UNITS 11&12 • PAT Flashcards
chance
uk |tʃɑːns| us |tʃæns|
noun
1. an occasion that allows something to be done [C]
* “I didn’t get a chance to speak to her.”
* “If you have a chance, try the steak.”
* “[give someone a chance] He’s a very smart kid and just needs someone to give him a chance.”
* ”[+ to infinitive] If you give me a chance to speak, I’ll explain.”
* “He wanted to change, but he was never given the chance.”
* “Society has to give prisoners a second chance when they come out of jail.”
* “[miss your chance] He left and I missed my chance to say goodbye to him.”
* “[given half a chance] I’d go now given half a chance (= if I had the slightest opportunity).”
chance
uk |tʃɑːns| us |tʃæns|
verb
1. to risk something [T]
* “You’d be a fool to chance your life savings on a single investment.”
2. to happen or do something by chance [I old-fashioned/literary]
* ”[+ to infinitive] They chanced to be in the restaurant when I arrived.”
* “[chance on] I chanced on (= found unexpectedly) some old love letters in a drawer.”
* “[chance upon] Ten years after leaving school, we chanced upon (= unexpectedly met) each other in Regent Street.”
chance
uk |tʃɑːns| us |tʃæns|
adjective
1. happening in a way that is not planned or does not have any known cause or reason
* “Her chance discovery of the letters led to their publication.”
* “[chance meeting] Their relationship began with a chance meeting on a ski lift in Vail, Colorado.”
* “[chance encounter] A chance encounter with another artist would change her life.”
come across
uk |kʌm| us |kʌm|
verb
1. to behave in a way that makes people believe that you have a particular characteristic
* “She comes across really well (= creates a positive image) on television.”
* “[come across as] He comes across as a bit of a bore in an interview.”
2. If an idea or emotion comes across in writing, film, music, or when someone is speaking, it is expressed clearly and people notice it
* “What comes across in his later poetry is a great sense of sadness.”
come across something
uk |kʌm| us |kʌm|
verb
1. to find something by chance
* “He came across some of his old love letters in his wife’s desk.”
cool down
us |kul|
verb
1. to continue to exercise gently to prevent injury after you have done more difficult exercises
* “After you’ve cooled down from a hard run, you should refuel as soon as you can.”
cut back
uk |kʌt| us |kʌt|
verb
1. to spend less, do less, or use less of something
* “[cut back on] The government has announced plans to cut back on defence spending by 10 percent next year.”
* “If exercise is causing you pain, you should cut back.”
cut something back
uk |kʌt| us |kʌt|
verb
1. to reduce something, or to reduce it by a particular amount
* “We have had to cut back deliveries.”
* “The government has cut back $150 million of funding.”
2. to cut off parts of a tree or other plant so that it becomes smaller
* “Some shrubs need to be cut back to allow more light to reach them.”
die out
uk |daɪ| us |daɪ|
verb
1. to become less common and finally stop existing
* “Dinosaurs died out millions of years ago.”
* “It’s a custom that is beginning to die out.”
dig something up
uk |dɪɡ| us |dɪɡ|
verb
1. to take something out of the ground by digging
* “It’s time we dug up those potatoes.”
2. to break the ground or to make a hole in it with a tool, machine, etc.
* “They’re digging up the road outside to fix a faulty water main.”
3. to discover secret or forgotten facts by searching very carefully
* “I’ve been doing some research on our family history and I’ve dug up some interesting information.”
* “[dig up dirt on] She’s one of those reporters who’s always trying to dig up dirt on (= unpleasant private details about) celebrities.”
dry something up
uk |draɪ| us |draɪ|
verb
1. to dry plates, cups, etc. with a cloth after they have been washed
dry up
uk |draɪ| us |draɪ|
verb
1. If a river, lake, etc. dries up, the water in it disappears.
2. If a supply of something dries up, it ends
* “His main source of work had dried up, leaving him short of money.”
get through
uk |ɡet| us |ɡet|
verb
1. to succeed in talking to someone on the phone
* “I tried to call her but couldn’t get through.”
* “[get through to] I got through to the wrong department.”
get through something
uk |ɡet| us |ɡet|
verb
1. to succeed in an exam or competition
* “She got through her exams without too much trouble.”
2. to finish something
* “I can get through a lot more work when I’m on my own.”
* “We’ve got a lot to get through today.”
3. to use up something [UK (US go through)]
* “We’re getting through a lot of coffee/toilet paper.”
* “She gets through ten bars of chocolate each week.”
get (someone) through something
uk |ɡet| us |ɡet|
verb
1. to deal with a difficult or unpleasant experience, or to help someone do this
* “I don’t know how I got through the first couple of months after Andy’s death.”
