nuclear fuel

1366

, nuclear 'fuel noun a substance that can be used as a source of nuclear energy because it is capable of

NUCLEAR FISSION

.nuclear 'fusion noun [u] = fusion(2)

.nuclear 'physics noun [u] the area of physics which deals with the nucleus of atoms and with nuclear energy (         ►.nuclear ' physicist noun

.nuclear 'power noun [u] = nuclear energy nuclear re'actor noun = reactor .nuclear 'waste noun [U] waste material which is radioactive, especially used fuel from nuclear power stations

.nuclear ‘winter noun a period without light, heat or growth which scientists believe would follow a nuclear

war^^^e (

)

nu cle ic acid /nju:,kli:ik 'aesid; -.klenk; NAmE mi:-/ noun [U] (chemistry it) either of two acids* DNA and RNA, that are present in all living cells nucleus /’njuiklias; NAmE 'mi:-/ noun (pi. nu-clei /-kliai/)

1                  (physics #j) the part of an atom that contains most of its mass and that carries a positive electric charge ^;

—see also neutron, proton 2 (biology A) the central part of some cells, containing the genetic material 3 the central part of sth around which

other parts are located or collected &      ^ 7': These

paintings will form the nucleus of a new collection, j&li:

mmmn0

nude /nju:d; NAmE nu:d/ adj., noun uadj. 1 (especially of a human figure in art AlaltAAit) not wearing any clothes |£#: |$ Rfin naked : a nude model            0 He asked me to pose nude for him.

lit if £pHtfe 11 # is o 2 involving people who are naked H         : a nude photograph If # M A o Are

there any nude scenes in the movie?

®r ? , 3 {NAmE) (of tights/pantyhose, etc. If skin-coloured $&$}

n noun a work of art consisting of a naked human figure; a naked human figure in art If #0; A^/lf VfYt i?n; $1 ifcXM: a bronze nude by Rodin 0 a reclining nude —  $j|f fijt Aft ITSTTH in the

'nude not wearing any clothes If H771 naked: She refuses to be photographed in the nude. M fM tfi ff

nudge /nAd3/ verb, noun

mverb 1 [VN] to push sb gently, especially with your elbow, in order to get their attention (

M: He nudged me and whispered, ‘Look who’s just come

in.’immmmrn-Tti^pi^. “«&A7o ”

2                  [VN +adv./prep.] to push sb/sth gently or gradually in

a particular direction (  He

nudged the ball past the goalie and into the net. fife$5l&

It, HA^U 0 She nudged me out of the way.   o (figurative) He nudged

the conversation towards the subject of money, fife#i&i$ 0 (figurative) She tried to nudge him into changing his mind (= persuade him to do it). M fit SI ft ft M IK fit gfc lilo 3 [+adv./prep.] to move forward by pushing with your elbow A: [VN] He nudged his way through the crowd, fife^j S& Uf          [also V] 4 [VN] to reach or make sth

reach a particular level ( fig ) iiiij., Hifi: Inflation is nudging 20%. it In B Jfc BP '& ii 3\ 20% 0 o This after­noon’s sunshine could nudge the temperature above freezing.

mnoun a slight push, usually with the elbow ( It nPfrd )

, 51: She gave me a gentle nudge in the ribs to tell

metoshutup.mmmMmr-ymm, itm&a0 o

(figurative) He can work hard but he needs a nudge now

and then.  0

IT»1?1 .nudge nudge, .wink ‘wink | a .nudge and a 'wink used to suggest sth to do with sex without actu­ally saying it ( BffgAMAWf- ) JI ASIA: They’ve been spending a lot of time together, nudge nudge, wink wink. fitflH

nudie /'njuidi; NAmE 'nu:-/ adj. (informal) showing or including people wearing no clothes Mz^lf #67 nudie photographs ft nud ism /'njuidizam; NAmE ’nu:-/ (also na-tur-ism espe­cially in BrE) noun [U] the practice of not wearing any clothes because you believe this is more natural and healthy If W±X (       )

nud ist /'nju:dist; NAmE 'mi:-/ (also na-turist especially in BrE) noun a person who does not wear any clothes because they believe this is more natural and healthy

!ff£±X#: a nudist beach/camp

nud ity /'njmdati; NAmE 'nu:-/ noun [U] the state of being naked ff ft.; ifc If: The committee claimed that there was too much nudity on television.

mft®mx&0

nuf-fin /'nAfin/ (also nuf-fink /'nAfnjk/) pron. (BrE, informal) nothing &AAH; &Aft £ nu-ga-tory /’nju:gatari; NAmE ’nu:gato:ri/ adj. (formal) having no purpose or value A @ W EtfJ; AfiifilEKJ HTfl WORTHLESS

nugget /‘nAgrt/ noun 1 a small lump of a valuable metal or mineral, especially gold, that is found in the earth     2 a small

round piece of some types of food (    ) /MU

if: chicken nuggets ^ |t] 3 a small thing such as an

idea or a fact that people think of as valuable WffrfS&fJ AAH; WffilttilS ( )       H33 SNIPPET: a useful

nugget of information H $jfiH nuis ance /‘nju:sns; NAmE ’nu:-/ noun 1 [C, usually sing.] a thing, person or situation that is annoying or causes trouble or problems ftM#; itKGflA ( ^11.) :

I don’t want to be a nuisance so tell me if you want to be

alone, mxmfxm,          0

3                  hope you’re not making a nuisance of yourself.

ft 'A W it A M o 0 It’s a nuisance having to go back tomorrow. A A % A 0 A , ^ M A 0     0 What a

nuisance!        ! 2 [C, U] (law W) behaviour by sb that

annoys other people and that a court can order the person to stop W A A A: He was charged with causing a public nuisance.

'nuisance value noun (BrE) a quality that makes sth useful because it causes problems for your opponents

nuke /nju:k/ verb, noun (informal) m verb [VN] to attack a place with nuclear weapons

Mi

m noun a nuclear weapon

null /nAl/ adj. (technical Ain) having the value zero Affi 6fJ;   a null result       ITiTOl null and

void (law W) (of an election, agreement, etc.      Vi

iX%?) having no legal force; not valid        A ; A

$St : The contract was declared null and void. -£• 0 IS

'null hypothesis noun (statistics HE it) the idea that an experiment that is done using two groups of people will show the same results for each group #f§ti£, fX

nul lify /'nAhfai/ verb (nul-li-fies, nul-li fy ing, nul-li-fied, nul-li-fied) [VN] (formal) 1 to make sth such as an agree­ment or order lose its legal force J^li:

Sail invalidate : Judges were unwilling to nullify government decisions.   t ffl A B M ± Wi  ^» 2 to

make sth lose its effect or power A negate : An unhealthy diet will nullify the effects of training.

nullity /'nAlati/ noun [sing.] (formal or law W) the fact of sth, for example a marriage, having no legal force or no longer being valid; something which is no longer

valid Afe#ffjmA;

numb /nAm/ adj., verb

a adj. 1 if a part of your body is numb, you cannot feel anything in it, for example because of cold 0 A (ft; A to be/go numb ft A; AA£fl:E 0 numb with cold Ail O I’ve just been to the dentist and my face is still numb. mMA#7 AH, "JL

4                  unable to feel, think or react in the normal way ft A ; ifi 1$ 1$ ; M W : He felt numb with shock, fife

A 7 o — see also numbing ► numb ly adv.: Her life