. - a \ LS H 4 ) / Common labels and symbols in the dictionary noun book, person, happiness verb walk, write, be adj (=adjective) good, blue, quiet adv (=adverb) slowly, always, nearly auxiliary verb have, be modalverb can, must preposition in, on, at conjunction and, because, so determiner a,an,the quantifier some, few, much suffix -proof, -less prefix anti-, eco- exclamation oh, hi, wow pastt (=past tense) gave, hid, swam pastp (=past participle) given, hidden, swum past (=past tense and past participle) bought, found, lost {c] countable noun [U] uncountable noun (1] intransitive verb [Tt] transitive verb (for an explanation of all other grammar notes, see p.8) o« This symbol is found next to very common words which are important to learn. REA ACPL ITEM _ Se ee DISCARDED een nee Cambridge Learner's Dictionary POS SHOOSOO HOES OTT TOE HEHE OOOO TOO SOTO DE DE EE EOT EEO OOH OSE HOSES ESOS OSD EO ET OS HOSES EHES OOOOH OSES SEES OE OEESS 5 CAMBRIDGE 5) UNIVERSITY PRESS ‘MUL 1 2 200) PUBLISHED BY THE PRESS SYNDICATE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE The Pitt Building, Trumpington Street, Cambridge, United Kingdom CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge CB2 2RU, UK 40 West 20th Street New York NY 10011-4211, USA 10 Stamford Road, Oakleigh, Melbourne 3166, Australia Ruiz de Alarcon 13, 28014 Madrid, Spain Dock House, The Waterfront, Cape Town, South Africa http://www.cambridge.org © Cambridge University Press This book is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provsions of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press. 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Contents page Introduction How to use this dictionary More information on using the dictionary Grammar labels 11 Pronunciation Usage labels 12 Regular inflections UK/US labels The dictionary, A-Z 739 Appendices 740 Common first names 748 Irregular verbs 741 Geographical names 751 Word beginnings and endings 746 Regular verb tenses 753 Word building CENTRE PAGES Colour topic pictures Centre The Bathroom Hair The Body 10 The Kitchen Car 11 The Living Room The Classroom 12 The Office Clothes 13 Phrasal Verbs Colours 14 Quantities Food 15 Sports Fruits and Vegetables Study pages Adjectives 31 Modal verbs Checking your work 33 Numbers Classroom language 34 Phrasal verbs Collocations 36 Pronunciation (words that go together) 37 Punctuation 22 Countable and 38 Spelling uncountable nouns 40 Transport and travel 24 Family and relationships 41 UK and US English 25 Food and eating Verb patterns 26 Idioms 43 Word formation 27 The Internet 45 Writing letters 29 Measurements 47 Answer key 30 The media Cambridge Learner's Dictionary Senior Commissioning Editor Systems Development Manager Patrick Gillard Andrew Harley Managing Editor Software Development Elizabeth Walter Dominic Glennon Senlorexi h Richard Eradus oe eee DENS Robert Fairchild eee Richard Matsen bextcogrenners Corpus Development Diane Cranz : Ann Fiddes Guy Jackson ; sa : Anne Finell Virginia Klein j Marie Allan Kegs eoeell Michael Stevens Clea McEnery Julie Moore Design and Production Martine Walsh Andrew Robinson Sally Webber Samantha Dumiak Peter Burgess Cambridge Publishing Management Illustrators Corinne Burrows Ray Burrows Eikon Illustrators Ltd Thanks are also due to the following people for their lexicographic and editorial contributions: Margit Aufterbeck, Jane Bottomley, Pat Bulhosen, Rebecca Campbell, Carol Cassidy, Eric Fixmer, Lucy Hollingworth, Tess Kaunhoven, Geraldine Mark, Mairi MacDonald, Kate Mohideen, Diane Nichols, Elizabeth Potter, Glennis Pye, Mira Shapur, Penny Stock, Alison Tunley, Laura Wedgeworth, Susannah Wintersgill Introduction The Cambridge Learner’s Dictionary aclear and attractive page. The corpus is acompletely new dictionary for helps us to decide which are the most students and users of English important words and meanings, and throughout the world. to find the most common patterns in It has been written by a team of which they are used. This means we dictionary writers with a strong do not waste space on rare words that background in English language students are less likely to need. The teaching, who really understand the corpus also helps us find natural and needs of learners and the best way to typical examples to show how words explain what words mean and how and phrases are used. they are used. Another extremely valuable tool we While writing this dictionary, we have is the Cambridge Learners’ Corpus, have spoken to hundreds of teachers several million words written by _and students in many different learners of English. This corpus shows countries, asking them what they need, which words cause the greatest what they would like, and how they problems for learners. We used it to help would like it presented. This has helped us to decide which words should have us to develop a style which is easy to usage notes and which subjects to cover understand while giving enough detail in our Study Section in the centre of the to help students understand and use book. In other words, the information English with confidence. we show is there to deal with real One way that teachers and students