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council
cottage 'cheese /l'l'.. ../ n [U] soft lumpy white cheese
made from sour milk. It is fairly low in fat and often eaten
by people trying to lose weight.
cottage 'hospital n BrE a small hospital, usually in a
country area
cottage 'industry n an industry whose labour force con-
sists of people working at home with their own tools or
machinery: Hand-knitting sweaters has become a cottage
industry in some parts of Scotland.
cottage 'loaf n a loaf of bread made in two round pieces
with the smaller one stuck on top of the larger one
cottage 'pie n [U] SHEPHERD'S PIE
cot-tag-er /'kɒtɪdʒəʳ || 'kɑː-/ n BrE 1 rare a person who lives
in a country COTTAGE 2 slang a man who wants to have sex
with other men in a public place
cot-tag-ing /'kɒtɪdʒɪŋ || 'kɑː-/ n [U] BrE slang the practice of
looking for male HOMOSEXUAL partners in public TOILETS
which is illegal in Britain
cot·ton¹ /'kɒtn || 'kɑːtn/ n [U] 1 a tall plant grown in warm
areas for the soft white hair that surrounds its
seeds 2 (thread or cloth made from) the hair of this plant: a
reel of red cotton | a cool white cotton shirt | Cotton is more
comfortable to wear than nylon. 3 AmE for COTTON WOOL
cotton² v
cotton on phr v [I;to] infml to begin to understand; REALIZE:
He'd been speaking for half an hour before I cottoned on (to
what he meant)!
Cotton, Henry (1907-87), a British golfer who won several
important competitions in the 1930s and 1940s. After he
stopped playing he wrote about golf for the newspapers and
also became a golf course architect.
'Cotton Belt, the an area in the southern US, mainly in
Texas, where cotton is grown
'Cotton Bowl, the an important college football game held
every year in Dallas, Texas
'cotton bud BrE || Q-tip AmE trademark — n a short plastic stick
with a small amount of cotton wool at each end, used for
cleaning ears or other places that are hard to reach, for
example on machinery
cotton 'candy n [U] AmE for CANDYFLOSS
'cotton gin n a machine that separates seeds etc from cotton
'cotton-picking adj [A] AmE infml (used to give force to an
expression of annoyance): Mind your own cotton-picking
business!
'cotton reel BrE || spool AmE — n a plastic or wooden object
on which COTTON is wound, for use in sewing
cot-ton-tail /'kɒtnteɪl || 'kɑːtn-/ n a small American rabbit
with a white tail
cot-ton-wood /'kɒtnwʊd || 'kɑːtn-/ n [C;U] (the wood from)
a North American broad-leafed tree which drops seeds that
look like cotton in the early summer
cotton 'wool BrE || cotton AmE — n [U] a soft mass of cotton
used for cleaning wounds etc: Put a pad of cotton wool over
the cut. | She used a piece of cotton wool to clean off her
make-up. | (fig.) cotton wool clouds | (fig.) She wrapped her
children up in cotton wool to protect them from the realities of
life.
couch¹ /kaʊtʃ/ n 1 a long comfortable piece of furniture,
usually with a back and arms, on which more than one
person can sit, or a person can lie; SOFA: Lie down on the
couch if you're feeling ill. | the psychiatrist's couch 2 lit a bed
couch² v be couched in fml (of a statement, letter etc) to be
expressed in the stated way: His refusal was couched in rather
unfriendly terms.
cou·chette /kuː'ʃet/ n 1 a narrow shelf-like folding bed on
which a person can sleep on a train 2 a comfortable seat on
a night boat or train → compare SLEEPING CAR
couch grass /'kuːtʃ ɡrɑːs, 'kaʊtʃ-l-ɡræs/ n [U] a rough
grass with long creeping roots
'couch po,tato n infml derag a person who takes little or no
exercise, but spends most of their time sitting around,
especially watching television
cou·gar /'kuːɡəʳ/ also mountain lion, puma, panther
n pl. -gars or -gar a large powerful brown wild cat from the
mountainous areas of Western North America and South
America → see picture at BIG CAT
cough¹ /kɒf || kɔːf/ v 1 [I] to push air out from the throat
suddenly, with a short rough sound, especially because of
discomfort in the throat during a cold or other infection:
You're coughing a lot—I think you smoke too much. 2 [T(UP)]
to clear (something) from the throat by doing this: We knew
she was seriously ill when she started to cough (up)
blood. 3 [I] to make a sound like a cough: The engine
coughed once or twice, but wouldn't start.
