# dict

Words: divided highway
Meaning:
n [C]    AmE a main road with two lines of traffic travelling in each direction, separated by a piece of land//  British Equivalent:  dual carriageway//


Words: dividend
Meaning:
W3   n [C]   [Date: 1400-1500; Language: Latin; Origin: dividendum  ’thing to be divided’, from  dividere;   DIVIDE1]//\n  1 a part of a company’s profit that is divided among the people with shares in the company:\n  2  BrE prize money offered in a national competition called the football pools which people can win by correctly guessing the results of football games:\n  3  technical a number that is to be divided by another number:\n  4  pay/bring dividends:  to be very useful and bring a lot of advantages, especially later in the future//  --Good eating habits will pay dividends later on in life.//


Words: divider
Meaning:
n [C] \n  1 something that divides something else into parts:  --a room divider//  --alphabetical file dividers//\n  2  AmE a piece of land that separates traffic travelling in opposite directions on a main road:  British Equivalent:  reservation//  --Police saw his Mercedes speeding along the center divider.//  3  dividers [plural] an instrument used for measuring or marking lines or angles, consisting of two pointed pieces of metal joined together at the top//


Words: dividing line
Meaning:
n [C usually singular]   the difference between two similar things//  dividing line between//  --What’s the dividing line between normal drinking and addiction?//


Words: divine
Meaning:
adj   [Date: 1300-1400; Language: Old French; Origin: divin, from  Latin divus  ’god’]//\n  1 coming from or relating to God or a god:  divine intervention/providence/revelation/guidance etc //  --faith in divine providence//  --divine power//  --divine love//\n  2  old-fashioned very pleasant or good:\ndivine 2 v \n  1 [T]  literary to discover or guess something:  divine that//  --Somehow, the children had divined that he was lying.//\n  2 [I] to search for underground water or minerals using a Y-shaped stick:  --a divining rod  (=the stick used for this) //  -- diviner n  [C] //


Words: Divine Comedy
Meaning:
The   a long poem in three parts, written around 1300 by the Italian poet  Dante. It describes the poet’s  spiritual journey. First he is led through Hell (the Inferno) and Purgatory by the poet  Virgil, and then he is led through Paradise by  Beatrice, the woman he loves. Many people consider it to be one of the greatest poems ever written.//


Words: divine right
Meaning:
n [singular] \n  1 the right given to a king or queen by God to rule a country, that in former times could not be opposed:\n  2  informal the right to do what you want without having to ask permission:  --Being my wife doesn’t give you the divine right to read my mail.//


Words: diving
Meaning:
n [U] \n  1 the sport of swimming under water using special equipment to help you breathe:  --We went diving on the coral reef.//\n  2 the activity of jumping into water with your head and arms first:    scuba diving//


Words: diving bell
Meaning:
n [C]   a metal container that is open at the bottom and filled with air under pressure, in which people can work under water//


Words: divinity
Meaning:
n   plural  divinities //\n  1 [U]  AmE the study of God and religious beliefs:  British Equivalent:  theology//  --a graduate of Harvard divinity school//\n  2 [U] the quality or state of being a god:\n  3 [C] a god:


Words: divisible
Meaning:
adj [not before noun]   able to be divided, for example by a number//  divisible by//  --6 is divisible by 3.//  divisible into//  --The nervous system is divisible into three parts.//


Words: division
Meaning:
n   ----------//\n   1 separating:\n   2 disagreement:\n   3 mathematics:\n   4 part of an organization:\n   5 military:\n   6 sport:\n   7 in parliament:  ----------//  [Date: 1300-1400; Language: Old French; Origin: Latin divisio, from  dividere;   DIVIDE1]//\n  1 SEPARATING:   [U and C] the act of separating something into two or more different parts, or the way these parts are separated or shared//  division of sth between/among/into sth//  --the division of words into syllables//  --the traditional division of labour  (=the way that particular tasks are shared) between husband and wife//\n  2 DISAGREEMENT:   [U and C] disagreement among the members of a group that makes them form smaller opposing groups//  division between/within/among sth//  --Can he heal the deep divisions among Republican ranks?//  racial/class/gender etc division //  --The old class divisions had begun to break down.//  --The Army was plagued by internal divisions .//\n  3 MATHEMATICS:   [U] the process of finding out how many times one number is contained in another//    multiplication, long division//\n  4 PART OF AN ORGANIZATION:   [C] a group that does a particular job within a large organization//  --the Computer Services Division//\n  5 MILITARY:   [C] a large military group//  --a tank division//\n  6 SPORT:   [C] one of the groups of teams that a sports competition is divided into, often based on the number of games they have won//  the Premier/First/Second/Third/Fourth Division //  --a second-division club//\n  7 IN PARLIAMENT:   [C] a process in which members of the British parliament vote for something by dividing into groups//  --MPs forced a division on the bill.//  --Some members supported the opposition in the division lobbies  (=the rooms where the vote takes place) .//


Words: divisional
Meaning:
adj [only before noun]   relating to one of the parts into which a large organization, group etc is divided//  --divisional headquarters//


Words: divisive
Meaning:
adj   causing a lot of disagreement between people//  --The strike was a divisive issue in the community.//  socially/economically/politically etc divisive //  --socially divisive policies//


Words: divorce
Meaning:
S3   n   [Date: 1300-1400; Language: French; Origin: Latin divertere  ’to divert, leave one’s husband’]//\n  1 [U and C] the legal ending of a marriage:    separation//  --Why doesn’t she get a divorce ?//  --In Britain, one in three marriages ends in divorce .//  file/sue/petition for divorce (=start the legal divorce process) //  --His wife had threatened to start divorce proceedings .//  --the rise in the divorce rate //  --She received the house as part of the divorce settlement  (=the amount of money, property etc each person receives in a divorce case) .//  --The Act extended the grounds  (=legal reasons)  for divorce .//\n  2 [C usually singular]  formal the fact of separating two related things:  divorce between//  --the divorce between theory and method//\ndivorce 2 v \n  1 [I and T] if someone divorces their husband or wife, or if two people divorce, they legally end their marriage:    separate//  --David’s parents divorced when he was six.//  --My father threatened to divorce her.//\n  2 [T]  formal to separate two ideas, subjects etc completely:  divorce sth from sth//  --It is difficult to divorce sport from politics.//\n  3 [T] to stop being involved in an activity, organization, situation etc:  divorce yourself from sth//  --Our society has divorced itself from religion.//


Words: divorced
Meaning:
adj \n  1 no longer married to your wife or husband:  --Are you married, single, or divorced?//  --a divorced woman//  divorced from//  --Anne is divorced from Simon’s father.//  --My parents are getting divorced .//\n  2 separate from and not connected in any way to an idea, subject etc:  divorced from//  --His ideas are completely divorced from reality .//


Words: divot
Meaning:
n [C]   a small piece of earth and grass that you dig out accidentally while playing a sport such as golf or polo//


Words: divulge
Meaning:
v [T]  formal   [Date: 1400-1500; Language: Latin; Origin: divulgare  ’to make widely known to everyone’, from  vulgus  ’the common people’]//  to give someone information that should be secret//   reveal//  divulge information/secrets/details etc (to sb) //  --It is not company policy to divulge personal details of employees.//  divulge that//  --Clare divulged that she was recovering from a nervous breakdown.//  divulge what/where etc//  --The Pentagon refused to divulge what type of plane it was.//


Words: divvy
Meaning:
n   plural  divvies  [C]  BrE  informal //  a stupid person//\ndivvy 2 v   past tense and past participle  divvied present participle  divvying third person singular  divvies //  divvy up [divvy sth → up] phr v//  [Date: 1800-1900; Origin: divide]//  to share something between several people//  --We can divvy up the profits between us.//


Words: Dixie
Meaning:
n  informal   the southern states of the US that fought against the northern states in the Civil War//


Words: DIY
Meaning:
n [U]  BrE   do-it-yourself the activity of making or repairing things yourself instead of buying them or paying someone else to do it//


Words: dizzy
Meaning:
adj   [Language: Old English; Origin: dysig  ’stupid’]//\n  1 feeling unable to stand steadily, for example because you are looking down from a high place or because you are ill:  --The heat and the champagne made him feel dizzy .//  --She started to suffer from dizzy spells  (=a short period when you feel dizzy) .//  dizzy with//  --Ruth felt dizzy with relief.//\n  2  the dizzy heights (of sth):  an important position - used humorously//  --Naomi had reached the dizzy heights of manageress.//\n  3  informal stupid and forgetful:  --a dizzy blonde//\n  4 very busy and exciting:  --Hong Kong buzzes from dawn to dusk at a dizzy pace.//  -- dizziness n  [U] //  --headaches, dizziness, and vomiting//  -- dizzily adv //


Words: Djibouti
Meaning:
a small country on the coast of northeast Africa, formerly ruled by France. Population: 460,700 (2001). Capital: Djibouti.//


Words: djinn
Meaning:
n [C]   [Date: 1800-1900; Language: Arabic; Origin: jinniy]//  a magical person in Islamic stories who has special powers//   genie//


Words: DMV
Meaning:
the Department of Motor Vehicles a government department in each of the US states, which is responsible for giving driving tests and drivers’ licenses. In some states the DMV has the power to collect road taxes.//


Words: DNA
Meaning:
n [U]   deoxyribonucleic acid a substance that carries genetic information in the cells of the body//  DNA testing/profiling/fingerprinting/evidence etc (=processes that examine DNA samples to help discover who has committed a crime) //  --The men will undergo voluntary DNA testing of their saliva.//


Words: DNA profiling
Meaning:
n [U]   the act of examining the DNA found where a crime has happened and the DNA of people who may have committed the crime, in order to find out who is responsible//


Words: do
Meaning:
auxiliary v   past tense  did /d[hA366]d/past participle  done /d[hA356]n/third person singular  does /d[hA353]z strong d[hA356]z///  [Language: Old English; Origin: don]//\n  1 :  a) used with another verb to form questions or negatives//  --Do you like bananas?//  --I don’t feel like going out tonight.//  --Ian didn’t answer.//  --Where do you live?//  --Doesn’t Rosie look wonderful?//  --Don’t listen to her!//  b)  spoken used to form question tags (=short questions that you add to the end of statements) //  --You know Tony, don’t you?//  --She didn’t understand, did she?//\n  2 used instead of repeating a verb that has already been used:  --’Will Kay come?’ ’She may do.’//  --So now you know as much as I do.//  --’You forgot all about it.’ ’No, I didn’t.’//  --’I want to go home.’ ’So do I.’//  --I didn’t believe the story and neither did he.//\n  3 used to emphasize the main verb in a sentence:  --Do be careful.//  --You do look nice in that hat.//  --I do think she’s behaved badly.//  --’You should have warned me.’ ’But I did warn you.’//  --He owns, or did own (=emphasizing past tense) , a yacht.//\n  4  spoken used when politely offering someone something:  --Do have another sandwich.//\ndo 2 v   past tense  did past participle  done third person singular  does //  ----------//\n   1 action/activity:\n   2 succeed:\n   3 have an effect:\n   4 job:\n   5 enough/acceptable:\n   6 what somebody will do for something:\n   7 what is somebody/something doing?:\n   8 do your/somebody’s hair/nails/make-up etc:\n   9 spend time:\n  10 study:\n  11 cook:\n  12 do 10 miles/20 kms etc:\n  13 provide a service:\n  14 perform a play:\n  15 decorate:\n  16 behave:\n  17 somebody doesn’t do nice/funny/sensible etc:\n  18 copy behaviour:\n  19 do lunch/do a movie etc:\n  20 drugs:\n  21 visit:\n  22 that’ll do!:\n  23 that does it!:\n  24 that should do it:\n  25 do it:\n  26 somebody would do well to do something:\n  27 punish:\n  28 deceive:\n  29 what’s doing ...?:\n  30 do or die:\n  31 how (are) you doing?:\n  32 what can I do you for?:\n  33 do well by somebody:  Phrasal verbs//   do away with somebody/something//   do somebody → down//   do for somebody/something//   do somebody in//   do something → out//   do somebody out of something//   do somebody/something over//   do up//   do with something//   do without//  ----------//\n  1 ACTION/ACTIVITY:   [T] to perform an action or activity//  --Have you done your homework yet?//  --You need to do more exercise.//  --It’s a pleasure doing business with you.//  --I didn’t know what to do.//  --All he does is sit in front of the television all day.//  do sth/nothing/anything etc //  --We should do something to help him.//  --It all happened so quickly that I couldn’t do anything about it.//  --bored teenagers with nothing to do//  do the laundry/ironing/dishes etc //  --It’s your turn to do the dishes.//\n  2 SUCCEED:   [I] used to ask or talk about how successful someone is at something//  do well/badly //  --Students are under considerable pressure to do well.//  how sb/sth is doing (with/in sth) //  --You should get promoted after about a year, depending on how you’re doing.//  --How’s he doing in trying to give up smoking?//\n  3 HAVE AN EFFECT:   [T] to have a particular effect on something or someone//  --The scandal will do serious damage to his reputation.//  --This will do nothing for  (=will not improve) Jamie’s confidence.//  --The colour does nothing for her (=does not improve her appearance) .//  --Getting the job has done a lot for  (=had a good effect on) her self-esteem.//  --A week in the countryside will do you good  (=make you feel better) .//  --Exercise can do wonders for  (=have a very good effect on) body, mind, and spirit.//\n  4 JOB:   [T] to have a particular job//  --What do you want to do after you leave school?//  --What do you do for a living  (=as your job) ?//  --I don’t like her but she’s very good at what she does.//\n  5 ENOUGH/ACCEPTABLE:   [I,T not in progressive] used to say that something will be enough or be acceptable//  --We don’t have a lot of wine for the party, but it should just about do.//  --I can’t find my black shoes so these will have to do .//  --A few sandwiches will do me for lunch.//  -- It won’t do  (=it is not acceptable) to say that the situation couldn’t have been avoided.//\n  6  what sb will do for sth:  used to talk about what arrangements someone has made to get something they need//  --What will you do for money if you leave your job?//  --I’m not sure what we’ll do for transport yet.//\n  7  what is sb/sth doing?:   spoken used to ask why someone or something is in a particular place or doing a particular thing, especially when you are surprised or annoyed by this//  --What’s my coat doing on the floor?//  --What are you doing walking around at this time of night?//  --What on earth do you think you’re doing ?//\n  8  do your/sb’s hair/nails/make-up etc:  to do something that improves your appearance or someone else’s appearance//  --It must take her ages to do her make-up in the mornings.//  --Who does your hair?//\n  9 SPEND TIME:   [T]  informal to spend a period of time doing something//  --She did a year backpacking around the world.//  --Oh yes, I certainly did my time in the army (=spent time in the army) .//\n  10 STUDY:   [T not in passive]  BrE to study a particular subject in a school or university//  --I did French for five years.//\n  11 COOK:   [T] to cook a particular type of food//  --I was thinking of doing a casserole tonight.//\n  12  do 10 miles/20 kms etc:  to achieve a particular distance, speed etc//  --We did 300 kilometres on the first day.//  --The car can do 120 mph.//\n  13 PROVIDE A SERVICE:   [T] to provide a particular service or sell a particular product//  --They do interior and exterior design.//  --We don’t do food after two o’clock.//\n  14 PERFORM A PLAY:   [T] to perform a particular play, show etc//  --We did ’Guys and Dolls’ last year.//\n  15 DECORATE:   [T] to paint or decorate a room, house etc//  --How are you going to do your living room?//\n  16 BEHAVE:   [I] to behave in a particular way//  --In the evenings students are free to do as they please  (=do what they want) .//  --I wish you’d do as you’re told  (=do what you are told to do) !//\n  17  sb doesn’t do nice/funny/sensible etc:   spoken  informal used humorously to say that someone cannot or does not behave in a particular way//  --Sensible? I don’t do sensible.//\n  18 COPY BEHAVIOUR:   [T] to copy someone’s behaviour or the way they talk, especially in order to entertain people//  --He does a brilliant George Bush (=copies him in a very funny way) .//\n  19  do lunch/do a movie etc:   informal to have lunch, go to see a film etc with someone//  --Let’s do lunch next week.//\n  20 DRUGS:   [T]  informal to use an illegal drug//  --He says he’s never done hard drugs in his life.//\n  21 VISIT:   [T] to visit a particular place, especially as a tourist//  --Let’s do the Eiffel Tower today.//\n  22  that’ll do!:   spoken used to tell a child to stop behaving badly//\n  23  that does it!:   spoken used to say angrily that you will not accept a situation any more//  --Right, that does it! I’m not going to listen to any more of this!//\n  24  that should do it:   also that ought to do it //   spoken used to say that you will have finished doing something if you just do one more thing//  --I’ve just got to prepare the dessert and that should do it.//\n  25  do it:   informal to have sex - used humorously or when you want to avoid saying the word ’sex’//\n  26  sb would do well to do sth:  used to advise someone that they should do something//  --Most people would do well to reduce the amount of salt in their diet.//\n  27 PUNISH:   [T]  BrE  spoken to punish or attack someone//    be/get done at done2 (8)//\n  28 DECEIVE:   [T]  BrE  informal to deceive or trick someone//    be done at done2 (7)//\n  29  what’s doing ...?:   spoken used to ask what is happening//  --What’s doing at your place tonight?//\n  30  do or die:  used to say that someone is determined to do something very brave or dangerous even if they die attempting it//\n  31  how (are) you doing?:   spoken used when you meet someone to ask them if they are well, happy etc//  --Hi Bob, how you doing?//\n  32  what can I do you for?:   spoken used humorously to ask someone how you can help them, especially when you are trying to sell them something//\n  33  do well by sb:  to treat someone well//  --His relations always did pretty well by him.//    doing//    done2 ,  do your bit at bit2 (8),  how do you do at how(11),  nothing doing at nothing1 (14),  do sb proud at proud(5),  do sth to death at death(4),  can-do//  do away with / [do away with sb/sth] phr v//\n  1 to get rid of something or stop using it:  --People thought that the use of robots would do away with boring low-paid factory jobs.//\n  2  informal to kill someone:  do down [do sb → down] phr v//  to criticize someone, especially in an unfair way//  --I know you don’t like him, but there’s no need to keep doing him down in front of the boss.//  do for / [do for sb/sth] phr v//   BrE  informal to kill someone or harm something or someone very badly//  --Working 100 hours a week nearly did for me.//    be done for at done2 (3)//  do in [do sb in] phr v//\n  1 to kill someone:  --He was planning to do himself in.//\n  2 to make someone feel extremely tired:  --That walk really did me in.//    done in at done2 (4)//  do out [do sth → out] phr v//\n  1 to make a room look nice by decorating it:  --The room was beautifully done out in pastel colours.//\n  2  informal to clean a room or cupboard thoroughly:  do out of [do sb out of sth] phr v//  to dishonestly stop someone from getting or keeping something, especially something they have a right to have//  --Are you trying to do me out of a job?//  do over [do sb/sth over] phr v//\n  1  do sth → over:   especially AmE to make a place look attractive by decorating it//  --The whole apartment had been done over in an Art Deco style.//\n  2  AmE to do something again, especially because you did it wrong the first time:  --If you make too many mistakes, you’ll have to do it over.//\n  3  do sth → over:   BrE  spoken  informal to steal things from a building//\n  4  BrE  spoken  informal to attack and injure someone:  do up phr v//\n  1 to fasten something, or to be fastened in a particular way:  do sth → up//  --Do up your coat or you’ll get cold.//  --a skirt which does up at the back//\n  2  do sth → up:  to repair an old building or car, or to improve its appearance//  --They did up an old cottage in the Scottish Highlands.//\n  3  do sth → up:  to decorate something in a particular way//  --The apartment was done up in Viennese style.//\n  4  do sth → up:  to wrap something in paper//\n  5  do yourself up:  to make yourself look neat and attractive//  --Sue spent ages doing herself up.//  do with [do with sth] phr v//\n  1  could do with sth:   spoken to need or want something//  --I could have done with some help this morning.//\n  2  have/be to do with sb/sth:  to be about something, be related to something, or be involved with something//  --Their conversation had been largely to do with work.//  --I’m sorry about the accident, but it’s nothing to do with me (=I am not involved in any way) .//  --This question doesn’t have anything to do with the main topic of the survey.//  --I’m sure her problems have something to do with what happened when she was a child.//\n  3  what to do with yourself:  how to spend your time//  --She didn’t know what to do with herself after she retired.//\n  4  what sb should do with sth/what to do with sth etc:  used to ask or talk about how someone should deal with something//  --What shall I do with these papers?//  --I wouldn’t know what to do with a newborn baby.//\n  5  what has sb done with sth?:   spoken used to ask where someone has put something//  --What have you done with the remote for the TV?//\n  6  what is sb doing with sth?:  used to ask why someone has something//  --What are you doing with my diary?//\n  7  I can’t be doing with sth:   BrE  spoken used to say that you are annoyed by something and do not want to have to think about it//  --I can’t be doing with all this right now.//  do without phr v//\n  1  do without (sth):  to live or do something without a particular thing//  --I don’t have any sugar so you’ll have to do without.//  --You can do without a carpet but you’ve got to have somewhere to sit.//\n  2  can do without sth:  used to say that something is annoying you or causing you problems//  --You can do without all that hassle.//  --Those are the type of stupid remarks I can do without.//\ndo 3   plural  dos  or  do’s  n [C] //\n  1  informal a party or other social event:  --We’re having a do to celebrate his 30th birthday.//\n  2  dos and don’ts:   also  do’s and don’ts//  things that you should and should not do in a particular situation//  --The booklet lists the dos and don’ts of caring for dogs.//\n  3  AmE  informal a hairdo:\ndo 4  doh/d[hA353][hA35E] $ do[hA35E]/ n [singular, U]   the first note in the musical scale according to the sol-fa system//


Words: do-gooder
Meaning:
n [C]   someone who helps people who are in bad situations, but who is annoying because their help is not needed - used to show disapproval//  --I’ve got very little time for interfering do-gooders.//


Words: do-nothing
Meaning:
adj [only before noun]  BrE  informal   lazy or unwilling to make any changes, especially in politics//  --the do-nothing government of the last few years//


Words: do-si-do
Meaning:
n [singular]   [Date: 1900-2000; Language: French; Origin: dos-a-dos  ’back-to-back’]//  an action in country dancing in which partners move around each other with their backs towards each other//  -- do-si-do v  [I] //


Words: doable
Meaning:
adj [not before noun]  spoken  informal   able to be done or completed//  --We’ve got to think first whether this plan is doable.//


Words: docent
Meaning:
n [C]   [Date: 1800-1900; Language: German; Origin: Latin, present participle of  docere  ’to teach’]//   AmE someone who guides visitors through a museum, church etc//


Words: docile
Meaning:
adj   [Date: 1400-1500; Language: Latin; Origin: docilis, from  docere  ’to teach’]//  quiet and easily controlled//  --Labradors are gentle, docile dogs.//  -- docilely adv //  -- docility/d[hA353][hA35E]s[hA366]l[hA369]ti $ d[hA35A][hA359]-/ n  [U] //


Words: dock
Meaning:
n   [Date: 1300-1400; Language: Middle Dutch; Origin: docke]//\n  1 [C] a place in a port where ships are loaded, unloaded, or repaired:    dry dock//  --A crowd was waiting at the dock to greet them.//  in dock//  --The ship is in dock for repairs.//\n  2  the docks [plural] the area of a port where there are docks:  --James arrived at the docks expecting to see a luxury liner.//\n  3 [C]  AmE a jetty:\n  4  the dock:  the part of a law court where the person who is charged with a crime stands//  in the dock//  --Three defendants stood in the dock.//\n  5  in the dock:   especially BrE thought to have done something dishonest, harmful, or wrong//  --These chemicals remain in the dock until we have more scientific evidence.//\n  6 [U and C] a plant with thick green leaves that grows wild in Britain:  --a dock leaf //\ndock 2 v   ----------//\n   1 ships:\n   2 dock somebody’s wages/pay/salary:\n   3 computers:\n   4 spacecraft:\n   5 animals:  ----------//  [Sense: 1,3-4; Date: 1500-1600; Origin:  DOCK1]//  [Sense: 2,5; Date: 1300-1400; Origin:  Probably from  Old English docca  ’muscle’]//\n  1 SHIPS:   [I and T] if a ship docks, or if the captain docks it, it sails into a dock so that it can unload//  dock at/in//  --We docked at Rangoon the next morning.//\n  2  dock sb’s wages/pay/salary:  to reduce the amount of money you pay someone as a punishment//  --The company has threatened to dock the officers’ pay.//\n  3 COMPUTERS:   [T] to connect two computers using an electrical wire//  dock sth to/into/with sth//  --Users can dock a laptop to their desktop setup.//\n  4 SPACECRAFT:   [I + with] if two spacecraft dock, they join together in space//\n  5 ANIMALS:   [T] to cut an animal’s tail short//


Words: docker
Meaning:
n [C]  BrE   someone whose job is loading and unloading ships//  American Equivalent:  longshoreman//


Words: docket
Meaning:
n [C]   [Date: 1400-1500; Origin:  Perhaps from   DOCK22,4]//\n  1  technical a short document giving details of goods that are delivered:\n  2  AmE  law a list of legal cases that will be heard in a particular court:\n  3  AmE a list of things that are to be discussed or done:   agenda//  --What’s on the docket for tomorrow’s meeting?//


Words: Docklands
Meaning:
a large, modern development of houses and offices in East London, along the River Thames, built mainly during the 1980s. It includes the tallest building in the UK,  Canary Wharf, and the London City Airport. //


Words: doctor
Meaning:
W1S2   n [C]   [Date: 1300-1400; Language: Old French; Origin: doctour, from  Latin doctor  ’teacher’, from  docere  ’to teach’]//\n  1  written abbreviation Dr :  someone who is trained to treat people who are ill//  --She was treated by her  local doctor .//  --You should consult your  family doctor  for further advice.//  go to/see/visit a doctor //  --I’d like to make an appointment to see Dr Pugh.//  --His doctor prescribed him  some antibiotics. (=ordered drugs for him by writing an official note) //  the doctor’s  informal  (=the place where your doctor works) //  --’Where’s Sandy today?’ ’I think she’s at the doctor’s .’//  --a busy doctor with over 2000 patients on her list//\n  2 someone who holds the highest level of degree given by a university:  --a Doctor of Law//  ----------//  WORD FOCUS: doctor //  similar words: physician (especially AmE),  GP (BrE),  consultant,  registrar //  a doctor who does operations: surgeon //  a doctor who treats mental illnesses: psychiatrist,  psychotherapist,  shrink (informal) //  a doctor who treats people’s teeth: dentist,  orthodontist //  a doctor who treats animals: vet,  veterinarian (especially AmE) //  someone who is training to be a doctor: medical student,  intern (AmE) //  the place where you go to see your doctor: surgery (BrE),  office (AmE) //  ----------//\ndoctor 2 v [T] \n  1 to dishonestly change something in order to gain an advantage:  --He had doctored his passport to pass her off as his daughter.//  --There are concerns that some players have been doctoring the ball.//\n  2 to add something harmful to food or drink:  --Paul suspected that his drink had been doctored.//\n  3 to remove part of the sex organs of an animal to prevent it from having babies:   neuter//  --You should have your cat doctored .//\n  4 to give someone medical treatment, especially when you are not a doctor:  --Bill doctored the horses with a strong-smelling ointment.//


Words: doctoral
Meaning:
adj [only before noun]   done as part of work for the university degree of doctor//  --a doctoral thesis//


Words: doctorate
Meaning:
n [C]   a university degree of the highest level//  doctorate in//  --She received her doctorate in history in 1998.//


Words: doctrinaire
Meaning:
adj  formal   certain that your beliefs or opinions are correct and unwilling to change them//  --The party followed an increasingly doctrinaire course.//


Words: doctrine
Meaning:
n   [Date: 1300-1400; Language: French; Origin: Latin doctrina, from  doctor;   DOCTOR1]//\n  1 [U and C] a set of beliefs that form an important part of a religion or system of ideas:  --traditional doctrines of divine power//  --Marxist doctrine//\n  2  Doctrine [C]  AmE a formal statement by a government about its future plans:  --the announcement of the Truman Doctrine//  -- doctrinal/d[hA361]ktra[hA366]nl $ d[hA35A][hA359]ktr[hA369]n[hA368]l/ adj //


Words: docudrama
Meaning:
n [C]   [Date: 1900-2000; Origin: documentary +  drama]//  a film on television which shows real events in the form of a story//


Words: document
Meaning:
W2   n [C]   [Date: 1400-1500; Language: French; Origin: Late Latin documentum,  from  Latin docere  ’to teach’]//\n  1 a piece of paper that has official information on it:\n  2 a piece of written work that is stored on a computer:    file//\ndocument 2   v [T] \n  1 to write about something, film it, or take photographs of it, in order to record information about it:  document how/what etc//  --His research will document how the debt crisis occurred.//\n  2 to support an opinion, argument etc with recorded facts:  be well/extensively/poorly etc documented //  --It is well documented that men die younger than women.//


Words: documentary
Meaning:
n   plural  documentaries  [C] //  a film or television or a radio programme that gives detailed information about a particular subject//  documentary on/about//  --A local film crew is making a documentary about volcanoes.//\ndocumentary 2 adj [only before noun] \n  1 documentary films, programmes, photographs etc give or show information about a particular subject:  --documentary films//\n  2 consisting of or written on documents:  documentary evidence/proof //  --One of the most useful sources of documentary evidence is maps.//


Words: documentation
Meaning:
n \n  1 [U] official documents, reports etc that are used to prove that something is true or correct:  --Applicants must provide supporting documentation .//\n  2 [U and C] the act of recording information in writing, on film etc:  documentation of//  --a careful documentation of the costs//


Words: docusoap
Meaning:
n [C]  BrE   [Date: 1900-2000; Origin: documentary +  soap opera]//  a television programme that shows what happens in the daily lives of real people//


Words: doddering
Meaning:
adj   shaking slightly and walking with difficulty because of old age//  --a doddering old man//  -- dodder v  [I] //


Words: doddery
Meaning:
adj  BrE   weak and not able to do things easily because of old age//  --Some of the patients are a bit doddery.//


Words: dodge
Meaning:
v \n  1 [I and T] to move quickly to avoid someone or something:  --He ran across the courtyard, dodging a storm of bullets.//  dodge between/through/into etc//  --Helen clutched Edward’s arm as they dodged through the traffic .//\n  2 [T] to deliberately avoid discussing something or doing something:   evade//  dodge an issue/question //  --Senator O’Brian skillfully dodged the crucial question.//  draft dodging (=when someone avoids an order to join the army, navy etc) //\ndodge 2 n [C]    informal something dishonest that is done to avoid a rule or law//  --Businesses are investing in tree plantations as a tax dodge  (=a way of avoiding paying tax) .//


Words: Dodge City
Meaning:
a city in the US state of Kansas. In the 19th century, Dodge City was a place where many people came to drink and play cards for money, and there was a lot of fighting and shooting. People sometimes use the name Dodge City to talk about a place where there is a lot of fighting and there seems to be no law//  --As the drug dealers and armed gangs moved in, the neighborhood began to look like Dodge City.//


Words: dodgem car
Meaning:
n [C]  BrE   [Date: 1900-2000; Origin: Dodgem, a trademark]//  a car used on the dodgems//  American Equivalent:  bumper car//


Words: dodgems
Meaning:
n    BrE  the dodgems//  a ride at a funfair in which people drive small electric cars in an enclosed area, trying to hit other cars//


Words: dodger
Meaning:
n [C]   tax/draft dodger//  someone who uses dishonest methods to avoid paying taxes or serving in the army, navy etc//


Words: dodgy
Meaning:
adj  BrE  informal \n  1 not working properly or not in good condition:  --Norton Disk Doctor can perform miracles on a dodgy hard disk.//  --Simon was rushed to hospital after eating what must have been dodgy prawns.//\n  2 seeming to be false, dishonest, or not to be trusted:  --One girl thought the men looked dodgy.//  --dodgy share dealings//\n  3 involving risk or danger:  --There were a few dodgy moments.//


Words: dodo
Meaning:
n   plural  dodos  [C] //  [Date: 1600-1700; Language: Portuguese; Origin: doudo  ’stupid person’]//\n  1 a large bird that was unable to fly and no longer exists:\n  2  AmE  informal a stupid person:\n  3  (as) dead as a dodo:  completely dead or inactive, or no longer used//


Words: doe
Meaning:
n [C]   [Language: Old English; Origin: da]//\n  1 a female rabbit or deer:    buck, stag//\n  2  doe eyes:  large attractive eyes//  --a pretty girl with big brown doe eyes//


Words: doer
Meaning:
n [C]    informal someone who does things instead of just thinking or talking about them//  --Dole is a doer, not a talker.//


Words: doff
Meaning:
v [T]  old-fashioned   [Date: 1300-1400; Origin: do off  ’to take off’ (8-17 centuries)]//  to remove the hat you are wearing as a sign of respect//


Words: dog
Meaning:
n [C]   ----------//\n   1 animal:\n   2 male animal:\n   3 woman:\n   4 dog eat dog:\n   5 be going to the dogs:\n   6 dishonest:\n   7 a dog’s life:\n   8 make a dog’s breakfast of something:\n   9 a dog’s dinner:\n  10 not have a dog’s chance:\n  11 every dog has its/his day:\n  12 like a dog with two tails:\n  13 feet:\n  14 poor quality:\n  15 dog and pony show:\n  16 be the dog’s bollocks:\n  17 the dogs:\n  18 put on the dog:  ----------//  [Language: Old English; Origin: docga]//\n  1 ANIMAL:  a common animal with four legs, fur, and a tail. Dogs are kept as pets or trained to guard places, find drugs etc//    puppy//  --I could hear a dog barking .//  --a pack of stray dogs //  --What breed of dog is she?//\n  2 MALE ANIMAL:  a male dog, fox, or wolf//    bitch//\n  3 WOMAN:   informal  not polite an offensive word meaning an unattractive woman//\n  4  dog eat dog:  when people compete against each other and will do anything to get what they want//  --It’s a dog eat dog world out there.//\n  5  be going to the dogs:   informal if a country or organization is going to the dogs, it is getting worse and will be difficult to improve//\n  6 DISHONEST:   informal  not polite an offensive word for an unpleasant or dishonest man//  --You dirty dog !//\n  7  a dog’s life:   spoken a life that is difficult and unpleasant, with very little pleasure//  --His wife’s a nag who leads him a dog’s life  (=makes his life unpleasant) .//\n  8  make a dog’s breakfast of sth:   BrE  informal to do something very badly//  --The orchestra made a complete dog’s breakfast of the fourth movement.//\n  9  a dog’s dinner:   BrE  informal something that is meant to be impressive or fashionable but that other people think is not//  --She was dressed up like a dog’s dinner .//\n  10  not have a dog’s chance:   BrE  informal to have no chance of being successful//\n  11  every dog has its/his day:  used to say that even the most unimportant person has a time in their life when they are successful and important//\n  12  like a dog with two tails:   BrE  informal very pleased and happy because something good has happened//\n  13 FEET:   dogs [plural]  AmE  informal feet//  --Boy, my dogs really hurt.//\n  14 POOR QUALITY:   AmE  informal something that is of very poor quality//\n  15  dog and pony show:   AmE an event that has only been organized so that people can admire it and think that it is impressive, not for any real purpose//\n  16  be the dog’s bollocks:   BrE  informal a very rude expression used to say that something is very good//\n  17  the dogs:   BrE  informal a sports event consisting of a series of races for dogs//\n  18  put on the dog:   AmE  old-fashioned to pretend to be richer, more clever etc than you really are//    the hair of the dog at hair(13),  shaggy dog story,  as sick as a dog at sick1 (1),  let sleeping dogs lie at sleep1 (6),  the tail wagging the dog at tail1 (11),  top dog,  treat someone like a dog at treat1 (1)//\ndog 2   past tense and past participle  dogged present participle  dogging  v [T] //\n  1 if a problem or bad luck dogs you, it causes trouble for a long time:  --He has been dogged by injury all season.//\n  2 to follow close behind someone:


Words: dog collar
Meaning:
n [C] \n  1 a piece of thin leather that you fasten around a dog’s neck:\n  2  informal a stiff round white collar worn by priests:


Words: dog days
Meaning:
n [plural] \n  1 the hottest days of the year:\n  2 a period of time when something is not successful:  --Few opera houses survived the dog days of the 1980s.//


Words: dog tag
Meaning:
n [C]  AmE   a small piece of metal that soldiers wear on a chain around their necks with their name, blood type etc written on it//


Words: dog-eared
Meaning:
adj   dog-eared books or papers have been used so much that the corners are turned over or torn//  --a dog-eared novel//


Words: dogcart
Meaning:
n [C] \n  1 a vehicle with two wheels and seats that is pulled by a horse:\n  2 a small vehicle pulled by a dog:


Words: dogged
Meaning:
adj   [Date: 1300-1400; Origin: dog]//  dogged behaviour shows that you are very determined to continue doing something//  --a dogged determination to succeed//  -- doggedly adv //  -- doggedness n  [U] //


Words: Dogger Bank
Meaning:
an area of the North Sea, about 70 miles (110 kilometres) off the coast of northeast England, where the sea is not very deep because there is a large sandbank under the water. A lot of boats go there to catch fish.//


Words: doggerel
Meaning:
n [U]   [Date: 1300-1400; Origin:  Perhaps from  dog]//  poetry that is silly or funny and not intended to be serious//


Words: doggone
Meaning:
v   [Date: 1800-1900; Origin: God damn or  God damned]//  doggone it//   AmE  spoken  old-fashioned used when you are slightly annoyed about something//  -- doggone adj  adv //  --What are those doggone kids doing in my yard?//\ndoggy 1  doggie/d[hA361]gi $ d[hA361][hA359]gi/ n   plural  doggies  [C] //  a dog - used by or to children//\ndoggy 2 adj  informal \n  1 like or relating to dogs:  --doggy noises from the shed//\n  2  doggy style/fashion:  a way of having sex in which a man has a position behind his partner//


Words: doghouse
Meaning:
n \n  1  be in the doghouse:   informal to be in a situation in which someone is annoyed with you because of something you have done//\n  2 [C]  AmE a small house outdoors for a dog to sleep in:


Words: dogma
Meaning:
n [U and C]   [Date: 1500-1600; Language: Latin; Origin: Greek dokein  ’to seem’]//  a set of firm beliefs held by a group of people who expect other people to accept these beliefs without thinking about them//  religious/political/ideological etc dogma //  --the rejection of political dogma//


Words: dogmatic
Meaning:
adj   someone who is dogmatic is completely certain of their beliefs and expects other people to accept them without arguing//  --Her staff find her bossy and dogmatic.//  -- dogmatically/-kli/ adv //  -- dogmatism/d[hA361]gm[hA353]t[hA366]z[hA368]m $ d[hA361][hA359]g-, d[hA35A][hA359]g-/ n  [U] //  --the narrow dogmatism of the past//  -- dogmatist n  [C] //


Words: dogsbody
Meaning:
n   plural  dogsbodies  [C]  BrE //  someone who has to do all the small boring jobs that no one else wants to do//  --I spent the summer helping out as a general dogsbody on the local paper.//


Words: doh
Meaning:
do/d[hA353][hA35E] $ do[hA35E]/ n [singular, U]   the first or eighth note in the sol-fa musical scale//


Words: doily
Meaning:
n   plural  doilies  [C] //  [Date: 1700-1800; Origin:  The name of a 17th-century London cloth-seller]//  a circle of paper or cloth with a pattern of holes in it that you put under things to protect the surface below, or for decoration//


Words: doing
Meaning:
n \n  1  be sb’s (own) doing:  if something bad is someone’s doing, they did or caused it//  --If you fall into this trap, it will be all your own doing.//\n  2  take some doing:   informal to be hard work//  --We had to be on the parade ground for 5.30 a.m. and that took some doing.//\n  3  doings [plural] events, activities etc that someone is involved in:  --Supper is a family get-together, where the doings of the day are talked about.//


Words: doldrums
Meaning:
n [plural]  informal   [Date: 1700-1800; Origin:  Perhaps from  dold  ’stupid’ (1400-1500)]//  a) if an industry, company, activity etc is in the doldrums, it is not doing well or developing//  in the doldrums//  --The property market has been in the doldrums for months.//  --Recent economic doldrums have damaged the rural west.//  b) if you are in the doldrums, you are feeling sad//  --Fay is in the doldrums today.//


Words: dole
Meaning:
n [U]  informal \n  1  BrE money given by the government in Britain to people who are unemployed:  be/go on the dole//   (=be unemployed and receiving money from the government) //  --Too many young people are still on the dole.//  --The number claiming dole went up by 3,500.//\n  2  the dole queue/dole queues:   BrE the number of people who are unemployed and claiming money from the government, or a line of people waiting to claim this money each week//  --As two factories closed today, 500 people joined the dole queue .//  --Meanwhile, dole queues lengthened.//\n  3  the dole:   AmE money given by the government in the US to people who need financial help//   welfare//  on the dole//  --people on the public dole //\ndole 2 v   dole out [dole sth → out] phr v//  [Language: Old English; Origin: dal  ’part, share’]//  to give something such as money, food, advice etc to more than one person//  dole something → out to//  --Vera was doling out candy to all the kids.//


Words: doleful
Meaning:
adj  formal   [Date: 1200-1300; Origin: dole  ’sadness’ (13-19 centuries), from  Latin dolere  ’to be sad’]//  very sad//  --a doleful song about lost love//  -- dolefully adv //


Words: Dolittle
Meaning:
Dr   a character in books for children by Hugh  Lofting and in a film based on these books. Dr Dolittle is a man who can understand what animals are saying and can talk to them using their language.//


Words: doll
Meaning:
S3   n   [Date: 1500-1600; Origin:  The female name  Doll, from  Dorothy]//\n  1 [C] a child’s toy that looks like a small person or baby:  --a small wooden doll//\n  2 [C]  old-fashioned  informal a word meaning an attractive young woman - now usually considered offensive:  --Hey, doll, why don’t you get me a cup of coffee?//\n  3 [singular]  AmE  informal a very nice person:  --Thanks, you’re a doll.//\ndoll 2 v  informal   doll yourself up phr v//  if a woman dolls herself up, she puts on attractive clothes and make-up, especially before going out to a party, club etc//  --Maggie was in her room, dolling herself up.//  be/get dolled up (for sth)//  --The girls were all dolled up for a party.//


Words: dollar
Meaning:
n [C]   [Date: 1500-1600; Language: Dutch; Origin: daler, from  German joachimstaler, from  Sankt Joachimsthal, name of a Bavarian town where the coins were first made]//\n  1 the standard unit of money in the US, Canada, Australia, and some other countries, divided into 100 cents: symbol $:  --It cost three dollars.//  --a ten-dollar bill//\n  2  the dollar:  the value of US money in relation to the money of other countries//  --The pound has risen against the dollar  (=increased in value in relation to the dollar) .//    you can bet your bottom dollar at bet1 (4),  feel/look like a million dollars at million(4)//


Words: dollarization
Meaning:
n [U]  technical   a situation in which countries outside the US want to use the dollar rather than their own country’s money//


Words: dollars-and-cents
Meaning:
adj [only before noun]  AmE   financial//  --From a dollars-and-cents point of view, this idea just won’t work.//


Words: dollop
Meaning:
n [C]  informal   [Date: 1500-1600; Origin:  From a  Scandinavian language; related to  Norwegian dolp  ’piece’]//\n  1 a small amount of soft food, usually dropped from a spoon:  dollop of//  --a dollop of thick cream//\n  2 an amount of something:  dollop of//  --a big dollop of luck//  -- dollop v  [T] //


Words: dolly
Meaning:
n   plural  dollies  [C] //\n  1 a doll - used especially by children:\n  2  technical a flat frame on wheels used for moving heavy objects:


Words: dolly bird
Meaning:
n [C]  BrE  old-fashioned  informal   a pretty young woman, especially one who wears fashionable clothes//


Words: Dolly the sheep
Meaning:
a sheep who was  cloned by British scientists in 1997. They took a cell from her body and then developed it artificially so that it became a new sheep that was an exact copy of her.//


Words: dolmen
Meaning:
n [C]  technical   [Date: 1800-1900; Language: Breton; Origin: tolmen, from  tol  ’table’ +  men  ’stone’]//  two or more large upright stones supporting a large flat piece of stone, built in ancient times//


Words: dolour
Meaning:
BrE  dolor AmE   n [U]  literary   [Date: 1200-1300; Language: Old French; Origin: Latin dolor]//  great sadness//


Words: dolphin
Meaning:
n [C]   [Date: 1300-1400; Language: Old French; Origin: dalfin, from  Greek delphis]//  a very intelligent sea animal like a fish with a long grey pointed nose//


Words: dolphin-safe
Meaning:
adj   dolphin-safe fish is caught in a way that does not harm or kill dolphins//  --dolphin-safe tuna//


Words: dolt
Meaning:
n [C]  old-fashioned   [Date: 1500-1600; Origin:  Perhaps from  dold  ’stupid’ (1400-1500)]//  a silly or stupid person//  -- doltish adj //


Words: domain
Meaning:
n [C]  formal   [Date: 1400-1500; Language: French; Origin: domaine, from  Latin dominus  ’lord’]//\n  1 an area of activity, interest, or knowledge, especially one that a particular person, organization etc deals with:  outside/within the domain of sth/sb //  --This problem is outside the domain of medical science.//  --Looking after the house was viewed as a woman’s domain.//    public domain//\n  2 an area of land owned and controlled by one person or government, especially in the past:  --the extent of the royal domain//\n  3  technical the set of possible quantities by which something can vary in mathematics:\n  4 a domain name:


Words: domain name
Meaning:
n [C]   the first part of a website’s address, which usually begins with ’www.’ and ends with ’.com’, ’.org’, ’.uk’, or other letters that show which country the website is from//


Words: dome
Meaning:
n [C]   [Date: 1600-1700; Language: French; Origin: d[hA175]me  ’dome, cathedral’, from  Latin domus  ’house’]//\n  1 a round roof on a building:\n  2 a shape or building like a ball cut in half:


Words: Domesday Book
Meaning:
The  also  Doomsday Book  a record of all the lands of England, showing their size, value, ownership etc, made in 1086 on the orders of William the Conqueror. The Domesday Book has been very valuable in the study of English history.//


