pɑ:t n.,
v., & adv. --n. 1
some but
not all of a
thing or
number of things. 2 an
essential member or
constituent of
anything (part of
the family; a
large part of the job). 3 a
component of a
machine etc. (spare parts;
needs a
new part). 4 a a
portion of a
human or
animal body. b (in pl.) =
private parts. 5 a
division of a
book,
broadcast serial,
etc.,
esp. as
much as is issued or broadcast at
one time. 6
each of
several equal portions of a
whole (the
recipe has 3 parts
sugar to 2 parts flour). 7 a a portion allotted; a share. b a person's share in an
action or
enterprise (will
have no part in it). c one's
duty (was not my part to interfere). 8 a a
character assigned to an
actor on
stage. b the words
spoken by an actor on stage. c a
copy of
these. 9 Mus. a
melody or
other constituent of
harmony assigned to a
particular voice or
instrument. 10 each of the sides in an
agreement or
dispute. 11 (in pl.) a
region or
district (am not
from these parts). 12 (in pl.) abilities (a
man of
many parts). 13 US =
PARTING 2. --v. 1 tr. & intr.
divide or
separate into parts (the
crowd parted to let
them through). 2 intr. a leave one another's
company (they parted the
best of friends). b (foll. by from)
say goodbye to. 3 tr.
cause to separate (they
fought hard and had to be parted). 4 intr. (foll. by with)
give up
possession of;
hand over. 5 tr. separate (the
hair of the
head on
either side of the parting)
with a
comb. --adv. to some
extent;
partly (is part
iron and part
wood; a lie
that is part truth). øfor the
most part see MOST.
for one's part as
far as one is
concerned. in part (or parts) to some extent; partly.
look the part
appear suitable for a
role. on the part of on the
behalf or
initiative of (no
objection on my part). part and
parcel (usu. foll. by of) an essential part. part company see COMPANY. part-exchange n. a
transaction in
which goods are
given as part of the
payment for other goods, with the
balance in
money. --v.tr. give (goods) in
such a transaction. part of
speech n. each of the categories to which words are assigned in
accordance with
their grammatical and
semantic functions (in
English esp.
noun,
pronoun,
adjective,
adverb,
verb,
preposition,
conjunction, and interjection). part-song a
song with
three or
more voice-parts,
often without accompaniment, and
harmonic rather than contrapuntal in character. part time
less than the full time required by an
activity. part-time adj. occupying or using
only part of one's
working time. part-timer a
person employed in part-time
work. part-work
Brit. a
publication appearing in several parts over a
period of time.
play a part 1 be
significant or
contributory. 2
act deceitfully. 3
perform a
theatrical role.
take in
good part see GOOD. take part (often foll. by in)
assist or have a share (in). take the part of
support;
back up. three parts three quarters. [ME f. OF f. L pars partis (n.), partire, partiri (v.)]