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frame
include ABC, CBS, and NBC. Fox is the newest of the main US
television networks, and is part of Rupert MURDOCH's com-
pany, News Corporation.
Fox, Charles James (1749-1806) a British politician known
for his wish to stop the slave trade and his opposition to the
taxing of the American colonies (COLONY)
Fox, George (1624-91) an English religious leader who
started the Christian group the Society of Friends, who are
also called QUAKERS
Fox, Michael J. (1961-) a Canadian film actor best known
for appearing in the Back to the Future series of films
(1985-1990). He has also worked on television, in humorous
programmes such as Family Ties in the 1980s and Spin City in
the 1990s. In 1991, he discovered that he had Parkinson's
Disease, and in 2000 he started The Michael J. Fox Founda-
tion for Parkinson's Research.
Fox and the 'Grapes, The a FABLE (=a traditional short
story that teaches a moral lesson) by AESOP in which a FOX
tries many times to reach some GRAPES that are hanging
above his head. When he realizes that he will never be able to
reach them, he pretends that he never wanted them, saying
'They're probably SOUR (=having an unpleasant acid taste)
anyway'. This attitude is known as SOUR GRAPES.
fox-glove /'fɒksɡlʌv||'fɑːks-/ n a tall straight poisonous
plant that has pink or white bell-shaped flowers all the way
up its stem
fox-hole /'fɒkshəʊl||'fɑːks-/ n a hole in the ground which
soldiers use to fire at or hide from the enemy
fox-hound /'fɒkshaʊnd||'fɑːks-/ n a dog with a sharp sense
of smell, trained to track down and kill foxes (FOX)
fox-hunt-er /'fɒksˌhʌntə||'fɑːks-/ n a horse used in fox-
hunting
fox-hunt-ing /'fɒksˌhʌntɪŋ||'fɑːks-/ n the sport of hunting
foxes (FOX) with foxhounds, by people riding on horses →
see also HUNT SABOTEUR —foxhunt n
**CULTURAL NOTE** Foxhunting takes place in the UK between
November and early spring. The horse riders usually wear
red coats, and the hunt is controlled by the Master of
Foxhounds. Foxhunting is thought of as a sport for rich
people who own land in the countryside. Many people
think that foxhunting is cruel and want parliament to pass
a law against it, but foxhunters say that it helps to control
the number of foxes.
fox 'terrier n a type of small dog often kept as a pet, formerly
used to dig out foxes (FOX)
fox-trot /'fɒkstrɒt||'fɑːkstrɑːt/ n (a piece of music for) a
type of formal dance with short quick steps
fox-y /'fɒksi||'fɑːksi/ adj infml 1 derog like a FOX in nature; not
to be trusted: Watch out! He's a bit of a foxy character. 2 like
a FOX in appearance: She has rather foxy features. 3 AmE
apprec slang sexually attractive: She's a real foxy lady!
foy-er /'fɔɪə||'fɔɪər/ n 1 also lobby AmE an entrance hall to a
theatre, where people gather and talk: They arranged to meet
in the foyer ten minutes before the play started. 2 AmE an
entrance hall to a private house or flat → compare LOBBY
Foyles /'fɔɪlz/ trademark a large and famous bookshop in
Charing Cross Road in London known for its wide choice of
books in all subject areas
fpa /ˌef pi 'eɪ/ a British organization which gives free advice
on matters such as CONTRACEPTION, sexual diseases, and
family planning. There is a similar organization in the US
called PLANNED PARENTHOOD.
FPO /ˌef piː 'əʊ/ an abbreviation of 'fleet post office' or 'field
post office', used as part of the address of someone in the
American navy or army
Fr 1 a written abbrev. for Father, used in front of the name of a
priest 2 a written abbrev. for FRANC (=a former unit of French
money) 3 a written abbrev. for French or France
frac-as /'frækɑːs||'freɪkəs/ n pl. fracas /'frækɑːz/, AmE -cases
/kæsɪz/ fml a noisy quarrel in which a number of people take
part, and which often ends in a fight: The new wages policy
caused a terrible fracas at the meeting yesterday.
