numbers written at the beginning that show how many beats there are in each bar.\n  N-COUNT


Words: time slot
Meaning:
time slot time slots\n  A television or radio programme’s time slot is the time when it is broadcast.\n90 per cent of listeners had stayed with the programme when it changed its time slot.\n  N-COUNT


Words: time switch
Meaning:
time switch  time switches\n  A time switch is a device that causes a machine to start or stop working at specific times.\n  N-COUNT


Words: time trial
Meaning:
time tri.al\n   time trial  time trials\n  In cycling and some other sports, a time trial is a contest in which competitors race along a course individually, in as fast a time as possible, instead of racing directly against each other.\n  N-COUNT


Words: time waster
Meaning:
time wast.er\n   time waster  time wasters   also time-waster\n  If you say that someone or something is a time waster, you mean that they cause you to spend a lot of time doing something that is unnecessary or does not produce any benefit.\nSurfing the Internet is fun, but it’s also a time waster.\n  N-COUNT  disapproval


Words: time zone
Meaning:
time zone  time zones   also time-zone\n  A time zone is one of the areas into which the world is divided where the time is calculated as being a particular number of hours behind or ahead of GMT.\n  N-COUNT


Words: time-consuming
Meaning:
time-consuming   also time consuming\n  If something is time-consuming, it takes a lot of time.\nIt’s just very time consuming to get such a large quantity of data...\n  ADJ: oft it v-link ADJ to-inf


Words: time-honoured
Meaning:
time-honoured\n  A time-honoured tradition or way of doing something is one that has been used and respected for a very long time.\nThe beer is brewed in the time-honoured way at the Castle Eden Brewery.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n  = age-old


Words: time-server
Meaning:
time-server  time-servers   also timeserver\n  If you refer to someone as a time-server, you disapprove of them because they are making very little effort at work and are just waiting until they retire or leave for a new job.\n  N-COUNT  disapproval


Words: time-share
Meaning:
time-share  time-shares   also time share\n  If you have a time-share, you have the right to use a particular property as holiday accommodation for a specific amount of time each year.\n  N-VAR


Words: time-worn
Meaning:
time-worn   also timeworn\n  Something that is time-worn is old or has been used a lot over a long period of time.\nEven in the dim light the equipment looked old and time-worn...\n  ADJ


Words: timekeeper
Meaning:
time.keeper\n   timekeeper  timekeepers   also time-keeper\n1. A timekeeper is a person or an instrument that records or checks the time.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If you say that someone is a good timekeeper, you mean that they usually arrive on time for things. If you say that they are a poor timekeeper, you mean that they are often late. (BRIT)\n  N-COUNT: supp N


Words: timekeeping
Meaning:
time.keeping\n   timekeeping\n1. If you talk about someone’s timekeeping, you are talking about how good they are at arriving in time for things. (BRIT)\nI am trying to improve my timekeeping...\n  N-UNCOUNT: poss N, adj N\n\n2. Timekeeping is the process or activity of timing an event or series of events.\nWho did the timekeeping?\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: timeless
Meaning:
time.less\n   timeless\n  If you describe something as timeless, you mean that it is so good or beautiful that it cannot be affected by changes in society or fashion.\nThere is a timeless quality to his best work.\n  ADJ\n\n=>  time.less.ness\nMaybe it was the trees that gave this place its atmosphere of mystery and timelessness.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: timeline
Meaning:
time.line\n   timeline timelines  also time line\n1. A timeline is a visual representation of a sequence of events, especially historical events.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A timeline is the length of time that a project is expected to take.\nUse your deadlines to establish the timeline for your research plan.\n  N-COUNT


Words: timely
Meaning:
time.ly\n   timely\n  A timely event happens at a moment when it is useful, effective, or relevant.\nThe recent outbreaks of cholera are a timely reminder that this disease is still a serious health hazard...\n  ADJ  approval


Words: timepiece
Meaning:
time.piece\n   timepiece  timepieces   also time piece\n  A timepiece is a clock, watch, or other device that measures and shows time. (OLD-FASHIONED)\n  N-COUNT


Words: timer
Meaning:
tim.er\n   timer  timers\n  A timer is a device that measures time, especially one that is part of a machine and causes it to start or stop working at specific times.\n...electronic timers that automatically switch on the lights when it gets dark.\n  N-COUNT\n\n  see also egg timer


Words: timescale
Meaning:
time.scale\n   timescale timescales  also time scale\n  The timescale of an event is the length of time during which it happens or develops.\nHe gave no timescale for these steps.\n  N-COUNT: oft on N with supp


Words: timetable
Meaning:
time.table\n   timetable  timetables  timetabling  timetabled\n1. A timetable is a plan of the times when particular events are to take place.\nDon’t you realize we’re working to a timetable? We have to have results...\nThe two countries are to try to agree a timetable for formal talks.\n  N-COUNT\n  = schedule\n2. In a school or college, a timetable is a list that shows the times in the week at which particular subjects are taught. You can also refer to the range of subjects that a student learns or the classes that a teacher teaches as their timetable. (BRIT; in AM, usually use class schedule)\nOptions are offered subject to staff availability and the constraints of the timetable...\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. A timetable is a list of the times when trains, boats, buses, or aeroplanes are supposed to arrive at or leave from a particular place. (mainly BRIT; in AM, usually use schedule)\nFor a local bus timetable, contact Dyfed County Council.\n  N-COUNT\n\n4. If something is timetabled, it is scheduled to happen or do something at a particular time. (mainly BRIT)\nOn both days, three very different trains will be timetabled...\nOpie is timetabled to work a four-day week.\n  VERB: usu passive, be V-ed, be V-ed to-inf\n  = schedule


Words: timid
Meaning:
tim.id\n   timid\n1. Timid people are shy, nervous, and have no courage or confidence in themselves.\nA timid child, Isabella had learned obedience at an early age.\n  ADJ\n  !=confident\n=>  ti.mid.ity\nShe doesn’t ridicule my timidity.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n=>  tim.id.ly\nThe little boy stepped forward timidly and shook Leo’s hand.\n  ADV: usu ADV with v\n\n2. If you describe someone’s attitudes or actions as timid, you are criticizing them for being too cautious or slow to act, because they are nervous about the possible consequences of their actions.\nThe President’s critics say he has been too timid in responding to changing international developments...\n  ADJ  disapproval\n  = hesitant  !=assertive\n=>  ti.mid.ity\nHe was soon disillusioned by the government’s timidity on social reform.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n=>  tim.id.ly\nA number of these states are moving timidly towards multi-party democracy.\n  ADV: ADV with v


Words: timing
Meaning:
tim.ing\n   timing\n1. Timing is the skill or action of judging the right moment in a situation or activity at which to do something.\nHis photo is a wonderful happy moment caught with perfect timing...\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu supp N\n\n2. Timing is used to refer to the time at which something happens or is planned to happen, or to the length of time that something takes.\nThe timing of the minister’s visit, however, could somewhat detract from the goodwill it’s supposed to generate.\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu N of n\n\n3.\n  see also time


Words: timorous
Meaning:
tim.or.ous\n   timorous\n1. If you describe someone as timorous, you mean that they are frightened and nervous of other people and situations. (LITERARY)\nHe is a reclusive, timorous creature.\n  ADJ\n  = timid\n2. If you describe someone’s actions or decisions as timorous, you are criticizing them for being too cautious or weak, because the person is not very confident and is worried about the possible consequences of their actions.\nSome delegates believe the final declaration is likely to be too timorous.\n  ADJ  disapproval\n  = feeble


Words: timpani
Meaning:
tim.pa.ni\n   timpani\n  Timpani are large drums that are played in an orchestra.\n  N-PLURAL\n  = kettledrum


Words: tin
Meaning:
tin  tins\n1. Tin is a soft silvery-white metal.\n...a factory that turns scrap metal into tin cans.\n...a tin-roofed hut.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. A tin is a metal container which is filled with food and sealed in order to preserve the food for long periods of time. (mainly BRIT)\nShe popped out to buy a tin of soup.\n  N-COUNT: oft N of n\n\n  A tin of food is the amount of food contained in a tin. (mainly BRIT; in AM, use can)\nHe had survived by eating a small tin of fruit every day.\n  N-COUNT: oft N of n\n\n3. A tin is a metal container with a lid in which things such as biscuits, cakes, or tobacco can be kept.\nStore the cookies in an airtight tin...\n  N-COUNT: oft supp N, N of n\n\n  A tin of something is the amount contained in a tin.\nThey emptied out the remains of the tin of paint and smeared it on the inside of the van.\n  N-COUNT: oft N of n\n\n4. A baking tin is a metal container used for baking things such as cakes and bread in an oven. (BRIT; in AM, use pan, baking pan)\nPour the mixture into the cake tin and bake for 45 minutes.\n  N-COUNT: usu supp N


Words: tin opener
Meaning:
tin open.er\n   tin opener  tin openers   also tin-opener\n  A tin opener is a tool that is used for opening tins of food. (BRIT; in AM, use can opener)\n  N-COUNT


Words: tin whistle
Meaning:
tin whis.tle\n   tin whistle  tin whistles\n  A tin whistle is a simple musical instrument in the shape of a metal pipe with holes. Tin whistles make a high sound and are often used in folk music, for example Irish music.\n  N-COUNT


Words: tincture
Meaning:
tinc.ture\n   tincture  tinctures\n  A tincture is a medicine consisting of alcohol and a small amount of a drug.\n...a few drops of tincture of iodine.\n  N-VAR: oft N of n


Words: tinder
Meaning:
tin.der\n   tinder\n  Tinder consists of small pieces of something dry, especially wood or grass, that burns easily and can be used for lighting a fire.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n  = kindling


Words: tinderbox
Meaning:
tinder.box\n   tinderbox  tinderboxes   also tinder box\n  If you say that a situation is a tinderbox, you mean that it is very tense and something dangerous or unpleasant is likely to happen very soon.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing


Words: tine
Meaning:
tine  tines\n  The tines of something such as a fork are the long pointed parts. (FORMAL)\n  N-COUNT


Words: tinfoil
Meaning:
tin.foil\n   tinfoil   also tin foil\n  Tinfoil consists of shiny metal in the form of a thin sheet which is used for wrapping food.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n  = foil


Words: tinge
Meaning:
tinge  tinges\n  A tinge of a colour, feeling, or quality is a small amount of it.\nHis skin had an unhealthy greyish tinge...\nCould there have been a slight tinge of envy in Eva’s voice?\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp


Words: tinged
Meaning:
tinged\n1. If something is tinged with a particular colour, it has a small amount of that colour in it.\nHis dark hair was just tinged with grey...\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ, oft ADJ with n, ADJ colour\n\n2. If something is tinged with a particular feeling or quality, it has or shows a small amount of that feeling or quality.\nHer homecoming was tinged with sadness.\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ, oft ADJ with n


Words: tingle
Meaning:
tin.gle\n   tingle  tingles  tingling  tingled\n1. When a part of your body tingles, you have a slight stinging feeling there.\nThe backs of his thighs tingled.\n  VERB: V\n\n=>  tin.gling\nIts effects on the nervous system include weakness, paralysis, and tingling in the hands and feet.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. If you tingle with a feeling such as excitement, you feel it very strongly.\nShe tingled with excitement...\nWhen I look over and see Terry I tingle all over.\n  VERB: V with n, V\n\n  Tingle is also a noun.\nI felt a sudden tingle of excitement.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing


Words: tingly
Meaning:
tin.gly\n   tingly\n1. If something makes your body feel tingly, it gives you a slight stinging feeling.\nThese lotions tend to give the skin a tingly sensation.\n  ADJ\n\n2. If something pleasant or exciting makes you feel tingly, it gives you a pleasant warm feeling.\nHe had a way of sounding so sincere. It made me warm and tingly...\n  ADJ


Words: tinker
Meaning:
tink.er\n   tinker  tinkers  tinkering  tinkered\n  If you tinker with something, you make some small changes to it, in an attempt to improve it or repair it.\nInstead of the Government admitting its error, it just tinkered with the problem...\nIt is not enough to tinker at the edges; our objective must be to reconstruct the entire system.\n  VERB: V with n, V\n\n=>  tink.er.ing\nNo amount of tinkering is going to improve matters.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: tinkle
Meaning:
tin.kle\n   tinkle  tinkles  tinkling  tinkled\n1. If something tinkles, it makes a clear, high-pitched, ringing noise, especially as small parts of it strike a surface.\nA fresh cascade of splintered glass tinkled to the floor...\nWe strolled past tinkling fountains and perfumed gardens.\n  VERB: V prep/adv, V-ing, also V\n\n  Tinkle is also a noun.\n...a tinkle of broken glass.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing\n\n2. If a bell tinkles or if you tinkle it, it makes a quiet ringing noise as you shake it.\nAn old-fashioned bell tinkled as he pushed open the door...\nMiss Peel tinkled her desk bell and they all sat down again.\n  VERB: V, V n\n\n  Tinkle is also a noun.\n...the tinkle of goat bells.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing


Words: tinned
Meaning:
tinned\n  Tinned food is food that has been preserved by being sealed in a tin. (mainly BRIT; in AM, usually use canned)\n...tinned tomatoes.\n...tinned salmon.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: tinny
Meaning:
tin.ny\n   tinny\n1. If you describe a sound as tinny, you mean that it has an irritating, high-pitched quality.\nHe could hear the tinny sound of a radio playing a pop song.\n  ADJ\n\n2. If you use tinny to describe something such as a cheap car, you mean that it is made of thin metal and is of poor quality.\nIt is one of the cheapest cars on the market, with tinny bodywork.\n  ADJ


Words: tinpot
Meaning:
tin.pot\n   tinpot   also tin-pot\n  You can use tinpot to describe a leader, country, or government that you consider to be unimportant and inferior to most others. (mainly BRIT)\n...a tinpot dictator.\n  ADJ: ADJ n  disapproval


Words: tinsel
Meaning:
tin.sel\n   tinsel\n  Tinsel consists of small strips of shiny paper attached to long pieces of thread. People use tinsel as a decoration at Christmas.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: Tinseltown
Meaning:
Tin.sel.town\n   Tinseltown\n  People sometimes refer to Hollywood as Tinseltown, especially when they want to show that they disapprove of it or when they are making fun of it.\n  N-PROPER


Words: tint
Meaning:
tint  tints  tinting  tinted\n1. A tint is a small amount of colour.\nIts large leaves often show a delicate purple tint...\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If you put a tint on your hair, you dye it a slightly different colour.\nYou’ve had a tint on your hair...\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. If something is tinted, it has a small amount of a particular colour or dye in it.\nEyebrows can be tinted with the same dye...\nMost of the dirt was on the outside of the tinted glass.\n  VERB: usu passive, be V-ed, V-ed\n\n=>  -tinted\nHe wore green-tinted glasses.\n  COMB in ADJ


Words: tiny
Meaning:
tiny  tinier  tiniest\n  Something or someone that is tiny is extremely small.\nThe living room is tiny...\nThough she was tiny, she had a very loud voice...\n  ADJ


Words: tip
Meaning:
tip  tips  tipping  tipped\n1. The tip of something long and narrow is the end of it.\nThe sleeves covered his hands to the tips of his fingers...\nShe poked and shifted things with the tip of her walking stick...\n  N-COUNT: oft N of n\n\n2. If you tip an object or part of your body or if it tips, it moves into a sloping position with one end or side higher than the other.\nHe leaned away from her, and she had to tip her head back to see him...\nA young boy is standing on a stool, reaching for a cookie jar, and the stool is about to tip...\n  VERB: V n adv/prep, V\n\n3. If you tip something somewhere, you pour it there.\nTip the vegetables into a bowl...\nTip away the salt and wipe the pan.\n  VERB: V n prep, V n with adv\n\n4. To tip rubbish means to get rid of it by leaving it somewhere. (BRIT; in AM, use dump)\n...the costs of tipping rubbish in landfills...\nHow do you stop people tipping?...\nWe live in a street off Soho Road and there’s rubbish tipped everywhere.\n  VERB: V n, V, V-ed\n\n5. A tip is a place where rubbish is left. (BRIT; in AM, use garbage dump)\n  N-COUNT\n\n6. If you describe a place as a tip, you mean it is very untidy. (BRIT INFORMAL)\nThe flat is an absolute tip.\n  N-COUNT\n\n7. If you tip someone such as a waiter in a restaurant, you give them some money in order to thank them for their services.\nDo you really think it’s customary to tip the waiters?...\nShe tipped the barmen 10 dollars and bought drinks all round.\n  VERB: V n, V n amount\n\n=>  tip.ping\nA 10 percent service charge is added in lieu of tipping.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n8. If you give a tip to someone such as a waiter in a restaurant, you give them some money to thank them for their services.\nI gave the barber a tip...\n  N-COUNT\n\n9. A tip is a useful piece of advice.\nIt shows how to prepare a CV, and gives tips on applying for jobs.\n  N-COUNT: oft N on/for -ing\n\n10. If a person is tipped to do something or is tipped for success at something, experts or journalists believe that they will do that thing or achieve that success. (BRIT)\nHe is tipped to be the country’s next foreign minister...\nHe was widely tipped for success.\n  VERB: usu passive, be V-ed to-inf, be V-ed for n\n\n11. Someone’s tip for a race or competition is their advice on its likely result, especially to someone who wants to bet money on the result.\nUnited are still my tip for the Title.\n  N-COUNT: oft N for n\n\n12. If you say that a problem is the tip of the iceberg, you mean that it is one small part of a much larger problem.\nUnless we’re all a lot more careful, the people who have died so far will be just the tip of the iceberg.\n  PHRASE: v-link PHR\n\n13. If something tips the scales or tips the balance, it gives someone a slight advantage.\nToday’s slightly shorter race could well help to tip the scales in his favour...\n  PHRASE: V inflects, oft PHR prep\n\n14. If a comment or question is on the tip of your tongue, you really want to say it or ask it, but you decide not to say it.\nIt was on the tip of Mahoney’s tongue to say the boss was out...\n  PHRASE: v-link PHR