Words: domestic
Meaning:
W2   adj   [Date: 1400-1500; Language: French; Origin: domestique, from  Latin domesticus, from  domus  ’house’]//\n  1 relating to or happening in one particular country and not involving any other countries:  domestic market/economy/demand etc //  --the booming domestic economy//  --US foreign and domestic policy //  --our nation’s domestic affairs //  -- Domestic flights  (=flights that stay inside a particular country) go from Terminal 1.//\n  2 [only before noun] relating to family relationships and life at home:  --Unfortunately his domestic life wasn’t very happy.//  domestic tasks/chores/responsibilities etc //  --Nowadays there is more sharing of domestic chores.//  --families that can afford domestic help  (=help with cleaning, washing etc) //  --an organization that supports women facing domestic violence  (=violence in a family, especially from a husband to his wife) //\n  3 used in people’s homes:  --a new tax on domestic fuel //  -- domestic appliances such as washing machines//\n  4 someone who is domestic enjoys spending time at home and is good at cooking, cleaning etc:  --No, I’m not very domestic.//\n  5 [only before noun] a domestic animal lives on a farm or in someone’s home:  --cats, dogs and other domestic pets //  -- domestically/-kli/ adv //  --domestically produced coal//\ndomestic 2 n [C] \n  1  old-fashioned a servant who works in a large house:\n  2  BrE  informal a fight between members of a family in their home:  --It sounded like the neighbours were having a bit of a domestic.//


Words: domestic partner
Meaning:
n [C]  AmE   someone who you live with and have a sexual relationship with, but who you are not married to//


Words: domestic science
Meaning:
n [U]  BrE  old-fashioned   the study of cooking, sewing etc, taught as a subject at school//    home economics//


Words: domesticate
Meaning:
v [T]   to make an animal able to work for people or live with them as a pet//    tame//  -- domestication/d[hA353]mest[hA369]ke[hA366][hA35D][hA368]n/ n  [U] //


Words: domesticated
Meaning:
adj \n  1 domesticated animals are able to work for people or live with them as pets:\n  2 someone who is domesticated enjoys spending time at home and doing work in the home:  --Ray’s very domesticated and even likes baking cakes.//


Words: domicile
Meaning:
n [C]  formal   [Date: 1400-1500; Language: French; Origin: Latin domicilium, from  domus  ’house’]//  the place where someone lives//  --Military service entails frequent changes of domicile.//


Words: domiciliary
Meaning:
adj [only before noun]  formal   domiciliary services/care/visits etc//  services, care etc in someone’s home//


Words: dominance
Meaning:
n [U]   the fact of being more powerful, more important, or more noticeable than other people or things//    dominate//  dominance of//  --the continuing dominance of the army in Uganda//  political/economic/cultural etc dominance //  --the economic and political dominance of Western countries//  dominance over//  --television’s dominance over other media//


Words: dominant
Meaning:
W3   adj \n  1 more powerful, important, or noticeable than other people or things:    dominate//  --The dominant male gorilla is the largest in the group.//  --Japan became dominant in the mass market during the 1980s.//  --its dominant position within the group//\n  2 controlling or trying to control other people or things - used to show disapproval:   domineering//  --a dominant personality//\n  3  technical a dominant gene causes a child to have a particular physical feature or illness, even if it has been passed on from only one parent:    recessive//  --The disease is under the control of a single dominant gene.//\ndominant 2 n [singular]  technical   the fifth note of a musical scale of eight notes//


Words: dominate
Meaning:
W3   v   [Date: 1600-1700; Language: Latin; Origin: dominatus, past participle of  dominari  ’to rule’, from  dominus  ’lord’]//\n  1 [I and T] to control someone or something or to have more importance than other people or things:  --The industry is dominated by five multinational companies.//  --New Orleans dominated throughout the game.//  --Her loud voice totally dominated the conversation.//  --Education issues dominated the election campaign.//\n  2 [T] to be larger and more noticeable than anything else in a place:  --The cathedral dominates the city.//  -- dominating adj //  --his dominating characteristic//  -- domination/d[hA361]m[hA366]ne[hA366][hA35D][hA368]n $ d[hA35A][hA359]-/ n  [U] //  --the desire for political domination//


Words: domineering
Meaning:
adj   someone who is domineering tries to control other people without considering their feelings or ideas - used to show disapproval//  --a domineering mother//  -- domineer v  [I] //


Words: Domingo
Meaning:
Placido   (1941- ) a Spanish  opera singer who is one of the greatest  tenors (=men with high singing voices)  of the 20th century//


Words: Dominica
Meaning:
an island in the Caribbean Sea which has been a member of the British Commonwealth since 1978. Population: 70,786 (2001). Capital: Roseau.//  -- Dominican n  adj //


Words: Dominican Republic
Meaning:
the   a country in the Caribbean Sea on the island of Hispaniola, which it shares with Haiti. Population: 8,581,000 (2001). Capital: Santo Domingo. It was the place where Christopher  Columbus first landed after crossing the Atlantic Ocean.//


Words: dominion
Meaning:
n \n  1 [U]  literary the power or right to rule people or control something:  have/hold dominion over sb/sth //  --Alexander the Great held dominion over a vast area.//\n  2 [C]  formal the land owned or controlled by one person or a government:  --the king’s dominions//\n  3  also  Dominion:   [C]  old-fashioned a country belonging to the British empire or commonwealth//    colony, protectorate//  --opinion both at home and in the dominions //


Words: Dominions
Meaning:
the   an old British name, which is no longer used, for the countries of Australia, Canada, and New Zealand, which had their own governments but were still part of the British Empire in the early part of the 20th century//


Words: domino
Meaning:
n   plural  dominoes //  [Date: 1700-1800; Language: French; Origin: , perhaps from  Italian,  ’lord, ruler’, shouted by the winner of a game]//\n  1 [C] one of a set of small flat pieces of wood, plastic etc, with different numbers of spots, used for playing a game:\n  2  dominoes [U] the game played using dominoes:\n  3  domino effect:  a situation in which one event or action causes several other things to happen one after the other//


Words: don
Meaning:
n [C]   [Date: 1900-2000; Language: Italian; Origin: , a respectful name, from  Latin dominus  ’lord’]//\n  1  BrE a university teacher, especially one who teaches at the universities of Oxford or Cambridge:\n  2  informal the leader of a Mafia organization:\ndon 2   past tense and past participle  donned present participle  donning  v [T]  literary //  [Date: 1300-1400; Origin: do on  ’to put on’ (10-17 centuries)]//  to put on a hat, coat etc//


Words: Don Giovanni
Meaning:
1 (1787) an  opera by  Mozart with words by Lorenzo  Da Ponte, about a man called Don Giovanni who is known for having very many lovers. He kills the father of one of his former lovers, but does not feel guilty about his immoral behaviour. At the end of the opera he is taken down to hell by the  ghost of the man he murdered.:\n  2 another name for  Don Juan:


Words: Don Juan
Meaning:
n [C]   [Date: 1800-1900; Origin:  Character in Spanish stories]//  a man who is good at persuading women to have sex with him//


Words: Don Quixote
Meaning:
1 the main character in the humorous book  Don Quixote de la Mancha by Miguel de  Cervantes. Don Quixote wants to be a  knight like the characters he admires in old stories, but when he tries to copy their adventures and behaviour, he makes many stupid mistakes.:\n  2 someone who is determined to change what is wrong, but who does it in a way that is silly or not practical :    quixotic//


Words: don’t
Meaning:
1 the short form of ’do not’:  --Don’t worry!//  --You know him, don’t you?//    dos and don’ts at do3 (2)//\n  2  spoken an incorrect short form of ’does not’:  --She don’t like it.//


Words: Donald Duck
Meaning:
a character in  cartoons made by Walt  Disney. He is one of the most famous of all Disney’s characters.//


Words: donate
Meaning:
v [I and T] \n  1 to give something, especially money, to a person or an organization in order to help them:  donate sth to sb/sth //  --Last year he donated $1,000 to cancer research.//\n  2 to allow some blood or a body organ to be removed from your body so that it can be used in a hospital to help someone who is ill or injured:  --people who volunteer to donate blood//


Words: donation
Meaning:
n   [Date: 1400-1500; Language: Latin; Origin: donare  ’to give’]//\n  1 [C] something, especially money, that you give to a person or an organization in order to help them:  donation to/from//  --Would you like to make a donation  (=give money) to our charity appeal?//  --There have been generous donations from EEC funds.//\n  2 [U] the act of giving something, especially money, to help a person or an organization:  donation of//  --the donation of a quarter of a million pounds//  blood/organ donation //


Words: Doncaster
Meaning:
an industrial town in South Yorkshire in northern England. A well-known horse race, the  St Leger, takes place there every year.//


Words: done
Meaning:
the past participle of do//\ndone 2 adj [not before noun, no comparative]   ----------//\n   1 finished:\n   2 cooked:\n   3 be done for:\n   4 done in:\n   5 be done:\n   6 be done with it:\n   7 be done:\n   8 be/get done:\n   9 a done deal:  ----------//\n  1 FINISHED:  finished or completed//   finished//  --The job’s nearly done.//  sb is done (with sth) (=someone has finished doing or using something) //  --As soon as I’m done, I’ll give you a call.//  --Are you done with this magazine?//  --I’ll be glad when the exams are over and done with  (=completely finished) .//\n  2 COOKED:  cooked enough to eat//    overdone, underdone//  --Is the pasta done yet?//\n  3  be done for:   informal to be in serious trouble or likely to fail//  --If we get caught, we’re done for.//\n  4  done in:   informal extremely tired//  --Sit down - you look done in.//\n  5  be done:   also be the done thing  BrE to be socially acceptable//  --Showing affection in public just isn’t done in Japan.//\n  6  be done with it:  have done with it  BrE used to tell someone to stop thinking about or trying to decide something because they have already done this enough//  --Just buy it and have done with it!//\n  7  be done:   BrE  informal to be deceived or cheated//  --If you paid [hA124]50, you were done, mate!//\n  8  be/get done:   BrE  informal to be caught by the police for doing something illegal, but usually not too serious//  be/get done for//  --I got done for speeding last night.//\n  9  a done deal:   informal an agreement that has been made and cannot be changed//  --The merger is far from a done deal.//    be hard done by at hard2 (6)//\ndone 3 interjection   used to agree to and accept the conditions of a deal//  --’I’ll give you $90 for it.’ ’Done!’//


Words: donkey
Meaning:
n   [Date: 1700-1800; Origin:  Perhaps from  dun (=gray-brown) +  -key (as in  monkey)]//\n  1 [C] a grey or brown animal like a horse, but smaller and with long ears:\n  2  donkey’s years:   BrE  spoken a very long time//  for donkey’s years//  --I’ve had this jacket for donkey’s years.//


Words: donkey jacket
Meaning:
n [C]  BrE   a short thick coat, usually very dark blue, with a piece of leather or plastic across the shoulders//


Words: donkeywork
Meaning:
n [U]  BrE   the hard boring work that is part of a job or project//  --Why do I always have to do the donkeywork ?//


Words: Donne
Meaning:
John   (?1571-1631) an English poet famous for his love poetry, and for being the greatest writer of  metaphysical poetry, which combines strong feelings with clever arrangements of words and ideas//


Words: donor
Meaning:
n [C]   [Date: 1400-1500; Language: Old French; Origin: doneur, from  Latin donare  ’to give’]//\n  1 a person, group etc that gives something, especially money, to help an organization or country:  --We urgently need more assistance from donor countries  (=countries that give money, food etc to help in poor countries or disaster areas) .//  --An anonymous donor  (=whose name is unknown) has given [hA124]500 towards the restoration fund.//\n  2 someone who gives blood or a body organ so that it can be used in the medical treatment of someone else:  --Some patients die before a suitable donor is found.//  blood/organ/kidney etc donor //  --the shortage of blood donors//


Words: donor card
Meaning:
n [C]   a card that you carry to show that when you die a doctor can take parts of your body to use in the medical treatment of someone else//


Words: doodah
Meaning:
AmE [C]  informal   [Date: 1900-2000; Origin:  Probably from the meaningless word  dooda in the song Camptown Races]//  a small object whose name you have forgotten or do not know//  --Where’s the doodah to turn off the TV?//


Words: doodle
Meaning:
v [I]   [Date: 1600-1700; Origin:  Perhaps from  doodle  ’to make fun of’, from  Low German dudeltopf  ’stupid person’]//  to draw shapes, lines, or patterns without really thinking about what you are doing//  --Brad was doodling on a sheet of paper.//  -- doodle n  [C] //


Words: doohickey
Meaning:
n [C]  AmE  informal   [Date: 1900-2000; Origin:  Probably from  doodad + slang  hickey  ’small object’ (1900-2000)]//  a small object whose name you have forgotten or do not know, especially a part of a machine//


Words: doolally
Meaning:
adj  BrE  spoken   [Date: 1900-2000; Origin: Deolali, name of an Indian town where there was a British army camp]//  crazy//


Words: Doolittle
Meaning:
Eliza   a character in the play  Pygmalion by George Bernard  Shaw and in the film  My Fair Lady, which is based on Shaw’s play.. She is a working class London flower seller who is taught by Professor Henry  Higgins how to speak and behave like a woman of the highest social class.//


Words: doom
Meaning:
v [T usually passive]   to make someone or something certain to fail, die, be destroyed etc//  be doomed to failure/defeat/extinction etc //  --Many species are doomed to extinction.//  --The plan was doomed from the start .//  be doomed to do sth//  --We are all doomed to die in the end.//  -- doomed adj //  --passengers on the doomed flight//\ndoom 2 n [U]   [Language: Old English; Origin: dom]//  something very bad that is going to happen, or the fact that it is going to happen//  --A sense of impending doom  (=coming very soon) gripped her.//  sense/feeling of doom //  spell doom for sth (=mean that something will be unable to continue or survive) //  --The recession spelled doom for many small businesses.//  --Thousands of soldiers met their doom  (=died) on this very field.//  doom and gloom/gloom and doom (=when there seems to be no hope for the future) //  --Despite these poor figures, it’s not all doom and gloom .//


Words: doom-laden
Meaning:
adj  BrE   saying or making you feel that something very bad is going to happen soon//  --documentaries full of doom-laden predictions//


Words: Doomsday
Meaning:
n [U] \n  1  till/until Doomsday:   informal for a very long time//  --You could wait till Doomsday and he’d never show up.//\n  2 the last day of the Earth’s existence, when everything will be destroyed, according to some religions:  doomsday scenario (=a description of a very bad and hopeless situation) //


Words: Doonesbury
Meaning:
a humorous US cartoon strip (=a set of drawings that tell a story in a newspaper or magazine)  about politics and life in the US//


Words: door
Meaning:
n [C]   [Language: Old English; Origin: duru  ’door’ and  dor  ’gate’]//\n  1 the large flat piece of wood, glass etc that you open and close when you go into or out of a building, room, vehicle etc, or when you open a cupboard:    gate//  open/close/shut the door //  --Could you open the door for me?//  the door swung/flew/burst etc open //  --The door flew open and Ruth stormed in.//  slam the door (=shut it loudly, usually because you are angry) //  front/back/side door (=at the front, back etc of a house) //  --Is the back door shut?//  --the main door  (=at the front entrance) of the cathedral//  kitchen/bathroom/bedroom etc door //  --Don’t forget to lock the garage door.//  --Can you answer the door  (=open it after someone has knocked or pressed the bell) ?//  get the door  AmE  (=open or close it for someone) //  --Here, let me get the door for you.//  knock on/at the door //  --Knock on the door and see if they’re home.//  cupboard/fridge etc door //  --Mary slid back the closet door.//  door handle/knob //  --brass door handles//\n  2 the space made by an open door:   doorway//  in/out (of)/through the door//  --Rick turned and ran out of the door.//  --I glanced through the open door.//\n  3  at the door:  if someone is at the door, they are waiting for you to open the door of a building so they can come inside//  --There’s somebody at the front door.//\n  4  out of doors:  outside//   outdoors//  --I prefer working out of doors.//\n  5  show/see sb to the door:  to take someone to the main way out of a building//  --My secretary will show you to the door.//\n  6  two/three etc doors away/down/up:  used to say how many houses or buildings there are between your house, office etc and another building//  two/three etc doors away/down/up from//  --Patrick lived two doors away from me.//\n  7  (from) door to door:  a)  especially BrE from one place to another//  --How long is the journey, door to door?//  b) going to each house in a street or area to sell something, collect money, or ask for votes//  --Joe sold vacuum cleaners door to door for years.//    door-to-door//\n  8  be on the door:  to work at the entrance to a theatre, club etc, collecting tickets//\n  9  shut/close the door on sth:  to make something impossible//  --The accident shut the door on her ballet career.//    at death’s door at death(7),  behind closed doors at closed(5),  get in through the back door at back door(2),  lay sth at sb’s door at lay2 (19),  next door,  open doors (for sb) at open2 (16),  open-door policy,  open the door to sth at open2 (16),  show sb the door at show1 (20)//


Words: door prize
Meaning:
n [C]  AmE   a prize given to someone who has the winning number on their ticket for a show, dance etc//


Words: door-to-door
Meaning:
adj [only before noun]   visiting each house in a street or area, usually to sell something, collect money, or ask for votes//  --a door-to-door salesman//    door to door at door(7)//


Words: doorbell
Meaning:
n [C]   a button outside a house that makes a sound when you push it so that people inside know you are there//  ring the doorbell (=push the button) //


Words: doorman
Meaning:
n   plural  doormen /-men, -m[hA353]n/ [C] //  a man who usually wears a uniform and works in a hotel, club etc letting people into the building, helping people find taxis etc//    porter//


Words: doormat
Meaning:
n [C] \n  1 a piece of material inside or outside a door for you to clean your shoes on:\n  2  informal someone who lets other people treat them badly and never complains:  --Don’t let him treat you like a doormat .//


Words: doorstep
Meaning:
n [C] \n  1 a step just outside a door to a house or building:  on the doorstep//  --He stood on the doorstep , straightening his tie.//  --the front doorstep //\n  2  on sb’s/the doorstep:  a) very near someone’s home//  --Wow! You’ve got the beach right on your doorstep !//  b) at someone’s home//  --I got a bit of a shock when he just turned up on the doorstep .//\n  3  BrE  informal a very thick piece of bread:\ndoorstep 2   past tense and past participle  doorstepped present participle  doorstepping  v [I and T]  BrE //  if politicians or journalists doorstep people, they visit people at their homes in order to get votes or information - often used to show disapproval//  --Journalists had doorstepped the couple and their neighbours.//


Words: doorstop
Meaning:
BrE [C] \n  1 something you put under or against a door to keep it open:\n  2 a rubber object fastened to a wall to stop a door hitting it when it opens:


Words: doorway
Meaning:
n [C]   the space where a door opens into a room or building//  in the doorway//  --There was Paolo, standing in the doorway .//


Words: doozy
Meaning:
n   plural  doozies  [C]  AmE  informal //  [Date: 1900-2000; Origin:  Perhaps from  daisy, influenced by the name of the Italian actress Eleonora  Duse (1859-1924)]//  something that is extremely good, bad, strange, big etc//  --I’ve heard lies before, but that one was a real doozy !//


Words: dope
Meaning:
n  informal   [Date: 1800-1900; Language: Dutch; Origin: doop  ’sauce’]//\n  1 [U] a drug that is not legal, especially marijuana:  --Jeff used to smoke dope all the time.//\n  2 [C]  spoken a stupid person:   idiot//  --What a dope!//\n  3  dope test:  a test given to people or animals taking part in a sport, to see if they have taken or have been given a drug to improve their performance//\n  4  the dope (on sb/sth):  new information about someone or something, especially information that not many people know//  --What’s the dope on the new guy?//\ndope 2 v [T usually passive] \n  1  also dope sb up :  to give a person or an animal a drug, often in their food or drink, to make them unconscious//  --The girl had been doped and kidnapped.//\n  2 to give an animal a drug that makes it perform better in a race:\n  3  be doped (up):   BrE to be unable to think or behave normally, because of the effects of drugs or alcohol//  be doped (up) on//  --She was doped up on drink and drugs most of the time.//\ndope 3 adj  AmE  informal   very good//  --Check out our dope new album.//


Words: Dopey
Meaning:
one of the seven  dwarfs in the story of  Snow White. He is called Dopey because he is rather stupid.//


Words: dopey
Meaning:
also  dopy BrE   adj  informal \n  1 thinking or reacting slowly, as if you have taken a drug:  --She’s still a little dopey from the anaesthetic.//\n  2 slightly stupid:  --a dopey grin//


Words: doping
Meaning:
n [U]   the practice of using drugs to improve performance in a sport//  doping scandal/ban/test etc //  --doping offences//


Words: doppelganger
Meaning:
n [C]   [Date: 1800-1900; Language: German; Origin: doppelg[hA165]nger  ’double-goer’]//\n  1  sb’s doppelganger:  someone who looks exactly like someone else//   double//\n  2 an imaginary spirit that looks exactly like a living person:


Words: Dorchester
Meaning:
a market town in Dorset, southern England.The local government of Dorset is based there and the writer Thomas Hardy was born nearby. //


Words: Dordogne
Meaning:
the Dordogne//  an area in southwest France around the River Dordogne, which is popular place for tourists//


Words: dork
Meaning:
n [C]  informal   [Date: 1900-2000; Origin:  Perhaps from   DICK1]//  someone who you think is or looks stupid//  -- dorky adj //


Words: dormant
Meaning:
adj   [Date: 1300-1400; Language: French; Origin: , present participle of  dormir  ’to sleep’, from  Latin dormire]//  not active or not growing at the present time but able to be active later//  → active//  lie/remain dormant //  --The seeds remain dormant until the spring.//  --a huge dormant volcano //  -- dormancy n  [U] //


Words: dormer
Meaning:
n dormer window  BrE [C]   [Date: 1500-1600; Language: Old French; Origin: dormeor  ’sleeping room’, from  dormir;   DORMANT]//  a window built into a roof, so that it sticks out from the roof//    skylight//


Words: dormitory
Meaning:
n   plural  dormitories  [C] //  [Date: 1400-1500; Language: Latin; Origin: dormitorium, from  dormire  ’to sleep’]//\n  1  especially BrE a large room for several people to sleep in, for example in a boarding school or hostel:\n  2  AmE a large building at a college or university where students live:  British Equivalent:  hall of residence//


Words: dormitory town
Meaning:
n [C]  BrE   a town that is near a city with more work opportunities, so that many people who live there travel to work in the city every day//  American Equivalent:  bedroom community/suburb//


Words: dormouse
Meaning:
n   plural  dormice  [C] //  [Date: 1400-1500; Origin:  Perhaps from  French dormir  ’to sleep’ +  English mouse]//  a small European mouse with a long furry tail//


Words: dorsal
Meaning:
adj [only before noun]   [Date: 1400-1500; Language: Late Latin; Origin: dorsalis, from  Latin dorsum  ’back’]//  on or relating to the back of an animal or fish//  --a shark’s dorsal fin //


Words: Dorset
Meaning:
a  county in southwest England, with many popular holiday towns on its coast. The writer Thomas Hardy set most of his novels in Dorset, which he called ’Wessex’.//


Words: dory
Meaning:
n   plural  dories //  [Date: 1700-1800; Language: Miskito; Origin: dori]//\n  1 [C] a rowing boat that has a flat bottom and is used for fishing:\n  2 [U and C] a flat sea fish that can be eaten, or the flesh of this fish:


Words: DOS
Meaning:
n [U]  technical   Disk Operating System software that is loaded onto a computer system to make all the different parts work together//


Words: dosage
Meaning:
n [C usually singular]   the amount of a medicine or drug that you should take at one time, especially regularly//  high/low dosage //  dosage of//  --He was recommended a high dosage of morphine.//  increase/reduce the dosage //  --The daily dosage is steadily reduced over several weeks.//


Words: dose
Meaning:
n [C]   [Date: 1400-1500; Language: French; Origin: Greek dosis, from  didonai  ’to give’]//\n  1 the amount of a medicine or a drug that you should take:  dose of//  --Never exceed the recommended dose of painkillers.//  high/low dose //  --Start with a low dose and increase it.//\n  2 an amount of something that you do or experience at one time, especially something unpleasant:  a bad/mild dose of flu  BrE  (=making you feel very ill or only slightly ill) //  --Dave had a bad dose of flu .//  lethal/fatal dose (of sth) (=an amount that kills) //  --a lethal dose of radiation//  --I quite like Jamie in small doses  (=in limited amounts but not a lot or often) .//\n  3  like a dose of salts:   BrE  informal very quickly and easily//  --The cleaners went through the house like a dose of salts .//\ndose 2 v [T]  also dose up   to give someone medicine or a drug//  dose sb/yourself with sth//  --Sumi dosed herself up with aspirin and went to bed.//


Words: dosh
Meaning:
n [U]  BrE  informal   [Date: 1800-1900; Origin:  Perhaps from   DOSS1, from the idea of money to buy a place to sleep]//  money//


Words: doss
Meaning:
v [I]  BrE  informal   [Date: 1700-1800; Origin: doss  ’a (place to) sleep’ (18-20 centuries), probably from  French dos  ’back’, from the idea of lying on your back]//   also doss down //  to sleep somewhere that is not your usual place, or not a real bed//  --I dossed down on the couch downstairs.//  doss around/about phr v//  to spend your time in a lazy way, doing very little//  --We just dossed around all day Saturday.//\ndoss 2 n  BrE  informal   [Date: 1800-1900; Origin: doss  ’a sleep’ (  DOSS1), from the idea of something you could do in your sleep]//  a doss//  work that does not need much effort//  --This job’s a real doss.//


Words: doss house
Meaning:
n [C]  BrE  informal   a place where people who have nowhere to live can stay cheaply//  American Equivalent:  flophouse//


Words: dosser
Meaning:
n [C]  BrE  informal \n  1 someone who has nowhere to live, and sleeps in the street or in cheap hostels:\n  2 someone who is very lazy:


Words: dossier
Meaning:
n [C]   [Date: 1800-1900; Language: French; Origin: ’set of documents with a label on the back’, from  dos  ’back’]//  a set of papers containing detailed, usually secret information about a person or subject//   file//  dossier on//  --A firm of detectives produced a dossier on his activities.//


Words: Dostoyevsky
Meaning:
Fyodor  ,  Dostoevsky  (1821-81) a Russian writer who many people consider to be one of the greatest writers ever. His novels include  Crime and Punishment, and  The Brothers Karamazov.//


Words: dot
Meaning:
S2   n [C]   [Language: Old English; Origin: dott  ’top of a spot on the skin’]//\n  1 a small round mark or spot:  --a pattern of dots on the screen//\n  2  on the dot:   informal exactly on time or at a particular time//  --I’ll be there on the dot.//  at three o’clock/seven thirty etc on the dot (=at exactly 3:00/7:30 etc) //  --Mr Green arrived at six on the dot .//\n  3 something that looks like a small spot because it is so far away:  --The plane was just a dot on the horizon .//\n  4 a short sound or flash of light used when sending messages by Morse code:    dash//    the year dot at year(13)//\ndot 2   past tense and past participle  dotted present participle  dotting  v [T] //\n  1 to mark something by putting a dot on it or above it:  --She never dots her i’s.//\n  2 [usually passive] if an area is dotted with things, there are a lot of them there but they are spread far apart:  be dotted with sth//  --The lake was dotted with sailboats.//  be dotted about/around etc sth//  --The company has over 20 stores dotted around the country.//  --Brilliant red poppies dotted the field.//\n  3 to put a very small amount of something on a surface, especially in several places:  dot sth with sth//  --Dot the apples with butter.//\n  4  dot the i’s and cross the t’s:   informal to pay careful attention to all the details when you are finishing something//


Words: dot-com
Meaning:
dot.com, dot com/d[hA361]t k[hA361]m $ d[hA35A][hA359]t k[hA35A][hA359]m/ adj [only before noun]  informal   relating to a person or company whose business is done using the Internet or involves the Internet//  --a dot-com company//  --dot-com millionaires//  -- dot-com n  [C] //  --Several of the leading dot-coms saw their share prices slide yesterday.//


Words: dotage
Meaning:
n   [Date: 1300-1400; Origin: dote  ’to show the mental weakness of old age’ (13-19 centuries)]//  in your dotage//  in your old age//


Words: dote
Meaning:
v   dote on/upon [dote on/upon sb] phr v//  [Date: 1100-1200; Origin:  Perhaps from  Middle Low German or  Middle Dutch doten  ’to be stupid’]//  to love someone very much, and show this by your actions//  --Everyone doted on Sally, the only girl in the family.//  -- doting adj  [only before noun] //  --a doting parent//  -- dotingly adv //


Words: dotted line
Meaning:
n [C]   a series of printed or drawn dots that form a line//    sign on the dotted line at sign2 (4)//


Words: dotty
Meaning:
adj  old-fashioned  informal   [Date: 1800-1900; Language: Scottish English; Origin: dottle  ’stupid person’, from  dote  ’to be stupid’ (12-19 centuries)]//\n  1 slightly crazy:\n  2  dotty about sb/sth:  liking or loving someone or something very much//  --Gemma’s dotty about horses.//


Words: double
Meaning:
adj [usually before noun]   ----------//\n   1 of two parts:\n   2 two different uses:\n   3 twice as big:\n   4 for two people:\n   5 two letters/numbers:\n   6 flower:  ----------//  [Date: 1100-1200; Language: Old French; Origin: Latin duplus, from  duo  ’two’ +  -plus  ’multiplied by’]//\n  1 OF TWO PARTS:  consisting of two parts that are similar or exactly the same//  --a double sink//  --a double wardrobe//  --the great double doors of the cathedral//  --Don’t park your car on double yellow lines.//\n  2 TWO DIFFERENT USES:  combining or involving two things of the same type//  --a double murder case//  --A lot of the jokes were based on double meaning .//\n  3 TWICE AS BIG:  twice as big, twice as much, or twice as many as usual//  --a double whisky//  --The city was enclosed by walls of double thickness.//\n  4 FOR TWO PEOPLE:  made for two people or things to use//    single//  --Do you need a double bed or two singles?//  --a double room//  --a double garage//\n  5 TWO LETTERS/NUMBERS:   BrE  spoken used to say that a particular letter or number is repeated//  --My name’s Robbins with a double ’b’.//  --The number is 869 double 2 (=86922) .//\n  6 FLOWER:  a double flower has more than the usual number of petals//    doubly//\ndouble 2 n   ----------//\n   1 twice the size:\n   2 room:\n   3 tennis:\n   4 baseball:\n   5 similar person:\n   6 in films:\n   7 at the double:\n   8 double or quits:  ----------//\n  1 TWICE THE SIZE:   [U and C] something that is twice as big, as much etc as usual or as something else//  --Scotch and water, please - make it a double.//  --’They offered me [hA124]10,000.’ ’I’ll give you double.’//\n  2 ROOM:   [C] a room for two people in a hotel//    single//  --A double costs $95 a night.//\n  3 TENNIS:   doubles [U] a game played between two pairs of players, especially in tennis//    singles//  --the men’s doubles//    mixed doubles//\n  4 BASEBALL:   [C] a hit in baseball which allows the batter to reach second base//  --Walker led the inning with a double.//\n  5 SIMILAR PERSON:   sb’s double//  someone who looks very like someone else//  --She’s her mother’s double.//\n  6 IN FILMS:   [C] an actor who takes the place of a more famous actor in a film, especially because the acting involves doing something dangerous//  --I think they used a double in the shower scene.//\n  7  at the double:   BrE on the double //   AmE  informal very quickly and without any delay//  --He was told to get back to Washington on the double.//\n  8  double or quits:   BrE double or nothing  AmE a situation in a game when you must do something that could either win you twice as much money or make you lose it all//\ndouble 3 v \n  1 [I and T] to become twice as big or twice as much, or to make something twice as big or twice as much:  double in size/number/value etc //  --Within two years the company had doubled in size.//  --The church has doubled its membership in the last five years.//  double the size/number/amount etc (of sth) //  --A promise was given to double the number of police on duty.//\n  2 [T]  also double over/up :  to fold something in half//  --Take a sheet of paper and double it over.//\n  3 [I] to hit the ball far enough to get to second base in a game of baseball:  double as / [double as sb/sth] phr v//  to have a second use, job, or purpose as a particular thing//  --The school doubled as a hospital during the war.//  double back phr v//  to turn around and go back the way you have come//  --The driver doubled back and headed for Howard Bay.//  double back on yourself//  --We kept getting lost and having to double back on ourselves.//  double up phr v//\n  1  also double over :  to suddenly bend over at the waist because you are laughing so much or are in pain//  --Emilio doubled over, grabbing his leg.//  be doubled up/over with laughter/pain etc //  --Both the girls were doubled up with laughter.//\n  2 to share something, especially a bedroom:  double up with//  --You’ll have to double up with Susie while your aunt is here.//\ndouble 4 adv   be bent double//  to be bent over a long way//  --The trees were almost bent double in the wind.//    see double at see1 (29)//\ndouble 5 predeterminer   twice as big, twice as much, or twice as many//  double the amount/number/size etc //  --We’ll need double this amount for eight people.//  --The value of the house is double what it was.//


Words: double agent
Meaning:
n [C]   someone who finds out an enemy country’s secrets for their own country but who also gives secrets to the enemy//    spy//


Words: double bass
Meaning:
n  also bass  [C]   a very large musical instrument shaped like a violin that the musician plays standing up//


Words: double bill
Meaning:
n [C]   a cinema, theatre, concert etc performance in which you can see two films, plays etc, one after the other//


Words: double bluff
Meaning:
n [C]   an attempt to deceive someone by telling them the truth, hoping that they will think you are lying//


Words: double boiler
Meaning:
n [C]   a pot for cooking food, consisting of one pan resting on top of another pan with hot water in it//


Words: double date
Meaning:
n [C]  old-fashioned   an occasion when two couples meet to go to a film, restaurant etc together//  -- double-date v  [I and T] //


Words: double digits
Meaning:
n [plural]  AmE   the numbers from 10 to 99//   double figures//  --Sam’s team scored in the double digits in nine out of ten games.//


Words: double duty
Meaning:
n   do double duty//  to do more than one job or be useful for more than one thing at the same time//  do double duty as//  --The sofa does double duty as a guest bed.//


Words: double entendre
Meaning:
n [C]   [Date: 1600-1700; Language: French; Origin: ’double understanding’ (1600-1700)]//  a word or phrase that may be understood in two different ways, one of which is often sexual//


Words: double fault
Meaning:
n [C]   two mistakes, one after another, when you are serving in tennis, which make you lose a point//


Words: double feature
Meaning:
n [C]  AmE \n  1 a cinema performance in which two films are shown one after the other:  British Equivalent:  double bill//\n  2 a video with two films on it:


Words: double figures
Meaning:
n [plural]   the numbers from 10 to 99//  American Equivalent:  double digits//  in double figures//  --King’s was the only other score in double figures.//  approach/reach/go into etc double figures //  --The death toll is thought to have reached double figures.//


Words: double first
Meaning:
n [C usually singular]   a British university degree in which a student reaches the highest standard in two subjects//


Words: double glazing
Meaning:
n [U]  BrE   glass on a window or door in two separate sheets with a space between them, used to keep noise out and heat in//  -- double-glaze v  [T] //


Words: double helix
Meaning:
n [C]  technical   a shape consisting of two parallel spirals that twist around the same centre, found especially in the structure of DNA//


Words: double indemnity
Meaning:
n [U]  AmE  law   a feature of a life insurance  policy that allows double the value of the contract to be paid in the case of death by accident//


Words: double jeopardy
Meaning:
n [U]  law   when someone is taken to court a second time for the same crime, in some unusual situations//


Words: double life
Meaning:
n [C]   if someone lives a double life, they deceive people by having two separate homes, families, or sets of activities, one of which they keep secret//  lead/live a double life //  --Marje had no idea that her husband was leading a double life with another woman.//


Words: double negative
Meaning:
n [C]   two negative words used in one sentence when only one is needed in correct English grammar, for example in the sentence ’I don’t want nobody to help me!’//


Words: double play
Meaning:
n [C]   the action of making two runners in a game of baseball have to leave the field by throwing the ball quickly from one base to another before the runners reach either one//


Words: double quick
Meaning:
adv  BrE  informal   as quickly as possible//  --Call an ambulance double quick!//  -- double-quick adj  [only before noun] //  --Lunch was produced in double-quick time .//


Words: double standard
Meaning:
n [C]   a rule, principle etc that is unfair because it treats one group of people more severely than another in the same situation//


Words: double take
Meaning:
n [C]   do a double take//  to look at someone or something again because you are very surprised by what you saw or heard//


Words: double vision
Meaning:
n [U]   a medical condition in which you see two objects instead of one all the time, for example after an accident//


Words: double whammy
Meaning:
n [C]   two bad things that happen together or one after the other//  --the double whammy of higher prices and more taxes//


Words: double-barrelled
Meaning:
BrE  double-barreled AmE \n  1 a double-barrelled gun has two places where the bullets come out:\n  2  BrE a double-barrelled family name has two parts:\n  3  AmE very strong or using a lot of force:  --a double-barreled attack//


Words: double-blind
Meaning:
adj  technical   a double-blind scientific test or study compares two or more groups in which neither the scientists nor the people being studied know which group is being tested and which group is not//


Words: double-book
Meaning:
v [I and T]   to promise the same seat in a theatre, on a plane etc to more than one person by mistake//  -- double-booking n  [U] //


Words: double-cross
Meaning:
v [T]   to cheat someone, especially after you have agreed to do something dishonest with them//  -- double cross n  [C] //  -- double-crosser n  [C] //


Words: double-decker
Meaning:
n [C]   1 a bus with two levels//    single-decker//\n  2 a sandwich made with three pieces of bread and two layers of food:  -- double-decker adj  [only before noun] //


Words: double-digit
Meaning:
adj [only before noun]  especially AmE   relating to the numbers 10 to 99//  British Equivalent:  double-figure//  --double-digit inflation//


Words: double-Dutch
Meaning:
n [U] \n  1  BrE  informal speech or writing that you cannot understand:   nonsense//\n  2  AmE a game in which one child jumps over two long ropes that are being swung around in a circle by other children:


Words: double-edged
Meaning:
adj \n  1  a double-edged sword/weapon:  something that seems to be good, but that can have a bad effect//  --Being famous is often a double-edged sword.//\n  2 having two different parts:  --a double-edged attack on global warming//\n  3 a double-edged remark has two possible meanings, one of which is not very nice:  --It sounded like a double-edged comment.//\n  4 with two cutting edges:  --a double-edged knife//


Words: double-figure
Meaning:
adj [only before noun]  BrE   relating to the numbers 10 to 99//  American Equivalent:  double-digit//  --Almost all leading shares had double-figure gains.//


Words: double-sided
Meaning:
adj   something such as tape or paper that is double-sided has something on both surfaces//  --Stick down the edge of the carpet with double-sided sticky tape.//


Words: double-talk
Meaning:
n [U]   speech that is complicated and can have more than one meaning, sometimes used deliberately to deceive or confuse people//  British Equivalent:  double-speak//  --legal double-talk//


Words: double-time adj
Meaning:
adv  especially AmE   very quick or as quickly as possible//  --Get upstairs and clean your room - double-time!//


Words: doublespeak
Meaning:
n [U]  BrE   speech that is complicated and can have more than one meaning, sometimes used deliberately to deceive or confuse people//   double-talk//


Words: doublet
Meaning:
n [C]   [Date: 1300-1400; Language: French; Origin: ’something doubled’]//  a man’s tight jacket, worn in Europe from about 1400 to the middle 1600s//


Words: doubloon
Meaning:
n [C]   [Date: 1600-1700; Language: Spanish; Origin: doblon, from  Latin duplus  ’double’;   DOUBLE1]//  a gold coin used in the past in Spain and Spanish America//


Words: doubly
Meaning:
adv \n  1 [+ adjective] much more than usual:  --Be doubly careful when driving in fog.//\n  2 in two ways or for two reasons:  --You are doubly mistaken.//


Words: doubt
Meaning:
n \n  1 [U and C] a feeling of being not sure whether something is true or right:  --Ally was confident that we would be ready on time, but I  had my doubts .//  doubt about//  --Elizabeth had no doubts at all  about his ability to do the job.//  --The incident  raises doubts about  the safety of nuclear power.//  --The meeting will provide people with an opportunity to  voice any  doubts  they may have about the proposals.//  --There was still one little  nagging doubt  at the back of his mind.//  doubt as to whether/what etc//  --Some government ministers had serious doubts as to whether the policy would work.//  --There is an element of doubt as to whether the deaths were accidental.//  -- There’s no doubt that  one day a cure will be found.//  -- There is little doubt  he was the killer.//  --She knew,  without a shadow of a doubt , that this was where she wanted to be.//  --The prosecution tried to  cast doubt on  her character as a witness.//\n  2  no doubt:  used when you are saying that you think something is probably true//  --No doubt you’ll have your own ideas.//  --She was a top student, no doubt about it  (=it is certainly true) .//\n  3  if/when (you’re) in doubt:  used when advising someone what to do if they are uncertain about something//  --If in doubt, consult your doctor.//\n  4  be in doubt:  if something is in doubt, it may not happen, continue, exist, or be true//  --The future of the peace talks is in doubt.//\n  5  beyond doubt:  if something is beyond doubt, it is completely certain//  --The prosecution must prove beyond reasonable doubt that the accused is guilty of the crime.//  put the game/result/match beyond doubt (=do something which makes it certain that a particular player or team will win a match) //  --Ferdinand’s second goal put the game beyond doubt.//\n  6  without doubt:  used to emphasize an opinion//  --Sally was without doubt one of the finest swimmers in the school.//\n  7  open to doubt:  something that is open to doubt has not been proved to be definitely true or real//  --The authenticity of the relics is open to doubt.//    self-doubt,  give sb/sth the benefit of the doubt at benefit1 (4)//  ----------//  COLLOCATES for sense 1 //  have (your) doubts //  have no doubts at all //  raise doubts (=make people have doubts) //  express/voice doubts (=say that you have doubts) //  nagging/lingering doubt  (=a doubt that does not go away) //  serious/grave doubts //  an element of doubt  (=a slight doubt) //  there is little/some/no doubt (that) (=used to talk about how certain you are about something) //  not the slightest doubt  (=no doubt at all) //  without a shadow of a doubt (=with no doubt at all) //  cast/throw doubt on something (=make someone feel uncertain about something) //  ----------//\ndoubt 2 S2 v [T not in progressive]   [Date: 1200-1300; Language: French; Origin: douter, from  Latin dubitare]//\n  1 to think that something may not be true or that it is unlikely:  --Kim never doubted his story.//  doubt (that) //  --I doubt we’ll ever see him again.//  doubt if/whether //  --You can complain, but I doubt if it’ll make any difference.//  --’Do you think there’ll be any tickets left?’ ’ I doubt it  (=I don’t think so) .’//\n  2 to not trust or have confidence in someone:  --I never doubted myself. I always knew I could play tennis at this level.//  --She loved him, and had never doubted him.//  --I have no reason to doubt his word  (=think that he is lying) .//  -- doubter n  [C] //


Words: doubtful
Meaning:
adj \n  1 probably not true or not likely to happen:  --Prospects for a lasting peace remain doubtful.//  it is doubtful if/whether//  --It was doubtful whether the patient would survive the operation.//  it is doubtful that//  --It is doubtful that the missing airmen will ever be found.//\n  2 not sure that something is true or right:  --’Everything’s going to be all right, you’ll see.’ Jenny looked doubtful .//  doubtful if/whether//  --I’m still doubtful whether I should accept this job.//  doubtful about (doing) sth //  --At first we were doubtful about employing Charlie.//\n  3 unlikely to be successful:  --Already the whole scheme was looking increasingly doubtful.//\n  4 probably not good:   dubious//  --Here the tap water is of doubtful quality.//  -- doubtfully adv //


Words: doubting Thomas
Meaning:
n [singular]   [Date: 1800-1900; Origin: Thomas the follower of Christ who did not believe he had come back to life]//  someone who does not always believe things until they have seen proof of them//


Words: doubtless
Meaning:
adv   used when saying that something is almost certain to happen or be true//  --Doubtless there would be dozens of photographers waiting for her.//


Words: douche
Meaning:
n [C usually singular]   [Date: 1700-1800; Language: French; Origin: Italian doccia  ’water-pipe’]//  a mixture of water and something such as vinegar, that a woman puts into her vagina to wash it, or the object that she uses to do this//  -- douche v  [I and T] //


Words: dough
Meaning:
n   [Language: Old English; Origin: dag]//\n  1 [singular, U] a mixture of flour and water ready to be baked into bread, pastry etc:\n  2 [U]  informal money:


Words: doughty
Meaning:
adj [only before noun]  literary   [Language: Old English; Origin: dohtig]//  brave and determined//


Words: Douglass
Meaning:
Frederick   (1817-95) a former  slave in the US, who worked to get rid of  slavery (=the practice of having slaves) , and wrote a book about his life//


Words: dour
Meaning:
adj   [Date: 1300-1400; Language: Gaelic; Origin: dur, perhaps from  Latin durus  ’hard’]//\n  1 serious, never smiling, and unfriendly:\n  2 a dour place is one that is plain and dull, and where people do not have any fun:  -- dourly adv //


Words: douse
Meaning:
dowse/da[hA35E]s/ v [T]   [Date: 1600-1700; Origin:  Probably from  douse  ’to hit’ (16-18 centuries)]//\n  1 to stop a fire from burning by pouring water on it:\n  2 [+ with/in] to cover something in water or other liquid:


Words: dove
Meaning:
n [C]   [Language: Old English; Origin: dufe]//\n  1 a kind of small white pigeon (=bird)  often used as a sign of peace:\n  2 someone in politics who prefers peace and discussion to war:  → hawk//\ndove 2   AmE   a past tense of dive//


Words: Dover
Meaning:
1 a port in southeast England, from which ships go across the English Channel to France carrying passengers, vehicles, and goods. High white cliffs rise above the port, and for English people arriving by sea, the sight of the white cliffs of Dover is the first sign that they are returning home:\n  2 the capital city of the US state of Delaware:


