|
601
|
pivot on
|
To depend on something such as
an event, idea, etc.
|
|
|
|
602
|
plan ahead
|
To decide on or arrange
something in advance, e.g. She has planned ahead so that
if she falls ill, there’ll be someone to do her work.
|
|
|
plan for
|
To make preparation for
something, e.g. He planned for a big turnout at the
evening’s outdoor performance but it was a total disaster due to heavy
rain.
|
|
|
plan on
|
To expect something as planned,
e.g. She plans on achieving grade A in all her subjects in
the final examination.
|
|
|
|
To intend to do something as
planned, e.g. We plan on going to Niagara Falls this
Summer and take at least one hundred photographs there.
|
|
|
plan ... out
|
To make a careful plan after considering
all relevant factors.
|
|
|
|
603
|
plant … out
|
To place a young plant to grow
outdoors.
|
|
|
|
604
|
plaster … over
|
To apply plaster to a hole, an
old surface, etc.
|
|
|
|
605
|
play about/around
|
To behave in an irresponsible
manner; to have a casual relationship with someone.
|
|
|
play along
|
To pretend to cooperate for a
selfish reason.
|
|
|
play … along
|
To deceive or mislead someone in
order to gain an advantage.
|
|
|
play at
|
To assume a role playfully.
|
|
|
play ... back
|
To listen to one’s own recording
of something.
|
|
|
play ... down
|
To make something appear less
important or serious than it really is.
|
|
|
play off
|
To compete between two rivals in
an extra match to determine their final positioning or decide an outcome.
|
|
|
play ... off
|
To involve another person in a
dispute for a selfish purpose.
|
|
|
play on
|
To exploit someone’s weak and
vulnerable point so as to gain selfishly.
|
|
|
play up
|
To fail to work or operate
properly or to cause problems.
|
|
|
|
To devote all of one’s physical
and mental powers in a particular activity.
|
|
|
play ... up
|
To exaggerate the importance of
someone or something.
|
|
|
play up to
|
To behave in a way that brings
benefit to oneself.
|
|
|
play with
|
To tamper with something.
|
|
|
|
To treat someone inconsiderately
for one’s own amusement.
|
|
|
|
606
|
plough … back
|
To use profit made in a business
for business purposes, usually to expand it.
|
|
|
plough into
|
(Vehicle, etc) to be driven
violently into something or someone such as a crowd, etc., especially by a
driver who loses control of the vehicle.
|
|
|
plough on
|
To continue doing something that
requires considerable time and effort.
|
|
|
plough through
|
To persist in something such as
studying a textbook, etc. despite the considerable time and effort
required.
|
|
|
plough ... up
|
To break up the surface of the
ground by repeated walking on it.
|
|
|
|
607
|
pluck at
|
To pull something quickly and
repeatedly with the fingers.
|
|
|
|
608
|
plug away
|
To keep working hard at
something.
|
|
|
plug … in/into
|
To connect a piece of electrical
equipment to another or into a socket, e.g. Why do you turn on the new
television? I haven’t plugged it into the
socket.
|
|
|
plug up
|
To block or become blocked with
something, e.g. Someone threw potato peelings down the drain, and
they plugged up the pipe.
|
|
|
|
609
|
plump for
|
To make a selection after proper
consideration.
|
|
|
plump … up
|
To make something such as
pillows, cushions, etc. bigger and softer by shaking them.
|
|
|
|
610
|
plunge in
|
To act quickly and rashly on a
course of action.
|
|
|
plunge into
|
To act suddenly without a
careful thought.
|
|
|
|
To push something forcibly and
deeply into something else, e.g. plunging a dagger into the
victim’s chest.
|
|
|
|
To experience an unpleasant
situation, e.g. the whole building was plunged into darkness.
|
|
|
|
611
|
ply … with
|
To keep providing someone food
and drink.
|
|
|
|
To direct numerous questions at
someone.
|
|
|
|
612
|
point … out
|
To make someone aware of a fact,
e.g. A witness pointed out to the police the scene where
the incident took place.
|
|
|
|
To indicate to someone a
particular direction, e.g. Someone in response pointed out to
me the road that leads to the hotel.
|
|
|
|
To draw one’s attention to
something, e.g. He pointed out a spelling mistake on the signboard to me.
|
|
|
point to
|
To use a finger, usually the
forefinger, to indicate a particular direction, e.g. The child pointed
to the woman on the photo as her mother.
|
|
|
|
To cite something as evidence,
e.g. All the evidence pointed to him as the culprit.
