Olives, the Mount of
976
Olives, the Mount of → see MOUNT OF OLIVES
O·liv·i·er, Laur·ence /ə'livieɪ, 'lɒrəns||'lɔː-, 'lɑː-/ (1907-89)
a British actor officially called Lord Olivier, who worked in
the theatre and cinema for over 50 years and is regarded as
one of the greatest actors of the 20th century. He is famous
for directing and acting in three films of plays by Shake-
speare, HENRY V (1944), HAMLET (1948), and RICHARD III
(1956). Other films include WUTHERING HEIGHTS (1939),
Rebecca (1940), and Marathon Man (1976). He was also the
first director of the NATIONAL THEATRE in London.
Ol·sen twins, the /'əʊlsən twɪnz/ (1986-) two US TWINS,
Mary-Kate Olsen and Ashley Olsen, who have appeared on
television and in films since they were babies. Companies use
their pictures to help sell games, dolls, clothes etc.
O·lym·pi·a /ə'lɪmpiə/ 1 an area of flat land and an ancient
religious centre in the west of the PELOPONNESE in Greece,
where the OLYMPIC GAMES were held in ancient times 2 a
set of large buildings in West London, used for EXHIBITIONS
O·lym·pi·ad /ə'lɪmpiæd/ n formal a particular occasion of the
modern Olympic Games: Welcome to the games of the 23rd
Olympiad.
O·lym·pi·an¹ /ə'lɪmpiən/ n in Greek MYTHOLOGY, any of the
gods that lived on Mount OLYMPUS
Olympian² adj 1 connected with the ancient Greek gods,
who were believed to live on Mount OLYMPUS 2 someone
who is Olympian seems almost like a god, especially in
being calm and not involved in or concerned about ordi-
nary people's activities: The head teacher, Dr Arlington, was a
tall, Olympian figure in an academic gown.
O·lym·pic /ə'lɪmpɪk/ adj [A] connected with the Olympic
Games: She holds the Olympic record for the 100 metres
sprint. | the Olympic village (=the place where the teams of
competitors live during the Games)
Olympic 'Airways a Greek AIRLINE
Olympic 'Games also the Olympics n 1 an inter-
national sports event held every four years, in which people
from almost every country in the world compete against each
other in various sports. The winner of each separate sports
event wins a gold MEDAL (=a round, flat piece of gold), and
the second and third prizes are a silver medal and a BRONZE
medal. There is a separate event called the Winter Olympics,
for WINTER SPORTS (=sports played on snow and ice), which
is also held every four years. The modern Olympic Games
were started in 1896, when they were held in Athens in
Greece, and they are always held in a different place. The
Games begin when the 'Olympic flame' is lit with a TORCH
that has been carried by runners from Olympia in Greece.
The event is seen as a time when people from all over the
world come together to compete in a friendly way. 2 a
sports event held every four years in Greece in ancient times
O·lym·pus¹ /ə'lɪmpəs/ also Mount Olympus a mountain
in northern Greece, the highest mountain in Greece. In Greek
MYTHOLOGY, it was the place where the gods lived.
Olympus² trademark a type of camera made by the Japanese
company Olympus
om /əʊm/ a MANTRA (=religious word that is repeated as a
prayer) used in MEDITATION (=the act of thinking deeply and
calmly for religious reasons), especially in the Hindu religion
OM /ˌəʊ 'em/ written abbrev. for ORDER OF MERIT
O·magh /əʊ'mɑːr/ a town in NORTHERN IRELAND which
became well known in 1998 when a TERRORIST group called
'the Real IRA' planted a bomb there, killing 29 people
O·man /əʊ'mɑːn/ a country in the Middle East, southeast of
Saudi Arabia and northeast of Yemen. Population: 2,807,125
(2003). Capital: Muscat. Oman is a SULTANATE (=a country
ruled by a SULTAN). Its people are Muslims, and its main
product is oil. —Omani n, adj
O·mar, Rag·eh /'əʊmɑːr, 'rægi/ (1978-) a British television
news reporter who is famous for reporting from Baghdad in
Iraq during the war in 2003. People watching the news
could often see bombs exploding and hear the sound of
guns being fired behind him while he made his reports.
O·mar Khay·yam /ˌəʊmɑː kaɪ'æm||-ɑːr kaɪ'jɑːm/ (?1048-
?1123) a Persian MATHEMATICIAN and poet. He is known in the
west for his romantic poem, the Rubaiyat, produced in a
popular English translation by Edward Fitzgerald in 1859,
which is mainly about love, nature, and pleasure.
