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growth of hair (a MANE) over its head and shoulders: as brave as a lion | the lion's roar -> see picture at BIG CAT
CULTURAL NOTE People often think about lions as strong, brave, and frightening animals. The lion is sometimes called 'the king of the JUNGLE'. In the UK, the lion is often used on flags and signs to represent the country.
2 a famous and important person: a literary lion 3 in the lion's den (from the story of Daniel in the Bible) in a difficult situation, especially because one is surrounded by people who are not friendly: A job interview can feel like being in the lion's den. -> see also DANIEL 4 the lion's share (of) the greatest part (of); most (of) 5 thrown/tossed to the lions (from the custom in ancient Rome of throwing Christians to lions in an ARENA) left to an unpleasant fate, especially by people who were thought to be friendly: The workers felt they'd been thrown to the lions to save other people's jobs.
Lion n (used as a title for a member of the Lions Club): Contact Lion Jim Cole for details of the forthcoming Lions Club Summer Gala.
Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, The (1950) a children's book by C. S. LEWIS, in which four children enter the imaginary land of NARNIA by walking through a WARDROBE, and have many adventures there. It is the first of the series of books called The Chronicles of Narnia.
lion-hearted adj especially lit very brave
li-on-ize also -ise BrE /'laɪənaz/ v [T] to treat (a person) as important or famous —ization /ˌlaɪənaɪ'zeɪʃn||-nə-/ n [U]
Lions, the /'laɪənz/ n -> see BRITISH LIONS
'Lions Club an international organization whose members work together to help their local areas by doing CHARITY work. Members usually work in PROFESSIONAL jobs, for example as doctors, lawyers, or business people. The organization was started in the US, but there are local clubs in many countries all over the world.
lions' den n a place where there is someone or something that one is frightened of -> see also DANIEL
lip /lɪp/ n 1 [C] a) either of the two edges of the mouth where the skin is delicate and usually redder than the surrounding skin: He kissed her on the lips. | I cut my lip on the cracked glass. | pursed lips b) the ordinary skin around these, especially above the mouth: A small moustache adorned his upper lip. -> see picture at HEAD 2 [C usually sing.] the edge (of a hollow container or opening): the lip of the cup 3 [U] slang rude or arguing talk: I'll have none of your lip, my lad! 4 -lipped /lɪpt/ having lips of the stated type: thick-lipped -> see also STIFF UPPER LIP, TIGHT-LIPPED 5 my lips are sealed I will keep it secret 6 read my lips infml listen very carefully to what I am saying. The phrase was used by George Bush when promising that he would introduce 'no new taxes'.
Li Peng /ˌli: 'pʌŋ/ (1928–) a Chinese politician who was PRIME MINISTER of China from 1987 to 1998
'lip gloss n [C; U] a substance in a small pot used to make the lips look very shiny
lip-id /'lɪpɪd/ n tech any of a class of FATTY substances in living things, such as fat, oil, or WAX
Lip-man, Mau-reen /'lɪpmən, 'mɔ:rɪn/ (1946–) a British actress who often plays humorous characters. Many people remember her as the character Beattie in television advertisements for BT (British Telecom). She has also written several humorous books.
lip-o-suc-tion /'lɪpəʊˌsʌkʃn/ n [U] a way of removing unneeded fat from a person's body by cutting the skin and drawing the fat out by means of SUCTION
lip-py /'lɪpi/ n [C,U] BrE infml LIPSTICK: Wait a minute, I'll just put a bit of lippy on.
lip-read /'lɪp ri:d/ v [I;T] (usually of people who cannot hear) to watch people's lip movements so as to understand (what they are saying) —ing n [U]
'lip service n pay lip service to to support in words, but not in fact; give loyalty, interest etc, in speech, while really thinking the opposite: The government are only paying lip service to the idea of equality for women.
lip-stick /'lɪpˌstɪk/ n [C;U] (a stick-shaped piece of) a substance for brightening the colour of the lips
lip synch /'lɪp sɪŋk/ n [U] the activity of moving the lips at the same time that a recording is being played, to give the appearance that one is talking or singing —lip-synch v [I] They said it was live but I think she was lip-synching from her record.
