401
|
help out
|
To assist someone in their work,
e.g. On weekends, the husband helps out in the kitchen.
|
|
help … out
|
To support someone who has
problems, e.g. Jack is a tiger trainer and he needs an assistant, but
nobody dares to help out.
|
|
402
|
hem … in
|
To surround and restrict the
space or movement of someone or something.
|
|
403
|
hike … up
|
To pull or lift up clothing,
e.g. She hiked up her skirt to climb the ladder.
|
|
404
|
hinge on/upon
|
To depend entirely on someone or
something.
|
|
405
|
hire … out
|
To allow the temporary use of
something in exchange for payment.
|
|
406
|
hit back
|
To retaliate in kind.
|
|
hit on
|
To think of a good idea.
|
|
|
To discover something by chance.
|
|
hit out
|
To strike at someone.
|
|
|
To express strong disapproval of
something or someone.
|
|
407
|
hitch … up
|
To lift or roll up one’s
clothing, e.g. to hitch up one’s trousers.
|
|
|
To harness a draught animal.
|
|
408
|
hive … off
|
To separate something from a
large group, such as to sell a company in a conglomerate.
|
|
409
|
hold … against
|
To continue to blame and dislike
someone, e.g. Despite the years that have passed, Jack still holds it against Jill
for something she did that caused him embarrassment.
|
|
hold back
|
To stop oneself from doing
something or expressing an emotion.
|
|
hold ... down
|
To succeed in retaining one’s
job.
|
|
|
To keep prices from rising.
|
|
hold forth
|
To talk at length on a subject.
|
|
hold off
|
To postpone doing something,
e.g. They hold off renovating the house until next year
when they can better afford to pay for it.
|
|
hold ... off
|
(Bad weather) to fail to occur.
|
|
|
To ward off someone or something
from harming or affecting one, e.g. They are planning a way to hold the
enemy off while looking for an escape route.
|
|
hold on
|
To wait for a short time, e.g.
Would you like to hold on or call back? She’s in the
toilet.
|
|
hold on to
|
To persist in doing something
despite the difficulty encountered, e.g. They managed to hold on
to a piece of debris until help arrived.
|
|
|
To grasp something firmly, e.g.
She held tightly on to the rail as she
climbed the stairs.
|
|
hold out
|
To extend one’s hand, e.g. We
have not met for a long time and when I hold out my hand,
he grabs it tight.
|
|
|
To make something such as money,
etc. last, e.g. I’m spending less, so it holds out until my next payday.
|
|
|
To resist something such as
attack, pressure, temptation, etc., e.g. They were under siege but managed
to hold out until reinforcements arrived.
|
|
hold out for
|
To be not prepared to receive
less than what is demanded.
|
|
hold out on
|
To refuse to provide someone
with information, an answer, etc. that is needed.
|
|
hold up
|
To continue to remain strong,
valid, etc.
|
|
hold ... up
|
To delay the progress of someone
or something, e.g. work is held up by workers’ strike.
|
|
|
To commit a robbery, e.g. A
couple of men succeeded in holding a bank up by
using toy guns.
|
|
hold with
|
To adopt someone or something as
a role model or example.
|
|
|
To approve or agree with
something, e.g. Most parents do not hold with using the
cane in school.
|
|
410
|
hole up
|
To hide oneself, especially from
the law.
|
|
411
|
hollow … out
|
To remove the inside part of
something.
|
|
412
|
home in on
|
To aim at something and move
directly towards it with a purpose, e.g. to identify a problem and home in
to resolving it.
|
|
413
|
hook … up
|
To connect an electronic
equipment to an electricity supply.
|
|
hook up with
|
To get acquainted with someone
and become friendly with them.
|
|
414
|
horn in
|
To interrupt without invitation
or necessity.
|
|
415
|
horse around/about
|
To fool around or about.
|
|
416
|
hose … down
|
To wash something or someone
using a hose.
|
|
417
|
hot up
|
To become more active, exciting,
or dangerous.
|
|
418
|
howl … down
|
To prevent someone or something
from being heard by shouting loudly and angrily.
