(~s, ~ing, ~ed)
Frequency: The word is one of the 700 most common words in English.
1.
The ~ is the unit of money which is used in Britain. It is represented by the symbol ?. One British ~ is divided into a hundred pence. Some other countries, for example Egypt, also have a unit of money called a ~.
Beer cost three ~s a bottle...
A thousand ~s worth of jewellery and silver has been stolen.
...multi-million ~ profits.
...a ~ coin.
N-COUNT: num N
2.
The ~ is used to refer to the British currency system, and sometimes to the currency systems of other countries which use ~s.
The ~ is expected to continue to increase against most other currencies.
N-SING: the N
3.
A ~ is a unit of weight used mainly in Britain, America, and other countries where English is spoken. One ~ is equal to 0.454 kilograms. A ~ of something is a quantity of it that weighs one ~.
Her weight was under ninety ~s.
...a ~ of cheese.
N-COUNT: num N, N of n
4.
A ~ is a place where dogs and cats found wandering in the street are taken and kept until they are claimed by their owners.
N-COUNT
5.
A ~ is a place where cars that have been parked illegally are taken by the police and kept until they have been claimed by their owners.
N-COUNT
6.
If you ~ something or ~ on it, you hit it with great force, usually loudly and repeatedly.
He ~ed the table with his fist...
Somebody began ~ing on the front door...
She came at him, ~ing her fists against his chest.
...the ~ing waves.
VERB: V n, V prep/adv, V n prep, V-ing
7.
If you ~ something, you crush it into a paste or a powder or into very small pieces.
She paused as she ~ed the maize grains.
VERB: V n
8.
If your heart is ~ing, it is beating with an unusually strong and fast rhythm, usually because you are afraid.
I’m sweating, my heart is ~ing. I can’t breathe.
VERB: V
~ing
...the fast ~ing of her heart.
N-UNCOUNT: usu N of n
9.
see also ~ing