pull someone or something up to drag or haul someone or some-thing upward or to an upright position.. punch in to record one’s arrival at one’s workplace at a certain time.. punch out to
Trang 1mances.) 4 n a symbol on a
com-puter screen that shows that the
computer is ready to receive
infor-mation
pron an abbreviation ofpronoun.
prone to doing something likely to
[do] something; apt to do
some-thing
pronoun ["pro naUn] n a word that
takes the place of a noun or
nomi-nal and refers to someone or
something already mentioned
(Abbreviated pron here.)
→ reflexive (pronoun)
pronounce [pr@ "naUns] 1 tv to
speak the sound of a letter or a
word; to make the sound of a letter
or a word 2 tv to declare
thing about someone or
some-thing officially
pronunciation [pr@ n@n si "e S@n]
n the way a letter, group of letters,
or a word sounds when spoken;
the way someone says things
(Plural only for types and
instances.)
proof ["pruf] 1 n something that
shows that something is definitely
true (No plural.) 2 n a printed
copy of something that is checked
for mistakes before the final copy
is printed; a first or sample version
of a photograph 3 tv to
proof-read something
proofread ["pruf rid] 1 tv., irreg to
read something very carefully to
look for mistakes (Past tense and
past participle: proofread ["pruf
rEd].) 2 iv., irreg to read very
carefully to look for mistakes
prop ["prap] n an object that is
used in a play or in a movie by an actor
prop someone or something up to
support someone or something; to prevent someone or something from falling
propaganda [prap @ "gAn d@] n.
information that tries to influence
or change how people think (No plural.)
propeller [pro "pEl #] n a set of
blades that rotate very fast in air or water, used to push or move a boat
or an airplane
proper ["prap #] 1 adj right;
suit-able; correct; appropriate (Adv:
properly.) 2 adj [in grammar, of a
noun] referring to a person or place (Such nouns are capital-ized.) 3 adj referring to a particu-lar place itself, and not an area outside of that place (Not
prenominal Adv: properly.)
properly ["prap # li] 1 adv in the
right way; suitably; appropriately; according to what is expected
2 adv strictly.
property ["prap # ti] 1 n
some-thing that is owned (No plural.)
2 n an amount of land and any
structures that have been built on
it (No plural.)
prophecy ["praf @ si] n the ability
to foresee the future (Plural only for types and instances.)
prophesy ["praf @ saI] tv to predict
what will happen in the future; to say that something is going to hap-pen (The object can be a clause with that U.)
pron
456
Trang 2prophet ["praf It] 1 n someone
who has the talent of being able to
see into the future 2 n [in some
religions] a person chosen to
speak for God
proportion [pr@ "por S@n] 1 n the
relationship between the sizes of
different parts of someone or
something 2 tv to adjust the
amount, degree, or size of
some-thing in comparison to somesome-thing
else
→ blow somethingout of (all)
proportion
→ in proportion
→ out of proportion
proposal [pr@ "poz @l] 1 n a
sug-gestion; a plan 2 n an offer of
marriage made to someone
propose [pr@ "poz] tv to suggest
something; to say something so
that it is considered (The object
can be a clause with that U.)
propose a toast to make a toast
W, before drinking
propose (to someone) to ask
someone to marry one
proposition [prap @ "zI S@n] 1 n a
proposal; something that is being
considered; a suggestion 2 n a
statement; a statement that is to be
proved either true or false
propulsion [pr@ "p^l S@n] n a force
that causes something to move
forward (No plural form.)
→ jet propulsion
prose ["proz] n the usual form of
written language; writing that is
not in verse (No plural.)
prosper ["pras p#] iv to become
successful; to earn enough money
so that one can live well; to thrive
prosperity [pras "pEr @ ti] n the
condition of being prosperous; success; monetary success (No plural.)
prosperous ["pras p@ r@s] adj.
thriving; earning or having enough money so that one can live
well (Adv: prosperously.)
protect [pr@ "tEkt] tv to keep
someone or something safe; to guard someone or something
protection [pr@ "tEk S@n] n
keep-ing someone or somethkeep-ing safe; the quality offered by someone or something that protects (Plural only for types and instances.)
protective [pr@ "tEk tIv] adj
pro-tecting someone or something; giving protection; defending; keeping someone or something
safe (Adv: protectively.)
protein ["pro tin] n one of many
chemical substances important to the cells of all living plants and animals (Usually thought of in terms of food.)
protest 1 ["pro tEst] n a group of
people displaying opposition or
anger 2 ["pro tEst] n a plaint 3 [pr@ "tEst] tv to
com-plain about something; to show disapproval of something (The object can be a clause with that
U.) 4 [pr@ "tEst] iv to complain
about something
→ aripple of protest
proton ["pro tan] n a particle in
the nucleus W of an atom that carries a positive electrical charge
prototype ["pro t@ taIp] n the
original example of something
prototype
457
Trang 3from which later examples are
developed
proud ["praUd] 1 adj showing or
feeling pride; having a good
opin-ion about oneself and what one
has accomplished (Adv: proudly.