Words: tip off
Meaning:
tip off\n  If someone tips you off, they give you information about something that has happened or is going to happen.\nGreg tipped police off on his car phone about a suspect drunk driver...\nHe was arrested two days later after a friend tipped off the FBI.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V n P, V P n (not pron)


Words: tip over
Meaning:
tip over\n  If you tip something over or if it tips over, it falls over or turns over.\nHe tipped the table over in front of him...\nShe tipped over the chair and collapsed into the corner with a splintering crash...\nWe grabbed it just as it was about to tip over.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V n P, V P n (not pron), V P


Words: tip up
Meaning:
tip up\n  If you tip something up or if it tips up, it moves into a sloping position with one end or side higher than the other.\nWe had to tip up the bed and the model was in grave danger of falling off it!...\nTip the bottle up so it’s in the same position as it would be when feeding the baby...\nThe aircraft leveled out, and tipped up again for its climb to 20,000 feet.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), V n P, V P


Words: tip-off
Meaning:
tip-off  tip-offs\n  A tip-off is a piece of information or a warning that you give to someone, often privately or secretly.\nThe man was arrested at his home after a tip-off to police from a member of the public.\n  N-COUNT


Words: tip-top
Meaning:
tip-top   also tiptop\n  You can use tip-top to indicate that something is extremely good. (INFORMAL, OLD-FASHIONED)\nHer hair was thick, glossy and in tip-top condition.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: tipple
Meaning:
tip.ple\n   tipple  tipples\n  A person’s tipple is the alcoholic drink that they usually drink. (mainly BRIT INFORMAL)\nMy favourite tipple is a glass of port.\n  N-COUNT: usu supp N


Words: tipster
Meaning:
tip.ster\n   tipster  tipsters\n  A tipster is someone who tells you, usually in exchange for money, which horses they think will win particular races, so that you can bet money on the horses.\n  N-COUNT


Words: tipsy
Meaning:
tip.sy\n   tipsy\n  If someone is tipsy, they are slightly drunk.\nI’m feeling a bit tipsy.\n  ADJ\n  = tiddly


Words: tiptoe
Meaning:
tip.toe\n   tiptoe  tiptoes  tiptoeing  tiptoed\n1. If you tiptoe somewhere, you walk there very quietly without putting your heels on the floor when you walk.\nShe slipped out of bed and tiptoed to the window.\n  VERB: V prep/adv\n\n2. If you do something on tiptoe or on tiptoes, you do it standing or walking on the front part of your foot, without putting your heels on the ground.\nShe leaned her bike against the stone wall and stood on tiptoe to peer over it.\n  PHRASE: PHR after v, v-link PHR


Words: tirade
Meaning:
ti.rade\n   tirade  tirades\n  A tirade is a long angry speech in which someone criticizes a person or thing.\nShe launched into a tirade against the policies that ruined her business...\n  N-COUNT


Words: tire
Meaning:
tire  tires  tiring  tired\n1. If something tires you or if you tire, you feel that you have used a lot of energy and you want to rest or sleep.\nIf driving tires you, take the train...\nHe tired easily, though he was unable to sleep well at night.\n  VERB: V n, V\n\n2. If you tire of something, you no longer wish to do it, because you have become bored of it or unhappy with it.\nHe felt he would never tire of international cricket...\n  VERB: no passive, V of n/-ing\n  = weary\n3. A tire is the same as a tyre. (AM)\n  N-COUNT


Words: tire out
Meaning:
tire out\n  If something tires you out, it makes you exhausted.\nThe oppressive afternoon heat had quite tired him out...\nHis objective was to tire out the climbers.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V n P, V P n (not pron)\n  = wear out\n=>  tired out\nHe was obviously tired out.\n  ADJ


Words: tired
Meaning:
tired\n1. If you are tired, you feel that you want to rest or sleep.\nMichael is tired and he has to rest after his long trip.\n  ADJ\n\n=>  tired.ness\nHe had to cancel some engagements because of tiredness.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. You can describe a part of your body as tired if it looks or feels as if you need to rest it or to sleep.\nMy arms are tired, and my back is tense.\n  ADJ\n\n3. If you are tired of something, you do not want it to continue because you are bored of it or unhappy with it.\nI am tired of all the speculation...\nI was tired of being a bookkeeper.\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ of n/-ing\n  = sick\n4. If you describe something as tired, you are critical of it because you have heard it or seen it many times.\nI didn’t want to hear another one of his tired excuses...\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n  disapproval


Words: tireless
Meaning:
tire.less\n   tireless\n  If you describe someone or their efforts as tireless, you approve of the fact that they put a lot of hard work into something, and refuse to give up or take a rest.\n...Mother Teresa’s tireless efforts to help the poor.\n  ADJ  approval\n\n=>  tire.less.ly\nHe worked tirelessly for the cause of health and safety.\n  ADV: ADV with v


Words: tiresome
Meaning:
tire.some\n   tiresome\n  If you describe someone or something as tiresome, you mean that you find them irritating or boring.\n...the tiresome old lady next door...\n  ADJ


Words: tiring
Meaning:
tir.ing\n   tiring\n  If you describe something as tiring, you mean that it makes you tired so that you want to rest or sleep.\nIt had been a long and tiring day...\nTravelling is tiring.\n  ADJ


Words: tissue
Meaning:
tis.sue\n   tissue  tissues\n1. In animals and plants, tissue consists of cells that are similar to each other in appearance and that have the same function.\nAs we age we lose muscle tissue...\n  N-UNCOUNT: also N in pl\n\n2. Tissue or tissue paper is thin paper that is used for wrapping things that are easily damaged, such as objects made of glass or china.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n3. A tissue is a piece of thin soft paper that you use to blow your nose.\n...a box of tissues.\n  N-COUNT


Words: tit
Meaning:
tit  tits\n1. A tit is a small European bird that eats insects and seeds. There are several kinds of tit.\n  N-COUNT\n\n  see also blue tit\n2. A woman’s tits are her breasts. (INFORMAL, RUDE)\n  N-COUNT: usu pl\n\n3. If you call someone a tit, you are insulting them and saying that they are stupid. (BRIT INFORMAL, RUDE)\n  N-COUNT  disapproval


Words: tit-for-tat
Meaning:
tit-for-tat\n  A tit-for-tat action is one where someone takes revenge on another person for what they have done by doing something similar to them.\nThe two countries have each expelled another diplomat following a round of tit-for-tat expulsions.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: titan
Meaning:
ti.tan\n   titan  titans\n  If you describe someone as a titan of a particular field, you mean that they are very important and powerful or successful in that field.\n...the country’s two richest business titans.\n  N-COUNT: usu N n, N of n


Words: titanic
Meaning:
ti.tan.ic\n   titanic\n  If you describe something as titanic, you mean that it is very big or important, and usually that it involves very powerful forces.\nThe world had witnessed a titanic struggle between two visions of the future.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  = monumental


Words: titbit
Meaning:
tit.bit\n   titbit  titbits\nin AM, use tidbit\n1. You can refer to a small piece of information about someone’s private affairs as a titbit, especially when it is interesting and shocking.\n...titbits of gossip gleaned from the corridors of power...\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A titbit is a small piece of food.\n  N-COUNT


Words: tithe
Meaning:
tithe  tithes\n  A tithe is a fixed amount of money or goods that is given regularly in order to support a church, a priest, or a charity.\n  N-COUNT


Words: titillate
Meaning:
tit.il.late\n   titillate  titillates  titillating  titillated\n  If something titillates someone, it pleases and excites them, especially in a sexual way.\nThe pictures were not meant to titillate audiences.\n  VERB: V n\n\n=>  tit.il.lat.ing\n...deliberately titillating lyrics.\n  ADJ


Words: title
Meaning:
ti.tle\n   title  titles  titling  titled\n1. The title of a book, play, film, or piece of music is its name.\n`Patience and Sarah’ was first published in 1969 under the title `A Place for Us’.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. When a writer, composer, or artist titles a work, they give it a title.\nPirandello titled his play `Six Characters in Search of an Author’...\nThe single is titled `White Love’...\nTheir story is the subject of a new book titled `The Golden Thirteen’.\n  VERB: V n n, be V-ed n, V-ed\n\n=>  -titled\n...his aptly titled autobiography, Life is Meeting.\n  COMB in ADJ\n\n3. Publishers and booksellers often refer to books or magazines as titles.\nIt has become the biggest publisher of new poetry in Britain, with 50 new titles a year.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl\n\n4. A person’s title is a word such as `Sir’, `Lord’, or `Lady’ that is used in front of their name, or a phrase that is used instead of their name, and indicates that they have a high rank in society.\nHer husband was also honoured with his title `Sir Denis’...\n  N-COUNT: oft poss N\n\n5. Someone’s title is a word such as `Mr’, `Mrs’, or `Doctor’, that is used before their own name in order to show their status or profession.\nShe has been awarded the title Professor.\n  N-COUNT: oft poss N\n\n6. Someone’s title is a name that describes their job or status in an organization.\n`Could you tell me your official job title?’.`It’s Data Processing Manager.’\n  N-COUNT: oft poss N\n\n7. If a person or team wins a particular title, they win a sports competition that is held regularly. Usually a person keeps a title until someone else defeats them.\nHe became Jamaica’s first Olympic gold medallist when he won the 400m title in 1948...\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp, oft poss N


Words: title role
Meaning:
ti.tle role\n   title role  title roles\n  The title role in a play or film is the role referred to in the name of the play or film.\nMy novel `The Rector’s Wife’ is being adapted for TV, with Lindsay Duncan in the title role.\n  N-COUNT: the N


Words: title track
Meaning:
ti.tle track\n   title track  title tracks\n  The title track on a CD, record, or tape is a song or piece of music that has the same title as the CD, record, or tape.\nThey come from Tuam, a place they refer to on the title track of their album, `All the Way From Tuam’.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing


Words: title-holder
Meaning:
title-holder  title-holders   also title holder\n  The title-holder is the person who most recently won a sports competition that is held regularly.\nKasparov became the youngest world title-holder at 22.\n  N-COUNT


Words: titled
Meaning:
ti.tled\n   titled\n  Someone who is titled has a title such as `Lord’, `Lady’, `Sir’, or `Princess’ before their name, showing that they have a high rank in society.\nHer mother was a titled lady.\n  ADJ


Words: titter
Meaning:
tit.ter\n   titter  titters  tittering  tittered\n  If someone titters, they give a short nervous laugh, especially when they are embarrassed about something.\nMention sex therapy and most people will titter in embarrassment.\n  VERB: V\n  = snigger\n  Titter is also a noun.\nMollie gave an uneasy little titter.\n  N-COUNT\n\n=>  tit.ter.ing\nThere was nervous tittering in the studio audience.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: tittle-tattle
Meaning:
tittle-tattle\n  If you refer to something that a group of people talk about as tittle-tattle, you mean that you disapprove of it because it is not important, and there is no real evidence that it is true.\n...tittle-tattle about the private lives of minor celebrities.\n  N-UNCOUNT  disapproval\n  = gossip


Words: titular
Meaning:
titu.lar\n   titular\n  A titular job or position has a name that makes it seem important, although the person who has it is not really important or powerful.\nHe is titular head, and merely signs laws occasionally.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n  = nominal


Words: tizzy
Meaning:
tiz.zy\n   tizzy\n  If you get in a tizzy or into a tizzy, you get excited, worried, or nervous about something, especially something that is not important. (INFORMAL)\nHe was in a right tizzy, muttering and swearing...\nMale journalists have been sent into a tizzy by the idea of female fighter pilots.\n  PHRASE: v-link PHR, PHR after v


Words: TM
Meaning:
1. TM is a kind of meditation, in which people mentally relax by silently repeating special words over and over again. TM is an abbreviation for `transcendental meditation’.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. TM is a written abbreviation for trademark.


Words: TNT
Meaning:
TNT\n  TNT is a powerful explosive substance. TNT is an abbreviation for `trinitrotoluene’.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: to
Meaning:
USED BEFORE THE BASE FORM OF A VERB\n1. You use to before the base form of a verb to form the to-infinitive. You use the to-infinitive after certain verbs, nouns, and adjectives, and after words such as `how’, `which’, and `where’.\nThe management wanted to know what I was doing there...\nShe told ministers of her decision to resign...\n  to inf\n\n2. You use to before the base form of a verb to indicate the purpose or intention of an action.\n...using the experience of big companies to help small businesses...\nHe was doing this to make me more relaxed...\n  to inf\n  = in order to\nin order to: see order\n3. You use to before the base form of a verb when you are commenting on a statement that you are making, for example when saying that you are being honest or brief, or that you are summing up or giving an example.\nI’m disappointed, to be honest...\nWell, to sum up, what is the message that you are trying to get across?\n  to inf\n\n4. You use to before the base form of a verb when indicating what situation follows a particular action.\nFrom the garden you walk down to discover a large and beautiful lake...\nHe awoke to find Charlie standing near the bed.\n  to inf\n\n5. You use to with `too’ and `enough’ in expressions like too much to and old enough to; see too and enough.\n\nPREPOSITION AND ADVERB USES\nIn addition to the uses shown below, to is used in phrasal verbs such as `see to’ and `come to’. It is also used with some verbs that have two objects in order to introduce the second object.\n1. You use to when indicating the place that someone or something visits, moves towards, or points at.\nTwo friends and I drove to Florida during college spring break...\n...a five-day road and rail journey to Peking...\nShe went to the window and looked out...\nHe pointed to a chair, signalling for her to sit.\n  PREP\n\n2. If you go to an event, you go where it is taking place.\nWe went to a party at the leisure centre...\nHe came to dinner...\n  PREP\n\n3. If something is attached to something larger or fixed to it, the two things are joined together.\nThere was a piece of cloth tied to the dog’s collar...\nScrape off all the meat juices stuck to the bottom of the pan.\n  PREP\n\n4. You use to when indicating the position of something. For example, if something is to your left, it is nearer your left side than your right side.\nHemingway’s studio is to the right...\nAtlanta was only an hour’s drive to the north.\n  PREP\n\n5. When you give something to someone, they receive it.\nHe picked up the knife and gave it to me...\nFirms should be allowed to offer jobs to the long-term unemployed at a lower wage.\n  PREP: v n PREP n\n\n6. You use to to indicate who or what an action or a feeling is directed towards.\nMarcus has been most unkind to me today...\nI have had to pay for repairs to the house.\n  PREP: adj PREP n\n\n7. You use to with certain nouns and adjectives to show that a following noun is related to them.\nHe is a witty man, and an inspiration to all of us...\nMarriage is not the answer to everything...\n  PREP: adj PREP n\n\n8. If you say something to someone, you want that person to listen and understand what you are saying.\nI’m going to have to explain to them that I can’t pay them.\n  PREP\n\n9. You use to when indicating someone’s reaction to something or their feelings about a situation or event. For example, if you say that something happens to someone’s surprise you mean that they are surprised when it happens.\nHe survived, to the amazement of surgeons.\n  PREP\n\n10. You use to when indicating the person whose opinion you are stating.\nIt was clear to me that he respected his boss...\nEveryone seemed to her to be amazingly kind.\n  PREP\n\n11. You use to when indicating what something or someone is becoming, or the state or situation that they are progressing towards.\nThe shouts changed to screams of terror.\n...an old ranch house that has been converted to a nature centre.\n  PREP\n\n12. To can be used as a way of introducing the person or organization you are employed by, when you perform some service for them.\nRickman worked as a dresser to Nigel Hawthorne...\nHe was an official interpreter to the government of Nepal.\n  PREP: n PREP n\n\n13. You use to to indicate that something happens until the time or amount mentioned is reached.\nFrom 1977 to 1985 the United States gross national product grew 21 percent...\nThe annual rate of inflation in Britain has risen to its highest level for eight years.\n  PREP\n\n14. You use to when indicating the last thing in a range of things, usually when you are giving two extreme examples of something.\nI read everything from fiction to history.\n  PREP: from n PREP n\n\n15. If someone goes from place to place or from job to job, they go to several places, or work in several jobs, and spend only a short time in each one.\nLarry and Andy had drifted from place to place, worked at this and that.\n  PREP: from n PREP n\n\n16. If someone moves to and fro, they move repeatedly from one place to another and back again, or from side to side.\nShe stood up and began to pace to and fro...\n  PHRASE: PHR after v\n\n17. You use to when you are stating a time which is less than thirty minutes before an hour. For example, if it is `five to eight’, it is five minutes before eight o’clock.\n(next)


