n. a ball of thread or cord; thread; something guides or directs anything of a doubtful or intricate nature
E.g. A main clue is a sample of blood that was found at the scene.
n. tutor; teacher; a vehicle carrying many passengers
E.g. When the players and coach arrive back later today they'll be greeted as national heroes in the stadium where the first modern Olympics were held.
n. drug extracted from coca leaves as a surface anesthetic or taken for pleasure, that can become addictive
E.g. The dog sniffed out more than $1.6 million in cocaine from a sports utility vehicle, officials said.
n. body of law; system of rules or regulations relating to one subject; system of symbols, letters, or words
E.g. Do you know the postal code of this postal district?
v. make pieces of money from metal; invent or fabricate
E.g. Slanderers coin nasty rumors.
n. two or more things occurring at the same time by chance
E.g. Was it just a coincidence that John and she had chanced to meet at the market, or was he deliberately trying to seek her out?
n. pillar; cylindrical or polygonal support for roof; anything resembling, in form or position; upright body or mass
E.g. This column is the latest in our series of interview articles.
v. struggle as with an opposing force; fight with
E.g. The ship has to combat the wind and waves this morning.
n. light and humorous drama with a happy ending
E.g. Anne Bancroft was also a regular in the comedy films made by her beloved second husband Mel Brooks.
a. arousing or provoking laughter; ridiculous; amusing; humorous
E.g. And, because the comic strips take place in superhero land, there are hints of the super-human.
v. express an opinion; remark
E.g. She refused to comment about David Beckham's eye injury.
a. money-making; involved in work that is intended for the mass market
E.g. China's economic growth has been fuelled by investment in new factories and other commercial premises, many of them producing low-cost goods.
n. fee for services; group of people appointed to find out about something; authorize
E.g. China has hit back, its foreign ministry urging the Congressional commission to wipe out its prejudice, respect the truth.
v. do something that cannot be changed; cause to be admitted
E.g. And small bands of extremists may again commit heinous crimes in the name of faith.
n. pledge, undertaking; act of binding yourself to a course of action
E.g. My main commitment is in the promotion of human values; this is what I consider the key factor for a happy life at the individual level, family level and community level.
n. special group delegated to consider some matter
E.g. He was director of the central bank's monetary policy committee which sets Brazil's interest rates.
v. send information about; make known; impart; reveal clearly
E.g. Well, it came to me that the best way to communicate is to have direct, personal contact with people.
n. activity of communicating; activity of conveying information
E.g. They predict that the vast majority of internet connections will be by mobile communication devices closer to pocket computers than portable telephones.
n. society; a group of people living in the same locality and under the same government
E.g. Where governments manage public life, human freedom in community is compromised.
n. team; guard team; group of persons; business enterprise
E.g. I slipped out of the room, unobserved by any eye - for the company were gathered in one mass about the trembling trio just returned.
v. examine and note the similarities or differences of
E.g. We compare the copy with the original, but there was not much difference.
n. struggle; rivalry; act of competing as for profit or a prize
E.g. There she's against tough competition such as Meryl Streep but this award will give her extra momentum towards what's undoubtedly the bigger prize in movies.
a. of or pertaining to competition; producing competition; showing a fighting disposition
E.g. Nobody can entirely keep away from this competitive world.
a. complicated in structure; a whole structure, as a building, made up of interconnected or related structures
E.g. Prescott's speech comes as ministers from around the world struggle to overcome complex arguments about how the Kyoto agreement on cutting greenhouse gas emissions should work.
a. difficult to analyze or understand
E.g. Legally this is a hugely complicated case and it will take months for the judge to reach the verdict.
n. praise; commendation; say something to someone that expresses praise
E.g. A compliment is a gift, not to be thrown away carelessly, unless you want to hurt the giver.
v. combine; mix; constitute; pay interest; increase
E.g. The makers compound the ingredients by design.
v. adjust or settle by making mutual concessions; endanger the interests or reputation of
E.g. Sometimes the presence of a neutral third party can help adversaries compromise their differences.
v. bring to or direct toward a common center; unite more closely; gather into one body
E.g. I was now able to concentrate my attention on the group by the fire.
n. something formed in the mind; thought or notion
E.g. The local chain concept is simple: identify your customer, cater to their tastes and once successful, expand within a neighborhood.
n. interest in any person or thing; regard; solicitude; anxiety
E.g. There is no telling what might have happened, now, but luckily the concern passed out of Aunt Polly's face.
n. solid mass; covering with cement; hard, strong construction material consisting of sand, conglomerate , and gravel
E.g. The anti-nuclear campaigners used concrete blocks to attach themselves to the line; it is difficult to release them without damaging the rails.
n. mode or state of being; fitness; existing circumstances
E.g. The Organization Man survives as a modern classic because it captures a permanent part of our social condition.
v. direct the course of; manage or control; lead or guide
E.g. You cannot conduct business like this.
v. acknowledge; admit
E.g. Now, when any vicious simpleton excites my disgust by his paltry ribaldry, I cannot flatter myself that I am better than he: I am forced to confess that he and I are on a level.
n. feeling secure or certain about something
E.g. He said the aim was to restore baseball fans' confidence, but the new penalties for players who test positive for drugs fall far short of those in other sports.
a. assured; having or marked by assurance
E.g. The spate of suicide bombings has provoked a massive military reaction from the Israeli government, a government which is confident of public backing.
a. treated with confidence; trusted in; trustworthy; secret
E.g. He has been on confidential missions to Berlin; all of us don't know his secret trip.
v. support or establish the certainty or validity of; verify
E.g. In the aftermath of Saturday's mass poisoning, the authorities imposed a virtual news blackout, refusing even to confirm how many people had died.
n. fight; struggle; incompatibility of dates or events
E.g. Malnutrition rates have now been cut by half since the start of the conflict, according to the United Nations.