American English

toenail

toe‧nail /ˈtəʊneɪl $ ˈtoʊ-/ noun [countable]
  the hard part that covers the top of each of your toes

toe

I. toe¹ S3 /təʊ $ toʊ/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[Language: Old English; Origin: ta]
1. one of the five movable parts at the end of your foot ⇨ finger:
He stubbed his toe (=hurt it by kicking it against something) on a rock.
big toe (=the largest of your toes)

the part of a shoe or sock that covers the front part of your foot
3. tread on sb’s toes British English, step on sb’s toes American English to offend someone, especially by becoming involved in something that they are responsible for
4. keep somebody on their toes to make sure that someone is ready for anything that might happen:
They do random checks to keep workers on their toes.
5. make sb’s toes curl to make someone feel very embarrassed or uncomfortable
6. touch your toes to bend downwards so that your hands touch your toes, without bending your knees
7. put/dip a toe in the water to try a little of something or try an activity for a short time to see if you like it
⇨ from head to toe at ↑head¹(1), ⇨ from top to toe at ↑top¹(22)

II. secret² S3 W3 BrE AmE noun [countable]
[Word Family: noun: ↑secrecy, ↑secret, ↑secretiveness; adverb: ↑secretly, ↑secretively; adjective: ↑secret, ↑secretive; verb: ↑secrete]
1. something that is kept hidden or that is known about by only a few people ⇨ secrecy:
I can’t tell you. It’s a secret.
It was no secret that the two men hated each other.
Don’t worry. Your secret is safe with me (=I won’t tell anyone about it).
2. in secret in a private way or place that other people do not know about:
The negotiations were conducted in secret.
3. the secret a particular way of achieving a good result, that is the best or only way
the secret to (doing) something
The secret to making good pastry is to use very cold water.
Your hair always looks so great – what’s your secret?
What do you think is the secret of her success?
4. make no secret of something to make your opinions about something clear:
Louise made no secret of her dislike for John.
5. the secrets of life/nature/the universe etc the things no one yet knows about life, nature etc
• • •
COLLOCATIONS
■ verbs
▪ have a secret We have no secrets from each other.
▪ know a secret (=about someone else) You can tell Tom that I know his secret.
▪ keep a secret (=not tell it to anyone) Can you keep a secret?
▪ tell somebody a secret Shall I tell you a secret?
▪ let somebody in on a secret (=tell them a secret) Frank let me in on the secret.
▪ reveal/divulge a secret formal (=tell it to someone) He was accused of revealing state secrets.
▪ give away a secret (=tell it to someone carelessly or by mistake) I had to be careful not to give away any secrets.
▪ share a secret (=tell it to someone because you trust them) I trusted Alexander, so I decided to share my secret with him.
▪ discover/find out a secret He was afraid that someone would discover his secret.
■ ADJECTIVES/NOUN + secret
▪ a big secret (=an important secret or one that very few people know) The event was supposed to be a big secret, but everyone knew about it.
▪ a little secret (=a personal secret that very few people know) You must promise me that this will be our little secret.
▪ a closely guarded/well-kept secret (=a secret that few people are allowed to know) The recipe is a closely guarded secret.
▪ an open secret (=something that a lot of people know, but do not talk about because it is supposed to be a secret) It was an open secret that he was having an affair.
▪ a dark/terrible secret (=a secret about something bad) I’m sure every family has a few dark secrets.
▪ a dirty secret (=a shameful secret) The exclusion of black people from the film industry is one of Hollywood’s dirty little secrets.
▪ a guilty secret (=a secret that someone feels guilty about) He had finally discovered Jo’s guilty secret.
▪ sb’s innermost secrets (=very private or personal secrets) She wasn’t confident enough to share her innermost secrets with him.
▪ a family secret Their normally strong relationship is threatened when he has to reveal a family secret.
▪ a state/official secret (=a government secret) He was accused of passing on state secrets to a foreign power.
▪ a trade secret (=a company or business secret) They must not betray their employer 's trust, for instance by giving away trade secrets.
▪ military secrets He was sent to prison for five years in 1933 for selling military secrets to Germany.
■ COMMON ERRORS
► Do not say ˈsay a secretˈ or ˈsay your secretsˈ. Say tell somebody a secret or tell somebody your secrets.

