柯林斯高階英英詞典 Aa 第一部分 (3/4)

AC /eI si? / N?UNCOUNT [oft N n] AC is used to refer to an electric current that continually changes direction as it flows. AC is an abbreviation for 'alternating current'.

aca|cia /?keI ??/ (acacias or acacia ) N?VAR An acacia or an acacia tree is a tree which grows in warm countries and which usually has small yellow or white flowers.

aca|deme /? k?di?m/ N?UNCOUNT The academic world of universities is sometimes referred to as academe . [FORMAL ]

aca|demia /? k?di? mi?/ N?UNCOUNT Academia refers to all the academics in a particular country or region, the institutions they work in, and their work. □ …the importance of strong links between industry and academia.

aca|dem|ic ◆◇◇ /? k?de mI k/ (academics )
1 ADJ [ADJ n] Academic is used to describe things that relate to the work done in schools, colleges, and universities, especially work which involves studying and reasoning rather than practical or technical skills. □ Their academic standards are high. □ I was terrible at school and left with few academic qualifications. ● aca|dem|ical|ly /? k?de mI kli/ ADV □ He is academically gifted.
2 ADJ [ADJ n] Academic is used to describe things that relate to schools, colleges, and universities. □ …the start of the last academic year. □ I'd had enough of academic life.
3 ADJ Academic is used to describe work, or a school, college, or university, that places emphasis on studying and reasoning rather than on practical or technical skills. □ The author has settled for a more academic approach.
4 ADJ Someone who is academic is good at studying. □ The system is failing most disastrously among less academic children.
5 N?COUNT An academic is a member of a university or college who teaches or does research.
6 ADJ You can say that a discussion or situation is academic if you think it is not important because it has no real effect or cannot happen. □ Such is the size of the problem that these arguments are purely academic.

acad|emi|cian /?k? d?mI ?^? n, [AM ] ? k?d?-/ (academicians ) N?COUNT An academician is a member of an academy, usually one which has been formed to improve or maintain standards in a particular field.

acad|emy ◆◇◇ /?k? d?mi/ (academies )
1 N?COUNT Academy is sometimes used in the names of secondary schools and colleges, or private high schools in the United States. □ [+ of ] …the Royal Academy of Music. □ …h(huán)er experience as a police academy instructor.
2 N?COUNT Academy appears in the names of some societies formed to improve or maintain standards in a particular field. □ [+ of ] …the American Academy of Psychotherapists.

ac|cede /?ksi? d/ (accedes , acceding , acceded )
1 VERB If you accede to someone's request, you do what they ask. [FORMAL ] □ [V + to ] Britain would not accede to France's request.
2 VERB When a member of a royal family accedes to the throne, they become king or queen. [FORMAL ] [Also V ]

ac|cel|er|ate /?kse l?reI t/ (accelerates , accelerating , accelerated )
1 VERB If the process or rate of something accelerates or if something accelerates it, it gets faster and faster. □ [V ] Growth will accelerate to 2.9% next year. □ [V n] The government is to accelerate its privatisation programme.
2 VERB When a moving vehicle accelerates , it goes faster and faster. □ [V ] Suddenly the car accelerated. □ [V prep/adv] She accelerated away from us.

ac|cel|era|tion /?kse l?reI ?^? n/
1 N?UNCOUNT The acceleration of a process or change is the fact that it is getting faster and faster. □ [+ of/in ] He has also called for an acceleration of political reforms.
2 N?UNCOUNT Acceleration is the rate at which a car or other vehicle can increase its speed, often seen in terms of the time that it takes to reach a particular speed. □ Acceleration to 60 mph takes a mere 5.7 seconds.
3 N?UNCOUNT Acceleration is the rate at which the speed of an object increases. [TECHNICAL ]

ac|cel|era|tor /?kse l?reI t?^r / (accelerators ) N?COUNT The accelerator in a car or other vehicle is the pedal which you press with your foot in order to make the vehicle go faster. □ He eased his foot off the accelerator.

ac|cent /? ks^? nt/ (accents )
1 N?COUNT Someone who speaks with a particular accent pronounces the words of a language in a distinctive way that shows which country, region, or social class they come from. □ He had developed a slight American accent.
2 N?COUNT An accent is a short line or other mark which is written above certain letters in some languages and which indicates the way those letters are pronounced.
3 N?SING If you put the accent on a particular feature of something, you emphasize it or give it special importance. □ [+ on ] He is putting the accent on military readiness.