Comp: prouder; sup: proudest.)
2 adj causing someone to feel
pride (Adv: proudly Comp:
prouder; sup: proudest.) 3 adj.
having too high an opinion about
oneself; arrogant (Adv: proudly.
Comp: prouder; sup: proudest.)
→ (as) proud as a peacock
prove ["pruv] tv., irreg to provide
proof of something; to be the
proof of something (Past
partici-ple: proved or proven The object
can be a clause with that U.)
prove to be something to be shown
to be someone or something; to be
found to be someone or
some-thing
proven ["pruv @n] a past participle
ofprove
provide [pr@ "vaId] 1 tv to furnish
or supply someone or something
with something 2 tv to state or
tell something
provide for someone to support
someone by earning enough
money to supply the person with
food, clothing, and shelter
provide for something to allow
something to occur or to be
sup-plied
provided that something is the
case on the condition that
some-thing is the case; only if somesome-thing
is the case
province ["pra vIns] 1 n one of
the main divisions of a country,
such as Canada, similar to a state
2 n an area of study, knowledge,
or activity
provincial [pr@ "vIn S@l] 1 adj of
or about a province or provinces
of a country (Adv: provincially.)
2 adj of limited, local experience;
rural in attitude and outlook
(Usually derogatory Adv: provin-cially.)
provision [pr@ "vI Z@n] 1 n a con-dition; a detail or statement 2 n.
an arrangement that is made ahead of time (Often plural.)
provisions n food and supplies
needed for everyday living (Treated as plural, but not counta-ble.)
provoke [pr@ "vok] 1 tv to make
someone angry; to irritate
some-one 2 tv to cause an action to
start or to happen (Usually lead-ing to negative results.)
prowl ["praUl] iv to sneak around
quietly, like an animal hunting for food or a thief looking for some-thing to steal
prowler ["praUl #] n a thief; a
bur-glar who sneaks about in the night
prude ["prud] n someone who is
easily offended or shocked; some-one who is overly modest or proper
prudence ["prud ns] n wisdom;
care in thought and action; thoughtful judgment (No plural.)
prudent ["prud nt] adj wise;
think-ing carefully before one does
something (Adv: prudently.)
proud
458
Trang 4prudish ["prud IS] adj too easily
shocked or offended; too modest
(Adv: prudishly.)
prune ["prun] 1 n a dried plum,
eaten as food 2 iv to remove
extra branches or leaves from a
plant; to trim a tree, flower, bush,
or shrub so that it has a nice, even
shape 3 tv to make a plant look
nice by removing extra branches
or leaves
prune something off ((of )
thing) to cut something off
some-thing
pry ["praI] iv to be too curious; to
ask personal questions about
things that should not concern
one
pry into something to snoop into
something; to try to learn about
someone else’s private matters
pry something off ((of ) something)
to use a lever to get something off
something
pry something open to open
some-thing with a tool by using force
pry something up to raise
some-thing, as with a lever
psychiatrist [sI "kaI @ trIst] n a
doctor who treats people who have
sicknesses of the mind
psychiatry [sI "kaI @ tri] n the
sci-ence of treating people who have
sicknesses of the mind (No
plu-ral.)
psychological [saI k@ "ladZ I k@l]
1 the adj form ofpsychology Q
(Adv: psychologically [ Ik li].)
2 the adj form ofpsychology W
(Adv: psychologically [ Ik li].)
psychologist [saI "kal @ dZIst] n.
someone who is trained in psy-chology; a specialist in behavior
psychology [saI "kal @ dZi] 1 n.
the study and science of the mind and the behavior of individuals (No plural.) 2 n the way people behave, think, and feel; the way a person behaves, thinks, and feels (No plural.)
public ["p^b lIk] adj available to
everyone; available to people in general; not restricted; not private
(Adv: publicly.)
