NTC's pocket dictionary of words and phrases part 75

mals where the developing baby is
protected and fed until birth.
women
[
"wIm @n
] plural of
woman
.
won
[
"w^n
] past tense and past par-
ticiple of
win
.
wonder
[
"w^n d#
]
1.
n. someone
or something that is amazing, sur-
prising, or like a miracle.
2.
tv. to
wish to know something; to want
to know something.
3.
adj. very
good, helpful, or of great benefit.
→

nine days’ wonder
wonderful
[
"w^n d# fUl
] adj. very
good; amazing; remarkable; mar-
velous. (Adv: wonderfully.)
wonderland
[
"w^n d# lAnd
] n. an
area or place that is wonderful.
won’t
[
"wont
] cont. will not.
woo
[
"wu
]
1.
tv. to court someone
with the intention of marrying.
2.
tv. to encourage someone or a
group to cooperate, join some-
thing, or buy something.
wood
[
"wUd

]
1.
n. the hard sub-
stance that trees make as they
grow. (Plural only for types and
instances.)
2.
n. a kind or type of
Q.
3.
n. a small forest; an area
where there are many trees. (Usu-
ally plural, but not countable. The
meaning is the same for the singu-
lar and the plural.)
4.
the adj. use
of Q, W, or E.
→ a
babe in the woods
→
knock on wood
→
out of the woods
wooden
[
"wUd n
]
1.
adj. made of

wood.
2.
adj. stiff; not easily
moved; not moving easily; not
flexible. (Figurative on Q. Adv:
woodenly.)
woodland
[
"wUd lAnd
] n. an area
of land that is covered with trees.
(Singular or plural with the same
meaning, but not countable.)
woodpecker
[
"wUd pEk #
] n. a
bird that has a long, sharp beak for
piercing holes in trees and a long
tongue to catch insects inside the
tree.
woodwind
[
"wUd wInd
] n. a group
of musical instruments, many of
which are made of wood or used
to be made of wood, and many of
which are played by blowing air
across a reed.

woodwork
[
"wUd w#k
] n. some-
thing that is made of wood, espe-
cially the trim on the inside of a
house or building. (No plural.)
woody
[
"wUd i
]
1.
adj. covered with
woods; covered with trees.
(Comp: woodier; sup: woodiest.)
2.
adj. [of a plant] containing
wood. (Comp: woodier; sup:
woodiest.)
wool
[
"wUl
]
1.
n. the soft, curly hair
of sheep and goats. (Plural only
for types and instances.)
2.
n.
thread, yarn, or fabric made from

Q. (No plural.)
3.
adj. made from
W;
woolen.
→
pull the wool over
someone’s
eyes
woolen
[
"wUl @n
] adj. made of
wool
.
woolgathering
daydreaming.
word
[
"w#d
]
1.
n. a speech sound
or group of speech sounds that has
a particular meaning; a written
symbol or a group of written sym-
bols that represent a speech sound
or group of speech sounds that has
a particular meaning.
2.

tv. to
women
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express something by choosing Q
carefully.
→
break
one’s
word
→
by word of mouth
→
eat
one’s
words
→
from the word go
→
get a word in edgewise
→
get the final word
→
get the last word
→
get the word
→
go back on
one’s

word
→
hang on
someone’s
every word
→
have
one’s
words stick in
one’s
throat
→
keep
one’s
word
→
not utter a word
→
one’s
word
→
one’s words stick in
one’s
throat
→
put in a good word (for
someone
)
→
put words into

someone’s
mouth
→
take the words (right) out of
one’s
mouth
→
true to
one’s
word
→
twist
someone’s
words (around)
the
word 1.
n. an order; a com-
mand. (No plural. Treated as sin-
gular.)
2.
n. news; information.
(No plural. Treated as singular.)
wordy
[
"w#d i
] adj. having too
many words; using more words
than necessary to express some-
thing. (Adv: wordily. Comp:
wordier; sup: wordiest.)

wore
[
"wor
] past tense of
wear
.
work
[
"w#k
]
1.
n. an activity that
requires effort. (No plural.)
2.
n.
the effort required to do an activ-
ity. (No plural.)
3.
n. something
that is a result of effort or energy;
a piece of music or art.
4.
n. a job;
an occupation; a career; what one
does for a living; what a person
does to make money. (No plural.)
5.
n. the place where one’s job is
located; the job site. (No plural.)
6.

