924
muse² n 1 (sometimes cap.) in CLASSICAL MYTHOLOGY, an
ancient Greek goddess, one of nine, who each represented
an art or science 2 a force or person that seems to help
someone to write, paint etc; someone's INSPIRATION: a musi-
cian whose muse has left him (=who can no longer write
music well)
Mu·sée d'Or·say, the /ˌmjuːzeɪ dɔːˈseɪmjuːˌzeɪ dɔːr-/ a
MUSEUM in Paris, France, in a former railway station. It
contains IMPRESSIONIST and POST-IMPRESSIONIST paintings,
SCULPTURES, and examples of ART NOUVEAU
mu·se·um /mjuˈziːəm‖mju-/ n a building or room where
objects are kept and usually shown to the public because of
their scientific, historical, or artistic interest
Mu,seum of 'London, the a MUSEUM in central London
which tells the history of London from Roman times to the
present
Mu,seum of Man'kind, the a MUSEUM in west central
London which contains objects and information about the
lives and CULTURES of people from many countries around
the world
Mu,seum of ,Modern 'Art, the abbrev. MOMA a
MUSEUM in New York City which contains one of the world's
finest collections of modern art and photography
Mu,seum of the ,Moving 'Image, the abbrev. MOMI a
MUSEUM on the SOUTH BANK in London, containing infor-
mation about the history of the cinema and of television,
and collections of equipment used in the making of films
and television programmes
mu'seum piece n 1 an object interesting enough to keep in
a MUSEUM 2 often humor an old-fashioned person or thing
Mus·e·ve·ni, Yow·e·ri /muˈsevəni, jəʊˈweəri/ (1945-) the
president of Uganda since 1986. He is generally thought to
have made great improvements to Uganda's economic and
social situation after a long period of CIVIL WAR.
mush¹ /mʌʃ/ n 1 [S;U] a soft mass of half-liquid, half-solid
material, especially food 2 [U] AmE a thick PORRIDGE made
with CORNMEAL 3 [U] infml words, writing etc, that are too
sweet and sad; SENTIMENTALITY —→y adj: mushy peas | a
mushy film
mush² /mʌʃ/ interj used to tell a team of dogs that pull a
SLEDGE over snow to start moving
Mu·shar·raf, Per·vez /muˈʃærəf, pərˈvez‖pɜːr-/ (1943-) a
Pakistani military officer who became President of Pakistan
after leading a group that removed Prime Minister Nawaz
Sharif from power in a military COUP in 1999. He promised
to bring back a DEMOCRATIC system of government. Mushar-
raf supported George W. Bush during the US invasion of
Afghanistan in 2001.
mush·room¹ /ˈmʌʃruːm, -rʊm/ n 1 any of several types of
FUNGUS some of which can be eaten, which grow and
develop very quickly → compare TOADSTOOL 2 anything
that grows and develops fast: the mushroom development of
new housing in this area 3 the shape of the cloud that forms
in the air above a NUCLEAR explosion: a mushroom cloud
mushroom² v [I] 1 to grow and develop fast: New housing
estates have mushroomed on the edge of the town. 2 [+adv/
prep] to form and spread in the shape of a mushroom: The
smoke mushroomed into the sky.
Mu·si·al, Stan /ˈmjuːziəl, stæn/ (1920-) a US BASEBALL
player who played for the St Louis Cardinals team from
1941 to 1963. He is known for his skill at hitting the ball
and was often called 'Stan the Man'.
mu·sic /ˈmjuːzɪk/ n [U] 1 the arrangement of sounds in
patterns, especially to produce a pleasing effect: a beautiful
piece of music | This music is by Beethoven. | an old poem that
has been set to music (=for which music has been written) |
classical music | (fig.) Her voice was music to my ears. 2 the art
of making music: to study music | a music student 3 a
written or printed set of notes: Give me my music and I'll
play it for you. | a sheet of music on a music stand 4 if
music be the food of love, play on quote a phrase from
Shakespeare's play Twelfth Night 5 she shall have music
wherever she goes a line from the NURSERY RHYME Ride a
Cock-Horse → see also face the music (FACE²)
mu·sic·al¹ /ˈmjuːzɪkəl/ adj 1 [A no comp.] of or producing
music: musical instruments | We joined a musical soci-
ety. 2 skilled in and/or fond of music: a very musical
child 3 like music; pleasant to hear: her musical voice → see
also MUSICAL
musical² n a play or film with spoken words, songs, and
often dances: a Broadway musical
'musical box especially BrE || also 'music box especially AmE — n
a box containing a clockwork apparatus which plays music
when the lid is lifted
,musical 'chairs n [U] a game often played at children's or
family parties, in which music is played and whenever it
stops, each person tries quickly to find a chair because there
is always one chair too few
,musical 'instrument n an INSTRUMENT: Do you play a
musical instrument?
