(~s, ~ing, ~ed)
Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English.
1.
A ~ is a point or an area where two or more edges, sides, or surfaces of something join.
He saw the ~ of a magazine sticking out from under the blanket...
Write ‘By Airmail’ in the top left hand ~.
N-COUNT: usu with supp
2.
The ~ of a room, box, or similar space is the area inside it where its edges or walls meet.
...a card table in the ~ of the living room...
The ball hurtled into the far ~ of the net...
Finally I spotted it, in a dark ~ over by the piano.
N-COUNT
3.
The ~ of your mouth or eye is the side of it.
Out of the ~ of her eye she saw that a car had stopped.
N-COUNT: usu sing, oft N of n
4.
The ~ of a street is the place where one of its sides ends as it joins another street.
We can’t have police officers on every ~...
He waited until the man had turned a ~.
N-COUNT: usu with supp
5.
A ~ is a bend in a road.
...a sharp ~...
= bend
N-COUNT
6.
In football, hockey, and some other sports, a ~ is a free shot or kick taken from the ~ of the pitch.
N-COUNT
7.
If you ~ a person or animal, you force them into a place they cannot escape from.
A police motor-cycle chased his car twelve miles, and ~ed him near Rome...
He was still sitting huddled like a ~ed animal.
VERB: V n, V-ed
8.
If you ~ someone, you force them to speak to you when they have been trying to avoid you.
Golan managed to ~ the young producer-director for an interview.
VERB: V n
9.
If a company or place ~s an area of trade, they gain control over it so that no one else can have any success in that area. (BUSINESS)
This restaurant has ~ed the Madrid market for specialist paellas...
= monopolize
VERB: V n
10.
If a car, or the person driving it, ~s in a particular way, the car goes round bends in roads in this way.
Peter drove jerkily, ~ing too fast and fumbling the gears.
VERB: V adv/prep
11.
If you say that something is around the ~, you mean that it will happen very soon. In British English, you can also say that something is round the ~.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer says that economic recovery is just around the ~.
= imminent
PHRASE: usu v-link PHR
12.
If you say that something is around the ~, you mean that it is very near. In British English, you can also say that something is round the ~.
My new place is just around the ~.
PHRASE: v-link PHR, PHR after v
13.
If you cut ~s, you do something quickly by doing it in a less thorough way than you should.
Take your time, don’t cut ~s and follow instructions to the letter.
PHRASE: V inflects disapproval
14.
You can use expressions such as the four ~s of the world to refer to places that are a long way from each other. (WRITTEN)
They’ve combed the four ~s of the world for the best accessories...
PHRASE: PHR n
15.
If you are in a ~ or in a tight ~, you are in a situation which is difficult to deal with and get out of.
The government is in a ~ on interest rates...
He appears to have backed himself into a tight ~.
= in a tight spot
PHRASE: N inflects, v-link PHR, PHR after v