Words: dovetail
Meaning:
v \n  1 [I and T] to fit together perfectly or to make two plans, ideas etc fit together perfectly:  dovetail with//  --My vacation plans dovetail nicely with Joyce’s.//\n  2 [T + together] to join two pieces of wood by means of dovetail joints:\ndovetail 2  also dovetail joint  n [C]   a type of joint fastening two pieces of wood together//


Words: Dow Jones Average
Meaning:
a daily list of prices of  shares on the American  stock exchange, based on the daily average prices of 30 industrial shares//


Words: Dow Jones Index
Meaning:
n  also Dow Jones Average   the Dow Jones Index//  a daily list of prices of shares on the American Stock Exchange, based on the daily average prices of 30 industrial shares//    the FTSE Index//


Words: dowager
Meaning:
n [C]   [Date: 1500-1600; Language: Old French; Origin: douagiere, from  douer  ’to give, endow’]//\n  1 a woman from a high social class who has land or a title from her dead husband:  --the dowager Duchess of Devonshire//\n  2  informal a respected and impressive old lady:


Words: dowdy
Meaning:
adj   [Date: 1500-1600; Origin: dowd  ’dull unattractive person’ (14-20 centuries)]//\n  1 a dowdy woman is not attractive, because she wears dull and unfashionable clothes:\n  2 dowdy things are dull, unattractive, and unfashionable:  --a dowdy dress//


Words: down
Meaning:
adv, prep, adj   ----------//\n   1 to a lower position:\n   2 in a lower place:\n   3 to lie/sit:\n   4 along:\n   5 south:\n   6 somewhere local:\n   7 river:\n   8 fastened to a surface:\n   9 less:\n  10 losing:\n  11 written:\n  12 on a list:\n  13 to later times:\n  14 paid immediately:\n  15 every part:\n  16 swallowed:\n  17 sad:\n  18 computer:\n  19 be down to somebody:\n  20 be down to somebody/something:\n  21 be down to your last pound/dollar/litre etc:\n  22 down to something/somebody:\n  23 be/go down with something:\n  24 Down with somebody/something:\n  25 be down on somebody/something:\n  26 leaving university:\n  27 completed:\n  28 down under:\n  29 Down!:\n  30 be down with somebody:  ----------//\n  1 TO A LOWER POSITION:  to or towards a lower place or position//  → up//  --David bent down to tie his shoelace.//  --Get down off the table.//  --Tears were streaming down my face.//  --The sun was going down and it would soon be dark.//  --They came running down the stairs.//  --She stood on a balcony looking down into the courtyard.//  --Glancing down the list of runners, I noticed a familiar name.//  --Her flowing black hair came down to her waist.//  --Ken fell asleep face down  (=with his face towards the ground) on the couch.//\n  2 IN A LOWER PLACE:  in a lower place or position//  → up//  --We heard the sound of laughter down below.//  --The bathroom is down those stairs.//  --Halfway down the page, there was the item I was looking for.//\n  3 TO LIE/SIT:  into a sitting or lying position//  --Please sit down.//  --I think I’ll go and lie down for a while.//\n  4 ALONG:  at or to a place that is further along something such as a road or path//  --A young man came hurrying down the street.//  --She looked down the road to see if anyone was coming.//  --There is a pleasant little cafe bar a hundred yards down the road.//  --The bus stop is a bit further down on the left-hand side.//\n  5 SOUTH:  in or towards the south//  → up//  --They drove all the way down from Boston to Miami.//  --They sailed down the east coast of Africa.//  --Now he’s bought a villa down south.//  --a trip down Mexico way//\n  6 SOMEWHERE LOCAL:  at or to a place that is not far away//  --She’s just gone down to the shops.//  --I saw her down at the station this morning.//\n  7 RIVER:  away from the place where a river starts//  → up//  --Chunks of ice came floating down the river.//\n  8 FASTENED TO A SURFACE:  used with verbs that mean ’fasten’ to show that something is fastened firmly to the surface or object below it//  --The coffin lid had been nailed down.//\n  9 LESS:  at or towards a level or amount that is less//  → up//  --Keep your speed down.//  --House prices have come down in recent months.//  --Turn the radio down.//  down to//  --Sharif cut his report down to only three pages.//\n  10 LOSING:  losing to an opponent by a certain number of points//  two goals down/three points down etc //  --Swindon were six points down at one stage.//\n  11 WRITTEN:  used with verbs that mean ’write’ to show that you write something on paper or in a book//  --I’ll write down the address for you.//  --Start by jotting down a few ideas.//  --Let’s put you down as self-employed.//\n  12 ON A LIST:  if you are down for something, your name is on a list of people who want to do something or are intended to do something//  down for//  --Purvis is down for the 200 metre freestyle event.//  --We’ve already put his name down for nursery school.//  down to do sth//  --I’ve got you down to do the table decorations.//\n  13 TO LATER TIMES:  from an earlier time in history to a later time or to people who are born in later times//  --a person whose words and actions have inspired millions of people down the centuries//  --This knowledge was handed down in the family from father to son.//  --The story has been passed down the generations for a thousand years.//  down to//  --traditions that have come down to us from medieval times//\n  14 PAID IMMEDIATELY:  paid to someone immediately//  --A top quality freezer for only [hA124]20 down and [hA124]5 a week for a year.//\n  15 EVERY PART:  from top to bottom//  --I want you to wash my car down.//\n  16 SWALLOWED:  in or into your stomach as a result of swallowing//  --Meg’s been very ill and can’t keep her food down.//  --He gulped down the coffee.//\n  17 SAD:  unhappy or sad//  --Andy’s been feeling down lately.//\n  18 COMPUTER:  if a computer is down, it is not working//  → up//\n  19  be down to sb:  if an action or decision is down to you, it is your responsibility//  --It’s down to me to make sure that everyone is happy.//    be up to sb at up1 (19b)//\n  20  be down to sb/sth:  to be the result of one person’s actions or one particular thing//  --Chris’s success is all down to him.//\n  21  be down to your last pound/dollar/litre etc:  to be left with only a small amount of something//  --We’re down to our last five dollars.//\n  22  down to sth/sb:  including everything or everyone, even the smallest thing or the least important person//  --Everyone uses the cafeteria, from the managing director down to the office boy.//  --The plans were all complete down to the last detail.//\n  23  be/go down with sth:  to have a particular illness//  --Jane’s gone down with flu.//\n  24  Down with sb/sth:   spoken used to say that you strongly oppose a government, leader etc and want them to lose their power//  --Down with the government!//\n  25  be down on sb/sth:   informal to have a severe attitude towards someone or something, especially when this is unfair//  --Why is Mark so down on her at the moment?//\n  26 LEAVING UNIVERSITY:   BrE used to say that someone leaves or has left a university at the end of a period of study//  down from//  --Sarah came down from Oxford in 1966.//\n  27 COMPLETED:  already done or completed//  --Well, you’ve passed your second test, so it’s two down and four more to go.//\n  28  down under:   informal in or to Australia or New Zealand//\n  29  Down!:   spoken used to tell a jumping dog to get down//\n  30  be down with sb:   spoken  informal to be friends with someone//    be down on your luck at luck1 (17)//\ndown 2 v [T]   [Sense: 1-2; Date: 1300-1400; Language: Old Norse; Origin: d[hA17B]nn]//  [Sense: 3, 5; Date: 1800-1900; Origin:  DOWN2]//  [Sense: 4; Origin: Old English dun  ’hill’]//\n  1 to drink or eat something quickly:  --He downed the coffee in one gulp.//\n  2 to knock or force someone to the ground:  --O’Malley downed his opponent in the first round.//\n  3  down tools:   BrE to stop working, especially because you are taking part in a strike (=protest about pay or conditions by stopping work) //\ndown 3 n \n  1 [U] soft hair like a baby’s:\n  2 [U] the soft fine feathers of a bird:\n  3 [C] one of the four chances that an American football team has to move forward when it is their turn to have the ball:\n  4  the downs:  low round hills covered with grass, as in the south of England//\n  5  have a down on sb:   BrE  informal to dislike or have a bad opinion of someone//  --For some reason, Malcolm had a down on the whole teaching profession.//    ups and downs at up2 (1)//


Words: down payment
Meaning:
n [C]   a payment you make when you buy something that is only part of the full price, with the rest to be paid later//  --We’ve almost got enough money to make a down payment on a house.//


Words: Down’s syndrome
Meaning:
n [U]   [Date: 1900-2000; Origin:  J. H. L.  Down (1828-96), English doctor]//  a condition that someone is born with, that stops them from developing in a normal way, both mentally and physically//


Words: down-
Meaning:
prefix \n  1 at or towards the bottom or end of something:    up-//  --downstairs//  --downriver (=nearer to where it goes into the sea) //\n  2 used to show that something is being made smaller or less important:    up-//  --to downgrade a job (=make it less important) //  --to downsize a company (=reduce the number of jobs in it) //\n  3 used to show that something is bad or negative:    up-//  --the downside of a situation (=the negative part of it) //  --down-market products (=low quality products) //


Words: down-at-heel
Meaning:
adj    BrE unattractive and not well cared for, because of a lack of money//  --The town today is a shabby, down-at-heel place.//


Words: down-home
Meaning:
adj [only before noun]  AmE   typical of the simple values and customs of people who live in the country, especially in the southern US//    homely//  --down-home family recipes//


Words: down-to-earth
Meaning:
adj   practical and direct in a sensible honest way//  --Fran’s a very friendly, down-to-earth person.//  --a chef with a very down-to-earth approach to cooking//


Words: downbeat
Meaning:
adj   not showing any strong feelings, especially not happy ones//  → upbeat//  --Al was surprisingly downbeat about the party.//\ndownbeat 2 n [C] \n  1 the first note in a bar of music:\n  2 the movement a conductor makes to show when this note is to be played or sung:


Words: downcast
Meaning:
adj \n  1 sad or upset because of something bad that has happened:\n  2 downcast eyes are looking down:  --Penelope sat silently, her eyes downcast.//


Words: downer
Meaning:
n  informal \n  1 [C] a drug that makes you feel very relaxed or sleepy:    upper//\n  2 [singular] a person or situation that stops you feeling happy:  --The weather was a bit of a downer.//\n  3  be on a downer:   BrE to be sad or experiencing a series of sad events//  --What’s up with Ruth? She’s been on a downer all week.//


Words: downfall
Meaning:
n [singular] \n  1 complete loss of your money, moral standards, social position etc, or the sudden failure of an organization:  --the scandal that led to the president’s downfall //\n  2 something that causes a complete failure or loss of someone’s money, moral standards, social position etc:  be sb’s downfall //  --an addiction to gambling that proved to be her downfall//


Words: downgrade
Meaning:
v [T] \n  1 to make a job less important, or to move someone to a less important job:  → upgrade//\n  2 to make something seem less important or valuable than it is:  --Police often downgrade the seriousness of violence against women in the home.//\n  3 to state that something is not as serious as it was:  --Hurricane Bob has been downgraded to a tropical storm.//


Words: downhearted
Meaning:
adj   feeling sad and disappointed, especially because you have tried to achieve something but have failed//  --When no replies came, I began to feel downhearted.//


Words: downhill
Meaning:
adv \n  1 towards the bottom of a hill or towards lower land:  → uphill//  --I was going downhill and my brakes failed.//\n  2  go downhill:  if a situation goes downhill, it gets worse//   deteriorate//  --Grandma fell and broke her leg, and she went downhill quite rapidly after that.//\ndownhill 2 adj \n  1 on a slope that goes down to a lower point:  → uphill//  --downhill skiing//  --It’s a long walk back, but at least it’s all downhill.//\n  2  be all downhill (from here)/be downhill all the way (from here):  to be easy to do, because you have already done the hard part//  --The worst is over - it’s all downhill from here.//


Words: Downing Street
Meaning:
the street in central London that contains the official houses of the British Prime Minister, at number 10, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer (=chief financial minister) at number 11. The name Downing Street is often used to mean the Prime Minister and his/her officials, or the government of the UK//  --Downing Street announced last night that peace talks with the IRA had lead to a breakthrough.//


Words: download
Meaning:
v [T]   to move information or programs from a computer network to a small computer//  --games that can be downloaded free from the Internet//\ndownload 2   n [C]   a computer file or program that has been downloaded, or the process of downloading it//  --We’ve got reviews and downloads of the latest business software.//


Words: downloadable
Meaning:
adj   if a computer program or file is downloadable, you are allowed to copy it from a computer network onto your own computer//


Words: downmarket
Meaning:
adj  BrE   downmarket goods or services are cheap and not of very good quality//  American Equivalent:  downscale//  → upmarket//  --downmarket tabloid newspapers//  --The company wanted to break away from its traditional, downmarket image.//\ndownmarket 2 adv  BrE \n  1  go/move downmarket:  to start buying or selling cheaper goods or services//\n  2  take sth downmarket:  to change a product or service so that it is cheaper and more popular - used to show disapproval//  --He was accused of taking the radio station downmarket in order to compete with commercial stations.//


Words: downplay
Meaning:
v [T]   to make something seem less important than it really is//   play down//  --White House officials attempted to downplay the President’s role in the affair.//


Words: downright
Meaning:
adverb]   used to emphasize that something is completely bad or untrue//  --Jed’s just downright lazy.//  --It’s downright disgusting!//  -- downright adj  [only before noun] //  --That’s a downright lie!//


Words: downriver
Meaning:
adv   in the direction that the water in a river is flowing//  → upriver//    downstream//  --The bridge was another mile downriver.//


Words: downscale
Meaning:
adj  AmE   downscale goods or services are cheap and not of very good quality//\ndownscale 2   v [I and T]  AmE   to sell or buy cheaper goods of lower quality//


Words: downshift
Meaning:
v [I] \n  1 to put the engine of a vehicle into a lower gear in order to go slower:\n  2 if someone downshifts, they choose to do a less important or difficult job, so that they do not have to worry about their work and have more time to enjoy their life:


Words: downside
Meaning:
n   the downside//  the negative part or disadvantage of something//  --Digital cell phones offer more security, but the downside is that they have less power.//  the downside of//  --The downside of the book is that it is written in a rather boring style.//


Words: downsize
Meaning:
v [I and T]   if a company or organization downsizes, it reduces the number of people it employs in order to reduce costs//  --The airline has downsized its workforce by 30%.//  -- downsizing n  [U] //


Words: downstairs
Meaning:
S2   adv \n  1 towards or on a lower floor of a building, especially a house:  → upstairs//  --Rosie ran downstairs to answer the door.//  --Charles was downstairs in the kitchen.//\n  2  the downstairs:  the rooms on the ground floor in a house//  --We have still got to paint the downstairs.//  -- downstairs adj //  --a downstairs bathroom//


Words: downstate
Meaning:
adj [only before noun]  AmE   in or from the southern part of a state//  → upstate//  --A downstate judge was called in to hear the case.//  -- downstate/da[hA35E]nste[hA366]t/ adv //


Words: downstream
Meaning:
adv   in the direction that the water in a river or stream is flowing//  → upstream//    downriver//  --a boat drifting downstream//


Words: downtime
Meaning:
n [U] \n  1 the time when a computer is not working:\n  2  also down time :   informal a period of time when you have finished what you were doing, and you can relax or do something that you had not originally planned to do//  --Often, during semesters, you have down time when you can do some exercise.//  -- downtime adj //  --downtime activities for teachers//


Words: downtown
Meaning:
W3S3   adv   to or in the centre or main business area of a town or city//    uptown//  --I have to go downtown later.//  -- downtown adj  [only before noun] //  --downtown restaurants//  --She works for a law firm in downtown Miami.//


Words: downturn
Meaning:
n [C usually singular]   a period or process in which business activity, production etc is reduced and conditions become worse//  → upturn//  --America’s current economic downturn //  downturn in//  --a downturn in the auto industry//


Words: downward
Meaning:
adj [only before noun] \n  1 moving or pointing towards a lower position:  → upward//  --a gentle downward slope//\n  2 moving to a lower level:  → upward//  --Share prices continued their downward trend .//  --She was caught in a downward spiral of drink and drugs.//    downwards//


Words: downwardly compatible
Meaning:
adj   computer software that is downwardly compatible can be used on older computers as well as very new ones//


Words: downwards
Meaning:
adv  also downward \n  1 towards a lower level or position:  → upwards//  --Nina glanced downwards.//  --Hold out your hands with your palms facing downwards.//  --The body was lying face downwards  (=with the front of the body on the floor) .//\n  2 used when a number or amount becomes smaller:  → upwards//  --The death toll was later revised downwards to 689.//\n  3  from the chairman/president/top etc downwards:  used to mean that people of all levels in an organization, country etc are affected by something//  --Everyone from the chairman downwards is taking a pay cut.//


Words: dowry
Meaning:
n   plural  dowries  [C] //  [Date: 1300-1400; Language: Anglo-French; Origin: dowarie, from  Medieval Latin dotarium, from  Latin dos  ’(marriage) gift’]//  property and money that a woman gives to her husband when they marry in some societies//


Words: dowse
Meaning:
v [I + for]   to look for water or minerals under the ground using a special stick that points to where they are//\ndowse 2   v [T]   another spelling of douse//


Words: doyen
Meaning:
n [C]   [Date: 1400-1500; Language: French; Origin: Late Latin decanus;   DEAN]//  the oldest, most respected, or most experienced member of a group//  doyen of//  --the doyen of sports commentators//


Words: doyenne
Meaning:
n [C]   [Date: 1800-1900; Language: French; Origin: doyen used for females]//  the oldest, most respected, or most experienced woman in a group//  doyenne of//  --the doyenne of piano teachers in the city//


Words: doze
Meaning:
v [I]   [Date: 1600-1700; Origin:  From a  Scandinavian language; related to  Old Norse d[hA17B]sa  ’to sleep lightly’]//  to sleep lightly for a short time//  --Grandad was dozing in his chair.//  -- doze n  [singular] //  doze off phr v//  to go to sleep, especially when you did not intend to//   drop off, nod off//  --I must have dozed off.//


Words: dozen
Meaning:
W3S2   number   plural  dozen  or  dozens  written abbreviation doz. //  [Date: 1200-1300; Language: Old French; Origin: dozeine, from  doze  ’twelve’]//\n  1 twelve:  -- a dozen eggs//  two/three/four etc dozen (=24, 36, 48 etc) //  --The number of deaths has risen to more than two dozen.//  dozens of people/companies/cars etc (=but not hundreds or thousands) //  --According to a government spokesman, dozens of people were killed.//  --Chris, Helen, and half a dozen others went on holiday together.//  -- A dozen or so  (=about 12) cars were parked near the entrance.//\n  2  informal a lot of:  a dozen//  --I’ve heard this story a dozen times before.//  dozens of sth//  --She’s had dozens of boyfriends.//  --We collected dozens and dozens of shells on the beach.//    baker’s dozen,  a dime a dozen at dime(2),  nineteen to the dozen at nineteen(2),  six of one and half a dozen of another at six(4)//


Words: dozy
Meaning:
adj \n  1 not feeling very awake:\n  2  BrE  informal slow to understand things:   stupid//  --Those kids are really dozy sometimes!//


Words: Dr
Meaning:
BrE  Dr. AmE \n  1 the written abbreviation of doctor :\n  2 the written abbreviation of drive :  --88 Park Dr//


Words: Dr Who
Meaning:
a British series of television programmes, about a scientist called Dr Who, who travels with different people through time and space in his  time machine the  Tardis. He fights evil people and frightening creatures from other worlds, usually in a way that is not violent. His most famous enemies are the  Daleks.//


Words: drab
Meaning:
adj   [Date: 1500-1600; Origin: drab  ’(dull-colored) cloth’ (16-18 centuries), from  Old French drap  ’cloth’]//\n  1 not bright in colour, especially in a way that stops you from feeling cheerful:   dull//  --The walls were painted a drab green.//\n  2 boring:  --people forced to live grey, drab existences in ugly towns//  -- drabness n  [U] //    dribs and drabs//


Words: drachma
Meaning:
n   plural  drachmas  or  drachmae /-mi[hA359]/ [C] //  [Date: 1500-1600; Language: Latin; Origin: Greek drachme;   DRAM]//  the standard unit of money used in Greece before the euro//


Words: draconian
Meaning:
adj   [Date: 1800-1900; Language: Greek; Origin: Drakon  ’Draco’, ancient Greek judge who had criminals killed for very small crimes]//  very strict and cruel//  draconian measures/controls/penalties etc //  --draconian measures to control population growth//


Words: Dracula
Meaning:
a frightening character originally from the book  Dracula by Bram  Stoker, who has appeared in many  horror films. Count Dracula is a vampire (=a creature who drinks people’s blood in order to stay alive) .//


Words: draft
Meaning:
W3S2   n [C]   ----------//\n   1 piece of writing:\n   2 military:\n   3 money:\n   4 sports:\n   5 cold air/beer:  ----------//  [Date: 1500-1600; Origin:  DRAUGHT1]//\n  1 PIECE OF WRITING:  a piece of writing or a plan that is not yet in its finished form//  --the rough draft of his new novel//  --I read the first draft and thought it was very good.//  --All parties eventually approved the final draft  (=finished form) of the peace treaty.//\n  2 MILITARY:   the draft//   AmE //  a) a system in which people are ordered to join the army, navy etc, especially during a war//   conscription//  b) the group of people who are ordered to do this//\n  3 MONEY:   especially BrE a written order for money to be paid by a bank, especially from one bank to another//\n  4 SPORTS:   AmE a system in which professional teams choose players from colleges to join their teams//\n  5 COLD AIR/BEER:  the American spelling of draught//\ndraft 2 v [T]   ----------//\n   1 piece of writing:\n   2 military:\n   3 sports:  Phrasal verbs//   draft somebody → in//  ----------//\n  1 PIECE OF WRITING:  to write a plan, letter, report etc that will need to be changed before it is in its finished form//  --Eva’s busy drafting her speech for the conference.//\n  2 MILITARY:   [usually passive] to order someone to join the army, navy etc, especially during a war//   conscript//  be drafted into sth//  --My dad was eighteen when he got drafted into the army.//\n  3 SPORTS:   AmE to choose a college player to join a professional team//  --Craigwell was drafted by the Chicago Blackhawks.//  draft in [draft sb → in] phr v//  to ask or order someone to work in a place where they do not normally work//  --Extra staff were drafted in to deal with the Christmas rush.//  --Hundreds of police have been drafted into the area.//\ndraft 3 adj \n  1  draft proposal/copy/version etc:  a piece of writing that is not yet in its finished form//\n  2 the American spelling of draught:


Words: draft dodger
Meaning:
n [C]   someone who illegally avoids joining the army, navy etc, even though they have been ordered to join//


Words: draftsman
Meaning:
n   plural  draftsmen /-m[hA353]n/ [C] //\n  1  also drafter :  someone who puts a suggested law or a new law into the correct words//\n  2 the American spelling of draughtsman:


Words: drag
Meaning:
W3S3   v   past tense and past participle  dragged present participle  dragging //  ----------//\n   1 pull something:\n   2 pull somebody:\n   3 drag yourself to/into/out of etc something:\n   4 persuade somebody to come:\n   5 computer:\n   6 be boring:\n   7 touch the ground:\n   8 drag your feet/heels:\n   9 drag a lake/river etc:\n  10 drag somebody’s name through the mud:\n  11 drag somebody through the courts:\n  12 drag somebody kicking and screaming into something:\n  13 look as if you’ve been dragged through a hedge backwards:\n  14 injured leg/foot:  Phrasal verbs//   drag somebody/something → down//   drag somebody/something into something//   drag on//   drag something → out//   drag something out of somebody//   drag somebody/something → up//  ----------//  [Date: 1300-1400; Language: Old Norse; Origin: draga or  Old English dragan;   DRAW1]//\n  1 PULL SOMETHING:   [T] to pull something along the ground, often because it is too heavy to carry//  drag sth away/along/through etc//  --Inge managed to drag the table into the kitchen.//\n  2 PULL SOMEBODY:   [T always + adverb/preposition] to pull someone somewhere where they do not want to go, in a way that is not gentle//  --He grabbed her arm and dragged her into the room.//\n  3  drag yourself to/into/out of etc sth:   informal to move somewhere with difficulty, especially because you are ill, tired, or unhappy//  --I dragged myself out of bed and into the bathroom.//  --Can you drag yourself away from  (=stop watching) the TV for a minute?//\n  4 PERSUADE SOMEBODY TO COME:   [T always + adverb/preposition]  informal if you drag someone somewhere, you persuade or force them to come with you when they do not want to//  --Mom dragged us to a classical music concert.//\n  5 COMPUTER:   [T] to move words, pictures etc on a computer screen by pulling them along with the mouse//  --You can drag and drop text like this.//\n  6 BE BORING:   [I] if time or an event drags, it seems to go very slowly because nothing interesting is happening//  --Friday afternoons always drag.//\n  7 TOUCH THE GROUND:   [I] if something is dragging along the ground, part of it is touching the ground as you move//  drag along/in/on//  --Your coat’s dragging in the mud.//\n  8  drag your feet/heels:   informal to take too much time to do something because you do not want to do it//  --The authorities are dragging their feet over banning cigarette advertising.//\n  9  drag a lake/river etc:  to look for something in a lake, river etc by pulling a heavy net along the bottom//  --The police are dragging the lake for the missing girl’s body.//\n  10  drag sb’s name through the mud:  to tell people about the bad things that someone has done, so that they will have a bad opinion of them//\n  11  drag sb through the courts:  to force someone to go to a court of law, especially in order to make them have a bad experience because you are angry with them//\n  12  drag sb kicking and screaming into sth:  to force someone to do something that they do not want to - used humorously//  --The party will have to be dragged kicking and screaming into the 21st century.//\n  13  look as if you’ve been dragged through a hedge backwards:  to look very untidy - used humorously//\n  14 INJURED LEG/FOOT:   [T] if you drag your leg, foot etc, you cannot lift it off the ground as you walk because it is injured//  --a bird dragging its broken wing//  drag down [drag sb/sth → down] phr v//\n  1 to make someone feel unhappy and weak:  --Joe’s been ill for weeks now - it’s really dragging him down.//\n  2 to make the price, level, or quality of something go down:  --Declining prices for aluminium have dragged down the company’s earnings.//\n  3 if someone or something bad drags you down, they make you become worse or get into a worse situation:  --Don’t let them drag you down to their level .//  drag into [drag sb/sth into sth] phr v//\n  1 to make someone get involved in an argument, war, or other unpleasant situation that they do not want to be involved in:  --I’m sorry to drag you into this mess.//\n  2 to talk about something when you are having a discussion or argument, even though it is not connected with it:  --Don’t drag my past into this!//  drag on phr v//  if an event or situation drags on, it continues for too long//  drag on for//  --an expensive court battle that could drag on for years//  drag out [drag sth → out] phr v//  to make an event or situation last longer than is necessary//  --Neither of them wanted to drag the divorce out longer than they had to.//  drag out of [drag sth out of sb] phr v//  to make someone tell you something when they had not intended to tell you or were not supposed to tell you//  --Police finally dragged a confession out of him.//  drag up [drag sb/sth → up] phr v//\n  1 to mention an unpleasant or embarrassing story from the past, even though it upsets someone:  --Why do you have to drag that up again?//\n  2  be dragged up:   BrE if a child is dragged up, their parents do not teach them to behave properly - used humorously//  --Those children have been dragged up, not brought up!//\ndrag 2 n \n  1  a drag:   informal //  a) something or someone that is boring//  --Don’t be such a drag! Come to the party.//  b) something that is annoying and continues for a long time//  --It’s a real drag having to travel so far to work every day.//\n  2  be a drag on sb/sth:  to make it hard for someone to make progress towards what they want//  --Any slowdown in the economy is going to be a drag on the President’s re-election campaign.//\n  3 [C] the act of breathing in smoke from your cigarette:  --Frank took a drag on his cigarette.//\n  4  in drag:  wearing clothes worn by the opposite sex, especially to entertain people//  --The whole performance is done in drag.//\n  5 [U] the force of air that pushes against an aircraft or a vehicle that is moving forward:  --The car’s rounded edges reduce drag.//\n  6  the main drag:   AmE  informal the biggest or longest street that goes through a town//  --Our hotel is right on the main drag.//


Words: dragnet
Meaning:
n [C] \n  1 a system in which the police look for criminals, using very thorough methods:\n  2 a net that is pulled along the bottom of a river or lake, to bring up things that may be there:


Words: dragon
Meaning:
n [C]   [Date: 1200-1300; Language: Old French; Origin: Greek drakon  ’large snake’]//\n  1 a large imaginary animal that has wings and a long tail and can breathe out fire:\n  2 a woman who behaves in an angry, unfriendly way:    chase the dragon at chase1 (7)//


Words: dragonfly
Meaning:
n   plural  dragonflies  [C] //  a brightly-coloured insect with a long thin body and transparent wings which lives near water//


Words: dragoon
Meaning:
n [C]   [Date: 1600-1700; Language: French; Origin: dragon  ’dragon, gun, soldier with a gun’]//  a soldier in past times who rode a horse and carried a gun and sword//\ndragoon 2 v   dragoon into [dragoon sb into sth] phr v//  to force someone to do something they do not want to do//  dragoon sb into doing sth//  --Monica was dragooned into being on the committee.//


Words: drain
Meaning:
v   ----------//\n   1 liquid:\n   2 make somebody tired:\n   3 use too much:\n   4 the colour/blood drains from somebody’s face/cheeks:\n   5 drain a glass/cup etc:  Phrasal verbs//   drain away//   drain something → off//  ----------//  [Language: Old English; Origin: dreahnian]//\n  1 LIQUID:  a)  [T] to make the water or liquid in something flow away//  --The swimming pool is drained and cleaned every winter.//  drain sth from sth//  --Brad drained all the oil from the engine.//  --Can you drain the spaghetti, please (=pour away the water from the pan) ?//  b)  [I always + adverb/preposition] if liquid drains away, it flows away//  drain away/off/from//  --I watched the bath water drain away.//  c)  [I] if something drains, the liquid that is in it or on it flows away and it becomes dry//  --Open ditches drain very efficiently.//  --She washed up and left the dishes to drain.//  well-drained/poorly-drained soil (=soil from which water flows away quickly or slowly) //  --This plant needs rich, well-drained soil.//\n  2 MAKE SOMEBODY TIRED:   [T] to make someone feel very tired and without any energy//  --Working with children all day really drains you.//\n  3 USE TOO MUCH:   [T] to use too much of something, especially money, so that there is not enough left//  --Huge imports were draining the country’s currency reserves.//\n  4  the colour/blood drains from sb’s face/cheeks:  used to say that someone’s face becomes very pale, because they are frightened or shocked//  --When the verdict was read out, all the colour drained from Zelda’s cheeks.//\n  5  drain a glass/cup etc:   written to drink all the liquid in a glass, cup etc//  --Hannah drained her mug in one gulp.//  drain away phr v//  if something drains away, it is reduced until there is none left//  --I watched the light drain away.//  anger/confidence/tension/hope etc drains away //  --Sally felt her anger drain away.//  drain off [drain sth → off] phr v//  to make water or a liquid flow off something, leaving it dry//  --After cooking the meat, drain off the excess fat.//\ndrain 2 n [C] \n  1  especially BrE a pipe that carries water or waste liquids away:  --The flood was caused by a blocked drain .//  --There’s a problem with the drains .//\n  2  BrE the frame of metal bars over a drain where water etc can flow into it:  American Equivalent:  grate//\n  3  AmE the hole in the bottom of a bath or sink that water flows out through:  British Equivalent:  plughole//\n  4  a drain on sth:  something that continuously uses a lot of time, money etc//  --The war was an enormous drain on the country’s resources .//\n  5  down the drain:   informal //  a) if time, effort, or money goes down the drain, it is wasted or produces no results//  --Well that’s it. 18 months’ work down the drain.//  b) if an organization, country etc goes down the drain, it becomes worse or fails//  --That’s why this country’s going down the drain!//    brain drain,  laugh like a drain at laugh1 (1)//


Words: drainage
Meaning:
n [U]   the process or system by which water or waste liquid flows away//  --A handful of pebbles in the bottom of a flowerpot will help drainage.//  --a plan to improve the town’s drainage system//


Words: drained
Meaning:
adj   very tired and without any energy//  --Suddenly, she felt totally drained.//  --I felt depressed and completely drained of energy .//


Words: draining board
Meaning:
also drain board  AmE n [C]   a slightly sloping area next to a kitchen sink where you put wet dishes to dry//


Words: drainpipe
Meaning:
n [C] \n  1  BrE a pipe that carries rain water away from the roof of a building:\n  2  AmE a pipe that carries waste water away from buildings:


Words: Drake
Meaning:
Sir Francis   (1540-96) an English sailor and  explorer, who was the first Englishman to sail around the world, and was one of the leaders of the English navy when it defeated the  Spanish Armada in 1588//


Words: drake
Meaning:
n [C]   [Date: 1200-1300; Origin:  From an ancient  Germanic word related to  German enterich  ’male duck’]//  a male duck//    ducks and drakes//


Words: dram
Meaning:
n [C]   [Date: 1400-1500; Language: Old French; Origin: drame or  Late Latin dragma, from  Greek drachme  ’amount held in the hand’]//  a small alcoholic drink, especially whisky - used especially in Scotland//


Words: drama
Meaning:
W3   n   [Date: 1500-1600; Language: Late Latin; Origin: Greek,  ’action, theater plays’, from  dran  ’to do’]//\n  1 [U and C] a play for the theatre, television, radio etc, usually a serious one, or plays in general:    comedy//  --the great traditions of ancient Greek drama//  a TV/television/radio drama //  --the award-winning TV drama ’Prime Suspect’//  --a new drama series for Saturday nights//  --a drama critic//  --a courtroom drama  (=one that takes place in a court of law) //  --a lavish costume drama  (=one about events in a past century) //  --He plays a Russian spy in the comedy drama ’Sleepers’.//\n  2 [U] acting - used when talking about it as a subject to study or teach:  --young actors coming out of drama school //  --our drama teacher//\n  3 [U and C] an exciting event or set of events, or the quality of being exciting:  --Maggie’s life is always full of drama.//  --accidents, burst pipes, and other domestic dramas//  --a night of high drama  (=very exciting events) //  --the drama of the moment//\n  4  make a drama out of sth:  to become upset about a small problem and make it seem worse than it really is//  --Brian always makes such a drama out of everything.//\n  5  drama queen:  a woman or homosexual man who tends to behave as if situations are worse than they really are - used to show disapproval//


Words: dramatic
Meaning:
adj \n  1 great and sudden:  dramatic change/shift/improvement //  --Computers have brought dramatic changes to the workplace.//  dramatic increase/rise/fall/drop/reduction etc //  --Universities have suffered a dramatic drop in student numbers.//  dramatic effect/results //  --A serious accident can have a dramatic effect on your family’s finances.//\n  2 exciting or impressive:  --A superb goal by Owen earned United a dramatic victory yesterday.//  --Some of the most dramatic events in American history happened here.//  --the dramatic scenery of the Grand Canyon//\n  3 connected with acting or plays:  --the amateur dramatic society//  --the dramatic arts//\n  4 intended to be impressive, so that people notice:  --She needed a stunning dress to help her make a dramatic entrance.//  --Tristan threw up his hands in a dramatic gesture .//  -- dramatically/-kli/ adv //  --Output has increased dramatically.//


Words: dramatic irony
Meaning:
n [U]   when the people watching a play know something that the characters do not, and can understand the real importance or meaning of what is happening//


Words: dramatics
Meaning:
n   [plural] behaviour that shows too much emotion, and is annoying or does not seem sincere//  --Rex had no time for her dramatics, and left the room.//    amateur dramatics at amateur//


Words: dramatis personae
Meaning:
n [plural]  formal   [Date: 1700-1800; Language: Latin; Origin: ’people of the drama’]//  the characters in a play//    cast//


Words: dramatize
Meaning:
also  dramatise BrE   v [T] \n  1 to make a book or event into a play or film:  --a novel dramatized for television//\n  2 to make a situation seem more exciting, terrible etc than it really is:  --Why do you have to dramatize everything?//\n  3 to make something more noticeable:   highlight//  --This incident dramatized the difficulties involved in the project.//  -- dramatization/dr[zB024]m[hA353]ta[hA366]ze[hA366][hA35D][hA368]n $ -t[hA353]-/ n  [U and C] //


Words: Drambuie
Meaning:
trademark   a type of Scottish  liqueur (=a sweet and very strong alcoholic drink)  made from  whisky//


Words: drape
Meaning:
v [T]   [Date: 1400-1500; Language: Old French; Origin: draper, from  drap  ’cloth’]//\n  1 to put something somewhere so that it hangs or lies loosely:  drape sth over/around/across sth//  --He took off his coat and draped it over a chair.//  --Mina lay back, her arms draped lazily over the cushions.//\n  2 to cover or decorate something with a cloth:  drape sth over/around sth//  --Jack emerged with a towel draped around him.//  drape sth with/in sth//  --The soldiers’ coffins were draped with American flags.//


Words: draper
Meaning:
n [C]  BrE  old-fashioned   [Date: 1300-1400; Language: Old French; Origin: drapier, from  drap;   DRAPE]//  someone who sells cloth, curtains etc//


Words: drapery
Meaning:
n \n  1 [U] cloth arranged in folds:  --a table covered with drapery//\n  2  draperies [plural]  AmE long heavy curtains:\n  3 [U]  BrE cloth and other goods sold by a draper:  --a drapery business//


Words: drastic
Meaning:
adj   [Date: 1600-1700; Language: Greek; Origin: drastikos, from  dran  ’to do’]//  extreme and sudden//  drastic action/measures //  --NATO threatened drastic action if its terms were not met.//  -- drastic cuts in government spending//  -- Drastic changes are needed if environmental catastrophe is to be avoided.//  -- drastically/-kli/ adv //  --The size of the army was drastically cut.//


Words: drat
Meaning:
interjection  old-fashioned   [Date: 1800-1900; Origin: God rot]//  used to show you are annoyed//  -- dratted adj //


Words: draught
Meaning:
n [C]  BrE   ----------//\n   1 air:\n   2 beer:\n   3 game:\n   4 medicine:\n   5 ship:\n   6 swallow:  ----------//  [Date: 1100-1200; Language: Old English; Origin: dragan  ’to pull’;   DRAW1]//\n  1 AIR:  cold air that moves through a room and that you can feel//  American Equivalent:  draft//  --Can you close the window? I’m in a draught .//\n  2 BEER:   on draught//  beer that is on draught is served from a large container rather than a bottle//  American Equivalent:  on draft//\n  3 GAME:  a)  draughts [U] a game played by two people, each with 12 round pieces, on a board of 64 squares//  American Equivalent:  checkers//  b) one of the round pieces used in the game of draughts//  American Equivalent:  checker//\n  4 MEDICINE:   old use a medicine that you drink//  --a sleeping draught//\n  5 SHIP:   technical the depth of water needed by a ship so that it will not touch the bottom of the sea, a river etc//  American Equivalent:  draft//\n  6 SWALLOW:   written the act of swallowing liquid, or the amount of liquid swallowed at one time//  American Equivalent:  draft//  --Mick took a long draught of lager.//\ndraught 2  BrE  draft AmE adj [only before noun] \n  1 draught beer is served from a large container rather than a bottle:\n  2 a draught animal is used for pulling heavy loads:


Words: draught excluder
Meaning:
n [U and C]  BrE   material that you put around the edge of windows and doors to stop cold air from coming into the house//


Words: draughtboard
Meaning:
n [C]  BrE   a board with 64 squares on which the game of draughts is played//  American Equivalent:  checkerboard//


Words: draughtsman
Meaning:
BrE  draftsman AmE   n   plural  draughtsmen /-m[hA353]n/ [C] //\n  1 someone whose job is to draw all the parts of a new building or machine that is being planned:\n  2 someone who draws well:


Words: draughty
Meaning:
BrE  drafty AmE   adj   a draughty room or building has cold air blowing through it//  --a draughty old house//


Words: draw
Meaning:
v   past tense  drew /dru[hA359]/past participle  drawn /dr[hA350][hA359]n $ dr[hA361][hA359]n///  ----------//\n   1 picture:\n   2 draw (somebody’s) attention:\n   3 draw a conclusion:\n   4 draw a comparison/parallel/distinction etc:\n   5 get a reaction:\n   6 attract:\n   7 get something you need:\n   8 give information:\n   9 move:\n  10 draw near/closer:\n  11 draw level:\n  12 pull somebody/something:\n  13 pull a vehicle:\n  14 take something out:\n  15 draw a line (between something):\n  16 draw the line (at something):\n  17 where do you draw the line?:\n  18 draw a line under something:\n  19 draw somebody’s eye (to something):\n  20 from a bank:\n  21 receive money:\n  22 draw a cheque (on something):\n  23 breathe:\n  24 draw breath:\n  25 take liquid from something:\n  26 fire:\n  27 choose:\n  28 draw lots/straws:\n  29 draw the short straw:\n  30 game:\n  31 be drawn against somebody:\n  32 draw a blank:\n  33 draw to a halt/stop:\n  34 draw to a close/end:\n  35 draw a veil over something:\n  36 draw blood:\n  37 draw a bow:\n  38 ship:  Phrasal verbs//   draw back//   draw in//   draw somebody into something//   draw something → off//   draw on//   draw out//   draw up//  ----------//  [Language: Old English; Origin: dragan]//\n  1 PICTURE:   [I and T] to produce a picture of something using a pencil, pen etc//  --Katie had drawn a cottage with a little stream running next to it.//  --She asked the little girl to draw a picture of the man she’d spoken to.//  --Keith was drawing a complicated-looking graph.//  --I’ve never been able to draw very well.//  draw sb sth//  --Can you draw me a map of how to get there?//\n  2  draw (sb’s) attention:  to make someone notice something//  draw (somebody’s) attention to//  --I have been asked to draw your attention to the following points.//  --A dark house can draw attention to the fact that the house is empty.//  draw attention to yourself//  --He didn’t want to draw attention to himself.//  --The case drew international attention.//\n  3  draw a conclusion:  to decide that a particular fact or principle is true according to the information you have been given//  draw a conclusion from//  --It would be unwise to draw firm conclusions from the results of a single survey.//\n  4  draw a comparison/parallel/distinction etc:  to compare two people or things and show how they are similar or different//  draw a comparison/parallel/distinction etc between//  --The author draws a comparison between East and West Germany and the North-South divide in England.//  --The report draws a distinction between various forms of health care.//\n  5 GET A REACTION:   [T] to get a particular kind of reaction from someone//  draw sth from sb//  --His remarks drew an angry response from Democrats.//  draw praise/criticism //  --The movie drew praise from critics.//\n  6 ATTRACT:   [T] to attract someone or make them want to do something//  draw sb to sth//  --What first drew you to teaching?//  --Beth felt strangely drawn to this gentle stranger.//  --The festival is likely to draw huge crowds .//\n  7 GET SOMETHING YOU NEED:   [T] to get something that you need or want from someone or something//  draw sth from sth//  --I drew a lot of comfort from her kind words.//  --Plants draw nourishment from the soil.//\n  8 GIVE INFORMATION:   be drawn [usually in negatives] to give information in reply to questions about something//  --She refused to be drawn on the subject of her divorce.//\n  9 MOVE:   [I always + adverb/preposition] to move in a particular direction//  --She drew away, but he pulled her close again.//  --The boat drew alongside us and a man appeared on the deck.//  --I arrived just as the train was drawing into the station.//\n  10  draw near/closer:  to become closer in time or space//  --Maria grew anxious as the men drew closer.//  --Christmas is drawing near.//\n  11  draw level:  to move into a position where you are equal to someone else in a race, game, or competition//  --Black drew level with the other runners.//\n  12 PULL SOMEBODY/SOMETHING:   [T always + adverb/preposition] to move someone or something in a particular direction by pulling them gently//  draw sb/sth aside/up/across etc//  --Bobby drew a chair up to the table.//  --Hussain drew me aside to whisper in my ear.//  draw the curtains/a blind etc (=close them by pulling them gently) //\n  13 PULL A VEHICLE:   [T] if an animal draws a vehicle, it pulls it along//  --a carriage drawn by six horses//  --an ox-drawn cart//\n  14 TAKE SOMETHING OUT:   [T] to take something out of a container, pocket etc//  draw sth out/from sth//  --Ali reached into his pocket and drew out a piece of paper.//  draw a gun/sword/weapon etc //  --Maria drew her gun nervously and peered out into the gloom.//\n  15  draw a line (between sth):  to think or show that one thing is different from another//  --Adolescents often use drugs simply to try to draw a line between their own and their parents’ way of life.//\n  16  draw the line (at sth):  to allow or accept something up to a particular point, but not beyond it//  --I don’t mind doing some gardening but I draw the line at digging.//\n  17  where do you draw the line?:   spoken used to say it is impossible to decide at which point an acceptable limit has been reached//  --Some say 50 is too old to have a baby, but where do you draw the line?//\n  18  draw a line under sth:  to say that something is completely finished and you will not think about it again//  --I just want to draw a line under the relationship and move on.//\n  19  draw sb’s eye (to sth):  if something draws your eye, it makes you notice it//  --My eye was drawn to a painting on the wall.//\n  20 FROM A BANK:   also draw out //   [T] to take money from your bank account//   withdraw//  --Hughes had drawn $8000 in cash from a bank in Toronto.//\n  21 RECEIVE MONEY:   [T] to receive an amount of money regularly from a government or financial institution//  --How long have you been drawing unemployment benefit?//  --I’ll be drawing my pension before he’ll ever get around to asking me to marry him!//\n  22  draw a cheque (on sth):   BrE  draw a check (on something)//   AmE to write a cheque for taking money out of a particular bank account//\n  23 BREATHE:   [I and T] to take air or smoke into your lungs//  --She drew a deep breath. //  --Ruth paused to draw breath , her voice barely hiding her excitement.//  --He lit his pipe and drew deeply.//\n  24  draw breath:  to find time to have a rest when you are busy//  --I’ve hardly had a moment to draw breath.//\n  25 TAKE LIQUID FROM SOMETHING:   [T] //  a) to take a liquid from something such as a barrel or tap//  b) to take water from a well//\n  26 FIRE:   [I] if a fire or chimney draws, it lets the air flow through to make the fire burn well//\n  27 CHOOSE:   [I and T] to choose by chance a card, ticket etc that will win a prize//  --The winning ticket will be drawn at the Christmas Party.//\n  28  draw lots/straws:  to decide who will do something by taking pieces of paper out of a container or choosing straws of hidden lengths//  --We drew lots to see who would go first.//\n  29  draw the short straw:  used to say that someone has been unlucky because they were chosen to do something that no one else wanted to do//  --He drew the short straw and had to drive everyone to the party.//\n  30 GAME:   [I and T]  especially BrE to finish without either side winning in a game such as football//   tie//  --They drew 3-3.//  draw with//  --Liverpool drew with Juventus.//\n  31  be drawn against sb:   BrE to be chosen by chance to play or compete against someone//  --England have been drawn against France in next month’s game.//\n  32  draw a blank:   informal to be unsuccessful in finding information or the answer to a problem//  --All his investigations have drawn a blank so far.//\n  33  draw to a halt/stop:  if a vehicle draws to a halt or stop, it slows down and stops//\n  34  draw to a close/end:  to end//  --Festival-goers began to drift off as the evening drew to an end.//\n  35  draw a veil over sth:  to deliberately keep something unpleasant or embarrassing from being known//  --I’d rather draw a veil over what happened last night.//\n  36  draw blood:  a) to make someone bleed//  --The dog bit her so hard that it drew blood.//  b) to make someone angry or embarrass them in an argument, especially a public one//  --Barker sought to draw blood by mentioning his rival’s weakness of character.//\n  37  draw a bow:  to bend a bow by pulling back the string in order to shoot an arrow//\n  38 SHIP:   [T]  technical if a ship draws a particular depth, it needs that depth of water to float in//    be at daggers drawn at dagger(3)//  draw back phr v//\n  1 to move backwards, especially because you are frightened or surprised:  --Suddenly, she drew back, startled.//  draw back in horror/shock/fear etc //  --She peeped into the box and drew back in horror.//\n  2 to decide not to do something, especially because you think it would be bad for you:   withdraw//  draw back from//  --In the end the government drew back from their extreme standpoint.//  draw in phr v//\n  1  BrE if the days or nights draw in, it starts to get dark earlier in the evening because winter is coming:  --In October the nights start drawing in.//\n  2  draw sb → in:  to get someone involved in something//  --We should use the demonstration as an opportunity to draw more supporters in.//  --Despite himself, he found himself being drawn in by the man’s warmth and ease.//\n  3  draw in your horns:   BrE to spend less money because you have financial problems//  draw into [draw sb into sth] phr v//  to make someone become involved in something, especially when they do not want to be involved//  --He tried to draw her into conversation.//  --She found herself drawn into a disagreement between two of her neighbours.//  draw off [draw sth → off] phr v//  to remove some liquid from a larger supply//  --The cold water is heated as it is drawn off.//  draw on phr v//\n  1  draw on/upon sth:  to use information, experience, knowledge etc for a particular purpose//  --His work draws heavily on learning theories of the 1980s.//  --She has 20 years’ teaching experience to draw on.//\n  2  draw on sth:  to use part of a supply of something such as money//  --I had to draw on my savings to pay for the repairs.//\n  3  draw on a cigarette/cigar etc:  to breathe in smoke from a cigarette etc//\n  4  BrE  formal if a period of time or an event draws on, it comes closer to its end:  --Winter is drawing on.//  --As the journey drew on, he started to feel tired.//  draw out phr v//\n  1  draw sth → out:  to take money from your bank account//\n  2  draw sb → out:  to make someone feel less shy and more willing to talk//  --She just needed someone to draw her out and take an interest in her.//\n  3  draw sth → out:   formal to mention a particular piece of information and explain it clearly and in detail//  --There are two major themes to be drawn out in this discussion.//\n  4  draw sth → out:  to make an event last longer than usual//  --The final question drew the meeting out for another hour.//    drawn-out//\n  5  BrE if the days or nights draw out, it stays light until later in the evening because summer is coming:  draw up phr v//\n  1  draw sth → up:  to prepare a written document, such as a list or contract//  -- Draw up a list of all the things you want to do.//  draw up plans/proposals //  --He was asked to draw up proposals for reforming the law.//  --The contract was drawn up last year.//\n  2 if a vehicle draws up, it arrives somewhere and stops:  --A taxi drew up at the gate.//\n  3  draw up a chair:  to move a chair closer to someone or something//\n  4  draw yourself up (to your full height):  to stand up very straight because you are angry or determined about something//  --He drew himself up and said, ’This has gone far enough’.//\n  5  draw your knees up:  to bring your legs closer to your body//  --Ruth sat, knees drawn up under her chin, and waited.//\ndraw 2 n [C] \n  1 the final result of a game or competition in which both teams or players have the same number of points:   tie//  --The match ended in a draw .//\n  2 an occasion when someone or something is chosen by chance, especially the winning ticket in a lottery, or the teams who will play against each other in a competition:  --England has been selected to play Germany in the draw for the first round of the World Cup.//\n  3  BrE a competition in which people whose names or tickets are chosen by chance win money or prizes:  --Congratulations! You have been entered into our [hA124]100,000 prize draw !//\n  4 a performer, place, event etc that a lot of people come to see:  --It is hoped that the new art gallery will be a big draw for visitors.//\n  5 when you breathe in smoke from a cigarette:   drag//  --Maltravers took a long draw on his cigarette.//    the luck of the draw at luck1 (18),  quick on the draw at quick1 (9)//


