an objective form ofshe, referring to females.. the possessive form ofhe, referring to a male who has already been mentioned.. the possessive form ofhe, referring to a person who has alr
Trang 1help (someone) out to help
one do something; to help
some-one with a problem
hem ["hEm] 1 n the folded and
sewn edge of a piece of cloth 2 tv.
to make a nice, even edge on a
piece of cloth by folding and
sewing
hemisphere ["hEm @s fIr] 1 n half
of a sphere; half of a ball 2 n one
of two halves of the earth
hen ["hEn] n a female bird,
espe-cially a female chicken
→ (as) mad as a wet hen
→ (as) scarce as hens’ teeth
→ scarcer than hens’ teeth
her ["h#] 1 pron an objective form
ofshe, referring to females (Used
after prepositions and as the
object of verbs.) 2 pron an
objec-tive form ofshe, referring to ships
and certain countries (Also other
informal uses.) 3 pron a
posses-sive form ofshe, referring to
females (Used as a modifier
before a noun Compare this with
hers.)
→ give the devil her due
herb ["#b] n a plant whose seeds or
leaves are used for flavoring food
or for medicines
herd ["h#d] 1 n a large group of
cattle or other similar large
ani-mals such as elk, buffalo, zebra,
elephants, etc 2 tv to cause a
large group of people or animals
to move together 3 tv to take
care of cattle, sheep, or other
groups of animals 4 iv to form
into a group; to move as a group
here ["hIr] 1 adv in, at, to, or from
the location of the speaker or
writer who uses this word 2 adv.
now; at this point in time or in a
process 3 adv a form that begins
a sentence and is followed by a verb, which then is followed by the subject of the sentence (Often used to point out or offer
some-thing Takes be, go, stand, rest, or a
similar verb.) 4 n this place
Here’s to someone or something.
an expression used as a toast to someone or something to wish someone or something well
heritage ["hEr I tIdZ] n the cultural
background of a group of people (No plural.)
hermit ["h# mIt] n someone who
moves away from society and who lives alone
hero ["hIr o] 1 n someone who is
honored and respected for bravery
or courage (Compare this with heroine Plural ends in -es.) 2 n.
the main male character in a story, movie, or play (See also heroine
Plural ends in -es.)
heroic [hI "ro Ik] adj courageous;
brave; valiant (Adv: heroically
[ Ik li].)
heroine ["hEr o In] 1 n a brave and
courageous woman; a woman who does heroic actions (Compare this with hero.) 2 n the main female
character in a story, movie, or play (See also hero.)
hers ["h#z] pron a possessive form
ofshe (Used in place of a noun Compare this with her.)
herself [h# "sElf] 1 pron the
reflexive form ofshe (Used after a verb or a preposition when the subject of the sentence is the same female to which the pronoun help (someone) out
266
Trang 2refers.) 2 pron an emphatic form
ofshe (Follows the nominal that
is being emphasized.)
→ by herself
he’s ["hiz] 1 cont he is 2 cont he
has (Where has is an auxiliary.)
hid ["hId] past tense ofhide
hidden ["hId n] Past participle of
hide
hide ["haId] 1 tv., irreg to place
something out of view; to place
something so that it cannot be
seen; to conceal something (Past
tense: hid;past participle: hidden.)
2 iv., irreg to place oneself so that
one cannot be seen; to conceal
oneself 3 n the skin of an
ani-mal, especially when used to make
leather
→ go into hiding
→ neither hide nor hair
hide one’s head in the sand Go to
bury one’shead in the sand.
hide one’s light under a bushel
to conceal one’s good ideas or
tal-ents (A biblical theme.)
hide out (from someone or
some-thing) to hide oneself so that one
cannot be found by someone or
something
hide someone or something away
(someplace) to conceal someone
or something somewhere
high ["haI] 1 adj far above the
ground; further above than
aver-age; not low (Comp: higher; sup:
highest.) 2 adj extending a
cer-tain distance upward; at or
reach-ing a particular distance above the
ground or above sea level (Follows
the measure of height Comp:
higher; sup: highest.) 3 adj great
in power, rank, or importance
(Adv: highly Comp: higher; sup: highest.) 4 adj [of heat, number,
pitch, price, velocity, intelligence, standards, etc.] great or strong, or greater or stronger than what is
normal or average (Adv: highly Comp: higher; sup: highest.) 5 n.
the top point; a peak 6 adv to or
at a place that is far up (Comp:
higher; sup: highest.)
