-
arise
- 1. to happen
- Should the opportunity arise, I'd love to go to China.
- 2.to get out of bed
- We arose early on Christmas morning
arise - arose - arisen
-
awake
- 1. not sleeping
- - I drink a lot of coffee to keep me awake.
- 2. to become aware of something or to make someone become aware of something
- - The chance meeting awoke the old passion between them.
- 3. to stop sleeping or to make someone stop sleeping
- - I awoke at seven o'clock.
- - She awoke me at seven.
awake - awoke - awoken
-
be
- 1. (description) used to say something about a person, thing or state, to show a permanent or temporary quality, state, job, etc
- - He is rich.
- - It's cold today.
- 1.1 used to show the position of a person or thing in space or time
- - The food was already on the table.
- - Is anyone there?
- 1.2 used to show what something is made of
- - Is this plate pure gold?
- 2. ( continue) used with the present participle of other verbs to describe actions that are or were still continuing
- - I'm still eating.
- 3. (passive) used with the past participle of other verbs to form the passive
- - I'd like to go but I haven't been asked.
- 4. (future) formal used to show that something will happen in the future
- - We are to (= We are going to) visit Australia in the
- spring.
- 5. (can) used to say what can happen
- - The exhibition of modern prints is currently to be seen at the City Gallery.
be - was/were - been
-
bear
- 1.(accept) to accept, tolerate or endure especially something unpleasant
- - It's your decision - you must bear the responsibility if things go wrong.
- 2. (carry) to carry and move something to a place
- - Countless waiters bore trays of drinks into the room.
- - The sound of the ice-cream van was borne into the office on the wind
- 3.(keep) to have or continue to have something
- - The stone plaque bearing his name was smashed to pieces.
- - On display were boxing gloves which bore Rocky Marciano's signature.
- 4.(support) to hold or support something
- - The chair, too fragile to bear her weight, collapsed.
- 5.(produce) to give birth to young, or (of a tree or plant) to give or produce especially fruit or flowers
- - She had borne six children by the time she was thirty
- - The pear tree they planted has never borne fruit
bear - bore - borne,(US ALSO born)
-
beat
- 1. (defeat) to defeat or do better than
- - Simon always beats me at tennis.
- 2. (hit) to hit repeatedly
- - They saw him beating his dog with a stick.
- 3. (movement) to (cause to) make a regular movement or sound
- - The doctor could feel no pulse beating.
- 4. (tired)
- - I'm beat - I'm going to bed.
beat - beat - beaten,(US ALSO beat)
-
beget
- 1. literary Or old use to be the father of
- - In the Bible it says that Adam begat Cain and Abel.
- 2. to cause
- - Poverty begets hunger, and hunger begets crime.
beget - begot, begat - begotten, begot
-
become
- 1. (be) to start to be
- - It was becoming cold, so we lit the fire.
- - After giving up smoking, he became fat and irritable.
- 2. (suit) to cause to look attractive or to be suitable for
- - That colour really becomes you.
become - became - become
-
befall
- 1. If something bad or dangerous befalls you, it happens to you
- - Should any harm befall me on my journey, you may open this letter.
befall - befell - befallen
-
begin
- 1. to start to be, do, etc
- - I began the book six months ago, but I can't seem to finish it.
- - I have so much to tell you, I don't know where to begin.
begin - began - begun
-
behold
- 1. to see or look at
- - The new bridge is an incredible sight to behold.
- 2. lo and behold (humorous) something that you say when you tell someone about something surprising that happened
- - I was in Vienna sitting quietly in a café when, lo and behold, my cousin walked in.
behold - beheld - beheld
-
belie
- 1. to show something to be false, or to hide something such as an emotion
- - Her calm face belied the terror she was feeling.
belie - belied - belied
-
bend
- 1. to (cause to) curve
- - I bent down and picked up the coins lying on the road.
- - Now, bend forward/over and touch your toes!
- 2. a curved part of something
- - There's a bend in the pipe so you can't see from one end to the other.
