American English

caring

car‧ing /ˈkeərɪŋ $ ˈker-/ BrE AmE adjective
[Word Family: noun: ↑care, ↑carer; adjective: ↑careful ≠ ↑careless, ↑caring ≠ UNCARING; verb: ↑care; adverb: ↑carefully ≠ ↑carelessly]
1. thinking about what other people need or want and trying to help them ⇨ care:
a warm and caring man
a caring attitude
The school aims to provide a caring environment.
2. [only before noun] involving the job of looking after other people:
Many of the caring professions are badly paid.
More men are taking on a caring role.

clock in/on phrasal verb especially British English
to record on a special card the time you arrive at or begin work SYN punch in American English:
I clock on at 8:30.

galore

ga‧lore /ɡəˈlɔː $ -ˈlɔːr/ BrE AmE adjective [only after noun]
[Date: 1600-1700; Language: Irish Gaelic; Origin: go leor 'enough']
in large amounts or numbers:
bargains galore in the sales

nostalgia

nos‧tal‧gia /nɒˈstældʒə $ nɑː-/ BrE AmE noun [uncountable]
[Date: 1700-1800; Language: Modern Latin; Origin: Greek nostos 'returning home' + algos 'pain']
a feeling that a time in the past was good, or the activity of remembering a good time in the past and wishing that things had not changed
nostalgia for
nostalgia for the good old days
He looked back on his university days with a certain amount of nostalgia.
a wave of nostalgia for how great life was in the 1960s
• • •
COLLOCATIONS
■ verbs
▪ feel nostalgia He didn't feel any nostalgia for his school days.
▪ have nostalgia The immigrants I spoke to often had an intense nostalgia for their homeland.
■ adjectives
▪ great nostalgia (=a strong feeling of nostalgia) I read the college newsletter with great nostalgia.
▪ pure nostalgia (=used when talking about good things from the past that are not mixed with things from the present) It was an evening of pure nostalgia, as the band played hits from the 1940s.
■ phrases
▪ a feeling/sense of nostalgia Did it give you a sense of nostalgia to see the play on Broadway again?
▪ a pang of nostalgia (=a short feeling of nostalgia) She felt a pang of nostalgia for the time when they were all children.
▪ a wave of nostalgia (=a strong feeling of nostalgia) As I drove into the city I felt a wave of nostalgia sweep over me.
■ nostalgia + NOUN
▪ a nostalgia trip informal (=a situation or experience that reminds you of events in the past) Walking around campus was a great nostalgia trip for both of us.
▪ a nostalgia buff informal (=someone who likes old things) The restaurant, which still has its 1930s décor, is a favorite with nostalgia buffs.

II. urge² BrE AmE noun [countable]
a strong wish or need SYN desire
urge to do something
He could no longer resist the urge to go and see Amanda.
Suddenly she had an overwhelming urge to be with her son.
• • •
COLLOCATIONS
■ adjectives
▪ strong/powerful The urge was too strong to resist.
▪ an irresistible/uncontrollable/overwhelming urge (=very strong) I was overcome by an irresistible urge to laugh.
▪ a sudden urge She fought back the sudden urge to beg his forgiveness.
▪ a sexual/biological urge Most of us feel the biological urge to reproduce.
▪ a primal/instinctive/basic/natural urge (=a natural urge that all people have) Every animal has an instinctive urge to survive.
■ verbs
▪ feel/have an urge I still sometimes feel an urge to have a cigarette.
▪ resist/fight/suppress an urge She had to resist a constant urge to look back over her shoulder.
▪ satisfy an urge (=do want you feel you want to do) He satisfied his urge to travel by going to India.
▪ give in to an urge (=do what you feel you want to do, when this is wrong) I try not to give in to the urge to gossip.

homesick

home‧sick /ˈhəʊmˌsɪk $ ˈhoʊm-/ BrE AmE adjective
feeling unhappy because you are a long way from your home

Camel

Camel BrE AmE trademark
a type of cigarette made in the US, with a picture of a ↑camel on the packet

camel

cam‧el /ˈkæməl/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[Date: 900-1000; Language: Latin; Origin: camelus, from Greek kamelos, from a Semitic language]

a large desert animal with a long neck and either one or two ↑humps (=large raised parts) on its back