|
|
|
point ... up
|
To make known the truth or
importance of something, e.g. the high drug abuse figures point up the
need for more vigorous enforcement of the existing laws on drugs.
|
|
|
|
613
|
poke around/about
|
To look or search around a place
for something or information about someone’s life, etc., e.g. poking
about in the warehouse looking for something to steal.
|
|
|
poke at
|
To jab repeatedly with something
sharp or pointed, e.g. to poke at a fire with a poker to
make it burn better.
|
|
|
|
614
|
polish … off
|
To finish something such as
food, work, etc. quickly.
|
|
|
|
To kill or defeat someone.
|
|
|
polish … up
|
To improve a skill or an ability
by practising it.
|
|
|
|
615
|
ponce about/around
|
To move or behave in an idle,
weak or effeminate manner.
|
|
|
|
616
|
poop out
|
To stop functioning.
|
|
|
|
To discontinue or not
participate in an activity.
|
|
|
|
617
|
pop off
|
To die suddenly.
|
|
|
pop in/out
|
To come/go briefly without
advance warning.
|
|
|
pop … on
|
To quickly put on a piece of
clothing.
|
|
|
pop up
|
To appear suddenly and
unexpectedly.
|
|
|
|
618
|
pore over
|
To be absorbed in the reading or
study of something.
|
|
|
|
619
|
portion out
|
To divide something into parts
for distribution.
|
|
|
|
620
|
pot … on
|
To transplant a growing plant
from a small pot to a large one.
|
|
|
pot … up
|
To transplant a seedling into a
flowerpot.
|
|
|
|
621
|
pounce on
|
To spring or seize something
suddenly.
|
|
|
|
To notice a mistake and take
swift advantage of it by expressing a critical assessment of it.
|
|
|
|
622
|
pour … out
|
To express one’s feelings to
someone in an unrestrained way.
|
|
|
|
623
|
preside over
|
To be in charge of a situation.
|
|
|
|
624
|
press … for
|
To persist in asking for
something.
|
|
|
|
To strive hard to achieve
something.
|
|
|
press on/ahead
|
To continue doing something in a
determined way.
|
|
|
press … on/upon
|
To insist on someone accepting
an offer or gift.
|
|
|
|
625
|
presume on/upon
|
To unjustifiably regard
something such as a good relationship with someone, etc. as entitling one
to privileges, e.g. presuming on the relationship to borrow a large sum of
money.
|
|
|
|
626
|
prevail on/upon
|
To persuade someone to do
something.
|
|
|
|
627
|
prey on
|
(Animals and birds) to hunt and
kill other animals and birds for food.
|
|
|
|
To exploit, influence or deceive
weaker people.
|
|
|
|
To cause constant worry or
distress to someone, e.g. the problem has been preying on my mind.
|
|
|
|
628
|
prick … out
|
To place a young plant in a
specially prepared hole in the earth.
|
|
|
|
629
|
print … out
|
To produce a printed paper copy
of information or document stored on a computer, e.g. I can’t print this
document out now because my printer has no ink.
|
|
|
|
630
|
prize … out
|
To get or by using force to get
information from someone.
|
|
|
|
631
|
proceed against
|
To take legal action against
someone.
|
|
|
proceed from
|
To originate from something.
|
|
|
|
632
|
profit by/from
|
To learn from something that
happens or to benefit from a situation.
|
|
|
|
633
|
prop … up
|
To support or assist someone or
something that would otherwise fail or decline.
|
|
|
|
To lean against something.
|
|
|
|
634
|
provide against
|
To make plans in order to
forestall a bad situation happening.
|
|
|
provide for
|
To prepare or arrange for the
needs of someone.
|
|
|
|
635
|
psych … out
|
To intimidate an opponent by
appearing overly confident or say things that will make him feel worried,
nervous and less confident.
|
|
|
psych ... up
|
To get mentally prepared in
order to build up one’s confidence for something challenging.
|
|
|
|
636
|
puff … out
|
To make something such as one’s
cheeks, etc. swollen by filling them with air.
|
|
|
puff up
|
(Arm, leg, etc.) to swell due to
injury or infection.
|
|
|
|
To make something swell by
filling them with air.
|
|
|
|
637
|
pull ahead
|
(Vehicle) to get in front of
another, especially by moving faster.
|
|
|
pull apart
|
To separate people or animals
when they are fighting, e.g. Their argument suddenly developed into a fight
and the others had to pull them apart.
|
|
|
pull at
|
To hold something and pull more
than once; e.g. The wife pulled at the husband’s shirt as
he was walking faster.