Words: to .1
Meaning:
At twenty to six I was waiting by the entrance to the station...\nAt exactly five minutes to nine, Ann left her car and entered the building.\n  PREP: num PREP num\n\n18. You use to when giving ratios and rates.\n...engines that can run at 60 miles to the gallon.\n  PREP: amount PREP amount\n\n19. You use to when indicating that two things happen at the same time. For example, if something is done to music, it is done at the same time as music is being played.\nRomeo left the stage, to enthusiastic applause...\nAmy woke up to the sound of her doorbell ringing...\n  PREP\n\n20. If you say `There’s nothing to it’, `There’s not much to it’, or `That’s all there is to it’, you are emphasizing how simple you think something is.\nOnce they have tried growing orchids, they will see there is really nothing to it.\n  CONVENTION  emphasis\n\n21. If you push or shut a door to, you close it but may not shut it completely.\nHe slipped out, pulling the door to.\n  ADV: ADV after v\n\n22.\n  see also according to


Words: to-do
Meaning:
to-do\n  When there is a to-do, people are very excited, confused, or angry about something. (INFORMAL)\n  N-SING


Words: to-ing and fro-ing
Meaning:
to-ing and fro-ing\n  If you say that there is a lot of to-ing and fro-ing, you mean that the same actions or movements or the same arguments are being repeated many times. (mainly BRIT)\nAfter some to-ing and fro-ing, Elsie and the children moved back to London.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: toad
Meaning:
toad  toads\n  A toad is a creature which is similar to a frog but which has a drier skin and spends less time in water.\n  N-COUNT


Words: toadstool
Meaning:
toad.stool\n   toadstool  toadstools\n  A toadstool is a fungus that you cannot eat because it is poisonous.\n  N-COUNT


Words: toady
Meaning:
toady  toadies  toadying  toadied\n1. If you refer to someone as a toady, you disapprove of them because they flatter or are pleasant towards an important or powerful person in the hope of getting some advantage from them.\n  N-COUNT  disapproval\n\n2. If you say that someone is toadying to an important or powerful person, you disapprove of them because they are flattering or being pleasant towards that person in the hope of getting some advantage from them.\nThey came backstage afterward, cooing and toadying to him.\n  VERB: V to n, also V  disapproval


Words: toast
Meaning:
toast  toasts  toasting  toasted\n1. Toast is bread which has been cut into slices and made brown and crisp by cooking at a high temperature.\n...a piece of toast.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. When you toast something such as bread, you cook it at a high temperature so that it becomes brown and crisp.\nToast the bread lightly on both sides.\n...a toasted sandwich.\n  VERB: V n, V-ed\n\n3. When you drink a toast to someone or something, you drink some wine or another alcoholic drink as a symbolic gesture, in order to show your appreciation of them or to wish them success.\nEleanor and I drank a toast to Miss Jacobs...\n  N-COUNT\n\n4. When you toast someone or something, you drink a toast to them.\nParty officials and generals toasted his health...\n  VERB: V n\n\n5. If someone is the toast of a place, they are very popular and greatly admired there, because they have done something very successfully or well.\nShe was the toast of Paris.\n  N-SING: the N of n


Words: toast rack
Meaning:
toast rack  toast racks\n  A toast rack is an object that is designed to hold pieces of toast in an upright position and separate from each other, ready for people to eat.\n  N-COUNT


Words: toaster
Meaning:
toast.er\n   toaster  toasters\n  A toaster is a piece of electrical equipment used to toast bread.\n  N-COUNT


Words: toastmaster
Meaning:
toast.master\n   toastmaster  toastmasters\n  At a special ceremony or formal dinner, the toastmaster is the person who proposes toasts and introduces the speakers.\n  N-COUNT


Words: toasty
Meaning:
toasty  toastier  toastiest\n  If something is toasty, it is comfortably warm. (INFORMAL)\nThe heating system knows to make the temperature toasty on a cold morning before a guest is out of bed.\n  ADJ


Words: tobacco
Meaning:
to.bac.co\n   tobacco  tobaccos\n1. Tobacco is dried leaves which people smoke in pipes, cigars, and cigarettes. You can also refer to pipes, cigars, and cigarettes as a whole as tobacco.\nTry to do without tobacco and alcohol...\n  N-MASS\n\n2. Tobacco is the plant from which tobacco is obtained.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: tobacconist
Meaning:
to.bac.co.nist\n   tobacconist  tobacconists\n  A tobacconist or a tobacconist’s is a shop that sells things such as tobacco, cigarettes, and cigars.\n  N-COUNT: oft the N


Words: toboggan
Meaning:
to.bog.gan\n   toboggan  toboggans\n  A toboggan is a light wooden board with a curved front, used for travelling down hills on snow or ice.\n  N-COUNT\n  = sled, sledge


Words: toccata
Meaning:
toc.ca.ta\n   toccata  toccatas\n  A toccata is a fast piece of music for the piano, organ, or other keyboard instrument.\n  N-COUNT: oft in names


Words: today
Meaning:
to.day\n   today\n1. You use today to refer to the day on which you are speaking or writing.\nHow are you feeling today?...\nI wanted him to come with us today, but he couldn’t.\n  ADV: ADV with cl\n\n  Today is also a noun.\nThe Prime Minister remains the main story in today’s newspapers.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. You can refer to the present period of history as today.\nHe thinks pop music today is as exciting as it’s ever been.\n  ADV: ADV with cl, n ADV\n\n  Today is also a noun.\nIn today’s America, health care is one of the very biggest businesses.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: toddle
Meaning:
tod.dle\n   toddle  toddles  toddling  toddled\n  When a child toddles, it walks unsteadily with short quick steps.\n...once your baby starts toddling...\nShe fell while toddling around.\n  VERB: V, V adv/prep


Words: toddler
Meaning:
tod.dler\n   toddler  toddlers\n  A toddler is a young child who has only just learned to walk or who still walks unsteadily with small, quick steps.\n  N-COUNT


Words: toddy
Meaning:
tod.dy\n   toddy  toddies\n  A toddy is a drink that is made by adding hot water and sugar to a strong alcoholic drink such as whisky, rum, or brandy.\n...a hot toddy.\n  N-VAR: usu supp N


Words: toe
Meaning:
toe  toes  toeing  toed\n1. Your toes are the five movable parts at the end of each foot.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl\n\n2. If you dip your toes into something or dip your toes into the waters of something, you start doing that thing slowly and carefully, because you are not sure whether it will be successful or whether you will like it.\nThis may encourage gold traders to dip their toes back into the markets...\n  PHRASE: V inflects, usu PHR n\n\n3. If you say that someone or something keeps you on your toes, you mean that they cause you to remain alert and ready for anything that might happen.\nHis fiery campaign rhetoric has kept opposition parties on their toes for months.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n4. If you toe the line, you behave in the way that people in authority expect you to.\n...attempts to persuade the rebel members to toe the line...\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n5. If you tread on someone’s toes, you offend them by criticizing the way that they do something or by interfering in their affairs. (INFORMAL)\nI must be careful not to tread on their toes. My job is to challenge, but not threaten them.\n  PHRASE: V inflects


Words: toe-curling
Meaning:
toe-curling\n  If you describe something as toe-curling, you mean that it makes you feel very embarrassed.\nThey showed the most toe-curling home videos.\n  ADJ


Words: toecap
Meaning:
toe.cap\n   toecap  toecaps   also toe-cap\n  A toecap is a piece of leather or metal which is fitted over the end of a shoe or boot in order to protect or strengthen it.\n  N-COUNT


Words: TOEFL
Meaning:
TOEFL\n  TOEFL is an English language examination which is often taken by foreign students who want to study at universities in English-speaking countries. TOEFL is an abbreviation of `Test of English as a Foreign Language’.\n  N-PROPER


Words: toehold
Meaning:
toe.hold\n   toehold  toeholds   also toe-hold\n  If you have a toehold in a situation, you have managed to gain an uncertain position or a small amount of power in it, which you hope will give you the opportunity to get a better or more powerful position.\nMitsubishi Motors were anxious to get a toehold in the European market.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, usu N in/on n


Words: toenail
Meaning:
toe.nail\n   toenail  toenails   also toe nail\n  Your toenails are the thin hard areas at the end of each of your toes.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl


Words: toff
Meaning:
toff  toffs\n  If you refer to someone as a toff, you are saying in an unkind way that they come from the upper classes or are very rich. (BRIT INFORMAL)\n  N-COUNT  disapproval\n  = nob


Words: toffee
Meaning:
tof.fee\n   toffee  toffees\n1. Toffee is a sticky sweet that you chew. It is made by boiling sugar and butter together with water. (BRIT; in AM, use taffy)\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. A toffee is an individual piece of toffee.\n  N-COUNT


Words: toffee-nosed
Meaning:
toffee-nosed\n  If you say that someone is toffee-nosed, you disapprove of them because they have a high opinion of themselves and a low opinion of other people. (BRIT INFORMAL)\n  ADJ  disapproval\n  = stuck-up


Words: tog
Meaning:
tog  togs\n1. A tog is an official measurement that shows how warm a blanket or quilt is. (BRIT)\nThe range of tog values has been extended to 15 togs.\n  N-COUNT: usu N n, num N\n\n  Tog is also a combining form.\n...a snug 13.5-tog winter duvet.\n  COMB in ADJ\n\n2. Togs are clothes, especially ones for a particular purpose. (INFORMAL)\nThe photograph showed him wearing football togs.\n  N-PLURAL


Words: together
Meaning:
to.geth.er\n   together\nIn addition to the uses shown below, together is used in phrasal verbs such as `piece together’, `pull together’, and `sleep together’.\n1. If people do something together, they do it with each other.\nWe went on long bicycle rides together...\nThey all live together in a three-bedroom house...\nTogether they swam to the ship.\n  ADV: usu ADV after v, also ADV cl\n  !=alone\n2. If things are joined together, they are joined with each other so that they touch or form one whole.\nMix the ingredients together thoroughly...\nShe clasped her hands together on her lap...\n  ADV: ADV after v\n\n3. If things or people are situated together, they are in the same place and very near to each other.\nThe trees grew close together...\nGinette and I gathered our things together...\n  ADV: ADV after v\n\n4. If a group of people are held or kept together, they are united with each other in some way.\nHe has done enough to pull the party together...\n  ADV: ADV after v\n\n  Together is also an adjective.\nWe are together in the way we’re looking at this situation.\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ\n  = united\n5. If two people are together, they are married or having a sexual relationship with each other.\nWe were together for five years...\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ, n ADJ, v n ADJ\n\n6. If two things happen or are done together, they happen or are done at the same time.\nThree horses crossed the finish line together...\n`Yes,’ they said together.\n  ADV: ADV after v\n  !=separately\n7. You use together when you are adding two or more amounts or things to each other in order to consider a total amount or effect.\nTogether they account for less than five per cent of the population...\n  ADV: ADV before v, n ADV, ADV cl\n\n8. If you say that two things go together, or that one thing goes together with another, you mean that they go well with each other or cannot be separated from each other.\nI can see that some colours go together and some don’t...\n  PHRASE: pl-n PHR, PHR with n/-ing\n\n9. If you describe someone as together, you admire them because they are very confident, organized, and know what they want. (INFORMAL)\nShe was very headstrong, and very together...\n  ADJ  approval\n\n10. You use together with to mention someone or something else that is also involved in an action or situation.\nEvery month we’ll deliver the very best articles, together with the latest fashion and beauty news...\n  PREP-PHRASE\n\n11.\nto get your act together: see act\nto put your heads together: see head\nput together: see put


Words: togetherness
Meaning:
to.geth.er.ness\n   togetherness\n  Togetherness is a happy feeling of affection and closeness to other people, especially your friends and family.\nNothing can ever take the place of real love and family togetherness.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: toggle
Meaning:
tog.gle\n   toggle  toggles\n  A toggle is a small piece of wood or plastic which is sewn to something such as a coat or bag, and which is pushed through a loop or hole to fasten it.\n  N-COUNT


Words: toil
Meaning:
toil  toils  toiling  toiled\n1. When people toil, they work very hard doing unpleasant or tiring tasks. (LITERARY)\nPeople who toiled in dim, dank factories were too exhausted to enjoy their family life...\nWorkers toiled long hours.\n  VERB: V, V n\n\n  Toil away means the same as toil.\nShe has toiled away at the violin for years...\nNora toils away serving burgers at the local cafe.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P at/on n, V P\n\n2. Toil is unpleasant work that is very tiring physically. (LITERARY)\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: toilet
Meaning:
toi.let\n   toilet  toilets\n1. A toilet is a large bowl with a seat, or a platform with a hole, which is connected to a water system and which you use when you want to get rid of urine or faeces from your body.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A toilet is a room in a house or public building that contains a toilet. (BRIT; in AM, use bathroom, rest room)\nAnnette ran and locked herself in the toilet...\nFred never uses public toilets.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. You can say that someone goes to the toilet to mean that they get rid of waste substances from their body, especially when you want to avoid using words that you think may offend people. (mainly BRIT; in AM, usually use go to the bathroom)\n  PHRASE: V inflects


Words: toilet bag
Meaning:
toi.let bag\n   toilet bag  toilet bags\n  A toilet bag is a small bag in which you keep things such as soap, a flannel, and a toothbrush when you are travelling.\n  N-COUNT\n  = sponge bag


Words: toilet paper
Meaning:
toi.let pa.per\n   toilet paper\n  Toilet paper is thin soft paper that people use to clean themselves after they have got rid of urine or faeces from their body.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: toilet roll
Meaning:
toi.let roll\n   toilet roll  toilet rolls\n  A toilet roll is a long narrow strip of toilet paper that is wound around a small cardboard tube.\n  N-VAR


Words: toilet trained
Meaning:
toi.let trained\n   toilet trained\n  If a child is toilet trained, he or she has learned to use the toilet.\n  ADJ\n  = potty trained


Words: toilet training
Meaning:
toi.let train.ing\n   toilet training\n  Toilet training is the process of teaching a child to use the toilet.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n  = potty training


Words: toilet water
Meaning:
toi.let wa.ter\n   toilet water  toilet waters\n  Toilet water is fairly weak and inexpensive perfume.\n  N-MASS


Words: toiletries
Meaning:
toi.let.ries\n   toiletries\n  Toiletries are things that you use when washing or taking care of your body, for example soap and toothpaste.\n  N-PLURAL


Words: token
Meaning:
to.ken\n   token  tokens\n1. You use token to describe things or actions which are small or unimportant but are meant to show particular intentions or feelings which may not be sincere.\nThe announcement was welcomed as a step in the right direction, but was widely seen as a token gesture...\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n2. A token is a piece of paper or card that can be exchanged for goods, either in a particular shop or as part of a special offer. (BRIT; in AM, use coupon)\nHere is the fifth token towards our offer. You need six of these tokens.\n  N-COUNT: oft n N\n\n3. A token is a round flat piece of metal or plastic that is sometimes used instead of money.\nSome of the older telephones still only accept tokens.\n  N-COUNT\n\n4. If you give something to a person or do something for them as a token of your feelings, you give it or do it as a way of expressing those feelings.\nAs a token of goodwill, I’m going to write another letter.\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp, oft N of n\n\n5. You use by the same token to introduce a statement that you think is true for the same reasons that were given for a previous statement.\nIf you give up exercise, your muscles shrink and fat increases. By the same token, if you expend more energy you will lose fat.\n  PHRASE: PHR with cl


Words: tokenism
Meaning:
to.ken.ism\n   tokenism\n  If you refer to an action as tokenism, you disapprove of it because you think it is just done for effect, in order to show a particular intention or to impress a particular type of person.\nIs his promotion evidence of the minorities’ advance, or mere tokenism?\n  N-UNCOUNT  disapproval


Words: told
Meaning:
told\n1. Told is the past tense and past participle of tell.\n\n2. You can use all told to introduce or follow a summary, general statement, or total.\nAll told there were 104 people on the payroll...\n  PHRASE: PHR with cl, amount PHR


Words: tolerable
Meaning:
tol.er.able\n   tolerable\n1. If you describe something as tolerable, you mean that you can bear it, even though it is unpleasant or painful.\nHe described their living conditions as tolerable.\n  ADJ\n  !=intolerable\n=>  tol.er.ably\nTheir captors treated them tolerably well.\n...tolerably hot water.\n  ADV: usu ADV adj/adv, also ADV after v\n\n2. If you describe something as tolerable, you mean that it is fairly good and reasonably satisfactory, but not of the highest quality or standard. (FORMAL)\nHe fell asleep just past midnight with tolerable ease...\n  ADJ\n  = reasonable\n=>  tol.er.ably\nHe can see tolerably well and he can read.\n  ADV


Words: tolerance
Meaning:
tol.er.ance\n   tolerance  tolerances\n1. Tolerance is the quality of allowing other people to say and do as they like, even if you do not agree or approve of it.\n...his tolerance and understanding of diverse human nature.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N of n  approval\n  !=intolerance\n2. Tolerance is the ability to bear something painful or unpleasant.\nThere is lowered pain tolerance, lowered resistance to infection.\n...a low tolerance of errors.\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu with supp, n N, N of n\n\n3. If someone or something has a tolerance to a substance, they are exposed to it so often that it does not have very much effect on them.\nAs with any drug taken in excess, your body can build up a tolerance to it.\n  N-VAR: with supp, usu N to n