plate

I. plate¹ S2 W2 /pleɪt/ BrE AmE noun
[Sense 1,3,7: Date: 1400-1500; Language: French; Origin: plat 'plate, dish', from plat 'flat', from Vulgar Latin plattus, probably from Greek platys 'broad, flat']
[Sense 2, 4-5,8-11: Date: 1200-1300; Language: Old French; Origin: plat 'flat']
[Sense 6: Date: 1300-1400; Origin: Partly from Old French plat 'plate, piece of silver', partly from Old Spanish plata 'silver']
1. FOOD [countable]
a) a flat and usually round dish that you eat from or serve food on:
The plates were piled high with rice.
a dinner plate
b) (also plateful) the amount of food that is on a plate
plate of
He’s eaten a whole plate of french fries.
► Do not use plate when you mean ‘food cooked in a particular way as a meal’. Use dish: the chef who created this dish (NOT this plate)
2. SIGN [countable] a flat piece of metal with words or numbers on it, for example on a door or a car:
The brass plate on the door said ‘Dr Rackman’.
number/license/registration plate (=on a car)
Did anyone see the car’s license plate? ⇨ ↑L-plate, ↑nameplate
3. have a lot/enough on your plate informal to have a lot of problems to deal with or problems to worry about
4. PROTECTIVE COVERING [countable]
a) technical one of the thin sheets of bone, horn etc that covers and protects the outside of some animals
b) a thin sheet of metal used to protect something
metal/steel/iron plates
The shoes had metal plates attached to the heels.
5. EARTH’S SURFACE [countable] technical one of the very large sheets of rock that form the surface of the Earth ⇨ ↑plate tectonics
6. GOLD/SILVER
a) gold/silver plate ordinary metal with a thin covering of gold or silver
b) [uncountable] things such as plates, cups, forks, or knives made of gold or silver
7. hand/give/offer somebody something on a plate to let someone get or achieve something easily, without much effort from them:
I worked hard for what I’ve got. It wasn’t handed to me on a plate.
8. PICTURES/PHOTOS [countable]
a) a sheet of metal that has been cut or treated in a special way so that words or pictures can be printed from its surface:
copper printing plates
b) a picture in a book, printed on good-quality paper and usually coloured
c) a thin sheet of glass used especially in the past in photography, with chemicals on it that are sensitive to light
9. BASEBALL [countable usually singular] the place where the person hitting the ball stands
10. COMPETITION the ... Plate used in the names of sports competitions or races in which the winner gets a silver plate:
This horse won the Galway Plate.
11. TEETH [countable]
a) a thin piece of plastic shaped to fit inside a person’s mouth, into which ↑false teeth are fixed
b) British English a thin piece of plastic with wires fixed to it, that some people wear in their mouth to make their teeth straight SYN brace British English
⇨ ↑hotplate

arrow

ar‧row  /ærəʊ $ ˈæroʊ/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[Language: Old English; Origin: arwe]

1. a weapon usually made from a thin straight piece of wood with a sharp point at one end, that you shoot with a ↑bow
2. a sign in the shape of an arrow, used to show direction:
Follow the arrows to the X-ray department.

bow² /baʊ/ BrE AmE noun
1. [countable] the act of bending the top part of your body forward to show respect for someone when you meet them, or as a way of thanking an ↑audience
take/give a bow (=bow to the audience at the end of a performance)
The music ended and the girl took a bow.
He gave a final bow just as the curtains came down.
This is done with a formal bow to the king or queen.

archery

ar‧cher‧y /ˈɑːtʃəri $ ˈɑːr-/ BrE AmE noun [uncountable]
the sport of shooting ↑arrows from a ↑bow

