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stark
DIRECTOR who developed a new way of acting, called
METHOD ACTING. This involves actors using their own emo-
tions and remembering their own experiences so that they
feel as if they really become the character they are playing.
stank /stæŋk/ past tense of STINK
Stan-ley, Henry Morton /'stænli/ (1841-1904) a British
EXPLORER (=someone who travels to places that have not
been visited before). In 1871 he was sent by a US newspaper
to find David LIVINGSTONE in Africa, and is famous for saying
'Dr Livingstone, I presume' when he found him. People
sometimes say this as a joke when they meet someone.
Stanley, Port → see PORT STANLEY
Stanley 'Cup, the a prize given to the winner of the
National Hockey League, which is made up of the highest
level of professional ICE HOCKEY teams from Canada and the
US
Stanley knife BrE trademark a very sharp knife with a small
TRIANGULAR blade, used in activities such as decorating and
WOODWORK → AmE EXACTO KNIFE
Stan-sted /'stænstɛd/ one of the four international airports
serving London. The other three are Heathrow, Gatwick,
and London City Airport. Stansted is in Essex, 30 miles
northeast of London.
Stan-ton, E-liz-a-beth Ca-dy /'stæntən, ɪ'lɪzəbəθ
'kædi/ (1815-1902) a US woman who was one of the leaders of
a group that worked to get the law changed so that women
would be allowed to vote. She and her husband, Henry
Stanton, also wanted to end SLAVERY in the US. → see also
ANTHONY, SUSAN B.
stan-za /'stænzə/ n a group of lines in a repeating pattern
forming a division of a poem: the third stanza
staph-y-lo-coc-cus /ˌstæfɪlə'kɒkəs||-'kɑːk-/ n· pl. -ci
/kaɪ/ a bacterium that causes infection of wounds, especially
in hospitals
sta-ple¹ /'steɪpəl/ n 1 a small piece of thin wire with two
square corners which is driven into sheets of paper etc, and
bent over on the other side to hold them together → see
also STAPLER 2 a small U-shaped piece of strong wire with
pointed ends which is hammered in to hold something in
place
staple² v [T] to fasten with staples: He stapled the papers
together.
staple³ adj [A] 1 forming the main part; BASIC: Oil is Niger-
ia's staple export. | These people live on a staple diet of rice
and vegetables. | (fig.) television's staple diet of soap operas and
quiz shows 2 used all the time; usual: He came out with his
staple excuse, which was that he was too busy.
staple⁴ n [usually pl.] 1 a food that is used and needed in the
house all the time: Don't forget staples like sugar and salt
when you go to the shops. 2 tech a main product that is
produced or sold: Bananas and sugar are the staples of
Jamaica.
sta-pler /'steɪplər/ n a usually small hand tool for driving
staples into paper
star¹ /stɑːr/ n 1 [C] a very large mass of burning gas in
space, especially one that can be seen as a small bright point
of light in a clear sky at night: When it is dark, the stars come
out. (=can be seen) | a science-fiction film about travelling to
distant stars | Our sun is a star. | stars twinkling in the
heavens → see also FALLING STAR, FIXED STAR, SHOOTING
STAR, STARRY 2 [C] a) a shape with five or more points
that is supposed to represent a star b) a piece of metal in
this shape for wearing as a mark of office, rank, honour etc:
a four-star general c) a sign in this shape used with
numbers usually from one to five in various systems, to
judge standards or quality. In Britain, stars are given to good
hotels, from one star, which is the cheapest, up to five stars,
which is the most comfortable and most expensive: The
guidebook awards this hotel three stars. d) an ASTER-
ISK 3 [C] a) a famous or very skilful performer: She wanted
to be a Hollywood (film) star. | a young actress with star
quality | a football star b) the main performer in a film,
play etc → see also ALL-STAR, CO-STAR, SUPERSTAR 4 [C
usually pl.] a PLANET or sign of the ZODIAC regarded as deciding
one's fate: She was born under an unlucky star. | He always
reads the 'What Your Stars Foretell' column in the daily
paper. 5 [S] fml or lit a person's fame or chance of getting it:
Her star seems very much in the ascendant. (=she is becoming
successful) | His star has set/is on the wane and people have
begun to forget him. → see also STARRY-EYED, reach for the
stars (REACH), see stars (SEE), thank one's lucky stars
(THANK) 6 star in the East the star which, according to the
Bible, appeared in the sky when Jesus was born, to show the
way to the place of his birth →less adj
star² v -rr- 1 [T] to have as a main performer; FEATURE:
Tonight we're showing the film 'Limelight', starring Charlie
Chaplin. 2 [I(in)] to appear as a main performer: Humphrey
Bogart starred in a lot of very good films. | She has a starring
role in a new TV show. 3 [T] to mark with one or more stars
(ASTERISKS): In the list the starred questions are the most
difficult.
