899
mockers
vaccine. But doctors have now said that this medical study
has mistakes in it, and there is no connection between the
vaccine and autism.
MN written abbrev. for MINNESOTA
M'Nagh·ten Rules, the /mæk'nɔːtn ˌruːlz/ → see
MCNAUGHTON RULES, THE
mne·mon·ic /nɪ'mɒnɪk||nɪ'mɑː-/ adj, n (something, espe-
cially a few lines of VERSE) used for helping one to remem-
ber: The spelling guide 'i before e except after c' is a mnemonic.
—ally /kli/ adv
mo /məʊ/ n [S] BrE infml a very short space of time; MOMENT:
Wait a mo.
MO¹ /ˌem 'əʊ/ n infml abbrev. for 1 [C] especially BrE medical
officer; an army doctor 2 [S] modus operandi; a way of
doing something that is typical of one person or a group
MO² written abbrev. for MISSOURI
moan¹ /məʊn/ n 1 a soft low sound of pain or grief: From
time to time there was a moan (of pain) from the sick man. |
(fig.) the moan of the wind through the trees 2 infml, usually derog
a complaint, expressed in a suffering discontented voice:
She's never satisfied; she's always got some moan or another.
moan² v 1 [I] to make the sound of a moan: The sick child
moaned a little, and then fell asleep. | (fig.) The wind moaned
round the house all night. 2 [I(about);T] to complain annoy-
ingly, especially in a discontented voice without good rea-
son: Stop moaning; you've really got nothing to complain
about. | 'I'm hungry,' he moaned. | [+that] She's always moan-
ing that she has too much work to do. —er n
Moaning Min·nie, moaning Minnie /ˌməʊnɪŋ 'mɪni/
n 1 infml someone who is never satisfied and is always
complaining 2 a) in World War II, the name of a German
weapon that made a SCREAMING noise when it was fired b)
in World War II, a name for the SIREN (=machine that makes
a long, loud warning sound) that warned people that enemy
planes were about to drop bombs
moat /məʊt/ n a long deep hole, usually filled with water,
dug a) for defence round a castle, fort etc in former times
→ see picture at CASTLE b) round an area for animals in a
modern ZOO to stop them escaping —ed adj: lions in a
moated enclosure
mob¹ /mɒb||mɑːb/ n [C+sing./pl. v] 1 often derog a large noisy
crowd, especially one which is violent: An angry mob is
attacking the palace. | mob violence/rule 2 usually derog a
group of the stated sort of people: the usual mob of freeload-
ers and hangers-on that attend first nights 3 (often cap.) a
powerful organization of criminals, especially the MAFIA: He
told the police, and now the Mob's after him.
mob² v -bb- [T] (of a group of people) to crowd around
(someone) either because of interest or admiration, or in
order to attack them: The visiting pop star was mobbed by his
excited fans. | The angry crowd mobbed the losing team as it
left the football ground.
'mob cap n [C] a light cotton hat with a decorative edge,
worn by women in the 18th and 19th centuries
Mo·bil /'məʊbəl/ trademark also ,Mobil 'Oil ,Company an
international oil company that operates petrol stations in
many countries
mo·bile¹ /'məʊbaɪl||-bəl, -biːl/ adj 1 able to move, or be
moved, quickly and easily; not fixed in one position: a
mobile rocket-launcher | an actor with a very mobile face
(=able to change its expression a lot) | She's much more
mobile now she has a car. | I have a mobile telephone that I can
take to the garden. 2 [no comp.] contained, and driven from
place to place, in a vehicle: a mobile first-aid room → see
also IMMOBILE, UPWARDLY-MOBILE
mo·bile² /'məʊbaɪl||-biːl/ n a decoration or work of art made
of small models, cards etc, tied to wires or string and hung
up so that it is moved by currents of air
,mobile 'home also trailer house AmE — n 1 a kind of
large CARAVAN in which people live all the time. Mobile
homes have very small wheels and are rarely moved from
their usual place which is usually in a special area with other
mobile homes, called a mobile home park. 2 a vehicle
which is lived in as a home and has its own engine →
compare MOTOR HOME → see colour photo on page A41
,mobile 'library BrE || bookmobile AmE — n a library that
is kept, and driven from place to place, in a vehicle
,mobile 'phone BrE || cellular phone AmE — n a telephone
which you can carry with you
CULTURAL NOTE Mobile phones are very popular and
many people, especially in the UK, enjoy sending each
other TEXT MESSAGES. For some people, a mobile phone
is an important fashion ACCESSORY and they always want
to have the newest model with the best features, such as
a camera or being able to ACCESS the Internet. In the UK,
it is illegal to use a mobile phone when driving, unless you
have a HANDS-FREE phone. The increase in the number of
MASTS, built to provide people with a signal, has led to
protests against masts being built near houses and
schools because people are worried about the effects of
ELECTROMAGNETIC fields on their health.
