director's cut
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university or language school who is in charge of organizing the students' programmes of study
di'rector's cut n a film containing all the parts that the director wanted to include, that has more scenes in it than the form of the film previously shown in cinemas
di•rec•tor•ship /də'rektəʃɪp, daɪ-ll-tər-/ n (the period of holding) the position of a company director: As well as being a politician, he holds several directorships.
di•rec•to•ry /daɪ'rektəri, də-/ n a book or list of names, facts etc, usually arranged in alphabetical order: The telephone directory gives people's names, addresses, and telephone numbers. $\rightarrow$ see TELEPHONE (USAGE)
di,rectory en'quiries $n$ [+sing./pl. v] a telephone service you can ring in order to ask for a number one does not know, giving the name and address of the person or company concerned $\rightarrow$ compare INFORMATION
di,rect 'primary n AmE an election in which people choose from several CANDIDATES of one political party who they want to run against the candidate from the other political party
di,rect 'rule $n$ [U] the direct government of Northern Ireland by the UK parliament which in 1972, after violence in Northern Ireland, replaced rule by the Northern Ireland government
,direct 'speech $BrE \|$ ,direct 'discourse $AmE$ - n [U] tech the style used to report someone's actual words. This is done by repeating the words without any changes in grammar, e.g.: 'I don't want to go,' said Julia. $\rightarrow$ compare INDIRECT SPEECH
di,rect 'tax $n$ [C;U] (a) tax, such as income tax, which is actually collected from the person who pays it, rather than on the sale of goods or services $\rightarrow$-ation $n$ [U]
dire•ful /'daɪəfəl||'daɪər-/ adj lit threatening or producing terrible effects $\rightarrow$-ly $a d v$
,Dire 'Straits a British rock group who were very popular during the 1980s, led by Mark Knopfler, who sang, played the GUITAR, and wrote most of their songs. Their best-known ALBUM was Brothers in Arms.
dirge /dɜːdʒ||dɜːrdʒ/ n 1 a slow sad song sung over a dead person $\mathbf{2}$ derog any slow sad song or piece of music
dir•i•gi•ble /'dɪrədʒəbəl, də'rı-/ n a large aircraft filled with gas which can be guided; AIRSHIP
dirk /dɜːk||dɜːrk/ n a short sword used in Scotland in former times; a kind of DAGGER
dirn•dl /'dɜːndl||'dɜːr-/ n 1 a wide skirt that is gathered at the waist $\mathbf{2}$ a dress with a wide skirt that has a tight waist and with a close-fitting upper part, as originally worn in Austria. Such dresses were fashionable in the 1950s.
dirt /dɜːt||dɜːrt/ n [U] 1 any unclean substance, such as mud or dust: She washed the dirt off the kitchen floor/off the child's knees. | Take off your boots before you tread any more dirt into the carpet. 2 soil; loose earth: The children were outside playing happily in the dirt. 3 unpleasant or immoral talk or writing about sex 4 infml nasty talk about people; SCANDAL: Her political career was ruined when the papers dug up some dirt about her past. $\rightarrow$ see also treat someone like dirt (TREAT$^1$)
dirt•bag /'dɜːtbæɡ||'dɜːrt-/ n AmE slang someone who is very unpleasant and immoral
'dirt ,bike $n$ a small MOTORCYCLE for young people, usually not ridden on the streets
,dirt 'cheap adj, adv infml extremely cheap: This dress was dirt cheap. | I got it dirt cheap.
'dirt ,farmer $n$ AmE a poor farmer who earns his living by farming his own land, especially without hired help
,dirt 'poor adj $AmE$ infml very poor; having very little money
'dirt road $n$ a road of hard earth
'dirt track $n$ a track used for some types of motorcycle race
dirt•y$^1$ /'dɜːti||'dɜːrti/ adj 1 not clean; covered or marked with dirt, or likely to make dirt: dirty hands/clothes | Put the dirty dishes (=plates, cups etc) in the sink. | Repairing cars is a dirty job 2 (of thoughts or words) concerned with sex in an unpleasant way: They sat drinking and telling dirty jokes. | He took his secretary away for a dirty weekend. 3 infml unpleasant: The fishermen won't go out on such a dirty night. | She gave me a dirty look. (=looked at me with disapproval) | 'Empire' is a dirty word these days. (=people disapprove of the idea) $\mathbf{4}$ not fair: a dirty fighter $\mathbf{5}$ do the dirty on $BrE$ infml to treat in an unfair or dishonest way $\mathbf{6}$ dirty pool unfair acts: He plays dirty pool - don't trust him. $\rightarrow$ see also wash one's dirty linen (in public) (WASH$^1$) $\rightarrow$-ily $adv$
dirty$^2$ $v$ [I;T] to make or become dirty: You'll dirty your hands if you touch that machine.
