global ["glob @l] adj. of or about the whole world; worldwide. (Adv: globally.) globe ["glob] 1. n. a ball; a sphere. 2. n. a ball or sphere with a map of the world on it. 3. n. the earth; the world. gloom ["glum] n. the feeling of sad- ness and dullness. (No plural.) glorify ["glor @ faI] 1. tv. to honor or worship someone; to praise someone or something. 2. tv. to exaggerate the importance of someone or something. glorious ["glor i @s] adj. beautiful; splendid; wonderful. (Adv: glori- ously.) glory ["glor i] 1. n. praise and honor. (No plural.) 2. n. some- thing of great beauty or wonder. glossary ["glOs @ ri] n. a list of words and their definitions, as used within a particular book or article. glove ["gl^v] n. one of a pair of fit- ted coverings for the hand, typi- cally made of fabric or leather and having individual “pockets” for each finger and thumb. → fit like a glove → hand in glove (with someone ) → handle someone with kid gloves glow ["glo] 1. iv. to shine; to give off a weak light. 2. iv. to be very hot; to be so hot as to be red, yel- low, or white with heat. 3. iv. to be very excited with emotion or energy. 4. iv. to show a healthy appearance; to have bright red cheeks. 5. n. a weak light. → feel a glow of something glue ["glu] 1. n. a thick, sticky liq- uid that is used to make some- thing stick to something else; an adhesive. (Plural only for types and instances.) 2. tv. to stick something to something else using Q. glum ["gl^m] adj. sad; disap- pointed. (Adv: glumly. Comp: glummer; sup: glummest.) glut ["gl^t] 1. n. too much of some- thing. 2. tv. to supply someone or something with too much of something. glutton ["gl^t n] n. someone who eats or drinks too much. a glutton for punishment some- one who seems to like doing or seeking out difficult, unpleasant, or badly paid tasks. gnash one’s teeth to slash and chop with the teeth. gnat ["nAt] n. a small fly that bites. gnaw (away) at someone to worry someone; to create constant anxi- ety in someone. gnaw (away) at someone or some- thing to chew at someone or some- thing. gnaw on something to chew on something. (Usually said of an animal.) go ["go] 1. iv., irreg. to move from one place to another; [for time] to progress or pass. 2. tv., irreg. to practice or perform certain sports activities, such as running, swim- ming, canoeing, fencing, jogging, skiing, walking, or other activities expressed with words ending in -ing. (Past tense: went; past par- ticiple: gone. The third-person global 236 04 7/23/03 8:49 AM Page 236 TLFeBOOK singular present tense is goes.) 3. iv., irreg. to leave. 4. iv., irreg. to reach a certain time or place; to extend to a certain time or place. 5. iv., irreg. to work; to function. 6. iv., irreg. to become. 7. iv., irreg. to become worn-out; to weaken. 8. iv., irreg. to belong in a certain place. 9. iv., irreg. [for the activi- ties in a period of time] to unfold in some way, good or bad. 10. iv., irreg. to progress through a series of words or musical notes. → easy come, easy go → from the word go go about one’s business to mind one’s business; to move elsewhere and mind one’s own business; to focus on one’s own tasks. go after someone or something 1. to pursue someone or some- thing. 2. to charge or attack some- one or some creature. go against someone or something to turn against someone or some- thing; to oppose someone or something. go against the grain to go against one’s natural inclination; to be contrary to one’s nature. (Refers to the lay of the grain of wood. Against the grain = perpendicular to the direction of the grain.) go along for the ride to accom- pany (someone) for the pleasure of riding along; to accompany some- one for no special reason. (Also with come.) go along with someone or some- thing to agree with someone or agree to something. go and never darken one’s door again to go away and not come back. go (a)round in circles to keep going over the same ideas or repeating the same actions, often resulting in confusion and without reaching a satisfactory decision or conclusion. go around someone to avoid deal- ing with someone. (Figurative.) go (a)round the bend 1. to travel around a turn or a curve; to make a turn or a curve. 