lithology            1182 |

lith-ology /li'0Dlad3i; NAmE h'Qa:l-/ noun [U] the study of the general physical characteristics of rocks    %

litho sphere /'li0asfia(r); NAmE -sfir/ noun [sing.] {geology i&) the layer of rock that forms the outer part of the earth

liti gant /'litigant/ noun (law W) a person who is making or defending a claim in court AA

liti gate /'litigeit/ verb [V, VN] {law \f.) to take a claim or disagreement to court ( $£••• )

►                liti ga tor noun

liti-ga-tion /.liti'geijn/ noun [U] (law #f) the process of making or defending a claim in court {ft ft; U: The company has been in litigation with its previous auditors fora full year. ^      ^ 4# m[ jf IT it & B fT 7 S

li ti gious /li'tid3as/ adj. (formal, disapproving) too ready to take disagreements to court ft iff ft Eft;     {TUT 7| [ft

►                litigiousness noun [U]

lit mus /'litmas/ noun [U] a substance that turns red when it touches an acid and blue when it touches an ALKALI      ) :

litmus paper

'litmus test noun 1 (especially NAmE) = acid test: The outcome will be seen as a litmus test of government concern for conservation issues.

2 a test using

litmus

li to tes /lai'tautiiz; NAmE -'too-/ noun [U] (technical A ip) the use of a negative or weak statement to emphasize a positive meaning, for example he wasn't slow to accept the offer (= he was quick to accept the offer)   ft

m () —compare

UNDERSTATEMENT 1)

litre 0"w (BrE) (NAmE liter) /'liita(r)/ noun (abbr. I) a unit for measuring volume, equal to 1.76 British pints or 2.11 American pints f\ (   ^T3£l3lft 1.76

2.11 ftjft ) : 3 litres of water * 3  O a

litre bottle of wine — 0 a car with a 3.5

litre engine Mfl 3.5

lit ter /'lrta(r)/ noun, verb

mnoun 1 [U] small pieces of rubbish/garbage such as paper, cans and bottles, that people have left lying in a public place (   ) &&, m*®, &®:

There will be fines for people who drop litter. WAUftRfi 2 [sing.] ~ of sth a number of things that are lying in an untidy way SLA Aft W 7 H;      A

®: The floor was covered with a litter of newspapers, clothes and empty cups.

3 [U] a dry substance that is put in a shallow open box for pets, especially cats, to use as a toilet when they are indoors (   AiEiAl

) MB, UfflQ®: cat litter MB 0 (BrE) a litter tray MBlk o (NAmE) a litter box M717 4 [c] a number of baby animals that one mother gives birth to at the same time ( th®  a

litter of puppies —0 the runt (= the smallest and weakest baby) of the litter — 5 [U] the

substance, especially straw, that is used for farm animals to sleep on ( {gttWlSEhffftj )   M

^ ^ 6 [C] a kind of chair or bed that was used in the past for carrying important people ( 10 ft tn 1c A (ft )

m, m

m verb 1 [VN] to be spread around a place, making it look untidy {£ A A A ft ;        A : Piles of books and

newspapers littered the floor. Jfe^A AA/Vftl&i{i7ift^ 0 Broken glass littered the streets, Hr±f i] A o 2 ~ (sth) (with sth) [usually passive] to leave things in a place, making it look untidy A #5: [VN] The floor was littered with papers. ife^AAA

o [V] (NAmE) He was arrested for littering. #,0 A llo 3 [VN] be littered with sth to contain or involve a lot of a particular type of thing, usually sth bad{£t&^, {£]H7 ( —|£^7£F$J7® ) : Your essay is littered with spelling mistakes. {ft Ift A# MM Aft 17 ft

'litter bin (BrE) (NAmE 'trash can) noun a container for people to put rubbish/garbage in, in the street or in a public building (  m

®%j — picture o bin

’litter lout (BrE) (also 'lit-terbug NAmE, BrE) noun (informal, disapproving) a person who leaves litter in public places (       ) A#3&&WA; Mi

little 0-w /■ litl/ adj., det., pron., adv.

