word noun

1 unit of language

ADJ. two-letter, three-letter, etc. | monosyllabic, disyllabic | two-syllable, three-syllable, etc. | big, long He uses big words to impress people. | compound | native | borrowed, loan When a new fruit is first imported, its name is usually also imported as a loan word. | foreign | content, function | exact, precise, very His exact words were, ‘There's nothing we can do about it.’ Those were her very words. | clear, plain | ambiguous | abstract, concrete | everyday I find even everyday words difficult to spell. | archaic, obsolete | key He wrote down a few key words to help him remember what to say. | right, wrong You can't always find the right word when you're translating. | dirty, four-letter, naughty, obscene, rude, taboo The play is full of four-letter words. Work is a dirty word to Frank. (see also swear word) | famous, household, immortal His name has become a household word since he first appeared in the series. the immortal words of Neil Armstrong as he stepped onto the moon | code The police use code words for their major operations. | buzz (also buzzword), vogue E-marketing is the current buzzword. | spoken, written She combines visual images and the spoken word to great effect in her presentations.

VERB + WORD have Spanish has no word for ‘understatement’. | say, speak, use, utter He uses lots of long words. Every word he utters is treated as sacred text. | pronounce How is this word pronounced? | mispronounce | spell | misspell ‘Necessary’ is one of the most commonly misspelt words in English. | write | hear, read | mishear, misread I misheard the word ‘sick’ as ‘thick’. | know, understand | look up She looked the word up in the dictionary. | find | coin The word ‘e-commerce’ was coined to refer to business done over the Internet. | cross out, erase, rub out

WORD + VERB mean sth | refer to sth, relate to sth | convey sth, describe sth, express sth words describing body parts Words can't express how happy I am. | imply sth | denote sth Bold words denote chapter headings. | carry sth, have sth The same word can carry numerous meanings. The word has two meanings. | be derived from sth, come/derive from sth The word derives from a Norse word meaning ‘eye of the wind’. | begin (with sth), end (in/with sth) What's a word beginning with ‘c’ that means ‘a small wood’? | fail sb Words fail me (= I cannot express how I feel).

WORD + NOUN game

PREP. in sb's ~s The students had to retell the story in their own words. | ~ for What's the French word for ‘snail’?

PHRASES in all senses of the word She was a true friend in all senses of the word. | in other words They're letting me go?in other words, I've been sacked. | in so many words They told me in so many words (= directly) that I was no longer needed. | in the true sense of the word People who overeat are not addicts in the true sense of the word. | in words of one syllable (= using very simple language) Could you say that again in words of one syllable? | word for word (= exactly) He repeated word for word what the boy had said to him.

2 sth you say

ADJ. quick | quiet The manager had a quiet word with Alison, and she gave him no more problems. | good, friendly, kind He hasn't a good word to say for anybody. | bad, unkind | angry, bitter, blunt, choice (ironic), cross, cruel, hard, harsh, heated, hurtful, strong | polite No polite words of gratitude came. | flattering, honeyed | empty, fine (ironic), meaningless Despite all their fine words, the council have never done anything to improve road safety. | weasel The government's promises on nurses' pay turned out to be weasel words (= deliberately unclear). | bold, brave Despite his brave words, I don't believe he can save the factory from closure. | wise | well-chosen He ruined her self-confidence with a few well-chosen words. | cautionary A few cautionary words are necessary regarding driving abroad. | soft, whispered They exchanged whispered words of love. | unspoken The look in her eyes filled in the unspoken words in her sentence. | dying, last Her last words were for her children. | final, last The Chairman always has the last word (= the final decision) on financial decisions. | fateful Seconds after uttering the fateful words ‘this is easy’, he crashed. | prophetic | magic

