NTC's pocket dictionary of words and phrases part 75

NTC's Pocket Dictionary of Words and Phrases part 75. The small but very concise NTC's Pocket Dictionary of Words and Phrases offers 6,000 basic and common English words plus 6,000 basic and common English idioms and phrases. You will find this portable title essential in the classroom, at home, or

mals where the developing baby is

protected and fed until birth

women ['wim an] plural of woman

won ['wan] past tense and past par-

ticiple of win

wonder ['wan da] 1 1 someone

or something that is amazing, sur-

prising, or like a miracle 2 tv to

wish to know something; to want

to know something 3 adj very

good, helpful, or of great benefit

— NINE DAYS’ WONDER

wonderful ['‘wan dz ful] adj very

good; amazing; remarkable; mar-

velous (Adv: wonderfully.)

wonderland ['wan da lend] 1 an

area or place that is wonderful

won't ['wont] coz will not

woo ['wu] 1 év to court someone

with the intention of marrying

2 ty to encourage someone ora

group to cooperate, join some-

thing, or buy something

wood ['wud] 1 2 the hard sub-

stance that trees make as they

grow (Plural only for types and

instances.) 2 n a kind or type of

@) 3 1 a small forest; an area

where there are many trees (Usu-

ally plural, but not countable The

meaning is the same for the singu-

lar and the plural.) 4 the adj use

of @, @, or @)

— a BABE IN THE WOODS

— KNOCK ON WooD

— OUT OF THE WOODS

wooden [wud n] 1 adj made of

wood 2 adj stiff; not easily

moved; not moving easily; not

flexible (Figurative on @) Adv:

woodland ['wud land] x an area

of land that is covered with trees (Singular or plural with the same meaning, but not countable.) woodpecker ['wud pek a] n a bird that has a long, sharp beak for piercing holes in trees and a long tongue to catch insects inside the

tree

woodwind ['wud wind] # a group

of musical instruments, many of

which are made of wood or used

to be made of wood, and many of which are played by blowing air across a reed

woodwork ['wud wak] 1 some- thing that is made of wood, espe- cially the trim on the inside of a house or building (No plural.) woody ['wud i] 1 adj covered with woods; covered with trees (Comp: woodier; sup: woodiest.)

2 adj [of a plant] containing wood (Comp: woodier; sup: woodiest.)

wool ['wul] 1 2 the soft, curly hair

of sheep and goats (Plural only for types and instances.) 2 n thread, yarn, or fabric made from

@) (No plural.) 3 adj made from (2); WOOLEN

— PULL THE WOOL OVER SOMEONE'S EYES woolen ['wul an] adj made of WOOL

woolgathering daydreaming word ['wad] 1 7 a speech sound

or group of speech sounds that has

a particular meaning; a written symbol or a group of written sym- bols that represent a speech sound

or group of speech sounds that has

a particular meaning 2 tv to

work something off express something by choosing @

carefully

— BREAK ONE'S WORD

— BY WORD OF MOUTH

—> EAT ONE'S WORDS

— FROM THE WORD GO

— GET A WORD IN EDGEWISE

—> GET THE FINAL WORD

— GET THE LAST WORD

— GET THE WORD

—> GO BACK ON ONE'S WORD

— HANG ON SOMEONE'S EVERY WORD

—> HAVE ONE'S WORDS STICK IN ONE'S

THROAT

— KEEP ONE'S WORD

— NOT UTTER A WORD

— ONE'S WORD

—> ONE”S WORDS STICK IN ONE'S THROAT

— PUT IN A GOOD WORD (FOR SOMEONE)

— PUT WORDS INTO SOMEONE'S MOUTH

—> TAKE THE WORDS (RIGHT) OUT OF

ONE'S MOUTH

— TRUE TO ONE'S WORD

—> TWIST SOMEONE'S WORDS (AROUND)

the word 1 ? an order; a com-

mand (No plural Treated as sin-

gular.) 2 ? news; information

(No plural Treated as singular.)

wordy ['wz-di] a7 having too

many words; using more words

than necessary to express some-

thing (Adv: wordily Comp:

wordier; sup: wordiest.)

wore ['wor] past tense of WEAR

work ['wak] 1 7 an activity that

requires effort (No plural.) 2 n

the effort required to do an activ-

ity (No plural.) 3 2 something

that is a result of effort or energy;

a piece of music or art 4 1 a job;

an occupation; a career; what one

does for a living; what a person

does to make money (No plural.)

