monthmonth /mʌnθ/ ●●● S1 W1 noun [countable] 
Phil is coming home for a visit next month. She’ll be thirteen this month. I hope I’ll have finished the work by the end of the month. She earns about £350 a month (=each month). We update the schedule at least once a month.the month of May/June etc It snowed heavily during the month of January.2a period of about four weeks: She has an eight-month-old daughter. He’ll be away for two months. The symptoms she suffered varied from month to month (=every few weeks she had different medical problems). a month-long transport strike3months a long time, especially several months: Redecorating the kitchen took months.for/in months I haven’t seen him for months.4month after month used to emphasize that something happens regularly or continuously for a period of time: I felt I was doing the same old thing week after week, month after month.5month by month used when you are talking about a situation that develops slowly and steadily over a period of time: Unemployment figures are rising month by month.6 never/not in a month of Sundays spoken especially British English used to emphasize that something will definitely never happen: You won’t find anyone to do that job in a month of Sundays.GRAMMAR: Patterns with monthlast month/this month etcDon’t use in with these words:• You say last month: · Sales fell sharply last month. ✗Don’t say: Sales fell sharply in last month.• You say this month: · We’ve been very busy this month. ✗Don’t say: We’ve been very busy in this month.• You say next month: · It’s my birthday next month. ✗Don’t say: It’s my birthday in next month.• You say that month: · That month I started a new job. ✗Don’t say: In that month I started a new job.a month• You use a month when saying how many times in a month something happens: · We eat in restaurants several times a month.· ✗Don’t say: We eat in restaurants several times in a month.in the month of• You use in the month of when saying the month when something happens: · The trees usually flower in the month of May.all month• You use all month when talking about something that happens during every part of a month: · It’s been raining all month. ✗Don’t say: It’s been raining all the month.COLLOCATIONSadjectiveslast month· The new restaurant opened last month.the past month· They had come to know and like each other in the past month.the previous/preceding month (=the month before)· Sales were lower than in the previous month.next month· The movie will be released next month.the coming months (=the next few months)· Further work is planned for the coming months.the following month (=the next month)· By the following month he had raised over £400.the summer/autumn/winter/spring months· It’s very cold here during the winter months.a calendar month (=one of the 12 months of the year)· We get paid on the last day of the calendar month.phrasesin recent months· He had started to drink heavily in recent months.the beginning/end/middle of the month· You’ll receive your wages at the end of the month.the time of the month· This is the busiest time of the month.the months of the year· We’re learning the months of the year in German.verbsa month passes/goes by· Seven months went by before he returned.
WORD ORIGINmonth
Origin:
Old English monathEXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- It snowed heavily during the month of January.
- A month earlier it reported losing $ 250 million in 1995 and said it was cutting 100 jobs.
- At that time he had been a practising Catholic for two or three months.
- I told you all about it on July 12, two months ago.
- In this industry, none has been brought in the past six months.
- Last month, the appeal court had heard fresh evidence from two witnesses not called to give evidence at Smith's trial.
- My daughter's now 10 months old and I still haven't started my periods again.
- The actor can play a different person each month and still be considered a good actor.
Longman Language Activatora long time
· It's good to see you again, Ben -- it's been a really long time.(for) a long time · He's lived here a long time.· The house has been empty for a long time.in a long time · I haven't heard from Chuck in a long time.· It's about the worst cold I've had in a long time.a long time ago · We met in August 1947, a long time ago.· I've been to California, but it was a very long time ago.a very long time/a long, long time · We've been friends for a very long time.· A long, long time ago, a king had three daughters.it's a long time since · It's a long time since I heard from Clive.take (somebody) a long time (to do something) · It's a big file, so it'll take a long time to print out.· It's taking you a long time to finish that assignment, isn't it?last a long time · That's a big notepad you have there, it should last a long time.
a fairly long time: for a while: · How's Lynne? I haven't seen her for a while.· So you guys were in Brazil for a while, huh?in a while: · I haven't worn that jacket in a while.after a while: · After a while, I realised he was serious.a while ago/back: · He fought for the title a while ago.· 'Is that a photo of him?' 'Yeah, that was taken a while back - his hair's longer now.' it's (been) a while since: · It's been a while since I read the book, and I can't remember much about it, to be honest.quite a while (=a long time): · He's been going out with her quite a while now, hasn't he?a long while: · I haven't played chess in a really long while.a little while: · Can I hold her for a little while?· A little while later, Rick returned with the drinks.take (somebody) a while: · It took me a while before I could understand him.· Your leg will take a while to get better, Mary.
