→ not see further than the end of one’s nose → pay through the nose (for something ) → poke one’s nose in(to something ) → put one’s nose to the grindstone → put someone’s nose out of joint → right under someone’s nose → rub someone’s nose in something → runny nose → stick one’s nose in(to something ) → thumb one’s nose at someone or something → turn one’s nose up at someone or something → under someone’s (very) nose → win by a nose nose someone or something out to defeat someone or something by a narrow margin. (Alludes to a horse winning a race “by a nose.”) nosedive ["noz daIv] 1. n. a sud- den drop or decline, especially the sudden fall of an airplane with the nose pointing downward. 2. iv. to plunge with the nose pointing downward. 3. iv. [for a measure- ment] to decline or drop suddenly. (Figurative on W.) → go into a nosedive → take a nosedive nostril ["nas tr@l] n. one of the two outside holes of the nose. nosy ["noz i] adj. trying to find out (private) things about people or things; snooping; prying. (Adv: nosily. Comp: nosier; sup: nosiest.) not ["nat] 1. adv. a negative particle used with verbs, adverbs, partici- ples, prepositions, nominals, and adjectives. (Contracted to n’t.) 2. adv. a negative particle that stands for a part of a sentence that is being refused, denied, or negated. not a moment to spare and without a moment to spare in a very big hurry. not able to see the forest for the trees allowing many details of a problem to obscure the prob- lem as a whole. not able to stomach someone or something and cannot stomach someone or something not to be able to put up with someone or something; not to be able to toler- ate or endure someone or some- thing. not agree with someone [for food] to be unacceptable to some- one and make the person sick. not at all not to any extent or degree; not in any way. (Always in the negative or questions.) not born yesterday experienced; knowledgeable in the ways of the world. not carry weight (with someone ) [for someone] to have no influ- ence with someone; [for some- thing] to have no significance for someone. not for hire [of a taxi] not avail- able to take new passengers. not for publication not to be talked about openly; secret. not give it another thought not to worry about something any- more. not have a leg to stand on [for a person’s argument or a case] to have no support. not hold water to make no sense; to be illogical. (Said of ideas, argu- nose someone or something out 386 06 7/23/03 8:49 AM Page 386 TLFeBOOK ments, etc., not people. It means that the idea has holes in it.) not know enough to come in out of the rain to be very stupid. not know one’s own strength not to realize how destructive or harmful one’s strength can be. (Present tense only.) not know someone from Adam not to know someone at all. not long for this world to be about to die. not one’s place not one’s role to do something. not open one’s mouth and not utter a word to say nothing at all; not to say anything; not to tell something (to anyone). not see further than the end of one’s nose to care only about what is actually present or obvi- ous; not to care about the future or about what is happening elsewhere or to other people. not set foot somewhere to stay out of or away from somewhere; not to go somewhere. not show one’s face not to appear (somewhere). not sleep a wink not to sleep at all; to be sleepless; not to close one’s eyes in sleep even as long as it takes to blink. not someone’s cup of tea not something one prefers. not tell a soul not to reveal some- thing to anyone. not up to scratch not adequate. not utter a word Go to not open one’s mouth. not worth mentioning 1. not important enough to require a comment. 2. [of an error or wrong] not worth apologizing for. not worth the trouble not impor- tant enough to require a comment. notation [no "te S@n] n. a set of signs or symbols that is used to represent something. notch ["natS] 1. n. a V-shaped cut in a surface, made for a specific reason. 2. n. a degree of quality or quantity. (Figurative on Q.) 3. tv. to make a V-shaped cut for a spe- cific reason. note ["not] 1. n. a short written message. 2. n. a comment on the bottom of a page or at the end of a book that explains, clarifies, or provides the source of something in the text. (See also footnote.) 