OMB /ˌəʊ em 'biː/ abbrev. for OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND
BUDGET
om·buds·man /'ɒmbʊdzmæn||'ɑːm-/ n pl. -men /mən/ a
person appointed by an institution (such as a government or
a university) to receive and report on complaints made by
ordinary people against the services of that institution. In
Britain the government Ombudsman is officially called the
Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration and
examines complaints against government organizations.
There is also a Local Ombudsman who examines complaints
against local authorities.
o·me·ga /'əʊmɪgə||əʊ'miːgə, -'me-, -'meɪ-/ n the last letter
(Ω, ω) of the Greek alphabet → see also ALPHA AND OMEGA
ome·lette, -let /'ɒmlɪt||'ɑːm-/ n 1 eggs beaten together
and cooked in hot fat, sometimes with other foods added: a
cheese omelette 2 you can't make an omelette without
breaking eggs saying it is impossible to do or achieve
anything, especially something new, without hurting or
offending someone or causing some kind of difficulty
o·men /'əʊmən/ n [(of)] a sign that something is going to
happen in the future: When it rained on their wedding day
she took it as a bad omen. → see also ILL-OMENED
om·i·nous /'ɒmɪnəs||'ɑː-/ adj giving a warning of something
bad that is going to happen: ominous black clouds | an
ominous silence —ly adv
o·mis·sion /əʊ'mɪʃən, ə-/ n 1 [U] the act of omitting: She
complained about the omission of her name from the
list. 2 [C] something or someone omitted: There are some
surprising omissions in this report/this list of candidates.
o·mit /əʊ'mɪt, ə-/ v -tt- [T] 1 to not include, by mistake or
on purpose; leave out: In writing this report I have omitted
all unnecessary details. 2 [+to-V/-ing; ] to fail to do some-
thing, by mistake or on purpose: He omitted to tell me when
he was leaving.
omni- → see WORD FORMATION TABLE
om·ni·bus¹ /'ɒmnɪbəs, -bʌs||'ɑːm-/ n 1 a book containing
several works, especially by one writer, which have already
been printed separately: a Dickens omnibus | the omnibus
edition of the soap opera (=more than one show seen,
together) → compare ANTHOLOGY 2 BrE a radio or television
programme that consists of several programmes that have
previously been broadcast separately
omnibus² adj doing, providing, or dealing with many differ-
ent things at once: an omnibus training program for teach-
ers, translators and guides
om·nip·o·tent /ɒm'nɪpətənt||ɑːm-/ adj fml (especially of
God) having unlimited power; able to do anything
—tence n [U]
om·ni·pres·ent /ˌɒmnɪ'prezənt || ˌɑːm-/ adj fml present eve-
rywhere —ence n [U]
om·nis·ci·ent /ɒm'nʃənt, -'niʃiənt||ɑːm'nɪʃənt/ adj fml
(especially of God) knowing everything —ence n [U]
om·ni·vore /'ɒmnɪvɔːr||ɑːm-/ n an animal that eats both
meat and plants → compare HERBIVORE
om·niv·o·rous /ɒm'nɪvərəs||ɑːm-/ adj fml or tech 1 (especially
of animals) eating everything, especially both plant and
animal food → compare CARNIVORE, HERBIVORE, INSECTI-
VORE 2 interested in everything, especially in all books: an
omnivorous reader
on¹ /ɒn||ɔːn, ɑːn/ prep 1 also upon fml — (showing position in
relation to a surface or supported by a surface): a lamp on the
table/the wall | a ring on my finger | You've got mud on your
shoes. | He jumped on/onto the horse. | The ball hit me on the
head. | on page 23 (not upon page 23) | (fig) I wonder what's on
his mind? (=what is worrying him) (compare I wonder what's
in his mind?) 2 also upon fml — supported by, hanging from,
or connected to: to stand on one foot | a ball on a string | the
wheels on my car | We aren't on the telephone. (=we have no
telephone (BrE)/we aren't using the telephone (AmE)) 3 also
upon fml — a) to; towards; in the direction of: on my right
| to march on Rome | to make an attack on the enemy b)
concerning or influencing: a tax on cigarettes 4 also upon fml
— a) at the edge of; along: a town (right) on the river/on the
border | trees on both sides of the street | (AmE) He lives on