British English

petal

pet‧al /ˈpetl/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[Date: 1700-1800; Language: Modern Latin; Origin: petalum, from Greek petalon]

one of the coloured parts of a flower that are shaped like leaves:
rose petals
The flower has seven petals.
 

carry

I. car‧ry¹ S1 W1 /ˈkæri/ BrE AmE verb (past tense and past participle carried, present participle carrying, third person singular carries)
[Date: 1300-1400; Language: Old North French; Origin: carier 'to take in a vehicle', from car 'vehicle', from Latin carrus; ⇨ ↑car]
1. LIFT AND TAKE [transitive] to hold something in your hand or arms, or support it as you take it somewhere:
Gina was carrying a small bunch of flowers.
Angela carried the child in her arms.
Let me carry that for you.
Jack carried his grandson up the stairs.
carry something to something/somebody
The waiter carried our drinks to the table.
2. VEHICLE/SHIP/PLANE [transitive] to take people or things from one place to another in a vehicle, ship, or plane:
The ship was carrying drugs.
There are more airplanes carrying more people than ever before.
3. PIPE/WIRE ETC [transitive] if a pipe, wire etc carries something such as liquid or electricity, the liquid, electricity etc flows or travels along it:
A drain carries surplus water to the river.
The aim is for one wire to carry both television and telephone calls.
4. MOVE SOMETHING [transitive] to cause something to move along or support something as it moves along:
This stretch of water carries a lot of shipping.
The bridge carries the main road over the railway.
Pollution was carried inland by the wind.
5. HAVE WITH YOU [transitive] to have something with you in your pocket, on your belt, in your bag etc everywhere you go:
I don’t carry a handbag. I just carry money in my pocket.
All the soldiers carried rifles.
He says he’s got to carry a knife to protect himself.
6. HAVE A QUALITY [transitive] to have something as a particular quality:
Degree qualifications carry international recognition.
Few medical procedures carry no risk of any kind.
Older managers carry more authority in a crisis.
The plan is not likely to carry much weight with (=have much influence over) the authorities.
If the child believes in what she is saying, she will carry conviction (=make others believe what she says is true).
7. NEWS/PROGRAMMES [transitive] if a newspaper, a television or radio broadcast, or a website carries a piece of news, an advertisement etc, it prints it or broadcasts it:
The morning paper carried a story about demonstrations in New York and Washington D.C.
The national TV network carries religious programmes.
8. INFORMATION [transitive] if something carries information, the information is written on it:
All tobacco products must carry a health warning.
goods carrying the label ‘Made in the USA’
9. BE RESPONSIBLE [transitive] to be responsible for doing something:
Each team member is expected to carry a fair share of the workload.
Which minister carries responsibility for the police?
Parents carry the burden of ensuring that children go to school.
10. SHOP [transitive] if a shop carries goods, it has a supply of them for sale:
The sports shop carries a full range of equipment.
11. BUILDING [transitive] if a wall etc carries something, it supports the weight of that thing:
These two columns carry the whole roof.
12. TAKE SOMEBODY/SOMETHING [transitive] to take something or someone to a new place, point, or position
carry somebody/something to something
The President wanted to carry the war to the northern states.
Blair carried his party to victory in 1997.
carry somebody/something into something
Clinton carried his campaign into Republican areas.
13. DISEASE [transitive] if a person, animal, or insect carries a disease, they can pass it to other people or animals even if they are not ill themselves ⇨ carrier:
The disease is carried by a black fly which lives in the rivers.
Birds and monkeys can carry disease.
14. carry insurance/a guarantee etc to have insurance etc:
All our products carry a 12-month guarantee.
15. be/get carried away to be so excited, angry, interested etc that you are no longer really in control of what you do or say, or you forget everything else:
It’s easy to get carried away when you can do so much with the graphics software.
16. be carried along (by something) to become excited about something or determined to do something:
The crowd were carried along on a tide of enthusiasm.
You can be carried along by the atmosphere of an auction and spend more than you planned.
17. CRIME [transitive] if a crime carries a particular punishment, that is the usual punishment for the crime:
Drink-driving should carry an automatic prison sentence.
Murder still carries the death penalty.
