B1 (Intermediate)

hang out

hang out phrasal verb (see also ↑hang)
1. informal to spend a lot of time in a particular place or with particular people
hang out with
I don’t really know who she hangs out with.
Where do the youngsters hang out? ⇨ ↑hangout
2. hang something ↔ out to hang clothes outside in order to dry them:
My job was to hang out the washing.
Hang the wet things out to dry.
3. let it all hang out informal to relax and do what you like

II. ex‧cuse² S3 /ɪkˈskjuːs/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[Word Family: verb: excuse; noun: excuse; adverb: inexcusably; adjective: excusable ≠ inexcusable]
1. a reason that you give to explain careless or offensive behaviour
excuse for (doing) something
What’s your excuse for being late this time?
I’m tired of listening to his excuses.
2. a reason that you invent to explain an action and to hide your real intentions
excuse to do something
I need an excuse to call her.
excuse for
The conference is just an excuse for a holiday in New York.
3. there is no excuse for something used to say that someone’s behaviour is too bad to be explained or accepted:
There is no excuse for such rudeness.
4. make your excuses to explain why you are not able to do something:
Please make my excuses at the meeting tomorrow.
5. a poor/rotten etc excuse for something used when you think someone or something is very bad:
He’s a rotten excuse for a lawyer. Why on earth did you hire him?
6. American English a note written by your doctor or one of your parents saying that you were ill on a particular day SYN sick note British English
• • •
COLLOCATIONS (for Meanings 1 & 2)
■ verbs
▪ make up/think up/invent an excuse I made up some excuse about my car breaking down. | We’d better think up an excuse, fast.
▪ make excuses for somebody/something (=give reasons which try to explain why someone has made a mistake or behaved badly) His mother was always making excuses for her son's behaviour.
▪ use something as an excuse She never complained or used her illness as an excuse.
▪ look for an excuse I began to look for excuses to avoid seeing him.
▪ give an excuse I'll have to give my boss some kind of excuse.
▪ believe/accept an excuse She didn’t believe his excuse for one minute.
▪ have an excuse Companies have no excuse for breaking the law.
■ adjectives
▪ a good excuse A sunny day is a good excuse to go to the beach.
▪ a wonderful excuse (=a very good excuse) A wedding is a wonderful excuse to buy a new outfit.
▪ a reasonable/plausible excuse (=one that other people will believe) If your train was cancelled, that is a perfectly reasonable excuse.
▪ a legitimate/valid excuse (=one that is true and that other people cannot criticize) He didn’t have a legitimate excuse for being late.
▪ the perfect excuse The phone call gave me the perfect excuse to leave.
▪ a feeble/flimsy/weak excuse (=one that is difficult to believe) Joe muttered some feeble excuse about having a headache.
▪ a pathetic/lame excuse (=very weak) That’s the most pathetic excuse I’ve ever heard.
▪ the usual excuse/the same old excuse He made the usual excuses for not coming. | Whenever the trains are late, it's always the same old excuse.
▪ a convenient excuse The rioting provided the government with a convenient excuse not to hold an election.
■ phrases
▪ use every excuse in the book (=use every possible excuse) He used every excuse in the book to avoid seeing the doctor.
▪ at the slightest excuse (=for any reason, however unimportant) She comes to our house at the slightest excuse.
• • •
THESAURUS
■ a reason that does not seem believable
▪ excuse a reason that you give to explain why you have done something bad, or not done something that you should have done – especially one that is not completely true: She said she couldn’t come because she had to work late, but it was just an excuse. | a feeble excuse (=one that is hard to believe)
▪ pretext especially written an untrue reason that you give for doing or not doing something, in order to hide the real reason: He would often find some pretext to go out in the evening alone. | They used this as a pretext for taking military action.

