( 21 ) unit

Unit Twenty One

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1.topping\ adj. & n.

— adj.

1pre-eminent in position, rank, etc.

2Brit. archaic sl. excellent.

— n. anything that tops something else, esp. icing etc. on a cake.

2.trembly \ adj. (tremblier, trembliest) colloq.

trembling; agitated.

3.damage\ n. & v.

— n.

1harm or injury impairing the value or usefulness of something, or the health or normal function of a person.

2(in pl.) Law a sum of money claimed or awarded in compensation for a loss or an injury.

3the loss of what is desirable.

4(prec. by the) sl. cost (what's the damage?).

— v.tr.

1inflict damage on.

2(esp. as damaging adj.) detract from the reputation of (a most damaging admission).

4.basement\ n.

the lowest floor of a building, usu. at least partly below ground level.

5.collapse\ n. & v.

— n.

1the tumbling down or falling in of a structure; folding up; giving way.

2a sudden failure of a plan, undertaking, etc.

3a physical or mental breakdown.

— v.

1a intr. undergo or experience a collapse. b tr. cause to collapse.

2intr. colloq. lie or sit down and relax, esp. after prolonged effort (collapsed into a chair).

3a intr. (of furniture etc.) be foldable into a small space. b tr. fold (furniture) in this way.

6.trap 3\ n. (in full trap-rock)

any dark-coloured igneous rock, fine-grained and columnar in structure, esp. basalt.

7.tremble\v. & n.

— v.intr.

1shake involuntarily from fear, excitement, weakness, etc.

2be in a state of extreme apprehension (trembled at the very thought of it).

3move in a quivering manner (leaves trembled in the breeze).

— n.

1a trembling state or movement; a quiver (couldn't speak without a tremble).

2(in pl.) a disease (esp. of cattle) marked by trembling.

8.pass 2\n.

1a narrow passage through mountains.

2a navigable channel, esp. at the mouth of a river.

9.weak \ adj.

1deficient in strength, power, or number; fragile; easily broken or bent or defeated.

2deficient in vigour; sickly, feeble (weak health; a weak imagination).

3a deficient in resolution; easily led (a weak character). b (of an action or features) indicating a lack of resolution (a weak surrender; a weak chin).

4unconvincing or logically deficient (weak evidence; a weak argument).

5(of a mixed liquid or solution) watery, thin, dilute (weak tea).

6(of a style etc.) not vigorous or well-knit; diffuse, slipshod.

7(of a crew) short-handed.

8(of a syllable etc.) unstressed.

9Gram. in Germanic languages: a (of a verb) forming inflections by the addition of a suffix to the stem. b (of a noun or adjective) belonging to a declension in which the stem originally ended in -n (opp. strong adj. 22).

10.seismograph\ n.

an instrument that records the force, direction, etc., of earthquakes.

seismographic adj.

seismographical adj.__ 3

11.suffice\ v.

1intr. (often foll. by for, or to + infin.) be enough or adequate (that will suffice for our purpose; suffices to prove it).

2tr. meet the needs of; satisfy (six sufficed him).

12.ruin \ n. & v.

— n.

1a destroyed or wrecked state.

2a person's or thing's downfall or elimination (the ruin of my hopes).

3a the complete loss of one's property or position (bring to ruin). b a person who has suffered ruin.

4(in sing. or pl.) the remains of a building etc. that has suffered ruin (an old ruin; ancient ruins).

5a cause of ruin (will be the ruin of us).

13.block\ n. , v., & adj.

— n.

1a solid hewn or unhewn piece of hard material, esp. of rock, stone, or wood (block of ice).

2a flat-topped block used as a base for chopping, beheading, standing something on, hammering on, or for mounting a horse from.

3a a large building, esp. when subdivided (block of flats). b a compact mass of buildings bounded by (usu. four) streets.

4an obstruction; anything preventing progress or normal working (a block in the pipe).

5a chock for stopping the motion of a wheel etc.

6a pulley or system of pulleys mounted in a case.

7(in pl.) any of a set of solid cubes etc., used as a child's toy.

8Printing a piece of wood or metal engraved for printing on paper or fabric.

9a head-shaped mould used for shaping hats or wigs.

10sl. the head (knock his block off).

11US a the area between streets in a town or suburb. b the length of such an area, esp. as a measure of distance (lives three blocks away).

12a stolid, unimaginative, or hard-hearted person.

13a large quantity or allocation of things treated as a unit, esp. shares, seats in a theatre, etc.

14a set of sheets of paper used for writing, or esp. drawing, glued along one edge.

15Cricket a spot on which a batsman blocks the ball before the wicket, and rests the bat before playing.

16Athletics = starting-block.

17Amer. Football a blocking action.

18Austral. a a tract of land offered to an individual settler by a government. b a large area of land.

— v.tr.

1a (often foll. by up) obstruct (a passage etc.) (the road was blocked; you are blocking my view). b put obstacles in the way of (progress etc.).

2restrict the use or conversion of (currency or any other asset).

3use a block for making (a hat, wig, etc.).

4emboss or impress a design on (a book cover).

5Cricket stop (a ball) with a bat defensively.

6Amer. Football intercept (an opponent) with one's body.

14.war\ n. & v.

— n.

1a armed hostilities between esp. nations; conflict (war broke out; war zone). b a specific conflict or the period of time during which such conflict exists (was before the war). c the suspension of international law etc. during such a conflict.

2(as the War) a war in progress or recently ended; the most recent major war.

3a hostility or contention between people, groups, etc. (war of words). b (often foll. by on) a sustained campaign against crime, disease, poverty, etc.

— v.intr. (warred, warring)

1(as warring adj.) a rival; fighting (warring factions). b conflicting (warring principles).

2make war.

art of war strategy and tactics.

at war (often foll. by with) engaged in a war.

go to war declare or begin a war.

go to the wars archaic serve as a soldier.

have been in the wars colloq. appear injured, bruised, unkempt, etc.

war baby a child, esp. illegitimate, born in wartime.

war bride a woman who marries a serviceman met during a war.

war chest funds for a war or any other campaign.

war-cloud a threatening international situation.

war correspondent a correspondent reporting from a scene of war.

war crime a crime violating the international laws of war.

war criminal a person committing or sentenced for such crimes.

war cry 1 a phrase or name shouted to rally one's troops. 2 a party slogan etc.

war damage damage to property etc. caused by bombing, shelling, etc.

war dance a dance performed by primitive peoples etc. before a battle or to celebrate victory.

15.rescue\

— v.tr. (rescues, rescued, rescuing)

1(often foll. by from) save or set free or bring away from attack, custody, danger, or harm.

2Law a unlawfully liberate (a person). b forcibly recover (property).

— n. the act or an instance of rescuing or being rescued; deliverance.

rescue bid Bridge a bid made to get one's partner out of a difficult situation.

16.saying\ n.

1the act or an instance of saying.

2a maxim, proverb, adage, etc.

as the saying goes (or is) an expression used in introducing a proverb, cliché, etc.

go without saying be too well known or obvious to need mention.

there is no saying it is impossible to know______________

17.sometimes \ adv.

at some times; occasionally.

18.topple\ v. intr. & tr. (usu. foll. by over, down)

1fall or cause to fall as if top-heavy.

2totter or cause to totter and fall.

19.ground 1 \ n. & v.

— n.

1a the surface of the earth, esp. as contrasted with the air around it. b a part of this specified in some way (low ground).

2the substance of the earth's surface; soil, earth (stony ground; dug deep into the ground).

3a a position, area, or distance on the earth's surface. b the extent of activity etc. achieved or of a subject dealt with (the book covers a lot of ground).

4(often in pl.) a foundation, motive, or reason (there is ground for concern; there are grounds for believing; excused on the grounds of ill-health).

5an area of a special kind or designated for special use (often in comb.: cricket-ground; fishing-grounds).

6(in pl.) an area of usu. enclosed land attached to a house etc.

7an area or basis for consideration, agreement, etc. (common ground; on firm ground).

8a (in painting) the prepared surface giving the predominant colour or tone. b (in embroidery, ceramics, etc.) the undecorated surface.

9(in full ground bass) Mus. a short theme in the bass constantly repeated with the upper parts of the music varied.

20.earthquake \ n.

1a convulsion of the superficial parts of the earth due to the release of accumulated stress as a result of faults in strata or volcanic action.

2a social etc. disturbance.

21.ground 1\ n. & v.