I. INSTANCES AND OTHER ABSTRACT MEANINGS
(~s)
Frequency: The word is one of the 700 most common words in English.
1.
A particular ~ is a particular situation or incident, especially one that you are using as an individual example or instance of something.
Surgical training takes at least nine years, or 11 in the ~ of obstetrics...
One of the effects of dyslexia, in my ~ at least, is that you pay tremendous attention to detail...
The Honduran press published reports of eighteen ~s of alleged baby snatching.
N-COUNT: oft in N, N of n
2.
A ~ is a person or their particular problem that a doctor, social worker, or other professional is dealing with.
...the ~ of a 57-year-old man who had suffered a stroke...
Some ~s of arthritis respond to a gluten-free diet...
Child protection workers were meeting to discuss her ~.
N-COUNT
3.
If you say that someone is a sad ~ or a hopeless ~, you mean that they are in a sad situation or a hopeless situation.
I knew I was going to make it–that I wasn’t a hopeless ~.
N-COUNT: adj N
see also basket ~ , nut~
4.
A ~ is a crime or mystery that the police are investigating.
Mr. Hitchens said you have solved some very unusual ~s.
N-COUNT
5.
The ~ for or against a plan or idea consists of the facts and reasons used to support it or oppose it.
He sat there while I made the ~ for his dismissal...
Both these facts strengthen the ~ against hanging...
She argued her ~.
N-COUNT: usu sing, oft N for/against n
6.
In law, a ~ is a trial or other legal inquiry.
It can be difficult for public figures to win a libel ~...
The ~ was brought by his family, who say their reputation has been damaged by allegations about him.
N-COUNT
see also test ~
7.
You say in any ~ when you are adding something which is more important than what you have just said, but which supports or corrects it.
The concert was booked out, and in any ~, most of the people gathered in the square could not afford the price of a ticket.
= anyway, besides
PHRASE: PHR with cl emphasis
8.
You say in any ~ after talking about things that you are not sure about, to emphasize that your next statement is the most important thing or the thing that you are sure about.
Either he escaped, or he came to grief. In any ~, he was never seen again.
= at any rate
PHRASE: PHR with cl emphasis
9.
If you do something in ~ or just in ~ a particular thing happens, you do it because that thing might happen.
In ~ anyone was following me, I made an elaborate detour...
PHRASE
10.
If you do something or have something in ~ of a particular thing, you do it or have it because that thing might happen or be true.
Many shops along the route have been boarded up in ~ of trouble.
PREP-PHRASE: PHR n
11.
You use in ~ in expressions like ‘in ~ you didn’t know’ or ‘in ~ you’ve forgotten’ when you are telling someone in a rather irritated way something that you think is either obvious or none of their business.
She’s nervous about something, in ~ you didn’t notice...
PHRASE: PHR with cl feelings
12.
You say in that ~ or in which ~ to indicate that what you are going to say is true if the possible situation that has just been mentioned actually exists.
Members are concerned that a merger might mean higher costs, in which ~ they would oppose it.
PHRASE: PHR with cl
13.
You can say that you are doing something just in ~ to refer vaguely to the possibility that a thing might happen or be true, without saying exactly what it is.
I guess we’ve already talked about this but I’ll ask you again just in ~.
PHRASE: PHR with cl
14.
You say as the ~ may be or whatever the ~ may be to indicate that the statement you are making applies equally to the two or more alternatives that you have mentioned.
They know how everything works–or doesn’t work, as the ~ may be.
PHRASE
15.
If you say that a task or situation is a ~ of a particular thing, you mean that it consists of that thing or can be described as that thing.
It’s not a ~ of whether anyone would notice or not.
PHRASE
16.
If you say that something is a ~ in point, you mean that it is a good example of something you have just mentioned.
In many ~s religious persecution is the cause of people fleeing their country. A ~ in point is colonial India.
PHRASE
17.
If you say that something is the ~, you mean that it is true or correct.
You’ll probably notice her having difficulty swallowing. If this is the ~, give her plenty of liquids...
Consumers had hoped the higher prices would mean more goods in stores. But that was not the ~.
PHRASE: V inflects
18.
If you say that someone is on the ~, you mean that they are aware of a particular problem and are trying to resolve it.
The CompuServe management is on the ~ now, and it looks as if things will return to normal soon.
PHRASE
II. CONTAINERS
(~s)
1.
A ~ is a container that is specially designed to hold or protect something.
...a black ~ for his spectacles.
N-COUNT: oft n N
see also attache ~ , book~ , brief~ , packing ~ , pillow~ , show~
2.
A ~ is a suit~.
N-COUNT
3.
A ~ of wine or other alcoholic drink is a box containing a number of bottles, usually twelve, which is sold as a single unit.
N-COUNT: oft N of n
III. GRAMMAR TERM
(~s)
1.
In the grammar of many languages, the ~ of a group such as a noun group or adjective group is the form it has which shows its relationship to other groups in the sentence.
N-COUNT
2.
see accusative
see nominative
see also lower ~ , upper ~