📖 A — The English dictionary · page 11

activist — Everyday, meaning 1: An activist is a person who works hard to bring about political or social change, for example by campaigning, protesting or writing letters.↗ Example: Rosa Parks was a civil rights activist.↗ · Malala became an activist for girls' education.↗ · Climate activists marched through the city.↗ · Activists collected signatures for a petition.↗ · You can be an activist by writing to your local council.↗ · The activists held up signs outside parliament.↗

activity — Everyday, meaning 1: An activity is something that you do, especially for fun, learning or exercise («after-school activities»).↗ Everyday, meaning 2: Activity is a situation in which a lot is happening or people are busy and moving («a lot of activity in the playground»).↗ Everyday, meaning 3: Activity is also movement or work done by something (volcanic activity, brain activity).↗ Example: Our class did a fun activity with magnets.↗ · Swimming is my favourite activity.↗ · Children need an hour of physical activity a day.↗ · The after-school activities include chess and football.↗ · There was a lot of activity at the station before the holiday.↗ · Scientists watch the volcano for signs of activity.↗ · The teacher handed out an activity sheet.↗ · Reading is a quiet activity.↗ · The Nineteenth Path is the Intelligence of all the activities of the spiritual beings, and is so called because of the affluence diffused by it from the most high blessing and most exalted sublime glory.↗ (Sefer Yetzirah, Westcott 1887)↗ · The Nineteenth Path is the Intelligence of all the activities of the spiritual beings, and is so called because of the aflluence diffused by it from the most high blessing and most exalted sublime glory.↗ (Sefer Yetzirah, Westcott 1893)↗

actor — Everyday, meaning 1: An actor is a person who plays a part in a play, a show or a film.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: An actor can be any person or group that takes part in something.↗ Example: The play has 12 actors.↗ · Each actor needs 3 costumes.↗ · 5 actors left the show.↗ · The actors sold 240 tickets.↗ · The actor learned all his lines.↗ · She wants to be an actor when she grows up.↗ · The voice actor plays a talking cat.↗ · All the actors bowed at the end.↗ · A good actor can make you cry.↗ · The actors wore masks on stage.↗ · "One can always get actors if one makes use of what one has," observed grandpapa.↗

actress — Everyday, meaning 1: An actress is a woman or girl who acts in plays, films or TV shows, pretending to be a character.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: (informal) Someone who is "a good actress" is good at pretending feelings she does not really have.↗ Example: The actress played a queen in the new film.↗ · My sister wants to be an actress when she grows up.↗ · She won the award for best actress.↗ · The actress learned all her lines in a week.↗ · A child actress played the girl in the story.↗ · Don't believe her tears, she's a good little actress!↗ · The actress waved to the fans outside the theatre.↗ · The many distinguished actors and actresses who had passed away must surely have a field for their talent.↗

actual — Everyday, meaning 1: Actual means real or true, not just guessed, imagined or planned.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: Actual is used to stress the exact thing itself, as in «the actual answer».↗ Example: I guessed 50 sweets, but the actual number was 62.↗ · The picture shows the beetle at actual size.↗ · What is the difference between the estimate and the actual answer?↗ · The actual party starts at six, not five.↗ · In actual fact, the moon has no light of its own.↗ · The plan said ten minutes, but the actual trip took twenty.↗ · But in the actual Russia of to-day, snakes bear by no means so bad a character.↗

actually — Everyday, meaning 1: Actually means «in fact» or «really», what is true.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: Actually is used when you correct someone or say something surprising.↗ Everyday, meaning 3: Actually is used to sound polite or soft when you disagree or change your mind.↗ Example: The Sun looks small, but actually it is enormous.↗ · Actually, my name is Sam, not Tom.↗ · Did you actually see the fox?↗ · I thought it would be hard, but it was actually easy.↗ · Actually, I'd rather have juice.↗ · What actually happened at the party?↗ · Whales are actually mammals.↗ · He actually finished the whole book in one day.↗ · And he found that he actually had hind legs!↗ · * The Chinese Philosophers even actually said that the circle 0 and the (Mordell, The Origin of Letters and Numerals according to Sefer Yetzirah (1914))↗ · This ]ieeuliarity harmonizes best with tjie Libjan- Uerberic alphabet, in which we actually find each of the first (Mordell, The Origin of Letters and Numerals according to Sefer Yetzirah (1914))↗ · A work like the Sefer Yetzirah could not have been the product of the person, who actually put it into writing.↗ (Mordell, The Origin of Letters and Numerals according to Sefer Yetzirah (1914))↗

acuity — Everyday, meaning 1: (formal) Sharpness of a sense, especially of eyesight or hearing: «visual acuity» means how clearly you can see small details.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: (formal) Sharpness of the mind: being quick to notice and understand things.↗ Example: The eye test measured my visual acuity.↗ · Eagles have amazing visual acuity and can spot a mouse from high up.↗ · The detective's acuity helped her solve the case.↗ · Older dogs can lose some hearing acuity.↗ · The optician said my acuity is better with glasses.↗ · Owls have great acuity in the dark.↗

acute — Everyday, meaning 1: (maths) An acute angle is less than 90 degrees, smaller than a right angle.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: Very serious or severe, like acute pain or an acute shortage.↗ Everyday, meaning 3: (medicine) Starting suddenly and lasting a short time, as opposed to chronic.↗ Everyday, meaning 4: Very sharp and good, about senses or the mind, like acute hearing.↗ Example: An acute angle is smaller than a right angle.↗ · All three angles in an acute triangle are less than 90 degrees.↗ · Dogs have an acute sense of smell.↗ · He was taken to hospital with acute stomach pain.↗ · There is an acute shortage of water in the village.↗ · Owls have acute hearing.↗ · This one possessed the sense of hearing to a very high degree: so acute was this sense, that it was said he could hear the grass grow.↗

ad — Everyday, meaning 1: An ad is short for advertisement: a picture, video, poster or message that tries to get people to buy something or do something.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: A small ad (classified ad) is a short notice in a newspaper or online to sell something or find a job, a home or a lost pet.↗ Everyday, meaning 3: In scholarly notes, ad is a Latin word meaning "at" or "to", as in "ad fin." meaning "at the end".↗ Example: I saw an ad for a new cereal on TV.↗ · We had to watch an ad before the video.↗ · Ads use bright colours to catch your eye.↗ · Don't click on pop-up ads in games.↗ · Dad put an ad online to sell our old bike.↗ · Our class made an ad for the school fair.↗ · There was an ad on the side of the bus.↗ · The ad said «free», but you had to pay to play.↗ · For a child is born unto us, a son is given unto us; and the government is upon his shoulder; and his name is called Pele-joez-el-gibbor-Abi-ad-sar-shalom; (Prophets ISA.9.5, JPS 1917)↗

ada — Everyday, meaning 1: Ada is a girl's name (a name).↗ Everyday, meaning 2: Ada Lovelace was an English mathematician who wrote what is often called the first computer program.↗ Everyday, meaning 3: Ada is also a programming language named after her.↗ Everyday, meaning 4: ADA in the USA stands for the Americans with Disabilities Act, a law that protects disabled people.↗ Example: Ada Lovelace worked with Charles Babbage on his Analytical Engine.↗ · Ada is the youngest girl in our class.↗ · Our coding lesson was about Ada Lovelace and the first program.↗ · The library has a poster of Ada Lovelace.↗ · ADA rules mean the building must have a ramp.↗ · Ada is a programming language used in planes and trains.↗

adam — Everyday, meaning 1: Adam is a boy's or a man's name.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: In the Bible, Adam is the first man.↗ Everyday, meaning 3: «Adam's apple» is the bump at the front of the throat.↗ Example: Adam has 15 stickers.↗ · Adam gives 4 apples to his sister.↗ · Adam reads 20 pages a day.↗ · How many more cards does Adam have than Lisa?↗ · Adam is in my class.↗ · Adam's dog is called Rex.↗ · Adam won the spelling bee.↗ · Adam and Eve are in a story from the Bible.↗ · Your Adam's apple moves when you swallow.↗ · Adam scored 2 goals.↗ · Still, she was one of Adam's race, like Rudy.↗ · This is the book of the generations of Adam.↗ (Torah GEN.5.1, JPS 1917)↗ · And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years; and he died.↗ (Torah GEN.5.5, JPS 1917)↗ · And the LORD God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins, and clothed them.↗ (Torah GEN.3.21, JPS 1917)↗

adamant — Everyday, meaning 1: Adjective: refusing firmly to change your mind.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: Noun (old use, in fairy tales): a very hard stone, unbreakable like diamond.↗ Example: She was adamant that she would not go.↗ · The chains were made of adamant.↗ · "No," said the king, adamant as ever.↗ · As an adamant harder than flint have I made thy forehead; fear them not, neither be dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house.'↗ (Prophets EZK.3.9, JPS 1917)↗

adapt — Everyday, meaning 1: To adapt is to change so that you fit a new place or situation better.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: To adapt something is to change it so it can be used in a new way.↗ Everyday, meaning 3: To adapt a book or story is to change it into a film, play or shorter version.↗ Example: Polar bears are adapted to live in the cold Arctic.↗ · It took me a few weeks to adapt to my new school.↗ · We adapted the recipe because Sam cannot eat nuts.↗ · The play was adapted from a famous fairy tale.↗ · Cacti are adapted to dry places: they store water in their stems.↗ · Our dog quickly adapted to the new house.↗ · This is probably another case of adapting one tradition to another.↗

adaptable — Everyday, meaning 1: Adaptable means able to change to suit new situations or places.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: An adaptable thing can be changed for different uses.↗ Example: Foxes are adaptable and live in both cities and forests.↗ · Be adaptable when plans change.↗ · This adaptable table can be made bigger.↗ · Humans are very adaptable animals.↗ · Good teachers are adaptable to every pupil.↗ · The adaptable plant grows in sun or shade.↗

adaptation — Everyday, meaning 1: In science, an adaptation is a feature of a living thing (body part or behaviour) that helps it survive in its habitat, like a camel's hump or a polar bear's thick fur.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: An adaptation is a changed version of something, such as a film made from a book.↗ Everyday, meaning 3: Adaptation is the process of changing to fit a new situation.↗ Example: A camel's long eyelashes are an adaptation to sandy winds.↗ · Webbed feet are an adaptation for swimming.↗ · Cacti have spines instead of leaves, an adaptation that saves water.↗ · Hibernation is a behavioural adaptation.↗ · We watched a film adaptation of «Charlotte's Web».↗ · The play was an adaptation of a fairy tale.↗ · Moving to a new country took some adaptation.↗ · The Russian word idol is identical with our own adaptation of +eidolou+.↗

adapted — Everyday, meaning 1: Adapted means changed so as to suit a new use, place or situation («The book was adapted into a film»).↗ Everyday, meaning 2: In science, adapted describes a living thing whose body or behaviour suits its habitat («Camels are adapted to the desert»).↗ Everyday, meaning 3: Adapted means got used to something new («She quickly adapted to her new school»).↗ Example: A polar bear is adapted to the cold Arctic.↗ · Cactuses are adapted to live with little water.↗ · The play was adapted from a famous book.↗ · The car was adapted so that Grandad could drive with his hands only.↗ · Ducks have webbed feet, adapted for swimming.↗ · After a few weeks, our puppy adapted to his new home.↗ · The recipe was adapted to make it gluten-free.↗ · Fish are adapted to breathe in water with gills.↗ · The stories have mainly been adapted or translated by Mrs. Lang, a few by Miss Lang and Miss Blackley.↗

adapter — Everyday, meaning 1: A small device that lets you connect a plug or cable to a socket or machine it does not normally fit.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: A person who adapts something, such as a story for film.↗ Example: We need a travel adapter for the plugs in Spain.↗ · The laptop came with a power adapter.↗ · Do not plug too many things into one adapter.↗ · He used an adapter to connect his headphones to the phone.↗ · The UK plug would not fit, so Dad found an adapter.↗ · The film's adapter changed the ending of the book.↗

adaptor — Everyday, meaning 1: An adaptor is a small device that lets you connect a plug or cable to a different kind of socket.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: An adaptor is something that changes a thing so it fits or works with another thing.↗ Example: We need an adaptor to use our charger in Spain.↗ · Dad bought a travel adaptor at the airport.↗ · The adaptor changes a UK plug to fit a US socket.↗ · Don't plug too many things into one adaptor.↗ · My laptop has a power adaptor.↗ · This adaptor lets old headphones fit the new phone.↗ · The adaptor got hot, so Mum unplugged it.↗