18. SOUND [intransitive] if a sound carries, it goes a long way:
In the winter air, sounds carry clearly.
The songs of the whales carry through the water over long distances.
19. BALL [intransitive] if a ball carries a particular distance when it is thrown, hit, or kicked, it travels that distance
20. carry something in your head/mind to remember information that you need, without writing it down:
Alice carried a map of the London Underground in her head.
21. TUNE [transitive] to sing a tune using the correct notes:
I sang solos when I was six because I could carry a tune.
The highest voice carries the melody.
22. PERSUADE [transitive] to persuade a group of people to support you:
He had to carry a large majority of his colleagues to get the leadership.
Her appeal to common sense was what finally carried the day (=persuaded people to support her).
23. VOTE be carried if a suggestion, proposal etc is carried, most of the people at an official meeting vote for it and it is accepted:
The amendment was carried by 292 votes to 246.
The resolution was carried unanimously (=everyone agreed).
Those in favour of the motion raise your arm. Those against? The motion is carried (=proposal is accepted).
24. ELECTION [transitive] American English if someone carries a state or local area in a US election, they win in that state or area:
Cuban Americans play an important role in whether he carries Florida in the fall campaign.
25. YOUR BODY [transitive always + adverb/preposition] to stand and move in a particular way, or to hold part of your body in a particular way:
He had a way of carrying his head on one side.
carry yourself
She carried herself straight and with confidence.
26. carry the can (for somebody/something) British English informal to be the person who has to take the blame for something even if it was not their fault, or not their fault alone:
He has been left to carry the can for a decision he didn’t make.
27. NOT ENOUGH EFFORT [transitive] if a group carries someone who is not doing enough work, they have to manage without the work that person should be doing:
The team can’t afford to carry any weak players.
28. CHILD [intransitive and transitive] old-fashioned if a woman is carrying a child, she is ↑pregnant
29. carry all/everything before you literary to be completely successful in a struggle against other people
30. carry something too far/to extremes/to excess to do or say too much about something:
I don’t mind a joke, but this is carrying it too far.
31. WEIGHT [transitive] to weigh a particular amount more than you should or than you did:
Joe carries only nine pounds more than when he was 20.
32. carry a torch for somebody to love someone romantically who does not love you:
He’s been carrying a torch for your sister for years.
33. carry the torch of something to support an important belief or tradition when other people do not:
Leaders in the mountains carried the torch of Greek independence.
34. as fast as his/her legs could carry him/her as fast as possible:
She ran as fast as her legs could carry her.
35. ADDING NUMBERS [transitive] to put a number into the next row to the left when you are adding numbers together
⇨ ↑card-carrying, ↑cash and carry, ⇨ fetch and carry at ↑fetch¹(3)
• • •
COLLOCATIONS
■ nouns
▪ carry out work You’ll have to get a builder to carry out the work.
▪ carry out your duties/responsibilities She carried out her duties very efficiently.
▪ carry out a task/job He was unable to carry out simple tasks.
▪ carry out research I was in Italy carrying out research for my book.
▪ carry out a survey The committee has carried out a survey of parking problems in residential areas.
▪ carry out a check Manufacturers carry out safety checks on all new cars.
▪ carry out a test Forensic experts are now carrying out DNA tests.
▪ carry out an experiment Many schools need better facilities for carrying out scientific experiments.
▪ carry out a review The government is carrying out a review of state pension provision.
▪ carry out a study He has carried out various studies into violent behaviour.
▪ carry out an investigation The police will carry out an investigation into what actually happened.
▪ carry out an inquiry A formal inquiry into the cause of death will be carried out.
▪ carry out an assessment The company is carrying out an assessment of staff training needs.
▪ carry out a search Here are some more ways of carrying out information searches online.
▪ carry out an attack It became clear that terrorists had carried out the attack.
• • •
THESAURUS
▪ carry to have something or someone in your hands or arms when you go somewhere: She was carrying a heavy suitcase. | Mary fainted, and had to be carried inside.
