caveman
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warning principle in buying and selling that responsibility
for the quality of goods must be taken by the buyer. It
means 'buyer beware'.
caveman
cave·man /'keɪvmæn/ n pl. -men /men/ 1 a person who
lived in a cave in very ancient times
CULTURAL NOTE The STEREOTYPE of a caveman is of a
man with long hair and beard, wearing an animal's skin
round his body, carrying a piece of wood as a weapon,
and pulling his wife along behind him by her hair.
2 infml a man who acts in a rough violent manner
Cav·en·dish, Henry /'kævəndɪʃ/ (1731-1810) a British scien-
tist who discovered HYDROGEN and also discovered the
chemical COMPOSITION of water (=the different parts it is
made from)
cav·er /'keɪvər/ n [C] BrE someone who goes into CAVES deep
under the ground as a sport
cav·ern /'kævənɪ-ərn/ n a large cave
cav·ern·ous /'kævənəsl-ərnəs/ adj (of a space or hole) very
large and deep: The lion opened its cavernous mouth. | a
cavernous hall —ly adv
cav·i·ar, -are /'kæviɑ:r/ n [U] 1 the very expensive ROE
(=salted eggs) of various large fish, especially the STURGEON,
eaten as food. Caviar is a special food for most people, but is
thought to be typical of the lifestyle of the very rich. 2 caviar
to the general BrE lit or humor something liked and understood
only by a person of sensitivity and good education
cav·il /'kævəl/ v -ll- BrE | AmE -l- [I(āt)] to find fault in an
annoying and unnecessary way —ler n
cav·i·ty /'kævɪti/ n fml or tech a hole or hollow space in a solid
mass: a cavity in a tooth/in a wall
'cavity wall n a wall consisting of two walls with a narrow
space between them, used in buildings to keep out noise,
cold etc: cavity wall insulation (=material placed inside the
cavity wall, to help keep heat inside a building)
ca·vort /kə'vɔ:rt-ɔ:rt/ v [I] infml (especially of a person) to
jump or dance about noisily; CAPER
caw /kɔ:/ v [I] to make the loud rough cry of various large
birds such as CROWS —caw n
Cax·ton, William /'kækstən/ (?1422-91) the first person in
England to print books. He learned about printing in Ger-
many, where the first books in Europe were printed, then
returned to England to start a printing business there: a
valuable Caxton Bible
cay·enne pep·per /,keɪen 'pepər/ also cayenne
/,ker'en·/ n [U] (a powder made from) a PEPPER with long
thin very hot-tasting red fruit
Cay·man Is·lands, the /'keɪmən ˌaɪləndz/ a group of
three islands in the Caribbean Sea, northwest of Jamaica,
which are a British DEPENDENCY. Population: 40,000 (1999).
Capital: George Town. The Cayman Islands are a popular
place for tourists, and are also a financial centre because of
their low taxes.
CB /,si: 'bi:/ n 1 [U] abbrev. for Citizens' Band; a radio
communications system by which people can speak to each
other over short distances, especially when they are driv-
ing 2 [C] a radio using this system. In the US, long-distance
TRUCK drivers often have CBs, which they use to speak
socially to other drivers and to warn them when there are
police around. People who use CBs often give themselves
NICKNAMES —CB-er n
CBBC /,si: bi: bi: 'si:/ trademark Children's BBC; the name for
the group of entertainment programmes that the BBC pro-
duces for older children and TEENAGERS. Some of the CBBC
shows are Blue Peter, SMart, and Grange Hill. The BBC also has
a special DIGITAL television CHANNEL called CBBC which
shows these programmes.
CBC /,si: bi: 'si:/ trademark abbrev. for Canadian Broadcasting
Corporation; a television company that is supported by the
Canadian government
CBE /,si: bi: 'i:/ n abbrev. for Commander of the Order of the
British Empire; a special honour given to some British
people for things they have done for their country. CBE is
written after someone's name to show that they have been
given this honour. → see also MBE, OBE
CBee·bies /,si: 'bi:biz/ trademark the name for the group of
entertainment programmes produced by the BBC for young
children. Some of the CBeebies shows are Balamory, Tweenies,
Fimbles, and Teletubbies. The BBC also has a special DIGITAL
television CHANNEL called CBeebies which shows these pro-
grammes.
CBI, the /,si: bi: 'aɪ/ abbrev. for Confederation of British
Industry; a British organization that represents employers
and managers in British businesses. It provides information
about the economic situation, and tries to influence the
government to make decisions that will help its members.
CBS /,si: bi: 'es/ trademark abbrev. for Columbia Broadcasting
System; one of the four main national television networks in
the US. The other three are ABC, FOX, and NBC: a CBS news
reporter
CBSO, the /,si: bi: es 'əʊ/ abbrev. for the CITY OF BIRMINGHAM
SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
CBT /,si: bi: 'ti:/ n [U] abbrev. for 1 computer-based testing; a
way of taking standard tests such as the GRE on a compu-
ter 2 computer-based training; the use of computers to
teach people to do something: CBT software
cc abbrev. for 1 CUBIC CENTIMETRE: a 200 cc engine 2 CUBIC
CAPACITY
CCTV /,si: si: ti: 'vi:/ abbrev. for closed circuit television; a
system of cameras placed in different parts of a building or
in the streets, used to help prevent crime. The cameras are
connected to television screens that are watched by people
whose job it is to protect a building or prevent crime.
CCTV cameras are very common on the
streets in towns and cities in the UK, especially in the city
centres. In London there are more CCTV cameras than in
any other European city. People accept the use of CCTV,
even though they may not like being watched, because it
makes them feel safer. The police believe it is a good way
to stop crime, and allows them to recognize and catch
people who have done something wrong or illegal.
However, opponents of CCTV believe that people lose
their PRIVACY when they are filmed and that the authorities
could use CCTV to control people and not just to prevent
crime.
CD /,si: 'di:/ n abbrev. for 1 compact disc; a small circular
piece of hard plastic on which high quality recorded sound
or large quantities of information can be stored 2 CD
ROM 3 CERTIFICATE OF DEPOSIT
C'D ,player n [C] a piece of equipment used to play COMPACT
DISCS
CD-R /,si: di: 'ɑ:r/ n [C,U] abbrev. for compact disc –recordable
a type of CD that you can record music, images, or other
information onto, using special equipment on your compu-
ter, and that can be recorded onto only once
CD-ROM /,si: di: 'rɒml-'rɑ:m/ n [C, U] abbrev. for compact
disc read-only memory; a CD on which large quantities of
information can be stored to be used by a computer
CD-RW /,si: di: ɑ: 'dʌbəlju:l-ɑ:r-/ n [C,U] abbrev. for compact
disc – rewritable; a type of CD that you can record music,
images, or other information onto, using special equipment
on your computer, and that can be recorded onto several
times
CDT¹ /,si: di: 'ti:/ n [U] BrE abbrev. for Craft, Design, and
Technology; a practical subject studied in British schools
CDT² abbrev. for Central Daylight Time
CE /,si: 'i:/ abbrev. for common era