NTC''''s Pocket Dictionary of Words and Phrases part 64 pps

Past tense and past participle: stuck.. → end up with the short end of the stick → get the short end of the stick → have one’swords stick in one’s throat → one’s words stick in one’sthro

stem ["stEm] 1 n the main part of

a plant above the ground, which is

connected to the roots below the

ground, and from which leaves or

flowers grow 2 n the part of a

word that suffixes and prefixes are

added to

→ from stem to stern

step ["stEp] 1 n the movement

made by putting one foot in front

of the other while walking 2 n.

the distance traveled by a single

Q 3 n a flat surface that one

places one’s foot on when going up

or down stairs or a ladder 4 n an

action in a series of actions in a

particular order 5 iv to move as

in Q in a certain direction

→ fall in(to step)

→ watch one’sstep

step aside to move out of

some-one’s path; to step out of the way

step back (from someone or

something) to move back from

someone or something; to move

back so as to provide space around

someone or something

step on it Go to step on the gas.

step on someone’s toes and tread

on someone’s toes to interfere

with or offend someone

step on the gas and step on it to

hurry up

step out into something to go out

from a place into a different set of

conditions

step out of line to misbehave; to

do something offensive

step out (of something) to go out

of a place

step out (on someone) to be

unfaithful to a spouse or lover

step outside 1 to go outside, as if

to get some fresh air 2 to go

out-side to fight or settle an argument

step over (to) someplace to move

to a place a few steps away

step right up to come right to

where the speaker is; to come for-ward to the person speaking (Used by people selling things.)

step something up 1 to make something more active 2 to make

something go or run faster

step up to increase.

step up to something to walk to

something, especially a counter or

a bar

stereo ["stEr i o] 1 adj [of sound

or electronic equipment making sound] coming from two or more speakers in a way that gives realis-tic effect 2 n an electronic device that produces sound coming from two or more sources, providing realistic sound reproduction

(Plural ends in -s.)

stern ["st#n] 1 adj strict; rigid in

discipline (Adv: sternly Comp: sterner; sup: sternest.) 2 n the rear

part of a boat or ship

→ from stem to stern

stew ["stu] 1 n a thick soup of

vegetables and often meat cooked slowly in their own juices (Plural only for types and instances.)

2 tv to cook something slowly in water and its own juices 3 iv [for

food] to cook slowly in water and its own juices

stew in one’s own juice to be left

alone to suffer one’s anger or dis-appointment

stem

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stick ["stIk] 1 n a small branch; a

thin length of wood from a tree

2 n a thin piece of wood used for

a special purpose 3 tv., irreg to

attach something to something

else with glue, tape, or something

else adhesive (Past tense and past

participle: stuck.) 4 tv., irreg to

put something in a certain

posi-tion (Informal.) 5 iv., irreg to

remain attached to something

with glue, tape, or something else

adhesive

→ end up with the short end of

the stick

→ get the short end of the stick

→ have one’swords stick in one’s

throat

→ one’s words stick in one’sthroat

stick around to remain in the

gen-eral area; to stay in a place

(Collo-quial.)

stick one’s foot in one’s mouth

Go to put one’sfoot in one’smouth.

stick one’s neck out to take a risk.

stick one’s nose in(to something)

Go to poke one’snose in(to

something).

stick out to project outward.

stick out a mile and stand out a

mile to be very obvious

(Infor-mal.)

stick out (from someone or

some-thing) to project outward from

someone or something

stick out (of someone or

some-thing) to project from someone or

something

stick someone or something up to

rob someone or a business

estab-lishment (Presumably with the

aid of a gun.)

stick something down to fasten

something down, as with glue or paste

stick something in(to someone or something) to insert something

into someone or something

stick something out 1 to cause

something to project outward

2 to endure something; to stay

with something (The something is usually it.)

stick to one’s guns to remain firm

in one’s convictions; to stand up for one’s rights

stick together 1 [for things] to

hold or adhere to one another

2 [for people] to remain in one

another’s company (Figurative.)

sticky ["stIk i] 1 adj adhesive.

(Comp: stickier; sup: stickiest.)

