Ebook Dictionary of American idioms and phrasal verbs: Part 2

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quail at someone or something to show fear at someone or

something; to shrink from someone or something. ᮀ Todd
quailed at the thought of what he had to do. ᮀ The students
quailed at the teacher who had been so hard on them in the
past.
quail before someone or something to cower before or at
the threat of someone or something. ᮀ The students
quailed before the angry principal. ᮀ They quailed before
the thought of punishment.
quake in one’s boots Go to shake in one’s boots.
quake with something to shake as with fear, terror, etc. ᮀ
Alice was quaking with fear as the door slowly opened. ᮀ
Todd quaked with terror when he saw the vicious dog at the
door.
qualify as something to fulfill the requirements to be something. ᮀ Tom qualified as a mechanic. ᮀ I have been qualified as a mechanic since I was twenty.
qualify for something to meet the requirements for something. ᮀ I’m sorry, you do not qualify for this job. ᮀ I don’t
qualify for it.
qualify someone as something to cause someone to fulfill
the requirements for something. ᮀ Does this course qualify me as a stockbroker? ᮀ She qualified herself as a realtor.
qualify someone for something to enable someone to meet
the requirements for something. ᮀ His years with the company qualified him for pension. ᮀ Does this ticket qualify
me for the drawing?
quality time time spent with someone allowing interaction and closeness. ᮀ He was able to spend a few minutes
of quality time with his son, Buxton, at least once every two
weeks.
*qualms (about someone or something ) an uneasy feeling
of one’s conscience about someone or something. (*Typically: cause ~ ; have ~ ; have no ~ ; give someone
~ .) ᮀ Do you have any qualms about telling a little white
lie to Mary about her not getting an invitation to the party?
quarrel (with someone ) (about someone or something ) to
have an argument with someone about the subject of

someone or something. ᮀ Please don’t quarrel with me
about money. ᮀ You are always quarreling with Claire.
quarrel (with someone ) (over someone or something ) to
have an argument with someone about someone or something. ᮀ Todd quarreled with Carl over who was going to
get the new secretary. ᮀ They are quarreling over Sally.

quarrel with something to argue against something; to
have a complaint about something. ᮀ I can’t quarrel with
that. ᮀ Does anyone want to quarrel with that last remark?
The Queen’s English “Official” British English. ᮀ He
can’t even speak The Queen’s English! Despicable!

queer as a three-dollar bill Go to phony as a threedollar bill.

queer for something Inf. in the mood for something; desiring something. (Old.) ᮀ I’m queer for a beer right now. ᮀ
She’s queer for him because of his money.
quest for someone or something to seek after someone or
something. ᮀ Martin is off questing for a book on baroque
organ building. ᮀ She is questing for a better way to do it.
a question of something a matter of something; a problem of something. ᮀ It’s not a matter of not wanting to go
to the opera. It’s a question of money.

question someone about someone or something to ask
someone about someone or something. ᮀ The police questioned Roger about the crime. ᮀ Then they questioned
Claire about Roger.
question someone at great length Go to at great
length.

queue up (for something ) to line up for something. (Typically British.) ᮀ We had to queue up for tickets to the play.
ᮀ You must queue up here to get in.

quibble (about someone or something ) (with someone )
and quibble (over someone or something ) (with someone ) to be argumentative or contentious with someone
about someone or something. ᮀ Let’s not quibble about it.
ᮀ Please don’t quibble with your sister. ᮀ No need to quibble over it.
quick and dirty Fig. [done] fast and carelessly; [done]
fast and cheaply. ᮀ I am not interested in a quick and dirty
job. I want it done right. ᮀ The contractor made a lot of
money on quick and dirty projects that would never last very
long.
quick as a flash Go to next.
*quick as a wink and *quick as a flash; *quick as
(greased) lightning; *swift as lightning very
quickly. (*Also: as ~ .) ᮀ As quick as a wink, the thief took
the lady’s purse. ᮀ I’ll finish this work quick as a f lash. ᮀ
Quick as greased lightning, the thief stole my wallet.
quick as (greased) lightning Go to previous.
quick like a bunny really quick. ᮀ Now’s your chance.
Do it! Quick like a bunny!
quick off the mark quick starting or reacting. (Compare
this with slow off the mark.) ᮀ Boy, you were quick off
the mark there! ᮀ If you can be really quick off the mark,
you can soon find the answer.
quick on the draw Go to next.
quick on the trigger and quick on the draw 1. Lit.
quick to draw a gun and shoot. ᮀ Some of the old cowboys
were known to be quick on the trigger. ᮀ Wyatt Earp was
particularly quick on the draw. 2. Fig. quick to respond to
anything. ᮀ John gets the right answer before anyone else.
He’s really quick on the trigger. ᮀ Sally will probably win
the quiz game. She’s really quick on the draw.

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quote, unquote

quick on the uptake quick to understand or learn something. ᮀ Just because I’m not quick on the uptake, it doesn’t
mean I’m stupid. ᮀ Mary understands jokes before anyone
else because she’s so quick on the uptake.
a quick study a person who is quick to learn things.
(Compare this to a slow study.) ᮀ Jane, who is a quick
study, caught the joke immediately and laughed before
everyone else.
a quick temper and a short temper; a short fuse a
bad temper that can be easily aroused. ᮀ Tyler has a quick
temper and doesn’t mind letting everyone see it.
quicker than hell Inf. very fast. ᮀ You got over here
quicker than hell. ᮀ Be careful in the stock market. You can
lose all your money quicker than hell.
quicker than you can say Jack Robinson Go to
before you can say Jack Robinson.

*quiet as a (church) mouse and *quiet as the grave
very quiet. (*Also: as ~ .) ᮀ You’d better be as quiet as a
mouse while Grandma takes her nap so you won’t wake her
up. ᮀ This town is quiet as the grave now that the factories
have closed.
quiet as the grave Go to previous.
quiet down to become quiet; to become less noisy. ᮀ

Please quiet down. ᮀ Ask them to quiet down.
quiet someone or an animal down† to make someone or an
animal more quiet. ᮀ Please go and quiet the children
down. ᮀ Try to quiet down the children. ᮀ Please quiet that
dog down.
quip about someone or something to joke about someone
or something. ᮀ The kids were quipping about the principal’s hairpiece. ᮀ It is rude to quip about an elderly person.
quit a place to leave a place. ᮀ In the autumn, Melinda quit
Paris and traveled south to warmer climes.
quit on someone 1. [for something] to quit while someone is using it. ᮀ This stupid car quit on me. ᮀ I hope this
thing doesn’t quit on me. 2. [for one] to leave one’s job,
usually suddenly or unannounced. ᮀ Wally, the park
supervisor, quit on us at the last minute. ᮀ My assistant quit
on me.
quit over someone or something to stop working or doing
something because of someone or something; to quit
because of a dispute over someone or something. ᮀ Please
don’t quit over a silly thing like that. ᮀ She quit over one of
her fellow workers.
quit while one is ahead to stop doing something while
one is still successful. ᮀ When will I learn to quit while I’m
ahead? ᮀ Get into the market. Make some money and get
out. Quit while you’re ahead.

quite a bit Go to next.
quite a few and quite a lot; quite a bit; quite a
number much or many. ᮀ Do you need one? I have quite
a few. ᮀ I have quite a bit—enough to spare some. ᮀ How
many? Oh, quite a number.
quite a lot Go to previous.

quite a number Go to quite a few.
quite a something definitely something; a good example of
something. ᮀ The captain of the swim team is quite a
swimmer. ᮀ That’s quite a bruise you have there.
quite something something very good or remarkable. ᮀ
You should see their new house. It’s quite something. ᮀ Meg’s
mother has bought a new hat for the wedding and it’s quite
something.
quiver with something 1. Lit. to shake or shiver from
something, such as cold, fear, anticipation, etc. ᮀ On seeing the bear, the dogs quivered with fear. ᮀ Todd quivered
with the cold. 2. Fig. to experience eagerness or joy. ᮀ I
quivered with delight when I saw the dessert. ᮀ Tom quivered with eagerness as the door opened.
quiz out (of something ) to earn permission to waive a college course by successful completion of a quiz or exam. ᮀ
Andrew was able to quiz out of calculus. ᮀ After studying
very hard, he quizzed out.
quiz someone about someone or something to ask someone
many questions about someone or something. ᮀ The general quizzed the soldier about the incident. ᮀ The officer
quizzed her about Randy.
quiz someone on someone or something to give someone a
quiz or test over the subject of someone or something. ᮀ
The teacher quizzed the students on the chapter she had
assigned for homework. ᮀ I hope they quiz me on George
Washington. I am prepared.
quote a price to name or state in advance the charge for
doing or supplying something. ᮀ The mechanic quoted a
price of $100 to repair my car. ᮀ The carpenter quoted a
price for fixing the stairs.
quote someone or something out of context Go to out of

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quote (something ) from someone or something to recite
something verbatim that someone else has said; to recite
something verbatim from a printed source. ᮀ May I quote
from your letter of the tenth? ᮀ Do you mind if I quote a
line from Keats?
quote, unquote a parenthetical expression said before a
word or short phrase indicating that the word or phrase
would be in quotation marks if used in writing. ᮀ So I
said to her, quote, unquote, it’s time we had a little talk.

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ᮀ The children raced through dinner, in a hurry to get outside to play.

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race to someone or something to run to someone or something. ᮀ The girls raced to the front room. ᮀ We all raced
to Mary, who had the candy.

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race against someone or something to attempt to win a trial
of speed against someone or something. ᮀ I don’t want
to race against Kelly. She is too fast. ᮀ I had to race against
time to get there before the baby got worse.
race against time 1. a rush; a rush to beat a deadline. ᮀ
We were in a race against time to beat the deadline. ᮀ It was
a race against time, but we made it. 2. to hurry to beat a
deadline. ᮀ We had to race against time to finish before
the deadline. ᮀ You don’t need to race against time. Take
all the time you want.
race around to run or move around in a great hurry. ᮀ
Stop racing around and calm down! ᮀ I have been racing
around all morning, trying to get some things done.
race around (after someone or something ) to rush here
and there to find or fetch someone or something. ᮀ I had

to race around after Tom. I couldn’t seem to catch up to him.
ᮀ I wish I could find the dog without having to race around
all over the neighborhood.
race for something to run or drive fast to get to something
in a hurry. ᮀ I raced for the door to see who was there. ᮀ
The children raced for the best seats in front of the television set.
race into someone or something to bump or crash into
someone or something. ᮀ The boys raced into the side of
the car, and one of them was hurt. ᮀ We raced into Mary
and knocked her over.
race into something to run into a place. ᮀ The children
raced into the room and headed straight for their presents.
ᮀ Please don’t race into the garden. You will trample the
f lowers.
race someone for something to compete against someone
for a prize; to try to outrun someone to get to something
first. ᮀ I will race you for the grand prize. ᮀ Ned raced his
sister for the breakfast table every morning.
race someone to some place to compete against someone
to see who gets to a place first. ᮀ I will race you to the door.
ᮀ Tim wanted to race me to the corner.

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race through someone or something to run or chase
through a group of people or a place. ᮀ The children raced
through the group of ladies standing by the door. ᮀ The dogs
raced through the room, upsetting a lamp.

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race through something to perform some task very rapidly.
ᮀ They raced through their prayers and jumped into bed.

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race up to someone or something to run to someone or
something. ᮀ Molly raced up to Paul and kissed him on the
cheek. ᮀ We raced up to the door and opened it cautiously.
race with someone or something to enter a speed contest
with someone or something. ᮀ I refuse to race with Carla.
She is much too fast for me. ᮀ I can’t race with a horse!
rack one’s brain(s) Fig. to try very hard to think of something. ᮀ I racked my brains all afternoon, but couldn’t
remember where I put the book. ᮀ Don’t waste any more
time racking your brain. Go borrow the book from the
library.
rack out Sl. to go to bed and to sleep. ᮀ I’m really tired.
I’ve got to go rack out for a while. ᮀ I racked out until nearly
noon.
rack something up† 1. Lit. to place something onto or into
its rack. ᮀ You had better rack the billiard balls up when
you finish this game. ᮀ Please rack up the balls. 2. Fig. to
accumulate something; to collect or acquire something.
ᮀ They all racked a lot of profits up. ᮀ We racked up twenty
points in the game last Saturday. 3. Sl. to wreck or damage something. ᮀ Fred racked his new car up. ᮀ He racked
up his arm in the football game.
racked with pain suffering from severe pain. ᮀ My body
was racked with pain, and I nearly passed out. ᮀ My head
was racked with pain.
radiate from someone or something to spread out from

someone or something, as with rays. ᮀ Happiness radiated from Mary. She was so proud! ᮀ The heat radiated
from the wall next to the furnace room.
raffle something off† to give something away by a drawing
or raffle. ᮀ They will raff le a television set off. ᮀ They are
going to raff le off a television set this weekend at the school.
rag on someone and rake on someone Sl. to bother someone; to irritate someone; to criticize and humiliate someone. ᮀ I wish you would stop ragging on me. I don’t know
why you are so annoyed at me. ᮀ Stop raking on me!
rag out Sl. to dress up. ᮀ I like to rag out and go to parties.
ᮀ I hate to rag out. I like comfortable clothes.
rag someone about someone or something 1. to complain
to someone about someone or something. ᮀ Why are you
always ragging me about Mary? ᮀ Stop ragging me about
being late. 2. to tease someone about someone or something. ᮀ I wish you would stop ragging me about my hat.
ᮀ Why do you always rag me about my funny walk? I can’t
help it.
rage against someone or something to vent one’s anger
about someone or something; to criticize someone or
something severely. ᮀ She exhausted herself raging against
Judy. ᮀ Mary is raging about the office politics again.
rage at someone or something to direct one’s anger at someone or something. ᮀ Why are you raging at me? What on
earth did I do? ᮀ Nothing can be solved by raging at the
police department.

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raise hob with someone or something

rage out of control to become uncontrollable. ᮀ The

fire raged out of control and threatened the residential area.
ᮀ If we didn’t do something quickly, the fire would be raging out of control.
rage over someone or something to fight furiously over
someone or something. ᮀ The two managers both wanted
to hire the same prospective employee. They raged over her
for nearly an hour. ᮀ The bears raged over that one fish for
a long time.
rage through something 1. Lit. [for a fire] to burn rapidly
through an area or a building. ᮀ The fire raged through
the unoccupied building. ᮀ When the fire began to rage
through the forest, we knew we had better head for the river.
2. Fig. [for someone] to move rapidly through some
sequence or process, as if in a rage. ᮀ Harry raged through
the contract, looking for more errors. ᮀ She raged through
the book, angry with everything she read.
rail against someone or something to complain vehemently
about someone or something. ᮀ Why are you railing
against me? What did I do? ᮀ Leonard is railing against
the tax increase again.
rail at someone (about something ) to complain loudly or
violently to someone about something. ᮀ Jane railed at
the payroll clerk about not having received her check. ᮀ I
am not responsible for your problems. Don’t rail at me!
railroad someone into something to force someone into
doing something in great haste. ᮀ The salesman tried to
railroad me into signing the contract. ᮀ You can’t railroad
me into doing anything!
railroad something through (something ) to force something through some legislative body without due consideration. ᮀ The committee railroaded the new constitution
through the ratification process. ᮀ Mary felt she could railroad the legislation through.
rain cats and dogs Fig. to rain very hard. ᮀ It’s raining

cats and dogs. Look at it pour! ᮀ I’m not going out in that
storm. It’s raining cats and dogs.
a rain check (on something ) 1. a piece of paper allowing
one to see an event—which has been canceled—at a later
time. (Originally said of sporting events that had to be
canceled because of rain. *Typically: get ~ ; have ~ ;
take ~ ; give someone ~ .) ᮀ The game was canceled
because of the storm, but we all got rain checks on it. ᮀ I
can’t use a rain check because I’m leaving town for a month.
2. a reissuance of an invitation at a later date. (Said to
someone who has invited you to something that you cannot attend now, but would like to attend at a later time.
*Typically: get ~ ; have ~ ; take ~ ; give someone
~ .) ᮀ We would love to come to your house, but we are busy
next Saturday. Could we take a rain check on your kind invitation? ᮀ Oh, yes. You have a rain check that’s good anytime you can come by and visit. 3. a piece of paper that
allows one to purchase an item on sale at a later date.
(Stores issue these pieces of paper when they run out of
specially priced sale merchandise. *Typically: get ~ ;
have ~ ; take ~ ; give someone ~ .) ᮀ The store was
all out of the shampoo they advertised, but I got a rain check.
ᮀ Yes, you should always take a rain check so you can get it
at the sale price later when they have more.
rain down on someone or something to fall or drop down
on someone or something like rain. ᮀ The ashes from the

incinerator rained down on us, getting our clothes dirty. ᮀ
The hail rained down on us—some of it quite large.