Words: tolerant
Meaning:
tol.er.ant\n   tolerant\n1. If you describe someone as tolerant, you approve of the fact that they allow other people to say and do as they like, even if they do not agree with or like it.\nThey need to be tolerant of different points of view...\n  ADJ: oft v-link ADJ of n  approval\n  !=intolerant\n=>  tol.er.ant.ly\nShe had listened tolerantly to his jumbled account.\n  ADV: ADV with v\n\n2. If a plant, animal, or machine is tolerant of particular conditions or types of treatment, it is able to bear them without being damaged or hurt.\n...plants which are more tolerant of dry conditions...\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ of n


Words: tolerate
Meaning:
tol.er.ate\n   tolerate  tolerates  tolerating  tolerated\n1. If you tolerate a situation or person, you accept them although you do not particularly like them.\nShe can no longer tolerate the position that she’s in...\n  VERB: V n\n  = put up with\n2. If you can tolerate something unpleasant or painful, you are able to bear it.\nThe ability to tolerate pain varies from person to person.\n  VERB: V n\n  = bear


Words: toll
Meaning:
toll  tolls  tolling  tolled\n1. When a bell tolls or when someone tolls it, it rings slowly and repeatedly, often as a sign that someone has died.\nChurch bells tolled and black flags fluttered...\nThe pilgrims tolled the bell.\n  VERB: V, V n\n\n2. A toll is a small sum of money that you have to pay in order to use a particular bridge or road.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. A toll road or toll bridge is a road or bridge where you have to pay in order to use it.\n  N-COUNT: N n\n\n4. A toll is a total number of deaths, accidents, or disasters that occur in a particular period of time. (JOURNALISM)\nThere are fears that the casualty toll may be higher.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, supp N\n\n  see also death toll\n5. If you say that something takes its toll or takes a heavy toll, you mean that it has a bad effect or causes a lot of suffering.\nWinter takes its toll on your health...\n  PHRASE: V inflects, oft PHR on n


Words: toll-free
Meaning:
toll-free\n  A toll-free telephone number is one which you can dial without having to pay for the call. (AM)\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n  Toll-free is also an adverb. (in BRIT, use freefone)\nCall our customer-service staff toll-free.\n  ADV: ADV after v


Words: tom-tom
Meaning:
tom-tom  tom-toms\n  A tom-tom is a tall narrow drum that is usually played with the hands.\n  N-COUNT


Words: tomahawk
Meaning:
toma.hawk\n   tomahawk  tomahawks\n  A tomahawk is a small light axe that is used by Native American peoples.\n  N-COUNT


Words: tomato
Meaning:
to.ma.to\n   tomato  tomatoes\n  Tomatoes are small, soft, red fruit that you can eat raw in salads or cooked as a vegetable.\n  N-VAR


Words: tomb
Meaning:
tomb  tombs\n  A tomb is a large grave that is above ground and that usually has a sculpture or other decoration on it.\n  N-COUNT


Words: tomboy
Meaning:
tom.boy\n   tomboy  tomboys\n  If you say that a girl is a tomboy, you mean that she likes playing rough or noisy games, or doing things that were traditionally considered to be things that boys enjoy.\n  N-COUNT


Words: tombstone
Meaning:
tomb.stone\n   tombstone  tombstones\n  A tombstone is a large stone with words carved into it, which is placed on a grave.\n  N-COUNT\n  = gravestone, headstone


Words: tomfoolery
Meaning:
tom.fool.ery\n   tomfoolery\n  Tomfoolery is playful behaviour, usually of a rather silly, noisy, or rough kind.\nWere you serious, or was that a bit of tomfoolery?\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: tomorrow
Meaning:
to.mor.row\n   tomorrow  tomorrows\n1. You use tomorrow to refer to the day after today.\nBye, see you tomorrow...\nThe first official results will be announced tomorrow.\n  ADV: ADV with cl\n\n  Tomorrow is also a noun.\nDavies plays for the Barbarians in tomorrow’s match against England...\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. You can refer to the future, especially the near future, as tomorrow.\nWhat is education going to look like tomorrow?\n  ADV: ADV with cl\n\n  Tomorrow is also a noun.\n...tomorrow’s computer industry...\n  N-UNCOUNT: also N in pl


Words: ton
Meaning:
ton  tons\n1. A ton is a unit of weight that is equal to 2240 pounds in Britain and to 2000 pounds in the United States.\nHundreds of tons of oil spilled into the sea...\nGetting rid of rubbish can cost $100 a ton.\n  N-COUNT: num N, oft N of n\n\n2. A ton is the same as a tonne.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. If someone comes down on you like a ton of bricks, they are extremely angry with you and tell you off because of something wrong that you have done. (INFORMAL)\nIf you do something awful they all come down on you like a ton of bricks.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n4. If you say that something weighs a ton, you mean that it is extremely heavy. (INFORMAL)\n  PHRASE: V inflects


Words: tonal
Meaning:
to.nal\n   tonal\n  Tonal means relating to the qualities or pitch of a sound or to the tonality of a piece of music.\nThere is little tonal variety in his voice.\n...tonal music.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: tonality
Meaning:
to.nal.ity\n   tonality  tonalities\n  Tonality is the presence of a musical key in a piece of music. (TECHNICAL)\n  N-VAR


Words: tone
Meaning:
tone  tones  toning  toned\n1. The tone of a sound is its particular quality.\nCross could hear him speaking in low tones to Sarah.\n...the clear tone of the bell.\n  N-COUNT: with supp, usu pl\n\n2. Someone’s tone is a quality in their voice which shows what they are feeling or thinking.\nI still didn’t like his tone of voice...\nHer tone implied that her patience was limited.\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp\n\n3. The tone of a speech or piece of writing is its style and the opinions or ideas expressed in it.\nThe spokesman said the tone of the letter was very friendly...\nHis comments to reporters were conciliatory in tone...\n  N-SING: also in N\n\n4. The tone of a place or an event is its general atmosphere.\nThe service desk at the entrance, with its friendly, helpful and efficient staff, sets the tone for the rest of the store.\n  N-SING: the N, usu with supp\n\n5. The tone of someone’s body, especially their muscles, is its degree of firmness and strength.\n...stretch exercises that aim to improve muscle tone...\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n6. Something that tones your body makes it firm and strong.\nThis movement lengthens your spine and tones the spinal nerves...\nTry these toning exercises before you start the day.\n...finely toned muscular bodies.\n  VERB: V n, V-ing, V-ed\n\n  Tone up means the same as tone.\nExercise tones up your body...\nAlthough it’s not strenuous exercise, you feel toned-up, supple and relaxed.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), V-ed P\n\n7. A tone is one of the lighter, darker, or brighter shades of the same colour.\nEach brick also varies slightly in tone, texture and size...\n  N-VAR\n\n8. A tone is one of the sounds that you hear when you are using a telephone, for example the sound that tells you that a number is engaged or busy, or no longer exists.\n  N-SING: usu with supp\n\n9.\n  see also dialling tone, ring tone\n10. If you say that something lowers the tone of a place or event, you mean that it is not appropriate and makes the place or event seem less respectable.\nCouncillors say plastic-framed windows lower the tone of the neighbourhood.\n  PHRASE: V inflects


Words: tone down
Meaning:
tone down\n1. If you tone down something that you have written or said, you make it less forceful, severe, or offensive.\nThe fiery right-wing leader toned down his militant statements after the meeting...\nWe have had to ask the agency and their client to tone their ads down.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), V n P\n\n2. If you tone down a colour or a flavour, you make it less bright or strong.\nWhen Ken Hom wrote his first book for the BBC he was asked to tone down the spices and garlic in his recipes.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), also V n P


Words: tone-deaf
Meaning:
tone-deaf\n  If you say that someone is tone-deaf, you mean that they cannot sing in tune or recognize different tunes.\n  ADJ


Words: toneless
Meaning:
tone.less\n   toneless\n  A toneless voice is dull and does not express any feeling. (WRITTEN)\n  ADJ\n\n=>  tone.less.ly\n`That’s most kind of him,’ Eleanor said tonelessly.\n  ADV: ADV after v


Words: toner
Meaning:
ton.er\n   toner  toners\n  A toner is a substance which you can put on your skin, for example to clean it or make it less oily.\n  N-MASS


Words: tongs
Meaning:
tongs\n  Tongs are a tool that you use to grip and pick up objects that you do not want to touch. They consist of two long narrow pieces of metal joined together at one end.\n  N-PLURAL: also a pair of N\n\nhammer and tongs: see hammer


Words: tongue
Meaning:
tongue  tongues\n1. Your tongue is the soft movable part inside your mouth which you use for tasting, eating, and speaking.\nI walked over to the mirror and stuck my tongue out...\nShe ran her tongue around her lips.\n  N-COUNT: usu poss N\n\n2. You can use tongue to refer to the kind of things that a person says.\nShe had a nasty tongue, but I liked her.\n  N-COUNT: usu supp N\n\n3. A tongue is a language. (LITERARY)\nThe French feel passionately about their native tongue.\n  N-COUNT\n  = language\n  see also mother tongue\n4. Tongue is the cooked tongue of an ox or sheep. It is usually eaten cold.\n  N-VAR\n\n5. The tongue of a shoe or boot is the piece of leather which is underneath the laces.\n  N-COUNT\n\n6. A tongue of something such as fire or land is a long thin piece of it. (LITERARY)\nA yellow tongue of flame shot upwards.\n  N-COUNT: N of n\n\n7. A tongue-in-cheek remark or attitude is not serious, although it may seem to be.\n...a lighthearted, tongue-in-cheek approach...\n  PHRASE: PHR n, v-link PHR, PHR after v\n\n8. If you hold your tongue, you do not say anything even though you might want to or be expected to, because it is the wrong time to say it.\nDouglas held his tongue, preferring not to speak out on a politically sensitive issue.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n9. If you describe something you said as a slip of the tongue, you mean that you said it by mistake.\nAt one stage he referred to Anna as John’s fiancee, but later said that was a slip of the tongue.\n  PHRASE: slip inflects\n\n10.\nto bite your tongue: see bite


Words: tongue-lashing
Meaning:
tongue-lashing  tongue-lashings   also tongue lashing\n  If someone gives you a tongue-lashing, they shout at you or criticize you in a very forceful way. (INFORMAL)\nAfter a cruel tongue lashing, he threw the girl out of the group.\n  N-COUNT


Words: tongue-tied
Meaning:
tongue-tied\n  If someone is tongue-tied, they are unable to say anything because they feel shy or nervous.\nIn their presence I became self-conscious and tongue-tied.\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ


Words: tongue-twister
Meaning:
tongue-twister  tongue-twisters   also tongue twister\n  A tongue-twister is a sentence or expression which is very difficult to say properly, especially when you try to say it quickly. An example of a tongue-twister is `Red leather, yellow leather’.\n  N-COUNT


Words: tonic
Meaning:
ton.ic\n   tonic  tonics\n1. Tonic or tonic water is a colourless fizzy drink that has a slightly bitter flavour and is often mixed with alcoholic drinks, especially gin.\nKeeler sipped at his gin and tonic.\n...low-calorie tonics.\n  N-MASS\n\n2. A tonic is a medicine that makes you feel stronger, healthier, and less tired.\nBritons are spending twice as much on health tonics as they were five years ago...\n  N-MASS\n\n3. A tonic is anything that makes you feel stronger, more cheerful, or more enthusiastic.\nSeeing Marcus at that moment was a great tonic...\n  N-COUNT: oft adj N, N for n\n  = boost


Words: tonight
Meaning:
to.night\n   tonight\n  Tonight is used to refer to the evening of today or the night that follows today.\nI’m at home tonight...\nTonight, I think he proved to everybody what a great player he was...\nThere they will stay until 11 o’clock tonight.\n  ADV: ADV with cl, n ADV\n\n  Tonight is also a noun.\n...tonight’s flight to London.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: tonnage
Meaning:
ton.nage\n   tonnage  tonnages\n1. The tonnage of a ship is its size or the amount of space that it has inside it for cargo. (TECHNICAL)\n  N-VAR\n\n2. Tonnage is the total number of tons that something weighs, or the total amount that there is of it.\n  N-VAR


Words: tonne
Meaning:
tonne  tonnes\n  A tonne is a metric unit of weight that is equal to 1000 kilograms.\n...65.5 million tonnes of coal...\n  N-COUNT: num N, oft N of n


Words: tonsillitis
Meaning:
ton.sil.li.tis\n   tonsillitis\n  Tonsillitis is a painful swelling of your tonsils caused by an infection.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: tonsils
Meaning:
ton.sils\n   tonsils\n  Your tonsils are the two small soft lumps in your throat at the back of your mouth.\n  N-PLURAL\n  The form tonsil is used as a modifier.


Words: tony
Meaning:
tony  tonier  toniest\n  If you describe something as tony, you mean it is stylish and sophisticated. (AM)\n...a tony dance club in Manhattan.\n  ADJ\n  = classy


Words: too
Meaning:
INDICATING EXCESS\n   too\n\nPlease look at category 4 to see if the expression you are looking for is shown under another headword.\n1. You use too in order to indicate that there is a greater amount or degree of something than is desirable, necessary, or acceptable.\nLeather jeans that are too big will make you look larger...\nEggs shouldn’t be kept in the fridge, it’s too cold...\nShe was drinking too much, eating too much, having too many late nights...\n  ADV: ADV adj/adv, oft ADV adj/adv to-inf\n\n2. You use too with a negative to make what you are saying sound less forceful or more polite or cautious.\nI wasn’t too happy with what I’d written so far...\nHe won’t be too pleased to see you.\n  ADV: with brd-neg, ADV adj  vagueness\n  = very\n3. You use all too or only too to emphasize that something happens to a greater extent or degree than is pleasant or desirable.\nShe remembered it all too well...\nThe letter spoke only too clearly of his anxiety for her.\n  PHRASE: PHR adv/adj  emphasis\n\n4.\ntoo bad: see bad\nnone too: see none\n\nADDING SOMETHING OR RESPONDING\n   too\n1. You use too after mentioning another person, thing, or aspect that a previous statement applies to or includes.\n`Nice to talk to you.’.`Nice to talk to you too.’...\n`I’ve got a great feeling about it.’.`Me too.’...\nHe doesn’t want to meet me. I, too, have been afraid to talk to him...\nWe talked to her agent. He’s your agent, too, right?\n  ADV: cl/group ADV\n\n2. You use too after adding a piece of information or a comment to a statement, in order to emphasize that it is surprising or important.\nWe did learn to read, and quickly too...\nPeople usually think of it as a `boys’ book’, which of course it is, and a very good one too.\n  ADV: cl/group ADV  emphasis\n\n3. You use too at the end of a sentence to emphasize an opinion that you have added after a statement made by you or by another person.\n`That money’s mine.’.`Of course it is, and quite right too.’...\n`Oh excuse me.’.`I should think so too.’...\n  ADV: cl ADV  emphasis


Words: tool
Meaning:
tool  tools\n1. A tool is any instrument or simple piece of equipment that you hold in your hands and use to do a particular kind of work. For example, spades, hammers, and knives are all tools.\nI find the best tool for the purpose is a pair of shears.\n  N-COUNT\n\n  see also machine tool\n2. You can refer to anything that you use for a particular purpose as a particular type of tool.\nThe video has become an invaluable teaching tool...\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp, oft N for -ing\n\n3. If you describe someone as a tool of a particular person, group, or system, you mean that they are controlled and used by that person, group, or system, especially to do unpleasant or dishonest things.\nHe became the tool of the security services.\n  N-COUNT: usu N of n  disapproval\n  = puppet\n4. If you say that workers down tools, you mean that they stop working suddenly in order to strike or to make a protest of some kind. (BRIT)\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n5. The tools of your trade or the tools of the trade are the skills, instruments, and other equipment that you need in order to do your job properly.\nThey’re here to learn the tools of their trade from their American colleagues...\n  PHRASE: PHR after v, oft v-link PHR


Words: tool box
Meaning:
tool box  tool boxes\n  A tool box is a metal or plastic box which contains general tools that you need at home, for example to do repairs in your house or car.\n  N-COUNT


Words: tool kit
Meaning:
tool kit  tool kits\n  A tool kit is a special set of tools that are kept together and that are often used for a particular purpose.\n  N-COUNT


Words: toolbar
Meaning:
tool.bar\n   toolbar  toolbars\n  A toolbar is a narrow grey strip across a computer screen containing pictures, called icons, which represent different computer functions. When you want to use a particular function, you move the cursor onto its icon using a mouse. (COMPUTING)\n  N-COUNT


Words: toot
Meaning:
toot  toots  tooting  tooted\n  If someone toots their car horn or if a car horn toots, it produces a short sound or series of sounds.\nPeople set off fireworks and tooted their car horns...\nCar horns toot as cyclists dart precariously through the traffic...\n  VERB: V n, V\n  = hoot\n  Toot is also a noun.\nThe driver gave me a wave and a toot.\n  N-SING


