Plural only for types and instances.. Plural only for types and instances.. Plural only for types and instances.. pile onto someone or some-thing to make a heap of people on someone or s
Trang 1personnel [p# s@ "nEl] n the
peo-ple who work for a company or
organization (No plural.)
perspective on something a way of
looking at a situation and
deter-mining what is important
perspire [p# "spaI#] iv to sweat.
persuade [p# "swed] tv to use
argument or discussion to cause
someone to do or think
some-thing
persuasion [p# "swe Z@n] n.
efforts to persuade someone of
something (No plural.)
→ be of the persuasion that
something is so
pertain to someone or something
[p# "ten ] to have to do with
someone or something; to be
rele-vant to someone or something
pesky ["pEs ki] adj being a pest Q
or W; irritating; annoying;
trou-blesome (Adv: peskily Comp:
peskier; sup: peskiest.)
pest ["pEst] 1 n any animal or
insect that destroys crops, spreads
disease, or enters people’s homes
2 n someone or something that
causes trouble; someone or
some-thing that is a nuisance
pester ["pEs t#] tv to bother
some-one; to annoy someone
pet ["pEt] 1 n an animal that is
kept in one’s home or yard as a
companion 2 adj [of an animal]
kept as Q (Prenominal only.)
3 adj special; particular; favorite.
(Prenominal only.) 4 tv to stroke
or pat someone or some creature
→ be the teacher’s pet
→ house pet
→ one’spet hate
→ one’spet peeve
petal ["pEt @l] n one of the colored
sections of the blossom of a flower
petite [p@ "tit] 1 adj [of a woman]
small; [of a woman] short (From
French Adv: petitely.) 2 adj [of a
clothing size or range of sizes] fit-ting women who are Q
petition [p@ "tI S@n] 1 n a
docu-ment signed by many people who are demanding something from someone 2 tv to request some-thing formally of a government or
of an authority, often through the use of Q (The object can be a clause with that U.)
petroleum [p@ "tro li @m] n oil that
is pumped from under the ground, used to make gasoline and other substances (No plural.)
phantom ["fAn t@m] 1 n a ghost;
an image or memory that is “seen”
by the mind in a dream or in a vision, but is not real 2 adj like a ghost; unreal; apparent, but not real
phase ["fez] 1 n a stage in the
development of someone or some-thing; a stage in a sequence of events 2 n any of the stages of the appearance of the moon as seen from earth
philosophy [fI "las @ fi] 1 n the
science and study of the meaning
of truth, knowledge, reality, and existence (No plural.) 2 n the way one looks at life; the principles one uses to live one’s life (Plural only for types and instances.)
phobia ["fob i @] n an unreasonable
fear; a strong dread (Also in com-personnel
426
Trang 2binations, such as claustrophobia,
hydrophobia.)
phone ["fon] 1 n a telephone
2 tv to call someone by Q; to
telephone someone
phone call ["fon kOl] n a message
or a conversation using the
tele-phone (Shortened from telephone
call Can be shortened to call.)
photo ["fo to] n a photograph; a
snapshot; a picture made by a
camera
photograph ["fo t@ grAf] 1 n a
picture made by a camera; a
photo; a snapshot (Can be
short-ened to photo.) 2 tv to take a
pic-ture, with a camera, of someone
or something
photographer [f@ "ta gr@ f#] n.
someone who takes pictures with a
camera, especially for a living
photography [f@ "ta gr@ fi] n the
science, study, art, or act of taking
a picture with a camera (No
plu-ral.)
phr an abbreviation ofphraseQ
and W
phrase ["frez] 1 n a group of
words that functions as a unit of
grammar within a sentence
(Abbreviated phr here.) 2 n an
expression usually including
sev-eral words 3 n a series of notes
that is a part of a piece of music
4 tv to put communication into
words 5 tv to perform music,
grouping into a series the notes
that belong to E
physical ["fIz I k@l] 1 adj of or
about the body; of the body (Adv:
physically [ Ik li].) 2 adj of or
about the laws of nature; of or
about the study of physics 3 adj.