→ (as) high as a kite
→ (as) high as the sky
→ act high-and-mighty
→ hold someonein high regard
→ hunt high and low for someone or something
→ leave someonehigh and dry
→ run high
→ search high and low for someone
or something
high heels ["haI "hilz] n women’s
shoes having long or tall heels (Treated as plural, but not counta-ble Can be shortened to heels.)
high school ["haI skul] 1 n a
school for students who have fin-ished the lower grades of school
2 the adj use of Q
(Hyphen-ated.)
highly ["haI li] the adv form ofhigh
E; very much (Comp: higher; sup: highest.)
highway ["haI we] n a main
road—especially one designed for high speed—used to get from one city to another
hike ["haIk] 1 n a long walk,
espe-cially in the woods, mountains,
etc 2 iv to travel or walk as in Q.
hike something up to raise
some-thing, such as prices, interest rates,
a skirt, pants legs, etc
hike something up
267
Trang 3hiker ["haIk #] n someone who
hikes
hill ["hIl] 1 n a raised part of the
earth’s surface, smaller than a
mountain 2 n a heap or mound
of soil, especially one made by an
animal
→ over the hill
hilltop ["hIl tap] n the top of a hill.
him ["hIm] 1 pron an objective
form ofhe Q (The pronoun used
to refer to males Used after
prepositions and as the object of
verbs.) 2 pron an objective form
ofhe W (Used when the sex of a
grammatical object of a verb or
preposition is unimportant,
inde-terminate, undetermined, or
irrel-evant Objected to by some as
actually referring only to males in
this sense See also themW.)
himself [hIm "sElf] 1 pron the
reflexive form ofhe Q (Used
after a verb or a preposition when
the subject of the sentence is the
same male to which the pronoun
refers.) 2 pron the reflexive form
ofhe W (Used after a verb or a
preposition when the sex of the
subject of the sentence is
unim-portant, indeterminate,
undeter-mined, or irrelevant This sense is
objected to by some as actually
referring only to males.) 3 pron
an emphatic form ofhim (Follows
the nominal being emphasized.)
→ by himself
hind ["haInd] adj positioned at the
rear or back of something
(Prenominal only.)
hinge ["hIndZ] n a jointed device
that fits two things together so
that one of the things, such as a door or gate, can move
hinge (up)on someone or
some-thing to depend on someone or something; to depend on what someone or something does
hint ["hInt] 1 n a clue; a suggestion
that helps solve a puzzle or answer
a question 2 n a small trace; a
little bit of something; a small
amount 3 tv to suggest Q; to
provide Q (The object is a clause with that U.)
hip ["hIp] 1 n the joint that
con-nects the leg with the body; the area on each side of the body, below the waist, where the leg joins the trunk of the body 2 adj
in style; fashionable (Older slang
Comp: hipper; sup: hippest.)
→ shoot from the hip
hippopotami [hIp @ "pat @ maI] a
plural ofhippopotamus.
hippopotamus [hIp @ "pat @ m@s]
n., irreg a large, round-shaped
African mammal that lives in and near rivers, having thick skin and
very little hair (Plural: hippopota-muses or hippopotami.)
hire ["haI#] tv to employ someone
at a job; to pay someone to do work
→ not for hire
hire someone away (from some-one or something) [for some-one] to get
someone to quit working for someone or something and begin working for one
his ["hIz] 1 pron the possessive
form ofhe, referring to a male who has already been mentioned
(Comes before a noun.) 2 pron.
the possessive form ofhe, refer-hiker
268
Trang 4ring to a male who has already
been mentioned (Used in place of
a noun.) 3 pron the possessive
form ofhe, referring to a person
who has already been mentioned
(Used when the sex of the person
referred to is unimportant,
inde-terminate, undetermined, or
irrel-evant Objected to by some as
referring only to males in this
sense See also their W.) 4 pron.