|
|
|
|
To draw in smoke while smoking
by inhaling deeply.
|
|
|
pull away
|
To start a car, etc. and drive
away; e.g. I waved to the driver as the car was pulling away.
|
|
|
|
To overtake another vehicle and
leave it behind by driving faster, e.g. the ambulance is pulling away from
the other vehicles on the highway.
|
|
|
pull back
|
To withdraw from an undertaking,
e.g. to pull back from a joint venture due to an unsettled
dispute.
|
|
|
pull ... down
|
To demolish a building, e.g. had
to pull that pre-war building down as it
had fallen into disuse.
|
|
|
pull ... in
|
(Vehicle) to stop at the side of
the road, e.g. The driver pulled in as directed by a
traffic policeman
|
|
|
|
(Train) to arrive at a station,
e.g. As the train pulled in, more people move onto the
platform.
|
|
|
|
(Show) attracts a lot of people,
e.g. the circus has been pulling in big audiences daily.
|
|
|
|
To earn money, e.g. His new
business has been pulling in a lot of money.
|
|
|
pull ... off
|
To succeed in doing something or
winning something difficult, e.g. his sculpture pulled off the
highest bid in the auction.
|
|
|
|
To drive to the side of the road
or a side road, e.g. We pulled off the road for a bite
before resuming our journey.
|
|
|
pull ... out
|
(Train) to depart from a
station, e.g. There was much waving among the people as the train started
to pull out of the station.
|
|
|
|
To retreat from an area, e.g.
Most of the troops have been pulled out as the situation
has improved considerably.
|
|
|
|
To withdraw from an undertaking,
e.g. One of the partners has decided to pull out of the
venture as it is no longer profitable to carry on.
|
|
|
pull over
|
To be ordered to drive a vehicle
to the side of the road, e.g. The policeman waved to the driver to pull
over.
|
|
|
|
To drive a vehicle to the side
of the road, e.g. I pulled over and waited for them in the
car.
|
|
|
pull through
|
To get through an illness or a
difficult situation, e.g. He has managed to pull through from
a recent bout of depression.
|
|
|
pull together
|
To work hard together in a task
or undertaking, e.g. If they all pull together, they could
easily finish the work ahead of schedule.
|
|
|
pull up
|
To bring a vehicle to a halt,
e.g. The driver pulled up when signalled to do so by the
policeman.
|
|
|
|
638
|
pump … into
|
To shoot someone several times,
e.g. A motorcyclist rode aside his car, pumped bullets into the
driver and sped off.
|
|
|
pump out
|
To produce or emit something in
large quantities or amounts, e.g. In a supermarket, prices after prices of
the products on sale are pumped out of a speaker for the
benefit of shoppers.
|
|
|
pump … up
|
To fill something with air,
liquid, gas, etc.
|
|
|
|
To play a piece of music louder.
|
|
|
|
To increase someone’s enthusiasm
or excitement.
|
|
|
|
639
|
punch in
|
To record the time of arrival at
the workplace on a card by making use of a special machine, e.g. As I’m
late most of the time, I asked my closest trustworthy mate to punch
in for me without anyone noticing it.
|
|
|
punch out
|
To record the time of departure
from the workplace on a card, e.g. Some of my colleagues leave early and
when the day’s work ends I punch out for them carefully
without anyone noticing it.
|
|
|
|
To strike someone so hard with
the fist that they fall over.
|
|
|
|
640
|
push ahead
|
To carry on persistently with
what one is doing.
|
|
|
push along
|
To go from a place.
|
|
|
push around/about
|
To order someone around without
due respect for his feeling.
|
|
|
push aside
|
To cease thinking about an
upsetting event.
|
|
|
push for
|
To insist on making a request
for something, or for something to be done which is felt to be necessary.
|
|
|
push forward
|
To advance or make progress
constantly despite difficulties.
|
|
|
push in
|
To dispense unasked for advice
or join in a conversation, etc. which does not concern one.
|
|
|
push off
|
To jump queue.
|
|
|
|
To leave or to tell someone
rudely to leave.
|
|
|
push on
|
To carry on with what one is
doing.
|
|
|
push ... over
|
To cause someone or something to
fall to the ground by pushing them.
|
|
|
push ... through
|
To get a bill accepted for
discussion in parliament by an opposition member.
|
|
|
push ... up
|
To cause an increase in
something such as demand, prices, investment.
|
|
|
|
641
|
put about
|
To spread false information or
unfounded rumours.
|
|
|
put … aside
|
To save money regularly for a
future purpose.