of or about real objects; of or
about matter (Adv: physically
[ Ik li].) 4 n a thorough
exami-nation by a doctor (Short for phys-ical examination.)
physical examination ["fIz I k@l
Ig zAm @ "ne S@n] n an examina-tion of someone’s body and health
by a doctor (Can be shortened to physical.)
physician [fI "zI S@n] n a medical
doctor
physics ["fIz Iks] n the science and
study of the properties of and relationships between matter and energy (Treated as singular.)
pianist ["pi @ nIst] n someone who
plays the piano, especially a pro-fessional piano player
piano [pi "A no] n a large musical
instrument in which small, soft hammers connected to a keyboard strike tuned metal strings (Plural
ends in -s.)
pick ["pIk] 1 n a tool that is a
heavy, pointed metal bar attached
to a handle, used for breaking apart ice, rocks, and other objects
2 n a choice; a selection (Plural
only for types and instances.)
3 tv to choose a particular person or thing 4 tv to remove
something from someplace, espe-cially using one’s fingers or a pointed tool 5 tv to gather or harvest flowers, fruit, cotton, peas, beans, etc
→ have a bone to pick (with someone)
pick a lock to open a lock without
using a key
pick a lock
427
Trang 3pick and choose to choose very
carefully from a number of
possi-bilities; to be selective
pick at something to eat something
a little bit at a time, without
inter-est
the pick of something the best of
the group
pick someone or something out
(for someone or something) to
choose someone or something to
serve as someone or something
pick someone or something out (of
something) 1 to lift or pull
one or something out of
some-thing 2 to select someone or
something out of an offering of
selections
pick someone or something up
1 to grasp and raise someone or
something; to lift someone or
something 2 to collect someone
or something; to stop at a place
and gather, obtain, or secure
someone or something 3 to
acquire someone or something
pick something out to select or
choose something, such as an item
of clothing
pick up to increase, as with
busi-ness, wind, activity, etc
pick up (after someone or
some-thing) to tidy up after someone or
a group
pick up the tab to pay the bill.
pickle ["pIk @l] 1 n a cucumber—
whole, sliced, chopped, or in
sec-tions—that has been preserved in
salt water or vinegar 2 tv to
pre-serve food, especially vegetables,
in salt water or vinegar
picnic ["pIk nIk] 1 n a meal
pre-pared to be eaten informally
out-doors 2 iv., irreg to have Q.
(Past tense and past participle: pic-nicked Present participle: picnick-ing.) 3 adj used for Q.
picnicked ["pIk nIkt] past tense
and past participle ofpicnic.
picnicking ["pIk nIk IN] present
participle ofpicnic.
picture ["pIk tS#] 1 n a drawing, a
painting, or a photograph; an image of someone or something
2 n a movie; a motion picture
3 n the image on a television screen 4 tv to think of someone
or something; to make a mental image of someone or something;
to imagine something 5 tv to show someone or something in Q
→ (as) pretty as a picture
→ in the picture of (good) health
→ motion picture
the picture of something the
per-fect example of something; an exact image of something
pie ["paI] 1 n a kind of food that
has a crust of pastry or something similar and is filled with meat, fruit, or some sweet substance (The crust can be on the bottom
or on both the bottom and top Plural only for types and instances.) 2 n a single, complete, round unit of Q
→ (as) easy as (apple) pie
→ eat humble pie
→ have one’sfinger in the pie
→ have one’sfinger in too many pies
→ apiece of the pie
pie in the sky a future reward,
especially one that is not likely to
be granted
pick and choose
428
Trang 4piece ["pis] 1 n a part of
some-thing; a part broken off of or
removed from something; an
object that is put together with
other objects to make something
2 n an example of something,
especially of an art or craft, such
as music 3 n [in games such as
chess or checkers that are played
on a special board] an object that
is placed on the board and,
typi-cally, moved to different places on
the board according to the rules of
the particular game
→ fall to pieces
→ give someonea piece of one’smind
→ villain of the piece
a piece of the pie and a slice of
the cake a share of something.