- - The car came round the bend on the wrong side of the road.
- 3. to unwillingly accept the opinions or decisions of other people
- - The local council was forced to bend to public pressure.
bend - bent - bent
-
beseech
- 1. to ask for something in an anxious way that shows you need it very much; beg
- - Stay a little longer, I beseech you!
beseech - beseeched/besought - besought/beseeched
-
bestrew
- 1. to lie covering a surface, or to cover a surface with things that are far apart and in no particular arrangement
- - During the festival, the city streets are bestrewn with flowers.
bestrew - bestrewed - bestrewn/ bestrewed
-
bestride
- 1. to sit or stand with a leg on either side of an object or animal
- - He bestrode the chair as though it were a horse.
bestride - bestrode - bestridden
-
bet
- 1. to risk money on the result of an event or a competition, such as a horse race, in the hope of winning more money
- - He regularly goes to the races and bets heavily.
- 2. informal If you say you bet (someone) that something is true or will happen, you mean you are certain that it is true or will happen [+ (that)]
- - I bet you (that) she's missed the bus.
- - I bet (that) he won't come.
- 3. informal said to show that you understand why someone has a particular opinion or feels a particular way
- - "I'm so annoyed with her." "I'll bet."
- - "I was so relieved I didn't have to clean up after the party." "I bet you were."
bet - bet / betted - bet / betted
-
bid
- 1. (offer) to offer a particular amount of money for something which is for sale and compete against other people to buy it, especially at a public sale of goods or property
- - A foreign collector has bid £500 000 for the portrait.
- 2. If someone bids to do something, they compete with other people to do it
- - Paris is bidding to host the next Olympics.
bid - bid / bade - bid / bidden
-
bind
- 1. (tie) to tie tightly or to fasten
- - They bound the packages with brightly coloured ribbon.
- - Bind together the two broken ends.
- 2. to unite people
- - The things which bind them together are greater than their differences.
- 3. To bind a part of the body, especially a part which is damaged, is to tie something round it
- - He had already bound the child's arm when I arrived.
- 4. to make separate pieces of paper into a book
- - There are several different ways to bind a book, for example you can stitch or stick the pages together.
- 5. When an egg or water is used especially in cooking to bind something it provides a way of making everything stick together in a solid mass
- - The mixture wouldn't bind (together).
bind - bound - bound
-
bite
- 1. to use your teeth to cut into something or someone
- - He bit into the apple.
- 2. to have a bad or unpleasant effect
- - Higher mortgage rates are beginning to bite.
- 3. When a fish bites, it swallows the food on the hook at the end of a fishing line
- - The fish aren't biting today.
- 4. to show interest in buying something
- - The new service is now available but clients don't seem to be biting.
bite -bit - bitten
-
bleed
- 1. to lose blood
- - Your nose is bleeding.
- 2. bleed sb dry: to take a lot of money from someone over a period of time
- - The West is bleeding poorer countries dry through interest payments on their debts.
bleed - bled - bled
-
bless
1. to ask for God's help and protection for someone or something, or to call or make someone or something holy
- 2. be blessed with sth (formal)
- - to be lucky in having a particular thingFortunately we were blessed with fine weather
- 3. bless you!
- something you say to a person who has just sneezed
bless - blessed /blest - blessed /blest
-
blow
- 1. blow (SEND OUT AIR)
- - The letter blew away and I had to run after it.
- - Ann blew a few notes on the trumpet.
2. blow your nose
- 3. blow sb a kiss (also blow a kiss to/at sb)
- - to kiss your hand and blow on it in the direction of someone
- 4. blow the cobwebs away UK
- to get rid of feelings of tiredness, usually with fresh air or exercise
- - We went for a five-mile jog to blow the cobwebs away.
- 5. blow the whistle on sb/sth informal
- to cause something bad that someone is doing to stop, especially by bringing it to the attention of other people
- 6. blow (DESTROY)
- -
His car had been blown to pieces.
