Oo

O /au; NAmE ou/ noun, exclamation m noun (also o) {pi. Os, O’s, o’s /auz; NAmE ouz/) 1 [C, U] the 15th letter of the English alphabet 15 X

‘Orange’ begins with (an) 0/‘0\ * orange —

# o JF ^ „    2 used to mean ‘zero’ when saying tele­phone numbers, etc. (          My

number is six o double three {= 6033).

HH0 -r- see also O grade, O level m exclamation (especially literary) = oh o* /a/ prep, used in written English to represent an informal way of saying of (         'tV ft# of (ft#

) : a couple o’ times /l A

oaf /auf; NAmE oof/ noun a stupid, unpleasant or awkward person, especially a man JR, MU, ^ M { X fa I! A ) : Mind that cup, you clumsy oaf!

► oaf-ish ad/.

oak /auk; /V/Amf ouk/ noun 1 [C, u) (also 'oak tree) a large tree that produces small nuts called acorns. Oaks are common in northern countries and can live to be hundreds of years old.  : a gnarled old oak

tree    o forests of oak and pine #

— see also poison oak 2 [U] the hard wood of the oak tree ft A; % A: oak beams $ A M 0 This table is made of solid oak.         Jib!    ^ A fll „

IT»TO1 great/tall ,oaks from little acorns grow (saying) something large and successful often begins in a very small way

oaked /aukt; NAmE ouktI adj. (of wine fj M M) with a taste like smoke, because of having been stored in wooden containers made of oak (

ffi ) MltnAltt

oaken /'aukan; NAmE 'oukan/ adj. [only before noun] Cliterary) made of oak HA ; HAft'l ft (ft oakum /'aukam; /MmE 'oukam/ noun [U] a material obtained by pulling old rope to pieces, a job done in the past by prisoners MU, MM (   )

OAP /,au ei 'pi:; NAmE ,ou/ noun [BrE, becoming old-fashioned) the abbreviation for old-age pensioner old-age pensioner )

oar /o:(r)/ noun a long pole with a flat blade at one end that is used for rowing a boat   He pulled as

hard as he could on the oars. fife#f^pftk^l]^0 —picture o page R.3 —compare paddle n.(l) ITiTTCl put/stick your 'oar in {BrE, informal) to give your opinion, advice, etc. without being asked and when it is probably not wanted      ftli—flAEEC] interfere

oarlock /'a:k)k; NAmE 'oirlaik/ noun {NAmE) = row- lock

oarsman /'aizman; NAmE 'p:rz-/, oars woman /'o:z- wuman; NAmE 'oirz-/ noun {pi. -men /-man/, -women /-wimin/) a person who rows a boat, especially as a member of a crew (= team) %=$-■, $J^ A; ( XAn ) #J

OAS /.au ei 'es; NAmE ,ou/ abbr. {CahE) old age security oasis /au'eisis; NAmE ou-/ noun {pi oases /-si:z/) 1 an area in the desert where there is water and where plants grow ( f/A (ft ) MM 2 a pleasant place or period of time in the middle of sth unpleasant or diffi­cult (   ( mtnI ) ; AAV A*

mn haven : an oasis of calm A ft £KJ       M 0 a green

oasis in the heart of the city

oast house /‘oust haus; NAmE ‘oust/ noun {especially BrE) a building made of bricks with a round roof that was built to contain an oven used for drying hops ( n#M

VL ) i&AS

oat /aut; NAmE out/ adj. [only before noun] made from or containing oats $E^f|!] $j;   : oat cakes

o oat bran   — see also oatmeal

oat-cake /‘autkeik; NAmE ‘out-/ noun a Scottish biscuit made with oats, which is not sweet (

w) mam

oater /‘auta(r); NAmE ‘outar/ noun {NAmE, informal) a film/movie about life in the western US in the 19th century ( lit 19

oath /au0; NAmE ou0/ noun {pi. oaths /audz; NAmE ouQz/) 1 a formal promise to do sth or a formal statement that sth is true tf; Hf W: to take/swear an oath of alle­giance f     o Before giving evidence, witnesses in

court have to take the oath (= promise to tell the truth). WvEZW,      2 {old-fashioned)

an offensive word or phrase used to express anger, surprise, etc.; a swear word (       t§i#^£ft ) %

^, iS. % Eft if: She heard the sound of breaking glass, followed by a muttered oath. M Vf f/ W     Eft 0$ r, \k

naan on/under 'oath {law #) having made a formal promise to tell the truth in court ( /E JH± ) it Iff ^ , J£j|[1ff: Is she prepared to give

evidence on oath ? M M M m. Iff U ^ ft iiE p ? 0 The judge reminded the witness that he was still under oath. If iisiiiEA,

oat-meal /'autmiil; NAmE 'out-/ noun [u] 1 flour made from crushed oats, used to make biscuits/cookies, PORRIDGE, etc.    aBEfgA 2 {NAmE) = porridge(I)

3 a pale brown colour $5      ; iA fe ; M M

► oat-meal adj.: . an oatmeal carpet — oats /auts; NAmE outs/ noun [pi.] grain grown in cool countries as food for animals and for making flour, porridge/oatmeal, etc. 3rH ^ —picture o cereal — see also oat IRTl see sow1 ob-bli-gato {NAmE also ob-li-gato) /.Dbli'gaitau; NAmE ,a:bli'ga:tou/ noun {pi. -os) {music H) (from Italian) an important part for an instrument in a piece of music which cannot be left out        jfJj#

obdurate /'nbdjarat; NAmE 'aibdar-/ adj. {formal, usually disapproving) refusing to change your mind or your actions in any way

stubborn ► ob-dur-acy /'Dbdjarasi; NAmE 'aibdar-/ noun [U] ob-dur-ate-ly adv.

OBE /,au bi: 'i:; NAmE ,ou/ noun the abbreviation for ‘Officer of the Order of the British Empire’ (an award given in Britain for a special achievement)

Officer of the

Order of the British Empire,      w

M ) : She was made an OBE.      SWIfepMo

o Matthew Silk OBE

obedi ent /a'biidiant/ adj. ~ (to sb/sth) doing what you are told to do; willing to obey     ; J&JKM; if

M. W ; cm obedient child n/f it W ^ ^ 0 He was always obedient to his father’s wishes, fife—‘        A:5£^l$!c)jSo

Pnra disobedient ► obedi-ence /-ans/ noun [U] ~ (to sb/ sth): blind/complete/unquestioning/total obedience o He has acted in obedience to the law. ftfe Ji $c 'A ff ♦ (ft 0 obedl-ent-ly adv. IR71 your obedient servant (old use) used to end a formal letter (       ) «)®W#A

obei-sance /au'beisns; NAmE ou'biisns/ noun (formal) 1 [U] respect for sb/sth or willingness to obey sb M #; M- W; &HH; M/A 2 [C] the act of bending your head or the upper part of your body in order to show respect for sb/sth          mmi