ground at the bottom of the sea, a forest, etc. ( % # the ocean/valley/cave/

forest floor # /     / P/Si;

                 IN PARLIAMENT, ETC. Of 5 the floor [sing.] the part of a building where discussions or debates are held, especially in a parliament; the people who attend a discussion or debate iXMJft;

Opposition politicians registered their protest on the floor of the House.

0 We will now take any questions from the floor.

                 AREA FOR WORK X*# \% 6 [C, usually sing.] an area in a building that is used for a particular activity (

[*j 63 ) M ht : on the floor of the Stock Exchange (= where trading takes place)

— see also dance floor, factory floor, shop floor

                 FOR WAGES/PRICES X % ; $9 ifr 7 [C, usually sing.] the lowest level allowed for wages or prices (

60 ) fifSM,  Prices have gone through the floor

(= fallen to a very low level).     —com­

pare ceiling(2)

M get/be given/have the floor to get/be given/ have the right to speak during a discussion or debate ( .hold the 'floor to speak

during a discussion or debate, especially for a long time so that nobody else is able to say anything M.

) ’.take (to) the

'floor to start dancing on a dance floor (      ) Tf

: Couples took the floor for the last dance of the evening.      wipe/mop

the 'floor with sb (informal) to defeat sb completely in an argument or a competition (

— E'&ife —more at ground

FLOOR verb [VN]

                 SURPRISE/CONFUSE #;-#g§ S 1 to surprise or confuse

sb so that they are not sure what to say or do {j£       ;

                 HIT ill 2 [usually passive] to make sb fall down by

hitting them, especially in a sport (    )

mi nm

                 BUILDING/ROOM H ^ tl ; % |u] 3 [usually passive] to provide a building or room with a floor

%-mmm

BRITISH/AMERICAN gS/Ma^il

floor

                  In BrE the floor of a building at street level is the

ground floor, the one above it is the first floor and the one below it is the basement, or lower ground floor in a public building.        i&®63f^

Jgni] ground floor, Xffi—Jgoi[ first floor, Tt§f~*J!l ot| basement        lower ground floor0

                  In NAmE the floor at street level is usually called the

first floor, the one above it is the second floor and the one below it is the basement. In public buildings the floor at street level can also be called the ground floor. IMlft-MilM

first floor, ± ®—M second floor, Tffi—jgni) basement0

ground floor0 o note at storey

floorboard /‘floiboid; NAmE Tbirboird/ noun 1 a long flat piece of wood in a wooden floor ;fc Jjfr ^ : bare/polished floorboards ^® / 3=TT2 [usually sing.] (NAmE) = floor(2): a car floorboard   0

He had his foot to the floorboard (= was going very fast).

floorcloth /'floiklnG; NAmE 'fb:rkb:0/ noun (BrE) a cloth for cleaning floors

flooring /'fbiriri/ noun [U] material used to make the floor of a room          vinyl/wooden

flooring      / Xftkfe 0 kitchen/bathroom flooring

'floor lamp noun = standard lamp

SYNONYMS iftHWf floor

ground * land ♦ earth ♦soil

These are all words for the surface that you walk on.

floor the surface of a room that you walk on ftkfe, : She was sitting on the floor watching TV.

sftMtttm

ground (often the ground) the solid surface of the earth that you walk on ( the ground )

, fife®: / found her lying on the ground.

o o The rocket crashed a few seconds after it left the ground, ikmjfmmjwmmmj 0 land the surface of the earth that is not sea fzife: It was good to be back on dry land again. ® gij fel&.ii Jl£Fo o They fought both at sea and on land.

earth (often the earth) the solid surface of the world that is made of rock, soil, sand, etc. ( ## the earth ) flMci&v Pftitfe, ffeffi: You could feel the earth shake as the truck came closer. -jc$ JfjgB'jj-fg&'s&fiJJtk® m&o

GROUND, LAND OR EARTH? ground, land earth?

Ground is the normal word for the solid surface that you walk on when you are not in a building or vehicle. You can use earth if you want to draw attention to the rock, soil etc. that the ground is made of, but ground can also be used in any of these examples. Land is only used when you want to contrast it with the sea. * ground *j®jm        MM

earthy, Xxt

ground ^Rj^XlltXo land       -the

land beneath-our feet o feel the land shake o sight ground/earth o travel by ground/earth soil (literary) a country; an area of land          ^

±, ±i&: It was the first time I had set foot on American soil.   (MB

This meaning of soil is almost always used in the phrase on African/British/Indian, etc. soil, meaning ‘in Africa/Britain/India, etc.’ * soil fflf on African/British/Indian soil

«/^a/ep^o

PATTERNS AND COLLOCATIONS

                 under the floor/ground/earth

                 on the floor/ground/earth

                 bare floor/ground/earth

* to drop to/fall to/hit the floor/the ground/(the) earth

                 to reach the floor/the ground/land

'floor manager noun the person responsible for the lighting and other technical arrangements for a televi­sion production ( ffe}!E1ir@63 )

'floor plan noun (technical t^t§) a drawing of the shape of a room or building, as seen from above, showing the position of the furniture, etc. HJgXfflBS 'floor show noun a series of performances by singers, dancers, etc. at a restaurant or club ( tt isle ^

63) mmm

floozy (also floozie) /’fluizi/ noun (p/.-ies) {old-fashioned, informal, disapproving) a woman who has sexual relationships with many different men ^$3 flop /flop; NAmE fla:p/ verb, noun

» verb (pp ) [V] 1 ~ into/on sth | ~ (down/back) to sit or lie down in a heavy and sudden way because you are very tired ( @ & M ® ) S Jfe T :

Exhausted, he flopped down into a chair, ffe 16

2 [+adv./prep.] to fall, move or hang