greedy ["gri di] adj. showing greed;
desiring money, possessions, or
power too strongly. (Adv: greedily.
Comp: greedier; sup: greediest.)
green ["grin] 1. n. the color of grass
or of the leaves of trees in the
summer; the color made when
blue and yellow are mixed
together. (Plural only for types
and instances.)
2. n. a grassy area.
3. adj. of the color of grass.
(Comp: greener; sup: greenest.)
4. adj. unripe; not yet ripe or
mature. (Comp: greener; sup:
greenest.)
5. adj. without experi-
ence; young. (Figurative on R.
Comp: greener; sup: greenest.)
→
have a green thumb
green with envy envious; jealous.
greenhouse ["grin haUs] n., irreg. a
building with a glass roof and
glass walls where the temperature
is controlled so that plants can
grow inside all year round. (Plural:
[
haU z@z].)
greens n. the leaves of certain
plants eaten as food. (Treated as

rows of metal bars.
3. tv. to cook
food on Q or W.
4. tv. to question
someone forcefully and thor-
oughly.
5. iv. [for food] to be
cooked on Q or W.
grille ["grIl] 1. n. a grate above the
front bumper of a car in front of
the radiator. (Compare this with
grill.) 2. n. a grid of metal bars
placed in a door or window.
grim ["grIm] 1. adj. not likely to
turn out well. (Adv: grimly. Comp:
grimmer; sup: grimmest.)
2. adj.
[looking] stern and harsh. (Adv:
grimly. Comp: grimmer; sup:
grimmest.)
grime ["graIm] n. thick, oily dirt.
(No plural.)
grin ["grIn] 1. n. a big smile. 2. iv.
to smile widely so that one’s teeth
show.
grin and bear it to endure some-
thing unpleasant in good humor.
grind ["graInd] 1. tv., irreg. to make
something into a powder or tiny
chunks, by crushing or pounding

have an ax to grind
grind
something
up to pulverize or
break something up by crushing,
rubbing, or abrasion.
grind to a halt to slow to a stop; to
run down.
grindstone ["graInd ston] n. a
thick, round wheel of stone that is
used to sharpen knives.
→
keep
one’s
nose to the grindstone
→ put
one’s
nose to the grindstone
grip ["grIp] 1. tv. to hold someone
or something tightly with one’s
hands.
2. n. a tight hold on some-
one or something.
→
come to grips with
something
→ lose
one’s
grip
grip

owns or runs a
grocery store;
someone who sells food and basic
supplies.
groceries ["gros riz ] n. items
bought at a
grocery store.
(Treated as plural, but not counta-
ble.)
grocery (store) ["gros ri ] n. a
store where food can be bought.
groom ["grum] 1. n. a man who is
getting married.
2. tv. to clean and
comb a horse.
3. tv. to make some-
one’s hair neat.
4. tv. to prepare
someone for a specific duty.
ground ["graUnd] 1. past tense and
past participle of
grind. 2. adj.
broken or chopped into powder or
into tiny chunks by grinding.
3. n.
the surface of the earth. (No plu-
ral.)
4. tv. to cause a pilot, air-
plane, or bird to stay on the
surface of the earth. (Past tense

ear to the ground
→ hold
one’s
ground
→ keep
one’s
ear to the ground
→ keep
one’s
feet on the ground
→ stand
one’s
ground
ground beef ["graUnd "bif] n. beef
that has been chopped or ground
fine; hamburger. (No plural.)
grounded in fact based on facts.
grounds n. the remains of pow-
dered coffee beans after coffee has
been made from them. (Treated as
plural, but not countable.)
grounds for
something
a basis or
cause for legal action such as a
lawsuit.
group ["grup] 1. n. a number of
people or things considered as a
unit; a category.
2. tv. to arrange

grown ["gron] 1. Past participle of
grow. 2. adj. fully developed;
adult; mature; ripe.
growth ["groT] 1. n. development;
the amount someone or something
develops in a certain period of
time. (No plural.)
2. n. an
increase; the process of becoming
bigger, larger, or more powerful.
(No plural.)
3. n. an unnatural or
unhealthy lump of tissue; a tumor.
guarantee [gEr @n "ti] 1. n. a writ-
ten document that promises that a
certain product will operate prop-
erly for a certain amount of time.
2. n. a written or verbal promise
that one will be responsible for
something, especially for certain
debts or actions.
3. tv. to promise
that something will be done. (The
object can be a clause with
that
U.) 4. tv. to promise to be respon-
sible for certain debts, actions, or
results.
5. tv. to provide Q, prom-
ising that a product will work

