1599
yacht
WYSIWYG /'wɪziwg/ n [U] abbrev. for What You See Is What
You Get; a word used in computing meaning what you see
on the screen is exactly what will be printed
Wyss, Jo·hann /waɪs, 'jəʊhænl-ha:n/ (1743-1818) a Swiss
writer best known for his very popular children's book
SWISS FAMILY ROBINSON
wy·vern /'waɪvənl-ɜrn/ n an imaginary animal that looks
like a two-legged winged DRAGON
X,x
X, x /eks/ pl. X's, x's n 1 [C,U] the 24th letter of the English
alphabet 2 the number 10 in the system of ROMAN NUMER-
ALS 3 [U] tech a letter used in mathematics to represent an
unknown quantity or value: if 3x=6, x=2 4 [C] a mark used
on school work to show that a written answer is not
correct 5 [C] a mark used to show that you have chosen
something on an official piece of paper, for example when
voting 6 [U] a mark used to show a kiss, especially at the
end of a letter: Love, Cindy XXX 7 [sing.,U] used in the past
to describe a film that was officially approved as only
suitable for people over 18 → see also X-RATED 8 [U] a letter
used instead of someone's or something's real name because
you want to keep it secret or you do not know it: At the trial,
Ms X said that she had known the defendant for three
years. 9 [C] a mark used instead of a signature by someone
who cannot write 10 X number of people/things used to
say that there are a number of people or things when the
exact number is not important 11 X marks the spot used
on maps in adventure stories to show that something is
buried in a particular place
X v
X sth ⇔ out phr v [T] AmE to mark or remove a mistake in a
piece of writing using an X → compare CROSS OUT
Xan·a·du /'zænədu:/ an imaginary place that is very beauti-
ful, from a place in the poem Kubla Khan by Samuel Taylor
COLERIDGE
Xbox /'eks bɒks||-bɑ:ks/ trademark a machine for playing
computer games, which is made by Microsoft
X-cer·tif·i·cate /ˌeks sə'tɪfɪkət||-sər-/ adj X-RATED
X chro·mo·some /'eks ˌkrəʊməsəʊm/ n a type of CHROMO-
SOME that exists in pairs in female cells, and with a Y
CHROMOSOME in male cells → see also Y CHROMOSOME
xen·on /'zenɒn||'zi:nɒn, 'ze-/ n [U] a rare gas sometimes
used in photography to produce short flashes of light
xen·o·pho·bi·a /ˌzenə'fəʊbiə/ n [U] unreasonable fear and
dislike of strange or foreign people, customs etc → compare
RACISM —phobic adj
Xen·o·phon /'zenəfən, -fɒnl-fɑ:n/ (?430-354 BC) a Greek
HISTORIAN (=someone who writes books about history) and
military leader whose best-known work, the Anabasis,
describes a long journey by a Greek army through enemy
land in western Asia
xen·o·trans·plant /'zenəʊˌtrænsplɑ:nt||-plænt/ n the
medical operation of putting an organ from an animal's
body into a human body —xenotransplantation
/ˌzenəʊˌtrænsplɑ:n'teɪʃn||-plæn-/ n [U]
Xe·rox¹ /'zɪərɒks, 'ze-||'zɪrɑ:ks, 'zi:-/ trademark 1 a com-
pany that makes electronic equipment for offices, known
especially for its PHOTOCOPIERS (=machines that make copies
of documents) 2 xerox a copy of a piece of paper with
writing or printing on it, made using a PHOTOCOPIER →
compare PHOTOCOPY
Xe·rox², xerox v [T] trademark to make a photographic copy of
printed or written matter on a special electric copying
machine; PHOTOCOPY
'Xerox ma,chine trademark a special electric machine used for
making copies of written or printed material; a kind of
PHOTOCOPIER
Xer·xes /'zɜ:ksi:z||'zɜ:r-/ (about 519–465 BC) a king of Persia
who unsuccessfully tried to CONQUER Greece
X-Files, The /'eks faɪlz/ a popular US television SCIENCE
FICTION programme, also shown in the UK, whose main
characters are two FBI agents, called Fox MULDER, who is
played by David Duchovny, and Dana SCULLY, who is played
by Gillian Anderson. Together they have many exciting and
frightening adventures in their attempts to solve strange
mysteries involving ALIENS (=creatures from other worlds)
and other PARANORMAL events. The programme is also
known for the CATCHPHRASES 'The truth is out there' and
'Trust no one'.
Xho·sa /'kɔ:sə, 'kɑu-||'kəʊsə/ n 1 [C] a member of a group
of Bantu people of South Africa 2 [U] the Bantu language
spoken by these people, which is known for including sounds
called 'clicks' (CLICK¹) —Xhosa adj: a Xhosa newspaper
Xiaoping → see DENG XIAOPING
X-mas /'krɪsməs, 'eksməs/ n [C,U] infml CHRISTMAS; mainly
used in writing, for example on shop signs and Christmas
cards
X-Men /'eks men/ a group of characters in a COMIC BOOK that
began in 1963, and that have since appeared in two films
and a CARTOON television programme. The characters are
TEENAGERS who have special powers. They go to a special
school where they learn to use their powers to fight evil.
Some of the names of the characters are Wolverine, Storm,
and Thunderbird.
XML /ˌeks em 'el/ n [U] abbrev. for Extensible Markup Language;
a computer language used for communicating on the WORLD
WIDE WEB
X-rated /'eks ˌreɪtɪd/ adj 1 an X-rated film is one that
people under 18 are not allowed to see because it includes
sex or violence 2 X-rated jokes, stories etc are about sex
X-ray¹, x-ray /'eks reɪ/ n 1 a beam of RADIATION that can go
through solid objects and is used for photographing the
inside of the body 2 a photograph of part of the body, taken
in this way to see if anything is wrong: The X-ray showed
that her leg was not broken. | a chest X-ray 3 a medical
examination made using x-rays: I had to go to hospital for an
x-ray.
X-ray², x-ray v [T] to photograph the inside of someone's
body using X-rays: The problem was only discovered when her
lungs were X-rayed.
xy·lo·phone /'zaɪləfəʊn/ n a musical instrument made up of
a set of flat wooden or metal bars of different lengths, each
of which gives out a different musical note, played by
striking with two small hammers
Y,y
Y, y /waɪ/ pl. Y's, y's n [C,U] the 25th letter of the English
alphabet → see also Y CHROMOSOME, Y-FRONTS
Y, the /waɪ/ AmE infml the YMCA or YWCA: She was staying in
a room at the Y.
ya /jə, jʌ/ pron infml you: See ya later!
yacht /jɒt||jɑ:t/ n 1 a light sailing boat, especially one used
for racing → compare DINGHY 2 a large often motor-driven