Dictionary

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** How we can use the Dictionary:

* Finding your way around in the dictionary:

Some words in the dictionary have more than one entry. This is because one word can belong to two or more word classes (e.g. noun, adjective, etc). In this example you can see that “delay” has two entries: “delay” which is a noun, and “delay” which is a verb. Notice the small numbers and, which tell you that there are two entries.

1. Delay: (Noun)

[countable/uncountable] a situation in which something happens later or more slowly than you expected: After a long delay, the plane finally took off, delay in doing sth who is responsible for the delay in reaching an agreement?

2.Delay: (Verb)
To do something later than is planned or expected: They delayed the decision for as long as possible.
To make someone or something late, or to slow them down: His plane was delayed for five hours.
# Activity:
How many entries does each of these words have?
Which word classes do they belong to?
Word                              Entries                              Word classes
a) Delay                                2                                     noun, verb
b) Delight
c) Demand
d) Diet
e) Dilute
f) Direct
g) Dirty
h) Display
i) Double
j) Drop
k) Thought

* Words with many meanings:

# Activity: 1

Find the word extend in your dictionary.

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# Activity: 2

Look up those words in the dictionary. How many meanings are given for each one?

                                           Number of meanings

a) Element                                           5

b) End (noun)

c) Enter

d) Exercise

e) Exposure

f) Fall (verb)

g) Fall (noun)

h) Feel (verb)

i) Flat (adjective)

# Activity: 3

Look up the word follow in the dictionary. Notice that there are ten different meanings listed. Match the examples below with the meaning number:

                                                                                                             Meaning

a) Follow the instructions carefully.                                                        4

b) I couldn’t follow what Professor Hope was saying.

c) He followed every word of the trial.

e) The weather report follows shortly.

f) I was convinced there was someone following me.

# Activity: 4

Look up the word fresh in the dictionary and answer these questions.

a) How many meanings are given?                   …………..

b) Which meaning number refers to:

             1. Water which is not salty                    …………..

             2. Food prepared recently                     ………….

              3. Flowers recently picked                    ………….

              4. Doing something differently             ………….

               5. Feeling refreshed                          ………….

* Choosing the right word:

You can make your English sound more interesting and your meaning clearer by using specific instead of general words. For example, instead of using the word change , you can use words such as alter, adjust or modify.

# Activity: 1

Look at the dictionary extract for other ways of saying false.

Other ways of saying false……..

  • Imitation made to look like something else, usually something more expensive: imitation leather.
  • Artificial made to have the same features or do the same job as something else that exists naturally: artificial cream/sweeteners/flavorings.
  • Fake made to look like something valuable or important, often in a way that is meant to trick people: fake jewellery or fur.
  • Forged made to look exactly like something valuable or important and used illegally to trick people: a forged signature/passport/painting.
  • Counterfeit made to look exactly like something valuable or important and used illegally to trick people: used especially for describing illegally produced money: counterfeit currency/traveler’s cheques.
  • Phoney (informal) used for describing behavior and emotions that are not natural or sincere: He didn’t fool anyone with that phoney Italian accent.
  • Bogus (informal) false and used for tricking people or pretending to be somebody you are not: bogus auto parts a bogus repairman.
  • Pirate used for describing copies of things such as books or videos that have been made and sold illegally: they were caught selling pirate copies of the album.

# Activity: 2

Underline the adjective which can be used with the noun.

a) He’s got an artificial/bogus leg.

b) She’s got a fake/phoney suntan.

c) I am sure those diamonds are imitation/forged.

d) He was a fake/bogus doctor.

e) Watch out for counterfeit/phoney money.

f) This signature is definitely forged/artificial.

g) He was arrested for selling pirate/imitation computer games.

# Activity: 3

Look at the extract for other ways of saying increase.

Other ways of saying increase…….

