1) a carpenter's tool; "Rail braces"; 2) a pair or couple, especially of game; 3) tighten, support, make firm.

a band worn round the arm or wrist.

invigorating

a kind of fern

1) a support to hold a shelf; 2) one of a pair of marks () used to enclose words or mathematical symbols; enclose with brackets.

small tool used for boring

hill; hillside, slope

plait, interlace

raised letters that a blind person can read by touching them

the grey matter in the head which controls the work of the body, and with which you think; the intelect itself

clever

movement of people to another country or industry to work, because they will be paid more there: "We will set up a Pay Review Body for academic staff in order to halt the brain drain."

to keep thinking about sth all the time: "I've had that song on the brain all day."

the person or people that think of, plan, and develop sth: "The brains behind the new system are three Internet addicts from Indonesia."

to shoot sb in the head: "If I believed half the depressing things you say, I'd have blown my brains out by now."

ask sb for information about a subject that they have a lot of knowledge and experience of; to find out everything that sb knows about sth by asking then questions: "Being able to pick your brains ont he subject was an immense help." ; "I want to pick your brains about places to stay in Nepal."

think very hard in order to remember sth, or to find a solution to sth; to try very hard think of sth: "A blonde girl waved at me from across the room. I waved back, racking my brains to remember who she was."; I racked my brains trying to think of sth sensible to say."

1) to have a sudden good idea: "Phil had a brainwave - he would write about his experiences and sell them to the newspaper."
2) to behave in a wild or unexpected way for a short time: "I went jogging at 6 this morning - I can't think why, I must have had a brainstorm!"

clevar idea

stew in a covered pan

sth that is pressed against a wheel to stop it turning; apply the brake

to stop or slow down: "We put the brakes on our advertising campaign, but production costs are still rising."

a blackberry bush

1) one of the arm-like parts of a tree growing out of the trunk; 2)large stores and banks also have branches; separate buildings in different towns; "That department store has branches all over the country."

1) to burn the owner's symbol on the hide if cattle with a hot iron; 2) A make of goods, "Commercial brand", "Manufacturer brand"; 3) "The brand of Cain"; 4) a poetic word for a sword.

wave about, especially a weapon.

an alcoholic drink distilled from wine

a bright, yellowish metal made by mixing copper and zinc; "A brass plate"; "Keen on making brass"

very confident, and not afraid to ask for things, often to the point of being disrespectful, and sometimes rude: "She walked into his office, as bold as brass, and started questioning him."; "She came up to me, bold as brass, and asked me for the car keys."

courageous, fearless; "She told everyone that he has been brave by starting the debate over something so polemical."; meet boldly without fear; an American Indian warrior

put on a brave face; do not show any fear about sth: "I had to put on a brave face and try not to appear worried, but when I saw him I was shocked at how much he had changed."

a rowdy quarrel; quarrel noisily

1) muscular strength; 2) pickled chopped pork

to help by doing someone else's work when they are unable to do it: "Pat's ready to step into the breach when Jim goes into hospital."

a food made form flour and baked in an oven

the activity that brings in most of your money; the way your earn your living: "Small jobs like oil changes are the garage owner's bread and butter." ; "They earn their bread and butter from market research." ; "Their bread-and-butter product is a database program for small businesses."

to earn the money that you need in order to live: "Writing poetry isn't the easiest way of earning your bread."

someone knows that they must be nice to another person in order to get an advantage: "I nearly told my boss what I thought of her, but I know very well which side my bread is buttered on"

someone thinks that something is extremely good: "They have a computer system which they think is the greatest thing since sliced bread although it seems out of date to me."

to be very poor: "After years of living on the breadline, Kay has finally got a good job."

width, broadness, distance from side to side

to be or come very very close to doing sth: "He came within a hair's breadth of losing his sight in the crash."

1) smash; 2) a rest: "When she had finished her work, she had a break."; 3) in snooker or billiards, a series of scoring strokes.

