not on time; past the time that something is sup-posed to happen; past the time that someone or something is to be in a place.. Past tense and past participle: laid... Past tense and pas
Trang 1landlady ["lAnd led i] n a woman
who owns and rents out space
where people can live, such as
houses and apartments; a woman
who manages residential rental
property (See also landlord.)
landlord ["lAnd lord] n a person or
a company that manages and
col-lects rent for houses, apartments,
and offices
landscape ["lAnd skep] 1 n the
land and the things visible on it,
such as trees, bodies of water,
rocks, hills, etc (Plural only for
types and instances.) 2 n a
paint-ing or drawpaint-ing of the land or other
outdoor scenes 3 tv to arrange
flowers, trees, bushes, hills, rocks,
and other objects to make a yard
or park look beautiful
alandslide victory a victory by a
large margin; a very substantial
victory, particularly in an election
lane ["len] 1 n a road, path, or
route 2 n a section of a road
wide enough for one line of
traf-fic; a section of a running track
wide enough for one person to
run; a division of a swimming
pool wide enough for one person
to swim
language ["lAN gwIdZ] 1 n the
system of spoken and written
symbols used by people to express
thoughts, meaning, and emotions
(Plural only for types and
instances.) 2 n any system of
symbols used in a computer
pro-gram 3 n a specific style of
expression (No plural.)
→ sign language
→ speak the same language
lantern ["lAn t#n] n a protective
case with clear sides, containing a source of light
lap ["lAp] 1 n the flat surface
formed by the tops of the upper
legs when someone is sitting 2 n.
one trip around a track; two
lengths of a swimming pool 3 iv.
[for water] to move in small waves, making a gently splashing noise
→ in the lap of luxury
lap over (something) [for
some-thing] to extend or project over the edge or boundary of some-thing else
lap something up 1 [for an animal]
to lick something up 2 [for
someone] to accept or believe something with enthusiasm (Fig-urative.)
lap (up) against something [for
waves] to splash gently against something
lapel [l@ "pEl] n on a coat or jacket,
one of the flaps that is folded back toward the shoulders, just below the collar
lapse into a coma to go into a
coma
large ["lardZ] 1 adj greater in size
than average; more than average;
big (Comp: larger; sup: largest.)
2 n an object, especially one for
sale, that is Q in size
→ loom large
largely ["lardZ li] adv primarily;
mainly
lash ["lAS] 1 n a blow from a whip.
2 n an eyelash 3 tv to hit
some-one or something with a whip
4 tv to tie someone or something
landlady
316
Trang 2[to something]; to bind someone
or something
last ["lAst] 1 adj final; at the end;
after all other people or things
(Adv: lastly.) 2 adj the most
recent; nearest in the past; latest
3 adj least likely; least
appropri-ate 4 iv to continue for a length
of time; to remain; to endure
→ at last
→ at the last minute
→ breathe one’slast
→ get the last laugh
→ get the last word
→ on one’s or itslast legs
→ pay one’slast respects
→ That’s the last straw.
→ thevery last
last but not least last in sequence,
but not last in importance
last name ["lAst "nem] one’s
sur-name or family sur-name
the last (one) someone or
some-thing that is the final one in a
sequence
last something out to endure until
the end of something
latch ["lAtS] 1 n a device for
hold-ing a door or window closed; a
lock for a door or window that can
be locked and unlocked with a key
2 tv to close a door or window so
that the latchas in Q seizes and
holds the door or window closed
firmly 3 iv [for Q] to seize and
hold [something]; [for something]
to close firmly with Q
late ["let] 1 adj not on time; past
the time that something is
sup-posed to happen; past the time
that someone or something is to
be in a place (Comp: later; sup:
latest.) 2 adj far into a certain
period of time; toward the end of
a certain period of time 3 adj no
longer living; dead, especially hav-ing died recently; now dead (Prenominal only.) 4 adv after the time that something is sup-posed to happen
→ keep late hours
late in the day far into a project or
activity; too late in a project or activity for action, decisions, etc.,
to be taken (Also used literally.)
