(BQ) The dictionary will prove useful for native speakers who are looking for synonymous idiomatic phrases. Many phrases can be expressed in a variety of ways, and this dictionary, through crossreferencing, can lead the native speaker to equivalent forms with the same or similar meaning. The index provides a means for a writer to find the most appropriate phrase for a given purpose. Native speakers can find most of what they want by looking up words representing key ideas in the index and following the references to phrases in the dictionary itself.
Trang 1quail at someone or something to show fear at someone or
something; to shrink from someone or something Todd
quailed at the thought of what he had to do The students
quailed at the teacher who had been so hard on them in the
past.
quail before someone or something to cower before or at
the threat of someone or something The students
quailed before the angry principal They quailed before
the thought of punishment.
quake in one’s boots Go to shake in one’s boots.
quake with something to shake as with fear, terror, etc
Alice was quaking with fear as the door slowly opened
Todd quaked with terror when he saw the vicious dog at the
door.
qualify as something to fulfill the requirements to be
some-thing Tom qualified as a mechanic I have been
qual-ified as a mechanic since I was twenty.
qualify for something to meet the requirements for
some-thing I’m sorry, you do not qualify for this job I don’t
qualify for it.
qualify someone as something to cause someone to fulfill
the requirements for something Does this course
qual-ify me as a stockbroker? She qualified herself as a realtor.
qualify someone for something to enable someone to meet
the requirements for something His years with the
com-pany qualified him for pension Does this ticket qualify
me for the drawing?
quality time time spent with someone allowing
interac-tion and closeness He was able to spend a few minutes
of quality time with his son, Buxton, at least once every two
weeks.
*qualms (about someone or something) an uneasy feeling
of one’s conscience about someone or something
(*Typ-ically: cause ~ ; have ~ ; have no ~ ; give someone
~.) Do you have any qualms about telling a little white
lie to Mary about her not getting an invitation to the party?
quarrel (with someone) (about someone or something) to
have an argument with someone about the subject of
someone or something Please don’t quarrel with me
about money You are always quarreling with Claire.
quarrel (with someone) (over someone or something) to
have an argument with someone about someone or
some-thing Todd quarreled with Carl over who was going to
get the new secretary They are quarreling over Sally.
quarrel with something to argue against something; to have a complaint about something I can’t quarrel with that Does anyone want to quarrel with that last remark?
The Queen’s English “Official” British English He can’t even speak The Queen’s English! Despicable!
queer as a dollar bill Go to phony as a
three-dollar bill.
queer for something Inf in the mood for something;
desir-ing somethdesir-ing (Old.) I’m queer for a beer right now She’s queer for him because of his money.
quest for someone or something to seek after someone or something Martin is off questing for a book on baroque organ building She is questing for a better way to do it.
a question of something a matter of something; a lem of something It’s not a matter of not wanting to go
prob-to the opera It’s a question of money.
question someone about someone or something to ask someone about someone or something The police ques- tioned Roger about the crime Then they questioned Claire about Roger.
question someone at great length Go to at great
length.
queue up (for something) to line up for something
(Typ-ically British.) We had to queue up for tickets to the play.
You must queue up here to get in.
quibble (about someone or something) (with someone)
andquibble (over someone or something) (with
some-one) to be argumentative or contentious with someone about someone or something Let’s not quibble about it.
Please don’t quibble with your sister No need to ble over it.
quib-quick and dirty Fig [done] fast and carelessly; [done]
fast and cheaply I am not interested in a quick and dirty job I want it done right The contractor made a lot of money on quick and dirty projects that would never last very long.
quick as a flash Go to next.
*quick as a wink and*quick as a flash; *quick as (greased) lightning; *swift as lightning very
quickly (*Also: as ~.) As quick as a wink, the thief took the lady’s purse I’ll finish this work quick as a flash Quick as greased lightning, the thief stole my wallet.
quick as (greased) lightning Go to previous quick like a bunny really quick Now’s your chance.
Do it! Quick like a bunny!
quick off the mark quick starting or reacting (Compare
this with slow off the mark.) Boy, you were quick off the mark there! If you can be really quick off the mark, you can soon find the answer.
quick on the draw Go to next.
quick on the trigger andquick on the draw 1 Lit.
quick to draw a gun and shoot Some of the old cowboys were known to be quick on the trigger Wyatt Earp was particularly quick on the draw 2 Fig quick to respond to
anything John gets the right answer before anyone else He’s really quick on the trigger Sally will probably win the quiz game She’s really quick on the draw.
Trang 2quote, unquote
quick on the uptake quick to understand or learn
some-thing Just because I’m not quick on the uptake, it doesn’t
mean I’m stupid Mary understands jokes before anyone
else because she’s so quick on the uptake.
a quick study a person who is quick to learn things.
(Compare this to a slow study.) Jane, who is a quick
study, caught the joke immediately and laughed before
everyone else.
a quick temper anda short temper; a short fuse a
bad temper that can be easily aroused Tyler has a quick
temper and doesn’t mind letting everyone see it.
quicker than hell Inf very fast You got over here
quicker than hell Be careful in the stock market You can
lose all your money quicker than hell.
quicker than you can say Jack Robinson Go to
before you can say Jack Robinson.
*quiet as a (church) mouse and*quiet as the grave
very quiet (*Also: as ~.) You’d better be as quiet as a
mouse while Grandma takes her nap so you won’t wake her
up This town is quiet as the grave now that the factories
have closed.
quiet as the grave Go to previous.
quiet down to become quiet; to become less noisy
Please quiet down Ask them to quiet down.
quiet someone or an animal down†
to make someone or an animal more quiet Please go and quiet the children
down Try to quiet down the children Please quiet that
dog down.
quip about someone or something to joke about someone
or something The kids were quipping about the
princi-pal’s hairpiece It is rude to quip about an elderly person.
quit a place to leave a place In the autumn, Melinda quit
Paris and traveled south to warmer climes.
quit on someone 1 [for something] to quit while
some-one is using it This stupid car quit on me I hope this
thing doesn’t quit on me 2 [for one] to leave one’s job,
usually suddenly or unannounced Wally, the park
supervisor, quit on us at the last minute My assistant quit
on me.
quit over someone or something to stop working or doing
something because of someone or something; to quit
because of a dispute over someone or something Please
don’t quit over a silly thing like that She quit over one of
her fellow workers.
quit while one is ahead to stop doing something while
one is still successful When will I learn to quit while I’m
ahead? Get into the market Make some money and get
out Quit while you’re ahead.
quite a bit Go to next.
quite a few and quite a lot; quite a bit; quite a number much or many Do you need one? I have quite
a few I have quite a bit—enough to spare some How many? Oh, quite a number.
quite a lot Go to previous.
quite a number Go to quite a few.
quite a something definitely something; a good example of something The captain of the swim team is quite a swimmer That’s quite a bruise you have there.
quite something something very good or remarkable
You should see their new house It’s quite something Meg’s mother has bought a new hat for the wedding and it’s quite something.
quiver with something 1 Lit to shake or shiver from
something, such as cold, fear, anticipation, etc On ing the bear, the dogs quivered with fear Todd quivered with the cold 2 Fig to experience eagerness or joy I quivered with delight when I saw the dessert Tom quiv- ered with eagerness as the door opened.
see-quiz out (of something) to earn permission to waive a
col-lege course by successful completion of a quiz or exam
Andrew was able to quiz out of calculus After studying very hard, he quizzed out.
quiz someone about someone or something to ask someone many questions about someone or something The gen- eral quizzed the soldier about the incident The officer quizzed her about Randy.
quiz someone on someone or something to give someone a quiz or test over the subject of someone or something
The teacher quizzed the students on the chapter she had assigned for homework I hope they quiz me on George Washington I am prepared.
quote a price to name or state in advance the charge for
doing or supplying something The mechanic quoted a price of $100 to repair my car The carpenter quoted a price for fixing the stairs.
quote someone or something out of context Go to out of
context.
quote (something) from someone or something to recite something verbatim that someone else has said; to recite something verbatim from a printed source May I quote from your letter of the tenth? Do you mind if I quote a line from Keats?
quote, unquote a parenthetical expression said before a
word or short phrase indicating that the word or phrase would be in quotation marks if used in writing So I said to her, quote, unquote, it’s time we had a little talk.
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Trang 3race against someone or something to attempt to win a trial
of speed against someone or something I don’t want
to race against Kelly She is too fast I had to race against
time to get there before the baby got worse.
race against time 1 a rush; a rush to beat a deadline
We were in a race against time to beat the deadline It was
a race against time, but we made it 2 to hurry to beat a
deadline We had to race against time to finish before
the deadline You don’t need to race against time Take
all the time you want.
race around to run or move around in a great hurry
Stop racing around and calm down! I have been racing
around all morning, trying to get some things done.
race around (after someone or something) to rush here
and there to find or fetch someone or something I had
to race around after Tom I couldn’t seem to catch up to him.
I wish I could find the dog without having to race around
all over the neighborhood.
race for something to run or drive fast to get to something
in a hurry I raced for the door to see who was there
The children raced for the best seats in front of the
televi-sion set.
race into someone or something to bump or crash into
someone or something The boys raced into the side of
the car, and one of them was hurt We raced into Mary
and knocked her over.
race into something to run into a place The children
raced into the room and headed straight for their presents.
Please don’t race into the garden You will trample the
f lowers.
race someone for something to compete against someone
for a prize; to try to outrun someone to get to something
first I will race you for the grand prize Ned raced his
sister for the breakfast table every morning.
race someone to some place to compete against someone
to see who gets to a place first I will race you to the door.
Tim wanted to race me to the corner.
race through someone or something to run or chase
through a group of people or a place The children raced
through the group of ladies standing by the door The dogs
raced through the room, upsetting a lamp.
race through something to perform some task very rapidly.
They raced through their prayers and jumped into bed.
The children raced through dinner, in a hurry to get side to play.
out-race to someone or something to run to someone or thing The girls raced to the front room We all raced
some-to Mary, who had the candy.
race up to someone or something to run to someone or something Molly raced up to Paul and kissed him on the cheek We raced up to the door and opened it cautiously.
race with someone or something to enter a speed contest with someone or something I refuse to race with Carla She is much too fast for me I can’t race with a horse!
rack one’s brain(s) Fig to try very hard to think of
some-thing I racked my brains all afternoon, but couldn’t remember where I put the book Don’t waste any more time racking your brain Go borrow the book from the library.
rack out Sl to go to bed and to sleep I’m really tired I’ve got to go rack out for a while I racked out until nearly noon.
rack something up†1 Lit to place something onto or into
its rack You had better rack the billiard balls up when you finish this game Please rack up the balls 2 Fig to
accumulate something; to collect or acquire something.
They all racked a lot of profits up We racked up twenty points in the game last Saturday 3 Sl to wreck or dam-
age something Fred racked his new car up He racked
up his arm in the football game.
racked with pain suffering from severe pain My body was racked with pain, and I nearly passed out My head was racked with pain.
radiate from someone or something to spread out from someone or something, as with rays Happiness radi- ated from Mary She was so proud! The heat radiated from the wall next to the furnace room.
raffle something off†to give something away by a drawing
or raffle They will raffle a television set off They are going to raff le off a television set this weekend at the school.
rag on someone andrake on someone Sl to bother
one; to irritate someone; to criticize and humiliate one I wish you would stop ragging on me I don’t know why you are so annoyed at me Stop raking on me!
some-rag out Sl to dress up I like to rag out and go to parties.
I hate to rag out I like comfortable clothes.
rag someone about someone or something 1 to complain
to someone about someone or something Why are you always ragging me about Mary? Stop ragging me about being late 2 to tease someone about someone or some-
thing I wish you would stop ragging me about my hat.
Why do you always rag me about my funny walk? I can’t help it.
rage against someone or something to vent one’s anger about someone or something; to criticize someone or something severely She exhausted herself raging against Judy Mary is raging about the office politics again.
rage at someone or something to direct one’s anger at one or something Why are you raging at me? What on earth did I do? Nothing can be solved by raging at the police department.
Trang 4raise hob with someone or something
rage out of control to become uncontrollable The
fire raged out of control and threatened the residential area.
If we didn’t do something quickly, the fire would be
rag-ing out of control.
rage over someone or something to fight furiously over
someone or something The two managers both wanted
to hire the same prospective employee They raged over her
for nearly an hour The bears raged over that one fish for
a long time.
rage through something 1 Lit [for a fire] to burn rapidly
through an area or a building The fire raged through
the unoccupied building When the fire began to rage
through the forest, we knew we had better head for the river.
2 Fig [for someone] to move rapidly through some
sequence or process, as if in a rage Harry raged through
the contract, looking for more errors She raged through
the book, angry with everything she read.
rail against someone or something to complain vehemently
about someone or something Why are you railing
against me? What did I do? Leonard is railing against
the tax increase again.
rail at someone (about something) to complain loudly or
violently to someone about something Jane railed at
the payroll clerk about not having received her check I
am not responsible for your problems Don’t rail at me!
railroad someone into something to force someone into
doing something in great haste The salesman tried to
railroad me into signing the contract You can’t railroad
me into doing anything!
railroad something through (something) to force
some-thing through some legislative body without due
consid-eration The committee railroaded the new constitution
through the ratification process Mary felt she could
rail-road the legislation through.
rain cats and dogs Fig to rain very hard It’s raining
cats and dogs Look at it pour! I’m not going out in that
storm It’s raining cats and dogs.
a rain check (on something) 1 a piece of paper allowing
one to see an event—which has been canceled—at a later
time (Originally said of sporting events that had to be
canceled because of rain *Typically: get ~ ; have ~ ;
take ~ ; give someone ~ ) The game was canceled
because of the storm, but we all got rain checks on it I
can’t use a rain check because I’m leaving town for a month.
2 a reissuance of an invitation at a later date (Said to
someone who has invited you to something that you
can-not attend now, but would like to attend at a later time.
*Typically: get ~ ; have ~ ; take ~ ; give someone
~.) We would love to come to your house, but we are busy
next Saturday Could we take a rain check on your kind
invi-tation? Oh, yes You have a rain check that’s good
any-time you can come by and visit 3 a piece of paper that
allows one to purchase an item on sale at a later date.
(Stores issue these pieces of paper when they run out of
specially priced sale merchandise *Typically: get ~ ;
have ~ ; take ~ ; give someone ~ ) The store was
all out of the shampoo they advertised, but I got a rain check.
Yes, you should always take a rain check so you can get it
at the sale price later when they have more.
rain down on someone or something to fall or drop down
on someone or something like rain The ashes from the
incinerator rained down on us, getting our clothes dirty
The hail rained down on us—some of it quite large.
rain in on someone or something [for rain] to enter a dow or other opening and get someone or something wet.
win- Carol left the window open, and it rained in on her in the night The storm rained in on my carpet!
rain on someone’s parade andrain on someone or
some-thing Fig to spoil something for someone I hate to rain
on your parade, but your plans are all wrong She really rained on our plans.
rain or shine no matter whether it rains or the sun shines.
(See also come rain or shine.) Don’t worry I’ll be there rain or shine We’ll hold the picnic—rain or shine.
rain something down†(on someone or something) to pour
something, such as criticism or praise, onto someone or something (Based on rain down on someone or something.)
The employees rained criticism down on the personnel manager for the new policy on sick leave The audience rained down compliments on the performers.
rain something out†
[for the weather] to spoil something
by raining Oh, the weather looks awful I hope it doesn’t rain the picnic out It’s starting to sprinkle now Do you think it will rain out the ball game?
rain (up)on someone or something [for rain, or something
similar] to fall on someone or something (Upon is formal and less commonly used than on.) The ashes from the erupting volcano rained on all the people f leeing the village.
It rained on the fields until they were flooded.
raise a (big) stink (about someone or something) Go to
make a (big) stink (about someone or something).
raise a few eyebrows Go to raise some eyebrows raise a hand (against someone or something) Go to lift
a hand (against someone or something).
raise a hue and cry (about something) Fig to make an
issue about something; to alert people to a problem or ficulty (See also hue and cry.) The city council raised
dif-a hue dif-and cry dif-about the mdif-ayor’s proposed budget.
raise a stink (about something) Go to create a stink
(about something).
raise (an) objection (to someone or something) to
men-tion an objecmen-tion about someone or something I hope your family won’t raise an objection to my staying for din- ner I’m certain no one will raise an objection We are delighted to have you.
raise Cain to make a lot of trouble; to raise hell (A
Bib-lical reference, from Genesis 4.) Fred was really raising Cain about the whole matter Let’s stop raising Cain.
raise havoc with someone or something andplay havoc with someone or something to create confusion or disrup- tion for or among someone or something Your announcement raised havoc with the students I didn’t mean to play havoc with them.
raise hell (with something) Go to raise the devil (with
something).
raise hob with someone or something andplay hob with
someone or something to do something devilish to someone
or something; to cause trouble for someone or something.
(A hob is a hobgoblin, a wicked little elf.) Your sudden
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Trang 5raise money for someone or something
arrival is going to play hob with my dinner plans Sorry,
I didn’t mean to raise hob with you.
raise money for someone or something andraise money
to do something to work to earn money or encourage
donations for the benefit of someone, something, or doing
something I worked hard to raise money for college, and
then decided not to go.
raise one’s glass to someone or something to propose a
drinking toast in salute to someone or something Let
us all raise our glasses to George Wilson! They raised their
glasses to the successful campaign.
raise one’s sights Fig to set higher goals for oneself.
(Alludes to someone lifting the sights of a gun in order to
fire farther.) When you’re young, you tend to raise your
sights too high On the other hand, some people need to
raise their sights.
raise one’s voice against someone or something Fig to
speak out loudly or angrily against someone or something;
to complain about someone or something Tony was
very polite and did not raise his voice against Roger I was
too timid to raise my voice against the injustices of the day.
raise one’s voice (to someone) Fig to speak loudly or
shout at someone in anger Don’t you dare raise your
voice to me! I’m sorry I didn’t mean to raise my voice.
raise some eyebrows andraise a few eyebrows Fig.
to shock or surprise people mildly (by doing or saying
something) (Some can be replaced with a few, someone’s,
a lot of, etc.) What you just said may raise some eyebrows,
but it shouldn’t make anyone really angry John’s sudden
marriage to Ann raised a few eyebrows.
raise someone from something to help someone up from a
lowly state They hoped for some windfall to raise them
from their poverty They raised me from the depressed
state I was in.
raise someone from the dead Fig to bring a dead
per-son back to life (When used figuratively, usually refers
to something very bad or offensive.) How great are your
magic powers? Can you raise people from the dead? They
say her singing could raise people from the dead.
raise someone or an animal from something Fig to bring up
someone or an animal from a young state My
grand-mother raised me from a baby We raised all these
rab-bits from babies.
raise someone or something to something to elevate
some-one or something to something at a higher level Dan
raised Alice up to the window I helped raise the ladder
to the top of the roof.
raise someone or something to the surface (of something)
to bring someone or something up to the surface of a body
of water The pull of the inflatable life vest raised Tom
to the surface of the water The divers were able to raise
the sunken ship to the surface.
raise someone or something up†to lift someone or
some-thing up The aides raised the patient up while the nurse
spread clean linen beneath him Jane raised up the lid.
raise someone’s spirits Go to someone’s spirits.
raise someone to something to promote or advance
some-one to a higher rank The boss raised her to vice
presi-dent after one year I hope she raises me to head clerk.
raise something with someone to bring up a matter with someone I will raise that question with Mary when she comes in Please raise the question with the boss.
raise the ante Go to up the ante.
raise the bar Fig to make a task a little more difficult (As
with raising the bar in high jumping or pole vaulting.)
Just as I was getting accustomed to my job, the manager raised the bar and I had to perform even better.
raise the devil (with someone) to severely chastise
some-one or a group The coach came in and raised the devil with Sally for her error in the first quarter of the game
I’m going to raise the devil with him!
raise the devil (with something) andraise hell (with
something) to cause trouble with something That idea raises hell with my plan The onions raised the devil with
my stomach.
raise the dickens (with someone or something) to act in
some extreme manner; to make trouble; to behave wildly;
to be very angry John was out all night raising the ens That cheap gas I bought really raised the dickens with
dick-my car’s engine.
raise up to lift oneself up; to get up or begin to get up
She raised up and then fell back onto her bed She was too weak to get up I could not raise up enough to see out the window.
raised in a barn brought up to behave like a barnyard
animal; having crude behavior Close the door behind you! Were you raised in a barn? Don’t wipe your nose on your sleeve Were you raised in a barn?
rake on someone Go to rag on someone.
rake someone over the coals andhaul someone over
the coals Fig to give someone a severe scolding My mother hauled me over the coals for coming in late last night.
The manager raked me over the coals for being late again.
rake something around†
to spread something around with
a rake She raked the leaves around, spreading them over the f lower beds as natural fertilizer I need to rake around the soil and stir it up.
rake something in†1 Lit to draw or pull something inward
with a rake Jane is raking in the leaves into a big pile.
2 Fig to take in a lot of something, usually money Our candidate will rake votes in by the thousand They were raking in money by the bushel.
rake something off†1 to steal or embezzle a portion of a
payment or an account They claimed that no one was raking anything off and that the money was only mislaid.
The county treasurer was caught raking off some of the tax money 2 Go to next.
rake something off (of ) something andrake something off†
to remove something from something by raking (Of is
usually retained before pronouns.) Please rake the leaves off the lawn Rake off the leaves.
rake something out of something andrake something out†
to clean something out of something by raking You ought to rake the leaves out of the gutter so the water will
f low Please rake out the leaves.
rake something up†1 Lit to gather and clean up
some-thing with a rake Would you please rake these leaves up before it rains? Please rake up the leaves 2 to clean
Trang 6rant (at someone) about someone or something something up by raking Would you rake the yard up?
I will rake up the yard 3 Fig to find some unpleasant
information His opposition raked an old scandal up and
made it public That is ancient history Why did you have
to rake up that old story?
rake through something Fig [for someone] to rummage
through something, as if with a rake She quickly raked
through the mass of loose papers, looking for the right one.
I will have to rake through everything in this drawer to
find a red pencil.
rally around someone or something Fig to unite or
assem-ble in support of someone or something All the other
workers rallied around Fred in his fight with management.
