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ruling² adj [A] most powerful; in control: the ruling classes |
the ruling party in the national assembly | His garden is his
ruling passion. (=main interest in life)
rum¹ /rʌm/ n [C,U] (a glass of) a strong alcoholic drink made
from the juice of the SUGARCANE plant
CULTURAL NOTE Rum is the TRADITIONAL drink of sailors,
and is associated especially with PIRATES, who are often
shown drinking rum in stories.
rum² adj old-fash infml, especially BrE unusual; strange
Ru·ma·ni·a /ru:'meiniə/ → see ROMANIA
rum·ba /'rʌmbə/ n (the music for) a popular dance originally
from Cuba
rum·ble¹ /'rʌmbəl/ v 1 [I] to make or move with a deep
rolling sound: The thunder/The big guns rumbled in the
distance. | The heavy cart rumbled down the street. | I'm
hungry – my stomach's rumbling. 2 [T] BrE infml to find out or
make known the true facts about (especially a dishonest
person or activity): We've been rumbled; someone must have
told the police.
rumble² n 1 [S] a rumbling sound: a rumble of thun-
der 2 [C] AmE old fash slang a street fight
'rumble strip n a number of raised lines across a road which
make a loud noise when you drive over them to warn you to
slow down
rum·bling /'rʌmblɪŋ/ n 1 [S] a rumbling sound 2 [C usually
pl.] widespread unofficial talk or complaint: rumblings of
dissent/discontent
rum·bus·tious /rʌm'bʌstʃəs/ adj infml, especially BrE noisy,
lively, and cheerful: The new film is a rumbustious farce that
all the family will enjoy.
ru·mi·nant /'ru:mɪnənt/ n, adj (an animal) that RUMINATES:
The cow is a ruminant.
ru·mi·nate /'ru:mɪneɪt/ v [I] 1 fml (of a person) to think
deeply and repeatedly; PONDER: He ruminated over/on the
problem. 2 tech (of cattle, deer etc) to bring back food from
the stomach and bite it over and over again —nation
/ˌru:mɪ'neɪʃən/ n [C,U]
ru·mi·na·tive /'ru:mɪnətɪv|-ner-/ adj (of a person or their
behaviour) seeming thoughtful: a ruminative frown —ly
adv
rum·mage¹ /'rʌmɪdʒ/ v [I+adv/prep] infml to turn things over
and look into all the corners while trying to find something,
especially causing disorder: Who's been rummaging (about)
through my papers?
rummage² n infml 1 [S[ABOUT, AROUND)] an act of rummaging:
I'll have a good rummage (around) and see what I can
find. 2 [U] especially AmE old clothes and other things found
by rummaging about
'rummage sale n AmE for JUMBLE SALE
'ummy /'rʌmi/ n [U] a simple card game for two or more
players
u·mour BrE || rumor AmE /'ru:mər/ n 1 [U] unofficial news
or information, perhaps untrue, which is spread from person
to person; HEARSAY: The whole article was based on rumour. |
Rumour has it (=people are saying) that Jean's getting
married again. 2 [C[about, of]] a story or opinion based on
rumour, which may or may not be true: All sorts of rumours
are going round the office about him and his secretary. | His
illness led to rumours of an early election. | [+that] There's a
rumour circulating (=being spread) that the factory's going to
shut down. → compare GOSSIP
u·moured BrE || rumored AmE /'ru:mədl-ərd/ adj reported
unofficially: The rumoured marriage between the prince and
the dancer did not in fact take place. | [F+to-v] He is rumoured
to have left the country. | [+that] It's rumoured that there'll be
an election this year.
u·mour·mon·ger BrE || rumor monger AmE
/'ru:məˌmʌŋgə || -mərˌmɔ:ŋ-, -ˌmʌŋ-/ n derog a person who
spreads rumours
rump /rʌmp/ n 1 the part of an animal at the back just above
the legs: She ordered a juicy rump steak. (=cut from this part
of a cow) 2 humor the part of the body one sits on; BOT-
TOM 3 the remaining small, often worthless part of some-
thing that used to be larger, such as a public body or
organization: After the election the party was reduced to a
rump.