2. to go crazy; to lose one’s mind. go at it hammer and tongs Go to fight someone or something hammer and tongs. go at it tooth and nail Go to fight someone or something hammer and tongs. go away to leave. (Often a com- mand.) go away empty-handed to depart with nothing. go away with someone or some- thing 1. to leave in the company of someone or something. 2. to take someone, some creature, or a group away with one. go back to return to the place of origin. go back on one’s word to break a promise that one has made. go back on something to reverse one’s position on something, espe- cially one’s word or a promise. go behind someone’s back 1. to move behind someone; to locate oneself at someone’s back. 2. to do go behind someone’s back 237 04 7/23/03 8:49 AM Page 237 TLFeBOOK something that is kept a secret from someone. (Figurative.) go below to go beneath the main deck of a ship. (Nautical.) go by ( someplace ) Go to drop by ( someplace ). go crazy to become crazy, disori- ented, or frustrated. go down 1. to sink below a normal or expected level or height. 2. to descend to a lower measurement. 3. to be swallowed. 4. to fall or drop down, as when struck or injured. go down in history to be remem- bered as historically important. go Dutch to share the cost of a meal or some other event. go for an amount [for something] to sell for or be sold at a certain price. go in for something to enjoy doing something; to be fond of some- thing. go in one ear and out the other [for something] to be heard and then forgotten. go in with someone (on some- thing ) to join efforts with someone on a project; to pool financial resources with someone to buy something. go into a nosedive and take a nosedive 1. [for an airplane] to dive suddenly toward the ground, nose first. 2. [for one’s health or one’s emotional or financial situa- tion] to decline rapidly. go into a number [for a number] to divide into another number. go into a tailspin 1. [for an air- plane] to lose control and spin to the earth, nose first. 2. [for some- one] to become disoriented or panicked; [for someone’s life] to fall apart. go into detail to give all the details; to present and discuss the details. go into hiding to conceal oneself in a hidden place for a period of time. go into one’s song and dance about something to start giving one’s usual or typical explanations or excuses about something. go in((to) something ) to enter something; to penetrate some- thing. go like clockwork to progress with regularity and dependability. go off 1. [for an explosive device] to explode. 2. [for a sound-creat- ing device] to make its noise. 3. [for an event] to happen or take place. go off (by oneself ) to go into seclu- sion; to isolate oneself. go off on a tangent suddenly to go in another direction; suddenly to change one’s line of thought, course of action, etc. (A reference to geometry. The plural is go off on tangents.) go off the deep end and jump off the deep end to become deeply involved (with someone or something) before one is ready; to follow one’s emotions into a diffi- cult situation. (Refers to going into a swimming pool at the deep end.) go below 238 04 7/23/03 8:49 AM Page 238 TLFeBOOK go off with someone to go away with someone. go on 1. to continue. 2. to hush up; to stop acting silly. (Always a com- mand. No tenses.) 3. to happen. go on a fishing expedition to attempt to discover information. go on a rampage to have a ram- page. go on (and on) about someone or something to talk endlessly about someone or something. go on at someone to yell at and criticize someone. go (on) before ( someone ) 1. to precede someone. 2. to die before someone. (Euphemism.) go out 1. to leave one’s house. 2. to become extinguished. go out for someone or something to leave in order to bring back someone or something. go out (for something ) to try out for a sports team. go (out) on strike [for a group of people] to quit working at their jobs until certain demands are met. go out with someone to go on a date with someone; to date some- one on a regular basis. go over someone ’s head [for the intellectual content of something] to be too difficult for someone to understand. (As if it flew over one’s head rather than entering into one’s store of knowledge.) go over something with a fine- tooth comb and search some- thing with a fine-tooth comb to search through something very carefully. go over with a bang [for some- thing] to