mu·sic·al·ly /ˈmjuzɪkli/ adv 1 in a musical way: She
laughed musically. 2 with regard to music: Musically it's a
good song, but I don't like the words.
'music hall n 1 [U] BrE || vaudeville AmE — theatre entertain-
ment, especially in former times, with songs, jokes, acts of
skill etc → compare VARIETY 2 [C] (in Britain, especially in
former times) a theatre used for such performances
mu·si·cian /mjuˈzɪʃənmju-/ n a person who performs on,
or writes music for, a musical instrument → compare COM-
POSER
mu·si·cian·ship /mjuˈzɪʃənʃɪp‖mju-/ n [U] skill in per-
forming or writing music
'music ,video n a VIDEO in which the performance of a song
is filmed, along with other images that express the ideas or
feelings in the music
musk /mʌsk/ n [U] a strong smelling substance used in
making PERFUMES —→y adj: her musky perfume —→iness n
[U]
mus·ket /ˈmʌskɪt/ n a type of gun used in former times
mus·ket·eer /ˌmʌskɪˈtɪər/ n a soldier who is armed with a
musket → see also THREE MUSKETEERS
mus·ket·ry /ˈmʌskɪtri/ n [U] the skill of using small guns in
battle
musk·rat /ˈmʌskræt/ also mus·quash /ˈmʌskwɒʃ‖-wɔːʃ,
-wɔːʃ/ n a North American rat-like animal that lives in water
and is hunted for its fur
Mus·lim /ˈmʌzləm, ˈmʊz-, ˈmʊs-/ n a person whose religion
is Islam, the religion started by MUHAMMAD in the 7th
century AD, whose holy book is the KORAN. There are two
main types of Muslim, the Sunnis and the Shiites. → see also
BLACK MUSLIM —Muslim adj: Muslim countries
mus·lin /ˈmʌzlɪn/ n [U] a very fine thin cotton cloth, used
(especially formerly) for light dresses
muss /mʌs/ v [T(UP)] infml, especially AmE to make (especially the
hair) untidy or disordered
mus·sel /ˈmʌsəl/ n a small sea animal living inside a shell
made of two parts, whose soft body can be eaten as food
Mus·so·li·ni, Be·ni·to /ˌmʊsəˈliːni, beˈniːtəʊ/ (1883-1945)
an Italian leader known as 'Il Duce', who established the
system of FASCISM and ruled Italy as a DICTATOR from
1925-43. He fought with Germany in WORLD WAR II, but
because of his armies' failures, he was forced to give up power
in 1943. After the war he was shot and killed by Italian
PARTISANS. When people talk about Mussolini now, they
sometimes say that although he was evil, he 'made the trains
run on time', meaning that Italy was very well organized
when he was its leader.
must¹ /mʌst; strong mɑːst/ v 3rd person sing. must, negative short
form mustn't [modal+be+v] 1 (past usually had to) (shows what it
is necessary for one to do, what one ought to do, or what
one is forced to do): I must leave at six today. (compare I had
to leave at six yesterday.) | You mustn't tell anyone about this –
it's a secret. | This information must in no circumstances be
given to the general public. | The notice says 'Prams must be
left outside the shop'. | Must I take this horrible medicine? | I
must admit I don't like her. | (shows a firm intention) I must
write a letter to the bank. | (used in making suggestions etc)
You must go and see that new film – you'd really enjoy
it. 2 (past must have) to be likely or certain to: You must feel
tired after your long walk. | There's nobody here – they must
have all gone home. | You must be (=I suppose you are) the
new teacher. (compare You can't be the new teacher.) | £2000 for