soapy /soʊ pi/ (soapier , soapiest ) ADJ [usu ADJ n] Something that is soapy is full of soap or covered with soap. □ Wash your hands thoroughly with hot soapy water before handling any food.
soar /sɔː r / (soars , soaring , soared )
1 VERB If the amount, value, level, or volume of something soars , it quickly increases by a great deal. [JOURNALISM ] □ [V ] Insurance claims are expected to soar. □ [V prep/adv] Figures showed customer complaints had soared to record levels and profits were falling.
2 VERB If something such as a bird soars into the air, it goes quickly up into the air. [LITERARY ] □ [V prep/adv] If you're lucky, a splendid golden eagle may soar into view. □ [V n] The two sheets of flame clashed, soaring hundreds of feet high.
3 VERB If your spirits soar , you suddenly start to feel very happy. [LITERARY ] □ [V ] For the first time in months, my spirits soared.
soar|away /sɔː rəwe I / ADJ [ADJ n] If you describe something as a soaraway success, you mean that its success has suddenly increased. [BRIT , JOURNALISM , INFORMAL ] □ …soaraway sales.
sob /sɒ b/ (sobs , sobbing , sobbed )
1 VERB When someone sobs , they cry in a noisy way, breathing in short breaths. □ [V ] She began to sob again, burying her face in the pillow. □ [V ] Her sister broke down, sobbing into her handkerchief. ● sob|bing N‑UNCOUNT □ The room was silent except for her sobbing.
2 VERB If you sob something, you say it while you are crying. □ [V with quote] 'Everything's my fault,' she sobbed.
3 N‑COUNT A sob is one of the noises that you make when you are crying.
so|ber /soʊ bə r / (sobers , sobering , sobered )
1 ADJ [usu v-link ADJ ] When you are sober , you are not drunk. □ When Dad was sober he was a good father.
2 ADJ A sober person is serious and thoughtful. □ We are now far more sober and realistic. □ The euphoria is giving way to a more sober assessment of the situation. ● so|ber|ly ADV [usu ADV with v] □ 'There's a new development,' he said soberly.
3 ADJ Sober colours and clothes are plain and rather dull. □ He dresses in sober grey suits. □ …sober-suited middle-aged men. ● so|ber|ly ADV [ADV with v] □ She saw Ellis, soberly dressed in a well-cut dark suit.
4 → see also sobering
5 stone-cold sober → see stone-cold
▸ sober up PHRASAL VERB If someone sobers up , or if something sobers them up , they become sober after being drunk. □ [V P ] He was left to sober up in a police cell. □ [V n P ] …the idea that a cup of strong black coffee sobers you up.
so|ber|ing /soʊ bər I ŋ/ ADJ [usu ADJ n] You say that something is a sobering thought or has a sobering effect when a situation seems serious and makes you become serious and thoughtful. □ Statistics paint a sobering picture–unemployment, tight credit, lower home values.
so|bri|ety /səbra I I ti/
1 N‑UNCOUNT Sobriety is the state of being sober rather than drunk. [FORMAL ]
2 N‑UNCOUNT Sobriety is serious and thoughtful behaviour. [FORMAL ] □ …the values society depends upon, such as honesty, sobriety and trust.
so|bri|quet /soʊ br I ke I / (sobriquets ) also soubriquet N‑COUNT [usu sing] A sobriquet is a humorous name that people give someone or something. [WRITTEN ] □ From his staff he earned the sobriquet 'Mumbles'.
so b sto|ry (sob stories ) N‑COUNT You describe what someone tells you about their own or someone else's difficulties as a sob story when you think that they have told you about it in order to get your sympathy. □ Any sob story moved Jarvis to generosity.
Soc. /sɒ k/ Soc. is the written abbreviation for society .
so -ca lled ◆◇◇ also so called
1 ADJ [ADJ n] You use so-called to indicate that you think a word or expression used to describe someone or something is in fact wrong. □ These are the facts that explode their so-called economic miracle.
2 ADJ [ADJ n] You use so-called to indicate that something is generally referred to by the name that you are about to use. □ …a summit of the world's seven leading market economies, the so-called G-7.
soc|cer ◆◇◇ /sɒ kə r / N‑UNCOUNT Soccer is a game played by two teams of eleven players using a round ball. Players kick the ball to each other and try to score goals by kicking the ball into a large net. Outside the USA, this game is also referred to as football .
so|cia|ble /soʊ ʃəb ə l/ ADJ Sociable people are friendly and enjoy talking to other people. □ She was, and remained, extremely sociable, enjoying dancing, golf and bicycling.
so|cial ◆◆◆ /soʊ ʃ ə l/
1 ADJ [ADJ n] Social means relating to society or to the way society is organized. □ …the worst effects of unemployment, low pay and other social problems. □ …long-term social change. □ …changing social attitudes. □ …the tightly woven social fabric of small towns. □ …research into housing and social policy. ● so|cial|ly ADV [ADV adj/-ed] □ Let's face it–drinking is a socially acceptable habit. □ …one of the most socially deprived areas in Britain.
2 ADJ [ADJ n] Social means relating to the status or rank that someone has in society. □ Higher education is unequally distributed across social classes. □ The guests came from all social backgrounds. ● so|cial|ly ADV [usu ADV adj/-ed] □ For socially ambitious couples this is a problem. □ …socially disadvantaged children.