NTC''''s Pocket Dictionary of Words and Phrases part 68 docx

→ come to think of it → hardly have time to think → put on one’sthinking cap → wishful thinking think back on someone or some-thing to think about someone or something as a memory from t

fat on one’s body (Adv: thinly.

Comp: thinner; sup: thinnest.)

3 adj not dense; spread out (Adv:

thinly Comp: thinner; sup:

thinnest.) 4 adj not thick; [of a

liquid] containing a lot of water;

flowing easily (Adv: thinly Comp:

thinner; sup: thinnest.) 5 tv to

make something runnier or R

→ on thin ice

→ out of thin air

→ pull somethingout of thin air

→ skate on thin ice

→ spread oneselftoo thin

→ through thick and thin

→ vanish into thin air

thin down to become thinner or

slimmer

thin on top balding (Informal.)

thin out to spread out; to become

less dense

thin something out to make

thing less dense; to scatter

some-thing

thing ["TIN] 1 n any object; an

object whose name is not known;

an object whose name is not

important 2 n an event; an

action; a deed; a statement; an

idea

→ amount to the same thing (as

something)

→ first thing (in the morning)

→ First things first.

→ get into the swing of things

→ One thing leads to another.

→ see things

→ thevery thing

think ["TINk] 1 iv., irreg to use

one’s mind; to have thoughts or

opinions; to form ideas in the

mind (Past tense and past

partici-ple: thought.) 2 iv., irreg to be

able to use one’s mind; to have the

ability to use one’s mind 3 tv.,

irreg to have a certain belief or

opinion; to believe something (The object can be a clause with that U.)

→ come to think of it

→ hardly have time to think

→ put on one’sthinking cap

→ wishful thinking

think back (on someone or

some-thing) to think about someone or

something as a memory from the past

think back (to something) to

remember something in the past

think better of something to reconsider something; to think again and decide not to do some-thing

think on one’s feet to think while

one is talking

think something out to go through

something in one’s mind; to think through something

think something over to think

about something and whether one will choose to do it

think something through to

con-sider something carefully and try

to settle it in one’s mind

think something up to invent

some-thing

think the world of someone or something to be very fond of someone or something

thin-skinned easily upset or hurt;

sensitive

third ["T#d] 3rd Go to fourth

thirdly ["T#d li] adv in the third

place; as a third point of discus-sion

thin down

636

thirst ["T#st] n the feeling caused

by having nothing to drink; the

need to drink (No plural.)

athirst for something a craving or

desire for something

thirsty ["T#s ti] adj needing to

drink; having had nothing to

drink; having thirst (Adv:

thirstily Comp: thirstier; sup:

thirstiest.)

thirsty for something craving or

desiring something

thirteen ["T#t "tin] 13 Go to four

thirteenth ["T#t "tinT] 13th Go to

fourth

thirtieth ["T#t i @T] 30th Go to

fourth

thirty ["T#t i] 30 Go to forty

this ["DIs] 1 adj a form referring to

a thing or person that has already

been referred to or is obvious and

present; a form referring to an

object that one is pointing to or

otherwise indicating (Prenominal

only Use thesewith plural nouns.)

2 adj a form introducing a thing

or person new to the conversation

(Colloquial Prenominal only Use

thesewith plural nouns.) 3 adj a

form referring to the thing,

per-son, or point in time that is closer

or the closest to the speaker (Used

in contrast with that Prenominal

only Use thesewith plural nouns.)

4 pron a form standing for a

thing or person that has already

been mentioned or is obvious and

present (Plural: these.) 5 pron a

form standing for the thing,

per-son, or point in time that is closer

or the closest to the speaker (Used

in contrast with that Plural:

these.) 6 adv to the indicated

degree (E.g., [gesturing] he is this big.)

thorn ["Torn] n a sharp, pointed

growth on a plant

→ be a thorn in someone’sside

thorough ["T# o] adj complete;

done with great attention and in

great detail (Adv: thoroughly.)

those ["Doz] 1 plural ofthat

2 pron the people [who do some-thing] 3 adj a form referring to

people or things already men-tioned or people or things of which both the speaker and hearer are aware (Prenominal only With singular nouns, use that.) 4 adj a

form referring to people or things farther away or the farthest away from the speaker (Used in con-trast with these Prenominal only With singular nouns, use that.)

though ["Do] 1 conj in spite of

something; in spite of the fact

that; although 2 adv however.

