side|long /sa I dlɒŋ, [AM ] -lɔːŋ/ ADJ [ADJ n] If you give someone a sidelong look, you look at them out of the corner of your eyes. □ She gave him a quick sidelong glance.
si de-o n ADJ A side-on collision or view is a collision or view from the side of an object. □ …steel beams built into the doors for protection against a side-on crash.
si de or|der (side orders ) N‑COUNT A side order is an amount of a food that you order in a restaurant to be served at the same time as the main dish. □ [+ of ] …a side order of potato salad.
si de road (side roads ) N‑COUNT A side road is a road which leads off a busier, more important road.
si de-saddle ADV [ADV after v] When you ride a horse side-saddle , you sit on a special saddle with both your legs on one side rather than one leg on each side of the horse. □ Naomi was given a pony and taught to ride side-saddle.
si de sal|ad (side salads ) N‑COUNT A side salad is a bowl of salad for one person which is served with a main meal.
side|show /sa I dʃoʊ/ (sideshows ) also side-show
1 N‑COUNT A sideshow is a less important or less significant event or situation related to a larger, more important one that is happening at the same time. □ [+ to ] In the end, the meeting was a sideshow to a political storm that broke Thursday.
2 N‑COUNT At a circus or fair, a sideshow is a performance that you watch or a game of skill that you play, that is provided in addition to the main entertainment.
si de-splitting ADJ Something that is side-splitting is very funny and makes you laugh a lot. [INFORMAL ] □ …a side-splitting joke.
side|step /sa I dstep/ (sidesteps , sidestepping , sidestepped ) also side-step
1 VERB If you sidestep a problem, you avoid discussing it or dealing with it. □ [V n] Rarely, if ever, does he sidestep a question. □ [V n] He was trying to sidestep responsibility. [Also V ]
2 VERB If you sidestep , you step sideways in order to avoid something or someone that is coming towards you or going to hit you. □ [V ] As I sidestepped, the bottle hit me on the left hip. □ [V n] He made a grab for her but she sidestepped him.
si de street (side streets ) N‑COUNT A side street is a quiet, often narrow street which leads off a busier street.
side|swipe /sa I dswa I p/ (sideswipes ) also side-swipe N‑COUNT If you take a sideswipe at someone, you make an unexpected critical remark about them while you are talking about something else. □ [+ at ] He sulks at setbacks, can't accept blame for failure, and makes gratuitous sideswipes at other golfers.
side|track /sa I dtræk/ (sidetracks , sidetracking , sidetracked ) also side-track VERB If you are sidetracked by something, it makes you forget what you intended to do or say, and start instead doing or talking about a different thing. □ [be V -ed] He'd managed to avoid being sidetracked by Schneider's problems. □ [V n] The leadership moved to sidetrack the proposal. □ [V n + from ] They have a tendency to try to sidetrack you from your task.
side|walk /sa I dwɔːk/ (sidewalks ) N‑COUNT A sidewalk is a path with a hard surface by the side of a road. [AM ] □ Two men and a woman were walking briskly down the sidewalk toward him. in BRIT, use pavement
side|ways /sa I dwe I z/
1 ADV [ADV after v] Sideways means from or towards the side of something or someone. □ Piercey glanced sideways at her. □ The ladder blew sideways. □ He was facing sideways. ● ADJ [ADJ n] Sideways is also an adjective. □ Alfred shot him a sideways glance.
2 ADV [ADV after v] If you are moved sideways at work, you move to another job at the same level as your old job. □ He would be moved sideways, rather than demoted. ● ADJ [ADJ n] Sideways is also an adjective. □ …her recent sideways move.
sid|ing /sa I d I ŋ/ (sidings )
1 N‑COUNT A siding is a short railway track beside the main tracks, where engines and carriages are left when they are not being used.
2 N‑UNCOUNT Siding is a wooden or metal covering on the outside walls of a building. [AM ]
si|dle /sa I d ə l/ (sidles , sidling , sidled ) VERB If you sidle somewhere, you walk there in a quiet or cautious way, as if you do not want anyone to notice you. □ [V prep/adv] A young man sidled up to me and said, 'May I help you?'
SIDS /s I dz/ N‑UNCOUNT SIDS is used to talk about the sudden death of a baby while it is asleep, when it had not previously been ill. SIDS is an abbreviation for 'sudden infant death syndrome'.
siè|cle → see fin de siècle
siege /siː dʒ/ (sieges )
1 N‑COUNT [oft under N ] A siege is a military or police operation in which soldiers or police surround a place in order to force the people there to come out or give up control of the place. □ We must do everything possible to lift the siege. □ The journalists found a city virtually under siege.
2 → see also state of siege
3 PHRASE If police, soldiers, or journalists lay siege to a place, they surround it in order to force the people there to come out or give up control of the place. □ The rebels laid siege to the governor's residence.
sie ge men|tal|ity N‑SING If a group of people have a siege mentality , they think that other people are constantly trying to harm or defeat them, and so they care only about protecting themselves. □ Police officers had a siege mentality that isolated them from the people they served.