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rain in on someone or something [for rain] to enter a window or other opening and get someone or something wet.

ᮀ Carol left the window open, and it rained in on her in
the night. ᮀ The storm rained in on my carpet!

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rain on someone’s parade and rain on someone or something Fig. to spoil something for someone. ᮀ I hate to rain
on your parade, but your plans are all wrong. ᮀ She really
rained on our plans.
rain or shine no matter whether it rains or the sun shines.
(See also come rain or shine.) ᮀ Don’t worry. I’ll be
there rain or shine. ᮀ We’ll hold the picnic—rain or shine.
rain something down† (on someone or something ) to pour
something, such as criticism or praise, onto someone or
something. (Based on rain down on someone or something .)
ᮀ The employees rained criticism down on the personnel
manager for the new policy on sick leave. ᮀ The audience
rained down compliments on the performers.
rain something out† [for the weather] to spoil something
by raining. ᮀ Oh, the weather looks awful. I hope it doesn’t
rain the picnic out. ᮀ It’s starting to sprinkle now. Do you
think it will rain out the ball game?
rain (up)on someone or something [for rain, or something
similar] to fall on someone or something. (Upon is formal
and less commonly used than on.) ᮀ The ashes from the
erupting volcano rained on all the people f leeing the village.
ᮀ It rained on the fields until they were f looded.
raise a (big) stink (about someone or something ) Go to
make a (big) stink (about someone or something ).

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raise a few eyebrows Go to raise some eyebrows.

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raise a hand (against someone or something ) Go to lift
a hand (against someone or something ).

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raise a hue and cry (about something ) Fig. to make an
issue about something; to alert people to a problem or difficulty. (See also hue and cry.) ᮀ The city council raised
a hue and cry about the mayor’s proposed budget.
raise a stink (about something ) Go to create a stink
(about something ).
raise (an) objection (to someone or something ) to mention an objection about someone or something. ᮀ I hope
your family won’t raise an objection to my staying for dinner. ᮀ I’m certain no one will raise an objection. We are
delighted to have you.
raise Cain to make a lot of trouble; to raise hell. (A Biblical reference, from Genesis 4.) ᮀ Fred was really raising
Cain about the whole matter. ᮀ Let’s stop raising Cain.

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raise havoc with someone or something and play havoc
with someone or something to create confusion or disruption for or among someone or something. ᮀ Your
announcement raised havoc with the students. ᮀ I didn’t
mean to play havoc with them.

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raise hell (with something ) Go to raise the devil (with
something ).

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raise hob with someone or something and play hob with
someone or something to do something devilish to someone
or something; to cause trouble for someone or something.
(A hob is a hobgoblin, a wicked little elf.) ᮀ Your sudden

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raise money for someone or something

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arrival is going to play hob with my dinner plans. ᮀ Sorry,
I didn’t mean to raise hob with you.

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raise money for someone or something and raise money
to do something to work to earn money or encourage
donations for the benefit of someone, something, or doing
something. ᮀ I worked hard to raise money for college, and
then decided not to go.

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raise one’s glass to someone or something to propose a
drinking toast in salute to someone or something. ᮀ Let
us all raise our glasses to George Wilson! ᮀ They raised their
glasses to the successful campaign.
raise one’s sights Fig. to set higher goals for oneself.
(Alludes to someone lifting the sights of a gun in order to
fire farther.) ᮀ When you’re young, you tend to raise your
sights too high. ᮀ On the other hand, some people need to
raise their sights.
raise one’s voice against someone or something Fig. to
speak out loudly or angrily against someone or something;
to complain about someone or something. ᮀ Tony was
very polite and did not raise his voice against Roger. ᮀ I was
too timid to raise my voice against the injustices of the day.
raise one’s voice (to someone ) Fig. to speak loudly or
shout at someone in anger. ᮀ Don’t you dare raise your

voice to me! ᮀ I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to raise my voice.
raise some eyebrows and raise a few eyebrows Fig.
to shock or surprise people mildly (by doing or saying
something). (Some can be replaced with a few, someone’s,
a lot of, etc.) ᮀ What you just said may raise some eyebrows,
but it shouldn’t make anyone really angry. ᮀ John’s sudden
marriage to Ann raised a few eyebrows.
raise someone from something to help someone up from a
lowly state. ᮀ They hoped for some windfall to raise them
from their poverty. ᮀ They raised me from the depressed
state I was in.
raise someone from the dead Fig. to bring a dead person back to life. (When used figuratively, usually refers
to something very bad or offensive.) ᮀ How great are your
magic powers? Can you raise people from the dead? ᮀ They
say her singing could raise people from the dead.
raise someone or an animal from something Fig. to bring up
someone or an animal from a young state. ᮀ My grandmother raised me from a baby. ᮀ We raised all these rabbits from babies.
raise someone or something to something to elevate someone or something to something at a higher level. ᮀ Dan
raised Alice up to the window. ᮀ I helped raise the ladder
to the top of the roof.
raise someone or something to the surface (of something)
to bring someone or something up to the surface of a body
of water. ᮀ The pull of the inf latable life vest raised Tom
to the surface of the water. ᮀ The divers were able to raise
the sunken ship to the surface.
raise someone or something up† to lift someone or something up. ᮀ The aides raised the patient up while the nurse
spread clean linen beneath him. ᮀ Jane raised up the lid.
raise someone’s spirits Go to someone’s spirits.
raise someone to something to promote or advance someone to a higher rank. ᮀ The boss raised her to vice president after one year. ᮀ I hope she raises me to head clerk.
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raise something with someone to bring up a matter with
someone. ᮀ I will raise that question with Mary when she
comes in. ᮀ Please raise the question with the boss.
raise the ante Go to up the ante.
raise the bar Fig. to make a task a little more difficult. (As
with raising the bar in high jumping or pole vaulting.) ᮀ
Just as I was getting accustomed to my job, the manager
raised the bar and I had to perform even better.
raise the devil (with someone) to severely chastise someone or a group. ᮀ The coach came in and raised the devil
with Sally for her error in the first quarter of the game. ᮀ
I’m going to raise the devil with him!
raise the devil (with something ) and raise hell (with
something ) to cause trouble with something. ᮀ That idea
raises hell with my plan. ᮀ The onions raised the devil with
my stomach.
raise the dickens (with someone or something ) to act in
some extreme manner; to make trouble; to behave wildly;
to be very angry. ᮀ John was out all night raising the dickens. ᮀ That cheap gas I bought really raised the dickens with
my car’s engine.
raise up to lift oneself up; to get up or begin to get up. ᮀ
She raised up and then fell back onto her bed. She was too
weak to get up. ᮀ I could not raise up enough to see out the
window.
raised in a barn brought up to behave like a barnyard
animal; having crude behavior. ᮀ Close the door behind
you! Were you raised in a barn? ᮀ Don’t wipe your nose on
your sleeve. Were you raised in a barn?
rake on someone Go to rag on someone.
rake someone over the coals and haul someone over

the coals Fig. to give someone a severe scolding. ᮀ My
mother hauled me over the coals for coming in late last night.
ᮀ The manager raked me over the coals for being late again.
rake something around† to spread something around with
a rake. ᮀ She raked the leaves around, spreading them over
the f lower beds as natural fertilizer. ᮀ I need to rake around
the soil and stir it up.
rake something in† 1. Lit. to draw or pull something inward
with a rake. ᮀ Jane is raking in the leaves into a big pile.
2. Fig. to take in a lot of something, usually money. ᮀ Our
candidate will rake votes in by the thousand. ᮀ They were
raking in money by the bushel.
rake something off† 1. to steal or embezzle a portion of a
payment or an account. ᮀ They claimed that no one was
raking anything off and that the money was only mislaid.
ᮀ The county treasurer was caught raking off some of the
tax money. 2. Go to next.
rake something off (of ) something and rake something off†
to remove something from something by raking. (Of is
usually retained before pronouns.) ᮀ Please rake the leaves
off the lawn. ᮀ Rake off the leaves.
rake something out of something and rake something out†
to clean something out of something by raking. ᮀ You
ought to rake the leaves out of the gutter so the water will
f low. ᮀ Please rake out the leaves.
rake something up† 1. Lit. to gather and clean up something with a rake. ᮀ Would you please rake these leaves up
before it rains? ᮀ Please rake up the leaves. 2. to clean


rant (at someone) about someone or something

something up by raking. ᮀ Would you rake the yard up?
ᮀ I will rake up the yard. 3. Fig. to find some unpleasant
information. ᮀ His opposition raked an old scandal up and
made it public. ᮀ That is ancient history. Why did you have
to rake up that old story?

rake through something Fig. [for someone] to rummage
through something, as if with a rake. ᮀ She quickly raked
through the mass of loose papers, looking for the right one.
ᮀ I will have to rake through everything in this drawer to
find a red pencil.

rible in this part of the north. ᮀ The appraisals of the property ranged from high to low.

A

range over something to cover an area; to travel about in
one area. ᮀ The buffalo ranged over vast areas of prairie,
grazing and breeding. ᮀ These animals range over a very
large territory.

B

rank above someone to outrank someone; to rank higher
than someone. ᮀ I think that I rank above you, so I will sit
by the window. ᮀ The boss ranks above everyone and
demands that everyone recognize the fact.

rally around someone or something Fig. to unite or assemble in support of someone or something. ᮀ All the other

workers rallied around Fred in his fight with management.
ᮀ They rallied around the principle that Fred stood for.

rank among something to be included in a particular
group. ᮀ In my opinion, Kelly ranks among the very best.
ᮀ Tom ranks among the most widely known of the contemporary writers.

rally to someone or something to unite in support of someone or something. ᮀ The students rallied to Betty, their
elected president. ᮀ We all rallied to the cause.

rank and file 1. Lit. regular soldiers, not the officers. ᮀ
I think there is low morale among the rank and file, sir. ᮀ
The rank and file usually do exactly as they are told. 2. Fig.
the ordinary members of a group, not the leaders. ᮀ The
rank and file will vote on the proposed contract tomorrow.
ᮀ The last contract was turned down by the rank and file
last year.

ralph something up† Sl. to vomit something. (Teens and
collegiate.) ᮀ The doctor gave him some stuff that made
him ralph it up. ᮀ He ralphed up his dinner.
ram into someone or something to crash into someone or
something. ᮀ Mary accidentally rammed into a fence as
she rode along. ᮀ The car rammed into the tree and was
totally wrecked.
ram someone or something down someone’s throat Go to
shove someone or something down someone’s throat.
ram something down to pack something down by pounding, as with a ram. ᮀ The worker used a pole to ram the
earth down and pack it tight. ᮀ The worker rammed down
the earth.

†

ram something into someone or something and ram something in† to pound something into someone or something.
ᮀ He rammed his fist into Bill’s side and shouted something
angry at him. ᮀ He rammed in his fist.
ram something through (something ) 1. to force something
through something. ᮀ He rammed his fist through the window, cutting himself in the process. ᮀ Harry put the brick
up to the window glass and rammed it through. Next time
he would remember his key. 2. to force something through
a deliberative body, usually not allowing due consideration. ᮀ They rammed the bill through the city council. ᮀ
The President was unable to ram the measure through Congress.
ram through something to crash or pound through something. ᮀ The car rammed through the back of the garage.
ᮀ I was afraid that the truck would ram through the fence.
ramble on 1. to wander about aimlessly. (As with a traveler or a winding path.) ᮀ The road rambled on through
mile after mile of wilderness. 2. [for a structure] to spread
out over a large area, perhaps in a random way. ᮀ This old
house rambles on, way back into the woods.
ramble on (about someone or something ) Fig. [for someone] to talk endlessly and aimlessly about someone or
something. (Based on ramble on.) ᮀ I wish you wouldn’t
ramble on about your first husband all the time. ᮀ Must
you ramble on so?
range from something to something to vary from one thing
to another. ᮀ The winter weather ranges from bad to ter-

rank as something to have a particular rank; to serve in a
particular rank. ᮀ She ranks as a fine pianist in my book.
ᮀ Don ranks as the top economist of the day.

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rank on someone Sl. to attack someone verbally; to gossip
about someone. ᮀ Please stop ranking on my family! ᮀ
Tom keeps ranking on Jennifer, and she is really mad about
it.

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rank someone among something to judge someone to be
essentially equal to a specific group of people. ᮀ I don’t
rank Kelly among the best drivers in the world. ᮀ Our committee ranked Fred among the best of the current applicants.

N

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rank someone or something as something to assign a particular rank to someone or something. ᮀ I have to rank Sally
as number one. She’s the best. ᮀ Mary ranked the chocolate
as the best she had ever eaten.

O

rank someone (out†) 1. Sl. to annoy someone. ᮀ He really

ranks me out. What a pest! 2. Sl. to chastise someone. ᮀ
She ranked him out for being a coward. ᮀ I ranked out the
whole gang, but good!

Q

rank someone with someone to judge someone to be equal
with someone. ᮀ Would you rank Tom with Donna? ᮀ
Fred ranked himself with Tom when it came to diving.
rank with someone or something to be equal to someone or
something. ᮀ Do you think Sarah ranks with Albert? ᮀ No
one ranks with Albert. ᮀ The food at that restaurant ranks
with that of the best places in New York.
rant against someone or something to rave and yell against
someone or something. ᮀ She spent most of the morning
ranting against her mother-in-law. ᮀ Leonard spent the
entire morning ranting against the government.
rant and rave (about someone or something ) to shout
angrily and wildly about someone or something. ᮀ Barbara rants and raves when her children don’t obey her. ᮀ
Bob rants and raves about anything that displeases him.
rant (at someone ) about someone or something to talk in a
loud, violent way, about someone or something. ᮀ Anne
ranted about the bad service she had received at the store.
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rant at someone or something

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ᮀ On the bus, someone was ranting at me about the end of
the world.

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rant at someone or something to rave and yell at someone
or something. ᮀ Stop ranting at me! ᮀ The boss would
never rant at the office staff.

