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Marx Brothers, the
many important legal cases to help black US citizens get equal rights, such as the case of BROWN V. BOARD OF EDUCATION OF TOPEKA.
'marshalling ,yard n especially BrE a railway yard in which the parts of a train, especially a goods train, are put together in preparation for a journey
'Marshall ,Plan, the a programme established by the US government in 1947 to give economic help to Europe after World War II. It was named after George C. Marshall, who was the US Secretary of State. Thousands of millions of dollars were provided for rebuilding cities, roads, industries etc.
,Marshal of the ,Royal 'Air ,Force the most important officer in the British airforce
Mar-shal-sea, the /'mɑ:ʃəlsi:"mɑ:r-/ a prison in London in the past, where people were sent when they could not pay their debts. Part of the novel Little Dorrit by Charles DICKENS is set in this prison.
'marsh gas n [U] gas formed by decayed vegetable matter under the surface of water in a marsh; METHANE
marsh·land /'mɑ:ʃlænd||'mɑ:rʃ-/ n  see MARSH
marsh·mal·low /,mɑ:ʃ'mæləʊ||'mɑ:rʃmelə/ n 1 a light soft round pink or white sweet often toasted (TOAST) on BONFIRES so that it melts 2 a plant with pink flowers that grows on marshes
Mar·ston Moor, Battle of /,mɑ:stɒn 'mʊə||,mɑ:r-/ an important battle near York in 1644 during the English Civil War, which gave Cromwell control of the north of England
mar·su·pi·al /mɑ:'sju:piəl||mɑ:r'su:-/ n any of various mainly Australian animals in which the female gives birth to partly developed young and then carries them in a POUCH (=pocket of skin) on her body for a time: Kangaroos and koala bears are marsupials.
Mar·tel, Yann /mɑ:'tel||mɑ:r-, jæn||jɑ:n/ (1963-) a Canadian writer who won the Man Booker Prize for Fiction in 2002 for his NOVEL Life of Pi.
Mar·tel·lo tow·er /mɑ:,teləʊ 'taʊə||mɑ:r-/ n a circular tower built on the coast to defend Britain against enemy attack during the wars against Napoleon. Some can still be seen on the south coast of England and in Jersey.
mar·ten /'mɑ:tɪn, -tn||'mɑ:rtɴ/ n any of several small fierce flesh-eating animals that live mainly in trees
Mar·tha /'mɑ:θə||'mɑ:r-/ in the New Testament of the Bible, a woman who lived with her sister, MARY. When Jesus visited them, Martha went and prepared food for Jesus and his DISCIPLES, and did not remain with Mary to listen to what he was saying. As a result Martha often represents the type of Christian who works hard to help other people. ➔ compare MARY²
,Martha's 'Vineyard an island off the coast of the state of Massachusetts in the northeast of the US, south of Cape Cod. It is popular with writers and artists, and with tourists in the summer.
mar·tial /'mɑ:ʃəl||'mɑ:r-/ adj of or suitable to war, soldiers etc: martial music
,martial 'art n any of various sports concerned with fighting skills, developed in Eastern countries: Judo and karate are martial arts.
,martial 'law n [U] law that provides for the government of a place by the army, especially when there has been fighting against the established government: After the unsuccessful rebellion, the whole country was put under martial law.
Mar·tian /'mɑ:ʃən||'mɑ:r-/ n an imaginary creature from the PLANET Mars ➔ see also Cultural Note at MARS —Martian adj
mar·tin /'mɑ:tɪn||'mɑ:rtɴ/ n any of several sorts of bird (especially the house martin and sand martin) of the SWALLOW family
Martin, Dean (1917-95) a US singer and film actor, known especially for the humorous films he made with Jerry LEWIS. He was a member of the "Rat Pack", a group of Hollywood stars which included Frank SINATRA and Sammy DAVIS Jr.
Martin, Ric·ky /'rɪki/ (1971-) a Puerto Rican POP singer and actor. He sings in both English and Spanish. His songs include The Cup of Life and Livin' the Vida Loca. He has also acted in the US television programme General Hospital. He started the Ricky Martin Foundation, and gives a lot of money to CHARITY.
