(~s, ~ping, ~ped)
Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English.
1.
If you have something on your ~ when you are sitting down, it is on top of your legs and near to your body.
She waited quietly with her hands in her ~...
Hugh glanced at the child on her mother’s ~.
N-COUNT: poss N
2.
In a race, a competitor completes a ~ when they have gone round a course once.
...that last ~ of the race...
On ~ two, Baker edged forward.
N-COUNT: usu ord/adj N, N num
3.
In a race, if you ~ another competitor, you go past them while they are still on the previous ~.
He was caught out while ~ping a slower rider.
VERB: V n
4.
A ~ of a long journey is one part of it, between two points where you stop.
I had thought we might travel as far as Oak Valley, but we only managed the first ~ of the journey.
= leg
N-COUNT: N of n, ord/adj N
5.
When water ~s against something such as the shore or the side of a boat, it touches it gently and makes a soft sound. (WRITTEN)
...the water that ~ped against the pillars of the boathouse...
The building was right on the river and the water ~ped the walls.
VERB: V prep/adv, V n
~ping
The only sound was the ~ping of the waves.
N-UNCOUNT: the N of n
6.
When an animal ~s a drink, it uses short quick movements of its tongue to take liquid up into its mouth.
The cat ~ped milk from a dish.
VERB: V n
•
Lap up means the same as ~ .
She poured some water into a plastic bowl. Faust, her Great Dane, ~ped it up with relish.
PHRASAL VERB: V n P
7.
If you say that a situation is in the ~ of the gods, you mean that its success or failure depends entirely on luck or on things that are outside your control.
They had to stop the operation, so at that stage my life was in the ~ of the gods.
PHRASE: v-link PHR