mer-maid /'m3:meid; NAmE 'm3:rm-/ noun (in stories) a creature with a woman’s head and body, and a fish’s tail instead of legs ( 'f#i&+65 ) HA& merman /’m3:maen; NAmE ‘m3:r-/ noun [pi -men /-men/) (in stories) a creature with a man’s head and body and a fish’s tail instead of legs, like a male mermaid (

+ 65 ) A&

merrily /'merali/ ndv. 1 in a happy, cheerful way ^ A life; 'tli 'ft : They chatted merrily. # Ml H <>

2 without thinking about the problems that your actions might cause. g M U Afa; ^gaily: She carried on merrily, not realizing the offence she was causing.

merri ment /'merimant/ noun [U] [formal) happy talk, enjoyment and the sound of people laughing fK.EE; j® Jfc.% BQ3 JOLLITY, MIRTH

merry /'meri/ ad/. (merrier, merriest) 1 happy and cheerful Ml65; SCI cheery : a merry grin

Mi 'fcfe 65 % ' o note at cheerful 2 Merry Christmas used at Christmas to say that you hope that sb has an enjoyable holiday ( 3 (informal,

especially BrE) slightly drunk W g? HT1 tipsy ntTBl make 'merry (old-fashioned) to enjoy yourself by singing, laughing, drinking, etc. 1?^ the .more

the 'merrier (saying) the more people or things there are, the better the situation will be or the more fun people will have j@

‘Can I bring a friend to your party?’ ‘Sure—the more the merrier!’

’’ — more at EAT, hell, lead¹ v. merry-go-round noun 1 (also car-ousel especially in NAmE) (BrE also round-about) a round platform with model horses, cars, etc. that turns around and around and that children ride on at a fairground tfc ft A — picture o roundabout 2 (NAmE) = roundabout(2)

3 continuous busy activity or a continuous series of

changing events — & $ 65 JR tf: fS 36; flW) M 3£:

He was tired of the merry-go-round of romance and longed to settle down. 65JMb5#, 'M

M$J£T&o '

merry-mak-ing /'merimeikir)/ noun [u] (literary) fun and enjoyment with singing, laughing, drinking, etc. ti5fc B03 revelry

mesa /'meisa/ noun [pi. mesas) a hill with a flat top and steep sides that is common in the south-west of the US M7UA Alii ( M7HHMSP ) mes cal /‘meskael; me'skael/ noun = peyote(I) mesca line (also mes-ca-lin) /'meskalin/ noun [u] a drug obtained from a type of cactus, that affects people’s minds and makes them see and hear things that are not really there fill ( AMlllA

#+n#65miM)

mesh /meS/ noun, verb

m noun 1 [U, C] material made of threads of plastic rope or wire that are twisted together like a net '[#Mjt#/;

: wire mesh over the door of the cage A

65 fjc M W] 2 [C, usually sing.] a complicated situation or system that it is difficult to escape from P@ §#; @ ;

IIS EEEJweb

m verb [formal) 1 ~ (sth) (with sth) | ~ (sth) (together) to fit

together or match closely, especially in a way that works well; to make things fit together successfully

( ) "toil, ill ft!: ffiBd, iSS: [V] This evidence

meshes with earlier reports of an organized riot.. j&—il:

mmo ivnj m_s

theories mesh together various political and religious beliefs.

J ₀ 2 [V] [technical Ain) (of parts of a machine

j+) to fit together as they move ng S: If the cogs don’t

mesh correctly, the gears will keep slipping. tlP A a* A A

mn&mo

mes-mer-ic /mez'merik/ adj. [usually before noun] [formal) having such a strong effect on people that they cannot give their attention to anything else A65;

