356
finite Pin obviously: Clearly, this will
cost a lot
more than we realized. jkftftffcfflWffTH
clearness /'klianas;
NAmE 'klirnas/ noun [U] (much less frequent than clarity ®
7 A clarity — ill^jg) the state of being clear ifH; iitlift; TO 'clear-out noun [usually sing.] (informal, especially
BrE) a process of getting rid of things or people that you no longer want
jjf have a clear-out T .clear-'sighted adj. understanding or
thinking clearly; able to make good decisions and judgements £3 (ft; ^riMft
'clear-up noun (BrE) the process of
removing rubbish and tidying things fj 0 if M: a massive clear-up oper
ation Af31&iS^J
clear-way /'kliawei;
NAmE 'klirwei/ noun (in
rubber on the bottom of a
shoe, etc. to stop it from slipping ( ^i&^ft ) BfrftfT — picture o shoe 3 cleats [pi.] (NAmE)
shoes with cleats, often worn for playing sports ) i£ —picture o shoe —compare
FOOTBALL BOOT, SPIKE(3), STUD(3) cleavage /'kli:vid3/ noun 1 [C, U] the space between a
woman’s breasts that can be seen above a dress that does not completely cover
them (>$3 A IF jft#9 IR WHft ft ) ?L r^J 2 [C] {formal) a
difference or division between people or groups ( AA^UfflAlBjft ) H#, H'iHI,
A&
cleave /kli:v/
verb (cleaved,
cleaved Less
commonly, cleft /kleft/ and
clove /klauv; NAmE klouv/ are used for the past tense, and cleft and
cloven /'klauvn; NAmE 'klouv-/ for the past participle, A A cleft A
clove cleft k cloven ft$£7#ffi„
)
1
[VN] (old-fashioned or literary)
to split or cut sth in two using sth sharp and heavy jf ; faff-, Mff: She
cleaved his skull (in two)
with an axe.
#
If J$, Wf 7 0 0 (figurative) His skin was cleft with deep lines,
ffe W MM ft M St „ 2 ~ (through) sth
(old-fashioned or literary)
to move quickly through sth ifi iilFM, :
[V]a ship cleaving through the water
O
[VN] The huge boat cleaved the darkness.
3
~ to sb/sth [V] (literary) to stick close to sth/sb ;
M&: Her tongue clove to the roof of her mouth.
4
(cleaved, cleaved) [V] (formal) to continue to believe in or be loyal to sth M fff
; In 7; & 7 : to
cleave to a
belief/idea IT»TC1 see cleft adj.
cleav-er /’kli:va(r)/ noun a heavy knife with a broad blade, used for cutting
large pieces of meat EK f£] 71; $J
clef /kief/ noun (music #) a symbol at the beginning of a line of printed
music (called a stave or staff) that shows the pitch of the notes on it it 7: the treble/
bass clef Met / — picture c> music
cleft /kleft/ noun, adj. — see also cleave
v.
