1265
a settlement on his daughter when she married. 6 [U] the
slow sinking of a building, the earth under it etc; SUBSIDENCE
set-tler /'setlǝr/ n a member of a new population, especially
in an area with few people: The early settlers in Australia
lived mainly along the coast
'set-to n [(with)] infml a short fight or quarrel ➔ compare SET
TO
'set-top box n [C] BrE a piece of electronic equipment that is
connected to your television to make it able to receive DIGITAL
signals and programmes
'set-up n [C usually sing.] 1 an arrangement or organization:
He's new to the office and doesn't know the set-up yet. | He and
his wife live in different houses – it's a very strange set-
up. 2 infml an arrangement made secretly in advance in order
to trick someone: When the photographer suddenly walked in
just as he was getting into bed with the girl, he realized it was
a set-up. ➔ see also SET UP
Seu·rat, Georges /'sɪ:rɑ:‖su'rɑ:, ʒɔ:ʒɔ:rz/ (1859–91) a
French artist who developed the method of painting known
as POINTILLISM (=using many small spots of pure colour,
rather than longer lines made with the brush). One of his
best-known paintings is The Bathers at Asnières.
Seuss, Dr /su:s/ (1904–91) an US children's writer whose
funny stories, poems, and pictures are very popular with
young children, and include The Cat in the Hat, Green Eggs
and Ham, and How the Grinch Stole Christmas
sev·en /'sevən/ determiner, n, pron (the number) 7 ➔ see TABLE 1;
see also at sixes and sevens (SIX) —enth determiner, n, pron,
adv
seven ages of man, the n seven different stages of a
person's life from being a baby to being an old person. This
idea is known from SHAKESPEARE's play AS YOU LIKE IT.
Seven Deadly Sins, the according to the Christian
church in the Middle Ages, the seven most serious types of
bad behaviour. The sins are PRIDE (=thinking you are better
than other people), LECHERY (=too much desire for sex), ENVY
(=disliking someone because they have things that you want
and do not have), anger, COVETOUSNESS (=wanting someone
else's wealth or possessions), GLUTTONY (=eating too much),
and SLOTH (=laziness).
Seven Dwarfs, the a group of seven very small men in
the FAIRY TALE SNOW WHITE. In the Walt Disney film of the
story their names are Doc, Grumpy, Sleepy, Bashful, Happy,
Sneezy, and Dopey.
7-EI·e·ven /sevən ɪ'levən/ trademark a shop that sells food,
drinks, magazines, cleaning products etc. 7-Elevens are
smaller than SUPERMARKETS and usually a little more expen-
sive. But they are usually in busy parts of a city and they are
almost always open, so this makes them convenient for
many people. 7-Elevens are very common in the US, and
there are also some in the UK, especially in London and
other large cities.
747 /sevən fɔ:/ 'sevənθ-fɔ:r/ n a large passenger plane made
by the US Boeing Corporation. The 747 was the first JUMBO
JET and it can carry over 400 passengers. These planes are
used all over the world, especially for long-distance flights.
seven-league boots n [P] a pair of boots belonging to an
OGRE in a fairy story, which could travel a great distance at
each step
Seven Samurai, The a film by the Japanese film director
Akira Kurosawa. It is about a poor village which is attacked by
BANDITS. Seven SAMURAI agree to fight for the VILLAGERS and to
help protect them in return for three meals a day.
seven seas, the all the seas and oceans of the world: He
sailed the seven seas looking for adventure.
sev·en·teen /sevən'ti:n ◄ / determiner, n, pron (the number) 17
➔ see TABLE 1 —teenth determiner, n, pron, adv
Seventeen trademark a US magazine for TEENAGE girls, con-
taining pictures and articles about fashion, health, popular
music, boys etc, and answers to readers' questions about
personal problems. In the UK there is a similar magazine
called J-17.
seventh day [the] the day which, according to the Bible,
God set aside as a day of rest; the SABBATH
severe
Seventh-Day Adventist n a member of a Christian
religious group that believes that Christ will return to Earth
in the near future. Unlike most Christian groups, Seventh-
Day Adventists have a religious day of rest on Saturday
instead of Sunday.
seventh heaven n [(in)U] infml humor a state in which one is
completely happy; BLISS: He's in the/his seventh heaven when
he's watching football.
