it?’‘Er, yes, I suppose so.’ ^

m, nim&. ”

-er suffix 1 (in nouns {£) J& £ ia]) a person or thing that •■■MA ( sfclfcf ) : lover f Ao computer —com

pare -ee, -or 2 (in nouns J$ & ial) a person or thing that has the thing or quality mentioned - 6$ A ( M

) : three-wheeler o foreigner ^|A 3 (in

nouns a person concerned with

A: astronomer A X ^ M. 0 philosopher W ^ M 4 (in nouns f£j J$c £ if) a person belonging to M A ■ ■ • (ft A: New Yorker |^A5 (makes comparative adjectives and adverbs ft B W if ffl I'J if $ ft & §0: wider 2R & o bigger tAo happier o sooner Jg#- —compare

-est

era /'iara; NAmE 'ira; 'era/ noun 1 a period of time, usually in history, that is different from other periods because of particular characteristics or events frtft; X ft; A: the Victorian/modem/post-war era /

0 When she left the firm, it was the end of an era {= things were different after that). Mi^Jf A^v *3/5, -AB4ftMA7 ( ^A(ft1i«MA7-#7 ) o 2 (geology ffe) a length of time which is a division of an

AEONfunymt irF^ft)

eradicate /I'raedikeit/ verb [VN] ~ sth (from sth) to destroy or get rid of sth completely, especially sth bad fit A ; tt SOS wipe out _: Polio has been

virtually eradicated in Brazil

l£fil[^o 0 We are determined to eradicate racism from our sport.

%_a ► eradi ca-tion /i.rasdi'keijn/ noun [U]

erase /I'reiz; NAmE I'reis/ verb [VN] 1 ~ sth (from sth) to remove sth completely '/#[$&; |&; MA: She tried to

erase the memory of that evening. MKIIl&iPIlPXB&X (ftl^₀ 0 All doubts were suddenly erased from his mind.

0 You cannot erase injustice from the world. Xff AfflA^tgit^jEXAUtifi¹ iJIAo 2 to make a mark or sth you have written disappear, for example by rubbing it, especially in order to correct it , A ( ^ il # ) : He had erased the wrong word, fife fig A 7 It (ft A, 0 All the phone numbers had been erased. Jj/fWIftfeilf j^7o 3 to remove a recording from a tape or information from a computer’s memory ifiA, ( Mfi?X(ft ) : Parts of the recording have

been erased.

eraser /i'reiza(r); NAmE I'reisar/ noun (NAmE or formal) = rubber(2)

erasure /i'rei30(r)/ noun [u] (formal) the act of removing or destroying sth ?SI&; MA; JIJH&: the

accidental erasure of important computer disks (= the removal of information from them) if^fil5tt&:±lftliCic

erbium /'3:biam; NAmE '3:rb-/ noun [U] (symb Er) a chemical element. Erbium is a soft silver-white metal.

ere /ea(r); NAmE er/ conj., prep, (old use or literary) before fife ■ • • Z Itf: Ere long (= soon) they returned. ffefll 7AM

mkr-o'.

erect /i‘rekt/ adj., verb

» adj. 1 (formal) in a vertical position HjKft; tgjLlft; M xL (ft H'^l straight : Stand with your arms by your side and your head erect. 2 (of the

penis or nipples WL ?L A) larger than usual, stiff and standing up because of sexual excitement ( @'14 A

ft v'fy&w, mm®

m verb [VN] (formal) 1 to build sth Mik: The church was erected in 1582. 1582 o note at

build 2 to put sth in position and make it stand vertical HT71 put sth up_: Police had to

erect barriers to keep crowds back.

