427
during
of the planet's most valuable NATURAL RESOURCE (=some-
thing useful such as oil or coal that exists in a place and can
be used to increase its wealth), SPICE. Several million copies
of the book have been sold and it has also been made into a
film.
'dune, buggy n a BEACH BUGGY
dung /dʌŋ/ n [U] solid waste material from the bowels of
animals, especially cows and horses; animal MANURE
dun-ga-rees /ˌdʌŋɡəˈriːz/ n [P] 1 BrE || overalls AmE a)
workmen's trousers with a BIB and shoulder STRAPS, usually
made of blue DENIM (=heavy cotton cloth) b) similar trousers
made of any material and worn as a fashion GARMENT →
compare BOILER SUIT, OVERALLS 2 AmE a type of heavy JEANS
usually worn for working in → see PAIR (USAGE) —dungaree
adj [A] dungaree pockets
Dun-ge-ness /ˌdʌndʒəˈnes/ a place in Kent, in southeast
England, next to the English Channel, where there are two
NUCLEAR power stations
dun-geon /ˈdʌndʒən/ n a dark underground prison, espe-
cially beneath a castle
Dungeons and 'Dragons trademark a type of ROLE PLAYING
game in which the players pretend to be a magic character
or strange creature who must either do something difficult,
such as finding a magic ring, or must prevent someone else
from doing it
dunk /dʌŋk/ v [T(in)] infml 1 to dip (bread, cake etc, which one
is eating) into coffee, tea etc: She always dunks her biscuits
in her coffee. 2 AmE to dip (something or someone) into
liquid: She dunked her friend in the swimming pool. 3 (in
BASKETBALL) to throw (the ball) into the basket from above
the basket 4 dunk for apples AmE || dip for apples BrE || duck
for apples ScotE to play a game in which players whose eyes
are covered must use their teeth to pick up apples floating in
water. This game is especially popular at HALLOWEEN parties.
—dunk n
Dun-kirk /ˌdʌnˈkɜːk || ˈdʌŋkɜːrk/ a port and industrial city
in northern France, whose French name is Dunkerque. In
1940, during World War II, the British army was surrounded
at Dunkirk by the German army, but thousands of British
soldiers escaped and were brought back to England in a
collection of small boats.
Dunkirk 'spirit, the a determination to succeed despite
being in a difficult or impossible situation, which is believed
to be a typical British quality
CULTURAL NOTE This expression comes from the attitude
shown by British people who went to Dunkirk in France in
small boats to help to bring back British soldiers in World
War II.
Dún Laogh·aire /du:n 'leərə||dɑ:n-/ a port on the east coast
of Ireland, just south of Dublin
Dun·lop /'dʌnlɒp||-lɑ:p/ trademark a British company that
makes TYRES for cars and other vehicles, and is also known
for making sports shoes and sports equipment such as tennis
RACKETS and balls
Dunne, Dom-i-nick /dʌn, 'dɒmənɪk||'dɑ:-/ (1926-) a US
writer, whose books include An Inconvenient Woman and
Another City, Not My Own. Some of his books have been made
into films shown on television, and he also writes for maga-
zines, especially Vanity Fair.
lun·no /də'nəʊ/ spoken a way of saying 'I don't know', that
some people think is incorrect: 'Do you want to come?' 'I
dunno, I might.'
u·o /'dju:əʊ||'du:əʊ/ n pl. duos 1 a DUET 2 [+sing./pl. v] infml a
pair, especially two singers or musicians performing together
du·o·dec·i·mal /ˌdju:əˈdesɪməl||ˌdu:-/ adj tech concerning
the number 12, especially calculation by 12s, rather than by
10s as in the decimal system
u·o·de·num /ˌdju:ə'di:nəm||ˌdu:-, du'ɑ:dɒn-əm/ n pl. -na
/-nə/, -nums tech the first part of the bowel below the
stomach —nal /ˌdju:'di:nl||ˌdu:-, du'ɑ:dn-əl/ adj: a duode-
nal ulcer
dupe¹ /dju:pju:dʊ:p/ n a person who is tricked or deceived by
someone else
dupe² v [T(into) often pass.] to trick or deceive: The salesman
duped the old lady into buying a faulty dishwasher.
