orthodontics
988
government, which supported his RIGHT WING Nicaraguan
opponents, the Contras, in their attempts to remove his
government from power.
or·tho·don·tics /ˌɔːθəˈdɒntɪks||ɔːrθəˈdɑːn-/ n [U] tech the
skill or process of causing teeth that are not growing
correctly to grow straight —orthodontist n: My orthodontist
has made my teeth much straighter. —orthodontic adj
or·tho·dox /ˈɔθədɒks||ˈɔːrθədɑːks/ adj 1 generally or offi-
cially accepted: orthodox ideas 2 holding accepted (espe-
cially religious) opinions: an orthodox Muslim → see also
UNORTHODOX —~doxy n [U] I would question the orthodoxy
of his research methods.
Orthodox 'Church, the the GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH or
the RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH
Orthodox 'Jew n a believer in the religion known as
Orthodox Judaism, a form of the Jewish religion that strictly
follows the laws given in the holy books called the TORAH,
including rules about food and clothes. Men who are Ortho-
dox Jews wear black clothes and large black hats and usually
have long beards.
or·thog·ra·phy /ɔːˈθɒɡrəfi||ɔːrˈθɑː-/ n [U] 1 spelling in
general 2 correct spelling —phic(al)
/ˌɔːθəˈɡræfɪk(əl)||ˌɔːr-/ adj —phically /kli/ adv
or·tho·pae·dic, -pedic /ˌɔːθəˈpiːdɪk||ˌɔːr-/ adj of the
branch of medicine (orthopaedics) that deals with making
bones grow straight: an orthopaedic hospital/specialist
Or·well, George /ˈɔːrwel||ˈɔːr-/ (1903-50) the PEN NAME
(=name used by a writer instead of his/her real name) of Eric
Blair, a British writer best known for his novels ANIMAL FARM
and NINETEEN EIGHTY-FOUR, which are both about political
systems in which ordinary people have no power, and are
completely controlled by the government. Both novels have
had a great influence on the way people think about and write
about politics, and political systems like those described in the
books are sometimes called Orwellian. Orwell also fought on
the Republican (LEFT-WING) side in the Spanish Civil War.
OS /ˌəʊ ˈes/ abbrev. for 1 ORDNANCE SURVEY 2 OUTSIZE
O·sa·ka /əʊˈsɑkə/ a large city in Japan, on the island of
Honshu. Osaka is an important port and industrial centre.
Os·borne, John /ˈɒzbɔːn||ˈɑːzbɔːrn/ (1929-94) a British
writer of plays who became known as an ANGRY YOUNG MAN
when he criticized British society in the 1950s. His most
famous work is LOOK BACK IN ANGER.
Os·bourne, Oz·zy /ˈɒzbɔːn||ˈɑːzbɔːrn, ˈɒzi||ˈɑː-/ (1948-) a
British HEAVY METAL singer from Birmingham who used to
be in the group Black Sabbath. He has appeared in a REALITY
TV show about the life of himself and his family at their
home in Beverly Hills. He is known for swearing a lot and
for having taken a lot of drugs in the past. He is also famous
for having bitten the head off a BAT (=small animal like a
mouse with wings that flies around at night) which some-
one had thrown onto the stage during one of his concerts.
Os·bournes, The /ˈɒzbɔːnz||ˈɑːzbɔːrnz/ a series of REALITY
TV programmes about the life of the HEAVY METAL singer
Ozzy Osbourne and his family at their home in Beverly
Hills. Apart from Ozzy, the members of the Osbourne family
who appear on the show are his wife Sharon, his daughter
Kelly, and his son Jack. Ozzy is shown swearing a lot and the
house is often in a state of CHAOS (=disorder and confusion).
Os·car /ˈɒskə||ˈɑːs-/ n the usual name for an Academy
Award, a small gold STATUE given as a prize each year in
Hollywood for the best film, actor, director etc that year.