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rate someone or something below someone or something else
to judge someone to rank lower than someone else; to
judge something to rank lower than something else. ᮀ I
have to rate Carol below Donna in this regard. ᮀ We all rate
plain chocolate ice cream below rocky road ice cream.

rap at something and rap on something to tap on something
to attract someone’s attention. ᮀ Who is that rapping at
my door? ᮀ Someone is rapping at the window, trying to get
my attention. ᮀ I will rap on her window and try to wake
her.

rate someone or something with someone or something else
to judge someone or something to be equal to someone or

something else. ᮀ I rate Fred with Don. They are equally
good. ᮀ Vanilla is very nice, but I don’t rate it with chocolate ice cream.

rap on something Go to previous.

rate something at something to assign a particular level of
rating to something. ᮀ I rate this brand at about a B-. ᮀ
The broker rated this stock at a buy.

rap someone across the knuckles and rap someone on
the knuckles; rap someone’s knuckles to strike someone on the knuckles. ᮀ As punishment, she rapped him
across the knuckles. ᮀ The teacher rapped the student on
the knuckles.
rap something out† (on something ) to tap out the rhythm
of something on something. ᮀ Try to rap the rhythm out
on the table. ᮀ He rapped out the rhythm on the table.
rap with someone Sl. to have a chat with someone or a
group of people. (Old.) ᮀ Come in, sit down, and rap with
me for a while. ᮀ Let’s get together and rap with one another
sometime.
rarin’ to go extremely keen to act or do something. ᮀ Jane
can’t wait to start her job. She’s rarin’ to go. ᮀ Mary is rarin’
to go and can’t wait for her university term to start.
rasp something out† to carve or smooth something out with
a rasp. ᮀ You should use this tool to rasp the inside of the
bowl out. Use sandpaper to make the inside smoother. ᮀ
Rasp out the inside carefully.
rat around Sl. to waste time loafing around; to kick
around. (Collegiate.) ᮀ I didn’t do anything but rat around
all summer. ᮀ If kids don’t have jobs, they just rat around.

rat on someone Inf. to report someone’s bad behavior to
someone in authority; to tattle on someone. ᮀ John ratted on me, and I got in trouble. ᮀ If he rats on me, I’ll hit
him!
rat out Sl. to quit; to fink out (on someone or something ).
ᮀ It’s too late to rat out. ᮀ He tried to rat out at the last
minute.
rat race Fig. a fierce struggle for success, especially in one’s
career or business. ᮀ Bob got tired of the rat race. He’s
retired and gone to the country. ᮀ The money market is a
rat race, and many people who work in it get out quickly
because of the stress.
rate someone or something above someone or something else
to judge someone to rank higher than someone else; to
judge something to rank higher than something else. ᮀ
Do you rate Alice above Valerie? ᮀ I rate chocolate ice cream
above vanilla.

rate something below something else Go to rate someone or
something below someone or something else.
rate with someone to be in someone’s favor; to be thought
of highly by someone. ᮀ Ann is great. She really rates with
me. ᮀ She doesn’t rate with me at all.
ration something out† (among someone ) to give people
limited shares of something, attempting to make it last as
long as possible. ᮀ The captain rationed the water out
among all the crew, trying to make it last as long as possible. ᮀ Jane rationed out the cookies among the kids.
Rats abandon a sinking ship. and like rats abandoning a sinking ship Prov. You can tell when something is about to fail because large numbers of people
begin to leave it. (Can imply that the people who leave
are “rats,” that is, selfish and disloyal.) ᮀ Jill: The company next door must be going bankrupt. Jane: How do you
know? Jill: All its employees are resigning. Rats abandon a

sinking ship.
rattle around in something 1. Lit. to make a rattling noise
inside something. ᮀ What is rattling around in this package? ᮀ There is something rattling around in my glove compartment. 2. Fig. to ride about in a vehicle with a rattle.
ᮀ I am perfectly happy to rattle around in my ten-year-old
car. ᮀ Todd rattles around in his grandfather’s old car.
3. Fig. to live in a place that is much too big. ᮀ We have
been rattling around in this big old house for long enough.
Let’s move to a smaller place. ᮀ I can’t afford to rattle
around in a three-story house any longer.
rattle away to chatter endlessly and aimlessly. ᮀ The two
old men sat there and rattled away at one another. ᮀ Tom
rattled away at Jane for a few minutes and then left the
house.
rattle its saber Go to rattle one’s saber.
rattle on (about someone or something ) Fig. to talk endlessly about someone or something. ᮀ Martin talked incessantly. He would rattle on about any topic whenever he could
trap an unfortunate listener.

rate someone or something among something to judge someone or something to be essentially equal to something. ᮀ
I rate Polly among the best of this year’s class. ᮀ We rate
these contestants among the best ever.

rattle one’s saber and rattle its saber Fig. to make
threatening statements or actions. ᮀ The president is just
rattling his saber. He would never attack such a small country!

rate someone or something as something to assign a particular rating to someone or something. ᮀ I rate her as a
number four. ᮀ The judge rated my cake as second place.

rattle something off† and reel something off† to recite
something quickly and accurately. ᮀ She can really reel

song lyrics off. ᮀ Listen to Mary rattle off those numbers.

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reach someone

raunch someone out† Sl. to disgust someone. ᮀ These dirty
socks absolutely raunch me out! ᮀ Sam and Beavis enjoy
raunching out everyone in the room.
rave about someone or something 1. to rage in anger about
someone or something. ᮀ Gale was raving about Sarah
and what she did. ᮀ Sarah raved and raved about Gale’s
insufferable rudeness. 2. to sing the praises of someone or
something. ᮀ Even the harshest critic raved about Larry’s
stage success. ᮀ Everyone was raving about your excellent
performance.
rave over someone or something to recite praises for someone or something. ᮀ The students were just raving over the
new professor. ᮀ Donald raved over the cake I baked. But
he’ll eat anything.
ravished with delight Fig. happy or delighted; overcome
with happiness or delight. ᮀ Mary was ravished with
delight by the dozen roses. ᮀ My parents were ravished with
delight when I graduated from college.
*a raw deal an instance of unfair or bad treatment. (*Typically: get ~ ; have ~ ; give someone ~ .) ᮀ Mary got
a raw deal on her traffic ticket. She was innocent, but she
had to pay a big fine. ᮀ I bought a used TV that worked for
two days and then quit. I sure got a raw deal. ᮀ You sure
had a raw deal.
raw recruit a new, inexperienced, or fresh recruit, such as

someone just entering the army, navy, police, etc. ᮀ These
boys are nothing but raw recruits. They’ve never seen a gun
up close!
raze something to the ground to tear down something,
usually a building, to ground level. ᮀ The council decided
to raze the old city hall to the ground. ᮀ This building is to
be razed to the ground.
reach a compromise to achieve a compromise; to negotiate an agreement. ᮀ After many hours of discussion, we
finally reached a compromise. ᮀ We were unable to reach
a compromise and quit trying.
reach a conclusion to complete discussion and decide
an issue. ᮀ It took three days of talks to reach a conclusion.
ᮀ When we reach a conclusion, we will notify you of the
results.
reach a dead end Go to come to a dead end.
reach a decision Go to arrive at a decision.
reach a turning point Go to a turning point.
reach an accord (with someone ) and reach an agreement (with someone ) to come to an agreement with
someone. ᮀ I hope that we can reach an accord with the
union so work can start again. ᮀ We will try one more time
to reach an agreement with you. ᮀ We reached an agreement and signed a contract.
reach an agreement (with someone ) Go to previous.
reach an impasse to progress to the point that a barrier
stops further progress. ᮀ When negotiations with management reached an impasse, the union went on strike. ᮀ
The discussion reached an impasse and no one was able to
propose a compromise.
reach an understanding with someone and come to
an understanding (with someone ) to achieve a settlement or an agreement with someone. ᮀ I hope we are able

to reach an understanding with the commissioners. ᮀ We

were able to reach an understanding with Tony.

A

reach back (in)to something to extend back into a particular period in time. ᮀ This policy reaches back into the
last century. ᮀ Our way of making fine candies reaches back
to the recipes used by the founder of the company.

B

reach down to extend downward. ᮀ The stems of the
plant reached down almost to the f loor. ᮀ The drapes don’t
quite reach down to the f loor.

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reach first base (with someone or something ) Go to get
to first base (with someone or something ).

E

reach for someone or something to extend one’s grasp to
someone or something. ᮀ I reached for my father, but he
wasn’t there. ᮀ I reached for a pen, but I only had a pencil.

F

reach for the sky 1. and aim for the sky; shoot for
the sky Fig. to set one’s sights high. ᮀ Reach for the sky!

Go for it! ᮀ You should always reach for the sky, but be prepared for not attaining your goals every time. 2. Fig. Inf. to
put one’s hands up, as in a burglary. ᮀ The gunman told
the bank teller to reach for the sky. ᮀ Reach for the sky and
give me all your money!
Reach for the stars! Go to Aim for the stars!
reach in(to something ) to stick one’s hand into something
to grasp something. ᮀ Bob reached into the cookie jar and
found it empty. ᮀ Bob went to the cookie jar and reached
in.
reach one’s stride and hit one’s stride to do something
at one’s best level of ability. ᮀ When I reach my stride,
things will go faster, and I’ll be more efficient. ᮀ Now that
I’ve hit my stride, I can work more efficiently.
reach out 1. Lit. to extend one’s grasp outward. ᮀ He
reached out, but there was no one to take hold of. ᮀ I reached
out and grabbed onto the first thing I could get hold of.
2. Fig. to enlarge one’s circle of friends and experiences.
ᮀ If you are that lonely, you ought to reach out. Get to know
some new friends. ᮀ I need to reach out more and meet
people.
reach out (after someone or something ) and reach out
(for something) to extend one’s grasp to someone or something. ᮀ Don reached out after Doris, but she slipped away
before he could get a good hold on her. ᮀ Doris reached out
for the door, but it slammed closed.
reach out into something to extend one’s grasp out into
something, such as the darkness. ᮀ Laura reached out into
the darkness, looking for the light switch. ᮀ Jane reached
out into the unlit room, hoping to find a lamp or even a candle.
reach out to someone 1. Fig. to offer someone a helping
hand. ᮀ You reached out to me just when I needed help the

most. ᮀ I reach out to other people in trouble because I
would want someone to do that for me. 2. Fig. to seek someone’s help and support. ᮀ When I reached out to Don for
help, he turned me down. ᮀ Jane reached out to her friends
for the help and support that she needed.
reach (rock) bottom Go to (rock) bottom.
reach someone 1. Lit. to travel up to or as far as someone.
ᮀ I ran until I reached her just in time to save her from going
over the cliff. 2. Fig. to manage to be understood by someone; to have one’s message appreciated by someone. ᮀ If
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reach some place in a body

A

we could only reach them with our message, we might be
able to convince them to stay in school.

have read of you in the papers. ᮀ Mary read of the job opening in the newspaper.

B

reach some place in a body Go to in a body.
reach something down† Inf. to hand something down. ᮀ
Please reach the hammer down to me. ᮀ Would you reach
down the hammer to Jane?
reach something in the (very) nick of time Go to in

read on to continue to read. ᮀ Please read on. Don’t stop.
ᮀ She read on until she had come to the end of the story.

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the (very) nick of time.

reach something up to someone Inf. to hand something up
to someone. ᮀ I reached the hammer up to Jack, who was
fixing a loose shingle on the roof. ᮀ Please reach this cold
drink up to your brother.
reach speeds of some amount Go to speeds of some
amount.
reach to something to extend all the way to something. ᮀ
Our property reaches to the bank of the river. ᮀ The grounds
reach all the way to the banks of the river.
reach toward someone or something to aim one’s reach to
someone or something. ᮀ Sam reached toward Walter and

took hold of his shoulder. ᮀ He reached toward the apple
but withdrew his hand when he saw it was rotten.
react against someone or something to respond negatively
to someone or something. ᮀ Why did she react against me
so strongly? ᮀ There is no need to react against the plan with
such force.
react to someone or something to act in response to someone or something. ᮀ You made some very good points. I
would like to take some time to react to you. ᮀ How did
Mary react to the news?
read about someone or something to read information concerning someone or something. ᮀ Did you read about John
in the newspaper? ᮀ I read about bonds, and learned a lot
about finance.
read between the lines Fig. to infer something (from
something else); to try to understand what is meant by
something that is not written explicitly or openly. ᮀ After
listening to what she said, if you read between the lines, you
can begin to see what she really means. ᮀ Don’t believe
everything you read literally. Learn to read between the lines.
read for something to read, looking especially for something, such as errors, clarity, etc. ᮀ Please read this manuscript for spelling and grammar errors. ᮀ Read this book
for entertainment and nothing more.
read from something to read [aloud] from something in
particular. ᮀ I will now read from a book of poetry that I
like very much. ᮀ I like that poem very much. What are you
reading from?
read from the same page and sing from the same
hymnbook Cliché share the same understanding of
something. ᮀ Okay, I think we are reading from the same
page now. We can discuss the future of this project more productively.
read it and weep Fig. read the bad news; hear the bad
news. ᮀ I’m sorry to bring you the bad news. Read it and

weep.
Read my lips! Go to Watch my lips!
read of someone or something (somewhere ) to read news
about someone or something in something. ᮀ I think I
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read one one’s rights to make the required statement of
legal rights to a person who has been arrested. ᮀ All right,
read this guy his rights and book him on a charge of theft.
ᮀ You have to read them their rights before questioning
them.
read oneself to sleep to read something in preparation
for falling asleep. ᮀ I need a really dull book so I can read
myself to sleep. ᮀ That’s the kind of book I use to read myself
to sleep.
read someone like a book Fig. to understand someone
very well. ᮀ I’ve got John figured out. I can read him like a
book. ᮀ Of course I understand you. I read you like a book.
read someone or something as something to interpret someone or something as something. ᮀ I read you as a quiet
guy who wants to settle down and have kids. ᮀ Mary read
the problem as one that did not require a lot of understanding.
read someone out† (for something ) to chastise someone
verbally for doing something wrong. ᮀ The coach read the
player out for making a silly error. ᮀ She really read out the
lazy players.
read someone out of something to expel someone from an
organization, such as a political party. ᮀ Because of her
statement, they read her out of the party. ᮀ The officers
tried to read me out of the society, but they didn’t succeed.
read someone’s lips to manage to understand speech by

watching and interpreting the movements of the speaker’s
lips. ᮀ I couldn’t hear her but I could read her lips.
read someone’s mind Fig. to guess what someone is thinking. ᮀ You’ll have to tell me what you want. I can’t read your
mind, you know. ᮀ If I could read your mind, I’d know what
you expect of me.
read (someone ) something out of something to read something [aloud] from something. ᮀ He read us a story out of
the book. ᮀ Mary read the story out of the magazine.
read someone the riot act Fig. to give someone a severe
scolding. ᮀ The manager read me the riot act for coming
in late. ᮀ The teacher read the students the riot act for their
failure to do their assignments.
read something back† (to someone ) to read back some
information to the person who has just given it. ᮀ Yes, I
have written the telephone number down. Let me read it
back to you to make sure I have it right. ᮀ Please read back
the letter to me.
read something in something to read something in particular in a some publication or document. ᮀ I read an interesting article about moose in today’s newspaper. ᮀ Did you
read that in today’s newspaper?
read something into something Fig. to attach or attribute a
new or different meaning to something; to presume inferences as one reads something. ᮀ This statement means
exactly what it says. Don’t try to read anything else into it.
ᮀ Am I reading too much into your comments?


reassure someone about something

read something off† to read aloud from a list. ᮀ Nick read
the list of the names off, and I wasn’t on the list. ᮀ Jane read
off the names.
read something out† to read something aloud. ᮀ Please

read it out so everyone can hear you. ᮀ Read out the names
loudly.
read something over to read something. ᮀ When you have
a chance, read this over. ᮀ Also, read over this report.
†

read something through to read all of something. ᮀ Take
this home and read it through. ᮀ Read through this report
and see if you can find any errors.
†

read (something ) to someone to read something aloud to
someone. ᮀ Please read a story to me. ᮀ Grandpa read to
Timmy all afternoon.
read the handwriting on the wall Fig. to anticipate
what is going to happen by observing small hints and
clues. (See also see the (hand)writing on the wall.) ᮀ
I know I am going to be fired. I can read the handwriting
on the wall. ᮀ Can’t you read the handwriting on the wall?
Can’t you see what they are planning?
read up (on someone or something ) to find and read some
information about someone or something. ᮀ Please go to
the library and read up on George Washington. ᮀ I don’t
know anything about that. I guess I need to read up.
readjust to someone or something to make a new adjustment to someone or something. ᮀ Please make an attempt
to readjust your work schedule for the next two weeks. ᮀ I
don’t think I can readjust to this climate.
ready, set, go Go to on your mark, get set, go.
*ready (to do something) prepared to do something. (*Typically: be ~ ; get ~ .) ᮀ Get ready to jump! ᮀ It’s time
to get ready to go to work.

ready, willing, and able Cliché eager or at least willing
[to do something]. ᮀ If you need someone to help you move
furniture, I’m ready, willing, and able. ᮀ Fred is ready, willing, and able to do anything you ask him.
a (real) go-getter an active, energetic, and aggressive person. ᮀ Mary is very aggressive in business. A real go-getter.
the real McCoy an authentic thing or person. ᮀ Of course
it’s authentic. It’s the real McCoy.
the real thing something that is genuine and not an imitation. ᮀ I don’t want frozen yogurt, I want the real thing!
Yes, ice cream! ᮀ She hates plastic that looks like wood. She
wants the real thing.
the reality of the situation the truth or actuality of the
situation; the way the situation really is. ᮀ The reality of
the situation is that we must act right now. ᮀ Let’s face the
reality of the situation and go out and get jobs so we can pay
our bills.

realize one’s potential to fulfill one’s potential; to do as
well as one possibly can. ᮀ I hope I can get a good education so I can realize my potential.
realize something from something 1. to perceive something
from some kind of evidence. ᮀ I just now realized something from what you’ve been saying. ᮀ Tom realized how
wrong he had been from what Mary told him. 2. to reap a
profit by selling an asset that has increased in value. ᮀ

He realized a large profit from the sale of the house. ᮀ We
hoped to realize a lot of money from the sale of stock.

