733
irreconcilable
i·ris /'aɪərɪs/ n 1 a tall wild or garden flower with long thin
leaves -> see picture at FLOWER 2 the round coloured part of
the eye which surrounds the black PUPIL -> see picture at EYE
Irish¹ adj from or connected with Ireland
Irish² /'aɪərɪʃ/ n 1 the Irish [P] the people of Ireland 2 Irish
Gaelic [U] the CELTIC language of Ireland
Irish 'coffee n [C;U] coffee with cream and WHISKY added
Irish 'Guards, the [P] a REGIMENT (=a large group of
soldiers) in the British army that is part of the GUARDS
'Irish joke n a joke about an Irish person in which Irish
people are represented as being stupid or thinking in a
strange way. Jokes like this are considered offensive.
I·rish·man /'aɪərɪʃmən/ n pl. -men /-mən/ a man from
Ireland
Irish National Libe'ration Army, the -> see INLA
Irish Re'public, the the REPUBLIC OF IRELAND
Irish Re,publican 'Army, the the full name of the IRA
Irish 'Sea, the the sea between Great Britain and Ireland
Irish 'Setter n a type of large dog with long hair
Irish 'stew n [C;U] a dish of meat, potatoes, and onions
boiled together
Irish 'whiskey n [C;U] a strong alcoholic drink made in
Ireland, usually from MALT or BARLEY. Irish whiskey tastes
slightly different from Scotch whisky, and is always spelled
with an 'e'.
I·rish·wom·an /'aɪərɪʃwʊmən/ n pl. -women /ˌwɪmɪn/ a
woman from Ireland
'iris scan n an examination of someone's iris using special
computer equipment in order to IDENTIFY them. Iris scans are
done by the police and IMMIGRATION officials at some air-
ports to check the information on someone's PASSPORT or ID
CARD.
irk /ɜːk||ɜːrk/ v [T] infml to annoy; trouble: It irks me to have to
admit it, but he was quite right.
irk·some /'ɜːksəm||'ɜːrk-/ adj troublesome or annoying: irk-
some duties
i·ron¹ /'aɪən||'aɪərn/ n 1 [U] a very common and useful metal
that is a simple substance (ELEMENT), is MAGNETIC, is used
in the making of steel, and is found in very small quantities in
certain foods and in the blood: iron gates | an iron foundry |
iron ore | a diet low in iron | iron pills -> see also CAST IRON,
WROUGHT IRON 2 [C] a heavy object with a flat bottom and
a handle on top, shaped in a point at the front, which is
heated, usually electrically, and used for making cloth and
clothes smooth 3 [C] any of the set of nine GOLF CLUBS
(numbered from one to nine) which have metal heads with
sloping faces: a six iron (=the one with the number six) | an
iron shot (=made using an iron) -> compare WOOD 4 have
several irons in the fire to have various different interests,
activities, or plans at the same time 5 the iron hand/fist in
the velvet glove a very firm intention hidden under a
gentle appearance -> see also IRONS, CLIMBING IRON, rule
with a rod of iron (RULE²), strike while the iron's hot
(STRIKE¹)
iron² v [T] to make (clothes) smooth with an IRON¹: She ironed
her blouse. -> see also IRONING
iron sthg. <-> out phr v [T] 1 to remove by ironing: She
ironed out the wrinkles in her skirt. 2 infml to remove or find
an answer to: It didn't take long to iron out the difficulties.
iron³ adj [A] usually apprec very strong and firm: a man of iron
will·resolve
'Iron Age, the the time about 3000 years ago when iron was
used for making tools, weapons etc, which was a more
advanced period than the Bronze Age before it -> compare
BRONZE AGE, STONE AGE
I·ron·bridge /'aɪənbrɪdʒ||-ərn-/ a bridge over the River Sev-
ern in Shropshire, western England, or the area surrounding
it. It was the first CAST IRON bridge ever built, in 1779, and
the area around the bridge was a centre of the INDUSTRIAL
REVOLUTION and is now a MUSEUM.