VERB + WORD have I've had a few words with John, and he's quite happy for you to stay. She had some harsh words to say about her colleagues. | put in, say, speak, utter If you run into the boss, put in a good word for me! Before we begin, I'd like to say a few words about who I am. Nobody's uttered a word to me about it. | give, say Just say the word and I'll go. | mumble, mutter | slur I knew he'd been drinking because he was slurring his words. | spit (out) She was so furious, she almost spat the words out: ‘You idiot!’ | bandy, exchange, have I usually exchange a few words with my neighbour when I see him. Words were exchanged (= there was an argument). | find He couldn't find the words to thank her enough. | choose, pick He chose his words carefully when commenting on her work. | quote | distort, twist She felt angry at how the journalist had twisted her words. | hang on The journalists hung on his every word as he spoke of his ordeal. | eat, take back When he told her she would fail, she swore she would make him eat his words. | not mince He doesn't mince his words when he talks about his ex-boss. | not breathe Don't breathe a word to anyone about what I've told you!

WORD + VERB conjure sth up, evoke sth Her words conjured up a strange picture in her mind. | burst from sb, come (out), emerge, fall, pour (out), slip (out), spill (out), tumble out He was nervous, and his words came out in a rush. His words fell into the silence like stones. | stick in your throat He wanted to tell her how he felt about her, but the words stuck in his throat. | float, hang in the air I let my words hang in the air. Maggie was no fool: she must realize I meant it. | echo, ring Her teacher's words echoed in her ears. | fade (away), tail away/off, trail away/off His words faded to silence as he saw she didn't believe him. | hit/strike home, strike/touch a chord | sink in She could feel her temper boiling as his words sank in.

PREP. in a ~ ‘Would you like to help us?’ ‘In a word (= briefly), no.’ | without a ~ She left without a word. | ~ about We never heard anyone say an unkind word about her. | ~ from And now a word from our sponsors … | ~ of a word of advice/warning | ~ with Can I have a quick word with you?

PHRASES get a word in (edgeways) I wanted to tell you that she'd phoned, but you were talking so much I couldn't get a word in edgeways. | a man/woman of few words (= a person who speaks very little), sb never spoke a truer word/never was a truer word spoken You said we were about to make a big mistake, and never was a truer word spoken! (= you were right), not a (single) word Remember?not a word to (= don't tell) Peter about any of this. We didn't say a single word to each other all day. | put words into sb's mouth He felt after the interview that the police officers had been trying to put words into his mouth in (= to make him say what they wanted him to say). | take the words out of sb's mouth I was about to say we should cancel the trip, but she took the words right out of my mouth (= she said it before me). | a word in sb's ear Can I have a word in your ear about tomorrow's presentation? | (by) word of mouth The restaurant does not advertise, but relies on word of mouth for custom.

3 promise

ADJ. solemn She gave him her solemn word that she would give up drugs.

VERB + WORD give sb | be as good as, be true to, keep He promised to help and was as good as his word. True to her word, she returned next day. | break, go back on Once he has made a promise, he never goes back on his word.

PHRASES have sb's word for sth We only have her word for it that the cheque is in the post. | a man/woman of his/her word You needn't worry about him not paying you back?he's a man of his word. | take sb at their word He said I could stay at his house any time, so I took him at his word. | take sb's word for sth I haven't seen his work, but I'll take his word for it that it's finished. | your word against sb's If it's your word against the police officer's, the jury are going to believe him. | sb's word is their bond, word of honour He gave me his word of honour that he wouldn't tell anyone.

4 information/news

VERB + WORD bring, get, send He sent word to his family that his captors were treating him well. | get We didn't get word of her arrest until the next day. | spread

WORD + VERB get out If word gets out about the affair, he will have to resign. | be, have it The word is they've split up. Word has it that she's leaving.

PREP. ~ about Health workers spread the word about the benefits of immunization.

word verb

ADV. carefully, cautiously We need to word our question quite carefully. | ambiguously, vaguely | broadly | strongly He issued a very strongly worded statement denying any involvement in the plot.

You can also check other dicts: word (English, 中文解释 ), wordnet sense, Collins Definition

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