liq-ue-fy /'lɪkwɪfaɪ/ v [I;T] fml to (cause to) become liquid: Butter liquefies in heat.
li-queur /lɪ'kjʊər||lɪ'kɜ:r/ n any of several types of very strong alcoholic drink, each of which has a special, often sweet or fruity taste, usually drunk in small quantities after a meal -> compare LIQUOR
liq-uid¹ /'lɪkwɪd/ n 1 [C;U] a substance which is not a solid or a gas, which flows, is wet, and has no fixed shape: Water is a liquid. 2 [C] tech either of the consonant sounds /l/ and /r/
liquid² adj 1 (especially of something which is usually solid or gas) in the form of a liquid: liquid soap | liquid oxygen 2 [apprec, especially fml or lit] clear, as if covered in clean water: liquid colours/eyes 3 [apprec, especially fml or lit] (of sounds) clear and flowing, with a pure quality 4 that can easily be exchanged or sold for money (especially in the phrase liquid assets) 5 liquid refreshment pomp or humor drink, especially alcoholic
,liquid 'assets n [P] CASH and other ASSETS that a business has, that can easily be exchanged for money
liq-ui-date /'lɪkwɪdeɪt/ v 1 [T] to get rid of; destroy or kill: The opposition leaders were liquidated on the orders of the dictator: 2 [I;T] a) to close down (a business company), especially when it has too many debts b) (of a company) to close down in this way, especially by going BANKRUPT 3 [T] tech to pay (a debt)
liq-ui-da-tion /ˌlɪkwɪ'deʃn/ n [U] 1 the closing down of a company which can no longer pay its debts. A liquidator sells off all the company's ASSETS and the money is used to pay CREDITORS. 2 the paying of a debt
liq-ui-da-tor /'lɪkwɪdeɪtər/ n an official who ends the trade of a particular business, especially so that its debts can be paid
,liquid 'crystal di'splay n LCD
liq-uid-i-ty /ˌlɪkwɪ'dɪti/ n [U] tech 1 the state of having money in one's possession, or goods that can easily be sold for money 2 the state of being liquid
liq-ui-dize BrE also -ise /'lɪkwɪdaɪz/ v [T] to crush (especially fruit or vegetables) into a liquid-like form
liq-ui-diz-er BrE also -iser /'lɪkwɪdaɪzər/ n BrE for BLENDER
,liquid 'lunch n humor a visit to a PUB or bar to have an alcoholic drink instead of eating food at LUNCH time
liq-uor /'lɪkər/ n [U] 1 AmE strong alcoholic drink, such as WHISKY -> compare LIQUEUR 2 lit or tech alcoholic drink 3 rare, especially BrE the liquid produced from cooked food, such as the juice from meat
liq-uo-rice, licorice /'lɪkərɪs, -rɪʃ/ n 1 [U] a black substance produced from the root of a plant, used in medicine and sweets 2 [C;U] a sweet or sweets made from this
liquorice all-sorts /ˌlɪkərɪs 'ɔ:lsɔ:ts, -rɪʃ-||'ɔ:sɔ:rts/ n [P] a mixture of different-shaped brightly coloured sweets containing liquorice
lir-a /'lɪrə/ n pl. lire /'lɪreɪ/ or liras 1 the standard unit of money used in Italy before the introduction of the Euro in 2002 2 the unit of money in Turkey and Syria; the Turkish and Syrian POUND
Lis-bon /'lɪzbən/ the capital city and main port of Portugal, which has a large university and a CATHEDRAL
lisle /laɪl/ n [U] cotton material, used in the past for GLOVES and STOCKINGS
lisp¹ /lɪsp/ v [I;T] to speak or say unclearly, pronouncing 's'-sounds as /θ/ —ingly adv
lisp² n [S] the habit of lisping: She speaks with a lisp.
lis-som, lissome /'lɪsəm/ adj lit apprec (especially of a woman or her body) thin and graceful in shape and movement —ly adv —ness n [U]
list¹ /lɪst/ n [(of)] a set of words, names, numbers etc, usually written one below the other, so that one can remember