a long time, or for a long time: · Have you been waiting long?· I won't be long.· It has long been recognized that a high fat diet can cause heart problems.long before/after: · Long after the war, the wreckage of his plane was discovered.· They ran out of things to talk about long before they arrived.· 75 percent of the battered women in our survey stayed with their husbands long after most people would have left. so long: · They've been together so long, I can't figure out why they don't get married.long ago: · I guess it didn't happen very long ago.take (somebody) so long: · I don't visit very often because it takes so long to get over there.· I'm sorry this is taking so long.
for a long time: · Have you been working here for long?· I hope his speech doesn't go on for long.· He'll have to stay in hospital, but not for long.for very long: · I haven't known them for very long.
many hours, months, or years, and a lot longer than you expected: · It was years before we found out the truth.· Sorry I'm late. Had to wait hours for a bus.· Justin spends hours and hours just playing this one game.for hours/months/years etc: · I must get the car serviced -- I've been putting it off for months.· Henry seemed to be on the phone for hours last night.months/years/hours etc ago: · I bought this pen years ago. Two pounds it cost me!· Rob went out hours ago, and he's not back yet.be weeks/months/hours etc since: · It's been years since I was there, the place must have changed.
for the whole of one day, the whole of one week etc: · It's been snowing almost all day long.· I've been thinking about you all night long.
especially British, spoken a very long time: (for) ages: · I've had that jar of coffee ages, you'd better throw it out.· Derek's been telling her for ages to get another job.it's ages since: · It's ages since we played this game - I'd forgotten how good you are.· It seems like ages since we saw Ron and Eileen. ages ago (=a long time ago): · "When did you sell the car?" "Ages ago!"· I emailed you ages ago -- hasn't it arrived? wait/spend ages: · I spent ages in town trying to find something to wear for the wedding.· We had to wait ages till the doctor could see us.ages and ages (=use this to emphasize how long something takes or lasts): · Oh come on, we haven't had chips for ages and ages.
spoken a very long time, or too long: · Let me see the map, or we'll be driving round here forever.· God's love endures forever.go on forever: · Well, I don't suppose the police will let the situation go on forever!· We had a game of Scrabble that seemed to go on forever.last forever: · You go into marriage thinking it's going to last forever.· These wool blankets pretty much last forever, don't they?forever and a day (=use this to emphasize that something continues for a very long time): · I'm staying here. If I go with you, it'll take forever and a day.
American spoken if you wait, walk, stand etc for the longest time , you do it for a very long time: · We sat in the bar drinking for the longest time.· For the longest time, we didn't even realize he was gone.
British informal a long time, used especially to say that something happened a very long time ago: for donkey's years: · She worked in the shop for donkey's years, although the pay was awful.donkey's years ago: · We used to play golf together, but that was donkey's years ago.donkey's years since: · It's donkey's years since I went to the movies.
for as long as people who are still alive can remember: · It was the hottest summer in living memory.· For the first time in living memory, old Jack had left the island.within living memory: · The site had only flooded once within living memory.
WORD SETSasteroid, nounastro-, prefixastronaut, nounastronomical, adjectiveastronomy, nounastrophysics, nounAU, aurora borealis, nounBig Bang, the, nounblack hole, nouncelestial, adjectivecomet, nounconstellation, nouncorona, nouncosmic, adjectivecosmic ray, nouncosmology, nouncosmonaut, noundead, adjectiveearth, nouneclipse, nouneclipse, verbecliptic, nounequinox, nounescape velocity, nounextraterrestrial, adjectivegalactic, adjectivegalaxy, noungeostationary orbit, nounHubble Space Telescope, the, infinity, nounintergalactic, adjectiveinterplanetary, adjectiveinterstellar, adjectiveJupiter, nounlaunch, verblaunch, nounlight year, nounLittle Bear, lunar, adjectivelunar month, nounmagnitude, nounMars, nounMercury, nounmeteor, nounmeteoric, adjectivemeteorite, nounMilky Way, the, month, nounmoon, nounmorning star, nounNASA, nounnebula, nounNeptune, nounnew moon, nounnova, nounobservatory, nounorbit, verborbit, nounorbiter, nounouter space, nounphase, nounplanet, nounplanetarium, nounplasma, nounPluto, nounquadrant, nounquarter, nounquasar, nounradio telescope, nounring, nounrocket, nounsatellite, nounSaturn, nounsea, nounshooting star, nounsolar, adjectivesolar system, nounspace, nounspace capsule, nounspacecraft, nounspace probe, nounspaceship, nounspace shuttle, nounspace station, nounstar, nounstargazer, nounsteady state theory, nounstellar, adjectivesun, nounsunspot, nounsupernova, nountelescope, nountelescopic, adjectiveterrestrial, adjectiveUranus, nounVenus, nounwane, verbwax, verbwhite dwarf, nounworld, nounzenith, noun
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRYadjectives Book tickets 21 days in advance. We do not foresee any major changes in the years ahead. The rent money is two months in arrears. Hardly a week goes by without some food scare being reported in the media. Your passport is good for another three years. They ought to jail her killer for life. He knows he’s only got a few months to live. Everything should be sorted out by the middle of next year. income tax paid in preceding years The situation has improved in recent years.