|
|
419
|
hunt … down
|
To search diligently for and
capture or kill someone or an animal
|
|
420
|
Hurry up/hurry … up
|
To make someone or something
move, act, finish or happen more quickly, e.g. If we don’t hurry up, we are
going to be the last ones in the long queue. / We hurried the waiter up as
we had waited almost half an hour.
|
|
421
|
hush … up
|
To prevent something from being
expressed publicly, especially about something dishonest or immoral.
|
|
422
|
hype … up
|
To promote or publicize someone
or something in an exaggerated way.
|
|
423
|
ice … down
|
To cover injury with ice to
prevent swelling.
|
|
ice over/up
|
To become covered or blocked
with ice.
|
|
424
|
identify with
|
To feel oneself as having the
same characteristics, thinking or feelings as someone else.
|
|
425
|
idle … away
|
To spend time doing nothing.
|
|
426
|
imbue … with
|
To make someone fill with an
emotion or quality.
|
|
427
|
impinge on/upon
|
To have an effect on someone or
something.
|
|
428
|
improve on/upon
|
To make or do something better
than before.
|
|
429
|
impute … to
|
To regard something, especially
something bad, as being caused by someone else.
|
|
430
|
inform against/on
|
To give vital information about
someone to the police, enemy, etc.
|
|
431
|
infringe on/upon
|
To intrude on someone’s freedom
or rights.
|
|
432
|
ink … in
|
To write or mark something with
ink.
|
|
433
|
inquire after
|
To ask someone about their
health, well-being, etc.
|
|
inquire into
|
To investigate about something
or someone.
|
|
inquire … of
|
To ask someone about someone
else or something.
|
|
434
|
insist on
|
To firmly continue doing
something.
|
|
435
|
interfere with
|
To prevent something from
succeeding or continuing in the way that was planned.
|
|
|
To sexually molest, especially a
child.
|
|
436
|
inure … to
|
To make someone accustomed to
something, especially something unpleasant so that they are used to it.
|
|
437
|
invalid …out
|
To leave the armed services or
to remove someone from active military service because of injury or
illness.
|
|
438
|
inveigh against
|
To speak or write about someone
or something with great hostility or criticism.
|
|
439
|
inveigle … into
|
To persuade someone to do
something, especially by deceit or flattery.
|
|
440
|
invest in
|
To buy a financial product with
a view of making a profit.
|
|
invest … with
|
To buy something useful, e.g. a
grey winter suit.
|
|
|
To endow someone with power or
authority to perform a duty or with a particular quality or character.
|
|
441
|
invite … along
|
To ask someone to come along to
some place such as a cinema, etc.
|
|
invite ... back
|
To ask someone to come to one’s
house, etc.
|
|
invite ... in
|
To ask someone to come into
one’s house, office, etc.
|
|
invite ... over
|
To ask someone to come over to
one’s house, for dinner, etc.
|
|
442
|
iron … out
|
To resolve a problem.
|
|
|
To remove folds from clothes by
ironing them.
|
|
443
|
issue forth
|
(Sound, etc.) to emanate or come
out from something or a place.
|
|
issue from
|
(Smoke, etc.) to emit or come
out from somewhere.
|
|
444
|
jack around
|
To waste someone’s time by
causing inconvenience or problems.
|
|
jack ... in
|
To stop doing something.
|
|
jack off
|
To masturbate.
|
|
jack up
|
To inject oneself with a
narcotic drug.
|
|
|
To refuse to participate.
|
|
jack ... up
|
To raise something, e.g. to jack
a car up in order to change its wheels.
|
|
|
To increase something
considerably such as prices, sales, etc.
|
|
445
|
jazz … up
|
To make something more
interesting or exciting.
|
|
446
|
jerk … around
|
To deal with someone dishonestly
or unfairly.
|
|
jerk off
|
To masturbate.
|
|
jerk out
|
To utter something in a quick
and unsteady manner.
|
|
447
|
jib at
|
To become unwilling to do or
accept something.
|
|
448
|
jibe at
|
To make an insulting or mocking
remark.
|
|
449
|
jog along
|
To continue in the same steady
way.
|
|
450
|
join in
|
To take part in an activity.
|
|
join up
|
To become a member of the armed
services.
|
|
join up with
|
To form a group with other
people in order to do something.