* “We need to conserve our supplies so we can get through the winter.”
heat up something
us |hit|
verb
1. to make something warm or hot
* “Let’s see what happens when I heat it up.”
2. If a situation heats up, it becomes more extreme
* “With the political climate heating up, we can expect to hear a lot more from both candidates.”
kill
uk |kɪl| us |kɪl|
verb
1. to cause someone or something to die [I/T]
* “Her parents were killed in a plane crash.”
* “Smoking can kill.”
* “Food must be heated to a high temperature to kill harmful bacteria.”
2. to stop or destroy a relationship, activity, or experience [T]
* “Lack of romance can kill a marriage.”
* “They gave her some tablets to kill the pain.”
* “Kill your speed.”
3. to drink all of something [T mainly US informal (also kill off)]
* “We killed off two six-packs watching the game.”
4. to cause someone a lot of effort or difficulty [T informal]
* “It wouldn’t kill you to apologize.”
* “He didn’t exactly kill himself trying to get the work finished.”
5. to cause someone a lot of pain [T informal]
* “I must sit down, my feet are killing me!”
6. If you say that someone will kill you, you mean that they will be very angry with you [T informal]
* “My sister would kill me if she heard me say that.”
7. to make someone laugh a lot [T mainly US informal]
* “That comedian kills me.”
kill
uk |kɪl| us |kɪl|
noun
1. an animal or bird that has been hunted and killed, or the action of killing [C usually singular]
* “The leopard seizes its kill and begins to eat.”
* “[move in for the kill] Like other birds of prey, it quickly moves in for the kill.”
2. in ice hockey, a successful attempt to prevent an opposing team from scoring during a time when your team has one fewer player because of a penalty (= punishment for breaking the rules) [C/U (also penalty kill)]
* “He’s a big, physical defenceman who moves the puck well and is great on the penalty kill.”
put something/someone down
uk |pʊt| us |pʊt|
verb
1. to put an object that you are holding onto the floor or onto another surface, or to stop carrying someone
* “I put my bags down while we spoke.”
* “Put me down, Daddy!”
2. to write someone’s name on a list or document, usually in order to include that person in an event or activity
* “Do you want me to put you down for the trip to London?”
* “I’ve put myself down for the office football team.”
* “If you want to get your children into that school, you have to put their names down at birth.”
put something down
uk |pʊt| us |pʊt|
verb
1. If you put the phone down, you place it or the receiver back in the position you keep it in when it is not being used.
2. to pay part of the cost and promise to pay the rest later
* “I’ve put a deposit down on a new car.”
put someone down
uk |pʊt| us |pʊt|
verb
1. to make someone feel silly or not important by criticizing them [informal]
* “Why did you have to put me down in front of everybody like that?”
2. to place and make a baby comfortable in the place where it sleeps
* “I’d just put Jack down for his nap.”
put something down
uk |pʊt| us |pʊt|
verb
1. to kill an animal that is old, sick, or injured, to prevent it from suffering
* “If a horse breaks its leg, it usually has to be put down.”
2. to stop or limit an opposing political event or group
* “Police used tear gas to put the riot down.”
* “Thousands of troops were needed to put down the uprising.”
3. to reduce a price or a charge [UK (UK and US bring something down)]
* “Shops are being forced to put their prices down in order to attract customers.”
* “It’s time that the government put down interest rates.”
put (something) down (somewhere)
uk |pʊt| us |pʊt|
verb
1. When an aircraft puts down, it lands, and when pilots put down their aircraft, they land
* “She put down safely in the corner of the airfield.”
put someone down somewhere
uk |pʊt| us |pʊt|
verb
1. to stop a vehicle and allow someone to get out of it or off it
* “Ask the taxi driver to put you down outside the church.”
put-down
uk |ˈpʊt.daʊn| us |ˈpʊt.daʊn|
noun
1. an unkind remark that makes someone seem silly
* “One of the big put-downs of the presidential election campaign was the comment that he was “no Jack Kennedy”.”
slip up
uk |slɪp| us |slɪp|
verb
1. to make a mistake
* “These figures don’t make sense - have we slipped up somewhere?”
slip-up
uk |ˈslɪp.ʌp| us |ˈslɪp.ʌp|
noun
1. a mistake or something that goes wrong
spring up
uk |sprɪŋ| us |sprɪŋ|
verb
1. to start to exist suddenly
* “Thousands of new businesses have sprung up in the past couple of years.”
pop-up store
noun
throw something out
uk |θrəʊ| us |θroʊ|
verb
1. see throw something away/out
2. If people in authority throw out a plan, idea, case, etc. they refuse to accept or use it
* “The case was thrown out by the courts due to lack of evidence.”