· The new restaurant opened last month.
· They had come to know and like each other in the past month.
(=the month before)· Sales were lower than in the previous month.
· The movie will be released next month.
(=the next few months)· Further work is planned for the coming months.
(=the next month)· By the following month he had raised over £400.
· It’s very cold here during the winter months.
(=one of the 12 months of the year)· We get paid on the last day of the calendar month.
phrases· He had started to drink heavily in recent months.
· You’ll receive your wages at the end of the month.
· This is the busiest time of the month.
· We’re learning the months of the year in German.
verbs· Seven months went by before he returned.
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES Book tickets 21 days in advance. We do not foresee any major changes in the years ahead. The rent money is two months in arrears. (=three years etc ago) His wife died a couple of years back. He called me a while back.
His wife died a couple of years back. He called me a while back.· A train had broken down, causing a two-hour delay.
(=on each day, in each week etc) a disease that affects about 10 million people each year
a disease that affects about 10 million people each year (=the period of time near the beginning of something)· In the early years of our marriage, we lived with my wife’s parents.
· Karen’s returning to the States at the end of the month.
(=the days, months etc after an event) The situation deteriorated over the ensuing weeks.
The situation deteriorated over the ensuing weeks. (=at least once on each day, in each week etc) They see each other every day. Richard visits his mother every week.
They see each other every day. Richard visits his mother every week. (=in prison) The judge gave her two years in prison.
The judge gave her two years in prison. Hardly a week goes by without some food scare being reported in the media. Your passport is good for another three years. (=used to say that something happens almost every day, week etc) Hardly a month goes by without another factory closing down.
Hardly a month goes by without another factory closing down. (=before an hour, month etc has passed) We’ll be back inside the hour.
We’ll be back inside the hour.· Griffiths spent three days in jail after pushing a policeman.
They ought to jail her killer for life. He knows he’s only got a few months to live. Everything should be sorted out by the middle of next year.· His contract said he must give three months’ notice if he decides to leave the job.
· They studied the behaviour of the ocean during a five year period.
income tax paid in preceding years· The doctor said that she was eight weeks pregnant.
The situation has improved in recent years.· They are engaged in a five-year study into the effects of calcium on bone health.
· The garden is open daily in the summer months.
· Special 10-day visas were issued to cover the time of the conference.
· During the winter months the town is often cut off.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADJECTIVE· These early months gave him a brutally clear idea of what lay ahead.· This happened once in my early months at the Department of Health and Social Security.· In the early months of 1944, Bomber Command losses hit an all-time high.· The industrial scene thus looked much more alarming in the early months of 1 978.· His engagements in the early months of 1942 were equally arduous.· April Finish pruning early in the month.
· Early the following month a radiant Lucy walked up the aisle on her father's arm.· But the following month saw a renewed wave of strikes paralyse St Petersburg, Moscow and many provincial cities.· The following month 14 fans were injured when Feyenoord fans threw fragmentation bombs at Ajax supporters at a game in Amsterdam.· During the following months we started to distribute basic medical material to dispensaries, health centres, and hospitals in a few districts.· Over the following months, de Gaulle assumed total control over political affairs and substantially reduced Giraud's authority as Commander-in-Chief.· In July 1982, he fell ill and the following month his fellow directors decided in his absence to sack him.· The shares opened at a discount of 110p on the issue price of £3.50 but recovered strongly in the following months.· The following months were very busy, and included extensive individual consultations with all members of staff.
· Some signs of his own frustration had emerged at a conference on the constitution last month.· Less humorously, thousands of teachers, unpaid for six months or more, marched in Moscow last month.· A police spokeswoman said the outbreak was not connected to racial violence in nearby Oldham last month.· The special prosecutor last month asked the Supreme Court to turn aside the White House appeal over the attorneys' notes.· At least that was the expectation as 8,000 people gathered in a vast, beautiful hall in London last month.· When the world descended on Sydney last month it was with trepidation.· A poll last month indicated that 70 percent of Arizonans favor a state law to halt cockfight gambling.