lately ["let li] adv recently later ["let #] adv at a time after the
present time; at a future time
lather ["lAD #] 1 n white foam
that is made by mixing soap with
water (No plural.) 2 tv to cover
something with Q
laugh ["lAf] 1 iv to express
pleas-ure or amusement by making short, happy sounds with the voice 2 n the noise that someone makes when amused, as in Q
→ get the last laugh
→ no laughing matter
laugh out of the other side of one’s mouth to change sharply
from happiness to sadness
laugh someone or something down
to cause someone to quit or cause something to end by laughing in ridicule
laugh something off to treat a
seri-ous problem lightly by laughing at it
laugh something out of court to
dismiss something as ridiculous
laugh up one’s sleeve to laugh
secretly; to laugh quietly to one-self
laugh up one’s sleeve
317
Trang 3laughter ["lAf t#] n the sound(s)
made when people laugh (No
plu-ral Treated as singular.)
launch ["lOntS] 1 tv to set a new
boat or ship into the water for the
first time 2 tv to send a rocket or
its cargo into the air 3 tv to
begin a project; to start carrying
out a plan (Figurative on Q.)
4 n an instance of sending
some-thing as in Q or W
launch into something to start
doing something
launching pad ["lOn tSIN pAd] n.
the platform from which rockets
are launched
launder ["lOn d#] tv to wash
clothes or fabric; to wash and iron
clothes or fabric
laundry ["lOn dri] 1 n clothes that
need to be washed; clothes that
have just been washed and dried
(No plural.) 2 n a business where
clothes can be taken to be washed
3 n a location in a house or
apartment building where clothes
are washed
lavatory ["lAv @ tor i] 1 n a sink
used for washing one’s hands; a
wash basin with running water
available 2 n a bathroom; a
room with a toilet (Euphemistic.)
→ go to the lavatory
lavish ["lAv IS] adj in or involving
large amounts; grand and
exces-sive (Adv: lavishly.)
law ["lO] 1 n a rule; a statement of
obligation within a legal system
2 n a principle that describes
something that happens as a
regu-larity in mathematics or the
natu-ral world 3 n the study of the
system oflaws as in Q (No plu-ral.)
→ break a law
→ break the law
→ lay down the law
→ take the law into one’sown hands
the law n the police force; police
officers (No plural Treated as sin-gular.)
the law of gravity ["lO @v "grAv @
ti] n the fact that gravity pulls things toward the center of the
earth (No plural Also law of grav-itation.)
alaw unto oneself one who makes
one’s own laws or rules; one who sets one’s own standards of behav-ior
lawn ["lOn] n an area of ground
with cut grass; a yard
lawn mower ["lOn mo #] n a
machine with blades that is used for cutting grass (Can be short-ened to mower.)
lawsuit ["lO sut] n a claim or
com-plaint brought into a court of law (Can be shortened to suit.)
lawyer ["lO j#] n someone who is
trained in law and is a member of the bar
lax ["lAks] adj loose; not strict; not
demanding (Adv: laxly Comp: laxer; sup: laxest.)
lay ["le] 1 a past tense oflie.2 adj.
not trained in a profession, such as law or medicine; not ordained as a religious leader 3 tv., irreg to place something on a surface or in
a flat position (Compare this with
R and lieE Past tense and past participle: laid.) 4 tv., irreg [for a
laughter
318
Trang 4hen] to produce and deposit an
egg
lay a finger on someone or
thing to touch someone or
some-thing, even slightly, even with a
finger (Usually in the negative.)
