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kidnap
al-Qaeda TERRORIST ORGANIZATION. In March 2003, he was ARRESTED IN Rawalpindi, Pakistan.
kha-lif /'keɪlɪf/ n a CALIPH
khali-fate /'keɪlɪfeɪt/ n a CALIPHATE
khan /kɑːn/ n (often cap.) (a title of) a ruler or official in Asia
Khan, Im-ran /'ɪmrɑːn/ (1952-) a Pakistani CRICKETER who played cricket in England for many years and was also CAPTAIN of Pakistan's national team from 1982 to 2002. After he finished playing cricket, he returned to live in Pakistan, and started his own political party.
Khar-toum /kɑː'tuːm||kɑːr-/ the capital city of Sudan, known to British people as the place where General GORDON was killed in 1885 in the Siege of Khartoum. President Clinton ordered the bombing of a factory in Khartoum after the bombings at the Kenyan and Tanzanian US embassies (EMBASSY) in 1998.
Khmer Re-pub-lic, the /k mə 'pʌblɪk, kə meə- ||kə meər-/ a former name of CAMBODIA, from 1975 to 1979
Khmer Rouge, the /k mə 'ruːʒ, kə meə- ||kə meər-/ an extreme LEFT-WING military organization which took control of the government of Cambodia in 1975, under its leader POL POT. Around 3 million Cambodians are believed to have been killed under Khmer Rogue rule, which continued until 1979. ➔ see also KILLING FIELDS, THE
Kho-mei-ni, Ayatollah /koʊ'meɪnɪ||koʊ-/ (1900-89) a religious and political leader in Iran, who was the head of its Islamic government from 1979 until his death. Khomeini demanded the exact following of Islamic laws.
Khrush-chev, Ni-ki-ta /'krʊtʃɒv||'krʊʃtʃef, -tʃɔf, nɪ'kiːtə/ (1894–1971) a Russian politician who was leader of the former Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964. He publicly criticized STALIN AND his policies after Stalin's death in 1953.
Khy-ber Pass, the /'kaɪbər 'pɑːs||-bər 'pæs/ a steep road that goes through mountains and joins Pakistan and Afghanistan. For centuries it was the main road to India from the West.
kHz written abbrev. for KILOHERTZ
kib-but-z /kɪ'buːts/ n pl -zim /sɪm/ or -zes a farm or settlement in Israel where many people live and work together. At one time, many young foreign people, especially students, worked on kibbutzim as volunteers for short periods.
ki-bosh /'kaɪbɒʃ||-bɑːʃ/ n BrE put the kibosh on old-fash slang to put an end to (especially a hope, plan etc); ruin
kick¹ /kɪk/ v 1 [T] to strike with the foot: The boy kicked the ball. | The horse kicked me. | (fig.) I could kick myself for making such a stupid mistake. | She kicked sand in my face. | She kicked a hole in the door. ➔ compare HIT¹ 2 [T] to SCORE by kicking: He kicked two penalty goals in the rugby match. 3 [T] to move the legs violently as if kicking something: Babies kick to exercise their legs. 4 [I] (of a gun) to move backwards violently when fired 5 [T] slang to stop or give up (a harmful activity): I'm trying to kick the habit. 6 kick against the pricks BrE lit or fml to complain uselessly about something that cannot be changed 7 kick ass AmE taboo slang to move very quickly: That new car he's got really kicks ass. 8 kick over the traces BrE to free oneself from control; unexpectedly start to act wildly 9 kick someone in the teeth infml to discourage or disappoint someone very much, especially when they need support or hope 10 kick someone upstairs infml to move someone to a job which appears more important than their present one, but which really has less power 11 kick the bucket humor slang to die ➔ see also kick one's heels (HEEL¹)
kick about/around phr v infml 1 [I;T(= kick about sth.)] to lie unnoticed or unused in (a place): That old typewriter has been kicking around the house for years. | 'Where's my cap?' 'Oh, it's kicking around somewhere.' 2 [T[kick sbdy/sthg. about/around]] infml to treat roughly or give unnecessary orders to: 'You won't have me to kick around any more.' (Richard Nixon) 3 [T[kick sthg. ⇔ about/around]] to talk about and compare informally: Let's kick around a few ideas and see if we can come up with a solution. 4 [T[kick about sth.] to travel in (a place) with no fixed plan: He's been kicking around for years.