chain

I. chain¹ S3 W2 /tʃeɪn/ BrE AmE noun
[Date: 1200-1300; Language: Old French; Origin: chaeine, from Latin catena]
1. JOINED RINGS [uncountable and countable] a series of metal rings which are joined together in a line and used for fastening things, supporting weights, decoration etc ⇨ link:
She had a gold chain around her neck.
a length of heavy chain
the Mayor’s chain of office (=a decoration worn by some British officials at ceremonies)
pull the chain British English (=flush the toilet)
a bicycle chain (=that makes the wheels turn) ⇨ ↑jewellery
2. CONNECTED EVENTS [countable] a connected series of events or actions, especially which lead to a final result:
the chain of events that led to World War I
The salesmen are just one link in the chain (=part of a process) of distribution.
a rather complicated chain of reasoning ⇨ ↑chain of command, ↑food chain
3. SHOPS/HOTELS [countable] a number of shops, hotels, cinemas etc owned or managed by the same company or person
chain of
a chain of restaurants
hotel/restaurant/retail etc chain
several major UK supermarket chains ⇨ ↑chain store
4. CONNECTED LINE [countable] people or things which are connected or next to each other forming a line
mountain/island chain
the Andean mountain chain
chain of atoms/molecules etc technical:
a chain of amino acids
They formed a human chain (=a line of people who pass things from one person to the next) to move the equipment.
daisy chains (=flowers tied together)
5. PRISONERS [countable usually plural] metal chains fastened to the legs and arms of a prisoner, to prevent them from escaping
in chains
He was led away in chains.
ball and chain (=a chain attached to someone’s ankle at one end with a heavy metal ball at the other)
6. BUYING A HOUSE [countable usually singular] British English a number of people buying houses, where each person must complete the sale of their own house before they can buy the next person’s house
• • •
COLLOCATIONS (for Meaning 3)
■ types of chain
▪ a big/major/large chain It is one of Europe’s biggest clothing chains.
▪ a hotel chain Hilton is an international hotel chain.
▪ a supermarket chain Many people buy all their food at one of the major supermarket chains.
▪ a retail chain (=one whose business is buying and selling goods) Large retail chains usually want to expand and build more stores.
▪ a department store/video store/food store etc chain Morgan was the owner of a computer store chain.
▪ a restaurant chain the Pizza Hut restaurant chain
▪ a grocery chain These are two of Florida’s largest grocery chains.
▪ a fast-food chain the fast-food chain, Burger King
▪ a national/nationwide chain He was head of a national chain of grocery stores.
■ phrases
▪ be part of a chain The hotel is part of the MacDonald chain.
• • •
COLLOCATIONS (for Meaning 4)
■ types of chain
▪ a mountain chain The town of Besançon lies at the end of the Jura mountain chain.
▪ an island chain the island chain from Asia to Australasia
▪ a human chain (=a large number of people who form a line, a circle etc to do something) Riot police formed human chains to block demonstrators.
▪ a chain of atoms/molecules etc technical: Most fabrics are made of long chains of molecules.
■ verbs
▪ form a chain They formed a human chain passing buckets of water to the fire.
• • •
THESAURUS
▪ mountain a very high hill: the highest mountain in Austria
▪ hill an area of land that is higher than the land around it, which is like a mountain but smaller and usually has a rounded top: We went for a walk in the hills. | The house is surrounded by woods, farmland and gentle hills.
▪ Mount (also Mt written abbreviation) used in the names of mountains. Don’t say ‘Fuji Mountain’ – say ‘Mount Fuji’: Mount Everest
▪ cliff the steep side of an area of land, often next to the sea: the white cliffs of Dover
▪ precipice especially literary a very steep and dangerous cliff: They were standing on the edge of a precipice.
▪ crag a high steep rock or mountain: An eagle sailed over the high crags.
▪ ridge a long narrow area of high ground, especially at the top of a mountain: I could see a group of climbers high up on a ridge.
▪ knoll a small round hill: a grassy knoll
▪ volcano a mountain with a large hole at the top, through which ↑lava (=hot liquid rock) is sometimes forced out: the eruption of a volcano
▪ summit the very highest point of a mountain: the summit of Mt Everest
▪ peak especially literary the top of a mountain: the snow-covered peaks of the Himalayas | a distant peak
▪ range/chain a group of mountains or hills arranged in a line: the mountain range that is part of the border between Norway and Sweden
▪ foothills a group of smaller hills below a range of high mountains: the Sierra foothills

