just1 adverbjust2 adjective
justjust1 /dʒəst; strong dʒʌst/ ●●● S1 W1 adverb 
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- "Can I speak to Tony please?'' "Sorry, you've just missed him.''
- "Does everyone have to wear uniform?" "No, just the first year students."
- "Were there a lot of people there?" "No, just me and David."
- A new handbag! That's just what I wanted.
- At the moment we're just making enough money to cover our costs.
- Can you wait five minutes? I just have to iron this.
- Could I just use your phone for a minute?
- He's just a kid. Don't be so hard on him.
- He and his brother are just the same -- lazy.
- He said he was leaving her and proceeded to do just that!
- He started his own small shop - at first just selling newspapers, then books and magazines.
- His car hit a wall, but he escaped with just cuts and bruises.
- I'm not sure just who you mean.
- I just can't believe it.
- I just got off the phone with Mrs. Kravitz.
- I just heard the news! Congratulations!
- I just made it to class on time.
- I didn't mean to interfere - I was just trying to help.
- I think she just wanted someone to talk to.
- I suppose it's just something that I've learned to live with.
- I was just going to bed, he said.
- No doubt there are many, but I would like to single out just three.
- There would be nothing in the Rory Collins thing, she knew that, it was just a wild flirtation.
- Tree physiology and dendrochronology are just two of the possible applications for portable computer tomography.
THESAURUS
used when emphasizing that something is no more and no less than a number or amount, or is completely correct in every detail: · The bill came to exactly $1,000.· Police are still trying to find out exactly how the accident happened.
exactly – used when it is important to be sure that something is completely correct in every detail: · We need to know precisely how much this is going to cost.· Can you tell us precisely where he is?· What precisely do you mean by ‘relativity’?
especially spoken exactly – used especially when saying that things are exactly right, exactly the same, or exactly in a particular position: · The frame is just the right size for the picture.· He and his brother are just the same.· The hotel is just next to the station.· A new handbag! That’s just what I wanted.
exactly in a particular position or direction: · The ball hit me right in the eye!· There’s the house, right in front of you.· I got a mosquito bite right on the end of my nose.· He sat down right beside her.
exactly in a particular position or direction Directly is more formal than right: · Amy was sitting directly opposite me.
informal at exactly a particular time, and no earlier or later than that time: · She always leaves the office at 5.30 p.m. on the dot.
British English informal exactly – used especially in the following very informal expressions: · The train was bang on time.· The shot was bang on target.· Cockatoo Island is right bang in the middle of Sydney harbour.
not long ago, especially a few days, weeks, or months ago: · The president has recently returned from a tour of South America.· A new species of plant was recently discovered in Brazil.
especially spoken during the recent past, especially during the weeks or days closest to now: · I’ve been really busy lately so I haven’t been out much.· There hasn’t been much in the news lately.
especially spoken a very short time ago, especially only a few minutes, hours, days, or weeks ago: · John’s just gone out.· They’ve just had a new baby.
especially spoken not long ago – often used when you are not sure exactly when: · That house was sold a short while ago.· I looked in on her a little while ago and she was fast asleep.
spoken recently, especially only a few days ago: · I met Lucy in town the other day.· You’ll never guess what happened to me the other day.
made, prepared, done etc not long ago – used especially about food and drink. Also used about things that have just been painted, washed, or dug: · freshly baked bread· freshly squeezed orange juice· The boat had been freshly painted.
created, built, married etc not long ago: · the newly created position of Chief Designer· a newly married couple· their newly elected president
Longman Language Activatorwhen something happened a short time ago · Sorry, she just left for home. Can I take a message?· The war had just ended, and the country's economy was in ruins.· You've had your hair cut, haven't you? I've just noticed.· I just heard the news! Congratulations!
especially British a very short time ago: · It's noon, and she's only just got up.· I've only just passed my driving test, so I'm still a little nervous.
also a moment ago especially British spoken a very short time ago - use this especially when a situation has changed: · She was here a minute ago.· There was a phone call for you a second ago, but I didn't know where you were.· What did I do with my glasses? I had them in my hand a moment ago.
also just this minute British spoken a very short time ago - use this especially when you are answering someone who is looking for someone else: · "Have you seen Carl?'' "I just this minute hung up on him.''· She just now left, so she should be home by six.· Didn't I just this minute tell you to tidy your room!· Sandy was on the Internet just now, that's why the phone was busy.
also hardly/scarcely British spoken use this to say that something had just happened when something else happened: · I had scarcely opened the door when the dog came running in.· She had barely slept 10 minutes before she was woken up again.· The class had barely started when the fire bell rang.· Hardly had King finished speaking when a shot was fired by someone in the crowd.
when someone has become a particular age a short time ago if someone has just turned a particular age, they have very recently had their birthday: · She just turned five in August.· When he retired, he'd just turned 65.
if someone, usually a young person, is barely a particular age, they have only very recently had their birthday: · He's 35, and he's going out with a girl who's barely 18.
when something happens, although it almost did not happen · "Can I speak to Tony please?" "Sorry, you've just missed him."· If you hurry you'll just catch the 9.30 bus.· I just made it to class on time.· At the moment we're just making enough money to cover our costs.just in time (=with very little time to spare) · We got to the station just in time.
if you barely do something, you succeed, although you almost fail: · The fog was so bad that we could barely see the road in front of us.· The staff here are barely coping with all the work.
also nearly didn't British · I saw him a week ago and I almost didn't recognize him, he'd lost so much weight.· My alarm clock is broken and I nearly didn't wake up in time this morning.
British /just barely American use this when you succeed in doing something, but you want to emphasize how close you were to failing: · It was a close game. Beverly beat me, but only just.· I could just barely hear him.· The paperwork was only just completed in time for the conference.· The train was late, and I just barely made it to the meeting on time.
: narrowly win/defeat/fail etc if you narrowly win, lose etc, you win or lose by a very small number of points, votes etc: · The bill was narrowly defeated in the Senate.· She narrowly failed to beat the world record in the 100 metres sprint.
British use this to say that something good happened, but it almost did not: · The Labour party won the election, but it was a very near thing.· He nearly died - it was a very close thing.
if you do something by the skin of your teeth , you succeed in doing it, but only by a very small amount of time, space etc: · The business is surviving, but only by the skin of its teeth.· The car broke down on the way to the airport and they just caught the plane by the skin of their teeth.
when something bad almost happened, but did not: narrowly avoid/miss/escape etc to avoid something unpleasant or dangerous, although you almost do not avoid it: · A black BMW swerved, narrowly missing another car.· He narrowly escaped arrest when the police raided his house.
British also close call American a situation in which something bad almost happens but does not: · A sniper's bullet went through the sleeve of his coat. It was a close shave but didn't even scratch him.· Joe breathed a sigh of relief as the guard passed on to the next cell: "That was a close call!"
spoken say this when you have managed to avoid something dangerous or unpleasant, but you almost did not: · Geez, that was close! Did you see that red car?
a situation in which something, especially a car or plane, almost hits something, but does not: · There were two near misses on the airport's runways between 1998 and 1999.· The asteroid flew within 106,000 miles of Earth, which astronomers considered a near miss.
when you do something, but only with difficulty also can scarcely British if you can hardly , can barely , or can scarcely do something, you are able to do it but only with a lot of difficulty: · I was so tired I could hardly keep my eyes open.· She's not strong. She can barely walk without holding on to something.· He lay flat on his back, scarcely able to breathe, waiting for the ambulance.
if you can just about do something, you are able to do it but only with a lot of difficulty: · I could just about reach it.· I think I can just about manage to get there on time. · He's just about able to walk on his own again.
when something is a particular size, amount etc, but no more · The house is just big enough for the whole family.· Pick the fruit when it's just ripe.
if someone or something is barely a particular size, level, amount, distance etc, it is that size, level etc, but no bigger or more than that: · There was barely a gallon of gas in the tank.· He had barely a mile to go before finishing the race.· His voice was barely loud enough to be heard at the back of the theatre.· 5000 gallons of water is barely enough to supply a fire truck for five minutes.
British /just barely American use this when something is a particular size, level, amount, distance etc, but you want to emphasize that it is not any bigger or any more than that: · The cable's only just long enough to reach my desk.· We can walk. Her house is just barely around the corner.
when something is almost true · His hair was almost white.· The moon was almost full that night.· Persuading Paul to change his mind is nearly impossible.
not completely, but almost - use this to say that something is not true, but it is almost true: · That's a good answer but it's not quite correct.· It's not quite red, it's more like a maroon color.· The orbits of the planets are almost circular, but not quite.
very nearly: · The cupboard was practically empty.· Carbon fibre tennis racquets are virtually unbreakable.· She looks practically the same as his last girlfriend.
especially spoken very nearly - use this when saying that the difference is not important: · All the rooms are more or less the same size.· His jacket was pretty much the same colour as his trousers.· Until the 18th century, the region remained more or less independent.
if a guess at a number, amount etc is close , it is almost correct but not exactly right: · "I reckon he's about 65." "You're close - he's 67."
almost all: almost all/every/everything/everyone · Almost all the wine had been drunk.· The burglars took nearly everything in the house that was of any value.· Almost everyone in the office has had the flu this year.
: practically all/everything/everyone etc very nearly all: · The frost killed practically every plant in the garden.· Virtually everyone had gone home.
especially spoken: just about all/everything/everyone etc very nearly all - use this when saying that the difference is not important: · I've packed pretty much everything I need for the trip.· It rains more or less every day here in November.· Sonya knew more or less everyone at the party.· She's travelled in just about every country in Europe.· The second-hand shop on the corner sells just about anything.
when you have almost done something or something has almost happened · I've almost finished reading the newspaper.· It was early 1945, and the war had nearly ended.
especially spoken not completely or exactly, but almost - use this when the difference is not important: · Hanson's acting career appears to be pretty much over.· I had more or less convinced her that I was telling the truth.
almost completely: · Communist parties have practically disappeared in Europe.· Mexico's rainforest has been virtually destroyed.
not completely, but almost - use this to say that something has not happened, but that it almost has: not quite done/finished etc: · She hasn't quite finished her homework yet.· Give me five minutes - I'm not quite ready.
