(~s)
Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English.
1.
Your ~ is the organ in your chest that pumps the blood around your body. People also use ~ to refer to the area of their chest that is closest to their ~.
The bullet had passed less than an inch from Andrea’s ~...
N-COUNT
2.
You can refer to someone’s ~ when you are talking about their deep feelings and beliefs. (LITERARY)
Alik’s words filled her ~ with pride...
N-COUNT: usu with poss
3.
You use ~ when you are talking about someone’s character and attitude towards other people, especially when they are kind and generous.
She loved his brilliance and his generous ~...
N-VAR: usu adj N in sing approval
4.
The ~ of something is the most central and important part of it.
The ~ of the problem is supply and demand...
= crux
N-SING: N of n
5.
The ~ of a place is its centre.
...a busy dentists’ practice in the ~ of London’s West End.
N-SING: usu N of n
6.
A ~ is a shape that is used as a symbol of love: ¦.
...~-shaped chocolates.
N-COUNT
7.
Hearts is one of the four suits in a pack of playing cards. Each card in the suit is marked with one or more red symbols in the shape of a ~.
N-UNCOUNT-COLL
•
A ~ is a playing card of this suit.
N-COUNT
8.
If you feel or believe something with all your ~, you feel or believe it very strongly.
My own family I loved with all my ~.
PHRASE: PHR after v, PHR with cl emphasis
9.
If you say that someone is a particular kind of person at ~, you mean that that is what they are really like, even though they may seem very different.
He was a very gentle boy at ~.
PHRASE: PHR with cl
10.
If you say that someone has your interests or your welfare at ~, you mean that they are concerned about you and that is why they are doing something.
PHRASE: usu have n PHR
11.
If someone breaks your ~, they make you very sad and unhappy, usually because they end a love affair or close relationship with you. (LITERARY)
PHRASE: V and N inflect
12.
If something breaks your ~, it makes you feel very sad and depressed, especially because people are suffering but you can do nothing to help them.
It really breaks my ~ to see them this way.
PHRASE: V and N inflect, oft PHR to-inf
13.
If you say that someone has a broken ~, you mean that they are very sad, for example because a love affair has ended unhappily. (LITERARY)
She never recovered from her broken ~.
PHRASE: N inflects
14.
If you know something such as a poem by ~, you have learned it so well that you can remember it without having to read it.
Mack knew this passage by ~.
PHRASE: PHR after v
15.
If someone has a change of ~, their attitude towards something changes.
Several brokers have had a change of ~ about prospects for the company...
PHRASE: change inflects
16.
If something such as a subject or project is close to your ~ or near to your ~, it is very important to you and you are very interested in it and concerned about it.
Animal welfare is a subject very close to my ~.
PHRASE: N inflects, oft v-link PHR
17.
If you can do something to your ~’s content, you can do it as much as you want.
I was delighted to be able to eat my favorite dishes to my ~’s content.
PHRASE: PHR after v
18.
You can say ‘cross my ~’ when you want someone to believe that you are telling the truth. You can also ask ‘cross your ~?’, when you are asking someone if they are really telling the truth. (SPOKEN)
And I won’t tell any of the other girls anything you tell me about it. I promise, cross my ~.
CONVENTION
19.
If you say something from the ~ or from the bottom of your ~, you sincerely mean what you say.
He spoke with confidence, from the ~...
= sincerely
PHRASE: PHR after v
20.
If something gives you ~, it makes you feel more confident or happy about something.
It gave me ~ to see one thug get what he deserves.
PHRASE: V inflects
21.
If you want to do something but do not have the ~ to do it, you do not do it because you know it will make someone unhappy or disappointed.
We knew all along but didn’t have the ~ to tell her.
PHRASE: V inflects, usu PHR to-inf
22.
If you believe or know something in your ~ of ~s, that is what you really believe or think, even though it may sometimes seem that you do not.
I know in my ~ of ~s that I am the right man for that mission.
PHRASE: PHR after v, PHR with cl
23.
If your ~ isn’t in the thing you are doing, you have very little enthusiasm for it, usually because you are depressed or are thinking about something else.
I tried to learn some lines but my ~ wasn’t really in it.
PHRASE: V and N inflect, PHR n/-ing
24.
If you lose ~, you become sad and depressed and are no longer interested in something, especially because it is not progressing as you would like.
He appealed to his countrymen not to lose ~.
PHRASE: V inflects
25.
If your ~ is in your mouth, you feel very excited, worried, or frightened.
My ~ was in my mouth when I walked into her office.
PHRASE: V and Ns inflect
26.
If you open your ~ or pour out your ~ to someone, you tell them your most private thoughts and feelings.
She opened her ~ to millions yesterday and told how she came close to suicide.
PHRASE: V and N inflect, usu PHR to n
27.
If you say that someone’s ~ is in the right place, you mean that they are kind, considerate, and generous, although you may disapprove of other aspects of their character.
He is a bit of a tearaway but his ~ is in the right place.
PHRASE: ~ and V inflect
28.
If you have set your ~ on something, you want it very much or want to do it very much.
He had always set his ~ on a career in the fine arts.
PHRASE: V and N inflect, PHR n/-ing
29.
If you wear your ~ on your sleeve, you openly show your feelings or emotions rather than keeping them hidden.
PHRASE: V and N inflect
30.
If you put your ~ and soul into something, you do it with a great deal of enthusiasm and energy.
PHRASE emphasis
31.
If you take ~ from something, you are encouraged and made to feel optimistic by it.
PHRASE: V inflects, oft PHR from n
32.
If you take something to ~, for example someone’s behaviour, you are deeply affected and upset by it.
If someone says something critical I take it to ~.
PHRASE: V inflects