5 1 the place where one’s job is

located; the job site (No plural.)

6 iv to be employed; to have a

job; to labor; to earn money at a job 7 iv to function properly; to operate properly 8 tv to cause something to function as intended 9 tv to cause someone

or something to operate or func- tion; to cause someone or some- thing to be active; to cause something to use energy 10 tv to plow or farm land

— ALL IN A DAY'S WORK

— DIRTY WORK

— GET DOWN TO WORK

— MAKE FAST WORK OF SOMEONE OR SOMETHING

—> MAKE SHORT WORK OF SOMEONE OR SOMETHING

work away (at something) to con- tinue to work hard or industri- ously at something

work like a horse to work very hard

work on someone 1 [for a physi- cian] to treat someone; [for a sur- geon] to operate on someone

2 to try to convince someone of

something 3 [for something,

such as medication] to have the desired effect on someone work one’s fingers to the bone to work very hard

work out 1 [for something] to turn out all right in the end

2 [for someone] to do a program

of exercise

work out for the best to end up

in the best possible way

work something in(to something)

to press, mix, or force a substance into something

work something off 1 to get rid of body fat by doing strenuous work

2 to get rid of anger, anxiety, or

work something up

energy by doing physical activity

3 to pay off a debt through work

rather than by money

work something up to prepare

something, perhaps on short

notice

work up to something 1 [for

something] to build or progress to

something (Usually concerning

the weather.) 2 [for someone] to

lead up to something

work (up)on something 1 to

repair or tinker with something

2 [for something] to have the

desired effect on something

workbook ['wak buk] 1 a text-

book for students, often including

pages that assignments can be

written on

worker ['wak a] 1 someone who

works; someone who is employed

workout ['wak aut] 7 a period of

physical exercise

the works everything

world ['wald] 1 1 the planet

earth 2 n the people who live on

the planet earth; the human race

3 n a planet other than earth,

especially as the source of other

life forms 4 n an area of human

activity, thought, or interest

— CARRY THE WEIGHT OF THE WORLD

ON ONE'S SHOULDERS

— COME DOWN IN THE WORLD

— COME UP IN THE WORLD

— DEAD TO THE WORLD

— IN A WORLD OF ONE'S OWN

— IN THE WORLD

— MOVE UP (IN THE WORLD)

— NOT LONG FOR THIS WORLD

— ON TOP OF THE WORLD

— OUT OF THIS WORLD

— SET THE WORLD ON FIRE

— THINK THE WORLD OF SOMEONE OR SOMETHING

— WITH THE BEST WILL IN THE WORLD World Wide Web ['wald 'waid 'web] n an international network

of data storage, transfer, and its visual and audio display, designed

to be accessed through a computer connection (Abbreviated WWW and the Wes.)

worldwide ['wald ‘ward] adj found or occurring throughout the world; involving everyone in the world

worm ['wam] 1 any of numerous

small, soft, tube-shaped animals

having no legs or head, including some that crawl underground and others that live as parasites in ani- mals or people

— OPEN A CAN OF WORMS worn ['worn] 1 Past participle of wear 2 adj reduced in value or usefulness owing to wear worn-out ['worn 'aut] 1 adj com- pletely reduced in value or useful- ness because of wear 2 adj very

tired; exhausted

worry ['wa-i] 1 7 a feeling of anx- iety; a fear of trouble (Plural only for types and instances.) 2 n someone or something that causes

a 3 tv to be anxious that some-

thing bad might happen; to sus- pect, regrettably, that something bad might happen (The object is a clause with THAT Œ?).) 4 tv to cause someone to feel anxiety or to fear trouble

worse ['was] 1 adj more bad; less good; inferior (The comparative form of Bab.) 2 adv in a way that

wouldn't

is @) than some other way (The

comparative form of badly.)

— NONE THE WORSE FOR WEAR

—> ONE'S BARK IS WORSE THAN ONE'S

BITE

worsen ['wa's on] 1 fv to make

something worse 2 iv to become

worse 3 iv to become more sick

worship ['w2 frp] 1 ¢v to honor

someone or something greatly; to

adore someone or something

(Past tense and past participle:

worshiped Present participle: wor-

shiping.) 2 iv to attend a church

service (Past tense and past par-

ticiple: worshiped Present partici-

ple: worshiping.) 3 1 what is done

at a church service; the praise and

honor of a spirit, ancestor, god,

object, or person (No plural.)

worst ['wa:st] adj most bad; least

good; most inferior (The superla-

tive of BAD.)

— IF WORST COMES TO WORST

the worst n [among three or more]

someone or something that is the

most bad or least good (Treated as

singular or plural, but not counta-

ble.)

worth ['wa:0] 1 1 the value of

something; the amount of money

that something could sell for (No

plural.) 2 1 the importance of

someone or something; the degree

to which something is able to be

used (No plural.) 3 1 the

amount of something that can be

bought for a specific amount of

money (No plural.)

—> MAKE SOMETHING WORTH SOMEONE'S

WHILE

— NOT WORTH MENTIONING

— NOT WORTH THE TROUBLE

—> PUT IN ONE'S TWO CENTS(’ WORTH)

worth its weight in gold very valuable

worth one’s salt worth one’s salary worth someone's while worth someone’s time and trouble worthless ['wa:0 las} adj having

no value or importance; useless (Adv: worthlessly.)

worthy ['wa: 6i] adj deserving

one’s time, energy, or attention;

deserving; useful; having value or importance (Adv: worthily Comp: worthier; sup: worthiest.) worthy of the name deserving or good enough to be called some- thing

would ['wud] 1 aux a form used

as the past tense of WILL to express the future from a time in the past,

especially in indirect quotations or

in constructions where other past- tense verbs are used (Contraction: -‘d.) 2 aux a form used to express something that happened many times in the past (Contraction: -

‘d.) 3 aux a form used instead of WILL Œ to make commands more polite by turning them into ques- tions (Contraction: -’d See also WILL @); using would is usually more polite than using will.) would like (to have) to want

someone or something; to prefer

someone or something

would rather do something would more willingly do something; would more readily do something; would prefer to do something (Often -’d rather.)

wouldn't ['wud nt] cont would

not

would've

would ve ['wud ev] cont would

have, where HAVE is an auxiliary

wound 1 ['‘waund] past tense and

past participle of winp @) and G)

2 ['wund] 1 an injury where the

skin is torn or punctured

3 ['‘wund] 7 an injury to one’s

feelings (Figurative on @).)

4 ['wund] tv to injure someone;

to cause someone to have @)

— RUB SALT IN A WOUND

wove ['wov] past tense of WEAVE

woven ['wo van] past participle of

WEAVE

wrap ['rep] 1 a shawl or a scarf; a

coat or cape

—> GET SOMETHING WRAPPED UP

—> HAVE SOMETHING WRAPPED UP

—> KEEP SOMETHING UNDER WRAPS

wrap someone or something (up)

['raep ] to enclose someone or

something in a cover

wrap something up ['rap] to bring

something to an end; to conclude

something

wrath ['rz0] 1 severe anger, espe-

cially from someone with a lot of

power (No plural.)

wreak vengeance (up)on some-

one or something to seek and get

revenge on someone or a group by

harming someone or the group

wreath ['ri0] 7., irreg a decoration

of flowers and leaves arranged ina

certain shape, especially a circle

(Plural: ['ri@s] or ['ridz].)

wreathe ['rid] tv to make a circle

around something

wreck ['rek] 1 1 a serious acci-

dent, especially where something

is destroyed 2 n a ruined vehicle

that remains after a serious acci- dent 3 1 someone or something that is a mess (Figurative on @).)

4 tv to destroy something wreckage ['rek 1d3] 1 whatever remains after a serious accident or disaster (No plural Treated as singular.)

wrench ['rentf] 1 2 a tool that turns nuts, bolts, pipes, and other objects into or out of position

2 tv to twist or pull something with force 3 ¢v to injure a part

of the body by twisting it or pulling it

wrestle ['res al] 1 tv to force

someone or something loose,

down, away, etc., with force 2 iv

to participate in a sport in which ones wrestles one’s opponent down as in (1)

wringer ['riy &] 1 an old-fash- ioned washing machine that removes water from clothes by pressing them as the clothes are passed between two rollers