: all but over/finished/done very nearly finished or done: · By now the war was all but over.· "Can we go home now?" "Just one moment - I've all but finished my work."
almost at or in a particular situation, especially an extreme one: · The police describe the situation as approaching crisis proportions.· Dr Dunstable was in a state nearing nervous collapse.· I felt close to tears as I read Vera's letter.
to be very close to an extremely bad situation: · The two countries are on the brink of war.be on the verge of tears/death/hysteria etc: · Kerry is on the verge of a nervous breakdown.
to not do something that you should do · I haven't done my taxes yet and they're due next week.· The electrician came round yesterday, but he didn't do all the jobs I asked him to do.· She was afraid that if she didn't do what her boss told her she would be fired.
to not try to help someone or prevent a bad situation, even though you know it is happening: · How could neighbors listen to her scream and do nothing?do nothing/not do anything about: · We told the police months ago, but they still haven't done anything about it.do nothing/not do anything to do something: · No one did anything to stop the purse snatcher.
formal to do nothing, especially when this is a deliberate decision: · If you have already paid the amount shown on this bill, you need take no further action.take no action to do something: · Local police took no action to protect the family from the attacks.
formal to not do something that you should do, especially when this has serious results: · The driver of the car failed to stop in time, and the boy was killed.· If you fail to provide all the information, we will be unable to process your application.
to not do something because you do not pay enough attention or forget, especially when this could have serious results: · Marie decided not to move, but she neglected to inform the rental agency.· The public are demanding to know why the government neglected to warn them of the oil shortages.
formal to not do something, either because you forget to do it or because you deliberately choose not to do it: · Mrs Hobbs told me about the meeting but she omitted to tell me where it was.· Starr's account omits to mention that it was his own actions that caused the fire.
to not do anything to stop something bad from happening, when you should do something to show that you care about the situation: · Why did people just stand by while she was attacked?· We can't afford to just sit by and watch more of our local industry shut down.
spoken to not even move or start to do something when there is an urgent situation: · Don't just stand there - help me catch the cat!· When the fire alarm went off she just sat there as if she hadn't heard a thing.
exactly the right thing use this to emphasize that something is the particular thing that you want or mean: · This is exactly the kind of job that computers are good at.· That's exactly the sort of material I'm looking for. exactly what: · The earrings are beautiful! They're exactly what I wanted.· That's exactly what happened to me!
exactly - use this to emphasize exactly what the situation is, exactly what happened, exactly what you meant etc: · That is precisely the point I was trying to make earlier.· The new legislation won't solve the problem - it will do precisely the opposite.
informal use this to talk about exactly the thing, person, or place you mean, want etc: · We want just the same rights as everyone else.· He said he was leaving her and proceeded to do just that!just who/what/how etc: · I'm not sure just who you mean.· Mallorca? That's just where we want to go.
exactly how, what, where etc use this to give or ask for exact details or information: · Glue the pieces together, exactly as shown in the diagram.· It took us exactly two hours to get here.exactly who/what/where etc: · The police want to know exactly when you left the building.· The doctors can't say exactly what's wrong with my mother.exactly the same: · It tastes exactly the same as meat.who/what/where exactly?: · Where exactly are you from?· What exactly did you want to see?
especially spoken use this to say exactly how, what, where etc something is: · That's just the right place for the painting, don't you think?just what/how/where etc: · A new handbag! That's just what I wanted.· Just who does he think he is, coming in here and shouting like that?just the same: · He and his brother are just the same -- lazy.
exactly - use this when it is important to describe something very carefully or to get very exact information: precisely what/where/who etc: · We need to know precisely how much this is going to cost.· Can you tell us more precisely what happened?where/what/who precisely?: · What precisely do you mean by 'relativity'?
to look very much like another person or thing also look/be exactly like · That vase is just like one that I used to have.· He looks exactly like Clint Eastwood, except he's slightly taller.
also be the (living) image of British informal to look almost exactly the same as someone else: · Everyone always said my aunt was the spitting image of Ingrid Bergman.· With that beautiful black hair, she is the living image of her mother.
if you could pass for or be mistaken for another person, you look so much like them that people might think you were the other person: · You could easily pass for your sister - you look just like her.· With her hair cut short, she could easily have been mistaken for a boy.
stronger expressions meaning not use this to emphasize that something is definitely not true: · She's not at all happy about the situation.· The children didn't seem to be at all frightened.· No, no, no, that's wrong. That's not what I meant at all.
formal use this when you want to say strongly that something is not true: · It is by no means certain that you'll get your money back.· It's difficult, but by no means impossible.· It's not clear by any means where the money is going to come from to fund this project.
also not a bit especially British use this to say strongly that something is not true, especially when you would expect it to be true: · You're not in the least sorry, are you?· My essay wasn't a bit like yours.· "Was she annoyed?" "Not a bit! She was delighted."fnot the least (bit): · Henry wasn't the least bit worried.
if something is in no way affected by something else, it is definitely not affected by it in any way: · This will in no way influence our original decision.· The damage is very slight and in no way reduces the value of the painting.
use this when something is completely untrue, impossible, different etc: · His arguments are not remotely convincing.· It was a stupid remark, and not remotely funny.· She didn't seem remotely interested in anything I had to say.
use this to emphasize that something is definitely not true, and if someone thinks it is true they are being a little stupid: · They only won 1-0 - hardly a great victory!· It's hardly surprising he's upset, considering the way you've treated him!· He's hardly a world chess champion - you should be able to beat him.· All these similarities could hardly be due to chance.
use this to say that someone is not good at something: · I occasionally put up a few shelves, but I'm not exactly the world's greatest handyman.
an informal expression meaning to not have the skills, qualities etc of the person or type of person that you have mentioned: · Of course, I'm no expert but that wall really looks like it's leaning over.· Stephanie knows what she's doing. She's no fool.· He's quite a bright boy I suppose, but he's no Albert Einstein.
use this to emphasize strongly that something is not possible, likely, true etc: · I can't see any use in us talking about that idea at all - it's simply not practical.· For as long as she could remember she'd just never been interested in marriage and children.
extremely obvious and impossible not to notice: unmistakable sight/sound/smell etc · The secretary of state said the measures are designed to send the regime a clear and unmistakable signal.· the unmistakable sounds of mariachi music
informal so obvious that it is impossible not to notice: · The reason she stopped smoking is perfectly obvious: she's pregnant.· a blindingly obvious mistake
if you say that a fact speaks for itself , you mean it shows that something is so obviously good or obviously bad that you do not need to tell people how good or bad it is: · The quality of our products speaks for itself.· The fact that so many parents refuse to send their children to the school speaks for itself.
formal facts, ideas etc that are self-evident are obvious and true, although some people may not accept them or know about them: · The facts in this case are self-evident and cannot be denied.· self-evident truthsit is self-evident that: · It is self-evident to most people that the government is under no obligation to finance the arts.
British informal you say it sticks or stands out a mile when you think that someone's character, feelings, or background are obvious: · I'm absolutely sure he's a retired army officer. It sticks out a mile.· You can see he's desperately jealous. It stands out a mile.
you say it sticks or stands out like a sore thumb when something looks very different from everything around it: · I'm not going to the party dressed like this - I'd stick out like a sore thumb.
you say that you only have to look at something, read something etc when you think something is so obvious that anybody will notice it: · You only have to look at Turner's later oil paintings to see what a genius he was.· You just have to look at family photos from that time to see that there was a lot of sadness and bitterness over my parents' divorce.
if you say that a fact or feeling is written all over someone's face you mean that you can see, just by looking at the expression on their face, that it is true: · You're in love with him. It's written all over your face.· When Joey opened the package and saw that it wasn't a fire engine, the disappointment was written all over his face.
you say you can't miss it when you are giving someone directions to a place that is very easy to find or notice: · Their house is on the left. It has a pink door. You can't miss it.
if something such as a solution to a problem is staring you in the face , it is very obvious - use this especially when someone does not notice or realize something even though it is very obvious: · The solution was staring me in the face.· The answer had been staring him in the face for months.
a surprisingly small price/number/amount. use this to say that a number, amount, price, size etc is surprisingly small: · I got these four chairs for only $99.· We only have a very small garden.· "Is it far?" "No, it's only a mile away."· She was only 17 when she got married.
only a small amount, number, period of time etc, especially when this is surprising and good: · There is a beautiful park just 300 metres from the busiest shopping street.· It took the firefighters just three minutes to arrive.· His car hit a wall, but he escaped with just cuts and bruises.just a littlealso just a bit British spoken (=only a small amount, number etc): · "Do you take milk?" "Just a little, please."
spoken say this when you are surprised because you expected a number, price etc to be higher: · "The tickets are $10." "Is that all?"· Is that all the money you've got?
use this to talk about something that is only a small amount or figure, or is lower than you would expect: a mere £50/three days/16% etc: · You can now buy computers from a mere £300.· The crossword took him a mere six and a half minutes.
use this to emphasize that something is small, unimportant, difficult to notice etc: · We were standing no more than 10 yards away from the scene of the crime and we didn't realize it.· David watched the car drive slowly away, until it was no more than a speck in the distance.
only one, or only a small number only one person or thing, or only a small number of people or things, and not anyone or anything else: · There was only one dress that she really liked.· Only rich people were able to travel abroad in those days.· You can only take one piece of hand baggage onto the plane.· You get only two chances - if you fail the exam twice you can't take it again.the only person/thing/place etc: · She's the only woman I've ever loved.be only for somebody (=only one person or group can use something): · These seats are only for first class passengers.
especially spoken only one person, thing, type, or group, or only a small number of them, especially when this is surprising: · "Were there a lot of people there?" "No, just me and David."· He started his own small shop - at first just selling newspapers, then books and magazines.· "Does everyone have to wear uniform?" "No, just the first year students."
the only thing or things, especially when this is disappointing, annoying, or surprising: · All Kevin ever talks about is football.· We were really hungry, but all we could find was some stale bread.· All I wanted was a bit of sympathy.
use this especially when you feel disappointed, annoyed, or surprised that something is the only thing there is or the only thing someone does: · There was nothing but salad to eat.· They did nothing but argue for the whole journey.
: one thing/person/time/problem etc the only person, thing etc and no others - use this to emphasize that there really is only one person or thing of this type: the one thing/person/time/problem etc: · She was the one friend that I could trust.· The one thing I don't like about my car is the colour.· The one time I forgot my umbrella was the day it rained.somebody's one regret/friend/mistake etc: · My one regret is that I never told Brad how I felt.
being the only one, when usually you would expect there to be more - used in newspapers and literature: · A lone gunman burst into his house and shot him dead.· Out of the stillness, a lone bird began to sing.
a solitary person, tree, building etc is the only one you can see in a place, and may therefore seem a little lonely or sad: · A solitary light shone in the street.· There was one solitary hotel left standing after the earthquake.· I could see a solitary figure outlined against the horizon.
formal the only person, thing etc, especially when you would expect there to be more or expect it to be different: · Everyone ignored my sole contribution to the conversation.the sole person/thing etc: · In many households, the woman is the sole breadwinner (=the only person who has a job).with the sole intention/objective/aim of doing something: · I think he came here with the sole intention of causing trouble.somebody's sole concern/objective etc: · NASA's sole concern was the safety of the astronauts.
made of, including, or involving only one thing or group, especially something special or something that is of good quality: · This shop sells clothes made exclusively of Indian materials.· The office staff are almost exclusively female.
belonging or relating to only one thing, person, or group · The bee orchid is a rare plant normally only found in Mediterranean climates.women/men/ staff etc only · Women only swimming sessions are held every Thursday.only for · High impact aerobics is only for people who are extremely fit.
only affecting a particular group, place, time etc: · It is a disease which affects just male children.· Sam Mendes is highly regarded, not just in the UK.just for: · This class is just for beginners. Why don't you try the class next door?
if something is limited to or is restricted to someone or something, it has been officially decided that only particular groups can do it or use it, or that it can only happen in particular places or situations: · Access to the files is limited to management.· The cultivation of rice has to be restricted to areas of high rainfall.
to affect or happen to only one group of people, or in only one place or time: · So far, fighting has been confined to the capital city.· ME or "Yuppie Flu', is not just confined to people in high-powered, well-paid jobs.
if an unusual or rare quality or characteristic is unique to a particular thing, person, place etc, only that thing, person, or place has it: · This type of tapestry work is unique to the region.· Each set of genes is unique to the individual.
to belong very definitely to one particular person, place, period of time etc and not to any other: · This way of grinding corn is peculiar to North American Indians.· a gesture peculiar to himself
use this to describe something that only particular people have the advantage of having, doing, or using: · There will be exclusive coverage of the championship on Channel 5.· The recent takeover gave Rafferty exclusive control of the company.· Your password gives you exclusive access to your personal computer files.
