politician                           1532 |

pol it ician 0-» /.pnla'tijn; NAmE,pa:l-/ noun 1 (also NAmE informal pol) a person whose job is concerned with politics, especially as an elected mem­ber of parliament, etc. /A®#; 2 (disapproving) a

person who is good at using different situations in an organization to try to get power or advantage for himself or herself

politicize (BrE also -ise) /pa'litisaiz/ verb [VN] [often passive] 1 to make sth a political issue M Wt it; A X   : the highly politicized issue of unemploy­ment         2 to make sb/sth become

more involved in politics $»#-%( Mi#A)lfciq;

The rural population has become increasingly politicized in recent years. iSXA, A D Xtftf&J&A- ► politicization, -isa-tion /pa.litisai'zeijn/ noun [U]: the politicization of education itr it pol it ick ing /'pDlatikirj; NAmE 'pa:l-/ noun [U] (often disapproving) political activity, especially to win support for yourself     ( Xfa ) J

pol it ico /pa'litikau; NAmE -koo/ noun (pi -os) (informal, disapproving) a politician; a person who is active in politics®^; f&MWutfiA pol it ics b-w /'pnlatiks; NAmE'pa:l-/ noun 1 [U+sing./pl. v.] the activities involved in getting and using power in public life, and being able to influence decisions that affect a country or a society iEfcjq; ®ip ) : party politics      0 local politics

Jfe A $C  o He’s thinking of going into politics

(= trying to become a Member of Parliament, Congress, etc.)       Ofl major figure in British polit­ics IH    MAAW 2 [U+sing./pl. y.j (disapproving)

matters concerned with getting or using power within a particular group or organization fit A; ^ A X /X I don’t want to get involved in office politics. A ft <> the internal politics of the legal profession if W fr lA nP fr'J Xl A X X 0 sexual politics (= concerning relationships of power between the sexes) M'I4|b]      3 [pi.] a person’s political views or

beliefs ( AAlft )   iHis

politics are extreme.   4 [U] = polit­ical science: a degree in Politics       5 [sing.] a

system of political beliefs; a state of political affairs 2&?p MIt1: A politics of the future has to engage with new ideas.     $!] ® & M ini §r

faffo

pol ity /'pnlati; NAmE 'pa:l-/ noun (pi. -ies) (technical Ain)

1                  [C] a society as a political unit ^ R ;

2                  [U] the form or process of government

polka /'polka; AMmf 'poulka/ noun a fast dance for two people together that was popular in the 19th century; a piece of music for this dance j&A AM ( HfrX 19

'polka dot noun one of many dots that together form a pattern, especially on cloth (    1$ ) A

BL&: a polka-dot tie   —picture o page R20

— compare spot n.(l) poll /paul; NAmEpoul/ noun, verb

mnoun 1 (also o'pinion poll) [C] the process of ques­tioning people who are representative of a larger group in order to get information about the general opinion K M. if J      ; K M. HI M Hn survey : to carry out/

conduct a poll fj g M ill 0 A recent poll suggests some surprising changes in public opinion,

2[C] (also the polls [pi.]) the process of voting at an election; the process of counting the votes it®: The final result of

the poll will be known tomorrow.

o Thursday is traditionally the day when Britain goes to the polls (= when elections are held).

<> Polls close (= voting ends) at 9p.m.        9        o note at election

3                  [sing.] the number of votes given in an election gyan BALLOT: Labour is ahead in the poll.

mto 9 They gained 20% of the poll. Ml%3\ T 20% — see also deed poll, exit poll, straw poll

■ verb 1 to receive a particular number of votes in an election   ) : [VN] They polled 39% of the vote

in the last election.     Mi$#T 39%

M o 0 [V] The Republicans have polled well (= received many votes) in recent elections.

M ft 1$ iS 'M % o 2 [VN] [usually passive] to ask a large number of members of the public what they think about sth      survey; Over 50%

of those polled were against the proposed military action.

' Ki   50%

pol lard /'pnlad; -laid; NAmE 'pailard/ verb [VN] [usually passive] (technical A ill) to cut off the branches at the top of a tree so that the lower branches will grow more thickly it ( MA ) AM

pollen /'pnlan; NAmE 'pailan/ noun [u] fine powder, usually yellow, that is formed in flowers and carried to other flowers of the same kind by the wind or by insects, to make those flowers produce seeds 'pollen count noun [usually sing.] a number that shows the amount of pollen in the air, used to warn people whose health is affected by it X$Hf ft ( fflXWXASU)

'pollen tube noun (biology A) a tube which grows when pollen lands on the stigma (= a part of the female organ) of a flower to carry the male cell to the ovule (= the part which contains the female cell)

pol linate /‘pnlaneit; NAmE 'pail-/ verb [VN] to put pollen into a flower or plant so that it produces seeds Wtft; # flowers pollinated by bees/the wind hi / M# $)      g ► pollin-ation /.pDla'neiJn; NAmE ,pa:l-/

noun [U]

poll ing /'pauhrj; NAmE 'pou-/ noun [u] 1 the activity of voting KH: Polling has been heavy since 8 a.m. /A^ih 8 iUA ASUfftiffiifco 2 the act of asking questions as part of an opinion poll

'polling booth (especially BrE) (NAmE usually 'voting booth) noun a small place in a polling station, separ­ated from the surrounding area, where people vote by marking a card, etc. $11^,      )

'polling day noun [U, C] (BrE) a day on which people vote in an election S ® 0 ; ^ 0 : a week before

polling day 0       )

'polling station (especially BrE) (NAmE usually 'polling place) noun a building where people go to vote in an election SUM;

polli wog (also polly-wog) /'pnliwDg; NAmE 'pailiwaig/ noun (NAmE) = tadpole

poll-ster /'paulst0(r); NAmE 'poul-/ noun a person who makes or asks the questions in an opinion poll

j&AA'A; KitingM

‘poll tax noun a tax that must be paid at the same rate by every person or every adult in a particular area

AA$

pol lu tant /pa'luitant/ noun (formal) a substance that pollutes sth, especially air and water pollute /pa'luit/ verb [VN] ~ sth (by/with sth) to add dirty or harmful substances to land, air, water, etc. so that it is no longer pleasant or safe to use       :

the exhaust fumes that are polluting our cities if ^ A 111 ^ TfJ $} J%L H O The river has been polluted with toxic waste from local factories.

%kT  o 0 (figurative) a society polluted by racism

polluter /pa'luita(r)/ noun a person, company, country, etc. that causes pollution /AA®; pol lu tion 0-w /pa'luijn/ noun [U]

1 the process of making air, water, soil, etc. dirty; the state of being dirty if % ; Efc ff ; # H4 : air/water pollution X A / A tA A 0 to reduce levels of environ­mental pollution   2 substances that

make air, water, soil, etc. dirty ?A^%; l£#J; ^M.: beaches covered with pollution     3 noise/

light ~ harmful or annoying levels of noise, or of artifi­cial light at night m^ifUk; ( »l&Al& )

Polly anna /.pnli'sena; NAmE 'pail-/ noun [usually sing.] a person who is always cheerful and expects only