—> PUT SOMEONE THROUGH THE WRINGER wrinkle ['rip kal] 1 4 a crease; a small fold or line, such as in cloth- ing that has not been ironed or on the skin of an old person 2 iv to become creased; to get small lines

in one’s skin or on the surface of

something 3 fv to cause some-

one’s skin or the surface of some-

thing to have (4); to cause creases, folds, or lines to form on the sur-

face of someone or something wrist ['rist] 1 the part of the body where the hand joins the lower part of the arm

wrong

write ['rart] 1 tv., irreg to make

words or symbols on a surface

with a pen, pencil, chalk, etc (Past

tense: WROTE; past participle: writ-

TEN.) 2 tv., irreg to put thoughts

or ideas into writing; to organize

words or symbols into meaningful

prose 3 iv., irreg to mark ona

surface with a pen, pencil, chalk,

etc., as with (2) 4 iv irreg to

work by creating the content for

books, articles, movies, plays, or

other texts; to be an author; to bea

writer 5 iv., irreg to prepare and

send [a letter or note to someone]

(E.g., Please write when you can )

write away to write a lot; to con-

tinue writing

write away for something to send

for something in writing, from a

distant place

write off (to someone) (for some-

thing) to send away a request, in

writing, for something

write someone in (on something)

to write the name of someone in a

special place on a ballot, indicat-

ing a vote for the person

write someone or something off

(as something) 1 to give up on

turning someone or something

into something 2 to give up on

someone or something as a dead

loss, waste of time, hopeless case,

etc 3 to take a charge against

one’s taxes

write someone or something up to

write a narrative or description

about someone or something

write something back to someone

to write a letter or E-mail answer-

write something down to make a note of something; to record something on paper in writing write something in(to something)

1 to write information into some-

thing 2 to include a specific statement or provision in a docu- ment, such as a contract or agree- ment

write something off (on one’s taxes) to deduct something from one’s federal income taxes write something out to put thoughts into writing, rather than keeping them in one’s memory writer ['rart 2] 2 an author who writes for a living; someone who has written something

writhe ['raið]| iv to twist and turn

in pain or as though in pain writing [‘rart 1p] 1 7 making sen- tences, words, or letters with a pen, a pencil, chalk, or other writ- ing instrument (No plural.)

2 sentences, words, or letters made with a pen, a pencil, chalk,

or other writing instrument (No plural.) 3 # something that is written; a book, poem, or other document (Sometimes plural with the same meaning.) written ['rit n] 1 Past participle of write 2 adj placed in writing; printed or spelled out in writing wrong ['ron] 1 adj not correct; not true; mistaken; in error (Adv: wrongly.) 2 adj bad; evil; illegal;

immoral; not lawful (Adv:

wrongly.) 3 adj not desired; not wanted; incorrect (Adv: wrongly.)

4 adj out of order; not working

properly; faulty 5 adv in a way

that is @) 6 2 a bad, illegal,

improper, or immoral action 7 tv

to treat someone badly or unfairly

— BARK UP THE WRONG TREE

— GET OUT OF THE WRONG SIDE OF THE

BED

—> GET UP ON THE WRONG SIDE OF THE

BED

— IN THE WRONG

— IN THE WRONG PLACE AT THE WRONG TIME

— ON THE WRONG TRACK

—> RUB SOMEONE'S FUR THE WRONG WAY

— RUB SOMEONE THE WRONG WAY

wrote ['rot] past tense of write

Xerox™ ['zir aks] n a copy of a

document, especially one made on

a copier manufactured by Xerox™

(A protected trade name for a pro-

cess used to make copies of docu-

ments.)

X-ray ['eks re] 1 7 a ray of energy

that can pass through solid or

nearly solid matter, such as the

body (Used especially to take

pictures of the insides of people

or objects.) 2 2 a picture of the

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inside of a person or an object, made by passing () through the person or object onto film 3 tv

to take a picture of the inside of

a person or an object using (1) xylophone ['zar la fon] n a musi- cal instrument made of a series of

wooden bars of different sizes,

each of which makes a different note when struck with a small wooden hammer

yacht ['jat] 1 7 a large boat or

ship used for pleasure or racing

(Powered by sails, engines, or

both.) 2 iv to travel somewhere

on water in (1)

yam ['jzm] 1 1 a vegetable similar

to the potato, grown in tropical

areas 2 n a sweet potato, which

is orange and does not taste like a

potato

yank ['jznk] 1 ¢v to pull someone

or something quickly, with force

2 n a quick pull; a sharp tug

yank on something to pull or jerk

something, with force

yard ['jard] T ø a unit of measure-

ment of length equal to 36 inches,

3 feet, or about 91.44 centimeters

2 n the land that surrounds a

house or other dwelling

yardstick ['‘jard stk] 1 2 a ruler

that is 36 inches—that is, one

yard—long 2 1 something that

other things are compared with; a

standard (Figurative on ).)

yarn [‘jarn] 1 7 thick, soft thread

that is used for things like knitting

or weaving (Number is expressed

with ball(s) or skein(s) of yarn.)

