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choke
hit¹ /tʃɪt/ n a short letter, especially a signed note showing
money owed or paid: He'd brought a chit from the manager
entitling him to collect the goods.
hit² n old-fash infml, often derog a spirited and usually disrespect-
ful young woman: a chit of a girl
hit-chat /'tʃɪt-tʃæt/ n [U] infml informal light conversation
or GOSSIP —chitchat v [I] -tt-
hit-ter-lings /'tʃɪtəlŋz||-ər-/ also chit-lings /'tʃɪtlɪŋz/,
chit-lins /'tʃɪtlɪnz/ n [P] especially AmE the INTESTINES of a
pig eaten as food. These are one of the foods regarded as
SOUL FOOD by African Americans.
hiv-al-rous /'ʃɪvəlʀəs/ adj (especially of men) showing
bravery, honour, generosity, and good manners, especially
to women: A chivalrous old gentleman opened the door for
her. —ly adv
hiv-al-ry /'ʃɪvəlʀi/ n [U] 1 (in the MIDDLE AGES) the beliefs
or practices of noble soldiers (KNIGHTS) as a group 2 the
qualities (such as bravery, honour, generosity, and kindness
to the weak and poor) which this system aimed at develop-
ing 3 the age of chivalry is dead/gone men no longer
behave in the old gentle polite way towards women. Some-
times if a man opens a door, for example, for a lady,
someone may say approvingly or jokingly, 'You see, the age
of chivalry is not dead.'
hives /'haɪvz/ n [P] a plant related to the onion, with
narrow grasslike leaves used for giving a special taste to food
hiv-y, chivvy /'tʃɪvi/ v [T(UP, ALONG)] infml to urge (someone)
to do something or to hurry, especially in an annoying way:
I'll have to chivy the children up/along, otherwise they'll be
late for school. | [+obj+to-v] She chivied him to help her with all
the paperwork.
hloe, Chlöe /'kləʊi/ → see DAPHNIS AND CHLOE
hlo-ride /'klɔːraɪd/ n [C;U] a chemical compound that is a
mixture of chlorine with another substance, often used for
cleaning and disinfecting: sodium chloride
hlo-ri-nate /'klɔːʀɪneɪt/ v [T] to disinfect by putting in
chlorine: Water is usually chlorinated in public swimming
pools to keep it pure. | chlorinated water —nation
/ˌklɔːɪ'neɪən/ n [U]
hlo-rine /'klɔːriːn/ n [U] a greenish-yellow strong-smelling
gas that is a simple substance (ELEMENT) and is found in many
chemical compounds. It is usually added to the water in
public swimming pools to help to keep it clean.
hlo-ro-fluo-ro-car-bon /ˌklɔːrəfluːərəʊ'kɑːbən||-'kɑːr-/
n → see CFC
hlor-o-form¹ /'klɔːrəfɔːm, 'klɔː-||'klɔːəfɔːm/ n [U] a col-
ourless strong-smelling poisonous chemical used as an ANAES-
THETIC (=a substance that makes people unable to feel
anything)
hloroform² v [T] to make unconscious with chloroform:
The kidnappers tied him up and then chloroformed him.
hlo-ro-phyll /'klɔːrəfɪl, 'klɔː-||'klɔː-/ n [U] the green-
coloured substance in the stems and leaves of plants
hoc /tʃɒk||tʃɑːk, tʃɔːk/ also choc-cy /'tʃɒkɪl||'tʃɑː-, 'tʃɔː-/
n [usually pl.] BrE infml a CHOCOLATE: a box of chocs
hoc-a-hol-ic /ˌtʃɒkə'hɒlɪk||ˌtʃɑːkə'hɑː-, ˌtʃɔk-/ n a
CHOCOHOLIC
hoc-ice BrE || ice cream bar AmE — n a brick-shaped
piece of ice cream with a covering of chocolate
hock¹ /tʃɒk||tʃɑːk/ n a shaped piece of wood placed under a
door, boat, barrel, or wheel to prevent it from moving;
WEDGE. When an aircraft or other vehicle is ready to start
moving, people sometimes shout 'Chocks away!', meaning
'remove the chocks'.
hock² v [T(UP)] to hold in place or support with a chock
hock-a-block /ˌtʃɒk ə 'blɒk||ˈtʃɑːk ə ˌblɑːk/ adj, adv
[F(with)] infml very crowded; packed tightly: The road was
chock-a-block with cars again today.
hock-'full adj [F (of)] infml completely full: The train was
chock-full of tourists.
hoc-o-hol-ic, chocaholic /ˌtʃɒkə'hɒlɪk||tʃɑːkə'hɑː-,
ˌtʃɔk-/ n a person who cannot control the urge to eat
chocolate
coco-late¹ /'tʃɒk-lɪt||'tʃɑːk-lɪt, 'tʃɔːk-/ n 1 [U] a solid
sweet usually brown substance made by crushing the cooked
seeds of a tropical American tree (CACAO), eaten as a sweet.
