white-collar 1572
crossing the ENGLISH CHANNEL from France 2 a popular song sung by British singer Vera LYNN during World War II:
There'll be bluebirds over
The white cliffs of Dover
Tomorrow,
Just you wait and see.
white-'collar adj [A] of or being people who work in offices or at professional jobs, rather than doing hard or dirty work with their hands: white-collar workers | a white-collar union ➔ compare BLUE-COLLAR, PINK-COLLAR and see Feature on page A7
white-collar ,crime n a crime committed (COMMIT) by a person who works in an office or professional job: Fraud and embezzlement are usually white-collar crimes.
whited sep-ul-chre /ˌwaɪtɪd sepəlkə/ n bibl or humor someone who gives the appearance of being good, but is evil; HYPOCRITE
white 'dwarf n tech a hot star, near the end of its life, more solid but less bright than the sun ➔ compare RED GIANT
white 'elephant n something that is useless and unwanted, especially something that is big and/or costs a lot of money
white 'elephant ,sale n AmE old-fash for JUMBLE SALE
white 'flag n a sign that one accepts defeat: They walked towards the enemy waving the white flag.
white 'flight n [U] AmE large numbers of middle-class white people leaving an area, usually because (of fears that) black families are coming to live there
white 'flour n [U] wheat flour from which the BRAN and WHEAT GERM have been removed ➔ compare WHOLEMEAL
white ,goods n [P] 1 LINEN for the house e.g. sheets TOWELS TABLECLOTHS etc: There's a white goods sale on at Greens. 2 large, usually white objects for the house e.g. cookers, washing machines, REFRIGERATORS etc
White-hall /'waɪthɔːl, ,waɪt'hɔːl/ 1 the street in London, south of Trafalgar Square, where most of the British government offices are 2 the British government, especially the government departments rather than Parliament or the Prime Minister
White Hart 'Lane a football ground in northeast London, used by TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR football club
white 'heat n [U] the very high temperature at which a metal turns white, usually after being red ➔ see also WHITE-HOT
white 'hope n [C usually sing.] sometimes humor or derog the person who is expected to bring great success: our great white hope for the future | the white hope of the Republican Party
white 'horse BrE || also whitecap n a wave at sea with a white top
white-'hot adj (of metal) so hot that it shines white ➔ compare RED-HOT; see also WHITE HEAT
White-house, Mary /'waɪt-haʊs/ (1910-2001) a British woman who was known for protesting about television or radio programmes that have sex, violence, or swearing in them. Many people made jokes about her and regarded her ideas as very old-fashioned.
White House, the 1 the official home of the President of the United States of America, on Pennsylvania Avenue, in Washington, D.C. ➔ see also OVAL OFFICE and colour photo on page A35 2 the US President and his advisers: The White House appeared confident that the President would survive this latest scandal.
white 'knight n a person or organization that puts money into a business company to save it from being taken over by another company
white-'knuckle adj [A] a white-knuckle ride at a FAIRGROUND makes you feel excited and afraid at the same time
white lead /ˌwaɪt 'led/ n [U] a poisonous compound of lead with CARBON and oxygen, formerly used in house paint
white 'lie n a harmless lie, e.g. one told so as not to hurt someone else
white 'lightning n [U] AmE slang MOONSHINE
white 'magic n [U] magic used for good purposes ➔ compare BLACK MAGIC
white man's 'burden, the the duty felt by some white people in the past to help manage the affairs of people living in less developed countries until these people are educated enough to do this for themselves. The expression was first used in a poem by Rudyard KIPLING in 1899.
white meat n [U] 1 the very pale-coloured meat from some parts of a cooked bird, such as the breast of a chicken 2 certain types of pale-coloured meat, especially VEAL and PORK ➔ compare RED MEAT
white 'metal n [C;U] any silvery-coloured mixture of metals, containing tin
whit-en /'waɪtn/ v [I;T] to make or become (more) white: I must whiten my tennis shoes.
White 'Nile, the a river which flows from Lake Victoria in East Africa to Khartoum in Sudan, where it joins the Blue Nile. Both rivers then become the Nile, which flows through Egypt to the Mediterranean Sea.
whit-en-ing /'waɪtənɪŋ/ also whit-en-er /'waɪtənə/, whit-ing n [U] white material, powder, or liquid, which is used for giving a clean white colour: She put whitening on her tennis shoes.
white-out /'waɪtat/ n a weather condition in which there is very heavy cloud or snow so that one can see nothing and everything appears white
white-out ➔ see WITE-OUT
White 'Pages, the a US book which contains an alphabetical list of the names, addresses, and telephone numbers of all the people who have a telephone in a particular city or area ➔ compare PHONE BOOK, YELLOW PAGES
White 'Paper, white paper n an official report from the British government, usually explaining the government's ideas and plans concerning a particular subject before it suggests a new law in parliament: a new white paper on education ➔ compare GREEN PAPER
white 'pepper n [U] PEPPER made from crushed seeds from which the dark outer covering has been removed
White 'Rabbit, the a character from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. He keeps looking at his watch because he is late, and disappearing down rabbit holes. ➔ see also ALICE IN WONDERLAND
White-read, Ra-chel /'waɪtrɪd, 'reɪtʃəl/ (1963-) a British SCULPTOR, famous for making CASTS of various objects. In 1993, she won the Turner Prize for her most well-known work, called House, which is a CEMENT cast of the inside of a Victorian house in East London.
whites /waɪts/ n [P] 1 white clothing, sheets etc, which are separated from other items when washing (used especially in advertisements for washing powders) 2 especially BrE white clothing, especially as worn for sports, such as long white trousers used in cricket
white ,sale n AmE a sale of TOWELS, sheets etc: Robinson's have advertised a white sale this weekend.
white 'sauce /ˌwaɪt 'sɔːs/ n [U] a thick white liquid cooked with flour, poured over certain types of food
white 'slavery n [U] old-fash euph the practice or business of taking girls to a foreign country and forcing them to be PROSTITUTES (white slaves) there
white 'spirit n [U] especially BrE a strong liquid made from petrol, used for making paint thinner, for removing marks on clothes etc
white su'premacy n [U] the belief that white people are better than people of other races, especially black people and that other races should be kept at a lower level o society ➔ compare CIVIL RIGHTS —cist n
white-'tie adj (of parties and other social occasions) at which the men wear white BOW TIES and TAILS: a white-tie dinner ➔ compare BLACK-TIE
white 'trash also poor white trash n [U] AmE derog infor white people who are poor and uneducated; the lowest social class of whites
white 'van man n BrE infml a man who drives a white VAN especially when delivering goods in a city, in an AGGRESSIVE and dangerous way