1169
reprieve
re-ply-'paid adj (of a TELEGRAM, postcard etc) with the cost of
the answer paid by the sender
re-po man /'ri:pəuˌmæn/ n AmE infml a person whose job is to
take away (REPOSSESS) property, especially cars, which the
owners are unable to finish paying for
re-port¹ /rɪ'pɔːt||ˈɔːrt/ n 1 [C[of, on]] an account or descrip-
tion of events, experiences, business records etc, which is
prepared in order to provide people with information: Did
you read the newspaper reports of the accident? | the compa-
ny's annual report | a weather report | an interim report on the
progress of the arms control talks 2 [C;U] (a piece of) talk
that spreads without official support; RUMOUR: According to
report he's not coming back. 3 [C] BrE || report card /.' -./ AmE
— a written statement by teachers about a child's work at
school, sent to his or her parents 4 [C] fml the noise of an
explosion or shot: a loud report 5 The report of my death
was an exaggeration quote a phrase from a letter written by
Mark Twain after people had been told that he had died
report² v 1 [(on);T(to)] to provide information (about) or give
an account (of); make (something) known: The committee of
inquiry will not report until next year. | Any case of stealing
should be reported immediately to the proper authorities. |
They came back after a week to report (on) progress. (=to say
what had been done up to then) | He reported sick. (=said he
could not work because he was sick) | [+v-ing/that] They
reported having seen him in Brighton/that they had seen him
in Brighton. | [+obj+to-v; pass.] He is reported to have been seen
in Brighton. | [+obj+adj] The ship was reported lost with all
hands. 2 [(on);T] (of a reporter) to write or give an account
of (a piece of news): She reported the president's speech for the
newspaper. | He cabled to say he had nothing to report, but
hoped to get more information later. | Here is our Far East
correspondent reporting from Japan on the earth-
quake. 3 [T(for, to)] to make a complaint about: He reported
the boy (to the head teacher) (for smoking on the school
premises). 4 [T(for, to)] to go or be present: While she's out on
bail she has to report to the police every day. | They report for
work at 8:00 a.m. | What time do you have to report at the
airport?
report (sthg. <=>) back phr v [I;T(to)] to bring or send back an
account (of): Go and find out what's happened and report
back (to me) quickly! | [+that] They reported back that enemy
forces were moving towards the border.
re-port-age /rɪ'pɔːtɪdʒ, ˌrepɔː'tɑːʒ||ˈpɔːr-, ˌrepər'tɑːʒ/ n
[U] 1 the act of reporting news 2 the style in which this is
usually done 3 writing, photographs, or film in this style,
intended to give an account of an event
re-port-ed-ly /rɪ'pːtɪdli||ˈɔːr-/ adv according to what is
said: He is reportedly not intending to return to this country.
re,ported 'speech n [U] INDIRECT SPEECH
re-port-er /rɪ'pɔːtə||ˈɔːr-/ n a person who finds out and
writes about news events for a newspaper, or for radio or
television -> compare JOURNALIST; see also COURT
REPORTER
re-pose¹ /rɪ'pəʊz/ n [U] fml 1 (a state of) calm or comfort-
able rest; peace 2 calmness of manner; COMPOSURE —ful
adj
repose² v fml or pomp 1 [+adv/prep, especially on] a) to lie or be
placed (on) b) to lie dead: His body reposed in state in the
cathedral. 2 [T+obj+adv/prep, especially on] to place (an object or
part of the body) on
repose sthg. in sthg./sbdy. phr v [T] fml to place (trust,
hopes etc) in: We do not repose much confidence in his
judgment.
re-pos-i-to-ry /rɪ'pɒzɪtəri||rɪ'pɑːzɪtɔːri/ n a place where
things are stored or found in large quantity: a furniture
repository | (fig.) He's a repository of (=has lots of) all sorts of
out-of-the-way knowledge. | The Black Hills are a rich reposi-
tory of minerals.
re-pos-sess /ˌriːpə'zes/ v [T] to regain possession of (prop-
erty), especially when necessary payments have not been
made: The rental company are threatening to repossess the
television. -> see also REPO MAN, MORTGAGE REPOSSESSION
—ion /'zeʃən/ n [U] The landlord has applied for a repos-
session order.