cough (sthg. ⇔) up phr v [I;T] slang to produce (especially
money or information) unwillingly: Dad coughed up (£100)
for our holiday.
cough² n 1 [C] an act or sound of coughing: She gave a
nervous cough. 2 [S] a (medical) condition marked by fre-
quent or repeated coughing: John had a bad cough all last
week. → see also WHOOPING COUGH
'cough drop also cough sweet BrE— n a MEDICATED sweet
used for making a sore throat feel better
'cough ,syrup n [U] a usually sweet MEDICATED liquid used to
help prevent coughing
could /kʊd; strong kud/ v 3rd person sing. present could, negative
short form couldn't /'kʊdnt/ [modal+v] 1 (describes can in
the past): I could run very fast when I was a schoolgirl. | I
couldn't get the tickets yesterday. 2 (used instead of can to
describe what someone said, asked etc): He said we could
smoke. (his actual words were 'You can smoke.') | She asked
whether she could go home. 3 (used to show what is or might
be possible, but without real force or certainty): This new
project could create 5000 new jobs. | It could be weeks before we
know the full cost of the accident. | The government could do a
lot more to help small businesses. | In my view, this accident
could have been prevented. | We couldn't have picked a worse
day for the picnic – it rained nonstop. | I could have kicked him
(=I wanted to) when he said that. 4 (in CLAUSES expressing
purpose) might; would be able to: He turned his face away so
that I couldn't see the tears. 5 (used to make a request):
Could you put this case on the shelf for me, please? → com-
pare CAN (?) 6 (used to suggest a possible or desirable course
of action): If she's not at home, you could try phoning her at
the office. 7 (shows annoyance): You could be a bit more
careful. | You could have told me you were going to be late. →
compare MIGHT; see NOT (USAGE)
1 When talking about the past could can be used
when you want only to say that someone had the ability
or power: She could play the piano when she was five.
To express the idea of having the ability to do something
and then doing it, you can use manage to (=try, then
succeed) or be able to (more formal): I managed to/was
able to get the tickets I wanted (=I could and I did).
Succeed in which is followed by v-ing has the same
meaning but is rather formal: He succeeded in passing
the examination. But you can use could not to express
the idea of 'lack of success': I couldn't/was unable to
(more formal) find the person I was looking for. 2 Could
(past tense could have) can be used like may and might
(past tenses may have and might have) to express the
idea of 'perhaps' (uncertainty), but is less common: He
may/might/could be on his way now. (=perhaps he is
coming) | He may/might/could have been delayed.
(=perhaps he has been delayed) → see also CAN (USAGE),
MIGHT (USAGE)
couldst /kʊdst/ v thou couldst old use or bibl (when talking to
one person) you could
cou·lee /'kuːli, -leɪ/ n AmE a small valley with steep sides
that was created by water running through it but is now
usually dry: Cattle are grazing down in the coulee.
Coul-thard, David /'kuːlˌθɑːd-ɑːd/ (1971–) a British For-
mula 1 RACING DRIVER from Scotland who has driven for the
Williams and McLaren racing teams. He has won more than
ten Grands Prix.
coun-cil /'kaʊnsəl/ n [C+sing./pl. v] 1 a group of people
appointed or elected to make laws, rules, or decisions, or to
give advice: The Council of Ministers is the real power in the
EU. 2 especially BrE the organization responsible for local gov-
ernment in a town COUNTY etc, often consisting of elected
representatives and full-time non-elected employees: The