▸ clock off PHRASAL VERB When you clock off at work, you leave work or put a special card into a device to show what time you left. □ [V P ] The Night Duty Officer was ready to clock off. □ [V P n] They clocked off duty and left at ten to three.
▸ clock on PHRASAL VERB When workers clock on at a factory or office, they put a special card into a device to show what time they arrived. □ [V P ] They arrived to clock on and found the factory gates locked.
▸ clock out PHRASAL VERB Clock out means the same as clock off . □ [V P + of ] She had clocked out of her bank at 5.02pm using her plastic card. [Also V P ]
▸ clock up PHRASAL VERB If you clock up a large number or total of things, you reach that number or total. □ [V P n] In two years, he clocked up over 100 victories.
clo ck tow|er (clock towers ) N‑COUNT A clock tower is a tall, narrow building with a clock at the top.
clock|wise /klɒ kwa I z/ ADV [ADV after v] When something is moving clockwise , it is moving in a circle in the same direction as the hands on a clock. □ He told the children to start moving clockwise around the room. ● ADJ [ADJ n] Clockwise is also an adjective. □ Gently swing your right arm in a clockwise direction.
clock|work /klɒ kwɜː r k/
1 ADJ [ADJ n] A clockwork toy or device has machinery inside it which makes it move or operate when it is wound up with a key. □ …a clockwork train-set.
2 PHRASE If you say that something happens like clockwork , you mean that it happens without any problems or delays, or happens regularly. □ The Queen's holiday is arranged to go like clockwork, everything pre-planned to the minute.
clod /klɒ d/ (clods ) N‑COUNT A clod of earth is a large lump of earth.
clog /klɒ g/ (clogs , clogging , clogged )
1 VERB When something clogs a hole or place, it blocks it so that nothing can pass through. □ [V n] Dirt clogs the pores, causing spots. □ [V n] The traffic clogged the Thames bridges.
2 N‑COUNT [usu pl] Clogs are heavy leather or wooden shoes with thick wooden soles.
▸ clog up PHRASAL VERB When something clogs up a place, or when it clogs up , it becomes blocked so that little or nothing can pass through. □ [V P n] 22,000 tourists were clogging up the pavements. □ [V P ] The result is that the lungs clog up with a thick mucus.
clois|ter /klɔ I stə r / (cloisters ) N‑COUNT A cloister is a covered area round a square in a monastery or a cathedral.
clois|tered /klɔ I stə r d/ ADJ [usu ADJ n] If you have a cloistered way of life, you live quietly and are not involved in the normal busy life of the world around you. □ …the cloistered world of royalty.
clone /kloʊ n/ (clones , cloning , cloned )
1 N‑COUNT If someone or something is a clone of another person or thing, they are so similar to this person or thing that they seem to be exactly the same as them. □ Designers are mistaken if they believe we all want to be supermodel clones.
2 N‑COUNT A clone is an animal or plant that has been produced artificially, for example in a laboratory, from the cells of another animal or plant. A clone is exactly the same as the original animal or plant.
3 VERB To clone an animal or plant means to produce it as a clone. □ [V n] The idea of cloning extinct life forms still belongs to science fiction.
close
➊ SHUTTING OR COMPLETING
➋ NEARNESS; ADJECTIVE USES
➌ NEARNESS; VERB USES
➍ USED AS A ROAD NAME
➊ close ◆◆◆ /kloʊ z/ (closes , closing , closed )
→ Please look at categories 12- 15 to see if the expression you are looking for is shown under another headword.
1 VERB When you close something such as a door or lid or when it closes , it moves so that a hole, gap, or opening is covered. □ [V n] If you are cold, close the window. □ [V ] Zacharias heard the door close. □ [V -ed] Keep the curtains closed.
2 VERB When you close something such as an open book or umbrella, you move the different parts of it together. □ [V n] Slowly he closed the book.
3 VERB If you close something such as a computer file or window, you give the computer an instruction to remove it from the screen. [COMPUTING ] □ [V n] To close your document, press CTRL+W on your keyboard.
4 VERB When you close your eyes or your eyes close , your eyelids move downwards, so that you can no longer see. □ [V n] Bess closed her eyes and fell asleep. □ [V ] When we sneeze, our eyes close.
5 VERB When a place closes or is closed , work or activity stops there for a short period. □ [V ] Shops close only on Christmas Day and New Year's Day. □ [V n] It was Saturday; they could close the office early. □ [V n] Government troops closed the airport. □ [V -ed] The restaurant was closed for the night.
6 VERB If a place such as a factory, shop, or school closes , or if it is closed , all work or activity stops there permanently. □ [V ] Many enterprises will be forced to close. □ [V n] If they do close the local college I'll have to go to Worcester. ● PHRASAL VERB Close down means the same as close . □ [V P n] Minford closed down the business and went into politics. □ [V P ] Many of the smaller stores have closed down. [Also V n P ] ● clos|ing N‑SING □ [+ of ] …the closing of the steelworks.