— compare manslaughter
2 [U]
(informal) used to describe sth
that is difficult or unpleasant it
1A $1 ♦: It’s murder trying to get to the
airport at this time of day. &X&f!j„ 0 It was murder (= very busy and
unpleasant) in
the office today.
rraini get away with 'murder (informal, often humorous) to do whatever you
want without being stopped or punished (
#7 ft
♦ffl ) A# — more at scream v. s verb [VN] 1 to kill sb deliberately and illegally lX|
: He denies murdering his wife’s lover,
life SiA iR ^ T A (ft If Ao 0 The murdered woman was well known in the area.
tk&WtfjfcAtE&XttklKffifl&Ho
2 to
spoil sth because you do not do it very well HI; IS its # ft dm
butcher : Critics accused him of murdering
the English language (= writing or speaking
it very badly), 7o 3 (BrE, informal)
to defeat sb completely,
especially in a team sport ( X fTi# mn thrash cgja 1 could murder a ... (informal, especially BrE) used to say that you
very much want to eat or drink sth ( ni ) : I could murder a beer. ^ ^ 'M o
sb will ’murder you (informal) used to warn sb that
another person will be very angry with them ^ A^f?
fcflMIr
murderer /'m3idara(r); NAmE 'm3:rd-/ noun a person who has
killed sb deliberately and illegally ^ A3B; 7; A 1*1 ^ killer
: a convicted murderer P tHj
0
a mass murderer (= who has killed a
lot of
people)
murderess /'m3:dares; NAmE ’m3:rd-/ noun (old- fashioned) a woman who has
killed sb deliberately and illegally; a female murderer &A&A3E; A^J¥; murderous /'m3:daras; NAmE ‘m3:rd-/ adj. intending or likely
to murder HMW; B<l ^ (ft; i
PCT71
savage: a murderous
villain/tyrant /
US
0
a murderous attack |X|3S£fti8::i& 0 She gave him a murderous look (= a very angry one).
BEL ►murderous ly adv.
murk /m3:k; NAmE m3:rk/ noun (usually the murk) [U] darkness caused by smoke, fog, etc. Rffflf; #Bf HE!
GLOOM
murky /'m3:ki; NAmE 'm3:rki/ adj. (murk-ier,
murki-est)
1
(of a liquid
$£#:) not clear; dark or dirty with mud or another substance #yU(ft; '?5'/U(ft EEEJ cloudy: She gazed into the murky depths of the water.
2
(of air, light, etc. ft%£) dark and
unpleasant because of smoke, fog, etc. # Bf (ft ; Rfi Bf (ft; BB (ft: a murky night # (ft ft 3 (disapproving or humorous) (of people’s actions
or character A (ft
$J) not clearly known and suspected of not being
honest fllflSftJ; ^BAoJIJIft: He had a somewhat murky past. S (ftMAo 0 the murky
world of arms dealing HHf (iWA4;§c murmur /'m3:ma(r); NAmE 'm3:rm-/ verb, noun m verb 1 to say sth in a
soft quiet voice that is difficult to hear or understand [VN] She murmured
her agreement. 0
He murmured
some
thing in his sleep, life & BS ^ jg f£t 7 ft* k 0
0 [V] She was
murmuring in his ear. 0
[also V
speech,
V
that] 2 [V] to make a quiet
continuous sound /£ ^ ft} M (ft ^: The wind murmured in the trees.
3 [V] ~ (against sb/sth) (literary) to complain about
sb/sth, but not openly ( % T ) k £§
m, wm
m noun 1 [C] a quietly
spoken word or words nin&
p: She answered in a faint murmur. 0
Murmurs
of ‘Praise God’ went around the circle. |S][§I(ftA
2 [C] (also mur-murings [pi.]) a quiet
expression of feeling ^ ft# ; PA : a murmur of
agreement/approval/complaint /
|W] / f&3S(ftf&Tfi r o He paid the extra cost without a murmur (= without
complaining at all).