'dirty ,bomb $n \mathbf{1}$ a weapon which uses ordinary explosives to spread RADIOACTIVE material in order to kill people or to make it impossible for people to live in a particular area. It is believed that no army has ever used a dirty bomb because it is not considered to be a useful weapon. But some people believe that TERRORISTS could use dirty bombs because they are easier to make than ordinary NUCLEAR weapons. 2 a NUCLEAR weapon that produces a large amount of RADIOACTIVE FALLOUT. The word was used to describe older types of nuclear weapon which spread large amounts of unused radioactive material, compared with newer nuclear weapons.
,Dirty 'Den a character in the British television SOAP OPERA EastEnders. He used to be the manager of the Queen Vic pub, and was known for arguing with his wife Angie, having secret relationships with other women, and being involved in dishonest or illegal activities. He left the programme in 1989, but returned in 2003.
'dirty great adj $BrE$ slang extremely big: We suddenly saw this dirty great truck coming towards us.
,dirty 'mac bri,gade [the] $BrE$ infml derog a word for men with an unhealthy interest in sex. A typical image is of a man in a long dirty coat who either reads PORNOGRAPHIC magazines or makes improper advances towards women, including flashing (FLASH).
,dirty old 'man $n$ a usually middle-aged man who has an unhealthy interest in sex, especially one who continually tries to establish sexual relationships with much younger women or children
,dirty 'trick $n$ an unkind dishonest way of treating someone: He ordered the drinks and then left me to pay. That was a dirty trick, wasn't it?
,dirty 'tricks $n$ [P] secret dishonest or illegal activity, including crimes such as murder, performed for a government or other political group. The group of people who do it are sometimes called informally the dirty tricks brigade.
,dirty week'end //,.. '../ n a weekend when a man and a woman who are not married to each other go away together to have sex: He's gone off with the boss's wife for a dirty weekend in Brighton.
'dirty work $n$ [U] 1 unpleasant work that no one wants to do: She left it to me to tell them they were sacked - she always gets me to do her dirty work for her. 2 infml dishonest behaviour: There's been some dirty work with the club accounts, and some money is missing.
dis- $\rightarrow$ see WORD FORMATION TABLE
dis•a•bil•i•ty /ˌdɪsə'bɪləti/ n 1 [U] the state of being disabled: She gets a disability pension from the government. 2 [C] something that disables; a HANDICAP: Blindness is a very serious disability.
dis•a•ble /dɪs'eɪbəl/ $v$ [T] 1 [often pass.] to make (a person) unable to use his/her body properly: a disabled soldier | He was disabled in the war. He lost his left arm. | a disabling disease 2 to cause (e.g. a machine) to be no longer able to operate 3 [(from)] fml to take away (from a person) a power or right; DISQUALIFY: He is disabled from voting. $\rightarrow$-ment $n$ [C;U]
dis•a•bled /dɪs'eɪbəld/ $n$ [the P] people who are physically disabled: The theatre has very good access for the disabled.
dis•a•buse /ˌdɪsə'bjuːz/ $v$ [T(of)] fml to free (a person) from a wrong belief: I must disabuse you of that idea.
dis•ad•van•tage /ˌdɪsəd'vɑːntɪdʒ||-'væn-/ n [C;U] an unfavourable condition or quality that makes a person or thing less successful or effective than others: One of the main disadvantages of the system is that it uses very large amounts of fuel. | If you don't speak good English, you'll be at a big disadvantage when you try to get a job. | Her height will be very much to her disadvantage if she wants to be a dancer.