# dict

Words: bullshit
Meaning:
bull.shit\n   bullshit  bullshits  bullshitting  bullshitted\n1. If you say that something is bullshit, you are saying that it is nonsense or completely untrue. (INFORMAL, VERY RUDE)\nAll the rest I said, all that was bullshit.\n  N-UNCOUNT, also EXCLAM  disapproval\n  = crap\n2. If you say that someone is bullshitting you, you mean that what they are telling you is nonsense or completely untrue. (INFORMAL, RUDE)\nDon’t bullshit me, Brian!...\nHe’s basically bullshitting.\n  VERB, also EXCLAM: V n, V


Words: bully
Meaning:
bul.ly\n   bully  bullies  bullying  bullied\n1. A bully is someone who uses their strength or power to hurt or frighten other people.\nI fell victim to the office bully...\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If someone bullies you, they use their strength or power to hurt or frighten you.\nI wasn’t going to let him bully me...\n  VERB: V n\n\n=>  bul.ly.ing\n...schoolchildren who were victims of bullying.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n3. If someone bullies you into something, they make you do it by using force or threats.\nWe think an attempt to bully them into submission would be counterproductive...\nShe used to bully me into doing my schoolwork...\nThe government says it will not be bullied by the press.\n  VERB: V n into n/ing, V n into n/ing, be V-ed, also V n


Words: bully-boy
Meaning:
bully-boy  bully-boys   also bully boy\n1. If you describe a man as a bully-boy, you disapprove of him because he is rough and aggressive.\n...bully-boys and murderers.\n  N-COUNT  disapproval\n\n2. If you say that someone uses bully-boy tactics, you disapprove of them because they use rough and aggressive methods. (JOURNALISM)\nSome people accuse the tax inspectors of bully-boy tactics.\n  ADJ: ADJ n  disapproval


Words: bulwark
Meaning:
bul.wark\n   bulwark  bulwarks\n  A bulwark against something protects you against it. A bulwark of something protects it.\nThe abbeys were founded in the 12th century by King David as a bulwark against the English...\n  N-COUNT: oft N against/of n


Words: bum
Meaning:
bum  bums  bumming  bummed\n1. Someone’s bum is the part of their body which they sit on. (BRIT INFORMAL, RUDE)\n  N-COUNT: poss N\n  = bottom\n2. A bum is a person who has no permanent home or job and who gets money by working occasionally or by asking people for money. (AM INFORMAL)\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. If someone refers to another person as a bum, they think that person is worthless or irresponsible. (INFORMAL)\nYou’re all a bunch of bums.\n  N-COUNT  disapproval\n\n4. Some people use bum to describe a situation that they find unpleasant or annoying. (INFORMAL)\nHe knows you’re getting a bum deal.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n5. If you bum something off someone, you ask them for it and they give it to you. (INFORMAL)\nMind if I bum a cigarette?\n  VERB: V n\n\n6. If you bum around, you go from place to place without any particular destination, either for enjoyment or because you have nothing else to do. (INFORMAL)\nI think they’re just bumming around at the moment, not doing a lot...\nShe went off to bum round the world with a boyfriend.\n  VERB: V around, V round n\n\n7.\n  see also beach bum


Words: bum bag
Meaning:
bum bag  bum bags\n  A bum bag consists of a small bag attached to a belt which you wear round your waist. You use it to carry things such as money and keys. (BRIT; in AM, use fanny pack)\n  N-COUNT


Words: bumble
Meaning:
bum.ble\n   bumble  bumbles  bumbling  bumbled\n=>  bumble around\n  When someone bumbles around or bumbles about, they behave in a confused, disorganized way, making mistakes and usually not achieving anything. (in BRIT, also use bumble about)\nMost of us are novices on the computer.just bumbling about on them.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P


Words: bumblebee
Meaning:
bumble.bee\n   bumblebee  bumblebees   also bumble bee\n  A bumblebee is a large hairy bee.\n  N-COUNT


Words: bumbling
Meaning:
bum.bling\n   bumbling\n  If you describe a person or their behaviour as bumbling, you mean that they behave in a confused, disorganized way, making mistakes and usually not achieving anything.\n...a clumsy, bumbling, inarticulate figure.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: bumf
Meaning:
bumf   also bumph\n  Bumf consists of documents containing information which you may not need or find interesting. (BRIT INFORMAL)\nThese days, we are bombarded with endless junk mail, fliers, and general bumf.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: bummer
Meaning:
bum.mer\n   bummer  bummers\n  If you say that something is a bummer, you mean that it is unpleasant or annoying. (INFORMAL)\nI had a bummer of a day...\nWhat a bummer!\n  N-COUNT: usu sing


Words: bump
Meaning:
bump  bumps  bumping  bumped\n1. If you bump into something or someone, you accidentally hit them while you are moving.\nThey stopped walking and he almost bumped into them...\nHe bumped his head on the low beams of the house.\n  VERB: V into/against n, V n\n\n  Bump is also a noun.\nSmall children often cry after a minor bump.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A bump is the action or the dull sound of two heavy objects hitting each other.\nI felt a little bump and I knew instantly what had happened...\nThe child took five steps, and then sat down with a bump.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. A bump is a minor injury or swelling that you get if you bump into something or if something hits you.\nShe fell against our coffee table and got a large bump on her forehead.\n  N-COUNT\n  = lump\n4. If you have a bump while you are driving a car, you have a minor accident in which you hit something. (INFORMAL)\n  N-COUNT\n  = accident, crash\n5. A bump on a road is a raised, uneven part.\nThe truck hit a bump and bounced.\n  N-COUNT\n\n6. If a vehicle bumps over a surface, it travels in a rough, bouncing way because the surface is very uneven.\nWe left the road, and again bumped over the mountainside...\n  VERB: V prep/adv, also V way adv/prep\n\n7.\n  see also goose bumps\n8. If someone comes down to earth with a bump, they suddenly start recognizing unpleasant facts after a period of time when they have not been doing this.\nCompany bosses have come back down to earth with a bump after a period of post-election euphoria.\n  PHRASE: PHR after v  emphasis


Words: bump into
Meaning:
bump into\n  If you bump into someone you know, you meet them unexpectedly. (INFORMAL)\nI happened to bump into Mervyn Johns in the hallway.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n\n  = run into


Words: bump off
Meaning:
bump off\n  To bump someone off means to kill them. (often HUMOROUS, INFORMAL)\nThey will probably bump you off anyway!\n...the hit man he’s hired to bump off his wife.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V n P, V P n (not pron)


Words: bumper
Meaning:
bump.er\n   bumper  bumpers\n1. Bumpers are bars at the front and back of a vehicle which protect it if it bumps into something.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A bumper crop or harvest is one that is larger than usual.\n...a bumper crop of rice...\nIn the state of Iowa, it’s been a bumper year for corn.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n3. If you say that something is bumper size, you mean that it is very large.\n...bumper profits.\n...a bumper pack of matches.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: bumper car
Meaning:
bump.er car\n   bumper car  bumper cars\n  A bumper car is a small electric car with a wide rubber bumper all round. People drive bumper cars around a special enclosure at a fairground.\n  N-COUNT


Words: bumper sticker
Meaning:
bump.er stick.er\n   bumper sticker  bumper stickers\n  A bumper sticker is a small piece of paper or plastic with words or pictures on it, designed for sticking onto the back of your car. It usually has a political, religious, or humorous message.\n...a bumper sticker that said, `Happiness Is Being a Grandmother’.\n  N-COUNT


Words: bumpkin
Meaning:
bump.kin\n   bumpkin  bumpkins\n  If you refer to someone as a bumpkin, you think they are uneducated and stupid because they come from the countryside.\n...unsophisticated country bumpkins.\n  N-COUNT  disapproval\n  = yokel


Words: bumptious
Meaning:
bump.tious\n   bumptious\n  If you say that someone is bumptious, you are criticizing them because they are very pleased with themselves and their opinions.\n...a bumptious bureaucrat.\n  ADJ  disapproval


Words: bumpy
Meaning:
bumpy  bumpier  bumpiest\n1. A bumpy road or path has a lot of bumps on it.\n...bumpy cobbled streets.\n  ADJ\n  !=smooth\n2. A bumpy journey is uncomfortable and rough, usually because you are travelling over an uneven surface.\n...a hot and bumpy ride across the desert...\n  ADJ


Words: bun
Meaning:
bun  buns\n1. Buns are small bread rolls. They are sometimes sweet and may contain dried fruit or spices.\n...a currant bun.\n  N-COUNT: oft n N\n\n2. Buns are small sweet cakes. They often have icing on the top. (BRIT)\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. If a woman has her hair in a bun, she has fastened it tightly on top of her head or at the back of her head in the shape of a ball.\n  N-COUNT


Words: bunch
Meaning:
bunch  bunches  bunching  bunched\n1. A bunch of people is a group of people who share one or more characteristics or who are doing something together. (INFORMAL)\nMy neighbours are a bunch of busybodies...\nWe were a pretty inexperienced bunch of people really...\nThe players were a great bunch.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, oft N of n, adj N\n  = lot\n2. A bunch of flowers is a number of flowers with their stalks held or tied together.\nHe had left a huge bunch of flowers in her hotel room.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, usu N of n\n\n3. A bunch of bananas or grapes is a group of them growing on the same stem.\nLili had fallen asleep clutching a fat bunch of grapes.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, usu N of n\n\n4. A bunch of keys is a set of keys kept together on a metal ring.\nGeorge took out a bunch of keys and went to work on the complicated lock.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, usu N of n\n\n5. A bunch of things is a number of things, especially a large number. (AM INFORMAL)\nWe did a bunch of songs together.\n  QUANT: QUANT of pl-n\n\n  Bunch is also a pronoun.\nI’d like to adopt a multi-racial child. In fact, I’d love a whole bunch.\n  PRON\n\n6. If a girl has her hair in bunches, it is parted down the middle and tied on each side of her head. (BRIT)\n  N-PLURAL: usu in N\n\n7. If clothing bunches around a part of your body, it forms a set of creases around it.\nShe clutches the sides of her skirt until it bunches around her waist.\n  VERB: V around n


Words: bunch up
Meaning:
bunch up   or bunch together\n  If people or things bunch up or if you bunch them up, they move close to each other so that they form a small tight group. Bunch together means the same as bunch up.\nThey were bunching up, almost treading upon each other’s heels...\nPeople were bunched up at all the exits...\nIf they need to bunch aircraft more closely together to bring in one that is short of fuel, they will do so.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P, V-ed P, V n P


Words: bundle
Meaning:
bun.dle\n   bundle  bundles  bundling  bundled\n1. A bundle of things is a number of them that are tied together or wrapped in a cloth or bag so that they can be carried or stored.\nHe gathered the bundles of clothing into his arms...\nI have about 20 year’s magazines tied up in bundles.\n  N-COUNT: oft N of n\n\n2. If you describe someone as, for example, a bundle of fun, you are emphasizing that they are full of fun. If you describe someone as a bundle of nerves, you are emphasizing that they are very nervous.\nI remember Mickey as a bundle of fun, great to have around...\nLife at high school wasn’t a bundle of laughs, either...\n  N-SING: a N of n  emphasis\n\n3. If you refer to a bundle of things, you are emphasizing that there is a wide range of them.\nThe profession offers a bundle of benefits, not least of which is extensive training.\n  N-COUNT: N of n  emphasis\n  = package\n4. If someone is bundled somewhere, someone pushes them there in a rough and hurried way.\nHe was bundled into a car and driven 50 miles to a police station...\n  VERB: be V-ed prep/adv, also V n prep/adv\n\n5. To bundle software means to sell it together with a computer, or with other hardware or software, as part of a set. (COMPUTING)\nIt’s cheaper to buy software bundled with a PC than separately.\n  VERB: V-ed


Words: bung
Meaning:
bung  bungs  bunging  bunged\n1. A bung is a round piece of wood, cork, or rubber which you use to close the hole in a container such as a barrel or flask.\n  N-COUNT\n  = stopper\n2. If you bung something somewhere, you put it there in a quick and careless way. (BRIT INFORMAL)\nPour a whole lot of cold water over the rice, and bung it in the oven.\n  VERB: V n prep/adv\n  = stick\n3. If something is bunged up, it is blocked. (BRIT INFORMAL)\nThe sink’s bunged up again...\nMy nose is all bunged up.\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ


Words: bungalow
Meaning:
bun.ga.low\n   bungalow  bungalows\n  A bungalow is a house which has only one level, and no stairs.\n  N-COUNT


Words: bungee jumping
Meaning:
bungee jump.ing\n   bungee jumping\n  If someone goes bungee jumping, they jump from a high place such as a bridge or cliff with a long piece of strong elastic cord tied around their ankle connecting them to the bridge or cliff.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: bungle
Meaning:
bun.gle\n   bungle  bungles  bungling  bungled\n  If you bungle something, you fail to do it properly, because you make mistakes or are clumsy.\nTwo prisoners bungled an escape bid after running either side of a lamp-post while handcuffed.\n...the FBI’s bungled attempt to end the 51 day siege.\n  VERB: V n, V-ed\n  = botch\n  Bungle is also a noun.\n...an appalling administrative bungle.\n  N-COUNT\n\n=>  bun.gling\n...a bungling burglar.\n  ADJ


Words: bungler
Meaning:
bun.gler\n   bungler  bunglers\n  A bungler is a person who often fails to do things properly because they make mistakes or are clumsy.\n  N-COUNT


Words: bunion
Meaning:
bun.ion\n   bunion  bunions\n  A bunion is a large painful lump on the first joint of a person’s big toe.\n  N-COUNT


Words: bunk
Meaning:
bunk  bunks\n1. A bunk is a bed that is fixed to a wall, especially in a ship or caravan.\nHe left his bunk and went up on deck again.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If you describe something as bunk, you think that it is foolish or untrue. (INFORMAL)\n...Henry Ford’s opinion that `history is bunk’.\n  N-UNCOUNT  disapproval\n  = nonsense


Words: bunker
Meaning:
bun.ker\n   bunker  bunkers\n1. A bunker is a place, usually underground, that has been built with strong walls to protect it against heavy gunfire and bombing.\n...an extensive network of fortified underground bunkers.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A bunker is a container for coal or other fuel.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. On a golf course, a bunker is a large area filled with sand, which is deliberately put there as an obstacle that golfers must try to avoid.\n  N-COUNT


Words: bunkum
Meaning:
bun.kum\n   bunkum\n  If you say that something that has been said or written is bunkum, you mean that you think it is completely untrue or very stupid. (INFORMAL, OLD-FASHIONED)\n  N-UNCOUNT  disapproval\n  = balderdash


Words: bunny
Meaning:
bun.ny\n   bunny  bunnies\n  A bunny or a bunny rabbit is a child’s word for a rabbit. (INFORMAL)\n  N-COUNT


Words: bunting
Meaning:
bunt.ing\n   bunting\n  Bunting consists of rows of small coloured flags that are used to decorate streets and buildings on special occasions.\nRed, white and blue bunting hung in the city’s renovated train station.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: buoy
Meaning:
buoy  buoys  buoying  buoyed\n1. A buoy is a floating object that is used to show ships and boats where they can go and to warn them of danger.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If someone in a difficult situation is buoyed by something, it makes them feel more cheerful and optimistic.\nIn May they danced in the streets, buoyed by their victory...\nGerman domestic consumption buoyed the German economy.\n  VERB: be V-ed by n, V n\n\n  Buoy up means the same as buoy.\nThey are buoyed up by a sense of hope.\n  PHRASAL VERB: be V-ed P, also V n P


Words: buoyancy
Meaning:
buoy.an.cy\n   buoyancy\n1. Buoyancy is the ability that something has to float on a liquid or in the air.\nAir can be pumped into the diving suit to increase buoyancy.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. Buoyancy is a feeling of cheerfulness.\n...a mood of buoyancy and optimism.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n3. There is economic buoyancy when the economy is growing.\nThe likelihood is that the slump will be followed by a period of buoyancy.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: buoyant
Meaning:
buoy.ant\n   buoyant\n1. If you are in a buoyant mood, you feel cheerful and behave in a lively way.\nYou will feel more buoyant and optimistic about the future than you have for a long time.\n  ADJ\n  = cheerful\n2. A buoyant economy is a successful one in which there is a lot of trade and economic activity.\nWe have a buoyant economy and unemployment is considerably lower than the regional average...\nAnalysts expect the share price to remain buoyant.\n  ADJ\n\n3. A buoyant object floats on a liquid.\nThis was such a small and buoyant boat...\n  ADJ


Words: burble
Meaning:
bur.ble\n   burble  burbles  burbling  burbled\n1. If something burbles, it makes a low continuous bubbling sound.\nThe water burbled over gravel...\nThe river gurgled and burbled.\n  VERB: V prep, V\n\n2. If you say that someone is burbling, you mean that they are talking in a confused way.\nHe burbled something incomprehensible...\nKey burbled about the wonderful people who contribute to tourism...\nHe burbles on about freedom.\n  VERB: V n, V about n, V on about n, also V that, V with quote


Words: burden
Meaning:
bur.den\n   burden  burdens  burdening  burdened\n1. If you describe a problem or a responsibility as a burden, you mean that it causes someone a lot of difficulty, worry, or hard work.\nThe developing countries bear the burden of an enormous external debt...\nHer death will be an impossible burden on Paul...\nThe financial burden will be more evenly shared.\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp, oft N of/on n\n\n2. A burden is a heavy load that is difficult to carry. (FORMAL)\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. If someone burdens you with something that is likely to worry you, for example a problem or a difficult decision, they tell you about it.\nWe decided not to burden him with the news.\n  VERB: V n with n, also V n\n\n4.\n  see also beast of burden


Words: burdened
Meaning:
bur.dened\n   burdened\n1. If you are burdened with something, it causes you a lot of worry or hard work.\nNicaragua was burdened with a foreign debt of $11 billion...\nThey may be burdened by guilt and regret.\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ with/by n\n\n2. If you describe someone as burdened with a heavy load, you are emphasizing that it is very heavy and that they are holding it or carrying it with difficulty.\nAnna and Rosemary arrived burdened by bags and food baskets.\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ with/by n  emphasis


Words: burdensome
Meaning:
bur.den.some\n   burdensome\n  If you describe something as burdensome, you mean it is worrying or hard to deal with. (WRITTEN)\n...a burdensome debt...\nThe load was too burdensome.\n  ADJ\n  = onerous


Words: bureau
Meaning:
bu.reau\n   bureau\n\n  The usual plural in British English is bureaux. The usual plural in American English is bureaus.\n\n1. A bureau is an office, organization, or government department that collects and distributes information.\n...the Federal Bureau of Investigation.\n...the Citizens’ Advice Bureau.\n  N-COUNT; N-IN-NAMES\n\n2. A bureau is an office of a company or organization which has its main office in another town or country. (mainly AM BUSINESS)\n...the Wall Street Journal’s Washington bureau.\n  N-COUNT\n  = office\n3. A bureau is a writing desk with shelves and drawers and a lid that opens to form the writing surface. (BRIT)\n  N-COUNT\n\n4. A bureau is a chest of drawers. (AM)\n  N-COUNT


Words: bureaucracy
Meaning:
bu.reau.cra.cy\n   bureaucracy  bureaucracies\n1. A bureaucracy is an administrative system operated by a large number of officials.\nState bureaucracies can tend to stifle enterprise and initiative.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl\n\n2. Bureaucracy refers to all the rules and procedures followed by government departments and similar organizations, especially when you think that these are complicated and cause long delays.\nPeople usually complain about having to deal with too much bureaucracy.\n  N-UNCOUNT  disapproval


Words: bureaucrat
Meaning:
bu.reau.crat\n   bureaucrat  bureaucrats\n  Bureaucrats are officials who work in a large administrative system. You can refer to officials as bureaucrats especially if you disapprove of them because they seem to follow rules and procedures too strictly.\nThe economy is still controlled by bureaucrats.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl  disapproval


Words: bureaucratic
Meaning:
bu.reau.crat.ic\n   bureaucratic\n  Bureaucratic means involving complicated rules and procedures which can cause long delays.\nDiplomats believe that bureaucratic delays are inevitable...\nThe department has become a bureaucratic nightmare.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: burgeon
Meaning:
bur.geon\n   burgeon  burgeons  burgeoning  burgeoned\n  If something burgeons, it grows or develops rapidly. (LITERARY)\nMy confidence began to burgeon later in life.\n...Japan’s burgeoning satellite-TV industry.\n  VERB: V, V-ing


Words: burger
Meaning:
burg.er\n   burger  burgers\n  A burger is a flat round mass of minced meat or vegetables, which is fried and often eaten in a bread roll.\n...burger and chips.\n...vegetable burgers.\n  N-COUNT


Words: burgher
Meaning:
burgh.er\n   burgher  burghers\n  The burghers of a town or city are the people who live there, especially the richer or more respectable people. (OLD-FASHIONED)\n  N-COUNT: usu pl


Words: burglar
Meaning:
bur.glar\n   burglar  burglars\n  A burglar is a thief who enters a house or other building by force.\nBurglars broke into their home.\n  N-COUNT


Words: burglar alarm
Meaning:
bur.glar alarm\n   burglar alarm  burglar alarms\n  A burglar alarm is an electric device that makes a bell ring loudly if someone tries to enter a building by force.\n  N-COUNT


Words: burglarize
Meaning:
bur.glar.ize\n   burglarize  burglarizes  burglarizing  burglarized\n  If a building is burglarized, a thief enters it by force and steals things. (AM; in BRIT, use burgle)\nHer home was burglarized.\n  VERB: usu passive, be V-ed


Words: burglary
Meaning:
bur.gla.ry\n   burglary  burglaries\n  If someone commits a burglary, they enter a building by force and steal things. Burglary is the act of doing this.\nAn 11-year-old boy committed a burglary...\nHe’s been arrested for burglary.\n  N-VAR


Words: burgle
Meaning:
bur.gle\n   burgle  burgles  burgling  burgled\n  If a building is burgled, a thief enters it by force and steals things. (BRIT; in AM, use burglarize)\nI found that my flat had been burgled...\nTwo teenagers burgled the home of Mr Jones’s mother.\n  VERB: be V-ed, V n


Words: burgundy
Meaning:
bur.gun.dy\n   burgundy  burgundies\n1. Burgundy is used to describe things that are purplish-red in colour.\nHe was wearing a burgundy polyester jacket.\n...burgundy-coloured armchairs.\n  COLOUR\n\n2. Burgundy is a type of wine. It can be white or red in colour and comes from the region of France called Burgundy.\n...a bottle of white burgundy.\n  N-MASS


Words: burial
Meaning:
bur.ial\n   burial  burials\n  A burial is the act or ceremony of putting a dead body into a grave in the ground.\nThe priest prepared the body for burial...\nHe can have a decent burial.\n  N-VAR


Words: burial ground
Meaning:
bur.ial ground\n   burial ground  burial grounds\n  A burial ground is a place where bodies are buried, especially an ancient place.\n...an ancient burial ground.\n  N-COUNT\n  = graveyard


Words: burlap
Meaning:
bur.lap\n   burlap\n  Burlap is a thick, rough fabric that is used for making sacks. (AM; in BRIT, use hessian)\n...a burlap sack.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: burlesque
Meaning:
bur.lesque\n   burlesque  burlesques\n  A burlesque is a performance or a piece of writing that makes fun of something by copying it in an exaggerated way. You can also use burlesque to refer to a situation in real life that is like this.\nThe book read like a black comic burlesque.\n...a trio of burlesque Moscow stereotypes.\n  N-VAR


Words: burly
Meaning:
bur.ly\n   burly  burlier  burliest\n  A burly man has a broad body and strong muscles.\nHe was a big, burly man.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: Burmese
Meaning:
Bur.mese\n   Burmese  Burmese\n1. Burmese means belonging or relating to Burma, or to its people, language, or culture. Burma is now known as Myanmar.\n  ADJ\n\n2. A Burmese is a Burmese citizen or a person of Burmese origin.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. Burmese is the main language spoken by the people who live in Burma, now known as Myanmar.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: burn
Meaning:
burn  burns  burning  burned  burnt\n\n  The past tense and past participle is burned in American English, and burned or burnt in British English.\n\n1. If there is a fire or a flame somewhere, you say that there is a fire or flame burning there.\nFires were burning out of control in the center of the city...\nThere was a fire burning in the large fireplace...\n  VERB: V, V\n\n2. If something is burning, it is on fire.\nWhen I arrived one of the vehicles was still burning...\nThat boy was rescued from a burning house.\n  VERB: V, V-ing\n\n=>  burn.ing\nWhen we arrived in our village there was a terrible smell of burning.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n3. If you burn something, you destroy or damage it with fire.\nProtesters set cars on fire and burned a building...\nCoal fell out of the fire, and burned the carpet.\n  VERB: V n, V n\n\n=>  burn.ing\nThe French government has criticized the burning of a US flag outside the American Embassy.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n4. If you burn a fuel or if it burns, it is used to produce heat, light, or energy.\nThe power stations burn coal from the Ruhr region...\nManufacturers are working with new fuels to find one that burns more cleanly than petrol.\n  VERB: V n, V\n\n5. If you burn something that you are cooking or if it burns, you spoil it by using too much heat or cooking it for too long.\nI burnt the toast...\nWatch them carefully as they finish cooking because they can burn easily.\n  VERB: V n, V\n\n=>  burnt\n...the smell of burnt toast.\n  ADJ\n\n6. If you burn part of your body, burn yourself, or are burnt, you are injured by fire or by something very hot.\nTake care not to burn your fingers...\nIf you are badly burnt, seek medical attention.\n  VERB: V n, be V-ed, also V pron-refl\n\n  Burn is also a noun.\nShe suffered appalling burns to her back.\n  N-COUNT\n\n7. If someone is burnt or burnt to death, they are killed by fire.\nWomen were burned as witches in the middle ages...\nAt least 80 people were burnt to death when their bus caught fire.\n  VERB: usu passive, be V-ed as n, be V-ed to n\n\n8. If a light is burning, it is shining. (LITERARY)\nThe building was darkened except for a single light burning in a third-story window.\n  VERB: V\n\n9. If your face is burning, it is red because you are embarrassed or upset.\nLiz’s face was burning.\n  VERB: usu cont, V\n\n10. If you are burning with an emotion or are burning to do something, you feel that emotion or the desire to do that thing very strongly.\nThe young boy was burning with a fierce ambition...\nDan burned to know what the reason could be.\n  VERB: V with n, V to-inf\n\n11. If you burn or get burned in the sun, the sun makes your skin become red and sore.\nBuild up your tan slowly and don’t allow your skin to burn...\nSummer sun can burn fair skin in minutes.\n  VERB: V, V n\n\n12. If a part of your body burns or if something burns it, it has a painful, hot or stinging feeling.\nMy eyes burn from staring at the needle...\nHis face was burning with cold.\n...delicious Indian recipes which won’t burn your throat.\n  VERB: V, V with n, V n\n\n13. To burn a CD-ROM means to write or copy data onto it. (COMPUTING INFORMAL)\nYou can use this software to burn custom compilations of your favorite tunes.\n  VERB: V n\n\n14.\n  see also burning\n15.\nto burn the candle at both ends: see candle\nto get your fingers burned: see finger\nto burn something to the ground: see ground\nto burn the midnight oil: see midnight\nto have money to burn: see money


Words: burn down
Meaning:
burn down\n  If a building burns down or if someone burns it down, it is completely destroyed by fire.\nSix months after Bud died, the house burned down...\nAnarchists burnt down a restaurant.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P, V P n (not pron), also V n P


Words: burn off
Meaning:
burn off\n  If someone burns off energy, they use it.\nThis will improve your performance and help you burn off calories.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), also V n P


Words: burn out
Meaning:
burn out\n1. If a fire burns itself out, it stops burning because there is nothing left to burn.\nFire officials let the fire burn itself out.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V pron-refl P\n\n2.\n  see also burnout, burnt-out


Words: burn up
Meaning:
burn up\n1. If something burns up or if fire burns it up, it is completely destroyed by fire or strong heat.\nThe satellite re-entered the atmosphere and burned up...\nFires have burned up 180,000 acres of timber.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P, V P n (not pron), also V n P\n\n2. If something burns up fuel or energy, it uses it.\nBrisk walking burns up more calories than slow jogging.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), also V n P


Words: burner
Meaning:
burn.er\n   burner  burners\n  A burner is a device which produces heat or a flame, especially as part of a cooker, stove, or heater.\nHe put the frying pan on the gas burner.\n  N-COUNT\n\n  see also back burner, front burner


Words: burning
Meaning:
burn.ing\n   burning\n1. You use burning to describe something that is extremely hot.\n...the burning desert of Central Asia.\n  ADJ\n\n  Burning is also an adverb.\nHe touched the boy’s forehead. It was burning hot.\n  ADV: ADV adj\n  = scorching\n2. If you have a burning interest in something or a burning desire to do something, you are extremely interested in it or want to do it very much.\nI had a burning ambition to become a journalist...\nShe had a burning desire to wreak revenge.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n  = passionate\n3. A burning issue or question is a very important or urgent one that people feel very strongly about.\nThe burning question in this year’s debate over the federal budget is: whose taxes should be raised?\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: burnish
Meaning:
bur.nish\n   burnish  burnishes  burnishing  burnished\n  To burnish the image of someone or something means to improve their image. (WRITTEN)\nThe European Parliament badly needs a president who can burnish its image.\n  VERB: V n\n  = improve


Words: burnished
Meaning:
bur.nished\n   burnished\n  You can describe something as burnished when it is bright or smooth. (LITERARY)\nThe clouds glowed like burnished gold.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  = polished


Words: burnout
Meaning:
burn.out\n  also burn-out\n  If someone suffers burnout, they exhaust themselves at an early stage in their life or career because they have achieved too much too quickly. (INFORMAL)\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: burnt-out
Meaning:
burnt-out\nin AM and sometimes in BRIT, use burned-out\n1. Burnt-out vehicles or buildings have been so badly damaged by fire that they can no longer be used.\n...a burnt-out car.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n2. If someone is burnt-out, they exhaust themselves at an early stage in their life or career because they have achieved too much too quickly. (INFORMAL)\nBut everyone I know who kept it up at that intensity is burnt out.\n  ADJ


Words: burp
Meaning:
burp  burps  burping  burped\n  When someone burps, they make a noise because air from their stomach has been forced up through their throat.\nCharlie burped loudly.\n  VERB: V\n  = belch\n  Burp is also a noun.\nThere followed a barely audible burp.\n  N-COUNT


Words: burr
Meaning:
burr  burrs\n\n  The spelling bur is also used for meaning 1.\n\n1. A burr is the part of some plants which contains seeds and which has little hooks on the outside so that it sticks to clothes or fur.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If someone has a burr, they speak English with a regional accent in which `r’ sounds are pronounced more strongly than in the standard British way of speaking.\n...a warm West Country burr.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing


Words: burrow
Meaning:
bur.row\n   burrow  burrows  burrowing  burrowed\n1. A burrow is a tunnel or hole in the ground that is dug by an animal such as a rabbit.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If an animal burrows into the ground or into a surface, it moves through it by making a tunnel or hole.\nThe larvae burrow into cracks in the floor.\n  VERB: V prep/adv\n  = tunnel\n3. If you burrow in a container or pile of things, you search there for something using your hands.\nHe burrowed into the pile of charts feverishly.\n  VERB: V prep/adv\n\n4. If you burrow into something, you move underneath it or press against it, usually in order to feel warmer or safer.\nShe turned her face away from him, burrowing into her heap of covers.\n  VERB: V prep/adv


Words: bursar
Meaning:
bur.sar\n   bursar  bursars\n  The bursar of a school or college is the person who is in charge of its finance or general administration.\n  N-COUNT\n  = treasurer


Words: bursary
Meaning:
bur.sa.ry\n   bursary  bursaries\n  A bursary is a sum of money which is given to someone to allow them to study in a college or university. (mainly BRIT)\n  N-COUNT\n  = scholarship


Words: burst
Meaning:
burst  bursts  bursting\n\n  The form burst is used in the present tense and is the past tense and past participle.\n\n1. If something bursts or if you burst it, it suddenly breaks open or splits open and the air or other substance inside it comes out.\nThe driver lost control when a tyre burst...\nIt is not a good idea to burst a blister.\n...a flood caused by a burst pipe.\n  VERB: V, V n, V-ed\n\n2. If a dam bursts, or if something bursts it, it breaks apart because the force of the river is too great.\nA dam burst and flooded their villages.\n  VERB: V, also V n\n\n3. If a river bursts its banks, the water rises and goes on to the land.\nMonsoons caused the river to burst its banks.\n  VERB: V n\n\n4. When a door or lid bursts open, it opens very suddenly and violently because someone pushes it or there is great pressure behind it.\nThe door burst open and an angry young nurse appeared.\n  VERB: V open/apart\n  = fly\n5. To burst into or out of a place means to enter or leave it suddenly with a lot of energy or force.\nGunmen burst into his home and opened fire...\n  VERB: V prep/adv\n  = rush\n6. If you say that something bursts onto the scene, you mean that it suddenly starts or becomes active, usually after developing quietly for some time. (JOURNALISM)\nHe burst onto the fashion scene in the early 1980s.\n  VERB: V onto/upon n\n\n7. A burst of something is a sudden short period of it.\n...a burst of machine-gun fire...\nThe current flows in little bursts.\n  N-COUNT: usu N of n


Words: burst into
Meaning:
burst into\n1. If you burst into tears, laughter, or song, you suddenly begin to cry, laugh, or sing.\nShe burst into tears and ran from the kitchen.\n...books that cause adults to burst into helpless laughter.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n, V P n\n\n2. If you say that something bursts into a particular situation or state, you mean that it suddenly changes into that situation or state.\nThis weekend’s fighting is threatening to burst into full-scale war...\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n\n\n3.\nto burst into flames: see flame


Words: burst out
Meaning:
burst out\n  If someone bursts out laughing, crying, or making another noise, they suddenly start making that noise. You can also say that a noise bursts out.\nThe class burst out laughing...\nThen the applause burst out...\nEveryone burst out into conversation.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P -ing, V P, V P into/in n


Words: bursting
Meaning:
burst.ing\n   bursting\n1. If a place is bursting with people or things, it is full of them.\nThe place appears to be bursting with women directors.\n...a terraced vegetable garden, bursting with produce.\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ, usu ADJ with n\n\n2. If you say that someone is bursting with a feeling or quality, you mean that they have a great deal of it.\nI was bursting with curiosity.\n...a character bursting with energy and vivacity.\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ with n\n\n3. If you are bursting to do something, you are very eager to do it. (INFORMAL)\nShe was bursting to tell everyone...\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ to-inf\n\n4.\n  see also burst


Words: bury
Meaning:
bury  buries  burying  buried\n1. To bury something means to put it into a hole in the ground and cover it up with earth.\nThey make the charcoal by burying wood in the ground and then slowly burning it.\n...squirrels who bury nuts and seeds.\n...buried treasure.\n  VERB: V n prep/adv, V n, V-ed\n\n2. To bury a dead person means to put their body into a grave and cover it with earth.\n...soldiers who helped to bury the dead in large communal graves...\nI was horrified that people would think I was dead and bury me alive...\nMore than 9,000 men lie buried here.\n  VERB: V n, V n adj, V-ed\n\n3. If someone says they have buried one of their relatives, they mean that one of their relatives has died.\nHe had buried his wife some two years before he retired.\n  VERB: V n\n\n4. If you bury something under a large quantity of things, you put it there, often in order to hide it.\nI was looking for my handbag, which was buried under a pile of old newspapers.\n  VERB: V n prep/adv\n\n5. If something buries a place or person, it falls on top of them so that it completely covers them and often harms them in some way.\nLatest reports say that mud slides buried entire villages...\nHe was buried under the debris for several hours.\n  VERB: V n, V-ed\n\n6. If you bury your head or face in something, you press your head or face against it, often because you are unhappy.\nShe buried her face in the pillows...\n  VERB: V n prep/adv\n  = hide\n7. If something buries itself somewhere, or if you bury it there, it is pushed very deeply in there.\nThe missile buried itself deep in the grassy hillside...\nHe stood on the sidewalk with his hands buried in the pockets of his dark overcoat.\n  VERB: V pron-refl prep/adv, V-ed, also V n prep/adv\n\n8.\nto bury the hatchet: see hatchet


Words: bus
Meaning:
bus  buses  busses  bussing  bussed\n\n  The plural form of the noun is buses. The third person singular of the verb is busses. American English uses the spellings buses, busing, bused for the verb.\n\n1. A bus is a large motor vehicle which carries passengers from one place to another. Buses drive along particular routes, and you have to pay to travel in them.\nHe missed his last bus home...\nThey had to travel everywhere by bus.\n  N-COUNT: also by N\n\n2. When someone is bussed to a particular place or when they bus there, they travel there on a bus.\nOn May Day hundreds of thousands used to be bussed in to parade through East Berlin...\nTo get our Colombian visas we bussed back to Medellin...\nEssential services were provided by Serbian workers bussed in from outside the province.\n  VERB: be V-ed adv/prep, V adv/prep, V-ed, also V n adv/prep\n\n3. In some parts of the United States, when children are bused to school, they are transported by bus to a school in a different area so that children of different races can be educated together.\nMany schools were in danger of closing because the children were bused out to other neighborhoods.\n  VERB: usu passive, be V-ed adv/prep\n\n=>  bus.ing\nThe courts ordered busing to desegregate the schools.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: bus boy
Meaning:
bus boy  bus boys\n  A bus boy is someone whose job is to set or clear tables in a restaurant. (AM)\n  N-COUNT


Words: bus lane
Meaning:
bus lane  bus lanes\n  A bus lane is a part of the road which is intended to be used only by buses.\n  N-COUNT


Words: bus shelter
Meaning:
bus shel.ter\n   bus shelter  bus shelters\n  A bus shelter is a bus stop that has a roof and at least one open side.\n  N-COUNT


Words: bus stop
Meaning:
bus stop  bus stops\n  A bus stop is a place on a road where buses stop to let passengers on and off.\n  N-COUNT


Words: bush
Meaning:
bush  bushes\n1. A bush is a large plant which is smaller than a tree and has a lot of branches.\nTrees and bushes grew down to the water’s edge.\n  N-COUNT\n  = shrub\n2. The wild, uncultivated parts of some hot countries are referred to as the bush.\nThey walked through the dense Mozambican bush for thirty six hours...\n  N-SING: usu the N, oft N n\n\n3. If you tell someone not to beat about the bush, you mean that you want them to tell you something immediately and quickly, rather than in a complicated, indirect way.\nStop beating about the bush. What’s he done?\n  PHRASE: V inflects, usu with brd-neg


Words: bushed
Meaning:
bushed\n  If you say that you are bushed, you mean that you are extremely tired. (INFORMAL)\nI’m bushed. I’m going to bed.\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ\n  = beat


Words: bushel
Meaning:
bush.el\n   bushel  bushels\n  A bushel is a unit of volume that is used for measuring agricultural produce such as corn or beans. A bushel is equivalent in volume to eight gallons.\n  N-COUNT


Words: Bushman
Meaning:
Bush.man\n   Bushman  Bushmen\n  A Bushman is an aboriginal person from the southwestern part of Africa, especially the Kalahari desert region.\n  N-COUNT


Words: bushy
Meaning:
bushy  bushier  bushiest\n1. Bushy hair or fur is very thick.\n...bushy eyebrows.\n...a bushy tail.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n2. A bushy plant has a lot of leaves very close together.\n...strong, sturdy, bushy plants.\n  ADJ


Words: busily
Meaning:
busi.ly\n   busily\n  If you do something busily, you do it in a very active way.\nThe two saleswomen were busily trying to keep up with the demand.\n  ADV: ADV with v


Words: business
Meaning:
busi.ness\n   business  businesses\n1. Business is work relating to the production, buying, and selling of goods or services.\n...young people seeking a career in business...\nJennifer has an impressive academic and business background.\n...Harvard Business School.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. Business is used when talking about how many products or services a company is able to sell. If business is good, a lot of products or services are being sold and if business is bad, few of them are being sold.\nThey worried that German companies would lose business...\nBusiness is booming.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n3. A business is an organization which produces and sells goods or which provides a service.\nThe company was a family business...\nThe majority of small businesses go broke within the first twenty-four months...\nHe was short of cash after the collapse of his business.\n  N-COUNT\n  = company, firm\n4. Business is work or some other activity that you do as part of your job and not for pleasure.\nI’m here on business...\nYou can’t mix business with pleasure.\n...business trips.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft on N\n\n5. You can use business to refer to a particular area of work or activity in which the aim is to make a profit.\nMay I ask you what business you’re in?\n...the music business.\n  N-SING: oft supp N\n\n6. You can use business to refer to something that you are doing or concerning yourself with.\n...recording Ben as he goes about his business...\nThere was nothing left for the teams to do but get on with the business of racing.\n  N-SING: with supp\n\n7. You can use business to refer to important matters that you have to deal with.\nThe most important business was left to the last...\nI’ve got some unfinished business to attend to.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n8. If you say that something is your business, you mean that it concerns you personally and that other people have no right to ask questions about it or disagree with it.\nMy sex life is my business...\nIf she doesn’t want the police involved, that’s her business...\nIt’s not our business.\n  N-UNCOUNT: with poss\n  = affair, concern\n9. You can use business to refer in a general way to an event, situation, or activity. For example, you can say something is `a wretched business’ or you can refer to `this assassination business’.\nWe have sorted out this wretched business at last...\nThis whole business is very puzzling.\n  N-SING: supp N\n  = affair\n10. You can use business when describing a task that is unpleasant in some way. For example, if you say that doing something is a costly business, you mean that it costs a lot. (INFORMAL)\nCoastal defence is a costly business...\nParenting can be a stressful business.\n  N-SING: supp N\n  = affair\n11.\n  see also big business, show business\n12. If two people or companies do business with each other, one sells goods or services to the other.\nI was fascinated by the different people who did business with me.\n  PHRASE: V inflects, PHR with n, pl-n PHR\n\n13. If you say that someone has no business to be in a place or to do something, you mean that they have no right to be there or to do it.\nReally I had no business to be there at all.\n  PHRASE: V inflects, PHR to-inf, PHR -ing\n\n14. A company that is in business is operating and trading.\nYou can’t stay in business without cash.\n  PHRASE: v-link PHR\n\n15. If you say you are in business, you mean you have everything you need to start something immediately. (INFORMAL, SPOKEN)\nAll you need is a microphone, and you’re in business.\n  PHRASE: V inflects, v-link PHR\n\n16. If you say that someone means business, you mean they are serious and determined about what they are doing. (INFORMAL)\nNow people are starting to realise that he means business.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n17. If you say to someone `mind your own business’ or `it’s none of your business’, you are rudely telling them not to ask about something that does not concern them. (INFORMAL)\nI asked Laura what was wrong and she told me to mind my own business.\n  PHRASE\n\n(next)


Words: business .1
Meaning:
18. If a shop or company goes out of business or is put out of business, it has to stop trading because it is not making enough money.\nThousands of firms could go out of business.\n  PHRASE: PHR after v\n\n19. In a difficult situation, if you say it is business as usual, you mean that people will continue doing what they normally do.\nThe Queen was determined to show it was business as usual.\n  PHRASE: usu v-link PHR


Words: business angel
Meaning:
busi.ness an.gel\n   business angel business angels\n  A business angel is a person who gives financial support to a commercial venture and receives a share of any profits from it, but who does not expect to be involved in its management. (BUSINESS)\n  N-COUNT


Words: business card
Meaning:
busi.ness card\n   business card  business cards\n  A person’s business card or their card is a small card which they give to other people, and which has their name and details of their job and company printed on it.\n  N-COUNT: oft poss N


Words: business class
Meaning:
busi.ness class\n   business class\n  Business class seating on an aeroplane costs less than first class but more than economy class.\nYou can pay to be upgraded to a business class seat.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n  Business class is also an adverb.\nThey flew business class.\n  ADV: ADV after v\n\n  Business class is the business class seating on an aeroplane.\nThe Australian team will be seated in business class.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: business end
Meaning:
busi.ness end\n   business end\n  The business end of a tool or weapon is the end of it which does the work or causes damage rather than the end that you hold. (INFORMAL)\n...the business end of a vacuum cleaner.\n  N-SING: usu N of n


Words: business hours
Meaning:
busi.ness hours\n   business hours\n  Business hours are the hours of the day in which a shop or a company is open for business.\nAll showrooms are staffed during business hours.\n  N-PLURAL


Words: business person
Meaning:
busi.ness per.son\n   business person  business people\n  Business people are people who work in business.\n...a self-employed business person.\n  N-COUNT


Words: business plan
Meaning:
busi.ness plan\n   business plan business plans\n  A business plan is a detailed plan for setting up or developing a business, especially one that is written in order to borrow money.\nShe learned how to write a business plan for the catering business she wanted to launch.\n  N-COUNT


Words: business school
Meaning:
busi.ness school\n   business school  business schools\n  A business school is a school or college which teaches business subjects such as economics and management.\n  N-COUNT


Words: businesslike
Meaning:
business.like\n   businesslike\n  If you describe someone as businesslike, you mean that they deal with things in an efficient way without wasting time.\nMr. Penn sounds quite businesslike...\nThis activity was carried on in a businesslike manner.\n  ADJ\n  = efficient


Words: businessman
Meaning:
business.man\n   businessman  businessmen\n  A businessman is a man who works in business.\n  N-COUNT


Words: businesswoman
Meaning:
business.woman\n   businesswoman  businesswomen\n  A businesswoman is a woman who works in business.\n  N-COUNT


Words: busk
Meaning:
busk  busks  busking  busked\n  People who busk play music or sing for money in the streets or other public places. (BRIT)\nThey spent their free time in Glasgow busking in Argyle Street.\n  VERB: V\n\n=>  busk.ing\nPassers-by in the area have been treated to some high-quality busking.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: busker
Meaning:
busk.er\n   busker  buskers\n  A busker is a person who sings or plays music for money in streets and other public places. (BRIT)\n  N-COUNT


