P
- pottle noun (pottles) (old use, Scots)
A small measure of liquid or fruit; also a small basket for berries. In the tale «a pottle o' brains» means a good store of wit or sense. - potty noun (a potty, potties); adjective (potty, pottier, pottiest)
A small plastic seat-bowl that a toddler uses as a toilet while learning. - pouch noun (a pouch, pouches); verb (pouch — rare)
A pouch is a small soft bag, often closed with a string or zip, for carrying small things. - poultry noun (poultry, uncountable; plural meaning)
1) Birds kept on farms for their meat or eggs, such as chickens, ducks, geese and turkeys. 2) The meat from these birds. - pounce verb (pounce, pounces, pounced, pouncing); noun (a pounce, pounces)
To jump suddenly onto something to catch it, like a cat catching a mouse. - pound noun (pound, pounds; lb, £); verb (pound, pounds, pounded, pounding)
A pound is a unit of weight; a loaf of bread weighs about one pound. - pour verb (pour, pours, poured, pouring)
To pour is to make a liquid flow out of a container, like pouring water into a glass. - pout verb (pouts, pouted, pouting); noun (pouts)
1) To pout is to push out the lips and look cross or sulky, often when you do not get your own way. 2) A pout is such a face. - poverty noun (poverty, uncountable)
1) Being very poor; not having enough money for food, clothes or a home. 2) (formal) A lack of something: poverty of ideas. - pow interjection (pow!); noun (POW, POWs — abbreviation); noun (a pow — rare)
A word for the sound of a punch, a bang or a small explosion, used in comics and cartoons: «Pow! Biff! Bang!». - powder noun (powder, powders); verb (powder, powders, powdered, powdering)
A dry substance made of very tiny pieces, like flour, dust or crushed chalk. - powdery adjective (powdery, more powdery, most powdery)
1) Like powder: fine, dry and soft. 2) Covered with powder. - power noun (power, powers); verb (power, powers, powered, powering)
Power is the ability or strength to do something or to make things happen. - powerful adjective (powerful, more powerful, most powerful)
Very strong; having a lot of strength or force. - powerless adjective (powerless)
1) Without the power or strength to do something. 2) Unable to help or act. - powhatan noun (a name: Powhatan — a person, a people and a place)
1) (a name) Powhatan was the leader of a large group of Algonquian-speaking Native American tribes in what is now Virginia, USA, around… - practicable adjective (formal)
1) (formal) Able to be done or put into practice successfully; possible in real life. - practical adjective (practical, more practical, most practical); adverb practically; noun (a practical — a science lesson where you do experiments, mainly UK)
Practical means to do with doing real things rather than only ideas or theory. - practically adverb (practically)
Almost, nearly: «The jar is practically empty.». - practice noun (practice, practices); verb in US English (practice, practices, practiced, practicing); UK verb spelt practise (practise, practises, practised, practising)
Practice is doing something again and again to get better at it, like playing the piano every day. - practise verb (practise, practises, practised, practising — UK; practice — US); noun «practice»
To practise is to do something many times to get better at it: practise the piano. - practitioner noun (a practitioner, practitioners)
A practitioner is a person who does a skilled job, especially a doctor, nurse or lawyer. - prairie noun (a prairie, prairies)
1) A prairie is a large, flat area of grassland with few trees, especially in North America. - praise verb (praise, praises, praised, praising); noun (praise — uncountable)
To say that someone or something is good and that you admire them. - praiseworthy adjective (praiseworthy, more praiseworthy, most praiseworthy)
1) Deserving praise; good and admirable. 2) (formal) Worth being approved of, even if not completely successful: «a praiseworthy effort». - pram noun (a pram, prams)
1) A pram is a carriage with four wheels in which a baby lies down and is pushed along by an adult. - prance verb (prances, pranced, prancing)
To prance is to move in a lively, showy way, lifting the feet high, like a proud horse or a boastful person. - prank noun (a prank, pranks); verb (prank, pranks, pranked, pranking — informal)
1) A prank is a trick played on someone to make people laugh. 2) To prank someone means to play such a trick on them. - prankster noun (a prankster, pranksters)
1) A prankster is a person who likes playing pranks — tricks or jokes on other people. - prattle verb (prattles, prattled, prattling); noun (prattles)
1) To prattle is to chatter on in a light, childish way. 2) Prattle is such chatter, especially of young children. - prawn noun (a prawn, prawns); verb (prawn — rare, to fish for prawns)
A prawn is a small sea animal with a thin shell, long feelers and ten legs, which turns pink when cooked and is eaten as food. - pray verb (pray, prays, prayed, praying)
To speak to God or a god, to give thanks, ask for help or say you are sorry. - prayer noun (a prayer, prayers)