be funny or entertaining. (Refers chiefly to jokes or stage performances.) go overboard 1. to fall off or out of a boat or ship. 2. to do too much; to be extravagant. go the distance to do the whole amount; to play the entire game; to run the whole race. go the extra mile to try harder to please someone or to get the task done correctly; to do more than one is required to do to reach a goal. go the limit to do or have as much as possible. go through to be approved; to pass examination; to be ratified. go through channels to proceed by consulting the proper persons or offices. go through someone to consult someone as a necessary step in doing something. go through something 1. to search through something. 2. to use up all of something rapidly. 3. [for something] to pass through an opening. 4. to pass through vari- ous stages or processes. 5. to work through something, such as an explanation or story. 6. to experi- ence or endure something. 7. to rehearse something; to practice something for performance. go through the motions to make a feeble effort to do something; to do something insincerely. go through the motions 239 04 7/23/03 8:49 AM Page 239 TLFeBOOK go through the roof to go very high; to reach a very high degree (of something). go to bat for someone to support or help someone. (From the use of a substitute batter in baseball.) go to bed to go to where one’s bed is, get into it, and go to sleep. go to Davy Jones’s locker to go to the bottom of the sea. (Thought of as a nautical expression.) go to pot and go to the dogs to go to ruin; to become ruined; to deteriorate. go to rack and ruin and go to wrack and ruin to become ruined. (The words rack and wrack mean “wreckage” and are found only in this expression.) go to seed Go to run to seed. go to someone’s head to make someone conceited; to make someone overly proud. go to the bathroom to use the toi- let; to urinate; to defecate. go to the dogs Go to go to pot. go to the lavatory to go some- where and use a toilet. go to the toilet to use the toilet. go to the wall to fail or be defeated after being pushed to the extreme. go to town to work hard or fast. (Also used literally.) go to wrack and ruin Go to go to rack and ruin. go under 1. to sink beneath the surface of the water. 2. [for some- thing] to fail. 3. to become uncon- scious from anesthesia. go up in flames and go up in smoke to burn up; to be con- sumed in flames. go up in smoke Go to go up in flames. go with something to match some- thing; to look good with some- thing. go without ( someone ) to manage without a particular type of per- son. go without ( something ) to manage without something. goal ["gol] 1. n. an aim; a purpose; a result that one would like to achieve from doing something. 2. n. [in sports] a place where players try to send a ball in order to score points. 3. n. [in sports] an instance of sending a ball through or past W, and the points earned by doing this. 4. n. the finish line; the end point of a race. goalie ["go li] n. a goalkeeper. (A shortening of goalkeeper.) goalkeeper ["gol kip #] n. [in sports] the player whose position is in front of the team’s goal and who tries to prevent players on the other team from scoring. goat ["got] n. an animal with horns, similar to a sheep. → separate the sheep from the goats god ["gad] 1. n. a male spiritual being who is worshiped. (Com- pare this with goddess.) 2. n. someone or something admired as Q. 3. n. [in religions such as Christianity, Islam, and Judaism] the one spiritual being that is wor- shiped as the creator and ruler of go through the roof 240 04 7/23/03 8:49 AM Page 240 TLFeBOOK everything. (Capitalized. No plu- ral.) → an act of God goddess ["gad @s] n. a female spiri- tual being who is worshiped. goes ["goz] the third-person singu- lar, present tense of go. → as far as it goes goggles ["gOg @lz] n. a pair of pro- tective lenses that are worn during swimming, skiing, biking, and other activities. (Treated as plural. Number is expressed with pair(s) of goggles.) going to do something planning to do something; intending or mean- ing to do something. (A form of the future tense in English.) gold ["gold] 1. n. a chemical ele- ment that is a soft, yellow metal, is very valuable, and is the standard for money in many countries. (No plural.) 