quality time 1620 |
'quality time noun [u] time spent
giving your full attention to sb, especially to your children after work
(-mxsfr-k, ) nmft
qualm /kwaim;
kwo:m/ noun [usually pi.] - (about sth) a feeling of doubt or worry
about whether what you are doing is right ( ft £ B ft
A W ) M Jt, 7 ft. HT1 misgiving : He had been working very hard so he
had no qualms about taking a few days off. jtk
—* St ft W) 7
ft, FmtbMJ
quan dary /'kwnndari; NAmE 'kwain-/ noun [usually
sing.] {pi. -ies) the state of not being
able to decide what to do in a difficult situation il W ; HI H hto
dilemma: George was in a quandary—should he go or
shouldn’t he? ft
quango /‘kwaerjgau;
NAmE -gou/ noun {pi. -os) (often disapproving)
(in
quanta pi. of quantum
quan ti fier /'kwDntifaia(r); NAmE 'kwain-/ noun
{grammar ig- )&) a determiner or pronoun that expresses quantity,
for example ‘all’ or ‘both’ $$[ S is]; H
i&; a is]
quantify /'kwnntifai;
NAmE 'kwa:n-/ verb (quantifies, quan-ti-fy-ing, quantified,
quanti fied) [VN]
to describe or express sth as an amount or a number m it : The risks to health are impossible to quantify.
► quantifiable
adj.: quantifiable data oJIHh W quanti-fi-ca tion /.kwnntifi'keijn; NAmE ,kwa:n-/ noun [U] quantitative /'kwnntitativ; NAmE 'kwaintateit-/ adj.
connected with the amount or number of sth rather than with how good it is Wiiktf);
Hit W; aE ii'IM: quantitative
analysis/research siiMfrtfr / o There is no difference between the
two in quantitative terms.
cHjSflo — compare qualitative quantity 0-w /'kwrmtati; NAmE 'kwa:n-/ noun
{pi. -ies)
1 [C, U] an amount or a number of sth fit
ft; ; Wi
@ : a large/small
quantity of sth A jt //J\ jt 0 enormous/vast/huge
quantities of food Aill$ 0 a product that is cheap to produce
in large quantities 0 Is it available in sufficient quantity? &
ft Hfg ft H *!.
M JSZ ? 2 [U] the measurement
of sth by saying how much of it there is Jt;
Wi M: The data is limited in
terms of both quality and quantity, mmnftnmnn3 [c, u] a large amount or
number of sth All; A
ft: The police found
a quantity of drugs at his home. H 7Aii#-nn o o It’s
cheaper to buy goods in quantity. A ft J® %} it ff» % „ o I was overwhelmed by
the sheer quantity of information available. B ft fit >4
I0E|
see
unknown adj.
quantity surveyor noun (BrE) a person whose job is
to calculate the quantity of materials needed for building sth, how much it
will cost and how long it will take ( am ) teJW,
quan tum /'kwnntam; NAmE 'kwain-/ noun
{pi. quanta /-to/) {physics fjf) a very small
quantity of electromagnetic
energy 117
.quantum 'leap (also less frequent .quantum 'jump)
noun a sudden, great
and important change, improvement or development ft $; B ^
.quantum me'chanics noun [U] {physics
#j) the branch of mechanics
that deals with movement and force in pieces of matter smaller than atoms 'quantum theory noun [u] {physics
$) a theory based on the
idea that energy exists in units that cannot be divided -ft7i&
quar an tine /'kwDrantiin; NAmE 'kwair-; 'kwair-/ noun,
verb
m noun [U] a period of time
when an animal or a person that has or may have a disease is kept away from
others in order to prevent the disease from spreading
( A Bfr ft ) liT^ $]; & : The dog was kept in
quarantine for six months. & ^ PI/!& 7 A'M .
0
quarantine regulations
■
verb [VN] to put an animal
or a person into quarantine
( PI&
quark /kwa:k; NAmE
kwairk/ noun {physics fjf) a very small part of matter (= a substance).
There are several types of quark and it is thought that protons, neutrons, etc. are formed from them, ft ft (
quar rel /'kwnral; NAmE
'kwair-; 'kwair-/ noun, verb mnoun 1 [C] ~ (with sb/between A and B) (about/over sth)
an angry argument or
disagreement between people, often about a personal matter P M ; ft
Wp; ffl H)t: a family quarrel <>
He did not mention the quarrel
with his wife. l^'o 0 They had
a
quarrel about money. {Ml 0 Were you
at
any time aware of a
quarrel between the two of them? ft
ft&ttm&mmmmwftwvh? 2p ~ (with sb/sth)
(especially in negative sentences AiiAlT/E'kj) a reason for
complaining about sb/sth or for disagreeing with sb/sth : We have no quarrel
with his methods. C(
rmTTB see pick v.
■
verb (-
:
My sister and I used to quarrel all the time. ^ ffl
W O She quarrelled with her brother over their father’s will. -£lfco
nnngi quarrel with
sb/sth to
disagree with sb/sth ^ @ ]W];
quarrel-some /'kwnralsam; NAmE
'kwoir-; 'kwair-/ adj. (of a person A) liking to argue with other
people %£ft BDC3 ARGUMENTATIVE
quarry /'kwnri; NAmE
'kwoiri; 'kwairi/ noun, verb & noun {pi. -ies) 1 [C]
a place where large amounts of stone, etc. are dug out of the ground a slate
quarry 0 the site of a disused quarry
—compare
mine n.{
1) 2 [sing.]
an animal or a person that is being hunted or followed M UUIr ty) ( lEA
) ; 3£$J EEEIprey: The hunters
lost sight of their quarry
in the forest. $ A 1®
% T #1 o 0 The
photographers pursued their quarry through the streets.
mverb (quarries, quarrying, quarried, quarried) ~ (for) sth | ~ sth (from/out of sth) to take stone, etc. out of a quarry M. ( ( S"# ) : [VN] The local rock is
quarried from the hillside. lil^Jf
% 0
0 The area is being quarried for limestone,
jf o [also V] ► quarry-ing noun [U]:
There has been quarrying in the area for centuries.
'quarry tile noun a floor tile made from stone that has not been glazed ( Ail* ) quart /kwoit;
NAmE kwairt/ noun {abbr. qt) a unit for measuring
liquids, equal to 2 pints or about 1.14 litres in the UK and Canada, and 0.94
of a litre in the US ft flfc 2,&jKi.i4 7h ft
0.94 ft ) nTTTTi put a quart into a pint pot (BrE) to put sth into a space that is too
small for it ■■■
quar ter o-w /'kwoita(r); NAmE
'kwoirt-/ noun, verb mnoun
►
1 OF 4 PARTS UP/ftZ 1 (also fourth especially
in NAmT)
[C]
one of four equal parts of sth : a quarter
of a mile O The programme lasted an hour
and a quarter. @ jfj N"—/J^N" o Cut the
apple into quarters. 0 The theatre was
about three quarters full. $J ^ A £*J ^ 7 H # $1 A<,
o note at half
►
15 MINUTES * 15 ## 2 [C]
a period of 15 minutes either
before or after every hour ( ) 15 ft
Iff,
— M #: It’s (a) quarter to four now—I’ll meet you at (a)
quarter past, f! ft H ft. — M
0 A, A — M
ffl A ® o 0 {NAmE
also) It’s quarter of four now—I’ll meet you at quarter after. M ft A
A A iS Afi ft, #
ft
mxkKxmimMo
3
MONTHS " 3 7>] 3 [C] a period of three months, used