881
mica
met-ri-cize also -cise BrE /'metrɪsaɪz/ v [I;T] to change to
the metric system
,metric 'ton n a measure of weight → see TABLE 2
met-ro /'metrəʊ/ n pl. -ros [C usually sing.] (often cap.) an
underground railway system in cities in France and various
other countries: the Leningrad/Washington Metro | Can you
get there by metro? → compare SUBWAY, UNDERGROUND³
Met-ro-dome, the /'metrədəʊm/ the STADIUM in Minne-
apolis, Minnesota, where the Twins baseball team and
Vikings football team play. It has a DOME which is supported
by air that is blown into it.
Metro-Gold-wyn-May-er /ˌmetrəʊ ˌɡəʊldwɪn 'meɪə/ →
see MGM
met-ro-nome /'metrənəʊm/ n an instrument with an arm
that moves from side to side to give the speed at which a
piece of music should be played
me-trop-o-lis /mə'trɒpəlɪs||mɛ'trɑː-/ n 1 [(the)S] fml a chief
city or the capital city of a country 2 [C] an important
centre of a particular activity: a business metropolis
met-ro-pol-i-tan¹ /ˌmetrə'pɒlɪtən||-ˌpɑː-/ adj 1 of a
metropolis: London Transport serves the whole metropolitan
area. 2 [A] being the central country of a system: Canadian
French is different from the language of metropolitan France.
metropolitan² also ,metropolitan 'bishop n (often cap.)
the BISHOP (=chief priest of high rank) of an area, especially
in the Russian Orthodox Church
metro'politan ,county n in the UK, one of the six local
government areas created in 1972 by the Local Government
Act which have similar powers to counties (COUNTY)
,Metropolitan Mu'seum of 'Art, the also the Met infml
an art MUSEUM in the US, in New York City, that is consid-
ered to be one of the most important in the world
,Metropolitan 'Opera, the also the Met infml a US OPERA
company based at the Lincoln Center for the Performing
Arts in New York City
,Metropolitan Po'lice, the also the Met infml. the main
London police force. The City of London (=the central
business area) has its own separate police, but the Metropoli-
tan Police are responsible for all other areas of London. The
Metropolitan Police's DETECTIVE department is based in
SCOTLAND YARD.
met-tle /'metl/ n [U] 1 the will to continue bravely in spite
of difficulties: The runner fell and twisted his ankle badly, but
he showed his mettle by continuing in the race. 2 be on one's
mettle/put someone on their mettle rather old-fash to have to
make/force someone to make the best possible effort
met-tle-some /'metlsəm/ adj lit, usually apprec (especially of a
horse) high-spirited and active
mew /mju:/ v [I] to make the sound that a cat makes; MIAOW
—mew n
mews /mju:z/ n pl. mews BrE a back street or yard in a city,
where horses were once kept, now partly rebuilt so that
people can live there, cars can be stored there etc. Mews
houses are quite small but are considered desirable and can
be expensive to buy: They live at 6, Camden Mews. | a mews
cottage
Mex-i-can¹ /'meksɪkən/ adj from or connected with Mexico
Mexican² n [C] someone from Mexico
,Mexican 'War, the also the ,Mexican-A,merican
'War (1846-48) a war between the US and Mexico, which
began when Texas, which had recently become independent
from Mexico, became part of the US. Mexico and the US
disagreed over the Texas-Mexico border. The US also wanted
to buy California and New Mexico, but Mexico did not want
to sell them. Led by Zachary Taylor, the US won the war,
and bought a very large area of land, which included
California, Nevada, Utah, and parts of several other states.
,Mexican 'wave n [S] BrE the effect that is made when all the
people watching a game of football, BASEBALL etc stand up,
move their arms up and down, and sit down again one after
the other in a continuous movement
Mex-i-co /'meksɪkə/ a country to the south of the US and
to the north of Guatemala. Population: 104,907,991 (2003).