Words: tooth
Meaning:
tooth  teeth\n1. Your teeth are the hard white objects in your mouth, which you use for biting and chewing.\nIf a tooth feels very loose, your dentist may recommend that it’s taken out.\n  N-COUNT: oft poss N\n\n2. The teeth of something such as a comb, saw, cog, or zip are the parts that stick out in a row on its edge.\n  N-PLURAL\n\n3. If you say that something such as an official group or a law has teeth, you mean that it has power and is able to be effective.\nThe opposition argues that the new council will be unconstitutional and without teeth...\nThe law must have teeth, and it must be enforced.\n  N-PLURAL\n\n4.\n  see also wisdom tooth\n5. If you say that someone cut their teeth doing a particular thing, at a particular time, or in a particular place, you mean that that is how, when, or where they began their career and learned some of their skills.\n...director John Glen, who cut his teeth on Bond movies...\n  PHRASE: V inflects, PHR prep, PHR -ing\n\n6. If you say that something sets your teeth on edge, you mean that you find it extremely unpleasant or irritating.\nTheir voices set your teeth on edge.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n7. If you fight tooth and nail to do something, you do everything you can in order to achieve it. If you fight something tooth and nail, you do everything you can in order to prevent it.\nHe fought tooth and nail to keep his job...\n  PHRASE: V inflects, oft PHR to-inf\n\n8. If you describe a task or activity as something you can get your teeth into, you mean that you like it because it is interesting, complex, and makes you think hard. (INFORMAL)\nThis role gave her something to get her teeth into...\n  PHRASE: V inflects, oft PHR n  approval\n\n9. If you do something in the teeth of a difficulty or danger, you do it in spite of the difficulty or danger.\nI was battling my way along the promenade in the teeth of a force ten gale...\nIn the teeth of the longest recession since the 1930s, the company continues to perform well.\n  PHRASE: PHR n\n\n10. If you say that someone is lying through their teeth, you are emphasizing that they are telling lies. (INFORMAL)\n  PHRASE: V inflects  emphasis\n\n11. If you describe someone as long in the tooth, you are saying unkindly or humorously that they are old or getting old. (INFORMAL)\nAren’t I a bit long in the tooth to start being an undergraduate?\n  PHRASE: v-link PHR  disapproval\n\n12. If you have a sweet tooth, you like sweet food very much.\n  PHRASE: usu PHR after v\n\n13.\nto get the bit between your teeth: see bit\nto give one’s eye teeth for something: see eye\nto gnash one’s teeth: see gnash\nto grit your teeth: see grit\na kick in the teeth: see kick\nby the skin of your teeth: see skin


Words: tooth decay
Meaning:
tooth de.cay\n   tooth decay\n  If you have tooth decay, one or more of your teeth has become decayed.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: tooth fairy
Meaning:
tooth fairy  tooth fairies\n  The tooth fairy is an imaginary creature. Children are told that if they put a tooth that comes out under their pillow, the tooth fairy will take it away while they are sleeping and leave a coin in its place.\n  N-COUNT: usu the N in sing


Words: toothbrush
Meaning:
tooth.brush\n   toothbrush  toothbrushes\n  A toothbrush is a small brush that you use for cleaning your teeth.\n  N-COUNT


Words: toothless
Meaning:
tooth.less\n   toothless\n1. You use toothless to describe a person or their smile when they have no teeth.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n2. If you describe something such as an official group or a law as toothless, you mean it has no real power and is not effective.\nIn his view, the Commission remains a toothless and ineffectual body.\n  ADJ


Words: toothpaste
Meaning:
tooth.paste\n   toothpaste  toothpastes\n  Toothpaste is a thick substance which you put on your toothbrush and use to clean your teeth.\n  N-MASS


Words: toothpick
Meaning:
tooth.pick\n   toothpick  toothpicks\n  A toothpick is a small stick which you use to remove food from between your teeth.\n  N-COUNT


Words: toothsome
Meaning:
tooth.some\n   toothsome\n  If you describe food as toothsome, you mean that it tastes very good.\n...the toothsome honey-sweetened gingerbread.\n  ADJ


Words: tootle
Meaning:
too.tle\n   tootle  tootles  tootling  tootled\n1. If you tootle somewhere, you travel or go there without rushing or without any particular aim. (mainly BRIT INFORMAL)\nI’m sure Ted is tootling down the motorway at this very moment.\n  VERB: V prep/adv\n\n2. If you tootle a tune on an instrument, you play it quietly, without concentrating or taking it seriously. (INFORMAL)\nMcCann tootled a tune on the piano.\n  VERB: V n, also V


Words: top
Meaning:
top  tops  topping  topped\n1. The top of something is its highest point or part.\nI waited at the top of the stairs.\n...the picture at the top of the page...\nBake the biscuits for 20-25 minutes, until the tops are lightly browned.\n  N-COUNT: usu the N in sing, oft N of n\n  !=bottom\n  Top is also an adjective.\n...the top corner of his newspaper.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n  !=bottom\n2. The top thing or layer in a series of things or layers is the highest one.\nI can’t reach the top shelf...\nOur new flat was on the top floor...\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n  !=bottom\n3. The top of something such as a bottle, jar, or tube is a cap, lid, or other device that fits or screws onto one end of it.\n...the plastic tops from aerosol containers.\n...a bottle top.\n  N-COUNT\n\n4. The top of a street, garden, bed, or table is the end of it that is farthest away from where you usually enter it or from where you are. (mainly BRIT)\n...a little shop at the top of the street...\nHe moved to the empty chair at the top of the table.\n  N-SING: the N, oft N of n\n  = end, head\n  Top is also an adjective.\n...the hill near the top end of the garden.\n...the top corridor of the main building.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n5. A top is a piece of clothing that you wear on the upper half of your body, for example a blouse or shirt. (INFORMAL)\nLook at my new top.\n  N-COUNT\n\n6. You can use top to indicate that something or someone is at the highest level of a scale or measurement.\nThe vehicles have a top speed of 80 kilometres per hour.\n...a top-ranking Saudi officer.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n  !=bottom\n7. The top of an organization or career structure is the highest level in it.\nWe started from the bottom and we had to work our way up to the top.\n...his dramatic rise to the top of the military hierarchy.\n  N-SING: the N, oft N of n\n  !=bottom\n  Top is also an adjective.\nI need to have the top people in this company pull together.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n8. You can use top to describe the most important or famous people or things in a particular area of work or activity.\nThe President met this afternoon with his top military advisers...\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n9. If someone is at the top of a table or league or is the top of the table or league, their performance is better than that of all the other people involved.\nThe United States will be at the top of the medal table...\nLabour was top of the poll with forty-six percent.\n  N-SING: the N\n  !=bottom\n  Top is also an adjective.\nI usually came top in English.\n  ADJ\n\n10. You can use top to indicate that something is the first thing you are going to do, because you consider it to be the most important.\nCleaning up the water supply is their top priority...\nOn arrival, a six-course meal was top of the agenda.\n  ADJ: oft ADJ of n\n\n11. You can use top to indicate that someone does a particular thing more times than anyone else or that something is chosen more times than anything else.\nHe was Italy’s top scorer during the World Cup matches...\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n12. To top a list means to be mentioned or chosen more times than anyone or anything else. (JOURNALISM)\nIt was the first time a Japanese manufacturer had topped the list for imported vehicles...\n  VERB: V n\n\n13. If something tops a particular amount, it is larger than that amount. (JOURNALISM)\nImports topped .10 billion last month...\n  VERB: V n\n\n14. If something is topped with something, it has that thing as its highest part.\nThe holiest of their chapels are topped with gilded roofs...\nTo serve, top the fish with the cooked leeks.\n  VERB: be V-ed with/by n, V n with n, also V n\n\n=>  -topped\n...the glass-topped table.\n  COMB in ADJ\n\n15. If you top a story, remark, or action, you follow it with a better or more impressive one.\nHow are you going to top that?\n  VERB: V n\n\n16. You can use tops after mentioning a quantity, to say that it is the maximum possible. (INFORMAL)\nThe publisher expected the book to sell 1,500 copies, tops...\n  ADV: num ADV\n  = max\n17.\n  see also topping\n(next)


Words: top .1
Meaning:
18. If someone blows their top, they become very angry about something. (INFORMAL)\nHe blew his top after airport officials refused to let him on a plane.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n19. If a person, organization, or country comes out on top, they are more successful than the others that they have been competing with.\nThe only way to come out on top is to adopt a different approach.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n20. If someone pays top dollar for something, they pay the highest possible price for it. (INFORMAL)\nPeople will always pay top dollar for something exclusive.\n  PHRASE: v PHR, PHR n\n\n21. If you say that you clean, tidy, or examine something from top to bottom, you are emphasizing that you do it completely and thoroughly.\nShe would clean the house from top to bottom.\n  PHRASE: PHR after v  emphasis\n\n22. You can use from top to toe to emphasize that the whole of someone’s body is covered or dressed in a particular thing or type of clothing.\nThey were sensibly dressed from top to toe in rain gear.\n  PHRASE: PHR after v  emphasis\n\n23. When something gets on top of you, it makes you feel unhappy or depressed because it is very difficult or worrying, or because it involves more work than you can manage.\nThings have been getting on top of me lately.\n  PHRASE: V inflects, PHR n\n\n24. If you say something off the top of your head, you say it without thinking about it much before you speak, especially because you do not have enough time.\nIt was the best I could think of off the top of my head.\n  PHRASE: PHR after v, PHR with cl\n\n25. If one thing is on top of another, it is placed over it or on its highest part.\n...the vacuum flask that was resting on top of the stove.\n  PHRASE: v-link PHR, PHR after v, oft PHR of n\n\n26. You can use on top or on top of to indicate that a particular problem exists in addition to a number of other problems.\nAn extra 700 jobs are being cut on top of the 2,000 that were lost last year.\n  PHRASE\n\n27. You say that someone is on top when they have reached the most important position in an organization or business.\nHow does he stay on top, 17 years after becoming foreign minister?\n  PHRASE: usu v-link PHR\n\n28. If you are on top of or get on top of something that you are doing, you are dealing with it successfully.\n...the government’s inability to get on top of the situation.\n  PHRASE: V inflects, PHR n\n\n29. If you say that you feel on top of the world, you are emphasizing that you feel extremely happy and healthy.\nTwo months before she gave birth to Jason she left work feeling on top of the world.\n  PHRASE: usu v-link PHR  emphasis\n\n30. If one thing is over the top of another, it is placed over it so that it is completely covering it.\nI have overcome this problem by placing a sheet of polythene over the top of the container...\n  PHRASE: PHR after v, v-link PHR, oft PHR of n\n\n31. You describe something as over the top when you think that it is exaggerated, and therefore unacceptable. (mainly BRIT INFORMAL)\nThe special effects are a bit over the top but I enjoyed it.\n  PHRASE: usu v-link PHR\n  = OTT\n32. If you say something at the top of your voice, you say it very loudly.\n`Stephen!’ shouted Marcia at the top of her voice.\n  PHRASE: PHR after v\n\n33.\nat the top of the heap: see heap


Words: top brass
Meaning:
top brass\n  In the army or in other organizations, the top brass are the people in the highest positions. (BRIT INFORMAL)\n...a reshuffle of the army’s top brass.\n  N-SING-COLL: also no det, oft with supp


Words: top dog
Meaning:
top dog  top dogs\n  If a person or organization is top dog, they are the most successful or powerful one in a particular group. (INFORMAL)\nReynolds has never concealed his ambition to be the top dog.\n  N-COUNT


Words: top hat
Meaning:
top hat  top hats\n  A top hat is a man’s tall hat with a narrow brim. Top hats are now worn only on special occasions, for example at some weddings.\n  N-COUNT


Words: top off
Meaning:
top off\n  If you top off an event or period with a particular thing, you end it in an especially satisfactory, dramatic, or annoying way by doing that thing.\nHe topped off his career with an Olympic gold medal...\nTo top it all off one of the catering staff managed to slice their finger cutting cheese.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), V n P\n  = round off


Words: top round
Meaning:
top round\n  Top round is a joint of beef that is cut from the upper part of the cow’s leg. It is usually cooked by roasting or stewing. (AM; in BRIT, use topside)\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: top secret
Meaning:
top se.cret\n   top secret\n  Top secret information or activity is intended to be kept completely secret, for example in order to prevent a country’s enemies from finding out about it.\nThe top secret documents had to do with the most advanced military equipment...\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: top up
Meaning:
top up\n  If you top something up, you make it full again when part of it has been used. (mainly BRIT)\nWe topped up the water tanks...\nHe topped her glass up after complaining she was a slow drinker.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), V n P\n\n  see also top-up


Words: top-class
Meaning:
top-class   also top class\n  Top-class means among the finest of its kind.\nWe think he’ll turn into a top-class player.\n  ADJ


Words: top-drawer
Meaning:
top-drawer\n  If you describe someone or something as top-drawer, you are saying, often in a humorous way, that they have a high social standing or are of very good quality.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: top-end
Meaning:
Top-end products are expensive and of extremely high quality. (BUSINESS)\n...top-end camcorders.\n  ADJ


Words: top-heavy
Meaning:
top-heavy\n1. Something that is top-heavy is larger or heavier at the top than at the bottom, and might therefore fall over.\n...top-heavy flowers such as sunflowers.\n  ADJ\n\n2. If you describe a business or other organization as top-heavy, you mean that it has too many senior managers in relation to the number of junior managers or workers.\n...top-heavy bureaucratic structures.\n  ADJ  disapproval


Words: top-level
Meaning:
top-level\n  A top-level discussion or activity is one that involves the people with the greatest amount of power and authority in an organization or country.\n...a top-level meeting of American generals at the Pentagon.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: top-notch
Meaning:
top-notch   also top notch\n  If you describe someone or something as top-notch, you mean that they are of a very high standard or quality. (INFORMAL, OLD-FASHIONED)\n  ADJ\n  = first-rate


Words: top-ranked
Meaning:
top-ranked\n  A top-ranked sports player or team is the most successful player or team in a particular sport. (JOURNALISM)\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: top-ranking
Meaning:
top-ranking\n  A top-ranking person is someone who has a very high rank or status in a particular organization or field of activity.\n...400 of Germany’s top-ranking military officials...\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: top-rated
Meaning:
top-rated\n  A top-rated show or service is the most successful or highly regarded of its kind. (JOURNALISM)\n...the top-rated American television series.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: top-up
Meaning:
top-up  top-ups\n1. A top-up is another serving of a drink in the same glass that you have just used. (BRIT)\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A top-up loan or payment is added to an amount of money in order to bring it up to a required level. (BRIT)\nStudent grants will be frozen at existing levels and top-up loans made available.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: topaz
Meaning:
to.paz\n   topaz  topazes\n  A topaz is a precious stone which is usually yellowish-brown in colour.\n  N-VAR


Words: topcoat
Meaning:
top.coat\n   topcoat  topcoats   also top coat\n1. A topcoat is a coat that you wear over your other clothes.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A topcoat is the final layer of paint or varnish that is put on something. Topcoat is the type of paint or varnish that you use for the final layer. Compare undercoat.\n  N-VAR


Words: topiary
Meaning:
to.pi.ary\n   topiary\n  Topiary is the art of cutting trees and bushes into different shapes, for example into the shapes of birds or animals.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: topic
Meaning:
top.ic\n   topic  topics\n  A topic is a particular subject that you discuss or write about.\nThe main topic for discussion is political union...\n  N-COUNT


Words: topical
Meaning:
topi.cal\n   topical\n  Topical is used to describe something that concerns or relates to events that are happening at the present time.\nThe magazine’s aim is to discuss topical issues within a Christian framework...\n  ADJ\n\n=>  topi.cal.ity\nThe book has all the lively topicality of first-rate journalism.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: topknot
Meaning:
top.knot\n   topknot  topknots   also top-knot\n  If someone, especially a woman, has her hair in a topknot, her hair is arranged in a small neat pile on top of her head.\n  N-COUNT


Words: topless
Meaning:
top.less\n   topless\n1. If a woman goes topless, she does not wear anything to cover her breasts.\nI wouldn’t sunbathe topless if I thought I might offend anyone.\n  ADJ: ADJ after v, ADJ n, v-link ADJ\n\n2. A topless show or bar is one in which the female entertainers or staff do not wear anything to cover their breasts.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: topmost
Meaning:
top.most\n   topmost\n  The topmost thing in a number of things is the one that is highest or nearest the top.\n...the topmost branches of a gigantic oak tree.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n  = uppermost, highest


Words: topographical
Meaning:
topo.graphi.cal\n   topographical\n  A topographical survey or map relates to or shows the physical features of an area of land, for example its hills, valleys, and rivers.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: topography
Meaning:
to.pog.ra.phy\n   topography  topographies\n1. Topography is the study and description of the physical features of an area, for example its hills, valleys, or rivers, or the representation of these features on maps.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. The topography of a particular area is its physical shape, including its hills, valleys, and rivers.\nThe topography of the river’s basin has changed significantly since the floods.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, with poss


Words: topping
Meaning:
top.ping\n   topping  toppings\n  A topping is food, such as cream or cheese, that is poured or put on top of other food in order to decorate it or add to its flavour.\n  N-MASS\n\n  see also top


