shortcut /ˈʃɔːrtkʌt/
noun
a shorter alternative route.
• an accelerated way of doing or achieving something: the promise of a shortcut to optimum health and fitness is a tantalizing one.
• Computing a record of the address of a file, website, or other data made to enable quick access.

encore
noun
a repeated or additional performance of an item at the end of a concert, as called for by an audience.
exclam.
called out by an audience at the end of a concert to request an additional performance.
verb [ with obj. ]
give or call for a repeated or additional performance of (an item) at the end of a concert.
ORIGIN early 18th cent.: French, literally ‘still, again.’
encore
noun
the audience roared approval and demanded an encore: repeat performance, extra performance, additional performance, replay, repeat, repetition; curtain call.

eschew /ɪsˈtʃuː/
verb [ with obj. ]
deliberately avoid using; abstain from: he appealed to the crowd to eschew violence.
DERIVATIVES
eschewal noun
ORIGIN late Middle English: from Old French eschiver, ultimately of Germanic origin and related to German scheuen ‘shun,’ also to shy.
eschew
verb
he firmly eschewed political involvement: abstain from, refrain from, give up, forgo, shun, renounce, steer clear of, have nothing to do with, fight shy of; relinquish, reject, disavow, abandon, spurn, wash one's hands of, drop; informal kick, pack in; formal forswear, abjure.

off-peak
adjective& adverb
at a time when demand is less: [ as adj. ] : off-peak travel.

jeopardize /ˈdʒepərdʌɪz/
verb [ with obj. ]
put (someone or something) into a situation in which there is a danger of loss, harm, or failure: a devaluation of the dollar would jeopardize New York's position as a financial center.
jeopardize
verb
accused of jeopardizing the health of their children: threaten, endanger, imperil, risk, put at risk, put in danger/jeopardy; hazard, stake; leave vulnerable; compromise, be a danger to, pose a threat to. ANTONYMS safeguard.
Jeopardy! is an American television game show. The show features a quiz competition in which contestants are presented with general knowledge clues in the form of answers, and must phrase their responses in the form of questions. The original daytime version debuted on NBC on March 30, 1964, and aired until January 3, 1975. A weekly nighttime edition aired from September 1974 to September 1975, and a revival, The All-New Jeopardy!, ran on NBC from October 1978 to March 1979. A daily version premiered on September 10, 1984, and is still airing, making it by far the program's most successful incarnation.
With over 6,000 episodes aired, the daily syndicated version of Jeopardy! has won a record 31 Daytime Emmy Awards and is the only game show to be honored with the Peabody Award. In 2013, the program was ranked No. 45 on TV Guide's list of the 60 greatest shows in American television history. Jeopardy! has also gained a worldwide following with regional adaptation in many other countries. The daily syndicated series' 31st season premiered on September 15, 2014.

never-ending /'nevər ˈendɪŋ/
adjective
(especially of something unpleasant) having or seeming to have no end: a never-ending series of disasters.
never-ending
adjective
never-ending noise: incessant, continuous, unceasing, ceaseless, constant, continual, perpetual, uninterrupted, unbroken, steady, unremitting, relentless, persistent, interminable, nonstop, endless, unending, everlasting, eternal.

mindfulness /ˈmʌɪndfəlnəs/
noun
1 the quality or state of being conscious or aware of something: their mindfulness of the wider cinematic tradition.
2 a mental state achieved by focusing one's awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting one's feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations, used as a therapeutic technique.
Mindfulness is "the intentional, accepting and non-judgemental focus of one's attention on the emotions, thoughts and sensations occurring in the present moment", which can be trained by meditational practices derived from Buddhist anapanasati.
The term "mindfulness" is derived from the Pali-term sati, "mindfulness", which is an essential element of Buddhist practice, including vipassana, satipaṭṭhāna and anapanasati.
Mindfulness practice is being employed in psychology to alleviate a variety of mental and physical conditions, including obsessive-compulsive disorder, anxiety, and in the prevention of relapse in depression and drug addiction. It has gained worldwide popularity as a distinctive method to handle emotions.

whether /ˈwɛðər/
conjunction
expressing a doubt or choice between alternatives: he seemed undecided whether to go or stay | it is still not clear whether or not he realizes. satipatth
• expressing an inquiry or investigation (often used in indirect questions): I'll see whether she's at home.
• indicating that a statement applies whichever of the alternatives mentioned is the case: I'm going whether you like it or not.
PHRASES
whether or no 1 whether or not: the only issue arising would be whether or no the publication was defamatory. 2 archaic in any case: God help us, whether or no!
ORIGIN Old English hwæther, hwether, of Germanic origin; related to German weder ‘neither.’
Usage: If and whether are more or less interchangeable in sentences like I'll see if he left an address and I'll see whether he left an address, although whether is generally regarded as more formal and suitable for written use. But, although if and whether are often interchangeable, a distinction worth noting is that if is also used in conditional constructions and whether in expressing an alternative or possibility. Thus, tell me if you're going to be in town next week could be strictly interpreted as ‘you need not reply if you are not going to be in town,’ whereas tell me whether you're going to be in town next week clearly means ‘a reply is desired one way or the other.’

PHRASE
to go N. Amer. (of food or drink from a restaurant or cafe) to be eaten or drunk off the premises: order one large cheese-and-peppers pizza, to go.

nippy /ˈnɪpi/
adjective (nippier, nippiest) informal
1 (of the weather) rather cold; chilly: it's a bit nippy this morning.
2 inclined to nip or bite: macaws can sometimes be nippy and unpredictable.
3 chiefly Brit. quick; nimble.
DERIVATIVES
nippily adverb
nippy
adjective
it's a bit nippy in here: cold, chilly, icy, bitter, raw. ANTONYMS warm.
Jack Frost nipping at your nose (or toes)
Jack Frost is the personification of frost, ice, snow, sleet, and freezing cold weather, a variant of Old Man Winter held responsible for frosty weather, for nipping the nose and toes in such weather, coloring the foliage in autumn, and spring and leaving fernlike patterns on cold windows in winter.

pedestrian /pɪˈdɛstrɪən/
noun
a person walking along a road or in a developed area.
adjective
lacking inspiration or excitement; dull: disenchantment with their present, pedestrian lives.
DERIVATIVES
pedestrianly adverb
ORIGIN early 18th cent.: from French pédestre or Latin pedester ‘going on foot,’ also ‘written in prose’ + ian. Early use in English was in the description of writing as ‘prosaic.’
pedestrian
noun
accidents involving pedestrians: walker, person on foot; (pedestrians) foot traffic. ANTONYMS driver.
adjective
pedestrian lives: dull, boring, tedious, monotonous, uneventful, unremarkable, tiresome, wearisome, uninspired, unimaginative, unexciting, uninteresting, uninvolving; unvarying, unvaried, repetitive, routine, commonplace, workaday; ordinary, everyday, run-of-the-mill, mundane, humdrum; informal plain-vanilla. ANTONYMS exciting.

new leaf /njuː liːf/
PHRASE
turn over a new leaf: reform, improve, mend one's ways, make a fresh start, change for the better; informal go straight.

grape /greɪp/
noun
1 a berry, typically green (classified as white), purple, red, or black, growing in clusters on a grapevine, eaten as fruit, and used in making wine.
• (the grape) informal wine: an exploration of the grape.
2 a dark purplish red color.

DERIVATIVES
grapey (also grapy)adjective (grapier, grapiest)
ORIGIN Middle English (also in the Old French sense): from Old French, ‘bunch of grapes,’ probably from graper ‘gather grapes,’ from grap ‘hook’ (denoting an implement used in harvesting grapes), of Germanic origin.
grape
noun
1 a bunch of grapes: berry, vine fruit.
2 informal a glass of the grape: wine; informal vino, plonk.

holly /ˈhɒli/
noun
a widely distributed shrub, typically having prickly dark green leaves, small white flowers, and red berries. There are several deciduous species of holly but the evergreen hollies are more typical and familiar.
[Genus Ilex, family Aquifoliaceae: many species, in particular the American holly (I. opaca), known as the Christmas holly.]
• the branches, foliage, and berries of the holly used as Christmas decorations.
ORIGIN Middle English holi, shortened form of Old English holegn, holen, of Germanic origin; related to German Hulst .

chestnut /ˈtʃɛsnʌt/
noun
1 (also sweet chestnut)a glossy brown nut that may be roasted and eaten.
2 (also chestnut tree, sweet chestnut, or Spanish chestnut)the large European tree that produces the edible chestnut, which develops within a bristly case, with serrated leaves and heavy timber.
[Castanea sativa, family Fagaceae.]
• (also American chestnut)a related tree (C. dentata), which succumbed to a fungus bark disease in the early 1900s. Once prolific in the eastern US, very few large specimens survived.
• (also Chinese chestnut)a related tree (C. mollissima) native to China and Korea, cultivated elsewhere for its edible nut. The flowers have a putrid odor.
• used in names of trees and plants that are related to the sweet chestnut or that produce similar nuts, e.g., water chestnut.
3 a deep reddish-brown color: [ as modifier ] : chestnut hair.
• a horse of a reddish-brown color, with a brown mane and tail.
4 a small horny patch on the inside of each of a horse's legs.

PHRASES
an old chestnut a joke or story that has become tedious because of its age and constant repetition.
pull someone's chestnuts out of the fire succeed in a hazardous undertaking for someone else's benefit.[with reference to the fable of a monkey using a cat's paw to extract roasting chestnuts from a fire.]

ORIGIN early 16th cent.: from Old English chesten (from Old French chastaine, via Latin from Greek kastanea) + nut.

zest /zest/
noun
1 great enthusiasm and energy: they campaigned with zest and intelligence | [ in sing. ] : she had a great zest for life.
• a quality of excitement and piquancy: I used to try to beat past records to add zest to my monotonous job.
2 the outer colored part of the peel of citrus fruit, used as flavoring.
verb [ with obj. ]
scrape off the outer colored part of the peel of (a piece of citrus fruit) for use as flavoring: zest the orange and lemon, taking care to discard all of the white pith.
DERIVATIVES
zestful adjective.
zestfully adverb.
zestfulness noun.
zesty adjective
ORIGIN late 15th cent.: from French zeste ‘orange or lemon peel,’ of unknown origin.
zest
noun
1 she had a great zest for life: enthusiasm, gusto, relish, appetite, eagerness, keenness, avidity, zeal, fervor, ardor, passion; verve, vigor, liveliness, sparkle, fire, animation, vitality, dynamism, energy, brio, pep, spirit, exuberance, high spirits, joie de vivre; informal zing, zip, oomph, vim, pizzazz, get-up-and-go. ANTONYMS apathy, indifference.
2 the lemon pepper and cilantro will add zest to the sauce | he wanted to put some zest to his life: piquancy, tang, flavor, savor, taste, spice, spiciness, relish, bite; excitement, interest, an edge; informal kick, punch, zing, oomph. ANTONYMS blandness.
3 the grated zest of an orange: rind, peel, skin.

scowl /skaʊl/
noun
an angry or bad-tempered expression.
verb [ no obj. ]
frown in an angry or bad-tempered way: she scowled at him defiantly.
DERIVATIVES
scowler noun
ORIGIN late Middle English (as a verb): probably of Scandinavian origin; compare with Danish skule ‘scowl.’ The noun dates from the early 16th cent.
scowl
noun
the scowl on his face: frown, glower, glare, grimace, black look; informal dirty look.
verb
she scowled at him: glower at, frown at, glare at, grimace at, lower at, look daggers at, give someone a black look; make a face at, pull a face, turn the corners of one's mouth down at, pout at; informal give someone a dirty look. ANTONYMS smile, grin.

get-together /ˈɡɛt təˈgɛðər/
noun
an informal gathering.
get-together
noun
a friendly get-together at Pete's house: party, meeting, gathering, social event, social, after-party; informal do, bash.