kick against/at sthg. phr v [T] to be strongly unwilling to obey or act in accordance with: At school he always kicked against authority.
kick in phr v AmE 1 [I;T (kick in sthg.)] CONTRIBUTE: We're going to buy Bob a present – do you want to kick in (something)? 2 [!l] (to begin) to have an influence: I took a painkiller an hour ago, I wish it would kick in.
kick off phr v [I] to start a game of football: What time do we kick off? | (fig.) The lecturer kicked off (=began his talk) with a few jokes. ➔ see also KICKOFF
kick sbdy. out phr v [T] [off] infml to remove or dismiss, especially violently: He was kicked out of college for cheating.
kick up sthg. phr v [T] infml to cause or make (trouble): He kicked up a fuss/a row about the broken furniture. (=complained forcefully about it)
kick² n 1 [C] an act of kicking: Give the door a good kick to open it. | I knocked him down and gave him a smart kick in the ribs for good measure. 2 [C] slang a strong feeling of excitement, pleasure etc: He gets some kind of a kick out of making her suffer. | She drives fast (just) for kicks. 3 [S;U] infml strength, power to produce an effect: This home-made whisky has a real kick to it. 4 [C] an extremely strong new interest: She's on a health food kick at the moment.
kick-ass adj AmE slang strong, powerful and sometimes violent: a kick-ass attitude that will get him into trouble
kick-back /'kɪkbæk/ n [C;U] slang money paid, usually secretly or dishonestly, to someone in return for doing something: For arranging the contract he got a kickback of $20,000.
kick-ball /'kɪkbɔːl/ n [U] an American game with rules like BASEBALL except that the ball is kicked rather than hit, and it may be thrown at a player to get him out
kick-box-ing /'kɪkbɒksɪŋ||-bɑːk-/ n [U] an Oriental sport which allows punching (PUNCH), and kicking with bare feet
-kickboxer n
kick-er /'kɪkər/ n 1 [C] a player in a sports team who kicks the ball to score points 2 [S] AmE a surprising or unexpected end to an event: The kicker came when the reporter asked the 22-mile runner whether she was tired.
kick-off /'kɪk-ɒf||-ɔːf/ n the first kick of a game of football: The kickoff is at three o'clock today. ➔ see also KICK OFF
kick-stand /'kɪkstænd/ n a metal rod fixed to a bicycle or MOTORCYCLE that is folded down to make it stand by itself
kick-start also kick-starter n a LEVER which is kicked down to start the engine of a motorcycle –kick-start v [T]: (fig.) The scheme to encourage more women into the workforce was kick-started last autumn with the launch of Opportunity 2000.
kid¹ /kɪd/ n 1 [C] infml a child: I'm taking the kids (=children) to the zoo this afternoon. 2 [C] infml a young person: college kids | They're just kids; it's immoral to put them in uniform and send them out to be killed. ➔ see CHILD (USAGE) 3 [C;U] (leather made from the skin of) a young goat
kid² v -dd- infml 1 [I;T] to deceive (someone), especially playfully; joke: You're kidding! / You must be kidding (me)! (= I don't believe you!)! (humor) I kid you not. (=I'm telling you the truth) / Yes, it's true, no kidding! 2 [T] to make (oneself) believe something untrue or unlikely: [+obj+(that)] He's been trying to kid himself that he has a chance of winning. ➔-der n
kid³ adj [A] infml, especially AmE (of a brother or sister) younger: his kid sister
kid-die, -dy /'kɪdi/ n, adj infml (for) a small child: I carry my little boy in a kiddy seat on the back of my bike.
kid-do /'kɪdəʊ/ n [C usually singular] especially AmE spoken a way of addressing someone you know, usually a young person: Come on kiddo, let's go.
kid 'gloves n [P] gentle methods of dealing with people (as if with gloves made of very soft leather): He's pretty angry; you'll have to handle him with kid gloves.—'kid-glove adj [A] kid-glove treatment
Kidman, Ni-cole /'kɪdmən, nɪ'kəʊl/ (1967-) a US actress, born in Hawaii, who lived in Australia before going to Hollywood. Her films include To Die For (1995) and Cold Mountain (2003). She was married for many years to another famous actor, Tom Cruise, but they separated in 2001. She won an OSCAR for The Hours (2002).
kid-nap /'kɪdnæp/ v -pp- BrE || -p- -pp- AmE [T] to take