ac|cent|ed /? ksentI d/
1 ADJ Language or speech that is accented is spoken with a particular accent. □ I spoke rather good, but heavily accented English.
2 → see also accent

ac|cen|tu|ate /?kse nt?ueI t/ (accentuates , accentuating , accentuated ) VERB To accentuate something means to emphasize it or make it more noticeable. □ [V n] His shaven head accentuates his large round face.

ac|cept ◆◆◆ /?kse pt/ (accepts , accepting , accepted )
1 VERB If you accept something that you have been offered, you say yes to it or agree to take it. □ [V n] Eventually Sam persuaded her to accept an offer of marriage. □ [V ] All those invited to next week's peace conference have accepted.
2 VERB If you accept an idea, statement, or fact, you believe that it is true or valid. □ [V that] I do not accept that there is any kind of crisis in British science. □ [V n] I don't think they would accept that view. □ [V n + as ] He did not accept this reply as valid. □ [V -ed] …a workforce generally accepted to have the best conditions in Europe.
3 VERB If you accept a plan or an intended action, you agree to it and allow it to happen. □ [V n] The Council will meet to decide if it should accept his resignation.
4 VERB If you accept an unpleasant fact or situation, you get used to it or recognize that it is necessary or cannot be changed. □ [V n] People will accept suffering that can be shown to lead to a greater good. □ [V n + as ] Urban dwellers often accept noise as part of city life. □ [V that] I wasn't willing to accept that her leaving was a possibility.
5 VERB If a person, company, or organization accepts something such as a document, they recognize that it is genuine, correct, or satisfactory and agree to consider it or handle it. □ [V n] We advised newspapers not to accept the advertising. □ [be V -ed] Cheques can only be accepted up to the value guaranteed on the card. [Also V n as n/adj]
6 VERB If an organization or person accepts you, you are allowed to join the organization or use the services that are offered. □ [be V -ed] All-male groups will not be accepted. □ [V n + as ] …incentives to private landlords to accept young people as tenants. [Also V n into n]
7 VERB If a person or a group of people accepts you, they begin to be friendly towards you and are happy with who you are or what you do. □ [V n] My grandparents have never had a problem accepting me. □ [V n + as ] Many men still have difficulty accepting a woman as a business partner. □ [be V -ed + into ] Stephen Smith was accepted into the family like an adopted brother.
8 VERB If you accept the responsibility or blame for something, you recognize that you are responsible for it. □ [V n] The company cannot accept responsibility for loss or damage.
9 VERB If you accept someone's advice or suggestion, you agree to do what they say. □ [V n] The army refused to accept orders from the political leadership.
10 VERB If a machine accepts a particular kind of thing, it is designed to take it and deal with it or process it. □ [V n] The telephone booths accept 10 and 20 pence coins.
11 → see also accepted

ac|cept|able ◆◇◇ /?kse pt?b^? l/
1 ADJ Acceptable activities and situations are those that most people approve of or consider to be normal. □ [+ for ] Is it acceptable for fans to boo their own side? □ The air pollution exceeds most acceptable levels by 10 times or more. ● ac|cept|abil|ity /?kse pt?bI lI ti/ N?UNCOUNT □ [+ of ] …a greater acceptability of other accents. ● ac|cept|ably /?kse pt?bli/ ADV □ The aim of discipline is to teach children to behave acceptably.
2 ADJ If something is acceptable to someone, they agree to consider it, use it, or allow it to happen. □ [+ to ] They are working together to produce a plan that will be acceptable to all of them. □ They recently failed to negotiate a mutually acceptable new contract.
3 ADJ If you describe something as acceptable , you mean that it is good enough or fairly good. □ On the far side of the street was a restaurant that looked acceptable. ● ac|cept|ably ADV [ADV adj, ADV with v] □ …a method that provides an acceptably accurate solution to a problem.