piece something together to fit
something together; to assemble
the pieces of something, such as a
puzzle or something puzzling, and
make sense of it
piecrust ["paI kr@st] n a piece of
pastry found on the bottom and
often the top of a pie
pier ["pIr] n a dock; a structure like
a bridge that extends into the
water from the shore, supported
by posts or columns
pierce ["pIrs] tv to make a hole
through someone or something; to
cause something to go through
something else
a piercing scream a very loud and
shrill scream
pig ["pIg] 1 n a farm animal with
short legs and a curled tail, raised
for food, especially bacon, ham,
and pork (Thought of as greedy
and messy.) 2 n someone who
eats a lot of food (Figurative on
Q.) 3 n someone who is dirty or
messy (Figurative on Q.)
→ guinea pig
→ serve as a guinea pig
pigeon ["pIdZ @n] n a bird,
com-monly found in cities, with short legs and a heavy body, whose head bobs as it walks
pigment ["pIg m@nt] n a substance
that causes paint, skin, dye, or plant tissue to have a certain color (Plural only for types and instances.)
pile ["paIl] 1 n a mound, stack, or
heap of something, such as
cloth-ing, leaves, dirt 2 n a beam of
wood or steel that is driven into the ground to support a building, bridge, or other structure 3 tv to place or form things or matter into
a shape like Q
pile in(to something) to climb into
something in a disorderly fashion
pile off (something) to get down
off something; to climb down off something
pile on((to) someone or some-thing) to make a heap of people on
someone or something
pile out (of something) to climb
out of something, such as a car
pile someone in(to something) to
bunch people into something in a disorderly fashion
pile something up to make
some-thing into a heap
pile up 1 to gather or accumulate.
2 [for a number of vehicles] to
crash together
pilgrim ["pIl grIm] 1 n someone
who travels, especially to a holy
place, as a religious act 2 n one
pilgrim
429
Trang 5of the settlers of Plymouth Colony
in 1620 (Capitalized.)
pill ["pIl] n a small, formed mass
containing vitamins, medicine, or
some other drug that is swallowed
pillar ["pIl #] n a column; a strong
upright structure used to support
something or as decoration
→ from pillar to post
a pillar of strength and a pillar
of support someone or
some-thing that provides support as a
pillar does
a pillar of support Go to apillar
of strength.
pillow ["pIl o] n a cloth bag filled
with feathers or a similar soft
material, typically used to support
one’s head while sleeping, or for
decoration
pillowcase ["pIl o kes] n a fabric
cover for a pillow
pilot ["paI l@t] 1 n someone who
flies a plane; someone who guides
a boat along a channel 2 tv to fly
an airplane; to guide a boat
through a channel 3 adj
experi-mental; serving as a test
pilot someone or something
through (something) to guide or
steer someone or something
through something, especially
through a waterway
pilot something in(to something)
to steer or guide something into
something (Usually refers to
steering a ship.)
pilot something out (of something)
to steer or guide something out of
something (Usually refers to
steering a ship.)
pimple ["pIm p@l] n a small, round
infection on the skin
→ get goose pimples
pin ["pIn] 1 n a thin, stiff, pointed
wire occurring in a variety of forms, such as with a flat top, a plastic end, a safety cover on the end, etc (The simple Q is also
called a straight pin.) 2 n a piece
of jewelry that is attached to
cloth-ing with a variety of Q 3 tv to
attach something to something
else with some variety of Q 4 tv.
to press someone or something against something
→ on pins and needles
→ so quiet you could hear a pin drop
→ so still you could hear a pin drop
pin someone down (on something) and nail someone down (on something) to demand and receive
a firm answer from someone to some question
pin something up to raise
some-thing and hold it up with pins
pinch ["pIntS] 1 n an act of
squeezing a fold of skin, usually
causing pain 2 n a small amount
of something, such as a spice, that can be held between one’s first fin-ger and one’s thumb 3 tv to squeeze or hold something, such
as a fold of flesh, between two sur-faces
→ feel the pinch
→ in a pinch
→ take somethingwith a pinch of salt
pinch something back to pinch off
a bit of the top of a plant so it will branch and grow more strongly pill
430
Trang 6pine ["paIn] 1 n a kind of tree that
has long, thin, sharp needles for
leaves 2 n wood from Q (Plural
only for types and instances.)
