F

(150 words)

the fabric of sth

the structure or parts of something:

keep a straight face

to manage to stop yourself from smiling or laughing:

on the face of it

used when you are describing how a situation seems on the surface:

in the face of sth

despite having to deal with a difficult situation or problem:

fly in the face of sth

to completely oppose what seems sensible or normal:

let’s face it

something that you say before you say something that is unpleasant but true:

facial

adjective

of or on the face:

fail to see/understand

used when you do not accept something:

not have the faintest idea

informal

used to emphasize that you do not know something:

feel faint

to feel weak, as if you are about to become unconscious:

fair

adjective

QUITE LARGE

[ before noun ] quite large:

AVERAGE

[ after verb ] neither very good nor very bad:

Films are rated on a scale of poor, fair, good and excellent.
I was fair at science but it was never my thing.

fair play

noun [ U ]

uk fair and honest treatment of people:

faithful

adjective

If your husband, wife, or partner is faithful, he or she does not have a sexual relationship with anyone else:

fake

noun [ C ]

an object that is made to look real or valuable in order to deceive people:

someone who is not what or who they claim to be:

FEELING/ILLNESS

verb

[ I or T ] to pretend that you have a feeling or illness:

OBJECT

[ T ] to make an object look real or valuable in order to deceive people:

fall

BE DEFEATED

[ I ] to be beaten or defeated:

[ I ] If a place falls in a war or an election, an enemy army or a different political party gets control of it:

HAPPEN

[ I ] to come at a particular time or happen in a particular place:

HANG DOWN

[ I usually + adv/prep ] to hang down loosely:

fall on deaf ears

If a suggestion or warning falls on deaf ears, no one listens to it:

fall into place

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

fall back on sth

to use something, especially a form of financial support, when other things have failed:

famine

noun [ C or U ]

a situation in which there is not enough food for a great number of people, causing illness and death, or a particular period when this happens:

fanatic

noun [ C ]

informal a person who is extremely interested in something, to a degree that some people find unreasonable:

far from being/doing sth

used to describe something that is almost the opposite of something else:

go so far as to do sth

to be willing to do something that is extreme:

so far so good

used to say that an activity has gone well until now:

go too far

informal

to behave in a way that upsets or annoys people:

be far removed from sth

formal

to be very different from something:

far left/right

used to refer to political groups whose opinions are very extreme:

faraway

adjective [ before noun ]

literary a long way away:

If you have a faraway expression, you look as though you are not thinking about what is happening around you:

fast track

noun [ S ]

the quickest route to a successful position:

fast

adverb, adjective

firmly fixed:

life in the fast lane

a way of living that is full of excitement, activity, and often danger:

thick and fast

quickly and in large numbers:

faultless

adjective approving

perfect and without any mistakes:

favourable

adjective

giving you an advantage or more chance of success:

favourite

noun [ C ]

the person or animal most people expect to win a race or competition:

for fear that/of sth

because you are worried that a particular thing might happen:

fear the worst

to think something unpleasant might have happened:

fearful

adjective

formal frightened or worried about something:

fearless

adjective

having no fear:

feast on sth

literary

to eat a lot of good food and enjoy it very much:

feat

noun [ C ]

something difficult needing a lot of skill, strength, courage, etc. to achieve it:

be no mean feat

informal

to be a great achievement:

feature

noun

[ C ] a special article in a newspaper or magazine, or a part of a television or radio broadcast, that deals with a particular subject:

feeble

adjective

weak and without energy, strength, or power:

fend for yourself

to take care of and provide for yourself without depending on anyone else:

fertile

adjective

Fertile land can produce a large number of good quality crops.

fever

noun

a state of great excitement:

fictional

adjective

imaginary:

field

noun

[ S, + sing/pl verb ] mainly uk all the competitors taking part in a race or activity:

in single/double figures

between 1 and 9/between 10 and 99:

fill

verb

[ I or T ] to put a substance into an empty space:

film

noun

[ C ] a thin layer of something on a surface:

filter

EQUIPMENT

noun [ C ]

any of several types of equipment or devices for removing solids from liquids or gases, or for removing particular types of light:

APPEAR GRADUALLY

verb

[ I + adv/prep ] to appear or happen gradually or to a limited degree:

REMOVE

[ T ] to remove solids from liquids or gases, or to remove particular types of light, using special equipment:

fine

adjective

very thin or in very small pieces or drops:

cross your fingers/keep your fingers crossed

to hope that things will happen in the way that you want them to:

put your finger on sth

to discover the exact reason why a situation is the way it is, especially when something is wrong:

have/keep your finger on the pulse

to be/stay familiar with the most recent changes or improvements:

at your fingertips

If you have information at your fingertips, you can get it and use it very easily:

finite

adjective

having a limit or end:

fire

SHOOT

noun

[ U ] the shooting of guns or other weapons:

EXCITE

[ T ] to cause a strong emotion in someone:

come under fire

to be criticized:

set fire to sth/sb

to cause something or someone to start burning:

play with fire

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

fireplace

noun [ C ]

a space in the wall of a room for a fire to burn in, or the decorated part that surrounds this space:

firm

STRONG

adjective

strong and tight:

FORCEFUL

forceful and making people do what you want:

first

noun

[ S ] something that has never happened or been done before:

put sb/sth first

to treat someone or something as being more important than anyone or anything else:

fist

noun [ C ]

see/think fit

a hand with the fingers and thumb held tightly in:

flair

noun

[ U ] a situation in which something is done in an exciting and interesting way:

burst

verb

[ I ] to feel a strong emotion, or strong wish to do something:

burst into flames

to suddenly burn strongly, producing a lot of flames:

flash

verb

MOVE FAST

[ I usually + adv/prep ] to move very fast:

