abundant
6
plenty: At the party there was food and drink in
abundance. | The country has an abundance of skilled work-
ers, but not enough jobs.
a·bun·dant /əˈbʌndənt/ adj more than enough; PLENTIFUL:
The country has abundant supplies of oil and gas. —ly adv:
She made it abundantly clear (=very clear) that she wanted
me to leave.
Ab·u Ni·dal /ˌæbuː niːˈdæl/ (1937–2002) the
leader of a Palestinian organization which was also called
Abu Nidal. Abu Nidal attacked airports, planes, buses, public
buildings etc, sometimes using SUICIDE BOMBERS (=people
who hide bombs on themselves and kill themselves and
others by exploding them).
a·buse1 /əˈbjuz/ v [T] 1 to say unkind, cruel, or rude things
to or about: She abused him roundly for his neglect. 2 to put
to wrong use; use badly, especially for one's own advantage:
to abuse one's power → see MISUSE (USAGE) 3 to treat (some-
one, especially a child) in a cruel or immoral way: The child
had been sexually abused. 4 to physically hurt: He abuses his
wife.
a·buse2 /əˈbjuːs/ n 1 [U] unkind, cruel, or rude words: He
greeted me with a stream of abuse. | a term of abuse |
foul-mouthed abuse 2 [C,U] wrong use: I'm afraid the system
is open to abuse. | the abuse of power/of drugs 3 [C] an
unjust or harmful custom 4 [U] bad or cruel treatment,
especially of children: hundreds of children at risk from
abuse → see also CHILD ABUSE
Abu Sim·bel /ˌæbuː ˈsɪmbəl/ a village in southern
Egypt next to the River Nile, famous for its ancient rock
TEMPLES (=holy buildings) that were built around 1250 BC
a·bu·sive /əˈbjuːsɪv/ adj using or containing unkind, cruel,
or rude language: an abusive letter/person —ly adv —ness
n [U]
a·but /əˈbʌt/ v
abut on sthg, phr v -tt- [T no pass.] fml (of land or buildings)
to lie next to or touch on one side: Their garden abuts on
ours.
a·but·ment /əˈbʌtmənt/ n a support, especially one on
which a bridge or arch rests
a·bys·mal /əˈbɪzməl/ adj very bad: The food was abysmal. |
abysmal weather
a·byss /əˈbɪs/ n a deep bottomless hole: (fig.) an abyss of
despair
Ab·ys·sin·i·a /ˌæbɪˈsɪniə/ the former name for ETHIOPIA
a/c. A/C /ˌeɪ ˈsiː/ written abbrev. for ACCOUNT
AC written abbrev. for 1 ALTERNATING CURRENT → compare
DC 2 AIR-CONDITIONING
a·ca·cia /əˈkeɪʃə/ n pl. -cias or -cia a mainly tropical tree
from which GUM2 is obtained
A,cacia 'Avenue BrE (used especially in newspapers) the
name of an imaginary street that is thought of as a typical
SUBURBAN street in the UK. It represents a place where
ordinary families live in a traditional way.
Ac·a·deme /ˈækədiːm/ the groves of Academe
a humorous expression meaning the life of a student or
teacher at a university, when this is thought of as being very
quiet and not affected by the problems of ordinary life
ac·a·de·mi·a /ˌækədiːmiə/ n [U] the world of education,
especially universities: Professor James had been living in
academia for too long to ever be successful in the business
world.