→ as though

thought ["TOt] 1 past tense and

past participle ofthink 2 n.

thinking; attention; time taken to think about an idea (No plural.)

3 n an idea; an opinion;

some-thing that one thinks

→ food for thought

→ get second thoughts about someone or something

→ lose one’strain of thought

→ lost in thought

→ not give it another thought

→ on second thought

→ Perish the thought.

→ school of thought

thousand ["TaU z@nd] 1 n 1,000;

the number between 999 and 1,001 (Additional numbers

thousand

637

formed as with two thousand, three

thousand, four thousand, etc.) 2 n.

a group of 1,000 people or things

→ one in a thousand

thousandth ["TaU z@ndT] 1,000th.

Go to fourth

thrash something out to discuss

something thoroughly and solve

any problems

thread ["TrEd] 1 n fine string,

made of twisted strands of cotton,

silk, or other fiber, that is used to

sew pieces of cloth together or is

woven to make cloth (Plural only

for types and instances.) 2 n a

very thin strand of something; a

length of Q 3 n a theme or idea

that links parts of an argument or

a story (Figurative on W.) 4 n.

the raised ridge that wraps around

the length of a screw or a bolt

(Usually plural, but not

counta-ble.) 5 tv to pass Q through

something, usually a needle 6 tv.

to place something on Q or on

string, wire, etc

→ hang by a thread

thread one’s way through

some-thing to make a path for oneself

through a crowded area; to move

slowly through a crowded area

thread through something to

travel through a crowded area; to

travel through an area where there

are many obstacles

threat ["TrEt] 1 n a warning; a

statement or action that indicates

that someone is going to hurt or

punish someone in a certain way

2 n a sign of danger; a sign that

something harmful or dangerous

is going to happen

threaten ["TrEt n] 1 tv to express a

threat against someone (The object can be a clause with that

U.) 2 iv to be a threat; to be an

indication of danger

threaten to do something [for someone or something] to make a threat to do something

three ["Tri] 3 Go to four

→ like a three-ring circus

→ Two’s company(, three’s a crowd).

threw ["Tru] past tense ofthrow

thrift ["TrIft] n the careful use of

money and things; the habit of not wasting money or things (No plu-ral.)

thrifty ["TrIf ti] the adj form of

thrift

thrill ["TrIl] 1 n an intense feeling

of emotion, especially excitement,

enjoyment, or fear 2 tv to cause

someone to feel full of emotion, especially excitement, enjoyment,

or fear

thrive ["TraIv] 1 iv., irreg to grow

and survive; to develop in a very healthy way (Past tense: throveor

thrived; past participle: thrived or

thriven.) 2 iv., irreg to be

success-ful; to become very rich

thriven ["TrIv @n] a past participle

ofthrive.

throat ["Trot] 1 n the front of the neck 2 n the inside of the neck,

where food and air pass

→ cut one’s(own) throat

→ get a lump in one’sthroat

→ have a frog in one’sthroat

→ have one’swords stick in one’s throat

→ one’s words stick in one’sthroat thousandth

638

throb ["Trab] 1 iv to beat strongly

and quickly, as with the beating of

the heart or some other pulse

2 iv to have a pain that occurs

with each heartbeat 3 n one beat

in a series of strong, quick beats

throne ["Tron] 1 n the chair that a

king, queen, or other ruler or

important person sits on 2 n the

position held by a king, queen, or

other ruler or important person

throng in(to something) [for a

crowd] to swarm into something

or someplace

throng out (of something) [for a

crowd] to swarm out of something

or someplace

through ["Tru] 1 prep from the

outside of one end of something,

into it, to the other end of it, and

out of the other side of it 2 prep.

because of something; on account

of something 3 prep moving

throughout or within something

4 prep during the entire time

from beginning to end; during the

entire way from start to finish

5 adv in one side and out the

other 6 adv from beginning to

end; from start to finish 7 adj.

finished; done

through thick and thin through

good times and bad times

throughout [Tru "aUt] prep in

every part of something; during

every moment of something

throve ["Trov] a past tense of

thrive.

throw ["Tro] 1 tv., irreg to send

something through the air; to hurl

something; to cause something to

move through the air (Past tense:

threw;past participle: thrown.)