Words: busload
Meaning:
bus.load\n   busload  busloads\n  A busload of people is a large number of passengers on a bus.\n...a busload of Japanese tourists.\n  N-COUNT: usu N of n


Words: busman’s holiday
Meaning:
bus.man’s holi.day\n   busman’s holiday\n  If you have a holiday, but spend it doing something similar to your usual work, you can refer to it as a busman’s holiday.\n  N-SING


Words: bust
Meaning:
bust  busts  busting  busted\n\n  The form bust is used as the present tense of the verb, and can also be used as the past tense and past participle.\n\n1. If you bust something, you break it or damage it so badly that it cannot be used. (INFORMAL)\nThey will have to bust the door to get him out.\n  VERB: V n\n\n2. If someone is busted, the police arrest them. (INFORMAL)\nThey were busted for possession of cannabis.\n  VERB: usu passive, be V-ed\n\n3. If police bust a place, they go to it in order to arrest people who are doing something illegal. (INFORMAL)\n...police success in busting UK-based drug factories.\n  VERB: V n\n\n  Bust is also a noun.\nSix tons of cocaine were seized last week in Panama’s biggest drug bust.\n  N-COUNT\n\n4. A company or fund that is bust has no money left and has been forced to close down. (INFORMAL BUSINESS)\nIt is taxpayers who will pay most of the bill for bailing out bust banks.\n  ADJ\n\n5. If a company goes bust, it loses so much money that it is forced to close down. (INFORMAL BUSINESS)\n...a Swiss company which went bust last May.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n6. A bust is a statue of the head and shoulders of a person.\n...a bronze bust of the Queen.\n  N-COUNT: oft N of n\n\n7. You can use bust to refer to a woman’s breasts, especially when you are describing their size.\nGood posture also helps your bust look bigger.\n  N-COUNT


Words: bust-up
Meaning:
bust-up  bust-ups\n1. A bust-up is a serious quarrel, often resulting in the end of a relationship. (INFORMAL)\nShe had had this bust-up with her family.\n  N-COUNT\n  = row\n2. A bust-up is a fight. (BRIT INFORMAL)\n...a bust-up which she says left her seriously hurt.\n  N-COUNT


Words: bustier
Meaning:
bust.ier\n   bustier  bustiers\n  A bustier is a type of close-fitting strapless top worn by women.\n  N-COUNT


Words: bustle
Meaning:
bus.tle\n   bustle  bustles  bustling  bustled\n1. If someone bustles somewhere, they move there in a hurried way, often because they are very busy.\nShe bustled about, turning on lights, moving pillows around on the sofa.\n  VERB: V prep/adv\n\n2. A place that is bustling with people or activity is full of people who are very busy or lively.\nThe sidewalks are bustling with people...\nThe main attraction was the bustling market.\n  VERB: V with n, V-ing\n\n3. Bustle is busy, noisy activity.\n...the hustle and bustle of modern life...\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N of n


Words: busy
Meaning:
busy  busier  busiest  busies  busying  busied\n1. When you are busy, you are working hard or concentrating on a task, so that you are not free to do anything else.\nWhat is it? I’m busy...\nThey are busy preparing for a hectic day’s activity on Saturday...\nRachel said she would be too busy to come...\nPhil Martin is an exceptionally busy man.\n  ADJ\n\n2. A busy time is a period of time during which you have a lot of things to do.\nIt’ll have to wait. This is our busiest time...\nEven with her busy schedule she finds time to watch TV...\nI had a busy day and was rather tired.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  = hectic  !=quiet\n3. If you say that someone is busy thinking or worrying about something, you mean that it is taking all their attention, often to such an extent that they are unable to think about anything else.\nCompanies are so busy analysing the financial implications that they overlook the effect on workers...\nMost people are too busy with their own troubles to give much help.\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ, oft ADJ -ing\n  = preoccupied\n4. If you busy yourself with something, you occupy yourself by dealing with it.\nHe busied himself with the camera...\nShe busied herself getting towels ready...\nFor a while Kathryn busied herself in the kitchen.\n  VERB: V pron-refl with n/-ing, V pron-refl -ing, V pron-refl\n\n5. A busy place is full of people who are doing things or moving about.\nThe Strand is one of London’s busiest and most affluent streets...\nThe ward was busy and Amy hardly had time to talk.\n  ADJ\n\n6. When a telephone line is busy, you cannot make your call because the line is already being used by someone else. (mainly AM)\nI tried to reach him, but the line was busy.\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ\n  = engaged\n7.\n  see also busily


Words: busybody
Meaning:
busy.body\n   busybody  busybodies\n  If you refer to someone as a busybody, you are criticizing the way they interfere in other people’s affairs. (INFORMAL)\nThis government is full of interfering busybodies.\n  N-COUNT  disapproval


Words: but
Meaning:
but  WEAK   STRONG\n1. You use but to introduce something which contrasts with what you have just said, or to introduce something which adds to what you have just said.\n`You said you’d stay till tomorrow.’.`I know, Bel, but I think I would rather go back.’...\nPlace the saucepan over moderate heat until the cider is very hot but not boiling...\nHe not only wants to be taken seriously as a musician, but as a poet too.\n  CONJ\n\n2. You use but when you are about to add something further in a discussion or to change the subject.\nThey need to recruit more people into the prison service. But another point I’d like to make is that many prisons were built in the nineteenth century.\n  CONJ\n\n3. You use but after you have made an excuse or apologized for what you are just about to say.\nPlease excuse me, but there is something I must say...\nI’m sorry, but it’s nothing to do with you...\nForgive my asking, but you’re not very happy, are you?\n  CONJ\n\n4. You use but to introduce a reply to someone when you want to indicate surprise, disbelief, refusal, or protest.\n`I don’t think I should stay in this house.’.`But why?’...\n`Somebody wants you on the telephone’.`But no one knows I’m here!’\n  CONJ  feelings\n\n5. But is used to mean `except’.\nEurope will be represented in all but two of the seven races...\nHe didn’t speak anything but Greek...\nThe crew of the ship gave them nothing but bread to eat.\n  PREP: n PREP n\n\n6. But is used to mean `only’. (FORMAL)\nThis is but one of the methods used to try and get alcoholics to give up drink.\n...Napoleon and Marie Antoinette, to name but two who had stayed in the great state rooms.\n  ADV: ADV n, ADV num\n\n7. You use buts in expressions like `no buts’ and `ifs and buts’ to refer to reasons someone gives for not doing something, especially when you do not think that they are good reasons.\n`B-b-b-b-but’ I stuttered..`Never mind the buts,’ she ranted...\nHe committed a crime, no ifs or buts about it.\n  N-PLURAL\n\n8. You use cannot but, could not but, and cannot help but when you want to emphasize that you believe something must be true and that there is no possibility of anything else being the case. (FORMAL)\nThe pistol was positioned where I couldn’t help but see it...\nShe could not but congratulate him.\n  PHRASE: PHR inf  emphasis\n\n9. You use but for to introduce the only factor that causes a particular thing not to happen or not to be completely true.\n...the small square below, empty but for a delivery van and a clump of palm trees...\n  PHRASE: PHR n/-ing\n\n10. You use but then or but then again before a remark which slightly contradicts what you have just said.\nMy husband spends hours in the bathroom, but then again so do I.\n  PHRASE: PHR cl\n\n11. You use but then before a remark which suggests that what you have just said should not be regarded as surprising.\nHe was a fine young man, but then so had his father been...\nSonia might not speak the English language well, but then who did?\n  PHRASE: PHR cl\n\n12.\nall but: see all\nanything but: see anything


Words: butane
Meaning:
bu.tane\n   butane\n  Butane is a gas that is obtained from petroleum and is used as a fuel.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: butch
Meaning:
butch\n1. If you describe a woman as butch, you mean that she behaves or dresses in a masculine way. This use could cause offence. (INFORMAL)\n  ADJ\n\n2. If you describe a man as butch, you mean that he behaves in an extremely masculine way. (INFORMAL)\n  ADJ\n  = macho


Words: butcher
Meaning:
butch.er\n   butcher  butchers  butchering  butchered\n1. A butcher is a shopkeeper who cuts up and sells meat. Some butchers also kill animals for meat and make foods such as sausages and meat pies.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A butcher or a butcher’s is a shop where meat is sold.\n  N-COUNT: oft the N\n\n3. To butcher an animal means to kill it and cut it up for meat.\nPigs were butchered, hams were hung to dry from the ceiling.\n  VERB: be V-ed\n\n4. You can refer to someone as a butcher when they have killed a lot of people in a very cruel way, and you want to express your horror and disgust.\nKlaus Barbie was known in France as the Butcher of Lyon.\n  N-COUNT  disapproval\n\n5. You can say that someone has butchered people when they have killed a lot of people in a very cruel way, and you want to express your horror and disgust.\nGuards butchered 1,350 prisoners...\n  VERB: V n  disapproval\n  = slaughter


Words: butchery
Meaning:
butch.ery\n   butchery\n1. You can refer to the cruel killing of a lot of people as butchery when you want to express your horror and disgust at this.\nIn her view, war is simply a legalised form of butchery.\n  N-UNCOUNT  disapproval\n\n2. Butchery is the work of cutting up meat and preparing it for sale.\n...a carcass hung up for butchery.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: butler
Meaning:
but.ler\n   butler  butlers\n  A butler is the most important male servant in a wealthy house.\n  N-COUNT


Words: butt
Meaning:
butt  butts  butting  butted\n1. Someone’s butt is their bottom. (AM INFORMAL, RUDE)\nFrieda grinned, pinching him on the butt.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. The butt or the butt end of a weapon or tool is the thick end of its handle.\nTroops used tear gas and rifle butts to break up the protests...\n  N-COUNT: oft n N, N of n\n\n3. The butt of a cigarette or cigar is the small part of it that is left when someone has finished smoking it.\n  N-COUNT: oft n N, N of n\n  = stub\n4. A butt is a large barrel used for collecting or storing liquid.\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp\n\n5. If someone or something is the butt of jokes or criticism, people often make fun of them or criticize them.\nHe is still the butt of cruel jokes about his humble origins.\n  N-SING: usu the N of n\n  = target\n6. If a person or animal butts you, they hit you with the top of their head.\nLawrence kept on butting me but the referee did not warn him.\n  VERB: V n, also V n prep\n\n7.\n  see also head-butt, water butt


Words: butt in
Meaning:
butt in\n  If you say that someone is butting in, you are criticizing the fact that they are joining in a conversation or activity without being asked to.\nSorry, I don’t mean to butt in...\n`I should think not,’ Sarah butted in.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P, V P with quote, also V P on n\n  = interrupt


Words: butter
Meaning:
but.ter\n   butter  butters  buttering  buttered\n1. Butter is a soft yellow substance made from cream. You spread it on bread or use it in cooking.\n...bread and butter...\nPour the melted butter into a large mixing bowl.\n  N-MASS\n\n2. If you butter something such as bread or toast, you spread butter on it.\nShe spread pieces of bread on the counter and began buttering them.\n...buttered scones.\n  VERB: V n, V-ed\n\n3.\n  see also bread and butter, peanut butter


Words: butter bean
Meaning:
but.ter bean\n   butter bean  butter beans\n  Butter beans are the yellowish flat round seeds of a kind of bean plant. They are eaten as a vegetable, and in Britain they are usually sold dried rather than fresh.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl


Words: butter up
Meaning:
butter up\n  If someone butters you up, they try to please you because they want you to help or support them. (BRIT INFORMAL)\nThe bank has to butter up investors because it is in a fiercely competitive market...\nI tried buttering her up. `I’ve always admired people with these sorts of talents.’\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), V n P


Words: buttercup
Meaning:
butter.cup\n   buttercup  buttercups\n  A buttercup is a small plant with bright yellow flowers.\n  N-COUNT


Words: butterfly
Meaning:
butter.fly\n   butterfly  butterflies\n1. A butterfly is an insect with large colourful wings and a thin body.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. Butterfly is a swimming stroke which you do lying on your front, kicking your legs and bringing your arms over your head together.\n  N-UNCOUNT: also the N\n\n3. If you have butterflies in your stomach or have butterflies, you are very nervous or excited about something. (INFORMAL)\nAn exam, or even an exciting social event may produce butterflies in the stomach.\n  PHRASE


Words: buttermilk
Meaning:
butter.milk\n   buttermilk\n  Buttermilk is the liquid that remains when fat has been removed from cream when butter is being made. You can drink buttermilk or use it in cooking.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: butterscotch
Meaning:
butter.scotch\n   butterscotch\n1. Butterscotch is a hard yellowish-brown sweet made from butter and sugar boiled together.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. A butterscotch flavoured or coloured thing has the flavour or colour of butterscotch.\n...butterscotch sauce.\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu N n


Words: buttery
Meaning:
but.tery\n   buttery\n  Buttery food contains butter or is covered with butter.\n...buttery new potatoes.\n...the buttery taste of the pastry.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: buttock
Meaning:
but.tock\n   buttock  buttocks\n  Your buttocks are the two rounded fleshy parts of your body that you sit on.\n  N-COUNT


Words: button
Meaning:
but.ton\n   button  buttons  buttoning  buttoned\n1. Buttons are small hard objects sewn on to shirts, coats, or other pieces of clothing. You fasten the clothing by pushing the buttons through holes called buttonholes.\n...a coat with brass buttons.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If you button a shirt, coat, or other piece of clothing, you fasten it by pushing its buttons through the buttonholes.\nFerguson stood up and buttoned his coat.\n  VERB: V n\n\n  Button up means the same as button.\nI buttoned up my coat; it was chilly...\nThe young man slipped on the shirt and buttoned it up...\nIt was freezing out there even in his buttoned-up overcoat.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), V n P, V-ed P\n\n3. A button is a small object on a machine or electrical device that you press in order to operate it.\nHe reached for the remote control and pressed the `play’ button.\n  N-COUNT\n\n4. A button is a small piece of metal or plastic which you wear in order to show that you support a particular movement, organization, or person. You fasten a button to your clothes with a pin. (AM; in BRIT, use badge)\n  N-COUNT


Words: button mushroom
Meaning:
but.ton mush.room\n   button mushroom  button mushrooms\n  Button mushrooms are small mushrooms used in cooking.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl


Words: button-down
Meaning:
button-down\n  A button-down shirt or a shirt with a button-down collar has a button under each end of the collar which you can fasten.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: buttoned up
Meaning:
but.toned up\n   buttoned up   also buttoned-up\n  If you say that someone is buttoned up, you mean that they do not usually talk about their thoughts and feelings. (INFORMAL)\n...the buttoned-up wife of an English clergyman.\n  ADJ\n  = reserved


Words: buttonhole
Meaning:
button.hole\n   buttonhole  buttonholes  buttonholing  buttonholed\n1. A buttonhole is a hole that you push a button through in order to fasten a shirt, coat, or other piece of clothing.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A buttonhole is a flower that you wear on your coat or dress. (BRIT)\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. If you buttonhole someone, you stop them and make them listen to you.\nSeveral people buttonholed television reporters to explain to them their reasons for not voting.\n  VERB: V n


Words: buttress
Meaning:
but.tress\n   buttress  buttresses\n  Buttresses are supports, usually made of stone or brick, that support a wall.\n  N-COUNT


Words: buxom
Meaning:
bux.om\n   buxom\n  If you describe a woman as buxom, you mean that she looks healthy and attractive and has a rounded body and big breasts.\nMelissa was a tall, buxom blonde.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: buy
Meaning:
buy  buys  buying  bought\n1. If you buy something, you obtain it by paying money for it.\nHe could not afford to buy a house...\nLizzie bought herself a mountain bike...\nI’d like to buy him lunch.\n  VERB: V n, V pron-refl n, V n n\n\n2. If you talk about the quantity or standard of goods an amount of money buys, you are referring to the price of the goods or the value of the money.\nAbout .35,000 buys a habitable house...\nIf the pound’s value is high, British investors will spend their money abroad because the pound will buy them more.\n  VERB: V n, V n n\n\n3. If you buy something like time, freedom, or victory, you obtain it but only by offering or giving up something in return.\nIt was a risky operation, but might buy more time...\nFor them, affluence was bought at the price of less freedom in their work environment.\n  VERB: V n, V n\n\n4. If you say that a person can be bought, you are criticizing the fact that they will give their help or loyalty to someone in return for money.\nOnce he shows he can be bought, they settle down to a regular payment.\n  VERB: usu passive, be V-ed  disapproval\n  = bribe\n5. If you buy an idea or a theory, you believe and accept it. (INFORMAL)\nI’m not buying any of that nonsense.\n  VERB: V n\n\n  Buy into means the same as buy.\nI bought into the popular myth that when I got the new car or the next house, I’d finally be happy.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n\n\n6. If something is a good buy, it is of good quality and not very expensive.\nThis was still a good buy even at the higher price...\n  N-COUNT: supp N\n  = bargain


Words: buy into
Meaning:
buy into\n  If you buy into a company or an organization, you buy part of it, often in order to gain some control of it. (BUSINESS)\nOther companies could buy into the firm.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n\n\n  see also buy 5


Words: buy off
Meaning:
buy off\n  If you say that a person or organization buys off another person or group, you are criticizing the fact that they are giving them something such as money so that they will not complain or cause trouble.\n...policies designed to buy off the working-class vote...\nIn buying your children all these things, you are in a sense buying them off.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), V n P


Words: buy out
Meaning:
buy out\n  If you buy someone out, you buy their share of something such as a company or piece of property that you previously owned together.\nThe bank had to pay to buy out most of the 200 former partners...\nHe bought his brother out for $17 million.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), V n P\n\n  see also buyout


Words: buy up
Meaning:
buy up\n  If you buy up land, property, or a commodity, you buy large amounts of it, or all that is available.\nThe mention of price rises sent citizens out to their shops to buy up as much as they could...\nThe tickets will be on sale from somewhere else because the agencies have bought them up.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), V n P


Words: buy-back
Meaning:
buy-back buy-backs\n  A buy-back is a situation in which a company buys shares back from its investors. (BUSINESS)\n...a share buy-back scheme...\nThe company announced an extensive stock buy-back program.\n  N-COUNT


Words: buyer
Meaning:
buy.er\n   buyer  buyers\n1. A buyer is a person who is buying something or who intends to buy it.\nCar buyers are more interested in safety and reliability than speed.\n  N-COUNT\n  !=seller\n2. A buyer is a person who works for a large store deciding what goods will be bought from manufacturers to be sold in the store.\n  N-COUNT


Words: buyer’s market
Meaning:
buy.er’s mar.ket\n   buyer’s market\n  When there is a buyer’s market for a particular product, there are more of the products for sale than there are people who want to buy them, so buyers have a lot of choice and can make prices come down. (BUSINESS)\n  N-SING


Words: buyout
Meaning:
buy.out\n   buyout  buyouts\n  A buyout is the buying of a company, especially by its managers or employees. (BUSINESS)\nIt is thought that a management buyout is one option.\n  N-COUNT: oft supp N\n\n  see also MBO


Words: buzz
Meaning:
buzz  buzzes  buzzing  buzzed\n1. If something buzzes or buzzes somewhere, it makes a long continuous sound, like the noise a bee makes when it is flying.\nThe intercom buzzed and he pressed down the appropriate switch...\nAttack helicopters buzzed across the city.\n  VERB: V, V prep/adv\n\n  Buzz is also a noun.\n...the irritating buzz of an insect.\n  N-COUNT; SOUND\n\n=>  buzz.ing\nHe switched off the transformer and the buzzing stopped.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. If people are buzzing around, they are moving around quickly and busily. (WRITTEN)\nA few tourists were buzzing about...\n  VERB: V adv/prep\n  = race\n3. If questions or ideas are buzzing around your head, or if your head is buzzing with questions or ideas, you are thinking about a lot of things, often in a confused way.\nMany more questions were buzzing around in my head...\nTop style consultants will leave you buzzing with new ideas.\n  VERB: V around in n, V with n, also V\n\n4. If a place is buzzing with activity or conversation, there is a lot of activity or conversation there, especially because something important or exciting is about to happen.\nThe rehearsal studio is buzzing with lunchtime activity...\n...Hong Kong’s buzzing, pulsating atmosphere.\n  VERB: usu cont, V with n, V-ing, also V, V prep\n\n5. You can use buzz to refer to a long continuous sound, usually caused by lots of people talking at once.\nA buzz of excitement filled the courtroom as the defendant was led in.\n...the excited buzz of conversation.\n  N-SING: usu N of n\n\n6. If something gives you a buzz, it makes you feel very happy or excited for a short time. (INFORMAL)\nPerforming still gives him a buzz...\nHe got a buzz from creating confrontations.\n  N-SING\n\n7. You can use buzz to refer to a word, idea, or activity which has recently become extremely popular.\n...the latest buzz phrase in garden design circles...\nSex education in schools was the buzz topic.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n8. If an aircraft buzzes a place, it flies low over it, usually in a threatening way.\nAmerican fighter planes buzzed the city.\n  VERB: V n


Words: buzzer
Meaning:
buzz.er\n   buzzer  buzzers\n  A buzzer is an electrical device that is used to make a buzzing sound for example, to attract someone’s attention.\n  N-COUNT


Words: buzzsaw
Meaning:
buzz.saw\n   buzzsaw  buzzsaws\n  A buzzsaw is an electric saw consisting of a round metal disk with a sharp serrated edge. It is powered by an electric motor and is used for cutting wood and other materials. (AM; in BRIT, use circular saw)\n  N-COUNT


Words: buzzword
Meaning:
buzz.word\n   buzzword  buzzwords   also buzz word\n  A buzzword is a word or expression that has become fashionable in a particular field and is being used a lot by the media.\nBiodiversity was the buzzword of the Rio Earth Summit.\n  N-COUNT


Words: buzzy
Meaning:
buzzy buzzier buzziest\n  If a place, event, or atmosphere is buzzy, it is lively, interesting, and modern. (INFORMAL)\nThe cafe has an intimate but buzzy atmosphere.\n  ADJ


Words: by
Meaning:
by\nIn addition to the uses shown below, by is used in phrasal verbs such as `abide by’, `put by’, and `stand by’.\n1. If something is done by a person or thing, that person or thing does it.\nThe feast was served by his mother and sisters...\nI was amazed by their discourtesy and lack of professionalism...\nThe town has been under attack by rebel groups for a week now.\n  PREP\n\n2. If you say that something such as a book, a piece of music, or a painting is by a particular person, you mean that this person wrote it or created it.\n...a painting by Van Gogh...\n`Jacob’s Ladder’, the newest film by Adrian Lyne, is a post-Vietnam horror story.\n  PREP\n\n3. If you do something by a particular means, you do it using that thing.\nWe’ll be travelling by car.\n...dinners by candlelight.\n  PREP\n\n4. If you achieve one thing by doing another thing, your action enables you to achieve the first thing.\nMake the sauce by boiling the cream and stock together in a pan...\nThe all-female yacht crew made history by becoming the first to sail round the world...\nBy using the air ambulance to transport patients between hospitals, they can save up to .15,000 per patient.\n  PREP: PREP -ing\n\n5. You use by in phrases such as `by chance’ or `by accident’ to indicate whether or not an event was planned.\nI met him by chance out walking yesterday...\nHe opened Ingrid’s letter by mistake...\nWhether by design or accident his timing was perfect.\n  PREP\n\n6. If someone is a particular type of person by nature, by profession, or by birth, they are that type of person because of their nature, their profession, or the family they were born into.\nI am certainly lucky to have a kind wife who is loving by nature...\nShe’s a nurse by profession and now runs a counselling service for women...\nHer parents were in fact American by birth.\n  PREP: adj PREP n\n\n7. If something must be done by law, it happens according to the law. If something is the case by particular standards, it is the case according to the standards.\nPharmacists are required by law to give the medicine prescribed by the doctor.\n...evening wear that was discreet by his standards.\n  PREP\n\n8. If you say what someone means by a particular word or expression, you are saying what they intend the word or expression to refer to.\nStella knew what he meant by `start again’...\n`You’re unbelievably lucky’.`What do you mean by that?’\n  PREP\n\n9. If you hold someone or something by a particular part of them, you hold that part.\nHe caught her by the shoulder and turned her around...\nShe was led by the arm to a small room at the far end of the corridor...\nHe picked up the photocopy by one corner and put it in his wallet.\n  PREP\n\n10. Someone or something that is by something else is beside it and close to it.\nJudith was sitting in a rocking-chair by the window...\nFelicity Maxwell stood by the bar and ordered a glass of wine...\nEmma was by the door.\n  PREP\n\n  By is also an adverb.\nLarge numbers of security police stood by.\n  ADV: ADV after v\n\n11. If a person or vehicle goes by you, they move past you without stopping.\nA few cars passed close by me...\nHe kept walking and passed by me on his side of the street.\n  PREP: v PREP n\n\n  By is also an adverb.\nThe bomb went off as a police patrol went by.\n  ADV: ADV after v\n\n12. If you stop by a place, you visit it for a short time.\nWe had made arrangements to stop by her house in Pacific Grove...\n  PREP\n\n  By is also an adverb.\nI’ll stop by after dinner and we’ll have that talk.\n  ADV: ADV after v\n\n13. If something happens by a particular time, it happens at or before that time.\nBy eight o’clock he had arrived at my hotel...\nWe all knew by then that the affair was practically over.\n  PREP\n\n14. If you do something by day, you do it during the day. If you do it by night, you do it during the night.\nBy day a woman could safely walk the streets, but at night the pavements became dangerous...\nShe had no wish to hurry alone through the streets of London by night.\n  PREP\n\n(next)


Words: by .1
Meaning:
15. In arithmetic, you use by before the second number in a multiplication or division sum.\n...an apparent annual rate of 22.8 per cent (1.9 multiplied by 12)...\n230cm divided by 22cm is 10.45cm.\n  PREP: PREP num\n\n16. You use by to talk about measurements of area. For example, if a room is twenty feet by fourteen feet, it measures twenty feet in one direction and fourteen feet in the other direction.\nThree prisoners were sharing one small cell 3 metres by 2 metres.\n  PREP: PREP num\n\n17. If something increases or decreases by a particular amount, that amount is gained or lost.\nViolent crime has increased by 10 percent since last year...\nTheir pay has been cut by one-third.\n  PREP: PREP amount\n\n18. Things that are made or sold by the million or by the dozen are made or sold in those quantities.\nParcels arrived by the dozen from America...\nLiberty fabrics, both for furnishing and for dress-making, are sold by the metre.\n  PREP: PREP the n\n\n19. You use by in expressions such as `minute by minute’ and `drop by drop’ to talk about things that happen gradually, not all at once.\nHis father began to lose his memory bit by bit, becoming increasingly forgetful.\n  PREP: n PREP n\n\n20. If you are by yourself, you are alone.\n...a dark-haired man sitting by himself in a corner.\n  PHRASE: PHR after v\n  = alone\n21. If you do something by yourself, you succeed in doing it without anyone helping you.\nI didn’t know if I could raise a child by myself.\n  PHRASE: PHR after v


Words: by-election
Meaning:
by-election  by-elections\n  A by-election is an election that is held to choose a new member of parliament when a member has resigned or died. (BRIT)\n  N-COUNT


Words: by-product
Meaning:
by-product  by-products\nin AM and sometimes in BRIT, use byproduct\n1. A by-product is something which is produced during the manufacture or processing of another product.\nThe raw material for the tyre is a by-product of petrol refining.\n  N-COUNT: oft N of n\n\n2. Something that is a by-product of an event or situation happens as a result of it, although it is usually not expected or planned.\nA by-product of their meeting was the release of these fourteen men.\n  N-COUNT: oft N of n\n  = side-effect


Words: Byelorussian
Meaning:
Bye.lo.rus.sian\n   Byelorussian  Byelorussians\n1. Byelorussian means belonging or relating to Byelorussia or to its people or culture.\n  ADJ\n\n2. A Byelorussian is a Byelorussian citizen, or a person of Byelorussian origin.\n  N-COUNT


Words: bygone
Meaning:
by.gone\n   bygone  bygones\n1. Bygone means happening or existing a very long time ago.\nThe book recalls other memories of a bygone age.\n...bygone generations.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n  = past\n2. If two people let bygones be bygones, they decide to forget about unpleasant things that have happened between them in the past.\n  PHRASE


Words: bylaw
Meaning:
by.law\n   bylaw  bylaws   also bye-law, by-law\n1. A bylaw is a law which is made by a local authority and which applies only in their area. (BRIT)\nThe by-law makes it illegal to drink in certain areas.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A bylaw is a rule which controls the way an organization is run. (AM)\nUnder the company’s bylaws, he can continue as chairman until the age of 70.\n  N-COUNT


Words: byline
Meaning:
by.line\n   byline  bylines   also by-line\n  A byline is a line at the top of an article in a newspaper or magazine giving the author’s name. (TECHNICAL)\n  N-COUNT


Words: bypass
Meaning:
by.pass\n   bypass  bypasses  bypassing  bypassed\n1. If you bypass someone or something that you would normally have to get involved with, you ignore them, often because you want to achieve something more quickly.\nA growing number of employers are trying to bypass the unions altogether...\nRegulators worry that controls could easily be bypassed.\n  VERB: V n, V n\n  = sidestep\n2. A bypass is a surgical operation performed on or near the heart, in which the flow of blood is redirected so that it does not flow through a part of the heart which is diseased or blocked.\n...heart bypass surgery.\n  N-COUNT: oft N n\n\n3. If a surgeon bypasses a diseased artery or other part of the body, he or she performs an operation so that blood or other bodily fluids do not flow through it.\nSmall veins are removed from the leg and used to bypass the blocked up stretch of coronary arteries.\n  VERB: V n\n\n4. A bypass is a main road which takes traffic around the edge of a town rather than through its centre.\nA new bypass around the city is being built.\n...the Hereford bypass.\n  N-COUNT: oft in names after n\n\n5. If a road bypasses a place, it goes around it rather than through it.\n...money for new roads to bypass cities.\n  VERB: V n\n\n6. If you bypass a place when you are travelling, you avoid going through it.\nThe rebel forces simply bypassed Zwedru on their way further south.\n  VERB: V n


Words: bystander
Meaning:
by.stander\n   bystander  bystanders\n  A bystander is a person who is present when something happens and who sees it but does not take part in it.\nIt looks like an innocent bystander was killed instead of you.\n  N-COUNT


Words: byte
Meaning:
byte  bytes\n  In computing, a byte is a unit of storage approximately equivalent to one printed character.\n...two million bytes of data.\n  N-COUNT


Words: byway
Meaning:
by.way\n   byway  byways\n1. A byway is a small road which is not used by many cars or people.\n...the highways and byways of America.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl\n\n2. The byways of a subject are the less important or less well known areas of it.\nMy research focuses on the byways of children’s literature.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl, usu N of n


Words: byword
Meaning:
by.word\n   byword  bywords\n1. Someone or something that is a byword for a particular quality is well known for having that quality.\n...the Rolls-Royce brand name, a byword for quality.\n  N-COUNT: N for n\n\n2. A byword is a word or phrase which people often use.\nLoyalty and support became the bywords of the day.\n  N-COUNT


Words: byzantine
Meaning:
byz.an.tine\n   byzantine   also Byzantine\n1. Byzantine means related to or connected with the Byzantine Empire.\n...Byzantine civilisation...\nThere are also several well-preserved Byzantine frescoes.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n2. If you describe a system or process as byzantine, you are criticizing it because it seems complicated or secretive.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n  disapproval


Words: C of E
Meaning:
C of E\n  C of E is an abbreviation for Church of England.\nMrs Steele was head of Didcot’s C of E primary school.


Words: C, c
Meaning:
C, c  C’s, c’s\n1. C is the third letter of the English alphabet.\n  N-VAR\n\n2. In music, C is the first note in the scale of C major.\n  N-VAR\n\n3. If you get a C as a mark for a piece of work or in an exam, your work is average.\n  N-VAR\n\n4. c. is written in front of a date or number to indicate that it is approximate. c. is an abbreviation for `circa’.\n...the museum’s recreation of a New York dining-room (c. 1825-35).\n\n5. C or c is used as an abbreviation for words beginning with c, such as `copyright’ or `Celsius’.\nHeat the oven to 180.C.\n\n6.\n  see also C-in-C, c/o


Words: c/o
Meaning:
You write c/o before an address on an envelope when you are sending it to someone who is staying or working at that address, often for only a short time. c/o is an abbreviation for `care of’.\n...Mr A D Bright, c/o Sherman Ltd, 62 Burton Road, Bristol 8.


Words: cab
Meaning:
cab  cabs\n1. A cab is a taxi.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. The cab of a truck or train is the front part in which the driver sits.\nA Luton van has additional load space over the driver’s cab.\n  N-COUNT


Words: cabal
Meaning:
ca.bal\n   cabal  cabals\n  If you refer to a group of politicians or other people as a cabal, you are criticizing them because they meet and decide things secretly.\nHe had been chosen by a cabal of fellow senators.\n...a secret government cabal.\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp  disapproval


Words: cabaret
Meaning:
caba.ret\n   cabaret  cabarets\n1. Cabaret is live entertainment consisting of dancing, singing, or comedy acts that are performed in the evening in restaurants or nightclubs.\nHelen made a successful career in cabaret...\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N n\n\n2. A cabaret is a show that is performed in a restaurant or nightclub, and that consists of dancing, singing, or comedy acts.\nPeter and I also did a cabaret at the Corn Exchange.\n  N-COUNT


Words: cabbage
Meaning:
cab.bage\n   cabbage  cabbages\n  A cabbage is a round vegetable with white, green or purple leaves that is usually eaten cooked.\n  N-VAR


Words: cabbie
Meaning:
cab.bie\n   cabbie  cabbies   also cabby\n  A cabbie is a person who drives a taxi. (INFORMAL)\n  N-COUNT\n  = cab driver


Words: caber
Meaning:
ca.ber\n   caber  cabers\n  A caber is a long, heavy, wooden pole. It is thrown into the air as a test of strength in the traditional Scottish sport called `tossing the caber’.\n  N-COUNT


Words: cabin
Meaning:
cab.in\n   cabin  cabins\n1. A cabin is a small room in a ship or boat.\nHe showed her to a small cabin.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A cabin is one of the areas inside a plane.\nHe sat quietly in the First Class cabin, looking tired.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. A cabin is a small wooden house, especially one in an area of forests or mountains.\n...a log cabin.\n  N-COUNT


Words: cabin crew
Meaning:
cab.in crew\n   cabin crew  cabin crews\n  The cabin crew on an aircraft are the people whose job is to look after the passengers.\n  N-COUNT-COLL


Words: cabin cruiser
Meaning:
cab.in cruis.er\n   cabin cruiser  cabin cruisers\n  A cabin cruiser is a motor boat which has a cabin for people to live or sleep in.\n  N-COUNT


Words: cabinet
Meaning:
cabi.net\n   cabinet  cabinets\n1. A cabinet is a cupboard used for storing things such as medicine or alcoholic drinks or for displaying decorative things in.\nHe looked at the display cabinet with its gleaming sets of glasses.\n  N-COUNT: usu n N\n\n  see also filing cabinet\n2. The Cabinet is a group of the most senior ministers in a government, who meet regularly to discuss policies.\nThe announcement came after a three-hour Cabinet meeting in Downing Street.\n...a former Cabinet Minister.\n  N-COUNT: oft N n


Words: cabinet maker
Meaning:
cabi.net mak.er\n   cabinet maker  cabinet makers\nin AM usually use, and in BRIT sometimes use cabinetmaker\n  A cabinet maker is a person who makes high-quality wooden furniture.\n  N-COUNT


Words: cable
Meaning:
ca.ble\n   cable  cables  cabling  cabled\n1. A cable is a thick wire, or a group of wires inside a rubber or plastic covering, which is used to carry electricity or electronic signals.\n...overhead power cables.\n...strings of coloured lights with weatherproof cable.\n  N-VAR\n\n2. A cable is a kind of very strong, thick rope, made of wires twisted together.\n...the heavy anchor cable...\nSteel cable will be used to replace worn ropes.\n  N-VAR\n\n3. Cable is used to refer to television systems in which the signals are sent along underground wires rather than by radio waves.\nThey ran commercials on cable systems across the country...\nThe channel is only available on cable.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N n\n\n4. A cable is the same as a telegram.\nShe sent a cable to her mother.\n  N-COUNT\n\n5. If a country, a city, or someone’s home is cabled, cables and other equipment are put in place so that the people there can receive cable television.\nIn France, 27 major cities are soon to be cabled...\nIn the UK, 254,000 homes are cabled.\n  VERB: usu passive, be V-ed, V-ed\n\n6.\n  see also cabling


Words: cable car
Meaning:
ca.ble car\n   cable car  cable cars\n  A cable car is a vehicle for taking people up mountains or steep hills. It is pulled by a moving cable.\n  N-COUNT


Words: cable television
Meaning:
ca.ble tele.vi.sion\n   cable television\n  Cable television is a television system in which signals are sent along wires rather than by radio waves.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: cabling
Meaning:
ca.bling\n   cabling\n  Cabling is used to refer to electrical or electronic cables, or to the process of putting them in a place.\n...modern offices equipped with computer cabling.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n  see also cable


Words: cache
Meaning:
cache  caches\n1. A cache is a quantity of things such as weapons that have been hidden.\nA huge arms cache was discovered by police.\n...a cache of weapons and explosives.\n  N-COUNT: with supp\n  = store\n2. A cache or cache memory is an area of computer memory that is used for temporary storage of data and can be accessed more quickly than the main memory. (COMPUTING)\nIn your Web browser’s cache are the most recent Web files that you have downloaded.\n  N-COUNT


Words: cachet
Meaning:
ca.chet\n   cachet\n  If someone or something has a certain cachet, they have a quality which makes people admire them or approve of them. (WRITTEN)\nA Mercedes carries a certain cachet.\n  N-SING: with supp  approval


Words: cack-handed
Meaning:
cack-handed\n  If you describe someone as cack-handed, you mean that they handle things in an awkward or clumsy way. (BRIT INFORMAL)\n...the cack-handed way they handled the incident.\n  ADJ  disapproval\n  = clumsy


Words: cackle
Meaning:
cack.le\n   cackle  cackles  cackling  cackled\n  If someone cackles, they laugh in a loud unpleasant way, often at something bad that happens to someone else.\nThe old lady cackled, pleased to have produced so dramatic a reaction...\n  VERB: V\n\n  Cackle is also a noun.\nHe let out a brief cackle.\n  N-COUNT


Words: cacophonous
Meaning:
ca.copho.nous\n   cacophonous\n  If you describe a mixture of sounds as cacophonous, you mean that they are loud and unpleasant.\n...the cacophonous beat of pop music.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  !=harmonious


Words: cacophony
Meaning:
ca.copho.ny\n   cacophony  cacophonies\n  You can describe a loud, unpleasant mixture of sounds as a cacophony.\nAll around was bubbling a cacophony of voices.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, usu N of n


Words: cactus
Meaning:
cac.tus\n   cactus  cactuses  or cacti\n  A cactus is a thick fleshy plant that grows in many hot, dry parts of the world. Cacti have no leaves and many of them are covered in prickles.\n  N-COUNT


Words: CAD
Meaning:
CAD refers to the use of computer software in the design of things such as cars, buildings, and machines. CAD is an abbreviation for `computer aided design’. (COMPUTING)\n...CAD software.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: cad
Meaning:
cad  cads\n  If you say that a man is a cad, you mean that he treats other people, especially women, badly or unfairly. (OLD-FASHIONED)\nHe’s a scoundrel! A cad!\n  N-COUNT


Words: cadaverous
Meaning:
ca.dav.er.ous\n   cadaverous\n  If you describe someone as cadaverous, you mean they are extremely thin and pale. (WRITTEN)\n...a tall man with a long, cadaverous face.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: caddie
Meaning:
cad.die\n   caddie  caddies  caddying  caddied   also caddy\n1. In golf, a caddie is a person who carries golf clubs and other equipment for a player.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If you caddie for a golfer, you act as their caddie.\nLil caddied for her son.\n  VERB: V for n, also V


Words: cadence
Meaning:
ca.dence\n   cadence  cadences\n1. The cadence of someone’s voice is the way their voice gets higher and lower as they speak. (FORMAL)\nHe recognized the Polish cadences in her voice...\n  N-COUNT\n  = intonation\n2. A cadence is the phrase that ends a section of music or a complete piece of music.\n  N-COUNT


Words: cadenza
Meaning:
ca.den.za\n   cadenza  cadenzas\n  In classical music, a cadenza is a long and difficult solo passage in a piece for soloist and orchestra.\n  N-COUNT


Words: cadet
Meaning:
ca.det\n   cadet  cadets\n  A cadet is a young man or woman who is being trained in the armed services or the police.\n...army cadets.\n...the Cadet Corps.\n  N-COUNT


Words: cadge
Meaning:
cadge  cadges  cadging  cadged\n  If someone cadges food, money, or help from you, they ask you for it and succeed in getting it. (mainly BRIT INFORMAL)\nCan I cadge a cigarette?...\nHe could cadge a ride from somebody.\n  VERB: V n, V n from/off n\n  = scrounge


Words: cadmium
Meaning:
cad.mium\n   cadmium\n  Cadmium is a soft bluish-white metal that is used in the production of nuclear energy.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: cadre
Meaning:
ca.dre\n   cadre  cadres\n  A cadre is a small group of people who have been specially chosen, trained, and organized for a particular purpose.\n...an elite cadre of international managers.\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp


Words: Caesar salad
Meaning:
Caesar sal.ad\n   Caesar salad  Caesar salads   also caesar salad\n  Caesar salad is a type of salad containing lettuce, eggs, cheese, and small pieces of fried bread, served with a dressing of oil, vinegar, and herbs.\n  N-VAR


Words: Caesarean
Meaning:
Cae.sar.ean\n   Caesarean  Caesareans\n  A Caesarean or a Caesarean section is an operation in which a baby is lifted out of a woman’s womb through an opening cut in her abdomen.\nMy youngest daughter was born by Caesarean.\n  N-COUNT: also by N


Words: cafe
Meaning:
cafe  cafes   also cafe\n1. A cafe is a place where you can buy drinks, simple meals, and snacks, but, in Britain, not usually alcoholic drinks.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A street cafe or a pavement cafe is a cafe which has tables and chairs on the pavement outside it where people can eat and drink.\n...an Italian street cafe.\n...sidewalk cafes and boutiques.\n  N-COUNT: n N


Words: cafeteria
Meaning:
caf.eteria\n   cafeteria  cafeterias\n  A cafeteria is a restaurant where you choose your food from a counter and take it to your table after paying for it. Cafeterias are usually found in public buildings such as hospitals, colleges, and stores.\n  N-COUNT\n  = canteen


Words: cafetiere
Meaning:
caf.eti.ere\n   cafetiere  cafetieres\n  A cafetiere is a type of coffee pot that has a disk with small holes in it attached to the lid. You push the lid down to separate the liquid from the ground coffee when it is ready to drink.\n  N-COUNT


Words: caff
Meaning:
caff  caffs\n  A caff is a cafe which serves simple British food such as fried eggs, bacon, and sausages. (BRIT INFORMAL)\n...a transport caff.\n  N-COUNT


Words: caffeine
Meaning:
caf.feine\n   caffeine\n  Caffeine is a chemical substance found in coffee, tea, and cocoa, which affects your brain and body and makes you more active.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: caftan
Meaning:
caf.tan\n   caftan  caftans   also kaftan\n  A caftan is a long loose garment with long sleeves. Caftans are worn by men in Arab countries, and by women in America and Europe.\n  N-COUNT


Words: cage
Meaning:
cage  cages\n1. A cage is a structure of wire or metal bars in which birds or animals are kept.\nI hate to see birds in cages.\n  N-COUNT\n\n  see also rib cage\n2. If someone rattles your cage, they do something which is intended to make you feel nervous.\nIf he’s trying to rattle your cage, it’s working.\n  PHRASE: V and N inflect


Words: caged
Meaning:
caged\n  A caged bird or animal is inside a cage.\nMark was still pacing like a caged animal.\n  ADJ


Words: cagey
Meaning:
cag.ey\n   cagey\n  If you say that someone is being cagey about something, you mean that you think they are deliberately not giving you much information or expressing an opinion about it.\nHe is cagey about what he was paid for the business.\n  ADJ\n  = guarded


Words: cahoots
Meaning:
ca.hoots\n   cahoots\n  If you say that one person is in cahoots with another, you do not trust the first person because you think that they are planning something secretly with the other.\nIn his view they were all in cahoots with the police...\n  PHRASE: usu v-link PHR, oft PHR with n  disapproval


Words: cairn
Meaning:
cairn  cairns\n  A cairn is a pile of stones which marks a boundary, a route across rough ground, or the top of a mountain. A cairn is sometimes also built in memory of someone.\n  N-COUNT


Words: cajole
Meaning:
ca.jole\n   cajole  cajoles  cajoling  cajoled\n  If you cajole someone into doing something, you get them to do it after persuading them for some time.\nIt was he who had cajoled Garland into doing the film...\nHe cajoled Mr Dobson to stand for mayor.\n  VERB: V n into -ing, V n to-inf, also V n, V


Words: Cajun
Meaning:
Ca.jun\n   Cajun  Cajuns\n1. Cajun means belonging or relating to a group of people who live mainly in Louisiana in the United States, and are descended from French people. Cajun is also used to refer to the language and culture of these people.\nThey played some Cajun music.\n...Cajun food.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n2. A Cajun is a person of Cajun origin.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. Cajun is a dialect of French spoken by Cajun people.\n...the first book ever written in Cajun.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: cake
Meaning:
cake  cakes\n1. A cake is a sweet food made by baking a mixture of flour, eggs, sugar, and fat in an oven. Cakes may be large and cut into slices or small and intended for one person only.\n...a piece of cake...\nWould you like some chocolate cake?\n...little cakes with white icing.\n  N-VAR\n\n2. Food that is formed into flat round shapes before it is cooked can be referred to as cakes.\n...fish cakes.\n...home-made potato cakes.\n  N-COUNT: usu supp N\n\n3. A cake of soap is a small block of it.\n...a small cake of lime-scented soap.\n  N-COUNT: usu N of n\n\n4. If you think that someone wants the benefits of doing two things when it is only reasonable to expect the benefits of doing one, you can say that they want to have their cake and eat it.\nWhat he wants is a switch to a market economy in a way which does not reduce people’s standard of living. To many this sounds like wanting to have his cake and eat it.\n  PHRASE: Vs inflect  disapproval\n\n5. If you think something is very easy to do, you can say it is a piece of cake. People often say this to stop someone feeling worried about doing something they have to do. (INFORMAL)\nJust another surveillance job, old chap. Piece of cake to somebody like you.\n  PHRASE: usu v-link PHR\n\n6. If someone has done something very stupid, rude, or selfish, you can say that they take the cake or that what they have done takes the cake, to emphasize your surprise at their behaviour. (AM; in BRIT, use take the biscuit)\n  PHRASE: V inflects  emphasis\n  = take the biscuit\n7.\nthe icing on the cake: see icing