workout

work‧out /ˈwɜːkaʊt $ ˈwɜːrk-/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
a period of physical exercise, especially as training for a sport:
a daily workout in the gym
⇨ work out at work¹

success

suc‧cess S1 W1 /səkˈses/ BrE AmE noun [uncountable and countable]
[Word Family: noun: success, succession, successor; adjective: successful ≠ unsuccessful, successive; verb: succeed; adverb: successfully ≠ unsuccessfully]
[Date: 1500-1600; Language: Latin; Origin: past participle of succedere; ⇨ succeed]
1. when you achieve what you want or intend OPP failure:
The experiment was a big success.
without success
I tried to contact him, but without success.
success in doing something
Did you have any success in persuading Alan to come?
2. when a lot of people like something, buy something, go to see something etc OPP failure
be a big/huge/great etc success
The film was a great success.
Her book has enjoyed a lot of success (=it has been very successful).
The play was a box-office success (=many people went to see it).
The show was an overnight success (=it was immediately successful).
3. when someone achieves a high position in their job, on a course, in a sport, in society etc OPP failure:
Success isn’t everything, you know.
success in
He has already had a lot of success in his career.
be a success as a ... (=be successful in a particular job)
She wasn’t much of a success as a lawyer.
She’s determined to make a success of (=be successful in) her career.
4. when a business makes a lot of money OPP failure:
the success of his latest business venture
be a big/huge/great etc success
The firm wasn’t a great success.
5. success story someone or something that is successful:
The company has been a major success story.
• • •
COLLOCATIONS
■ adjectives
▪ a great success Everyone agreed the picnic was a great success.
▪ a big/huge/major success The government claimed the policy was a major success.
▪ a resounding/outstanding/spectacular success (=very great success) Financially, the event was a resounding success.
▪ great/considerable success This plant can be grown by the absolute beginner with great success.
▪ some success The group is already achieving some success.
▪ little/no success Attempts to resolve the dispute met with little success.
▪ limited success (=not very much success) The attempt to replace coca with other crops has had only limited success.
▪ commercial/economic/financial success None of his ideas had any commercial success.
▪ academic success (=success in education) There is no evidence that early teaching of reading leads to academic success.
▪ electoral success (=success in elections) The electoral success of the far right understandably fills many people in Europe with alarm.
▪ military success This military success was achieved at a cost.
■ verbs
▪ have/achieve success China has had considerable success in conserving water since 1983.
▪ meet with success (=be successful) We are disappointed that this round of negotiations has not met with success.
▪ put your success down to something (=say that your success was the result of it) They put their success down to their excellent teamwork.
■ phrases
▪ somebody's chance of success They have a good chance of success.
▪ the secret of somebody's success (=what makes them successful) A visitor asked Connie the secret of her success with growing roses.
▪ the success rate (=what percentage of actions are successful) The success rate in cloning is still extremely low.
■ COMMON ERRORS
► Do not say 'make success' or 'make a success'. Say have success or achieve success.

