peso /'peisau; NAmE -sou/ noun (pi. pesos) the unit of money in many Latin American countries and the Philippines m () pes sary /'pesari/ noun (pi -ies) 1 a small piece of solid medicine that is placed inside a woman’s vagina and left to dissolve, used to cure an infection or to prevent her from becoming pregnant ( faff  )

Pfi it M /r'J — see also suppository 2 a device that is placed inside a woman’s vagina to support the womb fnft

pes sim ism /'pesmuzam/ noun [U] ~ (about/over sth) a feeling that bad things will happen and that sth will not be successful; the tendency to have this feeling Ml 3£J$L'l#£t; 5U1AA: There is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. AM A Xf Iftftl o ES2 optimism

pessim ist /'pesimist/ noun a person who always ex­pects bad things to happen    BMi&ji-. You

don’t have to be a pessimist to realize that we’re in trouble.        um

OPTIMIST

pes sim is tic /.pesi'mistik/ adj. ~ (about sth) expecting bad things to happen or sth not to be successful; showing this B % 64 ; i X ^ : They appeared surprisingly pessimistic about their chances of winning. %f]X4Jftf''J 64 nj|g14af#it}ftfeBMo o a pessimistic view of life MAtkBM 64lr?£ o I think you’re being far too pessimistic.      EEEI optimistic

► pes-sim-is-ticaMy /-kli/ adv. pest /pest/ noun 1 an insect or animal that destroys plants, food, etc. If A; If#; iS^r: pest control ^ & B/p?n oinsect/plant/gardenpests If A;     @ ItF A

2 (informal) an annoying person or thing 14 R 64 A (

) : That child is being a real pest. JP A^Aii4Ro pes-ter /’pesta(r)/ verb ~ sb (for/with sth) to annoy sb, especially by asking them sth many times MM; H771 badger: [VN] Journalists pestered neighbours for information, id % M. If ® tJ °/f J* 0 0 He has been pestering her with phone calls for over a week.

o The horses were continually pestered by flies. o [VN to inf] The

kids kept pestering me to read to them. ££&£C [also v]

‘pester power noun [U] (informal) the ability that children have to make their parents buy things, by repeatedly asking them until they agree (    A Jc

) mm*, mi

pesti cide /'pestisaid/ noun [C, U] a chemical used for killing pests, especially insects £ A |fij;   :

vegetables grown without the use of pesticides AM AM crops sprayed with pesticide nftMMAM MtflBiW- — see also herbicide, insecticide pesti lence /'pestilans/ noun [U, sing.] (old use or literary) any infectious disease that spreads quickly and kills a lot of people

pesti len tial /.pestilenjl/ adj. 1 [only before noun] (literary) extremely annoying $U4R64; MM A 64 2 (old use) connected with or causing a pestilence fa;® 64; 41

pes tle /'pesl/ noun a small heavy tool with a round end used for crushing things in a special bowl called a mortar ft ,  — picture o

LABORATORY

pesto /'pestau; NAmE 'pestou/ noun [U] an Italian sauce made of basil leaves, pine nuts, cheese and oil 1c Af'J

PET noun [U] 1 /,pi: i: 'ti:/ an artificial substance used to make materials for packaging food, including plastic drinks bottles (the abbreviation for ‘polyethylene terephthalate’) *»*■&&&#**,

@h ( polyethylene terephthalate ) 2 /pet/ (medical

E) a process that produces an image of your brain or of another part inside your body (the abbreviation for ‘positron emission tomography’)

A positron emission tomography, A^ M14    M nP 1v

64$ff Um ) : a PET scan   3 /pet/ a

British test, set by the University of Cambridge, that measures a person’s ability to speak and write English

as a foreign language at an intermediate level (the abbreviation for ‘Preliminary English Test’)

Preliminary English Test, MHIIl&!l#A

pet (Hf /pet/ noun, verb, adj.

m noun 1 an animal, a bird, etc. that you have at home for pleasure, rather than one that is kept for work or food : Do you have any pets? ? b a

pet dog/hamster, etc. #     *$4 64 -fir H ^ o a

family/domestic pet MM / 0 petfood

& 0 a pet shop (= where animals are sold as pets)

2 (usually disapproving) a person who is given special attention by sb, especially in a way that seems unfair to other people ^JL; 'AW; £IA HT71 favourite: She’s the teacher’s pet.    3 (BrE, informal)

used when speaking to sb to show affection or to be friendly (       ) lEJ5UL, AA: What’s wrong, pet? B

A 4$ , SJ/UL? o Be a pet (= be kind) and post this letter for me. AW,

■                  verb (-tt-) 1 [VN] (especially NAmE) to touch or move your

hand gently over an animal or a child in a kind and loving way MM; ( ^Mi& )       2 [V] (informal) (of two

people M A) to kiss and touch each other in a sexual way ; iJSHf; MM — see also petting

■                  adj. [only before noun] that you are very interested in

I; $>:§64; 1S/iA®64: his pet subject/theory/ project, etc.JMfSM64^#. SSifc, M i # — see also pet name ITilTl sb’s pet 'hate (BrE) (NAmE sb’s pet ' peeve) something that you particularly dislike # $ij R

mm*®

peta- /'peta-/ combining form (in nouns; used in units of measurement   1015; one thou­

sand million million *& ) ; BJifL petal /’petl/ noun a delicate coloured part of a flower. The head of a flower is usually made up of several petals around a central part. — picture o plant pe-tard /pa'taid; NAmE pa'taird/ noun 1171771 see hoist v. Peter /'pi:ta(r)/ noun 117171 see rob peter /'pi:ta(r)/ verb .peter out to gradually

become smaller, quieter, etc. and then end        A;

The campaign petered out for lack of support.     Mt&mmtto o

The road petered out into a dirt track.

±/M5o

, Peter 1 Pan noun a person who looks unusually young for their age, or who behaves in a way that would be more appropriate for sb younger        A; ff

^lf If WJ® A hhddWi From a story by J M Barrie about a boy with magic powers who never grew up. M

mmm • mm/mb mn • #>, aaahi^&k

1 Peters projection noun [sing.] a map of the world on which the relative size, but not the shape of countries, is more accurate than on more traditional maps

) —compare Mercator projection peth-id-ine /’peBadim/ noun [u] a drug used to reduce severe pain, especially for women giving birth PJR #

e,     )

petit bourgeois /.peti 'bu93wa:; NAmE ’bur3-/ (also .petty bourgeois) noun (pi. petits/petty bourgeois) (disapproving) a member of the lower middle class in society, especially one who thinks that money, work and social position are very important ► .petit bourgeois (also .petty 'bourgeois) adj. [usually before noun]

pe-tite /pa'tiit/ adj. (approving) (of a girl, woman or her figure        small and thin

64: a petite blonde

the pe.tite .bourgeoi sie (also .petty .bourgeoi sie) noun [sing.] the lower middle class in society petit four /.peti 'foi(r)/ noun [usually pi.] (pi. petits fours /.peti 'foi(r)/) (from French) a very small decorated cake or biscuit/cookie that is served with coffee or tea A