(about business) sb/sth makes as much money as he/she/it spends, but does not make a profit: "Although we had broken even, we were unable to go on paying wages."

to start moving fast in order to escape: "I tried to make a break for it, but one of the boys blocked my way."

to escape from a place or situation, or separate yourself completely from it: "I'll make a clean brake form athletics in two years' time and I won't be competing any more."

a clear and definite ending: "After her marriage broke down, Sue wanted a clean brake with the past, so she moved to Canada."

to be treated as equal to other people: "Many women still don't get an even brake in the workplace."

I don't really believe that!: "'It took me almost an hour to finish.' 'Oh, give me a brake, there's no way it took that long.'"

knock it off, give it a rest, to stop annoying, criticizing or blaming someone: "'Come on! Haven't you finished yet?' 'Oh, just give me a brake, will you? I'll do it in my own time.'" ; "Give the kid a brake, he's doing his best!"

1) (of a piece of machinery), to stop working; failure; 2) separate sth into the parts it is made up of: "It's quite a big job, but if we break it down sensibly, we can do it."

heavy ocean wave which breaks on rocks or shore

the first meal of the day, usually eaten in the early morning

to defeat someone easily, to be likely to beat sb easily in a contest, or easily gain control over people: "You aren't ready to play in competitions yet - they'd eat you for breakfast! ; Have you seen the size of him? He'll have our Charlie for breakfast."

to do sth very badly: "Frankly, they made a real dog's breakfast out of the management training course."

major advance in science etc

a structure built in the sea, usually near a harbour, to break the force of the waves

a freshwater or sea fish

the milk-secreting organ in mammals; the chest of a person or an animal

to admit that you have done sth wrong: "He made a clean breast of it and returned the money."

device for measuring the amount of alcohol in the blood

take air into the lungs and let it out again

to feel safer or more relaxed: "We all breathed easier when she left the company."

air drawn in and expelled by lungs

to be very beautiful, exciting, pleasing, shocking, or surprising "His first sight of the Grand Canyon took his breath away."; "The scenery in the Alps will take your breath away."

new and interesting ideas or ways of doing things; having a fresh and positive influence on you and people in general: "Those two new teachers bring a breath of fresh air to the staffroom." ; "They remember him as a 'breath of fresh air', as a manager who rejuvenated the team with his ability to motivate players."

to say sth in a very quiet voice, quietly or in a whisper: "'Oh, no, here she comes!' he said under his breath." ; "'Leave this to me', she said under her breath, and winked."

to have time to rest or to think properly; to stop breathing for a moment, because of fear, amazement or pain, for example: "The city didn't even have time to catch its breath before the next storm hit." ; "A sudden noise made her catch her breath; but it was only the wind"

don't expect sth to happen soon; sb is expecting sth which you think is unlikely to happen: "'When will I get the money?' 'don't hold your breath - it can take up to three months.'" ; "'I'm sure she'll change her mind when she's thought about it.' 'Don't hold your breath; she's not known for her flexibility'."

save your breath, don't say anything, because it will be useless; to decide not to bother telling sb sth, probably because you know they won't pay attention: "Don't waste your breath making excuses - I can see you're drunk." ; "You might as well save your breath; whatever you say, they'll do exactly as they please."

(of two opposite things) said at almost the same time: "The minister called young people lazy and unfeeling, and in the same breath accused them of aggression and violence."

feeling anxious about the result of sth; to wait in great anticipation for sth: "She watched with bated breath as the plane dropped lower and lower." ; "She waited for a reply to her offer with bated breath."

animals that produce others of exactly the same kind: "The Labrador is a breed of dog."; 2) produce young ones

a gentle wind

to be very easy: "He hated the geography exam, but the physics was a breeze."

to talk in an informal and friendly way: "She enjoyed the meetings - girls sitting around shooting the breeze and getting to know each other."

a place where beer is brewed, or made

make beer

money or sth offered to obtain some services - usually dishonest or illegal; offer a bribe

a block of hardened clay used in building

drop sb/sth like a hot potato, to suddenly stop being involved with sb or dealing with a problem, usually because you find out sth bad about them or it: "If she finds out what he said to the press, she'll drop him like a hot potato."

a woman who is about to be married or who has just been married.

of a bride or wedding

a man who is about to be married or who has just been married.

a girl who helps a bride at her wedding

1) a structure that enables people or vehicles to cross a road, river or other obstacle; span a space with a bridge; 2) platform on a ship for navigating etc; 3) the name of a card game for four players that is based on whist.

