Category: Nouns

(count) informal an unusual outfit or costume He came onstage in a cowboy getup. a guy in a crazy getup

[count] informal a kiss Give me a big smooch  [=kiss]  on the cheek before you go.

a terrible disaster [count] The oil spill was an environmental catastrophe. Experts fear a humanitarian catastrophe if food isn’t delivered to the refugees soon. global/nuclear/economic catastrophe [noncount] an area on the brink of catastrophe — catastrophic kætəˈstrɑːfɪk adjective [more catastrophic; Read More …

[count] a way of arranging hair by gathering it together at the back of the head and letting it hang down freely She usually wears her hair pulled/tied back in a ponytail.

Within a larger group or company, the skunkworks are a small group of people working secretly on new, special, advanced projects. The skunkworks can also be the place where those people work. Pronunciation: SKUNK works Part of speech: It’s usually Read More …

[count] something that is kept as a reminder of a place you have visited, an event you have been to, etc. When I went to the Super Bowl, I kept my ticket stub as a souvenir. a souvenir shop [=a Read More …

Strictly speaking, mires, also called quagmires, are wet, squishy areas of land. Imagine how tricky it would be to work your way out of a quagmire, as your shoes keep sinking and sticking in the damp ground. More loosely speaking, Read More …

1 [count] chiefly US : an arrangement of hair made by weaving three sections together She wore her hair in a long braid. [=(chiefly Brit) plait] 2 [noncount] : a piece of cord or ribbon made of three or more Read More …

This term is French for “main dish (of a meal).” You’ll see this literal meaning used in older texts, but it’s rarely used today. Today, the piece de resistance of something is its best, most impressive part or item. Pronunciation: Read More …

[count] an area of sea water that is separated from the ocean by a reef or sandbar a tropical blue lagoon