the possessive form ofhe,
refer-ring to a person who has already
been mentioned (Used in place of
a noun Used when the sex of the
person referred to is unimportant,
indeterminate, undetermined, or
irrelevant Objected to by some as
actually referring only to males in
this sense.)
hiss ["hIs] 1 n the sound that a
snake makes; a long s sound 2 iv.
to make Q
history ["hIs t@ ri] 1 n the study of
events that have happened (No
plural.) 2 n a record of events
that have happened 3 n
back-ground; facts about the past of
someone or something
→ go down in history
hit ["hIt] 1 tv., irreg to strike
some-one or something; to contact
someone or something violently or
with force (Past tense and past
participle: hit.) 2 tv., irreg to
reach something 3 n someone or
something that is very successful
4 n [in baseball] a play where the
batter hitsas in Q the ball with a
bat and is able to get to a base
safely 5 adj [of music or
per-formances] popular (Prenominal
only.)
→ make a hit (with someone or something)
hit a happy medium Go to strike
a happy medium.
hit a plateau to reach a higher
level of activity, sales, production, output, etc., and then stop and remain unchanged
hit a snag to run into a problem hit a sour note Go to strike a sour note.
hit back (at someone or some-thing) 1 to strike someone or something back 2 to retaliate
against someone or something; to get even with someone or some-thing for doing somesome-thing wrong
hit bottom to reach the lowest or
worst point
hit home and strike home to
really make sense; [for a com-ment] to make a very good point
hit it off (with someone) to start a
good and friendly relationship with someone from the first meet-ing
hit someone hard to affect
some-one’s emotions strongly
hit (someone) like a ton of bricks
to surprise, startle, or shock some-one
hit someone (right) between the eyes to become completely
apparent; to surprise or impress someone
hit someone (up) for something to
ask someone for the loan of money or for some other favor (Colloquial.)
hit something off to begin
some-thing; to launch an event
hit something off
269
Trang 5hit the bull’s-eye to achieve the
goal perfectly
hit the nail (right) on the head
to do exactly the right thing; to do
something in the most effective
and efficient way
hit the spot to be exactly right; to
be refreshing
hit (up)on someone or something
1 to discover someone or
some-thing 2 to strike or pound on
someone or something
(Collo-quial.)
hitch a ride Go to thumb a ride.
hive ["haIv] n the box, container,
or structure that bees live in (See
also beehive.)
a hive of activity the location
where things are very busy
hives n any one of various skin
dis-eases characterized by a rash
(Treated as singular or plural, but
not countable.)
hobby ["hab i] n an activity that is
done in one’s spare time; an
activ-ity that one likes to do
hobo ["ho bo] n a tramp; someone
who travels from city to city
look-ing for food or work (Usually
male Plural ends in -s or -es.)
Hobson’s choice the choice
between taking what is offered
and getting nothing at all (From
the name of a stable owner in the
seventeenth century who offered
customers the hire of the horse
nearest the door.)
hockey ["hak i] n a game, played
on ice, where skaters try to hit a
rubber disk into a goal area (No
plural.)
hoe ["ho] 1 n a garden tool
con-sisting of a small blade attached to
a long handle, used to remove weeds or to break up soil 2 tv to use Q on something; to remove weeds or break up soil with Q
→ atough row to hoe
hog ["hOg] 1 n a full-grown pig,
especially one raised for food or to
produce young 2 n someone
who is very greedy or messy
(Fig-urative on Q.) 3 tv to take more
than one’s fair share of something (Informal.)
