4 ADJ [ADJ n] Casual work is done for short periods and not on a permanent or regular basis. □ …establishments which employ people on a casual basis, such as pubs and restaurants. □ It became increasingly expensive to hire casual workers.
ca sual ga me (casual games ) N‑COUNT A casual game is a simple video game that is easy to play. □ There's a big market for casual games.
casu|al|ize /kæ ʒuəla I z/ (casualizes , casualizing , casualized ) in BRIT, also use casualise VERB If a business casualizes its employees or casualizes their labour, it replaces employees with permanent contracts and full rights with employees with temporary contracts and few rights. [BUSINESS ] □ [V -ed] …a casualised workforce. [Also V n] ● casu|ali|za|tion /kæ ʒuəla I ze I ʃ ə n/ N‑UNCOUNT □ [+ of ] …the casualisation of employment.
casu|al|ty ◆◇◇ /kæ ʒuəlti/ (casualties )
1 N‑COUNT A casualty is a person who is injured or killed in a war or in an accident. □ Troops fired on demonstrators near the Royal Palace causing many casualties.
2 N‑COUNT A casualty of a particular event or situation is a person or a thing that has suffered badly as a result of that event or situation. □ [+ of ] Fiat has been one of the greatest casualties of the recession.
3 N‑UNCOUNT Casualty is the part of a hospital where people who have severe injuries or sudden illnesses are taken for emergency treatment. [BRIT ] □ I was taken to casualty at St Thomas's Hospital. in AM, use emergency room
casu|ist|ry /kæ zju I stri, [AM ] kæ ʒu-/ N‑UNCOUNT Casuistry is the use of clever arguments to persuade or trick people. [FORMAL , DISAPPROVAL ]
cat ◆◇◇ /kæ t/ (cats )
1 N‑COUNT A cat is a furry animal that has a long tail and sharp claws. Cats are often kept as pets.
2 N‑COUNT Cats are lions, tigers, and other wild animals in the same family.
3 → see also Cheshire cat , fat cat , wildcat
4 PHRASE If you let the cat out of the bag , you tell people about something that was being kept secret. You often do this by mistake.
5 PHRASE In a fight or contest, if one person plays cat and mouse , or a game of cat and mouse , with the other, the first person tries to confuse or deceive the second in order to defeat them. □ The youths have played cat and mouse with the police.
6 PHRASE If you put the cat among the pigeons or set the cat among the pigeons , you cause fierce argument or discussion by doing or saying something. [BRIT ] □ If we win, that will put the cat among the pigeons.
7 PHRASE If you say ' There's no room to swing a cat ' or ' You can't swing a cat ', you mean that the place you are talking about is very small or crowded. □ It was described as a large, luxury mobile home, but there was barely room to swing a cat.
cata|clysm /kæ təkl I zəm/ (cataclysms ) N‑COUNT A cataclysm is an event that causes great change or harm. [FORMAL ]
cata|clys|mic /kæ təkl I zm I k/ ADJ A cataclysmic event is one that changes a situation or society very greatly, especially in an unpleasant way. [FORMAL ] □ Few had expected that change to be as cataclysmic as it turned out to be.
cata|comb /kæ təkuːm, [AM ] -koʊm/ (catacombs ) N‑COUNT [usu pl] Catacombs are ancient underground passages and rooms, especially under a city, where people used to be buried.
Cata|lan /kæ təlæn/
1 ADJ [usu ADJ n] Something that is Catalan belongs or relates to Catalonia, its people, or its language. Catalonia is a region of Spain.
2 N‑UNCOUNT Catalan is one of the languages spoken in Catalonia.
cata|logue /kæ təlɒg/ (catalogues , cataloguing , catalogued ) in AM, usually use catalog 1 N‑COUNT A catalogue is a list of things such as the goods you can buy from a particular company, the objects in a museum, or the books in a library. □ …the world's biggest seed catalogue.
2 VERB To catalogue things means to make a list of them. □ [V n] The Royal Greenwich Observatory was founded to observe and catalogue the stars.
3 N‑COUNT A catalogue of similar things, especially bad things, is a number of them considered or discussed one after another. □ [+ of ] …the latest tragedy in a catalogue of disasters.
cata|lyse /kæ təla I z/ (catalyses , catalysing , catalysed ) in AM, use catalyze 1 VERB If something catalyses a thing or a situation, it makes it active. [FORMAL ] □ [V n] Any unexpected circumstance that arises may catalyze a sudden escalation of violence.
2 VERB In chemistry, if something catalyses a reaction or event, it causes it to happen. [TECHNICAL ] □ [V n] The wires do not have a large enough surface to catalyse a big explosion.
ca|taly|sis /kətæ l I s I s/ N‑UNCOUNT Catalysis is the speeding up of a chemical reaction by adding a catalyst to it. [TECHNICAL ]
cata|lyst /kæ təl I st/ (catalysts )
1 N‑COUNT You can describe a person or thing that causes a change or event to happen as a catalyst . □ [+ for ] I very much hope that this case will prove to be a catalyst for change. □ He said he saw the bank's role as a catalyst to encourage foreign direct investment.
2 N‑COUNT In chemistry, a catalyst is a substance that causes a chemical reaction to take place more quickly.
cata|lyt|ic /kæ təl I t I k/
1 ADJ [ADJ n] In chemistry, a catalytic substance or a substance with catalytic properties is a substance which increases the speed of a chemical reaction. □ …carbon molecules with unusual chemical and catalytic properties.