star-board /'stɑːbɔːd||'stɑːrbərd/ n [U] the right side of a
ship or aircraft as one faces forward → compare PORT
Star-bucks /'stɑːbks||'stɑr-/ trademark a US company that
owns a chain of coffee shops selling good quality coffee.
Many cities in the US, the UK, and East Asia have a
Starbucks.
starch¹ /stɑːtʃ||stɑːrtʃ/ n 1 [U] a white tasteless substance
forming an important part of foods such as grain, rice,
beans, and potatoes 2 [C;U] (a) food containing this: You're
getting too fat; you should avoid sugars and starches. 3 [U] a
product made from this, usually in powder form, for stiffen-
ing cloth
starch² v [T] to stiffen with STARCH: starched tablecloths/
collars
'star ,chamber n sometimes derog (often caps.) 1 a court or
similar body that deals with cases in secret and gives severe
judgments 2 (in Britain) a group of ministers who decide
how much money a government department will be
allowed to spend if that department cannot reach agree-
ment with the Treasury
starch·y /'stɑːtʃi||'stɑːr-/ adj 1 like or full of starch: starchy
foods 2 infml stiffly correct and formal in one's manner;
STUFFY —ily adv
,star-crossed 'lovers n [P] lit unlucky lovers who are
unable to be together because of particular events or situa-
tions. The most famous star-crossed lovers are Romeo and
Juliet. → see ROMEO AND JULIET
star-dom /'stɑːdəm||'stɑːr-/ n [U] the state of being a very
famous performer: After her amazing performance in the film
she shot to stardom.
star-dust /'stɑːdʌst||'stɑːr-/ n [U] lit an imaginary substance
consisting of shiny dust that has magical qualities
stare¹ /steər/ v [I] 1 [(at)] to look steadily for a long time, e.g.
in great surprise or shock: He sat staring into space, thinking
deeply. | She stared at the letter in disbelief. 2 [+adv/prep] to be
very plain to see: The lies in the report were so obvious; they
stared out at us from every paragraph. 3 stare someone in
the face a) to be very easily seen; be too clear to miss: I'd
spent ages looking for the key, and there it was staring me in
the face all the time. | (fig.) The solution is staring us in the face
(=is very clear); we must borrow from the bank. b) (of
something bad) to be about to happen to someone: At 2-0
down with a minute to go, defeat was staring us in the face. →
see GAZE (USAGE)
stare sbdy. ⇔ out BrE || stare sbdy. ⇔ down AmE — phr v
[T] to force to look away under the power of a long steady
look
stare² n an act or way of staring; long steady look: a beautiful
girl who always gets admiring stares from men | a
disbelieving/incredulous stare
star-fish /'stɑː.fɪʃ||'stɑːr-/ n pl. -fish or -fishes a flat sea
animal with five arms forming a star shape, and a mouth
and rows of tube feet on the lower surface
star-gaz-er /'stɑːˌgeɪzər||'stɑːr-/ n 1 often humor a) some-
one who practises ASTRONOMY b) an ASTROLOGER 2 some-
one who spends time thinking about impractical ideas
instead of giving attention to their present activities —ing
n [U]
stark¹ /stɑːk||stɑːrk/ adj 1 hard, bare, or severe in appear-
ance, without any pleasant or decorative additions: The
stark jagged rocks were silhouetted against the sky. | (fig.) The
film vividly shows the stark realities of life for the poor and
hungry. 2 [A] complete; UTTER: The dead man's eyes were