→ road hog
hoist ["hoIst] 1 n a device for lift-ing heavy thlift-ings 2 tv to raise
something using ropes or chains
hold ["hold] 1 tv., irreg to keep
someone or something in one’s arms or hands (Past tense and past participle: held.) 2 tv., irreg.
to support the weight of someone
or something; to bear the weight
of someone or something 3 tv.,
irreg to grasp something so it
remains in a certain position
4 tv., irreg to reserve something;
to set something aside, waiting for
further action 5 tv., irreg to
con-tain something; to have enough
room for something 6 tv., irreg.
to cause an event to take place
7 tv., irreg to retain a certain position or condition 8 tv., irreg.
to restrain someone or something;
to keep someone or something under control 9 iv., irreg to with-stand a strain; not to break under
pressure 10 iv., irreg to remain
connected to a telephone line while one’s call has been tem-porarily suspended—so the caller
or the person who was called can hit the bull’s-eye
270
Trang 6talk on another telephone line.
11 n a grasp; a grip 12 n a good
or secure grasp of something
13 n the place in a ship or plane
where cargo is stored
→ can’t hold a candle to someone
→ Don’t hold your breath.
→ have a hold on someone
→ leave someoneholding the baby
→ leave someoneholding the bag
→ put a hold on something
hold back (on something) to
with-hold something; to give only a
lim-ited amount
hold forth (on someone or
some-thing) to speak at great length
about someone or something
hold off ((from) doing something)
to avoid doing something; to
post-pone doing something
hold on 1 to wait (Often a
com-mand.) 2 to be patient (Often a
command.)
hold on (to someone or something)
Go to hang on (to someone or
some-thing).
hold one’s ground Go to stand one’s
ground.
hold one’s head up to have
self-respect; to retain or display one’s
dignity
hold one’s own to do as well as
anyone else
hold one’s peace to remain silent.
hold one’s temper Go to keep one’s
temper.
hold one’s tongue to refrain from
speaking; to refrain from saying
something unpleasant
hold out to endure; to last; to
sur-vive
hold out (against someone or something) to continue one’s
defense against someone or some-thing
hold out (for someone or some-thing) to insist on getting someone
or something; to refuse to accept less than someone or something (Informal.)
hold out the olive branch to
offer to end a dispute and be friendly; to offer reconciliation (The olive branch is a symbol of peace and reconciliation A bibli-cal reference.)
hold someone hostage to keep
someone as a hostage
hold someone in high regard to
have very great respect for some-one or something; to admire someone or something greatly
hold someone or something down
1 to keep someone, something, or some creature down 2 to prevent
someone or something from advancing
hold someone or something off
1 to make someone or something wait 2 and keep someone or something off to resist and attack
by someone or something
hold someone or something out (of something) 1 to keep someone or something out of something 2 to
set someone or something aside from the rest; to prevent someone
or a group from participating
hold someone or something over to
keep a performer or performance for more performances (Because the performance is a success.) hold someone or something over
271
Trang 7hold someone or something up
1 to keep someone or something
upright 2 to rob someone or a
group 3 to delay someone or
something
hold someone’s attention to keep
someone’s attention; to keep
someone interested
hold something out (to someone)
to offer something to someone
hold the fort to take care of a
place, such as a store or one’s
home
hold true [for something] to be
true; (for something) to remain
true
hold up (for someone or
some-thing) to wait; to stop and wait for
someone
hold up (on someone or
some-thing) to delay or postpone further
action on someone or something
hold up one’s end (of the
bar-gain) to do one’s part as agreed; to
attend to one’s responsibilities as
agreed
hold water to be able to be proved;
to be correct or true
holder ["hold #] n something that
holds something; something that
keeps something in a certain
posi-tion
holdup ["hold @p] 1 n a robbery,
especially one committed with a
gun; a stickup 2 n a delay; the
reason that something is not
mov-ing properly
hole ["hol] n an opening made in
or through a solid object; an
open-ing in the surface of somethopen-ing
→ asquare peg in a round hole
→ in the hole
→ Money burns a hole in someone’s pocket.
→ out of the hole
→ poke a hole in something
→ poke a hole through something
→ punch a hole in something
a hole in one 1 an instance of
hit-ting a golf ball into a hole in only one try (From the game of golf.)
2 an instance of succeeding the
first time
holiday ["hal @ de] 1 n a period of
time when most businesses and schools are closed in honor of someone or something 2 n a holy day; a religious celebration
holier-than-thou excessively
pious; acting as though one is more virtuous than other people
hollow ["hal o] 1 n an open space inside an object; a cavity 2 n a
small valley; a sunken area of land
3 adj having an open space
inside; not solid (Adv: hollowly Comp: hollower; sup: hollowest.)