lay an amount of money out for
someone or something Go to lay an
amount of moneyout on someone or
some-thing
lay an amount of money out on
someone or something and lay an
amount of money out for
some-one or something to spend an
amount of money on someone or
something
lay an egg to give a bad
perform-ance
lay down the law 1 to state
firmly what the rules are (for
something) 2 to scold someone
for misbehaving
lay it on thick and pour it on
thick; spread it on thick to
exaggerate praise, excuses, or
blame
lay of the land 1 the arrangement
of features on an area of land
2 the arrangement or
organiza-tion of something other than land
lay off ((from) something) to cease
doing something
lay off ((of ) someone or
some-thing) to stop doing something to
someone or something; to stop
bothering someone or something
lay one’s cards on the table Go to
put one’scards on the table.
lay over (someplace) to wait
some-where between segments of a
jour-ney
lay someone away to bury
some-one (Euphemism.)
lay someone off (from something)
to put an end to someone’s employment at something
lay something away (for someone)
to put something in storage for someone to receive at a later time (Often said of a purchase that is held until it is paid for.)
lay something in to build up a
sup-ply of something
lay something on the line Go to
put somethingon the line.
lay something out to explain
some-thing; to go over details of a plan carefully
lay something to waste Go to lay waste to something.
lay something up 1 to acquire and store something 2 [for
some-thing] to disable something
lay waste to something and lay something to waste to destroy
something (literally or figura-tively)
layer ["le #] n a level; one level of
thickness that is placed on a sur-face
layer cake ["le # kek] n a cake
made of sections of cake placed on top of each other and separated by frosting
lazy ["lez i] 1 adj doing almost no
work; avoiding work (Adv: lazily.
Comp: lazier; sup: laziest.) 2 adj.
moving slowly (Figurative on Q
Adv: lazily Comp: lazier; sup: laziest.)
lead 1 ["lEd] n a heavy, soft,
gray-ish metallic element (No plural.)
lead
319
Trang 52 ["lid] n a clue; a hint;
informa-tion that can be used to help solve
a crime 3 ["lid] n the distance or
amount by which someone or
something is ahead of someone or
something else, especially in a race
or contest 4 ["lid] n the main
role in a movie or play 5 ["lid] tv.,
irreg to guide someone or
thing; to show someone or
some-thing the way (Past tense and past
participle: led.) 6 ["lid] tv., irreg.
to be the leader of someone or
something; to be in charge of
someone or something 7 ["lid]
tv., irreg to be ahead of another
team or other players in a
compe-tition 8 ["lid] iv., irreg to guide;
to show the way
→ follow someone’slead
→ One thing leads to another.
the lead [ "lid] n the front
posi-tion; the first place
lead a dog’s life and live a dog’s
life to lead a miserable life.
lead back (to someplace) [for a
pathway] to return to a place
lead down to something [for a
pathway or other trail] to run
downward to something
lead off to be the first one to go or
leave
lead off (with someone or
some-thing) to begin with someone or
something
lead someone down the garden
path to deceive someone.
lead someone on 1 to guide
some-one onward 2 to lead somesome-one to
believe something that is not so; to
deceive someone
lead someone on a merry chase
to lead someone in a purposeless pursuit
lead the life of Riley and live the life of Riley to live in luxury lead up to something 1 to aim at
something; to route movement to
something 2 to prepare to say
something; to lay the groundwork
for making a point 3 to prepare
the way for something; to have something as a consequence
leader ["lid #] n a ruler; someone
who leads or is in charge of a group of people
leading question a question that
suggests the kind of answer that the person who asks it wants to hear
leaf ["lif] 1 n., irreg the flat,
usu-ally green, part of a tree or plant that is attached to a branch or stem (Plural: leaves.) 2 n., irreg.
an extra section that can be placed
in the top of a table to make it larger
→ take a leaf out of someone’sbook
→ turn over a new leaf
leaf out [for a plant] to open its
leaf buds
leaf through something to look
through something, turning the pages
leafy ["lif i] adj having a lot of
leaves; covered with leaves
(Comp: leafier; sup: leafiest.)