- 7. blow (BAD EVENT)
- an unexpected event that has a damaging effect on someone or something
- - Losing his job was a severe blow to his confidence.
blow - blew - blown
-
break
- 1. break (DAMAGE)
- - I dropped the vase and it broke into pieces.
- 2. break your back informal
- to work extremely hard
- 3. break (END)
- - to destroy or end something, or to come to an end
- 4. break (INTERRUPT)
- to interrupt or to stop something for a brief period
- - We usually break for lunch at 12.30.
- 5. break (DIVIDE)
- to divide into two or more parts or groups
- - These enzymes break down food in the stomach
- 6. break (DISOBEY)
- to fail to keep a law, rule or promise
break - broke -broken
-
breed
- 1. breed
- to keep animals for the purpose of producing young animals in a controlled way, or (of animals) to have sex and reproduce
- - Terriers are bred for their fighting instincts.
- - The blackbird, like most birds, breeds in the spring.
breed - bred - bred
-
bring
bring - brought - brought
-
broadcast
broadcast - broadcast - broadcast
(US ALSO broadcasted- broadcasted)
-
build
build - built built
-
burn
burn - burnt/burned - burnt/burned
-
burst
- 1. burst verb
- to break open or apart suddenly, or to make something do this
- - Balloons make me nervous - I hate it when they burst.
- 2. burst into song/tears/laughter
- to suddenly begin to sing/cry/laugh
- - Much to my surprise Ben suddenly burst into song.
- 3. burst out laughing/crying
- to suddenly start laughing/crying
- - I walked in and everyone burst out laughing.
- burst
- burst/bust (UK)/ busted (US)
- burst/ bust, (UK)/ busted (US)
-
buy
1. buy (PAY FOR)
- 2. buy (BELIEVE)
- believe that something is true
- - She'll never buy that story about you getting lost!
buy - bought - bought
-
cast
- 1. cast (ACTORS)
- to choose actors to play particular parts in a play, film or show
- - He was often cast as the villain.
- 2. cast (LIGHT)
- to send light or shadow in a particular direction
- - The moon cast a white light into the room.
- 3. cast (LOOK)
- cast a look/glance/smile/etc. to look/smile/etc. in a particular direction
- - She cast a quick look in the rear mirror.
- 4. cast (THROW)
- literary to throw something
- - The knight cast the sword far out into the lake.
- 5. cast pearls before swine
- to offer something valuable or good to someone who does not know its value
- 6. cast (DOUBT)
- cast doubt/suspicion on sb/sth to make people feel less sure about or have less trust in sth or so
- - New evidence has cast doubt on the guilty verdict.
- 7. cast (REMEMBER)
- cast your mind back to try to remember- If you cast your mind back, you might recall that I never promised to go.
cast - cast - cast
-
catch
- 1. catch (TAKE HOLD)
- to take hold of something, especially something that is moving through the air
- - I managed to catch the glass before it hit the ground.
- 2. catch your breath
- to stop breathing for a moment, or to begin to breathe correctly again after running or other exercise
- - I had to sit down and catch my breath.
- 3. catch the sun
- If you have caught the sun, the sun has made your skin a slightly darker brown or red colour
- - You've caught the sun on the back of your neck.
4. catch (STOP ESCAPING)
- 5. catch (NOTICE)
- - I caught sight of/caught a glimpse of a red coat in the crowd.
- 6. catch (TRAVEL)
- - He always catches the 10.30am train to work.
- 7. catch (BE IN TIME)
- to manage to be in time to see or do something
- - I went home a bit early to catch the beginning of the programme.
- 8. catch (HEAR/SEE)
- to manage to hear something
- - I couldn't catch what the announcer said, with all the other noise going on.
- catch - caught - caught
-
choose
- 1. choose
- to decide what you want from a range of things or possibilities
- - She had to choose between the two men in her life.
- 2. little/not much to choose between
- When there is little to choose between two or more things, they are (all) very similar.