Words: cake mix
Meaning:
cake mix  cake mixes\n  Cake mix is a powder that you mix with eggs and water or milk to make a cake. You bake the mixture in the oven.\n  N-VAR


Words: cake pan
Meaning:
cake pan  cake pans\n  A cake pan is a metal container that you bake a cake in. (AM; in BRIT, usually use cake tin)\n  N-COUNT


Words: cake tin
Meaning:
cake tin  cake tins\n  A cake tin is a metal container that you bake a cake in. (BRIT; in AM, usually use cake pan)\n  N-COUNT


Words: caked
Meaning:
caked\n  If something is caked with mud, blood, or dirt, it is covered with a thick dry layer of it.\nHer shoes were caked with mud.\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ with/in n\n  = encrusted\n  Caked is also a combining form.\n...herds of mud-caked cattle and sheep.\n  COMB in ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  = encrusted


Words: cal
Meaning:
cal  cals\n  Cals are units of measurement for the energy value of food. Cal is an abbreviation for `calorie’.\n...325 cals per serving.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl, num N


Words: calamine
Meaning:
cala.mine\n   calamine\n  Calamine is a liquid that you can put on your skin when it is sore or itchy.\n...calamine lotion.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N n


Words: calamitous
Meaning:
ca.lami.tous\n   calamitous\n  If you describe an event or situation as calamitous, you mean it is very unfortunate or serious. (FORMAL)\n...the calamitous state of the country.\n  ADJ\n  = disastrous


Words: calamity
Meaning:
ca.lam.ity\n   calamity  calamities\n  A calamity is an event that causes a great deal of damage, destruction, or personal distress. (FORMAL)\nHe described drugs as the greatest calamity of the age...\nIt could only end in calamity.\n  N-VAR\n  = disaster


Words: calcified
Meaning:
cal.ci.fied\n   calcified\n  Body tissue that is calcified has become hard because of the presence of substances called calcium salts.\n...calcified tissue.\n  ADJ


Words: calcium
Meaning:
cal.cium\n   calcium\n  Calcium is a soft white element which is found in bones and teeth, and also in limestone, chalk, and marble.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: calculate
Meaning:
cal.cu.late\n   calculate  calculates  calculating  calculated\n1. If you calculate a number or amount, you discover it from information that you already have, by using arithmetic, mathematics, or a special machine.\nFrom this you can calculate the total mass in the Galaxy...\nWe calculate that the average size farm in Lancaster County is 65 acres...\n  VERB: V n, V that\n  = work out\n2. If you calculate the effects of something, especially a possible course of action, you think about them in order to form an opinion or decide what to do.\nI believe I am capable of calculating the political consequences accurately...\nThe President is calculating that this will somehow relieve the international pressure on him.\n  VERB: V n, V that


Words: calculated
Meaning:
cal.cu.lat.ed\n   calculated\n1. If something is calculated to have a particular effect, it is specially done or arranged in order to have that effect.\nTheir movements through the region were calculated to terrify landowners into abandoning their holdings...\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ to-inf\n\n2. If you say that something is not calculated to have a particular effect, you mean that it is unlikely to have that effect.\nSuch a statement was hardly calculated to deter future immigrants.\n  ADJ: with brd-neg, v-link ADJ to-inf\n  = likely\n3. You can describe a clever or dishonest action as calculated when it is very carefully planned or arranged.\nIrene’s cleaning the floor had been a calculated attempt to cover up her crime.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n4. If you take a calculated risk, you do something which you think might be successful, although you have fully considered the possible bad consequences of your action.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: calculating
Meaning:
cal.cu.lat.ing\n   calculating\n  If you describe someone as calculating, you disapprove of the fact that they deliberately plan to get what they want, often by hurting or harming other people.\nNorthbridge is a cool, calculating and clever criminal who could strike again.\n  ADJ  disapproval


Words: calculation
Meaning:
cal.cu.la.tion\n   calculation  calculations\n1. A calculation is something that you think about and work out mathematically. Calculation is the process of working something out mathematically.\nLeonard made a rapid calculation: he’d never make it in time.\n...the calculation of their assets.\n  N-VAR: oft N of n\n\n2. A calculation is something that you think carefully about and arrive at a conclusion on after having considered all the relevant factors.\nFor the President, the calculations are equally difficult. If the peacekeeping operation goes wrong he risks appearing weak.\n  N-VAR


Words: calculator
Meaning:
cal.cu.la.tor\n   calculator  calculators\n  A calculator is a small electronic device that you use for making mathematical calculations.\n...a pocket calculator.\n  N-COUNT


Words: calculus
Meaning:
cal.cu.lus\n   calculus\n  Calculus is a branch of advanced mathematics which deals with variable quantities.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: calendar
Meaning:
cal.en.dar\n   calendar  calendars\n1. A calendar is a chart or device which displays the date and the day of the week, and often the whole of a particular year divided up into months, weeks, and days.\nThere was a calendar on the wall above, with large squares around the dates.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A calendar is a particular system for dividing time into periods such as years, months, and weeks, often starting from a particular point in history.\nThe Christian calendar was originally based on the Julian calendar of the Romans.\n  N-COUNT: usu supp N\n\n3. You can use calendar to refer to a series or list of events and activities which take place on particular dates, and which are important for a particular organization, community, or person.\nIt is one of the British sporting calendar’s most prestigious events...\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, usu with poss\n  = diary


Words: calendar month
Meaning:
cal.en.dar month\n   calendar month  calendar months\n1. A calendar month is one of the twelve months of the year.\nWinners will be selected at the end of each calendar month.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A calendar month is the period from a particular date in one month to the same date in the next month, for example from April 4th to May 4th.\n  N-COUNT


Words: calendar year
Meaning:
cal.en.dar year\n   calendar year  calendar years\n  A calendar year is a period of twelve months from January 1 to December 31. Calendar year is often used in business to compare with the financial year.\n  N-COUNT


Words: calf
Meaning:
calf  calves\n1. A calf is a young cow.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. Some other young animals, including elephants and whales, are called calves.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. Your calf is the thick part at the back of your leg, between your ankle and your knee.\n...a calf injury.\n  N-COUNT


Words: calf-length
Meaning:
calf-length\n  Calf-length skirts, dresses, and coats come to halfway between your knees and ankles.\n...a black, calf-length coat.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: calfskin
Meaning:
calf.skin\n   calfskin\n  Calfskin shoes and clothing are made from the skin of a calf.\n...calfskin boots.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N n


Words: calibrate
Meaning:
cali.brate\n   calibrate  calibrates  calibrating  calibrated\n1. If you calibrate an instrument or tool, you mark or adjust it so that you can use it to measure something accurately. (TECHNICAL)\n...instructions on how to calibrate a thermometer.\n  VERB: V n\n\n2. If you calibrate something, you measure it accurately. (WRITTEN)\n...a way of calibrating the shift of opinion within the Labour Party...\n  VERB: V n\n\n=>  cali.bra.tion      calibrations\n...the precise calibration of the achievement level of those observed.\n  N-VAR


Words: calibre
Meaning:
cali.bre\n   calibre  calibres\nin AM, use caliber\n1. The calibre of a person is the quality or standard of their ability or intelligence, especially when this is high.\nI was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts...\n  N-UNCOUNT: with supp, usu adj N, N of n\n\n2. The calibre of something is its quality, especially when it is good.\nThe calibre of teaching was very high.\n  N-UNCOUNT: with supp, oft N of n\n\n3. The calibre of a gun is the width of the inside of its barrel. (TECHNICAL)\n...a .22 calibre rifle.\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp, oft num N, adj N


Words: caliper
Meaning:
cali.per\n   caliper  calipers   also calliper\n1. Calipers are an instrument consisting of two long, thin pieces of metal joined together at one end, and are used to measure the size of things.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl, also a pair of N\n\n2. Calipers are devices consisting of metal rods held together by straps, which are used to support a person’s legs when they cannot walk properly.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl


Words: caliph
Meaning:
ca.liph\n   caliph  caliphs   also calif\n  A Caliph was a Muslim ruler.\n...the caliph of Baghdad.\n  N-COUNT; N-TITLE


Words: calisthenics
Meaning:
cal.is.then.ics\n   calisthenics   also callisthenics\n  Calisthenics are simple exercises that you can do to keep fit and healthy.\n  N-PLURAL


Words: call
Meaning:
call  calls  calling  called\n1. If you call someone or something by a particular name or title, you give them that name or title.\n`Doctor...’.`Will you please call me Sarah?’...\nEverybody called each other by their surnames.\n  VERB: V n n, V n by n\n\n=>  called\nThere are two men called Buckley at the Home Office.\n...a device called an optical amplifier.\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ\n\n2. If you call someone or something a particular thing, you suggest they are that thing or describe them as that thing.\nThe speech was interrupted by members of the Conservative Party, who called him a traitor...\nShe calls me lazy and selfish...\nHe called it particularly cynical to begin releasing the hostages on Christmas Day...\nAnyone can call themselves a psychotherapist.\n  VERB: V n n, V n adj, V it adj to-inf, V pron-refl n\n\n3. If you call something, you say it in a loud voice, because you are trying to attract someone’s attention.\nHe could hear the others downstairs in different parts of the house calling his name...\n`Boys!’ she called again.\n  VERB: V n, V with quote\n\n  Call out means the same as call.\nThe butcher’s son called out a greeting...\nThe train stopped and a porter called out, `Middlesbrough!’\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), V P with quote, also V n P\n\n4. If you call someone, you telephone them.\nWould you call me as soon as you find out?...\nA friend of mine gave me this number to call...\n`May I speak with Mr Coyne, please?’.`May I ask who’s calling?’\n  VERB: V n, V n, V\n  = phone\n5. If you call someone such as a doctor or the police, you ask them to come to you, usually by telephoning them.\nHe screamed for his wife to call an ambulance...\nOne night he was called to see a woman with tuberculosis.\n  VERB: V n, be V-ed to-inf\n\n6. If you call someone, you ask them to come to you by shouting to them.\nShe called her young son: `Here, Stephen, come and look at this!’...\nHe called me over the Tannoy.\n  VERB: V n, V n prep\n\n7. When you make a telephone call, you telephone someone.\nI made a phone call to the United States to talk to a friend...\nI’ve had hundreds of calls from other victims...\n  N-COUNT\n\n8. If someone in authority calls something such as a meeting, rehearsal, or election, they arrange for it to take place at a particular time.\nThe Committee decided to call a meeting of the All India Congress...\nThe RSC was calling a press conference to announce the theatre’s closure...\n  VERB: V n, V n\n\n9. If someone is called before a court or committee, they are ordered to appear there, usually to give evidence.\nThe child waited two hours before she was called to give evidence...\nI was called as an expert witness.\n  VERB: usu passive, be V-ed to-inf, be V-ed prep\n  = summon\n10. If you call somewhere, you make a short visit there.\nA market researcher called at the house where he was living...\nAndrew now came almost weekly to call.\n  VERB: V prep/adv, V\n\n  Call is also a noun.\nHe decided to pay a call on Tommy Cummings.\n  N-COUNT\n\n11. When a train, bus, or ship calls somewhere, it stops there for a short time to allow people to get on or off.\nThe steamer calls at several ports along the way.\n  VERB: V prep/adv\n\n12. To call a game or sporting event means to cancel it, for example because of rain or bad light. (AM)\nWe called the next game.\n  VERB: V n\n  = call off\n13. If there is a call for something, someone demands that it should happen.\nThere have been calls for a new kind of security arrangement...\nAlmost all workers heeded a call by the trade unions to stay at home for the duration of the strike.\n  N-COUNT: usu N for n, N to-inf\n\n14. If there is little or no call for something, very few people want it to be done or provided.\n`Have you got just plain chocolate?’.`No, I’m afraid there’s not much call for that.’\n  N-UNCOUNT: with brd-neg, N for n\n  = demand\n15. The call of something such as a place is the way it attracts or interests you strongly.\n  N-SING: with poss\n  = pull, lure\n(next)


Words: call .1
Meaning:
16. The call of a particular bird or animal is the characteristic sound that it makes.\n...a wide range of animal noises and bird calls.\n  N-COUNT\n\n17.\n  see also calling, so-called\n18. If you say that there is no call for someone to behave in a particular way, you are criticizing their behaviour, usually because you think it is rude.\nThere was no call for him to single you out from all the others.\n  PHRASE: PHR n to-inf, PHR n  disapproval\n  = there is no need for\n19. If someone is on call, they are ready to go to work at any time if they are needed, especially if there is an emergency.\nIn theory I’m on call day and night.\n...a doctor on call.\n  PHRASE: PHR after v, v-link PHR\n\n20. If you call in sick, you telephone the place where you work to tell them you will not be coming to work because you are ill.\n`Shouldn’t you be at work today?’.`I called in sick.’\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n21.\nto call someone’s bluff: see bluff\nto call it a day: see day\nto call a halt: see halt\nto call something to mind: see mind\ncall of nature: see nature\nto call something your own: see own\nto call something into question: see question\nto call it quits: see quit\nto call a spade a spade: see spade\nto call the tune: see tune\ntoo close to call: see close


Words: call back
Meaning:
call back\n  If you call someone back, you telephone them again or in return for a telephone call that they have made to you.\nIf we’re not around she’ll take a message and we’ll call you back...\n  PHRASAL VERB: V n P\n  = ring back


Words: call box
Meaning:
call box  call boxes   also call-box\n1. A call box is the same as a telephone box. (BRIT)\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A call box is a telephone in a box or case, often on a pole, that is at the side of a road and that you can use in emergencies. (mainly AM)\n  N-COUNT


Words: call centre
Meaning:
call cen.tre\n   call centre  call centres\nin AM, use call center\n  A call centre is an office where people work answering or making telephone calls for a particular company.\n  N-COUNT


Words: call for
Meaning:
call for\n1. If you call for someone, you go to the building where they are, so that you can both go somewhere.\nI shall be calling for you at seven o’clock.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n\n\n2. If you call for something, you demand that it should happen.\nThey angrily called for Robinson’s resignation...\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n\n\n3. If something calls for a particular action or quality, it needs it or makes it necessary.\nIt’s a situation that calls for a blend of delicacy and force.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n\n  = demand, require


Words: call girl
Meaning:
call girl  call girls\n  A call girl is a prostitute who makes appointments by telephone.\n  N-COUNT


Words: call in
Meaning:
call in\n1. If you call someone in, you ask them to come and help you or do something for you.\nCall in an architect or surveyor to oversee the work.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron)\n\n2. If you call in somewhere, you make a short visit there.\nHe just calls in occasionally...\nI got into the habit of calling in on Gloria on my way home.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P, V P on n\n  = drop in


Words: call off
Meaning:
call off\n  If you call off an event that has been planned, you cancel it.\nHe has called off the trip...\nThe union threatened a strike but called it off at the last minute.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), V n P


Words: call on
Meaning:
call on   or call upon\n1. If you call on someone to do something or call upon them to do it, you say publicly that you want them to do it.\nOne of Kenya’s leading churchmen has called on the government to resign...\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n to-inf\n\n2. If you call on someone or call upon someone, you pay them a short visit.\nSofia was intending to call on Miss Kitts.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n


Words: call out
Meaning:
call out\n  If you call someone out, you order or request that they come to help, especially in an emergency.\nColombia has called out the army and imposed emergency measures...\nI called the doctor out...\nThe fire brigade should always be called out to a house fire.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), V n P, be V-ed P to n\n\n  see also call 3


Words: call sign
Meaning:
call sign  call signs\n  A call sign is the letters and numbers which identify a person, vehicle, or organization that is broadcasting on the radio or sending messages by radio.\n  N-COUNT


Words: call up
Meaning:
call up\n1. If you call someone up, you telephone them. (mainly AM)\nWhen I’m in Pittsburgh, I call him up...\nHe called up the museum...\nSometimes I’d even call up at 4 a.m.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V n P, V P n (not pron), V P\n  = call\n2. If someone is called up, they are ordered to join the army, navy, or air force.\nYoungsters coming up to university were being called up...\nThe United States has called up some 150,000 military reservists.\n  PHRASAL VERB: be V-ed P, V P n (not pron), also V n P\n  = draft\n3. If someone is called up, they are chosen to play in a sports team.\nHe is likely to be called up for Thursday’s match against Italy...\n  PHRASAL VERB: be V-ed P\n\n  see also call-up


Words: call waiting
Meaning:
call wait.ing\n\n  Call waiting is a telephone service that sends you a signal if another call arrives while you are already on the phone.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N n


Words: call-in
Meaning:
call-in  call-ins\n  A call-in is a programme on radio or television in which people telephone with questions or opinions and their calls are broadcast. (AM; in BRIT, use phone-in)\n...a call-in show on Los Angeles radio station KABC.\n  N-COUNT


Words: call-up
Meaning:
call-up  call-ups\n1. If a person gets their call-up papers, they receive an official order to join the armed forces.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n  = draft\n2. A call-up is an occasion on which people are ordered to report for service in the armed forces.\nThe call-up of National Guard and reserve units begun in late August.\n  N-COUNT


Words: caller
Meaning:
call.er\n   caller  callers\n1. A caller is a person who is making a telephone call.\nAn anonymous caller told police what had happened.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A caller is a person who comes to see you for a short visit.\nShe ushered her callers into a cluttered living-room.\n  N-COUNT\n  = visitor


Words: calligrapher
Meaning:
cal.lig.ra.pher\n   calligrapher  calligraphers\n  A calligrapher is a person skilled in the art of calligraphy.\nShe is a skilled calligrapher.\n  N-COUNT


Words: calligraphy
Meaning:
cal.lig.ra.phy\n   calligraphy\n  Calligraphy is the art of producing beautiful handwriting using a brush or a special pen.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: calling
Meaning:
call.ing\n   calling  callings\n  A calling is a profession or career which someone is strongly attracted to, especially one which involves helping other people.\nHe was a consultant physician, a serious man dedicated to his calling.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing\n  = vocation


Words: calling card
Meaning:
call.ing card\n   calling card  calling cards\n  A calling card is a small card with personal information about you on it, such as your name and address, which you can give to people when you go to visit them. (mainly AM)\n  N-COUNT\n  = card


Words: callous
Meaning:
cal.lous\n   callous\n  A callous person or action is very cruel and shows no concern for other people or their feelings.\n...his callous disregard for human life.\n  ADJ\n\n=>  cal.lous.ness\n...the callousness of Raymond’s murder.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n=>  cal.lous.ly\nHe is accused of consistently and callously ill-treating his wife.\n  ADV: ADV with v


Words: calloused
Meaning:
cal.loused\n   calloused   also callused\n  A foot or hand that is calloused is covered in calluses.\n...blunt, calloused fingers.\n  ADJ


Words: callow
Meaning:
cal.low\n   callow\n  A callow young person has very little experience or knowledge of the way they should behave as an adult.\n...a callow youth.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: callus
Meaning:
cal.lus\n   callus  calluses\n  A callus is an unwanted area of thick skin, usually on the palms of your hands or the soles of your feet, which has been caused by something rubbing against it.\n  N-COUNT


Words: calm
Meaning:
calm  calmer  calmest  calms  calming  calmed\n1. A calm person does not show or feel any worry, anger, or excitement.\nShe is usually a calm and diplomatic woman...\nTry to keep calm and just tell me what happened...\nShe sighed, then continued in a soft, calm voice...\n  ADJ\n\n  Calm is also a noun.\nHe felt a sudden sense of calm, of contentment.\n  N-UNCOUNT: also a N\n\n=>  calm.ly\nAlan looked at him and said calmly, `I don’t believe you.’...\n  ADV: usu ADV with v, also ADV adj\n\n2. If you calm someone, you do something to make them feel less angry, worried, or excited.\nShe was breathing quickly and tried to calm herself...\nSome people say smoking calms your nerves.\n  VERB: V n, V n\n\n=>  calm.ing\n...a fresh, cool fragrance which produces a very calming effect on the mind.\n  ADJ\n\n3. Calm is used to refer to a quiet, still, or peaceful atmosphere in a place.\n...the rural calm of Grand Rapids, Michigan.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n  = peace\n4. If someone says that a place is calm, they mean that it is free from fighting or public disorder, when trouble has recently occurred there or had been expected. (JOURNALISM)\nThe city of Sarajevo appears relatively calm today.\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ\n  = peaceful\n  Calm is also a noun.\nCommunity and church leaders have appealed for calm and no retaliation...\n  N-UNCOUNT: also a N\n\n5. To calm a situation means to reduce the amount of trouble, violence, or panic there is.\nMr Beazer tried to calm the protests by promising to keep the company’s base in Pittsburgh.\n  VERB: V n\n\n6. If the sea or a lake is calm, the water is not moving very much and there are no big waves.\n...as we slid into the calm waters of Cowes Harbour.\n  ADJ\n  = still  !=rough\n7. Calm weather is pleasant weather with little or no wind.\nTuesday was a fine, clear and calm day.\n  ADJ\n\n8. In sailing, a flat calm or a dead calm is a condition of the sea or the weather in which there is very little wind or movement of the water. (TECHNICAL)\n  N-COUNT: usu supp N\n\n9. When the sea calms, it becomes still because the wind stops blowing strongly. When the wind calms, it stops blowing strongly.\nDawn came, the sea calmed but the cold was as bitter as ever.\n  VERB: V\n\n10. You can use the calm before the storm to refer to a quiet period in which there is little or no activity, before a period in which there is a lot of trouble or intense activity.\n  PHRASE


Words: calm down
Meaning:
calm down\n1. If you calm down, or if someone calms you down, you become less angry, upset, or excited.\nCalm down for a minute and listen to me...\nDo not have a drink or take drugs to calm yourself down.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P, V n P, also V P n (not pron)\n\n2. If things calm down, or someone or something calms things down, the amount of activity, trouble, or panic is reduced.\nWe will go back to normal when things calm down...\nNeil Howorth, director of the academy, tried to calm things down.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P, V n P\n  = settle down


Words: calmly
Meaning:
calm.ly\n   calmly\n  You can use calmly to emphasize that someone is behaving in a very controlled or ordinary way in a frightening or unusual situation. (WRITTEN)\nThe gunmen calmly walked away and escaped in a waiting car.\n  ADV: ADV with v  emphasis\n\n  see also calm


Words: Calor Gas
Meaning:
Cal.or Gas\n   Calor Gas\n  Calor gas is gas in liquid form which is sold in special containers so that people can use it in places which are not connected to the gas supply, such as tents or caravans. (TRADEMARK)\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: caloric
Meaning:
ca.lor.ic\n   caloric\n  Caloric means relating to calories.\n...a daily caloric intake of from 400 to 1200 calories.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: calorie
Meaning:
calo.rie\n   calorie  calories\n  Calories are units used to measure the energy value of food. People who are on diets try to eat food that does not contain many calories.\nA glass of wine does have quite a lot of calories.\n...calorie controlled diets.\n  N-COUNT\n\n  see also -calorie


Words: calorific
Meaning:
calo.rif.ic\n   calorific\n  The calorific value of something, or its calorific content, is the number of calories it contains. (TECHNICAL)\n...food with a high calorific value.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: calumny
Meaning:
cal.um.ny\n   calumny  calumnies\n  Calumny or a calumny is an untrue statement made about someone in order to reduce other people’s respect and admiration for them. (FORMAL)\nHe was the victim of calumny.\n  N-VAR\n  = slander


Words: calve
Meaning:
calve  calves  calving  calved\n1. When a cow calves, it gives birth to a calf.\nWhen his cows calve each year he keeps one or two calves for his family.\n  VERB: V\n\n2. Some other female animals, including elephants and whales, are said to calve when they give birth to their young.\nThe whales migrate some 6,000 miles to breed and calve in the warm lagoons.\n  VERB: V\n\n3. Calves is the plural of calf.


Words: Calvinist
Meaning:
Cal.vin.ist\n   Calvinist  Calvinists\n1. Calvinist means belonging or relating to a strict Protestant church started by John Calvin.\n...the Calvinist work ethic.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n2. A Calvinist is a member of the Calvinist church.\n  N-COUNT


Words: calypso
Meaning:
ca.lyp.so\n   calypso  calypsos\n  A calypso is a song about a current subject, sung in a style which originally comes from the West Indies.\n  N-COUNT


Words: camaraderie
Meaning:
ca.ma.ra.derie\n   camaraderie\n  Camaraderie is a feeling of trust and friendship among a group of people who have usually known each other for a long time or gone through some kind of experience together.\n...the loyalty and camaraderie of the wartime Army.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: camber
Meaning:
cam.ber\n   camber  cambers\n  A camber is a gradual downward slope from the centre of a road to each side of it.\n  N-COUNT


Words: camcorder
Meaning:
cam.cord.er\n   camcorder  camcorders\n  A camcorder is a portable video camera which records both pictures and sound.\n  N-COUNT


Words: camel
Meaning:
cam.el\n   camel  camels\n  A camel is a large animal that lives in deserts and is used for carrying goods and people. Camels have long necks and one or two lumps on their backs called humps.\n  N-COUNT\n\nthe straw that broke the camel’s back: see straw


Words: camel-hair
Meaning:
camel-hair\n  A camel-hair coat is made of a kind of soft, thick woollen cloth, usually creamy brown in colour.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n  The spellings camel hair, and in American English camel’s hair are also used.


Words: camellia
Meaning:
ca.mel.lia\n   camellia  camellias\n  A camellia is a large bush that has shiny leaves and large white, pink, or red flowers similar to a rose.\n  N-COUNT


Words: Camembert
Meaning:
Cam.em.bert\n   Camembert  Camemberts\n  Camembert is a type of cheese that comes from Northern France. It is soft and creamy with a white skin.\n  N-VAR


Words: cameo
Meaning:
cameo  cameos\n1. A cameo is a short description or piece of acting which expresses cleverly and neatly the nature of a situation, event, or person’s character.\nHe played a cameo role, that of a young Aids patient in hospital.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A cameo is a piece of jewellery, usually oval in shape, consisting of a raised stone figure or design fixed on to a flat stone of another colour.\n...a cameo brooch.\n  N-COUNT


Words: camera
Meaning:
cam.era\n   camera  cameras\n1. A camera is a piece of equipment that is used for taking photographs, making films, or producing television pictures.\nHer gran lent her a camera for a school trip to Venice and Egypt.\n...a video camera...\nThey were caught speeding by hidden cameras.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If someone or something is on camera, they are being filmed.\nJust about anything could happen and we’ll be there to catch it on camera when it does.\n  PHRASE: usu PHR after v, v-link PHR\n\n3. If you do something or if something happens off camera, you do it or it happens when not being filmed.\nThey were anything but friendly off-camera, refusing even to take the same lift.\n...off-camera interviews.\n  PHRASE: usu PHR after v, PHR n\n\n4. If a trial is held in camera, the public and the press are not allowed to attend. (FORMAL)\nThis morning’s appeal was held in camera...\n  PHRASE: PHR after v


Words: camera-shy
Meaning:
camera-shy\n  Someone who is camera-shy is nervous and uncomfortable about being filmed or about having their photograph taken.\n  ADJ


Words: cameraman
Meaning:
camera.man\n   cameraman  cameramen\n  A cameraman is a person who operates a camera for television or film making.\n  N-COUNT


Words: camerawork
Meaning:
camera.work\n   camerawork\n  The camerawork in a film is the way it has been filmed, especially if the style is interesting or unusual in some way.\nThe director employs sensuous, atmospheric camerawork and deft dramatic touches.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: camisole
Meaning:
cami.sole\n   camisole  camisoles\n  A camisole is a short piece of clothing that women wear on the top half of their bodies underneath a shirt or blouse, for example.\n...silk camisoles.\n  N-COUNT


Words: camomile
Meaning:
camo.mile\n   camomile   also chamomile\n  Camomile is a scented plant with flowers like small daisies. The flowers can be used to make herbal tea.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: camouflage
Meaning:
camou.flage\n   camouflage  camouflages  camouflaging  camouflaged\n1. Camouflage consists of things such as leaves, branches, or brown and green paint, which are used to make it difficult for an enemy to see military forces and equipment.\nThey were dressed in camouflage and carried automatic rifles.\n...a camouflage jacket.\n  N-UNCOUNT: also a N, oft N n\n\n2. If military buildings or vehicles are camouflaged, things such as leaves, branches, or brown and green paint are used to make it difficult for an enemy to see them.\nYou won’t see them from the air. They’d be very well camouflaged...\n  VERB: usu passive, be V-ed\n\n3. If you camouflage something such as a feeling or a situation, you hide it or make it appear to be something different.\nI think that there has been an attempt to camouflage what really happened.\n  VERB: V n\n  = conceal\n  Camouflage is also a noun.\nThe constant partygoing of her later years was a desperate camouflage for her grief.\n  N-UNCOUNT: also a N\n\n4. Camouflage is the way in which some animals are coloured and shaped so that they cannot easily be seen in their natural surroundings.\n  N-UNCOUNT: also a N


Words: camp
Meaning:
camp  camps  camping  camped\n1. A camp is a collection of huts and other buildings that is provided for a particular group of people, such as refugees, prisoners, or soldiers, as a place to live or stay.\n...a refugee camp...\n2,500 foreign prisoners-of-war, including Americans, had been held in camps near Tambov.\n  N-COUNT: oft n N\n\n2. A camp is an outdoor area with buildings, tents, or caravans where people stay on holiday.\n  N-VAR\n\n3. A camp is a collection of tents or caravans where people are living or staying, usually temporarily while they are travelling.\n...gypsy camps...\nWe’ll make camp on that hill ahead.\n  N-VAR\n\n4. If you camp somewhere, you stay or live there for a short time in a tent or caravan, or in the open air.\nWe camped near the beach.\n  VERB: V\n\n  Camp out means the same as camp.\nFor six months they camped out in a caravan in a meadow at the back of the house.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P\n\n=>  camp.ing\nThey went camping in the wilds.\n...a camping trip.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n5. You can refer to a group of people who all support a particular person, policy, or idea as a particular camp.\nThe press release provoked furious protests from the Gore camp and other top Democrats.\n  N-COUNT: usu supp N\n\n6. If you describe someone’s behaviour, performance, or style of dress as camp, you mean that it is exaggerated and amusing, often in a way that is thought to be typical of some male homosexuals. (INFORMAL)\nJames Barron turns in a delightfully camp performance.\n  ADJ\n\n  Camp is also a noun.\nThe video was seven minutes of high camp and melodrama.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n7.\n  see also camped, aide-de-camp, concentration camp, holiday camp, labour camp, prison camp, training camp\n8. If a performer camps it up, they deliberately perform in an exaggerated and often amusing way. (INFORMAL)\n  PHRASE: V inflects


Words: camp bed
Meaning:
camp bed  camp beds\n  A camp bed is a small bed that you can fold up. (BRIT; in AM, use cot)\n  N-COUNT


Words: camp follower
Meaning:
camp fol.low.er\n   camp follower  camp followers   also camp-follower\n1. If you describe someone as a camp follower, you mean that they do not officially belong to a particular group or movement but support it for their own advantage.\n...the Tory leader’s friends and camp followers.\n  N-COUNT  disapproval\n\n2. Camp followers are people who travel with an army or other group, especially members of soldiers’ families, or people who supply goods and services to the army.\n  N-COUNT


Words: camp out
Meaning:
camp out\n  If you say that people camp out somewhere in the open air, you are emphasizing that they stay there for a long time, because they are waiting for something to happen.\n...reporters who had camped out in anticipation of her arrival.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P\n\nsee camp 4


Words: campaign
Meaning:
cam.paign\n   campaign  campaigns  campaigning  campaigned\n1. A campaign is a planned set of activities that people carry out over a period of time in order to achieve something such as social or political change.\nDuring his election campaign he promised to put the economy back on its feet...\n...the campaign against public smoking.\n  N-COUNT: oft N to-inf, N for/against n\n\n2. If someone campaigns for something, they carry out a planned set of activities over a period of time in order to achieve their aim.\nWe are campaigning for law reform...\nThey have been campaigning to improve the legal status of women.\n  VERB: V for/against n, V to-inf\n\n3. In a war, a campaign is a series of planned movements carried out by armed forces.\nThe allies are intensifying their air campaign.\n  N-COUNT: oft n N\n  = operation\n4.\n  see also advertising campaign


Words: campaigner
Meaning:
cam.paign.er\n   campaigner  campaigners\n  A campaigner is a person who campaigns for social or political change.\n...anti-hunting campaigners.\n  N-COUNT: oft supp N, N for/against n


Words: camped
Meaning:
camped\n  If people are camped or camped out somewhere in the open air, they are living, staying, or waiting there, often in tents.\nMost of the refugees are camped high in the mountains...\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ, usu ADJ prep/adv


Words: camper
Meaning:
camp.er\n   camper  campers\n1. A camper is someone who is camping somewhere.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A camper is the same as a camper van.\n  N-COUNT


Words: camper van
Meaning:
camp.er van\n   camper van  camper vans\n  A camper van is a van which is equipped with beds and cooking equipment so that you can live, cook, and sleep in it.\n  N-COUNT


Words: campfire
Meaning:
camp.fire\n   campfire campfires  also camp fire\n  A campfire is a fire that you light out of doors when you are camping.\n  N-COUNT


Words: campground
Meaning:
camp.ground\n   campground  campgrounds\n  A campground is the same as a campsite. (mainly AM)\n  N-COUNT


Words: camphor
Meaning:
cam.phor\n   camphor\n  Camphor is a strong-smelling white substance used in various medicines, in mothballs, and in making plastics.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: camping site
Meaning:
camp.ing site\n   camping site  camping sites\n  A camping site is the same as a campsite.\n  N-COUNT


Words: campsite
Meaning:
camp.site\n   campsite  campsites\n  A campsite is a place where people who are on holiday can stay in tents.\n  N-COUNT


Words: campus
Meaning:
cam.pus\n   campus  campuses\n  A campus is an area of land that contains the main buildings of a university or college.\nPrivate automobiles are not allowed on campus.\n  N-COUNT: also prep N


Words: camshaft
Meaning:
cam.shaft\n   camshaft  camshafts\n  A camshaft is a rod in an engine and works to change circular motion into motion up and down or from side to side.\n  N-COUNT


Words: can
Meaning:
CONTAINER\n   can  cans  canning  canned\n1. A can is a metal container in which something such as food, drink, or paint is put. The container is usually sealed to keep the contents fresh.\n...empty beer cans.\n...cans of paint and brushes.\n  N-COUNT\n  = tin\n2. When food or drink is canned, it is put into a metal container and sealed so that it will remain fresh.\n...fruits and vegetables that will be canned, skinned, diced or otherwise processed...\nIt was always roast lamb and canned peas for Sunday lunch.\n  VERB: usu passive, be V-ed, V-ed\n  = tin\n3. The can is the toilet. (AM INFORMAL)\n  N-SING: the N\n\n4. If you are canned, you are dismissed from your job. (AM INFORMAL)\nThe extremists prevailed, and the security minister was canned...\n  VERB: be V-ed\n\n5.\n  see also canned\n\nMODAL USES\n   can  WEAK   STRONG\n\n  Can is a modal verb. It is used with the base form of a verb. The form cannot is used in negative statements. The usual spoken form of cannot is can’t, pronounced\n\n1. You use can when you are mentioning a quality or fact about something which people may make use of if they want to.\nPork is also the most versatile of meats. It can be roasted whole or in pieces...\nA central reservation number operated by the resort can direct you to accommodations that best suit your needs...\nA selected list of some of those stocking a comprehensive range can be found in Chapter 8.\n  MODAL\n\n2. You use can to indicate that someone has the ability or opportunity to do something.\nDon’t worry yourself about me, I can take care of myself...\nI can’t give you details because I don’t actually have any details...\nSee if you can find Karlov and tell him we are ready for dinner...\n`You’re needed here, Livy’.`But what can I do?’...\nCustomers can choose from sixty hit titles before buying...\n  MODAL\n\n3. You use cannot to indicate that someone is not able to do something because circumstances make it impossible for them to do it.\nWe cannot buy food, clothes and pay for rent and utilities on $20 a week...\nShe cannot sleep and the pain is often so bad she wants to scream.\n  MODAL\n\n4. You use can to indicate that something is true sometimes or is true in some circumstances.\n...long-term therapy that can last five years or more...\nExercising alone can be boring...\nCoral can be yellow, blue, or green.\n  MODAL\n\n5. You use cannot and can’t to state that you are certain that something is not the case or will not happen.\nFrom her knowledge of Douglas’s habits, she feels sure that the attacker can’t have been Douglas...\nThings can’t be that bad...\nYou can’t be serious, Mrs Lorimer?\n  MODAL\n\n6. You use can to indicate that someone is allowed to do something. You use cannot or can’t to indicate that someone is not allowed to do something.\nYou must buy the credit life insurance before you can buy the disability insurance...\nHere, can I really have your jeans when you grow out of them?...\nWe can’t answer any questions, I’m afraid...\n  MODAL\n\n7. You use cannot or can’t when you think it is very important that something should not happen or that someone should not do something.\nIt is an intolerable situation and it can’t be allowed to go on...\nThe Commission can’t demand from Sweden more than it demands from its own members.\n  MODAL  emphasis\n  = mustn’t\n8. You use can, usually in questions, in order to make suggestions or to offer to do something.\nThis old lady was struggling out of the train and I said, `Oh, can I help you?’...\nHello John. What can we do for you?...\nYou can always try the beer you know.it’s usually all right in this bar.\n  MODAL\n\n9. You use can in questions in order to make polite requests. You use can’t in questions in order to request strongly that someone does something.\nCan I have a look at that?...\nCan you please help?...\nCan you fill in some of the details of your career?...\nWhy can’t you leave me alone?\n  MODAL  politeness\n\n10. You use can as a polite way of interrupting someone or of introducing what you are going to say next. (FORMAL, SPOKEN)\nCan I interrupt you just for a minute?...\nBut if I can interrupt, Joe, I don’t think anybody here is personally blaming you...\n  MODAL\n  = may\n11. You use can with verbs such as `imagine’, `think’, and `believe’ in order to emphasize how you feel about a particular situation. (INFORMAL or SPOKEN)\nYou can imagine he was terribly upset...\nYou can’t think how glad I was to see them all go...\n  MODAL  emphasis\n\n12. You use can in questions with `how’ to indicate that you feel strongly about something. (SPOKEN)\nHow can you complain about higher taxes?...\nHow can you say such a thing?...\nHow can you expect me to believe your promises?\n  MODAL  emphasis


Words: can-can
Meaning:
can-can\n  The can-can is a dance in which women kick their legs in the air to fast music.\n...can-can dancers from the Moulin Rouge.\n  N-SING: oft the N


Words: can-do
Meaning:
can-do\n  If you say that someone has a can-do attitude, you approve of them because they are confident and willing to deal with problems or new tasks, rather than complaining or giving up. (INFORMAL)\nHe is known for his optimistic can-do attitude...\n  ADJ: ADJ n  approval\n  = positive  !=negative


Words: Canadian
Meaning:
Ca.na.dian\n   Canadian  Canadians\n1. Canadian means belonging or relating to Canada, or to its people or culture.\n  ADJ\n\n2. A Canadian is a Canadian citizen, or a person of Canadian origin.\n  N-COUNT


Words: canal
Meaning:
ca.nal\n   canal  canals\n1. A canal is a long, narrow stretch of water that has been made for boats to travel along or to bring water to a particular area.\n...the Grand Union Canal.\n...Venetian canals and bridges.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A canal is a narrow tube inside your body for carrying food, air, or other substances.\n...delaying the food’s progress through the alimentary canal.\n  N-COUNT: usu supp N


Words: canal boat
Meaning:
ca.nal boat\n   canal boat  canal boats\n  A canal boat is a long, narrow boat used for travelling on canals.\n  N-COUNT


Words: canape
Meaning:
cana.pe\n   canape  canapes\n  Canapes are small pieces of biscuit or toast with food such as meat, cheese, or pate on top. They are often served with drinks at parties.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl


Words: canard
Meaning:
ca.nard\n   canard  canards\n  A canard is an idea or a piece of information that is false, especially one that is spread deliberately in order to harm someone or their work.\nThe charge that Harding was a political stooge may be a canard.\n  N-COUNT


Words: canary
Meaning:
ca.nary\n   canary  canaries\n  Canaries are small yellow birds which sing beautifully and are often kept as pets.\n  N-COUNT


Words: canary yellow
Meaning:
ca.nary yel.low\n   canary yellow\n  Something that is canary yellow is a light yellow in colour.\n...a canary yellow dress.\n  COLOUR


Words: cancel
Meaning:
can.cel\n   cancel  cancels  cancelling  cancelled\nin AM, use canceling, canceled\n1. If you cancel something that has been arranged, you stop it from happening. If you cancel an order for goods or services, you tell the person or organization supplying them that you no longer wish to receive them.\nThe Russian foreign minister yesterday cancelled his visit to Washington...\nMany trains have been cancelled and a limited service is operating on other lines...\nThere is normally no refund should a client choose to cancel.\n  VERB: V n, V n, V\n\n=>  can.cel.la.tion      cancellations\nOutbursts of violence forced the cancellation of Haiti’s first free elections in 1987.\n...passengers who suffer delays and cancellations on planes, trains, ferries and buses.\n  N-VAR: oft N of n\n\n2. If someone in authority cancels a document, an insurance policy, or a debt, they officially declare that it is no longer valid or no longer legally exists.\nHe intends to try to leave the country, in spite of a government order cancelling his passport...\nShe learned her insurance had been canceled by Pacific Mutual Insurance Company...\n  VERB: V n, V n\n\n=>  can.cel.la.tion\n...a march by groups calling for cancellation of Third World debt.\n  N-UNCOUNT: with supp\n\n3. To cancel a stamp or a cheque means to mark it to show that it has already been used and cannot be used again.\nThe new device can also cancel the check after the transaction is complete.\n...cancelled stamps.\n  VERB: V n, V-ed


Words: cancel out
Meaning:
cancel out\n  If one thing cancels out another thing, the two things have opposite effects, so that when they are combined no real effect is produced.\nHe wonders if the different influences might not cancel each other out...\nThe goal was cancelled out just before half-time by Craig McLurg.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V n P, V n P, also V P n (not pron)


Words: Cancer
Meaning:
Can.cer\n   Cancer  Cancers\n1. Cancer is one of the twelve signs of the zodiac. Its symbol is a crab. People who are born approximately between the 21st of June and the 22nd of July come under this sign.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. A Cancer is a person whose sign of the zodiac is Cancer.\n  N-COUNT


Words: cancer
Meaning:
can.cer\n   cancer  cancers\n  Cancer is a serious disease in which cells in a person’s body increase rapidly in an uncontrolled way, producing abnormal growths.\nHer mother died of breast cancer...\nNinety per cent of lung cancers are caused by smoking.\n  N-VAR: oft n N


Words: cancerous
Meaning:
can.cer.ous\n   cancerous\n  Cancerous cells or growths are cells or growths that are the result of cancer.\n...production of cancerous cells...\nNine out of ten lumps are not cancerous.\n  ADJ


Words: candelabra
Meaning:
can.de.la.bra\n   candelabra  candelabras\n  A candelabra is an ornamental holder for two or more candles.\n  N-COUNT


Words: candid
Meaning:
can.did\n   candid\n1. When you are candid about something or with someone, you speak honestly.\nI haven’t been completely candid with him.\n...a candid interview.\n  ADJ: oft ADJ about n, ADJ with n\n  = frank\n2. A candid photograph of someone is one that was taken when the person did not know they were being photographed.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: candidacy
Meaning:
can.di.da.cy\n   candidacy  candidacies\n  Someone’s candidacy is their position of being a candidate in an election.\nToday he is formally announcing his candidacy for President.\n  N-VAR: oft with poss


Words: candidate
Meaning:
can.di.date\n   candidate  candidates\n1. A candidate is someone who is being considered for a position, for example someone who is running in an election or applying for a job.\nThe Democratic candidate is still leading in the polls...\nWe all spoke to them and John emerged as the best candidate.\n  N-COUNT: oft N for n\n\n2. A candidate is someone who is taking an examination. (BRIT)\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. A candidate is someone who is studying for a degree at a college. (AM)\n  N-COUNT\n\n4. A candidate is a person or thing that is regarded as being suitable for a particular purpose or as being likely to do or be a particular thing.\nThose who are overweight or indulge in high-salt diets are candidates for hypertension.\n  N-COUNT: usu N for n


Words: candidature
Meaning:
can.di.da.ture\n   candidature  candidatures\n  Candidature means the same as candidacy. (BRIT FORMAL)\n  N-VAR: usu poss N


Words: candied
Meaning:
can.died\n   candied\n  Food such as candied fruit has been covered with sugar or has been cooked in sugar syrup.\n...candied orange peel.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: candle
Meaning:
can.dle\n   candle  candles\n1. A candle is a stick of hard wax with a piece of string called a wick through the middle. You light the wick in order to give a steady flame that provides light.\nThe bedroom was lit by a single candle.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If you burn the candle at both ends, you try to do too many things in too short a period of time so that you have to stay up very late at night and get up very early in the morning to get them done.\n  PHRASE: V inflects


