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peach
etc can be watched on CABLE TELEVISION or SATELLITE TELE-
VISION but you have to pay an additional amount in order to
see them: The Holyfield fight was shown on HBO and TVKO
pay-per-view channels.
'pay phone n a public telephone inside a public building
which one can use only after putting in a coin
'pay rise BrE || 'pay raise AmE — n an increase in the
amount one is paid for one's job
pay-roll /'peırəʊl/ n 1 [C] a list of workers employed by a
company and the amount of wages each person is to be
paid: He's no longer on their payroll. (=no longer works for
them) 2 [S] the total amount of wages paid to all the
workers in a particular company
'pay settlement n an agreement on pay reached between
unions and managers usually after long argument
pay-slip /'peıslıp/ n a piece of paper showing the amount
paid to an employed person and the amount remaining
after tax etc
pay TV also pay tele'vision n [U] television CHANNELS
that you must pay to watch ➔ compare PAY-PER-VIEW
Paz, Oc-ta-vi-o /pæz||pa:z, ɒk'ta:viəʊ||ɑ:k-/ (1914-1998), a
Mexican poet and DIPLOMAT who won the Nobel Prize for
Literature in 1990
PBS /pi: bi: 'es/ abbrev. for Public Broadcasting Service; a US
television company whose aim is to show good-quality pro-
grammes and not to make profit. It broadcasts no advertise-
ments, but its programmes are paid for partly by the people
who watch them and partly by money from the government
and from large companies. Two programmes for which PBS is
known are Sesame Street and Masterpiece Theater.
P.C. /pi: 'si:◄/ n abbrev. for Police Constable; a male or female
police officer of the lowest rank in the British police: P.C.
Johnson | Two P.C.s were attacked. ➔ see also WPC
PC¹ /pi: 'si:/ n abbrev. for a personal computer; an ordinary
computer for use by one person, either at home or in the
office or school. A PC is larger than a LAPTOP which you can
carry around with you, but smaller than a SERVER or a large
machine like a MAINFRAME. PC is also used to mean a
personal computer that is IBM-COMPATIBLE and uses the
Windows system, rather than an Apple Mac computer: It's a
great anti-virus program that is available in both PC and Mac
versions.
PC² adj abbrev. for POLITICALLY CORRECT
PCB /pi: si: 'bi:/ n [U] abbrev. for Polychlorinated Biphenyl; a
chemical compound used in industry, for example in making
plastics, which is very poisonous to the environment and is
thought to cause CANCER
P'C Card trademark abbrev. for personal computer card; a small
flat object which stores information that can be added to
some computers
pcm written abbrev. per calendar month; used when stating e.g.
the amount of rent payable on a house etc
PCP /pi: si: 'pi:/ n [U] abbrev. for phencyclidine hydrochloride;
an ANAESTHETIC that is also taken as an illegal drug
pd written abbrev. for PAID
PDA /pi: di: 'eı/ n abbrev. for personal digital assistant; a very
small light computer that you can carry with you, and that
you use to store information such as telephone numbers,
addresses, and APPOINTMENTS. Some PDAs can send and
receive email, and connect to the Internet.
PDF /pi: di: 'ef/ n [U] tech abbrev. for portable document
format; a way of storing computer FILES so that they can be
easily read when they are moved from one computer to
another
pdq /pi: di: 'kju:/ adv slang pretty damn quick; used to say
that something should be done immediately: If Jeff doesn't
get back here pdq there's going to be trouble.
