Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s Dictionary

3 PHRASE If you say that something will happen as of , or in British English as from , a particular date or time, you mean that it will happen from that time on. □  The border will be opened as of January the 1st. □  She is to retire as from 1 October.

4 PHRASE You use as if and as though when you are giving a possible explanation for something or saying that something appears to be the case when it is not. □  Anne shrugged, as if she didn't know.

asap /e I es e I piː / ADV [ADV after v] asap is an abbreviation for 'as soon as possible'. □  The colonel ordered, 'I want two good engines down here asap.'

as|bes|tos /æ sbe stɒs/ N‑UNCOUNT [oft N n] Asbestos is a grey material which does not burn and which has been used as a protection against fire or heat.

ASBO /æ zboʊ / (ASBOs ) N‑COUNT An ASBO is a legal order restricting the activities or movements of someone who has repeatedly behaved in a way that upsets or annoys other people. ASBO is an abbreviation for 'anti-social behaviour order'. [BRIT ] □  Breach of an ASBO is a criminal offence.

as|cend /əse nd/ (ascends , ascending , ascended )

1 VERB If you ascend a hill or staircase, you go up it. [WRITTEN ] □ [V n] Mrs Clayton had to hold Lizzie's hand as they ascended the steps. □ [V prep/adv] Then we ascend steeply through forests of rhododendron. [Also V ]

2 VERB If a staircase or path ascends , it leads up to a higher position. [WRITTEN ] [Also V , V n]

3 VERB If something ascends , it moves up, usually vertically or into the air. [WRITTEN ] □ [V ] Keep the drill steady while it ascends and descends.

4 VERB If someone ascends to an important position, they achieve it or are appointed to it. When someone ascends a throne, they become king, queen, or pope. [FORMAL ]

5 → see also ascending

as|cend|ancy /əse ndənsi/ also ascendency N‑UNCOUNT If one group has ascendancy over another group, it has more power or influence than the other group. [FORMAL ] □  Although geographically linked, the two provinces have long fought for political ascendancy.

as|cend|ant /əse ndənt/ PHRASE If someone or something is in the ascendant , they have or are getting more power, influence, or popularity than other people or things. [FORMAL ] □  Radical reformers are once more in the ascendant.

as|cend|ency /əse ndənsi/ → see ascendancy

as|cend|ing /əse nd I ŋ/

1 ADJ [ADJ n] If a group of things is arranged in ascending order, each thing is bigger, greater, or more important than the thing before it. □  Now draw or trace ten dinosaurs in ascending order of size.

2 → see also ascend

as|cen|sion /əse nʃ ^ə n/

1 N‑SING [with poss] In some religions, when someone goes to heaven, you can refer to their ascension to heaven. □  …the two-day holiday marking the Prophet's ascension to heaven.

2 N‑SING [with poss] The ascension of a person to a high rank or important position is the act of reaching this position. [WRITTEN ] □ [+ to ] …50 years after his ascension to the Cambodian throne.

as|cent /əse nt/ (ascents )

1 N‑COUNT An ascent is an upward journey, especially when you are walking or climbing. □ [+ of ] He led the first ascent of Kangchenjunga, the world's third highest mountain.

2 N‑COUNT An ascent is an upward slope or path, especially when you are walking or climbing. □  It was a tough course over a gradual ascent before the big climb of Bluebell Hill.

3 N‑COUNT [usu sing, oft poss N ] An ascent is an upward, vertical movement. □  Burke pushed the button and the elevator began its slow ascent.

4 N‑SING The ascent of a person to a more important or successful position is the process of reaching this position. [WRITTEN ]

5 N‑SING In some religions, when someone goes to heaven, you can refer to their ascent to heaven.