chamber

314

cham ber On /'tjeimba(r)/ noun

1                           [C] a hall in a public building that is used for formal

meetings      : The members left the council chamber.

M rii Jf T&iXfT* O the Senate/House chamber

—see also Chamber of Commerce

2                           [C+sing./pl. v/.] one of the parts of a parliament (

ft )     the Lower/Upper Chamber {- in Britain, the

House of Commons/House of Lords) ~F / the House of Commons / House of Lords ) 0 the Chamber of Deputies in the Italian parliament ^AflJB^ftT'EI^ 0 Under Senate rules, the chamber must vote on the bill by this Friday,

3                           [C] (in compounds a

room used for the particular purpose that is mentioned ( fP^flg-Eli&ft ).jSH'iH , M: a burial chamber MM o Divers transfer from the water to a decompression chamber. ^7jc      M $1 A*k fit Ifc „ — see also gas

chamber 4 [C] a space in the body, in a plant or in a machine, which is separated from the rest ( Aifc, M #J^cEl3tr rt ft ) 1$, i: the chambers of the heart 0 the rocket’s combustion chamber ft W     0 the

chamber of a gun (= the part that holds the bullets) 5 [C] a space under the ground which is almost completely closed on all sides MA: They found them­selves in a vast underground chamber. fMI A fjft f&IPlEt A J—AlfeT AP Ao 6 [C] (old use) a bedroom or private room          &AJ&(SI

cham berlain /’tjeimbalm; NAmE -barlin/ noun an official who managed the home and servants of a king, queen or important family in past centuries (

ift) rtf; (jBim^ft) wm

cham ber maid /'tjeimbameid; NAmE -barm-/ noun a woman whose job is to clean bedrooms, usually in a

hotel (itTOMtrrt ) trmfSift£i 'chamber music noun [u] classical music written for a small group of instruments A rt A ( A AM A (Ait A

ftA*£®)

Chamber of ‘Commerce noun a group of local busi­ness people who work together to help business and trade in a particular town j$[ A .chamber of 'horrors noun [sing.] a part of a museum displaying objects used to kill people in a cruel and painful way or scenes showing how they died (

Aft)

'chamber orchestra noun a small group of musicians who play classical music together ij| rtHsjA ( [JCA A AAftftAMArA )

'chamber pot noun a round container that people in the past had in the bedroom and used for urinating in at night ( IBRtft ) ffw, !R5e — compare potty chameleon /ka'miilian/ noun 1 a small lizard (= a type of reptile) that can change colour according to its surroundings       $ A Wr ^2 (often disap­

proving) a person who changes their behaviour or opinions according to the situation JEM^tEft A; ftA

cham fer /'tjaemfa(r)/ noun (technical Ai«j a cut made along an edge or on a corner so that it slopes rather than being at 90°        fij^

chamoisnoim {pi. chamois) 1 /'Jaemwa:; NAmE'Jaemi/tc] an animal like a small deer, that lives in the mountains of Europe and Asia ( gfclE lij Eft )     2 /'Jaemi/

(also sham-my) (BrE also .chamois leather, .shammy 'leather) [u, C] a type of soft leather, made from the skin of goats, sheep, etc.; a piece of this, used espe­cially for cleaning windows (rtil|#A ^ A# ft A $5 A

ft))fgj£; ( At! ) #*ffl.ft&JfeS;

3                           /'Jaemi/ [U] {NAmE) a type of soft thick cotton cloth, used especially for making shirts ( Ate rli'JMAlSft ) %

chamo mile (also camo mile) /'kaemamail/ noun [u] a plant with a sweet smell and small white and yellow flowers. Its dried leaves and flowers are used to make tea, medicine, etc.         I; ( JEARf of®

M, ) : chamomile tea f

champ /tjaemp/ verb, noun

m verb [V, VN] (especially of horses A Ef 4) to bite or eat sth noisily A^ffeP5c ( ) iTTTWl .champing at the

'bit {informal) impatient to do or start doing sth iiAA

ft;

m noun an informal way of referring to a champion, often used in newspapers (      ) MW-:

Scottish champs celebrate victory! Xi. ‘MM- fk

cham pagne /Jaem'pem/ noun [u, C] a French spark­ling white wine (= one with bubbles) that is drunk on special occasions         : a glass of champagne A

mm

.champagne 'socialist noun {BrE, disapproving) a person who has socialist ideas but is rich or has social advantages    ( fSi± ASSUE

$W*±£#&ftA ) •

champers /‘Jaempaz; NAmE -parz/ noun [U] {BrE, informal) = champagne

cham-pion /'tjaempian/ noun, verb

mnoun 1 a person, team, etc. that has won a competi­tion, especially in a sport jg'A; % —    tfcttA: the

world basketball champions       0 a champion

jockey/boxer/swimmer, etc.        ft # S; M !W ,

0 the reigning champion {= the person who is champion now)        2 ~ (of sth) a

person who fights for, or speaks in support of, a group of people or a belief 4-#-#;

She was a champion of the poor all her life. 3AtfAftIL±;

m verb [VN] to fight for or speak in support of a group of people or a belief rt •••M A#-;      He has

always championed the cause of gay rights, ffe —• If & ih

cham pion ship /‘tjaempianjip/ noun 1 (also cham­pion-ships [pi.]) a competition to find the best player or team in a particular sport   :          the National Basket­

ball Association Championship * NBA A M 0 He won a silver medal at the European Championships. f |£#T& #H Ef H ft it1$ o 2 the position of being a champion yiM-ifaik:      They’ve held the championship for the past

two years. #Ct;£&Aft

chance 0"W /tjains; NAmE tjaens/ noun, verb, adj.

mnoun 1 [C, U] - of doing sth | ~ that ... | ~ of sth happening | ~ of sth a possibility of sth happening, especially sth that you want ( Ata^ilA^ft^ft ) rT tb'fe: Is there any chance of getting tickets for tonight? % >%? o She has only a slim chance of

passing the exam.      0 There’s a

slight chance that he’ll be back in time. jifeARtH® Aft fT      Ao 0 There is no chance that he will change

his mind.  0 What chance is there of

anybody being found alive ?       ££#ft'# M W& ? 0

Nowadays a premature baby has a very good chance of survival. #nA-¥-^JLEt?£ft#§Mf^Ao 0 The operation has a fifty-fifty chance of success. EAAAj&^Jft oj 50% 0 o The chances are a million to one against being struck by lightning, if if A ft r7 '(4 Ji it AK it ft o o an outside chance {= a very small one) ^#/]vft oftl 14 2 [C] ~ (of sth) | ~ (to do sth) | - (for sb to do sth) a suitable time or situation when you have the oppor­tunity to do sth El A ; Elii ; ® El:    We won’t get

another chance of a holiday this year. Ec fl ] A ¥ A A El WEl^JSIST o 0 Please give me a chance to explain, if in      AMP ft EIWo 0 It was the chance she had been

waiting for.         J[##ftEl^o 9 There will be a

chance for parents to look around the school.

o Jeff deceived me once already—I won’t give him a second chance. j^ABSlilEc —IX, E^^E^# inMU^o 0 This is your big chance (= opportunity for success). 5&ji#^;?Eft A$fEl^0 o Tonight is your last chance to catch the play at your local theatre.

3 [C] an

unpleasant or dangerous possibility jxU^; U#:       When

installing electrical equipment don’t take any chances. A mistake could kill. ffefgi£&RE A       W Vk,

A#ft0 4 [U] the way that some things happen without any cause that you can see or