(~s, ~ing, ~ed)
1.
A ~ is the spirit of a dead person that someone believes they can see or feel.
...the ~ of Marie Antoinette...
The village is haunted by the ~s of the dead children.
N-COUNT: oft N of n
2.
The ~ of something, especially of something bad that has happened, is the memory of it.
...the ~ of anti-Americanism.
N-COUNT: N of n
3.
If there is a ~ of something, that thing is so faint or weak that it hardly exists.
He gave the ~ of a smile...
The sun was warm and there was just a ~ of a breeze from the north-west.
N-SING: N of n
4.
If a book or other piece of writing is ~ed, it is written by a writer for another person, for example a politician or sportsman, who then publishes it as his or her own work.
I published his autobiography, which was very competently ~ed by a woman journalist from the Daily Mail...
I ~ed his weekly rugby column for the Telegraph.
= ~-write
VERB: be V-ed, V n
5.
If someone does not stand or does not have a ~ of a chance of doing something, they have very little chance of succeeding in it. (INFORMAL)
He doesn’t stand a ~ of a chance of selling the house.
PHRASE: v PHR, with neg