Blotting - English meaning

verb

Take in or soak up (energy or a liquid or other substance) by chemical or physical action.

Usage examples:

Buildings can be designed to absorb and retain heat

verb

To take in a liquid, gas, or chemical

Usage examples:

The black clay soil around here doesn’t absorb water very well., fig. the country has absorbed mill…

verb

If an organization absorbs the cost of something, it pays that cost

Usage examples:

The law school has absorbed most of the expenses so far, but it may have to offer fewer places next…

abbreviation

Barn(s).

noun

The second letter of the alphabet.

Usage examples:

My grade on that first paper was a b

noun

A unit of area, 10−28 square metres, used especially in particle physics.

verb

Smear or cover with a greasy or sticky substance.

Usage examples:

A shirt hideously besmeared with the blood of the victim

verb

Damage (someone's reputation).

Usage examples:

He had besmirched the good name of his family

verb

Splash drops of a liquid substance all over (an object).

Usage examples:

His elegant shoes and trousers were bespattered with mud

verb

Make or become black or dark, especially as a result of burning, decay, or bruising.

Usage examples:

Stone blackened by the soot of ages

verb

To make something black

Usage examples:

For miles around, trees were blackened by the fire.

noun

A large irregular patch or unsightly mark on the skin or another surface.

Usage examples:

Red blotches on her face

verb

Cover with blotches.

Usage examples:

Her face was blotched and swollen with crying

noun

An unwanted mark on a surface that is different from the surrounding area

Usage examples:

There were red blotches on her face and neck.

verb

Make false and defamatory statements about.

Usage examples:

He has been calumniating the crown

verb

To make statements about someone that are not true and that are damaging to their reputation

Usage examples:

He has tried to calumniate and destroy everyone whose opinions differ from his.

verb

Decide or announce that (a planned event) will not take place.

Usage examples:

He was forced to cancel his visit

noun

A mark made on a postage stamp to show that it has been used.

Usage examples:

A stamp franked and with an adhesive cancel

verb

To decide that something arranged in advance will not happen, or to state that you do not wish to receive something

Usage examples:

[ i ] we were supposed to meet for dinner but elise had to cancel at the last minute., [ t ] he col…

phrasal verb

Remove from a list

phrasal verb

To draw a line through something you have written, usually because it is wrong

Usage examples:

If you think it's wrong, cross it out and write it again.

verb

Press against (something) lightly several times with a piece of absorbent material in order to clean or dry it or to apply a substance.

Usage examples:

He dabbed his mouth with his napkin

noun

A small amount of something.

Usage examples:

She licked a dab of chocolate from her finger

noun

A small, commercially important flatfish found chiefly in the north atlantic.

Usage examples:

Even though this rig is especially good for gurnards, it also proves superbly successful for dabs, …

verb

Remove or obliterate (written or printed matter), especially by drawing a line through it.

Usage examples:

The passage was deleted

noun

A command or key on a computer which erases text.

Usage examples:

You can use delete to remove a number of lines from your program

verb

To remove (part or all of) a written or electronic text

Usage examples:

[ t ] she accidentally deleted one of her computer files., [ t ] the editor deleted the last three …

noun

Loss of reputation or respect as the result of a dishonourable action.

Usage examples:

He left the army in disgrace

verb

Bring shame or discredit on.

Usage examples:

You have disgraced the family name

noun

Embarrassment and the loss of other people’s respect, or behavior that causes this

Usage examples:

He resigned in disgrace., he’s a disgrace to his family., the lies my opponent is telling about me …

noun

A state of shame or disgrace.

Usage examples:

They have brought dishonour upon our family

verb

Bring shame or disgrace on.

Usage examples:

The ceremony was undertaken if a pupil had done something to dishonour the school

verb

If a bank dishonours a cheque, it refuses to pay it because there is not enough money in the account of the person who has written the cheque

Usage examples:

The bank of australia reversed its decision to raise fees for dishonored checks., the government ha…

noun

A small round mark or spot.

Usage examples:

A symbol depicted in coloured dots

verb

Mark with a small spot or spots.

Usage examples:

Wet spots of rain began to dot his shirt

noun

A dowry from which only the interest or annual income was available to the husband.

verb

Erase (a mark) from a surface.

Usage examples:

With time, the words are effaced by the rain

verb

To remove something intentionally

Usage examples:

The whole country had tried to efface the memory of the old dictatorship.

verb

Completely remove or get rid of (something).

Usage examples:

A policy that would eliminate inflation

verb

To remove or take away something

Usage examples:

You can never totally eliminate the possibility of human error., arts programs face elimination in …

verb

To completely remove something that is not wanted or needed

Usage examples:

The problem we confront today is there is no one thing that can eliminate our dependency on petrole…

verb

Rub out or remove (writing or marks).

Usage examples:

Graffiti had been erased from the wall

verb

To destroy or remove something completely

Usage examples:

A subdirectory filled with precious data can be erased if you are not careful., i kept changing my …

verb

To cancel the effect of an increase or fall in something such as an amount of debt, the price of shares, etc.

Usage examples:

Erase a deficit/debt/loss to erase the budget deficit through cuts alone would mean extreme measure…

verb

Obliterate or remove completely (something unwanted or unpleasant).

