pa|py|rus /pəpa I rəs/ (papyri )
1 N‑UNCOUNT Papyrus is a tall water plant that grows in Africa.
2 N‑UNCOUNT Papyrus is a type of paper made from papyrus stems that was used in ancient Egypt, Rome, and Greece.
3 N‑COUNT A papyrus is an ancient document that is written on papyrus.
par /pɑː r /
1 PHRASE If you say that two people or things are on a par with each other, you mean that they are equally good or bad, or equally important. □ Parts of Glasgow are on a par with the worst areas of London and Liverpool for burglaries.
2 N‑UNCOUNT In golf, par is the number of strokes that a good player should take to get the ball into a hole or into all the holes on a particular golf course. □ He was five under par after the first round.
3 PHRASE If you say that someone or something is below par or under par , you are disappointed in them because they are below the standard you expected. □ Duffy's primitive guitar playing is well below par.
4 PHRASE [usu with neg] If you say that someone or something is not up to par , you are disappointed in them because they are below the standard you expected. □ His performance was not up to par.
5 PHRASE If you feel below par or under par , you feel tired and unable to perform as well as you normally do.
6 PHRASE If you say that something that happens is par for the course , you mean that you are not pleased with it but it is what you expected to happen. □ He said long hours are par for the course.
para /pæ rə/ (paras ) N‑COUNT [usu pl] A para is a paratrooper . [BRIT , INFORMAL ] □ …some guys just out of the paras.
para. /pæ rə/ (paras ) Para. is a written abbreviation for paragraph . □ See Chapter 9, para. 1.2.
para|ble /pæ rəb ə l/ (parables ) N‑COUNT A parable is a short story, which is told in order to make a moral or religious point, like those in the Bible. □ [+ of ] …the parable of the Good Samaritan.
pa|rabo|la /pəræ bələ/ (parabolas ) N‑COUNT A parabola is a type of curve such as the path of something that is thrown up into the air and comes down in a different place. [TECHNICAL ]
para|bol|ic /pæ rəbɒ l I k/ ADJ [usu ADJ n] A parabolic object or curve is shaped like a parabola. □ …a parabolic mirror.
pa|ra|ceta|mol /pæ rəsiː təmɒl/ (paracetamol ) N‑VAR Paracetamol is a mild drug which reduces pain and fever. [BRIT ] □ I often take paracetamol at work if I get a bad headache.
para|chute /pæ rəʃuːt/ (parachutes , parachuting , parachuted )
1 N‑COUNT [oft by N ] A parachute is a device which enables a person to jump from an aircraft and float safely to the ground. It consists of a large piece of thin cloth attached to your body by strings. □ They fell 41,000 ft. before opening their parachutes.
2 VERB If a person parachutes or someone parachutes them somewhere, they jump from an aircraft using a parachute. □ [V prep/adv] He was a courier for the Polish underground and parachuted into Warsaw. □ [be V -ed prep/adv] He was parachuted in.
3 VERB To parachute something somewhere means to drop it somewhere by parachute. □ [be V -ed prep/adv] Supplies were parachuted into the mountains.
4 VERB If a person parachutes into an organization or if they are parachuted into it, they are brought in suddenly in order to help it. □ [V into ] …a consultant who parachutes into corporations and helps provide strategic thinking. □ [be V -ed + into ] There was intense speculation 18 months ago that the former foreign secretary might be parachuted into the Scottish Parliament.
para|chut|ing /pæ rəʃuːt I ŋ/ N‑UNCOUNT Parachuting is the activity or sport of jumping from an aircraft with a parachute. □ His hobby is freefall parachuting.
para|chut|ist /pæ rəʃuːt I st/ (parachutists ) N‑COUNT A parachutist is a person who jumps from an aircraft using a parachute. □ He was an experienced parachutist who had done over 150 jumps.
pa|rade /pəre I d/ (parades , parading , paraded )
1 N‑COUNT A parade is a procession of people or vehicles moving through a public place in order to celebrate an important day or event. □ A military parade marched slowly and solemnly down Pennsylvania Avenue.
2 VERB When people parade somewhere, they walk together in a formal group or a line, usually with other people watching them. □ [V prep/adv] More than four thousand soldiers, sailors and airmen paraded down the Champs Elysees.
3 N‑VAR [oft on N ] Parade is a formal occasion when soldiers stand in lines to be seen by an officer or important person, or march in a group. □ He had them on parade at six o'clock in the morning.
4 VERB [usu passive] If prisoners are paraded through the streets of a town or on television, they are shown to the public, usually in order to make the people who are holding them seem more powerful or important. □ [be V -ed prep] Five leading fighter pilots have been captured and paraded before the media.
5 VERB [usu passive] If you say that someone parades a person, you mean that they show that person to others only in order to gain some advantage for themselves. □ [be V -ed] Children are paraded on television alongside the party leaders to win votes.
6 VERB If people parade something, they show it in public so that it can be admired. □ [V n] Valentino is keen to see celebrities parading his clothes at big occasions.