Spoken
0"*r /'spaukan;
NAmE'spov-/
1 pp of speak 2 -spoken (in adjectives A is])
speaking in the way mentioned i$ • • • Eg : a quietly spoken man iS $t X
Eg H A — see also outspoken o
note on previous page
'spoken for adj. [not before noun] already claimed or
being kept for sb AM; H A A: I’m afraid
you
can’t sit there—those seats
are spoken for. A
&/tAM®#AMiTTo o (old-fashioned)
Liza is already spoken for (= she is already
married or has a partner). |ij!P'EJi£&W±7o the .spoken 'word noun [sing.] language
expressed in speech, rather than being written or sung P AiftEgiS spokesman /’spauksman; NAmE 'spou-/, spokeswoman /'spaukswuman; NAmE 'spou-/ noun (pi. -men /-man/, -women /-wimin/) ~ (for
sb/sth) a person who speaks on behalf of a group or an organization ft
H A:
a
police spokesman f i'lfA 0 A
spokeswoman for the government denied the rumours. A^iATSP^ftWo o note at gender spokes per son /'spauksp3isn; NAmE 'spouksp3:rsn/ noun {pi. -persons or -people) ~ (for sb/sth) a
person who speaks on behalf of a group or an organization “An A spon dee /'spnndi:; NAmE '
spon du licks /spDn'duiliks; NAmE
•
noun 1 [C] a piece of
artificial or natural material that is soft and light and full of holes and can
hold water easily, used for washing or cleaning ( IjRA^^tAiiL {figurative) His mind was like a
sponge, ready to absorb anything. {&$}AWM,
ft*
'a IP its itft o 2 [U]
artificial sponge used for filling furniture, cushions,
etc. ( fljl^A^Eg ) A ia % 3 [C] a simple sea creature
with a light body full of holes, from which natural sponge is obtained % Eft 4 [C, U] (BrE) = sponge cake : a chocolate sponge 'Wt&WU
■
verb 1 [VN] ~ sb/yourself/sth (down) to
wash sb/ yourself/sth with a wet cloth or sponge
BCCI wipe: She sponged his hot
face. ftfe ]£fifeIP$!Ml$J!&o 0 Take your jacket off
and I’ll sponge it down with water. jEf/FEgAiiLllftTA,
^
M % H ± A fe £ B — {& o 2 [VN +adv./prep.]
to remove sth using a wet cloth or sponge
iS/jj (
; f i
# ; gff ( ) H771 scrounge : He spent his life
sponging off his relatives, fife M £ ik A M IP ) L M ^ “i
sponge bag (also toilet bag, wash-bag) (all BrE) {NAmE 'toiletry bag) noun a small bag for
holding your soap, toothbrush,
etc. when you are travelling
'sponge cake (also sponge) noun [C, U] {BrE) a light cake made from
eggs, sugar and flour, with or without fat —
picture o layer
.sponge
'pudding noun [U, C] {BrE) a hot dessert (= a sweet dish) like a sponge
cake that usually has jam or fruit on top $XEpT
spon ger /'spAnd3a(r)/ noun (informal) a person who gets
money, food, etc. from other people without doing anything for them or offering
to pay ffc S it Eft A; $3 ##
spongi form /'spAnd3ifoim; NAmE -foirm/ adj. {technical Ain) having or relating to
a structure with holes in it like a sponge ( £iUR )’ (ft — see also BSE
spongy /'spAnd3i/ adj. soft and able to
absorb water easily like a sponge M ^ iU Eft ; A 7K Eg ETTCl springy: spongy moss The
ground was
soft and spongy, ±itfej&$fc, h'M ^'ffelEgo 0 The bread
had a spongy texture. IP# tfpfiUlll&ffco ► spon-gi-ness noun [U]
spon sor /'spnnsa(r); NAmE 'spam-/ noun, verb
mnoun 1 a person or company
that pays for a radio or television programme, or for a concert or sporting
event, usually in return for advertising ( ff j# $2, ^
g, #!&]$: The race
organizers are trying to attract
sponsors,
tfe ^ Eg £S. A M A i£ & 131#
o 2 a person who agrees to give sb money for a charity if that person succeeds
in completing a particular activity All#fi§3lii^EgA;
I’m collecting sponsors for next week’s charity run. fRJE#
fi Ifc # 0 3 a person or company that supports sb by
paying for their training or
education ( till ^ W Eft ) 3b # 4 a person who introduces
and supports a proposal for a new law, etc. ( MiiiC#,
“AM
A, flthe sponsor of the new
immigration bill
Jfii^^
5 a person who agrees to be officially responsible for another person f£A; f^tiEA 6 a person who presents a child
for Christian baptism or confirmation ( HR# )
; ); imi*
W ) ^I^A ECC1 GODPARENT
■
verb 1 [VN] (of a company,
etc. £ Kl ^f) to pay the costs
of a particular event, programme, etc. as a way of advertising ff H ( fS , 1!r
g ^ ) : sports
events sponsored by the tobacco industry A 2 [VN] to arrange for
sth official to take place ;
The
give sb money for a charity
if they complete a particular task M ^ Iff ^; A X M Ifc: [VN] Will you sponsor me
for a charity walk I’m doing?
0 a sponsored swim
M # W'%. tS
^ [also VN to inf] 4 [VN] to support sb by
paying for their training or education ^
5
[VN] to introduce a proposal for a new law, etc. fi $, ^ X (
& M # ) : The bill was sponsored
by a LabourMP.
sponsorship /’spDnsaJip;
NAmE 'spainsarjip/ noun 1 [U, C] financial
support from a sponsor a $50 million sponsorship deal * 5 000 o
The project needs to raise £8 million in sponsorship. mBmWmm 800 o We need to find
sponsorships for the expedition. UMll IiJ M Sfe o 2 [U] the act of
sponsoring sb/sth or being sponsored the senator’s sponsorship
of the job training
legislation IP fi# iZ « Zj- ffe'J
iTIHik fo till
spon tan eity /.spDnta'neiati; NAmE .spain-/ noun [U] the quality of being
spontaneous g A‘t4; g M
spon
tan eous /spDn'teinias; NAmE spain-/ adj. 1 not planned but done
because you suddenly want to do it g A ; # % J8J A M : a spontaneous offer of
help ± zb Be dti W Sfe 0 The audience burst
into spontaneous applause, g 2
often doing things
without planning to, because
you suddenly want to do them 3 {technical Aio) happening natur
ally, without being made to
happen g A Eft; g Z£Eft; g :
spontaneous
remission of the disease
g ^ ffl 4 done naturally, without
being forced or practised g $ (ft ; # M ■! Eg ;
A JH.fft 65 : a tape recording of spontaneous speech — ft g s'
0 a wonderfully
spontaneous performance of the piece Ztf g^W^# ► spoo-tan-eous-ly adv.: We spontaneously
started to dance, ft fg If A g ^iffe©^ if Ac b The bleeding often
stops spontaneously. jflltA^gE^Jho
spon taneous com bustion noun [u] the burning of a
mineral or vegetable substance caused by chemical changes inside it and not by
fire or heat from outside
m
spoof /spuif/
noun,
verb
m noun {informal) a humorous copy of a
film/movie, television programme, etc. that exaggerates its main features (
ZtfelX *111? g # W ) : It’s a
spoof on horror movies.