# M,m
M, m /em/ pl. M's, m's n 1 [C,U] the 13th letter of the English alphabet 2 [C] the number 1000 in the system of ROMAN NUMERALS 3 M6, M25 etc the name of a MOTORWAY in Britain
m, m. 1 abbrev. for metre or metres 2 abbrev. for mile or miles 3 abbrev. for million 4 abbrev. for married 5 abbrev. for medium, used on clothes to mean an average size
-’m /m/ short for am: I’m ready. | ‘Are you French?’ ‘Yes, I am/No, I’m not.’
Ma, ma /maː/ n [C] intml 1 mother: What's for dinner, Ma? 2 a word meaning 'Mrs', used in some country areas of the US: old Ma Harris
MA¹ /,em 'eu/ n abbrev. for 1 Master of Arts; a university degree in a subject such as history or literature, which you get after studying for a year or two longer after your first degree, the BA. MA is written after someone's name to show that they have this degree: Mary Jones, MA | He has an MA in linguistics. 2 Master of Arts; in Scotland and at the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, a university degree in a subject such as history or literature, which is of the same level as a BA in other universities. → compare MSC; see Cultural Note at DEGREE³
MA² written abbrev. for MASSACHUSETTS
Ma, Yo-Yo (1955-) a famous CELLO player who is based in the US. His parents are Chinese and he was born in Paris but they moved to the US when he was still a child.
maa /maː/ v [1] to make the sound that a goat makes —maa n
ma'am /mæm, mɑːm, mæmɪlməm/ n polite 1 (a short form for MADAM used for addressing the Queen and, especially formerly, women of high social class 2 AmE (a respectful word used for addressing a woman): Yes, ma'am, I will.
Maa·stricht /'mɑːstrɪkt, -ɪxt/ a city in the Netherlands. In 1991, the leaders of the countries in the EU (=European Union) met there and made an agreement to become more politically and economically united. This agreement, known as the Maastricht Treaty, was signed in 1992. The main aim of the Treaty is to establish the principle of closer economic union in the EU and a single CURRENCY (=system of money), and it also includes the SOCIAL CHAPTER, which deals mainly with the rights of workers.
Mab·i·nog·i·on, The /,mæbʒ'nəɡiənl-'nəugio:n/ a collection of old Welsh stories about imaginary and magical people and places. It was written from the 11th to the 13th centuries, and some of the stories deal with ARTHURIAN LEGEND.
mac, mack /mæk/ n BrE infml for MACKINTOSH
Mac $ ^{1} $ /mæk/ n AmE spoken used to talk to a man whose name you do not know, in a way that is often considered impolite
Mac $ ^{2} $ trademark  $ \rightarrow $ APPLE MACINTOSH
ma·ca·bre /mə'kɑːbrə, -bər/ adj causing fear, dislike, and shock, especially because connected with death and the dead: a macabre tale about grave robbers | a rather macabre sense of humour → compare GRUESOME
ma·cad·am /mə'kædəm/ AmE for TARMAC
mac·a·da·mi·a nut /,mækə'deimie ,nət/ n a nut from an Australian tree (macadamia tree) widely grown in Hawaii, which can be eaten
Mc·A·leese, Mary /,mækəˈliːs/ (1951-) an Irish politician and lawyer, who became President of the Republic of Ireland in 1997.
