verb

II. plant² BrE AmE verb [transitive]
[Word Family: noun: ↑plant, ↑transplant, ↑transplantation, ↑plantation, ↑planter; verb: ↑plant, ↑transplant]
[Language: Old English; Origin: plantian, from Latin plantare, from planta; ⇨ ↑plant¹]

1. PLANTS/SEEDS to put plants or seeds in the ground to grow:
Residents have helped us plant trees.
We’ve planted tomatoes and carrots in the garden.
plant a field/garden/area etc (with something)
a hillside planted with fir trees
2. PUT SOMETHING SOMEWHERE [always + adverb/preposition] informal to put something firmly in or on something else
plant something in/on etc something
He came up to her and planted a kiss on her cheek.
She planted her feet firmly to the spot and refused to move.
3. HIDE ILLEGAL GOODS informal to hide stolen or illegal goods in someone’s clothes, bags, room etc in order to make them seem guilty of a crime
plant something on somebody
She claims that the police planted the drugs on her.
4. BOMB plant a bomb to put a bomb somewhere:
Two men are accused of planting a bomb on the plane.
5. PERSON to put or send someone somewhere, especially secretly, so that they can find out information:
The police had planted undercover detectives at every entrance.
6. plant an idea/doubt/suspicion (in sb’s mind) to make someone begin to have an idea, especially so that they do not realize that you gave them the idea:
Someone must have planted the idea of suicide in his mind.
plant something ↔ out phrasal verb
to put a young plant into the soil outdoors, so that it has enough room to grow:
The seedlings should be planted out in May.

achieve

a‧chieve S2 W1 AC /əˈtʃiːv/ BrE AmE verb
[Word Family: noun: ↑achievement, ↑achiever, ↑underachiever ≠ OVERACHIEVER, ↑underachievement ≠ OVERACHIEVEMENT; verb: ↑achieve, ↑underachieve ≠ OVERACHIEVE; adjective: ↑achievable]
[Date: 1300-1400; Language: Old French; Origin: achever, from chief 'end, head']
1. [transitive] to successfully complete something or get a good result, especially by working hard:
Frances achieved very good exam results.
Wilson has achieved considerable success as an artist.
She eventually achieved her goal of becoming a professor.
REGISTER
In everyday English, people usually say someone gets a result rather than achieves it:
▪ He got good grades in his final exams.
2. [intransitive] to be successful in a particular kind of job or activity:
We want all our students to achieve within their chosen profession.

II. corrupt² BrE AmE verb [transitive]
1. to encourage someone to start behaving in an immoral or dishonest way:
Young prisoners are being corrupted by the older, long-term offenders.
2. to change the traditional form of something, such as a language, so that it becomes worse than it was:
The culture has been corrupted by Western influences.
3. to change the information in a computer, so that the computer does not work properly any more:
a virus which corrupts the data on your hard drive

exploit

I. ex‧ploit¹ AC /ɪkˈsplɔɪt/ BrE AmE verb [transitive]
[Date: 1500-1600; Language: Old French; Origin: esploit 'result, success', from Latin explicitus, from explicare; ⇨ ↑explicate]
1. to treat someone unfairly by asking them to do things for you, but giving them very little in return – used to show disapproval:
Homeworkers can easily be exploited by employers.
2. to try to get as much as you can out of a situation, sometimes unfairly:
The violence was blamed on thugs exploiting the situation.
3. to use something fully and effectively:
The new TV companies are fully exploiting the potential of satellite transmission.
4. to develop and use minerals, forests, oil etc for business or industry:
the urgent need to exploit the resources of the Irish Sea
—exploitable adjective
—exploiter noun [countable]
• • •
THESAURUS
▪ use: Do you mind if I use your phone? | They rebuilt the church using local stone. | We use a range of different methods.
▪ make use of something to use something that is available to you: Staff can make use of a wide range of facilities. | She made full use of her contacts within the organization.
▪ employ formal to use a particular method or skill in order to achieve something: The surgeons employed a new technique. | They employed every means at their disposal (=every available method).
▪ utilize formal to use something that is available to you, for a practical purpose: The company has developed a new way to utilize solar energy. | a better way of utilizing the space
▪ exploit to use something as fully and effectively as possible, or to use something that will give you an advantage over your opponent: The country’s natural resources have not yet been fully exploited. | He was quick to exploit any weakness in his opponent’s argument.
▪ apply to use something such as a method, idea, or system in a particular situation: New technology is being applied to almost every industrial process. | I wanted to apply the things that I had learned on the course.
▪ draw on something to use information, knowledge, or experience that you have learned in the past: He was able to draw on his own experience as a diplomat when he was writing the book. | Journalists draw on information from many different sources.
▪ resort to something to use violence, force, threats etc as a way of achieving something: Extremists on both sides resort to violence. | We are prepared to resort to force if necessary.

