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alliance
uncountable: All (of) the money is spent. It is used with a
plural verb if the noun is plural: All (of) the people have
gone.
all⁴ n one's all especially lit everything one possesses or consid-
ers valuable: *They gave their all in the struggle for freedom.*
all- → see WORD FORMATION TABLE
Al·lah /'ælə/ n the Muslim name for God
all-A·mer·i·can¹ adj 1 having qualities that are considered to
be typically American and that American people admire, for
example being healthy and working hard
**CULTURAL NOTE** Many British people think of an
all-American man or woman as being young, healthy,
neatly dressed, and quite rich. Many Americans think of
an all-American man or woman as white, middle-class,
good at sports, and representing traditional values that
have been passed down from the past to the present: a
clean-living all-American guy
2 All-American belonging to a group of players who have
been chosen as the best in their sport at American universi-
ties: *an All-American football player out of UCLA*
all-American² n a sports player who has been chosen as the
best in his or her sport at US university
Al·lan-a-Dale /ˌælən ə 'deɪl/ a character who is a member of
ROBIN HOOD's group, who is also a musician
all-a·round adj AmE for ALL-ROUND
al·lay /ə'leɪ/ v [T] fml to make (fear, anger, doubt etc) less
strong; calm; reduce in strength or severity: *I hope this
statement will allay the public's fears.*
All Blacks, the the New Zealand international RUGBY
UNION team
'All-Bran trademark a type of breakfast food with a lot of BRAN
in it, eaten with milk. It is known for being good for making
your BOWELS work easily, because of the FIBRE in the bran.
all 'clear, the n 1 a signal (such as a whistle or loud cry)
that danger is past: *to sound the all clear* → opposite
ALERT 2 official permission for an intended action;
GO-AHEAD: *We're ready to start the building work, and we're
just waiting for the all clear from the council.*
all-com·ers /ˌɔːl 'kʌməzɪl-ər/ n [P] anyone who arrives
and wishes to compete: *He fiercely defended his right to speak
out against all-comers.*
al·le·ga·tion /ˌælɪ'geɪʃən/ n fml a statement, which is not
supported by proof, that someone has done something bad
or criminal: *allegations of serious misconduct by government
officials* | *If the allegations against him prove correct/prove to
be well-founded, he will lose his job.*
al·lege /ə'ledʒ/ v [T] fml to state or declare without proof or
before finding proof: [+(that)] *The newspapers allege that the
police shot the suspect without warning.* | *This is what they
allege, but they are unlikely to be able to prove it.* | [+obj+to-v]
*He is alleged to have passed on secret information to a
newspaper.* | *an alleged thief* | *under investigation for alleged
fraud* —allegedly /ə'ledʒɪdli/ adv: *He was allegedly involved
in the great jewel robbery.* (=according to what is alleged)
Al·le·ghen·y Moun·tains /ˌælɪɡeɪni 'maʊntɪnz||
-'maʊntɪnz/ also the Al·le·ghen·ies a RANGE of mountains
which go from Virginia to Pennsylvania in the eastern US,
and are part of the APPALACHIANS
al·le·giance /ə'liːdʒəns/ n [C;U(to)] loyalty, faith, and dutiful
support to a leader, country, idea etc: *to swear allegiance to
the Queen* | *His allegiances are divided.* | *Their marketing
manager switched allegiance from the company to their
main competitor.* → see also PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
al·le·go·ry /'ælɪɡɒrɪl-ɡɔːri/ n [C;U] (the style of) a story,
poem, painting etc in which the characters and actions
represent general truths, good and bad qualities etc
—gorical /ˌælɪ'ɡɒrɪkəl il-'ɡɔː-, -'ɡɑː-/ adj —gorically /kli/
adv
al·leg·ro /ə'leɡrəʊ, ə'leɪ-/ n, adv, adj pl. -gros (a piece of
music) played fast and with plenty of life
al·le·lu·ia /ˌælɪ'luːjə/ n, interj HALLELUJA
all-em·brac·ing adj including everything or everyone: *Her
speech was all-embracing - it covered every section of the
community and every one of their concerns.*
Al·len, Paul /'ælən/ (1953-) an American BUSINESSMAN who
started the Microsoft Corporation with Bill Gates. He is a
very rich man who owns several companies including the
Seattle Seahawks, an AMERICAN FOOTBALL team, and the
Portland Trail Blazers, a BASKETBALL team. In Seattle he
established the Experience Music Project, a MUSEUM of
music history, and the Allen Institute of Brain Science.
