1573 wholemeal
whitewall tyre BrE, whitewall tire AmE /'waɪtwɔːl
'taɪə/ n a type of car TYRE with a white surface on the sides.
Whitewall tyres were especially popular on cars made in the
US during the late 1950s.
white-wash¹ /'waɪtwɒʃ||-'wɑːʃ, -'wɔː/ n 1 [U] a white
liquid mixture made from LIME used especially for covering
walls 2 [C,U] derog an attempt to hide a mistake or bad
action so that the person who is responsible will not be
blamed or punished: That whole affair was a whitewash. |
The report was simply a whitewash.
whitewash² v [T] 1 to cover with whitewash: whitewashed
cottages 2 derog to prevent (something bad) from being
noticed or make (what is bad) seem good or harmless: The
report attempts to whitewash recent events, but we all know
the minister was seriously at fault.
white-wa-ter /'waɪt'wɔːtə ||-'wɔːr-, -'wɑː-/ n [U] AmE for
RAPIDS
white-water 'rafting n [U] a dangerous sport, sailing by
RAFT (=a flat type of boat with little or no protection for
those in it) down a river which is white because of the fast
water striking rocks (RAPIDS). It is a popular sport in the US.
white 'wedding n especially BrE a wedding at which the BRIDE
(=woman being married) wears a long white dress -> see
Feature on page A28
whith-er /'wɪðə/ adv old use 1 to which (place): the place
whither he went 2 to what place: Whither are you going? ->
compare WHENCE
whit-ing¹ /'waɪtɪŋ/ n pl. whiting or whitings a sea fish used
for food
whiting² n [U] WHITENING
whit-low /'wɪtləʊ/ also felon n an infected piece of skin near
a nail on the finger or toe
Whit-man, Walt /'wɪtmən, wɔːlt/ (1819-92) a US writer
known for his poetry about the beauty of nature and the
value of freedom. He is regarded as one of the greatest and
most influential US poets, and his best-known work is
LEAVES OF GRASS.
Whit 'Monday n [C,U] the day after Whit Sunday, which
used to be a public holiday in the UK. There is now a
holiday around the same time called the 'Spring Bank
Holiday', but it is not always on Whit Monday.
Whit-sun /'wɪtsən/ n [C, U] 1 also ,Whit 'Sunday the seventh
Sunday after Easter, when Christians celebrate the HOLY SPIRIT
coming down from heaven; PENTECOST² 2 also Whitsuntide
/'wɪtsəntaɪd/ the period around Whitsun
Whit-ting-ton, Dick /'wɪtɪŋtən/ (?1385-1423) an English
businessman who was Lord Mayor of London. Although he
was a real person, there are also many stories about his life.
According to old stories, he went to London with his cat
when he was a young man because he believed 'the streets
were paved with gold' (=he thought it was easy to become
rich there). At first he was very unsuccessful and decided to
leave London. But as he was leaving, he thought he heard the
words 'Turn again, Whittington, Lord Mayor of London' in
the sound of the church bells. So he went back, and later
became Lord Mayor of London three times. His story is often
performed in PANTOMIMES in the UK, and in these stories the
cat is always shown to be very intelligent.
whit-tle /'wɪtl/ v [T(OWN, AWAY)] 1 to cut (wood) to a smaller
size by taking off small thin pieces 2 to reduce by a
continuous and gradual process: Bad financial management
has whittled away the company's profits. | We've whittled
down the list of candidates to five. ->whittler n
Whit-worth, Kath-y /'wɪtwɜːθ||-wɜːrθ, 'kæθi/ (1939-) a US
GOLFER who has won more competitions than any other
woman player
whizz¹, whiz /wɪz/ v -zz- [+adv/prep] infml to move very fast,
often making a noisy sound as if rushing through the air:
Cars were whizzing past. | (fig.) The days seemed to whizz by.
