hit man
666
some (bad) action is planned: The unions claimed that the
company had a hit list of factories which it intended to close.
'hit man n inflml, especially AmE a criminal who is employed to
kill someone
,hit-or-'miss adj depending on chance; not planned carefully
'hit pa,rade n old-fash a list of popular records (of songs)
showing which ones have sold most. The ten most popular
records are now called 'the top ten'.
'hit squad n a group of criminals who are employed to kill
someone
hit-ter /'hɪtər/ n the person who is trying to hit the ball in
BASEBALL
HIV /ˌeɪtʃ aɪ 'viː/ n [U] abbrev. for Human Immunodeficiency
Virus; a type of VIRUS that prevents the body from being able
to defend itself against diseases and infections. HIV is spread
through infected blood or SEMEN entering the body, typi-
cally during sexual activity. People who have the HIV virus
in their body are said to be HIV POSITIVE, and are likely to
develop the disease AIDS although this may take many years.
→ see Cultural Note at AIDS
hive¹ /haɪv/ n 1 a) also beehive — a place where bees are
kept, like a small hut or box b) [+sing./pl. v] the group of bees
who live there together 2 a crowded busy place (especially in
the phrases a hive of industry/activity): The newspaper office
was a real hive of industry.
hive² v
hive off phr v 1 [T[hive sthg. ⇔ off]] (especially in business) to
separate from a larger group or organization: The govern-
ment is planning to hive off the more profitable sections of the
national car company by selling them on the open mar-
ket. 2 [I] inflml, especially BrE to disappear or go away without
warning: Where's Jim? I suppose he's hived off again.
hives /haɪvz/ n [P;U] a skin disease in which the skin is red
and painful, usually a reaction to something physical or
emotional: I break out in hives whenever I eat seafood.
,HIV 'positive adj having the HIV VIRUS in your body, and
therefore likely to develop the disease AIDS
Hiz·bol·lah /ˌhɪzb'lɑː/ another spelling of HEZBOLLAH
h'm, hmm /m, hm/ interj (a sound made with the lips closed
to express doubt, pausing, disagreement, or dissatisfaction)
HM /ˌeɪtʃ 'em/ abbrev. for His/Her MAJESTY: HM the Queen
HMI /ˌeɪtʃ em 'aɪ/ n abbrev. for His/Her Majesty's Inspector; a
British government official, employed by OFSTED whose job
is to check the standards of education in schools in the UK.
HMIs visit schools and watch lessons, then they make
reports about the teachers, the lessons, and the general
character of the school.
HMO /ˌeɪtʃ em 'əʊ/ abbrev. for HEALTH MAINTENANCE ORGANIZA-
TION
HMS /'eɪtʃ em es/ abbrev. for Her/His Majesty's Ship; letters
which go in front of the name of a ship belonging to the
British navy, or the name of a building on land that is used by
the British navy. In the US, ships belonging to the US navy
have USS before their names.
HMSO /ˌeɪtʃ em es 'əʊ/ abbrev. for His/Her Majesty's Station-
ery Office; a British government organization which prints
government documents, books etc → compare GPO
HMV /ˌeɪtʃ em 'viː/ trademark a chain of record stores in
several countries, including the UK, the US, and Japan
HNC /ˌeɪtʃ en 'siː/ n abbrev. for Higher National Certificate; a
British college or university examination, usually in a tech-
nical or business subject. HNCs are lower in level than HNDs.
