gleeful
588
voices together, often sung by the members of a glee club
AmE (=a particular type of CHOIR)
glee·ful /'gli:fəl/ adj showing joy and delight —ly adv
glen /glen/ n a narrow mountain valley, especially in Scot-
land or Ireland
Glen·coe, Glen Coe /ˌglen 'kəʊ/ a valley in the western
Highlands of Scotland, where, in 1692, members of one CLAN
(=a large group of families), the Campbells, killed members of
another clan, the MacDonalds, in the Massacre of Glencoe. It
is now a popular place for people to go to SKI or climb.
Glen·ea·gles /ˌglen'i:gəlz/ a hotel and GOLF centre in Scot-
land, popular with rich and famous people
Glen·fid·dich /ˌglen'fɪdɪk, -ɪx/ trademark a type of MALT
WHISKY
Glenn, John /glen/ (1921–) the first US ASTRONAUT to travel
around the Earth in space, which he did in 1962. In 1974 he
became a member of the US Senate for the Democratic Party,
representing the state of Ohio. In 1998, he again went into
space, becoming the oldest man to do so.
glib /glɪb/ adj -bb- often derog 1 good at speaking quickly,
cleverly, and in a way that is likely to persuade people,
whether speaking the truth or not: a glib
salesman/politician | He's got a glib tongue. 2 spoken too
easily to be true: She's always ready with a glib excuse/reply.
—ly adv —ness n [U]
glide¹ /glaɪd/ v [I] 1 [+adv/prep] to move (noiselessly) in a
smooth continuous manner, which seems easy and without
effort: The boat glided over the lake. | The dancers glided
across the floor. → compare SLIDE 2 a) (of a bird) to fly
smoothly through the air without moving the wings b) (of
a person) to fly in a glider: He goes gliding at weekends. →
see also HANG GLIDING
glide² n 1 a gliding movement 2 (in music) the act of
passing from one note to another without a break in
sound 3 tech (in PHONETICS) a sound made while passing
from one position of the speech organs to another, e.g. when
pronouncing a DIPHTHONG
glid·er /'glaɪdə/ n a light plane without an engine that can
only fly after being pulled into the air by another plane
glim·mer¹ /'glɪmə/ v [I] to give a very faint unsteady light:
A light glimmered at the end of the passage.
glimmer² n 1 a faint unsteady light 2 [+of] also glim·mer·ing
/'glɪmərɪŋ/ a small uncertain sign: There's still a glimmer of
hope left for the lost climbers. | She spoke enthusiastically, but
her audience didn't show a glimmer of interest. → compare
GLEAM, GLOW
glimpse¹ /glɪmps/ v [T] to have a quick incomplete view of:
I glimpsed her among the crowd just before she disappeared
from sight.
glimpse² n a quick look at or incomplete view of: I only
caught a glimpse of the thief, so I can't really describe him.
→ see GLANCE² (USAGE)
glint¹ /glɪnt/ v [I] to give out small flashes of light: The gold
glinted in the sunlight. | (fig.) Their eyes glinted when they saw
the money.
glint² n a flash of light, as from a shiny metal surface: brown
hair with golden glints | I could tell he was angry by the glint
in his eye.
glis·ten /'glɪsən/ v [I(with)] to shine (as if) from wetness: His
brow/forehead glistened with sweat. —ingly adv
glis·ter /'glɪstə/ v [I] all that glisters is not gold quote a
phrase from SHAKESPEARE's play The Merchant of Venice
meaning that not everything that appears attractive and
good actually is: For the man at the head of Britain's biggest
jewellery chain, all that glisters is not gold.
glitch /glɪtʃ/ n AmE infml 1 a small fault in the operation of
something 2 a false ELECTRONIC signal caused by a sudden
increase in electrical power
glit·ter¹ /'glɪtə/ v [I] to shine brightly with flashing
points of light: The diamond ring glittered on her finger. | (fig.)
The film première was a glittering occasion, with royalty and
many famous stars in attendance. 2 all that glitters is not
gold quote a slightly changed phrase from SHAKESPEARE's
play The Merchant of Venice meaning that not everything
that appears attractive and good actually is
glitter² n 1 [S] a brightness, as of flashing points of light:
the glitter of the sun on the waves | The torturer had a cruel
glitter in his eyes. 2 [U] attractiveness; GLAMOUR: Beneath
its surface glitter, the fashion industry is a tough place to
work in. 3 [U] very small glittering objects used for
decoration: She sprinkled silver glitter in her hair. | a tube
of glitter —y adj
Glitter, Gar·y /'gæri/ (1940–) a British POP SINGER, successful
especially in the 1970s and known for his tight shiny clothes,
and his large boots with thick, high heels. In 1999 he was
sent to prison because he was found guilty of having PORNO-
GRAPHIC pictures of children on his computer which he had
taken from the Internet.
glit·te·ra·ti /ˌglɪtə'rɑːti/ n [(the)P] slang fashionable and usu-
ally rich and famous people whose social activities are widely
reported (from a humorous combination of GLITTER and
LITERATI): Hollywood's glitterati
glitz /glɪts/ n [U] slang an exciting fashionable quality (with-
out seriousness or deep meaning) —y adj: one of the year's
glitziest parties, reported in all the newspaper gossip columns
gloam·ing /'gləʊmɪŋ/ n [the] poet (the time of) half darkness
in the early evening; DUSK
gloat /gləʊt/ v [I(over)] to look at or think about something
with unpleasant satisfaction: The thief gloated over the stolen
jewels. | Don't gloat; the same misfortune may happen to you
one day. —gloat n: I'm sure he'll have a good gloat over this.
—ingly adv
glo·bal /'gləʊbəl/ adj 1 of or concerning the whole world:
events of global importance | Global climatic changes may
have been responsible for the extinction of the dino-
saurs. 2 taking account of or including (almost) all possible
considerations: The report takes a global view of the compa-
ny's problems. —ly adv
glo·bal·ism /'gləʊbəlɪzəm/ n [U] the quality of being
concerned with causes and effects over the whole world, not
just single parts of it —ist adj, n: globalist economic policies
glo·bal·i·za·tion also -isation BrE /ˌgləʊbəlaɪ'zeɪʃən||-ləɪ-/
n [U] the process of making something such as a business
operate in a lot of different countries all around the world
or the result of this: the increasing globalization of world
trade
glo·bal·ize also -ise BrE /'gləʊbəlaz/ v [I,T] to make a
business, industry etc operate in a lot of different countries
all around the world
global 'warming n [U] a general increase in world tempera-
tures caused by CARBON DIOXIDE collecting in space immedi-
ately around the Earth → see also GREENHOUSE EFFECT
globe
axis
North Pole
line of
latitude
line of
longitude
northern
hemisphere
Tropic of
Cancer
southern
hemisphere
equator
Tropic of
Capricorn
South Pole
Antarctic Circle
globe /gləʊb/ n 1 [C] an object in the shape of a round ball
SPHERE 2 [C] an object like this on which a map of the
Earth or sky is painted, and which may be turned round and
round on its base 3 [the] lit the Earth: She has travelled all
round the globe.
globe 'artichoke n an ARTICHOKE
Globe 'Theatre, the 1 a theatre south of the River Thames
in London where William SHAKESPEARE's plays were first
performed. It was destroyed in the 17th century. 2 an exact