Words: candlelight
Meaning:
candle.light\n   candlelight\n  Candlelight is the light that a candle produces.\nThey dined by candlelight.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: candlelit
Meaning:
candle.lit\n   candlelit\n  A candlelit room or table is lit by the light of candles.\n...a candlelit dinner for two.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: candlestick
Meaning:
candle.stick\n   candlestick  candlesticks\n  A candlestick is a narrow object with a hole at the top which holds a candle.\n  N-COUNT


Words: candour
Meaning:
can.dour\n   candour\nin AM, use candor\n  Candour is the quality of speaking honestly and openly about things.\n...a brash, forceful man, noted both for his candour and his quick temper.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n  = frankness


Words: candy
Meaning:
can.dy\n   candy  candies\n  Candy is sweet foods such as toffees or chocolate. (AM; in BRIT, usually use sweets)\n...a piece of candy...\n...a large box of candies...\n  N-VAR


Words: candy bar
Meaning:
can.dy bar\n   candy bar  candy bars\n  A candy bar is a long, thin, sweet food, usually covered in chocolate. (AM)\n  N-COUNT


Words: candyfloss
Meaning:
candy.floss\n   candyfloss   also candy-floss\n1. Candyfloss is a large pink or white mass of sugar threads that is eaten from a stick. It is sold at fairs or other outdoor events. (BRIT; in AM, use cotton candy)\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. If you think something such as a CD or film has no real value, you can say that it is candyfloss. (BRIT)\nShe took to writing candyfloss romances...\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N n  disapproval


Words: cane
Meaning:
cane  canes\n1. Cane is used to refer to the long, hollow, hard stems of plants such as bamboo. Strips of cane are often used to make furniture, and some types of cane can be crushed and processed to make sugar.\n...cane furniture.\n...cane sugar...\nBamboo produces an annual crop of cane...\nDig out and burn infected canes.\n  N-VAR: oft N n\n\n2. A cane is a long thin stick with a curved or round top which you can use to support yourself when you are walking, or which in the past was fashionable to carry with you.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. A cane is a long, thin, flexible stick which in the past was used to hit people, especially children at school, as a punishment.\nUntil the 1980s some criminals were still flogged with a rattan cane as a punishment.\n  N-COUNT\n\n  The cane is used to refer to the punishment of being hit with a cane.\n  N-SING: the N\n\n4.\n  see also sugar cane


Words: canine
Meaning:
ca.nine\n   canine\n  Canine means relating to dogs.\n...research into canine diseases.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: canister
Meaning:
can.is.ter\n   canister  canisters\n1. A canister is a strong metal container. It is used to hold gases or chemical substances.\nRiot police hurled tear gas canisters and smoke bombs into the crowd.\n...canisters of commercial fuel.\n  N-COUNT: usu n N\n\n2. A canister is a metal, plastic, or china container with a lid. It is used for storing food such as sugar and flour.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. A canister is a flat round container. It is usually made of metal and is used to store photographic film.\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp


Words: canker
Meaning:
can.ker\n   canker  cankers\n1. A canker is something evil that spreads and affects things or people. (FORMAL)\n...the canker of jealousy.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. Canker is a disease which affects the wood of shrubs and trees, making the outer layer come away to expose the inside of the stem.\nIn gardens, cankers are most prominent on apples and pear trees.\n  N-VAR


Words: canned
Meaning:
canned\n  Canned music, laughter, or applause on a television or radio programme has been recorded beforehand and is added to the programme to make it sound as if there is a live audience.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n  see also can


Words: cannelloni
Meaning:
can.nel.lo.ni\n   cannelloni\n  Cannelloni is large tube-shaped pieces of pasta that contain a filling of meat, cheese, or vegetables.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: cannibal
Meaning:
can.ni.bal\n   cannibal  cannibals\n  Cannibals are people who eat the flesh of other human beings.\n...a tropical island inhabited by cannibals...\n  N-COUNT


Words: cannibalism
Meaning:
can.ni.bal.ism\n   cannibalism\n  If a group of people practise cannibalism, they eat the flesh of other people.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: cannibalistic
Meaning:
can.ni.bal.is.tic\n   cannibalistic\n  Cannibalistic people and practices are connected with cannibalism.\n...lurid cannibalistic feasts.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: cannibalize
Meaning:
can.ni.bal.ize\n   cannibalize  cannibalizes  cannibalizing  cannibalized\nin BRIT, also use cannibalise\n1. If you cannibalize something, you take it to pieces and use it to make something else.\nThey cannibalized damaged planes for the parts.\n  VERB: V n\n\n2. If one of a company’s products cannibalizes the company’s sales, people buy it instead of any of the company’s other products. (BUSINESS)\nA website need not cannibalise existing sales.\n  VERB: V n


Words: cannon
Meaning:
can.non\n   cannon  cannons\n1. A cannon is a large gun, usually on wheels, which used to be used in battles.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A cannon is a heavy automatic gun, especially one that is fired from an aircraft.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. If someone is a loose cannon, they do whatever they want and nobody can predict what they are going to do.\nMax is a loose cannon politically.\n  PHRASE: usu v-link PHR\n\n  see also water cannon


Words: cannon fodder
Meaning:
can.non fod.der\n   cannon fodder   also cannon-fodder\n  If someone in authority regards people they are in charge of as cannon fodder, they do not care if these people are harmed or lost in the course of their work.\nThe conscripts were treated as cannon fodder...\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: cannonade
Meaning:
can.non.ade\n   cannonade  cannonades\n  A cannonade is an intense continuous attack of gunfire.\n...the distant thunder of a cannonade.\n  N-COUNT\n  = barrage


Words: cannonball
Meaning:
cannon.ball\n   cannonball  cannonballs   also cannon ball\n  A cannonball is a heavy metal ball that is fired from a cannon.\n  N-COUNT


Words: canny
Meaning:
can.ny\n   canny  cannier  canniest\n  A canny person is clever and able to think quickly. You can also describe a person’s behaviour as canny.\nHe was far too canny to risk giving himself away...\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  = shrewd


Words: canoe
Meaning:
ca.noe\n   canoe  canoes\n  A canoe is a small, narrow boat that you move through the water using a stick with a wide end called a paddle.\n  N-COUNT


Words: canoeing
Meaning:
ca.noe.ing\n   canoeing\n  Canoeing is the sport of using and racing a canoe.\nThey went canoeing in the wilds of Canada.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: canoeist
Meaning:
ca.noe.ist\n   canoeist  canoeists\n  A canoeist is someone who is skilled at racing and performing tests of skill in a canoe.\n  N-COUNT


Words: canon
Meaning:
can.on\n   canon  canons\n  A canon is a member of the clergy who is on the staff of a cathedral.\n  N-COUNT


Words: canon law
Meaning:
can.on law\n   canon law\n  Canon law is the law of the Christian church. It has authority only for that church and its members.\nThe Church’s canon law forbids remarriage of divorced persons.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: canonical
Meaning:
ca.noni.cal\n   canonical\n  If something has canonical status, it is accepted as having all the qualities that a thing of its kind should have.\n...Ballard’s status as a canonical writer.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: canonize
Meaning:
can.on.ize\n   canonize  canonizes  canonizing  canonized\nin BRIT, also use canonise\n  If a dead person is canonized, it is officially announced by the Catholic Church that he or she is a saint.\nJoan of Arc was finally canonized by Pope Benedict XV in 1920.\n  VERB: usu passive, be V-ed


Words: canoodle
Meaning:
ca.noo.dle\n   canoodle  canoodles  canoodling  canoodled\n  If two people are canoodling, they are kissing and holding each other a lot. (mainly OLD-FASHIONED)\nHe was seen canoodling with his new girlfriend.\n  V-RECIP: V with n, also pl-n V


Words: canopied
Meaning:
cano.pied\n   canopied\n  A canopied building or piece of furniture is covered with a roof or a piece of material supported by poles.\n...a canopied Elizabethan bed.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: canopy
Meaning:
cano.py\n   canopy  canopies\n1. A canopy is a decorated cover, often made of cloth, which is placed above something such as a bed or a seat.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A canopy is a layer of something that spreads out and covers an area, for example the branches and leaves that spread out at the top of trees in a forest.\nThe trees formed such a dense canopy that all beneath was a deep carpet of pine-needles.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing


Words: cant
Meaning:
cant\n  If you refer to moral or religious statements as cant, you are criticizing them because you think the person making them does not really believe what they are saying.\n...politicians holding forth with their usual hypocritical cant.\n  N-UNCOUNT  disapproval


Words: cantaloupe
Meaning:
can.ta.loupe\n   cantaloupe  cantaloupes   also cantaloup\n  A cantaloupe is a type of melon.\n  N-COUNT


Words: cantankerous
Meaning:
can.tan.ker.ous\n   cantankerous\n  Someone who is cantankerous is always finding things to argue or complain about. (WRITTEN)\n...a cantankerous old man.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: cantata
Meaning:
can.ta.ta\n   cantata  cantatas\n  A cantata is a fairly short musical work for singers and instruments.\n  N-COUNT


Words: canteen
Meaning:
can.teen\n   canteen  canteens\n1. A canteen is a place in a factory, shop, or college where meals are served to the people who work or study there.\n...a school canteen.\n...canteen food.\n  N-COUNT\n  = cafeteria\n2. A canteen is a small plastic bottle for carrying water and other drinks. Canteens are used by soldiers.\n...a full canteen of water.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. A canteen of cutlery is a set of knives, forks, and spoons in a specially designed box.\n  N-COUNT: usu N of n


Words: canter
Meaning:
can.ter\n   canter  canters  cantering  cantered\n  When a horse canters, it moves at a speed that is slower than a gallop but faster than a trot.\nThe competitors cantered into the arena to conclude the closing ceremony.\n  VERB: V prep/adv\n\n  Canter is also a noun.\nCarnac set off at a canter.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing


Words: cantilever
Meaning:
can.ti.lever\n   cantilever  cantilevers\n  A cantilever is a long piece of metal or wood used in a structure such as a bridge. One end is fastened to something and the other end is used to support part of the structure.\n...the old steel cantilever bridge.\n  N-COUNT


Words: cantilevered
Meaning:
can.ti.levered\n   cantilevered\n  A cantilevered structure is constructed using cantilevers.\n...a cantilevered balcony.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: canton
Meaning:
can.ton\n   canton  cantons\n  A canton is a political or administrative region in some countries, for example Switzerland.\n...the Swiss canton of Berne.\n  N-COUNT


Words: Cantonese
Meaning:
Can.ton.ese\n   Cantonese  Cantonese\n1. Cantonese means belonging or relating to the Chinese provinces of Canton and Kwangtung.\n  ADJ\n\n2. The Cantonese are the people who live in or come from the Chinese provinces of Canton and Kwangtung.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl\n\n3. Cantonese is the language spoken in the Chinese provinces of Guango, Kwansai, and Hong Kong, as well as in other parts of the world.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: cantonment
Meaning:
can.ton.ment\n   cantonment  cantonments\n  A cantonment is a group of buildings or a camp where soldiers live.\n  N-COUNT


Words: canvas
Meaning:
can.vas\n   canvas  canvases\n1. Canvas is a strong, heavy cloth that is used for making things such as tents, sails, and bags.\n...a canvas bag.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. A canvas is a piece of canvas or similar material on which an oil painting can be done.\n  N-VAR\n\n3. A canvas is a painting that has been done on canvas.\nThe show includes canvases by masters like Carpaccio, Canaletto and Guardi.\n  N-COUNT\n  = painting


Words: canvass
Meaning:
can.vass\n   canvass  canvasses  canvassing  canvassed\n1. If you canvass for a particular person or political party, you go around an area trying to persuade people to vote for that person or party.\nI’m canvassing for the Conservative Party...\n  VERB: V for n\n\n=>  can.vass.er      canvassers\n...a Conservative canvasser.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If you canvass public opinion, you find out how people feel about a particular subject.\nMembers of Parliament are spending the weekend canvassing opinion in their constituencies.\n  VERB: V n


Words: canyon
Meaning:
can.yon\n   canyon  canyons\n  A canyon is a long, narrow valley with very steep sides.\n...the Grand Canyon.\n  N-COUNT; N-IN-NAMES


Words: cap
Meaning:
cap  caps  capping  capped\n1. A cap is a soft, flat hat with a curved part at the front which is called a peak. Caps are usually worn by men and boys.\n...a dark blue baseball cap.\n  N-COUNT: oft supp N\n\n2. A cap is a special hat which is worn as part of a uniform.\n...a frontier guard in olive-grey uniform and a peaked cap.\n  N-COUNT: oft supp N\n\n3. If a sports player is capped, they are chosen to represent their country in a team game such as football, rugby, or cricket. (BRIT)\nRees, 32, has been capped for England 23 times.\n...England’s most capped rugby union player.\n  VERB: usu passive, be V-ed, V-ed\n\n4. If a sports player represents their country in a team game such as football, rugby, or cricket, you can say that they have been awarded a cap. (BRIT)\nMark Davis will win his first cap for Wales in Sunday’s Test match against Australia.\n  N-COUNT\n\n5. If the government caps an organization, council, or budget, it limits the amount of money that the organization or council is allowed to spend, or limits the size of the budget.\nThe Secretary of State for Environment has the power to cap councils which spend excessively...\n  VERB: V n\n\n6. The cap of a bottle is its lid.\nShe unscrewed the cap of her water bottle and gave him a drink.\n  N-COUNT\n\n7. A cap is a circular rubber device that a woman places inside her vagina to prevent herself from becoming pregnant. (BRIT)\n  N-COUNT\n\n8. If someone says that a good or bad event caps a series of events, they mean it is the final event in the series, and the other events were also good or bad. (JOURNALISM)\nThe unrest capped a weekend of right-wing attacks on foreigners.\n  VERB: V n\n\n9. If someone’s teeth are capped, covers are fixed over them so that they look better.\nHe suddenly smiled, revealing teeth that had recently been capped...\nI had my teeth capped.\n  VERB: usu passive, be V-ed, have n V-ed\n\n10.\n  see also ice cap


Words: capability
Meaning:
ca.pa.bil.ity\n   capability  capabilities\n1. If you have the capability or the capabilities to do something, you have the ability or the qualities that are necessary to do it.\nPeople experience differences in physical and mental capability depending on the time of day...\nThe standards set four years ago in Seoul will be far below the athletes’ capabilities now.\n  N-VAR: with supp, oft adj N, N to-inf\n  = ability\n2. A country’s military capability is its ability to fight in a war.\nTheir military capability has been reduced because their air force has proved not to be effective...\n  N-VAR: with supp, usu adj N, N to-inf


Words: capable
Meaning:
ca.pable\n   capable\n1. If a person or thing is capable of doing something, they have the ability to do it.\nHe appeared hardly capable of conducting a coherent conversation...\nThe kitchen is capable of catering for several hundred people...\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ of -ing\n  !=incapable\n2. Someone who is capable has the skill or qualities necessary to do a particular thing well, or is able to do most things well.\nShe’s a very capable speaker...\nHer husband was such a fine, capable man.\n  ADJ\n  = competent, able\n=>  ca.pably\nHappily it was all dealt with very capably by the police and security people.\n  ADV: ADV with v\n  = competently, ably


Words: capacious
Meaning:
ca.pa.cious\n   capacious\n  Something that is capacious has a lot of space to put things in. (FORMAL)\n...her capacious handbag.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: capacitor
Meaning:
ca.paci.tor\n   capacitor  capacitors\n  A capacitor is a device for accumulating electric charge.\n  N-COUNT


Words: capacity
Meaning:
ca.pac.ity\n   capacity  capacities\n1. Your capacity for something is your ability to do it, or the amount of it that you are able to do.\nOur capacity for giving care, love and attention is limited...\nHer mental capacity and temperament are as remarkable as his.\n...people’s creative capacities.\n  N-VAR: oft with poss, N for n/-ing, N to-inf\n\n2. The capacity of something such as a factory, industry, or region is the quantity of things that it can produce or deliver with the equipment or resources that are available.\nBread factories are working at full capacity...\nThe region is valued for its coal and vast electricity-generating capacity...\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n3. The capacity of a piece of equipment is its size or power, often measured in particular units.\n...an aircraft with a bomb-carrying capacity of 454 kg.\n  N-COUNT\n\n4. The capacity of a container is its volume, or the amount of liquid it can hold, measured in units such as litres or gallons.\n...the fuel tanks, which had a capacity of 140 litres...\nGrease 6 ramekin dishes of 150 ml (5-6 fl oz) capacity.\n  N-VAR\n\n5. The capacity of a building, place, or vehicle is the number of people or things that it can hold. If a place is filled to capacity, it is as full as it can possibly be.\nEach stadium had a seating capacity of about 50,000...\nToronto hospital maternity wards were filled to capacity.\n  N-SING: also no det, oft to N\n\n6. A capacity crowd or audience completely fills a theatre, sports stadium, or other place.\nA capacity crowd of 76,000 people was at Wembley football stadium for the event.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n7. If you do something in a particular capacity, you do it as part of a particular job or duty, or because you are representing a particular organization or person. (WRITTEN)\nMs Halliwell visited the Philippines in her capacity as a Special Representative of Unicef...\nThis article is written in a personal capacity...\n  N-COUNT: with supp, in N, oft poss N as n


Words: cape
Meaning:
cape  capes\n1. A cape is a large piece of land that sticks out into the sea from the coast.\nIn 1978, Naomi James became the first woman to sail solo around the world via Cape Horn.\n  N-COUNT; N-IN-NAMES\n\n2. A cape is a short cloak.\n...a woollen cape.\n  N-COUNT


Words: caper
Meaning:
ca.per\n   caper  capers  capering  capered\n1. Capers are the small green buds of caper plants. They are usually sold preserved in vinegar.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl\n\n2. If you caper about, you run and jump around because you are happy or excited.\nThey were capering about, shouting and laughing...\n  VERB: V adv/prep


Words: capillary
Meaning:
ca.pil.lary\n   capillary  capillaries\n  Capillaries are tiny blood vessels in your body.\n  N-COUNT


Words: capital
Meaning:
capi.tal\n   capital  capitals\n1. Capital is a large sum of money which you use to start a business, or which you invest in order to make more money. (BUSINESS)\nCompanies are having difficulty in raising capital...\nA large amount of capital is invested in all these branches.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. You can use capital to refer to buildings or machinery which are necessary to produce goods or to make companies more efficient, but which do not make money directly. (BUSINESS)\n...capital equipment that could have served to increase production.\n...capital investment.\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu N n\n\n3. Capital is the part of an amount of money borrowed or invested which does not include interest. (BUSINESS)\nWith a conventional repayment mortgage, the repayments consist of both capital and interest.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n4. The capital of a country is the city or town where its government or parliament meets.\n...Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal.\n  N-COUNT: usu the N in sing, oft N of n\n\n5. If a place is the capital of a particular industry or activity, it is the place that is most famous for it, because it happens in that place more than anywhere else.\nColmar has long been considered the capital of the wine trade.\n...New York, the fashion capital of the world.\n  N-COUNT: usu the N in sing, with supp\n\n6. Capitals or capital letters are written or printed letters in the form which is used at the beginning of sentences or names. `T’, `B’, and `F’ are capitals.\nThe name and address are written in capitals.\n  N-COUNT\n\n7. A capital offence is one that is so serious that the person who commits it can be punished by death.\nEspionage is a capital offence in this country.\n...Americans wrongly convicted of capital crimes.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n8.\n  see also working capital\n9. If you say that someone is making capital out of a situation, you disapprove of the way they are gaining an advantage for themselves through other people’s efforts or bad luck. (FORMAL)\nHe rebuked the President for trying to make political capital out of the hostage situation.\n  PHRASE: V inflects, PHR n  disapproval


Words: capital account
Meaning:
capi.tal ac.count\n   capital account capital accounts\n1. A country’s capital account is the part of its balance of payments that is concerned with the movement of capital.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A capital account is a financial statement showing the capital value of a company on a particular date. (BUSINESS)\n  N-COUNT


Words: capital gains
Meaning:
capi.tal gains\n   capital gains\n  Capital gains are the profits that you make when you buy something and then sell it again at a higher price. (BUSINESS)\nHe called for the reform of capital gains tax.\n  N-PLURAL


Words: capital goods
Meaning:
capi.tal goods\n   capital goods\n  Capital goods are used to make other products. Compare consumer goods. (BUSINESS)\n  N-PLURAL


Words: capital inflow
Meaning:
capi.tal in.flow\n   capital inflow capital inflows\n  In economics, capital inflow is the amount of capital coming into a country, for example in the form of foreign investment. (BUSINESS)\n...a large drop in the capital inflow into America.\n  N-VAR


Words: capital letter
Meaning:
capi.tal let.ter\n   capital letter  capital letters\n  Capital letters are the same as capitals.\n  N-COUNT


Words: capital punishment
Meaning:
capi.tal pun.ish.ment\n   capital punishment\n  Capital punishment is punishment which involves the legal killing of a person who has committed a serious crime such as murder.\nMost democracies have abolished capital punishment.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: capital-intensive
Meaning:
capital-intensive\n  Capital-intensive industries and businesses need the investment of large sums of money. Compare labour-intensive. (BUSINESS)\n  ADJ


Words: capitalism
Meaning:
capi.tal.ism\n   capitalism\n  Capitalism is an economic and political system in which property, business, and industry are owned by private individuals and not by the state.\n...the return of capitalism to Hungary.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: capitalist
Meaning:
capi.tal.ist\n   capitalist  capitalists\n1. A capitalist country or system supports or is based on the principles of capitalism.\nI’m a strong believer in the capitalist system.\n...capitalist economic theory.\n  ADJ\n\n2. A capitalist is someone who believes in and supports the principles of capitalism.\n...relations between capitalists and workers.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. A capitalist is someone who owns a business which they run in order to make a profit for themselves.\nThey argue that only private capitalists can remake Poland’s economy.\n  N-COUNT\n  = entrepreneur


Words: capitalistic
Meaning:
capi.tal.ist.ic\n   capitalistic\n  Capitalistic means supporting or based on the principles of capitalism.\n...the forces of capitalistic greed.\n...capitalistic economic growth.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: capitalize
Meaning:
capi.tal.ize\n   capitalize  capitalizes  capitalizing  capitalized\nin BRIT, also use capitalise\n1. If you capitalize on a situation, you use it to gain some advantage for yourself.\nThe rebels seem to be trying to capitalize on the public’s discontent with the government.\n  VERB: V on/upon n\n\n2. In business, if you capitalize something that belongs to you, you sell it in order to make money. (BUSINESS)\nOur intention is to capitalize the company by any means we can...\nThe company will be capitalized at .2 million.\n  VERB: V n, be V-ed at amount\n\n=>  capi.tali.za.tion\n...a massive capitalization programme.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: capitulate
Meaning:
ca.pitu.late\n   capitulate  capitulates  capitulating  capitulated\n  If you capitulate, you stop resisting and do what someone else wants you to do.\nThe club eventually capitulated and now grants equal rights to women...\nIn less than two hours Cohen capitulated to virtually every demand.\n  VERB: V, V to n\n  = submit, yield


Words: capon
Meaning:
ca.pon\n   capon  capons\n  A capon is a male chicken that has had its sex organs removed and has been specially fattened up to be eaten.\n  N-COUNT


Words: cappuccino
Meaning:
cap.puc.ci.no\n   cappuccino  cappuccinos\n  Cappuccino is coffee which is made using milk and has froth and sometimes powdered chocolate on top.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n  A cappuccino is a cup of cappuccino.\n  N-COUNT


Words: caprice
Meaning:
ca.price\n   caprice  caprices\n  A caprice is an unexpected action or decision which has no strong reason or purpose. (FORMAL)\nI lived in terror of her sudden caprices and moods.\n  N-VAR\n  = whim, impulse


Words: capricious
Meaning:
ca.pri.cious\n   capricious\n  Someone who is capricious often changes their mind unexpectedly.\nThe Union accused Walesa of being capricious and undemocratic.\n  ADJ\n  = fickle


Words: Capricorn
Meaning:
Cap.ri.corn\n   Capricorn  Capricorns\n1. Capricorn is one of the twelve signs of the zodiac. Its symbol is a goat. People who are born approximately between the 22nd of December and the 19th of January come under this sign.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. A Capricorn is a person whose sign of the zodiac is Capricorn.\n  N-COUNT


Words: capsize
Meaning:
cap.size\n   capsize  capsizes  capsizing  capsized\n  If you capsize a boat or if it capsizes, it turns upside down in the water.\nThe sea got very rough and the boat capsized...\nI didn’t count on his capsizing the raft.\n  VERB: V, V n\n  = overturn


Words: capstan
Meaning:
cap.stan\n   capstan  capstans\n  A capstan is a machine consisting of a drum that turns round and pulls in a heavy rope or something attached to a rope, for example an anchor.\n  N-COUNT


Words: capsule
Meaning:
cap.sule\n   capsule  capsules\n1. A capsule is a very small tube containing powdered or liquid medicine, which you swallow.\n...cod liver oil capsules...\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A capsule is a small container with a drug or other substance inside it, which is used for medical or scientific purposes.\nThey first implanted capsules into the animals’ brains...\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. A space capsule is the part of a spacecraft in which people travel, and which often separates from the main rocket.\nA Russian space capsule is currently orbiting the Earth.\n  N-COUNT


Words: captain
Meaning:
cap.tain\n   captain  captains  captaining  captained\n1. In the army, navy, and some other armed forces, a captain is an officer of middle rank.\n...a captain in the British army...\nAre all your weapons in place, Captain?\n  N-TITLE; N-COUNT; N-VOC\n\n2. The captain of a sports team is the player in charge of it.\n...Bob Willis, the former England cricket captain.\n  N-COUNT: oft N of n, n N\n  = skipper\n3. The captain of a ship is the sailor in charge of it.\n...the captain of the aircraft carrier Saratoga.\n  N-COUNT: oft N of n\n  = skipper\n4. The captain of an aeroplane is the pilot in charge of it.\n  N-COUNT; N-TITLE\n\n5. In the United States and some other countries, a captain is a police officer or fireman of fairly senior rank.\n  N-COUNT; N-TITLE\n\n6. If you captain a team or a ship, you are the captain of it.\n...Murdo McLeod, who captained Hibernian’s League-Cup-winning team in 1991...\n  VERB: V n\n  = skipper


Words: captain of industry
Meaning:
cap.tain of in.dus.try\n   captain of industry  captains of industry\n  You can refer to the owners or senior managers of industrial companies as captains of industry.\n  N-COUNT


Words: captaincy
Meaning:
cap.tain.cy\n   captaincy\n  The captaincy of a team is the position of being captain.\nHis captaincy of the team was ended by mild eye trouble.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft the N, poss N


Words: caption
Meaning:
cap.tion\n   caption  captions\n  A caption is the words printed underneath a picture or cartoon which explain what it is about.\nOn the back of the photo is written the simple caption, `Mrs. Monroe’.\n  N-COUNT


Words: captivate
Meaning:
cap.ti.vate\n   captivate  captivates  captivating  captivated\n  If you are captivated by someone or something, you find them fascinating and attractive.\nI was captivated by her brilliant mind...\nFor 40 years she has captivated the world with her radiant looks.\n  VERB: be V-ed, V n


Words: captivating
Meaning:
cap.ti.vat.ing\n   captivating\n  Someone or something that is captivating fascinates or attracts you.\n...her captivating smile and alluring looks.\n  ADJ\n  = fascinating


Words: captive
Meaning:
cap.tive\n   captive  captives\n1. A captive person or animal is being kept imprisoned or enclosed. (LITERARY)\nHer heart had begun to pound inside her chest like a captive animal.\n  ADJ\n\n  A captive is someone who is captive.\nHe described the difficulties of surviving for four months as a captive.\n  N-COUNT\n  = prisoner\n2. A captive audience is a group of people who are not free to leave a certain place and so have to watch or listen. A captive market is a group of people who cannot choose whether or where to buy things.\nWe all performed action songs, sketches and dances before a captive audience of parents and patrons...\nAirlines consider business travellers a captive market.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n3. If you take someone captive or hold someone captive, you take or keep them as a prisoner.\nRichard was finally released on February 4, one year and six weeks after he’d been taken captive...\n  PHRASE: V inflects


Words: captive breeding
Meaning:
cap.tive breed.ing\n   captive breeding\n  Captive breeding is the breeding of wild animals in places such as zoos, especially animals which have become rare in the wild.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: captivity
Meaning:
cap.tiv.ity\n   captivity\n  Captivity is the state of being kept imprisoned or enclosed.\nThe great majority of barn owls are reared in captivity...\nAn American missionary was released today after more than two months of captivity...\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft in/of N


Words: captor
Meaning:
cap.tor\n   captor  captors\n  You can refer to the person who has captured a person or animal as their captor.\nThey did not know what their captors planned for them.\n  N-COUNT: usu poss N


Words: capture
Meaning:
cap.ture\n   capture  captures  capturing  captured\n1. If you capture someone or something, you catch them, especially in a war.\nThe guerrillas shot down one aeroplane and captured the pilot...\nThe Russians now appear ready to capture more territory from the Chechens.\n...the murders of fifteen thousand captured Polish soldiers.\n  VERB: V n, V n from n, V-ed\n\n  Capture is also a noun.\n...the final battles which led to the army’s capture of the town...\nThe shooting happened while the man was trying to evade capture by the security forces.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft with poss\n\n2. If something or someone captures a particular quality, feeling, or atmosphere, they represent or express it successfully.\nTheir mood was captured by one who said, `Students here don’t know or care about campus issues.’\n  VERB: no cont, V n\n  = encapsulate\n3. If something captures your attention or imagination, you begin to be interested or excited by it. If someone or something captures your heart, you begin to love them or like them very much.\n...the great names of the Tory party who usually capture the historian’s attention.\n...one man’s undying love for the woman who captured his heart.\n  VERB: V n, V n\n\n4. If an event is captured in a photograph or on film, it is photographed or filmed.\nThe incident was captured on videotape...\nThe images were captured by TV crews filming outside the base.\n...photographers who captured the traumatic scene.\n  VERB: be V-ed on/in n, be V-ed, V n, also V n on/in n\n\n5. If you capture something that you are trying to obtain in competition with other people, you succeed in obtaining it.\nIn 1987, McDonald’s captured 19 percent of all fast-food sales...\n  VERB: V n\n  = win, secure


Words: car
Meaning:
car  cars\n1. A car is a motor vehicle with room for a small number of passengers.\nHe had left his tickets in his car...\nThey arrived by car.\n  N-COUNT: also by N\n\n2. A car is one of the separate sections of a train. (AM; in BRIT, usually use carriage)\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. Railway carriages are called cars when they are used for a particular purpose. (BRIT)\nHe made his way into the dining car for breakfast.\n  N-COUNT: usu supp N\n\n4.\n  see also cable car


Words: car alarm
Meaning:
car alarm  car alarms\n  A car alarm is a device in a car which makes a loud noise if anyone tries to break into the vehicle.\nHe returned to the airport to find his car alarm going off.\n  N-COUNT


Words: car boot sale
Meaning:
car boot sale  car boot sales\n  A car boot sale is a sale where people sell things they own and do not want from a little stall or from the back of their car. (BRIT; in AM, use garage sale)\n  N-COUNT


Words: car park
Meaning:
car park  car parks   also carpark\n  A car park is an area or building where people can leave their cars. (BRIT; in AM, use parking lot)\n  N-COUNT


Words: car pool
Meaning:
car pool  car pools  car pooling  car pooled   also carpool, car-pool\n1. A car pool is an arrangement where a group of people take turns driving each other to work, or driving each other’s children to school. In American English, car pool is sometimes used to refer simply to people travelling together in a car.\n...the carpool lanes in LA.\n  N-COUNT: also N n\n\n2. If a group of people car pool, they take turns driving each other to work, or driving each other’s children to school. (mainly AM or AUSTRALIAN)\nThe government says fewer Americans are carpooling to work.\n  VERB: V\n\n3. A car pool is a number of cars that are owned by a company or organization for the use of its employees or members. (BUSINESS)\n  N-COUNT


Words: car port
Meaning:
car port  car ports\nin AM and sometimes in BRIT, use carport\n  A car port is a shelter for cars which is attached to a house and consists of a flat roof supported on pillars.\n  N-COUNT


Words: car-jacker
Meaning:
car-jacker  car-jackers\n  A car-jacker is someone who attacks and steals from people who are driving their own cars.\n  N-COUNT


Words: carafe
Meaning:
ca.rafe\n   carafe  carafes\n  A carafe is a glass container in which you serve water or wine.\nHe ordered a carafe of wine.\n  N-COUNT: oft N of n


Words: caramel
Meaning:
cara.mel\n   caramel  caramels\n1. A caramel is a chewy sweet food made from sugar, butter, and milk.\n  N-VAR\n\n2. Caramel is burnt sugar used for colouring and flavouring food.\n  N-UNCOUNT: also a N


Words: caramelize
Meaning:
cara.mel.ize\n   caramelize  caramelizes  caramelizing  caramelized\nin BRIT, also use caramelise\n1. If sugar caramelizes, it turns to caramel as a result of being heated.\nCook until the sugar starts to caramelize.\n  VERB: V\n\n2. If you caramelize something such as fruit, you cook it with sugar so that it is coated with caramel.\nStart by caramelizing some onions.\n...caramelised apples and pears.\n  VERB: V n, V-ed


Words: carapace
Meaning:
cara.pace\n   carapace  carapaces\n1. A carapace is the protective shell on the back of some animals such as tortoises or crabs. (FORMAL)\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. You can refer to an attitude that someone has in order to protect themselves as their carapace. (LITERARY)\nThe arrogance became his protective carapace.\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp


Words: carat
Meaning:
car.at\n   carat  carats\n1. A carat is a unit for measuring the weight of diamonds and other precious stones. It is equal to 0.2 grams.\nThe gemstone is 28.6 millimetres high and weighs 139.43 carats.\n...a huge eight-carat diamond.\n  N-COUNT: usu num N\n\n2. Carat is used after a number to indicate how pure gold is. The purest gold is 24-carat gold.\n...a 14-carat gold fountain pen.\n  COMB in ADJ


Words: caravan
Meaning:
cara.van\n   caravan  caravans\n1. A caravan is a vehicle without an engine that can be pulled by a car or van. It contains beds and cooking equipment so that people can live or spend their holidays in it. (mainly BRIT; in AM, usually use trailer)\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A caravan is a group of people and animals or vehicles who travel together.\n  N-COUNT


Words: caravan site
Meaning:
cara.van site\n   caravan site  caravan sites\n  A caravan site is an area of land where people can stay in a caravan on holiday, or where people live in caravans. (BRIT; in AM, use trailer park)\n  N-COUNT


Words: caravanning
Meaning:
cara.van.ning\n   caravanning\n  Caravanning is the activity of having a holiday in a caravan. (BRIT)\nHe was on a caravanning holiday.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: caraway
Meaning:
cara.way\n   caraway\n  Caraway is a plant with strong-tasting seeds that are used in cooking. Caraway seeds are often used to flavour bread and cakes.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N n


Words: carbohydrate
Meaning:
car.bo.hy.drate\n   carbohydrate  carbohydrates\n  Carbohydrates are substances, found in certain kinds of food, that provide you with energy. Foods such as sugar and bread that contain these substances can also be referred to as carbohydrates.\n...carbohydrates such as bread, pasta or chips.\n  N-VAR: usu pl


Words: carbolic acid
Meaning:
car.bol.ic acid\n   carbolic acid\n  Carbolic acid or carbolic is a liquid that is used as a disinfectant and antiseptic.\nCarbolic acid is usually used for cleaning...\nShe smelled strongly of carbolic soap.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: carbon
Meaning:
car.bon\n   carbon\n  Carbon is a chemical element that diamonds and coal are made up of.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: carbon copy
Meaning:
car.bon copy\n   carbon copy  carbon copies\n1. If you say that one person or thing is a carbon copy of another, you mean that they look or behave exactly like them.\nShe’s a carbon copy of her mother...\n  N-COUNT: usu N of n\n\n2. A carbon copy is a copy of a piece of writing that is made using carbon paper.\n  N-COUNT


Words: carbon credit
Meaning:
car.bon cred.it\n   carbon credit carbon credits\n  Carbon credits are an allowance that certain companies have, permitting them to burn a certain amount of fossil fuels.\nBy investing in efficient plant it could generate lots of valuable carbon credits to sell to wealthier, more wasteful nations.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl


Words: carbon dating
Meaning:
car.bon da.ting\n   carbon dating\n  Carbon dating is a system of calculating the age of a very old object by measuring the amount of radioactive carbon it contains.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: carbon dioxide
Meaning:
car.bon di.ox.ide\n   carbon dioxide\n  Carbon dioxide is a gas. It is produced by animals and people breathing out, and by chemical reactions.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: carbon monoxide
Meaning:
car.bon mon.ox.ide\n   carbon monoxide\n  Carbon monoxide is a poisonous gas that is produced especially by the engines of vehicles.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: carbon paper
Meaning:
car.bon pa.per\n   carbon paper\n  Carbon paper is thin paper with a dark substance on one side. You use it to make copies of letters, bills, and other papers.\nThe drawing is transferred onto the wood by means of carbon paper.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: carbon tax
Meaning:
car.bon tax\n   carbon tax carbon taxes\n  A carbon tax is a tax on the burning of fuels such as coal, gas, and oil. Its aim is to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere.\n  N-COUNT


Words: carbonate
Meaning:
car.bon.ate\n   carbonate  carbonates\n  Carbonate is used in the names of some substances that are formed from carbonic acid, which is a compound of carbon dioxide and water.\n...1,500 milligrams of calcium carbonate.\n...carbonate of ammonia solution.\n  N-VAR: oft N n, N of n


Words: carbonated
Meaning:
car.bon.at.ed\n   carbonated\n  Carbonated drinks are drinks that contain small bubbles of carbon dioxide.\n...colas and other carbonated soft drinks.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  = fizzy


Words: carbuncle
Meaning:
car.bun.cle\n   carbuncle  carbuncles\n  A carbuncle is a large swelling under the skin.\n  N-COUNT\n  = boil


Words: carburettor
Meaning:
car.bu.ret.tor\n   carburettor  carburettors\nin AM, use carburetor\n  A carburettor is the part of an engine, usually in a car, in which air and petrol are mixed together to form a vapour which can be burned.\n  N-COUNT


Words: carcass
Meaning:
car.cass\n   carcass  carcasses\nin BRIT, also use carcase\n  A carcass is the body of a dead animal.\nA cluster of vultures crouched on the carcass of a dead buffalo...\n  N-COUNT


Words: carcinogen
Meaning:
car.cino.gen\n   carcinogen  carcinogens\n  A carcinogen is a substance which can cause cancer. (MEDICAL)\n  N-COUNT


Words: carcinogenic
Meaning:
car.cino.gen.ic\n   carcinogenic\n  A substance that is carcinogenic is likely to cause cancer. (MEDICAL)\n  ADJ


Words: carcinoma
Meaning:
car.ci.no.ma\n   carcinoma  carcinomas\n1. Carcinoma is a type of cancer. (MEDICAL)\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. Carcinomas are malignant tumours. (MEDICAL)\n  N-COUNT


Words: card
Meaning:
card  cards\n1. A card is a piece of stiff paper or thin cardboard on which something is written or printed.\nCheck the numbers below against the numbers on your card.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A card is a piece of cardboard or plastic, or a small document, which shows information about you and which you carry with you, for example to prove your identity.\n...they check my bag and press card.\n...her membership card...\nThe authorities have begun to issue ration cards.\n  N-COUNT: with supp, usu n N\n\n3. A card is a rectangular piece of plastic, issued by a bank, company, or shop, which you can use to buy things or obtain money.\nHe paid the whole bill with an American Express card...\nHolidaymakers should beware of using plastic cards in foreign cash dispensers.\n  N-COUNT: oft n-proper N\n\n4. A card is a folded piece of stiff paper with a picture and sometimes a message printed on it, which you send to someone on a special occasion.\nShe sends me a card on my birthday.\n...millions of get-well cards.\n  N-COUNT: oft supp N\n\n5. A card is the same as a postcard.\nSend your details on a card to the following address.\n  N-COUNT\n\n6. A card is a piece of thin cardboard carried by someone such as a business person in order to give to other people. A card shows the name, address, telephone number, and other details of the person who carries it. (BUSINESS)\nHere’s my card. You may need me.\n  N-COUNT: oft poss N\n  = business card\n7. Cards are thin pieces of cardboard with numbers or pictures printed on them which are used to play various games.\n...a pack of cards...\n  N-COUNT: usu pl\n  = playing card\n8. If you are playing cards, you are playing a game using cards.\nThey enjoy themselves drinking wine, smoking and playing cards.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n9. You can use card to refer to something that gives you an advantage in a particular situation. If you play a particular card, you use that advantage.\nIt was his strongest card in their relationship.that she wanted him more than he wanted her...\nThis permitted Western manufacturers to play their strong cards: capital and technology.\n  N-COUNT\n\n10. Card is strong, stiff paper or thin cardboard.\nShe put the pieces of card in her pocket.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n11.\n  see also bank card, business card, calling card, cash card, cheque card, Christmas card, credit card, gold card, identity card, index card, payment card, place card, playing card, report card, smart card, wild card\n12. If you say that something is on the cards in British English, or in the cards in American English, you mean that it is very likely to happen.\nLast summer she began telling friends that a New Year marriage was on the cards.\n  PHRASE: usu v-link PHR\n  = likely  !=unlikely\n13. If you say that someone will achieve success if they play their cards right, you mean that they will achieve success if they act skilfully and use the advantages that they have.\nHe could even be the next manager of the England team if he plays his cards right.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n14. If you put or lay your cards on the table, you deal with a situation by speaking openly about your feelings, ideas, or plans.\nPut your cards on the table and be very clear about your complaints.\n  PHRASE: V inflects


Words: card game
Meaning:
card game  card games\n  A card game is a game that is played using a set of playing cards.\n  N-COUNT


Words: card index
Meaning:
card in.dex\n   card index  card indexes\n  A card index is a number of cards with information written on them which are arranged in a particular order, usually alphabetical, so that you can find the information you want easily.\n  N-COUNT


Words: card table
Meaning:
card ta.ble\n   card table  card tables   also card-table\n  A card table is a small light table which can be folded up and which is sometimes used for playing games of cards on.\n  N-COUNT


Words: card-carrying
Meaning:
card-carrying\n1. A card-carrying member of a particular group or political party is an official member of that group or party, rather than someone who supports it.\nI’ve been a card-carrying member of the Labour party for five years.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n2. If you describe someone as, for example, a card-carrying feminist, you are emphasizing the fact that they believe strongly in and try to carry out the ideas of feminism.\n  ADJ: ADJ n  emphasis


Words: cardamom
Meaning:
car.da.mom\n   cardamom  cardamoms   also cardamon\n  Cardamom is a spice. It comes from the seeds of a plant grown in Asia.\n  N-VAR


Words: cardboard
Meaning:
card.board\n   cardboard\n  Cardboard is thick, stiff paper that is used, for example, to make boxes and models.\n...a cardboard box.\n...a life-size cardboard cut-out of a police officer.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N n


Words: cardholder
Meaning:
card.holder\n   cardholder  cardholders\n  A cardholder is someone who has a bank card or credit card.\nThe average cardholder today carries three to four bank cards.\n  N-COUNT


Words: cardiac
Meaning:
car.di.ac\n   cardiac\n  Cardiac means relating to the heart. (MEDICAL)\nThe king was suffering from cardiac weakness.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: cardiac arrest
Meaning:
car.di.ac ar.rest\n   cardiac arrest  cardiac arrests\n  A cardiac arrest is a heart attack. (MEDICAL)\n  N-VAR\n  = heart attack


Words: cardigan
Meaning:
car.di.gan\n   cardigan  cardigans\n  A cardigan is a knitted woollen sweater that you can fasten at the front with buttons or a zip.\n  N-COUNT


Words: cardinal
Meaning:
car.di.nal\n   cardinal  cardinals\n1. A cardinal is a high-ranking priest in the Catholic church.\nIn 1448, Nicholas was appointed a cardinal...\nThey were encouraged by a promise from Cardinal Winning.\n  N-COUNT; N-TITLE\n\n2. A cardinal rule or quality is the one that is considered to be the most important. (FORMAL)\nAs a salesman, your cardinal rule is to do everything you can to satisfy a customer...\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n  = chief, principal\n3. A cardinal is a common North American bird. The male has bright red feathers.\n  N-COUNT


Words: cardinal number
Meaning:
car.di.nal num.ber\n   cardinal number  cardinal numbers\n  A cardinal number is a number such as 1, 3, or 10 that tells you how many things there are in a group but not what order they are in. Compare ordinal number.\n  N-COUNT


Words: cardinal point
Meaning:
car.di.nal point\n   cardinal point  cardinal points\n  The cardinal points are the four main points of the compass, north, south, east, and west.\n  N-COUNT


Words: cardinal sin
Meaning:
car.di.nal sin\n   cardinal sin  cardinal sins\n  If you describe an action as a cardinal sin, you are indicating that some people strongly disapprove of it.\nI committed the physician’s cardinal sin: I got involved with my patients.\n  N-COUNT


Words: cardiologist
Meaning:
car.di.olo.gist\n   cardiologist  cardiologists\n  A cardiologist is a doctor who specializes in the heart and its diseases.\n  N-COUNT