3 adj made from W; composed
of W
pine for someone or something to
suffer because one does not have
or has lost someone or something
pineapple ["paIn Ap @l] 1 n a
large, juicy tropical fruit that is
yellow on the inside and has a very
rough skin 2 n the edible part of
Q (No plural.) 3 adj made from
W; containing or flavored with W
pink ["pINk] 1 n the color of red
mixed with white; a light, pale red
(Plural only for types and
instances.) 2 the adj use of Q
(Comp: pinker; sup: pinkest.)
→ in the pink (of condition)
pins and needles a tingling
feel-ing in some part of one’s body
(Compare this with on pins and
needles.)
pint ["paInt] 1 n a unit of liquid
measure, equal to half a quart or
¹⁄₈ of a gallon or 16 fluid ounces
2 n a unit of dry measure, equal
to half a quart or ¹⁄₆₄ of a bushel
3 the adj use of Q or W.
pioneer [paI @ "nIr] 1 n someone
who is one of the first of a
partic-ular group of people to settle a
new area (From the point of view
of the particular group.) 2 n
someone who is one of the first to
investigate an area of science that
has never been examined;
some-one who is some-one of the first people
to do something, preparing the
way for other people to do the
same 3 tv to prepare the way for
other people to do something; to help develop something for other people
pipe ["paIp] 1 n a hollow tube that
is used to carry a fluid from one
place to another 2 n a tube
con-nected to a small bowl, used to smoke tobacco
pipe dream a wish or an idea that
is impossible to achieve or carry out (From the dreams or visions induced by the smoking of an opium pipe.)
pipe up (with something) to
inter-ject a comment; to interrupt with
a comment
piping hot [of food] extremely hot pique someone’s curiosity and pique someone’s interest to
arouse interest; to arouse curiosity
pique someone’s interest Go to
pique someone’scuriosity.
pirate ["paI r@t] 1 n someone who robs ships at sea 2 tv to steal or
capture something, especially
while at sea 3 tv to take
some-thing; to use something when one does not have the right to use it (Figurative on W.) 4 tv to dupli-cate and sell copies of books, records, videos, and software without the permission of the original publisher (Figurative on W.)
piss ["pIs] 1 iv to urinate
(Poten-tially offensive The topic and the word are not heard in polite com-pany Use with caution.) 2 n urine (Offensive as with Q.)
pissed off ["pIst "Of] adj angry.
(Not often heard in polite com-pany, but its use is increasing.)
pissed off
431
Trang 7pistol ["pIs t@l] n a small gun that
can be held and shot with one
hand
piston ["pIs t@n] n a solid cylinder
that is moved up and down inside
a tube by some force, such as that
found in an engine
pit ["pIt] 1 n a large hole in the
ground 2 n a large, hard seed at
the center of some kinds of fruit
3 tv to remove W from fruit.
pit someone or something against
someone or something to place
someone or something in
compe-tition with someone or something
else
pitch ["pItS] 1 tv to toss something
toward someone or something
2 tv [in baseball] to toss or throw
a ball toward the batter 3 tv to
toss or throw someone or
some-thing 4 iv [in baseball] to throw
a baseball toward a batter 5 iv.
[for a ship] to plunge up and
down; [for the front of a ship] to
rise and fall in rough water 6 n
[in baseball] the movement of the
ball from the pitcher toward the
batter or the throw that moves the
ball toward the batter 7 n slope;
the amount that something is
slanted (Plural only for types and
instances.) 8 n the measure of
the highness or lowness of a
sound (Plural only for types and
instances.) 9 n the standard
number of vibrations each second
that makes a certain tone; the
standard musical sound for a given
note 10 n tar
pitch a tent to erect a tent at a
campsite
pitch black very black; as black as
pitch (tar)
pitch camp to set up or arrange a
campsite
pitch in (and help) to get busy
and help with something
pitch in (and help) (with some-thing) to join in and help someone
with something
pitch someone a curve Go to
throw someonea curve
pitch someone or something out ((of ) something) to throw
one or something out of some-thing or someplace
pitch-dark very dark; as dark as
pitch (tar)
pitcher ["pItS #] 1 n the baseball
player who pitches the baseball toward the other team’s players who then may strike it with the bat 2 n a tall container with a handle, used for serving liquids
3 n the contents of W.