|
|
join with
|
To do or say something together,
e.g. to join with fellow church members say prayers.
|
|
451
|
jolly … along
|
To encourage someone to do
something faster.
|
|
jolly … up
|
To make someone or something
more lively and cheerful.
|
|
452
|
jot … down
|
To write something quickly.
|
|
453
|
joy in
|
To have a feeling of great
pleasure and happiness.
|
|
454
|
juice … up
|
To make something more
interesting or exciting.
|
|
455
|
jump at
|
To eagerly accept the chance to
do something.
|
|
jump in
|
To join a conversation suddenly
by interrupting.
|
|
jump on
|
To criticize or attack someone,
usually unfairly.
|
|
456
|
keel over
|
(Boat, ship) to turn over on its
side; to fall over sideways.
|
|
457
|
keep at
|
To continue a course of action,
e.g. We kept at it until we completely fitted together all
the pieces of a jigsaw.
|
|
keep … at
|
To force someone to continue a
course of action.
|
|
keep away
|
To make someone or something
avoid going somewhere or seeing someone else, e.g. We keep away from
this guy who often gets drunk and swears.
|
|
|
To keep someone or something
away from someone or something else, e.g. Gun owners should ensure
they keep away their guns beyond the reach of their
children.
|
|
keep back
|
To refrain from telling someone
what you know, e.g. He keeps back when asked how he
sustained a black eye.
|
|
keep ... back
|
To withhold paying or giving
something to someone.
|
|
keep ... down
|
To stop something from
increasing, e.g. The producer is increasing the supply of its products in
order to keep their prices down.
|
|
keep from
|
To refrain from sharing
information with someone, e.g. He knows he cannot keep the
incident from his family for very long.
|
|
keep ... from
|
To prevent someone from doing
something or something from happening, e.g. We just could not keep ourselves from buying
those big, juicy looking apples.
|
|
|
To protect someone from possible
danger or a mishap.
|
|
keep ... in
|
To make someone stay indoors,
e.g. His parents keep him in most of the
time to prevent him from mixing with those bad neighbours’ kids.
|
|
keep in with
|
To remain on friendly terms with
someone, especially because this is very advantageous.
|
|
keep off
|
To protect something from some
other things, e.g. putting things in container to keep vermin
off.
|
|
|
To make someone stay away from
something or someone else, e.g. The doctor advised the parents to keep her off sugary
stuff.
|
|
keep on
|
To continue doing something,
e.g. He keeps on complaining about his parents to me.
|
|
|
To retain someone in employment,
e.g. He has attained retirement age but the company keeps him on because
of his immense experience.
|
|
keep on about
|
To talk constantly about
something, especially about one’s personal problems.
|
|
keep on at
|
To bother someone with repeated
requests.
|
|
keep ... on
|
To retain someone or something
such as to continue to employ someone, etc., e.g. He is still kept on the
company payroll despite having reached retirement age.
|
|
keep out
|
To usually appear on signboard
warning people to stay away from a place, e.g. A signboard warns passersby
to keep out as construction work is still in progress.
|
|
keep out of
|
To refrain from getting involved
in something, e.g. We often discuss current issues but keep out
of sensitive ones.
|
|
keep to
|
To keep to a particular place,
e.g. If motorists keep to their lanes as much as possible
when driving, the number of accidents might be reduced.
|
|
|
To observe an agreement and do
what one promises to do, e.g. I have not been keeping to my
work schedule and now my work is piling up.
|
|
|
To keep something secret,
especially something that has been confided in one, e.g. No matter how hard
she tries, she just cannot keep anything to herself.
|
|
|
To keep to the
topic one is talking, writing or discussing about which one is supposed to.
|
|
|
To confine or restrict oneself
to a particular place, e.g. The nurses tell him to keep to his
ward where he is a patient instead of wandering into other wards to chat.
|
|
|
To maintain something at a
certain level, e.g. They have been reminded again to keep their
spending to within the amount allowed in the budget.
|
|
keep up
|
To continue to maintain one’s
good performance, e.g. to keep up the good work.
|
|
|
To keep abreast of current
affairs by reading and learning, e.g. to keep up with the
development in the field of medicine.