Words: cardiovascular
Meaning:
car.dio.vas.cu.lar\n   cardiovascular\n  Cardiovascular means relating to the heart and blood vessels. (MEDICAL)\nSmoking places you at serious risk of cardiovascular and respiratory disease.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: care
Meaning:
care  cares  caring  cared\n1. If you care about something, you feel that it is important and are concerned about it.\n...a company that cares about the environment.\n...young men who did not care whether they lived or died...\nDoes anybody know we’re here, does anybody care?\n  VERB: no cont, V about n, V wh, V\n\n2. If you care for someone, you feel a lot of affection for them.\nHe wanted me to know that he still cared for me.\n...people who are your friends, who care about you.\n  VERB: no cont, V for/about n, V for/about n, also V  approval\n\n=>  car.ing\n...the `feminine’ traits of caring and compassion.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n3. If you care for someone or something, you look after them and keep them in a good state or condition.\nThey hired a nurse to care for her.\n...these distinctive cars, lovingly cared for by private owners.\n...well-cared-for homes.\n  VERB: V for n, V for n, V-ed\n\n  Care is also a noun.\nMost of the staff specialise in the care of children.\n...sensitive teeth which need special care...\nShe denied the murder of four children who were in her care.\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu with supp\n\n4. Children who are in care are looked after by the state because their parents are dead or unable to look after them properly. (BRIT)\n...a home for children in care...\nShe was taken into care as a baby.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft in N\n\n5. If you say that you do not care for something or someone, you mean that you do not like them. (OLD-FASHIONED)\nShe had met both sons and did not care for either.\n  VERB: no cont, with brd-neg, V for n\n\n6. If you say that someone does something when they care to do it, you mean that they do it, although they should do it more willingly or more often.\nThe woman tells anyone who cares to listen that she’s going through hell...\nExperts reveal only as much as they care to.\n  VERB: no cont, V to-inf, V to-inf\n  = choose\n7. You can ask someone if they would care for something or if they would care to do something as a polite way of asking if they would like to have or do something.\nWould you care for some orange juice?...\nHe said he was off to the beach and would we care to join him.\n  VERB: no cont, V for n, V to-inf  politeness\n  = like\n8. If you do something with care, you give careful attention to it because you do not want to make any mistakes or cause any damage.\nCondoms are an effective method of birth control if used with care...\nWe’d taken enormous care in choosing the location.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft with N\n\n9. Your cares are your worries, anxieties, or fears.\nLean back in a hot bath and forget all the cares of the day...\nJohnson seemed without a care in the world.\n  N-COUNT\n  = worry\n10.\n  see also caring, aftercare, day care, intensive care\n11. You can use for all I care to emphasize that it does not matter at all to you what someone does.\nYou can go right now for all I care.\n  PHRASE: V inflects, PHR with cl  emphasis\n\n12. If you say that you couldn’t care less about someone or something, you are emphasizing that you are not interested in them or worried about them. In American English, you can also say that you could care less, with the same meaning.\nI couldn’t care less about the bloody woman...\nI used to be proud working for them; now I could care less. I’m just out here for the money...\n  PHRASE: V inflects, oft PHR about n  emphasis\n\n13. If someone sends you a letter or parcel care of a particular person or place, they send it to that person or place, and it is then passed on to you. In American English, you can also say in care of.\nPlease write to me care of the publishers...\n  PHRASE: PHR n\n\n14. If you take care of someone or something, you look after them and prevent them from being harmed or damaged.\nThere was no one else to take care of their children...\nYou have to learn to take care of your possessions.\n  PHRASE: V inflects, PHR n\n  = look after\n15. You can say `Take care’ when saying goodbye to someone.\n  CONVENTION  formulae\n\n16. If you take care to do something, you make sure that you do it.\n(next)


Words: care .1
Meaning:
Foley followed Albert through the gate, taking care to close the latch.\n  PHRASE: V inflects, usu PHR to-inf\n\n17. To take care of a problem, task, or situation means to deal with it.\nThey leave it to the system to try and take care of the problem...\n`Do you need clean sheets?’.`No. Mrs. May took care of that.’\n  PHRASE: V inflects, PHR n\n  = deal with\n18. You can say `Who cares?’ to emphasize that something does not matter to you at all.\n`But we might ruin the stove.’.`Who cares?’\n  PHRASE: oft PHR about n  emphasis


Words: care home
Meaning:
care home  care homes\n  A care home is a large house or institution where people with particular problems or special needs are looked after.\n...a residential care home for the elderly.\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp


Words: care worker
Meaning:
care work.er\n   care worker  care workers\n  A care worker is someone whose job involves helping people who have particular problems or special needs, for example in a care home.\n  N-COUNT\n\n  see also health care worker


Words: careen
Meaning:
ca.reen\n   careen  careens  careening  careened\n  To careen somewhere means to rush forward in an uncontrollable way. (mainly AM)\nHe stood to one side as they careened past him...\n  VERB: V prep/adv\n  = career, hurtle


Words: career
Meaning:
ca.reer\n   career  careers  careering  careered\n1. A career is the job or profession that someone does for a long period of their life.\nShe is now concentrating on a career as a fashion designer...\n...a career in journalism.\n...a political career.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. Your career is the part of your life that you spend working.\nDuring his career, he wrote more than fifty plays...\nShe began her career as a teacher.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. Careers advice or guidance in British English, or career advice or guidance in American English, consists of information about different jobs and help with deciding what kind of job you want to do.\nGet hold of the company list from your careers advisory service.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n4. If a person or vehicle careers somewhere, they move fast and in an uncontrolled way.\nHis car careered into a river...\nHe went careering off down the track.\n  VERB: oft cont, V prep/adv, V prep/adv\n  = hurtle


Words: career break
Meaning:
ca.reer break\n   career break career breaks\n  If someone takes a career break, they stop working in their particular profession for a period of time, with the intention of returning to it later. (BUSINESS)\nMany women still take career breaks to bring up children.\n  N-COUNT


Words: career woman
Meaning:
ca.reer wom.an\n   career woman  career women\n  A career woman is a woman with a career who is interested in working and progressing in her job, rather than staying at home looking after the house and children.\n  N-COUNT


Words: careerist
Meaning:
ca.reer.ist\n   careerist\n  Careerist people are ambitious and think that their career is more important than anything else.\n...careerist politicians.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: carefree
Meaning:
care.free\n   carefree\n  A carefree person or period of time doesn’t have or involve any problems, worries, or responsibilities.\nChantal remembered carefree past summers at the beach.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: careful
Meaning:
care.ful\n   careful\n1. If you are careful, you give serious attention to what you are doing, in order to avoid harm, damage, or mistakes. If you are careful to do something, you make sure that you do it.\nCareful on those stairs!...\nWe had to be very careful not to be seen...\nPupils will need careful guidance on their choice of options.\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ, oft ADJ about/with/of n, ADJ to-inf\n  !=careless\n=>  care.ful.ly\nHave a nice time, dear, and drive carefully...\nHe had chosen his words carefully in declaring that the murderers were madmen.\n  ADV: ADV with v\n  !=carelessly\n2. Careful work, thought, or examination is thorough and shows a concern for details.\nHe has decided to prosecute her after careful consideration of all the relevant facts...\nWhat we now know about the disease was learned by careful study of diseased organs.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  = painstaking\n=>  care.ful.ly\nHe explained very carefully what he was doing.\n  ADV: ADV with v\n\n3. If you tell someone to be careful about doing something, you think that what they intend to do is probably wrong, and that they should think seriously before they do it.\nI think you should be careful about talking of the rebels as heroes...\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ about/of -ing\n\n=>  care.ful.ly\nHe should think carefully about actions like this which play into the hands of his opponents.\n  ADV: ADV after v\n\n4. If you are careful with something such as money or resources, you use or spend only what is necessary.\nIt would force industries to be more careful with natural resources.\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ with n\n  = prudent


Words: caregiver
Meaning:
care.giv.er\n   caregiver  caregivers   also care giver\n  A caregiver is someone who is responsible for looking after another person, for example, a person who is disabled, ill, or very young. (mainly AM)\nIt is nearly always women who are the primary care givers.\n  N-COUNT


Words: careless
Meaning:
care.less\n   careless\n1. If you are careless, you do not pay enough attention to what you are doing, and so you make mistakes, or cause harm or damage.\nI’m sorry. How careless of me...\nSome mothers were a bit careless with money...\nMr Clarke had pleaded guilty to causing death by careless driving.\n  ADJ: oft ADJ with n\n  !=careful\n=>  care.less.ly\nShe was fined .100 for driving carelessly...\n  ADV: ADV with v\n  !=carefully\n=>  care.less.ness\nThe defence conceded stupid goals through sheer carelessness.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. If you say that someone is careless of something such as their health or appearance, you mean that they do not seem to be concerned about it, or do nothing to keep it in a good condition.\nHe had shown himself careless of personal safety where the life of his colleagues might be at risk...\nThat shows a fairly careless attitude to clothes, doesn’t it?\n  ADJ: oft ADJ of/about n


Words: carelessly
Meaning:
care.less.ly\n   carelessly\n  If someone does something carelessly, they do it without much thought or effort. (WRITTEN)\nHe carelessly left the garage door unlocked...\n`Oh,’ he said carelessly. `I’m in no hurry to get back.’\n  ADV: ADV with v\n  = casually\n  see also careless


Words: carer
Meaning:
car.er\n   carer  carers\n  A carer is someone who is responsible for looking after another person, for example, a person who is disabled, ill, or very young. (BRIT; in AM, use caregiver, caretaker)\nWomen are more likely than men to be carers of elderly dependent relatives.\n  N-COUNT


Words: caress
Meaning:
ca.ress\n   caress  caresses  caressing  caressed\n  If you caress someone, you stroke them gently and affectionately. (WRITTEN)\nHe was gently caressing her golden hair.\n  VERB: V n\n  = stroke\n  Caress is also a noun.\nMargaret took me to one side, holding my arm in a gentle caress.\n  N-COUNT


Words: caretaker
Meaning:
care.taker\n   caretaker  caretakers\n1. A caretaker is a person whose job it is to look after a large building such as a school or a block of flats or apartments, and deal with small repairs to it. (BRIT; in AM, use janitor)\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A caretaker is a person whose job it is to take care of a house or property when the owner is not there.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. A caretaker government or leader is in charge temporarily until a new government or leader is appointed.\nThe military intends to hand over power to a caretaker government and hold elections within six months.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n  = acting\n4. A caretaker is someone who is responsible for looking after another person, for example, a person who is disabled, ill, or very young. (mainly AM; in BRIT, use carer)\n  N-COUNT


Words: careworn
Meaning:
care.worn\n   careworn\n  A person who looks careworn looks worried, tired, and unhappy.\nHer face was careworn with anxiety.\n  ADJ


Words: cargo
Meaning:
car.go\n   cargo  cargoes\n  The cargo of a ship or plane is the goods that it is carrying.\nThe boat calls at the main port to load its regular cargo of bananas.\n...cargo planes.\n  N-VAR: oft N of n\n  = consignment


Words: Caribbean
Meaning:
Car.ib.bean\n   Caribbean  Caribbeans\n1. The Caribbean is the sea which is between the West Indies, Central America and the north coast of South America.\n  N-PROPER: the N\n\n2. Caribbean means belonging or relating to the Caribbean Sea and its islands, or to its people.\n  ADJ\n\n  A Caribbean is a person from a Caribbean island.\n  N-COUNT\n\n  see also Afro-Caribbean


Words: caricature
Meaning:
cari.ca.ture\n   caricature  caricatures  caricaturing  caricatured\n1. A caricature of someone is a drawing or description of them that exaggerates their appearance or behaviour in a humorous or critical way.\nThe poster showed a caricature of Hitler with a devil’s horns and tail...\n  N-COUNT: oft N of n\n\n2. If you caricature someone, you draw or describe them in an exaggerated way in order to be humorous or critical.\nHer political career has been caricatured in headlines...\nHe was caricatured as a turnip.\n  VERB: V n, be V-ed as n\n\n3. If you describe something as a caricature of an event or situation, you mean that it is a very exaggerated account of it.\nHall is angry at what he sees as a caricature of the training offered to modern-day social workers.\n  N-COUNT: usu N of n  disapproval


Words: caricaturist
Meaning:
cari.ca.tur.ist\n   caricaturist  caricaturists\n  A caricaturist is a person who shows other people in an exaggerated way in order to be humorous or critical, especially in drawings or cartoons.\n  N-COUNT


Words: caring
Meaning:
car.ing\n   caring\n1. If someone is caring, they are affectionate, helpful, and sympathetic.\nHe is a lovely boy, very gentle and caring.\n...a loving, caring husband.\n  ADJ\n\n2. The caring professions are those such as nursing and social work that are involved with looking after people who are ill or who need help in coping with their lives. (BRIT)\nThe course is also suitable for those in the caring professions.\n...the caring services.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n3.\n  see also care


Words: carjacking
Meaning:
car.jack.ing\n   carjacking  carjackings\n  A carjacking is an attack on a person who is driving their own car during which things may be stolen or they may be harmed physically.\n  N-VAR


Words: carload
Meaning:
car.load\n   carload  carloads\n  A carload of people or things is as many people or things as a car can carry.\nWherever he goes, a carload of soldiers goes with him.\n  N-COUNT: usu N of n


Words: carmine
Meaning:
car.mine\n   carmine\n  Carmine is a deep bright red colour. (LITERARY)\n...a tulip with carmine petals.\n  COLOUR


Words: carnage
Meaning:
car.nage\n   carnage\n  Carnage is the violent killing of large numbers of people, especially in a war. (LITERARY)\n...his strategy for stopping the carnage in Kosovo.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n  = slaughter


Words: carnal
Meaning:
car.nal\n   carnal\n  Carnal feelings and desires are sexual and physical, without any spiritual element. (FORMAL)\nTheir ruling passion is that of carnal love.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  = sexual


Words: carnation
Meaning:
car.na.tion\n   carnation  carnations\n  A carnation is a plant with white, pink, or red flowers.\n  N-COUNT


Words: carnival
Meaning:
car.ni.val\n   carnival  carnivals\n1. A carnival is a public festival during which people play music and sometimes dance in the streets.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A carnival is a travelling show which is held in a park or field and at which there are machines to ride on, entertainments, and games. (AM; in BRIT, use funfair)\n  N-COUNT


Words: carnivore
Meaning:
car.ni.vore\n   carnivore  carnivores\n1. A carnivore is an animal that eats meat. (TECHNICAL)\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If you describe someone as a carnivore, you are saying, especially in a humorous way, that they eat meat.\nThis is a vegetarian dish that carnivores love.\n  N-COUNT\n  = meat-eater  !=vegetarian


Words: carnivorous
Meaning:
car.nivo.rous\n   carnivorous\n1. Carnivorous animals eat meat. (TECHNICAL)\nSnakes are carnivorous.\n  ADJ\n\n2. Carnivorous can be used, especially humorously, to describe someone who eats meat.\n  ADJ\n  = meat-eating


Words: carob
Meaning:
car.ob\n   carob  carobs\n1. A carob or carob tree is a Mediterranean tree that stays green all year round. It has dark brown fruit that tastes similar to chocolate.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. The dark brown fruit of the carob tree can be referred to as carob. It is often made into powder and used instead of chocolate.\nIf you do yearn for chocolate, try a carob bar instead.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N n


Words: carol
Meaning:
car.ol\n   carol  carols\n  Carols are Christian religious songs that are sung at Christmas.\n...carol singers at the door.\n  N-COUNT


Words: carotid artery
Meaning:
ca.rot.id ar.tery\n   carotid artery  carotid arteries\n  A carotid artery is one of the two arteries in the neck that supply the head with blood. (MEDICAL)\n  N-COUNT


Words: carouse
Meaning:
ca.rouse\n   carouse  carouses  carousing  caroused\n  If you say that people are carousing, you mean that they are behaving very noisily and drinking a lot of alcohol as they enjoy themselves.\nThey told him to stay home with his wife instead of going out and carousing with friends.\n  VERB: V


Words: carousel
Meaning:
carou.sel\n   carousel  carousels\n1. At an airport, a carousel is a moving surface from which passengers can collect their luggage.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A carousel is a large circular machine with seats, often in the shape of animals or cars. People can sit on it and go round and round for fun.\n  N-COUNT\n  = merry-go-round, roundabout


Words: carp
Meaning:
carp  carps  carping  carped\n\n  carp can also be used as the plural form for meaning 1.\n\n1. A carp is a kind of fish that lives in lakes and rivers.\n  N-VAR\n\n2. If you say that someone is carping, you mean that they keep criticizing or complaining about someone or something, especially in a way you think is unnecessary or annoying.\nHe cannot understand why she’s constantly carping at him...\n  VERB: V at/about n  disapproval\n\n=>  carp.ing\nShe was in no mood to put up with Blanche’s carping.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: carpenter
Meaning:
car.pen.ter\n   carpenter  carpenters\n  A carpenter is a person whose job is making and repairing wooden things.\n  N-COUNT


Words: carpentry
Meaning:
car.pen.try\n   carpentry\n  Carpentry is the activity of making and repairing wooden things.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: carpet
Meaning:
car.pet\n   carpet  carpets  carpeting  carpeted\n1. A carpet is a thick covering of soft material which is laid over a floor or a staircase.\nThey put down wooden boards, and laid new carpets on top.\n...the stain on our living-room carpet.\n  N-VAR\n\n2. If a floor or a room is carpeted, a carpet is laid on the floor.\nThe room had been carpeted and the windows glazed with coloured glass...\nThe main gaming room was thickly carpeted.\n  VERB: usu passive, be V-ed, V-ed\n\n3. A carpet of something such as leaves or plants is a layer of them which covers the ground. (LITERARY)\nThe carpet of leaves in my yard became more and more noticeable.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, usu N of n\n  = layer\n4. If the ground is carpeted with something such as leaves or plants, it is completely covered by them. (LITERARY)\nThe ground was thickly carpeted with pine needles.\n  VERB: usu passive, be V-ed with n\n  = cover\n5.\nto sweep something under the carpet: see sweep\n  see also carpeting, red carpet


Words: carpet bombing
Meaning:
car.pet bomb.ing\n   carpet bombing\n  Carpet bombing is heavy bombing from aircraft, with the intention of hitting as many places as possible in a particular area.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: carpet slipper
Meaning:
car.pet slip.per\n   carpet slipper  carpet slippers\n  Carpet slippers are soft, comfortable slippers.\n  N-COUNT


Words: carpetbagger
Meaning:
carpet.bag.ger\n   carpetbagger  carpetbaggers\n  If you call someone a carpetbagger, you disapprove of them because they are trying to become a politician in an area which is not their home, simply because they think they are more likely to succeed there. (AM)\n  N-COUNT  disapproval


Words: carpeting
Meaning:
car.pet.ing\n   carpeting\n  You use carpeting to refer to a carpet, or to the type of material that is used to make carpets.\n...a bedroom with wall-to-wall carpeting...\nCarpeting is a reasonably cheap floor-covering.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n  see also carpet


Words: carriage
Meaning:
car.riage\n   carriage  carriages\n1. A carriage is an old-fashioned vehicle, usually for a small number of passengers, which is pulled by horses.\nThe President-elect followed in an open carriage drawn by six beautiful gray horses.\n  N-COUNT: also by N\n\n2. A carriage is one of the separate, long sections of a train that carries passengers. (BRIT; in AM, usually use car)\n  N-COUNT\n  = coach\n3. A carriage is the same as a baby carriage. (AM)\n  N-COUNT\n\n4. Carriage is the cost or action of transporting or delivering goods. (BRIT FORMAL; in AM, usually use delivery charge)\nIt costs .10.86 for one litre including carriage...\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n5. Your carriage is the way you hold your body and head when you are walking, standing, or sitting. (LITERARY)\nHer legs were long and fine, her hips slender, her carriage erect.\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu with poss\n  = bearing


Words: carriageway
Meaning:
carriage.way\n   carriageway  carriageways\n  A carriageway is one side of a road on which traffic travelling in opposite directions is separated by a barrier. (BRIT)\n  N-COUNT


Words: carrier
Meaning:
car.ri.er\n   carrier  carriers\n1. A carrier is a vehicle that is used for carrying people, especially soldiers, or things.\nThere were armoured personnel carriers and tanks on the streets...\n  N-COUNT\n\n  see also aircraft carrier\n2. A carrier is a passenger airline.\nSwitzerland’s national carrier, Swissair, has been having a hard time recently.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. A carrier is a person or an animal that is infected with a disease and so can make other people or animals ill.\n...an AIDS carrier.\n...carriers of disease such as mosquitoes and worms.\n  N-COUNT: usu n N, N of n


Words: carrier bag
Meaning:
car.ri.er bag\n   carrier bag  carrier bags\n  A carrier bag is a bag made of plastic or paper which has handles and which you carry shopping in. (BRIT; in AM, usually use shopping bag)\n  N-COUNT


Words: carrot
Meaning:
car.rot\n   carrot  carrots\n1. Carrots are long, thin, orange-coloured vegetables. They grow under the ground, and have green shoots above the ground.\n  N-VAR\n\n2. Something that is offered to people in order to persuade them to do something can be referred to as a carrot. Something that is meant to persuade people not to do something can be referred to in the same sentence as a `stick’.\nThey will be set targets, with a carrot of extra cash and pay if they achieve them...\nWhy the new emphasis on sticks instead of diplomatic carrots?\n  N-COUNT\n  = incentive\n  see also carrot and stick


Words: carrot and stick
Meaning:
car.rot and stick\n   carrot and stick   also carrot-and-stick\n  If an organization has a carrot and stick approach or policy, they offer people things in order to persuade them to do something and punish them if they refuse to do it.\nThe government is proclaiming a carrot-and-stick approach to the problem.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: carry
Meaning:
car.ry\n   carry  carries  carrying  carried\n1. If you carry something, you take it with you, holding it so that it does not touch the ground.\nHe was carrying a briefcase...\nHe carried the plate through to the dining room...\nIf your job involves a lot of paperwork, you’re going to need something to carry it all in.\n  VERB: V n, V n prep/adv, V n prep/adv\n\n2. If you carry something, you have it with you wherever you go.\nYou have to carry a bleeper so that they can call you in at any time.\n  VERB: V n\n\n3. If something carries a person or thing somewhere, it takes them there.\nFlowers are designed to attract insects which then carry the pollen from plant to plant...\nThe ship could carry seventy passengers.\n  VERB: V n adv/prep, V n\n  = transport\n4. If a person or animal is carrying a disease, they are infected with it and can pass it on to other people or animals.\nFrogs eat pests which destroy crops and carry diseases.\n  VERB: V n\n\n5. If an action or situation has a particular quality or consequence, you can say that it carries it.\nCheck that any medication you’re taking carries no risk for your developing baby...\n  VERB: no passive, no cont, V n\n\n6. If a quality or advantage carries someone into a particular position or through a difficult situation, it helps them to achieve that position or deal with that situation.\nHe had the ruthless streak necessary to carry him into the Cabinet...\n  VERB: V n prep/adv\n\n7. If you carry an idea or a method to a particular extent, you use or develop it to that extent.\nIt’s not such a new idea, but I carried it to extremes...\nWe could carry that one step further by taking the same genes and putting them into another crop.\n  VERB: V n prep/adv, V n prep/adv\n  = take\n8. If a newspaper or poster carries a picture or a piece of writing, it contains it or displays it.\nSeveral papers carry the photograph of Mr Anderson.\n  VERB: V n\n\n9. In a debate, if a proposal or motion is carried, a majority of people vote in favour of it.\nA motion backing its economic policy was carried by 322 votes to 296.\n  VERB: usu passive, be V-ed\n\n10. If a crime carries a particular punishment, a person who is found guilty of that crime will receive that punishment.\nIt was a crime of espionage and carried the death penalty.\n  VERB: no cont, V n\n\n11. If a sound carries, it can be heard a long way away.\nEven in this stillness Leaphorn doubted if the sound would carry far.\n  VERB: V adv, also V\n\n12. If a candidate or party carries a state or area, they win the election in that state or area. (AM; in BRIT, usually use take)\nGeorge W. Bush carried the state with 56 percent of the vote.\n  VERB: no passive, V n\n\n13. If you carry yourself in a particular way, you walk and move in that way.\nThey carried themselves with great pride and dignity.\n  VERB: V pron-refl prep/adv\n\n14. If a woman is carrying a child, she is pregnant. (OLD-FASHIONED)\n  VERB: usu cont\n\n15. If you get carried away or are carried away, you are so eager or excited about something that you do something hasty or foolish.\nI got completely carried away and almost cried.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n16.\nto carry the can: see can\nto carry conviction: see conviction\nto carry the day: see day\nto carry weight: see weight


Words: carry off
Meaning:
carry off\n1. If you carry something off, you do it successfully.\nHe’s got the experience and the authority to carry it off.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V n P, also V P n (not pron)\n  = bring off\n2. If you carry off a prize or a trophy, you win it.\nIt carried off the Evening Standard drama award for best play.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), also V n P


Words: carry on
Meaning:
carry on\n1. If you carry on doing something, you continue to do it.\nThe assistant carried on talking...\nHer bravery has given him the will to carry on with his life and his work...\nHis eldest son Joseph carried on his father’s traditions...\n`Do you mind if I just start with the few formal questions please?’.`Carry on.’\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P -ing, V P with n, V P n (not pron), V P\n  = continue\n2. If you carry on an activity, you do it or take part in it for a period of time.\nThe consulate will carry on a political dialogue with Indonesia...\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron)\n  = conduct\n3. If you say that someone is carrying on, you are irritated with them because they are talking very excitedly and saying a lot of unnecessary things. (INFORMAL)\nShe was yelling and screaming and carrying on...\nHe was carrying on about some stupid television series.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P, V P about n  disapproval\n  = make a fuss


Words: carry out
Meaning:
carry out\n  If you carry out a threat, task, or instruction, you do it or act according to it.\nPolice say they believe the attacks were carried out by nationalists...\nCommitments have been made with very little intention of carrying them out.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), V n P


Words: carry over
Meaning:
carry over\n  If something carries over or is carried over from one situation to another, it continues to exist or apply in the new situation.\nPriestley’s rational outlook in science carried over to religion...\nSprings and wells were decorated, a custom which was carried over into Christian times in Europe.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P into/to n, be V-ed P into/to n


Words: carry through
Meaning:
carry through\n  If you carry something through, you do it or complete it, often in spite of difficulties.\nWe don’t have the confidence that the UN will carry through a sustained program...\nThe state announced a clear-cut policy and set out to carry it through.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), V n P


Words: carryall
Meaning:
carry.all\n   carryall  carryalls\n  A carryall is a large bag made of nylon, canvas, or leather, which you use to carry your clothes and other possessions, for example when you are travelling. (mainly AM; in BRIT, usually use holdall)\n  N-COUNT


Words: carrycot
Meaning:
carry.cot\n   carrycot  carrycots\n  A carrycot is a small bed for babies which has handles so it can be carried. (BRIT)\n  N-COUNT


Words: cart
Meaning:
cart  carts  carting  carted\n1. A cart is an old-fashioned wooden vehicle that is used for transporting goods or people. Some carts are pulled by animals.\n...a country where horse-drawn carts far outnumber cars.\n  N-COUNT\n  = wagon\n2. If you cart things or people somewhere, you carry them or transport them there, often with difficulty. (INFORMAL)\nAfter both their parents died, one of their father’s relatives carted off the entire contents of the house...\n  VERB: V n with adv\n\n3. A cart is a small vehicle with a motor. (AM)\nHe drove up in a golf cart to watch them.\n  N-COUNT\n\n4. A cart or a shopping cart is a large metal basket on wheels which is provided by shops such as supermarkets for customers to use while they are in the shop. (AM; in BRIT, use trolley)\n  N-COUNT


Words: carte blanche
Meaning:
carte blanche\n  If someone gives you carte blanche, they give you the authority to do whatever you think is right.\nThey gave him carte blanche to make decisions...\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N to-inf


Words: cartel
Meaning:
car.tel\n   cartel  cartels\n  A cartel is an association of similar companies or businesses that have grouped together in order to prevent competition and to control prices. (BUSINESS)\n...a drug cartel...\n  N-COUNT


Words: carthorse
Meaning:
cart.horse\n   carthorse  carthorses   also cart-horse\n  A carthorse is a large, powerful horse that is used to pull carts or farm machinery.\nWhere we use tractors, obviously they used cart-horses in those days.\n  N-COUNT


Words: cartilage
Meaning:
car.ti.lage\n   cartilage  cartilages\n  Cartilage is a strong, flexible substance in your body, especially around your joints and in your nose.\n...a serious knee cartilage injury.\n  N-VAR


Words: cartographer
Meaning:
car.tog.ra.pher\n   cartographer  cartographers\n  A cartographer is a person whose job is drawing maps.\n  N-COUNT


Words: cartography
Meaning:
car.tog.ra.phy\n   cartography\n  Cartography is the art or activity of drawing maps and geographical charts.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: carton
Meaning:
car.ton\n   carton  cartons\n1. A carton is a plastic or cardboard container in which food or drink is sold.\n...a two-pint carton of milk.\n  N-COUNT: oft N of n\n\n2. A carton is a large, strong cardboard box in which goods are stored and transported. (AM)\n  N-COUNT


Words: cartoon
Meaning:
car.toon\n   cartoon  cartoons\n1. A cartoon is a humorous drawing or series of drawings in a newspaper or magazine.\n...one of Britain’s best-loved cartoon characters, Rupert the Bear.\n  N-COUNT\n\n  see also strip cartoon\n2. A cartoon is a film in which all the characters and scenes are drawn rather than being real people or objects.\n...the Saturday morning cartoons.\n  N-COUNT


Words: cartoon strip
Meaning:
car.toon strip\n   cartoon strip  cartoon strips\n  A cartoon strip is a series of drawings that tells a story. (mainly BRIT)\n  N-COUNT\n  = strip cartoon


Words: cartoonist
Meaning:
car.toon.ist\n   cartoonist  cartoonists\n  A cartoonist is a person whose job is to draw cartoons for newspapers and magazines.\n  N-COUNT


Words: cartridge
Meaning:
car.tridge\n   cartridge  cartridges\n1. A cartridge is a metal or cardboard tube containing a bullet and an explosive substance. Cartridges are used in guns.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A cartridge is part of a machine or device that can be easily removed and replaced when it is worn out or empty.\n  N-COUNT


Words: cartwheel
Meaning:
cart.wheel\n   cartwheel  cartwheels\n  If you do a cartwheel, you do a fast, circular movement with your body. You fall sideways, put your hands on the ground, swing your legs over, and return to a standing position.\n  N-COUNT


Words: carve
Meaning:
carve  carves  carving  carved\n1. If you carve an object, you make it by cutting it out of a substance such as wood or stone. If you carve something such as wood or stone into an object, you make the object by cutting it out.\nOne of the prisoners has carved a beautiful wooden chess set...\nHe carves his figures from white pine...\nI picked up a piece of wood and started carving.\n...carved stone figures.\n  VERB: V n, V n prep, V, V-ed\n  = sculpt\n  see also carving\n2. If you carve writing or a design on an object, you cut it into the surface of the object.\nHe carved his name on his desk...\nThe ornately carved doors were made in the seventeenth century.\n  VERB: V n in/on n, V-ed\n\n3. If you carve a piece of cooked meat, you cut slices from it so that you can eat it.\nAndrew began to carve the chicken...\nCarve the beef into slices.\n  VERB: V n, V n into n


Words: carve up
Meaning:
carve up\n  If you say that someone carves something up, you disapprove of the way they have divided it into small parts.\nHe has set about carving up the company which Hammer created from almost nothing...\nThey have begun carving the country up like a pie.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), V n P


Words: carver
Meaning:
carv.er\n   carver  carvers\n  A carver is a person who carves wood or stone, as a job or as a hobby.\nThe ivory industry employed about a thousand carvers.\n  N-COUNT: oft n N


Words: carving
Meaning:
carv.ing\n   carving  carvings\n1. A carving is an object or a design that has been cut out of a material such as stone or wood.\n...a wood carving of a human hand.\n  N-COUNT: oft n N\n\n2. Carving is the art of carving objects, or of carving designs or writing on objects.\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu n N


Words: carving knife
Meaning:
carv.ing knife\n   carving knife  carving knives\n  A carving knife is a long sharp knife that is used to cut cooked meat.\n  N-COUNT


Words: cascade
Meaning:
cas.cade\n   cascade  cascades  cascading  cascaded\n1. If you refer to a cascade of something, you mean that there is a large amount of it. (LITERARY)\nThe women have lustrous cascades of black hair...\n  N-COUNT: usu N of n\n\n2. If water cascades somewhere, it pours or flows downwards very fast and in large quantities.\nShe hung on as the freezing, rushing water cascaded past her...\n  VERB: V adv/prep


Words: case
Meaning:
CONTAINERS\n   case  cases\n1. A case is a container that is specially designed to hold or protect something.\n...a black case for his spectacles.\n  N-COUNT: oft n N\n\n  see also attache case, bookcase, briefcase, packing case, pillowcase, showcase\n2. A case is a suitcase.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. A case of wine or other alcoholic drink is a box containing a number of bottles, usually twelve, which is sold as a single unit.\n  N-COUNT: oft N of n\n\nINSTANCES AND OTHER ABSTRACT MEANINGS\n   case  cases\n1. A particular case is a particular situation or incident, especially one that you are using as an individual example or instance of something.\nSurgical training takes at least nine years, or 11 in the case of obstetrics...\nOne of the effects of dyslexia, in my case at least, is that you pay tremendous attention to detail...\nThe Honduran press published reports of eighteen cases of alleged baby snatching.\n  N-COUNT: oft in N, N of n\n\n2. A case is a person or their particular problem that a doctor, social worker, or other professional is dealing with.\n...the case of a 57-year-old man who had suffered a stroke...\nSome cases of arthritis respond to a gluten-free diet...\nChild protection workers were meeting to discuss her case.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. If you say that someone is a sad case or a hopeless case, you mean that they are in a sad situation or a hopeless situation.\nI knew I was going to make it.that I wasn’t a hopeless case.\n  N-COUNT: adj N\n\n  see also basket case, nutcase\n4. A case is a crime or mystery that the police are investigating.\nMr. Hitchens said you have solved some very unusual cases.\n  N-COUNT\n\n5. The case for or against a plan or idea consists of the facts and reasons used to support it or oppose it.\nHe sat there while I made the case for his dismissal...\nBoth these facts strengthen the case against hanging...\nShe argued her case.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, oft N for/against n\n\n6. In law, a case is a trial or other legal inquiry.\nIt can be difficult for public figures to win a libel case...\nThe case was brought by his family, who say their reputation has been damaged by allegations about him.\n  N-COUNT\n\n  see also test case\n7. You say in any case when you are adding something which is more important than what you have just said, but which supports or corrects it.\nThe concert was booked out, and in any case, most of the people gathered in the square could not afford the price of a ticket.\n  PHRASE: PHR with cl  emphasis\n  = anyway, besides\n8. You say in any case after talking about things that you are not sure about, to emphasize that your next statement is the most important thing or the thing that you are sure about.\nEither he escaped, or he came to grief. In any case, he was never seen again.\n  PHRASE: PHR with cl  emphasis\n  = at any rate\n9. If you do something in case or just in case a particular thing happens, you do it because that thing might happen.\nIn case anyone was following me, I made an elaborate detour...\n  PHRASE\n\n10. If you do something or have something in case of a particular thing, you do it or have it because that thing might happen or be true.\nMany shops along the route have been boarded up in case of trouble.\n  PREP-PHRASE: PHR n\n\n11. You use in case in expressions like `in case you didn’t know’ or `in case you’ve forgotten’ when you are telling someone in a rather irritated way something that you think is either obvious or none of their business.\nShe’s nervous about something, in case you didn’t notice...\n  PHRASE: PHR with cl  feelings\n\n12. You say in that case or in which case to indicate that what you are going to say is true if the possible situation that has just been mentioned actually exists.\nMembers are concerned that a merger might mean higher costs, in which case they would oppose it.\n  PHRASE: PHR with cl\n\n13. You can say that you are doing something just in case to refer vaguely to the possibility that a thing might happen or be true, without saying exactly what it is.\nI guess we’ve already talked about this but I’ll ask you again just in case.\n  PHRASE: PHR with cl\n\n14. You say as the case may be or whatever the case may be to indicate that the statement you are making applies equally to the two or more alternatives that you have mentioned.\nThey know how everything works.or doesn’t work, as the case may be.\n  PHRASE\n\n(next)\n\nGRAMMAR TERM\n   case  cases\n1. In the grammar of many languages, the case of a group such as a noun group or adjective group is the form it has which shows its relationship to other groups in the sentence.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2.\nsee accusative\nsee nominative\n  see also lower case, upper case


Words: case .1
Meaning:
15. If you say that a task or situation is a case of a particular thing, you mean that it consists of that thing or can be described as that thing.\nIt’s not a case of whether anyone would notice or not.\n  PHRASE\n\n16. If you say that something is a case in point, you mean that it is a good example of something you have just mentioned.\nIn many cases religious persecution is the cause of people fleeing their country. A case in point is colonial India.\n  PHRASE\n\n17. If you say that something is the case, you mean that it is true or correct.\nYou’ll probably notice her having difficulty swallowing. If this is the case, give her plenty of liquids...\nConsumers had hoped the higher prices would mean more goods in stores. But that was not the case.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n18. If you say that someone is on the case, you mean that they are aware of a particular problem and are trying to resolve it.\nThe CompuServe management is on the case now, and it looks as if things will return to normal soon.\n  PHRASE


Words: case history
Meaning:
case his.to.ry\n   case history  case histories\n  A person’s case history is the record of past events or problems that have affected them, especially their medical history.\nI took her to a homoeopath, who started by taking a very long and detailed case history.\n  N-COUNT


Words: case law
Meaning:
case law\n  Case law is law that has been established by following decisions made by judges in earlier cases. (LEGAL)\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: case study
Meaning:
case study  case studies\n  A case study is a written account that gives detailed information about a person, group, or thing and their development over a period of time.\n...a large case study of malaria in West African children.\n  N-COUNT


Words: case-sensitive
Meaning:
In computing, if a written word such as a password is case-sensitive, it must be written in a particular form, for example using all capital letters or all small letters, in order for the computer to recognize it. (COMPUTING)\n  ADJ


Words: casebook
Meaning:
case.book\n   casebook  casebooks\n  A casebook is a written record of the cases dealt with by someone such as a doctor, social worker, or police officer.\n  N-COUNT


Words: caseload
Meaning:
case.load\n   caseload  caseloads\n  The caseload of someone such as a doctor, social worker, or lawyer is the number of cases that they have to deal with.\nSocial workers say the average caseload is 32 families per employee.\n  N-COUNT: oft with poss


Words: casement
Meaning:
case.ment\n   casement  casements\n  A casement or a casement window is a window that opens by means of hinges, usually at the side. (WRITTEN)\n  N-COUNT


Words: casework
Meaning:
case.work\n   casework\n  Casework is social work that involves actually dealing or working with the people who need help.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: cash
Meaning:
cash  cashes  cashing  cashed\n1. Cash is money in the form of notes and coins rather than cheques.\n...two thousand pounds in cash.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n  see also hard cash, petty cash\n2. Cash means the same as money, especially money which is immediately available. (INFORMAL)\n...a state-owned financial-services group with plenty of cash.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n  = money\n3. If you cash a cheque, you exchange it at a bank for the amount of money that it is worth.\nThere are similar charges if you want to cash a cheque at a branch other than your own.\n  VERB: V n


Words: cash card
Meaning:
cash card  cash cards   also cashcard\n  A cash card is a card that banks give to their customers so that they can get money out of a cash dispenser. (BRIT)\n  N-COUNT


Words: cash cow
Meaning:
cash cow  cash cows\n  In business, a cash cow is a product or investment that steadily continues to be profitable. (BUSINESS)\n  N-COUNT


Words: cash crop
Meaning:
cash crop  cash crops\n  A cash crop is a crop that is grown in order to be sold.\nCranberries have become a major cash crop.\n  N-COUNT


Words: cash desk
Meaning:
cash desk  cash desks\n  A cash desk is a place in a large shop where you pay for the things you want to buy. (BRIT; in AM, use cashier’s desk)\n  N-COUNT


Words: cash dispenser
Meaning:
cash dis.pens.er\n   cash dispenser  cash dispensers\n  A cash dispenser is a machine built into the wall of a bank or other building, which allows people to take out money from their bank account using a special card. (BRIT; in AM, use ATM)\n  N-COUNT\n  = cashpoint


Words: cash flow
Meaning:
cash flow   also cashflow\n  The cash flow of a firm or business is the movement of money into and out of it. (BUSINESS)\nA French-based pharmaceuticals company ran into cash-flow problems and faced liquidation.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: cash in
Meaning:
cash in\n1. If you say that someone cashes in on a situation, you are criticizing them for using it to gain an advantage, often in an unfair or dishonest way.\nResidents said local gang leaders had cashed in on the violence to seize valuable land...\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P on n  disapproval\n\n2. If you cash in something such as an insurance policy, you exchange it for money.\nAvoid cashing in a policy early as you could lose out heavily...\nHe did not cash in his shares.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), V P n (not pron), also V n P


Words: cash register
Meaning:
cash reg.is.ter\n   cash register  cash registers\n  A cash register is a machine in a shop, pub, or restaurant that is used to add up and record how much money people pay, and in which the money is kept.\n  N-COUNT\n  = till


Words: cash-and-carry
Meaning:
cash-and-carry  cash-and-carries\n  A cash-and-carry is a large shop where you can buy goods in larger quantities and at lower prices than in ordinary shops. Cash-and-carries are mainly used by people in business to buy goods for their shops or companies.\n  N-COUNT


Words: cash-starved
Meaning:
cash-starved\n  A cash-starved company or organization does not have enough money to operate properly, usually because another organization, such as the government, is not giving them the money that they need. (BUSINESS, JOURNALISM)\nWe are heading for a crisis, with cash-starved councils forced to cut back on vital community services.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: cash-strapped
Meaning:
cash-strapped\n  If a person or organization is cash-strapped, they do not have enough money to buy or pay for the things they want or need. (JOURNALISM)\nUnion leaders say the wage package is the best they believe the cash-strapped government will offer.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: cashew
Meaning:
cash.ew\n   cashew   cashews\n  A cashew or a cashew nut is a curved nut that you can eat.\n  N-COUNT


Words: cashier
Meaning:
cash.ier\n   cashier  cashiers\n  A cashier is a person who customers pay money to or get money from in places such as shops or banks.\n  N-COUNT


Words: cashier’s check
Meaning:
cash.ier’s check\n   cashier’s check  cashier’s checks\n  A cashier’s check is one which a cashier signs and which is drawn on a bank’s own funds. (AM)\n  N-COUNT


Words: cashier’s desk
Meaning:
cash.ier’s desk\n   cashier’s desk  cashier’s desks\n  A cashier’s desk is the same as a cash desk. (AM)\n  N-COUNT


Words: cashmere
Meaning:
cash.mere\n   cashmere\n  Cashmere is a kind of very fine, soft wool.\n...a big soft cashmere sweater.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N n


Words: cashpoint
Meaning:
cash.point\n   cashpoint  cashpoints\n  A cashpoint is the same as a cash dispenser. (BRIT; in AM, use ATM)\n  N-COUNT


Words: casing
Meaning:
cas.ing\n   casing  casings\n  A casing is a substance or object that covers something and protects it.\n...the outer casings of missiles.\n  N-COUNT: oft supp N


Words: casino
Meaning:
ca.si.no\n   casino  casinos\n  A casino is a building or room where people play gambling games such as roulette.\n  N-COUNT


Words: cask
Meaning:
cask  casks\n  A cask is a wooden barrel that is used for storing things, especially alcoholic drink.\n...casks of sherry.\n  N-COUNT\n  = barrel


Words: casket
Meaning:
cas.ket\n   casket  caskets\n1. A casket is a small box in which you keep valuable things. (LITERARY)\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A casket is a coffin. (mainly AM)\n  N-COUNT


Words: cassava
Meaning:
cas.sa.va\n   cassava\n1. Cassava is a South American plant with thick roots. It is grown for food.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n  = manioc\n2. Cassava is a substance that comes from the root of the cassava plant and is used to make flour.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: casserole
Meaning:
cas.se.role\n   casserole  casseroles\n1. A casserole is a dish made of meat and vegetables that have been cooked slowly in a liquid.\n...a huge beef casserole, full of herbs, vegetables and wine.\n  N-COUNT: oft n N\n\n2. A casserole or a casserole dish is a large heavy container with a lid. You cook casseroles and other dishes in it.\n...a flameproof casserole.\n  N-COUNT


Words: cassette
Meaning:
cas.sette\n   cassette  cassettes\n1. A cassette is a small, flat, rectangular plastic case containing magnetic tape which is used for recording and playing back sound or film.\nHis two albums released on cassette have sold more than 10 million copies.\n  N-COUNT: also on N\n  = tape\n2. A cassette is the container or case for the film that you load into a camera.\n  N-COUNT


Words: cassette player
Meaning:
cas.sette play.er\n   cassette player  cassette players\n  A cassette player is a machine that is used for playing cassettes and sometimes also recording them.\n  N-COUNT


Words: cassette recorder
Meaning:
cas.sette re.cord.er\n   cassette recorder  cassette recorders\n  A cassette recorder is a machine that is used for recording and listening to cassettes.\n  N-COUNT\n  = tape recorder


Words: cassock
Meaning:
cas.sock\n   cassock  cassocks\n  A cassock is a long piece of clothing, often black, that is worn by members of the clergy in some churches.\n  N-COUNT


