to move the tongue along someone or something; to taste something by moving one’s tongue along it; to make some-thing wet by moving one’s tongue along it.. → as light as a feather → begi
Trang 1let someone off (with something)
to give someone a light
punish-ment [for doing something]
let someone or something down to
fail someone or something; to
dis-appoint someone or a group
let something out 1 to reveal
something; to tell about a secret or
a plan 2 to enlarge the waist of
an article of clothing
let something out (to someone) to
rent something to someone
let something pass to let something
go unnoticed or unchallenged
let something slide (by) Go to let
somethingslip by.
let something slip by and let
something slide (by) 1 to forget
or miss an important time or date
2 to waste a period of time.
let the cat out of the bag and
spill the beans to reveal a secret
or a surprise by accident
let the chance slip by to lose the
opportunity (to do something)
let up 1 to diminish 2 to stop
[doing something] altogether
let up (on someone or something)
to reduce the pressure or demands
on someone or something
let’s ["lEts] cont let us; we will [do
something] (A gentle command
or request A response is usually
expected.)
letter ["lEt #] 1 n a written or
printed symbol in an alphabet
2 n a written message sent to a
person or a group
letter carrier ["lEt # kEr i #] Go to
mail carrier.
lettuce ["lEt Is] n a leafy, green
vegetable, often used in salads
(No plural Number is expressed
with leaf or leaves of lettuce and head(s) of lettuce.)
→ head of lettuce
level ["lEv @l] 1 n a flat surface; a horizontal plane 2 n one of the
floors of a building or other
struc-ture 3 n a layer; a step or a stage.
4 n the amount of a
measure-ment; a position on a scale of
measurement 5 n a tool or
device that shows when a surface
is exactly horizontal or vertical
6 adj [of a surface] exactly
hori-zontal, so every point is the same
height 7 adj [of a measurement]
steady; not changing (Figurative
on Y.) 8 tv to knock down trees,
buildings, or other objects until the land is flat; to clear land by knocking down trees or buildings
→ find one’sown level
→ on the level
→ sea level
→ (strictly) on the level
level off [for variation or
fluctua-tion in the mofluctua-tion of something]
to diminish; [for a rate] to stop increasing or decreasing
level out [for something that was
going up and down] to assume a more level course or path
level something at someone to aim
a remark at someone; to direct something at someone
level something off to make
some-thing level or smooth
level something out to cause
some-thing to assume a more level course or path
lever ["lEv #] 1 n a bar of metal or
wood, positioned so that it increases one’s power in lifting or moving heavy objects 2 n a bar let someone off (with something)
326
Trang 2or handle that serves as a control
device
liability [laI @ "bIl @ ti] 1 n a kind
of danger to people that could
cause a lawsuit against whoever is
responsible for creating the
dan-ger (No plural form.) 2 n a cost
or [monetary] charge; a potential
cost; a negative consideration (No
plural form.)
→ assume liability (for something)
liar ["laI #] n someone who tells
lies; someone who does not tell the
truth
liberty ["lIb # ti] 1 n the freedom
from control; the freedom to
think or act for oneself (No
plu-ral.) 2 n the permission to do
something; a right or a privilege
that one has been given
librarian [laI "brEr i @n] n someone
who manages or helps operate a
library
library ["laI brEr i] 1 n a building
or room that has a supply of books
or similar materials available for
use by a number of people 2 n a
collection of books, records,
videotapes, etc
license ["laI s@ns] 1 n a document
that proves that someone has
offi-cial permission to do or own
something 2 n a freedom to do
something (No plural.) 3 tv to
give or sell someone a Q for
some-thing; to authorize someone or
something; to permit someone or
something
license plate ["laI s@ns "plet] n a
rectangular panel, showing a car’s
license number, that is put on the
rear and, in some states, the front
of a car (Can be shortened to plate.)