2 adj hot and humid; causing one

to sweat (Comp: stickier; sup:

stickiest.) 3 adj awkward (Comp:

stickier; sup: stickiest.)

stiff ["stIf] 1 adj rigid; not flexible;

hard to bend (Adv: stiffly Comp:

stiffer; sup: stiffest.) 2 adj firm;

almost solid; not fluid (Adv:

stiffly Comp: stiffer; sup: stiffest.)

3 adj harsh; severe (Informal Comp: stiffer; sup: stiffest.) 4 adj.

very formal; not relaxed (Adv:

stiffly Comp: stiffer; sup: stiffest.)

→ keep a stiff upper lip

stiffen ["stIf @n] iv to become stiff still ["stIl] 1 adj not moving; at

rest (Comp: stiller; sup: stillest.)

2 adj quiet; not talking; not

mak-ing noise (Not prenominal.)

3 adv at a time past what was expected 4 adv evenR; yet [more] (Comes after the

adjec-still

597

tive Used with comparisons to

make them stronger.)

→ so still you could hear a pin

drop

stimulant ["stIm j@ l@nt] n

some-thing, especially a drug or

chemi-cal, that keeps someone awake or

causes someone to be more active

stimulate ["stIm j@ let] tv to excite

someone or something; to cause

someone or something to be active

or excited

sting ["stIN] 1 tv., irreg to pierce

the skin of someone or something

with something sharp; [for a bee,

wasp, hornet, etc.] to pierce the

skin with a stinger and inject a

substance that causes a burning

pain (Past tense and past

partici-ple: stung.) 2 tv., irreg to cause

someone to feel a tingling or

burn-ing pain 3 iv., irreg to be able to

pierce skin as with Q 4 iv., irreg.

[for something] to hurt sharply

5 n the piercing of the skin as

with Q and the pain that

accom-panies it 6 n a tingling or

burn-ing pain

stinger ["stIN #] n the stinging

organ of bees, hornets, etc

stink ["stINk] 1 n a terrible smell;

a very bad smell 2 iv., irreg to

smell bad (Past tense: stankor

stunk;past participle: stunk.)

stir ["st#] 1 tv to mix something

with one’s hand or with an object

2 tv to excite someone or an

emotion; to cause someone to feel

emotion or passion 3 iv to

change position; to move about

4 n an exciting event; something

that disturbs the usual order of

things

stir someone up to get someone

excited; to get someone angry

stir something up 1 to mix some-thing by stirring 2 to create or

cause trouble

stir up a hornet’s nest to create

trouble or difficulties

stitch ["stItS] 1 n one movement

of a threaded needle through a

fabric while sewing 2 n the

thread that is seen after one move-ment of a threaded needle through

a fabric while sewing 3 n a small

amount of clothing (No plural Usually in negative constructions.)

4 n a sharp pain 5 tv to sew

something; to sew things together

→ keep someonein stitches

stitch something up to sew

some-thing together; to mend a tear or ripped seam

stock ["stak] 1 n a supply of

something to be used or sold (Plural only for types and

instances.) 2 n a heavy broth

made by cooking meats, usually with vegetables, for a long time— used to prepare sauce or soup (Plural only for types and

instances.) 3 n the total assets of

a company divided into equal shares that are usually bought and sold in a stock market (No plural.)

4 n [a group of] shares of E of a specific company 5 tv [for a

store] to arrange to have Q of a

product available for sale 6 adj.

[of a response that seems] trite, rehearsed, and not sincere

→ have somethingin stock

→ in stock

→ lock, stock, and barrel stimulant

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stock market ["stak mar k@t] 1 n.

a market for the business of

buy-ing and sellbuy-ing stocksin general

2 n some sort of measure of the

general value of all the stocks at

any one time (Can be shortened

to market.)

stock up (on something) to build

up a supply of something in

par-ticular

stocking ["stak IN] n a long,

knit-ted or woven sock

stockpile ["stak paIl] 1 n a large

amount of something that is

stored for future use or in case of

an emergency 2 tv to store a

large amount of something for

future use or in case of an

emer-gency

stole ["stol] past tense ofsteal

stolen ["stol @n] 1 Past participle

ofsteal 2 adj taken without the

owner’s permission or knowledge

stomach ["st^m @k] 1 n the organ

of the body in which food is

digested 2 n the front of the

body below the chest and above

the waist

→ cannot stomach someone or

something

→ have eyes bigger than one’s

stomach

→ not able to stomach someone or

something

→ One’seyes are bigger than one’s

stomach.