|
|
|
To move or progress at about the
same rate as someone or something else, e.g. Some of them were not able
to keep up with others in their class in school that led
to their dropout.
|
|
|
To acquire about the same
possessions as those of friends and neighbours, e.g. She tries to keep
up her extravagant lifestyle by incurring huge debts through heavy
use of her credit cards.
|
|
|
To prevent someone from going to
bed, e.g. to drink strong coffee to keep one up the
whole night.
|
|
|
To maintain something at a high
level, e.g. The suppliers of a product conspire to manipulate its supply in
order to keep up the price.
|
|
458
|
key … in
|
To enter or work on data by
using a computer keyboard.
|
|
459
|
kick against
|
To express disagreement or
frustration with someone or react strongly against something;
|
|
kick around/about
|
To travel from place to place
wander with no explicit aim, e.g. He has been kicking around the
coastal area for the past year.
|
|
|
(Place or thing) awaits
exploration and exploitation, e.g. Some of the things we need for this
project could be kicking around in the attic.
|
|
kick ... around
|
To treat someone badly, unfairly
and without respect, e.g. He never seems to kick his workers around.
|
|
|
To discuss an idea with other
people casually, e.g. We could kick around the possibility
of migrating.
|
|
kick back
|
To be at leisure or relaxing,
e.g. He decides to kick back the whole day and call in
sick.
|
|
kick in
|
To have an effect, e.g. to begin
to feel the pain of the wound kicking in.
|
|
kick ... in
|
To injure someone, e.g. He was
sent off for deliberately kicking the other player’s ankle in.
|
|
|
To gain access, e.g. The
neighbours had to kick the door in to
rescue a child from the fire.
|
|
|
To contribute money, help, etc.,
e.g. The villagers are all willing to kick in and help
with the building of a new bridge.
|
|
kick off
|
To start off a football match,
e.g. They decide that the match should not kick off this
afternoon due to adverse weather conditions.
|
|
|
To remove one’s shoes by shaking
the feet, e.g. He habitually kicks off his shoes on
arriving home.
|
|
kick ... out
|
To expel or dismiss someone,
e.g. got kicked out of the house or kicked out of the
club.
|
|
460
|
kid around
|
To behave in a silly way.
|
|
461
|
kill … off
|
To kill a lot of lives, e.g. the
discharge of chemicals into the river has killed off a variety of fish
species.
|
|
462
|
kiss up to
|
To be excessively obedient or
attentive to someone for a selfish reason.
|
|
463
|
kit … out
|
To provide someone with the
appropriate clothing and equipment for an activity.
|
|
464
|
knock around/about
|
To travel, especially without a
specific purpose, e.g. He intends to knock around a few
countries before he gets married.
|
|
|
To hit someone, e.g. He used to
get knocked around when he was staying with his drinking
father.
|
|
|
To be present at a particular
place, e.g. There is a hammer knocking about in the attic
but I just couldn’t find it.
|
|
knock ... back
|
To drink heavily and quickly, He
can easily knock back five bottles when he has the mood.
|
|
|
To spend on costly things, e.g.
The air fare has knocked her back by some
four hundred pounds, but it was worth it.
|
|
knock ... down
|
To hurt or kill someone by
hitting them accidentally with a car, e.g. He was knocked down
by a car as he was dashing across a road.
|
|
|
To reduce substantially the
price of something, e.g. Sale has been poor so the seller knocks
down some of the prices by as much as half.
|
|
|
To destroy something and replace
it with something better, e.g. They knock down the garage
to build a bigger one.
|
|
knock off
|
To finish the day’s work, e.g.
He does not knock off at the same time every day.
|
|
knock ... off
|
To kill someone, e.g. Pictures
of him with a reward for information leading to his capture are all over
the country after he knocked off the police chief.
|
|
|
To have sex with someone.
|
|
|
To deduct points from the total,
e.g. Each contestant will have one point knocked off for
each wrong answer.
|
|
|
To reduce prices.
|
|
|
To accidentally or deliberately
strike something onto the ground from a surface, e.g. My arm knocked a
glass ashtray off the table and broke it into pieces.
|
|
|
To tell someone to stop
bothering one, e.g. He yelled out, “Knock it off”
at someone in a crowded place.
|
|
|
To produce something quickly,
e.g. She knocked off a couple of poems for the school
magazine.
|
|
knock ... out
|
To eliminate contestants, e.g.
