1081
pound
underground in rocky country 2 a hole in the surface of a
road which makes driving etc difficult or dangerous
**pot-hol-ing** /'pɒtˌhəlɪŋ||'pɑːt-/ *n* [U] the sport of climbing
down inside POTHOLES —**er** *n*
**pot-hun-ter** /'pɒtˌhʌntər||'pɑːt-/ *n* BrE infml derog a person
who competes in races or competitions only in order to win
prizes
**po-tion** /'pəʊʃən/ *n* especially lit a liquid mixture intended as a
medicine, poison, or magic charm: *a potion supposed to cure*
*baldness*
**pot-luck**¹ /ˌpɒt'lʌk||ˌpɑːt-/ *n* **take potluck** **a)** to choose
without enough information; take a chance: *I don't know*
*anything about any of these films, so let's just go to the nearest*
*cinema and take potluck.* **b)** (especially of an unexpected
guest) to have whatever meal has been prepared: *Come home*
*with us and have supper, if you don't mind taking potluck.*
**potluck**² *adj* AmE with dishes of food brought by many
different people: *a potluck supper* | *Will you bring a salad to*
*the potluck lunch next Sunday?*
**'Pot, Noodle** *trademark* a type of light meal sold in the UK,
consisting of dried PASTA, meat, and vegetables. You mix it
with boiling water and it is ready to eat almost immediately.
**Po-to-mac, the** /pə'təʊmæk/ a river in the east of the US
which separates Maryland and Washington, D.C. from Vir-
ginia and West Virginia
**'pot plant** *n* **1** BrE || **,**potted **'plant** AmE — a usually decorative
plant grown in a pot indoors **2** AmE infml a MARIJUANA plant
**pot-pour-ri** /ˌpə'pʊəri, -pʊ'riː||ˌpɑːpʊ'riː/ *n* **1** a mixture of
dried pieces of sweet-smelling flowers and leaves, kept in a
bowl to give a pleasant smell to a room **2** [off] a mixed
collection, especially of pieces of music or writing of a
popular sort; MISCELLANY
**'pot, roast** *n* a piece of meat, usually BEEF cooked in a pan on
top of the cooker, usually with potatoes and vegetables
**Pots-dam A-gree-ment, the** /ˌpɒtsdæm
ə'griːmənt||ˌpɑːts-/ an agreement by the countries that won
World War II (the US, Britain, the USSR, and France) to
divide control of Germany between them
**pot-sherd** /'pɒt-ʃɜːd||'pɑːt-ʃɜːrd/ *n* tech (in ARCHAEOLOGY) a
piece of a broken pot
**pot-shot** /'pɒt-ɒt||'pɑːt-ʃɑːt/ also **pot** *n* [at)] infml a care-
lessly aimed shot: *I took a potshot at the rabbit.*
**pot-ted** /'pɒtɪd||'pɑːt-/ *adj* [A] **1** (of meat, fish, or chicken)
made into a PASTE to be eaten especially spread on
bread **2** (of a plant) grown in a pot: *potted palms* **3** especially
BrE, sometimes derog (of a book) produced in a shorter simpler
form: *a potted history of the world*
**pot-ter**¹ /'pɒtər||'pɑːt-/ *n* a person who makes pots, dishes
etc, out of baked clay, especially by hand ➔ see also
POTTERY
**potter**² BrE || **putter** AmE — *v* [I+adv/prep] infml **1** to go in an
unhurried way: *I was just pottering along in my little car*
*when two motorbikes roared past.* **2** to spend time moving
about a place slowly doing unimportant activities that need
little effort: *Granny just potters about the house.* | *pottering in*
*the garden* —**potter** *n* [S]
**Potter, Bea-trix** /'biːətrɪks||'biːər-/ (1866–1943) a British
writer who wrote stories for young children and also drew
the pictures for her books. The characters in her stories are
animals who dress and behave like humans, and they
include Peter Rabbit, Tom Kitten, and Mrs Tiggy-Winkle (a
HEDGEHOG). Her stories are still very popular today.
**Potter, Den-nis** /'denɪs/ (1935–94) a British writer of plays
for television, whose many plays include *Pennies from*
*Heaven* and *The Singing Detective*. He is generally regarded in
the UK as the most important and original writer of plays for
television, and his work is known especially for the way that
popular songs are used as part of serious stories. Some people
were shocked by the subjects of his plays and the language
used by his characters. Many British people also remember his
television INTERVIEW with Melvyn BRAGG, which was
recorded just before he died of CANCER.