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ream someone out† Sl. to scold someone severely. ᮀ The
teacher really reamed him out. ᮀ The coach reamed out the
whole team.

ream something out† to widen or clean an interior cavity
or channel by scraping, grinding, or drilling. ᮀ Ream the
opening out so the f low will be faster. ᮀ We had to ream
out the pipes so the fuel would f low to the engine.
reap something from something 1. Lit. to harvest something
from something. ᮀ We reaped a fine harvest from our cornfields this year. ᮀ They will reap nothing from their f looded
fields. 2. Fig. to gain something from something. ᮀ The
students reaped a lot of information from their interview
with the police chief. ᮀ I hope to reap some good advice from
the discussion.
reappoint someone as something to select or appoint
someone to serve again in the same office. ᮀ Are they
going to reappoint Alan as the chairman again? ᮀ Alan was
reappointed as the head of the committee.
rear back 1. Lit. [for a horse] to pull back and up onto its
hind legs in an effort to move backwards rapidly or throw
a rider. (See also rear up.) ᮀ The animal reared back in
terror. ᮀ The horse reared back and almost threw its rider.
2. Fig. [for a person] to pull back and stand up or sit up
straighter. ᮀ He reared back in his chair and looked perturbed. ᮀ Tom reared back in his chair, waiting for something else to happen.
rear its ugly head Fig. [for something unpleasant] to
appear or become obvious after lying hidden. ᮀ Jealousy
reared its ugly head and destroyed their marriage. ᮀ The
question of money always rears its ugly head in matters of
business.
rear up 1. Lit. [for a horse] to lean back on its hind legs
and raise its front legs, assuming a threatening posture or
avoiding something on the ground such as a snake. (See
also rear back.) ᮀ The horse reared up suddenly, throwing the rider onto the ground. ᮀ When the horse reared up,
I almost fell off. 2. Fig. [for something, especially a problem] to raise up suddenly. ᮀ A new problem reared up and

cost us a lot of time. ᮀ A lot of new costs reared up toward
the end of the month.
reason against something to argue against something,
using reason. ᮀ I can hardly be expected to reason against
a silly argument like that! ᮀ I reasoned against it, but they
paid no attention to me.
reason something out† to figure something out; to plan a
reasonable course of action. ᮀ Now let’s be calm and try
to reason this out. ᮀ Let us reason out our difficulties.
reason with someone to discuss something with someone,
seeking a reasonable solution to a problem. ᮀ Try to reason with Jill. If she won’t listen, forget her. ᮀ You cannot
reason with someone who is so narrow-minded.
reassign someone to something to change someone’s
assignment to something else. ᮀ I will reassign Jill to a different department. ᮀ I was reassigned to the accounting
department.
reassure someone about something to give someone confidence about something. ᮀ Nancy reassured Betty about
her promotion. ᮀ Betty was reassured about her promotion.

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reassure someone of something

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reassure someone of something to promise or guarantee
someone something. ᮀ Kelly reassured her friend of her
support in the election. ᮀ Please reassure Tom of our continued support.
rebel against someone or something to resist and revolt
against someone or something. ᮀ Barbara rebelled against
the teachers at the school. ᮀ Most young people have to rebel
against authority for a while.
rebel at someone or something to resist and defy someone
or something. ᮀ It is natural for teenagers to rebel at their
parents. ᮀ I feel as if I have to rebel at all these rules.
rebound from something 1. Lit. to bounce back from
something. ᮀ The ball rebounded from the wall and hit
Randy hard on the elbow. ᮀ When the ball rebounded from

the backboard, it bounced onto the court and Tom tripped
on it. 2. Fig. to recover quickly from something. ᮀ Barbara rebounded from her illness in less than a week. ᮀ I hope
I can rebound from this cold quickly.
rebuke someone for something to reprimand someone for
something. ᮀ There is no need to rebuke me for a simple
mistake like that. ᮀ Sally was rebuked for overspending her
budget.

receive someone with open arms and welcome someone with open arms 1. Lit. to greet someone with arms
spread wide to hug someone. ᮀ His mother greeted him
with open arms at the door. 2. Fig. to greet someone
eagerly. ᮀ I’m sure they wanted us to stay for dinner. They
received us with open arms. ᮀ When I came home from college, the whole family welcomed me with open arms.
receive something from some place to get and accept something from some place. ᮀ I just received a letter from
Budapest! ᮀ Mary received a package from Japan.
receive something from someone to get and accept something from someone. ᮀ Tony received a sweater from his
grandfather for his birthday. ᮀ Who did you receive this
from?
receive word (from someone or something ) Go to word
(from someone or something ).
reckon someone as someone or something to perceive someone as someone or something. ᮀ I reckoned her as a more
thoughtful individual than she turned out to be. ᮀ Mary
reckoned Scott as a constant irritation, and she was right on
the button.

recall someone from something to call someone back from
something or some place. ᮀ The president recalled our
ambassador from the war-torn country. ᮀ I was recalled
from retirement to help out at the office.

reckon someone or something among something to judge
someone or something to belong among a select group.
ᮀ I reckon Donna among the best tennis pros in the country. ᮀ We reckon this automobile among the most advanced
in the world.

recall someone or something from something to remember
someone or something from some event or some place. ᮀ
I recall someone by that name from my days at the university. ᮀ Mary recalled the appropriate fact from her history
studies.

reckon someone or something into something and reckon
someone or something in† to figure someone or something
in; to include someone or something in one’s calculations.
ᮀ I will reckon Jane into the total number of guests. ᮀ I
reckoned in a few too many people.

recall something to mind to cause [someone] to remember something. ᮀ The events of the day recall similar days
in the past to mind. ᮀ This book recalls a similar book published some years ago to mind.

reckon with someone or something to deal with someone
or something; to cope with someone or something. ᮀ I
have to reckon with the troublesome Mr. Johnson this afternoon. ᮀ Mary knew just exactly how she had to reckon with
the bill collector.

recall something to someone to bring something to the
mind of someone. ᮀ Your comments recall another event
to me—something that happened years ago. ᮀ What you
just said recalled an old saying to me.
recast something in something to rebuild or redevelop
something in a different form. ᮀ She recast the sentence in

the negative, hoping to make it less blunt. ᮀ I will recast
my request in different language.
recede from something to pull back from something. ᮀ
The river receded from its banks during the dry season. ᮀ I
think that my hair is receding from my forehead.
receive someone as someone or something to welcome and
accept someone as someone or something. ᮀ The king
received the ambassador as an honored guest. ᮀ They said
they would receive their former guest as a welcome visitor.
receive someone into something to welcome someone into
something, some place, or some organization. ᮀ Everyone received the new member into the club with eager congratulations. ᮀ We received them into our homes and fed
them well.
receive someone or something back to get someone or
something back. ᮀ Martha received her husband back after
his escapade. ᮀ I sent a letter off with the wrong postage
and received it back two weeks later.
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reckon without someone to fail to think about someone.
ᮀ He thought he’d get away with his crime, but he reckoned without the FBI agents. ᮀ He had thought he was gone
for sure, but he had reckoned without the paramedics.
reclaim someone or something from someone or something
to bring someone or something back from someone or
something. ᮀ The mother reclaimed Sally from her father,
who had abducted her contrary to the divorce decree. ᮀ
Mary reclaimed the book from her brother’s desk.
recognize one for what one is Go to recognize something for what it is.
recognize someone as someone or something to accept and
acknowledge someone to be someone; to accept and
acknowledge something to be something. ᮀ Mary didn’t

recognize the lawyer as her legal representative. ᮀ Lizzy
didn’t recognize the car as her car.
recognize someone or something by something to know
someone or something by some distinguishing sign. ᮀ You
will be able to recognize me by my long mustache. ᮀ Mary
recognized her car by the ribbon tied to the antenna.
recognize someone or something for something 1. to identify someone or something as something. ᮀ I recognized
the deal for a scam as soon as I heard about it. ᮀ Anyone


red as blood

could recognize Max for a common thief. 2. to show appreciation to someone or something for something. ᮀ The
organization recognized Laura for her excellent contributions to the philanthropy committee. ᮀ The officers recognized the committee for its outstanding efforts.

recognize something for what it is and recognize one
for what one is to see and understand exactly what
someone or something is or represents. ᮀ The disease represented a serious threat to all peoples, and Dr. Smith recognized it for what it was. ᮀ I recognize you for what you
are, you scoundrel!
recoil at the sight (of someone or something ) and recoil
at the thought (of someone or something ) Fig. to flinch
or cringe at the sight or thought of someone or something.
ᮀ Sally recoiled at the sight of Gerry, who had said something unspeakable. ᮀ Mary recoiled at the very thought.
recoil at the thought (of someone or something ) Go to
previous.
recoil from someone or something to draw back from someone or something. ᮀ I recoiled from Sally when she told me
what she had done. ᮀ I recoiled from the horror and
slammed the door.
recommend someone as something to suggest someone
as something. ᮀ Could you recommend Frank as a good

carpenter? ᮀ I can recommend Jane Smith as a good artist.
recommend someone for something to suggest someone
for something. ᮀ I would be very glad to recommend you
for promotion. ᮀ She recommended herself as the best
choice.
recommend someone or something to someone to suggest
that someone choose someone or something. ᮀ I would
like to recommend Sally to you as a good prospect for membership on the committee. ᮀ Could you recommend a good
mechanic to me?
recompense someone for something to (re)pay someone
for something. ᮀ I am required to recompense Mrs. Wilson for her broken window. ᮀ Can I recompense you for
your expenses?
reconcile oneself to something to grow to feel comfortable with an undesirable or challenging situation. ᮀ John
reconciled himself to living alone. ᮀ Anne reconciled herself to having to wear glasses.
reconcile something with something to bring something
into harmony, accord, or balance with something. ᮀ The
accountants were not able to reconcile the expense claims
with the receipts that had been turned in. ᮀ I can’t reconcile your story with those of the other witnesses.
reconstruct something from something 1. to rebuild
something from something. ᮀ I was not able to reconstruct
the puzzle from the pieces that were left on the f loor. ᮀ Can
you reconstruct the damaged part of the house from these
materials? 2. to recall and restate a story or the details of
an event from something. ᮀ Can you reconstruct the story
from the fragments you have just heard? ᮀ I cannot reconstruct the chain of events from memory.
record something from something to make an audio or
video recording of something from some source. ᮀ Listen to this. I recorded it from a radio broadcast. ᮀ From
what TV show did you record this?

record something in something to enter a record of something into something. ᮀ I will record your appointment in

my notebook. ᮀ Jane recorded the memo in her computer.
record something on something to make a record of something on the surface of something. ᮀ Nancy recorded the
appointment on the calendar that served as a blotter on the
top of her desk. ᮀ Please record this on your calendar.
recount something to someone to tell something to someone; to narrate a series of events, in order. ᮀ Carl
recounted the events of the day to his wife. ᮀ The strange
events were recounted by a number of people.
recoup something from someone or something to salvage
something from someone or something. ᮀ I hope I can
recoup my expenses from the company this week. ᮀ Mary
intended to recoup her money from the investment.
recover from someone or something to get over an experience with someone or something. ᮀ My great-uncle just
left, and it will take a day or two to recover from him. ᮀ I
hope I recover from his visit soon.
recover from something to recuperate from a disease. ᮀ
I hope I recover from this cough soon. ᮀ She recovered from
her cold soon enough to go on the trip.

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recover something from someone or something to retrieve

or salvage something from someone, something, or some
place. ᮀ The police recovered my purse from the thief who
had taken it. ᮀ Mary recovered her deposit from the failed
bank.

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recruit someone for something to seek and engage someone for something. ᮀ Harry had to recruit a few people for
the new jobs that opened up. ᮀ We recruited three more people for the project.

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recruit someone from something to convince someone to
leave something and join one’s own group. ᮀ Phyllis
recruited a new work team from the company she used to
work for. ᮀ We recruited a number of people from private
industry.

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recruit someone into something to seek out and induct
someone into something. ᮀ The recruitment office tried
to recruit ten people a week into the army. ᮀ The army
recruited almost no one during the month of December.

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recuperate from something to recover from something;
to be cured or to heal after something. ᮀ I hope that you
recuperate from your illness soon. ᮀ Has she recuperated

from her surgery yet?
*red as a cherry and *red as a poppy; *red as a
rose; *red as a ruby; *red as blood bright red.
(*Also: as ~ .) ᮀ When she came in from ice-skating,
Clara’s nose was as red as a cherry. ᮀ When her boss praised
her in front of the whole office, Emily turned red as a poppy.
ᮀ I would like to make a dress out of that beautiful velvet
that is red as a rose. ᮀ Jane painted her fingernails with polish as red as a ruby. ᮀ I want to have my car painted red as
blood.
red as a poppy Go to previous.
red as a rose Go to red as a cherry.

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red as blood Go to red as a cherry.
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red herring

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a red herring a piece of information or suggestion introduced to draw attention away from the real facts of a situation. (A red herring is a type of strong-smelling smoked
fish that was once drawn across the trail of a scent to mislead hunting dogs and put them off the scent.) ᮀ The
detectives were following a red herring, but they’re on the
right track now. ᮀ The mystery novel has a couple of red
herrings that keep readers off guard.

red in the face Fig. embarrassed. ᮀ After we found Ann
hiding in the closet, she became red in the face. ᮀ The
speaker kept making errors and became red in the face.
red ink Fig. debt; indebtedness as shown in red ink on a
financial statement. ᮀ There is too much red ink in my
financial statement. ᮀ Too much red ink and the company
will collapse.
red tape Fig. over-strict attention to the wording and
details of rules and regulations, especially by government
workers. (From the color of the tape used by government
departments in England to tie up bundles of documents.)
ᮀ Because of red tape, Frank took weeks to get a visa. ᮀ Red
tape prevented Jack’s wife from joining him abroad.
*the red-carpet treatment Fig. very special treatment;
royal treatment. (*Typically: get ~ ; have ~ ; give
someone ~ .) ᮀ I love to go to fancy stores where I get the
red-carpet treatment. ᮀ The queen expects to get the redcarpet treatment wherever she goes.
rededicate oneself or something to someone or something to
reaffirm the dedication of oneself or something to someone or something. ᮀ I must ask you to rededicate yourself
to our high purposes. ᮀ They rededicated their church to

God.
a red-letter day Fig. an important or significant day.
(From the practice of printing holidays in red on the calendar.) ᮀ Today was a red-letter day in our history. ᮀ It
was a red-letter day for our club.

redound on someone to have an effect on someone. ᮀ The
hot weather has redounded on all of us in a bad way. ᮀ The
problems created by your mistake have redounded on the
entire company.
reduce someone to silence to cause someone to be silent.
ᮀ The rebuke reduced him to silence—at last. ᮀ Mary was
reduced to silence by Jane’s comments.
reduce someone to tears to cause a person to cry through
insults, frustration, and belittling. ᮀ He scolded her so
much that she was reduced to tears by the end of the meeting.
reduce something by something to diminish something by
a certain amount. ᮀ I have to reduce your allowance by two
dollars per week until you pay me back for the broken window. ᮀ I will reduce the bill by a few dollars.
reduce something from something to something to diminish something from one degree to a lower degree. ᮀ I will
reduce the fine from two hundred dollars to one hundred
dollars. ᮀ Mary reduced her demands from a large sum to
a smaller one.
reduced to doing something brought into a certain humble condition or state. ᮀ The poor man was reduced to begging for food.
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A reed before the wind lives on, while mighty
oaks do fall. Prov. An insignificant, flexible person is
more likely not to get hurt in a crisis than a prominent or
rigid person. ᮀ Our office has new managers now; I plan
to be as inconspicuous as possible while they reorganize

everyone. A reed before the wind lives on, while mighty oaks
do fall.

reef a sail in† to reduce the area of a ship’s sail, by folding
the sail. ᮀ The first mate ordered the sailors to reef the sails
in. ᮀ They had to reef in the sails.
reek of something 1. Lit. to have the stench or smell of
something. ᮀ This whole house reeks of onions! What did
you cook? ᮀ She reeks of a very strong perfume. She must
have spilled it on herself. 2. Fig. to give a strong impression of something. ᮀ The neighborhood reeks of poverty.
ᮀ The deal reeked of dishonesty.
reek with something to stink with some smell. ᮀ This place
reeks with some horrible odor. ᮀ Jane reeks with too much
perfume.
reel back (from something ) to fall or stagger backwards,
as from a blow. ᮀ The boxer reeled back from the blow,
stunned. ᮀ Another blow to the midsection and he reeled
back and fell.
reel something in† to bring in something, such as a fish, by
winding up the line on a reel. ᮀ With great effort, she reeled
the huge fish in. ᮀ Hurry and reel in the fish!
reel something off† Go to rattle something off†.
reel under something 1. Lit. to stagger under the weight
of something. ᮀ Tony reeled under the weight of the books.
ᮀ She knew she would reel under the heavy load. 2. Fig. to
stagger because of a blow. ᮀ The boxer reeled under the
blow to his chin. ᮀ Fred reeled under the beating that Mike
gave him. 3. Fig. to suffer because of a burden. ᮀ Gary
reeled under the responsibilities he had been given. ᮀ I was
just reeling under the burdens of my new job.

