(~s)
Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English.
1.
If an event or a series of events has been mentioned and you want to talk about it again, you can refer to it as the ~.
The government has mishandled the whole ~...
The ~ began when customs officials inspected a convoy of 60 tankers...
= business, matter
N-SING: the N
2.
You can refer to an important or interesting event or situation as ‘the ... ~’. (mainly JOURNALISM)
...the damage caused to the CIA and FBI in the aftermath of the Watergate ~.
N-SING: usu the n-proper N
3.
You can describe the main quality of an event by saying that it is a particular kind of ~.
Michael said that his planned 10-day visit would be a purely private ~...
N-SING: usu supp N
4.
You can describe an object as a particular kind of ~ when you want to draw attention to a particular feature, or indicate that it is unusual.
All their beds were distinctive; Mac’s was an iron ~ with brass knobs...
N-SING: supp N
5.
If two people who are not married to each other have an ~, they have a sexual relationship.
She was having an ~ with someone at work.
N-COUNT
see also love ~
6.
You can use ~s to refer to all the important facts or activities that are connected with a particular subject.
He does not want to interfere in the internal ~s of another country...
N-PLURAL: usu supp N
see also current ~s , state of ~s
7.
Your ~s are all the matters connected with your life which you consider to be private and normally deal with yourself.
The unexpectedness of my father’s death meant that his ~s were not entirely in order.
N-PLURAL: usu poss N
8.
If you say that a decision or situation is someone’s ~, you mean that it is their responsibility, and other people should not interfere.
If you wish to make a fool of yourself, that is your ~...
= business
N-SING: poss N