They are the most important prizes in the film industry: the
Oscar for best actress | The movie has been nominated for six
Oscars. | Did you watch the Oscars? (=watch the prize-giving
ceremony on television)
Oscar May·er /ˌɒskə ˈmeɪə||ˌɑːskər-/ trademark a BRAND
(=type) of HOT DOG made by the US company Oscar Mayer
os·cil·late /ˈɒsɪleɪt||ˈɑː-/ v [I] 1 tech to keep moving regu-
larly from side to side, between two limits: an oscillating
pendulum 2 [(between)] to vary between opposing choices;
VACILLATE
os·cil·la·tion /ˌɒsɪˈleɪʃn||ˌɑː-/ n 1 [U] the action of oscil-
lating 2 [C] a single movement of something that is oscil-
lating
os·cil·la·tor /ˈɒsɪleɪtə||ˈɑː-/ n 1 a person or thing that
oscillates 2 tech a machine that produces electrical oscilla-
tions
OSF /ˌəʊ es ef/ abbrev. for OPEN SOFTWARE FOUNDATION
OSHA /ˈəʊʃə/ abbrev. for the Occupational Safety and Health
Administration; a US government organization that looks
after the safety and health of people at work → compare
HEALTH AND SAFETY EXECUTIVE, THE
OSI /ˌəʊ es ˈaɪ/ abbrev. for Open Systems Interconnection; a set
of international standards that have been developed in
order to make it possible for different types of computers to
exchange information over wires or telephone lines
o·si·er /ˈəʊziə||ˈoʊʒər/ n a tree (a type of WILLOW) whose
branches are used for making baskets
O·si·ris /əʊˈsaɪərɪs/ in ancient Egyptian MYTHOLOGY, the god
of the dead, who was the husband and brother of ISIS
Os·lo /ˈɒzləʊ||ˈɑːz-/ a city in southeast Norway, the country's
capital and main port
'Oslo Agreement, the an official agreement made
between Israel and the PLO (=Palestine Liberation Organiza-
tion) in Oslo in 1993, by which Israel agreed to remove its
military forces from the GAZA STRIP and JERICHO
Os·monds, the /ˈzməndz||ˈɑːz-/ a family of US popular
singers, who were successful in the 1970s, and were known
for being morally good and neatly dressed, and for following
the MORMON religion. The most famous members of the
family are Donny Osmond (1957-) and his sister Marie
Osmond (1959-).
os·mo·sis /ɒzˈməʊsɪs||ɑːz-/ n [U] tech the gradual passing of
liquid through a MEMBRANE (=a skinlike wall): (fig.) If you
don't tell me, how am I supposed to know – by osmosis? (=
TELEPATHY) —tic /ɒzˈmɒtɪk||ɑːzˈmɑ-/ adj —tically /kli/
adv
os·prey /ˈɒspriː, -preɪ||ˈɑː-/ n a type of large fish-eating bird
OSS, the /ˌəʊ es es/ abbrev. for the Office of Strategic Services;
a former US government department established in 1942 to
collect information about other countries, especially secretly.
It was replaced by the CIA in 1947.
os·si·fy /ˈɒsɪfaɪ||ˈɑː-/ v [I;T] 1 tech to (cause to) change into
bone 2 to (cause to) become hard and unchanging in one's
ideas —fication /ˌɒsɪfɪˈkeɪʃn||ˌɑː-/ n [U]
Os·tend /ɒstˈend||ɑːst-/ a town and port in northwest Bel-
gium, which is on the North Sea coast and is a popular place
for tourists. It used to be well known in the UK because of the
many ferries (FERRY) that went there from the south of
England, but fewer ferries now make this journey.
os·ten·si·ble /ɒˈstensəbl||ɑː-/ adj [A] (especially of reasons)
seeming or pretended, but perhaps not really true: Her
ostensible reason for failing the exam was illness. —bly adv:
ostensibly for love, but really for money
os·ten·ta·tion /ˌstenˈteɪn, -ten-||ˌɑː-/ n [U] derog unnec-
essary show of wealth, knowledge etc —tious adj: an
ostentatious lifestyle —tiously adv
os·te·o·path /ˈɒstiəpæθ||ˈɑː-/ n a person who treats illness
and physical problems by the system (osteopathy
/ˌɒstiˈɒpəθi||ˌɑːstiˈɑː-/) of moving and pressing muscles and
bones
os·tler /ˈɒslə||ˈɑː-/ also hostler especially AmE — n (in former
times) a man who took care of guests' horses at a small hotel
os·tra·cize also -cise BrE /ˈɒstrəsaɪz||ˈɑː-/ v [T] (of a group
of people) to stop accepting (someone) as a member of the
group: The people who refused to join the strike have been
ostracized by their workmates. —cism /sɪzəm/ n [U]
os·trich /ˈɒstrɪtʃ||ˈɔː-, ˈɑː-/
n 1 a very large African bird
with beautiful feathers,
which runs very quickly but
cannot fly 2 infml a person
who hides away from
unpleasant reality (from the
belief that the ostrich puts
its head in the sand and
then thinks that all of its
body is hidden): It's no good
playing ostrich. You have to
face up to things.
ostrich