# dict

Words: overall majority
Meaning:
over.all ma.jor.ity\n   overall majority  overall majorities\n  If a political party wins an overall majority in an election or vote, they get more votes than the total number of votes or seats won by all their opponents.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing


Words: overarching
Meaning:
over.arch.ing\n   overarching\n  You use overarching to indicate that you are talking about something that includes or affects everything or everyone. (FORMAL)\nThe overarching question seems to be what happens when the US pulls out?...\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: overarm
Meaning:
over.arm\n   overarm\n  You use overarm to describe actions, such as throwing a ball, in which you stretch your arm over your shoulder.\n...a single overarm stroke.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n  !=underarm


Words: overawe
Meaning:
over.awe\n   overawe  overawes  overawing  overawed\n  If you are overawed by something or someone, you are very impressed by them and a little afraid of them.\nDon’t be overawed by people in authority, however important they are...\n  VERB: usu passive, be V-ed\n\n=>  over.awed\nBenjamin said that he had been rather overawed to meet one of the Billington family.\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ


Words: overbalance
Meaning:
over.bal.ance\n   overbalance  overbalances  overbalancing  overbalanced\n  If you overbalance, you fall over or nearly fall over, because you are not standing properly.\nHe overbalanced and fell head first.\n  VERB: V


Words: overbearing
Meaning:
over.bear.ing\n   overbearing\n  An overbearing person tries to make other people do what he or she wants in an unpleasant and forceful way.\nMy husband can be quite overbearing with our son.\n  ADJ  disapproval\n  = domineering


Words: overblown
Meaning:
over.blown\n   overblown\n  Something that is overblown makes something seem larger, more important, or more significant than it really is.\nWarnings of disaster may be overblown...\nThe reporting of the hostage story was fair, if sometimes overblown.\n  ADJ\n  = exaggerated


Words: overboard
Meaning:
over.board\n   overboard\n1. If you fall overboard, you fall over the side of a boat into the water.\nHis sailing instructor fell overboard and drowned during a lesson...\n  ADV: ADV after v\n\n2. If you say that someone goes overboard, you mean that they do something to a greater extent than is necessary or reasonable. (INFORMAL)\nWomen sometimes damage their skin by going overboard with abrasive cleansers...\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n3. If you throw something overboard, for example an idea or suggestion, you reject it completely.\nThey had thrown their neutrality overboard in the crisis.\n  PHRASE: V inflects


Words: overbook
Meaning:
over.book\n   overbook  overbooks  overbooking  overbooked\n  If an organization such as an airline or a theatre company overbooks, they sell more tickets than they have places for.\nPlanes are crowded, airlines overbook, and departures are almost never on time.\n  VERB: V, also V n


Words: overbooked
Meaning:
over.booked\n   overbooked\n  If something such as a hotel, bus, or aircraft is overbooked, more people have booked than the number of places that are available.\nSorry, the plane is overbooked.\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ


Words: overburdened
Meaning:
over.bur.dened\n   overburdened\n1. If a system or organization is overburdened, it has too many people or things to deal with and so does not function properly.\nThe city’s hospitals are overburdened by casualties.\n...an overburdened air traffic control system.\n  ADJ: oft ADJ with/by n\n\n2. If you are overburdened with something such as work or problems, you have more of it than you can cope with.\nThe Chief Inspector disliked being overburdened with insignificant detail.\n...overburdened teachers.\n  ADJ: oft ADJ with/by n


Words: overcapacity
Meaning:
over.ca.pac.ity\n\n  If there is overcapacity in a particular industry or area, more goods have been produced than are needed, and the industry is therefore less profitable than it could be. (BUSINESS)\nThere is huge overcapacity in the world car industry.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n  = surplus


Words: overcast
Meaning:
over.cast\n   overcast\n  If it is overcast, or if the sky or the day is overcast, the sky is completely covered with cloud and there is not much light.\nFor three days it was overcast...\nThe weather forecast is for showers and overcast skies...\n  ADJ


Words: overcharge
Meaning:
over.charge\n   overcharge  overcharges  overcharging  overcharged\n  If someone overcharges you, they charge you too much for their goods or services.\nIf you feel a taxi driver has overcharged you, say so...\n  VERB: V n\n\n=>  over.charg.ing\n...protests of overcharging and harsh treatment of small businesses.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: overcoat
Meaning:
over.coat\n   overcoat  overcoats\n  An overcoat is a thick warm coat that you wear in winter.\n  N-COUNT


Words: overcome
Meaning:
over.come\n   overcome  overcomes  overcoming  overcame\n\n  The form overcome is used in the present tense and is also the past participle.\n\n1. If you overcome a problem or a feeling, you successfully deal with it and control it.\nMolly had fought and overcome her fear of flying...\n  VERB: V n\n\n2. If you are overcome by a feeling or event, it is so strong or has such a strong effect that you cannot think clearly.\nThe night before the test I was overcome by fear and despair...\nA dizziness overcame him, blurring his vision.\n  VERB: be V-ed, V n\n  = overwhelm\n3. If you are overcome by smoke or a poisonous gas, you become very ill or die from breathing it in.\nThe residents were trying to escape from the fire but were overcome by smoke.\n  VERB: usu passive, be V-ed


Words: overcrowded
Meaning:
over.crowd.ed\n   overcrowded\n  An overcrowded place has too many things or people in it.\n...a windswept, overcrowded, unattractive beach...\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: overcrowding
Meaning:
over.crowd.ing\n   overcrowding\n  If there is a problem of overcrowding, there are more people living in a place than it was designed for.\nStudents were protesting at overcrowding in the university hostels.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: overdo
Meaning:
over.do\n   overdo  overdoes  overdoing  overdid  overdone\n1. If someone overdoes something, they behave in an exaggerated or extreme way.\n...a recognition by the US central bank that it may have overdone its tightening when it pushed rates up to 6 per cent...\nHe wants to give up working and stay home to look after the children. She feels, however, that this is overdoing it a bit.\n  VERB: V n, V it\n\n2. If you overdo an activity, you try to do more than you can physically manage.\nIt is important never to overdo new exercises...\nThe taxi drivers’ association is urging its members, who can work as many hours as they want, not to overdo it.\n  VERB: V n, V it


Words: overdone
Meaning:
over.done\n   overdone\n1. If food is overdone, it has been spoiled by being cooked for too long.\nThe meat was overdone and the vegetables disappointing.\n  ADJ\n  = overcooked\n2. If you say that something is overdone, you mean that you think it is excessive or exaggerated.\nIn fact, the panic is overdone. As the map shows, the drought has been confined to the south and east of Britain.\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ


Words: overdose
Meaning:
over.dose\n   overdose  overdoses  overdosing  overdosed\n1. If someone takes an overdose of a drug, they take more of it than is safe.\nEach year, one in 100 girls aged 15-19 takes an overdose...\n  N-COUNT: usu sing\n\n2. If someone overdoses on a drug, they take more of it than is safe.\nHe’d overdosed on heroin...\nMedical opinion varies on how many tablets it takes to overdose.\n  VERB: V on n, V\n\n3. You can refer to too much of something, especially something harmful, as an overdose.\nAn overdose of sun, sea, sand and chlorine can give lighter hair a green tinge.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, oft N of n\n\n4. You can say that someone overdoses on something if they have or do too much of it.\nThe city, he concluded, had overdosed on design.\n  VERB: V on n


Words: overdraft
Meaning:
over.draft\n   overdraft  overdrafts\n  If you have an overdraft, you have spent more money than you have in your bank account, and so you are in debt to the bank.\n  N-COUNT


Words: overdrawn
Meaning:
over.drawn\n   overdrawn\n  If you are overdrawn or if your bank account is overdrawn, you have spent more money than you have in your account, and so you are in debt to the bank.\nNick’s bank sent him a letter saying he was .100 overdrawn...\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ


Words: overdressed
Meaning:
over.dressed\n   overdressed\n  If you say that someone is overdressed, you are criticizing them for wearing clothes that are not appropriate for the occasion because they are too formal or too smart.\n  ADJ


Words: overdrive
Meaning:
over.drive\n   overdrive  overdrives\n1. The overdrive in a vehicle is a very high gear that is used when you are driving at high speeds.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, oft N n\n\n2. If you go into overdrive, you begin to work very hard or perform a particular activity in a very intense way.\nIn the courtroom everybody went into overdrive, assuming that there might well be a verdict soon.\n  PHRASE: PHR after v


Words: overdue
Meaning:
over.due\n   overdue\n1. If you say that a change or an event is overdue, you mean that you think it should have happened before now.\nThis debate is long overdue...\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ\n\n2. Overdue sums of money have not been paid, even though it is later than the date on which they should have been paid.\nTeachers have joined a strike aimed at forcing the government to pay overdue salaries and allowances.\n  ADJ\n\n3. An overdue library book has not been returned to the library, even though the date on which it should have been returned has passed.\n  ADJ


Words: overeat
Meaning:
over.eat\n   overeat  overeats  overeating  overate  overeaten\n  If you say that someone overeats, you mean they eat more than they need to or more than is healthy.\nIf you tend to overeat because of depression, first take steps to recognize the source of your sadness.\n...people who overeat spicy foods.\n  VERB: V, V n\n\n=>  over.eater      overeaters\nShe eats in secret like most compulsive overeaters.\n  N-COUNT\n\n=>  over.eat.ing\nIf you have a serious problem with overeating you should get together with others who share this problem.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: overemphasis
Meaning:
over.em.pha.sis\n   overemphasis\n  If you say that there is an overemphasis on a particular thing, you mean that more importance or attention is given to it than is necessary.\nHe attributed the party’s lack of success to an overemphasis on ideology and ideas.\n  N-SING: also no det, usu N on n


Words: overemphasize
Meaning:
over.em.pha.size\n   overemphasize  overemphasizes  overemphasizing  overemphasized\nin BRIT, also use overemphasise\n1. If you say that someone overemphasizes something, you mean that they give it more importance than it deserves or than you consider appropriate.\nDemocrats will complain he overemphasizes punishment at the expense of prevention and treatment.\n  VERB: V n\n\n2. If you say that something cannot be overemphasized, you are emphasizing that you think it is very important.\nThe importance of education cannot be overemphasised...\nI can’t overemphasize the cleanliness of this place.\n  VERB: with brd-neg, be V-ed, V n  emphasis


Words: overestimate
Meaning:
over.es.ti.mate\n   overestimate overestimates overestimating  overestimated\nThe verb is pronounced   The noun is pronounced\n1. If you say that someone overestimates something, you mean that they think it is greater in amount or importance than it really is.\nWith hindsight, he was overestimating their desire for peace.\n  VERB: V n, also V\n  !=underestimate\n  Overestimate is also a noun.\nAverage earnings in the South East were about .59,000, although that may be an overestimate.\n  N-COUNT\n\n=>  over.es.ti.ma.tion\n...excessive overestimation of one’s own importance.\n  N-SING: also no det, usu N of n\n  !=underestimation\n2. If you say that something cannot be overestimated, you are emphasizing that you think it is very important.\nThe importance of participating in the life of the country cannot be overestimated...\nIt is hard to overestimate the potential gains from this process.\n  VERB: with brd-neg, be V-ed, V n  emphasis\n\n3. If you overestimate someone, you think that they have more of a skill or quality than they really have.\nI think you overestimate me, Fred.\n  VERB: V n\n  !=underestimate


Words: overexposed
Meaning:
over.ex.posed\n   overexposed\n  An overexposed photograph is of poor quality because the film has been exposed to too much light, either when the photograph was taken or during the developing process.\n  ADJ


Words: overextended
Meaning:
over.ex.tend.ed\n   overextended\n  If a person or organization is overextended, they have become involved in more activities than they can financially or physically manage.\nThe British East India Tea Company was overextended and faced bankruptcy...\n  ADJ


Words: overflight
Meaning:
over.flight\n   overflight  overflights\n  An overflight is the passage of an aircraft from one country over another country’s territory.\nNations react strongly to unauthorized overflights.\n  N-VAR


Words: overflow
Meaning:
over.flow\n   overflow overflows overflowing  overflowed\nThe verb is pronounced   The noun is pronounced\n1. If a liquid or a river overflows, it flows over the edges of the container or place it is in.\nPour in some of the syrup, but not all of it, as it will probably overflow...\nRivers and streams have overflowed their banks in countless places.\n  VERB: no passive, V, V n\n\n2. If a place or container is overflowing with people or things, it is too full of them.\nThe great hall was overflowing with people...\nJails and temporary detention camps are overflowing...\n  VERB: usu cont, V with n, V\n\n3. The overflow is the extra people or things that something cannot contain or deal with because it is not large enough.\nTents have been set up next to hospitals to handle the overflow...\n  N-COUNT: usu the N in sing\n\n4. An overflow is a hole or pipe through which liquid can flow out of a container when it gets too full.\n  N-COUNT\n\n5. If a place or container is filled to overflowing, it is so full of people or things that no more can fit in.\nThe kitchen garden was full to overflowing with fresh vegetables...\n  PHRASE: adj PHR, PHR after v


Words: overfly
Meaning:
over.fly\n   overfly  overflies  overflying  overflew  overflown\n  When an aircraft overflies an area, it flies over it. (FORMAL)\nPermission has not yet been granted for the airline to overfly Tanzania.\n  VERB: V n


Words: overground
Meaning:
over.ground\n\nThe adjective is pronounced   The adverb is pronounced\n  In an overground transport system, vehicles run on the surface of the ground, rather than below it. (BRIT)\nBus routes and railways, both overground and underground, converged on the station.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n  !=underground\n  Overground is also an adverb.\nThere are plans to run the line overground close to the village of Boxley.\n  ADV


Words: overgrown
Meaning:
over.grown\n   overgrown\n1. If a garden or other place is overgrown, it is covered with a lot of untidy plants because it has not been looked after.\nWe hurried on until we reached a courtyard overgrown with weeds...\n  ADJ\n\n2. If you describe an adult as an overgrown child, you mean that their behaviour and attitudes are like those of a child, and that you dislike this.\n...a bunch of overgrown kids...\n  ADJ: ADJ n  disapproval


Words: overhang
Meaning:
over.hang\n   overhang overhangs overhanging  overhung\nThe verb is pronounced   The noun is pronounced\n1. If one thing overhangs another, it sticks out over and above it.\nPart of the rock wall overhung the path at one point...\n  VERB: V n\n\n2. An overhang is the part of something that sticks out over and above something else.\nA sharp overhang of rock gave them cover...\n  N-COUNT


Words: overhaul
Meaning:
over.haul\n   overhaul overhauls overhauling  overhauled\nThe verb is pronounced   The noun is pronounced\n1. If a piece of equipment is overhauled, it is cleaned, checked thoroughly, and repaired if necessary.\nThey had ensured the plumbing was overhauled a year ago...\nOur car was towed away to have its suspension overhauled.\n  VERB: usu passive, be V-ed, have n V-ed\n  = service\n  Overhaul is also a noun.\n...the overhaul of aero engines.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If you overhaul a system or method, you examine it carefully and make many changes in it in order to improve it.\nThe government said it wanted to overhaul the employment training scheme to make it cost effective...\n  VERB: V n\n\n  Overhaul is also a noun.\nThe study says there must be a complete overhaul of air traffic control systems.\n  N-COUNT: usu N of n


Words: overhead
Meaning:
over.head\n\nThe adjective is pronounced   The adverb is pronounced\n  You use overhead to indicate that something is above you or above the place that you are talking about.\nShe turned on the overhead light and looked around the little room.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n  Overhead is also an adverb.\n...planes passing overhead...\n  ADV: ADV after v, be ADV


Words: overhead projector
Meaning:
over.head pro.jec.tor\n   overhead projector  overhead projectors\n  An overhead projector is a machine that has a light inside it and makes the writing or pictures on a sheet of plastic appear on a screen or wall. The abbreviation OHP is also used.\n  N-COUNT


Words: overheads
Meaning:
over.heads\n   overheads\n  The overheads of a business are its regular and essential expenses, such as salaries, rent, electricity, and telephone bills. (BUSINESS)\nWe are having to cut our costs to reduce overheads and remain competitive.\n  N-PLURAL


Words: overhear
Meaning:
over.hear\n   overhear  overhears  overhearing  overheard\n  If you overhear someone, you hear what they are saying when they are not talking to you and they do not know that you are listening.\nI overheard two doctors discussing my case.\n  VERB: V n


Words: overheat
Meaning:
over.heat\n   overheat  overheats  overheating  overheated\n1. If something overheats or if you overheat it, it becomes hotter than is necessary or desirable.\nThe engine was overheating and the car was not handling well...\nWhy do we pay to overheat pubs and hotels?\n  VERB: V, V n\n\n=>  over.heat.ed\n...that stuffy, overheated apartment.\n  ADJ\n\n2. If a country’s economy overheats or if conditions overheat it, it grows so rapidly that inflation and interest rates rise very quickly. (BUSINESS)\nThe private sector is increasing its spending so sharply that the economy is overheating...\nTheir prime consideration has been not to overheat the economy.\n  VERB: V, V n\n\n=>  over.heat.ed\n...the disastrous consequences of an overheated market.\n  ADJ


Words: overheated
Meaning:
over.heat.ed\n   overheated\n  Someone who is overheated is very angry about something.\nI think the reaction has been a little overheated...\n  ADJ


Words: overindulge
Meaning:
over.in.dulge\n   overindulge  overindulges  overindulging  overindulged\n  If you overindulge, or overindulge in something that you like very much, usually food or drink, you allow yourself to have more of it than is good for you.\nWe all overindulge occasionally...\nDon’t abuse your body by overindulging in alcohol.\n  VERB: V, V in n


Words: overjoyed
Meaning:
over.joyed\n   overjoyed\n  If you are overjoyed, you are extremely pleased about something.\nShelley was overjoyed to see me...\nHe was overjoyed at his son’s return.\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ, oft ADJ to-inf, ADJ at n\n  = delighted


Words: overkill
Meaning:
over.kill\n   overkill\n  You can say that something is overkill when you think that there is more of it than is necessary or appropriate.\nSuch security measures may well be overkill.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: overland
Meaning:
over.land\n   overland\n  An overland journey is made across land rather than by ship or aeroplane.\n...an overland journey through Iraq, Turkey, Iran and Pakistan...\nThe overland route is across some really tough mountains...\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n  Overland is also an adverb.\nThey’re travelling to Baghdad overland.\n  ADV: ADV after v


Words: overlap
Meaning:
over.lap\n   overlap overlaps overlapping  overlapped\nThe verb is pronounced   The noun is pronounced\n1. If one thing overlaps another, or if you overlap them, a part of the first thing occupies the same area as a part of the other thing. You can also say that two things overlap.\nWhen the bag is folded flat, the bag bottom overlaps one side of the bag...\nOverlap the slices carefully so there are no gaps...\nUse vinyl seam adhesive where vinyls overlap...\nThe edges must overlap each other or weeds will push through the gaps.\n  V-RECIP: V n, V pl-n, pl-n V, pl-n V n\n\n2. If one idea or activity overlaps another, or overlaps with another, they involve some of the same subjects, people, or periods of time.\nElizabeth met other Oxford intellectuals some of whom overlapped Naomi’s world...\nChristian holy week overlaps with the beginning of the Jewish holiday of Passover...\nThe needs of patients invariably overlap...\n  V-RECIP: V n, V with n, pl-n V\n\n  Overlap is also a noun.\n...the overlap between civil and military technology...\n  N-VAR: oft N between pl-n


Words: overlay
Meaning:
over.lay\n   overlay  overlays  overlaying  overlaid\n1. If something is overlaid with something else, it is covered by it.\nThe floor was overlaid with rugs of oriental design.\n  VERB: usu passive, be V-ed with n\n\n2. If something is overlaid with a feeling or quality, that feeling or quality is the most noticeable one, but there may be deeper and more important ones involved. (WRITTEN)\nThe party had been overlaid with a certain nervousness.\n...a surge of feeling which at this moment overlaid all others.\n  VERB: be V-ed with n, V n


Words: overleaf
Meaning:
over.leaf\n   overleaf\n  Overleaf is used in books and magazines to say that something is on the other side of the page you are reading.\nAnswer the questionnaire overleaf...\n  ADV: n ADV, ADV after v, ADV with cl


Words: overload
Meaning:
over.load\n   overload overloads overloading  overloaded\nThe verb is pronounced   The noun is pronounced\n1. If you overload something such as a vehicle, you put more things or people into it than it was designed to carry.\nDon’t overload the boat or it will sink...\nLarge meals overload the digestive system.\n  VERB: V n, V n\n\n=>  over.load.ed\nSome trains were so overloaded that their suspension collapsed.\n  ADJ\n\n2. To overload someone with work, problems, or information means to give them more work, problems, or information than they can cope with.\n...an effective method that will not overload staff with yet more paperwork.\n  VERB: V n with n\n\n  Overload is also a noun.\n57 per cent complained of work overload...\nThe greatest danger is that we simply create information overload for our executives.\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu supp N\n\n=>  over.load.ed\nThe bar waiter was already overloaded with orders.\n  ADJ\n\n3. If you overload an electrical system, you cause too much electricity to flow through it, and so damage it.\nNever overload an electrical socket.\n  VERB: V n


Words: overlook
Meaning:
over.look\n   overlook  overlooks  overlooking  overlooked\n1. If a building or window overlooks a place, you can see the place clearly from the building or window.\nPretty and comfortable rooms overlook a flower-filled garden...\n  VERB: V n\n\n2. If you overlook a fact or problem, you do not notice it, or do not realize how important it is.\nWe overlook all sorts of warning signals about our own health.\n  VERB: V n\n\n3. If you overlook someone’s faults or bad behaviour, you forgive them and take no action.\n...satisfying relationships that enable them to overlook each other’s faults.\n  VERB: V n


Words: overlord
Meaning:
over.lord\n   overlord  overlords\n1. If you refer to someone as an overlord, you mean that they have great power and are likely to use it in a bad way. (WRITTEN)\nWe really don’t want to be the overlords of the Palestinian population...\nThe running of Welsh rugby was left in chaos yesterday after a vote of no confidence in the game’s overlords.\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp\n\n2. In former times, an overlord was someone who had power over many people.\nHenry II was the first king to be recognized as overlord of Ireland.\n  N-COUNT


Words: overly
Meaning:
over.ly\n   overly\n  Overly means more than is normal, necessary, or reasonable.\nEmployers may become overly cautious about taking on new staff.\n  ADV: ADV adj/adv/-ed\n  = excessively


Words: overmanned
Meaning:
over.manned\n   overmanned\n  If you say that a place or an industry is overmanned, you mean that you think there are more people working there or doing the work than is necessary.\nMany factories were chronically overmanned.\n  ADJ\n  = overstaffed  !=undermanned


Words: overmanning
Meaning:
over.man.ning\n   overmanning\n  If there is a problem of overmanning in an industry, there are more people working there or doing the work than is necessary.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: overmuch
Meaning:
over.much\n   overmuch\n  If something happens overmuch, it happens too much or very much. (FORMAL)\nHe was not a man who thought overmuch about clothes.\n  ADV: usu ADV after v, also ADV -ed


Words: overnight
Meaning:
over.night\n   overnight  overnights  overnighting  overnighted\n1. If something happens overnight, it happens throughout the night or at some point during the night.\nThe decision was reached overnight...\n  ADV: ADV after v\n\n  Overnight is also an adjective.\nTravel and overnight accommodation are included...\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n2. You can say that something happens overnight when it happens very quickly and unexpectedly.\nThe rules are not going to change overnight...\nAlmost overnight, she had aged ten years and become fat.\n  ADV: ADV after v\n\n  Overnight is also an adjective.\nIn 1970 he became an overnight success in America.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n3. Overnight bags or clothes are ones that you take when you go and stay somewhere for one or two nights.\nHe realized he’d left his overnight bag at Mary’s house.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n4. If you overnight somewhere, you spend the night there.\nThey had told her she would be overnighting in Sydney.\n  VERB: V prep/adv\n\n  Overnight is also a noun.\nOvernights can be arranged.\n  N-COUNT


Words: overpaid
Meaning:
over.paid\n   overpaid\n  If you say that someone is overpaid, you mean that you think they are paid more than they deserve for the work they do.\n...grossly overpaid corporate lawyers.\n  ADJ\n  !=underpaid\n  see also overpay


Words: overpass
Meaning:
over.pass\n   overpass  overpasses\n  An overpass is a structure which carries one road over the top of another one. (mainly AM; in BRIT, usually use flyover)\n...a $16 million highway overpass over Route 1.\n  N-COUNT


Words: overpay
Meaning:
over.pay\n   overpay  overpays  overpaying  overpaid\n  If you overpay someone, or if you overpay for something, you pay more than is necessary or reasonable.\nManagement has to make sure it does not overpay its staff...\nThe council is said to have been overpaying for repairs made by its housing department...\nThe scheme will overpay some lawyers and underpay others.\n  VERB: V n to-inf, V for n, V n, also V\n\n  see also overpaid


Words: overplay
Meaning:
over.play\n   overplay  overplays  overplaying  overplayed\n1. If you say that someone is overplaying something such as a problem, you mean that they are making it seem more important than it really is.\nI think the historical factor is overplayed, that it really doesn’t mean much.\n  VERB: V n\n  = exaggerate\n2. If someone overplays their hand, they act more confidently than they should because they believe that they are in a stronger position than they actually are.\nThe United States has to be careful it doesn’t overplay its hand.\n  PHRASE: V inflects


Words: overpopulated
Meaning:
over.popu.lat.ed\n   overpopulated\n  If an area is overpopulated, there are problems because it has too many people living there.\nEnvironmentalists say Australia is already overpopulated.\n  ADJ


Words: overpopulation
Meaning:
over.popu.la.tion\n   overpopulation\n  If there is a problem of overpopulation in an area, there are more people living there than can be supported properly.\n...young persons who are concerned about overpopulation in the world.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: overpower
Meaning:
over.pow.er\n   overpower  overpowers  overpowering  overpowered\n1. If you overpower someone, you manage to take hold of and keep hold of them, although they struggle a lot.\nIt took ten guardsmen to overpower him...\n  VERB: V n\n\n2. If a feeling overpowers you, it suddenly affects you very strongly.\nA sudden dizziness overpowered him...\n  VERB: V n\n  = overwhelm\n3. In a sports match, when one team or player overpowers the other, they play much better than them and beat them easily.\nBritain’s tennis No 1 yesterday overpowered American Brian Garrow 7-6, 6-3.\n  VERB: V n\n\n4. If something such as a colour or flavour overpowers another colour or flavour, it is so strong that it makes the second one less noticeable.\nOn fair skin, pale shades are delicate enough not to overpower your colouring.\n  VERB: V n\n  = overwhelm


Words: overpowering
Meaning:
over.pow.er.ing\n   overpowering\n1. An overpowering feeling is so strong that you cannot resist it.\n...hard, cold, overpowering anger...\nThe desire for revenge can be overpowering.\n  ADJ\n  = overwhelming\n2. An overpowering smell or sound is so strong that you cannot smell or hear anything else.\nThere was an overpowering smell of alcohol...\n  ADJ\n\n3. An overpowering person makes other people feel uncomfortable because they have such a strong personality.\nMrs Winter was large and somewhat overpowering.\n  ADJ\n  = overwhelming


Words: overpriced
Meaning:
over.priced\n   overpriced\n  If you say that something is overpriced, you mean that you think it costs much more than it should.\nAny property which does not sell within six weeks is overpriced.\n  ADJ


Words: overrate
Meaning:
over.rate\n   overrate  overrates  overrating  overrated   also over-rate\n  If you say that something or someone is overrated, you mean that people have a higher opinion of them than they deserve.\nMore men are finding out that the joys of work have been overrated...\nIf you consider him a miracle man, you’re overrating him.\n  VERB: be V-ed, V n\n  !=underrate\n=>  over.rat.ed\nLife in the wild is vastly overrated.\n  ADJ\n  !=underrated


Words: overreach
Meaning:
over.reach\n   overreach  overreaches  overreaching  overreached   also over-reach\n  If you say that someone overreaches themselves, you mean that they fail at something because they are trying to do more than they are able to.\nThe company had overreached itself and made unwise investments...\n  VERB: V pron-refl


Words: overreact
Meaning:
over.react\n   overreact  overreacts  overreacting  overreacted   also over-react\n  If you say that someone overreacts to something, you mean that they have and show more of an emotion than is necessary or appropriate.\nIs the council right to be concerned, or is it overreacting?...\nI overreact to anything sad.\n  VERB: V, V to n\n\n=>  over.reac.tion      overreactions\nThis is actually an outrageous overreaction.\n  N-VAR


Words: override
Meaning:
over.ride\n   override overrides overriding  overrode  overridden   also over-ride\nThe verb is pronounced   The noun is pronounced\n1. If one thing in a situation overrides other things, it is more important than them.\nThe welfare of a child should always override the wishes of its parents...\n  VERB: V n\n\n2. If someone in authority overrides a person or their decisions, they cancel their decisions.\nThe president vetoed the bill, and the Senate failed by a single vote to override his veto...\n  VERB: V n\n  = overrule\n3. An override is an attempt to cancel someone’s decisions by using your authority over them or by gaining more votes than them in an election or contest. (AM)\nThe bill now goes to the House where an override vote is expected to fail...\n  N-COUNT


Words: overriding
Meaning:
over.rid.ing\n   overriding\n  In a particular situation, the overriding factor is the one that is the most important.\nMy overriding concern is to raise the standards of state education...\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: overrule
Meaning:
over.rule\n   overrule  overrules  overruling  overruled\n  If someone in authority overrules a person or their decision, they officially decide that the decision is incorrect or not valid.\nIn 1991, the Court of Appeal overruled this decision...\nI told them it was a lousy idea, but I was overruled.\n  VERB: V n, V n\n  = override


Words: overrun
Meaning:
over.run\n   overrun  overruns  overrunning  overran\n1. If an army or an armed force overruns a place, area, or country, it succeeds in occupying it very quickly.\nA group of rebels overran the port area and most of the northern suburbs...\n  VERB: V n\n\n2. If you say that a place is overrun with things that you consider undesirable, you mean that there are a large number of them there.\nThe Hotel has been ordered to close because it is overrun by mice and rats...\nPadua and Vicenza are prosperous, well-preserved cities, not overrun by tourists.\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ, usu ADJ with/by n\n\n3. If an event or meeting overruns by, for example, ten minutes, it continues for ten minutes longer than it was intended to.\nTuesday’s lunch overran by three-quarters of an hour...\nThe talks overran their allotted time.\n  VERB: V by n, V n, also V\n\n4. If costs overrun, they are higher than was planned or expected. (BUSINESS)\nWe should stop the nonsense of taxpayers trying to finance new weapons whose costs always overrun hugely...\nCosts overran the budget by about 30%.\n  VERB: V, V n\n\n  Overrun is also a noun.\nHe was stunned to discover cost overruns of at least $1 billion.\n  N-COUNT: usu n N


Words: overseas
Meaning:
over.seas\n   overseas\n1. You use overseas to describe things that involve or are in foreign countries, usually across a sea or an ocean.\nHe has returned to South Africa from his long overseas trip.\n...overseas trade figures.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n  = foreign\n  Overseas is also an adverb.\nIf you’re staying for more than three months or working overseas, a full 10-year passport is required...\n  ADV: ADV after v, be ADV\n  = abroad\n2. An overseas student or visitor comes from a foreign country, usually across a sea or an ocean.\nEvery year nine million overseas visitors come to London.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n  = foreign


Words: oversee
Meaning:
over.see\n   oversee  oversees  overseeing  oversaw  overseen\n  If someone in authority oversees a job or an activity, they make sure that it is done properly.\nUse a surveyor or architect to oversee and inspect the different stages of the work.\n  VERB: V n\n  = supervise


Words: overseer
Meaning:
over.seer\n   overseer  overseers\n1. An overseer is someone whose job is to make sure that employees are working properly.\nI was put in the tailor shop, and I loved it. I was promoted to overseer.\n  N-COUNT\n  = supervisor\n2. If a person or organization is the overseer of a particular system or activity, they are responsible for making sure that the system or activity works properly and is successful.\n...the department’s dual role as overseer of oil production and safety.\n  N-COUNT: usu with poss


Words: oversell
Meaning:
over.sell\n   oversell  oversells  overselling  oversold\n  If you say that something or someone is oversold, you mean that people say they are better or more useful than they really are.\nThe couple idea is certainly oversold. There’s so much pressure to become a couple that people feel failure if they don’t conform...\n  VERB: be V-ed\n  !=undersell


Words: oversexed
Meaning:
over.sexed\n   oversexed\n  If you describe someone as oversexed, you mean that they are more interested in sex or more involved in sexual activities than you think they should be.\n  ADJ  disapproval


Words: overshadow
Meaning:
over.shad.ow\n   overshadow  overshadows  overshadowing  overshadowed\n1. If an unpleasant event or feeling overshadows something, it makes it less happy or enjoyable.\nFears for the President’s safety could overshadow his peace-making mission...\n  VERB: V n\n  = cloud\n2. If you are overshadowed by a person or thing, you are less successful, important, or impressive than they are.\nHester is overshadowed by her younger and more attractive sister.\n  VERB: usu passive, be V-ed\n  = eclipse\n3. If one building, tree, or large structure overshadows another, it stands near it, is much taller than it, and casts a shadow over it.\nShe said stations should be in the open, near housing, not overshadowed by trees or walls.\n  VERB: V-ed


Words: overshoot
Meaning:
over.shoot\n   overshoot overshoots overshooting  overshot\nThe verb is pronounced   The noun is pronounced\n1. If you overshoot a place that you want to get to, you go past it by mistake.\nThe plane apparently overshot the runway after landing...\n  VERB: V n\n\n2. If a government or organization overshoots its budget, it spends more than it had planned to.\nThe government usually overshot its original spending target.\n  VERB: V n\n\n  Overshoot is also a noun.\n...the 100 million pounds overshoot in the cost of building the hospital.\n  N-COUNT: usu supp N


Words: oversight
Meaning:
over.sight\n   oversight  oversights\n1. If there has been an oversight, someone has forgotten to do something which they should have done.\nBy an unfortunate oversight, full instructions do not come with the product.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If someone has oversight of a process or system, they are responsible for making sure that it works efficiently and correctly.\n...a new system, where there’ll be greater oversight of doctors...\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N of n\n  = supervision


Words: oversimplify
Meaning:
over.sim.pli.fy\n   oversimplify  oversimplifies  oversimplifying  oversimplified\n  If you say that someone is oversimplifying something, you mean that they are describing or explaining it so simply that what they say is no longer true or reasonable.\nOne should not oversimplify the situation...\n  VERB: V n\n\n=>  over.sim.pli.fied\n...an oversimplified view of mathematics and the sciences.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n=>  over.sim.pli.fi.ca.tion      oversimplifications\nThere is an old saying that `we are what we eat’. Obviously this is an oversimplification.\n  N-VAR


Words: oversize
Meaning:
over.size\n   oversize   also oversized\n  Oversize or oversized things are too big, or much bigger than usual.\n...the oversize white sweater she had worn at school.\n...an oversized bed.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: oversleep
Meaning:
over.sleep\n   oversleep  oversleeps  oversleeping  overslept\n  If you oversleep, you sleep longer than you should have done.\nI’m really sorry I’m late, Andrew. I forgot to set my alarm and I overslept.\n  VERB: V


Words: overspend
Meaning:
over.spend\n   overspend overspends overspending  overspent\nThe verb is pronounced   The noun is pronounced\n1. If you overspend, you spend more money than you can afford to.\nDon’t overspend on your home and expect to get the money back when you sell...\nI overspent by .1 on your shopping so I’m afraid you owe me...\nHe argued that local councils which overspend should be forced to face fresh elections.\n  VERB: V on n, V by amount, V\n\n2. If an organization or business has an overspend, it spends more money than was planned or allowed in its budget. (BRIT BUSINESS; in AM, use overrun)\nEfforts are under way to avoid a .800,000 overspend.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing


Words: overspill
Meaning:
over.spill\n   overspill\n1. Overspill is used to refer to people who live near a city because there is no room in the city itself. (BRIT)\n...new towns built to absorb overspill from nearby cities.\n  N-UNCOUNT: also a N, oft N n\n\n2. You can use overspill to refer to things or people which there is no room for in the usual place because it is full.\nWith the best seats taken, it was ruled that the overspill could stand at the back of the court.\n  N-UNCOUNT: also a N


Words: overstaffed
Meaning:
over.staffed\n   overstaffed\n  If you say that a place is overstaffed, you think there are more people working there than is necessary.\nMany workers believe the factory is overstaffed.\n  ADJ


Words: overstate
Meaning:
over.state\n   overstate  overstates  overstating  overstated\n  If you say that someone is overstating something, you mean they are describing it in a way that makes it seem more important or serious than it really is.\nThe authors no doubt overstated their case with a view to catching the public’s attention...\n  VERB: V n\n  = exaggerate


Words: overstatement
Meaning:
over.state.ment\n   overstatement  overstatements\n  If you refer to the way something is described is an overstatement, you mean it is described in a way that makes it seem more important or serious than it really is.\nThis may have been an improvement, but `breakthrough’ was an overstatement...\n  N-VAR\n  = exaggeration  !=understatement


Words: overstay
Meaning:
over.stay\n   overstay  overstays  overstaying  overstayed\n  If you overstay your time, you stay somewhere for longer than you should.\nUp to forty per cent of the students had overstayed their visas.\n  VERB: no passive, V n, also V\n  = outstay\nto overstay your welcome: see welcome


Words: overstep
Meaning:
over.step\n   overstep  oversteps  overstepping  overstepped\n  If you say that someone oversteps the limits of a system or situation, you mean that they do something that is not allowed or is not acceptable.\nThe Commission is sensitive to accusations that it is overstepping its authority...\n  VERB: V n\n  = go beyond\n  If someone oversteps the mark, they behave in a way that is considered unacceptable.\nHe overstepped the mark and we had no option but to suspend him.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n  = go too far


Words: overstretch
Meaning:
over.stretch\n   overstretch  overstretches  overstretching  overstretched\n  If you overstretch something or someone or if they overstretch, you force them to do something they are not really capable of, and they may be harmed as a result.\nDr Boutros Ghali said the operation would overstretch resources...\nDo what you know you can do well and don’t overstretch yourself...\nNever force your legs to overstretch, or you can cause injuries.\n  VERB: V n, V pron-refl, V


Words: overstretched
Meaning:
over.stretched\n   overstretched\n  If a system or organization is overstretched, it is being forced to work more than it is supposed to.\nAnalysts fear the overstretched air traffic control system could reach breaking point.\n  ADJ


Words: oversubscribed
Meaning:
over.sub.scribed\n   oversubscribed\n  If something such as an event or a service is oversubscribed, too many people apply to attend the event or use the service.\nThe popular schools.the sort you really might drive across town for.tend to be heavily oversubscribed.\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ


Words: overt
Meaning:
overt\n  An overt action or attitude is done or shown in an open and obvious way.\nAlthough there is no overt hostility, black and white students do not mix much.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  = open\n=>  overt.ly\nHe’s written a few overtly political lyrics over the years.\n  ADV: usu ADV adj\n  = openly


Words: overtake
Meaning:
over.take\n   overtake  overtakes  overtaking  overtook  overtaken\n1. If you overtake a vehicle or a person that is ahead of you and moving in the same direction, you pass them. (mainly BRIT; in AM, usually use pass)\nWhen he eventually overtook the last truck he pulled over to the inside lane...\nThe red car was pulling out ready to overtake.\n  VERB: V n, V\n\n2. If someone or something overtakes a competitor, they become more successful than them.\nSales are booming in Japan, which has overtaken Britain as the Mini’s biggest market.\n  VERB: V n\n\n3. If an event overtakes you, it happens unexpectedly or suddenly.\nTragedy was shortly to overtake him, however.\n  VERB: V n\n  = befall\n4. If a feeling overtakes you, it affects you very strongly. (LITERARY)\nSomething like panic overtook me...\n  VERB: V n\n  = overwhelm


Words: overtax
Meaning:
over.tax\n   overtax  overtaxes  overtaxing  overtaxed\n1. If you overtax someone or something, you force them to work harder than they can really manage, and may do them harm as a result.\n...a contralto who has overtaxed her voice.\n  VERB: V n\n\n2. If you say that a government is overtaxing its people, you mean that it is making them pay more tax than you think they should pay.\nYou can’t help Britain by overtaxing its people.\n  VERB: V n


Words: overthrow
Meaning:
over.throw\n   overthrow overthrows overthrowing  overthrew  overthrown\nThe verb is pronounced   The noun is pronounced\n  When a government or leader is overthrown, they are removed from power by force.\nThat government was overthrown in a military coup three years ago.\n...an attempt to overthrow the president.\n  VERB: be V-ed, V n\n\n  Overthrow is also a noun.\nThey were charged with plotting the overthrow of the state.\n  N-SING: oft N of n


Words: overtime
Meaning:
over.time\n   overtime\n1. Overtime is time that you spend doing your job in addition to your normal working hours.\nHe would work overtime, without pay, to finish a job...\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. If you say that someone is working overtime to do something, you mean that they are using a lot of energy, effort, or enthusiasm trying to do it. (INFORMAL)\nWe had to battle very hard and our defence worked overtime to keep us in the game...\n  PHRASE: V inflects, usu PHR to-inf\n\n3. Overtime is an additional period of time that is added to the end of a sports match in which the two teams are level, as a way of allowing one of the teams to win. (AM; in BRIT, use extra time)\nDenver had won the championship by defeating the Cleveland Browns 23-20 in overtime.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: overtired
Meaning:
over.tired\n   overtired\n  If you are overtired, you are so tired that you feel unhappy or bad-tempered, or feel that you cannot do things properly.\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ


Words: overtone
Meaning:
over.tone\n   overtone  overtones\n  If something has overtones of a particular thing or quality, it suggests that thing or quality but does not openly express it.\nIt’s a quite profound story, with powerful religious overtones.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl, with supp


Words: overture
Meaning:
over.ture\n   overture  overtures\n1. An overture is a piece of music, often one that is the introduction to an opera or play.\nThe programme opened with the overture to Wagner’s Flying Dutchman.\n  N-COUNT; N-IN-NAMES\n\n2. If you make overtures to someone, you behave in a friendly or romantic way towards them.\nHe had lately begun to make clumsy yet endearing overtures of friendship...\n  N-COUNT: usu pl


Words: overturn
Meaning:
over.turn\n   overturn  overturns  overturning  overturned\n1. If something overturns or if you overturn it, it turns upside down or on its side.\nThe lorry veered out of control, overturned and smashed into a wall...\nAlex jumped up so violently that he overturned his glass of sherry...\n...a battered overturned boat.\n  VERB: V, V n, V-ed\n\n2. If someone in authority overturns a legal decision, they officially decide that that decision is incorrect or not valid.\nHis nine-month sentence was overturned by Appeal Court judge Lord Justice Watkins.\n  VERB: V n\n  = overrule\n3. To overturn a government or system means to remove it or destroy it.\nHe accused his opponents of wanting to overturn the government.\n  VERB: V n


Words: overuse
Meaning:
over.use\n   overuse overuses overusing  overused\nThe verb is pronounced   The noun is pronounced\n1. If someone overuses something, they use more of it than necessary, or use it more often than necessary.\nDon’t overuse heated appliances on you hair.\n  VERB: V n\n\n  Overuse is also a noun.\nSupplies are under increasing threat from overuse and pollution.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. If you say that people overuse a word or idea, you mean that they use it so often that it no longer has any real meaning or effect.\nWhich words or phrases do you most overuse?\n  VERB: V n\n\n=>  over.used\n`Just Do It’ has become one of the most overused catch phrases in recent memory.\n  ADJ\n  = overworked


Words: overvalue
Meaning:
over.value\n   overvalue  overvalues  overvaluing  overvalued\n  To overvalue something, often a cost or rate of exchange, means to fix its value at too high a level compared with other similar things.\n...a rate which does not overvalue the pound...\nMany, perhaps all, Internet stocks are hugely overvalued.\n  VERB: V n, be V-ed\n  !=undervalue\n=>  over.valu.ation\nThese problems were aggravated by the overvaluation of the pound.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N of n\n\n=>  over.valued\nIt still can be argued that Japanese shares are overvalued in terms of the return they offer.\n  ADJ\n  !=undervalued


Words: overview
Meaning:
over.view\n   overview  overviews\n  An overview of a situation is a general understanding or description of it as a whole.\nThe central section of the book is a historical overview of drug use.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, oft N of n


Words: overweening
Meaning:
over.ween.ing\n   overweening\n  If you want to emphasize your disapproval of someone’s great ambition or pride, you can refer to their overweening ambition or pride. (FORMAL)\n`Your modesty is a cover for your overweening conceit,’ she said.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n  disapproval


Words: overweight
Meaning:
over.weight\n   overweight\n  Someone who is overweight weighs more than is considered healthy or attractive.\nBeing even moderately overweight increases your risk of developing high blood pressure.\n  ADJ


Words: overwhelm
Meaning:
over.whelm\n   overwhelm  overwhelms  overwhelming  overwhelmed\n1. If you are overwhelmed by a feeling or event, it affects you very strongly, and you do not know how to deal with it.\nHe was overwhelmed by a longing for times past...\nThe need to talk to someone, anyone, overwhelmed her.\n  VERB: be V-ed, V n\n  = overpower\n=>  over.whelmed\nSightseers may be a little overwhelmed by the crowds and noise.\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ\n\n2. If a group of people overwhelm a place or another group, they gain complete control or victory over them.\nIt was clear that one massive Allied offensive would overwhelm the weakened enemy.\n  VERB: V n\n  = overpower


