Nn

N /en/ noun, abbr.

mnoun (also n) {pi. Ns, N’s, n’s /era/) 1 [C, U] the 14th letter of the English alphabet ;$b ig-^ # A H 14 A A ‘Night’ begins with (an) N/‘N\ * night — n

TFA0 2 [U] (mathematics $£) used to represent a number whose value is not mentioned i A 7 A /£ ) : The

equation is impossible for any value of n greater than 2. &A^*47ftfaA7 2       —see also

NTH

uabbr. 1 (NAmE also No.) north; northern itff ( #J ) ;

B ) : N Ireland    2 newton(s) ft1® ( A

BAft )

n. abbr. noun £is]

n/a abbr. 1 not applicable (- used on a form as an answer to a question that does not apply to you) ( H ) AHA, A ii ¥ 2 not available &

w; ftmm

NAACP /,en dAbal ,ei si: 'pi:/ abbr. National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (an organiza­tion in the US that works for the rights of African Americans) £BWfeA#1M£ ( HIS—HAA&HUR ) NAAFI /'naefi/ noun [sing.] the abbreviation for ‘Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes’ (an organization which provides shops and places to eat for British soldiers) ffiAAtfrA ( ANavy, Army and Air Force Institutes,

naan noun [u] = nan2

naar-tjie /'na:tji; NAmE 'na:rtji/ noun (SAfrE) a type of small orange with a loose skin that you can remove easily

nab /naeb/ verb (-bb-) [VN] (informal) 1 to catch or arrest sb who is doing sth wrong 1$ ft ; ^ ^ ii If ffn collar : He was nabbed by the police for speeding, ft Hilfr9£l&Tf^iift7o 2 to take or get sth       $

J&: Who’s nabbed my drink? it^fjTflc nabob /'neibnb; NAmE -ba:b/ noun 1 a Muslim ruler or officer in the Mogul empire (  )

line's'M2 a rich or important person UfE; ^A

nachos /'naetjauz; NAmE -tjouz/ noun [pi.] (from Spanish) a Mexican dish of crisp pieces of tortilla served with beans, cheese, spices, etc.  7

nadir /’neidi0(r); NAmE -dir/ noun [sing.] (formal) the worst moment of a particular situation

: the nadir of his career ft^ikft WfS; £r 0 Com­pany losses reached their nadir in 1999. * 1999 AAHB

nm&m      um zenith

nae /nei/ det. (Scoff) no A;; t&A: We have nae money.

► nae adv.: It’s nae (= not) bad. TEAfEo naff /naef/ adj. [BrE, informal) lacking style, taste, quality, etc. A#fefltl;     There was a naff

band playing. nag /naag/ verb, noun

m verb (-gg-) ~ (at sb) 1 to keep complaining to sb about their behaviour or keep asking them to do sth n§ Bh; A ft-ft ft 3$ pester: [V] Stop nagging—I’ll do it as soon as I can. $i]  0 [VN to inf]

She had been nagging him to paint the fence. ft -* M n# BT,       To [also VN] 2 to worry or irri­tate you continuously A ®t ® ft;       [v]A

feeling of unease nagged at her. —jllSft lrft0 0 [VN] Doubts nagged me all evening. ^

■ noun (old-fashioned, informal) a horse ^ nagana /na'gaina/ noun [U] {EAfrE) a serious illness that cows can get from a type of fly (= a tsetse fly)

muamm ()

nag ging /’naegir)/ od/. [only before noun] 1 continuing for a long time and difficult to cure or remove £■] H A ft