iv. to be employed; to have a
job; to labor; to earn money at a
job.
7.
iv. to function properly; to
operate properly.
8.
tv. to cause
something to function as
intended.
9.
tv. to cause someone
or something to operate or func-
tion; to cause someone or some-
thing to be active; to cause
something to use energy.
10.
tv. to
plow or farm land.
→
all in a day’s work
→
dirty work
→
get down to work
→
make fast work of
someone or
something
→

make short work of
someone or
something
work away (at
something
)
to con-
tinue to work hard or industri-
ously at something.
work like a horse
to work very
hard.
work on
someone
1.
[for a physi-
cian] to treat someone; [for a sur-
geon] to operate on someone.
2.
to try to convince someone of
something.
3.
[for something,
such as medication] to have the
desired effect on someone.
work
one’s
fingers to the bone
to
work very hard.

work out
1.
[for something] to
turn out all right in the end.
2.
[for someone] to do a program
of exercise.
work out for the best
to end up
in the best possible way.
work
something
in(to
something
)
to press, mix, or force a substance
into something.
work
something
off 1.
to get rid of
body fat by doing strenuous work.
2.
to get rid of anger, anxiety, or
work something off
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energy by doing physical activity.
3.

to pay off a debt through work
rather than by money.
work
something
up
to prepare
something, perhaps on short
notice.
work up to
something
1.
[for
something] to build or progress to
something. (Usually concerning
the weather.)
2.
[for someone] to
lead up to something.
work (up)on
something
1.
to
repair or tinker with something.
2.
[for something] to have the
desired effect on something.
workbook
[
"w#k bUk
] n. a text-

book for students, often including
pages that assignments can be
written on.
worker
[
"w#k #
] n. someone who
works; someone who is employed.
workout
[
"w#k aUt
] n. a period of
physical exercise.
the
works
everything.
world
[
"w#ld
]
1.
n. the planet
earth.
2.
n. the people who live on
the planet earth; the human race.
3.
n. a planet other than earth,
especially as the source of other
life forms.

4.
n. an area of human
activity, thought, or interest.
→
carry the weight of the world
on
one’s
shoulders
→
come down in the world
→
come up in the world
→
dead to the world
→
in a world of
one’s
own
→
in the world
→
move up (in the world)
→
not long for this world
→
on top of the world
→
out of this world
→
set the world on fire

→
think the world of
someone or
something
→
with the best will in the world
World Wide Web
[
"w#ld "waId
"wEb
] n. an international network
of data storage, transfer, and its
visual and audio display, designed
to be accessed through a computer
connection. (Abbreviated WWW
and the
Web
.)
worldwide
[
"w#ld "waId
] adj.
found or occurring throughout the
world; involving everyone in the
world.
worm
[
"w#m
] n. any of numerous
small, soft, tube-shaped animals

having no legs or head, including
some that crawl underground and
others that live as parasites in ani-
mals or people.
→
open a can of worms
worn
[
"worn
]
1.
Past participle of
wear
.
2.
adj. reduced in value or
usefulness owing to wear.
worn-out
[
"worn "aUt
]
1.
adj. com-
pletely reduced in value or useful-
ness because of wear.
2.
adj. very
tired; exhausted.
worry
[

"w# i
]
1.
n. a feeling of anx-
iety; a fear of trouble. (Plural only
for types and instances.)
2.
n.
someone or something that causes
Q.
3.
tv. to be anxious that some-
thing bad might happen; to sus-
pect, regrettably, that something
bad might happen. (The object is a
clause with
that
U.)
4.
tv. to cause
someone to feel anxiety or to fear
trouble.
worse
[
"w#s
]
1.
adj. more bad; less
good; inferior. (The comparative
form of

bad
.)
2.
adv. in a way that
work something up
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is Q than some other way. (The
comparative form of badly.)
→
none the worse for wear
→
One’s
bark is worse than
one’s
bite.
worsen
[
"w#s @n
]
1.
tv. to make
something worse.
2.
iv. to become
worse.
3.
iv. to become more sick.
worship

[
"w# SIp
]
1.
tv. to honor
someone or something greatly; to
adore someone or something.
(Past tense and past participle:
worshiped. Present participle: wor-
shiping.)
2.
iv. to attend a church
service. (Past tense and past par-
ticiple: worshiped. Present partici-
ple: worshiping.)
3.
n. what is done
at a church service; the praise and
honor of a spirit, ancestor, god,
object, or person. (No plural.)
worst
[
"w#st
] adj. most bad; least
good; most inferior. (The superla-
tive of
bad
.)
→
if worst comes to worst

