Did you know?

Click any word in a definition or example to find the entry for that word

Superstition and superstitions

four-leaved clover

noun

a leaf from a clover plant that has four parts instead of the usual three, that is believed to bring good luck

the Scottish play

a name for William Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, used by people working in the theatre who believe it brings bad luck to say the word ‘Macbeth’

superstition

noun

a belief that things such as magic or luck have the power to affect your life

superstitious

adjective

believing in the power of magic or luck

superstitious

adjective

based on that belief

unlucky

adjective

used for describing something that is believed to make bad things happen

superstitiously

adverb

cross your fingers

to put your middle finger over your first finger as a wish for good luck

touch wood

used when you have said that you have had good luck in order to prevent bad luck from happening to you. People sometimes touch something made of wood when they say this

vocal fry

a speech habit in which a speaker lowers their voice at the end of a sentence

BuzzWord Article

Word of the Day Word of the Day

dray

a type of cart pulled by a horse and used in the past for carrying barrels of beer

Open Dictionary

conflict mineral

a mineral which is mined in a place where there is armed conflict, and sold to help pay for weapons

add a word

Blog

A must for anyone with an interest in the changing face of language. The Macmillan Dictionary blog explores English as it is spoken around the world today.

global English and language change from our blog