Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English - cheer

~1 n 1 a shout of happiness, praise, approval, or encouragement  (a cheer rises/goes up)  (A deafening cheer rose from the crowd as the band walked onto the stage. | give a cheer)  (Everyone gave a cheer when Gilmore crawled out of the wreck, unhurt.) 2 three cheers for sb! used to tell a group of people to shout three times as a way of showing support, happiness, thanks etc  (Three cheers for the birthday girl!) 3 formal or literary a feeling of happiness and confidence  (Christmas cheer)  (- see also cheers) 4 a special chant (=kind of poem) that the crowds at a US sports game shout in order to encourage their team to win ~2 v 1 to shout as a way of showing happiness, praise, approval, or support of someone or something  (Everybody cheered when the firemen arrived. | cheer sb)  (It says here that thousands packed the city centre to cheer her.) 2 T usually passive to make someone feel more hopeful when they are worried  (cheering news | Kerrie was visibly cheered when we finally saw a light in the distance.) cheer up phr v 1 to become less sad, or to make someone feel less sad  (He'll cheer up if you get him a beer. | cheer sb up)  (I'm taking Angie out to cheer her up.) 2 cheer up! spoken used to tell someone not to be so sad  ("Cheer up, Mandy!" "Oh, I'm all right, really.") 3 cheering up the act of trying to make someone feel less sad  (need/want cheering up)  (Craig needs cheering up. What should we do? | All I want is a little cheering up.) cheer sb/sth on phr v to shout encouragement at a person or team to help them do well in a race or competition  (They were behind by two touchdowns and she was still cheering them on!)