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head
other road vehicle which can be made to flash to warn other
drivers if there has been an accident or if the vehicle is
parked in a dangerous place
Haz-chem /'hæzkem/ hazardous chemicals; a written sign
used in the UK as a warning on the outside of buildings and
containers which have dangerous chemicals inside them
haze¹ /heɪz/ n 1 [S,U] a light mist or smoke: I could hardly
see her through the haze of cigarette smoke. | a heat haze in
the distance 2 [S] a feeling of confusion or uncertainty in
the mind → see also HAZY
haze² v [I (OVER)] to become hazy: The sky hazed over at the end
of the day.
haze³ v [T] AmE 1 to make (someone) worried or uncomfort-
able by forcing them to do unpleasant work or by saying
unpleasant things about them; HARASS 2 to play tricks on (a
young college student) as part of the ceremony of joining a
club or FRATERNITY. Hazing used to be common in military
schools, but now is rare and forbidden by the schools.
ha·zel¹ /'heɪzəl/ n 1 [C] a small tree or bush that bears nuts
which can be eaten 2 [U] the wood of this tree 3 also
hazelnut the nut of this tree, which is good to eat
hazel² adj having a light brown or greenish brown colour:
She has hazel eyes. —hazel n [U]
ha·zel·nut /'heɪzəlnʌt/ also filbert AmE — n HAZEL → see
picture at NUT
Haz·litt, William /'hæzlɪt/ (1778–1830) a British writer and
CRITIC known for his ESSAYS on many subjects, especially
literature. His best-known collection of essays is called Table
Talk.
haz·y /'heɪzi/ adj 1 misty; rather cloudy: The mountains were
hazy in the distance. 2 unclear; uncertain: I'm rather hazy
about the details of the arrangement. —ily adv —iness n [U]
HB /ˌeɪtʃ 'bi/ adj abbrev. for hard black; an HB pencil has a LEAD
(=central part) that is neither very hard nor very soft. HB
pencils are the most commonly used type of pencil in the
UK. → compare NO. 2 PENCIL
H-Block /'eɪtʃ blɒk||-blɑːk/ n one of several large buildings,
in the shape of a letter H, which formed part of the MAZE
PRISON in Northern Ireland. Members of the IRA and of
other political organizations involved in the violence in
Northern Ireland were often kept there.
HBO /ˌeɪtʃ biː 'əʊ/ n → see HOME BOX OFFICE
H-bomb /'eɪtʃ bɒm||-bɑːm/ n a HYDROGEN BOMB, a powerful
NUCLEAR bomb
HCF /ˌeɪtʃ siː 'ef/ abbrev. for highest common factor → see
FACTOR
HDTV /ˌeɪtʃ ˌdiː tiː 'viː/ n abbrev. for HIGH-DEFINITION TELEVISION
he¹ /i, hi; strong hi:/ pron (used as the subject of a sentence) 1 that
male person or animal already mentioned: 'Where's John?'
'He's gone to the cinema.' | Be careful of that dog – he
sometimes bites. 2 (with general meaning): Everyone should
do what he considers best. → compare THEY 3 he who fml or lit
the person who: 'He who laughs last laughs longest.' (saying)
Some people, especially women, do not like the
use of he with a general meaning. Instead they use he or
she, she or he or they: Everyone should do what he or
she thinks best. | Everyone should do what they think
best. In writing he/she is commonly used, or s/he
(especially in American English).
he² /hiː/ n a male: Is your dog a he or a she?
he- → see WORD FORMATION TABLE
H.E. abbrev. for His Excellency or Her Excellency, used in the
title of an AMBASSADOR
head¹ /hed/ n 1 [C] a) the part of the body which contains
the eyes, ears, nose, and mouth, and the brain: She nodded
her head in agreement. | They looked him over from head to
foot. | The children were standing on their heads. | His crimes
cost him his head. (=it was cut off) b) (in humans) the part of
the head above and behind the eyes: My head aches. | I hit
my head on the low ceiling. 2 [(the) S (of)] the end where the
head rests: at the head of the bed/the grave 3 [C] the mind
or brain: Can't you get it into your head (=understand) that
the adjective comes before the noun, not after it. | His heart
rules his head. (=He is influenced more by feeling than by
reason.) | He just stood there watching; it never entered his
head
temple
hair
forehead
eyebrow
eyelashes
eye
ear
nose
nostrils
earlobe
mouth
cheek
lips
jaw
chin
neck
throat
face
head to help me. | He suddenly took it into his head
(=decided, especially foolishly) to buy a big new car. | What
was it that put the idea into your head? 4 [C usually sing.] infml,
especially BrE a headache: I've got a bad head. 5 [S(for)] a)
ability of the stated kind; APTITUDE: She has a good business
head. | I haven't got much of a head for figures. b) the power
to be in control of oneself; COMPOSURE: to keep one's head in
a crisis | She managed to keep a cool head/a clear head in a
difficult situation. | I haven't got much of a head for heights.
(=an ability to be in a high place without being fright-
ened) 6 [S] a measure of height or distance equal to a head:
He is half a head taller than his brother. | The horse won the
race by a short head. (=by only a small amount) 7 a) [S] a
person (especially in the phrase... a/per head): It costs about
£10 a head to eat there. | I did a quick head count and
discovered that one member of the class was missing. b) (pl.
head) [C usually pl.] (used in counting animals, especially
cattle) an animal: three thousand head (of cattle) 8 [C(of)]
someone who is in control of a place, organization etc; a
ruler or leader: the head of the English department/the
family | heads of state/of government | the head waiter 9 BrE
a head teacher in a school: The head's busy at the
moment. 10 [(the) S (of)] a part at the top of an object
(especially of a tool) which is different or separate from the
body: the head of a hammer | the head of the nail 11 [(the) S
(of)] a) the top of a page: I put my address at the head of the
letter. b) the top or front; the highest or furthest point: I
waited at the head of the queue. | officers marching at the head
of a column of soldiers 12 [C] the title at the top of a piece of
writing; HEADING 13 [C] the top part of some plants, especi-
ally when several leaves or flowers grow together there:
The heads of the flowers were blown off in the storm. | heads
of lettuce 14 [C] the white FROTH on the top of drinks such
as beer: a beer with a good head on it 15 [(the) S (of)] the upper
part or end: the head of the lake | at the head of the
stairs 16 [C] (especially in names) a HEADLAND: Beachy
Head 17 [the (of)] the most important place: sitting at the
head of the table 18 [C] the white or black centre of a
swollen spot on the skin (a BOIL or PIMPLE) when it is about
to burst 19 [S(of)] the pressure or force produced by a body
of water or by a quantity of steam 20 taboo slang ORGASM or
sexual pleasure 21 [C] tech (in grammar) the word in a group
of words that is its central part and that is used in the same
way as the whole group: The word 'man' is the head of the
noun phrases 'an old man' and 'the man in the street'. 22 [C]
also magnetic head — a) the part of a TAPE RECORDER
which records sound b) the part of a computer that reads
and writes DATA 23 above someone's head beyond some-
one's ability to understand; too difficult 24 an old head on
young shoulders (a young person who has) the sensible
behaviour of an experienced person 25 bang/bash/beat/
hit/knock one's head against a brick wall to waste one's
effort or hurt oneself by trying to do something impossible:
Trying to get that class to learn anything is just banging your
head against a brick wall! 26 bring/come to a head to
bring to a point where something must be done or decided:
The assassination of the president brought matters to a
head. 27 eat/talk/shout etc one's head off infml to eat/talk/
shout etc repeatedly, for a long time, loudly etc: She laughed
her head off when I told her what had happened. 28 give