# 7 (ft Vi $ o 0 polite murmurings of gratitude ^
It! 3
(also
murmuring) [sing.] a low
continuous sound in the background Si£M.JZS&h.f£^(ft
l&ftilft^ er: the distant murmur of traffic A nf ^ P 4 [C]
(medical @E) a faint sound in
the
I 1319
chest, usually a sign of
damage or disease in the heart ( )
&#: a
heart murmur
Murphy's
Law /,m3:fiz ‘lo;; NAmE ,m3:rfiz/ noun (humorous) a statement of the
fact that, if anything can possibly go wrong, it will go wrong IiJ ( iA X ii
mmmzmmm)
murram /‘mAram/ noun [u] a type of reddish
soil that is often used to make roads in
ii±
Mus
ca det /‘mAskadei;
'musk-/ noun [U, C] a type of dry
white French wine (
mus cat /'mAskaet/ noun [U, C] 1 a type of wine, especially
a strong sweet white wine $f ( Xjn^W
S ) 2 a type of grape which can be eaten
or used to make wine or raisins
mwx)
mus ca tel /.mAska'tel/ (also mus-ca-deile, mus ca
/-'
u noun 1 [C, U] a piece of
body tissue that you contract and
relax in order to move a particular part of the body; the tissue that forms the muscles of the
body Ul ft; 111: a calf/neck/thigh muscle /Jv®| /WM/ All ft 0 to pull/tear/strain a muscle j\L$j I
W\M. I
ffl^Ulft 0 This exercise will work the muscles of
the lower back.
2 [U] physical strength $■/]: He’s an intelligent player but
lacks the muscle of older competitors.
Jll A (ft , U iP ^ At 6(1 # A o 3
[U] the power and influence to make others do what you want A; J$c fg; 1/ H|rI A: to exercise
political/industrial/financial muscle jg ^ ®[$'/.}** ik ill If & ift X ► muscled adj.:
heavily muscled shoulders # # ® At (ft /ft M see flex v.
mverb muscle 'in (on
sb/sth) (informal, disap
proving) to involve yourself in a situation when you have no
right to do so, in order to get sth for yourself
'muscle-bound adj. having large stiff
muscles as a result of too much exercise ( )
JUlftfi
±mm
muscle-man /'mAslmaen/ noun (pi. -men /-men/) a big strong
man, especially one employed to protect sb/sth
urn-,
mus co vado /.mAska'vaidau; NAmE -dou/ (also .muscovado 'sugar) noun [U] a type of dark
sugar with a strong flavour M;
muscu lar /'mAskjal9(r)/ adj. 1 connected with the
muscles 111 ft & A muscular tension/power/tissue UL ft %. A./
A it/ MIR 2 (also informal muscly /' mAsli/j having large
strong muscles Ul ft ^ ji (ft : a
muscular body/build/chest ^
/ W ; EftA
)A Ug g|5 o He was tall, lean and muscular. (U itj $1 It
ftl, MiWAo
muscular dystrophy /.mAskjala 'distrafi; NAmE -lar/ noun [U] a medical
condition that some people are born with in which the muscles gradually become
weaker
Ul^fAFU.; Blft‘H*t
muscu lat ure /'mAskjalatJa(r)/ noun [u, sing.] (biology A) the system of
muscles in the body or part of the body Eft
muse /mjuiz/
noun, verb
m noun 1 a person or spirit
that gives a writer, painter, etc. ideas and the desire to create things ( ft‘$jL,
MM INSPIRATION: He
felt that his muse had deserted him (= that he could no
longer write, paint, etc.). S A A 0
2 Muse (in ancient Greek and
Roman stories) one of the nine goddesses
who encouraged poetry, music and other branches of art and literature
-kWX—
)
u verb (formal) 1 [V] ~ (about/on/over/upon sth) to think
carefully about sth for a time, ignoring what is