whole note
1574
'whole note n AmE for SEMIBREVE
,whole 'number n an INTEGER
whole-sale¹ /'həʊlseɪl/ n [U] the business of selling goods
in large quantities, especially to shopkeepers → compare
RETAIL
wholesale² adj, adv 1 of, being, or employed in the sale of
goods in large quantities and usually at low prices: a
wholesale supplier of office machinery | He buys the
materials/sells the products wholesale. | They cost $50 in the
stores, but the wholesale price is $35. 2 (usually of something
bad) on a large scale; widespread; INDISCRIMINATE: wholesale
slaughter
whole-sal-er /'həʊlˌseɪlər/ n a businessman who sells goods
wholesale
whole-some /'həʊlsəm/ adj apprec 1 good for the body or
likely to produce good health: wholesome food 2 having a
good or desirable moral effect: Films like that are not whole-
some entertainment for young children. —ness n [U]
'whole wheat adj WHOLEMEAL
who'll /hu:l/ short for who will
whol-ly /'həʊl-li/ adv completely: You were not wholly to
blame for the accident. | a wholly improper suggestion
whom /hu:m/ pron (the object form of who used especially in
formal speech or writing): Whom did you see? | I wouldn't
appoint a man whom I didn't trust. | The minister, to whom I
spoke recently/whom I spoke to recently, agrees with me. | She
brought with her three friends, none of whom I had ever met
before. → see THAT (USAGE), WHO (USAGE)
whomp /wɒmp||wɑ:mp/ v [T] AmE slang 1 to hit very hard:
I'm going to whomp you if you do that again. 2 to defeat: The
Bears really whomped the Redskins in last night's game.
whoop /wu:p, hu:p/ v [I] 1 to make a loud especially joyful
cry 2 whoop it up infml to enjoy oneself a lot —whoop n:
whoops of victory
whoop-de-do¹ /ˌwʊp dɪ 'du:/ n [C] AmE spoken a noisy party
or celebration
whoop-de-do² interj AmE used to show that you do not think
something that someone has told you is as exciting or
impressive as they think it is: 'He says he'll give me a $20
raise.' 'Well, whoop-de-do.'
whoo-pee¹ /wu'pi:/ interj a cry of joy
whoop-ee² /'wu:pi:/ n make whoopee infml a) BrE to go out
enjoying oneself b) AmE to have sex
'whoopee cushion n a CUSHION which makes a rude noise
when you sit on it, used when playing jokes on people
whoop-ing cough /'hu:pɪŋ ˌkɒf||-kɔ:f/ n [U] a disease that
is caught especially by children, in which each attack of
coughing is followed by a long noisy drawing in of the
breath
whoops /wʊps/ interj OOPS
whoosh¹ /wʊʃ||wu:ʃ/ n [C usually sing.] a soft sound, like air
rushing out of something
whoosh² v [+adv/prep] infml to move quickly with a rushing
sound: The express train whooshed past.
whop /wɒp||wɑ:p/ v -pp- [T] infml, especially AmE to beat or
defeat
whop-per /'wɒpər||'wɑ:-/ n infml 1 something unusually or
surprisingly big: Did you catch that fish? What a whop-
per! 2 a big lie: He told a real whopper to excuse his lateness.
Whop-pers /'wɒpəz||'wɑ:pərz/ trademark a type of small,
round, light MALT sweet that is covered with chocolate. In
the US, people often eat Whoppers when they are at the
cinema.
whop-ping /'wɒpɪŋ||'wɑ:-/ adj, adv [A] infml very (big): a
whopping (great) lie
who're /hu:ər/ short for who are
whore /hɔ:r/ n especially old use or derog 1 a PROSTITUTE 2 a
woman whose sexual behaviour is regarded as immoral
whore-house /'hɔ:haʊs||'hɔ:r-/. n pl -houses /ˌhaʊzəz/
especially old use or derog a BROTHEL
whorl /wɜ:l||wɜ:rl/ n 1 a circular arrangement, especially of
leaves or flowers on a stem 2 the shape which a line makes
when going round in a circle and continuing outward from
the centre and not joining up, especially on some fingers (a
type of FINGERPRINT) or in the growth of some seashells.