2 tv., irreg to put someone or

something someplace carelessly,

with force, or in a hurry 3 tv.,

irreg [for an animal] to cause a

rider to fall off 4 tv., irreg to

move a switch in order to start or

stop the flow of electricity 5 tv.,

irreg to cause someone to be in a

certain condition, especially a confused one

→ astone’s throw away

throw caution to the wind to

become very careless

throw cold water on something

Go to pour cold water on something.

throw good money after bad to

waste additional money after hav-ing wasted money once before

throw in the sponge Go to throw

in the towel.

throw in the towel and throw in the sponge to quit (doing

some-thing)

throw oneself at someone’s feet to

bow down humbly at someone’s feet

throw oneself at the mercy of the court Go to throw oneselfon the mercy of the court.

throw oneself on the mercy of the court and throw oneself at the mercy of the court to plead

for mercy from a judge in a court-room

throw someone a curve and pitch someone a curve 1 to pitch a

curveball to someone in baseball

2 to confuse someone by doing

something unexpected

throw someone a curve

639

throw someone for a loop and

knock someone for a loop to

confuse or shock someone

throw someone over (for someone

else) to break up with a lover in

favor of someone else

throw someone to the wolves to

sacrifice someone to something or

some fate

throw something into the bargain

to include something in a deal

throw something off to cast

some-thing, such as a coat, off one’s

body

throw something together to

assemble or create something in a

hurry

throw something up 1 to build or

erect something in a hurry 2 to

vomit something

throw up to vomit.

thrown ["Tron] past participle of

throw.

thrust ["Tr^st] 1 tv., irreg to push

someone or something forward

with force; to push someone or

something in a certain direction

with force (Past tense and past

participle: thrust.) 2 tv., irreg to

drive a sharp object at or into

someone or something 3 iv.,

irreg to move forward with force;

to lunge, especially with a sharp

object 4 n a forceful movement

in a certain direction; a lunge; a

stab

thrust out to stick out; to stab

out-ward; to protrude outward

thrust someone or something back

to push someone or something

backward and away

thud ["T^d] n the dull sound of

something heavy falling onto, or hitting, something firm but unbreakable

thumb ["T^m] 1 n the first and

shortest finger on the hand, sepa-rate from the other four, having two knuckles instead of three

2 n the part of a glove or mitten

that covers Q

→ all thumbs

→ get someoneunder one’sthumb

→ have a green thumb

→ rule of thumb

→ twiddle one’sthumbs

thumb a ride and hitch a ride to

get a ride from a passing motorist;

to make a sign with one’s thumb that indicates to passing drivers that one is begging for a ride

thumb one’s nose at someone or

something to (figuratively or liter-ally) make a rude gesture of dis-gust with one’s thumb and nose at someone or something

thumbnail ["T^m nel] n the nail on

one’s thumb

thumbnail sketch small; short;

brief

thumbtack ["T^m tAk] 1 n a tack

with a large, flat head that is pressed with one’s thumb to drive the pointed part into a surface (See also tack.) 2 tv to attach

something to a surface with Q

thump ["T^mp] 1 n the sound

made by hitting someone or some-thing with somesome-thing hard or against something hard 2 tv to

hit someone or something with something hard; to hit someone or something against something hard

throw someone for a loop

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thunder ["T^n d#] 1 n the loud

noise that follows lightning (No

plural.) 2 n any loud noise or

explosion that sounds like Q 3 iv.