license to do something
permis-sion, right, or justification to do something
lick ["lIk] 1 tv to move the tongue
along someone or something; to taste something by moving one’s tongue along it; to make some-thing wet by moving one’s tongue along it 2 n the movement of the tongue along the surface of
some-thing as in Q 3 n a small
amount of something that one gets
by moving the tongue as in Q
→ give somethinga lick and a promise
lick one’s lips to show eagerness or
pleasure about a future event
lid ["lId] 1 n a cover for a con-tainer, surface, hole, etc 2 n the
fold of skin over the eye; an eyelid.
lie ["laI] 1 n a statement that is not
true and that the speaker knows is
not true; a false statement 2 iv to
say something that is not true; to tell Q (Past tense and past par-ticiple: lied Present participle: lying.) 3 iv., irreg to be in a flat
position; to place oneself in a flat position (Past tense: lay;past par-ticiple: lain See also lay Present participle: lying.) 4 iv., irreg to be
located; to be in a certain place
5 iv., irreg to remain in a place or
condition; to stay in a certain con-dition or position
→ apack of lies
→ take somethinglying down
lie down to recline.
lie fallow 1 [for land] to remain unused 2 [for a skill and talent]
to remain unused and neglected
lie fallow
327
Trang 3lie in [for a woman] to lie in bed
awaiting the birth of her child
lie through one’s teeth to lie
boldly, obviously, and with no
remorse
lied ["laId] past tense and past
par-ticiple oflieW
life ["laIf] 1 n the power that
causes plants and animals to exist,
in general (No plural.) 2 n., irreg.
an individual instance of Q that
can be lived, lost, saved, spent,
wasted, etc.; the period of time
between the time of one’s birth
and one’s death or between the
time of one’s birth and the
pres-ent (Plural: lives.) 3 n., irreg the
activities, experiences, and habits
of a person 4 n excitement;
vigor (No plural.) 5 n a kind of
living; a quality of living (No
plu-ral.)
→ all walks of life
→ claim a life
→ get the shock of one’slife
→ have the time of one’slife
→ in the prime of life
→ lead a dog’s life
→ lead the life of Riley
→ live a dog’s life
→ live a life of something
→ live the life of Riley
→ make life miserable for someone
→ amatter of life and death
→ milestone in someone’slife
→ anew lease on life
→ one’smission in life
→ run for one’slife
→ theseamy side of life
→ within an inch of one’slife
life jacket and life preserver;
life vest ["laIf dZAk @t, pr@
"z#v #, vEst] n a thick jacket
without sleeves that floats and will
keep the person who wears it from
sinking in the water (See also life-saver.)
life of the party the type of
per-son who is lively and helps make a party fun and exciting
life preserver Go to life jacket.
life vest Go to life jacket.
lifeboat ["laIf bot] n a boat used to
carry people away from a sinking ship; a boat used to save people in danger of drowning
lifeguard ["laIf gard] n someone
who works at a beach or swim-ming pool to encourage water safety and rescue people from danger in the water
lifesaver ["laIf sev #] 1 n
one or something that saves
some-one’s life 2 n something that
serves well in an emergency (Fig-urative on Q.)
lifetime ["laIf taIm] 1 n the time
that a person or animal is living
2 n the period of time that
some-thing works or can be used (Figu-rative on Q.)
lift ["lIft] 1 tv to pick someone or
something up from the ground; to raise someone or something to a higher level 2 iv [for clouds, fog, smoke, smog] to rise or go away
3 n a free ride in a car or truck (Informal.) 4 n something that
makes someone feel happier, stronger, or more awake
lift off [for a plane or rocket] to
move upward, leaving the ground
lift something off (of ) someone or
something to raise something and uncover or release someone or something
lie in
328
Trang 4light ["laIt] 1 n a form of radiation
or energy that makes things
visi-ble (No plural.) 2 n something
that produces Q, such as a lamp or
a flame 3 n something, such as a
match, that produces fire (No
plu-ral.) 4 n the period of time when
the sun is in the sky; daytime (No
plural.) 5 n a traffic signal that
uses W that are red, yellow, and
green to control people and
vehi-cles (Short for traffic light.) 6 n.
a view; the way that something is
seen or thought of (No plural.)