PDT /pi: di: 'ti:/ abbrev. for PACIFIC DAYLIGHT TIME
PE /pi: 'i:/ n [U] abbrev. for physical education; sport and
physical activity taught as a school subject; PT BrE
pea /pi:/ n 1 a large round green seed which is cooked and
eaten as a vegetable: to shell peas 2 a climbing plant which
produces long green PODS containing these seeds 3 as like
as two peas (in a pod) infml (especially of people) exactly the
same in appearance ➔ see also SWEET PEA
'pea-brained adj infml stupid: a pea-brained idiot
peace /pi:s/ n 1 [S,U] a condition or period in which there is
no war between two or more nations: Both warring nations
longed for peace. | a peace treaty (=to end a war) | a dangerous
situation that threatens world peace | The peace movement
campaigns for the banning of nuclear weapons. 2 [the S] a
state of freedom from disorder within a country, with the
citizens living according to the law: The job of the police is to
keep the peace. | The youths were arrested for a breach of
the peace. (=something, e.g. fighting, that breaks the public
peace) 3 [U] a) freedom from anxiety or troubling
thoughts: Knowing that she had arrived safely restored my
peace of mind. b) freedom from unwanted noise or activ-
ity; calmness: Please let me get on with my work in peace. | All
I want is a bit of peace and quiet. 4 at peace a) in a state
of quiet or calm b) euph dead 5 hold one's peace to
remain silent even though one has something to say: In
spite of his provocative remarks, I held my peace. 6 make
one's peace with to settle one's disagreements
with 7 peace in our time quote a phrase used by the British
politician Neville Chamberlain after his meeting with Adolf
Hitler in Munich in 1938, when he thought he had pre-
vented war from breaking out ➔ see also MUNICH AGREE-
MENT 8 peace with honour quote a phrase made popular by
the 19th-century British politician Disraeli 9 rest in peace
a phrase used to bless the dead, said during a funeral service
or written on a GRAVESTONE
peace-a-ble /'pi:səbəl/ adj 1 disliking argument or quarrel-
ling 2 calm; free from disorder or fighting: a peaceable
agreement —bly adv: The two tribes live peaceably together.
'peace camp n a camp set up outside a military base,
especially one having NUCLEAR weapons, by people protest-
ing against military activities
'Peace Corps, the a US government organization that aims
to help poorer countries, by sending them VOLUNTEERS (=peo-
ple who work without payment), especially young people,
who teach skills in education, health, farming etc
'peace dividend n the money saved on weapons and
available for other purposes when a government reduces its
military strength
peace-ful /'pi:sfəl/ adj 1 quiet and calm; untroubled: a
peaceful afternoon by the river 2 a) without war: The best
we can hope for is a state of peaceful coexistence between
East and West. b) without disorder: a peaceful demonstra-
tion —ly adv —ness n [U]
peace-keep-ing /'pi:sˌki:pıŋ/ n the preserving of peace
especially between states or peoples who were recently at
war or are about to go to war: a peacekeeping force/attempt
peace-mak-er /'pi:smeıkə/ n Bibl a person who tries to
achieve peace between others who are fighting. In the Bible,
it says 'Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called
the children of God.'
'peace march n a march or other DEMONSTRATION by people
who are protesting against violence or military activities:
The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament are organizing a
peace march. | Protestants and Catholics united in a peace
march and prayed for an end to violence in Northern Ireland.
'peace offering n infml something offered to show that one
wants to be friendly, especially with someone whom one
has annoyed
'peace pipe also pipe of peace n a ceremonial tobacco
pipe smoked by Native Americans as a sign of peace
'peace process n a process by which two groups who have
been fighting each other try to find a peaceful solution by
first declaring a CEASE-FIRE (=an agreement to stop fighting)
and then having a series of formal discussions. This expres-
sion is used especially when talking about Northern Ireland
or about the disagreements between Israel and the Palestin-
ians: the Middle East peace process
peace-time /'pi:staım/ n [U] a time when a nation is not at
war: Their armed forces have returned to peacetime levels. ➔
opposite WARTIME
'peace women n [pl.] a name given to the women at the
peace camp at GREENHAM COMMON
peach /pi:tʃ/ n 1 [C] (a tree that produces) a round fruit
with soft yellowish-red skin, sweet juicy flesh, and a large
rough seed in its centre ➔ see picture at FRUIT 2 [U] a