the
worst
n. [among three or more]
someone or something that is the
most bad or least good. (Treated as
singular or plural, but not counta-
ble.)
worth
[
"w#T
]
1.
n. the value of
something; the amount of money
that something could sell for. (No
plural.)
2.
n. the importance of
someone or something; the degree
to which something is able to be
used. (No plural.)
3.
n. the
amount of something that can be
bought for a specific amount of
money. (No plural.)
→
make
something
worth

someone’s
while
→
not worth mentioning
→
not worth the trouble
→
put in
one’s
two cents(’ worth)
worth its weight in gold
very
valuable.
worth
one’s
salt
worth one’s salary.
worth
someone’s
while
worth
someone’s time and trouble.
worthless
[
"w#T l@s
] adj. having
no value or importance; useless.
(Adv: worthlessly.)
worthy
[

"w# Di
] adj. deserving
one’s time, energy, or attention;
deserving; useful; having value or
importance. (Adv: worthily.
Comp: worthier; sup: worthiest.)
worthy of the name
deserving or
good enough to be called some-
thing.
would
[
"wUd
]
1.
aux. a form used
as the past tense of
will
to express
the future from a time in the past,
especially in indirect quotations or
in constructions where other past-
tense verbs are used. (Contraction:
-’d.)
2.
aux. a form used to express
something that happened many
times in the past. (Contraction: -
’d.)
3.

aux. a form used instead of
will
Q to make commands more
polite by turning them into ques-
tions. (Contraction: -’d. See also
will
Q; using would is usually
more polite than using will.)
would like (to have)
to want
someone or something; to prefer
someone or something.
would rather
do something
would
more willingly do something;
would more readily do something;
would prefer to do something.
(Often -’d rather.)
wouldn’t
[
"wUd nt
] cont. would
not.
wouldn’t
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would’ve
[

"wUd @v
] cont. would
have, where
have
is an auxiliary.
wound
1.
[
"waUnd
] past tense and
past participle of
wind
R and T.
2.
[
"wund
] n. an injury where the
skin is torn or punctured.
3.
[
"wund
] n. an injury to one’s
feelings. (Figurative on W.)
4.
[
"wund
] tv. to injure someone;
to cause someone to have W.
→
rub salt in a wound

wove
[
"wov
] past tense of
weave
.
woven
[
"wo v@n
] past participle of
weave.
wrap
[
"rAp
] n. a shawl or a scarf; a
coat or cape.
→
get
something
wrapped up
→
have
something
wrapped up
→
keep
something
under wraps
wrap
someone or something

(up)
[
"rAp...
] to enclose someone or
something in a cover.
wrap
something
up
[
"rAp
] to bring
something to an end; to conclude
something.
wrath
[
"rAT
] n. severe anger, espe-
cially from someone with a lot of
power. (No plural.)
wreak vengeance (up)on
some-
one or something
to seek and get
revenge on someone or a group by
harming someone or the group.
wreath
[
"riT
] n., irreg. a decoration
of flowers and leaves arranged in a

certain shape, especially a circle.
(Plural: [
"riTs
] or [
"riDz
].)
wreathe
[
"riD
] tv. to make a circle
around something.
wreck
[
"rEk
]
1.
n. a serious acci-
dent, especially where something
is destroyed.
2.
n. a ruined vehicle
that remains after a serious acci-
dent.
3.
n. someone or something
that is a mess. (Figurative on W.)
4.
tv. to destroy something.
wreckage
[

"rEk IdZ
] n. whatever
remains after a serious accident or
disaster. (No plural. Treated as
singular.)
wrench
[
"rEntS
]
1.
n. a tool that
turns nuts, bolts, pipes, and other
objects into or out of position.
2.
tv. to twist or pull something
with force.
3.
tv. to injure a part
of the body by twisting it or
pulling it.
wrestle
[
"rEs @l
]
1.
tv. to force
someone or something loose,
down, away, etc., with force.
2.
iv.

to participate in a sport in which
ones wrestles one’s opponent
down as in Q.
wringer
[
"rIN #
] n. an old-fash-
ioned washing machine that
removes water from clothes by
pressing them as the clothes are
passed between two rollers.
→
put
someone
through the wringer
wrinkle
[
"rIN k@l
]
1.
n. a crease; a
small fold or line, such as in cloth-
ing that has not been ironed or on
the skin of an old person.
2.
iv. to
become creased; to get small lines
in one’s skin or on the surface of
something.
3.

tv. to cause some-
one’s skin or the surface of some-
thing to have Q; to cause creases,
folds, or lines to form on the sur-
face of someone or something.
wrist
[
"rIst
] n. the part of the body
where the hand joins the lower
part of the arm.
would’ve
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