people or things. 5. tv. to be E on a television show. 6. tv. to be Q or W at a party. hostage ["has tIdZ] 1. n. someone or something held by force, to be released only when stated demands are met. 2. the adj. use of Q. → hold someone hostage → take someone hostage hot ["hat] 1. adj. having a high tem- perature; not cold or warm. (Adv: hotly. Comp: hotter; sup: hottest.) 2. adj. [of food] very spicy, caus- ing a burning feeling in the mouth. (Adv: hotly. Comp: hotter; sup: hottest.) 3. adj. very intense; excited or angry. (Figurative on Q. Adv: hotly. Comp: hotter; sup: hottest.) 4. adj. currently popular. (Informal. Comp: hotter; sup: hottest.) → piping hot → sell like hot cakes → strike while the iron is hot hot on something enthusiastic about something; very much inter- ested in something; knowledge- able about something. (Informal.) hot under the collar very angry. hotel [ho "tEl] n. a building where people can rent a place to stay while away from home on busi- ness or vacation. hour ["aU #] 1. n. a unit of time measurement equal to 60 minutes or ¹⁄₂₄ of a day. 2. n. a period of time set aside for some activity. 3. n. the distance that can be trav- eled in Q. → at the eleventh hour → keep late hours → office hours → on the hour hourly ["aU # li] 1. adj. happening every hour; happening once an hour. 2. adv. every hour; once an hour. house 1. ["haUs] n., irreg. a build- ing where a person or a family lives; a home. (Plural: [ "haU z@z] or [ "haU s@z].) 2. ["haUs] n. a household; all the people who live in Q. (No plural.) 3. ["haUs] n., irreg. a legislature; a legislative body. 4. ["haUs] n., irreg. the part of a theater where the audience sits. 5. ["haUz] tv. to provide shel- ter to someone or some creature. → bring the house down → eat someone out of house and home → on the house → tree house house pet ["haUs pEt] n. a dog, cat, bird, fish, or other animal kept in a house as a pet. housebreak ["haUs brek] tv., irreg. to train a pet not to defecate or urinate in the house, or in the case of a cat, outside its special place. (Past tense: housebroke; past par- ticiple: housebroken.) housebroke ["haUs brok] past tense of housebreak. housebroken ["haUs brok @n] past participle of housebreak. household ["haUs hold] 1. n. the group of people who live in a house or apartment. 2. adj. found in Q; associated with Q. housekeeper ["haUs kip #] 1. n. someone who is paid to manage household chores. 2. n. someone who manages the cleaning in a hotel, resort, hospital, or large building. 3. n. a person who is hostage 276 04 7/23/03 8:49 AM Page 276 TLFeBOOK paid to clean someone’s house. (Euphemistic.) houseplant ["haUs plAnt] n. a plant usually grown indoors. housework ["haUs w#k] n. cook- ing, cleaning, washing, and other household tasks. (No plural.) how [haU] 1. interrog. in what way?; by what means? 2. interrog. to what extent?; to what degree? 3. interrog. in what condition? 4. conj. the way in which; the manner in which. how many [haU "mEn i] interrog. in what number(s)? how much [haU "m^tS] interrog. in what amount? however [haU "Ev #] 1. adv. but; nevertheless; in spite of some- thing. 2. adv. no matter how. (Fol- lowed by an adjective or adverb.) 3. conj. in whatever way; by what- ever means. howl ["haUl] 1. n. a long wail, as with the cry of a wolf or the sound of a high wind. 2. iv. to make Q. huddle ["h^d l] 1. n. a group of people crowded together. 2. n. [in football] a group of players close together, planning the next play. 3. iv. [for a number of people] to stand closely together in a small space, especially to keep warm. 4. iv. [for a creature] to curl up somewhere; to bring one’s arms and legs close to the body, as if to keep warm. huddle (up) (together) to bunch up together. hue ["hju] n. color; a variety, shade, or intensity of a color. hue and cry a loud public protest or opposition. huff and puff to breath very hard; to pant as one exerts effort. hug ["h^g] 1. n. an act of holding someone or something in one’s arms in a friendly or loving way. 2. tv. to hold someone as in Q. 3. tv. to stay close to a curb, rail- ing, wall, or some other object as one moves along. huge ["hjudZ] 1. adj. [of size] very large or enormous. (Adv: hugely. Comp: huger; sup: hugest.) 