They rallied around the principle that Fred stood for.
rally to someone or something to unite in support of
some-one or something The students rallied to Betty, their
elected president We all rallied to the cause.
ralph something up†
Sl to vomit something (Teens and
collegiate.) The doctor gave him some stuff that made
him ralph it up He ralphed up his dinner.
ram into someone or something to crash into someone or
something Mary accidentally rammed into a fence as
she rode along The car rammed into the tree and was
totally wrecked.
ram someone or something down someone’s throat Go to
shove someone or something down someone’s throat.
ram something down†to pack something down by
pound-ing, as with a ram The worker used a pole to ram the
earth down and pack it tight The worker rammed down
the earth.
ram something into someone or something andram
some-thing in†to pound something into someone or something.
He rammed his fist into Bill’s side and shouted something
angry at him He rammed in his fist.
ram something through (something) 1 to force something
through something He rammed his fist through the
win-dow, cutting himself in the process Harry put the brick
up to the window glass and rammed it through Next time
he would remember his key 2 to force something through
a deliberative body, usually not allowing due
considera-tion They rammed the bill through the city council
The President was unable to ram the measure through
Con-gress.
ram through something to crash or pound through
some-thing The car rammed through the back of the garage.
I was afraid that the truck would ram through the fence.
ramble on 1 to wander about aimlessly (As with a
trav-eler or a winding path.) The road rambled on through
mile after mile of wilderness 2 [for a structure] to spread
out over a large area, perhaps in a random way This old
house rambles on, way back into the woods.
ramble on (about someone or something) Fig [for
some-one] to talk endlessly and aimlessly about someone or
something (Based on ramble on.) I wish you wouldn’t
ramble on about your first husband all the time Must
you ramble on so?
range from something to something to vary from one thing
to another The winter weather ranges from bad to
ter-rible in this part of the north The appraisals of the erty ranged from high to low.
prop-range over something to cover an area; to travel about in one area The buffalo ranged over vast areas of prairie, grazing and breeding These animals range over a very large territory.
rank above someone to outrank someone; to rank higher than someone I think that I rank above you, so I will sit
by the window The boss ranks above everyone and demands that everyone recognize the fact.
rank among something to be included in a particular group In my opinion, Kelly ranks among the very best.
Tom ranks among the most widely known of the temporary writers.
con-rank and file 1 Lit regular soldiers, not the officers
I think there is low morale among the rank and file, sir
The rank and file usually do exactly as they are told 2 Fig.
the ordinary members of a group, not the leaders The rank and file will vote on the proposed contract tomorrow.
The last contract was turned down by the rank and file last year.
rank as something to have a particular rank; to serve in a particular rank She ranks as a fine pianist in my book.
Don ranks as the top economist of the day.
rank on someone Sl to attack someone verbally; to gossip
about someone Please stop ranking on my family! Tom keeps ranking on Jennifer, and she is really mad about it.
rank someone among something to judge someone to be essentially equal to a specific group of people I don’t rank Kelly among the best drivers in the world Our com- mittee ranked Fred among the best of the current applicants.
rank someone or something as something to assign a ular rank to someone or something I have to rank Sally
partic-as number one She’s the best Mary ranked the chocolate
as the best she had ever eaten.
rank someone (out†) 1 Sl to annoy someone He really ranks me out What a pest! 2 Sl to chastise someone
She ranked him out for being a coward I ranked out the whole gang, but good!
rank someone with someone to judge someone to be equal with someone Would you rank Tom with Donna? Fred ranked himself with Tom when it came to diving.
rank with someone or something to be equal to someone or something Do you think Sarah ranks with Albert? No one ranks with Albert The food at that restaurant ranks with that of the best places in New York.
rant against someone or something to rave and yell against someone or something She spent most of the morning ranting against her mother-in-law Leonard spent the entire morning ranting against the government.
rant and rave (about someone or something) to shout
angrily and wildly about someone or something bara rants and raves when her children don’t obey her
Bar-Bob rants and raves about anything that displeases him.
rant (at someone) about someone or something to talk in a loud, violent way, about someone or something Anne ranted about the bad service she had received at the store.
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Trang 7rant at someone or something
On the bus, someone was ranting at me about the end of
the world.
rant at someone or something to rave and yell at someone
or something Stop ranting at me! The boss would
never rant at the office staff.
rap at something andrap on something to tap on something
to attract someone’s attention Who is that rapping at
my door? Someone is rapping at the window, trying to get
my attention I will rap on her window and try to wake
her.
rap on something Go to previous.
rap someone across the knuckles andrap someone on
the knuckles; rap someone’s knuckles to strike
some-one on the knuckles As punishment, she rapped him
across the knuckles The teacher rapped the student on
the knuckles.
rap something out†(on something) to tap out the rhythm
of something on something Try to rap the rhythm out
on the table He rapped out the rhythm on the table.
rap with someone Sl to have a chat with someone or a
group of people (Old.) Come in, sit down, and rap with
me for a while Let’s get together and rap with one another
sometime.
rarin’ to go extremely keen to act or do something Jane
can’t wait to start her job She’s rarin’ to go Mary is rarin’
to go and can’t wait for her university term to start.
rasp something out†to carve or smooth something out with
a rasp You should use this tool to rasp the inside of the
bowl out Use sandpaper to make the inside smoother
Rasp out the inside carefully.
rat around Sl to waste time loafing around; to kick
around (Collegiate.) I didn’t do anything but rat around
all summer If kids don’t have jobs, they just rat around.
rat on someone Inf to report someone’s bad behavior to
someone in authority; to tattle on someone John
rat-ted on me, and I got in trouble If he rats on me, I’ll hit
him!
rat out Sl to quit; to fink out (on someone or something).
It’s too late to rat out He tried to rat out at the last
minute.
rat race Fig a fierce struggle for success, especially in one’s
career or business Bob got tired of the rat race He’s
retired and gone to the country The money market is a
rat race, and many people who work in it get out quickly
because of the stress.
rate someone or something above someone or something else
to judge someone to rank higher than someone else; to
judge something to rank higher than something else
Do you rate Alice above Valerie? I rate chocolate ice cream
above vanilla.
rate someone or something among something to judge
some-one or something to be essentially equal to something
I rate Polly among the best of this year’s class We rate
these contestants among the best ever.
rate someone or something as something to assign a
partic-ular rating to someone or something I rate her as a
number four The judge rated my cake as second place.
rate someone or something below someone or something else
to judge someone to rank lower than someone else; to judge something to rank lower than something else I have to rate Carol below Donna in this regard We all rate plain chocolate ice cream below rocky road ice cream.
rate someone or something with someone or something else
to judge someone or something to be equal to someone or something else I rate Fred with Don They are equally good Vanilla is very nice, but I don’t rate it with choco- late ice cream.
rate something at something to assign a particular level of rating to something I rate this brand at about a B- The broker rated this stock at a buy.
rate something below something else Go to rate someone or something below someone or something else.
rate with someone to be in someone’s favor; to be thought
of highly by someone Ann is great She really rates with
me She doesn’t rate with me at all.
ration something out†(among someone) to give people
limited shares of something, attempting to make it last as long as possible The captain rationed the water out among all the crew, trying to make it last as long as possi- ble Jane rationed out the cookies among the kids.
Rats abandon a sinking ship andlike rats
aban-doning a sinking ship Prov You can tell when
some-thing is about to fail because large numbers of people begin to leave it (Can imply that the people who leave are “rats,” that is, selfish and disloyal.) Jill: The com- pany next door must be going bankrupt Jane: How do you know? Jill: All its employees are resigning Rats abandon a sinking ship.
rattle around in something 1 Lit to make a rattling noise
inside something What is rattling around in this age? There is something rattling around in my glove com- partment 2 Fig to ride about in a vehicle with a rattle.
pack- I am perfectly happy to rattle around in my ten-year-old car Todd rattles around in his grandfather’s old car.
3 Fig to live in a place that is much too big We have been rattling around in this big old house for long enough Let’s move to a smaller place I can’t afford to rattle around in a three-story house any longer.
rattle away to chatter endlessly and aimlessly The two old men sat there and rattled away at one another Tom rattled away at Jane for a few minutes and then left the house.
rattle its saber Go to rattle one’s saber.
rattle on (about someone or something) Fig to talk
end-lessly about someone or something Martin talked santly He would rattle on about any topic whenever he could trap an unfortunate listener.
inces-rattle one’s saber and rattle its saber Fig to make
threatening statements or actions The president is just rattling his saber He would never attack such a small coun- try!
rattle something off†
and reel something off†
to recite something quickly and accurately She can really reel song lyrics off Listen to Mary rattle off those numbers.
Trang 8reach someone
raunch someone out†Sl to disgust someone These dirty
socks absolutely raunch me out! Sam and Beavis enjoy
raunching out everyone in the room.
rave about someone or something 1 to rage in anger about
someone or something Gale was raving about Sarah
and what she did Sarah raved and raved about Gale’s
insufferable rudeness 2 to sing the praises of someone or
something Even the harshest critic raved about Larry’s
stage success Everyone was raving about your excellent
performance.
rave over someone or something to recite praises for
some-one or something The students were just raving over the
new professor Donald raved over the cake I baked But
he’ll eat anything.
ravished with delight Fig happy or delighted; overcome
with happiness or delight Mary was ravished with
delight by the dozen roses My parents were ravished with
delight when I graduated from college.
*a raw deal an instance of unfair or bad treatment
(*Typ-ically: get ~ ; have ~ ; give someone ~ ) Mary got
a raw deal on her traffic ticket She was innocent, but she
had to pay a big fine I bought a used TV that worked for
two days and then quit I sure got a raw deal You sure
had a raw deal.
raw recruit a new, inexperienced, or fresh recruit, such as
someone just entering the army, navy, police, etc These
boys are nothing but raw recruits They’ve never seen a gun
up close!
raze something to the ground to tear down something,
usually a building, to ground level The council decided
to raze the old city hall to the ground This building is to
be razed to the ground.
reach a compromise to achieve a compromise; to
nego-tiate an agreement After many hours of discussion, we
finally reached a compromise We were unable to reach
a compromise and quit trying.
reach a conclusion to complete discussion and decide
an issue It took three days of talks to reach a conclusion.
When we reach a conclusion, we will notify you of the
results.
reach a dead end Go to come to a dead end.
reach a decision Go to arrive at a decision.
reach a turning point Go to a turning point.
reach an accord (with someone) andreach an
agree-ment (with someone) to come to an agreeagree-ment with
someone I hope that we can reach an accord with the
union so work can start again We will try one more time
to reach an agreement with you We reached an
agree-ment and signed a contract.
reach an agreement (with someone) Go to previous.
reach an impasse to progress to the point that a barrier
stops further progress When negotiations with
man-agement reached an impasse, the union went on strike
The discussion reached an impasse and no one was able to
propose a compromise.
reach an understanding with someone andcome to
an understanding (with someone) to achieve a
settle-ment or an agreesettle-ment with someone I hope we are able
to reach an understanding with the commissioners We were able to reach an understanding with Tony.
reach back (in)to something to extend back into a ticular period in time This policy reaches back into the last century Our way of making fine candies reaches back
par-to the recipes used by the founder of the company.
reach down to extend downward The stems of the plant reached down almost to the f loor The drapes don’t quite reach down to the f loor.
reach first base (with someone or something) Go to get
to first base (with someone or something).
reach for someone or something to extend one’s grasp to someone or something I reached for my father, but he wasn’t there I reached for a pen, but I only had a pencil.
reach for the sky 1 andaim for the sky; shoot for
the sky Fig to set one’s sights high Reach for the sky!
Go for it! You should always reach for the sky, but be pared for not attaining your goals every time 2 Fig Inf to
pre-put one’s hands up, as in a burglary The gunman told the bank teller to reach for the sky Reach for the sky and give me all your money!
Reach for the stars! Go to Aim for the stars!
reach in(to something) to stick one’s hand into something
to grasp something Bob reached into the cookie jar and found it empty Bob went to the cookie jar and reached in.
reach one’s stride andhit one’s stride to do something
at one’s best level of ability When I reach my stride, things will go faster, and I’ll be more efficient Now that I’ve hit my stride, I can work more efficiently.
reach out 1 Lit to extend one’s grasp outward He reached out, but there was no one to take hold of I reached out and grabbed onto the first thing I could get hold of.
2 Fig to enlarge one’s circle of friends and experiences.
If you are that lonely, you ought to reach out Get to know some new friends I need to reach out more and meet people.
reach out (after someone or something ) andreach out (for something) to extend one’s grasp to someone or some-
thing Don reached out after Doris, but she slipped away before he could get a good hold on her Doris reached out for the door, but it slammed closed.
reach out into something to extend one’s grasp out into something, such as the darkness Laura reached out into the darkness, looking for the light switch Jane reached out into the unlit room, hoping to find a lamp or even a can- dle.
reach out to someone 1 Fig to offer someone a helping
hand You reached out to me just when I needed help the most I reach out to other people in trouble because I would want someone to do that for me 2 Fig to seek some-
one’s help and support When I reached out to Don for help, he turned me down Jane reached out to her friends for the help and support that she needed.
reach (rock) bottom Go to (rock) bottom.
reach someone 1 Lit to travel up to or as far as someone.
I ran until I reached her just in time to save her from going over the cliff 2 Fig to manage to be understood by some-
one; to have one’s message appreciated by someone If
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Trang 9reach some place in a body
we could only reach them with our message, we might be
able to convince them to stay in school.
reach some place in a body Go to in a body.
reach something down†Inf to hand something down
Please reach the hammer down to me Would you reach
down the hammer to Jane?
reach something in the (very) nick of time Go to in
the (very) nick of time.
reach something up to someone Inf to hand something up
to someone I reached the hammer up to Jack, who was
fixing a loose shingle on the roof Please reach this cold
drink up to your brother.
reach speeds of some amount Go to speeds of some
amount.
reach to something to extend all the way to something
Our property reaches to the bank of the river The grounds
reach all the way to the banks of the river.
reach toward someone or something to aim one’s reach to
someone or something Sam reached toward Walter and
took hold of his shoulder He reached toward the apple
but withdrew his hand when he saw it was rotten.
react against someone or something to respond negatively
to someone or something Why did she react against me
so strongly? There is no need to react against the plan with
such force.
react to someone or something to act in response to
some-one or something You made some very good points I
would like to take some time to react to you How did
Mary react to the news?
read about someone or something to read information
con-cerning someone or something Did you read about John
in the newspaper? I read about bonds, and learned a lot
about finance.
read between the lines Fig to infer something (from
something else); to try to understand what is meant by
something that is not written explicitly or openly After
listening to what she said, if you read between the lines, you
can begin to see what she really means Don’t believe
everything you read literally Learn to read between the lines.
read for something to read, looking especially for
some-thing, such as errors, clarity, etc Please read this
man-uscript for spelling and grammar errors Read this book
for entertainment and nothing more.
read from something to read [aloud] from something in
particular I will now read from a book of poetry that I
like very much I like that poem very much What are you
reading from?
read from the same page andsing from the same
hymnbook Cliché share the same understanding of
something Okay, I think we are reading from the same
page now We can discuss the future of this project more
pro-ductively.
read it and weep Fig read the bad news; hear the bad
news I’m sorry to bring you the bad news Read it and
weep.
Read my lips! Go to Watch my lips!
read of someone or something (somewhere) to read news
about someone or something in something I think I
have read of you in the papers Mary read of the job ing in the newspaper.
open-read on to continue to open-read Please read on Don’t stop.
She read on until she had come to the end of the story.
read one one’s rights to make the required statement of
legal rights to a person who has been arrested All right, read this guy his rights and book him on a charge of theft.
You have to read them their rights before questioning them.
read oneself to sleep to read something in preparation
for falling asleep I need a really dull book so I can read myself to sleep That’s the kind of book I use to read myself
to sleep.
read someone like a book Fig to understand someone
very well I’ve got John figured out I can read him like a book Of course I understand you I read you like a book.
read someone or something as something to interpret one or something as something I read you as a quiet guy who wants to settle down and have kids Mary read the problem as one that did not require a lot of under- standing.
some-read someone out†(for something) to chastise someone
verbally for doing something wrong The coach read the player out for making a silly error She really read out the lazy players.
read someone out of something to expel someone from an organization, such as a political party Because of her statement, they read her out of the party The officers tried to read me out of the society, but they didn’t succeed.
read someone’s lips to manage to understand speech by
watching and interpreting the movements of the speaker’s lips I couldn’t hear her but I could read her lips.
read someone’s mind Fig to guess what someone is
think-ing You’ll have to tell me what you want I can’t read your mind, you know If I could read your mind, I’d know what you expect of me.
read (someone) something out of something to read thing [aloud] from something He read us a story out of the book Mary read the story out of the magazine.
some-read someone the riot act Fig to give someone a severe
scolding The manager read me the riot act for coming
in late The teacher read the students the riot act for their failure to do their assignments.
read something back† (to someone) to read back some
information to the person who has just given it Yes, I have written the telephone number down Let me read it back to you to make sure I have it right Please read back the letter to me.
read something in something to read something in lar in a some publication or document I read an inter- esting article about moose in today’s newspaper Did you read that in today’s newspaper?
particu-read something into something Fig to attach or attribute a
new or different meaning to something; to presume ences as one reads something This statement means exactly what it says Don’t try to read anything else into it.
infer- Am I reading too much into your comments?
Trang 10reassure someone about something
read something off†to read aloud from a list Nick read
the list of the names off, and I wasn’t on the list Jane read
off the names.
read something out†
to read something aloud Please read it out so everyone can hear you Read out the names
loudly.
read something over†
to read something When you have
a chance, read this over Also, read over this report.
read something through†
to read all of something Take this home and read it through Read through this report
and see if you can find any errors.
read (something) to someone to read something aloud to
someone Please read a story to me Grandpa read to
Timmy all afternoon.
read the handwriting on the wall Fig to anticipate
what is going to happen by observing small hints and
clues (See also see the (hand)writing on the wall.)
I know I am going to be fired I can read the handwriting
on the wall Can’t you read the handwriting on the wall?
Can’t you see what they are planning?
read up (on someone or something) to find and read some
information about someone or something Please go to
the library and read up on George Washington I don’t
know anything about that I guess I need to read up.
readjust to someone or something to make a new
adjust-ment to someone or something Please make an attempt
to readjust your work schedule for the next two weeks I
don’t think I can readjust to this climate.
ready, set, go Go to on your mark, get set, go.
*ready (to do something) prepared to do something
(*Typ-ically: be ~ ; get ~.) Get ready to jump! It’s time
to get ready to go to work.
ready, willing, and able Cliché eager or at least willing
[to do something] If you need someone to help you move
furniture, I’m ready, willing, and able Fred is ready,
will-ing, and able to do anything you ask him.
a (real) go-getter an active, energetic, and aggressive
per-son Mary is very aggressive in business A real go-getter.
the real McCoy an authentic thing or person Of course
it’s authentic It’s the real McCoy.
the real thing something that is genuine and not an
imi-tation I don’t want frozen yogurt, I want the real thing!
Yes, ice cream! She hates plastic that looks like wood She
wants the real thing.
the reality of the situation the truth or actuality of the
situation; the way the situation really is The reality of
the situation is that we must act right now Let’s face the
reality of the situation and go out and get jobs so we can pay
our bills.
realize one’s potential to fulfill one’s potential; to do as
well as one possibly can I hope I can get a good
educa-tion so I can realize my potential.
realize something from something 1 to perceive something
from some kind of evidence I just now realized
some-thing from what you’ve been saying Tom realized how
wrong he had been from what Mary told him 2 to reap a
profit by selling an asset that has increased in value
He realized a large profit from the sale of the house We hoped to realize a lot of money from the sale of stock.
ream someone out†Sl to scold someone severely The teacher really reamed him out The coach reamed out the whole team.
ream something out†
to widen or clean an interior cavity
or channel by scraping, grinding, or drilling Ream the opening out so the f low will be faster We had to ream out the pipes so the fuel would f low to the engine.
reap something from something 1 Lit to harvest something
from something We reaped a fine harvest from our fields this year They will reap nothing from their flooded fields 2 Fig to gain something from something The students reaped a lot of information from their interview with the police chief I hope to reap some good advice from the discussion.
corn-reappoint someone as something to select or appoint someone to serve again in the same office Are they going to reappoint Alan as the chairman again? Alan was reappointed as the head of the committee.
rear back 1 Lit [for a horse] to pull back and up onto its
hind legs in an effort to move backwards rapidly or throw
a rider (See also rear up.) The animal reared back in terror The horse reared back and almost threw its rider.
