li nk-up (link-ups )
1 N‑COUNT A link-up is a connection between two machines or communication systems. □ [+ with ] …a live satellite link-up with Bonn. □ [+ with ] …computer link-ups with banks in Spain, Portugal, and France. [Also + between ]
2 N‑COUNT A link-up is a relationship or partnership between two organizations. □ [+ between ] …new link-ups between school and commerce. [Also + with ]
lino /la I noʊ/ N‑UNCOUNT [oft N n] Lino is the same as linoleum . [BRIT ] □ …lino floors.
li|no|leum /l I noʊ liəm/ N‑UNCOUNT [oft N n] Linoleum is a floor covering which is made of cloth covered with a hard shiny substance. □ …a gray linoleum floor. □ …black-and-white squares of linoleum.
lin|seed oil /l I nsiːd ɔ I l/ N‑UNCOUNT Linseed oil is an oil made from seeds of the flax plant. It is used to make paints and inks, or to rub into wooden surfaces to protect them.
lint /l I nt/
1 N‑UNCOUNT Lint is cotton or linen fabric which you can put on your skin if you have a cut.
2 N‑UNCOUNT Lint is small unwanted threads or fibres that collect on clothes. [mainly AM ]
lin|tel /l I nt ə l/ (lintels ) N‑COUNT A lintel is a piece of stone or wood over a door or window which supports the bricks above the door or window.
lion /la I ən/ (lions ) N‑COUNT A lion is a large wild member of the cat family that is found in Africa. Lions have yellowish fur, and male lions have long hair on their head and neck.
li|on|ess /la I ən I s/ (lionesses ) N‑COUNT A lioness is a female lion.
li|on|ize /la I əna I z/ (lionizes , lionizing , lionized ) in BRIT, also use lionise VERB If someone is lionized , they are treated as if they are very important or special by a particular group of people, often when they do not really deserve to be. [FORMAL ] □ [be V -ed] By the 1920's, he was lionised by literary London. □ [V n] The press began to lionize him enthusiastically. □ [be V -ed + as ] In 1936, Max Schmeling had been lionised as boxing's great hope.
li on's share N‑SING If a person, group, or project gets the lion's share of something, they get the largest part of it, leaving very little for other people. □ [+ of ] Military and nuclear research have received the lion's share of public funding.
lip ◆◇◇ /l I p/ (lips )
1 N‑COUNT [usu pl, oft poss N ] Your lips are the two outer parts of the edge of your mouth. □ Wade stuck the cigarette between his lips.
2 N‑COUNT The lip of something such as a container or a high area of land is its edge. □ [+ of ] …the lip of the jug. □ [+ of ] …the lip of Mount Etna's smouldering crater.
3 PHRASE If you lick your lips , you move your tongue across your lips as you think about or taste something pleasant. □ They licked their lips in anticipation. □ We swallowed the chocolates in one gulp, licking our lips. COLLOCATIONS lip NOUN 1
adjective + lip : pouting, pouty; quivering, trembling; pursed
verb + lip : curl; bite
li p gloss (lip glosses ) N‑VAR Lip gloss is a clear or very slightly coloured substance that some women put on their lips to make them shiny.
lipo|suc|tion /l I poʊsʌkʃən/ N‑UNCOUNT Liposuction is a form of cosmetic surgery where fat is removed from a particular area of the body by dissolving it with special chemicals and then sucking it out with a tube. □ You can have a face-lift and liposuction, but your voice will still betray your age.
-lipped /-l I pt/
1 COMB -lipped combines with adjectives to form other adjectives which describe the sort of lips that someone has. □ A thin-lipped smile spread over the captain's face. □ …his full-lipped mouth.
2 → see also tight-lipped
lip|py /l I pi/ (lippies )
1 ADJ If someone is lippy , they speak to other people in a way that shows no respect. [BRIT , INFORMAL ] □ Bruce Willis plays a lippy cop battling it out with a female partner.
2 N‑VAR Lippy is short for lipstick . [BRIT , INFORMAL ]
lip-read (lip-reads , lip-reading ) The form lip-read is pronounced /l I priːd/ when it is the present tense, and /l I pred/ when it is the past tense and past participle. VERB If someone can lip-read , they are able to understand what someone else is saying by looking at the way the other person's lips move as they speak, without actually hearing any of the words. □ [V ] They are not given hearing aids or taught to lip-read. ● lip read|ing N‑UNCOUNT □ The teacher should not move around too much as this makes lip reading more difficult.
li p ser|vice N‑UNCOUNT If you say that someone pays lip service to an idea, you are critical of them because they say they are in favour of it, but they do not do anything to support it. [DISAPPROVAL ] □ [+ to ] Unhappily, he had done no more than pay lip service to their views.
lip|stick /l I pst I k/ (lipsticks ) N‑VAR Lipstick is a coloured substance in the form of a stick which women put on their lips. □ She was wearing red lipstick. ● N‑COUNT A lipstick is a small tube containing this substance.
liq|ue|fy /l I kw I fa I / (liquefies , liquefying , liquefied ) VERB When a gas or solid substance liquefies or is liquefied , it changes its form and becomes liquid. □ [V ] Heat the jam until it liquefies. □ [V n] You can liquefy the carbon dioxide to separate it from the other constituents. □ [V -ed] …a truck carrying liquefied petroleum gas.