whizz², whiz n 1 [S] a whizzing sound 2 [C usually sing.] infml
someone who is very fast, clever, or skilled in the stated
activity: a whizz at cards
whizz kid, whiz kid n infml, usually apprec a person who is very
successful at an early age, especially in business, usually
because of great natural skill and cleverness
who /huː/ pron [(used especially as the subject of a v)] 1 (used in
questions) what person or people: Who's that woman over
there? | Who are they? | Who told you that? | Did they find out
who stole the money? | Who did you stay with? -> see
USAGE 2 (shows what person or people is/are meant): Do
you know the people who/that live here? | A postman is a man
who/that delivers letters. | The official who/that used to deal
with your business has moved to another branch. 3 (used
especially in written language, after a COMMA to add more
information about a person or people): I discussed it with my
brother, who is a lawyer.
1 Except in very formal language who can be used
instead of whom as an object in questions: Who did you
see? | Whom (fml) did you see? | Who was she dancing
with?/With whom (fml) was she dancing? 2 When a word
like family or team is followed by a plural verb, use who: a
family who quarrel among themselves | a team who
practise together. When such verbs are followed by a
singular verb, use which: a family which has always lived
here | a team which wins most of its matches. -> see
also THAT (USAGE)
WHO /,dʌbəljuː eɪtʃ 'əʊ/ abbrev. for WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZA-
TION
Who, Dr -> see DR WHO
Who, The a British ROCK group whose members included
Roger Daltrey, the group's main singer, and Pete Townshend.
They first became popular in the mid-1960s and are known
especially for their song My Generation and for their ALBUM
Tommy. They sometimes used to end their performances by
violently destroying their instruments.
whoa /wəʊ, həʊ/ interj (a call to a horse to) stop
who'd /huːd/ short for 1 who had 2 who would
who-dun-it, whodunnit /'huː'dʌnɪt/ n infml a story, film
etc, about a crime mystery, especially concerned with find-
ing out who was the criminal
who-ev-er /huː'evə/ pron 1 anyone at all: I'll take whoever
wants to go. 2 no matter who: Whoever it is, I don't want to
see them/him. 3 (shows surprise) who: Whoever can be phon-
ing us at this time of night?
whole¹ /həʊl/ adj 1 [A] all (the); the full amount of: When I
broke my leg, I spent a whole month/three whole weeks in
bed. | I spent the whole morning in bed today. | He sat next to
me in the car and slept the whole way. | She drank two whole
bottles of wine. | Are you telling me the whole truth? | (infml,
especially AmE) The storm caused a whole lot of (=a great deal
of) damage. 2 not divided or broken up; complete: I ordered
a whole bottle of wine, waiter, not a half bottle. | He swallowed
the cake whole, without chewing it at all. | The police found a
whole human skeleton. -> see also WHOLLY, go the whole
hog (HOG) 3 the whole nine yards AmE used in order to
emphasize that you are talking about everything in a group
of similar things, or everything that is involved in a particu-
lar activity: 'Did you actually drive the boat and everything?'
'Yeah, the whole nine yards.' | Stein discovered a panda was on
the World Wildlife Federation logo and wrote the organization,
asking how she could help. 'They sent me back a bunch of
literature, bumper stickers, the whole nine yards.'
whole² n 1 [(the)S(of)] the complete amount, thing etc: The
whole of (=all) the morning was wasted. | There are some areas
of poverty, but the country as a whole is fairly prosper-
ous. 2 [C usually sing.] the sum of the parts: Two halves make a
whole. 3 on the whole generally; considering everything:
On the whole, I'm satisfied with her progress.
whole-food /'həʊlfud/ n [C,U] (a) food that is in a simple
natural form, without anything removed or added. Whole-
food is considered healthier than PROCESSED FOOD: Brown
rice and unrefined sugar are wholefoods.
whole-'hearted adj with all one's feelings, interest, sincer-
ity etc: whole-hearted support/attention/sympathy | a whole-
hearted effort ---ly adv
whole-meal /'həʊlmil/ also whole wheat adj [A] (made
from flour) containing all the grain; made without remov-
ing the covering of the grain. Wholemeal flour is used
especially by people interested in eating healthy foods:
wholemeal flour | wholemeal bread (=a type of brown bread)