Words: overwhelming
Meaning:
over.whelm.ing\n   overwhelming\n1. If something is overwhelming, it affects you very strongly, and you do not know how to deal with it.\nThe task won’t feel so overwhelming if you break it down into small, easy-to-accomplish steps...\nShe felt an overwhelming desire to have another child.\n  ADJ\n  = overpowering\n=>  over.whelm.ing.ly\n...the overwhelmingly strange medieval city of Fes.\n  ADV: ADV adj\n\n2. You can use overwhelming to emphasize that an amount or quantity is much greater than other amounts or quantities.\nThe overwhelming majority of small businesses go broke within the first twenty-four months...\nThe vote was overwhelming.283 in favour, and only twenty-nine against.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n  emphasis\n\n=>  over.whelm.ing.ly\nThe House of Commons has overwhelmingly rejected calls to bring back the death penalty for murder...\n  ADV: usu ADV with v, also ADV adj


Words: overwork
Meaning:
over.work\n   overwork  overworks  overworking  overworked\n  If you overwork or if someone overworks you, you work too hard, and are likely to become very tired or ill.\nHe’s overworking and has got a lot on his mind...\nHe overworks and underpays the poor clerk whom he employs.\n  VERB: V, V n\n\n  Overwork is also a noun.\nHe died of a heart attack brought on by overwork.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n=>  over.worked\n...an overworked doctor.\n  ADJ


Words: overworked
Meaning:
over.worked\n   overworked\n  If you describe a word, expression, or idea as overworked, you mean it has been used so often that it no longer has much effect or meaning.\n`Ecological’ has become one of the most overworked adjectives among manufacturers of garden supplies.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: overwrought
Meaning:
over.wrought\n   overwrought\n  Someone who is overwrought is very upset and is behaving in an uncontrolled way.\nOne overwrought member had to be restrained by friends.\n  ADJ


Words: ovulate
Meaning:
ovu.late\n   ovulate  ovulates  ovulating  ovulated\n  When a woman or female animal ovulates, an egg is produced from one of her ovaries.\nSome girls may first ovulate even before they menstruate.\n  VERB: V\n\n=>  ovu.la.tion\nBy noticing these changes, the woman can tell when ovulation is about to occur.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: ow
Meaning:
ow\n  `Ow!’ is used in writing to represent the noise that people make when they suddenly feel pain.\nOw! Don’t do that!\n  EXCLAM\n  = ouch


Words: owe
Meaning:
owe  owes  owing  owed\n1. If you owe money to someone, they have lent it to you and you have not yet paid it back. You can also say that the money is owing.\nThe company owes money to more than 60 banks...\nBlake already owed him nearly .50...\nI’m broke, Livy, and I owe a couple of million dollars...\nHe could take what was owing for the rent.\n  VERB: V n to n, V n n, V n, V\n\n2. If someone or something owes a particular quality or their success to a person or thing, they only have it because of that person or thing.\nHe owed his survival to his strength as a swimmer...\nI owe him my life.\n  VERB: no passive, V n to n, V n n\n\n3. If you say that you owe a great deal to someone or something, you mean that they have helped you or influenced you a lot, and you feel very grateful to them.\nAs a professional composer I owe much to Radio 3...\nHe’s been fantastic. I owe him a lot.\n  VERB: V amount to n, V n amount\n\n4. If you say that something owes a great deal to a person or thing, you mean that it exists, is successful, or has its particular form mainly because of them.\nThe island’s present economy owes a good deal to whisky distilling...\n  VERB: V amount to n\n\n5. If you say that you owe someone gratitude, respect, or loyalty, you mean that they deserve it from you. (FORMAL)\nPerhaps we owe these people more respect...\nI owe you an apology. You must have found my attitude very annoying...\nI owe a big debt of gratitude to her.\n  VERB: V n n, V n n, V n to n\n\n6. If you say that you owe it to someone to do something, you mean that you should do that thing because they deserve it.\nI can’t go. I owe it to him to stay...\nYou owe it to yourself to get some professional help...\nOf course she would have to send a letter; she owed it to the family.\n  VERB: no passive, V it to n to-inf, V it to pron-refl to-inf, V it to n\n\n7. You use owing to when you are introducing the reason for something.\nOwing to staff shortages, there was no restaurant car on the train.\n  PREP-PHRASE: PREP n


Words: owl
Meaning:
owl  owls\n  An owl is a bird with a flat face, large eyes, and a small sharp beak. Most owls obtain their food by hunting small animals at night.\n  N-COUNT\n\n  see also night owl


Words: owlish
Meaning:
owl.ish\n   owlish\n  An owlish person looks rather like an owl, especially because they wear glasses, and seems to be very serious and clever.\nWith his owlish face, it is easy to understand why he was called `The Professor’.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: own
Meaning:
own  owns  owning  owned\n1. You use own to indicate that something belongs to a particular person or thing.\nMy wife decided I should have my own shop...\nHe could no longer trust his own judgement...\nHis office had its own private entrance.\n  ADJ: poss ADJ\n\n  Own is also a pronoun.\nHe saw the Major’s face a few inches from his own.\n  PRON: poss PRON\n\n2. You use own to indicate that something is used by, or is characteristic of, only one person, thing, or group.\nJennifer insisted on her own room...\nI let her tell me about it in her own way...\nEach nation has its own peculiarities when it comes to doing business.\n  ADJ: poss ADJ\n\n  Own is also a pronoun.\nThis young lady has a sense of style that is very much her own.\n  PRON: poss PRON\n\n3. You use own to indicate that someone does something without any help from other people.\nThey enjoy making their own decisions...\nHe’ll have to make his own arrangements.\n  ADJ: poss ADJ\n\n  Own is also a pronoun.\nThere’s no career structure, you have to create your own.\n  PRON: poss PRON\n\n4. If you own something, it is your property.\nHis father owns a local pub...\n  VERB: V n\n\n5. If you have something you can call your own, it belongs only to you, rather than being controlled by or shared with someone else.\nI would like a place I could call my own.\n  PHRASE\n\n6. If someone or something comes into their own, they become very successful or start to perform very well because the circumstances are right.\nThe goalkeeper came into his own with a series of brilliant saves...\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n7. If you get your own back on someone, you have your revenge on them because of something bad that they have done to you. (mainly BRIT INFORMAL)\nRenshaw reveals 20 bizarre ways in which women have got their own back on former loved ones.\n  PHRASE: V inflects, oft PHR on n\n\n8. If you say that someone has a particular thing of their own, you mean that that thing belongs or relates to them, rather than to other people.\nHe set out in search of ideas for starting a company of his own.\n  PHRASE: n PHR\n\n9. If someone or something has a particular quality or characteristic of their own, that quality or characteristic is especially theirs, rather than being shared by other things or people of that type.\nThe cries of the seagulls gave this part of the harbour a fascinating character all of its own.\n  PHRASE: n PHR\n\n10. When you are on your own, you are alone.\nHe lives on his own...\nI told him how scared I was of being on my own...\n  PHRASE: PHR after v, v-link PHR\n  = alone\n11. If you do something on your own, you do it without any help from other people.\nI work best on my own.\n...the jobs your child can do on her own.\n  PHRASE: PHR after v\n\n12.\nto hold your own: see hold


Words: own brand
Meaning:
own brand own brands\n  Own brands are products which have the trademark or label of the shop which sells them, especially a supermarket chain. They are normally cheaper than other popular brands. (BUSINESS)\nThis range is substantially cheaper than any of the other own brands available.\n...own-brand cola.\n  N-COUNT


Words: own goal
Meaning:
own goal  own goals\n1. In sport, if someone scores an own goal, they accidentally score a goal for the team they are playing against. (BRIT)\n  N-COUNT: usu sing\n\n2. If a course of action that someone takes harms their own interests, you can refer to it as an own goal. (BRIT)\nBecause of the legislation I could not employ a woman. Women have made themselves unemployable. They have scored an own goal.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing


Words: own label
Meaning:
own la.bel\n   own label own labels\n  Own label is the same as own brand. (BUSINESS)\nPeople will trade down to own labels which are cheaper.\n  N-COUNT


Words: own up
Meaning:
own up\n  If you own up to something wrong that you have done, you admit that you did it.\nThe headmaster is waiting for someone to own up...\nLast year my husband owned up to a secret affair with his secretary.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P, V P to n/-ing\n  = admit


Words: owner
Meaning:
own.er\n   owner  owners\n  The owner of something is the person to whom it belongs.\nThe owner of the store was sweeping his floor when I walked in...\nNew owners will have to wait until September before moving in.\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp\n\n  see also home owner, landowner


Words: owner-occupier
Meaning:
owner-occupier  owner-occupiers\n  An owner-occupier is a person who owns the house or flat that they live in. (BRIT)\n  N-COUNT


Words: ownership
Meaning:
own.er.ship\n   ownership\n  Ownership of something is the state of owning it.\nOn January 23rd, America decided to relax its rules on the foreign ownership of its airlines.\n...the growth of home ownership in Britain...\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu with supp


Words: ox
Meaning:
ox  oxen\n  An ox is a bull that has been castrated. Oxen are used in some countries for pulling vehicles or carrying things.\n  N-COUNT


Words: Oxbridge
Meaning:
Ox.bridge\n   Oxbridge\n  Oxbridge is used to refer to the British universities of Oxford and Cambridge together. (BRIT)\n...an offer of a place at Oxbridge.\n  N-PROPER


Words: oxidation
Meaning:
oxi.da.tion\n   oxidation\n  Oxidation is a process in which a chemical substance changes because of the addition of oxygen. (TECHNICAL)\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: oxide
Meaning:
ox.ide\n   oxide  oxides\n  An oxide is a compound of oxygen and another chemical element.\n  N-MASS: usu supp N


Words: oxidize
Meaning:
oxi.dize\n   oxidize  oxidizes  oxidizing  oxidized\nin BRIT, also use oxidise\n  When a substance is oxidized or when it oxidizes, it changes chemically because of the effect of oxygen on it.\nAluminium is rapidly oxidized in air...\nThe original white lead pigments have oxidized and turned black.\n  VERB: be V-ed, V


Words: oxtail
Meaning:
ox.tail\n   oxtail  oxtails\n  Oxtail is meat from the tail of a cow. It is used for making soups and stews.\n...oxtail soup.\n  N-VAR


Words: oxygen
Meaning:
oxy.gen\n   oxygen\n  Oxygen is a colourless gas that exists in large quantities in the air. All plants and animals need oxygen in order to live.\nThe human brain needs to be without oxygen for only four minutes before permanent damage occurs.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: oxygen mask
Meaning:
oxy.gen mask\n   oxygen mask  oxygen masks\n  An oxygen mask is a device that is connected to a cylinder of oxygen by means of a tube. It is placed over the nose and mouth of someone who is having difficulty in breathing in order to help them breath more easily.\n  N-COUNT


Words: oxygenate
Meaning:
oxy.gen.ate\n   oxygenate  oxygenates  oxygenating  oxygenated\n  To oxygenate something means to mix or dissolve oxygen into it.\nPrevious attempts at filtering and oxygenating aquarium water had failed.\n...freshly oxygenated blood.\n  VERB: V n, V-ed


Words: oxymoron
Meaning:
oxy.mo.ron\n   oxymoron  oxymorons\n  If you describe a phrase as an oxymoron, you mean that what it refers to combines two opposite qualities or ideas and therefore seems impossible. (TECHNICAL)\nThis has made many Americans conclude that business ethics is an oxymoron.\n  N-COUNT


Words: oyster
Meaning:
oys.ter\n   oyster  oysters\n1. An oyster is a large flat shellfish. Some oysters can be eaten and others produce valuable objects called pearls.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If you say that the world is someone’s oyster, you mean that they can do anything or go anywhere that they want to.\nYou’re young, you’ve got a lot of opportunity. The world is your oyster.\n  PHRASE: V inflects


Words: oyster bed
Meaning:
oys.ter bed\n   oyster bed  oyster beds\n  An oyster bed is a place where oysters breed and grow naturally or are kept for food or pearls.\n  N-COUNT


Words: oystercatcher
Meaning:
oyster.catcher\n   oystercatcher  oystercatchers\n  An oystercatcher is a black and white bird with a long red beak. It lives near the sea and eats small shellfish.\n  N-COUNT


Words: ozone
Meaning:
ozone\n  Ozone is a colourless gas which is a form of oxygen. There is a layer of ozone high above the earth’s surface.\nWhat they find could provide clues to what might happen worldwide if ozone depletion continues.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N n


Words: ozone layer
Meaning:
ozone lay.er\n   ozone layer\n  The ozone layer is the part of the Earth’s atmosphere that has the most ozone in it. The ozone layer protects living things from the harmful radiation of the sun.\n  N-SING


Words: ozone-friendly
Meaning:
Ozone-friendly chemicals, products, or technology do not cause harm to the ozone layer.\n...ozone-friendly chemicals for fridges and air conditioners.\n  ADJ


Words: p & p
Meaning:
also p and p\n  You use p & p as a written abbreviation for `postage and packing’, when stating the cost of packing goods in a parcel and sending them through the post to a customer. (BRIT BUSINESS)\nThe guide costs .9.95 (inc. p & p).


Words: P, p
Meaning:
P, p  P’s, p’s\n1. P is the sixteenth letter of the English alphabet.\n  N-VAR\n\n2. p is an abbreviation for pence or penny.\nThey cost 5p each.\n...plans to increase income tax by 1p.\n\n3. You write p. before a number as an abbreviation for `page’. The plural form is `pp.’.\nSee p. 246 for Thom Bean’s response.\n...see Chapter 4 (pp. 109-13).


Words: p.a.
Meaning:
p.a. is a written abbreviation for per annum.\n...dentists with an average net income of .48,000 p.a.


Words: p.m.
Meaning:
p.m.   also pm\n  p.m. is used after a number to show that you are referring to a particular time between 12 noon and 12 midnight. Compare a.m.\nThe spa closes at 9:00 pm.\n  ADV: num ADV


Words: PA
Meaning:
PA  PAs\n1. A PA is the same as a personal assistant. (BUSINESS)\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If you refer to the PA or the PA system in a place, you are referring to the public address system.\nA voice came booming over the PA...\n  N-COUNT: usu the N in sing


Words: pa
Meaning:
pa  pas\n  Some people address or refer to their father as pa. (INFORMAL)\nPa used to be in the army.\n  N-FAMILY\n  = dad


Words: pace
Meaning:
pace  paces  pacing  paced\n1. The pace of something is the speed at which it happens or is done.\nMany people were not satisfied with the pace of change.\n...people who prefer to live at a slower pace...\nInterest rates would come down as the recovery gathered pace.\n  N-SING: usu with supp\n  = speed\n2. Your pace is the speed at which you walk.\nHe moved at a brisk pace down the rue St Antoine...\n  N-SING: usu with supp\n\n3. A pace is the distance that you move when you take one step.\nHe’d only gone a few paces before he stopped again...\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp\n\n4. If you pace a small area, you keep walking up and down it, because you are anxious or impatient.\nAs they waited, Kravis paced the room nervously...\nHe found John pacing around the flat, unable to sleep...\nShe stared as he paced and yelled.\n  VERB: V n, V prep/adv, V\n\n5. If you pace yourself when doing something, you do it at a steady rate.\nIt was a tough race and I had to pace myself.\n  VERB: V pron-refl\n\n6. If something keeps pace with something else that is changing, it changes quickly in response to it.\nFarmers are angry because the rise fails to keep pace with inflation.\n  PHRASE: V inflects, oft PHR with n\n  = keep up\n7. If you keep pace with someone who is walking or running, you succeed in going as fast as them, so that you remain close to them.\nWith four laps to go, he kept pace with the leaders...\n  PHRASE: V inflects, oft PHR with n\n  = keep up\n8. If you do something at your own pace, you do it at a speed that is comfortable for you.\nThe computer will give students the opportunity to learn at their own pace...\n  PHRASE: PHR after v\n\n9. If you put someone through their paces or make them go through their paces, you get them to show you how well they can do something.\nThe British coach is putting the boxers through their paces...\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n10.\nat a snail’s pace: see snail


Words: paced
Meaning:
paced\n  If you talk about the way that something such as a film or book is paced, you are referring to the speed at which the story is told.\nThis excellent thriller is fast paced and believable.\n  ADJ: adv ADJ


Words: pacemaker
Meaning:
pace.maker\n   pacemaker  pacemakers\n1. A pacemaker is a device that is placed inside someone’s body in order to help their heart beat in the right way.\nShe was fitted with a pacemaker after suffering serious heart trouble.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A pacemaker is a competitor in a race whose task is to start the race very quickly in order to help the other runners achieve a very fast time. Pacemakers usually stop before the race is finished.\n  N-COUNT


Words: pacesetter
Meaning:
pace.setter\n   pacesetter  pacesetters   also pace-setter\n1. A pacesetter is someone who is in the lead during part of a race or competition and therefore decides the speed or standard of the race or competition for that time.\nReal’s victory keeps them five points behind the pacesetters, Barcelona...\nHammond was the early pace-setter.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A pacesetter is a person or a company that is considered to be the leader in a particular field or activity.\nMongolia seemed an unlikely candidate as the pacesetter for political change in Asia.\n  N-COUNT


Words: Pacific
Meaning:
Pa.cif.ic\n   Pacific\n1. The Pacific or the Pacific Ocean is a very large sea to the west of North and South America, and to the east of Asia and Australia.\n...an island in the Pacific.\n  N-PROPER: the N\n\n2. Pacific is used to describe things that are in or that relate to the Pacific Ocean.\n...the tiny Pacific island of Pohnpei.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: pacific
Meaning:
pa.cif.ic\n   pacific\n  A pacific person, country, or course of action is peaceful or has the aim of bringing about peace. (FORMAL)\nThe Liberals were traditionally seen as the more pacific party.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  !=belligerent


Words: pacifier
Meaning:
paci.fi.er\n   pacifier  pacifiers\n  A pacifier is a rubber or plastic object that you give to a baby to suck so that he or she feels comforted. (AM; in BRIT, use dummy)\n  N-COUNT


Words: pacifism
Meaning:
paci.fism\n   pacifism\n  Pacifism is the belief that war and violence are always wrong.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: pacifist
Meaning:
paci.fist\n   pacifist  pacifists\n1. A pacifist is someone who believes that violence is wrong and refuses to take part in wars.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If someone has pacifist views, they believe that war and violence are always wrong.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: pacify
Meaning:
paci.fy\n   pacify  pacifies  pacifying  pacified\n1. If you pacify someone who is angry, upset, or not pleased, you succeed in making them calm or pleased.\nIs this a serious step, or is this just something to pacify the critics?...\n  VERB: V n\n  = placate\n2. If the army or the police pacify a group of people, they use force to overcome their resistance or protests.\nGovernment forces have found it difficult to pacify the rebels...\n  VERB: V n\n\n=>  paci.fi.ca.tion\n...the pacification of the country.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: pack
Meaning:
pack  packs  packing  packed\n1. When you pack a bag, you put clothes and other things into it, because you are leaving a place or going on holiday.\nWhen I was 17, I packed my bags and left home...\nI packed and said goodbye to Charlie.\n  VERB: V n, V\n\n=>  pack.ing\nShe left Frances to finish her packing.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. When people pack things, for example in a factory, they put them into containers or parcels so that they can be transported and sold.\nThey offered me a job packing goods in a warehouse...\nMachines now exist to pack olives in jars.\n...sardines packed in oil.\n  VERB: V n, V n in n, V-ed\n\n=>  pack.ing\nHis onions cost 9p a lb wholesale; packing and transport costs 10p.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n3. If people or things pack into a place or if they pack a place, there are so many of them that the place is full.\nHundreds of thousands of people packed into the mosque...\nSeventy thousand people will pack the stadium.\n  VERB: V into n, V n\n  = cram\n4. A pack of things is a collection of them that is sold or given together in a box or bag.\nThe club will send a free information pack.\n...a pack of cigarettes...\n  N-COUNT: oft N of n\n\n5. A pack is a bag containing your possessions that you carry on your back when you are travelling.\nI hid the money in my pack.\n  N-COUNT\n  = rucksack, backpack\n6. You can refer to a group of people who go around together as a pack, especially when it is a large group that you feel threatened by.\n...a pack of journalists eager to question him...\n  N-COUNT: usu N of n\n\n7. A pack of wolves or dogs is a group of them that hunt together.\n  N-COUNT: oft N of n\n\n8. A pack of playing cards is a complete set of playing cards. (mainly BRIT; in AM, usually use deck)\n  N-COUNT: oft N of n\n\n9.\n  see also packed, packing\n10. If you say that an account is a pack of lies, you mean that it is completely untrue.\nYou told me a pack of lies.\n  PHRASE: PHR after v, v-link PHR\n\n11. If you send someone packing, you make them go away. (INFORMAL)\nI decided I wanted to live alone and I sent him packing.\n  PHRASE: V inflects


Words: pack animal
Meaning:
pack ani.mal\n   pack animal  pack animals\n  A pack animal is an animal such as a horse or donkey that is used to carry things on journeys.\n  N-COUNT


Words: pack ice
Meaning:
pack ice\n  Pack ice is an area of ice that is floating on the sea. It is made up of pieces of ice that have been pushed together.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: pack in
Meaning:
pack in\n1. If you pack something in, you stop doing it. (mainly BRIT INFORMAL)\nI’d just packed in a job the day before...\nPack it in. Stop being spiteful.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), V n P\n\n2. If someone packs in things or people, they fit a lot of them into a limited space or time.\nPrisons are having to pack in as many inmates as possible...\nIt’s kind of a referendum, though a lot of issues are packed in.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), V P n (not pron), also V n P\n  = cram in\n  If a play, film or event packs them in, lots of people go to see it.\n`Blow your head!’ is still packing them in at Camden’s Jazz Cafe every Friday night.\n  PHRASE: V inflects


Words: pack into
Meaning:
pack into\n1. If someone packs a lot of something into a limited space or time, they fit a lot into it.\nI have tried to pack a good deal into a few words.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V n P n\n  = cram into\n2. If people or things are packed into a place, so many of them are put in there that the place becomes very full.\nSome 700 people were packed into a hotel room.\n  PHRASAL VERB: usu passive, be V-ed P n\n  = cram into


Words: pack off
Meaning:
pack off\n  If you pack someone off somewhere, you send them there to stay for a period of time. (INFORMAL)\nHe packed off his wife and children to stay in a caravan in Wales...\nI finally succeeded in packing her off to bed.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron) to-inf, V n P to n, also V n P


Words: pack up
Meaning:
pack up\n1. If you pack up or if you pack up your things, you put your possessions or the things you have been using in a case or bag, because you are leaving.\nThey packed up and went home...\nHe began packing up his things.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P, V P n (not pron), also V n P\n\n2. If a machine or a part of the body packs up, it stops working. (BRIT INFORMAL)\nIn the end it was his stomach and lungs that packed up...\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P


Words: package
Meaning:
pack.age\n   package  packages  packaging  packaged\n1. A package is a small parcel.\nI tore open the package.\n...a package addressed to Miss Claire Montgomery.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A package is a small container in which a quantity of something is sold. Packages are either small boxes made of thin cardboard, or bags or envelopes made of paper or plastic. (mainly AM; in BRIT, usually use packet)\n...a package of doughnuts...\nIt is listed among the ingredients on the package.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. A package is a set of proposals that are made by a government or organization and which must be accepted or rejected as a group.\nThe government has announced a package of measures to help the British film industry...\n  N-COUNT\n\n4. When a product is packaged, it is put into containers to be sold.\nThe beans are then ground and packaged for sale as ground coffee...\nPackaged foods have to show a list of ingredients.\n  VERB: usu passive, be V-ed, V-ed\n\n5. If something is packaged in a particular way, it is presented or advertised in that way in order to make it seem attractive or interesting.\nA city has to be packaged properly to be attractive to tourists.\n...entertainment packaged as information.\n  VERB: usu passive, be V-ed, be V-ed as n\n\n6. A package tour, or in British English a package holiday, is a holiday arranged by a travel company in which your travel and your accommodation are booked for you.\n  N-COUNT: usu N n


Words: package deal
Meaning:
pack.age deal\n   package deal  package deals\n  A package deal is a set of offers or proposals which is made by a government or an organization, and which must be accepted or rejected as a whole.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing


Words: packaging
Meaning:
pack.ag.ing\n   packaging\n  Packaging is the container or covering that something is sold in.\nIt is selling very well, in part because the packaging is so attractive.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: packed
Meaning:
packed\n1. A place that is packed is very crowded.\nFrom 3.30 until 7pm, the shop is packed...\nThe streets were packed with men, women and children.\n  ADJ\n\n2. Something that is packed with things contains a very large number of them.\nThe Encyclopedia is packed with clear illustrations and over 250 recipes...\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ with n


Words: packed lunch
Meaning:
packed lunch  packed lunches\n  A packed lunch is food, for example sandwiches, which you take to work, to school, or on a trip and eat as your lunch. (BRIT; in AM, use box lunch)\n  N-COUNT


Words: packed out
Meaning:
packed out\n  If a place is packed out, it is very full of people. (BRIT INFORMAL; in AM, use packed)\nThere are 350 cinemas in Paris and most are packed out.\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ


Words: packer
Meaning:
pack.er\n   packer  packers\n  A packer is a worker whose job is to pack things into containers.\nNorma Jones worked as a packer in a local chemical factory.\n  N-COUNT


Words: packet
Meaning:
pack.et\n   packet  packets\n1. A packet is a small container in which a quantity of something is sold. Packets are either small boxes made of thin cardboard, or bags or envelopes made of paper or plastic. (mainly BRIT)\nCook the rice according to instructions on the packet.\n...a cigarette packet.\n  N-COUNT\n  = pack\n  A packet of something is an amount of it contained in a packet. (in AM, usually use pack, package)\nHe had smoked half a packet of cigarettes...\n  N-COUNT: usu N of n\n  = pack\n2. A packet is a small flat parcel. (mainly BRIT)\n...a packet of photographs.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. You can refer to a lot of money as a packet. (BRIT INFORMAL; in AM, use bundle)\nIt’ll cost you a packet...\n  N-SING: a N\n  = fortune\n4.\n  see also pay packet, wage packet


Words: packet switching
Meaning:
pack.et switch.ing\n   packet switching   also packet-switching\n  Packet-switching is a method of sending computer data on telephone lines which automatically divides the data into short pieces in order to send it and puts it together again when it is received. (COMPUTING)\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: packing
Meaning:
pack.ing\n   packing\n  Packing is the paper, plastic, or other material which is put round things that are being sent somewhere.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n  see also pack


Words: packing box
Meaning:
pack.ing box\n   packing box  packing boxes\n  A packing box is the same as a packing case. (mainly AM)\n  N-COUNT


Words: packing case
Meaning:
pack.ing case\n   packing case  packing cases\n  A packing case is a large wooden box in which things are put so that they can be stored or taken somewhere. (mainly BRIT; in AM, usually use packing box)\n  N-COUNT


Words: packing house
Meaning:
pack.ing house\n   packing house  packing houses\n  A packing house is a company that processes and packs food, especially meat, to be sold. (AM)\n  N-COUNT


Words: pact
Meaning:
pact  pacts\n  A pact is a formal agreement between two or more people, organizations, or governments to do a particular thing or to help each other.\nLast month he signed a new non-aggression pact with Germany...\n  N-COUNT: oft supp N


Words: pacy
Meaning:
pacy  pacier  paciest   also pacey\n1. You use pacy to describe someone, especially a sports player, who has the ability to move very quickly. (BRIT)\n...United’s pacey new striker.\n  ADJ\n\n2. If you describe a story or a film as pacy, you mean that it is exciting because the events happen very quickly one after another. (BRIT)\nSet in contemporary Dublin, this pacy thriller features kidnapping, mayhem and murder.\n  ADJ


Words: pad
Meaning:
pad  pads  padding  padded\n1. A pad is a fairly thick, flat piece of a material such as cloth or rubber. Pads are used, for example, to clean things, to protect things, or to change their shape.\nHe withdrew the needle and placed a pad of cotton-wool over the spot.\n...a scouring pad.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A pad of paper is a number of pieces of paper which are fixed together along the top or the side, so that each piece can be torn off when it has been used.\nShe wrote on a pad of paper...\nHave a pad and pencil ready and jot down some of your thoughts...\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. When someone pads somewhere, they walk there with steps that are fairly quick, light, and quiet.\nFreddy speaks very quietly and pads around in soft velvet slippers...\nI often bumped into him as he padded the corridors.\n  VERB: V prep/adv, V n\n\n4. A pad is a platform or an area of flat, hard ground where helicopters take off and land or rockets are launched.\n...a little round helicopter pad.\n...a landing pad on the back of the ship...\n  N-COUNT\n\n  see also launch pad\n5. The pads of a person’s fingers and toes or of an animal’s feet are the soft, fleshy parts of them.\nTap your cheeks all over with the pads of your fingers.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl, usu N of n\n\n6. If you pad something, you put something soft in it or over it in order to make it less hard, to protect it, or to give it a different shape.\nPad the back of a car seat with a pillow...\nI can tell you I always padded my bras.\n  VERB: V n with n, V n\n\n=>  pad.ded\n...a padded jacket.\n...back-rests padded with camel’s wool.\n  ADJ\n\n7.\n  see also padding


Words: pad out
Meaning:
pad out\n  If you pad out a piece of writing or a speech with unnecessary words or pieces of information, you include them in it to make it longer and hide the fact that you have not got very much to say.\nThe reviewer padded out his review with a lengthy biography of the author...\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron) with n, also V n P, V n P with n


Words: padded cell
Meaning:
pad.ded cell\n   padded cell  padded cells\n  A padded cell is a small room with padded walls in a mental hospital or prison, where a person who may behave violently can be put so that they do not hurt themselves.\n  N-COUNT


Words: padding
Meaning:
pad.ding\n   padding\n1. Padding is soft material which is put on something or inside it in order to make it less hard, to protect it, or to give it a different shape.\n...the foam rubber padding on the headphones...\nPlayers must wear padding to protect them from injury.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. Padding is unnecessary words or information used to make a piece of writing or a speech longer.\n...the kind of subject that politicians put in their speeches for a bit of padding.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: paddle
Meaning:
pad.dle\n   paddle  paddles  paddling  paddled\n1. A paddle is a short pole with a wide flat part at one end or at both ends. You hold it in your hands and use it as an oar to move a small boat through water.\nWe might be able to push ourselves across with the paddle.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If you paddle a boat, you move it through water using a paddle.\n...the skills you will use to paddle the canoe.\n...paddling around the South Pacific in a kayak.\n  VERB: V n, V prep/adv\n\n3. If you paddle, you walk or stand in shallow water, for example at the edge of the sea, for pleasure.\nWear sandals when you paddle.\n...a lovely little stream that you can paddle in.\n  VERB: V, V prep\n\n  Paddle is also a noun.\nRuth enjoyed her paddle.\n  N-SING


Words: paddle boat
Meaning:
pad.dle boat\n   paddle boat  paddle boats\n  A paddle boat or a paddle steamer is a large boat that is pushed through the water by the movement of large wheels that are attached to its sides.\n  N-COUNT


Words: paddling pool
Meaning:
pad.dling pool\n   paddling pool  paddling pools\n  A paddling pool is a shallow artificial pool for children to paddle in. (BRIT; in AM, use wading pool)\n  N-COUNT


Words: paddock
Meaning:
pad.dock\n   paddock  paddocks\n1. A paddock is a small field where horses are kept.\nThe family kept horses in the paddock in front of the house.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. In horse racing or motor racing, the paddock is the place where the horses or cars are kept just before each race.\n  N-COUNT


Words: paddy
Meaning:
pad.dy\n   paddy  paddies\n  A paddy or a paddy field is a field that is kept flooded with water and is used for growing rice.\n...the paddy fields of China.\n  N-COUNT


Words: padlock
Meaning:
pad.lock\n   padlock  padlocks  padlocking  padlocked\n1. A padlock is a lock which is used for fastening two things together. It consists of a block of metal with a U-shaped bar attached to it. One end of the bar is released by turning a key in the lock.\nThey had put a padlock on the door of his flat.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If you padlock something, you lock it or fasten it to something else using a padlock.\nEddie parked his cycle against a lamp post and padlocked it...\n  VERB: V n, also V n to n


Words: padre
Meaning:
pa.dre\n   padre  padres\n  A padre is a Christian priest, especially one who works with the armed forces. (INFORMAL)\nCould I speak to you in private a moment, padre.\n  N-COUNT; N-VOC


Words: paean
Meaning:
paean  paeans\n  A paean is a piece of music, writing, or film that expresses praise, admiration, or happiness. (LITERARY)\n...a paean to deep, passionate love.\n  N-COUNT: usu N to n\n  = eulogy


Words: paediatrician
Meaning:
pae.dia.tri.cian\n   paediatrician  paediatricians\nin AM, use pediatrician\n  A paediatrician is a doctor who specializes in treating sick children.\n  N-COUNT


Words: paediatrics
Meaning:
pae.di.at.rics\n   paediatrics\n  Paediatrics is the area of medicine that is concerned with the treatment of children’s illnesses.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n  The spelling pediatrics is used in American English. The form paediatric is used as a modifier.


Words: paedophile
Meaning:
pae.do.phile\n   paedophile  paedophiles\nin AM, use pedophile\n  A paedophile is a person, usually a man, who is sexually attracted to children.\n  N-COUNT


Words: paedophilia
Meaning:
pae.do.philia\n   paedophilia\nin AM, use pedophilia\n  Paedophilia is sexual activity with children or the condition of being sexually attracted to children.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: paella
Meaning:
pa.el.la\n   paella  paellas\n  Paella is a dish cooked especially in Spain, which consists of rice mixed with small pieces of vegetables, fish, and chicken.\n  N-VAR


Words: pagan
Meaning:
pa.gan\n   pagan  pagans\n1. Pagan beliefs and activities do not belong to any of the main religions of the world and take nature and a belief in many gods as a basis. They are older, or are believed to be older, than other religions.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n2. In former times, pagans were people who did not believe in Christianity and who many Christians considered to be inferior people.\nThe new religion was eager to convert the pagan world.\n  N-COUNT: oft N n\n  !=Christian


Words: paganism
Meaning:
pa.gan.ism\n   paganism\n  Paganism is pagan beliefs and activities.\nThe country swayed precariously between Christianity and paganism.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: page
Meaning:
page  pages  paging  paged\n1. A page is one side of one of the pieces of paper in a book, magazine, or newspaper. Each page usually has a number printed at the top or bottom.\nWhere’s your book? Take it out and turn to page 4.\n...the front page of the Guardian.\n...1,400 pages of top-secret information.\n  N-COUNT: oft N num\n\n2. The pages of a book, magazine, or newspaper are the pieces of paper it consists of.\nHe turned the pages of his notebook...\nOver the page you can read all about the six great books on offer.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. You can refer to an important event or period of time as a page of history. (LITERARY)\n...a new page in the country’s political history.\n  N-COUNT: with supp\n\n4. If someone who is in a public place is paged, they receive a message, often over a speaker, telling them that someone is trying to contact them.\nHe was paged repeatedly as the flight was boarding...\nI’ll have them paged and tell them you’re here.\n  VERB: be V-ed, have n V-ed\n\n5. A page is a young person who takes messages or does small jobs for members of the United States Congress or state legislatures. (AM)\n  N-COUNT


Words: pageant
Meaning:
pag.eant\n   pageant  pageants\n1. A pageant is a colourful public procession, show, or ceremony. Pageants are usually held out of doors and often celebrate events or people from history.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A pageant or a beauty pageant is a competition in which young women are judged to decide which one is the most beautiful.\n  N-COUNT


Words: pageantry
Meaning:
pag.eant.ry\n   pageantry\n  People use pageantry to refer to the colourful and formal things that are done for special official or royal occasions, for example the wearing of special clothes and the playing of special music.\n...all the pageantry of an official state visit.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: pageboy
Meaning:
page.boy\n   pageboy  pageboys   also page-boy\n  A pageboy is a small boy who accompanies the bride at a wedding. (mainly BRIT; in AM, usually use page)\n  N-COUNT


Words: pager
Meaning:
pag.er\n   pager  pagers\n  A pager is a small electronic device which you can carry around with you and which gives you a number or a message when someone is trying to contact you. (mainly BRIT; in AM, usually use beeper)\n  N-COUNT


Words: pagoda
Meaning:
pa.go.da\n   pagoda  pagodas\n  A pagoda is a tall building which is used for religious purposes, especially by Buddhists, in China, Japan, and South-East Asia. Pagodas are usually very highly decorated.\n  N-COUNT


Words: pah
Meaning:
pah\n  Pah is used in writing to represent the sound someone makes when showing disgust or contempt.\n  EXCLAM


Words: paid
Meaning:
paid\n1. Paid is the past tense and past participle of pay.\n\n2. Paid workers, or people who do paid work, receive money for the work that they do.\nApart from a small team of paid staff, the organisation consists of unpaid volunteers.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n  !=unpaid\n3. If you are given paid holiday, you get your wages or salary even though you are not at work.\n...10 days’ paid holiday for house hunting...\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n4. If you are well paid, you receive a lot of money for the work that you do. If you are badly paid, you do not receive much money.\n...a well-paid accountant...\nFruit-picking is boring, badly paid and very hard work.\n  ADJ: adv ADJ\n\n5. If an unexpected event puts paid to someone’s hopes, chances, or plans, it completely ends or destroys them. (mainly BRIT)\n...a series of airforce strikes that put paid to the General’s hopes of fighting on...\n  PHRASE: V inflects, PHR n


Words: paid-up
Meaning:
paid-up   also paid up\n1. If a person or country is a paid-up member of a group, they are an enthusiastic member or are recognized by most people as being a member of it.\n...our future as an independent nation lies as a fully paid-up member of Europe.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n2. If someone is a paid-up member of a political party or other organization, they have paid the money needed to become an official member.\n...a fully paid-up member of the Labour Party.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: pail
Meaning:
pail  pails\n  A pail is a bucket, usually made of metal or wood. (mainly AM; also BRIT OLD-FASHIONED)\n  N-COUNT


Words: pain
Meaning:
pain  pains  pained\n1. Pain is the feeling of great discomfort you have, for example when you have been hurt or when you are ill.\n...back pain.\n...a bone disease that caused excruciating pain...\nI felt a sharp pain in my lower back...\n...chest pains.\n  N-VAR\n\n  If you are in pain, you feel pain in a part of your body, because you are injured or ill.\nShe was writhing in pain, bathed in perspiration.\n  PHRASE: PHR after v\n\n2. Pain is the feeling of unhappiness that you have when something unpleasant or upsetting happens.\n...grey eyes that seemed filled with pain.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n  = anguish\n3. If a fact or idea pains you, it makes you feel upset and disappointed.\nThis public acknowledgment of Ted’s disability pained my mother...\nIt pains me to think of you struggling all alone.\n  VERB: no cont, V n, it V n to-inf, also it V n that\n\n4. In informal English, if you call someone or something a pain or a pain in the neck, you mean that they are very annoying or irritating. Expressions such as a pain in the arse and a pain in the backside in British English, or a pain in the ass and a pain in the butt in American English, are also used, but most people consider them offensive. (INFORMAL)\n  PHRASE: pain inflects, v-link PHR, PHR to-inf  disapproval\n\n5. If someone is at pains to do something, they are very eager and anxious to do it, especially because they want to avoid a difficult situation.\nMobil is at pains to point out that the chances of an explosion at the site are remote.\n  PHRASE: V inflects, usu PHR to-inf\n  = anxious\n6. If someone is ordered not to do something on pain of or under pain of death, imprisonment, or arrest, they will be killed, put in prison, or arrested if they do it.\nWe were forbidden, under pain of imprisonment, to use our native language.\n  PREP-PHRASE\n\n7. If you take pains to do something or go to great pains to do something, you try hard to do it, because you think it is important to do it.\nSocial workers went to great pains to acknowledge men’s domestic rights...\nI had taken great pains with my appearance.\n  PHRASE: V inflects, usu PHR to-inf


Words: pain barrier
Meaning:
pain bar.ri.er\n   pain barrier\n  If you say that a sports player has gone through the pain barrier, you mean that he or she is continuing to make a great effort in spite of being injured or exhausted. (BRIT JOURNALISM)\nEngland’s World Cup hero is determined to play through the pain barrier.\n  N-SING: the N


Words: pained
Meaning:
pained\n  If you have a pained expression or look, you look upset, worried, or slightly annoyed.\n  ADJ


Words: painful
Meaning:
pain.ful\n   painful\n1. If a part of your body is painful, it hurts because it is injured or because there is something wrong with it.\nHer glands were swollen and painful...\n  ADJ: oft ADJ to-inf\n\n=>  pain.ful.ly\nHis tooth had started to throb painfully again.\n  ADV: ADV with v\n\n2. If something such as an illness, injury, or operation is painful, it causes you a lot of physical pain.\n...a painful back injury...\n  ADJ\n\n=>  pain.ful.ly\nHe cracked his head painfully against the cupboard.\n  ADV: ADV with v\n\n3. Situations, memories, or experiences that are painful are difficult and unpleasant to deal with, and often make you feel sad and upset.\nRemarks like that brought back painful memories...\nShe finds it too painful to return there without him.\n  ADJ: oft ADJ to-inf\n\n=>  pain.ful.ly\n...their old relationship, which he had painfully broken off.\n  ADV: ADV with v\n\n4. If a performance or interview is painful, it is so bad that it makes you feel embarrassed for the people taking part in it. (INFORMAL)\nThe interview was painful to watch.\n  ADJ: oft ADJ to-inf


Words: painfully
Meaning:
pain.ful.ly\n   painfully\n  You use painfully to emphasize a quality or situation that is undesirable.\nThings are moving painfully slowly.\n...a painfully shy young man...\n  ADV: ADV adv/adj  emphasis\n\n  see also painful


Words: painkiller
Meaning:
pain.killer\n   painkiller  painkillers\n  A painkiller is a drug which reduces or stops physical pain.\n  N-COUNT


Words: painless
Meaning:
pain.less\n   painless\n1. Something such as a treatment that is painless causes no physical pain.\nAcupuncture treatment is gentle, painless, and, invariably, most relaxing...\n...a quick and painless death.\n  ADJ\n  !=painful\n=>  pain.less.ly\n...a technique to eliminate unwanted facial hair quickly and painlessly.\n  ADV: ADV with v\n  !=painfully\n2. If a process or activity is painless, there are no difficulties involved, and you do not have to make a great effort or suffer in any way.\nHouse-hunting is in fact relatively painless in this region...\n  ADJ\n\n=>  pain.less.ly\n...a game for children which painlessly teaches essential pre-reading skills.\n  ADV: ADV with v


Words: painstaking
Meaning:
pains.taking\n   painstaking\n  A painstaking search, examination, or investigation is done extremely carefully and thoroughly.\nForensic experts carried out a painstaking search of the debris.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  = thorough\n=>  pains.taking.ly\nBroken bones were painstakingly pieced together and reshaped.\n  ADV: usu ADV before v


Words: paint
Meaning:
paint  paints  painting  painted\n1. Paint is a coloured liquid that you put onto a surface with a brush in order to protect the surface or to make it look nice, or that you use to produce a picture.\n...a pot of red paint...\nThey saw some large letters in white paint.\n...water-based artist’s paints.\n  N-MASS\n\n2. On a wall or object, the paint is the covering of dried paint on it.\nThe paint was peeling on the window frames...\n  N-SING: the N\n\n3. If you paint a wall or an object, you cover it with paint.\nThey started to mend the woodwork and paint the walls...\nI made a guitar and painted it red.\n...painted furniture.\n  VERB: V n, V n colour, V-ed, also V\n\n4. If you paint something or paint a picture of it, you produce a picture of it using paint.\nHe is painting a huge volcano...\nWhy do people paint pictures?...\nI had come here to paint.\n  VERB: V n, V n, V\n\n5. When you paint a design or message on a surface, you put it on the surface using paint.\n...a machine for painting white lines down roads...\nThe recesses are decorated with gold stars, with smaller stars painted along the edges.\n  VERB: V n prep, V-ed\n\n6. If a woman paints her lips or nails, she puts a coloured cosmetic on them.\nShe propped the mirror against her handbag and began to paint her lips...\nShe painted her fingernails bright red.\n  VERB: V n, V n colour\n\n7. If you paint a grim or vivid picture of something, you give a description of it that is grim or vivid.\nThe report paints a grim picture of life there...\n  VERB: V n\n\n8.\n  see also painting, gloss paint, oil paint, poster paint, war paint


Words: paint stripper
Meaning:
paint strip.per\n   paint stripper  paint strippers\n  Paint stripper is a liquid which you use in order to remove old paint from things such as doors or pieces of furniture.\n  N-MASS


Words: paintbox
Meaning:
paint.box\n   paintbox  paintboxes\n  A paintbox is a small flat plastic or metal container with a number of little blocks of paint inside which can be made wet and used to paint a picture.\n  N-COUNT


Words: paintbrush
Meaning:
paint.brush\n   paintbrush  paintbrushes   also paint brush, paint-brush\n  A paintbrush is a brush which you use for painting.\n  N-COUNT


Words: painter
Meaning:
paint.er\n   painter  painters\n1. A painter is an artist who paints pictures.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A painter is someone who paints walls, doors, and some other parts of buildings as their job.\n  N-COUNT


