word-vault

{ "term": "neck", "partOfSpeech": "noun", "ox3000": true, "cefr": "a2", "image": "data/images/bo/body.png", "definitions": [ { "senseNumber": 1, "definition": "the part of the body between the head and the shoulders", "labels": "(informal)(formal)(British English)(British English)(disapproving)(both informal, often disapproving)(informal, disapproving)", "cefr": "a2", "ox3000": true, "examples": [ { "text": "He tied a scarf around his neck." }, { "text": "I woke up with a stiff neck." }, { "text": "Giraffes have very long necks." }, { "text": "She **craned** *(= stretched)*** her neck** to get a better view." }, { "text": "He broke his neck in the fall." }, { "text": "Somebody's going to **break their neck** *(= injure themselves)* on these steps." }, { "text": "The hairs on the **nape of my neck** stood on end." }, { "text": "I craned my neck to see what was happening at the front." }, { "text": "I cricked my neck playing tennis and now I can't turn round properly." }, { "text": "I had a crick in my neck from staring up at the sky so long." }, { "text": "I keep the key on a string around my neck." }, { "text": "The hairs on the back of my neck prickled with fear." }, { "text": "The veins in his neck stood out like knotted rope." }, { "text": "She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him." } ], "topics": ["Body"], "collocations": { "adjective": ["long", "short", "slender"], "verb + neck": ["crane", "strain", "break"], "neck + noun": ["muscle", "brace", "collar"], "preposition": ["around your neck", "round your neck", "in the neck"], "phrases": [ "the back of the neck", "the nape of the neck", "a crick in your neck" ] } }, { "senseNumber": 2, "definition": "the part of a piece of clothing that fits around the neck", "cefr": "a2", "examples": [ { "text": "He wore a casual shirt with an open neck." }, { "text": "Her dress had three buttons at the neck." }, { "text": "What neck size do you take?" } ], "topics": ["Clothes and Fashion"], "collocations": { "adjective": ["high", "low", "open"] } }, { "senseNumber": 3, "definition": "having the type of neck mentioned", "sensetop": "-necked", "examples": [ { "text": "a round-necked sweater" } ] }, { "senseNumber": 4, "definition": "a long narrow part of something", "sensetop": "neck (of something)", "examples": [ { "text": "the neck of a bottle" }, { "text": "the narrow neck of land between the lake and the sea" }, { "text": "the neck of a guitar" } ] }, { "senseNumber": 5, "definition": "the neck of an animal, cooked and eaten", "sensetop": "neck (of something)", "examples": [ { "text": "neck of lamb" } ] }, { "senseNumber": null, "definition": "to have a lot of something to deal with", "examples": [ { "text": "We're up to our neck in debt." }, { "text": "He's in it *(= trouble)* up to his neck." } ] }, { "senseNumber": null, "definition": "a combination of confidence and lack of respect", "labels": "(British English, informal)", "examples": [ { "text": "I didn't think he would have the brass neck to do that." } ] }, { "senseNumber": null, "definition": "to watch closely what somebody is doing in a way that makes them feel anxious and/or annoyed", "labels": "(informal)", "examples": [ { "text": "I can’t get any work done with you breathing down my neck." } ] }, { "senseNumber": null, "definition": "if a person or an animal wins a race by a neck, they win it by a short distance", "examples": [] }, { "senseNumber": null, "definition": "roughly holding the back of an animal’s or person’s neck", "examples": [ { "text": "She grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and threw him out." }, { "text": "The cat picked up her kitten by the scruff of its neck." } ] }, { "senseNumber": null, "definition": "to be shouted at or punished because of something that you have done", "labels": "(British English, informal)", "examples": [] }, { "senseNumber": null, "definition": "a difficult problem or responsibility that it seems impossible to solve or get rid of", "examples": [ { "text": "My debts are a millstone around my neck." }, { "text": "Unemployment was an economic millstone around the country’s neck." } ] }, { "senseNumber": null, "definition": "level with somebody in a race or competition", "examples": [ { "text": "The cyclists were neck and neck as they approached the final lap." } ] }, { "senseNumber": null, "definition": "a particular place or area", "labels": "(informal)", "examples": [ { "text": "He's from your neck of the woods *(= the area where you live)*." }, { "text": "What are you doing in this neck of the woods?" } ] }, { "senseNumber": null, "definition": "a person or thing that is very annoying", "labels": "(informal)", "examples": [ { "text": "That man's a pain in the neck!" } ] }, { "senseNumber": null, "definition": "to risk losing your job, damaging your reputation, etc. by doing or saying something", "examples": [ { "text": "It's not a matter that I'm prepared to put my head on the block for." } ] }, { "senseNumber": null, "definition": "to risk being killed or injured in order to do something", "examples": [ { "text": "I'm not going to risk my neck playing rugby with you!" } ] }, { "senseNumber": null, "definition": "to rescue somebody from a very difficult situation", "labels": "(informal)", "examples": [ { "text": "He's out to save his own political neck." } ] }, { "senseNumber": null, "definition": "to try to avoid death, punishment, etc., especially by leaving others in an extremely difficult situation", "examples": [ { "text": "To save his own skin, he lied and blamed the accident on his friend." } ] }, { "senseNumber": null, "definition": "to do or say something when there is a risk that you may be wrong", "labels": "(informal)", "examples": [ { "text": "I’ll stick my neck out and say that Bill is definitely the best candidate for the job." } ] }, { "senseNumber": null, "definition": "when you say that you will wring somebody’s neck, you mean that you are very angry or annoyed with them", "labels": "(informal)", "examples": [ { "text": "When he was late again I wanted to wring his neck." } ] } ], "pronunciations": { "uk": [ { "pronunciation": "/nek/", "audio": "ne/neck/neck__gb_2.mp3" } ], "us": [ { "pronunciation": "/nek/", "audio": "ne/neck/neck__us_1.mp3" } ] }, "wordOrigin": "Old English hnecca ‘back of the neck’, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch nek ‘neck’ and German Nacken ‘nape’." }