2. n. coins or jewelry made of Q. (No plural.) 3. n. a deep yellow color. (Plural only for types and instances.) 4. adj. made of Q. 5. adj. deep yellow in color. (Comp: golder; sup: goldest.) → (as) good as gold → have a heart of gold → worth its weight in gold golden ["gol d@n] 1. adj. made from gold; yellowish as if made from gold. 2. adj. [of anniver- saries] the fiftieth. → kill the goose that laid the golden egg golden rule ["gol d@n "rul] n. the principle that one should treat other people the way one would like to be treated. (From the Bible.) goldfish ["gold fIS] n., irreg. a kind of small fish, typically orange or gold, commonly kept as a pet. (Plural: goldfish.) golf ["gOlf] 1. n. a game played on a large area of land, where players use a club to hit a small ball into a hole, using as few strokes as possi- ble. (No plural.) 2. iv. to play Q. golf club ["gOlf kl@b] n. a long, metal mallet used in the game of golf. (Can be shortened to club.) gone ["gOn] Past participle of go. good ["gUd] 1. adj., irreg. having positive qualities; satisfactory; suitable; not negative. (Adv: well. Comp: better; sup: best.) 2. adj., irreg. having proper morals; moral; not evil. 3. adj., irreg. enjoyable; pleasant; satisfying. (Adv: well. Comp: better; sup: best.) 4. adj., irreg. complete; thor- ough; full. (Adv: well. Comp: bet- ter; sup: best) 5. adj., irreg. skillful; talented; able to do some- thing right. (Adv: well. Comp: bet- ter; sup: best) 6. adj., irreg. properly behaved; obedient. (Comp: better; sup: best.) 7. adj. ripe; edible; not spoiled; not rot- ten. 8. n. excellence; virtue; good- ness. (No plural.) → (as) good as done → (as) good as gold → do someone a good turn → do someone’s heart good → for the good of someone or something → give a good account of oneself → give as good as one gets → have a good head on one’s shoulders → in good condition → in good shape → in the picture of (good) health good 241 04 7/23/03 8:49 AM Page 241 TLFeBOOK → kiss something good-bye → look good on paper → make good money → put in a good word (for someone ) → throw good money after bad → too good to be true → turn something to good account → Your guess is as good as mine. the good old days back in an ear- lier time that everyone remembers as a better time, even if it really wasn’t. good to go all ready to go; all checked and pronounced ready to go. good-bye [gUd "baI] 1. interj. farewell, as said when someone leaves. 2. adj. of or about leaving; of or about a departure. goods n. items for sale; products that are made to be sold. (Treated as plural, but not countable.) → sell someone a bill of goods goose ["gus] n., irreg. a bird having a long neck and similar to a large duck. (Plural: geese.) → cook someone’s goose → get goose bumps → get goose pimples → kill the goose that laid the golden egg → wild-goose chase gorilla [g@ "rIl @] n. the largest kind of ape. gospel ["gas p@l] n. one of the first four books of the New Testament of the Bible. (Capitalized.) the gospel truth [of truth] unde- niable. gossip ["gas @p] 1. n. talk about other people, which may or may not be true; rumors about other people. (No plural.) 2. n. someone who often talks about other people and other people’s private lives. 3. iv. to talk about other people and their private lives; to spread rumors about other people. got ["gat] past tense and a past par- ticiple of get. gotten ["gat n] a past participle of get. → ill-gotten gains gourmet [gor "me] 1. n. someone who enjoys fine foods and wine. 2. adj. [of food and drink] pro- duced according to the highest cooking standards. govern ["g^v #n] 1. iv. to rule [over someone or something]; to be the leader of a group of people. 2. tv. to rule or lead a group of people. 3. tv. to guide, control, or regulate something. government ["g^v #n m@nt] 1. n. the system of rule over a country and its people. (No plural.) 2. n. the political organization ruling in a particular area. 3. the adj. use of Q or W. (Also governmental.) governor ["g^v # n#] 1. n. the title of the executive officer of each state of the United States. 2. n. someone who governs or rules cer- tain organizations. 3. n. a device that controls the speed of a car or other vehicle, either keeping it at a constant speed or not allowing it to go over a certain speed. gown ["gaUn] 1. n. a formal dress for a woman. 