📖 S — The English dictionary · page 77

specifically — Everyday, meaning 1: Specifically means exactly, clearly and in detail.↗ e.g. "I specifically asked for no onions."↗ Everyday, meaning 2: Specifically means for one particular purpose or person only.↗ e.g. "This book was written specifically for children."↗ Everyday, meaning 3: We use it to give a more exact detail.↗ e.g. "I like animals, specifically cats."↗ Example: I specifically told you to bring your PE kit.↗ · The playground was built specifically for little children.↗ · I like fruit, specifically mangoes.↗ · The teacher specifically said no calculators.↗ · This glue is made specifically for paper.↗ · Which bird, specifically, did you see?↗ · The test is about plants, more specifically about leaves.↗ · This is a specifically Celtic formula, and would seem therefore to claim Cinderella for the Celts.↗

specified — Everyday, meaning 1: Past form of «specify»: said or stated clearly and exactly.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: (adjective) Named or fixed clearly in advance, as in «at the specified time», «a specified amount».↗ Example: The question specified that we must answer in centimetres.↗ · Arrive at the specified time, 9 o'clock.↗ · Use the specified amount of flour: 200 g.↗ · The rules specified that each team has five players.↗ · Unless otherwise specified, round to one decimal place.↗ · She specified that she wanted a blue bike, not a red one.↗

specify — Everyday, meaning 1: To say or write something clearly and exactly: specify the date.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: (formal) To state as a rule or requirement.↗ Example: Please specify your shoe size.↗ · The recipe doesn't specify how much salt.↗ · Unless otherwise specified, give answers in cm.↗ · She specified that she wanted blue.↗ · The rules specify a maximum of six players.↗ · Can you specify what you mean?↗

specimen — Everyday, meaning 1: A specimen is one example of a plant, animal, rock or other thing that is collected and studied, for example in a museum or lab.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: A specimen is a small amount of blood, urine or other body matter that a doctor tests.↗ Everyday, meaning 3: (informal, joking) A «fine specimen» is a good or funny example of a person or animal.↗ Example: We collected leaf specimens for our science project.↗ · The museum has a specimen of a giant beetle.↗ · The nurse asked for a urine specimen.↗ · Look at the specimen under the microscope.↗ · That dinosaur bone is a rare specimen.↗ · Each rock specimen was labelled with its name and where it was found.↗ · What a fine specimen of a pumpkin!↗ · I should have liked to preserve a specimen.↗

speck — Everyday, meaning 1: A speck is a very small spot, mark or piece of something, like dust or dirt.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: Something so far away that it looks like a tiny dot.↗ Everyday, meaning 3: In old country speech, speck means to suppose or expect.↗ Example: There is a speck of dirt on your glasses.↗ · The plane became a speck in the sky.↗ · Not a speck of dust was left after cleaning.↗ · She saw a tiny speck under the microscope.↗ · The boat was just a speck on the horizon.↗ · There is a speck of paint on the window.↗ · I speck he takin' a nap,' sezee.↗

speckle — Everyday, meaning 1: (noun) A small spot or mark of colour, one of many.↗ e.g. "speckles of paint".↗ Everyday, meaning 2: (verb) To cover with lots of small spots.↗ Everyday, meaning 3: (speckled, adjective) Covered with many small spots: a speckled egg.↗ Example: The thrush's egg was blue with dark speckles.↗ · Her face was speckled with mud.↗ · We speckled white paint on black paper to make stars.↗ · The speckled frog sat on a log.↗ · The trout has a speckled back.↗ · The floor was speckled with sawdust.↗

speckled — Everyday, meaning 1: Speckled means covered with lots of small spots or marks of a different colour.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: It describes things like eggs, birds, fish or stone that have tiny dots all over.↗ Example: The thrush has a speckled chest.↗ · We found a speckled egg in the nest.↗ · Five little speckled frogs sat on a log.↗ · The trout was speckled with red dots.↗ · Speckled feathers help the bird hide in the grass.↗ · The old mirror was speckled with dust.↗ · She wore a blue speckled jumper.↗ · When she went into the stables, she suddenly saw the heavy pack-saddle of the speckled mare just over her head, and she jumped and said to herself:↗ · And the flocks conceived at the sight of the rods, and the flocks brought forth streaked, speckled, and spotted.↗ (Torah GEN.30.39, JPS 1917)↗ · If he said thus: The speckled shall be thy wages; then all the flock bore speckled; and if he said thus: The streaked shall be thy wages; then bore all the flock streaked.↗ (Torah GEN.31.8, JPS 1917)↗ · And he said: Lift up now thine eyes, and see, all the he-goats which leap upon the flock are streaked, speckled, and grizzled; for I have seen all that Laban doeth unto thee.↗ (Torah GEN.31.12, JPS 1917)↗ · Is My heritage unto Me as a speckled bird of prey?↗ (Prophets JER.12.9, JPS 1917)↗

