play ing /'pleiirj/ noun 1 [U] the way in which sb plays sth,
especially a musical instrument ( M M )
£ M, : The
orchestral playing is superb. j&'Mf'&SFN
0
(ft ##
H T o 2
[C] the act of playing a piece of
music ( ) ?f|#: repeated playings of the National
Anthem S
a hand of cards
suits TEfe ^ diamond AiA heart H'L\ <^) c!ubf§?£ spade
court cards (firf) / face cards {NAmE)
'playing card (also card) noun any one of a set of 52
cards with numbers and pictures printed on one side, which are used to play
various card games U$: (8r£) a pack of (playing) cards — Si]£ft|$ o {NAmE) a deck of (playing) cards
'playing field noun a large area of grass, usually
with lines marked on it, where people play sports and games is ih T$]; ft ^: the school playing fields TTbTTTI see level
adj.
play-let /'pleilet/ noun a short play )&$] play-list /'pleilist/ noun a list of all the songs and pieces
of music that are played by a radio station or on a radio programme (
play-maker /'pleimeika(r)/ noun a player in a team game who starts
attacks or brings other players on the same side into position in which they
could score £g.£R
play-mate /'pleimeit/ noun a friend with whom a
child plays ( JL^ ) gt^ftjfA#
'play-off noun a match/game, or a series of them,
between two players or teams with equal points or scores to decide who the
winner is ( % Xt
h # fit jlfti ) Pff HThey lost to Chicago in the
play-offs. JPf|v9
play-pen /'pleipen/ noun a frame with wooden bars or netting
that surrounds a small area in which a baby or small child can play safely (
#jJL ) play-room /’pleiruim; -rum/ noun a room in a house for children to
play in
play-scheme /'pleiskiim/ noun {BrE) a project that provides organized activities for children, especially
during school holidays (
W
) «^it£l|
play-school /'pleiskuil/ noun {BrE} = playgroup play-suit /'pleisuit; BrE also -sju:t/ noun 1 a piece of clothing for babies or small children that covers the body,
arms and legs 2 (BrE) a
set of clothes that children wear for fun so that they look like a
particular person ( JLH )
a Spiderman
play suit 3 a piece of
women’s underwear that covers the upper body to the tops of the legs (
play thing /'pleiOirj/ noun 1 a person or thing that you treat like a toy, without really caring about
them or it ^ :
She was an intelligent woman who refused to be a rich man’s plaything. MU AW A
1517 pleading
fBWHfiftll 2 (old-fashioned) a toy iizA:
The
teddy bear was his favourite plaything.
play-time /'pleitaim/ noun [U, C] 1 {especially BrE) a time at school when
teaching stops for a short time and children can play ( |h]
2
a time for playing and having fun : With so
much homework to do, her playtime is now very limited.
play wright /'pleirait/ noun a person who writes
plays for the theatre, television or radio JgiJf^ gin dramatist
—
compare screenwriter, scriptwriter
plaza /'plaiza; NAmE 'plaeza/ noun {especially NAmE)
1
a public outdoor square especially in a
town where Spanish is spoken ( A fgM Wi£$fi Ift )
2
a small shopping centre, sometimes also
with offices
a downtown shopping plaza Tfi
pic (also PLC) /,pi: el 'si:/ abbr. {BrE) public limited company
(used after the name of a company or business) )
:
Lloyd’s
Bank pic WM'il
plea /pli:/ noun 1 (formal) ~ (for sth) an
urgent emotional request i# ijc ; She made an impassioned plea for
help. jflfe W
itfe ^ fife 0 0 a plea to
industries to stop pollution o He
refused to listen to her tearful pleas. flfe/t/dfej^/@fiT(liJJi 2 {law W) a statement made by sb or for sb who is accused of a
crime ( p-#!) ) fri
It,
JUIP: a plea of
guilty/not guilty
iAW IP 0 to enter a guilty plea iEit^/KiAP 3 ~ of
sth {law #) a reason given to a
court for doing or not doing Sth ( faSEflf&lft ) a* , ft P , mm-. He was charged with murder,
but got off on a plea of insanity, fife
plea-bargain ing noun [u] {law #) an arrangement in court by which a person
admits to being guilty of a smaller crime in the hope of receiving less severe
punishment for a more serious crime
) -compare
COP
A PLEA at
COP
V., TURN KlNG’s/QUEEN’s EVIDENCE at evidence n. ► 'plea bargain noun : He reached a plea bargain with the
authorities, fife ffl ^ M T ij?
plead /pli:d/ verb (pleaded, pleaded; NAmE also pled,
pled /pled/) 1 ~ (with sb) (for sth) to ask sb for sth in a very strong
and serious way A A; HA POTl beg: [V] She pleaded with him not to go. „ 0 I
was forced to plead for my child’s life.
—&X.8&0 0 pleading
eyes 0 [V to
inf] He pleaded to be allowed to see
his mother one more time, fife H A M fife # |r 1$ M - 01 o O [V speech] ‘Do something!’she
pleaded. ” (ttfe^^ilo 2 to
state in court that you are
guilty or not guilty of a crime ( iA¥, [V-ADJ]
to plead
guilty/not guilty iA H; ^iA IP 0 [V] How do you plead? {= said by the judge at
the start of the trial)
^
? 0 [VN] [no passive] He advised his client to plead
insanity (= say that he/she was mentally ill and
therefore not responsible for his/her actions), fife ll iA fife frtl Ai If 3 [VN] to present a
case to a court (
(pjj&Ji; ) : They hired a top
lawyer to plead their case, fifefj5* it T — {XMlUNiW W WWm&mWo 4 ~ sth (for
sth) to give sth as an explanation or excuse for sth I?#; ffefeP : [VN]
[no passive] He pleaded family problems for his lack of concentration, fife I? # iA & M X if ifc A S
X % & M 0 @ 0 [also
V that] 5 ~ (for sb/sth) to argue in support of sb/sth fi ■ • • ip ;
rS; if#: [VN] She
appeared on
television to plead the cause of political prisoners everywhere. O [V] The
United
Nations has pleaded for a halt to the bombing. M.
plead ing /'pliidirj/ noun 1 [c, U] an act of asking for sth that you want
very much, in an emotional way ,d>fc;
: He refused to give in to her
pleadings,
ftfefi^flci: 2 [C, usually pi.] {law $t) a formal statement