2 Fig [for a person] to pull back and stand up or sit up
straighter He reared back in his chair and looked turbed Tom reared back in his chair, waiting for some- thing else to happen.
per-rear its ugly head Fig [for something unpleasant] to
appear or become obvious after lying hidden Jealousy reared its ugly head and destroyed their marriage The question of money always rears its ugly head in matters of business.
rear up 1 Lit [for a horse] to lean back on its hind legs
and raise its front legs, assuming a threatening posture or avoiding something on the ground such as a snake (See also rear back.) The horse reared up suddenly, throw- ing the rider onto the ground When the horse reared up,
I almost fell off 2 Fig [for something, especially a
prob-lem] to raise up suddenly A new problem reared up and cost us a lot of time A lot of new costs reared up toward the end of the month.
reason against something to argue against something, using reason I can hardly be expected to reason against
a silly argument like that! I reasoned against it, but they paid no attention to me.
reason something out†to figure something out; to plan a reasonable course of action Now let’s be calm and try
to reason this out Let us reason out our difficulties.
reason with someone to discuss something with someone, seeking a reasonable solution to a problem Try to rea- son with Jill If she won’t listen, forget her You cannot reason with someone who is so narrow-minded.
reassign someone to something to change someone’s assignment to something else I will reassign Jill to a dif- ferent department I was reassigned to the accounting department.
reassure someone about something to give someone fidence about something Nancy reassured Betty about her promotion Betty was reassured about her promotion.
con-A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Trang 11reassure someone of something
reassure someone of something to promise or guarantee
someone something Kelly reassured her friend of her
support in the election Please reassure Tom of our
con-tinued support.
rebel against someone or something to resist and revolt
against someone or something Barbara rebelled against
the teachers at the school Most young people have to rebel
against authority for a while.
rebel at someone or something to resist and defy someone
or something It is natural for teenagers to rebel at their
parents I feel as if I have to rebel at all these rules.
rebound from something 1 Lit to bounce back from
something The ball rebounded from the wall and hit
Randy hard on the elbow When the ball rebounded from
the backboard, it bounced onto the court and Tom tripped
on it 2 Fig to recover quickly from something
Bar-bara rebounded from her illness in less than a week I hope
I can rebound from this cold quickly.
rebuke someone for something to reprimand someone for
something There is no need to rebuke me for a simple
mistake like that Sally was rebuked for overspending her
budget.
recall someone from something to call someone back from
something or some place The president recalled our
ambassador from the war-torn country I was recalled
from retirement to help out at the office.
recall someone or something from something to remember
someone or something from some event or some place
I recall someone by that name from my days at the
univer-sity Mary recalled the appropriate fact from her history
studies.
recall something to mind to cause [someone] to
remem-ber something The events of the day recall similar days
in the past to mind This book recalls a similar book
pub-lished some years ago to mind.
recall something to someone to bring something to the
mind of someone Your comments recall another event
to me—something that happened years ago What you
just said recalled an old saying to me.
recast something in something to rebuild or redevelop
something in a different form She recast the sentence in
the negative, hoping to make it less blunt I will recast
my request in different language.
recede from something to pull back from something
The river receded from its banks during the dry season I
think that my hair is receding from my forehead.
receive someone as someone or something to welcome and
accept someone as someone or something The king
received the ambassador as an honored guest They said
they would receive their former guest as a welcome visitor.
receive someone into something to welcome someone into
something, some place, or some organization
Every-one received the new member into the club with eager
con-gratulations We received them into our homes and fed
them well.
receive someone or something back to get someone or
something back Martha received her husband back after
his escapade I sent a letter off with the wrong postage
and received it back two weeks later.
receive someone with open arms andwelcome
some-one with open arms 1 Lit to greet someone with arms
spread wide to hug someone His mother greeted him with open arms at the door 2 Fig to greet someone
eagerly I’m sure they wanted us to stay for dinner They received us with open arms When I came home from col- lege, the whole family welcomed me with open arms.
receive something from some place to get and accept thing from some place I just received a letter from Budapest! Mary received a package from Japan.
some-receive something from someone to get and accept thing from someone Tony received a sweater from his grandfather for his birthday Who did you receive this from?
some-receive word (from someone or something) Go to word
(from someone or something).
reckon someone as someone or something to perceive one as someone or something I reckoned her as a more thoughtful individual than she turned out to be Mary reckoned Scott as a constant irritation, and she was right on the button.
some-reckon someone or something among something to judge someone or something to belong among a select group.
I reckon Donna among the best tennis pros in the try We reckon this automobile among the most advanced
coun-in the world.
reckon someone or something into something andreckon
someone or something in†to figure someone or something in; to include someone or something in one’s calculations.
I will reckon Jane into the total number of guests I reckoned in a few too many people.
reckon with someone or something to deal with someone
or something; to cope with someone or something I have to reckon with the troublesome Mr Johnson this after- noon Mary knew just exactly how she had to reckon with the bill collector.
reckon without someone to fail to think about someone.
He thought he’d get away with his crime, but he oned without the FBI agents He had thought he was gone for sure, but he had reckoned without the paramedics.
reck-reclaim someone or something from someone or something
to bring someone or something back from someone or something The mother reclaimed Sally from her father, who had abducted her contrary to the divorce decree
Mary reclaimed the book from her brother’s desk.
recognize one for what one is Go to recognize
some-thing for what it is.
recognize someone as someone or something to accept and acknowledge someone to be someone; to accept and acknowledge something to be something Mary didn’t recognize the lawyer as her legal representative Lizzy didn’t recognize the car as her car.
recognize someone or something by something to know someone or something by some distinguishing sign You will be able to recognize me by my long mustache Mary recognized her car by the ribbon tied to the antenna.
recognize someone or something for something 1 to
iden-tify someone or something as something I recognized the deal for a scam as soon as I heard about it Anyone
Trang 12red as blood
could recognize Max for a common thief 2 to show
appre-ciation to someone or something for something The
organization recognized Laura for her excellent
contribu-tions to the philanthropy committee The officers
recog-nized the committee for its outstanding efforts.
recognize something for what it is andrecognize one
for what one is to see and understand exactly what
someone or something is or represents The disease
rep-resented a serious threat to all peoples, and Dr Smith
rec-ognized it for what it was I recognize you for what you
are, you scoundrel!
recoil at the sight (of someone or something) andrecoil
at the thought (of someone or something) Fig to flinch
or cringe at the sight or thought of someone or something.
Sally recoiled at the sight of Gerry, who had said
some-thing unspeakable Mary recoiled at the very thought.
recoil at the thought (of someone or something) Go to
previous.
recoil from someone or something to draw back from
some-one or something I recoiled from Sally when she told me
what she had done I recoiled from the horror and
slammed the door.
recommend someone as something to suggest someone
as something Could you recommend Frank as a good
carpenter? I can recommend Jane Smith as a good artist.
recommend someone for something to suggest someone
for something I would be very glad to recommend you
for promotion She recommended herself as the best
choice.
recommend someone or something to someone to suggest
that someone choose someone or something I would
like to recommend Sally to you as a good prospect for
mem-bership on the committee Could you recommend a good
mechanic to me?
recompense someone for something to (re)pay someone
for something I am required to recompense Mrs
Wil-son for her broken window Can I recompense you for
your expenses?
reconcile oneself to something to grow to feel
comfort-able with an undesircomfort-able or challenging situation John
reconciled himself to living alone Anne reconciled
her-self to having to wear glasses.
reconcile something with something to bring something
into harmony, accord, or balance with something The
accountants were not able to reconcile the expense claims
with the receipts that had been turned in I can’t
recon-cile your story with those of the other witnesses.
reconstruct something from something 1 to rebuild
something from something I was not able to reconstruct
the puzzle from the pieces that were left on the f loor Can
you reconstruct the damaged part of the house from these
materials? 2 to recall and restate a story or the details of
an event from something Can you reconstruct the story
from the fragments you have just heard? I cannot
recon-struct the chain of events from memory.
record something from something to make an audio or
video recording of something from some source
Lis-ten to this I recorded it from a radio broadcast From
what TV show did you record this?
record something in something to enter a record of thing into something I will record your appointment in
some-my notebook Jane recorded the memo in her computer.
record something on something to make a record of thing on the surface of something Nancy recorded the appointment on the calendar that served as a blotter on the top of her desk Please record this on your calendar.
some-recount something to someone to tell something to one; to narrate a series of events, in order Carl recounted the events of the day to his wife The strange events were recounted by a number of people.
some-recoup something from someone or something to salvage something from someone or something I hope I can recoup my expenses from the company this week Mary intended to recoup her money from the investment.
recover from someone or something to get over an ence with someone or something My great-uncle just left, and it will take a day or two to recover from him I hope I recover from his visit soon.
experi-recover from something to recuperate from a disease
I hope I recover from this cough soon She recovered from her cold soon enough to go on the trip.
recover something from someone or something to retrieve
or salvage something from someone, something, or some place The police recovered my purse from the thief who had taken it Mary recovered her deposit from the failed bank.
recruit someone for something to seek and engage one for something Harry had to recruit a few people for the new jobs that opened up We recruited three more peo- ple for the project.
some-recruit someone from something to convince someone to leave something and join one’s own group Phyllis recruited a new work team from the company she used to work for We recruited a number of people from private industry.
recruit someone into something to seek out and induct someone into something The recruitment office tried
to recruit ten people a week into the army The army recruited almost no one during the month of December.
recuperate from something to recover from something;
to be cured or to heal after something I hope that you recuperate from your illness soon Has she recuperated from her surgery yet?
*red as a cherry and*red as a poppy; *red as a rose; *red as a ruby; *red as blood bright red.
(*Also: as ~.) When she came in from ice-skating, Clara’s nose was as red as a cherry When her boss praised her in front of the whole office, Emily turned red as a poppy.
I would like to make a dress out of that beautiful velvet that is red as a rose Jane painted her fingernails with pol- ish as red as a ruby I want to have my car painted red as blood.
red as a poppy Go to previous.
red as a rose Go to red as a cherry.
red as a ruby Go to red as a cherry.
red as blood Go to red as a cherry.
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Trang 13red herring
a red herring a piece of information or suggestion
intro-duced to draw attention away from the real facts of a
sit-uation (A red herring is a type of strong-smelling smoked
fish that was once drawn across the trail of a scent to
mis-lead hunting dogs and put them off the scent.) The
detectives were following a red herring, but they’re on the
right track now The mystery novel has a couple of red
herrings that keep readers off guard.
red in the face Fig embarrassed After we found Ann
hiding in the closet, she became red in the face The
speaker kept making errors and became red in the face.
red ink Fig debt; indebtedness as shown in red ink on a
financial statement There is too much red ink in my
financial statement Too much red ink and the company
will collapse.
red tape Fig over-strict attention to the wording and
details of rules and regulations, especially by government
workers (From the color of the tape used by government
departments in England to tie up bundles of documents.)
Because of red tape, Frank took weeks to get a visa Red
tape prevented Jack’s wife from joining him abroad.
*the red-carpet treatment Fig very special treatment;
royal treatment (*Typically: get ~ ; have ~ ; give
someone ~ ) I love to go to fancy stores where I get the
red-carpet treatment The queen expects to get the
red-carpet treatment wherever she goes.
rededicate oneself or something to someone or something to
reaffirm the dedication of oneself or something to
some-one or something I must ask you to rededicate yourself
to our high purposes They rededicated their church to
God.
a red-letter day Fig an important or significant day.
(From the practice of printing holidays in red on the
cal-endar.) Today was a red-letter day in our history It
was a red-letter day for our club.
redound on someone to have an effect on someone The
hot weather has redounded on all of us in a bad way The
problems created by your mistake have redounded on the
entire company.
reduce someone to silence to cause someone to be silent.
The rebuke reduced him to silence—at last Mary was
reduced to silence by Jane’s comments.
reduce someone to tears to cause a person to cry through
insults, frustration, and belittling He scolded her so
much that she was reduced to tears by the end of the
meet-ing.
reduce something by something to diminish something by
a certain amount I have to reduce your allowance by two
dollars per week until you pay me back for the broken
win-dow I will reduce the bill by a few dollars.
reduce something from something to something to
dimin-ish something from one degree to a lower degree I will
reduce the fine from two hundred dollars to one hundred
dollars Mary reduced her demands from a large sum to
a smaller one.
reduced to doing something brought into a certain
hum-ble condition or state The poor man was reduced to
beg-ging for food.
A reed before the wind lives on, while mighty
oaks do fall Prov An insignificant, flexible person is
more likely not to get hurt in a crisis than a prominent or rigid person Our office has new managers now; I plan
to be as inconspicuous as possible while they reorganize everyone A reed before the wind lives on, while mighty oaks
do fall.
reef a sail in†to reduce the area of a ship’s sail, by folding the sail The first mate ordered the sailors to reef the sails
in They had to reef in the sails.
reek of something 1 Lit to have the stench or smell of
something This whole house reeks of onions! What did you cook? She reeks of a very strong perfume She must have spilled it on herself 2 Fig to give a strong impres-
sion of something The neighborhood reeks of poverty.
The deal reeked of dishonesty.
reek with something to stink with some smell This place reeks with some horrible odor Jane reeks with too much perfume.
reel back (from something) to fall or stagger backwards,
as from a blow The boxer reeled back from the blow, stunned Another blow to the midsection and he reeled back and fell.
reel something in†
to bring in something, such as a fish, by winding up the line on a reel With great effort, she reeled the huge fish in Hurry and reel in the fish!
reel something off†
Go to rattle something off†
.
reel under something 1 Lit to stagger under the weight
of something Tony reeled under the weight of the books.
She knew she would reel under the heavy load 2 Fig to
stagger because of a blow The boxer reeled under the blow to his chin Fred reeled under the beating that Mike gave him 3 Fig to suffer because of a burden Gary reeled under the responsibilities he had been given I was just reeling under the burdens of my new job.
refer someone back to someone or something to suggest that someone go back to someone or something, such as the source I referred the client back to the lawyer she had originally consulted Tom referred the customer back to the manufacturer who had made the shoddy product.
refer someone to someone or something to direct someone
to someone or something; to send someone to someone
or something The front office referred me to you, and you are now referring me to someone else! They should have referred you to the personnel department.
refer something back to someone or something andrefer
something back†to send something back to someone or a group for action Dr Smith knows more about this kind
of case, so I referred it back to him They referred back all the bills.
refer to someone or something to mention someone or something Are you referring to me when you speak about
a kind and helpful person? I was referring to the nel department.
person-refill a prescription sell a second or subsequent set of
doses of a medicine upon a doctor’s orders The macy refused to refill my prescription because it has expired.
phar- If you want the drugstore to refill your prescription, just give them the prescription number over the telephone.
Trang 14regress to something
reflect (back) (up)on someone or something to
remem-ber or think about someone or something (Upon is
for-mal and less commonly used than on.) When I reflect
back on the years I spent with my parents, I think I had a
good childhood I like to reflect on my great-grandmother.
reflect credit (up)on someone or something [for some act]
to bring credit to someone or something (Upon is
for-mal and less commonly used than on.) Your efforts really
ref lect credit upon you Mary’s success really reflected
credit on the quality of her education.
reflected in something 1 Lit [of something] mirrored in
something, such as a mirror, water, ice, etc His image
was ref lected in the mirror, giving him a good view of his
sunburn When the hermit’s image was reflected in the
pool, he was amazed 2 Fig [of something] shown in a
result The extra charges will be reflected in next month’s
bill I do not understand all the charges that are reflected
in my statement.
refrain from something to hold back from doing
some-thing; to choose not to do something as planned I wish
you would refrain from shouting Please refrain from
hol-lering.
refresh someone with something to renew or revive
some-one with something Here, let me refresh you with a cool
glass of lemonade After the game, Wally will probably
refresh himself with a bottle of iced tea.
refresh something with something to restore or brighten
up something I think we can refresh this drab old room
with a coat of fresh paint The old house was refreshed
with new siding and some landscaping.
refund something to someone to return payment for
some-thing to someone I insist that you refund the money to
me at once Her money was refunded to her by the store
as soon as she asked for it.
refuse something to someone to deny someone permission
to receive or use something You wouldn’t refuse water
to me, would you? Nothing at all was refused to the new
employee.
refuse to do something to reject doing something; to reject
a request to do something I absolutely refuse to go there!
We all refused to break the law.
regain one’s composure Cliché to become calm and
composed after being angry or agitated I found it
dif-ficult to regain my composure after the argument Here,
sit down and relax so that you can regain your composure.
regain one’s feet 1 Lit to stand up again after falling or
stumbling I fell on the ice and almost couldn’t regain my
feet I helped my uncle regain his feet as he tried to get
up from the f loor 2 Fig to become independent after
financial difficulties I lent Bill $400 to help him regain
his feet I’ll be able to pay my bills when I regain my feet.
regain something from someone or something to take back
possession of one’s property or right from someone or
something I intend to regain my money from Herb
The finance company regained the car from the delinquent
buyer.
regale someone with something to present a great deal of
something, such as lavish entertainment or fine food, to
someone They regaled their guests with food and music
well into the night The committee was regaled with tales
of wrongdoing by the government.
regard someone or something as someone or something to look upon someone or something as someone or some- thing; to consider someone or something to be someone
or something I have always regarded you as my friend.
The cult members regarded the stone idol as their dead leader.
regard someone or something with something to look upon someone or something with a certain attitude or with cer- tain expectations The child regarded the teacher with a questioning expression The kitten regarded the fishbowl with great curiosity.
regardless of something without considering something;
at any rate; whatever is done; whatever option is chosen.
Regardless of what you say, I’m still going to the club tonight I still have to pay the bill, regardless of the facts.
register for something to sign up to participate in thing Have you registered for the class yet? She is reg- istered for the same classes as I am.
some-register in something to enter one’s name on a list for something; to sign oneself up to belong to something
Are you going to register in the pie-eating contest? We istered in the drawing for a new car.
reg-register on something [for an effect] to show on thing, such as someone’s face Recognition registered on her face when she saw the photograph of Walter The total
some-of the votes registered on the large scoreboard at the front some-of the hall.
register someone as something to record someone’s name
on a list of a category of people I will register you as an independent voter I am registered as a qualified finan- cial advisor.
register someone for something to sign someone up to ticipate in something Would you please register me for the workshop when you sign up? Excuse me I have to go register myself for the contest.
par-register someone in something 1 to enter someone’s name
on a list in something I will register you in the tition 2 to sign someone up to belong to something
compe-I registered my cousin in the club.
register something with someone or something to record the existence of something with someone or something
Did you register your new stereo with the manufacturer?
If you bring any packages into this store, please register them with the manager.
register with someone 1 Lit to sign up with someone.
You will have to register with the lady at the front desk.
I registered with the attendant when I came in 2 Fig.
[for something] to be realized or understood by someone.
Suddenly, the import of what she had said registered with
me My name did not register with her, and I had to explain who I was.
regress to something to go back to an earlier, probably pler, state; to go back to a more primitive state Bob claimed that Gerald’s behavior was regressing to that of a three-year-old I tend to regress to my college ways when
sim-I am out with the guys.
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Trang 15regular as clockwork
*regular as clockwork Cliché very regular; completely
predictable (*Also: as ~.) George goes down to the bus
stop at 7:45 every morning, as regular as clockwork You
can always depend on Nancy to complain about the office
for fifteen minutes every afternoon, regular as clockwork.
a regular fixture someone who is found so frequently in
a place as to be considered a fixture of, or part of the place.
The manager attached himself to the luncheon club and
became a regular fixture there.
a regular guy a normal and dependable guy Don’t
worry about Tom He’s a regular guy He won’t give you any
trouble.
rehearse for something to practice for something We
will rehearse for the graduation exercises on Saturday
morn-ing We rehearsed for the play all weekend.
reign over someone or something to rule over someone or
something The king reigned over his subjects for over
thirty years The queen reigned over the country for a long
time.
reimburse someone for something to repay someone for
making a purchase, such as a business expense I will
reimburse you for whatever it cost you The treasurer
reimbursed himself for his expenses.
reimburse something to someone to repay money to
some-one, such as a business expense I will reimburse the
money to you Don’t worry The full cost was reimbursed
to me.
rein back on someone or something to control or diminish
the intensity of someone or something The manager
was urged to rein back on her assigning overtime She
reined back on expenses and demanded that others do
like-wise.
rein someone or something in†to bring someone or
some-thing under control; to slow down someone or somesome-thing.
Fred is getting out of hand The boss undertook to rein
him in a bit The boss is trying to rein in Jane’s
enthusi-asm.
rein something up†to bring something, usually a horse, to
a stop She reined her horse up and stopped for a chat
Rein up your horse and stop for a while.
rein up [for a horse rider] to stop The equestrian reined
up and dismounted We all reined up and waited for the
cars to pass by.
reinforce someone or something with something to
strengthen someone or something with something The
general reinforced his troops with volunteers fresh from basic
training I had to reinforce the garage roof with new
boards.
reinstate someone as something to put someone back as a
certain officeholder The city council agreed to reinstate
Mr Wilson as alderman Fred was reinstated as the court
clerk.
reinstate someone in something to put someone back into
a certain office or position If you will pay your dues, we
will reinstate you in the organization Fred was reinstated
in office.
reinvent the wheel Fig to make unnecessary or
redun-dant preparations You don’t need to reinvent the wheel.
Read up on what others have done I don’t have to vent the wheel, but I will be cautious before I act.
rein-reissue something to someone to release or distribute to someone something that has been distributed before I plan to reissue the check to you next week The check was reissued to Mary the very next day.
reject someone or something out of hand to reject
some-one or something without any thought or study Fred
is so contrary that they rejected him out of hand when his name came up for a committee position.
rejoice at something to celebrate or revel about something.
Everyone rejoiced at the lucky events that had saved them.
We all rejoiced at the outcome of the election.
rejoice in someone or something to take great joy at one or something I am in love and I rejoice in my beloved! Roger rejoices in a good night’s sleep.
some-rejoice over something to celebrate because of something.
Everyone rejoiced over their good fortune What pened to us next was nothing to rejoice over.
hap-relapse into something to experience a return to a worse condition Valerie relapsed into a coma in the afternoon.
Mary relapsed into her depression after a brief period of normalcy.
relate something to someone to tell something to one; to narrate something to someone Very slowly, she related the events of the past week to her parents I have
some-an interesting story to relate to you.
relate something to something to associate something to something I relate this particular problem to the failure
of the company to provide proper training This point is related to what I just told you.
relate to someone or something to understand, accept, or feel kinship with someone or something He relates to people well I really don’t relate to your thinking at all.
*related to someone connected through blood kinship or through marriage to someone (*Typically: be ~ ; become ~.) I wonder if he is related to you, because
he looks a little like you I am not related to anyone here.
relative to someone or something 1 concerning someone
or something I have something to say relative to Bill
Do you have any information relative to the situation in South America? 2 in proportion to someone or some-
thing My happiness is relative to yours I can spend
an amount of money relative to the amount of money I earn.
relax into something 1 to sit or lie down in something,
relaxing I want to go home and relax into my easy chair.
I relaxed into the reclining chair and was asleep in a few moments 2 [for something that is tense] to assume a
more relaxed shape or condition His cramped muscle finally relaxed into a soft mass of tissue As her tight neck relaxed into softness, her face brightened.
relax one’s hold on someone or something to lessen one’s grasp on someone or something When she relaxed her hold on me, I got away Never relax your hold on an alli- gator.
relay something to someone to pass something on to one Can you relay this to Frank, who is way down the line? The message was relayed to Frank, who was at the end of the line.
Trang 16remain up
release someone or something from something to liberate
or let someone or something go from something The
police officer released George from the handcuffs I
released all the dogs from the city dog pound.
release someone to someone to discharge or distribute
someone to someone The judge released the defendant
to his mother Don was released by the police to his father,
who was more than a little bit angry.
relegate someone to someone or something to assign
some-one to somesome-one or something (Often refers to something
unimportant or demeaning.) They relegated the old man
to a bed in the corner The former vice president was
rel-egated to the position of manager of special projects.
reliance on someone or something trust and dependence
on someone or something John’s reliance on his family
is holding him back Reliance on sleeping pills is
danger-ous.
relieve one of one’s duties Euph to fire someone; to
dis-miss someone from employment I am afraid I must
relieve you of your duties After the scandal, she was
relieved of her duties at the embassy.
relieve oneself Euph to urinate or defecate He stopped
by the side of the road to relieve himself She needed badly
to relieve herself, but there was no bathroom in sight.
relieve someone of something 1 Lit to unburden
some-one of something Here, let me relieve you of that heavy
box At last, he could relieve himself of the problem.
2 Fig to lessen someone’s responsibilities I will relieve
you of some of the responsibility you have carried for so long.
Let me relieve you of that job You have enough to do.
religious about doing something Fig strict about
some-thing; conscientious about something Bob is religious
about paying his bills on time Max tries to be religious
about being polite to everyone.
relinquish something over someone to release the hold on
or control of someone She refused to relinquish control
over the operations of the front office Mary was ordered
to relinquish her hold over the children for a month each
year.
relinquish something to someone or something to
surren-der something to someone or something Todd refused
to relinquish his authority to anyone I finally
relin-quished the car to the bank.
relocate someone or something in something to reposition
or move someone or something in or at something I
will have to relocate you in a different office Can I
relo-cate the copy machine in the other room?
reluctant to do something unwilling to do something; not
wanting to do something David was reluctant to admit
his mistakes Although reluctant to appear in court, the
witness was ordered to by subpoena.
rely (up)on someone or something to depend on someone
or something; to trust in someone or something (Upon
is formal and less commonly used than on.) I know I
can rely upon you to do a good job Can we rely on this
old car to get us there?
remain ahead (of someone or something) Go to ahead (of
someone or something).
remain ahead of something Go to ahead of something.
remain ahead of the game Go to ahead of the game remain aloof from someone or something Go to aloof from someone or something.
remain at bay Go to at bay.
remain at some place to stay at some place; to stay behind
at some place I will remain at the office until supper time Please remain at home until I call you.
remain away (from someone or something) to stay away
from someone or something I must ask you to remain away from my daughter I cannot remain away any longer I must be with her.
remain behind to stay at a place even when others have
left Can’t I go too? Do I have to remain behind? I will remain behind for a day or two.
remain behind someone or something Go to behind one or something.
some-remain clear of something Go to clear of something.
remain down to stay down; to keep down I asked them
to remain down until the shooting stopped Please remain down with me so no one will see us.
remain in limbo Go to in limbo.
remain in (something) 1 to stay within something
Please remain in the house today It is too cold to go out
You should remain in because the weather is bad 2 to stay
in an organization as a member He remained in the Boy Scouts until he was sixteen I will remain in the teacher’s union for many years.
remain in the back of someone’s mind Go to in the
back of someone’s mind.
remain in touch (with someone or something) Go to keep
in touch (with someone or something).
remain on 1 to continue to stay in one place (The on is
an adverb, not a preposition.) Everyone else left, but I decided to remain on there I remained on for a while dur- ing the time they were training my replacement 2 and
remain on something to continue to be on something;
to continue to serve on a body Will you remain on the board of directors for another year? I will remain on this committee as long as I am needed 3 to continue to take a
particular medicine How long should I stay on these pills? I want you to remain on this medication until you run out.
remain on (one’s) guard (against someone or something)
Go to on (one’s) guard (against someone or something).
remain on something Go to remain on.
remain together to stay close together; to stay in
associ-ation We will have to remain together while we are on this tour It is very easy to get lost in this town The two boys remained together throughout college.
remain under something to continue to stay beneath the surface of something Please remain under the umbrella
so you don’t get wet A lot of people decided to leave the shelter, but I remained under it.
remain up to stay awake and out of bed I remained up throughout most of the night I cannot remain up much longer.
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Trang 17remain within (something)
remain within (something) to stay inside something or
some place Please try to remain within the boundaries
of the campus Everyone else went out, but I decided to
remain within.
remand someone (in)to the custody of someone and
remand someone over to someone to order someone
placed into the custody of someone The court
remanded the prisoner into the custody of the sheriff The
judge remanded Mary to the custody of the sheriff The
judge remanded Gerald over to his father.
remand someone over to someone Go to previous.
remark (up)on someone or something to comment on
someone or something (Upon is formal and less
com-monly used than on.) She remarked upon his tardiness
and then continued the lesson There is no need to remark
on me or anything I do or don’t do.
Remember me to someone. Please carry my good wishes
to someone (The someone can be a person’s name or a
pronoun.) Tom: My brother says hello Bill: Oh, good.
Please remember me to him Tom: I will Fred: Bye John:
Good-bye, Fred Remember me to your Uncle Tom.
remember someone as something to recall someone as
being a particular type of person I remember Terri as
a rather cheerful girl, always willing to help out William
will be remembered as a grouchy person.
remember someone in one’s will to bequeath something
to someone in one’s will My uncle always said he would
remember me in his will He failed to remember me in
his will.
remember someone to someone to carry the greetings of
someone to someone else Please remember all of us to
your uncle I will remember you to my brother, who asks
of you often.
Remember to write and Don’t forget to write.
1 Lit a final parting comment made to remind someone
going on a journey to write to those remaining at home.
Alice: Bye Mary: Good-bye, Alice Remember to write.
Alice: I will Bye Sally: Remember to write! Fred: I will!
2 Fig a parting comment made to someone in place of a
regular good-bye (Jocular.) John: See you tomorrow.
Bye Jane: See you Remember to write John: Okay See
you after lunch Jane: Yeah Bye Remember to write.
remind someone about someone or something to cause
someone to remember someone or something Will you
please remind me about Fred? He’s coming to visit next week.
I will remind you about your appointments for today.
remind someone of someone or something to bring a
mem-ory of someone or something into someone’s mind You
remind me of my brother The happy song reminded us
of our cabin on the lake.
reminisce about someone or something to think about
one’s memories of someone or something; to discuss or
share memories of someone or something They were
reminiscing about their old friends The old men sat and
reminisced about the good old days.
reminisce with someone to share memories with
some-one I love to reminisce with my sister about old times.
Todd was reminiscing with Alice about the good old days.
reminiscent of someone or something reminding someone about someone or something; seeming like or suggesting someone or something This fragrance is reminiscent of fresh f lowers Jane’s dress seems reminiscent of the style worn in the 1920s.
remit something to someone or something to send something, especially money, to someone or a group Please remit your rent to your landlady immediately You are requested
to remit your loan payment to the bank on time this month.
remonstrate (with someone) (about someone or
some-thing) to protest to someone about someone or something.
After remonstrating with the manager about the price for
a while, Vernon left quietly I spent an hour ing about Ted with Alice.
remonstrat-remove someone from something to take someone out of
an office or position The county board removed the sheriff from office She removed herself from office vol- untarily.
remove someone or something from someone or something
to take someone or something away from someone or something The authorities removed the child from his mother They removed the dog from the kennel.
remunerate someone for something 1 to pay someone for
something Of course, I will remunerate you for your time She was promptly remunerated for the hours she spent working on the project 2 to repay someone for
money spent I will remunerate you for the cost of the book if you will give me the receipt Please remunerate
me for the charges as soon as possible.
rend something from someone or something to tear thing from someone or something (The past tense and
some-past participle are rent.) Harry rent the burning ing from the man who had just f led from the burning build- ing I will rend these dirty old clothes from my body and shower.
cloth-rend something into something to rip or tear something into
something (The past tense and past participle are rent.)
The tailor rent the garment into shreds in his anger The garment was rent into bits and pieces by the machine.
render something down†1 Lit to cook the fat out of
something Polly rendered the chicken fat down to a bit
of golden grease that she would use in cooking a special dish.
Jane rendered down the fat for use later The cook dered it down 2 Fig to reduce or simplify something to
ren-its essentials Let’s render this problem down to the siderations that are important to us Can’t we render down this matter into its essentials? Not all of this is important Let’s render it down.
con-render something in(to) something to translate something into something Now, see if you can render this passage
in French Are you able to render this into German?
render something to someone or something and render
something up (to someone or something) to give something
to someone or a group You must render your taxes to the government I will render my money to the tax col- lector I had to render up all my earnings.
renege on something to go back on one’s promise or mitment I am mad at you because you reneged on your promise! I did not renege on what I promised.
Trang 18represent someone or something as something
renounce someone for something to repudiate someone for
doing something She renounced her brother for his
polit-ical orientation Jane was renounced for her illegal
activ-ities.
rent something from someone to pay someone for the use
of something We rented a small car from one of the
rental agencies They rented a house from a local realtor.
rent something (out†) (to someone) to sell temporary rights
for the use of something to someone I rented the back
room out to a nice young student We rented the back
room to someone For how long did you rent it out?
Let’s rent out the garage.
repair to some place to move oneself to some place I
will repair to my room until the crisis is over She repaired
to a safe place for the duration of the storm.
repatriate someone to some place to restore one to one’s
country of origin He asked that they repatriate him to
the land of his birth She was repatriated to her
home-land.
repay someone by something to recompense someone by
doing something; to settle a debt with someone by doing
something I will repay you by cutting your lawn free for
a year How’s that? Can I repay you by taking you to
din-ner?
repay someone for something to remunerate someone for
doing something I refused to repay him for his excessive
expenses She was repaid for her kindness many times
over.
repay someone with something to remunerate someone
with something The farmer’s wife repaid the plumbers
with fresh eggs and cream We were repaid with fresh eggs
from the farm.
repel someone from something to push someone back from
something; to fight someone off from something The
army repelled the attackers from the entrance to the city
The attacking army was repelled from the city.
replace someone or something by someone or something and
replace someone or something with someone or something
to remove someone or something and add someone or
something in place of the first The manager replaced
two workers by a machine Walter replaced his old lawn
mower with a newer one.
replenish something with something to rebuild the supply
of something with more of it I will replenish the
check-ing account with more money at the end of the month
Can I replenish your glass with more iced tea?
reply to someone or something to give a response to
some-one or something I replied to her already There is no
reason to do it again I will reply to her letter as soon as
I can.
report about someone or something to deliver information
about someone or something Isn’t it time to report
about Frank and how well he is doing? I want to report
about the accident.
report back (on someone or something) to return with
information or an explanation from someone or
some-thing I need you to report back on Walter by noon
I’ll report back as soon as I can.
report back (to someone or something) 1 to go back to
someone or something and present oneself Report back
to me at once! I’ll report back immediately 2 to present
information or an explanation to someone or some group.
Please report back to me when you have the proper mation I’ll report back as soon as I have all the infor- mation.
infor-report for something to present oneself for something
Please report for duty on Monday morning at eight o’clock sharp I can’t report for my examination at the time we agreed upon.
report in to present oneself; to make one’s presence
known Please report in when you get back in town
He reported in and his name was taken off the absentee list.
report in sick to call one’s office to say that one will not
come to work because one is sick; to show up for work ill (See also call in sick Normally, one must be present to report in.) I don’t feel well today I will report in sick The phone was busy, so I reported in sick by e-mail.
report something to someone to present a body of mation to someone Please report the results to the super- visor The event was reported to the proper person.
infor-report to someone or something 1 to present oneself to
someone or an office You must report to me for duty at noon They told me to report to this office at this time.
2 to be supervised by someone or an office When you start work here, you will report to Mrs Franklin I report directly to the home office 3 to return to someone or an
office and make a report Please report to me when you have the results If you have any more to say, please report
to headquarters and tell the whole story.
report (up)on someone or something to present an
expla-nation on someone or something (Upon is formal and less commonly used than on.) The detective visited Mrs Jones to report upon Mr Jones I want to report on the events of the day Do you have time to listen?
repose in something 1 to lie stretched out in something,
such as a bed I think I would like to repose in my own bed for an hour or two before I begin my journey Tom reposed in a comfortable chair for the rest of the evening.
2 to lie stretched out in a particular state, such as death
or slumber She lay on the cot, reposed in slumber, ing for Prince Charming to arrive The ruler reposed in death on public view for two days 3 [for something] to
wait-exist in something or be part of the essence of something.
Much of our cultural heritage reposes in our literature.
Considerable important thinking reposes in folktales and myths.
repose (up)on something to lie on something (Upon is formal and less commonly used than on.) I will repose upon these cushions until my bathwater has been drawn.
Dawn reposed on the sofa for over an hour.
represent someone in something to act as one’s advocate
or agent in business or legal proceedings My lawyer represented me in court His attorney will represent him
in all his dealings with the publishing company.
represent someone or something as something to depict or portray someone or something as something; to think of someone or something as something I don’t think you
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Trang 19represent something to someone
should represent me as so perfect After all, I’m human
The artist represented my puppy as a playful animal.
represent something to someone 1 to exemplify
some-thing to someone What does this behavior represent to
you? This represents a lapse in manners to me 2 to
explain a matter to someone He represented the matter
to me in a much more charitable light I did not
repre-sent it properly to you.
reprimand someone for something to scold someone for
something; to admonish someone for something There
is no need to reprimand me for a simple accident! Mary
was reprimanded for being late.
reproach someone for something to rebuke or censure
someone for something She reproached Jerry for
gam-bling away all their money She reproached herself
mer-cilessly for her failure.
reproach someone with something to rebuke someone
with reference to something I wish you wouldn’t
con-tinue to reproach me with things that happened long ago.
She was reproached with something out of the past.
reproduce something from something to make a copy of
something from something else I think we can
repro-duce the picture from the copy that you have there We don’t
need the negative Can you reproduce a good copy from
this old print?
reprove someone for something to criticize or censure
someone for something The boss reproved all the
employees for their use of the telephones for personal calls.
We were all reproved for being late too often.
repulse someone or something from something to resist or
repel someone or something from something The royal
guard repulsed the rebels from the palace grounds Only
the use of guns could repulse the starving wolves from the
area around the cabin.
*a reputation (as a something) a state of having a
par-ticular kind of reputation for being something (Can be a
good or a bad reputation *Typically: get ~ ; have ~ ;
give someone ~ ) She once had a reputation as a singer.
Unfortunately, Tom’s got a reputation as a cheat.
*a reputation (for doing something) a state of having a
particular kind of reputation for doing something (Often
a bad reputation, as in the examples *Typically: get ~ ;
have ~ ; give someone ~ ) You’ll get a reputation for
cheating I don’t want to get a reputation for being late.
reputed to thought to do, be, or have someone or
some-thing My boss is reputed to have cancer My neighbor
was reputed to have been a spy during the war.
request someone to do something to ask someone to do
something I am going to request you to turn your radio
down Mary was requested to arrive a few minutes early.
request something from someone to call for something
from someone I will request an explanation from the
employee in question A full report was requested from
each person present.
request something of someone to call for someone to give
or do something I have to request a favor of you Can
I request anything more of him?
require a leap of faith Go to a leap of faith.
require something from someone to demand something from someone The telephone company required a deposit from John and Martha before they would install a telephone They required some help from us.
require something of someone to expect or demand one to give or do something I require absolute loyalty
some-of my employees What is required of me in this job?
requisition something for someone or something to present
an order or formal request for something for someone or some purpose I will have to requisition a desk for you You can’t work an eight-hour day at a table We will req- uisition catering for the office party.
requisition something from someone or something to send
an order or formal request to someone or something for something The general requisitioned food and bedding from the supply depot We requisitioned a new bookcase from central supply.
rescue someone or something from someone or something to save or liberate someone or something from someone or something I hoped that someone would come and res- cue me from this boring person Nothing can rescue us from the ravages of time.
research into someone or something to study about one or something thoroughly I decided that I would research into Queen Elizabeth We researched into the period in which she lived.
some-resemble someone or something in something to look or seem like someone or something You resemble my Uncle Herman in the way you walk This resembles vanilla ice cream in f lavor, but not in consistency.
reserve something for someone or something to save or set aside something for someone or something I am reserv- ing this seat for Claire We are reserving some of the cake for tomorrow.
reside in some place to dwell in some place I reside in
a small apartment in the center of town The Wilsons resided in a large house on a hill.
reside in someone or something to be a property or acteristic of someone or something I never knew such anger could reside in such a calm person The finest acoustics that can be found in the world reside in this hall.
char-resign from something to make a written statement that removes one from an office or position of employment.
Andy resigned from the fraternity I will not resign from
my job You will have to fire me.
resign oneself to something to accept something reluctantly.
I finally resigned myself to going to Mexico even though
I didn’t want to Mary resigned herself to her fate.
resign under fire Go to under fire.
resonate with someone Fig [for an idea, issue, or
con-cept] to appeal to someone or cause someone to relate to
it The concept of wearing worn-looking clothing seems
to resonate with young people Your notion just doesn’t resonate with the public in general.
resort to something to turn to something that is not the first choice I hope they don’t resort to a lawsuit to accom- plish their goals She will resort to anything to get her way.
resound through(out) something to roar, noisily, through a space or an enclosed area An explosion
Trang 20result from something
resounded through the busy train station An explosion
resounded throughout the busy train station.
resound with something [for something, such as the air
or a place] to be filled with sound or sounds The hall
resounded with the sounds of the orchestra The house
resounded with the laughter of children.
respect someone as something to admire someone as
some-thing I respect you as a friend and supervisor We
respected them all as colleagues and coworkers.
respect someone for something to admire someone for
something I really respect George for his courage
Mary respected the company for its fine products.
respond to someone or something 1 to answer someone or
something Would you please respond to me? When
are you going to respond to my letter? 2 to react to
some-one or something You have heard his presentation How
would you respond to him? I need you to respond to the
points in the report by the end of the day The police
responded right away to the riot call.
the responsible party the person or organization
responsible or liable for something I intend to find the
responsible party and get some answers to my questions
Mary sued the responsible party in the car crash.
rest against someone or something to lean against
some-one or something; to take a rest period positisome-oned against
someone or something The child rested against his
father until it was time to board the train A fishing pole
rested against the side of the garage, ready to go to work.
rest assured to be assured; to be certain Rest assured
that you’ll receive the best of care Please rest assured that
we will do everything possible to help.
rest from something to take it easy and recover from
some-thing I need to take a few minutes and rest from all that
exertion When you have rested from your running, please
come in here and help me.
rest in peace to lie dead peacefully for eternity (A solemn
entreaty used in funeral prayers, eulogies, etc.) We
prayed that the deceased would rest in peace The bodies
of the soldiers will rest in peace.
rest in something 1 to be comfortable in something, such
as a chair or a bed I rested in the chair for a while and
then got up and made supper I will rest in bed until I
feel better 2 to be at ease in a particular condition or
sta-tus, such as comfort or comfortable surroundings I
hope that you can rest in comfort for the rest of the night
We rested in the plush surroundings and then went back out
into the hot sun to work 3 [for something] to have its
source in something The source of her magnetism rests
in the way she uses her eyes His skill rests in his
thor-ough training.
The rest is gravy Fig Any additional money received is
just an easily acquired bonus There is some cost involved
in buying the raw materials, and the cost of manufacturing
is negligible When we pay off the costs, the rest is gravy.
The rest is history Fig Everyone knows the rest of the
story that I am referring to Bill: Then they arrested all
the officers of the corporation, and the rest is history Bob:
Hey, what happened between you and Sue? Bill: Finally we
realized that we could never get along, and the rest is
his-tory.
rest on one’s laurels Fig to stop trying because one is
sat-isfied with one’s past achievements Despite our cess, this is no time to rest on our laurels We rested on our laurels too long Our competitors took away a lot of our business.
suc-rest something against something to lean or position thing against something, allowing it to bear part of the weight of the thing being rested Rest the heavy end of the box against the wall and we’ll slide it down the stairs
some-Please rest the board against something solid while you paint it.
rest something in someone or something to place or vest something in someone or something The board of directors saw fit to rest the power to hire and fire in the office
of the vice president The president rested the power to hire and fire in the hands of his son, who promptly fired all the top managers.
rest up (for something) to take it easy in advance of
some-thing tiring Excuse me, but I have to go rest up for the concert tonight I really need to rest up a while.
rest up (from something) to recover or recuperate from
something tiring I need about a week to rest up from my long travels I’ll need a few days to rest up.
rest (up)on something to lie on something; to take it easy
on something (Upon is formal and less commonly used than on.) Here, rest upon this mat I’ll just rest on this chair, thanks.
rest with someone or something to remain with someone
or something; to be vested with someone or something.
The final decision rests with you The power rests with the board of directors.
restore someone’s trust in something andrestore
some-one’s belief in something; restore someone’s faith in
something to reinstate someone’s belief, faith, trust, etc., in something I knew that a good performance on the test would restore my parents’ belief in me Her faith was restored in the government.
restore something to someone to give something back to someone; to cause something to be returned to someone.
I will restore the man’s wallet to him after we lock the thief up His wallet was restored to him by a police offi- cer.
restore something to something to bring something to its original state The state restored the park to its original condition The government forced the mining company
to restore the area to its original state.
restrain someone from something to prevent someone from doing something I had to restrain her from hurt- ing herself I was unable to restrain myself from giggling
at the wisecrack.
restrict someone or something to someone or something to limit someone or something to someone or something;
to confine someone or something to someone or
some-thing (The first something may typically refer to a choice
or selection.) When choosing team members, we are restricting them to people they already know We restricted the choices to Bill, Bob, or Ted.
result from something to emerge from something; to be the outcome of something It will be interesting to see
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Trang 21result in something
what results from your efforts Nothing resulted from all
that work.
result in something to achieve something; to bring about
something; to cause something to happen I hope that
this will result in the police finding your car All my effort
resulted in nothing at all.
resurrect someone or something from something to restore
someone or something from some state to its formal state.
We decided to resurrect Toby from the ranks of the retired.
