911
mortify
Mor-ris /'mɒrɪs||'mɔːr-, 'mɑː-/ trademark a former British company that made cars and other vehicles which became part of ROVER ➔ see also MORRIS MINOR
Morris, Des-mond /'dezmənd/ (1928–) a British ZOOLOGIST and ANTHROPOLOGIST (=a scientist who studies people and their societies, and the way that their customs develop). He has made many television programmes and written popular books about human and animal behaviour, including the The Naked Ape.
Morris, Philip ➔ see PHILIP MORRIS
Morris, William (1834–96) a British artist, CRAFTSMAN, writer, and supporter of social change. Morris was a Socialist who disliked the development of MASS PRODUCTION in factories, and tried to support traditional methods of making things. He designed and made his own furniture and materials, and his designs are still popular: William Morris wallpaper (=wallpaper with a pattern originally designed by William Morris)
a William Morris design
'morris dance n any of various old English country dances usually performed outdoors in the summer by a group of men who wear special white clothes to which small bells are often fixed
Morris 'Minor trademark a type of small, popular British car that was built between the 1950s and the 1970s. There is a club for people who own Morris Minors, and the ones still being driven are usually in good condition because their owners look after them well.
Mor-ri-son, Jim /'mɒrɪsən||'mɔːr-, dʒɪm/ (1943–71) the main singer with the ROCK group The DOORS, known for his sexually exciting performances on stage. He is seen as a typical example of someone whose life was destroyed by drugs, alcohol, and the problems of being famous, and many young people visit his GRAVE in Paris.
Morrison, To-ni /'təʊni/ (1931–) a US author, known for her poetic writing which describes the experiences of African American people. Her books include The Bluest Eye (1970) and Beloved (1987). She won the Pulitzer Prize in 1988 and the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1993.
Morrison, Van (1945–) a rock musician from Belfast, Northern Ireland. He started the group Them. In 1966, he began performing on his own and recorded songs such as Brown Eyed Girl, Jackie Wilson Said, and Have I Told You Lately. He has made more than 30 ALBUMS, including Astral Weeks, Moondance, and Days Like This.
Mor-ri-sons /'mɒrɪsənz||'mɔːr-/ trademark a British company with SUPERMARKETS in many towns. In 2004, Morrisons bought Safeway and became one of the biggest supermarket groups in the UK.
mor-row /'mɒrə||'mɑːr-/ n 1 [the] lit a) the day following today: Let's hope that the morrow will bring better news. | We leave on the morrow. (=tomorrow) b) the time closely fol-lowing an event; the future: The war was at an end, and the nation was full of hopes for the morrow. 2 good morrow old use good morning!
Morse, Inspector /mɔːs||mɔːrs/ a character, played by the actor John Thaw, in a British television programme based on books written by Colin Dexter. Morse is a police officer in Oxford, who rarely smiles and sometimes has a rather unfriendly manner. He is known for being very clever at catching criminals and for liking beer and CLASSICAL music.
Morse 'code also Morse n [U] a system of sending messages in which each letter of the alphabet is represented by a set of DOTS (short sounds) and DASHES (long sounds). Morse code was named after Samuel Morse who invented it in the US in 1844. It was once an important means of international communication, but it is no longer used much. ➔ see also SOS
mor-sel /'mɔːsəl||'mɔːr-/ n 1 [C(oh)] a very small piece of food: just a morsel of cake | a few choice/tasty morsels 2 [S (of)] usually in questions or negatives] a very small piece or quantity of anything: If he had a morsel of (=any) sense he'd realize.
