used when testing new
drugs ( A ^ [%An ff m 3c W lft)£»J; the
placebo
effect (= the effect of
taking a placebo and feeling better)
place card noun a small card with a person’s name on it,
placed on a table to show where they are to sit ( ^
m&m)i£&f
placed /pleist/ adj. [after noun] (Br£) (of
a horse, in a race finishing among the winners (usually second or third) = %
placeholder /'pleishaulda(r); NAmE -hould-/ noun 1 (technical A ill) a
symbol or piece of text which replaces sth that is missing ( #ft$feAnft7(ft )
Afv/AA 2 (linguistics iKW) an item which is necessary in a
sentence, but does not have real meaning, for example the word ‘it’ in ‘It’s a
pity she left’ ( 7177 It’s a pity she left 7 ft) it ) 'place kick noun (in rugby and American football
a kick made by putting
the ball on the ground first 77^
place-man /'pleisman/ noun (pi. -men /-man/) (BrE, disapproving) a person who is given an official position as a reward
for supporting a politician or government
)
' place mat noun a mat
on a table on which a person’s plate is put HcW-S
place ment /'pleismant/ noun 1 [U] the act of finding
sb a suitable job or place to live ( M A (ft )
:
a job placement service ik ft £§ 0 placement
with a foster family £ g III W # M M
2 (also 'work placement) [U, C] (BrE) a job, often as part of a course of study,
where you get some experience of a particular kind of work ^ Ifp; % ^ : The third year is spent
on placement in selected
companies. I
7]
S % o 0 The course includes a
placement in Year 3. jSIg 3 &g Ho — compare internship(I),
work experience(2) o note at job 3
[u] the act of placing sth somewhere ( #ftj ) M&: This
procedure ensures correct
placement of the catheter, jkX — see also advanced
PLACEMENT, PRODUCT PLACEMENT
' placement test noun a test which is
designed to find the appropriate level for students in a
course or programme of study ( i$j§.^(ft ) place name noun a name of a town or
other place
placenta /pla'senta/
(usually the
placenta) noun (anatomy $?) the material that comes out of a woman or female
animal’s body after a baby has been born, and which was necessary to feed and
protect the baby
BP AFTERBIRTH
pla-cen-tal /pla'sentl/ adj. 1 (medical g) of or related to the placenta 2 (biology 7) having a placenta
W)3n;&(ft; placental mammals
'place setting noun a set or an
arrangement of knives, forks and spoons, and/or plates and dishes for one
person ( #t—AfliftJ ) —
pla cid /'plaesid/ adj. 1 (of a person or an
animal Ai&^l $}) not easily excited or
irritated Mft) (ft; 7fD (ft; jcM ftj: a
placid baby/horse £ # ftj ® J L; R (ft ^ 033 high-spirited 2 calm and peaceful,
with very little movement A#(ft; 7#ftJ; 5£JI(ft tranquil the placid waters of the lake 7 ft (ft
'/$ 7jC ►
pla cid ity /pla'sidati/ noun [U] pla cid ly adv. pla cing /'pleisirj/ noun the position of sb/sth
in a race or a competition or in a list arranged in order of success : He needs a high
placing in today’s
qualifier to reach the final. £7M(ft^lG
ifai&MW
pla giarism /'pleid3arizam/ noun [U, C] (disapproving) an act of
plagiarizing sth; sth that has been plagiarized 3' 3§ ; 10 U.; m U pp : There
were accusations of plagiarism. ^
d3arist/
noun
pla-giar-ize (BrE also -ise) /'pleid3araiz/ verb (disapproving) to copy another
person’s ideas, words or work
and pretend that they are
your own fPJU; iPM: [VN] He was accused of plagiarizing his colleague’s results. #>
wsovi
plague /pleig/ noun, verb
m noun
1
(also the
plague) [U] = bubonic plague : an outbreak of
plague H ^ (ft ‘M % 2 [C] any infectious disease that kills a lot of
people At(ftHTl
EPIDEMIC:
the plague ofAWS
3 [C] ~ of sth large numbers of an
animal or insect that come into an area and cause great damage (
IfrU: a plague
oflocusts/rats, etc. KB see avoid
■
verb [VN] ~ sb/sth (with sth) 1 to cause pain or
trouble
to sb/sth over a period
of time ••• (ft$tW
(jSLMM ); Sit; #f0; Mli EEE1trouble: to be plagued by doubt fj$£jsO Financial problems are plaguing the
company. M® & A A 7
#5
0 0 The team has been plagued by
injury this season.
2toannoysbor
create problems, especially
by asking for sth, demanding attention, etc. &)H; MB; Mit HU hound:
Rock stars have to get used to being plagued by autograph hunters,
plaice /pleis/ noun [C, U] (pi. plaice) a flat sea fish that
is used for food & ( -# [ft tb g MM. )
plaid /plaed/ noun 1 [U] a type of thick
cloth with a pattern of lines and squares of different colours and widths,
especially a tartan pattern %% 2 [C]
a long piece of plaid
made of wool, worn over the shoulders as part of the Scottish national dress )
Plaid Cymru /.plaid ‘kAmri:/ noun [U+sing./pl. v.] (from
Welsh)
a
Welsh political party which wants
)
plain On /plem/ adj., noun, adv.
■
adj. (plain-er, plain-est) 1 easy to see or
understand
$£$]; J; HT1 CLEAR: He made it plain
that we should
leave, jfe B[] M ^ m jl'l
^ Jf«, 0 She
made her annoyance plain. o The facts
were plain to see. f JE0 0 It was a rip-off,
plain and simple, j&ji—m , o
note at clear 2 not trying to
trick anyone; honest and direct The
plain fact is that
nobody really knows. i&^AJfiETISo
o
a politician with a
reputation for plain speaking i# if ]§;$# 7c> note on next page 3 not decorated or
complicated; simple 7^ H tfc (ft ; ih %
a plain but elegant
dress
0
plain food 0 The interior of the church was
plain and simple. 0 plain yogurt
(=
without sugar or fruit) —compare fancy
adj.( 1),(2) 4 without
marks or a pattern on it ^ (ft; ft : covers in plain or printed
cotton l$7P7£(ftj|[/iJ 0 Write on plain paper (= without lines).
o 5 [only before noun] used to emphasize that
sth is very ordinary, not special in any way M W M (ft; Y'ift (ft; nm everyday : You don’t need
any special skills for
this job, just plain common sense, jk
6
(especially of a woman X fe ft A) not
beautiful or
attractive M3ft7-7-(ft; A^'fefft
7 describing a simple stitch used
in knitting ( ) 7ft(ft, 7^t(ft ► plain
ness noun [U] ITTI?71 be plain sailing (US also be clear sailing) to be simple and free
from trouble M^iJ; —(fed Ml® in plain ‘English
simply
and clearly expressed, without using technical language ^]7fi (ft S ift (
7
) (as) plain as a pikestaff I (as) plain
as day I (as) plain as the nose on your face very obvious
m -g7£$; Ml
mnoun (also plains [pi.]) a large area of flat land 71^: the
flat coastal plain ofThassos $s^^&7fflfft^]$7M o the
Great Plains JI:||^HA7li
■
adv. (informal) used to emphasize how
bad, stupid, etc.
sth is ( #] 7) flflL, plain stupid/wrong