2. adj. of a notable extent; [of extent, degree, or amount] notably large. (Adv: hugely. Comp: huger; sup: hugest.) hum ["h^m] 1. n. a long, vibrating sound, like a long “mmmm- mmm”; a low murmur; a quiet buzzing sound. (No plural.) 2. iv. to make a long, vibrating sound, like a long “mmmmmmmmm”; to sing with one’s mouth closed. 3. tv. to sing musical notes with one’s mouth closed, as in W. human ["hju m@n] 1. n. a person; a human being. 2. the adj. use of Q. (Adv: humanly.) 3. adj. showing feelings that people normally show. (Adv: humanly.) → everything humanly possible → the milk of human kindness human being ["hju m@n "bi IN] n. a person; a human creature, espe- cially considering special human characteristics, such as intelli- gence, kindness, sympathy, etc. (The same as a human.) human race n. all humans as a group of people. (No plural.) human race 277 04 7/23/03 8:49 AM Page 277 TLFeBOOK humble ["h^m b@l] 1. adj. aware of one’s faults; modest. (Adv: humbly. Comp: humbler; sup: humblest.) 2. adj. simple; lowly; not elegant. (Adv: humbly. Comp: humbler; sup: humblest.) 3. tv. to lower the position of someone; to cause someone to become Q. → eat humble pie humid ["hju mId] adj. [of weather] damp; [of air] containing much moisture. (Adv: humidly.) humor ["hju m#] 1. n. the quality of being funny. (No plural.) 2. tv. to tolerate someone who behaves oddly; to accept someone who has strange whims or desires. → sense of humor humorous ["hju m@ r@s] adj. funny; amusing; having humor. (Adv: humorously.) hump ["h^mp] n. a large, rounded bump or swelling. → over the hump hunch ["h^ntS] n. a guess based on how one feels. hunch up to squeeze or pull the parts of one’s body together. hundred ["h^n dr@d] 1. n. the number 100; the number between 99 and 101. (Additional forms as with two hundred, three hundred, four hundred, etc.) 2. n. 100 people or things. → one in a hundred hung ["h^N] 1. a past tense and past participle of hang. 2. adj. [of a jury] unable to reach a decision; [of a jury] not having a majority. hunger ["h^N g#] 1. n. a general lack of food. (No plural.) 2. n. the feeling of a need for something. (Figurative on Q. No plural.) hunger for something to have a strong desire for something. hungry ["h^N gri] adj. wanting food; lacking food; having an empty stomach. (Adv: hungrily. Comp: hungrier; sup: hungriest.) → (as) hungry as a bear hungry for someone or something desiring someone or something. hunk ["h^Nk] n. a large, solid amount of something. hunt ["h^nt] 1. tv. to search for and kill animals for food or for sport. 2. iv. to search for and kill animals as in Q. hunt for someone or something to search for someone or something. hunt high and low for someone or something and search high and low for someone or some- thing to look carefully in every possible place for someone or something. hunt someone or something down 1. to chase and catch someone or something. 2. to locate someone or something. hunt someone or something out to find someone or something even if concealed. hunt someone or something up to seek someone or something. hunt through something to search through the contents of some- thing; to search among things. hunter ["h^n t#] n. someone who hunts; someone who searches for and kills animals for food or sport. humble 278 04 7/23/03 8:49 AM Page 278 TLFeBOOK hurl ["h#l] 1. tv. to throw someone or something with force. 2. tv. to shout something negative, such as an insult or bad words. hurl an insult (at someone ) to direct an insult at someone; to say something insulting directly to someone. hurl someone or something down to throw or push someone or something downward to the ground. hurry ["h# i] 1. iv. to move quickly or briskly. 2. tv. to cause someone or something to move quickly or briskly. 