lenis /'lenis;
NAmE 'li:
—
compare fortis
lens /lenz/ noun 1 a curved
piece of glass or plastic that makes things look larger, smaller or clearer
when you look through it ifMt; it it : a pair of glasses with tinted
lenses — gij ^ it ft II it 0 a camera with an adjustable lens 0 a lens cap/cover
/ M — picture o binoculars,
camera, frame, glass —see also fisheye lens, telephoto lens,
WIDE-ANGLE
LENS, ZOOM LENS 2 (informal) = CONTACT
lens: Have you got your lenses in?
3 {anatomy fl$) the transparent part of the eye, behind the pupil, that focuses light so that you
can see clearly ( BBEjtlft ) —
picture o body
lens-man /'lenzman/
noun {pi. -men /-men/) a professional photographer
or cameraman ( AIR
)
Lent /lent/ noun [U] in the
Christian Church, the period of 40 days from Ash Wednesday to the day before
Easter, during which some Christians give up some type of food or activity that
they enjoy in memory of Christ’s suffering 0
-0, &40X) lent pt, pp of lend
len-tigo /len'taigau;
NAmE -gou/ noun [U] {medical @E) a condition in which small brown areas appear on the skin, usually
in old people H M Hi;
:r ( X ft )
^¥1
—
see also liver
spot
len-til /'lentl/ noun a small
green, orange or brown seed that is usually dried and used in cooking, for
example in soup or stew/Jn^S; AM lento /’lentau;
NAmE -tou/ adv.,
adj. (music #) (from Italian) (used as an instructionAin) slowly MM ( ift )
Leo /'liiau; NAmE 'li:ou/ noun 1 [0] the fifth sign of the zodiac, the Lion pm #fX ( M ) & 2 [c]
{pi. -os) a person born under
the influence of this sign, that is between 23 July and
22 August,
approximately
m 23 pm22 0 >■
leo nine /'liianain/
adj.
{literary) like a lion
fif-#
ift; Wfim
leop ard! /'lepad;
NAmE -ard/ noun a large animal of the cat family, that has yellowish-brown fur with
black spots. Leopards live in
—compare leopardess ITTHTTI a leopard cannot change its spots (saying) people cannot
change their character, especially if they have a bad character A ft
mx, m
'leopard-crawl verb [V +adv./prep.] (:SAfrE) (often
used about soldiers) to move with your body as close to the ground as possible,
using your elbows and knees to push you forward ( 'M~T±A ) leop
ard ess /'lepades; NAmE -ard-/ noun a female leopard
leo tard /'liiatcud; NAmE -ta:rd/ noun a piece of
clothing that fits tightly over the body from the neck down to the tops of the
legs, usually covering the arms, worn by dancers, women doing physical
exercises, etc. (
leper /'lepa(r)/ noun 1 a
person suffering from leprosy 2
a person that other people avoid because they have done sth that these
people do not approve of
(mnmm)
®xic«iftA; %\Am®Mz^mA
le pi dop-ter ist /.lepi'dDptarist; NAmE -'da:p-/ noun a person who studies butterflies and moths @ H,
lep re chaun /‘leprakorn/
noun (in Irish stories) a creature like a little man, with magic powers ( H
AX: ft ift
+fc/jv*AWvi)
lep-rosy /'leprasi/ noun [U] an infectious disease that causes painful white areas on the skin
and can destroy nerves and flesh M — see also leper lep-rous /'lepras/ adj. affected by leprosy $^jxlHK(ft lesbian /'lezbian/ noun a woman who is sexually attracted to other women ft: [Wj M. If : lesbians and gays iclaj '14 &S If % #§ M '14 if —
compare gay, homosexual ►
les-bian adj.: the lesbian and gay
community
o a lesbian
relationship les bian ism noun [U]
lese-majesty /,li:z ’maed3asti; NAmE ,leiz/ noun [u] (from French, formal)
the act or crime of insulting the king, queen or other ruler ( ) Xifc
n, mmm
le sion /‘li^n/ noun {medical [£) damage to the skin or
part of the body caused by injury or by illness (
) ms, skin/brain
lesions
Aifte
less /les/ det.,
pron., adv., prep, a det., pron.
used with uncountable nouns to mean ‘a smaller amount of ’ ( MM
(ft: less
buiter/time/importance $£ 'X (ft M / H |h] ; IX Ho He was advised
to smoke fewer cigarettes and drink less beer. o We have less to
worry about
now. To o It
is
less of a problem than
I’d expected. iftJSXftftMfffftSP A A o O We’ll
be there in less than no time (= very
soon). if] ^J±WtMo o The victory was nothing less than a miracle. ij lie
People often use less with countable nouns . There were less cars on
the road then. This is not considered correct by some people, and fewer should
be used instead. * less There were less
cars on the road then.
IfAiAAi&XIEfil, M fewer0 ITIT71 .less and 'less smaller and smaller amounts M A M 'A: As time passed, she saw less and less of all
her old friends at home, |i§]{ft?ft®E,
no 'less (often ironic) used
to suggest that sth is surprising or impressive ( if )
She’s having lunch with the Director, no less.
no less than ... used to
emphasize a large amount ( 3M iff Mill it ) MMX,
^ The guide contains details of no less than 115 hiking
routes. ii5 mmmnmmmm
madv. to a
smaller degree; not so much &M; M
M ; M /J' ; jkffi
A £ ; A : less expensiveAikely/ intelligent ifrpjfg'|4&/h; WA^^oless often/enthusiastically
A IP / ££ # / $Vlf 0 I read much less now than I used to. fcfcMA 0
The receptionist was less than (= not at all) helpful. I|S SS# m
A A o She wasn’t any the less happy for {— she
was perfectly happy) being on her own. xmn
S-'AMW-T^JL^'IAtg. o That this is a positive
stereotype makes it no less a stereotype, and therefore unacceptable.
D323 even/much/still less
and certainly not IE A If!
; M f5! S: No explanation was offered, still
less an apology. iAAMMUAtn, EM . .less and ’less continuing
to become
smaller in
amount ® AM A; MAMA; She found the job less and less
attractive.
—
more at more adv.
a prep, used
before a particular amount that must be taken away from the amount just
mentioned M A ; Ms minus : a monthly
salary of $2 000 less tax and insurance M if 2 000 A,
-less /-las/ suffix
(in adjectives 1 without
fj; A: treeless meaningless XM.X 2 not
doing; not affected by
A®; tireless fit fit X
ft o selfless X %
► -less-ly (in adverbs gij ial) • hopelessly M
Ak -less-ness (in nouns ft| ^ iSJ) : helplessness A&J
les-see /le'si:/ noun {law ^) a
person who has use of a building, an area of land, etc. on a lease 7p:fS.A;
—
compare lessor
less-en /'lesn/
verb to become or make sth become smaller, weaker, less important, etc.
( $
'A, MM, BEHdiminish: [V] The noise began to
lessen. #
JHnMMo o [VN] to lessen the risk/impact/ effect of
sth A ►
less-en-ing
noun [sing., U]: a
lessening of tension less-er /'lesa(r)/ adj.
[only before noun] 1 not as
great in size, amount or importance as sth/sb else ftfj; 1A ic Pll: people
of lesser importance H A W 0