earlobe
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at the (very) earliest. | The meeting can't be held until October
at the earliest. → opposite at the latest (LATEST)
ear-lobe /'ɪəlb||'ɜr-/ n a LOBE → see picture at HEAD
Earl's 'Court 1 a large building in London used especially
for EXHIBITIONS in which businesses show their new products:
This year's Boat Show opens at Earl's Court on Mon-
day. 2 the area of West London around this building
CULTURAL NOTE Earl's Court is an area where many young
people live in single rooms or small apartments. In the
1960s and 1970s, it was sometimes called Kangaroo
Valley, because of the large number of young Australians
who lived there.
ear-ly¹ /'ɜːli||'ɜːrli/ adj 1 arriving, developing, happening etc
before the usual, arranged, or expected time: an early lunch |
I was early for work today. | [after n] The train was ten minutes
early. → compare LATE¹ 2 happening towards the beginning
of the day, one's life, a period of time etc: She returned in the
early morning. | memories of his early childhood | She was
born in the early 1950s. | an early motor car (=one of the first
developed) | The new car seems to be going well, but it's still
early days. (=it's too early to be certain) | He must be in his
early fifties. → compare LATE¹ 3 [A no comp.] fml happening
soon: We await your early reply concerning the above
request. 4 early to bed, early to rise, makes a man
healthy, wealthy, and wise saying a phrase used especially by
parents to their children to make them go to bed early
→ -liness n [U]
early² adv 1 before the usual, arranged, or expected time: He
always arrives early. 2 near the beginning of a period: The
bush was planted early in the season. | She's already here – she
arrived earlier this week. | The wheel was discovered very
early on in human history. → compare LATE²
Early Am'erican n [singular] a style of furniture, cloth, or
building in the US which is supposed to look like that used
in the early 19th century: We're going to redo the living room
in Early American.
early 'bird n 1 a person who gets up or arrives early. This
may be thought good or bad, depending on the habits of
the speaker: 'Do you think it's too early to phone him?' 'Not at
all. He's a real early bird.' 2 (it's) the early bird (that)
catches the worm saying someone who does things before
other people will have success
early 'closing day also ,early 'closing, half day
closing — n the day of the week, usually Wednesday or
Thursday, when some smaller British shops close early,
usually at one o'clock. It is the same day every week in any
one town: You'd better go now if you want some bread. It's
early closing today. | 'Which day is early closing day?' 'It's
Wednesday in Westerham and Thursday in Brasted.'
Early 'Day ,Motion n a proposal formally made in writing
by a member of the British parliament, and signed by other
members. MPs do this in order to find out how much
support there is for a particular proposal.
early re'tirement n [U] the act of stopping work before the
usual age for doing so, which is usually 60 or 65. Companies
sometimes ask workers to take early retirement as a way of
reducing their number of workers, or as a way of getting rid
of a difficult worker: He's hoping to get the offer of early
retirement if the takeover goes through.
early 'warning system n 1 a network of RADAR stations
called early warning stations which give information in
advance of enemy air attack 2 any system which gives early
information about danger: an early warning system for river
pollution
ear-mark /'ɪəmɑːk||'ɪərmɑːrk/ v [T(for)] to set aside (money,
time etc) for a particular purpose: These funds are earmarked
for famine relief.
ear-muffs /'ɪəmfs||'ɪər-/ n [P] a pair of ear coverings
connected by a band over the top of the head and worn to
protect a person's ears from cold → see PAIR (USAGE)
earn /ɜːn||ɜːrn/ v 1 [I;T] to get (money) by working: He earns
£20,000 a year (by writing stories). | He's earning a fortune as a
consultant engineer. | How does she earn her living? | Now
that you're earning, you should think about buying a
house. 2 [T] to get (something that one deserves) because of
one's qualities or actions: He earned a lot of praise from the
papers for the way he handled the strike. | She's earned a
break after all that hard work. 3 [T+obj(i)+obj(d)] to cause
(someone) to get; make worthy of; GAIN: Her success in the
exam earned her a place at university. | His skill in negotiat-
ing earned him a reputation as a shrewd tactician. → see
GAIN¹ (USAGE) → -er n
earned 'income ,credit n [U] (in the US) money returned
to working parents who do not earn enough to support their
families. It comes from tax money that is taken out of
wages.
