) : spastic children
M3L 0 spastic
reactions Si 2 (informal) an
offensive word, sometimes used
by children to mean ‘stupid’ ( ABfJLSftMAJiit ) Aft63, AI&63 ►spastic noun
spat /spaet/ noun 1 (informal) a short argument or
disagreement about sth unimportant 7 #- Vrp; /Jv jjjij ft;
P ft 2 [usually pi.] a cloth covering for the
ankle that was worn in the past by men over the shoe and fastened with buttons
at the side ( IBBfl!7ft63 )
—
see also spit, spitting, spat, spat v. spatch cock /‘spaetJkDk; NAmE -ka:k/
noun a chicken or other
bird that is cut open and cooked under a strong
heatj#A63Wm (<££)/■
spate /speit/ noun [usually sing.] ~ of
sth a large number of things, which are usually unpleasant, that happen
suddenly within a short period of time — i£ ^*£ H ( ) : The bombing was the
latest
in a spate of terrorist
attacks.
M in (full) 'spate (especially BrE) (of a river M $£)
containing more water and flowing more strongly than usual ;
A zK; After heavy
rain, the river was in spate. AMMlS, MzJtHSL 0 (figurative) Celia was in full spate (= completely involved
in talking and not likely to stop or able to be interrupted). WfHEPWlfcft, spa tial (also spacial) /‘speijl/ adj. (formal or technical A igj relating to
space and the position, size, shape, etc. of things in it 7 | b] 63 : changes taking place in the spatial
distribution of the population An63ft££ft;l!6#f
A 7 63 A ft o the development of a child’s spatial
awareness (= the ability to judge
the positions and sizes of objects) j£77|B]]givH63AJ$, ► spatially
Mali/
adv. spatter /‘spaeta(r)/ verb, noun
mverb 1 ~ sb/sth (with sth) | ~ sth
(on/over sb/sth) to
cover sb/sth with drops of
liquid, dirt, etc., especially by accident M; j® ETTH splash :
[VN] blood-spattered
walls
lfiL^63it!ii 0 As the bus passed, it spattered us with mud. o Oil was
spattered on the floor, ft ft ± IK T® 7 '/ft W „ [also V] 2 [V + adv./prep.] (of
liquid ft) to fall on a surface in drops, often noisily j®?f; : We heard
the rain spattering on
the roof. ?SClnjTJEMAn$M*#lf©ft
unoun (also spattering) [sing.] ~ (of sth) a
number of drops of a liquid or small amounts of sth that hit a surface; the
noise this makes/®; :
a spatter of rain against the
window M
M IT W 1o ft ± 63 ^ A 0 a spattering of blood
&&&$£ 0 (figurative) a spatter of applause
spat ula /'spaetjala/ noun 1 a tool with
a broad flat blade used for mixing and spreading things, especially in cooking
and painting ( MMW
5:63)$*,
S'JW, WH, MA — picture o kitchen, laboratory 2 (especially
NAmE) = fish slice 3 (BrE) (NAmE tongue depressor) a thin flat instrument
that doctors use for pressing the tongue down when they are examining sb’s
throat jjfcilrft spawn /spa:n/ verb, noun
■
verb 1 [V, VN] (of fish, frogs, etc. ft, ®^) to lay eggs A §\] 2 [VN] (often disapproving) to cause sth to
develop or be produced 3\
A; 31 WiSt; lift,: The band’s album spawned a string of hit singles. j£AAPA63ir$#1|[
■
noun [U] a soft substance
containing the eggs of fish, frogs etc. ( ft, ®^(ft ) W —see also frogspawn
spay /spei/ verb [VN] (technical A iff) to remove the ovaries of a female animal, to prevent
it from breeding fJJBfc lift 63^31; 1J (#£#):
Have you had your cat spayed? ?