for one reason only and no other for only one reason or purpose, and not for any others - use this especially when explaining why someone does something: · She only married him for his money.· Ms Walker said she only started stealing because her children were hungry.
especially spoken only - use this when explaining why someone does something: · I think she just wanted someone to talk to.· I didn't mean to interfere - I was just trying to help.just because: · Just because he looked at them in the wrong way, they beat him up and stole his money.
formal use this to emphasize that you are doing something only for the reason you say, and not for any other reason, especially when someone seems annoyed or upset: · The committee does not blame any individual; we are merely trying to find out how the accident happened.· You are not there to teach, but merely to supervise the children.
for one reason or purpose only, and not involving anything else: · What we have is a purely business arrangement.· Most plants are planted purely for decoration.
not particularly important, special, or interesting use this to emphasize that someone or something is not particularly important, special, or interesting: · Don't ask me - I'm only the cleaner.· "What's for dinner?" "Just pasta - nothing exciting."only/just another: · It's just another one of those daytime talk shows.
formal use this to emphasize that someone or something is not really important or special, although they may seem to be: · The President's position is merely ceremonial; it is the Chancellor who holds real power.· I wondered if the girl had meant more to him than being merely a casual friend.
only that, and not anything more important, more valuable, or more useful: · She sees him as a friend and nothing else.if nothing else: · If nothing else the meeting serves as a useful way of getting everyone's ideas together.
only - used especially when you do not expect very much from the thing you are describing, or you think it is unimportant: · How can you expect him to understand? He's a mere child.· There have been reports that she is going to resign, but it's mere speculation at the moment.· The mere mention of Ronan's name made her heart beat faster.
use this about someone or something that is not nearly as good, special, interesting etc as they seem to be or pretend to be: · They say they're a moral, religious regime, but in fact they're nothing but a bunch of bullies and thugs.· As far as I can see, this proposal is no more than an attempt to disguise many of the mistakes management have made in the past.
the best and most suitable person or thing completely suitable for a person or situation: · A dry white wine is perfect with any fish dish.perfect for: · This dress will be perfect for the summer.· perfect weather for a picnicthe perfect place/time/job etc: · That sounds like the perfect job for you.
very suitable and exactly what you want: · The house was a little too small so it was not ideal.ideal for: · It's a very relaxed hotel, ideal for families with young children.somebody's ideal man/woman/job/house etc (=one that has all the qualities you like best): · My ideal man would be someone like Mel Gibson.
spoken suitable in every way: · "Do these new curtains look OK?" "Yes, they're just right."just right for: · I'm glad they're getting married - they're just right for each other.
also be just the job British informal to be exactly what is needed: · Cold lemonade is just the thing on a hot day.be just the thing for: · A tall hedge would be just the job for that side of the garden.
specially designed for you, so that it is exactly what you need or want: · If you are an independent traveller, we can arrange a tailor-made tour.tailor-made for: · Our company can provide you with an insurance policy that is tailor-made for you.tailor-made to do something: · In the USA and Canada, a house is often tailor-made to fit the needs of the family that will live in it.
exactly like someone or something · They were both wearing the same shoes.· We've opened up stores in the UK and we hope to do the same in the rest of Europe.· "We always get up late on Saturdays." "It's the same in our house."look/sound/taste etc the same · The houses on the street all look the same.just the same/exactly the same (=not different in any way) · I tried three different types of wine, but they all tasted exactly the same to me.all the same · Take whichever you like - they're all the same.the same ... as · They were doing the same jobs as the men, but being paid less.
if someone or something is just like or exactly like someone or something else, there is very little difference between them: · You're just like my teacher.· There are insects that look exactly like green leaves.· This song sounds exactly like that one by The Beatles.be just/exactly like doing something: · We had often talked about emigrating to Australia. Suzie came from Melbourne, so it would be just like going home for her.
identical things are exactly the same in every way: · To me the two patterns looked identical.identical to: · The picture is identical to the one in the museum of Modern Art in New York.identical in size/colour/shape etc: · The tablets were identical in size, shape, and colour.
if you can't tell the difference between two people or things, or if you can't tell them apart , they look, sound, or seem exactly the same to you: · Emma and Louise sound so alike on the phone, I can't tell the difference.· They are identical twins and it's impossible to tell them apart.· These rap bands all sound the same to me -- I can't tell them apart.can't tell the difference between: · Don't let her help you with the gardening -- she can't tell the difference between a weed and a strawberry plant!
two people or things that are indistinguishable are so similar that it is impossible to know which is which or to see any differences between them: · In the storm the sky and sea were indistinguishable.· It was claimed that Russian and American defence policies were indistinguishable.indistinguishable from: · He tasted the cheaper wine and found it indistinguishable from a superior one.
use this especially when you expect something or someone to be different from another thing or person, but in fact they are the same: · People often think that movie stars are special in some way, but really they're no different from anybody else.· Life on the island is no different from life on the mainland.
if one thing matches another or if two things match , they look the same or have the same qualities or characteristics: · You can't go out wearing socks that don't match.· Their performance in government didn't quite match their election promises.
if you repeat or copy something word for word , you do it using exactly the same words: · Janice repeated word for word what Harold had told her.· It appears that someone has copied your essay word for word.
when someone does not have sex someone who has never had sex: · Some men will not marry a woman who is no longer a virgin.· At 27 he was still a virgin and very shy about it.
someone who is celibate has chosen not to have sex at all, especially for religious reasons: · He had remained celibate for three years before he met Hannah.· She was not prepared for a celibate life in the Church.
a platonic relationship is one between people who do not have sex with each other, but are just friends - use this especially when other people think they are having a sexual relationship: · Their relationship was strictly platonic, even though she was living in his apartment.· In the novel, Edward and Susannah present a perfect model of platonic love.
use this to say that two people are not having a sexual relationship: · "Are you going out with Liam?'' "No, we're just good friends.''· I keep telling my mother that Peter and I are just friends but she doesn't seem to believe me.
when two things are good when done, eaten etc together if two things go together, or if one of them goes with the other, they are suitable for each other: · Lamb goes very well with herbs such as rosemary and thyme.· Do this skirt and blouse go together?· The company's old headquarters didn't go with their corporate image.
if one thing is just right with another, it goes with the other: · The wine is just right with a grilled steak.be just the right thing with something: · This jacket will be just the right thing with my blue skirt.
if one type of food or drink complements another, it improves the taste because they taste good together: · The wine complemented the meal perfectly.· The chicken dish is complemented by wild rice or spiced couscous.
typical behaviour or qualities behaviour or actions that are typical of a person are just what you usually expect them to do, especially when this is something bad or annoying: · "Dad forgot to mail the letter." "That's just typical!"· Mrs Quilley greeted the guests with typical charm and confidence.· This is typical adolescent behaviour - part of the process of becoming independent from your parents.it is typical of somebody to do something: · It's typical of Ramon to waste time when he knows we're already late.
very typical of a particular type of thing, or of someone's character or usual behaviour: · Each species of bird has its own characteristic song.· Larry, with characteristic generosity, invited everyone back to his house.characteristic of: · This pattern is characteristic of the local architecture.
if you say that something is just what you'd expect , you mean that it is exactly what your idea of someone makes you expect them to do: · Jenny's house is very clean and neat, just what you'd expect.· He was annoyed, but he soon got over it -- just what you'd expect, in fact.
if you say that someone's action or behaviour is just like them, you mean that it is typical of them in a way that annoys you: · You have left everything to the last minute. That's just like you.it is just like somebody to do something: · It's just like Uncle Roy to invite us all to lunch and then forget to tell Aunt Sarah.· It would be just like my son to get the measles twice.
used for saying that you are not surprised that someone has done something or behaved in a particular way, because it's the kind of thing they often do: · He was late, of course, but that's Tim all over.· "That's Dora all over," interrupted Rose with a sniff. "Once she gets an idea into her head, nothing will stop her."
if you say that someone does something true to form you mean it is very typical of them, especially when it is something annoying: · True to form, Oliver turned up late and drunk.· They promised to pay by Friday and yes, true to form, the money didn't arrive till Wednesday.
you say someone would do something when they do something that is typical of them and you want to criticize them for it: · "Janice is going to be late for the meeting." "She would be!"· "And then Harry got drunk." "He would do, wouldn't he!"
usual and expected for a particular person or type of person or a situation - you can often use this in humorous contexts: · It was a typical student's room with the inevitable Van Gogh print on the wall.· Dinner started with the inevitable chicken soup.· In the subway I got cornered by the inevitable drunkard wanting to give me some advice.
an action or remark that is in character is typical of someone's character: · Julie said that? That doesn't seem to be in character at all.· His reaction was quite in character. The man had no respect for education, and it was no surprise when he took his son out of school.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY
Just then (=exactly at that moment), Mrs Robovitch appeared at the bedroom door. Just as (=at the exact moment when) I opened the door, the telephone started to ring. A nice hot bath – just the thing (=exactly the right thing) to relax sore muscles. We moved here just after our son was born. Those pants only just fit you now. She was earning just enough money to live on (=enough but not more than enough).COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES It’s just about the worst mistake anyone could make. He knew that just across the border lay freedom. The bathroom is just along (=a short distance along) the corridor. His last album sold half a million copies and we hope this one will be just as (=equally) popular. We could just discern a town in the distance. Well, that’s just ducky. I could suggest many different methods, but anyway, here are just a few. Getting a gun license here seems to be just a formality. It just goes to show how much people judge each other by appearances. Don’t get mad – I was only kidding. Sometimes you sound just like (=exactly like) my mum! It’s just like her to run away from her responsibilities! I’d just like to say how grateful we are for your help. ‘Salubrious’! That’s just the word I was looking for. They say the people of Los Angeles speak 12 languages and teach just as many in the schools. Bolton is a mill town just outside Manchester. We were just passing through (=travelling through a place) and thought we’d drop in to see you. There are parking spaces over there, just past (=a little further than) the garage. I didn’t mean to say it like that – it just popped out. That’s funny – Simon said exactly the same thing. She was just short of six feet tall. The neighbours throw things over the garden wall just to spite us. I spend just under four hours a day seeing customers.
British English It’s just on three o’clock.
It’s just on three o’clock. Just then (=exactly at that moment), Mrs Robovitch appeared at the bedroom door. Just as (=at the exact moment when) I opened the door, the telephone started to ring. A nice hot bath – just the thing (=exactly the right thing) to relax sore muscles. We moved here just after our son was born. Those pants only just fit you now. She was earning just enough money to live on (=enough but not more than enough). It’s just about the worst mistake anyone could make. He knew that just across the border lay freedom. The bathroom is just along (=a short distance along) the corridor. His last album sold half a million copies and we hope this one will be just as (=equally) popular. (=used to emphasize that many more things will happen)· Signing the contract is just the beginning of a long process.
(=an aim that is fair and right)· The rebels believed that they were fighting for a just cause.
We could just discern a town in the distance. Well, that’s just ducky. I could suggest many different methods, but anyway, here are just a few. Getting a gun license here seems to be just a formality. It just goes to show how much people judge each other by appearances. Don’t get mad – I was only kidding. Sometimes you sound just like (=exactly like) my mum! It’s just like her to run away from her responsibilities! I’d just like to say how grateful we are for your help. ‘Salubrious’! That’s just the word I was looking for. They say the people of Los Angeles speak 12 languages and teach just as many in the schools. (=only a very short time ago)· I had just that moment arrived.