65 Kill hypnotic

mes-mer-ize [BrE also -ise) /‘mezmaraiz/ verb [vn] [usually passive] to have such a strong effect on you that you cannot give your attention to anything else ;

fJ&'jl PBOT fascinate ► mes-mer-iz-ing, -is-ing adj. . Her performance was mesmerizing. M65 AMihAAii₀

meso morph /'mezamoif; 'mi:z-; NAmE -mo:rf/ noun [biology A) a person whose natural body shape is neither thin nor fat, with quite a lot of muscle

meso-phyll /'mezafil; 'mi:z-; BrE also 'mes-; mi:s-/ noun [U] [biology A) the material that the inside of a leaf is made of Uf$

meso sphere /’mez0sfi0(r); 'mi:z-; NAmE -sfir/ noun [usually sing.] the part of the earth’s atmosphere which is between 50 and 80 kilometres from the ground, between the stratosphere and the thermosphere

( A^f65 ) +WM

mes-quite /me'skirt; 'meskkt/ (also me'squite tree) noun a N American tree, often used for making charcoal for grilling food ( A T-JtH,

) : mesquite-grilled chicken

mess /mes/ noun, verb

m noun

4 UNTIDY STATE Ain 1 [C, usually sing.] a dirty or untidy

state Sri IS; A1£?n: The room was in a mess, jk

AjA|0]^SIA1So o The kids made a mess in the bathroom. 0 ‘ What a mess!’ she

said, surveying the scene after the party. ^£-/j§65'If

R, Mift: “jfclk—” 0 My hair’s a real mess! ^65A£A£l7o

5 DIFFICULT SITUATION 2 [C, usually sing.] a situation that is full of problems, usually because of a lack of organization or because of mistakes that sb has made

[mRXik^3kM)m®, ilii, M3L: The economy is in a mess. £2 $F P& A 7 E <> 0 I feel I’ve made a mess of things, r_o, <> The whole situation

is a mess. MA'IfSfPJi —0f®₀ 0 Let’s try to sort out the mess. ~ TSt/D^Eo 0 The biggest question

is how they got into this mess in the first place. Afll'nllS

6 PERSON K 3 [sing.] a person who is dirty or whose clothes and hair are not tidy A^in ( ^ciliSL AH3£ II ) 65 A: You’re a mess! f/pAiSiS! 4 [sing.] (informal) a person who has serious problems and is in a bad mental condition jfiiiJ^MlVJSJiilf IW;&Afi65A

7 ANIMAL WASTE ^ it 5 [U, C] [informal) the excrement (= solid waste matter) of an animal, usually a dog or cat ( *6j, *®#65 ) Mlt

8 A LOT A 7 6 [sing.] a ~ of sth [NAmE, informal) a lot of

sth AM: There’s a mess of fish down there, so get your lines in the water. l&Tf&lHEo

9 ARMED FORCES 3^^;A# 7 [C] (also 'mess hall especially

in NAmE!) a building or room in which members of the armed forces have their meals ( ^ PA65 ) #/T:

the officers’ mess

m verb

10 MAKE UNTIDY {$ A Win 1 [VN] [informal, especially NAmE)

to make sth dirty or untidy {£ A H ; # J®; # :

Careful—you’re messing my hair. A A' iA # $L 65

AA7₀

11 OF AN ANIMAL zjj #7 2 [V] to empty its bowels somewhere that it should not

IT»T771 ,no 'messing [informal) used to say that sth has been done easily ^A^A;

We finished in time, no messing. (ll A 7 A, M j$fh}“'^^,J^7 o not mess a'round [BrE also not mess a'bout) [informal) to do sth quickly, efficiently or in the right way AJtifg; - When

they decide to have a party they don’t mess around, J IJ5I=4!*J mess a'round (BrE also .mess a bout) 1 to behave in a silly and annoying way, especially instead of doing sth useful 6J] |A ; Hi |A . FY371 fool around : Will you stop messing around and get on with some work? $i]8S|Tf 7, A.&IF-M ♦ JLAff ⁿ%? 2 to spend time doing sth for pleasure in a relaxed way 31 M f=nt ifk ® A : We spent the day messing around on the river. J & M 31 $ 32 7 “ ^ A <,

mess a'round with sb [BrE also .mess a'bout with sb) to have a sexual relationship with sb, especially when you should not^jg; ig^A^t#;