782
m )
t& $ ; CtE-2®.) H32I VARY
:
fluctuating prices |& J (ft 0 During the crisis, oil
prices fluctuated between $20 and $40 a barrel.
m, 20 jg^;4o o
Temperatures can fluctuate by as much as 10 degrees, M HhJ3£10JS:;£,^o o My mood seems to
fluctuate from day to day. % ft} If ft {If ¥ A A £ $ 0 ► fluc tu ation /.flAktJu'eiJn/ noun [C, U]
~ (in/of sth): wild fluctuations in
interest rates
flue /flu:/ noun a pipe or tube that
takes smoke, gas or hot air away from a fire, a heater or an oven iJgit
flu ency /'fluionsi/ noun [U, sing.] 1 the
quality of being able to speak or write a language, especially a foreign
language, easily and well ( Xfaibft ) Ef1!,
Eft: Fluency
in French is required for this job.
|&i|| § bW o 2 the quality of
doing sth in a smooth
and skilful way ; E ft : The team lacked
fluency during the first
half. IAfe ± # ft ft* # ^ ^ E
ft,
flu ent /'fluiant/ adj. 1 ~ (in sth) able to
speak, read or write a language, especially a foreign language, easily and well
( X%ii\'T% ) E#J, X7 Eft: She’s fluent in
Polish. jifeffti&^ilHftEf'Jo 0 a fluent
speaker/reader iSLEfi\ (ft A; 1$^^ A 2 (of a language, especially a foreign
language g , A In A i§) expressed
easily and well E fij (ft ;
II ft (ft : He speaks fluent Italian, ffe i#— p E %ij (ft M A f!] i# 0
3 (of an action iftjfe) done in a smooth and
skilful way E ft B M (ft: fluent handwriting 0 fluent movements tfcHE
ft^j^jft ► fluently adv.
fluff /flAf/ noun, verb
a noun [U] 1 (BrE) (also lint /Mm£, BrF) small pieces of wool, cotton, etc. that
gather on clothes and other surfaces ( AI^AlftJ) 2 soft
animal fur or bird feathers,
that is found especially on young animals or birds ( # #, XtfatylisW) )
3 (informal, especially NAmF) entertainment that is
not serious and is not considered to have great value {Rg
■ verb [VN] 1 (informal) to do sth badly or to
fail at sth Jjtj ft; #®S EEC3 bungle: He completely fluffed an easy shot (= in sport).
o Most actors fluff
their lines occasionally.
n Mo 2 ~ sth (out/up) to
shake or brush sth so that it looks larger and/or softer The
female sat on the eggs,
fluffing out her feathers.
0 Let me fluff up your pillows for you. jfi
fluffy /'flAfl/ adj. (fluffier,
fluffiest) 1 like fluff; covered in
fluff : a little fluffy
kitten %%
^(ft'MS 2 (of food #^j)
soft, light and containing air fe$fc(ft: Beat the butter and
sugar until soft and fluffy. M tT fn
ft ll £']&$; Alt, 3 looking as if it is soft
and light : fluffy white clouds £3z?
flu-gel-horn /'fluiglhoin; NAmE -hoirn/ noun a brass musical instrument like a small trumpet ^
)
fluid /’fluud/ noun, adj.
*
noun [C, U] a liquid; a substance
that can flow E
It; body fluids (= for example,
blood) #|t (
It ) 0 The doctor told him to
drink plenty of fluids. 3Hfe£HSE®o 0 cleaning fluid
*
adj. 1 {formal) (of movements,
designs, music, etc. if]
ffc
» \0.
it . # ^) smooth and elegant E
ft tt H (ft
EEC3 flowing : a loose, fluid style of
dancing
llgli
fluid guitar playing Eft ffc ft (ft llf A
M # 0 the
fluid lines of the drawing ® [Si (ft E ft ^ & 2 {formal) (of a situation ^)
likely to change; not fixed H (ft; A ft. ^ (ft: a fluid political
situation # aE (ft Ip M 3 (technical tti§) that can flow
freely, as gases and liquids do E$[j&5; E#(ft: a fluid consistency
mmmm
flu id ity /flu'idati/ noun [U] 1 {formal) the quality of being
smooth and elegant She danced with
great fluidity of movement.