3. n. a rush; an effort to be fast or faster. hurry away and hurry off to leave in a hurry. hurry back (to someone or some- thing ) to return to someone or something immediately or as fast as possible. hurry off Go to hurry away. hurry on Go to hurry up. hurry someone or something in(to something ) to make someone or something go into something fast. hurry someone or something up to make someone or something go or work faster. hurry up and hurry on to move faster. hurt ["h#t] 1. n. pain of the body or emotions; an ache. (Plural only for types and instances.) 2. tv., irreg. to injure a part of the body; to harm one’s mental processes or emotional well-being. (Past tense and past participle: hurt.) 3. tv., irreg. to have a bad effect on some- one or something; to be bad for someone or something. 4. tv., irreg. to cause pain in something; to give someone pain. 5. iv., irreg. to feel pain. → cry before one is hurt husband ["h^z b@nd] n. a married man; the man that a woman is married to. hush ["h^S] 1. n. silence; quiet; calm. (No plural.) 2. tv. to cause someone or something to be calm and quiet. 3. iv. to become calm and quiet. hush money money paid as a bribe to persuade someone to remain silent and not reveal certain infor- mation. hush someone or something up to make someone or something be quiet. hush something up to keep some- thing from public knowledge. hush up to be quiet; to get quiet; to stop talking. husky ["h^s ki] 1. adj. [of a voice] low sounding as if the speaker has a sore throat. (Adv: huskily. Comp: huskier; sup: huskiest.) 2. adj. big and strong; muscular. (Adv: huskily. Comp: huskier; sup: huski- est.) 3. n. a kind of dog that pulls sleds in the far north. hut ["h^t] n. a small shelter; a hum- ble dwelling. hutch ["h^tS] 1. n. a cage for rabbits or other small animals. 2. n. a cupboard or cabinet with shelves. hyena [haI "i n@] n. a wild, doglike animal of Africa that eats meat and has a loud cry that sounds like laughter. hyena 279 04 7/23/03 8:49 AM Page 279 TLFeBOOK hymn ["hIm] n. a religious song of praise meant to be sung by wor- shipers. hype ["haIp] 1. n. an extreme amount of publicity; exaggerated praise used for publicity. (No plu- ral.) 2. tv. to provide Q for some- one or something. hyphen ["haI f@n] n. the mark of punctuation (-). (It is placed between the parts of some com- pound words, between the words in certain phrases, or between syl- lables where a word has been split between two lines of print.) hypnotism ["hIp n@ tIz @m] 1. n. hypnotizing people as a method of exploring and influencing the mind. (No plural.) 2. n. the pro- cess of hypnotizing someone. (No plural.) hypnotize ["hIp n@ taIz] tv. to place someone in a sleeplike condition. hymn 280 04 7/23/03 8:49 AM Page 280 TLFeBOOK I ["aI] pron. the first-person singular pronoun—in writing, it refers to the writer, and in speaking, it refers to the speaker. (Used as the subject of a sentence or a clause. Compare this with me.) ice ["aIs] 1. n. frozen water. (No plural. Number is expressed with piece(s) or cube(s) of ice.) 2. tv. to cover a cake with icing or frosting. (See also icing.) → break the ice → on thin ice → put something on ice → skate on thin ice ice cream ["aIs "krim] 1. n. a fro- zen dessert or snack food made from cream or milk and some kind of fruit or other flavoring. (No plural.) 2. the adj. use of Q. (Hyphenated.) ice cube ["aIs kjub] n. a small cube of ice, used to make drinks and liquids cold. ice over [for water] to freeze and develop a covering of ice. ice skate ["aI(s) sket] 1. n. a boot with a thin blade on the bottom that allows one to glide on top of ice. 2. iv. to glide across ice while wearing a pair of Q. (Hyphen- ated. Can be shortened to skate.) ice something down to cool some- thing with ice. ice up to become icy. iceberg ["aIs b#g] n. an enormous piece of ice floating in the sea. icicle ["aIs sI k@l] n. a pointed spike of ice that hangs from something such as a tree branch. icing ["aI sIN] n. cake frosting; a sweet coating for cakes, cookies, and other desserts. (No plural.) icy ["aI si] 1. adj. covered with or made of ice. (Adv: icily. Comp: icier; sup: iciest.) 