(~s, measuring, ~d)
Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English.
1.
If you ~ the quality, value, or effect of something, you discover or judge how great it is.
I continued to ~ his progress against the charts in the doctor’s office...
It was difficult to ~ the precise impact of the labor action.
VERB: V n prep, V n
2.
If you ~ a quantity that can be expressed in numbers, such as the length of something, you discover it using a particular instrument or device, for example a ruler.
Measure the length and width of the gap...
VERB: V n
3.
If something ~s a particular length, width, or amount, that is its size or intensity, expressed in numbers.
The house is more than twenty metres long and ~s six metres in width...
= be
VERB: no cont, V amount
4.
A ~ of a particular quality, feeling, or activity is a fairly large amount of it. (FORMAL)
The colonies were claiming a larger ~ of self-government.
N-SING: N of n
5.
If you say that one aspect of a situation is a ~ of that situation, you mean that it shows that the situation is very serious or has developed to a very great extent.
That is a ~ of how bad things have become at the bank.
N-SING: N of n/wh
6.
When someone, usually a government or other authority, takes ~s to do something, they carry out particular actions in order to achieve a particular result. (FORMAL)
The government warned that police would take tougher ~s to contain the trouble...
N-COUNT: oft N to-inf, N against n
7.
A ~ of a strong alcoholic drink such as brandy or whisky is an amount of it in a glass. In pubs and bars, a ~ is an official standard amount.
He poured himself another generous ~ of malt.
N-COUNT: usu N of n
8.
In music, a ~ is one of the several short parts of the same length into which a piece of music is divided. (AM; in BRIT, use bar )
N-COUNT
9.
see also ~d , measuring , counter-~ , half ~ , tape ~
10.
If you say that something has changed or that it has affected you beyond ~, you are emphasizing that it has done this to a great extent.
Mankind’s knowledge of the universe has increased beyond ~...
PHRASE: PHR after v emphasis
11.
If you say that something is done for good ~, you mean that it is done in addition to a number of other things.; If you get or take the ~ of someone or something, you discover what they are like, so that you are able to control them or deal with them. If you have the ~ of someone or something, you have succeeded in doing this.
I repeated my question for good ~...
The governments of the industrialized world had failed to get the ~ of the crisis...
Lili was the only person I knew who had the ~ of her brother.
PHRASE: PHR after v, PHR with cl; PHRASE: V inflects, PHR n
12.
If something is true in some ~ or in large ~, it is partly or mostly true. (FORMAL)
Power is in some ~ an act of will...
PHRASE: PHR with cl