2 (formal) the quality of being
likely to change J? $ ( it ) ; ( it ) : the fluidity of human
behaviour
A&iJtrtJ&iJjl^it
o social fluidity t± ^ ft S
it
3
(technical A
iH) the quality of being able to flow freely, as gases and liquids do Ezft ( it )
.fluid 'ounce noun (abbr. fl oz) a unit for measuring
liquids. There are 20 fluid ounces in a British pint and 16 in
an American pint.
fluke /fluik/ noun [usually sing.] (informal) a lucky or unusual thing that happens by
accident, not because of planning or skill {ft
A; ^; M.
A: They are deter
mined to show that their
last win was no fluke.
o a fluke goai w ►fluky (also flukey) /'fluiki/ adj. flume /fluim/ noun 1 a narrow channel made
to carry water for use in industry ( likjfi ) 31 A fit, $C7]C?fcJ 2 a water chute (= a tube for sliding down) at an
amusement park or a swimming pool
(
m )Wtm
flummery /'flAmari/ noun
[U] nonsense, especially praise that is silly or not sincere ; ( Alt ) XW
( ) (ft^£|i$: She hated the flummery
of public
relations.
flum mox /'fLvmaks/ verb [VN] [usually
passive] (not
used in the progressive tenses ^ ^ T it ff N-) (informal)
to confuse sb so that they do not know what to say or do $133 is; $[}$
E: I was flummoxed by her question. M ►flum moxed adj.
flung pt, pp of FLING
flunk /flAqk/ verb (informal, especially NAmE) 1 to fail an exam, a
test or a course ( ) AE,
[VN] I flunked math in
second grade.
^ 'E R #1 o [also V] 2 [VN] to
make sb fail an exam, a test, or a course by giving them a low mark/grade tfr ( She’s flunked 13 of the 18 students. *
is m%T 13 nnnro .flunk 'out (of
sth) {NAmE, informal) to have to leave a
school or college because your marks/grades are not good enough ()&(&), j,
flun key (also flunky) /'flArjki/ noun (pi -eys or -ies) 1 (disapproving) a person who tries
to please sb who is important and powerful by doing small jobs for them ppj ft 0 ^
f 'J /h A ; s, JS ft 2 (old-fashioned) a
servant in uniform (
fluor es cent /.fbi'resnt; .floa'r-;
NAmE also
.flu'r-/ ad/'. 1 (of substances ffllffi) producing bright
light by using some forms of radiation : a fluorescent lamp
(=
one that uses such a substance) 0 fluorescent
lighting % it M o note at bright 2 (of a colour, material, etc. Mfe, appearing very bright when
light shines on it; that
can be seen in the dark MMR it (ft ; % % (ft : fluorescent
armbands worn by cyclists ijf —compare
phosphorescent
o
note at bright ►fluor es cence noun [U]
fluorid ation /.floiri'deijn; BrE also .fluar-; NAmE also ,flur-/ noun [U] the practice of adding fluoride to
drinking water to prevent tooth decay tJcffl/JcMffc (
fluor-ide /'floiraid; BrE also 'fluar-; NAmE also 'flur-/ noun a chemical containing fluorine that
protects teeth from decay and is often added to toothpaste and sometimes to drinking water
fluorine /'fb:ri:n; BrE also 'fluar-; NAmE also 'flur-/ noun [U] (symb F) a chemical element.
Fluorine is a poisonous pale yellow gas and is very reactive. fR flurried /'flArid; NAmE 'fl3irid/
adj. nervous
and confused; especially because there is too much to do ( ) ESLW EEC] flustered
flurry /'flAri; NAmE 'fl3iri/ noun (pi -ies) 1 [usually sing.] an occasion when there is a lot of
activity, interest, excitement, etc. within a short period of time ( ) : a sudden flurry of activity
(ft MU IS zj!JO Her arrival caused a flurry of excitement.
M(ftIiJA3l33 7-'l5l^zfto o
A flurry of shots rang out in the darkness. — 2 a small
amount of snow, rain, etc.
that falls for a short time and then stops /J^l! ( ) : snow flurries /Mf
o flurries of snow 3 a sudden short movement
of paper or cloth, especially clothes ( ,
ifl