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snail's horns obtruded. | The snail obtruded its horns. 2 [(on, upon)] to (cause to) be noticed, especially when unwanted: Unfortunately, in this essay his personal opinions keep obtruding (themselves). → compare EXTRUDE, INTRUDE, PROTRUDE
ob·tru·sive /əb'tru:sɪv/ adj unpleasantly noticeable: rather obtrusive smells /music /behaviour → opposite UNOBTRUSIVE —ly adv —ness n [U]
ob·tuse /əb'tju:s||-'tu:s/ adj 1 fml annoyingly slow in understanding: Is he stupid or is he being deliberately obtuse? 2 (of an angle) between 90 and 180 degrees —ly adv —ness n
ob·verse /'ɒbvɜ:s||'ɑ:bvɜ:rs/ n [the] 1 tech the front side of a coin or MEDAL → opposite REVERSE 2 [(of)] fml a necessary opposite: Defeat is the obverse of victory.
ob·vi·ate /'ɒbvieɪt||'ɑ:b-/ v [T] fml to clear away (a difficulty); make unnecessary: The use of a credit card obviates the need to carry a lot of money.
ob·vi·ous /'ɒbvɪəs||'ɑ:b-/ adj [(to)] easy to see and understand; clear; which must be recognized: There are obvious disadvantages in this plan. | I've got my exams tomorrow, so for obvious reasons I won't be able to come out tonight. | It was obvious to everyone that he was lying. | To say we are disappointed would be stating the obvious. (=saying what is too clear to need saying) —ness n [U]
ob·vi·ous·ly /'ɒbvɪəsli||'ɑ:b-/ adv it can be easily seen (that); plainly: This key is obviously the wrong one. | 'Is she sorry?' 'Obviously not! Look at her.' → compare APPARENTLY, EVIDENTLY
oc·ca·sion¹ /ə'keɪʒən/ n 1 [C] a time when something happens: on several occasions | On that occasion I was not at home. 2 [S(for)] a suitable or favourable time: This is hardly the occasion for a family argument. | You should go there if the occasion (=the chance) arises. 3 [C] a special event or ceremony: The opening of a new school is always a great occasion. | I wear a tie only on special occasions. 4 [S(of)] fml a direct cause or reason: His remark was the occasion of a bitter quarrel. | [+to-v] There was no occasion to be rude. 5 on occasion fml from time to time; occasionally → see also SENSE OF OCCASION, rise to the occasion (RISE¹), CHANCE (USAGE)
occasion² v [T] fml to cause: What occasioned this outburst of temper? | [+obj(i)+obj(d)] Your behaviour has occasioned us a lot of trouble.
oc·ca·sion·al /ə'keɪʒənəl/ adj 1 happening from time to time; not regular: occasional showers | I'm not a heavy drinker, but I like the occasional glass of wine. 2 [A] fml or tech written or intended for a special occasion: occasional poems → see NEVER (USAGE) —ly adv
Oc·ci·dent, the /'ɒksɪdənt||'ɑ:ksɪdənt, -dənt/ old use or humor the western part of the world, especially Europe and the AMERICAS → compare ORIENT, WEST
oc·ci·den·tal /ˌɒksɪ'dentəl||ˌɑ:k-/ n, adj especially fml or lit (sometimes cap.) (a person) of the Occident → compare ORIENTAL
oc·cult /'ɒkʌlt, ə'kʌlt||ə'kʌlt, 'ɑ:kʌlt/ adj magical and mysterious; hidden from the knowledge or understanding of ordinary people: occult powers/ceremonies —occult, the n: She's fascinated by black magic and the occult.
oc·cu·pan·cy /'ɒkjʊpənsi||'ɑ:k-/ n [U] fml the act or period of actually using a building, piece of land, or other space: five years' occupancy | commercial occupancy
oc·cu·pant /'ɒkjʊpənt||'ɑ:k-/ n [(of)] fml 1 a person who lives in a place, though without necessarily owning it: the occupant of the flat upstairs 2 a person who is in a place or space: The car plunged into the river, killing all its occupants.
