ammo /æ moʊ/ N‑UNCOUNT Ammo is ammunition for guns and other weapons. [INFORMAL ]
am|mo|nia /əmoʊ niə/ N‑UNCOUNT Ammonia is a colourless liquid or gas with a strong, sharp smell. It is used in making household cleaning substances.
am|mu|ni|tion /æ mjʊn I ʃ ə n/
1 N‑UNCOUNT Ammunition is bullets and rockets that are made to be fired from guns. □ He had only seven rounds of ammunition for the revolver.
2 N‑UNCOUNT You can describe information that you can use against someone in an argument or discussion as ammunition . □ The improved trade figures have given the government fresh ammunition.
am|ne|sia /æmniː ziə, -ʒə/ N‑UNCOUNT If someone is suffering from amnesia , they have lost their memory.
am|ne|si|ac /æmniː ziæk/ (amnesiacs ) ADJ Someone who is amnesiac has lost their memory. □ She was taken to hospital, apparently amnesiac and shocked. ● N‑COUNT An amnesiac is someone who is amnesiac. □ Even profound amnesiacs can usually recall how to perform daily activities.
am|nes|ty /æ mn I sti/ (amnesties )
1 N‑VAR An amnesty is an official pardon granted to a group of prisoners by the state. □ Activists who were involved in crimes of violence will not automatically be granted amnesty.
2 N‑COUNT An amnesty is a period of time during which people can admit to a crime or give up weapons without being punished. □ [+ for ] The government has announced an immediate amnesty for rebel fighters.
am|nio|cen|tesis /æ mnioʊsentiː s I s/ N‑SING If a pregnant woman has an amniocentesis , fluid is removed from her womb in order to check that her unborn baby is not affected by certain genetic disorders.
amoe|ba /əmiː bə/ (amoebae /əmiː bi/ or amoebas ) N‑COUNT An amoeba is the smallest kind of living creature. Amoebae consist of only one cell, and are found in water or soil.
amok /əmʌ k, əmɒ k/ PHRASE If a person or animal runs amok , they behave in a violent and uncontrolled way. □ There is a lack of respect for authority in some schools with kids running amok.
among ◆◆◆ /əmʌ ŋ/ The form amongst is also used, but is more literary. 1 PREP Someone or something that is situated or moving among a group of things or people is surrounded by them. □ They walked among the crowds in Red Square. □ …a little house among the trees.
2 PREP If you are among people of a particular kind, you are with them and having contact with them. □ Things weren't so bad, after all. I was among friends again. □ I was brought up among people who read and wrote a lot.
3 PREP If someone or something is among a group, they are a member of that group and share its characteristics. □ A fifteen year old girl was among the injured. □ Also among the speakers was the new American ambassador to Moscow.
4 PREP If you want to focus on something that is happening within a particular group of people, you can say that it is happening among that group. □ Unemployment is quite high, especially among young people.
5 PREP If something happens among a group of people, it happens within the whole of that group or between the members of that group. □ I am sick of all the quarrelling among politicians who should be concentrating on vital issues.
6 PREP If something such as a feeling, opinion, or situation exists among a group of people, most of them have it or experience it. □ The biggest fear among parents thinking of using the Internet is that their children will be exposed to pornography.
7 PREP If something applies to a particular person or thing among others , it also applies to other people or things. □ …a news conference attended among others by our foreign affairs correspondent.
8 PREP If something is shared among a number of people, some of it is given to all of them. □ Most of the furniture was left to the neighbours or distributed among friends.
9 PREP If people talk, fight, or agree among themselves , they do it together, without involving anyone else. □ European farm ministers disagree among themselves.
amongst /əmʌ ŋst/ PREP Amongst means the same as among . [LITERARY ]
amor|al /e I mɒ rəl, [AM ] -mɔː r-/ ADJ If you describe someone as amoral , you do not like the way they behave because they do not seem to care whether what they do is right or wrong. [DISAPPROVAL ] □ I strongly disagree with this amoral approach to politics.
amo|rous /æ mərəs/ ADJ [usu ADJ n] If you describe someone's feelings or actions as amorous , you mean that they involve sexual desire.
amor|phous /əmɔː r fəs/ ADJ [usu ADJ n] Something that is amorphous has no clear shape or structure. [FORMAL ] □ A dark, strangely amorphous shadow filled the room. □ …the amorphous mass of the unemployed.
amor|tize /əmɔː r ta I z, [AM ] æ mər-/ (amortizes , amortizing , amortized ) in BRIT, also use amortise VERB In finance, if you amortize a debt, you pay it back in regular payments. [BUSINESS ] □ [be V -ed] Business expenses had to be amortized over a 60 month period.
amount ◆◆◇ /əmaʊ nt/ (amounts , amounting , amounted )
1 N‑VAR The amount of something is how much there is, or how much you have, need, or get. □ [+ of ] He needs that amount of money to survive. □ [+ of ] I still do a certain amount of work for them. □ Postal money orders are available in amounts up to $700.
2 VERB If something amounts to a particular total, all the parts of it add up to that total. □ [V + to ] Consumer spending on sports-related items amounted to £9.75 billion.