Capital: Mexico City. The official language is Spanish, and
most people belong to the Roman Catholic religion. It has
had a strong influence on US CULTURE, especially on its food
and language. Before the arrival of Europeans, there were
several important Native American CIVILIZATIONS in Mexico,
including the Aztecs and the Maya. The country was ruled by
Spain from the 16th century, and became independent in
1821.
mez-za-nine /'mezəni:n, 'metsə-||'mezə-/ n 1 a floor that
comes between two other floors of a building, especially
between the bottom floor and the next floor up, and usually
does not stretch all the way from one wall to the
other 2 AmE (the first few rows of seats in) the lowest
BALCONY in a theatre
mez-zo¹ /'metsəʊ/ adv tech (in music) not very; MODERATELY
(especially in the phrases mezzo forte and mezzo piano)
mezzo² also ,mezzo-so'prano n pl. mezzos or mezzo-
sopranos (a woman with) a voice that is not as high as a
SOPRANO's nor as low as an ALTO's
mez-zo-tint /'metsəʊˌtɪnt, 'medzəʊ-/ n a printed picture
from a metal plate that is polished in places to produce areas
of light and shade
MFA /ˌem ef 'eɪ/ n [C] AmE Master of Fine Arts; a university
degree in a subject such as painting or SCULPTURE
MFI /ˌem ef 'aɪ/ trademark a large British store known especially
for selling low-cost furniture which customers usually have
to put together at home.
mg written abbrev. for MILLIGRAM
MG /ˌem 'dʒi:/ trademark a type of British SPORTS CAR. MGs are
much less expensive than sports cars such as the FERRARI or
PORSCHE.
MGM /ˌem dʒi: 'em/ trademark abbrev. for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer;
a US film company based in Hollywood which has made
many famous films and CARTOONS
Mgr written abbrev. for 1 MANAGER 2 MONSIGNOR
,MG 'Rover trademark a British car company that makes the
MG SPORTS CAR and the Rover SALOON CAR
MHz written abbrev. for MEGAHERTZ
mi /mi:/ n [S;U] the third note in the (SOL-FA) musical SCALE
MI written abbrev. for MICHIGAN
MI5 /ˌem aɪ 'faɪv/ the section of the British SECRET SERVICE
which operates mainly in the UK. Its name comes from
'Military Intelligence, Section 5'. MI5's job is to catch
foreign spies (SPY) in the UK who want to steal secret
military and political information, and to prevent the activi-
ties of TERRORISTS. Since the end of the COLD WAR, many
people have begun to question the usefulness of MI5, and it
has been criticized for keeping secret records on politicians
and other people who are not enemies of the UK.
MI6 /ˌem a 'sɪks/ the section of the British SECRET SERVICE
which operates mainly abroad. Its name comes from 'Mili-
tary Intelligence, Section 6'. MI6's job is to send spies (SPY)
to foreign countries in order to collect secret military and
political information. Although everyone knows that MI6
has existed for many years, the government never officially
admitted this until 1992.
MIA /ˌem aɪ 'eɪ/ n abbrev. for missing in action; a soldier who
has disappeared in a battle and who may still be alive
Mi-a-mi /maɪ'æmi/ a city in the southeast of Florida, in the
US. It is known for having warm weather and pleasant
beaches, and is very popular with tourists. A lot of people in
Miami come from Hispanic (=Spanish-speaking) countries,
including many from Cuba, who came to Miami because
they disliked Castro's COMMUNIST government. Because of
its large Hispanic population and its nearness to Latin
America, many companies in Miami do a lot of business
with companies in Central and South America. During the
1980s, the city became known as a centre of the illegal drugs
trade, and in the past it had more murders than most other
US cities.
mi-aow, meow /mi'au/ also mew v [I] to make the crying
sound that a cat makes → compare PURR —miaow n
mi-as-ma /maɪ'æzmə, maɪ-/ n especially lit 1 a thick poisonous
mist 2 an evil and weakening influence: the miasma of
hopelessness —mal adj
mi-ca /'maɪkə/ n [U] a glasslike substance used in making
electrical instruments