lumber
834
lumber² n [U] 1 especially BrE useless or unwanted articles,
such as furniture, stored away somewhere 2 especially AmE for
TIMBER
lumber³ v 1 [T(with) often pass.] BrE infml to cause difficulty to
(someone), especially by giving them an unwanted object or
responsibility: The suppliers have lumbered me with 60 cases
of wine I can't sell. | As usual, I got lumbered with the
bill. 2 [I] AmE to cut trees or wood into TIMBER
lumberjack
lum·ber·jack /'lʌmbədʒæk||-ər-/ n (especially in the US and
Canada) a person who cuts down trees for wood
'lumberjack ,shirt n AmE a thick shirt made from soft cotton
cloth with a PLAID pattern
lum·ber·man /'lʌmbəmæn||-bər-/ n pl. -men /-mən/ AmE a
man whose business is the cutting down of trees and the
selling of wood
lum·ber·mill /'lʌmbəmɪl||-ər-/ n AmE for SAWMILL
'lumber-room n especially BrE a room in which useless or
unwanted furniture, broken machines etc are stored
lum·ber·yard /'lʌmbəjɑːd||-bərijɑːrd/ n a yard where build-
ing wood, boards etc are kept for sale
Lu·mi·ère Broth·ers, the /'luːmieɪ ˌbrɑːðəz||ˌluːmi'eər
ˌbrɑːðərz/ two French brothers, Auguste Lumière (1862–1954)
and Louis Lumière (1864–1948) who, in 1895, produced the
first camera that was also a PROJECTOR, and made the first
cinema film, Workers Leaving the Lumière Factory.
lu·mi·nar·y /'luːmɪnəri||-neri-/ n fml someone who is famous
and highly respected for their excellence in a particular art
or activity: the luminaries of the stage (=famous actors)
lu·mi·nes·cence /ˌluːmɪ'nesəns/ n [U] lit or tech a soft
shining light: The moonlight gave everything a strange lumi-
nescence. —luminescent adj
lu·mi·nous /'luːmɪnəs/ adj able to shine, especially in the
dark: luminous paint/safety clothing/road signs —ly adv
—nosity /ˌluːmɪ'nɒsɪti||-'nɑː-/ n [U]
Lum·ley, Jo·an·na /'lʌmli, dʒəʊ'ænə/ (1946–) a British
television and film actress, known for being beautiful and
for her UPPER-CLASS way of speaking. She appeared on
television in The New Avengers in the 1970s, and as the
character Patsy in Absolutely Fabulous in the 1990s.
lump¹ /lʌmp/ n 1 [C(of)] a mass of something solid without a
special size or shape: a lump of mud/lead/coal | There are
lumps in the sauce. | (fig.) The scene where the lovers say
goodbye really brought a lump to my throat. (=made me
feel very sad) → see CHUNK (USAGE) 2 [C] a hard swelling on
the body 3 [C(of)] a small square-sided block (of sugar),
especially for use in tea or coffee: Do you take one lump or
two? 4 [C] infml a stupid awkward ungraceful person: You'll
break it if you do it like that, you great lump! 5 [the+sing./pl. v]
BrE infml the group of workers in the building industry who
are not employed on a continuous contract, but only as and
when they are needed 6 take one's lumps AmE infml to suffer
the bad results of one's actions
lump² v lump it infml to accept without complaint a bad
situation that cannot be changed: I'm not going to turn my
radio off; you'll just have to (like it or) lump it!
lump sthg. ↔ together phr v [T] to consider as a single unit
or type: The cost of these two trips can be lumped together for
tax purposes. | The media tend to lump all these groups
together.
lump·ec·to·my /lʌm'pektəmi/ n a medical operation in
which a TUMOUR is removed from a person's body, especially
from a woman's breast in order to stop the spread of CANCER
lum·pen /'lʌmpən, 'lʌm-/ adj 1 relating to the poorest and
least educated people from the WORKING CLASS 2 large,
heavy, and lumpy: Her body felt lumpen and awkward.