verb: ↑control; adverb: uncontrollably]
1. MAKE SOMEBODY/SOMETHING DO WHAT YOU WANT [uncountable] the ability or power to make someone or something do what you want or make something happen in the way you want:
The disease robs you of muscle control.
control of/over
Babies are born with very little control over their movements.
Artists like to have some control over where their works are hung in a gallery.
She’s a good teacher who has control of her class.
Students are encouraged to take control of their own learning, rather than just depending on the teacher.
Excessive drinking can make you lose control of your own life.
‘Do you need any help?’ ‘No. It’s under control, thanks.’
Dogs are allowed on the trails if they are kept under control.
The car spun out of control and hit a tree.
Flight delays do occur, for reasons that are outside our control.
2. POWER [uncountable] the power to make the decisions about how a country, place, company etc is organized or what it does:
The press was freed from political control.
control of
Jordan asked for editorial control of the project.
in control (of something)
Anti-government forces are still in control of the area.
By the end of the year, the rebels had control over the northern territories.
The Johnson family has effective control of the company, owning almost 60% of the shares.
China gained control of the island in 1683.
His son is being trained to take control of the family business.
The Democrats lost control of Congress in the last election.
under the control of somebody
The college was under the control of a group of trustees.
The whole of this area came under Soviet control after World War II.
The Conservatives are hoping to regain control of the city council.
3. WAY OF LIMITING SOMETHING [uncountable and countable] an action, method, or law that limits the amount or growth of something, especially something that is dangerous:
pest control
control of
the control of inflation
control on
The authorities imposed strict controls on the movement of cattle.
an agreement on arms control (=control of the amount of weapons a country has)
under control
Firefighters had the blaze under control by 9:44 p.m.
Shea used diet and exercise to bring her weight under control.
The Federal Reserve Bank raised interest rates to keep inflation under control.
rent/price/wage etc controls
Rent controls ensured that no one paid too much for housing.
tight/rigid controls (=strict controls)
the introduction of tighter controls on immigration
Police used fire hoses and dogs for crowd control.
4. ABILITY TO STAY CALM [uncountable] the ability to remain calm even when you feel very angry, upset, or excited:
There were sudden tears in his eyes and he paused, fighting for control.
Davidson lost control of himself and started yelling.
Small children can’t be expected to have the same self-control (=ability to control their emotions and behaviour) as an adult.
under control
Her voice is under control, but she is almost shaking with anger.
in control
I felt calm and in control.
5. MACHINE/VEHICLE [countable] the thing that you press or turn to make a machine, vehicle, television etc work:
the TV remote control
the volume control on the radio
a car with manual controls
at the controls (=controlling a vehicle or aircraft)
Belton, at the controls, made a perfect landing.
6. PEOPLE WHO ORGANIZE AN ACTIVITY [singular, uncountable] the people who direct an activity or who check that something is done correctly, the place where this is done, or the process of doing it:
air-traffic control
Please stop at passport control.
computers used for stock control
7. SCIENTIFIC TEST [countable]
a) a person, group etc against which you compare another person or group that is very similar, in order to see if a particular quality is caused by something or happens by chance
control group/population/sample etc
A control group of non-smoking women was compared to four groups of women smokers.