- 3. choosy
- difficult to please because you are very exact about what you like
- - She's very choosy about what she eats and drinks.
choose - chose - chosen
-
cleave
- 1. cleave verb
- literary or old use to separate or divide, or cause something to separate or divide, often violently
- - With one blow of the knight's axe, he clove the rock in twain (= into two pieces).
- 2. cleaver noun
- a heavy knife with a large square blade
- - a meat cleaver
- 3. cleave to sth phrasal verb
- to stick or hold firmly onto something
- - The ancient ivy cleaved to the ruined castle walls.
- to continue to believe firmly in something
- - People in the remote mountain villages still cleave to their old traditions.
- cleave
- cleaved/ clove
- cleaved/ cloven
-
cling
- 1. cling (HOLD)
- to stick onto or hold sth. or s.o tightly, or to refuse to stop holding them
- - We got so wet that our clothes clung to us.
- 2. clingy adjective
- clingy materiala
- clingy skirt
- 3. cling (STAY CLOSE)
- to stay close or near
- - The road clings to the coastline for several miles, then it turns inland.
- to stay close to someone who is caring for you, in a dependent way
- - Jenny is the kind of child who always clings whenever she's taken to a new place.
- clinging adjective (also clingy) disapproving
- - Jimmy is a very clingy child.
- cling (on) to sth phrasal verb
- to try very hard to keep something
- - He clung on to power for another ten years.
- cling to sth phrasal verb
- to refuse to stop believing or hoping for sth
- - She clings to the hope that her husband will come back to her.
cling - clung - clung
-
come
- 1. come (MOVE TO SPEAKER)
- to move or travel towards the speaker or with the speaker
- - Are you coming with me?
- - There's a car coming!
- 2. come (ARRIVE)
- to get to a particular place
- - Has she come yet?
- 3. come (HAPPEN)
- - Spring has come early.
come - came - come
-
cost
- 1. cost an arm and a leg/a small fortune
- (UK also cost a bomb/the earth/a packet)
- to be extremely expensive
- - I'd love to buy a Rolls-Royce, but they cost an arm and a leg.
- 2. cost sb a pretty penny to be very expensive
- - That coat must have cost you a pretty penny!
- cost
- cost/ costed
- cost/ costed
-
creep
- 1. creep (MOVE SLOWLY) verb [I usually + adverb or preposition]
- - She turned off the light and crept through the door.
- 2. creeping adjective [before noun] disapproving happening, developing or moving slowly or gradually
- - We are totally against any form of creeping Socialism.
- 3. creep (PERSON) noun [C] informal1 UK someone who tries to make someone more important like them by being very polite and helpful in a way that is not sincere
- - Making coffee for the boss again? You creep!
- 4. an unpleasant person, especially a man
- - He was a real creep - he was always staring at me in the canteen.
- 5. creepy adjective informal
- strange or unnatural and making you feel frightened
- - a creepy film
- - a creepy smile
- 6. give sb the creeps
- to cause someone to have uncomfortable feelings of nervousness or fear
- - Living next to a graveyard would give me the creeps.
- 7. creep in/creep into sth phrasal verb mainly UK
- If mistakes creep in or creep into a piece of text
- - A few mistakes always creep in during the editing process.
- - One or two typing errors crept into the report.
creep - crept - crept
-
cut
1. cut (USE KNIFE)
- 2. cut (REDUCE)
- to make something shorter, lower, smaller, etcto cut prices/coststo cut overtime/wages
- 3. cut sb down to size to show someone that they are not as clever or important as they think they are
- - Someone should cut that man down to size!
- 4. to cut a long story short to not tell all the details
- - To cut a long story short, I got the job
cut - cut - cut
-
deal
1. deal (DO BUSINESS)
- 2. deal (AMOUNT) noun a good/great deal a large amount; much
- - She spends a good deal of her time in Glasgow.
- 3. deal
- to give or share out something, especially playing cards
- - Whose turn is it to deal?
- - Would you like to deal (out) the cards?
