891
minnow
very small: The movie is about a scientist who invents a
machine to miniaturize things, and he accidentally shrinks
his kids.
'mini-,budget n an official statement from the government
in order to make changes in a country's economy. It does not
have as much detail as the main BUDGET.
min-i-bus /'mɪnɪbʌs/ n a small bus with seats for between six
and 12 people: The children go to school in a minibus/by
minibus.
min-i-cab /'mɪnɪkæb/ n BrE a taxi that can be called by
telephone, but not stopped in the street
min-i-com-put-er /'mɪnɪkəmpjuːtə/ n a computer that is
larger than a PERSONAL COMPUTER and smaller than a MAIN-
FRAME, used by businesses and other large organizations
min-im /'mɪnɪm/ BrE || half note AmE — n a musical note
with a time value half as long as a SEMIBREVE
min-i-mal /'mɪnɪməl/ adj fm| as little as possible; very little:
The storm did only minimal damage. | Her clothing was
minimal. → compare MAXIMAL —~ly adv
,minimal 'art n [U] an art movement started in New York in
the 1960s, involving especially SCULPTURES consisting of
simple forms in an IMPERSONAL style
min-i-mal-is-m /'mɪnɪməlɪzəm/ n [U] art, music etc that
uses very simple ideas or patterns that are repeated often
—minimalist n [C]
min-i-mal-ist /'mɪnɪməlɪst/ adj 1 deliberately designed to
be as simple as possible; used especially to describe the inside
of someone's house where there is little furniture, and very
few patterns or decorations 2 in the style of minimalism
'mini-mall, minimall n STRIP MALL
min-i-mart /'mɪnɪmɑːt||-mɑːrt/ n [C] especially AmE a small
shop that stays open very late, and that sells food, cigarettes
etc
min-i-mize also -mise BrE /'mɪnɪmaɪz/ v [T] 1 to lessen to
the smallest possible amount or degree: We had about twelve
hours' warning, so we were able to minimize the effects of the
flood. 2 to cause to seem little; treat as not serious: It would
be most unwise to minimize the dangers of this course of
action. → compare MAXIMIZE
min-i-mum /'mɪnɪməm/ adj, n pl. -ma /-mə/ or -mums [A:C(of)]
(being) the smallest number, amount etc: This price is her
minimum; she refuses to lower it any further. | minimum
depth/temperature | He smokes a minimum of ten cigarettes a
day. | He couldn't join the police, because he was below the
minimum height allowed by the rules. → compare MAXIMUM
,minimum 'lending rate abbrev. MLR n the lowest rate of
interest at which the Bank of England agrees to lend money,
which influences the rate at which banks and building socie-
ties (BUILDING SOCIETY) lend money to the public
,minimum 'wage n [C usually sing.] the lowest wage permitted
by law or by agreement for certain work, introduced so that
all workers will have a reasonable standard of living
min-ing /'maɪnɪŋ/ n [U] the action or industry of getting
minerals out of the earth by digging: coalmining | a mining
company → see also STRIP MINING
min-ion /'mɪnjən/ n derog or humor an employed person or
helper who is too obedient: He'll probably send one of his
minions to buy the tickets.