Words: cast
Meaning:
cast  casts  casting\n\n  The form cast is used in the present tense and is the past tense and past participle.\n\n1. The cast of a play or film is all the people who act in it.\nThe show is very amusing and the cast are very good.\n  N-COUNT-COLL\n\n2. To cast an actor in a play or film means to choose them to act a particular role in it.\nThe world premiere of Harold Pinter’s new play casts Ian Holm in the lead role...\nHe was cast as a college professor...\nHe had no trouble casting the movie.\n  VERB: V n in/as n, V n in/as n, V n\n\n=>  cast.ing\n...the casting director of Ealing film studios.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N of n, N n\n\n3. To cast someone in a particular way or as a particular thing means to describe them in that way or suggest they are that thing.\nDemocrats have been worried about being cast as the party of the poor...\nHolland would never dare cast himself as a virtuoso pianist.\n  VERB: V n as/in n, V pron-refl as/in n\n\n4. If you cast your eyes or cast a look in a particular direction, you look quickly in that direction. (WRITTEN)\nHe cast a stern glance at the two men...\nI cast my eyes down briefly...\nThe maid, casting black looks, hurried out.\n  VERB: V n prep/adv, V n prep/adv, V n\n\n5. If something casts a light or shadow somewhere, it causes it to appear there. (WRITTEN)\nThe moon cast a bright light over the yard...\nThey flew in over the beach, casting a huge shadow.\n  VERB: V n prep, V n\n\n6. To cast doubt on something means to cause people to be unsure about it.\nLast night a top criminal psychologist cast doubt on the theory.\n  VERB: V n on n\n\n7. When you cast your vote in an election, you vote.\nAbout ninety-five per cent of those who cast their votes approve the new constitution...\nGaviria had been widely expected to obtain well over half the votes cast.\n  VERB: V n, V-ed\n\n8. To cast something or someone somewhere means to throw them there. (LITERARY)\nAny true lover casting a pin into the fountain and gazing into it will see his or her future partner...\nJohn had Maude and her son cast into a dungeon.\n  VERB: V n prep, have n V-ed prep\n\n9. To cast an object means to make it by pouring a liquid such as hot metal into a specially shaped container and leaving it there until it becomes hard.\n...sculptures cast in bronze.\n  VERB: V-ed in n\n\n10. A cast is a model that has been made by pouring a liquid such as plaster or hot metal onto something or into something, so that when it hardens it has the same shape as that thing.\nAn orthodontist took a cast of the inside of Billy’s mouth.\n  N-COUNT: oft N of n\n\n11. A cast is the same as a plaster cast.\n  N-COUNT\n\n12.\n  see also casting\n13.\nto cast aspersions: see aspersions\nthe die is cast: see die\nto cast your mind back: see mind\nto cast your net wider: see net


Words: cast around for
Meaning:
cast around for\n  If you cast around for something or cast about for it, you try to find it or think of it. (in BRIT, also use cast about for)\nShe had been casting around for a good excuse to go to New York.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P P n


Words: cast aside
Meaning:
cast aside\n  If you cast aside someone or something, you get rid of them because they are no longer necessary or useful to you.\nSweden needs to cast aside outdated policies and thinking...\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron)


Words: cast iron
Meaning:
cast iron\n1. Cast iron is iron which contains a small amount of carbon. It is hard and cannot be bent so it has to be made into objects by casting.\nMade from cast iron, it is finished in graphite enamel.\n...the cast-iron chair legs.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. A cast-iron guarantee or alibi is one that is absolutely certain to be effective and will not fail you.\nThey would have to offer cast-iron guarantees to invest in long-term projects.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: cast off
Meaning:
cast off\n1. If you cast off something, you get rid of it because it is no longer necessary or useful to you, or because it is harmful to you. (LITERARY)\nThe essay exhorts women to cast off their servitude to husbands and priests...\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron)\n\n2. If you are on a boat and you cast off, you untie the rope that is keeping the boat in a fixed position.\nHe cast off, heading out to the bay.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P


Words: cast-off
Meaning:
cast-off  cast-offs   also castoff\n  Cast-off things, especially clothes, are ones which someone no longer uses because they are old or unfashionable, and which they give to someone else or throw away.\nAlexandra looked plump and awkward in her cast-off clothing.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n  Cast-off is also a noun.\nI never had anything new to wear as a child, only a cousin’s cast-offs.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl


Words: castanets
Meaning:
cas.ta.nets\n   castanets\n  Castanets are a Spanish musical instrument consisting of two small round pieces of wood or plastic held together by a cord. You hold the castanets in your hand and knock the pieces together with your fingers.\n  N-PLURAL: also a pair of N


Words: castaway
Meaning:
cast.away\n   castaway  castaways\n  A castaway is a person who has managed to swim or float to a lonely island or shore after their boat has sunk.\n  N-COUNT


Words: caste
Meaning:
caste  castes\n1. A caste is one of the traditional social classes into which people are divided in a Hindu society.\nMost of the upper castes worship the Goddess Kali.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. Caste is the system of dividing people in a society into different social classes.\nThe caste system shapes nearly every facet of Indian life.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: castellated
Meaning:
cas.tel.lat.ed\n   castellated\n  A castellated wall or building looks like a castle. (TECHNICAL)\n...a 19th-century castellated mansion.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: caster sugar
Meaning:
cast.er sug.ar\n   caster sugar   also castor sugar\n  Caster sugar is white sugar that has been ground into fine grains. It is used in cooking. (BRIT; in AM, use superfine sugar)\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: castigate
Meaning:
cas.ti.gate\n   castigate  castigates  castigating  castigated\n  If you castigate someone or something, you speak to them angrily or criticize them severely. (FORMAL)\nMarx never lost an opportunity to castigate colonialism...\nShe castigated him for having no intellectual interests.\n  VERB: V n, V n for n/-ing\n\n=>  cas.ti.ga.tion\n...Bradley’s public castigation of the police chief.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: casting
Meaning:
cast.ing\n   casting  castings\n  A casting is an object or piece of machinery which has been made by pouring a liquid such as hot metal into a container, so that when it hardens it has the required shape.\n  N-COUNT\n  = cast\n  see also cast


Words: casting vote
Meaning:
cast.ing vote\n   casting vote  casting votes\n  When a committee has given an equal number of votes for and against a proposal, the chairperson can give a casting vote. This vote decides whether or not the proposal will be passed.\nThe vote was tied and a local union leader used his casting vote in favour of the return to work.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing


Words: castle
Meaning:
cas.tle\n   castle  castles\n1. A castle is a large building with thick, high walls. Castles were built by important people, such as kings, in former times, especially for protection during wars and battles.\n  N-COUNT\n\n  see also sand castle\n2. In chess, a castle is a piece that can be moved forwards, backwards, or sideways.\n  N-COUNT\n  = rook


Words: castor
Meaning:
cas.tor\n   castor  castors\nin AM usually use, and in BRIT sometimes use caster\n  Castors are small wheels fitted to a piece of furniture so that it can be moved more easily.\n  N-COUNT


Words: castor oil
Meaning:
cas.tor oil\n   castor oil\n  Castor oil is a thick yellow oil that is obtained from the seeds of the castor oil plant. It has a very unpleasant taste and in former times was used as a medicine.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: castrate
Meaning:
cas.trate\n   castrate  castrates  castrating  castrated\n  To castrate a male animal or a man means to remove his testicles.\nIn the ancient world, it was probably rare to castrate a dog or cat.\n...a castrated male horse.\n  VERB: V n, V-ed\n\n=>  cas.tra.tion      castrations\n...the castration of male farm animals.\n  N-VAR


Words: casual
Meaning:
cas.ual\n   casual\n1. If you are casual, you are, or you pretend to be, relaxed and not very concerned about what is happening or what you are doing.\nIt’s difficult for me to be casual about anything...\nHe’s an easy-going, friendly young man with a casual sort of attitude towards money.\n  ADJ\n\n=>  casu.al.ly\n`No need to hurry,’ Ben said casually.\n  ADV: ADV with v\n\n2. A casual event or situation happens by chance or without planning.\nWhat you mean as a casual remark could be misinterpreted...\nEven a casual observer could hardly have failed to notice the heightening of an already tense atmosphere.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n3. Casual clothes are ones that you normally wear at home or on holiday, and not on formal occasions.\nI also bought some casual clothes for the weekend.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n  !=formal\n=>  casu.al.ly\nThey were smartly but casually dressed.\n  ADV: ADV -ed, ADV after v\n\n4. Casual work is done for short periods and not on a permanent or regular basis.\nIt became increasingly expensive to hire casual workers.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n  = temporary  !=permanent


Words: casualize
Meaning:
casu.al.ize\n   casualize casualizes casualizing casualized\nin BRIT, also use casualise\n  If a business casualizes its employees or casualizes their labour, it replaces employees with permanent contracts and full rights with employees with temporary contracts and few rights. (BUSINESS)\n...a casualised workforce.\n  VERB: V-ed, also V n\n\n=>  casu.ali.za.tion\n...the casualisation of employment.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N of n


Words: casualty
Meaning:
casu.al.ty\n   casualty  casualties\n1. A casualty is a person who is injured or killed in a war or in an accident.\nTroops fired on demonstrators near the Royal Palace causing many casualties.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A casualty of a particular event or situation is a person or a thing that has suffered badly as a result of that event or situation.\nFiat has been one of the greatest casualties of the recession.\n  N-COUNT: usu N of n\n  = victim\n3. Casualty is the part of a hospital where people who have severe injuries or sudden illnesses are taken for emergency treatment. (BRIT; in AM, use emergency room)\nI was taken to casualty at St Thomas’s Hospital.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: casuistry
Meaning:
casu.ist.ry\n   casuistry\n  Casuistry is the use of clever arguments to persuade or trick people. (FORMAL)\n  N-UNCOUNT  disapproval


Words: cat
Meaning:
cat  cats\n1. A cat is a furry animal that has a long tail and sharp claws. Cats are often kept as pets.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. Cats are lions, tigers, and other wild animals in the same family.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3.\n  see also Cheshire cat, fat cat, wildcat\n4. If you let the cat out of the bag, you tell people about something that was being kept secret. You often do this by mistake.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n5. In a fight or contest, if one person plays cat and mouse, or a game of cat and mouse, with the other, the first person tries to confuse or deceive the second in order to defeat them.\nAfter three hours of playing cat and mouse, they threatened to open fire on our vessel, so we stopped...\n  PHRASE: usu v PHR, PHR n\n\n6. If you put the cat among the pigeons or set the cat among the pigeons, you cause fierce argument or discussion by doing or saying something. (BRIT)\nThe bank is poised to put the cat among the pigeons this morning by slashing the cost of borrowing.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n7. If you say `There’s no room to swing a cat’ or `You can’t swing a cat’, you mean that the place you are talking about is very small or crowded.\nIt was described as a large, luxury mobile home, but there was barely room to swing a cat.\n  PHRASE: with brd-neg, usu v-link PHR


Words: cat burglar
Meaning:
cat bur.glar\n   cat burglar  cat burglars\n  A cat burglar is a thief who steals from houses or other buildings by climbing up walls and entering through windows or through the roof.\n  N-COUNT


Words: cataclysm
Meaning:
cata.clysm\n   cataclysm  cataclysms\n  A cataclysm is an event that causes great change or harm. (FORMAL)\n  N-COUNT


Words: cataclysmic
Meaning:
cata.clys.mic\n   cataclysmic\n  A cataclysmic event is one that changes a situation or society very greatly, especially in an unpleasant way. (FORMAL)\nFew had expected that change to be as cataclysmic as it turned out to be.\n  ADJ


Words: catacomb
Meaning:
cata.comb\n   catacomb  catacombs\n  Catacombs are ancient underground passages and rooms, especially under a city, where people used to be buried.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl


Words: Catalan
Meaning:
Cata.lan\n   Catalan\n1. Something that is Catalan belongs or relates to Catalonia, its people, or its language. Catalonia is a region of Spain.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n2. Catalan is one of the languages spoken in Catalonia.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: catalogue
Meaning:
cata.logue\n   catalogue  catalogues  cataloguing  catalogued\nin AM, usually use catalog\n1. A catalogue is a list of things such as the goods you can buy from a particular company, the objects in a museum, or the books in a library.\n...the world’s biggest seed catalogue.\n  N-COUNT\n  = list\n2. To catalogue things means to make a list of them.\nThe Royal Greenwich Observatory was founded to observe and catalogue the stars.\n  VERB: V n\n  = list\n3. A catalogue of similar things, especially bad things, is a number of them considered or discussed one after another.\n...the latest tragedy in a catalogue of disasters.\n  N-COUNT: N of n


Words: catalyse
Meaning:
cata.lyse\n   catalyse  catalyses  catalysing  catalysed\nin AM, use catalyze\n1. If something catalyses a thing or a situation, it makes it active. (FORMAL)\nAny unexpected circumstance that arises may catalyze a sudden escalation of violence.\n  VERB: V n\n\n2. In chemistry, if something catalyses a reaction or event, it causes it to happen. (TECHNICAL)\nThe wires do not have a large enough surface to catalyse a big explosion.\n  VERB: V n


Words: catalysis
Meaning:
ca.taly.sis\n   catalysis\n  Catalysis is the speeding up of a chemical reaction by adding a catalyst to it. (TECHNICAL)\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: catalyst
Meaning:
cata.lyst\n   catalyst  catalysts\n1. You can describe a person or thing that causes a change or event to happen as a catalyst.\nI very much hope that this case will prove to be a catalyst for change...\nHe said he saw the bank’s role as a catalyst to encourage foreign direct investment.\n  N-COUNT: oft N for n\n\n2. In chemistry, a catalyst is a substance that causes a chemical reaction to take place more quickly.\n  N-COUNT


Words: catalytic
Meaning:
cata.lyt.ic\n   catalytic\n1. In chemistry, a catalytic substance or a substance with catalytic properties is a substance which increases the speed of a chemical reaction.\n...carbon molecules with unusual chemical and catalytic properties.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n2. If you describe a person or thing as having a catalytic effect, you mean that they cause things to happen or they increase the speed at which things happen. (FORMAL)\nGovernments do, however, have a vital catalytic role in orchestrating rescue operations.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: catalytic converter
Meaning:
cata.lyt.ic con.vert.er\n   catalytic converter  catalytic converters\n  A catalytic converter is a device which is fitted to a car’s exhaust to reduce the pollution coming from it.\n  N-COUNT


Words: catamaran
Meaning:
cata.ma.ran\n   catamaran  catamarans\n  A catamaran is a sailing boat with two parallel hulls that are held in place by a single deck.\n  N-COUNT


Words: catapult
Meaning:
cata.pult\n   catapult  catapults  catapulting  catapulted\n1. A catapult is a device for shooting small stones. It is made of a Y-shaped stick with a piece of elastic tied between the two top parts. (BRIT; in AM, use slingshot)\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If someone or something catapults or is catapulted through the air, they are thrown very suddenly, quickly, and violently through it.\nWe’ve all seen enough dummies catapulting through windscreens in TV warnings to know the dangers of not wearing seat belts...\nHe was catapulted into the side of the van.\n  VERB: V prep, be V-ed prep/adv, also V n prep/adv\n\n3. If something catapults you into a particular state or situation, or if you catapult there, you are suddenly and unexpectedly caused to be in that state or situation.\nSuddenly she was catapulted into his jet-set lifestyle...\nAffleck catapulted to fame after picking up an Oscar.\n  VERB: be V-ed prep/adv, V to n


Words: cataract
Meaning:
cata.ract\n   cataract  cataracts\n  Cataracts are layers over a person’s eyes that prevent them from seeing properly. Cataracts usually develop because of old age or illness.\nAge is not a factor in cataract surgery.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl, N n


Words: catarrh
Meaning:
ca.tarrh\n   catarrh\n  Catarrh is a medical condition in which a lot of mucus is produced in your nose and throat. You may get catarrh when you have a cold.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: catastrophe
Meaning:
ca.tas.tro.phe\n   catastrophe  catastrophes\n  A catastrophe is an unexpected event that causes great suffering or damage.\nFrom all points of view, war would be a catastrophe...\n  N-COUNT\n  = disaster


Words: catastrophic
Meaning:
cata.stroph.ic\n   catastrophic\n1. Something that is catastrophic involves or causes a sudden terrible disaster.\nA tidal wave caused by the earthquake hit the coast causing catastrophic damage...\nThe water shortage in this country is potentially catastrophic...\n  ADJ\n  = disastrous\n=>  cata.strophi.cal.ly\nThe faulty left-hand engine failed catastrophically as the aircraft approached the airport.\n  ADV: usu ADV after v, also ADV adj/-ed/adv\n\n2. If you describe something as catastrophic, you mean that it is very bad or unsuccessful.\n...another catastrophic attempt to arrest control from a rival Christian militia...\nHis mother’s untimely death had a catastrophic effect on him.\n  ADJ\n  = disastrous\n=>  cata.strophi.cal.ly\nBy the time we had to sell, prices had fallen catastrophically.\n  ADV: usu ADV after v


Words: catatonic
Meaning:
cata.ton.ic\n   catatonic\n  If you describe someone as being in a catatonic state, you mean that they are not moving or responding at all, usually as a result of illness, shock, or drugs. (MEDICAL or LITERARY)\n...and the traumatised heroine sinks into a catatonic trance.\n  ADJ


Words: catbird seat
Meaning:
cat.bird seat\n   catbird seat\n  If you say that someone is in the catbird seat, you think that their situation is very good. (AM INFORMAL)\nIf he had not been hurt, his team would be sitting in the catbird seat.\n  PHRASE: v-link PHR


Words: catcall
Meaning:
cat.call\n   catcall  catcalls\n  Catcalls are loud noises that people make to show that they disapprove of something they are watching or listening to.\nThe crowd responded with boos and catcalls.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl\n  = jeer  !=cheer


Words: catch
Meaning:
catch  catches  catching  caught\n1. If you catch a person or animal, you capture them after chasing them, or by using a trap, net, or other device.\nPolice say they are confident of catching the gunman...\nWhere did you catch the fish?...\nI wondered if it was an animal caught in a trap.\n  VERB: V n, V n, V-ed\n  = capture\n2. If you catch an object that is moving through the air, you seize it with your hands.\nI jumped up to catch a ball and fell over.\n  VERB: V n\n\n  Catch is also a noun.\nHe missed the catch and the match was lost.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. If you catch a part of someone’s body, you take or seize it with your hand, often in order to stop them going somewhere.\nLiz caught his arm...\nHe knelt beside her and caught her hand in both of his...\nGarrido caught her by the wrist.\n  VERB: V n, V n prep, V n prep\n  = seize\n4. If one thing catches another, it hits it accidentally or manages to hit it.\nThe stinging slap almost caught his face...\nI may have caught him with my elbow but it was just an accident...\nHe caught her on the side of her head with his other fist.\n  VERB: V n, V n with n, V n on n\n\n5. If something catches on or in an object or if an object catches something, it accidentally becomes attached to the object or stuck in it.\nHer ankle caught on a root, and she almost lost her balance...\nA man caught his foot in the lawnmower.\n  VERB: V prep, V n prep\n\n6. When you catch a bus, train, or plane, you get on it in order to travel somewhere.\nWe were in plenty of time for Anthony to catch the ferry...\nHe caught a taxi to Harrods.\n  VERB: V n, V n prep\n  = get\n7. If you catch someone doing something wrong, you see or find them doing it.\nHe caught a youth breaking into a car...\nThree years ago my wife and I divorced. I caught her with her boss.\n  VERB: V n -ing, V n prep\n\n8. If you catch yourself doing something, especially something surprising, you suddenly become aware that you are doing it.\nI caught myself feeling almost sorry for poor Mr Laurence.\n  VERB: V pron-refl -ing\n  = find\n9. If you catch something or catch a glimpse of it, you notice it or manage to see it briefly.\nAs she turned back she caught the puzzled look on her mother’s face...\nHe caught a glimpse of the man’s face in a shop window.\n  VERB: V n, V n\n\n10. If you catch something that someone has said, you manage to hear it.\nI do not believe I caught your name...\nThe men out in the corridor were trying to catch what they said.\n  VERB: V n, V wh\n\n11. If you catch a TV or radio programme or an event, you manage to see or listen to it.\nBill turns on the radio to catch the local news...\n  VERB: V n\n\n12. If you catch someone, you manage to contact or meet them to talk to them, especially when they are just about to go somewhere else.\nI dialled Elizabeth’s number thinking I might catch her before she left for work...\nHello, Dolph. Glad I caught you.\n  VERB: V n, V n\n\n13. If something or someone catches you by surprise or at a bad time, you were not expecting them or do not feel able to deal with them.\nShe looked as if the photographer had caught her by surprise...\nI’m sorry but I just cannot say anything. You’ve caught me at a bad time...\nThe sheer number of spectators has caught everyone unprepared.\n  VERB: V n prep, V n prep, V n adj\n\n14. If something catches your attention or your eye, you notice it or become interested in it.\nMy shoes caught his attention...\nA quick movement across the aisle caught his eye.\n  VERB: V n, V n\n\n15. If you are caught in a storm or other unpleasant situation, it happens when you cannot avoid its effects.\nWhen he was fishing off the island he was caught in a storm and almost drowned...\nVisitors to the area were caught between police and the rioters.\n  V-PASSIVE: be/get V-ed prep, be/get V-ed prep\n\n16. If you are caught between two alternatives or two people, you do not know which one to choose or follow.\nThe Jordanian leader is caught between both sides in the dispute...\nShe was caught between envy and admiration.\n(next)


Words: catch .1
Meaning:
V-PASSIVE: be V-ed between pl-n, be V-ed between pl-n\n\n17. If you catch a cold or a disease, you become ill with it.\nThe more stress you are under, the more likely you are to catch a cold.\n  VERB: V n\n\n18. To catch liquids or small pieces that fall from somewhere means to collect them in a container.\n...a specially designed breadboard with a tray to catch the crumbs.\n  VERB: V n\n  = collect\n19. If something catches the light or if the light catches it, it reflects the light and looks bright or shiny.\nThey saw the ship’s guns, catching the light of the moon...\nOften a fox goes across the road in front of me and I just catch it in the headlights.\n  VERB: V n, V n in n\n\n20. A catch on a window, door, or container is a device that fastens it.\nShe fiddled with the catch of her bag...\n  N-COUNT\n\n21. A catch is a hidden problem or difficulty in a plan or an offer that seems surprisingly good.\nThe catch is that you work for your supper, and the food and accommodation can be very basic...\n  N-COUNT: usu sing\n  = snag\n22. When people have been fishing, their catch is the total number of fish that they have caught.\nThe catch included one fish over 18 pounds.\n  N-COUNT\n\n23. Catch is a game in which children throw a ball to each other.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n24. Catch is a game in which one child chases other children and tries to touch or catch one of them.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n  = tag\n25.\n  see also catching\n26. You can say things such as `You wouldn’t catch me doing that’ to emphasize that you would never do a particular thing. (INFORMAL)\nYou wouldn’t catch me in there, I can tell you.\n  PHRASE: PHR -ing, PHR prep/adv  emphasis\n\n27.\nto catch your breath: see breath\nto catch fire: see fire\nto catch hold of something: see hold\nto be caught short: see short\nto catch sight of something: see sight


Words: catch on
Meaning:
catch on\n1. If you catch on to something, you understand it, or realize that it is happening.\nHe got what he could out of me before I caught on to the kind of person he’d turned into...\nWait a minute! I’m beginning to catch on.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P to n, V P\n\n2. If something catches on, it becomes popular.\nThe idea has been around for ages without catching on.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P


Words: catch out
Meaning:
catch out\n  To catch someone out means to cause them to make a mistake that reveals that they are lying about something, do not know something, or cannot do something. (mainly BRIT)\nDetectives followed him for months hoping to catch him out in some deception...\nThe government has been caught out by the speed of events.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V n P prep, V n P prep, also V n P, V P n (not pron)


Words: catch up
Meaning:
catch up\n1. If you catch up with someone who is in front of you, you reach them by walking faster than they are walking.\nI stopped and waited for her to catch up...\nWe caught up with the nuns.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P, V P with n\n\n2. To catch up with someone means to reach the same standard, stage, or level that they have reached.\nMost late developers will catch up with their friends...\nJohn began the season better than me but I have fought to catch up...\nDuring the evenings, the school is used by kids who want to catch up on English and mathematics.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P with n, V P, V P on/in n\n\n3. If you catch up on an activity that you have not had much time to do recently, you spend time doing it.\nI was catching up on a bit of reading.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P on/with n\n\n4. If you catch up on friends who you have not seen for some time or on their lives, you talk to them and find out what has happened in their lives since you last talked together.\nThe ladies spent some time catching up on each other’s health and families...\nShe plans to return to Dublin to catch up with the relatives she has not seen since she married.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P on n, V P with n\n\n5. If you are caught up in something, you are involved in it, usually unwillingly.\nThe people themselves weren’t part of the conflict; they were just caught up in it...\n  PHRASAL VERB: be V-ed P in n


Words: catch up with
Meaning:
catch up with\n1. When people catch up with someone who has done something wrong, they succeed in finding them in order to arrest or punish them.\nThe law caught up with him yesterday.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P P n\n\n2. If something catches up with you, you are forced to deal with something unpleasant that happened or that you did in the past, which you have been able to avoid until now.\nAlthough he subsequently became a successful businessman, his criminal past caught up with him.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P P n


Words: Catch-22
Meaning:
Catch-22. also Catch 22\n  If you describe a situation as a Catch-22, you mean it is an impossible situation because you cannot do one thing until you do another thing, but you cannot do the second thing until you do the first thing.\nIt’s a Catch 22 situation here. Nobody wants to support you until you’re successful, but without the support how can you ever be successful?\n  N-SING: oft N n


Words: catch-all
Meaning:
catch-all  catch-alls\nin AM, also use catchall\n  A catch-all is a term or category which includes many different things.\nGlobalisation is a catch-all to describe increased international trade...\nIndigestion is a catch-all term for any kind of stomach distress.\n  N-COUNT


Words: catch-phrase
Meaning:
catch-phrase  catch-phrases   also catch phrase\n  A catch-phrase is a sentence or phrase which becomes popular or well-known, often because it is frequently used by a famous person.\n  N-COUNT


Words: catcher
Meaning:
catch.er\n   catcher  catchers\n  In baseball, the catcher is the player who stands behind the batter. The catcher has a special glove for catching the ball.\n  N-COUNT


Words: catching
Meaning:
catch.ing\n   catching\n  If an illness or a disease is catching, it is easily passed on or given to someone else. (INFORMAL)\nThere are those who think eczema is catching.\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ\n  = infectious


Words: catchment
Meaning:
catch.ment\n   catchment  catchments\n  In geography, catchment is the process of collecting water, in particular the process of water flowing from the ground and collecting in a river. Catchment is also the water that is collected in this way. (TECHNICAL)\n  N-COUNT


Words: catchment area
Meaning:
catch.ment area\n   catchment area  catchment areas\n1. The catchment area of a school, hospital, or other service is the area that it serves. (BRIT)\n...the catchment areas of the district general hospitals.\n  N-COUNT: oft N of n\n\n2. In geography, the catchment area of a river is the area of land from which water flows into the river. (TECHNICAL)\n  N-COUNT


Words: catchy
Meaning:
catchy  catchier  catchiest\n  If you describe a tune, name, or advertisement as catchy, you mean that it is attractive and easy to remember.\nThe songs were both catchy and original...\nThe initiative has been given the supposedly catchy title of the `Citizen’s Charter’.\n  ADJ


Words: catechism
Meaning:
cat.echism\n   catechism  catechisms\n  In a Catholic, Episcopal, or Orthodox Church, the catechism is a series of questions and answers about religious beliefs, which has to be learned by people before they can become full members of that Church.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing


Words: categorical
Meaning:
cat.egori.cal\n   categorical\n  If you are categorical about something, you state your views very definitely and firmly.\n...his categorical denial of the charges of sexual harassment...\n  ADJ\n  = unequivocal\n=>  cat.egori.cal.ly\nThey totally and categorically deny the charges...\nHe stated categorically that this would be his last season in Formula One.\n  ADV: ADV with v\n  = unequivocally


Words: categorize
Meaning:
cat.ego.rize\n   categorize  categorizes  categorizing  categorized\nin BRIT, also use categorise\n  If you categorize people or things, you divide them into sets or you say which set they belong to.\nLindsay, like his films, is hard to categorise...\nMake a list of your child’s toys and then categorise them as sociable or antisocial.\n...new ways of categorizing information.\n  VERB: V n, V n as n, V-ing\n  = classify\n=>  cat.ego.ri.za.tion      categorizations\n...the categorisation of new types of missiles.\n  N-VAR\n  = classification


Words: category
Meaning:
cat.ego.ry\n   category  categories\n  If people or things are divided into categories, they are divided into groups in such a way that the members of each group are similar to each other in some way.\nThis book clearly falls into the category of fictionalised autobiography...\nThe tables were organised into six different categories...\n  N-COUNT\n  = class


Words: cater
Meaning:
ca.ter\n   cater  caters  catering  catered\n1. In British English, to cater for a group of people means to provide all the things that they need or want. In American English, you say you cater to a person or group of people.\nMinorca is the sort of place that caters for families...\nWe cater to an exclusive clientele.\n  VERB: V for n, V to n\n\n2. In British English, to cater for something means to take it into account. In American English, you say you cater to something.\n...shops that cater for the needs of men...\nExercise classes cater to all levels of fitness.\n  VERB: V for n, V to n\n\n3. If a person or company caters for an occasion such as a wedding or a party, they provide food and drink for all the people there.\nNunsmere Hall can cater for receptions of up to 300 people...\nDoes he cater parties too?\n  VERB: V for n, V n\n\n  see also catering, self-catering


Words: caterer
Meaning:
ca.ter.er\n   caterer  caterers\n  Caterers are people or companies that provide food and drink for a place such as an office or for special occasions such as weddings and parties.\n...food brought in from outside caterers.\n  N-COUNT


Words: catering
Meaning:
ca.ter.ing\n   catering\n  Catering is the activity of providing food and drink for a large number of people, for example at weddings and parties.\nHe recently did the catering for a presidential reception.\n  N-UNCOUNT: also the N, oft N n


Words: caterpillar
Meaning:
cat.er.pil.lar\n   caterpillar  caterpillars\n  A caterpillar is a small, worm-like animal that feeds on plants and eventually develops into a butterfly or moth.\n  N-COUNT


Words: caterwaul
Meaning:
cat.er.waul\n   caterwaul  caterwauls  caterwauling  caterwauled\n  If a person or animal caterwauls, they make a loud, high, unpleasant noise like the noise that cats make when they fight.\n...shrieking and caterwauling in mock distress.\n  VERB: V\n  = wail\n  Caterwaul is also a noun.\n...blood-curdling caterwauls.\n  N-COUNT\n\n=>  cat.er.waul.ing\n...high-pitched moaning and caterwauling.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n  = wailing


Words: catfight
Meaning:
cat.fight\n   catfight catfights\n  A catfight is an angry fight or quarrel, especially between women. (mainly JOURNALISM)\nA catfight has erupted over who will get top billing.\n  N-COUNT


Words: catfish
Meaning:
cat.fish\n   catfish  catfish\n  Catfish are a type of fish that have long thin spines around their mouths.\n  N-VAR


Words: catharsis
Meaning:
ca.thar.sis\n   catharsis\n  Catharsis is getting rid of unhappy memories or strong emotions such as anger or sadness by expressing them in some way.\nHe wrote out his rage and bewilderment, which gradually became a form of catharsis leading to understanding.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: cathartic
Meaning:
ca.thar.tic\n   cathartic\n  Something that is cathartic has the effect of catharsis. (FORMAL)\nHis laughter was cathartic, an animal yelp that brought tears to his eyes.\n  ADJ


Words: cathedral
Meaning:
ca.thedral\n   cathedral  cathedrals\n  A cathedral is a very large and important church which has a bishop in charge of it.\n...St. Paul’s Cathedral.\n...the cathedral city of Canterbury.\n  N-COUNT


Words: Catherine wheel
Meaning:
Cath.er.ine wheel\n   Catherine wheel  Catherine wheels   also catherine wheel\n  A Catherine wheel is a firework in the shape of a circle which spins round and round.\n  N-COUNT


Words: catheter
Meaning:
cath.eter\n   catheter  catheters\n  A catheter is a tube which is used to introduce liquids into a human body or to withdraw liquids from it. (MEDICAL)\n  N-COUNT


Words: cathode
Meaning:
cath.ode\n   cathode  cathodes\n  A cathode is the negative electrode in a cell such as a battery. Compare anode.\n  N-COUNT


Words: cathode-ray tube
Meaning:
cathode-ray tube  cathode-ray tubes\n  A cathode-ray tube is a device in televisions and computer terminals which sends an image onto the screen. (TECHNICAL)\n  N-COUNT


Words: Catholic
Meaning:
Catho.lic\n   Catholic  Catholics\n1. The Catholic Church is the branch of the Christian Church that accepts the Pope as its leader and is based in the Vatican in Rome.\n...the Catholic Church.\n...Catholic priests.\n...the Catholic faith.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n  see also Anglo-Catholic\n2. A Catholic is a member of the Catholic Church.\nAt least nine out of ten Mexicans are baptised Catholics.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. If you describe a collection of things or people as catholic, you are emphasizing that they are very varied.\nHe was a man of catholic tastes, a lover of grand opera, history and the fine arts.\n  ADJ\n  = wide


Words: Catholicism
Meaning:
Ca.tholi.cism\n   Catholicism\n  Catholicism is the traditions, the behaviour, and the set of Christian beliefs that are held by Catholics.\n...her conversion to Catholicism.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: catkin
Meaning:
cat.kin\n   catkin  catkins\n  A catkin is a long, thin, soft flower that hangs on some trees, for example birch trees and hazel trees.\n  N-COUNT


Words: catnap
Meaning:
cat.nap\n   catnap  catnaps   also cat-nap\n  A catnap is a short sleep, usually one which you have during the day. (INFORMAL)\n  N-COUNT\n  = doze, nap


Words: catsuit
Meaning:
cat.suit\n   catsuit  catsuits\n  A catsuit is a piece of women’s clothing that is made in one piece and fits tightly over the body and legs. (BRIT)\n  N-COUNT


Words: cattery
Meaning:
cat.tery\n   cattery  catteries\n  A cattery is a place where you can leave your cat to be looked after when you go on holiday. (BRIT)\n  N-COUNT


Words: cattle
Meaning:
cat.tle\n   cattle\n  Cattle are cows and bulls.\n...the finest herd of beef cattle for two hundred miles.\n  N-PLURAL


Words: cattle grid
Meaning:
cat.tle grid\n   cattle grid  cattle grids\n  A cattle grid is a set of metal bars in the surface of a road which prevents cattle and sheep from walking along the road, but allows people and vehicles to pass. (BRIT; in AM, use cattle guard)\n  N-COUNT


Words: cattle guard
Meaning:
cat.tle guard\n   cattle guard  cattle guards\n  A cattle guard is the same as a cattle grid. (AM)\n  N-COUNT


Words: cattle market
Meaning:
cat.tle mar.ket\n   cattle market  cattle markets\n1. A cattle market is a market where cattle are bought and sold.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If you refer to an event such as a disco or a beauty contest as a cattle market, you disapprove of it because women are considered there only in terms of their sexual attractiveness.\n  N-COUNT  disapproval


Words: cattle prod
Meaning:
cat.tle prod\n   cattle prod  cattle prods\n  A cattle prod is an object shaped like a long stick. Farmers make cattle move in a particular direction by pushing the cattle prod against the bodies of the animals.\n...an electric cattle prod.\n  N-COUNT


Words: cattleman
Meaning:
cattle.man\n   cattleman  cattlemen\n  A cattleman is a man who looks after or owns cattle, especially in North America or Australia.\n  N-COUNT\n  = rancher


Words: catty
Meaning:
cat.ty\n   catty  cattier  cattiest\n  If someone, especially a woman or girl, is being catty, they are being unpleasant and unkind. (INFORMAL)\n...catty remarks.\n  ADJ\n  = bitchy


Words: catwalk
Meaning:
cat.walk\n   catwalk  catwalks\n1. At a fashion show, the catwalk is a narrow platform that models walk along to display clothes.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing\n\n2. A catwalk is a narrow bridge high in the air, for example between two parts of a tall building, on the outside of a large structure, or over a stage.\n  N-COUNT


Words: Caucasian
Meaning:
Cau.ca.sian\n   Caucasian  Caucasians\n1. A Caucasian person is a white person. (FORMAL)\n...a 25-year-old Caucasian male.\n  ADJ\n  = white\n  A Caucasian is someone who is Caucasian.\nAnn Hamilton was a Caucasian from New England.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. Anthropologists use Caucasian to refer to someone from a racial grouping coming from Europe, North Africa, and western Asia. (TECHNICAL)\n...blue eyes and Caucasian features.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n  A Caucasian is someone who is Caucasian.\n  N-COUNT


Words: caucus
Meaning:
cau.cus\n   caucus  caucuses\n  A caucus is a group of people within an organization who share similar aims and interests or who have a lot of influence. (FORMAL)\n...the Black Caucus of minority congressmen.\n  N-COUNT


Words: cauldron
Meaning:
caul.dron\n   cauldron  cauldrons\n  A cauldron is a very large, round metal pot used for cooking over a fire. In stories and fairy tales, a cauldron is used by witches for their spells.\n  N-COUNT


Words: cauliflower
Meaning:
cau.li.flow.er\n   cauliflower  cauliflowers\n  Cauliflower is a large round vegetable that has a hard white centre surrounded by green leaves.\n  N-VAR


Words: causal
Meaning:
caus.al\n   causal\n  If there is a causal relationship between two things, one thing is responsible for causing the other thing. (FORMAL)\nRawlins stresses that it is impossible to prove a causal link between the drug and the deaths...\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: causality
Meaning:
cau.sal.ity\n   causality\n  Causality is the relationship of cause and effect. (FORMAL)\n...the chain of causality that produces an earthquake.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: causation
Meaning:
cau.sa.tion\n   causation\n1. The causation of something, usually something bad, is the factors that have caused it. (FORMAL)\nThe gene is only part of the causation of illness.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. Causation is a study of the factors involved in causing something. (FORMAL)\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: causative
Meaning:
causa.tive\n   causative\n  Causative factors are ones which are responsible for causing something. (FORMAL)\nBoth nicotine and carbon monoxide inhaled with cigarette smoking have been incriminated as causative factors.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: cause
Meaning:
cause  causes  causing  caused\n1. The cause of an event, usually a bad event, is the thing that makes it happen.\nSmoking is the biggest preventable cause of death and disease...\nThe causes are a complex blend of local and national tensions.\n  N-COUNT: oft N of n\n  !=effect\n2. To cause something, usually something bad, means to make it happen.\nAttempts to limit family size among some minorities are likely to cause problems...\nThis was a genuine mistake, but it did cause me some worry.\n...a protein that gets into animal cells and attacks other proteins, causing disease to spread.\n...the damage to Romanian democracy caused by events of the past few days.\n  VERB: V n, V n n, V n to-inf, V-ed\n\n3. If you have cause for a particular feeling or action, you have good reasons for feeling it or doing it.\nOnly a few people can find any cause for celebration...\nBoth had much cause to be grateful for the secretiveness of government in Britain.\n  N-UNCOUNT: N for n, N to-inf\n  = reason\n4. A cause is an aim or principle which a group of people supports or is fighting for.\nRefusing to have one leader has not helped the cause.\n  N-COUNT\n\n  see also lost cause\n5. You use cause and effect to talk about the way in which one thing is caused by another.\n...fundamental laws of biological cause and effect.\n  PHRASE\n\n6. If you say that something is in a good cause or for a good cause, you mean that it is worth doing or giving to because it will help other people, for example by raising money for charity.\nThe Raleigh International Bike Ride is open to anyone who wants to raise money for a good cause.\n  PHRASE


Words: cause celebre
Meaning:
cause ce.le.bre\n   cause celebre  causes celebres   also cause celebre\n  A cause celebre is an issue, person, or criminal trial that has attracted a lot of public attention and discussion. (FORMAL)\nThe Kravchenko trial became a cause celebre in Paris and internationally.\n  N-COUNT


Words: causeway
Meaning:
cause.way\n   causeway  causeways\n  A causeway is a raised path or road that crosses water or wet land.\n  N-COUNT


Words: caustic
Meaning:
caus.tic\n   caustic\n1. Caustic chemical substances are very powerful and can dissolve other substances.\n...caustic cleaning agents...\nRemember that this is caustic; use gloves or a spoon.\n  ADJ\n  = corrosive\n2. A caustic remark is extremely critical, cruel, or bitter. (FORMAL)\nHis abrasive wit and caustic comments were an interviewer’s nightmare...\n  ADJ\n  = bitter, acid


Words: caustic soda
Meaning:
caus.tic soda\n   caustic soda\n  Caustic soda is a powerful chemical substance used to make strong soaps and clean drains.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: cauterize
Meaning:
cau.ter.ize\n   cauterize  cauterizes  cauterizing  cauterized\nin BRIT, also use cauterise\n  If a doctor cauterizes a wound, he or she burns it with heat or with a chemical in order to close it up and prevent it from becoming infected.\nHe cauterized the wound with a piece of red-hot iron.\n  V n


Words: caution
Meaning:
cau.tion\n   caution  cautions  cautioning  cautioned\n1. Caution is great care which you take in order to avoid possible danger.\nExtreme caution should be exercised when buying part-worn tyres...\nThe Chancellor is a man of caution.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. If someone cautions you, they warn you about problems or danger.\nTony cautioned against misrepresenting the situation...\nThe statement clearly was intended to caution Seoul against attempting to block the council’s action again...\nHe cautioned that opposition attacks on the ruling party would not further political co-operation.\n  VERB: V against n/-ing, V n against/about n/-ing, V that\n  = warn\n  Caution is also a noun.\nThere was a note of caution for the Treasury in the figures.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n  = warning\n3. If someone who has broken the law is cautioned by the police, they are warned that if they break the law again official action will be taken against them. (BRIT)\nThe two men were cautioned but police say they will not be charged...\n  VERB: usu passive, be V-ed\n\n  Caution is also a noun.\nIn November 1987 Paula escaped with a caution. In October 1988 she was fined.\n  N-COUNT\n\n4. If someone who has been arrested is cautioned, the police warn them that anything they say may be used as evidence in a trial. (BRIT)\nNobody was cautioned after arrest.\n  VERB: usu passive, be V-ed\n\n5. If you throw caution to the wind, you behave in a way that is not considered sensible or careful.\nI threw caution to the wind and rode as fast as I could.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n6.\nto err on the side of caution: see err


Words: cautionary
Meaning:
cau.tion.ary\n   cautionary\n  A cautionary story or a cautionary note to a story is one that is intended to give a warning to people.\nAn editorial in The Times sounds a cautionary note.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: cautious
Meaning:
cau.tious\n   cautious\n1. Someone who is cautious acts very carefully in order to avoid possible danger.\nThe scientists are cautious about using enzyme therapy on humans...\nHe is a very cautious man.\n  ADJ: oft ADJ about n/-ing\n  = careful  !=rash\n=>  cau.tious.ly\nDavid moved cautiously forward and looked over the edge...\nCautiously, he moved himself into an upright position.\n  ADV: usu ADV with v, also ADV adj\n\n2. If you describe someone’s attitude or reaction as cautious, you mean that it is limited or careful.\nHe has been seen as a champion of a more cautious approach to economic reform.\n  ADJ\n  = circumspect  !=rash\n=>  cau.tious.ly\nI am cautiously optimistic that a new government will be concerned and aware about the environment...\nRebel sources have so far reacted cautiously to the threat.\n  ADV: usu ADV adj, also ADV with v\n  !=rashly


Words: cavalcade
Meaning:
cav.al.cade\n   cavalcade  cavalcades\n  A cavalcade is a procession of people on horses or in cars or carriages.\n...a cavalcade of limousines and police motorcycles.\n  N-COUNT: oft N of n


Words: cavalier
Meaning:
cava.lier\n   cavalier\n  If you describe a person or their behaviour as cavalier, you are criticizing them because you think that they do not consider other people’s feelings or take account of the seriousness of a situation.\nThe Editor takes a cavalier attitude to the concept of fact checking.\n  ADJ  disapproval


Words: cavalry
Meaning:
cav.al.ry\n   cavalry\n1. The cavalry is the part of an army that uses armoured vehicles for fighting.\n...the US Army’s 1st Cavalry Division.\n  N-SING\n\n2. The cavalry is the group of soldiers in an army who ride horses.\n...a young cavalry officer.\n  N-SING


Words: cavalryman
Meaning:
cav.al.ry.man\n   cavalryman  cavalrymen\n  A cavalryman is a soldier who is in the cavalry, especially one who rides a horse.\n  N-COUNT


Words: cave
Meaning:
cave  caves  caving  caved\n  A cave is a large hole in the side of a cliff or hill, or one that is under the ground.\n...a cave more than 1,000 feet deep.\n  N-COUNT


Words: cave in
Meaning:
cave in\n1. If something such as a roof or a ceiling caves in, it collapses inwards.\nPart of the roof has caved in...\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P\n  = collapse\n2. If you cave in, you suddenly stop arguing or resisting, especially when people put pressure on you to stop.\nAfter a ruinous strike, the union caved in...\nThe Prime Minister has caved in to backbench pressure...\nHe’s caved in on capital punishment.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P, V P to n, V P on n\n  = give in


Words: caveat
Meaning:
ca.veat\n   caveat  caveats\n  A caveat is a warning of a specific limitation of something such as information or an agreement. (FORMAL)\nThere was one caveat: he was not to enter into a merger or otherwise weaken the Roche family’s control of the firm.\n  N-COUNT: oft N that


Words: caveat emptor
Meaning:
ca.veat emp.tor\n   caveat emptor\n  Caveat emptor means `let the buyer beware’, and is a warning to someone buying something that it is their responsibility to identify and accept any faults in it. (FORMAL, WRITTEN)\n  CONVENTION


Words: caveman
Meaning:
cave.man\n   caveman  cavemen\n  Cavemen were people in prehistoric times who lived mainly in caves.\n  N-COUNT


Words: caver
Meaning:
cav.er\n   caver  cavers\n  A caver is someone who goes into underground caves as a sport.\n  N-COUNT


Words: cavernous
Meaning:
cav.ern.ous\n   cavernous\n  A cavernous room or building is very large inside, and so it reminds you of a cave.\nThe work space is a bare and cavernous warehouse.\n  ADJ


Words: caviar
Meaning:
cavi.ar\n   caviar  caviars   also caviare\n  Caviar is the salted eggs of a fish called a sturgeon.\n  N-MASS


Words: cavil
Meaning:
cav.il\n   cavil  cavils  cavilling  cavilled\nin AM, use caviling, caviled\n  If you say that someone cavils at something, you mean that they make criticisms of it that you think are unimportant or unnecessary. (FORMAL)\nLet us not cavil too much...\nI don’t think this is the time to cavil at the wording of the report.\n  VERB: no passive, V, V at n  disapproval\n  = quibble\n  Cavil is also a noun.\nThese cavils aside, most of the essays are very good indeed.\n  N-COUNT


Words: cavity
Meaning:
cav.ity\n   cavity  cavities\n1. A cavity is a space or hole in something such as a solid object or a person’s body. (FORMAL)\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. In dentistry, a cavity is a hole in a tooth, caused by decay. (TECHNICAL)\n  N-COUNT


Words: cavity wall
Meaning:
cav.ity wall\n   cavity wall  cavity walls\n  A cavity wall is a wall that consists of two separate walls with a space between them. Cavity walls help to keep out noise and cold. (mainly BRIT)\n...cavity wall insulation.\n  N-COUNT: oft N n


Words: cavort
Meaning:
ca.vort\n   cavort  cavorts  cavorting  cavorted\n1. When people cavort, they leap about in a noisy and excited way.\nYou can enjoy a quick snack while your children cavort in the sand...\n  VERB: V\n  = romp\n2. Cavort is sometimes used by journalists to suggest that people were behaving in a playfully sexual way.\nIt was claimed she cavorted with a police sergeant in a Jacuzzi but she denies this.\n  VERB: V with n\n  = romp


Words: caw
Meaning:
caw  caws  cawing  cawed\n  When a bird such as a crow or a rook caws, it makes a loud harsh sound.\nOutside, a raven cawed.\n  VERB: V


Words: cayenne pepper
Meaning:
cay.enne pep.per\n   cayenne pepper\n  Cayenne pepper or cayenne is a red powder with a hot taste which is made from dried peppers and is used to flavour food.\nSeason with salt, pepper and a pinch of cayenne.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: CB
Meaning:
CB\n  CB, an abbreviation for `Citizens’ Band’, is a range of radio frequencies which the general public is allowed to use to send messages to each other. It is used especially by truck drivers and other drivers who use radio sets in their vehicles.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: cc
Meaning:
cc\n1. You use cc when referring to the volume or capacity of something such as the size of a car engine. cc is an abbreviation for `cubic centimetres’.\n...1,500 cc sports cars.\n\n2. cc is used at the end of a business letter to indicate that a copy is being sent to another person. (BUSINESS)\n...cc J. Chater, S. Cooper.


Words: CCTV
Meaning:
CCTV is an abbreviation for `closed-circuit television’.\n...a CCTV camera...\nThe girls were filmed on CCTV.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: CD
Meaning:
CD  CDs\n  CDs are small plastic discs on which sound, especially music, is recorded. CDs can also be used to store information which can be read by a computer. CD is an abbreviation for `compact disc’.\nThe Beatles’ Red and Blue compilations are issued on CD for the first time next month.\n  N-COUNT


Words: CD burner
Meaning:
CD burn.er\n   CD burner CD burners\n  A CD burner is the same as a CD writer. (COMPUTING)\n  N-COUNT


Words: CD player
Meaning:
CD play.er\n   CD player  CD players\n  A CD player is a machine on which you can play CDs.\n  N-COUNT


Words: CD writer
Meaning:
CD writ.er\n   CD writer CD writers\n  A CD writer is a piece of computer equipment that you use for copying data from a computer onto a CD. (COMPUTING)\n  N-COUNT


Words: CD-R
Meaning:
CD-R CD-Rs\n  A CD-R is a CD which is capable of recording sound and images, for example from another CD or from the Internet. CD-R is an abbreviation for `compact disc recordable’.\n  N-COUNT


Words: CD-ROM
Meaning:
CD-ROM  CD-ROMs\n  A CD-ROM is a CD on which a very large amount of information can be stored and then read using a computer. CD-ROM is an abbreviation for `compact disc read-only memory’. (COMPUTING)\nThe collected Austen novels on CD-ROM will cost .35.\n  N-COUNT


Words: CD-ROM drive
Meaning:
CD-ROM drive  CD-ROM drives\n  A CD-ROM drive is the device that you use with a computer to play CD-ROMs. (COMPUTING)\n  N-COUNT


Words: CD-RW
Meaning:
CD-RW CD-RWs\n  A CD-RW is a CD which is capable of recording sound and images, for example from another CD or from the Internet. CD-R is an abbreviation for `compact disc rewritable’.\n  N-COUNT


Words: Cdr
Meaning:
in AM, also use CDR\n  Cdr is the written abbreviation for Commander when it is used as a title.\n...Cdr A.C. Moore.\n  N-TITLE


Words: cease
Meaning:
cease  ceases  ceasing  ceased\n1. If something ceases, it stops happening or existing. (FORMAL)\nAt one o’clock the rain had ceased.\n  VERB: V\n  = halt\n2. If you cease to do something, you stop doing it. (FORMAL)\nHe never ceases to amaze me...\nA small number of firms have ceased trading.\n  VERB: V to-inf, V -ing\n\n3. If you cease something, you stop it happening or working. (FORMAL)\nThe Tundra Times, a weekly newspaper in Alaska, ceased publication this week.\n  VERB: V n\n  = stop


Words: ceasefire
Meaning:
cease.fire\n   ceasefire  ceasefires   also cease-fire\n  A ceasefire is an arrangement in which countries or groups of people that are fighting each other agree to stop fighting.\nThey have agreed to a ceasefire after three years of conflict...\n  N-COUNT\n  = truce


Words: ceaseless
Meaning:
cease.less\n   ceaseless\n  If something, often something unpleasant, is ceaseless, it continues for a long time without stopping or changing. (FORMAL)\nThere is a ceaseless struggle from noon to night.\n  ADJ\n  = endless\n=>  cease.less.ly\nThe characters complain ceaselessly about food queues, prices and corruption.\n  ADV: usu ADV with v\n  = endlessly


Words: cedar
Meaning:
ce.dar\n   cedar  cedars\n  A cedar is a large evergreen tree with wide branches and small thin leaves called needles.\n  N-COUNT\n\n  Cedar is the wood of this tree.\nThe yacht is built of cedar strip planking.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N n


Words: cede
Meaning:
cede  cedes  ceding  ceded\n  If someone in a position of authority cedes land or power to someone else, they let them have the land or power, often as a result of military or political pressure. (FORMAL)\nOnly a short campaign took place in Puerto Rico, but after the war Spain ceded the island to America...\nThe General had promised to cede power by January.\n  VERB: V n to n, V n


Words: cedilla
Meaning:
ce.dil.la\n   cedilla  cedillas\n  A cedilla is a symbol that is written under the letter `c’ in French, Portuguese, and some other languages to show that you pronounce it like a letter `s’ rather than like a letter `k’. It is written c.\n  N-COUNT


Words: ceilidh
Meaning:
cei.lidh\n   ceilidh  ceilidhs\n  A ceilidh is an informal entertainment, especially in Scotland or Ireland, at which there is folk music, singing, and dancing.\n  N-COUNT


Words: ceiling
Meaning:
ceil.ing\n   ceiling  ceilings\n1. A ceiling is the horizontal surface that forms the top part or roof inside a room.\nThe rooms were spacious, with tall windows and high ceilings...\nThe study was lined from floor to ceiling on every wall with bookcases.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A ceiling on something such as prices or wages is an official upper limit that cannot be broken.\n...an informal agreement to put a ceiling on salaries...\nThe agreement sets the ceiling of twenty-two-point-five million barrels a day on OPEC production.\n  N-COUNT: oft N of n\n  = limit


Words: celeb
Meaning:
ce.leb\n   celeb  celebs\n  A celeb is the same as a celebrity. (mainly JOURNALISM INFORMAL)\n  N-COUNT


Words: celebrant
Meaning:
cel.ebrant\n   celebrant  celebrants\n  A celebrant is a person who performs or takes part in a religious ceremony. (FORMAL)\n  N-COUNT


Words: celebrate
Meaning:
cel.ebrate\n   celebrate  celebrates  celebrating  celebrated\n1. If you celebrate, you do something enjoyable because of a special occasion or to mark someone’s success.\nI was in a mood to celebrate...\nTom celebrated his 24th birthday two days ago.\n  VERB: V, V n\n\n2. If an organization or country is celebrating an anniversary, it has existed for that length of time and is doing something special because of it.\nThe Society is celebrating its tenth anniversary this year.\n  VERB: V n\n\n3. When priests celebrate Holy Communion or Mass, they officially perform the actions and ceremonies that are involved.\nPope John Paul celebrated mass today in a city in central Poland.\n  VERB: V n


Words: celebrated
Meaning:
cel.ebrat.ed\n   celebrated\n  A celebrated person or thing is famous and much admired.\nHe was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England...\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  = renowned


Words: celebration
Meaning:
cel.ebra.tion\n   celebration  celebrations\n1. A celebration is a special enjoyable event that people organize because something pleasant has happened or because it is someone’s birthday or anniversary.\nI can tell you, there was a celebration in our house that night.\n...his eightieth birthday celebrations.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. The celebration of something is praise and appreciation which is given to it.\nThis was not a memorial service but a celebration of his life...\n  N-SING: usu N of n


Words: celebratory
Meaning:
cel.ebra.tory\n   celebratory\n  A celebratory meal, drink, or other activity takes place to celebrate something such as a birthday, anniversary, or victory.\nThat night she, Nicholson and the crew had a celebratory dinner.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: celebrity
Meaning:
ce.leb.rity\n   celebrity  celebrities\n1. A celebrity is someone who is famous, especially in areas of entertainment such as films, music, writing, or sport.\nIn 1944, at the age of 30, Hersey suddenly became a celebrity.\n...a host of celebrities.\n  N-COUNT\n  = star\n2. If a person or thing achieves celebrity, they become famous, especially in areas of entertainment such as films, music, writing, or sport.\nJoanna has finally made it to the first rank of celebrity after 25 years as an actress.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: celery
Meaning:
cel.ery\n   celery\n  Celery is a vegetable with long pale green stalks. It is eaten raw in salads.\n...a stick of celery.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: celestial
Meaning:
ce.les.tial\n   celestial\n  Celestial is used to describe things relating to heaven or to the sky. (LITERARY)\nGravity governs the motions of celestial bodies.\n  ADJ


Words: celibate
Meaning:
celi.bate\n   celibate  celibates\n1. Someone who is celibate does not marry or have sex, because of their religious beliefs.\nThe Pope bluntly told the world’s priests yesterday to stay celibate.\n  ADJ\n\n  A celibate is someone who is celibate.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. Someone who is celibate does not have sex during a particular period of their life.\nI was celibate for two years.\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ


Words: cell
Meaning:
cell  cells\n1. A cell is the smallest part of an animal or plant that is able to function independently. Every animal or plant is made up of millions of cells.\nThose cells divide and give many other different types of cells.\n...blood cells...\nSoap destroys the cell walls of bacteria.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A cell is a small room in which a prisoner is locked. A cell is also a small room in which a monk or nun lives.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. You can refer to a small group of people within a larger organization as a cell.\n  N-COUNT: usu n N


Words: cellar
Meaning:
cel.lar\n   cellar  cellars\n1. A cellar is a room underneath a building, which is often used for storing things in.\nThe box of papers had been stored in a cellar at the family home.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A person’s or restaurant’s cellar is the collection of different wines that they have.\n...the restaurant’s extensive wine cellar.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing


Words: cellmate
Meaning:
cell.mate\n   cellmate  cellmates   also cell-mate\n  In a prison, someone’s cellmate is the person they share their cell with.\n  N-COUNT: usu with poss


Words: cello
Meaning:
cel.lo\n   cello  cellos\n  A cello is a musical instrument with four strings that looks like a large violin. You play the cello with a bow while sitting down and holding it upright between your legs.\n  N-VAR: oft the N


Words: cellophane
Meaning:
cel.lo.phane\n   cellophane\n  Cellophane is a thin, transparent material that is used to wrap things. (TRADEMARK)\nShe tore off the cellophane, pulled out a cigarette, and lit it.\n...a cellophane wrapper.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: cellphone
Meaning:
cell.phone\n   cellphone  cellphones   also cell-phone\n  A cellphone is the same as a cellular phone. (mainly AM)\n  N-COUNT\n  = mobile phone


Words: cellular
Meaning:
cel.lu.lar\n   cellular\n  Cellular means relating to the cells of animals or plants.\nMany toxic effects can be studied at the cellular level.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: cellular phone
Meaning:
cel.lu.lar phone\n   cellular phone  cellular phones\n  A cellular phone or cellular telephone is a type of telephone which does not need wires to connect it to a telephone system. (mainly AM; in BRIT, use mobile phone)\n  N-COUNT\n  = cellphone, mobile phone


Words: cellulite
Meaning:
cel.lu.lite\n   cellulite\n  Cellulite is lumpy fat which people may get under their skin, especially on their thighs.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: celluloid
Meaning:
cel.lu.loid\n   celluloid\n  You can use celluloid to refer to films and the cinema.\nKing’s works seem to lack something on celluloid.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N n


Words: cellulose
Meaning:
cel.lu.lose\n   cellulose\n  Cellulose is a substance that exists in the cell walls of plants and is used to make paper, plastic, and various fabrics and fibres.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: Celsius
Meaning:
Celsius\n  Celsius is a scale for measuring temperature, in which water freezes at 0 degrees and boils at 100 degrees. It is represented by the symbol .C.\nHighest temperatures 11. Celsius, that’s 52. Fahrenheit.\n  ADJ: num ADJ\n  = centigrade\n  Celsius is also a noun.\nThe thermometer shows the temperature in Celsius and Fahrenheit.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: Celt
Meaning:
Celt   Celts\n  If you describe someone as a Celt, you mean that they are part of the racial group which comes from Scotland, Wales, Ireland, and some other areas such as Brittany.\n  N-COUNT


Words: Celtic
Meaning:
Celt.ic\n   Celtic\n  If you describe something as Celtic, you mean that it is connected with the people and the culture of Scotland, Wales, Ireland, and some other areas such as Brittany.\n...important figures in Celtic tradition.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: cement
Meaning:
ce.ment\n   cement  cements  cementing  cemented\n1. Cement is a grey powder which is mixed with sand and water in order to make concrete.\n...a mixture of wet sand and cement.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. Cement is the same as concrete.\n...the hard cold cement floor.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n3. Glue that is made for sticking particular substances together is sometimes called cement.\nStick the pieces on with tile cement.\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu n N\n\n4. Something that cements a relationship or agreement makes it stronger.\nNothing cements a friendship between countries so much as trade.\n  VERB: V n\n\n5. If things are cemented together, they are stuck or fastened together.\nMost artificial joints are cemented into place.\n  VERB: usu passive, be V-ed prep/adv


Words: cement mixer
Meaning:
ce.ment mix.er\n   cement mixer  cement mixers\n  A cement mixer is a machine with a large revolving container into which builders put cement, sand, and water in order to make concrete.\n  N-COUNT


Words: cemetery
Meaning:
cem.etery\n   cemetery  cemeteries\n  A cemetery is a place where dead people’s bodies or their ashes are buried.\n  N-COUNT\n  = graveyard


Words: cenotaph
Meaning:
ceno.taph\n   cenotaph  cenotaphs\n  A cenotaph is a structure that is built in honour of soldiers who died in a war.\n  N-COUNT


Words: censor
Meaning:
cen.sor\n   censor  censors  censoring  censored\n1. If someone in authority censors letters or the media, they officially examine them and cut out any information that is regarded as secret.\nThe military-backed government has heavily censored the news.\n  VERB: V n\n\n2. A censor is a person who has been officially appointed to examine letters or the media and to cut out any parts that are regarded as secret.\nThe report was cleared by the American military censors.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. If someone in authority censors a book, play, or film, they officially examine it and cut out any parts that are considered to be immoral or inappropriate.\nITV companies tend to censor bad language in feature films.\n  VERB: V n\n\n4. A censor is a person who has been officially appointed to examine plays, films, and books and to cut out any parts that are considered to be immoral.\n...the British Board of Film Censors.\n  N-COUNT


Words: censorious
Meaning:
cen.so.ri.ous\n   censorious\n  If you describe someone as censorious, you do not like the way they strongly disapprove of and criticize someone else’s behaviour. (FORMAL)\nDespite strong principles he was never censorious.\n  ADJ  disapproval\n  = critical


Words: censorship
Meaning:
cen.sor.ship\n   censorship\n  Censorship is the censoring of books, plays, films, or reports, especially by government officials, because they are considered immoral or secret in some way.\nThe government today announced that press censorship was being lifted.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: censure
Meaning:
cen.sure\n   censure  censures  censuring  censured\n  If you censure someone for something that they have done, you tell them that you strongly disapprove of it. (FORMAL)\nThe ethics committee may take a decision to admonish him or to censure him...\nI would not presume to censure Osborne for hating his mother.\n  VERB: V n, V n for -ing\n  = criticize\n  Censure is also a noun.\nIt is a controversial policy which has attracted international censure.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: census
Meaning:
cen.sus\n   census  censuses\n  A census is an official survey of the population of a country that is carried out in order to find out how many people live there and to obtain details of such things as people’s ages and jobs.\n  N-COUNT


Words: cent
Meaning:
cent  cents\n  A cent is a small unit of money worth one hundredth of some currencies, for example the dollar and the euro.\nA cup of rice which cost thirty cents a few weeks ago is now being sold for up to one dollar...\nWe haven’t got a cent.\n  N-COUNT: usu num N\n\n  see also per cent


Words: centaur
Meaning:
cen.taur\n   centaur  centaurs\n  In classical mythology, a centaur is a creature with the head, arms, and body of a man, and the body and legs of a horse.\n  N-COUNT


Words: centenarian
Meaning:
cen.te.nar.ian\n   centenarian  centenarians\n  A centenarian is someone who is a hundred years old or older.\nJapan has more than 4,000 centenarians.\n  N-COUNT


Words: centenary
Meaning:
cen.te.nary\n   centenary  centenaries\n  The centenary of an event such as someone’s birth is the 100th anniversary of that event. (mainly BRIT; in AM, use centennial)\n...the centenary of the death of the Dutch painter, Vincent Van Gogh.\n  N-COUNT: oft N of n


Words: centennial
Meaning:
cen.ten.nial\n   centennial\n  A centennial is the same as a centenary. (mainly AM; also BRIT FORMAL)\nThe centennial Olympics will be in Atlanta, Georgia.\n  N-SING: oft N n


Words: centigrade
Meaning:
cen.ti.grade\n   centigrade\n  Centigrade is a scale for measuring temperature, in which water freezes at 0 degrees and boils at 100 degrees. It is represented by the symbol .C.\n...daytime temperatures of up to forty degrees centigrade.\n  ADJ: usu num ADJ\n  = Celsius\n  Centigrade is also a noun.\nThe number at the bottom is the recommended water temperature in Centigrade.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: centilitre
Meaning:
cen.ti.li.tre\n   centilitre  centilitres\nin AM, use centiliter\n  A centilitre is a unit of volume in the metric system equal to ten millilitres or one-hundredth of a litre.\n  N-COUNT


Words: centimetre
Meaning:
cen.ti.me.tre\n   centimetre  centimetres\nin AM, use centimeter\n  A centimetre is a unit of length in the metric system equal to ten millimetres or one-hundredth of a metre.\n...a tiny fossil plant, only a few centimetres high.\n  N-COUNT


Words: centipede
Meaning:
cen.ti.pede\n   centipede  centipedes\n  A centipede is a long, thin creature with a lot of legs.\n  N-COUNT


Words: central
Meaning:
cen.tral\n   central\n1. Something that is central is in the middle of a place or area.\n...Central America’s Caribbean coast...\n...a rich woman living in central London.\n  ADJ\n\n=>  cen.tral.ly\nThe main cabin has its full-sized double bed centrally placed with plenty of room around it.\n  ADV: ADV -ed, ADV after v\n\n2. A place that is central is easy to reach because it is in the centre of a city, town, or particular area.\n...a central location in the capital.\n  ADJ\n\n=>  cen.tral.ly\n...this centrally located hotel, situated on the banks of the Marne Canal.\n  ADV: ADV -ed, ADV after v\n\n3. A central group or organization makes all the important decisions that are followed throughout a larger organization or a country.\nThere is a lack of trust towards the central government in Rome.\n...the central committee of the Cuban communist party.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n=>  cen.tral.ly\nThis is a centrally planned economy.\n  ADV: ADV -ed, ADV after v\n\n4. The central person or thing in a particular situation is the most important one.\nBlack dance music has been central to mainstream pop since the early ’60s.\n...a central part of their culture.\n  ADJ: oft ADJ to n\n\n=>  cen.tral.ity\nThe centrality of the German economy to the welfare of Europe must be recognised.\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu N of n\n\n=>  cen.tral.ly\nIn her memoirs Naomi is quick to acknowledge that her grandmother was centrally important in her venture as a writer.\n  ADV: ADV with cl/group, ADV after v


Words: central heating
Meaning:
cen.tral heat.ing\n   central heating\n  Central heating is a heating system for buildings. Air or water is heated in one place and travels round a building through pipes and radiators.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: central nervous system
Meaning:
cen.tral nerv.ous sys.tem\n   central nervous system  central nervous systems\n  Your central nervous system is the part of your nervous system that consists of the brain and spinal cord.\n  N-COUNT


Words: central reservation
Meaning:
cen.tral res.er.va.tion\n   central reservation  central reservations\n  The central reservation is the strip of ground, often covered with grass, that separates the two sides of a major road. (BRIT; in AM, use median , median strip)\n  N-COUNT


Words: centralism
Meaning:
cen.tral.ism\n   centralism\n  Centralism is a way of governing a country, or organizing something such as industry, education, or politics, which involves having one central group of people who give instructions to everyone else.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: centralist
Meaning:
cen.tral.ist\n   centralist  centralists\n  Centralist organizations govern a country or organize things using one central group of people who control and instruct everyone else.\n...a strong centralist state.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n  A centralist is someone with centralist views.\n  N-COUNT


Words: centralize
Meaning:
cen.tral.ize\n   centralize  centralizes  centralizing  centralized\nin BRIT, also use centralise\n  To centralize a country, state, or organization means to create a system in which one central group of people gives instructions to regional groups.\nIn the mass production era multinational firms tended to centralize their operations...\nThe economy of the times made it difficult to support centralized rule.\n  VERB: V n, V-ed\n\n=>  cen.trali.za.tion\nNowhere in Britain has bureaucratic centralization proceeded with more pace than in Scotland.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: centrally heated
Meaning:
cen.tral.ly heat.ed\n   centrally heated\n  A centrally heated building or room has central heating.\nCentrally heated offices tend to be stuffy.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: centre
Meaning:
cen.tre\n   centre  centres  centring  centred\nin AM, use center\n1. A centre is a building where people have meetings, take part in a particular activity, or get help of some kind.\nWe went to a party at the leisure centre...\n...the National Exhibition Centre.\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp, oft in names after n\n\n2. If an area or town is a centre for an industry or activity, that industry or activity is very important there.\nLondon is also the major international insurance centre.\n  N-COUNT: with supp\n\n3. The centre of something is the middle of it.\nA large wooden table dominates the centre of the room...\nBake until light golden and crisp around the edges and slightly soft in the centre.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing\n\n4. The centre of a town or city is the part where there are the most shops and businesses and where a lot of people come from other areas to work or shop.\n...the city centre.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing\n\n5. If something or someone is at the centre of a situation, they are the most important thing or person involved.\n...the man at the centre of the controversy...\nAt the centre of the inquiry has been concern for the pensioners involved.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, usu N of n\n\n6. If someone or something is the centre of attention or interest, people are giving them a lot of attention.\nThe rest of the cast was used to her being the centre of attention...\nThe centre of attraction was Pierre Auguste Renoir’s oil painting.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, N of n\n  = focus\n7. In politics, the centre refers to groups and their beliefs, when they are considered to be neither left-wing nor right-wing.\nThe Democrats have become a party of the centre.\n...the centre parties.\n  N-SING: the N, oft N n\n\n8. If something centres or is centred on a particular thing or person, that thing or person is the main subject of attention.\n...a plan which centred on academic achievement and personal motivation...\nWhen working with patients, my efforts are centred on helping them to overcome illness.\n  VERB: V on/around n, be V-ed on/around n\n\n=>  -centred\n...a child-centred approach to teaching.\n  COMB in ADJ\n\n9. If an industry or event is centred in a place, or if it centres there, it takes place to the greatest extent there.\nThe fighting has been centred around the town of Vucovar...\nThe disturbances have centred round the two main university areas...\nBetween 100 and 150 travellers’ vehicles were scattered around the county, with the largest gathering centred on Ampfield.\n  VERB: be V-ed prep, V prep, V-ed\n\n10.\n  see also community centre, detention centre, garden centre, health centre, job centre, left-of-centre, nerve centre, reception centre, remand centre, right-of-centre, shopping centre


Words: centre of gravity
Meaning:
cen.tre of grav.ity\n   centre of gravity  centres of gravity\n  The centre of gravity of an object is a point in it. If this point is above the base of the object, it stays stable, rather than falling over.\n  N-COUNT


Words: centre stage
Meaning:
cen.tre stage\n   centre stage\n  If something or someone takes centre stage, they become very important or noticeable.\nNuclear proliferation has returned to centre stage in international affairs.\n  N-UNCOUNT: also the N\n  The spellings centre-stage in British English, and center stage in American English are also used.


Words: centre-forward
Meaning:
centre-forward  centre-forwards\n  A centre-forward in a team sport such as football or hockey is the player or position in the middle of the front row of attacking players.\n  N-COUNT


Words: centred
Meaning:
cen.tred\n   centred\nin AM, use centered\n  If an industry or event is centred in a place, it takes place to the greatest extent there.\nThe tremor was centred in the Gulf of Sirte.\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ prep


Words: centrefold
Meaning:
centre.fold\n   centrefold  centrefolds\nin AM, use centerfold\n  A centrefold is a picture that covers the two central pages of a magazine, especially a photograph of a naked or partly naked woman.\n  N-COUNT


Words: centrepiece
Meaning:
centre.piece\n   centrepiece  centrepieces\nin AM, use centerpiece\n1. The centrepiece of something is the best or most interesting part of it.\nThe centrepiece of the plan is the idea of regular referendums, initiated by voters.\n  N-COUNT: usu N of n\n\n2. A centrepiece is an ornament which you put in the middle of something, especially a dinner table.\n  N-COUNT


Words: centrifugal force
Meaning:
cen.trifu.gal force\n   centrifugal force\n  In physics, centrifugal force is the force that makes objects move outwards when they are spinning around something or travelling in a curve.\nThe juice is extracted by centrifugal force.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: centrifuge
Meaning:
cen.tri.fuge\n   centrifuge  centrifuges\n  A centrifuge is a machine that spins mixtures of different substances around very quickly so that they separate by centrifugal force.\n  N-COUNT


Words: centrist
Meaning:
cen.trist\n   centrist  centrists\n  Centrist policies and parties are moderate rather than extreme.\nHe had left the movement because it had abandoned its centrist policies.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n  A centrist is someone with centrist views.\n  N-COUNT


Words: century
Meaning:
cen.tu.ry\n   century  centuries\n1. A century is a period of a hundred years that is used when stating a date. For example, the 19th century was the period from 1801 to 1900.\n...celebrated figures of the late eighteenth century.\n...a 17th-century merchant’s house.\n  N-COUNT: usu ord N\n\n2. A century is any period of a hundred years.\nThe drought there is the worst in a century.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. In cricket, a century is a score of one hundred runs or more by one batsman.\n  N-COUNT


Words: ceramic
Meaning:
ce.ram.ic\n   ceramic  ceramics\n1. Ceramic is clay that has been heated to a very high temperature so that it becomes hard.\n...ceramic tiles.\n...items made from hand-painted ceramic.\n  N-MASS: usu N n\n\n2. Ceramics are ceramic ornaments or objects.\n...a collection of Chinese ceramics.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl\n\n3. Ceramics is the art of making artistic objects out of clay.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: cereal
Meaning:
ce.real\n   cereal  cereals\n1. Cereal or breakfast cereal is a food made from grain. It is mixed with milk and eaten for breakfast.\nI have a bowl of cereal every morning.\n  N-MASS\n\n2. Cereals are plants such as wheat, corn, or rice that produce grain.\n...the rich cereal-growing districts of the Paris Basin.\n  N-COUNT


Words: cerebral
Meaning:
cere.bral\n   cerebral\n1. If you describe someone or something as cerebral, you mean that they are intellectual rather than emotional. (FORMAL)\nWashington struck me as a precarious place from which to publish such a cerebral newspaper.\n  ADJ\n  = intellectual\n2. Cerebral means relating to the brain. (MEDICAL)\n...a cerebral haemorrhage.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: cerebral palsy
Meaning:
cere.bral pal.sy\n   cerebral palsy\n  Cerebral palsy is a condition caused by damage to a baby’s brain before or during its birth, which makes its limbs and muscles permanently weak.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: ceremonial
Meaning:
cer.emo.nial\n   ceremonial\n1. Something that is ceremonial relates to a ceremony or is used in a ceremony.\nHe represented the nation on ceremonial occasions...\nFeathers of various kinds are used by Native Americans for ceremonial purposes.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n2. A position, function, or event that is ceremonial is considered to be representative of an institution, but has very little authority or influence.\nUp to now the post of president has been largely ceremonial.\n  ADJ


Words: ceremoniously
Meaning:
cer.emo.ni.ous.ly\n   ceremoniously\n  If someone does something ceremoniously, they do it in an extremely formal way. (WRITTEN)\nThey ceremoniously cut a piece of ribbon, declaring the exhibition open...\nHe thanked her ceremoniously.\n  ADV: ADV with v


Words: ceremony
Meaning:
cer.emo.ny\n   ceremony  ceremonies\n1. A ceremony is a formal event such as a wedding.\n...his grandmother’s funeral, a private ceremony attended only by the family...\nToday’s award ceremony took place at the British Embassy in Tokyo.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. Ceremony consists of the special things that are said and done on very formal occasions.\nThe Republic was proclaimed in public with great ceremony.\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu with N\n\n3. If you do something without ceremony, you do it quickly and in a casual way.\n`Is Hilton here?’ she asked without ceremony.\n  N-UNCOUNT: without N\n\n4.\n  see also master of ceremonies


Words: cert
Meaning:
cert  certs\n  If you say that someone or something is a cert, you mean that you are certain they will succeed. (BRIT INFORMAL)\nThere’s no such things as a cert in horse racing...\nAnthony was a dead cert for promotion.\n  N-COUNT


Words: certain
Meaning:
REFERRING AND INDICATING AMOUNT\ncer.tain  REFERRING AND INDICATING AMOUNT\n   certain\n1. You use certain to indicate that you are referring to one particular thing, person, or group, although you are not saying exactly which it is.\nThere will be certain people who’ll say `I told you so!’...\nLeaflets have been air dropped telling people to leave certain areas.\n  ADJ: det ADJ, ADJ n\n\n2. When you refer to certain of a group of people or things, you are referring to some particular members of that group. (FORMAL)\nThey’ll have to give up completely on certain of their studies.\n  QUANT: QUANT of def-pl-n\n  = some\n3. You can use a certain before the name of a person in order to indicate that you do not know the person or anything else about them.\nShe managed to arrange for them to be hidden in the house of a certain Father Boduen.\n  ADJ: a ADJ n-proper\n\n4. You use a certain to indicate that something such as a quality or condition exists, and often to suggest that it is not great in amount or degree.\nThat was the very reason why he felt a certain bitterness...\n  ADJ: a ADJ sing-n-uncount\n\nBEING SURE\ncer.tain  BEING SURE\n   certain\n1. If you are certain about something, you firmly believe it is true and have no doubt about it. If you are not certain about something, you do not have definite knowledge about it.\nShe’s absolutely certain she’s going to make it in the world...\nWe are not certain whether the appendix had already burst or not...\nIt wasn’t a balloon.I’m certain of that.\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ, oft ADJ that/wh, ADJ of/about n\n  = sure\n2. If you say that something is certain to happen, you mean that it will definitely happen.\nHowever, the scheme is certain to meet opposition from fishermen’s leaders...\nBrazil need to beat Uruguay to be certain of a place in the finals...\nThe Prime Minister is heading for certain defeat if he forces a vote...\nVictory looked certain.\n  ADJ: oft ADJ to-inf, it v-link ADJ that/wh, ADJ of n/-ing\n\n3. If you say that something is certain, you firmly believe that it is true, or have definite knowledge about it.\nOne thing is certain, both have the utmost respect for each other...\nIt is certain that Rodney arrived the previous day..\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ, oft it v-link ADJ that/wh\n\n4. If you know something for certain, you have no doubt at all about it.\nHill had to find out for certain.\n  PHRASE: PHR with cl (not first in cl)\n\n5. If you make certain that something is the way you want or expect it to be, you take action to ensure that it is.\nFirstly, they must make certain that their pension needs are adequately catered for...\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n  = make sure


Words: certainly
Meaning:
cer.tain.ly\n   certainly\n1. You use certainly to emphasize what you are saying when you are making a statement.\nThe bombs are almost certainly part of a much bigger conspiracy...\nToday’s inflation figure is certainly too high...\nCertainly, pets can help children develop friendship skills.\n  ADV: ADV with cl/group  emphasis\n  = undoubtedly\n2. You use certainly when you are agreeing with what someone has said.\n`In any case you remained friends.’.`Certainly.’...\n`You keep out of their way don’t you?’.`I certainly do.’\n  ADV: ADV as reply\n\n3. You say certainly not when you want to say `no’ in a strong way.\n`Perhaps it would be better if I withdrew altogether.’.`Certainly not!’\n  ADV as reply  emphasis


Words: certainty
Meaning:
cer.tain.ty\n   certainty  certainties\n1. Certainty is the state of being definite or of having no doubts at all about something.\nI have told them with absolute certainty there’ll be no change of policy...\nThere is too little certainty about the present state of the German economy.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft with N, N that\n\n2. Certainty is the fact that something is certain to happen.\nA general election became a certainty three weeks ago.\n...the certainty of more violence and bloodshed...\n  N-UNCOUNT: also a N\n  = inevitability\n3. Certainties are things that nobody has any doubts about.\nThere are no certainties in modern Europe...\n  N-COUNT: usu pl


Words: certifiable
Meaning:
cer.ti.fi.able\n   certifiable\n  If you describe someone as certifiable, you think that their behaviour is extremely unreasonable or foolish. (mainly BRIT INFORMAL)\n...if he can convince the committee that he is not certifiable.\n  ADJ  disapproval\n  = crazy


Words: certificate
Meaning:
cer.tifi.cate\n   certificate  certificates\n1. A certificate is an official document stating that particular facts are true.\n...birth certificates.\n...share certificates.\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp\n\n2. A certificate is an official document that you receive when you have completed a course of study or training. The qualification that you receive is sometimes also called a certificate.\nTo the right of the fireplace are various framed certificates.\n...the Post-Graduate Certificate of Education.\n  N-COUNT: with supp


Words: certificated
Meaning:
cer.tifi.cat.ed\n   certificated\n  A certificated person has been awarded a certificate to prove that they have achieved a certain level or standard. (mainly BRIT)\n...a genuine certificated physician.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  = certified


Words: certify
Meaning:
cer.ti.fy\n   certify  certifies  certifying  certified\n1. If someone in an official position certifies something, they officially state that it is true.\n...if the president certified that the project would receive at least $650m from overseas sources...\nThe National Election Council is supposed to certify the results of the election...\nIt has been certified as genuine...\nMrs Simpson was certified dead.\n  VERB: V that, V n, be V-ed as adj, be V-ed adj\n\n=>  cer.ti.fi.ca.tion      certifications\nAn employer can demand written certification that the relative is really ill.\n  N-VAR\n\n2. If someone is certified as a particular kind of worker, they are given a certificate stating that they have successfully completed a course of training in their profession.\nThey wanted to get certified as divers.\n...a certified accountant...\n  VERB: usu passive, get V-ed as n, V-ed\n\n=>  cer.ti.fi.ca.tion\nPupils would be offered on-the-job training leading to the certification of their skill in a particular field.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N of n


Words: certitude
Meaning:
cer.ti.tude\n   certitude  certitudes\n  Certitude is the same as certainty. (FORMAL)\nWe have this definite certitude that Cicippio will be freed.\n  N-UNCOUNT: also N in pl, oft N that


Words: cervical
Meaning:
cer.vi.cal\n   cervical\n1. Cervical means relating to the cervix. (MEDICAL)\n...the number of women dying from cervical cancer.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n2. Cervical means relating to the neck. (MEDICAL)\n...the discs in the upper cervical spine.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: cervix
Meaning:
cer.vix\n   cervix  cervixes  or cervices\n  The cervix is the entrance to the womb. (MEDICAL)\n  N-COUNT


Words: cessation
Meaning:
ces.sa.tion\n   cessation\n  The cessation of something is the stopping of it. (FORMAL)\nHe would not agree to a cessation of hostilities.\n  N-UNCOUNT: also a N, usu with supp, oft N of n


Words: cesspit
Meaning:
cess.pit\n   cesspit  cesspits\n  A cesspit is a hole or tank in the ground into which waste water and sewage flow.\n  N-COUNT\n  = cesspool


Words: cetacean
Meaning:
ce.ta.cean\n   cetacean  cetaceans\n  Cetaceans are animals such as whales, dolphins, and porpoises.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl


Words: cf.
Meaning:
cf.\n  cf. is used in writing to introduce something that should be considered in connection with the subject you are discussing.\nFor the more salient remarks on the matter, cf. Isis Unveiled, Vol. I.\n\n  = compare


Words: CFC
Meaning:
CFC  CFCs\n  CFCs are gases that are used in things such as aerosols and refrigerators and can cause damage to the ozone layer. CFC is an abbreviation for `chlorofluorocarbon’.\n  N-COUNT


Words: cha-cha
Meaning:
cha-cha  cha-chas\n  A cha-cha is a Latin American dance with small fast steps.\n  N-COUNT: oft the N


Words: chafe
Meaning:
chafe  chafes  chafing  chafed\n1. If your skin chafes or is chafed by something, it becomes sore as a result of something rubbing against it.\nMy shorts were chafing my thighs...\nHis wrists began to chafe against the cloth strips binding them...\nThe messenger bent and scratched at his knee where the strapping chafed.\n  VERB: V n, V against n, V\n\n2. If you chafe at something such as a restriction, you feel annoyed about it. (FORMAL)\nHe had chafed at having to take orders from another...\nHe was chafing under the company’s new ownership.\n  VERB: no passive, V at/under/against n/-ing, V at/under/against n/-ing


Words: chaff
Meaning:
chaff\n1. Chaff is the outer part of grain such as wheat. It is removed before the grain is used as food.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. If you separate the wheat from the chaff or sort the wheat from the chaff, you decide which people or things in a group are good or important and which are not.\nIt isn’t always easy to separate the wheat from the chaff.\n  PHRASE: V inflects


Words: chaffinch
Meaning:
chaf.finch\n   chaffinch  chaffinches\n  A chaffinch is a small European bird. Male chaffinches have reddish-brown fronts and grey heads.\n  N-COUNT


Words: chagrin
Meaning:
cha.grin\n   chagrin\n  Chagrin is a feeling of disappointment, upset, or annoyance, perhaps because of your own failure. (FORMAL, WRITTEN)\nOne of the first things we did when we moved in, to the chagrin of the architect, was to replace the leaded windows.\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu with poss


Words: chagrined
Meaning:
cha.grined\n   chagrined\n  If you are chagrined by something, it disappoints, upsets, or annoys you, perhaps because of your own failure. (WRITTEN)\nThe chair of the committee did not appear chagrined by the compromises and delays.\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ


Words: chain
Meaning:
chain  chains  chaining  chained\n1. A chain consists of metal rings connected together in a line.\nHis open shirt revealed a fat gold chain...\nThe dogs were leaping and growling at the full stretch of their chains.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If prisoners are in chains, they have thick rings of metal round their wrists or ankles to prevent them from escaping.\nHe’d spent four and a half years in windowless cells, much of the time in chains.\n  N-PLURAL: in N\n\n3. If a person or thing is chained to something, they are fastened to it with a chain.\nThe dog was chained to the leg of the one solid garden seat...\nShe chained her bike to the railings...\nWe were sitting together in our cell, chained to the wall.\n  VERB: be V-ed to n, V n to n, V-ed, also V n adv/prep\n\n  Chain up means the same as chain.\nI’ll lock the doors and chain you up...\nAll the rowing boats were chained up.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V n P, V-ed P, also V P n (not pron)\n\n4. A chain of things is a group of them existing or arranged in a line.\n...a chain of islands known as the Windward Islands...\nStudents tried to form a human chain around the parliament.\n  N-COUNT: N of n\n\n5. A chain of shops, hotels, or other businesses is a number of them owned by the same person or company.\n...a large supermarket chain.\n...Italy’s leading chain of cinemas.\n  N-COUNT: with supp\n\n6. A chain of events is a series of them happening one after another.\n...the bizarre chain of events that led to his departure in January 1938.\n  N-SING: N of n\n  = series\n7.\n  see also food chain


Words: chain gang
Meaning:
chain gang  chain gangs\n  In the United States, a chain gang is a group of prisoners who are chained together to do work outside their prison. Chain gangs existed especially in former times.\n  N-COUNT


Words: chain letter
Meaning:
chain let.ter\n   chain letter  chain letters\n  A chain letter is a letter, often with a promise of money, that is sent to several people who send copies on to several more people. Chain letters are illegal in some countries.\n  N-COUNT


Words: chain mail
Meaning:
chain mail\n  Chain mail is a kind of armour made from small metal rings joined together so that they look like cloth.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: chain reaction
Meaning:
chain re.ac.tion\n   chain reaction  chain reactions\n1. A chain reaction is a series of chemical changes, each of which causes the next.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A chain reaction is a series of events, each of which causes the next.\nThe powder immediately ignited and set off a chain reaction of explosions.\n  N-COUNT


Words: chain saw
Meaning:
chain saw  chain saws   also chainsaw\n  A chain saw is a big saw with teeth fixed in a chain that is driven round by a motor.\n  N-COUNT


Words: chain store
Meaning:
chain store  chain stores   also chain-store\n  A chain store is one of several similar shops that are owned by the same person or company, especially one that sells a variety of things.\n  N-COUNT


Words: chain-smoke
Meaning:
chain-smoke  chain-smokes  chain-smoking  chain-smoked\n  Someone who chain-smokes smokes cigarettes or cigars continuously.\nMelissa had chain-smoked all evening while she waited for a phone call from Tom.\n  VERB: V, also V n


Words: chain-smoker
Meaning:
chain-smoker  chain-smokers   also chain smoker\n  A chain-smoker is a person who chain-smokes.\n  N-COUNT


Words: chained
Meaning:
chained\n  If you say that someone is chained to a person or a situation, you are emphasizing that there are reasons why they cannot leave that person or situation, even though you think they might like to.\nAt work, he was chained to a system of boring meetings.\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ to n


Words: chair
Meaning:
chair  chairs  chairing  chaired\n1. A chair is a piece of furniture for one person to sit on. Chairs have a back and four legs.\nHe rose from his chair and walked to the window.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. At a university, a chair is the post of professor.\nHe has been appointed to the chair of sociology at Southampton University...\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, oft N of/in n\n\n3. The person who is the chair of a committee or meeting is the person in charge of it.\nShe is the chair of the Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Military.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, oft N of n\n  = chairperson\n4. If you chair a meeting or a committee, you are the person in charge of it.\nHe was about to chair a meeting in Venice of EU foreign ministers...\n  VERB: V n\n\n5. The chair is the same as the electric chair. (AM)\n  N-SING: the N


Words: chair lift
Meaning:
chair lift  chair lifts   also chairlift\n  A chair lift is a line of chairs that hang from a moving cable and carry people up and down a mountain or ski slope.\n  N-COUNT


Words: chairman
Meaning:
chair.man\n   chairman  chairmen\n1. The chairman of a committee, organization, or company is the head of it.\nGlyn Ford is chairman of the Committee which produced the report...\nI had done business with the company’s chairman.\n  N-COUNT: oft with poss\n\n2. The chairman of a meeting or debate is the person in charge, who decides when each person is allowed to speak.\nThe chairman declared the meeting open...\nI hear you, Mr. Chairman.\n  N-COUNT; N-VOC: Mr/Madam N


Words: chairmanship
Meaning:
chair.man.ship\n   chairmanship  chairmanships\n  The chairmanship of a committee or organization is the fact of being its chairperson. Someone’s chairmanship can also mean the period during which they are chairperson.\nThe Government has set up a committee under the chairmanship of Professor Roy Goode.\n  N-VAR: usu with supp


Words: chairperson
Meaning:
chair.person\n   chairperson  chairpersons\n  The chairperson of a meeting, committee, or organization is the person in charge of it.\nShe’s the chairperson of the safety committee.\n  N-COUNT


Words: chairwoman
Meaning:
chair.woman\n   chairwoman  chairwomen\n  The chairwoman of a meeting, committee, or organization is the woman in charge of it.\nPrimakov was in Japan meeting with the chairwoman of the Socialist Party there.\n  N-COUNT


Words: chaise longue
Meaning:
chaise longue  chaises longues\nThe singular and the plural are both pronounced in the same way.\n  A chaise longue is a kind of sofa with only one arm and usually a back along half its length.\n  N-COUNT


Words: chalet
Meaning:
cha.let\n   chalet  chalets\n  A chalet is a small wooden house, especially in a mountain area or a holiday camp.\n  N-COUNT


Words: chalice
Meaning:
chal.ice\n   chalice  chalices\n1. A chalice is a large gold or silver cup with a stem. Chalices are used to hold wine in the Christian service of Holy Communion.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If you refer to a job or an opportunity as a poisoned chalice, you mean that it seems to be very attractive but you believe it will lead to failure.\nHe does not regard his new job as a poisoned chalice...\n  PHRASE: usu v-link PHR, PHR after v


