expert system
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KNOW-HOW: His business expertise will be of great help to us. |
She displayed considerable expertise in bringing the horse
under control.
,expert 'system n a computer system which contains
information on a particular subject and is intended to find
the answers to problems in a similar way to the human
brain -> compare ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
,expert 'witness n someone with special knowledge about
a subject who is asked to give their opinion about some-
thing relating to that subject in a court of law
ex·pi·ate /'ekspiəɪt/ v [T] fml to pay for or make up for (a
crime or wicked action) by accepting punishment readily
and by doing something to show that one is sorry----ation
/,ekspi'eɪʃən/ n [U]
ex·pire /ɪk'spaɪər/ v [I] 1 (of something which lasts for a
period of time) to come to an end; run out: The trade
agreement between the two countries will expire next year. |
The car broke down two days after the guarantee had
expired. 2 lit to die
ex·pir·y /ɪk'spaɪəri/ also ex·pi·ra·tion /,ekspə'reɪʃən/ n
[U] 1 the end of something which lasts for a period of time:
The President can be elected again at/on the expiration of his
first four years in office. 2 expiry date BrE expiration date
AmE the date after which food, medicine etc is not safe to eat
or can no longer be used
ex·plain /ɪk'spleɪn/ v 1 [i;T(to)] to make (something) clear or
easy to understand, usually by speaking or writing: I don't
understand this, but Paul will explain. | The lawyer explained
the new law (to us). | [+wh-] John explained how it worked
with a diagram. | Can you explain what this word means? |
[+(that)] He couldn't see how it worked until I explained that
you had to turn it on first. 2 [T] to give or be the reason for;
account for: Can you explain your brother's behaviour? |
[+wh-] That explains why she's not here. 3 explain one-
self: a) to make one's meaning clear: I don't understand
what you're talking about. Would you explain yourself fur-
ther? b) to give reasons for one's behaviour: Late again,
Smith? I hope you can explain yourself!
explain sthg. <=> away phr v [T] to avoid blame for or cause
to seem unimportant by giving an explanation or excuse:
The government will find it difficult to explain away the latest
unemployment figures.
ex·pla·na·tion /,eksplə'neɪʃən/ n [C;U(of, for)] 1 (an act of)
explaining: She's written an explanation of how the system
works. | He gave/offered no explanation for his
absence. 2 something that explains: The only explanation
of/for his strange behaviour is that he's been working too
hard. | He said, in explanation of his remarks, that the
newspapers hadn't quoted him fully. | [+(that)] His explanation
that he had been held up by the traffic didn't seem very
plausible.
ex·plan·a·to·ry /ɪk'splænətəri||-tɔ:ri/ adj (of a statement, a
piece of writing etc) intended to explain: There are some
explanatory notes at the end of the chapter. -> see also
SELF-EXPLANATORY
ex·ple·tive /ɪk'spli:tɪv||'eksplətɪv/ n 1 fml an often mean-
ingless word used for swearing, to express violent feeling;
OATH or curse: He let loose a string of expletives. (=he said a
lot of swear words) 2 expletive deleted a swear word has
been removed from a written document. This phrase became
well known at the time of WATERGATE when written docu-
ments of the conversations of President Nixon were read
aloud.
ex·pli·ca·ble /ek'splɪkəbəl/ adj [F] fml (of behaviour or
events) that can be explained: Her behaviour is explicable if
you consider her youth. -> opposite INEXPLICABLE----bly adv
ex·pli·cate /'eksplɪkeɪt/ v [T] fml to explain (especially a
work of literature) in detail
ex·pli·cit /ɪk'splɪsɪt/ adj 1 (of a statement, rule etc) clear
and fully expressed: I gave you explicit instructions not to
tamper with the controls. -> compare IMPLICIT 2 with full
details; GRAPHIC: There are several sexually explicit scenes in
the film.----ly adv: They were explicitly warned not to go up
the mountain at night.----ness n [U]
ex·plode /ɪk'spləʊd/ v 1 [i;T] to blow up or burst or cause
(especially a bomb or other explosive) to blow up or burst:
The bomb exploded at 10.15 pm. | Don't touch that parcel; it
might explode! | The army took the bomb away to a safe place
and exploded it. 2 [I(in, into, with)] (of a person) to show
sudden violent and usually noisy feeling: He exploded
with/in anger. | The audience exploded into/with laugh-
ter. 3 [T often pass.] to prove (a belief) to be wrong or
mistaken: to explode a claim/theory | These statistics have
finally exploded the myth that women are worse drivers
than men.