specs — Everyday, meaning 1: (informal) Specs is short for «spectacles», meaning glasses that people wear to see better.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: (informal) Specs is short for «specifications», a detailed description of how something is made or what it can do, like a computer or phone.↗ Example: Grandad can't read without his specs.↗ · I left my specs on the bus!↗ · She got new pink specs from the optician.↗ · The new tablet has amazing specs: a big screen and lots of memory.↗ · Before buying, Dad checked the specs of the laptop.↗ · My specs steamed up when I came in from the cold.↗

spectacle — Everyday, meaning 1: A spectacle is a striking or strange sight that people stare at.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: (plural) Spectacles are glasses worn on the face to help the eyes see.↗ Example: He was amazed at this frightful spectacle.↗ · The crowd gathered to watch the spectacle.↗ · Grandad put on his spectacles to read.↗

spectacled — Everyday, meaning 1: Spectacled means wearing glasses.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: In animal names it means having rings or marks around the eyes that look like glasses, as in «spectacled bear» or «spectacled owl».↗ Example: A spectacled teacher peered over her desk.↗ · The spectacled bear lives in South America.↗ · The spectacled owl has white rings around its eyes.↗ · A spectacled boy sat reading in the corner.↗ · Spectacled flying foxes live in Australia.↗

spectacles — Everyday, meaning 1: Glasses: two lenses in a frame worn to help you see better.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: Plural of «spectacle»: impressive shows or sights, like fireworks.↗ Everyday, meaning 3: «Make a spectacle of yourself»: behave in a silly way that makes people stare.↗ Example: Grandpa can't read without his spectacles.↗ · She pushed her spectacles up her nose.↗ · Spectacles help people who are short-sighted see far away.↗ · The fireworks were amazing spectacles.↗ · Don't make a spectacle of yourself at the wedding!↗ · Where are my specs?↗ · Michael had tried on his spectacles.↗

spectator — Everyday, meaning 1: A person who watches an event, especially a sports match or show, without taking part.↗ Example: Thousands of spectators cheered the runners.↗ · The spectators stood up when the goal went in.↗ · There were 2,400 spectators on Saturday and 1,900 on Sunday, so 4,300 in all.↗ · Football is a great spectator sport.↗ · Spectators must stay behind the rope.↗ · She wasn't playing — she was just a spectator.↗ · "How beautiful, how perfect it is!" cried the spectators.↗

spectral — Everyday, meaning 1: Spectral means like a ghost; pale, shadowy and unreal.↗ Example: A spectral figure drifted past her.↗ · The spectral herd roared in the mist.↗ · The spectral city rose from the sea.↗

spectre — Everyday, meaning 1: A spectre is a ghost, or a frightening image of a ghost.↗ Example: It was the spectre of her child.↗ · The spectre grinned at me.↗ · The spectre told me where the treasure lay.↗

spectrum — Everyday, meaning 1: The spectrum is the band of colours that white light splits into, as in a rainbow: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: A whole range of different but related things, from one end to another.↗ Everyday, meaning 3: The autism spectrum: autistic people are said to be "on the spectrum".↗ Example: A prism splits white light into a spectrum.↗ · The rainbow shows the colours of the spectrum.↗ · Red is at one end of the spectrum and violet at the other.↗ · Our class has a wide spectrum of interests.↗ · My cousin is on the autism spectrum.↗ · Sound also has a spectrum of high and low pitches.↗

speculate — Everyday, meaning 1: To guess or form ideas about something when you don't have all the facts.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: (money) To buy things like shares, land or currencies hoping to sell them later for more, with a risk of losing money.↗ Example: Scientists speculate that there might be water on that planet.↗ · Everyone speculated about who the new teacher would be.↗ · Don't speculate — read the text and find the answer.↗ · Newspapers speculated about why the singer quit.↗ · People who speculate on shares can win or lose a lot of money.↗ · We can only speculate about how the Stone Age people moved the stones.↗ · I will be an architect, which will place me among those who possess riches and intellect, and who speculate in art.↗

speculation — Everyday, meaning 1: Speculation is guessing about something without knowing all the facts.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: A speculation is one such guess or idea.↗ Everyday, meaning 3: (money) Speculation is buying things such as shares, land or houses hoping to sell them later for more money, which is risky.↗ Example: There is a lot of speculation about who will be the new head teacher.↗ · That is just speculation; we don't know for sure.↗ · His absence caused speculation that he was ill.↗ · Scientists' speculation about life on Mars needs evidence.↗ · He lost his savings through speculation on shares.↗ · Stop the wild speculation and wait for the facts.↗