b) a thing that you already know the result for that is used in a scientific test, in order to show that your method is working correctly ⇨ ↑controlled experiment
8. COMPUTER [singular] (also control key) a particular button on a computer that allows you to do certain operations:
Press control and F2 to exit.
⇨ ↑birth control, ↑quality control, ↑remote control
II. control² S2 W1 BrE AmE verb (past tense and past participle controlled, present participle controlling) [transitive]
[Word Family: adjective: controlling, ↑controllable ≠ ↑uncontrollable, ↑controlled ≠ ↑uncontrolled; noun: ↑control, ↑controller; verb: ↑control; adverb: uncontrollably]
[Date: 1400-1500; Language: Anglo-French; Origin: contreroller 'to keep a copy of an official document in rolled-up form', from Medieval Latin contrarotulare, from contrarotulus 'copy of a roll', from Latin contra- ( ⇨ ↑contra-) + rotulus 'roll']
1. POWER to have the power to make the decisions about how a country, place, company etc is organized or what it does:
The Democrats continued to control the Senate until last year.
a huge company controlling half the world’s coffee trade
Labour-/Republican-/Democrat- etc controlled
2. LIMIT to limit the amount or growth of something, especially something that is dangerous:
a chemical used to control weeds
an economic plan to control inflation
Development in areas of outstanding natural beauty is strictly controlled.
Strict measures were taken to control the spread of foot and mouth disease.
3. MAKE SOMEBODY/SOMETHING DO WHAT YOU WANT to make someone or something do what you want, or make something happen in the way that you want:
Police had to be called in to control the crowds.
a skilled rider controlling a spirited horse
4. EMOTION if you control your emotions, your voice, your expression etc, you succeed in behaving calmly and sensibly, even though you feel angry, upset, or excited:
Sarah took a deep breath, trying to control her anger.
He controlled the urge to laugh.
control yourself
Newman controlled himself with an effort.
5. MACHINE/PROCESS/SYSTEM to make a machine, process, or system work in a particular way:
a radio-controlled toy car
A thermostat controls the temperature in the building.
control how/what/which etc
The valves in the heart control how quickly the blood is pumped around the body.
6. CHECK SOMETHING to make sure that something is done correctly SYN check, monitor:
The company strictly controls the quality of its products.
• • •
THESAURUS
▪ control to have power over a country, place, company etc, and decide what happens there: The Democrats controlled the US Congress. | Government forces now control the city.
▪ run to make the important everyday decisions concerning a company, organization, country etc, so that it can continue to operate: He runs a software company in New York. | The parents want to run the school themselves. | The government is unfit to run the country. | The charity runs a medical clinic in one of the poorest parts of the city.
▪ be in charge of somebody/something to have control over something, or responsibility for a group of people: She is in charge of training new employees. | I left him in charge of the children while I was out.
▪ manage to be in charge of a company, especially one that someone else owns: In 1963, she opened a furniture store, and her son has managed it since 1985.
▪ be in power if a group or leader is in power, they have political control of a country: Abe resigned after less than a year in power. | It was the first time a democratically elected government had been in power.
▪ rule if a leader or political group rules a country, they have political control of that country: President Assad ruled the country for almost 30 years. | The same party has ruled Japan for many years.
▪ supervise to be in charge of a group of workers or students and make sure that they do their work properly: Professor Braude supervised the research team. | He’s supervising the building work.

