sex·pot /'sekspot|-pɑːt/ n infml humor (often considered offensive by women) a sexy woman
'sex shop especially BrE || usually adult bookstore AmE — n a shop selling goods (such as PORNOGRAPHY) related to sex and sexual practices
'sex symbol n a person who represents the idea of sex to the public: sex symbols such as Marilyn Monroe or Madonna
sex·tant /'sekstənt/ n an instrument for measuring angles between stars so that one can calculate the position of one's ship or aircraft
sex·tet /seks'tet/ n 1 [+sing./pl. v] a group of six singers or musicians performing together 2 a piece of music for six performers → compare QUINTET, SEPTET
sex·ton /'sekstən/ n a person with the job of taking care of a church building and sometimes of ringing the church bell and digging graves
sex·tu·plet /sek'stju:plə'tɪl-'stʌ-/ n any of six people born at one birth
sex·u·al /'sekfual/ adj 1 of, connected with, or including
SEXUAL INTERCOURSE or the urge for this: sexual desires | a
sexual relationship | a disease passed on by sexual con-
tact 2 [no comp.] of, between, or needing male and female:
sexual conflict | sexual reproduction → see EROTIC (USAGE)
—ly : adv: sexually immature | sexually arousing | a sexually
explicit film
sexual a·buse /ˌsekʃuəl əˈbjuːs/ n [U] the action of forcing people, especially children, to take part in sexual practices: alleged sexual abuse of children in care/of prisoners → see ABUSE
,sexual di,scrimi'nation [U] the unfair treatment of people because of their sex, usually the unfair treatment of women. Sexual discrimination is illegal in Britain and the US, and people and companies can be taken to court if it is thought that they are guilty of sexual discrimination. → see also SEX DISCRIMINATION ACT
,sexual 'harassment n [U] the act of annoying somebody, especially a woman, by making remarks about sex or acting in a way which suggests a desire for sex in a situation where this is not suitable or welcome behaviour, especially at work: sexual harassment of women at work
,sexual 'intercourse also intercourse n [U] fml the bodily act between two humans in which the sex organs are brought together, either to make a baby, or for pleasure
sex·u·al·i·ty /,sekfu'æl3ti/ n [U] interest in, the expression of, or the ability to take part in sexual activity
,sexually trans,mitted dis'ease abbrev. STD n a disease which is passed through sexual intercourse, such as AIDS, HERPES, GONORRHEA, and SYPHILIS, often called VENEREAL DISEASES. Some STDs are treatable if found early enough: an STD clinic
sex·y /'seksi/ adj infml apprec 1 sexually exciting: sexy girls/pictures/underwear → see EROTIC (USAGE) 2 up to date and attracting a lot of interest: Robotics seems to be a sexy subject at the moment. ——ily adv ——iness n [U]
Sey·chelles, the /sei'felz/ a country which is made up of about 85 small islands in the Indian Ocean, to the east of Kenya. It is known for its beautiful beaches, interesting plants and animals, and as a place which rich people visit as tourists. Population: 79,715 (2001). Capital: Victoria.—Seychellois /,seifel'wa:↔/ n, adj
SF /,es 'ef/ adj abbrev. for SCIENCE FICTION
SFO, the /,es ef 'ou/ abbrev. for the SERIOUS FRAUD OFFICE in Britain
S4C /,es for 'si:‖-for-/ a television station in Wales, which broadcasts programmes in the Welsh language as well as many programmes in English, provided by CHANNEL 4
SGML /,es dʒi: em 'el/ n [U] tech abbrev. for standard generalized markup language; a way of writing a document on a computer so that its structure is clear, and so that it can easily be read on a different computer system
Sgt written abbrev. for SERGEANT
sh, shh /ʃ/ mteŋ (used for demanding silence or less noise): Sh! You'll wake the baby! → see also SHUSH
shab·by /ˈʃæbi/ adj 1 untidy and of low quality because of long use or lack of care: a shabby old hat | a shabby bed-sitter 2 (of a person) wearing shabby clothes: a shabby old tramp 3 ungenerous; dishonourable; unfair: What a shabby trick, driving off and leaving me to walk home. | shabby treatment —bily adv —biness n [U]
Sha•bu•oth /ʃəˈvuːəs‖-əʊt, -əʊθ/ → see PENTECOST
shack $ ^{1} $ /fæk/ n a small roughly built house or hut
shack $ ^{2} $ u
shack² v
shack up phr v [l(with, TOGETHER)] infml, especially derog (of a person, or man and woman) to live together while unmarried; She's shacking up with her boyfriend.