ac·a·dem·ic1 /ˌækəˈdemɪk/ adj 1 concerning education,
especially college or university level: They publish academic
books. 2 being or based on subjects that are taught to
develop the mind rather than to provide practical skills:
academic studies → compare TECHNICAL 3 not related to
practical situations; THEORETICAL: Where we ought to go for
our holidays is a purely academic question because we can't
afford a holiday at all! —~ally /kli/ adv: children who do well
academically (=in academic subjects)
academic2 n 1 a college or university teacher. In Britain and
the US, academics are sometimes criticized as being people
who think only about ideas and theories (THEORY), but do not
know very much about the real world or real prob-
lems. 2 someone who looks at things in an ACADEMIC1 way
academic 'freedom n [U] the freedom of students, teach-
ers, and educational institutions to express and study any
ideas that they want to
a·cad·e·mi·cian /əˌkædəˈmɪʃən/ n a member of
an academy
academic 'year BrE || school year AmE — n the period of
a year in which school, college, or university courses run. In
Britain and the US the academic year usually begins in
September or October and ends in June or July, with holidays
at Christmas and Easter. Some schools in the US run year
round (=all year) with several shorter holidays instead of the
long break during the summer.
a·cad·e·my /əˈkædəmi/ n (often cap. as part of a name) 1 a society
of people interested in the advancement of art, science, or
literature, to which members are usually elected as an
honour: the Hungarian Academy of Science 2 a school for
training in a special art or skill: a military academy | an
academy of music
Academy A'ward n an OSCAR
A·ca·di·a /əˈkeɪdiə/ an area in North America where French
people went to live in the 17th century, consisting of land
that now belongs to Maine in the US and to Nova Scotia, New
Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and part of Quebec in
Canada. The name CAJUN, comes from the word 'Acadian',
meaning someone from this place.
a cap·pel·la, a capella /ˌæ kəˈpelə/ adv, adj it (of
singing) without musical instruments: She stood up and sang
a cappella.
Ac·a·pul·co /ˌækəˈpʊlko/ a city on the west
coast of Mexico, known as a popular place for holidays
ACAS /ˈeɪkæs/ abbrev. for Advisory Conciliation and Arbitration
Service; a British organization that tries to end INDUSTRIAL
DISPUTES (=disagreements about pay, conditions at work etc)
between the management of a business and its workers, who
are usually represented by a TRADE UNION
ac·cede /əkˈsiːd/ v [I;(to)] fml 1 to agree to a suggestion,
plan, demand etc, often after first disagreeing: In the end she
acceded to our request. 2 to take a high post or position after
someone has left it 3 to join a group of people, countries
etc in an agreement → see also ACCESSION
ac·cel·er·ate /əkˈseləreɪt/ v 1 [I;T] to (cause to) move
faster → opposite DECELERATE 2 [T] fml to cause to happen
faster or earlier than expected: accelerated promotion | eco-
nomic policies that have accelerated the decline of manufac-
turing industry
ac·cel·er·a·tion /əkˌseləreɪʃən/ n [U] (the rate of) increas-
ing speed: a car with good acceleration
ac·cel·er·a·tor /əkˈseləreɪtər/ n 1 also gas pedal AmE —
the instrument in a machine or vehicle (especially a car)
which is used to increase its speed: He put his foot down hard
on the accelerator. → see picture at CAR 2 tech || also atom
smasher AmE infml a machine for making PARTICLES (=very
small pieces of matter) move very quickly
ac·cent1 /ˈæksənt/ n 1 a particular way of speak-
ing, usually connected with a country, area, or social class:
He speaks English with a strong German accent. | Where are
you from? I can't place (=recognize) your accent. → compare
DIALECT 2 [on] importance given to a word or part of a
word by saying it with more force or on a different musical
note: The accent in the word 'important' is on the second
syllable. 3 a mark used in writing or printing, especially
above a word or part of a word, to show what kind of sound
is needed when it is spoken: In French there are three
possible accents on the vowel 'e'. | an acute accent 4 [on] usually
sing.] particular importance or interest, an EMPHASIS: The
accent (of the report) is on safety.
CULTURAL NOTE In both the US and the UK, people have
different accents according to the part of the country they
come from. In the UK there is a greater variety of accents
than in the US, and most British people can recognize
which part of the UK someone comes from by their
accent. In the US most people would recognize a
Southern accent and a New York accent, but would not
be able to tell where most other people come from.
Accents are also affected by a person's education, and
they often show, especially in the UK, the social class that