noun

cap

I. cap¹ S3 /kæp/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[Date: 900-1000; Language: Late Latin; Origin: cappa 'covering for the head, cloak', perhaps from Latin caput 'head']

1. HAT
a) a type of flat hat that has a curved part sticking out at the front, and is often worn as part of a uniform:
a baseball cap
old men in flat caps
a chauffeur’s peaked cap
b) a covering that fits very closely to your head:
a swimming cap
a shower cap
c) a type of simple hat that fits very closely to your head, worn especially by women in the past:
a white lace cap
COVERING a protective covering that you put on the end or top of an object SYN top:
Make sure you put the cap back on the pen.
a bottle cap
3. LIMIT an upper limit that is put on the amount of money that someone can earn, spend, or borrow:
a cap on local council spending
4. SPORT British English
a) if a sportsperson wins a cap or is given a cap, he or she is chosen to play for their country:
He won his first England cap against Wales in 1994.
b) a sportsperson who has played for his or her country:
Mason is one of two new caps in the team.
5. SMALL EXPLOSIVE a small paper container with explosive inside it, used especially in toy guns
6. SEX a ↑contraceptive made of a round piece of rubber that a woman puts inside her ↑vagina SYN diaphragm
7. go cap in hand (to somebody) British English, go hat in hand American English to ask for money or help in a very respectful way, from someone who has a lot more power than you:
Elderly people should receive a heating allowance every winter, instead of having to go cap in hand to the government.
⇨ ↑flat cap, ↑ice cap, ↑kneecap, ↑mob cap, ↑skull cap, ↑toecap, ⇨ a feather in your cap at ↑feather¹(2), ⇨ if the cap fits (, wear it) at ↑fit¹(8), ⇨ put your thinking cap on at ↑thinking¹(3)
• • •
COLLOCATIONS
■ types of cap
▪ a baseball cap (=that people wear for baseball and for fashion) He was wearing a sweater and a baseball cap.
▪ a flat cap (also a cloth cap) British English (=made of cloth with a stiff piece that sticks out at the front) We saw an old man in a jacket and a brown flat cap.
▪ a peaked cap (=worn as part of a uniform) She wore a sailor's peaked cap.
▪ a swimming/bathing cap A swimming cap will stop you getting your hair wet.
▪ a shower cap (=worn to keep your hair dry when having a shower) There was a little bag containing soap, shampoo and a shower cap.
■ verbs
▪ wear a cap He was wearing a baseball cap.
▪ put on/take off/remove your cap He opened the door, took off his cap, and threw it on a hook.
• • •
THESAURUS
▪ cover something that is put on or over something else to protect it, for example a piece of metal, plastic, or glass: a manhole cover | the cover that goes over the barbecue
▪ covering a layer of something, or a sheet of something, that covers something else: There was light covering of snow on the ground. | The hard shell acts as a protective covering. | the cloth coverings on the altar
▪ lid a cover for a container such as a pan or a box: the lid of the box | a saucepan lid
▪ top/cap the thing that you put on top of a bottle, tube, or pen, in order to prevent the liquid or other things inside from coming out: I can’t find the cap for the pen. | Put the top back on the milk! | the cap that goes on the toothpaste
▪ cork the top part that you put on top of a bottle of wine: Can you take off the cork for me?
▪ wrapping (also wrap especially American English) a sheet of paper, plastic etc that is put around something in order to cover or protect it: John tore the wrapping off his presents. | The lamp was still in its wrapping.
▪ wrapper a piece of paper or plastic that is put around something you buy, especially a small object: Put the candy wrappers in your pocket. | He took the drinking straw out of its wrapper.

