phobia
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people started to come back to the city in 1979 when the Vietnamese took control of it.
pho·bi·a /'fəʊbɪə/ n [{about}] a strong, unnatural, and usually unreasonable fear and dislike; common phobias are fear of water, flying, heights, and closed spaces: He needs help in overcoming his phobias. —phobic n, adj
phoe·nix /'fi:nɪks/ n in CLASSICAL MYTHOLOGY, a bird believed to live for 500 years and then burn itself and be born again from the ashes: We all thought the airline was finished when it went bankrupt, but it rose phoenix-like/like a phoenix from the ashes.
Phoenix the capital and largest city of Arizona, US, known as a place that is extremely hot, where many old people go to live, and also as a city that is growing very quickly
Phoenix, River (1971–93) a US film actor, known for dying very young as a result of taking illegal drugs. He appeared as a HOMOSEXUAL character in the film My Own Private Idaho (1991), and became very popular with homosexual men. Other films include Stand by Me (1986) and Running on Empty (1988).
-phone → see WORD FORMATION TABLE
phone¹ /fəʊn/ n a telephone: Are you on the phone? (=Do you own a telephone?) | I spoke to him by phone. | The phone was ringing so she answered it. | a long-distance phone call | What’s your phone number? | He picked up the phone. (=the part into which one speaks; RECEIVER) | I was so angry I slammed down the phone.
phone² also call AmE — v [I;T(UP)] 1 to telephone: Has she phoned yet? | I phoned him (up) last night. | He phoned (me) to say he couldn’t come. | I’ll phone the result of the test to you. 2 phone a friend an expression made popular on the QUIZ show Who Wants to be a Millionaire?, which is shown in both the UK and the US. If a CONTESTANT cannot answer a question, they can choose to make a telephone call to a friend to see if he or she knows the answer. Contestants are allowed to ask a friend for help with only one of the questions which they are asked. → see TELEPHONE (USAGE)
phone (sthg. ↔) in phr v [I;T] to telephone (one’s place of work) to report something or receive new instructions, especially regularly: How many of our salesmen have phoned in so far? | He phoned in the results of the poll. → see also PHONE-IN
'phone book also telephone directory fml — n a book containing an alphabetical list of the names, addresses, and telephone numbers of all the people who have a telephone in a certain area except for those who wish these details to remain private: Are you in the phone book? → see TELEPHONE (USAGE) compare YELLOW PAGES
'phone box also call box, 'phone booth, telephone box, telephone booth BrE || usually phone booth or telephone booth AmE — n a small building or structure containing a telephone for use by the public → see TELE- PHONE (USAGE)
phone-card /'fəʊnkɑ:d||-kɑ:rd/ n (in Britain) a plastic card bought from certain shops which is used in some pay telephones instead of money
'phone-in BrE || call-in AmE — n a radio or television show in which telephoned questions, statements etc, from the public are broadcast. A particular subject is usually discussed each time and there may be one or more people in the STUDIO answering questions and giving information.
