185
caffeine
ca·boose /kə'bu:s/ n AmE for GUARD'S VAN
Cab·ot, John /'kæbət/ (1450-98) an Italian sailor and
EXPLORER who worked for the English king Henry VII, and
who reached the coast of North America in 1497
'cab rank also cabstand n AmE for TAXI RANK
Ca·bri·ni, St Fran·ces Xa·vier /kæ'brɪni, 'frɑ:nsəs
'zeɪviə||'fræn-/ (1850-1917) also known as Mother Cabrini; a
Roman Catholic NUN (=a member of a group of religious
women), who was born in Italy but lived in the US, and who
built schools, hospitals, and CONVENTS (=buildings where
nuns live) in many US cities. She became the first US citizen
to be named a SAINT. Many churches and other institutions
are named after her.
cab·ri·o·let /'kæbriəleɪl,kæbriə'leɪ/ n a CONVERTIBLE²
cab·stand /'kæbstænd/ n AmE for TAXI RANK
ca·cao /kə'kaʊ/ n [U] (the tropical tree which produces) a
seed from which COCOA and chocolate are made
cac·cia·to·re /ˌkætʃə'tɔ:rɪl,kɑ:tʃ-/ adj [after n] AmE (of meat)
cooked with TOMATOES, MUSHROOMS and HERBS: chicken
cacciatore
cache /kæʃ/ n [(ø)] a secret store of things, or the place
where they are hidden: Police discovered a cache of weapons
in the terrorists' hide-out.
cach·et /'kæʃeɪ||kæ'ʃeɪ/ n [U] something that brings respect;
PRESTIGE: He gets a lot of cachet from having such a famous
sister.
cack·hand·ed /ˌkæk 'hændɪd/ adj BrE infml awkward and
unskilful; CLUMSY
cack·le¹ /'kækəl/ v [i] 1 to make the noise that a hen
makes, especially after laying an egg 2 to laugh or talk
unpleasantly with henlike sounds: old ladies cackling over
the latest scandal —ler n
cackle² n 1 the sound of cackling, especially a short high
laugh: cackles of amusement 2 cut the cackle BrE slang to
stop talking when important action needs to be taken
ca·coph·o·ny /kə'kɒfəni||kə'kɑ:f-/ n [S] an unpleasant mix-
ture of loud sounds —nous adj
cac·tus /'kæktəs/ n pl.
-tuses or -ti /taɪ/ a desert
plant protected by sharp
points (PRICKLES), with thick
fleshy stems and leaves
cad /kæd/ n old-fash derog a
man who behaves dishon-
ourably: You cheated, you
cad! —dish adj
CAD /ˌsi: eɪ 'di:, kæd/ n [U]
abbrev. for computer-aided
design; the use of COMPUTER
GRAPHICS to plan cars, air-
craft, buildings etc
ca·dav·er /kə'dævər,
kə'deɪ-||kə'dæ-/ n especially
med a dead human body
ca·dav·er·ous
/kə'dævərəs/ adj fml looking
like a dead body; very pale; thin and unhealthy: his hollow
cadaverous cheeks
Cad·bu·ry /'kædbəri/ trademark a British company that makes
many different chocolate products: a box of Cadbury's Milk
Tray chocolates
CAD/CAM /'kædkæm/ n [U] abbrev. for computer-aided design
and manufacture; the use of computers to plan and make
industrial products
cad·die, caddy /'kædi/ n a person who carries GOLF CLUBS
for someone else who is playing —caddie v [(for)]
cad·dy /'kædi/ n 1 a TEA CADDY 2 caddie
Caddy n an informal name for a CADILLAC
ca·dence /'keɪdəns/ n 1 a) a regular beat of sound;
RHYTHM b) a set of CHORDS at the end of a phrase of
music 2 the rise and fall of the human voice, especially in
reading poetry
ca·den·za /kə'denzə/ n tech a part of a piece of music,
especially a CONCERTO that is very decorative and is played
by a single musician
ca·det /kə'det/ n 1 a person being trained to become an
officer in one of the armed forces or the police 2 a member
of a cadet corps
ca'det corps n pl. cadet corps [C+sing./pl. v] an organization
which gives simple military training to pupils in some
British schools
cadge /kædʒ/ v [i;T(from, off, for)] infml derog to get or try to get
(something) by asking, especially taking advantage of other
people's generosity: He's always cadging cigarettes (from/off
me). | a dog cadging for scraps —cadger n
a 1960s Cadillac
Cad·il·lac /'kædɪlæk -dəl-/ 1 trademark also Caddy infml a very
expensive and comfortable car made by an American com-
pany 2 AmE infml something that is regarded as the highest
quality example of a particular type of product; Rolls-Royce
BrE: the Cadillac of stereo systems
cad·mi·um /'kædmiəm/ n [U] a soft bluish-white metal that
is a simple substance (ELEMENT)
ca·dre /'kɑ:dər, -drə, 'keɪdrə||'kædri, 'kɑ:drə/ n 1 [+sing./pl.
v] an inner group of highly trained and active people in a
political party or military force 2 a member of such a group
Caer·nar·fon, Caernarvon /kə'naɪərn||kaɪr'naɪrn-/ a
small town in northwest Wales, known for its castle where
the British king or queen's oldest son is given the official royal
title Prince of Wales. Prince Charles's INVESTITURE (=ceremony
for receiving this title) took place there in 1969.
Caer·phil·ly /kə'fɪli||kaɪr-/ n [U] a type of white cheese that
does not have a strong taste, originally made in Caerphilly
in South Wales
Cae·sar, Ju·li·us /'si:zər, 'dʒu:liəs/ (100-44 BC) a Roman
politician, military leader, and writer, who took control of
the government of Rome and changed it from a REPUBLIC to
an EMPIRE, making himself the first Roman emperor. For this
reason, he was murdered by Brutus and Cassius, and Shake-
speare wrote a play called Julius Caesar which describes these
events. He is also known as the first Roman leader to attack
Britain.
cae·sar·e·an, ce-, -ian /sɪ'zɛəriən/ also cae,sarean
'section, C-section fml— n an operation in which a
woman's body is cut open to allow a baby to be taken out,
when an ordinary birth may be difficult: Our first baby was
born by caesarean.
Caesar 'salad n [C,U] a type of cold food consisting of
LETTUCE with CROUTONS, and sometimes also boiled eggs,
covered in a special SALAD DRESSING
cae·si·um BrE || cesium AmE /'si:ziəm/ n [U] a soft silver-
white metal that is used in PHOTOELECTRIC CELLS. It is a
chemical ELEMENT: symbol Cs
cae·su·ra /sɪ'zjʊərə, sɪ'zʊərəl sɪ'zʊərə/ n a pause in the
middle of a line of poetry
caf·e, café /'kæfeɪ||kæ'feɪ, kə-/ n a small restaurant where
light meals and drinks (in Britain only nonalcoholic drinks)
are served. Cafes are used by people looking for a cheap
meal or drink or somewhere to pass some time → compare
RESTAURANT, COFFEE SHOP
caf·e·te·ri·a /ˌkæfɪ'tɪəriə/ n a restaurant where people col-
lect their own food and drink and carry it to the tables,
often in a shop, factory, college etc → compare CANTEEN
caf·e·tiere /ˌkæfə'tjeər/ n a special pot for making coffee. It
has a metal FILTER which pushes the coffee GROUNDS to the
bottom of the pot.
caff /kæf/ n [C] informal BrE a CAFE
caf·feine /'kæfi:n||kæ'fi:n/ n [U] a drug found in coffee and
tea, which acts as a STIMULANT (=something which makes