problems met by real learners. helped us was in choosing the words The Cambridge Learner’s Dictionary we used in our explanations. We is available with or without a CD-ROM already used a strictly controlled list which contains everything that is in the of meanings, but as a result of our dictionary as well as some great extra research we cut out even more words, features such as spoken pronunciations so now we can be sure that we only in British and American accents, anda use words that students are really unique thesaurus search feature so that likely to know. you can search for words by meaning. This dictionary was written using We hope you enjoy using the the Cambridge International Corpus, Cambridge Learner’s Dictionary. If you a computerized collection of over have any comments about it, we would 300 million words from a huge range like to hear from you. Our dictionaries of sources, both written and spoken, are all available for you to search online British and American. Our aim has on our website: been to include as many words and phrases as possible, while keeping http://dictionary.cambridge.org [ORGANIZAT[IC,O UN]] a n official organization thatgives money, food, or help to people who need it excentage of the company’s profits go to charity. {U] money, food, or other help that is given to people I won’t accept charity. 3 kindness towards other people an act of ‘indo _ UK (US thrift shop) noun [Cc] a s 10p which sells goods given by the public, especially clothes, to make money for a partic- ular charity will certainly happen Shea roned to write to me every week. @ [+ (that)] Paul prom- ised me that he’d cook dinner tonight. 2 [+ two objects] to say that you will certainly give some- thing to someone They promised us a reward. Grandma’s ring was promised to me. 3 promise to be sth If something promises to be good, exciting, etc, people expect that it will be good, exciting, etc. It promises to be a really /‘promis/ noun 1 [C] when you say | ~ very common that you will certainly do something I’m not words which are important to learn. you said that you would do 3 show promise If | someone or something shows promise, they | are likely to be successful. As a child, he _ showed great promise as an athlete. g from someone else so that you own all : of it He bought out his partner for £3 million. buy sth up to quickly buy a lot of something often allt hat is available Z _based onn theC ambridge y* /bat/ noun a good buy when you Sj something good for a cheap price This coat was | International Corpus, areally good buy. show how words are buyer /'bara‘/ noun [C] someone who buys some- used in typical thing situations. buyout /'baraut/ noun [C] when a group of people buy the company that they work for iP honetic Alphabet. There is a explatat hei bonttoem odfe a ch ee become solid Gerry slipped on the ice and broke his arm. e I’ve put a couple of bottles of cham- pagne on ice (= in a bucket of ice to get cold). met before feel relaxed with each other, often by starting a conversation ice? Jars! (also US frost) verb [1] “Allouor .a e use very simple | words. Where we have hatdo u se a more ‘difficult word than _ Usual, that word is __ explainedi nb rackets. These labels show you when a word | is usedi n British English or American English. There is an explanation of _| these labels onp age 10. skive /skarv/ go to school or work when you should, or to leave school or work earlier than you should someone who These labels tell you how formal, informal, etc a word is.T here is an explanation of ail these labels on page 10, How to use this dictionary More information on using the dictionary Grammar labels When a word must always be used in a particular grammatical form, that form is shown at the beginning of the entry or the begin- ning of the meaning. Patterns which are common and typical, but are not always used, are given next to example sentences showing how they are used. Nouns countable noun pencil, friend, house uncountable noun, does not water, advice, health have a plural C,U noun which can be countable ability, quantity, exercise or uncountable > You should take some exercise. > Idomy exercises every morning. see also Study Page Countable and uncountable nouns, on p. centre 22. group noun which refers to government, class, team a group of people or things > The French team are European and can be used with either champions. a singular or a plural verb > His team is top of the league. plural plural noun, used with trousers, scissors, pliers a plural verb no plural noun which can be used rush, vicious circle, wait with a and an, but does not > Sorry, ’minarush. have a plural usually plural noun usually used in the statistics, resources, regulations plural form usually noun usually used in the mess, range, world singular singular form Verbs intransitive verb, does not sleep, glance, fall have an object > Anna’s sleeping. transitive verb, must cure, hit, catch have an object > Fiona hit her sister. verb that can be intransitive sing, explain, drive or transitive > Lalways sing in the bath. > Hesanga love song. + two objects ditransitive verb, that give, send, lend has two objects > She gave me the keys.