completed within a specific time span. aE$3 PS P*3 %$Lo 0 Small children have a
short attention span, %tj ) L M. X t# & 07 M £S o — see also lifespan 2 ~ (of sth) a range or variety of
sth IeH; 1ilTS67#^$: Managers have a wide span of control. ii 67 IK $. ?E ffl
fMAo
o These
forests cover a broad span of latitudes,
3
the part of a bridge or an arch between one vertical
support and another (
1*67
) g$J6, The
bridge crosses the river in
a single span. M i: 67 $F o 4 the
width of sth
from
one side to the other %\k; II: The kite has a span of
1.5 metres. EA^*% 1.5 — see also wingspan
m verb ( nn-) [VN] 1 to last all
through a period of time or to cover the whole of it IK IF: His acting career
spanned 55 years, fife 67 'M zL X 21 A i£ 55 ^.0 0 Family photos spanning
five generations were stolen. --M. 3i7t A 67 M ft A H 7 0 2 to include a large area or a lot of
things
&&.(. RAHtE. ) ; : The oper
ation,
which spanned
nine countries, resulted in 200 arrests. M, itfflf 7 200 A„ 3 to
stretch
right across sth, from one side to the other H 8$; tn?l cross : a series of bridges spanning the
river
madj. limn see spick
Span-dex™ /'spaendeks/ noun = Lycra
spangle /'spaeqgl/ verb, noun
& verb [VN] [usually passive] ~ sth
(with sth) to cover or to decorate sth with small pieces of sth shiny ft |X]
Aft A ) — see also Star-Spangled Banner mnoun
a small piece of shiny metal or plastic used to decorate clothes ( 8ffiJi^67
) MAMMA
H771 SEQUIN
span iel /'spaenjal/ noun a dog with large soft
ears that hang down. There are several types of spaniel. , H
Awjt, )
Span ish /’spaemJV adj., noun madj. from or connected with Spain MI&A67 m noun [U] the language of
% mmmg&mm)
.Spanish 'chestnut noun = sweet chestnut .Spanish 'fly noun {pi. .Spanish ’flies) 1 [C] a bright green
insect that has a strong smell and produces a harmful substance MM
tg H
2 [U] a poisonous mixture made from the crushed bodies of these
insects, that is said to give people a strong desire to have sex MtiHsii >
the .Spanish Inqui sition noun [sing] 1 the organization set up
by the Roman Catholic Church in Spain in the 15 th century to punish people who
opposed its beliefs, known for its cruel and severe methods M SEE IF
Rtmmm (15
^ m
h|
3j& #r # lit ffl £ ) 2 (often humorous) used to say that you do
not like the fact that sb is questioning you a lot about sth ( ) LB('41, Ul |o]; What is
this? The Spanish Inquisition? II 0 ^ ? f2
fR] M
.Spanish 'moss noun [U] a tropical American
plant that has long thin grey leaves and that grows over trees
MSIWm
.Spanish 'onion noun a large onion with a
mild
flavour
w&mm (m^x> mmm<)
spank /spaegk/ verb [VN] to hit sb,
especially a child, several times on their bottom as a punishment fj ( ft |£67 ) MIS: — compare smack v.(1) ► spank noun spank ing /'spaerjkirj/ noun, adv., adj. u noun [C, U] a series of hits
on the bottom, given to sb, especially a child, as a punishment ff M IS: ( X Tb 7T ft $
) : to
give sb a spanking ff^A—UMi 0 I don’t agree with
spanking. Itcftl!