(=used when telling someone to wait)· Just a moment, I’ll go and get her.
especially British English (=at the present time) There are a lot of bargains in the shops just now.
There are a lot of bargains in the shops just now. British English spoken Mrs Peterson came in to see Ruth just the once.
Mrs Peterson came in to see Ruth just the once. (=exactly the opposite)· He wasn’t laughing. Quite the opposite, in fact.
Bolton is a mill town just outside Manchester. We were just passing through (=travelling through a place) and thought we’d drop in to see you. There are parking spaces over there, just past (=a little further than) the garage. I didn’t mean to say it like that – it just popped out. (=appropriate and right)· Death would be a just punishment.
That’s funny – Simon said exactly the same thing. (=wait a short time) ‘Is Al there?’ ‘Hold on a sec, I’ll check.’
‘Is Al there?’ ‘Hold on a sec, I’ll check.’ She was just short of six feet tall.· We are making progress towards a just society.
The neighbours throw things over the garden wall just to spite us. I spend just under four hours a day seeing customers.· I just want to be left alone.
(=used to thank someone for a present that you really like)· Thanks for the bread machine – it’s just what I’ve always wanted.
(=one that you believe is right)· They believe that they are fighting a just war.
(=used in formal situations to tell someone you will do what they want) ‘I’d like it to be ready by six.’ ‘Just as you wish, sir.’
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSVERB ‘I’d like it to be ready by six.’ ‘Just as you wish, sir.’· It was cool, with the sun just beginning to warm their arms and the stones in the wall along the drive.· But string theory is just beginning to be understood.· The wheats look good, with Apollo just beginning to turn, he adds.· A light snowfall was just beginning, and Jasper looked like wonder itself with snowflakes in his hair.· The cold clouds seen at 100 micrometres are large and diffuse, evidently just beginning to condense under their own gravity.· But I was just beginning my career, and had put too much into it to give it up.· Delrina says it will exploit the signal processing capabilities that some facsimile modem manufactures are just beginning to build into their products.· But what I feel instead is acceptance hedging on satisfaction and a faint promise for the day just beginning.
· His one chance came just before half-time when a defender's shins blocked his shot.· Dunne went down the stairs they had just come up into an immense smoke-filled room.· But I don't think he comes just for that, he seems genuinely concerned for him.· And then on the way over to the bookstore it just came to me in a flash.· It came just 60 seconds after Robert Molenaar had handled the ball in his own box with referee Andy D'Urso unsighted.· He just came down from Kent.· Cheques Unreserved seats available from one hour before most performances - just come along.· They just come out of my mouth by themselves.
· Deee-Lite, though, just feel very misunderstood.· And there may be a few scattered works where applause would just feel wrong.· It just felt as though, once, some one had found that it worked.· And she felt just as apprehensive as she always did here.· Once or twice she met Carrie's eye and smiled as if to say she felt just as she did.· I just felt like it was time to go.· I just felt I ought to be doing something and so I stuck to it.· I just felt I had to play, and get back in uniform.
· She's had people in, but they can't find any reason for it, and it's just getting worse.· But just getting out of the way of good ideas, important as it is, will not be enough.· Here, mostly you just get right up their patrician noses.· After 1 have one of those, I just get my secretary to cancel my appointments and drive me home.· It's a bit disconcerting to be minding your own business. Just getting on with things.· But we just got better and better as we played together.· He was sure if he could just get the craft to join, the 12 main latches would trigger.· Because whenever I think about it, it just gets me mad.
· So I developed five acres on my own account and things just went on from there.· Nope -- the Dogpatch council just went and annexed without notifying them.· Maybe he had been standing there so long his mind had just gone off the job.· He was not ready to go just yet.· His mother surely couldn't object if he just went and looked at it?· Or just go to North Carolina and rent-a place on the Outer Banks.· It just goes on and on.· The league had just gone through a nine-week players strike, putting all of the Super Bowl plans on hold.
· However, one of the most remarkable finds for the Gwili has just happened.· Depending on your point of view, one of two things has just happened in boxing.· This picture board just happens to be in a muddy field.· And nobody planned it, it just happened.· They just happened to be around after Mass when volunteers were needed.· The reporters, oddly enough, just happen to be sitting there in the line of fire with nothing better to do.· Panic, that was the first reaction to whatever it was that had just happened.· Presuming there are no last-minute stays, that will happen just after midnight.
· Oh, while I m here just like to mention the new kit.· I am seventeen, I had a family just like you do, 1 am a daughter, I am a sister.· Since this has cropped up here I would just like to draw attention to it.· It took exactly sixty days, just like I said.· And just like this, under the moon.· Just like the first step in project management.· Female speaker I would just like to thank everyone who has supported me, family, friends, and everyone else.· Just like a little tweety bird!
· When I confront him with his omissions and lies he just looks sheepish.· I just looked for a short, clean-shaven Mr Barraza.· Instead it just looks offensive-nasty as well as silly.· Now they wanted to look just like the Gibson Girl, or despair of being beautiful or fashionable.· It just looked me over closely, then flew into the roost in the pines to join the others.· They just look forward to meeting the notorious killers again face to face.· I was born a rabbit. just look at me.
· That suddenly went to being able to play conservatively and just wait and see what happened.· Some, like my son, are just waiting.· Just wait until she saw that Tony Jones.· Just wait until I suddenly puff myself up and reveal all!· Gennaro asked Elisa if she would please just wait a little longer.· Put things off, wait just long enough until she had a disaster on her hands.· Formentera An almost totally unspoilt island just off the coast of southern Ibiza whose lazy sun-drenched calm just waits to be savoured.· Just wait till you see what the public says in two months.
· I don't just want her.· Once I picked it up, I just wanted to make sure I held on to it.· I thought I was helping, but I just want to throw the coffee out of the window.· I just wanted this man to approve of my performance.· If I just wanted you, I'd be able to spend time alone with you without going half crazy.· This would be a nice place to come if we just wanted to have a one-on-one chat.· She just wanted to be left alone.· Basically, I just want to be there for them like my dad was for me.
PHRASES FROM THE ENTRY► may just/might just► just because ... it doesn’t mean► it’s/that’s just as well► isn’t she just/aren’t they just etcPHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES► be just what the doctor ordered► as it happens/it just so happens► (just) out of interest/as a matter of interest► I’m only/just doing my job► let’s just say (that)► wait a minute/just a minute/hold on a minute/hang on a minute► that’s all I need/that’s just what I didn’t need► not just a pretty face► (just) as ..., so ...► something is just one of those things► just the thing/the very thing► it’s just a thought
1exactly: - And you men and half of Terminus as well are just as bad.
- At home it was just as bad.
- I would say the top teams are just as good, but the lesser teams have caught up a little bit.
- It was just as good a place as any to get away from Julius for a while.
- Now Allan Ahlberg has written two more stories about the same skeletons, and they're just as good.
- Or something else, just as bad, could happen.
- People accuse the whites of being prejudiced, but blacks can be just as bad.
- Virginia says sending them to a sister training program it has established at nearby Mary Baldwin College is just as good.
- I just have to get somewhere soon to sleep.
- My uncle said that now we ha-ha just have to do this.
- She would just have to get out and walk.
- Sometimes you just have to tell people what s best for them.
- That's the trouble with doing all these films and tellies - you just have to remember a little bit for a short take.
- We just have to do some more throat swabs.
- You can have it right back if you want it, you just have to ask.
- You don't just have to listen to stories.
- A., not just any burg.
- And not just any old envelope, but a special luxury brand with a griffin watermark.
- But Microsoft was not just any software developer.
- But Starr is not just any prosecutor, and this is not just any case.
- But then Tim Robbins is not just any old movie star.
- Mr Hellyer was not just any adult.
- Which is good because this is not just any old brothel.
- I'd just as soon ride with you, if that's okay.
- Absorbing Costs Self-defeating techniques yield consequences that most organizations would just as soon not deal with.
- After all, he delivers oil to you and would just as soon keep doing it.
- And a lot of them would just as soon not get this junk e-mail.
- And they would just as soon I was not there.
- Fiercely individualistic, Texas would just as soon give back the Alamo as institute a state tax.
- The dismissal of such people would stir up controversy the president would just as soon avoid.
- I can't leave just yet. I've still got a couple of e-mails to send.
- He told me he was just visiting to let me know he would come for me soon, but not just yet.
- In due course she would dispose of it, but not just yet.
- No problem, she was told, you can have it - but not just yet.
- Tom Tavey was nice, but no, not just yet.
- Just a minute, that's not what she told us.
- Just a minute. Let me see if he's here.
- And he had deliberately caught his flight with just minutes to spare.
- Aronoff, who asked to be arraigned today, appeared before the media for just minutes Thursday to read a brief statement.
- For just a moment there, tournament golf had taken its toll: Saavedra had lost the head.
- I wan na wait, wait, wait just a second.
- It takes just a second: One car plows into another and the backup begins.
- It went dead for just a second.
- Let's continue the story for just a moment in a ridiculous way.
- Neighbours pulled her to safety just minutes before flames took hold.
- He's not ugly or anything. It's just that he's too short for me.
- Business or hatred, there's something that stays the same - it's just that person; just about him.
- But I think it's just that the winter weather keeps the birds away.
- I was not supposed to clean there, it's just that I love reading and sometimes I feel starved.
- Maybe it's just that those who don't look don't survive to tell the tale.
- Nothing drastic - it's just that his studio is taking on a more Tardis-like appearance than before.
- Or maybe it's just that there is a course that teaches advertising and marketing, which is relatively new in itself.
- Perhaps it's just that we don't have enough of those long, thin granite cracks.
- She says it's because the water is pure from the mountain but she doesn't really believe it's just that.
- "Have you seen Carl?'' "I just this minute hung up on him.''
- Didn't I just this minute tell you to tidy your room!
- He's in the shower just now.
- I'm not sure what show it is. I just now turned the TV on.
- Sandy was on the Internet just now, that's why the phone was busy.
- She just now left, so she should be home by six.
- Sorry, I'm busy just now - can I call you later?
- But the gentleman will not take no for an answer, and even tried to push past me just now.
- Her own eyes were a muddy green, and just now they were spitting fire, like a little cat.
- I myself had started something of a relationship with her just now.
- Maybe the maids would have left some of the rooms open, if there was nobody staying in them just now.
- That betraying look in her eyes in the cloakroom just now must have told him he'd won again.
- The man, whose helping hand he had just now been the recipient of, was immediately behind him.
- When I was in Marcus just now he was normal.
- Anyway, I just thought I'd write to suggest that we meet up at some point.
- I just think an organization like this should be hearing how the board thinks.
- I just thought something that was see through maybe on that wall would.
- I get a headache just looking at a cookbook.
- I promised myself I was just looking.
- I will spend that day in a field of black smokers, just looking.
- Similarly, you should not just look at the eyes or ears when there may be a problem here.
- We just thought - obviously very stupidly - that you might be working on something together.
- Her house always has to be just so.
- Because is just so expensive and you know, food attracts residents.
- Did you write to me just so I could agree with you?
- He presses just so hard, no harder.
- It just so happens that this region includes the heartland of Charles the Bald's kingdom.
- Life can last just so long, you understand.
- Tamayo swears he comes in at 8 a. m. every day just so he can work out.
- There were just so many animals around.
- Building community Gross inequality is not just about economics, it is about moral choice.
- But the debate over free candidate time is not just about good government.
- It was just about to dive as the train ran on.
- Landowners became anxious not just about the birds but about access to their habitat.
- Preston employees got the same type of information, not just about specific behavior, but about the company as a whole.