He was knocked out early in the contest. To lose a boxing
match, e.g. He was knocked out by the opponent’s left
hook.
|
|
|
To make someone unconscious,
e.g. A brick fell on the head of a passerby and knocked him out.
|
|
|
To destroy something, e.g.
Aerial attacks have knock out their ammunition factory.
|
|
knock over
|
To hit someone or something with
a car, e.g. The dog was knocked over when it was running
across the street.
|
|
knock ... together
|
To combine or assemble something
from whatever one has, e.g. He knocked together a dinner
from last night’s leftovers.
|
|
knock ... up
|
To awaken someone by knocking at
their door, e.g. Every morning she has to knock him up for
work.
|
|
|
To make something hurriedly,
e.g. They got together and knocked up a big kite for a
kite flying contest the next day.
|
|
465
|
know about
|
To be aware of, e.g. There are
still many things in this world we don’t really know much about, such as
whether or not Nessie exists, the Bermuda Triangle, UFOs, etc.
|
|
know of
|
To be aware of something but
lack knowledge concerning it.
|
|
466
|
knuckle down
|
To devote oneself diligently to
a task.
|
|
knuckle under
|
To unwillingly submit to
someone’s authority or orders.
|
|
467
|
ladle … out
|
To distribute something in large
amounts such as advice, praise, compliments, etc.
|
|
468
|
land … in
|
To cause someone to be in a
difficult situation;
|
|
land on
|
To speak angrily to someone
|
|
land up
|
To finally reach one’s desired
place, position, destination, etc. despite the difficulties.
|
|
land up with
|
To end up with an unpleasant or
unwelcome situation.
|
|
land … with
|
To assign someone with an
unpleasant task.
|
|
469
|
lap … up
|
To accept something with
considerable pleasure and enjoyment
|
|
470
|
lapse into
|
To pass gradually into a
different, often worse, state or condition.
|
|
471
|
lark about/around
|
To have fun by behaving in a
playful way.
|
|
472
|
lash out
|
To attack someone verbally, e.g.
He lashed out at his critics for their derogatory remarks.
|
|
|
(Animals) to react violently
using, typically their paws, or other parts of its body such as their
mouths, tails, etc.
|
|
473
|
latch on
|
To understand the meaning of
something, e.g. It wasn’t easy for him but finally he managed to latch
on.
|
|
latch onto
|
To have full affection for
someone and aim to be their steady companion, e.g. He has been looking for
a long time for an attractive lady whom he can latch onto.
|
|
|
To develop a keen interest in
something.
|
|
474
|
laugh at
|
To ridicule someone or
something.
|
|
laugh … off
|
To treat something as unworthy
of serious consideration, e.g. All his friends have been trying to convince
him that he is putting on a lot of weight, but he just laughs it off.
|
|
475
|
launch into
|
To start something with great
energy and interest, or criticism of someone or something.
|
|
launch out
|
To undertake something new and
risky on one’s own such as a business enterprise.
|
|
476
|
lay about
|
To attack someone violently.
|
|
lay … aside
|
To put something away for future
use, e.g. He has been laying a small sum of money aside
in his savings account to meet future needs.
|
|
|
To defer doing something, e.g.
The developer has decided to lay aside a major
construction project until the economy improves.
|
|
lay ... down
|
To put down weapons, tools,
etc., e.g. The gang members were ordered to lay down their
weapons and surrender to the police.
|
|
|
To introduce a regulation, law,
etc., e.g. The local authority laid down a by-law against
owners letting their dogs loose in the streets.
|
|
lay ... in
|
To store a large supply of
something for future use.
|
|
lay into
|
To attack someone physically or
verbally, e.g. She would lay into her partner whenever she
feels she is provoked.
|
|
lay off
|
To discharge workers from
employment, either for a temporary period or permanently due to shortage of
work, e.g. My brother was one of those who were laid off during
the recent recession.
|
|
|
To give up something, e.g. He
just couldn’t lay off betting no matter how hard he tries.
|
|
|
To stop doing, having, or using
something, e.g. I advised her to lay off eating excessively as
she is putting on weight by the minute.
|
|
|
To stop bothering someone, e.g.