ATTMIA h adv. (informal) when you say that sth
is spanking
new,
etc. you are emphasizing that it is very new, etc. # 'U", +J5L
madj. [only before noun] (informal) very fast, good or
impressive 7$;|&67; 7'
and
turning nuts and bolts (= small metal rings and pins
that hold things together) JS ft; Sf ; M II — picture □> tool -^compare adjustable spanner ITSTm (throw) a 'spanner
in the works (BrE) (NAmE (throw) a ('monkey) wrench in the works)
(to
cause) a delay or problem with sth that sb is planning or doing fttfe; mmm;
spar /spa:(r)/ verb, noun
u verb (-rr-j [V] ~ (with sb) 1 to make the movements
used in boxing, either in
training or to test the speed of your opponent’s reaction % ft # ft ; M %
— ^ 2 to argue with sb, usually in a friendly way ( A&F
Mftft ) ftik
■
noun 1 a strong pole used to
support the sails, etc. on a ship ( )
El M2 a structure that
supports
the wing of an aircraft ( ) M'M
spare fH* /spee(r); NAmE sper/ adj., verb, noun
h adj.
►
NOT USED/NEEDED | 1 [usually before noun] that is not being used
or is not needed at the present time ^
67; S 67: We’ve
got a spare bedroom, if you’d like to stay. W X M ;t Vf fc F, $c7H
$ M ~ fej Eh 'M D o I’m afraid I haven’t got any
spare cash. SIS TtcTF ^^67Ijft^o 0 Are there any tickets going spare
(= are
there any available, not being used by sb else)?
67M^?
►
EXTRA ^(' jJIJ 2 [only before noun] kept in case you need to
replace the
one you usually use; extra §- fl] 67 ; IP 67: a spare key/tyre rO Take
some spare
clothes
in case you get wet. AM, tK §#'IS
T#lfo
►
TIME Mlh] 3
available to do what you want with rather
than work $
pf] 67; $ ^ 67: He’s studying music in his spare time, fife A 07 |aj 0 0 I haven’t had a
spare
moment this morning.
►
PERSON A
4 thin, and usually
quite tall @67; Si%67 IHTO1 go ’spare {BrE, informal) to become very angry
or upset
m verb
►
TIME/MONEY/ROOM/THOUGHT, ETC. ffrf fu], M\ fafo: 'fr
1
~ sth/sb (for
sb/sth) |
~ (sb) sth to make sth such as
time or money available to sb or for sth, especially when it requires an effort
for you to do this ]$ tB ; tk lK ; ^ i±S; AUB: [VN] I’d love to have a break, but I can’t spare the
time just now. r
07 I'b] o o We can only
spare one room for you. Tic 77 R tn M d) ^ A ^ I'b] o 0 Could you spare one of your staff to help
us out?
77 ? O You
should spare a thought for (= think about) the person who cleans up after you. 7^J@i^AI®fs7lT367 A S I H o 0 [VNN] Surely you can spare me
a few minutes? jllHWirPE?
►
SAVE SB PAIN/TROUBLE MM 2 ~ sb/yourself
(from)
sth to save
sb/yourself from having to go through an unpleasant experience it #; [VNN]
He
wanted to spare his mother any anxiety, ftk 7^ ih ~Ef ^AM^67fS.tto 0 Please
spare me (= do not tell me) the gruesome details. IP # it A € # M 67 7? $C if 7^
To 0 You
could have spared yourself an unnecessary trip by phoning in advance. if
@ To 0 [VN] She
was spared from the ordeal of appearing in court. h&XM ft ® ^Tff B
7 „
►
NOT HARM/DAMAGE TfdTf / ftUf 3 [usually passive] ~ sb/
sth
(from sth) (formal) to allow sb/sth to
escape harm, damage or death, especially when others do not escape itiM; tkji; {£iM: [VN] They killed the men
but
spared the children. TMTfVT AA, jfiflTT&'To O During the bombing only one house was
spared (= was
not hit by a bomb). ft , R o [also
VNN]
►
NO EFFORT/EXPENSE, ETC. ECfi , ^
^ 4 [VN] to do
everything
possible to achieve sth or to do sth well without trying to limit the time or
money involved X ^rfe ( B7|hK ) : He spared no effort to
make her
happy
again. oNo
expense
was spared in furnishing the new office.