associate professor
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a member of the group of judges in an important US court of law, such as the SUPREME COURT or the COURT OF APPEALS
as,so·ci·ate pro'fessor n a PROFESSOR (=teacher) at an American university who has the lowest rank → compare ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, FULL PROFESSOR
as·so·ci·a·tion /əˌsəsiˈeʃən, əˌsəʊʃi-/ n 1 [C+sing./pl. v] an organization of people joined together for a shared purpose: The Association of Scientific Workers is/are having its/their annual conference next week. | She set up/formed an association to help blind people. → see also HOUSING ASSOCIATION 2 [U] [with]] the act of associating or fact of being associated: Our long association with your company has brought great benefits. | The council is working in association with the police on this. 3 [C|U] (a) connection made in the mind between different things, ideas etc: the association of ideas | Hospitals have rather unpleasant associations for me. → see also FREE ASSOCIATION
As,socia'tion 'football n [U] BrE formal FOOTBALL
as·so·ci·a·tive /əˈsəʊʃətɪv, ɚˈsoʊsiə-/ adj tech reminding you of something else: the brain's ability to form associative links between different things
as·so·nance /ˈæsənəns/ n [U] tech similarity in the sounds of words, especially the vowels of words (e.g. between born and warm)
as·sort /əˈsɔːt||-ɔːrt/ v [T] to divide into different sorts
assort with phr v 1 [T] BrE fml to match; agree with: This does not assort with his earlier statement. 2 to be friendly with (especially bad company): He is known to assort with criminal types.
as·sort·ed /əˈsɔːtɪd||-ɔːr-/ adj 1 of various types mixed together: a bag of assorted sweets 2 fml (in comb.) suited by nature or character; matched: Anne and David are an ill-assorted pair.
as·sort·ment /əˈsɔːtmənt||-ɔːr-/ n [C+sing./pl. v] a group or quantity of mixed things or of various kinds of the same thing; mixture: an assortment of sweets | She has an odd assortment of friends.
asst written abbrev. for ASSISTANT
as·suage /əˈsweɪdʒ/ v [T] fml to make (suffering, desire etc) less strong or severe; RELIEVE: to assuage one's thirst
as·sume /əˈsjuːm||əˈsuːm/ v [T] 1 to believe (something) to be true without actually having proof that it is; suppose: We can't just assume her guilt. | [+that] If he's not here in five minutes, we'll assume (that) he isn't coming. | Assuming (that) you're right about this, what shall we do? | [+obj+to-v] He was with an elderly man and woman, who I assumed were his grandparents. 2 to take or claim for oneself (sometimes without the right to do so); begin to have or use: You will assume your new responsibilities tomorrow. | The army assumed control of the government. 3 to begin to have (a quality or appearance): The problem is beginning to assume massive proportions. 4 to pretend to have; FEIGN: He assumes a well-informed manner but in fact he knows very little. | to write under an assumed name
as·sump·tion /əˈsʌmpʃən/ n 1 [C] something that is taken as a fact or believed to be true without proof: Don't rely on the information she gave you – it's pure assumption (on her part). | The results of the experiment shook the basic assumptions of his theory. | [+that] our mistaken assumption that the price would fall | Let's work on the assumption (=taking it as likely) that our proposal will be accepted. 2 [U|of] the act of assuming: the army's assumption of power
Assumption, The 1 (in the ROMAN CATHOLIC religion) the bodily taking up of the VIRGIN MARY (=Jesus' mother) into heaven 2 the day (15 August) on which this event is celebrated
as·sur·ance /əˈʃʊərəns/ n 1 [C|of, about] a firm statement that something is certainly true or will certainly happen; promise: In spite of all his assurances, he did not come back. | She gave repeated assurances of her loyalty. | [+that] Let me give you my assurance that the work will be finished by the agreed date. 2 [U] confident belief in one's own ability and powers: The new teacher lacked assurance in front of his class. → see also SELF-ASSURED 3 [U] BrE insurance against events that are certain rather than possible: life assurance
as·sure /əˈʃʊər/ v [T] 1 [of] to tell firmly and with confidence with the aim of removing doubt; promise: He assured us of his ability to solve the problem. | [+obj+(that)] I can assure you (that) the medicine is perfectly safe. | You can rest assured (=feel certain) that your son will be happy here. 2 to make (something) certain to happen or be gained; ENSURE: The excellent reviews given to the film have assured its success. 3 [of] to make (someone) feel certain of having or gaining something: We booked early to assure ourselves of (getting) good seats. | Our clients are assured of an enjoyable and trouble-free holiday. 4 BrE to INSURE, especially against death → see INSURE (USAGE)
as·sured¹ /əˈʃʊəd||əˈʃʊərd/ adj 1 also self-assured —confident in one's own abilities: an assured manner 2 having or showing certainty: There is an assured demand for these products. | Her political future looks assured
—ly /əˈʃʊədli/ adv
assured² n pl. assured [the+C] BrE tech a person whose life has been insured (INSURE): On the death of the assured his family will receive a lump sum and an annual income.
