ITSTT^l labour the
point to continue to repeat or explain sth that has already
been said and understood -#1I, StiiteiPIW*
) BED 'labour under sth (formal) to
believe sth that is not true fi-XJx MM: to labour under a
misapprehension/delusion, etc. W M ,
la $£ 0 He’s still labouring
under the
impression that
he’s written a great book.
la boured
(BrE) (NAmE la-bored)
/'leibad; NAmE -bard/
adj. 1 (of breathing Bf ffj£) slow and taking a lot of effort If
If rfff B 2 (of writing, speaking, etc. ftft. i£i^) not natural and
seeming to take a lot of effort X i
M;
la bourer (SrE)
(/Mm£ la-bor-er) /’leibaraft)/ noun a
person whose job involves hard physical work that is not skilled, especially
work that is done outdoors ( X
&X, XA
'labour force {BrE)
[NAmE 'labor force) noun all
the people who work for a company or in a country (
£ HI M ) BEE1 workforce: a skilled/an
unskilled labour
force / #$^XA
la bouring (BrE)
(NAmE la-boring) /'leibarirj/
noun [U] hard physical work that is not skilled ft A ^ sfr
: cl labouring
job ftft^zjfrXft
.labour-in tensive (BrE) (NAmE labor-in
tensive) adj. (of work Xft) needing a lot of
people to do it
: labour-intensive
methods — com
pare CAPITAL-INTENSIVE
'labour market (BrE)
(NAmE 'labor market) noun the
number of people who are available for work in relation to the number of jobs
available ^ ifo A TjJ ffn : young
people about to enter the labour market SPftiftA
the 'Labour Party (also Labour) noun [sing.+sing./pl. v.] one of
the main British political parties, on the political left, that has
traditionally represented the interests of working people X$t (
) : the
Labour Party leader
'labour-saving (BrE)
(NAmE 'labor-saving) adj. [usually before noun] designed
to reduce the amount of work or effort needed to do sth itijlft;
3S (Hi: modem
labour-saving devices such as washing machines and dishwashers
Lab ra dor /'laebrado:(r)/ noun a
large dog that can be yellow, black or brown in colour, often used by blind
people as a guide ) : a
goldenA>lack/chocolate
la bur num /la'b3:nam;
NAmE -'b3:m-/ noun [C, U]
a small tree with hanging bunches of yellow flowers fk
)
laby rinth /'laebarinG/ noun (formal) a
complicated series of paths, which it is difficult to find your way through ft: We lost our way in
the labyrinth
of streets. o (figurative)
a
labyrinth of
rules and regulations H ^ M & (ft M
^ $!] M — compare maze ► laby-rin-thine /.laeba'rinGam;
NAmE also -0in/ adj. (formal) : labyrinthine corridors XJlp 0 labyrinthine
legislation fg^A^I laby rin thi tis /.laebarm'Gaitis/
noun [U] (medical E) a
condition in which the inside part of the ear becomes painful and swollen lace /leis/ noun, verb
• noun 1
[U] a delicate material made from threads of cotton, silk, etc. that are
twisted into a pattern of holes N iU |R ; ¥c\&; HfM: a
lace handkerchief H&Xififl 0 a tablecloth edged with lace
ft #: (ft # ft 0 lace curtains f — picture o filigree
— see also
lacy 2 [C] - shoelace: Your
laces are undone.
^ ft 7 o — picture o fastener mverb 1 ~ (sth)
(up) to be fastened with laces; to fasten sth with laces i%;. Jft• ■ • XX: [V] She was
wearing a dress that laced up at the side, H — ftft
ffiij ffi X *£ X (Hi & A It o o [VN] He was
sitting on the bed lacing up his shoes,
jtfe X ^ ft X X $£ ^ 0 — see
also lace-up 2 [VN] to put a lace
through the holes in a shoe, a boot, etc. )
XHX —related noun
lace-up 3 [VN] ~
sth (with sth) to add a small amount of alcohol, a drug, poison, etc. to a
drink ik ( )
% ( IX #|*j^ ) 033spike: Hehadlaced
her milk with mm.
