Red Sea, the
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worried that there might be a REVOLUTION. Because of this,
many people were arrested and many foreigners were forced
to leave the country.
,Red 'Sea, the a sea which separates Egypt, the Sudan, and
Ethiopia from Saudi Arabia and Yemen. It is joined to the
Mediterranean Sea by the SUEZ CANAL, and is used by many
ships. According to the story in the Old Testament of the
Bible, God made a path for MOSES and the ISRAELITES
through the Red Sea, by separating it into two parts, so that
they could walk across the ground and escape from Egypt,
where they had been slaves.
,red 'shift n [C;U] a change in the light pattern given off by
stars as they are seen from the Earth, which shows that the
stars are moving away, and supporting the BIG BANG THEORY
of the universe
red·skin /'redˌskɪn/ n old use, now taboo for NATIVE AMERICAN
,Red 'Square the large SQUARE (=a broad open area in a
town) in the centre of Moscow, known especially for the
military processions that took place there on MAY DAY when
Moscow was the capital of the SOVIET UNION. The buildings
in Red Square include St Basil's Cathedral and the Tomb of
Lenin.
,red 'squirrel n a reddish-brown SQUIRREL which lives in
North America and Britain, where it is becoming rare
,red 'tape n [U] derog silly detailed unnecessary official rules
that delay action: It took a long time to cut through the red
tape of the planning regulations and get the building started.
re·duce /rɪˈdjuːs||rɪˈduːs/ v 1 [T[from, to]] to make less in size,
amount, price, degree etc: a promise to reduce taxes | a
defence policy that reduces the risk of war | I bought this shirt
because it was reduced (from £12 to £6). | He won't reduce the
rent of our house. | Reduce the sauce by boiling it for ten
minutes. | The plague reduced the population to half its
previous level. → compare INCREASE; see also REDUC-
TION 2 [T] old use to defeat and take control of (a place): By
constant bombardment we reduced the citadel. 3 [I] esp AmE
lose weight: The doctor told me I had to reduce. | She won't eat
any dessert, she's reducing. —reducible adj
reduce sbdy./sthg. to sthg. phr v [T] 1 to change (some-
thing) to (its parts): We can reduce the report to three main
points. | The explosion reduced the house to rubble. 2 [usually
pass.] to bring or force (someone) to (especially a weaker or
less favourable state): His extraordinary reply reduced me to
silence. | The captain was reduced to the ranks (=made an
ordinary soldier) for his disobedience. | The child was
reduced to tears. (=made to cry) | [+v-ing] She was reduced to
begging for a living.
re·duced 'circumstances n [P] old-fash euph a poorer way
of life than one formerly had: living in reduced circum-
stances
re·duc·ti·o ad ab·sur·dum /rɪˌdʌktɪəʊ æd əbˈsɜːdəm||
-ˌsɜːr-/ n [U] Lat the disproof of a piece of reasoning by
showing that it must lead in the end to a silly or unaccept-
able result
re·duc·tion /rɪˈdʌkʃən/ n 1 [C;U (in)] (a case of) making or
becoming smaller; the amount taken off in reducing some-
thing: some reduction/a slight reduction in the price of food |
price reductions → compare INCREASE 2 [C] a smaller copy
of a picture, map, or photograph → opposite ENLARGEMENT
re·dun·dan·cy /rɪˈdʌndənsi/ n 1 [C;U] BrE (a case of) being
made redundant: The closure of the export department led to a
lot of redundancy/led to over 200 redundancies. 2 [C;U] fml or
tech (especially of words) (a case of) being REDUNDANT 3 [U]
tech (of something made up of many parts) the quality of
containing additional parts that will make the system work
if other parts fail: the redundancy of the English language/of
computerized systems
re'dundancy payment BrE || severance pay AmE — n a
sum of money given by an employer to a worker who is being
made redundant. In Britain the amount is usually calculated
according to how long the person has worked for the
employer. There is a legal MINIMUM redundancy payment for
workers who have worked continuously for the same
employer for two years.