2. n. a nightgown. 3. n. a type of loose ceremonial covering or robe such as is worn at graduation ceremonies. grab ["grAb] 1. tv. to seize and hold someone or something; to snatch good old days 242 04 7/23/03 8:49 AM Page 242 TLFeBOOK someone or something; to take something rudely. 2. tv. to get and bring something; to fetch some- thing. (Informal.) 3. n. an act of seizing as in Q. grab a bite (to eat) to get some- thing to eat; to get food that can be eaten quickly. grab on(to someone or something ) to grasp someone or something; to hold on to someone or something. grace ["gres] 1. n. elegance, smoothness, or attractiveness of form or motion. (No plural.) 2. n. calm and tolerant elegance. (No plural.) 3. n. favor; mercy; favor- able regard. (No plural.) 4. n. a prayer said before eating. (No plu- ral.) 5. tv. to make something more beautiful or elegant; to add beauty or elegance to something. → fall from grace → say grace grace someone or something with one’s presence to honor someone or something with one’s presence. graced with something made ele- gant by means of some ornament or decoration. grade ["gred] 1. n. a level in school corresponding to a year of study. 2. n. a mark, given to a student for a class, test, paper, or assignment, that shows how well or how poorly the student did. 3. n. a degree of quality. 4. n. the slope of a road, roof, terrace, etc. 5. tv. to give W for the work of a student. grade someone or something down to lower the ranking, rating, or score of someone or something. graduate 1. ["grA dZu @t] n. some- one who has completed high school, college, or university. 2. ["grA dZu et] tv. to depart from a school, college, or university with a degree. graduate from something to earn and receive a degree from an edu- cational institution. graduation [grA dZu "e S@n] 1. n. the ceremony where students become graduates Q. 2. n. one of a series of marks on something showing the units of measure- ment. grain ["gren] 1. n. grass or cereal plants grown for their edible seeds. (Plural only for types and instances.) 2. n. seeds of Q. (Plural only for types and instances.) 3. n. an individual seed of Q. 4. n. a tiny particle of some- thing, such as sand or salt. 5. n. a very small unit of weight, equal to about 64.8 milligrams. 6. n. the pattern or direction of the fibers of wood. (Plural only for types and instances.) → go against the grain → take something with a grain of salt a grain of truth even the smallest amount of truth. gram ["grAm] n. the basic unit for measuring weight in the metric system, equal to ¹⁄₁₀₀₀ of a kilo- gram or about ¹⁄₂₈ of an ounce. grammar ["grAm #] 1. n. a system of rules and principles in a lan- guage that determines how sen- tences are formed; the study of sentence structure and the rela- tionships between words within sentences. (Plural only for types and instances.) 2. n. a statement of the rules of a language that grammar 243 04 7/23/03 8:49 AM Page 243 TLFeBOOK accounts for how sentences are formed, especially the description of what the standard form of the language is like. 3. n. following the rules of W in the use of written and spoken language. (No plural.) grammar school ["grAm # "skul] n. a school at the elementary level. grand ["grAnd] 1. adj. impressive; magnificent. (Adv: grandly. Comp: grander; sup: grandest.) 2. n. a thousand dollars. (Slang. No plu- ral.) → (as) busy as Grand Central Station grand total ["grAnd "tot @l] n. the complete total; the final total. grandchild ["grAn(d) tSaIld] n., irreg. a child of one’s child. (Plural: grandchildren.) grandchildren ["grAn(d) tSIl dr@n] plural of grandchild. granddad ["grAn dAd] n. grandfa- ther; the father of one’s mother or father. (Also a term of address. Capitalized when written as a proper noun.) granddaughter ["grAn dOt #] n. the daughter of one’s son or daughter. grandfather ["grAn(d) fa D#] n. the father of one’s mother or father. (Also a term of address. Capitalized when written as a proper noun.) grandma ["grAm ma] n. grand- mother; the mother of one’s mother or father. (Also a term of address. Capitalized when written as a proper noun.) grandmother ["grAn(d) m@D #] n. the mother of one’s mother or father. (Also a term of address. Capitalized when written as a proper noun.) → teach one’s grandmother to suck eggs grandpa ["grAm pa] n. grandfa- ther; the father of one’s mother or father. (Also a term of address. Capitalized when written as a proper noun.) grandparent ["grAn(d) pEr @nt] n. a grandmother or a grandfather; the parent of one’s parent. (The plural usually refers to one or more pairs consisting of a grand- mother and a grandfather.) grandson ["grAn(d) s@n] n. the son of one’s child. grant ["grAnt] 1. n. money that is given by a government or a private agency for a worthy purpose. 