alight
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alight² adj [F] 1 on fire; in flames: The dry leaves caught alight. (=began to burn) | She poured kerosene over the rubbish and then set it alight. (=lit it) 2 [(with)] having the lights on; lit up: Every window was alight. | (fig.) eyes alight with happiness
a·lign /ə'laɪn/ v [T] to bring, form, or arrange into a line or set of lines: to align the wheels of a car
align sbdy./sthg. with sbdy./sthg. phr v [T] 1 to cause to come into the same line as: to align a picture with one directly opposite it 2 to bring (oneself) into agreement or partnership with: They aligned themselves with the opponents of the government. | They are closely aligned with the opponents of the government. -> see also NON-ALIGNED
a·lign·ment /ə'laɪnmənt/ n 1 [U] the state of being brought or arranged into a line or set of lines: The wheels are out of alignment (with each other) – they need to be brought back into alignment. 2 [U] (of people or countries with the same aims, ideas etc) the act of forming into groups, for example in order to fight a war -> opposite NONALIGNMENT 3 [C] a group formed in this way: a new alignment of left-wing parties
a·like /ə'laɪk/ adj, adv [F] the same or similar; like one another: The two brothers are very much alike. | She treats all her children alike. | a training course for employed and unemployed alike (=for both equally)
al·i·men·ta·ry ca·nal /ˌælɪmentəri kə'næl/ n the tubelike passage leading from the mouth to the stomach and onward, in which food passes from the mouth and is digested (DIGEST)
al·i·mo·ny /'ælɪməni||-moʊni/ n [U] money that a man or woman has been ordered to pay regularly to his/her former partner after they have been legally separated or divorced (DIVORCE). It is usually the man who is ordered to pay alimony to the woman to help her support their children until they are old enough to leave home. -> compare PALIMONY
A-list, the /'eɪ lɪst/ n all the most popular or famous film stars, musicians etc: the Hollywood A-list | A-list celebrities -> See also B-LIST
a·lit /ə'lɪt/ past tense and participle of ALIGHT
Al·it·a·li·a /ˌæli'tæliə, -'taɪl-|ˌɑːli'tɑː-/ trademark an Italian AIRLINE
a·live /ə'laɪv/ adj [F] 1 [no comp.] having life; not dead; living: Are your grandparents still alive? | He's the only man alive who could do it. | (fig.) local traditions that are still alive and well in rural regions | (fig.) The argument was kept alive by the politicians. 2 full of life; active: Although he's old, he's still very much alive. | The meeting really came alive (=became lively) when she stood up to make her speech. 3 [(with)] covered with or full of living things: The dead tree is alive with insects. 4 [+to] having full knowledge of; AWARE: He was alive to the dangers of the work. 5 alive and kicking alive and very active 6 alive and well and living in ... a phrase used, especially in newspapers, when saying that someone who was believed dead is in fact still alive: She is reported to be alive and well and living in South America.
Al Ja·zee·ra /æl dʒə'zɪərə/ trademark an Arabic television news CHANNEL which is watched by many people in the Middle East, and by Arabic speakers around the world. Its programmes are mostly about Arabic news and political issues.
al·ka·li /'ælkəlaɪ/ n pl. -lis or -lies [C;U] tech a substance that forms a chemical salt when combined with an acid -> compare ACID —line adj
Al·ka·Sel·tzer /ˌælkə 'seltsər||'ælkəˌseltsər/ trademark a type of medicine that you take to treat stomach problems, such as those caused by eating or drinking too much. Alka-Seltzer are added to water to make a FIZZY drink.
