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Mitty, Walter
today they won't pay us; make no mistake about it. (=you
can be quite certain) → see ERROR (USAGE)
mis·tak·en /mɪ'steɪkən/ adj 1 [F(about)] (of a person) wrong;
having understood incorrectly: I think you must be mistaken
about seeing him at the theatre; I'm sure he's been abroad all
week. | Unless I'm (very much) mistaken that's my watch
you're wearing! 2 (of an action, idea etc) incorrect; not
properly formed or understood: I was under the mistaken
impression that they were French. | The police arrested her, but
it turned out to be a case of mistaken identity. (=they
thought she was someone else) —→ly adv
mis·ter /'mɪstər/ n 1 especially AmE infml (used for addressing a
man unknown to the speaker): 'What's the time, mister?'
asked the little boy. 2 (cap.) MR
mis·time /ˌmɪs'taɪm/ v [T] to do or say at a wrong time: With
the election only three days away, the government badly mis·
timed its announcement of tax increases.
mis·tle·toe /'mɪsəltoʊ/ n [U] a plant with small white
berries that grows and feeds on trees
CULTURAL NOTE Mistletoe is a traditional Christmas
decoration. People hang it in their homes, and there is a
custom which says that you can kiss anyone who is
standing under it. → see Feature on page A10
mis·took /mɪ'stʊk/ past tense of MISTAKE
mis·tral, the /mi'strɑːl/ n a strong cold dry wind that
blows from the north into southern France
mis·treat /ˌmɪs'triːt/ v [T] to treat a person or animal badly,
especially in a cruel way: Security forces are accused of
mistreating prisoners. → compare ILL-TREAT, MALTREAT
—mistreatment n [U]
mis·tress /'mɪstrəs/ n 1 a woman who is in control: She felt
she was no longer mistress in her own house when her hus·
band's mother came to stay. | The dog ran alongside his
mistress. 2 often derog a woman with whom a man has a
sexual relationship, usually not a socially acceptable one:
His wife left him when she discovered he had a mistress. 3 poet
a woman loved by a man: He addressed many poems to his
mistress, praising her beauty. 4 especially BrE a female teacher:
the new English mistress → compare MASTER¹
Mistress n a title that was formerly used with a woman's
family name as a polite way of speaking to her or about her:
Mistress Quickly, the well-known Shakespearean character
mis·tri·al /ˌmɪs'traɪəl/ n law a trial during which some
mistake in law is made, so that judgments made in it have
no legal effect and a new trial has to be held: The High Court
declared it a mistrial.
mis·trust /ˌmɪs'trʌst/ v [T] not to trust: Why do you mistrust
him so much? He seems honest enough to me. —mistrust n
[S,U(of)] He keeps his money at home because he has a great
mistrust of banks. —·ful adj [(of)] —·fully adv —·fulness n [U]
mist·y /'mɪsti/ adj full of, covered with, or hidden by MIST: a
misty morning | (fig.) misty memories of her childhood —·ily
adv —·iness n [U]
mis·un·der·stand /ˌmɪsʌndə'stænd||-ər-/ v -stood /'stʊd/
[I;T] to understand wrongly; put a wrong meaning on: He
misunderstood what I said. | They pretended to misunderstand
me/my complaint.
mis·un·der·stand·ing /ˌmɪsʌndə'stændɪŋ||-ər-/ n
1 [C;U(of)] (an example of) the act of putting a wrong
meaning (on something): I think there's been some misunder·
standing: I meant nine in the morning, not nine at
night. 2 [C(with)] often euph a disagreement less serious than a
quarrel: a little misunderstanding with our neighbours
mis·use¹ /ˌmɪs'juːz/ v [T] 1 to use (something) in a wrong
way or for a wrong purpose: I hate to see him misusing his
time like that. 2 fml to treat (something or someone) badly
Compare abuse and misuse. Misuse is often used
about objects: to misuse a tool. Abuse is rarely used
about objects, but when it is used in this way it is stronger
than misuse and suggests that there is damage: You
must have been abusing the knife I lent you - the blade
is completely ruined.
mis·use² /ˌmɪs'juːs/ n [C,U (of)] (an example of) bad, wrong,
or unsuitable use: (an) unforgivable misuse of power
MIT /ˌem aɪ 'ti/ abbrev. for Massachusetts Institute of Tech·
nology; an important and respected US university in Cam·
bridge, Massachusetts, especially known for its RESEARCH
work in scientific subjects such as mathematics and compu·
ter science
Mitch·ell, George /'mɪtʃəl/ (1933-) a US politician who was
CHAIRMAN of the Northern Ireland peace talks which
resulted in the Good Friday Agreement of 1998
Mitchell, Jo·ni /'dʒɒni/ (1943-) a Canadian singer and
songwriter, popular especially in the 1960s and 1970s. She is
known for being able to sing very high and very low notes,
and her records include Blue, Court and Spark, and Mingus.
