📖 A — The English dictionary · page 39

apartheid — Everyday, meaning 1: Apartheid was a system of laws in South Africa from 1948 to the early 1990s that kept people apart by race and gave white people power and rights that Black and other people of colour were denied.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: Apartheid is also used for any system that separates and treats groups of people unequally by law.↗ Example: Under apartheid, Black and white children went to separate schools.↗ · Nelson Mandela fought against apartheid.↗ · Apartheid ended in the early 1990s, and free elections were held in 1994.↗ · Many countries refused to trade with South Africa because of apartheid.↗ · Signs under apartheid said «Whites only».↗ · People around the world protested against apartheid.↗ · We learned how apartheid was unfair and cruel.↗

apartment — Everyday, meaning 1: An apartment is a set of rooms for living in, usually on one floor of a bigger building.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: Apartments can also mean a set of rooms for a special use, such as royal apartments in a palace.↗ Example: We live in an apartment on the fifth floor.↗ · The apartment building has a lift and a laundry.↗ · Our apartment has two bedrooms and a balcony.↗ · My cousins moved to a bigger apartment.↗ · Each floor has 4 apartments, so 6 floors have 24 apartments.↗ · Pets are not allowed in some apartments.↗ · They penetrated into the apartments and halls of the palace.↗

apatosaurus — Everyday, meaning 1: An apatosaurus was a huge plant-eating dinosaur with a very long neck and long tail, which lived in North America about 150 million years ago.↗ Example: The apatosaurus was as long as two buses.↗ · Apatosaurus ate leaves from tall trees and low plants.↗ · We saw an apatosaurus skeleton at the museum.↗ · Apatosaurus lived in the Jurassic period.↗ · Its long tail may have cracked like a whip.↗ · An apatosaurus weighed as much as several elephants.↗

ape — Everyday, meaning 1: An ape is a large primate with no tail, such as a gorilla, chimpanzee, bonobo, orangutan or gibbon.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: (verb, a bit formal) To ape someone means to copy the way they act or talk, often in a silly way.↗ Everyday, meaning 3: (informal) «Go ape» means to get very excited or angry: «Dad went ape when he saw the mess».↗ Example: Gorillas are the largest apes.↗ · An ape has no tail, but most monkeys do.↗ · Orangutans are apes that live in the rainforests of Borneo and Sumatra.↗ · The younger boy aped everything his big brother did.↗ · Stop aping the teacher's voice!↗ · The crowd went ape when we scored.↗ · Chimpanzees are apes that use sticks as tools.↗ · Do not try to ape your betters.↗ · For the king had ships that went to Tarshish with the servants of Huram; once every three years came the ships of Tarshish, bringing gold, and silver, ivory, and apes, and peacocks.↗ (Writings 2CH.9.21, JPS 1917)↗ · For the king had at sea a navy of Tarshish with the navy of Hiram; once every three years came the navy of Tarshish, bringing gold, and silver, ivory, and apes, and peacocks.↗ (Prophets 1KI.10.22, JPS 1917)↗

aperture — Everyday, meaning 1: (formal) An opening, hole or gap.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: (photography, science) The hole in a camera or telescope that lets light in; its size can be changed to let in more or less light.↗ Example: Light enters the camera through the aperture.↗ · The pupil of your eye is like a camera's aperture.↗ · Make the aperture smaller on a sunny day.↗ · The cat squeezed through a narrow aperture in the fence.↗ · Arrows were shot through apertures in the castle wall.↗ · A telescope with a big aperture collects more light.↗ · Delighted with his find he slipped in through the narrow aperture and greedily devoured it all.↗

apex — Everyday, meaning 1: The top or pointed tip of something, like a mountain or a triangle.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: The highest point of success.↗ Everyday, meaning 3: (maths) The point of a cone or pyramid opposite the base.↗ Example: The climbers reached the apex of the mountain.↗ · A square-based pyramid has one apex.↗ · Lions are apex predators.↗ · She was at the apex of her career.↗ · Label the apex of the cone.↗ · The roof slopes up to an apex.↗

aphid — Everyday, meaning 1: An aphid is a very small insect, often green or black, that sucks the sap (juice) from plants.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: Aphids are also called greenfly or blackfly in the UK.↗ Example: Aphids were sucking the sap from the roses.↗ · Ladybirds eat lots of aphids.↗ · Look under the leaf: it's covered in tiny green aphids.↗ · Ants protect aphids to get their sweet honeydew.↗ · Too many aphids can make a plant wilt.↗ · The food chain: rose → aphid → ladybird → bird.↗

aphorism — In Jewish tradition, meaning 1: A short wise saying that puts a truth in few words.↗ Example: "Its form is simple and grave; there is nothing like a demonstration nor an argument; but it consists rather of a series of aphorisms, regularly grouped, and which have all the conciseness of the most ancient oracles."↗ (Sefer Yetzirah, Westcott 1893)↗

apiece — Everyday, meaning 1: Apiece means for each one, or each: «The apples cost 30 cents apiece».↗ Example: Apples cost 30 cents apiece.↗ · The boys got 4 cards apiece.↗ · She sold cupcakes for 2 dollars apiece.↗ · They paid 5 dollars apiece for tickets.↗ · The kittens sold for 50 dollars apiece.↗ · We had two cookies apiece.↗ · The prizes are worth 10 points apiece.↗ · The pens are 1 dollar apiece or 5 dollars for six.↗ · The twins scored a goal apiece.↗ · Each of us got three stickers apiece.↗ · The silly moles had not the sense to see that they did not need a door apiece.↗ · thou shalt take five shekels apiece by the poll; after the shekel of the sanctuary shalt thou take them — the shekel is twenty gerahs.↗ (Torah NUM.3.47, JPS 1917)↗ · twelve golden pans, full of incense, weighing ten shekels apiece, after the shekel of the sanctuary; all the gold of the pans a hundred and twenty shekels; (Torah NUM.7.86, JPS 1917)↗ · And the doors had two leaves apiece, two turning leaves; two leaves for the one door, and two leaves for the other.↗ (Prophets EZK.41.24, JPS 1917)↗ · Every one had four faces apiece, and every one four wings; and the likeness of the hands of a man was under their wings.↗ (Prophets EZK.10.21, JPS 1917)↗

apocalypse — In Jewish tradition, meaning 1: The end of the world, or a vision of it; a great disaster.↗

apologetic — Everyday, meaning 1: Showing that you are sorry, that you feel you have done wrong or caused trouble.↗ Example: He gave an apologetic smile after he spilt the milk.↗ · «Sorry,» she said in an apologetic voice.↗ · The apologetic dog hung its head.↗

apologise — Everyday, meaning 1: To say you are sorry for something you did wrong or for something that upset or hurt someone.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: To say sorry politely for a small trouble, like being late or interrupting.↗ Example: I apologised to my sister for breaking her pencil.↗ · You should apologise to Sam for pushing him.↗ · The bus driver apologised for the delay.↗ · She apologised for interrupting the teacher.↗ · He never apologises, even when he is wrong.↗ · "I apologise," said the waiter, and brought a clean fork.↗ · A good apology says what you did and how you will fix it.↗ · We apologised to our neighbour after the ball hit her window.↗

apology — Everyday, meaning 1: Words that say you are sorry for something you did wrong or for hurting someone.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: A message saying someone cannot come.↗ e.g. "apologies for absence".↗ Everyday, meaning 3: An apology can also be a polite excuse for a small trouble, such as interrupting someone.↗ Example: I owe you an apology for being rude.↗ · He made an apology to his teacher.↗ · She accepted my apology and we played again.↗ · A real apology means you try not to do it again.↗ · Please write a letter of apology to the neighbour.↗ · My apologies for being late.↗

apoplexy — Everyday, meaning 1: (old use) A sudden illness, like a stroke, that can make a person collapse.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: A fit of great anger, so that someone goes red in the face.↗ Example: The old lord turned purple, as if he would have apoplexy.↗ · Don't get so angry you have apoplexy!↗

apostle — Everyday, meaning 1: (Bible) An apostle is one of the twelve men Jesus chose to be his closest followers and send out to spread his teaching, such as Peter, James and John; Paul is also called an apostle.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: An apostle is a strong supporter who spreads a new idea, as in "an apostle of clean energy".↗ Example: Peter was one of the twelve apostles.↗ · The apostles travelled far to tell people about Jesus.↗ · Paul wrote many letters to churches and is called an apostle.↗ · We said the Apostles' Creed in assembly.↗ · The Twelve Apostles are also tall rocks on the coast of Australia.↗ · She is an apostle of recycling and nags everyone to do it.↗

apostrophe — Everyday, meaning 1: An apostrophe is a punctuation mark (') used to show that letters are missing in a shortened word: «don't» means «do not».↗ Everyday, meaning 2: An apostrophe also shows that something belongs to someone: «Sam's bag».↗ Everyday, meaning 3: (literature, formal) An apostrophe is also when a speaker in a poem talks directly to someone absent or a thing, like «O Moon!».↗ Example: «Don't» has an apostrophe where the «o» is missing.↗ · This is Mia's coat.↗ · The girls' changing room is on the left.↗ · «It's» means «it is»; «its» means «belonging to it».↗ · Do not use an apostrophe to make a plural: «bananas», not «banana's».↗ · «The children's paintings» uses «'s» because «children» is already plural.↗ · «Who's» means «who is».↗

apothecary — Everyday, meaning 1: (old) An apothecary was a person who made and sold medicines, like a chemist or pharmacist today.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: (old) An apothecary also gave simple medical advice and treatment.↗ Early Modern English, meaning 1: A person who made and sold medicines.↗ Example: The apothecary mixed a potion of herbs.↗ · In Tudor times you went to the apothecary for medicine.↗ · Rows of jars lined the apothecary's shop.↗ · The apothecary weighed the powder carefully.↗ · Today a pharmacist does the job of an apothecary.↗ · The story's villain bought poison from an apothecary.↗ · "Whose is it, and where did you get it?" asked the apothecary.↗ (Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen) · "Heaven preserve us!" cried the apothecary, "you are out of your mind.↗ (Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen) · ‘Who is it, and how did you get it?’ asked the apothecary.↗ (The Yellow Fairy Book)

apotheosis — Everyday, meaning 1: (rare) The moment a person is raised to be a god or made as high as possible.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: The best or highest point of something.↗ Example: In the myth, the hero's apotheosis made him a god.↗ · The final song was the apotheosis of the show.↗

app — Everyday, meaning 1: An app is a program on a phone, tablet or computer, like a game, a map or a calculator.↗ It is short for «application».↗ Example: Dave had 23 apps on his phone.↗ · He deleted 8 apps.↗ · She downloaded 6 new apps.↗ · How many more apps than files did he have left?↗ · I use a maths app to practise times tables.↗ · The weather app says it will rain.↗ · Ask a parent before you download a new app.↗ · Tap the app to open it.↗

appalachian — Everyday, meaning 1: Appalachian means to do with the Appalachian Mountains, a long, old mountain range in eastern North America, from Canada down to Alabama in the USA.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: Appalachian also describes the region of Appalachia and its people, music and way of life.↗ Example: The Appalachian Mountains run through the eastern United States.↗ · Hikers walk the whole Appalachian Trail in about six months.↗ · The Appalachian Mountains are very old and rounded.↗ · Coal was mined in many Appalachian towns.↗ · We listened to Appalachian folk music with a banjo.↗ · Black bears live in the Appalachian forests.↗ · The Appalachians stretch into Canada.↗ · Our class drew the Appalachian range on a map of the USA.↗

appalled — Everyday, meaning 1: Shocked and upset, feeling strong dislike or fear at something bad.↗ Example: We were appalled by the mess in the kitchen.↗ · The boy was appalled at the dark cave.↗ · She stood, appalled, as the storm broke.↗ · And my spirit fainteth within me; my heart within me is appalled.↗ (Writings PSA.143.4, JPS 1917)↗ · Let them be appalled by reason of their shame that say unto me: 'Aha, aha.'↗ (Writings PSA.40.16, JPS 1917)↗ · Then Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, was appalled for a while, and his thoughts affrighted him.↗ (Writings DAN.4.16, JPS 1917)↗

appalling — Everyday, meaning 1: Very shocking and unpleasant.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: (informal) Very bad: «appalling weather», «appalling handwriting».↗ Everyday, meaning 3: Appalling can also mean so impressive that it is astonishing.↗ Example: The weather was appalling on sports day.↗ · The animals lived in appalling conditions.↗ · His handwriting is appalling!↗ · That was appalling behaviour.↗ · The traffic was appalling this morning.↗ · The food at the camp was appalling.↗ · An appalling and horrible thing is come to pass in the land: (Prophets JER.5.30, JPS 1917)↗