→ turn someone’sstomach

stone ["ston] 1 n the hard

mate-rial of which rocks are made

(Plural only for types and

instances.) 2 n a rock; a chunk of

Q 3 n a jewel; a gem 4 n a

small, hard object that forms in

parts of the body, such as the

kid-ney, and causes a lot of pain as it

passes through the organ 5 adj made of Q 6 tv to throw stones

W at someone or something, often

as punishment or torment

→ cast the first stone

→ have a heart of stone

→ kill two birds with one stone

→ run into a stone wall

a stone’s throw away a short

dis-tance; a relatively short distance

stood ["stUd] past tense and past

participle ofstand

→ should have stood in bed

stool ["stul] 1 n a tall seat that

usually has no support for one’s

back or arms 2 n feces; waste

matter that is expelled from the body (Plural only for types and instances.)

→ fall between two stools

stoop ["stup] 1 n a small porch at the door of a house 2 n a bent

posture, as if one is carrying a heavy weight on one’s shoulders

3 iv to bend down; to bend

for-ward; to hold one’s head and shoulders downward in front of one’s body

stoop down to bend, dip, duck, or

squat down

stoop over to bend over.

stop ["stap] 1 tv to end

move-ment, progress, an activity, or an

existence 2 iv to move, progress,

act, or function no longer; to

cease 3 iv to stay for a period of time 4 n a short visit; a short stay 5 n a place where a bus,

train, or other vehicle stops as in

E to let passengers get on and off

the vehicle 6 n a consonant that

stop

599

is made by ending the flow of the

breath and suddenly releasing it

→ come to a stop

→ pull out all the stops

→ put a stop to something

stop by (someplace) to go to a

place and stop and then continue

stop in (someplace) to pay a brief

visit to a place

stop (just) short (of something)

not to go as far as something; to

stop before something

stop over (someplace) to stay

briefly at a place while on the

way to another place

stop something up (with

some-thing) to plug something with

something

stop up [for something] to become

clogged up

stoplight ["stap laIt] n a traffic

signal that has colored lights that

indicate whether drivers should

stop or go

stopover ["stap ov #] n a place

where one stops briefly during a

journey, especially a stop at an

air-port between the city where one

took off and the city that one is

going to

stoppage ["stap IdZ] n an

orga-nized strike; the orgaorga-nized

stop-ping of work, such as during a

disagreement between labor and

management

stopwatch ["stap watS] n a watch

that can be started or stopped at

any moment, used to determine

how long something lasts

storage ["stor IdZ] 1 n keeping or

storing [things] (No plural.) 2 n.

a place for storing things (No plu-ral.)

→ in storage

store ["stor] 1 n a shop where goods or products are sold 2 n a supply of something 3 tv to keep

something someplace so that it can be used later

→ department store

→ grocery (store)

→ set great store by someone or something

storekeeper ["stor kip #] n

some-one who owns or manages a store

storeroom ["stor rum] n a room

where things are stored

stork ["stork] n a large bird with a

long, sharp beak and a long neck

storm ["storm] 1 n a period of

severe weather with very strong winds, heavy rain or snow, and sometimes thunder and lightning

2 n a violent attack or burst of anger (Figurative on Q.) 3 tv to attack something with force 4 iv.

[for the weather] to be severe, with strong winds, heavy rain or snow, and sometimes thunder and lightning

→ eye of the storm

→ kick up a storm

→ thelull before the storm

→ take someone or somethingby storm

storm door ["storm dor] n a

sec-ond door, outside the regular door, that keeps cold, wind, snow,

or rain from entering

storm in(to someplace) to burst

into something or someplace angrily

A storm is brewing 1 There is going to be a storm 2 There is

going to be trouble

stop by (someplace)

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storm out (of someplace) to leave

or burst out of someplace angrily

storm window ["storm wIn do] n.

a second window, placed outside a

regular window, that keeps cold,

wind, snow, or rain from entering

a room or building

story ["stor i] 1 n an account of

something that has happened

2 n a tale; an account that is

fic-tion, told or written for

entertain-ment or amuseentertain-ment 3 n a lie.