refer someone back to someone or something to suggest that
someone go back to someone or something, such as the
source. ᮀ I referred the client back to the lawyer she had
originally consulted. ᮀ Tom referred the customer back to
the manufacturer who had made the shoddy product.
refer someone to someone or something to direct someone
to someone or something; to send someone to someone
or something. ᮀ The front office referred me to you, and
you are now referring me to someone else! ᮀ They should
have referred you to the personnel department.
refer something back to someone or something and refer
something back† to send something back to someone or a
group for action. ᮀ Dr. Smith knows more about this kind
of case, so I referred it back to him. ᮀ They referred back
all the bills.
refer to someone or something to mention someone or
something. ᮀ Are you referring to me when you speak about
a kind and helpful person? ᮀ I was referring to the personnel department.
refill a prescription sell a second or subsequent set of
doses of a medicine upon a doctor’s orders. ᮀ The pharmacy refused to refill my prescription because it has expired.
ᮀ If you want the drugstore to refill your prescription, just
give them the prescription number over the telephone.


regress to something

reflect (back) (up)on someone or something to remember or think about someone or something. (Upon is formal and less commonly used than on.) ᮀ When I ref lect
back on the years I spent with my parents, I think I had a
good childhood. ᮀ I like to reflect on my great-grandmother.
reflect credit (up)on someone or something [for some act]

to bring credit to someone or something. (Upon is formal and less commonly used than on.) ᮀ Your efforts really
ref lect credit upon you. ᮀ Mary’s success really ref lected
credit on the quality of her education.
reflected in something 1. Lit. [of something] mirrored in
something, such as a mirror, water, ice, etc. ᮀ His image
was ref lected in the mirror, giving him a good view of his
sunburn. ᮀ When the hermit’s image was ref lected in the
pool, he was amazed. 2. Fig. [of something] shown in a
result. ᮀ The extra charges will be ref lected in next month’s
bill. ᮀ I do not understand all the charges that are ref lected
in my statement.
refrain from something to hold back from doing something; to choose not to do something as planned. ᮀ I wish
you would refrain from shouting. ᮀ Please refrain from hollering.
refresh someone with something to renew or revive someone with something. ᮀ Here, let me refresh you with a cool
glass of lemonade. ᮀ After the game, Wally will probably
refresh himself with a bottle of iced tea.

well into the night. ᮀ The committee was regaled with tales
of wrongdoing by the government.

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regard someone or something as someone or something to
look upon someone or something as someone or something; to consider someone or something to be someone
or something. ᮀ I have always regarded you as my friend.
ᮀ The cult members regarded the stone idol as their dead
leader.

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regard someone or something with something to look upon
someone or something with a certain attitude or with certain expectations. ᮀ The child regarded the teacher with a
questioning expression. ᮀ The kitten regarded the fishbowl
with great curiosity.
regardless of something without considering something;
at any rate; whatever is done; whatever option is chosen.
ᮀ Regardless of what you say, I’m still going to the club
tonight. ᮀ I still have to pay the bill, regardless of the facts.
register for something to sign up to participate in something. ᮀ Have you registered for the class yet? ᮀ She is registered for the same classes as I am.
register in something to enter one’s name on a list for
something; to sign oneself up to belong to something. ᮀ
Are you going to register in the pie-eating contest? ᮀ We registered in the drawing for a new car.

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refresh something with something to restore or brighten
up something. ᮀ I think we can refresh this drab old room
with a coat of fresh paint. ᮀ The old house was refreshed
with new siding and some landscaping.

register on something [for an effect] to show on something, such as someone’s face. ᮀ Recognition registered on
her face when she saw the photograph of Walter. ᮀ The total

of the votes registered on the large scoreboard at the front of
the hall.

refund something to someone to return payment for something to someone. ᮀ I insist that you refund the money to
me at once. ᮀ Her money was refunded to her by the store
as soon as she asked for it.

register someone as something to record someone’s name
on a list of a category of people. ᮀ I will register you as an
independent voter. ᮀ I am registered as a qualified financial advisor.

refuse something to someone to deny someone permission
to receive or use something. ᮀ You wouldn’t refuse water
to me, would you? ᮀ Nothing at all was refused to the new
employee.

register someone for something to sign someone up to participate in something. ᮀ Would you please register me for
the workshop when you sign up? ᮀ Excuse me. I have to go
register myself for the contest.

refuse to do something to reject doing something; to reject
a request to do something. ᮀ I absolutely refuse to go there!
ᮀ We all refused to break the law.

register someone in something 1. to enter someone’s name
on a list in something. ᮀ I will register you in the competition. 2. to sign someone up to belong to something. ᮀ
I registered my cousin in the club.

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register something with someone or something to record the
existence of something with someone or something. ᮀ
Did you register your new stereo with the manufacturer? ᮀ
If you bring any packages into this store, please register them
with the manager.

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regain one’s composure Cliché to become calm and
composed after being angry or agitated. ᮀ I found it difficult to regain my composure after the argument. ᮀ Here,
sit down and relax so that you can regain your composure.
regain one’s feet 1. Lit. to stand up again after falling or
stumbling. ᮀ I fell on the ice and almost couldn’t regain my
feet. ᮀ I helped my uncle regain his feet as he tried to get
up from the f loor. 2. Fig. to become independent after
financial difficulties. ᮀ I lent Bill $400 to help him regain
his feet. ᮀ I’ll be able to pay my bills when I regain my feet.
regain something from someone or something to take back
possession of one’s property or right from someone or
something. ᮀ I intend to regain my money from Herb. ᮀ
The finance company regained the car from the delinquent
buyer.
regale someone with something to present a great deal of
something, such as lavish entertainment or fine food, to
someone. ᮀ They regaled their guests with food and music

register with someone 1. Lit. to sign up with someone.
ᮀ You will have to register with the lady at the front desk.
ᮀ I registered with the attendant when I came in. 2. Fig.
[for something] to be realized or understood by someone.

ᮀ Suddenly, the import of what she had said registered with
me. ᮀ My name did not register with her, and I had to
explain who I was.
regress to something to go back to an earlier, probably simpler, state; to go back to a more primitive state. ᮀ Bob
claimed that Gerald’s behavior was regressing to that of a
three-year-old. ᮀ I tend to regress to my college ways when
I am out with the guys.
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regular as clockwork

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*regular as clockwork Cliché very regular; completely
predictable. (*Also: as ~ .) ᮀ George goes down to the bus
stop at 7:45 every morning, as regular as clockwork. ᮀ You
can always depend on Nancy to complain about the office
for fifteen minutes every afternoon, regular as clockwork.
a regular fixture someone who is found so frequently in
a place as to be considered a fixture of, or part of the place.
ᮀ The manager attached himself to the luncheon club and

became a regular fixture there.
a regular guy a normal and dependable guy. ᮀ Don’t
worry about Tom. He’s a regular guy. He won’t give you any
trouble.

rehearse for something to practice for something. ᮀ We
will rehearse for the graduation exercises on Saturday morning. ᮀ We rehearsed for the play all weekend.
reign over someone or something to rule over someone or
something. ᮀ The king reigned over his subjects for over
thirty years. ᮀ The queen reigned over the country for a long
time.

reissue something to someone to release or distribute to
someone something that has been distributed before. ᮀ I
plan to reissue the check to you next week. ᮀ The check was
reissued to Mary the very next day.
reject someone or something out of hand to reject someone or something without any thought or study. ᮀ Fred
is so contrary that they rejected him out of hand when his
name came up for a committee position.
rejoice at something to celebrate or revel about something.
ᮀ Everyone rejoiced at the lucky events that had saved them.
ᮀ We all rejoiced at the outcome of the election.
rejoice in someone or something to take great joy at someone or something. ᮀ I am in love and I rejoice in my
beloved! ᮀ Roger rejoices in a good night’s sleep.
rejoice over something to celebrate because of something.
ᮀ Everyone rejoiced over their good fortune. ᮀ What happened to us next was nothing to rejoice over.

reimburse someone for something to repay someone for
making a purchase, such as a business expense. ᮀ I will
reimburse you for whatever it cost you. ᮀ The treasurer

reimbursed himself for his expenses.

relapse into something to experience a return to a worse
condition. ᮀ Valerie relapsed into a coma in the afternoon.
ᮀ Mary relapsed into her depression after a brief period of
normalcy.

reimburse something to someone to repay money to someone, such as a business expense. ᮀ I will reimburse the
money to you. Don’t worry. ᮀ The full cost was reimbursed
to me.

relate something to someone to tell something to someone; to narrate something to someone. ᮀ Very slowly, she
related the events of the past week to her parents. ᮀ I have
an interesting story to relate to you.

rein back on someone or something to control or diminish
the intensity of someone or something. ᮀ The manager
was urged to rein back on her assigning overtime. ᮀ She
reined back on expenses and demanded that others do likewise.

relate something to something to associate something to
something. ᮀ I relate this particular problem to the failure
of the company to provide proper training. ᮀ This point is
related to what I just told you.

rein someone or something in† to bring someone or something under control; to slow down someone or something.
ᮀ Fred is getting out of hand. The boss undertook to rein
him in a bit. ᮀ The boss is trying to rein in Jane’s enthusiasm.
rein something up† to bring something, usually a horse, to
a stop. ᮀ She reined her horse up and stopped for a chat. ᮀ

Rein up your horse and stop for a while.
rein up [for a horse rider] to stop. ᮀ The equestrian reined
up and dismounted. ᮀ We all reined up and waited for the
cars to pass by.
reinforce someone or something with something to
strengthen someone or something with something. ᮀ The
general reinforced his troops with volunteers fresh from basic
training. ᮀ I had to reinforce the garage roof with new
boards.
reinstate someone as something to put someone back as a
certain officeholder. ᮀ The city council agreed to reinstate
Mr. Wilson as alderman. ᮀ Fred was reinstated as the court
clerk.

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reinstate someone in something to put someone back into
a certain office or position. ᮀ If you will pay your dues, we
will reinstate you in the organization. ᮀ Fred was reinstated
in office.

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reinvent the wheel Fig. to make unnecessary or redundant preparations. ᮀ You don’t need to reinvent the wheel.

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Read up on what others have done. ᮀ I don’t have to reinvent the wheel, but I will be cautious before I act.

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relate to someone or something to understand, accept, or
feel kinship with someone or something. ᮀ He relates to
people well. ᮀ I really don’t relate to your thinking at all.
*related to someone connected through blood kinship or
through marriage to someone. (*Typically: be ~ ;
become ~ .) ᮀ I wonder if he is related to you, because
he looks a little like you. ᮀ I am not related to anyone here.
relative to someone or something 1. concerning someone
or something. ᮀ I have something to say relative to Bill. ᮀ
Do you have any information relative to the situation in
South America? 2. in proportion to someone or something. ᮀ My happiness is relative to yours. ᮀ I can spend
an amount of money relative to the amount of money I earn.
relax into something 1. to sit or lie down in something,
relaxing. ᮀ I want to go home and relax into my easy chair.
ᮀ I relaxed into the reclining chair and was asleep in a few
moments. 2. [for something that is tense] to assume a
more relaxed shape or condition. ᮀ His cramped muscle
finally relaxed into a soft mass of tissue. ᮀ As her tight neck
relaxed into softness, her face brightened.
relax one’s hold on someone or something to lessen one’s
grasp on someone or something. ᮀ When she relaxed her
hold on me, I got away. ᮀ Never relax your hold on an alligator.
relay something to someone to pass something on to someone. ᮀ Can you relay this to Frank, who is way down the
line? ᮀ The message was relayed to Frank, who was at the
end of the line.


remain up

release someone or something from something to liberate
or let someone or something go from something. ᮀ The
police officer released George from the handcuffs. ᮀ I
released all the dogs from the city dog pound.
release someone to someone to discharge or distribute
someone to someone. ᮀ The judge released the defendant
to his mother. ᮀ Don was released by the police to his father,
who was more than a little bit angry.
relegate someone to someone or something to assign someone to someone or something. (Often refers to something
unimportant or demeaning.) ᮀ They relegated the old man
to a bed in the corner. ᮀ The former vice president was relegated to the position of manager of special projects.
reliance on someone or something trust and dependence
on someone or something. ᮀ John’s reliance on his family
is holding him back. ᮀ Reliance on sleeping pills is dangerous.
relieve one of one’s duties Euph. to fire someone; to dismiss someone from employment. ᮀ I am afraid I must
relieve you of your duties. ᮀ After the scandal, she was
relieved of her duties at the embassy.
relieve oneself Euph. to urinate or defecate. ᮀ He stopped
by the side of the road to relieve himself. ᮀ She needed badly
to relieve herself, but there was no bathroom in sight.
relieve someone of something 1. Lit. to unburden someone of something. ᮀ Here, let me relieve you of that heavy
box. ᮀ At last, he could relieve himself of the problem.
2. Fig. to lessen someone’s responsibilities. ᮀ I will relieve
you of some of the responsibility you have carried for so long.
ᮀ Let me relieve you of that job. You have enough to do.
religious about doing something Fig. strict about something; conscientious about something. ᮀ Bob is religious
about paying his bills on time. ᮀ Max tries to be religious
about being polite to everyone.
relinquish something over someone to release the hold on
or control of someone. ᮀ She refused to relinquish control

over the operations of the front office. ᮀ Mary was ordered
to relinquish her hold over the children for a month each
year.
relinquish something to someone or something to surrender something to someone or something. ᮀ Todd refused
to relinquish his authority to anyone. ᮀ I finally relinquished the car to the bank.
relocate someone or something in something to reposition
or move someone or something in or at something. ᮀ I
will have to relocate you in a different office. ᮀ Can I relocate the copy machine in the other room?
reluctant to do something unwilling to do something; not
wanting to do something. ᮀ David was reluctant to admit
his mistakes. ᮀ Although reluctant to appear in court, the
witness was ordered to by subpoena.
rely (up)on someone or something to depend on someone
or something; to trust in someone or something. (Upon
is formal and less commonly used than on.) ᮀ I know I
can rely upon you to do a good job. ᮀ Can we rely on this
old car to get us there?
remain ahead (of someone or something) Go to ahead (of
someone or something ).
remain ahead of something Go to ahead of something.

remain ahead of the game Go to ahead of the game.

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remain aloof from someone or something Go to aloof
from someone or something.

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remain at bay Go to at bay.
remain at some place to stay at some place; to stay behind
at some place. ᮀ I will remain at the office until supper
time. ᮀ Please remain at home until I call you.
remain away (from someone or something ) to stay away
from someone or something. ᮀ I must ask you to remain
away from my daughter. ᮀ I cannot remain away any
longer. I must be with her.
remain behind to stay at a place even when others have
left. ᮀ Can’t I go too? Do I have to remain behind? ᮀ I will
remain behind for a day or two.
remain behind someone or something Go to behind someone or something.
remain clear of something Go to clear of something.
remain down to stay down; to keep down. ᮀ I asked them
to remain down until the shooting stopped. ᮀ Please remain
down with me so no one will see us.

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remain in limbo Go to in limbo.
remain in (something ) 1. to stay within something. ᮀ
Please remain in the house today. It is too cold to go out. ᮀ
You should remain in because the weather is bad. 2. to stay

in an organization as a member. ᮀ He remained in the Boy
Scouts until he was sixteen. ᮀ I will remain in the teacher’s
union for many years.

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remain in the back of someone’s mind Go to in the
back of someone’s mind.

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remain in touch (with someone or something) Go to keep
in touch (with someone or something ).