|
|
|
put … away
|
To keep someone in a prison or
mental hospital, e.g. He was put away for good for a
series of murders he committed.
|
|
|
|
To eat or drink large quantities
of food or drink, e.g. Every day the child puts away twice
the amount of his father.
|
|
|
|
To save money, e.g. Every month
he puts away a moderate sum of money as saving for the
future.
|
|
|
|
To return things to their
storage space, e.g. The father nearly fell when he stepped on a toy that
should have been put away.
|
|
|
put back
|
To return something to its
original place, e.g. The children have been taught to put back their
toys when they have finished playing with them.
|
|
|
|
To postpone something, e.g. The
football matches have to be put back due to adverse
weather conditions.
|
|
|
|
To delay something, e.g. Heavy
rains and flooding for the past weeks have put the
construction work back by at least a month.
|
|
|
put ... down
|
To lay something or someone on a
surface, e.g. She put the baby gently down in
the cot.
|
|
|
|
To criticize or belittle
someone, e.g. Nobody wants to be around him as all he does is putting others down.
|
|
|
|
To put an end to an insurgency,
revolt, etc., e.g. Reinforcements were called in to put down a
regional rebellion.
|
|
|
|
To kill an animal in order to
end its suffering, e.g. His dad’s job is to put down severely
diseased animals.
|
|
|
|
To pay a specified sum as a
deposit, e.g. The sales agent asked if I could put $10,000down on
the house.
|
|
|
|
To reason out, e.g. Her
friends put her sudden depression down to
the passing of her husband.
|
|
|
|
To stop doing something, e.g.
Her father interrupted Jill by asking when she would put the
phone down after she had talked for nearly an hour.
|
|
|
|
To find something interesting
and absorbing, e.g. What a book it was; once I started reading it I
couldn’t put it down until I completed
it.
|
|
|
put in
|
To put something in something
else, e.g. Don’t put all your eggs in one
basket.
|
|
|
|
To put someone somewhere, e.g.
The children decided to put their old mother in an
old folks’ home.
|
|
|
|
To invest time, money, effort,
etc. into something, e.g. To date we have put $100,000 in
the business.
|
|
|
|
To add permanent equipment to
something such as a home, e.g. They are putting in an
additional bedroom.
|
|
|
|
To request for something, e.g.
The stolen wallet was handed over to the police, but the owner has not put
in a claim for it.
|
|
|
put ... off
|
To postpone something, e.g. They
intend to put off having a baby until they can afford it.
|
|
|
|
To delay meeting someone, e.g.
He’s been calling me day and night to meet him over a matter, but I
keep putting it off.
|
|
|
|
To lose interest in doing
something, e.g. The new assignment is challenging, but the distance he has
to travel every day really puts him off.
|
|
|
|
To make someone feel offended,
e.g. Everyone who knows her is put off by her excessively
critical point of view.
|
|
|
put ... on
|
To become fatter and heavier.
|
|
|
|
To wear a piece of clothing.
|
|
|
|
To press the brake when the
driver wants the vehicle to stop.
|
|
|
|
To apply make-up, creams, etc.
|
|
|
|
To pretend to have a particular
way of speaking.
|
|
|
put out/put ... out
|
To extinguish a fire, cigarette,
etc., e.g. One of the men helping to put out the forest
fire could be the arsonist responsible for it.
|
|
|
|
To agree to have sex with
someone.
|
|
|
|
To upset or annoy someone, e.g.
Jack borrowed my car and promised to return it the next day, but now three
days later I’m really put out by not having got my car
back.
|
|
|
|
To make extra work for or cause
problems to someone, e.g. My neighbour really put me out when
he called in the middle of the night to help push his car as it couldn’t
start.
|
|
|
|
To put something outside the
house, e.g. Every night before the elderly lady goes to bed, she puts her
cat out.
|
|
|
|
To extend one’ arm, hand, leg or
foot, e.g. He put out his arms and legs when he lay down;
I tripped over one of his limbs and landed on top of him.
|
|
|
|
To produce something, e.g. The
publisher is putting out a paperback edition of the book
at the end of the month.
|
|
|
put ... through
|
To connect someone by telephone
to another; to finance one’s child’s education; to be made to undergo a bad
experience.
|
|
|
put ... to
|
To ask at a discussion, etc.,
e.g. Members of the audience were allowed to put questions to
the individual panellists.
|
|
|
|
To affix one’s signature to a
document, letter, etc.
|
|
|
|
To cause difficulty,
inconvenience, etc, to someone, e.g. I would like to ask my friends to help
me paint my house but hesitate to put them to such
trouble.