earn-er /'ɜːnə||'ɜːr-/ n a nice little earner infml something
which earns a very satisfactory amount of money: The sale
of novelty trays turned out to be a nice little earner for the
company.
ear-nest¹ /'ɜːnɪst||'ɜːr-/ adj determined and serious, espe-
cially too serious: We made an earnest endeavour to persuade
her. | an earnest young man who never laughs → -ly adv
→ -ness n [U] I say this in all earnestness.
earnest² n in earnest a) seriously; in a determined way: It
soon began to snow in real earnest. (=very hard) b) serious;
not joking: I'm sure he was in earnest when he said he wanted
to marry her.
earnest³ n [S] fml 1 a part payment of money, as a sign that
one will pay the full amount later; DEPOSIT 2 [(of)] something
which comes first to show what will come after: The current
economic slump is an earnest of the major recession to come.
earn-ings /'ɜːnɪŋz||'ɜːr-/ n [P] 1 money which is earned by
working: What are your take-home earnings after tax and
deductions? 2 money made by a company or government: a
decline in our export earnings
earnings re'lated adj (of a payment or BENEFIT) related to
how much someone earns: an earnings related pension
Earp, Wy-att /'ɜːplɜːrp, 'waɪət/ (1848–1929) a US MARSHAL
and GAMBLER (=someone who plays card games to win
money etc) who is known for fighting in the famous
'Gunfight at the O.K. Corral'. He often appears as the hero
in COWBOY films and television programmes who defeats
bad cowboys or robbers in the WILD WEST.
ear-phones /'ɪəfəʊnz||'ɪər-/ n [P] 1 the two pieces that fit
over the ears in a HEADSET and turn electrical signals or radio
waves into sound → see PAIR (USAGE) 2 a hairstyle for
women in which long hair is plaited (PLAIT) and wound in
circles over the ears
ear-piece /'ɪəpis||'ɪər-/ n 1 a piece that fits into one's ear
and is connected to a radio or TAPE RECORDER that one
carries about, so that one can listen without other people
having to listen too 2 [usually pl.] either of two pieces of a hat
or cap which cover the ears to keep them warm 3 [usually pl.]
either of the two pieces of a pair of glasses which hold the
glasses onto the ears → see picture at GLASSES
ear-plug /'ɪəplg||'ɪər-/ n [usually pl.] either of two pieces of
soft material which are put into the ears to keep out water or
noise → see PAIR (USAGE)
ear-ring /'ɪərɪŋ/ n [often pl.] a piece of jewellery worn on the
ear → see PAIR (USAGE)
ear-shot /'ɪəʃɒt||'ɪərʃɑːt/ n within/out of earshot within/
beyond the distance at which a sound can be heard
'ear-splitting adj extremely loud: an ear-splitting noise/
scream
earth¹ /ɜːθ||ɜːrθ/ n 1 [(the) U] (often cap.) the world on which
we live: They returned successfully from the moon to (the)
earth. | the planet Earth 2 [U] the surface of the earth as
opposed to the sky: the biggest lake on earth (=in the world)
→ see LAND (USAGE) 3 [U] soil in which plants grow: He
filled the pot with earth and planted a rose in it. 4 [(the) G
usually sing.] BrE || ground AmE (an additional safety wire that
makes) a connection between a piece of electrical apparatus
and the ground → compare EARTH² 5 [C] especially BrE the
hole where certain wild animals live, such as foxes 6 [C] (in
chemistry) an OXIDE (=chemical combination with oxygen)
of certain metals: the rare earths 7 come back/down to
earth to stop dreaming and return to practical matters 8 BrE
look/feel like nothing on earth infml feeling or looking very
strange, unhealthy etc: The morning after the party he
looked/felt like nothing on earth. | You look like nothing on
earth in that ridiculous hat! 9 on earth infml (used for giving
force to a question with what, who etc): What on earth are