conservatory
con‧ser‧va‧to‧ry /kənˈsɜːvətəri $ -ˈsɜːrvətɔːri/ noun (plural conservatories) [countable]
1. British English a room with glass walls and a glass roof, where plants are grown, that is usually added on to a house
2. American English a conservatoire
patio
pat‧i‧o /ˈpætiəʊ $ -oʊ/ noun (plural patios) [countable]
Date: 1800-1900
Language: Spanish
a flat hard area near a house, where people sit outside
Dust
1. a cloth for removing dust from furniture
2. American English old-fashioned a light coat that you wear to protect your clothes while you are cleaning the house
3. American English informal a dust storm
hoover
hoover verb [intransitive and transitive] British English
to clean a floor, carpet etc using a vacuum cleaner (=a machine that sucks up dirt)
SYN vacuum
mop /mɒp $ mɑːp/ noun [countable]
Date: 1400-1500
Origin: Perhaps from Latin mappa 'cloth (for cleaning)'
1. a thing used for washing floors, consisting of a long stick with threads of thick string or a piece of sponge fastened to one end:
a mop and bucket
2. a thing used for cleaning dishes, consisting of a short stick with a piece of sponge fastened to one end
3. [usually singular] informal a large amount of thick, often untidy hair
mop of
He ran a hand through his mop of fair hair.
mould British English, mold American English /məʊld $ moʊld/ noun
1. SHAPED CONTAINER [countable] a hollow container that you pour a liquid or soft substance into, so that when it becomes solid, it takes the shape of the container:
Another method, used especially for figures, was to pour the clay into a mould.
lime jell-o in a mould
2. TYPE OF PERSON [singular] if someone is in a particular mould, or fits into a particular mould, they have all the attitudes and qualities typical of a type of person
fit (into) a mould
She didn’t quite fit into the standard ‘high-flying businesswoman’ mould.
crescendo
cre‧scen‧do /krəˈʃendəʊ, krɪˈʃendəʊ $ -doʊ/ noun (plural crescendos) [countable]
Date: 1700-1800
Language: Italian
Origin: 'growing', from Latin crescendum, from crescere; ⇨ crescent
1. if a sound or a piece of music rises to a crescendo, it gradually becomes louder until it is very loud
OPP diminuendo:
The shouting rose to a deafening crescendo.
The curtains opened as the music reached a crescendo.
2. if an activity or feeling reaches a crescendo, it gradually becomes stronger until it is very strong
SYN climax:
The campaign reached its crescendo in the week of the election.
diminuendo
di‧min‧u‧en‧do /dəˌmɪnjuˈendəʊ, dɪˌmɪnjuˈendəʊ $ -doʊ/ noun (plural diminuendos) [countable]
Date: 1700-1800
Language: Italian
Origin: Latin minuere 'to make less'
a part in a piece of music where it becomes gradually quieter
OPP crescendo
—diminuendo adjective, adverb
allegro
al‧leg‧ro /əˈleɡrəʊ, əˈleɪ- $ -ɡroʊ/ noun (plural allegros) [countable]
Date: 1600-1700
Language: Italian
Origin: 'cheerfully', from Latin alacer; ⇨ alacrity
a piece of music played or sung quickly
adagio
a‧da‧gi‧o /əˈdɑːdʒiəʊ $ -dʒoʊ/ noun (plural adagios) [countable] technical
Date: 1600-1700
Language: Italian
Origin: ad 'at, to' + agio 'ease'
a piece of music that should be played or sung slowly
fortissimo
for‧tis‧si‧mo /fɔːˈtɪsəməʊ, fɔːˈtɪsɪməʊ $ fɔːrˈtɪsəmoʊ/ adjective, adverb
Date: 1700-1800
Language: Italian
Origin: 'loudest', from forte; ⇨ forte1
music that is fortissimo is played or sung very loudly
OPP pianissimo ⇨ forte
pianissimo
pi‧a‧nis‧si‧mo /ˌpiːəˈnɪsəməʊ, ˌpiːəˈnɪsɪməʊ $ -moʊ/ adjective, adverb technical
Date: 1700-1800
Language: Italian
Origin: 'very quiet'
played or sung very quietly
OPP fortissimo
Andante
/ænˈdænti, -teɪ $ ɑːnˈdɑːn-/ adjective
played or sung at a speed that is neither very fast or very slow
—andante adverb
Tempo
tempo /ˈtempəʊ $ -poʊ/ noun (plural tempos) [countable]
Date: 1600-1700
Language: Italian
Origin: 'time', from Latin tempus
1. the speed at which music is played or should be played
2. the speed at which something happens:
the easy tempo of island life