move

I. move¹ S1 W1 /muːv/ BrE AmE verb
[Word Family: noun: ↑move, ↑movement, ↑removal, ↑remover, ↑mover; adjective: ↑movable, ↑unmoved, ↑moving; verb: ↑move, ↑remove; adverb: ↑movingly]
[Date: 1200-1300; Language: Old French; Origin: mouvoir, from Latin movere]
1. CHANGE PLACE [intransitive and transitive] to change from one place or position to another, or to make something do this:
Please keep the doors closed while the train is moving.
‘Come on,’ Sue said. No one moved.
Could you move your car, please? It’s blocking the road.
move quickly/slowly/steadily etc
The plane moved slowly along the runway, then stopped.
move away/out/to/towards etc
He moved closer to her.
Becca moved down the steps and into the yard.
move about/around
I could hear someone moving around upstairs.
The bar was so crowded you could hardly move.
At Christmas, you couldn’t move for toys in this house (=there were a lot of toys).
Paul couldn’t move a muscle (=could not move at all) he was so scared.
2. NEW HOUSE/OFFICE [intransitive and transitive] if a person or company moves, or if you move them, they go to live or work in a different place:
We’ve moved seven or eight times in the last five years.
move to/into/from
When are you moving to Memphis?
They’ve moved into bigger offices in London.
move somebody to/into/from etc something
He had to move his mother into a nursing home.
The company is moving its sales center downtown.
move house/home British English (=go to live in a different house)
My parents kept moving house because of my dad’s job.
3. CHANGE OPINION ETC
a) [intransitive] to change from one opinion or way of thinking to another SYN shift:
Neither side is willing to move on the issue of territory.
move towards/away from
The two political parties have moved closer towards each other in recent months.
At this stage, children move further away from the influence of their parents, and depend more on their friends.
b) [transitive] to persuade someone to change their opinion:
She won’t be moved – it doesn’t matter what you say to her.
4. PROGRESS [intransitive] to make progress in a particular way or at a particular rate:
Things moved quickly once the contract was signed.
The negotiations seem to be moving in the right direction.
get/keep things moving
The plan should boost employment and get things moving in the economy.
5. TAKE ACTION [intransitive] to start taking action, especially in order to achieve something or deal with a problem
move on/against
The governor has yet to move on any of the recommendations in the report.
move fast/quickly/swiftly
You’ll have to move fast if you want to get a place on the course.
6. CHANGE JOB/CLASS ETC [intransitive and transitive] to change to a different job, class etc, or to make someone change to a different job, class etc SYN transfer
move somebody to/into/from something
Several students were moved from the beginners’ class into the intermediate one.
He spent five years at KLP, before moving to IMed as a manager.
7. EMOTION [transitive] to make someone feel strong emotions, especially of sadness or sympathy
be deeply/genuinely/profoundly moved
Russell was deeply moved by what he heard.
His speech moved the audience to tears. ⇨ ↑moving(1)
8. CAUSE SOMEBODY TO DO SOMETHING [transitive] to cause someone to do something
move somebody to do something
Seeing her there had moved him to think about the time they had together.
be/feel moved to do something
I have never before felt moved to write, but I feel I must protest.
9. TIME/ORDER [transitive] to change the time or order of something
move something to/from something
Could we move the meeting to Thursday?
10. CHANGE SUBJECT [intransitive] to start talking or writing about a different subject
move away from/off/to etc
We seem to be moving away from the main point of the discussion. ⇨ ↑move on(4)
11. get moving (also move it) spoken used to tell someone to hurry:
Come on, get moving or you’ll be late for school.
12. it’s time I was moving/we ought to get moving etc spoken used to say that you need to leave or go somewhere:
I think it’s time we were moving.
I ought to get moving – I have to be up early tomorrow.
13. GAMES [intransitive and transitive] to change the position of one of the objects used to play a game such as ↑chess
14. AT A MEETING [intransitive and transitive] formal to officially make a proposal at a meeting
move that
The chairman moves that the meeting be adjourned.
move to do something
I move to approve the minutes as read.
move an amendment British English (=suggest a change)
They want to move an amendment to the bill.
15. GO FAST [intransitive] informal to travel very fast:
This car can really move!
16. BE BOUGHT [intransitive] if things of a particular kind are moving, they are being bought, especially at a particular rate:
The highest-priced homes are still moving slowly.
17. move with the times to change the way you think and behave, as society changes:
If the resorts want to keep attracting tourists, they need to move with the times.
18. move in ... circles/society/world to spend a lot of time with a particular type of people and know them well:
She spent time in England, where she moved in high society.
⇨ move the goalposts at ↑goalpost(2), ⇨ move in for the kill at ↑kill²(2), ⇨ move heaven and earth at ↑heaven(9), ⇨ when the spirit moves you at ↑spirit¹(15)
• • •
THESAURUS
▪ move to go to a different place, or change the position of your body: Sarah moved away from the window. | Every time I move I get a pain in my left shoulder.
▪ sway to move slowly from one side to the other: The branches swayed in the wind. | Donny swayed drunkenly as he walked back to his car.
▪ rock to move repeatedly from one side to another, with small gentle movements: He rocked backward and forward in his chair. | The boat rocked from side to side with the waves.
▪ wobble to move unsteadily from side to side: The bike wobbled a bit, but she soon got it under control.
▪ fidget to keep moving or playing with your fingers, hands, feet etc, because you are bored or nervous: Diana fidgeted nervously with her pencil.
▪ squirm to make very small movements from side to side with your body, especially because you feel uncomfortable: By the end of the hour, most of the children were squirming in their seats.