re·dun·dant /rɪˈdʌndənt/ adj 1 BrE (of a worker) no longer
employed because there is not enough work: Seventy men at
the factory were made redundant because of falling demand
for our products. 2 not needed; more than is necessary: In
the sentence 'She lives alone by herself', the word 'alone' is
redundant. | redundant information/machine parts —→-ly adv
re-du-pli-cate /rɪˈdjuːplɪkeɪt||rɪˈduː-/ v [T] fml to make or
do again; repeat —cation /rɪˌdjuːplɪˈkeɪʃən||rɪˌduː-/ n [U]
red·wood /'redwʊd/ also sequoia n a CONIFEROUS tree that
grows in California. Redwoods attract many tourists because
they can grow to more than 100 metres high, and live for
many hundreds of years. They are also important for their
wood. → see colour photo on page A43
Ree·bok /'riːbɒk||-bɑːk/ trademark a type of sports clothing
and equipment, especially sports shoes which are called
'Reeboks'
re·ech·o /riːˈekəʊ/ v [I;T] to (cause to) be repeated again and
again as an ECHO: Their cries echoed and reechoed among the
lonely hills.
reed /riːd/ n 1 a grasslike plant that grows in wet places: a
roof made of dried reeds 2 a thin piece of wood or metal in a
musical instrument that produces sound by shaking (VIBRA-
TION) when air is blown over it: reed instruments such as the
oboe and bassoon
Reed, Oliver (1938–99) a British actor known especially for
drinking alcohol and for his wild uncontrolled behaviour.
His films include Oliver! (1968), WOMEN IN LOVE (1969), and
Tommy (1975).
Reed, Sir Carol (1906–76) a British film DIRECTOR, whose
films include The Third Man (1949), Our Man in Havana
(1959), and the musical film Oliver! (1968)
,Reed Inter'national trademark a company owned by Reed
Elsevier plc, a British and Dutch group, which produces
books, magazines, and newspapers
re-ed·u·cate /riːˈedʒʊkeɪt||-dʒə-/ v [T] to train or educate
(someone) again: We should reeducate young criminals (to
take their place in society). —cation /ˌriːedʒʊˈkeɪʃən||-dʒə-/
n [U]
reed·y /'riːdi/ adj 1 (of a sound) thin and high: a reedy
voice 2 (of a place) full of REEDS: a reedy lake —iness n [U]
reef¹ /riːf/ n a line of sharp rocks, often made of CORAL, or a
bank of sand on or near the surface of the sea: The ship was
wrecked on a reef.
reef² v [T] naut to tie up (part of a sail) so as to make it smaller
reef³ n naut a reduction in the area of a sail made by reefing
ree·fer /'riːfər/ n old-fash infml a cigarette containing the drug
MARIJUANA
'reefer jacket n BrE a man's short close-fitting coat made of
thick material .
'reef knot especially BrE || usually square knot AmE — n a
double knot that will not come undone easily
reek¹ /riːk/ v [I] 1 [of, with]) to smell strongly and unpleas-
antly: His breath reeks of onions. | (fig.) That whole transaction
reeks of/with dishonesty. 2 dial to give out smoke: a reeking
chimney
reek² n [S] 1 a strong unpleasant smell: a reek of tobacco and
beer 2 lit or ScotE a thick smoke
reel¹ /riːl/ n 1 BrE || spool AmE — a round object on which a
length of sewing thread, wire, fishing line, recording TAPE
(2a) etc, can be wound → compare BOBBIN 2 [of] the
amount that any of these will hold: two whole reels of
cotton 3 one of several parts of a cinema film contained on
a reel: They get married at the end of the eighth reel.
reel² v [T+obj+adv/prep] to bring, take etc by winding: He reeled
in his fishing line. | Reel some more thread off the machine.
reel sthg. off phr v [T] infml to repeat (usually a lot of
information) quickly and easily from memory; RATTLE off: He
could reel off the dates of all the kings of England.
reel³ v [I] 1 [+adv/prep] to walk unsteadily, moving from side
to side, as if drunk: He came reeling up the street. 2 [BACK] to
step away suddenly and unsteadily (as if) after being hit or
receiving a shock: When I hit him he reeled (back) and almost
fell. 3 to be in a state of shock, confusion, or uncertainty:
All these statistics make my head reel. | The party is still
reeling from its recent election defeat. 4 to seem to go round
and round: The room reeled before my eyes and I became
unconscious.
reel⁴ n (the music for) a quick cheerful Scottish or Irish dance