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howitzer
a piece of land on which houses have been built, usually
close together, in a planned way
'housing ,list n BrE a list of people waiting to be given a
house or flat by the local council
'housing ,project n especially AmE a group of houses or flats
usually built with government money for families who have
very little money: drug-dealing in the housing projects
Hous-ton /'hjustən/ 1 a city and port in the US state of
Texas, where the US government space centre, NASA, is
based 2 Houston, we have a problem the words that one of
the ASTRONAUTS on the unsuccessful Apollo 13 space MISSION
used in order to say that he thought something was going
wrong with the mission. People often use this phrase in a
humorous way in other situations.
Houston, Sam /sæm/ (1793-1863) a US soldier and politician
who fought to make Texas independent from Mexico. He
was president of the Republic of Texas from 1836 until it
became a state of the US in 1845. The city of Houston in
Texas was named after him.
Hous-ton, Whit-ney /'hu:stən, 'wɪtni/ (1963-) a US singer
of popular love songs and SOUL MUSIC, one the most success-
ful singers of the late 1980s and early 1990s. She also
appeared in the film The Bodyguard (1992) with Kevin Cost-
ner.
Houston As-tros, the /ˌhju:stən ˈæstrəʊz/ a Major
League Baseball team based in Houston, Texas. Their home
STADIUM is the Minute Maid Park.
hove /həʊv/ tech or humor past tense & participle of HEAVE
hov-el /'hɒvəl||'hɑ-, 'hɑː-/ n often derog or humor a small dirty
place where people live
hov-er /'hɒvə||'hɑ-, 'hɑː-/ v [I] 1 (of birds, certain aircraft
etc) to stay in the air in one place 2 (of people) to stay
around one place, especially in a way that annoys other
people: I wish you'd stop hovering (round) and let me get on
with some work! 3 [(between)] to be in an uncertain state: He's
hovering between life and death. → -er n
hov-er-craft /'hɒvəkrɑːft||'hɑvərkræft, 'hɑː-/ n pl. -craft or
-crafts a vehicle, especially a large one for carrying passen-
gers, that flies over land or water keeping very close to the
surface, and is kept in flight by a strong current of air forced
out beneath it → compare HYDROFOIL
'hover ,mower n a LAWN MOWER that is supported just above
the ground on a cushion of air and has a blade that spins
round and round very fast
Ho-vis /'həʊvɪs/ trademark a British company that makes
different types of bread, but is best known for its brown
bread
HOV lane /ˌeɪtʃ əʊ ˈviː leɪn/ also diamond lane n AmE
abbrev. for High Occupancy Vehicle Lane; a LANE on a FREEWAY
which only cars with two or more people in them can drive
in
how¹ /haʊ/ adv 1 (in questions) a) in what way or by what
means: How can I get to Cambridge? | Will you tell me how I
can get to Cambridge? | How is this word spelt? | Can you
remember how to get there? | (shows surprise or anger) How
could you do such a stupid thing? b) in what condition, of
health or mind: How is your mother? | How are you (feeling)? |
I want to know how he feels about having to work at week-
ends. c) by what amount; to what degree: How much does
this cost? | How old are you? | I don't know how long this will
take. | I wonder how soon he'll come. | It depends on how large
a salary you earn. | I forget how many there are. 2 (in
expressions of strong feeling): How pleased they were to see
us! | How nice of you to come. | How we laughed! → compare
WHAT² (see USAGE) 3 And how! infml, especially AmE Very much
so: 'Did they enjoy themselves?' 'And how!' 4 How are you?
/ˌ···/ a) (a question about someone's health) b) (a phrase
used when meeting someone you already know. The reply is
often: 'Fine (thanks). (And) how are you /ˌ···,·/?') 5 How
come? infml (expressing surprise) Why is it? How can it be
that ... ?: How come he got the job when she was the best-
qualified person? 6 How do you do? (a phrase used to
someone you have just met for the first time; this person
replies with the same phrase. They usually shake hands at
the same time.) → see also HOW DO YOU DO 7 How so?