I resurrected my old uniform from its tattered and
wrin-kled state.
retail at something to sell at a retail price of something
This model normally retails at a much higher price What
does a product like this usually retail at?
retail for something to sell for a retail price of an amount
of money This item retails for less than ten dollars
How much does this retail for?
retail something to someone to sell something to someone
at a retail price I can retail this merchandise at ninety
percent of the price of my competitor We are not allowed
to retail this to anyone in the state of Maine.
retain something over someone or something to keep or
maintain something, such as power or control, over
some-one or something Tony found a way to retain control
over Fred I wish to retain veto power over the
commit-tee.
retaliate against someone or something to take revenge
against someone or something The striking workers will
retaliate against the company with a protest march The
students retaliated against the administration.
retire from something to withdraw from something
(Usu-ally to terminate a working career permanently.) I
retired from the company early When do you intend to
retire from your job?
retire (in)to something to quit working and move into
something or some place Sam and Ella retired into a
Florida condo Joe did not want to retire to Florida.
retire on something to quit working and live on something
or a particular amount of money I already have enough
money to retire on I cannot retire on a sum like that!
retire someone or something from something to take
some-one or something out of service permanently The
com-pany retired the vice president from the job and gave it to
someone else It is time to retire my automobile from
ser-vice.
retire to some place to quit working permanently and move
to a particular location When I quit working, I want to
retire to Florida We will retire to our place in the
coun-try.
retool for something 1 Lit to set up with new or altered
tools for a different kind of production The factory was
closed down so they could retool for next year’s model
How soon can we retool for this new line of products? 2 Fig.
to prepare oneself for a different kind of work He
decided to retool for a new job in the computer industry
I am too old to retool for a job like this.
retool something for something to set up a factory with new
or altered tools for a different kind of production The
manager decided to retool the factory for greater efficiency.
We will retool the plant for next year’s models.
retreat (from something) (to some place) to withdraw
from something to some place The army retreated from the battlefield to the safety of the forest They retreated
to the other side of the river.
retrieve someone or something from some place to recover and bring back someone or something from some place.
The mother hurried to the school and retrieved her child from the classroom I retrieved my cat from the well into which she had fallen.
retrieve something from someone to get something back from someone I hope I can retrieve my book from the person who borrowed it We were not able to retrieve the lawn mower from Fred before he moved away and took it with him.
return from some place to come back from some place
I just returned from a research trip in the Amazon basin
When will they return from their vacation?
return someone or something to someone to give someone
or something back to someone Please return my tools
to me Would you return my book to me soon?
return someone’s compliment Go to return the
com-pliment.
return something for something to give or pay back thing for something The clerk returned the correct change for a twenty-dollar bill I hope that the product returns good value for my money.
some-return the compliment andreturn someone’s pliment to pay a compliment to someone who has paid
com-you a compliment Mary told me that my hair looked nice, so I returned her compliment and told her that her hair was lovely When someone says something nice, it is polite
to return the compliment.
return the favor to do a good deed for someone who has
done a good deed for you You helped me last week, so I’ll return the favor and help you this week There is no point in helping Bill He’ll never return the favor.
return to haunt one Go to come back to haunt one.
return to some place to go or come back to some place
When do you plan to return to your home? I will return there when I have finished here.
return with something to come back with something
He went to town and returned with the doctor just in time.
She returned with the material they had requested.
reunite someone or something with someone or something
to bring someone or something together with someone or something Mary was pleased to reunite Sally with her sister I reunited the lost cat with its owner.
rev something up†to make an idling engine run very fast,
in short bursts of power Hey! Stop revving it up! I wish that Tom wouldn’t sit out in front of our house in his car and rev up his engine.
rev up to increase in amount or activity Production revved up after the strike We’re hoping business will rev
Trang 22riddle someone or something with something
opened the door of the cabinet and revealed his assistant to
the audience I revealed my secret to no one She
stepped out from behind the tree and revealed herself to the
hostess.
revel in something to rejoice or celebrate about something.
All the children reveled in the fresh, warm, spring air
Tony reveled in his success.
Revenge is a dish best served cold Prov It is very
satisfying to get revenge a long time after the event for
which you want revenge I don’t mind waiting to get
revenge on Greg; I’ll wait ten years if I have to Revenge is
a dish best served cold.
Revenge is sweet Prov It is very pleasurable to revenge
yourself on someone Jill: Remember when Tom left me
for another woman? Well, she just left him, and he asked me
out on a date I told him I had better things to do Jane:
Revenge is sweet, huh?
revenge oneself (up)on someone or something to retaliate
against someone or something (Upon is formal and less
commonly used than on.) There is no need for you to
revenge yourself upon Walter It was an accident She did
not know how she would revenge herself on Joe, but she knew
she would.
reverberate through something [for sound] to roll
through or pass through a space The thunder
rever-berated through the valley The sound of the organ
rever-berated through the church.
reverberate throughout something [for sound] to roll
about and fill a space The thunder reverberated
throughout the valley The noise of chairs scraping the
f loor reverberated throughout the room.
reverberate with something to echo or resound with
something The hall reverberated with the rich basso
voice of Walter Rogers The church reverberated with the
roar of the pipe organ.
revere someone or something for something to admire or
venerate someone or something for something I will
always revere my dear aunt for her devotion to all of us
We have always revered his lovely gift for our little kindness.
revert to someone or something 1 to return to some type
of person or a former state After he was out of prison,
he reverted to a life of crime She quickly reverted to her
childhood dialect after a few weeks at home 2 to become
the property of someone, a group, or an institution At
the end of ten years, this house and the land it sits on reverts
to the youngest living child Then the property reverts to
the state.
review for something to study material again for
some-thing, such as an examination I need some time to
review for the examination Have you had enough time
to review for your speech?
revolt against someone or something to rebel or rise against
someone or something The citizens were gathering
arms, preparing to revolt against the government.
revolted at someone or something sickened by someone or
something I was revolted at Frank and his behavior
We were all revolted at the scene of the bloody highway
upon someone or something or to be primarily concerned with someone or something The way all of this is going
to turn out revolves around Bob The success of the nic revolves around the weather.
pic-reward someone for something to give someone a prize or
a bonus for doing something I would like to reward you for your honesty She wanted to reward herself for her hard work, so she treated herself to a massage.
reward someone with something to honor someone with
a gift of something She rewarded the helpful child with
a chocolate chip cookie He rewarded himself with a night
on the town.
rhapsodize over someone or something to go on and on about the virtues of someone or something Young Thomas likes to rhapsodize over Francine, his girlfriend
Please do not rhapsodize over this poem anymore.
rhyme something with something [for someone] to make one word rhyme with another word I need to rhyme tree with some other word Any suggestions? Can I rhyme good with food?
rhyme with something [for a word] to rhyme with another word You can’t use house in that line of the poem, because it doesn’t rhyme with mice The last word in your poem doesn’t rhyme with any other word in the poem!
rich in something having valuable resources, tics, traditions, or history The entire region is rich in historical churches Our soil is rich in important nutri- ents.
characteris-A rich man’s joke is always funny Prov Everyone
wants to curry favor with rich people and so will always laugh at their jokes (From a poem by Thomas Edward Brown.) We all thought that Mr Lisle was a narrow- minded, unpleasant old man, but we were careful to act oth- erwise, because he was wealthy A rich man’s joke is always funny.
rich with something having a lot of something; abundant
in something The beautiful book was rich with color illustrations The old town was rich with elegant Victo- rian houses.
ricochet off something [for some rapidly moving object, such as a bullet] to bounce off something at an angle
The bullet ricocheted off the wall and struck the gunman.
Bullets were ricocheting off the walls from all angles.
*rid of someone or something free of someone or something (*Typically: be ~ ; get ~.) I’m trying to get rid of Mr Smith He’s bothering me I’ll be happy when I get rid of
my old car.
rid oneself or something of someone or something to free self or something of someone or something; to deliver oneself or something from someone or something The boys were not clever enough to rid themselves of Tom’s lit- tle sister Will we ever be able to rid this house of spiders?
one-riddle someone or something with something to fill one or something with small holes, such as bullet holes.
some- Max pulled the trigger of the machine gun and riddled
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Trang 23ride away
Lefty with holes The police riddled the wall with holes
trying to shoot the escaped convict in the house.
ride away to depart, riding a bike or a horse or similar
animal She got on her horse and rode away They rode
away without even saying good-bye.
ride by someone or something to pass by someone or
some-thing, riding (As on a horse or bicycle, or as a passenger
in a car.) She rode by me without saying anything I
rode by the store and forget to stop and go in.
ride herd on someone or something Fig to supervise
some-one or something (Alludes to a cowboy supervising
cat-tle.) I’m tired of having to ride herd on my kids all the
time My job is to ride herd on this project and make sure
everything is done right.
ride off to depart, riding something such as a horse or a
bicycle Betty said good-bye and rode off We rode off,
each one in a different direction.
ride off in all directions 1 Fig [for people] to scatter,
riding something, such as a horse or a bicycle (See also
run off in all directions.) The boys hopped on their bikes
and rode off in all directions The sheriff got the posse
together and they rode off in all directions, looking for the
bank robber 2 Fig to behave in a totally confused
man-ner; to try to do everything at once Bill has a tendency
to ride off in all directions He’s not organized enough
Now, calm down There is no sense in riding off in all
direc-tions.
ride on to continue to ride, traveling onward We rode
on for at least an hour before finding a rest stop They
rode on for a while.
ride on someone’s coattails and hang on someone’s
coattails Fig to make one’s good fortune or success on
the strength of someone else’s (Also with else, as in the
examples.) Bill isn’t very creative, so he rides on John’s
coattails Some people just have to hang on somebody
else’s coattails.
ride on something 1 Lit to travel on something Do you
like to ride on the train? I have never ridden on a horse.
2 Fig to be borne on something and carried along (On
something other than a means of transportation.) She
rode on a wave of popularity to reelection He rode on his
past laurels as long as he could.
ride out (of some place) to travel out of a place on
some-thing such as a horse or bicycle All the racers rode out
of the starting area and began the bicycle marathon At
the sound of the starting gun, all the contestants rode out.
ride over someone or something to pass over someone or
something, riding something such as a horse or a bicycle.
Bobby fell down and Susan rode over him with her
bicy-cle, but he wasn’t hurt at all Tom almost rode over my
toe!
ride roughshod over someone or something and run
roughshod over someone or something Fig to treat
someone or something with disdain or scorn Tom
seems to ride roughshod over his friends You shouldn’t
have come into our town to ride roughshod over our laws
and our traditions.
ride someone about something to continue to bother
some-one about something Stop riding me about my weight!
This is how I’m supposed to be! It’s not fair to ride one about being bald.
some-ride someone or an animal down†to chase down someone
or an animal while riding on horseback The mounted policeman rode the mugger down and captured him The rider rode down the thief We had to ride down the run- away horse.
ride something down to ride on something that is going
down, such as an elevator You take the stairs, and I will ride the elevator down I don’t want to ride the cable car down I will walk.
ride something out† to endure something unpleasant (Originally referred to ships lasting out a storm.) It was
a nasty situation, but the mayor tried to ride it out The mayor decided to ride out the scandal.
ride the gravy train Fig to live in ease or luxury If I had a million dollars, I sure could ride the gravy train I wouldn’t like loafing if I were rich I don’t want to ride the gravy train.
ride to some place to travel to a place, riding something such as a horse or a bicycle, or a vehicle one does not drive.
I will ride to town and get the doctor Tom will ride to the store on his bike to get a loaf of bread.
ride up (on someone) 1 Lit [for someone on a horse] to
approach someone, riding I rode up on him and ened him I guess I was in the house when you rode up.
fright-2 Fig [for clothing, especially underpants] to keep
mov-ing higher on one’s body I don’t like it when my pants ride up on me I hate it when my underpants ride up.
ride (up)on someone or something to use someone or
some-thing as a beast of burden (Upon is formal and less monly used than on.) As a game, the children used to ride on their father We rode upon burros along the nar- row mountain trails.
com-ride with someone to travel with someone on or in a cle or a beast of burden I’m going to the store for some milk Do you want to ride with me? Can I ride with you
vehi-to the svehi-tore?
riding for a fall Fig risking failure or an accident,
usu-ally due to overconfidence Tom drives too fast, and he seems too sure of himself He’s riding for a fall Bill needs
to eat better and get more sleep He’s riding for a fall.
rifle through something to ransack something; to search quickly or roughly through something looking for some- thing The teenager quickly rifled through the cabinets, looking for something worth eating The soldiers rifled through every house they could break into.
rig someone or something out†(in something) to outfit
one or something in something; to decorate or dress one or something in something (Alludes to the rigging
some-of a sailing ship.) Joan rigged her daughter out in a witch’s costume for the Halloween party He rigged out his car with lights for the parade.
rig something up†to prepare something, perhaps on short notice or without the proper materials We don’t have what’s needed to make the kind of circuit you have described, but I think we can rig something up anyway We will rig
up whatever you need.
Trang 24ring someone up
right and left andleft and right to both sides; on all
sides; everywhere I dropped the tennis balls, and they
rolled right and left There were children everywhere—
running right and left.
*right as rain Cliché perfectly fine; all right (Based on
the alliteration with r *Also: as ~.) Lily has sprained
her ankle, but after a few weeks of rest she should be as right
as rain All we need to do is tidy the house up; then it will
be right as rain.
right at a certain time exactly or precisely at a specific place
or time Meet me at this corner right at 3:00 p.m The
restaurant is right at First and Main Streets.
right away andright now immediately John: Take this
over to Sue Bill: Right away John: How soon can you do
this? Sue: Right away.
right down someone’s alley andright up someone’s alley
Fig ideally suited to one’s interests or abilities Skiing is
right down my alley I love it This kind of thing is right
up John’s alley.
right in the kisser Inf right in the mouth or face
Wilbur poked the cop right in the kisser He caught a
punch right in the kisser.
right now Go to right away.
right off the bat andstraight off the bat Fig
imme-diately; first thing When he was learning to ride a
bicy-cle, he fell on his head right off the bat The new
man-ager demanded new office furniture right off the bat.
(right) off the top of one’s head Fig without giving it
too much thought or without precise knowledge Mary:
How much do you think this car would be worth on a trade?
Fred: Well, right off the top of my head, I’d say about a
thou-sand Tom: What time does the morning train come in?
Bill: Off the top of my head, I don’t know.
Right on! Sl Exactly!; That is exactly right! After the
speaker finished, many people in the audience shouted,
“Right on!” One member of the crowd called out, “Right
on!”
right on someone’s heels Go to on someone’s heels.
right on time at the correct time; no later than the
spec-ified time Bill always shows up right on time If you
get there right on time, you’ll get one of the free tickets.
right side up with the correct (top) side upwards, as with
a box or some other container Keep this box right side
up, or the contents will be crushed Please set your coffee
cup right side up so I can fill it.
the right stuff the right or correct character or set of skills
to do something well She’s got the right stuff to be a
win-ner.
*a right to do something and*the right to do something the
freedom to do something; the legal or moral permission
or license to do something (*Typically: get ~ ; have ~ ;
give someone ~ ) You don’t have the right to enter my
home without my permission I have a right to grow
any-thing I want on my farmland.
*a right to something and*the right to something a
privi-lege or license to have something (*Typically: get ~ ;
have ~ ; give someone ~ ) I have the right to have the
kind of house I want You have a right to any house you
can afford.
(right) under someone’s (very) nose 1 Fig right in
front of someone I thought I’d lost my purse, but it was sitting on the table under my very nose How did Mary fail to see the book? It was right under her nose 2 Fig in
someone’s presence The thief stole Jim’s wallet right under his nose The jewels were stolen from under the very noses of the security guards.
right up someone’s alley Go to right down someone’s alley.
*the right-of-way the legal right to occupy a particular
space on a public roadway (*Typically: get ~ ; have ~ ; give someone ~; yield ~.) I had a traffic accident yesterday, but it wasn’t my fault I had the right-of-way
Don’t pull out onto a highway if you haven’t yielded the right-of-way.
rile someone up†
to get someone excited and angry He yelled at them and riled them up They left quite angry
He riles up everyone he talks to.
ring a bell Fig [for something] to cause someone to
remember something or for it to seem familiar I’ve never met John Franklin, but his name rings a bell
Whenever I see a bee, it rings a bell I remember when I was stung by one.
ring around something to circle something The children ringed around the maypole, dancing and singing The mourners had ringed around the coffin for the final cere- mony.
ring back to call back on the telephone No, there’s no message I’ll ring back later She’s not here now I suggest you ring back after dinner.
ring in someone’s ears andring in someone’s mind Fig.
[for words or a sound] to linger in one’s consciousness
Her words rang in my ears for days The sound of the choir rang in their minds long after they had finished their anthem.
ring in someone’s mind Go to previous.
ring in the new year Fig to celebrate the beginning of
the new year at midnight on December 31 We are ning a big party to ring in the new year How did you ring
plan-in the new year?
ring off the hook Fig [for a telephone] to ring
inces-santly and repeatedly What a busy day! The telephone has been ringing off the hook all day long The telephone has been ringing off the hook ever since the ad appeared in the paper.
ring out [for a loud sound] to go out The bells rang out
at the end of the wedding ceremony Loud cheers rang out
at the end of the game A shot rang out and started all the dogs barking.
ring out the old Fig to celebrate the end of a year while
celebrating the beginning of a new one (See also ring in the new year.) I don’t plan to ring out the old this year I’m just going to go to bed We never ring out the old because it’s too dismal.
ring someone back†
to call someone back on the telephone.
I will have to ring back the store at a later time Please ring me back when you have a moment.
ring someone up†
to call someone on the telephone I will ring her up when I get a chance I have to ring up a whole list of people.
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Trang 25ring something up
ring something up†to record the cost of an item on a cash
register Please ring this chewing gum up first, and I’ll
put it in my purse The cashier rang up each item and told
me how much money I owed.
ring the bell Inf to be just what is needed; to hit the spot.
This cold water really rings the bell A good hot bowl
of soup would ring the bell about now.
ring the curtain down†(on something) andbring the
curtain down†(on something) 1 Fig to lower a
the-ater curtain, usually at the end of an act or a play (More
literal than W.) After one hundred performances, it’s
time to ring the curtain down on our show for the last time.
As we bring down the curtain on another successful
per-formance, let’s be thankful nothing serious went wrong.
2 Fig to bring something to an end; to declare something
to be at an end It’s time to ring the curtain down on our
relationship We have nothing in common anymore
We’ve tried our best to make this company a success, but it’s
time to ring down the curtain.
ring the curtain up†1 Fig to raise the curtain in a
the-ater (Alludes to sending the signal to raise the curtain.)
The stagehand rang the curtain up precisely on time
Let’s ring up the curtain It’s time to start the show 2 Fig.
to start a series of activities or events I am set to ring
up the curtain on a new lifestyle It’s a little late to ring
up the curtain for a new career.
ring true Fig to sound or seem true or likely (From
test-ing the quality of metal or glass by striktest-ing it and
evalu-ating the sound made.) The student’s excuse for being
late doesn’t ring true Do you think that Mary’s
expla-nation for her absence rang true?
ring with something 1 Lit to resound with something
The morning air rang with the sound of church bells The
canyon rang with the sound of gunfire 2 [for a bell] to
ring in some characteristic way The bells seemed to ring
with unusual clarity on this fine Sunday morning The
doorbell rang with an urgency that could not be ignored.
rinse someone or something down†to wash or clean
some-one or something with water or other fluid I rinsed him
down for an hour and still didn’t get the smell of skunk off
him I had to rinse down the driveway.
rinse someone or something off†
to wash or clean someone
or something by flushing with water or other fluid
Mother rinsed the baby off and dried him with a soft towel.
She rinsed off the baby.
rinse someone’s mouth out†(with soap) andwash
someone’s mouth out†(with soap) Fig to punish one
by washing one’s mouth out with soap, especially for using
foul language (Usually a jocular threat.) If you say that
again, I’ll rinse your mouth out with soap I will wash out
your mouth if you swear.
rinse something down†(with something) to wash
some-thing down one’s throat with a liquid; to follow somesome-thing
that one has eaten with a drink to aid its going down
Alice rinsed the cheeseburger down with a milkshake She
rinsed down the sandwich with a drink.
rinse something out†1 to clean cloth or clothing partially
by immersing it in water and squeezing it out Can you
please rinse this rag out? It’s all dirty Please rinse out your
clothes to make sure there is no soap left in them 2 to
laun-der something delicate, such as feminine unlaun-derwear, using
a mild soap I have to go rinse a few things out After
I rinse out some things, I will be right with you 3 to clean
the inside of a container partially by flushing it out with water Rinse the bottle out and throw it away Rinse out the bottle and throw it away.
rinse something out of something to remove something from something by flushing it with water See if you can rinse the dirt out of this jacket I can’t rinse out the dirt.
rinse something with something to flush something with some fluid You should rinse your clothes in milk or tomato juice to remove the smell of the skunk Please rinse the stain with cold water.
a riot of color Cliché a selection of many bright colors
The landscape was a riot of color each autumn.
rip into someone or something 1 Lit to attack someone or
something by ripping The raccoons ripped into the trash bags, scattering papers and stuff all over the street The horrid murderer ripped into the helpless victim 2 Fig to
criticize or censure someone or something severely The drama critic ripped into Larry The critics really ripped into Larry’s poor performance.
rip off [for something] to tear or peel off My pocket ripped off, and my money is gone now! A piece of the bumper ripped off my car.
rip on someone Sl to give someone a hard time; to hassle
someone Stop ripping on me! What did I do to you? Tim is ripping on Mary and she is getting really mad.
ripsnorter Rur a remarkable person or thing; a hilarious
joke Old Fred is a real ripsnorter Her new car is a snorter, I tell you Let me tell you a ripsnorter about a farmer and his cow.
rip-rip someone off†Inf to steal [something] from someone;
to cheat someone That merchant ripped me off! She rips off everyone.
rip someone or something apart†to tear someone or thing apart into pieces The automobile accident ripped the car apart Don’t rip apart the newspaper!
some-rip someone or something to something 1 Lit to tear
some-one or something into small pieces, expressed as bits, pieces, shreds, etc If you fall into that lawn mower, it will rip you to pieces The lawn mower ripped the news- paper to tiny bits 2 Fig to criticize someone or something
mercilessly The critics ripped Gerald to pieces even though the audience just loved his show They ripped the whole production to pieces.
rip someone or something up†to tear someone or something into bits; to mutilate someone or something Careful! That machine will rip you up if you fall in I ripped up the contract and threw the pieces in the trash.
rip something away†(from someone) to grab or snatch
something away from someone Betty ripped the box away from Frank and walked away with it She ripped away the box and opened it.
rip something away† (from something) to tear or strip something away Billy ripped the wrapping paper away from the box He ripped away the paper.
rip something down†to tear something down (Alludes to something that has been posted or mounted.) The cus-
Trang 26risk of rain
todian ripped all the posters down at the end of the day
He ripped down the posters.
rip something in half andrip something in two to tear
something into two parts Did you know that Ed can
rip a telephone book in half ? I can rip a newspaper in
two.
rip something in two Go to previous.
rip something off†Inf to steal something [from someone].