oc·cu·pa·tion /ˌɒkjʊ'peɪʃən||ˌɑ:k-/ n 1 [C] a job; employment: Please state your name, address, and occupation. → see JOB (USAGE) 2 [C] a way of spending time; PASTIME: Knitting is a peaceful occupation. 3 [U] the act of occupying a place, or the state or period of being occupied, especially of one country occupying another
Occupation, the the period from 1940–44 during World War II, when France was occupied by the German army → see also FREE FRENCH, VICHY
oc·cu·pa·tion·al /ˌɒkjʊ'peʃənəl||ˌɑ:k-/ adj of, about, or caused by one's job: For professional footballers, injuries are an occupational hazard. (=a risk connected with their work) —ly adv
occupational 'therapy n [U] the treatment of illness by giving people special help and special work to do to keep them active while their bodies recover after an illness or accident —pist n
oc·cu·pi·er /'ɒkjʊpaɪə||'ɑ:k-/ n especially BrE a person who occupies a place, especially an OCCUPANT of a house → see also OWNER-OCCUPIER
oc·cu·py /'ɒkjʊpaɪ||'ɑ:k-/ v [T] 1 to move into and hold possession of (a place), e.g. by military force: The workers occupied the factory and refused to leave. | The enemy occupied the town. | an occupying army 2 to fill (a position, space, or time): Writing occupies most of my free time. | The story occupied most of the front page of the paper. 3 [usually pass.] to be in (a place): The house is no longer occupied. | Is that seat occupied? (=is it free?) 4 [(in, with)] to cause to spend time (doing something); keep busy: This game will keep the children occupied. | I occupied myself in writing letters.
oc·cur /ə'kɜ:r/ v -rr- [I] 1 rather fml (especially of unplanned events) to take place; happen: Many accidents occur in the home. | The tragedy occurred only minutes after takeoff. → see HAPPEN (USAGE) 2 [+adv/prep] (especially of something not alive) to be found; exist: That sound doesn't occur in his language so it's difficult for him to pronounce.
occur to sbdy. phr v [T no pass.] (of an idea) to come to (someone's) mind: Didn't it occur to you that he might be late? | The possibility that she might be wrong never even occurred to her. | It suddenly occurred to me that we could use a computer to do the job.
oc·cur·rence /ə'kʌrəns||ə'kɜ:-/ n 1 [C] an event; happening: This sort of incident is an everyday occurrence. 2 [U] the process of happening: the occurrence of violent storms
o·cean /'əʊʃən/ n 1 [(the)U] the great mass of salt water that covers most of the Earth's surface 2 [C] (often cap. as part of a name) any of the great seas into which this mass is divided: the Pacific Ocean 3 oceans of infml a great mass or amount of: oceans of flowers → see also a drop in the ocean (DROP²) —ic /ˌəʊʃi'ænɪk/ adj
o·cean·go·ing /'əʊʃənˌgəʊɪŋ/ also seagoing adj (especially of a ship) built to travel on the sea rather than on rivers or in HARBOURS
o·cean·og·ra·phy /ˌəʊʃən'ɒgrəfi||-'ɑ:g-/ n [U] the scientific study of the ocean —pher n
oc·e·lot /'ɒsəlɒt||'ɑ:səlɑ:t, 'əʊ-/ n a large spotted American wild cat
o·chre || usually ocher AmE /'əʊkə/ n [U] 1 a fine reddish-yellow earth used as a colouring substance in paints 2 the colour of ochre —ochre adj
o'clock /ə'klɒk||ə'klɑ:k/ adv (used with the numbers from 1 to 12 in telling time) exactly the hour stated according to the clock: 'What time is it?' 'It's 9 o'clock.'
In modern English o'clock is used only when saying the exact hour, not an hour and a number of minutes: 9 o'clock, but 5 past 9 (5 after 9 in American English), half past 9 etc.
O ,Come All Ye 'Faithful the title and first words of a popular Christmas CAROL (=a traditional religious song)
O'Con·nell, Daniel /əu'kɒnəl||əu'kɑ:-/ (1775–1847) an Irish politician who forced the government to give rights to Catholics, and worked for an end to the union with Britain
O'Con·nor, Des /əu'kɒnə||əu'kɑ:-, dez/ (1932–) a British singer and television presenter. People sometimes make jokes about him being a bad singer.
O'Connor, San·dra Day /'sændrə deɪ/ (1930–) a US judge who became the first woman member of the SUPREME COURT in 1981.
O'Connor, Si·nead /ʃə'neɪd/ (1966–) an Irish singer, known for her emotional songs and strong opinions. She had several successful records, including Nothing Compares 2 U (1990), before she RETIRED in 2003.
OCR /ˌəʊ si: 'ɑ:r/ n [U] abbrev. for Optical Character Recognition; a process by which a machine can read printed letters