par|boil /pɑː r bɔ I l/ (parboils , parboiling , parboiled ) VERB If you parboil food, especially vegetables, you boil it until it is partly cooked. □ [V n] Roughly chop and parboil the potatoes.
par|cel /pɑː r s ə l/ (parcels )
1 N‑COUNT A parcel is something wrapped in paper, usually so that it can be sent to someone by post. [mainly BRIT ] □ [+ of ] …parcels of food and clothing. □ He had a large brown paper parcel under his left arm. in AM, usually use package 2 N‑COUNT A parcel of land is a piece of land. □ [+ of ] These small parcels of land were purchased for the most part by local people.
3 PHRASE If you say that something is part and parcel of something else, you are emphasizing that it is involved or included in it. [EMPHASIS ] □ Payment was part and parcel of carrying on insurance business within the U.K…
pa r|cel bomb (parcel bombs ) N‑COUNT A parcel bomb is a small bomb which is sent in a parcel through the post and which is designed to explode when the parcel is opened. [BRIT ]
parched /pɑː r tʃt/
1 ADJ If something, especially the ground or a plant, is parched , it is very dry, because there has been no rain. □ …a hill of parched brown grass.
2 ADJ If your mouth, throat, or lips are parched , they are unpleasantly dry.
3 ADJ [v-link ADJ ] If you say that you are parched , you mean that you are very thirsty. [INFORMAL ]
parch|ment /pɑː r tʃmənt/ (parchments )
1 N‑UNCOUNT In former times, parchment was the skin of a sheep or goat that was used for writing on. □ …old manuscripts written on parchment.
2 N‑UNCOUNT Parchment is a kind of thick yellowish paper. □ …an old lamp with a parchment shade. □ Cover with a sheet of non-stick baking parchment.
par|don /pɑː r d ə n/ (pardons , pardoning , pardoned )
1 CONVENTION You say ' Pardon? ' or ' I beg your pardon? ' or, in American English, ' Pardon me? ' when you want someone to repeat what they have just said because you have not heard or understood it. [SPOKEN , FORMULAE ] □ 'Will you let me open it?'—'Pardon?'—'Can I open it?'.
2 CONVENTION People say ' I beg your pardon? ' when they are surprised or offended by something that someone has just said. [SPOKEN , FEELINGS ] □ 'Would you get undressed, please?'—'I beg your pardon?'—'Will you get undressed?'
3 CONVENTION You say ' I beg your pardon ' or ' I do beg your pardon ' as a way of apologizing for accidentally doing something wrong, such as disturbing someone or making a mistake. [SPOKEN , FORMULAE ] □ I was impolite and I do beg your pardon.
4 CONVENTION Some people say ' Pardon me ' instead of 'Excuse me' when they want to politely get someone's attention or interrupt them. [mainly BRIT , SPOKEN , FORMULAE ] □ Pardon me, are you finished, madam? in AM, use excuse me 5 CONVENTION You can say things like ' Pardon me for asking ' or ' Pardon my frankness ' as a way of showing you understand that what you are going to say may sound rude. [SPOKEN , POLITENESS ] □ That, if you'll pardon my saying so, is neither here nor there.
6 CONVENTION Some people say things like ' If you'll pardon the expression ' or ' Pardon my French ' just before or after saying something which they think might offend people. [SPOKEN , FORMULAE ] □ It's enough to make you wet yourself, if you'll pardon the expression.
7 VERB [usu passive] If someone who has been found guilty of a crime is pardoned , they are officially allowed to go free and are not punished. □ [be V -ed] Hundreds of political prisoners were pardoned and released. ● N‑COUNT Pardon is also a noun. □ He was granted a presidential pardon.
par|don|able /pɑː r dənəb ə l/ ADJ You describe someone's action or attitude as pardonable if you think it is wrong but you understand why they did that action or have that attitude. □ 'I have', he remarked with pardonable pride, 'done what I set out to do.'
pare /peə r / (pares , paring , pared )
1 VERB When you pare something, or pare part of it off or away , you cut off its skin or its outer layer. □ [V n + from ] Pare the brown skin from the meat with a very sharp knife. □ [V n with adv] He took out a slab of cheese, pared off a slice and ate it hastily. □ [V -ed] …thinly pared lemon rind.
2 → see also paring
3 VERB If you pare something down or back , or if you pare it, you reduce it. □ [be V -ed adv] The number of Ministries has been pared down by a third. □ [V n with adv] The luxury tax won't really do much to pare down the budget deficit. □ [V n] Local authorities must pare their budgets.
pa red-down ADJ If you describe something as pared-down , you mean that it has no unnecessary features, and has been reduced to a very simple form. □ Her style is pared-down and simple.
par|ent ◆◆◆ /peə rənt/ (parents )
1 N‑COUNT [usu pl] Your parents are your mother and father. □ Children need their parents. □ When you become a parent, the things you once cared about seem to have less value.
2 → see also foster parent , one-parent family , single parent
3 ADJ [ADJ n] An organization's parent organization is the organization that created it and usually still controls it. □ Each unit including the parent company has its own, local management.