1273
shellacking
inhibitions 4 BrE (of a vehicle) to drop (a load of goods) by accident: The road was blocked where a large lorry had shed its load. 5 (of a surface) to keep (a liquid) from entering; REPEL: A duck's back sheds water.
**shed·load** /'ʃedləʊd/ n BrE infml shedloads of sth a lot of something: They've got shedloads of stuff for sale.
**sheen** /ʃiːn/, n [S;U] smooth brightness or shininess of a surface; LUSTRE: Her hair had a beautiful sheen.
**Sheen, Martin** (1940–) an American film and television actor whose films include Badlands, Apocalypse Now, and Wall Street. He played the part of the FICTIONAL president Josiah 'Jed' Bartlett in the television series The West Wing. He is known for his LIBERAL political opinions and he has been ARRESTED several times at protests against US military activities.
**sheep** /ʃiːp/ n pl. **sheep 1** a grass-eating animal that is farmed for its wool and its meat: *a flock (=group) of sheep grazing in a field | sheep farming in Australia* **2** [often pl.] derog someone who is very easily persuaded into doing things, who obeys orders without thinking, or who acts in a particular way because others are doing so **3** **the sheep from the goats** especially BrE those who are good, able, successful etc, from those who are not: *This difficult exam should separate/sort out the sheep from the goats.* → see also **BLACK SHEEP**, **count sheep** (COUNT), **one may as well be hanged for a sheep as a lamb** (HANG)
**CULTURAL NOTE** Sheep are generally considered to be stupid animals that follow each other without thinking about where they are going. People are sometimes called sheep if they do what someone tells them to do without thinking about it first.
**sheep·dip** /'ʃi:p,dɪp/ n [C;U] a chemical (used in a) bath for sheep to kill harmful insects in their wool
**sheep·dog** /'ʃi:pdɒg||-dɔ:g/ n a dog trained to control sheep, often a COLLIE → see also OLD ENGLISH SHEEPDOG
**sheep·ish** /'ʃi:pɪʃ/ adj uncomfortable because one knows one has done something wrong or foolish: *a sheepish smile*
—**ly** adv —**ness** n [U]
**'sheep's ,eyes** n [P] infml a silly look suggesting that one is in love: *He was making sheep's eyes at her.*
**sheep·skin** /'ʃi:p,skɪn/ n [C;U] the skin of a sheep with the wool still on, made into leather: *a sheepskin coat/rug*
**sheer¹** /ʃɪəʳ/ adj **1** [A] pure; unmixed with anything else; nothing but: *He won by sheer luck/determination. | The sheer size of the country (=the simple fact that it is so big) causes tremendous communications problems. | It would be sheer folly to buy such a large car – we wouldn't be able to afford to run it.* **2** very steep; (almost) straight up and down; PERPENDICULAR: *a sheer cliff* **3** very thin, fine, light in weight, and almost transparent: *ladies' sheer stockings*
**sheer²** adv straight up or down: *The mountain rises sheer from the plain.*
**sheer³** v [+adv/prep, especially OFF, AWAY] to turn (as if) to avoid hitting something; change direction quickly: *The boat came close to the rocks and then sheered away.*
**sheet¹** /ʃi:t/ n **1** a large four-sided piece of usually cotton or nylon cloth used in a pair on a bed, one above and one below a person lying in it: *We change the sheets (=put clean ones on the bed) every week.* **2** [(of)] a broad regularly shaped piece of a thin or flat material, such as paper, glass, or metal: *a sheet of glass | They wrapped his fish and chips in a sheet of newspaper. | sheet metal* (=metal in sheets) **3** [(of)] a broad stretch or surface of something thin: *A sheet of ice covered the lake.* **4** [(of) often pl.] a moving or powerful wide mass: *The rain was coming down in sheets. | A sheet of flame blocked his way out of the burning house.