- Shrimp takes a starring role on the menu at just about every restaurant in town.
- Whiners are hard to like and hard to take seriously by just about everyone they work with.
- And a T'ang is not just any man.
- Anyway, you can't dismiss the experimental method just because some irrational people choose not to put the findings into practice.
- He is just because he is vulnerable and challengeable.
- I can't break it, just because he's out of the country.
- Just because you shop at the local indoor mall does not make you an expert on the retail sector of the economy.
- Perhaps it's just because you don't like her?
- So just because you can't find it through a Web search doesn't mean it's not there.
- This is not just because Republicans are determined to make it so.
- I was just walking along, minding my own business, when this guy ran straight into me.
- In case you missed the last program, here's a summary of the story.
- There are spare batteries in there, in case you need them.
- A few latecomers are nosing gloomily around in case the professionals have left anything worth having.
- Deep tendon reflexes are usually diminished, but in cases with prominent lateral column disease may be hyperactive with extensor plantar reflexes.
- How can an individual get permission to photocopy or videotape in cases where there is no fair use exception?
- In case a dish fails to appease a customer, Steve Carrasco can always make a flying getaway.
- In case you're wondering-for the hospital form-this is how you spell tetanus.
- Not typical in cases like this.
- They had delivered the correct total quantity of tins but half of them were packed in cases of 24 tins each.
- Viral cultures during an attack will give the diagnosis in cases such as these.
- A period when he was almost dead is coming up to the surface.
- He had a horrible premonition that she was coming up to Rome.
- Manion was coming up to his freeway exit.
- Around the corner, their classmates practiced pulling small-fry violin bows across squeaky strings.
- I rounded the corner, then stopped, waited a moment and peeked back into the lobby.
- Rats gnawed on black infants' feet, while money was used to build new police stations around the corner.
- She might think we're just around the corner and that we're not coming to see her.
- She peered round the corner of the house.
- She was around the corner, talking to Hoffmann.
- The Derby Tonelli grocery store of my mind could have stood around the corner from my house.
- There was always something around the corner if you didn't lose your head.
- "Everything okay?" "Oh, it's just been one of those days."
- Even a low-cal concoction can make us feel that we're getting our just deserts.
- From Llewelyn he would get his deserts, and be grateful for them.
- He was not a spiteful man, but he had enjoyed the sight of Spatz getting his deserts.
- Now the rich and the proud would get their just deserts.
- I have a sudden urge to touch her, to hold her, to tell her I know how she feels.
- I knew how he felt about me -- a short blind boy who hated leather basketballs.
- I know how he feels about me!
- I know how you feel about it ... You would rather wait - wait till we're married.
- I know how you feel, Doyle thought.
- I know how you feel, they're all or nothing.
- You ran a decent campaign, John, and I know how it feels to lose.
- Don't pay any attention to Henry. He's just fooling.
- ""Are you going out with Liam?'' ""No, we're just good friends.''
- I'm not going out with Nathan, you know - we're just friends.
- I keep telling my mother that Peter and I are just friends but she doesn't seem to believe me.
- Billy and I were just good friends, really good mates.
- But maybe he and Jane were just friends.
- Maureen and I - we thought we were just friends.
- My wife and I are just good friends.
- They were just friends, and he was fun to be with.
- A lot of rich kids are turning to crime just for the hell of it.
- We used to go out every Saturday night and get drunk, just for the hell of it.
- For the hell of it l do an extra set of bun-twisters on my back, a perennial crowd-pleaser.
- For this interview, talking just for the hell of it, he was immeasurably more relaxed.
- He decided to walk down to the promontory by way of the market, just for the hell of it.
- He didn't really strike her as a particularly nosy person, just wanting to know things for the hell of it.
- I steal things I can't eat, just for the hell of it.
- Slanging matches with Craddock just for the hell of it.
- Why do so many people breed just for the hell of it?
- William Mulholland came to Los Angeles more or less for the hell of it.
- It's human nature to put off doing things you don't like to do.
- But it's human nature that people-male or female-will do what they are allowed to get away with.
- A bit of companionship with fellow climbers and walkers is just the job at the end of a hard day.
- Clinique, though, say their new Electric Shave Primer is just the job.
- Computerised databases are just the job for any record storage as many of you may know.
- She should not have mentioned Mrs Skipton, must learn to do the job, just the job and no more.
- The Cajun Kings were just the job, as was John.
- This could be just the job for her - and it would generate some new income to replace what we've lost.
- To decide which one is right for you, you have to consider more than just the job you do.
- At home the bowl of the sky is just like that.
- Certainly they impute to the accused a degree of mystical malevolence just like that implied in witchcraft charges.
- Could he abandon everything now, just like that?
- How many people came to this country and bought a house just like that?
- I put my arm round him and gave him a hug just like that.
- I was on tablets for two days and then taken off, just like that.
- The pickup switching configuration is just like that of a Strat, but obviously with a fatter tone from the humbuckers.
- They stopped, just like that.
- We have put together a few of the most popular itineraries to help make your choice that little bit easier.
- "Do you need help with anything?" "No thanks. We're just looking."
- Just my luck! The one vacation I take all year, and I have to get sick.
- Married, is he? Just my luck.
- Great, I thought to myself, just my luck.
- It was just my luck to have bags made of light nylon, weighing in at ten kilos in total.
- No chance, I thought, just my luck the clocks aren't working.
- It was only a matter of time before Lynn found out Phil's secret.
- You'll learn how to do it eventually -- it's only a matter of time.
- Your father is dying and there's nothing we can do. I'm afraid it's just a matter of time.
- But they believe it's only a matter of time before the disease crosses the county boundary.
- If he hasn't already killed somebody, then it's only a matter of time.
- They think it's only a matter of time before he breaks.
- And if you have to plough the field anyway, you might as well plant it at the same time.
- But what is unavoidable may still be undesirable, and one might as well say so.
- D.W. had come in over ocean and flown low as a drug smuggler over what might as well be called treetops.
- He might as well have gotten down on his hands and knees and begged for it.
- He said we might as well go before his sister arrived, because once she came, it would be impossible.
- I might as well have been a convert, a Gentile.
- I thought I might just as well come down to the point.
- You might as well go to a branch.
- But the gentleman will not take no for an answer, and even tried to push past me just now.
- Her own eyes were a muddy green, and just now they were spitting fire, like a little cat.
- I myself had started something of a relationship with her just now.
- Maybe the maids would have left some of the rooms open, if there was nobody staying in them just now.
- That betraying look in her eyes in the cloakroom just now must have told him he'd won again.
- The man, whose helping hand he had just now been the recipient of, was immediately behind him.
- When I was in Marcus just now he was normal.
- But for once his famous ability to blend laughter and pain is overcome by the weight of his subject.
- But Holmes, for once, was wrong.
- In fact for once the human mussel-gatherers have come to the assistance of their natural competitors.
- Mrs Saulitis's cheerfulness was lost for once.
- Why not, for once, why not?
- You can't fault Ayckbourn's production but, for once, his comic vessel has problems carrying such emotionally heavy cargo.
- OK, you can stay up till 11, but just this once.
- But the smiling man who clutched the real trophy after the game spoke, this once, for everyone.
- Carol told Petey this once to help him stop crying so she could take a look.
- Hadn't she seen something like this once before? she thought vaguely.
- He had sworn this once when he and Adrastus had quarreled and Eriphyle had reconciled them.
- Lawyers and supporters of the parents in Orkney questioned both the motives and the methods of this once trusted organisation.
- Maybe this once, the world will display itself as immutable.
- We've been through this once.
- We've done this once or twice before, as I vividly recall.
- As it turns out, though, one of the greatest albums in his catalog has only just been released commercially.
- However, the hard part of Operation Restore Hope may have only just begun.
- It was sparsely furnished, for Anne had only just come into her inheritance, but it was newly decorated and clean.
- She must be dreaming, but surely she had only just gone to sleep.
- She remembered that he had a knack for getting people to stop shooting, and usually only just in time.
- The great black migration from the West Side-and from the Deep South-had only just begun.
- Unemployment is still only just half of what it was seven years ago.
- His falsity and hollowness are not just the opposite of the true and the wholesome, but threaten to undermine it.
- And being Lord Aviemore is just like being plain Mr Aviemore, right?
- Cluedo's Reverend Green is to become plain Mr Green to bring one of the country's best-loved board games up to date.
- Sometimes, it's simply a question of somewhere safe to go after school while parents are working.
- The potatoes were a little overcooked, but delicious all the same.
- He made beer the same way as his grandfather had and today it's brewed just the same way.
- My father was a Hasid but he wanted us to know the Scriptures just the same.
- Some have felt they were all the same, maybe even the Apostle John.
- The look will be different, but the content, the coverage and the crack will be just the same.
- These strips are all the same, a sort of busy evolutionary seashore.
- Trout fishing is often a great challenge, but rewarding just the same, with gorgeous colored fish and the streamside beauty.
- Well, if it's all the same to you, we would rather be the judges of that.
- Yet all the same, progress resulted.
- Both of them said the word on the same downbeat, which made them burst into laughter at how hilarious they sounded.
- He could not bring himself to say the words, so great was his terror of plague.
- If there's anything I can do, you've only got to say the word.
- No one was actually prepared to say the word revolution-the one word in their vocabulary softened by success.
- The last team then has to say the word they had in mind.
- When the language helper says the words in a frame he will say them more naturally.
- When the truth was devastating, no wonder physicians avoided saying the words and patients refused to accept them.
- "So who was she with?" "Let's just say it wasn't Ted."
- Everything has to be just so at Maxine's dinner parties.
- But this turned out to be just so much more Super Bowl hype.
- Flashman is just so bitter - he's blaming us, but we just wanted our money above aboard.
- I was just so furious that I swept out in high dudgeon.
- I was just so pumped up to do good.
- I went downstairs, I was just so struck by musicians and live music.
- If it was a microcap fund it would be different because there are just so many microcap stocks you can buy.
- Now, nations are just so many men like these.
- There were just so many animals around.
- Absorbing Costs Self-defeating techniques yield consequences that most organizations would just as soon not deal with.
- After all, he delivers oil to you and would just as soon keep doing it.
- And a lot of them would just as soon not get this junk e-mail.
- And they would just as soon I was not there.
- Fiercely individualistic, Texas would just as soon give back the Alamo as institute a state tax.
- He would as soon not go.
- The dismissal of such people would stir up controversy the president would just as soon avoid.
- But now, my dear fellows, let's just think about this a moment, shall we?
- I just think we can get it done.
- Just think of the businesses that take on people who are on the social.
- Just think of the economies of scale!
- Just think of those lemon groves outside my aunt's villa in Ravello.
- Just thinking about volunteer tutoring, little is known about the most basic of questions.
- Now he was trying to think of what he had just thought.
- And for those whose attention spans are trained to a short leash, it may be just the ticket.
- Humphrey and Senator Muskie were the ticket, but all that anybody remembered was Daley and his city.
- If their tours are as much fun as their zany brochure, Wild Women Adventures could be just the ticket.
- If you have a chronic condition that has made it difficult to exercise, this may be the ticket.
- They can be used as counters for they are the tickets to our mystic world.
- This bus could be just the ticket for a small family.
- This was just the ticket, I thought, sitting on my canvas chair, quietly digesting my cake.
- But they believe it's only a matter of time before the disease crosses the county boundary.
- If he hasn't already killed somebody, then it's only a matter of time.