Ma·cao, Macau /mə'kao/ a small area in southeast China, which was a Portuguese PROVINCE but became part of China in 1999. Population: 448,500 (2003). Main city: Macao. Although it is part of China, it has a system of government that is similar to Hong Kong, and this arrangement is described as 'one country, two systems'. It is a popular place for tourists and a centre for gambling (GAMBLE).
mac·a·ro·ni /,mækə'rəuni·/ n [U] Italian PASTA (=food made from flour and water) in the shape of small pieces of thin pipe, cooked in boiling water → compare SPAGHETTI, TAGLIATELLE, VERMICELLI; see picture at PASTA
macaroni 'cheese BrE || macaroni and 'cheese AmE — n [U] a dish made from cooked macaroni with a cheese SAUCE
mac·a·roon /,mækə'ruːn/ n a small flat cake made mainly of sugar, eggs, and crushed ALMONDS or COCONUT
Mac·Ar·thur, El·len /mə'kɑːθər/ -ar-, 'elən/ (1976-) a British SAILOR who is known for being very brave when sailing alone in very rough seas. In 2000 she became the youngest woman ever to sail around the world alone in her YACHT Kingfisher.
MacArthur, General Douglas (1880–1964) a US military leader. During World War II he was in charge of all the armies of the ALLIES fighting in the areas around the Pacific Ocean. He commanded the US armies in Japan after the war ended, and he was also the leader of the United Nations forces in Korea in 1950–51 during the KOREAN WAR.
ma·caw /mə'kɔː/ n a large long-tailed Central and South American bird of the brightly coloured PARROT family
McBeal, Ally → see ALLY MCBEAL
Mac·beth /mæk'beθ, mæk-/ 1 (c.1005–1057) the king of Scotland from 1040 to 1057, who killed the previous king, Duncan, in battle and was himself later killed by Duncan's son, Malcolm 2 a character in the play Macbeth by William SHAKESPEARE. Macbeth is told by three witches (WITCH) that he will become king. To do so, he murders the present king Duncan, who is visiting him in his castle. Although he feels very guilty about this, he kills several other people to keep his power until he is finally killed by MACDUFF. Actors believe it is unlucky to say the name Macbeth, so they often call it The Scottish Play. → see Feature on page A26
Macbeth, Lady a character in the play Macbeth by William SHAKESPEARE. She encourages her husband, Macbeth, to kill Duncan, the king of Scotland, so that he can become king instead, and she is a stronger, more evil person than Macbeth himself. After the murder, however, she feels very guilty, and starts to walk in her sleep, trying to clean the imaginary blood of the dead king off her hands.
McBride, Willie John /mək'braid/ (1940-) a RUGBY UNION player from Northern Ireland who was CAPTAIN of the British Lions and played 17 times for them between 1962 and 1974
Mac·ca /'mækə/ an informal name used by some newspapers and magazines for the British POP musician, Sir Paul McCartney
McCain, John /mə'keɪn/ (1936-) an American politician who became a Republican SENATOR for Arizona in 1987. In 2000 he wanted to be the Republican CANDIDATE in the election for President, but was defeated by George W. Bush. Together with Senator Russ Feingold, he succeeded in getting Congress to introduce a new law called the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 which controls the way in which money can be paid to politicians in order to support their election CAMPAIGNS.
Mc·Calls /mə'kɒlz/ trademark a US magazine for women, especially popular with older women who have families
Mc-Car-thy, John /məˈkɑːθiːl-ɑːr-/ (1957-) a British JOURNALIST who was KIDNAPped in 1986 in Lebanon, and was kept there as a HOSTAGE until he was set free in 1991 → see also WAITE, TERRY
McCarthy, Joseph (1909–57) a US politician in the REPUBLICAN PARTY. He became famous in the early 1950s by saying officially that many famous people, important politicians, and military officers were COMMUNISTS, and therefore enemies of the US. He influenced the development of strongly anti-Communist ideas in the US, and anyone who was called a Communist was treated extremely unfairly. In 1954, however, the US SENATE formally criticized his actions, and he lost most of his political support and power. → see also MCCARTHYISM
Mc·Car·thy·is·m /mə'kɑːθi-ɪzəm|-ɑːr-/ n [U] (in the US in the 1950s) the searching for and removal from public employment of all those believed to be Communists, which was carried out under Senator Joseph McCarthy. Many of the people accused were BLACKLISTED (=not allowed to work) or imprisoned. People were encouraged to give the names of