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raise money for public works such as roads, schools, parks
etc. Municipal bonds earn low interest, but income from
them is not taxed.
mu·ni·ci·pal·i·ty /mjuːˌnɪsɪˈpælti||mjuː-/ n 1 a town, city,
or other small area with its own government for local
affairs 2 [+sing./pl. v] the group of people who manage the
local affairs of a town: The municipality has/have closed the
swimming pool.
mu·nif·i·cent /mjuːˈnɪfɪsənt||mjuː-/ adj fml very generous: a
munificent giver/gift —ly adv —cence n [U]
mu·ni·ments /'mjuːnɪmənts/ n [P] law legal papers which
prove that one owns something, such as a house
—muniment adj [A]
mu·ni·tions /mjuːˈnɪʃənz||mjuː-/ n [P] large arms for war;
bombs, guns etc —munition adj [A] munition workers
Mun·ster /'mʌnstər/ a PROVINCE in the southwest of the
Republic of Ireland, containing the counties (COUNTY) of
Clare, Cork, Kerry, Limerick, Tipperary, and Waterford
Mup·pets, The /'mʌpɪts/ also The 'Muppet Show a US
television programme in which the main characters are PUP-
PETS such as KERMIT the Frog and MISS PIGGY. The characters,
who were made by Jim HENSON, are called Muppets, and they
perform in amusing SKETCHES (=short scenes) with well-
known human entertainers. Some of the Muppets also
appear in the children's programme Sesame Street.
mu·ral /'mjʊərəl/ n a painting which is painted on a wall,
either indoors or outdoors ➔ compare FRESCO —mural adj
[A]
mur·der¹ /'mɜːdər||'mɜːr-/ n 1 [C;U] the crime of killing a
person intentionally: to commit murder | guilty of murder |
There have been several murders this year. | the murder
weapon | to read murder stories ➔ compare MANSLAUGH-
TER 2 [U] pointless death, especially caused by carelessness:
It's little short of murder to send them out in the boat on a
night like this. 3 [U] infml a very difficult or tiring experience:
It was easy enough to find the fault in the engine, but it was
murder putting all the pieces back together. 4 murder most
foul lit very cruel murder ➔ see also get away with murder
(GET AWAY WITH), scream/shout blue murder (BLUE)
murder² v [T] 1 to kill (a person) illegally and intentionally:
a murdered man | fig, infml She'll murder you (=be very angry
with you) when she finds out what you've done! ➔ see KILL
(USAGE) 2 infml to spoil or destroy, especially to spoil (a play,
a piece of music etc) by a bad performance 3 I could
murder a ... BrE spoken used in order to say that you really
want to eat or drink a particular type of food or drink: I
haven't eaten all day – I could murder a bacon sandwich. | Are
you making some tea? I could murder a cuppa. —er n
—ess n
mur·der·ous /'mɜːdərəs||'mɜːr-/ adj intending or likely to
cause murder: murderous intentions | a murderous expression
on his face | a murderous looking knife —ly adv —ness n
[U]
'murder week·end /'//' .. ,../ n an amusement in which
people go away for a WEEKEND and see an actor who appears
to die. Many small pieces of information (CLUES) are left for
the people taking part, and they try to find out who the
pretended criminal is.
Mur·doch, Dame Iris /'mɜːdɒk||'mɜːrdɑːk/ (1919–99) a
British writer born in Ireland. She is known for her intelli-
gent, humorous, and often complicated novels which
include The Sea, The Sea and The Book and the Brotherhood.
She has also written books about PHILOSOPHY.
Murdoch, Ru·pert /'rɜːpət||-ərt/ (1931–) a powerful busi-
nessman, born in Australia but now a US citizen, who
controls one of the world's largest MEDIA businesses, NEWS
CORPORATION, which owns newspapers, television com-
panies, film companies, and book PUBLISHERS. These include
many British, US, and Australian newspapers (such as the New
York Post and The Times, Sky TV, and the Fox film company).