Words: painterly
Meaning:
paint.er.ly\n   painterly\n  Painterly means relating to or characteristic of painting or painters.\n...his painterly talents...\nThe film has a painterly eye.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: painting
Meaning:
paint.ing\n   painting  paintings\n1. A painting is a picture which someone has painted.\n...a large oil-painting of Queen Victoria.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. Painting is the activity of painting pictures.\n...two hobbies she really enjoyed, painting and gardening.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n3. Painting is the activity of painting doors, walls, and some other parts of buildings.\n...painting and decorating.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: paintwork
Meaning:
paint.work\n   paintwork\n  The paintwork of a building, room, or vehicle is the covering of paint on it, or the parts of it that are painted.\nThe paintwork, the wardrobes and the bedside cupboards were coffee-cream.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: pair
Meaning:
pair  pairs  pairing  paired\n1. A pair of things are two things of the same size and shape that are used together or are both part of something, for example shoes, earrings, or parts of the body.\n...a pair of socks.\n...trainers that cost up to 90 pounds a pair...\n72,000 pairs of hands clapped in unison to the song.\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp\n\n2. Some objects that have two main parts of the same size and shape are referred to as a pair, for example a pair of trousers or a pair of scissors.\n...a pair of faded jeans.\n...a pair of binoculars.\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp\n\n3. You can refer to two people as a pair when they are standing or walking together or when they have some kind of relationship with each other.\nA pair of teenage boys were smoking cigarettes...\n  N-SING\n\n4. If one thing is paired with another, it is put with it or considered with it.\nThe trainees will then be paired with experienced managers.\n  VERB: usu passive, be V-ed with n\n\n=>  pair.ing\n...the pairing of these two fine musicians.\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu the N of n\n\n5.\n  see also au pair\n6. If you say that someone is or has a safe pair of hands, you mean that they are reliable and will not make any serious mistakes. (BRIT JOURNALISM)\nHe has now held five cabinet posts and remains a safe pair of hands.\n  PHRASE: PHR after v


Words: pair off
Meaning:
pair off\n  When people pair off or are paired off, they form a pair, often in order to become girlfriend and boyfriend.\nI knew she wouldn’t be able to resist pairing me off with someone...\nThe squad members paired off to find places to eat and sleep.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V n P with n, pl-n V P, also V P with n


Words: pair up
Meaning:
pair up\n  If people pair up or are paired up, they form a pair, especially in order to do something together.\nThey asked us to pair up with the person next to us and form teams...\nMen and teenage girls pair up to dance...\nSmokers and nonsmokers are paired up as roommates.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P with n, pl-n V P, pl-n be V-ed, also V n P with n


Words: pairing
Meaning:
pair.ing\n   pairing  pairings\n  Two people, especially sports players, actors, or musicians, who are working together as a pair can be referred to as a pairing.\nIn first place we now find the Belgian pairing of Nancy Feber and Laurence Courtois.\n  N-COUNT\n  = pair


Words: paisley
Meaning:
pais.ley\n   paisley  paisleys\n  Paisley is a special pattern of curving shapes and colours, used especially on fabric.\nHe was elegantly dressed in a grey suit, blue shirt and paisley tie.\n  N-VAR


Words: Pakistani
Meaning:
Pa.ki.stani\n   Pakistani  Pakistanis\n1. Pakistani means belonging or relating to Pakistan, or to its people or culture.\n  ADJ\n\n2. A Pakistani is a Pakistani citizen, or a person of Pakistani origin.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl


Words: palace
Meaning:
pal.ace\n   palace  palaces\n1. A palace is a very large impressive house, especially one which is the official home of a king, queen, or president.\n...Buckingham Palace...\nThey entered the palace courtyard.\n  N-COUNT: oft in names after n, N n\n\n2. When the members of a royal palace make an announcement through an official spokesperson, they can be referred to as the Palace.\nThe palace will not comment on questions about the family’s private life.\n  N-SING: the N


Words: palaeontology
Meaning:
palae.on.tol.ogy\n   palaeontology   also paleontology\n  Palaeontology is the study of fossils as a guide to the history of life on earth.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n=>  palae.on.tolo.gist      palaeontologists\n...just as a palaeontologist can reconstruct a dinosaur from one of its toes.\n  N-COUNT


Words: palatable
Meaning:
pal.at.able\n   palatable\n1. If you describe food or drink as palatable, you mean that it tastes pleasant. (FORMAL)\n...flavourings and preservatives, designed to make the food look more palatable.\n  ADJ\n  !=unpalatable\n2. If you describe something such as an idea or method as palatable, you mean that people are willing to accept it.\n...a palatable way of sacking staff...\n  ADJ\n  = acceptable  !=unpalatable


Words: palate
Meaning:
pal.ate\n   palate  palates\n1. Your palate is the top part of the inside of your mouth.\n  N-COUNT: usu poss N\n\n2. You can refer to someone’s palate as a way of talking about their ability to judge good food or drink.\n...fresh pasta sauces to tempt more demanding palates.\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp


Words: palatial
Meaning:
pa.la.tial\n   palatial\n  A palatial house, hotel, or office building is very large and impressive.\n...a palatial Hollywood mansion.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: palaver
Meaning:
pa.la.ver\n   palaver\n  Palaver is unnecessary fuss and bother about the way something is done. (INFORMAL)\nWe don’t want all that palaver, do we?\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: pale
Meaning:
pale  paler  palest  pales  paling  paled\n1. If something is pale, it is very light in colour or almost white.\nMigrating birds filled the pale sky...\nAs we age, our skin becomes paler.\n  ADJ\n  !=dark\n  Pale is also a combining form.\n...a pale blue sailor dress...\n  COMB in COLOUR\n\n2. If someone looks pale, their face looks a lighter colour than usual, usually because they are ill, frightened, or shocked.\nShe looked pale and tired...\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ\n\n=>  pale.ness\n...his paleness when he realized that he was bleeding.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft with poss\n\n3. If one thing pales in comparison with another, it is made to seem much less important, serious, or good by it.\nWhen someone you love has a life-threatening illness, everything else pales in comparison.\n...a soap opera against which other soaps pale into insignificance.\n  VERB: V, V prep\n\n4. If you think that someone’s actions or behaviour are not acceptable, you can say that they are beyond the pale.\nThis sort of thing really is quite beyond the pale.\n  PHRASE: PHR after v, oft PHR of n\n  = unacceptable


Words: Palestinian
Meaning:
Pal.es.tin.ian\n   Palestinian  Palestinians\n1. Palestinian means belonging or relating to the region between the River Jordan and the Mediterranean Sea which used to be called Palestine, or to the Arabs who come from this region.\n  ADJ\n\n2. A Palestinian is an Arab who comes from the region that used to be called Palestine.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl


Words: palette
Meaning:
pal.ette\n   palette  palettes\n1. A palette is a flat piece of wood or plastic on which an artist mixes paints.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. You can refer to the range of colours that are used by a particular artist or group of artists as their palette.\nDavid Fincher paints from a palette consisting almost exclusively of grey and mud brown.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing


Words: palette knife
Meaning:
pal.ette knife\n   palette knife  palette knives\n  A palette knife is a knife with a broad, flat, flexible blade, used in cookery and in oil painting.\n  N-COUNT


Words: palimony
Meaning:
pali.mo.ny\n   palimony\n  Palimony is money that a person pays to a partner they have lived with for a long time and are now separated from. Compare alimony.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: palindrome
Meaning:
pal.in.drome\n   palindrome  palindromes\n  A palindrome is a word or a phrase that is the same whether you read it backwards or forwards, for example the word `refer’.\n  N-COUNT


Words: palisade
Meaning:
pali.sade\n   palisade  palisades\n  A palisade is a fence of wooden posts which are driven into the ground in order to protect people from attack.\n  N-COUNT


Words: pall
Meaning:
pall  palls  palled\n1. If something palls, it becomes less interesting or less enjoyable after a period of time.\nAlready the allure of meals in restaurants had begun to pall.\n  VERB: no cont, V\n\n2. If a pall of smoke hangs over a place, there is a thick cloud of smoke above it.\nA pall of oily black smoke drifted over the cliff-top.\n  N-COUNT: usu N of n\n\n3. If something unpleasant casts a pall over an event or occasion, it makes it less enjoyable than it should be.\nThe unrest has cast a pall over what is usually a day of national rejoicing...\n  PHRASE: V inflects, PHR n


Words: pallbearer
Meaning:
pall.bearer\n   pallbearer  pallbearers\n  At a funeral, a pallbearer is a person who helps to carry the coffin or who walks beside it.\n  N-COUNT


Words: pallet
Meaning:
pal.let\n   pallet  pallets\n1. A pallet is a narrow mattress filled with straw which is put on the floor for someone to sleep on.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A pallet is a hard, narrow bed.\nHe was given only a wooden pallet with a blanket.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. A pallet is a flat wooden or metal platform on which goods are stored so that they can be lifted and moved using a forklift truck.\nThe warehouse will hold more than 90,000 pallets storing 30 million Easter eggs.\n  N-COUNT


Words: palliative
Meaning:
pal.lia.tive\n   palliative  palliatives\n1. A palliative is a drug or medical treatment that relieves suffering without treating the cause of the suffering.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A palliative is an action that is intended to make the effects of a problem less severe but does not actually solve the problem. (FORMAL)\nThe loan was a palliative, not a cure, for ever-increasing financial troubles...\n  N-COUNT


Words: pallid
Meaning:
pal.lid\n   pallid\n1. Someone or something that is pallid is pale in an unattractive or unnatural way.\n...helpless grief on pallid faces.\n  ADJ\n\n2. You can describe something such as a performance or book as pallid if it is weak or not at all exciting.\n...a pallid account of the future of transport.\n  ADJ


Words: pallor
Meaning:
pal.lor\n   pallor\n  If you refer to the pallor of someone’s face or skin, you mean that it is pale and unhealthy.\nThe deathly pallor of her skin had been replaced by the faintest flush of color...\n  N-SING: usu with supp


Words: pally
Meaning:
pal.ly\n   pally\n  If you are pally with someone, you are friendly with them. (INFORMAL)\n  ADJ: oft ADJ with n


Words: palm
Meaning:
palm  palms  palming  palmed\n1. A palm or a palm tree is a tree that grows in hot countries. It has long leaves growing at the top, and no branches.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. The palm of your hand is the inside part.\nDornberg slapped the table with the palm of his hand...\nHe wiped his sweaty palm.\n  N-COUNT: usu poss N, N of n\n\n3. If you have someone or something in the palm of your hand, you have control over them.\nJohnson thought he had the board of directors in the palm of his hand...\n  PHRASE: Ns inflect


Words: palm off
Meaning:
palm off\n  If you say that someone has palmed something off on you, you feel annoyed because they have made you accept it although it is not valuable or is not your responsibility.\nI couldn’t keep palming her off on friends...\nJoseph made sure that he was never palmed off with inferior stuff.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V n P on n, be V-ed P with n


Words: palm off with
Meaning:
palm off with\n  If you say that you are palmed off with a lie or an excuse, you are annoyed because you are told something in order to stop you asking any more questions. (mainly BRIT)\nMark was palmed off with a series of excuses.\n  PHRASAL VERB: usu passive, be V-ed P with n


Words: palm oil
Meaning:
palm oil\n  Palm oil is a yellow oil which comes from the fruit of certain palm trees and is used in making soap and sometimes as a fat in cooking.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: Palm Sunday
Meaning:
Palm Sun.day\n   Palm Sunday\n  Palm Sunday is the Sunday before Easter. It is the day when Christians remember Jesus Christ’s arrival in Jerusalem a few days before he was killed.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: palmcorder
Meaning:
palm.cord.er\n   palmcorder  palmcorders\n  A palmcorder is a small video camera that you can hold in the palm of your hand.\n  N-COUNT


Words: palmistry
Meaning:
palm.is.try\n   palmistry\n  Palmistry is the practice and art of trying to find out what people are like and what will happen in their future life by examining the lines on the palms of their hands.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: palmtop
Meaning:
palm.top\n   palmtop  palmtops\n  A palmtop is a small computer that you can hold in your hand. (COMPUTING)\n  N-COUNT


Words: palomino
Meaning:
palo.mi.no\n   palomino  palominos\n  A palomino is a horse which is yellowish or cream in colour and has a white tail.\n  N-COUNT


Words: palpable
Meaning:
pal.pable\n   palpable\n  You describe something as palpable when it is obvious or intense and easily noticed.\nThe tension between Amy and Jim is palpable...\n  ADJ\n\n=>  pal.pably\nThe scene was palpably intense to watch.\n  ADV: ADV with cl/group


Words: palpitate
Meaning:
pal.pi.tate\n   palpitate  palpitates  palpitating  palpitated\n1. If someone’s heart palpitates, it beats very fast in an irregular way, because they are frightened or anxious.\nHe felt suddenly faint, and his heart began to palpitate.\n  VERB: V\n\n2. If something palpitates, it shakes or seems to shake. (LITERARY)\nShe lay on the bed, her eyes closed and her bosom palpitating.\n  VERB: V-ing, also V


Words: palpitation
Meaning:
pal.pi.ta.tion\n   palpitation  palpitations\n  When someone has palpitations, their heart beats very fast in an irregular way.\nCaffeine can cause palpitations and headaches.\n  N-VAR


Words: palsy
Meaning:
pal.sy\n   palsy\n  Palsy is a loss of feeling in part of your body.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n  see also cerebral palsy


Words: paltry
Meaning:
pal.try\n   paltry\n  A paltry amount of money or of something else is one that you consider to be very small.\n...a paltry fine of .150...\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n, oft a ADJ amount


Words: pampas
Meaning:
pam.pas\n   pampas\n  The pampas is the large area of flat, grassy land in South America.\n  N-SING: the N


Words: pamper
Meaning:
pam.per\n   pamper  pampers  pampering  pampered\n  If you pamper someone, you make them feel comfortable by doing things for them or giving them expensive or luxurious things, sometimes in a way which has a bad effect on their character.\nWhy don’t you let your mother pamper you for a while?...\nPamper yourself with our luxury gifts...\n  VERB: V n, V pron-refl\n\n=>  pam.pered\n...today’s pampered superstars...\n  ADJ


Words: pamphlet
Meaning:
pam.phlet\n   pamphlet  pamphlets\n  A pamphlet is a very thin book, with a paper cover, which gives information about something.\n  N-COUNT\n  = booklet


Words: pamphleteer
Meaning:
pam.phlet.eer\n   pamphleteer  pamphleteers\n  A pamphleteer is a person who writes pamphlets, especially about political subjects.\n  N-COUNT


Words: pan
Meaning:
pan  pans  panning  panned\n1. A pan is a round metal container with a long handle, which is used for cooking things in, usually on top of a cooker or stove.\nHeat the butter and oil in a large pan.\n  N-COUNT\n  = saucepan\n2. If something such as a film or a book is panned by journalists, they say it is very bad. (INFORMAL)\nHis first high-budget movie, called `Brain Donors’, was panned by the critics.\n  VERB: usu passive, be V-ed\n  = slate\n3. If you pan a film or television camera or if it pans somewhere, it moves slowly round so that a wide area is filmed.\nThe camera panned along the line of players...\nA television camera panned the stadium...\n  VERB: V prep/adv, V n\n\n4. If someone pans for gold, they use a shallow metal container to try to find small pieces of gold from a river.\nPeople came westward in the 1800s to pan for gold...\nEvery year they panned about a ton and a half of gold.\n  VERB: V for n, V n


Words: pan out
Meaning:
pan out\n  If something, for example a project or some information, pans out, it produces something useful or valuable. (INFORMAL)\nNone of Morgan’s proposed financings panned out.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P


Words: pan-
Meaning:
pan-\n  pan- is added to the beginning of adjectives and nouns to form other adjectives and nouns that describe something as being connected with all places or people of a particular kind.\n...a pan-European defence system.\n...the ideology of pan-Arabism.\n  PREFIX


Words: pan-fried
Meaning:
pan-fried\n  Pan-fried food is is food that has been cooked in hot fat or oil in a frying pan.\n  ADJ


Words: panacea
Meaning:
pana.cea\n   panacea  panaceas\n  If you say that something is not a panacea for a particular set of problems, you mean that it will not solve all those problems.\nMembership of the ERM is not a panacea for Britain’s economic problems...\n  N-COUNT: usu with brd-neg


Words: panache
Meaning:
pa.nache\n   panache\n  If you do something with panache, you do it in a confident, stylish, and elegant way.\nThe BBC Symphony Orchestra played with great panache...\n  N-UNCOUNT\n  = flair


Words: panama hat
Meaning:
pana.ma hat\n   panama hat  panama hats\n  A panama hat or a panama is a hat, worn especially by men, that is woven from the leaves of a palm-like plant and worn when it is sunny.\n  N-COUNT


Words: pancake
Meaning:
pan.cake\n   pancake  pancakes\n  A pancake is a thin, flat, circular piece of cooked batter made from milk, flour, and eggs. Pancakes are often rolled up or folded and eaten hot with a sweet or savoury filling inside. In America, pancakes are usually eaten for breakfast, with butter and maple syrup.\n  N-COUNT\n\nflat as a pancake: see flat


Words: Pancake Day
Meaning:
Pan.cake Day\n   Pancake Day\n  Pancake Day is the popular name for Shrove Tuesday. (BRIT)\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: pancake roll
Meaning:
pan.cake roll\n   pancake roll  pancake rolls\n  A pancake roll is an item of Chinese food consisting of a small roll of thin crisp pastry filled with vegetables and sometimes meat.\n  N-COUNT\n  = spring roll


Words: pancreas
Meaning:
pan.cre.as\n   pancreas  pancreases\n  Your pancreas is an organ in your body that is situated behind your stomach. It produces insulin and substances that help your body digest food.\n  N-COUNT


Words: pancreatic
Meaning:
pan.cre.at.ic\n   pancreatic\n  Pancreatic means relating to or involving the pancreas.\n...pancreatic juices.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: panda
Meaning:
pan.da\n   panda  pandas\n  A panda or a giant panda is a large animal rather like a bear, which has black and white fur and lives in the bamboo forests of China.\n  N-COUNT


Words: pandemic
Meaning:
pan.dem.ic\n   pandemic  pandemics\n  A pandemic is an occurrence of a disease that affects many people over a very wide area. (FORMAL)\nThey feared a new cholera pandemic...\n  N-COUNT


Words: pandemonium
Meaning:
pan.de.mo.nium\n   pandemonium\n  If there is pandemonium in a place, the people there are behaving in a very noisy and uncontrolled way.\nThere was pandemonium in court as the judge gave his summing up...\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: pander
Meaning:
pan.der\n   pander  panders  pandering  pandered\n  If you pander to someone or to their wishes, you do everything that they want, often to get some advantage for yourself.\nHe has offended the party’s traditional base by pandering to the rich and the middle classes.\n  VERB: V to n  disapproval


Words: Pandora
Meaning:
Pandora\n  If someone or something opens Pandora’s box or opens a Pandora’s box, they do something that causes a lot of problems to appear that did not exist or were not known about before.\n  PHRASE: V inflects


Words: panegyric
Meaning:
pan.egyr.ic\n   panegyric  panegyrics\n  A panegyric is a speech or piece of writing that praises someone or something. (FORMAL)\n...Prince Charles’s panegyric on rural living.\n  N-COUNT\n  = eulogy


Words: panel
Meaning:
pan.el\n   panel  panels\n1. A panel is a small group of people who are chosen to do something, for example to discuss something in public or to make a decision.\nHe assembled a panel of scholars to advise him...\nThe advisory panel disagreed with the decision.\n  N-COUNT-COLL\n\n2. A panel is a flat rectangular piece of wood or other material that forms part of a larger object such as a door.\n...the frosted glass panel set in the centre of the door.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. A control panel or instrument panel is a board or surface which contains switches and controls to operate a machine or piece of equipment.\nThe equipment was extremely sophisticated and was monitored from a central control-panel...\n  N-COUNT: n N


Words: panelled
Meaning:
pan.elled\n   panelled\nin AM, use paneled\n1. A panelled room has decorative wooden panels covering its walls.\n...a large, comfortable, panelled room...\nThe cheerful room was panelled in pine.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n  -panelled combines with nouns to form adjectives that describe the way a room or wall is decorated or the way a door or window is made.\n...a wood-panelled dining room...\n  COMB in ADJ\n\n2. A panelled wall, door, or window does not have a flat surface but has square or rectangular areas set into its surface.\nThe panelled walls were covered with portraits...\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: panelling
Meaning:
pan.el.ling\n   panelling\nin AM, use paneling\n  Panelling consists of boards or strips of wood covering a wall inside a building.\n...an apartment with oak beams and rosewood panelling.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: panellist
Meaning:
pan.el.list\n   panellist  panellists\nin AM, use panelist\n  A panellist is a person who is a member of a panel and speaks in public, especially on a radio or television programme.\n  N-COUNT


Words: pang
Meaning:
pang  pangs\n  A pang is a sudden strong feeling or emotion, for example of sadness or pain.\nFor a moment she felt a pang of guilt about the way she was treating him.\n  N-COUNT: oft N of n, n N


Words: panhandle
Meaning:
pan.han.dle\n   panhandle  panhandles  panhandling  panhandled\n1. A panhandle is a narrow strip of land joined to a larger area of land. (AM)\n...the Texas panhandle.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If someone panhandles, they stop people in the street and ask them for food or money. (mainly AM INFORMAL; in BRIT, usually use beg)\nMany of these street people seemed to support themselves by panhandling and doing odd jobs...\nThere was also a guy panhandling for quarters.\n  VERB: V, V for n, also V n\n\n=>  pan.han.dling\nSergeant Rivero says arrests for panhandling take place every day.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: panhandler
Meaning:
pan.han.dler\n   panhandler  panhandlers\n  A panhandler is a person who stops people in the street and asks them for food or money. (mainly AM INFORMAL; in BRIT, usually use beggar)\n  N-COUNT


Words: panic
Meaning:
pan.ic\n   panic  panics  panicking  panicked\n1. Panic is a very strong feeling of anxiety or fear, which makes you act without thinking carefully.\nAn earthquake hit the capital, causing panic among the population...\nI phoned the doctor in a panic, crying that I’d lost the baby.\n  N-VAR\n\n2. Panic or a panic is a situation in which people are affected by a strong feeling of anxiety.\nThere was a moment of panic in Britain as it became clear just how vulnerable the nation was...\nI’m in a panic about getting everything done in time...\nThe policy announcement caused panic buying of petrol.\n  N-UNCOUNT: also a N\n\n3. If you panic or if someone panics you, you suddenly feel anxious or afraid, and act quickly and without thinking carefully.\nGuests panicked and screamed when the bomb exploded...\nThe unexpected and sudden memory briefly panicked her...\nShe refused to be panicked into a hasty marriage.\n  VERB: V, V n, be V-ed into n


Words: panic-stricken
Meaning:
panic-stricken\n  If someone is panic-stricken or is behaving in a panic-stricken way, they are so anxious or afraid that they may act without thinking carefully.\nPanic-stricken travellers fled for the borders...\n  ADJ


Words: panicky
Meaning:
pan.icky\n   panicky\n  A panicky feeling or panicky behaviour is characterized by panic.\nMany women feel panicky travelling home at night alone.\n  ADJ


Words: pannier
Meaning:
pan.ni.er\n   pannier  panniers\n1. A pannier is one of two bags or boxes for carrying things in, which are fixed on each side of the back wheel of a bicycle or motorbike.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A pannier is a large basket or bag, usually one of two that are put over an animal and used for carrying loads.\n  N-COUNT


Words: panoply
Meaning:
pano.ply\n   panoply\n  A panoply of things is a wide range of them, especially one that is considered impressive. (FORMAL)\nHe was attended, as are all heads of state, by a full panoply of experts.\n  N-SING: usu N of n\n  = array


Words: panorama
Meaning:
pano.ra.ma\n   panorama  panoramas\n1. A panorama is a view in which you can see a long way over a wide area of land, usually because you are on high ground.\nHorton looked out over a panorama of fertile valleys and gentle hills.\n  N-COUNT: oft N of n\n  = vista\n2. A panorama is a broad view of a state of affairs or of a constantly changing series of events.\nThe play presents a panorama of the history of communism.\n  N-COUNT: usu N of n


Words: panoramic
Meaning:
pano.ram.ic\n   panoramic\n  If you have a panoramic view, you can see a long way over a wide area.\nThe terrain’s high points provide a panoramic view of Los Angeles.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: pansy
Meaning:
pan.sy\n   pansy  pansies\n1. A pansy is a small brightly coloured garden flower with large round petals.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If someone describes a man as a pansy, they mean that he is a homosexual. (INFORMAL, OFFENSIVE, OLD-FASHIONED)\n  N-COUNT


Words: pant
Meaning:
pant  pants  panting  panted\n  If you pant, you breathe quickly and loudly with your mouth open, because you have been doing something energetic.\nShe climbed rapidly until she was panting with the effort.\n  VERB: V\n\n  see also pants


Words: pantaloons
Meaning:
pan.ta.loons\n   pantaloons\n  Pantaloons are long trousers with very wide legs, gathered at the ankle.\n  N-PLURAL


Words: pantheism
Meaning:
pan.theism\n   pantheism\n1. Pantheism is the religious belief that God is in everything in nature and the universe.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. Pantheism is a willingness to worship and believe in all gods.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: pantheistic
Meaning:
pan.theis.tic\n   pantheistic\n  Pantheistic religions involve believing that God is in everything in nature and the universe.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: pantheon
Meaning:
pan.the.on\n   pantheon  pantheons\n  You can refer to a group of gods or a group of important people as a pantheon. (WRITTEN)\n...the birthplace of Krishna, another god of the Hindu pantheon.\n  N-COUNT: oft N of n


Words: panther
Meaning:
pan.ther\n   panther  panthers\n  A panther is a large wild animal that belongs to the cat family. Panthers are usually black.\n  N-COUNT


Words: panties
Meaning:
panties\n  Panties are short, close-fitting underpants worn by women or girls. (mainly AM; in BRIT, usually use pants, knickers)\n  N-PLURAL: also a pair of N


Words: panto
Meaning:
pan.to\n   panto  pantos\n  A panto is the same as a pantomime. (BRIT INFORMAL)\n...a Christmas panto...\n  N-VAR


Words: pantomime
Meaning:
pan.to.mime\n   pantomime  pantomimes\n1. A pantomime is a funny musical play for children. Pantomimes are usually based on fairy stories and are performed at Christmas. (BRIT)\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If you say that a situation or a person’s behaviour is a pantomime, you mean that it is silly or exaggerated and that there is something false about it. (mainly BRIT)\nThey were made welcome with the usual pantomime of exaggerated smiles and gestures...\n  N-SING\n  = farce


Words: pantry
Meaning:
pan.try\n   pantry  pantries\n  A pantry is a small room or large cupboard in a house, usually near the kitchen, where food is kept.\n  N-COUNT\n  = larder


Words: pants
Meaning:
pants\n1. Pants are a piece of underwear which have two holes to put your legs through and elastic around the top to hold them up round your waist or hips. (BRIT; in AM, usually use underpants)\nI put on my bra and pants.\n  N-PLURAL: also a pair of N\n  = knickers\n2. Pants are a piece of clothing that covers the lower part of your body and each leg. (AM; in BRIT, use trousers)\nHe wore brown corduroy pants and a white cotton shirt.\n  N-PLURAL: also a pair of N\n\n3. If you say that something is pants, you mean that it is very poor in quality. (BRIT INFORMAL)\nThe place is pants, yet so popular.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n4. If someone bores, charms, or scares the pants off you, for example, they bore, charm, or scare you a lot. (INFORMAL)\nYou’ll bore the pants off your grandchildren...\n  PHRASE: v PHR  emphasis\n\n5. If you fly by the seat of your pants or do something by the seat of your pants, you use your instincts to tell you what to do in a new or difficult situation rather than following a plan or relying on equipment.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n6.\nto wear the pants: see wear


Words: pantyhose
Meaning:
pan.ty.hose\n   pantyhose   also panty hose\n  Pantyhose are nylon tights worn by women. (mainly AM; in BRIT, usually use tights)\n  N-PLURAL: also a pair of N


Words: pap
Meaning:
pap\n  If you describe something such as information, writing, or entertainment as pap, you mean that you consider it to be of no worth, value, or serious interest.\n  N-UNCOUNT  disapproval\n  = drivel


Words: pap smear
Meaning:
pap smear  pap smears   also pap test\n  A pap smear is a medical test in which cells are taken from a woman’s cervix and analysed to see if any cancer cells are present. (AM; in BRIT, use smear)\n  N-COUNT


Words: papa
Meaning:
papa  papas\n  Some people refer to or address their father as papa. (OLD-FASHIONED)\nHe was so much older than me, older even than my papa.\n  N-FAMILY


Words: papacy
Meaning:
pa.pa.cy\n   papacy   also Papacy\n  The papacy is the position, power, and authority of the Pope, including the period of time that a particular person holds this position.\nThroughout his papacy, John Paul has called for a second evangelization of Europe.\n  N-SING: usu the N


Words: papal
Meaning:
pa.pal\n   papal\n  Papal is used to describe things relating to the Pope.\n...the doctrine of papal infallibility.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: paparazzo
Meaning:
pa.pa.raz.zo\n   paparazzo  paparazzi\n  The paparazzi are photographers who follow famous people around, hoping to take interesting or shocking photographs of them that they can sell to a newspaper.\nThe paparazzi pursue Armani wherever he travels.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl


Words: papaya
Meaning:
pa.pa.ya\n   papaya  papayas\n  A papaya is a fruit with a green skin, sweet yellow flesh, and small black seeds. Papayas grow on trees in hot countries such as the West Indies.\n  N-COUNT\n  = pawpaw


Words: paper
Meaning:
pa.per\n   paper  papers  papering  papered\n1. Paper is a material that you write on or wrap things with. The pages of this book are made of paper.\nHe wrote his name down on a piece of paper for me...\nShe sat at the table with pen and paper.\n...a sheet of pretty wrapping paper.\n...a paper bag.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. A paper is a newspaper.\nI’ll cook and you read the paper.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. You can refer to newspapers in general as the paper or the papers.\nYou can’t believe everything you read in the paper...\n  N-COUNT: the N\n\n4. Your papers are sheets of paper with writing or information on them, which you might keep in a safe place at home.\nHer papers included unpublished articles and correspondence.\n  N-PLURAL: usu with poss\n\n5. Your papers are official documents, for example your passport or identity card, which prove who you are or which give you official permission to do something.\nThey have arrested four people who were trying to leave the country with forged papers.\n  N-PLURAL: usu poss N\n  = identification\n6. A paper is a long, formal piece of writing about an academic subject.\nHe just published a paper in the journal Nature analyzing the fires.\n  N-COUNT\n\n7. A paper is an essay written by a student. (mainly AM)\n...the ten common errors that appear most frequently in student papers.\n  N-COUNT\n\n  see also term paper\n8. A paper is a part of a written examination in which you answer a number of questions in a particular period of time.\nWe sat each paper in the Hall...\n  N-COUNT\n\n9. A paper prepared by a government or a committee is a report on a question they have been considering or a set of proposals for changes in the law.\n...a new government paper on European policy.\n  N-COUNT\n\n  see also Green Paper, White Paper\n10. Paper agreements, qualifications, or profits are ones that are stated by official documents to exist, although they may not really be effective or useful.\nWe’re looking for people who have experience rather than paper qualifications.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n11. If you paper a wall, you put wallpaper on it.\nWe papered all four bedrooms...\nThe room was strange, the walls half papered, half painted.\n  VERB: V n, V-ed\n\n12. If you put your thoughts down on paper, you write them down.\nIt is important to get something down on paper...\n  PHRASE: PHR after v\n\n13. If something seems to be the case on paper, it seems to be the case from what you read or hear about it, but it may not really be the case.\nOn paper, their country is a multi-party democracy...\n  PHRASE\n\n14. If you say that a promise, an agreement, or a guarantee is not worth the paper it’s written on, you mean that although it has been written down and seems to be official, it is in fact worthless because what has been promised will not be done.\n  PHRASE: Vs inflect  disapproval


Words: paper clip
Meaning:
pa.per clip\n   paper clip  paper clips   also paper-clip, paperclip\n  A paper clip is a small piece of bent wire that is used to fasten papers together.\n  N-COUNT


Words: paper knife
Meaning:
pa.per knife\n   paper knife  paper knives   also paper-knife\n  A paper knife is a tool shaped like a knife, which is used for opening envelopes.\n  N-COUNT


Words: paper money
Meaning:
pa.per mon.ey\n   paper money\n  Paper money is money which is made of paper. Paper money is usually worth more than coins.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: paper over
Meaning:
paper over\n  If people paper over a disagreement between them, they find a temporary solution to it in order to give the impression that things are going well.\n...his determination to paper over the cracks in his party and avoid confrontation...\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n


Words: paper round
Meaning:
pa.per round\n   paper round  paper rounds\n  A paper round is a job of delivering newspapers to houses along a particular route. Paper rounds are usually done by children before or after school. (BRIT; in AM, use paper route)\n  N-COUNT


Words: paper route
Meaning:
pa.per route\n   paper route  paper routes\n  A paper route is the same as a paper round. (AM)\n  N-COUNT


Words: paper shop
Meaning:
pa.per shop\n   paper shop  paper shops\n  A paper shop is a shop that sells newspapers and magazines, and also things such as tobacco, sweets, and cards. (BRIT)\n  N-COUNT\n  = newsagent


Words: paper tiger
Meaning:
pa.per ti.ger\n   paper tiger  paper tigers\n  If you say that an institution, a country, or a person is a paper tiger, you mean that although they seem powerful they do not really have any power.\n  N-COUNT


Words: paper trail
Meaning:
pa.per trail\n   paper trail\n  Documents which provide evidence of someone’s activities can be referred to as a paper trail. (mainly AM)\nCriminals are very reluctant to leave a paper trail.\n  N-SING


Words: paper-thin
Meaning:
paper-thin   also paper thin\n  If something is paper-thin, it is very thin.\nCut the onion into paper-thin slices...\n  ADJ


Words: paperback
Meaning:
paper.back\n   paperback  paperbacks\n  A paperback is a book with a thin cardboard or paper cover. Compare hardback.\nShe said she would buy the book when it comes out in paperback.\n  N-COUNT: also in N


Words: paperboy
Meaning:
paper.boy\n   paperboy  paperboys   also paper boy\n  A paperboy is a boy who delivers newspapers to people’s homes.\n  N-COUNT


Words: papergirl
Meaning:
paper.girl\n   papergirl  papergirls   also paper girl\n  A papergirl is a girl who delivers newspapers to people’s homes.\n  N-COUNT


Words: paperless
Meaning:
paper.less\n   paperless\n  Paperless is used to describe business or office work which is done by computer or telephone, rather than by writing things down.\nPaperless trading can save time and money.\n...the paperless office.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: paperweight
Meaning:
paper.weight\n   paperweight  paperweights\n  A paperweight is a small heavy object which you place on papers to prevent them from being disturbed or blown away.\n  N-COUNT


Words: paperwork
Meaning:
paper.work\n   paperwork\n  Paperwork is the routine part of a job which involves writing or dealing with letters, reports, and records.\nAt every stage in the production there will be paperwork.forms to fill in, permissions to obtain, letters to write.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: papery
Meaning:
pa.pery\n   papery\n  Something that is papery is thin and dry like paper.\nLeave each garlic clove in its papery skin.\n  ADJ


Words: papier-mache
Meaning:
papier-mache\n  Papier-mache is a mixture of pieces of paper and glue. It can be made, while still damp, into objects such as bowls, ornaments, and models.\n...papier-mache bowls.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N n


Words: papist
Meaning:
pa.pist\n   papist  papists   also Papist\n  Some Protestants refer to Catholics as Papists. (OFFENSIVE)\n  N-COUNT


Words: paprika
Meaning:
pap.ri.ka\n   paprika\n  Paprika is a red powder used for flavouring meat and other food.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: papyrus
Meaning:
pa.py.rus\n   papyrus  papyri\n1. Papyrus is a tall water plant that grows in Africa.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. Papyrus is a type of paper made from papyrus stems that was used in ancient Egypt, Rome, and Greece.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n3. A papyrus is an ancient document that is written on papyrus.\n  N-COUNT


Words: par
Meaning:
par\n1. If you say that two people or things are on a par with each other, you mean that they are equally good or bad, or equally important.\nParts of Glasgow are on a par with the worst areas of London and Liverpool for burglaries.\n  PHRASE: PHR n/-ing, usu v-link PHR, PHR after v\n\n2. In golf, par is the number of strokes that a good player should take to get the ball into a hole or into all the holes on a particular golf course.\nHe was five under par after the first round.\n  N-UNCOUNT: N with num, under/over N\n\n3. If you say that someone or something is below par or under par, you are disappointed in them because they are below the standard you expected.\nDuffy’s primitive guitar playing is well below par...\n  PHRASE: v-link PHR, PHR after v, PHR n\n\n4. If you say that someone or something is not up to par, you are disappointed in them because they are below the standard you expected.\nHis performance was not up to par...\n  PHRASE: usu with neg, v-link PHR, PHR after v\n\n5. If you feel below par or under par, you feel tired and unable to perform as well as you normally do.\n  PHRASE: usu v-link PHR\n\n6. If you say that something that happens is par for the course, you mean that you are not pleased with it but it is what you expected to happen.\nHe said long hours are par for the course.\n  PHRASE: v-link PHR


Words: par excellence
Meaning:
par ex.cel.lence\n   par excellence\n  You say that something is a particular kind of thing par excellence in order to emphasize that it is a very good example of that kind of thing.\nHe has been a meticulous manager, a manager par excellence.\n  ADJ: n ADJ  emphasis\n\n  Par excellence is also an adverb.\nBresson is par excellence the Catholic film-maker.\n  ADV: ADV after v


Words: para
Meaning:
para  paras\n  A para is a paratrooper. (BRIT INFORMAL)\n...some guys just out of the paras.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl, usu the N


Words: parable
Meaning:
para.ble\n   parable  parables\n  A parable is a short story, which is told in order to make a moral or religious point, like those in the Bible.\n... the parable of the Good Samaritan...\n  N-COUNT: oft N of n


Words: parabola
Meaning:
pa.rabo.la\n   parabola  parabolas\n  A parabola is a type of curve such as the path of something that is thrown up into the air and comes down in a different place. (TECHNICAL)\n  N-COUNT\n  = arc


Words: parabolic
Meaning:
para.bol.ic\n   parabolic\n  A parabolic object or curve is shaped like a parabola.\n...a parabolic mirror.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: paracetamol
Meaning:
pa.ra.ceta.mol\n   paracetamol  paracetamol\n  Paracetamol is a mild drug which reduces pain and fever. (BRIT)\nI often take paracetamol at work if I get a bad headache...\n  N-VAR


Words: parachute
Meaning:
para.chute\n   parachute  parachutes  parachuting  parachuted\n1. A parachute is a device which enables a person to jump from an aircraft and float safely to the ground. It consists of a large piece of thin cloth attached to your body by strings.\nThey fell 41,000 ft. before opening their parachutes...\n  N-COUNT: also by N\n\n2. If a person parachutes or someone parachutes them somewhere, they jump from an aircraft using a parachute.\nHe was a courier for the Polish underground and parachuted into Warsaw...\nHe was parachuted in.\n  VERB: V prep/adv, be V-ed prep/adv\n\n3. To parachute something somewhere means to drop it somewhere by parachute.\nSupplies were parachuted into the mountains.\n  VERB: V n prep/adv\n  = drop


Words: parachuting
Meaning:
para.chut.ing\n   parachuting\n  Parachuting is the activity or sport of jumping from an aircraft with a parachute.\nHis hobby is freefall parachuting.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: parachutist
Meaning:
para.chut.ist\n   parachutist  parachutists\n  A parachutist is a person who jumps from an aircraft using a parachute.\nHe was an experienced parachutist who had done over 150 jumps.\n  N-COUNT


Words: parade
Meaning:
pa.rade\n   parade  parades  parading  paraded\n1. A parade is a procession of people or vehicles moving through a public place in order to celebrate an important day or event.\nA military parade marched slowly and solemnly down Pennsylvania Avenue.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. When people parade somewhere, they walk together in a formal group or a line, usually with other people watching them.\nMore than four thousand soldiers, sailors and airmen paraded down the Champs Elysee...\n  VERB: V prep/adv\n\n3. Parade is a formal occasion when soldiers stand in lines to be seen by an officer or important person, or march in a group.\nHe had them on parade at six o’clock in the morning...\n  N-VAR: oft on N\n\n4. If prisoners are paraded through the streets of a town or on television, they are shown to the public, usually in order to make the people who are holding them seem more powerful or important.\nFive leading fighter pilots have been captured and paraded before the media.\n  VERB: usu passive, be V-ed prep\n\n5. If you say that someone parades a person, you mean that they show that person to others only in order to gain some advantage for themselves.\nChildren are paraded on television alongside the party leaders to win votes.\n  VERB: usu passive, be V-ed\n\n6. If people parade something, they show it in public so that it can be admired.\nValentino is keen to see celebrities parading his clothes at big occasions.\n  VERB: V n\n  = show off\n7. If someone parades, they walk about somewhere in order to be seen and admired.\nI love to put on a bathing suit and parade on the beach...\nThey danced and paraded around.\n  VERB: V prep/adv, V prep/adv\n\n8. If you say that something parades as or is paraded as a good or important thing, you mean that some people say that it is good or important but you think it probably is not.\nThe Chancellor will be able to parade his cut in interest rates as a small victory...\n...all the fashions that parade as modern movements in art.\n  VERB: V n as n, V as n\n\n9. If you talk about a parade of people or things, you mean that there is a series of them that seems never to end.\nWhen I ask Nick about his childhood, he remembers a parade of baby-sitters.\n...an endless parade of advertisements.\n  N-COUNT: N of n\n\n10. A parade is a short row of shops, usually set back from the main street. (BRIT)\n  N-COUNT\n\n11. Parade is used as part of the name of a street.\n...Queens Hotel, Clarence Parade, Southsea.\n  N-IN-NAMES\n\n12.\n  see also hit parade, identity parade


Words: parade ground
Meaning:
pa.rade ground\n   parade ground  parade grounds\n  A parade ground is an area of ground where soldiers practise marching and have parades.\n  N-COUNT


Words: paradigm
Meaning:
para.digm\n   paradigm  paradigms\n1. A paradigm is a model for something which explains it or shows how it can be produced. (FORMAL)\n...a new paradigm of production.\n  N-VAR: usu with supp\n\n2. A paradigm is a clear and typical example of something. (FORMAL)\nHe had become the paradigm of the successful man.\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp


Words: paradigmatic
Meaning:
para.dig.mat.ic\n   paradigmatic\n  You can describe something as paradigmatic if it acts as a model or example for something. (FORMAL)\nTheir great academic success was paraded as paradigmatic.\n  ADJ


Words: paradise
Meaning:
para.dise\n   paradise  paradises\n1. According to some religions, paradise is a wonderful place where people go after they die, if they have led good lives.\nThe Koran describes paradise as a place containing a garden of delight...\n  N-PROPER\n  = heaven\n2. You can refer to a place or situation that seems beautiful or perfect as paradise or a paradise.\n...one of the world’s great natural paradises...\n  N-VAR\n\n3. You can use paradise to say that a place is very attractive to a particular kind of person and has everything they need for a particular activity.\nThe Algarve is a golfer’s paradise...\n  N-COUNT: supp N\n\n  see also fool’s paradise


Words: paradox
Meaning:
para.dox\n   paradox  paradoxes\n1. You describe a situation as a paradox when it involves two or more facts or qualities which seem to contradict each other.\nThe paradox is that the region’s most dynamic economies have the most primitive financial systems...\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A paradox is a statement in which it seems that if one part of it is true, the other part of it cannot be true.\nAlthough I’m so successful I’m really rather a failure. That’s a paradox, isn’t it?\n  N-VAR


Words: paradoxical
Meaning:
para.doxi.cal\n   paradoxical\n  If something is paradoxical, it involves two facts or qualities which seem to contradict each other.\nSome sedatives produce the paradoxical effect of making the person more anxious...\n  ADJ\n\n=>  para.doxi.cal.ly\nParadoxically, the less you have to do the more you may resent the work that does come your way.\n  ADV: usu ADV with cl/group, ADV with v


Words: paraffin
Meaning:
par.af.fin\n   paraffin\n1. Paraffin is a strong-smelling liquid which is used as a fuel in heaters, lamps, and engines. (mainly BRIT; in AM, use kerosene)\n...a paraffin lamp.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. Paraffin wax, or in American English paraffin, is a white wax obtained from petrol or coal. It is used to make candles and in beauty treatments.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: paraglide
Meaning:
para.glide\n   paraglide  paraglides  paragliding  paraglided\n  If a person paraglides, they jump from an aircraft or off a hill or tall building while wearing a special parachute which allows them to control the way they float to the ground.\nThey planned to paraglide from Long Mountain.\n  VERB: V prep, also V\n\n=>  para.glid.ing\nHang gliding and paragliding are allowed from the top of Windy Hill.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: paraglider
Meaning:
para.glid.er\n   paraglider  paragliders\n1. A paraglider is a special type of parachute that you use for paragliding.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A paraglider is a person who paraglides.\n  N-COUNT


Words: paragon
Meaning:
para.gon\n   paragon  paragons\n  If you refer to someone as a paragon, you mean that they are perfect or have a lot of a good quality.\nWe don’t expect candidates to be paragons of virtue.\n  N-COUNT: oft N of n


Words: paragraph
Meaning:
para.graph\n   paragraph  paragraphs\n  A paragraph is a section of a piece of writing. A paragraph always begins on a new line and contains at least one sentence.\nThe length of a paragraph depends on the information it conveys...\n  N-COUNT


Words: parakeet
Meaning:
para.keet\n   parakeet  parakeets   also parrakeet\n  A parakeet is a type of small parrot which is brightly coloured and has a long tail.\n  N-COUNT


Words: paralegal
Meaning:
para.le.gal\n   paralegal  paralegals\n  A paralegal is someone who helps lawyers with their work but is not yet completely qualified as a lawyer. (AM)\n  N-COUNT


Words: parallax
Meaning:
par.al.lax\n   parallax  parallaxes\n  Parallax is when an object appears to change its position because the person or instrument observing it has changed their position. (TECHNICAL)\n  N-VAR


