COBUILD Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (Collins Cobuild)

How do I use a Collins Kindle Dictionary?

You can use a Collins Kindle Dictionary in two ways:

a) Dictionary look-up mode

You can set up your Collins dictionary to be your default dictionary. This will enable you to look up a word directly from the book you are reading without having to navigate away. If you read across multiple languages, you can set a default dictionary for each language. (See below further information regarding models that support dictionary look-up.)

b) Dictionary browse mode

You can open and search the dictionary directly via keyboard input. For Kindle Paperwhite, you can do this by looking up a word, selecting More and then selecting Open Dictionary. For other models, you need to access the dictionary from your home page in the same way you would access a Kindle book. In dictionary browse mode, start typing the word you want to look up, and you will see an index of words in the dictionary that start with the letters you have typed in. Navigate to the word to select it and view the dictionary entry.

Which Kindle models are the Collins Kindle Dictionaries compatible with?

Collins Kindle Dictionaries are compatible with all 2nd generation and newer Kindles, excluding Kindle Fire. If you have one of the following models, you will be able to set the dictionary as one of your default dictionaries:

Kindle Oasis

Kindle Voyage

Kindle Paperwhite

Kindle (4th generation)

Kindle Touch

Kindle Keyboard (3rd generation)

Kindle (2nd generation)

Kindle DX

There is no default dictionary feature in Kindle Fire. You will be able to search the dictionary headword list via keyboard input, but there is no setting in Kindle Fire yet to allow you to change your default dictionary.

If you're not sure which Kindle you own, the following Amazon page has a visual guide:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html/ref=hp_bc_nav?ie=UTF8&nodeId=200127470

Can I use the dictionaries with my Kindle reading app?

Headword search via keyboard input is supported on Kindle for iPhone/iPad, Kindle for Mac and Kindle for PC. However, default dictionary selection is not supported on any Kindle apps.

We do not recommend our Kindle dictionaries for use on Kindle for Android or Kindle for Blackberry as headword search is not supported on these devices.

How do I select a default dictionary?

In Kindle Paperwhite, Kindle Voyage, and Kindle Oasis:

Press the Home button. At the Home screen, select Menu, then Settings. Select Device Options, then select Language and Dictionaries. Now you can select the default dictionary for each language.

If there is more than one option for a given language, you will see an arrow next to the current default dictionary. Tap on the arrow to see further options.

In 4th & 5th generation Kindle e-readers:

Press the Home button. At the Home screen, select Menu, then Settings. In the Settings screen, scroll down until you see Dictionaries, and then select it. In the Dictionaries list, you can select a default dictionary for each language for which you have a dictionary (or dictionaries).

In 2nd & 3rd generation Kindle e-readers:

Press the Home button. Then press the Menu button, and move the 5-way to select Settings. Press the Menu button, and then move the 5-way to select Change Primary Dictionary. Move the 5-way to underline the dictionary you want to use, and press to select. Note that this menu option is only available if you have at least one additional dictionary loaded onto your Kindle.

Copyright

Published by Collins

An imprint of HarperCollins Publishers

Westerhill Road

Bishopbriggs

Glasgow G64 2QT

Ninth Edition 2018

© HarperCollins Publishers 2018

eBook Edition © March 2018 ISBN 978-0-00-828159-5

Version: 2018-02-01

Collins® and COBUILD® are registered trademarks of HarperCollins Publishers Limited

www.collinsdictionary.com/cobuild

http://www.collinselt.com

Typeset by Davidson Publishing Solutions

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.

Entered words that we have reason to believe constitute trademarks have been designated as such. However, neither the presence nor absence of such designation should be regarded as affecting the legal status of any trademark.

The contents of this publication are believed correct at the time of printing. Nevertheless the Publisher can accept no responsibility for errors or omissions, changes in the detail given or for any expense or loss thereby caused.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank those authors and publishers who kindly gave permission for copyright material to be used in the Collins Corpus. We would also like to thank Times Newspapers Ltd for providing valuable data.

Contents

How do I use a Collins Kindle Dictionary?