4 adj sunken (Adv: hollowly.
Comp: hollower; sup: hollowest.)
hollow something out to make the
inside of something hollow
holster ["hol st#] n a fabric or
leather case for a gun, worn on the body or attached to a saddle
holy ["hol i] adj sacred; associated
with divine matters (Comp:
holier; sup: holiest.)
homage ["am IdZ] praise, respect,
and honor
→ pay homage to someone
home ["hom] 1 n the place where
one lives; one’s house or
apart-ment 2 n the place where
some-one was born; the place that someone comes from; the place hold someone or something up
272
Trang 8where someone grew up 3 n an
institution or building where
peo-ple who need special care live
4 n a place where something is
found, based, or located; a place
where something originated or
was invented 5 the adj use of Q,
W, E, or R 6 adv at Q or W; to
Q or W
→ chickens have come home to
roost
→ come home (to roost)
→ eat someoneout of house and
home
→ funeral home
→ hammer somethinghome
→ hit home
→ keep the home fires burning
→ make oneselfat home
→ strike home
home in (on someone or
some-thing) to aim directly at someone
or something
home office ["hom "Of Is] 1 n the
central office of a company 2 n.
an office in one’s home
home on(to something) to aim
directly at something; to fix some
type of receiver on a signal source
homemaker ["hom mek #] n a
person who manages a home,
especially a married woman who
manages her home and, possibly,
children
homeowner ["hom o n#] n
some-one who owns a home
homesick ["hom sIk] adj sad and
depressed because one is away
from one’s home
homework ["hom w#k] 1 n.
schoolwork that is to be
com-pleted at home or elsewhere
out-side the school building (No
plural.) 2 n preparation that
should be done before a meeting
or discussion (Figurative on Q
No plural.)
honest ["an @st] 1 adj always
telling the truth; not lying; able to
be trusted (Adv: honestly.) 2 adj.
obtained fairly and legally; not
stolen (Adv: honestly.) 3 adj
sin-cere; appearing fair and Q (Adv:
honestly.)
honesty ["an Is ti] n the quality of
being honest; truthfulness (No plural.)
honey ["h^n i] n a sweet, sticky
substance made by bees (Plural only for types and instances.)
honeymoon ["h^n i mun] 1 n the
vacation that two newly married people take after the wedding
2 n a calm period of good
busi-ness or political relations, espe-cially right after someone new has come to power
Thehoneymoon is over a phrase
said when the early, pleasant beginning of something has ended
honk ["hONk] 1 n the sound made
by a horn or a goose 2 iv to make
the sound of a horn or a goose
3 tv to sound a horn; to cause a
horn to make a noise
honor ["an #] 1 n the respect or
regard shown to someone or
something (No plural.) 2 n
char-acter and integrity; honesty and fairness; a way of being that earns trust (No plural.) 3 n a pleasure;
a privilege 4 tv to hold someone
in high regard; to respect
some-one 5 tv to make a payment as
agreed; for a bank to accept a
honor
273
Trang 9check and pay out the money that
the check was written for
→ do the honors
→ guest of honor
→ on one’shonor
honor someone’s check to accept
someone’s personal check
hood ["hUd] 1 n a covering for the
head and neck, sometimes
attached to a coat and sometimes
also covering the face 2 n the
metal panel that covers the top of
the front of a car
hoof ["hUf, "huf] n., irreg the hard
part on the bottom of the foot of a
horse, deer, and certain other
ani-mals (Plural: hooves.)
hook ["hUk] 1 n a bent or curved
piece of plastic, wood, wire, or
metal, used to catch, pull, or hold
something 2 n [in boxing] a
short blow given while one’s elbow
is bent 3 tv to catch and pull
something with Q
→ get (someone) off the hook
→ get off the hook
→ let someoneoff (the hook)
hook in(to something) to connect
into something
hook someone or something up (to
someone or something) and hook
someone or something up (with
someone or something) to attach
someone or something to someone
or something
hook someone or something up
(with someone or something) Go
to hook someone or somethingup (to
someone or something).