glance /glɑːns/
verb [ no obj. ]
1 take a brief or hurried look: Ginny glanced at her watch.
• (glance at/through) read quickly or cursorily: I glanced through your personnel file last night.
noun
1 a brief or hurried look: Sean and Michael exchanged glances.
2 literary a flash or gleam of light.
PHRASES
at a glance immediately upon looking: she saw at a glance what had happened.
at first glance when seen or considered for the first time, especially briefly: good news, at first glance, for frequent travelers.
glance one's eye archaic look briefly: glancing his severe eye around the group.
DERIVATIVES
glancingly adverb
ORIGIN late Middle English (in the sense ‘rebound obliquely’): probably a nasalized form of obsolete glace in the same sense, from Old French glacier ‘to slip,’ from glace ‘ice,’ based on Latin glacies .

glance
verb
1 Rachel glanced at him: look briefly, look quickly, peek, peep; glimpse; informal have a gander.
2 I glanced through the report: read quickly, scan, skim through, leaf through, flip through, thumb through, browse (through); dip into.
3 a bullet glanced off the ice: ricochet off, rebound off, be deflected off, bounce off; graze, clip.
4 sunlight glanced off her hair: reflect, flash, gleam, glint, glitter, glisten, glimmer, shimmer.
noun
a glance at his watch: peek, peep, brief look, quick look, glimpse; informal gander.
PHRASES
at first glance at first glance, the plastic stemware could have been mistaken for crystal: on the face of it, on the surface, at first sight, to the casual eye, to all appearances; apparently, seemingly, outwardly, superficially, it would seem, it appears, as far as one can see/tell, by all accounts.
shower /ˈʃaʊər/
noun
1 a brief and usually light fall of rain, hail, sleet, or snow.
• a mass of small things falling or moving at the same time: a shower of dust sprinkled his face.
• a large number of things happening or given to someone at the same time: he was pleased by the shower of awards.
• a group of particles produced by a cosmic-ray particle in the earth's atmosphere.
2 an enclosure in which a person stands under a spray of water to wash.
• the apparatus in a shower that produces the spray of water.
• (also shower bath)an act of washing oneself in a shower.
3 [ often with modifier ] N. Amer. a party at which presents are given to someone, typically a woman who is about to get married or have a baby: she loved going to baby showers.
shower
noun
1 a shower of rain: (light) fall, drizzle, sprinkling, misting.
2 a shower of arrows: volley, hail, salvo, bombardment, barrage, fusillade, cannonade.
3 a shower of awards: avalanche, deluge, flood, spate, flurry; profusion, abundance.

PHRASES
send someone to the showers N. Amer. informal send off or eject someone from a match, race, or contest.
ORIGIN Old English scūr‘light fall of rain, hail, etc.,’ of Germanic origin; related to Dutch schoer and German Schauer.

foliage /ˈfəʊlɪɪdʒ/
noun [ mass noun ]
plant leaves collectively: healthy green foliage.

ORIGIN late Middle English foilage (in the sense ‘design resembling leaves’): from Old French feuillage, from feuille ‘leaf’, from Latin folium. The change in the first syllable was due to association with Latin folium.

nostril /ˈnɒstr(ə)l/
noun
either of two external openings of the nasal cavity in vertebrates that admit air to the lungs and smells to the olfactory nerves.

DERIVATIVES
nostrilled adjective [ in combination ]

ORIGIN Old English nosterl, nosthyrl, from nosu‘nose’ + thȳr(e)l‘hole’.

will /wɪl/
noun
1 [ usu. in sing. ] the faculty by which a person decides on and initiates action: she has an iron will | a battle of wills between children and their parents | an act of will.
• (also willpower) control deliberately exerted to do something or to restrain one's own impulses: a stupendous effort of will.
• a deliberate or fixed desire or intention: Jane had not wanted them to stay against their will | [ with infinitive ] : the will to live.
• the thing that one desires or ordains: the disaster was God's will.
2 a legal document containing instructions as to what should be done with one's money and property after one's death.
PHRASES
at will at whatever time or in whatever way one pleases: it can be molded and shaped at will | he was shoved around at will.
have a will of one's own have a willful character.
have one's will archaic obtain what one wants.
if you will said when politely inviting a listener or reader to do something or when using an unusual or fanciful term: imagine, if you will, a typical silversmith's shop.
where there's a will there's a way proverb determination will overcome any obstacle.
with the best will in the world however good one's intentions (used to imply that success in a particular undertaking is unlikely although desired).
with a will energetically and resolutely.
ORIGIN Old English willa (noun), willian (verb), of Germanic origin; related to Dutch wil,German Wille (nouns), also to will and the adverb well.
will
noun
1 the will to succeed: determination, willpower, strength of character, resolution, resolve, resoluteness, single-mindedness, purposefulness, drive, commitment, dedication, doggedness, tenacity, tenaciousness, staying power.
2 they stayed against their will: desire, wish, preference, inclination, intention, intent, volition.
3 God's will: wish, desire, decision, choice; decree, command.
4 the dead man's will: testament, last will and testament, bequest.

spin
verb
1 the bike wheels are spinning: revolve, rotate, turn, go round, whirl, gyrate, circle.
2 she spun around to face him: whirl, wheel, twirl, turn, swing, twist, swivel, pirouette, pivot.
3 her head was spinning: reel, whirl, go around, swim.
4 she spun an amusing yarn: tell, recount, relate, narrate; weave, concoct, invent, fabricate, make up.

noun
1 a spin of the wheel: rotation, revolution, turn, whirl, twirl, gyration.
2 a positive spin on the campaign: slant, angle, twist, bias.
3 a quick spin to the grocery store: trip, jaunt, outing, excursion, journey; drive, ride, run, turn, airing, joyride.

spin-the-bottle
noun
a party game in which players take turns spinning a bottle lying flat, and then kiss the person to whom the bottle neck points on stopping.

warm-up (also warmup)
noun
a period or act of preparation for a game, performance, or exercise session, involving gentle exercise or practice.
• (warm-ups) a garment worn during light exercise or training; a sweatsuit.
• a period before a stage performance in which the audience is amused or entertained in order to make it more receptive to the main act.

PHRASAL VERBS
warm up prepare for physical exertion or a performance by exercising or practicing gently beforehand: the band was warming up. • (of an engine or electrical appliance) reach a temperature high enough to allow it to operate efficiently. • become livelier or more animated: after several more rounds, things began to warm up in the bar.

juggle /ˈdʒʌg(ə)l/
verb [ with obj. ]
continuously toss into the air and catch (a number of objects) so as to keep at least one in the air while handling the others, typically for the entertainment of others.
• cope with by adroitly balancing: she works full time, juggling her career with raising children.
• organize (information or figures) in order to give a particular impression: defense chiefs juggled the figures on bomb tests.

noun [ in sing. ]
an act of juggling.

DERIVATIVES
juggler /ˈjəg(ə)lər/ noun.
jugglery /ˈjəglərē/ noun
ORIGIN late Middle English (in the sense ‘entertain with jesting, tricks, etc’): back-formation from juggler, or from Old French jogler, from Latin joculari ‘to jest,’ from joculus, diminutive of jocus ‘jest.’ Current senses date from the late 19th cent.

juggle
verb
1 juggling three part-time jobs: handle, manage, deal with, multitask.
2 the auditors suspect that the books had been juggled: tamper with, manipulate, falsify, alter, rig; informal fudge, fix, doctor, cook.

ORIGIN late Middle English (in the sense ‘entertain with jesting, tricks, etc.’): back-formation from juggler, or from Old French jogler, from Latin joculari ‘to jest’, from joculus, diminutive of jocus ‘jest’. Current senses date from the late 19th cent.

sign-up
noun [ usu. as modifier ]
the action of enrolling for something or of enrolling or employing someone: a sign-up fee of $29.95.

PHRASAL VERBS
sign up commit oneself to a period of employment or education or to some other undertaking: he signed up for a ten-week course. • enlist in the armed forces. • (also sign something up) conclude a business deal: the company has already signed up a few orders.

PHRASES
sign up As soon as you sign up for a course at Atlantic Group your English starts improving.
1 I signed up with Will's committee to raise money for the school library: enlist, take a job, join (up), enroll, register, volunteer. 2 the Yankees have signed on a new right fielder.

resume /rɪˈzjuːm/
verb
begin to do or pursue (something) again after a pause or interruption: [ with obj. ] : a day later normal service was resumed | [ no obj. ] : hostilities had ceased and normal life had resumed.
• [ no obj. ] begin speaking again after a pause or interruption: he sipped at the glass of water on the lectern and then resumed | [ with direct speech ] : “As for Joe,” the major resumed, “I can't promise anything.”
• take, pick up, or put on again; return to the use of: the judge resumed his seat.

resume
verb
1 the government resumed negotiations: restart, recommence, begin again, start again, reopen; renew, return to, continue with, carry on with. ANTONYMS suspend, abandon.
2 the priest resumed his kneeling posture: return to, come back to, take up again, reoccupy. ANTONYMS leave.

DERIVATIVES
resumable adjective
ORIGIN late Middle English: from Old French resumer or Latin resumere, from re- ‘back’ + sumere ‘take.’

blistering /ˈblɪstərɪŋ/
adjective
(of heat) intense: the blistering heat of the desert.
• (of criticism) expressed with great vehemence: blistering diatribes.
• extremely fast, forceful, or impressive: Burke set a blistering pace.

blistering
adjective
1 blistering heat: intense, extreme, ferocious, fierce; scorching, searing, blazing, burning, fiery; informal boiling, baking, roasting, sweltering. ANTONYMS mild, icy.
2 a blistering attack on the government: savage, vicious, fierce, bitter, harsh, scathing, devastating, caustic, searing, vitriolic. ANTONYMS mild.
3 a blistering pace: very fast, breakneck; informal blinding. ANTONYMS leisurely.

flip-flop /ˈflɪpflɒp/
noun
1 a light sandal, typically of plastic or rubber, with a thong between the big and second toe.
2 a backward handspring.
3 informal an abrupt reversal of policy: his flip-flop on taxes.
4 Electronics a switching circuit that works by changing from one stable state to another, or through an unstable state back to its stable state, in response to a triggering pulse.

verb [ no obj. ]
1 [ with adverbial of direction ] move with a flapping sound or motion: she flip-flopped off the porch in battered sneakers.
2 informal make an abrupt reversal of policy: the candidate flip-flopped on a number of issues.
ORIGIN mid 17th cent. (in the general sense ‘something that flaps or flops’): imitative reduplication of flop.
flip-flop
noun
the senator did a sudden flip-flop on gun control: about-face, U-turn, volte-face, reversal, turnaround, one-eighty, change of heart; informal U-ey.

indulge /ɪnˈdʌldʒ/
verb [ no obj. ] (indulge in)
allow oneself to enjoy the pleasure of: we indulged in some hot fudge sundaes.
• become involved in (an activity, typically one that is undesirable or disapproved of): I don't indulge in idle gossip.
• informal allow oneself to enjoy a particular pleasure, esp. that of alcohol: I only indulge on special occasions.
• [ with obj. ] satisfy or yield freely to (a desire or interest): she was able to indulge a growing passion for literature.
• [ with obj. ] allow (someone) to enjoy a desired pleasure: I spent time indulging myself with secret feasts.
DERIVATIVES
indulger noun
ORIGIN early 17th cent. (in the sense ‘treat with excessive kindness’): from Latin indulgere ‘give free rein to.’
indulge
verb
1 Seth indulged his passion for vintage stemware: satisfy, gratify, fulfill, feed, accommodate; yield to, give in to, give way to.
2 she seldom indulged in sentimentality: wallow in, give oneself up to, give way to, yield to, abandon oneself to, give free rein to; luxuriate in, revel in, lose oneself in.
3 she did not indulge her children: pamper, spoil, overindulge, coddle, mollycoddle, cosset, baby, spoon-feed, pander to, wait on hand and foot, cater to someone's every whim, kill with kindness.
PHRASES
indulge oneself it's healthy to indulge yourself once in a while: treat oneself, give oneself a treat; go on a spree; informal go to town, splurge.

