— related noun let-down , iet sb/sth<-* down to make sb/sth less successful than they/it should be ( f£ ) ft & - % , A A A £ : She speaks French very fluently, but her pronunciation lets her down. fMMAA£lft&:£#AA$?o

,let sth~'down 1 to let or make sth go down $[A; f&; |^“h: We let the bucket down by a rope. fiefllAIM AffiffiffiAJtAAo 2 to make a dress, skirt, coat, etc. longer, by reducing the amount of material that is folded over at the bottom (. ft} AHA ) $X

•fe; ) r«n313 take up 3 {BrE) to allow the air

to escape from sth deliberately ( i&ijcitfc ) Some

kids had let my tyres down. JlAAf^A J&IcftlficlftfkJjn jfr T H ° ,let sb/yourself 'in for sth (informal) to

involve sb/yourself in sth that is likely to be unpleasant or difficult {<£ |$@ A; {£ # A; : I volunteered to

help, and then I thought ‘Oh no, what have I let myself in form&^&M^W‘\t, A*?,

(%ft}g ”, .let sb 'in on sth | ,let sb 'into

sth (informal) to allow sb to share a secret MfR, MM ( ) : Are you going to let them in on your plans?

,let sth 'into sth

to put sth into the surface of sth so that it does not stick out from it ft} -iA, ft}---wcitt ( ) : a

window let into a wall sb ‘off (with

sth) to not punish sb for sth they have done wrong, or

to give them only a light punishment A££?A i&M; % as; They let us off lightly, mm&r mi*

o She was let off with a warning. MMfAS&iifA TAW r-o ,let sb 'off sth {BrE) to allow sb not to do sth or not to go somewhere ATf ( It A ) A#; #£iT ( |£A ) A A ( S A ) : He let us off homework today. ffeAA&TfSJlTfl^IIfEil'o Jet sth 'off to fire a gun or make a bomb, etc. explode $C ( ffr# ) ; :

The boys were letting off fireworks. „

,let 'on (to sb) (informal) to tell a secret ( )?f^A ) i#’iU , ft W: I’m getting married next week, but please don't let on to anyone. 7, ffi&ffii/fit

fPAIci&o 0 [+ that] She let on that she was leaving, itfe MMM^ ^ ft o Jet 'out {NAmE) (of school classes, films/movies, meetings, etc. ^ , e£. S£ „ ^ i^C to come to an end, so that it is time for people to leave ££ M', Tit; fc^j; Wi£r. The movie has just let out. f&B fljij W\ l$[ If) o ,let sb 'out to make sb stop feeling that they are involved in sth or have to do sth They think the attacker was very tall—so that lets you out.

— related noun let-out Jet sth out 1 to give a cry, etc. tB ( ) : to let out a scream of terror ft

iSWWAB¹! <> to let out a gasp of delight UH

rim hold in 2 to make a shirt, coat, etc. looser or larger ( JEM*. ) ft*, ft-fc, 1)W% BGHtake

in Jet 'up (informal) 1 to become less strong MU; M $£ _: The pain finally let up. M $£ T <> 2 to

make less effort ftftf ( Jgf] ) ; We mustn’t let up

now. ^AfEftf&Wo — related noun let-up

mnoun

► IN TENNIS 1 a serve that lands in the correct part

of the court but must be taken again because it has touched the top of the net ( ) ^1^^

► HOUSE/ROOM AM ; A|r! 2 {BrE) an act of renting a home, etc. ft®; IS ft: a long-term/short-term let A

rm without Jet or 'hindrance {formal or law W) without being prevented from doing sth; freely 31A IS

51; Wife; glM

-let suffix (in nouns $jft£ill) small; not very important AW; A fS M 3? W : booklet A M A o piglet il;0 starlet $

'let-down noun [c, usually sing., U] something that is disappointing because it is not as good as you expected it to be A A AM AM; ifiW HE] disappoint

ment, ANTICLIMAX

lethal /'li:01/ adj. 1 causing or able to cause death ft-ft W ; RJ it A W HU deadly, fatal _: a lethal dose of poison 0 a lethal weapon O

(figurative) The closure of the factory dealt a lethal blow to the town. MirW

^ ₀ 2 (informal) causing or able to cause a lot of harm

| 1159

or damage AW; You and that

car—it’s a lethal combination! 3111

► le-thal-iy /'li:0ali/ adv.

leth argy /'Ie09d3i; NAmE 'Ie0ard3i/ noun [U] the state of not having any energy or enthusiasm for doing things AfffTA; '&A8vlf; HE! listlessness, inertia

► leth ar gic /l0'0a:d3ik; NAmE -'0a:rd3-/ adj. : The weather made her lethargic. SP tTAo

Lethe /'li:0i/ noun [U] (in ancient Greek stories ^) an imaginary river whose water, when drunk, was thought to make the dead forget their life on Earth

—A )

'let-out noun [sing.] (BrE) an event or a statement that allows sb to avoid having to do sth WfliAs : Good—we have a let-out now. ffcffWLfeo

a let-out clause (= in a contract) let^s short form of let us : Let’s break for lunch. P@ f] ff

letter Ot* /'leta(r)/ noun, verb

m noun 1 a message that is written down or printed on paper and usually put in an envelope and sent to sb ftf; |g|: a business/thank-you, etc. letter gfikfs ®.

o a letter of complaint A 0 (BrE) to post a letter Iffg o (NAmE) to mail a letter If ft o There’s a letter for you from your mother. o

You will be notified by letter. # fg ft li| il # ₀ CBS3 You will find compounds ending in letter at their place in the alphabet. & letter I rT£&A#Aj@^

WfiSSlJo 2 a written or printed sign representing a sound used in speech A #: ‘B’ is the second letter of

the alphabet. <> Write yOur

name in capital/block letters. A WA „

3 {NAmE) a sign in the shape of a letter that is sewn onto clothes to show that a person plays in a school or college sports team ( UR±W )

^ A im?71 the , letter of the ' law (often disapproving) the exact words of a law or rule rather than its general meaning AM ) WJtfll They insist

on sticking to the letter of the law. ftMllMf#/® frxl

A a to the letter doing/following exactly what sb/sth says, paying attention to every detail A #f A to; IS Ik Ife: I followed your instructions to the letter.

► verb 1 [usually passive] to give a letter to sth as part of

a series or list ) : [VN-N] the

stars lettered Alpha and Beta VJ, a |3 WM [also VN] 2 [VN] [usually passive] ~ sth (in sth) to print, paint, sew, etc. letters onto sth ) A: a black

banner lettered in white 3 [V]

{NAmE) to receive a letter made of cloth that you sew onto your clothes for playing in a school or college sports team

'letter bomb noun a small bomb that is sent to sb hidden in a letter that explodes when the envelope is opened Afjtlft# ( A, ) —see

also PARCEL BOMB

'letter box noun {BrE) 1 {NAmE 'mail slot) a narrow opening in a door or wall through which mail is delivered ( ±W ) fg H 2 {NAmE 'mail-box) a

small box near the main door of a building or by the road, which mail is delivered to ( AH O^H

^ W ) ft sjg 3 = postbox — compare pillar box ?— picture on next page let-ter-box /'letabDks; NAmE -terb-/ noun, verb

► noun [U] = WIDESCREEN

► verb [VN] to present a film/movie on television with the

width a lot greater than the height, and with a black band at the top and bottom a

letterboxed edition

'letter carrier noun {NAmE) = mail carrier let-ter-head /'letahed; NAmE -tarh-/ noun the name and address of a person, a company or an organization printed at the top of their writing paper fg ^ ( £p A fit