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aquatint
ap·pro·pri·ate¹ /ə'prəʊpri-ət/ adj [(for, to)] correct or suitable
for a particular situation or occasion: His bright clothes were
hardly appropriate for such a solemn occasion. | I think this is
an appropriate moment to raise the question of my promotion. |
Complaints must be addressed to the appropriate authority. →
opposite INAPPROPRIATE —~ly adv —~ness n [U]
ap·pro·pri·ate² /ə'prəʊpri:eɪt/ v [T] 1 [(for)] to set aside for a
particular purpose; ALLOCATE: The government has appropri-
ated a large sum of money for building hospitals. 2 [ml] to take
for oneself or for one's own use, especially without permis-
sion: The minister was found to have appropriated govern-
ment money. → see also MISAPPROPRIATE —~ation
/əˌprəpriˈeɪən/ n [C;U(of)] appropriation of public money for
a new hospital | an appropriation of £5,000,000 for a new
hospital
ap·prov·al /ə'pru:vəl/ n [U] 1 favourable opinion or judg-
ment: The audience showed its approval by cheering loudly. |
(fml) I hope that the arrangements meet with your
approval. | The new proposals have won the approval of the
board. | By inviting her to the palace, the Queen has given her
the royal seal of approval. → opposite DISAPPROVAL 2 offi-
cial permission: We can't start building without the council's
approval. 3 on approval (of goods from a shop) to be
returned without payment if the customer is not satisfied
ap·prove /ə'pru:v/ v 1 [(of) not in progressive forms] to have a
favourable opinion, especially of a course of action or type
of behaviour; regard as good, right, sensible etc: I don't
approve of smoking in bed/ of people who smoke in bed. | You
made a good decision, and I thoroughly/heartily approve of
it. | You can join the class if your mother approves. 2 [T] to
agree officially to; RATIFY: The city council approved the build-
ing plans. | The equipment must be bought from a supplier
approved by the company. | an approved course in computer
programming —~provingly adv
ap·proved school n [C,U] a special school where children in
Britain who have broken the law are sent if they are under 18
years old and so cannot be sent to prison. These schools are
now officially called COMMUNITY HOMES.
approx. written abbrev. for approximately
ap·prox·i·mate¹ /ə'prɒksɪmət || ə'prɑ:k-/ adj nearly correct
but not exact: The approximate number of children in the
school is 300. | This is just an approximate figure. —~ly adv:
The plane will be landing in approximately 15 minutes.
ap·prox·i·mate² /ə'prɒksɪmeɪt || ə'prɑ:k-/ v [I+to;L] fml to
come near (to) in amount, nature etc: Your story only
approximates to the real facts. | The cost will approximate
£5,000,000.
ap·prox·i·ma·tion /əˌprɒksɪ'meʃən || əˌprɑ:k-/ n [C;U(to, of)]
a result, calculation etc that is not exact but is good enough:
Could you give us a rough approximation of the likely cost?
ap·pur·te·nance /ə'pɜ:tɪnəns, -tən-||ə'pɜ:rtənəns/ n [usu-
ally pl.] law something connected with something else, espe-
cially the rights or responsibilities that go with owning
property
Apr. written abbrev. for APRIL
APR /ˌeɪ pi: 'ɑ:r/ n abbrev. for Annual Percentage Rate; a figure
that shows the amount of INTEREST that you must pay when
you borrow money: The bank has an attractive new car loan
with an APR of only 9.8%.
ap·rès-ski /ˌæpreɪ 'ski: || ˌɑ:-/ n, adj (of or suitable for)
activities taken part in after skiing (SKI), especially eating,
drinking etc
a·pri·cot /'eɪprɪkɒt || 'æprɪˌkɑ:t/ n 1 [C] a round soft orange
or yellow fruit with a furry outside like a PEACH but smaller
and with a single large stone 2 [U] the colour of this fruit
A·pril /'eɪprəl/ written abbrev. Apr. n [C, U] the fourth month of
the year, between March and May: in April This office opened
in April 1994. | this/last/next April I'm going to Africa next
April. | on April 6th etc The meeting is on April 6th. | on
(the) 6th April BrE We arrived on 6th April. | April 6 AmE Jim's
birthday is April 6.