iron-'clad adj very strong; unbreakable: an iron-clad alibi
Iron 'Curtain, the an expression used to describe the
physical borders and the political restrictions that separated
the COMMUNIST countries of Eastern Europe from the west-
ern world, especially during the COLD WAR -> compare
BAMBOO CURTAIN
Iron 'Duke, the a name sometimes used for the DUKE OF
WELLINGTON
iron-'grey adj dark grey
i·ron·ic /aɪ'rɒnɪk||aɪ'rɑːn-/ also i·ron·i·cal /-kəl/ adj express-
ing IRONY: How ironic that he should have been invited to play
for the England team on the very day that he broke his leg.
i·ron·i·cal·ly /aɪ'rɒnɪkli||aɪ'rɑːn-/ adv 1 in an ironic way: She
smiled ironically. 2 it is ironic (that): Ironically, his cold got
better on the last day of his holiday. -> compare PARADOXI-
CALLY
i·ron·ing /'aɪənɪ||-ər-/ n [U] 1 the work of making cloth or
clothes smooth with an iron: He hates doing the iron-
ing. 2 cloth or clothes that need to be ironed or have been
ironed: a basket of ironing
'ironing board n a long narrow usually folding table on
which clothes are spread to be ironed
Iron 'Lady, the a name that was formerly used, especially in
newspapers, for Margaret THATCHER when she was the British
Prime Minister. She was called this because she was seen as a
strong leader who did not change her mind easily.
iron 'lung n a machine for helping some ill people to
breathe by forcing air into and out of their lungs
i·ron·mon·ger /'aɪənˌmʌŋɡəːr||'aɪərnˌmʌŋ-, -mɑːŋ-/ n BrE a
person who owns or works in a shop (ironmonger's) which
sells HARDWARE especially if made of metal: I bought a spade
at the ironmonger's.
'iron-on adj that can be placed on material using a hot iron:
iron-on stickers of cartoon characters for children's clothes
iron 'rations n [P] small amounts of substances with high
food value, such as chocolate, carried by soldiers, climbers etc,
for use in an EMERGENCY
i·rons /'aɪənz||'aɪərnz/ n [P] especially lit a chain or chains to
keep a prisoner from moving: The captain ordered the muti-
nous sailors to be clapped in irons. (=put in chains)
i·ron-work /'aɪənwːk||'aərnwɜrk/ n articles made of iron
i·ron-works /'aɪənwɜːks||'aɪərnwɜːrks/ n pl. ironworks
[C+sing./pl. v] a factory for preparing iron or steel and making
it into heavy objects
i·ron·y /'aɪərəni/ n 1 [U] use of words which are clearly
opposite to one's meaning, usually either in order to be
amusing or to show annoyance (e.g. by saying 'What
charming behaviour' when someone has been rude) ->
compare SARCASM 2 [C;U] a course of events or a condition
which has the opposite result from what is expected, usually
a bad result: We went on holiday to Greece because we thought
the weather was certain to be good, and it rained almost every
day; the irony of it is, that at the same time there was a
heat-wave back at home! -> compare PARADOX; see also
DRAMATIC IRONY
Ir·o·quois /'ɪrəkwɔɪ/ n 1 the Iroquois [P] a Native Ameri-
can tribe formerly living in New York State 2 [C] a member
of this tribe ->Iroquois adj: an Iroquois chief -> see Cultural
Note at NATIVE AMERICAN
ir·ra·di·ate /ɪ'reɪdieɪt/ v [T] 1 especially lit to make bright by
throwing light on: (fig.) His little face was irradiated by
happiness. 2 tech to treat with X-RAYs or similar beams of
force: The surgeons irradiated the tumour. -> see also RADIA-
TION —ation /ˌreɪdi'eɪʃən/ n [U]
irˌradi'ation treatment n [U] the treatment of food with
X-RAYS to kill bacteria and make it last longer
ir·ra·tion·al /ɪ'ræʃənəl/ adj not (done by) using reason;
against reasonable behaviour: After taking the drug she
became quite irrational. | a completely irrational decision
——ly adv ——ity /ˌræʃə'næləti/ n [U]
ir·rec·on·cil·able /ˌɪrekən'saɪləbəl/ adj [(with)] which
cannot be settled or brought into agreement together or
with something else: irreconcilable differences of opinion |
irreconcilable enemies | Holding a government post was irrec-
oncilable with his outside commercial activities, so he had to
resign. ——bly adv