- 4. deal with sb (TALK TO) phrasal
- - She's used to dealing with difficult customers.
- 5. deal with sth
- to take action in order to achieve something or in order to solve a problem
- - How do you intend to deal with this problem?
- 6. deal with sth (BE ABOUT) phrasal verb
- to be about or be on the subject of something
- - Her new film deals with the relationship between a woman and her sick daughter.
deal - dealt - dealt
-
dig
1. dig (MOVE EARTH)
- 2. dig your own grave
- to do sth. which causes you harm, sometimes serious harm
- 3. dig
- to search for an object or information or to find it after looking
- - He dug into his pocket and took out a few coins.
- 4. dig (deep) into your pocket(s)/savings
- to give away money
- - Richer countries must dig deeper into their pockets if global problems, such as pollution, are to be solved.
- 5. dig
- a remark which is intended to criticize, embarrass or make a joke about someone
- - He's always having/taking/making digs at me.
- 6. dig in phrasal verb informal
- to start eating
- - The food's going cold - dig i
dig - dug - dug
-
dive
1. dive (MOVE DOWN)
- 2. dive (MOVE QUICKLY)
- to move quickly, often in order to avoid sth
- - They dived for cover when they heard the shooting start.
- 3. dive (PLACE) noun [C] informal
- a restaurant, hotel, bar or place for entertainment or social activities that is unpleasant because of the condition of the building or the type of people that go there
- - I know this place is a bit of a dive, but the drink's cheap and the food's great.
- dive
- dived, (US ALSO) dove
- dived
-
draw
1. draw (PICTURE)
- 2. draw the line
- to never do sth because you think it is wrong
- - I swear quite a lot but even I draw the line at saying certain words.
- 3. draw (ATTRACT)
- to attract attention or interest
- - Does he wear those ridiculous clothes to draw attention?
- 4. draw your eye(s)
- to attract your attention
- - Her eyes were immediately drawn to the tall blond man standing at the bar.
- 5. draw (MAKE)
- to make or show a comparison between things
- - It's sometimes very difficult to draw a clear distinction between the meanings of different words.
- 6. draw a conclusion
- to consider the facts of a situation and make a decision about what is true, correct, likely to happen, etc
draw - drew - drawn
-
dream
- work/go like a dream
- to work or go extremely well, without any problems
- - The whole plan went like a dream.
- of your dreams
- the best that you can imagine
- - Win the house of your dreams in our fantastic competition!
- be (living) in a dream world
- to have hopes and ideas which are not practical or realistic
- - If he thinks I'll forgive him, he's living in a dream world.
- dream
- dreamed, dreamt
- dreamed, dreamt
-
drink
- 1. drink to sth phrasal verb
- If two or more people drink to something or someone, to show respect or good wishes
- 2. drink like a fish informal
- to drink too much alcohol
- 3. can't hold your drink (US usually can't hold your liquor)
- If you can't hold your drink, you feel ill quickly when you drink alcohol.
drink - drank - drunk
-
drive
- 1. drive your message/point home
- to state sth in a very forceful and effective way
- - The speaker really drove his message home, repeating his main point several times.
- 2. drive a wedge between sb
- to damage the good relationship that two people or groups of people have
- - It would be silly to let things which have happened in the past drive a wedge between us now.
drive - drove - driven
-
dwell
- 1. dwell verb formal
- to live in a place or in a particular way
- - She dwelt in remote parts of Asia for many years.
- 2. dwell on sth phrasal verb
- to keep thinking or talking about sth, especially sth bad or unpleasant
- - In his speech, he dwelt on the plight of the sick and the hungry.
- dwelling noun [C] formal
- a house or place to live in
- - There is an estimated shortfall of some five million dwellings across the country.
- dwell
- dwelt, dwelled
- dwelt, dwelled
-
eat
- 1. eat your words
- to admit that sth you said before was wrong
- - Sam said it would never sell, but when he sees these sales figures he'll have to eat his words.
eat - ate - eaten
-
fall
- 1. fall on deaf ears
- If a suggestion or warning falls on deaf ears, no one listens to it
- - Their appeals to release the hostages fell on deaf ears.