W; *1W If W: a nagging pain/doubt M ID, Jg W ^

Ml fFM 2 complaining    ft2SB;     a

nagging voice

nah /na:/ exclamation {slang) = no exclam. naiad /'naiaed/ noun {pi. naiads or nai ades /-di:z/) (in ancient stories       a water spirit SPEW# ( zjc#

ft# )

nail (Hr /neil/ noun, verb

m noun 1 a thin hard layer covering the outer tip of the fingers or toes 4s ¥; &h¥: Stop biting your nails! #i] p£ 4a ¥ ! o nail clippers 4s ¥ H — picture c> body — see also fingernail, toenail 2 a small thin pointed piece of metal with a flat head, used for hanging things on a wall or for joining pieces of wood together IT; IT 7: She hammered the nail in. ft4ElT7i§£7i#Ao —picture

0                  tool — compare screw n.(l), tack n.(3) ITTO1 a nail

in sb’s/sth’s 'coffin something that makes the end or failure of an organization, sb’s plans, etc. more likely to happen   on the 'nail

{BrE, informal) (of payment # tfc) without delay %; Sj ± ; A A ft ft : They’re good customers who always payonthenail.mn&ft±m, WftAlMo —more

at FIGHT V., HARD adj., HIT V., TOUGH adj.

■ verb [VN] 1 to fasten sth to sth with a nail or nails ( H IT 7 ) IT A, IUae-: I nailed the sign to a tree. ft 41ft 7: W IT T'J 7 — 41ft ± c 2 {informal) to catch sb and prove they are guilty of a crime or of doing sth bad vE

Mft: The police haven’t been able to nail the killer. If ATE'S AM?1] 7A BA o 3 {informal) to prove that sth is not true vEW ••• A1SI5; il;       We

must nail this lie. ft ft) — 4 {NAmE,

informal) to achieve sth or do sth right, especially in sport ( A4b^WjS^i7 ) $4#, MU, ^7: He nailed a victory in the semi-finals.    fit „

IT»T7?1 nail your colours to the mast {especially BrE) to say publicly and firmly what you believe or who you support £TT!1l^; iM-AU ,nail sth~’down

1                  to fasten sth down with a nail or nails ( A IT 7 )

4A--ITA, 4A--HIaE 2 to reach an agreement or a deci­sion, usually after a lot of discussion J$--SC; fT fh ^ ^: All the parties seem anxious to nail down a cease­fire.       ,nail sb-'down

(to sth) to force sb to give you a definite promise or tell you exactly what they intend to do ilfil0Tlfi$if£iiE ( ^ A lit ft k A ) Pin PIN DOWN : She says she’ll come, but I can’t nail her down to a specific time.

A, imftmikMM frit'Art,nailsth~'up 1 to fasten sth to a wall, post, etc. with a nail or nails fflfT7#-B£3J (   tt7±^ ) 2 to put nails into

a door or window so that it cannot be opened HIT7^4

ft,   )

'nail bar noun a place where you can pay to have your nails shaped, coloured and made more attractive H

¥ J£ ^

'nail-biting adj. [usually before noun] making you feel very excited or anxious because you do not know what is going to happen 4-A^J^AiW; ^AjSS&W: a nail-biting finish 4“A4!7'W£n^ 0 It’s been a nail-biting couple of weeks waiting for my results. & W A S $! ^

A,        hA^Co

'nail brush noun a small stiff brush for cleaning your nails 4h ¥ @J — picture o brush 'nail clippers noun [pi.] a small tool for cutting the nails on your fingers and toes 4h ¥ It; 4h ¥ 7J — picture o SCISSORS

'nail file noun a small metal tool with a rough surface for shaping your nails 4h ¥ ^ — see also emery board 'nail polish {BrE also 'nail varnish) noun [U] clear or coloured liquid that you paint on your nails to make them look attractive 4a ¥ rft ; fit ¥ fA : nail polish/ varnish remover $fc¥ A

nail scissors noun [pi.] small scissors that are usually curved, used for cutting the nails on your fingers and toes 4a ¥17 a pair of nail scissors —4E4a ¥ M naive (also naive) /nai'i:v/ adj. 1 (disapproving) lacking experience of life, knowledge or good judgement and willing to believe that people always tell you the truth fcfrflfKj;  to be politically

naive X4i$C4p—      0 I can’t believe you were so naive