1031
perception
people's re'public n 1 [cap.] a name or title taken by
some SOCIALIST or COMMUNIST states: the People's Republic of
China 2 Bre humor, usually derog a place which has a left-wing
local council: the people's republic of Lambeth
Pe-o-ri-a /pi'ɔːriə/ a city in Illinois, US, which is an impor-
tant port on the Illinois River
pep¹ /pep/ n [U] infml keen activity and forcefulness; VIGOUR:
Put a bit more pep into your work! → see also PEP PILL, PEP
TALK
pep² v -pp-
pep sthg./sbdy. ⇔ up phr v [T] infml to make more active or
interesting; ENLIVEN: A holiday is just what you need to pep
you up. | The food tasted rather bland, so she added some
spices to pep it up a little.
PEP /pep/ n abbrev. for Personal Equity Plan; a type of SAVINGS
plan introduced by the British government in the 1980s,
which allows people to buy small amounts of SHARES in
British companies without having to pay tax on the profits
they make by doing this. PEPs were introduced to encourage
ordinary people to buy shares. A new savings plan called the
'ISA' replaced PEPs in 1999.
pep·per¹ /'pepər/ n 1 [U] a) a hot-tasting greyish or pale
yellowish powder made from crushed peppercorns, used for
making food taste better → see also BLACK PEPPER, WHITE
PEPPER b) a powder like this, especially CAYENNE PEPPER or
PAPRIKA made from certain other plants 2 [C] also bell
pepper AmE (a plant with) a large round or long narrow red,
green, or yellow fruit used especially as a vegetable, with a
special, sometimes hot taste: I bought some green peppers for
the salad. → see also SWEET PEPPER
pepper² v [T] 1 [(with)] infml a) to hit repeatedly, especially
with small shots: I'll pepper his behind with buckshot if he
comes on my land again! b) to cause to appear repeatedly
in: The report was peppered with mistakes/statistics. 2 to
add or give the taste of pepper to (food)
pep-per-and-'salt adj [A] having small spots of black and
white mixed together to give a greyish appearance: a pepper-
and-salt beard
pep·per·corn /'pepəkɔːn||'pepərkɔːrn/ n the seedlike fruit
of a tropical plant, which is dried and crushed to make
pepper
peppercorn 'rent n BrE a very small amount of money
(much less than one would expect) paid as rent
Pep-pe-ridge Farms /,pepəridʒ 'fa:mz||-'fa:rmz/ trade-
mark a popular type of SNACK foods sold in the US, known
especially for its COOKIES and small fish-shaped CRACKERS
called Goldfish
pepper mill also 'pepper ,grinder n a small apparatus
worked by hand and used for crushing peppercorns into
powder
pep-per-mint /'pepə,mɪnt||-ər-/ n 1 [U] a) a MINT plant
with a special strong taste, used especially in making sweets
and medicine b) the taste of this plant: peppermint liqueur/
flavouring 2 [C] also mint — a sweet with this taste
Peppermint 'Patty trademark a type of soft, circle-shaped
sweet sold in the US, which is covered with chocolate and
tastes of MINT
pep-pe-ro-ni /,pepə'rəʊni/ n [C,U] an Italian spicy dry SAU-
SAGE
pepper pot BrE || 'pepper ,shaker AmE — n a container
with small holes in the top, used for shaking pepper onto
food → compare SALTCELLAR
pep-per-y /'pepəri/ adj 1 (of food) like or tasting of pep-
per 2 (of a person) easily made angry; IRRITABLE
pep pill n infml a PILL containing a drug which is taken to
make one quicker in thought and action or happier, for a
short time; STIMULANT
pep ,rally n (in the US) a meeting of all of the students in a
HIGH SCHOOL before a school sports event, to encourage the
team to win, and to encourage the students to support their
team and their school. At most pep rallies CHEERLEADERS
lead the school in loud, happy cheers for the team. Often
the school's song is sung at the end of the pep rally.
