1121
Purim
bottom of the river 3 [I;T] (in FOOTBALL) to kick a ball that
has been dropped from the hands: He punted the ball forty
yards.
pun-ter /'pʌntə/ n especially BrE 1 someone who punts 2 infml
a person who makes a BET on the result of a horse race 3 infml
the user of a product or service; customer: We've got to cater
for the needs of the punter. 4 BrE infml || john AmE slang — a
PROSTITUTE's customer
pu-ny /'pju:ni/ adj derog small and weak; poorly developed:
puny little arms and legs —ness n [U]
pup1 /pʌp/ n 1 a young SEAL or OTTER 2 a PUPPY → see also
sell someone a pup (SELL)
pup2 v -pp- [I] especially tech to give birth to pups
pu-pa /'pju:pə/ n pl. -pas or -pae /pi:/ (the state or form of)
an insect in the middle stage of its development to a
full-grown form, contained in and protected by a hard or
soft covering → compare CHRYSALIS, COCOON —pal adj: in
the pupal stage
pu-pil1 /'pju:pəl/ n a person, especially a child, who is being
taught: The school has about 500 pupils. | one of my best
pupils → see STUDENT (USAGE)
pupil2 n the small black round opening in the middle of the
coloured part of the eye, through which light passes → see
picture at EYE
pup-pet /'pʌpɪt/ n 1 also
marionette — a toylike
jointed figure of a person or
animal that is made to move
by someone pulling wires or
strings at a theatre perform-
ance (a puppet
show) 2 also glove puppet
— a toylike hollow cloth fig-
ure of a person or animal
moved by putting one's
hand inside it 3 often derog a
person or group that is con-
trolled by someone else: Are
we the puppets of fate? | a
puppet government
pup-pe-teer /pʌpə'tɪə/ n
an entertainer who performs
with puppets
pup-py /'pʌpi/ also pup n 1 a young dog 2 old-fash a foolish
self-important young man
'puppy fat BrE || baby fat AmE — n [U] infml, often euph fatness
in boys and girls that usually disappears as they grow older
'puppy love also calf love — n [U] sometimes derog a young
boy's or girl's love for especially an older person of the
opposite sex, which does not last long or lead to sexual
relations
'pup tent n a tent for two people, with ends shaped like an A
and using poles and ropes to hold it up
pur-blind /'pɜ:blaɪnd||'pɜ:r-/ adj fml or lit dull; stupid
Pur-cell, Henry /'pɜ:səl||'pɜ:r-/ (1659-95) an English COM-
POSER who is remembered especially for his OPERA Dido and
Aeneas
pur-chase1 /'pɜ:tʃɪs||'pɜ:r-/ 1 [T] fml to buy: to secure a
loan to purchase a new car | The purchasing power of the
dollar (=the amount it will buy) has declined. 2 to gain at
the cost of effort or loss: They purchased life at the expense of
honour. —chasable adj —chaser n
purchase2 n 1 [I] fml the act of buying: He gave his son some
money for the purchase of his school books. → see also HIRE
PURCHASE 2 [C often pl.] fml a) an act of buying: She made
several purchases in the dress shop. b) an article that has
just been bought: Do you wish us to deliver your pur-
chases? 3 [S;U] a firm hold for pulling or raising something:
The climber tried to gain a purchase with his foot on a narrow
ledge.
purchase tax n [U] (in Britain) a tax charged on all goods
except those necessary for life, such as food, and collected
by being added to the price in shops (after 1973 changed to
VAT in Britain) → compare SALES TAX
purchasing power n [U] 1 the amount of money that a
person or group has available to spend compared to other
people: Widespread wage rises result in increased purchasing
power. 2 the value of a unit of money considered in terms of
how much you can buy with it: The purchasing power of the
dollar has declined.
pur-dah /'pɜ:də, -də:||'pɜ:r-/ n [U] IndE & PakE (especially
among Muslims) the system of keeping women out of
public view
pure /pjʊə/ adj 1 not mixed with anything else: 'Is this
sweater made of pure wool?' 'No, it's 60% wool and 40%
acrylic.' | pure silver | a horse of pure Arab breed 2 clean;
free from dirt, dust, bacteria, or any harmful matter: The air
by the sea is pure and healthy. | pure drinking water 3 free
from evil, and especially without sexual thoughts or experi-
ence: I'm sure his motives were pure. | a pure young girl 4 (of
colour or sound) clear; unmixed with other colours or
sounds: a cloudless sky of the purest blue 5 [A no comp.] infml
complete; thorough; only: By pure chance/coincidence my
boss was flying on the same plane as me. | The error was due to
carelessness pure and simple. (=only carelessness) 6 [A] (of
an art or branch of study) considered only for its own nature
as a skill or exercise of the mind, separate from any use that
might be made of it: pure science → compare APPLIED; see
also IMPURE, PURELY, PURIFY 7 as pure as the driven snow
very pure in character or moral behaviour, sometimes used
to mean the opposite in conversation: He makes himself out
to be as pure as the driven snow, but some of his dealings have
been, quite simply, dishonest. 8 to the pure all things are
pure saying from the Bible, usually humor people who are sexually
INNOCENT do not understand rude things —ness n [U]
pure-blood-ed /pjʊə'blʌdɪd, ||pjʊər-/ adj descended from
one race with no mixture of other races: pureblooded Native
Americans → compare PEDIGREE (1), THOROUGHBRED
pure-bred /'pjʊəbred||'pjʊər-/ n, adj (an animal) descended
from one breed with no mixture of other breeds: purebred
hens → compare THOROUGHBRED
pu-ree1, purée /'pjʊəreɪ||pjʊ'reɪ/ n [C;U] (often in comb.) food
boiled to a soft half-liquid mass: an apple puree
puree2, purée v [T] to make into a puree: She pureed the
vegetables for the baby.
pure-ly /'pjʊəli||'pjʊəli/ adv completely; wholly; only: I
helped him purely and simply out of friendship. | a decision
that was taken for purely political reasons
pure mathe'matics also pure 'maths BrE infml — n the
science of numbers treated as a subject of interest in its own
right and not originally developed for practical purposes →
compare APPLIED MATHEMATICS
pur-ga-tion /pɜ:'geɪʃən||pɜ:r-/ n [U] fml the act of purging
(PURGE)
pur-ga-tive /'pɜ:gətɪv||'pɜ:r-/ n, adj (a medicine) that causes
the bowels to empty: This fruit often has a purgative effect.
pur-ga-to-ry /'pɜ:gətəri||'pɜ:rgətɔ:ri/ n [U] 1 (often cap.)
(especially according to the Roman Catholic religion) a state
or place in which the soul of a dead person must be made
pure by suffering for wrong-doing on Earth, until it is fit to
enter Heaven → compare LIMBO 2 often humor a place, state,
or time of great suffering: It's purgatory listening to Tim's
attempts to play the guitar. —rial /pɜ:gə'tɔ:riəl, ||pɜ:r-/ adj
purge1 /pɜ:dʒ||pɜ:rdʒ/ v [T] 1 to get rid of (unwanted
people) in (a state, political party etc) by removal from
office, driving out of the country, killing etc: to purge a
political party | [+obj+of] to purge the party of dissidents |
[+obj+from