A prayer is words that someone says to God or a god, to thank, praise or ask for help. - preach verb (preach, preaches, preached, preaching)
To give a religious talk, called a sermon, to people, usually in a church. - preacher noun (a preacher, preachers)
A person who gives religious talks (sermons), especially in a church. - preaching noun (preaching, uncountable); present participle of preach
Giving religious talks or sermons; the work of a preacher. - precaution noun (a precaution, precautions)
1) A precaution is something you do in advance to stop something bad or dangerous from happening. - precautionary adjective (precautionary)
Done to stop something bad from happening, before it happens. - precede verb (precede, precedes, preceded, preceding)
1) (formal) To come or go before something in time, order or place. - precedence noun (precedence — uncountable)
Precedence is being more important than something else, so it comes first. - precedent noun (a precedent, precedents); adjective (formal, rare)
An action or decision from the past that is used as an example or rule for what to do later. - preceding adjective (preceding); verb (present participle of «precede»: precede, precedes, preceded, preceding)
Coming just before something in time, order or position (the preceding page, the preceding year). - precept noun (a precept, precepts)
A rule or principle telling people how to behave or think. - preceptor noun (preceptors); old use
1) A preceptor is a teacher or tutor who looks after a young person's learning, often one who lives in the family. - precession noun (precession, uncountable)
The slow turning of the axis of a spinning object, such as a spinning top or the Earth, so that the axis traces a circle. - precinct noun (a precinct, precincts)
A district of a city that has its own police station; also the police station itself. - precious adjective (precious); adverb (precious little / few — informal)
Precious means very valuable, worth a lot of money («precious stones», «precious metals»). - precipice noun (precipices)
1) A precipice is a very steep cliff or drop, with a sheer face going down a long way. - precipitant noun (a precipitant, precipitants); adjective (precipitant — formal, rare)
A substance that you add to a liquid to make a solid form and come out of it (a precipitate). - precipitate verb (precipitate, precipitates, precipitated, precipitating); noun (a precipitate, precipitates – chemistry); adjective (precipitate – formal)
To make something bad happen suddenly or sooner than expected: «The argument precipitated a fight». - precipitation noun (precipitation — uncountable; science: a precipitation)
Water that falls from clouds to the ground in any form: rain, snow, sleet or hail. - precipitous adjective
1) Precipitous means very steep, so that it is almost straight up or down. - precise adjective (precise, more precise, most precise)
1) Exact and correct in every small detail. 2) Very careful and accurate in doing things. 3) Used to stress that you mean exactly this… - precisely adverb (from the adjective «precise»)
Exactly; with no mistakes or difference (at precisely nine o'clock). - precision noun (precision — uncountable); adjective (precision tools, precision engineering)
Precision means being very exact and careful, getting every small detail right. - preclude verb (preclude, precludes, precluded, precluding)
To prevent something from happening, or make it impossible. - precondition noun (a precondition, preconditions)
1) Something that must be true or must happen before something else can happen. - precursor noun (a precursor, precursors)
Something that came before a later thing and led to it or helped it develop: «The abacus was a precursor of the calculator.». - predate verb (predate, predates, predated, predating)
To exist or happen earlier than something else: «Dinosaurs predate humans by millions of years.». - predation noun (predation — uncountable)
1) Predation is when one animal (a predator) hunts, kills and eats another animal (its prey). - predator noun (a predator, predators)
A predator is an animal that hunts and eats other animals. - predatory adjective (predatory)
1) (animals) Living by hunting and eating other animals. 2) (people) Trying to use or harm others for gain, especially weaker people… - predecessor noun (a predecessor, predecessors)
A predecessor is the person who had a job or position before someone else. - predicament noun (predicaments)
1) A predicament is a difficult or awkward situation that is hard to get out of. - predict verb (predict, predicts, predicted, predicting)
To predict is to say what you think will happen in the future, before it happens. - predictable adjective (predictable; more predictable, most predictable)
Able to be guessed or known before it happens: «Tides are predictable.». - prediction noun (a prediction, predictions)
A prediction is a guess about what will happen in the future, often based on facts or evidence. - predominance noun (predominance, uncountable; a predominance of)
The state of being more in number or more common than others: «a predominance of girls in the choir». - predominantly adverb (predominantly — formal)
