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'feature-length adj of the same length as a feature film: a feature-length documentary
fea·ture·less /'fi:tʃələs||'tʃər-/ adj uninteresting, because of having no noticeable features: a house in the middle of a featureless plain
fea·tures /'fi:tʃəz||-ərz/ n [P] the parts of the face: He had regular features/Chinese features. | Her features were care-worn. (=showing the results of worry and age)
Feb. written abbrev. for FEBRUARY
fe·brile /'fi:braɪl||'febrəl/ adj fml or med of or caused by fever
Feb·ru·ary /'februəri, 'febjuəri||'ebjueri/ written abbrev. Feb. n [C,U] the second month of the year between January and March: in February The bridge will open in February 2008. | this/last/next February Mum died last February. | on February 6th etc Her son was born on February 6th 1988. | on (the) 6th February BrE We go to Paris on 6th February. | February 6 AmE The insurance payment is due February 6.
fe·ces /'fi:si:z/ n [P] AmE for FAECES →fecal /'fi:kəl/ adj
feck /fek/ interj another spelling of FUCK
feck·ing /'fekɪŋ/ adj another spelling of FUCKING
feck·less /'fekləs/ adj worthless and without purpose or plans for the future: That feckless brother of mine will never get a decent job. | His feckless behaviour landed him in court for debt. →~ly adv →~ness n [U]
fec·und /'fekənd, 'fi:kənd/ adj fml producing a lot of crops or young; FERTILE: a fecund fruit tree →~ity /fi'kʌndʒti/ n [U]
fed /fed/ past tense & participle of FEED → see also FED UP
Fed n AmE infml 1 a criminal's name for an FBI AGENT 2 usually derog a person who works for a US government AGENCY and is often seen as causing trouble in the lives of ordinary people
Fed, the AmE infml 1 the FEDERAL RESERVE BANK 2 the FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM
Fed·a·yeen Sad·dam /fedɑːˌji:n sə'dæm||-'dɑ:m/ a military organization in Iraq, that was not part of the official army, and which was loyal to the Ba'athist government of Saddam Hussein. It was formed in 1995 by Saddam Hussein's son, Uday Hussein. The organization was believed to be responsible for killing many Iraqi people. It was defeated by the US and British forces during the Iraq war, but some of its members continued to be active in terrorist attacks in Iraq.
fed·er·al /'fedərəl/ adj 1 of or being a FEDERATION: Switzerland is a federal republic. 2 of the central government of the US as compared with the governments of the states that form it: Americans pay both federal taxes and state taxes. → see Feature on page A20
Federal Avi'ation Admini'stration, the abbrev. the FAA a US government organization which is responsible for making sure that aircraft and AIRPORTS are safe for people to use. There is a similar organization in the UK called the CIVIL AVIATION AUTHORITY.
Federal Bureau of Investi'gation, the the full name of the FBI
Federal Communi'cations Com,mission, the abbrev. the FCC a US government organization which makes rules that control broadcasting on radio, television, CABLE, and SATELLITE TELEVISION in the US
federal 'court n a court which hears cases that have to do with American law or the American CONSTITUTION
Federal Ex'press also FedEx /'fedeks/ infml trademark a US COURIER company (=a company which is paid to take packages somewhere) which operates internationally
fed·er·al·ism /'fedərəlɪzəm/ n [U] the belief in a FEDERAL system of government →ist n, adj
Federal Re,public of Yugo'slavia, the also the FRY the Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro) the former name of a country in Eastern Europe, between Romania and Bosnia-Herzegovina, that included part of the former country of Yugoslavia, and was involved in the BOSNIAN WAR in the 1990s. It became a country in 1992, and its population is mainly Serbian. In 2003 it changed its name to Serbia and Montenegro.
Federal Re'serve Bank, the also the FRB also the Fed infml the US CENTRAL BANK which is divided into twelve banks each operating in a different area of the US according to the Federal Reserve System. The 'Fed' has an important influence on US economic policy, because it fixes the rate of INTEREST that banks must pay when they borrow money.
