Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s Dictionary полностью

be|sides ◆◇◇ /b I sa I dz/

1 PREP [oft PREP v-ing] Besides something or beside something means in addition to it. □  I think she has many good qualities besides being very beautiful. □  There was only one person besides Ford who knew Julia Jameson. ● ADV Besides is also an adverb. □  You get to sample lots of baked things and take home masses of cookies besides.

2 ADV Besides is used to emphasize an additional point that you are making, especially one that you consider to be important. □  The house was too expensive and too big. Besides, I'd grown fond of our little rented house.

be|siege /b I siː dʒ/ (besieges , besieging , besieged )

1 VERB [usu passive] If you are besieged by people, many people want something from you and continually bother you. □ [be V -ed] She was besieged by the press and the public.

2 VERB If soldiers besiege a place, they surround it and wait for the people in it to stop fighting or resisting. □ [V n] The main part of the army moved to Sevastopol to besiege the town. □ [V -ed] The air force was using helicopters to supply the besieged town.

be|smirch /b I smɜː ^r tʃ/ (besmirches , besmirching , besmirched ) VERB If you besmirch someone or their reputation, you say that they are a bad person or that they have done something wrong, usually when this is not true. [LITERARY ] □ [V n] People were trying to besmirch his reputation.

be|sot|ted /b I sɒ t I d/ ADJ [usu v-link ADJ ] If you are besotted with someone or something, you like them so much that you seem foolish or silly. □ [+ with ] He became so besotted with her that even his children were forgotten.

be|speak /b I spiː k/ (bespeaks , bespeaking , bespoke , bespoken ) VERB If someone's action or behaviour bespeaks a particular quality, feeling, or experience, it shows that quality, feeling, or experience. [LITERARY , OLD-FASHIONED ]

be|spec|ta|cled /b I spe ktək ^ə ld/ ADJ [usu ADJ n] Someone who is bespectacled is wearing glasses. [WRITTEN ] □  Mr Merrick was a slim, quiet, bespectacled man.

be|spoke /b I spoʊ k/

1 ADJ [ADJ n] A bespoke craftsman such as a tailor makes and sells things that are specially made for the customer who ordered them. [BRIT , FORMAL ] □  …suits made by a bespoke tailor.

2 ADJ [ADJ n] Bespoke things such as clothes have been specially made for the customer who ordered them. [BRIT , FORMAL ] □  …bespoke coats.

best ◆◆◆ /be st/

1Best is the superlative of well . □  What's the best thing to do when I get a cold sore? □  It's not the best place to live if you wish to develop your knowledge and love of mountains.

2Best is the superlative of good . □  He was best known as a writer on mystical subjects.

3 N‑SING The best is used to refer to things of the highest quality or standard. □  We offer only the best to our clients. □  He'll have the best of care.

4 N‑SING [oft poss N ] Someone's best is the greatest effort or highest achievement or standard that they are capable of. □  Miss Blockey was at her best when she played the piano. □  One needs to be a first-class driver to get the best out of that sort of machinery.

5 N‑SING If you say that something is the best that can be done or hoped for, you think it is the most pleasant, successful, or useful thing that can be done or hoped for. □  A draw seems the best they can hope for. □  The best we can do is try to stay cool and muddle through.