Some people criticize Murdoch because they believe his con-
trol of so many media companies gives him too much power.
murk /mɜːk||mɜːrk/ n [U] especially lit darkness; GLOOM
murk·y /'mɜːki||'mɜːr-/ adj 1 dark and unpleasant; GLOOMY:
a murky night | murky fog 2 dishonourable; SHAMEFUL: a
murky secret | a criminal with a murky past —ily adv
mur·mur¹ /'mɜːmə||'mɜːr-/ n 1 [C] a soft low continuous
sound: the murmur of the stream | a murmur of
voices 2 [C;U] a sound made by the heart, which may show
that it has an illness 3 [S] a complaint: They obeyed me
without a murmur.
murmur² v 1 [I;T] to make a murmur or express in a
murmur: a little girl murmuring in her sleep | As she
denounced the government's policy, the crowd murmured their
approval. 2 [I (at, against)] to complain, not officially but in
private: people murmuring against the government
Mur·phy, Au·die /'mɜːfi||'mɜːr-, 'ɔːdi/ (1924–71) an actor
who was a very brave American soldier in World War II, who
was given more than 20 MEDALS including the Congressional
Medal of Honour. He became a film actor in 1948 and played
himself in the film of his life story, To Hell and Back (1955).
Murphy, Ed·die /'edi/ (1961–) a US film actor and COMEDIAN,
who first became known for his work on the television
programme Saturday Night Live. His films include Beverly Hills
Cop (1984) and the Nutty Professor (1997), and he did the
voice of one of the characters in the film Shrek.
Murphy's also ,Murphy's ,Irish 'Stout trademark a type of
STOUT (=strong dark beer) produced in Ireland and popular
in the UK. Its advertisements use the phrase, 'Like the
Murphy's, I'm not bitter'.
,Murphy's 'law n [S] especially AmE a tendency for bad things
to happen whenever it is possible for them to do so; SOD'S
LAW
mur·rain /'mʌrɪn||'mɜːr-/ n 1 [U] not tech a disease of cat-
tle 2 [S] old use a curse: A murrain on you!
Mur·ray, Bill /'mʌrɪ||'mɜːri/ (1950–) a US actor who appears
as humorous characters, and whose films include Ghost-
busters (1984), Groundhog Day (1993), and Lost in Translation
(2003).
Mur·ray·field /'mʌrɪfiːld||'mɜːr-/ a famous RUGBY ground
in Edinburgh, where Scotland's national rugby team plays
Mur·row, Edward R. /'mʌrəʊ||'mɜːroʊ/ (1908–65) a US
television news reporter known for reporting from London
during the BLITZ in World War II. He is also known for his
television programmes after the war which dealt with politi-
cal subjects about which there was a lot of disagreement,
such as the activities of US Senator Joseph MCCARTHY in
1954.
Mus·ca·det /'mʌskədeɪ||ˌmʌskə'deɪ/ n [C;U] a dry white
wine from France
mus·ca·tel /ˌmʌskə'tel/ n [C;U] a sweet light-coloured wine
made from a GRAPE of the same name
mus·cle¹ /'mʌsəl/ n 1 [C;U] (one of) the pieces of elastic
material in the body which can tighten to produce move-
ment, especially bending of the joints: He developed his arm
muscles by lifting weights. 2 [U] strength or power, espe-
cially of the stated kind: political/military/financial muscle
➔ see also not move a muscle (MOVE¹)
muscle² v
muscle in phr v [I(on)] to force one's way into a place or
situation where one is not wanted, usually so as to gain a
share in what is produced
'muscle-bound adj having large, stiff muscles usually as a
result of too much physical exercise
mus·cle·man /'mʌsəlmən/ n pl. -men /men/ 1 a man who
has developed big muscles by special exercises 2 a man
employed to use his size and strength to protect someone,
especially a criminal
Mus·co·vite /'mʌskəvaɪt/ n someone from Moscow
mus·cu·lar /'mʌskjʊlər/ adj 1 of or consisting of muscles: a
muscular disease | the muscular system 2 having big mus-
cles; strong-looking: a muscular body | He's big and muscu-
lar. —ly adv
muscular dys·tro·phy /ˌmʌskjʊlə 'dɪstrəfi||-lər-/ n [U] a
serious illness in which the muscles become weaker over a
period of time
,Muscular 'Dystrophy Association, the also the
MDA a US CHARITY organization that helps people who
have MUSCULAR DYSTROPHY. Every year it has a TELETHON (=a
television programme to ask people to give money to an
organization), which involves Jerry LEWIS and other well-
known people.
muse¹ /mjuːz/ v [I(over, (up)on)] to think deeply, forgetting
about the world around one: She sat musing for hours.
—musingly adv