4 n a news report; an article of

news 5 n one level of a building;

one layer from floor to ceiling in a

building (In the United States, the

floor on ground level is the first

story.)

→ cock-and-bull story

→ make a long story short

→ shaggy-dog story

→ tall story

→ tell its own story

stout ["staUt] adj wide; fat;

weigh-ing too much (Adv: stoutly.

Comp: stouter; sup: stoutest.)

stove ["stov] n an appliance that

usually contains an oven and has

burners on the top, used for

cook-ing

straight ["stret] 1 adj not bent or

curved; direct; continuing in the

same direction (Adv: straightly.

Comp: straighter; sup: straightest.)

2 adj honest; sincere; telling the

truth (Adv: straightly Comp:

straighter; sup: straightest.) 3 adj.

without an interruption;

continu-ous (E.g., 5 straight hours; five

hours straight.) 4 adv [going]

directly [to a place without

mak-ing a detour] 5 adv [movmak-ing] in

a line that is Q; without turning

6 adv upright.

→ get somethingstraight

→ get the facts straight

→ keep a straight face

→ set someonestraight

→ vote a straight ticket

straight from the horse’s mouth

from an authoritative or depend-able source

straight from the shoulder

[spo-ken] sincerely and frankly

straight out frankly; directly.

(Informal.)

straighten out 1 to become straight 2 to improve one’s

behavior or attitude

straighten someone out 1 to

make someone’s body straight or

orderly 2 to scold someone about

an issue; to cause someone to behave better

straighten something out to bring

order to something that is crooked

or disorderly

straighten something up to make

something less messy

straighten up 1 to sit or stand more vertically 2 to behave

bet-ter

strain ["stren] 1 tv to stretch or

pull something, especially as much

as possible or in a way that causes injury 2 tv to separate liquid from something solid by pouring

it through a filter 3 tv to place

something under a burden; to place tension on something (Fig-urative on Q.) 4 iv to stretch tightly; to work hard and carry a

heavy load 5 iv to use a lot of effort to do something 6 n a

burden or problem that causes

someone distress 7 n an injury to

a muscle caused by stretching it or

strain

601

pulling it too hard 8 n a variety

of plant, bacterium, or virus

strand ["strAnd] 1 n one thread of

a rope; one wire of a cable; a

thread; a fiber 2 tv to cause

someone or something to be stuck

or held at a location

strange ["strendZ] 1 adj unusual;

odd; peculiar; not normal or

usual (Adv: strangely Comp:

stranger; sup: strangest.) 2 adj not

familiar; not usually experienced

(Adv: strangely Comp: stranger;

sup: strangest.)

stranger ["strendZ #] n someone

who is not known to oneself;

someone who is not familiar to

oneself

a stranger to something or

some-place someone who is new to an

area or place

strap ["strAp] 1 n a strong,

nar-row strip of material used to

secure something 2 tv to secure

someone or something with a

strong, narrow strip of leather or

other material

straw ["strO] 1 n dried stalks of

the plants on which grain grows

(No plural Number is expressed

with piece(s) of straw.) 2 n a

plas-tic or paper tube used for drinking

a liquid by sucking 3 adj made

of Q; containing Q

→ That’s the last straw.

→ That’s the straw that broke the

camel’s back.

strawberry ["strO bEr i] 1 n a

small, soft, red fruit that has tiny

seeds on its surface 2 adj made

with or flavored with Q

stray ["stre] 1 adj wandering.

2 adj occurring or arriving by

chance 3 iv to wander; to

become lost; to leave the main

path or topic 4 n an animal that

is lost; an animal that wanders around and has no home

streak ["strik] 1 n a long, thin line

or stripe 2 n a period of time

during which something is con-stant; a period of time during which something is not

inter-rupted 3 tv to mark something

with long, thin lines or stripes

4 iv to flow or race along in long, thin lines or stripes 5 iv to run or

move somewhere very fast

→ talk a blue streak

stream ["strim] 1 n a small river.