Words: drawback
Meaning:
n [C]   a disadvantage of a situation, plan, product etc//  --It’s a great city - the only drawback is the weather.//  drawback of/to (doing) sth//  --The main drawback to these products is that they tend to be too salty.//


Words: drawbridge
Meaning:
n [C]   a bridge that can be pulled up to stop people from entering a castle, or to let ships pass//


Words: drawer
Meaning:
S3   n [C]   handle, drawer//  [Date: 1500-1600; Origin:  DRAW1]//\n  1 part of a piece of furniture, such as a desk, that you pull out and push in and use to keep things in:  --She took a file from her desk drawer .//  --The scissors are in the kitchen drawer  (=drawer in a piece of kitchen furniture) .//  top/bottom/right-hand/left-hand drawer //  --He opened the top drawer of his desk, and took out a brown envelope.//  sock/cutlery drawer (=one for keeping socks, or knives, forks etc in) //\n  2  drawers [plural]  old-fashioned underwear that women and girls wear between their waist and the tops of their legs:   knickers//


Words: drawing
Meaning:
n \n  1 [C] a picture that you draw with a pencil, pen etc:  drawing of//  --a drawing of Canterbury Cathedral//\n  2 [U] the art or skill of making pictures, plans etc with a pen or pencil:  --I’ve never been very good at drawing.//\n  3 [C]  AmE a competition in which people whose names or tickets are chosen by chance win money or prizes:  British Equivalent:  draw//  --The church social will include a buffet dinner and a prize drawing .//


Words: drawing board
Meaning:
n [C] \n  1  (go) back to the drawing board:  if you go back to the drawing board, you start again with a completely new plan or idea, after the one you tried before has failed//  --The current system just isn’t working - we need to go back to the drawing board and start afresh.//\n  2  on the drawing board:  if a plan or product is on the drawing board, it is in the process of being planned or prepared//  --Other car manufacturers have similar projects on the drawing board.//\n  3 a large flat board that artists and designers work on:


Words: drawing pin
Meaning:
n [C]  BrE   a short metal pin with a round flat head, used especially for putting notices on boards or walls//  American Equivalent:  thumbtack//


Words: drawing power
Meaning:
n [U]   an event’s, performer’s, place’s etc ability to attract people to come and see them//   pulling power//


Words: drawl
Meaning:
v [I and T]   [Date: 1500-1600; Origin:  Probably from   DRAW1]//  to speak slowly, with vowel sounds that are longer than usual//  --’Can’t do that,’ he drawled languidly.//  -- drawl n  [singular] //  --’What you got there?’ he asked in a slow Texan drawl.//


Words: drawn
Meaning:
the past participle of draw//\ndrawn 2 adj   someone who looks drawn has a thin pale face, because they are ill, tired or worried//


Words: drawn-out
Meaning:
adj   taking more time than usual or more time than you would like//  --The government wants to avoid a long drawn-out war against the rebel forces.//


Words: drawstring
Meaning:
n [C]   a string through the top of a bag, piece of clothing etc that you can pull to make it tighter//  --trousers with a drawstring waist//


Words: dray
Meaning:
n [C]   [Date: 1300-1400; Language: Old English; Origin: dragan  ’to pull’]//  a flat cart with four wheels that was used in the past for carrying heavy loads, especially barrels of beer//


Words: dread
Meaning:
v   [Language: Old English; Origin: dr[zB024]dan]//  [T] to feel anxious or worried about something that is going to happen or may happen//  --I’ve got an interview tomorrow and I’m dreading it.//  dread doing sth//  --I’m dreading going back to work.//  dread sb doing sth//  --Tim dreaded his parents finding out.//  dread (that)//  --I’m dreading that I’ll be asked to make a speech.//  dread the thought/prospect of (doing) sth //  --He dreaded the prospect of being all alone in that house.//  -- I dread to think what will happen if they get elected (=I think it will be very bad) .//\ndread 2 n   [singular, U] a strong fear of something that is going to happen or may happen//  dread of (doing) sth//  --the dread of losing those we love//  with dread//  --Bernice looked with dread at the end of the passage.//  --The prospect of flying filled me with dread .//  --She lives in dread of  (=is continuously very afraid of) the disease returning.//


Words: dreaded
Meaning:
adj  also dread  literary   [only before noun] making you feel afraid or anxious - often used humorously//  --She couldn’t put off the dreaded moment forever.//


Words: dreadful
Meaning:
adj \n  1 extremely unpleasant:   terrible//  --We’ve had some dreadful weather lately.//  --Michelle felt absolutely dreadful (=very ill) .//\n  2 [only before noun] used to emphasize how bad something or someone is:   terrible//  --He soon realized he had made a dreadful mistake.//


Words: dreadfully
Meaning:
adv \n  1 extremely or very much:  --They’re dreadfully busy at the moment.//  --Would you mind dreadfully if I didn’t come?//\n  2 very badly:  --The team played dreadfully.//


Words: dreadlocks
Meaning:
n [plural]   a way of arranging your hair, popular with Rastafarians, in which it hangs in thick pieces that look like rope//


Words: dream
Meaning:
n [C]   ----------//\n   1 while sleeping:\n   2 wish:\n   3 dream house/home/job etc:\n   4 in a dream:\n   5 be a dream come true:\n   6 like a dream:\n   7 be/live in a dream world:\n   8 be a dream:\n   9 in your dreams:  ----------//  [Language: Old English; Origin: dream  ’noise, great happiness’]//\n  1 WHILE SLEEPING:  a series of thoughts, images, and feelings that you experience when you are asleep//    daydream//  in a dream//  --In my dream I flew to a forest of enormous trees.//  --I had a really weird dream last night.//  --Nick sleeps in my room because he has bad dreams  (=frightening dreams) sometimes.//  dream about//  --dreams about drowning//  recurring dream (=a dream you have again and again) //  be/seem like a dream (=seem unreal) //  --Those few short months with Tony seemed like a dream to her.//  --Seeing him again was like a bad dream (=so unpleasant that it seemed unreal) .//\n  2 WISH:  a wish to do, be, or have something - used especially when this seems unlikely//  --Her dream is to make a movie.//  dream of (doing) sth//  --Sheila had dreams of university.//  fulfil/realize a dream //  --I fulfilled a childhood dream when I became champion in June.//  the man/woman/dress/place etc of your dreams (=the perfect man, woman etc) //  --I have just met the man of my dreams!//  beyond your wildest dreams (=better than anything you ever imagined or hoped for) //  not/never in your wildest dreams (=used to emphasize that you think something is very strange or unlikely) //  --Never in my wildest dreams had I thought I would go to Hollywood.//\n  3  dream house/home/job etc:  something that seems perfect to someone//  --I’ve finally found my dream house.//  --Win a dream holiday for two in San Francisco!//\n  4  in a dream:  having a state of mind in which you do not notice or pay attention to things around you//  --Ruth went about her tasks in a dream.//\n  5  be a dream come true:  if something is a dream come true, it happens after you have wanted it to happen for a long time//  --Marriage to her is a dream come true.//\n  6  like a dream:  extremely well or effectively//  --The plan worked like a dream .//\n  7  be/live in a dream world:  to have ideas or hopes that are not correct or likely to happen//  --If you think that all homeless people have it as easy as me, then you are living in dream world.//\n  8  be a dream:  be perfect or very desirable//  --Her latest boyfriend is an absolute dream.//  --Some performers are a dream to work with; others are not.//  sb’s dream//   (=something someone would really like) //  --She’s every adolescent schoolboy’s dream.//\n  9  in your dreams:   spoken used to say in a rude way that something is not likely to happen//  --’I’m going to ask her to go out with me.’ ’In your dreams!’//\ndream 2 S3 v   past tense and past participle  dreamed  or  dreamt /dremt///  ----------//\n   1 wish:\n   2 while sleeping:\n   3 not pay attention:\n   4 imagine:\n   5 never dreamed (that):\n   6 wouldn’t dream of (doing) something:\n   7 who would have dreamt that ...?:  Phrasal verbs//   dream something → away//   dream on//   dream something → up//  ----------//\n  1 WISH:   [I and T] to think about something that you would like to happen or have//  dream of/about (doing) sth//  --She dreamed of becoming a chef.//  --He’s got the sort of money that you and I can only dream about .//  dream (that)//  --She dreamed that one day she would be famous.//\n  2 WHILE SLEEPING:   [I and T] to have a dream while you are asleep//  dream about//  --I dreamt about you last night.//  dream (that)//  --It’s quite common to dream that you’re falling.//\n  3 NOT PAY ATTENTION:   [I] to think about something else and not give your attention to what is happening around you//   daydream//  --She had been dreaming and had not followed the conversation.//\n  4 IMAGINE:   [I and T] to imagine that you have done, seen, or heard something that you have not//  --I was sure I posted the letter but I must have dreamt it .//\n  5  never dreamed (that):  used to say that you did not think that something would happen//  --We never dreamed that we would get through to the next round.//\n  6  wouldn’t dream of (doing) sth:   spoken used to say that you would never do something because you think it is bad or wrong//  --I wouldn’t dream of letting strangers look after my own grandmother!//\n  7  who would have dreamt that ...?:   spoken used to express surprise about something that has happened//  --Who would have dreamed that this would happen?//  dream away [dream sth → away] phr v//  to waste time by thinking about what may happen//  --She would just sit in her room dreaming away the hours.//  dream on phr v//  used to tell someone that they are hoping for something that will not happen//  --You think I’m going to help you move house? Dream on!//  dream up [dream sth → up] phr v//  to think of a plan or idea, especially an unusual one//  --He was continually dreaming up new schemes to promote and enlarge the business.//


Words: dream ticket
Meaning:
n [singular]   a combination of people who you think will be sure to win an election for a political party//


Words: dreamer
Meaning:
n [C] \n  1 someone who has ideas or plans that are not practical:  --She was a dreamer - not pragmatic.//\n  2 someone who dreams while they are asleep:


Words: dreamily
Meaning:
adv   thinking about something pleasant and not about what is happening around you//  --’I’m coming,’ he replied dreamily, without moving.//


Words: dreamland
Meaning:
n [U] \n  1 a happy place or situation that exists only in your imagination:\n  2  informal sleep:  --The kids are both far away in dreamland.//


Words: dreamy
Meaning:
adj \n  1 looking as though you are thinking about something pleasant rather than what is happening around you:  --a dreamy smile//\n  2 someone who is dreamy has a good imagination but is not very practical:  --He was an artist, not particularly tidy, too dreamy to match her ways.//\n  3 pleasant, peaceful and relaxing:  --The windows cast a dreamy light in the room.//\n  4  informal very attractive and desirable:  --a book of dreamy chocolate recipes//  -- dreaminess n  [U] //


Words: drearily
Meaning:
adv \n  1 sadly:  --Laura stared drearily at herself in the mirror.//\n  2 dully:  --a drearily predictable thriller//


Words: dreary
Meaning:
literary   [Language: Old English; Origin: dreorig  ’bloody, sad’]//  dull and making you feel sad or bored//  --the same old dreary routine//  --a dreary winter’s day//  -- dreariness n  [U] //


Words: dreck
Meaning:
n [U]  AmE  informal   [Date: 1900-2000; Language: Yiddish; Origin: drek  ’dirt, crap’]//  something that is of very bad quality//  --Readers for publishing houses see a lot of good stuff and a lot of dreck.//


Words: Dred Scott Case
Meaning:
the  also the Dred Scott Decision   an important decision made by the US  Supreme Court in 1857. The case was brought to the Supreme Court by a  slave (=someone who is legally owned by another person)  called Dred Scott. The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court officially decided that Dred Scott, like other slaves, could not be considered a citizen of the US. He also stated that Congress must not prevent any state from having  slavery. These decisions made many people extremely angry, especially the  abolitionists (=people who wanted to end slavery and make it illegal)  and members of Congress, and the Dred Scott Case is considered one of the causes of the American Civil War.//


Words: dredge
Meaning:
v   [Date: 1500-1600; Origin:  Perhaps from  Old English dragan  ’to pull’]//\n  1 [I and T] to remove mud or sand from the bottom of a river, harbour etc, or to search for something by doing this:  --They were dredging for oysters.//\n  2 [T + with] to cover food lightly with flour, sugar etc:  dredge up [dredge sth → up] phr v//\n  1 to start talking again about something that happened a long time ago, especially something unpleasant:  --Newsweek magazine dredged up some remarks which he made last year.//\n  2 to manage to remember something, or to feel or express an emotion, with difficulty:  --Robertson tried to dredge up an image of her in his mind.//  --From somewhere she dredged up a brilliant smile.//\n  3 to pull something up from the bottom of a river, lake etc:


Words: dredger
Meaning:
n  also dredge  [C]   a machine or ship used for digging or removing mud and sand from the bottom of a river, lake etc//


Words: dregs
Meaning:
n   [Date: 1300-1400; Language: Old Norse; Origin: dregg]//\n  1 [plural] a small amount of a drink, sometimes with bits in, left at the bottom of a cup, glass, or bottle:\n  2  the dregs of society/humanity:   not polite an offensive expression used to describe the people that you consider are the least important or useful in society//


Words: dreidel
Meaning:
n [C]   [Date: 1900-2000; Language: Yiddish; Origin: dreidl, from  dreien  ’to turn’]//  a top (=a toy that you spin)  with a Hebrew letter on each of its four sides and a point at the bottom, used in a game played during Hanukkah//


Words: drench
Meaning:
v [T]   [Language: Old English; Origin: drencan; related to  drink]//  to make something or someone extremely wet//  --In the early morning they had got drenched in the grass.//  -- drenching/drent[hA35D][hA366][hA26E]/ adj //  --drenching rain//


Words: drenched
Meaning:
adj \n  1 covered with a lot of a liquid:  --Come on in - you’re drenched!//  drenched in/with//  --I was drenched in sweat.//  --chips drenched in vinegar//  rain-drenched/sweat-drenched etc //  --He changed out of his rain-drenched clothes.//\n  2  drenched in/with light:   literary something that is drenched with light has a lot of light shining on it//


Words: Dresden
Meaning:
1 a city in the east of Germany which was badly bombed in World War II:\n  2 fine china (=small people, animals, cups, plates, etc made from baked clay)  made in Dresden. People sometimes use the expression "Dresden china" to talk about someone who seems very delicate or weak:  --Harry treats his wife like a piece of Dresden china.//


Words: dress
Meaning:
n \n  1 [C] a piece of clothing worn by a woman or girl that covers the top of her body and part or all of her legs:    skirt//  --Sheila wore a long red dress.//  --a summer dress//\n  2 [U] clothes for men or women of a particular type or for a particular occasion:  --a gentleman in evening dress  (=formal clothes worn especially at important social events) //  --The play was performed in modern dress  (=clothes from the present time) .//  dress code (=a standard of what you should wear for a particular situation) //  --This restaurant has a strict dress code - no tie, no service.//\ndress 2 v   ----------//\n   1 put on clothes:\n   2 wear clothes:\n   3 make/choose clothes:\n   4 wound/cut etc:\n   5 meat/fish:\n   6 salad:\n   7 window:\n   8 soldiers:\n   9 hair:\n  10 wood/stone etc:  Phrasal verbs//   dress down//   dress up//  ----------//  [Date: 1300-1400; Language: Old French; Origin: dresser  ’to arrange’, from  Latin directus  ’straight’;   DIRECT1]//\n  1 PUT ON CLOTHES:   [I and T] to put clothes on yourself or someone else//  --Aunt Margaret told her to dress herself in her nicest dress.//  --I dress the kids before I go to work.//  --I’ve got to go home to dress.//  --I dressed quickly.//  dress sb in sth//  --She dressed Louis in his best blue jersey.//\n  2 WEAR CLOTHES:   [I] to wear a particular kind of clothes//  --Dress warmly if you’re going out for a walk.//  dress casually/smartly //  --I spend most of my time in the house with young children, so I dress casually.//  dress for//  --How do you normally dress for work?//  --We usually dress for dinner  (=wear formal clothes for our evening meal) .//\n  3 MAKE/CHOOSE CLOTHES:   [T] to make or choose clothes for someone//  --Versace dressed some of the most famous people in Hollywood.//\n  4 WOUND/CUT ETC:   [T] to clean, treat, and cover a wound//\n  5 MEAT/FISH:   [T] to clean and prepare meat or fish so that it is ready to cook or eat//  --dressed crab//\n  6 SALAD:   [T] to put oil, vinegar, salt etc onto a salad//\n  7 WINDOW:   [T] to put an attractive arrangement in a shop window//    window dresser//\n  8 SOLDIERS:   [I and T]  technical to stand in a straight line, or to make soldiers do this//\n  9 HAIR:   [T]  formal to arrange someone’s hair into a special style//\n  10 WOOD/STONE ETC:   [T]  technical to prepare or put a special surface onto wood, stone, leather etc//  dress down phr v//\n  1 to wear clothes that are more informal than the ones you would usually wear:  --In many offices, people dress down on Fridays.//\n  2  dress sb → down:  to speak angrily to someone about something they have done wrong//    dressing-down//  dress up phr v//\n  1 to wear special clothes for fun, or to put special clothes on someone:  dress up as//  --He went to the party dressed up as a Chicago gangster.//  dress up in//  --I keep a box of old clothes for the children to dress up in.//  dress sb → up//  --We dressed him up as a gorilla.//\n  2 to wear clothes that are more formal than the ones you would usually wear:  --It’s a small informal party - you don’t have to dress up.//\n  3  dress sth → up:  to make something more interesting or attractive//  --It was the old offer dressed up as something new.//  ----------//  HINT sense 1 //  In spoken English, it is more usual to say get dressed . //  ----------//


Words: dress circle
Meaning:
n [C]  BrE   the lowest of the curved rows of seats upstairs in a theatre//  American Equivalent:  first balcony//


Words: dress rehearsal
Meaning:
n [C]   the final practice of a play, opera etc, using all the clothes, objects etc that will be used for the actual performance//


Words: dress shirt
Meaning:
n [C]   a formal shirt, sometimes with a special decoration at the front, that a man wears under a dinner jacket//


Words: dress uniform
Meaning:
n [U and C]   a uniform that officers in the army, navy etc wear for formal occasions or ceremonies//


Words: dressage
Meaning:
n [U]   [Date: 1900-2000; Language: French; Origin: dresser  ’to train’]//  a competition in which a horse performs a complicated series of movements in answer to signals from its rider//


Words: dressed
Meaning:
adj \n  1  get dressed:  to put your clothes on//  --Go and get dressed!//\n  2 having your clothes on or wearing a particular type of clothes:  --Aren’t you dressed yet?//  half/fully dressed //  --She lay down fully dressed on the bed.//  smartly/well-/elegantly etc dressed //  --a very well-dressed young man//  dressed in//  --She was dressed in a two-piece suit.//  dressed as//  --The children came dressed as animals.//\n  3  dressed to kill:   informal wearing very attractive clothes so that everyone notices and admires you//\n  4  dressed (up) to the nines:   informal wearing your best or most formal clothes//


Words: dresser
Meaning:
n [C] \n  1  BrE a large piece of furniture with open shelves for storing plates, dishes etc:   Welsh dresser//\n  2  AmE a piece of furniture with drawers for storing clothes, sometimes with a mirror on top:  British Equivalent:  chest of drawers//\n  3  a fashionable/stylish/sloppy etc dresser:  someone who dresses in a fashionable etc way//  --Stanley was an impeccable dresser.//\n  4 someone who takes care of someone’s clothes, especially an actor’s in the theatre, and helps them to dress:


Words: dressing
Meaning:
n \n  1 [U and C] a mixture of liquids, usually oil and vinegar, that you put on salad or raw vegetables:  --a vinaigrette dressing//    French dressing,  salad dressing//\n  2 [U and C]  AmE  stuffing(1):\n  3 [C] a special piece of material used to cover and protect a wound:  --The nurse came to change his dressing.//    cross-dressing,  power dressing,  window dressing//


Words: dressing gown
Meaning:
n [C]  BrE  AmE  formal   a piece of clothing like a long loose coat that you wear inside the house, usually over night clothes//   bathrobe, robe//


Words: dressing room
Meaning:
n [C] \n  1 a room where an actor or performer can get ready before going on stage, appearing on television etc:\n  2  AmE a room or area in a store where you can try on clothes:  British Equivalent:  changing room//\n  3 a small room next to a bedroom in some houses where you can get dressed:


Words: dressing table
Meaning:
n [C]   a piece of furniture like a table with a mirror on top, sometimes with drawers, that you use when you are doing your hair, putting on make-up etc//


Words: dressing-down
Meaning:
n [singular]   an occasion when you talk angrily to someone because they have done something wrong//  give sb/get a dressing-down //  --The tobacco companies got a severe dressing-down.//


Words: dressing-up
Meaning:
BrE dress-up  AmE n [U]   a children’s game in which they put on special clothes and pretend that they are someone else//


Words: dressmaker
Meaning:
n [C]   someone who makes their own clothes, or makes clothes for other people as a job//  -- dressmaking n  [U] //


Words: dressy
Meaning:
adj \n  1 dressy clothes are suitable for formal occasions:  --Her outfit was smart but not too dressy.//\n  2 someone who is dressy likes to wear very fashionable or formal clothes:


Words: Drew
Meaning:
Nancy   the main character in US books for children. Nancy Drew is a brave young woman who is a  detective (=someone whose job is to discover information about crimes and catch criminals) .//


Words: Dreyfus
Meaning:
Alfred   (1859-1935) a French army officer who was put in prison in 1894 for selling military secrets to the Germans. He was not guilty, and many French writers and politicians protested about him being in prison, especially the writer Emile  Zola, who wrote a famous newspaper article with the title "J’accuse!" (=I accuse). But the army and many newspapers persuaded the government to keep him in prison because they had an unreasonable dislike of him because he was Jewish. He was eventually let out of prison and officially judged to be not guilty. These events were called the Dreyfus Affair.//


Words: dribble
Meaning:
v   [Date: 1500-1600; Origin: drib  ’to fall in small drops’ (16-18 centuries), from   DRIP1]//\n  1 [I and T] to let liquid come out of your mouth onto your face:  --Watch out, the baby is dribbling on your shirt!//  --He was dribbling tea onto his tie.//\n  2 [I always + adverb/preposition] if a liquid dribbles somewhere, it flows in a thin irregular stream:  --Blood from the wound dribbled down the side of his face.//\n  3 [I and T] to move the ball along with you by short kicks, bounces, or hits in a game of football, basketball etc:  --He was trying to dribble the ball past his opponents.//\n  4 [I always + adverb/preposition] if something such as money or news dribbles somewhere, it comes or goes in small irregular amounts:  --Money is finally dribbling back into the country now.//\n  5 [T always + adverb/preposition] to pour something out slowly in an irregular way:  --Dribble a few drops of olive oil over the pizza.//\ndribble 2 n \n  1 [U] a small amount of liquid that has come out of your mouth:  --He wiped the dribble from his chin.//\n  2  a dribble of sth:  a small amount of liquid//  --There was a dribble of brandy in the bottom of the bottle.//\n  3 [C] the act of moving the ball along with you by short kicks, bounces or hits in a game of football, basketball etc:


Words: dribs and drabs
Meaning:
n   [Date: 1800-1900; Origin:  Drib probably from  drib  ’to fall in small drops’;   DRIBBLE1. Drabs probably from  dribs]//  in dribs and drabs//  in small irregular amounts or numbers over a period of time//  --The guests arrived in dribs and drabs.//


Words: drift
Meaning:
v [I]   ----------//\n   1 move slowly:\n   2 without plan:\n   3 change:\n   4 money/prices:\n   5 snow/sand:\n   6 let something drift:  Phrasal verbs//   drift apart//   drift off//  ----------//\n  1 MOVE SLOWLY:  to move slowly on water or in the air//  drift out/towards etc//  --The rubber raft drifted out to sea.//  --Smoke drifted up from the jungle ahead of us.//\n  2 WITHOUT PLAN:  to move, change, or do something without any plan or purpose//  drift around/along etc//  --Jenni spent the year drifting around Europe.//  drift into//  --I just drifted into teaching, really.//  drift away//  --The others drifted away. Melanie stayed.//  drift from sth to sth//  --The conversation drifted from one topic to another.//  let your gaze/eyes/thoughts/mind etc drift //  --Idly she let her eyes drift over his desk.//\n  3 CHANGE:  to gradually change from being in one condition, situation etc into another without realizing it//  drift into//  --She was just drifting into sleep when the alarm went off.//  --He drifted in and out of consciousness .//\n  4 MONEY/PRICES:  if values, prices, shares etc drift, they gradually change//  --The dollar drifted lower against the yen today.//\n  5 SNOW/SAND:  if snow, sand etc drifts, the wind blows it into large piles//\n  6  let sth drift:  to allow something, especially something bad, to continue in the same way//  --He couldn’t let the matter drift for much longer.//  drift apart phr v//  if people drift apart, their relationship gradually ends//  --Over the years my college friends and I have drifted apart.//  drift off phr v//  to gradually fall asleep//  --I was just drifting off when the phone rang.//  --He felt himself drifting off to sleep .//\ndrift 2 n   ----------//\n   1 snow/sand:\n   2 change:\n   3 movement of people:\n   4 the drift (of something):\n   5 ships/planes:\n   6 slow movement:  ----------//  [Date: 1300-1400; Origin:  Probably from  Old Norse drift  ’pile of wind-blown snow’; related to  drive]//\n  1 SNOW/SAND:   [C] a large pile of snow or sand that has been blown by the wind//  drift of//  --The road is blocked with massive drifts of snow.//  --a snow drift//\n  2 CHANGE:   [singular] a slow change or development from one situation, opinion etc to another//  drift towards/to//  --a drift towards longer working hours//\n  3 MOVEMENT OF PEOPLE:   [singular, U] a slow movement of large numbers of people that has not been planned//  drift from/to/into//  --the drift from the countryside to the cities//\n  4  the drift (of sth):  the general meaning of what someone is saying//  --So what’s the drift of the argument?//  follow/get/catch sb’s drift (=understand the general meaning of what someone is saying) //  --She didn’t quite get my drift, did she?//\n  5 SHIPS/PLANES:   [U] the movement of a ship or plane from its original direction because of the movement of the wind or water//\n  6 SLOW MOVEMENT:   [U] very slow movement, especially over water or through the air//


Words: drifter
Meaning:
n [C] \n  1 someone who is always moving from one job or place to another with no real purpose:\n  2 a fishing boat that uses a floating net:


Words: drill
Meaning:
n   cordless//\n  1 [C] a tool or machine used for making holes in something:  --an electric drill//  --a whine like a dentist’s drill//    pneumatic drill//\n  2 [C] a method of teaching students, sports players etc something by making them repeat the same lesson, exercise etc many times:  --a pronunciation drill//\n  3  fire/emergency drill:  an occasion when people practise what they should do in a dangerous situation such as a fire//\n  4 [U] military training in which soldiers practise marching, using weapons etc:  --rifle drill//\n  5  the drill:   BrE  old-fashioned the usual way that something is done//  --’You know the drill?’ ’Not really. Tell me again what to do.’//\n  6 [U] a type of strong cotton cloth:\n  7 [C] :  a) a machine for planting seeds in rows//  b) a row of seeds planted by a machine//\ndrill 2 v   [Date: 1500-1600; Language: Dutch; Origin: drillen]//\n  1 [I and T] to make a hole in something using a drill:  --Drill a hole in each corner.//  drill into/through//  --He accidentally drilled into a water pipe.//  drill for oil/water/gas etc //  --BP has been licensed to drill for oil in the area.//\n  2 [T] to teach students, sports players etc by making them repeat the same lesson, exercise etc many times:  drill sb in sth//  --She was drilling the class in the forms of the past tense.//  drill sb to do sth//  --I acted instinctively because I had been trained and drilled to do just that.//  --The team were well-drilled and organized.//\n  3 [T] to train soldiers to march or perform other military actions:  --The sergeant was drilling the new recruits.//\n  4 [T] to plant seeds in rows using a machine:  drill into [drill sth into sb] phr v//  to keep telling someone something until they know it very well//  --Mother had drilled it into me not to talk to strangers.//


Words: drink
Meaning:
v   past tense  drank /dr[zB024][hA26E]k/past participle  drunk /dr[hA356][hA26E]k///  [Language: Old English; Origin: drincan]//\n  1 [I and T] to take liquid into your mouth and swallow it:  --You should drink plenty of water.//  --What would you like to drink?//  --Take a seat while I get you something to drink .//  --She filled the glass and drank.//\n  2 [I] to drink alcohol, especially regularly or too much:  --He’s been drinking heavily since his wife died.//  --I don’t drink.//  --Don’t drink and drive .//  --My flatmate Cherry drinks like a fish  (=regularly drinks a lot of alcohol) .//\n  3  drink yourself silly/into a stupor/to death etc:  to drink so much alcohol that you become very drunk or unconscious, or die//  --If he goes on this way he’ll drink himself to death.//\n  4  drink sb under the table:  to drink more alcohol than someone but not feel as ill as them//  --He could drink nearly anyone under the table.//\n  5  What are you drinking?:   spoken used to offer to buy someone a drink, especially in a pub//\n  6  drink sb’s health:   BrE to wish someone good health before having an alcoholic drink//  drink in [drink sth in →] phr v//  to look at, listen to, feel, or smell something in order to enjoy it//  --For a moment she just sat there, drinking in the atmosphere.//  drink to [drink to sth] phr v//\n  1 to wish someone success, good luck, good health etc before having an alcoholic drink:  --Let’s drink to your success in your new job.//\n  2  I’ll drink to that!:   spoken used to agree with what someone has said//  drink up phr v//  to drink all of something//  drink sth → up//  --Drink up your milk.//\ndrink 2 n \n  1 [C] an amount of liquid that you drink, or the act of drinking something:  drink of//  -- Have a drink of water.//  --Do you want a drink of my tea?//  --He took a drink of his coffee.//\n  2 [U and C] liquid that you can drink:  --They sell soft drinks  (=non-alcoholic drinks) .//  -- food and drink companies//\n  3 [U and C] an alcoholic drink:  -- Have another drink .//  --After that news I need a stiff drink  (=strong alcohol) !//  go for a drink  BrE  (=go to a pub) //  --Let’s go for a drink.//\n  4 [U] the habit of drinking too much alcohol, in a way that is very bad for your health:  --The marriage ended because of her husband’s drink problem  (=he drank too much alcohol) .//  --They had driven him to drink  (=made him start drinking too much alcohol regularly) .//  --After her retirement from the stage she took to drink  (=started drinking too much alcohol) .//\n  5  drinks [plural]  BrE a social occasion when you have alcoholic drinks and sometimes food:  for drinks//  --Don’t forget we’re invited to the Jones’ for drinks on Sunday.//\n  6  the drink:   old-fashioned the sea, a lake, or another large area of water//


Words: drink-driving
Meaning:
n [U]    BrE driving a car after having drunk too much alcohol//  American Equivalent:  drunk-driving//  -- drink-driver n  [C] //


Words: drinkable
Meaning:
adj \n  1 water that is drinkable is safe to drink:\n  2 wine, beer etc that is drinkable is of good quality and tastes pleasant:


Words: drinker
Meaning:
n [C] \n  1 someone who regularly drinks alcohol:  --Dave has always been a bit of a drinker.//  --He was a heavy drinker  (=he drank a lot) .//\n  2  coffee/wine/champagne etc drinker:  someone who regularly drinks coffee, wine etc//


Words: drinking
Meaning:
n [U]   the activity of drinking alcohol//  --after a night of heavy drinking  (=drinking a lot of alcohol) //  drinking companion/buddy/partner etc //


Words: drinking fountain
Meaning:
n [C]   a piece of equipment in a public place that produces a stream of water for you to drink from//


Words: drinking-up time
Meaning:
n [U]    BrE the time when people are allowed to finish their drinks in a pub, but cannot buy any more drinks//


Words: drinks party
Meaning:
n [C]    BrE a party at which alcoholic drinks are served and where you mainly talk to people//   cocktail party//


Words: drip
Meaning:
v   past tense and past participle  dripped present participle  dripping //  [Language: Old English; Origin: dryppan; related to  drop]//\n  1 [I and T] to let liquid fall in drops:  --The tap’s dripping .//  --Her boots were muddy and her hair was dripping .//  drip blood/water/sweat etc //  --John came in, his arm dripping blood.//  be dripping with blood/sweat etc //  --The hand that held the gun was dripping with sweat.//\n  2 [I] to fall in drops:  drip down/from etc//  --The rain dripped down his neck.//  -- Water was dripping through the ceiling.//\n  3  be dripping with sth:  to contain or be covered in a lot of something//  be dripping with jewels/gems/pearls etc //  --All the princes were dripping with gems.//  --His tone was now dripping with sarcasm .//\ndrip 2 n \n  1 [C] one of the drops of liquid that fall from something:  --I put some plastic buckets on the floor to catch the drips.//\n  2 [singular, U] the sound or action of a liquid falling in drops:  --The silence was broken only by a regular drip, drip, drip.//\n  3 [C] a piece of equipment used in hospitals for putting liquids directly into your blood:   IV//  be/put sb on a drip //  --At the hospital they put me on a drip.//\n  4 [C]  informal someone who is boring and weak:


Words: dripping
Meaning:
n [U]    BrE the oily substance that comes out of meat when you cook it//\ndripping 2 adj   extremely wet//  --Take off that jacket - you’re dripping wet .//


Words: drive
Meaning:
v   past tense  drove /dr[hA353][hA35E]v $ dro[hA35E]v/past participle  driven /dr[hA366]v[hA368]n///  ----------//\n   1 vehicle:\n   2 make somebody move:\n   3 make somebody do something:\n   4 make somebody/something be in a bad state:\n   5 hit/push something into something:\n   6 make somebody work:\n   7 sports:\n   8 provide power:\n   9 rain/wind etc:\n  10 drive a coach and horses through something:\n  11 make a hole:\n  12 drive something home:\n  13 drive a wedge between somebody:  Phrasal verbs//   drive at something//   drive somebody → away//   drive something → down//   drive somebody/something → in//   drive off//   drive somebody/something → out//   drive something → up//  ----------//  [Language: Old English; Origin: drifan]//\n  1 VEHICLE:  a)  [I and T] to make a car, truck, bus etc move along//  drive to/down/off etc//  --I am planning to drive to Morocco next year.//  --the man driving the car//  --Can you drive?//  --So when did you learn to drive ?//  --Bye! Drive carefully!//  --He drives 12 miles to work.//  --He drives (=has) a BMW estate.//  b)  [I always + adverb/preposition] if a car, truck etc drives somewhere, it moves there//  --After the accident, the other car just drove off.//  c)  [I] if people drive somewhere, they travel somewhere in a car//  --Shall we drive or take the bus?//  drive to/down/off etc//  --They drove back to Woodside.//  d)  [T always + adverb/preposition] to take someone somewhere in a car, truck etc//  --She drove Anna to London.//  --I’ll drive you home .//  drive yourself//  --I drove myself to hospital.//\n  2 MAKE SOMEBODY MOVE:   [T] to force a person or animal to go somewhere//  --Torrential rain drove the players off the course.//  --With a few loud whistles, they drove the donkeys out of the enclosure.//\n  3 MAKE SOMEBODY DO SOMETHING:   [T] to strongly influence someone to do something//  drive sb to do sth//  --The detective wondered what had driven Christine to phone her.//  drive sb to/into sth//  --The noises in my head have nearly driven me to suicide.//  --Phil, driven by jealousy, started spying on his wife.//\n  4 MAKE SOMEBODY/SOMETHING BE IN A BAD STATE:   [T] to make someone or something get into a bad or extreme state, usually an emotional one//  drive sb crazy/nuts/mad/insane (=make someone feel very annoyed) //  --This cough is driving me mad!//  drive sb crazy/wild (=make someone feel very sexually excited) //  drive sb up the wall/out of their mind (=make someone feel very annoyed) //  drive sb to distraction/desperation //  --The mosquitoes drive me to distraction.//  drive sb/sth into sth//  --The factory had been driven into bankruptcy.//\n  5 HIT/PUSH SOMETHING INTO SOMETHING:   [T] to hit or push something into something else//  drive sth into sth//  --We watched Dad drive the posts into the ground.//  --She drove her heels into the sand.//\n  6 MAKE SOMEBODY WORK:   [T] to make a person or animal work hard//  drive yourself//  --Don’t drive yourself too hard.//\n  7 SPORTS:   [I and T] //  a) to move a ball etc forward in a game of baseball, football, golf etc by hitting or kicking it hard and fast//  --He drove the ball into the corner of the net.//  b) to run with the ball towards the goal in sports such as basketball and American football//\n  8 PROVIDE POWER:   [T] to provide the power for a vehicle or machine//  petrol-driven/electrically-driven/battery-driven etc //  --a petrol-driven lawn mower//\n  9 RAIN/WIND ETC:   [I always + adverb/preposition] if rain, snow, wind etc drives somewhere, it moves very quickly in that direction//  --The rain was driving down hard.//\n  10  drive a coach and horses through sth:  to destroy an argument, plan etc completely//  --The new bill will drive a coach and horses through recent trade agreements.//\n  11 MAKE A HOLE:   [T always + adverb/preposition] to make a large hole in something using heavy equipment or machinery//  --They’re planning to drive a tunnel through the mountains.//\n  12  drive sth home:  to make something completely clear to someone//  --He didn’t have to drive the point home . The videotape had done that.//\n  13  drive a wedge between sb:  to do something that makes people disagree or start to dislike each other//  --I don’t want to drive a wedge between you and your father.//    drive/strike a hard bargain at hard1 (18)//  drive at [drive at sth] phr v//   what sb is driving at//  the thing someone is really trying to say//   get at//  --I still couldn’t understand what Toby was driving at.//  drive away [drive sb → away] phr v//  to behave in a way that makes someone leave//  --He was cruel because he wanted to drive me away.//  drive down [drive sth → down] phr v//  to make prices, costs etc fall quickly//  --We have to drive down costs.//  drive in [drive sb/sth → in] phr v//  to hit the ball so that another player can score a run in baseball//  drive off phr v//\n  1 to hit the ball to begin a game of golf:\n  2  drive sb → off:  to force a person or animal to go away from you//  --We keep dogs in the yard to drive off intruders.//  drive out [drive sb/sth → out] phr v//\n  1 to force someone or something to leave:  --Downtown stores are being driven out by crime.//\n  2  written to make something stop existing:  --As we went forward, our fear was driven out by horror.//  drive up [drive sth → up] phr v//  to make prices, costs etc rise quickly//  --The oil shortage drove gas prices up by 20 cents a gallon.//\ndrive 2 n   ----------//\n   1 in a car:\n   2 natural need:\n   3 outside your house:\n   4 effort:\n   5 determination:\n   6 power:\n   7 computer:\n   8 sport:\n   9 military attack:\n  10 animals:\n  11 Drive:  ----------//\n  1 IN A CAR:   [C] a journey in a car//  drive to/along etc//  --Let’s go for a drive along the coast.//  --Taylor took me for a drive through the town.//  an hour’s/a two hour etc drive //  --It’s a two hour drive from Calais to Thiepval.//\n  2 NATURAL NEED:   [C] a strong natural need or desire//  --The treatment will not affect your sex drive .//\n  3 OUTSIDE YOUR HOUSE:   [C] the hard area or road between your house and the street//   driveway//  in/on the drive//  --He parked his car in the drive.//\n  4 EFFORT:   [C] an effort to achieve something, especially an effort by an organization for a particular purpose//  --a recruitment drive for new members//  --an economy drive  (=effort to reduce spending) //  drive to do sth//  --a nationwide drive to crack down on crime//\n  5 DETERMINATION:   [U] determination and energy to succeed//  --Brian has got tremendous drive .//\n  6 POWER:   [U] the power from an engine that makes the wheels of a vehicle go round//  front-wheel/rear-wheel/four-wheel drive //\n  7 COMPUTER:   [C] a piece of equipment in a computer that is used to get information from a disk or to store information on it//  hard/floppy/A etc drive //    disk drive//\n  8 SPORT:   [C] an act of hitting a ball hard, especially in tennis, baseball, or golf//  --He hit a long, high drive to right field.//\n  9 MILITARY ATTACK:   [C] several military attacks//  drive into//  --a drive deep into enemy territory//\n  10 ANIMALS:   [C] when animals such as cows or sheep are brought together and made to move in a particular direction//\n  11  Drive:  used in the names of roads//  --They live at 141 Park Drive.//


Words: drive-by
Meaning:
adj   drive-by shooting/killing//  an occasion when someone is shot by someone in a moving car//  -- drive-by n  [C] //


Words: drive-in
Meaning:
n [C] \n  1 a restaurant where you are served and eat in your car:\n  2 a place where you can watch films outdoors while sitting in your car:


Words: drive-through
Meaning:
also  drive-thru n [C]   a restaurant, bank etc where you can be served without getting out of your car//