7 adj pale in color; not dark or
deep; mixed with white (Adv:
lightly.) 8 adj not heavy; not
weighing much; easy to carry
(Adv: lightly.) 9 adj not having
much force; gentle (Figurative on
I Adv: lightly.) 10 iv., irreg [for
a creature] to land on a surface
after flight (Past tense and past
participle: lighted or lit.) 11 tv.,
irreg to set something on fire; to
cause something to begin to burn
→ (as) light as a feather
→ begin to see the light
→ bring somethingto light
→ come to light
→ get off lightly
→ hide one’slight under a bushel
→ make light of something
→ out like a light
→ see the light (at the end of the
tunnel)
→ see the light (of day)
→ traffic light
light someone or something up to
shine lights on someone or
some-thing
light up 1 [for something] to
become brighter 2 [for someone]
to become interested in and
responsive to something
light (up)on someone or something
1 to land on someone or
some-thing; to settle on someone or
something 2 to arrive at
some-thing by chance; to happen upon something (Figurative Close to Q.)
lighter ["laIt #] n a device that
makes a flame to light cigarettes or cigars
lighthouse ["laIt haUs] n., irreg a
tall structure near the sea with a bright light near the top that warns ships away from danger (Plural: [ haU z@z].)
lighting ["laIt IN] 1 n light that
makes things and people visible; illumination; the type or quality of light in a room or other place (No plural.) 2 n the equipment that directs light, especially for effect
in a television or movie studio or
on a stage (No plural.)
lightning ["laIt nIN] n a flash or
streak of light in the sky, especially during a thunderstorm (No plu-ral Number is expressed with
bolt(s) or f lash(es) of lightning.)
lightning bug and firefly ["laIt
nIN b@g, "faIr flaI] n a type of beetle that is able to fly and to illu-minate its body in the dark
like ["laIk] 1 tv to enjoy someone
or something; to find someone or
something pleasant 2 n a desire;
something that one enjoys having
or doing 3 adj similar; same (Prenominal only.) 4 prep similar
to someone or something; in the same way as someone or some-thing 5 prep for instance, the fol-lowing people or things; such as the following people or things
like
329
Trang 56 conj in the same way as
some-one or something does; similar to
the way someone or something is
(Viewed as incorrect by some
peo-ple.) 7 conj as though; as if
(Viewed as incorrect by some
people.)
like a bat out of hell with great
speed and force
like a bolt out of the blue
sud-denly and without warning
like a bump on a log
unrespon-sive; immobile
like a fish out of water awkward;
in a foreign or unaccustomed
environment
like a lamb to the slaughter and
like lambs to the slaughter
[proceeding] quietly and without
seeming to realize or complain
about the likely difficulties or
dan-gers of a situation
like a sitting duck and like
sit-ting ducks unguarded;
unsus-pecting and unaware
like a three-ring circus chaotic;
exciting and busy
like lambs to the slaughter Go
to like a lamb to the slaughter.
like looking for a needle in a
haystack [of a search] hopeless.
like nothing on earth unique,
extraordinary and, surprising
(Informal.)
like sitting ducks Go to like a
sit-ting duck.
like to hear oneself talk [for
someone] to enjoy one’s own
talk-ing more than other people enjoy
listening to it
like water off a duck’s back
eas-ily; without any apparent effect
likelihood ["laIk li hUd] n the
chance of being likely; the state of something being probable (No plural.)
likely ["laIk li] 1 adj probable.
2 adj suitable; apt.
→ (as) likely as not
likely to do something apt to do
something; tending to do some-thing
lily ["lIl i] n a flower with large
petals that grows from a bulb
→ gild the lily
limb ["lIm] 1 n a large tree branch.
2 n an arm, leg, or wing.
→ out on a limb
lime ["laIm] 1 n a small, green cit-rus fruit 2 n a white substance,
made by burning a kind of rock, which is used to make plaster, cement, and mortar (No plural.)
3 adj made or flavored with Q limit ["lIm It] 1 n a boundary; the
edge; the farthest point of some-thing; the greatest amount allowed
or possible 2 tv to prevent some-one or something from passing a certain point or amount; to restrict something to a certain amount of space or time
→ go the limit
→ Thesky’s the limit.