getting the right answer to a ques-
tion.
guest ["gEst] 1. n. someone who
visits another person’s home
because of an invitation.
2. n.
someone who is taken to dinner or
to a place of entertainment by
someone else, who is paying for it.
3. n. someone who is invited by an
organization or government to
make a visit.
4. n. a customer of a
hotel, motel, etc.
guest of honor a guest who gets
special attention from everyone;
the person for whom a party, cele-
bration, or ceremony is given.
guide ["gaId] 1. n. someone who
shows someone else the way.
2. n.
someone who leads tours.
3. n. a
book or chart of information
about a thing or a place.
4. tv. to
lead someone to the right place.
5. tv. to lead a tour. 6. tv. to direct
the business of something; to con-
trol something.

2. n. a
large or wide separation. (Figura-
tive on Q.)
gum ["g^m] 1. n. a soft, sticky, fla-
vored substance that people chew.
(Plural only for types and in-
stances.)
2. n. the upper or lower
ridge of flesh that covers the jaw
bones and surrounds the bases of
the teeth.
gun ["g^n] 1. n. a weapon that
shoots bullets.
2. n. a device or
tool that has a handle and trigger
like Q, used for applying or
installing something.
→
beat the gun
→ fire a gun
→ jump the gun
→ stick to
one’s
guns
gun for
someone
to be looking for
someone, presumably to harm
that person, as with a gun.
gush ["g^S] 1. n. a large flow of a

hate
someone’s
guts
gutter ["g^t #] 1. n. a metal chan-
nel hanging on the edge of a roof
to carry away water when it rains.
2. n. the wide, wooden channel on
either side of a bowling lane.
3. n.
on a street, a lower, formed chan-
nel that leads water and other
waste to the entrance of a sewer.
→
in the gutter
guy ["gaI] 1. n. a man; a boy.
(Informal.)
2. n. a person, male or
female, especially in the plural.
(Informal.)
gym ["dZIm] 1. n. a gymnasium.
2. the adj. use of Q.
gymnasium [dZIm "nez i @m] n. a
large room or building for physical
education, physical training, or
certain sports events such as bas-
ketball and wrestling. (Can be
shortened to
gym.)
gyp
someone

something up into pieces.
2. to
damage or mangle something.
had ["hAd] 1. past tense and past
participle of
have. 2. aux. the past-
tense form of
have T, used in
forming the past
perfect verb
form. (Used before the past par-
ticiple of a verb. Reduced to ’d in
contractions. See also
has.)
→
been had
→ have had its day
had better is obliged to; should.
(Often -’d better.)
(had) known it was coming Go
to
knew it was coming.
hadn’t ["hAd nt] cont. had not.
hag ["hAg] n. an ugly old woman; a
witch.
hail ["hel] 1. n. round pellets of ice
that fall from the sky like rain.
(No plural. Number is expressed
with
hailstone(s).) 2. n. a group of

→
by a hair’s breadth
→ curl
someone’s
hair
→ get in
someone’s
hair
→ hang by a hair
→ let
one’s
hair down
→ make
someone’s
hair stand on end
→ neither hide nor hair
→ part
someone’s
hair
→ tear
one’s
hair (out)
hair of the dog that bit
one
a
drink of liquor taken when one
has a hangover; a drink of liquor
taken when one is recovering from
drinking too much liquor.
hairbrush ["hEr br@S] n. a brush

→
at half-mast
→
one’s
better half
→ six of one and half a dozen of
the other
halfhearted ["hAf "hart Id] adj. not
too enthusiastic; without excite-
ment. (Adv: halfheartedly.)
→
be halfhearted (about
someone or
something
)
halfway ["hAf "we] 1. adj. at the
middle; in the middle.
2. adv. to
the point that is Q.
→
meet
someone
halfway
hall ["hOl] 1. n. a passage that con-
nects rooms and stairways inside a
house or building. (See also
hall-
way
.) 2. n. a large room for big
meetings, lectures, dances, etc.