Title page

Copyright

Guide to dictionary features

Word classes

Pronunciation

COBUILD Advanced Learner's Dictionary A-Z

About the Publisher

Guide to dictionary features

Several special features in this dictionary help you to build your vocabulary in interesting and effective ways. These features help you to see how vocabulary items are used in real texts, how words are built, which words commonly go together, and which words have similar meanings. They help you to avoid common mistakes and to understand more about how certain words came into the language and how they got their meaning. You can read about all these features in more detail below.

Synonyms are shown at key entries, each with a lively, up-to-date example, taken from the Collins Corpus. The example will give you a clear idea of the context in which that particular synonym typically appears in English. The numbers refer to the particular meaning within the main entry. To find out more about each synonym, go to that word in the dictionary. The synonyms feature allows you to browse the dictionary, expanding your vocabulary as you go.

Collocations panels show you which words are typically used together. For example, we might talk about ‘glorious weather’ or ‘lovely weather’, but if the noun we want to use is ‘experience’, we would be more likely to talk about a ‘memorable experience’ or a ‘rewarding experience’. The numbers refer to the particular meaning within the main entry. A knowledge of collocations will help you to sound natural and fluent when you are speaking and writing in English.

Usage notes give tips on avoiding common learner errors in grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation. These include uncountable nouns that learners often mistakenly use as if they were countable, typical preposition errors, and commonly confused words. Browse the dictionary for these invaluable notes and find out how to avoid all the most frequent mistakes in English.

Prefixes and suffixes are parts of words that help to give them their specific meaning. For example, words that start with the prefix poly- usually have ‘many’ as part of their meaning, and words that end in -ly are often adverbs that indicate how something is done. Knowing a range of prefixes and suffixes will help you to work out the meanings of words by yourself, without always having to look the word up.

Word histories tell you where certain words come from and how they have changed in meaning over the years. For example, did you know that the word ‘slogan’ comes from a Gaelic word meaning ‘war cry’? Or that the word ‘hippopotamus’ comes from the Greek for ‘river horse’? Finding out the history of a word can be fascinating and sometimes surprising, and the images and ideas formed in our minds can help us to remember the word we have learnt about.

Word classes

ADJ

An adjective can be in the comparative or the superlative form.

ADV

An adverb can be in the comparative or the superlative form.

AUX

An auxiliary verb is used with another verb to add particular meanings to that verb, for example, to form the continuous aspect or the passive voice, or to form negatives and interrogatives. The verbs be, do, get, and have have some senses in which they are auxiliary verbs.

COLOUR

A colour word refers to a colour. It is like an adjective, e.g. The sky was blue, and also like a noun, e.g. She was dressed in red .

COMB

A combining form is a word which is joined with another word, usually with a hyphen, to form compounds.

CONJ

A conjunction usually links elements of the same grammatical type, such as two words or two clauses.

CONVENTION

A convention is a word or a fixed phrase which is used in conversation, for example when greeting someone, apologizing, or replying.

DET

A determiner is a word that is used at the beginning of a noun group, e.g. a tray, more time, some books, this amount . It can also be used to say who or what something belongs or relates to, e.g. his face, my flat, or to begin a question, e.g. Whose car were they in?

EXCLAM

An exclamation is a word or phrase which is spoken suddenly, loudly, or emphatically in order to express a strong emotion such as shock or anger. Exclamations are often followed by exclamation marks.

FRACTION

A fraction is used in numbers, e.g. three and a half, two and two thirds; before of and a noun group, e.g. half of the money, a third of the biscuits, three eighths of the pie; after in or into , e.g. in half, into thirds . A fraction is also used like a count noun, e.g. two halves, the first quarter of the year .

MODAL

A modal is used before the infinitive form of a verb, e.g. You may go . In questions, it comes before the subject, e.g. Must you speak? In negatives, it comes before the negative word, e.g. They would not like this . It does not inflect, for example, it does not take an -s in the third person singular, e.g. She can swim .

N-COUNT

A count noun has a plural form, usually made by adding -s . When it is singular, it usually has a determiner in front of it, such as the, her, or such .

N-PLURAL

A plural noun is always plural, and is used with plural verbs. If a pronoun is used to stand for the noun, it is a plural pronoun such as they or them , e.g. These clothes are ready to wear . Plural nouns which end in -s usually lose the -s when they come in front of another noun, e.g. trousers, trouser pocket. If they refer to a single object which has two main parts, such as jeans and glasses , the expression a pair of is sometimes used, e.g. a pair of jeans . This is shown as N-PLURAL [oft a pair of N ].