→ speed limit
limp ["lImp] 1 n an uneven walk; a
way of walking where one’s foot drags or moves as if it is injured
2 iv to walk to somewhere show-ing Q 3 adj not stiff; havshow-ing no
resistance (Adv: limply Comp: limper; sup: limpest.)
like a bat out of hell
330
Trang 6line ["laIn] 1 n a thin mark,
straight or curved, made on the
surface of something 2 n a
bor-der; a mark that shows the limit,
border, or end of something 3 n.
a wide band; a stripe 4 n a
string, rope, or cord (On boats
and ships, ropes are called lines.)
5 n a wire, pipe, or cable that
carries a public utility company’s
product, such as electricity, water,
gas, telephone, etc 6 n a
tele-phone connection 7 n a row or
series of people standing and
waiting for a turn to do
some-thing 8 n a row of words in
printing or writing 9 n
some-thing that is said by an actor
onstage or in a film 10 tv to put
a lining in something; to cover the
inside of something with
some-thing else
→ draw the line between something
and something else
→ drop someonea line
→ drop someonea few lines
→ theend of the line
→ fall in(to) line (with someone or
something)
→ in the line of duty
→ lay somethingon the line
→ theparty line
→ put somethingon the line
→ read between the lines
→ sign on the dotted line
→ step out of line
→ toe the line
the line of least resistance and
the path of least resistance the
course of action that will cause the
least trouble or effort
line someone or something up 1 to
put people or things in line 2 to
schedule someone or something
[for something]
line someone or something up (in something) to put people or things
into some kind of formation, such
as a row, column, ranks, etc
line up to get into a line; [for a
number of people or vehicles] to join or form a line
line up for something to form or
get into a line and wait for some-thing
line up in(to) something to form or
get into a line, row, rank, column, etc
linen ["lIn @n] 1 n a fabric made from flax (No plural form.) 2 n.
tablecloths and sheets made of Q
or some other fabric; underwear (Sometimes plural with the same meaning.) 3 the adj use of Q or W
→ air one’sdirty linen in public
→ wash one’sdirty linen in public
linger on (after someone or thing) and stay on (after some-one or something) to outlast
someone or something; to live longer than someone else or long after an event
lining ["laIn IN] n a fabric or other
material put on the inside surface
of something for protection, warmth, etc
link ["lINk] 1 n one of the loops or circles that make up a chain 2 n.
someone or something that con-nects someone or something to someone or something else (Figu-rative on Q.) 3 tv to connect someone or something to someone
or something else
link up to someone or something and link (up) with someone or
link up to someone or something
331
Trang 7something to join up with
some-one or something
link (up) with someone or
some-thing Go to link up to someone or
something
lint ["lInt] n a tiny piece of thread;
a small cluster of threads, dirt,
hair, etc (No plural.)
lion ["laI @n] n a large, tan-colored
wild animal in the cat family,
native to Africa
thelion’s share (of something) the
larger share of something
→ beard the lion in his den
→ mountain lion
lip ["lIp] 1 n one of the two ridges
of flesh on the outside of the
mouth 2 n a rim; an edge,
espe-cially a part of an edge of a
con-tainer
→ button one’slip
→ keep a stiff upper lip
→ lick one’slips
liquid ["lIk wId] 1 n a flowing
sub-stance, such as water, that is not a
gas or a solid 2 n the sounds [l]
and [r] 3 adj in the form of Q.
4 adj [of an asset that can be]
easily converted to cash
liquor ["lIk #] 1 n broth or juices
from cooking (No plural.) 2 n.
alcohol for drinking (Plural only
for types and instances.)
list ["lIst] 1 n a printed or written
series of words, names, or items
2 n a slant or tilt to one side, as
with a ship 3 tv to write things
on Q 4 iv to lean to one side.