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remain on 1. to continue to stay in one place. (The on is
an adverb, not a preposition.) ᮀ Everyone else left, but I
decided to remain on there. ᮀ I remained on for a while during the time they were training my replacement. 2. and
remain on something to continue to be on something;
to continue to serve on a body. ᮀ Will you remain on the
board of directors for another year? ᮀ I will remain on this
committee as long as I am needed. 3. to continue to take a
particular medicine. ᮀ How long should I stay on these
pills? ᮀ I want you to remain on this medication until you
run out.
remain on (one’s) guard (against someone or something)
Go to on (one’s ) guard (against someone or something ).

remain on something Go to remain on.
remain together to stay close together; to stay in association. ᮀ We will have to remain together while we are on
this tour. It is very easy to get lost in this town. ᮀ The two
boys remained together throughout college.
remain under something to continue to stay beneath the
surface of something. ᮀ Please remain under the umbrella
so you don’t get wet. ᮀ A lot of people decided to leave the
shelter, but I remained under it.
remain up to stay awake and out of bed. ᮀ I remained up
throughout most of the night. ᮀ I cannot remain up much
longer.
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remain within (something)

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remain within (something ) to stay inside something or
some place. ᮀ Please try to remain within the boundaries
of the campus. ᮀ Everyone else went out, but I decided to
remain within.
remand someone (in)to the custody of someone and

remand someone over to someone to order someone
placed into the custody of someone. ᮀ The court
remanded the prisoner into the custody of the sheriff. ᮀ The
judge remanded Mary to the custody of the sheriff. ᮀ The
judge remanded Gerald over to his father.
remand someone over to someone Go to previous.
remark (up)on someone or something to comment on
someone or something. (Upon is formal and less commonly used than on.) ᮀ She remarked upon his tardiness
and then continued the lesson. ᮀ There is no need to remark
on me or anything I do or don’t do.
Remember me to someone. Please carry my good wishes
to someone. (The someone can be a person’s name or a
pronoun.) ᮀ Tom: My brother says hello. Bill: Oh, good.
Please remember me to him. Tom: I will. ᮀ Fred: Bye. John:
Good-bye, Fred. Remember me to your Uncle Tom.
remember someone as something to recall someone as
being a particular type of person. ᮀ I remember Terri as
a rather cheerful girl, always willing to help out. ᮀ William
will be remembered as a grouchy person.
remember someone in one’s will to bequeath something
to someone in one’s will. ᮀ My uncle always said he would
remember me in his will. ᮀ He failed to remember me in
his will.
remember someone to someone to carry the greetings of
someone to someone else. ᮀ Please remember all of us to
your uncle. ᮀ I will remember you to my brother, who asks
of you often.
Remember to write. and Don’t forget to write.
1. Lit. a final parting comment made to remind someone
going on a journey to write to those remaining at home.

ᮀ Alice: Bye. Mary: Good-bye, Alice. Remember to write.
Alice: I will. Bye. ᮀ Sally: Remember to write! Fred: I will!
2. Fig. a parting comment made to someone in place of a
regular good-bye. (Jocular.) ᮀ John: See you tomorrow.
Bye. Jane: See you. Remember to write. ᮀ John: Okay. See
you after lunch. Jane: Yeah. Bye. Remember to write.
remind someone about someone or something to cause
someone to remember someone or something. ᮀ Will you
please remind me about Fred? He’s coming to visit next week.
ᮀ I will remind you about your appointments for today.
remind someone of someone or something to bring a memory of someone or something into someone’s mind. ᮀ You
remind me of my brother. ᮀ The happy song reminded us
of our cabin on the lake.

reminiscent of someone or something reminding someone
about someone or something; seeming like or suggesting
someone or something. ᮀ This fragrance is reminiscent of
fresh f lowers. ᮀ Jane’s dress seems reminiscent of the style
worn in the 1920s.
remit something to someone or something to send something,
especially money, to someone or a group. ᮀ Please remit
your rent to your landlady immediately. ᮀ You are requested
to remit your loan payment to the bank on time this month.
remonstrate (with someone ) (about someone or something) to protest to someone about someone or something.
ᮀ After remonstrating with the manager about the price for
a while, Vernon left quietly. ᮀ I spent an hour remonstrating about Ted with Alice.
remove someone from something to take someone out of
an office or position. ᮀ The county board removed the
sheriff from office. ᮀ She removed herself from office voluntarily.
remove someone or something from someone or something

to take someone or something away from someone or
something. ᮀ The authorities removed the child from his
mother. ᮀ They removed the dog from the kennel.
remunerate someone for something 1. to pay someone for
something. ᮀ Of course, I will remunerate you for your
time. ᮀ She was promptly remunerated for the hours she
spent working on the project. 2. to repay someone for
money spent. ᮀ I will remunerate you for the cost of the
book if you will give me the receipt. ᮀ Please remunerate
me for the charges as soon as possible.
rend something from someone or something to tear something from someone or something. (The past tense and
past participle are rent.) ᮀ Harry rent the burning clothing from the man who had just f led from the burning building. ᮀ I will rend these dirty old clothes from my body and
shower.
rend something into something to rip or tear something into
something. (The past tense and past participle are rent.)
ᮀ The tailor rent the garment into shreds in his anger. ᮀ
The garment was rent into bits and pieces by the machine.
render something down† 1. Lit. to cook the fat out of
something. ᮀ Polly rendered the chicken fat down to a bit
of golden grease that she would use in cooking a special dish.
ᮀ Jane rendered down the fat for use later. ᮀ The cook rendered it down. 2. Fig. to reduce or simplify something to
its essentials. ᮀ Let’s render this problem down to the considerations that are important to us. ᮀ Can’t we render
down this matter into its essentials? ᮀ Not all of this is
important. Let’s render it down.
render something in(to) something to translate something
into something. ᮀ Now, see if you can render this passage
in French. ᮀ Are you able to render this into German?

reminisce about someone or something to think about
one’s memories of someone or something; to discuss or

share memories of someone or something. ᮀ They were
reminiscing about their old friends. ᮀ The old men sat and
reminisced about the good old days.

render something to someone or something and render
something up (to someone or something) to give something
to someone or a group. ᮀ You must render your taxes to
the government. ᮀ I will render my money to the tax collector. ᮀ I had to render up all my earnings.

reminisce with someone to share memories with someone. ᮀ I love to reminisce with my sister about old times.
ᮀ Todd was reminiscing with Alice about the good old days.

renege on something to go back on one’s promise or commitment. ᮀ I am mad at you because you reneged on your
promise! ᮀ I did not renege on what I promised.

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represent someone or something as something

renounce someone for something to repudiate someone for
doing something. ᮀ She renounced her brother for his political orientation. ᮀ Jane was renounced for her illegal activities.
rent something from someone to pay someone for the use
of something. ᮀ We rented a small car from one of the
rental agencies. ᮀ They rented a house from a local realtor.
rent something (out†) (to someone) to sell temporary rights
for the use of something to someone. ᮀ I rented the back
room out to a nice young student. ᮀ We rented the back
room to someone. ᮀ For how long did you rent it out? ᮀ
Let’s rent out the garage.

repair to some place to move oneself to some place. ᮀ I
will repair to my room until the crisis is over. ᮀ She repaired
to a safe place for the duration of the storm.
repatriate someone to some place to restore one to one’s
country of origin. ᮀ He asked that they repatriate him to
the land of his birth. ᮀ She was repatriated to her homeland.
repay someone by something to recompense someone by
doing something; to settle a debt with someone by doing
something. ᮀ I will repay you by cutting your lawn free for
a year. How’s that? ᮀ Can I repay you by taking you to dinner?
repay someone for something to remunerate someone for
doing something. ᮀ I refused to repay him for his excessive
expenses. ᮀ She was repaid for her kindness many times
over.
repay someone with something to remunerate someone
with something. ᮀ The farmer’s wife repaid the plumbers
with fresh eggs and cream. ᮀ We were repaid with fresh eggs
from the farm.
repel someone from something to push someone back from
something; to fight someone off from something. ᮀ The
army repelled the attackers from the entrance to the city. ᮀ
The attacking army was repelled from the city.
replace someone or something by someone or something and
replace someone or something with someone or something
to remove someone or something and add someone or
something in place of the first. ᮀ The manager replaced
two workers by a machine. ᮀ Walter replaced his old lawn
mower with a newer one.
replenish something with something to rebuild the supply
of something with more of it. ᮀ I will replenish the checking account with more money at the end of the month. ᮀ

Can I replenish your glass with more iced tea?
reply to someone or something to give a response to someone or something. ᮀ I replied to her already. There is no
reason to do it again. ᮀ I will reply to her letter as soon as
I can.
report about someone or something to deliver information
about someone or something. ᮀ Isn’t it time to report
about Frank and how well he is doing? ᮀ I want to report
about the accident.
report back (on someone or something ) to return with
information or an explanation from someone or something. ᮀ I need you to report back on Walter by noon. ᮀ
I’ll report back as soon as I can.

report back (to someone or something ) 1. to go back to
someone or something and present oneself. ᮀ Report back
to me at once! ᮀ I’ll report back immediately. 2. to present
information or an explanation to someone or some group.
ᮀ Please report back to me when you have the proper information. ᮀ I’ll report back as soon as I have all the information.

A

report for something to present oneself for something. ᮀ
Please report for duty on Monday morning at eight o’clock
sharp. ᮀ I can’t report for my examination at the time we
agreed upon.

D

report in to present oneself; to make one’s presence
known. ᮀ Please report in when you get back in town. ᮀ
He reported in and his name was taken off the absentee list.

report in sick to call one’s office to say that one will not
come to work because one is sick; to show up for work ill.
(See also call in sick. Normally, one must be present to
report in.) ᮀ I don’t feel well today. I will report in sick. ᮀ
The phone was busy, so I reported in sick by e-mail.
report something to someone to present a body of information to someone. ᮀ Please report the results to the supervisor. ᮀ The event was reported to the proper person.
report to someone or something 1. to present oneself to
someone or an office. ᮀ You must report to me for duty at
noon. ᮀ They told me to report to this office at this time.
2. to be supervised by someone or an office. ᮀ When you
start work here, you will report to Mrs. Franklin. ᮀ I report
directly to the home office. 3. to return to someone or an
office and make a report. ᮀ Please report to me when you
have the results. ᮀ If you have any more to say, please report
to headquarters and tell the whole story.
report (up)on someone or something to present an explanation on someone or something. (Upon is formal and less
commonly used than on.) ᮀ The detective visited Mrs.
Jones to report upon Mr. Jones. ᮀ I want to report on the
events of the day. Do you have time to listen?
repose in something 1. to lie stretched out in something,
such as a bed. ᮀ I think I would like to repose in my own
bed for an hour or two before I begin my journey. ᮀ Tom
reposed in a comfortable chair for the rest of the evening.
2. to lie stretched out in a particular state, such as death
or slumber. ᮀ She lay on the cot, reposed in slumber, waiting for Prince Charming to arrive. ᮀ The ruler reposed in
death on public view for two days. 3. [for something] to
exist in something or be part of the essence of something.
ᮀ Much of our cultural heritage reposes in our literature.
ᮀ Considerable important thinking reposes in folktales and
myths.

repose (up)on something to lie on something. (Upon is
formal and less commonly used than on.) ᮀ I will repose
upon these cushions until my bathwater has been drawn.
ᮀ Dawn reposed on the sofa for over an hour.
represent someone in something to act as one’s advocate
or agent in business or legal proceedings. ᮀ My lawyer
represented me in court. ᮀ His attorney will represent him
in all his dealings with the publishing company.
represent someone or something as something to depict or
portray someone or something as something; to think of
someone or something as something. ᮀ I don’t think you
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represent something to someone

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should represent me as so perfect. After all, I’m human. ᮀ
The artist represented my puppy as a playful animal.

B

represent something to someone 1. to exemplify something to someone. ᮀ What does this behavior represent to
you? ᮀ This represents a lapse in manners to me. 2. to
explain a matter to someone. ᮀ He represented the matter
to me in a much more charitable light. ᮀ I did not represent it properly to you.

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reprimand someone for something to scold someone for
something; to admonish someone for something. ᮀ There
is no need to reprimand me for a simple accident! ᮀ Mary
was reprimanded for being late.
reproach someone for something to rebuke or censure
someone for something. ᮀ She reproached Jerry for gambling away all their money. ᮀ She reproached herself mercilessly for her failure.
reproach someone with something to rebuke someone
with reference to something. ᮀ I wish you wouldn’t continue to reproach me with things that happened long ago.
ᮀ She was reproached with something out of the past.
reproduce something from something to make a copy of
something from something else. ᮀ I think we can reproduce the picture from the copy that you have there. We don’t
need the negative. ᮀ Can you reproduce a good copy from
this old print?

reprove someone for something to criticize or censure
someone for something. ᮀ The boss reproved all the
employees for their use of the telephones for personal calls.
ᮀ We were all reproved for being late too often.
repulse someone or something from something to resist or
repel someone or something from something. ᮀ The royal
guard repulsed the rebels from the palace grounds. ᮀ Only
the use of guns could repulse the starving wolves from the
area around the cabin.
*a reputation (as a something ) a state of having a particular kind of reputation for being something. (Can be a
good or a bad reputation. *Typically: get ~ ; have ~ ;
give someone ~ .) ᮀ She once had a reputation as a singer.
ᮀ Unfortunately, Tom’s got a reputation as a cheat.
*a reputation (for doing something ) a state of having a
particular kind of reputation for doing something. (Often
a bad reputation, as in the examples. *Typically: get ~ ;
have ~ ; give someone ~ .) ᮀ You’ll get a reputation for
cheating. ᮀ I don’t want to get a reputation for being late.
reputed to thought to do, be, or have someone or something. ᮀ My boss is reputed to have cancer. ᮀ My neighbor
was reputed to have been a spy during the war.
request someone to do something to ask someone to do
something. ᮀ I am going to request you to turn your radio
down. ᮀ Mary was requested to arrive a few minutes early.
request something from someone to call for something
from someone. ᮀ I will request an explanation from the
employee in question. ᮀ A full report was requested from
each person present.

Y

request something of someone to call for someone to give
or do something. ᮀ I have to request a favor of you. ᮀ Can
I request anything more of him?

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require a leap of faith Go to a leap of faith.
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require something from someone to demand something
from someone. ᮀ The telephone company required a
deposit from John and Martha before they would install a
telephone. ᮀ They required some help from us.
require something of someone to expect or demand someone to give or do something. ᮀ I require absolute loyalty
of my employees. ᮀ What is required of me in this job?
requisition something for someone or something to present
an order or formal request for something for someone or
some purpose. ᮀ I will have to requisition a desk for you.
You can’t work an eight-hour day at a table. ᮀ We will requisition catering for the office party.
requisition something from someone or something to send
an order or formal request to someone or something for
something. ᮀ The general requisitioned food and bedding
from the supply depot. ᮀ We requisitioned a new bookcase
from central supply.
rescue someone or something from someone or something to
save or liberate someone or something from someone or
something. ᮀ I hoped that someone would come and rescue me from this boring person. ᮀ Nothing can rescue us
from the ravages of time.
research into someone or something to study about someone or something thoroughly. ᮀ I decided that I would
research into Queen Elizabeth. ᮀ We researched into the

period in which she lived.
resemble someone or something in something to look or
seem like someone or something. ᮀ You resemble my Uncle
Herman in the way you walk. ᮀ This resembles vanilla ice
cream in f lavor, but not in consistency.
reserve something for someone or something to save or set
aside something for someone or something. ᮀ I am reserving this seat for Claire. ᮀ We are reserving some of the cake
for tomorrow.
reside in some place to dwell in some place. ᮀ I reside in
a small apartment in the center of town. ᮀ The Wilsons
resided in a large house on a hill.
reside in someone or something to be a property or characteristic of someone or something. ᮀ I never knew such
anger could reside in such a calm person. ᮀ The finest
acoustics that can be found in the world reside in this hall.
resign from something to make a written statement that
removes one from an office or position of employment.
ᮀ Andy resigned from the fraternity. ᮀ I will not resign from
my job. You will have to fire me.
resign oneself to something to accept something reluctantly.
ᮀ I finally resigned myself to going to Mexico even though
I didn’t want to. ᮀ Mary resigned herself to her fate.
resign under fire Go to under fire.
resonate with someone Fig. [for an idea, issue, or concept] to appeal to someone or cause someone to relate to
it. ᮀ The concept of wearing worn-looking clothing seems
to resonate with young people. ᮀ Your notion just doesn’t
resonate with the public in general.
resort to something to turn to something that is not the
first choice. ᮀ I hope they don’t resort to a lawsuit to accomplish their goals. ᮀ She will resort to anything to get her way.
resound through(out) something to roar, noisily,
through a space or an enclosed area. ᮀ An explosion

result from something

resounded through the busy train station. ᮀ An explosion
resounded throughout the busy train station.

