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encourages HOMOSEXUAL people not to keep the fact that
they are homosexual a secret, and to be proud of them-
selves: a gay pride march
gay 'rights n [P] legal measures and protection for HOMO-
SEXUAL men and women that result in their being treated
the same as all people in matters such as housing, jobs,
insurance etc: a gay rights activist/demonstration | Does the
party platform say anything about gay rights?
CULTURAL NOTE Many US cities and states have politically
active gay groups that have influenced new laws to help
them, though there is usually some opposition to this from
religious and CONSERVATIVE groups. In Britain there is less
organization of political activity among gay people.
Ga·za Strip, the /ˌɡɑːzə ˈstrɪp/ a coastal area in the
Middle East, between Egypt and Israel, which is governed by
the Palestinian National Authority
gaze¹ /ɡeɪz/ v [I+adv/prep] to look steadily, especially for a
long time and often without being conscious of what one is
doing: She sat gazing at the fire/gazing out of the window.
Compare gaze, stare and gape. Gaze is used
when a person looks steadily at something, often with
admiration or pleasure: We stood gazing at the beautiful
scenery. Stare is used when a person keeps their eyes
open and fixed on something in wonder, fear, anger or
deep thought: He stared at me, trying to remember who I
was. Gape means 'to look hard in surprise, especially
with the mouth open': They gaped at me when I told
them about the gold I had found.
gaze² n [S] a steady fixed look: She turned her worried gaze
from one person to the other. | He turned his head away, feeling
too ashamed to meet her gaze.
ga·ze·bo /ɡəˈziːbəʊ||ˈzeɪ-, -ˈziː-/ n pl. -bos a shelter or hut,
usually in a garden, where one can sit and look at the view
ga·zelle /ɡəˈzel/ n pl. -zelles or -zelle an animal like a small
deer, which jumps in graceful movements and has beautiful
large eyes
ga·zette /ɡəˈzet/ n 1 an official newspaper, especially one
from the government giving lists of people who have been
employed by them, important notices etc 2 AmE a news-
paper
gaz·et·teer /ˌɡæzəˈtɪər/ n a list of names of places, printed
as a dictionary or as a list at the end of a book of maps
gaz·pa·cho /ɡæzˈpætʃəʊ||ɡæˈspɑ-/ n [U] a Spanish cold
soup made from TOMATO, green pepper, CUCUMBER, and
onion
ga·zump /ɡəˈzʌmp/ v [T] BrE infml (of the owner of a house)
to refuse to sell a house to someone (who thinks they have
bought it) and sell it instead to someone who has offered
more money
ga·zun·der /ɡəˈzʌndər/ also gaz·welch /ɡæzˈweltʃ/ v [T]
BrE to try to force (someone selling a house) to lower the
price by threatening to pull out after an agreement on the
sale has been reached. This is thought to be an unfair thing
to do, but it is not against the law in England.
Gaz·za /ˈɡæzə/ an informal name for Paul Gascoigne
Gb written abbrev. for GIGABYTE(s)
GB /ˌdʒiː ˈbiː/ abbrev. for Great Britain
GBH /ˌdʒiː biː ˈeɪtʃ/ n [U] BrE infml abbrev. for grievous bodily
harm; the crime of deliberately injuring someone in a
serious way
GCE /ˌdʒiː siː ˈiː/ n abbrev. for General Certificate of Education;
a school examination in any of a range of subjects, taken in
British schools. The GCE O LEVEL used to be taken at age 16,
but it has been replaced by the GCSE. The GCE A LEVEL taken
at age 18, still exists.
GCHQ /ˌdʒiː siː eɪtʃ ˈkjuː/ abbrev. for Government Communi-
cation Headquarters; an organization controlled by the British
government and based in Cheltenham, whose aim is to
collect information about countries which may be enemies.
This is done especially by listening to radio broadcasts and
telephone calls from all over the world. In 1984, Margaret
Thatcher's government removed the right of GCHQ's workers
to belong to a TRADE UNION, and this caused a lot of protest.
This right was given back in 1997.
