(~s)
Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English.
1.
A ~ is something that you do often or regularly.
He has an endearing ~ of licking his lips when he’s nervous...
Many people add salt to their food out of ~, without even tasting it first.
...a survey on eating ~s in the UK.
N-VAR: oft N of -ing
2.
A ~ is an action which is considered bad that someone does repeatedly and finds it difficult to stop doing.
A good way to break the ~ of eating too quickly is to put your knife and fork down after each mouthful...
After twenty years as a chain smoker Mr Nathe has given up the ~.
N-COUNT: oft N of -ing
3.
A drug ~ is an addiction to a drug such as heroin or cocaine.
She became a prostitute in order to pay for her cocaine ~.
N-COUNT: supp N
4.
A ~ is a piece of clothing shaped like a long loose dress, which a nun or monk wears.
N-COUNT
5.
If you say that someone is a creature of ~, you mean that they usually do the same thing at the same time each day, rather than doing new and different things.
PHRASE: creature inflects, usu v-link PHR
6.
If you are in the ~ of doing something, you do it regularly or often. If you get into the ~ of doing something, you begin to do it regularly or often.
They were in the ~ of giving two or three dinner parties a month...
I got into the ~ of calling in on Gloria on my way home from work.
PHRASE: v-link PHR -ing
7.
If you make a ~ of doing something, you do it regularly or often.
You can phone me at work as long as you don’t make a ~ of it.
PHRASE: V inflects, PHR -ing/n