→ air one’sdirty linen in public
→ in public
→ in the public eye
→ wash one’sdirty linen in public
the public n people in general (No
plural.)
public school ["p^b lIk "skul] n a
school that is paid for by the gov-ernment through taxes and that is available to all local children
publication [p@b l@ "ke S@n] 1 n.
making information in written form, such as in a book, magazine,
or newspaper, available to the public (No plural.) 2 n any writ-ten document that is published
→ not for publication
publicity [p@b "lIs @ ti] n
informa-tion that is brought to everyone’s attention (No plural.)
publicly ["p^b lIk li] adv [done] in
public; [done] where people can see
publish ["p^b lIS] 1 tv to assemble,
print, and sell books, magazines, newspapers, or other printed materials 2 tv to make some-thing well known
publish
459
Trang 5publisher ["p^b lI S#] n someone
or a company that assembles,
prints, and makes written
materi-als available for sale
pudding ["pUd IN] n a soft, sweet,
creamy food, usually eaten as a
dessert (Plural only for types and
instances.)
puddle ["p^d l] n a collection of
water or other liquid on the
ground or the surface of
some-thing
puff ["p^f] 1 n a short blast of air,
smoke, steam, gas, etc., that is
blown out from something 2 tv.
to blow air, steam, smoke, etc., out
a little bit at a time 3 iv to pull
smoke from a cigarette or a cigar
with small breaths 4 iv to
breathe when one is out of breath;
to breathe with short, quick
breaths
→ huff and puff
puff out to swell out.
puff someone or something up to
boost or promote someone or
something
puff something out to cause
some-thing to swell out or expand
out-ward
puff up (into something) to
as-sume a larger shape by filling up
with air or water; to swell up into
something
pull ["pUl] 1 tv to move someone
or something in some direction
2 tv to drag someone or
some-thing behind oneself; to move
someone or something behind
oneself while one is moving
3 n a tug.
pull in(to someplace) to drive into
someplace
pull off (something) to steer or turn
a vehicle off the road
pull out all the stops to use all
one’s energy and effort in order to achieve something (From the stops of a pipe organ The more that are pulled out, the louder it gets.)
pull out (of something) 1 to with-draw from something 2 to drive
out of something, such as a drive-way, parking space, garage, etc
pull someone in(to something) to
get someone involved in some-thing
pull someone or something up to
drag or haul someone or some-thing upward or to an upright position
pull someone’s leg to kid, fool, or
trick someone
pull someone’s or something’s teeth to reduce the power of
someone or something; to make someone or something less of a threat
pull something down to tear
some-thing down; to raze somesome-thing, such as a building
pull something off ((of ) some-thing) to pull, tow, tug, or drag
something off something else
pull something out to withdraw
something
pull something out of a hat and pull something out of thin air to
produce something as if by magic
pull something out of thin air Go
to pull somethingout of a hat. publisher
460
Trang 6pull something up (out of
some-thing) to draw something up out of
something
pull the rug out (from under
someone) to make someone
inef-fective
pull the wool over someone’s
eyes to deceive someone.
pull through (something) to
sur-vive something
pull up (someplace) to arrive at a
place in a vehicle; [for a vehicle] to
arrive someplace
pull up stakes to move to another
place (As if one were pulling up
tent stakes.)
pulp ["p^lp] 1 n the soft part
inside a fruit, vegetable, or plant
(No plural.) 2 n any soft,
par-tially solid, wet substance (No
plural.) 3 tv to make W from
something
pulpit ["pUl pIt] n a raised platform
that a preacher, priest, minister,
etc., stands on when preaching
pulse ["p^ls] 1 n the rhythm of
the flow of blood through one’s
body, caused by the beating of the
heart (No plural.) 2 n a rhythm
with a regular beat; a movement of
something with regular stops and
starts 3 iv to beat regularly, like
the beating of the heart; to beat in
rhythm
→ take someone’spulse
pump ["p^mp] 1 n a device that
forces air, liquid, or gas through a
tube or pipe 2 tv to force air,
liq-uid, or gas through a tube or pipe
pump something in(to someone or
something) to try to force
some-thing, such as a gas, liquid,
infor-mation, or money into someone or something
pump something out to empty
something by pumping
pump something out (of someone
or something) to remove
some-thing from someone or somesome-thing
by force or suction
pumpkin ["p^mp kIn] 1 n a large,
round, heavy orange fruit that
grows on a vine 2 adj made with
Q
punch ["p^ntS] 1 n a sweet drink
made by mixing many different things, usually including some kind of fruit juice (No plural.)