▪ tote especially American English informal to carry something such as a bag or a gun: He came out of the office toting a black leather briefcase. | Guards toting machine guns stood inside the airport.
▪ lug to carry something heavy, with difficulty: They lugged the mail in heavy canvas bags into the building.
▪ cart to carry something large and heavy somewhere, especially when this is annoying or hard work: We carted all the furniture upstairs.
▪ schlep American English informal to carry something heavy: Marty schlepped the suitcases upstairs.
▪ bear formal to carry something – used when talking about what someone has with them when they go somewhere. Bear is commonly used as a participle bearing: They arrived bearing gifts. | Anna returned, bearing a large red packet.
carry something ↔ forward phrasal verb
1. to succeed in making progress with something:
The new team have to carry the work forward.
2. to include an amount of money in a later set of figures or calculations
carry something ↔ off phrasal verb
1. to do something difficult successfully:
I was flattered to be offered the job but wasn’t sure if I could carry it off.
2. to win a prize:
a film that carried off three Oscars
carry on phrasal verb
1. especially British English to continue doing something:
Sorry, I interrupted you. Please carry on.
carry on doing something
You’ll have an accident if you carry on driving like that.
carry on with
I want to carry on with my course.
carry on as usual/as you are/regardless etc
2. to continue moving:
He stopped and looked back, then carried on down the stairs.
Carry straight on until you get to the traffic lights.
3. carry on something if you carry on a particular kind of work or activity, you do it or take part in it:
Mr Dean carried on his baking business until he retired.
It was so noisy it was hard to carry on a conversation.
4. spoken to talk in an annoying way
carry on about
I wish everyone would stop carrying on about it.
5. old-fashioned to have a sexual relationship with someone, when you should not:
Lucy confessed to carrying on behind her husband’s back.
carry on with
She was carrying on with a neighbour.
carry something ↔ out phrasal verb
1. to do something that needs to be organized and planned:
We need to carry out more research.
A survey is now being carried out nationwide.
Turn off the water supply before carrying out repairs.
REGISTER
In written English, people often use conduct when writing about research, experiments etc, because this sounds more formal than carry out:
▪ They conducted experiments to test this theory.
2. to do something that you have said you will do or that someone has asked you to do:
Nicholson didn’t carry out his threat to take legal action.
We carried out her instructions precisely.
Will the government carry out its promise to reform the law?
• • •
COLLOCATIONS
■ nouns
▪ carry out work You’ll have to get a builder to carry out the work.
▪ carry out your duties/responsibilities She carried out her duties very efficiently.
▪ carry out a task/job He was unable to carry out simple tasks.
▪ carry out research I was in Italy carrying out research for my book.
▪ carry out a survey The committee has carried out a survey of parking problems in residential areas.
▪ carry out a check Manufacturers carry out safety checks on all new cars.
▪ carry out a test Forensic experts are now carrying out DNA tests.
▪ carry out an experiment Many schools need better facilities for carrying out scientific experiments.
▪ carry out a review The government is carrying out a review of state pension provision.
▪ carry out a study He has carried out various studies into violent behaviour.
▪ carry out an investigation The police will carry out an investigation into what actually happened.
▪ carry out an inquiry A formal inquiry into the cause of death will be carried out.
▪ carry out an assessment The company is carrying out an assessment of staff training needs.
▪ carry out a search Here are some more ways of carrying out information searches online.
▪ carry out an attack It became clear that terrorists had carried out the attack.
carry something ↔ over phrasal verb
1. if something is carried over into a new situation, it continues to exist in the new situation:
The pain and violence of his childhood were carried over into his marriage.
2. to make an official arrangement to do something or use something at a later time:
Up to five days’ holiday can be carried over from one year to the next.
carry somebody/something through phrasal verb
1. to complete or finish something successfully, in spite of difficulties:
I’m determined to carry this through.
2. carry somebody through (something) to help someone to manage during an illness or a difficult period:
Her confidence carried her through.

