3 PHRASE If one thing sows the seeds of another, it starts the process which leads eventually to the other thing. □ Rich industrialised countries have sown the seeds of global warming.
➋ sow /saʊ / (sows ) N‑COUNT A sow is an adult female pig.
sown /soʊ n/ Sown is the past participle of sow .
soy /sɔ I / N‑UNCOUNT [usu N n] Soy flour, butter, or other food is made from soybeans. [AM ] in BRIT, use soya
soya /sɔ I ə/ N‑UNCOUNT [usu N n] Soya flour, butter, or other food is made from soya beans. [BRIT ] in AM, use soy
so ya bean (soya beans ) N‑COUNT Soya beans are beans that can be eaten or used to make flour, oil, or soy sauce. [BRIT ] in AM, use soybeans
soy|bean /sɔ I biːn/ (soybeans ) also soy bean N‑COUNT Soybeans are the same as soya beans . [AM ]
soy sauce /sɔ I sɔː s/ also soya sauce N‑UNCOUNT Soy sauce is a dark brown liquid made from soya beans and used as a flavouring, especially in Chinese cooking.
spa /spɑː / (spas )
1 N‑COUNT A spa is a place where water with minerals in it comes out of the ground. People drink the water or go in it in order to improve their health. □ …Fiuggi, a spa town famous for its water.
2 N‑COUNT A health spa is a kind of hotel where people go to do exercise and have special treatments in order to improve their health.
space ◆◆◇ /spe I s/ (spaces , spacing , spaced )
1 N‑VAR You use space to refer to an area that is empty or available. The area can be any size. For example, you can refer to a large area outside as a large open space or to a small area between two objects as a small space . □ …bits of open space such as fields and small parks. □ …cutting down yet more trees to make space for houses. □ I had plenty of space to write and sew. □ The space underneath could be used as a storage area. □ List in the spaces below the specific changes you have made.
2 N‑VAR A particular kind of space is the area that is available for a particular activity or for putting a particular kind of thing in. □ …the high cost of office space. □ Finding a parking space in the summer months is still a virtual impossibility.
3 N‑UNCOUNT [oft n of N ] If a place gives a feeling of space , it gives an impression of being large and open. □ Large paintings can enhance the feeling of space in small rooms.
4 N‑UNCOUNT If you give someone space to think about something or to develop as a person, you allow them the time and freedom to do this. □ You need space to think everything over.
5 N‑UNCOUNT The amount of space for a topic to be discussed in a document is the number of pages available to discuss the topic. □ We can't promise to publish a reply as space is limited.
6 N‑SING A space of time is a period of time. □ [+ of ] They've come a long way in a short space of time.
7 N‑UNCOUNT Space is the area beyond the Earth's atmosphere, where the stars and planets are. □ The six astronauts on board will spend ten days in space. □ …launching satellites into space. □ …outer space.
8 N‑UNCOUNT Space is the whole area within which everything exists. □ The physical universe is finite in space and time.
9 VERB If you space a series of things, you arrange them so that they are not all together but have gaps or intervals of time between them. □ [V n adv/prep] Women once again are having fewer children and spacing them further apart. □ [V n] His voice was angry and he spaced the words for emphasis. ● PHRASAL VERB Space out means the same as space . □ [V n P ] He talks quite slowly and spaces his words out. □ [V P n] I was spacing out the seedlings into divided trays. ● spac|ing N‑UNCOUNT □ Generous spacing gives healthier trees and better crops.
10 → see also spacing , airspace , breathing space , outer space , personal space
11 PHRASE If you are staring into space , you are looking straight in front of you, without actually looking at anything in particular, for example because you are thinking or because you are feeling shocked. □ He just sat in the dressing-room staring into space.
spa ce age also space-age
1 N‑SING The space age is the present period in the history of the world, when travel in space has become possible.
2 ADJ [usu ADJ n] You use space-age to describe something that is very modern and makes you think of the technology of the space age. □ …a space-age tower of steel and glass.
space|craft /spe I skrɑːft, -kræft/ (spacecraft ) N‑COUNT A spacecraft is a rocket or other vehicle that can travel in space.
spa ced-ou t also spaced out ADJ Someone who is spaced-out feels as if nothing around them is real, usually because they have taken drugs or because they are very tired. [INFORMAL ] □ He's got this spaced-out look.
spa ce flight (space flights ) N‑VAR A space flight is a trip into space. □ She made her first and only space flight last September.
space|man /spe I smæn/ (spacemen ) N‑COUNT A spaceman is a male astronaut; used mainly by children.
spa ce probe (space probes ) N‑COUNT A space probe is a spacecraft with no people in it which is sent into space in order to study the planets and send information about them back to earth.
space|ship /spe I sʃ I p/ (spaceships ) N‑COUNT A spaceship is a spacecraft that carries people through space.