crown prince
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,crown 'prince n [(often cap.)] the man who has the legal right to be king after the death of the present ruler: Crown Prince George
,crown prin'cess /lI...'/ n [(often cap.)] 1 the woman who has the legal right to be ruling queen after the death of the present ruler 2 the wife of a crown prince
,Crown Prose'cution ,Service, the, abbrev. the CPS the government organization in England and Wales which is responsible for bringing legal charges against criminals -> compare DISTRICT ATTORNEY, PROCURATOR FISCAL
'crow's foot n pl. crow's feet [usually pl.] a WRINKLE at the corner of a person's eye, sometimes thought of as a sign of age or lack of sleep
'crow's nest n a small shelter near the top of a ship's MAST from which a person can watch for danger, land etc
cro-zier /'krəʊzə, -ziər/ n a CROSIER
CRT /siː ɑ 'tiː||ɑːr-/ n abbrev. for CATHODE RAY TUBE
cru-cial /'kruːʃəl/ adj 1 [(to, for)] of deciding importance: a crucial moment in the negotiations | The success of this experiment is crucial to the project as a whole. 2 slang excellent -> -ly adv
cru-ci-ble /'kruːsɪbəl/ n 1 a container in which metals or other substances are heated to very high temperatures 2 especially lit a severe test: to pass through the crucible of war
Crucible, The a play by Arthur MILLER which describes how innocent women were charged with being WITCHES and cruelly punished by a court of law in SALEM, Massachusetts in 1692. This play was written in 1953 to show how similar the Salem Witch Trials were to MCCARTHYISM.
cru-ci-fix /'kruːsɪfɪks/ n a CROSS with a figure of Christ on it
cru-ci-fix-ion /kruːsɪ'fɪkʃən/ n 1 [C;U] (an example of) the act of crucifying 2 [C] (often cap.) a picture or other representation of the Crucifixion
Crucifixion, the the death of Jesus Christ by being nailed to a cross and left to die. In pictures of the Crucifixion, Jesus is shown with a CROWN OF THORNS on his head -> see also RESURRECTION
cru-ci-form /'kruːsɪfɔːm||-fɔːrm/ adj fml cross-shaped
cru-ci-fy /'kruːsɪfaɪ/ v [T] 1 to kill (someone) by nailing or tying them to a CROSS and leaving them to die. Christians believe that Jesus Christ was crucified. 2 to be very cruel and unpleasant to, especially publicly: If they find out the truth about the boss, the staff will crucify him! -> see also CRUCIFIXION
crud /krʌd/ n [U] infml dirt, or an unpleasant substance: I've got crud under my fingernails from working in the garden. | Did you clean out that crud from behind the stove yet? -> -dy adj: Those jeans are really cruddy - why don't you wash them?
crude¹ /kruːd/ adj 1 in a raw or natural state; untreated: crude oil | crude rubber 2 lacking grace, education, or sensitive feeling; VULGAR: crude jokes | Don't be so crude! 3 not skilfully made or properly finished: a crude shelter in the forest | The painting was a crude forgery. | a crude (=not very exact) estimate of the cost -> -ly adv
crude² also ,crude 'oil n [U] untreated oil: 1000 barrels of crude
cru-di-tés /'kruːdɪteɪ/ n [P] pieces of raw vegetables served before a meal, often with a DIP
cru-di-ty /'kruːdɪti/ n 1 [U] also crude-ness /'kruːdnəs/ - the quality of being crude: the crudity of their building methods 2 [C] fml a crude act, remark etc
cru-el /'kruːəl/ adj 1 [(to)] liking to cause pain and suffering; enjoying the pain of others; very unkind: a cruel and sadistic murderer | Don't be cruel to animals, Sammy. | cruel remarks 2 painful; causing suffering: a cruel disappointment/wind | The death of their daughter was a cruel blow. 3 be cruel to be kind to do something now that seems to be cruel to someone in order to help them in a more general way -> -ly adv
Cru-el-la de Vil /kruːelə də 'vɪl/ a cruel and evil woman in the children's book and DISNEY film ONE HUNDRED AND ONE DALMATIANS. She wears a fur coat, and she pretends to be friendly in order to get the spotted fur of the DALMATIAN dogs in order to make a coat from it.