worry

I. wor‧ry¹ S1 W2 /ˈwʌri $ ˈwɜːri/ BrE AmE verb (past tense and past participle worried, present participle worrying, third person singular worries)
[Word Family: adjective: ↑worried ≠ UNWORRIED, ↑worrying, ↑worrisome; noun: ↑worry, ↑worrier; adverb: ↑worryingly, ↑worriedly; verb: ↑worry]
[Language: Old English; Origin: wyrgan 'to strangle']
1. BE ANXIOUS [intransitive] to be anxious or unhappy about someone or something, so that you think about them a lot
worry about
I worry about my daughter.
You’ve really got no need to worry about your weight.
worry (that)
She worried that she wasn’t doing enough to help.
worry over
Dad worries over the slightest thing.
Don’t tell Mum about this – she’s got enough to worry about (=she already has a lot of problems or is very busy).
2. don’t worry spoken
a) used when you are trying to make someone feel less anxious:
Don’t worry, darling, Daddy’s here.
don’t worry if
Don’t worry if you can’t finish all the questions.
b) used to tell someone that they do not need to do something
don’t worry about
Don’t worry about sorting them out – I’ll do it later.
c) used to tell someone that you will definitely do something:
Don’t you worry, I’ll make sure he does his fair share.
3. MAKE SOMEBODY ANXIOUS [transitive] to make someone feel anxious about something:
The recent changes in the Earth’s climate are beginning to worry scientists.
I didn’t tell Mum and Dad – I didn’t want to worry them.
what worries me is .../the (only) thing that worries me is ...
The only thing that worries me is the food. I don’t want to get food poisoning.
Doesn’t it worry you that Sarah spends so much time away from home?
worry yourself (=feel anxious, especially when there is no need to)
You’re worrying yourself unnecessarily.
4. not to worry British English spoken used to say that something is not important:
Not to worry, we can always go another time.
5. nothing to worry about spoken used to tell someone that something is not as serious or difficult as they think:
It’s just a check-up – nothing to worry about.
6. ANNOY [transitive] to annoy someone SYN bother:
The heat didn’t seem to worry him.
7. ANIMAL [transitive] if a dog worries sheep, it tries to bite or kill them
worry at something phrasal verb
1. if an animal worries at a bone or piece of meat, it bites and shakes it
2. if you worry at a problem, you think about it a lot in order to find a solution

destroy

de‧stroy S2 W2 /dɪˈstrɔɪ/ BrE AmE verb [transitive]
[Word Family: noun: destroyer, destruction; adjective: indestructible, destructive; verb: destroy; adverb: destructively]
[Date: 1100-1200; Language: Old French; Origin: destruire, from Latin destruere, from struere 'to build']
1. to damage something so badly that it no longer exists or cannot be used or repaired ⇨ destruction
completely/totally destroy
The school was completely destroyed by fire.
companies that are polluting and destroying the environment
destroy sb’s confidence/hope/faith etc
2. if something destroys someone, it ruins their life completely:
The scandal destroyed Simmons and ended his political career.
3. informal to defeat an opponent easily:
The Bears destroyed the Detroit Lions 35–3.
4. to kill an animal, especially because it is ill or dangerous:
One of the bulls had to be destroyed.
• • •
COLLOCATIONS
■ nouns
▪ destroy the evidence (=deliberately destroy evidence of a crime) They set light to the car to destroy the evidence.
▪ destroy the environment Some of these companies are polluting and destroying the environment.
▪ destroy the world/planet No one wants another war, which might destroy the world.
▪ destroy sb’s career She made one bad mistake and it destroyed her career.
▪ destroy sb’s reputation The scandal destroyed his reputation.
▪ destroy the character of something New buildings have destroyed much of the character of the area.
▪ destroy sb’s hopes Losing the game destroyed the team’s hopes of reaching the semi-finals.
▪ destroy sb’s confidence When he failed his degree, it completely destroyed his confidence.
■ adverbs
▪ completely/totally destroy something The plane was completely destroyed when it hit a mountain.
▪ partially destroy something The Great Fire of 1666 partially destroyed the prison.
■ phrases
▪ be destroyed by fire/a bomb/earthquake etc The building was destroyed by fire in 2004.
• • •
THESAURUS
▪ destroy to damage something so badly that it no longer exists or cannot be used or repaired: The earthquake almost completely destroyed the city. | The twin towers were destroyed in a terrorist attack.
▪ devastate to damage a large area very badly and destroy many things in it: Allied bombings in 1943 devastated the city. | The country’s economy has been devastated by years of fighting.
▪ demolish to completely destroy a building, either deliberately or by accident: The original 15th century house was demolished in Victorian times. | The plane crashed into a suburb of Paris, demolishing several buildings.
▪ flatten to destroy a building or town by knocking it down, bombing it etc, so that nothing is left standing: The town centre was flattened by a 500 lb bomb.
▪ wreck to deliberately damage something very badly, especially a room or building: The toilets had been wrecked by vandals. | They just wrecked the place.
▪ trash informal to deliberately destroy a lot of the things in a room, house etc: Apparently, he trashed his hotel room while on drugs.
▪ obliterate formal to destroy a place so completely that nothing remains: The nuclear blast obliterated most of Hiroshima.
▪ reduce something to ruins/rubble/ashes to destroy a building or town completely: The town was reduced to rubble in the First World War.
▪ ruin to spoil something completely, so that it cannot be used or enjoyed: Fungus may ruin the crop. | The new houses will ruin the view.