· In the past six months while they've been in prison doctors have been battling to save thir victim's eyes.· For the past nine months it has been involved in a nightly Royal Mail operation out of the airport.· Over the past 18 months we have launched a number of products offering opportunities for existing customers.· The number of unsolicited companies approaching the office with offers of help in the past twelve months has been impressive.· The government's calamities over the past 12 months have rocked the Tory faithful.· If it is, it will bring the total of drug deaths in Strathclyde to more than 70 over the past 15 months.· That policy has been manifestly successful over the past 12 months in reducing the rate of inflation to 3.7 percent.
· Sales volumes fell 0.2% in June compared with the previous month.· J., the previous month on drug charges, and that she had fingered Felix as her cocaine facilitator.· That enabled it to boost pre-tax profits to March 31 to £101.4m from £65.7m in the previous 12 months.· But he fell ill the previous month and had to cancel.· Active smoking; active drinking Presently consuming or consumed in the previous 12 months.· The pace of growth in new auto loans also lost momentum from the previous month.· According to industry estimates, sales of nablabs last year were down by 25 percent overall on the previous 12 months.· The previous month he had four, one as I told you lasting for hours.
· In recent months he has made two major speeches in Parliament on the subject.· Typically this column provides regular updates on earnings over the most recent 12 month period.· His high profile in recent months and obvious bid for the party presidency have amounted to nothing.· Furniture was smashed and fists flew in the most serious trouble at the Maze in recent months.· About 40 stags are reported to have disappeared in recent months.· In recent months, the industry has been whingeing and moaning.· In recent months he accepted his increasing illness with an admirable fortitude and resignation.· Their agony in recent months and years has been terrible to behold.
VERB· But when magistrates told her she'd be jailed for three months, she collapsed in the dock.· But Judge Leo Clark told him: Walker was jailed for nine months and banned from the driving for two years.· Osbourne, of Wallasey, who won £12,000, was jailed for six months by Liverpool Crown Court.· Arthurs, 33, of Exeter, was jailed for nine months after admitting causing grievous bodily harm.· The man, from Wrexham, was jailed for nine months after admitting cruelty.· He was sacked from the Mint - and was jailed for nine months at Cardiff Crown Court yesterday.· A driving examiner has been jailed for four months for indecently assaulting four women test candidates.· He drew the sword and stabbed his attacker, Martin Day, who was later jailed for 18 months.
· Just before the revolution he spent seven months in detention chained to a wall.· She spends $ 100 a month in long-distance phone bills right now.· The directors and actors had spent months in zoos recording the noises made by apes in emotional situations.· Most of the money was spent within a month of the escape.· Two people were killed, and Broderick spent one month in a Belfast hospital.· Sarah, 19, had gone home for Christmas after spending three lonely months at Surrey University.· I go out on a blitz and then tend to spend nothing for months.· He had spent the past few months noting down all the sightings and rumours of the Bookman's movements.
PHRASES FROM THE ENTRY► never/not in a month of SundaysPHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES► I give it six weeks/a month etc► be five/six/seven etc months gone► ten days hence/five months hence etc► take home £120 per week/$600 a month etc► as little as £5/3 months/10 feet etc► once a week/once every three months etc► two weeks/a month etc short of something► days turned into weeks/months turned into years etc
1one of the 12 named periods of time that a year is divided intothis/last/next month- Redecorating the kitchen took months.
- I'm just doing the same old thing month after month.
- And then following in her footsteps, month after month, as if he stood a chance.
- But month after month Clarisa and I went on sleeping with our son between us.
- Day after day, month after month, I followed death.
- How must it be to work here day after day, month after month, knowing there was no end to it?
- I learned on the job, at sea, working seven days a week, month after month.
- Our salaries were not paid, month after month.
- The Azusa Street revival itself continued day after day, month after month for three years.
- These limits were then overshot by month after month of interest rates above 14%.
- Unemployment figures are rising month by month.
- Because you produced it on loose pages I could exhibit it month by month as you organised it.
- Let your astrologers come forward, those stargazers who make predictions month by month.
- The hon. Gentleman has no evidence for asserting that standards have dropped month by month.
- The market is changing not year by year, but month by month.
- And he also had long discussions with the actors when they rehearsed the dialogue during the week before shooting began.
- Barbara Walters found time the week before her swirl of Inaugural engagements as the date of Sen.
- Even the day before the King died!
- If she laid at dawn, like most birds, she would have to have prepared the day before.
- That is equivalent to the day before Thanksgiving, Black Wednesday, in industry parlance.
- The final winner will be announced the week before Super Bowl.
- The move came the day before high school players are allowed to sign letters-of-intent with college programs.
