1575
wild
player to hit the ball: England have lost three wickets. (=three
of their players have been dismissed) | Sussex won by seven
wickets. (=with seven players left who have not completed,
or yet started, their turn) → see also STICKY WICKET
'wicket ,keeper n a cricket player who stands behind the
WICKET to catch the ball
Wick·low /'wɪkləʊ/ a COUNTY in the east of the Republic of
Ireland
wide¹ /waɪd/ adj 1 measuring a large amount from side to
side or edge to edge: a wide road | The gate isn't wide enough
to get the car through. | [after n] a plank six inches wide 2 cov-
ering or including a large range of things; EXTENSIVE: She has
wide interests/experience. | The library has books on a wide
variety/selection of subjects. 3 also wide o·pen /ˌ.../ — fully
open: wide eyes 4 wide of the mark not at all suitable,
correct etc: His guess was wide of the mark. → see also
WIDELY, WIDTH
USAGE Compare wide and broad. Wide is the more
common word, and can be used to describe most
objects, openings, and measurements from side to side.
Broad can be used to describe very large, flat areas: a
broad/wide river, or to suggest strength: broad
shoulders | a broad beam of wood supporting the whole
building. It is also used in literary or poetic writing: 'I gazed
on the broad acres which lay before me.'
wide² adv 1 to a great distance from side to side: He stood
with his legs wide apart. | 'Open wide,' said the dentist.
(=open your mouth completely) 2 [(of)] (in sport) far away
from the right point: The ball went wide (of the goal).
wide³ n (in cricket) a ball that is bowled (BOWL) wide of the
WICKET
'wide-angle adj [A] (of the LENS in a camera) able to give a
wider than usual view
,wide-a'wake adj 1 fully awake 2 apprec showing fully active
senses; ALERT; WATCHFUL
'wide boy n BrE derog infml a cleverly dishonest person, espe-
cially a businessman
,wide-'eyed adj 1 with eyes fully open because of great
surprise 2 showing a willingness to accept or admire things
without questioning; NAIVE: wide-eyed innocence
wide·ly /'waɪdli/ adv 1 over a wide area or range of things:
She has travelled widely. (=to many different places) | widely
known | He is widely read/has read widely. (=many types of
book) | It's widely believed (=by many people) that the
government will lose the election. 2 to a large degree: widely
different opinions
wid·en /'waɪdn/ v [I,T] to make or become wider: They're
widening the road. → compare BROADEN, NARROW
wide-'ranging adj covering a large range of subjects or
things: wide-ranging interests | a wide-ranging array of prod-
ucts
wide·spread /'waɪdspred/ adj existing, happening etc, in
many places or among many people: The disease is becoming
more widespread. | There is widespread public concern about
this problem.
wid·geon /'wɪdʒən/ n pl. widgeon or widgeons a type of
duck which lives on freshwater lakes and pools
wid·get /'wɪdʒɪt/ n AmE infml an imaginary product, used
when talking about products generally and not any particu-
lar one: If A turns out 70 widgets per hour and B makes 1.2
widgets per minute, who has a better rate of production?
wid·ow /'wɪdəʊ/ n 1 a woman whose husband has died, and
who has not married again → compare DIVORCÉE 2 infml or
humor a woman whose husband is often away at the stated
activity: a golf widow → see also GRASS WIDOW
wid·owed /'wɪdəʊd/ adj having become a widow or wid-
ower: She was widowed at the age of 25. | her widowed mother
wid·ow·er /'wɪdəʊə/ n a man whose wife has died, and
who has not married again
wid·ow·hood /'wɪdəʊhʊd/ n [U] the state or period of being
a widow
Widow Twan·key /ˌwɪdəʊ
'twæŋki/ an amusing female
character in the PANTOMIME
(=a humorous play for chil-
dren) Aladdin. She is Alad-
din's mother and she does
people's LAUNDRY (=washes
their clothes) in order to
make money. The character
is played by a male actor
dressed in women's clothes.
Widow Twankey
width /wɪdθ/ n 1 [C,U] size
from side to side: What is its
width? | The garden is six
metres in width. → compare
BREADTH, HEIGHT, LENGTH
2 [C] a piece of material of
the full width that the material had when it was actually
made: We need four widths of curtain material to cover the
windows.
width·ways /'wɪdθweɪz/ adv across, between the two long
sides of something: Cut each rectangular cake in half width-
ways.
wield /wiːld/ v [T] 1 to have and/or use (power, influence
etc): She wields a lot of influence. 2 old use or lit to hold and
use (a weapon) —-er n
wie·ner /'wiːnə/ also wie·nie, wee·nie /'wiːni/ n AmE 1 a
FRANKFURTER 2 slang a fool 3 slang a PENIS
Wie·sel, E·lie /'viːsəl; iːlaɪ/ (1928–) a US writer, born in
Romania, who has written several books about his experi-
ences in a Nazi CONCENTRATION CAMP during World War II,
and who received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986
Wie·sen·thal, Simon /'wiːzəntaːl/ (1908–2005) a Jewish
man who spent many years after World War II trying to
catch Nazi officers so that they could be officially punished
for their violent crimes against the Jews during the war
wife /waɪf/ n pl. wives /waɪvz/ the woman to whom a man is
married: Have you met my wife? | his ex-wife | a good wife and
mother
wife·ly /'waɪfli/ also wife·like /-laɪk/ adj apprec fml or humor
having qualities that are thought to be typical of a good
wife: wifely concern
,Wife of 'Bath, the a character in the poem The CANTER-
BURY TALES by Geoffrey CHAUCER. She has been married five
times, and she enjoys talking about sex in a humorous way.
'wife ,swapping n [U] the exchanging of wives or husbands
for a short time for sexual relations with different partners.
This is not considered usual or acceptable behaviour by
most people, but is sometimes mentioned in jokes and
humorous television programmes.
wig¹ /wɪg/ n an artificial covering of hair for the whole head,
used to hide one's real hair or lack of hair. In England judges
wear old-fashioned white wigs in court: The actress wore a
black wig over her blond hair. → compare TOUPEE; see also
BEWIGGED, BIGWIG
wig² v
wig out phr v [I] AmE slang to become (slightly) mad: Their
mother wigged out after the accident and had to be shut up for
a while.
wig·ging /'wɪgɪŋ/ n [C usually sing.] BrE infml an act of talking
angrily to someone who has done something wrong
wig·gle /'wɪgəl/ v [I,T] infml to move in small side-to-side,
up-and-down, or turning movements: He wiggled his toes.
—wiggle n: with a wiggle of her hips
wight /waɪt/ n old use a person
Wight → see ISLE OF WIGHT
Wight·man Cup, the /'waɪtmæn ˌkʌp/ (until 1990) a
yearly TENNIS competition between the best women players
from the US and the UK
wig·wam /'wɪgwæm||-wɑːm/ n a round hut of the type
formerly used by some Native Americans → compare TEPEE
Wil·ber·force, William /'wɪlbəfɔːs||-bɔːrfɔːrs/ (1759–1833) a
British politician who is remembered for his part in stopping
the British trade in SLAVES, and later stopping the practice of
SLAVERY in all parts of the British Empire
wild¹ /waɪld/ adj 1 living or growing in natural conditions