lump·ish /'lʌmpɪʃ/ adj infml awkward or stupid
lump 'sum n an amount of money given or received as a
single unit rather than in separate parts at different times
lump·y /'lʌmpi/ adj filled or covered with lumps: This sauce is
rather lumpy. | a lumpy mattress
Lu·mum·ba, Pa·trice /lu'mʊmbə, pə'triːs/ (1925–61) a
Congolese politician from the Democratic Republic of
Congo (formerly Zaïre), who was his country's first Prime
Minister after it became independent (1960). He was mur-
dered by a political opponent.
lu·na·cy /'luːnəsi/ n [U] 1 the condition of being sick in the
mind; madness 2 foolish or wild behaviour: It would be
sheer lunacy to try to sail across the Pacific alone without a
radio. → see also LUNATIC
lu·nar /'luːnər/ adj of, for, or to the moon: a lunar eclipse | a
lunar module (=spacecraft that lands on the moon)
lunar 'month n a period of 28 or 29 days counted from one
new moon to the next → compare CALENDAR MONTH
lu·nate /'luːneɪt/ adj tech shaped like a CRESCENT moon
(=when only the curved edge of it can be seen)
lu·na·tic¹ /'luːnətk/ n 1 derog an extremely foolish person:
You lunatic – you nearly drove straight into me! 2 now taboo a
person who is suffering from an illness of the mind: a
lunatic asylum (=a hospital for lunatics) → see also LUNACY
lunatic² adj derog wildly foolish: lunatic behaviour
lunatic 'fringe n [S+sing./pl. v] the people with the strangest
or most unreasonable ideas or beliefs in a political or social
group, especially those whose ideas are the most RADICAL or
the least acceptable to the people in power → see also
LOONY LEFT
lunch¹ /lʌntʃ/ also lunch·eon /'lʌntʃən/ fml —n [C;U] a
usually light meal eaten in the middle of the day: We have
lunch at one o'clock. | It happened at/during lunch. | a
business lunch (=at which business is talked about) | What
would you like for lunch? | He takes a packed lunch/bag
lunch (AmE) (= SANDWICHES etc) to work. | We had a working
lunch/a late lunch. | It's lunchtime! → see also SUNDAY
LUNCH; see DINNER (USAGE)
lunch² v [I] fml to eat lunch: We're lunching with the Forsyths
today.
lunch·box /'lʌntʃbɒks||-bɑːks/ n 1 a box that you carry
food to work or school in 2 humor slang a man's PENIS
lun·cheon·ette /ˌlʌntʃə'net/ n AmE a small restaurant that
serves simple meals
'luncheon meat n [U] meat, usually PORK, which has been
pressed into a square shape, usually bought in a tin and
eaten with a SALAD or in a SANDWICH → see also SPAM
CULTURAL NOTE Luncheon meat was popular in the UK
after World War II, but it is no longer considered to be a
fashionable food.
'luncheon ,voucher abbrev. LV n a kind of ticket sometimes
given to people in Britain by their employers, in addition to
their pay, which can be used to buy food at some restaurants
or shops
CULTURAL NOTE Luncheon vouchers are given to people
such as office workers. Although useful, people do not
consider them to be a desirable PERK (=something that
you get legally from your work in addition to your wages).
'lunch hour also 'lunch break n the period of time in the
middle of the day (about an hour), when most employers
allow their workers to stop work and have something to eat.
People usually stop work for half an hour or an hour,
beginning some time between twelve o'clock and two o'clock.
Many people eat lunch in a CANTEEN at the place where they
work.
Lun·dy /'lʌndi/ 1 a small island in the BRISTOL CHANNEL in
southwest England, known for its wild flowers and birds,
especially PUFFINS 2 in SHIPPING FORECASTS, an area of water