league ["lig] 1 n a group of
peo-ple, organizations, or countries that work together because they have a common interest or goal
2 n a group of sports teams that
play against each other
lead
320
Trang 6leak ["lik] 1 n an opening in a
channel, pipe, tire, container, etc.,
that allows something to escape
2 n an instance of something
escaping from an opening as in Q
3 n an instance of secret
infor-mation being revealed secretly
(Figurative on W.) 4 iv [for a
container] to have an opening as
in Q that allows water, air, or
something else to escape 5 tv
[for a container with an opening
as in Q] to allow water, air, or
something else to escape or enter
6 tv to secretly reveal secret
information (Figurative on T.)
leak in(to something) [for a fluid]
to work its way into something
leak out [for information] to
become known
leak out (of something) [for a
fluid] to seep out of something or
someplace
leak something out to permit
[oth-erwise secret] information to
become publicly known
leakage ["lik IdZ] 1 n the process
of leaking (No plural.) 2 n.
something that is leaked (No
plu-ral.)
leaky ["lik i] adj tending to leak;
likely to leak (Comp: leakier; sup:
leakiest.)
lean ["lin] 1 iv to be slanting; to be
sloped 2 adj [of someone or
something] very thin or skinny
(Adv: leanly Comp: leaner; sup:
leanest.) 3 adj [of meat] having
almost no fat (Adv: leanly Comp:
leaner; sup: leanest.)
lean back (against someone or
something) to recline backwards,
putting weight on someone or something
lean over 1 to bend over 2 to tilt
over
lean toward doing something to
tend toward doing something; to favor doing something
lean toward someone or something
1 to incline or bend toward some-one or something 2 to tend to
favor [choosing] someone or something
leap ["lip] 1 iv., irreg to jump from
one place to another (Past tense
and past participle: leaped or
leapt.) 2 tv., irreg to jump over something 3 n a jump; an
instance of leaping
→ by leaps and bounds
leap for joy to jump up because
one is happy; to be very happy (Usually figurative.)
leapt ["lEpt] a past tense and past
participle ofleap
learn ["l#n] tv to receive
knowl-edge; to gain a particular piece of knowledge (The object can be a clause with that U.)
learn about someone or something and learn of someone or
some-thing to be told about somesome-thing;
to receive news or information about someone or something
learn of someone or something Go
to learn about someone or something
learn something from the bottom
up to learn something thoroughly,
from the very beginning; to learn all aspects of something, even the most lowly
lease ["lis] n a rental contract.
→ anew lease on life
lease
321
Trang 7lease something (from someone or
some group) to rent something
from someone or a company
lease something (to someone) to
rent something to someone
least ["list] 1 adj a superlative
form oflittle; the smallest
[amount] 2 adv in the smallest
amount; to the smallest degree; the
opposite ofmost.3 pron the
smallest amount
→ last but not least
→ theline of least resistance
→ thepath of least resistance
leather ["lED #] 1 n a material
made from the skin of an animal,
used to make shoes, coats, belts,
gloves, etc (Plural only for types
and instances.) 2 adj made of Q
leave ["liv] 1 iv., irreg to go away;
to exit from a place (Past tense
and past participle: left.) 2 tv.,
irreg to depart from a place 3 tv.,
irreg to depart [from a place],
let-ting someone or something
remain in the place 4 tv., irreg to
depart from and abandon
some-one, such as a husband or wife
5 tv., irreg to cause someone or
something to be in a certain
con-dition 6 tv., irreg to will
some-thing to someone or somesome-thing; to
give something to someone or
something after one dies 7 n an
extended period of time away
from one’s duties
→ take it or leave it
leave a bad taste in someone’s
mouth [for someone or
some-thing] to leave a bad feeling or
memory with someone
leave a sinking ship Go to desert
a sinking ship.
leave one to one’s fate to abandon
someone to whatever may hap-pen—possibly death or some other unpleasant event
leave one’s mark on someone [for
someone like a teacher] to affect the behavior and performance of another person
leave someone for dead to
aban-don someone as being dead (The abandoned person may actually be alive.)
