thought of as an exciting period when there was more social freedom than there had been before.
jazz·y /'dʒæzi/ adj infml 1 attracting attention, as with (too) bright colours: a very jazzy dress 2 like jazz music —ily adv
JCB /ˌdʒɛrˈsɪːˈbiː/ trademark a type of large machine for digging and moving earth, made in the UK
J C Pen·ney /,dʒer siː 'peni/ trademark a US company, often called 'Penney's', which sells a wide range of quality goods at reasonable prices. Penney's has stores all over the US, and customers can also buy goods by MAIL ORDER.
J.D., JD /dzer 'di:/ n Doctor of Jurisprudence; a high-level law degree in the US. J.D. is written after someone's name to show that they have this degree: She got her J.D. in 1997. Robert Pole, J.D.
J D Wetherspoon /ˌdʒɛr ˈdiː ˈwɪðərˌspuːnˈl-ˈweðər-/ trademark a British company which owns and manages a chain of almost 300 pubs. It buys disused bank buildings, theatres etc and makes them into pubs. It is known for the reasonable price of the beer it sells.
jealous /ˈdʒeləs/ adj [(of] often derog 1 unhappy and angry because (you think that) a) someone who should like you, likes someone else better: When she kisses the baby, it makes the older child jealous. b) someone who you feel belongs to you, is being admired too much by someone else: If other men spoke to his wife, he got terribly jealous. 2 wanting to have what someone else has; ENVIOUS: He is jealous of their success. 3 wanting to keep what one has; POSSESSIVE: He is jealous of his possessions/of his rights. 4 adv: The dog guarded its bone jealously. I She jealously defended the honour of her family.
1 Jealousy is usually considered to be a more unpleasant feeling than envy. Compare Ann has got a very nice job—I'm envious/ full of envy/ I envy her (=I wish I had a job like that) and Tom is jealous of Ann (=feels strong dislike for Ann) because he thinks that he should have got the job. 2 Jealous is often used about someone who is afraid of letting a person (especially a husband or wife) be liked or admired by others: If other men spoke to his wife he was immediately jealous.
jeal-ous-y /'dʒeləs/ n [C;U] (a) jealous feeling
jeans /dʒiːnz/ also blue jeans AmE — n [P] trousers made of DENIM (=a strong, usually blue, cotton cloth) worn informally by men, women, and children, and thought very fashionable among young people → see PAIR (USAGE), SLACKS
Jed·da /ˈdʒedə/ also Jid·dah /ˈdʒɪdə/ the largest port of Saudi Arabia, on the Red Sea
jeep, Jeep /dʒiːp/ trademark a type of car made for travelling over rough ground: to cross the desert by jeep
jeer /dʒier/ v [l(at);t] to laugh or shout disrespectfully (at): The team was playing dreadfully, and the crowd jeered (at) them | jeering laughter —jeer n: abusive jeers —ingly adv
Jeeves /dʒiːvz/ a character in many humorous stories by P. G. WODEHOUSE. Jeeves is the VALET (=male servant) of an UPPER CLASS young man called Bertie WOOSTER, and is a very patient, sensible man. Wooster depends on him a lot and he always manages to solve Wooster's problems.
jeez /dʒiːz/ interjection AmE used to strongly express feelings such as surprise, anger etc
Jef·fer·son, Thomas /'dʒefəsənl-fər-/ (1743-1826) the third President of the US, from 1801 to 1809. Jefferson was an important member of the CONTINENTAL CONGRESS and wrote most of the DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. When he was president, the US bought the LOUISIANA PURCHASE, and the SLAVE TRADE officially stopped being legal.
Jefferson Me'morial, the a building in Washington, D.C. that has a STATUE of Thomas JEFFERSON inside it. The building is round, with tall COLUMNS.
Je•ho•vah /dʒɪˈhəʊvə/ n a name given to God in the OLD TESTAMENT (=first part of the Bible) religious magazine called The Watchtower. They also believe that war is wrong and they refuse to join the military services.