Words: topple
Meaning:
top.ple\n   topple  topples  toppling  toppled\n1. If someone or something topples somewhere or if you topple them, they become unsteady or unstable and fall over.\nHe just released his hold and toppled slowly backwards...\nWinds and rain toppled trees and electricity lines.\n  VERB: V adv/prep, V n\n\n  Topple over means the same as topple.\nThe tree is so badly damaged they are worried it might topple over...\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P\n\n2. To topple a government or leader, especially one that is not elected by the people, means to cause them to lose power. (JOURNALISM)\n...the revolution which toppled the regime.\n  VERB: V n\n  = overthrow


Words: topside
Meaning:
top.side\n   topside  topsides\n1. Topside is a joint of beef that is cut from the upper part of the cow’s leg. It is usually cooked by roasting or stewing. (BRIT; in AM, use top round)\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. On a ship, if you go topside, you go up onto the top deck. (TECHNICAL)\nHe left the control station and went topside.\n  ADV: ADV after v\n\n3. The topside or topsides of a ship or boat are the top deck or the parts which you can see above the water. (TECHNICAL)\n  N-COUNT: usu pl


Words: topsoil
Meaning:
top.soil\n   topsoil\n  Topsoil is the layer of soil nearest the surface of the ground.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: topsy-turvy
Meaning:
topsy-turvy\n  Something that is topsy-turvy is in a confused or disorganized state. (INFORMAL)\nThe world has turned topsy-turvy in my lifetime.\n  ADJ


Words: torch
Meaning:
torch  torches  torching  torched\n1. A torch is a small electric light which is powered by batteries and which you can carry in your hand. (BRIT; in AM, use flashlight)\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A torch is a long stick with burning material at one end, used to provide light or to set things on fire.\nThey lit a torch and set fire to the chapel’s thatch.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. A torch is a device that produces a hot flame and is used for tasks such as cutting or joining pieces of metal.\nThe gang worked for up to ten hours with acetylene torches to open the vault.\n  N-COUNT: supp N\n\n  see also blowtorch\n4. If someone torches a building or vehicle, they set fire to it deliberately.\nThe rioters torched the local library...\n  VERB: V n\n\n5. If you say that someone is carrying a torch for someone else, you mean that they secretly admire them or love them.\nHe has always carried a torch for Barbara.\n  PHRASE: V inflects, PHR n\n\n6. If you say that someone is carrying the torch of a particular belief or movement, you mean that they are working hard to ensure that it is not forgotten and continues to grow stronger.\nThis group aims to carry the torch for the millions who demonstrated and the thousands who died...\n  PHRASE: V inflects, usu PHR for/of n


Words: torch song
Meaning:
torch song  torch songs\n  A torch song is a sentimental popular song about love, usually sung by a woman.\n  N-COUNT


Words: torchlight
Meaning:
torch.light\n   torchlight\n  If you do something by torchlight, you do it using the light that is produced by a torch or torches.\nSurgeons are performing operations in tents by torchlight...\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft by N, N n


Words: torment
Meaning:
tor.ment\n   torment torments tormenting  tormented\nThe noun is pronounced   The verb is pronounced\n1. Torment is extreme suffering, usually mental suffering.\nThe torment of having her baby kidnapped is written all over her face.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n  = anguish\n2. A torment is something that causes extreme suffering, usually mental suffering.\nSooner or later most writers end up making books about the torments of being a writer...\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. If something torments you, it causes you extreme mental suffering.\nAt times the memories returned to torment her...\n  VERB: V n\n  = torture\n4. If you torment a person or animal, you annoy them in a playful, rather cruel way for your own amusement.\nMy older brother and sister used to torment me by singing it to me.\n  VERB: V n


Words: tormentor
Meaning:
tor.men.tor\n   tormentor  tormentors\n  Someone’s tormentor is a person who deliberately causes them physical or mental pain.\n...cases where women subjected to years of brutality lose control and kill their tormentors.\n  N-COUNT: usu poss N


Words: torn
Meaning:
torn\n1. Torn is the past participle of tear.\n\n2. If you are torn between two or more things, you cannot decide which to choose, and so you feel anxious or troubled.\nRobb is torn between becoming a doctor and a career in athletics...\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ, oft ADJ between pl-n


Words: tornado
Meaning:
tor.na.do\n   tornado  tornadoes  or tornados\n  A tornado is a violent wind storm consisting of a tall column of air which spins round very fast and causes a lot of damage.\n  N-COUNT


Words: torpedo
Meaning:
tor.pe.do\n   torpedo  torpedoes  torpedoing  torpedoed\n1. A torpedo is bomb that is shaped like a tube and that travels under water.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If a ship is torpedoed, it is hit, and usually sunk, by a torpedo or torpedoes.\nMore than a thousand people died when the Lusitania was torpedoed.\n  VERB: usu passive, be V-ed\n\n3. If someone torpedoes negotiations or plans, they deliberately prevent them from being completed or from being successful. (INFORMAL)\nThese attacks are seen as an effort to torpedo the talks.\n  VERB: V n\n  = sabotage, wreck


Words: torpid
Meaning:
tor.pid\n   torpid\n  If you are torpid, you are mentally or physically inactive, especially because you are feeling lazy or sleepy. (FORMAL)\n  ADJ\n  = lethargic


Words: torpor
Meaning:
tor.por\n   torpor\n  Torpor is the state of being completely inactive mentally or physically, for example because of illness or laziness. (FORMAL)\nHe had slumped into a state of torpor from which nothing could rouse him...\nThe sick person gradually falls into a torpor.\n  N-UNCOUNT: also a N


Words: torque
Meaning:
torque\n  Torque is a force that causes something to spin around a central point such as an axle. (TECHNICAL)\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: torrent
Meaning:
tor.rent\n   torrent  torrents\n1. A torrent is a lot of water falling or flowing rapidly or violently.\nTorrents of water gushed into the reservoir...\n  N-COUNT: oft N of n\n\n2. A torrent of abuse or questions is a lot of abuse or questions directed continuously at someone.\nHe turned round and directed a torrent of abuse at me.\n  N-COUNT: usu N of n


Words: torrential
Meaning:
tor.ren.tial\n   torrential\n  Torrential rain pours down very rapidly and in great quantities.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: torrid
Meaning:
tor.rid\n   torrid\n1. Torrid weather is extremely hot and dry. (LITERARY)\n...the torrid heat of a Spanish summer.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n2. A torrid relationship or incident involves very strong emotions connected with love and sex.\nShe began a torrid love affair with a theatrical designer.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  = passionate\n3. If someone or something has a torrid time, they experience a lot of difficulties. (BRIT JOURNALISM)\nSeles, the victim of a death threat earlier this week, has had a torrid time during the Championships...\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: torsion
Meaning:
tor.sion\n   torsion\n  Torsion is a twisting effect on something such as a piece of metal or an organ of the body. (TECHNICAL)\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: torso
Meaning:
tor.so\n   torso  torsos\n  Your torso is the main part of your body, and does not include your head, arms, and legs. (FORMAL)\n  N-COUNT: oft poss N


Words: tort
Meaning:
tort  torts\n  A tort is something that you do or fail to do which harms someone else and for which you can be sued for damages. (LEGAL)\n  N-VAR


Words: tortilla
Meaning:
tor.til.la\n   tortilla  tortillas\n  A tortilla is a piece of thin flat bread that first came from Mexico, and is made from corn and eggs.\n  N-VAR


Words: tortilla chip
Meaning:
tor.til.la chip\n   tortilla chip  tortilla chips\n  Tortilla chips are thick crisps made from corn which are often served with dips such as salsa.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl


Words: tortoise
Meaning:
tor.toise\n   tortoise  tortoises\n  A tortoise is a slow-moving animal with a shell into which it can pull its head and legs for protection.\n  N-COUNT


Words: tortoiseshell
Meaning:
tortoise.shell\n   tortoiseshell  tortoiseshells\n1. Tortoiseshell is the hard shell of a kind of sea turtle. It is brown and yellow in colour and is often polished and used to make jewellery and ornaments.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. Tortoiseshell means made of tortoiseshell or made of a material which resembles tortoiseshell.\nHe wears huge spectacles with thick tortoiseshell frames.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: tortuous
Meaning:
tor.tu.ous\n   tortuous\n1. A tortuous road is full of bends and twists.\nThe only road access is a tortuous mountain route.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n2. A tortuous process or piece of writing is very long and complicated.\n...these long and tortuous negotiations aimed at ending the conflict...\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: torture
Meaning:
tor.ture\n   torture  tortures  torturing  tortured\n1. If someone is tortured, another person deliberately causes them great pain over a period of time, in order to punish them or to make them reveal information.\nFrench police are convinced that she was tortured and killed...\nThey never again tortured a prisoner in his presence.\n  VERB: be V-ed, V n\n\n  Torture is also a noun.\n...alleged cases of torture and murder by the security forces...\n  N-VAR\n\n2. To torture someone means to cause them to suffer mental pain or anxiety.\nHe would not torture her further by trying to argue with her...\nShe tortured herself with fantasies of Bob and his new girlfriend.\n  VERB: V n, V pron-refl\n  = torment\n3. If you say that something is torture or a torture, you mean that it causes you great mental or physical suffering. (INFORMAL)\nWaiting for the result was torture...\n  N-UNCOUNT: also a N


Words: torturous
Meaning:
tor.tur.ous\n   torturous\n  Something that is torturous is extremely painful and causes great suffering.\nThis is a torturous, agonizing way to kill someone.\n  ADJ


Words: Tory
Meaning:
Tory  Tories\n  In Britain, a Tory politician or voter is a member of or votes for the Conservative Party.\n...the former Tory Party chairman, Chris Patten.\n  ADJ\n\n  Tory is also a noun.\n...the first female leader of the Tories.\n  N-COUNT


Words: toss
Meaning:
toss  tosses  tossing  tossed\n1. If you toss something somewhere, you throw it there lightly, often in a rather careless way.\nHe screwed the paper into a ball and tossed it into the fire...\nHe tossed Malone a can of beer, and took one himself.\n  VERB: V n prep/adv, V n n\n\n2. If you toss your head or toss your hair, you move your head backwards, quickly and suddenly, often as a way of expressing an emotion such as anger or contempt.\n`I’m sure I don’t know.’ Cook tossed her head...\nGasping, she tossed her hair out of her face.\n  VERB: V n, V n prep/adv\n\n  Toss is also a noun.\nWith a toss of his head and a few hard gulps, Bob finished the last of his beer.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. In sports and informal situations, if you decide something by tossing a coin, you spin a coin into the air and guess which side of the coin will face upwards when it lands.\nWe tossed a coin to decide who would go out and buy the buns.\n  VERB: V n\n\n  Toss is also a noun.\nIt would be better to decide it on the toss of a coin.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing\n\n4. The toss is a way of deciding something, such as who is going to go first in a game, that consists of spinning a coin into the air and guessing which side of the coin will face upwards when it lands.\nBangladesh won the toss and decided to bat first.\n  N-SING: the N\n\n5. If something such as the wind or sea tosses an object, it causes it to move from side to side or up and down. (LITERARY)\nThe seas grew turbulent, tossing the small boat like a cork...\nAs the plane was tossed up and down, the pilot tried to stabilise it.\n  VERB: V n, be V-ed adv/prep\n\n6. If you toss food while preparing it, you put pieces of it into a liquid and lightly shake them so that they become covered with the liquid.\nDo not toss the salad until you’re ready to serve...\nAdd the grated orange rind and toss the apple slices in the mixture...\nServe straight from the dish with a tossed green salad.\n  VERB: V n, V n in n, V-ed\n\n7.\n  see also toss-up\n8. If you say that someone argues the toss, you are criticizing them for continuing to argue for longer than is necessary about something that is not very important. (BRIT)\nThey were still arguing the toss about the first goal...\n  PHRASE: V inflects, oft PHR prep  disapproval\n\n9. If you say that you do not give a toss about someone or something, you are emphasizing that you do not care about them at all. (BRIT INFORMAL)\nWell, who gives a toss about sophistication anyway?...\n  PHRASE: with brd-neg, V inflects, oft PHR about n, PHR wh  emphasis\n\n10. If you toss and turn, you keep moving around in bed and cannot sleep properly, for example because you are ill or worried.\n  PHRASE: Vs inflect


Words: toss-up
Meaning:
toss-up  toss-ups\n  If you say that it is a toss-up whether one thing will happen or another thing will happen, you mean that either result seems equally likely.\nIt’s a toss-up whether oil prices will go up or down over the days ahead.\n  N-COUNT: usu a N in sing, oft N wh, N between pl-n


Words: tot
Meaning:
tot  tots  totting  totted\n1. A tot is a very young child. (INFORMAL)\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A tot of a strong alcoholic drink such as whisky or brandy is a small amount of it in a glass. (mainly BRIT)\n  N-COUNT: usu N of n


Words: tot up
Meaning:
tot up\n  To tot up a total or a list of numbers means to add up several numbers in order to reach a total. (mainly BRIT)\nI finally sat down to tot up the full extent of my debt...\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron)\n  = add up


Words: total
Meaning:
to.tal\n   total  totals  totalling  totalled\n1. A total is the number that you get when you add several numbers together or when you count how many things there are in a group.\nThe companies have a total of 1,776 employees.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. The total number or cost of something is the number or cost that you get when you add together or count all the parts in it.\nThe total cost of the project would be more than $240 million.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n3. If there are a number of things in total, there are that number when you count or add them all together.\nI was with my husband for eight years in total...\n  PHRASE: PHR after v, PHR with cl, amount PHR\n\n4. If several numbers or things total a certain figure, that figure is the total of all the numbers or all the things.\nThe unit’s exports will total $85 million this year...\n  VERB: V amount\n\n5. When you total a set of numbers or objects, you add them all together.\nThey haven’t totalled the exact figures.\n  VERB: V n\n\n6. You can use total to emphasize that something is as great in extent, degree, or amount as it possibly can be.\nWhy should we trust a total stranger?...\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n  emphasis\n  = complete\n=>  to.tal.ly\nYoung people want something totally different from the old ways...\n  ADV: ADV adj/adv, ADV with v\n  = completely


Words: total quality management
Meaning:
to.tal qual.ity man.age.ment\n\n  Total quality management is a set of management principles aimed at improving performance throughout a company, especially by involving employees in decision-making. The abbreviation TQM is also used. (BUSINESS)\nHe is a firm believer in total quality management.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: totalitarian
Meaning:
to.tali.tar.ian\n   totalitarian\n  A totalitarian political system is one in which there is only one political party which controls everything and does not allow any opposition parties.\n  ADJ  disapproval


Words: totalitarianism
Meaning:
to.tali.tari.an.ism\n   totalitarianism\n  Totalitarianism is the ideas, principles, and practices of totalitarian political systems.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: totality
Meaning:
to.tal.ity\n   totality\n  The totality of something is the whole of it. (FORMAL)\n...a process of social, economic and political change which involves the totality of human experience...\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N of n, in its/their N


Words: tote
Meaning:
tote  totes  toting  toted\n1. The Tote is a system of betting money on horses in races. (BRIT; in AM, use parimutuel)\n  N-SING: the N\n\n2. To tote something, especially a gun, means to carry it with you in such a way that people can see it. (JOURNALISM)\nThe demonstrators fled when soldiers toting machine guns advanced on the crowd.\n  VERB: V n\n\n=>  -toting\nThey are too frightened to speak out against the gun-toting thugs...\n  COMB in ADJ


Words: totem
Meaning:
to.tem\n   totem  totems\n1. In some societies, a family’s totem is the particular animal, plant, or natural object which they regard as a special symbol and which they believe has spiritual significance.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. Something that is a totem of another thing is a symbol of it. (WRITTEN)\nThis opera is one of the cultural totems of Western civilisation.\n  N-COUNT: oft N of n


Words: totem pole
Meaning:
to.tem pole\n   totem pole  totem poles\n  A totem pole is a long wooden pole with symbols and pictures carved and painted on it. Totem poles are made by some Native American peoples and placed outside their homes.\n  N-COUNT


Words: totter
Meaning:
tot.ter\n   totter  totters  tottering  tottered\n1. If someone totters somewhere, they walk there in an unsteady way, for example because they are ill or drunk.\nHe tottered to the fridge, got a beer and slumped at the table...\n  VERB: V prep/adv\n\n2. If something such as a market or government is tottering, it is weak and likely to collapse or fail completely.\nThe property market is tottering.\n...further criticism of the tottering government.\n  VERB: V, V-ing


Words: toucan
Meaning:
tou.can\n   toucan  toucans\n  A toucan is a South American bird with a large brightly-coloured beak.\n  N-COUNT