Usage examples:

The kind of man that could expunge an unsatisfactory incident from his memory

verb

To rub off or remove information from a piece of writing

Usage examples:

His name has been expunged from the list of members., she has been unable to expunge the details of…

verb

Impair the quality or appearance of; spoil.

Usage examples:

Violence marred a number of new year celebrations

abbreviation

March.

verb

To spoil something, making it less good or less enjoyable

Usage examples:

Water will mar the finish of polished wood.

noun

A small area on a surface having a different colour from its surroundings, typically one caused by damage or dirt.

Usage examples:

The blow left a red mark down one side of her face

verb

Make a visible impression or stain on.

Usage examples:

He fingered the photograph gently, careful not to mark it

noun

(until the introduction of the euro in 2002) the basic monetary unit of germany, equal to 100 pfennig; a deutschmark.

Usage examples:

Germany spent billions of marks to save the french franc from speculators

phrasal verb

Wipe liquid away from a surface with something absorbent.

Usage examples:

A barmaid rushed forward to mop up the spilled beer

phrasal verb

Complete the military conquest of an area by capturing or killing remaining enemy troops.

Usage examples:

Troops mopped up the last pockets of resistance

phrasal verb

To finish the last part of a job after most of it has been completed

Usage examples:

The battle had been won, but two infantry units were left behind to mop up., twenty firefighters wi…

verb

Destroy utterly; wipe out.

Usage examples:

The memory was so painful that he obliterated it from his mind

verb

Touch quickly and gently with the flat of the hand.

Usage examples:

He patted him consolingly on the shoulder

noun

A quick, light touch with the hand.

Usage examples:

Giving him a friendly pat on the arm, she went off to join the others

adjective

Simple and somewhat glib or unconvincing.

Usage examples:

There are no pat answers to these questions

verb

Move or cause to move into a position of contact with something by exerting continuous physical force.

Usage examples:

He pressed his face to the glass

noun

A device for applying pressure to something in order to flatten or shape it or to extract juice or oil.

Usage examples:

A flower press

noun

A forcible enlistment of men, especially for the navy.

Usage examples:

Any english-speaking, able-bodied, man on leave in a port might find himself swept up in the press.

idiom

Remove by or as if by rubbing or erasing

phrasal verb

Erase pencil marks with a rubber.

Usage examples:

He rubbed out a couple of lines and carried on drawing

phrasal verb

(of a gangster or assassin) kill someone.

Usage examples:

You can bet he's been rubbed out for business reasons

verb

Coat or mark (something) messily or carelessly with a greasy or sticky substance.

Usage examples:

His face was smeared with dirt

noun

A mark or streak of a greasy or sticky substance.

Usage examples:

There was an oil smear on his jacket

verb

Smudge or soil by smudging

verb

Cause (something) to become messily smeared by rubbing it.

Usage examples:

She dabbed her eyes, careful not to smudge her make-up

noun

A blurred or smeared mark on the surface of something.

Usage examples:

A smudge of blood on the floor

noun

A smoky outdoor fire that is lit to keep off insects or protect plants against frost.

Usage examples:

Discussions of the merits of various smudges at keeping bugs at bay

noun

A small spot or patch of colour.

Usage examples:

It has white speckles on its forewing

verb

Mark with a large number of small spots or patches of colour.

Usage examples:

Gulls whirled round the masts, speckling the docks with guano

noun

A very small mark of a different colour from the area around it, usually found with a large number of other marks of the same type

Usage examples:

A blackbird's egg is blue with brown speckles on it., a few drops of blood speckled his face., blac…

noun

A small round or roundish mark, differing in colour or texture from the surface around it.

Usage examples:

Ladybirds have black spots on their red wing covers

verb

Short for spotlight.

verb

A point located with respect to surface features of some region

verb

Mark or discolour with something that is not easily removed.

Usage examples:

Her clothing was stained with blood

noun

A coloured patch or dirty mark that is difficult to remove.

Usage examples:

There were mud stains on my shoes

verb

To leave a mark on something that is difficult to remove, or to become colored or spoiled by a mark

Usage examples:

[ t ] strawberry juice stained my shirt., [ i ] this carpet is practical because it doesn’t stain e…

verb

Damage the purity or integrity of.

Usage examples:

They were outraged that anyone should sully their good name

verb

To spoil something that is pure or someone's perfect reputation

Usage examples:

His reputation, he said, had been unfairly sullied by half-truths and innuendos., no speck of dirt …

noun

A trace of a bad or undesirable substance or quality.

Usage examples:

The lingering taint of creosote

verb

Contaminate or pollute (something).

Usage examples:

The air was tainted by fumes from the cars

noun

The perineum.

verb

Lose or cause to lose lustre, especially as a result of exposure to air or moisture.

Usage examples:

Silver tarnishes too easily

noun

Dullness of colour; loss of brightness.

Usage examples:

Silver can be oxidized to give the effect of tarnish, and this coloration was popular in europe and…

verb

(of metal surfaces) to become less bright or a different color

Usage examples:

[ i ] silver tarnishes easily., [ t ] the scandal has tarnished the agency’s reputation.

verb

Speak badly of or tell lies about (someone) so as to damage their reputation.

Usage examples:

It was regarded as respectable political tactics to traduce him

verb

To strongly criticize someone, especially in a way that harms their reputation