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top-class scientist/orchestra | Your mother's cooking is in a class of its own - it's marvellous! → see also BUSINESS CLASS, CLUB CLASS, ECONOMY CLASS, FIRST CLASS, SECOND CLASS, TOURIST CLASS 7 [C] tech a division of animals or plants below a PHYLUM and above an ORDER 8 [U] infml a stylish quality, e.g. in clothes or social behaviour, that attracts admiration: a girl with real class
class² v [T(as, among, with)] to regard as belonging to a particular class or type; consider: In some countries, people who disagree with the government are classed as criminals.
class 'action n AmE a LAWSUIT set up by a group of people for their own advantage and also for that of all others with the same complaint: The miners with lung diseases brought a class action against the company. —class-action adj: a class-action suit
class-conscious adj very conscious of your own social position and sometimes distrustful of, or unfriendly towards, people from other classes: She's too class-conscious to be friendly with the cleaners. —ness n [U]
clas-sic¹ /'klæsɪk/ adj [A no comp.] 1 of the highest quality or class and especially serving as a model, standard, or perfect representative of a particular type: a classic horse race | Lewis Carroll's classic children's stories | This film is a classic western movie. 2 of a very typical and well-known kind: a classic example/case of love at first sight | a classic mistake | (infml) He didn't really say that? That's classic! 3 simple in style and likely to remain fashionable for a long time: a simple classic suit
classic² n 1 a book, play, or other work of art that is regarded as being a very fine example of its type and having lasting importance: Shakespeare's plays are among the great classics of English literature. | a modern classic | His production of 'Dracula' is one of the classics of the pre-war cinema. | (fig.) That joke's a classic. 2 a famous especially sporting event, usually with a long history → see also CLASSICS
clas-si-cal /'klæsɪkəl/ adj [no comp.] 1 connected with, belonging to, or influenced by the art, life, and literature of ancient Greece and Rome: classical authors/languages | a classical education | a building in the classical style of architecture 2 (of music) written with serious artistic intentions and having an attraction that lasts over a long period of time: She prefers pop music and jazz to classical music. | the works of several classical composers, including Bach and Mozart 3 based on or belonging to an old or established system of principles or methods, e.g. in art or science; TRADITIONAL or ORTHODOX: Classical scientific ideas about light were changed by Einstein. | How do you explain this in terms of classical Marxist theory?
classical my'thology n the ancient stories of the Greeks and Romans
classic 'car n a model of car, usually not as old as a VINTAGE car, which is considered to be notable in some way, for example for its shape or its performance: The Ford Thunderbird/E-type Jaguar is a true classic car.
clas-si-cism /'klæsɪsɪzəm/ n [U] 1 the principles, ideas, and style (especially with regard to balance, regularity, and simpleness of form) of the art or literature of ancient Greece or Rome 2 (often cap.) (in art and literature, especially in Europe in the 18th century) the quality of being simple, balanced, and controlled, not giving way to feeling, and following ancient models → compare REALISM, ROMANTICISM
clas-si-cist /'klæsɪsɪst/ n a person who studies CLASSICS
lassic 'rock n [U] ROCK MUSIC in the style of, and including, the most successful songs of the 1960s and 1970s, for example those of the Rolling Stones → compare HARD ROCK
las-sics /'klæsɪks/ n [the+P;U] (often cap.) the languages, literature, and history of ancient Greece and Rome. Very few people study classics now, but in the past a person without knowledge of the subject was considered uneducated.
lassics 'Illustrated n 1 [U] a US series of CARTOON STRIPS (=magazines for children with writing and pictures) which tell well-known stories from literature: I read 'Moby Dick' in Classics Illustrated. 2 [C] a comic in this series
las-si-fi-ca-tion /ˌklæsɪfɪ'keʃən/ n 1 [U] the act or process of classifying people or things (such as plants, animals, books in libraries etc) into groups 2 [C] a group, division, class, or CATEGORY into which something is placed
clas-si-fied /'klæsɪfaɪd/ adj 1 (of government, especially military, information) officially secret 2 divided or arranged in classes
classified 'ad also classified, small ad BrE || also want ad AmE — n a usually small advertisement placed in a newspaper by a person wishing to sell or buy something, offer or get employment etc: She scanned the column of classified ads.