Words: drivel
Meaning:
n [U]   [Language: Old English; Origin: dreflian  ’to let liquid flow from the mouth’]//  something that is said or written that is silly or does not mean anything//  --Don’t talk such drivel!//  -- drivel v  [I] //


Words: driven
Meaning:
the past participle of drive//\ndriven 2 adj   trying extremely hard to achieve what you want//  --He claims he is not a driven workaholic.//    as pure as the driven snow at pure(11)//


Words: driver
Meaning:
n [C] \n  1 someone who drives a car, bus etc:    chauffeur//  --a taxi driver//  --Do you think you’re a good driver?//\n  2  technical a piece of software that makes a computer work with another piece of equipment such as a printer or a mouse:\n  3 a golf club with a wooden head:    back seat driver at back seat(2),  Sunday driver at Sunday(3)//


Words: driver’s education
Meaning:
also driver’s ed  n [U]  AmE   a course, usually taken in high school, that teaches you how to drive a car//


Words: driver’s license
Meaning:
n [C]  AmE   an official document or card that says that you are legally allowed to drive//  British Equivalent:  driving licence//


Words: drivetime
Meaning:
drive time/dra[hA366]vta[hA366]m/ n [U]   the time during the morning or afternoon when many people are driving to or from work//    rush hour//  --a morning drivetime radio show//


Words: driving
Meaning:
n [U]   the activity of driving a car, truck etc//  --driving lessons//  --He was charged with causing death by dangerous driving .//  --hazardous driving conditions  (=weather that makes driving dangerous) //    in the driving seat at seat1 (11)//\ndriving 2 adj \n  1  driving rain/snow:  rain or snow that falls very hard and fast//\n  2  driving force:  someone or something that strongly influences people and makes them do something//  driving force behind//  --Hawks was the driving force behind the project.//\n  3  driving ambition:  a very great desire to do or achieve something//


Words: driving licence
Meaning:
n [C]    BrE an official document or card that says that you are legally allowed to drive//  American Equivalent:  driver’s license//


Words: driving test
Meaning:
n [C]   the official test that you must pass in order to be legally allowed to drive on public roads//


Words: drizzle
Meaning:
v   [Date: 1500-1600; Origin:  Perhaps from  Old English dreosan  ’to fall’]//\n  1  it is drizzling:  if it is drizzling, light rain and mist come out of the sky//  --The rain isn’t too bad - it’s only drizzling.//\n  2 [T always + adverb/preposition] to let a liquid fall on food in a small stream or in small drops:  --Drizzle the soy sauce over the chicken.//\ndrizzle 2 n [singular, U]   weather that is a combination of light rain and mist//  --A light drizzle had started by the time we left.//  -- drizzly/dr[hA366]zli/ adj //


Words: dromedary
Meaning:
n   plural  dromedaries //  [Date: 1200-1300; Language: Old French; Origin: dromedaire, from  Greek dromas  ’running’]//  [C] a camel with one hump on its back//


Words: drone
Meaning:
v [I]   to make a continuous low dull sound//  --An airplane droned overhead.//  drone on phr v//  to speak in a boring way, usually for a long time//  drone on about//  --Tom was droning on and on about work.//\ndrone 2 n   [Language: Old English; Origin: dran  ’male bee’]//\n  1 [singular] a continuous low dull sound:  drone of//  --the steady drone of traffic//\n  2 [C] a male bee that does no work:\n  3 [C] someone who has a good life but does not work to earn it or give anything back to society:\n  4 [C]  technical  old-fashioned an aircraft that does not have a pilot, but is operated by radio:


Words: drool
Meaning:
v   [Date: 1800-1900; Origin:  Perhaps from  drivel]//\n  1 [I and T]  BrE to let saliva (=the liquid in your mouth)  come out of your mouth:    slobber//  --The dog was drooling at the mouth.//\n  2 [I] to show in a silly way that you like someone or something a lot:  drool over//  --He was drooling over a Porsche.//


Words: droop
Meaning:
v   [Date: 1200-1300; Language: Old Norse; Origin: dr[hA17B]pa]//\n  1 [I and T] to hang or bend down, or to make something do this:  --The plant needs some water - it’s starting to droop.//  --His eyelids began to droop (=close, because he was sleepy) .//  --Jessie drooped her head.//\n  2 [I] to become sad or weak:  --Our spirits drooped as we faced the long trip home.//  -- droop n  [singular] //  -- droopy adj //  --a droopy moustache//


Words: drop
Meaning:
v   past tense and past participle  dropped present participle  dropping //  ----------//\n   1 let something fall:\n   2 fall:\n   3 move your body down:\n   4 become less:\n   5 reduce:\n   6 not include:\n   7 stop doing something:\n   8 stop talking about something:\n   9 take somebody somewhere:\n  10 take something somewhere:\n  11 visit:\n  12 slope downwards:\n  13 end a relationship:\n  14 until/till you drop:\n  15 drop a hint:\n  16 drop somebody a line/note:\n  17 drop dead:\n  18 somebody’s jaw dropped:\n  19 drop your eyes/gaze:\n  20 the wind drops:\n  21 drop a bombshell:\n  22 drop somebody in it:\n  23 drop $50/[hA124]2000 etc:\n  24 drop a catch:\n  25 drop a point:\n  26 be dropping like flies:\n  27 drop a clanger/brick:\n  28 drop a stitch:\n  29 drop anchor:\n  30 drop acid:  Phrasal verbs//   drop back//   drop off//   drop out//  ----------//  [Language: Old English; Origin: droppian]//\n  1 LET SOMETHING FALL:   [T] //  a) to stop holding or carrying something so that it falls//  --He dropped his briefcase on a chair.//  --She screamed and dropped the torch.//  b) to make something such as a bomb fall from a plane//  --U.S. planes began dropping bombs on the city.//  --Supplies are being dropped for the refugees.//\n  2 FALL:   [I] to fall suddenly onto the ground or into something//  drop from/off//  --The apples are beginning to drop from the trees.//  --Your button has dropped off.//\n  3 MOVE YOUR BODY DOWN:   [I always + adverb/preposition, T] to lower yourself or part of your body suddenly//  drop down/onto/into//  --He dropped down onto the floor and hid under the table.//  --She dropped her head back against the cushion.//\n  4 BECOME LESS:   [I] to fall to a lower level or amount, especially a much lower level or amount//  drop suddenly/sharply/dramatically //  --The number of deaths on the roads has dropped sharply.//  --Temperatures drop quite dramatically at night, so bring some warm clothing.//  drop to//  --Their share of the market dropped to 50 percent this year.//\n  5 REDUCE:   [T] to reduce the level or amount of something//  --You might be able to get them to drop the price .//  --As soon as she saw the police car she dropped her speed .//\n  6 NOT INCLUDE:   [T] to decide not to include someone or something//  --His name was dropped from the list.//  drop sb from a team/side //  --Taylor was bitterly disappointed to be dropped from the England side.//\n  7 STOP DOING SOMETHING:   [T] to stop doing something, discussing something, or continuing with something//  --The proposal was dropped after opposition from civil liberties groups.//  drop charges/drop a case //  --New evidence was presented to the court and the case was dropped.//  drop a subject at school/university (=stop studying it) //  --Students are allowed to drop history in Year 9.//  --You can’t expect me to drop everything  (=completely stop doing whatever I am doing) whenever you’re in town.//  --Oh, drop the ’Senator’ (=stop calling me ’Senator’) - just call me Gordon.//  --Some time later, the matter was quietly dropped.//\n  8 STOP TALKING ABOUT SOMETHING:   [I and T] to stop talking about something//  drop the subject //  --To her relief, Julius dropped the subject .//  drop it (=stop talking about a subject) //  --Just drop it, will you ? I don’t want to talk about it any more.//  --’What about the money?’ ’We’ve agreed to let it drop  (=we have agreed not to talk about it any more) .’//\n  9 TAKE SOMEBODY SOMEWHERE:   also drop off //   [T] to take someone by car to a place and leave them there, especially on your way to another place//  --Just drop me here - I can walk the rest of the way.//  drop sb at sth//  --She dropped Johnny at the school gates at about 8:30.//\n  10 TAKE SOMETHING SOMEWHERE:   [T] to take something to a place and leave it there//  drop sth round/in//  --I’ve got your books - I’ll drop them round to your place later.//\n  11 VISIT:   [I always + adverb/preposition] to visit someone you know, usually without arranging a particular time//  drop by/round//  --I just dropped by to see how you were getting on.//  --The kids drop round and see her from time to time.//  drop into//  --Jan dropped into the office this morning to tell me her news.//  drop in (on sb)//  --Why don’t you drop in for a drink one evening?//\n  12 SLOPE DOWNWARDS:   [I always + adverb/preposition] if a path, land etc drops, it goes down suddenly, forming a steep slope//  drop down//  --The cliff dropped down over a hundred feet to the sea below.//  drop away//  --On the left the ground drops away, giving a view over the rooftops.//\n  13 END A RELATIONSHIP:   [T]  informal to suddenly stop having a relationship with someone, especially a romantic relationship//  --She dropped him as soon as she found out he had been seeing another woman.//\n  14  until/till you drop:  until you are too tired to continue doing something//  --We’re going to shop till we drop!//\n  15  drop a hint:  to suggest or ask for something in an indirect way, hoping that the person you are talking to will understand what you mean//  --He dropped some big hints about what he wanted for his birthday.//\n  16  drop sb a line/note:   informal to write a short letter to someone//  --Drop us a line to let us know how you’re getting on.//\n  17  drop dead:  a)  informal to die suddenly//  b)  spoken  informal an impolite expression which you say to someone when you are extremely angry with them//\n  18  sb’s jaw dropped:  used to say that someone was very surprised//\n  19  drop your eyes/gaze:  to stop looking at someone and look down, usually because you feel embarrassed or uncomfortable//  --Ben looked at me in horror for a moment and then dropped his gaze.//\n  20  the wind drops:  the wind stops//  --They waited for the wind to drop.//\n  21  drop a bombshell:   informal to suddenly tell someone a shocking piece of news//  --Finally she dropped the bombshell. She was pregnant and I was the father.//\n  22  drop sb in it:   informal to say or do something that gets someone else into trouble//  --You told her where we went on Friday night! You’ve really dropped me in it now!//\n  23  drop $50/[hA124]2000 etc [T]  informal to lose money in a business deal, a game etc:  --Phil dropped $200 playing poker yesterday.//\n  24  drop a catch:  to fail to catch a ball hit by a batsman in cricket//\n  25  drop a point:  to lose a point in a sports competition//  --Real Madrid dropped a point at home yesterday.//\n  26  be dropping like flies:   informal if people are dropping like flies, they are getting ill or dying in large numbers//\n  27  drop a clanger/brick:   BrE to say something embarrassing in a social situation//\n  28  drop a stitch:  to let the wool fall off the needle when you are knitting//\n  29  drop anchor:  to lower a boat’s anchor to the bottom of the sea, a lake etc so that the boat does not float away//\n  30  drop acid:   informal to swallow LSD (=an illegal drug) //  drop back phr v//  to move more slowly than other people so that they get ahead of you//  --He started out with the leaders but at the first fence he dropped back.//  --Ellen dropped behind to tie her shoelace.//  drop off phr v//\n  1 to begin to sleep:  --She kept dropping off at her desk.//  --I must have dropped off to sleep .//\n  2  drop sb/sth → off:  to take someone or something to a place by car and leave them there on your way to another place//  --I’ll drop you off on my way home.//\n  3 to fall to a lower level or amount:  --The number of graduates going into teaching has dropped off sharply.//  drop out phr v//\n  1 to no longer do an activity or belong to a group:  --The group gets smaller as members move away or drop out.//\n  2 to leave a school or university before your course has finished:    dropout//  drop out of//  --Bill dropped out of college after his first year.//\n  3 to refuse to take part in ordinary society because you do not agree with its principles:    dropout//  --In the 60s, Timothy Leary famously urged kids to ’Turn on, tune in and drop out.’//\ndrop 2 W3S2 n   ----------//\n   1 liquid:\n   2 small amount:\n   3 reduction:\n   4 distance to ground:\n   5 at the drop of a hat:\n   6 delivery:\n   7 lemon/fruit/chocolate etc drop:\n   8 a drop in the ocean:\n   9 eye/ear etc drops:  ----------//  [Language: Old English; Origin: dropa]//\n  1 LIQUID:   [C] a very small amount of liquid that falls in a round shape//  drop of//  --As the first drops of rain began to fall, Michael started to run.//  --A single drop of blood splashed onto the floor.//  --A drop of sweat ran down her forehead and into her eye.//    rain drop,  teardrop//\n  2 SMALL AMOUNT:   [usually singular]  informal //  a) a small amount of liquid that you drink, especially alcohol//  drop of//  --She likes to add a drop of brandy to her tea.//  --George hasn’t touched a drop  (=drunk any alcohol) for years.//  b) a small amount of something//  drop of//  --I haven’t got a drop of sympathy for him.//\n  3 REDUCTION:   [singular] a reduction in the amount, level, or number of something, especially a large or sudden one//   fall//  drop in//  --Manufacturers report a big drop in new orders.//  --a drop in temperature//  a sharp/dramatic/marked drop in sth //  --The results showed a sharp drop in profits.//\n  4 DISTANCE TO GROUND:   [singular] a distance from a higher point down to the ground or to a lower point//  --There was a steep drop on one side of the track.//  --a 20-metre drop//  --There was an almost sheer  (=vertical)  drop to the valley below.//\n  5  at the drop of a hat:  immediately and without pausing to think about what you are going to do//  --Some of these corporations threaten to sue at the drop of a hat.//\n  6 DELIVERY:   [C] an act of delivering something somewhere, for example by dropping it from a plane//   delivery//  --Air drops (=from a plane) of food aid were made to the region yesterday.//  --My first drop of the day is usually somewhere in north London.//    mail drop//\n  7  lemon/fruit/chocolate etc drop:  a sweet that tastes of lemon etc//\n  8  a drop in the ocean:   BrE a drop in the bucket //   AmE a very small amount of something compared to what is needed or wanted//  --5000 new schools are to be built, but this is just a drop in the ocean for such a vast country.//\n  9  eye/ear etc drops:  a type of medicine that you put in your eye, ear etc, one drop at a time//


Words: drop cloth
Meaning:
n [C]    AmE a large cloth for covering furniture or floors in order to protect them from dust or paint//  British Equivalent:  dustsheet//


Words: drop dead date
Meaning:
n [C usually singular]  AmE  informal   a date by which you must have completed something, because after this date it is no longer worth doing//    deadline//


Words: drop shot
Meaning:
n [C]   a shot in a game such as tennis in which the ball is hit softly and falls quickly to the ground//


Words: drop-down menu
Meaning:
n [C]   a list of choices which appears on a computer screen when you click on a place on the screen//


Words: drop-in
Meaning:
adj [only before noun]   a drop-in place is a place offering a service or support where you can go without having to make arrangements first//  --a drop-in advice centre//


Words: dropkick
Meaning:
n [C]   a kick in a game such as rugby football, made by dropping the ball and kicking it immediately//


Words: dropout
Meaning:
n [C] \n  1 someone who leaves school or college before they have finished:  --a highschool dropout//\n  2 someone who refuses to take part in ordinary society because they do not agree with its social practices, moral standards etc:


Words: dropper
Meaning:
n [C]   a short glass tube with a hollow rubber part at one end, that you use to measure liquid one drop at a time//


Words: dross
Meaning:
n [U]   [Language: Old English; Origin: dros]//\n  1 something that is of very low quality:  --Most of the poems were pretentious dross.//\n  2 waste or useless substances:  --gold with impurities or dross//


Words: drought
Meaning:
n [U and C]   [Language: Old English; Origin: drugath; related to  dry]//  a long period of dry weather when there is not enough water for plants and animals to live//


Words: drove
Meaning:
the past tense of drive//\ndrove 2 n [C]   [Language: Old English; Origin: draf, from  drifan  ’to drive’]//\n  1  droves [plural] crowds of people:  in droves//  --Tourists come in droves to see the White House.//\n  2 a group of animals that are being moved together:  drove of//  --a drove of cattle//


Words: drown
Meaning:
v   [Date: 1200-1300; Origin:  Probably from a  Scandinavian language]//\n  1 [I and T] to die from being under water for too long, or to kill someone in this way:  --Many people drowned when the boat overturned.//  --Jane was drowned in the river.//  drown yourself//  --Depressed, Peter tried to drown himself.//\n  2  also drown out :   [T] if a loud noise drowns out another sound, it prevents it from being heard//  --A train blew its whistle and drowned his voice.//  --The noise of the battle was drowned out by his aircraft’s engine.//\n  3 [T] to cover something, especially food, with more liquid than is necessary or nice:  drown sth in sth//  --The fish was drowned in a rich sauce.//\n  4 [I and T] to have a very strong feeling or a serious problem that is difficult to deal with:  drown in//  --Relief agencies are drowning in frustration.//  --The country is drowning in debt.//\n  5  drown your sorrows:  to drink a lot of alcohol in order to forget your problems//


Words: drowse
Meaning:
v [I]   [Date: 1500-1600; Origin: drowsy]//  to be in a light sleep or to feel as though you are almost asleep//  --I was drowsing in front of the television when you called.//


Words: drowsy
Meaning:
adj   [Date: 1400-1500; Origin:  Probably from  Old English drusian  ’to be lazily slow’]//\n  1 tired and almost asleep:   sleepy//  --The drug can make you drowsy.//\n  2 so peaceful that you feel relaxed and almost asleep:   sleepy//  --a drowsy summer afternoon//  -- drowsily adv //  -- drowsiness n  [U] //


Words: drubbing
Meaning:
n [C]   [Date: 1600-1700; Origin: drub  ’to hit’ (17-20 centuries), probably from  Arabic daraba]//  an occasion when one team easily beats another team in sport//  --Ireland gave England a drubbing at Twickenham.//


Words: drug
Meaning:
W1S2   n [C]   [Date: 1300-1400; Language: Old French; Origin: drogue]//\n  1 an illegal substance such as marijuana or cocaine, which some people take in order to feel happy, relaxed, or excited:  --A lot of young people start taking drugs at school.//  --One third of America’s thirteen-year-olds use drugs .//  --I don’t drink, and I don’t do drugs .//  --She always looks as though she’s on drugs .//  --All the band experimented with drugs , particularly LSD.//  --Parents should talk openly to their children about the dangers of drug abuse .//  --Jimi Hendrix died of a  drug overdose .//  --After being returned to the USA he was convicted on drug trafficking charges.//  --the war on drugs//\n  2 a medicine, or a substance for making medicines:  --a drug used in the treatment of cancer//  drug for//  --new drugs for AIDS-related conditions//  -- Drugs prescribed  (=ordered for people) by doctors can be extremely hazardous if used in the wrong way//  --The big drug companies make huge profits.//\n  3 a substance that people doing a sport sometimes take illegally to improve their performance:  --She was banned from the Olympics after failing a drug test  (=a test that shows if you have taken drugs) .//  performance-enhancing drugs //\n  4 [usually singular] a substance such as tobacco, coffee, or alcohol, that makes you want more and more of it:\n  5  be (like) a drug:  if an activity is like a drug, you enjoy it so much that you want to do it more and more//  --Athletics is like a drug, it keeps dragging you back for more.//    designer drug,  miracle drug at miracle(3)//  ----------//  COLLOCATES for sense 1 //  take/use drugs //  do drugs informal (=take drugs) //  be on drugs  (=take drugs regularly) //  experiment with drugs  (=try taking drugs) //  come off drugs  (=stop taking drugs permanently) //  high on drugs  (=experiencing the effects of a drug) //  hard drugs  (=strong drugs such asheroin ,cocaine etc) //  soft drugs  (=less strong drugs such asmarijuana ) //  recreational drugs  (=drugs people take for pleasure) //  drug abuse  //  drug overdose (=when someone takes too much of a drug and becomes unconscious or dies) //  drug trafficking/smuggling  (=bringing drugs into a country) //  ----------//\ndrug 2   past tense and past participle  drugged present participle  drugging  v [T] //\n  1 to give a person or animal a drug, especially in order to make them feel tired or go to sleep, or to make them perform well in a race:  --Johnson drugged and attacked four women.//  --There was no evidence that the horse had been drugged.//\n  2 to put drugs in someone’s food or drink in order to make them feel tired or go to sleep:   spike//  --The wine had been drugged.//\n  3  be drugged up to the eyeballs:   especially BrE to have taken a lot of illegal drugs, or to have been given a lot of medicine//  --She was in pain, despite being drugged up to the eyeballs.//  -- drugged adj //


Words: Drug Enforcement Administration
Meaning:
the   DEA a US government organization which makes sure that people and companies obey the laws about dangerous drugs. They try to catch people who bring dangerous drugs into the US and people who sell drugs within the US.//


Words: drug rehabilitation
Meaning:
also drug rehab  n [U]   the process of helping someone to live without illegal drugs after they have been addicted to them//


Words: drugget
Meaning:
n [U and C]   [Date: 1500-1600; Language: French; Origin: droguet, from  drogue  ’worthless material, drug’]//  rough heavy cloth used especially as a floor covering, or a piece of this cloth//


Words: druggist
Meaning:
n [C]    AmE  old-fashioned someone who is trained to prepare medicines, and works in a shop//   pharmacist//


Words: drugstore
Meaning:
n [C]    especially AmE a shop where you can buy medicines, beauty products etc//  American Equivalent:  pharmacyBritish Equivalent:  chemist’s//


Words: druid
Meaning:
n [C]   [Date: 1500-1600; Language: Latin; Origin: druides, from  Gaulish; related to  tree]//  a member of an ancient group of priests, in Britain, Ireland, and France, before the Christian religion//


Words: drum
Meaning:
n [C]   [Date: 1500-1600; Origin:  Probably from  Dutch trom]//\n  1 a musical instrument made of skin stretched over a circular frame, played by hitting it with your hand or a stick:  --a big bass drum//  --1000 people marched, beating drums and carrying flags.//  on drums//  --Trumpeter Red Rodney was playing with Kenny Clarke on drums (=playing the drums) .//  --Jones played the drums in an all-girl band.//\n  2 a large round container for storing liquids such as oil, chemicals etc:  --a 5 gallon oil drum//\n  3 something that looks like a drum, especially part of a machine:  --a brake drum//\n  4  bang/beat the drum for sb/sth:  to speak eagerly in support of someone or something//  --The company is banging the drum for their new software.//\n  5  the drum of sth:  a sound like the sound a drum makes//  --the steady drum of the rain on the window//    eardrum//\ndrum 2 v   past tense and past participle  drummed present participle  drumming //\n  1 [I] to play a drum:\n  2 [I and T] to make a sound similar to a drum by hitting a surface again and again:  --I could hear the rain drumming against the windows.//  --Lisa drummed her fingers impatiently on the table.//\n  3  drum sth home:  to use repeated arguments or messages in order to make sure that people understand something//  --An information booklet will be available and press advertisements will drum home the message.//  drum into [drum sth into sb] phr v//  to keep telling someone something until they cannot forget it//  --’Don’t talk to strangers’ is a message drummed into children from an early age.//  drum out of [drum sb out of sth] phr v//  to force someone to leave an organization, place, or job//  --He was drummed out of the army.//  drum up [drum sth → up] phr v//  to get support, interest, attention etc from people by making an effort//  --He travelled throughout Latin America drumming up support for the confederation.//  --The organization is using the event to drum up business  (=get more work and sales) .//


Words: drumming
Meaning:
n [U] \n  1 when you play a drum, or the sound of a drum being played:\n  2 the sound of something hitting a surface again and again:  --the drumming of the horses’ hooves//


Words: drumstick
Meaning:
n [C] \n  1 the lower part of the leg of a chicken or other bird, cooked as food:  2 a stick that you use to hit a drum//


Words: drunk
Meaning:
the past participle of drink//\ndrunk 2 adj \n  1 [not before noun] unable to control your behaviour, speech etc because you have drunk too much alcohol:  → sober//  --You’re drunk.//  --David would get drunk and I would have to take him home and put him to bed.//  drunk on//  --He was drunk on beer and whisky.//  blind drunk  BrE  (=very drunk) //  --All she wants to do is get blind drunk.//  drunk as a lord  also //  drunk as a skunk (=very drunk) //  --He turned up one morning, drunk as a lord.//\n  2  being drunk and disorderly:   law the crime of behaving in a violent noisy way in a public place when you are drunk//\n  3  drunk on/with sth:  so excited by a feeling that you behave in a strange way//  --drunk with happiness//    punch-drunk,  roaring drunk at roaring(5)//\ndrunk 3  also drunkard   n [C]   someone who is drunk or often gets drunk//    alcoholic//


Words: drunk driving
Meaning:
n [U]  AmE   driving a car after having drunk too much alcohol//  British Equivalent:  drink-driving//  -- drunk driver n  [C] //


Words: drunken
Meaning:
adj [only before noun] \n  1 drunk or showing that you are drunk:  --McBride was a drunken bully.//  --She was lying in a drunken stupor  (=nearly unconscious from being drunk) on the sidewalk.//\n  2  drunken party/orgy/brawl etc:  a party etc where people are drunk//  --Tom got into a drunken brawl (=fight) in a bar.//  -- drunkenly adv //  -- drunkenness n  [U] //


Words: Druze n also Druse
Meaning:
the  a religious group living mainly in parts of Lebanon, Syria, and Israel, whose beliefs include ideas from the Bible and the Koran//


Words: dry
Meaning:
adj   comparative  drier superlative  driest //  ----------//\n   1 not wet:\n   2 weather:\n   3 dry mouth/skin/lips/hair etc:\n   4 run/go dry:\n   5 humour:\n   6 boring:\n   7 dry cough:\n   8 dry wine/sherry etc:\n   9 without alcohol:\n  10 voice:\n  11 dry bread/toast:\n  12 thirsty:\n  13 not a dry eye in the house:  ----------//  [Language: Old English; Origin: dryge]//\n  1 NOT WET:  without water or liquid inside or on the surface//  → wet//  --I need to change into some  dry clothes .//  --Make sure that the surface is clean and dry before you start to paint.//  --You should store disks in a cool, dry place.//  shake/rub/wipe etc sth dry //  --Jean rubbed her hair dry.//  --The path is dry as a bone  (=very dry) .//    bone dry//\n  2 WEATHER:  having very little rain or moisture//  → wet//    arid//  --The weather was hot and dry.//  --Eastern areas should stay dry tomorrow.//  --the dry season //  --These plants do not grow well in dry conditions  (=when there is not much rain) .//  --a prolonged dry spell  (=period) //\n  3  dry mouth/skin/lips/hair etc:  without enough of the liquid or oil that is normally in your mouth, skin etc//    parched//  --His heart was pounding and his mouth was dry.//  --Mary has dry, sensitive skin.//  --a shampoo for dry hair//  --She licked her dry lips.//\n  4  run/go dry:  if a lake, river etc runs dry, all the water gradually disappears, especially because there has been no rain//  --The river ran dry last summer.//\n  5 HUMOUR:  someone with a dry sense of humour says funny and clever things while seeming to be serious//  --He had a delightfully dry sense of humour.//\n  6 BORING:  boring, very serious, and without humour//  --In schools, science is often presented in a dry and uninteresting manner.//  --a dry debate on policies//\n  7  dry cough:  a cough which does not produce any phlegm//\n  8  dry wine/sherry etc:  wine etc that is not sweet//  --a glass of dry white wine//\n  9 WITHOUT ALCOHOL:  not drinking alcohol, or not allowing any alcohol to be sold//  --Paula had been dry for a year before she started drinking again.//  --Kuwait’s a dry country.//\n  10 VOICE:  showing no emotion when you speak//  --’Good evening gentlemen,’ he said, in a dry voice.//\n  11  dry bread/toast:  bread etc eaten on its own without anything such as butter or jam spread on it//\n  12 THIRSTY:   informal thirsty//\n  13  not a dry eye in the house:  used to say that everyone was crying because something was very sad - often used humorously//  -- dryness n  [U] //    drip-dry,  dry rot,  home and dry at home2 (6),  leave sb high and dry at high2 (5),  dryly//\ndry 2 W3S2   past tense and past participle  dried present participle  drying third person singular  dries  v [I and T] //  ----------//\n   1 :\n   2 :  Phrasal verbs//   dry off//   dry out//   dry up//  ----------//\n  1 to make something dry, or to become dry:  --Mrs Brown hung the washing on the line to dry.//  --He was drying his hair with a towel.//  --Mary dried her hands .//  --Leave the first coat of paint to dry before adding another.//  --She stood up and dried her eyes  (=wiped away her tears) .//  dry yourself//  --He quickly dried himself on the thin towel.//\n  2  also dry up  BrE :  to rub plates, dishes etc dry with a cloth after they have been washed//  --You wash and I’ll dry.//  --Shall I dry up these glasses?//    cut and dried,  dried//  dry off phr v//  to become dry or to make something dry, especially on the surface//  --We swam in the sea, then stretched out on the sand to dry off.//  dry sth → off//  --He dried the camera off, hoping it would still work.//  dry out phr v//\n  1 to become completely dry or to make something completely dry, especially after it has been very wet:  --In summer, water the plants regularly and never let the soil dry out.//  dry sth → out//  --The kitchen was flooded and it took ages to dry it out.//\n  2  dry (sb) out:  to stop drinking alcohol after you have become an alcoholic, or to make someone do this//  --He’s been drying out at a private clinic.//  --The hospital dried Michael out and sent him home.//  dry up phr v//\n  1 COME TO AN END:  if a supply of something dries up, it comes to an end and no more is available//  --Foreign investment may dry up.//  --The work soon dried up.//\n  2 RIVER/LAKE ETC:  if something such as a river dries up, the water in it disappears//  --Across central and west Texas, waterholes and wells have dried up.//  dry sth → up//  --Taking too much water for household use is drying up the river.//\n  3 STOP TALKING:  if someone dries up, they stop talking//  --’It was -’ She dried up again.//  --Everyone became embarrassed and conversation dried up.//\n  4 PLATES/DISHES ETC:   BrE to rub plates, dishes etc dry with a cloth after they have been washed//  dry sth → up//  --I’ll just dry up these mugs and we can have a coffee.//


Words: dry goods
Meaning:
n [plural] \n  1 goods such as tobacco, tea, and coffee that do not contain liquid:\n  2  AmE things that are made from cloth such as clothes, sheets, and curtains:  --a dry goods store//


Words: dry ice
Meaning:
n [U]    carbon dioxide in a solid form, which is used to make mist in a theatre or disco, or to keep food or other things cold//


Words: dry land
Meaning:
n [U]   land rather than water//  --After three weeks at sea we were glad to be back on dry land again.//


Words: dry run
Meaning:
n [C]   an event that is a practice for a more important event//  --Both the parties are treating the local elections as a dry run.//


Words: dry wall
Meaning:
n [U]  AmE   a type of board made of two large sheets of cardboard with plaster between them, used to cover walls and ceilings//  -- dry-wall v  [I and T] //


Words: dry-stone wall
Meaning:
n [C]   in Britain, a wall built with pieces of stone that are fitted closely together without using cement to hold them in place//


Words: dryad
Meaning:
n [C]   [Date: 1300-1400; Language: Latin; Origin: Greek, from  drys  ’tree’]//  a female spirit who lives in a tree, in ancient Greek stories//


Words: Dryden
Meaning:
John   (1631-1700) an English writer of poetry and plays. His many plays include  Marriage a la Mode and  All for Love.//


Words: dryer
Meaning:
drier/dra[hA366][hA353] $ -[hA353]r/ n [C]   a machine that dries things, especially clothes//    hairdryer,  spin-dryer,  tumble dryer//


Words: dryly
Meaning:
drily/dra[hA366]li/ adv   if you say something dryly, you say something that is amusing but you appear to be completely serious//  --’I hear you’re a hero,’ Philip said dryly.//


Words: DSc
Meaning:
Doctor of Science a high-level university degree in a science subject, which is often given as an  honorary degree (=as a special honour) //


Words: DSL
Meaning:
n [C]  technical   digital subscriber line a telephone line that has special equipment which allows it to receive information from the Internet, or send information at very high speeds//


Words: DSO
Meaning:
Distinguished Service Order a medal given to officers of the British Army and Navy for special service//


Words: DT’s
Meaning:
BrE  D.T.’s AmE   n   [Date: 1800-1900; Origin:  Short for  delirium tremens, from  Latin,  ’trembling delirium’]//  the DT’s//  a condition in which your body shakes and you see imaginary things, caused by drinking too much alcohol - used humorously//


Words: DTP
Meaning:
n [U]   desktop publishing the work of arranging the writing and pictures for a magazine, small book etc, using a computer and special software//


Words: Du Pre
Meaning:
Jacqueline   (1945-87) a British musician who was one of the greatest ever cellists (=someone who play thecello) //


Words: dual
Meaning:
adj [only before noun]   [Date: 1600-1700; Language: Latin; Origin: dualis, from  duo  ’two’]//  having two of something or two parts//  dual role/purpose/function //  --The bridge has a dual role, carrying both road and rail.//  --a dual system of education//  dual citizenship/nationality //  --She has dual nationality , of Canada and Britain (=she is a citizen of Canada and Britain) .//  -- duality/dju[zB024]l[hA369]ti $ du-/ n  [U] //


Words: dual carriageway
Meaning:
n [C]    BrE a main road that has two lines of traffic travelling in each direction, with a narrow part between them that has no traffic//  American Equivalent:  divided highway//


Words: dual-band
Meaning:
adj [only before noun]   a dual-band mobile phone is able to work in at least two different countries because it can receive two different types of signals//


Words: dualism
Meaning:
n [U]  technical   the idea that there are two opposite parts or principles in everything, for example body and soul, or the state of having two parts or principles//


Words: dub
Meaning:
v   past tense and past participle  dubbed present participle  dubbing  [T] //  [Sense: 1,5; Origin: Old English dubbian]//  [Sense: 2-4; Origin: double]//\n  1 [usually passive] to give something or someone a name that describes them in some way:    label, name//  be dubbed sth//  --The body, thousands of years old, was found in the Alps and dubbed ’The Iceman’.//\n  2 to change the original spoken language of a film or television programme into another language:  be dubbed into sth//  --a British film dubbed into French//\n  3  especially BrE to make a record out of two or more different pieces of music or sound mixed together:\n  4  AmE to copy a recording from a tape or CD onto another tape:\n  5 if a king or queen dubs someone, they give the title of knight to that person in a special ceremony:\ndub 2 n [U]   a style of poetry or music from the West Indies with a strong regular beat//


Words: dubious
Meaning:
adj   [Date: 1500-1600; Language: Latin; Origin: dubius, from  dubare  ’to be unable to decide’]//\n  1 probably not honest, true, right etc:  --The firm was accused of dubious accounting practices.//  --Many critics regard this argument as dubious or, at best, misleading.//  --The assumption that growth in one country benefits the whole world is highly dubious .//\n  2 [not before noun] not sure whether something is good or true:   doubtful//  --I can see you are dubious; take some time to think about it.//  dubious about//  --Some universities are dubious about accepting students over the age of 30.//  --’Are you sure you know what you are doing?’ Andy said, looking dubious .//\n  3  the dubious honour/distinction/pleasure (of doing sth):  a dubious honour etc is the opposite of an honour - used about something unpleasant that happens//  --The Stephensons had the dubious honor of being the 100th family to lose their home in the fire.//\n  4 not good or not of good quality:  --The room was decorated in dubious taste.//  -- dubiously adv //  -- dubiousness n  [U] //


Words: ducat
Meaning:
n [C]   [Date: 1300-1400; Language: Old French; Origin: Old Italian ducato  ’coin with a picture of the doge (= highest government official) on it’, from  duca  ’doge’]//  a gold coin that was used in several European countries in the past//


Words: Duchamp
Meaning:
Marcel   (1887-1968) a French painter and sculptor who was important in developing the styles of cubism, futurism, and Dadaism//


Words: duchess
Meaning:
n [C]   [Date: 1300-1400; Language: Old French; Origin: duchesse, from  duc;   DUKE]//  a woman with the highest social rank outside the royal family, or the wife of a duke//  --the Duchess of York//


Words: Duchess of York
Meaning:
the   (1959- ) the wife of Queen Elizabeth’s second son Prince Andrew (who is called the Duke of York) until they separated in 1992. Her name is Sarah Ferguson, and she is often called "Fergie" in newspapers.//


Words: duchy
Meaning:
n   plural  duchies  [C] //  [Date: 1300-1400; Language: Old French; Origin: duche, from  duc;   DUKE]//  the land and property of a duke or duchess//   dukedom//


Words: duck
Meaning:
S3   n   [Language: Old English; Origin: duce]//\n  1 [C] a very common water bird with short legs and a wide beak, used for its meat, eggs, and soft feathers:\n  2 [C] a female duck:    drake//\n  3 [U] the meat of a duck used as food:  --roast duck with orange sauce//\n  4  take to sth like a duck to water:  to learn how to do something very easily//  --She took to dancing like a duck to water.//\n  5  also ducks :   BrE  spoken used to speak to someone, especially a woman, in a friendly way//  --What can I get you, ducks?//\n  6 [C] a score of zero by a batsman in a game of cricket:    dead duck,  lame duck,  like water off a duck’s back at water1 (8),  ducks and drakes,  sitting duck//\nduck 2 v \n  1  also duck down :   [I and T] to lower your head or body very quickly, especially to avoid being seen or hit//  --If she hadn’t ducked, the ball would have hit her.//  duck behind/under etc//  --Jamie saw his father coming and ducked quickly behind the wall.//  --Tim ducked down to comb his hair in the mirror.//  --She ducked her head to look more closely at the inscription.//\n  2 [I always + adverb/preposition] to move somewhere very quickly, especially to avoid being seen or to get away from someone:  duck into//  --The two men ducked into a block of flats and disappeared.//  duck out of//  --She ducked out of the door before he could stop her.//  duck back//  --’Wait a minute’, he called, ducking back inside.//\n  3 [T]  informal to avoid something, especially a difficult or unpleasant duty:   dodge//  --The ruling body wanted to duck the issue of whether players had been cheating.//  --Glazer ducked a question about his involvement in the bank scandal.//\n  4 [T] to push someone under water for a short time as a joke:  duck sb under sth//  --Tom grabbed him from behind to duck him under the surface.//  duck out of [duck out of sth] phr v//  to avoid doing something that you have to do or have promised to do//  --I always ducked out of history lessons at school.//


Words: ducking stool
Meaning:
n [C]   a seat on the end of a long pole, used in the past to put a person under water as a punishment//


Words: ducky
Meaning:
n  BrE  spoken   used to speak to someone in a friendly way, especially a woman or child//\nducky 2 adj  old-fashioned  informal \n  1  AmE perfect or satisfactory:  --Well, that’s just ducky .//\n  2 attractive in an amusing or interesting way:   cute//


Words: duct
Meaning:
n [C]   [Date: 1600-1700; Language: Latin; Origin: ductus, from  ducere  ’to lead’]//\n  1 a pipe or tube that liquids, air, cables etc pass through:  --Air is heated and then circulated through large ducts to all parts of the house.//\n  2 a narrow tube in your body or in a plant that liquid passes through:  --a tear duct//


Words: ductile
Meaning:
adj   [Date: 1300-1400; Language: Latin; Origin: ductilis, from  ducere  ’to lead’]//  ductile metals can be pressed or pulled into shape without needing to be heated//  -- ductility/d[hA356]kt[hA366]l[hA369]ti/ n  [U] //


Words: dud
Meaning:
n [C] \n  1 something that is useless, especially because it does not work correctly:  --Several of the fireworks were duds.//\n  2  duds [plural]  informal clothes:  -- dud adj //  --a dud light bulb//


Words: dude
Meaning:
n [C]  AmE   [Date: 1800-1900; Origin:  Perhaps from  German dude  ’stupid person’]//\n  1  informal a man:  --a real cool dude//\n  2  old-fashioned an American man from a city, who is living in or visiting a farm or ranch:


Words: due
Meaning:
adj   ----------//\n   1 expected:\n   2 owed:\n   3 money:\n   4 in due course:\n   5 proper:\n   6 with (all) due respect:  ----------//  [Date: 1200-1300; Language: Old French; Origin: deu  ’owed’, past participle of  devoir  ’to owe’, from  Latin debere;   DEBT]//\n  1 EXPECTED:   [not before noun] expected to happen or arrive at a particular time//  due to do sth//  --The team are due to fly to Italy next month.//  --His new book is due to be published next year.//  due in/on/at//  --She’s pregnant and the baby’s due in April.//  --The final results of the experiment are due on December 9.//  --I’m due at his office at 4.30.//  due for//  --The car is due for its annual service again.//  due back//  --When are the library books due back?//    due date//\n  2 OWED:  owed to someone either as a debt or because they have a right to it//  --Any money due you will be sent by cheque through the post.//  due to//  --Thanks are due to all those who took part.//\n  3 MONEY:  if an amount of money is due, it must be paid at a particular time//  --The next income tax payment is due on 31 January.//\n  4  in due course:  at some time in the future when it is the right time, but not before//  --Further details will be announced in due course.//\n  5 PROPER:   [only before noun]  formal proper or suitable//  --He was banned for six months for driving without due care and attention.//  due regard/consideration //  --We want the best for each individual child with due regard for the interests of the other children.//\n  6  with (all) due respect:   spoken used when you disagree with someone or criticize them in a polite way//  --Dad, with all due respect, was not a very good husband.//    duly,  due to//\ndue 2 n \n  1  your due:  your due is what you deserve, or something it is your right to have//  --He accepted all the praise he received as his due.//  --Freddy, to give him his due  (=to be fair to him) , always tried to be honest.//\n  2  dues [plural] regular payments you make to an organization of which you are a member:   fees//  --Robert failed to pay his dues last year.//\ndue 3 adv   due north/south/east/west//  directly to the north, south, east, or west//


Words: due date
Meaning:
n [C usually singular]   the date on which something is supposed to happen//  --Fewer than five percent of women have their babies on their due date.//


Words: due process
Meaning:
n [U]  AmE  law   the correct process that should be followed in law and is designed to protect someone’s legal rights//


Words: due to
Meaning:
prep   because of something//  --The court of inquiry ruled that the crash was due to pilot error.//  --She has been absent from work due to illness.//  --The restaurant’s success was due largely to its new manager.//  --Attendance at the meeting was small, due in part to  (=partly because of) the absence of teachers.//


Words: duel
Meaning:
n [C]   [Date: 1400-1500; Language: Medieval Latin; Origin: duellum, from (influenced by  duo  ’two’)  Latin bellum  ’war’]//\n  1 a fight with weapons between two people, used in the past to settle a quarrel:  --The officer challenged him to a duel .//\n  2 a situation in which two people or groups are involved in an angry disagreement:  --a verbal duel//\nduel 2   past tense and past participle  duelled present participle  duelling  BrE //  past tense and past participle  dueled present participle  dueling  AmE  v [I ] //  to fight a duel//


Words: duet
Meaning:
n [C]   [Date: 1700-1800; Language: Italian; Origin: duetto, from  duo  ’group of two’]//  a piece of music for two singers or players//    quartet, solo, trio//\nduet 2 v   past tense  duetted past participle  duetting //  if one singer or musician duets with another, they sing or play together//


Words: duff
Meaning:
n [C]   [Date: 1800-1900; Origin: dough]//   AmE  informal the part of your body that you sit on//   bottom//  --Get off your duff (=stop sitting or stop being lazy) and help me!//\nduff 2 adj  BrE  informal   [Date: 1800-1900; Origin:  Perhaps from  duffer]//  bad or useless//\nduff 3 v   duff up [duff sb → up] phr v//  to fight someone and injure them//


Words: duffel bag
Meaning:
duffle bag/d[hA356]f[hA368]l b[zB024]g/ n [C]   a bag made of strong cloth, with a round bottom and a string around the top//


Words: duffel coat
Meaning:
duffle coat/d[hA356]f[hA368]l k[hA353][hA35E]t $ -ko[hA35E]t/ n [C]   [Date: 1600-1700; Origin: duffel  ’heavy woolen cloth’ (17-20 centuries), from  Dutch, from  Duffel town in Belgium]//  a coat made of rough heavy cloth, usually with a hood and toggles (=buttons shaped like tubes) //


Words: duffer
Meaning:
n [C]  informal   [Date: 1700-1800; Origin:  Perhaps from  Scottish English doofart  ’stupid person’]//  someone who is stupid or not very good at something//


Words: Dufy
Meaning:
Raoul   (1877-1953) a French painter famous for his brightly coloured paintings of horse races, beaches, and boats//


Words: dugout
Meaning:
n [C] \n  1 a low shelter at the side of a sports field, where players and team officials sit:\n  2 a shelter dug into the ground for soldiers to use:    trench//\n  3 a small boat made by cutting out a hollow space in a tree trunk:  --a dugout canoe//


Words: duh
Meaning:
interjection  AmE   [Date: 1900-2000; Origin:  From the sound of what a stupid person might say]//  used to say that what someone else has just said or asked is stupid//


Words: DUI
Meaning:
n [U and C]  law    AmE  driving under the influence the crime of driving when you have had too much alcohol to drink//   DWI//  --There were a large number of DUI arrests on New Year’s Eve.//


Words: duke
Meaning:
n [C]   [Date: 1100-1200; Language: Old French; Origin: duc, from  Latin dux  ’leader’, from  ducere  ’to lead’]//  a man with the highest social rank outside the royal family//    duchess//  --the Duke of Norfolk//


Words: Duke of Edinburgh’s award
Meaning:
the  also Duke of Edinburgh’s  n [C]   a special prize given to someone who has successfully completed a number of activities in a programme that was originally set up in the UK by the Duke of Edinburgh. The programme is designed for young people, and its aim is to encourage them to achieve difficult things and do work that helps other people. The programme includes physical activities such as climbing mountains, camping, hiking and other outdoor activities.//


Words: Duke of Wellington
Meaning:
the   (1769-1852) a British soldier and politician, born in Ireland, and sometimes called "the Iron Duke". He was a very successful military leader, and is famous for defeating Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. He later became Prime Minister (1828-34).//


Words: dulcet
Meaning:
adj   [Date: 1400-1500; Language: Old French; Origin: doucet, from  douz  ’sweet’]//  sb’s dulcet tones//  someone’s voice - used humorously//  --Basil’s dulcet tones could be heard in the corridor.//