Federal Re'serve System, the, also the Fed infml the national banking system in the US, according to which the Federal Reserve Bank operates
Federal 'Trade Com,mission, the the full name of the FTC
fed·e·rate /'fedəreɪt/ v [I,T] to form or become a federation
fed·e·ra·tion /ˌfedə'reɪʃən/ n 1 [C] a group of states united with one government which decides foreign affairs, defence etc, but in which each state can have its own government to decide its own affairs 2 [U] the action or result of uniting in this way: What hopes are there for European federation? 3 [C] a group of societies, organizations, trade unions etc, that have come together in this way: the Federation of British Fishing Clubs
fe·dor·a /fɪ'dɔ:rə/ n a man's hat made of FELT with a BRIM all the way round and a fold on top going from back to front. Fedoras were popular in the US in former times.
Feds, the /fedz/ n [P] AmE infml 1 a name for the FBI used especially by criminals 2 a name for any US government department, such as the IRS (=the department that collects taxes), used by people when they are annoyed by it
fed 'up adj [F (about, of, with)] infml unhappy, tired, and not satisfied, especially about something uninteresting, annoying, or time-wasting that one has had too much of: I'm rather fed up with your complaints. | The management is pretty fed up with/about the union's lack of co-operation. | I'm fed up of waiting for him – I'm going home! | [+that] She'll be a bit fed up that you didn't telephone.
Some people say fed up of not fed up with: I'm fed up of it. But this is often considered incorrect.
fee /fi:/ n 1 a sum of money paid for professional services to a doctor, lawyer, private school etc: doctor's fees → see PAY (USAGE) 2 fee fi to fum /ˌfi: ˌfaɪ ˌfə ˈfʌm/ (I smell the blood of an Englishman) a phrase used by the GIANT in the fairy story of Jack and the Beanstalk when he thinks that he can smell Jack in his castle and wants to catch him
fee·ble /'fi:bəl/ adj 1 lacking strength or force; FRAIL: You'll find your grandfather is a lot feebler than when you last saw him. 2 (of a joke, idea, story etc) weak; silly; not well thought out: a feeble suggestion/excuse →~ness n [U] →~bly adv
fee·ble·mind·ed /ˌfi:bəl'maɪndɪd/ adj 1 not clever; with less than the usual INTELLIGENCE 2 euph very stupid →~ness n [U]
feed¹ /fi:d/ v fed /fed/ 1 [T(on, with)] to give food to: We have to feed 120 guests after the wedding. | He's got a big family – lots of hungry mouths to feed | The baby will soon learn to feed himself. | We feed our dogs on fresh meat. | She feeds the baby with a spoon. | (fig.) They fed the fire with logs. | (fig.) These little streams feed the lake. | (fig.) You should water this plant once a week and feed it (=with minerals etc needed for plant growth) in spring and summer. → see also FORCE-FEED, SPOON-FEED 2 [I(on)] (especially of an animal or baby) to eat: The horses were feeding quietly in the stable. | Cows feed on grass. 3 [T+obj+adv/prep] to put, supply, or provide, especially continually: Keep feeding the wire into/through the hole. | You feed in the money here and the coffee comes out there. | The information is fed back to the appropriate government department | to feed data into a computer. 4 [T+obj(I)+obj(D)] infml to provide with: We fed the spy some false information in the hope that he would pass it back to his government. | They tried to feed me a line (=a false story) about unexpected extra expenses. 5 [T] to put coins into (a PARKING METER) continually and illegally whenever one's parking period comes to an end, in order to keep one's parking place → see also bite the hand that feeds one (BITE¹)
feed sthg. to sthg./sbdy. phr v [T] to give as food to: You'd better feed this old bread to the ducks.
feed sbdy./sthg. ⇔ up BrE || fatten up phr v [T] to make (a person or animal) fatter and healthier by providing lots of good food: That thin little boy needs feeding up. → see also FED UP
feed² n 1 [C] BrE a meal taken by an animal or baby: How