icon /ˈʌɪkɒn, -k(ə)n/
noun
1 (also ikon) a devotional painting of Christ or another holy figure, typically executed on wood and used ceremonially in the Byzantine and other Eastern Churches.
2 a person or thing regarded as a representative symbol or as worthy of veneration: this iron-jawed icon of American manhood.
3 Computing a symbol or graphic representation on a screen of a program, option, or window.
4 Linguistics a sign which has a characteristic in common with the thing it signifies, for example the word snarl pronounced in a snarling way.
ORIGIN mid 16th cent. (in the sense ‘simile’): via Latin from Greek eikōn ‘likeness, image’. Current senses date from the mid 19th cent. onwards.
icon
noun
1 an icon of the Blessed Virgin: image, idol, portrait, picture, representation, likeness, symbol, sign; figure, statue.
2 he became a teen icon: idol, paragon, hero, heroine; celebrity, superstar, star; favorite, darling.
iconic /ʌɪˈkɒnɪk/
adjective
1 relating to or of the nature of an icon: he became an iconic figure for directors around the world.
2 (of a classical Greek statue) depicting a victorious athlete in a conventional style.
DERIVATIVES
iconically adverb,
iconicity /-kəˈnɪsɪti/ noun (especially in linguistics)
ORIGIN mid 17th cent.: from Latin iconicus, from Greek eikonikos, from eikōn ‘likeness, image’.

vacation /vəˈkeɪʃ(ə)n, veɪ-/
noun
1 an extended period of recreation, esp. one spent away from home or in traveling: he took a vacation in the south of France | people come here on vacation | [ as modifier ] : a vacation home.
• a fixed holiday period between terms in schools and law courts.
2 the action of leaving something one previously occupied: his marriage was the reason for the vacation of his fellowship.
verb [ no obj. ]
take a vacation: I was vacationing in Europe with my family.
DERIVATIVES
vacationer noun.
vacationist /-ist/ noun
ORIGIN late Middle English: from Old French, or from Latin vacatio(n-), from vacare ‘be unoccupied’.
vacation
noun
their summer vacations in Hawaii: break, time off, recess, leave, leave of absence, furlough, sabbatical, spring break; trip, tour; chiefly Brit. holiday; informal getaway, staycation; formal sojourn.
verb
I was vacationing in Europe with my family: travel, tour, stay, visit, stop over; formal sojourn.

getaway /ˈgɛtəweɪ/
noun
1 an escape or quick departure, esp. after committing a crime: the thugs made their getaway | [ as modifier ] : a getaway car.
2 informal a vacation: a perfect family getaway.
• the destination or accommodations for a vacation: a popular island getaway.
getaway
noun
he made his getaway in broad daylight: escape, breakout, bolt for freedom, flight; disappearance, vanishing act.

outdoor /aʊtˈdɔːr/
adjective [ attrib. ]
done, situated, or used out of doors: a huge outdoor concert.
• (of a person) fond of the open air or open-air activities: a rugged, outdoor type.
outdoor
adjective
outdoor activities: open-air, outdoors, outside, al fresco, field. ANTONYMS indoor.

balance /ˈbal(ə)ns/
noun
1 an even distribution of weight enabling someone or something to remain upright and steady:
slipping in the mud but keeping their balance | she lost her balance before falling.
• stability of one's mind or feelings: the way to some kind of peace and personal balance.
• Sailing the ability of a boat to stay on course without adjustment of the rudder.
2 a condition in which different elements are equal or in the correct proportions: overseas investments can add balance to an investment portfolio | [ in sing. ] : try to keep a balance between work and relaxation.
• Art harmony of design and proportion.
• [ in sing. ] the relative volume of various sources of sound: the balance of the voices is good.
3 an apparatus for weighing, esp. one with a central pivot, beam, and a pair of scales.
• (the Balance) the zodiacal sign or constellation Libra.
4 a counteracting weight or force.
• (also balance wheel)the regulating device in a mechanical clock or watch.
5 a predominating weight or amount; the majority: the balance of opinion was that work was more important than leisure.
6 a figure representing the difference between credits and debits in an account; the amount of money held in an account: he accumulated a healthy balance with the savings bank.
• the difference between an amount due and an amount paid: unpaid credit-card balances.
• [ in sing. ] an amount left over.
balance
noun
1 I tripped and lost my balance: stability, equilibrium, steadiness, footing. ANTONYMS instability.
2 political balance in broadcasting: fairness, justice, impartiality, evenhandedness, egalitarianism, equal opportunity; parity, equity, equilibrium, equipoise, evenness, symmetry, correspondence, uniformity, equality, equivalence, comparability. ANTONYMS imbalance.
3 this stylistic development provides a balance to the rest of the work: counterbalance, counterweight, stabilizer, compensation.
4 the food was weighed on a balance: scale(s), weighing machine.
5 the balance of the rent: remainder, outstanding amount, rest, residue, difference, remaining part.

advantage /ədˈvɑːntɪdʒ/
noun
a condition or circumstance that puts one in a favorable or superior position: companies with a computerized database are at an advantage | she had an advantage over her mother's generation.
• the opportunity to gain something; benefit or profit: you could learn something to your advantage | he saw some advantage in the proposal.
• a favorable or desirable circumstance or feature; a benefit: the village's proximity to the town is an advantage.
• Tennis a player's score in a game when they have won the first point after deuce (and will win the game if they win the next point).

verb [ with obj. ]
put in a favorable or more favorable position.

PHRASES
have the advantage of dated be in a stronger position than.
take advantage of 1 make unfair demands on (someone) who cannot or will not resist; exploit or make unfair use of for one's own benefit: people tend to take advantage of a placid nature. • dated (used euphemistically) seduce. 2 make good use of the opportunities offered by (something): take full advantage of the facilities available.
to advantage in a way that displays or makes good use of the best aspects of something: her shoes showed off her legs to advantage | plan your space to its best advantage.
turn something to advantage (or to one's advantage)handle or respond to something in such a way as to benefit from it.
ORIGIN Middle English: from Old French avantage, from avant ‘in front,’ from late Latin abante (see advance).

green /griːn/
verb
make or become green, in particular:
• [ with obj. ] make (an urban or desert area) more verdant by planting or encouraging trees or other greenery: greening the desert.
• [ with obj. ] make less harmful or more sensitive to the environment: the importance of greening this industry.
• [ no obj. ] become green in color, through age or by becoming covered with plants: the roof was greening with lichen.
green thumb /ˈgriːn ˈˌθəm/
noun American informal
natural talent for growing plants: you don't need a green thumb to grow them.
DERIVATIVES
green-thumbed adjective
green fingers /ˌɡrin ˈfɪŋɡərz/
plural noun British informal
natural ability in growing plants. you really do have green fingers. orchids are the supreme test for green fingers.
DERIVATIVES
green-fingered adjective

raffle /ˈraf(ə)l/
noun
a means of raising money by selling numbered tickets, one or some of which are subsequently drawn at random, the holder or holders of such tickets winning a prize. [ as modifier ] : a raffle ticket. [ with modifier ] : a charity raffle.
verb [ with obj. ]
offer as a prize in a raffle. a toy polar bear was due to be raffled for the appeal.
ORIGIN late Middle English (denoting a kind of dice game): from Old French, of unknown origin. The current sense dates from the mid 18th cent.
raffle
noun
the winner of our raffle was Doris: lottery, lotto, drawing, prize drawing, sweepstake(s).

venue /ˈvɛnjuː/
noun
the place where something happens, esp. an organized event such as a concert, conference, or sports event: the river could soon be the venue for a powerboat world championship event.
• Law the county or district within which a criminal or civil case must be heard.
ORIGIN late 16th cent. (denoting a thrust or bout in fencing; also in the Law sense): from Old French, literally ‘a coming,’ feminine past participle of venir ‘come,’ from Latin venire .

sprout /sprəʊt/
verb [ no obj. ]
(of a plant) put forth shoots: the weeds begin to sprout.
• [ with obj. ] grow (plant shoots or hair): many black cats sprout a few white hairs.
• [ no obj. ] (of a plant, flower, or hair) start to grow; spring up: crocuses sprouted up from the grass.
• [ no obj. ] appear or develop suddenly and in large numbers: plush new hotels are sprouting up everywhere.
noun
1 a shoot of a plant.
• (sprouts) young shoots eaten as a vegetable, esp. the shoots of alfalfa, mung beans, or soybeans.
2 short for Brussels sprout.
ORIGIN Middle English: related to Dutch spruiten and German spriessen .
sprout
verb
1 the weeds begin to sprout: germinate, put/send out shoots, bud, burgeon.
2 he had sprouted a beard: grow, develop, put/send out.
3 parsley sprouted from the pot: spring up, shoot up, come up, grow, burgeon, develop, appear.

cherish /ˈtʃɛrɪʃ/
verb [ with obj. ]
protect and care for (someone) lovingly: he cared for me beyond measure and cherished me in his heart.
• hold (something) dear: I cherish the letters she wrote | (as adj. cherished) : cherished possessions.
• keep (a hope or ambition) in one's mind: he had long cherished a secret fantasy about his future.
ORIGIN Middle English (in the sense ‘treat with affection’): from Old French cheriss-, lengthened stem of cherir, from cher ‘dear,’ from Latin carus .
cherish
verb
1 a woman he could cherish: adore, hold dear, love, dote on, be devoted to, revere, esteem, admire; think the world of, set great store by, hold in high esteem; care for, tend to, look after, protect, preserve, keep safe.
2 I cherish her letters: treasure, prize, value highly, hold dear.
3 they cherished dreams of glory: harbor, entertain, possess, hold (on to), cling to, keep in one's mind, foster, nurture.

fun /fən/
noun
enjoyment, amusement, or lighthearted pleasure: the children were having fun in the play area | anyone who turns up can join in the fun.
• a source of this: people-watching is great fun.
• playful behavior or good humor: she's full of fun.
• behavior or an activity that is intended purely for amusement and should not be interpreted as having serious or malicious purposes: it was nothing serious; they just enjoyed having some harmless fun.
• [ attrib. ] (of a place or event) providing entertainment or leisure activities for children: a 33-acre movie-themed fun park.
adjective informal
amusing, entertaining, or enjoyable: it was a fun evening.
verb (funs, funning, funned) informal
joke or tease: [ no obj. ] : no need to get sore—I was only funning | [ with obj. ] : they are just funning you.
ORIGIN late 17th cent. (denoting a trick or hoax): from obsolete fun‘to cheat or hoax,’ dialect variant of late Middle English fon‘make a fool of, be a fool,’ related to fon‘a fool,’ of unknown origin. Compare with fond.
usage: The use of fun as an adjective meaning ‘enjoyable,’ as in we had a fun evening, is now established in informal use, although not accepted in standard English. The comparative and superlative forms funner and funnest, formed as if fun were a standard adjective, should only be used in very informal contexts, typically speech.

Dos de Mayo Uprising
The Dos de Mayo of 1808, was a rebellion by the people of Madrid against the occupation of the city by French troops, provoking a brutal repression by the French Imperial forces and triggering the Peninsular War.
The city had been under the occupation of Napoleon’s army since 23 March of the same year. King Charles VI had been forced to abdicate in favour of his son Ferdinand VII and at the time of the uprising both were in the French city of Bayonne at the insistence of Napoleon. An attempt by the French general Joachim Murat to move the daughter and youngest son of Charles IV to Bayonne led to a popular rebellion that was harshly suppressed by French troops after hours of fierce street fighting. The uprising in Madrid, together with the subsequent proclamation as king of Napoleon's brother Joseph, provoked resistance across Spain to French rule.
Today
The 2 May is now a public holiday in the Community of Madrid. The place where the artillery barracks of Monteleón was located is now a square called the Plaza Dos de Mayo, and the district surrounding the square is known as Malasaña in memory of one of the heroines of the revolt, the teenager Manuela Malasaña, who was executed by French troops in the aftermath of the revolt.
beguile /bɪˈgʌɪl/
verb [ with obj. ]
1 charm or enchant (someone), sometimes in a deceptive way: every prominent American artist has been beguiled by Maine | (as adj. beguiling) : a beguiling smile.
• trick (someone) into doing something: they were beguiled into signing a peace treaty.
2 dated help (time) pass pleasantly: to beguile some of the time they went to the movie theater.
DERIVATIVES
beguilement noun.
beguiler noun.
beguilingly adverb
ORIGIN Middle English (in the sense ‘deceive, deprive of by fraud’): from be-‘thoroughly’ + obsolete guile ‘to deceive’.
beguile
verb
1 she was beguiled by his beauty: charm, attract, enchant, entrance, win over, woo, captivate, bewitch, spellbind, dazzle, hypnotize, mesmerize, seduce. ANTONYMS repel.
2 the program has been beguiling children for years: entertain, amuse, delight, please, occupy, absorb, engage, distract, divert, fascinate, enthrall, engross. ANTONYMS bore.

