📖 P — The English dictionary · page 44

poor — Everyday, meaning 1: Poor means having very little money and few things, so that it is hard to pay for food, a home or clothes.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: Poor means not good enough, low in quality: poor work, poor light, poor health.↗ Everyday, meaning 3: We say «poor» when we feel sorry for someone: «Poor puppy, it is cold.».↗ Everyday, meaning 4: Poor at something means not skilled at it.↗ Example: The family was too poor to buy a car, so they took the bus.↗ · My handwriting is poor when I write too fast.↗ · Poor Max fell off his bike and scraped his knee.↗ · Wood is a poor conductor of heat, so the spoon handle stays cool.↗ · The light was too poor to read by, so I switched on the lamp.↗ · I am poor at catching but good at running.↗ · Charities collect food for poor families at Christmas.↗ · The plants grew badly in the poor, dry soil.↗ · "Poor little fellow!" said Mr. Fitz-war-ren.↗ · neither shalt thou favour a poor man in his cause.↗ (Torah EXO.23.3, JPS 1917)↗ · Thou shalt not wrest the judgment of thy poor in his cause.↗ (Torah EXO.23.6, JPS 1917)↗ · And if he be a poor man, thou shalt not sleep with his pledge; (Torah DEU.24.12, JPS 1917)↗ · Both low and high, rich and poor together.↗ (Writings PSA.49.3, JPS 1917)↗ · The poor useth entreaties; but the rich answereth impudently.↗ (Writings PRO.18.23, JPS 1917)↗ · So the poor hath hope, and iniquity stoppeth her mouth.↗ (Writings JOB.5.16, JPS 1917)↗

poorly — Everyday, meaning 1: Poorly means badly, not well: «The team played poorly.».↗ Everyday, meaning 2: In British and Irish English, «poorly» also means ill or unwell: «Grandad is poorly today.».↗ Everyday, meaning 3: «Poorly paid» means getting too little money.↗ Example: The street was poorly lit, so we used a torch.↗ · He did poorly on the spelling test because he didn't practise.↗ · I'm feeling poorly, Mum, can I stay home?↗ · The plants grew poorly in the dark cupboard.↗ · Our team played poorly in the first half but won in the end.↗ · The house was poorly built and the roof leaked.↗

pop — Everyday, meaning 1: To pop is to burst with a short sharp sound; a popped balloon is gone.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: A pop is a short sharp sound.↗ Everyday, meaning 3: To pop somewhere is to go there quickly: «I'll pop to the shop».↗ Everyday, meaning 4: Pop is a fizzy sweet drink (also called soda) and a kind of music.↗ Example: 15 balloons popped.↗ · Sam had 9 balloons and 2 popped.↗ · Anna popped 4 of the 20 bubbles.↗ · The balloon popped with a loud bang.↗ · Corn pops when it gets very hot.↗ · I'll just pop next door to see Gran.↗ · A rabbit popped out of the hole.↗ · My sister likes pop music.↗ · Out popped the duck and flew away.↗

popcorn — Everyday, meaning 1: A snack made from grains of a special kind of corn (maize) that burst open into white fluffy shapes when heated.↗ Example: We ate popcorn at the cinema.↗ · The popcorn popped in the pan.↗ · Would you like sweet or salted popcorn?↗ · Steam inside the kernels makes them pop.↗ · Be careful opening hot popcorn bags; the steam can burn.↗ · We threaded popcorn on string to decorate the tree.↗

pope — Everyday, meaning 1: (church) The Pope is the leader of the Roman Catholic Church, who lives in Vatican City in Rome; Catholics see him as following Saint Peter.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: In some Orthodox churches, "pope" is also a title for certain leaders, like the Pope of Alexandria.↗ Example: The Pope gave a blessing to the crowd in Saint Peter's Square.↗ · White smoke rose, and people cheered: there was a new pope.↗ · Our school watched the Pope's Christmas message.↗ · Catholics see the Pope as the successor of Saint Peter.↗ · The Pope lives in Vatican City, the smallest country in the world.↗ · Many popes have taken the name John or Pius.↗ · Then our Pope besought him, crying--↗

popinjay — Everyday, meaning 1: (old use) A popinjay is a parrot.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: A popinjay is a vain, showy person who dresses up and likes to be admired.↗ Everyday, meaning 3: (old use) A popinjay is a wooden bird set up as a target at old shooting contests.↗ Example: The vain popinjay strutted about in his silk coat.↗ · «Ah, you are pleased to jest, popinjay!» said the Queen.↗ · The archers aimed at the wooden popinjay on the pole.↗

