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convention
contrivance for milking cows 2 [C usually pl.] a clever, often deceitful, plan; SCHEME 3 [U(oft)] the act of contriving or ability to invent
con·trive /kən'traɪv/ v [T] 1 to cause (something) to happen in accordance with your plans or in spite of difficulty: She somehow contrived a meeting with the Queen. | [+to-v] After a lot of difficulty I contrived to attract the President's attention. 2 to make or invent in a clever way, especially because of a sudden need: She contrived a party dress from an old piece of material. | I'm sure you'll contrive some way of dealing with the situation.
con·trived /kən'traɪvd/ adj unnatural and forced: I quite liked the story, but I thought the ending was rather contrived.
con·trol¹ /kən'trəʊl/ v -ll- [T] 1 to have a directing influence over; fix or limit the amount, degree, or rate of; REGULATE: The pressure of steam in the engine is controlled by this button. | Try to control yourself/your temper! | officially controlled prices | computer-controlled production 2 to have power over; rule: At that time the Romans controlled a vast empire. | a bad teacher who couldn't control his class | state-controlled media | The government has a controlling stake in this company. (=owns more than 50% of it) 3 tech to test (especially a scientific study) by comparison with a chosen standard: a controlled experiment
control² n 1 [U(of, over)] the power to command, influence, or direct: Which party has control of the Congress? | George took/gained control of the business after his father died. | I lost control (of myself) and hit him. | You have no control over that dog. | in full control of the situation | The Vice-President is now in control. (=in command or in charge) | The government has been overthrown and the country is now in/under the control of the military. | The car went out of control and crashed. → see also SELF-CONTROL 2 [C;U{of, over}] (a method or system used for) the fixing or limiting of the amount, degree, or rate of an activity; act of controlling: The government has imposed strict controls on/over the import of luxury goods. | wage/price controls | an arms control agreement between the superpowers | tough methods of crowd-control 3 [C] also controls pl. — the place from which, or means by which, a machine, system etc is controlled: The co-pilot is at the controls/at the control panel. | the control tower of an airport | passport control | the volume control of a radio/TV → see also REMOTE CONTROL 4 [U+sing/pl, v] the people who are in control of an activity or operation: ground control (=at an airport) | air-traffic control | Mission control has/have lost contact with the space shuttle. 5 [C] tech something used as a standard against which the results of a (scientific) study can be measured: We used the new fertilizer on 100 plants and compared their growth with that of a control group of plants that had not been treated. 6 [C] tech (in SPIRITUALISM) the dead person who guides a MEDIUM 7 under control working properly, especially after being in a dangerous or confused state; controlled in the correct way: It took the new teacher months to bring her class under control. | Don't worry - everything is under control. | They soon brought/had the fire under control. → see also BIRTH CONTROL
con'trol ,freak n derog infml a person who cannot prevent himself/herself from trying to control situations and other people
con'trolled ,school n a British VOLUNTARY school for which the local education authority is financially responsible, and whose managers do not have control over religious education → see also AIDED SCHOOL, VOLUNTARY SCHOOL
con·trol·ler /kən'trəʊlə(r)/ n 1 a person who directs something: air-traffic controllers 2 also comptroller fml — a government official responsible for money matters
con·tro·ver·sial /ˌkɒntrə'vɜːʃəl,ˌkɑntrə'vɜːrʃəl/ adj causing much argument or disagreement: a controversial speech/decision/politician/book —ly adv
con·tro·ver·sy /'kɒntrəvɜːsi, kən'trɒvəsi||'kɑːntrəvɜːrsi/ n [C;U (about, over)] (a) fierce argument or disagreement about something, especially one that is carried on in public over a long period: The lie detector tests have been the subject of much controversy. | recent controversies surrounding his appointment to the Cabinet
con·tume·ly /'kɒntju:mli, -tju:mli||kən'tu:mli/ n [C;U] fml (an example of) disrespectful and offensive behaviour or language
con·tuse /kən'tju:z||-'tu:z/ v [T] med for BRUISE
con·tu·sion /kən'tju:ʒən||'tu:-/ n [C;U] med a BRUISE or bruising
co·nun·drum /kə'nʌndrəm/ n 1 a trick question asked for fun; RIDDLE 2 a confusing and difficult problem
con·ur·ba·tion /ˌkɒnɜː(r)'beɪʃn,ˌkɑnɜːr-/ n a group of towns that have spread and joined together to form an area of high population often with a large city as its centre
con·va·lesce /ˌkɒnvə'lese||ˌkɑːn-/ v [I] to spend time getting well after an illness: He was sent to a nursing home in the country to convalesce.