dictionary

dic‧tion‧a‧ry /ˈdɪkʃənəri $ -neri/ BrE AmE noun (plural dictionaries) [countable]
[Date: 1500-1600; Language: Medieval Latin; Origin: dictionarium, from Late Latin dictio 'word'; ⇨ ↑diction]
1. a book that gives a list of words in alphabetical order and explains their meanings in the same language, or another language:
a German – English dictionary
2. a book that explains the words and phrases used in a particular subject:
a science dictionary
• • •
COLLOCATIONS
■ verbs
▪ use a dictionary We advise all our students to use a good dictionary.
▪ look something up in a dictionary If you don’t understand the meaning of a word, look it up in a dictionary.
▪ check a dictionary I often check the dictionary for spelling and pronunciation.
▪ consult a dictionary formal (=check something in a dictionary) Consult the dictionary for examples of how a word is used.
■ ADJECTIVES/NOUN + dictionary
▪ a pocket dictionary (=small enough to be carried in your pocket) Pocket dictionaries don't always give you enough information.
▪ an electronic dictionary (=small electronic machine containing a dictionary) Electronic dictionaries are very popular in Japan.
▪ a bilingual dictionary (=with translations from one language into another) A bilingual dictionary is an essential purchase for anybody learning a foreign language.
▪ a monolingual dictionary (=written in only one language) Monolingual dictionaries tend to have more examples than bilingual ones.
▪ a picture dictionary (=containing a lot of pictures, especially for children or beginners in a language) The advantage of a picture dictionary is that you don't have lengthy definitions.
▪ an online dictionary (=one you can use on the Internet) There are plenty of online dictionaries available free on the Internet.
▪ an etymological dictionary (=showing the origin and history of words) Etymological dictionaries show how languages borrow words from each other.
■ dictionary + NOUN
▪ a dictionary definition Clear dictionary definitions are what students look for.
▪ a dictionary entry (=the definition and all the other information at a word) The introduction explains the functions of the different parts of a dictionary entry.

crossword

cross‧word /ˈkrɒswɜːd $ ˈkrɒːswɜːrd/ BrE AmE (also ˈcrossword ˌpuzzle) noun [countable]
a word game in which you write the answers to questions in a pattern of numbered boxes:
I like to sit down and do the crossword.

crab

crab /kræb/ BrE AmE noun
[Sense 1-3: Language: Old English; Origin: crabba]
[Sense 4: Date: 1800-1900; Origin: crabbed]
1. [countable] a sea animal with a hard shell, five legs on each side, and two large ↑claws ⇨ crustacean
2. [uncountable] the flesh of this animal that you can cook and eat:
crab meat
dressed crab (=prepared for eating)
3. crabs [plural] informal a medical condition in which a type of ↑louse (=insect) is in the hair around sexual organs
4. [singular] American English informal someone who becomes annoyed easily about unimportant things

drawer

drawer S3 /drɔː $ drɒːr/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[Date: 1500-1600; Origin: ⇨ ↑draw¹]
1. part of a piece of furniture, such as a desk, that you pull out and push in and use to keep things in:
She took a file from her desk drawer.
The scissors are in the kitchen drawer (=drawer in a piece of kitchen furniture).
top/bottom/right-hand/left-hand drawer
He opened the top drawer of his desk, and took out a brown envelope.
sock/cutlery drawer (=one for keeping socks, or knives, forks etc in) ⇨ ↑bottom drawer, ↑chest of drawers, ↑top-drawer
2. drawers [plural] old-fashioned underwear that women and girls wear between their waist and the tops of their legs SYN knickers
• • •
COLLOCATIONS
■ ADJECTIVES/NOUN + drawer
▪ the top/bottom/middle drawer He opened the bottom drawer and got out a T-shirt.
▪ a desk/table/dresser etc drawer The passports are in my desk drawer.
▪ a kitchen drawer (=in a piece of kitchen furniture) There's some string in that kitchen drawer.
▪ a sock/underwear/cutlery etc drawer (=containing socks, underwear etc) He hid the gun in his sock drawer.
▪ the right-hand/left-hand drawer Have you looked in the left-hand drawer?
■ verbs
▪ open a drawer Jonathan opened the drawer and took out a fork.
▪ pull open/pull out a drawer (=open it) He pulled open drawers until he found the papers.
▪ close/shut a drawer She shut the drawer and locked it with a small key.
▪ go through/look through/search through drawers (=try to find something by looking in drawers) I've been through all my drawers and I can't find it.
▪ rummage/rifle through drawers (=search in them by moving things around in an untidy way) Someone had been in my bedroom and rummaged through my drawers.