Je'hovah's 'Witness n a member of a religious group which believes that everything in the BIBLE is true and that the world will end soon. Members go to people's houses to try to persuade people to listen to their ideas and buy their je'june /dʒɪˈdʒuːn/ adj fml derog 1 childish; NAIVE: jejune political opinions 2 (especially of written material) dull; uninteresting: jejune lectures
Jek·yll and Hyde /,dzekjl an 'haid/ n 1 two characters who are really one person, in the book The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (1886) by Robert Louis Stevenson. Dr Jekyll changes from being a good person to being an evil person, Mr Hyde, by taking a special drug. 2 someone who has two completely different characters, one good and one bad
jell, gel /dʒel/ v [l] 1 (of a liquid) to become firmer, like jelly 2 (of ideas, thoughts etc) to take a clear shape: I found the film full of different ideas that didn't really jell.
jel·lied /'dʒelid/ adj cooked and served in jelly: Jelled eels are thought of as a favourite food of working-class Londoners.
Jell-O, jel-lo /'dʒeləʊ/ AmE trademark 1 a type of sweet coloured GELATINE with a fruit taste; JELLY BrE 2 jello salad a sweet dish made from Jell-O mixed with fruit, MARSHMALLOWS, and sometimes vegetables, which is usually served with whipped cream
jelly /ˈdʒelɪ/ n 1 a) [S;U] especially BrE a soft quite solid substance which shakes when it is moved: The juices from the cooked meat solidify into a jelly. | (fig.) He had beaten his victim's head to a jelly with a hammer. b) [C;U] also jello AmE (a dish of) such a substance made with sweetened fruit juice and GELATINE, often eaten with ice cream at children's parties: an orange jelly | I was so nervous I was shaking like a jelly. 2 [U] clear, quite solid JAM containing no pieces of fruit, seeds etc: apple jelly
'jelly, baby n BrE a small, soft, jelly-like sweet made in the shape of a baby, in a variety of colours, often eaten by children
'jelly bean n a small soft sweet that comes in many different tastes and colours, is shaped like a bean, and which one has to chew a lot
CULTURAL NOTE Jelly beans are popular in the US, especially at Easter, when they are put in EASTER BASKETS.
'Jelly, Belly trademark a type of JELLY BEAN which is known for having unusual tastes, such as WATERMELON
jel·ly·fish /'dʒeli,fiːf/ n pl. -fish or -fishes a sea creature that has a soft nearly transparent body and sometimes stings
'jelly ,roll n AmE for SWISS ROLL
jem·my /ˈdʒemi/ BrE ‖ jimmy AmE ‹n a metal bar used especially by thieves to break open locked doors, windows etc ‹jemmy v [T]
je ne sais quoi /,3ə nə ser 'kwaː/ n [S;U] Fr, often pomp or humor a desirable quality that cannot be described or expressed: Her reading of the poem lacked a certain je ne sais quoi.
Jen·ga /'dʒengə/ trademark a game in which players take it in turn to remove a block from a tower built of 54 blocks of wood, and place it on the top of the tower. Eventually the tower falls over. The last player to take a block out of the tower without making it fall wins the game.
Jen-kins, Roy /'dʒenkɪnz, rɔɪ/ (1920–2003) a British politician. He held several important positions in the Labour governments of the 1960s and 1970s, but left the Labour Party in 1981 to help start the Social Democratic Party. He was President of the European Commission from 1977 to 1981, CHANCELLOR of Oxford University, and a well-known writer on history and politics. His official title was Baron Jenkins of Hillhead.
Jen·ner, Edward /'dʒenər/ (1749–1823) a British doctor who developed the principle of VACCINATION. He discovered that putting a small amount of COWPOX (=a disease that affects cows) into people's bodies protected them from SMALLPOX, a related disease that had killed many people until then.
Jen·nings, Peter /'dʒenɪŋz/ (1938–2005) a Canadian NEWS-READER for ABC television
jen·ny /'dʒeni/ n → see SPINNING JENNY