(~es, ~ing, ~ed)
Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English.
1.
If you ~ something, you put your hand onto it in order to feel it or to make contact with it.
Her tiny hands gently ~ed my face...
The virus is not passed on through ~ing or shaking hands.
VERB: V n, V-ing
•
Touch is also a noun.
Sometimes even a light ~ on the face is enough to trigger off this pain.
N-COUNT: usu sing
2.
If two things are ~ing, or if one thing ~es another, or if you ~ two things, their surfaces come into contact with each other.
Their knees were ~ing ...
A cyclist crashed when he ~ed wheels with another rider...
If my arm ~es the wall, it has to be washed again...
In some countries people stand close enough to ~ elbows...
He ~ed the cow’s side with his stick.
V-RECIP: pl-n V, V pl-n with n, V n, V pl-n, V n with n
3.
Your sense of ~ is your ability to tell what something is like when you feel it with your hands.
The evidence suggests that our sense of ~ is programmed to diminish with age.
N-UNCOUNT
4.
To ~ something means to strike it, usually quite gently.
As the aeroplane went down the runway the wing ~ed a pile of rubble.
VERB: V n
5.
If something has not been ~ed, nobody has dealt with it or taken care of it.
When John began to restore the house in the 1960s, nothing had been ~ed for 40 years.
VERB: usu passive, with brd-neg, be V-ed
6.
If you say that you did not ~ someone or something, you are emphasizing that you did not attack, harm or destroy them, especially when you have been accused of doing so.
Pearce remained adamant, saying ‘I didn’t ~ him’...
I was in the garden. I never ~ed the sandwiches.
VERB: with brd-neg, V n, V n emphasis
7.
You say that you never ~ something or that you have not ~ed something for a long time to emphasize that you never use it, or you have not used it for a long time.
He doesn’t drink much and doesn’t ~ drugs...
VERB: no passive, with brd-neg, V n emphasis
8.
If you ~ on a particular subject or problem, you mention it or write briefly about it.
The film ~es on these issues, but only superficially...
VERB: V on/upon n
9.
If something ~es you, it affects you in some way for a short time.
...a guilt that in some sense ~es everyone...
VERB: V n
10.
If something that someone says or does ~es you, it affects you emotionally, often because you see that they are suffering a lot or that they are being very kind.
It has ~ed me deeply to see how these people live...
Her enthusiasm ~ed me.
= move
VERB: it V n to-inf, V n
~ed
I was ~ed to find that he regards me as engaging...
ADJ: v-link ADJ
11.
If something is ~ed with a particular quality, it has a certain amount of that quality. (WRITTEN)
His crinkly hair was ~ed with grey...
The boy was ~ed with genius.
VERB: usu passive, be V-ed with n, be V-ed with n
12.
If you say about someone that nobody can ~ him or her for a particular thing, you mean that he or she is much better at it than anyone else.
No one can ~ these girls for professionalism.
VERB: no cont, no passive, with brd-neg, V n for n, also V n
13.
To ~ a particular level, amount, or score, especially a high one, means to reach it. (mainly BRIT)
By the third lap Kinkead had ~ed 289 m.p.h.
VERB: no passive, V n
14.
A ~ is a detail which is added to something to improve it.
They called the event ‘a tribute to heroes’, which was a nice ~...
N-COUNT: supp N
15.
If someone has a particular kind of ~, they have a particular way of doing something.
The dishes he produces all have a personal ~...
N-SING: with supp
16.
A ~ of something is a very small amount of it.
She thought she just had a ~ of flu...
QUANT: QUANT of n-uncount
17.
You can use a ~ to mean slightly or to a small extent, especially in order to make something you say seem less extreme. For example, if you say that something is a ~ expensive, you might really think that it is very expensive. (mainly BRIT)
We were all a ~ uneasy, I think...
I found it a ~ distasteful.
= a bit
PHRASE: PHR adj/adv/prep vagueness
18.
see also ~ing
19.
You use at the ~ of in expressions such as at the ~ of a button and at the ~ of a key to indicate that something is possible by simply ~ing a switch or one of the keys of a keyboard.
Staff will be able to trace calls at the ~ of a button.
PHRASE: PHR n, usu PHR after v
20.
If you say that someone has the common ~, you mean that they have the natural ability to have a good relationship with ordinary people and be popular with them.
PHRASE: usu PHR after v approval
21.
If you get in ~ with someone, you contact them by writing to them or telephoning them. If you are, keep, or stay in ~ with them, you write, phone, or visit each other regularly.
The organisation would be in ~ with him tomorrow...
PHRASE: PHR after v, v-link PHR, usu PHR with n
22.
If you are in ~ with a subject or situation, or if someone keeps you in ~ with it, you know the latest news or information about it. If you are out of ~ with it, you do not know the latest news or information about it.
...keeping the unemployed in ~ with the labour market...
Mr Cavazos’ problem was that he was out of ~.
PHRASE: PHR after v, v-link PHR, usu PHR with n
23.
If you lose ~ with someone, you gradually stop writing, telephoning, or visiting them.
In my job one tends to lose ~ with friends...
PHRASE: V inflects, PHR with n, pl-n PHR
24.
If you lose ~ with something, you no longer have the latest news or information about it.
Their leaders have lost ~ with what is happening in the country.
PHRASE: V inflects, usu PHR with n
25.
If you say that something is ~ and go, you mean that you are uncertain whether it will happen or succeed.
It was ~ and go whether we’d go bankrupt.
PHRASE: v-link PHR, oft PHR wh
26.
If you say that someone is a soft ~ or an easy ~, you mean that they can easily be persuaded to lend you money or to do things for you. (INFORMAL)
Pamela was an easy ~ when she needed some cash.
PHRASE: v-link PHR
27.
would not ~ someone or something with a barge pole: see barge pole
the finishing ~: see finish
~ wood: see wood