teethe
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with young criminals? 3 get one's teeth into infml to do (a
job) very actively, purposefully, and with interest 4 in the
teeth of against the strength of; in spite of opposition from:
The government persisted in introducing the new measures in
the teeth of public opinion. 5 set someone's teeth on edge
to give someone the unpleasant sensation caused by certain
acid tastes or high sounds: The noise of the chalk scraping on
the blackboard sets my teeth on edge. -> see also armed to the
teeth (ARMED), take the bit between one's teeth (BIT), cut
one's teeth on (CUT), kick in the teeth (KICK), lie in one's
teeth (LIE), show one's teeth (SHOW), by the skin of one's
teeth (SKIN)
teethe /ti:T/ v [I usually in progressive forms] (especially of a baby)
to grow teeth
'teething ,troubles n [P] problems happening during the
early stages of an activity or operation: We're having a few
teething troubles with the new computer.
tee-to-tal /,ti:'t@Ut@/ adj never drinking alcohol, or opposed
to the drinking of it
tee-to-tal-er BrE || -taler especially AmE /ti:'t@Ut@l@/ n a
person who never drinks alcohol
TEFL /'tef@l/ especially BrE abbrev. for Teaching English as a
Foreign Language; the teaching of English to people whose
first language is not English. This expression is now becoming
less common, and many people prefer the word 'TESOL'
(=Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) -> see
also TESL, ELT
Tef-lon /'teflon||-l@rn/ trademark a plastic that stops things
from sticking to it, often used in making pans
Teh-ran, Teheran /,te@'rA:n||te'ra:n/ the capital and larg-
est city of Iran, and the industrial centre of the country
Te Ka-na-wa, Dame Ki-ri /teI 'kA:n@w@, 'kiri/ (1944-) an
OPERA singer from New Zealand, whose SOPRANO voice is
greatly admired
Tel A-viv /,tel @'vi:v/ the second largest city of Israel, which
is on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea and is Israel's main
financial and business centre
tele- -> see WORD FORMATION TABLE
tel-e-cast /'telikA:st||-k@st/ n a broadcast on television
tel-e-com-mu-ni-ca-tions /,telik@mju:nI'keIS@nz/ n [P]
the process or business of receiving or sending messages by
telephone, radio, television, or telegraph: great improve-
ments in telecommunications | the telecommunications
industry | a telecommunications satellite
tel-e-com-mut-er /'telik@,mju:t@/ n someone who works
at home instead of in an office, but uses the telephone and
computer to communicate with the people s/he works with
Tel-e-com Tow-er, the /,telik@m 'ta@@||-ka:m-/ a very
tall, narrow, circular building in central London which was
built in the 1960s and used to be called the Post Office
Tower. It is used for sending and receiving electronic signals
for radio, telephones, and television.
tel-e-con-fe-rence /'teli,konf@r@ns||-,kA:n-/ n a meeting
done using special TELECOMMUNICATIONS equipment, which
allows several people to take part in a discussion even
though they are in different places: I have a teleconference
with the Sales team at 3.00.
tel-e-con-fe-ren-cing /'teli,konf@r@nsIN||-,kA:n-/ n [U] a
system by which people in different places can have a
meeting together by using TELECOMMUNICATIONS equipment
tel-e-gram /'telIgr@m/ also wire AmE — n (a piece of paper
with) a message sent by telegraph: We informed them by
telegram that we would be arriving early.
CULTURAL NOTE In the UK, the Queen traditionally sends a
telegram to anyone who is celebrating their 100th
birthday. The telegram service was stopped in 1982, and
instead of a telegram, people receive a card, but they still
call it a telegram.
tel-e-graph^1 /'telIgrA:f||-gr@f/ n 1 [U] a method of sending
messages either by using radio signals or (especially for-
merly) electrical signals along wire: The news came by tel-
egraph. 2 [C] an apparatus that receives or sends messages
in this way -> see also BUSH TELEGRAPH —graphic
/,telI'gr@fIk/ adj: a telegraphic message —graphically
/kli/ adv
telegraph^2 v 1 [I;T(to)] to send (a message) or inform (a
person) by telegraph: The news was telegraphed across the
Atlantic. | [+obj(I)+obj(d)] We telegraphed her the bad
news. 2 [T] to make (what one is going to do) very easy to
see or discover: He telegraphs his punches.
