M m

M /em/ noun, abbr., symbol

Knoun (also m) [C, U] {pi. Ms, M’s, m’s /emz/) the 13th letter of the English alphabet     13 4T

#: ‘Milk’ begins with (an) M/M’. * milk — iilkU^-fiJ: m 3f*ko

sabbr. 1 (also med.) (especially for sizes of clothes) medium ( A®       ) 4^: S, M and L {= small,

medium and large) /Jn , 4* Ar, A 2 (used with a number to show the name of a British motorway) jli ) : heavy traffic on

the M25 * 25

■ symbol (also m) the number l 000 in Roman numerals ( ) l 000

m {BrE) (also m. NAmE, BrE) abbr. 1 male J§i4 2 married Bl 3 metre(s) A:          800m medium wave 4800 A

4 million(s) ~07f: population: 10m A P: 1 000 Jf IVIA (BrE) {NAmE M.A.) /,em 'ei/ noun the abbreviation for ‘Master of Arts’ (a second university degree in an arts subject, or, in Scotland, a first university degree in an arts subject)        A Master of Arts, A¥XPc

4Wto be/have/do anMA & tiL O {BrE) Julie Bell MA

ma /ma:/ noun {informal) mother       I’m

going now, ma.     A ® o o ‘I want my ma, ’ sobbed

the little girl. /“jft   ”

ma’am /maem/ noun [sing.] 1 (NAmE) used as a polite way of addressing a woman (     ici, A A: ‘Can

I help you, ma’am?’       , A A? ” —compare

sir(1) 2 /ma:m/ {BrE) used when addressing the Queen or senior women officers in the police or army ( jtj it iciptl ) = madam(I) maas /ma:s/ noun {SAfrE) = amasi Mac /mask/ noun [sing.] {NAmE, informal) used to address a man whose name you do not know (

m», m mvi

mac (also mack) /maek/ (also old-fashioned mack-in-tosh) noun (all BrE) a coat made of material that keeps you dry in the rain M A

macabre /ma'karbra/ adj. unpleasant and strange because connected with death and frightening things oJttlft, SAfeM (          ) HIa

ghoulish, grisly : a macabre tale/joke/ritual 4* A

mac adam /ma'kaedam/ noun [U] a road surface made of layers of broken stones, mixed with tar 4 yft fj

maca-damia /.maeka'deimia/ (also maca'damia nut)

noun the round nut of an Australian tree ma caque /ma'kaek; -'ka:k/ noun a type of monkey that lives in Africa and Asia

maca roni /.maeke'rauni; NAmE -'rouni/ noun [U] pasta in the shape of hollow tubes

maca ron ic /.maeka'rnmk; NAmE -‘rain-/ adj. {technical A in) relating to language, especially in poetry, that includes words and expressions from another language

(i£w,

.macaroni 'cheese {BrE) {NAmE .macaroni and

'cheese) noun [U] a hot dish of macaroni in a cheese sauce

maca roon /.maeka'ruin/ noun a soft round sweet biscuit/cookie made with almonds or coconut Q

ftizWA {       ) ; m&mAWA {       )

macaw /ma'ko:/ noun a large Central and S American tropical bird of the parrot family, with bright feathers and a long tail HH, ±W\mM ( i&mgkMm®,

)

Mace™ /meis/ noun [U] a chemical that makes your eyes and skin sting, that some people, including police

officers, carry in spray cans so that they can defend themselves against people attacking them

mace /meis/ noun 1 [C] a decorative stick, carried as a sign of authority by an official such as a mayor ®

— compare sceptre 2 [C] a large heavy stick that has a head with metal points on it, used in the past as a weapon Sf # ( -ft ft A ££ ) 3 [u] the dried outer covering of nutmegs (= the hard nuts of a tropical tree), used in cooking as a spice AjaMTiS, AfiH#

a (mm)

ma cerate /'maesareit/ verb [V, VN] {technical A in) to make sth (especially food) soft by leaving it in a liquid; to become soft in this way Jfi (

Mach /mark; maek/ noun [U] (often followed by a number ^         ® Wi A) a measurement of speed, used

especially for aircraft. Mach l is the speed of sound.

141

#Ti=rM ) i a fighter plane with a top speed of Mach 3 {= 3 times the speed of sound) Si 11 It A 3S,#$J?F ■3r#l

ma chete /ma'Jeti/ noun a broad heavy knife used as a cutting tool and as a weapon AH; AikTJ

Machia vel lian /.maekia'velian/ adj. (formal, disap­proving) using clever plans to achieve what you want, without people realizing what you are doing Sflt?% %

HEIcunning,

unscrupulous MdfdlM From the name of Niccolo Machiavelli, an Italian politician (1469-1527), who explained in his book The Prince, that it was often necessary for rulers to use immoral methods in order to achieve power and success. M g   •

(1469-1527),

machination /.maBji'neiJn/ noun [usually pi.] {disap­proving) a secret and complicated plan ijtif BCITl

PLOT, INTRIGUE

machine /m0 jim/ noun, verb

mnoun 1 (often in compounds #      % if i^) a piece of

equipment with moving parts that is designed to do a particular job. The power used to work a machine may be electricity, steam, gas, etc. or human power. #11$; #1         ^ S : Machines have replaced human labour in

many industries. fEW-gfrik.A, tOIB^#ft7AAo o

to operate/run a machine M     0 How does this

machine work?      0 a washing/

sewing machine     machine for making

plastic toys  o Ileft a message on her

answering machine, fic   @ T Wo 0

The potatoes are planted by machine.

—see also voting machine 2 {informal) a particular machine, for example in the home, when you do not refer to it by its full name ( foJB& t&'A ) Just put those clothes in the machine

(= the washing machine).

To 0 The new machines (= computers) will be shipped next month.  3 a group of

people that control an organization or part of an organ­ization (   the president’s propaganda

machine       a#lET 4 (often disapproving) a person

who acts automatically, without allowing their feelings to show or to affect their work UlMffc^ A ( [MA®. f^'tf T^hSI ) — see also fruit machine, mechanical,

SLOT MACHINE, TIME MACHINE liljlU YOU will find other compounds ending in machine at their place in the alphabet. ^[&tU machine          ^illof£#4^4

E333seecoG

■ verb {technical A iK) to make or shape sth with a machine (       [VN] This material

can be cut and machined easily.

W#illlXjfcS!0 [also V]

ma1 chine code (also ma chine language) noun [C, U] {computing if) a code in which instructions are written in the form of numbers so that a computer can under­stand and act on them

ma1 chine gun noun a gun that automatically fires many bullets one after the other very quickly