aqueduct 56
A
aq·ue·duct /'ækwədʌkt/ n a bridge, pipe, or CANAL that carries a water supply, especially one that is built higher than the land around it or that goes across a valley
aq·ui·line /'ækwɪlaɪn||-laɪn/ adj of or like an EAGLE: An aquiline nose is one that curves like an eagle's beak. | her sharp aquiline profile
A·qui·nas, St Thomas /ə'kwaɪnəs/ (1225–74) an Italian THEOLOGIAN (=someone who studies religion and religious beliefs) and PHILOSOPHER whose ideas had an important influence on the Roman Catholic religion
A·qui·no, Ma·ri·a Co·ra·zón /ə'ki:nəʊ, mə'ri:ə kɔ:rə'zɒn||-'za:n/ (1933–) a Filipino politician, usually known as Cory Aquino. Her husband, Benigno Aquino, led the opposition to President Marcos of the Philippines until he was murdered in 1983. She helped to remove President Marcos from power in 1986, and she then became President of the Philippines until 1992.
AR written abbrev. for ARKANSAS
Ar·ab /'ærəb/ n 1 someone who comes from Arabia or from the Middle East or North Africa, whose first language is Arabic 2 BrE Arabian a type of fast, graceful horse —Arab adj: The Secretary of State's trip included four Arab countries – Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia. | a meeting of Arab leaders
ar·a·besque /ˌærə'besk/ n 1 a position in BALLET dancing 2 a flowing decorative line or pattern
A·ra·bi·a /ə'reɪbiə/ also the Ara bian Pe'ninsula the large area of land between the Red Sea and the Gulf which contains Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates
A·ra·bi·an¹ /ə'reɪbiən/ adj from or connected with Arabia: the Arabian desert
Arabian² n AmE → ARAB
A rabian 'Nights, the also the Thousand and One Nights a collection of Arabic stories from the 10th century, including ALADDIN, ALI BABA, and SINBAD. The NARRATOR (=the character who tells the story) is SCHEHERAZADE, a young woman who prevents her cruel husband from killing her by amusing him with a different story every night for a thousand and one nights.
Ar·a·bic /'ærəbɪk/ n [U] the language or writing of the Arabs, which is the main language of North Africa, the Middle East, and Arabia —Arabic adj
Arabic 'numeral n 1 a sign, such as 1, 2, or 3, used for numbers in the English alphabet and many others → compare ROMAN NUMERAL 2 any of the signs used for numbers in the Arabic alphabet, on which the numbers 1, 2, 3 etc were based
Arab-Is,raeli 'War, the n any of the wars between Israel and the Arab countries, e.g. the Yom Kippur War of 1973
ar·a·ble /'ærəbəl/ adj (of land) suitable or used for growing crops → compare PASTURE
Arab 'League, the → LEAGUE OF ARAB STATES, THE
a·rach·nid /ə'ræknɪd/ n a small creature such as a SPIDER, that has eight legs and a body with two parts
Ar·a·fat, Yas·ser /'ærəfæt, 'jæsər/ (1929–) a Palestinian politician and leader of the PLO since 1969. He was elected President of Palestine in 1996.
Ar·al·dite /'ærəldaɪt/ trademark a type of strong glue sold in the UK
Ar·al Sea /ˌærəl 'si:/ n the Aral Sea an INLAND sea between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. It is continually becoming smaller because water flowing into it is being used for farming.
Ar·a·ma·ic /ˌærə'meɪ-ɪk/ n [U] a language spoken in south-west Asia as a LINGUA FRANCA, and still spoken in parts of Syria and Lebanon —Aramaic adj
Ar·an Is·lands, the /'ærən ˌaɪləndz/ a group of three small islands off the west coast of the Republic of Ireland
Aran 'jumper also ,Aran 'sweater n a thick woollen JUMPER with a raised pattern of many different stitches, usually made from natural-coloured wool
A·rap·a·ho /ə'ræpəhəʊ/ n 1 the Arapaho [plural] a Native American tribe from the GREAT PLAINS of the US 2 [C] a member of this tribe → see Cultural Note at NATIVE AMERICAN —Arapaho adj
Ar·a·rat, Mount /'ærəræt/ a mountain in eastern Turkey which, according to the Old Testament of the Bible, is where Noah's ARK first reached land after the great flood
ar·bi·ter /'ɑ:bɪtər||'ɑ:r-/ n someone who is in a position to make influential judgments or to settle an argument: She became the supreme arbiter of fashion in beachwear. | the arbiter of a conflict/crisis
ar·bi·trage /'ɑ:bɪtrɑ:ʒ||'ɑ:r-/ n [U] the process of buying something (especially a COMMODITY or CURRENCY) in one place and selling it in another place at the same time in order to profit from differences in price between the two places —-trageur /ˌɑ:bɪtrɑ:'ʒɜ:r||ɑ:r-/ n
ar·bi·tra·ry /'ɑ:bɪtrəri, -trɪlˌɑ:btrəri/ adj often derog 1 typical of power that is uncontrolled and used without considering the wishes of others: arbitrary arrests/punishments | an arbitrary ruler 2 decided by or based on chance or personal opinion rather than facts or reason; RANDOM: I didn't know anything about any of the books so my choice was quite arbitrary. —rily /'ɑ:bɪtrərli||ˌɑ:rbɪ'trerɪli/ adv —-riness n [U]
ar·bi·trate /'ɑ:bɪtreɪt||'ɑ:r-/ v [I,T(between)] to act as a judge in (an argument), especially at the request of both sides: They've appointed a committee to arbitrate the dispute/to arbitrate between the management and unions. → compare INTERMEDIARY; see also ACAS —-trator n
ar·bi·tra·tion /ˌɑ:bɪ'treɪʃən||ˌɑ:r-/ n [U] the settling of an argument by the decision of a person or group that has been chosen by both sides: The men agreed to go to arbitration to settle their pay claim.
Ar·bor Day /'ɑ:bə deɪ||'ɑ:rbər-/ an unofficial US holiday when people plant trees. Arbor Day is celebrated on different days in different states and school children often take part in it.
ar·bo·re·al /ɑ:'bɔ:riəl||ɑ:r-/ adj tech of or living in trees: arboreal animals
ar·bo·re·tum /ˌɑ:bə'rɪtəm||ˌɑ:r-/ n pl -ta /-tə/ -tums a place where trees are grown for study or for people to learn about them
ar·bour BrE || arbor AmE /'ɑ:bər||'ɑ:r-/ n a sheltered place in a garden, usually made by making trees or bushes grow so as to form an arch
arc /ɑ:k||ɑ:rk/ n 1 part of a curved line or circle: an arc of 110° | The Sun appears to move in an arc across the sky. → see picture at DIAMETER 2 a very powerful flow of electricity through the air or of gas between two points, especially as used to produce light in an arc lamp → see also ARC WELDING
ar·cade /ɑ:'keɪd||ɑ:r-/ n a covered passage, especially one with a roof supported by arches or with a row of shops on one or both sides: a shopping arcade → see also AMUSEMENT ARCADE
ar'cade game n AmE a coin-operated electronic machine with a video screen and controls, which is played for amusement
Ar·ca·di·a /ɑ:'keɪdiə||ɑ:r-/ n [singular] lit 1 an area in the country where people have a pleasant simple life 2 in ancient Greek and Latin poetry, an area with mountains and beautiful countryside in ancient Greece where people live pleasant simple lives
ar·cane /ɑ:'keɪn||ɑ:r-/ adj lit mysterious and secret; ESOTERIC: arcane knowledge/rituals