HND /ˌeɪtʃ en 'diː/ n abbrev. for Higher National Diploma; a
British college or university examination, usually in a tech-
nical or business subject
ho /həʊ/ interj usually lit (used to express surprise or draw
attention): Land ho!
hoar /hɔːr/ adj HOARY
hoard¹ /hɔːrd/ n [(of)] a (secret) store, especially of
something valuable to the owner: He kept a little hoard of
chocolates in his top drawer.
hoard² v 1 [I;T] to store secretly, especially more than is
needed or allowed: After the war, they were shot for hoarding
(food). 2 [T(up)] to save in large amounts for future use: The
squirrel hoards up nuts for the winter. —~er
hoard-ing /'hɔːrdɪŋ||'hɔːr-/ n BrE 1 a high fence round a
piece of land, especially when building work is going
on 2 also billboard AmE — a high fence or board on which
large advertisements are stuck
hoar·frost /'hɔːrfrost||'hɔːfrɒst/ || usually frost AmE — n [U]
white frozen drops of water, especially those seen on grass
and plants after a cold night
hoarse /hɔrs||hɔːs/ adj 1 (of a voice) rough-sounding, as
though the surface of the throat is rougher than usual, e.g.
when the speaker has a sore throat → compare HUSKY¹ 2 (of
a person) having a hoarse voice: We shouted ourselves hoarse
(=shouted until we were hoarse) at the football match. —ly
adv —ness n [U]
hoar·y /'hɔːri/ also hoar lit — adj 1 (of hair) grey or white
with age: (fig.) a hoary old joke that we'd all heard many times
before 2 (of people) having grey or white hair in old age
—iness n [U]
hoax¹ /həʊks/ n a trick, especially one which makes someone
believe something that is not true, and take action based on
that belief: The telephone caller said there was a bomb in the
hotel, but it later turned out to be a hoax. | a bomb hoax
hoax² v [T] to play a trick on (someone) '—er n
'hoax ,call n a telephone call to give false information,
especially to say that a bomb is in a particular place when it
is not —~er n
hob /hɒb||hɑːb/ n BrE 1 the flat top of a gas or electric cooker,
on which pans are placed 2 (especially in former times) a
metal shelf beside an open fire where food and water could
be cooked or warmed
Hobbes, Thomas
/'hɒbz||hɑːbz/ (1588–1679) a
British political PHILOSO-
PHER known especially for
his book Leviathan, in which
he expressed the opinion
that, since people think only
of themselves and behave
badly, it is best if they are
ruled by one powerful
authority
hob·bit
/'hɒbɪt||'hɑː-/ n an imaginary
creature who looks like a
small person and who lives
in a hole in the ground. Hob-
bits appear in books by J.R.R.
TOLKIEN.
Hobbit, The (1937) a very
popular children's book by
J.R.R. TOLKIEN, which is often
also read by adults. It describes the exciting and magical
adventures of Bilbo BAGGINS, who is a HOBBIT, in a place
called Middle Earth. → see also LORD OF THE RINGS
hob·ble /'hɒbəl||'hɑː-/ v 1 [I] to walk in an awkward way
and with difficulty, especially as a result of damage to the
legs or feet: I hurt my foot, and had to hobble home. 2 [T] to
fasten together two legs of (especially a horse): The horse has
been hobbled so that he can't run away.
hob·by /'hɒbi||'hɑː-/ n an activity which one enjoys doing in
one's free time: One of her hobbies is collecting stamps. → see
RECREATION (USAGE)
hob·by·horse /'hɒbihɔːs||'hɑːbihɔːrs/ n 1 a child's toy like
a horse's head on a stick, which the child pretends to ride
on 2 a fixed idea to which a person keeps returning,
especially in conversation: As soon as we mentioned the
strike, he got on his hobbyhorse and started criticizing the
unions.
hob·gob·lin /hɒb'gɒblɪn, 'hɒbɡɒb-||'hɑːbɡɑːb-/ n a GOBLIN
that plays tricks on people
hob·nail /'hɒbneɪl||'hɑːb-/ n a large nail with a big head used
to make heavy shoes and boots stronger underneath (espe-
cially in the phrase hobnail boots) —ed adj
hob·nob /ˌhɒbnɒb||'hɑːbnɑːb/ v -bb- [I(with)] sometimes derog
to have a (pleasant) social relationship, often with someone
in a higher social position: I've been hobnobbing with the
directors at the office party.
Leviathan