Words: dulcimer
Meaning:
n [C]   [Date: 1400-1500; Language: French; Origin: doulcemer, perhaps from  Latin dulce melos  ’sweet song’]//\n  1 a musical instrument with up to 100 strings, played with light hammers:\n  2 a small instrument with strings that is popular in American folk music, and is played across your knees:


Words: dull
Meaning:
S3   adj   comparative  duller superlative  dullest //  ----------//\n   1 boring:\n   2 colour/light:\n   3 weather:\n   4 pain:\n   5 sound:\n   6 knife/blade:\n   7 not intelligent:\n   8 trade:  ----------//  [Language: Old English; Origin: dol]//\n  1 BORING:  not interesting or exciting//  -- Life is never dull when Elizabeth is here.//  --a dull movie//  --It sounded pretty dull to me.//  --The weekly meeting tends to be deadly dull  (=very dull) .//  --Last week we had a hurricane. Never a dull moment running a hotel in the Caribbean (=it’s always interesting or exciting) .//\n  2 COLOUR/LIGHT:  not bright or shiny//  --The bird is dull brown and gray in colour.//  --Her eyes were dull with dark shadows beneath them.//  --the dull afternoon light//\n  3 WEATHER:  not bright and with lots of clouds//  --Outside the weather was hazy and dull.//  --a dull sky//\n  4 PAIN:  a dull pain is not severe but does not stop//  → sharp//  --a dull ache in her lower back//  --The pain was dull but persistent.//\n  5 SOUND:  not clear or loud//  --The gates shut with a dull thud .//\n  6 KNIFE/BLADE:  not sharp//   blunt//\n  7 NOT INTELLIGENT:   old-fashioned not able to think quickly or understand things easily//   stupid//  --If you don’t understand then you’re duller than I thought.//\n  8 TRADE:  if business on the Stock Exchange is dull, few people are buying and selling//  -- dully adv //  --’Well Michael?’ he said dully.//  --Her stomach ached dully.//  -- dullness n  [U] //\ndull 2 v \n  1 [T] to make something become less sharp or clear:  --He drank some alcohol to dull the pain .//  --Her fear and anxiety dulled her mind.//\n  2 [I and T] to become less bright or loud, or to make something become less bright or loud:  --His eyes dulled a little.//  --The constant rain dulled all sound.//


Words: Dulles
Meaning:
John Foster   (1888-1959) a US lawyer and politician in the  Republican Party, who was Secretary of State (=the minister who deals with foreign policy and foreign governments) from 1953 to 1959. He strongly influenced the US’s anti-Communist policy during the  Cold War.//


Words: duly
Meaning:
adv   [Date: 1300-1400; Origin:  DUE1]//\n  1 in the proper or expected way:  --Here are your travel documents, all duly signed.//\n  2 at the proper time or as expected:  --The Queen duly appeared on the balcony to wave to the crowds.//


Words: dum-dum
Meaning:
n [C]   [Date: 1800-1900; Origin: Dum-Dum, town in India where the bullets were first produced.]//  a soft bullet that causes serious wounds because it breaks into pieces when it hits you//


Words: Dumas
Meaning:
Alexandre   (1802-70) a French writer of novels and plays. He wrote  The Count of Monte Cristo and  The Three Musketeers//


Words: dumb
Meaning:
S3   adj   [Language: Old English; Origin:]//\n  1  informal stupid:  --What a dumb question.//  --a bunch of dumb kids//  --’What is it?’ I asked, playing dumb  (=pretending to be stupid) .//  --She’s no dumb blonde  (=a pretty woman with blonde hair who seems stupid) .//\n  2 unable to speak, because you are angry, surprised, shocked etc:  --He stared at the burnt-out car in dumb disbelief.//  --She was struck dumb with terror.//\n  3  old-fashioned someone who is dumb is not able to speak at all. Many people think that this use is offensive:    mute//    deaf and dumb at deaf(1)//\n  4  dumb luck:   informal something good that happens in an unexpected way, especially when it is not deserved//  --It was just dumb luck that we found the place at all.//\n  5  dumb animals/creatures:  used to talk about animals when you want to emphasize that humans often treat them badly and they cannot protect themselves//  -- dumbly adv //  --For a few seconds she gazed dumbly at him.//  -- dumbness n  [U] //\ndumb 2 v   dumb down [dumb sth → down] //  to present news or information in a simple and attractive way without many details so that everyone can understand it - used to show disapproval//  --Have history textbooks been dumbed down over the past decade?//  -- dumbing down n  [U] //


Words: dumb waiter
Meaning:
n [C]   a small lift used to move food, plates etc from one level in a restaurant, hotel etc to another//


Words: dumbbell
Meaning:
n [C]   1 two weights connected by a short bar, that you can lift to strengthen your arms and shoulders//   weights//\n  2  AmE  informal someone who is stupid:


Words: dumbfounded
Meaning:
adj   extremely surprised//  --He was completely dumbfounded by the incident.//  -- dumbfound v  [T] //


Words: Dumbo
Meaning:
the main character in the  cartoon film  Dumbo, made by Walt  Disney in 1941. Dumbo is a young elephant with very large ears, who learns to fly.//


Words: dumbo
Meaning:
n   plural  dumbos  [C]  informal //  [Date: 1900-2000; Origin:  DUMB1, on the model of  jumbo]//  someone who is stupid//


Words: dummy
Meaning:
n   plural  dummies  [C] //  ----------//\n   1 for clothes:\n   2 copy:\n   3 doll:\n   4 sports:\n   5 for babies:\n   6 stupid person:\n   7 card game:  ----------//  [Date: 1500-1600; Origin:  DUMB1]//\n  1 FOR CLOTHES:  a model that is the shape and size of a person, especially used in order to show clothes in a shop or when you are making clothes//  --a shop-window dummy//  --a tailor’s dummy//\n  2 COPY:  an object that is made to look like a tool, weapon, vehicle etc but which you cannot use//  --During practice runs, the warheads in the missiles will be dummies.//\n  3 DOLL:  a small model of a person, with a mouth that can be moved so that it looks as though it is talking, used for entertainment//  --a ventriloquist’s dummy//\n  4 SPORTS:   BrE a move in a sport such as football in which a player pretends to pass the ball but does not, in order to deceive the other team’s players//  5 FOR BABIES//   BrE a specially shaped rubber object that you put in a baby’s mouth for it to suck//  American Equivalent:  pacifier//\n  6 STUPID PERSON:   especially AmE  informal someone who is stupid//  --No, you dummy. The other hand.//\n  7 CARD GAME:  cards that are placed on the table by one player for all the other players to see in a game of bridge//\ndummy 2 adj [only before noun]   a dummy tool, weapon, vehicle etc is made to look like a real one but you cannot use it//   replica//  --a dummy rifle//


Words: dummy run
Meaning:
n [C]   an occasion when you practise doing something in complete detail to see if it works//   dry run//  --Do a dummy run to see how long it will take.//


Words: dump
Meaning:
v [T]   ----------//\n   1 put something somewhere:\n   2 get rid of something:\n   3 end relationship:\n   4 sell goods:\n   5 copy information:  Phrasal verbs//   dump on somebody//  ----------//  [Date: 1300-1400; Origin:  Perhaps from  Dutch dompen  ’to put in water, throw down’]//\n  1 PUT SOMETHING SOMEWHERE:   [always + adverb/preposition] to put something somewhere in a careless untidy way//  --Merrill dumped her suitcase down in the hall.//  dump sth on sth//  --They dump tons of salt on icy road surfaces to make driving safer.//  dump sth in/into sth//  --He found a can of beef stew and dumped it in a saucepan to heat.//\n  2 GET RID OF SOMETHING:  a) to get rid of something that you do not want//  --Ellie dumped all the photos of her ex-husband.//  --He dumped her body into the sea.//  b) to get rid of waste material by taking it from people’s houses and burying it under the soil//  --Britain dumps more of its waste than any other European country.//\n  3 END RELATIONSHIP:   informal to end a relationship with someone//  --Vicky dumped Neil yesterday.//\n  4 SELL GOODS:  to get rid of goods by selling them in a foreign country at a much lower price//  dump in/on//  --a campaign to stop cheap European beef being dumped in West Africa//\n  5 COPY INFORMATION:   technical to copy information stored in a computer’s memory on to something else such as a disk or magnetic tape//    dumping//  dump on [dump on sb] phr v//\n  1  dump sth on sb:  to unfairly give someone an unwanted job, duty, or problem to deal with//  --Don’t just dump the extra work on me.//\n  2  AmE to treat someone badly:\n  3  AmE to criticize someone very strongly and often unfairly:  --politicians dumping on their opponents//\n  4  dump (sth) on sb:  to tell someone all your problems and worries//  --We all dump our troubles on Mike.//\ndump 2 n [C]   ----------//\n   1 waste:\n   2 weapons:\n   3 unpleasant place:\n   4 down in the dumps:\n   5 computer:\n   6 take a dump:  ----------//\n  1 WASTE:  a place where unwanted waste is taken and left//  rubbish dump  BrE //  /garbage dump  AmE //  --The fire probably started in a rubbish dump.//  --Put the rest into a sack to take to the dump .//  --an underground nuclear waste dump //  --a dump site//\n  2 WEAPONS:  a place where military supplies are stored, or the supplies themselves//  --There has been a series of explosions in an ammunition dump.//\n  3 UNPLEASANT PLACE:   informal a place that is unpleasant to live in because it is dirty, ugly, untidy etc//  --’ What a dump ,’ she added as they entered the village.//  --Why are you living in a dump like this?//\n  4  down in the dumps:   informal very sad and without much interest in life//  --She’s feeling a bit down in the dumps.//\n  5 COMPUTER:   technical the act of copying the information stored in a computer’s memory onto something else, such as a disk//  --a screen dump//\n  6  take a dump:   informal  not polite to pass solid waste from the bowels//


Words: dump truck
Meaning:
AmE  n [C]   a vehicle with a large open container at the back that can move up to pour sand, soil etc onto the ground//


Words: dumping
Meaning:
n [U]   the act of getting rid of dangerous waste material in a place that is not safe//  --The government has promised to stop dumping by the state-owned chemical plants.//


Words: dumping ground
Meaning:
n [C] \n  1 a place where people get rid of waste material:  dumping ground for//  --Rivers have always been a dumping ground for man’s unwanted waste.//\n  2 a place where people are sent when no one knows how to deal with them:  dumping ground for//  --The prison has been the dumping ground for difficult prisoners for years.//


Words: dumpling
Meaning:
n [C]   [Date: 1600-1700; Origin:  Perhaps from  lump]//\n  1 a round lump of flour and fat mixed with water, cooked in boiling liquid and served with meat:  --chicken and dumplings//\n  2 a sweet dish made of pastry filled with fruit:  --apple dumplings//


Words: dumpy
Meaning:
adj   [Date: 1700-1800; Origin: dump  ’small shapeless piece’ (18-19 centuries)]//  someone who is dumpy is fat, short, and unattractive//  --a dumpy little man//


Words: Dunblane
Meaning:
a small town in Scotland, where in 1996 16 young children and their teacher were shot and killed in their school by a man called Thomas Hamilton, who also killed himself. Because of these murders, many people demanded stricter laws against people owning guns, and new gun-control laws were passed in 1997.//


Words: Duncan
Meaning:
a character in the play  Macbeth by William  Shakespeare. Duncan is the king of Scotland and is murdered by Macbeth.//\n Isadora   (1878-1927) a US dancer who had a great influence on  modern dance.//


Words: dunce
Meaning:
n [C]  old-fashioned   [Date: 1500-1600; Origin:  John  Duns Scotus (1266?-1308), Scottish religious thinker]//  someone who is slow at learning things//  --the dunce of the class//


Words: dunderhead
Meaning:
n [C]  old-fashioned   [Date: 1600-1700; Origin:  Perhaps from  Dutch donder  ’thunder’ +  English head]//  someone who is stupid//


Words: dune
Meaning:
n [C]   [Date: 1700-1800; Language: French; Origin: Middle Dutch]//  a hill made of sand near the sea or in the desert//   sand dune//


Words: dungarees
Meaning:
n [plural]   [Date: 1600-1700; Language: Hindi; Origin: dugri  ’heavy cotton cloth’]//\n  1  BrE loose trousers that have a square piece of cloth that covers your chest, and long thin pieces that fasten over your shoulders:  American Equivalent:  overalls//\n  2  AmE  old-fashioned heavy cotton trousers used for working in:   jeans//


Words: Dungeness
Meaning:
a place in Kent, in southeast England, next to the English Channel, where there are two  nuclear power stations//


Words: dungeon
Meaning:
n [C]   [Date: 1300-1400; Language: Old French; Origin: donjon  ’central part of a castle’, from  Latin dominus  ’lord’]//  a dark underground prison, especially under a castle, that was used in the past//


Words: Dungeons and Dragons
Meaning:
trademark   a type of role playing game in which the players pretend to be a magic character or strange creature who must either do something difficult, such as finding a magic ring, or must prevent someone else from doing it//


Words: dunk
Meaning:
v   [Date: 1900-2000; Language: Pennsylvania German; Origin: dunke, from  Middle High German dunken]//\n  1 [T] to quickly put something into a liquid and take it out again, especially something you are eating:  --Jill dunked her ginger biscuit in her tea.//  --I dunked my head under the water and scrubbed at my hair.//\n  2 [T]  AmE to push someone under water for a short time as a joke:  British Equivalent:  duck//\n  3 [I and T] to jump up by the basket and throw the ball down into it in basketball:  -- dunk n  [C] //    dunk for apples at apple(3),  slam dunk//


Words: Dunkirk
Meaning:
a port and industrial city in northern France, whose French name is Dunkerque. In 1940, during World War II, the British army was surrounded at Dunkirk by the German army, but thousands of British soldiers escaped and were brought back to England in a collection of small boats.//


Words: Dunkirk spirit
Meaning:
the   a determination to succeed despite being in a difficult or impossible situation, which many people think is a typical British quality. The expression comes from the attitude shown by British people who went to Dunkirk in France in small boats to help to bring back British soldiers in World War II.//


Words: dunno
Meaning:
a way of saying ’I don’t know’. Some people think that this use is not correct English//  --’Do you want to come?’ ’I dunno, I might.’//


Words: duo
Meaning:
n   plural  duos  [C] //  [Date: 1500-1600; Language: Italian; Origin: ’two’, from  Latin]//\n  1 two people who perform together or are often seen together:  --the comedy duo Reeves and Mortimer//\n  2 a piece of music for two performers:   duet//


Words: duodenum
Meaning:
n [C]   [Date: 1300-1400; Language: Medieval Latin; Origin: Latin duodeni  ’twelve each’ (because it is twelve finger-widths long)]//  the top part of your bowel, below your stomach//  -- duodenal/dju[hA359][hA353]di[hA359]nl[hA36B] $ du[hA359][hA353]di[hA359]nl[hA36B], du[hA35A][hA359]dn-[hA353]l/ adj //  --a duodenal ulcer//


Words: dupe
Meaning:
n [C]   [Date: 1600-1700; Language: French; Origin: , perhaps from  Old French huppe type of bird considered stupid]//  someone who is tricked, especially into becoming involved in something illegal//\ndupe 2 v [T usually passive]   to trick or deceive someone//  dupe sb into doing sth//  --Consumers are being duped into buying faulty electronic goods.//


Words: duplex
Meaning:
n [C]  AmE   [Date: 1500-1600; Language: Latin; Origin: duo  ’two’ +  plex  ’fold’]//  a type of house that is divided into two parts, so that it has two separate homes in it//


Words: duplicate
Meaning:
v [T] \n  1 to copy something exactly:  --New copies of the form can be duplicated from a master copy.//  --The video had been duplicated illegally.//\n  2 to repeat something in exactly the same way:  --We don’t want staff to duplicate each other’s work.//  -- duplication/dju[hA359]pl[hA369]ke[hA366][hA35D][hA368]n $ du[hA359]-/ n  [U] //\nduplicate 2   adj [only before noun]   exactly the same as something, or made as an exact copy of something//  --A duplicate copy should be made for the county record office.//  --a duplicate key//\nduplicate 3 n [C]   [Date: 1400-1500; Language: Latin; Origin: duplicatus, past participle of  duplicare  ’to double’, from  duplex;   DUPLEX]//\n  1 an exact copy of something that you can use in the same way:  duplicate of//  --Locksmiths can make duplicates of most keys.//  --She kept both the duplicate and the original.//\n  2  in duplicate:  if something is in duplicate, there are two copies of it//  --Copies of the proposal should be sent in duplicate.//


Words: duplicity
Meaning:
n [U]   [Date: 1400-1500; Language: French; Origin: duplicite, from  Latin duplex;   DUPLEX]//  dishonest behaviour that is intended to deceive someone//  -- duplicitous adj //


Words: durable
Meaning:
adj   [Date: 1300-1400; Language: Old French; Origin: Latin durare  ’to continue in existence’]//\n  1 staying in good condition for a long time, even if used a lot:   hardwearing//  --Wood is a durable material.//\n  2 continuing for a long time:  --His poetry has proved durable.//  -- durably adv //  -- durability/dj[hA35E][hA353]r[hA353]b[hA366]l[hA369]ti $ d[hA35E]r-/ n  [U] //    consumer durables//


Words: durable goods
Meaning:
n [plural]    AmE large things such as cars, televisions, and furniture, that you do not buy often//  British Equivalent:  consumer durables//


Words: duration
Meaning:
n [U]   [Date: 1300-1400; Language: Old French; Origin: Latin durare  ’to continue in existence’]//  the length of time that something continues//  --The course is of three years’ duration.//  for the duration (of sth)//  --The package includes cycle hire for the duration of your holiday.//


Words: Durer
Meaning:
Albrecht   (1471-1528) a German artist famous for his drawings and  engravings, especially his very detailed pictures of himself and other people//


Words: duress
Meaning:
n [U]   [Date: 1300-1400; Language: Old French; Origin: duresce, from  Latin durus  ’hard’]//  illegal or unfair threats//  under duress//  --The confession was obtained under duress.//


Words: Durex
Meaning:
n  trademark \n  1 [C]  BrE a rubber contraceptive that a man wears over his penis during sex:\n  2 [U]  AusE clear narrow plastic that is sticky on one side and is used for fastening paper:


Words: Durham
Meaning:
1 a city in northeast England on the River Wear. It has a  cathedral (=large important church)  and one of the UK’s oldest universities.:\n  2  also County Durham :   a  county in northeast England, which used to produce a lot of coal//


Words: during
Meaning:
prep   [Date: 1300-1400; Origin: dure  ’to continue in existence’ (13-19 centuries), from  Old French durer, from  Latin durare]//\n  1 from the beginning to the end of a period of time:  --During the summer she worked as a lifeguard.//  --He slept calmly during the early part of the night.//  --Foxes remain hidden during the day.//\n  2 at some point in a period of time:  --My father was killed during the war.//  --I mentioned the subject during our discussions at her Washington office.//  ----------//  WORD CHOICE:  during, while //  !!  Do not say ’during doing something’. Say  while doing something : While travelling to work, I saw an accident (NOT During travelling to work, I saw an accident). //  !!  Do not say ’during someone does something’. Say  while someone does something : He stole her money while she slept (NOT He stole her money during she slept). //  !!  Do not say ’during someone is young/asleep etc’. Say  while someone is young/asleep etc : It’s best to get your teeth fixed while you’re still young (NOT during you’re still young). during, for, or since?  See note at SINCE //  ----------//


Words: Durkheim
Meaning:
[hA14A]mile   (1858-1917) a French university teacher who helped to establish the principles of  sociology (=the scientific study of societies and the behaviour of people in groups) //


Words: Durrell
Meaning:
Gerald   (1925-95) a British writer, broadcaster and  conservationist (=someone who works to protect rare plants and animals) , who set up his own  zoo on the island of Jersey, so that rare animals could be taken care of and eventually put back in their natural environment. His books include  My Family and Other Animals. He was the brother of Lawrence Durrell.//\n Lawrence   (1912-90) a British writer of novels and poetry. His most famous work is a set of four novels called  The Alexandria Quartet. He was the brother of Gerald Durrell.//


Words: dusk
Meaning:
n [U]   [Language: Old English; Origin: dox]//  the time before it gets dark when the sky is becoming less bright//   twilight//    dawn//  at dusk//  --The street lights go on at dusk.//


Words: dusky
Meaning:
adj   dark or not very bright in colour//  --The room was filled with dusky shadows.//  dusky pink/orange/blue etc //  --a dusky pink room//


Words: dust
Meaning:
W3S3   n [U]   [Language: Old English; Origin:]//\n  1 dry powder consisting of extremely small bits of dirt that is in buildings on furniture, floors etc if they are not kept clean:  --All the furniture was covered in dust .//  --a thick layer of dust //  --There’s not a speck of dust in the kitchen.//  gather/collect dust (=become covered with dust) //  --Her old trophies were collecting dust on the shelves.//  -- Dust particles floated in the sunlight.//  --A sudden breeze sent motes of dust  (=small bits of dust) dancing in the air.//\n  2 dry powder consisting of extremely small bits of earth or sand:  --The wind was blowing dust and leaves up from the ground.//  --A car sped past in a cloud of dust .//\n  3 powder consisting of extremely small bits of a particular substance:  coal/brick/chalk etc dust //\n  4  a dust:   BrE the act of dusting something//  --I need to give the sitting room a dust .//\n  5  let the dust settle/wait for the dust to settle:  to allow or wait for a confused situation to become clear//    bite the dust at bite1 (8),  dusty//    leave sb in the dust at leave1 (15)//    not see sb for dust at see1 (36)//\ndust 2 v \n  1 [I and T] to clean the dust from a surface by moving something such as a soft cloth across it:  --Rachel dusted the books and the bookshelves.//  --I was dusting in the bedroom when the phone rang.//\n  2  also dust down :  dust off //   [T] to remove something such as dust or dirt from your clothes by brushing them with your hands//  --He got to his feet and dusted his knees.//  dust yourself (down/off)//  --Corbett dusted himself down and walked off.//\n  3 [T] to put a fine powder over something:  dust sth with sth//  --Dust the biscuits with icing sugar.//  dust off [dust sth → off] phr v//\n  1 to remove something such as dust or dirt from your clothes by brushing them with your hands:  --They were dusting off leaves and twigs.//  dust yourself off//  --He got to his feet and dusted himself off.//\n  2 to get something ready in order to use it again, after not using it for a long time:  --The government is dusting off schemes for supporting creative industries.//


Words: Dust Bowl
Meaning:
the Dust Bowl//  a large area of the south-central US, including parts of Kansas and Oklahoma where, in the 1930s, strong winds and lack of rain caused  erosion of the soil  (=when the top layer of earth is blown away) , so that the land became unsuitable for farming. As a result, many farmers became very poor and had to leave their farms.//


Words: dust bunny
Meaning:
n [C]  AmE  informal   a small ball of dust that forms in a place that is not cleaned regularly, such as under furniture//


Words: dust cart
Meaning:
n [C]    BrE a large vehicle that goes from house to house to collect waste from dustbins//  American Equivalent:  garbage truck//


Words: dustbin
Meaning:
S3   n [C]    BrE a large container outside your house, used for holding waste until it is taken away//  American Equivalent:  garbage can//


Words: duster
Meaning:
n [C]   1 a cloth for removing dust from furniture//\n  2  AmE  old-fashioned a light coat that you wear to protect your clothes while you are cleaning the house:\n  3  AmE  informal a dust storm:


Words: dustman
Meaning:
n   plural  dustmen /-m[hA353]n/ [C] //   BrE someone whose job is to remove waste from dustbins//  American Equivalent:  garbage collector//


Words: dustpan
Meaning:
n [C]   dustpan, brush//  a flat container with a handle that you use with a brush to remove dust and waste from the floor//  --Have you got a dustpan and brush?//


Words: dustsheet
Meaning:
n [C]    especially BrE a large sheet of cloth used to protect furniture from dust or paint//  American Equivalent:  drop cloth//


Words: dusty
Meaning:
adj \n  1 covered with dust:  --Adrian cycled along the dusty road.//  --Everything’s really dusty.//\n  2  dusty blue/pink etc:  blue etc that is not bright but is slightly grey//  --The curtains had faded to a dusty pink.//


Words: Dutch
Meaning:
adj \n  1 relating to the Netherlands, its people, or its language:\n  2  go Dutch (with sb):  to share the cost of a meal in a restaurant//\n  3  Dutch treat:   AmE an occasion when you share the cost of something such as a meal in a restaurant//\nDutch 2 n   [Date: 1300-1400; Language: Middle Dutch; Origin: duutsch  ’German’]//\n  1  the Dutch [plural] people from the Netherlands:\n  2 [U] the language used in the Netherlands:    double-dutch//


Words: Dutch auction
Meaning:
n [U and C]   a public sale at which the price of something is gradually reduced until someone will pay it//


Words: Dutch cap
Meaning:
n [C]   a round rubber contraceptive, that a woman wears inside her vagina during sex//   diaphragm, cap//


Words: Dutch Reformed Church
Meaning:
the   the main Protestant religious group in the Netherlands. It is also the main religion of the Afrikaners in South Africa  (=white people who speak Afrikaans, whose families originally came from the Netherlands) .//


Words: Dutchman
Meaning:
n   plural  Dutchmen /-m[hA353]n/ [C] //\n  1 a man from the Netherlands:\n  2  I’m a Dutchman:   BrE  spoken used to show that you do not believe something//  -- If that ball was out, then I’m a Dutchman .//


Words: dutiful
Meaning:
adj   doing what you are expected to do and behaving in a loyal and obedient way//  --a dutiful son//  --Dutiful applause greeted his speech.//


Words: dutifully
Meaning:
adv   if you do something dutifully, you do it because you think it is the correct way to behave//  --I dutifully wrote down every word.//


Words: duty
Meaning:
n   plural  duties //  ----------//\n   1 something you must do:\n   2 work:\n   3 be on/off duty:\n   4 tax:\n   5 do duty as something:  ----------//  [Date: 1200-1300; Language: Anglo-French; Origin: duete, from  Old French deu;   DUE1]//\n  1 SOMETHING YOU MUST DO:   [U and C] something that you have to do because it is morally or legally right//   obligation//  --I promise I will  do my duty .//  --We feel  it is our duty to  help her.//  --Local authorities  have a duty to  keep the streets clean.//  --You have a duty to  your husband and to your children.//  --She has a strong sense of moral duty .//  --The unions have  failed in their duty to female workers.//  --In the traditional Hindu family, the son is duty-bound to look after his mother.//\n  2 WORK:   [C usually plural, U] something you have to do as part of your job //  duties//  --Martin’s duties included cleaning the cars.//  --She works for her father doing part-time secretarial duties.//  --He will soon be fit enough to  carry out his duties  (=do his job) .//  --He can only do  light duties  .//  --When Juliet reported for duty  (=arrived and said she was ready to start work) she was sent to check on a new patient.//  --A teacher may be fired for neglect of duty  (=failing to do their job properly) .//  --He did three  tours of duty  in Vietnam (=three periods working in a foreign country as a soldier, government officer etc) .//\n  3  be on/off duty:  to be working or not working at a particular time, especially when you are doing a job which people take turns to do, so that someone is always doing it//  --He’s  on night duty  next week.//  --Mary  goes on duty   (=starts working) tonight at half past ten.//  --What time do you go off duty  (=finish work) ?//\n  4 TAX:   [U and C] a tax you pay on something you buy//  duty on//  --the duty on cigarettes//  customs duty (=tax paid on goods coming into the country) //    death duties,  stamp duty//\n  5  do duty as sth:  to be used as something//   serve as something//  --The living room also does duty as a home office.//    double duty,  heavy-duty,  jury duty at jury service,  on active duty at active service//  ----------//  COLLOCATES for sense 1 //  do your duty //  it is somebody’s duty to do something //  have a duty to do something //  have a duty to somebody/owe somebody a duty //  sense of duty //  moral duty //  legal duty //  fail in your duty (=fail to do something that you should do for someone) //  be duty-bound to do something  formal (=have a duty to do something) //  ----------//


Words: Duvalier
Meaning:
Fran[hA168]ois   (1907-71) the President of Haiti from 1957 to 1971. He was called "Papa Doc" and ruled as a  dictator. He had a private army of soldiers called the Tontons Macoutes, who helped him to prevent any opposition to his government. He was famous for being very violent and cruel.//


Words: duvet
Meaning:
n [C]  especially BrE   [Date: 1700-1800; Language: French; Origin: ’soft feathers’]//  a large cloth bag filled with feathers or similar material that you use to cover yourself in bed//  American Equivalent:  comforter//


Words: DVD
Meaning:
n [U and C]   digital video disc  or   digital versatile disc a type of computer disc that can store a large amount of information, sound, pictures, and video//  --a DVD player//  --The film is now out on video and DVD.//


Words: DVLC
Meaning:
the   Driver and Vehicle Licensing Centre the British government department that is responsible for collecting road tax from people who own vehicles, for giving driving tests, and for giving people their  driving licences//


Words: Dvo[hA27C]ak
Meaning:
Anton[hA16E]n   (1841-1904) a Czech  composer. His most famous work is his ninth  symphony, called  From the New World//


Words: dwarf
Meaning:
n   plural  dwarfs  or  dwarves  [C] //  [Language: Old English; Origin: dweorg]//\n  1 an imaginary creature that looks like a small man:  --Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.//\n  2 a person who is a dwarf has not continued to grow to the normal height because of a medical condition. Many people think that this use is offensive.:    white dwarf//\ndwarf 2 adj [only before noun]   a dwarf plant or animal is much smaller than the usual size//  --a dwarf conifer//\ndwarf 3 v [T usually passive]   to be so big that other things are made to seem very small//  --The cathedral is dwarfed by the surrounding skyscrapers.//


Words: dweeb
Meaning:
n [C]  AmE  informal   [Date: 1900-2000; Origin:  Perhaps from  Scottish English dweeble  ’weak person’]//  someone who is weak, slightly strange, and not popular or fashionable//


Words: dwell
Meaning:
v   past tense and past participle  dwelt /dwelt/ or  dwelled  [I always + adverb/preposition] //  [Language: Old English; Origin: dwellan]//   literary to live in a particular place//  --They dwelt in the middle of the forest.//  dwell on/upon [dwell on/upon sth] phr v//  to think or talk for too long about something, especially something unpleasant//  --That is not a subject I want to dwell on.//


Words: dweller
Meaning:
n [C]   city/town/cave etc dweller//  a person or animal that lives in a particular place//  --City dwellers suffer higher pollution levels.//


Words: dwelling house
Meaning:
n [C]  formal  especially BrE   a house that people live in, not one that is being used as a shop, office etc//


Words: DWI
Meaning:
n [U and C]  AmE  law   driving while intoxicated the crime of driving when you have had too much alcohol to drink//   DUI//


Words: dwindle
Meaning:
v [I]   [Date: 1500-1600; Origin: dwine  ’to become less’]//   also dwindle away //  to gradually become less and less or smaller and smaller//  --The elephant population is dwindling.//  --His money had dwindled away.//  dwindle to//  --The stream has dwindled to a trickle.//  -- dwindling adj //  --dwindling resources//


Words: dye
Meaning:
n [U and C]   [Language: Old English; Origin: deah,  deag]//\n  1 a substance you use to change the colour of your clothes, hair etc:  --hair dye//\n  2  dye job:   informal someone who has had a dye job has used a substance to change the colour of their hair//\ndye 2    v [T] //  to give something a different colour using a dye//  dye sth black/blue/blonde etc //  --Priscilla’s hair was dyed jet black.//  -- dyed adj //


Words: dyed-in-the-wool
Meaning:
adj   having strong beliefs, likes, or opinions that will never change//  --Even dyed-in-the-wool traditionalists were impressed by the changes.//


Words: dying
Meaning:
the present participle of die//\ndying 2 adj \n  1  dying moment/minutes/seconds:  during the last minutes, seconds etc before something ends//  --Chandler’s goal was in the dying minutes of the game.//\n  2 [only before noun] happening just before someone dies:  --It was her dying wish to have a simple burial.//\n  3  to your dying day:  for the rest of your life//  --He regretted the decision to his dying day.//\n  4 [only before noun] gradually decreasing until soon there will be none left:  --Women who enjoy baking are a dying breed .//\n  5  the dying [plural] people who are dying:  --a hospice for the dying//


Words: dyke
Meaning:
dike/da[hA366]k/ n [C]   [Sense: 1, 3; Origin: Old English dic  ’ditch, dike’]//  [Sense: 2; Date: 1900-2000; Origin:  Probably from  morphadyke  ’male and female person, homosexual’ (1900-2000), from  hermaphrodite]//\n  1 a wall or bank built to keep back water and prevent flooding:\n  2  taboo  informal an offensive word for a lesbian (=woman who is sexually attracted to women) . Do not use this word.:\n  3  especially BrE a narrow passage to carry water away:   ditch//


Words: Dylan
Meaning:
Bob   (1941- ) a US singer and songwriter who has had a great influence on popular songwriting. His early songs in the 1960s were often  protest songs on the subjects of war and the  civil rights movement in the US, and they include  Blowin’ in the Wind, and  The Times They are A-Changing’. //


Words: dynamic
Meaning:
adj   [Date: 1800-1900; Language: French; Origin: dynamique, from  Greek dynamikos  ’powerful’, from  dynamis  ’power’]//\n  1 full of energy and new ideas, and determined to succeed:  --dynamic and ambitious people//\n  2 continuously moving or changing:  --a dynamic and unstable process//\n  3  technical relating to a force or power that causes movement:  -- dynamically/-kli/ adv //\ndynamic 2 n \n  1  dynamics:  a)  [plural] the way in which things or people behave, react, and affect each other//  dynamics of//  --the dynamics of the family//  --He did research on group dynamics and leadership styles.//  b)  [U] the science relating to the movement of objects and the forces involved in movement//  c)  [plural] changes in how loudly music is played or sung//\n  2 [singular]  formal something that causes action or change:  dynamic of//  --She regards class conflict as a central dynamic of historical change.//


Words: dynamite
Meaning:
n [U]   [Date: 1800-1900; Language: Greek; Origin: dynamis  ’power’]//\n  1 a powerful explosive used especially for breaking rock:  --a dynamite blast//\n  2 something or someone that is likely to cause a lot of trouble:  --If the proposals became public they would be dynamite.//\n  3  old-fashioned  informal someone or something that is very exciting or impressive:  --The band is dynamite.//\ndynamite 2 v [T]   to damage or destroy something with dynamite//


Words: dynamo
Meaning:
n   plural  dynamos  [C] //  [Date: 1800-1900; Origin: dynamoelectric machine  (1800-1900)]//\n  1 a machine that changes some other form of power directly into electricity:  --bicycle lights powered by a dynamo//\n  2 someone who is excited about what they do and who puts a lot of energy into it:  --the team’s midfield dynamo//\n  3 something that has a strong effect on something else, and that makes things happen:  --Oil is the dynamo of the country’s economy.//


Words: dynasty
Meaning:
n   plural  dynasties  [C] //  [Date: 1300-1400; Language: Late Latin; Origin: dynastia, from  Greek dynastes  ’lord’]//\n  1 a family of kings or other rulers whose parents, grandparents etc have ruled the country for many years:  --The Habsburg dynasty ruled in Austria from 1278 to 1918.//\n  2 a period of time when a particular family ruled a country or area:\n  3  informal a group or family that controls a particular business or organization for a long time:  --the Rothschild banking dynasty//


Words: dysentery
Meaning:
n [U]   [Date: 1300-1400; Language: Latin; Origin: dysenteria, from  Greek, from  dys-  ’bad’ +  enteron  ’bowels’]//  a serious disease of your bowels that makes them bleed and pass much more waste than usual//


Words: dysfunctional
Meaning:
adj   [Date: 1900-2000; Origin: dys-  ’bad’ (from  Greek) +  functional]//\n  1 not following the normal patterns of social behaviour, especially with the result that someone cannot behave in a normal way or have a satisfactory life:  --dysfunctional family relationships//\n  2 not working properly or normally:


Words: dyslexia
Meaning:
n [U]   [Date: 1800-1900; Origin: dys-  ’bad’ (from  Greek) +  Greek lexis  ’word, speech’]//  a condition that makes it difficult for someone to read and spell//  -- dyslexic adj //  --Two of the children in the class are dyslexic.//


Words: dyspepsia
Meaning:
n [U]   [Date: 1700-1800; Language: Latin; Origin: Greek, from  dys-  ’bad’ +  pepsis  ’bodily use of eaten food’]//  a problem that your body has in dealing with the food you eat//   indigestion//


Words: dystopia
Meaning:
n [C]   [Date: 1900-2000; Origin: dys-  ’bad’ (from  Greek) +  utopia]//  an imaginary place where life is extremely difficult and a lot of unfair or immoral things happen//  → utopia//


Words: E
Meaning:
e/i[hA359]/ n   plural  E’s  or  e’s //\n  1 [U and C] the fifth letter of the English alphabet:\n  2 [U and C] the third note in the scale of C major or the musical key based on this note:\n  3 [C] a mark given to a student’s work to show that it is of very low quality:\n  4 [U and C]  ecstasy (=an illegal drug) :\n\n  1  BrE  technical the written abbreviation of earth  (=a connection between a piece of electrical equipment and the ground) :\n  2 the abbreviation of E number :\n  3 the written abbreviation of  east or eastern :\nE 111   a document which is available to citizens of any country in the EU (=European Union) , and which gives them the right to receive free health care when they visit other EU countries//


Words: E number
Meaning:
n [C]    BrE a number representing a chemical that has been added to a food, shown on the outside of a container//


Words: e-
Meaning:
E-/i[hA359]/ prefix   electronic used before another word to mean something that is done on or involves the Internet//  --e-shopping//  --e-commerce//


Words: e-book
Meaning:
n [C]   electronic book a book that you read on a computer screen or on a special small computer that you can hold in your hands, and that is not printed on paper//


Words: e-cash
Meaning:
n [U]   electronic cash money used to buy things on the Internet, but that does not exist in a physical form or belong to any particular country//


Words: e-commerce
Meaning:
n [U]   electronic commerce the activity of buying and selling goods and services and doing other business activities using a computer and the Internet//  --e-commerce applications such as online ticketing and reservations//


Words: e-fatigue
Meaning:
n  also electronic fatigue  [U]   problems that people have as a result of using computers too much or for too long, for example tiredness at work or a lack of communication//


Words: e-fit
Meaning:
n [C]  BrE   [Date: 1900-2000; Origin: e (short for  electronic) +  -fit (as in  Photofit)]//  a picture, made by using a computer, of a person who the police think was responsible for a crime, which they show on television or the Internet in order to try and catch the person//


Words: e-publishing
Meaning:
n [U]   electronic publishing the business of producing books, magazines, or newspapers that are designed to be read using a computer//  -- e-publisher n  [C] //


Words: e-resume
Meaning:
also  e-resume/i[hA359] rezj[hA35E]me[hA366] $ -rez[hA35E]me[hA366]/ n [C]   electronic resume an electronic written record of your education and previous jobs that you send to an employer over the Internet when you are looking for a new job//


Words: e-tailer
Meaning:
n [C]   electronic retailer a business that sells products or services on the Internet, instead of in a shop//  -- e-tail n  [U] //


Words: E-ticket
Meaning:
n [C]   electronic ticket a ticket, especially for a plane journey, that is stored in a computer and is not given to you in the form of paper//


Words: E. coli
Meaning:
n [U]   [Date: 1900-2000; Language: Modern Latin; Origin: Escherichia name of a type of bacteria (from T.  Escher (1857-1911), German doctor)  coli  ’of the colon’]//  a type of bacteria that can make you very ill if it is in any food that you eat//


Words: e.g.
Meaning:
[Date: 1600-1700; Language: Latin; Origin: exempli gratia  ’for the sake of example’]//  the abbreviation of for example //  --citrus fruits, e.g. oranges and grapefruit//


Words: E.T. 1
Meaning:
(1982) a very popular US film made by Steven  Spielberg about a creature called E.T. (’the Extra Terrestrial’), who comes to Earth from another part of the universe. He is small and ugly, but very kind and intelligent, and he becomes friends with a boy called Elliot, who helps him to get home.//


Words: each
Meaning:
determiner, pron, adv   [Language: Old English; Origin: [zB024]lc]//\n  1 every one of two or more things or people, considered separately:    every//  --She had a bottle in each hand.//  --Grill the fish for five minutes on each side.//  --Each member of the team is given a particular job to do.//  --We each have our own skills.//  --When the children arrive, you give them each a balloon.//  --There are four bedrooms, each with its own shower and WC.//  --The tickets cost [hA124]20 each (=each ticket costs [hA124]20) .//  --You get two cookies each (=every one of you gets two cookies) .//  each of//  --I’m going to ask each of you to speak for three minutes.//  --There are 250 blocks of stone, and each one weighs a ton.//  each day/week/month etc (=on each day, in each week etc) //  --a disease that affects about 10 million people each year//\n  2  each and every:  used to emphasize that you are talking about every person or thing in a group//  --These are issues that affect each and every one of us.//  --Firemen face dangerous situations each and every day.//\n  3  each to his/their own:  used to say that we all have different ideas about how to do things, what we like etc, especially when you do not agree with someone else’s choice//  --I’d have chosen something more modern myself, but each to his own.//  ----------//  WORD CHOICE: each, every //  It is often correct to use either  each  or  every , but they have slightly different meanings. //  Use  each when you are thinking about the people or things in a group separately, one by one : Each student came forward to receive a medal (emphasizes that they came forward one after another)| Each time you exercise, you get a little stronger. //  Use  every when you are thinking about the whole group of people or things together, with no exceptions : Every student was given a prize (emphasizes that everyone in the group got a prize)| Warm up every time you exercise. //  !!  Do not use each with words such as ’almost’, ’nearly’, or ’not’. Use  every : Almost every window was broken. |  Not every child enjoyed the party. //  !!  Do not use  each  in negative clauses. Use  none : None of the answers were correct (NOT Each of the answers were not correct). //  GRAMMAR//  each  and  every are followed by a singular verb : Each item was thoroughly checked. |  Every member wears a uniform. //  each  and  every are usually followed by a singular pronoun or determiner (he, she, it, his, himself etc) : Each component can be replaced separately if it breaks.| Every woman must decide for herself. //  But you can use ’they’, ’them’, ’their’ etc when you do not want to say whether people are male or female : Every child has their own room. //  ----------//


Words: each other
Meaning:
pron [not used as the subject of a sentence]   used to show that each of two or more people does something to the other or others//    one another//  --Susan and Robert kissed each other passionately.//  --The girls looked at each other.//  --They enjoy each other’s company.//    be at each other’s throats at throat(5)//


Words: each way
Meaning:
adv  BrE   if you bet (=try to win money by guessing the winner of a race) money each way, you will win if the horse or dog you choose comes first, second, or third//  -- each way adj //  --a [hA124]10 each way bet//


Words: eager
Meaning:
adj   [Date: 1200-1300; Language: Old French; Origin: aigre, from  Latin acer  ’sharp’]//\n  1 very keen and excited about something that is going to happen or about something you want to do:  eager to do sth//  --I was eager to get back to work as soon as possible.//  --He’s a bright kid and eager to learn.//  --She’s a very hard worker and very eager to please .//  --A crowd of eager young students were already waiting outside.//  eager for//  --fans eager for a glimpse of the singer//\n  2  eager beaver:   informal someone who is too keen and works harder than they should//  -- eagerly adv //  --They’re eagerly awaiting the big day.//  -- eagerness n  [U] //  --People were pushing each other out of the way in their eagerness to get to the front.//


Words: eagle
Meaning:
n [C]   [Date: 1300-1400; Language: Old French; Origin: aigle, from  Latin aquila]//\n  1 a very large strong bird with a beak like a hook that eats small animals, birds etc:\n  2 two strokes less than par (=(the usual number of strokes for a hole)) in a game of golf:\n  3  eagle eye:  used to say that someone is watching carefully or is likely to notice something//  --They carried on working, under the eagle eye of the owner.//\neagle 2 v [T]   to use two strokes less than the usual number of strokes for a hole in a game of golf//


Words: eagle-eyed
Meaning:
adj [only before noun]   very good at seeing or noticing things//  --One eagle-eyed passerby noticed that the window was slightly open.//


Words: Ealing comedy
Meaning:
n [C]   one of many humorous films, made mostly in black and white at Ealing Studios in London during the 1940s and 1950s, in which many well-known British actors appeared//