2 n a steady flow of something, especially something liquid 3 iv.

to flow somewhere steadily and in large amounts

stream down (on someone or something) [for a liquid or light]

to flow downward onto someone

or something

stream in(to something) to flow or

rush into something

streamer ["strim #] n a very long,

thin strip of paper or ribbon used

as a decoration during a ceremony, parade, or celebration

street ["strit] n a road, usually one

in a city or a town that has build-ings or parks beside it

(Abbrevi-ated St in addresses.)

→ theman in the street

→ side street

streetlight ["strit laIt] n a light,

usually on a pole, that lights a street when it is dark outside

strength ["strENkT] 1 n the

qual-ity of being strong (No plural.)

2 n a virtue; a good feature of

strand

602

someone or something

(Figura-tive on Q.)

→ not know one’sown strength

→ apillar of strength

→ atower of strength

stress ["strEs] 1 n the pressure

caused by something that is heavy;

strain (No plural.) 2 n the

men-tal pressure caused by something

that is difficult or demanding;

mental tension (Figurative on Q.)

3 n emphasis placed on a syllable

when speaking by saying it louder

or in a different tone (Plural only

for types and instances.) 4 n

emphasis (No plural.) 5 tv to

place E on a syllable when

speak-ing 6 tv to place emphasis or

focus on something (The object

can be a clause with that U.)

stretch ["strEtS] 1 tv to extend

something 2 iv to be elastic; to

be able to be pulled without

break-ing 3 n a continuous area of

land 4 n a continuous period of

time

→ at a stretch

stretch one’s legs to walk around

after sitting or lying down for a

time

stretch out 1 to become wider; to

become longer; to lengthen

2 [for something] to spread one’s

arms and legs out over time or

space 3 to lie down on a bed and

spread out to nap or sleep

stretch someone or something out

to extend or draw out someone or

something

stretch something out (to

one or something) to reach

some-thing out to someone or

something

stretcher ["strEtS #] n a device like

a light bed or cot, used to carry someone who is sick or dead

strict ["strIkt] 1 adj [of rules or

discipline] severe, harsh, or

demanding (Adv: strictly Comp:

stricter; sup: strictest.) 2 adj.

absolute; exact (Adv: strictly Comp: stricter; sup: strictest.)

(strictly) on the level honest;

dependably open and fair

stridden ["strId n] Past participle

ofstride

stride ["straId] 1 n the length of one’s step while walking 2 n a

long step made while walking

3 iv., irreg to walk by taking long

steps (Past tense: strode; past par-ticiple: stridden The past partici-ple is rarely used.)

→ take somethingin stride

strife ["straIf] n fighting; a bitter

struggle; a heated argument or battle (No plural.)

strike ["straIk] 1 tv., irreg to hit

someone or something; to hit something against something; to crash into something (Past tense and past participle: struck.) 2 tv.,

irreg to attack someone or

some-thing 3 tv., irreg to light a match;

to cause something to burn with

fire 4 tv., irreg to discover

some-thing underneath the ground by

digging or drilling 5 iv., irreg.

[for a group of workers] to refuse

to work until their demands are

met 6 iv., irreg to attack 7 iv.,

irreg to make contact; to have a

negative effect [on someone or

something] 8 iv., irreg [for a

clock] to make a sound like a bell

to tell what time it is 9 n the

strike

603

state that exists when workers

refuse to work during a labor

dis-pute 10 n [in baseball] a penalty

given to a player who swings the

bat and misses the ball, who hits

the ball foul, or who does not

swing the bat when the umpire

thinks that the ball went by the

batter in a location that the batter

could have hit it 11 n [in

bowl-ing] an instance of knocking over

all the pins at once

→ be (out) on strike

→ get two strikes against one

→ go (out) on strike

strike a balance (between two

things) to find a satisfactory

com-promise between two extremes

strike a chord (with someone) to

cause someone to remember

something; to remind someone or

something; to be familiar

strike a happy medium and hit

a happy medium to find a

com-promise position; to arrive at a

position halfway between two

unacceptable extremes

strike a match to light a match.

