1543
wagon
W,w
W¹, w /'dʌbəlju:/ pl. W's, w's n [C,U] the 23rd letter of the
English alphabet
W², w 1 written abbrev. for west or western 2 written abbrev. for watt
or watts
WA written abbrev. for WASHINGTON STATE
WAC /wæk/ n 1 abbrev. for the Women's Army Corp; the
women's part of the US Army 2 Wac a member of the
Women's Army Corp in the US
wack·o /'wækəʊ/ n pl. wackos infml a crazy or strange person
—wacko adj: That guy's completely wacko.
wack·y /'wæki/ adj infml, especially AmE silly; slightly mad
—iness n [U]
Wa·co /'weɪkəʊ/ a US city in McLennan County, Texas. In
1993, the US authorities tried to ARREST David Koresh, the
leader of a religious group called the Branch Dravidians, at
the group's centre outside Waco because they thought illegal
weapons were kept there. There was a gun battle, followed
by a 51-day SIEGE, which ended when a fire started and 77
Dravidians died, including Koresh.
wad /wɒd||wɑ:d/ n [(of)] 1 a thick collection of things, such
as pieces of paper, folded, pressed, or fastened together: a
wad of bank notes 2 a thick soft mass of material, especially
used for pressing into a hole or crack: She stuffed wads of
cotton in her ears to keep out the noise.
wad·ding /'wɒdɪŋ||'wɑ:-/ n [U] soft material, especially card-
board as used for packing or LINT used in medicine
wad·dle /'wɒdl||'wɑ:dl/ v [I+adv/prep] to walk with short
steps, swinging from one side to the other, like a duck: The
fat man waddled up to her. —waddle n
wade
wade /weɪd/ v 1 [(across);T] to walk through (water): We
waded across the stream. → compare PADDLE 2 [I] AmE for
PADDLE
wade in phr v [I] infml to interrupt especially an argument
forcefully and with determination: It wasn't his affair, but he
waded in with his opinion.
wade into sthg./sbdy. phr v [T] infml to begin (an attack on)
forcefully and with determination: She waded into the task
with more enthusiasm than skill. | I must have offended her
somehow, because she really waded into me.
wade through sthg. phr v [T] infml to go through or
complete (something long, unpleasant, or uninteresting)
with an effort: I've got all this correspondence to wade
through before I can go home.
Wade, Virginia (1945-) a British tennis player who won the
women's SINGLES competition at WIMBLEDON in 1977
wad·er /'weɪdə/ also 'wading bird n a bird that walks
about in water to find its food, and usually has a long neck
and long legs: Herons and curlews are waders.
wad·ers /'weɪdəz||-dərz/ n [P] high rubber boots to protect
the legs when one walks in water, e.g. while fishing
wadge /wɒdʒ||wɑ:dʒ/ n [(of)] BrE infml for WAD
wad·i, wady /'wɒdi||'wɑ:di/ n a usually dry river bed in a
desert, especially in North Africa
wading pool n AmE for PADDLING POOL
Waf /wæf/ n AmE infml a woman serving in the US Air Force
wa·fer /'weɪfə/ n 1 a very thin BISCUIT eaten especially with
ice cream 2 a thin round piece of special bread used with
wine in the Christian religious ceremony of COMMUNION
wafer-thin adj extremely thin
waf·fle¹ /'wɒfl||'wɑ:-/ n a light sweet cake, usually marked
with raised squares, and often covered with a sweet liquid. It
is cooked in a special pan called a waffle iron. In the US it is
often eaten for breakfast.
waffle² v [(ON)] 1 BrE infml to talk or write meaninglessly and
at great length: I tried to pin him down to a direct answer, but
he just went waffling on. 2 AmE infml to be unable to decide
which action to take; to WAVER or VACILLATE: As the President
continues to waffle over his stance on tax hikes; Congress
grows impatient. —waffle n [U] His exam answer was just a
lot of waffle.
waft /wɒft, wɒft||wɑ:ft, wæft/ v [I+adv/prep;T+obj+adv/prep] fml
or lit to (cause to) move or go lightly (as if) on wind or waves:
Cooking smells wafted along the hall. | A sudden gust of wind
wafted the papers off her desk.
wag¹ /wæg/ v -gg- [I;T] (of a part of the body) to shake or be
shaken quickly and repeatedly from side to side: The dog
wagged its tail with pleasure. | The dog's tail wagged. | (fig.)
You must stop visiting that woman; tongues are beginning
to wag. (=people have noticed it and are talking about it)
wag² n [C usually sing.] an act of wagging; shake: The dog
greeted its master with a wag of its tail.
wag³ n infml a clever and amusing talker, usually male → see
also WAGGISH
wage¹ /weɪdʒ/ n [S] wages: an average weekly wage of £110 |
He gives most of his wage packet (=envelope containing his
wages) to his wife. | In our family both my husband and I are
wage earners. (=have a job and earn money) | The govern-
ment has introduced a wage freeze. (=has said that wages
must not be increased) | The workers have asked for/
demanded a wage rise of 10%. → see also WAGES, MINIMUM
WAGE
wage² v [T] to begin and continue (a war): The government
has pledged itself to wage (a) war against/on poverty and
disease. (=to try to end them)
waged /weɪdʒd/ adj 1 waged work or employment is work
for which you get paid 2 someone who is waged has a job
for which they earn money
wa·ger¹ /'weɪdʒə/ n fml an amount of money risked on an
uncertain result; BET: Would you care to have/place a small
wager on that?
wager² v [T(on)] fml for BET: [+(that)] I'll wager he's had enough
of foreign travel, after that! | [+obj|(to)+obj|(that)] She wagered
me £5 that I would not do it.
wag·es /'weɪdʒɪz/ n [P] a payment made for work done,
calculated by the hour, day, or week or by the amount
produced, and usually received daily or weekly: He gets/
earns good wages. | low wages | to demand an increase in
wages → compare SALARY; see also WAGE; see PAY (USAGE)
'wage slave n humor or derog someone who must work,
especially at a dull job, in order to earn money
wag·gish /'wægɪʃ/ adj infml of, like, or typical of a WAG:
waggish remarks —ly adv —ness n [U]
wag·gle /'wægəl/ v [I;T] infml to (cause to) move frequently
from side to side: The car's broken aerial waggled in the
breeze. | He can waggle his ears. —waggle n
Wag·ner, Ho·nus /'wægnə, 'həʊnəs/ (1874-1955) a US
BASEBALL player who became one of the first members of
the baseball HALL OF FAME in 1936. He was called 'the Flying
Dutchman', and the BASEBALL CARD with his picture on it is
considered extremely valuable.
Wag·ner, Richard /'vɑ:gnə/ (1813-83) a German COM-
POSER who is most famous for his long OPERAS, which
include Tristram and Isolde and especially his series of four
operas based on German MYTHOLOGY, called the Ring of
the Nibelung. His music is often in a very exciting, DRAMATIC
style. He started his own theatre at BAYREUTH and his operas
are still performed there every summer. —Wagnerian
/vɑ:gnɪəriən/ adj
wag·on also wag·gon BrE /'wægən/ n 1 a strong four-
wheeled road vehicle, mainly for heavy loads, drawn espe-
cially by horses: a covered wagon | The Indians attacked the