Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English - spell

~1 v past tense and past participle spelt, especially BrE spelled especially AmE 1 to form a word by writing or naming the letters in the correct order  ("How do you spell your name?" "S-M-Y-T-H." | can spell (=be good at spelling words correctly))  (I used to fail exams because I couldn't spell. | spell sth wrong/wrongly)  (You've spelled my name wrong.) 2 T not in passive if letters spell a word, they form it  (B-O-O-K spells `book'.) 3 spell trouble/disaster/danger etc if a situation or action spells trouble etc, it makes you expect trouble etc  (Such a scandal could spell disaster for the government.) 4 AmE & AustrE to do someone else's work for them for a short period so that they can rest  (Can I spell you at the wheel?) spell sth out phr v 1 to show how a word is spelled by writing or saying the letters separately in the right order  ("Could you spell that out for me?" " F-A-H-E-R-T-Y") 2 to explain something clearly and in detail  (spell out how/what etc)  (Will the Minister spell out exactly how he intends to finance these tax cuts?) 3 to write a word in its complete form instead of using an abbreviation  (If you are using initials for the title of a group, be sure to spell them out at least once in your article.) ~2 n 1 a piece of magic that someone does or the special words or ceremonies used in doing it  (put a spell on/cast a spell over (=do a piece of magic to change something))  (The wizard had put a spell on the city to send all its people to sleep. | break the spell (=stop the spell from working) | under a spell)  (The frog was really a handsome young prince under a spell.) 2 a period of a particular kind of activity, weather etc, usually a short period  (After a brief spell in the army I returned to teaching.) + of  (a spell of bad luck) a cold/wet/dry spell  (Do you remember that foggy spell we had in April?) 3 a power that attracts and influences you so strongly that it completely controls your feelings  (be/fall under sb's spell)  (Maya fell under his spell within minutes of meeting him.) 4 a very short period of feeling ill  (a dizzy spell)