|
|
|
put ... together
|
To fit together the component
parts of something, e.g. Putting the jigsaw puzzle pieces together is
going to take a long time.
|
|
|
put ... up
|
To provide accommodation
temporarily to someone, e.g. While I was in the city for a week, I put
up with my cousin.
|
|
|
|
To suggest a topic for
discussion, etc.
|
|
|
|
To offer something for sale or
auction, e.g. He is putting up his set of antique
furniture for auction.
|
|
|
|
To finance an enterprise, etc.,
e.g. An unknown donor put up most of the money to build a
public library.
|
|
|
|
To put something, e.g. Huge
tents were put up to house the evacuees.
|
|
|
|
He intends to put up a
real fight all the way despite being regarded as the underdog in the match.
|
|
|
put ... up to
|
To incite someone to do
something stupid, illegal or dangerous, e.g. When Jack was arrested for
injuring Jill’s ex-husband, he accused Jill of putting him up
to it by threatening to leave him for good.
|
|
|
put up with
|
To endure an unpleasant
situation or tolerate a nasty person, e.g. She’s been thinking how long she
is going to put up with her husband coming home blind
drunk.
|
|
|
|
642
|
puzzle out
|
To consider a difficult problem
carefully with a view to solving it.
|
|
|
|
643
|
quarrel with
|
To disagree with someone or
complain about something.
|
|
|
|
644
|
rack … up
|
To accumulate or increase
something.
|
|
|
|
645
|
rain down
|
To fall in large quantities.
|
|
|
|
646
|
rake … in
|
To make a lot of money.
|
|
|
rake … up
|
To recall a past event that is
best forgotten.
|
|
|
|
To gather someone or something
together for a purpose such as forming a sport team, volunteering for a
campaign, etc.
|
|
|
|
647
|
rally round
|
To bring or come together for a
worthy cause.
|
|
|
|
648
|
ram … home
|
To forcibly inculcate through
the process of study and comprehension.
|
|
|
|
649
|
ramble on
|
To talk or write at length in a
tedious manner.
|
|
|
|
650
|
ration out
|
To distribute something in small
controlled amounts.
|
|
|
|
651
|
rattle around
|
To be in a space that is in
excess of what is needed.
|
|
|
rattle … off
|
To say or produce something
quickly and easily.
|
|
|
rattle on
|
To talk quickly and at length.
|
|
|
rattle through
|
To do something very quickly.
|
|
|
|
652
|
react against
|
To respond with an extremely
unfriendly attitude or a contrary course of action.
|
|
|
|
653
|
read into
|
To regard something as having a
meaning or importance when this is not the case.
|
|
|
read … out
|
To say out what is written on
something such as a list, etc. for people to hear.
|
|
|
read ... through
|
To check for mistakes by careful
reading of the whole thing.
|
|
|
read ... up
|
To acquire information or
knowledge by reading a lot about a subject.
|
|
|
|
654
|
reason … out
|
To find a solution to a problem
by considering all the possibilities.
|
|
|
reason with
|
To persuade someone to be more
sensible with rational argument.
|
|
|
|
655
|
rebound on/upon
|
To have an unexpected bad effect
on someone.
|
|
|
|
656
|
reckon … in
|
To include all relevant data in
one’s calculation.
|
|
|
reckon on
|
To expect anything unforeseen to
happen while plans are being made.
|
|
|
reckon with
|
To take into account all that
may happen
|
|
|
|
657
|
reconcile … to
|
To make someone able to accept
an unpleasant or disagreeable thing or situation.
|
|
|
|
658
|
reduce … to
|
To change something into a
shorter simpler form, e.g. the passage can be reduced to four paragraphs.
|
|
|
|
To lower the ranks of an army
officer, e.g. to reduce an officer’s ranks to an ordinary soldier.
|
|
|
|
To destroy a building by burning
or demolition, e.g. to reduce to ashes or rubble.
|
|
|
|
To degrade someone’s existence,
e.g. to reduce one to squat on public land.
|
|
|
|
659
|
reel … in
|
To turn the reel of a fishing
rod to draw in the line, e.g. to reel in a fish.
|
|
|
reel ... off
|
To say something quickly and
easily, e.g. to reel off lists of team members.
|
|
|
|
660
|
refer to
|
To arrange someone to see a
medical specialist, e.g. His doctor refers him to an ophthalmologist.
|
|
|
|
To mention or allude to someone,
e.g. She was warned not to refer to him again.
|
|
|
|
To consult a source of
information, e.g. He often refers to an encyclopaedia for factual
information.