- They think it's only a matter of time before he breaks.
- It'll be a huge success, just you wait.
- I asked them, and this is what they told me. I just wanted to know did you know any more.
- In the ambulance, I just wanted to know the damage.
- The truth of it was, as miserable as things were, I just wanted to say I had been there.
- And that's the way he is.
- And that's the way it is again this year - everybody is happy with what I am doing.
- But they think they can run everything from Detroit and that's the way the organisation is going to be restructured.
- Even the best generals sometimes lose with this army just because that's the way it is.
- For that's the way it is for the talented twosome.
- He's always been a bit on his dignity, I suppose, but that's the way he is.
- In the end Capirossi had to do the winning himself and that's the way 1991 is going to be.
- The money we got to spend - well, that's the way it is.
- And if you have to plough the field anyway, you might as well plant it at the same time.
- And we might as well get used to it and resolve to cope.
- Besides, they cost so much, you might as well get some fun out of them.
- I thought I might just as well come down to the point.
- If the traveler expects the high way to be safe and well-graded, he might as well stay at home.
- It might as well be now.
- She might as well see how the enemy behaved themselves in a place like this.
- While she was there, they might as well have added the charge of breaching the Trades Description Act.
- It's just as well I took the train today - I heard the traffic was really bad.
- Perhaps it is just as well.
A good strong cup of coffee is just what I need right now. The house was large and roomy; just right for us. She looks just like her mother. Just what do you think you’re trying to do?just on British English It’s just on three o’clock. Just then (=exactly at that moment), Mrs Robovitch appeared at the bedroom door. Just as (=at the exact moment when) I opened the door, the telephone started to ring. A nice hot bath – just the thing (=exactly the right thing) to relax sore muscles.► see thesaurus at exactly2nothing more than the thing, amount, action etc that you are mentioning SYN only: It’s nothing serious – just a small cut. Don’t be too hard on him – he’s just a kid. Can you wait just a few minutes? It’s not just me – there are other people involved as well.RegisterIn written English, people often prefer to use simply rather than just, which sounds rather informal:· It’s simply a question of priorities.3only a short time ago: John’s just told me that he’s getting married. I’ve just been out shopping.► see thesaurus at recently4at this moment or at that moment: Wait a minute – I’m just coming. He was just leaving when the phone rang. I’m just finishing my homework – it won’t take long. The concert was just about to start.5used to emphasize what you are saying: It just isn’t true. I just love being in the mountains. It was just wonderful to see Joyce again. I just wish I could believe you.6only by a small amount, time, distance etcjust before/after/over etc We moved here just after our son was born. I saw her just before she died. It’s just under three centimetres long.7used to show that something which happens almost does not happen SYN barely, hardly: He just managed to get home before dark. We could just see the coast of France in the distance. Those pants only just fit you now. She was earning just enough money to live on (=enough but not more than enough).8just about almost: The plums are just about ripe now. Just about everybody will be affected by the tax increases.9just as good/bad/big etc equally as good, bad, big etc: Brad is just as good as the others. I love this country just as much as you do.10just have to do something used to say that someone has to do something because nothing else is possible: We’ll just have to watch and see what happens. You just have to accept things and get on with your life.11not just any used to emphasize that you are talking about a particular thing or person that is especially good or important: For the best results, use olive oil. Not just any olive oil, mind – only the finest quality will do.12would just as soon if you would just as soon do something, you would prefer to do it: I’d just as soon stay at home – I don’t really enjoy parties.13may just/might just might possibly: You could try Renee. She might just know where they live now. It may just have been a coincidence.14not just yet not now, but probably soon: I can’t leave just yet. I’ve still got a couple of letters to write.15just because ... it doesn’t mean used to say that, although one thing is true, another thing is not necessarily true: Just because you’re older than me, it doesn’t mean you can tell me what to do.SPOKEN PHRASES16just a minute/second/moment a)used to ask someone to wait for a short time while you do something: Just a minute, I’ll see if I can find it for you. b)used to interrupt someone in order to ask them something, disagree with them etc: Just a minute! How do I know you’re not telling me a pack of lies?17a)used when politely asking something or telling someone to do something: Could I just say a few words before we start? Would you just explain to us how the system works. b)used when firmly telling someone to do something: Look, just shut up for a minute! Now, just listen to what I’m telling you.18it’s just that used when explaining the reason for something, especially when someone thinks there is a different reason: No, I do like Chinese food. It’s just that I’m not hungry.19just now a)a very short time ago: Where have my glasses gone? I had them just now. b)especially British English at this moment: We’re busy just now – can you come back later?20just think/imagine/look used to tell someone to imagine or look at the same thing that you are imagining or looking at: Just think – in a week we’ll be lying on a beach in the sun!21it’s/that’s just as well used to say that it is fortunate that something is true or happened because otherwise there would be problems: It’s just as well we’d prepared everything beforehand.22isn’t she just/aren’t they just etc old-fashioned used to strongly agree with something someone has said about a person or thing: ‘He’s a selfish, rude, ignorant man!’ ‘Isn’t he just!’23just so a)with everything arranged neatly and tidily: Her house always has to be just so. b)old-fashioned used to say yes or agree with something: ‘You should have beaten them, shouldn’t you?’ ‘Just so.’ → just the same at same2(3), → just in case at case1(7), → just my luck at luck1(12), → might just as well at might1(9)GRAMMAR: Word order• Just comes before a main verb: · I just saw him.• Just comes after ‘be’ when it is the main verb: · She is just seventeen.• Just comes after the first auxiliary verb: · I have just seen him. ✗Don’t say: I just have seen him.just1 adverbjust2 adjective
justjust2 /dʒʌst/ ●●○ adjective WORD ORIGINjust2
Origin:
1300-1400 French juste, from Latin justus, from jus ‘right, law’EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- a just and lasting peace
- a just reward
- He was the perfect choice for Emperor -- just, patient, merciful and of royal blood.
- Many of us did not feel that the court's decision was just.
- No just government would allow this kind of treatment of its own citizens.
- The Attorney General called the sentence a fair and just punishment for someone who had committed such a dreadful crime.
THESAURUS
treating people equally or in the way that is right: · It’s not fair that she gets paid more than me.· Everyone has the right to a fair trial.
formal morally right and fair: · a just punishment· a just cause· a just society· Do you think it was a just war?
fair and sensible according to most people’s standards: · a reasonable request· Lateness, without a reasonable excuse, will not be tolerated.
giving fair and equal treatment to all sides of an argument or subject: · Balanced reporting of the news is essential.
giving fair and equal treatment to everyone, especially when it would be easy to favour one particular group: · The drama takes an even-handed look at the consequences of violent crime, both on attackers and their victims.· The film is even-handed and does not try to make you support either side.
formal giving equal treatment to everyone involved: · We need an equitable solution to this problem.· a more equitable distribution of wealth
Longman Language Activatorwhen something happened a short time ago · Sorry, she just left for home. Can I take a message?· The war had just ended, and the country's economy was in ruins.· You've had your hair cut, haven't you? I've just noticed.· I just heard the news! Congratulations!
especially British a very short time ago: · It's noon, and she's only just got up.· I've only just passed my driving test, so I'm still a little nervous.
also a moment ago especially British spoken a very short time ago - use this especially when a situation has changed: · She was here a minute ago.· There was a phone call for you a second ago, but I didn't know where you were.· What did I do with my glasses? I had them in my hand a moment ago.
also just this minute British spoken a very short time ago - use this especially when you are answering someone who is looking for someone else: · "Have you seen Carl?'' "I just this minute hung up on him.''· She just now left, so she should be home by six.· Didn't I just this minute tell you to tidy your room!· Sandy was on the Internet just now, that's why the phone was busy.
also hardly/scarcely British spoken use this to say that something had just happened when something else happened: · I had scarcely opened the door when the dog came running in.· She had barely slept 10 minutes before she was woken up again.· The class had barely started when the fire bell rang.· Hardly had King finished speaking when a shot was fired by someone in the crowd.
when someone has become a particular age a short time ago if someone has just turned a particular age, they have very recently had their birthday: · She just turned five in August.· When he retired, he'd just turned 65.
if someone, usually a young person, is barely a particular age, they have only very recently had their birthday: · He's 35, and he's going out with a girl who's barely 18.
when something happens, although it almost did not happen · "Can I speak to Tony please?" "Sorry, you've just missed him."· If you hurry you'll just catch the 9.30 bus.· I just made it to class on time.· At the moment we're just making enough money to cover our costs.just in time (=with very little time to spare) · We got to the station just in time.
if you barely do something, you succeed, although you almost fail: · The fog was so bad that we could barely see the road in front of us.· The staff here are barely coping with all the work.
also nearly didn't British · I saw him a week ago and I almost didn't recognize him, he'd lost so much weight.· My alarm clock is broken and I nearly didn't wake up in time this morning.
British /just barely American use this when you succeed in doing something, but you want to emphasize how close you were to failing: · It was a close game. Beverly beat me, but only just.· I could just barely hear him.· The paperwork was only just completed in time for the conference.· The train was late, and I just barely made it to the meeting on time.
: narrowly win/defeat/fail etc if you narrowly win, lose etc, you win or lose by a very small number of points, votes etc: · The bill was narrowly defeated in the Senate.· She narrowly failed to beat the world record in the 100 metres sprint.
British use this to say that something good happened, but it almost did not: · The Labour party won the election, but it was a very near thing.· He nearly died - it was a very close thing.
if you do something by the skin of your teeth , you succeed in doing it, but only by a very small amount of time, space etc: · The business is surviving, but only by the skin of its teeth.· The car broke down on the way to the airport and they just caught the plane by the skin of their teeth.
when something bad almost happened, but did not: narrowly avoid/miss/escape etc to avoid something unpleasant or dangerous, although you almost do not avoid it: · A black BMW swerved, narrowly missing another car.· He narrowly escaped arrest when the police raided his house.
British also close call American a situation in which something bad almost happens but does not: · A sniper's bullet went through the sleeve of his coat. It was a close shave but didn't even scratch him.· Joe breathed a sigh of relief as the guard passed on to the next cell: "That was a close call!"
spoken say this when you have managed to avoid something dangerous or unpleasant, but you almost did not: · Geez, that was close! Did you see that red car?
a situation in which something, especially a car or plane, almost hits something, but does not: · There were two near misses on the airport's runways between 1998 and 1999.· The asteroid flew within 106,000 miles of Earth, which astronomers considered a near miss.
when you do something, but only with difficulty also can scarcely British if you can hardly , can barely , or can scarcely do something, you are able to do it but only with a lot of difficulty: · I was so tired I could hardly keep my eyes open.· She's not strong. She can barely walk without holding on to something.· He lay flat on his back, scarcely able to breathe, waiting for the ambulance.
if you can just about do something, you are able to do it but only with a lot of difficulty: · I could just about reach it.· I think I can just about manage to get there on time. · He's just about able to walk on his own again.
when something is a particular size, amount etc, but no more · The house is just big enough for the whole family.· Pick the fruit when it's just ripe.
if someone or something is barely a particular size, level, amount, distance etc, it is that size, level etc, but no bigger or more than that: · There was barely a gallon of gas in the tank.· He had barely a mile to go before finishing the race.· His voice was barely loud enough to be heard at the back of the theatre.· 5000 gallons of water is barely enough to supply a fire truck for five minutes.
