ˈghost town noun [ countable ]

a town that used to have a lot of people living and working

in it, but now has very few or none

dump 2 noun [ countable ]

1 WASTE a place where unwanted waste is taken and left
rubbish dump British English garbage dump American
English :
The fire probably started in a rubbish dump.
Put the rest into a sack to take to the dump .
an underground nuclear waste dump
a dump site
2 WEAPONS a place where military supplies are stored, or
the supplies themselves :
There has been a series of explosions in an ammunition dump.
3 UNPLEASANT PLACE informal a place that is unpleasant to
live in because it is dirty, ugly, untidy etc :
‘ What a dump ,’ she added as they entered the village.
Why are you living in a dump like this?
4 down in the dumps informal very sad and without much
interest in life :
She’s feeling a bit down in the dumps.
5 COMPUTER technical the act of copying the information
stored in a computer’s memory onto something else, such as a
DISK :
a screen dump
6 take a dump informal not polite to pass solid waste from
the BOWEL s

preppy / ˈprepi / adjective American English informal

preppy clothes or styles are very neat, in a way that is
typical of students who go to expensive private schools in the
US
 set‧tle‧ment W2 / ˈsetlmənt / noun
1 OFFICIAL AGREEMENT [ countable ] an official agreement or
decision that ends an argument, a court case, or a fight, or the
action of making an agreement :
Union leaders and company bosses will meet tomorrow in an
attempt to reach a settlement .
His lawyers are understood to be negotiating a settlement .
Hopes grew that a workable peace settlement might emerge.
settlement of
the search for a peaceful settlement of the Northern Ireland
conflict
She got her home as part of the divorce settlement .
The company paid out over $10 million in an out-of-court
settlement .
2 PAYMENT [ uncountable ] formal when you pay all the
money that you owe
settlement of
the settlement of all his debts
in settlement (of something)
Wyatt had received the property in settlement of a bet.
3 GROUP OF HOUSES [ countable ] a group of houses and
buildings where people live, especially in a place where few
people have lived before :
The railway stations created new settlements.
an early Iron Age settlement
4 NEW AREA/PLACES [ uncountable ] when a lot of people
move to a place in order to live there, especially in a place
where not many people have lived before
settlement of
the settlement of the American West
5 SINKING [ uncountable ] technical the process in which a
building or the ground slowly sinks downwards SYN
subsidence
COLLOCATIONS
VERBS
 reach a settlement The companies reached a settlement in
March.
achieve a settlement (= after a lot of discussions ) The
government was determined to achieve a settlement in
Northern Ireland.
negotiate a settlement (= have discussions to try to reach a
settlement ) His lawyers are understood to be negotiating a
settlement.
ADJECTIVES/NOUN + SETTLEMENT
an amicable settlement (= when people agree in a friendly
way ) Disputes were often taken to a village council, which
attempted to bring about an amicable settlement.
a peaceful settlement (= without fighting ) Both sides are
working towards a peaceful settlement.
a political settlement (= one that is reached by political
discussion, not fighting ) The British government favours a
political settlement in the Middle East.
a peace settlement (= one which ends a war ) Hopes of a
peace settlement receded.
a divorce settlement (= an agreement about money and
property at the end of a marriage ) She acquired full ownership
of the building in her 1986 divorce settlement.
an out-of-court settlement (= an agreement made to avoid
a court case ) The army denied liability but agreed on an out-
of-court settlement.
PHRASES
the terms of a settlement Under the terms of the
settlement, the company will pay an undisclosed sum as
compensation.

stake 1 W3 / steɪk / noun

1 at stake if something that you value very much is at
stake, you will lose it if a plan or action is not successful :
They have to win the contract – thousands of jobs are at stake.
National pride is at stake in next week’s game against England.
 2 COMPANY/BUSINESS [ countable ] if you have a stake in a
business, you have INVEST ed money in it
hold/have a stake in something
He holds a 51% stake in the firm.

3 have a stake in something if you have a stake in

something, you will get advantages if it is successful, and you
feel that you have an important connection with it :
Young people don’t feel they have a stake in the country’s
future.

4 MONEY RISKED [ countable ] money that you risk as the

result of a horse race, card game etc :

For a dollar stake, you can win up to $1,000,000.

5 high stakes
a) if the stakes are high when you are trying to do something,
you risk losing a lot or it will be dangerous if you fail :
Climbing is a dangerous sport and the stakes are high .

b) if the stakes are high when you are doing something such
as playing a card game, you risk losing a lot of money
:
We’re playing for high stakes here.
6 POINTED STICK [ countable ] a pointed piece of wood,
metal etc, especially one that is pushed into the ground to
support something or mark a particular place :
tent stakes
Drive two stakes into the ground about three feet apart.
7 the stake a post to which a person was tied in former
times before being killed by burning :
Suspected witches were burnt at the stake .
8 in the popularity/fashion etc stakes used when saying
how popular, fashionable etc someone or something is :
Ben wouldn’t score very highly in the popularity stakes.
 9 (be prepared to) go to the stake for/over something
British English to be willing to do anything to protect or defend
an idea or belief :
That’s my opinion, but I wouldn’t go to the stake for it.
10 pull up stakes ( also up stakes British English )
informal to leave your job or home :
We’re going to pull up stakes and move to Montana.

shit 3 verb ( past tense and past participle shit or shat / ʃæt / ,
present participle shitting ) spoken not polite
1 shit yourself British English shit (in) your pants
American English to feel very worried or frightened
2 [ intransitive ] to pass solid waste out of your body from
your BOWEL s
3 [ transitive ] American English to tell someone something
that is untrue :
Are you shitting me?
4 [ intransitive ] to treat someone very badly
shit on
This will teach you not to shit on me.