Words: ear
Meaning:
n   ear, nose, tooth, eye//  ----------//\n   1 part of your body:\n   2 hearing:\n   3 grain:\n   4 smile/grin etc from ear to ear:\n   5 :\n   6 a sympathetic ear:\n   7 close/shut your ears to something:\n   8 be all ears:\n   9 be out on your ear:\n  10 be up to your ears in work/debt/problems etc:\n  11 have something coming out (of) your ears:\n  12 keep your/an ear to the ground:\n  13 keep your ears open:\n  14 go in (at) one ear and out (at) the other:\n  15 give somebody a thick ear:\n  16 have somebody’s ear:\n  17 play something by ear:\n  18 somebody’s ears are burning:\n  19 somebody’s ears are flapping:  ----------//  [Sense: 1,2; Origin: Old English eare]//  [Sense: 3; Origin: Old English ear]//\n  1 PART OF YOUR BODY:   [C] one of the organs on either side of your head that you hear with//  --She tucked her hair behind her ears.//  --She’s had her ears pierced (=small holes made in her ears in order to wear earrings) .//  whisper/say (sth) in sb’s ear //  --Lou turned to Mark and whispered something in his ear.//  long-eared/short-eared etc //  --a long-eared rabbit//  inner/middle ear (=the parts inside your ear which you use to hear sounds) //\n  2 HEARING:   [C] used to talk about hearing//  to sb’s ears//  --It sounds odd to the ears of an ordinary English speaker.//  --I just wondered if the rumour had reached your ears  (=if you had heard it) .//    prick (up) your ears at prick1 (5)//\n  3 GRAIN:   [C] the top part of a plant such as wheat that produces grain//  ear of//  --an ear of corn//\n  4  smile/grin etc from ear to ear:  to show that you are very happy or pleased by smiling a lot//  --She came out of his office, beaming from ear to ear.//\n  5 [singular] the ability to learn music, copy sounds etc:  ear for//  --She has no ear for languages at all.//  --a good ear for dialogue//\n  6  a sympathetic ear:  used to say that someone listens sympathetically to what someone is saying//  --He’s always prepared to lend a sympathetic ear .//\n  7  close/shut your ears to sth:  to refuse to listen to bad or unpleasant news//  --You can’t just close your ears to their warnings.//    turn a deaf ear at deaf(4),  fall on deaf ears at deaf(5)//\n  8  be all ears:   informal to be very keen to hear what someone is going to tell you//  --As soon as I mentioned money, Karen was all ears.//\n  9  be out on your ear:   informal to be forced to leave a job, organization etc, especially because you have done something wrong//  --You’d better start working harder, or you’ll be out on your ear.//\n  10  be up to your ears in work/debt/problems etc:  to have a lot of work etc//\n  11  have sth coming out (of) your ears:   informal to have too much of something//  --We’ve got pumpkins coming out our ears this time of year.//\n  12  keep your/an ear to the ground:  to make sure that you always know what is happening in a situation//\n  13  keep your ears open:  to always be listening in order to find out what is happening or to hear some useful information//  --I hope you’ll all keep your eyes and ears open for anything unusual.//\n  14  go in (at) one ear and out (at) the other:   informal if information goes in one ear and out the other, you forget it as soon as you have heard it//  --I don’t know why I tell her anything. It just goes in one ear and out the other.//\n  15  give sb a thick ear:   BrE  informal to hit someone on the ear//  --Behave yourself or I’ll give you a thick ear!//\n  16  have sb’s ear:  to be trusted by someone so that they will listen to your advice, opinions etc//  --He claimed to have the ear of several top ministers.//\n  17  play sth by ear:  to play music that you have heard without having to read written music//    play it by ear at play1 (11)//\n  18  sb’s ears are burning:  used to say that someone thinks that people are talking about them//\n  19  sb’s ears are flapping:   BrE  spoken used to say that someone is trying to listen to your private conversation//    dog-eared//    bend sb’s ear at bend1 (7)//    send sb off with a flea in their ear at flea(2)//    make a pig’s ear of at pig1 (5)//    wet behind the ears at wet1 (7)//


Words: earful
Meaning:
n   give sb an earful//   informal to tell someone how angry you are about something they have done//  --He gave me a real earful about being late so often.//


Words: earl
Meaning:
n [C]   [Language: Old English; Origin: eorl]//  a man with a high social rank//  --the Earl of Warwick//


Words: Earl’s Court
Meaning:
1 a large building in London used especially for  exhibitions in which businesses show their new products:  --This year’s Boat Show opens at Earl’s Court on Monday.//\n  2 the area of West London around this building. It is an area where many young people live in single rooms or small apartments:


Words: earliest
Meaning:
n   at the earliest//  no earlier than the time or date mentioned//  --Work will begin in October at the very earliest.//


Words: early
Meaning:
adj   comparative  earlier superlative  earliest //  ----------//\n   1 first part:\n   2 before usual:\n   3 beginning:\n   4 new thing:\n   5 the early hours:\n   6 an early start:\n   7 at/from an early age:\n   8 an early night:\n   9 early bird/early riser:\n  10 the early bird catches the worm:\n  11 early potatoes/lettuces etc:  ----------//  [Language: Old English; Origin: [zB024]rlice, from  [zB024]r  ’early, soon’]//\n  1 FIRST PART:  in the first part of a period of time, event, or process//  --the  early morning  sunshine//  --an afternoon in  early spring //  -- In the early days , the railways mainly carried goods.//  --She is  in her early twenties .//  --the recession of  the early 1980s //  --The money could be paid  as early as  next week.//  --He spent  the early part of  his career at St John’s Hospital.//  --the experiences of  early childhood //  --the  early works  of Shakespeare//  --My  earliest memories  are of fruit trees.//  -- Early signs  are encouraging.//\n  2 BEFORE USUAL:  arriving or happening before the usual or expected time//  → late//  five minutes/three hours etc early //  --The bus was ten minutes early.//  early for//  --I was a few minutes early for my appointment.//  --David decided to take early retirement  (=stop working before the normal age) .//  --She drank herself into an early grave  (=died younger than is normal) .//\n  3 BEGINNING:  used to emphasize that something has just begun, especially when you do not know how it will develop//  -- It’s too early to say whether the show will be a success.//  -- It’s early days yet. I don’t want to make any predictions.//\n  4 NEW THING:   [only before noun] being one of the first people, events, machines etc//  --Early motor cars had very poor brakes.//  --fossil evidence of early man//\n  5  the early hours:  the time between midnight and morning//  --I didn’t finally get to bed until the early hours.//  in the early hours of sth//  --The attack happened in the early hours of Sunday morning.//\n  6  an early start:  a start made very early in the day because you have a lot to do, far to go etc//  --We need to make an early start tomorrow.//\n  7  at/from an early age:  when you are very young, or starting when you were very young//  --She’s played tennis from a very early age.//\n  8  an early night:  if you have an early night, you go to bed earlier than usual//  → a late night//  have/get an early night//  --I think I’ll get an early night.//\n  9  early bird/early riser:  someone who always gets up very early in the morning//\n  10  the early bird catches the worm:  used to say that if you do something early or before other people, you will be successful//\n  11  early potatoes/lettuces etc:  potatoes etc that are ready to be picked before any others//  ----------//  COLLOCATES for sense 1 //  early morning/afternoon/evening //  early spring/summer etc //  early August/January etc //  in the early days/months/years  (=in the beginning) //  in your early twenties/forties/seventies etc  (=aged 20-23, 40-43, 70-73 etc) //  the early 1920s/1980s/90s etc  (=1920-1923, 1980-1983, 1990-1993 etc) //  as early as  (=used for emphasizing an early time) //  the early stages/part (of something) //  somebody’s early life/childhood/adolescence etc //  somebody’s early songs/books/work etc //  somebody’s early memories (=the things someone remembers from when they were very young) //  early signs/indications //  ----------//\nearly 2 adv   comparative  earlier superlative  earliest //\n  1 before the usual, arranged, or expected time:  → late//  --We arrived early.//  --They must have come home early.//\n  2 near the beginning of a period of time, event, process etc:  → late//  early in//  --She went out early in the morning.//  --He was sent off early in the game.//  early this/next/last year etc //  --The building should be finished early next year.//  --The restaurant opened earlier this month.//  --We want to start as early as possible .//  --The disease is easy to treat if diagnosed early.//\n  3  early on:  at an early stage in a relationship, process etc//  --I realized early on I’d never pass the exam.//  early on in//  --We encountered problems early on in the project.//


Words: Early Day Motion
Meaning:
a proposal formally made in writing by a member of the British parliament, and signed by other members. MPs do this in order to find out how much support there is for a particular proposal.//


Words: early warning
Meaning:
adj   early warning system/device etc//  a system or equipment which tells you that something bad, especially an enemy attack, is going to happen//


Words: earmark
Meaning:
v [T usually passive]   to decide that something will be used for a particular purpose or have something done to it in the future//  earmark sb/sth for sth//  --85% of foreign aid is earmarked by Congress for specific purposes.//  --schools earmarked for closure//  earmark sb/sth as sth//  --He had been earmarked as a potential leader.//


Words: earmuffs
Meaning:
n [plural]   two pieces of material joined by a band over the top of your head, which you wear to keep your ears warm//


Words: earn
Meaning:
v   ----------//\n   1 money for work:\n   2 profit:\n   3 something deserved:\n   4 earn your/its keep:  ----------//  [Language: Old English; Origin: earnian]//\n  1 MONEY FOR WORK:   [I and T] to receive a particular amount of money for the work that you do//  --He earns nearly [hA124]20,000 a year.//  --You don’t earn much money being a nurse.//  --He did all sorts of jobs to earn a living .//  --I was the only person in the house who  was earning .//  --She was  earning good money  at the bank.//  --Chris will pay - he’s  earning a fortune . see usage note  gain1 //\n  2 PROFIT:   [T] to make a profit from business or from putting money in a bank etc//  --The movie earned [hA124]7 million on its first day.//  --You could earn a higher rate of interest elsewhere.//\n  3 SOMETHING DESERVED:   [T] //  a) to do something or have qualities that make you deserve something//  --I think you’ve earned a rest.//  --He soon earned the respect of the players.//  --He hopes to earn a place in the Olympic team.//  --The company has earned a reputation for reliability.//  b) if your actions or qualities earn you something, they make you deserve to have it//  earn sb sth//  --That performance earned her an Oscar as Best Actress.//\n  4  earn your/its keep:  a) to do jobs in return for being given a home and food//  --We older children were expected to earn our keep.//  b) to be useful enough to be worth the time or money spent//  --These aircraft are still earning their keep.//  ----------//  COLLOCATES for sense 1 //  earn money //  earn a wage/salary //  earn a living (=earn enough money for the things you need to live) //  earn a crust British English (=earn enough money to live) //  be earning  BrE (=to have a job) //  earn good money/earn well  (=earn a lot of money) //  earn a fortune  (=earn an extremely large amount of money) //  ----------//


Words: earner
Meaning:
n [C] \n  1 someone who earns money for the job that they do:  high/low/average earner //  --Private childcare is still too expensive for the average earner.//  --He is the only wage earner in the family.//\n  2 a business or activity which makes a profit:  --the country’s biggest export earner//\n  3  a nice little earner:   BrE  informal something that earns you a lot of money//


Words: earnest
Meaning:
adj   [Language: Old English; Origin: eornost]//  very serious and sincere//  --a rather earnest young man//  --Matthews was in earnest conversation with a young girl.//  --an earnest desire to offer something useful to society//  earnest expression/look/voice etc //  earnest attempt/effort etc //  -- earnestly adv //  --earnestly discussing politics//  -- earnestness n  [U] //\nearnest 2 n \n  1  in earnest:  if something starts happening in earnest, it begins properly - used when it was happening in a small or informal way before//  --On Monday your training begins in earnest !//\n  2  be in earnest:  to really mean what you are saying, especially when expressing an intention or wish//  --She wasn’t sure whether he was in earnest or not.//  be in dead/deadly/complete earnest //  --Although he smiled, Ashley knew he was in deadly earnest.//


Words: earnings
Meaning:
n [plural] \n  1 the money that you receive for the work that you do:    salary, pay (2, 1)//  --an employee’s average weekly earnings//  --He claimed compensation for loss of earnings .//\n  2 the profit that a company or country makes:  --The company’s earnings have dropped by 5% in the first quarter.//  --Oil provides 40% of Norway’s export earnings .//


Words: Earp
Meaning:
Wyatt   (1848-1929) a US  marshal and  gambler (=someone who plays card games to win money etc)  who is fought in the famous "Gunfight at the O.K. Corral"//


Words: earphone
Meaning:
n [usually plural]   a small piece of equipment connected by a wire to a radio, personal stereo etc, which you put in or over your ears so that only you can listen to it//


Words: earpiece
Meaning:
n [C] \n  1 a small piece of equipment that you put into your ear to hear a recording, message etc:\n  2 [usually plural] one of the two pieces at the side of a pair of glasses that go round your ears:\n  3 the part of a telephone that you listen through:


Words: earplug
Meaning:
n [C usually plural]   a small piece of rubber that you put inside your ear to keep out noise or water//


Words: earring
Meaning:
n [C]   a piece of jewellery that you wear on your ear//  gold/diamond/pearl etc earrings //  --She was wearing a pair of beautiful diamond earrings .//


Words: earshot
Meaning:
n \n  1  within earshot:  near enough to hear what someone is saying//  --Everyone within earshot soon knew her opinion of Reggie.//\n  2  out of earshot:  not near enough to hear what someone is saying//  --I waited for her to get out of earshot before laughing.//


Words: earth
Meaning:
n   ----------//\n   1 world:\n   2 soil:\n   3 land:\n   4 what/why/how etc on earth ...?:\n   5 cost/pay/charge the earth:\n   6 the biggest/tallest/most expensive etc ... on earth:\n   7 religion:\n   8 come back/down to earth (with a bump):\n   9 no ... /nothing on earth:\n  10 look/feel etc like nothing on earth:\n  11 electricity:\n  12 animal’s home:\n  13 go to earth:\n  14 run somebody/something to earth:  ----------//  [Language: Old English; Origin: eorthe]//\n  1 WORLD:   also  Earth//   [singular, U] the planet that we live on//  --the planet Earth//  the earth //  --The earth revolves around the sun.//  the earth’s surface/atmosphere/crust etc //  --71% of the earth’s surface is sea.//  on earth//  --the origin of life on Earth//\n  2 SOIL:   [U] the substance that plants grow in//   soil//  soft/bare/damp etc earth //  --footprints in the wet earth//  --a lump of earth//\n  3 LAND:   [U] the hard surface of the world, as opposed to the sea or air//   ground//  --The earth began to shake.//  --They watched the kite fall back to earth. see usage note  ground1 //\n  4  what/why/how etc on earth ...?:   spoken used to ask a question when you are very surprised or angry//  --What on earth did you do that for?//\n  5  cost/pay/charge the earth:   informal to cost etc a very large amount of money//  --It must have cost the earth!//\n  6  the biggest/tallest/most expensive etc ... on earth:  the biggest etc example of something that exists//  --the most powerful man on earth//\n  7 RELIGION:   [U] used in religion to refer to the time when people are alive as opposed to being in heaven or hell//  --Jesus’ time on earth//    move heaven and earth at heaven(9)//    hell on earth at hell1 (2)//\n  8  come back/down to earth (with a bump):  to stop behaving or living in a way that is not practical//  --She soon brought him back down to earth.//\n  9  no ... /nothing on earth:  used to emphasize that you mean nothing at all//  --Nothing on earth would have persuaded me to go.//  --There’s no reason on earth why you should tell him.//\n  10  look/feel etc like nothing on earth:   BrE to look or feel very strange//  --The next morning I felt like nothing on earth.//\n  11 ELECTRICITY:   [C usually singular]  BrE a wire that makes a piece of electrical equipment safe by connecting it with the ground//  American Equivalent:  ground//\n  12 ANIMAL’S HOME:   [C] the hole where a wild animal such as a fox lives//    den, lair//\n  13  go to earth:   BrE to hide in order to escape from someone who is chasing you//   go to ground//\n  14  run sb/sth to earth:   BrE to find someone, especially by looking in many places//    down-to-earth//    promise sb the moon/the earth at promise1 (3)//    the salt of the earth at salt1 (2)//\nearth 2 v [T]    BrE to make electrical equipment safe by connecting it to the ground with a wire//  American Equivalent:  ground//  --Make sure that the machine is properly earthed.//


Words: earth mother
Meaning:
n [C]   a woman who has all the qualities expected of a mother and is especially interested in simple, natural ways of living//


Words: Earth Summit
Meaning:
a large international meeting held in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil in 1992, at which the leaders of the countries of the United Nations discussed ways of protecting the environment and preserving the Earth’s  biodiversity (=all the different plants and animals on the Earth) . It is sometimes also called the Rio Summit.//


Words: earthbound
Meaning:
adj \n  1 unable to move away from the surface of the Earth:\n  2 having very little imagination and thinking too much about practical things:


Words: earthen
Meaning:
adj [only before noun] \n  1 an earthen floor or wall is made of soil:\n  2 an earthen pot etc is made of baked clay:


Words: earthly
Meaning:
adj \n  1  no earthly reason/use etc:  no reason, use etc at all//  --I see no earthly reason why he shouldn’t come.//\n  2 [only before noun]  literary connected with life on Earth rather than in heaven:  --our earthly pleasures//  --an earthly paradise//


Words: earthquake
Meaning:
n [C]   a sudden shaking of the earth’s surface that often causes a lot of damage//  --An earthquake measuring 6.1 on the Richter scale struck southern California on June 28.//  --The city is in an earthquake zone.//


Words: earthy
Meaning:
adj \n  1 tasting, smelling, or looking like earth or soil:  --earthy colours//\n  2 talking about things that are often considered rude, especially sex and the human body, in a relaxed direct way:  --earthy language//  -- earthiness n  [U] //


Words: earwig
Meaning:
n [C]   [Language: Old English; Origin: earwicga  ’ear-insect’; because it used to be believed that these insects get into people’s ears]//  a long brown insect with two curved pointed parts at the back end of its body//


Words: ease
Meaning:
n [U]   [Date: 1100-1200; Language: Old French; Origin: aise  ’comfort’]//\n  1  with ease:  if you do something with ease, it is very easy for you to do it//   easily//  --They won with ease.//  --The security codes could be broken with relative ease .//  --I was impressed by the ease with which the information could be retrieved.//\n  2  at ease:  feeling relaxed, especially in a situation in which people might feel a little nervous//  at ease with//  --She felt completely at ease with Bernard.//  put/set sb at (their) ease (=make someone feel relaxed) //  --She had an ability to put people at their ease.//\n  3  ill at ease:  not relaxed//  --You always look ill at ease in a suit.//\n  4  ease of application/use etc:   written how easy something is to use etc, or the quality of being easy to use etc//  --It emphasizes the software’s convenience and ease of use.//  for ease of sth//  --The bowl is removable for ease of cleaning.//\n  5 the ability to feel relaxed or behave in a natural relaxed way:  --He had a natural ease which made him very popular.//\n  6  a life of ease:  a comfortable life, without problems or worries//\n  7  (stand) at ease:  used to tell soldiers to stand in a relaxed way with their feet apart//\nease 2 v   ----------//\n   1 improve:\n   2 make easier:\n   3 move:\n   4 ease your grip:\n   5 ease somebody’s mind:  Phrasal verbs//   ease (somebody) into something//   ease off//   ease out//   ease up//  ----------//\n  1 IMPROVE:   [I and T] if something unpleasant eases, or if you ease it, it gradually improves or becomes less//  ease the pain/stress/tension //  --He’ll give you something to ease the pain.//  ease the pressure/burden //  --This should ease the burden on busy teachers.//  --measures to ease congestion in the city//  --Her breathing had eased.//\n  2 MAKE EASIER:   [T] to make something, especially a process, happen more easily//   smooth//  --The agreement will ease the way for other countries to join the EU.//\n  3 MOVE:   [I,T always + adverb/preposition] to move yourself or something slowly and carefully into another place or position//  --She eased her shoes off.//  ease yourself into/through etc sth//  --Phil eased himself into an armchair.//  ease your way past/through etc sth//  --He eased his way through the crowd.//  --Jean eased back on the pillows and relaxed.//\n  4  ease your grip:  to hold something less tightly//\n  5  ease sb’s mind:  to make someone feel less worried about something//  --It would ease my mind to know you had arrived safely.//  ease () into [ease (sb) into sth] phr v//  if you ease yourself or someone else into a new job etc, you start doing it gradually or help them to start//  --After the baby, she eased herself back into work.//  ease off phr v//\n  1 if something, especially something that you do not like, eases off, it improves or gets less:   ease up//  --The rain had eased off a bit.//  --Why don’t you wait until the traffic eases off a little?//\n  2  ease off on sb:  to stop being unpleasant to someone or asking so much from them//  ease out phr v//\n  1 if a vehicle eases out, it slowly moves forward into the traffic:\n  2  ease sb → out:  to make someone leave a job, a position of authority etc, in a way that makes it seem as if they have chosen to leave//  ease up phr v//\n  1 to work less hard or do something with less energy than before:  --Just relax and ease up a little.//\n  2 to start doing something less:  ease up on//  --You should ease up on the whisky.//\n  3 to improve or get less:   ease off//  --The snow was easing up.//


Words: easel
Meaning:
n [C]   [Date: 1500-1600; Language: Dutch; Origin: ezel  ’donkey’; because an easel carries a painting as a donkey carries a person]//  a wooden frame that you put a painting on while you paint it//


Words: easily
Meaning:
adv \n  1 without problems or difficulties:  --They won quite easily.//  --We found the house easily enough .//  easily accessible/available etc //  --The castle is easily accessible by road.//  easily understood/identified etc //  --It’s easily recognised by its bright blue tail feathers.//\n  2  could/can/might easily:  used to say that something is possible or is very likely to happen//  --The first signs of the disease can easily be overlooked.//  --They could so easily have escaped.//  --Gambling can all too easily become an addiction (=used to say that something bad is very possible) .//\n  3  easily the best/biggest etc:  definitely the best etc//  --She is easily the most intelligent person in the class.//\n  4 in a relaxed way:  --His son grinned easily back at him.//


Words: easiness
Meaning:
n [U] \n  1 a feeling of being relaxed and comfortable with someone:\n  2 when something is not difficult:


Words: East
Meaning:
n \n  1  the East:  a) the countries in Asia, especially China and Japan//  --Martial arts originated in the East.//  b) the countries in the eastern part of Europe and Central Asia//  --American relations with the East.//  c)  AmE the part of the US east of the Mississippi River, especially the states north of Washington DC//  --She was born in the East but now lives in Atlanta.//  --He was born in Utah but went to college back East .//\n  2  East-West relations/trade etc:  political relations etc between countries in eastern Europe and those in western Europe and North America//   Far East, Middle East, Near East//\neast 1  East/i[hA359]st/ n  written abbreviation E  [singular, U]   [Language: Old English; Origin:]//\n  1 the direction from which the sun rises, and which is on the right if you are facing north:  --Which way is east?//  from/towards the east//  --He turned and walked away towards the east.//  to the east (of sth)//  --To the east of the pier were miles of sandy beaches.//\n  2  the east:  the eastern part of a country or area//  --Housing in the east was as bad as ever.//  the east of//  --the east of Scotland//\neast 2 adj  East written abbreviation E \n  1 [only before noun] in the east or facing the east:  --I don’t know the east coast well.//  --He was born in East Jerusalem.//\n  2 an east wind comes from the east:\neast 3 adv  written abbreviation E \n  1 towards the east:  --We drove east along Brooklyn Avenue.//  east of//  --a small farming community 18 miles east of Paris//  --an east-facing bedroom//\n  2  out east:  to or in the countries in Asia, especially China and Japan//  --The drug is being used all the time out east.//


Words: East Anglia
Meaning:
a large area of eastern England, between the  Wash and the  Thames, including Norfolk, Suffolk, and parts of Essex and Cambridgeshire. The countryside is mostly flat, and a lot of wheat, flowers, and vegetables are grown there.//  -- East Anglian adj //


Words: East bloc
Meaning:
also Eastern bloc   the East bloc//  the former name for the group of countries including the former Soviet Union and other eastern European countries with Communist governments, which had a close military and trade relationship//  -- East bloc adj  [only before noun] //  --East bloc nations//


Words: East Coast
Meaning:
n   the East Coast//  the part of the US that is next to the Atlantic Ocean, especially those states north of Washington DC//


Words: East End
Meaning:
n   the East End//  the eastern part of London, north of the River Thames//  -- East Ender n  [C] //


Words: East Germany
Meaning:
also the German Democratic Republic   a former country in northeast Europe, which in 1990 joined again with West Germany (the Federal Republic of Germany) to become Germany//  -- East German n  adj //


Words: East India Company
Meaning:
one of several European companies that developed trade with India and east Asia in the 17th and 18th centuries. The British East India Company (1600-1858) was the most important of these, and was responsible for bringing India into the British Empire.//


Words: East Side
Meaning:
n   the East Side//  the southeastern part of Manhattan in New York, lived in mostly by poor people who have come to the US from other countries//


Words: East Timor
Meaning:
a territory in the south east Indian Ocean, formerly a Portuguese colony, but claimed by Indonesia since 1975. In 1999 the East Timorese population voted to become independent. This led to violence between opposing groups, and the  united nations took temporary control of the country. It became an independent nation in 2002.//


Words: eastbound
Meaning:
adj   travelling or leading towards the east//  --A crash on the eastbound side of the freeway is blocking traffic.//


Words: EastEnders
Meaning:
trademark   a popular British  soap opera on television, which is about the  working class people who live in  Albert Square in the East End of London. It deals with common social problems in a realistic way.//


Words: Easter
Meaning:
n [U and C]   [Language: Old English; Origin: eastre]//\n  1 a Christian holy day in March or April when Christians remember the death of Christ and his return to life:  --on Easter Sunday //    Good Friday//\n  2 the period of time just before and after Easter Day:  at Easter//  --We’ll probably go away at Easter.//  Easter holiday/weekend/break //  --We spent the Easter holidays in Wales.//


Words: Easter egg
Meaning:
n [C] \n  1  BrE a chocolate egg bought or given as a present at Easter:\n  2  AmE an egg that has been coloured and decorated to celebrate Easter:


Words: Easter Island
Meaning:
a small island in the Pacific Ocean, which belongs to Chile. Many tourists go to Easter Island to see the several hundred stone heads, some of which are 20 metres tall, which were made over a thousand years ago.//


Words: Easter Rising
Meaning:
the   the events of Easter 1916 in Ireland, when armed opponents of British rule in Ireland took control of the main Post Office in Dublin and announced that Ireland was an independent republic. They were quickly defeated by the British army, and their leaders were killed.//


Words: easterly
Meaning:
adj \n  1 towards or in the east:  --We drove off in an easterly direction .//\n  2 an easterly wind comes from the east:\neasterly 2   plural  easterlies  n [C] //  a wind that comes from the east//


Words: eastern
Meaning:
W2  Eastern/i[hA359]st[hA368]n $ -[hA353]rn/ adj  written abbreviation E \n  1 in or from the east of a country or area:  --the eastern shore of the island//  --farmers in eastern England//\n  2 in or from the countries in Asia, especially China and Japan:  --Eastern religions//\n  3 in or from the countries in the east part of Europe, especially the countries that used to have Communist governments:  --Eastern Europe//


Words: Eastern Conference
Meaning:
the   a group of professional  basketball teams from the eastern part of the US, which play against one another. Together with the  Western Conference, a similar group from the western US, these teams form the  NBA (=National Basketball Association) .//


Words: Eastern Europe
Meaning:
the part of Europe whose countries formerly had Communist governments and close political connections with the former  Soviet Union, including countries such as Poland, East Germany, Hungary and Romania//  -- Eastern European n  adj //


Words: Eastman
Meaning:
George   (1854-1932) a US inventor and businessman who started the  Kodak company, and made the first camera that could be carried around and that was cheap and easy to use.//


Words: eastwards
Meaning:
towards the east//  --The ship continued sailing eastwards.//  -- eastward adj //  --We followed an eastward course up the river.//


Words: easy
Meaning:
adj   comparative  easier superlative  easiest //  ----------//\n   1 not difficult:\n   2 comfortable:\n   3 not worried:\n   4 friendly:\n   5 easily attacked:\n   6 take the easy way out:\n   7 have an easy time (of it):\n   8 easy money:\n   9 easy on the eye/ear:\n  10 it’s/that’s easy for you to say:\n  11 there are no easy answers:\n  12 I’m easy:\n  13 be (living) on easy street:\n  14 on easy terms:\n  15 eggs over easy:\n  16 woman/lady/girl of easy virtue:\n  17 sex:  ----------//  [Date: 1100-1200; Language: Old French; Origin: aisie, from  aise;   EASE1]//\n  1 NOT DIFFICULT:  not difficult to do, and not needing much effort//  → difficult, hard//  --The test was easy.//  --Finishing the task will not be easy.//  --There must be an easier way to do that.//  easy to do sth//  --It’s a great car, and very easy to drive.//  --instructions that are easy to follow//  --It would have been easy for the team to lose the game.//  make it easier (to do sth) //  --The software makes it easier to download music from the net.//  --Having you here does  make things  a lot  easier  for me.//  as easy as pie/ABC/falling off a log (=very easy) //  --The station is within easy reach of (=close to) the town centre.//  --The park is within easy walking distance  (=close enough to walk to) .//\n  2 COMFORTABLE:  comfortable or relaxed, and without problems//  → hard//  --On the whole, Dad has had an easy life .//  easy day/week etc //  --She had a nice easy day at home.//  --You can  have an easy time of it  now that the kids have all left home.//  --Why don’t we  make life easy for ourselves and finish it tomorrow?//\n  3 NOT WORRIED:  not feeling worried or anxious//  → uneasy//  --We talk more openly when we feel easy and relaxed.//  --I can leave the children with my mother with an easy mind .//\n  4 FRIENDLY:  friendly and pleasant with other people//  --She is gentle and  easy to be with .//\n  5 EASILY ATTACKED:  able to be hunted or attacked without difficulty//  --The soldiers on the streets are an easy target for terrorists.//  --Tourists are easy prey for thieves.//\n  6  take the easy way out:  to end a situation in a way that seems easy, but is not the best or most sensible way//  --I just  took the easy way out  and gave him some cash.//\n  7  have an easy time (of it):  to have no problems or difficulties//  --She’s not been having an easy time of it financially.//\n  8  easy money:  money that you do not have to work hard to get//  --We can buy them for $10 and sell them for $25 - easy money.//\n  9  easy on the eye/ear:  pleasant to look at or listen to//  --Soft colours are easy on the eye.//\n  10  it’s/that’s easy for you to say:   spoken used when someone has given you some advice that would be difficult for you to follow//\n  11  there are no easy answers:  used when saying that it is difficult to find a good way of dealing with a problem//\n  12  I’m easy:   spoken used to say that you do not mind what choice is made//  --’What would you like to do now?’ ’I don’t know, I’m easy.’//\n  13  be (living) on easy street:   informal, especially  AmE to be in a situation in which you have plenty of money//  --If I get this new job, we’ll be living on easy street.//\n  14  on easy terms:  if you buy something on easy terms, you pay for it with several small payments instead of paying the whole amount at once//  --New settlers in the west could buy land on relatively easy terms.//\n  15  eggs over easy:   AmE eggs cooked on a hot surface and turned over quickly before serving//\n  16  woman/lady/girl of easy virtue:   old-fashioned a woman who has sex with a lot of men//\n  17 SEX:   informal someone, especially a woman, who is easy has a lot of sexual partners//    ease,  easily//  ----------//  WORD FOCUS: easy //  easy to do: simple,  not difficult //  very easy to do: be a piece of cake,  be child’s play,  be a snap (AmE),  be a doddle (BrE),  anyone can do it,  be like falling off a log (informal) //  easy to use: user-friendly //  easy job: cushy (informal) //  ----------//\neasy 2 S2 adv \n  1  take it easy:  a)  also take things easy //  to relax and not do very much//  --Take things easy for a few days and you should be all right.//  b)  spoken used to tell someone to become less upset or angry//  --Just take it easy and tell us what happened.//  c)  AmE  spoken used to say goodbye//\n  2  go easy on/with sth:  to not use too much of something//  --Go easy on salty foods such as bacon.//\n  3  go easy on sb:  to be more gentle and less strict or angry with someone//  --Go easy on Peter for a while - he’s having a hard time at school.//\n  4  easier said than done:   especially spoken used to say that something would be very difficult to do//  --Finding the perfect house was easier said than done.//\n  5  rest/breathe easy:  to stop worrying//  --We can rest easy now - we’ve got everything under control.//\n  6  easy does it:   spoken used to tell someone to be more careful and slow, especially in moving//\n  7  get off easy:   informal to escape severe punishment for something that you have done wrong//  --The rich could hire good lawyers and get off easy.//\n  8  easy come, easy go:   spoken used when something, especially money, was easily obtained and is quickly used or spent//\n  9  stand easy:  an order telling soldiers who are already standing at ease to relax more//


Words: Easy Rider
Meaning:
(1969) a US film about two young men who take illegal drugs and travel across the southern states of the US on  motorcycles. The subject of the film, and its music, made it very popular with young people.//


Words: easy-peasy
Meaning:
adj  BrE   [Date: 1900-2000; Origin: easy]//  a word meaning very easy, used especially by children//


Words: eat
Meaning:
v   past tense  ate /et, e[hA366]t $ e[hA366]t/past participle  eaten /i[hA359]tn///  ----------//\n   1 food:\n   2 meal:\n   3 eat your words:\n   4 eat your heart out:\n   5 eat somebody alive/eat somebody for breakfast:\n   6 use:\n   7 eat humble pie:\n   8 I’ll eat my hat:\n   9 have somebody eating out of your hand:\n  10 eat somebody out of house and home:\n  11 what’s eating somebody?:\n  12 I could eat a horse:\n  13 I/we won’t eat you:\n  14 you are what you eat:  Phrasal verbs//   eat something → away//   eat away at something/somebody//   eat in//   eat into something//   eat out//   eat up//  ----------//  [Language: Old English; Origin: etan]//\n  1 FOOD:   [I and T] to put food in your mouth and chew and swallow it//  --Felix chatted cheerfully as he ate.//  --A small girl was eating an ice cream.//  --We had plenty to eat and drink.//  --It’s important to  eat healthily  when you are pregnant.//  --I exercise and  eat right  and get plenty of sleep.//  --Would you like something to eat ?//  --She can eat like a horse and never put on weight.//  --We stopped at McDonalds to get  a bite to eat .//  --Good  eating habits  are the best way of preventing infection.//  -- ready-to-eat  foods such as deli meats and cheeses//  --’More cake?’ ’No thanks,  I couldn’t eat another thing .’//  --No chicken for me. I don’t eat meat (=I never eat meat) .//  --Does Rob eat fish?//\n  2 MEAL:   [I and T] to have a meal//  --Let’s eat first and then go to a movie.//  --We had just started eating breakfast when the phone rang.//  eat at//  --We could not afford to eat at Walker’s very often.//\n  3  eat your words:  to admit that what you said was wrong//  --I’m going to make you eat your words.//\n  4  eat your heart out:  a) used to say, especially humorously, that something is very good//  --That’s a great drawing. Pablo Picasso eat your heart out!//  b)  BrE to be unhappy about something or to want someone or something very much//  --If you had any sense you’d forget him, but eat your heart out if you want to.//\n  5  eat sb alive/eat sb for breakfast:  to be very angry with someone or to defeat them completely//  --You can’t tell him that - he’ll eat you alive!//\n  6 USE:   [T] to use a very large amount of something//  --This car eats petrol.//\n  7  eat humble pie:   also eat crow  AmE //  to admit that you were wrong and say that you are sorry//\n  8  I’ll eat my hat:  used to emphasize that you think something is not true or will not happen//  --If the Democrats win the election, I’ll eat my hat!//\n  9  have sb eating out of your hand:  to have made someone very willing to believe you or do what you want//  --He soon had the client eating out of his hand.//\n  10  eat sb out of house and home:  to eat a lot of someone’s supply of food, so that they have to buy more - used humorously//\n  11  what’s eating sb?:   spoken used to ask why someone seems annoyed or upset//  --What’s eating Sally today? She just yelled at me.//\n  12  I could eat a horse:   spoken used to say you are very hungry//\n  13  I/we won’t eat you:   spoken used to tell someone that you are not angry with them and they need not be frightened//\n  14  you are what you eat:  used to say that you will be healthy if the food you eat is healthy//    eats//    have your cake and eat it at cake1 (6)//  eat away [eat sth → away] phr v//  to gradually remove or destroy something//   erode//  --The stones are being eaten away by pollution.//  eat away at / [eat away at sth/sb] phr v//\n  1 to gradually remove or reduce the amount of something:  --His gambling was eating away at their income.//\n  2 to make someone feel very worried over a long period of time:  --The thought of mother alone like that was eating away at her.//  eat in phr v//  to eat at home instead of in a restaurant//  eat into [eat into sth] phr v//\n  1 to gradually reduce the amount of time, money etc that is available:  --John’s university fees have been eating into our savings.//\n  2 to gradually damage or destroy something:  --Acid eats into the metal, damaging its surface.//  eat out phr v//  to eat in a restaurant instead of at home//  --Do you eat out a lot?//  eat up phr v//\n  1 to eat all of something:  --Come on, eat up, there’s a good girl.//  eat sth → up//  --She’s made a cake and wants us to help eat it up.//\n  2  eat sth → up:   informal to use a lot of something, especially until there is none left//  --Big cars just eat up money.//\n  3  be eaten up with/by jealousy/anger/curiosity etc:  to be very jealous, angry etc, so that you cannot think about anything else//  ----------//  COLLOCATES for sense 1 //  eat well/healthily/sensibly  (=eat food that will keep you healthy) //  eat right American English (=eat food that will keep you healthy) //  eat properly British English (=eat food that will keep you healthy) //  eat hungrily //  something to eat  (=some food) //  eat like a horse informal (=eat a very large amount) //  eat like a bird informal (=eat very little) //  a bite to eat informal (=some food) //  eating habits //  eating disorder  (=a medical condition in which you do not eat normally) //  ready-to-eat  (=used to describe foods that you do not have to prepare) //  I couldn’t eat another thing/bite spoken (=used to say that you are full) //  ----------//


Words: eater
Meaning:
n [C]   big/light/fussy etc eater//  someone who eats a lot, not much, only particular things etc//  --I’ve never been a big eater.//


Words: eatery
Meaning:
n   plural  eateries  [C] //   informal especially  AmE a restaurant or other place to eat//  --one of the best eateries in town//


Words: eating disorder
Meaning:
n [C]   a medical condition in which you do not eat a normal amount of food and are ill because of this//


Words: eats
Meaning:
n [plural]    informal food, especially for a party//  --You get the drink, and I’ll organize the eats.//


Words: eau de cologne
Meaning:
n [U]   [Date: 1800-1900; Language: French; Origin: ’water of Cologne’]//  a sweet-smelling liquid used to make you feel fresh and smell nice//


Words: eaves
Meaning:
n [plural]   [Language: Old English; Origin: efes]//  the edges of a roof that stick out beyond the walls//  --Birds had nested under the eaves.//


Words: eavesdrop
Meaning:
v   past tense and past participle  eavesdropped present participle  eavesdropping  [I] //  [Date: 1600-1700; Origin: eavesdropper  ’someone who stands close to a wall, where rainwater drops from the eaves, in order to listen secretly’]//  to deliberately listen secretly to other people’s conversations//    overhear//  --There was Helena eavesdropping outside the door.//  -- eavesdropper n  [C] //


Words: ebb
Meaning:
n   [Language: Old English; Origin: ebba]//\n  1 [singular]  also ebb tide :  the flow of the sea away from the shore, when the tide goes out//  → flood tide//\n  2  be at a low ebb:  to be in a bad state or condition//  --His confidence is at a low ebb.//\n  3  ebb and flow:  a situation or state in which something increases and decreases in a kind of pattern//  --the ebb and flow of the conversation//  --the ebb and flow of passengers in the station//\nebb 2 v [I] \n  1 if the tide ebbs, it flows away from the shore:\n  2  also ebb away :  to gradually decrease//  --Linda’s enthusiasm began to ebb away.//


Words: ebony
Meaning:
n [U]   [Date: 1400-1500; Language: Latin; Origin: ebenus, from  Egyptian hbnj]//  a hard black wood//\nebony 2 adj  literary   black//  --her ebony hair//


Words: ebullient
Meaning:
adj  formal   [Date: 1500-1600; Language: Latin; Origin: ebullire  ’to bubble out’]//  very happy and excited//  --My father is a naturally ebullient personality.//  -- ebullience n  [U] //


Words: eccentric
Meaning:
adj   [Date: 1500-1600; Language: Late Latin; Origin: eccentricus, from  Greek ekkentros  ’out of the center’]//\n  1 behaving in a way that is unusual and different from most people:  --His eccentric behaviour lost him his job.//  --Aunt Nessy was always a bit eccentric.//\n  2  technical eccentric circles do not have the same centre point:    concentric//  -- eccentrically/-kli/ adv //\neccentric 2 n [C]   someone who behaves in a way that is different from what is usual or socially accepted//  --I was regarded as something of an eccentric.//


Words: eccentricity
Meaning:
n   plural  eccentricities //\n  1 [U] strange or unusual behaviour:  --Kate’s mother had a reputation for eccentricity.//\n  2 [C] an opinion or action that is strange or unusual:  --I found his eccentricities amusing rather than irritating.//


Words: ecclesiastical
Meaning:
[Date: 1400-1500; Language: Late Latin; Origin: ecclesiasticus, from  Greek ekklesia  ’group of people gathered together, church’]//  relating to the Christian church or its priests//  --ecclesiastical history//


Words: ECG
Meaning:
n [C]  especially  BrE \n  1 electrocardiograph a piece of equipment that records electrical changes in your heart:\n  2 electrocardiogram a drawing produced by an  electrocardiograph:


Words: echelon
Meaning:
n [C]   [Date: 1700-1800; Language: French]//\n  1  also echelons :  a rank or level of authority in an organization, business etc, or the people at that level//  upper/higher/lower echelons //  --the upper echelons of government//  --Their clients are drawn from the highest echelons of society.//\n  2  technical a line of ships, soldiers, planes etc arranged in a pattern that looks like a series of steps:


Words: echo
Meaning:
v \n  1 [I] if a sound echoes, you hear it again because it was made near something such as a wall or hill:  --The sound of an engine echoed back from the thick forest.//  echo through/round//  --He could hear eerie noises echoing through the corridors.//\n  2 [I] if a place echoes, it is filled with sounds that are repeated or are similar to each other:  echo with//  --The house echoed with the sound of children’s voices.//\n  3 [T]  literary to repeat what someone else has just said:  --’You bet,’ she said, echoing his words.//\n  4 [T] to repeat an idea or opinion because you agree with it:  --The article simply echoed the NRA’s arguments against gun control.//\necho 2   plural  echoes  n [C] //  [Date: 1300-1400; Language: Old French; Origin: Greek]//\n  1 a sound that you hear again after a loud noise, because it was made near something such as a wall:  --Her scream was followed by a loud echo.//\n  2 something that is very similar to something that has happened or been said before:  echo of//  --The article contains echoes of an earlier report.//  --This idea finds an echo in many African countries.//


Words: eclair
Meaning:
n [C]   whipped cream, chocolate//  [Date: 1800-1900; Language: French; Origin: ’lightning’]//  a long cake covered with chocolate and filled with cream//


Words: eclat
Meaning:
n [U]  literary   [Date: 1600-1700; Language: French]//\n  1 praise and admiration:  --Miller’s new play has been greeted with great eclat.//\n  2 a way of doing something with a lot of style, especially in order to attract attention:


Words: eclectic
Meaning:
adj   [Date: 1600-1700; Language: Greek; Origin: eklektikos, from  eklegein  ’to choose’]//  including a mixture of many different things or people, especially so that you can use the best of all of them//  --galleries with an eclectic range of styles and artists//  --an eclectic mixture of 18th and 19th century furniture//  -- eclectically/-kli/ adv //  -- eclecticism/-t[hA366]s[hA366]z[hA368]m/ n  [U] //\neclectic 2 n [C]    formal someone who chooses the best or most useful parts from many different ideas, methods etc//


Words: eclipse
Meaning:
n   [Date: 1200-1300; Language: Old French; Origin: Greek ekleipsis, from  ekleipein  ’to leave out, fail’]//\n  1 [C] an occasion when the sun or the moon cannot be seen, because the Earth is passing directly between the moon and the sun, or because the moon is passing directly between the Earth and the sun:  --an eclipse of the sun//  --a total eclipse //\n  2 [singular] a situation in which someone or something loses their power or fame, because someone or something else has become more powerful or famous:  --Many people expected the growth of television to mean the eclipse of radio.//\n  3  in eclipse:   formal less famous or powerful than you should be//  --Mrs Bosanquet’s novels are now in eclipse.//\neclipse 2 v [T] \n  1 if the moon eclipses the sun, the sun cannot be seen behind the moon, and if the Earth eclipses the moon, the moon cannot be seen because the Earth is between the sun and the moon:\n  2 [often passive] to become more important, powerful, famous etc than someone or something else, so that they are no longer noticed:    overshadow//  --The economy had eclipsed the environment as an election issue.//


Words: ecliptic
Meaning:
n [singular]   [Date: 1300-1400; Language: Late Latin; Origin: ecliptica linea  ’line of eclipses’]//   technical the path along which the sun seems to move//


Words: eco-
Meaning:
prefix   [Origin: ecology]//  relating to the environment//  --eco-warriors (=people who try to stop damage to the environment) //


Words: ecological
Meaning:
adj [only before noun] \n  1 connected with the way plants, animals, and people are related to each other and to their environment:    environmental//  --an ecological disaster//\n  2 interested in preserving the environment:    environment//  --ecological groups//  -- ecologically/-kli/ adv //  --an ecologically-sound production process//


Words: ecology
Meaning:
n [singular, U]   [Date: 1800-1900; Language: Greek; Origin: oikos  ’house, living place’]//  the way in which plants, animals, and people are related to each other and to their environment, or the scientific study of this//    environment//  --the natural ecology of the Earth//  --plant ecology//


Words: economic
Meaning:
adj \n  1 [only before noun] relating to trade, industry, and the management of money:    economy//  --Economic growth is slow.//  --the government’s economic policy//  --Economic reform is needed.//  --In the current economic climate  (=conditions) , we must keep costs down.//\n  2 an economic process, activity etc produces enough profit for it to continue:   profitable//  → uneconomic//  --It is no longer economic for us to run the service.//  ----------//  HINT //  Do not confuse with economical (=cheap or not wasteful). //  ----------//


Words: economical
Meaning:
adj \n  1 using money, time, goods etc carefully and without wasting any:    economic//  --A small car is more economical to run.//  --good-quality clothes at economical prices//\n  2  economical with the truth:  used humorously to say that someone is not telling the truth//


Words: economically
Meaning:
adv \n  1 in a way that is related to systems of money, trade, or business:  --In economically advanced countries, women marry later.//  [sentence adverb] //  --Economically, capitalism has transformed societies.//\n  2 in a way that uses money, goods, time etc without wasting any:  --We produce food as economically as possible.//  --Small trees use space in the garden economically.//


Words: economics
Meaning:
W3   n \n  1 [U] the study of the way in which money and goods are produced and used:    economic//  --a Harvard professor of economics//\n  2 [plural] the way in which money influences whether a plan, business etc will work effectively:  --The economics of the scheme will have to be looked at very carefully.//    home economics//


Words: Economist
Meaning:
The  trademark   a British weekly magazine which reports business news and has articles about the economic situation in the UK and other countries, about large companies etc//


Words: economist
Meaning:
n [C]   someone who studies the way in which money and goods are produced and used and the systems of business and trade//


