To cling means ‘to stick or adhere closely to something.’ If you cling to someone or something, it means you embrace, hold tight, or stay close to them or it and if people cling together, that means they embrace or hold tight to each other. If someone clings to something like an idea or a hope, it means that…
You probably know that rap is a music style. As a verb, to rap means ‘to strike with a quick, sharp blow’ and ‘to say or shout sharply.’ As a slang term, to rap means ‘to criticize severely,’ ‘to chat about something at length,’ and of course, ‘to talk rhythmically to the beat of rap music,’ As a noun, as well as the music style, a rap is a…
In US English, Chuck is a form of the male given name Charles, but chuck is also a verb that means ‘to toss,’ ‘to throw away’ (sometimes followed by out), or ‘to give up’ (sometimes followed by in). It also means ‘to tap lightly,’ normally under the chin. A chuck is therefore a light tap and also a toss or pitch. Talking about food, chuck is the cut of beef between the neck and the shoulder…
You might know already that split means ‘to divide into separate portions’ or ‘to separate.’ It can also mean ‘to share,’ if you divide something between different people in a group. As a slang term, to split means ‘to leave.’ As a noun, a split is a crack or, in US English, a piece of wood separated by splitting. Split is also a dessert, an ice-cream dish made with a split banana, ice cream, flavored syrup, and chopped nuts (in the UK, this is…
A throttle is a valve in an engine that controls how much fuel enters the cylinders and also a lever or pedal that controls this valve. As a verb, to throttle means ‘to obstruct or check the flow of a fluid, so as to control the speed of an engine.’ It also means ‘to compress the throat to stop air from going in and out’ or ‘to choke or suffocate in any way.’ Figuratively, it means…
If you like coffee or tea and you also like cookies or croissants, then you probably dunk your food into your coffee before eating it. You can of course dunk any food item into any beverage or into soup. If you push something or someone briefly under water or any other liquid, that is also to dunk. In US English, to dunk also means ‘to submerge yourself in water.’ In basketball, to dunk means to slam a…
To heave means ‘to lift with great effort’ and also ‘to lift and then throw with effort.’ To utter with effort is also to heave and so is to rise and fall with a swelling motion. In physiology, sometimes followed by up it means ‘to retch, to attempt to vomit’ or ‘to vomit.’ As a nautical term, to heave means…
You probably know a dart is a small slender object with a sharp point that can be used as a weapon or as a missile in a game. Darts, used with a singular verb, is the name of the game in which you throw darts at a circular board stuck to a wall. Figuratively, a dart is also a sudden, swift movement. Related to this…
A bristle is, most commonly, a short, stiff coarse hair of certain animals like hogs, which are used in making brushes. A short, stiff hair on other animals or humans, like the hairs that make up the stubble on a man’s chin, can also be called a bristle and, generally, anything resembling such a hair can be called a bristle too. As a verb, and when we are talking about hair, to bristle means ‘to stand or rise stiffly.’ Figuratively,…