Words: chalk
Meaning:
chalk  chalks  chalking  chalked\n1. Chalk is a type of soft white rock. You can use small pieces of it for writing or drawing with.\n...the highest chalk cliffs in Britain...\nHer skin was chalk white and dry-looking.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N n\n\n2. Chalk is small sticks of chalk, or a substance similar to chalk, used for writing or drawing with.\n...somebody writing with a piece of chalk.\n...drawing a small picture with coloured chalks.\n  N-UNCOUNT: also N in pl\n\n3. If you chalk something, you draw or write it using a piece of chalk.\nHe chalked the message on the blackboard...\nThere was a blackboard with seven names chalked on it.\n  VERB: V n, V-ed\n\n4. If you say that two people or things are like chalk and cheese, you are emphasizing that they are completely different from each other. (BRIT)\nThe two places, he insists, are as different as chalk and cheese...\nWe are very aware of our differences, we accept that we are chalk and cheese.\n  PHRASE  emphasis


Words: chalk up
Meaning:
chalk up\n  If you chalk up a success, a victory, or a number of points in a game, you achieve it.\nAndy Wilkinson chalked up his first win of the season.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron)\n  = notch up


Words: chalkboard
Meaning:
chalk.board\n   chalkboard  chalkboards\n  A chalkboard is a dark-coloured board that you can write on with chalk. Chalkboards are often used by teachers in the classroom. (mainly AM; in BRIT, use blackboard)\n  N-COUNT


Words: chalky
Meaning:
chalky\n1. Something that is chalky contains chalk or is covered with chalk.\nThe chalky soil around Saumur produces the famous Anjou wines.\n  ADJ\n\n2. Something that is chalky is a pale dull colour or has a powdery texture.\nHer face became a chalky white.\n  ADJ


Words: challenge
Meaning:
chal.lenge\n   challenge  challenges  challenging  challenged\n1. A challenge is something new and difficult which requires great effort and determination.\nI like a big challenge and they don’t come much bigger than this...\nThe new government’s first challenge is the economy.\n  N-VAR\n\n2. If someone rises to the challenge, they act in response to a difficult situation which is new to them and are successful.\nThe new Germany must rise to the challenge of its enhanced responsibilities...\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n3. A challenge to something is a questioning of its truth or value. A challenge to someone is a questioning of their authority.\nThe demonstrators have now made a direct challenge to the authority of the government.\n  N-VAR: oft N to n\n\n4. If you challenge ideas or people, you question their truth, value, or authority.\nDemocratic leaders have challenged the president to sign the bill...\nThe move was immediately challenged by two of the republics...\nI challenged him on the hypocrisy of his political attitudes.\n  VERB: V n to-inf, be V-ed, V n on/about n, also V with quote, V n\n\n5. If you challenge someone, you invite them to fight or compete with you in some way.\nA mum slashed a neighbour’s car tyre and challenged her to a fight after their daughters fell out...\nHe left a note at the scene of the crime, challenging detectives to catch him...\nWe challenged a team who called themselves `College Athletes’.\n  VERB: V n to n, V n to-inf, V n\n\n  Challenge is also a noun.\nA third presidential candidate emerged to mount a serious challenge and throw the campaign wide open.\n  N-COUNT\n\n6.\n  see also challenged, challenging


Words: challenged
Meaning:
chal.lenged\n   challenged\n  If you say that someone is challenged in a particular way, you mean that they have a disability in that area. Challenged is often combined with inappropriate words for humorous effect.\n...terms like `vertically-challenged’.meaning short...\nShe ran off with an intellectually challenged ski instructor.\n  ADJ: adv ADJ


Words: challenger
Meaning:
chal.leng.er\n   challenger  challengers\n  A challenger is someone who competes with you for a position or title that you already have, for example being a sports champion or a political leader.\nDraskovic has emerged as the strongest challenger to the leader of the Serbian government...\n  N-COUNT: oft N to/for n


Words: challenging
Meaning:
chal.leng.ing\n   challenging\n1. A challenging task or job requires great effort and determination.\nMike found a challenging job as a computer programmer...\nI’m ready to do all those things which are more challenging.\n  ADJ\n  = demanding\n2. If you do something in a challenging way, you seem to be inviting people to argue with you or compete against you in some way.\nMona gave him a challenging look.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  = defiant


Words: chamber
Meaning:
cham.ber\n   chamber  chambers\n1. A chamber is a large room, especially one that is used for formal meetings.\nWe are going to make sure we are in the council chamber every time he speaks.\n  N-COUNT: usu supp N\n\n2. You can refer to a country’s parliament or to one section of it as a chamber.\nMore than 80 parties are contesting seats in the two-chamber parliament...\nSignor Amato’s government has only a 16-seat majority in the Chamber of Deputies.\n  N-COUNT\n  = house\n3. A chamber is a room designed and equipped for a particular purpose.\nFor many, the dentist’s surgery remains a torture chamber.\n  N-COUNT: with supp\n\n  see also gas chamber


Words: chamber music
Meaning:
cham.ber mu.sic\n   chamber music\n  Chamber music is classical music written for a small number of instruments.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: chamber of commerce
Meaning:
cham.ber of com.merce\n   chamber of commerce  chambers of commerce\n  A chamber of commerce is an organization of businessmen that promotes local commercial interests. (BUSINESS)\n  N-COUNT


Words: chamber orchestra
Meaning:
cham.ber or.ches.tra\n   chamber orchestra  chamber orchestras\n  A chamber orchestra is a small orchestra which plays classical music.\n  N-COUNT


Words: chamber pot
Meaning:
cham.ber pot\n   chamber pot  chamber pots\n  A chamber pot is a round container shaped like a very large cup. Chamber pots used to be kept in bedrooms so that people could urinate in them instead of having to leave their room during the night.\n  N-COUNT


Words: chamberlain
Meaning:
cham.ber.lain\n   chamberlain  chamberlains\n  A chamberlain is the person who is in charge of the household affairs of a king, queen, or person of high social rank.\n  N-COUNT


Words: chambermaid
Meaning:
chamber.maid\n   chambermaid  chambermaids\n  A chambermaid is a woman who cleans and tidies the bedrooms in a hotel.\n  N-COUNT


Words: chameleon
Meaning:
cha.me.le.on\n   chameleon  chameleons\n  A chameleon is a kind of lizard whose skin changes colour to match the colour of its surroundings.\n  N-COUNT


Words: chamois
Meaning:
cham.ois\n   chamois chamois\n\n  Pronounced   for meaning 1 and   in British English.\n\n1. Chamois are small animals rather like goats that live in the mountains of Europe and South West Asia.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A chamois or a chamois leather is a soft leather cloth used for cleaning and polishing.\n  N-COUNT


Words: champ
Meaning:
champ  champs\n  A champ is the same as a champion. (INFORMAL)\n...the reigning European heavyweight champ...\n  N-COUNT: oft n N


Words: champagne
Meaning:
cham.pagne\n   champagne  champagnes\n  Champagne is an expensive French white wine with bubbles in. It is often drunk to celebrate something.\n  N-MASS


Words: champion
Meaning:
cham.pi.on\n   champion  champions  championing  championed\n1. A champion is someone who has won the first prize in a competition, contest, or fight.\n...a former Olympic champion...\nKasparov became world champion.\n...a champion boxer and skier.\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp\n\n2. If you are a champion of a person, a cause, or a principle, you support or defend them.\nHe was once known as a champion of social reform.\n  N-COUNT: with supp, usu N of n\n\n3. If you champion a person, a cause, or a principle, you support or defend them.\nHe passionately championed the poor...\nThe amendments had been championed by pro-democracy activists.\n  VERB: V n, V n


Words: championship
Meaning:
cham.pi.on.ship\n   championship  championships\n1. A championship is a competition to find the best player or team in a particular sport.\n...the world chess championship.\n  N-COUNT: usu supp N\n\n2. The championship refers to the title or status of being a sports champion.\nThis season I expect us to retain the championship and win the European Cup.\n  N-SING: the N


Words: chance
Meaning:
chance  chances  chancing  chanced\n1. If there is a chance of something happening, it is possible that it will happen.\nDo you think they have a chance of beating Australia?...\nThis partnership has a good chance of success...\nThe specialist who carried out the brain scan thought Tim’s chances of survival were still slim...\nThere was really very little chance that Ben would ever have led a normal life.\n  N-VAR: oft N of -ing, N that\n\n2. If you have a chance to do something, you have the opportunity to do it.\nThe electoral council announced that all eligible people would get a chance to vote...\nI felt I had to give him a chance.\n  N-COUNT: usu N to-inf, N for n to-inf\n\n3. A chance meeting or event is one that is not planned or expected.\n...a chance meeting.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n  Chance is also a noun.\n...a victim of chance and circumstance.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n4. If you chance to do something or chance on something, you do it or find it although you had not planned or tried to. (FORMAL)\nIt was just then that I chanced to look round.\n...Christopher Columbus, who chanced upon the Dominican Republic nearly 500 years ago.\n  VERB: V to-inf, V upon/on/across n\n\n5. If you chance something, you do it even though there is a risk that you may not succeed or that something bad may happen.\nAndy knew the risks. I cannot believe he would have chanced it...\nHe decided no assassin would chance a shot from amongst that crowd.\n  VERB: V it, V n\n  = risk\n6.\n  see also off-chance\n7. Something that happens by chance was not planned by anyone.\nHe had met Mr Maude by chance.\n  PHRASE: PHR after v, PHR with cl\n\n8. You can use by any chance when you are asking questions in order to find out whether something that you think might be true is actually true.\nAre they by any chance related?\n  PHRASE: PHR with cl (not first in cl)\n  = perhaps\n9. If you say that someone stands a chance of achieving something, you mean that they are likely to achieve it. If you say that someone doesn’t stand a chance of achieving something, you mean that they cannot possibly achieve it.\nBeing very good at science subjects, I stood a good chance of gaining high grades...\nNeither is seen as standing any chance of snatching the leadership from him.\n  PHRASE: V inflects, usu PHR of -ing\n\n10. When you take a chance, you try to do something although there is a large risk of danger or failure.\nYou take a chance on the weather if you holiday in the UK...\nFrom then on, they were taking no chances...\n  PHRASE: V and N inflect


Words: chancel
Meaning:
chan.cel\n   chancel  chancels\n  The chancel is the part of a church containing the altar, where the clergy and the choir usually sit.\n  N-COUNT


Words: chancellery
Meaning:
chan.cel.lery\n   chancellery  chancelleries\n1. A chancellery is the building where a chancellor has his offices.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. The chancellery is the officials who work in a chancellor’s office.\nHe is a former head of the chancellery.\n  N-SING: usu the N


Words: Chancellor
Meaning:
Chan.cel.lor\n   Chancellor  Chancellors\n1. Chancellor is the title of the head of government in Germany and Austria.\n...Chancellor Gerhard Schroder of Germany.\n...as the Chancellor arrived.\n  N-TITLE; N-COUNT: usu the N\n\n2. In Britain, the Chancellor is the Chancellor of the Exchequer.\n  N-COUNT: usu the N\n\n3. The Chancellor of a British university is the official head of the university. The Chancellor does not take part in running the university.\n  N-COUNT: usu the N\n\n4. The head of some American universities is called the Chancellor.\n  N-COUNT: usu the N\n\n5.\n  see also vice-chancellor


Words: Chancellor of the Exchequer
Meaning:
Chan.cel.lor of the Ex.cheq.uer\n   Chancellor of the Exchequer  Chancellors of the Exchequer\n  The Chancellor of the Exchequer is the minister in the British government who makes decisions about finance and taxes.\n  N-COUNT


Words: chancellorship
Meaning:
chan.cel.lor.ship\n   chancellorship\n  The chancellorship is the position of chancellor. Someone’s chancellorship is the period of time when they are chancellor.\nAustria prospered under Kreisky’s chancellorship.\n  N-SING: usu the N


Words: chancer
Meaning:
chan.cer\n   chancer   chancers\n  You can refer to someone as a chancer if you think they use opportunities for their own advantage and often pretend to have skills they do not have. (INFORMAL)\n...a corrupt, opportunistic chancer.\n  N-COUNT


Words: Chancery
Meaning:
Chan.cery\n   Chancery\n  In Britain, the Chancery or Chancery Division is the Lord Chancellor’s court, which is a division of the High Court of Justice.\n  N-SING: also in N


Words: chancy
Meaning:
chancy\n  Something that is chancy involves a lot of risk or uncertainty. (INFORMAL)\nInvestment is becoming a chancy business.\n  ADJ\n  = risky


Words: chandelier
Meaning:
chan.de.lier\n   chandelier  chandeliers\n  A chandelier is a large, decorative frame which holds light bulbs or candles and hangs from the ceiling.\n  N-COUNT


Words: change
Meaning:
change  changes  changing  changed\n1. If there is a change in something, it becomes different.\nThe ambassador appealed for a change in US policy...\nWhat is needed is a change of attitude on the part of architects...\nThere are going to have to be some drastic changes...\nIn Zaire political change is on its way...\n1998 was an important year for everyone: a time of change.\n  N-VAR: usu with supp\n\n  see also sea change\n2. If you say that something is a change or makes a change, you mean that it is enjoyable because it is different from what you are used to.\nIt is a complex system, but it certainly makes a change...\nDo you feel like you could do with a change?\n  N-SING  approval\n\n3. If you change from one thing to another, you stop using or doing the first one and start using or doing the second.\nHis doctor increased the dosage but did not change to a different medication...\nHe changed from voting against to abstaining.\n  VERB: V to n, V from -ing to\n\n4. When something changes or when you change it, it becomes different.\nWe are trying to detect and understand how the climates change...\nIn the union office, the mood gradually changed from resignation to rage...\nShe has now changed into a happy, self-confident woman...\nThey should change the law to make it illegal to own replica weapons...\nTrees are changing colour earlier than last year...\nHe is a changed man since you left...\nA changing world has put pressures on the corporation.\n  VERB: V, V from n to n, V into n, V n, V n, V-ed, V-ing\n  = alter\n5. To change something means to replace it with something new or different.\nI paid .80 to have my car radio fixed and I bet all they did was change a fuse...\nIf you want to change your doctor there are two ways of doing it.\n  VERB: V n, V n\n\n  Change is also a noun.\nA change of leadership alone will not be enough.\n  N-COUNT: oft a N of n\n\n6. When you change your clothes or change, you take some or all of your clothes off and put on different ones.\nBen had merely changed his shirt...\nThey had allowed her to shower and change...\nI changed into a tracksuit...\nI’ve got to get changed first. I’ve got to put my uniform on.\n  VERB: V n, V, V into/out of n, get V-ed\n\n7. A change of clothes is an extra set of clothes that you take with you when you go to stay somewhere or to take part in an activity.\nHe stuffed a bag with a few changes of clothing.\n  N-COUNT: N of n\n\n8. When you change a bed or change the sheets, you take off the dirty sheets and put on clean ones.\nAfter changing the bed, I would fall asleep quickly...\nI changed the sheets on your bed today.\n  VERB: V n, V n\n\n9. When you change a baby or change its nappy or diaper, you take off the dirty one and put on a clean one.\nShe criticizes me for the way I feed or change him...\nHe needs his nappy changed.\n  VERB: V n, V-ed\n\n10. When you change buses, trains, or planes or change, you get off one bus, train, or plane and get on to another in order to continue your journey.\nAt Glasgow I changed trains for Greenock...\nWe were turned off the train at Hanover, where we had to change.\n  VERB: V n, V\n\n11. When you change gear or change into another gear, you move the gear lever on a car, bicycle, or other vehicle in order to use a different gear. (BRIT; in AM, use shift)\nThe driver tried to change gear, then swerved...\nHe looked up into the mirror as he changed through his gears.\n  VERB: V n, V prep\n\n12. Your change is the money that you receive when you pay for something with more money than it costs because you do not have exactly the right amount of money.\n`There’s your change.’.`Thanks very much.’...\nThey told the shopkeeper to keep the change.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n13. Change is coins, rather than paper money.\nThieves ransacked the office, taking a sack of loose change...\nThe man in the store won’t give him change for the phone unless he buys something.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n  see also small change\n(next)


Words: change .1
Meaning:
14. If you have change for larger notes, bills, or coins, you have the same value in smaller notes, bills, or coins, which you can give to someone in exchange.\nThe courier had change for a .10 note.\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu N for n\n\n  If you make change, you give someone smaller notes, bills, or coins, in exchange for the same value of larger ones.\n  PHRASE\n\n15. When you change money, you exchange it for the same amount of money in a different currency, or in smaller notes, bills, or coins.\nYou can expect to pay the bank a fee of around 1% to 2% every time you change money...\nIf you travel frequently, find an agency that will change one foreign currency directly into another.\n  VERB: V n, V n into n\n\n16. If you say that you are doing something or something is happening for a change, you mean that you do not usually do it or it does not usually happen, and you are happy to be doing it or that it is happening.\nNow let me ask you a question, for a change...\nLiz settled back in her seat, comfortably relaxed, enjoying being driven for a change.\n  PHRASE: PHR with cl\n\n17.\nto change for the better: see better\nto change hands: see hand\na change of heart: see heart\nto change your mind: see mind\nto change places: see place\nto ring the changes: see ring\nto change the subject: see subject\nto change tack: see tack\nto change your tune: see tune\nto change for the worse: see worse


Words: change down
Meaning:
change down\n  When you change down, you move the gear lever in the vehicle you are driving in order to use a lower gear. (BRIT; in AM, use shift down)\nChanging down, he turned into the drive...\nI braked at the second corner and changed down to third.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P, V P to n


Words: change management
Meaning:
change man.age.ment\n\n  Change management is a style of management that aims to encourage organizations and individuals to deal effectively with the changes taking place in their work. (BUSINESS)\nShe is hoping to go into change management or IT management when she graduates.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: change over
Meaning:
change over\n  If you change over from one thing to another, you stop doing one thing and start doing the other.\nWe are gradually changing over to a completely metric system...\nThe two men swapped places, always extinguishing the light when they changed over.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P from/to n, V P\n\n  see also changeover


Words: change purse
Meaning:
change purse  change purses\n  A change purse is a very small bag that people, especially women, keep their money in. (AM; in BRIT, use purse)\n  N-COUNT


Words: change up
Meaning:
change up\n  When you change up, you move the gear lever in the vehicle you are driving in order to use a higher gear. (BRIT; in AM, use shift up)\nI accelerated and changed up.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P


Words: changeable
Meaning:
change.able\n   changeable\n  Someone or something that is changeable is likely to change many times.\nThe forecast is for changeable weather.\n  ADJ\n  = unsettled


Words: changeling
Meaning:
change.ling\n   changeling  changelings\n  A changeling is a child who was put in the place of another child when they were both babies. In stories changelings were often taken or left by fairies. (LITERARY)\n  N-COUNT


Words: changeover
Meaning:
change.over\n   changeover  changeovers\n  A changeover is a change from one activity or system to another.\nHe again called for a faster changeover to a market economy...\nRight now we are in the changeover period between autumn and winter.\n  N-COUNT


Words: changing room
Meaning:
chang.ing room\n   changing room  changing rooms\n  A changing room is a room where you can change your clothes and usually have a shower, for example at a sports centre.\n  N-COUNT


Words: channel
Meaning:
chan.nel\n   channel  channels  channelling  channelled\nin AM, use channeling, channeled\n1. A channel is a television station.\n...the only serious current affairs programme on either channel.\n...the presenter of Channel 4 News.\n  N-COUNT; N-IN-NAMES\n  = station\n2. A channel is a band of radio waves on which radio messages can be sent and received.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. If you do something through a particular channel, or particular channels, that is the system or organization that you use to achieve your aims or to communicate.\nThe Americans recognise that the UN can be the channel for greater diplomatic activity...\nMoscow and the Baltic republics are re-opening channels of communication.\n  N-COUNT: with supp, oft adj N, N for/of n\n\n4. If you channel money or resources into something, you arrange for them to be used for that thing, rather than for a wider range of things.\nJacques Delors wants a system set up to channel funds to the poor countries...\n  VERB: V n prep\n\n5. If you channel your energies or emotions into something, you concentrate on or do that one thing, rather than a range of things.\nStephen is channelling his energies into a novel called Blue.\n  VERB: V n into n\n\n6. A channel is a passage along which water flows.\nKeep the drainage channel clear.\n  N-COUNT\n\n7. A channel is a route used by boats.\n  N-COUNT\n\n8. The Channel or the English Channel is the narrow area of water between England and France.\n  N-PROPER: the N


Words: channel-hopping
Meaning:
channel-hopping\n  Channel-hopping means switching quickly between different television channels because you are looking for something interesting to watch. (BRIT; in AM, use channel-surfing)\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: chant
Meaning:
chant  chants  chanting  chanted\n1. A chant is a word or group of words that is repeated over and over again.\nHe was greeted by the chant of `Judas! Judas!’.\n  N-COUNT: oft N of n\n\n2. A chant is a religious song or prayer that is sung on only a few notes.\n...a Buddhist chant.\n  N-COUNT: usu adj N\n\n3. If you chant something or if you chant, you repeat the same words over and over again.\nDemonstrators chanted slogans...\nThe crowd chanted `We are with you.’...\nSeveral thousand people chanted and demonstrated outside the building.\n  VERB: V n, V with quote, V, also V that\n\n=>  chant.ing\nA lot of the chanting was in support of the deputy Prime Minister.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n4. If you chant or if you chant something, you sing a religious song or prayer.\nMuslims chanted and prayed...\nMr Sharma lit incense and chanted Sanskrit mantras.\n  VERB: V, V n\n\n=>  chant.ing\nThe chanting inside the temple stopped.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: chaos
Meaning:
cha.os\n   chaos\n  Chaos is a state of complete disorder and confusion.\nThe world’s first transatlantic balloon race ended in chaos last night...\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: chaotic
Meaning:
cha.ot.ic\n   chaotic\n  Something that is chaotic is in a state of complete disorder and confusion.\nMullins began to rummage among the chaotic mess of papers on his desk.\n  ADJ


Words: chap
Meaning:
chap  chaps\n1. A chap is a man or boy. (mainly BRIT INFORMAL)\nShe thought he was a very nice chap.\n  N-COUNT\n  = bloke, guy\n2.\n  see also chapped


Words: chap.
Meaning:
chap. chaps\n  Chap. is a written abbreviation for chapter.\nToday the best tests are performed in the hospital (see chap. 17).\n  N-VAR num


Words: chapel
Meaning:
chap.el\n   chapel  chapels\n1. A chapel is a part of a church which has its own altar and which is used for private prayer.\n...the chapel of the Virgin Mary.\n  N-COUNT: oft the N of n\n\n2. A chapel is a small church attached to a hospital, school, or prison.\nWe married in the chapel of Charing Cross Hospital in London.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. A chapel is a building used for worship by members of some Christian churches. Chapel refers to the religious services that take place there.\n...a Methodist chapel...\nOn Sundays, the family went three times to chapel.\n  N-VAR


Words: chaperone
Meaning:
chap.er.one\n   chaperone  chaperones  chaperoning  chaperoned   also chaperon\n1. A chaperone is someone who accompanies another person somewhere in order to make sure that they do not come to any harm.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If you are chaperoned by someone, they act as your chaperone.\nWe were chaperoned by our aunt.\n  VERB: usu passive, be V-ed


Words: chaplain
Meaning:
chap.lain\n   chaplain  chaplains\n  A chaplain is a member of the Christian clergy who does religious work in a place such as a hospital, school, prison, or in the armed forces.\nHe joined the 40th Division as an army chaplain.\n  N-COUNT: oft n N


Words: chaplaincy
Meaning:
chap.lain.cy\n   chaplaincy  chaplaincies\n1. A chaplaincy is the building or office in which a chaplain works.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A chaplaincy is the position or work of a chaplain.\n...the chaplaincy of the Royal Hospital.\n  N-COUNT


Words: chapped
Meaning:
chapped\n  If your skin is chapped, it is dry, cracked, and sore.\n...chapped hands...\nHer skin felt chapped.\n  ADJ


Words: chappy
Meaning:
chap.py\n   chappy  chappies\n  A chappy is the same as a chap. (BRIT INFORMAL)\nHis cheeky chappy image is reinforced by the spiky hair and the wide grin.\n  N-COUNT


Words: chapter
Meaning:
chap.ter\n   chapter  chapters\n1. A chapter is one of the parts that a book is divided into. Each chapter has a number, and sometimes a title.\nChromium supplements were used successfully in the treatment of diabetes (see Chapter 4)...\nI took the title of this chapter from one of my favorite books.\n  N-COUNT: also N num\n\n2. A chapter in someone’s life or in history is a period of time during which a major event or series of related events takes place. (WRITTEN)\nThis had been a particularly difficult chapter in Lebanon’s recent history.\n...one of the most dramatic chapters of recent British politics.\n  N-COUNT: supp N, oft N in n, adj N


Words: chapter house
Meaning:
chap.ter house\n   chapter house  chapter houses\n1. A chapter house is the building or set of rooms in the grounds of a cathedral where the members of the clergy hold their meetings.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. In a university or college, a chapter house is the place where a fraternity or sorority lives or meets. (AM)\n  N-COUNT


Words: char
Meaning:
char  chars  charring  charred\n1. If food chars or if you char it, it burns slightly and turns black as it is cooking.\nToast hazelnuts on a baking sheet until the skins char...\nHalve the peppers and char the skins under a hot grill.\n  VERB: V, V n\n\n=>  char.ring\nThe chops should be cooked over moderate heat to prevent excessive charring.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2.\n  see also charred


Words: char-grilled
Meaning:
char-grilled   also chargrilled\n  Char-grilled meat or fish has been cooked so that it burns slightly and turns black. (BRIT; in AM, usually use charbroiled)\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: charabanc
Meaning:
chara.banc\n   charabanc  charabancs\n  A charabanc is a large old-fashioned coach with several rows of seats. Charabancs were used especially for taking people on trips or on holiday. (BRIT)\n  N-COUNT


Words: character
Meaning:
char.ac.ter\n   character  characters\n1. The character of a person or place consists of all the qualities they have that make them distinct from other people or places.\nPerhaps there is a negative side to his character that you haven’t seen yet...\nThe character of this country has been formed by immigration.\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp\n  = nature\n2. If something has a particular character, it has a particular quality.\nThe financial concessions granted to British Aerospace were, he said, of a precarious character...\nThe state farms were semi-military in character.\n  N-SING: usu supp N, also in N\n  = nature\n3. You can use character to refer to the qualities that people from a particular place are believed to have.\nIndividuality is a valued and inherent part of the British character.\n  N-SING: supp N\n\n4. You use character to say what kind of person someone is. For example, if you say that someone is a strange character, you mean they are strange.\nIt’s that kind of courage and determination that makes him such a remarkable character...\nWhat a sad character that Nigel is.\n  N-COUNT: usu adj N\n\n5. Your character is your personality, especially how reliable and honest you are. If someone is of good character, they are reliable and honest. If they are of bad character, they are unreliable and dishonest.\nHe’s begun a series of personal attacks on my character...\nMr Bartman was a man of good character.\n  N-VAR: usu supp N\n\n6. If you say that someone has character, you mean that they have the ability to deal effectively with difficult, unpleasant, or dangerous situations.\nShe showed real character in her attempts to win over the crowd...\nI didn’t know Ron had that much strength of character.\n  N-UNCOUNT  approval\n\n7. If you say that a place has character, you mean that it has an interesting or unusual quality which makes you notice it and like it.\nAn ugly shopping centre stands across from one of the few buildings with character.\n  N-UNCOUNT  approval\n\n8. The characters in a film, book, or play are the people that it is about.\nThe film is autobiographical and the central character is played by Collard himself...\nHe’s made the characters believable.\n  N-COUNT\n\n9. If you say that someone is a character, you mean that they are interesting, unusual, or amusing. (INFORMAL)\nHe’ll be sadly missed. He was a real character.\n  N-COUNT\n\n10. A character is a letter, number, or other symbol that is written or printed.\n  N-COUNT\n\n11. If someone’s actions are in character, they are doing what you would expect them to do, knowing what kind of person they are. If their actions are out of character, they are not doing what you would expect them to do.\nIt was entirely in character for Rachel to put her baby first...\nWhat else could make him behave so out of character?\n  PHRASE: usu v-link PHR


Words: character actor
Meaning:
char.ac.ter ac.tor\n   character actor  character actors\n  A character actor is an actor who specializes in playing unusual or eccentric people.\n  N-COUNT


Words: character assassination
Meaning:
char.ac.ter as.sas.si.na.tion\n   character assassination  character assassinations\n  A character assassination is a deliberate attempt to destroy someone’s reputation, especially by criticizing them in an unfair and dishonest way when they are not present.\nA full-scale character assassination of the dead woman got underway in the tabloid press.\n  N-VAR


Words: character recognition
Meaning:
char.ac.ter rec.og.ni.tion\n\n  Character recognition is a process which allows computers to recognize written or printed characters such as numbers or letters and to change them into a form that the computer can use. (COMPUTING)\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: characterful
Meaning:
char.ac.ter.ful\n   characterful\n  If you describe something as characterful, you mean that it is pleasant and interesting. (JOURNALISM)\n...small characterful hotels serving local cuisine.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  !=characterless


Words: characteristic
Meaning:
char.ac.ter.is.tic\n   characteristic  characteristics\n1. The characteristics of a person or thing are the qualities or features that belong to them and make them recognizable.\nGenes determine the characteristics of every living thing.\n...their physical characteristics.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl, usu with supp\n  = feature, trait\n2. A quality or feature that is characteristic of someone or something is one which is often seen in them and seems typical of them.\nWindmills are a characteristic feature of the Mallorcan landscape...\nNehru responded with characteristic generosity.\n  ADJ: oft ADJ of n\n  = typical  !=uncharacteristic\n=>  char.ac.ter.is.ti.cal.ly\nHe replied in characteristically robust style...\n  ADV: usu ADV adj, also ADV with v, ADV with cl


Words: characterization
Meaning:
char.ac.teri.za.tion\n   characterization  characterizations\nin BRIT, also use characterisation\n  Characterization is the way an author or an actor describes or shows what a character is like.\n...Chaucer’s characterization of Criseyde.\n  N-VAR\n\n  see also characterize


Words: characterize
Meaning:
char.ac.ter.ize\n   characterize  characterizes  characterizing  characterized\nin BRIT, also use characterise\n1. If something is characterized by a particular feature or quality, that feature or quality is an obvious part of it. (FORMAL)\nThis election campaign has been characterized by violence...\nA bold use of colour characterizes the bedroom.\n  VERB: be V-ed by n, V n\n\n2. If you characterize someone or something as a particular thing, you describe them as that thing. (FORMAL)\nBoth companies have characterized the relationship as friendly...\n  VERB: V n as adj\n  = describe


Words: characterless
Meaning:
char.ac.ter.less\n   characterless\n  If you describe something as characterless, you mean that it is dull and uninteresting.\nThe town is boring and characterless.\n...a bland and characterless meal.\n  ADJ\n  !=characterful


Words: charade
Meaning:
cha.rade\n   charade  charades\n1. If you describe someone’s actions as a charade, you mean that their actions are so obviously false that they do not convince anyone.\nI wondered why he had gone through the elaborate charade...\nThe UN at the moment is still trying to maintain the charade of neutrality.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing  disapproval\n\n2. Charades is a game for teams of players in which one team acts a word or phrase, syllable by syllable, until other players guess the whole word or phrase.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: charcoal
Meaning:
char.coal\n   charcoal\n  Charcoal is a black substance obtained by burning wood without much air. It can be burned as a fuel, and small sticks of it are used for drawing with.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: charge
Meaning:
charge  charges  charging  charged\n1. If you charge someone an amount of money, you ask them to pay that amount for something that you have sold to them or done for them.\nEven local nurseries charge .100 a week...\nThe hospitals charge the patients for every aspirin...\nSome banks charge if you access your account to determine your balance.\n...the architect who charged us a fee of seven hundred and fifty pounds.\n  VERB: V n, V n for n, V, V n n\n\n2. To charge something to a person or organization means to tell the people providing it to send the bill to that person or organization. To charge something to someone’s account means to add it to their account so they can pay for it later.\nGo out and buy a pair of glasses, and charge it to us...\nAll transactions have been charged to your account.\n  VERB: V n to n, V n to n\n  = bill\n3. A charge is an amount of money that you have to pay for a service.\nWe can arrange this for a small charge...\nCustomers who arrange overdrafts will face a monthly charge of .5.\n  N-COUNT\n\n4. A charge is a formal accusation that someone has committed a crime.\nHe may still face criminal charges...\nThey appeared at court yesterday to deny charges of murder.\n  N-COUNT\n\n5. When the police charge someone, they formally accuse them of having done something illegal.\nThey have the evidence to charge him...\nPolice have charged Mr Bell with murder.\n  VERB: V n, V n with n\n\n6. If you charge someone with doing something wrong or unpleasant, you publicly say that they have done it. (WRITTEN)\nHe charged the minister with lying about the economy.\n  VERB: V n with -ing\n  = accuse\n7. If you take charge of someone or something, you make yourself responsible for them and take control over them. If someone or something is in your charge, you are responsible for them.\nA few years ago Bacryl took charge of the company...\nI have been given charge of this class...\nThey would never forget their time in his charge.\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu N of n\n\n8. If you are in charge in a particular situation, you are the most senior person and have control over something or someone.\nWho’s in charge here?\n...the Swiss governess in charge of the smaller children.\n  PHRASE: v-link PHR, oft PHR of n\n\n9. If you describe someone as your charge, they have been given to you to be looked after and you are responsible for them.\nThe coach tried to get his charges motivated.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl, poss N\n\n10. If you charge towards someone or something, you move quickly and aggressively towards them.\nHe charged through the door to my mother’s office...\nHe ordered us to charge.\n...a charging bull.\n  VERB: V prep/adv, V, V-ing\n\n  Charge is also a noun.\n...a bayonet charge.\n  N-COUNT\n\n11. To charge a battery means to pass an electrical current through it in order to make it more powerful or to make it last longer.\nAlex had forgotten to charge the battery.\n  VERB: V n\n\n  Charge up means the same as charge.\nThere was nothing in the brochure about having to drive the car every day to charge up the battery.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron)\n\n12. An electrical charge is an amount of electricity that is held in or carried by something. (TECHNICAL)\n  N-COUNT: usu sing\n\n13.\n  see also charged, baton charge, cover charge, depth charge, service charge\n14. If something is free of charge, it does not cost anything.\nThe leaflet is available free of charge from post offices.\n  PHRASE\n  = free


Words: charge card
Meaning:
charge card  charge cards   also chargecard\n1. A charge card is a plastic card that you use to buy goods on credit from a particular store or group of stores. Compare credit card. (BRIT)\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A charge card is the same as a credit card. (AM)\n  N-COUNT


Words: charge d’affaires
Meaning:
char.ge d’af.faires\n   charge d’affaires  charges d’affaires\n1. A charge d’affaires is a person appointed to act as head of a diplomatic mission in a foreign country while the ambassador is away.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A charge d’affaires is the head of a minor diplomatic mission in a foreign country.\n  N-COUNT


Words: charge nurse
Meaning:
charge nurse  charge nurses\n  A charge nurse is a nurse who is in charge of a hospital ward. (BRIT)\n  N-COUNT


Words: chargeable
Meaning:
charge.able\n   chargeable\n1. If something is chargeable, you have to pay a sum of money for it. (FORMAL)\nThe day of departure is not chargeable if rooms are vacated by 12.00 noon.\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ\n\n2. If something is chargeable, you have to pay tax on it. (FORMAL)\n...the taxpayer’s chargeable gain.\n  ADJ


Words: charged
Meaning:
charged\n1. If a situation is charged, it is filled with emotion and therefore very tense or exciting.\nThere was a highly charged atmosphere...\nA wedding is an emotionally charged situation.\n  ADJ: usu adv ADJ\n\n2. Charged particles carry an electrical charge.\n...negatively charged ions.\n  ADJ: oft adv ADJ


Words: charger
Meaning:
charg.er\n   charger  chargers\n1. A charger is a device used for charging or recharging batteries.\nHe forgot the charger for his mobile phone.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A charger was a strong horse that a knight in the Middle Ages used to ride in battle.\n  N-COUNT


Words: chariot
Meaning:
chari.ot\n   chariot  chariots\n  In ancient times, chariots were fast-moving vehicles with two wheels that were pulled by horses.\n  N-COUNT


Words: charisma
Meaning:
cha.ris.ma\n   charisma\n  You say that someone has charisma when they can attract, influence, and inspire people by their personal qualities.\nHe has neither the policies nor the personal charisma to inspire people.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: charismatic
Meaning:
char.is.mat.ic\n   charismatic\n  A charismatic person attracts, influences, and inspires people by their personal qualities.\n...her striking looks and charismatic personality.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: charitable
Meaning:
chari.table\n   charitable\n1. A charitable organization or activity helps and supports people who are ill, disabled, or very poor.\n...charitable work for the handicapped.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n2. Someone who is charitable to people is kind or understanding towards them.\nThey were rather less than charitable towards the referee.\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ


Words: charity
Meaning:
char.ity\n   charity  charities\n1. A charity is an organization which raises money in order to help people who are ill, disabled, or very poor.\nThe National Trust is a registered charity.\n...an Aids charity.\n  N-COUNT: oft supp N\n\n2. If you give money to charity, you give it to one or more charitable organizations. If you do something for charity, you do it in order to raise money for one or more charitable organizations.\nHe made substantial donations to charity...\nGooch will be raising money for charity.\n...a charity event.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n3. People who live on charity live on money or goods which other people give them because they are poor.\nMy mum was very proud. She wouldn’t accept charity...\nHer husband is unemployed and the family depends on charity.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n4. Charity is kindness and understanding towards other people. (FORMAL)\n  N-UNCOUNT


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


Words: charlatan
Meaning:
char.la.tan\n   charlatan  charlatans\n  You describe someone as a charlatan when they pretend to have skills or knowledge that they do not really possess. (FORMAL)\nHe was exposed as a charlatan.\n  N-COUNT  disapproval


Words: Charleston
Meaning:
Charles.ton\n   Charleston\n  The Charleston is a lively dance that was popular in the 1920s.\n  N-SING: usu the N


Words: charm
Meaning:
charm  charms  charming  charmed\n1. Charm is the quality of being pleasant or attractive.\n`Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs’, the 1937 Disney classic, has lost none of its original charm...\nThe house had its charms, not the least of which was the furniture that came with it.\n  N-VAR\n\n2. Someone who has charm behaves in a friendly, pleasant way that makes people like them.\nHe was a man of great charm and distinction.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n3. If you charm someone, you please them, especially by using your charm.\nHe even charmed Mrs Prichard, carrying her shopping and flirting with her, though she’s 83...\n  VERB: V n\n\n4. A charm is a small ornament that is fixed to a bracelet or necklace.\n  N-COUNT\n\n5. A charm is an act, saying, or object that is believed to have magic powers.\n...a good luck charm.\n  N-COUNT\n\n6. If you say that something worked like a charm, you mean that it was very effective or successful.\nEconomically, the policy worked like a charm.\n  PHRASE: V inflects


Words: charm offensive
Meaning:
charm of.fen.sive\n   charm offensive\n  If you say that someone has launched a charm offensive, you disapprove of the fact that they are being very friendly to their opponents or people who are causing problems for them. (JOURNALISM)\nHe launched what was called a charm offensive against MPs who might not support the Government.\n  N-SING  disapproval


Words: charmed
Meaning:
charmed\n  A charmed place, time, or situation is one that is very beautiful or pleasant, and seems slightly separate from the real world or real life. (WRITTEN)\n...the charmed atmosphere of Oxford in the late Twenties.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: charmed circle
Meaning:
charmed cir.cle\n   charmed circle\n  If you refer to a group of people as a charmed circle, you mean that they seem to have special power or influence, and do not allow anyone else to join their group. (LITERARY)\n...the immense role played by this very small charmed circle of critics.\n  N-SING


Words: charmer
Meaning:
charm.er\n   charmer  charmers\n  If you refer to someone, especially a man, as a charmer, you think that they behave in a very charming but rather insincere way.\nHe comes across as an intelligent, sophisticated, charmer.\n  N-COUNT  disapproval\n\n  see also snake charmer


Words: charming
Meaning:
charm.ing\n   charming\n1. If you say that something is charming, you mean that it is very pleasant or attractive.\n...a charming little fishing village.\n...the charming custom of wearing a rose on that day.\n  ADJ\n\n=>  charm.ing.ly\nThere’s something charmingly old-fashioned about his brand of entertainment.\n  ADV: ADV adj, ADV after v\n  = delightfully\n2. If you describe someone as charming, you mean they behave in a friendly, pleasant way that makes people like them.\n...a charming young man...\nHe can be charming to his friends.\n  ADJ\n\n=>  charm.ing.ly\nCalder smiled charmingly and put out his hand. `A pleasure, Mrs Talbot.’\n  ADV: ADV after v


Words: charmless
Meaning:
charm.less\n   charmless\n  If you say that something or someone is charmless, you mean that they are unattractive or uninteresting. (WRITTEN)\n...flat, charmless countryside.\n  ADJ\n  !=charming


Words: charnel house
Meaning:
char.nel house\n   charnel house  charnel houses\n  A charnel house is a place where the bodies and bones of dead people are stored.\n  N-COUNT


Words: charred
Meaning:
charred\n  Charred plants, buildings, or vehicles have been badly burnt and have become black because of fire.\n...the charred remains of a tank.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  = burnt


Words: chart
Meaning:
chart  charts  charting  charted\n1. A chart is a diagram, picture, or graph which is intended to make information easier to understand.\nMale unemployment was 14.2%, compared with 5.8% for women (see chart on next page)...\nThe chart below shows our top 10 choices.\n  N-COUNT\n  = diagram\n  see also bar chart, flow chart, pie chart\n2. A chart is a map of the sea or stars.\n...charts of Greek waters.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. If you chart an area of land, sea, or sky, or a feature in that area, you make a map of the area or show the feature in it.\nPtolemy charted more than 1000 stars in 48 constellations...\nThese seas have been well charted.\n  VERB: V n, V n\n  = map\n4. The charts are the official lists that show which CDs have sold the most copies each week.\nThis album confirmed The Orb’s status as national stars, going straight to Number One in the charts...\nThey topped both the US singles and album charts at the same time.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl\n  = hit parade\n5. If you chart the development or progress of something, you observe it and record or show it. You can also say that a report or graph charts the development or progress of something.\nBulletin boards charted each executive’s progress.\n  VERB: V n\n  = record


Words: charter
Meaning:
char.ter\n   charter  charters  chartering  chartered\n1. A charter is a formal document describing the rights, aims, or principles of an organization or group of people.\n...Article 50 of the United Nations Charter.\n  N-COUNT: with supp\n\n2. A charter plane or boat is one which is hired for use by a particular person or group and which is not part of a regular service.\n...the last charter plane carrying out foreign nationals.\n...frequent charter flights to Spain.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n3. If a person or organization charters a plane, boat, or other vehicle, they hire it for their own use.\nHe chartered a jet to fly her home from California to Switzerland...\nYesterday, a cargo ship chartered by the UN arrived in the capital carrying 1,550 tons of rice.\n  VERB: V n, V-ed\n\n4. If you describe a decision or policy as a charter for someone or something you disapprove of, you mean that it is likely to help or encourage them.\nThey described the Home Office scheme as a `charter for cheats’...\n  PHRASE


Words: charter member
Meaning:
char.ter mem.ber\n   charter member  charter members\n  A charter member of a club, group, or organization is one of the first members, often one who was involved in setting it up. (AM; in BRIT, use founder member)\n  N-COUNT: usu N of n


Words: chartered
Meaning:
char.tered\n   chartered\n  Chartered is used to indicate that someone, such as an accountant or a surveyor, has formally qualified in their profession. (BRIT; in AM, usually use certified)\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: charwoman
Meaning:
char.woman\n   charwoman  charwomen\n  A charwoman is a woman who is employed to clean houses or offices. (BRIT OLD-FASHIONED)\n  N-COUNT\n  = cleaner


Words: chary
Meaning:
chary\n  If you are chary of doing something, you are fairly cautious about doing it.\nI am rather chary of making too many idiotic mistakes.\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ, usu ADJ of/about -ing


Words: chase
Meaning:
chase  chases  chasing  chased\n1. If you chase someone, or chase after them, you run after them or follow them quickly in order to catch or reach them.\nShe chased the thief for 100 yards...\nHe said nothing to waiting journalists, who chased after him as he left.\n  VERB: V n, V after n\n  = pursue\n  Chase is also a noun.\nHe was reluctant to give up the chase...\nPolice said he was arrested without a struggle after a car chase through the streets of Biarritz.\n  N-COUNT\n  = pursuit\n2. If you are chasing something you want, such as work or money, you are trying hard to get it.\nIn Wales, 14 people are chasing every job...\n...publishers and booksellers chasing after profits from high-volume sales.\n  VERB: V n, V after n\n\n  Chase is also a noun.\nThey took an invincible lead in the chase for the championship.\n  N-SING: N for n\n\n3. If someone chases someone that they are attracted to, or chases after them, they try hard to persuade them to have a sexual relationship with them.\nI’m not very good at flirting or chasing women...\n`I was always chasing after unsuitable men,’ she says.\n  VERB: V n, V after n\n\n  Chase is also a noun.\nThe chase is always much more exciting than the conquest anyway.\n  N-SING: the N\n\n4. If someone chases you from a place, they force you to leave by using threats or violence.\nMany farmers will then chase you off their land quite aggressively...\nAngry demonstrators chased him away.\n  VERB: V n from/out of/off n, V n away/off/out\n\n5. If someone cuts to the chase, they start talking about or dealing with what is important, instead of less important things.\nHi everyone, we all know why we are here today, so let’s cut to the chase.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n6. To chase someone from a job or a position or from power means to force them to leave it.\nHis single-minded pursuit of European union helped chase Mrs Thatcher from power.\n  VERB: V n from/out of n\n\n7. If you chase somewhere, you run or rush there.\nThey chased down the stairs into the narrow, dirty street.\n  VERB: V prep/adv\n  = race, dash\n8.\n  see also wild goose chase\n9. If you give chase, you run after someone or follow them quickly in order to catch them.\nOther officers gave chase but the killers escaped.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n10. If you talk about the thrill of the chase, you are referring to the excitement that people feel when they are trying hard to get something.\nPeople who adore the thrill of the chase know that prizes, like diamonds, are worth striving for.\n  PHRASE