**Potter, Harry** the main character in British writer J.K.
Rowling's very popular books. Harry Potter is a young boy
who discovers that he is a WIZARD (=a man who has magical
powers). He is known for wearing round glasses. In the books,
such as *Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets*, he learns
about magic and fights against evil wizards. Some of the
books have been made into successful films.
**Pot-ter-ies, the** /'pɒtəriːz||'pɑːr-/ a part of Staffordshire in
England which is a centre for the CHINA and POTTERY indus-
try
**'potter's, field** *n* (formerly) a place where poor people were
buried
**‚potter's 'wheel** *n* a round flat spinning plate on which wet
clay is placed to be shaped into a pot
**pot-ter-y** /'pɒtəri||'pɑːr-/ *n* [U] **1** the work of a potter **2** (pots
and other objects made out of) baked clay: *a collection of*
*medieval pottery* | *a pottery dish* | *a pottery class*
**'potting, compost** *n* [U] a mixture of earth, sand, decayed
plant material, and plant foods which is put into pots in
which plants are grown
**'potting shed** *n* especially BrE a small building for the use of a
gardener, in which garden tools, seeds etc are kept
**pot-ty**¹ /'pɒti||'pɑːti/ *adj* BrE infml **1** silly; slightly mad: *What a*
*potty idea!* | *That noise is driving me potty.* **2** [F+about] having
an extremely strong, or too strong interest in or admiration
for: *He's potty about the girl next door/about sailing.*
—**tiness** *n* [U]
**potty**² also **pot** *n* **1** a CHAMBER POT for children, now usually
made of plastic ➔ compare BEDPAN **2** AmE (used by or to
children) the toilet: *Have you been to the potty?*
**'potty-trained** also **toilet-trained** *adj* (of a child) trained to
use a potty or TOILET —**potty-training** *n* [U]
**pouch** /paʊtʃ/ *n* **1** a small leather bag used for holding
especially tobacco or, in former times, explosive powder,
money etc **2** a pocket of skin in the lower half of the body, in
which MARSUPIAL animals carry their young **3** a baglike fold
of skin inside each cheek, in which certain animals carry
and store food
**pouf** /puːf/ *n* **1** also **pouffe** BrE || **hassock** AmE — a soft
drum-shaped object used as a seat or for resting the feet
on **2** BrE derog slang for a male HOMOSEXUAL. This word is used
only by people who do not approve of homosexual men. ➔
see HOMOSEXUAL
**poul-tice** /'pəʊltɪs/ *n* a heated wet mass of a soft substance,
spread on a thin cloth and laid against the skin to lessen
pain, swelling etc: *a mustard poultice*
**poul-try** /'pəʊltri/ *n* [P,U] (meat from) farmyard birds such as
hens, ducks etc, kept for supplying eggs and meat: *Poultry is*
*cheaper than meat (=meat from cattle, pigs etc) at the*
*moment.*
**pounce**¹ /paʊns/ *v* [I(on)] to jump suddenly in order to take
hold of something firmly, especially so as to kill and eat it:
*The cat pounced on the unsuspecting mouse.* | (fig.) *Policemen*
*were hiding in the bank, ready to pounce on the thieves.*
**pounce on sbdy./sthg.** *phr v* [T] **1** to accept eagerly: *He*
*pounced on my offer.* **2** to notice at once and make a sharp
remark about: *If you make a single mistake, Vernon will*
*pounce on it/you and say you're a fool.*
**pounce**² *n* [C usually sing.] an attack made by pouncing
**pound**¹ /paʊnd/ *n* **1** [C] (written abbrev. lb) a unit of weight
equal to 0.454 kilograms: *This weighs seven pounds.* (=7 lbs) |
*Two pounds of apples, please.* | *Sugar is still sold by the pound*
*here.* ➔ see TABLE 2 **2** [C] **a)** also **pound sterling** fnl or tech
— the standard unit of money in Britain, divided into 100
pence. The pound used to be in the form of paper money
called a pound note, but in 1985 this was replaced by a coin
(called a pound coin): *Five pounds can also be written £5.* |
*The floods caused damage estimated at over a million*
*pounds.* **b)** the standard unit of money in various other
countries, such as Egypt and the Sudan **3** [the] the value of
British money in relation to the money of other countries:
*The pound has fallen again (against the dollar).*
**4 -pounder** **a)** something, especially a fish, that weighs the
stated number of pounds: *I caught a five-pounder.* **b)** a large
gun that fires a shot weighing the stated number of pounds:
*a 32-pounder* **5** **sb's pound of flesh** the amount which
someone is demanding from you and which they have a
legal right to claim, even though it will cause you suffering
**pound**² *v* **1** [T(I)] to crush into a soft mass or powder by
hitting repeatedly with a heavy object: *Pound the tomatoes*