N-PROPER

A proper noun refers to one person, place, thing, or institution, and begins with a capital letter. Many proper nouns are used without a determiner, e.g. … higher education in America … Father Christmas ; some must be used with the .

N-PROPER-PLURAL

A plural proper noun is a proper noun which is always used in the plural with a plural verb.

N-SING

A singular noun is always singular, and needs a determiner.

N-TITLE

A title noun is used to refer to someone who has a particular role or position. Titles come before the name of the person and begin with a capital letter.

N-UNCOUNT

An uncount noun refers to things that are not normally counted or considered to be individual items. Uncount nouns do not have a plural form, and are used with a singular verb. They do not need determiners.

N-VAR

A variable noun typically combines the behaviour of both count and uncount nouns in the same sense. The singular form occurs freely both with and without determiners. Variable nouns also have a plural form, usually made by adding -s . Some variable nouns when used like uncount nouns refer to abstract things like hardship and injustice , and when used like count nouns refer to individual examples or instances of that thing, e.g. He is not afraid to protest against injustice. … It is never too late to correct an injustice . Others refer to objects which can be mentioned either individually or generally, like potato and salad : you can talk about a potato, potatoes , or potato .

NUM

A number is a word such as three and hundred . Numbers such as one, two, three are used like determiners, e.g. three bears; like adjectives, e.g. the four horsemen; like pronouns, e.g. She has three cases and I have two; and like quantifiers, e.g. Six of the boys stayed behind . Numbers such as hundred, thousand, million always follow a determiner or another number, e.g. two hundred people .

ORD

An ordinal is a type of number. Ordinals are used like adjectives, e.g. He was the third victim; like pronouns, e.g. She took the first place and I took the second … the second of the two teams; like adverbs, e.g. The other team came first; and like determiners, e.g. Fourth place goes to Timmy .

PHRASAL VERB

A phrasal verb consists of a verb and one or more particles, e.g. look after, look back, look down on . Some phrasal verbs are linking verbs or passive verbs.

PHRASE

Phrases are groups of words which are used together with little variation and which have a meaning of their own.

PREDET

A predeterminer is used in a noun group before a, the, or another determiner.

PREFIX

A prefix is a letter or group of letters, such as un- or multi- , which is added to the beginning of a word in order to form another word. For example, the prefix un- is added to happy to form unhappy .

PREP

A preposition begins a prepositional phrase and is followed by a noun group or a present participle. Patterns for prepositions are shown in the dictionary only if they are restricted in some way.

PRON

Pronouns are used to refer to someone or something that has already been mentioned or whose identity is known.

QUANT

A quantifier comes before of and a noun group.

QUEST

A question word is a word that is used to begin a question, for example, a wh-word.

SUFFIX

A suffix is a letter or group of letters such as –ly or –ness , which is added to the end of a word in order to form a new word, usually of a different word class.

V-LINK

A link verb connects a subject and a complement. Link verbs most commonly occur in the patterns [V adj] and [V n]. Most link verbs do not occur in the passive voice.

V-PASSIVE

A passive verb occurs in the passive voice only. Some phrasal verbs are passive verbs.

