qualified
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qual·i·fied /'kwɒlɪfaɪd||'kwɑː-/ adj 1 having suitable knowledge or qualifications, especially for a job: a highly qualified engineer | [+to-v] He's not qualified to teach young children. 2 limited; not complete: qualified agreement
qual·i·fi·er /'kwɒlɪfaɪə||'kwɑː-/, n 1 someone who has qualified or had to qualify, especially by passing a test, winning a match etc 2 tech (in grammar) a word or phrase, especially an adjective or adverb, which limits the meaning of another word or phrase
qual·i·fy /'kwɒlɪfaɪ||'kwɑː-/ v 1 [I;T(as, for)] to (cause to) reach a necessary standard, e.g. of knowledge, ability, or performance, or get a QUALIFICATION: She qualified as a doctor this year. | Will our team qualify for the second round of the competition? | Her teaching experience qualifies her admirably for the job. | People on low incomes may qualify for a special heating allowance. | [+obj+to-v] Spending a week in Russia doesn't qualify you to talk about it as an expert. | a qualifying match (=the team/person that wins it will be allowed to go on to the next stage of the competition) 2 [T] to limit the force or meaning of (something stated); MODIFY: I'd like to qualify my last statement – it was too strong. | (tech) Adjectives qualify nouns.
qual·i·ta·tive /'kwɒlɪtətɪv||'kwɑːlɪteɪ-/ adj of or about quality: a qualitative judgment → compare QUANTITATIVE
—ly adv
qual·i·ty /'kwɒlɪti||'kwɑː-/ n 1 [U] a) the degree to which something is excellent; standard of goodness: material of low/poor quality | The quality of the service here has improved a lot. | high-quality goods b) a high standard: It is difficult to recruit teachers of quality. | an actor of real quality (=a very good actor) 2 [C] something typical of a person or thing; CHARACTERISTIC: Sympathy is his best quality. | She shows qualities of leadership. | This music has a rather sinister quality.
'quality as,surance n [U] management of the quality of production according to a system
'quality con,trol n [U] the practice of checking examples of goods produced to make sure that the quality of all the goods is what it should be
,quality of 'life n [U] the level of health, comfort, and pleasure in a (person's) life: A government which says it is concerned about the quality of life cannot then ignore the weakest members of our society. | Our quality of life has already been affected by this latest nuclear disaster.
'quality ,paper n a British daily or Sunday newspaper aimed at educated readers. Quality papers are sometimes called the serious papers. They contain detailed news articles, FEATURES and REVIEWS written in a serious style. → compare POPULAR PRESS, TABLOID
'quality ,time n [U] time spent with e.g. one's children when one is relaxed and has got nothing else to do. This is considered to be good for parent and child, especially because the parent is at work for most of the day: She took comfort in the idea that her uninterrupted hour with the children at bedtime was quality time.
qualm /kwɑːm||kwɑːm, kwɑːlm/ n [(about) often pl.] an uncomfortable feeling of uncertainty, especially as to whether something is right: He had no qualms about cheating the tax inspector.
quan·da·ry /'kwɒndəri||'kwɑːn-/ n [(about, over)] a feeling of not knowing what to do: I was in a quandary about whether to go.