rep-re-hend /ˌreprɪ'hend/ v [T] fml rare to express disapproval
of: His conduct deserves to be reprehended.
rep-re-hen-si-ble /ˌreprɪ'hensɪbl/ adj fml (of a person or
their behaviour) deserving to be blamed; extremely bad: a
reprehensible action | His conduct was reprehensible. —bly
adv
re-pre-sent /ˌrɪprɪ'zent/ v [T] to give or offer again; send in
again: They re-presented the bill for payment.
rep-re-sent /ˌreprɪ'zent/ v 1 [T] a) to act or speak offi-
cially for (another person or group of people): She repre-
sented her fellow-workers at the union meeting. | He was
represented in court by John Stevens, the famous criminal
lawyer. b) to be the member of Parliament or Congress for
(a place): Does Mr Walker still represent Worcester? | She
represents the 8th congressional district of Illinois. 2 [T] to be
a picture or STATUE of; DEPICT: This painting represents the
death of Nelson/represents Nelson dying at Trafalgar. | a tall
stone figure representing the god of war 3 [T] to be a sign of;
SYMBOLIZE: The red lines on the map represent rail-
ways. 4 [L+n; not in progressive forms] to be; have the character of;
CONSTITUTE: This essay represents a considerable improve-
ment on your recent work. 5 [T usually pass.] (of a member of a
group) to be present as an example of (that group): All the
different races of the country were represented (=were present)
at the parade. 6 [T+obj+as/to-v] to describe or declare, perhaps
falsely: He represented himself as/to be a friend of the work-
ers, but now we know the truth.
represent sthg. to sbdy. phr v [T] fml to express or point out
to, often angrily or complainingly: You should represent your
grievances/complaints to the management.
rep-re-sen-ta-tion /ˌreprɪzen'teɪʃən/ n 1 [U] the act of
representing or state of being represented (REPRESENT): 'No
taxation without representation' means that if people pay
taxes they should be represented in a parliament. | She
appeared in court without representation. (=without a law-
yer) 2 [C[of]] something that REPRESENTS something else:
This painting is a representation of a storm at sea. | the
representation of speech sounds by phonetic symbols -> see
also REPRESENTATIONS, PROPORTIONAL REPRESENTATION
rep-re-sen-ta-tion-al /ˌreprɪzen'teɪʃənəl/ adj (of a style
of art, a painting etc) showing things as they actually appear
in real life -> compare ABSTRACT
rep-re-sen-ta-tions /ˌreprɪzen'teɪʃənz/ n [P(about, to)] espe-
cially BrE official complaints made in a formal way: They
made representations to the college authorities about the
bad accommodation.
rep-re-sen-ta-tive¹ /ˌreprɪ'zentətɪv/ adj 1 [(of)] typical;
being an example of what other members of the same group
or type are like: a representative sample | Are your opinions
representative of those of the other students? | If this is
representative of the general quality of your work, I'm not
very impressed. -> opposite UNREPRESENTATIVE 2 (of a sys-
tem of government) in which the people and their opinions
are represented
representative² n [(of)] a person who has been chosen to
act in place of one or more others: I couldn't be present
myself, but I sent my representative to the meeting. | an elected
representative of the people -> see also HOUSE OF REPRE-
SENTATIVES, SALES REPRESENTATIVE
Representative n a member of the HOUSE OF REPRESENTA-
TIVES, the Lower House of the US CONGRESS. A Representative
is usually called a CONGRESSMAN or Congresswoman.
re-press /rɪ'pres/ v [T] to control, hold back, or prevent the
natural expression of (a feeling, desire, action etc): a
repressed child | repressed desires | I could hardly repress my
laughter. -> compare SUPPRESS
re-pres-sion /rɪ'preʃən/ n [C;U] the act of repressing or state
of being repressed, especially a) the forcing of feelings or
desires of which one is ashamed out of the conscious mind
into the unconscious mind, often with strange effects upon
one's behaviour: sexual repression b) cruel and severe
control: political repression
re-pres-sive /rɪ'presɪv/ adj (of a law, system of government
etc) hard and cruel: Under the general's repressive regime,
thousands of people were imprisoned without trial. —ly adv
—ness n [U]
re-prieve¹ /rɪ'priv/ v [T often pass.] to give a reprieve to: The
R