2 n a tool or machine that pierces
holes through objects or that
stamps designs on objects 3 n a quick, powerful hit 4 n impact;
effective power; strength
(Figura-tive on E.) 5 tv to hit someone
or something powerfully with one’s fist
punch a hole in something to
make a hole in something with something
punch in to record one’s arrival at
one’s workplace at a certain time
punch out to record that one has
left one’s workplace at a certain time
punch something out (of some-thing) to press on something and
make it pop out of something
punch something up to register a
figure on a cash register
punctuation [p@Nk tSu "e S@n] n.
the use ofpunctuation marksto make writing easier to understand (No plural.)
punctuation
461
Trang 7punctuation mark [p@Nk tSu "e
S@n mark] n a symbol used to
make writing easier to understand,
such as the period (.), the comma
(,), the colon (:), the question
mark (?), the exclamation point
(!), and the hyphen (-), among
others
puncture ["p^nk tS#] 1 n a hole in
the surface of something made by
a sharp or pointed object 2 tv to
make a hole in the surface of
something by using a sharp or
pointed object
punish ["p^n IS] 1 tv to give
some-one a penalty for doing something
wrong 2 tv to use or handle
something roughly (Figurative on
Q.)
punishment ["p^n IS m@nt] 1 n.
punishing; the practice of giving
penalties for doing something
wrong (No plural.) 2 n rough
treatment (Figurative on Q No
plural.)
→ aglutton for punishment
punk ["p^Nk] 1 n a young
crimi-nal; a young person who gets into
trouble a lot 2 n a loud, harsh
style of music first made popular
in the late 1970s by young people
(No plural.) 3 the adj use of Q
or W
puny ["pju ni] adj smaller and
weaker than average (Adv: punily.
Comp: punier; sup: puniest.)
pup ["p^p] n a young dog; a puppy;
the young of certain animals,
including the seal
pupil ["pju p@l] 1 n a student;
someone who studies in school;
someone who is taught by a
teacher 2 n the round, black
opening in the middle of the col-ored part of the eye that allows light into the eye
puppy ["p^p i] n a young dog purchase ["p# tS@s] 1 n an
instance of buying something
2 n something that is bought.
3 tv to buy something.
purchaser ["p# tS@ s#] n a buyer;
someone who buys something
pure ["pjUr] 1 adj completely
made from only one thing; not
mixed with anything (Adv: purely Comp: purer; sup: purest.) 2 adj.
[of a color] clear and not cloudy
(Adv: purely Comp: purer; sup: purest.) 3 adj mere; absolute;
nothing but (Adv: purely Comp:
purer; sup: purest.) 4 adj without
sin; without evil (Adv: purely.
Comp: purer; sup: purest.) 5 adj.
not having had sex (Adv: purely Comp: purer; sup: purest.)
purge ["p#dZ] 1 n an instance of
forcing unwanted people to leave a government, university, society, or other group 2 tv to make some-thing clean by getting rid of what
is dirty; to clean something out
3 tv to destroy records or files purity ["pjUr @ ti] n the quality of
being pure; the degree to which something is pure (No plural.)
purple ["p# p@l] 1 n the color
made by mixing blue and red; the color of ripe grapes that are not green or red (Plural only for types and instances.) 2 adj of the color Q
purpose ["p# p@s] n an intention;
the reason that someone does something; a kind of goal punctuation mark
462
Trang 8→ on purpose
purse ["p#s] 1 n a bag used,
espe-cially by women, to hold money
and other personal items 2 n an
amount of money that is offered as
a prize
→ control the purse strings
→ make a silk purse out of a sow’s
ear
pursue [p# "su] 1 tv to chase
someone or something; to follow
and attempt to catch someone or
something 2 tv to continue to
work toward something; to seek
something 3 tv to follow a plan
of action
pursuit [p# "sut] 1 n pursuing
someone or something; chasing
after someone or something (No
plural.) 2 n a hobby or job that
fills one’s time
push ["pUS] 1 iv to force
move-ment in a certain direction 2 tv.
to apply pressure to something, as
if to move it 3 tv to move
some-thing or someone by applying
pressure 4 n a shove; a powerful
movement that causes something
to move (No plural.)
push ahead to move forward or
advance with force or effort; to
move by using pressure
push off to go away.
push one’s luck and press one’s
luck to expect continued good
fortune; to expect to continue to
escape bad luck
push (oneself) away (from
some-thing) to move oneself back and
away from something
push out to spread out; to expand
outward
push someone or something out (of something) to force someone
or something out of something
push someone or something up to
raise or lift someone or some-thing
push someone to the wall and press someone to the wall to
force someone into a position where there is only one choice to make; to put someone in a defen-sive position
push something off on(to)
some-one to place some-one’s task onto another person; to make someone else do an unwanted job
push through something or
some-place to force [one’s way] through
a crowded place
put ["pUt] 1 tv., irreg to place
something in a certain position; to cause something to be in a certain place or position; to move some-thing to a certain place or posi-tion (Past tense and past
participle: put.) 2 tv., irreg to
express something; to say some-thing in a certain way
→ stay put
put a bee in someone’s bonnet
Go to have a bee in one’sbonnet.