You have been annoying me and if you don’t lay off, I’m going
to thump you hard on the head.
|
|
|
To provide service such as food,
entertainment, etc.
|
|
lay ... on
|
To entrust someone with a
responsibility to tackle a problem, task, etc., e.g. They think he was the
best man to lay the responsibility on to
organize the weekend jumble sale.
|
|
|
To spread something out such as
a map, carpet, etc.
|
|
lay ... out
|
To arrange or plan the
construction of something such as a building, garden, town, etc.
|
|
|
To spend a large sum of money
for a particular purpose, e.g. Together, they laid out a vast sum for
interior decoration of their house.
|
|
|
To prepare a dead body for
burial.
|
|
|
To knock someone unconscious.
|
|
lay over
|
To sojourn somewhere before
resuming one’s journey.
|
|
|
(Ship) to stop moving.
|
|
lay to
|
To be unable to do anything due
to illness or injury.
|
|
lay ... up
|
To take a ship, vehicle, etc.
out of service.
|
|
477
|
lead into
|
(Something) to happen and then
followed by another as there is a close connection between them.
|
|
lead off
|
To connect directly to another
place, e.g. The corridor leads off to the backyard.
|
|
lead to
|
To be a route or means of access
to a particular place, e.g. This road leads to the park.
|
|
|
To be the result of an action,
e.g. The Police offer a reward for any information leading to the
arrest of the wanted man.
|
|
lead up to
|
(Events, etc.) to lead to a
final outcome, e.g. No one knows what were the preceding events that led
up to the manager’s dismissal.
|
|
|
To say or write something that
supports your intention which is not mentioned, e.g. Jack didn’t directly
say he wanted to be captain of the team, however he led up to it
by talking about his ability to lead.
|
|
478
|
leaf through
|
To turn the pages of a book,
magazine, etc. casually.
|
|
479
|
leak out
|
To intentionally make secret
information known to people.
|
|
480
|
lean on
|
To rely on someone or something
for support, encouragement, etc.
|
|
|
To influence someone to act in a
certain way.
|
|
lean towards
|
To have a tendency to support a
view, belief, idea, opinion, etc.
|
|
481
|
leave … behind
|
To forget to bring someone or
something along, e.g. He left his cell phone behind in
his car.
|
|
|
To move faster than someone
else, e.g. He is certain to win the gold medal as he leaves the
other marathon runners far behind.
|
|
|
To go away from someone or
something, e.g. He left his wife and kids behind and
sought employment overseas.
|
|
|
To be slow and make less
progress than others, e.g. I watch television more than I work hard; not
surprisingly, I’m left behind by others.
|
|
leave ... off
|
To omit to add or put on
something.
|
|
|
To discontinue doing something,
e.g. I use a bookmark to help me remember where I leave off when
I stop reading.
|
|
leave ... out
|
To deliberately or accidentally
overlook the inclusion of someone or something, e.g. They have to leave him out from
participating in any of the athletic events because he is far too fat.
|
|
leave over
|
To exceed a desired amount, e.g.
I’ll leave the remaining food over for
tomorrow.
|
|
482
|
lech after/over
|
To show excessive or offensive
sexual desire for a woman.
|
|
483
|
let … down
|
To disappoint someone by not
meeting their expectations, e.g. He assured me that he would come in first
in the race, but he let me down by not
turning up for the race.
|
|
let ... in/let ... into
|
To open the door of a building,
house, etc. for someone to enter, e.g. She was still angry with me and
would not let me in when I arrived.
|
|
|
(Light, air, etc.) to enter a
place, e.g. Whenever it rained a crack on the roof let water
seep in.
|
|
|
To share a secret with someone,
e.g. Is it wise to let him into our
secret plan to smuggle cigarettes?
|
|
let ... in on
|
To reveal a secret to someone
with the understanding that they keep it to themselves, e.g. He let me in
on how he acquired his wealth.