Words: parallel
Meaning:
par.al.lel\n   parallel  parallels  parallelling  parallelled\nin AM, use paralleling, paralleled\n1. If something has a parallel, it is similar to something else, but exists or happens in a different place or at a different time. If it has no parallel or is without parallel, it is not similar to anything else.\nReaders familiar with English history will find a vague parallel to the suppression of the monasteries...\nIt’s an ecological disaster with no parallel anywhere else in the world.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If there are parallels between two things, they are similar in some ways.\nDetailed study of folk music from a variety of countries reveals many close parallels...\nFriends of the dead lawyer were quick to draw a parallel between the two murders.\n  N-COUNT: oft N between/to/with n\n\n3. If one thing parallels another, they happen at the same time or are similar, and often seem to be connected.\nOften there are emotional reasons paralleling the financial ones...\nHis remarks paralleled those of the president.\n  VERB: V n, V n\n  = echo\n4. Parallel events or situations happen at the same time as one another, or are similar to one another.\n...parallel talks between the two countries’ Foreign Ministers...\nTheir instincts do not always run parallel with ours...\n  ADJ: oft ADJ with/to n\n\n5. If two lines, two objects, or two lines of movement are parallel, they are the same distance apart along their whole length.\n...seventy-two ships, drawn up in two parallel lines...\nFarthing Lane’s just above the High Street and parallel with it...\n  ADJ: oft ADJ to/with n\n\n6. A parallel is an imaginary line round the earth that is parallel to the equator. Parallels are shown on maps.\n...the area south of the 38th parallel.\n  N-COUNT: usu the ord N\n\n7. Something that occurs in parallel with something else occurs at the same time as it.\nDavies has managed to pursue his diverse interests in parallel with his fast-moving career...\n  PHRASE: PHR after v, usu PHR with/to n


Words: parallel bars
Meaning:
par.al.lel bars\n   parallel bars\n  Parallel bars consist of a pair of horizontal bars on posts, which are used for doing physical exercises.\n  N-PLURAL


Words: parallel processing
Meaning:
par.al.lel pro.cess.ing\n   parallel processing\n  In computing, parallel processing is a system in which several instructions are carried out at the same time instead of one after the other. (COMPUTING)\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: parallelism
Meaning:
par.al.lel.ism\n   parallelism\n  When there is parallelism between two things, there are similarities between them. (FORMAL)\nThe last thing we should do is make any parallelism between the murderers and their victims.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: parallelogram
Meaning:
par.al.lelo.gram\n   parallelogram  parallelograms\n  A parallelogram is a four-sided shape in which each side is parallel to the side opposite it.\n  N-COUNT


Words: paralyse
Meaning:
para.lyse\n   paralyse  paralyses  paralysing  paralysed\nin AM, use paralyze\n1. If someone is paralysed by an accident or an illness, they have no feeling in their body, or in part of their body, and are unable to move.\nHer married sister had been paralysed in a road accident.\n...a virus which paralysed his legs.\n  VERB: be V-ed, V n\n\n=>  para.lysed\nThe disease left him with a paralysed right arm.\n  ADJ\n\n2. If a person, place, or organization is paralysed by something, they become unable to act or function properly.\nFor weeks now the government has been paralysed by indecision...\nThe strike has virtually paralysed the island.\n  VERB: be V-ed, V n\n\n=>  para.lysed\nHe was absolutely paralysed with shock.\n  ADJ\n\n=>  para.lys.ing\n...paralysing shyness.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: paralysis
Meaning:
pa.raly.sis\n   paralysis\n1. Paralysis is the loss of the ability to move and feel in all or part of your body.\n...paralysis of the leg.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. Paralysis is the state of being unable to act or function properly.\nThe paralysis of the leadership leaves the army without its supreme command.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: paralytic
Meaning:
para.lyt.ic\n   paralytic\n1. Paralytic means suffering from or related to paralysis.\n...paralytic disease.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n2. Someone who is paralytic is very drunk. (BRIT INFORMAL)\nBy the end of the evening they were all absolutely paralytic.\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ


Words: paramedic
Meaning:
para.med.ic\n   paramedic  paramedics\n  A paramedic is a person whose training is similar to that of a nurse and who helps to do medical work.\nWe intend to have a paramedic on every ambulance within the next three years.\n  N-COUNT


Words: paramedical
Meaning:
para.medi.cal\n   paramedical\n  Paramedical workers and services help doctors and nurses in medical work.\n...doctors and paramedical staff.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: parameter
Meaning:
pa.ram.eter\n   parameter  parameters\n  Parameters are factors or limits which affect the way that something can be done or made. (FORMAL)\nThat would be enough to make sure we fell within the parameters of our loan agreement.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl


Words: paramilitary
Meaning:
para.mili.tary\n   paramilitary  paramilitaries\n1. A paramilitary organization is organized like an army and performs either civil or military functions in a country.\nSearches by the army and paramilitary forces have continued today...\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n  Paramilitaries are members of a paramilitary organization.\nParamilitaries and army recruits patrolled the village...\n  N-COUNT: usu pl\n\n2. A paramilitary organization is an illegal group that is organized like an army.\n...a law which said that all paramilitary groups must be disarmed...\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n  Paramilitaries are members of an illegal paramilitary organization.\nLoyalist paramilitaries were blamed for the shooting.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl


Words: paramount
Meaning:
para.mount\n   paramount\n  Something that is paramount or of paramount importance is more important than anything else.\nThe child’s welfare must be seen as paramount...\n  ADJ


Words: paramour
Meaning:
par.amour\n   paramour  paramours\n  Someone’s paramour is their lover. (OLD-FASHIONED)\n  N-COUNT: oft poss N


Words: paranoia
Meaning:
para.noia\n   paranoia\n1. If you say that someone suffers from paranoia, you think that they are too suspicious and afraid of other people.\nThe mood is one of paranoia and expectation of war.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. In psychology, if someone suffers from paranoia, they wrongly believe that other people are trying to harm them, or believe themselves to be much more important than they really are.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: paranoid
Meaning:
para.noid\n   paranoid  paranoids\n1. If you say that someone is paranoid, you mean that they are extremely suspicious and afraid of other people.\nI’m not going to get paranoid about it.\n...a paranoid politician who saw enemies all around him.\n  ADJ\n\n2. Someone who is paranoid suffers from the mental illness of paranoia.\n...paranoid delusions.\n...a paranoid schizophrenic.\n  ADJ\n\n  A paranoid is someone who is paranoid.\n  N-COUNT


Words: paranormal
Meaning:
para.nor.mal\n   paranormal\n  A paranormal event or power, for example the appearance of a ghost, cannot be explained by scientific laws and is thought to involve strange, unknown forces.\nScience may be able to provide some explanations of paranormal phenomena.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n  You can refer to paranormal events and matters as the paranormal.\nWe have been looking at the shadowy world of the paranormal.\n  N-SING: the N


Words: parapet
Meaning:
para.pet\n   parapet  parapets\n1. A parapet is a low wall along the edge of something high such as a bridge or roof.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If you say that someone puts their head above the parapet, you mean they take a risk. If you say they keep their head below the parapet, you mean they avoid taking a risk. (BRIT)\n  PHRASE: V and head inflect


Words: paraphernalia
Meaning:
para.pher.na.lia\n   paraphernalia\n1. You can refer to a large number of objects that someone has with them or that are connected with a particular activity as paraphernalia.\n...a large courtyard full of builders’ paraphernalia...\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. If you disapprove of the things and events that are involved in a particular system or activity, and you think they are unnecessary, you can refer to them as paraphernalia.\nThe public don’t necessarily want the paraphernalia of a full hearing.\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu with supp, oft N of n  disapproval


Words: paraphrase
Meaning:
para.phrase\n   paraphrase  paraphrases  paraphrasing  paraphrased\n1. If you paraphrase someone or paraphrase something that they have said or written, you express what they have said or written in a different way.\nParents, to paraphrase Philip Larkin, can seriously damage your health...\nI’m paraphrasing but this is honestly what he said.\n  VERB: V n, V\n\n2. A paraphrase of something written or spoken is the same thing expressed in a different way.\n  N-COUNT: oft N of n


Words: paraplegia
Meaning:
para.plegia\n   paraplegia\n  Paraplegia is the condition of being unable to move the lower half of your body. (MEDICAL)\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: paraplegic
Meaning:
para.plegic\n   paraplegic  paraplegics\n  A paraplegic is someone who cannot move the lower half of their body, for example because of an injury to their spine.\n  N-COUNT\n\n  Paraplegic is also an adjective.\nA passenger was injured so badly he will be paraplegic for the rest of his life.\n  ADJ


Words: parapsychology
Meaning:
para.psy.chol.ogy\n   parapsychology\n  Parapsychology is the study of strange mental abilities that seem to exist but cannot be explained by accepted scientific theories.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: paraquat
Meaning:
para.quat\n   paraquat\n  Paraquat is a very poisonous substance that is used to kill weeds. (TRADEMARK)\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: parasite
Meaning:
para.site\n   parasite  parasites\n1. A parasite is a small animal or plant that lives on or inside a larger animal or plant, and gets its food from it.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If you disapprove of someone because you think that they get money or other things from other people but do not do anything in return, you can call them a parasite.\n  N-COUNT  disapproval


Words: parasitic
Meaning:
para.sit.ic\n   parasitic   also parasitical\n1. Parasitic diseases are caused by parasites.\nWill global warming mean the spread of tropical parasitic diseases?\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n2. Parasitic animals and plants live on or inside larger animals or plants and get their food from them.\n...tiny parasitic insects.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n3. If you describe a person or organization as parasitic, you mean that they get money or other things from people without doing anything in return.\n  ADJ  disapproval


Words: parasol
Meaning:
para.sol\n   parasol  parasols\n  A parasol is an object like an umbrella that provides shade from the sun.\n  N-COUNT\n  = sunshade


Words: paratrooper
Meaning:
para.troop.er\n   paratrooper  paratroopers\n  Paratroopers are soldiers who are trained to be dropped by parachute into battle or into enemy territory.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl


Words: paratroops
Meaning:
para.troops\n   paratroops\n  Paratroops are soldiers who are trained to be dropped by parachute into battle or into enemy territory.\nThe airport is in the hands of French paratroops.\n  N-PLURAL\n  The form paratroop is used as a modifier.


Words: parboil
Meaning:
par.boil\n   parboil  parboils  parboiling  parboiled\n  If you parboil food, especially vegetables, you boil it until it is partly cooked.\nRoughly chop and parboil the potatoes.\n  VERB: V n


Words: parcel
Meaning:
par.cel\n   parcel  parcels\n1. A parcel is something wrapped in paper, usually so that it can be sent to someone by post. (mainly BRIT; in AM, usually use package)\n...parcels of food and clothing...\nHe had a large brown paper parcel under his left arm.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A parcel of land is a piece of land.\nThese small parcels of land were purchased for the most part by local people.\n  N-COUNT: N of n\n\n3. If you say that something is part and parcel of something else, you are emphasizing that it is involved or included in it.\nPayment was part and parcel of carrying on insurance business within the UK...\n  PHRASE: v-link PHR, usu PHR of n  emphasis


Words: parcel bomb
Meaning:
par.cel bomb\n   parcel bomb  parcel bombs\n  A parcel bomb is a small bomb which is sent in a parcel through the post and which is designed to explode when the parcel is opened. (BRIT)\n  N-COUNT


Words: parched
Meaning:
parched\n1. If something, especially the ground or a plant, is parched, it is very dry, because there has been no rain.\n...a hill of parched brown grass.\n  ADJ\n\n2. If your mouth, throat, or lips are parched, they are unpleasantly dry.\n  ADJ\n\n3. If you say that you are parched, you mean that you are very thirsty. (INFORMAL)\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ


Words: parchment
Meaning:
parch.ment\n   parchment  parchments\n1. In former times, parchment was the skin of a sheep or goat that was used for writing on.\n...old manuscripts written on parchment.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. Parchment is a kind of thick yellowish paper.\n...an old lamp with a parchment shade...\nCover with a sheet of non-stick baking parchment.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: pardon
Meaning:
par.don\n   pardon  pardons  pardoning  pardoned\n1. You say `Pardon?’ or `I beg your pardon?’ or, in American English, `Pardon me?’ when you want someone to repeat what they have just said because you have not heard or understood it. (SPOKEN)\n`Will you let me open it?’.`Pardon?’.`Can I open it?’...\n  CONVENTION  formulae\n\n2. People say `I beg your pardon?’ when they are surprised or offended by something that someone has just said. (SPOKEN)\n`Would you get undressed, please?’.`I beg your pardon?’.`Will you get undressed?’\n  CONVENTION  feelings\n\n3. You say `I beg your pardon’ or `I do beg your pardon’ as a way of apologizing for accidentally doing something wrong, such as disturbing someone or making a mistake. (SPOKEN)\nI was impolite and I do beg your pardon...\n  CONVENTION  formulae\n\n4. Some people say `Pardon me’ instead of `Excuse me’ when they want to politely get someone’s attention or interrupt them. (mainly BRIT SPOKEN; in AM, use excuse me)\nPardon me, are you finished, madam?\n  CONVENTION  formulae\n\n5. You can say things like `Pardon me for asking’ or `Pardon my frankness’ as a way of showing you understand that what you are going to say may sound rude. (SPOKEN)\nThat, if you’ll pardon my saying so, is neither here nor there.\n  CONVENTION  politeness\n\n6. Some people say things like `If you’ll pardon the expression’ or `Pardon my French’ just before or after saying something which they think might offend people. (SPOKEN)\nIt’s enough to make you wet yourself, if you’ll pardon the expression.\n  CONVENTION  formulae\n\n7. If someone who has been found guilty of a crime is pardoned, they are officially allowed to go free and are not punished.\nHundreds of political prisoners were pardoned and released.\n  VERB: usu passive, be V-ed\n\n  Pardon is also a noun.\nHe was granted a presidential pardon.\n  N-COUNT


Words: pardonable
Meaning:
par.don.able\n   pardonable\n  You describe someone’s action or attitude as pardonable if you think it is wrong but you understand why they did that action or have that attitude.\n`I have’, he remarked with pardonable pride, `done what I set out to do.’\n  ADJ


Words: pare
Meaning:
pare  pares  paring  pared\n1. When you pare something, or pare part of it off or away, you cut off its skin or its outer layer.\nPare the brown skin from the meat with a very sharp knife...\nHe took out a slab of cheese, pared off a slice and ate it hastily.\n...thinly pared lemon rind.\n  VERB: V n from n, V n with adv, V-ed\n\n  see also paring\n2. If you pare something down or back, or if you pare it, you reduce it.\nThe number of Ministries has been pared down by a third...\nThe luxury tax won’t really do much to pare down the budget deficit...\nLocal authorities must pare their budgets.\n  VERB: be V-ed adv, V n with adv, V n


Words: pared-down
Meaning:
pared-down\n  If you describe something as pared-down, you mean that it has no unnecessary features, and has been reduced to a very simple form.\nHer style is pared-down and simple...\n  ADJ\n  !=elaborate


Words: parent
Meaning:
par.ent\n   parent  parents\n1. Your parents are your mother and father.\nChildren need their parents...\nWhen you become a parent the things you once cared about seem to have less value.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl\n\n  see also foster parent, one-parent family, single parent\n2. An organization’s parent organization is the organization that created it and usually still controls it.\nEach unit including the parent company has its own, local management.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: parent-teacher association
Meaning:
parent-teacher as.so.cia.tion\n   parent-teacher association  parent-teacher associations\n  A parent-teacher association is the same as a PTA.\n  N-COUNT


Words: parentage
Meaning:
par.ent.age\n   parentage\n  Your parentage is the identity and origins of your parents. For example, if you are of Greek parentage, your parents are Greek.\nShe’s a Londoner of mixed parentage (English and Jamaican)...\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft of adj N


Words: parental
Meaning:
pa.ren.tal\n   parental\n  Parental is used to describe something that relates to parents in general, or to one or both of the parents of a particular child.\nMedical treatment was sometimes given to children without parental consent...\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: parental leave
Meaning:
pa.ren.tal leave\n\n  Parental leave is time away from work, usually without pay, that parents are allowed in order to look after their children. (BUSINESS)\nParents are entitled to 13 weeks’ parental leave.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: parenthesis
Meaning:
pa.ren.thesis\n   parenthesis  parentheses\n1. Parentheses are a pair of curved marks that you put around words or numbers to indicate that they are additional, separate, or less important. (This sentence is in parentheses.)\n  N-COUNT: usu pl\n  = bracket\n2. A parenthesis is a remark that is made in the middle of a piece of speech or writing, and which gives a little more information about the subject being discussed.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. You say `in parenthesis’ to indicate that you are about to add something before going back to the main topic.\n  PHRASE: PHR cl


Words: parenthetical
Meaning:
par.en.the.ti.cal\n   parenthetical\n  A parenthetical remark or section is put into something written or spoken but is not essential to it.\nFox was making a long parenthetical remark about his travels on the border of the country.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n=>  par.en.the.ti.cal.ly\nWell, parenthetically, I was trying to quit smoking at the time...\nAnd what, we may ask parenthetically, does it mean?\n  ADV: ADV with cl, ADV with v, ADV adj


Words: parenthood
Meaning:
par.ent.hood\n   parenthood\n  Parenthood is the state of being a parent.\nShe may feel unready for the responsibilities of parenthood.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: parenting
Meaning:
par.ent.ing\n   parenting\n  Parenting is the activity of bringing up and looking after your child.\nParenting is not fully valued by society.\n...parenting classes.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N n


Words: pariah
Meaning:
pa.ri.ah\n   pariah  pariahs\n  If you describe someone as a pariah, you mean that other people dislike them so much that they refuse to associate with them.\nHis landlady had treated him like a dangerous criminal, a pariah.\n  N-COUNT  disapproval\n  = outcast


Words: paring
Meaning:
par.ing\n   paring  parings\n  Parings are thin pieces that have been cut off things such as a fingernails, fruit, or vegetables.\n...nail parings.\n...vegetable parings.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl


Words: parish
Meaning:
par.ish\n   parish  parishes\n1. A parish is a village or part of a town which has its own church and priest.\n...the parish of St Mark’s, Lakenham...\n...a 13th century parish church.\n  N-COUNT: oft N n\n\n2. A parish is a small country area in England which has its own elected council.\n...elected representatives, such as County and Parish Councillors.\n  N-COUNT: usu N n


Words: parishioner
Meaning:
pa.rish.ion.er\n   parishioner  parishioners\n  A priest’s parishioners are the people who live in his or her parish, especially the ones who go to his or her church.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl


Words: Parisian
Meaning:
Pa.ris.ian\n   Parisian  Parisians\n1. Parisian means belonging or relating to Paris.\n...Parisian fashion.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n2. A Parisian is a person who comes from Paris.\n  N-COUNT


Words: parity
Meaning:
par.ity\n   parity\n1. If there is parity between two things, they are equal. (FORMAL)\nWomen have yet to achieve wage or occupational parity in many fields...\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. If there is parity between the units of currency of two countries, the exchange rate is such that the units are equal to each other. (TECHNICAL)\nThe government was ready to let the pound sink to parity with the dollar if necessary.\n  N-VAR


Words: park
Meaning:
park  parks  parking  parked\n1. A park is a public area of land with grass and trees, usually in a town, where people go in order to relax and enjoy themselves.\n...Regent’s Park...\nThey stopped and sat on a park bench.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. When you park a vehicle or park somewhere, you drive the vehicle into a position where it can stay for a period of time, and leave it there.\nGreenfield turned into the next side street and parked...\nHe found a place to park the car...\nBen parked across the street.\n...rows of parked cars.\n  VERB: V, V n, V prep/adv, V-ed\n\n  see also double-park\n3. You can refer to a place where a particular activity is carried out as a park.\n...a science and technology park.\n...a business park.\n  N-COUNT: supp N\n\n4. A private area of grass and trees around a large country house is referred to as a park. (BRIT)\n...a 19th century manor house in six acres of park and woodland.\n  N-VAR\n\n5.\n  see also parked, amusement park, ballpark, car park, national park, safari park, theme park


Words: park-keeper
Meaning:
park-keeper  park-keepers   also park keeper\n  A park-keeper is a person whose job is to look after a park. (mainly BRIT)\n  N-COUNT


Words: parka
Meaning:
par.ka\n   parka  parkas\n  A parka is a jacket or coat which has a thick lining and a hood with fur round the edge.\n  N-COUNT


Words: parked
Meaning:
parked\n  If you are parked somewhere, you have parked your car there.\nMy sister was parked down the road...\nWe’re parked out front.\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ


Words: parking
Meaning:
park.ing\n   parking\n1. Parking is the action of moving a vehicle into a place in a car park or by the side of the road where it can be left.\nIn many towns parking is allowed only on one side of the street...\nI knew I’d never find a parking space in the Square.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. Parking is space for parking a vehicle in.\nCars allowed, but parking is limited.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: parking garage
Meaning:
park.ing gar.age\n   parking garage  parking garages\n  A parking garage is a building where people can leave their cars. (AM; in BRIT, use car park, multi-storey car park)\n...a multi-level parking garage.\n  N-COUNT


Words: parking light
Meaning:
park.ing light\n   parking light  parking lights\n  The parking lights on a vehicle are the small lights at the front that help other drivers to notice the vehicle and to judge its width. (AM; in BRIT, use sidelights)\n  N-COUNT


Words: parking lot
Meaning:
park.ing lot\n   parking lot  parking lots\n  A parking lot is an area of ground where people can leave their cars. (AM; in BRIT, use car park)\nA block up the street I found a parking lot.\n  N-COUNT


Words: parking meter
Meaning:
park.ing me.ter\n   parking meter  parking meters\n  A parking meter is a device which you have to put money into when you park in a parking space.\n  N-COUNT\n  = meter


Words: parking ticket
Meaning:
park.ing tick.et\n   parking ticket  parking tickets\n  A parking ticket is a piece of paper with instructions to pay a fine, and is put on your car when you have parked it somewhere illegally.\n  N-COUNT


Words: parkland
Meaning:
park.land\n   parkland  parklands\n  Parkland is land with grass and trees on it.\nIts beautiful gardens and parkland are also open to the public...\n  N-UNCOUNT: also N in pl


Words: parkway
Meaning:
park.way\n   parkway  parkways\n  A parkway is a wide road with trees and grass on both sides. (mainly AM)\n  N-COUNT


Words: parlance
Meaning:
par.lance\n   parlance\n  You use parlance when indicating that the expression you are using is normally used by a particular group of people. (FORMAL)\nThe phrase is common diplomatic parlance for spying.\n  N-UNCOUNT: supp N, usu in N


Words: parley
Meaning:
par.ley\n   parley  parleys  parleying  parleyed\n1. A parley is a discussion between two opposing people or groups in which both sides try to come to an agreement. (OLD-FASHIONED)\n  N-VAR\n\n2. When two opposing people or groups parley, they meet to discuss something in order to come to an agreement. (HUMOROUS or INFORMAL)\n...a place where we meet and parley...\nI don’t think you’ve ever tried parleying with Gleed, have you?\n  V-RECIP: V, V with n


Words: parliament
Meaning:
par.lia.ment\n   parliament  parliaments   also Parliament\n1. The parliament of some countries, for example Britain, is the group of people who make or change its laws, and decide what policies the country should follow.\nParliament today approved the policy, but it has not yet become law.\n  N-COUNT; N-PROPER\n\n  see also Houses of Parliament, Member of Parliament\n2. A particular parliament is a particular period of time in which a parliament is doing its work, between two elections or between two periods of holiday.\nThe legislation is expected to be passed in the next parliament.\n  N-COUNT


Words: parliamentarian
Meaning:
par.lia.men.tar.ian\n   parliamentarian  parliamentarians\n1. Parliamentarians are Members of a Parliament; used especially to refer to a group of Members of Parliament who are dealing with a particular task.\nHe’s been meeting with British parliamentarians and government officials.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A parliamentarian is a Member of Parliament who is an expert on the rules and procedures of Parliament and takes an active part in debates.\nHe is a veteran parliamentarian whose views enjoy widespread respect.\n  N-COUNT


Words: parliamentary
Meaning:
par.lia.men.ta.ry\n   parliamentary\n  Parliamentary is used to describe things that are connected with a parliament or with Members of Parliament.\nHe used his influence to make sure she was not selected as a parliamentary candidate.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: parlour
Meaning:
par.lour\n   parlour  parlours\nin AM, use parlor\n  Parlour is used in the names of some types of shops which provide a service, rather than selling things.\n...a funeral parlour.\n...a notorious massage parlour.\n  N-COUNT: n N


Words: parlour game
Meaning:
par.lour game\n   parlour game  parlour games\nin AM, use parlor game\n  A parlour game is a game that is played indoors by families or at parties, for example a guessing game or word game.\n  N-COUNT


Words: parlourmaid
Meaning:
par.lour.maid\n   parlourmaid  parlourmaids\nin AM, use parlormaid\n  In former times, a parlourmaid was a female servant in a private house whose job involved serving people at table.\n  N-COUNT


Words: parlous
Meaning:
par.lous\n   parlous\n  If something is in a parlous state, it is in a bad or dangerous condition. (FORMAL)\n...the parlous state of our economy.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  = dire


Words: Parmesan
Meaning:
Par.me.san\n   Parmesan   also parmesan\n  Parmesan or Parmesan cheese is a hard cheese with a strong flavour which is often used in Italian cooking.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: parochial
Meaning:
pa.ro.chial\n   parochial\n  If you describe someone as parochial, you are critical of them because you think they are too concerned with their own affairs and should be thinking about more important things.\n  ADJ  disapproval\n  = insular


Words: parochialism
Meaning:
pa.ro.chi.al.ism\n   parochialism\n  Parochialism is the quality of being parochial in your attitude.\nWe have been guilty of parochialism, of resistance to change.\n  N-UNCOUNT  disapproval


Words: parody
Meaning:
paro.dy\n   parody  parodies  parodying  parodied\n1. A parody is a humorous piece of writing, drama, or music which imitates the style of a well-known person or represents a familiar situation in an exaggerated way.\n`The Scarlet Capsule’ was a parody of the popular 1959 TV series `The Quatermass Experiment’...\n  N-VAR: oft N of n\n\n2. When someone parodies a particular work, thing, or person, they imitate it in an amusing or exaggerated way.\n...a sketch parodying the views of Jean-Marie Le Pen...\n  VERB: V n\n\n3. When you say that something is a parody of a particular thing, you are criticizing it because you think it is a very poor example or bad imitation of that thing.\nThe first trial was a parody of justice.\n  N-COUNT: usu N of n  disapproval\n  = travesty


Words: parole
Meaning:
pa.role\n   parole  paroles  paroling  paroled\n1. If a prisoner is given parole, he or she is released before the official end of their prison sentence and has to promise to behave well.\nAlthough sentenced to life, he will become eligible for parole after serving 10 years.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n  If a prisoner is on parole, he or she is released before the official end of their prison sentence and will not be sent back to prison if their behaviour is good.\nIf released, he will continue to be on parole for eight more years.\n  PHRASE: usu v-link PHR\n\n2. If a prisoner is paroled, he or she is given parole.\nHe faces at most 12 years in prison and could be paroled after eight years.\n  VERB: usu passive, be V-ed


Words: paroxysm
Meaning:
par.ox.ysm\n   paroxysm  paroxysms\n1. A paroxysm of emotion is a sudden, very strong occurrence of it.\nHe exploded in a paroxysm of rage.\n  N-COUNT: usu N of n\n  = fit\n2. A paroxysm is a series of sudden, violent, uncontrollable movements that your body makes because you are coughing, laughing, or in great pain.\nHe broke into a paroxysm of coughing.\n  N-COUNT: usu N of n/-ing\n  = spasm


Words: parquet
Meaning:
par.quet\n   parquet\n  Parquet is a floor covering made of small rectangular blocks of wood fitted together in a pattern.\n...the polished parquet floors.\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu N n


Words: parrot
Meaning:
par.rot\n   parrot  parrots  parroting  parroted\n1. A parrot is a tropical bird with a curved beak and brightly-coloured or grey feathers. Parrots can be kept as pets. Some parrots are able to copy what people say.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If you disapprove of the fact that someone is just repeating what someone else has said, often without really understanding it, you can say that they are parroting it.\nGenerations of students have learnt to parrot the standard explanations.\n  VERB: V n  disapproval\n  = repeat


Words: parrot-fashion
Meaning:
parrot-fashion   also parrot fashion\n  If you learn or repeat something parrot-fashion, you do it accurately but without really understanding what it means. (BRIT)\nUnder the old system pupils often had to stand to attention and repeat lessons parrot fashion.\n  ADV: ADV after v\n  = by rote


Words: parry
Meaning:
par.ry\n   parry  parries  parrying  parried\n1. If you parry a question or argument, you cleverly avoid answering it or dealing with it.\nIn an awkward press conference, Mr King parried questions on the allegations.\n  VERB: V n\n  = counter\n2. If you parry a blow from someone who is attacking you, you push aside their arm or weapon so that you are not hurt.\nI did not want to wound him, but to restrict myself to defence, to parry his attacks...\nI parried, and that’s when my sword broke.\n  VERB: V n, V\n  = deflect


Words: parse
Meaning:
parse  parses  parsing  parsed\n  In grammar, if you parse a sentence, you examine each word and clause in order to work out what grammatical type each one is. (TECHNICAL)\n  VERB: V n


Words: parsimonious
Meaning:
par.si.mo.ni.ous\n   parsimonious\n  Someone who is parsimonious is very unwilling to spend money. (FORMAL)\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n  disapproval


Words: parsimony
Meaning:
par.si.mo.ny\n   parsimony\n  Parsimony is extreme unwillingness to spend money. (FORMAL)\nDue to official parsimony only the one machine was built.\n  N-UNCOUNT  disapproval


Words: parsley
Meaning:
pars.ley\n   parsley\n  Parsley is a small plant with curly leaves that are used for flavouring or decorating savoury food.\n...parsley sauce.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: parson
Meaning:
par.son\n   parson  parsons\n  A parson is a priest in the Church of England with responsibility for a small local area, or can be used to refer to any clergyman in some other churches. (OLD-FASHIONED)\n  N-COUNT


Words: parsonage
Meaning:
par.son.age\n   parsonage  parsonages\n  A parsonage is the house where a parson lives. (OLD-FASHIONED)\n  N-COUNT


Words: part
Meaning:
VERB USES\n   part  parts  parting  parted\n\nPlease look at category 5 to see if the expression you are looking for is shown under another headword.\n1. If things that are next to each other part or if you part them, they move in opposite directions, so that there is a space between them.\nHer lips parted as if she were about to take a deep breath...\nHe crossed to the window of the sitting-room and parted the curtains.\n  VERB: V, V n\n  = open\n2. If you part your hair in the middle or at one side, you make it lie in two different directions so that there is a straight line running from the front of your head to the back.\nPicking up a brush, Joanna parted her hair...\nHis hair was slicked back and neatly parted.\n  VERB: V n, V-ed\n\n3. When two people part, or if one person parts from another, they leave each other. (FORMAL)\nHe gave me the envelope and we parted...\nHe has confirmed he is parting from his Swedish-born wife Eva.\n  V-RECIP: pl-n V, V from n\n\n4. If you are parted from someone you love, you are prevented from being with them.\nI don’t believe Lotte and I will ever be parted...\nA stay in hospital may be the first time a child is ever parted from its parents.\n  V-RECIP: pl-n be V-ed, be V-ed from n\n  = separated\n5.\nto part company: see company\n  see also parting\n\nNOUN USES, QUANTIFIER USES, AND PHRASES\n   part  parts\n\nPlease look at category 18 to see if the expression you are looking for is shown under another headword.\n1. A part of something is one of the pieces, sections, or elements that it consists of.\nI like that part of Cape Town...\nRespect is a very important part of any relationship.\n  N-COUNT: usu N of n\n\n2. A part for a machine or vehicle is one of the smaller pieces that is used to make it.\n...spare parts for military equipment...\n  N-COUNT\n  = component\n3. Part of something is some of it.\nIt was a very severe accident and he lost part of his foot...\nMum and he were able to walk part of the way together...\n  QUANT: QUANT of sing-n-uncount\n\n4. If you say that something is part one thing, part another, you mean that it is to some extent the first thing and to some extent the second thing.\nThe television producer today has to be part news person, part educator...\n  ADV: ADV n, ADV adj\n  = half\n5. You can use part when you are talking about the proportions of substances in a mixture. For example, if you are told to use five parts water to one part paint, the mixture should contain five times as much water as paint.\nUse turpentine and linseed oil, three parts to two.\n  N-COUNT\n\n6. A part in a play or film is one of the roles in it which an actor or actress can perform.\nAlf Sjoberg offered her a large part in the play he was directing...\nHe was just right for the part.\n  N-COUNT\n  = role\n7. Your part in something that happens is your involvement in it.\nIf only he could conceal his part in the accident...\n  N-SING: poss N in n\n  = involvement\n8. If something or someone is part of a group or organization, they belong to it or are included in it.\nI was a part of the team and wanted to remain a part of the team.\n  N-UNCOUNT: also a N, N of n\n\n9. The part in someone’s hair is the line running from the front to the back of their head where their hair lies in different directions. (AM; in BRIT, use parting)\n  N-COUNT\n\n10.\n  see also private parts\n11. If something or someone plays a large or important part in an event or situation, they are very involved in it and have an important effect on what happens.\nThese days work plays an important part in a single woman’s life...\n  PHRASE: V inflects, oft PHR in n/-ing\n\n12. If you take part in an activity, you do it together with other people.\nThousands of students have taken part in demonstrations.\n  PHRASE: V inflects, usu PHR in n/-ing\n\n13. When you are describing people’s thoughts or actions, you can say for her part or for my part, for example, to introduce what a particular person thinks or does. (FORMAL)\nFor my part, I feel elated and close to tears...\n  PHRASE: PHR with cl\n\n14. If you talk about a feeling or action on someone’s part, you are referring to something that they feel or do.\nThere is no need for any further instructions on my part...\n  PHRASE: PHR with cl/group\n\n15. For the most part means mostly or usually.\nProfessors, for the most part, are firmly committed to teaching, not research.\n  PHRASE: PHR with cl\n  = by and large\n16. You use in part to indicate that something exists or happens to some extent but not completely. (FORMAL)\nThe levels of blood glucose depend in part on what you eat and when you eat...\n  PHRASE: PHR with cl/group\n  = partly\n17. If you say that something happened for the best part or the better part of a period of time, you mean that it happened for most of that time.\nHe had been in Israel for the best part of twenty-four hours...\n  PHRASE: PHR n\n  = most of\n18.\npart and parcel: see parcel


Words: part exchange
Meaning:
part ex.change\n   part exchange   also part-exchange\n  If you give an old item in part exchange for something you are buying, the seller accepts the old item as part of the payment, so you do not have to give them as much money. (BRIT)\nElectrical retailers will often take away old appliances if you buy a new one, sometimes in part-exchange.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft in N


Words: part of speech
Meaning:
part of speech  parts of speech\n  A part of speech is a particular grammatical class of word, for example noun, adjective, or verb.\n  N-COUNT


Words: part way
Meaning:
part way   also part-way\n  Part way means part of the way or partly.\nLocal authorities will run out of money part way through the financial year...\nShe was on the hillside, part way up...\nIt might go part way to repaying the debt.\n  ADV: ADV after v, ADV prep/adv


Words: part with
Meaning:
part with\n  If you part with something that is valuable or that you would prefer to keep, you give it or sell it to someone else.\nBuyers might require further assurances before parting with their cash...\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n


Words: part-
Meaning:
part-\n  Part- combines with adjectives, nouns, and verbs to mean partly but not completely. (BRIT)\n...part-baked breads and rolls...\nSome associations provide homes to buy or part-buy.\n  PREFIX


Words: part-time
Meaning:
part-time\n  If someone is a part-time worker or has a part-time job, they work for only part of each day or week.\nMany businesses are cutting back by employing lower-paid part-time workers...\nI’m part-time. I work three days a week.\n  ADJ\n  The adverb is also spelled part time.\n  !=full-time\n  Part-time is also an adverb.\nI want to work part-time.\n  ADV: ADV after v


Words: part-timer
Meaning:
part-timer  part-timers\n  A part-timer is a person who works part-time.\nCustomer service departments are often staffed by part-timers.\n  N-COUNT


Words: partake
Meaning:
par.take\n   partake  partakes  partaking  partook  partaken\n1. If you partake of food or drink, you eat or drink some of it. (FORMAL)\nThey were happy to partake of our feast, but not to share our company.\n  VERB: V of n\n\n2. If you partake in an activity, you take part in it. (FORMAL)\nYou will probably be asked about whether you partake in very vigorous sports.\n  VERB: V in n\n  = participate


Words: partial
Meaning:
par.tial\n   partial\n1. You use partial to refer to something that is not complete or whole.\n...a partial ban on the use of cars in the city.\n...partial blindness.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n2. If you are partial to something, you like it.\nHe’s partial to sporty women with blue eyes...\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ to n/-ing\n\n=>  par.tial.ity\nHe has a great partiality for chocolate biscuits.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N for n\n  = fondness\n3. Someone who is partial supports a particular person or thing, for example in a competition or dispute, instead of being completely fair.\nI might be accused of being partial...\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ\n  = biased  !=impartial\n=>  par.tial.ity\nShe is criticized by some others for her one-sidedness and partiality.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n  = bias  !=impartiality


Words: partially
Meaning:
par.tial.ly\n   partially\n  If something happens or exists partially, it happens or exists to some extent, but not completely.\nLisa is deaf in one ear and partially blind.\n  ADV: ADV with cl/group\n  = partly


Words: participant
Meaning:
par.tici.pant\n   participant  participants\n  The participants in an activity are the people who take part in it.\n40 of the course participants are offered employment with the company...\n  N-COUNT


Words: participate
Meaning:
par.tici.pate\n   participate  participates  participating  participated\n  If you participate in an activity, you take part in it.\nThey expected him to participate in the ceremony...\n...special contracts at lower rates for participating corporations.\n  VERB: V in n, V-ing\n\n=>  par.tici.pa.tion\n...participation in religious activities.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: participative
Meaning:
par.tici.pa.tive\n   participative\n  Participative management or decision-making involves the participation of all the people engaged in an activity or affected by certain decisions. (FORMAL)\n...a participative management style.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: participatory
Meaning:
par.tici.pa.tory\n   participatory\n  A participatory system, activity, or role involves a particular person or group of people taking part in it.\nFishing is said to be the most popular participatory sport in the U.K...\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: participle
Meaning:
par.ti.ci.ple\n   participle  participles\n  In grammar, a participle is a form of a verb that can be used in compound tenses of the verb. There are two participles in English: the past participle, which usually ends in `-ed’, and the present participle, which ends in `-ing’.\n  N-COUNT


Words: particle
Meaning:
par.ti.cle\n   particle  particles\n1. A particle of something is a very small piece or amount of it.\nThere is a particle of truth in his statement.\n...food particles.\n  N-COUNT: oft N of n\n\n2. In physics, a particle is a piece of matter smaller than an atom, for example an electron or a proton. (TECHNICAL)\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. In grammar, a particle is a preposition such as `into’ or an adverb such as `out’ which can combine with a verb to form a phrasal verb.\n  N-COUNT


Words: particle accelerator
Meaning:
par.ti.cle ac.cel.era.tor\n   particle accelerator  particle accelerators\n  A particle accelerator is a machine used for research in nuclear physics which can make particles that are smaller than atoms move very fast.\n  N-COUNT


Words: particle physics
Meaning:
par.ti.cle phys.ics\n   particle physics\n  Particle physics is the study of the qualities of atoms and molecules and the way they behave and react.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: particular
Meaning:
par.ticu.lar\n   particular\n1. You use particular to emphasize that you are talking about one thing or one kind of thing rather than other similar ones.\nI remembered a particular story about a postman who was a murderer...\nI have to know exactly why it is I’m doing a particular job.\n  ADJ: ADJ n  emphasis\n\n2. If a person or thing has a particular quality or possession, it is distinct and belongs only to them.\nI have a particular responsibility to ensure I make the right decision...\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n3. You can use particular to emphasize that something is greater or more intense than usual.\nParticular emphasis will be placed on oral language training.\n  ADJ: ADJ n  emphasis\n\n4. If you say that someone is particular, you mean that they choose things and do things very carefully, and are not easily satisfied.\nTed was very particular about the colors he used.\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ, oft ADJ about n\n\n5.\n  see also particulars\n6. You use in particular to indicate that what you are saying applies especially to one thing or person.\nThe situation in Ethiopia in particular is worrying...\nWhy should he notice her car in particular?...\n  PHRASE: PHR with cl/group\n  = particularly\n7. You use nothing in particular or nobody in particular to mean nothing or nobody important or special.\nDrew made some remarks to nobody in particular and said goodbye.\n  PHRASE


Words: particularity
Meaning:
par.ticu.lar.ity\n   particularity  particularities\n1. The particularity of something is its quality of being different from other things. The particularities of something are the features that make it different. (FORMAL)\nWhat is lacking is an insight into the particularity of our societal system...\nTime inevitably glosses over the particularities of each situation.\n  N-UNCOUNT: also N in pl\n\n2. Particularity is the giving or showing of details. (FORMAL)\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: particularize
Meaning:
par.ticu.lar.ize\n   particularize  particularizes  particularizing  particularized\nin BRIT, also use particularise\n  If you particularize something that you have been talking about in a general way, you give details or specific examples of it. (FORMAL)\nMr Johnson particularizes the general points he wants to make...\nA farmer is entitled to a certain particularized tax treatment.\n  VERB: V n, V-ed, also V


Words: particularly
Meaning:
par.ticu.lar.ly\n   particularly\n1. You use particularly to indicate that what you are saying applies especially to one thing or situation.\nKeep your office space looking good, particularly your desk...\nI often do absent-minded things, particularly when I’m worried.\n  ADV: ADV with cl/group\n  = especially\n2. Particularly means more than usual or more than other things.\nProgress has been particularly disappointing...\nI particularly liked the wooden chests and chairs.\n  ADV: ADV with cl/group  emphasis\n  = especially


Words: particulars
Meaning:
par.ticu.lars\n   particulars\n  The particulars of something or someone are facts or details about them which are written down and kept as a record.\nThe nurses at the admission desk asked her for particulars.\n  N-PLURAL


Words: particulate
Meaning:
par.ticu.late\n   particulate particulates\n  Particulates are very small particles of a substance, especially those that are produced when fuel is burned. (TECHNICAL)\n...the particulate pollution in our atmosphere.\n  N-COUNT: oft N n


Words: parting
Meaning:
part.ing\n   parting  partings\n1. Parting is the act of leaving a particular person or place. A parting is an occasion when this happens.\nIt was a dreadfully emotional parting.\n  N-VAR\n\n2. Your parting words or actions are the things that you say or do as you are leaving a place or person.\nHer parting words left him feeling empty and alone.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n3. The parting in someone’s hair is the line running from the front to the back of their head where their hair lies in different directions. (BRIT; in AM, use part)\n  N-COUNT\n\n4. When there is a parting of the ways, two or more people or groups of people stop working together or travelling together.\n...a negotiated parting of the ways for the three Baltic republics.\n  PHRASE


Words: parting shot
Meaning:
part.ing shot\n   parting shot  parting shots\n  If someone makes a parting shot, they make an unpleasant or forceful remark at the end of a conversation, and then leave so that no-one has the chance to reply.\nHe turned to face her for his parting shot. `You’re one coldhearted woman, you know that?’\n  N-COUNT


Words: partisan
Meaning:
par.ti.san\n   partisan  partisans\n1. Someone who is partisan strongly supports a particular person or cause, often without thinking carefully about the matter.\nHe is clearly too partisan to be a referee.\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ\n\n2. Partisans are ordinary people, rather than soldiers, who join together to fight enemy soldiers who are occupying their country.\nHe was rescued by some Italian partisans.\n  N-COUNT


Words: partisanship
Meaning:
par.ti.san.ship\n   partisanship\n  Partisanship is support for a person or group without fair consideration of the facts and circumstances.\nHis politics were based on loyal partisanship.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n  = prejudice


Words: partition
Meaning:
par.ti.tion\n   partition  partitions  partitioning  partitioned\n1. A partition is a wall or screen that separates one part of a room or vehicle from another.\n...new offices divided only by glass partitions...\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If you partition a room, you separate one part of it from another by means of a partition.\nBedrooms have again been created by partitioning a single larger room...\nHe sat on the two-seater sofa in the partitioned office.\n  VERB: V n, V-ed\n\n3. If a country is partitioned, it is divided into two or more independent countries.\nKorea was partitioned in 1945...\nBritain was accused of trying to partition the country `because of historic enmity’...\nThe island has been partitioned since the mid-seventies.\n  VERB: be V-ed, V n, V-ed\n\n  Partition is also a noun.\n...fighting which followed the partition of India.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N of n


Words: partly
Meaning:
part.ly\n   partly\n  You use partly to indicate that something happens or exists to some extent, but not completely.\nIt’s partly my fault...\nHe let out a long sigh, mainly of relief, partly of sadness...\nI feel partly responsible for the problems we’re in.\n  ADV: ADV with cl/group\n  = partially


Words: partner
Meaning:
part.ner\n   partner  partners  partnering  partnered\n1. Your partner is the person you are married to or are having a romantic or sexual relationship with.\nWanting other friends doesn’t mean you don’t love your partner.\n...his choice of marriage partner.\n  N-COUNT: oft poss N\n\n2. Your partner is the person you are doing something with, for example dancing with or playing with in a game against two other people.\nMy partner for the event was the marvellous American player.\n...a partner in crime.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. The partners in a firm or business are the people who share the ownership of it. (BUSINESS)\nHe’s a partner in a Chicago law firm.\n  N-COUNT\n\n4. The partner of a country or organization is another country or organization with which they work or do business.\nSpain has been one of Cuba’s major trading partners.\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp\n\n5. If you partner someone, you are their partner in a game or in a dance.\nHe had partnered the famous Russian ballerina...\nHe will be partnered by Ian Baker, the defending champion...\nHe partnered Andre Agassi to victory.\n  VERB: V n, be V-ed by/with n, V n to n