Martin, Sir George (1926-) a British music PRODUCER (=the person in charge of the recording process) who worked for many years with The Beatles, and helped them to achieve new and original sounds on records such as Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967)
Martin, Steve /sti:v/ (1945-) a US film actor, writer, and producer who often appears in humorous films such as Roxanne (1987), LA Story (1991), and Shopgirl (2004)
mar·ti·net /,mɑ:tɪ'net||,mɑ:r-/ n derog a person who demands total, often unreasoning, obedience to rules and orders
Mar·ti·nez, Ped·ro /mɑ:'ti:nez||mɑ:r-, 'pedrəʊ/ (1971-) a famous US BASEBALL player, born in the Dominican Republic, known for his skill as a PITCHER. He has won the Cy Young Award three times: in 1997, 1999, and 2000.
mar·ti·ni /mɑ:'ti:ni||mɑ:r-/ n [C,U] a strong alcoholic drink made by mixing GIN or VODKA with VERMOUTH: a dry martini (=one with a lot more gin than vermouth) | a vodka martini
Martini trademark a popular type of VERMOUTH (=an alcoholic drink made from wine with the addition of substances from roots and HERBS)
Mar·ti·nique /,mɑ:tɪ'ni:k||,mɑ:rtɪ'ni:k/ a mountainous island in the Caribbean Sea, which is ruled by France. Population: 425,966 (2003). Capital: Fort-de-France.
,Martin ,Luther 'King Day an American holiday on the third Monday in January to remember the day that Martin Luther King Jr. was born
mar·tyr¹ /'mɑ:tə||'mɑ:r-/ n 1 someone who is put to death or suffers for their beliefs, especially for religious beliefs: the early Christian martyrs 2 often derog someone who gives up their own wishes or suffers something unpleasant in order to help other people or in the hope of receiving sympathy: She only cleans all our shoes every evening because she enjoys being a martyr/enjoys making a martyr of herself 3 [ (to)] infml someone who suffers something they cannot avoid, especially a long-lasting illness: She's a martyr to her rheumatism.
martyr² v [T] to kill (someone) or cause (someone) to suffer greatly for a belief
mar·tyr·dom /'mɑ:tədəm||'mɑ:rtər-/ n [U] the death or suffering of a martyr
mar·vel¹ /'mɑ:vəl||'mɑ:r-/ n something (or someone) that causes wonder and admiration; a wonderful thing or example: What marvels met our eyes when we opened the treasure chest! | How they train those lions is a marvel to me. | This new furniture polish can do/work marvels. (=produce wonderfully good results) | He's a marvel; he still goes running every day even though he's over 80.
marvel² v -ll- BrE || -l- AmE [(at);T] fml to be filled with great wonder, surprise, admiration etc: We marvelled at their skill. | [+that] The onlookers marvelled that he was unharmed after such a long fall.
mar·vel·lous BrE || -velous AmE /'mɑ:vəlǝs||'mɑ:r-/ adj causing great wonder, admiration, or pleasure, especially because extremely good, unusually clever etc: What marvellous weather! | a marvellous idea —➔ly adv
Mar·vin, Lee /'mɑ:vɪn||'mɑ:r-/ (1924-87) a US film actor famous for playing strong, violent characters in films such as The Dirty Dozen (1967), and for singing the song I was Born under a Wanderin' Star in a very deep voice in the film Paint Your Wagon (1969)
Marx, Karl /mɑ:ks||mɑ:rks, kɑ:l||kɑ:rl/ (1818-83) a German writer and political PHILOSOPHER whose ideas have had an important influence on politics in the 20th century. He established the principles of COMMUNISM in The Communist Manifesto, which he wrote with Friedrich ENGELS in 1848. In 1849 he moved to London, where he wrote his most important book DAS KAPITAL. He is buried in Highgate CEMETERY in London and many people go to see his grave there. Marx's picture and his name are often used to represent Communism.
'Marx ,Brothers, the a US family of actors known for their crazy humour and jokes. Together, they made many humorous films, which are still very popular. The most important members of the family were Groucho (1890-1977), Harpo (1888-