2 ADJ Precious objects and materials are worth a lot of money because they are rare. □ …jewellery and precious objects belonging to her mother.
3 ADJ If something is precious to you, you regard it as important and do not want to lose it. □ [+ to ] Her family's support is particularly precious to Josie.
4 ADJ [ADJ n] People sometimes use precious to emphasize their dislike for things which other people think are important. [INFORMAL , EMPHASIS ] □ You don't care about anything but yourself and your precious face.
5 PHRASE If you say that there is precious little of something, you are emphasizing that there is very little of it, and that it would be better if there were more. Precious few has a similar meaning. [EMPHASIS ] □ The banks have had precious little to celebrate recently. □ Precious few homebuyers will notice any reduction in their monthly repayments.
pre |cious me t|al (precious metals ) N‑VAR A precious metal is a valuable metal such as gold or silver.
pre |cious sto ne (precious stones ) N‑COUNT A precious stone is a valuable stone, such as a diamond or a ruby, that is used for making jewellery.
preci|pice /pre s I p I s/ (precipices )
1 N‑COUNT A precipice is a very steep cliff on a mountain.
2 N‑COUNT If you say that someone is on the edge of a precipice , you mean that they are in a dangerous situation in which they are extremely close to disaster or failure. □ The King now stands on the brink of a political precipice.
pre|cipi|tate (precipitates , precipitating , precipitated ) The verb is pronounced /pr I s I pəte I t/. The adjective is pronounced /pr I s I p I tət/. 1 VERB If something precipitates an event or situation, usually a bad one, it causes it to happen suddenly or sooner than normal. [FORMAL ] □ [V n] The recent killings have precipitated the worst crisis yet. □ [V n] A slight mistake could precipitate a disaster.
2 ADJ [usu ADJ n] A precipitate action or decision happens or is made more quickly or suddenly than most people think is sensible. [FORMAL ] □ I don't think we should make precipitate decisions. ● pre|cipi|tate|ly ADV [ADV with v] □ Somebody hired from another country is not likely to resign precipitately.
pre|cipi|ta|tion /pr I s I p I te I ʃ ə n/
1 N‑UNCOUNT Precipitation is rain, snow, or hail. [TECHNICAL ]
2 N‑UNCOUNT Precipitation is a process in a chemical reaction which causes solid particles to become separated from a liquid. [TECHNICAL ]
pre|cipi|tous /pr I s I p I təs/
1 ADJ [usu ADJ n] A precipitous slope or drop is very steep and often dangerous. □ The town is perched on the edge of a steep, precipitous cliff. ● pre|cipi|tous|ly ADV [usu ADV after v, oft ADV adj] □ The ground beyond the road fell away precipitously.
2 ADJ [usu ADJ n] A precipitous change is sudden and unpleasant. □ The stock market's precipitous drop frightened foreign investors. ● pre|cipi|tous|ly ADV [ADV with v] □ The company has seen its profits fall precipitously over the past few years.
3 ADJ [usu ADJ n] A precipitous action happens very quickly and often without being planned. □ …a precipitous decision. ● pre|cipi|tous|ly ADV [usu ADV with v, oft ADV adj] □ They've got to act precipitously to make the deals.
pré|cis /pre I si, [AM ] pre I siː / The form précis is both the singular and the plural form. It is pronounced /pre I siz/ when it is the plural. N‑COUNT A précis is a short written or spoken account of something, which gives the important points but not the details. [FORMAL ] □ [+ of ] A précis of the manuscript was sent to the magazine New Idea.
pre|cise /pr I sa I s/
1 ADJ [ADJ n] You use precise to emphasize that you are referring to an exact thing, rather than something vague. [EMPHASIS ] □ At that precise moment I felt sorry for him and didn't want to hurt him. □ The precise location of the wreck was discovered in 1988. □ He was not clear on the precise nature of his mission.
2 ADJ Something that is precise is exact and accurate in all its details. □ He does not talk too much and what he has to say is precise and to the point.
3 PHRASE You say ' to be precise ' to indicate that you are giving more detailed or accurate information than you have just given. □ More than a week ago, Thursday evening to be precise, she was at her evening class.
pre|cise|ly ◆◇◇ /pr I sa I sli/
1 ADV [ADV with v] Precisely means accurately and exactly. □ Nobody knows precisely how many people are still living in the camp. □ The meeting began at precisely 4.00 p.m.
2 ADV You can use precisely to emphasize that a reason or fact is the only important one there is, or that it is obvious. [EMPHASIS ] □ Children come to zoos precisely to see captive animals.
3 ADV [as reply] You can say ' precisely ' to confirm in an emphatic way that what someone has just said is true. [EMPHASIS ] □ 'Did you find yourself wondering what went wrong?'—'Precisely.' SYNONYMS precisely ADV 1
exactly: Agnew's car pulled into the driveway at exactly five o'clock.
accurately: The test can accurately predict what a bigger explosion would do.
strictly: Actually, that is not strictly true.
pre|ci|sion /pr I s I ʒ ə n/ N‑UNCOUNT [oft with N ] If you do something with precision , you do it exactly as it should be done. □ The interior is planned with a precision the military would be proud of.
pre|clude /pr I kluː d/ (precludes , precluding , precluded )