robberies in the area recently,     £7

^ & it KJ o — compare burglary, theft 157771 see

DAYLIGHT, HIGHWAY

robe /raub; NAmE roub/ noun, verb m noun 1 a long loose outer piece of clothing, especially one worn as a sign of rank or office at a special cere­mony nm,    ):

coronation robes jjpfULM 0 cardinals in scarlet robes H

2 = BATHROBE

■ verb [VN] [usually passive] (formal) to dress sb/yourself in long loose clothes or in the way mentioned ( A ) a robed choir    O The priests

were robed in black.

robin /'robin; NAmE 'ra:b-/ noun 1 a small brown Euro­pean bird with a red breast fxfc M ^ ; gfc M 2 a grey American bird with a red breast, larger than a European robin

A ) — see also round robin Robin 'Hood noun a person who takes or steals money from rich people and gives it to poor people Mdfdlfll From the name of a char­acter in traditional English stories who lived in a forest, robbing rich people and giving money to poor people.

robot /'raubDt; NAmE 'roubcut/ noun 1 a machine that can perform a complicated series of tasks automatically A: These cars are built by robots.

^Aifrjiaffto 2 (especially in stories) a machine that is made to look like a human and that can do some things that a human can do (   ) [Jl#A 3 (SAfrE) a

traffic light 3ci§fj|-=)7T: Turn left at the first robot.

ro bot ic /rau'bntik; NAmE rou'baitik/ adj. 1 connected with robots $fl A (ft : a robotic arm IflMft 2 like a robot, making stiff movements, speaking without feeling or expression, etc. j^lfltlA^ft;    ift

ro bot ics /rau'bntiks; NAmE rou'bait-/ noun [U] the science of designing and operating robots Af4^ )

ro bust /rau'bAst; NAmE rou-/ adj. 1 strong and healthy 3 >|± (ft : She was almost 90, but still very robust. MM 90 # J, 2 strong;

able to survive being used a lot and not likely to break *£g£(ft; flotffhft; M[SI(ft cm sturdy arobust piece of equipment h. X if (ft i£ Hr 3 (of a system or an organization strong and not likely to fail or

become weak 3 (ft ; H 7f A (ft : robust economic growth   4 strong and full of determin­

ation; showing that you are sure about what you are doing or saying (ft; fit Aft&lft cm vigorous :

It was a typically robust performance by the Foreign Secretary.  iftAffuXftASL ►ro-bust-

ly adv.: The furniture was robustly constructed. MMM |4 #           ^ ^ o o They defended their policies robustly, ftfe

i S (ftiklL ro;bust-ness noun [U] rock On /rnk; NAmE ra:k/ noun, verb mnoun

►                HARD MATERIAL li#J 1 [U, C] the hard solid material that forms part of the surface of the earth and some other planets : They drilled through several layers of rock to reach the oil. fMl^itT„ o a cave with striking rock formations (= shapes made naturally from rock) A^MA^^liiilMlftilBl A 0 The tunnel was blasted out of solid rock.

A (ft <, 0 volcanic/igneous/sedimentary, etc. rocks A

2 [C] a mass of rock standing above the earth’s surface or in the sea/ocean If lL) ; #| If: the Rock of Gibraltar It A 3? PE lb 0 The ship crashed into the infamous Sker Point rocks and broke into three pieces.

-Mo 3 [C] a large single piece of rock El lift; r?ft: They clambered over the rocks at the foot of the cliff.

(ftSAo o The sign said ‘Danger: falling rocks’. # tjs H$ ± W if “ ft & : fluW'$ A” o

STONE A 4 [C] (NAmE) a small stone 5^If; If-?; /Mf ft: Protesters pelted the soldiers with rocks. ifiliX# ft ± ftS^lffto

I 1729

►                MUSIC #    5 (also rock music) [U] a type of loud

modern music with a strong beat played on electric guitars and drums M'Mfc: punk rock Mo a rock band/star    / BJM

►                SWEET/CANDY 4$ Jfl 6 (BrE) [U] a type of hard sweet/ candy made in long sticks, often sold in places where people go on holiday/vacation by the sea/ocean ## If: a stick of Brighton rock —

►                JEWEL '7|[ 7 [C, usually pi.] (NAmE, informal) a precious stone, especially a diamond !£|f; ( AtH )

►                PERSON A 8 [C, usually sing.] a person who is emotionally strong and who you can rely on (ft A; Hlh: He is my rock. MII3$(ftAA#o

IT5T771 (caught/stuck) between a rock and a hard place in a situation where you have to choose between two things, both of which are unpleasant  A

£ AM get your 'rocks off (slang) 1 to have an orgasm 2 to do sth that you really enjoy # g BXIE If/jftlft^; on the 'rocks 1 a relationship or busi­ness that is on the rocks is having difficulties and is likely to fail soon (      ) Pgftilii, MMiw:

Sue’s marriage is on the rocks. ^ (ft M (ffl M $!» 2 (of

drinks XftM) served with pieces of ice but no water jjpiA ft ( [MftilP7jc ) W: Scotch on the rocks jjpftKft$J^l£^ — more at steady adj.

uverb

►                 MOVE GENTLY41.^      1 [usually +adv./prep.] to move

gently backwards and forwards or from side to side; to make sb/sth move in this way. ( iMMU

zjfr: [V] The boat rocked from side to side in the waves. /M&A&Vll ft<> She was rocking backwards and forwards in her seat. MAM fA± HU Mfe-Mo 0 [VN] He rocked the baby gently in his arms, ftfe ^ 7 $£ ^

Ilo

►                SHOCK fiji P> 2 [VN] [often passive] to shock sb/sth very

much or make them afraid ; flifltjp;      : The

country was rocked by a series of political scandals.

0 The news rocked the world. &

►                SHAKE 3 to shake or to make sth shake violently

( {£ ) [V] The house rocked when

the bomb exploded.W, ^•7tP^^tl7o 0 [VN] The town was rocked by an earthquake, ft      SIMM (ft

0 (figurative) The scandal rocked the govern­ment (= made the situation difficult for it),

►                DANCE ftfg 4 [V] (old-fashioned) to dance to rock music

mmm&mn; mmm

►                BE GOOD if- 5 [V] (slang) sth rocks used to say that sth is

very good     7: Her new movie rocks! Miftlf

^mmj\

177771 rock the 'boat (informal) to do sth that upsets a situation and causes problems      Hfjsf'M: She was

told to keep her mouth shut and not rock the boat. A BHMftJH,  —more at foundation

rocka-billy /'mkabili; NAmE 'ra:k-/ noun [U] a type of American music that combines rock and roll and country music )

,rock and 'roll (also ,rock ’n’ ‘roll) noun [u] a type of music popular in the 1950s with a strong beat and simple tunes Wfi&'fc

rock 'bottom noun [U] (informal) the lowest point or level that is possible fH&A; fH&TKft: Prices hit rock bottom.       7fH&.&o O The marriage had reached

rock bottom, jtjf M E ££ ^ 5!j 7 ^ A 0       ► , rock-' bottom

adj.: rock-bottom prices

'rock cake noun (BrE) a small cake that has a hard rough surface and contains dried fruit g-jfgft;

rock 'candy noun [u] (NAmE) a type of hard sweet/ candy made from sugar that is melted then allowed to form crystals ii 0b 5f tf; #jc$r

'rock climbing noun [U] the sport or activity of climbing steep rock surfaces ^ ^ I ) : to go rock climbing