📖 S — The English dictionary · page 76

spayed — Everyday, meaning 1: Of a female animal: had an operation by a vet to remove the parts that make babies, so she cannot have young.↗ Example: Our cat was spayed when she was six months old.↗ · The shelter's dogs are all spayed or neutered.↗ · Getting a pet spayed stops unwanted litters.↗ · The vet spayed the rabbit this morning.↗ · She needs rest after being spayed.↗ · The advert said: «Female, spayed, very friendly.»↗

speak — Everyday, meaning 1: To say words out loud; to talk.↗ e.g. "Speak clearly."↗ Everyday, meaning 2: To know and use a language.↗ e.g. "She speaks French."↗ Everyday, meaning 3: To give a talk.↗ e.g. "speak to the class".↗ Everyday, meaning 4: To have a conversation.↗ e.g. "Can I speak to your mum?"↗ Example: Please speak more slowly.↗ · He speaks English and Irish.↗ · Speak up if someone is bullying you.↗ · May I speak to your teacher?↗ · She spoke to the whole school.↗ · The baby can't speak yet.↗ · Speak quietly in the library.↗ · Actions speak louder than words.↗ · Speak but one word to me."↗ · I know that he can speak well.↗ (Torah EXO.4.14, JPS 1917)↗ · These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.'↗ (Torah EXO.19.6, JPS 1917)↗ · And he said: 'Oh, let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak.↗ (Torah GEN.18.30, JPS 1917)↗ · Consider, and afterwards we will speak.↗ (Writings JOB.18.2, JPS 1917)↗ · Do ye indeed speak as a righteous company?↗ (Writings PSA.58.2, JPS 1917)↗ · Shall it be told Him that I would speak?↗ (Writings JOB.37.20, JPS 1917)↗

speaker — Everyday, meaning 1: A person who speaks, especially one giving a talk to an audience.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: A device that makes sound louder, connected to a radio, computer or phone.↗ Everyday, meaning 3: A person who speaks a language.↗ e.g. "a French speaker".↗ Everyday, meaning 4: In some parliaments, the Speaker is the person in charge of debates.↗ Example: A guest speaker talked to us about road safety.↗ · Turn the speaker down; it is too loud.↗ · She is a speaker of three languages.↗ · The speaker on my tablet is broken.↗ · Be a good listener when the speaker is talking.↗ · Is English your first language, or are you a Spanish speaker?↗ · The Speaker called for order in parliament.↗ · The humorous poem was admirably recited, and the speaker much applauded.↗ · The wicked are estranged from the womb; the speakers of lies go astray as soon as they are born.↗ (Writings PSA.58.4, JPS 1917)↗

speakerphone — Everyday, meaning 1: A speakerphone is a setting on a phone that lets you hear the caller through a loudspeaker, so everyone in the room can listen and talk without holding the phone.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: A speakerphone is also a phone or device that works this way.↗ Example: Mum put Grandma on speakerphone so we could all say hello.↗ · Can you hear me?↗ I'm on speakerphone.↗ · Dad uses the speakerphone in the car.↗ · Turn off the speakerphone, it's too loud.↗ · The teacher called the head on speakerphone during class.↗ · Let me switch to speakerphone so my brother can hear.↗

speakest — Early Modern English, meaning 1: «speakest» means «you speak», a form of «speak»: To say words out loud; to talk.↗ e.g. "Speak clearly."↗ Example: Then said Arthur, "O chieftain, I have never heard of the maiden of whom thou speakest, nor of her kindred, but I will gladly send messengers in search of her."↗ (Celtic Fairy Tales) · ‘O Kilweh,’ said Arthur, ‘never have I heard of the maiden of whom thou speakest, nor of her kindred, but I will send messengers to seek her if thou wilt give me time.’↗ (The Lilac Fairy Book)

speaketh — Early Modern English, meaning 1: «speaketh» means «speaks», a form of «speak»: To say words out loud; to talk.↗ e.g. "Speak clearly."↗ Example: And they said unto him: 'Wherefore speaketh my lord such words as these?↗ (Torah GEN.44.7, JPS 1917) · "See, see, she hangeth by the throte, and therefor she speaketh not," saide others; "and the beast flieth not like a beast;" so she opened her mouth and "pashte hir all to pieces."↗ (Indian Fairy Tales) · And the LORD spoke unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend.↗ (Torah EXO.33.11, JPS 1917)