pity ["pIt i] 1 n a feeling of sorrow
caused by seeing or learning about the suffering of other people; sym-pathy (No plural.) 2 tv to be sorry for someone or something;
to feel Q for someone or some-thing
pizza ["pit s@] n a food made of a
baked disk of dough covered with spicy tomato sauce, cheese, and perhaps other foods (Plural only for types and instances.)
place ["ples] 1 n a position in
space; a location; a certain area
2 n a house or apartment; a loca-tion where one lives 3 n a
posi-tion in relaposi-tion to other posiposi-tions
in a numbered series 4 tv to put
pistol
432
Trang 8something in a certain position; to
put something on a certain
sur-face 5 tv to remember when and
where one has met someone or
something in the past
→ between a rock and a hard place
→ fall in(to) place
→ feel out of place
→ in the right place at the right
time
→ in the wrong place at the wrong
time
→ not one’splace
→ someplace
place an order to submit an order.
place of business a place where
business is done; a factory or
office
plague ["pleg] n a disease that kills
people and is quickly spread (No
plural Treated as singular.)
plague someone with something
["pleg ] to annoy someone with
repeated questions, problems, etc
plaid ["plAd] 1 n a design of
stripes that cross each other at
right angles 2 the adj use of Q.
plain ["plen] 1 n a flat area of
land; a prairie (Often plural with
the same meaning, but not
count-able.) 2 adj obvious; easy to see
or understand (Adv: plainly.
Comp: plainer; sup: plainest.)
3 adj simple; not complex; not
decorated (Adv: plainly Comp:
plainer; sup: plainest.) 4 adj not
attractive; average looking (Adv:
plainly Comp: plainer; sup:
plainest.) 5 adv simply; clearly;
obviously (Colloquial.)
→ (as) plain as day
→ (as) plain as the nose on one’s
face
plaintiff ["plen tIf] n someone who
sues someone else; someone who brings a lawsuit against someone else; someone who charges a defendant with doing wrong
plan ["plAn] 1 n the ideas for a
future action or event; a detailed schedule for doing something
2 n a program or structure that
provides a benefit to workers
3 tv to make Q for an event.
4 iv to arrange [something] in
advance
plan something out to make
thor-ough plans for something
plan to do something to make a
plan for doing something in the future; to mean to do something
plane ["plen] 1 n a flat surface.
2 n an airplane 3 n a tool
equipped with a blade that is scraped over wood to make it flat
or smooth 4 tv to make some-thing flat or smooth by using E
→ jet plane
plane something down to smooth
something down with a plane E
planet ["plAn It] n a huge sphere of
matter that circles a single star in a permanent orbit
plank ["plANk] 1 n a board; a long,
thin, narrow, flat piece of wood
2 n an issue or policy that a
polit-ical party officially supports (A figurative Q in the party platform E.)
plans n a set of drawings of a
house or building before it is built, used to help someone build the building (Treated as plural.)
plant ["plAnt] 1 n a stationary
liv-ing thliv-ing that makes its own food
plant
433
Trang 9using sunlight and material from
the soil or other substance that
supports it 2 n a factory 3 tv to
put a seed or a small Q in the
ground so that it will grow; to
place [the seeds or young Q of] a
crop into the soil 4 tv to place
someone or something firmly in
position (Figurative on E.)
plaster ["plAs t#] 1 n a mixture of
lime, water, and sand, which
hard-ens when it dries (Plural only for
types and instances.) 2 tv to
apply Q to something
plastic ["plAs tIk] 1 n an artificial
material, made from a variety of
chemicals, that can be formed into
different shapes (Plural only for
types and instances.) 2 adj made
of Q 3 adj [of something] easily
molded or shaped (Adv:
plasti-cally [ Ik li].)