3. n. a piece of paper money; a bill. 4. n. the written symbol for a specific musical tone. 5. n. a spe- cific musical tone; one sound made by singing or playing a musical instrument. 6. n. a sign of something; a hint of something. 7. tv. to write something as a short message. (The object can be a clause with that U.) 8. tv. to remark about something; to state something; to observe something. (The object is a clause with that U.) 9. tv. to pay attention to something; to remember some- thing. (The object can be a clause with that U.) → hit a sour note → someone of note → strike a sour note notebook ["not bUk] n. a book in which notes are written. notebook 387 06 7/23/03 8:49 AM Page 387 TLFeBOOK notepaper ["not pe p#] n. paper that notes, such as thank-you notes, are written on. (Plural only for types and instances.) notes n. information that is written down by someone while listening to a lecture or reading a book. nothing ["n^T IN] 1. pron. not one thing; not a thing; not anything. (No plural. Treated as singular.) 2. n. something that is without meaning; something that is not significant or important; not any- thing that is significant or impor- tant. (No plural. Treated as singular.) 3. n. zero; no amount. (No plural.) → in nothing flat → like nothing on earth → next to nothing → sweet nothings → want for nothing nothing but only; just. nothing but skin and bones and all skin and bones very thin or emaciated. nothing short of something more or less the same as something bad; as bad as something. notice ["not Is] 1. tv. to see, hear, taste, or smell someone or some- thing; to be aware of someone or something. (The object can be a clause with that U.) 2. n. an announcement; a sign that warns or informs; a warning. 3. n. atten- tion; a state of awareness [about something]. (No plural.) → sit up and take notice noticeable ["not Is @ b@l] adj. able to be seen; easily seen; easily noticed. (Adv: noticeably.) notify ["not @ faI] tv. to inform someone about something; to tell someone officially about some- thing. notion ["no S@n] 1. n. an opinion; a belief. 2. n. a whim; an intention. noun ["naUn] n. a word that refers to a person, place, thing, or idea. (See also nominal.) nourish ["n# IS] 1. tv. to feed someone or something; to give someone or something the things necessary for life and health. 2. tv. to encourage something; to sup- port something as it develops. (Figurative on Q. Used especially with feelings and emotions.) novel ["nav @l] 1. n. a relatively long, written story. 2. adj. new; original; not known before. novelty ["nav @l ti] 1. n. the quality of being novel; the quality of being new or original. (Plural only for types and instances.) 2. n. a small item, often inexpensive and usu- ally interesting or amusing. 3. the adj. use of Q or W. (Prenominal only.) November [no "vEm b#] Go to month. novice ["nav Is] 1. n. someone who is new at a job or responsibility. 2. n. someone who has just joined a religious order and will become a monk or a nun. 3. adj. [of some- one] new to a task or activity. (Prenominal only.) now ["naU] 1. adv. at this moment; at this point in time; immediately. 2. adv. in these days; in modern times; in present times. 3. adv. a word used for emphasis, to get notepaper 388 06 7/23/03 8:49 AM Page 388 TLFeBOOK someone’s attention, with com- mands, and to move on to the next topic. 4. n. the present; this time. (No plural.) now and then sometimes; occa- sionally. nowhere ["no WEr] adv. at no place; to or toward no place; not to or at any place. → come from nowhere nowhere near not nearly. nuclear ["nu kli #] adj. of or about the nucleus of an atom or the energy created by splitting or fus- ing the nuclei of atoms. nuclei ["nu kli aI] plural of nucleus. nucleus ["nu kli @s] 1. n., irreg. the center of something; the core of something. (Plural: nuclei.) 2. n., irreg. the core of an atom, consist- ing of protons and neutrons. 3. n., irreg. the control center of a living cell. nude ["nud] 1. adj. naked; not wearing any clothes. 2. n. someone who is not wearing any clothes; a statue or a painting of someone who is not wearing any clothes. → in the nude nuisance ["nu s@ns] n. a bother; someone or something that is annoying. → make a nuisance of oneself numb ["n^m] 1. adj. unable to feel anything; unable to sense any- thing. (Adv: numbly [ "n^m li]. Comp: number [ "n^m #]; sup: numbest [ "n^m @st].) 