I. size 1 S1 W1 /saɪz/ BrE AmE noun
[ Date: 1100-1200 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: assise 'sitting to make a legal judgment or a judgment on standard amounts' , from asseoir 'to seat' ]
1 . HOW BIG [uncountable and countable] how big or small something is:
He’s a small boy, about John’s size.
The Jensens’ house is about the same size as ours.
size of
The firm underestimated the size of the market for their new product.
I saw a spider the size of (=the same size as) my hand in the backyard.
He’s quite a big dog, but he’s still not full size yet.
in size
The apartment is roughly 360 square feet in size.
(of) that/this size (=as big as that or this)
In a class this size, there are bound to be a few troublemakers.
We can’t give loans of that size to just anyone.
in all/different/various (shapes and) sizes
These phones come in all shapes and sizes.
good/fair/nice size (=fairly big)
The breakfast room is a good size.
2 . VERY BIG [uncountable] used to say that something is very big
size of
I can’t believe the size of her car!
The sheer size of the classes makes learning difficult for students.
3 . CLOTHES/GOODS [countable] one of a set of standard measures according to which clothes and other goods are produced and sold:
These shoes are one size too big.
The shirts come in three sizes: small, medium, and large.
Do you have these pants in a size 12?
4 . large-sized/medium-sized/pocket-size etc of a particular size, or about the same size and shape as something:
a medium-sized car
a pocket-size mirror
good-sized/fair-sized/decent-sized (=big enough for a particular purpose)
5 . do something to size if you cut, make, or prepare something to size, you make it the right size for a particular use:
The materials will be provided, and everything is already cut to size.
6 . that’s about the size of it spoken used to agree that someone’s description of a situation is correct
7 . PASTE [uncountable] ( also sizing ) a thick sticky liquid used for giving stiffness and a shiny surface to cloth, paper etc, or used to prepare walls for ↑ wallpaper
⇨ cut somebody down to size at ↑ cut down (6), ⇨ try something on for size at ↑ try 1 (2)
• • •
COLLOCATIONS
■ adjectives
▪ the same size
The water vole is about the same size as a rat.
▪ a different size
Six towns of different sizes were selected for the research.
▪ a good/fair/nice size (=fairly big)
The garden is a good size.
▪ the small size of something
One problem was the very small size of the department.
▪ the large size of something
They are very peaceful fish, despite their large size.
▪ the sheer size of something (=used to emphasize that something is large)
The sheer size of some dinosaurs is amazing.
▪ sth’s original size
The lake has already shrunk to half its original size.
▪ full size (=the largest size that something can have)
Is this violin full size?
■ phrases
▪ be twice the size of something
The creature was about twice the size of a small dog.
▪ be half the size of something
Kosovo is about half the size of Wales.
• • •
THESAURUS
▪ size noun [uncountable and countable] how big someone or something is:
What size is that shirt?
|
The price will depend on the size and quality of the carpet.
|
Your desk is exactly the same size as mine.
|
Fire has destroyed an area of forest the size of Luxembourg.
|
The seeds are very small, about half the size of a grain of salt.
|
There were several pieces of wood of different sizes.
|
Cover the dough and allow it to rise until it has doubled in size.
|
The black spots on her skin seemed to be slowly increasing in size.
|
The American states vary enormously in size, from very large to very small.
|
In a class this size, there will always be a few problems.
▪ dimensions noun [plural] the length, width, and height of an object, room, building etc:
What are the dimensions of the table?
▪ measurements noun [plural] the length, width, or height of something, or of someone’s body:
I need to check the measurements of the window.
|
your waist measurement is 31 inches
|
The nurse took my measurements.
▪ proportions noun [plural] the relative sizes of the different parts of an object, room, building etc:
The proportions don’t look right to me.
|
You can sit in the Plaza and admire the proportions of the cathedral.
▪ area noun [uncountable and countable] the amount of space that a flat surface such as a floor or field covers:
To measure the area of a room, you need to multiply the length by the width.
▪ extent noun [uncountable] the size of a large area:
The extent of the ranch is enormous.
|
The island measured about 1,600 kilometres in extent.
▪ bulk noun [uncountable] the very large size of something:
The statue’s massive bulk made it difficult to move.
|
his enormous bulk
|
The view was dominated by the huge bulk of the power station.
▪ capacity noun [singular] the amount that a container will hold:
The capacity of the tank is around 500 gallons.
|
The computer’s memory has a capacity of over 200 megabytes.
|
All the storage units were filled to capacity.
▪ volume noun [singular] the amount of space that a substance fills, or that an object contains:
The average domestic swimming pool has a volume of 45,000 litres.
|
This instrument measures the volume of air in your lungs.
|
Help me figure out the volume of this fish tank.
|
The shifting of continents has an impact on the volume of water the oceans can contain.
II. size 2 BrE AmE verb [transitive]
1 . to sort things according to their size:
Shrimp are sized and selected for canning.
2 . [usually passive] to make something into a particular size or sizes:
Most costume patterns are sized for children.
3 . to put ↑ size 1 (7) on a wall before decorating
size somebody/something ↔ up phrasal verb
to look at or consider a person or situation and make a judgment about them SYN assess :
It only took a few seconds for her to size up the situation.