▪ wriggle to make small movements from side to side, especially in order to get into or out of something: The dog wriggled under the fence and escaped into the street. | She managed to wriggle into the dress, but it was much too tight.
▪ twitch if part of your body twitches, it makes small movements that you cannot control: A muscle on Yang’s face twitched.
▪ stir written to make a movement – used especially when describing a situation in which no one moves, or someone wakes up: In the village a dog barked but no one stirred | The sleeping child stirred and opened her eyes.
▪ budge to move – used when you are trying hard to make something move, often without success: The piano wouldn’t budge.
■ to move to a different house, office etc
▪ move to move to a different house, office etc: They’ve moved back to Santiago. | My brother’s helping us move house.
▪ relocate to move to a different place – used about companies, organizations, and people who work for them: NATO’s main headquarters relocated to Brussels. | Klein is relocating to London to head up the investment banking team.
■ not moving
▪ still not moving – use this especially about people who are not moving, or about places where there is no wind: There was no wind and the trees were completely still. | Keep still while I tie your shoes.
▪ stationary not moving – use this about cars, trains, or objects: The truck swerved and hit a stationary vehicle.
▪ immobile not moving or not able to move, especially because of fear or tiredness: As the disease progressed, she became increasingly immobile.
▪ motionless completely still – used especially in literature: Kemp sat motionless as the verdict was read.
▪ calm not moving because there is no wind – use this about air and water: The lake was calm.
▪ be at a standstill if traffic is at a standstill it is not moving: Traffic was at a standstill on the motorway.
move along phrasal verb
1. if a process or situation is moving along, or if you move it along, it continues and makes progress:
Construction of the bridge is moving along.
move something along
I hope we can move things along and get the negotiations going again.
2. move somebody ↔along to officially order someone to leave a public place:
A queue formed by the gates, and a policeman tried to move people along.
move around phrasal verb
to change where you live very frequently, especially so that you live in many different parts of a country:
My dad was in the army, so we moved around a lot.
move away phrasal verb
to go to live in a different area:
My best friend moved away when I was ten.
move down (something) phrasal verb
to change to a lower group, rank, or level:
Interest rates have moved down.
A drop in wages has meant that these families have moved down the economic scale.
move in phrasal verb
1. (also move into something) to start living in a new home OPP move out:
When are you moving in?
Mom and Dad had always planned to move into a smaller house when we grew up.
2. to start living with someone in the same home
move in with
Steve’s going to move in with her.
3. to start being involved in and controlling a situation that someone else controlled previously:
The big multinationals moved in and started pushing up prices.
move in on
Investors moved in on a group of car enthusiasts and took over the market.
4. to go towards a place or group of people, in order to attack them or take control of them
move in on
Police moved in on the demonstrators in the square.
move off phrasal verb especially British English
if a vehicle or group of people moves off, it starts to leave:
Always check behind the car before you move off.
move on phrasal verb
1. CHANGE JOB/CLASS to leave your present job, class, or activity and start doing another one:
I enjoyed my job, but it was time to move on.
move on to
When you finish, move on to the next exercise.
move on to higher/better things (=get a better job or social position – used humorously)
Jeremy’s leaving the company to move on to higher things.
2. CHANGE/DEVELOP
a) to develop in your life, and change your relationships, interests, activities etc:
I’ve moved on since high school, and now I don’t have much in common with some of my old friends.
move on from
She has long since moved on from the roles of her youth.
b) to change, progress, improve, or become more modern as time passes:
By the time the software was ready, the market had moved on.
3. move somebody on British English to order someone to leave a particular place – used especially about police:
The police arrived on the scene and began moving the protesters on.
4. CHANGE SUBJECT to start talking about a new subject in a discussion, book etc:
Before we move on, does anyone have any questions?
5. CONTINUE JOURNEY to leave the place where you have been staying and continue to another place:
After three days we decided it was time to move on.
move on to
The exhibition has now moved on to Edinburgh.
6. TIME if time, the year etc moves on, the time passes:
As time moves on, I’d like the children to play more challenging music.
7. time is moving on British English spoken used to say that you must leave soon or do something soon, because it is getting late:
Time’s moving on – we’d better get back to the car.
move out phrasal verb
1. to leave the house where you are living now in order to go and live somewhere else OPP move in:
He moved out, and a year later they were divorced.
move out of
They moved out of London when he was little.
2. if a group of soldiers moves out, they leave a place
3. American English spoken to leave:
Are you ready to move out?
move over phrasal verb
1. to change position so that there is more space for someone else:
Move over a little, so I can get in.
2. to start using a different system, doing a different type of work etc
move over to
Most companies have moved over to computer-aided design systems.
3. to change jobs, especially within the same organization or industry
move over from
The company’s new publisher just moved over from Villard Books.
4. move over Madonna/Walt Disney/CD-ROMs etc used when saying that something new is becoming more popular than something older – used humorously:
Move over, Armani, there’s a new designer taking the fashion scene by storm.