[for weather conditions] to make

Q 4 iv to make a noise like Q; to

walk or move, making noise like

Q

→ steal someone’sthunder

thundershower ["T^n d# SaU #] n.

rain with thunder and lightning

thunderstorm ["T^n d# storm] n.

a storm with thunder and

light-ning

Thursday ["T#Z de] Go to day.

thus ["D^s] adv therefore; for this

reason; for these reasons; as a

result

tick ["tIk] 1 n the short, quiet

sound made by a watch or a clock

2 n a small, flat insect that

attaches to the skin of animals and

sucks their blood 3 n a mark that

is made when counting something

or checking something 4 iv [for

a clock, watch, or other timepiece]

to make a short, quiet sound each

second

→ (as) full as a tick

→ (as) tight as a tick

→ make someone or somethingtick

→ what makes someonetick

ticket ["tIk It] 1 n a piece of paper

that shows that its owner has paid

for transportation or for entrance

into a place 2 n a piece of paper

that is given as a receipt when one

leaves something at a repair shop,

cleaners, or other business so that

one can get the item back 3 n a

piece of paper that is given to

someone who has broken a traffic

or parking law, requiring that

per-son to pay a fine or appear in court

→ That’s the ticket.

→ vote a split ticket

→ vote a straight ticket

tickle ["tIk @l] 1 tv to touch a

per-son’s body in a way that causes

him or her to laugh 2 tv to

amuse someone (Figurative on

Q.) 3 iv to cause a feeling that causes someone to laugh 4 n an

itchy feeling; a feeling that one needs to scratch, cough, or sneeze

tickle someone’s fancy to interest

someone; to make someone curi-ous

ticklish ["tIk lIS] 1 adj sensitive to

tickling; likely to laugh when

tick-led (Adv: ticklishly.) 2 adj

diffi-cult; hard to answer; delicate; requiring careful thought or action (Figurative on Q Adv:

ticklishly.)

tide ["taId] n the rise and fall of the

ocean, caused by the pull of the sun and the moon

tide someone over (until some-thing) to supply someone [with

something] until a certain time or until something happens

→ swim against the tide

→ turn the tide

tidy ["taI di] 1 adj very neat;

orderly; not messy (Adv: tidily.

Comp: tidier; sup: tidiest.) 2 tv to

make something Q

tidy something up to clean

some-thing up; to make somesome-thing more orderly

tidy up to clean up [oneself or a

place]

tie ["taI] 1 tv to form string, rope,

cord, or thread into a knot or bow,

tie

641

often as a way to connect it to

something or to join two pieces or

ends together (Present participle:

tying.) 2 tv to join someone in

occupying the same position in a

list that ranks a group of things; to

have the same score as the

oppo-site player or team 3 iv [for two

teams] to have the same score; to

occupy the same position as

some-one else in a list that ranks a group

of things 4 n a necktie; a strip of

cloth that is looped around the

neck and tiedas in Q so there is a

knot at the neck and the two ends

hang down in front of one’s shirt

5 n a result of a game where both

teams or players have the same

score; a ranking where two or

more people or things have the

same rank

→ have one’shands tied

→ one’shands are tied

→ sever ties with someone

→ with both hands tied behind

one’sback

→ with one hand tied behind one’s

back

tie in (with someone or something)

to join with someone or

some-thing; to connect with someone or

something

tie in(to something) to fasten or

connect to something

tie someone down (to someone or

something) to encumber

some-thing with someone or somesome-thing;

to make someone responsible to or

for someone or something

tie someone in knots to make

someone anxious or upset

tie someone or something down to

fasten someone or something

down by tying or binding

tie someone or something in(to something) to seek to establish a

connection between someone or something and some event or occurrence

tie someone or something up to

keep someone or something busy

or occupied

tie someone’s hands to prevent

someone from doing something

tie something back to bind or

fas-ten something back out of the way

tie something (up) to fasten

some-thing with string, rope, cord, or thread

tie the knot to get married tied to one’s mother ’s apron strings dominated by one’s

mother; dependent on one’s mother

tiger ["taI g#] n a large, fierce

ani-mal that is a member of the cat family and has orange or yellow fur with black stripes

tight ["taIt] 1 adj not loose;

hav-ing no extra room on the sides or around the edges; fitting closely

(Adv: tightly Comp: tighter; sup: tightest.) 2 adj [of a schedule]

having no extra time; having no appointments available

(Figura-tive on Q Adv: tightly Comp: tighter; sup: tightest.) 3 adj.

