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doctor ordered him to go on a diet to lose weight. | a high-fibre diet | I'm finding it impossible to stick to my diet.
**CULTURAL NOTE** **Going on a diet** Many people, especially women, regularly go on a diet (=have a period of time when they eat less than usual in order to become thinner) because they think they will look more attractive if they are thinner. They pay companies such as WEIGHT WATCHERS to help them develop their own diet programmes and to give them support while they are losing weight. Most women's magazines include diet plans, and every year new books are published that contain the latest diets. ➔ see also **ATKINS DIET**
**diet²** v [I] to eat according to a special diet, especially in order to become thinner and so more attractive: *No sugar in my coffee, please; I'm dieting.* ➔ see also **DIETER**
**diet³** n 1 a meeting to talk about political or church matters 2 (often cap.) (in certain countries) a parliament
**di·e·ta·ry** /'daɪətərɪl-terɪ/ adj of or concerning diet: *religious dietary rules*
**dietary 'fibre** n fm] for **FIBRE**
**'diet ,cola** n [C;U] a CARBONATED dark-coloured **DIET DRINK**
**'diet ,drink** n a non-alcoholic drink, usually CARBONATED, which contains very few CALORIES, drunk especially by people who want to lose weight or who do not want to put on any weight
**di·et·er** /'daɪətər/ n a person who diets or is dieting
**di·e·tet·ics** /,daɪə'tetɪks/ n [U] the science of diet and its effects on health —**dietetic** /,daɪə'tetɪk/ adj: *dietetic studies*
**di·e·ti·cian, -tian** /,daɪə'tɪʃən/ n a person trained in dietetics
**Die·trich, Mar·le·ne** /'diːtrk, -x, ˌmɑː'leɪnə‖mɑr-/ (1901-92) a German actress who became a famous film actress in the US. She was known for being sexually attractive, and for singing in a deep, sexy voice. Her films include *The Blue Angel* (1930) and *Destry Rides Again* (1939).
**Dieu et mon droit** /ˌdjɜː ə mɒ̃ ˈdrwɑː‖djuː eɪ mɑːn ˈdrwɑː/ Fr God and my right; the MOTTO on the British royal family's **COAT OF ARMS**
**dif·fer** /'dɪfər/ v [I] 1 [(from, in)] to be dissimilar in nature, character, type etc; be different: *Their house differs from mine in having no garage.* | *The two squares differ in colour but not in size.* 2 [(with, about, on, over)] (of people) to have an opposite opinion; disagree: *The two sides in the dispute still differ (with each other) over the question of pay.* | *You can't persuade me to change my mind about this—we'll just have to agree to differ.* (=accept that we have different opinions) 3 I beg to differ fm] used to say that you disagree with someone
**dif·fer·ence** /'dɪfərəns/ n [(between)] 1 [C] a way of being dissimilar; something that makes one thing different from another: *There are many differences between living in a city and living in the country.* 2 [S;U] the fact of being different, or an amount by which one thing is different from another: *There's a big difference between understanding a language and being able to speak it.* | *I can't see much difference between these two books.* | *The difference in price was only £10 so we decided to take the plane.* | *It doesn't make any difference/ the slightest difference to me whether you go or stay.* (=I don't care at all) | *When you're learning to drive, having a good teacher makes a big difference/makes all the difference.* (=has a noticeable or valuable effect) 3 [C often pl.] a slight disagreement: *They've settled their differences and are friends again.* | *They had a difference of opinion over who should drive, but Sue won in the end.* ➔ see also **split the difference** (**SPLIT¹**)
**dif·fer·ent** /'dɪfərənt/ adj 1 [(from, than, to)] unlike; not the same or of the same kind: *Mary and Jane are quite different (from each other/to each other).* | *She looks different with her hair short.* 2 separate; other; **DISTINCT**: *This is a different car from the one I drove yesterday.* | *Their three children all go to different schools.* (=they do not all go to the same one) | *I've started using a different (=another) brand.* | *We make this dress in three different colours.* 3 various; several: *Different members of the party complimented her on her speech.* 4 infml, sometimes derog unusual; special: *'What do you think of our new carpet?' 'Well, it's certainly different.'* 5 and now for
something completely different quote a phrase regularly used in the British television programme *Monty Python's Flying Circus*. It is now used to suggest that something very strange and funny is about to happen. ➔ see also **MONTY PYTHON** —**-ly** adv
