whispering of the sea.          3a piece

of news that is spread by being talked about but may not be true # pf; ig # H771 rumour : I’ve heard whispers that he’s leaving. AfliftllklcAo

'whispering campaign noun an attempt to damage sb’s reputation by saying unpleasant things about them and passing this information from person to person

whist /wist/ noun [U] a card game for two pairs of players in which each pair tries to win the most cards

)

whis tle 0-w /‘wisl/ noun, verb

m noun 1 a small metal or plastic tube that you blow to make a loud high sound, used to attract attention or as a signal R$ 7; The referee finally blew the whistle to stop the game. i£#ijft fs “fc7(ft "S „ — see also tin whistle 2 the sound made by blowing a whistle Rft 70: He scored the winning goal just seconds before the final whistle.

Eft - • Q 3 the sound that you make by forcing your breath out when your lips are closed P R$ : a shrill whistle A M (ft P 0 — see also wolf whistle 4 the high loud sound produced by air or steam being forced through a small opening, or by sth moving quickly through the air 7^110;  Rf 5 a piece of

equipment that makes a high loud sound when air or steam is forced through it       The train whistle blew

as we left the station. o

a factory whistle I refill IT*T77I see blow v., clean adj.

■ verb 1 to make a high sound or a musical tune by forcing your breath out when your lips are closed oft p R$; tJRf B$: [VN] to whistle a tune fflPttftf 0[V] He whistled in amazement, fft fgt t§ ftk oft 7 7 P Rft o 0 The crowd booed and whistled as the player came onto the field. A#XftX&R£R£0XftD*;nnf7 o

She whistled to the dog to come back. MfJ77R¥I$JE$J 0 A o 2 [V] to make a high sound by blowing into a whistle 7: The referee whistled for a foul. Rft Rft7 A!E#L 3 [V] (of a kettle or other machine A^Mlfl) to make a high sound R| pH ; nfijt; X0 P: The kettle began to whistle. ^ 7jc $ p4 n4 Afe Rfa 7 ® A o 0 The microphone was making a strange whistling sound.         "it. 4 [V +adv./prep.] to

move quickly, making a high sound Rf ^ M ft; R[S R|! |£zjfj: The wind whistled down the chimney.

T SlJ o 0 A bullet whistled past his ear. 7 # RS ift —5 [V] (of a bird 4) to make a high sound Kjf (tl; Rip A#; iTSlTTI sb can 'whistle for sth (BrE, informal) used to say that you are not going to give sb sth that they have asked for ( A 7    A #f Jc (ft 7

nj

'whistle-blower noun (used especially in newspapers X 7 ft $) a person who informs people in authority or the public that the company they work for is doing sth wrong or illegal ( £nmt >      iftA

'whistle-stop adj. [only before noun] visiting a lot of different places in a very short time 7£X31?£(ft; W-X 17 (ft: to go on a whistle-stop tour of Europe fij #i&f£^^iri£lft*jil:)fc 0 politicians on a whistle-stop election campaign Afu

Whit /wit/ adj. connected with Whitsun 7XI#ifw7(ft; S^IWHilft: Whit Monday

whit /wit/ noun [sing.] (old-fashioned) (usually in negative sentences a very small amount — &

ft 7 Ift ; A H33 jot IT5T771 not a 'whit | not one 'whit not at all; not the smallest amount

white IH* /wait/ adj., noun

• adj. (whiter, whit-est) 1 having the colour of fresh snow or of milk 0 (ft; 0 fe(ft: a crisp white shirt —

0        0 white bread 0 tift, 0 a set of perfect white teeth

— P S (ft o His hair was as white as snow. AX f fio O The horse was almost pure white in colour.

belonging to or connected with a race of people who have pale skin £3 # A (ft; 0

2295  white elephant

A Ift: white middle-class families £3    0

She writes about her experiences as a black girl in a predominantly white city. 7 MAM

2                  (of the skin&Jfc) pale because of emotion or illness  white

with shock Jtlsiftll&'feX 0 0 She went white as a sheet when she heard the news. M R/f f >] ft M 0 <,

3                  (BrE) (of tea or coffee with milk added /jp 7

#5 (ft : Two white coffees, please. i# A ^ 7 ^ (ft <®B R# 0 o Do you take your coffee black or white? ^ (ftp D#h 7/JP 7 #5 ? — compare black adj.(4) ► white-ness noun [U, sing.]

■ noun 1 [U] the colour of fresh snow or of milk £3      ; §

0 ; f L 0 : the pure white of the newly painted walls j§f #IW^l#ll(ftft£0-§!L<> She was dressed all in white. MW If—Sfelft AIL 2 [C, usually pi.] a member of a race or people who have pale skin 0 # A ; 0 A 3 [U, C] white wine 0 U M : Would you like red or white? ^ #$;Ri£fi^Mj&i01!i^M? 0 a very dry white #7 0 !i ^ /S 4 [C, U] the part of an egg that surrounds the yolk (= the yellow part) S 0 ;     : Use the whites

of two eggs.        — picture o egg

4                  [C, usually pi.] the white part of the eye 010; 0   :

The whites of her eyes were bloodshot. M(ft 0 011J7

ift. M o 6 whites [p|.] white clothes, sheets, etc. when they are separated from coloured ones to be washed ) : {BrE) Don’t wash whites

and coloureds together. #] IE 0 A 01 fP Ml]K <> (NAmE) Don’t wash whites and colors together.

-mb* 7 whitesjpij white clothes worn for playing some sports 0 fe is ^ 0g : cricket/tennis whites

iTTTTn .whiter than ’white (of a person A) completely honest and morally good      0; ttitAMh The

government must be seen to be whiter than white. J&fft — more at black n.

white-bait /'waitbeit/ noun [pi.] very small young fish of several types that are fried and eaten whole

&& ()

.white 'blood cell (also 'white cell) (also technical A leuco-cyte) noun (biology A) any of the clear cells in the blood that help to fight disease 0£ffl0&; 0lftE£ white-board /'waitboid; NAmE -boird/ noun a large board with a smooth white surface that teachers, etc. write on with special pens 0 7 ^ ® ;      0

— compare blackboard

.white 'bread noun [u] bread made with white flour

'white-bread adj. [only before noun] {NAmE, informal) ordinary and traditional Ulilft; —  Eft : a

white-bread town lljr'e HiiEftAit; white-caps /'waitkaeps/ noun [pi.] {NAmE) = white

HORSES

.white 'Christmas noun a Christmas during which there is snow on the ground 0fe;i:$£7 ( i&ffiTfH ) .white-'collar adj. [usually before noun] working in an office, rather than in a factory, etc.; connected with work in offices 0     ; X IR (ft ; X %       69 :

white-collar workers 0^0X#^ o a white-collar job 0 0 white-collar crime {= in which office workers steal from their company, etc.) 0 2E H — compare

BLUE-COLLAR, PINK-COLLAR

.white 'dwarf noun {astronomy A) a small star that is near the end of its life and is very dense (= solid and heavy) Sil (   tlM )

.white 'elephant noun [usually sing.] a thing that is useless and no longer needed, although it may have cost a lot of money   The new office

block has become an expensive white elephant. £rAmfi£7^infftflli&o hhlfchfll From the story that in Siam (now Thailand) the king would give a white elephant as a present to somebody that he did not like. That person would have to spend all their money on looking after the rare animal. iggTffilft#t^:: ift

< mm ), Hx&^j®&mx#&iftA-^0iio