(~s, ~ing, ~ed)
Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English.
1.
Your ~s are between your neck and the tops of your arms.
She led him to an armchair, with her arm round his ~...
He glanced over his ~ and saw me watching him.
N-COUNT: oft poss N
2.
The ~s of a piece of clothing are the parts that cover your ~s.
...extravagant fashions with padded ~s.
N-COUNT
3.
When you talk about someone’s problems or responsibilities, you can say that they carry them on their ~s.
No one suspected the anguish he carried on his ~s...
N-PLURAL: poss N
4.
If you ~ the responsibility or the blame for something, you accept it.
He has had to ~ the responsibility of his father’s mistakes...
= accept
VERB: V n
5.
If you ~ something heavy, you put it across one of your ~s so that you can carry it more easily.
The rest of the group ~ed their bags, gritted their teeth and set off...
VERB: V n
6.
If you ~ someone aside or if you ~ your way somewhere, you push past people roughly using your ~.
The policemen rushed past him, ~ing him aside...
She could do nothing to stop him as he ~ed his way into the house...
He ~ed past Harlech and opened the door.
VERB: V n with aside , V way prep/adv, V past/through n
7.
A ~ is a joint of meat from the upper part of the front leg of an animal.
...~ of lamb.
N-VAR
8.
see also cold-~ , hard ~
9.
If someone offers you a ~ to cry on or is a ~ to cry on, they listen sympathetically as you talk about your troubles.
Roland sometimes saw me as a ~ to cry on.
PHRASE: usu PHR after v
10.
If you say that someone or something stands head and ~s above other people or things, you mean that they are a lot better than them.
The two candidates stood head and ~s above the rest...
PHRASE: PHR above n
11.
If two or more people stand ~ to ~, they are standing next to each other, with their ~s touching.
They fell into step, walking ~ to ~ with their heads bent against the rain...
PHRASE: PHR after v, v-link PHR
12.
If people work or stand ~ to ~, they work together in order to achieve something, or support each other.
They could fight ~-to-~ against a common enemy...
PHRASE: usu v PHR
13.
a chip on one’s ~: see chip
to rub ~s with: see rub