**USAGE** 1 Teachers prefer **different(ly) from** but **different(ly) to** BrE and **different(ly) than** AmE are also commonly used. 2 Compare **different** and **various**. Both mean 'not the same' but **various** is used about several things which are not the same: *The minister gave various reasons (=a number of different reasons) for the government's decision.* | *This time the minister gave different reasons (=not the same as last time) for the government's decision.*
**dif·fer·en·tial¹** /ˌdɪfə'renʃəl/ n 1 an amount or degree of difference between things, especially difference in wages between people doing jobs of different types in the same industry or profession: *The management are keen to maintain existing pay differentials.* 2 a **DIFFERENTIAL GEAR**
**differential²** adj based on or depending on a difference: *differential rates of pay/tax according to one's income*
**differential 'calculus** n [(the) U] (in MATHEMATICS) a way of measuring the speed at which an object is moving at a particular moment; one of the two ways of making calculations about quantities which are continually changing ➔ compare **INTEGRAL CALCULUS**
**differential 'gear** n an arrangement of GEARS that allows one back wheel of a car to turn faster than the other when the car goes round a corner
**dif·fer·en·ti·ate** /ˌdɪfə'renʃieɪt/ v 1 [I[(between)];T[(from)]] to see or express a difference (between); **DISTINGUISH** or **DISCRIMINATE**: *This company does not differentiate between men and women—everyone is paid at the same rate.* | *Can you differentiate this kind of rose from the others?* 2 [T[(from)]] (of a quality) to make different by its presence: *What differentiates these two products?* | *Its unusual nesting habits differentiate this bird from others.* —**ation** /ˌdɪfərenʃi'eɪʃən/ n [C;U]
**dif·fi·cult** /'dɪfɪkəlt/ adj 1 needing a lot of effort, skill etc; hard to do, make, understand, or deal with; not easy: *English is difficult/is a difficult language.* | *a difficult exam* | [+to-v] *It was a difficult choice to make.* | *It was difficult (for us) to decide which one to buy.* 2 (of people) hard to deal with; not easy to please or persuade; **OBSTINATE**: *a difficult child* | *She's just being difficult.* 3 full of problems; causing unhappiness, anxiety etc: *The educational system has been going through a difficult time owing to cuts in public expenditure.* | *His angry employees did their best to make life difficult for him.* (=cause problems for him) ➔ see **UNEASY** (**USAGE**)
**dif·fi·cul·ty** /'dɪfɪkəlti/ n 1 [U[in)] the fact or quality of being difficult; trouble: *She had great difficulty in understanding him.* | *His English was very bad and he spoke with difficulty.* | *We managed to finish it without much/any difficulty.* 2 [C often pl.] something difficult; a situation or problem that causes trouble: *He's having financial difficulties.* | *When sales slowed down, the company got into difficulties.*
**dif·fi·dent** /'dɪfɪdənt/ adj [(about)] 1 lacking a belief in one's own qualities and abilities, and therefore unwilling to speak or act with confidence: *He is rather diffident about expressing his opinions.* 2 **RESERVED** —**-ly** adv —**-dence** n [U]
**dif·fract** /dɪ'frækt/ v [T] tech to break up (a beam of light) into the **SPECTRUM** (=a number of dark and light or coloured bands) —**-ion** /dɪ'frækʃən/ n [U]
**dif·fuse¹** /dɪ'fjuːz/ v [I;T] fm] to (cause to) spread out freely in all directions; **DISPERSE**: *to diffuse knowledge/a smell/a feeling of happiness* —**-fusion** /dɪ'fjuːʒən/ n [U] *Clouds cause the diffusion of light from the sun.*
**dif·fuse²** /dɪ'fjuːs/ adj fm] 1 diffused: *Direct light is better for reading than diffuse light.* 2 derog using too many words and not keeping to the point: *a diffuse speech/writer* —**-ly** adv —**-ness** n [U]
**dig¹** /dɪg/ v past tense and past participle **dug** /dʌg/, present participle **digging** 1 [I;T] to break up and move (earth), especially using a spade: *to dig the garden* | *The dog has been digging in that corner for an hour.* | *to dig for gold* (=look for it by digging) 2 [I;T] to make (a hole) by taking away the earth: *to dig a hole* | *We shall have to dig under the river/through the*