to deal with a problem when it arises/happens and/but not before: "She lit another cigarette. What would she do when the secret was out? She would cross that bridge when she came to it." ; "'What if they don't agree to pay you back for expenses?' 'We'll cross that bridge when we come to it.'"

to try to establish a better relationship: "The police want to build bridges with the local community by holding sports events and open days."

to destroy your chances of continuing in a situation: "She couldn't take the exam now - she'd burnt her bridges when she stormed out of the school and swore she'd never go back."

the harness that goes on a horse's head, including the reins

1) lasting for a short time only: "The meeting was a brief one."; "At that time, he had been attending in a desperate attempt a night writing course in order to learn how to write brief and straightforward reports."; 2) an instruction, particularly to a lawyer.

briefness, shortness in speech or writing: "Brevity is the soul of wit."

a robber

1) shiny, cheerful; 2) clever

full of beans; (feeling) fresh, well-rested, full of energy and ready/eager to do/start doing sth: "Two hours after her operation, she was sitting up in bed, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed." ; "How can you be so bright-eyed and bushy-tailed on only three hours' sleep?"

1) very bright: "A brilliant star shone between the clouds"; very clever

1) the edge of a cup or container: "The bucket was full to the brim."; 2) the projecting edge of a hat

fetch or carry

to surprise sb, so that they stop what they are doing: "The question brought her up short, but after a moment she replied, 'Even if I knew the answer to that, I wouldn't tell you."

"The comedian's jokes were so funny that they brought down the house."

"The man denied taking part in the kidnapping, but when questioned by the police he brought everything out into the open."

"Any book that deals with a modern language, particularly one such as flexible as English, must be periodically brought up to date."; "My friend Fabricio, who had just lived for almost a year in the state of North Dakota, USA, asked me to bring him up to date on the Brazilian political panorama."

care for a child as it grows

the edge of sth, such as a river or precipice

lively, alert

1) a short stiff hair; 2) become angry

easily snapped or broken

a piece of jewellery that is pinned on to clothing

wide, a long way across

it's almost the same, without advantage either way: "It's as broad as it's long - it will take you half an hour whichever route you take."

1) send out in all directions, particularly by radio or television; 2) scatter seed

make or become broader

hardy variety of cauliflower

pamphlet or booklet

a badger

to lose all one's money and cannot continue to work or trade properly

stick your neck out; to risk everything you have for a chance of being extremely successful: "After winning the gold in the under 16s' National Championships, he decided to go for broke and turn professional."

stony broke, flat broke, having little or no money left: "Can I pay you next week? I'm afraid I'm stone broke."

inflammation of the windpipe, resulting in coughing, wheezing and shortness of breath

a reddish-brown metal made from mixing copper and tin

birds produced at one hatch; sit on eggs; meditate deeply; worry about

run, kill, branch, crick, creek; a small stream

1) a brush with a long handle; 2) yellow flowered shrub

a new person in authority who makes changes: "Taylor's been brought in as a new broom, so we're hoping for an improvement in staff relations."

a thin soup

a son of the same parents as someone; member of a religious order, trade union etc

the foreehad; top of a hill in a road

to bring your eyebrows together in a frown, because you are thinking, or concentrating very hard: "He knitted his brows as he tried to remember what she had said."

bully

the name of a dark colour between black and orange; the colour of earth

1) a small friendly elf; 2)a junior Girl Guide

to do sth that impresses sb and makes them like you: "You definitely got lots of brownie points by bringing back his precious golf clubs."

a blue-black mark on the skin caused by a knock; inflict bruises

1) implement with bristles for sweeping, smoothing hair, cleaning teeth etc; use a brush; 2) fox's tail

to criticize sb by connecting them with sb similar: "You can't tar every woman with the same brush just because things don't go well for you and Jane."

a chip off the old block; having the same faults: "You never told me that! Not that I'm surprised; they're all tarred with the same brush, that family."

to show sb that you do not feel friendly or attracted to them: "Look, I'm sorry, I don't want you to think I'm giving you the brush-off, but you can't call me here."

brutal, brutish, beastly, bestial, animal; unkind person

inhuman; unfeeling