2. adj. very cold; freezing cold. (Adv: icily. Comp: icier; sup: iciest.) I’d ["aId] 1. cont. I would. 2. cont. I had. (Where had is an auxiliary.) idea [aI "di @] 1. n. a thought pro- duced by the mind; an opinion. 2. n. a picture of something pro- duced by the mind; a mental pic- ture. 3. n. a suggestion; a plan. → flirt with the idea of doing something ideal [aI "dil] adj. perfect; perfectly suitable. (Adv: ideally.) the ideal n. the best example of something; the perfect type. (No plural. Treated as singular.) ideals n. high moral standards; strong moral beliefs. identical [aI "dEn tI k@l] adj. equal; exactly alike. (Adv: identically [ Ik li].) identical to someone or something exactly the same as someone or something. identification [aI dEn t@ f@ "ke S@n ] 1. n. identifying someone or something; the condition of being identified. (Plural only for types and instances.) 2. n. some kind of document that identifies someone; something that proves who some- one is. (No plural.) identify [aI "dEn t@ faI] 1. tv. to state who or what someone or 281 I 04 7/23/03 8:49 AM Page 281 Copyright 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc . Click Here for Terms of Use. TLFeBOOK something is; to allow the identifi- cation of someone or something. 2. tv. to reveal someone’s identity. identify someone or something with someone or something to associate people and things, in any combination. identity [aI "dEn t@ ti] n. who or what a certain person or thing is. (No plural form.) → a case of mistaken identity idiom ["Id i @m] 1. n. a phrase whose meaning is different from the combined literal meanings of the separate words that make up the phrase. 2. n. a mode of expres- sion or design. idiot ["Id i @t] n. a foolish person; a stupid person. idle something away to waste one’s time in idleness; to waste a period of time, such as an afternoon, eve- ning, or one’s life. if ["If] 1. conj. in the event [that something is the case]; on the con- dition [that something is the case]. 2. conj. whether. (Often intro- duces an indirect question.) 3. conj. although; even though. if not otherwise; if that does not happen; if that is not the case; if that is not so. if so if that is the case; if that is so; if that happens. if worst comes to worst in the worst possible situation; if things really get bad. ignorant ["Ig n@ r@nt] 1. adj. with- out knowledge; without informa- tion; uninformed. (Adv: ignor- antly.) 2. adj. caused by a lack of knowledge; resulting from a lack of knowledge. (Adv: ignorantly.) → play ignorant ignore [Ig "nor] tv. to pay no atten- tion to someone or something. I’ll ["aIl] cont. I will. ill ["Il] 1. adj. sick; not well; not healthy. 2. adv. badly. (Before a participle or certain adjectives. Usually hyphenated.) 3. n. harm. (No plural.) → fall ill → speak ill of someone ill will ["Il "wIl] n. angry feelings or bad intentions. (No plural. Treated as singular.) ill-disposed to doing something not friendly; not favorable; not well disposed. illegal [I "li g@l] adj. not legal; against the law. (Adv: illegally.) ill-gotten gains money or other possessions acquired in a dishon- est or illegal fashion. illness ["Il n@s] 1. n. a sickness; a disease. 2. n. a period of being sick. ills n. troubles. illusion [I "lu Z@n] 1. n. a vision of something that is not really there; a false image. 2. n. a false belief; something that seems to be true but is not true. I’m ["aIm] cont. I am. image ["Im IdZ] 1. n. that which is seen in a mirror or similar surface. 2. n. a sculpture, painting, or other form of art that represents someone or something; a picture or photograph of someone or something. 3. n. a picture of something in one’s mind; a mental identify someone or something with someone or something 282 04 7/23/03 8:49 AM Page 282 TLFeBOOK picture. 