my vocabulary
Terms
undefined, object
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- lore
- knowledge and information related to a particular subject, especially when this is not written down; the stories and traditions of a particular group of people: weather lore Celtic lore
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pane
- a single sheet of glass in a window: a pane of glass a windowpane
- icicle
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a pointed piece of ice that is formed when water freezes as it falls down from sth such as a roof
- snap your fingers
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to make a sharp noise by moving your second or third finger quickly against your thumb, to attract sb's attention, or to mark the beat of music, for example: He snapped his fingers for the waiter to bring more wine.
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reel (verb)
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1 to move in a very unsteady way, for example because you are drunk or have been hit: I punched him on the chin, sending him reeling backwards. She was reeling after several glasses of wine. He reeled under the blow.
2 ~ (at / from / with sth) to feel very shocked or upset about sth: I was still reeling from the shock.
3 to seem to be spinning around and around: When he opened his eyes, the room was reeling.
- preen ~ yourself (on sth)
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1 to spend a lot of time making yourself look attractive and then admiring your appearance: Will you stop preening yourself in front of the mirror?
2 to feel very pleased with yourself about sth and show other people how pleased you are
3 ~ (itself) (of a bird) to clean itself or make its feathers smooth with its beak
- glib (of speakers and speech)
- using words that are clever, but are not sincere, and do not show much thought: a glib talker / salesman glib answers / explanations
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snap ~ (at sb/sth)
- to try to bite sb/sth: The dogs snarled and snapped at our heels.
- peer (verb)
- to look closely or carefully at sth, especially when you cannot see it clearly: We peered into the shadows. He went to the window and peered out. She kept peering over her shoulder. He peered closely at the photograph.
- get, have, etc. the sniffles
- to get, have, etc. a slight cold
- piety
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the state of having or showing a deep respect for sb/sth, especially for God and religion; the state of being pious
- yam
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the large root of a tropical plant that is cooked as a vegetable
- melee /meilei/
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a situation in which a crowd of people are rushing or pushing each other in a confused way: Several people were hurt in the melee. I lost hold of her hand in the melee of people rushing towards the entrance.
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slay (slew, slain)
- to murder sb: Two passengers were slain by the hijackers.
- nape ~ (of sb's neck)
- the back of the neck: Her hair was cut short at the nape of her neck.
- yaw
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(of a ship or plane) to turn to one side, away from a straight course, in an unsteady way
- nip ~ (at sth)
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1 to give sb/sth a quick painful bite or pinch: He winced as the dog nipped his ankle. She nipped at my arm.
2 (of cold, wind, etc.) to harm or damage sth: The icy wind nipped at our faces. growing shoots nipped by frost
- ostensible
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seeming or stated to be real or true, when this is perhaps not the case: The ostensible reason for his absence was illness.
- lop
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to cut down a tree, or cut some large branches off it
- reel (noun)
- 1 a round object around which you wind such things as cotton thread, wire or film; the film, wire, thread, etc. that is wound around a reel: a cotton reel a reel on a fishing rod reels of magnetic tape a new reel of film The hero was killed in the final reel (= in the final part of the film / movie).
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snip (at / through) sth
snip sth off -
1 to cut sth with scissors using short quick strokes: Snip a tiny hole in the paper. She snipped at the loose threads hanging down.
2 to remove sth by cutting it with scissors in short quick strokes: Snip off the end of the tube. She snipped several inches off his hair.
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roe
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1 the mass of eggs inside a female fish (hard roe) or the sperm of a male fish (soft roe), used as food: Taramasalata is made from cod's roe, olive oil and garlic.
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peer (noun)
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1 a person who is the same age or who has the same social status as you: She enjoys the respect of her peers. A peer review system is being introduced to help teachers who are experiencing difficulty. Children are worried about failing in front of their peers. Peer pressure is strong among young people (= they want to be like other people of the same age).
- penmanship
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the art of writing by hand; skill in doing this: delicate penmanship
- hoop
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1 a large ring of plastic, wood or iron: a barrel bound with iron hoops hoop earrings (= in the shape of a hoop)
2 the ring that the players throw the ball through in the game of basketball in order to score points: Let's shoot some hoops.
3 a large ring that was used as a children's toy in the past, or for animals or riders to jump through at a circus
- sway
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1 to move slowly from side to side; to move sth in this way: The branches were swaying in the wind. Vicky swayed and fell. They danced rhythmically, swaying their hips to the music.
2 to persuade sb to believe sth or do sth (influence): He's easily swayed. She wasn't swayed by his good looks or his clever talk.
- loop
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1 a shape like a curve or circle made by a line curving right round and crossing itself: The road went in a huge loop around the lake. Duclair is a small town on a loop of the River Seine.
2 a piece of rope, wire, etc. in the shape of a curve or circle: He tied a loop of rope around his arm. Make a loop in the string. a belt loop (= on pants, etc. for holding a belt in place)
- sniffle
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1 to sniff or keep sniffing, especially because you are crying or have a cold
2 an act or the sound of sniffling: After a while, her sniffles died away.
- be in the loop | be out of the loop
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to be part of a group of people that is dealing with sth important; to not be part of this group: A lot of people want to be in the loop on this operation. Lawton had gradually been cut out of the loop on legal reviews.
- wand
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1 a straight thin stick that is held by sb when performing magic or magic tricks: The fairy waved her wand and the table disappeared. You can't expect me to just wave a (magic) wand and make everything all right again.
2 any object in the shape of a straight thin stick: a mascara wand
- stag
- a male deer
- ore
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rock, earth, etc. from which metal can be obtained: iron ore
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hub ~ (of sth)
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1 the central and most important part of a particular place or activity: the commercial hub of the city The kitchen was the hub of family life. to be at the hub of things (= where things happen and important decisions are made) a hub airport (= a large important one where people often change from one plane to another)
2 the central part of a wheel - out of sorts
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ill/sick or upset: She was tired and out of sorts by the time she arrived home. Are you feeling all right? You look a bit out of sorts.
- persnickety
- worrying too much about unimportant details; showing this (fussy)
- atrocious
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1 very bad or unpleasant (terrible): She speaks French with an atrocious accent. Isn't the weather atrocious?
2 very cruel and shocking: atrocious acts of brutality
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dun
- greyish-brown in colour
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swathe
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1 a long strip of land, especially one on which the plants or crops have been cut: The combine had cut a swath around the edge of the field. Development has affected vast swaths of our countryside.
2 a large strip or area of sth: a swath of hair / fabric / sunlight The mountains rose above a swath of thick cloud.
- suds
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a mass of very small bubbles that forms on top of water that has soap in it: She was up to her elbows in suds.
- curtsy (also curtsey)
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a formal greeting made by a woman or girl in a dance or to an important person, by bending her knees with one foot in front of the other
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maw
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1 something that seems like a big mouth that swallows things up completely: They drove into the maw of the city.
- grit
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1 very small pieces of stone or sand: I had a piece of grit in my eye. They were spreading grit and salt on the icy roads.
2 the courage and determination that makes it possible for sb to continue doing sth difficult or unpleasant
3 (verb) to spread grit, salt or sand on a road that is covered with ice
- lode
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a line of ore (= metal in the ground or in rocks)
- slender
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1 (of people or their bodies) thin in an attractive or graceful way (slim): her slender figure long, slender fingers a slender young woman
2 thin or narrow: a glass with a slender stem
3 small in amount or size and hardly enough: to win by a slender margin / majority people of slender means (= with little money) These claims are based on slender evidence.