leave someone high and dry 1 to
leave someone unsupported and unable to maneuver; to leave someone helpless 2 to leave someone without any money at all
leave someone holding the baby
to leave someone with the respon-sibility for something, especially something difficult or unpleasant, often when it was originally some-one else’s responsibility
leave someone holding the bag
to leave someone to take all the blame; to leave someone appearing guilty
leave someone in peace to stop
bothering someone; to go away and let someone have peace (Does not necessarily mean to go away from a person.)
leave someone in the lurch to
leave someone waiting for or anticipating one’s actions
leave someone or something hang-ing in midair to suspend dealhang-ing
with someone or something; to leave someone waiting for an end-ing; to leave something waiting to
be finished or continued (Also used literally.)
lease something (from someone or some group)
322
Trang 8leave someone or something out
(of something) to neglect to
include someone or something in
something
leave something on 1 to allow
something [that can be turned
off] to remain on 2 to continue
to wear some article of clothing
leave something up to someone or
something to allow someone or
something to make a decision
about something
leaves ["livz] plural ofleaf
lecture ["lEk tS#] 1 n a long talk
about a certain subject; a speech
2 n a speech that warns or scolds.
3 iv to give Q; to talk about a
certain subject 4 tv to talk to
people about a certain subject,
especially to talk to an audience or
a class 5 tv to scold someone
about something; to give Q to
someone
lecturer ["lEk tS# #] 1 n someone
who gives a lecture 2 n someone
who gives lectures; especially
someone below the rank of
profes-sor or instructor who teaches at a
university or college
led ["lEd] past tense and past
par-ticiple oflead
ledge ["lEdZ] n a narrow surface
that sticks out along a wall or
under a window; a shelf
leer ["lIr] n a look of sexual desire
or interest
leer at someone to stare at
some-one with sexual desire or lust
left ["lEft] 1 past tense and past
participle ofleave 2 n the
direc-tion to the west when you are
fac-ing north (No plural.) 3 adj.
toward W; located at W 4 adv.
toward W
→ come out of left field
→ out in left field
the Left n politicians or citizens
whose political views are liberal or radical rather than conservative (No plural Treated as singular.)
left-hand ["lEft hAnd] adj left; on,
to, or at one’s left side (Prenomi-nal only.)
left-handed ["lEft hAn dId] 1 adj.
favoring the use of the left hand
(Adv: handed or left-handedly.) 2 adj designed for people who are Q 3 adv [of
writing] done with the left hand
leftover ["lEft ov #] adj remaining;
unused and therefore extra (Prenominal only.)
leftovers ["lEft ov #z] n portions
of food left over from a meal; por-tions of food remaining after a meal (Treated as plural Rarely countable.)
leg ["lEg] 1 n one of the two body
parts that support a human; one of the four body parts that support most other mammals, or similar parts that support certain other animals, such as insects 2 n the part of a piece of clothing that
wraps around Q 3 n [in
furni-ture or other strucfurni-tures] a vertical
piece that supports weight 4 n a
part of a trip; a part of a distance
to be covered
→ cost an arm and a leg
→ have one’stail between one’slegs
→ not have a leg to stand on
→ one’stail is between one’slegs
→ on one’s or itslast legs
→ pay an arm and a leg (for something)
leg
323
Trang 9→ pull someone’sleg
→ stretch one’slegs
legal ["lig @l] 1 adj lawful;
accord-ing to the law (Adv: legally.)
2 adj of or about law (Adv:
legally.)
legal tender ["lig @l "tEn d#] n.
legal money; money that must be
accepted as payment
legend ["lEdZ @nd] 1 n an old and
often repeated story; a fable; a
myth 2 n an explanation of
sym-bols used on a map, plan, chart,
etc
legislate ["lEdZ I slet] 1 tv to make
laws 2 tv to pass a law about
something (The object can be a
clause with that U.)
legislate against something to
prohibit something; to pass a law
against something
legislate for something to pass a
law that tries to make something
happen
legislation [lEdZ I "sle S@n] 1 n.