2. tv. to give something formally to someone. 3. tv. to give permission for something to someone; to give someone permission for some- thing. 4. tv. to concede that some- thing is true; to admit to someone that something is true. (The object is a clause with that U.) → take someone or something for granted grape ["grep] 1. n. a red, green, or purple fruit that grows in bunches on vines. 2. adj. made of or fla- vored with Q. graph ["grAf] 1. n. a drawing that shows the difference between two or more amounts or the changes in amounts through time. 2. tv. to place information on Q; to make Q. grammar school 244 04 7/23/03 8:49 AM Page 244 TLFeBOOK grass ["grAs] n. a plant with thin blades instead of leaves. (Plural only for types and instances.) → let grass grow under one’s feet grate on someone ( ’s nerves) to annoy someone; to bother some- one. gratitude ["grAt @ tud] n. the qual- ity of being thankful; a feeling or expression of thanks. (No plural.) grave ["grev] 1. n. the place where someone is buried; a burial site. 2. n. the actual hole that someone is buried in. 3. adj. very serious; dire. (Adv: gravely.) → carry a secret to the grave → dig one’s own grave → take a secret to one’s grave → turn over in one’s grave the grave n. death. (No plural. Treated as singular.) gravel ["grAv @l] n. crushed rock; pebbles about the size of peas. (Plural only for types and instances.) graveyard ["grev jard] n. a ceme- tery; a place where dead people are buried. gravity ["grAv @ ti] 1. n. the force that pulls things toward the center of planets, stars, moons, etc.; the force that pulls things toward the center of the earth. (No plural.) 2. n. seriousness; importance. (No plural.) → law of gravity gravy ["gre vi] 1. n. the juice that drips from meat when it cooks. (Plural only for types and instances.) 2. n. a sauce made from Q, often thickened with flour or something similar. (Plural only for types and instances.) → ride the gravy train gray ["gre] 1. n. the color made when white is mixed with black. (Plural only for types and instances.) 2. n. the color gray as in Q, when found in the hair. (No plural.) 3. adj. (Adv: grayly. Comp: grayer; sup: grayest.) 4. iv. [for hair] to become E; [for someone] to develop W. a gray area an area of a subject, etc., that is difficult to put into a particular category, as it is not clearly defined and may have con- nections or associations with more than one category. gray matter intelligence; brains; power of thought. graze on something 1. [for ani- mals] to browse or forage in a par- ticular location. 2. [for animals] to browse or forage, eating some- thing in particular. grease 1. ["gris] n. melted animal fat or any similarly oily substance. (No plural.) 2. ["gris, "griz] tv. to coat something with Q. great ["gret] 1. adj. large in size or importance. (Adv: greatly. Comp: greater; sup: greatest.) 2. adj. good; very good. (Adv: greatly. Comp: greater; sup: greatest.) 3. interj. Super!; Wonderful! (Sometimes used sarcastically.) → make a great show of something → set great store by someone or something a great deal much; a lot. greatly ["gret li] adv. very much. greed ["grid] n. a strong desire for money, possessions, or power. (No plural.) greed 245 04 7/23/03 8:49 AM Page 245 TLFeBOOK . ["gl^v] n. one of a pair of fit- ted coverings for the hand, typi- cally made of fabric or leather and having individual “pockets” for each finger and thumb. → fit like a glove → hand in glove. level. grand ["grAnd] 1. adj. impressive; magnificent. (Adv: grandly. Comp: grander; sup: grandest.) 2. n. a thousand dollars. (Slang. No plu- ral.) → (as) busy as Grand Central Station grand. noun.) grandparent ["grAn(d) pEr @nt] n. a grandmother or a grandfather; the parent of one’s parent. (The plural usually refers to one or more pairs consisting of a grand- mother and a grandfather.) grandson