Mitchell, Margaret (1900-49) a US writer best known for
her novel GONE WITH THE WIND, which was made into a
famous and successful film
Mitchell, Warren (1926-) a British actor, known especially
for playing the part of Alf Garnett in the television pro·
gramme Till Death Us Do Part from 1965 to 1975
Mitch·um, Rob·ert /'mɪtʃəm, 'rɒbərt||'rɒbərt/ (1917-97) a
US film actor, who played leading parts in many films,
especially WESTERNS and films about criminals, from the
1940s onwards. Among his best-known films are The Sun·
downers, Ryan's Daughter, and The Big Sleep.
mite /maɪt/ n 1 [C] a very small insect-like creature 2 [C] BrE
a small child, especially one for whom one feels sorry: The
poor little mite! 3 [S] infml a very small amount: I couldn't eat
a mite more. 4 a mite infml often humor slightly: I think he was a
mite annoyed.
Mit·ford, Nan·cy /'mɪtfəd || -fərd, 'nænsi/ (1904-73) a
British writer who wrote novels and other books about the
British ARISTOCRACY. Her best-known novels are The Pursuit
of Love and Love in a Cold Climate. She and her sisters were
known as the Mitford girls, and they belonged to a well·
known English UPPER-CLASS family. Two of the sisters, Diana
and Unity, became involved in RIGHT-WING politics. They
greatly admired Adolf Hitler, and Diana married the British
FASCIST leader Oswald MOSLEY.
Mith·ras /'mɪθræs/ the god of light or the sun in an ancient
Persian religion known as Mithraism, which spread through
the ROMAN EMPIRE in the first and second centuries AD, and
was an important religion especially among Roman soldiers
mit·i·gate /'mɪtɪɡet/ v [T] fml to lessen the seriousness of
(evil, harm, pain etc): The judge said that nothing could
mitigate the cruelty with which the mother had treated her
child. | new economic measures to help mitigate the effects of
the recession | Are there any mitigating circumstances in
this case? (=facts that make a crime less serious) → see also
UNMITIGATED —gation /ˌmɪtɪ'ɡeɪʃən/ n [(in)U(of)]
mi·to·sis /maɪ'təʊsɪs/ n [U] tech cell division in which one
cell produces two that are exactly the same → compare
MEIOSIS
mi·tre BrE || miter AmE /'maɪtər/ n 1 a tall pointed hat worn
by BISHOPS and ARCHBISHOPS (=priests of high rank) 2 also
'mitre joint a joint between two pieces of wood, in which
each piece is cut at an angle, as in the corners of a picture
frame
Mit·su·bish·i /ˌmɪtsuː'biːʃi/ trademark a MAKE (=type) of car or
other vehicle made by the Japanese company Mitsubishi
mitt /mɪt/ n 1 (usually in comb.) a special type of mitten for
protecting the hands: an oven mitt | a catcher's mitt (=used in
BASEBALL) → see picture at GLOVE 2 slang, often humor a hand:
Those are my cigarettes; get your mitts off them! (=don't take
them)
mit·ten /'mɪtn/ n 1 a GLOVE with two parts, one for the
thumb and the other for the fingers → see picture at
GLOVE 2 a covering for the wrist and hand with holes for
the fingers → see PAIR (USAGE)
Mit·ter·rand, Fran·çois /'mɪtərɒ̃||ˌmɪtə'rɑːn,
'frɒnswa:||frɑːn'swɑː/ (1916-96) a French SOCIALIST politi·
cian who was active in French politics for 50 years and was
President of France from 1981 to 1995. He was also known
for having fought in the French RESISTANCE during World
War II.
Mit·ty, Wal·ter /'mɪti, 'wɒltər/ the main character in a
story by James THURBER called The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
(1932). He has a very ordinary life, but spends a lot of time