#gA$A 0 to erect a tent jgiffcgg o note at build 3 to create or establish sth B'J X ; i£ X : to erect trade barriers

erectile /I'rektail; NAmE also I'rektl/ adj: (biology 4) (of a part of the body H jv) able to become stiff and stand up ft: erectile tissue

erec tion /i'rekjn/ noun 1 [C] if a man has an erection, his penis is hard and stands up because he is sexually excited ( to get/have an erection 2[U]

(formal) the act of building sth or putting it in a vertical position It if; 4LX: the erection of scaffolding around the building Itmtl3 [C] (formal) a structure or building, especially a large one ( A fit A

aim mmi

erg /3ig; NAmE 3irg/ noun a unit of work or energy

(^mwmt).

erga-tive /'3:gatrv; NAmE '3irg-/ adj. (grammar if A) (of verbs gljif) able to be used in both a transitive and an intransitive way with the same meaning, where the object of the transitive verb is the same as the subject of the intransitive verb f£ft|ft ( oTfifeAiSfc^if A(ft1f &

#7&#l^jifN‘&iJ±i£-“§C): The verb ‘grow’ is ergative because you can say ‘She grew flowers in her garden’ or ‘Flowers grew in her garden’. * grow if, HAKE GftUift She grew flowers in her garden, \goJlU Flowers grew in her garden. — compare causative(2), inchoative ► ergative-fy adv. ergo /'3:gau; NAmE '3:rgou/ adv. (from Latin, formal or humorous) therefore Hitt; Bflii ergonomic /.siga'nmnik; NAmE ,3:rga'na:m-/ adj. designed to improve people’s working conditions and to help them work more efficiently X$t^lft; A^XfiS ^ift: ergonomic design fi||liX$clfti£i+ ► er go nom ic al-ly adv.: The layout is hard to fault ergonomically. jx

er-gonom-ics /.aiga'nnmiks; NAmE,3irga'naim-/ noun [U] the study of working conditions, especially the design of equipment and furniture, in order to help people work more efficiently X$[^, A^X^^ (

eri ca ceous /.eri'keijas/ adj. (technical Ain) relating to plants of the heather family gAX S ; fit H ?£ # W erm /3:m/ exclamation (BrE) = er_: ‘Shall we go?’ ‘Erm, yes, let’s.’ ” “®, $f(ft, Bgfr]X₀ ”

ermine /■ 3imm; NAmE '3:rmm/ noun [U] the white winter fur of the stoat, used especially to decorate the formal clothes of judges, kings, etc. S SA ( AffiX

erode /fraud; NAmE Troud/ verb [often passive] ~ (sth) (away) 1 to gradually destroy the surface of sth through the action of wind, rain, etc.; to be gradually destroyed in this way ^14; Jxtfb wear away [VN]

The cliff face has been steadily eroded by the sea. iliftlt A ffi iS $1 7§ 7k fi o 0 [V] The rocks have eroded away

over time. Mft’7. 2 to

gradually destroy sth or make it weaker over a period of time; to be destroyed or made weaker in this way M $T 1$ ; $ij M ; MU: [VN] Her confidence has been

slowly eroded by repeated failures. M W fit 7 H §11! A fX 'IS ft ffl Ik 7 o 0 Mortgage payments have been eroded (= decreased in value) by inflation. j#i£(ft Sfil © M H it ^ B B M IS {t o [also V] ► ero-sion /i'rau3n; NAmE i'rou3n/ noun [U]: the erosion of the coastline by the sea o soil erosion tKXMA O the

erosion of her confidence Mfg$(ft$JI§ er-ogen-ous zone /i'rnd3anas zaun; NAmE i'ra:d3-; zoun/ noun an area of the body that gives sexual pleasure when it is touched 14 Sfc A A K; 14ifcliiE; '14

m

Eros /’iams; NAmE ‘ira;s; ’era:s/ noun [U] (formal) sexual love or desire '14^; '14$;

erot-ic /I'rntik; NAmE I'raitik/ adj. showing or involving sexual desire and pleasure; intended to make sb feel sexual desire j4 fifc (ft; '14^ (ft; felt &X erotic art & 'If AA 0 an erotic fantasy '[4AJS ► erot-ic-al-ly /-kli/ adv. erot-ica /I'rntika; NAmE i'ra:t-/ noun [U] books, pictures, etc. that are intended to make sb feel sexual desire -fe

HM5H;

eroti cism /I'rDtisizam; NAmE i'ra:t-/ noun [U] the fact of expressing or describing sexual feelings and desire, especially in art, literature, etc. AX#pp