Words: touch
Meaning:
touch  touches  touching  touched\n1. If you touch something, you put your hand onto it in order to feel it or to make contact with it.\nHer tiny hands gently touched my face...\nThe virus is not passed on through touching or shaking hands.\n  VERB: V n, V-ing\n\n  Touch is also a noun.\nSometimes even a light touch on the face is enough to trigger off this pain.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing\n\n2. If two things are touching, or if one thing touches another, or if you touch two things, their surfaces come into contact with each other.\nTheir knees were touching ...\nA cyclist crashed when he touched wheels with another rider...\nIf my arm touches the wall, it has to be washed again...\nIn some countries people stand close enough to touch elbows...\nHe touched the cow’s side with his stick.\n  V-RECIP: pl-n V, V pl-n with n, V n, V pl-n, V n with n\n\n3. Your sense of touch is your ability to tell what something is like when you feel it with your hands.\nThe evidence suggests that our sense of touch is programmed to diminish with age.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n4. To touch something means to strike it, usually quite gently.\nAs the aeroplane went down the runway the wing touched a pile of rubble.\n  VERB: V n\n\n5. If something has not been touched, nobody has dealt with it or taken care of it.\nWhen John began to restore the house in the 1960s, nothing had been touched for 40 years.\n  VERB: usu passive, with brd-neg, be V-ed\n\n6. If you say that you did not touch someone or something, you are emphasizing that you did not attack, harm or destroy them, especially when you have been accused of doing so.\nPearce remained adamant, saying `I didn’t touch him’...\nI was in the garden. I never touched the sandwiches.\n  VERB: with brd-neg, V n, V n  emphasis\n\n7. You say that you never touch something or that you have not touched something for a long time to emphasize that you never use it, or you have not used it for a long time.\nHe doesn’t drink much and doesn’t touch drugs...\n  VERB: no passive, with brd-neg, V n  emphasis\n\n8. If you touch on a particular subject or problem, you mention it or write briefly about it.\nThe film touches on these issues, but only superficially...\n  VERB: V on/upon n\n\n9. If something touches you, it affects you in some way for a short time.\n...a guilt that in some sense touches everyone...\n  VERB: V n\n\n10. If something that someone says or does touches you, it affects you emotionally, often because you see that they are suffering a lot or that they are being very kind.\nIt has touched me deeply to see how these people live...\nHer enthusiasm touched me.\n  VERB: it V n to-inf, V n\n  = move\n=>  touched\nI was touched to find that he regards me as engaging...\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ\n\n11. If something is touched with a particular quality, it has a certain amount of that quality. (WRITTEN)\nHis crinkly hair was touched with grey...\nThe boy was touched with genius.\n  VERB: usu passive, be V-ed with n, be V-ed with n\n\n12. If you say about someone that nobody can touch him or her for a particular thing, you mean that he or she is much better at it than anyone else.\nNo one can touch these girls for professionalism.\n  VERB: no cont, no passive, with brd-neg, V n for n, also V n\n\n13. To touch a particular level, amount, or score, especially a high one, means to reach it. (mainly BRIT)\nBy the third lap Kinkead had touched 289 m.p.h.\n  VERB: no passive, V n\n\n14. A touch is a detail which is added to something to improve it.\nThey called the event `a tribute to heroes’, which was a nice touch...\n  N-COUNT: supp N\n\n15. If someone has a particular kind of touch, they have a particular way of doing something.\nThe dishes he produces all have a personal touch...\n  N-SING: with supp\n\n16. A touch of something is a very small amount of it.\nShe thought she just had a touch of flu...\n  QUANT: QUANT of n-uncount\n\n(next)


Words: touch .1
Meaning:
17. You can use a touch to mean slightly or to a small extent, especially in order to make something you say seem less extreme. For example, if you say that something is a touch expensive, you might really think that it is very expensive. (mainly BRIT)\nWe were all a touch uneasy, I think...\nI found it a touch distasteful.\n  PHRASE: PHR adj/adv/prep  vagueness\n  = a bit\n18.\n  see also touching\n19. You use at the touch of in expressions such as at the touch of a button and at the touch of a key to indicate that something is possible by simply touching a switch or one of the keys of a keyboard.\nStaff will be able to trace calls at the touch of a button.\n  PHRASE: PHR n, usu PHR after v\n\n20. If you say that someone has the common touch, you mean that they have the natural ability to have a good relationship with ordinary people and be popular with them.\n  PHRASE: usu PHR after v  approval\n\n21. If you get in touch with someone, you contact them by writing to them or telephoning them. If you are, keep, or stay in touch with them, you write, phone, or visit each other regularly.\nThe organisation would be in touch with him tomorrow...\n  PHRASE: PHR after v, v-link PHR, usu PHR with n\n\n22. If you are in touch with a subject or situation, or if someone keeps you in touch with it, you know the latest news or information about it. If you are out of touch with it, you do not know the latest news or information about it.\n...keeping the unemployed in touch with the labour market...\nMr Cavazos’ problem was that he was out of touch.\n  PHRASE: PHR after v, v-link PHR, usu PHR with n\n\n23. If you lose touch with someone, you gradually stop writing, telephoning, or visiting them.\nIn my job one tends to lose touch with friends...\n  PHRASE: V inflects, PHR with n, pl-n PHR\n\n24. If you lose touch with something, you no longer have the latest news or information about it.\nTheir leaders have lost touch with what is happening in the country.\n  PHRASE: V inflects, usu PHR with n\n\n25. If you say that something is touch and go, you mean that you are uncertain whether it will happen or succeed.\nIt was touch and go whether we’d go bankrupt.\n  PHRASE: v-link PHR, oft PHR wh\n\n26. If you say that someone is a soft touch or an easy touch, you mean that they can easily be persuaded to lend you money or to do things for you. (INFORMAL)\nPamela was an easy touch when she needed some cash.\n  PHRASE: v-link PHR\n\n27.\nwould not touch someone or something with a barge pole: see barge pole\nthe finishing touch: see finish\ntouch wood: see wood


Words: touch down
Meaning:
touch down\n  When an aircraft touches down, it lands.\nSpacecraft Columbia touched down yesterday...\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P\n  = land


Words: touch off
Meaning:
touch off\n  If something touches off a situation or series of events, it causes it to start happening.\nIs the massacre likely to touch off a new round of violence?\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), also V n P\n  = spark off


Words: touch paper
Meaning:
touch pa.per\n   touch paper   also touchpaper\n  If someone lights the touch paper or lights the blue touch paper, they do something which causes anger or excitement. (BRIT JOURNALISM)\nThis kind of remark is guaranteed to light the blue touch paper with some Labour politicians.\n  PHRASE: V inflects


Words: touch-screen
Meaning:
touch-screen touch-screens\n  A touch-screen is a computer screen that allows the user to give commands to the computer by touching parts of the screen rather than by using the keyboard or mouse. (COMPUTING)\n  N-COUNT: oft N n


Words: touch-tone
Meaning:
touch-tone\n  A touch-tone telephone has numbered buttons that make different sounds when you press them. Some automatic telephone services can only be used with this kind of telephone.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: touchdown
Meaning:
touch.down\n   touchdown  touchdowns\n1. Touchdown is the landing of an aircraft or spacecraft.\nThe astronauts are preparing for touchdown tomorrow morning.\n  N-VAR\n  = landing\n2. In rugby and American football, a touchdown is when a team scores points by taking the ball over the opposition’s goal line.\n  N-COUNT


Words: touche
Meaning:
tou.che\n   touche\n  You say `touche’ when you want to admit that the other person in an argument has won a point, usually with a short and witty remark.\n  CONVENTION


Words: touching
Meaning:
touch.ing\n   touching\n  If something is touching, it causes feelings of sadness or sympathy.\nHer story is the touching tale of a wife who stood by the husband she loved...\n  ADJ\n  = moving\n  see also touch


Words: touchline
Meaning:
touch.line\n   touchline\n  In sports such as rugby and football, the touchline is one of the two lines which mark the side of the playing area. (mainly BRIT)\n  N-SING: usu the N


Words: touchstone
Meaning:
touch.stone\n   touchstone  touchstones\n  If you use one thing as a touchstone of another, you use it as a test or standard by which you judge the second thing.\nJob security has become the touchstone of a good job for many employees.\n  N-COUNT: usu N of/for n


Words: touchy
Meaning:
touchy  touchier  touchiest\n1. If you describe someone as touchy, you mean that they are easily upset, offended, or irritated.\nShe is very touchy about her past...\n  ADJ: oft ADJ about n  disapproval\n  = sensitive\n2. If you say that something is a touchy subject, you mean that it is a subject that needs to be dealt with carefully and in a sensitive way, because it might upset or offend people.\n...the touchy question of political reform.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  = delicate


Words: touchy-feely
Meaning:
touchy-feely\n  If you describe something as touchy-feely, you mean that it involves people expressing emotions such as love and affection openly in a way which you find embarrassing and silly.\n...a touchy-feely song about making your life worth living.\n  ADJ  disapproval


Words: tough
Meaning:
tough  tougher  toughest  toughs\n1. A tough person is strong and determined, and can tolerate difficulty or suffering.\nHe built up a reputation as a tough businessman...\nShe is tough and ambitious.\n  ADJ\n\n=>  tough.ness\nMrs Potter has won a reputation for toughness and determination on her way to the top.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. If you describe someone as tough, you mean that they are rough and violent.\nHe had shot three people dead earning himself a reputation as a tough guy.\n  ADJ\n\n  A tough is a tough person.\nThree burly toughs elbowed their way to the front.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. A tough place or area is considered to have a lot of crime and violence.\nShe doesn’t seem cut out for this tough neighbourhood...\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  = rough\n4. A tough way of life or period of time is difficult or full of suffering.\nHe was having a really tough time at work.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  = rough\n5. A tough task or problem is difficult to do or solve.\nIt was a very tough decision but we feel we made the right one...\n  ADJ: oft it v-link ADJ to-inf, ADJ to-inf\n  = hard\n6. Tough policies or actions are strict and firm.\nHe is known for taking a tough line on security...\n  ADJ\n  = strong\n7. A tough substance is strong, and difficult to break, cut, or tear.\nIn industry, diamond can form a tough, non-corrosive coating for tools.\n  ADJ\n\n8. Tough meat is difficult to cut and chew.\nThe steak was tough and the peas were like bullets.\n  ADJ\n\n9. If someone who is trying to achieve something hangs tough, they remain determined and do not give up, even when there are difficulties or problems. (AM INFORMAL)\nThe White House is hanging tough for a good agreement to be reached.\n  PHRASE: V inflects


Words: tough cookie
Meaning:
tough cookie  tough cookies\n  If you describe someone as a tough cookie, you mean that they are unemotional and are not easily hurt by what people say or do.\n  N-COUNT


Words: tough love
Meaning:
Tough love is the practice of being very strict with a relative or friend who has an addiction or other problem in order to help them overcome the problem.\n...the activities of black communities in identifying their own law-breaking youths and then administering tough love.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: toughen
Meaning:
tough.en\n   toughen  toughens  toughening  toughened\n1. If you toughen something or if it toughens, you make it stronger so that it will not break easily.\nDo not add salt to beans when cooking as this tends to toughen the skins.\n  VERB: V n, also V\n\n2. If a person, institution, or law toughens its policies, regulations, or punishments, it makes them firmer or stricter.\nTalks are under way to toughen trade restrictions...\n  VERB: V n\n\n  Toughen up means the same as toughen.\nThe new law toughens up penalties for those that misuse guns.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), also V n P\n\n3. If an experience toughens you, it makes you stronger and more independent in character.\nThey believe that participating in fights toughens boys and shows them how to be men.\n  VERB: V n\n\n  Toughen up means the same as toughen.\nHe thinks boxing is good for kids, that it toughens them up...\nMy father tried to teach me to toughen up.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V n P, V P


Words: toupee
Meaning:
tou.pee\n   toupee  toupees\n  A toupee is a piece of artificial hair worn by a man to cover a patch on his head where he has lost his hair.\n  N-COUNT


Words: tour
Meaning:
tour  tours  touring  toured\n1. A tour is an organized trip that people such as musicians, politicians, or theatre companies go on to several different places, stopping to meet people or perform.\nThe band are currently on a two-month tour of Europe...\n...a presidential campaign tour in Illinois.\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp\n\n  When people are travelling on a tour, you can say that they are on tour.\nThe band will be going on tour...\n  PHRASE: PHR after v, v-link PHR\n\n2. When people such as musicians, politicians, or theatre companies tour, they go on a tour, for example in order to perform or to meet people.\nA few years ago they toured the country in a roadshow...\nHe toured for nearly two years and played 500 sell-out shows...\n  VERB: V n, V\n\n3. A tour is a journey during which you visit several places that interest you.\nIt was week five of my tour of the major cities of Europe.\n  N-COUNT: oft N of n\n\n4. A tour is a short trip that you make round a place, for example round a historical building, so that you can look at it.\n...a guided tour of a ruined Scottish castle.\n  N-COUNT: oft N of n\n\n5. If you tour a place, you go on a journey or trip round it.\nYou can also tour the site on modern coaches equipped with videos...\n  VERB: V n


Words: tour de force
Meaning:
tour de force  tours de force   also tour-de-force\n  If you call something such as a performance, speech, or production a tour de force, you are emphasizing that it is extremely good or extremely well done or made.\nStevenson’s deeply felt performance is a tour-de-force...\n  N-COUNT: usu sing  emphasis


Words: tour operator
Meaning:
tour op.era.tor\n   tour operator  tour operators\n  A tour operator is a company that provides holidays in which your travel and accommodation are booked for you.\n  N-COUNT


Words: Tourette’s syndrome
Meaning:
Tourette’s syn.drome\n  or Tourette syndrome; Tourette’s\n  Tourette’s syndrome is a brain disorder that causes the sufferer to make sudden uncontrolled movements and sometimes swear and spit.\n...a Tourette’s sufferer\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: tourism
Meaning:
tour.ism\n   tourism\n  Tourism is the business of providing services for people on holiday, for example hotels, restaurants, and trips.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: tourist
Meaning:
tour.ist\n   tourist  tourists\n  A tourist is a person who is visiting a place for pleasure and interest, especially when they are on holiday.\n...foreign tourists...\nBlackpool is the top tourist attraction in England.\n  N-COUNT: oft N n


Words: touristy
Meaning:
tour.isty\n   touristy\n  If you describe a place as touristy, you do not like it because it is full of tourists or full of things for tourists to buy and do. (INFORMAL)\nVisit some of the less touristy islands.\n  ADJ  disapproval


Words: tournament
Meaning:
tour.na.ment\n   tournament  tournaments\n  A tournament is a sports competition in which players who win a match continue to play further matches in the competition until just one person or team is left.\n  N-COUNT: oft supp N


Words: tourniquet
Meaning:
tour.ni.quet\n   tourniquet  tourniquets\n  A tourniquet is a strip of cloth that is tied tightly round an injured arm or leg in order to stop it bleeding.\n  N-COUNT


Words: tousled
Meaning:
tou.sled\n   tousled\n  If you have tousled hair, it is untidy and looks as if it has not been brushed or combed.\n  ADJ\n  = dishevelled


Words: tout
Meaning:
tout  touts  touting  touted\n1. If someone touts something, they try to sell it or convince people that it is good.\nIt has the trappings of an election campaign in the United States, with slick television ads touting the candidates.\n  VERB: V n  disapproval\n\n2. If someone touts for business or custom, they try to obtain it. (mainly BRIT)\nHe visited Thailand and Singapore to tout for investment...\n  VERB: V for n\n\n3. If someone touts tickets, they sell them outside a sports ground or theatre, usually for more than their original value. (BRIT; in AM, use scalp)\n...a man who made his money touting tickets...\n  VERB: V n\n\n4. A tout is someone who sells things such as tickets unofficially, usually at prices which are higher than the official ones. (BRIT; in AM, use scalper)\n  N-COUNT


Words: tow
Meaning:
tow  tows  towing  towed\n1. If one vehicle tows another, it pulls it along behind it.\nHe had been using the vehicle to tow his work trailer...\nThey threatened to tow away my car...\nThe British navy boarded the vessel and towed it to New York.\n  VERB: V n, V n with adv, V n prep\n\n2. If you have someone in tow, they are following you closely because you are looking after them or you are leading them somewhere. (INFORMAL)\nThere she was on my doorstep with child in tow...\n  PHRASE: with n PHR, PHR after v


Words: tow truck
Meaning:
tow truck  tow trucks\n  A tow truck is a motor vehicle which is used to pull broken or damaged vehicles.\n  N-COUNT


Words: towards
Meaning:
to.wards\n   towards\nin AM and sometimes in BRIT, use toward; In addition to the uses shown below, towards is used in phrasal verbs such as `count towards’ and `lean towards’.\n1. If you move, look, or point towards something or someone, you move, look, or point in their direction.\nCaroline leant across the table towards him...\nAnne left Artie and walked down the corridor towards the foyer...\nWhen he looked towards me, I smiled and waved...\n  PREP\n\n2. If things develop towards a particular situation, that situation becomes nearer in time or more likely to happen.\nThe talks made little evident progress towards agreement...\n  PREP: PREP n/-ing\n\n3. If you have a particular attitude towards something or someone, you have that attitude when you think about them or deal with them.\nIt’s the business of the individual to determine his own attitude towards religion...\nNot everyone in the world will be kind and caring towards you...\n  PREP\n\n4. If something happens towards a particular time, it happens just before that time.\nThe Channel tunnel was due to open towards the end of 1993...\n  PREP\n\n5. If something is towards part of a place or thing, it is near that part.\nThe home of the Morgan family was up Gloucester Road, towards the top of the hill...\n  PREP\n\n6. If you give money towards something, you give it to help pay for that thing.\nHe gave them .50,000 towards a house...\n  PREP


