16 N‑COUNT The mark was the unit of money that was used in Germany. In 2002 it was replaced by the euro. □ The government gave 30 million marks for new school books. ● N‑SING The mark was also used to refer to the German currency system. □ The mark appreciated 12 per cent against the dollar.
17 N‑UNCOUNT Mark is used before a number to indicate a particular temperature level in a gas oven. [BRIT ] □ Set the oven at gas mark 4.
18 N‑UNCOUNT Mark is used before a number to indicate a particular version or model of a vehicle, machine, or device. □ All eyes will be on the unveiling of the mark III model at the Detroit car show.
19 → see also marked , marking , black mark , check mark , exclamation mark , full marks , high-water mark , punctuation mark , question mark , scuff mark , stretch marks
20 PHRASE If someone or something leaves their mark or leaves a mark , they have a lasting effect on another person or thing. □ All the quarrelling and fighting going on around me has left its mark on me.
21 PHRASE If you make your mark or make a mark , you become noticed or famous by doing something impressive or unusual. □ [+ on/in ] She made her mark in the film industry in the 1960s.
22 PHRASE If you are quick off the mark , you are quick to understand or respond to something. If you are slow off the mark , you are slow to understand or respond to something.
23 CONVENTION On your marks in British English, or on your mark in American English, is a command given to runners at the beginning of a race in order to get them into the correct position to start. □ On your marks–get set–go!
24 PHRASE If something is off the mark , it is inaccurate or incorrect. If it is on the mark , it is accurate or correct. □ Robinson didn't think the story was so far off the mark.
25 PHRASE If something such as a claim or estimate is wide of the mark , it is incorrect or inaccurate. □ That comparison isn't as wide of the mark as it seems.
26 to overstep the mark → see overstep
▸ mark down
1 PHRASAL VERB If you mark something down , you write it down. □ [V n P ] I tend to forget things unless I mark them down. □ [V P n] As he marks down the prices, he stops now and then to pack things into a large bag.
2 PHRASAL VERB If you mark someone down as a particular type of person, especially a type that you do not like, you consider that they have the qualities which make them that type of person. □ [V n P + as ] If he'd taken that five pounds, I would have marked him down as a greedy fool.
3 PHRASAL VERB To mark an item down or mark its price down means to reduce its price. □ [V P n] The toy store has marked down copies of the computer game. □ [V -ed P ] Clothes are the best bargain, with many items marked down. [Also V n P ]
4 PHRASAL VERB If a teacher marks a student down , the teacher puts a lower grade on the student's work because of a mistake that has been made. □ [V n P ] If you mark each other's work, they don't mark you down because then you can mark them down.
▸ mark off
1 PHRASAL VERB If you mark off a piece or length of something, you make it separate, for example by putting a line on it or around it. □ [V P n] He used a rope to mark off the circle.
2 PHRASAL VERB If a particular quality or feature marks someone or something off from other people or things, it is unusual and makes them obviously different. □ [V n P + from ] Her clothes, of course, marked her off from a great number of the delegates at the conference. □ [V n P + as ] Traditionalist influences within the navy marked it off as a rather old-fashioned institution.
▸ mark out
1 PHRASAL VERB To mark out an area or shape means to show where it begins and ends. □ [V P n] When planting seedlings I prefer to mark out the rows in advance. [Also V n P ]
2 PHRASAL VERB If a particular quality or feature marks someone or something out , it makes them obviously different from other people or things. □ [V n P + as ] There were several things about that evening that marked it out as very unusual. □ [V n P + from ] Her independence of spirit marked her out from her male fellow officers. [Also V P n]
▸ mark up
1 PHRASAL VERB If you mark something up , you increase its price. □ [V n P ] You can sell it to them at a set wholesale price, allowing them to mark it up for retail. □ [V P n] A typical warehouse club marks up its goods by only 10 to 15 percent.
2 → see also mark-up SYNONYMS mark NOUN 1
spot: The leaves have yellow areas on the top and underneath are powdery orange spots.
stain: Remove stains by soaking in a mild solution of bleach.
smudge: There was a dark smudge on his forehead.
blotch: His face was covered in red blotches, seemingly a nasty case of acne.
mark|down /mɑː r kdaʊn/ (markdowns ) N‑COUNT A markdown is a reduction in the price of something. □ Customers know that our stocktake sales offer genuine markdowns across the store.
marked ◆◇◇ /mɑː r kt/
1 ADJ A marked change or difference is very obvious and easily noticed. □ There has been a marked increase in crimes against property. □ He was a man of austere habits, in marked contrast to his more flamboyant wife. ● mark|ed|ly /mɑː r k I dli/ ADV [ADV adj, ADV with v] □ America's current economic downturn is markedly different from previous recessions.