spaza /'spa:za/ noun (SAfrE) a small shop/store that
sb operates from their home, selling food, drinks, cigarettes, etc. to local
people, especially in a township
( AteMA^W )
Speak
0-w /spi:k/ verb (spoke /spauk; NAmE spook/, spoken /'spaukan; NAmE 'spoo-/)
► HAVE CONVERSATION 7$ 1 [V] ~ (to sb) (about
sth/sb) | ~
(with sb) (about sth/sb) to talk to sb about sth; to have
a conversation with sb ft; ftif; I’ve spoken to
the manager about it. ♦ fc EL ^ M ft M T o 0 The President refused to
speak to the waiting journalists. W ft 1^ # (ft ft # i# o 0 (especially
NAmE) Can I speak with you for a minute? 0
‘Can
I speak to Susan?’ ‘Speaking.’ (= at the beginning of a
telephone conversation) “if <%? ”
“fciftJIko ” 0 ‘Do you know him?’ ‘Not to speak to.’ (= only by sight) “ftiAiRfM? ” “ AftMiSo ” 0
I saw
her in the street but we didn’t speak. /EjijAft'.HL
mr, immmmo
■
USE VOICE ft if 2 [V] to use your voice to
say sth ftif;
i#if: He
can’t speak because of a throat infection, jftf# 7 A 7 7 IE ft if 0
o Please speak more slowly, if ft if A o 0 Without speaking, she
stood up and went out. M AWftif, o He speaks with a
strange accent. fikftif 63 PflSHE O She has a beautiful speaking voice.
Mftif63 Wfelio
■
MENTION/DESCRIBE ft®; ftj£ 3 [V] ~ of/about sth/sb to mention or describe
sth/sb ft®; ftjA: She still speaks about him with great affection. ft®#,AM IB tf
o Witnesses
spoke of a great ball of flame. 0 ftPJW7A7J#o 0 Speaking of travelling
(= referring back to a subject just mentioned), are you going anywhere
exciting this year? 7
05t63iteAi%?
■
A LANGUAGE ft ft 4 [VN] (not used in the
progressive tenses A 7
fr Bt) to
be able to use a particular language 7ft, 7i# ( S#ioW ) : to speak several
languages 7ft Jl ft ft If 0 to speak a little Urdu 7ft^ AAAI&ft
o Do you speak English? ft7ft7ftpri? 5 to use a particular
language to express yourself ( J£ft ftW ) ft ft; [VN] What language
is it they’re speaking? fifeft (ft Jiff A ft ? 0
[V] Would you prefer it if we spoke in German? ISCIffilSftftAF^?
■
-SPEAKING ft- ft 6 (in adjectives speaking
the language mentioned
ft-ftftj: French-speaking
■
-SPEAK ft ft 7 (in nouns ft]) (informal, often
disapproving) the language or jargon of a particular group,
organization or subject • • if ft ; • • ft
gf:
computerspeak if
g" o eurospeak
Ixfc^ft
W
■
MAKE SPEECH A Aft ft 8 [V, usually + adv./prep.] to make a speech to an
audience AW; Wft; Wft:
to speak in public 7JFiHft 0 to speak on the radio
fEife&±ftft 0 to speak at a conference f£ 7 A A W 0 Professor Wilson
was invited to speak about the results of his research. Wl A3&fm$it!fcg£ltt§f7$mAWo
0 She spoke in favour of the new
tax. MA AlWft,
3t#frfto o He has a number of speaking engagements this week, ft, ft 7 M
i^iT/lMfto
■
SAY/STATEft; ft if. 9 [VN] to say or state sth
ft; ftft:
She
was clearly speaking the truth, ft ft 63 Aft 0
0 He spoke
the final words of the play. 63
7ft Jl
ft ft 63 o — see also spoken
Vim be on speaking
terms (with sb) | be speaking
(to sb) to be willing to be polite
or friendly towards sb, especially after an argument
ft ft: She’s
not been on speaking terms with her uncle for years. W 7 A ft ft ® fl — W 7
ft ft 0 0 Are they speaking to each other again yet? fttfl f® ft HE T AW ? 'generally, broadly,
roughly, 'relatively, etc. speaking used to show that what you are saying is
true in a general, etc. way &63, t[B&,
ftft^ftA:
Generally
speaking, the more you pay, the more you get. -j&Aft, A63Affifc^o 0 There are, broadly
speaking, two ways of doing this. ASftA,
Miiff 7W Wft Afeo o Personally speaking, I’ve always preferred Italian
food. t)[flc7AAft> no.../
nothing to 'speak of such a small amount that it is not
worth mentioning They’ve got no
friends to speak of. ft it1A — 7 iff # 63 M A» 0 She’s
saved a little money but nothing to speak of. ft$t
7—7, Mo ,so to 'speak used to emphasize that you are
expressing sth in an unusual or amusing way oJUift; ft if: They were all
very similar. All cut from the same cloth, so to speak, ft f ] ^ 7 ft ft