resound with something [for something, such as the air
or a place] to be filled with sound or sounds. ᮀ The hall
resounded with the sounds of the orchestra. ᮀ The house
resounded with the laughter of children.
respect someone as something to admire someone as something. ᮀ I respect you as a friend and supervisor. ᮀ We
respected them all as colleagues and coworkers.
respect someone for something to admire someone for
something. ᮀ I really respect George for his courage. ᮀ
Mary respected the company for its fine products.
respond to someone or something 1. to answer someone or
something. ᮀ Would you please respond to me? ᮀ When
are you going to respond to my letter? 2. to react to someone or something. ᮀ You have heard his presentation. How
would you respond to him? ᮀ I need you to respond to the
points in the report by the end of the day. ᮀ The police
responded right away to the riot call.
the responsible party the person or organization
responsible or liable for something. ᮀ I intend to find the
responsible party and get some answers to my questions. ᮀ
Mary sued the responsible party in the car crash.
rest against someone or something to lean against someone or something; to take a rest period positioned against
someone or something. ᮀ The child rested against his
father until it was time to board the train. ᮀ A fishing pole
rested against the side of the garage, ready to go to work.

rest assured to be assured; to be certain. ᮀ Rest assured
that you’ll receive the best of care. ᮀ Please rest assured that
we will do everything possible to help.
rest from something to take it easy and recover from something. ᮀ I need to take a few minutes and rest from all that
exertion. ᮀ When you have rested from your running, please
come in here and help me.
rest in peace to lie dead peacefully for eternity. (A solemn
entreaty used in funeral prayers, eulogies, etc.) ᮀ We
prayed that the deceased would rest in peace. ᮀ The bodies
of the soldiers will rest in peace.
rest in something 1. to be comfortable in something, such
as a chair or a bed. ᮀ I rested in the chair for a while and
then got up and made supper. ᮀ I will rest in bed until I
feel better. 2. to be at ease in a particular condition or status, such as comfort or comfortable surroundings. ᮀ I
hope that you can rest in comfort for the rest of the night. ᮀ
We rested in the plush surroundings and then went back out
into the hot sun to work. 3. [for something] to have its
source in something. ᮀ The source of her magnetism rests
in the way she uses her eyes. ᮀ His skill rests in his thorough training.
The rest is gravy. Fig. Any additional money received is
just an easily acquired bonus. ᮀ There is some cost involved
in buying the raw materials, and the cost of manufacturing
is negligible. When we pay off the costs, the rest is gravy.
The rest is history. Fig. Everyone knows the rest of the
story that I am referring to. ᮀ Bill: Then they arrested all
the officers of the corporation, and the rest is history. ᮀ Bob:
Hey, what happened between you and Sue? Bill: Finally we
realized that we could never get along, and the rest is history.

rest on one’s laurels Fig. to stop trying because one is satisfied with one’s past achievements. ᮀ Despite our success, this is no time to rest on our laurels. ᮀ We rested on

our laurels too long. Our competitors took away a lot of our
business.
rest something against something to lean or position something against something, allowing it to bear part of the
weight of the thing being rested. ᮀ Rest the heavy end of
the box against the wall and we’ll slide it down the stairs. ᮀ
Please rest the board against something solid while you paint
it.
rest something in someone or something to place or vest
something in someone or something. ᮀ The board of
directors saw fit to rest the power to hire and fire in the office
of the vice president. ᮀ The president rested the power to
hire and fire in the hands of his son, who promptly fired all
the top managers.
rest up (for something ) to take it easy in advance of something tiring. ᮀ Excuse me, but I have to go rest up for the
concert tonight. ᮀ I really need to rest up a while.
rest up (from something ) to recover or recuperate from
something tiring. ᮀ I need about a week to rest up from my
long travels. ᮀ I’ll need a few days to rest up.
rest (up)on something to lie on something; to take it easy
on something. (Upon is formal and less commonly used
than on.) ᮀ Here, rest upon this mat. ᮀ I’ll just rest on this
chair, thanks.
rest with someone or something to remain with someone
or something; to be vested with someone or something.
ᮀ The final decision rests with you. ᮀ The power rests with
the board of directors.
restore someone’s trust in something and restore someone’s belief in something; restore someone’s faith in
something to reinstate someone’s belief, faith, trust, etc., in
something. ᮀ I knew that a good performance on the test
would restore my parents’ belief in me. ᮀ Her faith was

restored in the government.
restore something to someone to give something back to
someone; to cause something to be returned to someone.
ᮀ I will restore the man’s wallet to him after we lock the
thief up. ᮀ His wallet was restored to him by a police officer.
restore something to something to bring something to its
original state. ᮀ The state restored the park to its original
condition. ᮀ The government forced the mining company
to restore the area to its original state.
restrain someone from something to prevent someone
from doing something. ᮀ I had to restrain her from hurting herself. ᮀ I was unable to restrain myself from giggling
at the wisecrack.
restrict someone or something to someone or something to
limit someone or something to someone or something;
to confine someone or something to someone or something. (The first something may typically refer to a choice
or selection.) ᮀ When choosing team members, we are
restricting them to people they already know. ᮀ We
restricted the choices to Bill, Bob, or Ted.
result from something to emerge from something; to be
the outcome of something. ᮀ It will be interesting to see
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result in something

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what results from your efforts. ᮀ Nothing resulted from all
that work.

manager decided to retool the factory for greater efficiency.
ᮀ We will retool the plant for next year’s models.

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result in something to achieve something; to bring about
something; to cause something to happen. ᮀ I hope that
this will result in the police finding your car. ᮀ All my effort
resulted in nothing at all.

retreat (from something ) (to some place ) to withdraw
from something to some place. ᮀ The army retreated from
the battlefield to the safety of the forest. ᮀ They retreated
to the other side of the river.

resurrect someone or something from something to restore
someone or something from some state to its formal state.
ᮀ We decided to resurrect Toby from the ranks of the retired.
ᮀ I resurrected my old uniform from its tattered and wrinkled state.

retrieve someone or something from some place to recover
and bring back someone or something from some place.
ᮀ The mother hurried to the school and retrieved her child
from the classroom. ᮀ I retrieved my cat from the well into
which she had fallen.

retail at something to sell at a retail price of something. ᮀ
This model normally retails at a much higher price. ᮀ What
does a product like this usually retail at?

retrieve something from someone to get something back
from someone. ᮀ I hope I can retrieve my book from the
person who borrowed it. ᮀ We were not able to retrieve the

lawn mower from Fred before he moved away and took it
with him.

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retail for something to sell for a retail price of an amount
of money. ᮀ This item retails for less than ten dollars. ᮀ
How much does this retail for?
retail something to someone to sell something to someone
at a retail price. ᮀ I can retail this merchandise at ninety
percent of the price of my competitor. ᮀ We are not allowed
to retail this to anyone in the state of Maine.
retain something over someone or something to keep or

maintain something, such as power or control, over someone or something. ᮀ Tony found a way to retain control
over Fred. ᮀ I wish to retain veto power over the committee.
retaliate against someone or something to take revenge
against someone or something. ᮀ The striking workers will
retaliate against the company with a protest march. ᮀ The
students retaliated against the administration.
retire from something to withdraw from something. (Usually to terminate a working career permanently.) ᮀ I
retired from the company early. ᮀ When do you intend to
retire from your job?
retire (in)to something to quit working and move into
something or some place. ᮀ Sam and Ella retired into a
Florida condo. ᮀ Joe did not want to retire to Florida.
retire on something to quit working and live on something
or a particular amount of money. ᮀ I already have enough
money to retire on. ᮀ I cannot retire on a sum like that!
retire someone or something from something to take someone or something out of service permanently. ᮀ The company retired the vice president from the job and gave it to
someone else. ᮀ It is time to retire my automobile from service.

return from some place to come back from some place. ᮀ
I just returned from a research trip in the Amazon basin. ᮀ
When will they return from their vacation?
return someone or something to someone to give someone
or something back to someone. ᮀ Please return my tools
to me. ᮀ Would you return my book to me soon?
return someone’s compliment Go to return the compliment.

return something for something to give or pay back something for something. ᮀ The clerk returned the correct
change for a twenty-dollar bill. ᮀ I hope that the product
returns good value for my money.
return the compliment and return someone’s compliment to pay a compliment to someone who has paid

you a compliment. ᮀ Mary told me that my hair looked
nice, so I returned her compliment and told her that her hair
was lovely. ᮀ When someone says something nice, it is polite
to return the compliment.
return the favor to do a good deed for someone who has
done a good deed for you. ᮀ You helped me last week, so
I’ll return the favor and help you this week. ᮀ There is no
point in helping Bill. He’ll never return the favor.
return to haunt one Go to come back to haunt one.
return to some place to go or come back to some place. ᮀ
When do you plan to return to your home? ᮀ I will return
there when I have finished here.
return with something to come back with something. ᮀ
He went to town and returned with the doctor just in time.
ᮀ She returned with the material they had requested.

retire to some place to quit working permanently and move
to a particular location. ᮀ When I quit working, I want to
retire to Florida. ᮀ We will retire to our place in the country.

reunite someone or something with someone or something
to bring someone or something together with someone or
something. ᮀ Mary was pleased to reunite Sally with her
sister. ᮀ I reunited the lost cat with its owner.
rev something up† to make an idling engine run very fast,
in short bursts of power. ᮀ Hey! Stop revving it up! ᮀ I
wish that Tom wouldn’t sit out in front of our house in his
car and rev up his engine.

Y

retool for something 1. Lit. to set up with new or altered
tools for a different kind of production. ᮀ The factory was
closed down so they could retool for next year’s model. ᮀ
How soon can we retool for this new line of products? 2. Fig.
to prepare oneself for a different kind of work. ᮀ He
decided to retool for a new job in the computer industry. ᮀ
I am too old to retool for a job like this.

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retool something for something to set up a factory with new
or altered tools for a different kind of production. ᮀ The

reveal someone or something to someone to show or disclose
someone or something to someone. ᮀ The magician

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rev up to increase in amount or activity. ᮀ Production
revved up after the strike. ᮀ We’re hoping business will rev
up soon.


riddle someone or something with something

opened the door of the cabinet and revealed his assistant to
the audience. ᮀ I revealed my secret to no one. ᮀ She
stepped out from behind the tree and revealed herself to the
hostess.

revel in something to rejoice or celebrate about something.
ᮀ All the children reveled in the fresh, warm, spring air. ᮀ
Tony reveled in his success.
Revenge is a dish best served cold. Prov. It is very
satisfying to get revenge a long time after the event for
which you want revenge. ᮀ I don’t mind waiting to get
revenge on Greg; I’ll wait ten years if I have to. Revenge is
a dish best served cold.
Revenge is sweet. Prov. It is very pleasurable to revenge
yourself on someone. ᮀ Jill: Remember when Tom left me
for another woman? Well, she just left him, and he asked me
out on a date. I told him I had better things to do. Jane:
Revenge is sweet, huh?
revenge oneself (up)on someone or something to retaliate
against someone or something. (Upon is formal and less
commonly used than on.) ᮀ There is no need for you to
revenge yourself upon Walter. It was an accident. ᮀ She did
not know how she would revenge herself on Joe, but she knew
she would.
reverberate through something [for sound] to roll
through or pass through a space. ᮀ The thunder reverberated through the valley. ᮀ The sound of the organ reverberated through the church.
reverberate throughout something [for sound] to roll
about and fill a space. ᮀ The thunder reverberated
throughout the valley. ᮀ The noise of chairs scraping the

f loor reverberated throughout the room.
reverberate with something to echo or resound with
something. ᮀ The hall reverberated with the rich basso
voice of Walter Rogers. ᮀ The church reverberated with the
roar of the pipe organ.
revere someone or something for something to admire or
venerate someone or something for something. ᮀ I will
always revere my dear aunt for her devotion to all of us. ᮀ
We have always revered his lovely gift for our little kindness.
revert to someone or something 1. to return to some type
of person or a former state. ᮀ After he was out of prison,
he reverted to a life of crime. ᮀ She quickly reverted to her
childhood dialect after a few weeks at home. 2. to become
the property of someone, a group, or an institution. ᮀ At
the end of ten years, this house and the land it sits on reverts
to the youngest living child. ᮀ Then the property reverts to
the state.
review for something to study material again for something, such as an examination. ᮀ I need some time to
review for the examination. ᮀ Have you had enough time
to review for your speech?
revolt against someone or something to rebel or rise against
someone or something. ᮀ The citizens were gathering
arms, preparing to revolt against the government.
revolted at someone or something sickened by someone or
something. ᮀ I was revolted at Frank and his behavior. ᮀ
We were all revolted at the scene of the bloody highway accident.

revolve around someone or something and revolve
about someone or something 1. Lit. to spin or move
around someone or something. ᮀ Do you think that the

whole world revolves around you? ᮀ The moon revolves
about the earth. 2. Fig. [for people or things] to center
upon someone or something or to be primarily concerned
with someone or something. ᮀ The way all of this is going
to turn out revolves around Bob. ᮀ The success of the picnic revolves around the weather.
reward someone for something to give someone a prize or
a bonus for doing something. ᮀ I would like to reward you
for your honesty. ᮀ She wanted to reward herself for her
hard work, so she treated herself to a massage.
reward someone with something to honor someone with
a gift of something. ᮀ She rewarded the helpful child with
a chocolate chip cookie. ᮀ He rewarded himself with a night
on the town.
rhapsodize over someone or something to go on and on
about the virtues of someone or something. ᮀ Young
Thomas likes to rhapsodize over Francine, his girlfriend. ᮀ
Please do not rhapsodize over this poem anymore.
rhyme something with something [for someone] to make
one word rhyme with another word. ᮀ I need to rhyme
tree with some other word. Any suggestions? ᮀ Can I rhyme
good with food?
rhyme with something [for a word] to rhyme with another
word. ᮀ You can’t use house in that line of the poem,
because it doesn’t rhyme with mice. ᮀ The last word in your
poem doesn’t rhyme with any other word in the poem!
rich in something having valuable resources, characteristics, traditions, or history. ᮀ The entire region is rich in
historical churches. ᮀ Our soil is rich in important nutrients.
A rich man’s joke is always funny. Prov. Everyone
wants to curry favor with rich people and so will always
laugh at their jokes. (From a poem by Thomas Edward

Brown.) ᮀ We all thought that Mr. Lisle was a narrowminded, unpleasant old man, but we were careful to act otherwise, because he was wealthy. A rich man’s joke is always
funny.
rich with something having a lot of something; abundant
in something. ᮀ The beautiful book was rich with color
illustrations. ᮀ The old town was rich with elegant Victorian houses.
ricochet off something [for some rapidly moving object,
such as a bullet] to bounce off something at an angle. ᮀ
The bullet ricocheted off the wall and struck the gunman.
ᮀ Bullets were ricocheting off the walls from all angles.
*rid of someone or something free of someone or something.
(*Typically: be ~ ; get ~ .) ᮀ I’m trying to get rid of Mr.
Smith. He’s bothering me. ᮀ I’ll be happy when I get rid of
my old car.
rid oneself or something of someone or something to free oneself or something of someone or something; to deliver
oneself or something from someone or something. ᮀ The
boys were not clever enough to rid themselves of Tom’s little sister. ᮀ Will we ever be able to rid this house of spiders?
riddle someone or something with something to fill someone or something with small holes, such as bullet holes.
ᮀ Max pulled the trigger of the machine gun and riddled
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ride away

A

Lefty with holes. ᮀ The police riddled the wall with holes
trying to shoot the escaped convict in the house.

This is how I’m supposed to be! ᮀ It’s not fair to ride someone about being bald.

B

ride away to depart, riding a bike or a horse or similar

animal. ᮀ She got on her horse and rode away. ᮀ They rode
away without even saying good-bye.

ride someone or an animal down† to chase down someone
or an animal while riding on horseback. ᮀ The mounted
policeman rode the mugger down and captured him. ᮀ The
rider rode down the thief. ᮀ We had to ride down the runaway horse.