|
|
|
|
661
|
reflect on/upon
|
To think deeply or carefully
about, e.g. Sooner or later, one has to reflect on one’s future wellbeing.
|
|
|
|
To expose the good or bad side
of someone, e.g. His behaviour reflects on his level of education.
|
|
|
|
662
|
regale … with
|
To entertain someone with
conversation or story-telling, e.g. He often regales his
friends with stories of his romantic involvements.
|
|
|
|
663
|
rein … in
|
To have strict control of
something, or keep it within limits.
|
|
|
|
To control the movement of a
horse by pulling on its reins.
|
|
|
|
664
|
rejoice in
|
To feel great joy, e.g. he rejoices
in his examination success.
|
|
|
|
To have an extraordinary or
strange-sounding name.
|
|
|
|
665
|
relate to
|
To show a direct connection
between two things, e.g. Low wages are directly related to low
level of education.
|
|
|
|
To be able to have a good
relationship with others, e.g. He has difficulty relating to older
people.
|
|
|
|
To feel sympathy for or identify
with someone or something.
|
|
|
|
To be concerned with someone or
something, e.g. It does not relate to what we are talking
about.
|
|
|
|
666
|
relieve … of
|
To remove the post, duties,
responsibility, command, etc. of someone.
|
|
|
|
667
|
rely on/upon
|
To trust someone or something
fully to do what they have to do.
|
|
|
|
To be dependent on something to
survive, e.g. They have to rely on the handicraft for
their income.
|
|
|
|
668
|
remark on/upon
|
To pass comment on someone or
something.
|
|
|
|
669
|
remind … of
|
To make someone remember about
something because of a resemblance, e.g. the area reminds her of her
early childhood days.
|
|
|
|
670
|
render … down
|
To purify fat by melting down.
|
|
|
render … up
|
To hand something to someone
such as a ruler, enemy, etc.
|
|
|
|
671
|
repair to
|
To go to a place, e.g. to repair
to the sitting room.
|
|
|
|
672
|
report back
|
To send or bring something back
to someone, e.g. to investigate an incident and report back to
one’s superiors.
|
|
|
|
673
|
reside in
|
(Power, right, etc.) to be
present in someone or something.
|
|
|
|
674
|
resolve … into
|
To become or make something into
separate parts.
|
|
|
|
675
|
resonate with
|
To be full of something such as
meaning, feeling, sound, etc., e.g. a household resonating
with incessant shouting.
|
|
|
|
676
|
resort to
|
To choose and use a, especially
bad, course of action to succeed in something or resolve a problem.
|
|
|
|
677
|
rest on/upon
|
To depend or be based on
something, e.g. the success of the club rests on the number of members it
has.
|
|
|
|
To direct one’s look on someone
or something, e.g. to rest one’s eyes on the
scenery.
|
|
|
rest with
|
To be answerable for something,
e.g. the responsibility for day-to-day operation rests with the
manager.
|
|
|
|
678
|
result in
|
To have a specified end or
outcome, e.g. the accident resulted in the death of some
passengers.
|
|
|
|
679
|
revel in
|
To take great pleasure in
something, such as attention, praise, etc.
|
|
|
|
680
|
revert to
|
To return to a former state,
condition, etc.
|
|
|
|
681
|
revolve around
|
To treat something as the most
important purpose, e.g. her life revolves around her
children.
|
|
|
|
To move in a circular orbit
around something.
|
|
|
|
682
|
rid … of
|
To remove someone or something
bad from a place such as one’s body, working place, etc.
|
|
|
|
683
|
ride … down
|
To knock someone down when
riding a horse.
|
|
|
ride on
|
To travel in or on a vehicle or
horse.
|
|
|
|
To depend on someone or
something.
|
|
|
ride … out
|
To come safely through,
especially a bad situation.
|
|
|
ride up
|
(Skirt, etc.) to move upwards
exposing the body.
|
|
|
|
684
|
rig … out
|
To provide someone with special
clothes to wear.
|
|
|
rig … up
|
To make something in a makeshift
way.
|
|
|
|
685
|
ring back
|
To make a return call by
telephone.
|
|
|
ring in
|
To telephone a place, especially
one’s working place.
|
|
|
ring off
|
To end a telephone call.
|
|
|
ring out
|
To have something loud and clear
come from something else.
|
|
|
ring round
|
To make telephone calls to a
group of people for a specific purpose.
|
|
|
ring ... up
|
To make a telephone call to
someone.
|
|
|
|
686
|
rinse out
|
To wash something, especially to
get rid of soap from it.