ex·plod·ed /ɪk'spləʊdɪd/ adj tech (of a drawing, model etc)
showing the parts of something separated but in correct
relationship to each other
ex·ploit¹ /ɪk'splɔɪt/ v [T] 1 derog to use (especially a person)
unfairly for one's own profit or advantage; a word used to
describe the misuse of power relations, especially by
employers or strong social and political groups: The firm
exploits its workers disgracefully. | The world economic system
exploits the developing countries in favour of the developed
ones. | The opposition parties are sure to exploit the govern-
ment's difficulties over this issue. 2 to use or develop (a
thing) fully so as to get profit: to exploit the country's mineral
resources----er n----ation /,eksplɔɪ'teʃən/ n [U]
ex·ploit² /'eksplɔɪt/ n apprec a brave and successful act: He
performed many daring exploits, such as crossing the Atlantic
Ocean in a rowing boat.
ex·ploit·a·tive /ɪk'splɔɪtətɪv/ adj derog tending to exploit
people
ex·plo·ra·to·ry /ɪk'splɔ:rətəri||ɪk'splɔ:rətɔ:ri/ adj (of an
action) done in order to find out something: The doctors
carried out an exploratory operation on my stomach. | explora-
tory talks with the leaders of the strike
ex·plore /ɪk'splɔ:r/ v [T] 1 to travel into or through (a
place) for the purpose of discovery: exploring the Amazon
jungle 2 to examine (especially a subject or question) care-
fully in order to find out more: We must explore all the
possibilities.----ploration /,eksplə'reɪʃən/ n [C;U] a voyage
of exploration into outer space | There must be a full explora-
tion of all the possibilities before we decide.
ex·plo·rer /ɪk'splɔ:rər/ n someone who explores, especially
a person who travels for the purpose of discovery: a famous
19th-century explorer
Ex'plorer ,Scouts, the a part of the British SCOUT ASSO-
CIATION for boys and girls who are 14 to 18 years old -> see
also SCOUT NETWORK, THE
ex·plo·sion /ɪk'spləʊʒən/ n 1 (a loud noise caused by) an
act of exploding: When she lit the gas there was a loud
explosion. | (fig.) Explosions of laughter could be heard coming
from the classroom. | an explosion of anger 2 a sudden
increase in the stated thing: How can we account for the
recent population explosion? | the sudden explosion of drug
abuse
ex·plo·sive¹ /ɪk'spləʊsɪv/ adj 1 that can explode: It's highly
dangerous to smoke when handling explosive materials. | (fig.)
The old man has an explosive temper. 2 (of a subject or
question) that can cause very strong feeling; very CONTROVER-
SIAL: Race relations are an explosive issue.----ly adv----ness
n [U]
explosive² n an explosive substance: Gunpowder is an explo-
sive. -> see also HIGH EXPLOSIVE, PLASTIC EXPLOSIVE
ex·po /'ekspəʊ/ n pl. -s infml an EXPOSITION
ex·po·nent /ɪk'spəʊnənt/ n 1 [(of)] a person who expresses,
supports, performs, or is an example of a stated thing: She is
one of the leading exponents of Freudian psychiatry. 2 tech a
sign written above and to the right of a number or letter in
MATHEMATICS to show how many times that quantity is to
be multiplied by itself: In 12³ the number 3 is the exponent; in
yⁿ the letter n is the exponent.
ex·po·nen·tial /,ekspə'nenʃəl/ adj tech 1 produced or
expressed by multiplying a set of quantities by themselves:
an exponential growth rate | The population is increasing on
an exponential curve. 2 containing an EXPONENT: yⁿ is an
exponential expression.----ly adv
ex·port¹ /ɪk'spɔ:t||-ɔ:rt/ v [i;T] to send (goods) out of a
country for sale: We export (goods) to over 40 different
countries. | They sell to the home market (=trade within the
country) but they don't export. | (fig.) Britain has exported its
language to many parts of the world. -> compare IMPORT
----able adj----er n: Switzerland is a big exporter of watches.