hook something into something to
connect something to something
hook something up to set
some-thing up and get it working—
such as electricity, gas, water, tele-phone lines, etc
hoot ["hut] 1 n the noise that an owl makes 2 iv to make Q; to
make a noise like Q
hooves ["huvz] plural ofhoof.
hop ["hap] 1 n a small movement upward, like a jump 2 n an
air-plane flight, especially a short one
3 iv to jump up and down; to
jump forward a small distance
4 iv [for frogs, rabbits,
kanga-roos, etc.] to move by jumping
hop in something to get into a car,
truck, van, or taxi quickly to make
a quick or short trip
hop on something to board a plane,
train, bus, or bicycle to make a quick trip
hope ["hop] 1 n the happy feeling
that something one wants to hap-pen will actually haphap-pen (No plu-ral.) 2 n something that is desired; something that one wants
to happen; an expectation 3 tv to
feel happy about and wish for something that one wants to hap-pen in the future (The object is a clause with that U.)
→ cross one’sheart (and hope to die)
hope against all hope to have
hope even when the situation appears to be hopeless
hope to do something to feel happy
about and wish to do something in the future
horizon [h@ "raI z@n] n the line in
the distance where the sky seems
to meet the earth
→ on the horizon honor someone’s check
274
Trang 10horizontal [hor @ "zan t@l] adj flat;
parallel to flat ground; not up and
down (Adv: horizontally.)
horn ["horn] 1 n a hard, usually
pointed growth on the heads of
cattle, goats, antelope, sheep, etc
2 n the hard substance that an
animal’s hoof or horn as in Q is
made of (No plural.) 3 n a
device that makes noise, as in a car
or other vehicle 4 n one of the
brass musical instruments, such as
the trumpet, the cornet, the tuba,
the French horn, and the
trom-bone, played by blowing air
through a shaped tube (Often in
compounds.)
→ blow one’sown horn
→ lock horns (with someone)
→ on the horns of a dilemma
→ take the bull by the horns
→ toot one’sown horn
horn in (on someone) to attempt
to displace someone
hornet ["hor nIt] n a large kind of
stinging wasp
→ (as) mad as a hornet
→ stir up a hornet’s nest
horrible ["hor @ b@l] 1 adj causing
horror or terror (Adv: horribly.)
2 adj awful; bad (Adv: horribly.)
horrify ["hor @ faI] tv to frighten
someone very badly; to terrify
someone
horror ["hor #] 1 n intense dread
or fear; fright (Plural only for
types and instances.) 2 n
some-one or something that causes fear
or fright; an experience of Q
→ in horror
horse ["hors] n an animal, larger
than a donkey, that is used for
car-rying people and pulling heavy
things, especially on farms
→ beat a dead horse
→ dark horse
→ eat like a horse
→ put the cart before the horse
→ straight from the horse’s mouth
→ work like a horse
a horse of a different color See a
horse of another color.
a horse of another color and a horse of a different color
another matter altogether
horse sense common sense;
prac-tical thinking
hose ["hoz] 1 n a flexible tube
used to direct water or some other liquid (Treated as singular Plural:
hoses.) 2 n men’s socks, especially
to go with formal clothing (No plural Treated as plural, but not countable Number is expressed
with pair(s) of hose.) 3 n women’s
long, sheer stockings, made of silk
or nylon (No plural Treated as plural, but not countable Number
is expressed with pair(s) of hose.)
4 n pantyhose (No plural Treated as plural, but not counta-ble.)
hospital ["has pIt @l] n a building
where medical care for serious dis-eases and illnesses is provided
host ["host] 1 n someone who
receives and welcomes guests
(Male or female Sometimes host-ess is used for a female.) 2 n the
person arranging a party or gath-ering, especially where food is served (Male or female
Some-times hostess is used for a female.)
3 n someone who introduces
people on a television show; some-one who has a talk show on televi-sion 4 n a large number of
host
275