min-i-pill /'mɪnɪpɪl/ n a birth control PILL which contains
only one kind of HORMONE called PROGESTERONE while
other types of birth control pills also contain OESTROGEN
,mini-'roundabout n BrE a small kind of ROUNDABOUT whose
centre is a small painted circle on the road
min-i-se-ries /'mɪniˌsɪəriːz/ n [C] a television film that is
divided into several parts, which are usually shown once a
night for several days
'mini skirt, miniskirt n a very short skirt which was
popular in the 1960s and has been fashionable at various
times since then
min-is-ter¹ /'mɪnɪstə/ n 1 [(of)] a politician who is a mem-
ber of the government and is in charge of a particular
government department: the Minister of Education → see
also PRIME MINISTER 2 a MINISTER OF STATE or MINISTER
WITHOUT PORTFOLIO 3 a Christian leader like a priest in
some branches of the church 4 a person of lower rank than
an AMBASSADOR who represents his/her government in a
foreign country
Minister (1) and (2) is not used for any US
government officials, but it is used in American English for
officials of other governments. → compare SECRETARY
minister² v
minister to sbdy. phr v [T] especially lit to perform duties to
help: ministering to the sick
min-is-ter-i-al /ˌmɪnɪ'stəriəl/ adj of a MINISTER (1,3) or
ministers: his ministerial duties | It's believed that ministerial
changes will be made in the near future. (=that some minis-
ters will be dismissed, and new ones appointed) —~ly adv
minis,terial responsi'bility n [U] the responsibility that
government ministers should take for what happens in their
departments
,ministering 'angel n apprec, especially BrE lit a person, usually
a woman, who helps those who are sick or in trouble
,minister of 'state BrE n a person whose job is to help the
minister who is the head of a government department: Mr
Christopher Gurney, minister of state at the Foreign Office
,minister with,out port'folio n BrE a government minister
with no specific departmental responsibilities (RESPONSIBILITY)
min-is-trant /'mɪnɪstrənt/ n especially lit a person who gives
service to others
min-is-tra-tion /ˌmɪnɪ'streɪʃən/ also ministrations pl. —
n [U] fm| (a) giving of help and service, especially to the sick
or to those needing the services of a priest: All the ministra-
tions of the doctors and nurses couldn't save the child's life.
min-is-try /'mɪnɪstri/ n 1 [C(of)] (often cap.) a government
department with a minister in charge of it: The army, navy,
and airforce are all controlled by the Ministry of
Defence. 2 [the+S+sing/pl. v] priests, considered as a group or
profession; CLERGY: He joined the ministry. (=became a priest)
,Ministry of Agriculture, ,Fisheries and 'Food,
the, abbrev. MAFF the name of British government depart-
ment that was responsible for farming, food production,
and the safety of food products until 2001 → see DEPART-
MENT FOR ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS, THE
,Ministry of De'fence, the abbrev. MOD the British
government department that is responsible for the UK's
armed forces. The minister in charge of this department is
the Secretary of State for Defence.
,Ministry of the In'terior a government department in
many countries, which is responsible for organizations such
as the police and the fire service, and also the movement of
people in the country. In Britain, this department is called
the Home Office.
min-i-van /'mɪnɪvæn/ n [C] AmE a large car for up to eight
people
mink /mɪŋk/ n pl. mink 1 [C] a small fierce animal like a
WEASEL 2 [U] the valuable brown fur of this animal
Min-ne-ap-o-lis /ˌmɪni'æpəlɪs/ a city in east Minnesota, US,
and an important industrial centre. It is a port on one side of
the MISSISSIPPI River, with Saint Paul on the other side.
Together, they are known as the TWIN CITIES.
Min-ne-ha-ha /ˌmɪni'hɑːhɑː/ the wife of the Native Ameri-
can chief HIAWATHA
Min-nel-li, Li-za /mɪ'neli, 'laɪzə/ (1946–) a US singer, dancer,
and actress famous especially for the film CABARET (1972).
She is Judy GARLAND's daughter.
Min-ne-so-ta /ˌmɪnɪ'sətə/ written abbrev. MN a state in the
north of the US, an industrial and farming area with many
farms which produce milk
Min-nie Mouse /ˌmɪni 'maʊs/ trademark a CARTOON charac-
ter invented by Walt DISNEY. She is a female mouse, and wife
or girlfriend of MICKEY MOUSE.
,Minnie the 'Minx a character in the British COMIC (=a
magazine for children that tells stories using sets of draw-
ings) THE BEANO. She is a girl who enjoys behaving badly and
causing problems for other people.
min-now /'mɪnəʊ/ n a very small fish of rivers and lakes: (fig.)
When they found the criminals the police arrested the minnows
(=unimportant ones) but let the big fish (=important ones) go.