Allen, Woody (1935-) an
American film director who
also acts in his own humor-
ous films, which are often
about people who live in
New York City and have
problems in their relation-
ships. He typically appears
as a character who is con-
fused, anxious, and does not
have much confidence. His
films include *Everything You
Always Wanted to Know
About Sex* (1972), *Annie Hall*
(1977) and *Small Time
Crooks* (2000).
Woody Allen
Al·len·de, Is·a·bel
/ˌɑːr'endi, -deɪlɑː'jen-,
'ɪzəbel/ (1942-) a Chilean writer whose NOVELS include *The
House of the Spirits*, *Paula*, and *My Invented Country*. Her uncle
was Salvador Allende.
Allende, Sal·va·dor /ˌsælvə'dɔːr/ (1908-73) a SOCIALIST poli-
tician who was elected President of Chile in 1970. In 1973
Allende and many of his supporters were killed when the
army took control of the government.
All 'England ,Club a club in Wimbledon, London, that has
grass TENNIS COURTS, where the famous TENNIS competition
called WIMBLEDON is played every year. Its official name is
the 'All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club'.
'Allen key n BrE a small tool in the form of a metal bar
shaped like a letter L, which is used to turn an Allen screw
'Allen screw n a type of screw with a hole in the top that
has six sides
'Allen wrench n AmE an Allen key
al·ler·gen /'ælədʒənɪl-ər-/ n a substance that causes an
allergy
al·ler·gic /ə'lɜːdʒɪkɪl-ːr-/ adj [(to)] suffering from an allergy:
*She is allergic to the fur of cats.* | *an allergic reaction to
cats* | (fig.) *He seems to be allergic to hard work.* (=he strongly
dislikes it)
al·ler·gy /'ælədʒɪl-ər-/ n [(to)] a condition of being unusually
sensitive to something eaten, breathed in, or touched, in a
way that causes pain or suffering: *an allergy to household
dust/to penicillin*
al·le·vi·ate /ə'liːvieɪt/ v [T] to reduce (pain, suffering, diffi-
culties etc), especially for a short time; RELIEVE —ation
/ˌəˌliːvi'eɪʃən/ n [U]
al·ley /'æli/ n 1 a narrow street or path between buildings in
a town → see also BLIND ALLEY 2 a narrow street allowing
entry to garages or BACKYARDS 3 a path in a garden or park,
especially one bordered by trees or bushes 4 a long track
along which balls are rolled in order to knock over bottle-
shaped objects in BOWLING or SKITTLES 5 right up one's
alley AmE in one's area of interest or activity: *That job sounds
like it's right up your alley.*
'alley cat n a cat that lives on the streets and does not belong
to anyone
al·ley·way /'æliweɪ/ n an ALLEY
All 'Fools' ,Day n [S] another name for APRIL FOOLS' DAY,
April 1st
all 'fours n on all fours with the hands and knees on the
floor: *He was crawling around on all fours looking for his
contact lens.*
All 'Hallows' Day also All-hal·lows /ˌɔːl'hæləʊz/
All-hal·low·mas /ˌɔːl'hæləʊmæs/ n [S] old use another
name for ALL SAINTS' DAY, November 1st
al·li·ance /ə'laɪəns/ n 1 [C(with, between)] a close agreement