4. n. the opinion that peo- ple have about a certain person or thing; someone’s or something’s reputation. imagery ["Im IdZ ri] n. words, music, or pictures that represent or create images, often making one think about situations or feel- ings. (No plural. Treated as singu- lar.) imaginary [I "mAdZ @ nEr i] adj. existing only in the mind; not real. (Adv: imaginarily [ I mAdZ @ "nEr @ li ].) imagination [I mAdZ @ "ne S@n] 1. n. the part of the mind that produces thoughts and images that are not real or not experi- enced; the part of the mind that imagines things. (No plural.) 2. n. the ability to think of new and interesting ideas; the ability to imagine something. (No plural.) imagine [I "mAdZ In] 1. tv. to think of someone or something; to form an image of someone or some- thing in one’s mind. (The object can be a clause with that U.) 2. tv. to think something; to believe something; to suppose something; to guess something. (The object is a clause with that U.) imitate ["Im @ tet] 1. tv. to attempt to copy the style, behavior, or suc- cess of someone whom one admires or wants to be like. 2. tv. to copy the behavior, speech, and movement of someone for amuse- ment. imitation [Im @ "te S@n] 1. n. copy- ing someone’s actions or deeds; copying something. (No plural.) 2. n. a copy; a duplicate. 3. n. an act of imitating someone or some- thing. 4. adj. fake; artificial; resembling something. immaculate [I "mAk j@ lIt] adj. pure; absolutely clean; spotless. (Adv: immaculately.) immaterial [Im @ "tIr i @l] adj. not relevant; having nothing to do with something. (Adv: immateri- ally.) immediate [I "mid i It] 1. adj. hap- pening now; happening at once. (Adv: immediately.) 2. adj. closest to someone or something in space or time; next to someone or some- thing. (Adv: immediately.) immediate occupancy [of an apartment or house] ready to be moved into at this moment. immemorial [Im m@ "mor i @l] [since a time] so long ago that no one can remember the details, ori- gin, date, issues, etc. → since time immemorial immense [I "mEns] adj. very large; huge; enormous. (Adv: immensely.) immerse oneself in something [I "m#s ] to become deeply involved with something; to become absorbed in something. immerse someone or something in something [I "m#s ] to put some- one or something into a liquid; to put someone or something under- water. immersion [I "m# Z@n] 1. n. plac- ing something under water or in a liquid. (Plural only for types and instances.) 2. n. being completely involved in something. (Figurative on Q. No plural.) immersion 283 04 7/23/03 8:49 AM Page 283 TLFeBOOK immigrate ["Im @ gret] iv. to come into a new country to live. immodest [I "mad @st] 1. adj. not modest; revealing; shameless. (Adv: immodestly.) 2. adj. not modest about oneself; often brag- ging. (Adv: immodestly.) immoral [I "mor @l] adj. without morals; not moral; breaking moral rules. (Adv: immorally.) immortal [I "mor t@l] 1. adj. ever- lasting; lasting forever; never dying; living forever. (Adv: immortally.) 2. adj. continuing to be remembered forever; never for- gotten. (Adv: immortally.) immune (to something ) [I "mjun ] 1. protected against a certain disease, either naturally or through medication. 2. not in danger of being affected by some- thing; secure from the danger of something. immunize someone against some- thing to vaccinate someone against some disease; to do a medical pro- cedure that causes a resistance or immunity to a disease to develop in a person. impact 1. ["Im pAkt] n. the crash of objects striking one another with force. 2. ["Im pAkt] n. the influ- ence or effect of someone or something. (Figurative on Q.) 3. [Im "pAkt] tv. to crash into something. → upon impact impasse ["Im pAs] n. a place where movement or progress is blocked by something; a deadlock. (No plural form.) → reach an impasse impatient [Im "pe S@nt] adj. not patient; not able to wait for some- one or something. (Adv: impa- tiently.) implant something in(to) someone or something to embed something into someone or something. implicate someone in something to say that someone is involved in something. imply [Im "plaI] tv. to suggest some- thing; to indicate something with- out actually saying it. (The object is a clause with that U.) impolite [Im p@ "laIt] adj. rude; not polite; not courteous. (Adv: impo- litely.) import 1. [Im "port] tv. to bring in (to one country) a product from a foreign country. 