shack·le¹ /'fækəl/ n something, especially joined metal rings, for fastening the arms or legs to each other or to something else, so as to prevent movement: The prisoners were kept in shackles. | (fig.) Our people must throw off the shackles of slavery and seize their independence.
shackle² v [T usually pass.] especially lit to tie up (as if) with shackles: His hands were shackled together. | We are shackled by old customs.
shad /ʃæd/ n pl. shad a north Atlantic fish used for food
shade¹ /ʃeɪd/ n 1 [(the] U] slight darkness or shelter from direct light, especially from sunlight outdoors, made by something blocking it: I'm too hot in the sun; let's get into the shade. | They were sitting in the shade of a tree/a wall. | There was no shade to be found in the desert. | The temperature was 32° in the shade. (=outdoors but not measured in direct sunlight) → see USAGE 2 [C] (often in comb.) something that keeps out light or its full brightness: a green eyeshade | a lampshade 3 [U] representation of shadow or darkness in a picture, painting etc: This artist uses light and shade to good effect. 4 [C] a degree or variety of colour: It was painted in various shades of blue. 5 [C+of] a slight difference in degree; NUANCE: This word has several shades of meaning. | There are different shades of opinion within the party. 6 [S] (often before adjectives or adverbs) a little bit: That music is just a shade too loud. | I was a shade embarrassed by their personal questions. 7 [C] lit the spirit of a dead person; GHOST 8 put in(to) the shade infml to cause to seem much less important by comparison: Their splendid present really put my poor little contribution in the shade. 9 made in the shade AmE infml (an expression used when someone/something is sure to succeed, or is already very successful): We have it made in the shade! | Made in the shade - we'll definitely win! | My brother's got it made in the shade; he was just accepted into law school! → see also SHADES
Shade is any place sheltered from the sun. The dark shape made by the shade of something is a shadow.
$\text{shade}^2 \vee \text{1 [T(from)] to shelter from direct light or heat: She raised her hand to shade her eyes from the sun. 2 [T(IN)] to represent the effect of shade or shadow on (an object in a picture): The shaded-in background adds depth to the drawing. 3 [I+adv/prep] to change slowly, gradually, or by slight degrees: This is a question where right and wrong shade into one another. (=are so close that it is hard to tell them apart) | Its colour was a sort of blue shading off into grey.}$
shades /feɪdz/ n [P] 1 infml for SUNGLASSES 2 lit darkness: The shades of evening were falling fast. (=it was getting dark in the evening) 3 AmE for ROLLER BLIND 4 shades of old-fashionful this reminds me of (something in the past): Shades of my old father! He would have agreed with all you've said.
shad·ing /ˈʃeɪdɪŋ/ n [U] the process or result of filling in an area in a picture to represent darkness or less brightness
$\hat{\text{shadow}}^{1}/\text{fadeu}/n$ 1 [U also shadows pl. —] darkness caused by the blocking of direct light, especially sunlight: The small window threw a patch of sunlight onto the floor, but the rest of the room was in shadow. He walked along in the shadows hoping no one would recognize him. 2 [C] a dark shape made on a surface by something between the surface and direct light: As the sun set, the shadows lengthened. The tree cast its shadow (=produced the dark shape of a tree) on the wall. (fig.) The coming war cast a shadow (=a feeling of future trouble) over Europe. He's such a timid chap; he's afraid of his own shadow. (fig.) She had to live in her father's shadow (=her father's power or fame was so great that people did not