all¹ /ɔːl/ determiner, predeterminer 1 the complete amount or quantity of; the whole of: He ate all his food. | He ate it all. | We walked all the way. | We worked hard all last year. | Not all water is suitable for drinking. | They danced all night. (compare They danced every night.) She's on the telephone all the time. (=very often) 2 every one of: All these questions must be answered. | Answer them all. | They must all be answered. | All children like toys. | We bought all kinds of things. | Ten students took the exam and they all passed. | She was by all accounts (=everyone says so) an extraordinary woman. 3 the greatest possible amount of: The doctor came with all speed. | I must tell you, in all honesty, that I don't agree. 4 influenced or controlled as if by (the stated body organ): He was all ears (=he listened very carefully) as she recounted the strange story. | I can't play the piano today; I seem to be all thumbs. 5 all in a) infml very tired: I felt all in by the end of the day. b) with everything included: I sold the car, together with the radio and some spare parts, for £2000 all in. | an all-in price of £2000 -> see also ALL-IN WRESTLING 6 all out infml using all possible strength and effort: We went all out/made an all-out effort to finish the job by Christmas. -> see also ALL-PURPOSE, ALL-STAR, ALL-TIME, all fours (FOUR), of all people (PEOPLE¹), (all) well and good (WELL¹)
all² adv 1 [+adj/adv/prep] altogether; completely; wholly: She sat all alone. | The old lady gets all confused when she has a lot of visitors. | I am all in favour of/all for your suggestion. | They were dressed all in black. | The programme was all about the dangers of smoking. 2 (after numbers) for each side: The match ended in a draw, with the score three all. 3 all along infml all the time from the beginning: I suspected all along that he was lying. 4 all at once suddenly and unexpectedly 5 all but almost; nearly: It's all but impossible. | an all but impossible task 6 all over a) everywhere on an object or surface: There was mud all over the floor. | Paint it green all over! b) everywhere in a place: He looked all over for the lost book. | We travelled all over India. c) finished: The referee has blown his whistle, and it's all over! (=the game has finished) d) infml very like; thoroughly typical: He's always late; that's Billy all over. 7 all the (with COMPARATIVE adjectives and adverbs) by so much: If we get help the work will be finished all the sooner. | The rise in prices is all the more serious because we are not selling enough goods abroad. 8 all the same infml even so; in any case: She told me she hadn't enjoyed the film, but I decided to go and see it all the same. 9 all the same to infml not making any difference or causing any worry to: It's all the same to me whether you stay or go. | If it's all the same to you, I'll turn the radio off. (=do you mind if I turn it off?) 10 all told counting everyone; all together: There are 48 members all told. 11 all too very; much more than is desirable: These scenes of violence are all too familiar. 12 all up (with) infml at an end; ruined 13 not all that infml not very: I'm not all that hungry. It's not as cold as all that. 14 (not) all there infml (not) clever or healthy in the mind: I don't think he's quite all there. -> see also ALL CLEAR, ALL-POWERFUL, ALL RIGHT, ALL ROUND 15 be all over someone infml to be kissing and touching another person in a sexual way: You should've seen Julia and Dan at the party – they were all over each other. | He was all over me, before I could open my mouth to say 'stop'.
all³ pron 1 everyone or everything; the whole number, quantity, or amount: I brought all of them. | He gave all he had. | We invited 100 people but not all of them came. | It'll cost all of (=at least) £5000. | They ate the whole fish; bones, tail and all. | It's easy to put the fence up – all you need is a hammer and some nails. 2 all and sundry all types of people: They've invited all and sundry to the wedding. 3 all for one and one for all quote the phrase used by the THREE MUSKETEERS in the book by Alexandre DUMAS to show that they would all support and protect each other 4 all in all considering everything; on the whole; generally: All in all we had a good time. 5 all one can do (not) to infml very difficult (not) to: It was all he could do not to cry. 6 (not) at all (in questions and negatives) (not) in any way: I don't agree with you at all. | I was late, but they were not at all tired. | He's not looking at all well. (=he looks ill) | The government has done nothing at all to deal with the problem. | Is it at all possible that you have made a mistake? -> see also for all (FOR), in all (IN), not at all (NOT), once (and) for all (ONCE)
USAGE 1 You can use all or all of before nouns that have a determiner (such as the, those, this), to talk about a particular group of people or things: All (of) the students are coming to the party. Use all before nouns that do not have a determiner, to talk about a group in general: All students hate exams. 2 All of is used before personal pronouns: I'd like all of you to come. However, all is used after the pronoun: They all like parties. | I'd like you all to come. 3 All is used with a singular verb if the noun is