cru-el-ty /'kruːəlti/ n 1 [U] the quality of being cruel: cruelty to animals 2 [C] a cruel act, remark etc: the cruelties of war
,cruelty-'free adj (of COSMETICS) that have not been tested on animals: our wide range of cruelty-free products
cru-et /'kruːɪt/ n 1 (a holder for) a set of containers for pepper, salt, oil etc, for use at meals 2 any one of these containers, especially a small glass bottle for oil or VINEGAR
Cruft's /krʌfts/ a famous British competition for dogs, officially called Cruft's Dog Show, which is held every year in Birmingham. Judges at the show decide which is the best animal in the country for each type of dog (the 'best of breed'), and they also decide which is the best dog of all, which gets the title 'Cruft's supreme champion'.
cruise¹ /kruːz/ v 1 [I] to sail in an unhurried way, especially for pleasure: to go cruising in the Mediterranean -> see also CRUISE² 2 [I] (of a car, plane etc) to move at a fast but steady speed on a long journey: cruising along at 100 kilometres an hour 3 [I;T] slang to look in (public places) for a sexual partner, especially one of the same sex
cruise² n a sea voyage for pleasure, especially one on a large ship and lasting for several days or weeks. This type of holiday is usually expensive and many people think that only rich people go on cruises: They went on a cruise to Tenerife.
Cruise, Tom (1962- ) a US film actor, known for being very good-looking, whose films include Top Gun (1986), Jerry Maguire (1997), and The Last Samurai (2003)
'cruise con,trol n tech an apparatus fitted to a motor vehicle, especially a car, which keeps it running at a steady speed which can be chosen by the driver
'cruise ,liner also 'cruise ship n a large ship specially built for cruises
,cruise 'missile n a large explosive weapon that flies close to the ground and can be aimed at an exact point hundreds of kilometres away -> see also GREENHAM COMMON
cruis-er /'kruːzə/ n 1 a large fast warship 2 a CABIN CRUISER 3 AmE a police car
cruis-er-weight /'kruːzəweɪt||-zər-/ n a BOXER who weighs less than 86.18 kilograms, and who is heavier than a LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT but lighter than a HEAVYWEIGHT
cruis-ing /'kruːzɪŋ/ n [U] AmE 1 the activity of taking a holiday on a cruise ship 2 (of young people) the activity of driving cars slowly down a particular street as a way of being with their friends 3 the activity of going to bars etc in order to try to meet a new sexual partner
crul-ler /'krʌlər/ n AmE a light ring-shaped cake (DOUGHNUT) made from two twisted pieces joined together: Half a dozen crullers, please.
crumb /krʌm/ n 1 a very small piece of dry food, especially bread or cake: Brush the crumbs off the table. | (fig.) crumbs of information/of comfort 2 AmE slang a worthless person -> see also CRUMBS
crum-ble¹ /'krʌmbəl/ v 1 [I;T] to (cause to) break into very small pieces: He crumbled the bread in his fingers. 2 [I] to weaken; decay; become ruined: a crumbling church | Our hopes crumbled when the business went bankrupt. | Opposition to the new law soon crumbled.
crumble² especially BrE || crisp AmE - n [C;U] (a cooked dish of sweetened fruit covered with) a dry mixture of flour, fat, and sugar: apple crumble
crum-bly /'krʌmbli/ adj easily crumbled: crumbly biscuits
crumbs /krʌmz/ interj BrE slang (an expression of surprise or slight annoyance) This is a rather old-fashioned expression which you might find in stories about schoolchildren.
crum-my /'krʌmi/ adj slang 1 of poor quality; worthless: a crummy book | What a crummy idea! 2 rather ill: He felt pretty crummy.
crum-pet /'krʌmpɪt/ n 1 [C] (especially in Britain) a small round breadlike cake with holes in one side, eaten hot with butter -> compare MUFFIN 2 [U] BrE slang women, considered as sexual objects (considered extremely offensive to women): She's a nice bit of crumpet!
crum-ple /'krʌmpəl/ v 1 [I;T(UP)] to (cause to) become full of