put a cap on something to put a
limit on something
put a hold on something to place a
restriction on something showing
it is reserved, delayed, or inacti-vated
put a spin on something to
inter-pret an event to make it seem favorable or beneficial to oneself
put a stop to something to make
something end; to stop something put a stop to something
463
Trang 9put all one’s eggs in one basket
to risk everything at once
put in a good word (for
one) to say something (to
some-one) in support of someone else
put in one’s oar to give help; to
interfere by giving advice; to add
one’s assistance to the general
effort
put in one’s two cents(’ worth)
to add one’s comments (to
some-thing) (Implies that one’s
com-ments may not be of great value
but need to be stated anyway.)
put on to pretend; to deceive.
put on a brave face to try to
appear happy or satisfied when
faced with misfortune or danger
put on one’s thinking cap to start
thinking in a serious manner
put one through one’s paces to
make one demonstrate what one
can do; to make one do one’s job
thoroughly
put one’s best foot forward to act
or appear at one’s best; to try to
make a good impression
put one’s cards on the table and
lay one’s cards on the table to
reveal everything; to be open and
honest with someone
put one’s foot in it Go to put one’s
foot in one’smouth.
put one’s foot in one’s mouth and
put one’s foot in it; stick one’s
foot in one’s mouth to say
some-thing that one regrets;
uninten-tionally to say something stupid,
insulting, or hurtful
put one’s hand to the plow to
begin to do a big and important task; to undertake a major effort
put one’s mind to something to
give one’s complete attention to something
put one’s nose to the grindstone
to keep busy doing one’s work
put one’s shoulder to the wheel
to get busy
put oneself out to inconvenience
oneself
put out to generate lots of
some-thing (Colloquial.)
put some teeth into something to
increase the power of something
put someone off 1 to delay action with someone 2 to repel
some-one
put someone on to tease or deceive
someone
put someone or some creature to sleep 1 to kill someone or some creature (Euphemistic.) 2 to
cause someone or some creature to sleep, perhaps through drugs or anesthesia
put someone or something out to pasture to retire someone or
something (Originally said of a horse that was too old to work.)
put someone or something over to
succeed in making someone or something be accepted
put someone out to annoy or
irri-tate someone
put someone through the wringer to give someone a
diffi-cult time (As one squeezes water from clothing in an old-fashioned wringer washing machine.) put all one’s eggs in one basket
464
Trang 10put someone to bed to help
some-one—usually a child—get into a
bed
put someone to shame to make
someone ashamed; to embarrass
someone, especially by outdoing
someone
put someone to sleep to bore
someone
put someone to the test to test
someone; to see what someone can
achieve
put someone up (for something) to
nominate or offer someone for
some office or task
put someone’s eye out to puncture
or harm someone’s eye and
destroy its ability to see
put someone’s nose out of joint
to offend someone; to cause
some-one to feel slighted or insulted
put something across (to
someone) to make something
clear to someone
put something down to take the life
of a creature mercifully
put something off (until
thing) to postpone or delay
some-thing until somesome-thing happens or
until some future time
put something on to dress in an
article of clothing
put something on ice and put
something on the back burner
to delay or postpone something; to
put something on hold
put something on paper to write
something down; to write or type
an agreement on paper
put something on the back
burner Go to put somethingon ice.
put something on the cuff to buy
something on credit; to add to one’s credit balance (As if one were making a note of the pur-chase on one’s shirt cuff.)
put something on the line and lay something on the line 1 to speak
very firmly and directly about
something 2 to put something at
risk; to risk losing something
put something through its paces
to demonstrate how well some-thing operates; to demonstrate all the things something can do
put something to bed to complete
work on something and send it on
to the next step in production, especially in publishing
put something up (for sale) to
offer something for sale
put the cart before the horse to
have or do things in the wrong order; to have things confused and mixed up
put two and two together to
fig-ure something out from the infor-mation available
put up a (brave) front to appear
to be brave (even if one is not)
put upon someone to make use of
someone to an unreasonable degree; to take advantage of some-one for some-one’s own benefit (Typi-cally passive.)
put words into someone’s mouth
to speak for another person with-out permission
Put your money where your mouth is! a command to stop
talking and make a bet
Put your money where your mouth is!
465