|
|
|
|
687
|
rip off
|
To overcharge, cheat, or steal
from someone, e.g. The souvenir shopkeeper really ripped us off.
|
|
|
rip through
|
To move somewhere at high speed
and in a really violent way.
|
|
|
rip ... up
|
To tear something into pieces,
e.g. Jill ripped up Jack’s photos when she found out he is
dating other girls.
|
|
|
|
688
|
rise above
|
To deal with any unpleasant
situations without being adversely affected by it.
|
|
|
|
To be sensible and refrain from
immoral acts.
|
|
|
rise against
|
To attempt to seize power and
replace the government.
|
|
|
|
689
|
roll around/round
|
(Something that happens
regularly) to happen again.
|
|
|
roll away
|
To stretch up to the horizon,
e.g. green pastures rolling away into the distance.
|
|
|
roll ... back
|
To reduce the influence,
importance, etc. of something.
|
|
|
|
To reverse the progress of
something.
|
|
|
roll … down
|
To open in specific cases, e.g.
to roll down car’s window to open it.
|
|
|
roll in
|
To come in large numbers or
quantities;
|
|
|
|
To arrive later than usual or
expected without being concerned.
|
|
|
roll ... out
|
To lay out something flat and
thin, e.g. to roll out the red carpet.
|
|
|
|
To officially launch a new
product.
|
|
|
roll over
|
To change bodily position while
lying down, e.g. to roll over to the left.
|
|
|
roll up
|
To arrive, e.g. to roll
up late or unexpectedly.
|
|
|
roll ... up
|
To fold or shorten something,
e.g. to roll one’s sleeves up.
|
|
|
|
To close a car’s window, e.g. to
roll the window up.
|
|
|
|
690
|
romp through
|
To succeed in doing or finishing
something quickly and easily.
|
|
|
|
691
|
roof … in/over
|
To put a roof over something,
e.g. to roof in an area.
|
|
|
|
692
|
root for
|
To support a sport team by
shouting and cheering.
|
|
|
root … out
|
To find and get rid of someone
and something.
|
|
|
root … up
|
To dig and pull something such
as weeds, etc. up with its roots.
|
|
|
|
693
|
rope … in
|
To persuade someone despite
their reluctance to participate in something, e.g. to rope in the
neighbours to be vigilantes.
|
|
|
rope … off
|
To isolate an area with ropes to
prevent access, e.g. police roped off the area where the dead body was
found.
|
|
|
|
694
|
rot away
|
To decay or cause something to
decay completely, or break into pieces.
|
|
|
|
695
|
rough … in
|
To live in discomfort with only
basic necessities.
|
|
|
rough … out
|
To draw out a preliminary sketch
without the details.
|
|
|
rough … up
|
To attack someone and beat them
up.
|
|
|
|
696
|
round … down
|
To reduce an exact figure to the
nearest whole number.
|
|
|
round … off
|
To end something such as an
entertainment, discussion, etc. in a satisfying or suitable way.
|
|
|
|
To smoothen the edges of
something.
|
|
|
|
To reduce an exact figure to the
nearest whole number.
|
|
|
round … up
|
To gather up a group of people
or things for a specific purpose, e.g. to round up the
illegal immigrants for detention.
|
|
|
|
697
|
rub along
|
To cope or get along with a
situation or someone without difficulty.
|
|
|
rub down
|
To make something dry, smooth,
or clean by rubbing with something else such as a cloth, sandpaper, etc.
|
|
|
rub off
|
To remove something such as
rust, impurities, etc. from a surface by rubbing.
|
|
|
|
To transfer a feeling, quality,
or habit onto someone else, e.g. one’s cheerfulness, enthusiasm, etc. seem
to rub off on everyone else.
|
|
|
rub ... out
|
To erase something such as
writing, stain, mark, etc. from a surface by rubbing it with something else
such as eraser, cloth, sandpaper, etc.
|
|
|
|
698
|
ruck … up
|
To make or form folds, creases,
etc. on something such as cloth, coat, etc., e.g. shirt is all rucked up
after washing.
|
|
|
|
699
|
rule … out
|
To conclude that something is
not possible, e.g. The unstable political situation rules out any increase
in foreign investments.
|
|
|
|
700
|
run across
|
To meet or find someone or
something by chance, e.g. I ran across my former classmate
this morning.
|
|
|
run after
|
To chase someone or something,
e.g. His dog is very fond of running after cats.
|
|
|
run along
|
To leave some place, e.g. He has
to run along for an appointment.
|
|
|
run around
|
To run within a particular area,
e.g. He likes to run around in the park.