speaking — Everyday, meaning 1: Speaking is the -ing form of «speak», which means to say words, to talk.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: Speaking is the skill of talking, especially to a group (public speaking).↗ Everyday, meaning 3: -speaking means using a language, as in an English-speaking country.↗ Example: She is speaking to the class about her trip.↗ · Please wait until I've finished speaking.↗ · Speaking in front of people can be scary.↗ · «Can I talk to Sam?»↗ «Speaking!»↗ · Canada is an English- and French-speaking country.↗ · Generally speaking, cats sleep a lot.↗ · We practised our speaking skills in a debate.↗ · “Nibs is speaking with his mouth full.”↗ · And when Moses made an end of speaking all these words to all Israel, (Torah DEU.32.45, JPS 1917)↗ · And when Moses had done speaking with them, he put a veil on his face.↗ (Torah EXO.34.33, JPS 1917)↗ · While he was yet speaking with them, Rachel came with her father's sheep; for she tended them.↗ (Torah GEN.29.9, JPS 1917)↗ · But who can withhold himself from speaking?↗ (Writings JOB.4.2, JPS 1917)↗ · Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile.↗ (Writings PSA.34.14, JPS 1917)↗ · Thou lovest evil more than good; falsehood rather than speaking righteousness.↗ (Writings PSA.52.5, JPS 1917)↗

spear — Everyday, meaning 1: A long weapon or tool with a pointed tip, used for throwing or stabbing, especially for hunting or fishing.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: A long thin pointed shoot of a plant, such as a spear of asparagus.↗ Everyday, meaning 3: To push something pointed into something, such as spearing food with a fork.↗ Everyday, meaning 4: To catch or hunt with a spear.↗ Example: The hunters made spears from wood and sharp stones.↗ · He threw the spear as far as he could.↗ · She speared a sausage with her fork.↗ · We had asparagus spears with dinner.↗ · Some people go spear fishing near the reef.↗ · The warrior's spear had a bronze tip.↗ · The heron speared a fish with its sharp beak.↗ · In the museum we saw a spear used thousands of years ago.↗ · They snatched spears and shields from their foes.↗ · And when Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose up from the midst of the congregation, and took a spear in his hand.↗ (Torah NUM.25.7, JPS 1917)↗ · The quiver rattleth upon him, the glittering spear and the javelin.↗ (Writings JOB.39.23, JPS 1917)↗ · Canst thou fill his skin with barbed irons? or his head with fish-spears?↗ (Writings JOB.40.31, JPS 1917)↗ · And in every city he put shields and spears, and made them exceeding strong.↗ (Writings 2CH.11.12, JPS 1917)↗

spearmint — Everyday, meaning 1: A common kind of mint plant with pointed leaves and a fresh, sweet taste.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: The flavour made from it, used in chewing gum, toothpaste and sweets.↗ Example: I like spearmint chewing gum.↗ · Spearmint grows like crazy in the garden.↗ · The toothpaste tastes of spearmint.↗ · We added spearmint leaves to the lemonade.↗ · Spearmint is sweeter than peppermint.↗ · Grandma made spearmint tea for my sore tummy.↗

spec — Everyday, meaning 1: Spec is a dialect short form of «suspect» in the sense «suppose» or «reckon».↗ e.g. I spec means I suppose.↗ Example: I spec I will grow away from it.↗ · I spec it will rain today.↗ · We spec the dog has run home.↗

special — Everyday, meaning 1: Special means different from usual, often better or more important: a special day.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: Special means for one particular person or purpose: special shoes for dancing.↗ Everyday, meaning 3: A special is a dish or offer available only for a short time: «today's special».↗ Example: Today is a special day — it's my birthday!↗ · You are special to me.↗ · You need special glasses to watch the eclipse.↗ · We wear special shoes for gymnastics.↗ · The café has a soup special today.↗ · Sweets are a special treat.↗ · The film had amazing special effects.↗ · The meal was nice, but nothing special.↗ · Each is distinguished by its own special characteristics.↗ · This is the special chapter of the Heptad, the powers and properties of the Seven.↗ (Sefer Yetzirah, Westcott 1893)↗

specialisation — Everyday, meaning 1: Focusing on one particular subject, skill or job and becoming an expert in it.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: The particular subject or area someone focuses on.↗ Everyday, meaning 3: (science) The way a body part, cell or animal is adapted for one special job.↗ Example: Her specialisation is children's medicine.↗ · Red blood cells show specialisation: they carry oxygen.↗ · Specialisation lets each worker do one job very well.↗ · At university you choose a specialisation.↗ · The hummingbird's long beak is a specialisation for drinking nectar.↗ · Dr Lee's specialisation is volcanoes.↗

