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alms-house
,all 'round adv infml in regard to everything; in every way:
Taken all round (=when everything is considered) it's not a
bad car.
'all-round also all-around AmE — adj [A] having ability in
many things, especially in various sports: an all-round ath-
lete
,all-'rounder n 1 a person who has ability in many things:
He's a good all-rounder who likes sports, books, and
music. 2 (in cricket) a player who can both BAT and BOWL to
a relatively high standard
,All 'Saints' ,Day n [S] 1 November, when Christian
churches remember all the SAINTS
'all-seater adj [A] BrE (of a place where sports are played)
having only seats and no places where people are allowed to
stand, considered to be safer than places where people are
allowed to stand: an all-seater football stadium
,all-'singing ,all-'dancing adj [A] infml, BrE humor (of a piece
of equipment) having all the latest and most advanced parts
or features
all-sorts /'ɔ:lɔ:sɔ:tl-ɔ:sɔ:rts/ n [P] sweets made from LIQUORICE
in several different shapes: liquorice allsorts
,All 'Souls' ,Day n [S] 2 November, when people in
Christian churches pray for the souls of those who have
died
all-spice /'ɔ:lspais/ n [U] a powder made from the berries of
a tropical American tree, used for giving a special taste to
food
'all-star adj [A] including many famous actors: a film with an
all-star cast
All-Star n a professional US sports player who is one of the
best and most popular, and who has been chosen to play in
an All-Star team (=a team made up of the best players)
,All-Star 'break n in BASEBALL, a period in the middle of the
SEASON (=the period in the year when baseball is played)
when All-Star games are played
,All-Star 'game n a game played between teams that are
made up of the best and most popular US professional players
in particular sports such as BASEBALL or BASKETBALL: He was
chosen for eight major-league All-Star teams during his play-
ing career.
,All's ,Well that 'Ends ,Well a humorous play by William
SHAKESPEARE about the relationship between the two main
characters, Helena and Bertram. People sometimes use the
expression 'All's Well that Ends Well' to say that a difficult
situation has ended with a good result.
,all-terrain 'bicycle n a MOUNTAIN BIKE
,all-terrain 'vehicle n especially AmE a motor vehicle with
three or four wheels for use on rough ground, popular with
young people → see OFF-ROAD VEHICLE
,All Things ,Bright and 'Beautiful a HYMN (=a song of
praise to God) that used to be taught to children in the UK,
but is less common now:
All things bright and beautiful,
All creatures great and small.
All things wise and wonderful,
The Lord God made them all.
'all-time adj [A] being the greatest, biggest, most etc ever
known: an all-time record | The shop's sales have reached an
all-time high this year.
al-lude /ə'lu:d/ v
allude to sbdy./sthg. phr v [T] fml to speak about (someone
or something), but in an indirect way: She didn't mention Mr
Smith by name, but it was clear she was alluding to him.
al-lure¹ /ə'ljuər ||ə'luər/ v [T] to attract or charm by the offer
of something pleasant; TEMPT: The job offers alluring oppor-
tunities.
allure² n [S;U] (an) attraction; charm: the allure of fame/
foreign travel
al-lure-ment /ə'ljuəmənt||ə'luər-/ n something that attracts,
charms, or TEMPTS
al-lu-sion /ə'lu:ʒən/ n [C;U(to)] fml (an example of) the act of
alluding or speaking about something indirectly, especially
while speaking about something else: She made several
allusions to the previous government's failures. —sive
/ə'lu:siv/ adj: an allusive style of poetry which is hard to
understand —sively adv
al-lu-vi-al /ə'lu:viəl/ adj being, concerning, or made of soil
put down by rivers, lakes, floods etc: an alluvial plain
al-lu-vi-um /ə'lu:viəm/ n pl. -vi-ums or -via /'viə/ [C;U] tech soil
put down by rivers, lakes, floods etc
al-ly¹ /'ælaɪ ||'ælaɪ, ə'laɪ/ n 1 a country that is joined to
another by political agreement, especially one that will pro-
vide support in war; member of an ALLIANCE: a meeting of the
European allies → see also ALLIES 2 a person who regularly
provides help or support; ASSOCIATE: one of the Prime Minis-
ter's closest allies
al-ly² /ə'laɪ ||'ælaɪ, 'ælai/ v [I;T(with, to)] to join or unite, for
example by political agreement or marriage: The small
country allied itself with/to the stronger power. → see also
ALLIED
Al-ly Mc-Beal /,æli mæk'bi:l/ a popular US television SITCOM
about a young woman named Ally McBeal, who is a lawyer.
She is attractive and successful in her job, but she worries a
lot about her relationships with men and with the other
people she works with. The show includes dreamlike scenes,
in which events that Ally McBeal imagines in her mind
seem to be really happening.
Al-ly Pal-ly /,æli 'pæli/ an informal name for ALEXANDRA
PALACE
al-Ma-jid, A-li Has-san /æl mɑ'dʒɪd, 'ɑ:li hə'sɑ:n || ɑ:'li:/
→ see CHEMICAL ALI
al-ma ma-ter /,ælmə 'meɪtər, -'mɑ:- || -'mɑ:-/ n [C usually
sing.] fml 1 the school, college, or university which one
attended 2 AmE the song of a school, college, or university
al-ma-nac /'ɔ:lmənæk ||'o:l-, 'æl-/ n a book giving a list of
the days of a year, together with information, often in the
form of tables, about the times of sunrise and sunset,
changes in the Moon, rise and fall of the sea etc
al-might-y /ɔ:'lmaɪti/ adj. 1 (often cap.) able to do everything;
OMNIPOTENT: Almighty God | God Almighty 2 [A] infml very
big, strong, great etc: I heard an almighty crash.
Al-mo-do-var, Pe-dro /,ælməʊ'dɔ:vɑ:r, 'pedrəʊ/ (1951–) a
Spanish film director who is known for his amusing films
about Spanish society. His films are often about people with
unusual sexual DESIRES and women with serious emotional
problems, and include Women on the Verge of a Nervous
Breakdown (1988), All About My Mother (1999), and Talk to
Her (2002).
al-mond /'ɑ:mənd ||'ɑ:-, -'æ-, 'æl-/ n 1 a fruit tree whose seeds
are eaten as nuts 2 the nut of this tree → see picture at
NUTS
,Almond 'Joy trademark a type of chocolate bar in the US
which is made from COCONUT and ALMONDS
al-most /'ɔ:lməʊst ||'o:lməʊst, ɔ:l'məʊst/ adv very nearly
but not quite: I almost dropped the plate. | She said almost
nothing. | It's almost certain to succeed./It will almost cer-
tainly succeed. | almost everyone | an almost perfect
performance | 'Have you finished?' 'Almost.'
Compare almost and nearly 1 You can use either
almost or nearly before all, every, and always and before
negative verbs: They almost/nearly always have coffee
for breakfast. | Almost/nearly all the guests are here. | I
almost/nearly didn't wake up on time. Almost is used
more often in American English, and nearly is used more
often in British English. 2 You can say very/pretty/not
before nearly: We very nearly missed the train. | I've not
nearly finished. You cannot use these words before
almost. 3 You can use almost before any and before
negative words such as no, none, never, nobody, or
nothing: Almost any bus will do. | I almost never see her.
You cannot use nearly in this way. → see also
PRACTICALLY (USAGE)
alms /ɑ:mz ||ɑ:mz, ælmz/ n [P] old use money, food, clothes
etc given to poor people
'alms-house n a house, usually one of a group, provided in
former times by a rich person, in which old or poor people
could live without paying rent