|
|
|
|
To spend considerable amount of
time with someone whom one likes, e.g. Jack has been running around with
his neighbour’s daughter.
|
|
|
run away
|
To leave or escape from a place,
e.g. the child ran away from home because of the abusive
parents.
|
|
|
|
To avoid facing a problem or
difficult situation, e.g. He has now learned to face his problem instead of running
away from it.
|
|
|
run away with
|
To go away secretly or illegally
with someone, e.g. He ran away with his neighbour’s
daughter.
|
|
|
|
To win something such as a
competition, match, etc. easily, e.g. Liverpool ran away with the
European soccer championship again.
|
|
|
|
To steal something, e.g. the
cashier has run away with the whole week’s takings.
|
|
|
run down
|
To get knocked, and injured or
killed by a vehicle, e.g. His dog was run down by a speeding car.
|
|
|
|
To reduce or become reduced,
e.g. Our joint savings is running down.
|
|
|
run ... down
|
To criticize or belittle someone
or something, e.g. He has a habit of running others down.
|
|
|
|
To find someone or something
after a long search, e.g. He finally ran me down at
my new house in the same neighbourhood.
|
|
|
|
To lose or cause to lose power
and stops or cause to stop functioning, e.g. The clock has stopped
functioning as its batteries have run down.
|
|
|
|
To kill someone or something
with a vehicle, e.g. He was run down by a speeding
motorcycle while crossing a street.
|
|
|
|
To move quickly to another area
for something, e.g. I’ll run down to the store for a
couple of bottles of beer.
|
|
|
run into
|
To knock someone or something
with a vehicle, e.g. The brake of his car failed and the car ran into the
van in front.
|
|
|
|
To meet someone by chance, e.g.
I ran into my former classmate at the library yesterday.
|
|
|
|
To encounter problem, etc., e.g.
They ran into difficulties midway in their climb up the
mountain.
|
|
|
run off
|
To leave hurriedly and secretly,
e.g. He ran off from the detention centre without anyone’s
notice.
|
|
|
|
To produce copies of something,
e.g. We have to run off some more of this copy to meet
additional demand.
|
|
|
|
To write something such as
speech, poem, piece of music, etc. quickly and easily, e.g. He could run
off a long speech in a couple of hours.
|
|
|
run off with
|
To go away with someone for a
specific reason, e.g. He runs off with his girlfriend’s sister.
|
|
|
|
To steal, e.g. The villagers
know he ran off with one of the horses.
|
|
|
run on
|
To carry on longer than is
expected, e.g. The meeting ran on well past midnight.
|
|
|
run out
|
To cause none left, e.g. A
sudden blackout has caused all shops in the area to run out of
candles.
|
|
|
|
To become no longer valid, e.g.
The agreement ran out last month.
|
|
|
|
To use up or be used up, e.g.
The bakery sometimes runs out of sugar before new supply
arrives.
|
|
|
|
To quickly leave a place,
building, etc., e.g. He opened the door of the house and ran out
|
|
|
run over
|
To knock and drive over someone
or something with a vehicle, e.g. Our cat was run over by a car
and died instantly.
|
|
|
|
To overflow, e.g. Someone fills
a tank with so much oil that some runs over.
|
|
|
|
To exceed the expected time,
e.g. The show ran over, and I missed the last bus.
|
|
|
|
To move from where one is to
where someone is, e.g. When I saw my mother-in-law, I decided instantly not
to run over to greet her.
|
|
|
|
To revise one’s lessons, e.g.
The students run through the question-and–answer part
again.
|
|
|
run through
|
To push something through
someone, e.g. It is not easy to run a sword
completely through someone.
|
|
|
|
To go over something quickly,
e.g. The shopkeeper runs through the list of items with
the customer.
|
|
|
run to
|
To cost a certain amount, e.g.
The cost of the damage is estimated to run to five million
pounds.
|
|
|
run ... up
|
To make something quickly, e.g.
They ran this project up well ahead of
schedule.
|
|
|
|
To accumulate something such as
bill, etc., e.g. Her parents bar her from using the telephone as she
habitually ran up an enormous phone bill.
|
|
|
|
To move quickly to a higher
level, e.g. They had a fun race to see who would be the first one to run
up and reach the peak of the hill.
|
|
|
|
To move quickly to someone or
something, e.g. When Santa Claus arrived, all the children ran up to
him.
|
|
|
|
To raise a flag.
|
|
|
run up against
|
To experience or meet an
unexpected problem, e.g. We ran up against some unforeseen
difficulties when we built that patio.
|