Words: partnership
Meaning:
part.ner.ship\n   partnership  partnerships\n  Partnership or a partnership is a relationship in which two or more people, organizations, or countries work together as partners.\n...the partnership between Germany’s banks and its businesses...\n  N-VAR


Words: partridge
Meaning:
par.tridge\n   partridge  partridges\n  A partridge is a wild bird with brown feathers, a round body, and a short tail.\n  N-COUNT\n\n  Partridge is the flesh of this bird eaten as food.\n...a main course of partridge.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: party
Meaning:
par.ty\n   party  parties  partying  partied\n1. A party is a political organization whose members have similar aims and beliefs. Usually the organization tries to get its members elected to the government of a country.\n...a member of the Labour party.\n...India’s ruling party.\n...opposition parties.\n...her resignation as party leader.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A party is a social event, often in someone’s home, at which people enjoy themselves doing things such as eating, drinking, dancing, talking, or playing games.\nThe couple met at a party...\nWe threw a huge birthday party...\nMost teenagers like to go to parties.\n  N-COUNT\n\n  see also dinner party, garden party, hen party, stag party\n3. If you party, you enjoy yourself doing things such as going out to parties, drinking, dancing, and talking to people.\nThey come to eat and drink, to swim, to party. Sometimes they never go to bed...\n  VERB: V\n\n4. A party of people is a group of people who are doing something together, for example travelling together.\nThey became separated from their party.\n...a party of sightseers.\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp\n\n  see also search party, working party\n5. One of the people involved in a legal agreement or dispute can be referred to as a particular party. (LEGAL)\nIt has to be proved that they are the guilty party.\n  N-COUNT: usu supp N\n\n  see also third party\n6. Someone who is a party to or is party to an action or agreement is involved in it, and therefore partly responsible for it.\nCrook had resigned his post rather than be party to such treachery.\n  PHRASE: V inflects, PHR n


Words: party line
Meaning:
par.ty line\n   party line\n  The party line on a particular issue is the official view taken by a political party, which its members are expected to support.\nThey ignored the official party line.\n  N-SING


Words: party piece
Meaning:
par.ty piece\n   party piece  party pieces\n  Someone’s party piece is something that they often do to entertain people, especially at parties, for example singing a particular song or saying a particular poem. (INFORMAL)\n  N-COUNT: oft poss N


Words: party political
Meaning:
par.ty po.liti.cal\n   party political\n  Party political matters relate to political parties. (BRIT)\nThe debate is being conducted almost exclusively on party political lines.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: party political broadcast
Meaning:
par.ty po.liti.cal broad.cast\n   party political broadcast  party political broadcasts\n  A party political broadcast is a short broadcast on radio or television made by a political party, especially before an election. It explains their views and often criticizes other political parties. (BRIT)\n  N-COUNT


Words: party politics
Meaning:
par.ty poli.tics\n   party politics\n1. Party politics is political activity involving political parties.\nHe thinks the Archbishop has identified himself too closely with party politics.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. If politicians are accused of playing party politics, they are being accused of saying or doing something in order to make their party seem good or another party seem bad, rather than for a better reason.\nUsually when Opposition MPs question Ministers they are just playing party politics.\n  N-UNCOUNT  disapproval


Words: party pooper
Meaning:
par.ty poop.er\n   party pooper  party poopers\n  You describe someone as a party pooper when you think that they spoil other people’s fun and their enjoyment of something. (INFORMAL)\nI hate to be a party pooper, but I am really tired.\n  N-COUNT  disapproval


Words: party spirit
Meaning:
par.ty spir.it\n   party spirit\n  If you talk about someone being in the party spirit, you mean that they are in the mood to enjoy a party or to have fun.\nSparkling wine can also put you in the party spirit.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n  = party mood


Words: party-goer
Meaning:
party-goer  party-goers   also partygoer\n  A party-goer is someone who likes going to parties or someone who is at a particular party.\nAt least half the partygoers were under 15.\n  N-COUNT


Words: parvenu
Meaning:
par.venu\n   parvenu  parvenus\n  If you describe someone as a parvenu, you think that although they have acquired wealth or high status they are not very cultured or well-educated. (FORMAL)\n  N-COUNT  disapproval


Words: pas de deux
Meaning:
pas de deux\n  In ballet, a pas de deux is a dance sequence for two dancers.\n  N-COUNT\n  pas de deux is both the singular and the plural form; both forms are pronounced


Words: pashmina
Meaning:
pash.mi.na\n   pashmina pashminas\n1. Pashmina is very fine, soft wool made from the hair of goats.\n...pashmina scarves.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. A pashmina is a type of shawl made from pashmina.\n  N-COUNT


Words: pass
Meaning:
pass  passes  passing  passed\n1. To pass someone or something means to go past them without stopping.\nAs she passed the library door, the telephone began to ring...\nJane stood aside to let her pass...\nI sat in the garden and watched the passing cars.\n  VERB: V n, V, V-ing\n\n2. When someone or something passes in a particular direction, they move in that direction.\nHe passed through the doorway into Ward B...\nThe car passed over the body twice, once backward and then forward.\n  VERB: V prep/adv, V prep/adv\n  = go\n3. If something such as a road or pipe passes along a particular route, it goes along that route.\nAfter going over the Col de Vars, the route passes through St-Paul-sur-Ubaye...\nThe road passes a farmyard.\n  VERB: V prep/adv, V n\n\n4. If you pass something through, over, or round something else, you move or push it through, over, or round that thing.\n`I don’t understand,’ the Inspector mumbled, passing a hand through his hair...\n  VERB: V n prep/adv\n\n5. If you pass something to someone, you take it in your hand and give it to them.\nKen passed the books to Sergeant Parrott...\nPass me that bottle.\n  VERB: V n to n, V n n\n  = hand\n6. If something passes or is passed from one person to another, the second person then has it instead of the first.\nHis mother’s small estate had passed to him after her death...\nThese powers were eventually passed to municipalities.\n...a genetic trait, which can be passed from one generation to the next.\n  VERB: V to n, be V-ed to n, be V-ed from n to n\n\n7. If you pass information to someone, you give it to them because it concerns them.\nOfficials failed to pass vital information to their superiors...\n  VERB: V n to n\n\n  Pass on means the same as pass.\nI do not know what to do with the information if I cannot pass it on...\nFrom time to time he passed on confidential information to him...\nHe has written a note asking me to pass on his thanks.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V n P, V P n (not pron) to n, V P n (not pron), also V n P to n\n\n8. If you pass the ball to someone in your team in a game such as football, basketball, hockey, or rugby, you kick, hit, or throw it to them.\nYour partner should then pass the ball back to you...\nDodd passed back to Flowers.\n  VERB: V n adv/prep, V prep/adv\n\n  Pass is also a noun.\nHirst rolled a short pass to Merson.\n  N-COUNT\n\n9. When a period of time passes, it happens and finishes.\nHe couldn’t imagine why he had let so much time pass without contacting her...\nSeveral minutes passed before the girls were noticed.\n  VERB: V, V\n  = go by\n10. If you pass a period of time in a particular way, you spend it in that way.\nThe children passed the time playing in the streets...\nTo pass the time they sang songs and played cards.\n  VERB: V n -ing/adv, V n\n\n11. If you pass through a stage of development or a period of time, you experience it.\nThe country was passing through a grave crisis...\n  VERB: V through n\n  = go\n12. If an amount passes a particular total or level, it becomes greater than that total or level.\nThey became the first company in their field to pass the .2 billion turn-over mark.\n  VERB: V n\n  = exceed\n13. If someone or something passes a test, they are considered to be of an acceptable standard.\nKevin has just passed his driving test...\nI didn’t pass.\n  VERB: V n, V\n  !=fail\n14. A pass in an examination, test, or course is a successful result in it.\nAn A-level pass in Biology is preferred for all courses...\n  N-COUNT\n  !=fail\n15. If someone in authority passes a person or thing, they declare that they are of an acceptable standard or have reached an acceptable standard.\nSeveral popular beaches were found unfit for bathing although the government passed them last year...\nThe medical board would not pass him fit for General Service.\n  VERB: V n, V n adj\n\n16. When people in authority pass a new law or a proposal, they formally agree to it or approve it.\nThe Estonian parliament has passed a resolution declaring the republic fully independent...\n  VERB: V n\n\n(next


Words: pass .1
Meaning:
17. When a judge passes sentence on someone, he or she says what their punishment will be.\nPassing sentence, the judge said it all had the appearance of a con trick...\n  VERB: V n\n\n18. If you pass comment or pass a comment, you say something.\nI don’t really know so I could not pass comment on that...\n  VERB: V n\n\n19. If someone or something passes for or passes as something that they are not, they are accepted as that thing or mistaken for that thing.\nChildren’s toy guns now look so realistic that they can often pass for the real thing...\n...a woman passing as a man.\n  VERB: V for/as n, V for/as n\n\n20. If someone passes water or passes urine, they urinate.\nA sensitive bladder can make you feel the need to pass water frequently.\n  VERB: V n\n\n21. A pass is a document that allows you to do something.\nI got myself a pass into the barracks...\n  N-COUNT\n\n22. A pass is a narrow path or route between mountains.\nThe monastery is in a remote mountain pass.\n  N-COUNT; N-IN-NAMES\n\n23.\n  see also passing\n24. If someone makes a pass at you, they try to begin a romantic or sexual relationship with you. (INFORMAL)\nNancy wasn’t sure if Dirk was making a pass at her.\n  PHRASE: V inflects, usu PHR at n\n\n25.\nto pass the buck: see buck\nto pass judgment: see judgment


Words: pass away
Meaning:
pass away\n  You can say that someone passed away to mean that they died, if you want to avoid using the word `die’ because you think it might upset or offend people.\nHe unfortunately passed away last year.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P


Words: pass by
Meaning:
pass by\n  If you pass by something, you go past it or near it on your way to another place.\nI see them pass by my house every day...\nThey were injured when a parked car exploded as their convoy passed by.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n, V P


Words: pass off
Meaning:
pass off\n  If an event passes off without any trouble, it happens and ends without any trouble.\nThe main demonstration passed off peacefully...\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P adv/prep


Words: pass off as
Meaning:
pass off as\n  If you pass something off as another thing, you convince people that it is that other thing.\nHe passed himself off as a senior psychologist...\nI’ve tried to pass off my accent as a convent school accent.\n...horse meat being passed off as ground beef.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V n P P n, V P n (not pron) P n, be V-ed P P n (not pron)


Words: pass on
Meaning:
pass on\n1. If you pass something on to someone, you give it to them so that they have it instead of you.\nThe Queen is passing the money on to a selection of her favourite charities...\nThere is a risk of passing the virus on...\nThe late Earl passed on much of his fortune to his daughter...\nTenants remain liable if they pass on their lease.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V n P to n, V n P, V P n (not pron) to n, V P n (not pron)\n\n2. If you pass on costs or savings to someone else, you make them pay for your costs or allow them to benefit from your savings.\nThey pass on their cost of borrowing and add to it their profit margin...\nI found we could make some saving and it is right to pass the savings on to the customer.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), V n P to n, also V n P, V P n (not pron) to n\n\n3. You can say that someone passed on to mean that they died, if you want to avoid using the word `die’ because you think it might upset or offend people.\nHe passed on at the age of 72.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P\n  = pass away\n4.\n  see also pass 7


Words: pass out
Meaning:
pass out\n1. If you pass out, you faint or collapse.\nHe felt sick and dizzy and then passed out...\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P\n\n2. When a police, army, navy, or air force cadet passes out, he or she completes his or her training. (BRIT)\nHe passed out in November 1924 and was posted to No 24 Squadron.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P


Words: pass over
Meaning:
pass over\n1. If someone is passed over for a job or position, they do not get the job or position and someone younger or less experienced is chosen instead.\nShe claimed she was repeatedly passed over for promotion...\nThey’ve been rejected, disappointed, ignored, passed over.\n  PHRASAL VERB: usu passive, be V-ed P for n, be V-ed P\n\n2. If you pass over a topic in a conversation or speech, you do not talk about it.\nHe largely passed over the government’s record...\nThey seem to think her crimes should be passed over in silence.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n, be V-ed P


Words: pass up
Meaning:
pass up\n  If you pass up a chance or an opportunity, you do not take advantage of it.\nThe official urged the government not to pass up the opportunity that has now presented itself...\n`I can’t pass this up.’ She waved the invitation.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), V n P


Words: passable
Meaning:
pass.able\n   passable\n1. If something is a passable effort or of passable quality, it is satisfactory or quite good.\nStan puffed out his thin cheeks in a passable imitation of his dad...\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n=>  pass.ably\nShe has always been quick to pick things up, doing passably well in school without really trying.\n  ADV: usu ADV adj/adv, also ADV after v\n\n2. If a road is passable, it is not completely blocked, and people can still use it.\nThe airport road is passable today for the first time in a week.\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ\n  !=impassable


Words: passage
Meaning:
pas.sage\n   passage  passages\n1. A passage is a long narrow space with walls or fences on both sides, which connects one place or room with another.\nHarry stepped into the passage and closed the door behind him.\n  N-COUNT\n  = passageway, corridor\n2. A passage in a book, speech, or piece of music is a section of it that you are considering separately from the rest.\nHe reads a passage from Milton.\n...the passage in which Blake spoke of the world of imagination...\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp\n  = excerpt, extract\n3. A passage is a long narrow hole or tube in your body, which air or liquid can pass along.\n...blocked nasal passages.\n  N-COUNT: usu supp N\n\n4. A passage through a crowd of people or things is an empty space that allows you to move through them.\nHe cleared a passage for himself through the crammed streets...\n  N-COUNT: oft N through n\n  = way\n5. The passage of someone or something is their movement from one place to another.\nGermany had not requested Franco’s consent for the passage of troops through Spain...\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu with poss\n\n6. The passage of someone or something is their progress from one situation or one stage in their development to another.\n...the passage from school to college.\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu N from/to n, oft with poss\n  = transition\n7. The passage of a period of time is its passing.\nAn asset that increases in value with the passage of time.\n  N-SING: the N of n\n  = passing\n8. A passage is a journey by ship.\nWe’d arrived the day before after a 10-hour passage from Swansea.\n  N-COUNT\n  = crossing\n9. If you are granted passage through a country or area of land, you are given permission to go through it.\nMr Thomas would be given safe passage to and from Jaffna...\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N prep


Words: passageway
Meaning:
passage.way\n   passageway  passageways\n  A passageway is a long narrow space with walls or fences on both sides, which connects one place or room with another.\nOutside, in the passageway, I could hear people moving about...\n  N-COUNT\n  = passage


Words: passbook
Meaning:
pass.book\n   passbook  passbooks\n  A passbook is a small book recording the amount of money you pay in or take out of a savings account at a bank or building society. (BRIT)\n  N-COUNT


Words: passe
Meaning:
pas.se\n   passe\n  If someone describes something as passe, they think that it is no longer fashionable or that it is no longer effective.\nPunk is passe...\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ  disapproval\n  = old hat


Words: passenger
Meaning:
pas.sen.ger\n   passenger  passengers\n1. A passenger in a vehicle such as a bus, boat, or plane is a person who is travelling in it, but who is not driving it or working on it.\nMr Fullemann was a passenger in the car when it crashed.\n...a flight from Milan with more than forty passengers on board.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. Passenger is used to describe something that is designed for passengers, rather than for drivers or goods.\nI sat in the passenger seat.\n...a passenger train.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: passer-by
Meaning:
passer-by  passers-by   also passerby\n  A passer-by is a person who is walking past someone or something.\nA passer-by described what he saw moments after the car bomb had exploded...\n  N-COUNT


Words: passim
Meaning:
pas.sim\n   passim\n  In indexes and notes, passim indicates that a particular name or subject occurs frequently throughout a particular piece of writing or section of a book.\n...The Theories of their Relation (London, 1873), p. 8 and passim.


Words: passing
Meaning:
pass.ing\n   passing\n1. A passing fashion, activity, or feeling lasts for only a short period of time and is not worth taking very seriously.\nHamnett does not believe environmental concern is a passing fad...\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n  !=lasting\n2. The passing of something such as a time or system is the fact of its coming to an end.\nIt was an historic day, yet its passing was not marked by the slightest excitement...\n  N-SING: with poss\n\n3. You can refer to someone’s death as their passing, if you want to avoid using the word `death’ because you think it might upset or offend people.\nHis passing will be mourned by many people.\n  N-SING: with poss\n\n4. The passing of a period of time is the fact or process of its going by.\nThe passing of time brought a sense of emptiness...\n  N-SING: the N of n\n  = passage\n5. A passing mention or reference is brief and is made while you are talking or writing about something else.\nIt was just a passing comment, he didn’t go on about it...\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n  = casual\n6.\n  see also pass\n7. If you mention something in passing, you mention it briefly while you are talking or writing about something else.\nThe army is only mentioned in passing.\n  PHRASE: PHR with cl, PHR after v\n  = incidentally


Words: passion
Meaning:
pas.sion\n   passion  passions\n1. Passion is strong sexual feelings towards someone.\n...my passion for a dark-haired, slender boy named James.\n...the expression of love and passion.\n  N-UNCOUNT: also N in pl\n\n2. Passion is a very strong feeling about something or a strong belief in something.\nHe spoke with great passion.\n  N-UNCOUNT: also N in pl\n\n3. If you have a passion for something, you have a very strong interest in it and like it very much.\nShe had a passion for gardening...\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp


Words: passion fruit
Meaning:
pas.sion fruit\n   passion fruit  passion fruit\n  A passion fruit is a small, round, brown fruit that is produced by certain types of tropical flower.\n  N-VAR


Words: passionate
Meaning:
pas.sion.ate\n   passionate\n1. A passionate person has very strong feelings about something or a strong belief in something.\n...his passionate commitment to peace...\nI’m a passionate believer in public art...\nHe is very passionate about the project.\n  ADJ\n\n=>  pas.sion.ate.ly\nI am passionately opposed to the death penalty.\n  ADV\n\n2. A passionate person has strong romantic or sexual feelings and expresses them in their behaviour.\n...a beautiful, passionate woman of twenty-six.\n  ADJ\n\n=>  pas.sion.ate.ly\nHe was passionately in love with her...\n  ADV


Words: passionless
Meaning:
pas.sion.less\n   passionless\n  If you describe someone or something as passionless, you mean that they do not have or show strong feelings.\n...a passionless academic.\n...their late and apparently passionless marriage.\n  ADJ\n  !=passionate


Words: passive
Meaning:
pas.sive\n   passive\n1. If you describe someone as passive, you mean that they do not take action but instead let things happen to them.\nHis passive attitude made things easier for me...\n  ADJ  disapproval\n  !=active\n=>  pas.sive.ly\nHe sat there passively, content to wait for his father to make the opening move.\n  ADV: usu ADV with v\n\n=>  pas.sivi.ty\n...the passivity of the public under the military occupation.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. A passive activity involves watching, looking at, or listening to things rather than doing things.\nThey want less passive ways of filling their time.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n  !=active\n3. Passive resistance involves showing opposition to the people in power in your country by not co-operating with them and protesting in non-violent ways.\nThey made it clear that they would only exercise passive resistance in the event of a military takeover.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n  !=active\n4. In grammar, the passive or the passive voice is formed using `be’ and the past participle of a verb. The subject of a passive clause does not perform the action expressed by the verb but is affected by it. For example, in `He’s been murdered’, the verb is in the passive. Compare active.\n  N-SING: the N


Words: passive smoking
Meaning:
pas.sive smok.ing\n   passive smoking\n  Passive smoking involves breathing in the smoke from other people’s cigarettes because you happen to be near them.\n...the dangers of passive smoking.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: Passover
Meaning:
Pass.over\n   Passover\n  Passover is a Jewish festival that begins in March or April and lasts for seven or eight days. Passover begins with a special meal that reminds Jewish people of how God helped their ancestors escape from Egypt.\n  N-UNCOUNT: also the N


Words: passport
Meaning:
pass.port\n   passport  passports\n1. Your passport is an official document containing your name, photograph, and personal details, which you need to show when you enter or leave a country.\nYou should take your passport with you when changing money.\n...a South African businessman travelling on a British passport.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If you say that a thing is a passport to success or happiness, you mean that this thing makes success or happiness possible.\nVictory would give him a passport to the riches he craves...\n  N-COUNT: N to n


Words: password
Meaning:
pass.word\n   password  passwords\n  A password is a secret word or phrase that you must know in order to be allowed to enter a place such as a military base, or to be allowed to use a computer system.\nNo-one could use the computer unless they had a password.\n  N-COUNT


Words: past
Meaning:
past  pasts\nIn addition to the uses shown below, past is used in the phrasal verb `run past’.\n1. The past is the time before the present, and the things that have happened.\nIn the past, about a third of the babies born to women with diabetes were lost...\nHe should learn from the mistakes of the past. We have been here before...\n  N-SING: the N\n  !=future, present\n  If you accuse someone of living in the past, you mean that they think too much about the past or believe that things are the same as they were in the past.\nWhat was the point in living in the past, thinking about what had or had not happened?\n  PHRASE: V inflects  disapproval\n\n2. Your past consists of all the things that you have done or that have happened to you.\n...revelations about his past.\n...Germany’s recent past.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, usu with supp\n\n3. Past events and things happened or existed before the present time.\nI knew from past experience that alternative therapies could help...\nThe list of past champions includes many British internationals.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n  = previous\n4. You use past to talk about a period of time that has just finished. For example, if you talk about the past five years, you mean the period of five years that has just finished.\nMost shops have remained closed for the past three days.\n  ADJ: det ADJ n\n  = last  !=next\n5. If a situation is past, it has ended and no longer exists. (LITERARY)\nMany economists believe the worst of the economic downturn is past.\n...images from years long past...\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ\n  = gone\n6. In grammar, the past tenses of a verb are the ones used to talk about things that happened at some time before the present. The simple past tense uses the past form of a verb, which for regular verbs ends in `-ed’, as in `They walked back to the car’.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n  see also past perfect\n7. You use past when you are stating a time which is thirty minutes or less after a particular hour. For example, if it is twenty past six, it is twenty minutes after six o’clock.\nIt’s ten past eleven...\nI arrived at half past ten.\n  PREP: num PREP num\n  !=to\n  Past is also an adverb.\nI have my lunch at half past.\n  ADV: num ADV\n  !=to\n8. If it is past a particular time, it is later than that time.\nIt was past midnight...\nIt’s past your bedtime.\n  PREP\n  = gone, after\n9. If you go past someone or something, you go near them and keep moving, so that they are then behind you.\nI dashed past him and out of the door...\nA steady procession of people filed past the coffin...\n  PREP\n  = by\n  Past is also an adverb.\nAn ambulance drove past.\n  ADV\n  = by\n10. If you look or point past a person or thing, you look or point at something behind them.\nShe stared past Christine at the bed.\n  PREP: v PREP n\n\n11. If something is past a place, it is on the other side of it.\nGo north on I-15 to the exit just past Barstow...\n  PREP: v-link PREP n\n  !=before\n12. If someone or something is past a particular point or stage, they are no longer at that point or stage.\nHe was well past retirement age...\n  PREP: usu v-link PREP n\n\n13. If you are past doing something, you are no longer able to do it. For example, if you are past caring, you do not care about something any more because so many bad things have happened to you.\nShe was past caring about anything by then and just wanted the pain to end...\nOften by the time they do accept the truth they are past being able to put words to feelings.\n  PREP: v-link PREP -ing\n  = beyond\n  If you say that someone or something is past it, they are no longer able to do what they used to do.\nWe could do with a new car. The one we’ve got is a bit past it.\n  PHRASE: v-link PHR  disapproval\n\n14. If you say that you would not put it past someone to do something bad, you mean that you would not be surprised if they did it because you think their character is bad.\nYou know what she’s like. I wouldn’t put it past her to call the police and say I stole them.\n  PHRASE: oft PHR to-inf


Words: past master
Meaning:
past mas.ter\n   past master  past masters\n  If you are a past master at something, you are very skilful at it because you have had a lot of experience doing it.\nHe was a past-master at manipulating the media for his own ends...\nShe is an adept rock-climber and a past master of the assault course.\n  N-COUNT: usu N at/in/of n\n  = expert


Words: past participle
Meaning:
past par.ti.ci.ple\n   past participle  past participles\n  In grammar, the past participle of a verb is a form that is usually the same as the past form and so ends in `-ed’. A number of verbs have irregular past participles, for example `break’ - past participle `broken’, and `come’ - past participle `come’. Past participles are used to form perfect tenses and the passive voice, and many of them can be used like an adjective in front of a noun.\n  N-COUNT


Words: past perfect
Meaning:
past per.fect\n   past perfect\n  In grammar, the past perfect tenses of a verb are the ones used to talk about things that happened before a specific time. The simple past perfect tense uses `had’ and the past participle of the verb, as in `She had seen him before’. It is sometimes called the pluperfect.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: pasta
Meaning:
pas.ta\n   pasta  pastas\n  Pasta is a type of food made from a mixture of flour, eggs, and water that is formed into different shapes and then boiled. Spaghetti, macaroni, and noodles are types of pasta.\n  N-MASS


Words: paste
Meaning:
paste  pastes  pasting  pasted\n1. Paste is a soft, wet, sticky mixture of a substance and a liquid, which can be spread easily. Some types of paste are used to stick things together.\nBlend a little milk with the custard powder to form a paste.\n...wallpaper paste.\n  N-MASS\n\n2. Paste is a soft smooth mixture made of crushed meat, fruit, or vegetables. You can, for example, spread it onto bread or use it in cooking.\n...tomato paste.\n...fish paste sandwiches.\n  N-MASS\n\n3. If you paste something on a surface, you put glue or paste on it and stick it on the surface.\n...pasting labels on bottles...\nActivists pasted up posters criticizing the leftist leaders.\n  VERB: V n prep, V n with adv\n\n4. Paste is a hard shiny glass that is used for making imitation jewellery.\n...paste emeralds.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N n\n\n5.\n  see also pasting


Words: pastel
Meaning:
pas.tel\n   pastel  pastels\n1. Pastel colours are pale rather than dark or bright.\n...delicate pastel shades.\n...pastel pink, blue, peach and green.\n  ADJ: ADJ n, ADJ colour\n\n  Pastel is also a noun.\nThe lobby is decorated in pastels.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. Pastels are also small sticks of different coloured chalks that are used for drawing pictures.\n...pastels and charcoal.\n...the portrait in pastels.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl\n\n3. A pastel is a picture that has been done using pastels.\n...Degas’s paintings, pastels, and prints.\n  N-COUNT


Words: pasteurized
Meaning:
pas.teur.ized\n   pasteurized\nin BRIT, also use pasteurised\n  Pasteurized milk, cream, or cheese has had bacteria removed from it by a special heating process to make it safer to eat or drink.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: pastiche
Meaning:
pas.tiche\n   pastiche  pastiches\n  A pastiche is something such as a piece of writing or music in which the style is copied from somewhere else, or which contains a mixture of different styles. (FORMAL)\nPeter Baker’s bathroom is a brilliant pastiche of expensive interior design.\n  N-VAR


Words: pastille
Meaning:
pas.tille\n   pastille  pastilles\n  A pastille is a small, round sweet or piece of candy that has a fruit flavour. Some pastilles contain medicine and you can suck them if you have a sore throat or a cough.\n  N-COUNT


Words: pastime
Meaning:
pas.time\n   pastime  pastimes\n  A pastime is something that you do in your spare time because you enjoy it or are interested in it.\nHis favourite pastime is golf.\n  N-COUNT\n  = hobby


Words: pasting
Meaning:
past.ing\n   pasting\n1. If something or someone takes a pasting, they are severely criticized. (mainly BRIT INFORMAL)\nThe people who run Lloyd’s of London took a pasting yesterday.\n...the critical pasting that the film received.\n  N-SING\n\n2. If a sports team or political party is given a pasting, they are heavily defeated. (mainly BRIT INFORMAL)\n  N-SING\n  = thrashing


Words: pastor
Meaning:
pas.tor\n   pastor  pastors\n  A pastor is a member of the Christian clergy in some Protestant churches.\n  N-COUNT


Words: pastoral
Meaning:
pas.to.ral\n   pastoral\n1. The pastoral duties of a priest or other religious leader involve looking after the people he or she has responsibility for, especially by helping them with their personal problems.\nMany churches provide excellent pastoral counselling.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n2. If a school offers pastoral care, it is concerned with the personal needs and problems of its pupils, not just with their schoolwork. (mainly BRIT)\nA few schools now offer counselling sessions; all have some system of pastoral care.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n3. A pastoral place, atmosphere, or idea is characteristic of peaceful country life and scenery.\n...a tranquil pastoral scene.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n  = rustic


Words: pastry
Meaning:
pas.try\n   pastry  pastries\n1. Pastry is a food made from flour, fat, and water that is mixed together, rolled flat, and baked in the oven. It is used, for example, for making pies.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. A pastry is a small cake made with sweet pastry.\n  N-COUNT


Words: pasture
Meaning:
pas.ture\n   pasture  pastures\n1. Pasture is land with grass growing on it for farm animals to eat.\nThe cows are out now, grazing in the pasture.\n  N-VAR\n\n2. If someone leaves for greener pastures, or in British English pastures new, they leave their job, their home, or the situation they are in for something they think will be much better.\nMichael decided he wanted to move on to pastures new for financial reasons.\n  PHRASE: prep PHR, v PHR\n\n3. If you put animals out to pasture, you move them out into the fields so they can eat the grass.\n  PHRASE: V inflects


Words: pasty
Meaning:
pasty pasties\nThe adjective is pronounced   The noun is pronounced\n1. If you are pasty or if you have a pasty face, you look pale and unhealthy.\nMy complexion remained pale and pasty...\n  ADJ\n\n2. In Britain, a pasty is a small pie which consists of pastry folded around meat, vegetables, or cheese.\n  N-COUNT\n\n  see also Cornish pasty


Words: pat
Meaning:
pat  pats  patting  patted\n1. If you pat something or someone, you tap them lightly, usually with your hand held flat.\n`Don’t you worry about any of this,’ she said patting me on the knee...\nThe landlady patted her hair nervously...\nWash the lettuce and pat it dry.\n  VERB: V n on n, V n, V n adj\n\n  Pat is also a noun.\nHe gave her an encouraging pat on the shoulder.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A pat of butter or something else that is soft is a small lump of it.\n  N-COUNT: usu N of n\n\n3. If you say that an answer or explanation is pat, you disapprove of it because it is too simple and sounds as if it has been prepared in advance.\nThere’s no pat answer to that...\n  ADJ  disapproval\n\n4. If you give someone a pat on the back or if you pat them on the back, you show them that you think they have done well and deserve to be praised.\nThe players deserve a pat on the back...\n  PHRASE: V inflects  approval\n\n5. If you have an answer or explanation down pat or off pat, you have prepared and learned it so you are ready to say it at any time.\nI have my story down pat...\n  PHRASE: V inflects


Words: patch
Meaning:
patch  patches  patching  patched\n1. A patch on a surface is a part of it which is different in appearance from the area around it.\n...the bald patch on the top of his head...\nThere was a small patch of blue in the grey clouds.\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp\n\n2. A patch of land is a small area of land where a particular plant or crop grows.\n...a patch of land covered in forest.\n...the little vegetable patch in her backyard.\n  N-COUNT: with supp, oft N of n\n\n3. A patch is a piece of material which you use to cover a hole in something.\n...jackets with patches on the elbows.\n  N-COUNT\n\n4. A patch is a small piece of material which you wear to cover an injured eye.\nShe went to the hospital and found him lying down with a patch over his eye.\n  N-COUNT\n\n  see also eye patch\n5. If you patch something that has a hole in it, you mend it by fastening a patch over the hole.\nHe and Walker patched the barn roof...\n...their patched clothes.\n  VERB: V n, V-ed\n\n6. A patch is a piece of computer program code written as a temporary solution for dealing with a virus in computer software and distributed by the makers of the original program. (COMPUTING)\nOlder machines will need a software patch to be loaded to correct the date.\n  N-COUNT\n\n7. If you have or go through a bad patch or a rough patch, you have a lot of problems for a time. (mainly BRIT)\nHis marriage was going through a bad patch...\n  PHRASE: N inflects\n\n8. If you say that someone or something is not a patch on another person or thing, you mean that they are not as good as that person or thing. (BRIT INFORMAL)\nHandsome, she thought, but not a patch on Alex.\n  PHRASE: v-link PHR, PHR n


Words: patch up
Meaning:
patch up\n1. If you patch up a quarrel or relationship, you try to be friendly again and not to quarrel any more.\nShe has gone on holiday with her husband to try to patch up their marriage...\nHe has now patched up his differences with the Minister...\nFrance patched things up with New Zealand...\nThey managed to patch it up.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), V P n (not pron) with n, V n P with, V n P\n\n2. If you patch up something which is damaged, you mend it or patch it.\nWe can patch up those holes...\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), also V n P\n\n3. If doctors patch someone up or patch their wounds up, they treat their injuries.\n...the medical staff who patched her up after the accident...\nEmergency surgery patched up his face.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V n P, V P n (not pron)


Words: patchwork
Meaning:
patch.work\n   patchwork\n1. A patchwork quilt, cushion, or piece of clothing is made by sewing together small pieces of material of different colours or patterns.\n...beds covered in patchwork quilts.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n  Patchwork is also a noun.\nFor centuries, quilting and patchwork have been popular needlecrafts.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. If you refer to something as a patchwork, you mean that it is made up of many different parts, pieces or colours.\nThe low mountains were a patchwork of green and brown.\n...this complex republic, a patchwork of cultures, religions and nationalities.\n  N-SING: oft N of n


Words: patchy
Meaning:
patchy\n1. A patchy substance or colour exists in some places but not in others, or is thick in some places and thin in others.\nThick patchy fog and irresponsible driving were to blame...\n...the brown, patchy grass.\n  ADJ\n\n2. If something is patchy, it is not completely reliable or satisfactory because it is not always good.\nThe evidence is patchy...\n  ADJ


Words: pate
Meaning:
pate  pates\n  Pate is a soft mixture of meat, fish, or vegetables with various flavourings, and is eaten cold.\n  N-MASS\n\npate  pates\n  Your pate is the top of your head. (OLD-FASHIONED)\n...Bryan’s bald pate.\n  N-COUNT


Words: patent
Meaning:
pa.tent\n   patent  patents   patenting   patented\nThe pronunciation   is also used for meanings 1 and 2 in British English.\n1. A patent is an official right to be the only person or company allowed to make or sell a new product for a certain period of time.\nP&G applied for a patent on its cookies...\nHe held a number of patents for his many innovations...\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If you patent something, you obtain a patent for it.\nHe patented the idea that the atom could be split...\n...a patented machine called the VCR II.\n  VERB: V n, V-ed\n\n3. You use patent to describe something, especially something bad, in order to indicate in an emphatic way that you think its nature or existence is clear and obvious.\nThis was patent nonsense.\n...a patent lie.\n  ADJ  emphasis\n  = obvious\n=>  pa.tent.ly\nHe made his displeasure patently obvious...\n  ADV\n  = clearly


Words: patent leather
Meaning:
pa.tent leath.er\n   patent leather\n  Patent leather is leather which has a shiny surface. It is used to make shoes, bags, and belts.\nHe wore patent leather shoes.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N n


Words: paternal
Meaning:
pa.ter.nal\n   paternal\n1. Paternal is used to describe feelings or actions which are typical of those of a kind father towards his child.\nHe put his hand under her chin in an almost paternal gesture.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n2. A paternal relative is one that is related through a person’s father rather than their mother.\n...my paternal grandparents.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: paternalism
Meaning:
pa.ter.nal.ism\n   paternalism\n  Paternalism means taking all the decisions for the people you govern, employ, or are responsible for, so that they cannot or do not have to make their own decisions.\n...the company’s reputation for paternalism.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: paternalist
Meaning:
pa.ter.nal.ist\n   paternalist  paternalists\n1. A paternalist is a person who acts in a paternalistic way.\nPrimo de Rivera himself was a benevolent and sincere paternalist.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. Paternalist means the same as paternalistic.\n...a paternalist policy of state welfare for the deserving poor.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: paternalistic
Meaning:
pa.ter.nal.is.tic\n   paternalistic\n  Someone who is paternalistic takes all the decisions for the people they govern, employ, or are responsible for.\nThe doctor is being paternalistic. He’s deciding what information the patient needs to know...\n  ADJ


Words: paternity
Meaning:
pa.ter.nity\n   paternity\n  Paternity is the state or fact of being the father of a particular child. (FORMAL)\nHe was tricked into marriage by a false accusation of paternity.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: paternity leave
Meaning:
pa.ter.nity leave\n   paternity leave\n  If a man has paternity leave, his employer allows him some time off work because his child has just been born. (BUSINESS)\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: paternity suit
Meaning:
pa.ter.nity suit\n   paternity suit  paternity suits\n  If a woman starts or takes out a paternity suit, she asks a court of law to help her to prove that a particular man is the father of her child, often in order to claim financial support from him.\n  N-COUNT


Words: path
Meaning:
path  paths\n1. A path is a long strip of ground which people walk along to get from one place to another.\nWe followed the path along the clifftops...\nFeet had worn a path in the rock...\nHe went up the garden path to knock on the door.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. Your path is the space ahead of you as you move along.\nA group of reporters blocked his path...\n  N-COUNT: usu poss N\n\n3. The path of something is the line which it moves along in a particular direction.\nHe stepped without looking into the path of a reversing car.\n  N-COUNT: with poss\n\n4. A path that you take is a particular course of action or way of achieving something.\nThe opposition appear to have chosen the path of cooperation rather than confrontation...\n  N-COUNT: oft N of/to n\n  = road, route\n5. You can say that something is in your path or blocking your path to mean that it is preventing you from doing or achieving what you want.\nThe Church of England put a serious obstacle in the path of women who want to become priests.\n  N-COUNT: usu with poss\n  = way\n6. If you cross someone’s path or if your paths cross, you meet them by chance.\nIt was highly unlikely that their paths would cross again...\n  PHRASE: V inflects


Words: pathetic
Meaning:
pa.thet.ic\n   pathetic\n1. If you describe a person or animal as pathetic, you mean that they are sad and weak or helpless, and they make you feel very sorry for them.\nThe small group of onlookers presented a pathetic sight...\nShe now looked small, shrunken and pathetic.\n  ADJ\n\n=>  pa.theti.cal.ly\nShe was pathetically thin.\n  ADV\n\n2. If you describe someone or something as pathetic, you mean that they make you feel impatient or angry, often because they are weak or not very good.\nWhat pathetic excuses...\nIt’s a pound for a small glass of wine, which is pathetic.\n  ADJ  disapproval\n\n=>  pa.theti.cal.ly\nFive women in a group of 18 people is a pathetically small number.\n  ADV: ADV adj


Words: pathfinder
Meaning:
path.finder\n   pathfinder  pathfinders\n  A pathfinder is someone whose job is to find routes across areas.\n  N-COUNT


Words: pathogen
Meaning:
patho.gen\n   pathogen  pathogens\n  A pathogen is any organism which can cause disease in a person, animal, or plant. (TECHNICAL)\n  N-COUNT


Words: pathogenic
Meaning:
patho.gen.ic\n   pathogenic\n  A pathogenic organism can cause disease in a person, animal, or plant. (TECHNICAL)\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: pathological
Meaning:
patho.logi.cal\n   pathological\n1. You describe a person or their behaviour as pathological when they behave in an extreme and unacceptable way, and have very powerful feelings which they cannot control.\nHe’s a pathological liar.\n...a pathological fear of snakes.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n2. Pathological means relating to pathology or illness. (MEDICAL)\n...pathological conditions in animals.\n  ADJ


Words: pathologist
Meaning:
pa.tholo.gist\n   pathologist  pathologists\n  A pathologist is someone who studies or investigates diseases and illnesses, and examines dead bodies in order to find out the cause of death.\n  N-COUNT


Words: pathology
Meaning:
pa.thol.ogy\n   pathology\n  Pathology is the study of the way diseases and illnesses develop. (MEDICAL)\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: pathos
Meaning:
pa.thos\n   pathos\n  Pathos is a quality in a situation, film, or play that makes people feel sadness and pity.\n...the pathos of man’s isolation...\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: pathway
Meaning:
path.way\n   pathway  pathways\n1. A pathway is a path which you can walk along or a route which you can take.\nRichard was coming up the pathway.\n...a pathway leading towards the nearby river.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A pathway is a particular course of action or a way of achieving something.\nDiplomacy will smooth your pathway to success.\n  N-COUNT: oft N to n\n  = path


Words: patience
Meaning:
pa.tience\n   patience\n1. If you have patience, you are able to stay calm and not get annoyed, for example when something takes a long time, or when someone is not doing what you want them to do.\nHe doesn’t have the patience to wait...\nIt was exacting work and required all his patience.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n  !=impatience\n2. If someone tries your patience or tests your patience, they annoy you so much that it is very difficult for you to stay calm.\nHe tended to stutter, which tried her patience...\n  PHRASE: V inflects


Words: patient
Meaning:
pa.tient\n   patient  patients\n1. A patient is a person who is receiving medical treatment from a doctor or hospital. A patient is also someone who is registered with a particular doctor.\nThe earlier the treatment is given, the better the patient’s chances...\nHe specialized in treatment of cancer patients.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If you are patient, you stay calm and do not get annoyed, for example when something takes a long time, or when someone is not doing what you want them to do.\nPlease be patient.your cheque will arrive...\nHe was endlessly kind and patient with children.\n  ADJ\n  !=impatient\n=>  pa.tient.ly\nShe waited patiently for Frances to finish.\n  ADV: ADV with v


Words: patina
Meaning:
pati.na\n   patina\n1. A patina is a thin layer of something that has formed on the surface of something.\nHe allowed a fine patina of old coffee to develop around the inside of the mug.\n  N-SING: with supp\n\n2. The patina on an old object is an attractive soft shine that has developed on its surface, usually because it has been used a lot.\n...a mahogany door that is golden brown with the patina of age.\n  N-SING: with supp\n\n3. If you say that someone has a patina of a quality or characteristic, you mean that they have a small but impressive amount of this quality or characteristic.\n...a superficial patina of knowledge...\n  N-SING: with supp, oft N of n


Words: patio
Meaning:
pa.tio\n   patio  patios\n  A patio is an area of flat blocks or concrete next to a house, where people can sit and relax or eat.\n  N-COUNT


Words: patio door
Meaning:
pa.tio door\n   patio door  patio doors\n  Patio doors are glass doors that lead onto a patio.\n  N-COUNT


Words: patisserie
Meaning:
pa.tis.serie\n   patisserie  patisseries\n1. A patisserie is a shop where cakes and pastries are sold.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. Patisserie is cakes and pastries.\nBlois is famous for patisserie.\n  N-UNCOUNT: also N in pl


Words: patois
Meaning:
pat.ois\n\npatois is both the singular and the plural form; the singular form is pronounced   and the plural form is pronounced\n1. A patois is a form of a language, especially French, that is spoken in a particular area of a country.\nIn France patois was spoken in rural, less developed regions.\n  N-VAR\n  = dialect\n2. A patois is a language that has developed from a mixture of other languages.\nA substantial proportion of the population speak a French-based patois.\n  N-VAR\n  = creole


Words: patriarch
Meaning:
pa.tri.arch\n   patriarch  patriarchs\n1. A patriarch is the male head of a family or tribe.\nThe patriarch of the house, Mr Jawad, rules it with a ferocity renowned throughout the neighbourhood...\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A patriarch is the head of one of a number of Eastern Christian Churches.\n  N-COUNT; N-TITLE


Words: patriarchal
Meaning:
pa.tri.ar.chal\n   patriarchal\n  A patriarchal society, family, or system is one in which the men have all or most of the power and importance.\nTo feminists she is a classic victim of the patriarchal society...\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: patriarchy
Meaning:
pa.tri.ar.chy\n   patriarchy  patriarchies\n1. Patriarchy is a system in which men have all or most of the power and importance in a society or group.\nThe main cause of women’s and children’s oppression is patriarchy.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. A patriarchy is a patriarchal society.\n  N-COUNT


Words: patrician
Meaning:
pa.tri.cian\n   patrician  patricians\n1. A patrician is a person who comes from a family of high social rank. (FORMAL)\n...the patrician banker Sir Charles Villiers.\n  N-COUNT\n  !=plebeian\n2. If you describe someone as patrician, you mean that they behave in a sophisticated way, and look as though they are from a high social rank.\nHe was a lean, patrician gent in his early sixties.\n  ADJ


Words: patrimony
Meaning:
pat.ri.mo.ny\n   patrimony\n1. Someone’s patrimony is the possessions that they have inherited from their father or ancestors. (FORMAL)\nI left my parents’ house, relinquished my estate and my patrimony.\n  N-SING\n\n2. A country’s patrimony is its land, buildings, and works of art. (FORMAL)\nIn the 1930’s, The National Trust began its campaign to save Britain’s patrimony of threatened country houses.\n  N-SING\n  = heritage


Words: patriot
Meaning:
pa.tri.ot\n   patriot   patriots\n  Someone who is a patriot loves their country and feels very loyal towards it.\nThey were staunch British patriots and had portraits of the Queen in their flat.\n  N-COUNT: oft supp N


Words: patriotic
Meaning:
pat.ri.ot.ic\n   patriotic\n  Someone who is patriotic loves their country and feels very loyal towards it.\nWoosnam is fiercely patriotic...\nThe crowd sang `Land of Hope and Glory’ and other patriotic songs.\n  ADJ