* → see also **BALANCE SHEET**, **SPREADSHEET**, **white as a sheet** (WHITE)
**sheet²** n tech a rope or chain controlling the angle between a sail and the wind
**'sheet ,anchor** n **1** a ship's largest ANCHOR, used only in time of danger **2** a person or thing that is a main or only support in time of trouble
**sheet·ing** /'ʃi:tɪŋ/ n [U] (cloth or other material for making) sheets: *cotton sheeting | metal sheeting*
**,sheet 'lightning** n [U] lightning in the form of a sudden flash of brightness that covers the whole sky → compare **FORKED LIGHTNING**, **HEAT LIGHTNING**
**'sheet ,music** n [U] music printed on single sheets and not bound in book form
**Shef·field** /'ʃefi:ld/ a city in South Yorkshire in the north of England, famous for making tools, steel, and CUTLERY (=knives, forks, and spoons), although most of its old industry has now closed down. Sheffield has two universities and two football teams. → see also HILLSBOROUGH
**She-her-a-zade** /ʃə,herə'zɑ:d, -'zɑ:də/ → see SCHEHERA-ZADE
**sheikh, sheik** /ʃeɪk||ʃi:k/ n **1** an Arab chief or prince **2** a Muslim religious leader or teacher
**sheikh·dom, sheikdom** /'ʃeɪkdəm||'ʃɪ:k-/ n a place under the government of a SHEIKH
**Sheikh Mo'hammed** (1949-) the prince of Dubai, whose full name is Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum. He has been the crown prince since 1995, and is famous for owning many successful RACEHORSES in the UK, the US, and France.
**shei·la** /'ʃi:lə/ n slang, especially AustrE a girl
**shek·el** /'ʃekəl/ n the standard unit of money in Israel
**shek·els** /'ʃekəlz/ n [P] humor money
**shel·duck** /'ʃeldʌk/, **shel·drake** /'ʃeldreɪk/ masc. — n a large brightly-coloured European duck
**shelf** /ʃelf/ n pl. **shelves** /ʃelvz/ **1** a flat usually long and narrow board fixed against a wall or in a frame, for putting or storing things on: *I'm putting up some new kitchen shelves. | a bookshelf | supermarket shelves | a product that sold so badly that it wasn't worth the shelf space given to it in the shop* **2** a natural formation shaped like a shelf, especially a narrow surface (LEDGE) of rock underwater → see also CONTINENTAL SHELF **3** **off the shelf** that can be bought at once, without being specially ordered: *off-the-shelf computer software packages* → compare **off the peg** (PEG) **4** **on the shelf** infml **a)** (especially of a woman) not likely to marry, especially because too old **b)** put aside or not used because no one wants it → see also SHELVE
**'shelf life** n [C usually sing.] the length of time a product (especially food, chemicals etc) will last without any reduction in quality, especially while being kept in a shop
**she'll** /ʃɪl/; strong /ʃi:l/ short for she will: *She'll come if she can.*
**shell¹** /ʃel/ n **1** [C;U] (often in comb.) a hard outer covering of a nut, egg, or seed, or of certain types of animal: *a snail/oyster shell | an ornament made of shells (= SEASHELLS)* → see also EGGSHELL, NUTSHELL, SEASHELL, SHELLFISH; see picture at NUT **2** [C] an explosive shaped like a very large bullet, for firing from a large gun: *Shells were bursting all around.* → compare BULLET **3** [C] the outside structure or outer surface of something, especially something whose contents are missing or have been destroyed: *All that remained of the building after the fire was an empty shell. | His grief had left him a mere shell of a man.* **4** **come out of one's shell** infml to stop being nervous or quiet in a social situation and begin to be friendly, willing to talk etc
**shell²** v [T] **1** to remove from a shell or similar natural outer covering, especially a POD: *shelled prawns | He was shelling peas.* **2** to fire SHELLS at: *Our artillery shelled the enemy positions.*
**shell (sthg. ⇔) out** phr v [I;T] infml to pay (money), especially unwillingly: *I've had to shell out (more money) to repair the car again.*
**Shell** trademark a very large international oil company which has many PETROL STATIONS world-wide
**shel·lac** /ʃə'læk, 'ʃelæk||ʃə'læk/ n [U] a thick orange-coloured or transparent alcohol-based liquid used like paint as a shiny protective covering
**shel·lack·ing** /ʃə'lækɪŋ/ n [C usually sing.] AmE infml a severe defeat