- fall - fell - fallen
-
feed
- 1. feed sb to the lions
- to force someone to do something unpleasant or dangerous that they do not want to do
- 2. be like feeding time at the zoo humorous
- to be very noisy, untidy and lacking order
- - Tea-time in our house is like feeding time at the zoo!
- feed - fed - fed
-
feel
- 1. be/feel under the weather informal
- to be or feel ill
- - I'm feeling a bit under the weather - I think I've caught a cold.
- feel - felt - felt
-
fight
- 1. fight tooth and nail
- to try very hard to get something you want
- We fought tooth and nail to get the route of the new road changed.
fight - fought - fought
-
find
- 1. find fault with sb/sth
- to criticize someone or something, especially without good reasons
- - He's always finding fault with my work.
- 2. find your feet
- to become familiar with and confident in a new situation
- - Did it take you long to find your feet when you started your new job?
find - found - found
-
flee
- 1. flee the country
- to quickly go to another country in order to escape from something or someone
- It is likely that the suspects have fled the country by now.
flee - fled - fled
-
fling
1. fling (THROW)
- 2. fling (MOVE/DO)
- to move or do sth quickly and energetically
- - She flung her arms around his neck.
- 3. fling up your hands
- to show that you are very shocked or frightened
- - They flung up their hands in horror at the cost of the trip.
fling - flung - flung
-
fly
- 1. fly into a rage (UK also fly into a temper/fury)
- to suddenly become very angry
- - I asked to speak to her boss and she just flew into a rage.
- 2. fly off the handle
- to react in a very angry way to something that someone says or does
- - He's extremely irritable - he flies off the handle at the slightest thing.
fly - flew - flown
-
forbid
- 1. heaven forbid (also God forbid)
- a way of saying that you hope something does not happen
- - Heaven forbid (that) his parents should ever find out.
- forbid
- 2. forbidden fruit
- literary sth, especially something sexual, which has a greater attraction because it is not allowed
- - He was always drawn to other men's wives - the forbidden fruit.
- forbid
- forbade, forbad
- forbidden
-
forecast
forecast - forecasted, forecast - forecasted, forecast
-
foresee
- 1. in/for the foreseeable future
- as far into the future as you can imagine or plan for
- - I'll certainly carry on living here for the foreseeable future.
foresee - foresaw - foreseen
-
forget
- 1. and don't you forget it
- used to tell someone that a particular fact is important and it should influence the way they behave
- - I've been in the job longer than you and don't you forget it!
- 2. not forgetting
- including
- - This is where we keep all the books, not forgetting the magazines and newspapers.
forget - forgot - forgotten
-
forgive
- To err is human (to forgive divine).
- saying something that you say which means that it is natural for people to make mistakes and it is important to forgive people when they do
forgive - forgave - forgiven
-
forgo
forgo - forwent - forgone
-
forsake
forsake - forsook forsaken
-
forswear
forswear - forswore - forsworn
-
freeze
freeze - froze - frozen
-
gainsay
- 1. gainsay verb [T often in negatives] formal
- to refuse to accept something as the truth
- - Certainly there's no gainsaying (= It is not possible to doubt) the technical brilliance of his performance.
gainsay - gainsaid - gainsaid
-
get
get - got - got, (US ALSO) gotten
-
gird
- 1. gird verb
- old use to tie something around your body or part of your body
- 2. gird yourself (also gird (up) your loins) literary or humorous
- to get ready to do something or deal with somethingWe girded ourselves for the fray (= prepared for action or trouble).
- - Europe's finest golfers are girding their loins for the challenge of the Ryder Cup.
gird - girded, girt - girded, girt
-
-
-
grind
- 1. grind (MAKE SMALLER)
- to make something into small pieces or a powder by pressing between hard surfaces
- - to grind coffee
grind - ground - ground
|
|