plate ["plet] 1 n an almost flat,
round dish for holding food 2 n.
a sheet of metal or glass 3 n a
metal plate that goes on the back
of a vehicle showing the license
number of the vehicle (Short for
license plate.) 4 tv to give one
sort of metal a thin outer layer of a
more valuable metal
→ license plate
plateau [plA "to] 1 n a flat area of
land that is raised up higher than
the surrounding land 2 iv [for a
number or a measurement] to
reach a higher level and then
remain unchanged
→ hit a plateau
platform ["plAt form] 1 n a flat
structure that is higher than the
area around it, especially one that
people can occupy standing or
sit-ting 2 n the flat surface next to a railroad track where people get on
and off trains 3 n a formal
state-ment of the ideas and policies of a political party (See also plank W.)
platter ["plAt #] 1 n a large plate used for serving food 2 n the
contents of Q
play ["ple] 1 n fun; recreation;
something that is done for fun or
amusement (No plural.) 2 n one
movement or action in a game or
sport 3 n a piece of writing that
is written as a series of lines that people say, for performance in a theater 4 n a performance of E
5 iv [for a sound-making device]
to operate or reproduce sounds
that have been recorded 6 iv to
perform on the stage or in public;
to perform 7 iv [for a
perfor-mance] to be performed; [for a
movie] to be shown 8 iv to take
one’s turn in a game; to lay down a
card in a card game 9 iv to
per-form [on a musical instrument as
in q] 10 iv to have fun; to
amuse oneself; to be active in a
sport or game 11 tv to perform a
role in the theater or in a movie
12 tv to take part in a certain
game, sport, or activity; to partici-pate in a certain game, sport, or activity 13 tv to make music with a musical instrument; to per-form a particular piece of music
on an instrument (E.g., to play a song.) 14 tv to perform on a
musical instrument (E.g., to play
a violin.) 15 tv [for an electronic
device] to process tapes, records,
or CDs in a way that produces the sounds or pictures that have been recorded 16 tv [for someone] to plaster
434
Trang 10cause an electronic device to
pro-duce sounds and pictures as in e
→ be child’s play
→ foul play
play a joke on someone to make a
joke that tricks someone
play a trick on someone to do a
trickthat affects someone
play along (with someone or
something) 1 to play a musical
instrument with someone or a
group 2 to pretend to cooperate
with someone or something in a
joke
play ball (with someone) to
coop-erate with someone
play both ends (against the
middle) to scheme in a way that
pits two sides against each other
for one’s own gain
play by ear Go to play somethingby
ear.
play cat and mouse (with
one) to capture and release
some-one over and over
play fast and loose (with
some-one or something) to act carelessly,
thoughtlessly, and irresponsibly
toward someone or something
play ignorant to pretend to be
ignorant [of something]
play innocent to pretend to be
innocent and not concerned
play it safe to be or act safe; to do
something safely
play one’s cards close to one’s
vest Go to play one’scards close to
the chest.
play one’s cards close to the
chest and play one’s cards
close to one’s vest [for
some-one] to work or negotiate in a careful and private manner
play out to run out; to finish play second fiddle (to someone)
to be in a subordinate position to someone
play someone or something up to
emphasize someone or something;
to support or praise someone or something
play something back (to someone)
to play a recording to someone
play something by ear 1 to be able
to play a piece of music after just listening to it a few times, without looking at the notes 2 and play
by ear to play a musical
instru-ment well, without formal train-ing
play something through to play all
of something, such as a piece of music or a record
play (the) devil’s advocate to put
forward arguments against, or objections to, a proposition, which one may actually agree with, purely to test the validity of the proposition
play the field to date many
differ-ent people rather than dating just one person
play the fool to act in a silly
man-ner in order to amuse other peo-ple
play to the gallery to perform in a
manner that will get the strong approval of the audience; to per-form in a manner that will get the approval of the lower elements in the audience
play to the gallery
435