Words: patriotism
Meaning:
pat.ri.ot.ism\n   patriotism\n  Patriotism is love for your country and loyalty towards it.\nHe was a country boy who had joined the army out of a sense of patriotism and adventure...\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: patrol
Meaning:
pa.trol\n   patrol  patrols  patrolling  patrolled\n1. When soldiers, police, or guards patrol an area or building, they move around it in order to make sure that there is no trouble there.\nPrison officers continued to patrol the grounds within the jail.\n  VERB: V n\n\n  Patrol is also a noun.\nHe failed to return from a patrol.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. Soldiers, police, or guards who are on patrol are patrolling an area.\nThe army is now on patrol in Srinagar and a curfew has been imposed...\n  PHRASE: usu v-link PHR\n\n3. A patrol is a group of soldiers or vehicles that are patrolling an area.\nGuerrillas attacked a patrol with hand grenades.\n  N-COUNT


Words: patrol car
Meaning:
pa.trol car\n   patrol car  patrol cars\n  A patrol car is a police car used for patrolling streets and roads.\n  N-COUNT\n  = squad car


Words: patrol wagon
Meaning:
pa.trol wag.on\n   patrol wagon  patrol wagons\n  A patrol wagon is a van or truck which the police use for transporting prisoners. (AM)\n  N-COUNT


Words: patrolman
Meaning:
patrol.man\n   patrolman  patrolmen\n1. A patrolman is a policeman who patrols a particular area. (AM)\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A patrolman is a person employed by a motoring organization to help members of the organization when their cars break down. (BRIT)\n  N-COUNT


Words: patron
Meaning:
pa.tron\n   patron  patrons\n1. A patron is a person who supports and gives money to artists, writers, or musicians.\nCatherine the Great was a patron of the arts and sciences.\n  N-COUNT: with supp, oft N of n\n  = sponsor\n2. The patron of a charity, group, or campaign is an important person who allows his or her name to be used for publicity.\nFiona and Alastair have become patrons of the National Missing Person’s Helpline.\n  N-COUNT: with supp, oft N of n\n\n3. The patrons of a place such as a pub, bar, or hotel are its customers. (FORMAL)\n  N-COUNT


Words: patron saint
Meaning:
pat.ron saint\n   patron saint  patron saints\n  The patron saint of a place, an activity, or a group of people is a saint who is believed to give them special help and protection.\nChiswick church is dedicated to St Nicholas, patron saint of sailors.\n  N-COUNT: usu with poss


Words: patronage
Meaning:
pat.ron.age\n   patronage\n  Patronage is the support and money given by someone to a person or a group such as a charity.\n...government patronage of the arts in Europe...\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft with poss\n  = sponsorship


Words: patroness
Meaning:
pa.tron.ess\n   patroness  patronesses\n  A woman who is a patron of something can be described as a patroness.\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp\n  = sponsor


Words: patronize
Meaning:
pat.ron.ize\n   patronize  patronizes  patronizing  patronized\nin BRIT, also use patronise\n1. If someone patronizes you, they speak or behave towards you in a way which seems friendly, but which shows that they think they are superior to you in some way.\nDon’t you patronize me!...\nCornelia often felt patronised by her tutors.\n  VERB: V n, V-ed  disapproval\n\n2. Someone who patronizes artists, writers, or musicians supports them and gives them money. (FORMAL)\nThe Japanese Imperial family patronises the Japanese Art Association.\n  VERB: V n\n\n3. If someone patronizes a place such as a pub, bar, or hotel, they are one of its customers. (FORMAL)\nThe ladies of Berne liked to patronize the Palace for tea and little cakes.\n  VERB: V n\n  = frequent


Words: patronizing
Meaning:
pat.ron.iz.ing\n   patronizing\nin BRIT, also use patronising\n  If someone is patronizing, they speak or behave towards you in a way that seems friendly, but which shows that they think they are superior to you.\nThe tone of the interview was unnecessarily patronizing .\n  ADJ  disapproval


Words: patsy
Meaning:
pat.sy\n   patsy  patsies\n  If you describe someone as a patsy, you mean that they are rather stupid and are easily tricked by other people, or can be made to take the blame for other people’s actions. (AM INFORMAL)\nDavis was nobody’s patsy...\n  N-COUNT  disapproval\n  = mug


Words: patter
Meaning:
pat.ter\n   patter  patters  pattering  pattered\n1. If something patters on a surface, it hits it quickly several times, making quiet, tapping sounds.\nRain pattered gently outside, dripping on to the roof from the pines.\n  VERB: V adv/prep\n\n2. A patter is a series of quick, quiet, tapping sounds.\n...the patter of the driving rain on the roof.\n  N-SING: oft the N of n\n\n3. Someone’s patter is a series of things that they say quickly and easily, usually in order to entertain people or to persuade them to buy or do something.\nFran began her automatic patter about how Jon had been unavoidably detained.\n  N-SING: usu poss N


Words: pattern
Meaning:
pat.tern\n   pattern  patterns\n1. A pattern is the repeated or regular way in which something happens or is done.\nAll three attacks followed the same pattern...\nA change in the pattern of his breathing became apparent.\n  N-COUNT: oft the N of n\n\n2. A pattern is an arrangement of lines or shapes, especially a design in which the same shape is repeated at regular intervals over a surface.\n...a golden robe embroidered with red and purple thread stitched into a pattern of flames.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. A pattern is a diagram or shape that you can use as a guide when you are making something such as a model or a piece of clothing.\n...cutting out a pattern for trousers...\n  N-COUNT


Words: patterned
Meaning:
pat.terned\n   patterned\n1. Something that is patterned is covered with a pattern or design.\n...a plain carpet with a patterned border.\n...bone china patterned with flowers.\n  ADJ: oft ADJ with n\n\n2. If something new is patterned on something else that already exists, it is deliberately made so that it has similar features. (mainly AM)\nNew York City announced a 10-point policy patterned on the federal bill of rights for taxpayers...\nHe says this contract should not be patterned after the Deere pact.\n  V-PASSIVE: be V-ed on n, be V-ed after n


Words: patterning
Meaning:
pat.tern.ing\n   patterning\n1. Patterning is the forming of fixed ways of behaving or of doing things by constantly repeating something or copying other people. (FORMAL)\n...social patterning.\n...the patterning of behaviour.\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu with supp\n\n2. You can refer to lines, spots, or other patterns as patterning.\n...geometric patterning.\n...a jazzy patterning of lights.\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu with supp


Words: patty
Meaning:
pat.ty\n   patty  patties\n1. A patty is a small, round meat pie. (mainly AM)\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A patty is an amount of minced beef formed into a flat, round shape.\n  N-COUNT


Words: paucity
Meaning:
pau.city\n   paucity\n  If you say that there is a paucity of something, you mean that there is not enough of it. (FORMAL)\nEven the film’s impressive finale can’t hide the first hour’s paucity of imagination.\n...the paucity of good British women sprinters.\n  N-SING: N of n


Words: paunch
Meaning:
paunch  paunches\n  If a man has a paunch, he has a fat stomach.\nHe finished his dessert and patted his paunch...\n  N-COUNT\n  = pot-belly


Words: paunchy
Meaning:
paunchy  paunchier  paunchiest\n  A man who is paunchy has a fat stomach.\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ\n  = pot-bellied


Words: pauper
Meaning:
pau.per\n   pauper  paupers\n  A pauper is a very poor person. (FORMAL)\nHe did die a pauper and is buried in an unmarked grave.\n  N-COUNT


Words: pause
Meaning:
pause  pauses  pausing  paused\n1. If you pause while you are doing something, you stop for a short period and then continue.\n`It’s rather embarrassing,’ he began, and paused...\nOn leaving, she paused for a moment at the door...\nHe talked for two hours without pausing for breath.\n  VERB: V, V, V for n\n\n2. A pause is a short period when you stop doing something before continuing.\nAfter a pause Alex said sharply: `I’m sorry if I’ve upset you’...\n  N-COUNT


Words: pave
Meaning:
pave  paves  paving  paved\n1. If a road or an area of ground has been paved, it has been covered with flat blocks of stone or concrete, so that it is suitable for walking or driving on.\nThe avenue had never been paved, and deep mud made it impassable in winter.\n  VERB: usu passive, be V-ed\n\n=>  paved\n...a small paved courtyard...\n  ADJ: oft ADJ with n\n\n2. If one thing paves the way for another, it creates a situation in which it is possible or more likely that the other thing will happen. (JOURNALISM)\nThe discussions are aimed at paving the way for formal negotiations between the two countries.\n  PHRASE: V inflects


Words: pavement
Meaning:
pave.ment\n   pavement  pavements\n1. A pavement is a path with a hard surface, usually by the side of a road. (BRIT; in AM, use sidewalk)\nHe was hurrying along the pavement.\n  N-COUNT: oft supp N\n\n2. The pavement is the hard surface of a road. (AM)\n  N-COUNT


Words: pavilion
Meaning:
pa.vil.ion\n   pavilion  pavilions\n1. A pavilion is a building on the edge of a sports field where players can change their clothes and wash. (BRIT)\n...the cricket pavilion.\n  N-COUNT: oft supp N\n\n2. A pavilion is a large temporary structure such as a tent, which is used at outdoor public events.\n...the United States pavilion at the Expo ’70 exhibition in Japan.\n  N-COUNT: oft supp N


Words: paving
Meaning:
pav.ing\n   paving\n  Paving is flat blocks of stone or concrete covering an area.\nIn the centre of the paving stood a statue.\n...concrete paving.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft supp N


Words: paving stone
Meaning:
pav.ing stone\n   paving stone  paving stones\n  Paving stones are flat pieces of stone or concrete, usually square in shape, that are put on the ground, for example to make a path. (mainly BRIT)\n  N-COUNT


Words: pavlova
Meaning:
pav.lo.va\n   pavlova  pavlovas\n  A pavlova is a dessert which consists of a hard base made of egg whites and sugar with fruit and cream on top.\n  N-VAR


Words: paw
Meaning:
paw  paws  pawing  pawed\n1. The paws of an animal such as a cat, dog, or bear are its feet, which have claws for gripping things and soft pads for walking on.\nThe kitten was black with white front paws and a white splotch on her chest...\n  N-COUNT: oft with poss\n\n2. You can describe someone’s hand as their paw, especially if it is very large or if they are very clumsy. (mainly HUMOROUS, INFORMAL)\nHe shook Keaton’s hand with his big paw.\n  N-COUNT: oft poss N, adj N\n\n3. If an animal paws something, it draws its foot over it or down it.\nMadigan’s horse pawed the ground...\nThe dogs continued to paw and claw frantically at the chain mesh.\n  VERB: V n, V at n\n\n4. If one person paws another, they touch or stroke them in a way that the other person finds offensive.\nStop pawing me, Giles!...\nHe pawed at my jacket with his free hand.\n  VERB: V n, V at n  disapproval


Words: pawn
Meaning:
pawn  pawns  pawning  pawned\n1. If you pawn something that you own, you leave it with a pawnbroker, who gives you money for it and who can sell it if you do not pay back the money before a certain time.\nHe is contemplating pawning his watch.\n  VERB: V n\n\n2. In chess, a pawn is the smallest and least valuable playing piece. Each player has eight pawns at the start of the game.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. If you say that someone is using you as a pawn, you mean that they are using you for their own advantage.\nIt looks as though he is being used as a political pawn by the President...\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp, oft N in n


Words: pawnbroker
Meaning:
pawn.broker\n   pawnbroker  pawnbrokers\n  A pawnbroker is a person who lends people money. People give the pawnbroker something they own, which can be sold if they do not pay back the money before a certain time.\n  N-COUNT


Words: pawpaw
Meaning:
paw.paw\n   pawpaw  pawpaws   also paw-paw\n  A pawpaw is a fruit with green skin, sweet yellow flesh, and black seeds and grows in hot countries such as the West Indies. (BRIT; in AM, use papaya)\n  N-VAR\n  = papaya


Words: pay
Meaning:
pay  pays  paying  paid\n1. When you pay an amount of money to someone, you give it to them because you are buying something from them or because you owe it to them. When you pay something such as a bill or a debt, you pay the amount that you owe.\nAccommodation is free.all you pay for is breakfast and dinner...\nWe paid .35 for each ticket...\nThe wealthier may have to pay a little more in taxes...\nHe proposes that businesses should pay taxes to the federal government...\nYou can pay by credit card.\n  VERB: V for n, V n for n, V n, V n to n, V adv/prep, also V to-inf, V n to-inf, V\n\n2. When you are paid, you get your wages or salary from your employer.\nThe lawyer was paid a huge salary...\nI get paid monthly...\nThey could wander where they wished and take jobs from who paid best.\n  VERB: be/get V-ed n, get/be V-ed adv, V adv\n\n3. Your pay is the money that you get from your employer as wages or salary.\n...their complaints about their pay and conditions.\n...the workers’ demand for a twenty per cent pay rise.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n4. If you are paid to do something, someone gives you some money so that you will help them or perform some service for them.\nStudents were paid substantial sums of money to do nothing all day but lie in bed...\nIf you help me, I’ll pay you anything.\n  VERB: be V-ed to-inf, V n n\n\n5. If a government or organization makes someone pay for something, it makes them responsible for providing the money for it, for example by increasing prices or taxes.\n...a legally binding international treaty that establishes who must pay for environmental damage...\nIf you don’t subsidize ballet and opera, seat prices will have to go up to pay for it.\n  VERB: V for n, V for n, also V\n\n6. If a job, deal, or investment pays a particular amount, it brings you that amount of money.\nWe’re stuck in jobs that don’t pay very well...\nThe account does not pay interest on a credit balance.\n  VERB: V adv, V n\n\n7. If a job, deal, or investment pays, it brings you a profit or earns you some money.\nThey owned land; they made it pay.\n  VERB: V\n\n8. When you pay money into a bank account, you put the money in the account.\nHe paid .20 into his savings account...\nThere is nothing more annoying than queueing when you only want to pay in a few cheques.\n  VERB: V n into n, V n with adv\n\n9. If a course of action pays, it results in some advantage or benefit for you.\nIt pays to invest in protective clothing...\nHe talked of defending small nations, of ensuring that aggression does not pay.\n  VERB: it V to-inf, V\n\n10. If you pay for something that you do or have, you suffer as a result of it.\nBritain was to pay dearly for its lack of resolve...\nWhy should I pay the penalty for somebody else’s mistake?...\nShe feels it’s a small price to pay for the pleasure of living in this delightful house.\n  VERB: V for n, V n for n, V n for n, also V\n\n11. You use pay with some nouns, for example in the expressions pay a visit and pay attention, to indicate that something is given or done.\nDo pay us a visit next time you’re in Birmingham...\nHe felt a heavy bump, but paid no attention to it...\nHe had nothing to do with arranging the funeral, but came along to pay his last respects.\n  VERB: V n n, V n to n, V n\n\n12. Pay television consists of programmes and channels which are not part of a public broadcasting system, and for which people have to pay.\nThe company has set up joint-venture pay-TV channels in Belgium, Spain, and Germany.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n13.\n  see also paid, sick pay\n14. If something that you buy or invest in pays for itself after a period of time, the money you gain from it, or save because you have it, is greater than the amount you originally spent or invested.\n...investments in energy efficiency that would pay for themselves within five years.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n15. If you pay your way, you have or earn enough money to pay for what you need, without needing other people to give or lend you money.\n(next)


Words: pay .1
Meaning:
I went to college anyway, as a part-time student, paying my own way...\nThe British film industry could not pay its way without a substantial export market.\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n16.\nto pay dividends: see dividend\nto pay through the nose: see nose\nhe who pays the piper calls the tune: see piper


Words: pay back
Meaning:
pay back\n1. If you pay back some money that you have borrowed or taken from someone, you give them an equal sum of money at a later time.\nHe burst into tears, begging her to forgive him and swearing to pay back everything he had stolen...\nI’ll pay you back that two quid tomorrow.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), V n P n, also V n P\n\n2. If you pay someone back for doing something unpleasant to you, you take your revenge on them or make them suffer for what they did.\nSome day I’ll pay you back for this!\n  PHRASAL VERB: V n P for n, also V n P


Words: pay cheque
Meaning:
pay cheque  pay cheques\nin AM, use paycheck\n  Your pay cheque is a piece of paper that your employer gives you as your wages or salary, and which you can then cash at a bank. You can also use pay cheque as a way of referring to your wages or salary.\nThey’ve worked for about two weeks without a paycheck.\n  N-COUNT: oft poss N


Words: pay day
Meaning:
pay day  pay days   also payday\n1. Pay day is the day of the week or month on which you receive your wages or salary.\nUntil next payday, I was literally without any money.\n  N-UNCOUNT: also N in pl\n\n2. If a sports player has a big pay day, he or she earns a lot of money from winning or taking part in a game or contest. (JOURNALISM)\n  N-COUNT: oft adj N


Words: pay envelope
Meaning:
pay en.velope\n   pay envelope  pay envelopes\n  Your pay envelope is the envelope containing your wages, which your employer gives you at the end of every week. (AM; in BRIT, use pay packet)\n  N-COUNT: oft poss N


Words: pay off
Meaning:
pay off\n1. If you pay off a debt, you give someone all the money that you owe them.\nIt would take him the rest of his life to pay off that loan.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), also V n P\n\n2. If you pay off someone, you give them the amount of money that you owe them or that they are asking for, so that they will not take action against you or cause you any trouble.\n...his bid to raise funds to pay off his creditors...\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), also V n P\n\n3. If an action pays off, it is successful or profitable after a period of time.\nSandra was determined to become a doctor and her persistence paid off.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P\n\n4.\n  see also payoff


Words: pay out
Meaning:
pay out\n1. If you pay out money, usually a large amount, you spend it on something.\n...football clubs who pay out millions of pounds for players.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n for/to n, also V P n\n\n2. When an insurance policy pays out, the person who has the policy receives the money that they are entitled to receive.\nMany policies pay out only after a period of weeks or months.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P\n\n3.\n  see also payout


Words: pay packet
Meaning:
pay pack.et\n   pay packet  pay packets\n1. Your pay packet is the envelope containing your wages, which your employer gives you at the end of every week. (BRIT; in AM, use pay envelope)\n  N-COUNT: oft poss N\n\n2. You can refer to someone’s wages or salary as their pay packet. (BRIT; in AM, use paycheck, pay)\n  N-COUNT: oft poss N


Words: pay up
Meaning:
pay up\n  If you pay up, you give someone the money that you owe them or that they are entitled to, even though you would prefer not to give it.\nWe claimed a refund from the association, but they would not pay up.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P


Words: pay-as-you-go
Meaning:
pay-as-you-go   also pay as you go\n  Pay-as-you-go is a system in which a person or organization pays for the costs of something when they occur rather than before or afterwards.\nPensions are paid by the state on a pay-as-you-go basis.\n  ADJ


Words: pay-per-view
Meaning:
pay-per-view\n  Pay-per-view is a cable or satellite television system in which you have to pay a fee if you want to watch a particular programme.\nThe match appeared on pay-per-view television.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N n


Words: payable
Meaning:
pay.able\n   payable\n1. If an amount of money is payable, it has to be paid or it can be paid.\nPurchase tax was not payable on goods for export.\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ, oft ADJ on/to n\n\n2. If a cheque or postal order is made payable to you, it has your name written on it to indicate that you are the person who will receive the money.\nWrite, enclosing a cheque made payable to Cobuild Limited.\n  ADJ: v n ADJ, n ADJ, ADJ to n


Words: payback
Meaning:
pay.back\n   payback  paybacks   also pay-back\n1. You can use payback to refer to the profit or benefit that you obtain from something that you have spent money, time, or effort on. (mainly AM)\nThere is a substantial payback in terms of employee and union relations...\n  N-COUNT: usu sing\n\n2. The payback period of a loan is the time in which you are required or allowed to pay it back.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n3. Payback time is when someone has to take the consequences of what they have done in the past. You can use this expression to talk about good or bad consequences.\nThis was payback time. I’ve proved once and for all I can become champion...\n  PHRASE: v-link PHR


Words: paydirt
Meaning:
pay.dirt\n   paydirt   also pay dirt\n  If you say that someone has struck paydirt or has hit paydirt, you mean that they have achieved sudden success or gained a lot of money very quickly. (mainly AM INFORMAL)\nHoward Hawks hit paydirt with `Rio Bravo’.\n  PHRASE: V inflects


Words: PAYE
Meaning:
PAYE\n  In Britain, PAYE is a system of paying income tax in which your employer pays your tax directly to the government, and then takes this amount from your salary or wages. PAYE is an abbreviation for `pay as you earn’. (BUSINESS)\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: payee
Meaning:
payee  payees\n  The payee of a cheque or similar document is the person who should receive the money. (FORMAL)\n  N-COUNT: usu sing


Words: payer
Meaning:
pay.er\n   payer  payers\n1. You can refer to someone as a payer if they pay a particular kind of bill or fee. For example, a mortgage payer is someone who pays a mortgage.\nLower interest rates pleased millions of mortgage payers.\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp, oft n N\n\n  see also ratepayer, taxpayer\n2. A good payer pays you quickly or pays you a lot of money. A bad payer takes a long time to pay you, or does not pay you very much.\nI have always been a good payer and have never gone into debt...\n  N-COUNT: adj N


Words: paying guest
Meaning:
pay.ing guest\n   paying guest  paying guests\n  A paying guest is a person who pays to stay with someone in their home, usually for a short time.\nAt that time my mother took in paying guests.\n  N-COUNT


Words: payload
Meaning:
pay.load\n   payload  payloads\n1. The payload of an aircraft or spacecraft is the amount or weight of things or people that it is carrying. (TECHNICAL)\nWith these very large passenger payloads one question looms above all others.safety.\n  N-VAR\n  = cargo\n2. The payload of a missile or similar weapon is the quantity of explosives it contains. (MILITARY)\n...a hypervelocity gun capable of delivering substantial payloads to extreme ranges.\n  N-VAR


Words: paymaster
Meaning:
pay.master\n   paymaster  paymasters\n1. A paymaster is a person or organization that pays and therefore controls another person or organization.\n...the ruling party’s paymasters in business and banking...\n  N-COUNT: oft with poss\n\n2. A paymaster is an official in the armed forces who is responsible for the payment of wages and salaries. (MILITARY)\n  N-COUNT


Words: payment
Meaning:
pay.ment\n   payment  payments\n1. A payment is an amount of money that is paid to someone, or the act of paying this money.\nThousands of its customers are in arrears with loans and mortgage payments...\nThe fund will make payments of just over .1 billion next year.\n  N-COUNT: oft n N, N to/of/on n\n\n2. Payment is the act of paying money to someone or of being paid.\nHe had sought to obtain payment of a sum which he had claimed was owed to him.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N of/for n\n\n3.\n  see also balance of payments, down payment


Words: payment card
Meaning:
pay.ment card\n   payment card  payment cards\n  A payment card is a plastic card which you use like a credit card in order to pay for things, but which takes the money directly from your bank account.\n  N-COUNT\n  = debit card


Words: payoff
Meaning:
pay.off\n   payoff  payoffs   also pay-off\n1. The payoff from an action is the advantage or benefit that you get from it.\nIf such materials became generally available to the optics industry the payoffs from such a breakthrough would be enormous...\n  N-COUNT: oft N from n\n\n2. A payoff is a payment which is made to someone, often secretly or illegally, so that they will not cause trouble.\nSoldiers in both countries supplement their incomes with payoffs from drugs exporters.\n  N-COUNT: oft N from n\n\n3. A payoff is a large payment made to someone by their employer when the person has been forced to leave their job.\nThe ousted chairman received a .1.5 million payoff from the loss-making oil company.\n  N-COUNT


Words: payola
Meaning:
pay.ola\n   payola\n  Payola is the illegal practice of paying radio broadcasters to play certain CDs, so that the CDs will become more popular and therefore make more profits for the record company. (AM)\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: payout
Meaning:
pay.out\n   payout  payouts   also pay-out\n  A payout is a sum of money, especially a large one, that is paid to someone, for example by an insurance company or as a prize.\n...long delays in receiving insurance payouts.\n  N-COUNT


Words: payphone
Meaning:
pay.phone\n   payphone  payphones   also pay phone\n  A payphone is a telephone which you need to put coins or a card in before you can make a call. Payphones are usually in public places.\n  N-COUNT


Words: payroll
Meaning:
pay.roll\n   payroll  payrolls\n  The people on the payroll of a company or an organization are the people who work for it and are paid by it. (BUSINESS)\nThey had 87,000 employees on the payroll.\n  N-COUNT: oft on N


Words: payslip
Meaning:
pay.slip\n   payslip  payslips   also pay slip\n  A payslip is a piece of paper given to an employee at the end of each week or month, which states how much money he or she has earned and how much has been taken from that sum for things such as tax and national insurance. (BRIT)\n  N-COUNT


Words: PC
Meaning:
PC  PCs\n1. In Britain, a PC is a male police officer of the lowest rank. PC is an abbreviation for `police constable’.\nThe PCs took her to the local station...\nPC Keith Gate helped arrest the men.\n  N-COUNT; N-TITLE\n\n2. A PC is a computer that is used by one person at a time in a business, a school, or at home. PC is an abbreviation for `personal computer’.\nThe price of a PC has fallen by an average of 25% a year since 1982...\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. If you say that someone is PC, you mean that they are extremely careful not to offend or upset any group of people in society who have a disadvantage. PC is an abbreviation for `politically correct’.\n  ADJ


Words: pcm
Meaning:
pcm is used in advertisements for housing, when indicating how much the rent will be. pcm is a written abbreviation for `per calendar month’. (BRIT)


Words: PDA
Meaning:
PDA PDAs\n  A PDA is a hand-held computer, used mainly for storing and accessing personal information such as addresses, telephone numbers, and memos. PDA is an abbreviation for `personal digital assistant’.\nA typical PDA can function as a mobile phone, fax sender, and personal organizer.\n  N-COUNT


Words: PE
Meaning:
PE\n  In schools, PE is a lesson in which pupils do physical exercises or sport. PE is an abbreviation for `physical education’.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: pea
Meaning:
pea  peas\n  Peas are round green seeds which grow in long thin cases and are eaten as a vegetable.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl


Words: peace
Meaning:
peace\n1. If countries or groups involved in a war or violent conflict are discussing peace, they are talking to each other in order to try to end the conflict.\nLeaders of some rival factions signed a peace agreement last week...\nThey hope the treaty will bring peace and stability to Southeast Asia.\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu N n\n\n2. If there is peace in a country or in the world, there are no wars or violent conflicts going on.\nThe President spoke of a shared commitment to world peace and economic development.\n...the Nobel Peace Prize.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft at N\n  !=war\n3. If you disapprove of weapons, especially nuclear weapons, you can use peace to refer to campaigns and other activities intended to reduce their numbers or stop their use.\n...two peace campaigners accused of causing damage to an F1-11 nuclear bomber...\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu N n\n\n4. If you have peace, you are not being disturbed, and you are in calm, quiet surroundings.\nAll I want is to have some peace and quiet and spend a couple of nice days with my grandchildren...\nOne more question and I’ll leave you in peace.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft in N\n\n5. If you have a feeling of peace, you feel contented and calm and not at all worried. You can also say that you are at peace.\nI had a wonderful feeling of peace and serenity when I saw my husband...\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft at N\n\n6. If there is peace among a group of people, they live or work together in a friendly way and do not quarrel. You can also say that people live or work in peace with each other.\n...a period of relative peace in the country’s industrial relations...\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft in N\n\n7. The Peace of a particular place is a treaty or an agreement that was signed there, bringing an end to a war. (OLD-FASHIONED)\nThe Peace of Ryswick was signed in September 1697.\n  N-IN-NAMES: the N of n\n\n8.\n  see also breach of the peace, Justice of the Peace\n9. If you hold or keep your peace, you do not speak, even though there is something you want or ought to say. (FORMAL)\n...people who knew about this evil man but held their peace...\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n  = keep quiet\n10. If someone in authority, such as the army or the police, keeps the peace, they make sure that people behave and do not fight or quarrel with each other.\n...the first UN contingent assigned to help keep the peace in Cambodia...\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n11. If something gives you peace of mind, it stops you from worrying about a particular problem or difficulty.\nHe began to insist upon a bullet-proof limousine, just for peace of mind.\n  PHRASE: PHR after v, for PHR\n\n12. If you express the wish that a dead person may rest in peace, you are showing respect and sympathy for him or her. `Rest in peace’ is also sometimes written on gravestones. (FORMAL)\n  PHRASE: usu PHR after modal


Words: Peace Corps
Meaning:
Peace Corps   also peace corps\n  The Peace Corps is an American organization that sends young people to help with projects in developing countries.\n  N-PROPER: the N


Words: peace dividend
Meaning:
peace divi.dend\n   peace dividend  peace dividends\n  The peace dividend is the economic benefit that was expected in the world after the end of the Cold War, as a result of money previously spent on defence and arms becoming available for other purposes.\nThe peace dividend has not materialised despite military spending going down in most countries.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing


Words: peace offering
Meaning:
peace of.fer.ing\n   peace offering  peace offerings\n  You can use peace offering to refer to something that you give someone to show that you want to end the quarrel between you.\n`A peace offering,’ Roberts said as he handed the box of cigars to Cohen.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing


Words: peace process
Meaning:
peace pro.cess\n   peace process  peace processes\n  A peace process consists of all the meetings, agreements, and negotiations in which people such as politicians are involved when they are trying to arrange peace between countries or groups that are fighting with each other.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, oft the N


Words: peace-loving
Meaning:
peace-loving\n  If you describe someone as peace-loving, you mean that they try to avoid quarrelling or fighting with other people.\nBy and large, these people are peace-loving, law-abiding citizens.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: peaceable
Meaning:
peace.able\n   peaceable\n  Someone who is peaceable tries to avoid quarrelling or fighting with other people. (WRITTEN)\n...an attempt by ruthless people to impose their will on a peaceable majority...\n  ADJ


Words: peaceably
Meaning:
peace.ably\n   peaceably\n  If you do something peaceably, you do it quietly or peacefully, without violence or anger. (WRITTEN)\nThe rival guerrilla groups had agreed to stop fighting and settle their differences peaceably...\n  ADV: ADV with v


Words: peaceful
Meaning:
peace.ful\n   peaceful\n1. Peaceful activities and situations do not involve war.\nHe has attempted to find a peaceful solution to the Ossetian conflict...\nThey emphasised that their equipment was for peaceful and not military purposes.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n=>  peace.ful.ly\nThe US military expects the matter to be resolved peacefully.\n  ADV: ADV with v\n\n2. Peaceful occasions happen without violence or serious disorder.\nThe farmers staged a noisy but peaceful protest outside the headquarters of the organization...\n  ADJ\n  !=violent\n=>  peace.ful.ly\nTen thousand people are reported to have taken part in the protest which passed off peacefully.\n  ADV: ADV with v\n\n3. Peaceful people are not violent and try to avoid quarrelling or fighting with other people.\n...warriors who killed or enslaved the peaceful farmers.\n  ADJ\n\n=>  peace.ful.ly\nThey’ve been living and working peacefully with members of various ethnic groups.\n  ADV: ADV with v\n\n4. A peaceful place or time is quiet, calm, and free from disturbance.\n...a peaceful Georgian house in the heart of Dorset...\n  ADJ\n\n=>  peace.ful.ly\nExcept for traffic noise the night passed peacefully.\n  ADV: ADV after v


Words: peacefully
Meaning:
peace.ful.ly\n   peacefully\n  If you say that someone died peacefully, you mean that they suffered no pain or violence when they died.\nHe died peacefully on 10th December after a short illness.\n  ADV: ADV after v\n\n  see also peaceful


Words: peacekeeper
Meaning:
peace.keep.er\n   peacekeeper  peacekeepers   also peace-keeper\n1. Peacekeepers are soldiers who are members of a peacekeeping force.\nThere’s been much fear that the United Nations peacekeepers would be under attack in a situation like that.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl, oft supp N\n\n2. If you describe a country or an organization as a peacekeeper, you mean that it often uses its influence or armed forces to try to prevent wars or violent conflicts in the world.\nThey want the United Nations to play a bigger role as the world’s peacekeeper...\n  N-COUNT: usu sing


Words: peacekeeping
Meaning:
peace.keep.ing\n   peacekeeping   also peace-keeping\n  A peacekeeping force is a group of soldiers that is sent to a country where there is war or fighting, in order to try to prevent more violence. Peacekeeping forces are usually made up of troops from several different countries.\n...the possibilities of a UN peacekeeping force monitoring the ceasefire in the country.\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu N n


Words: peacemaker
Meaning:
peace.maker\n   peacemaker  peacemakers   also peace-maker, peace maker\n  You can describe an organization, a country or a person as a peacemaker when they try to persuade countries or people to stop fighting or quarrelling.\n...the Labour government’s vision of acting as a peacemaker and mediator...\n  N-COUNT


Words: peacemaking
Meaning:
peace.making\n   peacemaking   also peace-making\n  Peacemaking efforts are attempts to persuade countries or groups to stop fighting with each other.\n...the failure of international peacemaking efforts...\nThe United States is more than ever the prime mover in Middle East peace-making.\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu N n


Words: peacenik
Meaning:
peace.nik\n   peacenik  peaceniks\n  If you describe someone as a peacenik, you mean that they are strongly opposed to war. (INFORMAL)\n  N-COUNT


Words: peacetime
Meaning:
peace.time\n   peacetime   also peace-time\n  Peacetime is a period of time during which a country is not at war.\nThe British could afford to reduce defence spending in peacetime without excessive risk...\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft in N


Words: peach
Meaning:
peach  peaches\n1. A peach is a soft, round, slightly furry fruit with sweet yellow flesh and pinky-orange skin. Peaches grow in warm countries.\n  N-COUNT: oft N n\n\n2. Something that is peach is pale pinky-orange in colour.\n...a peach silk blouse.\n  COLOUR


Words: peaches and cream
Meaning:
peaches and cream\n  If you say that a woman or a girl has a peaches and cream complexion, you mean that she has very clear, smooth, pale skin.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n  approval


Words: peachy
Meaning:
peachy\n1. If you describe something as peachy, you mean that it tastes or smells like a peach or is similar in colour to a peach.\n...a rich, peachy dessert wine.\n...peachy pink.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n, ADJ colour\n\n2. If you say that something is peachy or peachy keen, you mean that it is very nice. (AM INFORMAL)\nEverything in her life is just peachy.\n  ADJ


Words: peacock
Meaning:
pea.cock\n   peacock  peacocks\n  A peacock is a large bird. The male has a very large tail covered with blue and green spots, which it can spread out like a fan.\n...peacocks strutting slowly across the garden.\n...peacock feathers.\n  N-COUNT


Words: peacock blue
Meaning:
pea.cock blue\n   peacock blue\n  Something that is peacock blue is a deep, bright, greeny-blue in colour.\n  COLOUR


Words: peak
Meaning:
peak  peaks  peaking  peaked\n1. The peak of a process or an activity is the point at which it is at its strongest, most successful, or most fully developed.\nThe party’s membership has fallen from a peak of fifty-thousand after the Second World War...\nThe bomb went off in a concrete dustbin at the peak of the morning rush hour.\n...a flourishing career that was at its peak at the time of his death...\n  N-COUNT: usu sing, usu with supp\n\n2. When something peaks, it reaches its highest value or its highest level.\nTemperatures have peaked at over thirty degrees Celsius...\nHis career peaked during the 1970’s.\n  VERB: V at n, V\n\n3. The peak level or value of something is its highest level or value.\nCalls cost 36p (cheap rate) and 48p (peak rate) per minute...\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n4. Peak times are the times when there is most demand for something or most use of something.\nIt’s always crowded at peak times...\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n  !=off-peak\n  see also peak time\n5. A peak is a mountain or the top of a mountain.\n...the snow-covered peaks.\n  N-COUNT\n\n6. The peak of a cap is the part at the front that sticks out above your eyes.\n  N-COUNT


Words: peak time
Meaning:
peak time\n  Programmes which are broadcast at peak time are broadcast when the greatest number of people are watching television or listening to the radio. (mainly BRIT; in AM, usually use prime time)\nThe news programme goes out four times a week at peak time.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft at/in N, N n


Words: peaked
Meaning:
peaked\n  A peaked cap has a pointed or rounded part that sticks out above your eyes.\n...a man in a blue-grey uniform and peaked cap.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: peal
Meaning:
peal  peals  pealing  pealed\n1. When bells peal, they ring one after another, making a musical sound.\nChurch bells pealed at the stroke of midnight.\n  VERB: V\n\n  Peal is also a noun.\n...the great peal of the Abbey bells.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A peal of laughter or thunder consists of a long, loud series of sounds.\nI heard a peal of merry laughter.\n  N-COUNT: oft N of n


Words: peanut
Meaning:
pea.nut\n   peanut  peanuts\n1. Peanuts are small nuts that grow under the ground. Peanuts are often eaten as a snack, especially roasted and salted.\n...a packet of peanuts...\nAdd 2 tablespoons of peanut oil.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl, oft N n\n\n2. If you say that a sum of money is peanuts, you mean that it is very small. (INFORMAL)\nThe cost was peanuts compared to a new kitchen...\n  N-PLURAL  disapproval


Words: peanut butter
Meaning:
pea.nut but.ter\n   peanut butter\n  Peanut butter is a brown paste made out of crushed peanuts which you can spread on bread and eat.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: pear
Meaning:
pear  pears\n  A pear is a sweet, juicy fruit which is narrow near its stalk, and wider and rounded at the bottom. Pears have white flesh and thin green or yellow skin.\n  N-COUNT


Words: pear-shaped
Meaning:
pear-shaped\n1. Something that is pear-shaped has a shape like a pear.\n...her pear-shaped diamond earrings.\n  ADJ\n\n2. If someone, especially a woman, is pear-shaped, they are wider around their hips than around the top half of their body.\n  ADJ\n\n3. If a situation goes pear-shaped, bad things start happening. (INFORMAL)\nHe feared his career had gone a bit pear-shaped.\n  PHRASE: V inflects


Words: pearl
Meaning:
pearl  pearls\n1. A pearl is a hard round object which is shiny and creamy white in colour. Pearls grow inside the shell of an oyster and are used for making expensive jewellery.\nShe wore a string of pearls at her throat...\n  N-COUNT\n\n  see also mother-of-pearl\n2. Pearl is used to describe something which looks like a pearl.\n...tiny pearl buttons.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: pearly
Meaning:
pearly\n  Something that is pearly is pale and shines softly, like a pearl.\n...the pearly light of early morning.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n  Pearly is also a combining form.\n...pearly pink lipstick...\n  COMB in COLOUR


Words: peasant
Meaning:
peas.ant\n   peasant  peasants\n  A peasant is a poor person of low social status who works on the land; used of people who live in countries where farming is still a common way of life.\n...the peasants in the Peruvian highlands...\n  N-COUNT: oft supp N, N n


Words: peasantry
Meaning:
peas.ant.ry\n   peasantry\n  You can refer to all the peasants in a particular country as the peasantry.\nThe Russian peasantry stood on the brink of disappearance.\n  N-SING-COLL: also no det, usu the N


Words: peat
Meaning:
peat\n  Peat is decaying plant material which is found under the ground in some cool, wet regions. Peat can be added to soil to help plants grow, or can be burnt on fires instead of coal.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N n


Words: pebble
Meaning:
peb.ble\n   pebble  pebbles\n  A pebble is a small, smooth, round stone which is found on beaches and at the bottom of rivers.\n  N-COUNT


Words: pecan
Meaning:
pe.can\n   pecan  pecans\n  Pecans or pecan nuts are nuts with a thin, smooth shell that grow on trees in the southern United States and central America and that you can eat.\n  N-COUNT


Words: peccadillo
Meaning:
pec.ca.dil.lo\n   peccadillo  peccadilloes  or peccadillos\n  Peccadilloes are small, unimportant sins or faults. (WRITTEN)\nPeople are prepared to be tolerant of extra-marital peccadilloes by public figures.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl


Words: peck
Meaning:
peck  pecks  pecking  pecked\n1. If a bird pecks at something or pecks something, it moves its beak forward quickly and bites at it.\nIt was winter and the sparrows were pecking at whatever they could find...\nChickens pecked in the dust...\nIt pecked his leg...\nThey turn on their own kind and peck each other to death...\nThese birds peck off all the red flowers.\n  VERB: V at n, V prep/adv, V n, V n prep, V n with adv\n\n2. If you peck someone on the cheek, you give them a quick, light kiss.\nElizabeth walked up to him and pecked him on the cheek...\nShe pecked his cheek.\n  VERB: V n on n, V n\n\n  Peck is also a noun.\nHe gave me a little peck on the cheek.\n  N-COUNT: usu a N


Words: pecker
Meaning:
peck.er\n   pecker  peckers\n1. If you tell someone to keep their pecker up, you are encouraging them to be cheerful in a difficult situation. (BRIT INFORMAL)\n  PHRASE\n  = keep one’s chin up\n2. A man’s pecker is his penis. (AM INFORMAL, RUDE)\n  N-COUNT


Words: pecking order
Meaning:
peck.ing or.der\n   pecking order  pecking orders\n  The pecking order of a group is the way that the positions people have are arranged according to their status or power within the group.\nHe knew his place in the pecking order...\n  N-COUNT: usu sing


Words: peckish
Meaning:
peck.ish\n   peckish\n  If you say that you are feeling peckish, you mean that you are slightly hungry. (BRIT INFORMAL)\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ


Words: pectin
Meaning:
pec.tin\n   pectin  pectins\n  Pectin is a substance that is found in fruit. It is used when making jam to help it become firm.\n  N-MASS


Words: pectoral
Meaning:
pec.to.ral\n   pectoral  pectorals\n  Your pectorals are the large chest muscles that help you to move your shoulders and your arms.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl


Words: peculiar
Meaning:
pe.cu.liar\n   peculiar\n1. If you describe someone or something as peculiar, you think that they are strange or unusual, sometimes in an unpleasant way.\nMr Kennet has a rather peculiar sense of humour...\nRachel thought it tasted peculiar.\n  ADJ\n  = odd, strange\n=>  pe.cu.liar.ly\nHis face had become peculiarly expressionless.\n  ADV\n\n2. If something is peculiar to a particular thing, person, or situation, it belongs or relates only to that thing, person, or situation.\nThe problem is by no means peculiar to America.\n  ADJ: oft ADJ to n\n  = unique\n=>  pe.cu.liar.ly\nCricket is so peculiarly English.\n  ADV


Words: peculiarity
Meaning:
pe.cu.li.ar.ity\n   peculiarity  peculiarities\n1. A peculiarity that someone or something has is a strange or unusual characteristic or habit.\nJoe’s other peculiarity was that he was constantly munching hard candy.\n  N-COUNT: with supp, oft N of n\n\n2. A peculiarity is a characteristic or quality which belongs or relates only to one person or thing.\n...a strange peculiarity of the Soviet system.\n  N-COUNT: with supp, oft N of n


Words: pecuniary
Meaning:
pe.cu.ni.ary\n   pecuniary\n  Pecuniary means concerning or involving money. (FORMAL)\nShe denies obtaining a pecuniary advantage by deception.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  = monetary


Words: pedagogical
Meaning:
peda.gogi.cal\n   pedagogical\n  Pedagogical means concerning the methods and theory of teaching. (FORMAL)\n...the pedagogical methods used in the classroom.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: pedagogue
Meaning:
peda.gogue\n   pedagogue  pedagogues\n  If you describe someone as a pedagogue, you mean that they like to teach people things in a firm way as if they know more than anyone else. (FORMAL)\nDe Gaulle was a born pedagogue who used the public platform and the television screen to great effect.\n  N-COUNT


Words: pedagogy
Meaning:
peda.go.gy\n   pedagogy\n  Pedagogy is the study and theory of the methods and principles of teaching. (FORMAL)\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: pedal
Meaning:
ped.al\n   pedal  pedals  pedalling  pedalled\nin AM, use pedaling, pedaled\n1. The pedals on a bicycle are the two parts that you push with your feet in order to make the bicycle move.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. When you pedal a bicycle, you push the pedals around with your feet to make it move.\nShe climbed on her bike with a feeling of pride and pedalled the five miles home...\nShe was too tired to pedal back.\n  VERB: V n, V adv/prep\n\n  see also back-pedal, soft-pedal\n3. A pedal in a car or on a machine is a lever that you press with your foot in order to control the car or machine.\n...the brake or accelerator pedals.\n  N-COUNT


Words: pedal bin
Meaning:
ped.al bin\n   pedal bin  pedal bins\n  A pedal bin is a container for waste, usually in a kitchen or bathroom. It has a lid which is controlled by a pedal that you press with your foot. (BRIT)\n  N-COUNT


Words: pedant
Meaning:
ped.ant\n   pedant  pedants\n  If you say that someone is a pedant, you mean that they are too concerned with unimportant details or traditional rules, especially in connection with academic subjects.\nI am no pedant and avoid being dogmatic concerning English grammar and expression.\n  N-COUNT  disapproval


Words: pedantic
Meaning:
pe.dan.tic\n   pedantic\n  If you think someone is pedantic, you mean that they are too concerned with unimportant details or traditional rules, especially in connection with academic subjects.\nHis lecture was so pedantic and uninteresting.\n  ADJ  disapproval


Words: pedantry
Meaning:
ped.ant.ry\n   pedantry\n  If you accuse someone of pedantry, you mean that you disapprove of them because they pay excessive attention to unimportant details or traditional rules, especially in connection with academic subjects.\n  N-UNCOUNT  disapproval


Words: peddle
Meaning:
ped.dle\n   peddle  peddles  peddling  peddled\n1. Someone who peddles things goes from place to place trying to sell them. (OLD-FASHIONED)\nHis attempts to peddle his paintings around London’s tiny gallery scene proved unsuccessful.\n  VERB: V n\n\n2. Someone who peddles drugs sells illegal drugs.\nWhen a drug pusher offered the Los Angeles youngster $100 to peddle drugs, Jack refused.\n  VERB: V n\n  = push\n=>  ped.dling\nThe war against drug peddling is all about cash.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n3. If someone peddles an idea or a piece of information, they try very hard to get people to accept it.\nThey even set up their own news agency to peddle anti-isolationist propaganda.\n  VERB: V n  disapproval


