15 PHRASE You can use by name or by the name of when you are saying what someone is called. [FORMAL ] □ Canute did have a son, Harthacanute by name. □ This guy, Jack Smith, does he go by the name of Jackal?
16 PHRASE If someone calls you names , they insult you by saying unpleasant things to you or about you. □ At my last school they called me names because I was so slow. □ They had called her rude names.
17 PHRASE If you say that something is the name of the game , you mean that it is the most important aspect of a situation. [INFORMAL ] □ The name of the game is survival.
18 PHRASE If you make a name for yourself or make your name as something, you become well-known for that thing. □ [+ as ] She was beginning to make a name for herself as a portrait photographer. □ He made his name with several collections of short stories.
19 PHRASE If you name names , you identify the people who have done something, often something wrong. □ Nobody was prepared to risk prosecution by actually naming names.
20 PHRASE If something such as a newspaper or an official body names and shames people who have performed badly or who have done something wrong, it identifies those people by name. □ The government will also name and shame the worst performing airlines.
21 PHRASE You say you name it , usually after or before a list, to indicate that you are talking about a very wide range of things. □ I also enjoy windsurfing, tennis, racquetball, swimming, you name it.
name|check /ne I mtʃek/ (namechecks , namechecking , namechecked ) also name-check N‑COUNT If someone gets a namecheck in something such as an article or interview, their name is mentioned in it. □ [+ in ] She has had many credits and name-checks in American Vogue. ● VERB Namecheck is also a verb. □ [V n] Several bands have namechecked him in interviews.
na me-drop (name-drops , name-dropping , name-dropped ) VERB If you say that someone name-drops , you disapprove of them referring to famous people they have met in order to impress people. [DISAPPROVAL ] □ [V n] The assistant carried on talking to his mate, name-dropping all the famous riders he knew. □ [V ] I must stop saying everyone famous is a good friend. It sounds as if I'm name-dropping. ● name-dropping N‑UNCOUNT □ [+ with ] One can do a lot of name-dropping with names of the school's parents. President Nixon sent his daughters there.
name|less /ne I mləs/
1 ADJ [usu ADJ n] You describe people or things as nameless when you do not know their name or when they do not have a name. □ They can have their cases rejected, without reasons being given, by nameless officials.
2 ADJ [v-link ADJ ] If you say that someone or something will remain nameless , you mean that you will not mention their name, often because you do not want to embarrass them. □ A local friend who shall be nameless warned me that I was in for trouble soon.
name|ly /ne I mli/ ADV [ADV n] You use namely to introduce detailed information about the subject you are discussing, or a particular aspect of it. □ One group of people seems to be forgotten, namely pensioners. □ They were hardly aware of the challenge facing them, namely, to re-establish prosperity.
name|plate /ne I mple I t/ (nameplates ) also name-plate N‑COUNT A nameplate is a sign on a door, wall, or desk which shows the name of the person or organization that occupies a particular place.
name|sake /ne I mse I k/ (namesakes ) N‑COUNT [usu poss N ] Someone's or something's namesake has the same name as they do. [WRITTEN ] □ He is putting together a four-man team, including his son and namesake Tony 0'Reilly Jnr. □ Notre-Dame Cathedral in Senlis is less famous than its namesake in Paris.
nan /næ n/ (nans )
1 N‑COUNT Some people refer to their grandmother as their nan . [BRIT , INFORMAL ] □ I was brought up by my nan.
2 → see also naan
nan|dro|lone /næ ndrəloʊn/ N‑UNCOUNT Nandrolone is type of drug that can improve performance in sports and is used illegally by some sportspeople.
nan|ny /næ ni/ (nannies ) N‑COUNT A nanny is a woman who is paid by parents to look after their child or children.
nan|ny|ing /næ ni I ŋ/
1 N‑UNCOUNT Nannying is the job of being a nanny. [mainly BRIT ] □ …low-paid jobs such as nannying.
2 N‑UNCOUNT If you refer to activities such as helping and advising people as nannying , you disapprove of these activities because you think that they are protecting people too much. [mainly BRIT , DISAPPROVAL ] □ …governmental nannying and interference in markets.
na n|ny sta te N‑SING If you refer to the government as the nanny state , you disapprove of it because you think it tries to protect its citizens too much and makes them rely on the state too much. [mainly BRIT , DISAPPROVAL ] □ The tussle to free the individual from the nanny state is still far from won.
nano|tech|nol|ogy /næ noʊteknɒ lədʒi/ N‑UNCOUNT Nanotechnology is the science of making or working with things that are so small that they can only be seen using a powerful microscope.
nap /næ p/ (naps , napping , napped )
1 N‑COUNT If you have a nap , you have a short sleep, usually during the day. □ Use your lunch hour to have a nap in your chair. □ I might take a little nap.
2 VERB If you nap , you sleep for a short period of time, usually during the day. □ [V ] An elderly person may nap during the day and then sleep only five hours a night.
3 N‑SING The nap of a carpet or of a cloth such as velvet is the top layer of short threads, which usually lie smoothly in one direction.