The mugger ripped my purse off of me Jane ripped
off a lot of money Somebody ripped my wallet off.
rip something off (of ) someone or something andrip
some-thing off†to tear something away from someone or
some-thing (Of is usually retained before pronouns.) I ripped
the cover off of the book accidentally I ripped off the book
cover.
rip something out of someone or something andrip
some-thing out†to tear something out of someone or
some-thing The high priest ripped the beating heart out of the
sacrificial victim The priest ripped out the victim’s heart.
rip something up†
to take something up by force and remove
it (Usually refers to something on the floor or ground,
such as carpeting or pavement.) They are going to rip
all the broken sidewalk up The workers ripped up the
pavement and loaded the pieces into a truck.
a ripe old age a very old age Mr Smith died last night,
but he lived to a ripe old age—99 All the Smiths seem to
reach a ripe old age.
ripen into something 1 Lit to ripen and become
some-thing recognizable This little green ball will ripen into
an apple 2 Fig to mature into something This
prob-lem is going to ripen into a real crisis if we don’t do
some-thing about it right now The small matter ripened into
a large problem in a short time.
(rip-)off artist Inf a con artist Fred is such an off artist.
Beware of the rip-off artist who runs that shop.
a ripple of excitement a series of quiet but excited
mur-murs A ripple of excitement spread through the crowd.
As the president came near, a ripple of excitement
indi-cated that people could really see him.
a ripple of protest quiet remarks protesting something;
a small amount of subdued protest There was only a
ripple of protest about the new tax law The rude
come-dian hardly drew a ripple of protest.
ripple through something 1 Lit to move through a
liq-uid so as to cause ripples or tiny waves The canoe
rip-pled through the still water A tiny snake rippled through
the water of the swamp 2 Fig to move through something
or a group of people in a ripple or wave motion A
mur-mur of excitement rippled through the crowd Some
gig-gling rippled through the group of children sitting by the
door.
rise above something 1 Lit to move up above something.
The huge sun rose above the horizon and spread its red
glow across the sea 2 Fig [for one] to ignore petty
mat-ters and do what one is meant to do in spite of them
He was able to rise above the squabbling and bring some
sense to the proceedings Jane was never able to rise above
her petty dislikes.
Rise and shine! Fig Get out of bed and be lively and
ener-getic! (Often a command.) Come on, children! Rise and shine! We’re going to the beach Father always calls “Rise and shine!” in the morning when we want to go on sleep- ing.
rise from someone or something to emanate from someone
or something in the manner of a cloud of dust or a cheer.
After the singer finished, a loud cheer rose from the crowd.
A cloud of smoke rose from the burning barn.
rise from the ashes Fig [for a structure] to be rebuilt
after destruction The entire west section of the city was destroyed and a group of new buildings rose from the ashes
in only a few months Will the city rise again from the ashes? No one knows.
rise from the dead andrise from the grave Fig to
come back to life after being dead Albert didn’t rise from the dead He wasn’t dead in the first place The movie was about a teenager who rose from the grave and haunted his high school friends.
rise from the grave Go to previous.
rise from the ranks Fig to achieve position or office,
having worked up from the masses He rose from the ranks to become president of the company Most of the officers of the company have risen from the ranks.
rise in something to increase in something I hope that this land rises in value over the next few years Her expen- sive antique car actually rose in value during the first year.
rise to one’s feet to stand up The entire audience rose
to its feet, applauding wildly We rose to our feet when the bride came down the aisle.
rise to the bait Fig to respond to an allurement; to fall
for an enticement or fall into a trap (Alludes to a fish coming up from deep water to seize bait.) You can get him here easily Tell him that there will be lots of food and
he will rise to the bait He rose to the bait and did just as
he was expected to do.
rise to the challenge Fig to accept a challenge
(Usu-ally in reference to success with the challenge.) You can depend on Kelly to rise to the challenge We were not able
to rise to the challenge and we lost the contract.
rise to the occasion Fig to meet the challenge of an
event; to try extra hard to do a task John was able to rise to the occasion and make the conference a success It was a big challenge, but he rose to the occasion.
rise to the top to move or float to something, such as
the top, surface, etc The cream will rise to the top The lighter oil rose to the top and we scooped it up and saved it.
rise up 1 to come up; to ascend The water is rising up fast You had better get to higher ground As the water rose up, it covered the fields and streets 2 to get up from
lying down The deer rose up and darted off into the woods I rose up and brushed my clothing.
rise (up) against someone or something to challenge one or something; to rebel against someone or something.
some- The citizens rose up against their elected officials some- They rose up against the abusive power of the government.
risk of rain andrisk of showers; risk of (storms) a chance of precipitation (Used only in
thunder-A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Trang 27risk of showers
weather forecasting There is no “risk” of hazard or injury
involved.) And for tomorrow, there is a slight risk of
showers in the morning There is a 50 percent risk of rain
tonight.
risk of showers Go to previous.
risk of thunder(storms) Go to risk of rain.
risk one’s neck (to do something) Fig to accept the risk of
physical harm in order to accomplish something Look
at that traffic! I refuse to risk my neck just to cross the street
to buy a paper I refuse to risk my neck at all.
risk something on someone or something to chance losing
something on someone or something I wouldn’t risk
any money on him He’s a poor credit risk Don’t risk your
life on his being there to help you.
rival someone in something to have a quality or status that
is comparable to that of someone else I would say that
Jane rivals Dave in the ability to find the essential elements
of a problem and deal with them swiftly No one rivals
Ted in pitching a baseball.
rivet one’s gaze on someone or something andrivet one’s
glare on someone or something Fig to fasten one’s gaze
onto someone or something (As if it were attached by
riv-ets.) He riveted his gaze on the surly young man
Wal-ter riveted his hateful glare on the last page of the contract
and sneered.
rivet one’s glare on someone or something Go to previous.
rivet someone’s attention Fig to keep someone’s
atten-tion fixed [on something] The movie riveted the
audi-ence’s attention Professor Jones’s lecture riveted the
stu-dents’ attention.
rivet something on(to) something andrivet something on†
to attach something to something with rivets The
pock-ets of these jeans are riveted onto the body of the pants
You should rivet on this part of the frame to the wall.
riveted to the ground Fig [of someone or someone’s
feet] unable to move I was riveted to the ground out of
fear My feet were riveted to the ground and I could not
move an inch.
road hog Fig someone who drives carelessly and selfishly.
Look at that road hog driving in the middle of the road
and stopping other drivers from passing him That road
hog nearly knocked the children over He was driving too
fast.
The road to hell is paved with good intentions.
Prov People often mean well but do bad things (Can be
a strong rebuke, implying that the person you are
address-ing did somethaddress-ing bad and his or her good intentions do
not matter.) Jane: I’m sorry I didn’t mean to hurt your
feelings; I only wanted to help you Jane: Oh, yeah? The road
to hell is paved with good intentions.
roam about androam around to wander or range about
freely Stay where you are and don’t roam about I’m
too tired to roam around very much.
roar at someone or something 1 Lit to bellow or bawl at
someone or something Don’t roar at me! Control your
temper The lion roared at the hyena, who ran off 2 Fig.
to laugh very hard at someone or something The
audi-ence roared at the clown The children roared at Dad’s
jokes.
roar away to speed away, making a loud clamor The car roared away into the night with tires screeching The train roared away, carrying Andy to Canada.
roar something out†to bellow something out loudly
Walter roared his protest out so everyone knew how he felt.
Jane roared out her criticism.
rob Peter to pay Paul Fig to take or borrow from one
in order to give or pay something owed to another Why borrow money to pay your bills? That’s just robbing Peter to pay Paul There’s no point in robbing Peter to pay Paul You will still be in debt.
rob someone blind 1 Fig to steal freely from someone
Her maid was robbing her blind I don’t want them to rob
me blind Keep an eye on them 2 Fig to overcharge
some-one You are trying to rob me blind I won’t pay it! Those auto repair shops can rob you blind if you don’t watch out.
rob someone of something to deprive someone of thing, not necessarily by theft What you have done has robbed me of my dignity! If you do that, you will rob your- self of your future.
some-rob the cradle Fig to marry or date someone who is
much younger than oneself I hear that Bill is dating Ann Isn’t that sort of robbing the cradle? She’s much younger than he is Uncle Bill—who is nearly eighty—married a thirty-year-old woman That is really robbing the cradle.
rock around to tilt or totter about The boat rocked around, tossing the passengers to and fro The road was bumpy and the huge car rocked around.
*(rock) bottom the lowest point or level (*Typically: be
at ~ ; hit ~ ; reach ~.) The value of the goods is at rock bottom right now Prices have reached rock bottom.
When my life hit bottom, I gradually began to feel much better.
rock someone to something to help someone, usually an infant, get to sleep by rocking in a rocking chair, cradle,
or carriage It is best to rock the baby to sleep after you feed her Somehow she learned to rock herself to sleep.
rock the boat 1 Lit to do something to move a boat from
side to side, causing it to rock (Often in a negative sense.)
Sit down and stop rocking the boat You’ll turn it over!
2 Fig to cause trouble where none is welcome; to
dis-turb a situation that is otherwise stable and satisfactory (Often negative.) Look, Tom, everything is going fine here Don’t rock the boat! You can depend on Tom to mess things up by rocking the boat.
rocket (in)to something 1 Lit [for a projectile] to ascend
into the sky or into space; [for something] to shoot rapidly into something The space shuttle rocketed into space.
The locomotive rocketed into the darkness 2 Fig [for
someone] to ascend rapidly into something, such as fame
or prominence Jill rocketed into prominence after her spectacular performance on the guitar She will undoubt- edly rocket to success.
rocket something into something to send something where—usually into space—by rocket The government rocketed the satellite into space Someone suggested rock- eting our waste into space.
some-a rocky road a difficult period of time Bob’s been going down quite a rocky road since his divorce.
Trang 28roll something back
Roger (wilco) Yes (From aircraft radio communication.
Wilco = “will comply.”) John: Can you do this right now?
Bob: Roger Mary: I want you to take this over to the
mayor’s office Bill: Roger wilco.
roll about to move about, turning or rotating, as a wheel
or a ball The ball rolled about awhile and then came to
rest His eyes rolled about in amazement before he spoke.
roll along 1 Lit [for wheels or something on wheels] to
move along, smoothly and rapidly The wheels of the
cart rolled along, making a grinding noise as they went
Our car rolled along rapidly toward our destination 2 Fig.
[for something] to progress smoothly The project is
rolling along nicely I hope that your career is rolling along
quite well.
roll around to move about, rotating, turning over,
turn-ing, or moving on wheels The baby rolled around on the
f loor, giggling and cooing The toy truck won’t roll around
anymore.
roll away to move away, rotating, turning over, turning,
or moving on wheels The ball rolled away and fell down
a storm sewer The cart rolled away, and we had to chase
it down the hill.
roll back [for something] to return, rotating or turning or
moving on wheels I rolled the ball away, thinking it
would roll back It didn’t I struck the golf ball out of the
sand trap, but it rolled back.
roll by 1 Lit to pass by, rotating, as a wheel or a ball; to
move past, rolling on wheels The wheel of a car rolled
by, all by itself It must have come off a car somewhere down
the road The traffic rolled by relentlessly 2 Fig to move
(past), as if rolling The years rolled by, and soon the two
people were old and gray The clouds were rolling by,
spreading patterns of light and dark across the land.
roll down to move downward, rotating, as a wheel or a
ball, or to move downward on wheels I pushed the
wagon up the driveway, and it rolled down again Don’t
place the cart at the top of the hill It will roll down.
roll down something to move downward, along something,
rotating, as a wheel or a ball, or moving downward on
wheels The ball rolled down the hall to the end The
cart went rolling down the hill all by itself.
roll in Fig to come in large numbers or amounts, easily, as
if rolling (Alludes to the arrival of many wheeled
con-veyances.) We didn’t expect many people at the party, but
they just kept rolling in Money is simply rolling in for our
charity.
roll in something 1 Lit to rotate about in something
What is that dog rolling in? We had fun rolling in the
leaves 2 Fig to have lots of something, such as money—
enough to roll in She is just rolling in cash Mary is
rolling in money because she won the lottery.
roll in(to some place) to arrive at a place; to come into some
place The two cars rolled into the parking lot at about
the same time What time did they roll in?
roll off (someone or something) to flow or fall off someone
or something The ball rolled off the shelf and bounced
across the room The ball rolled off and struck the
lamp-shade.
roll on 1 Lit [for something] to continue rolling The ball rolled on and on The cart came rolling down the hill and rolled on for a few yards at the bottom 2 Lit [for
something] to be applied by rolling This kind of ant just rolls on She rolled on too much paint and it dripped from the ceiling 3 Fig [for something, such as
deodor-time] to move on slowly and evenly, as if rolling The years rolled on, one by one As the hours rolled on, I learned just how bored I could get without going to sleep.
roll one’s sleeves up†1 Lit to turn one’s sleeves upward,
exposing the arms He rolled his sleeves up and began to wash the dishes Don rolled up his sleeves so he would be cooler 2 Fig to prepare to get to work Let’s roll our sleeves up and get this job done! Jane rolled up her sleeves and got to work.
roll (oneself) up in something to spin or swivel oneself so
as to be contained in a coil of something Roll yourself
up in some cloth and go to the costume party as a mummy.
The caterpillar rolled up in a leaf.
roll out the red carpet (for someone) 1 Lit to unwind
a roll of red carpet for someone important to walk on
The city council decided to roll out the red carpet for the visit
of the foreign prince 2 Fig to give someone treatment
befitting royalty The citizens of the small community enjoyed rolling out the red carpet for important visitors.
roll over to turn over; to rotate one half turn The old man rolled over and started snoring again Please roll over and give me some more space in the bed.
roll over and play dead Fig to just give up and be
unable to cope with life or a problem Why can’t I plain about this? Am I supposed to roll over and play dead?
com-roll (over) in one’s grave Go to turn (over) in one’s
grave.
roll over something [for something that rolls] to pass over something (See also roll something over.) The wheel- barrow rolled over the hose, making the water squirt off and
on After all the traffic had rolled over Timmy’s ball, there was very little left to it.
roll prices back†Fig to reduce prices The store rolled all its prices back for the sale The protesters demanded that the big oil companies roll back their prices.
roll someone or something over to turn someone or
some-thing over Bobby rolled Billy over and began tickling him ruthlessly in the tummy Mary rolled the stone over, hop- ing to find a snake underneath.
roll someone or something (up) in something to turn or wrap someone or something so as to contain someone or some- thing in something Roll this painting up in a sheet of heavy wrapping paper They rolled the burning man up
in a blanket to put out the f lames.
roll something away†to cause something to move away, rotating, turning over, turning, or moving on wheels
Jane rolled the ball away and it was lost Jane rolled away the ball.
roll something back†to return something to someone by rotating it, as with a wheel or a ball, or moving it back on wheels I intercepted the ball and rolled it back Jane rolled back the ball.
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Trang 29roll something down
roll something down†1 to move something down,
mak-ing it rotate like a wheel or a ball, or movmak-ing it on wheels.
Don’t carry the ball down; roll it down! I rolled down
the ball as you asked 2 to crank down something, such
as a car window Please roll the window down and get
some air in this car Please roll down the car window.
roll something down something to cause something to move
down along something, rotating it like a wheel or a ball.
Claire rolled the bowling ball down the alley for a strike.
Roll the barrel down the ramp carefully It is heavy.
roll something in†to bring something in by rotating it like
a wheel or a ball or by moving it on wheels She put the
round table on its edge and rolled it in Then she went out
and got the chairs before the rain started The waiters
rolled in the table with the wedding cake on it.
roll something in something to turn something over and over
in something, as if to coat the thing being rolled Tony
rolled each of the meatballs in f lour and popped them into
the hot oil Roll each of these cookies in powdered sugar.
roll something off (of ) someone or something androll
some-thing off†
to cause something to roll away, off someone or
something (Of is usually retained before pronouns.)
The other workers quickly rolled the wheel off of the injured
man Please roll off the wheel quickly!
roll something onto something androll something on†to
apply something or a coat of a substance by rolling
some-thing saturated with the substance on the some-thing to be
coated You should roll another coat of paint onto this
wall over here Roll on another coat.
roll something out†1 to bring or take something out by
rolling it; to push something out on wheels Jane rolled
her bike out to show it off Alice rolled out her bicycle for
us to see 2 to flatten something by rolling it You should
roll the pastry out first They rolled out the steel in a huge
mill.
roll something over†
Fig to renew a financial instrument
as it expires (See also roll over something.) Do you
plan to roll this certificate of deposit over? Are you going
to roll over your certificates of deposit?
roll something to someone or something to send something
revolving toward someone or something or moving
toward someone or something on wheels I rolled the
ball to the baby, who just sat and looked at it The blow
with the mallet rolled the croquet ball to the wicket.
roll something up†to coil or rotate something into a coil or
roll of something I rolled the poster up and put it back
in its mailing tube I have to roll up this paper.
roll something up† (into something) 1 to include
some-thing into somesome-thing that is being rotated into a coil I
guess I accidentally rolled the letter up into the poster that
was lying on my desk I rolled up the letter into the poster.
2 to make something into a round shape by rolling it
He rolled the gum up into a ball and tossed it away Jane
rolled up the dough into a ball.
roll with the punches Fig to absorb the force of a blow,
as in boxing You have to learn to roll with the punches.
Accept what is dealt to you Paul could never roll with the
punches He always had to get even.
rolling in it Go to rolling in something.
rolling in money Go to next.
rolling in something androlling in money; rolling in
it Fig having large amounts of something, usually money.
That family is rolling in money Bob doesn’t need to earn money He’s rolling in it.
*rolling in the aisles Fig [of an audience] wild with
laughter (*Typically: get them ~ ; have them ~ ; leave them ~.) I have the best jokes you’ve ever heard I’ll have them rolling in the aisles What a great perfor- mance We had them rolling in the aisles.
A rolling stone gathers no moss Prov A person who
does not settle down is not attached to anything or one (Can be said in admiration or in censure, depending
any-on whether or not the speaker feels it is good to be attached to something or someone.) I worry about Tom He’s never lived in the same place for two years in a row, and
he keeps changing jobs A rolling stone gathers no moss.
Rome was not built in a day Prov It takes a lot of time
to achieve something important Professor: When will you finish your research project? Student: It’ll take me a while Rome wasn’t built in a day, you know.
romp all over someone Go to romp on someone.
romp around to run and bounce around playfully The horses were in the meadow, romping around in the crisp autumn air The children need to get out and romp around.
romp on someone andromp all over someone 1 Fig Inf.
to beat or win over, as in a sports contest Our team romped on our opponents and beat them 10 to 1 We romped all over them 2 Fig Inf to scold someone The teacher romped on the students for their behavior He romped all over all of them.
romp through something to run through something fast and playfully The conductor romped through the slow movement of the symphony as if it were a march The cast romped through the last act, knowing that the play would be closed that very night.
roof something over†
to build a roof over something; to provide something with a roof After the destructive storm they had to roof the shed over so that the cow would have some shelter We will roof over the patio and turn the area into a porch.
room and board food to eat and a place to live; the cost
of food and lodging That college charges too much for room and board How much is your room and board?
room together [for two or more people] to share a room,
as in a college dormitory Sarah and I roomed together
in college We don’t want to room together anymore.
room with someone to share a room with someone, as in college I need someone to room with me next year
No one wants to room with Kelly.
root around (for something) to dig or shuffle in or
through something, looking for something Alice rooted around in her desk drawer for a pen I’ll root around here and see if I can find it.
root for someone or something to cheer and encourage someone or something Are you rooting for anyone in particular, or are you just shouting because you’re excited?
I’m rooting for the home team.
Trang 30rough something in the root of the matter Go to the crux of the matter.
*the root of the problem an understanding of the causes
or basis of a problem (*Typically: determine ~ ;
fig-ure out ~ ; find ~ ; get to ~ ; get at ~.) It will
take a little more study to get to the root of the problem
Let’s stop avoiding the issue and get at the root of the
prob-lem.
root someone or something out of something androot
some-one or something out†to seek and remove someone or
something from something or some place; to seek to
dis-cover or bring something to light The committee
wanted to root all the lazy people out of the club The
manager rooted out all the deadwood.
root something in something to start a plant growing roots
in something I tried to root the plants in sand, but they
died You have to root this kind of tree in very rich soil.
root something out†to get rid of something completely; to
destroy something to its roots or core No government
will ever root out crime completely The principal wants
to root out troublemakers at the local school.
root something up†
[for a pig] to find something in the ground by digging with its nose The pigs will root your
plants up if they get out of their pen The pigs will root
up your plants if they get out of their pen.
rooted in something based on something; connected to a
source or cause The civil war was rooted in old cultural
hatred This fictional book was rooted in actual events.
*rooted to something [of someone] firmly attached to
something (*Typically: be ~ ; become ~.) She is
firmly rooted to her homeland and has no intention of
emi-grating The farmer is rooted to the land and will not
leave.
*rooted to the spot Fig unable to move because of fear
or surprise (*Typically: appear to be ~ ; be ~ ;
become ~.) Jane stood rooted to the spot when she saw
the ghostly figure Mary stood rooted to the spot when the
thief snatched her bag.
rope someone in†Go to rope someone into something.
rope someone into doing something Fig to persuade or trick
someone into doing something I don’t know who roped
me into doing this, but I don’t want to do it See if you
can rope somebody into taking this to the post office.
rope someone into something andrope someone in†Fig.
to cause someone to get involved in some project She’s
always trying to rope me into her club Let’s rope in
some-one to help with cleaning up.
rope someone or an animal up†to tie someone or an animal
up with a rope Rope this guy up tight so he won’t get
away The cowboy roped up the steer.
rope something off†to isolate something with a rope
bar-rier The police roped the scene of the accident off The
police roped off the scene of the accident.
rope something together†to tie or bind up a thing or
things with rope Rope this carton together and put it in
the trunk of the car Rope together these two packages and
take them to the truck.