closely held; firmly fastened; fixed

(Adv: tightly Comp: tighter; sup: tightest.) 4 adj stretched; taut.

(Adv: tightly Comp: tighter; sup:

tightest.) 5 adv in a manner that

is Q; firmly; closely (Comp:

tighter; sup: tightest.)

→ (as) tight as a tick

→ in a (tight) spot tie in (with someone or something)

642

→ keep a tight rein on someone or

something

→ run a tight ship

→ sit tight

tighten ["taIt n] 1 tv to make

something tight; to make

some-thing tighter 2 iv to become

tight; to become tighter

tighten one’s belt to manage to

spend less money

tighten something up to make

something tighter

tighten up 1 [for something] to

get tighter 2 [for someone or a

group] to become miserly

tightrope ["taIt rop] n a rope or

cable that is stretched tight, high

above the ground, and on which

acrobats perform

→ walk a tightrope

tights n a garment that is worn

below the waist and fits closely

against one’s body, generally worn

by women and dancers;

panty-hose (Treated as plural Number

is expressed with pair(s) of tights.)

tile ["taIl] 1 n baked clay or

ceramic material formed into

use-ful shapes for construction and

decoration (Plural only for types

and instances.) 2 n a thin,

formed piece of Q used for

cover-ing floors, walls, roofs, and other

surfaces in buildings and houses

3 n a square of soft material that

absorbs sound and provides

deco-ration, used in the construction of

ceilings 4 tv to cover a surface

with W or a similar substance

5 iv to work by covering surfaces

with W

till ["tIl] 1 tv to plow land; to

pre-pare soil for planting 2 n the

drawer in a cash register or counter where money is kept in a place of business 3 prep until; up

to a certain time; during a period

of time up to a certain time

4 conj until; up to a certain time

5 conj until; before

→ have one’shand in the till

tilt ["tIlt] 1 tv to turn something to its side; to slant something 2 iv.

to be turned to the side; to be tipped; to slant; to slope

tilt at windmills to fight battles

with imaginary enemies; to fight against unimportant enemies or issues (As with the fictional char-acter Don Quixote, who attacked windmills, imagining them to be enemies.)

timber ["tIm b#] 1 n trees that are

growing; a forest; woods (No

plu-ral.) 2 n a thick length of wood time ["taIm] 1 n every moment

that ever was, is now, and ever will be; a continuous state of being from the past, through now, and into the future (No plural.) 2 n a

period of Q; a period of Q between two events (No plural.)

3 n the amount of Q that it takes

to do something (No plural.) 4 n.

an exact moment in the passage of Q; some moment in the passage

of Q 5 n the appropriate

moment, day, week, etc., to do

something (No plural.) 6 n an

occasion of doing something; an instance of something being done

7 tv to measure the existence of

something that is happening; to measure how long or how fast it takes someone to do something

8 tv to determine the best R for

time

643

doing something, and do it then.

9 tv to set or arrange something

so that it does something at a

cer-tain time as in R

→ ahead of one’stime

→ get time to catch one’sbreath

→ hardly have time to think

→ have the time of one’slife

→ in one’sspare time

→ in less than no time

→ in the nick of time

→ in the right place at the right

time

→ in the wrong place at the wrong

time

→ in time

→ in times past

→ invest (someone’s) time in something

→ keep up (with the times)

→ kill time

→ Long time no see.

→ make up for lost time

→ run out of time

→ thesands of time

→ serve time

→ since time immemorial

→ when the time is ripe

time flies time passes very quickly.

(From the Latin tempus fugit.)

