Wl SI {ft agile : You need, nimble fingers for that job. A&fSfllcAtb-M.^j5o <> She was extremely nimble on her feet, ftfc #1 M # #] M ?£ o 2 (of the mind A ®) able to think and understand quickly SS&iSc® $J; tfiWt $} ► nim bly /'mmbli/ adv.

nimbo stratus /.mmbau'straitas; -’streitas; NAmE ,nim- boo'streitas; -'straetas/ noun (technical AifD a thick grey layer of low cloud, from which rain or snow often falls

MJHz?

nim bus /'mmbas/ noun (technical Ain) 1 [C, usually sing., U] a large grey rain cloud ( Aft (ft ) MA 2 [C, usually sing.] a circle of light

nimby /'nimbi/ noun [pi. -ies) (humorous, disapproving) a person who claims to be in favour of a new development or project, but objects if it is too near their home and will disturb them in some way

frhhciidi Formed from the first letters of ‘not in my back yard’, not in my back yard

nin com poop /'mrjkampuip/ noun [old-fashioned, informal) a stupid person AMftj-i-ftjA; \%ff

nine 0-w/nain/ number

9 fl iSiahJ There are examples of how to use numbers at the entry for five. five fTiTTTl have

nine ‘lives (especially of a cat Aja®) to be very lucky in dangerous situations W ; -pfrA a .nine days’

wonder a person or thing that makes people excited for a short time but does not last very long M%}-~Btl$ A ( ) .nine times out of 'ten almost

every time ft £ A jl; Ji ft & M:; H A g % IX: I’m always emailing her, but nine times out of ten she doesn’t reply. .nine

to 'five the normal working hours in an office IL&; IE'ffi'^^-N'10]: I work nine to five.

± M ₀ 0 a nine-to-five job — \9t M ft Hfc II(ft X ft the

whole .nine 'yards (informal, especially NAmE) everything, or a situation which includes everything — ijj;

When Dan cooks dinner he always goes the whole nine yards, with three courses and a choice of dessert, j⁵}- HIM, —more at

DRESSED, POSSESSION

nine-pins /'nainpinz/ noun 1171771 ,go down, .drop, etc. like 'ninepins (BrE, informal) to fall down or become ill/sick in great numbers AitjUft; A nineteen <H» /.nain'tiin/ number 19 A jl ► nine-teenth /,nain'ti:n0/ ordinal number, noun There are examples of how to use ordinal numbers at the entry for fifth. fifth

o ITSTTil talk, etc. nineteen to the dozen [BrE, informal) to talk, etc. without stopping She

was chatting away, nineteen to the dozen. itfe

lio

ninety o-w /-nainti/

1 number 90 A A 2 noun the nineties [pi.] numbers, years or temperatures from 90 to 99 A A Jt; ft A ft ft: The temperature must be in the nineties today. A A (ft jlAHo ► nine-ti-eth /’naintiaG/ ordinal

number, noun itldiJ There are examples of how to use ordinal numbers at the entry for fifth, ft JaL fifth 1171771 in your nineties between the ages of 90 and 99 * 90 ^ ^ .ninety-nine .times out of a 'hundred almost always Jlft&ftMft; ftft&JI: ning-nong /'nnj nog; NAmE nairj/ (also nong) noun [AustralE, NZE, informal) a stupid person A A; fJift ninja /'nmd30/ noun [pi. ninjas, ninja) (from Japanese) a person trained in traditional Japanese skills of fighting and moving quietly 0

iftA)

ninny /'nmi/ noun [pi. -ies) [old-fashioned, informal) a stupid person j|?ft ninth 0-w /nainG/ ordinal number, noun m ordinal number 9th % jl iildlJ There are examples of how to use ordinal numbers at the entry for fifth. fifth-*,

■ noun each of nine equal parts of sth jlfrxL—

nio-bium /nai'aubiam; NAmE -'ou-/ noun [U] [symb Nb) a chemical element. Niobium is a silver-grey metal used in steel alloys. Ug nip /nip/ verb, noun

■ verb (-pp-) 1 ~ (at sth) to give sb/sth a quick painful bite or pinch jg; Aft: [VN] He winced as

the dog nipped his ankle.

0 [V] She nipped at my arm. —

Mo 2 ~ (at sth) (of cold, wind, etc. MH. M#) to harm or damage sth ft tF; MU/ [V] The icy wind nipped at our faces. 31 M M ^ 7 fS flH M ₀ 0 [VN] growing shoots nipped by frost if ft ft 3 [V +adv./prep.] [BrE,

informal) to go somewhere quickly and/or for only a short time ftilA ( S3J3 pop: He’s

just nipped out to the bank. AUff T ₀ o A car

nipped in (= got in quickly) ahead of me. — lU^cBUffio IT»T7il nip sth in the ‘bud to stop sth when it has just begun because you can see that problems will come from it M

,nip sth^'off to remove a part of sth with your finger or with a tool fg A;

mnoun 1 the act of giving sb a small bite or pinch (= squeezing their skin between your finger and thumb) MPse; fg 2 [informal) a feeling of cold 3^; S£ M: There was a real nip in the air. $

Ho — see also nippy(2) 3 [informal) a small drink of strong alcohol

,nip and 'tuck adj., adv., noun

m adj., adv. [especially NAmE) = neck and neck at neck n.: The presidential contest is nip and tuck,

mnoun [informal) a medical operation in which skin is removed or made tighter to make sb look younger or more attractive, especially a facelift ©ft ( )

( Aft)

nip per /’nipa(r)/ noun [informal) a small child A® A nip-pie /'mpl/ noun 1 either of the two small round dark parts on a person’s chest. Babies can suck milk from their mother’s breasts through the nipples. % A — picture o body 2 [NAmE) = teat(1) 3 a small metal, plastic or rubber object that is shaped like a nipple with a small hole in the end, especially one that is used as part of a machine to direct oil, etc. into a particular place ILAAtlifp; ( a grease nipple

nippy /'mpi/ adj. 1 [BrE) able to move quickly and easily hFjW; Wl^: a nippy little sports car /\\Fj]%.&#)

A 2 (informal) (of the weather A'H) cold nir vana /ma'vaina; NAmE mr'v-/ noun [U] (in the religion of Buddhism WO the state of peace and happiness that a person achieves after giving up all personal desires )

Nis-sen hut /'msn hAt/ [BrE) [NAmE Quonset hut™) noun a shelter made of metal with curved walls and

roofM&AAffJfm&M

nit /nit/ noun 1 the egg or young form of a louse (= a small insect that lives in human hair) IIA W; ASIA 2 [BrE, informal) a stupid person AS 'nit-picking noun [U] [informal, disapproving) the habit of finding small mistakes in sb’s work or paying too much attention to small details that are not important MMJL ►'nit-picker noun 'nit-picking adj. ni-trate /'naitreit/ noun [U, C] [chemistry ft) a compound containing nitrogen and oxygen. There are several different nitrates and they are used especially to make soil better for growing crops,

We need to cut nitrate levels in water. A

ni tric acid /.naitrik 'aesid/ noun [u] [chemistry ft) [symb HN0₃) a powerful clear acid that can destroy most substances and is used to make explosives and other chemical products

ni-trify /'naitrifai/ verb (ni-tri-fies, ni-tri-fying, ni-tri-fied, ni-tri-fied) [chemistry ft) to change a substance into a compound that contains nitrogen ( ft ) 58 ft — see also NITRATE