Telegraph, the -> see DAILY TELEGRAPH
te-leg-ra-pher /tI'legr@f@/ . also te-leg-ra-phist
/tI'legr@fIst/ n a person employed to send and receive
messages by telegraph
tel-e-graph-ese /,tel@gr@'fi:z||-gr@'fi:z/ n [U] a style of
writing used in telegrams, in which unnecessary words are
not included (as in Arriving Wednesday for I am arriving on
Wednesday.)
'telegraph ,pole also 'telegraph ,post BrE || telephone
pole AmE — n a tall wooden pole for supporting telephone
wires -> compare UTILITY POLE
'telegraph ,wire n a wire for carrying telegraphic messages
te-leg-ra-phy /tI'legr@fi/ n [U] tech the sending of messages
by electrical signals
tel-e-ki-ne-sis /,telIkI'ni:sIs, -k@-/ n [U] tech the moving of
solid objects by the power of the mind alone
tel-e-mar-ket-ing /'teli,mA:kItIN||-,mAr-/ n [U] the prac-
tice of telephoning people to find out if they would be
interested in buying something -> compare TELESALES
—telemarketer n
tel-e-mes-sage /'teli,mesIdZ/ trademark a type of TELEGRAM
which is sent by telephone or TELEX through the Post Office
te-lem-e-try /tI'lemItri/ n [U] tech the collection of informa-
tion by a special instrument (a telemeter) that measures
quantities and sends the results by radio to a distant place
tel-e-ol-o-gy /,teli'ol@dZI||-'A:-/ n [U] tech the belief that all
things and events were specially planned to fulfil a purpose
—gist n —gical /,teli@'l@dZIkl||- 'lA:-/ adj —gically /kli/
adv
tel-e-path-ic /,telI'paeTIk/ adj 1 infml able to practise
telepathy: How did you know I was going to say that? You
must be telepathic! 2 of, sent by, or like telepathy: telepathic
messages —ally /kli/ adv
te-lep-a-thy /tI'lep@TI/ n [U] the sending of thoughts, mes-
sages etc, from one person's mind to another's without the
ordinary use of the senses
tel-e-phone^1 /'telIf@Un/ also phone n 1 [C] an apparatus
or system for sending or receiving sound, especially speech,
over long distances by electrical means: If the telephone
rings, can you answer it? | Your mother was on the telephone
earlier. (=she called by telephone) | I spoke to him by
telephone/on the telephone. | Are you on the telephone?
(=have you got one?) | What's your telephone number? | a
threatening telephone call | I'm sure my telephone's being
tapped. 2 [the+S] the part of a telephone into which one
speaks; RECEIVER: I was so angry with him I slammed down
the telephone. 3 [U] AmE a children's game in which a
message is passed from one person to another, so that the
last person to get it usually gets a completely different
message from the original one. This game is called 'Chinese
Whispers' in the UK.
USAGE Telephone can be used as a noun or a verb, and
so can the short form phone. If you want to telephone
your mother (or call her, ring her (up), give her a ring),
you dial her (phone) number which can be found in the
phone book or directory. If it is a long-distance call, you
may have to ask the operator to connect you. The phone
will ring and if your mother is at home she will answer by
picking up the receiver. If she is busy she may ask you to
call back later. If she doesn't want to speak to you, she
may hang up (=replace the receiver). If she is already on
the phone when you call her, her number is engaged
(BrE) || busy (AmE). A telephone in a public place is a
phone box or call box BrE || phone booth AmE.
telephone^2 also phone v [I;T] 1 to speak to (someone) by
telephone or send (a message) by telephone: He telephoned
(his secretary) to say he'd been delayed. | If you telephone your
order to the shop they'll deliver it. 2 to (try to) become
connected with (a place or person) by telephone: I've been
telephoning all morning, but I haven't been able to speak to the
doctor.