Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s Dictionary

17 PHRASE If you say that something is the last word in luxury, comfort, or some other quality, you are emphasizing that it has a great deal of this quality. [EMPHASIS ] □  The spa is the last word in luxury and efficiency.

18 PHRASE If you say that someone has said something, but not in so many words , you mean that they said it or expressed it, but in a very indirect way. □  'And has she agreed to go with you?'—'Not in so many words. But I read her thoughts.'

19 PHRASE If news or information passes by word of mouth , people tell it to each other rather than it being printed in written form. □  The story has been passed down by word of mouth.

20 PHRASE You say in other words in order to introduce a different, and usually simpler, explanation or interpretation of something that has just been said. □  The mobile library services have been reorganised–in other words, they visit fewer places.

21 PHRASE If you say something in your own words , you express it in your own way, without copying or repeating someone else's description. □  Now tell us in your own words about the events of Saturday.

22 PHRASE If you say to someone ' take my word for it ', you mean that they should believe you because you are telling the truth. □  You'll buy nothing but trouble if you buy that house, take my word for it.

23 PHRASE If you repeat something word for word , you repeat it exactly as it was originally said or written. □  I don't try to memorize speeches word for word.

24not get a word in edgeways → see edgeways

25not mince your words → see mince

26the operative word → see operative

27war of words → see war

-word /-wɜː ^r d/ (-words ) COMB You can use -word after a letter of the alphabet to refer politely or humorously to a word beginning with that letter which people find offensive or are embarrassed to use. □  It was the first show to use the F-word and show nudity on stage. □  Politicians began to use the dreaded R-word: recession.

wo rd class (word classes ) N‑COUNT A word class is a group of words that have the same basic behaviour, for example nouns, adjectives, or verbs.

word|ing /wɜː ^r d I ŋ/ N‑UNCOUNT [oft a N ] The wording of a piece of writing or a speech are the words used in it, especially when these are chosen to have a particular effect. □ [+ of ] The two sides failed to agree on the wording of a final report. □  The wording is so vague that no one actually knows what it means.

word|less /wɜː ^r dləs/

1 ADJ You say that someone is wordless when they do not say anything, especially at a time when they are expected to say something. [LITERARY ] □  She stared back, now wordless. □  The two women live in wordless isolation. ●  word|less|ly ADV [ADV with v] □  Gil downed his food wordlessly, his attention far away.

2 ADJ [usu ADJ n] If someone makes a wordless sound, they make a sound that does not seem to contain any words. [LITERARY ] □  …a wordless chant. □  He shrieked a long, wordless cry.

word|play /wɜː ^r dple I / also word play N‑UNCOUNT Wordplay involves making jokes by using the meanings of words in an amusing or clever way.

wo rd pro |cess|ing also word-processing N‑UNCOUNT [oft N n] Word processing is the work or skill of producing printed documents using a computer. [COMPUTING ]

wo rd pro |ces|sor (word processors ) N‑COUNT A word processor is a computer program or a computer which is used to produce printed documents. [COMPUTING ]

wo rd wra p|ping N‑UNCOUNT In computing, word wrapping is a process by which a word which comes at the end of a line is automatically moved onto a new line in order to keep the text within the margins. [COMPUTING ]