move up phrasal verb
1. to get a better job in a company, or change to a more advanced group, higher rank, or higher level:
To move up, you’ll need the right training.
Share prices moved up this month.
move up to
The kids learn fast, and can’t wait to move up to the junior team.
He was moving up the ladder (=getting higher and higher positions), getting experience of command.
He’s moved up in the world (=got a better job or social position) in the last few years, and his new flat shows it.
2. especially British English to change position in order to make more space for other people or things or be near someone else:
There’s room for one more if everyone moves up a bit.

II. cough² BrE AmE noun [countable]
1. a medical condition that makes you cough a lot:
He's got a bad cough.
Symptoms include a sore throat and a nasty cough.
cough medicine
2. [countable] the action or sound made when you cough:
Stuart gave an embarrassed cough.
• • •
COLLOCATIONS
■ verbs
▪ have (got) a cough I’ve had a cough for weeks now.
▪ get/catch a cough A lot of people get coughs at this time of year.
■ adjectives
▪ a bad cough Jason’s at home with a bad cough.
▪ a nasty/violent cough (=a very bad cough)
▪ a smoker's cough (=one caused by smoking)
▪ a dry cough (=one that does not produce any liquid)
▪ a loose cough (=one that produces liquid)
▪ a chesty cough British English (=one that affects your chest)
▪ a hacking cough (=a bad cough with an unpleasant sound)
▪ a slight cough (=one that is not very serious) He has a slight cough but I don’t think he’s really ill.
▪ a tickly cough (=one that keeps irritating your throat)
▪ a persistent cough (=one that is difficult to cure)
■ cough + NOUN
▪ cough medicine/cough mixture/cough syrup (=liquid containing medicine for a cough) You should take some cough medicine.
▪ a cough drop (also a cough sweet British English) (=a sweet you suck to make a cough less irritating) He was sucking on a cough sweet.

fever

fe‧ver /ˈfiːvə $ -ər/ BrE AmE noun
[Date: 900-1000; Language: Latin; Origin: febris]
1. [uncountable and countable] an illness or a medical condition in which you have a very high temperature:
Andy has a fever and won’t be coming into work today.
I woke up this morning with a fever and an upset stomach.
She’s running a fever (=has a fever).
a high/low/slight fever
The usual symptoms are a pink rash with a slight fever. ⇨ ↑hay fever, ↑scarlet fever, ↑yellow fever, ↑glandular fever, ↑rheumatic fever
REGISTER
In everyday English, people usually use fever to talk about a very high temperature. If someone's temperature is just high, they say that someone has a temperature rather than has a fever:
▪ He stayed home from school because he had a temperature.
2. [singular] a situation in which many people feel very excited or feel very strongly about something
fever of
a fever of excitement on Wall Street
election/carnival etc fever (=great interest or excitement about a particular activity or event)
Soccer fever has been sweeping the nation as they prepare for the World Cup.
3. (at) fever pitch British English if people’s feelings are at fever pitch, they are extremely excited:
The nation was at fever pitch in the days leading up to the election.
After a night of rioting, tensions in the city reached fever pitch.

backache

back‧ache /ˈbækeɪk/ BrE AmE noun [uncountable and countable]
a pain in your back

earache

ear‧ache /ˈɪəreɪk $ ˈɪr-/ BrE AmE noun [singular, uncountable]
a pain inside your ear:
I’ve got terrible earache and a sore throat.

