cube of wood, plastic, etc., with a different number of spots on each of its sides, used in games of chance X; & X: a pair of dice — X4f£X 0 to roli/throw/ shake the dice / MflX 2 [U] a game played with dice  We played dice all night. &

T “    1$ X« — picture o backgammon ITflfI no

'dice (informal, especially NAmE) used to show that you refuse to do sth, or that sth cannot be done (

) Xfir, WUl: ‘Did you get that

job?’‘no dice/ “fmmmiiftTm? ” “&njL«0 ”

— more at load v.

■ verb [VN] to cut meat, vegetables, etc. into small square pieces# (ft,          diced

carrots hT IHTO1 dice with death (informal) to risk your life by doing sth that you know is dangerous H £

dicey /‘daisi/ ody. (informal) uncertain and dangerous ftuitAhlft; l(tW; f&M HEIrisky di chot omy /dai'kntami; NAmE-'ka:t-/ noun [usually sing.] {pi. -ies) ~ (between A and B) {formal) the separation that exists between two groups or things that are completely opposite to and different from each other -^Zl;

dick /dik/ noun {taboo, slang) 1 a man’s penis ^ E; M 2 = DICKHEAD — see also CLEVER DlCK dickens /'dikmz/ noun the dickens {old-fashioned, informal) 1 used in questions instead of ‘devil’ to show that you are annoyed or surprised ( M X IrI /nj ft # devil,          5'JlK: Where the dickens

did he go?        0P J Li 7 ? 2 (NAmE) used when you

are saying how attractive, etc. sb is ( SA ) - tf, A--7, cute as the dickens of %kM.T

Dick ens ian /di'kenzian/ adj. connected with or typical of the novels of Charles Dickens, which often describe social problems and bad social conditions  Af£

a Dickensian slum     T

dicker /'dika(r)/ verb [V] ~ (with sb) (over sth) {especially NAmE) to argue about or discuss sth with sb, especially in order to agree on a price hf fft 32: ffr ;          Wrih

H771 BARGAIN

dick-head /'dikhed/ (also dick) noun {taboo, slang) a very rude way of referring to sb, especially a man, that you think is stupid^®, Sft, H^fA ( A13X« H i4 ) EBG3 idiot dicky /'diki/ adj., noun

m adj. {old-fashioned, BrE, informal) not healthy; not working correctly 0Ha dicky heart $iff.l$4l'l£

mnoun (also dickey) {pi. dickies or dickeys) {IndE) the boot/trunk of a car (

‘dicky bird noun (BrE) (used by or when speaking to young children JLt«) a bird 4JL; A^rJL IT»T?1 not say, hear, etc. a dicky bird {BrE, informal) to say, hear, etc. nothing      (■) : He won’t say a

dicky bird, but we think he knows who did it. fffeff

X#i£, fSfilSfniAAftfe^if JimXftto E330E] This

idiom is from rhyming slang, in which ‘dicky bird’ stands for ‘word’. M if [s] &4fMi|f, dicky bird ( A-S, JL );ft^ word0

di coty ledon /.daiknti'liidan; NAmE -ka:t-/ (also dicot /'daiknt; NAmE -ka:t/) noun {biology X) a plant whose seeds form embryos that produce two leaves ^.Xnfffi #1 — compare monocotyledon Dictaphone™ /'diktafaun; NAmE -foun/ noun a small machine used to record on tape people speaking, so that their words can be played back later and written down

dic tate verb, noun

mverb /dik'teit; NAmE 'dikteit/ 1 ~ (sth) (to sb) to say words for sb else to write down P 3£: [VN] He dictated a letter to his secretary, fife ft $$ X P S fs 0 [also V] 2 ~ (sth) (to sb) to tell sb what to do, especially in an annoying way ( Ate E AAX'l&#jAf5£ ) f§f£, M'fiM X: [VN] They are in no position to dictate terms (= tell other people what to do). ftfefiT&W0 [V wh-] What right do they have to dictate how we live our lives? flfefnWfr

that] 3 to control or influence how sth happens ASS; Hfu; .ECTTC DETERMINE: [VN] When we take our

vacations is very much dictated by Greg’s work schedule.

$] o 0 [V wh-] It’s generally your job that dictates where you live now. —^AfeAJE6S6f)Xf^iA: [also V, V that] U!l;i*i dic'tate to sb [often passive] to give orders to sb, often in a rude or aggressive way fiS^f^A; ft£A£#i£A: She refused to be dictated to by anyone. MXS^fiMAjf ifco

■                  noun /'dikteit/ [usually pi.] {formal) an order or a rule that you must obey # A ; M aE : to follow the dictates of fashion

dic ta tion /dik'teijn/ noun 1 [U] the act of speaking or reading so that sb can write down the words P 37 2 [C, U] a test in which students write down what is being read to them, especially in language lessons n/r^; dictator /dik'teit9(r); NAmE 'dikteitar/ noun {disap­proving) 1 a ruler who has complete power over a country, especially one who has gained it using military force 2 a person who behaves as if they have

complete power over other people, and tells them what to do

dic ta tor ial /.dikta'toirial/ adj. {disapproving) 1 con­nected with or controlled by a dictator ^  ; X JE£

l$: a dictatorial ruler ty&MUk'lnjit 0 a dictatorial regime ik d&fX 2 using power in an unreasonable way by telling people what to do and not listening to their views or wishes £#6ftp

dictatorial behaviour  ► dic-ta-tori-ally /-ali/

adv.

dic ta tor ship /.dik'teitafip; NAmE -tarj-/ noun 1 [C, U] government by a dictator fffeSc; A® 2 [C] a country that is ruled by a dictator

dic tion /'dikjn/ noun [U] 1 the way that sb pronounces words qiX;        clear diction if £Kin±7 2 {tech­

nical A ill) the choice and use of words in literature

mm

diction-ary Otw /'dikfanri; NAmE-neri/ noun {pi. -ies) 1 a book that gives a list of the words of a language in alphabetical order and explains what they mean, or gives a word for them in a foreign language M ^; X H; 514$: a Spanish-English dictionary Hf ig — iff is] H 2 a book that explains the words that are used in a particular subject AikAfnA^:; a

dictionary of mathematics is] h 3 a list of words in electronic form, for example stored in a computer’s

SPELLCHECKER

dictum /'diktam/ noun {pi. dicta /-ta/ or dic-tums) (formal) a statement that expresses sth that people believe is always true or should be followed % gf; f&W did /did/ o do1

di dac tic /dai'daektik/ adj. {formal) 1 designed to teach people sth, especially a moral lesson ii ; tkiff

$;     : didactic art      2 (usually disap­

proving) telling people things rather than letting them find out for themselves iftlkfmftfj;        ffcilll A$J ► di-dac-

tic-al-ly /-kill adv.

d id-die /'didl/ verb [VN] ~ sb (out of sth) {BrE, informal) to get money or some advantage from sb by cheating them ^ BOZ1 cheat

diddly /’didli/ (also ,dtddly-'squat) noun {NAmE, informal) (used in negative sentences h] Ai5/eXJ) not anything; nothing - ,4ffe^; HA; fBAA: She doesn’t know diddly about it. did-dums /'didamz/ exclamation, noun {BrE, informal)

» exclamation used for showing sympathy, especially in a way which is not sincere (^A|W]1f, AJaAiS'hilfe) £P®, A

■                  noun used when addressing sb to show sympathy, espe­cially when you are not being sincere (

ft,       ) /JvrT#> AfEfB: Is Diddums OK?

diddy /'didi/ adj. {BrE, informal) very small fg/hfrX W& : a diddy little camera