mark THESAURUS a dirty mark mark a dirty area on something that spoils its appearance : The bark of the tree had made black marks on her trousers. spot a small mark on something : a grease spot on my shirt stain a mark that is difficult to remove, especially one made by a dark liquid : a wine stain on the tablecloth | blood stains smudge a mark that is made when something touches against a surface : There was a smudge of lipstick on his cheek. | He had a smudge of chalk on his jacket. smear a mark that is made by a small amount of something spread across a surface : The table had a smear of paint on the top. fingerprint ( also fingermark British English ) a mark on the surface of something that is made by someone’s fingers : The glass was covered with greasy fingerprints. a mark on your skin blemish a mark on your skin that spoils its appearance : John grew a beard to hide the blemishes on his chin. mole a small dark, sometimes raised, mark on your skin : Some moles may become cancerous. | Helena found a mole on her arm which had definitely not been there before. freckles small light brown marks on your skin, especially on your face but also on your arms, shoulders etc : She had a light sprinkling of freckles across her nose. birthmark a permanent mark on your skin that you have had since you were born : There was a small birthmark on her left cheek. bruise a purple or brown mark on your skin that you get because you have fallen or been hit : Her legs were covered in cuts and bruises. scar a permanent mark on your skin, caused by a cut or by something that burns you : The injury left a small scar on his forehead. pimple/zit ( also spot British English ) a small raised red mark or lump on your skin, which usually appears when a child is between 12 and 18 years old : When I was a teenager I had terrible spots. | The boy had a few pimples under his chin. wart a small hard raised mark on your skin caused by a virus : His face was covered in hairy warts. blister a small area of skin that is swollen and full of liquid because it has been rubbed or burned : There was a blister on his arm where the boiling milk had splashed him. rash an area of small red spots on your skin, caused by an illness or an allergy : I can’t eat strawberries - they give me a rash
married THESAURUS married having a husband or wife : How long have you been married? | a married couple single not married : Chris is 45 and still single. | single mothers engaged having formally agreed to marry someone in the future : Jane and Pete have just got engaged . | engaged couples live together to share a home and have a ***ual relationship, but not be married : More and more couples are choosing to live together rather than get married. separated no longer living with your husband or wife because of problems in your marriage : I think Joan and Brian are separated now. divorced no longer married because you have legally ended your marriage : My parents got divorced when I was 10. | divorced men widowed no longer married because your husband or wife has died : He’s a widowed father of two. husband/wife etc husband/wife the man/woman you are married to : My wife’s a teacher. partner the person you live with and have a ***ual relationship with. Partner is often used when people are not married, or when you do not know if they are married. It is also used when talking about same-*** couples : He lives with his partner Ruth and their eight-month-old son. fiancé/fiancée the man/woman you are engaged to : He and fiancée Wendy Hodgson will marry in July. divorcee a woman who is divorced : The Prince announced his intention to marry Mrs Wallis Simpson, an American divorcee. widow/widower a woman or man whose husband or wife has died : Imelda Marcos, the widow of the former President spouse formal your spouse is your husband or wife : The rule applies to spouses and children of military personnel. estranged wife/husband formal someone’s estranged husband or wife is one who they do not live with anymore : She is trying to get her sons back from her estranged husband. someone who is not married bachelor a man who has never been married : He’s a confirmed bachelor (= a man who has decided he will never marry ) . spinster old-fashioned a woman who has never been married and is no longer young : The house was owned by an elderly spinster