arm

I. arm¹ S1 W1 /ɑːm $ ɑːrm/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[Sense 1, 3-4, 6-13: Language: Old English; Origin: earm]
[Sense 2,5,14: Date: 1100-1200; Language: Old French; Origin: armes (plural), from Latin arma]
1. BODY one of the two long parts of your body between your shoulders and your hands:
Dave has a broken arm.
left/right arm
He had a tattoo on his left arm.
Tim’s mother put her arms around him.
Pat was carrying a box under his arm.
He had a pile of books in his arms.
They walked along the beach arm in arm (=with their arms bent around each other’s).
take somebody by the arm (=lead someone somewhere by holding their arm)
She took him by the arm and pushed him out of the door.
take somebody in your arms (=gently hold someone with your arms)
Gerry took Fiona in his arms and kissed her.
cross/fold your arms (=bend your arms so that they are resting on top of each other against your body)
He folded his arms and leaned back in his chair.
The old lady rushed to greet him, arms outstretched.
2. WEAPONS arms [plural] weapons used for fighting wars:
Sales of arms to the Middle East have dramatically increased.
nuclear arms
the arms trade
an arms dealer
The government is cutting arms expenditure.
The United Nations will lift its arms embargo against the country.
take up arms (against somebody) (=get weapons and fight)
Boys as young as 13 are taking up arms to defend the city.
He appealed for the rebels to lay down their arms (=stop fighting).
under arms (=with weapons and ready to fight)
All available forces are under arms. ⇨ small arms at ↑small¹(15)
3.
FURNITURE the part of a chair, ↑sofa etc that you rest your arms on
4. CLOTHING the part of a piece of clothing that covers your arm SYN sleeve
5. be up in arms to be very angry and ready to argue or fight:
Residents are up in arms about plans for a new road along the beach.
6. with open arms if you do something with open arms, you show that you are happy to see someone or eager to accept an idea, plan etc:
We welcomed Henry’s offer with open arms.
My new in-laws accepted me with open arms.
7. somebody would give their right arm to do something used to say that someone would be willing to do anything to get or do something because they want it very much:
I’d give my right arm to be 21 again.
8. hold something at arm’s length to hold something away from your body
9. keep/hold somebody at arm’s length to avoid developing a relationship with someone:
Petra keeps all men at arm’s length to avoid getting hurt.
10. as long as your arm informal a list or written document that is as long as your arm is very long:
I’ve got a list of things to do as long as your arm.
11. PART OF GROUP a part of a large group that is responsible for a particular type of activity:
the political arm of a terrorist organization
Epson America is the US marketing arm of a Japanese company.
12. OBJECT/MACHINE a long part of an object or piece of equipment:
the arm of a record player
There is a 15-foot arm supporting the antenna.
13. on sb’s arm old-fashioned if a man has a woman on his arm, she is walking beside him holding his arm
14. DESIGN arms [plural] a set of pictures or patterns, usually painted on a ↑shield, that is used as the special sign of a family, town, university etc SYN coat of arms
⇨ arms akimbo at ↑akimbo(1), ⇨ babe in arms at ↑babe(1), ⇨ brothers in arms at ↑brother¹(6), ⇨ cost an arm and a leg at ↑cost²(1), ⇨ fold somebody/something in your arms at ↑fold¹(7), ⇨ twist sb’s arm at ↑twist¹(9)
• • •
COLLOCATIONS
■ adjectives
▪ sb’s left/right arm She broke her left arm in a riding accident.
▪ broken/fractured He was taken to hospital with a broken arm.
▪ strong a muscular man with strong arms
▪ bare (=not covered by clothes) She wore no stockings and her arms were bare.
■ verbs
▪ wave your arms (=to attract attention) The man was waving his arms and shouting something.
▪ raise your arm Stand with your feet apart and your arms raised above your head.
▪ fold/cross your arms (=bend both arms in front of your body) He folded his arms across his chest and waited.
▪ stretch/hold out your arms I dreamt I saw my mother again with her arms stretched out towards me.
▪ grab sb’s arm (=take hold of it with a sudden violent movement) ‘Wait’, he cried, grabbing her arm.
▪ put/wrap your arms around somebody I put my arms around Bobby and gave him a hug.
▪ take/hold somebody in your arms (=gently put your arms around someone you love) He took her in his arms and kissed her.
▪ take somebody by the arm (=lead someone somewhere holding their arm) ‘It’s this way’ he said, taking me by the arm.
■ phrases
▪ arm in arm (=with your arm linked to someone else’s arm) There were several young couples, walking arm in arm.
▪ with arms akimbo (=with your hands on your hips so that your elbows point away from your body) Anna stood with arms akimbo, ready to challenge me.
▪ with outstretched arms Manuel came forward with outstretched arms to welcome Magda.