Adam Makkai
Maya Aleksandrovna Glinberg
A
[abide by] To accept and obey; be willing to follow. * /A basketball player may know he did not foul, but he must abide by the referee's decision./ * /The members agree to abide by the rules of the club./
[a bit] A small amount; some. * /There's no sugar in the sugar bowl, but you may find a bit in the bag./ * /If the ball had hit the window a bit harder, it would have broken it./ - Often used like an adverb. * /This sweater scratches a bit./ - Also used like an adjective before "less", "more". * /Janet thought she could lose weight by eating a bit less./ * /"Have some more cake?" "Thanks. A bit more won't hurt me."/ - Often used adverbially after verbs in negative, interrogative, and conditional sentences, sometimes in the form "one bit". * /"Won't your father be angry?" "No, he won't care a bit."/ * /Helen feels like crying, but I'll be surprised if she shows it one bit./ - Sometimes used with "little" for emphasis, also in the emphatic form "the least bit". * /"Wasn't Bob even a little bit sorry he forgot his date?" "No, Bob wasn't the least bit sorry."/ Syn.: A LITTLE. Compare: A FEW. Contrast: A LOT.
[about face] A sudden change of course or a decision opposite to what was decided earlier. * /Her decision to become an actress instead of a dentist was an about face from her original plans./
[about one's ears] or [around one's ears] To or into complete collapse, defeat, or ruin; to the destruction of a person's plans, hopes, or happiness. * /They planned to have factories all over the world but the war brought their plans down about their ears./ * /John hoped to go to college and become a great scientist some day, but when his father died he had to get a job, and John's dreams came crashing around his ears./ Compare: ON ONE'S HEAD.
[about time] Finally, but later than it should have been; at last. * /Mother said, "It's about time you got up, Mary."/ * /The basketball team won last night. About time./
[about to] 1. Close to; ready to. - Used with an infinitive. * /We were about to leave when the snow began./ * /I haven't gone yet, but I'm about to./ Compare: GOING TO, ON THE POINT OF. 2. Having a wish or plan to. - Used with an infinitive in negative sentences. * /Freddy wasn't about to give me any of his ice-cream cone./ * /"Will she come with us?" asked Bill. "She's not about to," answered Mary./