con·va·les·cence /ˌkɒnvə'lesəns||ˌkɑːn-/ n [S;U] the length of time a person spends getting well after an illness: a long (period of) convalescence
con·va·les·cent /ˌkɒnvə'lesənt||ˌkɑːn-/ adj, n (for or being) a person spending time getting well after an illness: She's still a convalescent. | a convalescent nursing home
con·vec·tion /kən'vekʃən/ n [U] the movement in a gas or liquid caused by warm gas or liquid rising and cold gas or liquid sinking: a convection heater | Warm air rises by convection.
con·vec·tor /kən'vektər/ n a heating apparatus in which air becomes hot by passing over hot surfaces and then moves about an enclosed space, room etc by convection
con·vene /kən'vi:n/ v fml 1 [I] (of a group of people, a committee etc) to meet; come together, especially for a formal meeting: The President's foreign policy advisers convened for an emergency session. 2 [T] to call (a group of people, committee etc) to meet: He's convened (a meeting of) the council to discuss the campaign.
con·ven·er, -or /kən'vi:nər/ n BrE a member of a committee etc whose duty is to call meetings
con·ve·ni·ence /kən'vi:niəns/ n 1 [U] the quality of being convenient; suitableness for a particular purpose, situation etc: We bought this house for its convenience: it's very near the shops and there is a good transport service. | For the sake of convenience, the library books are separated into different categories. 2 [C] an apparatus, service etc which gives comfort or advantage to its user: This house has all the latest conveniences. 3 [U] fml personal comfort or advantage: He thinks only of his own convenience. | Please come at your (earliest) convenience. (=as soon as it is convenient for you) | The arrangement suits his convenience very well. | Theirs was a marriage of convenience. (=they married for convenience, and not because they were in love) 4 [C] BrE a PUBLIC CONVENIENCE → see also FLAG OF CONVENIENCE; see TOILET (USAGE)
convenience food n [C;U] food which is easy to prepare and can be used at any time, e.g. tinned or frozen food
convenience food ,store also convenience store n especially AmE a shop where you can buy food, magazines etc, that is often open 24 hours a day
con·ve·ni·ent /kən'vi:niənt/ adj 1 [(for, to)] suited to your needs or to the situation; not causing any difficulty: Will three o'clock be convenient for you? | I'm afraid this isn't a very convenient moment to see you. | They met in a mutually convenient place. (=suited to both their needs) | For the government, the transport strike is politically convenient because it distracts people's attention from wider problems. 2 [(for)] near; easy to reach: Our house is very convenient for the shops. → see also INCONVENIENT —ly adv: conveniently situated in a quiet suburb
con·vent /'kƆnvnt||'kɑ:rvənt/ n a building or set of buildings in which NUNS live: She entered a convent (=began to live there) at the age of 16. → compare MONASTERY; see also CONVENT SCHOOL
con·ven·tion /kən'venʃən/ n 1 [C;U] (an example of) generally accepted practice, especially with regard to social behaviour: It is a matter of convention that businessmen should wear suits. | the conventions of the modern novel | a long-standing convention → see HABIT (USAGE) 2 [C] (a meeting of) a group of people gathered together with a shared purpose: a teachers' convention