|
|
let … off
|
To fire a gun or make bomb,
firework, etc. explode, e.g. Despite the official ban on firecrackers,
people nationwide are letting them off to
usher in the new year.
|
|
|
To decide not to punish someone,
e.g. The victim’s family was furious when the judge let the
offender off with only a warning.
|
|
|
To release someone from public
transport, etc., e.g. The bus driver let the elderly
passenger off in front of her house.
|
|
let on
|
To make known secret information
to someone.
|
|
let out
|
To make a sound such as a
scream, cry, etc., e.g. Her nightmare caused her to let out a
scream of terror.
|
|
let ... out
|
To allow someone or something to
leave a confined area, building, etc., e.g. The zoo attendant opened a cage
door and let some monkeys out to roam
freely.
|
|
|
To make an item of clothing
larger or looser as its owner has put on weight, e.g. This is the second
time she is letting her dress out as she
has put on more weight.
|
|
|
To allow someone else occupy a
room, building, etc, in return for periodic payments.
|
|
let up
|
(Storm, high winds, etc.) to
become less intense, e.g. It looks like the rain is not going to let up any
time soon.
|
|
|
To do something continuously,
e.g. to grumble without letting up.
|
|
484
|
level at
|
To publicly accuse or criticize
someone, e.g. level an accusation at.
|
|
|
To aim a weapon at someone.
|
|
level off/out
|
To become level, e.g. the steep
road begins to level off.
|
|
level with
|
To have a frank talk or
discussion with someone.
|
|
485
|
lick … up
|
To drink or eat something by
licking it.
|
|
486
|
lie about/around
|
To leave something untidily
somewhere, e.g. She can really tolerate the sight of old newspapers,
magazines, books, etc. lying around her.
|
|
|
To lie down and not doing
anything, e.g. He is lying around watching television.
|
|
lie behind
|
To be the real reason for a
change of behaviour, e.g. something lies behind his sudden
heavy drinking.
|
|
lie down
|
To accept unfair treatment
without complaining, e.g. how long is he going to take this lying
down?
|
|
|
To put oneself in a sleeping
position.
|
|
lie in
|
To remain in bed longer than
usual.
|
|
lie with
|
To have power, authority, etc.,
e.g. the responsibility to deal with the problem lies with the
local authority.
|
|
|
To have sex with someone.
|
|
487
|
lift off
|
(Aircraft, spacecraft, etc.) to
rise into the air.
|
|
lift up
|
To raise something from a
surface, e.g. I lifted up an overturned can and a big
insect hopped away.
|
|
488
|
light up
|
To provide light to a place or
shine light on something, e.g. They light up trees in the
city with multi-coloured light bulbs for the festive season.
|
|
|
(Face or eyes) to show pride,
liveliness or joy;
|
|
|
To light something such as a
cigarette, cigar, etc., e.g. He has no lighter or matches and so goes
around borrowing them to light up his cigarettes.
|
|
lighten up
|
To treat someone in a particular
way, e.g. You have been grumbling at me for hours, aren’t you going to lighten
up soon?
|
|
lighten ... up
|
To be or to tell someone to be
less serious about something, e.g. If she had realized it was just a joke,
it would have lightened her up.
|
|
489
|
liken … to
|
To resemble someone else or
something.
|
|
490
|
limber up
|
To warm up in preparation for an
exercise or activity.
|
|
491
|
line up
|
To form a queue with others.
|
|
line … up
|
To form a line of people or
things, e.g. They line up for inspection.
|
|
|
To have someone or something
prepared for a specific purpose, e.g. to line up a number
of speakers for the rally.
|
|
492
|
link up
|
To form a link between or
connection with something or someone.
|
|
493
|
listen for
|
To pay one’s attention to a
sound;
|
|
listen in
|
To listen to a radio broadcast.
|
|
|
To eavesdrop.
|
|
listen out
|
To listen carefully for
something.
|
|
494
|
live in
|
To reside at the place where one
works or studies.
|
|
live off
|
To depend on a source of income
or support from another person, e.g. to live off the
interest from one’s investment or live off the money regularly given by a
relative such as a son or daughter.
|
|
live on
|
To remember someone after they
have died, e.g. the memory of their parents still lives on.
