(~s, ~ding, ~ded)
Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English.
1.
You can refer to a child as a ~. (INFORMAL)
They’ve got three ~s...
All the ~s in my class could read.
N-COUNT
2.
You can refer to your younger brother as your ~ brother and your younger sister as your ~ sister. (INFORMAL)
ADJ: ADJ n
3.
A ~ is a young goat.
N-COUNT
4.
If you are ~ding, you are saying something that is not really true, as a joke. (INFORMAL)
I’m not ~ding, Frank. There’s a cow out there, just standing around...
Are you sure you’re not ~ding me?
VERB: usu cont, V, V n
5.
If you ~ someone, you tease them.
He liked to ~ Ingrid a lot...
He used to ~ me about being chubby.
VERB: V n, V n about -ing/n
6.
If people ~ themselves, they allow themselves to believe something that is not true because they wish that it was true.
We’re ~ding ourselves, Bill. We’re not winning, we’re not even doing well...
I could ~ myself that you did this for me, but it would be a lie.
= fool
VERB: V pron-refl, V pron-refl that
7.
You can say ‘No ~ding?’ to show that you are interested or surprised when someone tells you something. (INFORMAL)
‘We won.’—‘No ~ding?’
CONVENTION feelings
8.
You can say ‘you’ve got to be ~ding’ or ‘you must be ~ding’ to someone if they have said something that you think is ridiculous or completely untrue. (INFORMAL)
You’ve got to be ~ding! I can’t live here!...
PHRASE: V inflects feelings
9.
You can say ‘who is she ~ding?’ or ‘who is he trying to ~?’ if you think it is obvious that someone is not being sincere and does not mean what they say. (INFORMAL)
She played the role of a meek, innocent, shy girl. I don’t know who she was trying to ~...
PHRASE: V inflects