space heater
1334
'space ,heater n an electric or FUEL-burning machine for heating an enclosed area or room
'Space In,vaders trademark a type of VIDEO GAME in which the player tries to destroy attacking SPACESHIPS. Space Invaders was one of the first video games, and was very popular in the early 1980s.
Spa·cek, Sis·sy /'speɪsek, 'sɪsi/ (1949–) an American actress whose films include Badlands, Carrie, and JFK. She won an Oscar for her PERFORMANCE in Coal Miner's Daughter in 1980.
space·man /'speɪsmæn/, space·wom·an /-ˌwʊmən/ fem.—n pl. -men /men/ 1 infml for ASTRONAUT 2 (especially in stories) a being that visits the Earth from another world
'Space ,Needle, the a tall tower (185 metres) which is the most famous building in Seattle, Washington State, US, and which is sometimes used in pictures to represent Seattle
'space probe n a PROBE
space·ship /'speɪsˌʃɪp/ n (especially in stories) a spacecraft for carrying people through space, often imagined as looking like a FLYING SAUCER
'space ,shuttle n a vehicle for a) carrying people and supplies between the Earth and a space station b) carrying people into space to do scientific EXPERIMENTS, put SATELLITES into space etc
'space ,station n a large spacecraft intended to stay above the Earth and act as a base for scientific tests, for flying further out into space etc
space·suit /'speɪs·suːt, -ˌsjut||-ˌsut/ n a protective suit for wearing in SPACE covering the whole body and provided with an air supply: a leak in her spacesuit
,space-'time n [U] tech a system which has length, depth, height, and time
spac·ey /'speɪsi/ adj, adv AmE infml not fully conscious of what is happening around one; behaving strangely, as if one were taking drugs: He acts kind of spacey but he's really a nice guy. | The lady next door is pretty spacey; I'd never let her take care of the kids.
Spa·cey, Kev·in /'speɪsi 'kevɪn/ (1959–) a US film actor whose films include The Usual Suspects, L.A. Confidential, and American Beauty. In 2003, he became artistic director of the Old Vic theatre in London.
Kevin Spacey
spac·ing /'speɪsɪŋ/ n [U] placement or arrangement apart, especially of typed (TYPE) or printed lines: Type this letter with/in single/ double/triple spacing. (=lines with no/one/two empty lines between them)
spa·cious /'speɪʃəs/ adj apprec having a lot of room; ROOMY: a spacious office —ly adv —ness n [U]
spade¹ /speɪd/ n 1 a tool for digging earth, sand etc, with a handle and a broad usually metal blade for pushing into the ground with the foot: a child's bucket and spade ➔ compare SHOVEL 2 [(of)] also spade·ful /-fʊl/ — the amount carried by a spade ➔ see also call a spade a spade (CALL)
spade² n 1 a) a black figure shaped like a pointed leaf printed on a playing card b) a card belonging to the SUIT (=set) of cards that have one or more of these figures printed on them: the four/queen of spades | I only have two spades in my hand. ➔ see Cultural Note and picture at CARDS 2 old-fash derog slang a black person (considered extremely offensive)
spade·work /'speɪdˌwɜːk||-wɜːrk/ n [U] hard work done in preparation for an event or course of action: I did all the spadework, then she came and finished it off and got all the credit.
spa·ghet·ti /spə'geti/ n [U] Italian PASTA (=food made from flour mixed with water) in the shape of long strings, cooked in boiling water ➔ compare MACARONI, TAGLIATELLE, VERMICELLI; see picture at PASTA
Spa,ghetti 'Junction n 1 AmE a place where a lot of roads cross over each other 2 a place in Birmingham in central England where a lot of roads meet and cross over each other
spa,ghetti 'western n a film about American COWBOYS in the Wild West especially by an Italian director and made in Europe
Spain /speɪn/ a country in southwest Europe, between France and Portugal, which includes the Balearic and Canary Islands, and is a member of the EU (European Union). Population: 40,217,413 (2003). Capital: Madrid. Some parts of Spain, especially Catalunya and the Basque country, have their own language and CULTURE, and the southwest of Spain has been strongly influenced in its buildings and its CULTURE by the Moors, a Muslim people from North Africa who ruled this part of Spain from the 8th to the 15th centuries. People from Spain are called Spaniards. For many British people, Spain is a very popular place to go for a holiday because of its hot, dry summers, and many people go to well-known holiday towns such as Benidorm and Torremolinos. Some British people go to live in the south of Spain when they are older. ➔ see also BULLFIGHT, ETA, FRANCO, GENERAL, COSTA GERIATRICA, SPANISH CIVIL WAR
spake /speɪk/ old use or poet past tense of SPEAK
spam /spæm/ n [U] infml EMAIL messages containing advertisements, which are sent to large numbers of people, and are annoying because you do not want to read them
Spam /spæm/ trademark a type of inexpensive CANNED meat made mainly of PORK
span¹ /spæn/ past tense of SPIN
span² n 1 a stretch between two limits, especially in time; period: Over a span of three years a surprising amount has been achieved. 2 a length of time over which the stated thing continues or works well: a short attention/life/memory span | an unbroken span of concentration 3 a (part of a) bridge, arch etc, between supports: The bridge crosses the river in a single span. | the central span of the aqueduct ➔ compare SPREAD; see also WINGSPAN
span³ v -nn- [T]: 1 to form an arch or bridge over: A bridge spanned the stream. 2 to include in space or time; go from one end to the other end of: His interests spanned a wide range of subjects. | The game has a history spanning three centuries.
span⁴ adj ➔ see SPICK-AND-SPAN
span·dex /'spændeks/ trademark a type of material that stretches, used especially for making tight-fitting sports clothes: spandex cycle shorts
span·gle¹ /'spæŋɡəl/ n a small piece of shiny metal or plastic sewn in large numbers especially on dresses, to give a shining effect; SEQUIN
spangle² v [T(with)] to give a shining effect to (as if) with spangles; decorate with shining objects
Spang·lish /'spæŋɡlɪʃ/ n [U] especially AmE a mixture of the Spanish and English languages
Span·iard /'spænjəd||-ərd/ n a person from Spain. The word Spaniard is often used in historical writing, but in conversation it is more usual to say 'He/she is Spanish' than 'He/she is a Spaniard'.
span·iel /'spænjəl/ n a small or middle-sized short-legged dog with long ears and long wavy hair ➔ see picture at DOG
Span·ish¹ /'spænɪʃ/ adj from or connected with Spain
Spanish² n 1 [U] the language of Spain and parts of South America 2 the Spanish [P] the people of Spain
,Spanish-A,merican 'War, the a war in 1898 between the US and Spain, which the US started because it wanted Cuba to be independent from Spain and because the US battleship Maine was mysteriously destroyed by an explosion near Havana, Cuba. After Spain was defeated, Cuba became independent, and the US took control of the islands of the Philippines, Guam, and Puerto Rico. Theodore ROOSEVELT, who later became president, first became famous through his military success in this war, when he led a group of men called the ROUGH RIDERS.
,Spanish Ar'mada, the ➔ see ARMADA, THE
,Spanish ,Civil 'War, the a war fought in Spain, from 1936 to 1939, between the RIGHT-WING Nationalists, led by General FRANCO and the LEFT-WING Republicans. Many people from other countries joined the International Brigade to help the