Easter /ˈiːstər/
noun
the most important and oldest festival of the Christian Church, celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ and held (in the Western Church) between March 21 and April 25, on the first Sunday after the first full moon following the northern spring equinox.
• the period in which Easter occurs, esp. the weekend from Good Friday to Easter Monday.
ORIGIN Old English ēastre; of Germanic origin and related to German Ostern and east. According to Bede the word is derived from Ēastre, the name of a goddess associated with spring.
Easter egg /ˈi:stər ˈˌeg/
noun
1 a hard-boiled egg that is dyed and often decorated as part of the Easter celebration.
• an artificial egg, typically chocolate, given at Easter, esp. to children.
2 an unexpected or undocumented feature in a piece of computer software or on a DVD, included as a joke or a bonus.
Easter bunny
noun
an imaginary rabbit said to bring gifts to children at Easter.

aware /əˈwe(ə)r/
adjective [ predic. ]
having knowledge or perception of a situation or fact: most people are aware of the dangers of sunbathing | I am well aware of the problem | [ with clause ] : he was aware that a problem existed | as far as I'm aware, no one has complained.
• [ with adverbial ] concerned and well-informed about a particular situation or development: unless everyone becomes more environmentally aware, catastrophe is inevitable | a politically aware electorate.
ORIGIN Old English gewær; related to German gewahr, also to ware.
aware
adjective
1 she is aware of the dangers: conscious of, mindful of, informed about, acquainted with, familiar with, alive to, alert to; informal clued in to, wise to, in the know about, hip to; formal cognizant of; archaic ware of. ANTONYMS ignorant, oblivious.
2 we need to be more environmentally aware: knowledgeable, enlightened, well-informed, au fait; informal clued in, tuned in, plugged in. ANTONYMS ignorant.

Organic farming
(of food or farming methods) produced or involving production without the use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides, or other artificial chemicals. organic farming, organic meat.
Organic farming is a form of agriculture that relies on techniques such as crop rotation, green manure, compost, and biological pest control. Depending on whose definition is used, organic farming uses fertilizers and pesticides (which include herbicides, insecticides and fungicides) if they are considered natural (such as bone meal from animals or pyrethrin from flowers), but it excludes or strictly limits the use of various methods (including synthetic petrochemical fertilizers and pesticides; plant growth regulators such as hormones; antibiotic use in livestock; genetically modified organisms;[1] human sewage sludge; and nanomaterials.) for reasons including sustainability, openness, independence, health, and safety.
Organic agricultural methods are internationally regulated and legally enforced by many nations, based in large part on the standards set by the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM), an international umbrella organization for organic farming organizations established in 1972. The USDA National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) definition as of April 1995 is:
“Organic agriculture is an ecological production management system that promotes and enhances biodiversity, biological cycles and soil biological activity. It is based on minimal use of off-farm inputs and on management practices that restore, maintain and enhance ecological harmony."
academy /əˈkadəmi/
noun (pl. academies)
1 a place of study or training in a special field: an English academy.
• dated a place of study.
• a secondary school, typically a private one: he had passed all his finals at Ephebus Academy.
• (the Academy) the teaching school founded by Plato.
2 a society or institution of distinguished scholars, artists, or scientists, that aims to promote and maintain standards in its particular field: the National Academy of Sciences.
• the community of scholars; academe: a writing and publishing world outside the academy.
ORIGIN late Middle English (denoting the garden where Plato taught): from French académie or Latin academia, from Greek akadēmeia, from Akadēmos, the hero after whom Plato's garden was named.
academy
noun
1 she studied at a famous academy: educational institution, school, college, university, institute, seminary, conservatory, conservatoire.
2 his ideas were pooh-poohed by the academy: academia, academe, the academic world.

quarter /ˈkwɔːtər/
noun
each of four equal or corresponding parts into which something is or can be divided: she cut each apple into quarters | a page and a quarter | a quarter of a mile.
• a period of three months regarded as one fourth of a year, used esp. in reference to financial transactions such as the payment of bills or a company's earnings: the payment for each quarter's electricity is made in the next quarter.
• a period of fifteen minutes or a point of time marking the transition from one fifteen-minute period to the next: the baby was born at a quarter past nine.
• a coin representing 25 cents, one fourth of a US or Canadian dollar.
• each of the four parts into which an animal's or bird's carcass may be divided, each including a leg or wing.
• (quarters) the haunches or hindquarters of a horse.
• one fourth of a lunar month.
• (in various sports) each of four equal periods into which a game is divided.
• one of four terms into which a school or college year may be divided.

scholarship /ˈskɒləʃɪp/
noun
1 [ mass noun ] academic study or achievement; learning at a high level. the intellectual dishonesty has nothing to do with lack of scholarship.
2 a grant or payment made to support a student's education, awarded on the basis of academic or other achievement. Tim held a Humboldt scholarship. he went on a state-sponsored scholarship to study engineering.
scholarship
noun
1 a center of medieval scholarship: learning, book learning, knowledge, erudition, education, letters, culture, academic study, academic achievement.
2 a scholarship of $200 per semester: grant, award, endowment, payment, bursary.

award /əˈwɔːd/
noun
a prize or other mark of recognition given in honour of an achievement: the company's annual award for high-quality service.
• an amount of money given as an official payment, compensation, or grant: a 1.5 per cent pay award.
• [ mass noun ] the action of giving a payment, compensation, or prize: the award of an honorary doctorate | [ count noun ] : an award of damages.
DERIVATIVES
awardee noun,
awarder noun
ORIGIN late Middle English (in the sense ‘issue a judicial decision’, also denoting the decision itself): from Anglo-Norman French awarder, variant of Old French esguarder ‘consider, ordain’, from es- (from Latin ex ‘thoroughly’) + guarder ‘watch (over)’, based on a word of Germanic origin related to ward compare with guard.
noun
1 an award for high-quality service: prize, trophy, medal, decoration; reward.
2 the largest libel award in Virginia history: payment, settlement, compensation.
3 the Arts Council gave him an award of $1,500: grant, scholarship, endowment; bursary.

sofa /ˈsəʊfə/
noun
a long upholstered seat with a back and arms, for two or more people. [ as modifier ] : sofa cushions.
ORIGIN early 17th cent.: from French, based on Arabic ṣuffa .
sofa
noun
settee, couch, divan, chaise longue, love seat, chesterfield, Knole sofa; sofa bed; Brit. put-you-up; Frenchcanapé, tête-à-tête; N. Amer. davenport, day bed, studio couch, sectional; rare squab.

yoga /ˈjəʊgə/
noun [ mass noun ]
a Hindu spiritual and ascetic discipline, a part of which, including breath control, simple meditation, and the adoption of specific bodily postures, is widely practised for health and relaxation. [ as modifier ] : yoga classes.
The yoga widely known in the West is based on hatha yoga, which forms one aspect of the ancient Hindu system of religious and ascetic observance and meditation, the highest form of which is raja yoga and the ultimate aim of which is spiritual purification and self-understanding leading to samadhi or union with the divine.
DERIVATIVES
yogic /ˈjəʊgɪk/ adjective
ORIGIN Sanskrit, literally ‘union’.

methodology /mɛθəˈdɒlədʒi/
noun (pl.methodologies)
a system of methods used in a particular area of study or activity: a methodology for teaching English | [ mass noun ] : courses in research methodology and practice.
DERIVATIVES
methodological /-dəˈlɒdʒɪk(ə)l/ adjective,
methodologically /-dəˈlɒdʒɪk(ə)li/ adverb,
methodologist noun
ORIGIN early 19th cent.: from modern Latin methodologia or French méthodologie .

couch /kaʊtʃ/
noun
a long upholstered piece of furniture for several people to sit on.
• a reclining seat with a headrest at one end on which a psychoanalyst's subject or doctor's patient lies while undergoing treatment.
PHRASES
on the couch undergoing psychoanalysis or psychiatric treatment.
ORIGIN Middle English (as a noun denoting something to sleep on; as a verb in the sense ‘lay something down’): from Old French couche (noun), coucher (verb), from Latin collocare ‘place together’.
couch
noun
she seated herself on the couch: sofa, divan, settee, love seat, chesterfield, daybed, davenport, studio couch.

chide /tʃʌɪd/
verb (past chided or archaic chid /tʃɪd/ ; past participle chided or archaic chidden /ˈtʃɪd(ə)n/) [ with obj. ]
scold or rebuke: she chided him for not replying to her letters | [ with direct speech ] : ‘Now, now,’ he chided.
DERIVATIVES
chider noun,
chiding adjective,
chidingly adverb
ORIGIN Old English cīdan, of unknown origin.
chide
verb
he wasn't expecting her to chide him right there in front of everyone: scold, chastise, upbraid, berate, reprimand, reprove, rebuke, admonish, censure, lambaste, lecture, give someone a piece of one's mind, take to task, rake/haul over the coals; informal tell off, dress down, bawl out, blow up at, give someone an earful, give someone a roasting, give someone a tongue-lashing, come down on someone like a ton of bricks, slap someone's wrist, rap over the knuckles, give someone hell, take to the woodshed, have a go at, give someone what for, chew out, ream out; formal castigate; archaic chasten; rare reprehend. ANTONYMS praise.

rut /rət/
noun
1 a long deep track made by the repeated passage of the wheels of vehicles.
2 a habit or pattern of behavior that has become dull and unproductive but is hard to change: the administration was stuck in a rut and was losing its direction.
DERIVATIVES
rutted adjective.
rutty adjective
ORIGIN late 16th cent.: probably from Old French rute.
rut
noun
1 the car bumped across the ruts: furrow, groove, trough, ditch, hollow, pothole, crater.
2 he was stuck in a rut: boring routine, humdrum existence, habit, dead end.

loft /lɒft/
noun
1 a room or space directly under the roof of a house or other building, which may be used for accommodations or storage.
• a large, open area over a shop, warehouse, or factory, sometimes converted into living space.
• a gallery in a church or hall: a choir loft.
• a pigeon house.
• part of a room on a higher level than the rest of the room.
lofty
adjective
1 a lofty tower: tall, high, giant, towering, soaring, skyscraping. ANTONYMS low, short.
2 lofty ideals: noble, exalted, high, high-minded, worthy, grand, fine, elevated, sublime. ANTONYMS base, lowly.
3 lofty disdain: haughty, arrogant, disdainful, supercilious, condescending, scornful, patronizing, contemptuous, self-important, conceited, snobbish; aloof; informal stuck-up, snooty, snotty, hoity-toity, standoffish. ANTONYMS modest.

ORIGIN late Old English, from Old Norse lopt ‘air, sky, upper room’, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch lucht and German Luft.