sweep

I. sweep¹ W3 /swiːp/ BrE AmE verb (past tense and past participle swept /swept/)
[Date: 1200-1300; Origin: Probably from sweop, the past tense of Old English swapan 'to sweep']
1. CLEAN SOMETHING [transitive] to clean the dust, dirt etc from the floor or ground, using a brush with a long handle SYN brush:
Bert swept the path in front of the house.
sweep something off/out/up etc
Will you sweep the leaves off the patio?
2. PUSH SOMETHING SOMEWHERE [transitive always + adverb/preposition] to move things from a surface with a brushing movement:
I swept the papers quickly into the drawer.
3. PUSH SOMEBODY/SOMETHING WITH FORCE [transitive always + adverb/preposition] to force someone or something to move in a particular direction:
The windsurfer was swept out to sea.
Jessie was swept along by the angry crowd.
4. GROUP MOVES [intransitive always + adverb/preposition] if a group of people or animals sweep somewhere, they quickly move there together
sweep through/along etc
The crowd swept through the gates of the stadium.
5. WIND/WAVES ETC [intransitive, transitive always + adverb/preposition] if winds, waves, fire etc sweep a place or sweep through, across etc a place, they move quickly and with a lot of force:
Thunderstorms swept the country.
sweep across/through etc
Ninety-mile per hour winds swept across the plains.
6. BECOME POPULAR [intransitive, transitive always + adverb/preposition] written if an idea, feeling, or activity sweeps a group of people or a place, it quickly becomes very popular or common
sweep the country/nation/state etc
a wave of nationalism sweeping the country
sweep across/through etc
the latest craze sweeping through the teenage population
7. FEELING [intransitive always + adverb/preposition] if a feeling sweeps over you, you are suddenly affected by it
sweep over
A feeling of isolation swept over me.
8. PERSON [intransitive always + adverb/preposition] if someone sweeps somewhere, they move quickly and confidently, especially because they are impatient or like to seem important
sweep into/through etc
Eva swept into the meeting and demanded to know what was going on.
9. POLITICS [intransitive and transitive] to win an election easily and in an impressive way
sweep to power/victory
Nixon and Agnew swept to victory with 47 million votes.
Herrera was swept into office on the promise of major reforms.
10. SPORTS [transitive] American English to win all of the games in a series of games against a particular team:
Houston swept Orlando to become NBA champions.
11. sweep the board British English to win everything that can be won, especially very easily
12. FORM A CURVE [intransitive always + adverb/preposition] to form a long curved shape
sweep down/along etc
The hills swept down to the sea.
13. LOOK [intransitive, transitive always + adverb/preposition] to look quickly at all of something:
The general’s eyes swept the horizon.
sweep over/across/around etc
the beam from the lighthouse sweeping across the sea
14. sweep somebody off their feet to make someone feel suddenly and strongly attracted to you in a romantic way:
Jill’s been swept off her feet by an older man.
15. sweep/brush something under the carpet (also sweep something under the rug American English) to try to keep something a secret, especially something you have done wrong
16. HAIR [transitive always + adverb/preposition] to pull your hair back from your face
sweep something back/up
Kerry swept her hair back into a ponytail.
sweep somebody along phrasal verb
to ↑sweep someone ↑away
sweep something ↔ aside phrasal verb
to refuse to pay attention to something someone says:
Branson swept all the objections aside.
sweep somebody/something away phrasal verb
1. sweep something ↔ away to completely destroy something or make something disappear:
houses swept away by the floods
A sudden feeling of grief swept all my anger away.
2. sweep somebody away (also sweep somebody along) [usually passive] if a feeling or idea sweeps you away or along, you are so excited that you do not think clearly or you forget about other things:
We couldn’t help being swept away by Bette’s enthusiasm.
Nineteenth-century scientists were swept along on the tide of Darwin’s theories.
sweep up phrasal verb
1. to clean the dust, dirt etc from the floor or ground using a brush with a long handle:
The janitor was just sweeping up as I left the building.
sweep something ↔ up
Jan was sweeping up the bits of paper and broken glass.
2. sweep somebody ↔ up to pick someone up in one quick movement:
Harriet swept the child up in her arms and hugged her.

