World Book 1997 4.0

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<HTML> <HEAD><TITLE>DICTIONARY: about - abrazo</TITLE></HEAD> <BODY BGCOLOR="#ffffff"> <A HREF="a.dic">A</A> <A HREF="b.dic">B</A> <A HREF="c.dic">C</A> <A HREF="d.dic">D</A> <A HREF="e.dic">E</A> <A HREF="f.dic">F</A> <A HREF="g.dic">G</A> <A HREF="h.dic">H</A> <A HREF="i.dic">I</A> <A HREF="j.dic">J</A> <A HREF="k.dic">K</A> <A HREF="l.dic">L</A> <A HREF="m.dic">M</A> <A HREF="n.dic">N</A> <A HREF="o.dic">O</A> <A HREF="p.dic">P</A> <A HREF="q.dic">Q</A> <A HREF="r.dic">R</A> <A HREF="s.dic">S</A> <A HREF="t.dic">T</A> <A HREF="u.dic">U</A> <A HREF="v.dic">V</A> <A HREF="w.dic">W</A> <A HREF="x.dic">X</A> <A HREF="y.dic">Y</A> <A HREF="z.dic">Z</A> <A NAME="about"> about, preposition, adverb.<DL COMPACT><DD>prep. 1a. having something to do with; of. Ex. Black Beauty is a story about a horse. (SYN) concerning, regarding, respecting. <DD> b. in connection with. Ex. There is something strange about him. <DD> 2. somewhere near; in or close to (a place). Ex. The dog was about the house. <DD> 3. not far from; close to (in time). Ex. Come about three o'clock. About 1850 the westward movement was in full swing. <DD> 4. approximating; near. Ex. He is about my size. <DD> 5. on every side of; around. Ex. A collar goes about the neck. He rubbed his eyes and looked about him. <DD> 6. on or near (one's person); at hand; with. Ex. She has no money about her. <DD> 7. here and there in or on; in many parts of; everywhere in. Ex. papers scattered about the room. The dog ran about the yard. <DD> 8. doing; working at. Ex. An expert worker knows what he is about. <DD>adv. 1. nearly; almost. Ex. He has about finished his work. The bottle is about empty. This is about the nicest day we've had. <DD> 2. somewhere near. Ex. A stray dog has been lurking about. <DD> 3. toward or on every side; all around. Ex. Look about and tell me what you see. <DD> 4a. in many places; here and there; to and fro. Ex. to shuffle papers about on a desk. The rumor went about that you were ill. <DD> b. moving around; active; stirring. Ex. He is able to be up and about. <DD> 5. in the opposite direction. Ex. Face about! After swimming across the lake the boys turned about and swam back to shore. <DD> 6. one after another; by turns; in succession. Ex. Turn about is no more than fair play. <DD> 7. (Nautical.) on or to the opposite tack. Ex. to come, put, or go about. expr. about to, on the point of; ready to; going to. Ex. The plane is about to take off. </DL> <A NAME="aboutface"> about-face, noun, verb, -faced, -facing.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Especially U.S.) <DD>noun 1. a turning or going in the opposite direction. <DD> 2. a shift to the opposite attitude or opinion. <DD> 3. the execution of an about face. <DD>v.i. 1. to turn or go in the opposite direction. Ex. After swimming the length of the pool, she about-faced and swam all the way back. <DD> 2. to execute an about face. Also, (British and Canadian,) about-turn. </DL> <A NAME="aboutface"> about face,<DL COMPACT><DD> (Especially U.S.) a military command to turn in the opposite direction by placing the right foot behind the left foot and pivoting to the right. </DL> <A NAME="aboutship"> about ship,<DL COMPACT><DD> a command to bring a sailing vessel about. </DL> <A NAME="aboutship"> about-ship, intransitive verb.<DL COMPACT><DD> to put a sailing ship on the opposite tack (usually as an infinitive or as a command). </DL> <A NAME="abouttowner"> about-towner, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a man or woman who frequents the fashionable night clubs, the theaters, etc., of the city. </DL> <A NAME="aboutturn"> about-turn, noun, intransitive verb.<DL COMPACT><DD> (British and Canadian.) =about-face. </DL> <A NAME="above"> above, adverb, preposition, adjective, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD>adv. 1. in or at a higher place; overhead or farther up. Ex. There were snowy peaks above. The stairs lead above. <DD> 2. on the upper side or on top. Ex. leaves dark above and light below. <DD> 3. higher in rank or power. Ex. The lawyer who lost his case made an appeal to the court above. <DD> 4. in or from a direction thought of as higher; upstream. Ex. There's good fishing above. <DD> 5. earlier in a book or article. Ex. See what is written above. <DD> 6. above zero. Ex. The temperature is five above. <DD> 7. in heaven. <DD>prep. 1. to or in a higher place than. Ex. a sword above his head. This elevator does not go above the third floor. <DD> 2. higher than; over. Ex. Look above the tall building to see the sun. He kept his head above water. A captain is above a sergeant. <DD> 3. too great in importance for; superior to. Ex. A great person should be above mean actions. The spoiled girl felt above washing dishes. <DD> 4. more than. Ex. The weight is above a ton. <DD> 5. beyond. Ex. Turn at the first corner above the church. <DD>adj. made or mentioned earlier in a book or article; foregoing. Ex. the above statement. <DD>noun something that is written above. Ex. Just as I was concluding the above, I received yours (William Russell). expr. above all. See under all. expr. above oneself, overly complacent; smug. Ex. "You're a bit above yourself, my dear," she said. "You're only a little girl." (The Storyteller). expr. from above, from a higher place, person, authority, etc.. Ex. an order from above. </DL> <A NAME="aboveaverage"> above-average, adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> exceeding what is usual; exceptional. Ex. above-average precipitation, to have an above-average intelligence. </DL> <A NAME="aboveboard"> aboveboard, adjective, adverb.