*the ropes Fig knowledge of how to do something; how
to work something (*Typically: know ~ ; learn ~ ;
show someone ~; teach someone ~ ) I’ll be able to
do my job very well when I know the ropes John is very slow to learn the ropes.
A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.
Prov The nature of a thing is more important than what
it is called (From Shakespeare’s play, Romeo and Juliet.)
Bob was upset when his job title was changed from
“administrative assistant” to “secretary.” We tried to vince him that a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.
con-rot away to decompose; to decompose and fall away
The fallen trees rotted away and surrendered their nutrients
to the soil As the wood rotted away, it became rich humus.
rot off to decompose If you don’t clean and repaint that old windowsill, it will rot off A few old branches finally rotted off, but the ancient tree looked as if it would survive the wet spell.
rot out to decompose and fall out If you don’t clean your teeth regularly, they’ll rot out! Some of the rafters in the shed rotted out, but we replaced them easily.
rotate on something to spin on something; to pivot on something This wheel rotates on this little red jewel on the main frame of the watch The record rotates on this device, which is called a turntable.
a rotten apple a single bad person or thing There always is a rotten apple to spoil it for the rest of us Tom sure has turned out to be the rotten apple.
The rotten apple spoils the barrel Prov A bad
per-son influences everyone he or she comes into contact with, making them bad too Helen is the rotten apple that spoils the barrel in our office Everyone sees her come in late
to work and take long coffee breaks, and they think, “Why can’t I do the same?”
a rotten egg anda bad egg a bad or despised person; an
evil influence That guy is a real rotten egg She sure has turned out to be a rotten egg.
rotten luck Fig bad luck Of all the rotten luck! I’ve had nothing but rotten luck all day.
rotten to the core Fig really bad; corrupt That lousy punk is rotten to the core The entire administration is rotten to the core.
*a rough idea (about something) and*a rough idea (of something) a general idea; an estimate (*Typically: get
~ ; have ~ ; give someone ~ ) I need to get a rough idea of how many people will be there I’ll manage to get
a rough idea That’s good enough.
rough it to live without luxury; to live simply; to camp out.
During the blackout, we roughed it without electricity.
The campers roughed it in the remote cabin for a week.
rough someone up†to beat someone up; to maltreat one Am I going to have to rough you up, or will you coop- erate? The crooks roughed up the old lady before taking her purse.
some-rough something in†to construct or draw something tially, temporarily, or crudely The carpenter roughed the doorways in without consulting the plans The car- penter roughed in the doorways without consulting the plans.
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Trang 31rough something out
rough something out†to make a rough sketch of
some-thing I will rough it out and have one of the staff artists
attend to the details Jane roughed out a picture of the
proposed building.
rough something up†
to scrape or rub something in a way that makes it rough All you have to do is rough the
ground up, sow the seeds, and then water them Rough
up the surface a little before you paint it.
rough stuff unnecessary roughness; physical violence or
threats of violence Okay, let’s cut out the rough stuff!
There was too much rough stuff in the football game.
a rough time Go to a hard time.
rough-and-ready 1 strong, active, and ready for
any-thing John is not exactly rough-and-ready, but he is a
moderately good athlete Ralph is very rough-and-ready,
but his table manners are very bad 2 Go to
rough-and-tumble.
rough-and-tumble andrough-and-ready disorderly;
aggressive That was a rough-and-tumble football game.
George is too rough-and-ready for me He doesn’t know
how to act around civilized people.
round off to something and round up to something;
round down to something to express a number in the
nearest whole amount or nearest group of 1, 10, 100,
1,000, 1/10, 1/100, 1/1,000, etc When doing taxes, Anne
rounded her figures off to the nearest dollar These
cen-sus population figures are rounded up to the nearest
mil-lion.
round someone or something up†to locate and gather
some-one or something Please round the suspects up for
ques-tioning The police rounded up the two possible suspects.
round something down†to reduce a fractional part of a
number to the next lowest whole number (See also round
off to something.) You can round this figure down if you
want It won’t affect the total all that much Please round
down all figures having fractions less than one-half.
round something off†
to change a number to the next higher or lower whole number (See also round off to
something.) You should round 8.122 off I rounded off
8.789 to 9.
round something off†(with something) to finish
some-thing with somesome-thing; to complement somesome-thing with
something (See also round something off.) We rounded
the meal off with a fine cognac We rounded off the meal
with a sinful dessert.
round something out†to complete or enhance something.
We will round the evening out with dessert at a nice
restaurant They rounded out the meal with dessert.
round something up†1 to collect a group of people or
things; to organize people or things into a group The
cowboys rounded up the cattle for market See if you can
round some helpers up 2 to change a number to the next
higher whole number (See also round off to something.)
I rounded up 8.789 to 9 You should round $65.99 up
to $66.
round up to something Go to round off to something.
a rounding error a large amount of money that is
rela-tively small in comparison to a much larger sum To a
large company like Smith & Co., a few thousand dollars is just a rounding error It’s not a lot at all.
round-trip ticket a ticket (for a plane, train, bus, etc.)
that allows one to go to a destination and return A round-trip ticket is usually cheaper than two one-way tick- ets How much is a round-trip ticket to San Francisco?
rouse someone from something to awaken someone from something; to cause someone to come out of something.
I roused Tom from his nap and sent him on his way
We could not rouse her from her deep sleep.
rouse someone out of something to awaken someone out
of a state, such as sleep It was almost impossible to rouse George out of his sleep They could not rouse us out of our drowsy state.
rouse someone to something to stir someone to something.
I will rouse the workers to action They will work or have
to find other jobs The speech by the president roused the citizens to action.
roust someone out of something androust someone out†
to force someone out of something Bob’s brother rousted him out of bed just in time for the school bus He rousted out his brother.
rout someone or something out of some place and rout
someone or something out†
to remove someone or thing from some place by force The soldiers routed the snipers out of the deserted buildings They routed out the snipers.
some-route someone or something around something to send someone or something on a path that avoids something.
The travel agent routed us around the congestion of the big city Due to the storm, they routed the trains around the fallen bridge.
route something to someone to send something along a ticular path to someone Try to route this to Walter, who
par-is on a ship at sea I’ll get the name of the ship for you I will route a copy of the invoice to you.
row (someone or something) out† to something to carry someone or something in a rowboat from the shore out to something Will you row me out to the island? I rowed out all the visitors to the little island.
a royal pain a great annoyance This guy’s a royal pain, but we have to put up with him because he’s the boss.
the royal treatment very good treatment; very good and
thoughtful care of a person I was well cared for They gave me the royal treatment I got the royal treatment when I stayed at that expensive hotel.
rub (away) at something to chafe or scrape something, repeatedly The side of his shoe rubbed away at the side
of his desk until the paint wore off Don’t rub at your sore.
It will get worse.
rub elbows (with someone) andrub shoulders with
someone Fig to associate with someone; to work closely
with someone (No physical contact is involved.) I don’t care to rub elbows with someone who acts like that! I rub shoulders with John at work We are good friends.
rub off ((of ) something) [for something] to become
detached from something because of incidental rubbing
or scraping (Of is usually retained before pronouns.)
Trang 32rule on something
The label rubbed off this can What do you think it is? I
can’t tell what it is The label rubbed off.
rub off (on someone) [for a characteristic of one person]
to seem to transfer to someone else I’ll sit by Ann She
has been lucky all evening Maybe it’ll rub off on me
Sorry I don’t think that luck rubs off.
rub off on(to) someone or something [for something, such
as a coating] to become transferred to someone or
some-thing through the contact of rubbing Look what rubbed
off on me! The wet paint rubbed off onto my pants leg.
rub salt in a wound Fig to deliberately make someone’s
unhappiness, shame, or misfortune worse Don’t rub
salt in the wound by telling me how enjoyable the party was.
Bill is feeling miserable about losing his job and Bob is
rubbing salt into the wound by saying how good his
replace-ment is.
rub shoulders with someone Go to rub elbows (with
someone).
rub someone or an animal down† to stroke or massage
someone or an animal, for muscular well-being Sam
rubbed his horse down after his ride He rubbed down his
horse.
rub someone or something with something to wipe someone
or something with something The mother rubbed the
baby gently with a soft cloth Todd rubbed the surface of
the car with a rag to polish it.
rub someone out†
Sl to kill someone (Underworld.) The gunman was eager to rub somebody out The crooks tried
to rub out the witness.
rub someone(‘s fur) the wrong way Fig to irritate
some-one I’m sorry I rubbed your fur the wrong way I didn’t
mean to upset you Don’t rub her the wrong way!
rub someone’s nose in it Fig to remind one of something
one has done wrong; to remind one of something bad or
unfortunate that has happened (Alludes to a method of
housebreaking pets.) When Bob failed his exam, his
brother rubbed his nose in it Mary knows she shouldn’t
have broken off her engagement Don’t rub her nose in it.
rub something against someone or something to scrape or
chafe something against someone or something
repeat-edly The cat kept rubbing its tail against me I wish
John would stop rubbing his hand against my leg.
rub something away†
to remove something by chafing or rubbing See if you can rub some of the dirt away Rub
away the dirt if you can.
rub something in†
Fig to keep reminding one of one’s
fail-ures; to nag someone about something I like to rub it
in You deserve it! Why do you have to rub in everything
I do wrong?
rub something into something and rub something in†to
cause something to penetrate a surface by rubbing it
against the surface Rub this lotion into your muscles It
will stop the aching Try rubbing in this lotion.
rub something off (of ) something andrub something off†
to remove something from something by rubbing (Of is
usually retained before pronouns.) The butler rubbed
the tarnish off the pitcher The butler rubbed off the dark
tarnish.
rub something onto something andrub something on†to apply something onto the surface of something by rub- bing Alice rubbed suntan lotion onto her arms and legs.
Rub on some of this lotion.
rub something out†
to obliterate something by rubbing
See if you can rub those stains out Rub out the graffiti
on the side of the car if you can.
rub something over something to cover something with something, spreading it by rubbing The chef rubbed the herbal butter over the skin of the turkey Please rub the lotion over my back.
rub something together to press two things together and
move them back and forth Sam rubbed his fingers together, indicating that he needed some money before he could continue Mary rubbed her hands together to get them warmed up.
rub something up†to raise something, such as the nap of a rug, by rubbing When you run the vacuum cleaner across the f loor, you rub the nap of the rug up and get the dirt out Don’t rub up the nap.
rub (up) against someone or something to bump or scrape against someone or something The cat rubbed up against me and seemed friendly The side of the car rubbed against the fence.
ruffle its feathers [for a bird] to point its feathers
out-ward The bird ruffled its feathers when it was annoyed.
My parrot ruffles its feathers whenever it is ready to preen itself.
ruffle someone’s feathers Fig to irritate or annoy
some-one I didn’t mean to ruffle his feathers I just thought that I would remind him of what he promised us.
ruffle something up†to raise something, such as feathers,
up or outward The bird ruffled its feathers up and started to preen It ruffled up its feathers.
rug rat Sl a small child, especially an infant or toddler.
(Also a term of address.) You got any rug rats at your house? Hey, you cute little rug rat, come over here.
the ruin of someone or something the cause of destruction;
a failure Your bad judgment will be the ruin of this pany! The greedy politicians were the ruin of the old empire.
com-rule against someone or something to give a judgment against someone or something The judge ruled against the prosecutor The judge ruled against my motion.
rule in favor of someone or something andrule for
some-one or something [for a judge or deliberating body] to award a decision to someone or something or to render a decision favoring someone or something The judge ruled for the defendant The examining board ruled in favor of dismissing George.
a rule of thumb a general principle developed through
experiential rather than scientific means As a rule of thumb, I move my houseplants outside in May Going by
a rule of thumb, we stop for gas every 200 miles when we are traveling.
rule on something to give a decision or judgment about something How long will it be before the court rules on your petition? The boss will rule on your request tomor- row.
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Trang 33rule over someone or something
rule over someone or something to serve as the boss or chief
over someone or something I guess you could say that
the boss rules over me The president of a democracy
doesn’t really rule over the country.
rule someone or something out†
to prevent, disqualify, rule, or cancel someone or something John’s bad tem-
over-per rules him out for the job The rainy weather ruled
out a picnic for the weekend.
rule the roost Fig to be the boss or manager, especially
at home Who rules the roost at your house? Our new
office manager really rules the roost.
rule with a velvet glove Fig to rule in a very gentle way.
She rules with a velvet glove, but she gets things done,
nonetheless He may appear to rule with a velvet glove,
but he is really quite cruel.
rule with an iron fist Fig to rule in a very stern
man-ner The dictator ruled with an iron fist and terrified the
citizens My boss rules with an iron fist I’m looking for
a new job.
ruminate about something andruminate on something
to ponder and think about something (Alludes to a cow,
relaxing and chewing its cud, as if it is thinking.) He
sat, ruminating about the events of the day, humming and
eating peanuts Let me ruminate on this a little bit.
ruminate on something Go to previous.
rummage around (somewhere) (for something) to move
things about haphazardly while looking for something
somewhere Alice rummaged around in the drawer for a
candy bar she had been saving After she rummaged
around for the candy bar, she found it She rummaged
around in the old trunk.
rummage through something to move things about
hap-hazardly while searching through something I
rum-maged through my top drawer, looking for any two socks that
matched Mary spent some time rummaging through the
toolbox before she found what she was looking for.
rumor has it that there is a rumor that Rumor
has it that Fred is seeing Mary and that they are engaged.
rump session a meeting held after a larger meeting A
rump session continued after the meeting was adjourned.
A lot of business was conducted in the rump session.
rumple someone or something up†
to bring disorder to someone[’s clothing] or something; to wrinkle someone
or something One of the little boys knocked another boy
down and rumpled him up He rumpled up Dan’s shirt.
run a comb through something to comb one’s hair
quickly Run a comb through your hair after you come
back in the house She ran a comb through Timmy’s hair,
and tried to make him look presentable.
run a fever andrun a temperature to have a body
tem-perature higher than normal; to have a fever I ran a
fever when I had the f lu The baby is running a
temper-ature and is grouchy.
run a make on someone to perform an identity check on
someone The cops ran a make on Lefty and learned
about his prison record We tried to run a make on him
and came up with nothing.
run a red light to pass through an intersection having a
red traffic light without stopping Sam got a ticket for running a red light.
run a risk (of something) andrun the risk (of something)
to take a chance that something (bad) will happen I don’t want to run the risk of losing my job Don’t worry You won’t have to run a risk.
run a tab to accumulate charges on a bill at a bar or
tav-ern They won’t let me run a tab here I have to pay for each drink as I order it.
run a taut ship Go to run a tight ship.
run a temperature Go to run a fever.
run a tight ship andrun a taut ship to run a ship or
an organization in an orderly and disciplined manner.
(Taut and tight mean the same thing Taut is correct
nau-tical use.) The new office manager really runs a tight ship Captain Jones is known for running a taut ship.
run across someone or something Go to come across one or something.
some-run across something to cross something while running.
The joggers all ran across the bridge together The mice ran across the f loor, not knowing that a cat was watching them.
run (a)foul of someone or something Go to fall (a)foul of someone or something.
run after someone to chase someone of the opposite sex hoping for a date or some attention Is John still run- ning after Ann? No, Ann is running after John.
run after someone or something Go to after someone or thing.
some-run against someone to compete against someone for tive office Eisenhower ran against Adlai Stevenson in
elec-1952 Not many people run against an incumbent.
run against someone or something Go to against someone
run along to leave Please run along and leave me alone.
I have to run along now Good-bye.
run amok andrun amuck to go awry; to go bad; to turn
bad; to go into a frenzy (From a Malay word meaning to run wild in a violent frenzy.) Our plan ran amok He ran amuck early in the school year and never quite got back
on the track.
run amuck Go to previous.
run an errand anddo an errand; go on an errand
to take a short trip to do a specific thing; to complete an errand I’ve got to run an errand I’ll be back in a minute.
John has gone on an errand He’ll be back shortly.
run around 1 to run here and there Why are you ning around? Sit down and be quiet Please stop running around You are making me nervous 2 to go here and there
run-having meetings or doing errands I’ve been running
Trang 34run for one’s money
around all day, shopping for the party tonight I am so
tired of running around, carting children to various places.
run around after someone or something to chase after
someone or something; to seek after someone or
some-thing Where have you been? I’ve run around after you
all over town! I have been running around after the
right-sized shoes all morning.
run around like a chicken with its head cut off and
run (around) in circles Fig to run around frantically
and aimlessly; to be in a state of chaos (Alludes to a
chicken that continues to run around aimlessly after its
head has been chopped off.) I spent all afternoon
run-ning around like a chicken with its head cut off If you
run around in circles, you’ll never get anything done.
run around with someone to be friends with someone; to
go places with regular friends John and I were great
friends We used to run around with each other all the time.
Mary ran around with Jane for about a year.
run as something to run for office in a certain party Do
you suppose I can run as an independent? Fred ran as a
Democrat and won a seat in the legislature.
run at a fast clip Go to at a fast clip.
run at a good clip Go to at a good clip.
run at full blast Go to at full blast.
run at someone or something to run toward someone or
something; to charge someone or something The bull
started to run at us, but changed its mind—thank heavens.
The huge crocodile ran at the goat, but the goat leapt
away.
run away (from someone or something) to flee someone
or something Please don’t run away from me I mean
you no harm Our dog ran away from the lawn mower.
run away with someone 1 to flee in the company of
someone Frank arrived on the scene, saw what had
hap-pened, and ran away with the other boys Tom ran away
with Bill to a place where they could hide 2 [for two
peo-ple] to elope Jill ran away with Jack, much to her father’s
relief Jill and Jack ran away with each other.
run away with something 1 to flee with something in
one’s possession The crook ran away with the watch
Someone ran away with that lady’s purse 2 to capture or
steal a performance by being the best performer Henry
ran away with the show, and everyone loved him The
dog ran away with the whole performance.
run back to come back, running She ran to the barn
and then ran back Tom ran back, very much afraid.
run back over something to review something Would
you please run back over that last part again? Let me run
back over the hard part for you.
run back to someone or something to return to someone
or something in a hurry The child ran back to her
mother We all ran back to the house.
run behind to be late; to run late We are running
behind You had better hurry Things are running behind,
and we will not finish on time.
run behind someone or something to travel along behind
someone or something, running I will run behind you
in the race Mary ran behind the bicycle until she could not run anymore.
run between something and something else 1 to travel
between someone or something, running I spent all afternoon running between my office and the conference room We ran between the two quarreling people all day long, trying to settle the argument 2 to pass between
someone or something, running The child ran between the two ladies, giving them quite a start Please don’t run between the bushes You will wear a path there.
run circles around someone and run rings around
someone Fig to outrun or outdo someone (Alludes to
someone who runs fast enough to run in circles around a competitor and still win the race.) John is a much bet- ter racer than Mary He can run circles around her Mary can run rings around Sally.
run counter to something to be in opposition to thing; to run against something (This has nothing to do with running.) Your proposal runs counter to what is required by the manager His idea runs counter to good sense.
some-run down 1 to come down, some-running or very quickly; to
go down, running or very quickly I need to talk to you down here Can you run down? I will run down and talk
to you 2 [for something] to lose power and stop
work-ing The clock ran down because no one was there to wind
it The toy ran down and wouldn’t go again until it had been wound 3 to become worn or dilapidated The property was allowed to run down, and it took a lot of money to fix it up The old neighborhood has certainly run down since we moved away.
run down some lines 1 Sl to converse (with someone).
I was running down some lines with Fred when the bell rang Hey, man, let’s run down some lines 2 Sl to try
to seduce someone; to go through a talk leading to tion Go run down some lines with someone else I was just standing there running down some lines with Mary when those guys broke in.
seduc-run down to some place to travel to a place (By running
or any other means.) I have to run down to the store and get some bread I want to run down to the bank, but my car is out of gas.
run down to someone or something to come or go down to someone or something, rapidly Sally ran down the slope
to Bob, who stood waiting for her with outstretched arms.
I ran down to the well to get some water for Ed, who had the hiccups.
run for it to escape by running (See also swim for it.)
The dogs were coming after me fast There was nothing I could do but run for it I ran for it when I saw the police coming.
run for one’s life to run away to save one’s life The dam has burst! Run for your life! The captain told us all to run for our lives.
*a run for one’s money 1 Fig the results or rewards one
deserves, expects, or wants (*Typically: get ~ ; have ~ ; give someone ~ ) I get a run for my money at the club tennis tournament I had a run for my money in the stock market 2 Fig a challenge (*Typically: get ~ ; have ~ ; give someone ~ ) Bob got a run for his money when he
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Trang 35run for something
tried to beat Mary at pool Bill got a run for his money
playing cards with John.
run for something 1 to travel quickly by running to a place
of safety The picnickers ran for the shelter when the rain
started to fall Tom and Jane ran for the house as soon as
they heard your call 2 to try to be elected to a particular
office Who’s going to run for president? I am running
for mayor.
run for the hills Go to head for the hills.
run from someone or something to flee someone or
some-thing, usually on foot She ran from the mugger who had
accosted her Mary ran from the dog and jumped over a
fence to safety.
run from something to something to travel on foot from
one thing or place to another, running Do you think
you can run from the bank downtown to the post office on
Maple Street? I ran from door to door, telling people what
had happened.
run in circles 1 Lit to run in a circular path The horses
ran in circles around the corral for their daily exercise
The children ran in circles around the tree 2 and run
around in circles Fig to waste one’s time in aimless
activity Stop running in circles and try to organize
your-self so that you are more productive I have been
run-ning around in circles over this matter for days.
run in something to compete in something, such as a race
or an election I will run in the one-hundred-yard dash.
I will not run in a race this time Who will run in this
year’s election?
run in the family [for a characteristic] to appear in many
(or all) members of a family My grandparents lived well
into their nineties, and it runs in the family My
broth-ers and I have red hair It runs in the family.
run into a stone wall Fig to come to a barrier against
further progress We’ve run into a stone wall in our
inves-tigation Algebra was hard for Tom, but he really ran into
a stone wall with geometry.
run into someone Go to bump into someone.
run into someone or something to bump into someone or
something I didn’t mean to run into you I’m sorry
Mary ran into the fence and scraped her elbow.
run in(to something) 1 [for a liquid] to flow into
some-thing or a place The water is running into the basement!