Rum·pel·stilt·skin /ˌrʌmpəl'stɪltskɪn/ the main character
in a story called Rumpelstiltskin by Jacob and Wilhelm
GRIMM. Rumpelstiltskin is an ugly DWARF (=a creature like a
very small man) who teaches a young girl how to make
STRAW into gold thread by using a SPINNING WHEEL. As a
reward for teaching her this, he says she must give him her
first child. She becomes queen and has a child, but Rumpel-
stiltskin says he will not take her child if she can discover
what his name is within three days. By chance a servant hears
him saying his name, and when the girl tells him what it is,
he gets so angry that he dies.
rum·ple /'rʌmpəl/ v [T] to disarrange (hair, clothes etc);
make untidy: We could see from the rumpled sheets that the
bed had been slept in.
rum·pus /'rʌmpəs/ n [S] infml a noisy angry argument or
disagreement: They're bound to kick up (=make) a rumpus
about all this damage.
'rumpus room n AmE a room, usually below ground level in
a house, used for active games and parties
Rums·feld, Don·ald /'rʌmzfeld, 'dɒnəld||'dɑ:-/ (1932–) a
US politician who was Secretary of Defense for President
Gerald Ford, and later for President George W. Bush. He is
known as a Republican who believes in using military force.
Some people have criticized Rumsfeld because they did not
think that the US should have attacked Iraq in 2003 without
the support of the UN.
run¹ /rʌn/ v ran /ræn/, run, present participle running to MOVE
FAST ON FOOT 1 [I] (of people and some animals) to move on
one's legs at a speed faster than walking: I had to run to catch
the bus. | The children came running when she called them. | The
insect ran up my leg. | The little boy ran off to get his brother. |
He's got a gun! Run for it/Run for your lives! (=to save
yourselves) 2 [T] a) to move (a distance) by running: He ran
a mile in four minutes. b) to do or complete (as if) by running:
My son often runs errands for me. (=goes on a short journey to
get something) | (fig.) The illness/rioting ran its course.
(=started, developed, and ended in the expected
way) 3 [T] a) to take part in (a race) by running: Ovett ran a
fine race but only finished second. b) to cause (an animal) to
take part in a race: We won't run this horse in any more races
this season. c) to cause (a race) to happen: The Derby will be
run at three o'clock. → see also ALSO-RAN TO MOVE OR TRAVEL IN
SOME OTHER WAY 4 [I+adv/prep; T+obj+adv/prep] to (cause to)
move quickly or freely: The car ran downhill out of control/
ran off the road/ran into a tree. | An alarming thought kept
running through my mind. | A shudder ran through his body as
he died. | He ran his fingers through his hair in confusion. | Run
the videotape back to the point where the ball bounces. | Could
you run your eyes over this list? (=examine it
quickly) 5 [I;T] a) (of a public vehicle) to travel as arranged:
The trains don't run on Sundays/aren't running today. | This
bus runs between Manchester and Liverpool/from here to the
station. b) to cause (a public vehicle) to travel: They're
running a special train to the football match. 6 [I+adv/prep;
T+obj+adv/prep] infml to go or take in a vehicle: Can I run you
home? TO FLOW OR MAKE SOMETHING FLOW 7 [I] (of liquid, sand
etc) to flow freely: The tears ran down his face. | The salt won't
run out if it's too damp. | The terrible scream made my blood
run cold. (=frightened me) 8 [T] to cause (liquids, sand etc) to
flow, especially from a TAP: Run the water until it gets hot. |
[+obj(i)+obj(d)] Please run me a nice hot bath. (=fill the bath with
water for me) 9 [I] (especially of a container) to pour out
liquid: Have you left the tap/bath running? | The baby's nose is
running. 10 [I] to melt and spread by the action of heat or
water: The butter will run if you put it near the fire. | I'm afraid
the colours ran when I washed this shirt. TO OPERATE OR BE IN
CHARGE OF 11 [I;T(on, by)] to (cause to) work or be in operation:
Don't touch the engine while it's running. | This machine runs
on/by electricity. | to run a computer program | Can you just run
the projector to check that it's working? | Despite the shortage of
drugs and trained staff, they managed to keep the hospital
running. | This is an expensive car to run. (=it costs a lot to keep
it working, buy petrol for it etc) | (fig.) Is everything running