manner

man‧ner S3 W2 /ˈmænə $ -ər/ BrE AmE noun
[Date: 1100-1200; Language: Old French; Origin: maniere 'way of acting, way of handling', from Latin manuarius 'of the hand', from manus 'hand']
1. [singular] formal the way in which something is done or happens
manner of (doing) something
It seemed rather an odd manner of deciding things.
He felt some guilt over the manner of her death.
in a ... manner
I had hoped you would behave in a more responsible manner.
The issue will be resolved in a manner that is fair to both sides.
criticism of the manner in which the bishop was appointed
in the usual/normal etc manner
The matter should be submitted to the accounts committee in the usual manner.
REGISTER
In everyday English, people usually say in a ... way rather than in a ... manner, or they use an adverb instead:
▪ They behaved in a very reasonable way.
▪ They behaved very reasonably.
2. [singular] the way in which someone behaves towards or talks to other people:
She has a calm relaxed manner.
manner towards
Something in Beth’s manner towards him had changed.
Sophie resented his high-handed manner.
3. manners [plural] polite ways of behaving in social situations:
Her children all had such good manners.
It’s bad manners to talk with your mouth full (=talk and eat at the same time).
His manners were impeccable.
Dad gave us a lecture about our table manners.
You mind your manners, young man!
‘Lesley just got up and left.’ ‘Some people have no manners.’
Good heavens, child, where are your manners?
4. manners [plural] formal the customs of a particular group of people:
a book about the life and manners of Victorian London
5. in a manner of speaking in some ways, though not exactly:
‘Are you his girlfriend?’ Nicola asked. ‘In a manner of speaking.’
6. all manner of something formal many different kinds of things or people:
We would discuss all manner of subjects.
The British Isles have been conquered by all manner of people.
7. in the manner of somebody/something formal in the style that is typical of a particular person or thing:
a painting in the manner of the early Impressionists
8. what manner of ...? literary what kind of:
What manner of son would treat his mother in such a way?
9. not by any manner of means British English spoken formal not at all:
I haven’t lost my interest in politics by any manner of means.
10. (as) to the manner born if you do something new as to the manner born, you do it in a natural confident way, as if you have done it many times before
⇨ BEDSIDE MANNER, COMEDY OF MANNERS
• • •
COLLOCATIONS (for Meaning 3)
■ verbs
▪ have good/bad manners All their children have such good manners.
▪ mind your manners (also remember your manners British English) (=used for telling a child to behave politely) I frowned at him and told him to mind his manners.
▪ have no manners (=regularly not behave politely) He has no manners and he eats like a pig.
▪ forget your manners (=behave in an impolite way) Oh, I’m forgetting my manners. Let me introduce you to Suzanne.
▪ teach somebody manners (=often used when criticizing someone’s impolite behaviour) Those girls need to be taught some manners!
■ phrases
▪ it’s good/bad manners to do something It’s bad manners to chew with your mouth open.
▪ where are your manners? British English (=used for telling a child to stop behaving impolitely) Jamie! Where are your manners?
■ ADJECTIVES/NOUN + manners
▪ good manners Good manners could not prevent her from asking the question.
▪ bad manners She apologized for her son’s bad manners.
▪ excellent/beautiful manners (=very good manners) Her children have excellent manners.
▪ perfect/impeccable manners Suddenly, his perfect manners were gone.
▪ nice manners (=good manners) She has such nice manners.
▪ table manners (=the polite way of eating at a table) My parents expected us to have good table manners.
• • •
THESAURUS
▪ behaviour British English, behavior American English the way someone behaves: Chemicals added to food may be responsible for children’s bad behaviour. | Tatsuya apologized for his behaviour towards me.
▪ conduct formal the way someone behaves in public or in their job – used mainly in official or legal contexts: Bates was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct (=noisy and violent). | The committee found him guilty of unsatisfactory professional conduct.
▪ manner the way someone behaves when they are talking to or dealing with other people, which is shown in their expression, their voice etc: She had a pleasant friendly manner. | Suddenly his whole manner changed, and he started shouting. | His initial manner towards her had been rather formal.
▪ demeanour British English, demeanor American English formal the way someone looks and behaves, which shows you something about their character or feelings: She maintained a calm demeanour at all times. | Wenger’s demeanour suggested that he was not happy with the situation.
▪ antics someone’s behaviour – used when you think it is silly, funny, strange, or annoying: The drunken antics of some English football fans has brought shame on the country. | The actor is becoming known for his increasingly bizarre off-screen antics.

