word-vault

{ "term": "proportion", "partOfSpeech": "noun", "academic": true, "ox5000": true, "cefr": "b2", "definitions": [ { "senseNumber": 1, "definition": "a part or share of a whole", "labels": "British English", "cefr": "b2", "examples": [ { "text": "Water covers a large proportion of the earth's surface." }, { "text": "Loam is a soil with roughly equal proportions of clay, sand and silt." }, { "text": "A **significant proportion** of the books have been translated from other languages." }, { "text": "A higher proportion of Americans go on to higher education than is the case in Britain." }, { "text": "The chart shows government spending expressed as a proportion of national income." }, { "text": "The unskilled section of the working class was diminishing as a proportion of the workforce." } ], "collocations": { "adjective": ["appreciable", "considerable", "good"], "verb + proportion": ["calculate", "estimate", "express something as"], "proportion + verb": ["grow", "increase", "rise"] } }, { "senseNumber": 2, "definition": "the relationship of one thing to another in size, amount, etc.", "sensetop": "proportion of something to somethingin the proportion…in proportion to something", "cefr": "b2", "examples": [ { "text": "The proportion of men to women in the college has changed dramatically over the years.", "contextForm": "proportion of something to something" }, { "text": "The basic ingredients are limestone and clay in the proportion 2:1.", "contextForm": "in the proportion…" }, { "text": "The room is very long in proportion to *(= relative to)* its width.", "contextForm": "in proportion to something" }, { "text": "The cost of insurance increases in proportion to the performance of the car." }, { "text": "The human population in the region is expanding in inverse proportion to the wildlife." } ], "collocations": { "adjective": ["correct", "direct", "inverse"], "verb + proportion": ["keep something in"], "preposition": [ "in proportion (to)", "out of proportion (to)", "proportion of something to something" ], "phrases": [ "be blown, exaggerated, etc. out of all proportion", "be blown, exaggerated, etc. out of proportion", "a sense of proportion" ] } }, { "senseNumber": 3, "definition": "the correct relationship in size, degree, importance, etc. between one thing and another or between the parts of a whole", "sensetop": "in proportion (to something)out of proportion (with something)", "labels": "(figurative)", "cefr": "c1", "examples": [ { "text": "You haven't drawn the figures in the foreground in proportion.", "contextForm": "in proportion (to something)" }, { "text": "The head is out of proportion with the body.", "contextForm": "out of proportion (with something)" }, { "text": "an impressive building with fine proportions" }, { "text": "There is an entrance hall of perfect proportions, twice as long as it is wide." }, { "text": "Always try to keep a **sense of proportion** *(= of the relative importance of different things)*." } ], "collocations": { "adjective": ["correct", "direct", "inverse"], "verb + proportion": ["keep something in"], "preposition": [ "in proportion (to)", "out of proportion (to)", "proportion of something to something" ], "phrases": [ "be blown, exaggerated, etc. out of all proportion", "be blown, exaggerated, etc. out of proportion", "a sense of proportion" ] } }, { "senseNumber": 4, "definition": "the measurements of something; its size and shape", "cefr": "c1", "examples": [ { "text": "This method divides the task into more manageable proportions." }, { "text": "a food shortage that could soon **reach crisis proportions**" }, { "text": "a room of fairly generous proportions" } ], "collocations": { "adjective": ["biblical", "enormous", "epic"], "verb + proportions": ["reach"] } }, { "senseNumber": 5, "definition": "the equal relationship between two pairs of numbers, as in the statement ‘4 is to 8 as 6 is to 12’", "examples": [] }, { "senseNumber": null, "definition": "to react to something in a sensible way and not think it is worse or more serious than it really is", "examples": [ { "text": "The problem of hooliganism should be kept in proportion. Only a small number of young people act in this way." } ] }, { "senseNumber": null, "definition": "larger, more serious, etc. in relation to something than is necessary or appropriate", "examples": [ { "text": "They earn salaries out of all proportion to their ability." }, { "text": "The media have blown the incident up out of all proportion." }, { "text": "The costs of the plan are out of proportion to the budget available." }, { "text": "The problem has been exaggerated out of all proportion." } ] } ], "pronunciations": { "uk": [ { "pronunciation": "/prəˈpɔːʃn/", "audio": "pr/proportion/proportion__gb_2.mp3" } ], "us": [ { "pronunciation": "/prəˈpɔːrʃn/", "audio": "pr/proportion/proportion__us_1.mp3" } ] }, "wordOrigin": "late Middle English: from Old French, from Latin proportio(n-), from pro portione ‘in respect of (its or a person's) share’." }