Magi /ˈmeɪdʒʌɪ/
(the Magi)
the ‘wise men’ from the East who brought gifts to the infant Jesus (Matt. 2:1), said in later tradition to be kings named Caspar, Melchior, and Balthasar who brought gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
ORIGIN see magus.
magus /ˈmeɪgəs/
noun (pl.magi |ˈmeɪdʒʌɪ| )
a member of a priestly caste of ancient Persia.
• a sorcerer.
ORIGIN Middle English: via Latin and Greek from Old Persian maguš .

new year /n(j)u jɪ(ə)r/ New Year's Eve or New Year's Day.
noun
the calendar year just begun or about to begin: we're looking ahead to a profitable start to the new year | Happy New Year!
• the first few days or weeks of a year: interest rates may climb in the new year.
• (usu. New Year) the period immediately before and after December 31: the facilities are closed over Christmas and New Year.
PHRASES
New Year's informal New Year's Eve or New Year's Day.
a New Year's resolution - a firm decision to do or not to do something after New Year’s day

present /ˈprɛz(ə)nt/
noun
a thing given to someone as a gift: a Christmas present.
PHRASES
make a present of give as a gift: he had made a present of a hacienda to the president.
ORIGIN Middle English: from Old French, originally in the phrase mettre une chose en present à quelqu'un ‘put a thing into the presence of a person.’
present
noun
a birthday present: gift, donation, offering, contribution; informal freebie; formal benefaction.

greeting card
(Brit. greetings card )
noun
a decorative card sent to convey good wishes on some occasion.
season's greetings used as an expression of goodwill at Christmas or the New Year.

venue /ˈvɛnjuː/
noun
the place where something happens, especially an organized event such as a concert, conference, or sports competition: the club is the city's main venue for live music.
• Law the jurisdiction within which a criminal or civil case may or must be heard.
ORIGIN late 16th cent. (denoting a thrust or bout in fencing; also in the Law sense): from Old French, literally ‘a coming’, feminine past participle of venir ‘come’ from Latin venire.

weird /wi(ə)rd/
adjective
suggesting something supernatural; uncanny: the weird crying of a seal.
• informal very strange; bizarre: a weird coincidence | all sorts of weird and wonderful characters.
• archaic connected with fate.
noun archaic, chiefly Scottish
a person's destiny.
verb [ with obj. ] (weird someone out) informal
induce a sense of disbelief or alienation in someone.
DERIVATIVES
weirdlyadverb.
weirdnessnoun
ORIGIN Old English wyrd‘destiny,’ of Germanic origin. The adjective (late Middle English) originally meant ‘having the power to control destiny,’ and was used esp. in the Weird Sisters, originally referring to the Fates, later the witches in Shakespeare's Macbeth; the latter use gave rise to the sense ‘unearthly’ (early 19th cent).
weird
adjective
1 weird apparitions: uncanny, eerie, unnatural, supernatural, unearthly, otherworldly, ghostly, mysterious, strange, abnormal, unusual; eldritch; informal creepy, spooky, freaky. ANTONYMS normal.
2 a weird sense of humor: bizarre, quirky, outlandish, eccentric, unconventional, unorthodox, idiosyncratic, surreal, crazy, peculiar, odd, strange, queer, freakish, zany, madcap, outré; informal bizarro, wacky, freaky, way-out, offbeat, off the wall, wacko. ANTONYMS conventional.
PHRASES
weird out I'm a little weirded out by his spiky blue hair: disturb, freak out, unnerve, unsettle, alarm, alienate.

demonstration /dɛmənˈstreɪʃ(ə)n/
noun
1 the action or process of showing the existence or truth of something by giving proof or evidence: it is not capable of mathematical demonstration | Lind's demonstration that citrus fruits cure scurvy.
• the outward showing of feeling: physical demonstrations of affection.
• a practical exhibition and explanation of how something works or is performed: a microwave cooking demonstration.
2 a public meeting or march protesting against something or expressing views on a political issue.
ORIGIN late Middle English (also in the senses ‘proof provided by logic’ and ‘sign, indication’): from Latin demonstratio(n-), from demonstrare ‘point out’ (see demonstrate). Sense 2 dates from the mid 19th cent.
demonstration
noun
1 his book is a brilliant demonstration of this thesis: proof, substantiation, confirmation, affirmation, corroboration, verification, validation; evidence, indication, witness, testament.
2 a demonstration of woodcarving: exhibition, presentation, display, exposition, teach-in, expo; informal demo.
3 his paintings are a demonstration of his talent: manifestation, indication, sign, mark, token, embodiment; expression.
4 an anti-racism demonstration: protest, march, rally, lobby, sit-in, counterdemonstration; stoppage, strike, walkout, picket (line); informal demo.

web /web/
noun
1 a network of fine threads constructed by a spider from fluid secreted by its spinnerets, used to catch its prey.
• a filmy network spun by some insect larvae, esp. communal caterpillars.
2 a complex system of interconnected elements, esp. one perceived as a trap or danger: he found himself caught up in a web of bureaucracy.
• ( the Web ) short for World Wide Web.
3 a membrane between the toes of a swimming bird or other aquatic animal.
• a thin flat part connecting thicker or more solid parts in machinery.
4 a roll of paper used in a continuous printing process.
• the endless wire mesh in a papermaking machine.
5 a piece of woven fabric.
verb ( webs, webbing , webbed )
[ with obj. ] cover with or as though with a web: she noticed his tanned skin, webbed with fine creases.
DERIVATIVES
weblike adjective
ORIGIN Old English web(b)‘woven fabric,’ of Germanic origin; related to Dutch web, also to weave1. Early use of the verb was in the sense ‘weave (fabric) on a loom.’

web
noun
1 a spider's web: mesh, net, lattice, latticework, lacework, webbing; gauze, gossamer.
2 a web of friendships: network, nexus, complex, set, chain; tissue.
3 visit us on the Web: Internet, World Wide Web, Net, information superhighway, Infobahn, cyberspace.
adjective
a web environment: online, Internet, virtual, digital, cyber, web-based, e-.

engage /ɪnˈgeɪdʒ, ɛn-/
verb
1 [ with obj. ] occupy, attract, or involve (someone's interest or attention): he plowed on, trying to outline his plans and engage Sutton's attention.
• (engage someone in) cause someone to become involved in (a conversation or discussion).
• arrange to employ or hire (someone): he was engaged as a trainee copywriter.
• [ with infinitive ] pledge or enter into a contract to do something: he engaged to pay them $10,000 against a bond.
• dated reserve (accommodations, a place, etc.) in advance: he had engaged a small sailboat.
2 [ no obj. ] (engage in) participate or become involved in: organizations engage in a variety of activities | (be engaged in) : some are actively engaged in crime.
• (engage with) establish a meaningful contact or connection with: the teams needed to engage with local communities.
• (of a part of a machine or engine) move into position so as to come into operation: the clutch will not engage | [ with obj. ] : he engaged the gears and pulled out into the road.
• [ with obj. ] (of fencers or swordsmen) bring (weapons) together preparatory to fighting.
• [ with obj. ] enter into conflict or combat with (an adversary).
ORIGIN late Middle English (formerly also as ingage): from French engager, ultimately from the base of gage1. The word originally meant ‘to pawn or pledge something,’ later ‘pledge oneself (to do something),’ hence ‘enter into a contract’ (mid 16th cent.), ‘involve oneself in an activity,’‘enter into combat’ (mid 17th cent.), giving rise to the notion ‘involve someone or something else.’
engage
verb
1 tasks that engage children's interest: capture, catch, arrest, grab, snag, draw, attract, gain, win, hold, grip, captivate, engross, absorb, occupy. ANTONYMS lose.
2 he engaged a landscaper to do the job: employ, hire, recruit, take on, secure the services of, put on the payroll, enroll, appoint. ANTONYMS dismiss.
3 he engaged to pay them $10,000: contract, promise, agree, pledge, vow, covenant, commit oneself, bind oneself, undertake, enter into an agreement.
4 the chance to engage in many social activities: participate in, take part in, join in, become involved in, go in for, partake in/of, share in, play a part/role in; have a hand in, be a party to, enter into.
5 infantry units engaged the enemy: fight, do battle with, wage war on/against, attack, take on, set upon, clash with, skirmish with; encounter, meet.
6 he engaged the gears: interlock, interconnect, mesh, intermesh, fit together, join, join together, unite, connect, couple. ANTONYMS disengage.

mat /mat/
noun
1 a piece of protective material placed on a floor, in particular:
• a piece of coarse material placed on a floor for people to wipe their feet on.
• a piece of resilient material for landing on in gymnastics, wrestling, or similar sports.
• a small rug.
• a piece of coarse material for lying on: a beach mat.
2 a small piece of cork, card, or similar material placed on a table or other surface to protect it from the heat or moisture of an object placed on it.
3 a thick, untidy layer of something hairy or woolly: his chest was covered by a thick mat of soft fair hair.
verb ( mats, matting , matted ) [ with obj. ]
tangle (something, esp. hair) in a thick mass: sweat matted his hair | the fur on its flank was matted with blood.
• [ no obj. ] become tangled.
PHRASES
go to the mat informal vigorously engage in an argument or dispute, typically on behalf of a particular person or cause.
on the mat informal being reprimanded by someone in authority.[with military reference to the orderly room mat, where an accused would stand before the commanding officer.]
ORIGIN Old English m(e)att(e); related to Dutch mat and German Matte, from late Latin matta, from Phoenician.
mat
noun
1 the fat cat sat on the mat: rug, runner, carpet, doormat, welcome mat, bath mat, hearth rug, floor cloth; dhurrie, numdah; kilim, flokati, tatami.
2 he placed his glass on the mat: coaster, placemat, table mat.
3 a thick mat of hair: mass, tangle, knot, mop, thatch, shock, mane.

retreat /rɪˈtriːt/
verb [ no obj. ]
• withdraw to a quiet or secluded place: after the funeral he retreated to the shore.
noun
a quiet or secluded place in which one can rest and relax: their mountain retreat in New Hampshire.
a period of seclusion for the purposes of prayer and meditation: the bishop is away on his annual retreat | before his ordination he went on retreat.

meditate /ˈmɛdɪteɪt/
verb [ no obj. ]
focus one's mind for a period of time, in silence or with the aid of chanting, for religious or spiritual purposes or as a method of relaxation.
• (meditate on/upon) think deeply about (something): he went off to meditate on the new idea.
• [ with obj. ] plan mentally; consider: they had suffered severely, and they began to meditate retreat.
DERIVATIVES
meditator noun
ORIGIN mid 16th cent.: from Latin meditat- ‘contemplated’, from the verb meditari, from a base meaning ‘measure’.
meditate
verb
please allow me more time to meditate: contemplate, think, consider, ponder, muse, reflect, deliberate, ruminate, chew the cud, brood, mull something over; be in a brown study, be deep/lost in thought, debate with oneself; pray; informal put on one's thinking cap; formal cogitate.

register /ˈrɛdʒɪstə/
verb [ with obj. ]
1 enter or record on an official list or directory: the vessel is registered as Liberian | her father was late in registering her birth | (as adj. registered) : a registered trademark.
• [ no obj. ] enter one's name and other details on an official list or directory: [ with infinitive ] : 34,500 registered to vote.
• [ no obj. ] put one's name in a register as a guest in a hotel.
• [ no obj. ] (of a couple to be married) have a list of wedding gifts compiled and kept at a store for consultation by gift buyers.
• entrust (a letter or parcel) to a post office for transmission by registered mail: (as adj. registered) : a registered letter.
2 (of an instrument) detect and show (a reading) automatically: the electroscope was too insensitive to register the tiny changes.
• [ no obj., with complement ] (of an event) give rise to a specified reading on an instrument: the blast registered 5.4 on the Richter scale.
3 express or convey (an opinion or emotion): I wish to register an objection | he did not register much surprise at this.
• [ no obj. ] (of an emotion) show in a person's face or gestures: nothing registered on their faces.
• [ usu. with negative ] properly notice or become aware of (something): he had not even registered her presence.
• [ no obj., usu. with negative ] make an impression on a person's mind: the content of her statement did not register.
4 Printing & Photography correspond or cause to correspond exactly in position: [ no obj. ] : they are adjusted until the impressions register.

ORIGIN late Middle English: from Old French regestre or medieval Latin regestrum, registrum, alteration of regestum, singular of late Latin regesta ‘things recorded,’ from regerere ‘enter, record.’verb

1 I wish to register a complaint: record, put on record, enter, file, lodge, write down, put in writing, submit, report, note, log.
2 it is not too late to register: enroll, put one's name down, enlist, sign on, sign up, apply.
3 the dial registered a speed of 100 mph: indicate, read, record, show, display.
4 her face registered anger: display, show, express, exhibit, betray, evidence, reveal, manifest, demonstrate, bespeak; formal evince.
5 the content of her statement did not register: make an impression, get through, sink in, penetrate, have an effect, strike home.

intonation /ɪntəˈneɪʃ(ə)n/
noun
1 the rise and fall of the voice in speaking: she spoke English with a German intonation.
• the action of intoning or reciting in a singing voice.
2 accuracy of pitch in playing or singing, or on a stringed instrument such as a guitar: poor woodwind intonation at the opening.
3 the opening phrase of a plainsong melody.
DERIVATIVES
intonational /-ʃənl/ adjective
ORIGIN early 17th cent.: from medieval Latin intonatio(n-), from intonare.
intonation
noun
1 she read with the wrong intonation: inflection, pitch, tone, timbre, cadence, lilt, rise and fall, modulation, speech pattern; accentuation, accent, emphasis, stress.
2 the intonation of hymns: chanting, intoning, incantation, recitation, singing.

curriculum /kʌˈrɪkjʊləm/
noun ( pl. curricula /-lə/ or curriculums )
the subjects comprising a course of study in a school or college.

DERIVATIVES
curricular /-lər/ adjective
ORIGIN early 19th cent.: from Latin.
curriculum
noun
the curriculum choices for history students are extensive: syllabus, course of study, program of study, subjects, modules.

fluency /ˈfluːənsi/
noun
the quality or condition of being fluent, in particular:
• the ability to speak or write a foreign language easily and accurately: fluency in Spanish is essential.
• the ability to express oneself easily and articulately.
• gracefulness and ease of movement or style: the horse was jumping with breathtaking fluency.
ORIGIN early 17th cent.: from Latin fluentia, from fluere ‘to flow.’

CSA - community-supported agriculture
(also chiefly Canadian community-shared agriculture )
noun
CSA is an alternative, locally-based economic model of agriculture and food distribution.
A CSA also refers to a particular network or association of individuals who have pledged to support one or more local farms, with growers and consumers sharing the risks and benefits of food production. 

compromise /ˈkɒmprəmʌɪz/
noun
an agreement or a settlement of a dispute that is reached by each side making concessions: an ability to listen to two sides in a dispute, and devise a compromise acceptable to both | the secret of a happy marriage is compromise.
• a middle state between conflicting opinions or actions reached by mutual concession or modification: a compromise between commercial appeal and historical interest.
• the acceptance of standards that are lower than is desirable: sexism should be tackled without compromise.
verb
1 [ no obj. ] settle a dispute by mutual concession: in the end we compromised and deferred the issue.
• [ with obj. ] archaic settle (a dispute) by mutual concession: I should compromise the matter with my father.
2 [ with obj. ] weaken (a reputation or principle) by accepting standards that are lower than is desirable: commercial pressures could compromise safety.
• [ no obj. ] accept standards that are lower than is desirable: we were not prepared to compromise on safety.
• bring into disrepute or danger by indiscreet, foolish, or reckless behavior: situations in which his troops could be compromised.
DERIVATIVES
compromiser noun
ORIGIN late Middle English (denoting mutual consent to arbitration): from Old French compromis, from late Latin compromissum ‘a consent to arbitration,’ neuter past participle of compromittere, from com- ‘together’ + promittere.
compromise
noun
1 they reached a compromise: agreement, understanding, settlement, terms, deal, trade-off, bargain; middle ground, happy medium, balance.
2 a happy marriage needs compromise: give and take, concession, cooperation. ANTONYMS intransigence.
verb
1 we compromised: meet each other halfway, come to an understanding, make a deal, make concessions, find a happy medium, strike a balance; give and take.
2 his actions could compromise his reputation: undermine, weaken, damage, harm; jeopardize, prejudice; discredit, dishonor, shame, embarrass.

limb /lɪm/
noun
an arm or leg of a person or four-legged animal, or a bird's wing.
• a large branch of a tree.
• a projecting landform such as a spur of a mountain range, or each of two or more such projections as in a forked peninsula or archipelago.
• a projecting section of a building.
• a branch of a cross.
• each half of an archery bow.
PHRASES
life and limb life and all bodily faculties: a reckless disregard for life and limb.
out on a limb in or into a dangerous or uncompromising position, where one is not joined or supported by anyone else; vulnerable: she's prepared to go out on a limb and do something different.
tear someone limb from limb violently dismember someone.
DERIVATIVES
limbed adjective [ in combination ] : long-limbed,
limbless adjective
ORIGIN Old English lim (also in the sense ‘organ or part of the body’), of Germanic origin.
limb
noun
1 his sore limbs: arm, leg, appendage; archaic member.
2 the limbs of the tree: branch, bough, offshoot, shoot.
PHRASES
go out on a limb the government would not go out on a limb:
be put in a precarious position, become vulnerable, be put in a risky situation; informal be sticking one's neck out.

electricity /ˌɪlɛkˈtrɪsɪti, ˌɛl-, ˌiːl-/
noun
1 a form of energy resulting from the existence of charged particles (such as electrons or protons), either statically as an accumulation of charge or dynamically as a current.
• the supply of electric current to a house or other building for heating, lighting, or powering appliances: the electricity was back on.
2 a state or feeling of thrilling excitement: the atmosphere was charged with a dangerous sexual electricity.
electricity
noun
cabins with no electricity: power, electric power, energy, current, static.

threat /θrɛt/
noun
1 a statement of an intention to inflict pain, injury, damage, or other hostile action on someone in retribution for something done or not done: members of her family have received death threats .
• Law a menace of bodily harm, such as may restrain a person's freedom of action.
2 a person or thing likely to cause damage or danger: hurricane damage poses a major threat to many coastal communities.
• [ in sing. ] the possibility of trouble, danger, or ruin: the company faces the threat of bankruptcy | thousands of railroad jobs came under threat

ORIGIN Old English thrēat ‘oppression,’ of Germanic origin; related to Dutch verdrieten ‘grieve,’German verdriessen ‘irritate.’
threat
noun
1 Maggie ignored his threats: threatening remark, warning, ultimatum.
2 a possible threat to aircraft: danger, peril, hazard, menace, risk.
3 the company faces the threat of liquidation proceedings: possibility, prospect, chance, probability, likelihood, risk

mailing /ˈmeɪlɪŋ/
noun
the action or process of sending something by mail.
• something sent by mail, esp. a piece of mass advertising.
mail 1 /meɪl/
noun
letters and packages conveyed by the postal system.
• the postal system: you can order by mail | the check is in the mail |
[ as modifier ] : a mail truck.
• [ in sing. ] a single delivery or collection of mail: the new magazine that came in the mail today.
• Computing e-mail.
• dated a vehicle, such as a train, carrying mail.
• archaic a bag of letters to be conveyed by the postal system.
verb [ with obj. ]
send (a letter or package) using the postal system: if you will mail the coupon, we'll send you a free trial package.
• Computing send (someone) e-mail.
DERIVATIVES
mailable adjective
ORIGIN Middle English (in the sense ‘traveling bag’): from Old French male ‘wallet,’ of West Germanic origin. The notion ‘by post’ dates from the mid 17th cent.

project
noun /ˈprɒdʒɛkt/
an individual or collaborative enterprise that is carefully planned and designed to achieve a particular aim: a research project | a nationwide project to encourage business development.
• a school assignment undertaken by a student or group of students, typically as a long-term task that requires independent research: a history project.
• a proposed or planned undertaking: the novel undermines its own stated project of telling a story.
project
noun
1 an engineering project: plan, program, enterprise, undertaking, venture; proposal, idea, concept, scheme.
2 a history project: assignment, piece of work, piece of research, task

cool off /kuːl ɒf/
verb
become or cause to become less hot: [ no obj. ] : we dived into the river to cool off

heat wave
noun
a prolonged period of abnormally hot weather.

sexism /ˈsekˌsizəm/
noun
prejudice, stereotyping, or discrimination, typically against women, on the basis of sex.
DERIVATIVES
sexist adjective& noun
sexism
noun
your hiring practices have generated numerous complaints about sexism: sexual discrimination, chauvinism, gender prejudice, gender bias.

story /ˈstɔːri/noun ( pl. stories )
1 an account of imaginary or real people and events told for entertainment: an adventure story | I'm going to tell you a story.
• a plot or story line: the novel has a good story.
• a report of an item of news in a newspaper, magazine, or news broadcast: stories in the local papers.
• a piece of gossip; a rumor: there have been lots of stories going around, as you can imagine.
• informal a false statement or explanation; a lie: Ellie never told stories —she had always believed in the truth.
2 an account of past events in someone's life or in the evolution of something: the story of modern farming | the film is based on a true story.
• a particular person's representation of the facts of a matter, esp. as given in self-defense: during police interviews, Harper changed his story.
• [ in sing. ] a situation viewed in terms of the information known about it or its similarity to another: having such information is useful, but it is not the whole story | many children with leukemia now survive—twenty years ago it was a very different story.
short story /ʃɔrt ˈstɔri/
noun
a story with a fully developed theme but significantly shorter and less elaborate than a novel.

self-management
noun
management of or by oneself; the taking of responsibility for one's own behavior and well-being.
• the distribution of political control to individual regions of a state, esp. as a form of socialism practiced by its own members.
DERIVATIVES
self-managing adjective

theater /ˈθɪətər/ (also theatre )
noun
a building or outdoor area in which plays and other dramatic performances are given.
• (often the theater) the activity or profession of acting in, producing, directing, or writing plays: what made you want to go into the theater?
• a play or other activity or presentation considered in terms of its dramatic quality: this is intense, moving, and inspiring theater.
• a movie theater.
• a room or hall for lectures, etc., with seats in tiers.
• the area in which something happens: a new theater of war has been opened up.
• [ as modifier ] denoting weapons for use in a particular region between tactical and strategic: he was working on theater defense missiles.
ORIGIN late Middle English (originally as ‘theatre’), from Old French, or from Latin theatrum, from Greek theatron, from theasthai ‘behold.’theater
noun
1 the local theater: playhouse, auditorium, amphitheater; cinema, movie theater, movie house; dated nickelodeon.
2 what made you want to go into the theater ? acting, performing, the stage; drama, the dramatic arts, dramaturgy, the thespian art; show business, Broadway; informal the boards, show biz.
3 the lecture theater: hall, room, auditorium.
4 the Pacific theater of the war: scene, arena, field/sphere/place of action, setting, site.

noise /nɔɪz/
noun
1 a sound, especially one that is loud or unpleasant or that causes disturbance: making a noise like a pig | what's that rustling noise outside the door?
• [ mass noun ] a series or combination of loud, confused sounds, especially when causing disturbance: she was dazed with the heat and noise | vibration and noise from traffic.
• (noises) conventional remarks made to express something: the government made tough noises about defending sterling.
2 [ mass noun ] technical irregular fluctuations that accompany a transmitted electrical signal but are not part of it and tend to obscure it.
• random fluctuations that obscure or do not contain meaningful data or other information: over half the magnitude of the differences came from noise in the data.
verb archaic
1 [ with obj. ] (usu. be noised about) talk about or make known publicly.
2 [ no obj. ] make much noise.
PHRASES
make a noise speak or act in a way designed to attract a lot of attention or publicity: he knows how to make a noise and claim police harassment.
noises off sounds made offstage to be heard by the audience of a play.
ORIGIN Middle English (also in the sense ‘quarrelling’): from Old French, from Latin nausea ‘seasickness’ (see nausea).

play /pleɪ/ [ count noun ]
A dramatic work for the stage or to be broadcast: the actors put on a new play.
a Shakespearean play: drama, theatrical work; screenplay, comedy, tragedy; production, performance, show, sketch.

fair /fe(ə)r/ noun
a gathering of stalls and amusements for public entertainment.
• (also agricultural fair )a competitive exhibition of livestock, agricultural products, and household skills held annually by a town, county, or state and also featuring entertainment and educational displays.
• a periodic gathering for the sale of goods.
• an exhibition to promote particular products: the Contemporary Art Fair.
ORIGIN Middle English (in the sense ‘periodic gathering for the sale of goods’): from Old French feire, from late Latin feria, singular of Latin feriae ‘holy days’ (on which such fairs were often held).
fair
noun
1 a country fair: carnival, festival, exhibition; midway.
2 an antiques fair: market, bazaar, flea market, exchange, sale; dated emporium.
3 a new art fair: exhibition, exhibit, display, show, presentation, exposition.

network /ˈnetˌwərk/
noun
1 an arrangement of intersecting horizontal and vertical lines.
• a complex system of roads, railroads, or other transportation routes: a network of railroads.
2 a group or system of interconnected people or things: a trade network.
• a group of people who exchange information, contacts, and experience for professional or social purposes: a support network.
• a group of broadcasting stations that connect for the simultaneous broadcast of a program: the introduction of a second TV network | [ as modifier ] : network television.
• a number of interconnected computers, machines, or operations: specialized computers that manage multiple outside connections to a network | a local cellular phone network.
• a system of connected electrical conductors.

verb [ with obj. ]
connect as or operate with a network: the stock exchanges have proven to be resourceful in networking these deals.
• link (machines, esp. computers) to operate interactively: (as adj. networked) : networked workstations.
• [ no obj. ] (often as noun networking) interact with other people to exchange information and develop contacts, esp. to further one's career: the skills of networking, bargaining, and negotiation.
DERIVATIVES
networkable adjective
network
noun
1 a network of arteries: web, lattice, net, matrix, mesh, crisscross, grid, reticulum, reticulation; Anatomy plexus.
2 a network of lanes: maze, labyrinth, warren, tangle.
3 a network of friends: system, complex, nexus, web, webwork.

extend /ɪkˈstend/
verb [ with obj. ]
1 cause to cover a larger area; make longer or wider: the Forest Service plans to extend a gravel road nearly a mile.
• cause to last longer: high schools may consider extending the class day to seven periods.
• postpone (a starting or ending time) beyond the original limit: he extended the deadline to 4 p.m. today.
• straighten or spread out (the body or a limb) at full length: she is unable to extend her thumb.
• [ no obj. ] spread from a central point to cover a wider area: the pipeline currently extends 1,200 miles from Santa Barbara.
• [ no obj. ] occupy a specified area or stretch to a specified point: the mountains extend over the western end of the island | a fault that may extend to a depth of 12 miles.
• [ no obj. ] (extend to) include within one's scope; be applicable to: her generosity did not extend to all adults.
2 hold (something) out toward someone: I nod and extend my hand.
• offer or make available: she extended an invitation to her to stay | I can't extend credit indefinitely.
3 (extend oneself) exert or exercise oneself to the utmost: you have to extend yourself to change rather than keep on doing the same thing.