speech — Everyday, meaning 1: Speech is the ability to speak, or spoken language: «Babies learn speech slowly.».↗ Everyday, meaning 2: A speech is a talk given to an audience, like at assembly or a wedding.↗ Everyday, meaning 3: In grammar, «direct speech» is the exact words someone said, inside speech marks (quotation marks).↗ Example: She gave a speech in assembly.↗ · Put speech marks around the words the character says.↗ · The winner made a short speech.↗ · Freedom of speech means people can say what they think.↗ · Nouns and verbs are parts of speech.↗ · A speech therapist helps children with their speech.↗ · The comic has a speech bubble above the dog.↗ · Dorothy listened to this speech with wonder.↗ · And the whole earth was of one language and of one speech.↗ (Torah GEN.11.1, JPS 1917)↗ · Come, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech.'↗ (Torah GEN.11.7, JPS 1917)↗ · My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew; as the small rain upon the tender grass, and as the showers upon the herb.↗ (Torah DEU.32.2, JPS 1917)↗ · Hear diligently my speech; and let this be your consolations.↗ (Writings JOB.21.2, JPS 1917)↗ · Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night revealeth knowledge; (Writings PSA.19.3, JPS 1917)↗ · The speech of one that I knew not did I hear: (Writings PSA.81.6, JPS 1917)↗

speechless — Everyday, meaning 1: Speechless means unable to speak, usually from surprise, shock or wonder.↗ Example: The King was speechless with surprise.↗ · I was speechless when I saw the gift.↗ · The crowd stood speechless at the sight.↗

speed — Everyday, meaning 1: Speed is how fast something moves: how far it goes in some time.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: Speed means quickness: with great speed.↗ Everyday, meaning 3: To speed is to move fast.↗ Everyday, meaning 4: To be speeding is to drive faster than the law allows.↗ Everyday, meaning 5: To speed up is to go faster; to slow down is the opposite.↗ Everyday, meaning 6: "God speed you" is an old way of wishing someone good luck and a safe journey.↗ Example: The car's speed is 60 km per hour.↗ · At this speed, how far will it go in 3 hours?↗ · His speed was 5 meters a second.↗ · Find the speed if he went 120 miles in 2 hours.↗ · The speed limit near the school is 25.↗ · A cheetah can run at great speed.↗ · The train sped through the tunnel.↗ · Slow down, there is a speed bump ahead.↗ · "Now then, Soldier! drive off, and God speed you!"↗ · And he said: 'O LORD, the God of my master Abraham, send me, I pray Thee, good speed this day, and show kindness unto my master Abraham.↗ (Torah GEN.24.12, JPS 1917)↗ · And Isaac said unto his son: 'How is it that thou hast found it so quickly, my son?'↗ And he said: 'Because the LORD thy God sent me good speed.'↗ (Torah GEN.27.20, JPS 1917)↗ · And king Rehoboam made speed to get him up to his chariot, to flee to Jerusalem.↗ (Prophets 1KI.12.18, JPS 1917)↗ · And Jonathan cried after the lad: 'Make speed, hasten, stay not.'↗ And Jonathan's lad gathered up the arrows, and came to his master.↗ (Prophets 1SA.20.38, JPS 1917)↗ · And He will lift up an ensign to the nations from far, and will hiss unto them from the end of the earth; and, behold, they shall come with speed swiftly; (Prophets ISA.5.26, JPS 1917)↗

speedboat — Everyday, meaning 1: A small, fast boat with a powerful engine.↗ Example: We went for a speedboat ride at the seaside.↗ · The speedboat zoomed across the lake.↗ · Wear a life jacket on a speedboat.↗ · The speedboat travelled 60 km in 2 hours.↗ · Waves from the speedboat rocked our canoe.↗ · The spy escaped in a speedboat.↗

speedily — Everyday, meaning 1: Speedily means quickly or without delay.↗ Example: Polish the sword speedily.↗ · The horse ran speedily across the field.↗ · Please finish your work speedily.↗ · And hide not Thy face from Thy servant; for I am in distress; answer me speedily.↗ (Writings PSA.69.18, JPS 1917)↗ · Remember not against us the iniquities of our forefathers; let Thy compassions speedily come to meet us; for we are brought very low.↗ (Writings PSA.79.8, JPS 1917)↗ · Incline Thine ear unto me, deliver me speedily; be Thou to me a rock of refuge, even a fortress of defence, to save me.↗ (Writings PSA.31.3, JPS 1917)↗