mor-ta-del-la /ˌmɔːtə'delə||ˌmɔːr-/ n [U] a kind of Italian SAUSAGE
mor-tal¹ /'mɔːtl||'mɔːrtl/ adj 1 that will die; not living for ever: all mortal creatures ➔ opposite IMMORTAL 2 [A] human; of human beings: beyond mortal power 3 causing or ending in death: a mortal wound/injury | mortal combat | in mortal danger ➔ compare LETHAL 4 [A] (of an enemy) having a lasting hatred, that can never change into friend-ship 5 [A] (of fear etc) extremely great: She lives in mortal terror of her husband's anger. ➔ see also MORTALLY, shuffle off this mortal coil (SHUFFLE¹)
mortal² n [usually pl.] especially lit a human being as compared with a god, a spirit etc: We're all mortals, with our human faults and weaknesses.
mor-tal-i-ty /mɔː'tæləti||mɔːr-/ n 1 [S;U] also mor'tality rate the rate or number of deaths caused by a particular thing, happening among a certain kind of people etc: If this disease spreads, the doctors fear that there'll be a high mortal-ity (rate). | Infant mortality (=the rate at which babies die) is still very high in some countries. 2 [U] the condition of being MORTAL ➔ opposite IMMORTALITY
mor-tal-ly /'mɔːtəli||'mɔːr-/ adv 1 in a way that causes death: He fell to the ground, mortally wounded. 2 very greatly; deeply: She was mortally offended by your remarks.
mortal 'sin n [C;U] (in the Roman Catholic religion) (an act of) wrongdoing so great that it will bring EVERLASTING pun-ishment to the soul after death if it is not forgiven
mor-tar¹ /'mɔːtər||'mɔːr-/ n [U] a mixture of LIME, sand, and water, used in building, especially for joining bricks together: Put your money into bricks and mortar. (=buy a house)
mortar² n 1 a heavy gun with a short barrel, firing an explosive that falls from a great height 2 a hard bowl in which substances are crushed with a PESTLE into very small pieces or powder
mor-tar-board /'mɔːtəbɔːd||'mɔːrtərbɔːrd/ n a usually black cap with a flat square top, worn formerly by school-teachers and still worn by members of some universities on formal occasions. Teachers in CARTOONS are often shown wearing mortarboards.
Morte d'Arthur, Le /ˌmɔːt 'dɑːθər||ˌmɔːrt 'dɑːr-/ the Death of Arthur; a book by Sir Thomas MALORY, written in the 15th century, which describes the life of King ARTHUR ➔ see also ARTHURIAN LEGEND
mort-gage¹ /'mɔːgɪdʒ||'mɔːr-/ n 1 an agreement to borrow money, especially so as to buy a house, and pay interest on it to the lender over a period of years: My mortgage is with a small building society. | to take out (=start to have) a mort-gage 2 the amount lent on a mortgage: a mortgage of £123,000 3 the amount of interest paid on a mortgage: He's having a lot of trouble paying his mortgage every month. | Mortgage rates are going up again.
mortgage² v [T] to give someone the right to the ownership of (a house, land etc) in return for money lent for a certain period: His business is failing; he's mortgaged all his assets to try to save it.
mort-gag-ee /ˌmɔːgɪ'dʒiː||ˌmɔːr-/ n tech a person who lends money in return for the right to own the borrower's prop-erty
'mortgage repossession n the situation in which a house bought on a mortgage(1) is taken back by a bank or BUILDING SOCIETY because the person buying it has not paid the interest on the money they borrowed: The number of mortgage repossessions increased sharply when the interest rate went up.
mort-ga-gor /'mɔːgɪgɔːr||'mɔːr-/ n tech a person who bor-rows money from a mortgagee
mor-ti-cian /mɔː'tɪʃən||mɔːr-/ n AmE for UNDERTAKER
mor-ti-fy /'mɔːtɪfaɪ||'mɔːr-/ v [T] 1 [usually pass.] to hurt (a person's) feelings, causing shame or deep embarrassment: I was somewhat mortified to be told that I was too old to join. 2 to control natural human desires of (oneself or the body) by self-punishment: Hermits of the Middle Ages rejected all the comforts of life, intent on mortifying the