meeting THESAURUS meeting an occasion when people meet in order to discuss something : a business meeting. | Mr Bell is in a meeting. | The committee will hold another meeting Wednesday. conference an organized event, especially one that continues for several days, at which a lot of people meet to discuss a particular subject and hear speeches about it : Didn’t you give a talk at the conference last year? | a conference of women business leaders convention a large formal meeting of people who belong to a political party, or to an organization of people with the same interests : the Democratic Party Convention | a convention for Star Trek fans rally a large public meeting, especially one that is held outdoors to support or protest about something : There was a massive peace rally in London. summit a meeting between government leaders from important and powerful countries, to discuss important matters : A summit meeting of OPEC leaders was called to find a solution to the oil crisis. | next week’s economic summit caucus American English a local meeting of the members of a political party to choose people to represent them at a larger meeting, or to choose a candidate in an election : Obama won the Iowa caucus in 2007. teleconference/video conference a business meeting in which people in different places talk to each other using telephones or video equipment : The chairman held teleconferences with his senior managers. gathering/get-together a situation in which a group of people come together to meet, talk, and have drinks with each other, especially friends or family : We held a small family get-together to celebrate her birthday. | She arranged social gatherings in Kettering for young people on Saturday evenings. date an arrangement to meet someone who you are having, or hoping to have, a romantic relationship with : I think I might ask her out on a date. rendezvous a meeting where two people have arranged to meet at a particular time or place, often secretly : She arranged a rendezvous with him in the hotel bar. tryst literary a secret meeting between people who are having a romantic relationship : a good place for a moonlight tryst
mixture THESAURUS mixture several different substances, ideas, qualities etc that have been put together, especially so that they form one thing : Pour the mixture into the cake pan and bake for 50 minutes. | He looked at her with a mixture of admiration and curiosity. combination two or more different things, substances etc that are used together or work together : Doctors use a combination of drugs to combat the disease. | The business failed due to a combination of bad management and a lack of experience. blend a mixture of two or more things, qualities, or characteristics, especially ones that combine successfully or in a pleasant way : The England team is a good side, with a nice blend of experience and youthful energy. | The sauce uses a blend of different ingredients. a cross between something and something a mixture of very different things – used when you are describing what something looks or sounds like : The building looked like a cross between a museum and a spaceship. | Her music sounds like a cross between the Rolling Stones and Amy Winehouse. hybrid / ˈhaɪbrəd, ˈhaɪbrɪd / something that is produced by combining two or more things, especially using advanced scientific methods : Scientists are combining human and animal embryos to create genetic hybrids. | These industries use a hybrid of different technologies. | The plant is a hybrid of wheat and rye. amalgam / əˈmælɡəm / formal a mixture of different things, in which you can still recognize the original features : The record is an amalgam of hard rock, jazz, and blues. synthesis formal something that has been made by combining different things, especially information or ideas : The essay should be a synthesis of the information from various sources. an untidy mixture jumble a lot of different things mixed together in an untidy way : Rae looked through the jumble of old record albums and tapes. mishmash /hodgepodge informal a mixture of a lot of different things, styles etc that do not seem right together : If you look closely at the individual buildings they are a real hodgepodge of styles. | The story is a bit of a mishmash. a mxture of chemical substances compound a chemical substance that contains atoms of two or more element s : common chemical compounds such as sodium chloride solution a liquid mixed with a solid or a gas : a weak sugar solution
newspaper THESAURUS newspaper : The New York Times is a popular daily newspaper. paper a newspaper. Paper is more common than newspaper in everyday English : There was an interesting article in the local paper today. | the Sunday papers the press newspapers and news magazines in general, and the people who write for them : the freedom of the press | The press are always interested in stories about the royal family. the media newspapers, magazines, television, radio, and the Internet, considered as a group that provides news and information : This issue has received a lot of attention in the media. | Her public image was shaped by the media. tabloid a newspaper that has small pages, a lot of photographs, short stories, and not much serious news : The tabloids are full of stories about her and her boyfriend. broadsheet British English a serious newspaper printed on large sheets of paper, with news about politics, finance, and foreign affairs : the quality broadsheets the nationals the newspapers that give news about the whole country where they are printed, in contrast to local newspapers : The results of the nationwide survey became headlines in the nationals. the dailies the daily