- The observers of gonorrhoea in the days before effective treatment was available vividly described the symptoms of acute gonococcal urethritis.
- But Portillo is fast becoming flavour of the month and will increasingly find himself in the public eye.
- But the flavour of the month was no flavour at all.
- He is never one to go for gimmicks or flavour of the month hairdressing.
- I roll the flavour of the month round in my mouth.
- Nicholson and Hopper suddenly became the flavour of the month.
- Not the flavour of the month exactly, especially with your own people.
- Promotion is the new non flavour of the month.
- And she had returned the following afternoon, carrying Timmy on her hip and the rest of her possessions in a backpack.
- Early the following month a radiant Lucy walked up the aisle on her father's arm.
- Expansion and application of some of those ideas will be pursued in the following chapters.
- I describe experiments making use of this criterion in the following chapter.
- In the following chapters, I emphasize what can be done, not what will be done.
- The receiving company went into liquidation the following month.
- We examine these recurrent themes in the managers' first-year biographies in the following pages.
- But some underlying patterning remains, despite the intervening years and the subtle shifts in values and beliefs.
- I wanted to look young when I met my brother, perhaps because I had accomplished nothing in the intervening years.
- In the intervening years, as property taxes ate away at their nest egg, their proposals for other developments fell flat.
- Over the intervening years the inter-action and travelling of these eight aircraft is intricate.
- Recounting the matter in present time-without being returned-the patient is using all the intervening years as buffers against the painful emotion.
- Some time, then, during the intervening years, he had been granted a barony.
- The answer depends, to some degree, on the effectiveness of those who have been active in the intervening years.
- To occupy the intervening months she took a job in a hospital.
- Even the time of the month can not be blamed for women's tendency to depression.
- She was worrying that they'd made love at the wrong time of the month.
- Surely not the time of the month?
- This is a safe time of the month for me.
- But it could be several weeks yet before these children know the fate of their school.
- I know it will not be for some months yet, but time passes quickly.
- Indeed, it may beaver for many months yet.
- It was to last for some months yet.
- It will probably be some months yet before we get the final government reaction to our proposals.
- Sometimes they took little dancing steps, as their blood responded to rhythms that their descendants would not create for ages yet.
Phil is coming home for a visit next month. She’ll be thirteen this month. I hope I’ll have finished the work by the end of the month. She earns about £350 a month (=each month). We update the schedule at least once a month.the month of May/June etc It snowed heavily during the month of January.2a period of about four weeks: She has an eight-month-old daughter. He’ll be away for two months. The symptoms she suffered varied from month to month (=every few weeks she had different medical problems). a month-long transport strike3months a long time, especially several months: Redecorating the kitchen took months.for/in months I haven’t seen him for months.4month after month used to emphasize that something happens regularly or continuously for a period of time: I felt I was doing the same old thing week after week, month after month.5month by month used when you are talking about a situation that develops slowly and steadily over a period of time: Unemployment figures are rising month by month.6 never/not in a month of Sundays spoken especially British English used to emphasize that something will definitely never happen: You won’t find anyone to do that job in a month of Sundays.GRAMMAR: Patterns with monthlast month/this month etcDon’t use in with these words:• You say last month: · Sales fell sharply last month. ✗Don’t say: Sales fell sharply in last month.• You say this month: · We’ve been very busy this month. ✗Don’t say: We’ve been very busy in this month.• You say next month: · It’s my birthday next month. ✗Don’t say: It’s my birthday in next month.• You say that month: · That month I started a new job. ✗Don’t say: In that month I started a new job.a month• You use a month when saying how many times in a month something happens: · We eat in restaurants several times a month.· ✗Don’t say: We eat in restaurants several times in a month.in the month of• You use in the month of when saying the month when something happens: · The trees usually flower in the month of May.all month• You use all month when talking about something that happens during every part of a month: · It’s been raining all month. ✗Don’t say: It’s been raining all the month.COLLOCATIONSadjectiveslast month· The new restaurant opened last month.the past month· They had come to know and like each other in the past month.the previous/preceding month (=the month before)· Sales were lower than in the previous month.next month· The movie will be released next month.the coming months (=the next few months)· Further work is planned for the coming months.the following month (=the next month)· By the following month he had raised over £400.the summer/autumn/winter/spring months· It’s very cold here during the winter months.a calendar month (=one of the 12 months of the year)· We get paid on the last day of the calendar month.phrasesin recent months· He had started to drink heavily in recent months.the beginning/end/middle of the month· You’ll receive your wages at the end of the month.the time of the month· This is the busiest time of the month.the months of the year· We’re learning the months of the year in German.verbsa month passes/goes by· Seven months went by before he returned.