1 N‑COUNT [oft in names, N n] A palace is a very large impressive house, especially one which is the official home of a king, queen, or president. □ …Buckingham Palace. □ They entered the palace courtyard.
2 N‑SING When the members of a royal palace make an announcement through an official spokesperson, they can be referred to as the Palace . □ The Palace will not comment on questions about the family's private life.
palae|on|tol|ogy /pæ liɒntɒ lədʒi, [AM ] pe I l-/ also paleontology N‑UNCOUNT Palaeontology is the study of fossils as a guide to the history of life on Earth. ● palae|on|tolo|gist (palaeontologists ) N‑COUNT □ …just as a palaeontologist can reconstruct a dinosaur from one of its toes.
pal|at|able /pæ lətəb ə l/
1 ADJ If you describe food or drink as palatable , you mean that it tastes pleasant. [FORMAL ] □ …flavourings and preservatives, designed to make the food look more palatable.
2 ADJ If you describe something such as an idea or method as palatable , you mean that people are willing to accept it. □ …a palatable way of sacking staff.
pal|ate /pæ l I t/ (palates )
1 N‑COUNT [usu poss N ] Your palate is the top part of the inside of your mouth.
2 N‑COUNT You can refer to someone's palate as a way of talking about their ability to judge good food or drink. □ …fresh pasta sauces to tempt more demanding palates.
pa|la|tial /pəle I ʃ ə l/ ADJ [usu ADJ n] A palatial house, hotel, or office building is very large and impressive. □ …a palatial Hollywood mansion.
pa|la|ver /pəlɑː və r , -læ v-/ N‑UNCOUNT Palaver is unnecessary fuss and bother about the way something is done. [INFORMAL ] □ We don't want all that palaver, do we?
pale ◆◇◇ /pe I l/ (paler , palest , pales , paling , paled )
1 ADJ If something is pale , it is very light in colour or almost white. □ Migrating birds filled the pale sky. □ As we age, our skin becomes paler. ● ADJ Pale is also a combining form. □ …a pale-blue sailor dress.
2 ADJ [usu v-link ADJ ] If someone looks pale , their face looks a lighter colour than usual, usually because they are ill, frightened, or shocked. □ She looked pale and tired. ● pale|ness N‑UNCOUNT [oft with poss] □ …his paleness when he realized that he was bleeding.
3 VERB If one thing pales in comparison with another, it is made to seem much less important, serious, or good by it. □ [V ] When someone you love has a life-threatening illness, everything else pales in comparison. □ [V prep] …a soap opera against which other soaps pale into insignificance.
4 PHRASE If you think that someone's actions or behaviour are not acceptable, you can say that they are beyond the pale . □ This sort of thing really is quite beyond the pale. [Also + of ]
pale|on|tol|ogy /pæ liɒntɒ lədʒi, [AM ] pe I l-/ → see palaeontology
Pal|es|tin|ian /pæ l I st I niən/ (Palestinians )
1 ADJ Palestinian means belonging or relating to the region between the River Jordan and the Mediterranean Sea which used to be called Palestine, or to the Arabs who come from this region.
2 N‑COUNT [usu pl] A Palestinian is an Arab who comes from the region that used to be called Palestine.
pal|ette /pæ l I t/ (palettes )
1 N‑COUNT A palette is a flat piece of wood or plastic on which an artist mixes paints.
2 N‑COUNT [usu sing] You can refer to the range of colours that are used by a particular artist or group of artists as their palette . □ David Fincher paints from a palette consisting almost exclusively of grey and mud brown.
pa l|ette knife (palette knives ) N‑COUNT A palette knife is a knife with a broad, flat, flexible blade, used in cookery and in oil painting.
pali|mo|ny /pæ l I moʊni/ N‑UNCOUNT Palimony is money that a person pays to a partner they have lived with for a long time and are now separated from. Compare alimony .
pal|in|drome /pæ l I ndroʊm/ (palindromes ) N‑COUNT A palindrome is a word or a phrase that is the same whether you read it backwards or forwards, for example the word 'refer'.
pali|sade /pæ l I se I d/ (palisades ) N‑COUNT A palisade is a fence of wooden posts which are driven into the ground in order to protect people from attack.
pall /pɔː l/ (palls , palled )
1 VERB [no cont] If something palls , it becomes less interesting or less enjoyable after a period of time. □ [V ] Already the allure of meals in restaurants had begun to pall.
2 N‑COUNT If a pall of smoke hangs over a place, there is a thick cloud of smoke above it. □ [+ of ] A pall of oily black smoke drifted over the cliff-top.
3 PHRASE If something unpleasant casts a pall over an event or occasion, it makes it less enjoyable than it should be. □ The unrest has cast a pall over what is usually a day of national rejoicing.
pall|bearer /pɔː lbeərə r / (pallbearers ) N‑COUNT At a funeral, a pallbearer is a person who helps to carry the coffin or who walks beside it.
pal|let /pæ l I t/ (pallets )
1 N‑COUNT A pallet is a narrow mattress filled with straw which is put on the floor for someone to sleep on.
2 N‑COUNT A pallet is a hard, narrow bed. □ He was given only a wooden pallet with a blanket.
3 N‑COUNT A pallet is a flat wooden or metal platform on which goods are stored so that they can be lifted and moved using a forklift truck. □ The warehouse will hold more than 90,000 pallets storing 30 million Easter eggs.