2. tv. to cause someone or something to be unable to feel anything. number ["n^m b#] 1. n. a symbol or a word that expresses an amount; a symbol or a word that shows how many; a digit or series of digits that has an assigned sig- nificance. 2. n. a specific Q that identifies someone or something in a series. (Also appears as the symbol (#).) 3. n. a song; a piece of music. 4. n. a grammatical cate- gory showing whether one or more than one person or thing is being referred to. (Plural only for types and instances.) 5. tv. to assign something a Q. (Refers especially to things in a series.) 6. tv. to reach a total of a certain amount; to be a certain amount. → cardinal number → divide a number by a number → divide a number into a number → divide by a number → go into a number → in round numbers → multiply a number by a number → one’s days are numbered → ordinal number a number of people or things some people or things, in an indefinite amount. ( Number is treated as plu- ral, but not countable.) number off (by something ) to say a number in a specified sequence when it is one’s turn. number someone off to assign numbers or positions in a sequence to a group of people. numeral ["num @ r@l] n. the symbol or figure that represents a number. → Arabic numeral → cardinal numeral → ordinal numeral → Roman numeral numerous ["num @ r@s] adj. many; several; a lot. (Adv: numerously.) numerous 389 06 7/23/03 8:49 AM Page 389 TLFeBOOK nun ["n^n] n. a woman who is a member of a religious order. nurse ["n#s] 1. n. someone, usually a woman, trained to provide med- ical care, often under the supervi- sion of a physician. 2. n. a woman who raises other people’s children; a woman who helps a family raise its children. 3. tv. to feed a baby milk from one’s breast. 4. tv. [for anyone] to treat a disease or a sick person. 5. iv. [for a female mam- mal] to feed a baby mammal as in E. 6. iv. [for a baby mammal] to suck or take milk from a female mammal. nurse someone back to health [for anyone] to provide medical care that will restore someone to good health. nurse someone through ( some- thing ) to care for a sick person during the worst part of a sickness or recovery. nursery ["n#s (@) ri] 1. n. a room for babies in a hospital or resi- dence. 2. n. a place where children are watched while their parents are busy at something else. 3. n. a place where plants are grown and sold. nut ["n^t] 1. n. a hard, woody shell containing an edible part. 2. n. the edible part of Q, used as food. 3. n. someone who is crazy, insane, or foolish. (Slang.) → everything from soup to nuts nutrition [nu "trI S@n] n. the sci- ence of providing people with information about healthy food. (No plural.) nuts and bolts (of something ) the basic facts about something; the practical details of something. nutshell ["n^t SEl] n. the hard, woody shell around the edible part of a nut. → in a nutshell nutty ["n^t i] 1. adj. tasting like a nut; made from nuts. (Adv: nut- tily. Comp: nuttier; sup: nuttiest.) 2. adj. crazy; insane. (Slang. Adv: nuttily. Comp: nuttier; sup: nuttiest.) nuzzle up to someone or some- thing to nestle against someone or something, especially if leading with the nose or face. nylon ["naI lan] 1. n. a very strong but light, often flexible fiber made from chemicals, that is used espe- cially to make clothes and fabric. (No plural.) 2. adj. made from Q. nun 390 06 7/23/03 8:49 AM Page 390 TLFeBOOK oak ["ok] 1. n. a kind of strong tree that produces an edible nut. 2. n. wood from Q. (Plural only for types and instances.) 3. adj. made from W. oar ["or] n. a long pole with one wide, flat end—similar to a pad- dle—used to steer and row boats. → put in one’s oar oases [o "e siz] plural of oasis. oasis [o "e sIs] 1. n., irreg. a place in a desert that has water and trees. (Plural: oases.) 2. n., irreg. a place that is free of problems or difficul- ties. (Figurative on Q.) oat ["ot] 1. n. a cereal grain used as food for humans and cattle. 