  • Be or Go up to increase: used for talking about prices or levels: House prices went up a further 1 per cent last year.
  • Push up to make something increase: used for talking about prices or levels: It is feared that the new taxes will push up fuel prices.
  • Rise to increase: The number of complaints rose to record levels.
  • Soar to increase quickly and to a very high level: used mainly in journalism: share prices have soared to an all time high.
  • Rocket or skyrocket (informal) to increase quickly and suddenly: used mainly in journalism: Bad weather means fresh fruit prices are set to rocket.
  • Mount to increase steadily: The chairman is under mounting pressure to resign.
  • Be on the increase to be increasing steadily: New cases of breast cancer seem to be on the increase.
  • Double to increase to twice the original amount or level: Oil prices have more than doubled since last year.
  • Treble to increase to three times the original amount or level: The last six months have seen the company’s value treble.

# Activity: 4

Replace the word increase with a more specific word.

More than one word may be possible……..

  • There is steadily increasing pressure on the government to change the law. (mount)
  • This is bound to increase house prices. (go up)
  • The cost of that sweater has increased enormously- it now costs twice what I paid for it. (soar/rocket)
  • Interest rates this week increased to their highest level for five years (soar/rocket)
  • Average earnings increased by 2% last year. (double)
  • The number or people requesting tickets for the concert increased to 2500 last week.

# Activity: 5

Read the dictionary extract and then complete the sentences with the correct verb.

Other ways of saying thin….

  • Slim thin in an attractive way: He was looking much slimmer after his holiday.
  • Slender thin in a graceful way: a tall slender woman in her late 40s.
  • Skinny (informal) too thin: a skinny little boy of about eight.
  • Anorexic extremely thin in a way that does not look healthy, also used by doctors to describe someone who has the illness ANOREXIA NERVOSA: He must have been dieting- he was looking positively anorexic!
  • Lean thin and strong: a lean man wearing a cowboy hat.
  • Emaciated extremely thin because you have been ill or do not have enough to eat: emaciated children holding out bowls for food.
  • Trim thin in a way that suggests you are careful about what you eat and how much you exercise: His trim figure made him look younger than he was.
  • Gaunt so thin that people can see your bones under your skin: His face was gaunt with lack of sleep.
  • Bony so thin that people can see your bones under your skin: long bony limbs that never seemed to fit his clothes.

# Activity: 6

  • He has lost too much weight- He is too thin now.
  • She is so thin because she watches what she eats and goes to the gym.
  • She looks much more attractive after being on that diet for a few weeks- She’s a lot thinner now.
  • She was a very graceful woman- thin and elegant.
  • News reports about famine often show children looking extremely thin.
  • He is so thin that he looks like a skeleton.

For Discussion:

Ask and answer these questions……….

a) Do you ever use fake suntan cream?

b) Has the price of something you buy regularly ever skyrocketed?

c) What do you think about fake fur?

d) Do you ever buy pirate CDs?

e) Who would you describe as ‘slender’?

 

 * Working with Texts:

Read the article and answer the questions………

Funny Old World

I don’t know why they kept me so long in prison, seventy six year old Ivan Boroughs told reporters from his home. I am looking forward to living a good life now, but it was a long time to be in goal, and I am still upset.

Boroughs, who had  been charged with malicious destruction of property in December 1972, had spent nearly twenty nine years in prison without trial for allegedly smashing a pane of glass in a bank. A prison official explained that ‘at first’ Mr Boroughs was deemed mentally ill, and therefore unfit to stand trial. He was remanded in custody, and soon got better, and we all waited to be told what to do next. But nobody ever told us.

The Commissioner of Corrections, John Prescod, confirmed that officials had known that Boroughs was in prison. We were monitoring his progress yearly, but we had to wait on communication from the court, and that did not come until Tuesday. It’s ironic, really, because if he had been charged and found guilty, the maximum sentence would have been three years.

1. Look at the word prison.

2. Does prisoner mean the same as jailer?

3. The dictionary gives SEVERAL meanings for the word correction. Which is the meaning used in passage?

4. How many meaning of sentence do you know? Which is the meaning used in passage.

 

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** Abbreviation:

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