2. ["Im port] n. a product that is brought into one country from another country. importance [Im "port ns] 1. n. the condition of being important. (No plural.) 2. n. the relative position or rank of someone or something. (No plural.) important [Im "port nt] adj. having a great effect, value, or influence. (Adv: importantly.) impose something (up)on some- one to force something on some- one. impose (up)on someone to make a bothersome request of someone. impress someone with someone or something to awe someone with someone or something. impress something (up)on some- one to make someone fully aware of something. immigrate 284 04 7/23/03 8:49 AM Page 284 TLFeBOOK imprint something into something Go to imprint something on(to) some- thing. imprint something on(to) some- thing 1. to print something onto something. 2. and imprint some- thing into something to record something firmly in the memory of someone. 3. and imprint something into something to make a permanent record of something in an animal’s brain. imprison someone in something to lock someone up in something. improve (up)on something to make something better. improvise on something [for a musician] to create a new piece of music on an existing musical theme. impulse ["Im p@ls] 1. n. a short burst of electrical energy. 2. n. the sudden desire to do something; a whim. (Figurative on Q.) → on impulse impure [Im "pjUr] 1. adj. not pure; dirty; mixed with other things. (Adv: impurely.) 2. adj. not morally pure. (Adv: impurely.) in [In] 1. prep. inside something; within something; surrounded by something else. 2. prep. into some- thing; entering into a space; going through a boundary and to a posi- tion that is surrounded by some- thing else. 3. prep. at some point during a certain time period. 4. prep. after a certain period of time. 5. prep. with something or using something, especially a lan- guage or a way of writing or expressing something. 6. adv. inward; indoors; going into some- thing; in a way that someone or something will be in a position that is surrounded by something else. 7. adv. at home; at one’s office; available. in a dead heat finishing a race at exactly the same time; tied. (Here, dead means “exact” or “total.”) in a flash quickly; immediately. in a huff in an angry or offended manner. in a little bit in a small amount of time. in a mad rush in a hurry; in a busy rush. in a nutshell [of news or informa- tion] in a (figuratively) very small container like a nutshell; stated in just a few words. in a pinch if absolutely necessary; if there is no other alternative. in a rut Go to (stuck) in a rut. in a (tight) spot caught in a prob- lem; in a difficult position. in a tizzy an excited and confused condition; a fuss. in a vicious circle in a situation in which the solution of one problem leads to a second problem, and the solution of the second problem brings back the first problem, etc. in a world of one’s own aloof; detached; self-centered. in addition (to something ) addi- tionally; further; moreover; as an additional thing or person. in advance [of something given, paid, or provided] before it is due. in agreement in harmony; agree- ing. in agreement 285 04 7/23/03 8:49 AM Page 285 TLFeBOOK . the part of the mind that produces thoughts and images that are not real or not experi- enced; the part of the mind that imagines things. (No plural.) 2. n. the ability to think of new and interesting. (It is placed between the parts of some com- pound words, between the words in certain phrases, or between syl- lables where a word has been split between two lines of print.) hypnotism ["hIp. ["h^N] 1. a past tense and past participle of hang. 2. adj. [of a jury] unable to reach a decision; [of a jury] not having a majority. hunger ["h^N g#] 1. n. a general lack of food. (No plural.)