frac-tal /'fræktəl/ n tech a pattern, usually one produced by a
computer, in which the same shape is repeated many times
in smaller and smaller sizes
frac-tion /'frækʃən/ n 1 (in MATHEMATICS) a division or part
of a whole number: ⅓ and ⅝ are fractions. → see also
COMMON FRACTION, IMPROPER FRACTION, PROPER FRACTION,
VULGAR FRACTION 2 [(of)] a very small piece or amount:
When the factory closed, the machinery was sold off for only a
fraction of its true value. | The car missed me by a fraction of
an inch.
frac-tion-al /'frækʃənəl/ adj 1 so small as to be unimpor-
tant: The difference between his wages and yours is only
fractional. 2 (in MATHEMATICS) of or being a fraction
frac-tion-al-ly /'frækʃənəli/ adv to a very small degree: If
calculations in planning to send a spacecraft to the moon are
even fractionally incorrect, the project will fail.
frac-tious /'frækʃəs/ adj fml (especially of a child or an old or
sick person) restless and complaining; bad-tempered about
small things and ready to quarrel: Babies tend to be fractious
when their new teeth are growing. —ly adv —ness n [U]
frac-ture¹ /'fræktʃə/ n [C;U[of]] med or fml (an example of) the
cracking or breaking of something, especially a bone: a
fracture of the hip | The flood was caused by a fracture in the
water pipe. → see also COMPOUND FRACTURE, SIMPLE FRAC-
TURE
fracture² v [I;T] tech, especially med, or fml to (cause to) break or
crack: He fell and fractured his upper arm. (=the bone in his
arm broke) | The rock fractured under the tremendous pres-
sure.
fra-gile /'frædʒaɪl||-dʒəl/ adj 1 easily broken or damaged:
This old glass dish is very fragile. | The parcel was labelled:
'Fragile, handle with care.' | (fig.) a fragile relationship (=not
likely to last) 2 a) having a small thin body or weak in
health: The old lady was very fragile after her operation. b)
usually humor not in a good condition of health and spirits;
weak: 'I'm feeling rather fragile this morning,' he said. 'I must
have drunk too much last night.' → compare FRAIL —gility
/frə'dʒɪləti/ n [U]
frag-ment¹ /'fræɡmənt/ n [(of)] a small broken-off or incom-
plete piece or part: She dropped the bowl and it broke into
tiny fragments. | a fragment of poetry | (fig.) There's not even
the smallest fragment of truth in what he says!
fragment² /fræg'ment||'fræɡmənt/ v 1 [I] to break into
fragments 2 [T often pass.] to form from incomplete parts,
especially that are not easy to understand: We received a
rather fragmented account of the incident. —ation
/ˌfræɡmən'teɪʃən, -men-/ n [U] A fragmentation bomb is
one that explodes into small pieces.
frag-men-tary /'fræɡməntəri||-teri/ also frag-men-tal
/fræg'mentl/ adj made up of pieces; not complete: My
knowledge of the subject is no more than fragmentary.
fra-grance /'freɪɡrəns/ n [C;U] a (sweet or pleasant) smell:
the fragrance of spring flowers | This furniture polish comes
in three new fragrances. —fragrance v [T] a new air-
freshener to fragrance your room
fra-grant /'freɪɡrənt/ adj having a sweet or pleasant smell,
especially of flowers: The air in the garden was warm and
fragrant. —ly adv
frail /freɪl/ adj 1 weak in body or health: She is now eighty,
and becoming too frail to live alone. | (fig.) What a frail
excuse! 2 not strongly made or built: a frail shelter of leaves
→ compare FRAGILE 3 frailty, thy name is woman quote a
phrase from Shakespeare's play Hamlet
frail-ty /'freɪlti/ n 1 [U] the quality of being frail 2 [C] a
weakness of character or behaviour: I suppose laziness is one
of the frailties of human nature.
frame¹ /freɪm/ n 1 a firm border or case into which some-
thing is fitted or set, or which holds something in place: In a
silver frame on the table there was a photograph of his son. | I
can't close the door; it doesn't fit properly into its frame. | a
window/picture frame 2 the main supports on which some-
thing is built or over and around which something is
stretched: a bicycle frame | This old bed has an iron frame. |
In some parts of the world small boats are made of skins
stretched over a wooden frame. 3 (the form or shape of) a
human or animal body: The athlete had a powerful
frame. 4 a large wooden box covered with transparent
material in which young plants are grown outdoors: a
cucumber frame 5 any of a number of small photographs