O

(62 words)

obligatory

adjective

expected because it usually happens:

obscene

adjective

offensive, rude, or shocking, usually because of being too obviously related to sex or showing sex:

In the raid, police found several boxes of obscene DVDs.
obscene language/graffiti
Somebody’s been posting obscene messages in this chat room.

morally wrong, often describing something that is wrong because it is too large:

to make obscene profits
The salaries some bankers earn are obscene.
He eats obscene amounts of food.

observant

adjective

approving good or quick at noticing things:

observe

verb [ T ]

formal to obey a law, rule, or custom:

observer

noun [ C ]

a person who watches what happens but has no active part in it:

obsessive

adjective

thinking about something or someone, or doing something, too much or all the time:

occupation

noun

[ U ] a situation in which an army or group of people moves into and takes control of a place:

odd

adjective

[ before noun ] not happening often:

against (all) the odds/against all odds

If you do or achieve something against (all) the odds/against all odds, you do or achieve it although there were a lot of problems and you were not likely to succeed:

odds and ends; odds and sods

informal

various things of different types, usually small and not important, or of little value:

odour/odor

noun [ C or U ]

a smell, often one that is unpleasant:

off-limits

adjective [ after verb ]

If an area of land is off-limits, you are not allowed to enter it.

off the beaten track; off the beaten path

in a place where few people go, far from any main roads and towns:

off

adjective

[ after verb ] (of an arranged event) stopped or given up:

make an offer / put in an offer

to say officially that you would like to buy something, especially a house, at a particular price:

official

adjective

relating to a position of responsibility:

If a piece of information is official, it has been announced publicly with authority:

noun [ C ]

a person who has a position of responsibility in an organization:

off-putting

adjective [ after verb ]

slightly unpleasant or worrying so that you do not want to get involved in any way:

offset

verb [ T ]

to balance one influence against an opposing influence, so that there is no great difference as a result:

offspring

noun [ C ]

the young of an animal:

humorous or formal a person’s children:

on

preposition

[ before pronoun ] used to show when someone has something in a pocket or in a bag that they are carrying:

adverb

performing:

ongoing

adjective

continuing to exist or develop, or happening at the present moment:

only so much/many

used to say that there are limits to something:

onwards

adverb

If you move onwards, you continue to go forwards:

from 6 o’clock, March, the 1870s, etc. onwards

beginning at a particular time and continuing after it:

open

adjective

not secret:

honest and not trying to keep things secret:

open up

to start to talk more about yourself and your feelings:

opening

noun

[ C ] a hole or space that something or someone can pass through:

optimism

noun [ U ]

the quality of being full of hope and emphasizing the good parts of a situation, or a belief that something good will happen:

There was a note of optimism in his voice as he spoke about the company’s future.
They had cause/grounds/reason for cautious optimism about an improvement in her medical condition.

ordeal

noun [ C ]

a very unpleasant and painful or difficult experience:

order

noun

CORRECT BEHAVIOUR

[ U ] a situation in which rules are obeyed and people do what they are expected to do:

SYSTEM

[ C ] a social or political system:

[ C ] a musical instrument with a keyboard in which sound is produced by air being forced through pipes of different sizes and lengths when you press the keys with your hands or feet, or in which sound is produced electronically:

orientation

noun [ U ]

PREFERENCES

the particular things that a person prefers, believes, thinks, or usually does:

TRAINING

training or preparation for a new job or activity:

ornament

noun

[ C ] an object that is beautiful rather than useful:

orphan

noun [ C ]

a child whose parents are dead:

orthodox

adjective

(of beliefs, ideas, or activities) considered traditional, normal, and acceptable by most people:

(of religious people) having more traditional beliefs than other people in the same religious group:

out

adverb, preposition

a long distance away from land, a town, or your own country:

outbreak

noun [ C ]

a time when something suddenly begins, especially a disease or something else dangerous or unpleasant:

outgoing

adjective

leaving a place, or leaving a job:

outgoings

noun [ plural ]

amounts of money that regularly have to be spent, for example to pay for heating or rent

outlet

noun [ C ]

WAY OUT

a way in which emotion or energy can be expressed or made use of:

SHOP

a shop that is one of many owned by a particular company and that sells the goods that the company has produced:

outline

noun [ C ]

the main shape or edge of something, without any details:

outlook

noun

[ C usually singular ] a person’s way of understanding and thinking about something:

output

noun [ U ]

an amount of something produced by a person, machine, factory, country, etc.:

outrage

noun

[ C ] a shocking, morally unacceptable, and usually violent action:

at/from the outset

noun [ S ]

the beginning:

over

preposition

CONNECTED WITH

(referring to a cause of interest, worry, discussion, etc.) connected with or about:

CONTROL

in control of or teaching someone or something:

over and down with

completely finished:

get sth over with

to do or finish an unpleasant but necessary piece of work or duty so that you do not have to worry about it in the future:

overboard

adverb

over the side of a boat or ship and into the water:

go overboard

informal

to do something too much, or to be too excited or eager about something:

overflow

TOO FULL

verb

TOO FULL

[ I or T ] When a liquid overflows, it flows over the edges of a container, etc.

[ I ] When a place overflows, or people or things overflow from somewhere, some people or things have to come out because it cannot contain them all:

EMOTIONS

[ I ] If you overflow with thoughts or feelings, you express them strongly:

overhear

verb [ I or T ]

to hear what other people are saying without intending to and without their knowledge:

overlap

verb

[ I ] If two or more activities, subjects, or periods of time overlap, they have some parts that are the same:

[ I or T ] If a football player overlaps, they pass the ball to another member of their team and then run beyond that player so that they are ready to receive the ball again.