poplar — Everyday, meaning 1: A poplar is a tall, fast-growing tree with soft wood and leaves that often shake in the wind.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: Poplar is the wood of this tree.↗ Example: Tall poplars lined the road.↗ · The poplar's leaves rustled in the breeze.↗ · Poplars grow fast near rivers.↗ · Matchsticks can be made from poplar wood.↗ · We sat in the shade of the poplar.↗ · The aspen is a kind of poplar.↗ · Cottonwood poplars drop fluffy seeds.↗ · A row of poplars shelters the farm from wind.↗ · It looks as if the fairies were planting little shining baby poplar trees and watering them with liquid light."↗ · And Jacob took him rods of fresh poplar, and of the almond and of the plane-tree; and peeled white streaks in them, making the white appear which was in the rods.↗ (Torah GEN.30.37, JPS 1917)↗ · They sacrifice upon the tops of the mountains, and offer upon the hills, under oaks and poplars and terebinths, because the shadow thereof is good; therefore your daughters commit harlotry, and your daughters-in-law commit adultery.↗ (Prophets HOS.4.13, JPS 1917)↗

popper — Everyday, meaning 1: (party popper) A small paper tube you pull with a string so it goes bang and shoots out curly paper streamers.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: (UK, Ireland) A press stud: a small metal or plastic fastener in two halves that snap together on clothes, also called a snap fastener.↗ Everyday, meaning 3: A machine or pan for making popcorn: a popcorn popper.↗ Everyday, meaning 4: Anything or anyone that pops, such as a fishing lure that pops on the water.↗ Everyday, meaning 5: (poppers, adult slang) a drug sniffed from small bottles; dangerous and not for children.↗ Example: We pulled the party poppers when the clock struck midnight.↗ · Bits of streamer from the poppers landed in the cake.↗ · The baby's sleepsuit has poppers all the way down the legs.↗ · Can you do up the poppers on my coat?↗ · Dad made popcorn in the old popcorn popper.↗ · Party poppers are loud, so cover your ears if you do not like bangs.↗ · Point a party popper upwards, never at someone's face.↗

poppin — Everyday, meaning 1: (slang) Exciting, lively and busy, full of people and fun: «The party is poppin'.».↗ Everyday, meaning 2: (slang) Looking great or bright and standing out: «Those colours are poppin'.».↗ Everyday, meaning 3: (slang greeting) «What's poppin'?» means «What's happening?↗ How are you?».↗ Everyday, meaning 4: Just a spoken way of writing «popping», the -ing form of «pop» (bursting, going quickly somewhere).↗ Example: What's poppin', guys?↗ · The skate park was poppin' on Saturday.↗ · Her new trainers are poppin' with that neon green.↗ · I'm just poppin' to the shops, back in five.↗ · The corn kept poppin' in the pan.↗ · The bakery was poppin' the morning they gave away free doughnuts.↗ · Those stickers really make your folder poppin'.↗

popping — Everyday, meaning 1: Popping is making short sharp bursting sounds, like a balloon or popcorn.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: Popping somewhere means going there quickly or for a short time.↗ Everyday, meaning 3: Popping something somewhere means putting it there quickly.↗ Everyday, meaning 4: Popping up means appearing suddenly.↗ Example: The popcorn is popping in the pan.↗ · I'm just popping to the shop for some milk.↗ · Balloons kept popping at the party.↗ · My ears were popping as the plane went up.↗ · New flowers are popping up all over the garden.↗ · She was popping bubbles in the bath.↗ · His eyes were popping out of his head with surprise.↗ · What a whizzing and popping they made as they went off!↗

poppy — Everyday, meaning 1: A poppy is a plant with large, soft, usually bright red flowers and a dark centre.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: A red paper or fabric poppy worn to remember soldiers who died in wars.↗ Example: Red poppies grew in the field.↗ · We wear a poppy to remember soldiers.↗ · Poppies have thin, papery petals.↗ · The class made poppies out of paper.↗ · Poppy seeds are on top of the bread.↗ · A poppy wreath was laid at the memorial.↗ · Poppies can also be orange, yellow or white.↗ · Her favourite flowers were the dittany, poppy, and lily.↗

populace — Everyday, meaning 1: (formal) All the ordinary people who live in a country or area; the general public.↗ Example: The king taxed the populace heavily.↗ · The new law was popular with the populace.↗ · The whole populace was asked to vote.↗ · During the war, the populace had to use ration books.↗ · The emperor gave bread and games to keep the populace happy.↗ · The town's populace gathered in the square.↗

popular — Everyday, meaning 1: Popular means liked by many people, like a popular game or a popular person.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: Popular also means done, believed or chosen by many people, like a popular name or a popular idea.↗ Everyday, meaning 3: Popular can mean made for ordinary people, not experts, like popular music.↗ Example: Football is very popular in our school.↗ · The most popular fruit in our class survey was apples.↗ · She is popular because she is kind to everyone.↗ · That park is popular with families.↗ · The new book became popular very quickly.↗ · Olivia is a popular name for girls.↗ · The bar chart shows which pet is most popular.↗ · Ice cream is popular on hot days.↗ · The translation adopted here follows a popular logic.↗ (Sefer Yetzirah, Sefaria community translation)↗

popularise — Everyday, meaning 1: To make something liked or known by many people: «The film popularised skateboarding.».↗ Everyday, meaning 2: To explain a hard subject, like science or history, in a simple way so ordinary people can understand and enjoy it.↗ Example: The Beatles helped to popularise long hair for boys in the 1960s.↗ · That TV show popularised baking at home.↗ · David Attenborough popularised nature programmes.↗ · Who popularised the game of Minecraft at our school?↗ · Writers like him popularise maths with fun puzzles.↗ · Tea was popularised in England in the 1600s.↗ · Social media can popularise a dance in just a few days.↗

popularity — Everyday, meaning 1: Popularity is being liked, enjoyed or supported by many people.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: Popularity is how many people use or choose something, as in the popularity of a sport.↗ Example: Football has huge popularity in many countries.↗ · We made a bar chart to show the popularity of different fruits.↗ · The new game grew in popularity very quickly.↗ · The king lost popularity when he raised taxes.↗ · It's not a popularity contest; choose the best person for the job.↗ · The popularity of cycling rose when the new path opened.↗ · Yet it won a wide popularity, as is shown by the fact that there was a seventh edition published in 1795, for J.↗

popularly — Everyday, meaning 1: Popularly means by most ordinary people, or in the way many people say it.↗ e.g. "popularly called" means the everyday name.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: It can also mean by the votes or choice of the people, as in "popularly elected".↗ Example: The plant is popularly known as the sunflower.↗ · Elizabeth I was popularly called "Good Queen Bess".↗ · It is popularly believed that goldfish forget everything in three seconds, but that is not true.↗ · The mayor is popularly elected by the people of the city.↗ · The game is popularly called "tag" in the USA and "tig" in parts of the UK.↗ · The planet Venus is popularly called the Morning Star.↗ · Big Ben is popularly used as the name of the whole clock tower.↗ · The work was finished in 1671, and is still popularly known as Perrault's Colonnade.↗

population — Everyday, meaning 1: The number of people who live in a place.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: All the people, or all the animals or plants of one kind, living in an area: the bee population.↗ Everyday, meaning 3: (maths, formal) The whole group you are studying in statistics.↗ Example: The population of our town is about 12 000.↗ · The world's population is over eight billion.↗ · The bee population is falling.↗ · London has a bigger population than Dublin.↗ · Round the population to the nearest thousand.↗ · A rabbit population can grow very fast.↗ · Well, they spread the news through the village; the whole population assembled and swarmed into the graveyard.↗

populous — Everyday, meaning 1: A populous place has a lot of people living in it.↗ Example: India is now the most populous country in the world.↗ · California is the most populous state in the USA.↗ · New South Wales is Australia's most populous state.↗ · London is a populous city.↗ · The north of the island is less populous than the south.↗ · Which is the most populous continent?↗ Asia.↗ · Then this wicked enchantress changed the capital, which was a very populous and flourishing city, into the lake and desert plain you saw.↗ · And thou shalt speak and say before the LORD thy God: 'A wandering Aramean was my father, and he went down into Egypt, and sojourned there, few in number; and he became there a nation, great, mighty, and populous.↗ (Torah DEU.26.5, JPS 1917)↗ · From out of the populous city men groan, and the soul of the wounded crieth out; yet God imputeth it not for unseemliness.↗ (Writings JOB.24.12, JPS 1917)↗

porc — Everyday, meaning 1: (French) «Porc» is the French word for pig, and also for pork, the meat from a pig.↗ It is said roughly «por», with no «c» sound.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: It is not an English word; in English the meat is «pork» and the animal is «pig».↗ Example: On the French menu, «rôti de porc» means roast pork.↗ · «Je ne mange pas de porc» means «I don't eat pork».↗ · In French, porc sounds like «por».↗ · English «pork» comes from French «porc».↗ · The farmer's pig is «un porc» or «un cochon» in French.↗ · Some people do not eat pork for religious reasons, so the canteen labels dishes with porc.↗ · Our French worksheet matched «le porc» to a picture of ham.↗