say which of two or more choices is the right one: Some people say that the 1815 settlement prevented wars in Europe, and some say it caused them, so you pays your money and you takes your choice. | Syringes are on sale at most dealing locations, but some may already have been used and their packages resealed. You pays your money and you takes your chances. —less adj
Compare money, cash, and change. Money is the most general term. Cash usually means 'money in coins or notes': 'May I pay by cheque?' 'I'm sorry, sir, we only take cash,' but it can be used informally to mean 'money in any form': 'I'm a bit short of cash/money at the moment. When talking about the money returned when you have given more than the cost of something you have bought, use change: 'Here you are, sir, 25 pence change.' Change can also mean 'money in low-value coins or notes': 'Can you give me change for 50 pence? I need some 5p pieces for the coffee machine.'
mon·ey·bags /'mʌnɪbægz/ n pl. moneybags infml derog a very wealthy person
'money ,belt n a special belt that you can carry money in while you are travelling
mon·ey·box /'mʌnɪbəks|l-ba:ks/ n BrE a box for saving money in, usually used by children and with an opening into which coins can be put → compare PIGGYBANK
mon·ey·chang·er /'mʌni,tʃeɪndʒər/ n a person whose business is exchanging the money of one country for that of another
mon·eyed /'mʌnɪd/ adj [A] fɪml having a large amount of money; rich: the moneyed classes
money-grub·ber /'mʌni,grʌbər/ n derog a person who is determined to gain money, often by dishonest means —bing adj; a money-grubbing old skinflint
'money ,laundering n [U] the activity of putting money that has been obtained illegally into legal businesses or bank accounts in different countries, so that it is difficult for people to discover where it came from: The country is a major centre for money laundering. \ He will now face trial on money laundering charges.
mon·ey·lend·er /'mʌni,lændər/ n sometimes derog a person whose business is lending money and charging interest on it, but who does not work for a bank
mon·ey·mak·er /'mʌni,meikər/ n usually apprec a product or business that brings in a lot of money —-ing adj
'money ,market n banks, and other financial institutions taking part in buying, selling, lending, and borrowing money, especially foreign money, for profit
'money order n an official paper of a stated value which is bought from a post office, bank etc and sent to someone instead of money. In Britain this system is used for larger sums of money than a POSTAL ORDER.
mon·eys, monies /'mʌniz/ n [P] law or old use money: The moneys held in the trust fund cannot be paid to you until you are 18.
'money, spider n a small red or brown SPIDER which is thought by some people to bring good luck to any person it walks on
'money-spinner n infml, especially BrE something that brings in a large amount of money: This hotel's a real money-spinner in the summer months.
'money supply, the n all the money that exists and is being paid and spent in a country, in the form of coins, notes, and CREDIT: a government plan to reduce the money supply
mon·gol /'mɒngəl'mɑːŋ-/ n taboo an old-fashioned and offensive name for a person with DOWN'S SYNDROME —mongolism n [U]
Mongol n someone from Mongolia
mon·goose /'mɒnguːs|'maɪŋ-/ n pl. -gooses a small furry Indian animal that kills snakes and rats
Mon·go·li·a /mɒŋˈɡəʊliə/mɑːŋ-/ a country in north central Asia between Russia and China. Population 2,694,432 (2002). Capital: Ulaanbaatar (formerly Ulan Bator). Mongolia is a large country but has a small population because it includes a large area of desert and open plains. The country is sometimes informally called 'Outer Mongolia', and it is next to a part of China called 'Inner Mongolia'.
—Mongolian n, adj
mon·grel /'mʌŋgrəl/ 'mɑːŋ-', 'mʌŋ-/ n 1 an animal, especially a dog, whose parents were of mixed breeds or different breeds → compare PEDIGREE² 2 infml something that is a mixture of two types of thing: The English word 'television' is a mongrel because 'tele' comes from Greek and 'vision' from Latin.
mon·ies /'mʌniz/ n [P] MONEYS
moni-tor¹ /'monʒterˈmɑːr/ n 1 also 'monitor,screen a television set used in a television STUDIO to see the picture that a television camera is receiving 2 an instrument that receives and shows continuous information about the working of something, such as a body part: a heart monitor 3 a) a VDU (=a SCREEN for use with a computer) b) tech the parts of a computer operation (such as PROGRAMS, CIRCUITS etc) that make sure that the computer system is working properly 4 a person whose work is to listen to news, messages etc from foreign radio stations and report their contents 5 a pupil chosen to help the teacher or school in various ways: The board monitor must clean the blackboard every morning. I a hall monitor
monitor² v [T] (of a person or machine) to watch or listen to (something) carefully over a certain period of time for a special purpose: This instrument monitors the patient's heartbeats. | We monitor the enemy's radio broadcasts for political information.
monk /mʌnk/ n a member of an all-male religious group who lives a life of service, obedience, and prayer or MEDITATION usually in a MONASTERY, owning nothing and not marrying. Monks typically wear a long loose piece of dark clothing like a dress with a HOOD, tied around the waist with a rope. → compare FRIAR, NUN ︷ish adj sometimes derog
Mon·kees, The /'mʌnkiːz/ a US POP GROUP formed in 1966 who also made a successful television series which was also called The Monkees. They separated in 1969. This was the first time that a record company had deliberately chosen several musicians who had not worked together before, and put them together to form a group.
mon·key $ ^{1} $ /'mʌnki/ n 1 a small tree-climbing animal with a long tail belonging to the class of animals most like humans 2 infml a child who is full of annoying playfulness and tricks: Stop that, you little monkey! 3 BrE slang 500 pounds or dollars 4 make a monkey (out) of someone infml to make someone appear fool-ish 5 monkey on one's back AmE a serious and upsetting problem that one can't get rid of, especially
drug ADDICTION 6 I don't give a monkey's BrE spoken a rude expression used in order to tell someone that you do not care at all about something: I don't give a monkey's whar Stuart Baxter thinks; this is my business and I'll run it how like.
monkey about/around phr v [!] infml to play foolishly: The boys were monkeying about in the playground, and one of them got hurt.
monkey with sbdy./sthg. phr v [T (ABOUT, AROUND)] infml to handle carelessly or irresponsibly: You'll break the TV if you don't stop monkeying about with it.
'monkey bars n [P] AmE for CLIMBING FRAME
'monkey, business n [U] infml behaviour which cause trouble: The children are being too good today; I think there's some monkey business going on.
'monkey nut n BrE old-fash for PEANUT
'monkey-,puzzle also 'monkey-puzzle ,tree n a tree with dark green prickly leaves growing very close together on long branches sometimes grown in gardens as a form of decoration
mon·key·shine /'mʌnkɪʃain/ n AmE for PRACTICAL JOKE