'pen-pusher
(especially BrE) (NAmE usually 'pencil- pusher) noun (informal, disapproving) a person with a
boring job, especially in an office, that involves a lot of writing X#
pen sion1 On /’penfn/ noun, verb — see also pension2 m noun an amount of money
paid regularly by a government or company to sb who is considered to be too
old or too ill/sick to work il fa to
receive an old-age/a
retirement pension /
ioa disability/widow’s
pension 0 a
state pension O to live on a pension fiiifa
o to take out a personal/private
pension A / 0 a pension
fund ilfaifeSEjiz
mverb Idiif-iyi .pension sb 'off (especially BrE) [usually passive] to allow or force sb
to retire and to pay them a pension /ffa^Ailfa, Ailfa
(
^
^ : He was pensioned off and his
job given to a
younger man. ftfetfciiiillfa,
XXfXin 7—-’S'W Ao 0 (informal, figurative) That car of yours
should have been pensioned off years ago.
pen-sion2 /'pbsjb; NAmE pai'sjoun/ noun (from French) a small, usually
cheap, hotel in some European countries, especially
—
see also pension1
pen sion able /'penjanabl/ adj. giving sb the right to receive a pension ilfa£ )
ft: people of
pensionable age i£PM#:£;izMMftA O pensionable pay #H+##^izft§riz
pensioner /'penjana(r)/ noun (especially BrE) a person who is
receiving a pension, especially from the government ( kiifa^, ) #: an
old-age
pensioner §5 # fL
ftA — see also OAP, senior citizen
'pension
plan {BrE usually pension scheme) {NAmE also retirement plan) noun a system in which you, and usually your
employer, pay money regularly into a fund while you are employed. You are then
paid a pension when you retire. ilfa^it^J, ( M
pensive /'pensrv/ adj. thinking deeply about sth, especially because you
are sad or worried (ft; tt*ft; ttfl£ft: a pensive
mobd'MJrftM>t# 0 to look pensive # 'If ft* ► pen-sive-ly adv.
penta- /‘penta/ combining form (in nouns, adjectives and adverbs five; having five E;
E---ft:
pentagon jE&M
o pentathlon pentagon /'pentagon; NAmE -gain/ noun 1 [C] {geometry JL faff) a flat shape
with five straight sides and five angles E Ffc
; E f| 2 the Pentagon [sing.] the building near Washington DC
that is the headquarters of the
US Department of Defence and the military leaders EMAf^MffltlSIS&frRM: a spokesman for the Pentagon H0 0 § A
pen tagon al /pen'taeganl/ adj. {geometry FI Mj having five sides
Eii^lft; EflJ^lft penta gram /'pentagraem/ noun a flat shape of a star with five points,
formed by five straight lines. Pentagrams are often used as magic symbols. EMMJ]2 ( Ilflil/J )
penta he dron /.penta'hiidran;
-'hed-/ noun {geometry JIM) a solid shape
with five flat sides E®fa pen tam eter /pen'taemita(r)/ noun [C, U] {technical Ain) a line of poetry with five stressed
syllables; the rhythm of poetry with five stressed syllables to a line E#^-#
Vs;
pentath lon /pen'taeGlan/ noun a sporting event in which people compete in five
different sports (running, riding, swimming, shooting and fencing)
ih, E^£t&is^j (mm,
msj, », it*, *&i >
—
compare biathlon,
decathlon, heptathlon, tet-
RATHLON, TRIATHLON
pentatonic /.penta'tDmk; NAmE -'tain-/ adj. {music if) related to or based on a scale of five notes E * # M
ft; E^ft
Pente-cost /'pentikDst; NAmE -ko:st; -karst/ noun [U, C] 1 {BrE also .Whit 'Sunday) (in the Christian
Church) the 7th Sunday after Easter when Christians celebrate the
Holy
Spirit coming to the Apostles § R W lift * , EM* ( 0 , *S?S*/5ftlg 7 fli 0 )
2 =
Shavuoth
Pente-cos-tal /.penti'knstl; NAmE
-'ko:s-; -'ka:s-/ adj. connected with a group of Christian
Churches that emphasize the gifts of the Holy Spirit, such as the power to heal
the sick EM*lf ft ( i^lftiiij ) ► Pentecos-talist noun
pent-house /'penthaus/ noun
an expensive and comfortable flat/apartment or set of rooms at the top of a
tall building
pent-up /.pent 'ap/ adj. 1 (of feelings, energy, etc. ^ 'If,
A#) that cannot be expressed or released J±#P ft; fKfiEft: pent-up
frustration/energy Xfpft /
ft A 2 having feelings
that you cannot express ]^'|f M WPft; filUtffaft: She was too pent-up
to speak.
$AX,
penulti mate /pen'Altimat/ adj. [only before noun] immediately before the
last one fgMUzUft Enfl last but one : the penultimate chapter/day/stage \% f!( % -----
pen um bra /pa'nAmbra/ noun
{technical A if) 1 an area of shadow which is between fully dark
and fully light (
MB#-A A AIh] ft ) 2 {astronomy A) the
shadow made by the earth or
the moon during a partial eclipse (
fw # N ft ) #■ W> —compare umbra(2)
pen uri ous /pa'njuarias; NAmE -'nur-/ adj.
(formal) very poor It A ft; A il ft; A ^ ft cnn destitute, penniless
pen-ury /'penjari/ noun
[u] (formal) the state of being
very poor ^0; j&ff poverty
peon /'piian/ noun
1 a worker on a farm in
peony /'piiani/ noun
{pi. -ies)
a
garden plant with large round white, pink or red flowers ttJf;
people Or* /'piipl/ noun,
verb
®noun 1 [pi.] persons; men, women and children
A: At least ten people were killed in the crash. fA41
A ifeXo 0 There
were a lot of people at the party. W fa ^ A # JjP M o o Many
young people are out of work, id ^ A A ik o 2 [pi.] persons in general
or everyone A ill ; A M : He
doesn’t care what people think of him. fife A
* X A fl ] # ftfe o o She tends to
annoy people. iftfjtftftlASo IllJli Use everyone or everybody instead of ‘all people’. M everyone everybody ,
A * all people 0 3 [C] all
the
persons who live in a
particular place or belong to a particular country, race, etc. ( it ) AS, IS;
& the French people SIAo the
native peoples of
—
the people [pi ] the ordinary men and women of a
country
rather than those who govern or have a special position in society f K; jf ; A f£:
the life of the common people ilrifiAftXiS 0 It was felt that the
government was no longer in touch with the people. Afll f — see also little people(I)
—
[pi.] men and
women who work in a particular type of
job or are involved in a
particular area of activity ( FFt fa^f7ife^c^Mft)A: a meeting with business
people and bankers ± ft ^
Bf b These
garments are intended for
professional sports people. ^
Mlllfaft. 6 [pi.] (literary) the men, women and children that a person
leads 0k; AR;
A: The king urged his people to
prepare for war. 0XHf nf 7 [pi.] the men and
women who work for you or
support you ® ^ ; X W #; A M K M : I’ve had
my people watching the house for a few days, AlfT/t^HX 8 [pi.] (BrE,
informal) guests or friends ^ A
; A : I’m having people to dinner this evening.
9
[pi.] (old-fashioned) the men, women and
children that you are closely related to, especially your parents,
grandparents, etc. M A; A A; ( Aff ) XM,