P

[ I or T, usually + adv/prep ] If a layer or covering peels, it slowly comes off, and if you peel a layer or covering, you remove it slowly and carefully:

peep

verb

[ I usually + adv/prep ] to secretly look at something for a short time, usually through a hole:

peer

verb [ I usually + adv/prep ]

to look carefully or with difficulty:

perceive

verb [ T ]

to see something or someone, or to notice something that is obvious:

perception

noun

[ C ] a belief or opinion, often held by many people and based on how things seem:

perceptive

adjective

very good at noticing and understanding things that many people do not notice:

perfect

adjective

used to emphasize a noun:

verb [ T ]

to make something free from faults:

perseverance

noun [ U ] approving

continued effort and determination:

persist

verb [ I ]

If an unpleasant feeling or situation persists, it continues to exist:

to try to do or continue doing something in a determined but often unreasonable way:

persistence

noun [ U ]

the fact that someone or something persists:

persistent

adjective

Someone who is persistent continues doing something or tries to do something in a determined but often unreasonable way:

to compare something to other things so that it can be accurately and fairly judged:

put sth in(to) perspective

to compare something to other things so that it can be accurately and fairly judged:

persuasion

noun

[ U ] the action of persuading someone or of being persuaded:

petty

adjective disapproving

[ before noun ] not important and not worth giving attention to:

phenomenal

adjective

extremely successful or special, especially in a surprising way:

philosophical

adjective

relating to the study or writing of philosophy:

If you are philosophical in your reaction to something that is not satisfactory, you accept it calmly and without anger, understanding that failure and disappointment are a part of life.

physical

adjective

relating to things you can see or touch, or relating to the laws of nature:

pick up the pieces

to try to return to a satisfactory situation:

get the picture

to understand:

go/fall to pieces

If someone goes/falls to pieces, that person becomes unable to think clearly and control their emotions because of something unpleasant or difficult that they have experienced:

pick up the pieces

to try to return to a satisfactory situation:

bits and pieces

informal uk also bits and bobs small things or jobs of different types

pinpoint

verb [ T ]

to find out or say the exact position in space or time of something:

to discover or describe the exact facts about something:

pioneer

noun [ C ]

a person who is one of the first people to do something:

pit

noun [ C ]

a large hole in the ground, or a slightly low area in any surface:

pitch-dark/pitch-black

adjective

extremely dark:

pitiful

adjective

used to say that you consider something to be very bad or not satisfactory or not enough:

pity

verb [ T ]

to feel sadness or sympathy for someone’s unhappiness or bad situation:

in place

If something is in place, it is in its usual or correct position:

organized:

out of place

in the wrong place or looking wrong:

fall into place

When events or details that you did not understand before fall into place, they become easy to understand:

place emphasis, importance, etc. on sth

to give something emphasis, importance, etc.:

plague

verb [ T ]

to cause worry, pain, or difficulty to someone or something over a period of time:

noun [ C or U ]

also the plague, the Plague

bubonic plague , or any serious disease that kills many people:

plain

adjective

CLEAR

obvious and clear to understand:

NOT BEAUTIFUL

(especially of a woman or girl) not beautiful:

plant

verb

[ T usually + adv/prep ] to cause an idea or story to exist:

platform

noun

[ C usually singular ] an opportunity to make your ideas or beliefs known publicly:

plausible

adjective

seeming likely to be true, or able to be believed:

play (sth) by ear

to play a piece of music by remembering the notes:

play it by ear

to decide how to deal with a situation as it develops, rather than acting according to plans made earlier:

play with fire

to act in a way that is very dangerous and to take risks

play games

to try to deceive someone:

fair play

noun [ U ]

uk fair and honest treatment of people:

plea

noun [ C ]

formal an urgent and emotional request:

plead

verb

REQUEST

[ I ] to make an urgent, emotional statement or request for something:

STATE

[ I, L only + adj, T ] specialized law to make a statement of what you believe to be true, especially in support of something or someone or when someone has been accused in a law court:

EXCUSE

[ T ] to say something as an excuse or explanation:

please

verb

[ I ] to want, like, or choose, when used with words such as “whatever”, “whoever”, and “anywhere”:

plethora

noun [ S ] formal

a very large amount of something, especially a larger amount than you need, want, or can deal with:

plight

noun [ S ]

an unpleasant condition, especially a serious, sad, or difficult one:

plot

noun [ C ]

a small piece of land that has been marked or measured for a particular purpose:

plump

adjective

having a pleasantly soft, rounded body or shape:

polite word for fat:

plunge

verb

[ I or T, usually + adv/prep ] to (cause someone or something to) move or fall suddenly and often a long way forward, down, or into something:

plunge in/plunge into sth

to suddenly start doing something actively or enthusiastically:

take the plunge

to make a decision to do something, especially after thinking about it for a long time:

pocket

informal the amount of money that someone has for spending:

poetic/poetical

adjective

like or relating to poetry or poets:

point

noun

[ C ] a mark on a compass that shows direction, such as north, south, east, and west

to the point

expressing something very important or suitable for the subject being discussed:

sore point

noun [ C usually singular ]

a subject that someone prefers not to talk about because it makes them angry or embarrassed:

pole

noun [ C ]

a long, thin stick of wood or metal, often used standing straight up in the ground to support things:

poles apart

completely opposite:

ponder

verb [ I or T ] formal

to think carefully about something, especially for a noticeable length of time:

pop

verb

[ I or T ] to (cause something to) make a short explosive sound, often by breaking something:

portray

verb [ T ]

to represent or describe someone or something in a painting, film, book, or other artistic work:

pose as sb

If you pose as a particular person, you pretend to be that person in order to deceive people:

posh

adjective

uk informal (of people and their voices) from a high social class:

positive

adjective

(of a medical test) showing that a person has the disease or condition for which they are being tested:

possession

noun

[ U ] the fact that you have or own something:

possessive

be in bad, poor, the worst possible, etc. taste

post

verb

[ T ] to send someone to a particular place to work:

practical

adjective

approving able to provide effective solutions to problems:

practice

noun

[ C or U ] something that is usually or regularly done, often as a habit, tradition, or custom:

practitioner

noun [ C ] formal

someone involved in a skilled job or activity:

pragmatic

adjective

solving problems in a sensible way that suits the conditions that really exist now, rather than obeying fixed theories, ideas, or rules:

precede

verb [ T ]

to be or go before something or someone in time or space:

precedent

noun

[ C ] an action, situation, or decision that has already happened and can be used as a reason why a similar action or decision should be performed or made:

predecessor

noun [ C ]

someone who had a job or a position before someone else, or something that comes before another thing in time or in a series:

predominant

adjective

more noticeable or important, or larger in number, than others:

predominantly

adverb

mostly or mainly:

be at a premium

to be not common and therefore valuable:

premium

noun

[ C ] an amount of money paid to get insurance:

adjective

used to refer to something that is of higher than usual quality:

prescribe

verb

[ T often passive ] (of a doctor) to say what medical treatment someone should have:

presence

noun

[ C usually singular ] a feeling that someone is still in a place although they are not there or are dead:

[ S ] a group of police or soldiers who are watching or controlling a situation:

[ U ] approving a quality that makes people notice or admire you, even when you are not speaking:

make your presence felt

to have a strong effect on other people or on a situation:

presence of mind

approving

the ability to make good decisions and to act quickly and calmly in a difficult situation or an emergency:

present itself

If something presents itself, it happens:

presentation

noun

[ U ] the way something looks when it is shown to other people, or the way someone looks:

press

verb

[ T ] to try hard to persuade someone to do something:

press charges

to complain officially about someone in a law court:

press on/ahead

to start or continue doing something in a determined way, often despite problems:

pressure

noun

[ U ] the force you produce when you press something:

prevail

verb [ I ] formal

to get control or influence:

preventive/preventative

adjective [ before noun ]

intended to stop something before it happens:

prey

noun [ U ]

an animal that is hunted and killed for food by another animal:

at any price

If you want something at any price, you are willing to do anything in order to get it:

pay the price

to experience the bad result of something you have done:

swallow your pride

to decide to do something although it will make you feel embarrassed or ashamed:

prime

adjective [ before noun ]

main or most important:

principle

noun

[ C or U ] approving a moral rule or standard of good behaviour:

in principle

If you agree with or believe something in principle, you agree with the idea in general, although you might not support it in reality or in every situation:

print

noun

[ U ] letters, numbers, or symbols that have been produced on paper by a machine using ink:

in/out of print

If a book is in print, it is possible to buy a new copy of it, and if it is out of print, it is not now possible:

hold/keep/take sb prisoner

to catch and guard someone so that they cannot escape:

in all probability

used to mean that something is very likely:

proceed to do sth

to do something after you have done something else:

proceedings

specialized law legal action:

in the process

If you are doing something, and you do something else in the process, the second thing happens as a result of doing the first thing:

be in the process of doing sth

to have started doing something:

procession

noun

[ C ] a line of people who are all walking or travelling in the same direction, especially in a formal way as part of a religious ceremony or public celebration:

produce

noun [ U ]

food or any other substance or material that is grown or obtained through farming:

profound

adjective

EXTREME

felt or experienced very strongly or in an extreme way:

SHOWING UNDERSTANDING

showing a clear and deep understanding of serious matters:

profoundly

adverb

deeply or extremely:

progress

verb [ I ]

to continue gradually:

prominent

Something that is in a prominent position can easily be seen:

prompt sb to do sth

to make someone decide to say or do something:

-prone

suffix

likely to experience a particular problem more often than is usual:

be prone to sth/do sth

likely to suffer from an illness or show a particular negative characteristic:

propaganda

noun [ U ] mainly disapproving

information, ideas, opinions, or images, often only giving one part of an argument, that are broadcast, published, or in some other way spread with the intention of influencing people’s opinions:

proportion

noun

AMOUNT

[ S or U ] the number, amount, or level of one thing when compared to another:

SIZE

[ C or U ] the correct or most attractive relationship between the size of different parts of the same thing or between one thing and another:

prosecute

verb

[ I or T ] to officially accuse someone of committing a crime in a law court, or (of a lawyer) to try to prove that a person accused of committing a crime is guilty of that crime:

prosecution

noun

[ C or U ] the act of prosecuting someone:

the prosecution

the lawyers in a court case who represent the side that accuses someone of committing a crime:

prosecutor

noun [ C ]

a legal official who accuses someone of committing a crime, especially in a law court

prospect

noun

[ S ] the idea of something that will or might happen in the future:

protagonist

literature, theatre & film formal one of the main characters in a story or a play

prove yourself

to show that you are good at something:

proverb

noun [ C ]

a short sentence, etc., usually known by many people, stating something commonly experienced or giving advice:

provide for sth

to make plans in order to deal with a possible event in the future:

province

noun

[ C ] one of the areas that a country or empire is divided into as part of the organization of its government, which often has some control over its own laws :

provincial

adjective

in or from the parts of the country that are not the capital city:

provocation

noun [ C or U ]

an action or statement that is intended to make someone angry:

provoke

verb [ T ]

CAUSE REACTION

to cause a reaction, especially a negative one:

MAKE ANGRY

to make or try to make a person or an animal angry: