~ 1
■ noun a small, hard seed in a fruit.
Derivatives
~less adjective
Origin
C18: abbrev. of ~pin .
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~ 2
■ noun ( the ~s ) Brit. a series of short high-pitched sounds, used as a signal on the radio or within the telephone system.
Origin
1920s: imitative.
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~ 3
■ noun
1》 Brit. a star (1–3 according to rank) on the shoulder of an army officer's uniform.
2》 any of the spots on a playing card, dice, or domino.
3》 an image of an object on a radar screen.
Origin
C16 (orig. peep , in the sense 'spot'): of unknown origin.
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~ 4
■ noun a disease of poultry or other birds causing thick mucus in the throat and white scale on the tongue.
Phrases
give someone the ~ informal, dated make someone angry or depressed.
Origin
ME: from MDu. ~pe , prob. from an alt. of L. pituita 'slime'.
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~ 5
■ verb ( ~s , ~ping , ~ped ) Brit. informal
1》 defeat by a small margin or at the last moment.
2》 dated hit or wound with a gun.
Phrases
~ someone at (or to ) the post defeat someone at the last moment.
Origin
C19: from ~ 1 or ~ 3 .
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~ 6
■ verb ( ~s , ~ping , ~ped ) (of a young bird) crack (the shell of the egg) when hatching.
Origin
C19: perh. of imitative origin.