strike a pose to position oneself in

a certain posture

strike a sour note and hit a sour

note to signify something

unpleasant

strike back (at someone or

some-thing) to return the blows of

someone or something; to return

the attack of someone or

some-thing

strike for something to conduct a

work stoppage in order to gain

something

strike home Go to hit home.

strike it rich to acquire wealth

suddenly

strike out 1 [for a baseball player]

to accumulate three strikes,

end-ing that turn at bat 2 to have a

series of failures (Figurative.)

strike out (at someone or thing) to hit at someone or

some-thing with the intention of threatening or doing harm

strike someone as something [for a

thought or behavior] to affect someone a certain way

strike someone funny to seem

funny to someone

strike someone’s fancy to appeal

to someone

strike something down [for a

court] to invalidate a law

strike up a friendship to become

friends (with someone)

strike while the iron is hot to do

something at the best possible time, while there is an appropriate opportunity

string ["strIN] 1 n a thin rope or a

thick thread, especially used for tying something, binding some-thing, or suspending something in

the air (No plural.) 2 n a length

of Q or thread 3 n a wire or

cord that is stretched tight and is used to produce sound in certain

musical instruments 4 n a cord

used to form the tightly pulled

“net” found in a tennis racket and

similar sports equipment 5 n a

number of people or things in a

row 6 tv., irreg to put E or R on

a guitar, violin, tennis racket, etc (Past tense and past participle: strung.) 7 tv., irreg to place

some-strike a balance (between two things)

604

thing on W (E.g., to string beads.)

8 tv., irreg to stretch something

that is like Q from one place to

another

→ control the purse strings

→ tied to one’smother’s apron

strings

→ with no strings attached

→ without any strings attached

string someone along to maintain

someone’s attention or interest,

probably insincerely

strings n the musical instruments

whose sounds are made by

rub-bing a bow across stringsas in

string E; the people who play the

instruments having stringsas in

string E (Treated as plural.)

strip ["strIp] 1 n a long, flat piece

of something 2 tv to undress

someone; to remove someone’s

clothes; to remove something’s

covering 3 tv to make something

empty or bare 4 iv to take off

one’s clothes; to undress

→ comic strip

strip down to remove one’s

cloth-ing

stripe ["straIp] 1 n a long band of

color or texture; a wide line; a

wide line of something that is

dif-ferent from what is around it

2 tv to mark something with Q;

to put Q on something

strode ["strod] past tense ofstride

stroll ["strol] 1 n a pleasant walk.

2 iv to go for a pleasant walk.

strong ["strON] 1 adj having

strength in the mind or body;

hav-ing power in the mind or the

body; using strength (Adv:

strongly Comp: stronger; sup:

strongest.) 2 adj able to last; able

to withstand something; not easily

broken; sturdy (Adv: strongly Comp: stronger; sup: strongest.)

3 adj [of a taste, smell, or color]

intense (Adv: strongly Comp:

stronger; sup: strongest.) 4 adj.

having a certain number [of peo-ple] (Follows a specific number.)

→ (as) strong as an ox

struck ["str^k] past tense and past

participle ofstrike

structure ["str^k tS#] 1 n the way

that something is put together; the way that something is built; the way that something or some

crea-ture is arranged (No plural.) 2 n.

a building 3 n something that is made from different parts 4 tv to

arrange something so that it has a certain form; to form something

in a certain way; to make some-thing from different parts

struggle ["str^g @l] 1 iv to work

hard for or against something; to fight for or against something,

using a lot of effort or energy 2 n.

a hard fight for or against some-thing; a difficult effort for or against something

struggle through (something) to

get through something in the best way possible

strung ["str^N] past tense and past

participle ofstring

strut ["str^t] iv to walk somewhere

arrogantly; to walk somewhere as though one were more important than one is

stub ["st^b] 1 tv to hurt a toe by hitting it against something 2 n a

short end of something that remains after the rest of it is taken

or used

stub

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