clas-si-fy /'klæsɪfaɪ/ v [T] to arrange (animals, plants, books etc) into classes; divide according to class or type
class-is-m /'klɑːsɪzəm||'klæs-/ n [U] unfair opinions based on social class, especially the belief that your own class is the best → compare SEXISM —ist adj
class-less /'klɑːsləs||'klæs-/ adj 1 (of a society) not divided into social classes 2 belonging to no particular social class: a classless accent —ness n [U]
class-mate /'klɑːsmeɪt||'klæs-/ n a member of the same class in a school, college, or, in the US, university: We were classmates ten years ago.
class-room /'klɑːsruːm, -ruːm||'klæs-/ n a room in a school, college etc in which a class meets for a lesson
class 'struggle also class 'war n [(the)U] 1 disagreement and opposition between different classes in a society 2 (in Marxist political thought) the struggle for power carried on between the CAPITALIST class (=the owners of property, factories etc) and the PROLETARIAT (=the ordinary workers)
'class ,system, the n the division of society into UPPER CLASS, MIDDLE CLASS, and LOWER CLASS according to social background and professional position
class-work /'klɑːswɜːk||'klæswɜːrk/ n [U] school work done by students in class, rather than as HOMEWORK
class-y /'klɑːsi||'klæsi/ adj infml fashionable and of high class: one of the classiest restaurants in London
clat-ter¹ /'klætə/ v [I;T] to (cause to) make a clatter, especially as a result of movement: The metal dish clattered down the stone stairs.
clatter² n 1 [S] a loud noise like that made by hard objects hitting each other: a clatter of dishes 2 [U] noise caused by people talking or busy activity: the busy clatter of the city
Clau-di-us /'klɔːdiəs/ (10 BC–54 AD) the EMPEROR of Rome from AD 41 to 54, who made Britain part of the Roman Empire. Robert GRAVES wrote two popular books about Claudius's life, which were made into a British television programme called I, Claudius (1976).
clause /klɔːz/ n 1 tech (in grammar) a group of words containing a subject and FINITE verb, forming a sentence or part of a sentence, and often doing the work of a noun, adjective, or adverb. In 'She came home when she was tired', 'She came home' and 'when she was tired' are two separate clauses. → compare PHRASE, SENTENCE; see also DEPENDENT CLAUSE, INDEPENDENT CLAUSE, PENALTY CLAUSE, RELATIVE CLAUSE, SUBORDINATE CLAUSE 2 a separate division of a written legal DOCUMENT with its own separate and complete meaning: Their contracts contain a no-strike clause.
Clause 'Four a part of the CONSTITUTION of the British Labour Party, which formerly included the statement that the Party supported the SOCIALIST idea that industries should be owned by the government. Clause Four was rewritten in 1995 and this statement was removed.
claus-tro-pho-bi-a /ˌklɔːstrə'fəʊbiə/ n [U] fear of being shut up in a small enclosed space → compare AGORAPHOBIA
claus-tro-pho-bic¹ /ˌklɔːstrə'fəʊbɪk/ n a person suffering from claustrophobia
claustrophobic² adj 1 suffering from claustrophobia 2 (of a space) causing claustrophobia: a claustrophobic little room
clav-i-chord /'klævɪkɔːd||-kɔːrd/ n an early musical instrument similar to a piano
clav-i-cle /'klævɪkəl/ n med for COLLARBONE
claw¹ /klɔː/ n 1 a sharp usually curved nail on the toe of an animal or bird: The cat dug its claws into me. → see picture at BIRD 2 a limb of certain insects and sea animals, such as CRABS used for attacking, catching, and holding objects 3 the split curved end of some tools for pulling nails