newspapers : The dailies reported the story. parts of a newspaper article a piece of writing in a newspaper about a particular subject : an article on the education reforms report a piece of writing in a newspaper about an event : newspaper reports on the war story a report in a newspaper about an event, especially one that is not very serious or reliable : You can’t always believe what you read in newspaper stories. a headline the title of an important newspaper article, printed in large letters above the article. The headlines are the titles of the most important stories on the front page : The singer’s drug problem has been constantly in the headlines. front page the page on the front of a newspaper which has the most important news stories : The story was all over the front page. section/pages the pages in a newspaper dealing with a particular area of news such as sports, business, or entertainment : the financial pages of The Times | the arts section editorial the page of a newspaper on which the editor of a newspaper and other people express their opinions about the news, rather than just giving facts : an editorial on the vaccination programme column an article on a particular subject or by a particular writer that appears regularly : his weekly column on gardening
picture THESAURUS picture shapes, lines etc painted or drawn on a surface, especially as a piece of art, and often showing what someone or something looks like : a picture of a horse | He painted the picture in 1890, just before he died. drawing a picture drawn with a pencil, pen etc : We had to do a drawing of a sunflower. sketch a picture that is drawn quickly : I made a quick sketch of the kind of room we wanted. painting a picture made using paint : The painting now hangs in the Museum of Modern Art. | Picasso did several paintings of her. portrait a picture of a person : The portrait was painted by Rembrandt. landscape a picture of a place, especially in the countryside or the mountains : Constable painted mainly landscapes. cartoon a funny drawing in a newspaper or magazine that tells a story or a joke : A cartoon in the New York Times showed the President talking to Osama Bin Laden. comic strip a series of pictures drawn inside boxes that tell a story : Charles Schultz was famous for his cartoon strip about Snoopy and Charlie Brown. caricature a funny drawing of someone that makes a part of someone’s face or body look bigger, worse etc than it really is, especially in a funny way : He is famous for his caricatures of politicans. illustration a picture in a book : The book has over 100 pages of illustrations, most of them in colour. poster a large picture printed on paper that you stick to a wall as decoration : old movie posters | There were lots of posters of pop bands on her bedroom wall. print a picture that is usually produced on a printing press , and is one of a series of copies of the same picture : a limited edition of lithographic prints by John Lennon image a picture – used especially when talking about what the picture is like, or the effect it has on you : He produced some memorable images. | a beautiful image | Some of the images are deeply disturbing. artwork pictures or photographs, especially ones that have been produced to be used in a book or magazine : We are still waiting for the artwork to come back from the printers
poem THESAURUS a poem poem a piece of writing that expresses emotions, experiences, and ideas, especially in short lines using words that rhyme : ‘I wandered lonely as a cloud’ is the first line of a famous poem by WIlliam Wordsworth. sonnet a poem with 14 lines which rhyme with each other in a fixed pattern : Shakespeare’s sonnets haiku a type of Japanese poem with three lines consisting of five, seven, and five syllables : a haiku by Matsuo Basho about a frog jumping into a pond limerick a short humorous poem that has five lines which rhyme : a limerick by Edward Lear, which began ‘There was a young lady of Norway, Who casually sat in a doorway’. rhyme a short poem or song, especially for children, using words that rhyme : a collection of traditional rhymes with illustrations | The children were reciting a rhyme. | a nursery rhyme (= a short traditional poem or song for children ) poems poetry poems in general, or the art of writing them : He reads a lot of poetry. | She wrote poetry and children’s stories. | a poetry book verse words arranged in the form of poetry : a book of comic verse anthology a set of poems by different people collected together in one book : an anthology of Caribbean poetry parts of a poem verse a group of words or sentences that form one part of a poem : The poem has three verses. | the final verse stanza a group of lines in a repeated pattern, which form part of a poem : the opening stanza of Keats’ poem ‘Ode to a Nightingale’