2 n a tale; a story that is not com-

pletely true

—> SPIN A YARN

yawn ['jon] 1 iv to stretch one’s

mouth open and breathe in and

out slowly and deeply, especially

when one is tired or bored 2 iv

[for something like a hole] to have

a very wide opening (Figurative

on @).) 3 # an act of opening

one’s mouth, as in (4)

year ['jir] 1 7 12 months; 365.25 days; the time it takes for earth to revolve around the sun 2 n a full

or partial @) spent doing a certain activity 3 7 a particular level of

study in a school, college, or uni-

versity

— ALL YEAR LONG

—> RING IN THE NEW YEAR year after year for many years, one after another

year in, year out year after year; all year long

yearly ['jirli] 1 adj happening once a year; occurring each year; happening every year 2 adv once

a year; each year; every year years running Go to DAYs RUNNING yeast ['jist] 7 a very small fungus that causes bread to rise and is also used to make alcohol (Plural only for types and instances.) yell [‘jel] 1 tv to say something loudly; to scream something; to shout something 2 iv to speak loudly; to scream; to shout 3 n a loud cry; a shout

yell out to cry out; to shout loudly yellow ['jelo] 1.7 the color of a ripe lemon or of the yolk of an egg (Plural only for types and instances.) 2 the adj use of (@) (Comp: yellower; sup: yellowest.)

3 adj timid; scared to do some- thing (Informal Comp: yellower; sup: yellowest.)

yelp [‘jelp] 1 7 a short, high- pitched bark; a short, high-pitched shout of pain or emotion 2 iv to make (a)

714 Copyright 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc

yen [‘jen] 1 2 a strong desire; a

strong feeling of wanting some-

thing (No plural.) 2 1., irreg the

basic unit of money in Japan

(Also ¥ Plural: yen.)

yes ['jes] 1.2 a statement showing

that someone agrees with some-

thing or gives permission to do

something 2 7 an act of voting

showing that one agrees with the

proposal 3 adv a word showing

approval, consent, or willingness

4 adv a word emphasizing a posi-

tive statement, especially when

denying a negative one (E.g., Yes,

it is!)

yesterday ['jes ta de] 1 1 the day

before today 2 adv on the day

before today

— NEED SOMETHING YESTERDAY

— NOT BORN YESTERDAY

yet [‘jet] 1 adv up to a certain

point in time; by a certain point in

time; as of a certain point in time

2 ady eventually, even with barri-

ers and delays 3 adv still; even;

even more 4 adv and in spite of

that; however; nevertheless

5 conj but; however; nevertheless;

although

yield ['jild] 1 iv to bend, break, or

move out of the way because of

someone or something that is

stronger or more powerful 2 iv

to surrender to someone or some-

thing, especially someone or

something that is stronger or more

powerful; to submit to someone or

something 3 iv to allow other

traffic or people to have the right

of way; to allow another vehicle or

person to move first 4 tv [for

plants or animals] to supply or

young produce something such as food 5.7 the amount of something that is produced

yield something to someone 1 to give someone else the right to go first, be first, choose, etc 2 to give up something to someone yoke [‘jok] 1 2 a frame of wood that fits around the necks of ani- mals so they can pull something heavy that is attached to the frame (Compare this with yoLk.)

2 tv to put @) on oxen or other strong animals

a yoke around someone's neck something that oppresses people; a burden

yolk ['jok] 1 7 the round, yellow part inside an egg (Compare this with yoke E.g., use four egg yolks.) 2.1 the substance of @ (No plu- ral E.g., spilled some egg yolk.) yonder ['jan da] adv over there you ['ju] pron the second-person pronoun, singular and plural You are welcome a response to THANK You (4)

you'd [‘jud] 1 cont you would

2 cont you had, where nap is an auxiliary

you'll ['jul] cont you will young [‘jan] 1 adj in the early part of life; not old; having been alive for a short period of time as compared with an average age (Comp: younger; sup: youngest.)

2 adj new; in an early stage of development; recently formed or

started (Comp: younger; sup:

youngest.) 3 n the offspring of an animal or a human (No plural

Treated as plural Countable, but