2. n. a sand-
wich made of cooked ground beef
and a specially shaped bun.
hammer ["hAm #] 1. n. a tool with
a heavy metal head that is used to
pound nails or to break things.
2. tv. to hit something with Q.
→
fight
someone or something
hammer
and tongs
→ go at it hammer and tongs
hammer (away) at
someone
to
interrogate someone; to ask ques-
tions endlessly of someone. (Figu-
rative.)
hammer
something
down to
pound something down, making it
even with the surrounding area.
hammer
something
home to try
extremely hard to make someone
understand or realize something.
hammer

arm, below the wrist.
2. n. the
cards given or dealt to someone in
a card game; one session in a game
of cards.
3. n. side; direction. (No
plural.)
4. n. one of the pointers
on a clock or watch.
5. tv. to give
something to someone by using
one’s Q.
6. the adj. use of Q or
R.
→
be putty in
someone’s
hands
→ bite the hand that feeds
one
→ bound hand and foot
→ by a show of hands
→ can’t see
one’s
hand in front of
one’s
face
→ close at hand
→ come away empty-handed
→ dirty

)
→ have
one’s
hands tied
→ have
someone or something
in
one’s
hands
→ have
someone’s
blood on
one’s
hands
→ have
something
at hand
→ in hand
→ join hands
→ know
someone or something
like the
back of
one’s
hand
→ know
someone or something
like the
palm of
one’s

hands
→ Time hangs heavy on
someone’s
hands.
→ wait on
someone
hand and foot
→ wash
one’s
hands of
someone or
something
→ with both hands tied behind
one’s
back
→ with one hand tied behind
one’s
back
hand in glove (with
someone
)
very close to someone.
hand over fist [for money and
merchandise to be exchanged]
very rapidly.
hand over hand [moving] one
hand after the other (again and
again).
hand
something

someone
)
to pass something, usually papers,
out to people.
hand something out (to someone)
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handicap ["hAn di kAp] 1. n. a dis-
ability; a disadvantage; something
that hinders someone from doing
something in the usual way.
2. n.
[in sports or games] placing
restrictions on a better player in
order to make the event more
competitive.
3. tv. to prevent
someone from doing something in
the usual way; to hinder someone.
handkerchief ["hAN k# tSIf] n. a
square of soft fabric used to wipe
one’s nose or face.
handle ["hAn d@l] 1. n. the part of
an object that is held on to so that
the object can be used, moved,
picked up, pushed, pulled, opened,
or closed.
2. tv. to feel someone or
something with one’s hands; to use

writer or computer. (No plural
form.)
2. n. one’s own style of
writing; a sample of one’s own
handwriting. (No plural form.)
→
see the (hand)writing on the
wall
hang ["hAN] 1. tv., irreg. to suspend
something from a higher place,
using a rope, chain, etc. (Past tense
and past participle:
hung.) 2. tv.,
irreg. to attach something to a
wall.
3. tv. to execute a person by
suspending the person by the
neck. (Past tense and past partici-
ple: hanged for this sense.)
4. iv.,
irreg. to be suspended over some-
thing; to remain above someplace
or thing.
→
get the hang of
something
→ have
something
hanging over
one’s

back from someone or something,
perhaps in avoidance.
hang by a hair and hang by a
thread to be in an uncertain posi-
handicap
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tion; to depend on something very
insubstantial for support.
hang by a thread Go to hang by a
hair.
hang fire to delay or wait; to be
delayed.
hang in the balance to be in an
undecided state; to be between
two equal possibilities.
Hang on! Be prepared for fast or
rough movement.
hang on 1. to wait awhile. 2. to
survive awhile. (Figurative.)
3. to
linger or persist.
hang on
someone’s
every word to
listen carefully to everything
someone says.
hang on (to
someone or some-

element and make sense.
3. [for
people] to spend time together.
hang up 1. [for a machine or a
computer] to grind to a halt; to
stop because of some internal
complication.
2. to replace the
telephone receiver after a call.
hangar ["hAN #] n. a large building
where airplanes are stored and
serviced.
hanger ["hAN #] n. a wooden,
metal, or plastic frame for sus-
pending clothing inside a closet.
happen ["hAp @n] iv. to occur; to
take place.
→
can’t wait (for
something
to
happen)
happen to
do something
to do
something by chance, without
planning to do it; to have the good
or bad fortune to do something.
happen to
someone or something

harbor
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