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states in the US. Less serious crimes are dealt with by the police in the state where the crime happened. → compare CIA
FC /,ef 'si:/ 1 abbrev. for Football Club, used in names of football clubs: Liverpool FC 2 abbrev. for FORESTRY COMMISSION
FCC, the /,ef si: 'si:/ abbrev. for the FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
FCO, the /,ef si: 'ou/ abbrev. for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, which is the official name of the British FOREIGN OFFICE
FDA, the /,ef di: 'eI/ abbrev. for the Food and Drug Administration; a US government organization which makes sure that foods and drugs are safe enough to be sold. It decides which chemicals can legally be added to food, which medical drugs are safe, and how information about food and drugs should be shown on containers.
FDIC, the /,ef di: aI 'si:/ abbrev. for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation; a US government organization which exists to protect people's bank accounts. If your bank is a member of the FDIC and it cannot pay its debts, the FDIC will pay you the amount that you kept in the bank, up to $100,000.
FDR /,ef di: 'a:r/ → see ROOSEVELT, FRANKLIN D.
FE /,ef 'i:/ abbrev. for FURTHER EDUCATION
fe-al-ty /'fi:əlti/ n [U] (in former times) loyalty (to one's king or lord): In return for his land he swore fealty to the king.
fear¹ /fɪər/ n 1 [C,U (of)] an unpleasant and usually strong feeling caused by the presence or expectation of danger: That child will do anything – she seems totally without fear. | I have a great fear of fire/spiders. | [+that] I was suddenly seized with/by the fear that they would drown. | My fears that he might get lost proved to be unfounded. | I'm living in (daily) fear of dismissal. (=always afraid that I'll be dismissed) | In fear and trembling (=very much afraid) he listened to the footsteps of the guards. | That loud bang put the fear of God into me. (=frightened me very much) | He goes in fear of his life. (=is afraid he will be killed or die) | The announcement that the factory would be closed confirmed our worst fears. 2 [U(of)] likelihood or possibility, especially of something bad: "Will the children forget about lunch?" "There's no fear of that!" 3 for fear of/that because of anxiety about/that; in case (of): I dare not go there for fear of him seeing me/that he will see me. 4 No fear! BrE infml (in answer to a suggestion that one should do something) Certainly not! 5 BrE without fear or favour with justice; not showing more sympathy for one side than for the other 6 the only thing we have to fear is fear itself quote a phrase used by Franklin Roosevelt in his first speech as President in 1932 and now reused in other situations
fear² v [not in progressive forms] fml 1 [T] to be afraid of; consider or expect with feelings of fear: She feared old age. | [+(that)] Experts fear that there will be a new outbreak of the disease. 2 [(for)] to be afraid (for the safety of someone or something): She feared for the little boy when she saw him at the top of the tree. | Never (=do not) fear; they will be safe. 3 I fear fml or pomp (used when giving bad news) I'm sorry that I must now say: I fear we have missed our chance. | "Is there enough money?" "I fear not." | "Is she very ill?" "I fear so.'
'Fear Factor a US television programme that is also popular in the UK. In the show, six people compete with each other to win money by doing a series of STUNTS (=dangerous actions, done to entertain people) and other things such as eating insects.
fear-ful /'fɪəfʊl||'fɪər-/ adj 1 [A] written causing fear: a fearful storm 2 pomp very bad; (of a bad thing) very great: What a fearful waste of time! 3 [F (of)] fml afraid: He was fearful of her anger. | [+that] We were fearful that she would be angry. →-ly adv →-ness n [U]
fear-less /'fɪəlɪs||'fɪər-/ adj [(of)] without fear; not afraid: their fearless opposition to the junta | He gave them his honest opinion, fearless of the consequences. →-ly adv: He gazed fearlessly at the gunman. →-ness n [U]
fear-some /'fɪəsəm||'fɪər-/ adj especially lit or humor causing fear; very unpleasant, especially in appearance: The children were a fearsome sight after their mud fight.