Words: economize
Meaning:
also  economise BrE   v [I]   to reduce the amount of money, time, goods etc that you use//  economize on//  --Higher taxes encourage people to economize on fuel.//


Words: economy
Meaning:
n   plural  economies //  [Date: 1400-1500; Language: French; Origin: Greek oikonomia, from  oikonomos  ’manager of a house’]//\n  1 [C] the system by which a country’s money and goods are produced and used, or a country considered in this way:  --a capitalist economy//  --the slowdown in the Japanese economy//\n  2 [C] something that you do in order to spend less money:  --The council must make economies to meet government spending targets.//  --Not insuring your belongings is a false economy  (=it is cheaper but could have bad results) .//\n  3 [U] the careful use of money, time, goods etc so that nothing is wasted:  --The gas fire was turned low for reasons of economy.//  --The company announced that it would cut 500 jobs as part of an economy drive  (=a way to save money) .//\n  4  economies of scale:   technical the financial advantages of producing something in very large quantities//    black economy,  market economy,  mixed economy//\neconomy 2 adj   economy size/pack//  a product that is cheaper because you are buying a larger amount//


Words: economy class
Meaning:
n [U]   the cheapest type of seats in a plane//  -- economy class adv //  --We flew economy class.//


Words: economy class syndrome
Meaning:
n [U]  BrE   a serious illness in which people get blood clots because they have been sitting for a long time in a very small space on a plane//    DVT//


Words: ecosystem
Meaning:
n [C]   all the animals and plants in a particular area, and the way in which they are related to each other and to their environment//    ecology//


Words: ecoterrorism
Meaning:
n [U]   when someone tries to stop or harm organizations or companies that do things that are bad for the environment//  -- ecoterrorist n  [C] //


Words: ecotourism
Meaning:
n [U]   the business of organizing holidays to natural areas, especially areas that are far away such as the rain forest, where people can visit and learn about the area in a way that will not hurt the environment//  -- ecotourist n  [C] //


Words: ecru
Meaning:
n [U]   [Date: 1800-1900; Language: French; Origin: ecru  ’not made white’]//  a pale brown colour//  -- ecru adj //


Words: ecstasy
Meaning:
n   plural  ecstasies //  [Date: 1300-1400; Language: Old French; Origin: Greek ekstasis, from  existanai  ’to make mad’]//\n  1 [U and C] a feeling of extreme happiness:  in (an) ecstasy//  --She was in an ecstasy of love.//  go into ecstasies (=become very happy and excited) //\n  2 [U] an illegal drug that gives a feeling of happiness and energy. Ecstasy is especially used by people who go out to dance at clubs and parties.:


Words: ecstatic
Meaning:
adj \n  1 feeling extremely happy and excited:  --an ecstatic welcome from the thousands who lined the streets//\n  2  ecstatic review/praise/applause:  a review (=an opinion about a film, play etc that appears in a newspaper or magazine) , praise etc that say that something is very good//  --The exhibition attracted thousands of visitors and ecstatic reviews.//  -- ecstatically/-kli/ adv //


Words: Ecuador
Meaning:
a country in northern South America, between Peru and Colombia, and next to the Pacific Ocean. Population: 13,184,000 (2001). Capital: Quito. //  -- Ecuadorian n  adj //


Words: ecumenical
Meaning:
adj   [Date: 1500-1600; Language: Late Latin; Origin: oecumenicus, from  Greek oikoumene  ’the whole world in which people live’]//  supporting the idea of uniting the different branches of the Christian religion//  -- ecumenically/-kli/ adv //


Words: eczema
Meaning:
n [U]   [Date: 1700-1800; Language: Modern Latin; Origin: Greek ekzema, from  ekzein  ’to boil out, erupt’]//  a condition in which your skin becomes dry, red, and swollen//


Words: ed.
Meaning:
Ed./ed/\n  1 the abbreviation of education :  --Higher Ed.//\n  2 the written abbreviation of edited , edition , or editor :


Words: Edam
Meaning:
n [U]   [Date: 1800-1900; Origin: Edam, Dutch town where the cheese was first made]//  a type of yellow cheese from the Netherlands//


Words: Eddy
Meaning:
Mary Baker   (1821-1910) a US religious leader, who started a new form of Christianity called  Christian Science in 1866//


Words: eddy
Meaning:
n   plural  eddies  [C] //  [Date: 1400-1500; Origin:  Probably from  Old Norse itha]//  a circular movement of water, wind, dust etc//  --the racing river caused swirling eddies//\neddy 2   past tense and past participle  eddied present participle  eddying third person singular  eddies  v [I] //  if water, wind, dust etc eddies, it moves around with a circular movement//  --Mist eddied round the house.//


Words: Eden
Meaning:
n  also the Garden of Eden  [singular]   in the Bible story, the garden where Adam and Eve, the first humans lived, often seen as a place of happiness and innocence//\n Sir Anthony   (1897-1977) a British politician in the Conservative Party, who was Prime Minister from 1955 to 1957. He gave up this position after the  Suez Crisis, when British military forces failed in an attempt to get back control of the Suez Canal from Egypt.//


Words: edge
Meaning:
n   ----------//\n   1 outside part:\n   2 blade:\n   3 advantage:\n   4 on edge:\n   5 voice:\n   6 slope:\n   7 on the edge of something:\n   8 quality:\n   9 take the edge off something:\n  10 on the edge of your seat:\n  11 be on the edge:  ----------//  [Language: Old English; Origin: ecg]//\n  1 OUTSIDE PART:   [C] the part of an object that is furthest from its centre//  --Put the lamb in the centre of the dish, with the vegetables and herbs around the edge.//  the edge of sth//  --the right hand edge of the page//  --Jennifer walked to the edge of the wood.//  --Billy sat on the edge of the bed.//  --He stood at the water’s edge staring across the lake.//  --A leaf was on the ground, curling up at the edges.//\n  2 BLADE:   [C] the thin sharp part of a blade or tool that cuts//  --a knife with a sharp edge//\n  3 ADVANTAGE:   [singular, U] something that gives you an advantage over others//  --Companies are employing more research teams to get an edge.//  --The next version of the software will have the edge over its competitors.//\n  4  on edge:  nervous, especially because you are expecting something unpleasant to happen//  --Paul felt on edge about meeting Lisa.//\n  5 VOICE:   [singular] a quality in someone’s voice that makes it sound slightly angry or impatient//  --There was an edge of hostility in Jack’s voice.//  --Desperation lent an edge to her voice.//\n  6 SLOPE:   [C] an area beside a very steep slope//  --She walked almost to the edge of the cliff.//\n  7  on the edge of sth:  close to the point at which something different, especially something bad, will happen//  --Their economy is on the edge of collapse.//  --She is on the edge of despair.//\n  8 QUALITY:   [singular] a special quality of excitement or danger//  --The school’s campaign has been given an extra edge by being filmed for television.//\n  9  take the edge off sth:  to make something less bad, good, strong etc//  --Pascoe was drinking whisky to take the edge off the pain.//\n  10  on the edge of your seat:  giving all your attention to something exciting//  --The film’s ending had me on the edge of my seat.//\n  11  be on the edge:   informal to be behaving in a way that makes it seem as if you are going crazy//    cutting edge//    knife-edge//\nedge 2 v   ----------//\n   1 move:\n   2 put at edge:\n   3 change:\n   4 grass:  ----------//\n  1 MOVE:   [I,T always + adverb/preposition] to move gradually with several small movements, or to make something do this//  --Tim was edging away from the crowd.//  --She edged closer to get a better look.//  --He edged her towards the door.//  edge your way into/round/through etc sth //  --Christine edged her way round the back of the house.//\n  2 PUT AT EDGE:   [T usually passive] to put something on the edge or border of something//  --The city square was edged by trees.//  be edged with sth//  --The tablecloth is edged with lace.//\n  3 CHANGE:   [I,T always + adverb/preposition] to change gradually, especially so as to get better or worse//  edge up/down//  --Profits have edged up.//  --The paper has edged ahead of (=been more successful than) its rivals.//\n  4 GRASS:   [T] to cut the edges of an area of grass so that they are tidy and straight//


Words: edge city
Meaning:
n [C]  AmE   an area at the edge of a large city that has its own businesses, shops, offices etc, so that many of the people who used to live there while working in the large city now both live and work in the edge city//


Words: edgy
Meaning:
adj \n  1 nervous and worried:  --She’s been edgy lately, waiting for the test results.//\n  2 aware of the newest ideas and styles and therefore considered very fashionable:  --The band is trying to develop an edgy new image.//


Words: edible
Meaning:
adj   [Date: 1600-1700; Language: Late Latin; Origin: edibilis, from  Latin edere  ’to eat’]//  something that is edible can be eaten//  --These berries are edible, but those are poisonous.//


Words: edict
Meaning:
n [C]  formal   [Date: 1400-1500; Language: Latin; Origin: edictum, from the past participle of  edicere  ’to give out an official statement’]//\n  1 an official public order made by someone in a position of power:   decree//  --The emperor issued an edict forbidding anyone to leave the city.//\n  2 any order - used humorously:


Words: edifice
Meaning:
n [C]   [Date: 1300-1400; Language: French; Origin: Latin aedificium, from  aedificare;   EDIFY]//   formal a building, especially a large one//  --Their head office was an imposing edifice.//


Words: edify
Meaning:
v   past tense and past participle  edified present participle  edifying third person singular  edifies  [T] //  [Date: 1300-1400; Language: French; Origin: edifier, from  Latin aedificare  ’to build a house’, from  aedes  ’house’]//   formal to improve someone’s mind or character by teaching them something//  -- edification/ed[hA369]f[hA369]ke[hA366][hA35D][hA368]n/ n  [U] //  --For our edification, the preacher reminded us what `duty’ meant.//


Words: edifying
Meaning:
adj  formal   an edifying speech, book etc improves your mind or moral character by teaching you something - sometimes used humorously//  --No-one would claim that the film is morally edifying.//


Words: Edinburgh
Meaning:
the capital of Scotland, in the east of the country on the River Forth. Edinburgh is a centre for business, industry, education, and the law, and the new Scottish parliament is there. It is an important  cultural centre, with many theatres, concert halls, and  museums. Because of this, it is sometimes called "the Athens of the North".//\n Duke of     Duke of Edinburgh, the//


Words: Edinburgh Festival
Meaning:
the  also Edinburgh International Festival of Music and Drama    an event that takes place in Edinburgh, Scotland, every year for three weeks in the summer, when there are many performances of plays and music, and other forms of entertainment. Some of these performances are given by famous people or groups, but there are also many others which are given by less well-known people, including university students, and these events are known as the Edinburgh Fringe.//


Words: Edison
Meaning:
Thomas Alva   (1847-1931) a US inventor who made over 1300 electrical inventions, including the  microphone, the record player, and equipment for the cinema. He is most famous for inventing the  light bulb (=a glass container with a thin wire inside, which produces light by using electricity).//


Words: edit
Meaning:
v   [Date: 1700-1800; Origin: editor]//\n  1 [I and T] to prepare a book, piece of film etc for printing or broadcasting by removing mistakes or parts that are not acceptable:  --The newspaper edits letters before printing them.//\n  2 [T] to prepare a book or article for printing by deciding what to include and in what order:  --a collection of essays edited by John Gay//\n  3 [T] to prepare a film by deciding what to include and in what order:\n  4 [T] to be responsible for the information that is included in a newspaper, magazine etc:  --She used to edit the Observer.//  -- edit n  [C] //  edit out [edit sth → out] phr v//  to remove something when you are preparing a book, piece of film etc for printing or broadcasting//   cut//  --The interviewer’s questions have been edited out.//


Words: edition
Meaning:
W3   n [C]   [Date: 1400-1500; Language: Latin; Origin: editus, past participle of  edere  ’to give out, produce’]//\n  1 the form that a book, newspaper, magazine etc is produced in:  --a paperback edition//  --the US edition of Marie Claire magazine//\n  2 the copies of a book, newspaper etc that are produced and printed at the same time:  --The textbook was first published in 1858 and is now in its 39th edition.//  --A limited edition of 2000 copies has been published.//  first edition (=the first copies of a particular book, that are often valuable) //\n  3 a newspaper, magazine etc:  --Martin was reading the early edition of the Evening News.//\n  4 a television or radio programme that is broadcast regularly or is part of a series:  --the early evening edition of Scotland Today//


Words: editor
Meaning:
W2   n [C]   [Date: 1600-1700; Language: Late Latin; Origin: ’producer (of books)’, from  Latin editus;   EDITION]//\n  1 the person who is in charge of a newspaper or magazine, or part of a newspaper or magazine, and decides what should be included in it:  editor of//  --the editor of the Daily Telegraph//  economics/sports/political etc editor //\n  2 someone who prepares a book or article for printing by deciding what to include and checking for any mistakes:\n  3 someone who chooses what to include in a book on a particular subject:  --the editor of a book of essays on modern poetry//\n  4 someone who prepares a film, television programme, or sound recording for broadcasting by deciding what to include and checking for any mistakes:  --a TV script editor//\n  5 someone who reports on a particular subject for a radio or television news programme:    correspondent//  --Here is John Simmonds, our Diplomatic Editor, with the latest news.//\n  6  technical a computer program that allows you to make changes to saved information:    copy editor,  sub-editor//


Words: editorial
Meaning:
adj \n  1 relating to the preparation of a newspaper, book, television programme etc for printing or broadcasting:  --an editorial assistant//\n  2 [usually before noun] expressing the opinion of a particular newspaper editor rather than just giving facts:  --the paper’s editorial column//  -- editorially adv //  --The paper is editorially independent.//\neditorial 2 n [C]   a piece of writing in a newspaper that gives the editor’s opinion about something, rather than reporting facts//


Words: editorialize
Meaning:
also  editorialise BrE   v [I]   to give your opinion and not just the facts about something, especially publicly//  editorialize on/about/against etc//  --The BBC is not supposed to editorialize about the news.//


Words: editorship
Meaning:
n [U]   the position of being the editor of a newspaper or magazine, or the time during which someone is an editor//


Words: educate
Meaning:
v [T]   [Date: 1400-1500; Language: Latin; Origin: , past participle of  educare  ’to bring up, educate’]//\n  1 [usually passive] to teach a child at a school, college, or university:  --The Omerod School educates handicapped children.//  be educated at sth//  --He was educated at Bristol University.//\n  2 to give someone information about a particular subject, or to show them a better way to do something:    teach//  educate sb about/in/on sth//  --a campaign to educate teenagers about HIV//


Words: educated
Meaning:
adj \n  1 having been well taught and learned a lot:  --a highly educated woman//\n  2  university-educated/well-educated/privately-educated etc:  having had a particular type of education//\n  3  educated guess:  a guess that is likely to be correct because it is based on some knowledge//  --Investors must make an educated guess as to the company’s potential.//


Words: education
Meaning:
n \n  1 [singular, U] the process of teaching and learning, usually at school, college, or university:  --the education system//  get/receive an education //  --She also hopes her children will get a good education.//  university/college education //  --I’m sure he has a college education.//  --efforts to increase access to higher education  (=education at college or university) .//    formal education at formal1 (6)//\n  2 [U] the teaching of a particular subject:  health/sex education //\n  3 [U] the institutions and people involved with teaching:  --the local education authority//\n  4 [singular] an interesting experience which has taught you something - often used humorously:  --Having Jimmy to stay has been quite an education!//    adult education,  further education,  higher education//


Words: educational
Meaning:
adj \n  1 relating to education:  --the educational development of children//\n  2 teaching you something you did not know before:  --educational games//  -- educationally adv //


Words: educative
Meaning:
adj   something that is educative teaches you something//  --The educative process needs to begin early in a child’s life.//


Words: educator
Meaning:
n [C] \n  1  formal a teacher or someone involved in the process of educating people:\n  2  AmE an educationalist:


Words: edutainment
Meaning:
n [U]   [Date: 1900-2000; Origin: education +  entertainment]//  films, television programmes, or computer software that educate and entertain at the same time//


Words: Edward
Meaning:
Prince   (1964-) the youngest son of the British queen Elizabeth II. He married Sophie  Rhys-Jones in 1999 and became the Earl of Wessex.//


Words: Edward I
Meaning:
King   (1239-1307) the king of England from 1272 until his death. He took part in the  Crusades, and later established English control over Wales. He tried to do the same in Scotland, but was unsuccessful.//


Words: Edward II
Meaning:
King   (1284-1327) the king of England from 1307 until he was murdered by his enemies (including his wife) in 1327//


Words: Edward III
Meaning:
King   (1312-77) a king of England who ruled during the  Black Death and the start of the Hundred Years War//


Words: Edward V
Meaning:
King   (1470-1483) the king of England for a few months in 1483, until his uncle removed him from his position and became King  Richard III. Edward and his brother (who are sometimes called "the Princes in the Tower") were put in prison in the Tower of London, and many people believe that they were later murdered there.//


Words: Edward VIII
Meaning:
King   (1894-1972) the British king in 1936. He was forced to  abdicate (=give up being king)  because he wanted to marry Wallis  Simpson, an American woman who had been married before. This event is known as ’the  Abdication ’. After he abdicated, he was given the title "Duke of Windsor", and he and his wife lived abroad for the rest of their lives.//


Words: Edwards
Meaning:
Jonathan   (1703-58) a US Christian  theologian and religious leader, who succeeded in persuading large numbers of people to become Christians//


Words: EEG
Meaning:
n [C] \n  1 electroencephalograph a piece of equipment that records the electrical activity of your brain:\n  2 electroencephalogram a drawing made by an electroencephalograph:


Words: eel
Meaning:
n [C]   [Language: Old English; Origin: [zB024]l]//  a long thin fish that looks like a snake and can be eaten//


Words: Eeny
Meaning:
meeny, miney, mo   the first words of a short poem that children say as a way of choosing something when they have two or more possibilities, but do not know which one to choose. Each time they say a word they point to the next possible thing. //


Words: EEO
Meaning:
Equal Employment Opportunity a principle that some businesses follow, stating that any qualified person will be considered for a job and that a person’s race, sex, or religion cannot be a reason for not getting the job//


Words: eerie
Meaning:
adj   [Date: 1200-1300; Language: Old English; Origin: earg  ’not brave, full of fear’]//  strange and frightening//  --the eerie sound of an owl hooting at night//  -- eerily adv //


Words: Eeyore
Meaning:
a character in the  Winnie the Pooh stories by A. A.  Milne. He is a  donkey (=an animal like a small horse with long ears)  who usually feels sorry for himself.//


Words: eff
Meaning:
v [I]  BrE  spoken  informal   [Date: 1900-2000; Origin: f, the first letter of  fuck]//\n  1  effing and blinding:  swearing//  --Did you hear her effing and blinding at him?//\n  2  eff off!:  used to tell someone to go away instead of saying fuck off//    effing//


Words: efface
Meaning:
v [T]  formal   [Date: 1400-1500; Language: French; Origin: effacer, from  face  ’face, appearance’]//\n  1 to destroy or remove something:   erase//    deface//  --Nothing can efface the last picture I have of them from my mind.//\n  2  efface yourself:  to behave in a quiet way so that people do not notice or look at you//    self-effacing//


Words: effect
Meaning:
n   ----------//\n   1 change/result:\n   2 put/bring something into effect:\n   3 take effect:\n   4 law/rule:\n   5 with immediate effect/with effect from:\n   6 in effect:\n   7 to good/great/no etc effect:\n   8 to this/that/the effect:\n   9 idea/feeling:\n  10 for effect:\n  11 personal possessions:\n  12 film:  ----------//  [Date: 1300-1400; Language: Old French; Origin: Latin effectus, past participle of  efficere  ’to cause to happen’]//\n  1 CHANGE/RESULT:   [U and C] the way in which an event, action, or person changes someone or something//  effect on//  --My parents’ divorce had a big effect on me.//  effect of//  --the harmful effects of modern farming practices//  --the  long-term effects  of the drug//  --I could feel the effects of the thin mountain air.//  --This ingredient also has the effect of making your skin look younger.//  --A system failure has a  knock-on effect  throughout the whole hotel.//  --the  cumulative effect  of human activities on the global environment//  --A much lower dose of the painkiller can still produce the desired effect .//  --In mental illness, there is a complex relationship between cause and effect .//    greenhouse effect,  side effect//\n  2  put/bring sth into effect:  to make a plan or idea happen//  --It won’t be easy to put the changes into effect.//\n  3  take effect:  to start to produce results//  --The morphine was starting to take effect and the pain eased.//\n  4 LAW/RULE:  a)  take effect/come into effect//  if a law, rule, or system takes effect or comes into effect, it officially starts//  b)  be in effect//  if a law, rule, or system is in effect, it is being used now//\n  5  with immediate effect/with effect from:   formal starting to happen immediately, or from a particular date//  --Hoskins is appointed manager, with immediate effect.//\n  6  in effect:  used when you are describing what you see as the real facts of a situation//  --In effect, we’ll be earning less than we were last year.//\n  7  to good/great/no etc effect:  used to show how successful an action is//  --We tried to wake him, but to no effect.//\n  8  to this/that/the effect:  used when you are giving the general meaning of something, rather than the exact words//  --Jim told me to go away, or words to that effect .//  --The letter said something to the effect that she was no longer needed.//\n  9 IDEA/FEELING:   [C usually singular] an idea or feeling that an artist, speaker, book etc tries to make you think of or to feel//  effect of//  --Turner’s paintings give an effect of light.//\n  10  for effect:  if someone does something for effect, they do it in order to make people notice//  --She paused for effect, then carried on speaking.//\n  11 PERSONAL POSSESSIONS:   effects [plural]  formal the things that someone owns//   belongings//  --Don’s few personal effects were in a suitcase under the bed.//\n  12 FILM:   [C usually plural] an unusual or impressive sound or image that is artificially produced for a film, play, or radio programme//    sound effects,  special effect//  ----------//  COLLOCATES for sense 1 //  have an effect (on somebody/something) //  big/major/profound/significant/dramatic effect //  bad/harmful/negative/damaging/detrimental/adverse effect  //  beneficial/positive effect //  long-term effect //  feel the effect (of something) //  knock-on-effect British English (=an effect caused by the thing that happened before) //  cumulative effect  (=the effect of many things happening one after another) //  the desired effect  (=the effect you wanted) //  cause and effect  (=one thing directly causing the other) //  ----------//\neffect 2 v [T]    formal to make something happen//  --Many parents lack confidence in their ability to effect change in their children’s behaviour.//  ----------//  HINT sense 1 //  Do not confuse with the verb affect (=to have an effect on something). //  ----------//


Words: effective
Meaning:
W1S2   adj \n  1 successful, and working in the way that was intended:  → ineffective//  --The cheaper drugs are just as effective in treating arthritis.//  --the painting’s highly effective use of colour//  --Training is often much less effective than expected.//  --the most effective ways of reducing inner city congestion//\n  2 [no comparative, not before noun] if a law, agreement, or system becomes effective, it officially starts:  effective from//  --The cut in interest rates is effective from Monday.//\n  3 [no comparative, only before noun] real rather than what is officially intended or generally believed:  --The rebels are in effective control of the city.//  -- effectiveness n  [U] //


Words: effectively
Meaning:
adv \n  1 in a way that produces the result that was intended:  --Children have to learn to communicate effectively.//\n  2 used to describe what you see as the real facts of the situation:  [sentence adverb] //  --Effectively, it has become impossible for us to help.//  --Most of the urban poor are effectively excluded from politics.//


Words: effeminate
Meaning:
adj   [Date: 1300-1400; Language: Latin; Origin: effeminatus, from  femina  ’woman’]//  a man who is effeminate looks or behaves like a woman//  -- effeminately adv //  -- effeminacy n  [U] //


Words: effervesce
Meaning:
v [I]  technical   [Date: 1700-1800; Language: Latin; Origin: effervescere, from  fervescere  ’to begin to boil’]//  a liquid that effervesces produces small bubbles of gas//


Words: effervescent
Meaning:
adj \n  1 someone who is effervescent is very happy, excited, and active:  --an effervescent personality//\n  2 a liquid that is effervescent produces small bubbles of gas:   fizzy, sparkling//  -- effervescence n  [U] //


Words: effete
Meaning:
adj  formal   [Date: 1600-1700; Language: Latin; Origin: effetus, from  fetus  ’producing young’]//\n  1 weak and powerless in a way that you dislike:  --an attack against effete intellectuals//\n  2 an effete man looks or behaves like a woman:


Words: efficacious
Meaning:
adj  formal   [Date: 1500-1600; Language: Latin; Origin: efficax, from  efficere;   EFFECT1]//  working in the way you intended//   effective//  --an equally efficacious method of treatment//


Words: efficiency
Meaning:
W3S3   n \n  1 [U] the quality of doing something well and effectively, without wasting time, money, or energy:  → inefficient//  efficiency of//  --the efficiency of the train service//  --considerable advancements in energy efficiency //\n  2  efficiencies [plural] the amounts of money, supplies etc that are saved by finding a better or cheaper way of doing something:  --operating efficiencies//


Words: efficient
Meaning:
W3S2   adj   [Date: 1300-1400; Language: Latin; Origin: , present participle of  efficere;   EFFECT1]//  if someone or something is efficient, they work well without wasting time, money, or energy//  → inefficient//  --a very efficient secretary//  --an efficient use of land//  --Lighting is now more energy efficient .//  -- efficiently adv //


Words: effigy
Meaning:
n   plural  effigies //  [Date: 1500-1600; Language: Latin; Origin: effigies, from  effingere  ’to form’]//\n  1 [C] a statue of a famous person:  effigy of//  --an effigy of Saint Francis//\n  2 [U] a roughly made, usually ugly, model of someone you dislike:  --a threat to burn the president in effigy //


Words: effing
Meaning:
adj [only before noun]  BrE  spoken   an offensive word used to emphasize that you are angry and to avoid saying the swear word ’ fucking ’ directly//  --She’s gone to effing bingo again.//    effing and blinding at eff//


Words: efflorescence
Meaning:
n [U]  technical   [Date: 1600-1700; Language: French; Origin: Latin efflorescere  ’to come into flower’, from  flos;   FLORA]//  the action of flowers, art etc forming and developing, or the period of time when this happens//


Words: effluent
Meaning:
n [U and C]  formal   [Date: 1400-1500; Language: Latin; Origin: , present participle of  effluere  ’to flow out’]//  liquid waste, especially chemicals or sewage//


Words: effort
Meaning:
n   ----------//\n   1 physical/mental energy:\n   2 attempt:\n   3 be an effort:\n   4 particular situation:\n   5 good/bad/poor etc effort:  ----------//  [Date: 1400-1500; Language: Old French; Origin: esfort, from  esforcier  ’to force’]//\n  1 PHYSICAL/MENTAL ENERGY:   [U] the physical or mental energy that is needed to do something//  --Lou lifted the box easily, without using much effort.//  make the effort (to do sth) //  --He made the effort to say something pleasant.//  it takes effort (to do sth) //  --It takes a lot of time and effort to get an exhibition ready.//  --An automatic car takes all the effort out of driving (=it makes driving very easy) .//  --Frank put a lot of effort into the party.//  --Visit the cathedral when you’re there. It’s well worth the effort  (=it is definitely worth doing) .//\n  2 ATTEMPT:   [U and C] an attempt to do something, especially when this involves a lot of hard work or determination//  make an effort (to do sth) //  --I know you don’t like her, but please make an effort to be polite.//  --Jack has  made a concerted effort   (=tried hard over a long time) to improve his behaviour.//  --We  make every effort to satisfy clients’ wishes.//  --They  made no effort  to include us in the negotiations.//  sb’s effort(s) to do sth //  --Tom’s determined efforts to stop smoking haven’t been very successful.//  --Church leaders are prepared to meet the terrorists in an effort to (=in order to try to) find peace.//  effort at//  --Further efforts at negotiation have broken down.//  through sb’s efforts//   (=because of their efforts) //  --The money was raised largely through the efforts of parents.//  --The meal was a joint effort  (=it was done by two people together) .//  despite sb’s efforts//  --Despite all our efforts we lost the game 1-0.//  --With  a supreme effort of will Isabel forced back the tears.//\n  3  be an effort:  to be difficult or painful to do//  --I was so weak that even standing up was an effort.//\n  4 PARTICULAR SITUATION:   [C] work that people do to achieve something in a particular situation//  --the fundraising effort//  --the international relief effort //  --Everyone did what they could to support the war effort. //\n  5  good/bad/poor etc effort:  something that has been done well, badly etc//  --Not a bad effort for a beginner!//


Words: effortless
Meaning:
adj   something that is effortless is done in a very skilful way that makes it seem easy//  --Alexei rose to his feet with a single effortless movement.//  -- effortlessly adv //  --He dived effortlessly into the turquoise water.//


Words: effrontery
Meaning:
n [U]  formal   [Date: 1600-1700; Language: French; Origin: effronterie, from  Late Latin effrons  ’shameless’]//  rude behaviour that shocks you because it is so confident//  have the effrontery to do sth//  --She had the effrontery to ask me for more money.//


Words: effulgent
Meaning:
adj  literary   [Date: 1600-1700; Language: Latin; Origin: , present participle of  effulgere  ’to shine out’]//  beautiful and bright//  -- effulgence n  [U] //


Words: effusion
Meaning:
n [U and C]   [Date: 1400-1500; Language: French; Origin: Latin effundere  ’to pour out’]//\n  1  technical a liquid or gas that flows out of something, or the act of flowing out:  --a massive effusion of poisonous gas//\n  2  formal an uncontrolled expression of strong good feelings:  --He greeted the guests with effusion.//


Words: effusive
Meaning:
adj   showing your good feelings in a very excited way//  --Our host gave us an effusive welcome.//  effusive in//  --Dotty was effusive in her thanks.//  -- effusively adv //  -- effusiveness n  [U] //


Words: EFL
Meaning:
n [U]   English as a Foreign Language the teaching of English to people whose first language is not English, and who do not live in an English-speaking country//


Words: egalitarian
Meaning:
adj   [Date: 1800-1900; Language: French; Origin: egalitaire, from  egalite  ’equality’]//  based on the belief that everyone is equal and should have equal rights//  --an egalitarian society//  -- egalitarianism n  [U] //


Words: egg
Meaning:
n   ----------//\n   1 bird:\n   2 food:\n   3 egg shape:\n   4 animals/people:\n   5 (have) egg on your face:\n   6 put all your eggs in one basket:\n   7 lay an egg:\n   8 good egg:  ----------//  [Date: 1300-1400; Language: Old Norse]//\n  1 BIRD:   [C] a round object with a hard surface, that contains a baby bird, snake, insect etc and which is produced by a female bird, snake, insect etc//  --Blackbirds lay their eggs in March.//  --an ostrich egg//  --The eggs hatch  (=break open to allow the baby out) in 26 days.//  butter, egg, flour, sugar//\n  2 FOOD:   [U and C] an egg, especially one from a chicken, that is used for food//  fried/poached/boiled etc eggs //  --Joe always has bacon and egg for breakfast.//  --Whisk the egg white  (=the white part) until stiff.//  --Beat in two of the egg yolks  (=the yellow part) .//    scrambled egg//\n  3 EGG SHAPE:   [C] something the same shape as an egg//  --a chocolate Easter egg//    Easter egg//\n  4 ANIMALS/PEOPLE:   [C] a cell produced by a woman or female animal that combines with sperm (=male cell)  to make a baby//   ovum//\n  5  (have) egg on your face:  if someone, especially someone in authority, has egg on their face, they have been made to look stupid by something embarrassing//  --The Pentagon’s been left with egg on its face.//\n  6  put all your eggs in one basket:  to depend completely on one thing or one course of action in order to get success, so that you have no other plans if this fails//  --When planning your investments, it’s unwise to put all your eggs in one basket.//\n  7  lay an egg:   AmE  informal to fail or be unsuccessful at something that you are trying to do//\n  8  good egg:   old-fashioned someone who you can depend on to be honest, kind etc//    kill the goose that lays the golden egg at kill1 (14),  nest egg//\negg 2 v   egg on [egg sb → on] phr v//  [Date: 1100-1200; Language: Old Norse; Origin: eggja]//  to encourage someone to do something, especially something that they do not want to do or should not do//  --Bob didn’t want to jump, but his friends kept egging him on.//


Words: egg-timer
Meaning:
n [C]   a small glass container with sand in it that runs from one part to the other in about three or five minutes, used for measuring the time it takes to boil an egg//


Words: eggnog
Meaning:
n [U]   [Date: 1800-1900; Origin: egg +  nog  ’strong beer’ (17-20 centuries)]//  a drink made from eggs, sugar, milk, and alcohol, usually drunk at Christmas//


Words: eggshell
Meaning:
n [U and C] \n  1 the hard outside part of a bird’s egg:\n  2 a type of paint, used especially on wood, that is not shiny when dry:


Words: ego
Meaning:
n   plural  egos  [C] //  [Date: 1800-1900; Language: Latin; Origin: ’I’]//\n  1 the opinion that you have about yourself:  big/enormous etc ego //  --Richard has the biggest ego (=thinks he is very clever and important) of anyone I’ve ever met.//  --That promotion really boosted her ego  (=made her feel better about herself) .//  --I need someone to massage my bruised ego  (=when you feel less confident than before) .//  --a fragile ego//    alter ego//\n  2  technical the part of your mind with which you think and take action, according to Freudian psychology:   ID, superego//


Words: ego trip
Meaning:
n [C]   if someone is on an ego trip, they think that what they do makes them more important than other people - used to show disapproval//  --Their singer’s on a real ego trip.//


Words: egocentric
Meaning:
adj   thinking only about yourself and not about what other people might need or want//   self-centred//  -- egocentricity/i[hA359]g[hA353][hA35E]sentr[hA366]s[hA369]ti, eg- $ -go[hA35E]-/ n  [U and C] //


Words: egoism
Meaning:
n [U]    egotism//  -- egoist n  [C] //  -- egoistic/i[hA359]g[hA353][hA35E][hA366]st[hA366]k[hA36B], eg- $ -go[hA35E]-/ adj //


Words: egomaniac
Meaning:
n [C]   someone who thinks that they are very important, and does not care whether they upset other people in order to get what they want//


Words: egotist
Meaning:
n [C]   someone who likes to talk about how great and important they think they are//  -- egotistic/i[hA359]g[hA353]t[hA366]st[hA366]k[hA36B], eg-/ adj //


Words: egotistical
Meaning:
adj   someone who is egotistical likes to talk about how great and important they think they are//  --He’s the most selfish, egotistical individual I have ever met!//  -- egotistically/-kli/ adv //


Words: egregious
Meaning:
adj  formal   [Date: 1500-1600; Language: Latin; Origin: egregius  ’unusual’, from  grex  ’group of animals’]//  an egregious mistake, failure, problem etc is extremely bad and noticeable//  -- egregiously adv //


Words: egress
Meaning:
n [U]  formal  or  law   [Date: 1500-1600; Language: Latin; Origin: egressus, from  egredi  ’to go out’]//  the act of leaving a building or place, or the right to do this//


Words: egret
Meaning:
n [C]   [Date: 1300-1400; Language: Anglo-French; Origin: aigrette]//  a bird that lives near water and has long legs and long white tail feathers//


Words: Egypt
Meaning:
a country in northeast Africa, next to the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. Population: 69,537,000 (2001). Capital: Cairo. //


Words: eh
Meaning:
interjection  spoken   [Date: 1500-1600; Origin:  Sound suggesting a question]//\n  1  BrE used when you want someone to repeat something because you did not hear it:  --Eh? She’s got how many children?//\n  2 used when you want someone to reply to you or agree with something you have said:  --Maybe teenagers aren’t as clueless as everyone thought, eh?//\n  3  BrE used when you are surprised by something that someone has said:


Words: Eichmann
Meaning:
Adolf   (1906-62) an Austrian Nazi who, during World War II, was one of the main people responsible for sending Jewish people to  concentration camps, where millions of them died. After the war he escaped, but he was finally caught,found guilty of  war crimes, and  executed in 1962. //


Words: eiderdown
Meaning:
n [C]   [Date: 1700-1800; Language: Icelandic; Origin: [zB024]thur type of duck +   DOWN2]//  a thick warm cover for a bed, filled with duck feathers//    duvet//


Words: Eiffel Tower
Meaning:
the Eiffel Tower//  a 300 metre-high metal tower in Paris, completed in 1889. It is often used as a  symbol representing Paris or France.//


Words: Eiger
Meaning:
the Eiger//  a mountain in the  Alps in Switzerland. Its north side is famous for being very difficult to climb.//


Words: eight
Meaning:
number, n   [Language: Old English; Origin: eahta]//\n  1 the number 8:  --It’s only eight days till Christmas.//  --They woke at eight (=eight o’clock) .//  --My parents died when I was eight (=eight years old) .//\n  2 [C] a team of eight people who row a racing boat, or the boat that they row:


Words: eighteen
Meaning:
number   [Language: Old English; Origin: eahtatiene, from  eahta  ’eight’ +  tien  ’ten’]//  the number 18//  --At least eighteen bullets were fired.//  --Jim was eighteen (=18 years old) .//  -- eighteenth adj  pron //  --in the eighteenth century//  --her eighteenth birthday//  --I’m planning to leave on  the eighteenth  (=the 18th day of the month) .//


Words: eighth
Meaning:
adj   coming after seven other things in a series//  --in the eighth century//  --her eighth birthday//  -- eighth pron //  --I’m planning to leave on  the eighth  (=the eighth day of the month) .//\neighth 2 n [C]   one of eight equal parts of something//


Words: eighth note
Meaning:
n [C]  AmE  technical   a musical note that continues for an eighth of the length of a whole note//  British Equivalent:  quaver//


Words: eighty
Meaning:
number   [Language: Old English; Origin: eahtatig, from  eahta  ’eight’]//\n  1 the number 80:\n  2  the eighties [plural]  also  the ’80s, the 1980s:  the years from 1980 to 1989//  --The band was incredibly successful in the eighties.//  the early/mid/late eighties //  --Their troubles began in the mid eighties.//\n  3  be in your eighties:  to be aged between 80 and 89//  early/mid/late eighties //  --Hilda Simpson was a woman in her early eighties.//\n  4  in the eighties:  if the temperature is in the eighties, it is between 80 degrees and 89 degrees//  in the low/mid/high eighties //  --The temperature is expected to remain in the low eighties.//  -- eightieth adj //  --her eightieth birthday//


Words: Einstein
Meaning:
Albert   (1879-1955) a US  physicist and  mathematician, born in Germany, who developed the  theory of relativity, which completely changed the way that scientists understand space and time. He was one of the greatest scientists ever born, and people sometimes use the name Einstein to talk about someone who is very intelligent//  --Go and ask Simon - he’s the Einstein of the family.//  --The controls are really easy to operate, so you don’t have to be an Einstein to use it.//


Words: Eisenhower
Meaning:
Dwight David   (1890-1969) a US politician in the Republican Party, who was President of the US from 1953 to 1961. Eisenhower was a general in the US army during World War II, and he became the commander of all the Allied forces in Europe, leading the attack on  D-day in 1944. People informally called him Ike. //


Words: Eisenstein
Meaning:
Sergei Mikhailovich   (1898-1948) a Russian film  director. Many people consider him to be one of the greatest directors ever, and he is famous especially for  The Battleship Potemkin (1925) and  Alexander Nevsky (1938).//


Words: either
Meaning:
conj   either ... or//  a) used to begin a list of two or more possibilities//  --You add either one or two cloves of garlic.//  --She’s the kind of person you either love or hate. see usage note  also//  b) used to say that if one thing does not happen then something else will have to//  --It’s your choice! Either she leaves or I will!//  --[hA124]75 seems a lot to pay for a starter motor, but it’s either that or a new car!//  c)  an either-or situation//  a situation in which you cannot avoid having to make a decision or choice//\neither 2 determiner, pron \n  1 one or the other of two things or people:    any//  --There’s tea or coffee - you can have either.//  --We can offer a comfortable home to a young person of either sex.//  either of//  --Could either of you lend me five pounds?//\n  2 used to show that a negative statement is true about both of two things or people:    neither//  --I’ve lived in New York and Chicago, but don’t like either city very much.//  either of//  --There were two witnesses but I wouldn’t trust either of them.//\n  3  either side/end/hand etc:  both sides, ends, hands etc//   each//  --He sat in the back of the car with a policeman on either side.//  --There are shops at either end of the street.//\n  4  either way:  a) used to say that something will be the same whichever of two things happens or is true//  --You can get to Edinburgh by train or plane, but either way it’s very expensive.//  b) more or less than a certain amount or measurement//  --A few marks either way can make the difference between a pass and a fail.//  c) used to say that someone or something does not firmly support or want either one of two things//  --’All right, let’s do that,’ said Camille, who didn’t care either way.//\n  5  could go either way:  if a situation could go either way, both possible results are equally likely//  --The latest opinion poll suggests the vote could go either way.//\neither 3 adv \n  1 [in negatives] used to show that a negative statement is also true about another thing or person, or to add a different negative statement about something or someone:    neither//  --I haven’t seen the movie and my brother hasn’t either (=he also has not seen it) .//  --’I can’t swim.’ ’I can’t, either.’//  --It’s not an easy car to drive , and at $40,000 it’s not cheap either.//\n  2  me either:   AmE  spoken used to say that a negative statement is also true about you//  --’I don’t have any money right now.’ ’Me either.’//


Words: ejaculate
Meaning:
v [I and T]   [Date: 1500-1600; Language: Latin; Origin: ejaculatus, past participle of  ejaculari  ’to throw out’]//\n  1 when a man ejaculates, semen comes out of his penis:\n  2  old-fashioned  or  literary to suddenly shout or say something, especially because you are surprised:  -- ejaculation/[hA366]d[hA360][zB024]kj[hA36A]le[hA366][hA35D][hA368]n/ n  [U and C] //


Words: eject
Meaning:
v   [Date: 1400-1500; Language: Latin; Origin: ejectus, past participle of  eicere  ’to throw out’]//\n  1 [T] to make someone leave a place or building by using force:  eject sb from sth//  --The demonstrators were ejected from the hall.//\n  2 [T] to make someone leave a job or position very quickly:  eject sb from sth//  --420 workers have been ejected from their jobs with no warning.//\n  3 [T] to suddenly send something out:  --Two engines cut out and the plane started to eject fuel as it lost height.//\n  4 [I] if a pilot ejects, he or she escapes from a plane, using an ejector seat because it is going to crash:\n  5 [I and T] if you eject a tape or disk, or if it ejects, it comes out of a machine after you have pressed a particular button:  -- ejection/[hA366]d[hA360]ek[hA35D][hA368]n/ n  [U and C] //


Words: ejector seat
Meaning:
BrE ejection seat  AmE n [C]   a special seat that throws the pilot out of a plane when it is going to crash//


Words: eke
Meaning:
v   eke out [eke sth → out] phr v//  [Language: Old English; Origin: iecan,  ecan  ’to increase’]//\n  1  eke out a living/existence:  to manage to live with very little money or food//  --They eke out a miserable existence in cardboard shacks.//\n  2 to make a small supply of something such as food or money last longer by carefully using small amounts of it:  --How did Mum manage to eke out the food when we were kids?//


Words: El Cid
Meaning:
(?1043-99) a Spanish soldier who fought for both Christians and  Moors. Many people see him as a perfect example of  chivalry, Christian values, and love of his country//


Words: El Dorado Eldorado
Meaning:
a place of very great wealth. Spanish travellers of the 16th century believed there was a place with very large amounts of gold and silver somewhere in South or Central America, which they called El Dorado, but they never found it//  --For some investment managers, Russia was seen as the next Eldorado.//


Words: El Greco
Meaning:
(1541-1614) a Spanish artist famous for his religious paintings. He was called El Greco, which means ’the Greek’, because he was born in Crete.//


Words: El Ni[hA172]o
Meaning:
a change in the weather that happens every three to seven years, caused by a rise in the temperature of a large area of the Pacific Ocean off the west coast of South America. El Ni[hA172]o has severe effects on the weather in many parts of the world, and can cause  drought (=complete lack of rain)  in some places and heavy rain and violent storms in other places.//


Words: El Salvador
Meaning:
a country in central America, between Guatemala and Honduras, on the coast of the Pacific Ocean. Population: 6,238,000 (2001). Capital: San Salvador.//  -- Salvadorean n  adj //


Words: elaborate
Meaning:
adj   [Date: 1400-1500; Language: Latin; Origin: elaboratus, past participle of  elaborare  ’to work out’]//\n  1 having a lot of small parts or details put together in a complicated way:  --pure silks embroidered with elaborate patterns//\n  2 carefully planned and organized in great detail:  --a very elaborate telecommunications network//  -- elaborately adv //  --an elaborately carved wooden statue//\nelaborate 2   v   [I and T] to give more details or new information about something//  --He said he had new evidence, but refused to elaborate any further.//  elaborate on//  --McDonald refused to elaborate on his reasons for resigning.//  -- elaboration/[hA366]l[zB024]b[hA353]re[hA366][hA35D][hA368]n/ n  [U and C] //


Words: elan
Meaning:
n [U]  literary   [Date: 1800-1900; Language: French]//  a style that is full of energy and confidence//  --The attack was planned and led with great elan.//


Words: elapse
Meaning:
v [I not in progressive]   [Date: 1500-1600; Language: Latin; Origin: elapsus, past participle of  elabi  ’to slip away’]//   formal if a particular period of time elapses, it passes//  --Several months elapsed before his case was brought to trial.//  --The assignment must be completed within an overall elapsed time of one week.//


Words: elastic
Meaning:
n [U]   a type of rubber material that can stretch and then return to its usual length or size//  --The ball was attached to the bat with a piece of elastic .//\nelastic 2 adj   [Date: 1600-1700; Language: Modern Latin; Origin: elasticus, from  Late Greek elastos  ’able to change shape’]//\n  1 made of elastic:  --an elastic cord//\n  2 a material that is elastic can stretch and then go back to its usual length or size:  --the horny elastic pad in a horse’s hoof//\n  3 a system or plan that is elastic can change or be changed easily:  --Demand for this type of holiday will probably be fairly elastic.//\n  4  AmE if a piece of clothing is elastic, it is made with material that can stretch:  --children’s pants with an elastic waist//


Words: elasticated
Meaning:
adj  BrE   if a piece of clothing is elasticated, it is made with material that can stretch//  --skirts with elasticated waists//