Time hangs heavy on someone’s

hands Time seems to go slowly

when one has nothing to do

time in to record one’s arrival time.

time off a period of time during

which one does not have to work;

free time

time out to record one’s departure

time

time someone in to record

some-one’s arrival time

time someone out to record

some-one’s departure time

time was (when) there was a time

when; at a time in the past

timepiece ["taIm pis] n a device,

especially a clock or a watch, that keeps track of time

timer ["taIm #] n someone or

something that records time, espe-cially a device that can be set to indicate when a certain amount of time has passed

times 1 n periods of time and the

events that occurred during them

2 prep multiplied by a number.

(Represented by the symbol ().)

timid ["tIm Id] adj full of fear;

eas-ily scared (Adv: timidly Comp: timider; sup: timidest.)

tin ["tIn] 1 n a metal that is mixed

with other metals to make bronze and is used as a coating for steel so that the steel doesn’t rust (No plu-ral.) 2 n a can or a container

made of Q or plated with Q, or a modern steel can containing no

Q (Usually limited to containers that hold cookies, crackers, and sardines Canis used more

fre-quently.) 3 adj made of or coated

with Q

tinge ["tIndZ] 1 n a very small

amount of something, such as a

color or an emotion 2 tv to add

to or improve something with a small amount of something

tingle ["tIN g@l] 1 n a light prickly

or stinging feeling, as though one received a small shock or thrill

2 iv to experience a light stinging

feeling, as though one has received

a small shock or thrill

tinker (around) (with something)

to meddle with something; to play with something, trying to get it to work or work better

time flies

644

tinkle ["tIN k@l] 1 n a short, quiet,

high-pitched ring or clinking

sound something like a soft jingle

2 iv to ring in a short, quiet,

high-pitched way

tint ["tInt] 1 n a color; a weakened

shade of a color 2 tv to color

something slightly; to give a small

amount of color to something; to

dye hair with Q

tinted ["tIn t@d] adj slightly

col-ored

tiny ["taI ni] adj very small (Adv:

tinily Comp: tinier; sup: tiniest.)

tip ["tIp] 1 n the very end part of

an object; the top of an object

2 n money that is given to

some-one for a service 3 n a hint; a

suggestion; a piece of advice 4 tv.

to lean something to the side; to

cause something to slant 5 tv to

give someone money for a service;

to leave someone W (E.g., tip the

porter.) 6 tv to give a certain sum

or percentage of money in

grati-tude for service (E.g., tip 15

per-cent for good service.) 7 iv to lean

to the side; to slant 8 iv to give

people money for their services

→ on the tip of one’stongue

tip someone off (about someone

or something) and tip someone

off (on someone or something) to

give someone a valuable piece of

news about someone or

some-thing

tip someone off (on someone or

something) Go to tip someoneoff

(about someone or something).

tip something over to cause

some-thing to fall over

tip the scales at something to weigh some amount

tiptoe ["tIp to] 1 n the tips of the

toes, referring to walking on the

toes 2 iv to walk on the tips of

one’s toes; to walk very quietly or lightly

→ on tiptoe

tire ["taI#] n a circular structure of

rubber that surrounds a wheel and

is filled with air

→ flat tire

tire of someone or something to become impatient with someone

or something

tire (out) to become weary or

exhausted

tire someone out to cause someone

to become exhausted, sleepy, or weary

tired ["taI#d] 1 adj sleepy;

want-ing to sleep; exhausted (Adv:

tiredly.) 2 adj impatient with

someone or something; annoyed with someone or something (Adv:

tiredly.)

→ sick (and tired) of someone or something

tiring ["taIr IN] adj causing one to

become tired, especially because it requires a lot of energy, patience,

or attention; exhausting (Adv: tir-ingly.)

tissue ["tIS ju] 1 n a very soft

piece of paper that is used to wipe the skin or for blowing the nose

2 n a part of a plant or an animal

that is made of many cells having the same function; the group of cells in a plant or animal that form

a particular organ (Plural only for types and instances.)

tissue

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