du-plex /'dju:pleks||'du:-/ n, adj [A] AmE 1 a SEMIDETACHED
house 2 (a flat) having rooms on two floors of a building: a
duplex apartment → compare TRIPLEX²
du-pli-cate¹ /'dju:plɪkət||'du:-/ n, adj (something that is)
exactly like another: duplicate keys to the front door | If
you've lost your key I can give you a duplicate. | This form
should be filled out in duplicate. (=two copies should be
filled out)
du-pli-cate² /'dju:plɪkeɪt||'du:-/ v [T] 1 to copy exactly:
Can you duplicate this key for me? 2 to copy written,
printed, or drawn material on a special machine called a
duplicator: All the members received duplicated notices of the
meeting. Duplicating has been replaced by photocopying
(PHOTOCOPY). 3 to repeat or equal: an extraordinary feat
which would be impossible to duplicate —cation
/ˌdju:plɪ'keɪʃən||du:-/ n [U]
du-pli-ca-tor /'dju:plɪkeɪtə||'du:-/ n a machine that makes
copies of written, printed, or drawn material. Duplicators
have mostly been replaced by PHOTOCOPIERS.
du-plic-i-ty /dju:'plɪsɪti||du:-/ n [U] fml the quality of being
dishonest and deceitful
DuPont, Du Pont /dju:'pɒnt||du:'pɑ:nt/ trademark a large
US chemical company, named after the family that started it,
which has developed NYLON, RAYON, CELLOPHANE, and other
materials
Du Pré, Jac-que-line
/'preɪ, dju:-,
'dʒækəli:n/ (1945-87) a British
musician who is regarded as
one of the greatest ever CEL-
LISTS (=someone who plays
the CELLO). She was married
to the musician Daniel
BARENBOIM, and is best
known for playing ELGAR's
Cello Concerto. She had to
stop playing when she
became seriously ill with
MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS.
Jacqueline Du Pré
dur-a-ble /'djʊərəbl||'dʊr-/ adj able to last; long-lasting:
trousers of durable material | a durable, easy-to-clean surface |
a durable peace between two nations → see also CONSUMER
DURABLES —bly adv —bility /ˌdjʊərə'bləti||ˌdr-/ n [U]
'durable, goods n [P] AmE for CONSUMER DURABLES
Dur-a-cell /'djʊərəsel||'dʊr-/ trademark a type of BATTERY for
use in radios, WALKMANS etc. The company that makes them
claims that Duracell batteries last longer than ordinary batter-
ies.
du-ra-tion /dju'reɪʃən||du-/ n [U] fml the time during which
something (especially a state or feeling) exists, lasts, or
continues: an illness of short duration | He will be in hospital
for the duration of the school year. | German citizens in
Britain were interned for the duration. (=while the war
lasted)
Dü-rer, Al-brecht /'djʊərər, 'ælbrekt, -ext||'ɑ:r-/ (1471-
1528) a German artist known for his drawings and ENGRAV-
INGS, especially his very detailed pictures of himself and other
people
du-ress /dju'res||du-/ n [U] fml illegal or unfair threats;
COERCION: a promise made under duress
Du-rex /'djʊəreks||'dʊr-/ 1 trademark BrE a type of CONDOM
sold in the UK: a packet of durex 2 trademark AustrE SELLOTAPE
(=thin transparent tape for sticking paper etc)
Dur-ham /'dʌrəm||'dɜ:r-/ 1 a city in northeast England on
the River Wear. It has a CATHEDRAL (=large important church)
and one of the UK's oldest universities. 2 also County
Durham a COUNTY in northeast England, which used to
produce a lot of coal
dur-ing /'djʊərɪŋ||'dʊr-/ prep 1 all through (a length of
time): We go swimming every day during the summer. (com-
pare We went swimming every day for three months.) | They
lived abroad during the war. (=while the war was
happening) | a long speech, during which he made various
promises to the voters 2 at some moment in (a length of
time): He died during the night.