word-vault

{ "term": "weak", "partOfSpeech": "adjectivenoun", "ox3000": true, "cefr": "a2", "definitions": [ { "senseNumber": 1, "definition": "not physically strong", "sensetop": "weak with/from something", "cefr": "a2", "ox3000": true, "examples": [ { "text": "She is still weak after her illness." }, { "text": "His legs felt weak." }, { "text": "She suffered from a weak heart." }, { "text": "I was exhausted and weak with hunger.", "contextForm": "weak with/from something" }, { "text": "Her legs felt suddenly weak." }, { "text": "She was weak from shock." }, { "text": "When the spasm passed, it left him weak and sweating." } ], "topics": ["Health problems"], "collocations": { "verbs": ["appear", "be", "feel"], "adverb": ["extremely", "fairly", "very"], "preposition": ["at", "from", "in"], "phrases": ["weak at the knees"] } }, { "senseNumber": 2, "definition": "that cannot support a lot of weight; likely to break", "cefr": "a2", "ox3000": true, "examples": [ { "text": "That bridge is too weak for heavy traffic." }, { "text": "Weak foundations caused the building to collapse." } ] }, { "senseNumber": 3, "definition": "easy to influence; not having much power", "cefr": "a2", "ox3000": true, "examples": [ { "text": "a weak and cowardly man" }, { "text": "In a weak moment *(= when I was easily persuaded)* I said she could borrow the car." }, { "text": "Small firms find themselves in a very weak position during a recession." }, { "text": "a weak leader" }, { "text": "The unions have always been weak in this industry." } ] }, { "senseNumber": 4, "definition": "people who are poor, sick or without power", "examples": [] }, { "senseNumber": 5, "definition": "not financially strong or successful", "sensetop": "weak against something", "cefr": "b1", "ox3000": true, "examples": [ { "text": "A **weak dollar** isn't bad news for everyone." }, { "text": "a weak currency/yen/euro" }, { "text": "Is it your policy to have a relatively weak currency?" }, { "text": "The **economy** is very **weak**." }, { "text": "The currency was still relatively weak against the dollar.", "contextForm": "weak against something" } ], "topics": ["Money"] }, { "senseNumber": 6, "definition": "a weak liquid contains a lot of water", "cefr": "b1", "ox3000": true, "examples": [ { "text": "weak tea" }, { "text": "a weak acid" } ] }, { "senseNumber": 7, "definition": "not easily seen or heard", "examples": [ { "text": "a weak light/signal/sound" }, { "text": "The weak winter sunlight spread across the lake." } ] }, { "senseNumber": 8, "definition": "not good at something", "sensetop": "weak in something", "examples": [ { "text": "a weak team" }, { "text": "I was always weak in the science subjects.", "contextForm": "weak in something" }, { "text": "He's weak in English." }, { "text": "She's rather weak at languages." } ], "collocations": { "verbs": ["appear", "be", "feel"], "adverb": ["extremely", "fairly", "very"], "preposition": ["at", "from", "in"], "phrases": ["weak at the knees"] } }, { "senseNumber": 9, "definition": "that people are not likely to believe or be persuaded by", "examples": [ { "text": "weak arguments/evidence" }, { "text": "I enjoyed the movie but I thought the ending was very weak." }, { "text": "The case for the prosecution was rather weak." }, { "text": "The judge decided the evidence was inherently weak and inconsistent." }, { "text": "The essay was a bit weak on detail." } ], "synonyms": "unconvincing", "collocations": { "verbs": ["appear", "be", "feel"], "adverb": ["extremely", "fairly", "very"], "preposition": ["at", "from", "in"], "phrases": ["weak at the knees"] } }, { "senseNumber": 10, "definition": "done without enthusiasm or energy", "examples": [ { "text": "a weak smile" }, { "text": "He made a weak attempt to look cheerful." } ] }, { "senseNumber": 11, "definition": "the part of a person’s character, an argument, etc. that is easy to attack or criticize", "sensetop": "weak point/spot", "cefr": "c2", "examples": [ { "text": "The team's weak points are in defence." }, { "text": "He knew her weak spot where Steve was concerned." } ], "topics": ["Opinion and argument"] }, { "senseNumber": 12, "definition": "a weak verb forms the past tense and past participle by adding a regular ending and not by changing a vowel. In English this is done by adding -d, -ed or -t (for example walk, walked).", "examples": [] }, { "senseNumber": 13, "definition": "used when there is no stress on the word. For example, the weak form of and is /ən/ or /n/, as in fish and chips /fɪʃ ən tʃɪps/.", "examples": [] }, { "senseNumber": null, "definition": "you intend to do good things but you are too lazy, weak or busy to actually do them", "labels": "(humorous, saying)", "examples": [] }, { "senseNumber": null, "definition": "hardly able to stand because of emotion, fear, illness, etc.", "labels": "(informal)", "examples": [ { "text": "His sudden smile made her go weak at the knees." } ] }, { "senseNumber": null, "definition": "the point at which a system or an organization is most likely to fail", "examples": [ { "text": "She went straight for the one weak link in the chain of his argument." } ], "topics": ["Difficulty and failure"] } ], "pronunciations": { "uk": [ { "pronunciation": "/wiːk/", "audio": "we/weak/weak__gb_2.mp3" } ], "us": [ { "pronunciation": "/wiːk/", "audio": "we/weak/weak__us_1.mp3" } ] }, "wordOrigin": "Old English wāc ‘pliant’, ‘of little worth’, ‘not steadfast’, reinforced in Middle English by Old Norse veikr, from a Germanic base meaning ‘yield, give way’." }