The EU does not think that British chocolate is real choco-
late, because it does not contain enough COCOA fat: a
piece/bar of chocolate | chocolate cake | chocolate bis-
cuits 2 [C] also choc, choccy BrE infml — a small sweet made
by covering a centre, such as a nut, with this substance: a
half-pound box of chocolates | liqueur chocolates → see also
CHOCOLATES 3 [C;U] (a cupful of) a drink made from hot
milk or water mixed with powder made from this substance:
a mug of hot chocolate → compare COCOA; see also MILK
CHOCOLATE, PLAIN CHOCOLATE
chocolate² adj of a variable usually brownish grey colour
—chocolate n [U]
'chocolate box n a colourful attractive box in which
chocolates are sold
chocolate-box adj [A] BrE derog pretty or SENTIMENTAL in the
way that pictures on a box of chocolates sometimes are: a
chocolate-box scene —chocolate-boxy, chocolate-boxey
adj: I didn't like the cottage much — too chocolate-boxy for my
taste.
,chocolate chip 'cookie n AmE a sweet BISCUIT containing
bits of chocolate. Chocolate chip cookies are one of Ameri-
cans' favourite sweets. They are often baked at home, or are
freshly baked by small stores.
,chocolate 'milk n [U] milk which is mixed with chocolate
powder
choco-lates /'tʃɒkləts||'tʃɑːkəlɪts, 'tʃɔk-/ n [P] a box
containing CHOCOLATES: I gave her some chocolates as a small
thank-you.
Choc-taw /'tʃɒktɔː||'tʃɑːk-/ n 1 the Choctaw [P] a Native
American tribe from the southeastern US 2 [C] a member of
this tribe → see Cultural Note at NATIVE AMERICAN
—Choctaw adj: the chief of the Choctaw tribe
choice¹ /tʃɔɪs/ n 1 [C[between]] an act of choosing or a
chance to choose: Candidates for the degree were offered/
given a choice between a thesis and an exam. | I'm confident
that we made a good choice/the right choice. | I didn't have to
work all weekend – I did it by choice. | Those who come early
to the sale get first choice. | a difficult choice 2 [C(for, as)] a
person or thing chosen: He was a very good choice as
chairman. | Italy was our second choice – all the flights to
Greece were booked up. | You can have whichever you want –
take your choice. 3 [U[between]] the power or right to
choose: Philosophers disagree about whether we have free
choice/freedom of choice. | We had no choice but to accept the
majority decision. 4 [C[of]] a variety from which to choose:
There is a wide choice of software available for this model. →
see also CHOOSE, HOBSON'S CHOICE
choice² adj 1 fml (especially of food) of high quality: choice
apples 2 belonging to a standard of meat in the US, set by
the FDA: choice steak 3 lit or humor (of language) well chosen:
She told him what she thought of him in a few choice (=suit-
ably angry) phrases. —ly adv —ness n [U]
choir /kwaɪə/ n 1 [+sing./pl. v] a group of people who sing
together, for example at school or during religious services:
The church choir is/are singing tonight. → see also CHORAL
SOCIETY 2 [C usually sing.] the part of a church where these
people sit: The choir dates from the 14th century.
choir-boy /'kwaɪəbɔɪl-ər-/ n a boy who sings in a church
choir → compare CHORISTER
'choir loft n especially AmE a raised area, often at the front of a
church, where the choir sits
choir-mas-ter /'kwaɪəˌmɑstə ||-ərˌmæ-/ n the director of a
choir
'choir school n a school for choirboys, connected with a
church
choke¹ /tʃəʊk/ v 1 [I;T] to (cause to) have great difficulty in
breathing or stop breathing because of blocking of or dam-
age to the breathing passages: He almost choked to death on a
fish bone. | She choked with laughter/fury. | (fig.) plants choked
by weeds 2 [T(of, with)] to fill (a space or passage) completely,
so that movement is impossible: Leaves choked up the pipe. |
The roads were choked with traffic. 3 [T] tech to use a CHOKE²
to reduce the amount of air to (an engine) in order to make
starting easier
choke sthg. ⇔ back/down phr v [T] to control (especially