specialise — Everyday, meaning 1: To specialise is to study or work mainly on one subject or skill and become an expert in it: she specialises in heart surgery.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: A shop or business that specialises in something mainly sells or does that one thing.↗ Example: My aunt is a doctor who specialises in children's illnesses.↗ · This shop specialises in Lego.↗ · Later at university you can specialise in maths.↗ · Some cells specialise to carry oxygen.↗ · The team specialises in rescues on mountains.↗ · He wants to specialise in dinosaur bones.↗

specialised — Everyday, meaning 1: Specialised means made or trained for one particular job or purpose: specialised equipment, a specialised doctor.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: Past of «specialise»: she specialised in history.↗ Example: Red blood cells are specialised to carry oxygen.↗ · Firefighters wear specialised clothing.↗ · The hospital has a specialised unit for burns.↗ · Divers need specialised equipment.↗ · Nerve cells are long and specialised to send messages.↗ · Grandpa specialised in fixing old clocks.↗ · This job needs specialised training.↗

specialist — Everyday, meaning 1: A specialist is a person who knows a great deal about one subject or does one kind of work very well.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: (health) A specialist is a doctor who treats one part of the body or one kind of illness, like a heart specialist.↗ Everyday, meaning 3: As an adjective, specialist means for one particular purpose or for experts, as in "specialist equipment".↗ Example: The doctor sent me to a skin specialist.↗ · Our music lessons are taught by a specialist teacher.↗ · She is a specialist in sharks.↗ · The divers used specialist equipment to explore the wreck.↗ · We bought my bike at a specialist cycle shop.↗ · A specialist came to fix the old church clock.↗ · I leave to Celtic specialists the task of settling the exact relations of these various texts.↗

speciality — Everyday, meaning 1: A food or dish that a place, person or restaurant is famous for and makes very well.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: A thing someone is especially good at or knows a lot about.↗ Everyday, meaning 3: A special branch of study or work, such as a doctor's speciality.↗ Example: Fish and chips is the speciality of the seaside café.↗ · Pancakes are Grandma's speciality.↗ · Haggis is a Scottish speciality.↗ · Her speciality is drawing horses.↗ · The doctor's speciality is skin problems.↗ · Getting lost is my brother's speciality!↗ · Pasta is a speciality of Italy.↗

specially — Everyday, meaning 1: Specially means for one particular purpose or person: a cake specially made for your birthday.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: Specially means in a special or unusual way, done with extra care.↗ Everyday, meaning 3: Specially is also used in everyday talk to mean «especially», particularly (informal).↗ Example: I made this card specially for you.↗ · The bus is specially built for wheelchairs.↗ · The dogs are specially trained to find people after earthquakes.↗ · Gran cooked a specially big dinner for us.↗ · These shoes are specially designed for running.↗ · I like all fruit, specially strawberries (informal).↗ · The room was specially decorated for the party.↗ · He was the presiding deity of plantations and forests, and specially protected the boundaries of fields.↗

species — Everyday, meaning 1: A group of living things that are alike and can breed together to have young that can also have young.↗ e.g. Lions are one species, tigers another.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: (informal) A kind or sort.↗ Example: The giant panda is an endangered species.↗ · Scientists find new species every year.↗ · There are many species of bird in the park.↗ · The dodo is an extinct species.↗ · Humans belong to the species Homo sapiens.↗ · The zoo has 8 species of reptile and 5 of amphibian — 13 species in all.↗ · They belong to the goose species, one can see that by their walk.↗ · The Twelfth Path is the Intelligence of Transparency, because it is that species of Magnificence., called CHAZCHAZIT, which is named the place whence issues the vision of those seeing in apparitions.↗ (That is, the prophecies by seers in a vision.)↗ (Sefer Yetzirah, Westcott 1887)↗

specific — Everyday, meaning 1: Specific means exact, particular and clear, about one certain thing and not things in general: a specific time, a specific example.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: Specific to something means belonging only to that thing or place: plants specific to the rainforest.↗ Example: Can you give me a specific example?↗ · Please be specific — which book do you mean?↗ · We meet at a specific time, 9 o'clock sharp.↗ · Kangaroos are specific to Australia and New Guinea.↗ · When you call 911, say the specific address.↗ · I'm not looking for anything specific, just browsing.↗ · The recipe asks for a specific kind of flour.↗ · The specific actions of the two waters are described with great precision in this story.↗ · Whether a book is still in copyright varies from country to country, and we can't offer guidance on whether any specific use of any specific book is allowed.↗ (Sefer Yetzirah, Westcott 1893)↗