■ adj. [usually before noun] iiNHJ The forms littler /'litla(r)/ and littlest /'litlist/ are rare. It is more common to use smaller and smallest. * littler fp littlest IftHAJAl,

smaller smallest0 1 not big; small; smaller than others      : a little house 7JIf oa little

group of tourists —7ftt|?oa little old lady AA <> the classic little black dress

0 ‘Which do you want?’ ‘I’ll take the little one.’ “{ftA A? ”        ” 0 She gave a little laugh.

0 (BrE) We should manage, with a little bit of luck.     0 Here’s a

little something (= a small present) for your birthday. ftfti2|$HftW:!fe' 0 4^1® o 2 used after an adjective to show affection or dislike, especially in a patronizing way (= one that suggests that you think you are better than sb) (

{ft tfcHfc ) RjgM, Pp|$W: The poor little thing! It’s lost its mother. & njW 7 %. \K! S ^ 7 ^ ® „ o What a nasty little man! g 4“Ai^tKMi‘k! 0 She’s a good little worker. M Jl A A # A W X A 0 o He’d become quite the little gentleman.

±7o 3 young        $/J^(ft: a little boy/girl 7H

►                / A W. 0 my little brother/sister (= younger

brother/sister) !S(ft3l^ 01 lived in America when I was little.       4 (of distance or time

jteW^Wlal) short Mlft;       Alittlewhile

later the phone rang, ft 7 — /Jn£ jt Ufa 7 & A <, 0 Shall we walk a little way? 1^10^—? 5 not important; not serious It 7 A.it W; W: I can’t

remember every little detail. $lc ifi A ft % — Alt 7

►                o 0 You soon get used to the little difficulties, {ft jg

t7 tl A ^ 'If ft ^       7 ® 7 o ► little-ness noun [U]

IT»T71 a little 'bird told me (informal) used to say that sb told you sth but you do not want to say who it was (     ift ) WAIH^ift,

— more at oak, wonder n.

mdet., pron. 1 used with uncountable nouns to mean ‘not much’ (        ) 7^07 There was little

doubt in my mind. >l> S Jl ¥ ^ W1$ l«] „ 0 Students have little or no choice in the matter.   A

0 I understood little of what he said. A 7 D/r 7 H life #f i# (ft o 0 She said little or nothing (= hardly anything) about her experience. M ft *gra ft® M A 7 K 7 7 U o O Tell him as little as possible. J|!y>Mio 2 a little used with uncount­able nouns to mean ‘a small amount’, ‘some’ ( %7 rJ ) ASfft,         a little milk/sugar/tea 7

iftAM/ Wo If you have any spare milk, could you give me a little? {ft^HT^&ftJAfi,      o

I’ve only read a little of the book so far. ft74$!£7il?7 —‘7         o (formal) It caused not a little/no little (= a

lot of) confusion. ftlHI®777[ft?ll$Lo o After a little (= a short time) he got up and left. ft7-“^A{tfeM^2 A A 7 o IHTOl .little by 'little slowly; gradually Ijtfi ffe ;       — jkM : Little by little the snow

disappeared, f Hiiilt7o 0 His English is improving little by little.

a adv. (less, least) 1 not much; only slightly 7^; ffHft;

He is little known as an artist. A7/S;AAliS{tfeJ^ 01 slept very little last night. ^tiA7A'l 'A ® 0 o Little did I know that this spelled the end of my career, ft -  &fij ftft 7 & M IRik ^ M 0

2 a little (bit) to a small degree 7ift; 7M;        She

seemed a little afraid of going inside.

Ao 0 These shoes are a little (bit) too big for me. ?£$ft ft H A A 7 — Mo 0 (informal) Everything has become just that little bit harder. —   7 „ 0 (formal)

She felt tired and more than a little worried. fllfftto o note at bit the ,Little 'Bear noun - Ursa Minor