noun (esp. BrE )
1 a bit small amount
ADJECTIVE
▪ little , teensy ( informal ), wee ( esp. BrE )
▪
He helped me a little ~ in the afternoon.
PHRASES
▪ just a ~
▪
I'm still just a ~ confused.
▪ not the least ~
▪
I'm not the least ~ interested in football.
2 a bit large amount
ADJECTIVE
▪ fair , good
▪
It rained a fair ~ during the night.
▪
We made a good ~ of progress.
VERB + A BIT
▪ take
▪
The new system will take quite a ~ of getting used to (= it will take a long time to get used to) .
PHRASES
▪ quite a ~
▪
It rained quite a ~ during the night.
▪ just a ~ ( ironic )
▪
‘Has it been difficult for you at work?’ ‘Just a ~ (= it has been very difficult) .’
3 part/piece of sth
ADJECTIVE
▪ little , small , tiny
▪ big , large
▪
A big ~ of stone had fallen off the wall.
▪ good , nice
▪
The best ~ of the trip was seeing the Grand Canyon.
▪
I've bought a nice ~ of fish for dinner.
▪ boring , interesting
▪
I read it, but I skipped the boring ~s.
▪ odd
▪
He managed to get odd ~s of work, but no regular job.
VERB + BIT
▪ pick out , pick up
▪
Listen to the interview again and pick out the ~s you want to use in the article.
▪
I picked up a ~ of information that might interest you.
BIT + VERB
▪ fall off
▪
I'm worried because ~s keep falling off my car.
PREPOSITION
▪ ~ of
PHRASES
▪ ~s and bobs , ~s and pieces (= small items of various kinds) (both BrE , informal )
▪
My mother has some ~s and pieces to give you.
▪ blow sth to ~s , pull sth to ~s , smash sth to ~s
▪
All the crockery had been smashed to ~s.
▪ do your ~ (= do your share of a task) ( informal )
▪
We can finish this job on time if everyone does their ~.
▪ fall to ~s ( BrE )
▪
My briefcase eventually fell to ~s.