Pep-si /'pepsi/ also ,Pepsi 'Cola trademark a US type of COLA
drink (=a dark, sweet, non-alcoholic, CARBONATED drink)
that is sold all over the world
pep-sin /'pepsɪn/ n [U] a liquid in the stomach that changes
food into a form that can be used by the body
'pep talk n infml a usually short talk intended to encourage the
listener(s) especially to work harder or win: The manager
gave his team a pep talk at half time.
pep·tic ul·cer /,peptɪk 'ʌlsər/ n a sore painful place inside
the stomach caused by the action of pepsin
Pep-to-bis-mol /,peptəʊ 'bɪzmɒl||-moʊl/ trademark a type of
medicine for the stomach which you take when you have
INDIGESTION. It is a thick, pink, sweet-tasting liquid.
Pepys, Sam·u·el /piːps, 'sæmjuəl/ (1633-1703) an English
writer famous for his DIARY (=a book in which you write
what happens to you each day), which describes his personal
life and the important events of the time, such as the GREAT
FIRE OF LONDON, and gives a lot of information about what
life was like at the time. At the end of his description of each
day, he writes 'And so to bed'.
per /pər; strong pɜːr/ prep 1 (especially of amounts, prices
etc) for each: These apples cost 40 pence per pound. | My car
does about 12 miles per litre. (=for each litre of petrol) | How
much beer will they drink per head? (=how much will each
person drink) 2 (of time) during each: How many of these
can you do per day/a day? 3 infml according to: The work has
been done as per your instructions. 4 as per usual infml
(especially of something that one disapproves of) as usual:
He was late, as per usual. → see also PER ANNUM, PER CAPITA,
PER CENT
per·ad·ven·ture /,pærəd'ventʃər/ adv old use 1 per-
haps 2 (after if or lest) by chance
per·am·bu·late /pə'ræmbjʊleɪt/ v [+adv/prep;T] fml to walk
about, round, or up and down (a place) without hurry
—lation /pə,ræmbjʊ'leɪʃən/ n [C,U]
per·am·bu·la·tor /pə'ræmbjʊleɪtər/ n fml for PRAM
per an·num /pər 'ænəm/ written abbrev. p.a. adv especially tech
for or in each year: a salary of £11,000 per annum
per cap·i·ta /pə 'kæpɪtə||pər-/ adj, adv fml or tech for or by
each person: What is the average per capita income in this
country?
per·ceive /pə'siːv||pər-/ v [T not in progressive forms] fml to (come
to) have knowledge of (something) through one of the
senses (especially the sight) or through the mind; become
conscious of or understand: He perceived a subtle change in
her manner. | [+that] They perceived that they were unwelcome
and left. | [+wh-] We were unable to perceive where the problem
lay. | [+obj+v-ing] I perceived a small trickle of blood coming
from the patient's ear. → see also PERCEPTIBLE, PERCEPTION
You perceive (=notice, become conscious of)
something that exists outside your thoughts: I perceived
a change in the tone of her voice. You conceive (=form in
the mind) a completely new idea: She conceived a bold
plan of escape.
per cent¹, percent /pə'sent||pər-/ adj, adv (calculated) in or
for each 100: This restaurant has a 10 percent (=10%) service
charge. 1 (fig.) I am a hundred per cent (=totally) in agreement
with you.
per 'cent² n pl. per cent one part in or for each 100: This
company can only supply 30 per cent (=30%) of what we need. |
to charge interest at fourteen per cent (=14%)
per·cent·age /pə'sentɪdʒ||pər-/ n 1 [C{of} usually sing.] an
amount stated as if it is part of a whole which is 100;
PROPORTION: a high/large/small percentage | What percent-
age of babies die of scarlet fever every year? | The numbers are
small in percentage terms but significant. 2 [C usually sing.]
infml a share of profits: She gets a percentage on every copy they
sell. 3 [U usually in negatives] infml advantage; profit: There's no
percentage in being unadventurous; you've got to think big.
per·cep·ti·ble /pə'septəbl||pər-/ adj fml that can be per-
ceived; noticeable: a barely perceptible difference → opposite
IMPERCEPTIBLE —bly adv
per·cep·tion /pə'sepʃən||pər-/ n [U] fml 1 the action of
perceiving: a drug which alters one's perception of visual
stimuli 2 also perceptiveness /pə'septɪvnəs||pər-/ — the
ability to perceive well; keen natural understanding: a man
of great perception