British /just barely American use this when something is a particular size, level, amount, distance etc, but you want to emphasize that it is not any bigger or any more than that: · The cable's only just long enough to reach my desk.· We can walk. Her house is just barely around the corner.
words for describing someone who is always fair · Kelson has a reputation as a fair and compassionate judge.· Despite the discrimination they suffered, my grandparents remained fair, decent, good people.be fair to somebody · I've always tried to be fair to all my children.
written someone who is just treats people in a way that is fair and right - use this especially about leaders, rulers, and other people in authority, especially in historical descriptions: · He was the perfect choice for Emperor -- just, patient, merciful and of royal blood.· No just government would allow this kind of treatment of its own citizens.
someone who is fair-minded is able to see situations in a fair and reasonable way and always considers other people's opinions: · The Chairman is a fair-minded man, so will listen to any criticism of his proposals.· She remained maddeningly fair- minded, even about her greatest opponents.
treating people in a way that is reasonable and equal treating everyone equally, or treating people in a way that most people think is right: · The old system of student funding seemed much fairer.· Everyone has the right to a fair trial.· Observers will be present to ensure a free and fair election.it is fair that: · Do you think it's fair that she gets paid more money than me?it's only fair spoken: · Her husband should help take care of the baby - it's only fair.be fair to somebody: · In order to be fair to everyone, ticket sales are limited to two for each person.to be fair spoken (=say this when you are giving a reason why someone should not be criticized too strongly): · To be fair, these are complicated, serious issues, and the department has only been discussing them for a short time.
a situation, decision etc that is just gives someone what they rightly deserve or have a right to expect: · Many of us did not feel that the court's decision was just.· a just and lasting peacejust decision/punishment/settlement etc: · The Attorney General called the sentence a fair and just punishment for someone who had committed such a dreadful crime.
if an agreement, offer, or what someone does is reasonable , most people would agree that it is fair and sensible: · The company made every reasonable effort to correct the problem.· The students' goals in the protest seem so reasonable that the university is setting up a committee to consider them.it is reasonable to do something: · Do you think it's reasonable to expect people to work more than 60 hours a week?
giving fair and equal treatment to all sides of an argument or subject: · "Newsweek" gave a reasonably balanced report on the crisis.· Recently historians have taken a far more balanced view of the Irish question.
treating everyone equally and not showing special favour to anyone: · Local magistrates are expected to respect the law and provide even-handed justice.· The BBC has the reputation of being even-handed in its coverage of election news.
spoken use this to tell someone that they should do something because it is right and fair, especially after you have done something for them: · Come on, fair's fair. It's your turn to mind the kids.
to do something in an honest and fair way: · The film company says that it played fair in all its contract dealings with the actors' unions.· A mystery novel should play fair with the reader, providing all the clues necessary to solve the crime.
to have a good reason for thinking or doing something to have a good reason to behave in a particular way, especially in a way that you would not normally behave, or in a way that other people would usually disapprove of: · She's just got her exam results; she has the right to be proud of herself.· The problems are genuine and people have the right to be concerned.have every right to be something (=have a very good reason to feel something): · After what happened last time we bought a car, I think we have every right to be wary.
if you are justly proud, angry, critical etc, you have a good reason for feeling this way or reacting in this way: · The Chinese are justly proud of their ancient culture.· The press has been justly critical of the delays in paying compensation.· Bordeaux is an area of France justly famous for its red wine.
if someone does something, feels something, or thinks something with good cause or good reason , they have a good reason for what they do or think or feel: have good cause/reason to do something: · The coach, watching his team, feels he has good reason to expect them to win.for good cause/reason: · The company has been held up as a model employer, and for good reason. They have a good training program and excellent benefits.with good cause/reason: · She is a jealous wife, and with good cause.
formal if someone says or does something rightly , they are right and have good reasons to say it or do it: · The U.S. is rightly cautious about becoming involved.· Taxpayers rightly expect the government to be careful about spending.rightly so: · Residents are outraged, and rightly so.quite rightly: · Investors have quite rightly avoided this stock.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY I hope that he’s caught and gets his just deserts (=is punished in the way he deserves).COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES It’s just about the worst mistake anyone could make. He knew that just across the border lay freedom. The bathroom is just along (=a short distance along) the corridor. His last album sold half a million copies and we hope this one will be just as (=equally) popular. We could just discern a town in the distance. Well, that’s just ducky. I could suggest many different methods, but anyway, here are just a few. Getting a gun license here seems to be just a formality. It just goes to show how much people judge each other by appearances. Don’t get mad – I was only kidding. Sometimes you sound just like (=exactly like) my mum! It’s just like her to run away from her responsibilities! I’d just like to say how grateful we are for your help. ‘Salubrious’! That’s just the word I was looking for. They say the people of Los Angeles speak 12 languages and teach just as many in the schools. Bolton is a mill town just outside Manchester. We were just passing through (=travelling through a place) and thought we’d drop in to see you. There are parking spaces over there, just past (=a little further than) the garage. I didn’t mean to say it like that – it just popped out. That’s funny – Simon said exactly the same thing. She was just short of six feet tall. The neighbours throw things over the garden wall just to spite us. I spend just under four hours a day seeing customers.
I hope that he’s caught and gets his just deserts (=is punished in the way he deserves). It’s just about the worst mistake anyone could make. He knew that just across the border lay freedom. The bathroom is just along (=a short distance along) the corridor. His last album sold half a million copies and we hope this one will be just as (=equally) popular. (=used to emphasize that many more things will happen)· Signing the contract is just the beginning of a long process.
(=an aim that is fair and right)· The rebels believed that they were fighting for a just cause.
We could just discern a town in the distance. Well, that’s just ducky. I could suggest many different methods, but anyway, here are just a few. Getting a gun license here seems to be just a formality. It just goes to show how much people judge each other by appearances. Don’t get mad – I was only kidding. Sometimes you sound just like (=exactly like) my mum! It’s just like her to run away from her responsibilities! I’d just like to say how grateful we are for your help. ‘Salubrious’! That’s just the word I was looking for. They say the people of Los Angeles speak 12 languages and teach just as many in the schools. (=only a very short time ago)· I had just that moment arrived.
(=used when telling someone to wait)· Just a moment, I’ll go and get her.
especially British English (=at the present time) There are a lot of bargains in the shops just now.
There are a lot of bargains in the shops just now. British English spoken Mrs Peterson came in to see Ruth just the once.
Mrs Peterson came in to see Ruth just the once. (=exactly the opposite)· He wasn’t laughing. Quite the opposite, in fact.
Bolton is a mill town just outside Manchester. We were just passing through (=travelling through a place) and thought we’d drop in to see you. There are parking spaces over there, just past (=a little further than) the garage. I didn’t mean to say it like that – it just popped out. (=appropriate and right)· Death would be a just punishment.
That’s funny – Simon said exactly the same thing. (=wait a short time) ‘Is Al there?’ ‘Hold on a sec, I’ll check.’
‘Is Al there?’ ‘Hold on a sec, I’ll check.’ She was just short of six feet tall.· We are making progress towards a just society.
The neighbours throw things over the garden wall just to spite us. I spend just under four hours a day seeing customers.· I just want to be left alone.
(=used to thank someone for a present that you really like)· Thanks for the bread machine – it’s just what I’ve always wanted.
(=one that you believe is right)· They believe that they are fighting a just war.
(=used in formal situations to tell someone you will do what they want) ‘I’d like it to be ready by six.’ ‘Just as you wish, sir.’
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSNOUN ‘I’d like it to be ready by six.’ ‘Just as you wish, sir.’· The defense excused him for just cause.· False testimony in support of a just cause was moral; for an unjust cause it was immoral.· There are too few warriors and too few committed to a just cause.· No longer revolutionaries, no longer a just cause - no longer, after all that, a cause at all.· At that point failure to do so would have the same consequences as any other refusal to work without just cause.· The mythology of this just cause was not inevitably tragic, though usually so.· I could see no just cause for carrying on after arguing vehemently against the idea, then seeing it carried.
· Now the rich and the proud would get their just deserts.· Even a low-cal concoction can make us feel that we're getting our just deserts.
· For example, one may owe the duty to the just government of foreign countries.· Both reject papal centralization and papal authority as a means for discerning just government.· I have a duty to support just governments in foreign countries, even though they have no legitimate power over me.· Imagine a relatively just government ruling over a relatively morally enlightened population.· The existence of the occasional bad law enacted by a just government does not by itself establish much.· Therefore, consent can not be justified as a necessary means to establish a just government.· Noninstrumental validations of consent are, therefore, limited to consent to the authority of a reasonably just government.· The main argument can not validate wholesale the authority of even reasonably just governments.
· To see a job completed to the best of your ability and to the satisfaction of the customer is just reward.· It would be just reward for their recent form, and no-one would begrudge them the honour.· A handsome second-term majority will be his just reward.· A medal of honour was his just reward.· So for all their efforts they got their just reward.· For Edgar Bronfman and Ivan Straker, however, it would have been just reward for their assistance, to the race.· If Beth had got her just rewards, Tyler Blacklock had carved himself a very different destiny.· It features a well thought out line of play which reaped a just reward.
· Because of these evils, we have failed to create a just society here.· It points to some of the ethical roots of social action and the citizens' responsibilities towards a just society.· As the quote from Guttierrez shows, the struggle to build a just society is itself part of the process of salvation.· Indeed, the struggle for a more just society has historically entailed constant protest and demonstration to change oppressive laws.· The reader will recognize the correspondences between Qaddafi's account of social organization and the Zuwaya image of the just society.· Young's ideas are important because they cast serious doubt on liberal views of a just society.
· My partner, my family, and in a just war, my country.· There is no such thing as a just war.· Catholic morality approves of the view that to repel an aggressor is to engage in a just war.· What is going on there is not just war, it is genocide.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES► be just what the doctor ordered► as it happens/it just so happens► (just) out of interest/as a matter of interest► I’m only/just doing my job► let’s just say (that)► wait a minute/just a minute/hold on a minute/hang on a minute► that’s all I need/that’s just what I didn’t need► not just a pretty face► (just) as ..., so ...► something is just one of those things► just the thing/the very thing► it’s just a thought
1morally right and fair: - And a T'ang is not just any man.
- Anyway, you can't dismiss the experimental method just because some irrational people choose not to put the findings into practice.
- He is just because he is vulnerable and challengeable.
- I can't break it, just because he's out of the country.
- Just because you shop at the local indoor mall does not make you an expert on the retail sector of the economy.
- Perhaps it's just because you don't like her?
- So just because you can't find it through a Web search doesn't mean it's not there.
- This is not just because Republicans are determined to make it so.
- I was just walking along, minding my own business, when this guy ran straight into me.
- In case you missed the last program, here's a summary of the story.
- There are spare batteries in there, in case you need them.
- A few latecomers are nosing gloomily around in case the professionals have left anything worth having.
- Deep tendon reflexes are usually diminished, but in cases with prominent lateral column disease may be hyperactive with extensor plantar reflexes.
- How can an individual get permission to photocopy or videotape in cases where there is no fair use exception?
- In case a dish fails to appease a customer, Steve Carrasco can always make a flying getaway.
- In case you're wondering-for the hospital form-this is how you spell tetanus.
- Not typical in cases like this.
- They had delivered the correct total quantity of tins but half of them were packed in cases of 24 tins each.
- Viral cultures during an attack will give the diagnosis in cases such as these.
- A period when he was almost dead is coming up to the surface.
- He had a horrible premonition that she was coming up to Rome.
- Manion was coming up to his freeway exit.
- Around the corner, their classmates practiced pulling small-fry violin bows across squeaky strings.