2. n. a single grain of Q. 3. adj. made of Q. → sow one’s wild oats oath ["oT] n., irreg. a promise that one will speak only the truth; a promise that one will do some- thing. (Plural: [ "oDz].) → take an oath → under oath oatmeal ["ot mil] 1. n. crushed oats. (No plural.) 2. n. cooked Q, usually eaten with milk and sugar. (No plural.) 3. adj. made with crushed oats. oats n. a cereal grain used as food for humans and cattle. (Treated as plural, but not countable.) obedience [o "bid i @ns] n. the con- dition of being obedient. (No plu- ral.) obedient [o "bid i @nt] adj. obeying; willingly following orders. (Adv: obediently.) obey [o "be] 1. tv. to yield to some- one and do as one has been instructed; to follow instructions, commands, or rules. 2. iv. to do as one is told. object 1. ["ab dZEkt] n. a thing; something that can be seen or touched. 2. ["ab dZEkt] n. a goal; an aim; someone or something that a thought or an action is directed toward. 3. ["ab dZEkt] n. a noun or nominal that is affected by the action or condition of a verb, a noun or nominal within a prepositional phrase. → Money is no object. object (to something ) [@b "dZEkt ] to oppose something; to argue against something; to make an objection about something. objection [@b "dZEk S@n] n. a stated reason for not wanting to do something. oblige [@ "blaIdZ] iv. to do some- thing nice for someone; to do someone a favor. oblige someone to do something to require someone to do something. oblong ["ab lON] adj. [especially of a circle or a rectangle] long and a little narrow. (Adv: oblongly.) obnoxious [@b "nak S@s] adj. very annoying; very irritating. (Adv: obnoxiously.) oboe ["o bo] n. a musical instru- ment that has a long, thin wooden body and a mouthpiece holding a double reed. obscure [@b "skjUr] 1. adj. [of rea- soning or explanation] hard to 391 O 06 7/23/03 8:49 AM Page 391 Copyright 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc . Click Here for Terms of Use. TLFeBOOK understand or not clearly stated. (Adv: obscurely.) 2. adj. not well known; not famous. (Adv: obscurely.) 3. adj. hard to see; hid- den, especially by darkness. (Adv: obscurely.) 4. tv. to make some- thing hard to see; to keep some- thing from view; to dim or darken something. 5. tv. to make some- thing difficult to understand; to cloud one’s meaning. (Figurative on R.) observe [@b "z#v] 1. tv. to watch something; to see something; to notice something. 2. tv. to obey a law or custom; to pay attention to a law or custom. (The object can be a clause with that U.) 3. tv. to celebrate a holiday. 4. tv. to make a comment or a remark; to state something. (The object is a clause with that U.) obsessed [@b "sEst] adj. thinking about someone or something too much, as if one were forced to do so. obsessed with someone or some- thing always thinking about a per- son, a thought, or an activity. obstruct [@b "str^kt] tv. to get in the way of someone or something; to block someone or something. obstruction [@b "str^k S@n] n. something that is in the way; something that is blocking the way. obtain [@b "ten] tv. to get some- thing; to gain possession of some- thing; to come to own something. obvious ["ab vi @s] adj. easily rec- ognized; easily seen or under- stood; plain; clear. (Adv: obviously.) occasion [@ "ke Z@n] 1. n. a time when something happens; a time when something occurs; an instance. 2. n. a special event. occasional [@ "ke Z@ n@l] adj. hap- pening from time to time; hap- pening once in a while; not happening all the time or regu- larly. (Adv: occasionally.) occult [@ "k^lt] adj. hidden from regular knowledge; filled with mystery. the occult n. things that are hidden from regular knowledge or experi- ence, including magic and other secret things. (No plural. Treated as singular.) occupancy ["ak j@ p@n si] 1. n. occupying a house, building, or other piece of property. (No plu- ral.) 2. n. the number of people that a room or building is allowed to hold. (No plural.) → immediate occupancy occupant ["ak j@ p@nt] n. someone who lives in a certain place; a busi- ness that occupies a certain build- ing or space. occupation [ak j@ "pe S@n] 1. n. a job; a career; what one does for a living. 2. n. taking or keeping pos- session of a region or a country. occupy ["ak j@ paI] 1. tv. to use or consume time by doing some- thing. 2. tv. to keep someone busy doing something. 