/ saɪz; NAmE / noun , verb
■ noun
HOW LARGE / SMALL
1.
[ U , C ] how large or small a person or thing is :
an area the size of (= the same size as) Wales
They complained about the size of their gas bill.
Dogs come in all shapes and sizes .
The facilities are excellent for a town that size.
The kitchen is a good size (= not small) .
It's similar in size to a tomato.
2.
[ U ] the large amount or extent of sth :
You should have seen the size of their house!
We were shocked at the size of his debts.
OF CLOTHES / SHOES / GOODS
3.
[ C ] one of a number of standard measurements in which clothes, shoes and other goods are made and sold :
The jacket was the wrong size.
It's not my size.
They didn't have the jacket in my size .
She's a size 12 in clothes.
The hats are made in three sizes: small, medium and large.
I need a bigger / smaller size.
What size do you take?
She takes (a) size 5 in shoes.
Do you have these shoes in (a) size 5?
Try this one for size (= to see if it is the correct size) .
The glass can be cut to size (= cut to the exact measurements) for you.
HELP NOTE : To ask about the size of something, you usually say
How big?
You use
What size?
to ask about something that is produced in fixed measurements.
-SIZED / -SIZE
4.
(in adjectives) having the size mentioned :
a medium-sized house
Cut it into bite-size pieces.
—see also king-size , man-sized , pint-sized , queen-size
STICKY SUBSTANCE
5.
[ U ] a sticky substance that is used for making material stiff or for preparing walls for wallpaper
•
IDIOMS
- cut sb down to size
- that's about the size of it
■ verb
[ vn ]
GIVE SIZE
1.
[ usually passive ] to mark the size of sth; to give a size to sth :
The screws are sized in millimetres.
CHANGE SIZE
2.
[ usually passive ] to change the size of sth :
The fonts can be sized according to what effect you want.
MAKE STICKY
3.
to cover sth with a sticky substance called size
•
PHRASAL VERBS
- size sb/sth up
••
WORD ORIGIN
noun senses 1 to 4 and verb Middle English (also in the sense assize, ordinance fixing a rate of payment ): from Old French sise , from assise ordinance, or a shortening of assize (see assizes ).
noun sense 5 Middle English : perhaps the same word as size in its other senses.