punctuation mark THESAURUS types of punctuation mark apostrophe the sign ' that is used to show that one or more letters or numbers have been left out, as in don’t , or used before ‘s’ to show that something belongs to someone or something, as in Mark’s dog brackets British English , parentheses AmE and BrE formal a pair of signs used for enclosing information that interrupts a sentence colon the sign : that is used to introduce an explanation, example, quotation etc semicolon the sign ; that is used to separate words in a list, or different parts of a sentence that can be understood separately comma the sign , that is used to separate things in a list, or between two clauses in a sentence hyphen the sign – that is used to join words or syllables dash the sign — that is used to separate two closely related parts of a sentence, especially in more informal English full stop British English , period American English the sign . that is used to mark the end of a sentence or the short form of a word exclamation mark British English , exclamation point American English the sign ! that is used after a sentence or word that expresses surprise, anger, or excitement question mark the sign ? that is used at the end of a question quotation marks ( also inverted commas British English ) a pair of signs ‘ and ’ that are put around words, especially to show that you are quoting what someone has said other marks used in writing angle brackets British English a pair of signs <> used for enclosing information slash a line / that is used to separate words, numbers, or letters backslash a line \ that is used to separate words, numbers, or letters asterisk the sign * that is used especially to mark something interesting or important at sign the sign @ that is used especially in email addresses ampersand the sign & that means ‘and’
record THESAURUS record information about something that is written down : your medical records | the public records office | I have to keep a record of all my spending when I’m travelling on business. file a set of written records, or information stored on a computer under a particular name : He began reading the file on the case. | I think I may have accidentally deleted the file. accounts ( also books informal ) an exact record of the money that a company has received and spent : Companies are required by law to publish their annual accounts. | Someone had been falsifying the accounts. | The company’s books all seemed to be in order. ledger one of the official books in which a company’s financial records are kept, which show how much it has received and spent : The costs have been moved from one column of the ledger to another. minutes an official written record of what is said and decided at a meeting : Both points are mentioned in the minutes of the last meeting on August 3rd. diary a book in which you regularly write down the things that have happened to you : In his diary he wrote, ‘It s lovely having him here, we’ve had so many cosy talks.’ | I’ll just check in my diary to see if I’m free. blog a web page on the Internet on which someone regularly writes about their life, opinions, or a particular subject : I may not always agree with David, but I always read his blog. register an official list of names of people, organizations etc : Guests must sign the hotel register. | the national register of births, deaths, and marriages | Lloyds Register of Shipping roll an official list of names, especially of people who are allowed to do something such as vote or be in a class at school : the electoral roll (= list of people who can vote in an area ) | The teacher called the roll (= read out the list of the names of the students, who then have to say if they are present ) . log an official record that is kept on a ship or plane : Mr Appleby said he complained to a senior officer, who made a note in the ship’s log
river THESAURUS river a line of water that flows into the sea : They crossed the river by ferry. | the River Tweed | the Yangtze river tributary a stream or river that flows into a larger river : The River Trombetas is a tributary of the River Amazon. estuary the wide part of a river where it goes into the sea : plans to build a big new airport on the Thames estuary canal a long passage dug into the ground and filled with water, either for boats to travel along, or to take water to a place : Venice’s famous canals | a canal boat delta an area of low land where a river spreads into many smaller rivers near the sea : the Nile delta a small river stream a small narrow river : a cool mountain stream brook literary a small stream : There was a small brook, rushing and sparkling along between green banks. creek a narrow area of sea that goes into the land, or a small river : The River Fal with its many creeks was a perfect place for smugglers. | The kids hunted for crabs in the muddy creek. parts of a river mouth the part of a river where it joins the sea : Havre-Marat was a port at the mouth of the River Seine. bank land along the side of a river : the river bank | He owns a chateau on the banks of the River Loire. source the place where a river or stream starts : The source of the River Nile was discovered by a British explorer, John Speke