Words: towel
Meaning:
tow.el\n   towel  towels  towelling  towelled\nin AM, use toweling, toweled\n1. A towel is a piece of thick soft cloth that you use to dry yourself.\n...a bath towel.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If you towel something or towel it dry, you dry it with a towel.\nJames came out of his bedroom, toweling his wet hair...\nI towelled myself dry...\nHe stepped out of the shower and began towelling himself down.\n  VERB: V n, V n adj, V n down/off\n\n3. If you throw in the towel, you stop trying to do something because you realize that you cannot succeed. (INFORMAL)\nIt seemed as if the police had thrown in the towel and were abandoning the investigation.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n4.\n  see also sanitary towel, tea towel


Words: towelling
Meaning:
tow.el.ling\n   towelling\nin AM, use toweling\n  Towelling is a kind of fairly thick soft cloth that is used especially for making towels.\n...a towelling bathrobe.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N n


Words: tower
Meaning:
tow.er\n   tower  towers  towering  towered\n1. A tower is a tall, narrow building, that either stands alone or forms part of another building such as a church or castle.\n...an eleventh century castle with 120-foot high towers.\n...the Leaning Tower of Pisa.\n  N-COUNT; N-IN-NAMES\n\n2. Someone or something that towers over surrounding people or things is a lot taller than they are.\nHe stood up and towered over her...\n  VERB: V over/above n\n\n3. A tower is a tall structure that is used for sending radio or television signals.\nTroops are still in control of the television and radio tower.\n  N-COUNT\n\n4. A tower is the same as a tower block.\n...his design for a new office tower in Frankfurt.\n  N-COUNT\n\n5. A tower is a tall box that contains the main parts of a computer, such as the hard disk and the drives. (COMPUTING)\n  N-COUNT\n\n6.\n  see also clock tower, control tower, ivory tower\n7. If you refer to someone as a tower of strength, you appreciate them because they give you a lot of help, support, and encouragement when you have problems or are in a difficult situation.\nPat was a tower of strength to our whole family.\n  PHRASE: tower inflects, v-link PHR, oft PHR to n  approval


Words: tower block
Meaning:
tow.er block\n   tower block  tower blocks\n  A tower block is a tall building divided into flats or offices. (BRIT; in AM, use high-rise building, high-rise)\n...a 23-storey tower block.\n  N-COUNT


Words: towering
Meaning:
tow.er.ing\n   towering\n1. If you describe something such as a mountain or cliff as towering, you mean that it is very tall and therefore impressive. (LITERARY)\n...towering cliffs of black granite which rise straight out of the sea.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n2. If you describe someone or something as towering, you are emphasizing that they are impressive because of their importance, skill, or intensity. (LITERARY)\nHe remains a towering figure in modern British politics...\n  ADJ: ADJ n  emphasis


Words: town
Meaning:
town  towns\n1. A town is a place with many streets and buildings, where people live and work. Towns are larger than villages and smaller than cities. Many places that are called towns in Britain would be called cities in the United States.\n...Saturday night in the small town of Braintree, Essex...\nParking can be tricky in the town centre.\n  N-COUNT\n\n  You can use the town to refer to the people of a town.\nThe town takes immense pride in recent achievements.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing\n\n2. You use town in order to refer to the town where you live.\nHe admits he doesn’t even know when his brother is in town...\nShe left town.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n3. You use town in order to refer to the central area of a town where most of the shops and offices are.\nI walked around town...\nI caught a bus into town.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n4.\n  see also ghost town, hometown, new town\n5. If you say that someone goes to town on something, you mean that they deal with it with a lot of enthusiasm or intensity.\nWe really went to town on it, turning it into a full, three-day show...\n  PHRASE: V inflects, oft PHR on n\n\n6. If you go out on the town or go for a night on the town, you enjoy yourself by going to a town centre in the evening and spending a long time there visiting several places of entertainment.\nMy idea of luxury used to be going out on the town and coming back in the early hours of the morning...\n  PHRASE: prep PHR, n PHR\n  = on the tiles


Words: town council
Meaning:
town coun.cil\n   town council  town councils\n  A town council is a group of people who have been elected to govern a British town.\n  N-COUNT-COLL: oft in names


Words: town crier
Meaning:
town cri.er\n   town crier  town criers\n  In former times, a town crier was a man whose job was to walk through the streets of a town shouting out news and official announcements.\n  N-COUNT


Words: town hall
Meaning:
town hall  town halls   also Town Hall\n1. In Britain, a town hall in a town is a large building owned and used by the town council, often as its main office. You can also use town hall to refer to the town council that uses this building.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. In the United States, especially in New England, a town hall is a building or hall used for local government business.\n  N-COUNT


Words: town house
Meaning:
town house  town houses\n1. A town house is a tall narrow house in a town, usually in a row of similar houses.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. The town house of a wealthy person is the house that they own in a town or city, rather than another house that they own in the country.\n  N-COUNT: with poss


Words: town planning
Meaning:
town plan.ning\n   town planning\n  Town planning is the planning and design of all the new buildings, roads, and parks in a place in order to make them attractive and convenient for the people who live there.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N n


Words: townie
Meaning:
townie  townies\n  If someone who lives in the countryside refers to someone from a town or city as a townie, they disapprove of that person because they think they have no knowledge of the countryside or country life.\n  N-COUNT  disapproval


Words: townsfolk
Meaning:
towns.folk\n   townsfolk\n  The townsfolk of a town or city are the people who live there. (OLD-FASHIONED)\n  N-PLURAL\n  = townspeople


Words: township
Meaning:
town.ship\n   township  townships\n1. In South Africa, a township was a town where only black people lived.\n...the South African township of Soweto.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. In the United States and Canada, a township is an area of land, especially a part of a county which is organized as a unit of local government.\n  N-COUNT


Words: townspeople
Meaning:
towns.people\n   townspeople\n  The townspeople of a town or city are the people who live there.\nFood shortages forced many townspeople into the country to grow their own food.\n  N-PLURAL


Words: towpath
Meaning:
tow.path\n   towpath  towpaths\n  A towpath is a path along the side of a canal or river, which horses used to walk on when they pulled boats.\n  N-COUNT


Words: towrope
Meaning:
tow.rope\n   towrope  towropes   also tow rope\n  A towrope is a strong rope that is used for pulling vehicles.\n  N-COUNT


Words: toxic
Meaning:
tox.ic\n   toxic\n  A toxic substance is poisonous.\n...the cost of cleaning up toxic waste...\nThese products are not toxic to humans.\n  ADJ\n  = poisonous\n=>  tox.ic.ity      toxicities\n...data on the toxicity of chemicals.\n  N-VAR


Words: toxicology
Meaning:
toxi.col.ogy\n   toxicology\n  Toxicology is the study of poisons. (TECHNICAL)\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n=>  toxi.co.logi.cal\nThere were no adverse toxicological effects.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n=>  toxi.colo.gist      toxicologists\nToxicologists attempt to identify and understand toxic hazards.\n  N-COUNT


Words: toxin
Meaning:
tox.in\n   toxin  toxins\n  A toxin is any poisonous substance produced by bacteria, animals, or plants.\nTests showed increased levels of toxin in shellfish.\n  N-VAR


Words: toy
Meaning:
toy  toys  toying  toyed\n1. A toy is an object that children play with, for example a doll or a model car.\nHe was really too old for children’s toys.\n...a toy telephone.\n  N-COUNT\n\n  see also soft toy\n2. You can refer to objects that adults use for fun rather than for a serious purpose as toys.\nComputers have become household toys.\n  N-COUNT: oft supp N


Words: toy with
Meaning:
toy with\n1. If you toy with an idea, you consider it casually without making any decisions about it.\nHe toyed with the idea of going to China...\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n\n\n2. If you toy with food or drink, you do not eat or drink it with any enthusiasm, but only take a bite or a little drink from time to time.\nShe had no appetite, and merely toyed with the bread and cheese.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n


Words: toyboy
Meaning:
toy.boy\n   toyboy  toyboys\n  People sometimes refer to a woman’s lover as her toyboy when he is much younger than she is. (BRIT HUMOROUS, INFORMAL)\n  N-COUNT


Words: toytown
Meaning:
toy.town\n   toytown\n  You use toytown to show that you think something is silly, childish, or worthless. (BRIT)\nHe denounced what he called toytown revolutionaries advocating non-payment of taxes...\nInflation has turned the rouble into a toytown currency.\n  ADJ: ADJ n  disapproval


Words: TQM
Meaning:
TQM is a set of management principles aimed at improving performance throughout a company, especially by involving employees in decision-making. TQM is an abbreviation for `total quality management’. (BUSINESS)\nOne of the main themes of TQM is employee involvement...\nUnder TQM principles the search for quality is continuous.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: trace
Meaning:
trace  traces  tracing  traced\n1. If you trace the origin or development of something, you find out or describe how it started or developed.\nThe exhibition traces the history of graphic design in America from the 19th century to the present...\nThe psychiatrist successfully traced some of her problems to severe childhood traumas.\n  VERB: V n, V n to n\n\n  Trace back means the same as trace.\nBritain’s Parliament can trace its history back to the English Parliament of the 13th century...\nShe has never traced back her lineage, but believes her grandparents were from Aberdeenshire.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V n P to n, V P n (not pron)\n\n2. If you trace someone or something, you find them after looking for them.\nPolice are anxious to trace two men seen leaving the house just before 8am...\n  VERB: V n\n\n3. If you trace something such as a pattern or a shape, for example with your finger or toe, you mark its outline on a surface.\nI traced the course of the river on the map.\n  VERB: V n\n\n4. If you trace a picture, you copy it by covering it with a piece of transparent paper and drawing over the lines underneath.\nShe learned to draw by tracing pictures out of old storybooks.\n  VERB: V n\n\n5. A trace of something is a very small amount of it.\nWash them in cold water to remove all traces of sand...\n  N-COUNT: usu N of n\n\n6. A trace is a sign which shows you that someone or something has been in a place.\nThere’s been no trace of my aunt and uncle...\nFinally, and mysteriously, Hoffa disappeared without trace.\n  N-COUNT: usu N of n, also without N\n\n7. If you say that someone or something sinks without trace or sinks without a trace, you mean that they stop existing or stop being successful very suddenly and completely.\nThe Social Democratic Party has sunk without trace at these elections...\n  PHRASE: V inflects


Words: trace element
Meaning:
trace el.ement\n   trace element  trace elements\n1. A trace element is a chemical element such as iron or zinc that occurs in very small amounts in living things and is necessary for normal growth and development.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A trace element is a very small amount of a chemical element that is found in a metal or other substance.\n  N-COUNT


Words: traceable
Meaning:
trace.able\n   traceable\n  If one thing is traceable to another, there is evidence to suggest that the first thing was caused by or is connected to the second thing.\nThe probable cause of his death is traceable to an incident in 1724...\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ, usu ADJ to n


Words: tracing paper
Meaning:
trac.ing pa.per\n   tracing paper\n  Tracing paper is transparent paper which you put over a picture so that you can draw over its lines in order to produce a copy of it.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: track
Meaning:
track  tracks  tracking  tracked\n1. A track is a narrow road or path.\nWe set off once more, over a rough mountain track.\n  N-COUNT\n  = path\n2. A track is a piece of ground, often oval-shaped, that is used for races involving athletes, cars, bicycles, horses, or dogs called greyhounds.\nThe two men turned to watch the horses going round the track.\n...the athletics track.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. Railway tracks are the rails that a train travels along.\nA woman fell on to the tracks.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl\n\n4. A track is one of the songs or pieces of music on a CD, record, or tape.\n  N-COUNT\n\n5. Tracks are marks left in the ground by the feet of animals or people.\nThe only evidence of pandas was their tracks in the snow...\n  N-PLURAL: oft supp N\n\n6. If you track animals or people, you try to follow them by looking for the signs that they have left behind, for example the marks left by their feet.\nHe thought he had better track this wolf and kill it...\n  VERB: V n\n\n7. To track someone or something means to follow their movements by means of a special device, such as a satellite or radar.\nOur radar began tracking the jets...\n  VERB: V n\n\n8. If you track someone or something, you investigate them, because you are interested in finding out more about them.\nIf it’s possible, track the rumour back to its origin...\n  VERB: V n\n\n9. In a school, a track is a group of children of the same age and ability who are taught together. (AM; in BRIT, use stream)\n  N-COUNT\n\n10. To track students means to divide them into groups according to their ability. (AM; in BRIT, use stream)\nStudents are already being tracked.\n  VERB: be V-ed, also V n\n\n=>  track.ing\nTracking assigns some students to college prep and others to vocational programs.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n11.\n  see also backtrack, fast track, racetrack, sidetrack, soundtrack, title track\n12. If someone covers their tracks, they hide or destroy evidence of their identity or their actions, because they want to keep them secret.\nHe covered his tracks, burnt letters and diaries...\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n13. If you say that someone has the inside track, you mean that they have an advantage, for example special knowledge about something. (mainly AM or JOURNALISM)\nDenver has the inside track among 10 sites being considered...\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n14. If you keep track of a situation or a person, you make sure that you have the newest and most accurate information about them all the time.\nWith eleven thousand employees, it’s very difficult to keep track of them all...\n  PHRASE: V inflects, PHR n\n\n15. If you lose track of someone or something, you no longer know where they are or what is happening.\nYou become so deeply absorbed in an activity that you lose track of time...\n  PHRASE: V inflects, PHR n\n\n16. If you make tracks, you leave the place where you are, especially when you are in a hurry. (INFORMAL)\nWe’d better make tracks soon, hadn’t we?\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n17. If someone or something is on track, they are acting or progressing in a way that is likely to result in success.\nIt may take some time to get the British economy back on track...\n  PHRASE: PHR after v, v-link PHR\n\n18. If you are on the track of someone or something, you are trying to find them, or find information about them.\nHe was on the track of an escaped criminal...\n  PHRASE: PHR n, usu v-link PHR\n  = on the trail of\n19. If you are on the right track, you are acting or progressing in a way that is likely to result in success. If you are on the wrong track, you are acting or progressing in a way that is likely to result in failure.\nGuests are returning in increasing numbers.a sure sign that we are on the right track...\nThe country was headed on the wrong track, economically.\n  PHRASE: v-link PHR, PHR after v\n\n20. If someone or something stops you in your tracks, or if you stop dead in your tracks, you suddenly stop moving because you are very surprised, impressed, or frightened.\nThe thought almost stopped me dead in my tracks.\n(next)


Words: track .1
Meaning:
PHRASE: V inflects\n\n21. If someone or something stops a process or activity in its tracks, or if it stops dead in its tracks, they prevent the process or activity from continuing.\nU.S. manufacturers may find the export boom stopping dead in its tracks.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n22.\noff the beaten track: see beaten


Words: track down
Meaning:
track down\n  If you track down someone or something, you find them, or find information about them, after a difficult or long search.\nShe had spent years trying to track down her parents...\nI don’t know where that old story came from, I’ve never been able to track it down.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), V n P


Words: track event
Meaning:
track event  track events\n  A track event is an event in athletics which involves running or walking around a racetrack, in contrast to events that involve only jumping or throwing.\n  N-COUNT


Words: track record
Meaning:
track rec.ord\n   track record  track records\n  If you talk about the track record of a person, company, or product, you are referring to their past performance, achievements, or failures in it.\nThe job needs someone with a good track record in investment...\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp, oft N in n, N of -ing


Words: trackball
Meaning:
track.ball\n   trackball  trackballs   also track ball, tracker ball\n  A trackball is a ball on some computers that you turn in order to move the cursor.\n  N-COUNT


Words: tracker
Meaning:
track.er\n   tracker  trackers\n  A tracker is a person or animal that finds other people or animals by following the marks left by their feet and other signs that show where they have been.\n  N-COUNT


Words: tracker fund
Meaning:
track.er fund\n   tracker fund  tracker funds\n  A tracker fund is an investment in which shares in different companies are bought and sold so that the value of the shares held always matches the average value of shares in all or part of a stock market. (mainly BRIT BUSINESS)\n  N-COUNT


Words: trackpad
Meaning:
track.pad\n   trackpad trackpads\n  A trackpad is a flat pad on some computers that you slide your finger over in order to move the cursor. (COMPUTING)\n...with enhancements like a trackpad instead of a trackball.\n  N-COUNT


Words: tracksuit
Meaning:
track.suit\n   tracksuit  tracksuits   also track suit\n  A tracksuit is a loose, warm suit consisting of trousers and a top which people wear to relax and to do exercise. (BRIT; in AM, use sweatsuit)\n  N-COUNT


Words: tract
Meaning:
tract  tracts\n1. A tract of land is a very large area of land.\nA vast tract of land is ready for development...\n  N-COUNT: usu N of n\n\n2. A tract is a short article expressing a strong opinion on a religious, moral, or political subject in order to try to influence people’s attitudes.\nShe produced a feminist tract, `Comments on Birth-Control’, in 1930.\n  N-COUNT\n  = pamphlet\n3. A tract is a system of organs and tubes in an animal’s or person’s body that has a particular function, especially the function of processing a substance in the body. (MEDICAL)\nFoods are broken down in the digestive tract...\n...urinary tract infections.\n  N-COUNT: usu supp N