1) (formal) Mostly; mainly; for the greatest part. - preen verb (preen, preens, preened, preening)
Of a bird: to clean and tidy its feathers with its beak. - preface noun (prefaces); verb (prefaces, prefaced, prefacing)
A preface is a short introduction at the start of a book, where the writer explains why the book was written. - prefatory adjective (prefatory) — formal
1) (formal) Prefatory means coming at the beginning as an introduction, like a preface to a book or a short speech before the main one. - prefect noun (a prefect, prefects)
A prefect is an older pupil chosen to help keep order and help younger pupils at school. - prefer verb (prefer, prefers, preferred, preferring)
To prefer means to like one thing more than another, or to choose it if you can. - preferable adjective (preferable)
1) Preferable means better or more suitable, so you would rather have or choose it. - preferably adverb
1) If possible; it would be better if: «Come early, preferably before nine.» 2) In a way that is chosen or liked more than other ways. - preference noun (a preference, preferences; also uncountable)
1) A liking for one thing more than another. 2) The thing you like more or choose. 3) «Give preference to»: treat one person or group… - preferential adjective (preferential)
1) Preferential means giving one person or group better treatment than others. - preferentially adverb (formal)
In a way that gives one person or thing better treatment than others: «Members are served preferentially.». - preferred verb, past form of prefer (prefer, prefers, preferred, preferring); adjective (preferred)
Preferred means liked one thing more than another. - prefix noun (a prefix, prefixes); verb (prefix, prefixes, prefixed, prefixing)
1) A prefix is a group of letters added to the start of a word to make a new word with a different meaning, like un- in «unhappy», re- in… - preform noun (a preform, preforms); verb (preform, preforms, preformed, preforming — rare)
1) (technical) A preform is an object that has been partly shaped before its final shape, such as the small plastic tube that is blown up… - preggers adjective (preggers; only used after «be»); slang
1) (slang, UK) pregnant. - pregnancy noun (a pregnancy, pregnancies; also uncountable)
1) The time when a woman or a female animal has a baby growing inside her body. 2) The state of being pregnant. - pregnant adjective (pregnant; pregnancy — noun)
A woman or female animal is pregnant when a baby (or babies) is growing inside her body before it is born. - prehensile adjective
1) (science) Prehensile means able to grip, hold or wrap around things, used about a body part such as a tail, foot, trunk or lip. - prehistoric adjective
Prehistoric means from the very long time before people wrote things down, so before written history began. - prehistory noun (prehistory, uncountable)
1) The very long time in the past before people wrote things down, so we learn about it from things they left behind, like tools, bones… - prejudice noun (prejudice, prejudices — often uncountable); verb (prejudice, prejudices, prejudiced, prejudicing — rare)
1) An unfair opinion about a person or group, made before you know them, often because of their skin colour, religion, where they come… - preliminary adjective (preliminary); noun (a preliminary, preliminaries)
Preliminary means coming before the main part and getting ready for it. - premature adjective
1) Happening or done too early, before the right time. 2) (of a baby) Born too early, before 37 weeks of pregnancy. - prematurely adverb
Too early; before the usual or proper time: «The baby was born prematurely.». - premeditated adjective
1) Planned or thought about carefully beforehand, especially a crime or a bad act. - premier noun (a premier, premiers); adjective (premier, formal: best, most important)
1) A premier is the leader of a government, especially a prime minister; in Canada and Australia, a premier leads a province or state… - premise noun (a premise, premises; premises — a building)
A premise is an idea or fact that an argument or plan is based on. - premises noun (premises — plural)
Premises are the buildings and land that a business, school or organisation uses. - premium noun (a premium, premiums); adjective (premium)
1) (money) An amount paid regularly for insurance. 2) An extra amount paid on top of the usual price. 3) adjective Of high quality and… - premolar noun (a premolar, premolars); adjective (premolar)
1) One of the teeth between the pointed canine teeth and the big flat molars at the back of the mouth; premolars have two points and help… - preoccupation noun (a preoccupation, preoccupations; preoccupation uncountable)
A state of thinking about one thing so much that you hardly notice other things: «In his preoccupation, he missed the bus.». - preoccupied adjective; verb form (past of preoccupy: preoccupy, preoccupies, preoccupied, preoccupying)
Thinking so much about one thing, often a worry, that you do not notice what is around you: «She looked preoccupied.».
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