Dictionary: letter R
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+ | only common verbs here | any verb with many examples inrack up [rack something up] (losses, sales, points, titles) get a lot of something
- Japanese athletes racked up only two medals in Salt Lake City.
- Most biotech companies are still racking up losses.
- You may begin racking up points as soon as your membership is approved.
rake in [rake something in] (cash, money, profits, revenues) earn or get a lot of money
- They're really raking it in.
- The major banks have raked in record profits this year.
rake up [rake something up] (scandal, the past, old grivances, quarrel, filth, mistake, misdeeds, story) remind someone of unpleasant events in the pas. dig up, dredge up
- I didn't feel entirely comfortable raking up the past but I agreed to support her whatever she decided.
- I have no desire to rake up old grievances, or to enter into a fresh discussion as to who was right and who wrong.
rattle on (insep) talk continuouly in a boring way rabbit on
- He kept rattling on about her new car.
- He started rattling on about something that had happened at his office.
rabbit on (insep) talk continuouly in a boring way rattle on
- While the blokes would rabbit on about football or train sets, their partners would discuss shopping, holidays or hairstyles.
read on (insep) continue reading after having stopped
- Read on and learn how to write a better resume by avoiding the mistakes of others.
- Read on to see what happened.
read out [read something out] (news, text, speech, statement, words) read in a loud voice so people can hear
- She read out the statement on behalf of his client.
- He read out the text to them.
rein in [rein something in] (anger, emotions, excitement, feelings, costs, spending) Prevent something from getting out of control
- He was trying to rein in his anger.
- The Council will have to rein in spending this year.
ring off (insep) Finish a phone conversation
- She had to ring off after about ten minutes, because her bus was coming.
ring up [ring someone up] phone someone call up, phone up
- He said he was sick and tired of people ringing him up and asking him about it.
rip off [rip someone off] charge someone too much money
- We've been ripped off.
- The Internet has opened new doors to sales of all kinds. And, unfortunately, crooks are finding new opportunities to rip people off.
roll in (insep) (money, romours, buses, tanks) arrive in large numbersr
- The rumours keep rolling in.
- Allied tanks rolled in to liberate the town.
- The money's rolling in.
round off 1 [round something off] change a figure into the nearest whole number
- The answer should be rounded off.
2 finish Bring something to a pleasant end
- Shall we have a drink to round off the evening?
round up 1 [round something up] (cattle, criminals, suspects) go after animals to put them altogether somewhere
- They are modern-day cowboys, using helicopters and stripped-down jeeps to round up cattle.
2 increase something to the nearest whole number
- To simplify the graph, the sales figures have been rounded up to the nearest 100.
rub along (insep) manage to have a satisfactory relationship
- Friendship's one thing; love's another. If they din't have time together to see how they rubbed along in everyday life I don't see how they could possibly know whether it was going to work.
- Arguments are just part of being a couple and having to rub along together.
- We have always rubbed along very well with all our surrounding neighbours.
rub in [rub something in] keep talking about something that makes another person embarrased or makes them feel bad
- Okay, okay, you've made your point! No need to rub it in.
- I admit I was wrong but you don't have to rub it in my face.
rule out [rule something out] (possibility, idea) exclude something
- He did not rule out the possibility that the two sides could reach a settlement before the case goes to trial.
run away leave a place by running; escape
- The kids knocked on the door and ran away.
run away from [run away from something] (insep) (responsibility, truth, facts, situation, reality) try to avoid dealing with something
- I am proud of him for not running away from his responsibilities, but I am still worried.
run into 1 (insep) hit something with a vehicle
- The car went out of control and ran into a lamp-post.
2 (insep) meet by chance come across
- You'll never guess who I ran into the other day.
- I was coming out of the post office when I ran into an old school friend.
3 (insep) (difficulties, problems, trouble, opposition) experience problems or difficulties
- They seemed to have run into much fiercer resistance than they anticipated.
4 (insep) reach a certain amount
- Compensating farmers for their loss of income would run into hundreds of millions of pounds.
run out [run out, run out of something] (insep) (money, time, patience, petrol, milk, coffee, sugar, supplies) use something until there's nothing left
- The police caught him when his car ran out of petrol three miles from the scene of the crime.
run over [run over someone] (or an animal, often passive) hit someone with a car and drive over them
- He said that there had been an accident. Gary had been run over by a truck and his leg was broken.
- Dubai plans 10 new pedestrian bridges to cut risk of being run over.
- He was run over by a bus.
run up [run something up] (debt, bill, account, overdraft, deficit) be left with an amount of money you have to pay
- He ran up a huge bill at the Hilton Hotel, and a host of other places in London, and then he just evaporated into thin air.
run up against (insep) (competition, opposition, problems, resistance) experience an unexpected difficulty
- The company ran up against strong competition.
rush in (insep) go in in a hurry rush out
- Neighbors spoke of a horrific scene as firefighters rushed in.
rush off (insep) leave in a hurry dash off
- Where are you two rushing off to?
rush out (insep) go out in a hurry rush in
- He rushed outside, leapt into a taxi and headed for the Bronx.
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