intimidating

in‧tim‧i‧dat‧ing /ɪˈtɪmədeɪtɪŋ, ɪˈtɪmɪdeɪtɪŋ/ BrE AmE adjective
making you feel worried and not confident:
Some people find interview situations very intimidating.
• • •
THESAURUS
▪ frightening making you feel frightened: Being held at gunpoint had been the most frightening moment of his life. | The experience was very frightening.
▪ scary especially spoken frightening. Scary is less formal than frightening and is very common in everyday English: The movie was really scary. | There were some scary moments.
▪ chilling frightening, especially because violence, cruelty, or danger is involved: a chilling tale of revenge, murder and madness | The court heard chilling details about the attack.
▪ spooky frightening and strange, especially because something involves ghosts or powers that people do not understand: The forest is really spooky in the dark. | a spooky coincidence | spooky stories
▪ creepy informal frightening in a way that makes you feel nervous, especially when you are not sure exactly why – used especially about places, people, and feelings: This place is really creepy. Let’s get out of here. | a creepy guy | Do you know that creepy feeling when you're sure someone’s there but you can’t see or hear anything?
▪ eerie especially literary strange and frightening: There was an eerie silence immediately after the bomb went off. | an eerie light | an eerie feeling
▪ intimidating making you feel frightened, nervous, or lacking in confidence: Big schools can be an intimidating place for young children. | Giving evidence in court is often a rather intimidating experience. | the intimidating presence of a large number of soldiers
▪ menacing frightening because you think someone is going to hurt you, even though they have not said or done anything violent – used especially about someone’s expression or voice: The woman had a very menacing look. | ‘I’d like to have a word with you outside,’ he said in a menacing tone.

II. focus² S3 W2 AC BrE AmE noun
1. [singular] the thing, person, situation etc that people pay special attention to ⇨ focal:
The focus of recent research has been on environmental issues.
focus of
The war in Afghanistan had become the focus of media attention.
The focus of interest in the series is what goes on in everyday life.
Another focus of feminist debate has been the film industry.
I shall now turn to the main focus of this essay.
Eggs became the focus for the food poisoning scare.
The focus of the conference shifted from population growth to the education of women.
2. [uncountable] if your focus is on something, that is the thing you are giving most attention to
focus on
Our main focus is on helping people get back into work.
a shift of focus
3. come into focus/bring something into focus if something comes into focus, or you bring it into focus, people start to talk about it and pay attention to it:
These issues have recently come into sharp focus (=people have started to talk about them a lot).
4. in focus/out of focus if a photograph or an instrument such as a camera is in focus, you can see the picture clearly. If it is out of focus, you cannot see the picture clearly.
5. [uncountable] the clearness of the picture seen through an instrument such as a camera:
He raised his binoculars and adjusted the focus.