It’s running in very fast 2 to enter something or a place
on foot, running The boys ran into the room and out
again They ran in and knocked over a lamp 3 to stop
by a place for a quick visit or to make a purchase quickly.
I have to run in the drugstore for a minute I ran into
the store for a loaf of bread I want to visit Mrs Potter I
can’t stay long I can only run in for a minute.
Run it by (me) again Go to Run that by (me) again.
run it down Sl to tell the whole story; to tell the truth
Come on! What happened? Run it down for me! I don’t
care what happened Run it down I can take it.
run its course [for something] to continue through its
cycle of existence, especially a disease Sorry There is
no medicine for it It will just have to run its course.
run like clockwork to run very well; to progress very
well I want this office to run like clockwork—with
every-thing on time and everyevery-thing done right The plans for the party were made and we knew that we could depend on Alice to make sure that everything ran like clockwork.
run like stink Go to like stink.
run like the wind Go to like the wind.
run low (on something) to near the end of a supply of
something We are running low on salt It’s time to buy more The car is running low on gas.
run off 1 to flee The children rang our doorbell and then ran off They ran off as fast as they could 2 to have diar-
rhea He said he was running off all night One of the children was running off and had to stay home from school.
3 [for a fluid] to drain away from a flat area By noon, all the rainwater had run off the playground.
run off at the mouth Sl to talk too much I wish you would stop running off at the mouth Tom runs off at the mouth too much I wish he would temper his remarks.
run off in all directions Fig [for people] to set out to
do something or go somewhere in an aimless and ganized fashion (Can also apply to one person See also ride off in all directions.) The people in the marketing department need some organization They are always run- ning off in all directions Stop running off in all direc- tions and focus your energy.
disor-run off something to drive or travel off something, such as rails, tracks, a road, etc The train ran off its rails and piled up in a cornfield We almost ran off the road dur- ing the storm.
run off (with someone) to run away with someone, as in
an elopement Tom ran off with Ann Tom and Ann ran off and got married.
run off with someone or something 1 to take someone or
something away, possibly running (See also run off (with someone).) Fred ran off with Ken They’ll be back in a minute Who ran off with my dictionary? 2 to capture
and take away someone or something; to steal someone or something The kidnappers ran off with little Valerie The kids ran off with a whole box of candy, and the store- keeper is going to press charges.
run on 1 to continue running I wanted to stop her and ask her something, but she just ran on The joggers had
a chance to stop and rest, but they just ran on 2 to
con-tinue on for a long time The lecture ran on and bored everyone to tears How long is this symphony likely to run on?
run on all cylinders 1 Lit [for an engine] to run well
and smoothly This car is now running on all cylinders, thanks to the tune-up You can hear if an engine is not running on all cylinders 2 Fig to function well or ener-
getically Our department seems to be running on all cylinders Congratulations I am back at my desk after
my illness—running on all cylinders.
a run on something Go to a rush on something.
run one’s eye over something Fig to gaze at the whole of
something; to glance at all of something She ran her eyes over the lines of the automobile and nodded her approval He ran his eyes over the drawing and decided that he had to have it.
Trang 36run someone or something to something
run one’s feet off Fig to run very hard and fast I ran
my feet off and I’m really tired now that the race is over
I almost ran my feet off getting over here to see you!
run one’s fingers through one’s hair and run one’s
hand through one’s hair to comb one’s hair with one’s
fingers I came in out of the wind and ran my fingers
through my hair to straighten it out a bit He ran his hand
through his hair and tried to make himself presentable.
run one’s hand through one’s hair Go to previous.
run one’s head against a brick wall Fig to be
frus-trated by coming up against an insurmountable obstacle.
There is no point in running your head against a brick
wall If you can’t succeed in this case, don’t even try I
have been running my head against a brick wall about this
problem long enough.
run one’s rhymes Sl to say what you have to say; to give
one’s speech or make one’s plea Go run your rhymes
with somebody else! I told him to run his rhymes
else-where.
run out at someone or something to come out of a place and
charge or attack someone or something The badger ran
out at us and then went back to its den The dogs ran out
at the speeding car.
run out of gas Go to out of gas.
run out of patience Go to out of patience.
run out of some place to leave a place quickly, on foot; to
flee a place He ran out of the room as fast as he could.
We ran out of the building as soon as we felt the first signs
of the earthquake.
run out (of something) Go to out (of something).
run out of steam Fig to lose momentum and fail
Toward the end of the lecture, he seemed to run out of steam,
leaving us with no summary or conclusion.
run out of time to have used up most of the allotted time;
to have no time left You have just about run out of time.
I ran out of time before I could finish the test.
run out (on someone) to depart and leave someone
behind My date ran out on me at the restaurant, and I
had to pay the bill Her boyfriend ran out when she
needed him the most.
run over 1 to come by for a quick visit Can you run
over for a minute after work? I will run over for a minute
as soon as I can 2 to overflow The bathtub ran over
and there was water all over the f loor She poured the
cof-fee until the cup ran over.
run over someone or something to drive, steer, or travel so
as to pass over someone or something The bus ran over
the fallen man That car almost ran over my toe.
run over (something) to exceed a limit The lecture ran
over the allotted time Bob ran over the amount he was
budgeted to spend.
run over something with someone to review something
with someone I would like to run over this with you one
more time I want to run over the proposal with Carl
again.
run over to something to go to something or some place,
running or by any independent mode of transportation.
Would you run over to the store and get me some eggs?
I have to run over to the bank to cash a check.
run over with something to drop over for a visit, bringing something Do you mind if I run over with the cup of sugar I borrowed last week? Mary ran over with the papers you requested.
run rampant to run, develop, or grow out of control
The children ran rampant through the house Weeds have run rampant around the abandoned house.
run rings around someone Go to run circles around someone.
run riot andrun wild Fig to get out of control The dandelions have run riot in our lawn The children ran wild at the birthday party and had to be taken home.
run roughshod over someone or something Go to ride roughshod over someone or something.
run scared to behave as if one were going to fail The mayor was running scared, but won anyway When we lost that big contract, everyone in the office was running scared We thought we’d be fired.
run short (of something) to begin to run out of something.
We are running short of eggs I always keep enough so
I will never run short.
run someone in†to arrest one and take one to the police station The cop ran George in so they could question him extensively They ran in George to protect him from the rioters.
run someone or something down†1 to collide with and
knock down someone or something The drunken ver ran three pedestrians down Mary ran down a stop sign 2 to criticize or deride someone or something
dri-Please stop running me down all the time I can’t be that bad! You run down everybody who takes your old job!
3 to hunt for and locate someone or something Could you run some information down for me? I was finally able
to run down my old friend.
run someone or something into something andrun someone
or something in†to take or drive someone or something into something or some place Let me run you into the city this morning I need the car today Do you want to
go to town? I have to run in George and you can come along.
run someone or something off (of ) something andrun
some-one or something off†to drive someone or something off
something (Of is usually retained before pronouns.)
Go out and run those dogs off the lawn Go run off the dogs from the lawn.
run someone or something out of something andrun
some-one or something out†to chase someone or something out
of something or some place The old man ran the kids out of his orchard He ran out the kids.
run someone or something to earth to find something after
a search Lisa finally ran her long-lost cousin to earth in Paris After months of searching, I ran a copy of Jim’s book
to earth.
run someone or something to something 1 to run someone
or something to some extreme extent, such as death
The villain’s idea was to run his victim to death by chasing him He nearly ran his horse to death 2 to drive some-
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Trang 37run someone ragged
one or something to some place Could you run me to
the store? Please run these clothes to the cleaners.
run someone ragged Fig to keep someone or something
very busy This busy season is running us all ragged at
the store What a busy day I ran myself ragged.
run someone through something 1 to make or guide
some-one though an area while running They ran us through
a maze as part of our training We ran the little boys
through the park so they could get some exercise 2 to guide
a person through a process Let me run you through the
process so you will know what is happening to you Can
I run you through this procedure again? 3 to rehearse
someone The director ran the cast through the last act
three times She ran herself through the part at home
between rehearsals.
run someone through (with something) to stab a person
all the way through with something, such as a sword
The knight ran the attacker through with his own sword
He ran him through and stole his horse.
run something at full blast Go to at full blast.
run something back†
to wind something back to the ning Run the tape back and listen to it again Run
begin-back the tape and listen again.
run something by (someone) (again) to explain something
to someone again; to say something to someone again
I didn’t hear you Please run that by me again Please run
it by so we can all hear it.
run something by the book Go to by the book.
run something down†to use something having batteries, a
motor, or an engine until it has no more power and it
stops Who ran my electric toothbrush down?
Some-one ran down my batteries.
run something in†Go to run something into something.
run something in†(for something) to bring or drive
some-thing quickly into a place for some purpose I have to
run my car in for an oil change I will run in the truck
for the mechanic to take a look at it.
run something into something andrun something in†1 to
guide or route something, such as a wire or a pipe, into
something or a place The worker ran the circuit into
each room He ran in the circuit as specified 2 to guide
something into something; to drive or steer something
into something else Bobby ran his bicycle into the wall,
bending the front wheel Please don’t run your car into
the wall!
run something into the ground anddrive something into
the ground 1 Lit to pound or force something into the
ground Use a heavy mallet to drive the stakes into the
ground Run this post into the ground and nail this sign
to it 2 Fig to carry something too far It was a good
joke at first, Tom, but you’ve run it into the ground Just
because everyone laughed once, you don’t have to drive it
into the ground.
run something off†1 to get rid of something, such as fat
or energy, by running The little boys are very excited.
Send them outside to run it off They need to run off their
energy 2 to duplicate something, using a mechanical
duplicating machine If the master copy is ready, I will
run some other copies off I’ll run off some more copies.
run something onto something to drive or guide something onto the surface of something He ran the car onto the grass and washed it Please run your bicycle onto the porch and I will try to fix it for you.
run something out of something andrun something out†to drive or steer something out of something or some place.
The cowboys ran the cattle out of the corral They ran out the cattle.
run something over to someone or something andrun
some-thing over†to carry something to someone or something.
Would you please run this package over to Mrs lin? Do you know where Bill lives? Please run over this package.
Frank-run something through something 1 to drive or propel
something through the midst of something or a group
The cowboys ran the cattle right through the crowd of ple standing at the station He ran his truck through the bushes at the end of the driveway 2 to process something
peo-by going through a procedure, a deliberative body, or a department I will have to run this through the board of directors She ran the invoice through the accounting department.
run something up†1 Lit to raise or hoist something, such
as a flag Harry ran the flag up the flagpole each ing Will you please run up the flag today? 2 Fig to cause
morn-something to go higher, such as the price of stocks or modities A rumor about higher earnings ran the price
com-of the computer stocks up early in the afternoon They ran up the price too high 3 Fig to accumulate indebted-
ness I ran up a huge phone bill last month Walter ran
up a bar bill at the hotel that made his boss angry 4 to
stitch something together quickly She’s very clever I’m sure she can run up a costume for you The seamstress ran
up a party dress in one afternoon.
Run that by (me) again andRun it by (me) again.
Inf Please repeat what you just said.; Please go over that
one more time Alice: Do you understand? Sue: No I really didn’t understand what you said Run that by me again, if you don’t mind John: Put this piece into the longer slot and the remaining piece into the slot on the bot- tom Sue: Run that by again I got lost just after put
Mary: Keep to the right, past the fork in the road, then turn right at the crossroads Do you follow? Jane: No Run it by
me again.
run the gamut to cover a wide range [from one thing to
another] She wants to buy the house, but her requests run the gamut from expensive new carpeting to completely new landscaping His hobbies run the gamut from piano repair to portrait painting.
run the gauntlet 1 Lit to race, as a punishment,
between parallel lines of men who thrash one as one runs.
The knight was forced to doff his clothes and run the gauntlet 2 andrun the gauntlet of something Fig to
endure a series of problems, threats, or criticism After the play, the director found himself running the gauntlet of questions and doubts about his ability.
run the good race to do the best that one could; to live
life as well and as fully as possible He didn’t get what
he wanted, but he ran the good race Joan ran the good race, and she will be remembered by all of us.
Trang 38rush something into print
run the risk (of something) Go to run a risk (of
some-thing).
run the show to be in charge; to be in command Who’s
running this show? No, I don’t want to have to run the
show again.
run through something 1 to pass through an area,
run-ning Stop running through the living room! We ran
through the park as part of our exercise 2 to go through
a procedure or sequence; to rehearse a procedure or
sequence I want to run through act two again before we
end this rehearsal 3 to read or examine something
quickly I ran through your report this afternoon Sally
ran through the list, checking off the names of the people
who had already paid for tickets 4 to spend or use a
sup-ply of something wastefully and rapidly He ran through
his inheritance in two years Have we run through all the
peanut butter already?
run to seed Go to go to seed.
run to someone or something to travel quickly on foot to
someone or something; to go to someone or something
with some urgency Mary ran to Alice and greeted her.
I ran to the door and fled.
run to something to amount to a certain amount of money.
In the end, the bill ran to thousands of dollars His
account ran to more than I expected.
run up against someone or something Go to up against
someone or something.
run up to some place to travel to a place quickly or for a
brief time Let’s run up to the lake for the weekend.
run up (to someone or something) to run as far as someone
or something and stop; to run to the front of someone or
something I ran up to the mailman and said hello to
him I ran up and said hello.
run wild Go to run riot.
run with someone or something to stay in the company of
someone or some group Fred was out running with
Larry when they met Vernon Let’s go out and run with
the other guys this morning.
run with something 1 Lit to run, showing a particular
characteristic Sally runs with speed and grace Fred
runs with tremendous speed 2 Fig to take over something
and handle it aggressively and independently I know
that Alice can handle the job She will take it on and run
with it I hope she runs with this next project.
run with the hare and hunt with the hounds Fig.
to support both sides of a dispute In our office politics,
Sally always tries to run with the hare and hunt with the
hounds, telling both the clerical workers and the
manage-ment that she thinks they should prevail.
*the runaround a series of excuses, delays, and referrals.
(*Typically: get ~ ; have ~ ; give someone ~ ) You’ll
get the runaround if you ask to see the manager I hate it
when they give me the runaround.
running high [for feelings] to be in a state of excitement
or anger Feelings were running high as the general
elec-tion approached The mood of the crowd was running
high when they saw the mother slap her child.
run-of-the-mill common or average; typical The
restaurant we went to was nothing special—just
run-of-the-mill The service was good, but the food was mill or worse.
run-of-the-the runt of the litter 1 Lit the smallest animal born in
a litter; the animal in a litter least likely to survive No one wanted to buy the runt of the litter, so we kept it 2 andthe runt of the family Fig the smallest child in the fam-
ily I was the runt of the litter and the butt of all the jokes.
rush at someone or something to run at or charge toward someone or something The dog rushed at us and scared
us to death Mary rushed at the door, but it slammed shut before she got there.
rush for something to hurry to something All the ple rushed for the exits when the game was over We rushed for the picnic tables as soon as they said that lunch was ready.
peo-rush hour the period of time when heavy traffic is
mov-ing into or out of a city This is the slowest rush hour I have ever been in Traffic is almost in gridlock.
rush in(to something) 1 to run or hurry into a thing or a
place Everyone rushed into the shelter when the rain started They all rushed in at once 2 to begin doing
something without the proper preparation Don’t rush into this job without thinking it through Mary rushed in without thinking.
rush off (from some place) to hurry away from some
place I’m sorry, but I will have to rush off from this ing before it’s over Mary had to rush off before the party was over.
meet-a rush on something and a run on something a large demand for something There was a rush on bottled water during the drought During the hot summer, there was a run on air conditioners.
rush out (of something) to exit in a hurry Everyone rushed out of the room at the same time They rushed out because they smelled smoke.
rush someone into something to hurry someone into doing something We rushed Harry into taking the job Sally has always hated that dress Sam rushed her into buying it.
rush someone or something into something andrush
some-one or something in†to lead or carry someone or thing into something or some place hurriedly I rushed her into the hospital emergency room, and everything was soon all right The nurse rushed in the emergency med- ical equipment.
some-rush someone or something out of something andrush
some-one or something out†
to lead or guide someone or thing out of something or some place hurriedly The ushers rushed everyone out of the church so they could clean the place before the next wedding They rushed out another edition of the newspaper that afternoon.
some-rush someone to the hospital to take someone to the
hospital very quickly They had to rush her to the pital because she had stopped breathing We rushed Uncle Harry to the hospital after he complained of chest pains.
hos-rush something into print to print up something hastily.
The story was so timely that the newspaper editor rushed
it into print without checking all the details We will rush the book into print as soon as the author finishes.
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Trang 39rush something off (to someone or something)
rush something off† (to someone or something) to send
something quickly to someone or something I will rush
your order off to you immediately I need to rush off this
package to Walter.
rush something through (something) 1 Lit to pass
some-thing through a physical area rapidly He rushed the
ambulance through the gate to the stadium Strong
blow-ers rushed many cubic feet of air through the ductwork into
all the rooms 2 Fig to move something through some
process or office in a hurry He was in a hurry so we
rushed his order through the shipping department He
asked us to rush it through.
rush through something to hurry to get something
fin-ished; to race through something Please don’t rush
through this business Get it right Timmy rushed through
dinner so he could go out and play.
rush to conclusions to try to reach a conclusion too fast,
probably with insufficient evidence; to jump to
conclu-sions I hope that you don’t rush to any conclusions I
can explain this I’m afraid you are rushing to sions when you speak of canceling the performance.
conclu-rush to someone or something to hurry to get to someone, something, or some event I rushed to the injured man
to try to help him We all rushed to the office to see what had happened.
rust away to dissolve away into rust In a few years, this car will rust away if you don’t take care of it The bridge
is rusting away, little by little.
rust belt Fig the industrial north of the United States.
(Patterned on sun belt.) The economy in the rust belt is slowing down The salt they put on the roads in the win- ter made my car all rusty I guess that’s why they call this area the rust belt.
rust out to develop holes or weak places owing to rust
Our hot water heater rusted out and f looded the basement.
rustle something up†Rur to manage to prepare a meal,
perhaps on short notice I think I can rustle something
up for dinner Please rustle up something to eat.
Trang 40*the sack and*the ax dismissal from one’s employment.
(*Typically: get ~ ; give someone ~ ) Poor Tom got
the sack today He’s always late I was afraid that Sally
was going to get the ax.
sack out to go to bed or go to sleep It’s time for me to
sack out Let’s sack out early tonight.
sack something up†to put something into bags or sacks
Please sack the groceries up and put them in the cart I
will sack up your groceries.
sacked out asleep Mary is sacked out in her room
Here it is ten o’clock, and you are still sacked out!
sacred cow Fig something that is regarded by some
peo-ple with such respect and veneration that they do not like
it being criticized by anyone in any way (From the fact
that the cow is regarded as sacred in India and is not eaten
or mistreated.) A university education is a sacred cow in
the Smith family Fred is regarded as a failure because he
quit school at 16 Don’t talk about eating meat to Pam.
Vegetarianism is one of her sacred cows.
sacrifice someone or something for someone or something to
forfeit someone or something for the sake of someone or
something Surely you won’t sacrifice your dear wife for
a silly twit like Francine! Would you sacrifice your bank
account for a chance to go to Europe?
sacrifice someone or something to someone or something to
make an offering of or give up someone or something to
someone or some power The high priest prepared to
sac-rifice the prisoner to the gods I sacrificed a lot of money
to a fancy lifestyle.
a sad sight Go to a sorry sight.
sadder but wiser Cliché unhappy but knowledgeable
[about someone or something—after an unpleasant
event] After the accident, I was sadder but wiser, and
would never make the same mistake again We left the
meeting sadder but wiser, knowing that we could not ever
come to an agreement with Becky’s aunt.
saddle an animal up†
to put a saddle on a horse or some other beast of burden Please saddle my horse up I have
to leave Would you saddle up my horse for me?
saddle someone with someone or something Fig to burden
someone with someone or something undesirable,
annoy-ing, or difficult to deal with I apologize for saddling you
with my young cousin all day I didn’t mean to saddle you
with my problems.
saddle up 1 Lit to prepare one’s horse for riding by
putting a saddle on it Let’s saddle up and go for a ride.
2 Fig to mount one’s horse and sit in the saddle The
cowboys saddled up and took off after the rustlers.
saddled with someone or something Fig burdened with
someone or something I’ve been saddled with the
chil-dren all day Let’s go out tonight I don’t want to be
sad-dled with your work.
safe and sound unharmed and whole or healthy It
was a rough trip, but we got there safe and sound I’m
glad to see you here safe and sound.
safeguard against someone or something to protect
against someone or something We will try to safeguard
against accidents How can I safeguard against prowlers?
safeguard someone or something against someone or
some-thing to protect someone or something against someone
or something We will take action that will safeguard you against a recurrence of the unpleasantness I will safe- guard my family against the prowler.
safety in numbers safety achieved by being concealed
in or united with large numbers of people or other tures We stayed close together, thinking that there was safety in numbers The elderly people went out together for a walk, knowing that there was safety in numbers.
crea-sag away (from something) to settle or droop down or
away The cloth sagged away from the edge of the table.
sag down to droop downward The branch sagged down and nearly touched the ground When the rain got the drapes wet, they sagged down and touched the f loor.
sag under something to droop under the burden of thing The porch roof sagged under the weight of the snow The springs of the car sagged under the weight of all the passengers.
some-sage advice very good and wise advice My parents gave
me some sage advice when I turned 18 I asked my uncle for some of his sage advice.
sail against something to operate a boat or ship, so as to move against the wind It takes skill and training to sail against the wind The huge cruise ship sailed against the wind all the way to St Thomas.
sail along (something) to travel on a course in a boat or
plane The huge white ship sailed along the Amazon River slowly and peacefully The boat sailed along peacefully.
sail around to travel by water in a boat or ship We sailed around for about an hour and then went back to the shore Let’s go out and sail around before dinner.
sail for some place to depart in a boat or ship for some place This ship sails for Bridgetown, Barbados, at noon today We will sail for home early in the morning.
sail from some place to some place else to move or travel from one place to another in a boat or ship We sailed from San Juan to Acapulco The ship sailed from its home port to Baltimore overnight.
sail into someone Fig to attack someone; to chastise
some-one (Based on sail into someone or something.) The angry coach sailed into the players The teacher sailed into Timmy for breaking the window.
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