seek

seek S2 W1 AC /siːk/ BrE AmE verb (past tense and past participle sought /sɔːt $ sɒːt/) [transitive]
[Word Family: verb: ↑seek; noun: ↑seeker]
[Language: Old English; Origin: secan]
1. formal to try to achieve or get something:
Do you think the President will seek re-election?
seek refuge/asylum/shelter etc
Thousands of people crossed the border, seeking refuge from the war.
seek revenge/damages/compensation etc
He sought revenge against Surkov for separating him from his wife and son.
seek to do something
Local schools are seeking to reduce the dropout rate.
attention-seeking/publicity-seeking
2. seek (sb’s) advice/help/assistance etc formal to ask someone for advice or help:
If the symptoms persist, seek medical advice.
3. written to look for someone or something SYN look for:
new graduates seeking employment
Attractive woman, 27, seeks male, 25-35, for fun and friendship.
REGISTER
In everyday English, people usually say that they are looking for someone or something rather than seeking someone or something:
▪ What kind of job are you looking for?
4. seek your fortune literary to go to another place hoping to gain success and wealth:
Coles came to the Yukon in the 1970s to seek his fortune.
5. to move naturally towards something or into a particular position:
Water seeks its own level.
⇨ ↑heat-seeking, ↑hide-and-seek, ↑self-seeking, ↑sought-after
• • •
COLLOCATIONS (for Meanings 1 & 2)
■ nouns
▪ seek help He sought help from the police.
▪ seek advice/information If in any doubt, seek the advice of a senior officer.
▪ seek support/approval He said he would seek shareholder support for the proposal.
▪ seek permission They are seeking permission to build 200 new houses.
▪ seek refuge/asylum/shelter (=try to find somewhere safe) They sought refuge inside the castle.
▪ seek election/re-election (=try to be elected or re-elected) He hasn’t decided whether to seek re-election.
▪ seek compensation/damages (=ask for money because of something bad you have suffered) The other two may seek compensation for wrongful imprisonment.
▪ seek revenge Dafoe plays a computer mastermind who seeks revenge on his former employer.
■ adverbs
▪ actively The university is actively seeking new funds.
▪ desperately They ran in all directions, desperately seeking escape.
• • •
THESAURUS
▪ search to look carefully for someone or something: Detectives continue to search for clues. | She searched through all his clothes.
▪ look for somebody/something to try to get someone or something you want or need: I’m looking for something to wear for my sister’s wedding. | The band is looking for a singer. | He’s decided to look for a new career.
▪ try to find somebody/something used especially when someone or something is difficult to find: I spent half an hour trying to find a parking space. | She was in the kitchen, trying to find something to eat that wasn’t raw carrot.
▪ seek formal to try to find something or someone. Used especially about jobs, help, or information. Also used in newspaper advertisements when trying to find a suitable person: They went there seeking work. | She decided to seek help. | Tall blond 18-year-old male seeks female 17+ for friendship.
▪ hunt to look for someone or something. Used when you look very carefully and thoroughly, or in the phrase house/job/bargain hunting: I’ve hunted everywhere, but I can’t find a recipe for French onion soup. | She’s gone out bargain-hunting in the sales.
▪ be on the lookout for somebody/something to be continuously looking for someone or something: I’m always on the lookout for a good bargain.
▪ leave no stone unturned to look for someone or something in every possible place: The police say they will leave no stone unturned in their search for the killer.
seek somebody/something ↔ out phrasal verb
to try to find someone or something, especially when this is difficult:
Our mission is to seek out the enemy and destroy them.

wood S2 W2 /wʊd/ BrE AmE noun
[Word Family: adjective: ↑wooded, ↑wooden, ↑woody; noun: ↑wood, ↑woodenness; adverb: ↑woodenly]
[Language: Old English; Origin: wudu]

1. [uncountable and countable] the material that trees are made of ⇨ wooden, woody:
Put some more wood on the fire.
a polished wood floor
Her house was made of wood. ⇨ ↑hardwood, ↑softwood
2. [countable] (also the woods) a small forest:
a walk in the woods
3. touch wood British English, knock on wood American English said just after you have said that things are going well for you, when you want your good luck to continue
4. [countable] one of a set of four ↑golf clubs with wooden heads
5. not be out of the wood(s) yet informal used to say that there are likely to be more difficulties before things improve
6. not see the wood for the trees to not notice what is important about something because you give too much of your attention to small details
⇨ ↑dead wood
• • •
COLLOCATIONS
■ adjectives
▪ solid wood You can install a solid wood door.
▪ bare wood (=not painted or covered) The floors were of bare wood.
▪ a hard/soft wood Oak is a hard wood.
■ verbs
▪ chop wood He was chopping wood for the fire.
▪ cut/saw wood A local carpenter cut the wood to size.
▪ carve wood (=used a knife to shape it) The room was decorated with carved wood.
■ phrases
▪ a piece of wood He made a bench out of pieces of wood.
▪ a plank of wood (=a long thin flat piece) The shed was constructed from some old planks of wood.
▪ a block of wood I used a block of wood to knock the pole into the ground.
▪ the grain of the wood (=the natural lines in it) The oil enhances the natural grain of the wood.
■ wood + NOUN
▪ wood chips (=small rough pieces) Fish are smoked slowly over wood chips.
▪ wood shavings (=thin curly pieces) He cleared up the wood shavings.
▪ wood smoke There was a smell of wood smoke.