3. tv. to be in a certain place; to take up the space in a certain place; to live in a cer- tain place; to have one’s business in a certain place. 4. tv. to move observe 392 06 7/23/03 8:49 AM Page 392 TLFeBOOK into and take control of another country. occur [@ "k#] 1. iv. to happen; to take place. 2. iv. to be; to exist; to be found. occur to someone to come to someone’s mind; [for a thought] to enter into someone’s mind. occurrence [@ "k# @ns] n. an event; something that happens; an inci- dent. the occurrence of something the existence of something; the appearance or happening of some- thing in a particular place. ocean ["o S@n] n. a large body of salt water that covers ¾ of the earth’s surface, or one of that body’s four divisions: the Arctic Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and the Pacific Ocean. an ocean of someone or something Go to oceans of someone or something . oceans of someone or something and an ocean of someone or something a very large number of people or things. o’clock [@ "klak] adv. a word used to indicate the time of day. (It fol- lows a number from 1 to 12 and means that it is that time exactly, or zero minutes past the hour. Lit- erally, of the clock.) octagon ["ak t@ gan] n. a flat figure or shape with eight sides. octave ["ak tIv] n. a musical inter- val of two notes where the higher note is twelve half tones above the lower note; [on a piano] the first and eighth key in a row of eight white keys. October [ak "to b#] Go to month. octopi ["ak t@ paI] a plural of octopus. octopus ["ak t@ p@s] n., irreg. a boneless sea creature with eight legs. (Greek for “eight-footed.” The English plural is octopuses or octopi.) odd ["ad] 1. adj. strange; different; unusual; out of place. (Adv: oddly. Comp: odder; sup: oddest.) 2. adj. not even; [of a number] not able to be divided by two without an amount (one) being left over. 3. adj. not regular; [of occasions or events] random; occasional. (Prenominal only. Comp: odder; sup: oddest.) odd man out an unusual or atypi- cal person or thing. oddity ["ad @ ti] 1. n. the state of being unusual or strange. (No plu- ral.) 2. n. something that is odd; something that is unusual or strange. the odds are against one one’s chances are slim; there is little chance of one succeeding; the sit- uation is not favorable to one. odor ["o d#] n. a smell; a scent; an aroma. of [@v] 1. prep. belonging to some- one; owned by someone; closely associated with someone. (Takes a nominal in the possessive form. Pronouns that can follow of in this sense are mine, yours, his, hers, ours, and theirs.) 2. prep. con- nected to someone or something; relating to someone or something; associated with someone or some- thing; representing someone or of 393 06 7/23/03 8:49 AM Page 393 TLFeBOOK something; being a portion or part from something. 3. prep. made from something. 4. prep. contain- ing something; including someone or something; having people or things as the members or parts. 5. prep. a preposition expressing a measurement or an amount. 6. prep. a preposition linking a type of location to the name of a location. 7. prep. referring to someone or something; about someone or something; concern- ing someone or something. 8. prep. having a certain quality or aspect. 9. prep. before a certain hour. of all the nerve how shocking; how dare (someone). (The speaker is exclaiming that someone is being very insolent or rude.) of interest (to someone ) interest- ing to someone. of the first water of the finest quality. (Originally a measure- ment of the quality of a pearl.) off ["Of] 1. prep. away from some- one or something; not on someone or something. (Q through R are often off of, a construction objected to by some.) 2. prep. less than something; deducted from something. 3. prep. leading away from a place or path; turning from a place or path; connecting to a place or path. 4. prep. in or over the water near land. 5. adj. stopped; not being used; causing something not to function or operate, especially by stopping the flow of electricity. (Not prenomi- nal.) 6. adj. wrong; not accurate. (Not prenominal.) 7. adj. can- celed. (Not prenominal.) 