pho·neme /'fəʊni:m/ n tech the smallest unit of speech that can be used to make a word different from another that is the same in every other way: In English, the ‘b’ in ‘big’ and the ‘p’ in ‘pig’ represent two different phonemes. —nemic /fə'ni:mɪk/ adj —nemically /kli/ adv
pho·ne·mics /fə'ni:mɪks/ n [U] tech the study and descrip- tion of the phonemes of languages
'phone sex n [U] the activity of talking with someone on the telephone about sex in order to become sexually excited
'phone tag n [U] inflml if two people play phone tag, they take turns leaving messages on each other’s telephone ANSWERING MACHINES because they are never both at home at the same time
'phone-tapping n [U] listening secretly to other people’s telephone conversations by means of special ELECTRONIC equipment
pho·net·ic /fə'netɪk/ adj tech 1 of or about the sounds of human speech 2 using special signs, often different from ordinary letters, to represent the actual sounds of speech: This dictionary uses a phonetic alphabet as a guide to pronunciation. | These are phonetic symbols/characters: æ, ð, ʃ, ə. —ally /kli/ adv
pho·ne·ti·cian /ˌfɒnɪtɪʃən, ˌfɒn-||ˌfoʊ-/ n tech a person who has special knowledge of phonetics
pho·net·ics /fə'netɪks/ n [U] tech the study and science of speech sounds
pho·ney also -ny AmE /'fəʊni/ n, adj inflml, usually derog (someone or something) pretended, false, unreal, or intended to deceive; FAKE: He’s such a phoney. | a phoney accent | I gave the police a phoney address. —niness n [U]
phoney 'war n inflml a period during which a state of war officially exists but there is no actual fighting
phon·ic /'fɒnɪk, 'fəʊ-||'fɑː-/ adj tech. 1 of sound 2 of speech sounds
pho·no·graph /'fəʊnəgrɑ:f||-græf/ n old-fash AmE for RECORD PLAYER
pho·nol·o·gy /fə'nɒlədʒi||-'nɑː-/ n [U] tech the study of speech sounds of a language or languages, and the laws governing these —gist n —gical /ˌfɒnə'lɒdʒɪkəl||ˌfɑnə'lɑː-/ adj —gically /kli/ adv
phoo-ey /'fu:/ inter inflml (used for expressing strong disbelief or disappointment)
phos·phate /'fɒsfeɪt||'fɑːs-/ n [C;U] 1 any of various forms of a SALT of PHOSPHORIC acid, widely used in indus- try 2 [usually pl.] a material containing a phosphate, used for making plants grow better
phos·pho·res·cence /ˌfɒsfə'resəns||ˌfɑːs-/ n [U] 1 the giving out of light with little or no heat 2 faint light that is only noticeable in the dark, such as that given out by decaying fish and some insects and sea creatures
phos·pho·res·cent /ˌfɒsfə'resənt||ˌfɑːs-/ adj shining faintly in the dark with little or no heat: You can see a strange phosphorescent light at night on tropical seas. —ly adv
phos·phor·ic /fɒs'fɒrɪk||fɑːs'fɔːr-, fɑːs'fɑːr-, 'fɑːsfərɪk/ adj of or containing phosphorus: phosphoric acid
phos·pho·rus /'fɒsfərəs||'fɑːs-/ n [U] a poisonous yellowish simple substance (ELEMENT) that shines faintly in the dark and starts to burn when brought out into the air
pho·to /'fəʊtəʊ/ n pl. -tos inflml a photograph: She showed him her photos of Spain. | to take a photo | a photo album
photo- → see WORD FORMATION TABLE
pho·to·cop·i·er /'fəʊtəʊˌkɒpiə||-təˌkaɪ-/ n a machine that makes photocopies
pho·to·cop·y¹ /'fəʊtəʊˌkɒpi||-təˌkaɪ:pi/ n a photographic copy, especially of something printed, written, or drawn: I made/took two photocopies of the report. → compare PHOTO- STAT, XEROX
photocopy² v [T] to make a photocopy of → compare PHOTOSTAT, XEROX
pho·to·e·lec·tric /ˌfətəʊ-ɪ'lektrɪk/ / adj of or using an electrical effect which is controlled by light
photoelectric 'cell n 1 an instrument that changes light into electricity 2 also electric/magic eye inflml — an instru- ment by which light is made to start an electrical apparatus working, often used in BURGLAR ALARMS
photo 'finish n the end of a race, especially a horse or dog race, in which the leaders finish so close together that a photograph has to be taken to show which is the winner: (fig.) The election resulted in a photo finish. (=the winner only had a few more votes than the loser)
Pho·to·fit /'fəʊtəfɪt/ trademark a way of making a picture of a face by fitting together parts of different faces from a large collection of photographs of parts of faces. Photofit pictures are used by the police to help them produce a picture of a criminal’s face from information provided by people who saw the crime. → compare IDENTIKIT