spicy

spic‧y /ˈspaɪsi/ BrE AmE adjective
1. food that is spicy has a pleasantly strong taste, and gives you a pleasant burning feeling in your mouth SYN hot ⇨ spice:
a spicy tomato sauce
2. a story or picture that is spicy is slightly shocking or rude because it tells about or shows something relating to sex
• • •
THESAURUS
■ describing the taste of something
▪ delicious having a very good taste: This cake is delicious! | a delicious meal
▪ disgusting/revolting having a very bad taste: The medicine tasted disgusting. | They had to eat revolting things, like fish eyes.
▪ sweet tasting full of sugar: The oranges were very sweet.
▪ tasty especially spoken tasting good and with plenty of flavour: She cooked us a simple but tasty meal. | That was really tasty!
▪ sour/tart having a taste that stings your tongue slightly, like lemon does – used especially when this is rather unpleasant: The apples were a little sour. | The wine has rather a tart taste, which not everyone will like.
▪ tangy having a taste that stings your tongue slightly, like lemon does, in a way that seems good: The dressing was nice and tangy.
▪ bitter having a strong taste which is not sweet and is sometimes rather unpleasant – used for example about black coffee, or chocolate without sugar: bitter chocolate | The medicine had rather a bitter taste. | Hops give beer its distinctive bitter taste.
▪ salty containing a lot of salt: Danish salami has a salty flavour.
▪ hot/spicy having a burning taste because it contains strong spices: I love hot curries. | a spicy tomato sauce
▪ piquant /ˈpiːkənt/ formal a little spicy – used especially by people who write about food. This word can sound rather ↑pretentious in everyday conversation: cooked vegetables in a piquant sauce
▪ mild not having a strong or hot taste – usually used about foods that can sometimes be spicy: a mild curry
▪ bland not having an interesting taste: I found the sauce rather bland.

III. roast³ BrE AmE adjective [only before noun]
roasted:
roast chicken

be supposed to do/be something
a) used to say what someone should or should not do, especially because of rules or what someone in authority has said:
We’re supposed to check out of the hotel by 11 o'clock.
I’m not supposed to tell anyone.
What time are you supposed to be there?
b) used to say what was or is expected or intended to happen, especially when it did not happen:
No one was supposed to know about it.
The meeting was supposed to take place on Tuesday, but we’ve had to postpone it.
The new laws are supposed to prevent crime.
c) used to say that something is believed to be true by many people, although it might not be true or you might disagree:
The castle is supposed to be haunted.
‘Dirty Harry’ is supposed to be one of Eastwood’s best films.
Mrs Carver is supposed to have a lot of money.
GRAMMAR
Do not say 'be suppose to do something'. Use be supposed to:
▪ You’re supposed to take your shoes off.
▪ He’s supposed to be very clever.

 be supposed to do/be something
a) used to say what someone should or should not do, especially because of rules or what someone in authority has said:
We’re supposed to check out of the hotel by 11 o'clock.
I’m not supposed to tell anyone.
What time are you supposed to be there?
b) used to say what was or is expected or intended to happen, especially when it did not happen:
No one was supposed to know about it.
The meeting was supposed to take place on Tuesday, but we’ve had to postpone it.
The new laws are supposed to prevent crime.
c) used to say that something is believed to be true by many people, although it might not be true or you might disagree:
The castle is supposed to be haunted.
‘Dirty Harry’ is supposed to be one of Eastwood’s best films.
Mrs Carver is supposed to have a lot of money.
GRAMMAR
Do not say 'be suppose to do something'. Use be supposed to:
▪ You’re supposed to take your shoes off.
▪ He’s supposed to be very clever.

supposed

sup·posed [supposed]   [səˈpəʊzd]    [səˈpoʊzd]  adjective only before noun
used to show that you think that a claim, statement or way of describing sb/sth is not true or correct, although it is generally believed to be
Syn:  alleged
• This is the opinion of the supposed experts.

• When did this supposed accident happen?

fumble

fum‧ble /ˈfʌmbəl/ BrE AmE verb
[Date: 1500-1600; Origin: Probably from a Scandinavian language]
1. (also fumble around) [intransitive and transitive] to try to hold, move, or find something with your hands in an awkward way
fumble at/in/with
She dressed, her cold fingers fumbling with the buttons.
fumble for
I fumbled around in my bag for a cigarette.
She reached round to fumble the light on.
2. [intransitive and transitive] if you fumble with your words when you are speaking, you have difficulty saying something
fumble for
Asked for an explanation, Mike had fumbled for words.
The second candidate fumbled her lines.
3. [intransitive and transitive] to drop a ball after catching it:
Quarterback Rattay was hit and fumbled the ball.