GCSE /ˌdʒiː siː es ˈiː/ n abbrev. for General Certificate of
Secondary Education; a school examination in any of a
range of subjects, usually taken at the age of 16 in British
schools. GCSEs combine work done during a two-year
course with final examinations: She's taking her GCSEs this
summer → see Feature on page A12
Gdansk /ɡəˈdænsk/ a city and port in Poland, known for its
SHIPYARDS where protests by workers in the 1980s forced the
Communist government to make changes. The TRADE UNION,
SOLIDARITY was started there in 1980 by Lech WALESA.
Gdansk was formerly known by its German name Danzig.
g'day /ɡəˈdeɪ/ interj AustrE for GOOD DAY
GDP /ˌdʒiː diː ˈpiː/ n [U] abbrev. for Gross Domestic Product;
the total value of all goods and services produced in a
country in one year, except for income received from abroad
→ compare GNP
gear¹ /ɡɪər/ n 1 [C;U] an apparatus, especially one consisting
of a set of toothed wheels, that allows power to be passed
from one part of a machine to another so as to control the
power, speed, or direction of movement: She changed gear
to make the car go up the hill faster. | Most cars have four or
five forward gears. | She put the van into bottom gear (BrE)/
low gear (AmE) to climb the hill. | 'The car isn't moving!'
'That's because you're not in gear.' | The truck screeched to a
halt with a crashing of gears. | reverse gear | (fig.) The
industry has been out of gear (=not working well) since
before the dispute began. 2 [U] a) a set of equipment or
tools, especially used for a particular purpose: climbing gear
(=boots, ropes etc) b) (often in comb.) clothing or an article of
clothing, especially for a particular purpose: football gear |
police dressed in riot gear 3 [U] an apparatus or part of a
machine which has a special use in controlling a vehicle: the
landing gear of an aircraft (=its wheels and wheel supports)
gear² v
gear sthg. to sthg. phr v [T often pass.] to allow (an activity or
course of action) to be dependent on or influenced by (a
particular fact or condition): We must gear the number of
products we make to the level of public demand. | Education
should be geared to the children's needs and abilities.
gear sbdy. up phr v [T usually pass.] infml to put (especially
oneself) into a state of excited or anxious expectation about
an activity: The party is all geared up for the forthcoming
election campaign. | I was all geared up to have an argument
about it and then she said it didn't matter anyhow.
gear·box /ˈɡɪəbɒks||ˈɡɪərbɑːks/ n a metal case containing
the gears of a vehicle
'gear ,lever also 'gear stick BrE || 'gear shift AmE — n a
movable metal rod with which one controls the gears of a
vehicle → see picture at BICYCLE and CAR
GEC /ˌdʒiː iː ˈsiː/ abbrev. for the General Electric Company; a
former British company, now called Marconi
geck·o /ˈgekəʊ/ n pl. -os or -oes a small animal of the LIZARD
family, especially of tropical countries
GED /ˌdʒiː iː ˈdiː/ n abbrev. for general equivalency diploma; in
the US, a DIPLOMA with the same value as a HIGH SCHOOL
DIPLOMA, which people who left high school without finish-
ing their education can study for at any age
gee¹ /dʒiː/ interj infml, especially AmE (an expression of surprise)
gee² v
gee up phr v BrE 1 [T[gee sbdy./sthg. ⇔ up]] infml to encourage
forcefully into greater activity or effort: This class has been
very lazy lately; maybe the new teacher will gee them up a
bit. 2 gee up (used as a command to a horse) Go faster!
'gee-gee n BrE slang (used especially by or to children or in
horse racing) a horse
geek /ɡiːk/ n slang 1 AmE someone who bites the heads off
animals that are alive as part of a show 2 a stupid or
annoying person —geeky adj
geese /ɡiːs/ pl. of GOOSE
gee whiz /ˌdʒiː ˈwɪz/ interj AmE infml an expression of surprise
gee·zer /ˈɡizər/ n slang a man, often one who is thought to
be a little strange: I didn't realize that funny old geezer was
your grandpa!
Geh·rig, Lou /ˈɡerɪɡ, luː/ (1903–41) a famous US BASEBALL
player, who was called the 'Iron Horse', and who played in