1232
children roll along the ground
in a game ( 3$ if! )
3
marbles [U] a game played with marbles Three boys were
playing marbles.
4
marbles [pi.] (informal) a way of referring to
sb’s intelligence or mental ability Jfi3f ; fj ■. He's losing
his marbles (=
he’s not behaving in a sensible way).
ffeistr „
' marble cake noun [U] a cake with a
pattern, made by baking two different mixtures together A, 3® fill II ( M
marbled /'maibld; NAmE 'mairbld/ adj. having the colours
and/or patterns of marble fr A3 ( sfijfc
Ifc ) (ft: marbled wallpaper
marbling /'maiblir); NAmE 'mairb-/ noun [U] the method of
decorating sth with a pattern that looks like marble
W;
marc /mark; /M/r?£ marrk/ noun 1 [u, sing.] the
substance left after grapes have
been pressed to make wine ( f|
2[U,
C] a strong
alcoholic drink made from this
substance
marcasite
/'markasait;
-zirt; NAmE 'marrk-/ noun [C, U] a yellow semi-precious stone used in jewellery £3
m )
March
0-ir /maitj*;
NAmEmairtJV noun [U, C] (abbr. Mar.) the 3rd month of the
year, between February and April H H HT3I2I To see how March is
used, look at the examples at April. * March ftHJEis]& April TWi $]„ iT»T71 see mad
march 0-w /martj; NAmE marrtJ/ verb, noun
m verb 1 [usually +adv./prep.] to walk with stiff
regular steps like a soldier ffM: [V] Soldiers were
marching up and down outside
the government buildings.
A«*h M* @ m >1 PAMtritto 0 Quick march! (= the order to start
marching) ( 0 [VN]
They marched 20 miles to reach the capital. ftMllfr
itt T 20 M A 3\ If IP o 2 [V +adv./prep.] to walk somewhere
quickly in a determined way ( )
Mitt,
itt A: She
marched over to me and demanded an apology, mm® Mum, 3[vu+adv./
prep.] to force sb to walk
somewhere with you jjtMfr; @iS ( 3£A') — The guards marched the
prisoner
away. H £ If If 13 2E ^ if T „ 4 [V] to walk
through the streets in a large group in order to protest about sth ff iKEXE] demonstrate IT»TOI
get your 'marching orders (BrE, informal) to be ordered to leave
a place, a job, etc. MUIR give sb their
'marching orders (informal) to order sb to leave a
place, their job, etc. ^4-^A^JF; MU U!T:VJ .march 'on to move on or pass
quickly M&ffM;
Time marches on and we still have not made a decision.
MUclil 'march on...
to march to a place to
protest about sth or to attack it ft'-fritt ( ) : Several thousand
people marched on City Hall. A '/!
ft E? It
itt Ar
■ noun 1 [C] an organized walk by many people from
one place to another, in order to protest about sth, or to express their
opinions tk ffl ff ; t/C iX ff : protest marches ir[ iSC M ff o to go on a march itt ffm j£ W ff
—
compare demonstration(I) 2 [C] an act of
marching; a journey made by marching ff itt; ff%: The army began
their long march to the coast. MIA/Hr 7jMlftft'/&MKftj£j£ffr^o 3 [sing.] the ~ of sth the steady development
or forward movement of sth ft
ft/ttfjitt: the march of
progress/technology/ time7fift«; ft ; Wftftjt#
4
[C] a piece of music written for marching
to itt tr ft: a funeral march P IL itt ff ft ITSTTC1 on the 'march marching somewhere ft jf^ A; ft ff itt ft; ft itt H ft: The enemy are
on the march. St A IE itt ff % ft»
more at steal v.
march er /'martj'a(r); NAmE ‘mairtj-/ noun a person who is taking
part in a march as a protest $Iff 7$,#; frii^ $|ff# EXE] DEMONSTRATOR 'marching band noun [C+sing./pl. v] a group of musicians
who play while they are marching ff itt Ss
[A;
'marching season noun (in
)
mar
chion ess /.maija'nes;
NAmE ,ma:rJ-/ noun 1 a woman who has the
rank of a marquess A ff 2 the
wife of a marquess f^^ AA
— compare marquise 'march past noun [sing] a ceremony in which
soldiers march past an important person, etc. AM A ( '7
AM PA ifiMj^fela ) HE] PARADE
Mardi
Gras /,ma:di 'gra:; NAmE 'mairdi gra:/ noun [U] (from French) the day before the
beginning of Lent, celebrated as a holiday in some countries, with music and
dancing in the streets lEUftM#]—, if (
A^r Mftiu—A ) — compare Shrove
Tuesday mare /mea(r); NAmE mer/ noun a female horse or donkey # a,; # — compare brood
mare, filly,
stallion mmi a 'mare’s nest 1 a discovery that seems
interesting but is found to have no value ( # M M @ ffi ) very complicated situation %
mimmm
margarine
/,ma:d30'ri:n; NAmE 'ma:rd30ran/ (also BrE informal marge /ma:d3; NAmE ma:rd3/) noun [U] a yellow substance
like butter made from animal or vegetable fats, used in cooking or spread on
bread, etc. A
marga rita /.maiga'riita; NAmE ,ma:rg-/ noun an alcoholic drink
made by mixing fruit juice with tequila
margin
/'ma:d3in; NAmE 'ma:rd3an/ noun [C] 1 the empty space at the
side of a written or printed page iff ^3 ; S itt: the left-hand/right-hand
margin A / £ M
0 a
narrow/wide margin ^ / %
$ S ii o notes scribbled in the margin
M^^lttAjiAW^iE 2
[usually sing.]
the
amount of time, or number of votes, etc. by which sb wins sth ( ) 16
MWi, Wl f£: He won by a narrow
margin. {% IM '0.
/fr Itt o 0 She beat the other
runners by a
margin often seconds. Aftfe
3 (business fgf) = profit margin: What are your average operating margins? if
M
O a gross margin of 45%
*
45% ij 4 [usually sing.] an extra amount of sth such as time,
space, money, etc. that you include in order to make sure that sth is
successful ( ^c$1bL Ml# ) :
a safety margin ^ The narrow gateway left me
little margin for error as I
reversed the car. Hp||f, —see also margin of error 5 (formal) the extreme edge or
limit of a place jfLWr, ® ;
W- PH : the eastern margin of the
not included in the main
part of a group or situation & HEI fringe: people living on the margins of
society A 7 (AustralE, NZE)
an amount that is added
to a basic wage, paid for special skill or responsibility ( ) If A if
tt, mmm
margin al /'ma:d3inl;
NAmE 'ma:rd3-/ adj., noun m adj. 1 small and not
important A03; M^
5
^ slight : a marginal improvement
in
weather conditions A H 0 The story will
only be of marginal
interest to our readers.
6
M'J i1 ^ ^ /S5 A S o 2 not part of a main or
important group or situation #
± $■ ft ; lit (ft : marginal groups in
society
fh tt ±»rtff if 3 (politics
$&)
(especially BrE) won or lost by a very
small number of votes and therefore very important or interesting as an
indication of public opinion ( bJc
Af& )
ft; j: a marginal seat/constituency i£tf
/ i^K 4 [only before noun] written in the margin
of