quan·go /'kwæŋɡəʊ/ n pl. -gos usually derog abbrev. for (in Britain) an independent body, such as the Race Relations Board, set up by the government but having its own separate legal powers in a particular area of activity (quasi-autonomous non-governmental organization)
Quant, Mary /'kwɒnt||kwɑːnt/ (1934–) a British fashion designer, who had a great influence on the fashions of the 1960s. She is best known for her clothes with GEOMETRIC patterns and is considered by some people to be the inventor of the MINI SKIRT. → see also MARY QUANT
quan·ta /'kwɒntə||'kwɑːn-/ pl. of QUANTUM
quan·ti·fi·er /'kwɒntɪfaɪə||'kwɑːn-/ n tech (in grammar) a word or phrase that is used with a noun to show quantity, such as much, few and a lot of
quan·ti·fy /'kwɒntɪfaɪ||'kwɑːn-/ v [T] fml to measure (an amount or quantity): It is difficult to quantify the value of space exploration. —fiable adj —fication /ˌkwɒntɪfɪ'keɪʃn||ˌkwɑːn-/ n [U]
quan·ti·ta·tive /'kwɒntɪtətɪv||'kwɑːntɪteɪ-/ adj of or about quantity: a quantitative difference → compare QUALITATIVE
—ly adv
quan·ti·ty /'kwɒntɪti||'kwɑːn-/ n 1 [U] the fact of being measurable; amount: It was a bad year for new films, in terms of both quantity and quality. (=there were not many, and they were not very good) 2 [C(of)] also quantities pl. — a) an amount or number: A large/vast quantity of beer was sold. | expensive cars that are manufactured in small quantities b) old-fash a large amount or number: Quantities of food were spread out on the table. → see also UNKNOWN QUANTITY
'quantity sur,veyor n a person who calculates the amount of materials needed for a future building, and what they will cost
Quan·tocks, the /'kwɒntɒks||'kwɑːntɑːks/ also the ,Quantock 'Hills a RANGE of hills in Somerset, southwest England
quan·tum /'kwɒntəm||'kwɑːn-/ n pl. -ta /tə/ tech (especially in PHYSICS) a fixed amount which varies from the next possible smaller or larger amount by a specific degree
,quantum 'leap n a very large and important advance or improvement: The concept of sixth generation computers represents a quantum leap in communications systems.
,quantum me'chanics n [P+sing./pl.v] the study of ELEMENTARY PARTICLES which behave according to the rules of quantum theory but unlike larger objects which obey the laws of ordinary PHYSICS
'quantum ,theory n [(the) U] a 20th century development in PHYSICS which says that ENERGY and mass, especially at the atomic level and smaller, show properties in quantum divisions only
quar·an·tine¹ /'kwɒrəntiːn||'kwɔː-/ n [S(in) U] a period of time when a person or animal that may be carrying disease is kept separate from others so that the disease cannot spread: Animals entering Britain from abroad are put in quarantine for six months.
quarantine² v [T often pass.] to put in quarantine
quark /kwɑːk, kwɔːk||kwɔːrk, kwɑːrk/ n 1 tech an extremely small piece of matter that forms the substances of which atoms are made 2 BrE a low fat cream cheese
QuarkXPress /ˌkwɑːkɪk'spres, ˌkwɔːk-||ˌkwɔːrk-, ˌkwɑːrk-/ trademark a type of computer SOFTWARE used for DESKTOP PUBLISHING: Applicants for the job should have some journalistic or publishing experience, and a working knowledge of QuarkXPress.
quar·rel¹ /'kwɒrəl||'kwɔː-, 'kwɑː-/ n [(with)] 1 an angry argument, often about something not very important: I got involved in a quarrel about the price. | He seems to enjoy picking (=causing) quarrels with people. 2 have no quarrel with to have no cause for or point of disagreement with: I have no quarrel with what the minister says.
quarrel² v -ll- BrE || -l- AmE [I (about, over, with)] to have a quarrel: They were quarrelling furiously (with each other) about whose turn it was to cook the dinner.
Compare quarrel and argue. Both words can mean 'to have an unpleasant disagreement in which people feel angry': Jack and Jill argued/quarrelled about who should get the money, and stopped speaking to each other. However you can also argue with someone (=have a discussion in which there are differences of opinion) without feeling angry: Jill and I often have a drink together and argue about modern art.
quarrel with sthg. phr v [T] to disagree with or complain about: I don't quarrel with what you say, but with how you say it.
quar·rel·some /'kwɒrəlsəm||'kwɔː-, 'kwɑː-/ adj derog (of a person) likely to quarrel; often arguing —ness n [U]
quar·ry¹ /'kwɒri||'kwɔː-, 'kwɑː-/ n a place from which stone, sand etc, are dug out → compare MINE
quarry² v [T(from)] to dig out (stone, sand etc) from a quarry