II. attack² S3 W2 BrE AmE verb
[Word Family: noun: ↑attack, ↑counterattack, ↑attacker; verb: ↑attack, ↑counterattack; adjective: attacking, counterattacking]
[Date: 1600-1700; Language: French; Origin: attaquer, from Old Italian attaccare 'to attach', from stacca 'sharp post']
1. USE VIOLENCE [intransitive and transitive] to deliberately use violence to hurt a person or damage a place:
She was attacked while walking home late at night.
His shop was attacked by a gang of youths.
Snakes will only attack if you disturb them.
attack somebody/something with something
He needed 200 stitches after being attacked with a broken bottle.
2. IN A WAR [intransitive and transitive] to start using guns, bombs etc against an enemy in a war:
Army tanks attacked a village near the capital on Sunday.
3. CRITICIZE [transitive] to criticize someone or something very strongly:
Last year Dr Travis publicly attacked the idea that abortion should be available on demand.
attack somebody for (doing) something
Newspapers attacked the government for failing to cut taxes.
strongly/bitterly/savagely etc attack somebody/something
4. DAMAGE [transitive] if something such as a disease, insect, or chemical attacks something, it damages it:
a cruel disease that attacks the brain and nervous system
5. BEGIN DOING [transitive] to begin to do something in a determined and eager way:
She immediately set about attacking the problem.
Martin attacked his meal (=started eating) with vigour.
6. SPORT [intransitive and transitive] to move forward and try to score ↑goals or win points ⇨ defend:
Brazil began to attack more in the second half of the match.
• • •
THESAURUS
■ to attack a person
▪ attack to use violence against someone and try to hurt them: She was attacked by a man with a baseball bat. | Police dogs are trained to attack.
▪ ambush /ˈæmbʊʃ/ if a group of people ambush someone, they hide and wait for them and then attack them: The judge was ambushed by gunmen as he drove to work at the courthouse.
▪ mug to attack someone and take money from them in a public place such as a street: He was mugged on his way home from school.
▪ stab to attack someone with a knife: The victim had been stabbed in the neck.
▪ assault to attack and hurt someone – used especially when talking about this as a criminal ↑offence: He assaulted a flight attendant who refused to serve him more drinks.
▪ be set upon by somebody/something written to be attacked by a group of people: He died outside his home after being set upon by a gang of youths.
▪ turn on to suddenly change your behaviour and attack the person you are with, when they do not expect this: The dog suddenly turned on him, sinking its teeth into his arm.
■ to attack a place
▪ attack to use weapons to try to damage or take control of a place: The village was attacked by enemy warplanes. | We will attack at dawn.
▪ invade to enter a country and try to get control of it using force: The Romans invaded Britain 2,000 years ago.
▪ storm to suddenly attack a city or building that is well defended by getting inside it and taking control: Elite troops stormed the building and rescued the hostages.
▪ besiege /bɪˈsiːdʒ/ to surround a city or building with soldiers in order to stop the people inside from getting out or from receiving supplies: In April 655, Osman’s palace was besieged by rebels.

