TSTTC1 a .spent 'force a person or group that
no longer has any power or influence A
( ) ;
i^AWA ( ifcHa ) —see also spend v.
sperm /sp3:m; NAmE sp3:rm/ noun (pi. sperm or
sperms)
1
[C] a cell that is produced by the sex organs of a male
and that can combine with
a female egg to produce young ff A : He has a low sperm count (= very few live male
cells). {%$ j# #£ j# 7 if ° 2 [U] the liquid
that is produced by the
male sex organs that contains these cells j# 'M E£EI semen
sperm atozoon /.spaimata'zauan; NAmE ,sp3:rmata- 'zouan/ noun (pi sperm-atozoa /-'zaua; NAmE -'zoua/) (biology /£.) a sperm f
'sperm bank noun a place where sperm
is kept and then used to help women become pregnant artificially
)
spermi cide /'sp3:misaid; NAmE 'sp3:rm-/ noun [U, C] a substance that kills
sperm, used during sex to prevent
the woman from becoming pregnant Aff'J ► spermi cidal /,sp3:mi'saidl; NAmE ,sp3:rm-/ adj. [only before noun]
'sperm whale noun a large whale that
is hunted for its oil and fat — picture o page R28
spew /spju:/ verb 1 [+adv./prep.] to flow out quickly,
or to make sth flow out quickly, in large amounts ( {■£ ) tB , M if : [V] Flames spewed from the
aircraft’s
engine. 0 0 tVNl
Massive chimneys
were spewing out smoke. — M®i^AW'i0©llW')0o
2
~ (sth) (up) (BrE, informal) to vomit (= bring food from the stomach
back out through the mouth) up±: [V] He spewed up on the
pavement,
fife it AfrilA Rt 7» 0 [VN] She spewed up the
entire meal.
3feT..
SPF
/.es
pi: ’ef/ abbr. sun protection factor
(a number that tells you how much protection a particular cream or liquid gives
you from the harmful effects of the sun)
(mmm
sphag num /‘sfaegnam/ (also 'Sphagnum moss) noun [U] a type of moss that grows in wet areas, used
especially for planting plants in pots, making fertilizer, etc.
mm (mm)
sphere /sfta(r); NAmE sfir/ noun 1 (geometry JL-faf) a solid figure
that is completely round, with every point on its surface at an equal distance
from the centre ft;
SYNONYMS
spend
invest ♦ pay out ♦
pay up ♦ cough up ♦ fork out ♦ shell out
These words all mean to give money to pay for goods or services. fetkZXo
spend to give money to pay for goods or services fL She spent £100 on a new dress. 100 ^
invest (of an organization or a government) to spend money on sth in order to
make it better or more successful ) Wft.
The
government has
invested heavily in public transport.
«A7A»&.
pay sth out to pay a lot of money for sth or to sb ft A : The company pays out a large share
of its profits in dividends.
pay up (rather informal) to pay all the money that you owe to sb, especially when you do not want
to or when the payment is late /
had a hard
time getting him to pay up. 7
Ait
cough (sth) up (informal) to pay or give money unwillingly )
: She finally
coughed up the money she owed. 7
M
it ; ft — picture o solid 2 any object that is completely round, for
example a ball ® Sjt ; ftfr.^1 3 an area of activity,
influence or interest; a particular section of society ^0; ^ CTJ71 domain:
the political sphere il&fjr 0 This area was formerly
within the sphere of influence of the
fjH0 0 He and I moved in
totally different social spheres. 4-sphere
(in
nouns jfj J$; & is]) a region that
surrounds a planet, especially the earth ( A
A (ft ) M: ionosphere 0 atmosphere AAM
spheric al /'sferikl; NAmE also 'sfir-/ adj. shaped like a sphere ftlfc(ft; EEd round
spheroid /'sfiaroid; NAmE 'sfir-/ noun (technical A ip) a solid object
that is approximately the same shape as a SPHERE ft
( it ) it-,
sphincter /'sfir)kta(r)/ noun (anatomy fl$) a ring of muscle
that surrounds an opening in the body and can contract to close it |H: the anal sphincter jjl fl
sphinx /sfirjks/ noun (often the Sphinx) an ancient Egyptian
stone statue of a creature with a human head and the body of a lion lying
down. In ancient Greek stories the Sphinx spoke in riddles. I?# A
W$)
spic /spik/ noun (taboo, slang,
especially NAmE) a very offensive word for a person from a country
where Spanish is spoken, for example a Mexican or Puerto Rican MgE^KMA ( ®MWA*»^0#A,
)
IT5T71 ,spic and 'span = spick and span at
SPICK
Spice On /spais/ noun, verb
» noun 1 [C, U] one of the
various types of powder or seed that come from plants and are used in cooking. Spices have a strong
taste and smell. ( j ##4 : common spices such as
ginger and cinnamon 0 a spice jar #44$i 2 [U] extra
interest or excitement Wl ) : We need an exciting trip
to add some spice to our lives. AMiJ—
T
£ tS
o Wl see variety
m verb [VN] ~ sth (up) (with sth) 1 to add spice to food in
order to give it more flavour A® #44 2 to add interest or
excitement to sth ■ iff |g lA; f<£ • • • $ # $!] Wi: He exaggerated the
details to spice up the story, ffe
PAY
UP OR COUGH UP? pay up cough up ?
You
can cough
up money
that you or sb else owes. You cannot pay up for sb else's debts,
only your own. Pay up does not take an object. * cough up
payupAfl^BMiAlftA#;,
pay up His family
shouldn’t bave-topay up for his gambling debts. 0 She finally paid up the money
she owed us. fork out (sth) (informal) to spend a lot of money
on sth, especially unwillingly A4l7'tf A
jfi $6]^: We’ve forked out a small fortune
on home improvements over the years. 7i7^f£
till *.
shell (sth) out (informal) to spend a lot of money
on
sth AffijW
FORK
OUT OR SHELL OUT? fork out shell out ? You fork out for sth more unwillingly
than you shell
out for sth. ATi fork out & shell out 7
'Mo
PATTERNS
AND COLLOCATIONS
3
to spend/pay out/fork out/shell out
(money) on sth
4
to pay out/pay up/cough up/fork out/shell
out for sth
to spend/invest/pay
out/cough up/fork out/shell out a
lot