SPIRAL
whor-tle-ber-ry /'wɜ:tlˌberi||'wɜ:rt-/ n BrE for BILBERRY
who's /hu:z/ short for 1 who is: 'Who's he talking
about? 2 who has: Who's he brought to dinner? 3 infml who
does: Who's he mean?
whose /hu:z/ determiner, pron 1 (used in questions) of whom
(the one) belonging to which person or persons: Whose
house is this? | Whose is this car? | Whose are these shoes? | We
never discovered whose (money) it was. 2 (used for showing
relationship) a) of whom: That's the man whose house was
burned down. b) of which: a new computer, whose low cost
will make it very attractive to students
who-so-ev-er /ˌhu:səʊ'evər/ also who-so /'hu:səʊ/ pron old
use for WHOEVER
,Who's 'Who trademark a book produced every year in the UK
that contains an ALPHABETICAL list of famous and important
people, such as politicians, writers, and entertainers, and
provides information about their achievements, their fami-
lies etc
who've /hu:v/ short for who have: People who've been there say
it's marvellous.
why¹ /waɪ/ adv, conj 1 for what reason: Why did you do it?
Why (should we) bother waiting any longer? | They asked him
why he did it. (not They asked him why did he do it.) I can't
think why she said that. | Is there any reason why (=a reason
for which) you can't come? | I can't see why it shouldn't work
(=I think it probably will work) 2 why not? (used for
making suggestions): Why not make one for yourself instead
of buying one? | Why don't you ask him yourself?
why² interj, especially AmE or old-fash (used for expressing surprise
or slight impatience or annoyance): I'm looking for my
glasses; why, I was wearing them all the time!
why³ n the why(s) and (the) wherefore(s) (of) the reason(s)
and explanation (for)
WI¹ /ˌdʌbəlju: 'aɪ/ abbrev. for WOMEN'S INSTITUTE
WI² written abbrev. for WISCONSIN
Wib-bly Wob-bly Bridge, the /ˌwɪbli ˌwɒbli 'brɪdʒ||-ˌwɑ:bli-/
the informal name for the Millennium Bridge
wick /wɪk/ n 1 a piece of twisted thread in a candle, which
burns as the WAX melts 2 a length of material in an oil lamp
which draws up oil while burning 3 get on someone's
wick BrE infml to annoy someone, especially continually
wick-ed /'wɪkɪd/ adj 1 extremely bad; morally wrong; evil:
wicked cruelty | a wicked man | (fig.) It's a wicked waste of
money. 2 infml playful in a rather troublesome or bad way:
MISCHIEVOUS: He had a wicked twinkle in his eye. —ly adv
—ness n [U]
When used of people wicked is very strong, and
rather old-fashioned. Evil is a more common word. A
noisy, disobedient child would not be called wicked or
evil but naughty.
,wicked 'stepmother a standard character in fairy stories
etc, who is wicked and jealous, and treats her stepchildren
(STEPCHILD) very badly
,wicked 'witch n a standard character in fairy stories etc,
SYMBOL of evil in the form of a WITCH: I always thought my
history teacher looked like a wicked witch.
,Wicked Witch of the 'West, the a character in the film
The WIZARD OF OZ, who is evil and ugly, and can do magic
wick-er /'wɪkər/ adj [A] made of wickerwork: a wicker basket
wick-er-work /'wɪkəwɜ:k||'wɪkərwɜ:rk/ n [U] (objects
made from) thin woven branches, REEDS etc: wickerwork
furniture
wick-et /'wɪkɪt/ n (in cricket) 1 a) either of two sets of three
sticks (STUMPS), with two small pieces of wood (BAILS) on top
at which the ball is bowled (BOWL) b) also pitch — the
stretch of grass between these two structures 2 one turn of