understand

un‧der‧stand S1 W1 /ˌʌndəˈstænd $ -ər-/ verb (past tense and past participle understood /-ˈstʊd/) [not in progressive]
[Word Family: adjective: understandable, understanding, misunderstood; verb: understand ≠ misunderstand; noun: understanding ≠ misunderstanding; adverb: understandably]
[Language: Old English; Origin: understandan, from under + standan 'to stand']
1. MEANING [intransitive and transitive] to know the meaning of what someone is telling you, or the language that they speak ⇒ misunderstood:
She doesn’t understand English.
I’m sorry, I don’t understand. Can you explain that again?
The woman had a strong accent, and I couldn’t understand what she was saying.
make yourself understood (=make what you say clear to other people, especially when speaking a foreign language)
I’m not very good at German, but I can make myself understood. ⇒ see Thesaurus box on P. 1916
2. FACT/IDEA [intransitive and transitive] to know or realize how a fact, process, situation etc works, especially through learning or experience:
I don’t really understand the political situation in Northern Ireland.
understand how/why/where etc
You don’t need to understand how computers work to be able to use them.
How the drug works isn’t fully understood.
understand (that)
I understand that this treatment may not work.
3. PERSON/FEELINGS [intransitive and transitive] to realize how someone feels and why they behave the way they do, and to be sympathetic:
My parents just don’t understand me.
Just tell him how you feel – I’m sure he’ll understand.
understand how/what etc
I understand how you feel, but I think you’re overreacting.
(can) understand somebody doing something
I can understand her wanting to live alone and be independent.
4. BELIEVE/THINK [transitive] to believe or think that something is true because you have heard it or read it
understand (that)
‘I understand that he was 62 when he died,’ McLeish said.
it is understood (that)
It is understood that the Queen approves of her nephew’s romance.
be understood to be (doing) something
Dillons is understood to be reorganising the company’s management structure.
5. give somebody to understand (that) formal to make someone believe that something is true, going to happen etc, without telling them this directly:
I was given to understand that the property was in good condition.
6. be understood (that) formal if something is understood, everyone knows it, or has agreed to it, and there is no need to discuss it:
From childhood it was understood that your parents would choose your husband.
7. understand something to be/mean something to accept something as having a particular meaning:
In this document, ‘children’ is understood to mean people under 14.
8. do you understand? spoken used when you are telling someone what they should or should not do, especially when you are angry with them:
Never speak to me like that again! Do you understand?
• • •

▪ understand to know the meaning of something, or the reasons for something: I understand what you’re saying. | Doctors are beginning to understand what causes the disease.
▪ see especially spoken to understand something, especially the truth about a situation or the reasons for something: I can see why you don’t like him. | Do you see what I mean? | Oh, I see!
▪ get informal to understand a joke, what someone says, the reasons why something is true etc: She didn’t seem to get the joke. | Do you get me? | He explained the math homework twice, but I still don’t get it. | I still don’t get why she left.
▪ comprehend formal to understand something, or understand why something is important: The dream was easy to describe, but difficult to comprehend. | They had failed to comprehend the significance of the problem.
▪ know what somebody means spoken to understand what someone is telling you, or what a situation is like, especially because you have some experience or knowledge about this: ‘It can be really hard to give up smoking.’ ‘I know exactly what you mean.’ | We now know what the scientists meant when they warned about global warming.
▪ follow to understand something such as an explanation or story as you hear it, read it etc: The plot is hard to follow. | His instructions were easy to follow.

▪ grasp to completely understand an idea or a fact, especially a complicated one: Some of his theories can be rather difficult for the ordinary reader to grasp. | I don’t think Stuart really grasped the point I was making.
▪ fathom /ˈfæðəm/ formal to understand what something means or the reasons for something, after thinking carefully about it: She looked at him, puzzled, trying to fathom the reasons for his actions.
▪ make sense of something to understand something that is not easy to understand, especially by thinking about it: People are still trying to make sense of the news.
▪ can’t make head nor tail of something spoken used when something seems impossible to understand: I can’t make head nor tail of his plays, and I’m not sure that anyone else can either.