→ on a waiting list
listen ["lIs @n] iv to pay attention to
a source of sound
listen in (on someone or
some-thing) 1 to join someone or a
group as a listener 2 to eavesdrop
on someone
lit ["lIt] a past tense and past
par-ticiple oflight
liter ["lit #] n a metric unit of
liq-uid measurement equal to 1.06 quarts
literacy ["lIt @ r@ si] n the ability to
read and write (No plural.)
literal ["lIt @ r@l] 1 adj [of the
meaning of a word or phrase] basic instead of secondary or
figu-rative (Adv: literally.) 2 adj.
exact, especially pertaining to translations; translating or inter-preting one word at a time (Adv:
literally.)
literature ["lIt @ r@ tS#] 1 n
writ-ing considered as art, such as fic-tion, plays, and poetry (No plural.) 2 n all the written mate-rial of a specific subject or region
(No plural.) 3 n information; a
brochure or small book that has information about something (No plural.)
litmus test a question or
experi-ment that seeks to determine the state of one important factor
little ["lIt @l] 1 adj small in size (Comp: littler; sup: littlest.) 2 adj.,
irreg not much (Without a.
Comp: less;sup: least Used with items that cannot be counted Compare this with fewQ.) 3 adj.,
irreg some; a small amount (With
a Comp: less;sup: least Used with items that cannot be counted Compare this with fewW.)
4 adv., irreg not much; not a lot.
(Comp: less;sup: least.)
→ precious little link (up) with someone or something
332
Trang 8→ twist someonearound one’slittle
finger
a little 1 adv somewhat; to some
degree or in some amount
(Comp: less;sup: least.) 2 n a
small amount [of something
men-tioned before or known from the
context]; some (No plural
Treated as singular Use a few for
items that are counted.)
alittle bird told me learned from
a mysterious or secret source
little by little slowly, a bit at a
time
livable ["lIv @ b@l] adj suitable to be
lived in or with (Adv: livably.)
live 1 ["laIv] adj not dead; having
life 2 ["laIv] adj carrying
elec-tricity; electrically charged
(Figu-rative on Q.) 3 ["laIv] adj on the
air; not taped; broadcast at the
same time something is
happen-ing 4 ["laIv] adv while
some-thing is really happening;
broadcast at the moment that
something is happening 5 ["lIv]
iv to be; to exist; to be alive; to
survive 6 ["lIv] iv to reside at a
certain address; to reside in or at a
certain place 7 ["lIv] iv to exist in
a certain way
live a dog’s life Go to lead a dog’s
life.
live a life of something to have a
life of a certain quality or style
live and let live to not interfere
with other people’s business or
preferences
live beyond one’s means to spend
more money than one can afford
live by one’s wits to survive by
being clever
live from hand to mouth to live
in poor circumstances
live in an ivory tower to be aloof
from the realities of living
live off (of ) someone or something
to obtain one’s living or means of survival from someone or some-thing
live off the fat of the land to
grow one’s own food; to live on stored-up resources or abundant resources
live out of a suitcase to live
briefly in a place, never unpacking one’s luggage
live something down to overcome
some embarrassing or trouble-some problem or event
live the life of Riley Go to lead the life of Riley
live through something to endure
something; to survive an unpleas-ant or dangerous time of one’s life
live up to one’s end of the gain to carry through on a
bar-gain; to do as was promised in a bargain
live up to something to be equal to
expectations or goals
live with something to put up with
something (Does not mean “to dwell with.”)
live within one’s means to spend
no more money than one has
live within something 1 to live within certain boundaries 2 to
keep one’s living costs within a certain amount, especially within one’s budget, means, etc
live without something to survive,
lacking something
live without something
333
Trang 9lively ["laIv li] adj showing energy
or excitement; cheerful; active
(Comp: livelier; sup: liveliest.)
liven something up to make
some-thing more lively or less dull
liver ["lIv #] 1 n an organ, in the
body of an animal, that produces
fluids used in digestion and
per-forms other important functions
2 n a whole Q, eaten as food.