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ride by someone or something to pass by someone or something, riding. (As on a horse or bicycle, or as a passenger
in a car.) ᮀ She rode by me without saying anything. ᮀ I
rode by the store and forget to stop and go in.
ride herd on someone or something Fig. to supervise someone or something. (Alludes to a cowboy supervising cattle.) ᮀ I’m tired of having to ride herd on my kids all the
time. ᮀ My job is to ride herd on this project and make sure
everything is done right.
ride off to depart, riding something such as a horse or a
bicycle. ᮀ Betty said good-bye and rode off. ᮀ We rode off,
each one in a different direction.
ride off in all directions 1. Fig. [for people] to scatter,
riding something, such as a horse or a bicycle. (See also
run off in all directions.) ᮀ The boys hopped on their bikes
and rode off in all directions. ᮀ The sheriff got the posse
together and they rode off in all directions, looking for the
bank robber. 2. Fig. to behave in a totally confused manner; to try to do everything at once. ᮀ Bill has a tendency
to ride off in all directions. He’s not organized enough. ᮀ
Now, calm down. There is no sense in riding off in all directions.
ride on to continue to ride, traveling onward. ᮀ We rode
on for at least an hour before finding a rest stop. ᮀ They
rode on for a while.
ride on someone’s coattails and hang on someone’s
coattails Fig. to make one’s good fortune or success on
the strength of someone else’s. (Also with else, as in the
examples.) ᮀ Bill isn’t very creative, so he rides on John’s
coattails. ᮀ Some people just have to hang on somebody
else’s coattails.
ride on something 1. Lit. to travel on something. ᮀ Do you
like to ride on the train? ᮀ I have never ridden on a horse.
2. Fig. to be borne on something and carried along. (On
something other than a means of transportation.) ᮀ She

rode on a wave of popularity to reelection. ᮀ He rode on his
past laurels as long as he could.
ride out (of some place ) to travel out of a place on something such as a horse or bicycle. ᮀ All the racers rode out
of the starting area and began the bicycle marathon. ᮀ At
the sound of the starting gun, all the contestants rode out.
ride over someone or something to pass over someone or
something, riding something such as a horse or a bicycle.
ᮀ Bobby fell down and Susan rode over him with her bicycle, but he wasn’t hurt at all. ᮀ Tom almost rode over my
toe!

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ride roughshod over someone or something and run
roughshod over someone or something Fig. to treat
someone or something with disdain or scorn. ᮀ Tom
seems to ride roughshod over his friends. ᮀ You shouldn’t
have come into our town to ride roughshod over our laws
and our traditions.

Z

ride someone about something to continue to bother someone about something. ᮀ Stop riding me about my weight!

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ride something down to ride on something that is going
down, such as an elevator. ᮀ You take the stairs, and I will
ride the elevator down. ᮀ I don’t want to ride the cable car

down. I will walk.
ride something out† to endure something unpleasant.
(Originally referred to ships lasting out a storm.) ᮀ It was
a nasty situation, but the mayor tried to ride it out. ᮀ The
mayor decided to ride out the scandal.
ride the gravy train Fig. to live in ease or luxury. ᮀ If I
had a million dollars, I sure could ride the gravy train. ᮀ I
wouldn’t like loafing if I were rich. I don’t want to ride the
gravy train.
ride to some place to travel to a place, riding something
such as a horse or a bicycle, or a vehicle one does not drive.
ᮀ I will ride to town and get the doctor. ᮀ Tom will ride to
the store on his bike to get a loaf of bread.
ride up (on someone ) 1. Lit. [for someone on a horse] to
approach someone, riding. ᮀ I rode up on him and frightened him. ᮀ I guess I was in the house when you rode up.
2. Fig. [for clothing, especially underpants] to keep moving higher on one’s body. ᮀ I don’t like it when my pants
ride up on me. ᮀ I hate it when my underpants ride up.
ride (up)on someone or something to use someone or something as a beast of burden. (Upon is formal and less commonly used than on.) ᮀ As a game, the children used to
ride on their father. ᮀ We rode upon burros along the narrow mountain trails.
ride with someone to travel with someone on or in a vehicle or a beast of burden. ᮀ I’m going to the store for some
milk. Do you want to ride with me? ᮀ Can I ride with you
to the store?
riding for a fall Fig. risking failure or an accident, usually due to overconfidence. ᮀ Tom drives too fast, and he
seems too sure of himself. He’s riding for a fall. ᮀ Bill needs
to eat better and get more sleep. He’s riding for a fall.
rifle through something to ransack something; to search
quickly or roughly through something looking for something. ᮀ The teenager quickly rif led through the cabinets,
looking for something worth eating. ᮀ The soldiers rif led
through every house they could break into.
rig someone or something out† (in something) to outfit someone or something in something; to decorate or dress someone or something in something. (Alludes to the rigging

of a sailing ship.) ᮀ Joan rigged her daughter out in a
witch’s costume for the Halloween party. ᮀ He rigged out
his car with lights for the parade.
rig something up† to prepare something, perhaps on short
notice or without the proper materials. ᮀ We don’t have
what’s needed to make the kind of circuit you have described,
but I think we can rig something up anyway. ᮀ We will rig
up whatever you need.


ring someone up

right and left and left and right to both sides; on all
sides; everywhere. ᮀ I dropped the tennis balls, and they
rolled right and left. ᮀ There were children everywhere—
running right and left.
*right as rain Cliché perfectly fine; all right. (Based on
the alliteration with r. *Also: as ~ .) ᮀ Lily has sprained
her ankle, but after a few weeks of rest she should be as right
as rain. ᮀ All we need to do is tidy the house up; then it will
be right as rain.
right at a certain time exactly or precisely at a specific place
or time. ᮀ Meet me at this corner right at 3:00 p.m. ᮀ The
restaurant is right at First and Main Streets.
right away and right now immediately. ᮀ John: Take this
over to Sue. Bill: Right away. ᮀ John: How soon can you do
this? Sue: Right away.
right down someone’s alley and right up someone’s alley
Fig. ideally suited to one’s interests or abilities. ᮀ Skiing is
right down my alley. I love it. ᮀ This kind of thing is right

up John’s alley.
right in the kisser Inf. right in the mouth or face. ᮀ
Wilbur poked the cop right in the kisser. ᮀ He caught a
punch right in the kisser.
right now Go to right away.
right off the bat and straight off the bat Fig. immediately; first thing. ᮀ When he was learning to ride a bicycle, he fell on his head right off the bat. ᮀ The new manager demanded new office furniture right off the bat.
(right) off the top of one’s head Fig. without giving it
too much thought or without precise knowledge. ᮀ Mary:
How much do you think this car would be worth on a trade?
Fred: Well, right off the top of my head, I’d say about a thousand. ᮀ Tom: What time does the morning train come in?
Bill: Off the top of my head, I don’t know.
Right on! Sl. Exactly!; That is exactly right! ᮀ After the
speaker finished, many people in the audience shouted,
“Right on!” ᮀ One member of the crowd called out, “Right
on!”
right on someone’s heels Go to on someone’s heels.
right on time at the correct time; no later than the specified time. ᮀ Bill always shows up right on time. ᮀ If you
get there right on time, you’ll get one of the free tickets.
right side up with the correct (top) side upwards, as with
a box or some other container. ᮀ Keep this box right side
up, or the contents will be crushed. ᮀ Please set your coffee
cup right side up so I can fill it.
the right stuff the right or correct character or set of skills
to do something well. ᮀ She’s got the right stuff to be a winner.
*a right to do something and *the right to do something the
freedom to do something; the legal or moral permission
or license to do something. (*Typically: get ~ ; have ~ ;
give someone ~ .) ᮀ You don’t have the right to enter my
home without my permission. ᮀ I have a right to grow anything I want on my farmland.
*a right to something and *the right to something a privilege or license to have something. (*Typically: get ~ ;

have ~ ; give someone ~ .) ᮀ I have the right to have the
kind of house I want. ᮀ You have a right to any house you
can afford.

(right) under someone’s (very) nose 1. Fig. right in
front of someone. ᮀ I thought I’d lost my purse, but it was
sitting on the table under my very nose. ᮀ How did Mary
fail to see the book? It was right under her nose. 2. Fig. in
someone’s presence. ᮀ The thief stole Jim’s wallet right
under his nose. ᮀ The jewels were stolen from under the very
noses of the security guards.

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right up someone’s alley Go to right down someone’s alley.

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*the right-of-way the legal right to occupy a particular
space on a public roadway. (*Typically: get ~ ; have ~ ;
give someone ~ ; yield ~ .) ᮀ I had a traffic accident
yesterday, but it wasn’t my fault. I had the right-of-way. ᮀ
Don’t pull out onto a highway if you haven’t yielded the
right-of-way.
rile someone up† to get someone excited and angry. ᮀ He
yelled at them and riled them up. They left quite angry. ᮀ
He riles up everyone he talks to.
ring a bell Fig. [for something] to cause someone to
remember something or for it to seem familiar. ᮀ I’ve
never met John Franklin, but his name rings a bell. ᮀ

Whenever I see a bee, it rings a bell. I remember when I was
stung by one.
ring around something to circle something. ᮀ The children
ringed around the maypole, dancing and singing. ᮀ The
mourners had ringed around the coffin for the final ceremony.
ring back to call back on the telephone. ᮀ No, there’s no
message. I’ll ring back later. ᮀ She’s not here now. I suggest
you ring back after dinner.
ring in someone’s ears and ring in someone’s mind Fig.
[for words or a sound] to linger in one’s consciousness. ᮀ
Her words rang in my ears for days. ᮀ The sound of the choir
rang in their minds long after they had finished their
anthem.
ring in someone’s mind Go to previous.
ring in the new year Fig. to celebrate the beginning of
the new year at midnight on December 31. ᮀ We are planning a big party to ring in the new year. ᮀ How did you ring
in the new year?

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ring off the hook Fig. [for a telephone] to ring incessantly and repeatedly. ᮀ What a busy day! The telephone
has been ringing off the hook all day long. ᮀ The telephone
has been ringing off the hook ever since the ad appeared in
the paper.

R

ring out [for a loud sound] to go out. ᮀ The bells rang out
at the end of the wedding ceremony. ᮀ Loud cheers rang out
at the end of the game. ᮀ A shot rang out and started all the
dogs barking.

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ring out the old Fig. to celebrate the end of a year while
celebrating the beginning of a new one. (See also ring in
the new year.) ᮀ I don’t plan to ring out the old this year.
I’m just going to go to bed. ᮀ We never ring out the old
because it’s too dismal.

V

ring someone back† to call someone back on the telephone.
ᮀ I will have to ring back the store at a later time. ᮀ Please
ring me back when you have a moment.

X

ring someone up† to call someone on the telephone. ᮀ I
will ring her up when I get a chance. ᮀ I have to ring up a
whole list of people.
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ring something up† to record the cost of an item on a cash
register. ᮀ Please ring this chewing gum up first, and I’ll
put it in my purse. ᮀ The cashier rang up each item and told
me how much money I owed.
ring the bell Inf. to be just what is needed; to hit the spot.
ᮀ This cold water really rings the bell. ᮀ A good hot bowl
of soup would ring the bell about now.
ring the curtain down (on something ) and bring the
curtain down† (on something ) 1. Fig. to lower a theater curtain, usually at the end of an act or a play. (More
literal than W.) ᮀ After one hundred performances, it’s
time to ring the curtain down on our show for the last time.
ᮀ As we bring down the curtain on another successful performance, let’s be thankful nothing serious went wrong.
2. Fig. to bring something to an end; to declare something
to be at an end. ᮀ It’s time to ring the curtain down on our
relationship. We have nothing in common anymore. ᮀ
We’ve tried our best to make this company a success, but it’s
time to ring down the curtain.
†

ring the curtain up† 1. Fig. to raise the curtain in a theater. (Alludes to sending the signal to raise the curtain.)
ᮀ The stagehand rang the curtain up precisely on time. ᮀ
Let’s ring up the curtain. It’s time to start the show. 2. Fig.
to start a series of activities or events. ᮀ I am set to ring

up the curtain on a new lifestyle. ᮀ It’s a little late to ring
up the curtain for a new career.
ring true Fig. to sound or seem true or likely. (From testing the quality of metal or glass by striking it and evaluating the sound made.) ᮀ The student’s excuse for being
late doesn’t ring true. ᮀ Do you think that Mary’s explanation for her absence rang true?
ring with something 1. Lit. to resound with something. ᮀ
The morning air rang with the sound of church bells. ᮀ The
canyon rang with the sound of gunfire. 2. [for a bell] to
ring in some characteristic way. ᮀ The bells seemed to ring
with unusual clarity on this fine Sunday morning. ᮀ The
doorbell rang with an urgency that could not be ignored.
rinse someone or something down to wash or clean someone or something with water or other fluid. ᮀ I rinsed him
down for an hour and still didn’t get the smell of skunk off
him. ᮀ I had to rinse down the driveway.
†

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rinse someone or something off† to wash or clean someone
or something by flushing with water or other fluid. ᮀ
Mother rinsed the baby off and dried him with a soft towel.
ᮀ She rinsed off the baby.

rinse someone’s mouth out† (with soap) and wash
someone’s mouth out† (with soap) Fig. to punish one
by washing one’s mouth out with soap, especially for using
foul language. (Usually a jocular threat.) ᮀ If you say that
again, I’ll rinse your mouth out with soap. ᮀ I will wash out
your mouth if you swear.
rinse something down† (with something ) to wash something down one’s throat with a liquid; to follow something
that one has eaten with a drink to aid its going down. ᮀ
Alice rinsed the cheeseburger down with a milkshake. ᮀ She
rinsed down the sandwich with a drink.
rinse something out 1. to clean cloth or clothing partially
by immersing it in water and squeezing it out. ᮀ Can you
please rinse this rag out? It’s all dirty. ᮀ Please rinse out your
clothes to make sure there is no soap left in them. 2. to laun†

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der something delicate, such as feminine underwear, using
a mild soap. ᮀ I have to go rinse a few things out. ᮀ After
I rinse out some things, I will be right with you. 3. to clean
the inside of a container partially by flushing it out with
water. ᮀ Rinse the bottle out and throw it away. ᮀ Rinse
out the bottle and throw it away.

rinse something out of something to remove something
from something by flushing it with water. ᮀ See if you can
rinse the dirt out of this jacket. ᮀ I can’t rinse out the dirt.
rinse something with something to flush something with
some fluid. ᮀ You should rinse your clothes in milk or
tomato juice to remove the smell of the skunk. ᮀ Please rinse

the stain with cold water.
a riot of color Cliché a selection of many bright colors. ᮀ
The landscape was a riot of color each autumn.

rip into someone or something 1. Lit. to attack someone or
something by ripping. ᮀ The raccoons ripped into the trash
bags, scattering papers and stuff all over the street. ᮀ The
horrid murderer ripped into the helpless victim. 2. Fig. to
criticize or censure someone or something severely. ᮀ The
drama critic ripped into Larry. ᮀ The critics really ripped
into Larry’s poor performance.
rip off [for something] to tear or peel off. ᮀ My pocket
ripped off, and my money is gone now! ᮀ A piece of the
bumper ripped off my car.
rip on someone Sl. to give someone a hard time; to hassle
someone. ᮀ Stop ripping on me! What did I do to you? ᮀ
Tim is ripping on Mary and she is getting really mad.
ripsnorter Rur. a remarkable person or thing; a hilarious
joke. ᮀ Old Fred is a real ripsnorter. ᮀ Her new car is a ripsnorter, I tell you. ᮀ Let me tell you a ripsnorter about a
farmer and his cow.
rip someone off† Inf. to steal [something] from someone;
to cheat someone. ᮀ That merchant ripped me off! ᮀ She
rips off everyone.
rip someone or something apart† to tear someone or something apart into pieces. ᮀ The automobile accident ripped
the car apart. ᮀ Don’t rip apart the newspaper!
rip someone or something to something 1. Lit. to tear someone or something into small pieces, expressed as bits,
pieces, shreds, etc. ᮀ If you fall into that lawn mower, it
will rip you to pieces. ᮀ The lawn mower ripped the newspaper to tiny bits. 2. Fig. to criticize someone or something
mercilessly. ᮀ The critics ripped Gerald to pieces even
though the audience just loved his show. ᮀ They ripped the

whole production to pieces.
rip someone or something up† to tear someone or something
into bits; to mutilate someone or something. ᮀ Careful!
That machine will rip you up if you fall in. ᮀ I ripped up
the contract and threw the pieces in the trash.
rip something away† (from someone ) to grab or snatch
something away from someone. ᮀ Betty ripped the box
away from Frank and walked away with it. ᮀ She ripped
away the box and opened it.
rip something away† (from something ) to tear or strip
something away. ᮀ Billy ripped the wrapping paper away
from the box. ᮀ He ripped away the paper.
rip something down† to tear something down. (Alludes to
something that has been posted or mounted.) ᮀ The cus-