Words: peddler
Meaning:
ped.dler\n   peddler  peddlers\n\n  The spelling pedlar is also used in British English for meanings 1 and 3.\n\n1. A peddler is someone who goes from place to place in order to sell something. (AM; also BRIT OLD-FASHIONED)\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A drug peddler is a person who sells illegal drugs.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. A peddler of information or ideas is someone who frequently expresses such ideas to other people.\n...the peddlers of fear.\n  N-COUNT: usu N of n  disapproval


Words: pedestal
Meaning:
ped.es.tal\n   pedestal  pedestals\n1. A pedestal is the base on which something such as a statue stands.\n...a larger than life sized bronze statue on a granite pedestal.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If you put someone on a pedestal, you admire them very much and think that they cannot be criticized. If someone is knocked off a pedestal they are no longer admired.\nSince childhood, I put my own parents on a pedestal. I felt they could do no wrong...\n  N-COUNT


Words: pedestrian
Meaning:
pe.des.trian\n   pedestrian  pedestrians\n1. A pedestrian is a person who is walking, especially in a town or city, rather than travelling in a vehicle.\nIn Los Angeles a pedestrian is a rare spectacle...\n  N-COUNT: oft N n\n\n2. If you describe something as pedestrian, you mean that it is ordinary and not at all interesting.\nHis style is so pedestrian that the book becomes a real bore...\n  ADJ  disapproval


Words: pedestrian crossing
Meaning:
pe.des.trian cross.ing\n   pedestrian crossing  pedestrian crossings\n  A pedestrian crossing is a place where pedestrians can cross a street and where motorists must stop to let them cross. (BRIT; in AM, use crosswalk)\n  N-COUNT


Words: pedestrian mall
Meaning:
pe.des.trian mall\n   pedestrian mall  pedestrian malls\n  A pedestrian mall is the same as a pedestrian precinct. (AM)\n  N-COUNT


Words: pedestrian precinct
Meaning:
pe.des.trian pre.cinct\n   pedestrian precinct  pedestrian precincts\n  A pedestrian precinct is a street or part of a town where vehicles are not allowed. (BRIT; in AM, usually use pedestrian mall)\n  N-COUNT


Words: pedestrianized
Meaning:
pe.des.tri.an.ized\n   pedestrianized\nin BRIT, also use pedestrianised\n  A pedestrianized area has been made into an area that is intended for pedestrians, not vehicles.\n...pedestrianized streets...\nThere’s plans to make Birmingham city centre pedestrianized.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: pedicure
Meaning:
pedi.cure\n   pedicure  pedicures\n  If you have a pedicure, you have your toenails cut and the skin on your feet softened.\n  N-COUNT


Words: pedigree
Meaning:
pedi.gree\n   pedigree  pedigrees\n1. If a dog, cat, or other animal has a pedigree, its ancestors are known and recorded. An animal is considered to have a good pedigree when all its known ancestors are of the same type.\n60 per cent of dogs and ten per cent of cats have pedigrees.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A pedigree animal is descended from animals which have all been of a particular type, and is therefore considered to be of good quality.\n...a pedigree dog.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n3. Someone’s pedigree is their background or their ancestors.\nHammer’s business pedigree almost guaranteed him the acquaintance of U.S. presidents...\n  N-COUNT: oft poss N


Words: pediment
Meaning:
pedi.ment\n   pediment  pediments\n  A pediment is a large triangular structure built over a door or window as a decoration.\n  N-COUNT


Words: pee
Meaning:
pee  pees  peeing  peed\n  When someone pees, they urinate. (INFORMAL)\nHe needed to pee.\n  VERB: V\n\n  Pee is also a noun.\nThe driver was probably having a pee.\n  N-SING: a N


Words: peek
Meaning:
peek  peeks  peeking  peeked\n  If you peek at something or someone, you have a quick look at them, often secretly.\nOn two occasions she had peeked at him through a crack in the wall.\n  VERB: V at n\n  = peep\n  Peek is also a noun.\nAmerican firms have been paying outrageous fees for a peek at the technical data.\n  N-COUNT: usu a N, oft N at/into n\n  = peep


Words: peekaboo
Meaning:
peeka.boo\n   peekaboo   also peek-a-boo\n  Peekaboo is a game you play with babies in which you cover your face with your hands or hide behind something and then suddenly show your face, saying `peekaboo!’\n  N-UNCOUNT, also EXCLAM


Words: peel
Meaning:
peel  peels  peeling  peeled\n1. The peel of a fruit such as a lemon or an apple is its skin.\n...grated lemon peel.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n  You can also refer to a peel. (AM)\n...a banana peel.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. When you peel fruit or vegetables, you remove their skins.\nShe sat down in the kitchen and began peeling potatoes.\n  VERB: V n\n\n3. If you peel off something that has been sticking to a surface or if it peels off, it comes away from the surface.\nOne of the kids was peeling plaster off the wall...\nIt took me two days to peel off the labels...\nPaint was peeling off the walls...\nThe wallpaper was peeling away close to the ceiling.\n...an unrenovated bungalow with slightly peeling blue paint.\n  VERB: V n off/from n, V n with off/away, V off/from n, V off/away, V-ing\n\n4. If a surface is peeling, the paint on it is coming away.\nIts once-elegant white pillars are peeling.\n  VERB: usu cont, V\n\n5. If you are peeling or if your skin is peeling, small pieces of skin are coming off, usually because you have been burned by the sun.\nHis face, at the moment, was peeling from sunburn.\n  VERB: usu cont, V


Words: peel off
Meaning:
peel off\n  If you peel off a tight piece of clothing, you take it off, especially by turning it inside out.\nShe peeled off her gloves.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), also V n P


Words: peeler
Meaning:
peel.er\n   peeler  peelers\n  A peeler is a special tool used for removing the skin from fruit and vegetables.\n...a potato peeler.\n  N-COUNT


Words: peelings
Meaning:
peel.ings\n   peelings\n  Peelings are pieces of skin removed from vegetables and fruit.\n...potato peelings.\n  N-PLURAL: usu supp N


Words: peep
Meaning:
peep  peeps  peeping  peeped\n1. If you peep, or peep at something, you have a quick look at it, often secretly and quietly.\nChildren came to peep at him round the doorway...\nNow and then she peeped to see if he was noticing her.\n  VERB: V at n, V\n  = peek\n  Peep is also a noun.\n`Fourteen minutes,’ Chris said, taking a peep at his watch.\n  N-SING: a N\n  = peek\n2. If something peeps out from behind or under something, a small part of it is visible or becomes visible.\nPurple and yellow flowers peeped up between rocks...\n  VERB: V prep/adv


Words: peephole
Meaning:
peep.hole\n   peephole  peepholes\n  A peephole is small hole in a door or wall through which you can look secretly at what is happening on the other side.\n  N-COUNT\n  = spyhole


Words: Peeping Tom
Meaning:
Peep.ing Tom\n   Peeping Tom  Peeping Toms\n  If you refer to someone as a Peeping Tom, you mean that they secretly watch other people, especially when those people are taking their clothes off.\n  N-COUNT  disapproval\n  = voyeur


Words: peepshow
Meaning:
peep.show\n   peepshow  peepshows\n  A peepshow is box containing moving pictures which you can look at through a small hole. Peepshows used to be a form of entertainment at fairs.\n  N-COUNT


Words: peer
Meaning:
peer  peers  peering  peered\n1. If you peer at something, you look at it very hard, usually because it is difficult to see clearly.\nI had been peering at a computer print-out that made no sense at all...\nHe watched the Customs official peer into the driver’s window.\n  VERB: V prep, V prep\n\n2. In Britain, a peer is a member of the nobility who has or had the right to vote in the House of Lords.\nLord Swan was made a life peer in 1981.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. Your peers are the people who are the same age as you or who have the same status as you.\nHis engaging personality made him popular with his peers.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl, poss N


Words: peer group
Meaning:
peer group  peer groups\n  Your peer group is the group of people you know who are the same age as you or who have the same social status as you.\nIt is important for a manager to be able to get the support of his peer group.\n  N-COUNT


Words: peer of the realm
Meaning:
peer of the realm  peers of the realm\n  In Britain, a peer of the realm is a member of the nobility who has the right to sit in the House of Lords.\n  N-COUNT


Words: peerage
Meaning:
peer.age\n   peerage  peerages\n1. If someone has a peerage, they have the rank of a peer.\nThe Prime Minister offered him a peerage...\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. The peers of a particular country are referred to as the peerage.\n  N-SING: the N


Words: peeress
Meaning:
peer.ess\n   peeress  peeresses\n  In Britain, a peeress is a female peer or a peer’s wife.\n  N-COUNT


Words: peerless
Meaning:
peer.less\n   peerless\n  Something that is peerless is so beautiful or wonderful that you feel that nothing can equal it. (FORMAL)\n...two days of clear sunshine under peerless blue skies.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  = matchless


Words: peeved
Meaning:
peeved\n  If you are peeved about something, you are annoyed about it. (INFORMAL)\nSusan couldn’t help feeling a little peeved.\n...complaints from peeved citizens who pay taxes.\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ


Words: peevish
Meaning:
peev.ish\n   peevish\n  Someone who is peevish is bad-tempered.\nAubrey had slept little and that always made him peevish...\nShe glared down at me with a peevish expression on her face.\n  ADJ\n\n=>  peev.ish.ly\nBrian sighed peevishly...\nShe had grown ever more peevishly dependent on him.\n  ADV: ADV with v, ADV adj\n\n=>  peev.ish.ness\nHe complained with characteristic peevishness.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: peg
Meaning:
peg  pegs  pegging  pegged\n1. A peg is a small hook or knob that is attached to a wall or door and is used for hanging things on.\nHis work jacket hung on the peg in the kitchen.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A peg is a small device which you use to fasten clothes to a washing line. (mainly BRIT; in AM, usually use clothespin)\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. A peg is a small piece of wood or metal that is used for fastening something to something else.\nHe builds furniture using wooden pegs instead of nails.\n  N-COUNT\n\n4. If you peg something somewhere or peg it down, you fix it there with pegs.\n...trying to peg a double sheet on a washing line on a blustery day...\nPeg down netting over the top to keep out leaves.\n...a tent pegged to the ground nearby for the kids.\n  VERB: V n prep/adv, V n with adv, V-ed prep\n\n5. If a price or amount of something is pegged at a particular level, it is fixed at that level.\nIts currency is pegged to the dollar...\nUK trading profits were pegged at .40 million...\nThe Bank wants to peg rates at 9%.\n...a pegged European currency.\n  VERB: be V-ed to n, be V-ed at n, V n at amount, V-ed\n\n  see also level-pegging\n6. Off-the-peg clothes are made in large numbers and sent to shops, not made specially for a particular person. (BRIT; in AM, use off-the-rack)\n...an off-the-peg two-piece suit...\n  PHRASE: PHR n, PHR after v\n  !=made-to-measure


Words: pejorative
Meaning:
pe.jo.ra.tive\n   pejorative\n  A pejorative word or expression is one that expresses criticism of someone or something. (FORMAL)\nI agree I am ambitious, and I don’t see that as a pejorative term...\n  ADJ\n  = derogatory, disparaging


Words: pekinese
Meaning:
pe.kin.ese\n   pekinese  pekineses   also pekingese\n  A pekinese is a type of small dog with long hair, short legs, and a short, flat nose.\n  N-COUNT


Words: pelican
Meaning:
peli.can\n   pelican  pelicans\n  A pelican is a type of large water bird. It catches fish and keeps them in the bottom part of its beak which is shaped like a large bag.\n  N-COUNT


Words: pelican crossing
Meaning:
peli.can cross.ing\n   pelican crossing  pelican crossings\n  A pelican crossing is a place where people who are walking can cross a busy road. They press a button at the side of the road, which operates traffic lights to stop the traffic. (BRIT)\n  N-COUNT


Words: pell-mell
Meaning:
pell-mell\n  If you move pell-mell somewhere, you move there in a hurried, uncontrolled way.\nAll three of us rushed pell-mell into the kitchen.\n  ADV: ADV after v


Words: pellet
Meaning:
pel.let\n   pellet  pellets\n  A pellet is a small ball of paper, mud, lead, or other material.\nHe was shot in the head by an air gun pellet...\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp


Words: pellucid
Meaning:
pel.lu.cid\n   pellucid\n  Something that is pellucid is extremely clear. (LITERARY)\n...her pellucid blue eyes...\n...the warm pellucid water.\n  ADJ\n  = limpid


Words: pelmet
Meaning:
pel.met\n   pelmet  pelmets\n  A pelmet is a long, narrow piece of wood or fabric which is fitted at the top of a window for decoration and to hide the curtain rail. (BRIT; in AM, use valance)\n  N-COUNT


Words: pelota
Meaning:
pe.lo.ta\n   pelota\n  Pelota is a game that is played in Spain, America, and the Philippines, in which the players hit a ball against a wall using a long basket tied to their wrist.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: pelt
Meaning:
pelt  pelts  pelting  pelted\n1. The pelt of an animal is its skin, which can be used to make clothing or rugs.\n...a bed covered with beaver pelts.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl\n  = hide\n2. If you pelt someone with things, you throw things at them.\nSome of the younger men began to pelt one another with snowballs...\n  VERB: V n with n\n\n3. If the rain is pelting down, or if it is pelting with rain, it is raining very hard. (INFORMAL)\nThe rain now was pelting down...\nIt’s pelting with rain...\nWe drove through pelting rain.\n  VERB: usu cont, V adv, it V with n, V-ing\n\n4. If you pelt somewhere, you run there very fast. (INFORMAL)\nWithout thinking, she pelted down the stairs in her nightgown.\n  VERB: V prep\n  = dash\n5. If you do something full pelt or at full pelt, you do it very quickly indeed. (INFORMAL)\nAlice leapt from the car and ran full pelt towards the emergency room...\n  PHRASE: PHR after v


Words: pelvis
Meaning:
pel.vis\n   pelvis  pelvises\n  Your pelvis is the wide, curved group of bones at the level of your hips.\n  N-COUNT


Words: pen
Meaning:
pen  pens  penning  penned\n1. A pen is a long thin object which you use to write in ink.\n  N-COUNT\n\nballpoint pen: see ballpoint\nfelt-tip pen: see felt-tip\n  see also fountain pen\n2. If someone pens a letter, article, or book, they write it. (FORMAL)\nShe penned a short memo to his private secretary.\n  VERB: V n to n, also V n n\n\n3. A pen is also a small area with a fence round it in which farm animals are kept for a short time.\n...a holding pen for sheep...\n  N-COUNT\n  = enclosure\n  see also playpen\n4. If people or animals are penned somewhere or are penned up, they are forced to remain in a very small area.\n...to drive the cattle back to the house so they could be milked and penned for the night...\nI don’t have to stay in my room penned up like a prisoner.\n  VERB: usu passive, be V-ed, V-ed up


Words: pen name
Meaning:
pen name  pen names   also pen-name\n  A writer’s pen name is the name that he or she uses on books and articles instead of his or her real name.\n...Baroness Blixen, also known by her pen-name Isak Dinesen.\n  N-COUNT\n  = pseudonym


Words: pen pal
Meaning:
pen pal  pen pals   also pen-pal\n  A pen pal is someone you write friendly letters to and receive letters from, although the two of you may never have met.\n  N-COUNT\n  = pen-friend


Words: pen-friend
Meaning:
pen-friend  pen-friends   also penfriend\n  A pen-friend is someone you write friendly letters to and receive letters from, although the two of you may never have met. (BRIT; in AM, use pen pal)\n  N-COUNT\n  = pen pal


Words: pen-pusher
Meaning:
pen-pusher  pen-pushers   also penpusher\n  If you call someone a pen-pusher, you mean that their work consists of writing or dealing with documents, and does not seem very useful or important. (BRIT; in AM, use pencil pusher)\nAs a result, industry was overmanned and pen-pushers were everywhere.\n  N-COUNT  disapproval\n  = bureaucrat


Words: penal
Meaning:
pe.nal\n   penal\n1. Penal means relating to the punishment of criminals.\n...director-general of penal affairs at the justice ministry.\n...penal and legal systems.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n2. A penal institution or colony is one where criminals are kept as punishment.\n...imprisoned on an island that has served as a penal colony since Roman times.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: penal code
Meaning:
pe.nal code\n   penal code  penal codes\n  The penal code of a country consists of all the laws that are related to crime and punishment. (FORMAL)\n  N-COUNT


Words: penal servitude
Meaning:
pe.nal ser.vi.tude\n   penal servitude\n  Penal servitude is the punishment of being sent to prison and forced to do hard physical work. (FORMAL)\n  N-UNCOUNT\n  = hard labour


Words: penalize
Meaning:
pe.nal.ize\n   penalize  penalizes  penalizing  penalized\nin BRIT, also use penalise\n  If a person or group is penalized for something, they are made to suffer in some way because of it.\nSome of the players may, on occasion, break the rules and be penalized...\n  VERB: usu passive, be V-ed\n  = punish


Words: penalty
Meaning:
pen.al.ty\n   penalty  penalties\n1. A penalty is a punishment that someone is given for doing something which is against a law or rule.\nOne of those arrested could face the death penalty...\nThe maximum penalty is up to 7 years imprisonment or an unlimited fine.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing\n\n2. In sports such as football, rugby, and hockey, a penalty is an opportunity to score a goal, which is given to the attacking team if the defending team breaks a rule near their own goal.\nReferee Michael Reed had no hesitation in awarding a penalty...\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. The penalty that you pay for something you have done is something unpleasant that you experience as a result.\nWhy should I pay the penalty for somebody else’s mistake?...\n  N-COUNT: usu the N in sing


Words: penalty area
Meaning:
pen.al.ty area\n   penalty area  penalty areas\n  In football, the penalty area is the rectangular area in front of the goal. Inside this area the goalkeeper is allowed to handle the ball, and if the defending team breaks a rule here, the opposing team gets a penalty. (mainly BRIT)\n  N-COUNT\n  = penalty box


Words: penalty box
Meaning:
pen.al.ty box\n   penalty box  penalty boxes\n1. In football, the penalty box is the same as the penalty area. (mainly BRIT)\n  N-COUNT: usu the N in sing\n\n2. In ice hockey, the penalty box is an area in which players who have broken a rule have to sit for a period of time.\n  N-COUNT


Words: penalty shoot-out
Meaning:
pen.al.ty shoot-out\n   penalty shoot-out  penalty shoot-outs\n  In football, a penalty shoot-out is a way of deciding the result of a game that has ended in a draw. Players from each team try to score a goal in turn until one player fails to score and their team loses the game. (mainly BRIT)\n  N-COUNT


Words: penance
Meaning:
pen.ance\n   penance  penances\n  If you do penance for something wrong that you have done, you do something that you find unpleasant to show that you are sorry.\n...a time of fasting, penance and pilgrimage...\n  N-VAR


Words: penchant
Meaning:
pen.chant\n   penchant\n  If someone has a penchant for something, they have a special liking for it or a tendency to do it. (FORMAL)\n...a stylish woman with a penchant for dark glasses...\n  N-SING: N for n/-ing\n  = fondness


Words: pencil
Meaning:
pen.cil\n   pencil  pencils  pencilling  pencilled\n1. A pencil is an object that you write or draw with. It consists of a thin piece of wood with a rod of a black or coloured substance through the middle. If you write or draw something in pencil, you do it using a pencil.\nI found a pencil and some blank paper in her desk...\nHe had written her a note in pencil.\n  N-COUNT: also in N\n\n2. If you pencil a letter or a note, you write it using a pencil.\nHe pencilled a note to Joseph Daniels.\n  VERB: V n to n\n\n=>  pen.cilled\n...folded notepaper with the pencilled block letters on the outside.\n  ADJ


Words: pencil in
Meaning:
pencil in\n  If an event or appointment is pencilled in, it has been agreed that it should take place, but it will have to be confirmed later.\nHe told us that the tour was pencilled in for the following March.\n  PHRASAL VERB: usu passive, be V-ed P


Words: pencil pusher
Meaning:
pen.cil push.er\n   pencil pusher  pencil pushers\n  If you call someone a pencil pusher, you mean that their work consists of writing or dealing with documents, and does not seem very useful or important. (AM; in BRIT, use pen-pusher)\n...the pencil pushers who decide the course of people’s lives.\n  N-COUNT  disapproval\n  = bureaucrat


Words: pendant
Meaning:
pen.dant\n   pendant  pendants\n  A pendant is an ornament on a chain that you wear round your neck.\n  N-COUNT


Words: pending
Meaning:
pend.ing\n   pending\n1. If something such as a legal procedure is pending, it is waiting to be dealt with or settled. (FORMAL)\nIn 1989, the court had 600 pending cases...\nShe had a libel action against the magazine pending.\n  ADJ\n\n2. If something is done pending a future event, it is done until that event happens. (FORMAL)\nA judge has suspended a ban on the magazine pending a full inquiry.\n  PREP\n\n3. Something that is pending is going to happen soon. (FORMAL)\nA growing number of customers have been inquiring about the pending price rises.\n  ADJ\n  = imminent


Words: pendulous
Meaning:
pen.du.lous\n   pendulous\n  Something that is pendulous hangs downwards and moves loosely, usually in an unattractive way. (LITERARY)\n...a stout, gloomy man with a pendulous lower lip.\n...pendulous cheeks.\n  ADJ


Words: pendulum
Meaning:
pen.du.lum\n   pendulum  pendulums\n1. The pendulum of a clock is a rod with a weight at the end which swings from side to side in order to make the clock work.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. You can use the idea of a pendulum and the way it swings regularly as a way of talking about regular changes in a situation or in people’s opinions.\nThe political pendulum has swung in favour of the liberals.\n  N-SING: usu the N


Words: penetrate
Meaning:
pen.etrate\n   penetrate  penetrates  penetrating  penetrated\n1. If something or someone penetrates a physical object or an area, they succeed in getting into it or passing through it.\nX-rays can penetrate many objects...\n  VERB: V n\n\n=>  pen.etra.tion      penetrations\nThe exterior walls are three to three and a half feet thick to prevent penetration by bombs.\n  N-UNCOUNT: also N in pl\n\n2. If someone penetrates an organization, a group, or a profession, they succeed in entering it although it is difficult to do so.\n...the continuing failure of women to penetrate the higher levels of engineering...\n  VERB: V n\n\n3. If someone penetrates an enemy group or a rival organization, they succeed in joining it in order to get information or cause trouble.\nThe CIA had requested our help to penetrate a drugs ring operating out of Munich...\n  VERB: V n\n  = infiltrate\n=>  pen.etra.tion\n...the successful penetration by the KGB of the French intelligence service.\n  N-UNCOUNT: with supp\n  = infiltration\n4. If a company or country penetrates a market or area, they succeed in selling their products there. (BUSINESS)\nThere have been around 15 attempts from outside France to penetrate the market.\n  VERB: V n\n\n=>  pen.etra.tion\n...import penetration across a broad range of heavy industries.\n  N-UNCOUNT: with supp


Words: penetrating
Meaning:
pen.etrat.ing\n   penetrating\n1. A penetrating sound is loud and usually high-pitched.\nMary heard the penetrating bell of an ambulance...\n  ADJ\n  = piercing\n2. If someone gives you a penetrating look, it makes you think that they know what you are thinking.\nHe gazed at me with a sharp, penetrating look that made my heart pound.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  = piercing\n3. Someone who has a penetrating mind understands and recognizes things quickly and thoroughly.\n...a thoughtful, penetrating mind...\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: penetrative
Meaning:
pene.tra.tive\n   penetrative\n  If a man has penetrative sex with someone, he inserts his penis into his partner’s vagina or anus.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: penguin
Meaning:
pen.guin\n   penguin  penguins\n  A penguin is a type of large black and white sea bird found mainly in the Antarctic. Penguins cannot fly but use their short wings for swimming.\n  N-COUNT


Words: penicillin
Meaning:
peni.cil.lin\n   penicillin\n  Penicillin is a drug that kills bacteria and is used to treat infections.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: peninsula
Meaning:
pen.in.su.la\n   peninsula  peninsulas\n  A peninsula is a long narrow piece of land which sticks out from a larger piece of land and is almost completely surrounded by water.\nI had walked around the entire peninsula.\n  N-COUNT: oft in names


Words: penis
Meaning:
pe.nis\n   penis  penises\n  A man’s penis is the part of his body that he uses when urinating and when having sex.\n  N-COUNT


Words: penitence
Meaning:
peni.tence\n   penitence\n  Penitence is sincere regret for wrong or evil things that you have done.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n  = repentance


Words: penitent
Meaning:
peni.tent\n   penitent\n  Someone who is penitent is very sorry for something wrong that they have done, and regrets their actions. (LITERARY)\nRobert Gates sat before them, almost penitent about the past...\n...penitent criminals.\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ\n\n=>  peni.tent.ly\nHe sat penitently in his chair by the window.\n  ADV: ADV after v


Words: penitential
Meaning:
peni.ten.tial\n   penitential\n  Penitential means expressing deep sorrow and regret at having done something wrong. (FORMAL)\n...penitential psalms.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: penitentiary
Meaning:
peni.ten.tia.ry\n   penitentiary  penitentiaries\n  A penitentiary is a prison. (AM FORMAL)\n  N-COUNT


Words: penknife
Meaning:
pen.knife\n   penknife  penknives\n  A penknife is a small knife with a blade that folds back into the handle.\n  N-COUNT


Words: penn’orth
Meaning:
penn’orth\n  During a discussion about something, if you have your two penn’orth or put in your two penn’orth, you add your own opinion. (BRIT INFORMAL; in AM, use two cents’ worth)\nPlease do be patient.I’m sure you want to have your two penn’orth.\n  PHRASE: det-poss PHR, usu PHR after v


Words: pennant
Meaning:
pen.nant\n   pennant  pennants\n1. A pennant is a long, narrow, triangular flag.\nThe second car was flying the Ghanaian pennant.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. In baseball, a pennant is a flag that is given each year to the top team in a league. The championship is also called the pennant. (AM)\nThe Red Sox lost the pennant to Detroit by a single game.\n  N-COUNT


Words: pennies
Meaning:
pen.nies\n   pennies\n  Pennies is the plural of penny. Pennies is mainly used to refer only to coins, rather than to amounts.


Words: penniless
Meaning:
pen.ni.less\n   penniless\n  Someone who is penniless has hardly any money at all.\nThey’d soon be penniless and homeless if she couldn’t find suitable work.\n...a penniless refugee.\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ


Words: penny
Meaning:
pen.ny\n   penny  pennies  pence\n\n  The form pence is used for the plural of meaning 1.\n\n1. In Britain, a penny is one hundredth of a pound, or a coin worth this amount of money.\nCider also goes up by a penny a pint while sparkling wine will cost another eight pence a bottle.\n...a shiny newly minted penny.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A penny is a British coin used before 1971 that was worth one twelfth of a shilling.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. A penny is one cent, or a coin worth one cent. (AM INFORMAL)\nUnleaded gasoline rose more than a penny a gallon.\n  N-COUNT\n\n4. If you say, for example, that you do not have a penny, or that something does not cost a penny, you are emphasizing that you do not have any money at all, or that something did not cost you any money at all.\nThe Brilliantons paid their rent on time and did not owe him a penny...\n  N-SING: a N  emphasis\n\n5. If you say the penny dropped, you mean that someone suddenly understood or realized something. (mainly BRIT INFORMAL)\n  PHRASE: V inflects\n\n6. Things that are said to be two a penny or ten a penny are not valuable or interesting because they are very common and easy to find. (BRIT INFORMAL; in AM, use a dime a dozen)\nLeggy blondes are two a penny in Hollywood.\n  PHRASE: v-link PHR


Words: penny shares
Meaning:
pen.ny shares\n\n  Penny shares are shares that are offered for sale at a very low price. (BUSINESS)\n  N-PLURAL


Words: penny-farthing
Meaning:
penny-farthing  penny-farthings   also penny farthing\n  A penny-farthing is an old-fashioned bicycle that had a very large front wheel and a small back wheel. (mainly BRIT)\n  N-COUNT


Words: penny-pinching
Meaning:
penny-pinching\n1. Penny-pinching is the practice of trying to spend as little money as possible.\nGovernment penny-pinching is blamed for the decline in food standards.\n  N-UNCOUNT  disapproval\n\n2. Penny-pinching people spend as little money as possible.\n...small-minded penny-pinching administrators.\n  ADJ  disapproval


Words: pension
Meaning:
pen.sion\n   pension  pensions  pensioning  pensioned\n  Someone who has a pension receives a regular sum of money from the state or from a former employer because they have retired or because they are widowed or disabled.\n...struggling by on a pension.\n...a company pension scheme.\n  N-COUNT


Words: pension book
Meaning:
pen.sion book\n   pension book  pension books\n  In Britain, a pension book is a small book which is given to pensioners by the government. Each week, one page can be exchanged for money at a Post Office.\n  N-COUNT


Words: pension off
Meaning:
pension off\n  If someone is pensioned off, they are made to retire from work and are given a pension.\nMany successful women do not want to be pensioned off at 60...\nWhen his employees were no longer of use to him, he pensioned them off.\n  PHRASAL VERB: be V-ed P, V n P, also V P n (not pron)


Words: pension plan
Meaning:
pen.sion plan\n   pension plan pension plans\n  A pension plan is an arrangement to receive a pension from an organization such as an insurance company or a former employer in return for making regular payments to them over a number of years. (BUSINESS)\nI would have been much wiser to start my own pension plan when I was younger.\n  N-COUNT


Words: pension scheme
Meaning:
pen.sion scheme\n   pension scheme pension schemes\n  A pension scheme is the same as a pension plan. (mainly BRIT BUSINESS)\nHis company has the best pension scheme in the industry.\n  N-COUNT


Words: pensionable
Meaning:
pen.sion.able\n   pensionable\n  Pensionable means relating to someone’s right to receive a pension.\n...civil servants who were nearing pensionable age.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: pensioner
Meaning:
pen.sion.er\n   pensioner  pensioners\n  A pensioner is someone who receives a pension, especially a pension paid by the state to retired people.\n  N-COUNT\n  = OAP


Words: pensive
Meaning:
pen.sive\n   pensive\n  If you are pensive, you are thinking deeply about something, especially something that worries you slightly.\nHe looked suddenly sombre, pensive.\n  ADJ\n  = thoughtful\n=>  pen.sive.ly\nAngela stared pensively out of the window.\n  ADV: ADV with v


Words: pent-up
Meaning:
pent-up\n  Pent-up emotions, energies, or forces have been held back and not expressed, used, or released.\nHe still had a lot of pent-up anger to release.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: Pentagon
Meaning:
Pen.ta.gon\n   Pentagon\n  The Pentagon is the main building of the US Defense Department, in Washington. The US Defense Department is often referred to as the Pentagon.\n...a news conference at the Pentagon...\n  N-PROPER: the N, N n


Words: pentameter
Meaning:
pen.tam.eter\n   pentameter  pentameters\n  In literary criticism, a pentameter is a line of poetry that has five strong beats in it. (TECHNICAL)\n  N-COUNT


Words: pentathlon
Meaning:
pen.tath.lon\n   pentathlon  pentathlons\n  A pentathlon is an athletics competition in which each person must compete in five different events.\n  N-COUNT: oft the N


Words: Pentecost
Meaning:
Pen.tecost\n   Pentecost\n1. Pentecost is a Christian festival that takes place on the seventh Sunday after Easter and celebrates the sending of the Holy Spirit to the first followers of Christ.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. Pentecost is a Jewish festival that takes place 50 days after Passover and celebrates the harvest.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: Pentecostal
Meaning:
Pen.tecos.tal\n   Pentecostal\n  Pentecostal churches are Christian churches that emphasize the work of the Holy Spirit and the exact truth of the Bible.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: penthouse
Meaning:
pent.house\n   penthouse  penthouses\n  A penthouse or a penthouse apartment or suite is a luxurious flat or set of rooms at the top of a tall building.\n...her swish Manhattan penthouse.\n  N-COUNT: oft N n


Words: penultimate
Meaning:
pe.nul.ti.mate\n   penultimate\n  The penultimate thing in a series of things is the last but one. (FORMAL)\n...on the penultimate day of the Asian Games.\n...in the penultimate chapter.\n  ADJ: det ADJ


Words: penury
Meaning:
penu.ry\n   penury\n  Penury is the state of being extremely poor. (FORMAL)\nHe was brought up in penury, without education.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: peony
Meaning:
peo.ny\n   peony  peonies   also paeony\n  A peony is a medium-sized garden plant which has large round flowers, usually pink, red, or white.\n  N-COUNT


Words: people
Meaning:
peo.ple\n   people  peoples  peopling  peopled\n1. People are men, women, and children. People is normally used as the plural of person, instead of `persons’.\nMillions of people have lost their homes.\n...the people of Angola.\n...homeless young people...\nI don’t think people should make promises they don’t mean to keep...\n  N-PLURAL\n\n2. The people is sometimes used to refer to ordinary men and women, in contrast to the government or the upper classes.\n...the will of the people.\n  N-PLURAL: the N\n\n3. A people is all the men, women, and children of a particular country or race.\n...the native peoples of Central and South America...\n  N-COUNT-COLL\n\n4. If a place or country is peopled by a particular group of people, that group of people live there.\nIt was peopled by a fiercely independent race of peace-loving Buddhists.\n...a small town peopled by lay workers and families.\n  VERB: usu passive, be V-ed by/with n, V-ed\n  = populate


Words: people carrier
Meaning:
peo.ple car.ri.er\n   people carrier  people carriers\n  A people carrier is a large family car which looks similar to a van and has three rows of seats for passengers.\n  N-COUNT


Words: people mover
Meaning:
peo.ple mov.er\n   people mover  people movers   also people-mover\n  A people mover is the same as a people carrier.\n  N-COUNT


Words: pep
Meaning:
pep  peps  pepping  pepped\n  Pep is liveliness and energy. (INFORMAL, OLD-FASHIONED)\nMany say that, given a choice, they would opt for a holiday to put the pep back in their lives.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: pep rally
Meaning:
pep ral.ly\n   pep rally  pep rallies\n  A pep rally at a school, college, or university is a gathering to support a football team or sports team. (AM)\n  N-COUNT


Words: pep talk
Meaning:
pep talk  pep talks   also pep-talk\n  A pep talk is a speech which is intended to encourage someone to make more effort or feel more confident. (INFORMAL)\nPowell spent the day giving pep talks to the troops.\n  N-COUNT


Words: pep up
Meaning:
pep up\n  If you try to pep something up, you try to make it more lively, more interesting, or stronger. (INFORMAL)\nThe prime minister aired some ideas about pepping up trade in the region...\nHow about pepping up plain tiles with transfers?\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), V P n (not pron), also V n P


Words: pepper
Meaning:
pep.per\n   pepper  peppers  peppering  peppered\n1. Pepper is a hot-tasting spice which is used to flavour food.\nSeason with salt and pepper.\n...freshly ground black pepper.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. A pepper, or in American English a bell pepper, is a hollow green, red, or yellow vegetable with seeds inside it.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. If something is peppered with small objects, a lot of those objects hit it.\nHe was wounded in both legs and severely peppered with shrapnel...\n  VERB: usu passive, be V-ed with n\n\n4. If something is peppered with things, it has a lot of those things in it or on it.\nWhile her English was correct, it was peppered with French phrases...\nYachts peppered the tranquil waters of Botafogo Bay.\n  VERB: be V-ed with n, V n


Words: pepper mill
Meaning:
pep.per mill\n   pepper mill pepper mills  also peppermill\n  A pepper mill is a container in which peppercorns are crushed to make pepper. You turn the top of the container and the pepper comes out of the bottom.\n  N-COUNT


Words: pepper shaker
Meaning:
pep.per shak.er\n   pepper shaker  pepper shakers\n  A pepper shaker is the same as a pepperpot. (mainly AM)\n  N-COUNT


Words: peppercorn
Meaning:
pepper.corn\n   peppercorn  peppercorns\n  Peppercorns are the small berries which are dried and crushed to make pepper. They are sometimes used whole in cooking.\n  N-COUNT


Words: peppercorn rent
Meaning:
pepper.corn rent\n   peppercorn rent  peppercorn rents\n  A peppercorn rent is an extremely low rent. (BRIT)\n  N-COUNT


Words: peppermint
Meaning:
pepper.mint\n   peppermint  peppermints\n1. Peppermint is a strong, sharp flavouring that is obtained from the peppermint plant or that is made artificially.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. A peppermint is a peppermint-flavoured sweet or piece of candy.\n  N-COUNT


Words: pepperoni
Meaning:
pep.pero.ni\n   pepperoni\n  Pepperoni is a kind of spicy sausage which is often sliced and put on pizzas.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: pepperpot
Meaning:
pepper.pot\n   pepperpot  pepperpots   also pepper pot\n  A pepperpot is a small container with holes in the top, used for shaking pepper onto food. (mainly BRIT; in AM, usually use pepper shaker)\n  N-COUNT


Words: peppery
Meaning:
pep.pery\n   peppery\n  Food that is peppery has a strong, hot taste like pepper.\n...a crisp green salad with a few peppery radishes.\n  ADJ


Words: peppy
Meaning:
pep.py\n   peppy\n  Someone or something that is peppy is lively and full of energy. (INFORMAL)\nAt the end of every day, jot down a brief note on how peppy or tired you felt.\n...peppy dance-numbers.\n  ADJ


Words: peptic ulcer
Meaning:
pep.tic ul.cer\n   peptic ulcer  peptic ulcers\n  A peptic ulcer is an ulcer that occurs in the digestive system.\n  N-COUNT


Words: per
Meaning:
per\n1. You use per to express rates and ratios. For example, if something costs .50 per year, you must pay .50 each year for it. If a vehicle is travelling at 40 miles per hour, it travels 40 miles each hour.\nSocial Security refused to pay her more than .17 per week...\nBuses and trains use much less fuel per person than cars.\n  PREP: amount PREP n\n\nper head: see head\n2. If something happens as per a particular plan or suggestion, it happens in the way planned or suggested. (FORMAL)\nWhen they reach here they complain that they are not being paid as per the agreement...\n  PREP-PHRASE


Words: per annum
Meaning:
per an.num\n   per annum\n  A particular amount per annum means that amount each year.\n...a fee of .35 per annum...\nKenya’s population is growing at 4.1 per cent per annum.\n  ADV: amount ADV


Words: per capita
Meaning:
per capi.ta\n   per capita\n  The per capita amount of something is the total amount of it in a country or area divided by the number of people in that country or area.\nThey have the world’s largest per capita income...\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n  Per capita is also an adverb.\nEthiopia has almost the lowest oil consumption per capita in the world...\n  ADV: n ADV


Words: per cent
Meaning:
per cent  per cent   also percent\n  You use per cent to talk about amounts. For example, if an amount is 10 per cent (10%) of a larger amount, it is equal to 10 hundredths of the larger amount.\n20 to 40 per cent of the voters are undecided...\nWe aim to increase sales by 10 per cent...\n  N-COUNT: num N, oft N of n\n\n  Per cent is also an adjective.\nThere has been a ten per cent increase in the number of new students arriving at polytechnics this year.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n  Per cent is also an adverb.\n...its prediction that house prices will fall 5 per cent over the year...\n  ADV: ADV with v


Words: per diem
Meaning:
per diem\n  A per diem is an amount of money that someone is given to cover their daily expenses while they are working. (mainly AM)\nHe received a per diem allowance to cover his travel expenses.\n  N-SING: oft N n


Words: per se
Meaning:
Per se means `by itself’ or `in itself’, and is used when you are talking about the qualities of one thing considered on its own, rather than in connection with other things.\nThe authors’ argument is not with the free market per se but with the western society in which it works...\n  ADV


Words: perambulate
Meaning:
per.am.bu.late\n   perambulate  perambulates  perambulating  perambulated\n  When someone perambulates, they walk about for pleasure. (OLD-FASHIONED)\n  VERB\n\n=>  per.am.bu.la.tion      perambulations\nIt was time now to end our perambulation round Paris.\n  N-COUNT


Words: perceive
Meaning:
per.ceive\n   perceive  perceives  perceiving  perceived\n1. If you perceive something, you see, notice, or realize it, especially when it is not obvious.\nA key task is to get pupils to perceive for themselves the relationship between success and effort...\n  VERB: V n\n\n2. If you perceive someone or something as doing or being a particular thing, it is your opinion that they do this thing or that they are that thing.\nStress is widely perceived as contributing to coronary heart disease...\n  VERB: V n as n/-ing


Words: percentage
Meaning:
per.cent.age\n   percentage  percentages\n  A percentage is a fraction of an amount expressed as a particular number of hundredths of that amount.\nOnly a few vegetable-origin foods have such a high percentage of protein.\n  N-COUNT: usu N of n


Words: perceptible
Meaning:
per.cep.tible\n   perceptible\n  Something that is perceptible can only just be seen or noticed.\nPasternak gave him a barely perceptible smile...\n  ADJ\n  = discernible\n=>  per.cep.tibly\nThe tension was mounting perceptibly.\n  ADV: ADV with v


Words: perception
Meaning:
per.cep.tion\n   perception  perceptions\n1. Your perception of something is the way that you think about it or the impression you have of it.\nHe is interested in how our perceptions of death affect the way we live.\n  N-COUNT: usu poss N, N of n\n\n2. Someone who has perception realizes or notices things that are not obvious.\nIt did not require a great deal of perception to realise the interview was over.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n3. Perception is the recognition of things using your senses, especially the sense of sight.\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp


Words: perceptive
Meaning:
per.cep.tive\n   perceptive\n  If you describe a person or their remarks or thoughts as perceptive, you think that they are good at noticing or realizing things, especially things that are not obvious.\nHe was one of the most perceptive US political commentators.\n  ADJ  approval\n\n=>  per.cep.tive.ly\nThe stages in her love affair with Harry are perceptively written.\n  ADV: usu ADV with v, also ADV adj


Words: perceptual
Meaning:
per.cep.tual\n   perceptual\n  Perceptual means relating to the way people interpret and understand what they see or notice. (FORMAL)\nSome children have more finely trained perceptual skills than others.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: perch
Meaning:
perch  perches  perching  perched\n\n  The form perch is used for both the singular and plural in meaning 6.\n\n1. If you perch on something, you sit down lightly on the very edge or tip of it.\nHe lit a cigarette and perched on the corner of the desk...\nHe perched himself on the side of the bed.\n  VERB: V prep/adv, V pron-refl prep/adv\n\n=>  perched\nShe was perched on the edge of the sofa.\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ prep/adv\n\n2. To perch somewhere means to be on the top or edge of something.\n...the vast slums that perch precariously on top of the hills around which the city was built.\n  VERB: V prep/adv\n\n=>  perched\nSt. John’s is a small college perched high up in the hills...\n  ADJ: v-link ADJ prep/adv\n\n3. If you perch something on something else, you put or balance it on the top or edge of that thing.\nThe builders have perched a light concrete dome on eight slender columns.\n  VERB: V n on n\n\n4. When a bird perches on something such as a branch or a wall, it lands on it and stands there.\nA blackbird flew down and perched on the parapet outside his window.\n  VERB: V prep\n\n5. A perch is a short rod for a bird to stand on.\n  N-COUNT\n\n6. A perch is an edible fish. There are several kinds of perch.\n  N-COUNT


Words: perchance
Meaning:
per.chance\n   perchance\n  Perchance means perhaps. (LITERARY, OLD-FASHIONED)\n  ADV: ADV with group/cl


Words: percolate
Meaning:
per.co.late\n   percolate  percolates  percolating  percolated\n1. If an idea, feeling, or piece of information percolates through a group of people or a thing, it spreads slowly through the group or thing.\nNew fashions took a long time to percolate down.\n...all of these thoughts percolated through my mind.\n  VERB: V prep/adv, V prep/adv\n\n2. When you percolate coffee or when coffee percolates, you prepare it in a percolator.\nShe percolated the coffee and put croissants in the oven to warm.\n  VERB: V n, also V\n\n3. To percolate somewhere means to pass slowly through something that has very small holes or gaps in it.\nRain water will only percolate through slowly.\n  VERB: V prep/adv


Words: percolator
Meaning:
per.co.la.tor\n   percolator  percolators\n  A percolator is a piece of equipment for making and serving coffee, in which steam passes through crushed coffee beans.\n  N-COUNT


Words: percussion
Meaning:
per.cus.sion\n   percussion\n  Percussion instruments are musical instruments that you hit, such as drums.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N n


Words: percussionist
Meaning:
per.cus.sion.ist\n   percussionist  percussionists\n  A percussionist is a person who plays percussion instruments such as drums.\n  N-COUNT


Words: percussive
Meaning:
per.cus.sive\n   percussive\n  Percussive sounds are like the sound of drums.\n...using all manner of percussive effects.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: perdition
Meaning:
per.di.tion\n   perdition\n  If you say that someone is on the road to perdition, you mean that their behaviour is likely to lead them to failure and disaster. (LITERARY)\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu prep N


Words: peregrine falcon
Meaning:
per.egrine fal.con\n   peregrine falcon  peregrine falcons\n  A peregrine falcon or a peregrine is a bird of prey.\n  N-COUNT


Words: peremptory
Meaning:
per.emp.tory\n   peremptory\n  Someone who does something in a peremptory way does it in a way that shows that they expect to be obeyed immediately. (FORMAL)\nWith a brief, almost peremptory gesture he pointed to a chair.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n  disapproval\n\n=>  per.emp.to.ri.ly\n`Hello!’ the voice said, more peremptorily. `Who is it? Who do you want?’\n  ADV: ADV with v