Pronunciation

IPA symbols

Vowel

Sounds

ɑː

c

a

lm,

a

h

ɑːʳ

he

a

rt, f

a

r

æ

a

ct, m

a

ss

a

I

d

i

ve, cr

y

a

I

əʳ

f

i

re, t

y

re

aʊ

ou

t, d

ow

n

aʊəʳ

fl

ou

r, s

ou

r

e

m

e

t, l

e

nd, p

e

n

e

I

s

ay

, w

ei

ght

eəʳ

f

ai

r, c

a

re

I

f

i

t, w

i

n

iː

m

e

, s

ee

m

I

əʳ

n

ea

r, b

ea

rd

ɒ

l

o

t, sp

o

t

oʊ

n

o

te, c

oa

t

ɔː

cl

aw

, m

au

l

ɔʳ

m

o

re, c

o

rd

ɔ

I

b

oy

, j

oi

nt

ʊ

c

ou

ld, st

oo

d

uː

y

ou

,

u

se

ʊəʳ

l

u

re, p

u

re

ɜːʳ

t

u

rn, th

i

rd

ʌ

f

u

nd, m

u

st

ə

the first vowel in

a

bout

əʳ

the first vowel in

f

o

rgotten

i

the second vowel in

ver

y

u

the second vowel in

act

u

al

Consonant

Sounds

b

b

ed, ru

b

d

d

one, re

d

f

f

it, i

f

g

g

ood, do

g

h

h

at,

h

orse

y

y

ellow,

y

ou

k

k

ing, pi

ck

l

l

ip, bi

ll

ᵊl

hand

l

e, pane

l

m

m

at, ra

m

n

n

ot, ti

n

ᵊn

hidde

n

, writte

n

p

p

ay, li

p

r

r

un,

r

ead

s

s

oon, bu

s

t

t

alk, be

t

v

v

an, lo

v

e

w

w

in,

w

ool

ʰw

wh

y,

wh

eat

x

lo

ch

z

z

oo, bu

zz

ʃ

sh

ip, wi

sh

ʒ

mea

s

ure, lei

s

ure

ŋ

si

ng

, worki

ng

tʃ

ch

eap, wit

ch

θ

th

in, my

th

ð

th

en, ba

the

dʒ

j

oy, brid

ge

Stress

Stress is shown by underlining the vowel in the stressed syllable:

two /tuː /

result /r I zʌ lt/

disappointing /d I səpɔ I nt I ŋ/

When a word is spoken in isolation, stress falls on the syllables which have vowels which are underlined. If there is one syllable underlined, it will have primary stress.

‘TWO’

‘reSULT’

If two syllables are underlined, the first will have secondary stress, and the second will have primary stress.

‘DISapPOINTing’

A few words are shown with three underlined syllables, for example ‘disqualification’ /d I skwɒ l I f I ke I ʃ ^ə n/. In this case, the third underlined syllable will have primary stress, while the secondary stress may be on the first or second syllable:

‘DISqualifiCAtion’ or ‘disQUALifiCAtion’

In the case of compound words, where the pronunciation of each part is given separately, the stress pattern is shown by underlining the headword: ‘o ff-pea k’, ‘fir st-cla ss’, but ‘o ff day’.

Stressed syllables

When words are used in context, the way in which they are pronounced depends upon the information units that are constructed by the speaker. For example, a speaker could say:

‘the reSULT was disapPOINTing’

‘it was a DISappointing reSULT’

‘it was VERy disappointing inDEED’

In (3), neither of the two underlined syllables in disappointing /d I səpɔ I nt I ŋ/ receives either primary or secondary stress. This shows that it is not possible for a dictionary to predict whether a particular syllable will be stressed in context.

It should be noted, however, that in the case of adjectives with two stressed syllables, the second syllable often loses its stress when it is used before a noun:

‘an OFF-peak FARE’

‘a FIRST-class SEAT’

Two things should be noted about the marked syllables:

They can take primary or secondary stress in a way that is not shared by the other syllables.

Whether they are stressed or not, the vowel must be pronounced distinctly; it cannot be weakened to /ə/, / I / or /ʊ/.

These features are shared by most of the one-syllable words in English, which are therefore transcribed in this dictionary as stressed syllables:

two /tuː /

inn / I n/

tree /triː /

Unstressed syllables

It is an important characteristic of English that vowels in unstressed syllables tend not to be pronounced clearly. Many unstressed syllables contain the vowel /ə/, a neutral vowel which is not found in stressed syllables. The vowels / I / and /ʊ/, which are relatively neutral in quality, are also common in unstressed syllables.

Single-syllable grammatical words such as ‘shall’ and ‘at’ are often pronounced with a weak vowel such as /ə/. However, some of them are pronounced with a more distinct vowel under certain circumstances, for example when they occur at the end of a sentence. This distinct pronunciation is generally referred to as the strong form, and is given in this dictionary after the word STRONG .

shall /ʃəl, STRONG ʃæl/

at /ət, STRONG æt/

Dictionary A-Z

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

Q

R

S

T

U

V

W

X

Y

Z