fea-si-ble /'fi:zəbəl/ adj able to be carried out or done; possible and reasonable: Your plan sounds quite feasible. | It's simply not economically feasible to stage such a lavish production. → compare PLAUSIBLE →-bly adv →-bility /,fi:zə'bɪləti/ n [U] a feasibility study to find out if the plan will work
feast¹ /fi:st/ n 1 a splendid meal, especially a public one: The king gave/held a feast. | What a marvellous meal you've given us – a real feast. | (fig.) a feast for the eyes | (fig.) a feast of music → see also MIDNIGHT FEAST 2 a day or period of time kept in memory of a religious event: Christmas is an important feast for Christians. → see also MOVABLE FEAST
feast² v [(on, upon)] 1 to eat and drink very well; have a specially good meal (of): The birds are feasting on the berries. 2 feast one's eyes on/upon to look at eagerly and with delight: He feasted his eyes on the beautiful scene.
Feast of 'Tabernacles n → see SUKKOT
Feast of 'Weeks n → see PENTECOST
feat /fi:t/ n an action needing strength, skill, or courage: It was quite a feat to move that piano by yourself. | feats of endurance | a remarkable feat of engineering
fea-ther¹ /'feðər/ n 1 any of the many parts of the covering which grows on a bird's body, each of which has a stiff rod-like piece in the middle, with soft hair-like material growing from it on each side: an ostrich feather | a plume of feathers | a pillow stuffed with feathers 2 a feather in someone's cap an honour that someone can be justly proud of: They want you to photograph the Queen? That'll be quite a feather in your cap! 3 make the feathers/fur/sparks fly infml to cause a quarrel or fight: When Derek found Bob had damaged his bicycle, it really made the feathers fly! → see also birds of a feather (BIRD), ruffle someone's feathers (RUFFLE¹)
feather² v [T] 1 [(with)] to put feathers on the end of (an ARROW) to act as guides in flight 2 tech to make (the blade of an OAR) lie flat on the surface of the water at the end of a STROKE 3 feather one's nest usually derog to make oneself rich, especially dishonestly, through a job in which one is trusted → see also tar and feather (TAR²)
feather 'bed n a large flat bag that is filled with feathers and used for sleeping on → compare MATTRESS
fea-ther-bed /'feðəbed||-ər-/ v [T] derog to protect by giving generous help in the form of money, tax advantages, working conditions etc: Their government featherbeds its industries so that they can sell their products much more cheaply than we can.
feather 'boa n a BOA
fea-ther-brained /'feðəbreɪnd||-ər-/ adj infml very silly and thoughtless: He was too featherbrained to think of asking for a receipt.
feather 'duster n a long stick with a bunch of feathers fixed to one end used for removing light dust
feathered 'friends n [P] birds, especially in the phrase our feathered friends
fea-ther-weight /'feðəweɪt||-ər-/ n 1 a BOXER heavier than a BANTAMWEIGHT but lighter than a LIGHTWEIGHT 2 someone or something of very little weight or importance: The other two members of the committee are just featherweights.
fea-ther-y /'feðəri/ adj 1 covered with feathers 2 apprec soft and light: feathery pastry/clouds
fea-ture¹ /'fi:tʃər/ n 1 [(of)] a (typical or noticeable) part of quality: Wet weather is a feature of life in Scotland. | The exciting car chase was the one redeeming feature in the film. (=the only part that made the film worth seeing) | an essential/key feature of the plan | a house with unusual architectural features 2 any of the noticeable parts of the face: Her mouth is her worst feature. → see also FEATURES 3 a special long article in a newspaper or magazine: Did you read the feature on personal computers in the New York Times? | a feature writer 4 a film being shown at a cinema: What's this week's main feature at the Odeon?
feature² v 1 [T] to include as a leading performer: This film features Dustin Hoffman (as a divorced father). 2 [T] to advertise particularly: We're featuring bedroom furniture this week. 3 [+adv/prep] to play an important part: Fish features very largely in the diet of these islanders.
'feature film n a full-length cinema film with an invented story and professional actors → compare DOCUMENTARY²; see also DOUBLE FEATURE