3 n Q, eaten as food (No
plural.)
lives 1 ["laIvz] plural oflife
2 ["lIvz] the third-person singular
oflive
livestock ["laIv stak] n animals
that are kept on a farm or ranch,
usually for the production of food
(No plural Treated as singular or
plural, but not countable.)
living room ["lIv IN rum] n the
main room of a house or
apart-ment, large enough to hold a
num-ber of people
lizard ["lIz #d] n a reptile with
legs, scaly skin, and a tail
load ["lod] 1 n something that is
carried; a burden; a weight 2 n.
the amount of something that can
be carried; one large portion of
something for carrying 3 n the
amount of electricity used by an
electrical device 4 tv to put
bul-lets into a gun; to put film or
videotape into a camera; to install
computer software into a
com-puter 5 tv to fill something with
something
→ get a load off one’sfeet
→ get a load off one’smind
→ take a load off one’sfeet
load someone or something into
something to put someone or something into something
load up (with something) to take
or accumulate a lot of something
loaf ["lof] 1 n., irreg a mass of
bread dough baked in one piece (Plural: loaves.) 2 n., irreg a mass
of food cooked in a shape like Q
(Often part of a compound.) 3 iv.
to waste time
loan ["lon] 1 n something,
espe-cially money, that is lent to
some-one 2 tv to lend something to
someone; to let someone borrow something (Some people object to the use ofloanin this sense rather than lend, reserving loanfor the lending of money.)
→ float a loan
→ take out a loan
loathe ["loD] tv to hate someone or
something very much
loaves ["lovz] plural ofloaf
lobby ["lab i] 1 n the entrance room of a building 2 tv to try to
influence someone who makes laws or regulations to vote a cer-tain way
lobby against something to solicit
support against something, such
as a piece of legislation or a gov-ernment regulation
lobby for something to solicit
sup-port for something among the members of a voting body, such as the Congress
lobster ["lab st#] 1 n an edible sea
animal with six legs and (possibly)
two large claws 2 n the meat of
Q used as food (No plural.)
3 adj made or flavored with W.
lively
334
Trang 10local ["lok @l] 1 adj of or about the
nearby area (Adv: locally.) 2 n a
bus or train that stops at every
sta-tion 3 n a person who lives in
the area that something is in
(Often plural.)
locate ["lo ket] 1 tv to find
some-one or something; to learn where
someone or something is 2 tv to
place someone or something in a
particular place
location [lo "ke S@n] n the place
where someone or something is;
the place where someone or
some-thing is found
→ on location
lock ["lak] 1 n a device on a door
opening that prevents the door
from being opened without a key
2 n a device similar to a Q that
controls access to something 3 n.
a part of a canal or river between
two heavy, watertight gates where
the level of the water can be raised
or lowered, allowing boats to
move from one level of water to
another 4 n a small bundle of
[head] hair; a strand or curl of
hair 5 iv not to be able to move.
→ combination lock
→ pick a lock
lock horns (with someone) to get
into an argument with someone
lock someone or something up to
put someone or something into a
place that can be secured with a
lock; to put someone in jail
lock something in to take action to
fix a rate or price at a certain
fig-ure
lock something (up) to secure
something by using a lock so it
cannot be opened without a key
lock, stock, and barrel absolutely
every part or item
locker ["lak #] n a cabinet like a
tiny closet that can be locked, where clothes and valuables are kept
→ Davy Jones’s locker
locomotive [lok @ "mot Iv] 1 n a train engine 2 the adj use of Q locust ["lok @st] n a kind of insect
that travels in large swarms and destroys crops
lodge ["ladZ] 1 n a small, privately
owned cabin for campers, hunters, skiers, and others who like to stay
in the country 2 n the place where a men’s organization meets
3 n the structure that beavers build to live in 4 iv to become
stuck somewhere; to become wedged in something
lodge a charge against someone
to place a charge against someone
lodge something against
some-thing to place or prop somesome-thing against something
log ["lOg] 1 n a length of the trunk
or main branch of a tree with all
of the branches removed 2 n a
detailed record of a trip written by the captain of a ship, plane, train, etc 3 tv to note something in W
→ like a bump on a log
log off and log out to record one’s
exit from a computer system (This action may be recorded, or logged, automatically in the com-puter’s memory.)
log on to sign oneself on to use a
computer system (This action may be recorded, or logged,
auto-log on
335