Why? In what way?: 'I think she's stuck-up.' 'How so?' 'She
never says hello when she passes me in the street.' 8 How's
that? Please repeat; What did you say? → see also how
about (ABOUT²)
how  what Both how and what are used in exclamations.
How usually comes before an adjective or adverb: How
nice she is. | How kind of you to invite me. | How slowly
he walks! What comes before a noun or noun phrase:
What a nice person she is. | What an idiot I was!
how² conj 1 the fact that: Do you remember how she used to
smoke 50 cigarettes a day? 2 infml HOWEVER: In your own home
you can act how you like.
how³ n the how and the why the way something can be
done and the reason for it
How-ard, John /'haʊədɪl-ɔːrd/ (1939-) an Australian politi-
cian, Prime Minister since 1996
Howard, Michael (1941-) a British politician who was
leader of the Conservative Party from 2003 to 2005. He had
been Home Secretary in the government of John Major from
1993 to 1997. People thought that he would not go any
further when another Conservative MP, Anne Widdecombe,
said he had 'something of the night about him' (=he looks
like DRACULA), and he failed to become leader when he tried
in 2001. But after Iain Duncan Smith RESIGNED in 2003, he
was the only candidate to replace him.
,Howard 'Johnson's trademark a type of restaurant or hotel
in the US, usually built close to large main roads, providing
services for families and business travellers
,Howard League for ,Penal Re'form, the a British
organization which is against physical punishment and the
death sentence, and wants change in international attitudes
to punishment and imprisonment
how-dah /'haʊdə/ n a usually decorative seat for a person to
sit on an elephant's back
how do you do /ˌhaʊ dʒə ˈduː, ˌhaʊ də ju ˈduː/ also how
d'ye do /ˌhaʊ dʒə ˈduː/ n a fine how do you do infml an
unpleasantly surprising situation → see also HOW¹
how-dy /'haʊdi/ interj AmE infml (used when meeting someone)
HELLO
How-dy Doo-dy /ˌhaʊdi ˈduːdi/ the main character of a US
television programme for children called 'The Howdy Doody
Show', which was especially popular during the 1950s.
Howdy Doody was a PUPPET with red hair, who was dressed
like a COWBOY. Many people in the US remember that the
programme always began with the words 'It's Howdy Doody
time!' and that the children who were present while it was
being filmed were called 'the Peanut Gallery'.
Howe, Gor-die /haʊ, 'gɔːdɪll'gɔːr-/ (1928-) a Canadian ICE
HOCKEY player who played for 26 years in the National
Hockey League
How-erd, Frank-ie /'haʊədɪl-ərd, 'fræŋki/ (1921-92) a Brit-
ish COMEDIAN who appeared in films, on television and
radio, and in the theatre. He is remembered especially for
playing the part of a Roman SLAVE in the Up Pompeii
programmes on British television, and also for appearing in
two CARRY ON FILMS. His humour was often based on INNU-
ENDO (=making remarks that suggest something unpleasant
or disapproving without saying it directly) and on DOUBLE
ENTENDRES (=statements that have more than one meaning,
often connected with sex).
how-ev-er¹ /haʊ'evə/ conj in whatever way: I'm going by
car but you can go however you like.
however² adv 1 to whatever degree: However cold it is, she
always goes swimming. | I won't accept their offer, however
favourable the conditions. | We'll have to finish it, however
long it takes. 2 rather fml in spite of this; NEVERTHELESS: The
company's profits have fallen slightly. However, this is not a
serious problem. | There is, however, another side to this
problem. | My room is small. It's very comfortable, how-
ever. 3 (showing surprise) how: However did you find it? →
see EVER
How ,Green was My 'Valley (1939) a novel by Richard
Llewellyn about a MINER's family in South Wales. It was made
into a film in 1941.
how-it-zer /'haʊɪtsə/ n a heavy gun which fires SHELLS high
over a short distance