<DL COMPACT><DD> in open sight; without tricks or concealment. Ex. Everything that the mayor did was open and aboveboard (adj.). His campaign was run aboveboard (adv.). </DL> <A NAME="aboveground"> aboveground, adjective, adverb.<DL COMPACT><DD> 1. above the surface of the ground. Ex. aboveground testing of nuclear weapons (adj.), to build aboveground (adv.). <DD> 2. (U.S.) in the open; not secret or underground. <DD> 3. not buried; alive. </DL> <A NAME="abovementioned"> abovementioned, adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> mentioned before. </DL> <A NAME="abovestairs"> abovestairs, noun, adverb, adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> (British.) <DD>noun pl. the living quarters of a house apart from (usually above) the servants' quarters. <DD>adv., adj. upstairs. </DL> <A NAME="abovetheline"> above-the-line, adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> (in a financial statement) indicating a current or ordinary revenue or expense. Ex. The Exchequer outturn for 1962-63 was an above-the-line surplus of £353 million (The Annual Register). </DL> <A NAME="abovo"> ab ovo,<DL COMPACT><DD> (Latin.) <DD> 1. from the origin or very beginning. <DD> 2. (literally) from the egg. </DL> <A NAME="abozzo"> abozzo, noun, pl. -zi.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Italian.) <DD> 1. a rough drawing or sketch. <DD> 2. a written outline or draft. </DL> <A NAME="abp"> Abp.,<DL COMPACT><DD> archbishop. </DL> <A NAME="abr"> abr.,<DL COMPACT><DD> 1. abridged. <DD> 2. abridgment. </DL> <A NAME="abracadabra"> abracadabra, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> 1. a word or formula formerly supposed to have magic power, used in incantations or as a charm to ward off disease. <DD> 2. meaningless talk; gibberish. </DL> <A NAME="abraco"> abraco, noun, pl. -cos.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Portuguese.) an embrace. Also, (Spanish,) abrazo. </DL> <A NAME="abradant"> abradant, adjective, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD>adj. wearing down; abrading. <DD>noun an abrasive. </DL> <A NAME="abrade"> abrade, transitive verb, intransitive verb, abraded, abrading.<DL COMPACT><DD> 1. to wear down or away by rubbing; scrape off. Ex. The skin on Tom's knees was abraded by his fall. Glaciers abrade rocks. <DD> 2. to wear down by friction. Ex. (Figurative.) His policies [have] steadily abraded Ottawa's relations with Washington (Manchester Guardian Weekly). adj. abradable. noun abrader. </DL> <A NAME="abraham"> Abraham, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the first patriarch (his son Isaac and his grandson Jacob were the other two). By tradition he was the ancestor of the Jews, through Isaac, and also the ancestor of the Arabs, through his son Ishmael (in the Bible, Genesis 12-25). </DL> <A NAME="abrahamic"> Abrahamic, adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> of or relating to the patriarch Abraham. </DL> <A NAME="abrahamman"> Abraham-man, noun, pl. -men.<DL COMPACT><DD> a beggar who wandered about England in the 1500's and 1600's, pretending to be a lunatic. </DL> <A NAME="abram"> Abram, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the original name of Abraham. </DL> <A NAME="abranchial"> abranchial, adjective. =abranchiate.</DL> <A NAME="abranchian"> abranchian, adjective, noun. =abranchiate.</DL> <A NAME="abranchiate"> abranchiate, adjective, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD>adj. having no gills. <DD>noun an animal having no gills. </DL> <A NAME="abrasable"> abrasable, adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> capable of being abraded or worn down. </DL> <A NAME="abrasion"> abrasion, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> 1. a place scraped or worn by rubbing; an abraded spot or surface. Ex. He had an abrasion on his heel where his shoe rubbed. <DD> 2. a wearing away by rubbing; scraping off. Ex. the abrasion of rocks by currents of water laden with sand. Coins become thinner by constant abrasion. </DL> <A NAME="abrasive"> abrasive, noun, adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD>noun a substance used for smoothing, polishing, grinding, or sharpening. Ex. Sandpaper, pumice, and emery are abrasives. <DD>adj. 1. wearing away by rubbing; causing abrasion. <DD> 2. harsh; rough. Ex. an abrasive voice. adv. abrasively. noun abrasiveness. </DL> <A NAME="abrasouverts"> a bras ouverts,<DL COMPACT><DD> (French.) with open arms; eagerly; receptively. </DL> <A NAME="abraxas"> abraxas, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> 1. a mystical Gnostic word, said to represent the Greek numeral letters alpha, beta, rho, alpha, xi, alpha, sigma, amounting to the mystical number 365. <DD> 2. an amulet inscribed with it. </DL> <A NAME="abrazo"> abrazo, noun, pl. -zos.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Spanish.) an embrace. Also, (Portuguese,) abraco. </DL> <A HREF="abreact.dic">NEXT</A>