ORIGIN late Middle English: from Latin extendere ‘stretch out,’ from ex- ‘out’ + tendere ‘stretch.’
extend
verb
1 he attempted to extend his dominions: expand, enlarge, increase, make larger, make bigger; lengthen, widen, broaden. ANTONYMS reduce, shrink.
2 the garden extends down to the road: continue, carry on, run on, stretch (out), reach, lead.
3 we have extended our range of services: widen, expand, broaden; augment, supplement, increase, add to, enhance, develop. ANTONYMS narrow.
4 extending the life of the charter: prolong, lengthen, increase; stretch out, protract, spin out, string out. ANTONYMS shorten.
5 extend your arms and legs: stretch out, spread out, reach out, straighten out.
6 he extended a hand in greeting: hold out, reach out, hold forth; offer, give, outstretch, proffer.
7 we wish to extend our thanks to Mr. Bayes: offer, proffer, give, grant, bestow, accord.
PHRASES
extend to her tolerance did not always extend to her staff: include, take in, incorporate, encompass.

neighborhood /ˈneɪbəhʊd/ (Brit. neighbourhood )
noun
a district, esp. one forming a community within a town or city: she lived in a wealthy neighborhood of Boston | the party disturbed the whole neighborhood.
• neighborly feeling or conduct: the importance of neighborhood to old people.
• the area surrounding a particular place, person, or object: he was reluctant to leave the neighborhood of Butte.
• Mathematics the set of points whose distance from a given point is less than (or less than or equal to) some value.
PHRASES
in the neighborhood of approximately; about: the cost would be in the neighborhood of three billion

block /blɒk/
noun
the area bounded by four streets in a town or suburb: she went for a run around the block | ours was the ugliest house on the block .
• the length of one side of such an area, typically as a measure of distance: he lives a few blocks away from the museum.

PHRASES
have been around the block ( a few times ) informal (of a person) have a lot of experience.
the new kid on the block informal a newcomer to a particular place or sphere of activity, typically someone who has yet to prove themselves.
block party
noun
a party for all the residents of a block or neighborhood, typically held on a closed-off city street.

bookmark /ˈbʊkmɑːk/
noun
a strip of leather, cardboard, or other material used to mark one's place in a book.
• a record of the address of a website, file, or other data made to enable quick access in future.
verb [ with obj. ]
record the address of (a website, file, etc.) to enable quick access in future: if you think politics is the ultimate game, be sure to bookmark eVote.

freight /freɪt/
noun
1 goods transported by truck, train, ship, or aircraft.
• the transport of goods by truck, train, ship, or aircraft.
• a charge for such transport.
2 (in full freight train )a train of freight cars: sugar and molasses moving by freight.
3 a load or burden.
verb [ with obj. ]
transport (goods) in bulk by truck, train, ship, or aircraft: the metals had been freighted from the city | [ no obj. ] : ships freighting to Dublin.
• (be freighted with) be laden or imbued with (something abstract): each word was freighted with anger.
DERIVATIVES
freighting noun
ORIGIN late Middle English (in the sense ‘rental of a ship for transporting goods’): from Middle Dutch, Middle Low German vrecht, variant of vracht ‘ship's cargo.’ Compare with fraught.
freight
noun
1 freight carried by rail: goods, cargo, load, consignment, delivery, shipment; merchandise.
2 our reliance on air freight: transportation, transport, conveyance, carriage, portage, haulage.

cheers
exclamation
informal from Bertie's table we could hear the clinking of glasses and a rousing “Cheers!”: here's to you, good health, your health, skol, prosit, salut, l'chaim; informal bottoms up, down the hatch, here's mud in your eye.
cheer
noun
1 the cheers of the crowd: hurray, hurrah, whoop, bravo, shout, roar; hosanna, alleluia; (cheers) applause, acclamation, clamor, acclaim, ovation. ANTONYMS boo.
2 a time of cheer: happiness, joy, joyousness, cheerfulness, cheeriness, gladness, merriment, gaiety, jubilation, jollity, jolliness, high spirits, joviality, jocularity, conviviality, lightheartedness; merrymaking, pleasure, rejoicing, revelry. ANTONYMS sadness.
3 Christmas cheer: fare, food, foodstuffs, eatables, provender; drink, beverages; informal eats, nibbles, nosh, grub, chow; formal victuals, comestibles.
verb
1 they cheered their team: applaud, hail, salute, shout for, root for, hurrah, hurray, acclaim, clap for; encourage, support; bring the house down for, holler for, give someone a big hand, put one's hands together for. ANTONYMS boo.
2 the bad weather did little to cheer me: raise someone's spirits, make happier, brighten, buoy up, enliven, exhilarate, hearten, gladden, uplift, perk up, boost, encourage, inspirit; informal buck up. ANTONYMS depress.
PHRASES
cheer on my friends were there to cheer me on: encourage, urge on, spur on, drive on, motivate, inspire, fire (up), inspirit, light a fire under.
cheer up Leslie cheered up as soon as the grades were posted: perk up, brighten (up), become more cheerful, liven up, rally, revive, bounce back, take heart; informal buck up.

lobby
noun ( pl. lobbies )
1 a room providing a space out of which one or more other rooms or corridors lead, typically one near the entrance of a public building.
2 a group of people seeking to influence politicians or public officials on a particular issue: members of the anti-abortion lobby | [ as modifier ] : lobby groups.
• [ in sing. ] an organized attempt by members of the public to influence politicians or public officials: a recent lobby of Congress by retirees.
verb ( lobbies, lobbying, lobbied ) [ with obj. ]
seek to influence (a politician or public official) on an issue: it is recommending that booksellers lobby their representatives | [ no obj. ] : a group lobbying for better rail services.
DERIVATIVES
lobbyist noun
ORIGIN mid 16th cent. (in the sense ‘monastic cloister’): from medieval Latin lobia, lobium ‘covered walk, portico.’ The verb sense derives from the practice of frequenting the lobby of a house of legislature to influence its members into supporting a cause.
lobby
noun
1 the hotel lobby: entrance hall, hallway, entrance, hall, vestibule, foyer, reception area.
2 the antigun lobby: special interest group, interest group, pressure group; movement, campaign, crusade; lobbyists, supporters; faction, camp.
verb
1 readers are urged to lobby their legislators: seek to influence, try to persuade, bring pressure to bear on, importune, sway; petition, solicit, appeal to, pressurize.
2 a group lobbying for better rail services: campaign for, crusade for, press for, push for, ask for, call for, demand; promote, advocate, champion.

Expressions for actors:

to dance to someone’s tune: An expression from dancers who have to follow the rhythm of the musicians. Metaphorically speaking, to comply with someone’s demands and wishes.

to face the music: In the theater, musicians are in a pit in front of the stage, so “to face the music” is to turn towards the audience and therefore see the reaction of the audience to your acting. Metaphorically speaking, to confront the consequences of one’s actions.

Break a leg! The expression began in theater productions where actors came out for curtain calls. The rod that allows for the curtain to be raised and lowered is called the “leg”. So “break a leg” means to get so many curtain calls that the leg breaks in two. Today we use it in a superstitious way to avoid saying “good luck”.

to be in the limelight: Original theater spotlights used lime to create the bright light. The actor in the spotlight was of course the focus of the audience’s attention. Metaphorically speaking to be the focus of attention.

to play by ear: When a musician plays without sheet music we say he is playing by ear. The meaning is extended to the situations in which we do anything without guidelines.

stage
noun
1 this stage of the development: phase, period, juncture, step, point, time, moment, instant, level.
2 the last stage of the race: part, section, portion, stretch, leg, lap, circuit.
3 a theater stage: platform, dais, stand, grandstand, staging, apron, rostrum, podium; bandstand, bandshell; catwalk.
4 she has written for the stage: theater, drama, dramatics, dramatic arts, thespianism; informal boards.
5 the political stage: scene, setting; context, frame, sphere, field, realm, arena, backdrop; affairs.
verb
1 they staged two plays: put on, put before the public, present, produce, mount, direct; perform, act, give.
2 workers staged a protest: organize, arrange, coordinate, lay on, put together, get together, set up; orchestrate, choreograph, mastermind, engineer; take part in, participate in, join in.

to upstage someone: When an actor moves towards the back of a stage (or upstage) and makes another actor face away from the audience, he diverts the audience’s attention away from the other actor and to himself. Metaphorically speaking to divert the attention away from (someone) towards oneself.

to have stage fright: Comes from actors who become nervous as they approach the stage. Metaphorically speaking to be nervous before doing something important.

to set the stage: When the production crew has to prepare the scenery for the actors. Metaphorically speaking to prepare the conditions for something.

shortcoming
noun (usu. shortcomings)
a fault or failure to meet a certain standard, typically in a person's character, a plan, or a system: he is so forthright about his shortcomings, it's hard to chastise him.
shortcoming
noun
after forty years of marriage, he still claimed she had few shortcomings: defect, fault, flaw, imperfection, deficiency, limitation, failing, drawback, weakness, weak point, foible, frailty, vice. ANTONYMS strength.

flaw 1 /flɔ/
noun
a mark, fault, or other imperfection that mars a substance or object : plates with flaws in them were sold at the outlet store. See note at fault .
• a fault or weakness in a person's character : he had his flaws, but he was still a great teacher.
• a mistake or shortcoming in a plan, theory, or legal document that causes it to fail or reduces its effectiveness : there were fundamental flaws in the case for reforming local government.
verb [ trans. ] (usu. be flawed)
(of an imperfection) mar, weaken, or invalidate (something) : the computer game was flawed by poor programming.
ORIGIN Middle English : perhaps from Old Norse flaga ‘slab’ ; see flag 2 . The original sense was [a flake of snow,] later, [a fragment or splinter,] hence [a defect or imperfection] (late 15th cent.).
flaw 2 /flɔ/ /flɔː/
noun poetic/literary
a squall of wind; a short storm.
ORIGIN early 16th cent..
flaw
noun
the reactor's design flaw | a flaw in his character defect, blemish, fault, imperfection, deficiency, weakness, weak spot/point/link, inadequacy, shortcoming, limitation, failing, foible; literary hamartia; Computing bug; informal glitch. See note at fault . antonym strength.