CULTURAL NOTE In the UK and northern US, when people
think of April, they think of EASTER, spring flowers, LAMBS,
and April SHOWERS (=short periods of rain that often
happen in April). They also think of April Fools' Day, which
is on April 1st.
April 'Fool n someone who has been tricked on April Fools'
Day, or the trick that has been played on them
April 'Fools' Day also All Fools' Day old-fash n [sing.] April
1st, a day when people play tricks each other → see Feature
on page A18
a pri·o·ri /ˌaɪ praɪ'ɔ:raɪ, ˌɑ: pri'ɔ:ri:/ adj, adv Lat (of an
argument) using a cause to form a judgment about probable
results (as in the statement It is raining so the streets must be
wet) → compare A POSTERIORI
a·pron /'eɪprən/ n 1 a simple piece of clothing worn over the
front part of one's clothes to keep them clean while one is
cooking, doing something dirty etc. Aprons are usually worn
by women in the home, and by people such as CHEFS at
work. 2 also apron stage /ˌ·-' |/ that part of a stage in a
theatre that comes forward towards where the public
sit 3 (in an airport) the hard surface on which planes are
turned round, loaded, unloaded etc
'apron strings n [P] infml the strings of an apron regarded as
a sign of the control of a boy or man by his mother or wife:
Though he's nearly 40, he's still tied to his mother's apron
strings and has never married.
ap·ro·pos¹ /ˌæprə'pəʊ, 'æprəpəʊ/ adv, prep [(of)] (used to
introduce a new subject connected with what has just
mentioned): John was here yesterday; apropos (=it's suitable
to say this now) he's got a new job. | Apropos (of) John's new
job (=while we're talking about it), what's he earning?
apropos² adj [F] very suitable for the time or situation;
PERTINENT: I thought her remarks were very apropos.
apse /æps/ n the curved or many-sided end of a building,
especially the east end of a church
apt /æpt/ adj 1 [F+to-v] having a natural or habitual tendency
to do something; likely: This kind of shoe is apt to slip on wet
ground. 2 exactly suitable; PERTINENT: an apt remark 3 [[at]]
fml quick to learn and understand: an apt student —~ly adv
—~ness n [U]
If you say 'He is apt to/is inclined to/tends to
lose his temper in difficult situations', you mean that losing
his temper is one of his general characteristics. If you say
'When he finds out what you said, he is likely to lose his
temper', you mean that he will probably lose his temper in
this particular situation.
ap·ti·tude /'æptɪtju:d||-tu:d/ n [C;U(for)] natural ability or
skill, especially in learning: She showed great aptitude/an
aptitude for learning languages. | an aptitude test
aq·ua·lung /'ækwəlʌŋ/ n an apparatus that provides air for a
swimmer under water, especially a container of special air
that is carried on the back and has a tube that takes the air
to the mouth or nose
aq·ua·ma·rine /ˌækwəmə'ri:n / n 1 [C] a glass-like blue-
green stone used for jewellery 2 [U] the colour of this stone
—aquamarine adj
aq·ua·plane¹ /'ækwəpleɪn/ n a thin board, used in a sport-
ing activity, on which a person stands to be pulled quickly
along the surface of the sea, a lake etc, by a rope from a fast
motorboat
aquaplane² v [I] 1 to ride on an aquaplane 2 BrE || hydro-
plane AmE — (of a car) to slide forwards without control on a
wet road, not touching the actual road surface at all
a·quar·i·um /ə'kweəriəm/ n pl. -iums or -ia /-ia/ 1 a trans-
parent container for fish and other water animals 2 a
building (especially in a ZOO) containing many of these
A·quar·i·us /ə'kweəriəs/ n 1 [U] the 11th sign of the
ZODIAC, represented by a person pouring water, which some
people believe affects the character and life of people born
between January 21 and February 19 2 also Aquarian [C]
someone who was born between January 21 and February
19 —Aquarian adj
a·quat·ic /ə'kwætɪk, ə'kwɒ-||ə'kwæ-, ə'kwɑ:-/ adj living or
happening in or on water: aquatic plants/animals | Aquatic
sports include swimming and rowing. —~ally /kli/ adv
aq·ua·tint /'ækwətɪnt/ n 1 [U] the method of producing a
picture on a flat piece of copper by letting a strong acid eat
away the parts that have not been protected by WAX or some
other material 2 [C] a picture printed from such a piece of
copper