Britain

Bri‧tain /ˈbrɪtn/ BrE AmE
Great Britain or the UK

Brazil

I. Bra‧zil /brəˈzɪl/ BrE AmE
a country in South America, the largest country in South America. Population: 191,800,000 (2007). Capital: Brasilia. The Brazilian ↑rainforest is a large and very important area of trees and plants.

boot

I. boot¹ S2 W3 /buːt/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[Sense 1-3, 5-7: Date: 1300-1400; Language: Old French; Origin: bote]
[Sense 4: Date: 1300-1400; Language: Old English; Origin: bot 'advantage, profit, use']

1. a type of shoe that covers your whole foot and the lower part of your leg ⇨ Wellington:
hiking boots
a pair of boots ⇨ ↑rubber boot
2. British English an enclosed space at the back of a car, used for carrying bags etc SYN trunk American English:
The new model has a bigger boot.
3. the boot informal when someone is forced to leave their job SYN the sack British English ⇨ dismiss:
The chairman denied that he had been given the boot.
He should have got the boot years ago.
4. to boot in addition to everything else you have mentioned:
She was a great sportswoman, and beautiful to boot.
5. put the boot in British English informal
a) to criticize or be cruel to someone who is already in a bad situation
b) to attack someone by kicking them repeatedly, especially when they are on the ground
6. the boot is on the other foot British English used to say someone who has caused problems for other people in the past is now in a situation in which people are causing problems for them
7. American English a metal object that the police attach to one of the wheels of an illegally parked car so that it cannot be moved SYN wheel clamp British English
⇨ be/get too big for your boots at ↑big¹(14), ⇨ lick sb’s boots at ↑lick¹(7), ⇨ tough as old boots at ↑tough¹(2)
• • •
COLLOCATIONS
■ types of boots
▪ leather boots He bought some sturdy leather boots.
▪ wellington boots British English, rubber boots American English (=rubber boots that stop your feet and legs getting wet) The kids put on their rubber boots and went out in the rain.
▪ walking/hiking boots In the mountains you’ll need some strong walking boots.
▪ football/rugby/riding/ski boots Take your muddy football boots off before you come inside.
▪ ankle boots (=only as high as your ankles) Ankle boots are fashionable again this autumn.
▪ long boots (=as high as your knees or thighs) I bought a pair of long leather boots.
▪ knee-high boots She looked fabulous in a mini-skirt and knee-high boots.
■ phrases
▪ a pair of boots I really need a new pair of boots this winter.
II. boot² BrE AmE verb
[Sense 1: Date: 1900-2000; Origin: bootstrap 'to boot up' (1900-2000), probably from bootstrap (noun); ⇨ ↑bootstraps]
[Sense 2-3: Date: 1800-1900; Origin: ⇨ ↑boot¹]
1. (also boot up) [intransitive and transitive] to start the program that makes a computer ready to be used ⇨ load
2. [transitive] informal to kick someone or something hard
boot something in/round/down etc
The goalkeeper booted the ball upfield.
3. [transitive] American English to stop someone from moving their illegally parked vehicle by fixing a piece of equipment to one of the wheels SYN clamp British English
boot somebody ↔ out phrasal verb informal
to force someone to leave a place, job, or organization, especially because they have done something wrong SYN throw out:
His fellow students booted him out of the class.

board game

ˈboard game BrE AmE noun [countable]
an indoor game played on a specially designed board made of thick card or wood

blender

blend‧er /ˈblendə $ -ər/ BrE AmE noun [countable]

an electric machine that you use to mix liquids and soft foods together SYN liquidizer British English