Words: perennial
Meaning:
per.en.nial\n   perennial  perennials\n1. You use perennial to describe situations or states that keep occurring or which seem to exist all the time; used especially to describe problems or difficulties.\n...the perennial urban problems of drugs and homelessness...\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  = constant\n=>  per.en.ni.al.ly\nBoth services are perennially short of staff.\n  ADV: usu ADV adj\n\n2. A perennial plant lives for several years and has flowers each year.\n...a perennial herb with greenish-yellow flowers.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n  Perennial is also a noun.\n...a low-growing perennial.\n  N-COUNT


Words: perestroika
Meaning:
pe.re.stroi.ka\n   perestroika\n  Perestroika is a term which was used to describe the changing political and social structure of the former Soviet Union during the late 1980s.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: perfect
Meaning:
per.fect\n   perfect perfects  perfecting  perfected\nThe adjective is pronounced   The verb is pronounced\n1. Something that is perfect is as good as it could possibly be.\nHe spoke perfect English...\nHiring a nanny has turned out to be the perfect solution...\nNobody is perfect.\n  ADJ\n\n2. If you say that something is perfect for a particular person, thing, or activity, you are emphasizing that it is very suitable for them or for that activity.\nCarpet tiles are perfect for kitchens because they’re easy to take up and wash...\nSo this could be the perfect time to buy a home.\n  ADJ: oft ADJ for n  emphasis\n  = ideal\n3. If an object or surface is perfect, it does not have any marks on it, or does not have any lumps, hollows, or cracks in it.\nUse only clean, Grade A, perfect eggs.\n...their perfect white teeth.\n  ADJ\n\n4. You can use perfect to give emphasis to the noun following it.\nShe was a perfect fool...\nWhat he had said to her made perfect sense.\n  ADJ: ADJ n  emphasis\n  = complete, total\n5. If you perfect something, you improve it so that it becomes as good as it can possibly be.\nWe perfected a hand-signal system so that he could keep me informed of hazards...\n  VERB: V n\n\n6. The perfect tenses of a verb are the ones used to talk about things that happened or began before a particular time, as in `He’s already left’ and `They had always liked her’. The present perfect tense is sometimes called the perfect tense.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n  see also future, present perfect, past perfect


Words: perfect pitch
Meaning:
per.fect pitch\n   perfect pitch\n  Someone who has perfect pitch is able to identify or sing musical notes correctly.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: perfection
Meaning:
per.fec.tion\n   perfection\n1. Perfection is the quality of being as good as it is possible for something of a particular kind to be.\nPhysical perfection in a human being is exceedingly rare.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. If you say that something is perfection, you mean that you think it is as good as it could possibly be.\nThe house and garden were perfection.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n3. The perfection of something such as a skill, system, or product involves making it as good as it could possibly be.\nMadame Clicquot is credited with the perfection of this technique.\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu the N of n\n\n4. If something is done to perfection, it is done so well that it could not be done any better.\n...fresh fish, cooked to perfection.\n  PHRASE: PHR after v


Words: perfectionism
Meaning:
per.fec.tion.ism\n   perfectionism\n  Perfectionism is the attitude or behaviour of a perfectionist.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: perfectionist
Meaning:
per.fec.tion.ist\n   perfectionist  perfectionists\n  Someone who is a perfectionist refuses to do or accept anything that is not as good as it could possibly be.\n  N-COUNT


Words: perfectly
Meaning:
per.fect.ly\n   perfectly\n1. You can use perfectly to emphasize an adjective or adverb, especially when you think the person you are talking to might doubt what you are saying.\nThere’s no reason why you can’t have a perfectly normal child...\nThey made it perfectly clear that it was pointless to go on...\nYou know perfectly well what happened.\n  ADV: ADV adj/adv  emphasis\n  = quite\n2. If something is done perfectly, it is done so well that it could not possibly be done better.\nThis adaptation perfectly captures the spirit of Kurt Vonnegut’s novel...\nThe system worked perfectly.\n  ADV: ADV with v\n\n3. If you describe something as perfectly good or acceptable, you are emphasizing that there is no reason to use or get something else, although other people may disagree.\nYou can buy perfectly good instruments for a lot less.\n  ADV: ADV adj/adv  emphasis


Words: perfidious
Meaning:
per.fidi.ous\n   perfidious\n  If you describe someone as perfidious, you mean that they have betrayed someone or cannot be trusted. (LITERARY)\nTheir feet will trample on the dead bodies of their perfidious aggressors.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  = treacherous


Words: perfidy
Meaning:
per.fi.dy\n   perfidy\n  Perfidy is the action of betraying someone or behaving very badly towards someone. (LITERARY)\n  N-UNCOUNT\n  = treachery


Words: perforate
Meaning:
per.fo.rate\n   perforate  perforates  perforating  perforated\n  To perforate something means to make a hole or holes in it.\nI refused to wear headphones because they can perforate your eardrums.\n  VERB: V n\n\n=>  per.fo.rat.ed\nKeep good apples in perforated polythene bags.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: perforation
Meaning:
per.fo.ra.tion\n   perforation  perforations\n  Perforations are small holes that are made in something, especially in paper.\nTear off the form along the perforations and send it to Sales...\n  N-COUNT: usu pl


Words: perforce
Meaning:
per.force\n   perforce\n  Perforce is used to indicate that something happens or is the case because it cannot be prevented or avoided. (OLD-FASHIONED)\nThe war in 1939 perforce ushered in an era of more grime and drabness.\n  ADV: ADV with cl, ADV with v


Words: perform
Meaning:
per.form\n   perform  performs  performing  performed\n1. When you perform a task or action, especially a complicated one, you do it.\nHis council had had to perform miracles on a tiny budget...\nSeveral grafts may be performed at one operation.\n  VERB: V n, V n\n\n2. If something performs a particular function, it has that function.\nA complex engine has many separate components, each performing a different function.\n  VERB: V n\n\n3. If you perform a play, a piece of music, or a dance, you do it in front of an audience.\nGardiner has pursued relentlessly high standards in performing classical music...\nThis play was first performed in 411 BC...\nHe began performing in the early fifties, singing and playing guitar.\n  VERB: V n, V n, V\n\n4. If someone or something performs well, they work well or achieve a good result. If they perform badly, they work badly or achieve a poor result.\nHe had not performed well in his exams...\n`State-owned industries will always perform poorly,’ John Moore informed readers...\n  VERB: V adv, V adv


Words: performance
Meaning:
per.for.mance\n   performance  performances\n1. A performance involves entertaining an audience by doing something such as singing, dancing, or acting.\nInside the theatre, they were giving a performance of Bizet’s Carmen.\n...her performance as the betrayed Medea...\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. Someone’s or something’s performance is how successful they are or how well they do something.\nThat study looked at the performance of 18 surgeons...\nThe job of the new director-general was to ensure that performance targets were met.\n  N-VAR: oft with poss\n\n3. A car’s performance is its ability to go fast and to increase its speed quickly.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n4. A performance car is one that can go very fast and can increase its speed very quickly.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n  see also high-performance\n5. The performance of a task is the fact or action of doing it.\nHe devoted in excess of seventy hours a week to the performance of his duties...\n  N-SING: usu the N of n\n\n6. You can describe something that is or looks complicated or difficult to do as a performance. (INFORMAL)\nThe whole process is quite a performance...\n  N-SING: usu a N\n\n7.\na repeat performance: see repeat


Words: performance art
Meaning:
per.for.mance art\n   performance art\n  Performance art is a theatrical presentation that includes various art forms such as dance, music, painting, and sculpture.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: performance-related pay
Meaning:
Performance-related pay is a rate of pay which is based on how well someone does their job. (BUSINESS)\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: performer
Meaning:
per.form.er\n   performer  performers\n1. A performer is a person who acts, sings, or does other entertainment in front of audiences.\nA performer in evening dress plays classical selections on the violin.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. You can use performer when describing someone or something in a way that indicates how well they do a particular thing.\nUntil 1987, Canada’s industry had been the star performer...\nHe is a world class performer.\n  N-COUNT: supp N


Words: performing arts
Meaning:
per.form.ing arts\n   performing arts\n  Dance, drama, music, and other forms of entertainment that are usually performed live in front of an audience are referred to as the performing arts.\n  N-PLURAL: usu the N


Words: perfume
Meaning:
per.fume\n   perfume   perfumes   perfuming   perfumed\n1. Perfume is a pleasant-smelling liquid which women put on their skin to make themselves smell nice.\nThe hall smelled of her mother’s perfume.\n...a bottle of perfume.\n  N-MASS\n  = scent\n2. Perfume is the ingredient that is added to some products to make them smell nice.\n...a delicate white soap without perfume.\n  N-MASS\n\n3. If something is used to perfume a product, it is added to the product to make it smell nice.\nThe oil is used to flavour and perfume soaps, foam baths, and scents.\n...shower gel perfumed with the popular Paris fragrance.\n  VERB: V n, V-ed with n


Words: perfumed
Meaning:
per.fumed\n   perfumed\n1. Something such as fruit or wine that is perfumed has a sweet pleasant smell.\nChampenois wines can be particularly fragrant and perfumed.\n  ADJ\n\n2. Perfumed things have a sweet pleasant smell, either naturally or because perfume has been added to them.\nShe opened the perfumed envelope.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  = scented


Words: perfumery
Meaning:
per.fum.ery\n   perfumery  perfumeries\n1. Perfumery is the activity or business of producing perfume.\n...the perfumery trade...\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N n\n\n2. A perfumery is a shop or a department in a store where perfume is the main product that is sold.\n  N-COUNT


Words: perfunctory
Meaning:
per.func.tory\n   perfunctory\n  A perfunctory action is done quickly and carelessly, and shows a lack of interest in what you are doing.\nShe gave the list only a perfunctory glance...\nOur interest was purely perfunctory.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n=>  per.func.to.ri.ly\nMelina was perfunctorily introduced to the men.\n  ADV: ADV with v


Words: pergola
Meaning:
per.go.la\n   pergola  pergolas\n  In a garden, a pergola is an arch or a structure with a roof over which climbing plants can be grown.\n  N-COUNT


Words: perhaps
Meaning:
per.haps\n   perhaps\n1. You use perhaps to express uncertainty, for example, when you do not know that something is definitely true, or when you are mentioning something that may possibly happen in the future in the way you describe.\nMillson regarded her thoughtfully. Perhaps she was right...\nIn the end they lose millions, perhaps billions...\nIt was bulky, perhaps three feet long and almost as high...\nPerhaps, in time, the message will get through...\nThey’d come soon, perhaps when the radio broadcast was over.\n  ADV: ADV with cl/group  vagueness\n  = maybe\n2. You use perhaps in opinions and remarks to make them appear less definite or more polite.\nPerhaps the most important lesson to be learned is that you simply cannot please everyone...\nHis very last paintings are perhaps the most puzzling...\nDo you perhaps disapprove of Agatha Christie and her Poirot and Miss Marple?...\n  ADV: ADV with cl/group  vagueness\n\n3. You use perhaps when you are making suggestions or giving advice. Perhaps is also used in formal English to introduce requests.\nPerhaps I may be permitted a few suggestions...\nWell, perhaps you’ll come and see us at our place?...\n  ADV: ADV with cl  politeness\n\n4. You can say perhaps as a response to a question or remark, when you do not want to agree or accept, but think that it would be rude to disagree or refuse.\n`I’m sure we can make it,’ he says. Perhaps, but it will not be easy.\n  ADV: ADV as reply


Words: peril
Meaning:
per.il\n   peril  perils\n1. Perils are great dangers. (FORMAL)\n...the perils of the sea...\nWe are in the gravest peril.\n  N-VAR: usu with supp\n\n2. The perils of a particular activity or course of action are the dangers or problems it may involve.\n...the perils of starring in a television commercial.\n  N-PLURAL: with poss\n\n3. If you say that someone does something at their peril, you are warning them that they will probably suffer as a result of doing it.\nAnyone who breaks the law does so at their peril.\n  PHRASE: PHR after v


Words: perilous
Meaning:
peri.lous\n   perilous\n  Something that is perilous is very dangerous. (LITERARY)\n...a perilous journey across the war-zone...\nThe road grew even steeper and more perilous.\n  ADJ\n\n=>  peri.lous.ly\nThe track snaked perilously upwards.\n  ADV: ADV after v, ADV adj


Words: perimeter
Meaning:
pe.rim.eter\n   perimeter  perimeters\n  The perimeter of an area of land is the whole of its outer edge or boundary.\n...the perimeter of the airport...\nOfficers dressed in riot gear are surrounding the perimeter fence.\n  N-COUNT


Words: perinatal
Meaning:
peri.na.tal\n   perinatal\n  Perinatal deaths, problems, or experiences happen at the time of birth or soon after the time of birth. (MEDICAL)\nPremature birth is the main cause of perinatal mortality.\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: period
Meaning:
pe.ri.od\n   period  periods\n1. A period is a length of time.\nThis crisis might last for a long period of time.\n...a period of a few months.\n...for a limited period only.\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp\n\n2. A period in the life of a person, organization, or society is a length of time which is remembered for a particular situation or activity.\n...a period of economic good health and expansion...\nHe went through a period of wanting to be accepted...\nThe South African years were his most creative period.\n  N-COUNT: with supp\n\n3. A particular length of time in history is sometimes called a period. For example, you can talk about the Victorian period or the Elizabethan period in Britain.\n...the Roman period...\nNo reference to their existence appears in any literature of the period.\n  N-COUNT: usu with supp\n\n4. Period costumes, furniture, and instruments were made at an earlier time in history, or look as if they were made then.\n...dressed in full period costume.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n5. Exercise, training, or study periods are lengths of time that are set aside for exercise, training, or study.\nThey accompanied him during his exercise periods.\n  N-COUNT: usu n N\n\n6. At a school or college, a period is one of the parts that the day is divided into during which lessons or other activities take place.\n...periods of private study.\n  N-COUNT\n\n7. When a woman has a period, she bleeds from her womb. This usually happens once a month, unless she is pregnant.\n  N-COUNT\n\n8. Some people say period after stating a fact or opinion when they want to emphasize that they are definite about something and do not want to discuss it further.\nI don’t want to do it, period.\n  ADV: cl ADV  emphasis\n\n9. A period is the punctuation mark () which you use at the end of a sentence when it is not a question or an exclamation. (AM; in BRIT, use full stop)\n  N-COUNT


Words: period pain
Meaning:
pe.ri.od pain\n   period pain  period pains\n  Period pain is the pain that some women have when they have a monthly period.\n  N-VAR


Words: period piece
Meaning:
pe.ri.od piece\n   period piece  period pieces\n  A period piece is a play, book, or film that is set at a particular time in history and describes life at that time.\n  N-COUNT


Words: periodic
Meaning:
pe.ri.od.ic\n   periodic\n  Periodic events or situations happen occasionally, at fairly regular intervals.\n...periodic bouts of illness.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  = periodical


Words: periodic table
Meaning:
pe.ri.od.ic ta.ble\n   periodic table\n  In chemistry, the periodic table is a table showing the chemical elements arranged according to their atomic numbers.\n  N-SING: the N


Words: periodical
Meaning:
pe.ri.odi.cal\n   periodical  periodicals\n1. Periodicals are magazines, especially serious or academic ones, that are published at regular intervals.\nThe walls would be lined with books and periodicals.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. Periodical events or situations happen occasionally, at fairly regular intervals.\nShe made periodical visits to her dentist.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  = periodic\n=>  pe.ri.odi.cal.ly\nMeetings are held periodically to monitor progress on the case...\n  ADV: ADV with v


Words: periodontal
Meaning:
perio.don.tal\n   periodontal\n  Periodontal disease is disease of the gums. (TECHNICAL)\n  ADJ: ADJ n


Words: peripatetic
Meaning:
peri.pa.tet.ic\n   peripatetic\n  If someone has a peripatetic life or career, they travel around a lot, living or working in places for short periods of time. (FORMAL)\nHer father was in the army and the family led a peripatetic existence.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: peripheral
Meaning:
pe.riph.er.al\n   peripheral  peripherals\n1. A peripheral activity or issue is one which is not very important compared with other activities or issues.\nCompanies are increasingly keen to contract out peripheral activities like training...\nScience is peripheral to that debate.\n  ADJ\n\n=>  pe.riph.er.al.ly\nThe Marshall Plan did not include Britain, except peripherally.\n  ADV\n\n2. Peripheral areas of land are ones which are on the edge of a larger area.\n...urban development in the outer peripheral areas of large towns.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n3. Peripherals are devices that can be attached to computers. (COMPUTING)\n...peripherals to expand the use of our computers.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl, oft N n


Words: periphery
Meaning:
pe.riph.ery\n   periphery  peripheries\n1. If something is on the periphery of an area, place, or thing, it is on the edge of it. (FORMAL)\nGeographically, the UK is on the periphery of Europe, while Paris is at the heart of the continent...\n  N-COUNT: usu with poss\n\n2. The periphery of a subject or area of interest is the part of it that is not considered to be as important or basic as the main part.\nThe sociological study of religion moved from the centre to the periphery of sociology.\n  N-COUNT: usu with poss


Words: periscope
Meaning:
peri.scope\n   periscope  periscopes\n  A periscope is a vertical tube which people inside submarines can look through to see above the surface of the water.\n  N-COUNT


Words: perish
Meaning:
per.ish\n   perish  perishes  perishing  perished\n1. If people or animals perish, they die as a result of very harsh conditions or as the result of an accident. (WRITTEN)\nMost of the butterflies perish in the first frosts of autumn.\n  VERB: V\n\n2. If a substance or material perishes, it starts to fall to pieces and becomes useless. (mainly BRIT)\nTheir tyres are slowly perishing.\n  VERB: V\n  = disintegrate\n=>  per.ished\n...tattered pieces of ancient, perished leather.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: perishable
Meaning:
per.ish.able\n   perishable\n  Goods such as food that are perishable go bad after quite a short length of time.\n...perishable food like fruit, vegetables and meat...\n  ADJ


Words: perished
Meaning:
per.ished\n   perished\n1. If someone is perished, they are extremely cold. (BRIT INFORMAL)\nI was absolutely perished...\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ\n\n2.\n  see also perish


Words: peritonitis
Meaning:
peri.to.ni.tis\n   peritonitis\n  Peritonitis is a disease in which the inside wall of your abdomen becomes swollen and very painful. (MEDICAL)\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: periwinkle
Meaning:
peri.win.kle\n   periwinkle  periwinkles\n1. Periwinkle is a plant that grows along the ground and has blue flowers.\n  N-VAR\n\n2. Periwinkles are small sea snails that can be eaten.\n  N-COUNT\n  = winkle


Words: perjure
Meaning:
per.jure\n   perjure  perjures  perjuring  perjured\n  If someone perjures themselves in a court of law, they lie, even though they have promised to tell the truth.\nWitnesses lied and perjured themselves...\n  VERB: V pron-refl


Words: perjured
Meaning:
per.jured\n   perjured\n  In a court of law, perjured evidence or perjured testimony is a false statement of events.\n...information that was based on perjured testimony.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n


Words: perjury
Meaning:
per.jury\n   perjury\n  If someone who is giving evidence in a court of law commits perjury, they lie. (LEGAL)\nThis witness has committed perjury and no reliance can be placed on her evidence.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: perk
Meaning:
perk  perks  perking  perked\n  Perks are special benefits that are given to people who have a particular job or belong to a particular group.\n...a company car, private medical insurance and other perks...\nOne of the perks of being a student is cheap travel.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl


Words: perk up
Meaning:
perk up\n1. If something perks you up or if you perk up, you become cheerful and lively, after feeling tired, bored, or depressed.\nHe perks up and jokes with them.\n...suggestions to make you smile and perk you up.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P, V n P\n\n2. If you perk something up, you make it more interesting.\nTo make the bland taste more interesting, the locals began perking it up with local produce...\nPsychological twists perk up an otherwise predictable story line.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V n P, V P n\n\n3. If sales, prices, or economies perk up, or if something perks them up, they begin to increase or improve. (JOURNALISM)\nHouse prices could perk up during the autumn...\nAnything that could save the company money and perk up its cash flow was examined.\n  PHRASAL VERB: V P, V P n (not pron), also V n P


Words: perky
Meaning:
perky  perkier  perkiest\n  If someone is perky, they are cheerful and lively.\nHe wasn’t quite as perky as normal...\n  ADJ


Words: perm
Meaning:
perm  perms  perming  permed\n1. If you have a perm, your hair is curled and treated with chemicals so that it stays curly for several months. (mainly BRIT; in AM, usually use permanent)\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. When a hair stylist perms someone’s hair, they curl it and treat it with chemicals so that it stays curly for several months.\nShe had her hair permed.\n  VERB: have n V-ed\n\n=>  permed\n...dry, damaged or permed hair.\n  ADJ


Words: permafrost
Meaning:
per.ma.frost\n   permafrost\n  Permafrost is land that is permanently frozen to a great depth.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: permanent
Meaning:
per.ma.nent\n   permanent  permanents\n1. Something that is permanent lasts for ever.\nHeavy drinking can cause permanent damage to the brain...\nThe ban is intended to be permanent.\n  ADJ\n  !=temporary\n=>  per.ma.nent.ly\nHis reason had been permanently affected by what he had witnessed...\n  ADV: ADV with v, ADV adj\n  !=temporarily\n=>  per.ma.nence\nAnything which threatens the permanence of the treaty is a threat to peace.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. You use permanent to describe situations or states that keep occurring or which seem to exist all the time; used especially to describe problems or difficulties.\n...a permanent state of tension...\nThey feel under permanent threat...\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  = constant\n=>  per.ma.nent.ly\n...the heavy, permanently locked gate.\n  ADV\n\n3. A permanent employee is one who is employed for an unlimited length of time.\n...a permanent job.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n  !=temporary\n=>  per.ma.nent.ly\n...permanently employed registered dockers.\n  ADV: ADV with v\n\n4. Your permanent home or your permanent address is the one at which you spend most of your time or the one that you return to after having stayed in other places.\nYork Cottage was as near to a permanent home as the children knew...\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n5. A permanent is a treatment where a hair stylist curls your hair and treats it with a chemical so that it stays curly for several months. (AM; in BRIT, use perm)\n  N-COUNT


Words: permanent wave
Meaning:
per.ma.nent wave\n   permanent wave  permanent waves\n  A permanent wave is the same as a perm. (OLD-FASHIONED)\n  N-COUNT


Words: permeable
Meaning:
per.me.able\n   permeable\n  If a substance is permeable, something such as water or gas can pass through it or soak into it.\nA number of products have been developed which are permeable to air and water.\n  ADJ\n  !=impermeable


Words: permeate
Meaning:
per.me.ate\n   permeate  permeates  permeating  permeated\n1. If an idea, feeling, or attitude permeates a system or permeates society, it affects every part of it or is present throughout it.\nBias against women permeates every level of the judicial system...\nAn obvious change of attitude at the top will permeate through the system.\n  VERB: V n, V through n\n\n2. If something permeates a place, it spreads throughout it.\nThe smell of roast beef permeated the air...\nEventually, the water will permeate through the surrounding concrete.\n  VERB: V n, V through n


Words: permissible
Meaning:
per.mis.sible\n   permissible\n  If something is permissible, it is considered to be acceptable because it does not break any laws or rules.\nReligious practices are permissible under the Constitution...\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ


Words: permission
Meaning:
per.mis.sion\n   permission  permissions\n1. If someone who has authority over you gives you permission to do something, they say that they will allow you to do it.\nHe asked permission to leave the room...\nFinally his mother relented and gave permission for her youngest son to marry...\nThey cannot leave the country without permission.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft N to-inf, N for n to-inf, N for n\n\n2. A permission is a formal, written statement from an official group or place allowing you to do something.\n...oil exploration permissions.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl\n\n  see also planning permission


Words: permissive
Meaning:
per.mis.sive\n   permissive\n  A permissive person, society, or way of behaving allows or tolerates things which other people disapprove of.\n...the permissive tolerance of the 1960s...\n  ADJ\n\n=>  per.mis.sive.ness\nPermissiveness and democracy go together.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: permit
Meaning:
per.mit\n   permit permits permitting  permitted\nThe verb is pronounced   The noun is pronounced\n1. If someone permits something, they allow it to happen. If they permit you to do something, they allow you to do it. (FORMAL)\nHe can let the court’s decision stand and permit the execution...\nEmployees are permitted to use the golf course during their free hours...\nNo outside journalists have been permitted into the country...\nIf they appear to be under 12, then the doorman is not allowed to permit them entry to the film.\n  VERB: V n, V n to-inf, be V-ed into n, V n n\n\n2. A permit is an official document which says that you may do something. For example you usually need a permit to work in a foreign country.\nThe majority of foreign nationals working here have work permits...\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. If a situation permits something, it makes it possible for that thing to exist, happen, or be done or it provides the opportunity for it. (FORMAL)\nHe sets about creating an environment that just doesn’t permit experiment, it encourages it...\nTry to go out for a walk at lunchtime, if the weather permits...\nThis method of cooking also permits heat to penetrate evenly from both sides.\n  VERB: V n, V, V n to-inf, also V of n\n  = allow\n4. If you permit yourself something, you allow yourself to do something that you do not normally do or that you think you probably should not do.\nCaptain Bowen permitted himself one cigar a day...\nOnly once in his life had Douglas permitted himself to lose control of his emotions.\n  VERB: V pron-refl n, V pron-refl to-inf\n  = allow\n5. You can use permit me when you are about to say something or to make a suggestion. (FORMAL)\nPermit me to give you some advice...\n  PHRASE: PHR to-inf  politeness\n  = allow me


Words: permutation
Meaning:
per.mu.ta.tion\n   permutation  permutations\n  A permutation is one of the ways in which a number of things can be ordered or arranged.\nVariation among humans is limited to the possible permutations of our genes.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl


Words: pernicious
Meaning:
per.ni.cious\n   pernicious\n  If you describe something as pernicious, you mean that it is very harmful. (FORMAL)\nI did what I could, but her mother’s influence was pernicious...\n  ADJ


Words: pernicious anaemia
Meaning:
per.ni.cious anaemia\n   pernicious anaemia   also pernicious anemia\n  Pernicious anaemia is a very severe blood disease.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: pernickety
Meaning:
per.nick.ety\n   pernickety\n  If you describe someone as pernickety, you think that they pay too much attention to small, unimportant details. (BRIT INFORMAL; in AM, use persnickety)\nCustoms officials can get extremely pernickety about things like that.\n  ADJ  disapproval\n  = fussy


Words: peroration
Meaning:
pero.ra.tion\n   peroration  perorations\n1. A peroration is the last part of a speech, especially the part where the speaker sums up his or her argument. (FORMAL)\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. If someone describes a speech as a peroration, they mean that they dislike it because they think it is very long and not worth listening to. (FORMAL)\n  N-COUNT  disapproval


Words: peroxide
Meaning:
per.ox.ide\n   peroxide  peroxides\n  Peroxide is a chemical that is often used for making hair lighter in colour. It can also be used to kill germs.\n  N-MASS\n\n  see also hydrogen peroxide


Words: peroxide blonde
Meaning:
per.ox.ide blonde\n   peroxide blonde  peroxide blondes\n  You can refer to a woman whose hair has been artificially been made lighter in colour as a peroxide blonde, especially when you want to show that you disapprove of this, or that you think her hair looks unnatural or unattractive.\n  N-COUNT


Words: perpendicular
Meaning:
per.pen.dicu.lar\n   perpendicular\n1. A perpendicular line or surface points straight up, rather than being sloping or horizontal.\nWe made two slits for the eyes and a perpendicular line for the nose...\nThe sides of the loch are almost perpendicular.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  = vertical\n2. If one thing is perpendicular to another, it is at an angle of 90 degrees to it. (FORMAL)\nThe left wing dipped until it was perpendicular to the ground.\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ to n


Words: perpetrate
Meaning:
per.pe.trate\n   perpetrate  perpetrates  perpetrating  perpetrated\n  If someone perpetrates a crime or any other immoral or harmful act, they do it. (FORMAL)\nA high proportion of crime in any country is perpetrated by young males in their teens and twenties...\n  VERB: V n\n  = commit\n=>  per.pe.tra.tion\n...a very small minority who persist in the perpetration of these crimes.\n  N-SING: usu N of n\n\n=>  per.pe.tra.tor      perpetrators\nThe perpetrator of this crime must be traced.\n  N-COUNT


Words: perpetual
Meaning:
per.pet.ual\n   perpetual\n1. A perpetual feeling, state, or quality is one that never ends or changes.\n...the creation of a perpetual union.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  = permanent\n=>  per.pet.ual.ly\nThey were all perpetually starving...\n  ADV: ADV with v, ADV adj/prep\n  = permanently\n2. A perpetual act, situation, or state is one that happens again and again and so seems never to end.\nI thought her perpetual complaints were going to prove too much for me.\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  = continual\n=>  per.pet.ual.ly\nHe perpetually interferes in political affairs.\n  ADV: ADV with v, ADV adj/prep\n  = continually


Words: perpetual motion
Meaning:
per.pet.ual mo.tion\n   perpetual motion   also perpetual-motion\n  The idea of perpetual motion is the idea of something continuing to move for ever without getting energy from anything else.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: perpetuate
Meaning:
per.petu.ate\n   perpetuate  perpetuates  perpetuating  perpetuated\n  If someone or something perpetuates a situation, system, or belief, especially a bad one, they cause it to continue.\nWe must not perpetuate the religious divisions of the past...\nThis image is a myth perpetuated by the media.\n  VERB: V n, V-ed\n\n=>  per.petua.tion\nThe perpetuation of nuclear deployments is morally unacceptable.\n  N-SING: usu N of n


Words: perpetuity
Meaning:
per.pe.tu.ity\n   perpetuity\n  If something is done in perpetuity, it is intended to last for ever. (FORMAL)\nThe US Government gave the land to the tribe in perpetuity.\n  PHRASE: PHR after v


Words: perplex
Meaning:
per.plex\n   perplex  perplexes  perplexing  perplexed\n  If something perplexes you, it confuses and worries you because you do not understand it or because it causes you difficulty.\nIt perplexed him because he was tackling it the wrong way.\n  VERB: V n


Words: perplexed
Meaning:
per.plexed\n   perplexed\n  If you are perplexed, you feel confused and slightly worried by something because you do not understand it.\nShe is perplexed about what to do for her daughter...\n  ADJ: usu v-link ADJ


Words: perplexing
Meaning:
per.plex.ing\n   perplexing\n  If you find something perplexing, you do not understand it or do not know how to deal with it.\nIt took years to understand many perplexing diseases...\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n  = puzzling


Words: perplexity
Meaning:
per.plex.ity\n   perplexity  perplexities\n1. Perplexity is a feeling of being confused and frustrated because you do not understand something.\nHe began counting them and then, with growing perplexity, counted them a second time.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n\n2. The perplexities of something are those things about it which are difficult to understand because they are complicated.\n...the perplexities of quantum mechanics.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl


Words: perquisite
Meaning:
per.qui.site\n   perquisite  perquisites\n  A perquisite is the same as a perk. (FORMAL)\n...cost-free long-distance calls, a perquisite of her employment.\n  N-COUNT


Words: persecute
Meaning:
per.secute\n   persecute  persecutes  persecuting  persecuted\n1. If someone is persecuted, they are treated cruelly and unfairly, often because of their race or beliefs.\nMr Weaver and his family have been persecuted by the authorities for their beliefs...\nThey began by brutally persecuting the Catholic Church.\n...a persecuted minority.\n  VERB: be V-ed, V n, V-ed\n\n2. If you say that someone is persecuting you, you mean that they are deliberately making your life difficult.\nHe said his first wife persecuted him with her unreasonable demands...\n  VERB: V n


Words: persecution
Meaning:
per.secu.tion\n   persecution  persecutions\n  Persecution is cruel and unfair treatment of a person or group, especially because of their religious or political beliefs, or their race.\n...the persecution of minorities.\n...victims of political persecution...\n  N-UNCOUNT: also N in pl


Words: persecutor
Meaning:
per.secu.tor\n   persecutor  persecutors\n  The persecutors of a person or group treat them cruelly and unfairly, especially because of their religious or political beliefs, or their race.\n  N-COUNT: usu pl


Words: perseverance
Meaning:
per.sever.ance\n   perseverance\n  Perseverance is the quality of continuing with something even though it is difficult.\n  N-UNCOUNT\n  = persistence


Words: persevere
Meaning:
per.severe\n   persevere  perseveres  persevering  persevered\n  If you persevere with something, you keep trying to do it and do not give up, even though it is difficult.\n...his ability to persevere despite obstacles and setbacks.\n...a school with a reputation for persevering with difficult and disruptive children...\nShe persevered in her idea despite obvious objections raised by friends.\n  VERB: V, V with n, V prep\n  = persist\n=>  per.sever.ing\nHe is a persevering, approachable family man.\n  ADJ


Words: Persian
Meaning:
Per.sian\n   Persian  Persians\n1. Something that is Persian belongs or relates to the ancient kingdom of Persia, or sometimes to the modern state of Iran.\n  ADJ\n\n2. Persians were the people who came from the ancient kingdom of Persia.\n  N-COUNT\n\n3. Persian carpets and rugs traditionally come from Iran. They are made by hand from silk or wool and usually have patterns in deep colours.\n  ADJ\n\n4. Persian is the language that is spoken in Iran, and was spoken in the ancient Persian empire.\n  N-UNCOUNT


Words: Persian Gulf
Meaning:
Per.sian Gulf\n   Persian Gulf\n  The Persian Gulf is the area of sea between Saudi Arabia and Iran.\n  N-PROPER: usu the N


Words: persimmon
Meaning:
per.sim.mon\n   persimmon  persimmons\n  A persimmon is a soft, orange fruit that looks rather like a large tomato. Persimmons grow on trees in hot countries.\n  N-COUNT


Words: persist
Meaning:
per.sist\n   persist  persists  persisting  persisted\n1. If something undesirable persists, it continues to exist.\nContact your doctor if the cough persists...\nThese problems persisted for much of the decade.\n  VERB: V, V\n\n2. If you persist in doing something, you continue to do it, even though it is difficult or other people are against it.\nWhy does Britain persist in running down its defence forces?...\nHe urged the United States to persist with its efforts to bring about peace...\n`You haven’t answered me,’ she persisted...\nWhen I set my mind to something, I persist.\n  VERB: V in -ing, V with/in n, V with quote, V


Words: persistence
Meaning:
per.sis.tence\n   persistence\n1. If you have persistence, you continue to do something even though it is difficult or other people are against it.\nSkill comes only with practice, patience and persistence...\n  N-UNCOUNT\n  = perseverance\n2. The persistence of something, especially something bad, is the fact of its continuing to exist for a long time.\n...an expression of concern at the persistence of inflation and high interest rates.\n  N-UNCOUNT: usu the N of n


Words: persistent
Meaning:
per.sis.tent\n   persistent\n1. Something that is persistent continues to exist or happen for a long time; used especially about bad or undesirable states or situations.\nHis cough grew more persistent until it never stopped...\nShoppers picked their way through puddles caused by persistent rain.\n  ADJ\n\n2. Someone who is persistent continues trying to do something, even though it is difficult or other people are against it.\n...a persistent critic of the government’s transport policies...\n  ADJ


Words: persistent vegetative state
Meaning:
per.sis.tent veg.eta.tive state\n   persistent vegetative state  persistent vegetative states\n  If someone is in a persistent vegetative state, they are unable to think, speak, or move because they have severe brain damage, and their condition is not likely to improve. (MEDICAL)\n  N-COUNT


Words: persistently
Meaning:
per.sis.tent.ly\n   persistently\n1. If something happens persistently, it happens again and again or for a long time.\nThe allegations have been persistently denied by ministers...\n  ADV: ADV with v, ADV adj\n\n2. If someone does something persistently, they do it with determination even though it is difficult or other people are against it.\nRachel gently but persistently imposed her will upon Douglas...\n  ADV: ADV with v


Words: persnickety
Meaning:
per.snick.ety\n   persnickety\n  If you describe someone as persnickety, you think that they pay too much attention to small, unimportant details. (AM INFORMAL; in BRIT, use pernickety)\nHe is a very rigorous man, very persnickety.\n  ADJ  disapproval\n  = fussy


Words: person
Meaning:
per.son\n   person  people  persons\n\n  The usual word for `more than one person’ is people. The form persons is used as the plural in formal or legal language.\n\n1. A person is a man, woman, or child.\nAt least one person died and several others were injured...\nEveryone knows he’s the only person who can do the job...\nThe amount of sleep we need varies from person to person...\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. Persons is used as the plural of person in formal, legal, and technical writing.\n...removal of the right of accused persons to remain silent...\n  N-PLURAL\n\n3. If you talk about someone as a person, you are considering them from the point of view of their real nature.\nRobin didn’t feel good about herself as a person.\n  N-COUNT\n\n4. If someone says, for example,`I’m an outdoor person’ or `I’m not a coffee person’, they are saying whether or not they like that particular activity or thing. (mainly SPOKEN)\nI am not a country person at all. I prefer the cities.\n  N-COUNT: a supp N\n\n5. If you do something in person, you do it yourself rather than letting someone else do it for you.\nShe went to New York to receive the award in person.\n  PHRASE: PHR after v\n\n6. If you meet, hear, or see someone in person, you are in the same place as them, rather than, for example, speaking to them on the telephone, writing to them, or seeing them on television.\nIt was the first time she had seen him in person.\n  PHRASE: PHR after v\n\n7. Your person is your body. (FORMAL)\nThe suspect had refused to give any details of his identity and had carried no documents on his person.\n  N-COUNT: poss N\n\n8. You can use in the person of when mentioning the name of someone you have just referred to in a more general or indirect way. (WRITTEN)\nWe had a knowledgeable guide in the person of George Adams.\n  PHRASE: PHR n\n\n9. In grammar, we use the term first person when referring to `I’ and `we’, second person when referring to `you’, and third person when referring to `he’, `she’, `it’, `they’, and all other noun groups. Person is also used like this when referring to the verb forms that go with these pronouns and noun groups.\n  N-COUNT: usu supp N\n\n  see also first person, second person, third person


Words: person-to-person
Meaning:
person-to-person\n  If you make a person-to-person call, you say that you want to talk to one person in particular. If that person cannot come to the telephone, you do not have to pay for the call. (FORMAL)\n  ADJ


Words: persona
Meaning:
per.so.na\n   persona  personas  or personae\n  Someone’s persona is the aspect of their character or nature that they present to other people, perhaps in contrast to their real character or nature. (FORMAL)\n...the contradictions between her private life and the public persona...\n  N-COUNT\n  = image\n  see also persona non grata


Words: persona non grata
Meaning:
per.so.na non gra.ta\n   persona non grata  personae non gratae\n  If someone becomes or is declared persona non grata, they become unwelcome or unacceptable because of something they have said or done.\nThe government has declared the French ambassador persona non grata and ordered him to leave the country.\n  PHRASE: PHR after v, v-link PHR


Words: personable
Meaning:
per.son.able\n   personable\n  Someone who is personable has a pleasant appearance and character.\nThe people I met were intelligent, mature, personable.\n  ADJ  approval


Words: personage
Meaning:
per.son.age\n   personage  personages\n1. A personage is a famous or important person. (FORMAL)\n...MPs, film stars and other important personages.\n  N-COUNT\n\n2. A personage is a character in a play or book, or in history. (FORMAL)\nThere is no evidence for such a historical personage.\n  N-COUNT


Words: personal
Meaning:
per.son.al\n   personal\n1. A personal opinion, quality, or thing belongs or relates to one particular person rather than to other people.\nHe learned this lesson the hard way.from his own personal experience...\nThat’s my personal opinion.\n...books, furniture, and other personal belongings...\n...an estimated personal fortune of almost seventy million dollars.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n2. If you give something your personal care or attention, you deal with it yourself rather than letting someone else deal with it.\n...a business that requires a great deal of personal contact.\n...a personal letter from the President’s secretary...\n  ADJ: usu ADJ n\n\n3. Personal matters relate to your feelings, relationships, and health.\n...teaching young people about marriage and personal relationships...\nYou never allow personal problems to affect your performance...\n  ADJ\n\n4. Personal comments refer to someone’s appearance or character in an offensive way.\nNewspapers resorted to personal abuse...\n  ADJ\n\n5. Personal care involves looking after your body and appearance.\n...men who take as much trouble over personal hygiene as women.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n6. A personal relationship is one that is not connected with your job or public life.\nHe was a personal friend whom I’ve known for many many years...\n  ADJ\n\n7.\n  see also personals


Words: personal assistant
Meaning:
per.son.al as.sis.tant\n   personal assistant  personal assistants\n  A personal assistant is a person who does office work and administrative work for someone. The abbreviation PA is also used. (BUSINESS)\n  N-COUNT


Words: personal best
Meaning:
per.son.al best\n   personal best  personal bests\n  A sports player’s personal best is the highest score or fastest time that they have ever achieved.\nShe ran a personal best of 13.01 sec.\n  N-COUNT: usu sing


Words: personal column
Meaning:
per.son.al col.umn\n   personal column  personal columns\n  The personal column in a newspaper or magazine contains messages for individual people and advertisements of a private nature. (mainly BRIT; in AM, usually use personals)\n  N-COUNT


Words: personal computer
Meaning:
per.son.al com.put.er\n   personal computer  personal computers\n  A personal computer is a computer that is used by one person at a time in a business, a school, or at home. The abbreviation PC is also used.\n  N-COUNT


Words: personal digital assistant
Meaning:
per.son.al digi.tal as.sis.tant\n   personal digital assistant personal digital assistants\n  A personal digital assistant is a hand-held computer, used mainly for storing and accessing personal information such as addresses, telephone numbers, and memos. The abbreviation PDA is also used.\n  N-COUNT


Words: personal organizer
Meaning:
per.son.al or.gan.iz.er\n   personal organizer  personal organizers\nin BRIT, also use personal organiser\n  A personal organizer is a book containing personal or business information, which you can add pages to or remove pages from to keep the information up to date. Small computers with a similar function are also called personal organizers.\n  N-COUNT


Words: personal pronoun
Meaning:
per.son.al pro.noun\n   personal pronoun  personal pronouns\n  A personal pronoun is a pronoun such as `I’, `you’, `she’, or `they’ which is used to refer to the speaker or the person spoken to, or to a person or thing whose identity is clear, usually because they have already been mentioned.\n  N-COUNT


Words: personal space
Meaning:
per.son.al space\n   personal space\n1. If someone invades your personal space, they stand or lean too close to you, so that you feel uncomfortable.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft poss N\n\n2. If you need your personal space, you need time on your own, with the freedom to do something that you want to do or to think about something.\nSelf-confidence means being relaxed enough to allow your lover their personal space.\n  N-UNCOUNT: oft poss N


Words: personal stereo
Meaning:
per.son.al ste.reo\n   personal stereo  personal stereos\n  A personal stereo is a small cassette or CD player with very light headphones, which people carry round so that they can listen to music while doing something else.\n  N-COUNT\n  = Walkman


Words: personality
Meaning:
per.son.al.ity\n   personality  personalities\n1. Your personality is your whole character and nature.\nShe has such a kind, friendly personality...\nThrough sheer force of personality Hugh Trenchard had got his way...\nThe contest was as much about personalities as it was about politics.\n  N-VAR: usu with supp\n\n2. If someone has personality or is a personality, they have a strong and lively character.\n...a woman of great personality...\nHe is such a personality.he is so funny.\n  N-VAR: usu with supp\n  = character\n3. You can refer to a famous person, especially in entertainment, broadcasting, or sport, as a personality.\n...the radio and television personality, Jimmy Saville.\n  N-COUNT


Words: personalize
Meaning:
per.son.al.ize\n   personalize  personalizes  personalizing  personalized\nin BRIT, also use personalise\n1. If an object is personalized, it is marked with the name or initials of its owner.\nThe clock has easy-to-read numbers and is personalised with the child’s name and birth date.\n  VERB: usu passive, be V-ed\n\n=>  per.son.al.ized\n...a Rolls-Royce with a personalised number plate.\n  ADJ: ADJ n\n\n2. If you personalize something, you do or design it specially according to the needs of an individual or to your own needs.\nPersonalising your car has never been cheaper.\n...an ideal centre for professional men or women who need intensive, personalised French courses.\n  VERB: V n, V-ed\n\n3. If you personalize an argument, discussion, idea, or issue, you consider it from the point of view of individual people and their characters or relationships, rather than considering the facts in a general or abstract way.\nWomen tend to personalise rejection more than men...\nThe contest has become personalised, if not bitter.\n  VERB: V n, V-ed, also V


Words: personally
Meaning:
per.son.al.ly\n   personally\n1. You use personally to emphasize that you are giving your own opinion.\nPersonally I think it’s a waste of time...\nYou can disagree about them, and I personally do, but they are great ideas that have made people think...\n  ADV: ADV with cl  emphasis\n\n2. If you do something personally, you do it yourself rather than letting someone else do it.\nThe minister is returning to Paris to answer the allegations personally...\nWhen the great man arrived, the club’s manager personally escorted him upstairs...\n  ADV: ADV with v\n\n3. If you meet or know someone personally, you meet or know them in real life, rather than knowing about them or knowing their work.\nHe did not know them personally, but he was familiar with their reputation...\n  ADV: ADV with v\n\n4. You can use personally to say that something refers to an individual person rather than to other people.\nHe was personally responsible for all that the people had suffered under his rule...\nIn order for me to spend three months on something it has to interest me personally.\n  ADV: ADV with v, ADV adj\n\n5. You can use personally to show that you are talking about someone’s private life rather than their professional or public life.\nThis has taken a great toll on me personally and professionally...\n  ADV: oft ADV with cl\n\n6. If you take someone’s remarks personally, you are upset because you think that they are criticizing you in particular.\nRemember, stick to the issues and don’t take it personally.\n  PHRASE: V inflects