SHOW QUICKLY

[ T ] to show something for a short time:

in a flash/quick as a flash

informal

quickly or suddenly:

flashback

noun

[ C or U ] a short part of a film, story, or play that goes back to events in the past:

[ C usually plural ] a sudden, clear memory of a past event or time, usually one that was bad:

flat

adjective

If a drink is flat, it has stopped being fizzy (= with bubbles):

flatten

verb [ I or T ]

BECOME LEVEL

to become level or cause something to become level:

MAKE THINNER

to become level and thinner or to cause something to become level and thinner:

flavour

noun

[ S ] an idea or quick experience of something:

flawed

adjective

not perfect, or containing mistakes:

flawless

adjective

perfect or without mistakes:

flesh

noun

[ U ] the soft part of the body of a person or animal that is between the skin and the bones, or the soft inside part of a fruit or vegetable:

flexible

adjective

able to bend or to be bent easily without breaking:

flick through sth

to look quickly at the pages of a magazine, book, etc.

flight

noun

[ C ] a set of steps or stairs, usually between two floors of a building:

flood

noun

[ C ] a large amount or number of something:

flood sth with sth

If you are flooded with letters, phone calls, messages, etc., you receive so many that you cannot deal with them:

floppy

adjective

soft and not able to keep a firm shape or position:

flourish

verb

[ I ] to grow or develop successfully:

go with the flow

informal

to do what other people are doing or to agree with other people because it is the easiest thing to do:

fluctuate

verb [ I ]

to change, especially continuously and between one level or thing and another:

fluid

noun [ C or U ]

a substance that flows and is not solid:

adjective

smooth and continuous:

fly

verb

[ T ] to transport people or goods by aircraft:

fly in the face of sth

to completely oppose what seems sensible or normal:

follow

verb

to happen as a result, or to be a likely result:

follow suit

to do the same thing as someone else:

follow in sb’s footsteps

to do the same thing as someone else did previously:

follower

noun [ C ]

someone who supports, admires, or believes in a particular person, group, or idea:

put your foot down

to use your authority to stop something happening:

get off on the right/wrong foot

to make a successful/unsuccessful start in something

get/rise to your feet

to stand up after you have been sitting:

follow in sb’s footsteps

to do the same thing as someone else did previously:

be in for sth

to be going to experience something unpleasant very soon:

for all

despite:

force

INFLUENCE

noun

[ C or U ] (a person or thing with a lot of) influence and energy:

USE PHYSICAL POWER

verb [ T ]

to use physical strength or effort to make something move or open:

combine/join forces

to work with someone else in order to achieve something that you both want

a force to be reckoned with

If an organization or a person is described as a force to be reckoned with, it means that they are powerful and have a lot of influence:

in/into force

(of laws, rules, or systems) existing and being used:

forceful

adjective

expressing opinions strongly and demanding attention or action:

foreign to

formal

Something can be described as foreign to a particular person if they do not know about it or it is not within their experience:

foremost

adjective

most important or best; leading:

forgery

noun [ C or U ]

an illegal copy of a document, painting, etc. or the crime of making such illegal copies:

forgiveness

noun [ U ]

the act of forgiving or the willingness to forgive:

form

be on good, great, etc. form

uk us be in good, great, etc. form

to be feeling or performing well:

formation

noun

[ C ] the way something is naturally made or the way it has been arranged:

formidable

adjective

causing you to have fear or respect for something or someone because that thing or person is large, powerful, or difficult:

formulate

verb [ T ]

to develop all the details of a plan for doing something:

foul

noun [ C ]

an act that is against the rules of a sport:

found

verb

[ T + adv/prep ] to base a belief, claim, idea, etc. on something:

be without foundation

[ U ] also have no foundation

to be untrue:

These allegations are completely without foundation.

founder

noun [ C ]

someone who establishes an organization:

fraction

noun [ C ]

a number that results from dividing one whole number by another:

fragile

adjective

easily damaged, broken, or harmed:

fragrance

noun [ C or U ]

a sweet or pleasant smell:

fragrant

adjective

with a pleasant smell:

frail

adjective

weak or unhealthy, or easily damaged, broken, or harmed:

framework

noun

a system of rules, ideas, or beliefs that is used to plan or decide something:

frantic

adjective

almost out of control because of extreme emotion, such as worry:

done or arranged in a hurry and a state of excitement or confusion:

fraud

noun

CRIME

[ C or U ] the crime of getting money by deceiving people:

FALSE

[ C ] someone who deceives people by saying that they are someone or something that they are not:

fraudulent

adjective

dishonest and illegal:

frenzy

noun [ C or U ]

(an example of) uncontrolled and excited behaviour or emotion that is sometimes violent:

fresh

adjective

SKIN

(of a face) natural, healthy, and young looking:

NOT SALTY

[ before noun ] (of water) not salty:

fringe

noun [ C ]

the outer or less important part of an area, group, or activity:

from top to bottom

If you search, paint, etc. a building from top to bottom, you search, paint, etc. all parts of it:

frontier

noun [ C ]

[ C ] a border between two countries:

the frontiers of sth

the limits of what is known or what has been done before in an area of knowledge or an activity:

frown

verb [ I ]

to bring your eyebrows together so that there are lines on your face above your eyes to show that you are annoyed or worried:

STH YOU DO

noun [ U ]

the fact of doing something that is necessary or something that someone has wanted or promised to do:

FEELING

a feeling of pleasure because you are getting what you want from life:

more important than anything else: