Learning English Vocabulary| Learner's Dictionary| 05

Word of today:
1) Contagious /kənˈteɪʤəs/ adjective

1. : able to be passed from one person or animal to another by touching
• a contagious disease
• It's a highly contagious virus.
2. : having a sickness that can be passed to someone else by touching
• I have a cold and I'm still contagious.
• I'm sick, but the doctor says I'm not contagious.
3. : capable of being easily spread to others : causing other people to feel or act a similar way
• She has a contagious smile. [=her smile makes other people smile; her smile makes other people happy]
• contagious enthusiasm/laughter
— contagiously adverb
— contagiousness noun, [noncount]

2) Spiral /ˈspaɪrəl/ noun
[count]
1. : a circular curving line that goes around a central point while getting closer to or farther away from it
• The glider flew in a wide spiral over the field.
2. : a situation in which something continuously increases, decreases, or gets worse — usually singular
• an inflationary spiral [=a continuous increase in prices]
• a spiral of problems
• Gas prices continued their dizzying upward spiral. [=gas prices got higher]
• His drug use drove him into a downward spiral. [=his condition became worse and worse]

3) Parade /pəˈreɪd/ noun
[count]
1. : a public celebration of a special day or event that usually includes many people and groups moving down a street by marching or riding in cars or on special vehicles (called floats)
• the annual Thanksgiving Day parade
• After the team won the championship, the city threw/had a parade for them.
• The town will put on a parade.
2. : a military ceremony in which soldiers march or stand in lines so that they can be examined by officers or other important people
3. : a long series of people or things that come one after the other — usually singular — usually + of
• We had a parade of visitors this morning. [=we had many visitors this morning]
• The prosecution called a parade of witnesses to the stand.
• We watched a parade of cars go by our house on the way to the stadium for the game.

4) Impractical /ɪmˈpræktɪkəl/ adjective
: not practical: such as
1. : not easy to do or use : not suitable for the situation
• Little sports cars are impractical for large families.
• an attractive but completely impractical pair of shoes [=shoes that look nice but are not comfortable for walking]
• an impractical plan/solution
2. of a person : not sensible : not able to deal with practical matters effectively
• He was a dreamy and impractical young man.
— impracticality /ɪmˌpræktɪˈkæləti/ noun, plural impracticalities
[count]
• They adopted the plan despite all its impracticalities.
• [noncount]
• the impracticality of the plan
— impractically /ɪmˈpræktɪkli/ adverb
• an impractically large book

5) Place setting /ˈpleɪs ˈsɛtɪŋ/ noun
[count]
: a set of dishes, knives, forks, etc., that are put on a table for one person
• Please lay another place setting for our guest.

6) Hang out /ˈhæŋ ˈaʊt/ phrasal verb
1. informal : to be or stay somewhere for a period of time without doing much
• The gang hangs out at the corner store.
• Our dog spends all his time hanging out [=hanging around ] on the front porch.
2. hang out with (someone) informal : to spend time relaxing, talking, or doing something with (someone) : to hang around with (someone)
• He spent a couple of days hanging out with his old friends.