flip-per /•flipa(r)/ noun [usually pi.] 1 a flat part of the body of some sea animals such as seals and turtles, used for swimming (       311$ ) ft , IS M

                picture o seal, page R29 2 a long flat piece of

rubber or plastic that you wear on your foot to help you swim more quickly, especially below the surface of the water (    ) mm,        $

picture o diving

'flip phone noun a small mobile phone/cellphone with a cover that opens upwards

flip-ping /'flipiri/ adj., adv. (BrE, informal) used as a mild swear word by some people to emphasize sth or to show that they are annoyed ; M iT /A ; Xf IS :

1                  hate this flipping hotel!    o

Flipping kids! M 7 JL MIA !       0 It’s flipping cold

today!

'flip side noun [usually sing.] ~ (of/to sth) 1 different and less welcome aspects of an idea, argument or action

( mm.     ) 3-®, &m,     2

(old-fashioned) the side of a record that does not have the main song or piece of music on it       ( MThIS:

flirt /flait ; NAmE fl3:rt/ verb, noun

m verb [V] ~ (with sb) to behave towards sb as if you find them sexually attractive, without seriously wanting to have a relationship with them If 1 ‘flirt with sth 1 to think about or be interested in sth for a short time but not very seriously he JLMi&Xl   : She

flirted with the idea of becoming an actress when she was younger.      /Jv-fMtto& M Mt # ft „

2                  to take risks or not worry about a dangerous situ­ation that may happen i1; A H fit P& Is ^: to flirt with danger/death/disaster f 1^:; Sc J L M; AXE

0*

noun [usually sing.] a person who flirts with a lot of people AiJSTIf ft) A: She’s a real flirt. ittfeJiAXTl#

flirta tion /flar'teijn; NAmE fl3:r't-/ noun 1 [C, U] ~ with sth a short period of time during which sb is involved or interested in sth, often not seriously AiAJt AT#; — a brief and unsuc­cessful flirtation with the property market

                WA®, XT AJ&TtlWXTA 2 [U] behaviour that shows you find sb sexually attractive but are not serious about them ifij'ff: Frank’s efforts at flirtation had become tire­some to her.

3                  [C] ~ (with sb) a short sexual relationship with sb that is not taken seriously

flirtatious /fl3:'teijas; NAmE fl3:r‘t-/ (also informal flirty) adj. behaving in a way that shows a sexual attraction to sb that is not serious 15# Ml# ; XT'If 5§ M (KJ a flirtatious young woman #5#M'I#        A 0

a flirtatious smile ^5#M't# (tfj — ^ ► flirta-tious-ly adv. flir-ta-tious-ness noun [U] flit /flit/ verb, noun

m verb (-tt-) 1 [V, usually +adv./prep] ~ (from A to B) | ~ (between A and B) to move lightly and quickly from one place or thing to another   &t;

XIM: Butterflies flitted from flower to flower.

MM    o He flits from one job to another. #,$!

^ Xf o 0 A smile flitted across his face. ± % § — MM Mo o A thought flitted through my mind. -Tt XIM -7t.tAo 2 [V] (Scoff) to change the place where you live if ; xO§ ;       I had to change schools

every time my parents flitted.

mnoun ITiTfll do a moonlight/midnight flit (BrE, informal) to leave a place suddenly and secretly at night, usually in order to avoid paying money that you

owe to sb (        )>&|HTif#itt

float /flaut; NAmE flout / verb, noun a verb

ON WATER/IN AIR 7jc_fr; $ M 1 [V +adv./prep] to move slowly on water or in the air # rfa; M i#; P. zjfj; M XI HT1 drift : A group of swans floated by. — A tk it iS? M o 0 The smell of new bread floated up from the kitchen.  O Beautiful music

came floating out of the window. lt$>ftflA)sMllfP'f#

f±J 0 0 (figurative) An idea suddenly floated into my mind.

o (figurative) People seem

to float in and out of my life. A(5](tfJ    +

ffllAo 2 [V] ~ (in/on sth) to stay on or near the surface of a liquid and not sink #; M'tf--. Wood floats. AA-t£f?-^2Ao 0 A plastic bag was floating in the water.

7jcfyM'fto 0 Can you float on your back? j# ft W 'if ®f ? 3 [VN] to make sth move on or near the surface of a liquid # if); ($_ M M : There wasn’t enough water to float the ship. A A §£$?=> $p£Fs3tjA& A o 0 They float the logs down the river to the towns. %

                WALK LIGHTLY |Bl#k*|z# 4 [V +adv./prep] (literary) to walk or move in a smooth and easy way

SZ3 glide : She floated down the steps to greet us. M

&&&TX£AiffiX»Clo

                SUGGEST IDEA M th M 5 [VIS] to suggest an idea or a

plan for other people to consider HtB,     Jtl (

^ if icl] ) : They floated the idea of increased taxes on alcohol.

                BUSINESS/ECONOMICS     6 [VN] (business M) to

sell shares in a company or business to the public for thefirsttime (     MM fArt?: The

company was floated on the stock market in 2001.

7 2001 ^±7tT0 0 Shares were floated at 585p. J3£ 5       85 fg±0 7 [VN, V] (economics &)

if a government floats its country’s money or allows it to float, it allows its value to change freely according to the value of the money of other countries ( j&ffi ffi ») j

USTOl float sb’s 'boat (informal) to be what sb likes MS A #r U : You can listen to whatever kind of music floats your boat. Aifcffr # fK   M Vi off«,

more at air n.          .float a bout/a round (usually

used in the progressive tenses ii ^ TB 7 M fr BT) if an idea, etc. is floating around, it is talked about by a number of people or passed from one person to another (       ) fm g#

m noun

                VEHICLE AW 1 a large vehicle on which people dressed in special costumes are carried in a festival 03A a carnival float

                IN FISHING f>)ft 2 a small light object attached to a fishing line that stays on the surface of the water and moves when a fish has been caught #7

                FOR SWIMMING # $ifc 3 a light object that floats in the water and is held by a person who is learning to swim to stop them from sinking ( ^$§#^1$ )

                DRINK iAAl 4 (NAmE) a drink with ice cream floating in itjqi«&im£*4: a Coke float

                MONEY 5 (especially BrE) a sum of money consisting of coins and notes of low value that is given to sb before they start selling things so that they can give customers change (

                BUSINESS Mik 6 = FLOTATION

float-er /'fl0uta(r); NAmE 'flout-/ noun (medical E) a very small object inside a person’s eye which they see moving up and down ( iUgSMA] )          IX

float ing /'flautiq; NAmE 'flout-/ adj. [usually before noun] not fixed permanently in one particular position or place 7; @ ^        ; lizM; Y? Ah fltl: floating exchange

rates Y?     <> a floating population (= one in which

people frequently move from one place to another) Wi §!j AP 0 (medical E) a floating kidney .floating 'rtb (also .false ’rib) noun (anatomy fflf) any of the lower ribs which are not attached to the breast- boneM;

.floating 'voter (BrE) (NAmE ‘swing voter) noun a person who does not always vote for the same political party and who has not decided which party to vote for in an election         )

floaty /'flauti; NAmE 'flouti/ adj. (of cloth or clothing Tp !4i&AIM) very light and thin flock /flok; NAmE fla:k/ noun, verb m noun 1 [Osing./pl. v ] - (of sth) a group of sheep, goats or birds of the same type ( A-     — compare