4feftiW + UiljJP 4 [VN] ~ sth (with
sth) to add a particular quality to a book, speech, etc. ( VJ,-- ) pft (
X. ) : Her
conversation was
laced with witty asides. M (ft $ @
ft
5 [VN] to twist sth together with another thing ) ft^/&: They sat
with their fingers
laced. (MlXta 3cX4tXftSPlL
la cer ate /'laesareit/ verb [VN] (formal)
1 to cut skin or flesh with sth sharp #]$£, fiJII ( l£jkl£] ) : His hand had
been badly lacerated, life $] — R X® ft I!#] ft 7 o 2 to criticize sb very
severely ft/Tj #X; X M ► la-cer- ation /.laesa'reftn/
noun [C, U]: She suffered multiple lacerations to the face.
'lace-up noun [usually pi.] (especially BrE) a shoe
that is fastened with laces XXIX cl
pair of lace-ups ^$.XX H o lace-up boots X^fftX — picture c> shoe
lace-wing/'leiswirj/ noun an insect that has large transparent wings with
lines on ( ®ftl«]jkl& )
lach-ry-mose /‘laekrimaus;
NAmE -mous/ adj. (formal) having a tendency
to cry easily A;£|!tfj; fkffiWL H’iTl TEARFUL
lack Onr /laek/ noun, verb
•
noun [U,
sing.] ~ (of sth) the state of not having sth or not having enough of sth 5.;
B£; S Sfe Efim dearth,
shortage: a lack of food/money/skills
t&X
/ fefb o The trip was
cancelled through lack of (= because there was not enough) interest.
0 fj (& ^ ^ ® & & SI ft $ SX 7
o 0 There was no lack of
volunteers.
JfeI.^Ao iTSTIffl see try v.
•
verb [VN] [no passive]
to have none or not enough of sth
'S^T; 7^.; Some houses
still lack basic
amenities such
as bathrooms.
#W3£Xi&S£o 0 He lacks
confidence. 0
She has the determination that her brother lacks.
7', MftfeRXiP'&Wo —see also lacking D3E1 .lack (for)
nothing (formal) to have everything that you need — more at courage
lacka-dai-si-cal /.laeka’deizikl/
adj. not showing enough care or enthusiasm AftX#J; MW
lackey /‘laeki/
noun 1 (old-fashioned) a
servant ft A;
A; ifk; SSS£ 2 (disapproving) a person who is
treated
like a servant or who
behaves like one ft ft A# ft
#; iNXMlttA; ^M7
lack ing Otw /‘laekirj/ adj. [not before noun]
1 ~ (in sth) having none or not enough of sth ; K X; XX: She’s
not usually lacking in confidence.
if 0 The book is completely
lacking in
originality. & §P X % it W ^ij 0 o He
was taken on as a teacher but was found lacking (= was thought not to be
good enough). AlfcW, ftsftiP
2 not present or not available ftX
fij H771 missing : I feel there is something lacking in
my life.
lack-lustre (Br£) (
: a lacklustre
performance o lack
lustre hair
la con ic /la'kDmk;
-'ka:n-/ adj. using only a few words to say sth fgf ; fgf SiJ ► la-con-
ic-al-ly /-kli/ adv.
Iac-quer/'laeka(r)/ noun, verb
•
noun [U] 1 a liquid
that is used on wood or metal to give it a hard shiny surface S 2 (old-fashioned) a liquid that is sprayed on the hair so
that it stays in place AA
EEEIhairspray
•
verb [VN] 1 to cover
sth such as wood or metal with
lacquer tn (
Affrjpq^cXM ) 2 (old-fashioned, BrE) to
put lacquer on your
hair ( A A ) ^Ai$
la crosse /la'kros; /Mm£ -'krois/ noun [U] a game played on a field by two teams of ten
players who use sticks with curved nets on them to catch, carry, and throw