habit

hab‧it S3 W3 /ˈhæbət, ˈhæbɪt/ BrE AmE noun
[Word Family: noun: ↑habit, ↑habitué; verb: ↑habituate; adverb: ↑habitually; adjective: ↑habitual]
[Date: 1100-1200; Language: Old French; Origin: Latin habitus 'condition, character', from habere 'to have']
1. USUAL/REGULAR [uncountable and countable] something that you do regularly or usually, often without thinking about it because you have done it so many times before:
Regular exercise is a good habit.
Thinking negatively can become a habit.
She has a habit of playing with her hair when she’s nervous.
Some people drink alcohol as much from habit as from desire.
by/from/out of habit (=because this is what you usually do in this situation)
I did it out of habit.
2. DRUGS [countable] a strong physical need to keep taking a drug regularly:
A lot of drug addicts get into petty crime to support their habit.
heroin/cocaine etc habit
His cocaine habit ruined him physically and financially.
3. not make a habit of (doing) something spoken used to say that someone does not usually do something bad or wrong, or should not do it again:
You’re ten minutes late. I hope you’re not going to make a habit of this.
4. I’m not in the habit of doing something spoken used when you are annoyed, to say that you would not do something:
I’m not in the habit of lying to my friends.
5. have a habit of doing something if something has a habit of doing something, it usually or often does it – used humorously:
Life has a habit of springing surprises.
6. old habits die hard used to say that it is difficult to make people change their attitudes or behaviour:
She knew it probably wasn’t necessary any more, but old habits die hard.
7. habit of thought/mind the way someone usually thinks about something, or their usual attitudes
8. CLOTHING [countable] a long loose piece of clothing worn by people in some religious groups:
a nun’s habit
⇨ a creature of habit at ↑creature(3)
• • •
COLLOCATIONS
■ verbs
▪ have a habit (of doing something) He has a habit of being late.
▪ something becomes a habit Once you you have been driving for a few weeks, it becomes a habit.
▪ get into a habit (=start doing something regularly or often) Try to get into the habit of walking for 30 minutes each day.
▪ get out of a habit (=stop doing something regularly or often) She couldn’t get out of the habit of saying 'sorry'.
▪ break/kick a habit (=stop doing something that is bad for you) I’ve smoked for years, but I really want to kick the habit.
▪ develop/form a habit I developed a habit of eating porridge for breakfast.
▪ change your habits It's sometimes difficult for people to change their habits.
■ adjectives
▪ a good/bad habit Eating healthy food as snacks is a good habit to get into.
▪ eating/drinking habits (=the kinds of things you eat or drink regularly) You need to change your eating habits.
▪ buying/spending habits (=the kinds of things you buy regularly) The recession will mean that many people will be changing their spending habits.
▪ viewing habits (=the kinds of television shows you regularly watch) Parents try to control their children’s viewing habits.
▪ sexual habits (=what you normally do in sexual relationships) a survey of the sexual habits of gay men
▪ personal habits (=the things you normally do each day, for example keeping yourself clean or whether you smoke) Some of his personal habits were unpleasant.
▪ social habits (=the things people normally do when they are with other people) Television changed some of our social habits.
▪ an annoying/unpleasant/nasty habit He had the unpleasant habit of eating with his mouth open.
▪ a strange/peculiar/odd habit He had a lot of peculiar habits, one of them being to stare at you without blinking.
■ phrases
▪ be in the habit of doing something On Friday evenings Carrie was in the habit of visiting her parents.
▪ (by/from) force of habit (=used about a habit that is difficult to change) I still walk by his house each day - force of habit, I suppose.
▪ change/break the habits of a lifetime (=stop doing the things you have done for many years) It is hard to change the habits of a lifetime, but you must eat more healthily or you will have a heart attack.
▪ have the unfortunate habit of doing something (=do something that makes other people feel embarrassed or offended) Teenage girls have the unfortunate habit of laughing too loudly.
• • •
THESAURUS
▪ habit something you do regularly, often without thinking about it: Biting your nails is a bad habit. | I always go to the same supermarket, out of habit.
▪ mannerism a way of speaking or a small movement of your face or body that is part of your usual behaviour: Even her mannerisms are the same as her sister’s.
▪ custom something that people in a particular society do because it is traditional or the accepted thing to do: In Japan it is the custom to take off your shoes when you enter a house.
▪ tradition a belief, custom, or way of doing something that has existed for a long time: The tradition of giving Easter eggs goes back hundreds of years. | In many countries, it’s a tradition for the bride to wear white. | It was a family tradition to go for a walk on Christmas Day.
▪ practice something that people often do, especially as part of their work or daily life: The hotel has ended the practice of leaving chocolates in guests’ rooms.