8. adj. [of a time period] free of work. (Not prenominal.) off base unrealistic; inexact; wrong. off campus not located within the campus of a college or university. off duty not working at one’s job. off the air [relating to radio or television stations and programs] not broadcasting or being broad- cast. off the record unofficial; infor- mal. off the subject not concerned with the subject being discussed. off the top of one’s head [to state something] rapidly and without having to think or remember. off to a running start with a good, fast beginning. off-color 1. not the exact color (that one wants). 2. rude, vulgar, or impolite. offend [@ "fEnd] tv. to shock some- one, especially through one’s actions, attitude, or behavior. offense 1. [@ "fEns] n. the breaking of a law; a crime; an illegal act. 2. [@ "fEns] n. something that is shocking or disgusting. 3. ["O fEns] n. a way of attacking; an attack. offensive 1. [@ "fEn sIv] adj. shock- ing; annoying; offending someone. (Adv: offensively.) 2. ["O fEn sIv] adj. of or about attacking. (Adv: offensively.) 3. [@ "fEn sIv] n. an attack. offer ["Of #] 1. tv. to present some- thing that can be taken or refused. of all the nerve 394 06 7/23/03 8:49 AM Page 394 TLFeBOOK 2. tv. to propose a price for some- thing that is being sold. 3. n. something that is offered as in Q. 4. n. a price or amount that is offered as in W. offer to do something to indicate that one is willing to do some- thing. offering ["Of # IN] n. something that is offered, especially to a church, to a charity, or as part of a religious ceremony. office ["Of Is] 1. n. a room—usually assigned to one person—where business is done. 2. n. the com- bined workplaces of a number of people. 3. n. a position of power and responsibility, especially in a government or an organization. → do a land-office business → home office → post office office hours ["Of Is aU #z] n. the times when an office is open. (Treated as singular or plural. Rarely singular.) officer ["O f@ s#] n. someone in a position of authority, especially in the military, the government, or some other organization. → police officer official [@ "fI S@l] 1. n. an officer; someone in a position of author- ity. 2. adj. of or about the power, authority, and responsibility of an office or an officer. (Adv: offi- cially.) offshore ["Of "Sor] adj. located or occurring in, on, or over the water away from the shore. offspring ["Of sprIN] n. [a person’s] child or children; [an animal’s] young. (No plural. Treated as sin- gular or plural.) offstage ["Of "stedZ] 1. adj. next to the visible part of the stage of a theater, but not visible to the audi- ence. 2. adv. at, to, or toward the area next to the visible part of the stage. often ["Of @n] adv. frequently; hap- pening many times. oh ["o] interj. a form expressing sur- prise or other feelings. oil ["oIl] 1. n. a slick, greasy liquid that does not dissolve in water. (Plural only for types and instances.) 2. tv. to put lubrication on something using Q; to make something slippery by putting Q on it; to put Q on something. → burn the midnight oil → pour oil on troubled water oilcan ["oIl kAn] n. a can that is used to apply oil as lubrication. oily ["oIl i] adj. made of oil; con- taining oil; soaked with oil. (Comp: oilier; sup: oiliest.) oink ["oINk] 1. n. the sound made by a pig. 2. iv. to make the sound of a pig. ointment ["oInt m@nt] n. a sub- stance that is put on the skin to heal it, soothe it, or soften it. → fly in the ointment okay and OK [o "ke] 1. adv. all right; adequately. 2. adv. to a degree of intensity below “very good” but above “poor.” 3. adj. just good, but not excellent. 4. interj. a word used to confirm that one understands something. 5. n. approval. 6. tv. to approve something. okay 395 06 7/23/03 8:49 AM Page 395 TLFeBOOK . position of power and responsibility, especially in a government or an organization. → do a land-office business → home office → post office office hours [" ;Of Is aU #z] n. the times when an office. officer; someone in a position of author- ity. 2. adj. of or about the power, authority, and responsibility of an office or an officer. (Adv: offi- cially.) offshore [" ;Of "Sor] adj. located. adv. a negative particle used with verbs, adverbs, partici- ples, prepositions, nominals, and adjectives. (Contracted to n’t.) 2. adv. a negative particle that stands for a part of a sentence that is