turmoil /ˈtərˈmɔɪl/
noun
a state of great disturbance, confusion, or uncertainty : the country was in turmoil | he endured years of inner turmoil.
ORIGIN early 16th cent.: of unknown origin.
turmoil
noun
political turmoil confusion, upheaval, turbulence, tumult, disorder, disturbance, agitation, ferment, unrest, disquiet, trouble, disruption, chaos, mayhem; uncertainty. antonym peace.
PHRASES
in turmoil Michel's sudden death left the family in turmoil confused, chaotic, in chaos, topsy-turvy, at sixes and sevens; reeling, disorientated; informal all over the place.

staunch 1 /stɔntʃ/ /stɑntʃ/ /stɔːn(t)ʃ/
adjective
1 loyal and committed in attitude : a staunch supporter of the antinuclear lobby | a staunch Catholic. See note at resolute .
2 (of a wall) of strong or firm construction.
• (also stanch) archaic (of a ship) watertight.
DERIVATIVES
staunchly /ˈstɔntʃli/ /ˈstɑntʃli/ adverb
staunchness /ˈstɔntʃnəs/ /ˈstɑntʃnəs/ noun
ORIGIN late Middle English (in the sense [watertight] ): from Old French estanche, feminine of estanc, from a Romance base meaning ‘dried up, weary.’ Sense 1 dates from the early 17th cent.
staunch 2 /stɑntʃ/ /stɔntʃ/ /stɔːn(t)ʃ/ /stɑːn(t)ʃ/
verb
variant spelling of stanch 1 .

staunch 1
adjective
a staunch supporter stalwart, loyal, faithful, committed, devoted, dedicated, dependable, reliable, steady, constant, trusty, hard-working, steadfast, redoubtable, unwavering, tireless. See note at resolute . antonym disloyal, unfaithful, unreliable.
staunch 2
verb
she tried to staunch the flow of blood stem, stop, halt, check, hold back, restrain, restrict, control, contain, curb; block, dam; slow, lessen, reduce, diminish, retard, stanch; archaic stay.

deter /dəˈtər/ /diˈtər/
verb ( -terred /dəˈtərd/ /diˈtərd/, -terring /dəˈtərɪŋ/ /diˈtərɪŋ/) [ trans. ]
discourage (someone) from doing something, typically by instilling doubt or fear of the consequences : only a health problem would deter him from seeking reelection.
• prevent the occurrence of : strategists think not only about how to deter war, but about how war might occur.
ORIGIN mid 16th cent.: from Latin deterrere, from de- ‘away from’ + terrere ‘frighten.’

deter
verb
1 the high cost deterred many discourage, dissuade, put off, scare off; dishearten, demoralize, daunt, intimidate. antonym encourage.
2 the presence of a guard deters crime prevent, stop, avert, fend off, stave off, ward off, block, halt, check; hinder, impede, hamper, obstruct, foil, forestall, counteract, inhibit, curb. antonym encourage.

ruse /ruz/ /rus/
noun
an action intended to deceive someone; a trick : Eleanor tried to think of a ruse to get Paul out of the house.
ORIGIN late Middle English (as a hunting term): from Old French, from ruser ‘use trickery,’ earlier ‘drive back,’ perhaps based on Latin rursus ‘backward.’

ruse
noun
his offer to help with my presentation was just a clever ruse ploy, stratagem, tactic, scheme, trick, gambit, cunning plan, dodge, subterfuge, machination, wile.

beginning /biˈgini ng/ /bəˈgɪnɪŋ/ /biˈgɪnɪŋ/ /bɪˈgɪnɪŋ/
noun [usu. in sing. ]
the point in time or space at which something starts : he left at the beginning of February | they had reached the beginning of the forest.
• the process of coming, or being brought into being : the beginning of active cooperation | the ending of one relationship and the beginning of another.
• the first part or earliest stage of something : the beginning of a letter | she had the beginnings of a headache.
• (usu. beginnings) the background or origins of anything : the series explores the beginnings of flight | he had risen from humble beginnings to great wealth.
adjective |b1ˈgɪnɪŋ| |biˈgɪnɪŋ|
new or inexperienced : a beginning gardener.
• introductory or elementary : the beginning guitar class.
PHRASES
the beginning of the end the event to which ending or failure can be traced.

beginning
noun
1 the beginning of socialism dawn, birth, inception, conception, origination, genesis, emergence, rise, start, commencement, starting point, launch, onset, outset; day one; informal kickoff. antonym end.
2 the beginning of the article opening, introduction, start, first part, preamble, opening statement. antonym end, conclusion.
3 (beginnings) : the therapy has its beginnings in China origin, source, roots, starting point, birthplace, cradle, spring, fountainhead; genesis, creation; literary fount, well spring.

resolution /ˈrɛzəˈluʃən/
noun
1 a firm decision to do or not to do something : she kept her resolution not to see Anne any more | a New Year's resolution.
• a formal expression of opinion or intention agreed on by a legislative body, committee, or other formal meeting, typically after taking a vote : the conference passed two resolutions.
• the quality of being determined or resolute : he handled the last French actions of the war with resolution.
See note at courage .
2 the action of solving a problem, dispute, or contentious matter : the peaceful resolution of all disputes | a successful resolution to the problem.
• Music the passing of a discord into a concord during the course of changing harmony.
• Medicine the disappearance of inflammation, or of any other symptom or condition.
3 chiefly Chemistry the process of reducing or separating something into its components.
• Physics the replacing of a single force or other vector quantity by two or more jointly equivalent to it.
• the conversion of something abstract into another form.
• Prosody the substitution of two short syllables for one long one.
4 the smallest interval measurable by a scientific (esp. optical) instrument; the resolving power.
• the degree of detail visible in a photographic or television image.
ORIGIN late Middle English : from Latin resolutio(n-), from resolvere ‘loosen, release’ (see resolve ).

resolution
noun
1 her resolution not to smoke intention, resolve, decision, intent, aim, plan; commitment, pledge, promise.
2 the committee passed the resolution motion, proposal, proposition, resolve.
3 she handled the work with resolution determination, purpose, purposefulness, resolve, resoluteness, single-mindedness, firmness, firmness of purpose; steadfastness, staunchness, perseverance, persistence, indefatigability, tenacity, tenaciousness, staying power, dedication, commitment; stubbornness, doggedness, obstinacy, obduracy; boldness, spiritedness, braveness, bravery, courage, pluck, grit, courageousness; informal guts, spunk; formal pertinacity. See note at courage .
4 a satisfactory resolution of the problem solution to, answer to, end to, ending to, settlement of, conclusion to.

Christmas /ˈkrɪsməs/
noun ( pl. -mases /ˈkrɪsməsəz/)
the annual Christian festival celebrating Christ's birth, held on December 25.
• the period immediately before and after December 25 : we had guests over Christmas.
exclamation informal
expressing surprise, dismay, or despair.
DERIVATIVES
Christmassy /-məsē/ /ˈkrɪsməsi/ adjective
ORIGIN Old English Crīstes mæsse (see Christ , Mass ).

allure /əˈlʊ(ə)r/ /øˈlʊ(ə)r/
noun
the quality of being powerfully and mysteriously attractive or fascinating : people for whom gold holds no allure.
verb [ trans. ]
powerfully attract or charm; tempt : [as adj. ] ( alluring) the town offers alluring shops and restaurants. See note at tempt .
DERIVATIVES
allurement /əˈlʊ(ə)rmənt/ noun
alluringly adverb
ORIGIN late Middle English (in the sense [tempt, entice] ): from Old French aleurier ‘attract,’ from a- (from Latin ad ‘to’ ) + luere ‘a lure’ (originally a falconry term).

allure
noun
the allure of Paris attraction, lure, draw, pull, appeal, allurement, enticement, temptation, charm, seduction, fascination. antonym repulsion.
verb
will sponsors be allured by such opportunities? attract, lure, entice, tempt, appeal to, captivate, draw, win over, charm, seduce, inveigle, beguile, fascinate, whet the appetite of, make someone's mouth water. See note at tempt . antonym repel.

reckless /ˈrɛkləs/
adjective
(of a person or their actions) without thinking or caring about the consequences of an action : reckless driving.
DERIVATIVES
recklessly /ˈrɛkləsli/ adverb
recklessness /ˈrɛkləsnəs/ noun
ORIGIN Old English reccelēas, from the Germanic base (meaning [care] ) of reck .

reckless
adjective
reckless driving rash, careless, thoughtless, heedless, unheeding, hasty, overhasty, precipitate, precipitous, impetuous, impulsive, daredevil, devil-may-care; irresponsible, foolhardy, audacious, overadventurous; ill-advised, injudicious, madcap, imprudent, unwise, ill-considered; informal kamikaze; literary temerarious. antonym careful.

plant |plønt|
noun
1 a living organism of the kind exemplified by trees, shrubs, herbs, grasses, ferns, and mosses, typically growing in a permanent site, absorbing water and inorganic substances through its roots, and synthesizing nutrients in its leaves by photosynthesis using the green pigment chlorophyll.
• a small organism of this kind, as distinct from a shrub or tree : garden plants.
Plants differ from animals in lacking specialized sense organs, having no capacity for voluntary movement, having cell walls, and growing to suit their surroundings rather than having a fixed body plan.
2 a place where an industrial or manufacturing process takes place : the company has 30 plants in Mexico.
• machinery used in an industrial or manufacturing process : inadequate investment in new plant.
• any system that is analyzed and controlled, e.g., the dynamic equations of an aircraft or the equations governing chemical processes.
3 a person placed in a group as a spy or informer : we thought he was a CIA plant spreading disinformation.
• a thing put among someone's belongings to incriminate or compromise them : he insisted that the cocaine in the glove compartment was a plant.
verb [ trans. ]
1 place (a seed, bulb, or plant) in the ground so that it can grow.
• place a seed, bulb, or plant in (a place) to grow : the garden is planted with herbs.
• informal bury (someone).
2 [ trans. ] place or fix in a specified position : she planted a kiss on his cheek.
• ( plant oneself) position oneself : she planted herself on the arm of his chair.
• establish (an idea) in someone's mind : the seed of doubt is planted in his mind.
• secretly place (a bomb that is set to go off at a later time).
• put or hide (something) among someone's belongings to compromise or incriminate the owner : he planted drugs on him to extort a bribe.
• send (someone) to join a group or organization to act as a spy or informer.
• found or establish (a colony, city, or community).
• deposit (young fish, spawn, oysters, etc.) in a river or lake.
PHRASES
have (or keep) one's feet firmly planted on the ground be (or remain) level-headed and sensible.

ORIGIN Old English plante [seedling,] plantian (verb), from Latin planta ‘sprout, cutting’ (later influenced by French plante) and plantare ‘plant, fix in a place.’

plant
noun
1 garden plants flower, vegetable, herb, shrub, weed; (plants) vegetation, greenery, flora, herbage, verdure.
2 the plant commenced production factory, works, foundry, mill, workshop, shop.
3 a CIA plant spy, informant, informer, agent, secret agent, mole, infiltrator, operative; informal spook.
verb
1 plant the seeds this autumn sow, scatter, seed; bed out, transplant.
2 he planted his feet on the ground place, put, set, position, situate, settle; informal plonk.
3 she planted the idea in his mind instill, implant, impress, imprint, put, place, introduce, fix, establish, lodge.
4 letters were planted to embarrass them hide, conceal, secrete.

endorse /1nˈdɔrs/ /ɛnˈdɔrs/ (also dated indorse)
verb [ trans. ]
1 declare one's public approval or support of : the report was endorsed by the college. See note at approve .
• recommend (a product) in an advertisement.
2 sign (a check or bill of exchange) on the back to make it payable to someone other than the stated payee or to accept responsibility for paying it.
• (usu. be endorsed on) write (a comment) on the front or back of a document.
DERIVATIVES
endorsable /1nˈdɔrsəbəl/ /ɛnˈdɔrsəbəl/ adjective
endorser /1nˈdɔrsər/ /ɛnˈdɔrsər/ noun
ORIGIN late 15th cent. (in the sense [write on the back of] ; formerly also as indorse): from medieval Latin indorsare, from Latin in- ‘in, on’ + dorsum ‘back.’

endorse
verb
1 endorse a product support, back, agree with, approve (of), favor, subscribe to, recommend, champion, stick up for, uphold, affirm, sanction; informal throw one's weight behind, okay. See note at approve . antonym oppose.
2 endorse a check countersign, sign, autograph, authenticate; rare chirographate.

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