■
noun a natural opening or
crack, for example in the ground or in rock, or in a person’s chin ( ^ Mft )
M. P, a cleft in the rocks
• adj. IT»TO1 be (caught) in a cleft stick to be in a difficult
situation when any action you take will have bad results ti£il£t£r;
PSAffUI
.cleft 'lip noun a condition in which
sb is bom with their upper lip split MM;
.deft ‘palate noun a condition in which
sb is born with the roof of their mouth split, making them unable to speak
clearly JUf M
.cleft 'sentence noun (grammar ifii£-) a sentence
that begins with ‘it’ or ‘that’ and has a following clause, for example, ‘it is
you that I love’, or ‘that is my mother you’re insulting’ it A that
cle ma tis /’klematis; kla'meitis/ noun [C, U] a climbing
plant with large white, purple or pink flowers
dem-ency /'klemansi/ noun [U] (formal) kindness shown to sb
when they are being punished; willingness not to punish sb so severely (
Xt^SsHWA^JJflftft ) t.M, MM; 1&M; jK W EW71 mercy: a plea for clemency
clem-ent /'klemant/
adj. (formal) 1 (especially of
weather A ts A A) mild and pleasant ffl ft; M Ri ft rnr-ra inclement 2 showing kindness and mercy to sb who is being punished (
H^^SUft A ) IzMtf), IK
SB ft,
clem en tine /'klemantiin/ noun a fmit like a small
orange
den-but-er-ol /klen'bjudarnl;
NAmE -rail/ noun [U] (medical E) a drug that is
used to treat asthma but that has
also been used illegally by people who compete in sports, in order to build
muscle til
clench /klentj/ verb 1 when you clench
your hands, teeth, etc., or when they clench, you press or squeeze them
together tightly, usually showing that you are angry, determined or upset (
)
JIM, mn ( ) , « ( ) : [VN]
He
clenched his fists in anger. tik K 7 # A <> o
Through clenched teeth she told him to leave. PA7 7J A jfe ib #, $$£ o 0 [V] His fists clenched slowly until his
knuckles were white. It ft ^ A It H M g,4f, i jf % A S T o 2 [VN] ~ sth (in/between sth) to hold
sth tightly and firmly MM ; #!t 7 ; 1$ If : Her pen was
clenched between her teeth. MBkH
dere-story /'kliastoiri; NAmE
'khrs-/ noun
(pi. -ies) (architecture It) the upper part of
a wall in a large church, with a row of windows in it, above the level of the
lower roofs (
ft) a®, mm
clergy /'kl3:d3i;
NAmE 'kl3:rd3i/ (often the clergy) noun [pi.] the priests or
ministers of a religion, especially of the Christian Church ( ) SIR AM, #IRAM: All
the local clergy were
asked to attend the ceremony, pf ^ ^i&ftSIRAMMii#/jn&^tfUt;o
0 The new proposals affect both clergy and laity. HftM^^WIRA M— compare laity cler-gy-man /'kl3:d3iman; NAmE 'kl3:rd3-/ (also churchman) noun (pi. -men /-man/) a male priest
or minister in the Christian Church ( k ) SIR A M , # IR A M —
compare priest
der-gy-wo-man /'kl3:d3iwuman; NAmE 'kl3:rd3-/ noun (pi. -women /-wimin/) a female
priest or minister in the Christian Church ( i ) SIR
AM, HIRAM cler-ic
/'klerik/
noun 1 (old-fashioned or formal) a member of the
clergy SIR AM; HIRAM 2 a religious leader in any religion A: Muslim
clerics S^HHIR^HA
cler ic al /'klerikl/ adj. 1 connected
with office work A A H 7 # ft : clerical workers/staff/assistants
A A
III^AM;
A#M; t71I O a clerical error (=
one made in copying or calculating sth) 7 iM ( ft'1!
if % 7 ft ) 2 connected with the clergy (= priests) SIR A M ft; HIR A M
ft: a clerical collar (= one that fastens at the back, worn by some
priests)
siram
cleri-hew /'klerihju:/ noun a short amusing poem,
usually consisting of two pairs of rhyming
lines, and referring to a famous person &
wwfti^i
clerk 0-w /klark; NAmEkl3:rk/ noun, verb a noun 1 a person whose job
is to keep the records or accounts in an office, shop/store etc. IR M; ifi M; X 4$: an office clerk AA^IRM — see also filing clerk
2
an official in charge of the records of a
council, court, etc. ( $^fe^^ft ) 7itJM: the Town Clerk A^ifrAiBM O the Clerk of the Court 'A&rftidM — see
also COUNTY CLERK, PARISH CLERK, CLERK OF WORKS
3
(also sales clerk) (both NAmE) = shop assistant: The clerk at the counter gave me too
little change, jfr ft ftltM>pk7?io 4 (also 1 desk clerk) (both NAmE) a
person whose job is dealing with people arriving at or leaving a hotel MtfctIf#M EEE3
RECEPTIONIST