737 /sevən θri: 'sevən/ n a medium-sized passenger plane
made by the Boeing Corporation
sev-en·ties /'sevəntiz/ n 1 [the] also '70s — the 1970s (=the
years from 1970 to 1979): the admission of China to the UN
in the early seventies | seventies fashion ➔ see Feature on
page A8 2 in his/her/their seventies aged from 70 to 79:
She is still very active in her seventies and regularly goes hill
walking. 3 [the] the numbers from 70 to 79, especially when
used to measure temperature: a lovely sunny day with tem-
peratures in the seventies
sev-en-ty /'sevənti/ determiner, n, pron (the number) 70 ➔ see
TABLE 1 —tieth determiner, n, pron, adv
,seventy eight, 78 n a record, now old-fashioned, that is
played by being turned round 78 times every minute ➔
compare FORTY-FIVE
7-Up /sevən 'ʌp/ trademark a type of popular non-alcoholic
CARBONATED drink which tastes of LEMON and LIME
Seven Wonders of the World, the seven ancient
structures which were considered to be the most interesting
and impressive things in the world made by ancient peoples.
These were the PYRAMIDS of Egypt, the Hanging Gardens of
Babylon, the STATUE of Zeus at Olympia, the Temple of
Artemis at Ephesus, the MAUSOLEUM (=building where peo-
ple are buried) at Halicarnassus, the COLOSSUS OF RHODES,
and the Pharos (a LIGHTHOUSE) at Alexandria.
s e v e n -y e a r 'itch n [(the) S] infml a feeling of dissatisfaction
with one's marriage that is said to develop after about seven
years
Seven Years' War, the a war fought in Europe, North
America, and India between 1756 and 1763. The war was
about French and English colonies (COLONY), and also Austria
and Prussia wanting to control Europe. As a result of the war,
France lost most of its land in India and the US to Britain, and
Prussia became a leading European power under Frederick II.
sev·er /'sevər/ v [T] 1 [T] a) to divide into usually two
parts, especially by cutting: a severed artery b) [(from)] to
separate, especially by violent cutting: His arm was severed
from his body in the accident. 2 [T] to bring to an end (a
relationship etc); break off: We have severed all diplomatic
relations with that country. | The new director wants to sever
all ties with our sister company. | She had severed all contact
with her former husband. 3 [I] to break: The rope severed
and he fell. —ance n [C;U(off)] The border incidents led to (a)
severance of relations between the two countries. ➔ see also
SEVERANCE PAY
sev·er·al¹ /'sevərəl/ determiner, pron more than a few but not
very many; some: I go there several times each year. | Several
newspapers published the story. | The damage will cost several
thousand pounds to repair. | Several of the prisoners said they
had been badly treated span | We may have to wait several
weeks for the results to come back from the laboratory.
several² adj [A no comp.] lit or fml separate; different; RESPECTIVE:
They shook hands and went their several ways. —ly adv:
Shall we consider these questions severally, or all together?
severance pay n [U] money paid by a company to one of
their workers losing their job through no fault of their own,
especially when the job is no longer necessary because of
reorganization in the company
se·vere /s'vɪə/ adj 1 causing serious harm, pain, worry, or
discomfort: She received severe head injuries in the accident. |
She was in severe pain. | the severest (=coldest) winter for ten
years | The bad harvests led to severe food shortages. | This is
a severe setback for the government. | The rejection came as a
severe blow to his pride. 2 not kind or gentle in treatment;
not allowing failure or change in rules, standards etc; STERN;
STRICT: She had a severe look on her face. | severe discipline | a
severe judge | Don't be too severe on him – he couldn't help it.
➔ compare MILD 3 likely to cause failure or show up