6 N‑COUNT [usu sing] A season of films is several of them shown as a series because they are connected in some way. □ [+ of ] …a season of films by America's preeminent documentary maker, Ken Burns.
7 N‑COUNT [usu sing, oft in/out of N ] The holiday or vacation season is the time when most people have their holiday. □ …the peak holiday season. □ There are discos and clubs but these are often closed out of season.
8 VERB If you season food with salt, pepper, or spices, you add them to it in order to improve its flavour. □ [V n + with ] Season the meat with salt and pepper. □ [V n] I believe in seasoning food before putting it on the table.
9 VERB [usu passive] If wood is seasoned , it is made suitable for making into furniture or for burning, usually by being allowed to dry out gradually. □ [be V -ed] Ensure that new wood has been seasoned.
10 → see also seasoned , seasoning
11 PHRASE If a female animal is in season , she is in a state where she is ready to have sex. SYNONYMS season NOUN 2
period: This crisis might last for a long period of time.
time: It was a time of terrible uncertainty.
spelclass="underline" There has been a long spell of dry weather.
sea|son|al /siː zən ə l/ ADJ [ADJ n] A seasonal factor, event, or change occurs during one particular time of the year. □ Seasonal variations need to be taken into account. ● sea|son|al|ly ADV [usu ADV -ed] □ The seasonally adjusted unemployment figures show a rise of twelve-hundred.
sea |son|al af|fe c|tive dis|or|der N‑UNCOUNT Seasonal affective disorder is a feeling of tiredness and sadness that some people have during the autumn and winter when there is very little sunshine. The abbreviation SAD is often used.
sea|soned /siː z ə nd/ ADJ [usu ADJ n] You can use seasoned to describe a person who has a lot of experience of something. For example, a seasoned traveller is a person who has travelled a lot. □ He began acting with the confidence of a seasoned performer.
sea|son|ing /siː zən I ŋ/ (seasonings ) N‑VAR Seasoning is salt, pepper, or other spices that are added to food to improve its flavour. □ Mix the meat with the onion, carrot, and some seasoning.
sea |son tick|et (season tickets ) N‑COUNT A season ticket is a ticket that you can use repeatedly during a certain period, without having to pay each time. You can buy season tickets for things such as buses, trains, regular sporting events, or theatre performances. □ We went to renew our monthly season ticket.
seat ◆◆◇ /siː t/ (seats , seating , seated )
1 N‑COUNT A seat is an object that you can sit on, for example a chair. □ Stephen returned to his seat. □ Ann could remember sitting in the back seat of their car.
2 N‑COUNT The seat of a chair is the part that you sit on. □ The stool had a torn, red plastic seat.
3 VERB If you seat yourself somewhere, you sit down. [WRITTEN ] □ [V pron-refl] He waved towards a chair, and seated himself at the desk. □ [V -ed] …a portrait of one of his favourite models seated on an elegant sofa.
4 VERB A building or vehicle that seats a particular number of people has enough seats for that number. □ [V amount] The theatre seats 570.
5 N‑SING The seat of a piece of clothing is the part that covers your bottom. □ [+ of ] Then he got up and brushed off the seat of his jeans.
6 N‑COUNT When someone is elected to a parliament, congress, or senate, you can say that they, or their party, have won a seat . □ Independent candidates won the majority of seats on the local council. □ …a Maryland Republican who lost his seat.
7 N‑COUNT If someone has a seat on the board of a company or on a committee, they are a member of it. □ [+ on ] He has been unsuccessful in his attempt to win a seat on the board of the company.
8 N‑COUNT The seat of an organization, a wealthy family, or an activity is its base. □ [+ of ] Gunfire broke out early this morning around the seat of government.
9 → see also deep-seated , hot seat
10 PHRASE If you take a back seat , you allow other people to have all the power and to make all the decisions. □ You need to take a back seat and think about both past and future.
11 PHRASE If you take a seat , you sit down. [FORMAL ] □ 'Take a seat,' he said in a bored tone. □ Rachel smiled at him as they took their seats on opposite sides of the table.
12 in the driving seat → see driving seat
13 by the seat of your pants → see pants
sea t belt (seat belts ) also seatbelt N‑COUNT A seat belt is a strap attached to a seat in a car or an aircraft. You fasten it across your body in order to prevent yourself being thrown out of the seat if there is a sudden movement. □ The fact I was wearing a seat belt saved my life.
-seater /-siː tə r / (-seaters )
1 COMB -seater combines with numbers to form adjectives and nouns which indicate how many people something such as a car has seats for. □ …a three-seater sofa. □ The plane is an eight-seater with twin propellers.
2 → see also all-seater
seat|ing /siː t I ŋ/
1 N‑UNCOUNT You can refer to the seats in a place as the seating . □ [+ for ] The stadium has been fitted with seating for over eighty thousand spectators.