|
|
live out
|
To live away from the place
where one works or studies.
|
|
|
To continue to live one’s life
in a particular place until one dies.
|
|
|
To fulfil one’s dreams or
wishes, e.g. eventually they were able to live out their
dreams.
|
|
live through
|
To feel a horrific experience,
e.g. the ordeal she had lived through.
|
|
live up to
|
To fulfil their obligation as a
trustworthy financial, etc. institution, e.g. a bank has to live up
to its reputation.
|
|
live with
|
To make one’s home with someone,
e.g. Despite my age, I’m still living with my parents.
|
|
|
Endure someone or something that
is disagreeable, e.g. I was born with a face marred by a big aquiline nose,
sunken cheeks and sleepy eyes, and I have to learn to live with it.
|
|
495
|
liven up
|
To become or make something more
lively or interesting, e.g. the place livens up when more guests arrive.
|
|
496
|
load … down
|
To entrust someone with excess
authority.
|
|
|
To make someone or something
carry or hold a large amount of heavy things, e.g. she struggles to push
her trolley loaded down with a great deal of purchases.
|
|
497
|
lobby … through
|
To seek to influence a
legislator.
|
|
498
|
lock … away
|
To put someone in prison.
|
|
|
To keep something in a safe
place and fasten its door with a lock, e.g. she places her valuables in a
safe and locks it away.
|
|
lock ... in
|
To ensure no one leaves by
locking the door, e.g. Closing the car door automatically locks the
driver in.
|
|
lock onto
|
When a missile locks onto a
target, it heads for the target.
|
|
lock ... out
|
To keep someone out of a place
by locking the door, e.g. My God, I’ve locked myself out
but luckily I’m a locksmith, so I have ways to unlock the door without
the key.
|
|
lock up
|
To make all the doors of the
building locked when the day’s work ends.
|
|
|
To imprison a criminal after he
was officially found guilty.
|
|
|
To keep something in a safe
place such as a safe, etc. and lock its door.
|
|
499
|
log in/on
|
To take the required actions to
begin the use of a computer system.
|
|
log off/out
|
To take the required actions to
conclude the use of a computer system.
|
|
500
|
look after
|
To take care of someone or
something;
|
|
look ahead
|
To plan for the future.
|
|
look around/round
|
To try to find something or
someone by looking, e.g. We heard a sound, and we looked around but
there was nothing and nobody, and we started running through the dimly lit
alley.
|
|
look at
|
To focus one’s eyes on someone
or something, e.g. We look at each other when we talk to
each other.
|
|
|
To examine something and
consider what action to take.
|
|
look back
|
To recall something that
occurred in the past.
|
|
look down on
|
To view others with a feeling of
superiority, e.g. She looks down on me just because I’m
jobless.
|
|
look for
|
To find something, or something
that has been lost or someone who is missing.
|
|
look forward to
|
To wait eagerly for something
that is going to happen, e.g. He looks forward to playing
in the next game.
|
|
look in
|
To make a short visit to
someone.
|
|
look into
|
To try to find out what happened
and take the necessary actions, e.g. Police, investigating a bank robbery,
are looking into the possibility of an inside job.
|
|
look on
|
To watch something without
getting involved in it.
|
|
look out
|
To keep a close watch on and be
aware of someone or something.
|
|
look ... out
|
To search for and find a
particular thing.
|
|
look out for
|
To keep careful watch for
possible danger or difficulties, e.g. Look out for snakes
when you take that path, or you may step on one like I did.
|
|
look ... over
|
To examine something quickly,
without paying much attention to detail, e.g. We looked over the
inside of a newly-opened store and left.
|
|
look through
|
To look for one person or thing
among many.
|
|
look to
|
To rely on something or someone
to do something.
|
|
look up
|
(Situation) to improve, e.g. Now
that oil has been discovered off the coast of the country, things are looking
up.
|
|
look ... up
|
To try to find a piece of
information in a dictionary, reference book, etc, e.g. Every time he comes
across an unknown word, he looks it up in
a dictionary.
|
|
|
To renew contact with someone,
e.g. My bother always looks me up whenever
he is in town on business.
|
|
look up to
|
To have a great deal of respect
for someone.
|