ac|cept|ance /?kse pt?ns/ (acceptances )
1 N?VAR [oft poss N ] Acceptance of an offer or a proposal is the act of saying yes to it or agreeing to it. □ [+ of ] The Party is being degraded by its acceptance of secret donations. □ …a letter of acceptance. □ …h(huán)is acceptance speech for the Nobel Peace Prize.
2 N?UNCOUNT If there is acceptance of an idea, most people believe or agree that it is true. □ …a theory that is steadily gaining acceptance. □ There was a general acceptance that the defence budget would shrink.
3 N?UNCOUNT Your acceptance of a situation, especially an unpleasant or difficult one, is an attitude or feeling that you cannot change it and that you must get used to it. □ [+ of ] …h(huán)is calm acceptance of whatever comes his way.
4 N?UNCOUNT Acceptance of someone into a group means beginning to think of them as part of the group and to act in a friendly way towards them. □ …an effort to ensure that people with disabilities achieve real acceptance.

ac|cept|ed ◆◆◇ /?kse ptI d/
1 ADJ [oft adv ADJ ] Accepted ideas are agreed by most people to be correct or reasonable. □ There is no generally accepted definition of life. □ It is accepted wisdom that science has been partly responsible for the decline of religion.
2 → see also accept

ac|cess ◆◇◇ /? kses/ (accesses , accessing , accessed )
1 N?UNCOUNT If you have access to a building or other place, you are able or allowed to go into it. □ [+ to ] The facilities have been adapted to give access to wheelchair users. □ [+ to ] Scientists have only recently been able to gain access to the area. □ [+ to ] The Mortimer Hotel offers easy access to central London.
2 N?UNCOUNT If you have access to something such as information or equipment, you have the opportunity or right to see it or use it. □ [+ to ] …a Code of Practice that would give patients right of access to their medical records.
3 N?UNCOUNT If you have access to a person, you have the opportunity or right to see them or meet them. □ [+ to ] He was not allowed access to a lawyer.
4 VERB If you access something, especially information held on a computer, you succeed in finding or obtaining it. □ [V n] You've illegally accessed and misused confidential security files.

a c|cess course (access courses ) N?COUNT An access course is an educational course which prepares adults with few or no qualifications for study at a university or other place of higher education. [BRIT ]

ac|ces|sible /?kse sI b^? l/
1 ADJ If a place or building is accessible to people, it is easy for them to reach it or get into it. If an object is accessible , it is easy to reach. □ [+ to ] The Centre is easily accessible to the general public. □ The premises are wheelchair accessible. ● ac|ces|sibil|ity /?kse sI bI lI ti/ N?UNCOUNT □ [+ of ] …the easy accessibility of the area.
2 ADJ If something is accessible to people, they can easily use it or obtain it. □ [+ to ] The legal aid system should be accessible to more people. ● ac|ces|sibil|ity N?UNCOUNT □ [+ of ] …the quality and accessibility of health care.
3 ADJ If you describe a book, painting, or other work of art as accessible , you think it is good because it is simple enough for people to understand and appreciate easily. [APPROVAL ] □ [+ to ] …literary books that are accessible to a general audience. ● ac|ces|sibil|ity N?UNCOUNT □ [+ to ] Seminar topics are chosen for their accessibility to a general audience.

ac|ces|sion /?kse ?^? n/ N?UNCOUNT [with poss] Accession is the act of taking up a position as the ruler of a country. [FORMAL ] □ [+ to ] …the 50th anniversary of the Queen's accession to the throne.

ac|ces|so|rize /?kse s?raI z/ (accessorizes , accessorizing , accessorized )

VERB To accessorize something such as a set of furniture or clothing means to add other things to it in order to make it look more attractive. □ [V n] Use a belt to accessorise a plain dress. [Also V n + with ]

ac|ces|so|ry /?kse s?ri/ (accessories )
1 N?COUNT [usu pl] Accessories are items of equipment that are not usually essential, but which can be used with or added to something else in order to make it more efficient, useful, or decorative. □ …an exclusive range of hand-made bedroom and bathroom accessories.
2 N?COUNT [usu pl] Accessories are articles such as belts and scarves which you wear or carry but which are not part of your main clothing.
3 N?COUNT If someone is guilty of being an accessory to a crime, they helped the person who committed it, or knew it was being committed but did not tell the police. [LEGAL ] □ [+ to ] She was charged with being an accessory to the embezzlement of funds.

a c|cess road (access roads ) N?COUNT An access road is a road which enables traffic to reach a particular place or area. □ [+ to ] …the access road to the airport.

a c|cess time (access times ) N?COUNT Access time is the time that is needed to get information that is stored in a computer. [COMPUTING ] □ This system helps speed up access times.