▸ try out PHRASAL VERB If you try something out , you test it in order to find out how useful or effective it is or what it is like. □ [V n P ] She knew I wanted to try the boat out at the weekend. □ [V P n] The school hopes to try out the system in September.
try|ing /tra I I ŋ/
1 ADJ If you describe something or someone as trying , you mean that they are difficult to deal with and make you feel impatient or annoyed. □ Support from those closest to you is vital in these trying times.
2 → see also try
try|out /tra I aʊt/ (tryouts ) also try-out N‑COUNT If you give something a tryout , you try it or test it to see how useful it is. □ The recycling scheme gets its first try-out in rural parts of the county.
tryst /tr I st/ (trysts ) N‑COUNT A tryst is a meeting between lovers in a quiet secret place. [LITERARY ]
tsar /zɑː r / (tsars ) also czar
1 N‑COUNT ; N‑TITLE In former times, the tsar was the king of Russia.
2 N‑COUNT A particular kind of tsar is a person who has been appointed by the government to deal with a particular problem that is affecting the country. □ She was appointed as the government's first mental health tsar for schools.
tsa|ri|na /zɑːriː nə/ (tsarinas ) also czarina N‑COUNT ; N‑TITLE In former times, a tsarina was the queen of Russia or the wife of the tsar.
tsar|ist /zɑː r I st/ also czarist ADJ [usu ADJ n] Tsarist means belonging to or supporting the system of government by a tsar, especially in Russia before 1917.
tset|se fly /tse tsi fla I / (tsetse flies ) also tsetse N‑VAR A tsetse fly or a tsetse is an African fly that feeds on blood and can cause serious diseases in the people and animals that it bites.
T -shirt (T-shirts ) also tee-shirt N‑COUNT A T-shirt is a cotton shirt with no collar or buttons. T-shirts usually have short sleeves.
tsp. (tsps ) In a recipe, tsp. is a written abbreviation for teaspoonful .
tsu|na|mi /tsʊnɑː mi/ (tsunamis ) N‑COUNT A tsunami is a very large wave, often caused by an earthquake, that flows onto the land and destroys things.
tub /tʌ b/ (tubs )
1 N‑COUNT A tub is a deep container of any size. □ He peeled the paper top off a little white tub and poured the cream into his coffee. ● N‑COUNT A tub of something is the amount of it contained in a tub. □ [+ of ] She would eat four tubs of ice cream in one sitting.
2 N‑COUNT A tub is the same as a bathtub . [AM ] □ She lay back in the tub.
3 → see also hot tub
tuba /tjuː bə, [AM ] tuː -/ (tubas ) N‑VAR A tuba is a large musical instrument of the brass family which produces very low notes. It consists of a long metal tube folded round several times with a wide opening at the end. You play the tuba by blowing into it.
tub|by /tʌ bi/ (tubbier , tubbiest ) ADJ If you describe someone as tubby , you mean that they are rather fat. [INFORMAL ]
tube ◆◇◇ /tjuː b, [AM ] tuː b/ (tubes )
1 N‑COUNT A tube is a long hollow object that is usually round, like a pipe. □ He is fed by a tube that enters his nose. □ …a cardboard tube.
2 N‑COUNT A tube of something such as paste is a long, thin container which you squeeze in order to force the paste out. □ [+ of ] …a tube of toothpaste. □ [+ of ] …a small tube of moisturizer.
3 N‑COUNT Some long, thin, hollow parts in your body are referred to as tubes . □ The lungs are in fact constructed of thousands of tiny tubes.
4 N‑SING [oft by N ] The tube is the underground railway system in London. [BRIT ] □ I took the tube then the train and came straight here.
5 N‑COUNT You can refer to the television as the tube . [AM , INFORMAL ] □ The only baseball he saw was on the tube. in BRIT, use the box
6 PHRASE If a business, economy, or institution goes down the tubes or goes down the tube , it fails or collapses completely. [mainly AM , INFORMAL ] □ The country was going down the tubes economically.
7 → see also bronchial tube , cathode-ray tube , fallopian tube , inner tube , test tube COLLOCATIONS tube NOUN 1
noun + tube : breathing, feeding; cardboard, metal, plastic, rubber
adjective + tube : fluorescent, hollow; flexible, long, narrow, thin
verb + tube : connect, insert, remove
tu|ber /tjuː bə r , [AM ] tuː -/ (tubers ) N‑COUNT A tuber is the swollen underground stem of particular types of plants.
tu|ber|cu|lar /tjuːbɜː r kjʊlə r , [AM ] tuː-/ ADJ Tubercular means suffering from, relating to, or causing tuberculosis. □ …tubercular patients. □ He died of tubercular meningitis. □ …tubercular bacteria.
tu|ber|cu|lo|sis /tjuːbɜː r kjʊloʊ s I s, [AM ] tuː-/ N‑UNCOUNT Tuberculosis is a serious infectious disease that affects someone's lungs and other parts of their body. The abbreviation TB is also used.