mo·bil·i·ty /məʊ'bɪləti/ n [U] fml the quality of being mobile:
job/labour mobility (=the ability to move around the coun-
try to get work) | a mobility allowance (BrE) (=money from
the government to help a person with a DISABILITY to move
around) → see also SOCIAL MOBILITY
mo·bil·ize also -ise BrE /'məʊbəlaɪz/ v 1 [T] to prepare for
war or a difficult situation by organizing: to mobilize the
army in an emergency | He's trying to mobilize all the
support/supporters he can get for his new political party. | to
mobilize one's resources 2 [I] (of armed forces) to gather
together and become ready for war → see also DEMOBILIZE
—ization /ˌməʊbəla'zeɪʃən||-lə-/ n [C;U]
MO·BO /'məʊˌbəʊ/ abbrev. for music of Black origin: the
MOBO award ceremony
mob·ster /'mɒbstə||'mɑːb-/ n a GANGSTER
Mo·bu·tu, Ses·e Sek·o /məˈbuːtuː, ˈseseɪ ˈseɪkəʊ/ (1930–
97) the president of Zaire (now called the Democratic Repub-
lic of the Congo) from 1967 to 1997. He made Zaire a
one-party state and became extremely rich by using govern-
ment money. Shortly before he died, he was removed from
power by an opposition group led by Laurent Kabila after a
long period of fighting and political pressure.
Mo·by /'məʊbi/ (1965–) an American musician, known for his
successful electronic dance music records such as Everything
is Wrong, Play, and 18
,Moby 'Dick (1851) a novel by Herman MELVILLE about a
man called Captain AHAB who risks his life and the lives of
the other people on his ship by hunting a large, powerful
white WHALE called Moby Dick. The book is known for
containing a lot of information about hunting whales and
for being very long, and it is considered to be one of the
greatest American novels.
moc·ca·sin /'mɒkəsɪn||'mɑː-/ n a simple shoe made of soft
leather → see PAIR (USAGE)
moch·a /'mɒkə||'mʊkə/ n [U] (sometimes cap.) 1 a type of fine
coffee 2 AmE a combination of coffee and chocolate, used to
give a pleasant taste to food
moch·ac·ci·no /ˌmɒkə'tʃiːnəʊ||ˌmɑː-/ n pl. mochaccinos
[C;U] a drink made of strong coffee, chocolate or COCOA, and
hot milk
mock¹ /mɒk||mɑːk/ v 1 [I (at);T] fml to laugh (at), especially
unkindly or unfairly; make fun (of): You shouldn't mock (at)
other people's religious beliefs. | mocking laughter 2 [T] to
make fun of (something) by copying it: He made the other
boys laugh by mocking the way the teacher spoke and
walked. 3 [T] fml or lit to cause to seem completely useless:
The continuing industrial unrest mocked the government's
attempts to find a solution. —er n —ingly adv
mock sthg. ⇔ up phr v [T] to make a MOCK-UP of
mock² adj [A] not real but very similar (to the real thing);
pretended: The army training exercises ended with a mock
battle. | She opened her eyes wide in mock disbelief. | mock exams
mock³ n 1 BrE a school examination taken as practice shortly
before an official examination: He's taking his mocks in Janu-
ary; the A level exams are in May. 2 make a mock of make a
mockery of 3 make mock of lit to laugh at; make fun of
mock- → see WORD FORMATION TABLE
mock·ers /'mɒkəz||'mɑːkərz/ n put the mockers on slang to
put an end to (especially a hope, plan etc); ruin