close-up /kloʊ s ʌp/ (close-ups ) N‑COUNT A close-up is a photograph or a picture in a film that shows a lot of detail because it is taken very near to the subject. □ [+ of ] …a close-up of Harvey's face. ● PHRASE If you see something in close-up , you see it in great detail in a photograph or piece of film which has been taken very near to the subject. □ Hughes stared up at him in close-up from the photograph.
clos|ing /kloʊ z I ŋ/
1 ADJ [ADJ n] The closing part of an activity or period of time is the final part of it. □ He entered RAF service in the closing stages of the war.
2 → see also close ➊
clo s|ing price (closing prices ) N‑COUNT On the stock exchange, the closing price of a share is its price at the end of a day's business. [BUSINESS ] □ The price is slightly above yesterday's closing price.
clo s|ing time (closing times ) N‑VAR Closing time is the time when something such as a shop, library, or pub closes and people have to leave. □ We were in the pub until closing time.
Clos|trid|ium diffi|cile /klɒstr I diəm d I f I s I li, - d I f I siː l/ N‑UNCOUNT Clostridium difficile is a bacterium that causes severe diarrhoea. It is commonly found in hospitals. C.diff is also used. [MEDICAL ]
clo|sure /kloʊ ʒə r / (closures )
1 N‑VAR The closure of a place such as a business or factory is the permanent ending of the work or activity there. □ [+ of ] …the closure of the Ravenscraig steelworks. □ Almost three in four clinics say they face closure by the end of the year.
2 N‑COUNT The closure of a road or border is the blocking of it in order to prevent people from using it.
3 N‑UNCOUNT If someone achieves closure , they succeed in accepting something bad that has happened to them. [mainly AM ] □ I asked McKeown if the reunion was meant to achieve closure.
clot /klɒ t/ (clots , clotting , clotted )
1 N‑COUNT A clot is a sticky lump that forms when blood dries up or becomes thick. □ He needed emergency surgery to remove a blood clot from his brain.
2 VERB When blood clots , it becomes thick and forms a lump. □ [V ] The patient's blood refused to clot. □ [V -ing] Aspirin apparently thins the blood and inhibits clotting.
cloth /klɒ θ, [AM ] klɔː θ/ (cloths )
1 N‑VAR Cloth is fabric which is made by weaving or knitting a substance such as cotton, wool, silk, or nylon. Cloth is used especially for making clothes. □ She began cleaning the wound with a piece of cloth.
2 N‑COUNT A cloth is a piece of cloth which you use for a particular purpose, such as cleaning something or covering something. □ Clean the surface with a damp cloth. □ …a tray covered with a cloth.
3 N‑SING The cloth is sometimes used to refer to Christian priests and ministers. □ …a man of the cloth.
clo th ca p (cloth caps ) N‑COUNT A cloth cap is a soft flat cap with a stiff, curved part at the front called a peak. Cloth caps are usually worn by men.
clothe /kloʊ ð/ (clothes , clothing , clothed )
1 VERB To clothe someone means to provide them with clothes to wear. □ [V n] She was on her own with two kids to feed and clothe.
2 → see also clothed , clothes , clothing
clothed /kloʊ ðd/ ADJ [adv ADJ ] If you are clothed in a certain way, you are dressed in that way. □ He lay down on the bed fully clothed. □ [+ in ] …women clothed in black.
clothes ◆◆◇ /kloʊ ðz/
1 N‑PLURAL Clothes are the things that people wear, such as shirts, coats, trousers, and dresses. □ Moira walked upstairs to change her clothes. □ He dressed quickly in casual clothes.
2 → see also plain-clothes
clo thes horse (clothes horses )
1 N‑COUNT A clothes horse is a folding frame used inside someone's house to hang washing on while it dries.
2 N‑COUNT If you describe someone, especially a woman, as a clothes horse , you mean that they are fashionable and think a lot about their clothes, but have little intelligence or no other abilities. [DISAPPROVAL ]
clothes|line /kloʊ ðzla I n/ (clotheslines ) also clothes line N‑COUNT A clothesline is a thin rope on which you hang washing so that it can dry.
clo thes peg (clothes pegs ) N‑COUNT A clothes peg is a small device which you use to fasten clothes to a washing line. [BRIT ] in AM, use clothespin
clothes|pin /kloʊ ðzp I n/ (clothespins ) N‑COUNT A clothespin is the same as a clothes peg . [AM ]
cloth|ing ◆◇◇ /kloʊ ð I ŋ/ N‑UNCOUNT Clothing is the things that people wear. □ Some locals offered food and clothing to the refugees. □ What is your favourite item of clothing? □ Wear protective clothing.
clo t|ted crea m N‑UNCOUNT Clotted cream is very thick cream made by heating milk gently and taking the cream off the top. It is made mainly in the southwest of England.
cloud ◆◇◇ /klaʊ d/ (clouds , clouding , clouded )
1 N‑VAR A cloud is a mass of water vapour that floats in the sky. Clouds are usually white or grey in colour. □ …the varied shapes of the clouds. □ The sky was almost entirely obscured by cloud. □ …the risks involved in flying through cloud.