As·syr·i·a /əˈsɪəriə/ an ancient country in western Asia, based around the River Tigris in what is now Iraq. Assyria established an EMPIRE that stretched from Egypt to the Persian Gulf, and was most powerful and important between the 9th and 7th centuries BC.
As·syr·i·an /əˈsɪriən/ adj of or about the people or language of Assyria —Assyrians n [the P]
As·taire, Fred /əˈsteər, ˈfred/ (1899–1987) a US dancer, singer, and actor who appeared in many musical films, often dancing with Ginger ROGERS, and who was known for his graceful style of dancing. His most famous film is Top Hat (1935).
as·te·risk /ˈæstərɪsk/ also star n a mark like a star (*) used a) to draw attention to a note at the bottom of a page b) to mark that certain letters are missing from a word c) (tech) to show that a word, phrase, sound etc is incorrect (as in the example 'In English we say three boys, not * three boy.') —asterisk v [T] BrE
As·te·rix /ˈæstərɪks/ the main character in a CARTOON STRIP set in ancient times. Asterix is a short, humorous French soldier with a big MOUSTACHE who fights the ancient Romans with his friend Obelix.
a·stern /əˈstɜːn||-stɜːrn/ adv in or at the back part (STERN) of a ship
as·te·roid /ˈæstərɔɪd/ also minor planet n one of many small PLANETS between Mars and Jupiter
asth·ma /ˈæsmə||ˈæzmə/ n [U] a long-lasting disease which causes difficulty in breathing —tic /æsˈmætɪk||ˈæz-/ n, adj: He is (an) asthmatic. —tically /kli/ adv
as·tig·ma·tism /əˈstɪɡmətɪzəm/ n [U] the inability of the eye to see properly or clearly because of its shape —tic /ˌæstɪɡˈmætɪk/ adj
a·stir /əˈstɜːr/ adj [F] especially lit 1 awake and out of bed: No one was astir so early. 2 [(with)] in a state of excitement: The ship was astir with anxious passengers.
As·ti spu·man·te /ˌæsti spuːˈmænti||-ˈmɑːn-/ trademark a SPARKLING white wine from the town of Asti in Italy, which people sometimes drink instead of CHAMPAGNE when they want to celebrate, because it is cheaper and sweeter
as·ton·ish /əˈstɒnɪʃ||əˈstɑː-/ v [T] to fill with great surprise and perhaps disbelief: She's been promoted again? – you astonish me! | an astonishing piece of news | We were astonished by the news/astonished to hear that he had passed his driving test. —ingly adv
as·ton·ish·ment /əˈstɒnɪʃmənt||əˈstɑːr-/ n [U] great surprise or wonder: To our astonishment he actually arrived on time. | She stared in astonishment at the document.
As·ton Mar·tin /ˌæstɒn mɑːtɪn||-ˈmɑr-/ trademark a type of fast expensive SPORTS CAR made by the British company Aston Martin
Aston 'Villa the name of a British football club based in Birmingham
As·tor, Nan·cy /ˈæstə, ˈnænsi/ (1879–1964) a British politician, born in the US, who was the first woman to take a seat as a member of parliament in the UK
as·tound /əˈstaʊnd/ v [T] to fill with shocked surprise, especially because of something completely unexpected: The news of their divorce astounded me. | an astounding