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metamorphosis
by the flashing colours of the fish. 2 old use for HYPNOTIZE: a
snake mesmerizing a rabbit —ic /mez'merik/ adj
me·son /'mi:zonl-zo:n/ n any of the ELEMENTARY PARTICLES
in the centre of an atom that carry the STRONG FORCE
Mes·o·po·ta·mi·a /,mesəpə'teimiə/ an area in western Asia
around the River Tigris and the River Euphrates in Iraq,
where, in ancient times, the world's first cities were built and
several important ancient CIVILIZATIONS developed -> see also
BABYLON, FERTILE CRESCENT
mess¹ /mes/ n 1 [S;U] (a state of) untidiness or dirt; dirty
material: This room's in a mess. | There's a lot of mess to
clear up. | What an awful mess! 2 [S] infml a situation full of
difficulty and disorder; trouble: The company's affairs are in
a terrible mess. 3 [C usually sing.] infml someone or something
untidy, disordered etc: You look a mess - you can't go to the
office like that. | That report you did's a real mess - do it
again! 4 [C] a room in which members of the armed forces
eat together: the officers' mess 5 [C;U] euph a quantity of
animal FAECES (=solid waste material): The dog made a mess
on the carpet. 6 here's another fine mess you've gotten us
into quote a phrase often used by the COMEDIANS Laurel and
Hardy 7 make a mess of infml to spoil, ruin etc: This illness
makes a mess of my holiday plans.
mess² v 1 [I+adv/prep] to have meals in a MESS 2 [I(with)] AmE
to argue with someone or annoy them by treating them
badly: Don't mess with me boy, or you'll be sorry!
mess about especially BrE || mess around especially AmE phr v
1 [I] infml to spend time lazily, doing things slowly with no
plan: He spent all day just messing about. 2 [I] to act or
speak stupidly: Stop messing about and tell me clearly what
happened! 3 [I(with)] to work without speed or plan, but
according to one's feelings at the time: He's always enjoyed
messing around with boats. 4 [T(mess sbdy. about)] infml to treat
badly or carelessly: Don't mess me about; I want the money
you promised me.
mess around phr v [I(with)] AmE euph to make sexual
advances, especially when unwelcome or forbidden: arrested
for messing around with young boys
mess sthg. <-> up phr v [T] infml to disorder, spoil etc: Her
late arrival messed up our plans. —'mess-up n
mess with sthg. phr v [T] to get involved with: It's not a
good idea to mess with stolen goods.
mes·sage /'mesidʒ/ n 1 a spoken or written piece of
information passed from one person to another: There's an
important message for you from your brother. | [+to-v] Let's
leave her a message to meet us at the station. | [+that] Did you
get the message that your boss has cancelled the meet-
ing? 2 an important or main idea: It's not just mindless
entertainment - it's a film with a message. | [+that] Christ's
message was that God loved the world. 3 get the message
infml to understand what is wanted or meant
'message board n a place on a website where you can read
or leave messages
mes·sen·ger¹ /'mesindʒər, -sən-/ n 1 a person who brings
a message or delivers a letter, package etc 2 blame/shoot
the messenger to be angry with someone who tells you
that something is wrong, although it is not their fault
messenger² v [T] to send a letter, package etc somewhere
using a messenger
Mes·ser·schmitt /'mesəʃmitl-sər-/ n a type of military
aircraft used by Germany in World War II and designed by
Willy Messerschmitt (1898-1978), a German engineer -> see
also FOKKER, JUNKERS
mes·si·ah /mɪ'saɪə/ n [C usually sing.] (often cap.) a great religious
leader arriving suddenly to save the world, especially (cap.)
Christ in the Christian religion or the man still expected by
the Jews —anic /,mesi'ænik / adj
Mes·sieurs /me'sjɜ:zl-ɜ:r/ plural of MONSIEUR
'mess kit n a small box containing food and tools (UTENSILS)
to eat it with, supplied to soldiers -> see also MRE
Mes·srs BrE || Messrs. AmE /'mesɜ:zl-ər/ the plural of MR,
used especially in the names of companies: Messrs Ford and
Dobson
mess·y /'mesi/ adj 1 untidy: a messy room 2 needing a lot of
cleaning up afterwards: A kid's party is a messy business. |
(fig.) a messy divorce —lly adv —iness n [U]
mes·ti·zo /me'sti:zəʊ/ n pl. -zos a person with one Spanish
parent and one Native American parent
met /met/ past tense and participle of MEET
Met, the infml short for 1 the Metropolitan Opera Company (in
New York) 2 the Metropolitan Museum of Art (in New
York) 3 the Metropolitan Police (in London)
me·tab·o·lism /mə'tæbəlɪzəm/ n the system of chemical
activities by which a living thing gains power (ENERGY),
especially from food: The metabolism is slowed down by
extreme cold. —lic /,metə'bɒlɪk || -'ba:-/ adj
me·tab·o·lize also -ise BrE /mə'tæbəlaɪz/ [T] to break down
(food) in the body by chemical activity
met·al¹ /'metl/ n 1 [C;U] any usually solid shiny mineral
substance which can be shaped by pressure and used for
passing an electric current: Copper and silver are both
metals. | They poured the molten metal into moulds. | a metal
box | metal fatigue -> see also HEAVY METAL, METALLIC, WHITE
METAL 2 [U] old-fash BrE small stones for making roads
metal² v -ll- BrE || -l- AmE [T] old-fash BrE to cover (a road) with
small stones: a metalled road
met·a·lan·guage /'metə,læŋgwɪdʒ/ n [C;U] words used for
talking about or describing language; the language of LINGUIS-
TICS
'metal de,tector n a machine used to DETECT the presence
of metal, usually under the ground. Some people use metal
detectors as a HOBBY to try to find money, old coins etc.
me·tal·lic /mɪ'tælɪk/ adj 1 of metal: metallic alloys 2 like a
metal in appearance or sound: a sharp metallic clink | a
bright metallic blue
Me·tal·lic·a /,mɪ'tælɪkə/ a US HEAVY METAL group whose
ALBUMS include And Justice for All and Metallica.
met·al·lur·gy /mɪ'tælədʒi||'metə3:lɜ:dʒi/ n [U] the scientific
study of metals, their chemical structures, and the ways in
which they behave and can be used —gist n —gical
/,metə'l3:dʒɪkəl || -3:r-/ adj
met·al·work /'metlwɜ:k||-wɜ:rk/ n pl. [U] 1 shaped metal
objects 2 the making of metal objects —er n
met·a·mor·phose /,metə'mɔ:fəz||-ɔ:r-/ v [I;T(from, into)] fml
or tech to (cause to) change into another form
metamorphosis
4
3
2
1
7
6
5
the metamorphosis of a caterpillar into a butterfly
met·a·mor·pho·sis /,metə'mɔ:fəsɪs||-ɔ:r-/ n pl. -ses /si:z/
[C;U(from, into)] (a) complete change from one form to
another: A butterfly is produced by metamorphosis from a
caterpillar. | I think you'll be pleasantly surprised; she's under-
gone quite a metamorphosis since you last saw her.
M