writing and making laws (No
plu-ral.) 2 n laws that have been
made; a set of laws (No plural
Number is expressed with piece(s)
of legislation.)
legislative ["lEdZ I sle tIv] adj of
or about making laws or the
peo-ple who make laws (Adv:
legisla-tively.)
legislator ["lEdZ I sle t#] n
some-one who makes laws; a member of
a legislature
legislature ["lEdZ I sle tS#] n the
group of people who are elected or
appointed to make laws
leisure ["li Z#] 1 n free time; time
that is not spent at work or
sleep-ing; time when one can do what one wants (No plural.) 2 the adj use of Q
lemon ["lEm @n] 1 n a sour, yellow citrus fruit 2 n a product, such
as a car, that does not work prop-erly and cannot be repaired (Informal.) 3 adj made or fla-vored with Q
lemonade [lEm @n "ed] n a drink
made from the juice of lemons, sugar, and water (No plural.)
lend ["lEnd] 1 tv., irreg to grant
someone permission to use or bor-row something for a period of time (Past tense and past partici-ple: lent.) 2 tv., irreg to
con-tribute an effect to something; to add a quality to something (Figu-rative on Q.)
lend an ear (to someone) to listen
to someone
lend oneself or itself to something
[for someone or something] to be adaptable to something; [for someone or something] to be use-ful for something
length ["lENkT] 1 n the
measure-ment of something from end to end; the amount of time that has passed (The opposite ofwidth Plural only for types and
instances.) 2 n a piece of
some-thing of a certain or known Q
lengthen ["lENk T@n] 1 tv to make something longer 2 iv to become
longer
lens ["lEnz] 1 n a piece of curved
glass, or some other clear material,
that bends rays of light 2 n the
clear, curved part of the eye— legal
324
Trang 10located behind the pupil—that
focuses light rays on the retina
lent ["lEnt] past tense and past
par-ticiple oflend
leopard ["lEp #d] n a large animal
in the cat family, typically having
yellowish fur with black spots
less ["lEs] 1 adj the comparative
form oflittle; a smaller amount
(Used with things that are
meas-ured in quantities Compare this
with fewer, at few, which is used
with things that can be counted.)
2 adv to a smaller extent or
degree; not as much 3 suffix a
form meaning without that can be
added to nouns and to adjectives
that have come from verbs (The
resulting adjectives can be made
into nouns with the -ness suffix
and into adverbs with the suffix
-ly.)
→ in less than no time
lessen ["lEs @n] 1 iv to become
less; to decrease in size, amount, or
power 2 tv to cause something to
become less
the lesser (of the two) the smaller
one (of two); the one having the
least amount
thelesser of two evils the less bad
thing, of a pair of bad things
lesson ["lEs @n] 1 n a session of
instruction with a teacher; the
material to be covered in one
ses-sion of instruction; something,
such as a school assignment, that
is to be learned, studied, or
pre-pared 2 n something that one
learns from an experience; an
experience that one learns
some-thing from
let ["lEt] 1 tv., irreg to allow
someone or something to do something; to allow something to happen (Past tense and past
par-ticiple: let.) 2 tv., irreg to rent an
apartment or room (to someone)
→ Don’t let someone or somethingget you down.
→ live and let live
let down one’s guard to relax one’s
efforts or vigilance
let go of someone or something to
release someone or something
let grass grow under one’s feet
to do nothing; to stand still
let off steam and blow off steam to release excess energy or
anger
let on (about someone or thing) to confirm or reveal
thing about someone or some-thing
let one’s emotions show to be
emotional, especially when it is not appropriate
let one’s hair down to become
more intimate and begin to speak frankly
let out [for an event that includes
many people] to end
let out a sound to make [some
kind of a] sound
let out (with) something 1 to state
or utter something loudly 2 to
give forth a scream or yell
let someone know (about some-thing) to tell someone something;
to inform someone of something
let someone off (the hook) to
release someone from a responsi-bility
let someone off (the hook)
325