- I rounded the corner, then stopped, waited a moment and peeked back into the lobby.
- Rats gnawed on black infants' feet, while money was used to build new police stations around the corner.
- She might think we're just around the corner and that we're not coming to see her.
- She peered round the corner of the house.
- She was around the corner, talking to Hoffmann.
- The Derby Tonelli grocery store of my mind could have stood around the corner from my house.
- There was always something around the corner if you didn't lose your head.
- "Everything okay?" "Oh, it's just been one of those days."
- Even a low-cal concoction can make us feel that we're getting our just deserts.
- From Llewelyn he would get his deserts, and be grateful for them.
- He was not a spiteful man, but he had enjoyed the sight of Spatz getting his deserts.
- Now the rich and the proud would get their just deserts.
- I have a sudden urge to touch her, to hold her, to tell her I know how she feels.
- I knew how he felt about me -- a short blind boy who hated leather basketballs.
- I know how he feels about me!
- I know how you feel about it ... You would rather wait - wait till we're married.
- I know how you feel, Doyle thought.
- I know how you feel, they're all or nothing.
- You ran a decent campaign, John, and I know how it feels to lose.
- Don't pay any attention to Henry. He's just fooling.
- ""Are you going out with Liam?'' ""No, we're just good friends.''
- I'm not going out with Nathan, you know - we're just friends.
- I keep telling my mother that Peter and I are just friends but she doesn't seem to believe me.
- Billy and I were just good friends, really good mates.
- But maybe he and Jane were just friends.
- Maureen and I - we thought we were just friends.
- My wife and I are just good friends.
- They were just friends, and he was fun to be with.
- A lot of rich kids are turning to crime just for the hell of it.
- We used to go out every Saturday night and get drunk, just for the hell of it.
- For the hell of it l do an extra set of bun-twisters on my back, a perennial crowd-pleaser.
- For this interview, talking just for the hell of it, he was immeasurably more relaxed.
- He decided to walk down to the promontory by way of the market, just for the hell of it.
- He didn't really strike her as a particularly nosy person, just wanting to know things for the hell of it.
- I steal things I can't eat, just for the hell of it.
- Slanging matches with Craddock just for the hell of it.
- Why do so many people breed just for the hell of it?
- William Mulholland came to Los Angeles more or less for the hell of it.
- It's human nature to put off doing things you don't like to do.
- But it's human nature that people-male or female-will do what they are allowed to get away with.
- A bit of companionship with fellow climbers and walkers is just the job at the end of a hard day.
- Clinique, though, say their new Electric Shave Primer is just the job.
- Computerised databases are just the job for any record storage as many of you may know.
- She should not have mentioned Mrs Skipton, must learn to do the job, just the job and no more.
- The Cajun Kings were just the job, as was John.
- This could be just the job for her - and it would generate some new income to replace what we've lost.
- To decide which one is right for you, you have to consider more than just the job you do.
- At home the bowl of the sky is just like that.
- Certainly they impute to the accused a degree of mystical malevolence just like that implied in witchcraft charges.
- Could he abandon everything now, just like that?
- How many people came to this country and bought a house just like that?
- I put my arm round him and gave him a hug just like that.
- I was on tablets for two days and then taken off, just like that.
- The pickup switching configuration is just like that of a Strat, but obviously with a fatter tone from the humbuckers.
- They stopped, just like that.
- We have put together a few of the most popular itineraries to help make your choice that little bit easier.
- "Do you need help with anything?" "No thanks. We're just looking."
- Just my luck! The one vacation I take all year, and I have to get sick.
- Married, is he? Just my luck.
- Great, I thought to myself, just my luck.
- It was just my luck to have bags made of light nylon, weighing in at ten kilos in total.
- No chance, I thought, just my luck the clocks aren't working.
- It was only a matter of time before Lynn found out Phil's secret.
- You'll learn how to do it eventually -- it's only a matter of time.
- Your father is dying and there's nothing we can do. I'm afraid it's just a matter of time.
- But they believe it's only a matter of time before the disease crosses the county boundary.
- If he hasn't already killed somebody, then it's only a matter of time.
- They think it's only a matter of time before he breaks.
- And if you have to plough the field anyway, you might as well plant it at the same time.
- But what is unavoidable may still be undesirable, and one might as well say so.
- D.W. had come in over ocean and flown low as a drug smuggler over what might as well be called treetops.
- He might as well have gotten down on his hands and knees and begged for it.
- He said we might as well go before his sister arrived, because once she came, it would be impossible.
- I might as well have been a convert, a Gentile.
- I thought I might just as well come down to the point.
- You might as well go to a branch.
- But the gentleman will not take no for an answer, and even tried to push past me just now.
- Her own eyes were a muddy green, and just now they were spitting fire, like a little cat.
- I myself had started something of a relationship with her just now.
- Maybe the maids would have left some of the rooms open, if there was nobody staying in them just now.
- That betraying look in her eyes in the cloakroom just now must have told him he'd won again.
- The man, whose helping hand he had just now been the recipient of, was immediately behind him.
- When I was in Marcus just now he was normal.
- But for once his famous ability to blend laughter and pain is overcome by the weight of his subject.
- But Holmes, for once, was wrong.
- In fact for once the human mussel-gatherers have come to the assistance of their natural competitors.
- Mrs Saulitis's cheerfulness was lost for once.
- Why not, for once, why not?
- You can't fault Ayckbourn's production but, for once, his comic vessel has problems carrying such emotionally heavy cargo.
- OK, you can stay up till 11, but just this once.
- But the smiling man who clutched the real trophy after the game spoke, this once, for everyone.
- Carol told Petey this once to help him stop crying so she could take a look.
- Hadn't she seen something like this once before? she thought vaguely.
- He had sworn this once when he and Adrastus had quarreled and Eriphyle had reconciled them.
- Lawyers and supporters of the parents in Orkney questioned both the motives and the methods of this once trusted organisation.
- Maybe this once, the world will display itself as immutable.
- We've been through this once.
- We've done this once or twice before, as I vividly recall.
- As it turns out, though, one of the greatest albums in his catalog has only just been released commercially.
- However, the hard part of Operation Restore Hope may have only just begun.
- It was sparsely furnished, for Anne had only just come into her inheritance, but it was newly decorated and clean.
- She must be dreaming, but surely she had only just gone to sleep.
- She remembered that he had a knack for getting people to stop shooting, and usually only just in time.
- The great black migration from the West Side-and from the Deep South-had only just begun.
- Unemployment is still only just half of what it was seven years ago.
- His falsity and hollowness are not just the opposite of the true and the wholesome, but threaten to undermine it.
- And being Lord Aviemore is just like being plain Mr Aviemore, right?
- Cluedo's Reverend Green is to become plain Mr Green to bring one of the country's best-loved board games up to date.
- Sometimes, it's simply a question of somewhere safe to go after school while parents are working.
- The potatoes were a little overcooked, but delicious all the same.
- He made beer the same way as his grandfather had and today it's brewed just the same way.
- My father was a Hasid but he wanted us to know the Scriptures just the same.
- Some have felt they were all the same, maybe even the Apostle John.
- The look will be different, but the content, the coverage and the crack will be just the same.
- These strips are all the same, a sort of busy evolutionary seashore.
- Trout fishing is often a great challenge, but rewarding just the same, with gorgeous colored fish and the streamside beauty.
- Well, if it's all the same to you, we would rather be the judges of that.
- Yet all the same, progress resulted.
- Both of them said the word on the same downbeat, which made them burst into laughter at how hilarious they sounded.
- He could not bring himself to say the words, so great was his terror of plague.
- If there's anything I can do, you've only got to say the word.
- No one was actually prepared to say the word revolution-the one word in their vocabulary softened by success.
- The last team then has to say the word they had in mind.
- When the language helper says the words in a frame he will say them more naturally.
- When the truth was devastating, no wonder physicians avoided saying the words and patients refused to accept them.
- "So who was she with?" "Let's just say it wasn't Ted."
- Everything has to be just so at Maxine's dinner parties.
- But this turned out to be just so much more Super Bowl hype.
- Flashman is just so bitter - he's blaming us, but we just wanted our money above aboard.
- I was just so furious that I swept out in high dudgeon.
- I was just so pumped up to do good.
- I went downstairs, I was just so struck by musicians and live music.
- If it was a microcap fund it would be different because there are just so many microcap stocks you can buy.
- Now, nations are just so many men like these.
- There were just so many animals around.
- Absorbing Costs Self-defeating techniques yield consequences that most organizations would just as soon not deal with.
- After all, he delivers oil to you and would just as soon keep doing it.
- And a lot of them would just as soon not get this junk e-mail.
- And they would just as soon I was not there.
- Fiercely individualistic, Texas would just as soon give back the Alamo as institute a state tax.
- He would as soon not go.
- The dismissal of such people would stir up controversy the president would just as soon avoid.
- But now, my dear fellows, let's just think about this a moment, shall we?
- I just think we can get it done.
- Just think of the businesses that take on people who are on the social.
- Just think of the economies of scale!
- Just think of those lemon groves outside my aunt's villa in Ravello.
- Just thinking about volunteer tutoring, little is known about the most basic of questions.
- Now he was trying to think of what he had just thought.
- And for those whose attention spans are trained to a short leash, it may be just the ticket.
- Humphrey and Senator Muskie were the ticket, but all that anybody remembered was Daley and his city.
- If their tours are as much fun as their zany brochure, Wild Women Adventures could be just the ticket.
- If you have a chronic condition that has made it difficult to exercise, this may be the ticket.
- They can be used as counters for they are the tickets to our mystic world.
- This bus could be just the ticket for a small family.
- This was just the ticket, I thought, sitting on my canvas chair, quietly digesting my cake.
- But they believe it's only a matter of time before the disease crosses the county boundary.
- If he hasn't already killed somebody, then it's only a matter of time.
- They think it's only a matter of time before he breaks.
- It'll be a huge success, just you wait.
- I asked them, and this is what they told me. I just wanted to know did you know any more.
- In the ambulance, I just wanted to know the damage.
- The truth of it was, as miserable as things were, I just wanted to say I had been there.
- And that's the way he is.
- And that's the way it is again this year - everybody is happy with what I am doing.
- But they think they can run everything from Detroit and that's the way the organisation is going to be restructured.
- Even the best generals sometimes lose with this army just because that's the way it is.
- For that's the way it is for the talented twosome.
- He's always been a bit on his dignity, I suppose, but that's the way he is.
- In the end Capirossi had to do the winning himself and that's the way 1991 is going to be.
- The money we got to spend - well, that's the way it is.
- And if you have to plough the field anyway, you might as well plant it at the same time.
- And we might as well get used to it and resolve to cope.
- Besides, they cost so much, you might as well get some fun out of them.
- I thought I might just as well come down to the point.
- If the traveler expects the high way to be safe and well-graded, he might as well stay at home.
- It might as well be now.
- She might as well see how the enemy behaved themselves in a place like this.
- While she was there, they might as well have added the charge of breaching the Trades Description Act.
- It's just as well I took the train today - I heard the traffic was really bad.
- Perhaps it is just as well.
Henry sincerely believed that he was fighting a just war. a just settlement Charlemagne was respected as a just ruler.► see thesaurus at fair2deserved by someone: a just reward for their loyal service What would be a just punishment for such a crime? I hope that he’s caught and gets his just deserts (=is punished in the way he deserves).—justly adverb: These men are criminals, but they must be dealt with justly. an achievement of which we can be justly proud