Читаем Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s Dictionary полностью

crack|le /kræ k ^ə l/ (crackles , crackling , crackled ) VERB If something crackles , it makes a rapid series of short, harsh noises. □ [V ] The radio crackled again. □ [V -ing] …a crackling fire. ● N‑COUNT Crackle is also a noun. □ [+ of ] …the crackle of flames and gunfire.

crack|ly /kræ k ^ə li/ ADJ Something that is crackly , especially a recording or broadcast, has or makes a lot of short, harsh noises. □  …a crackly phone line.

crack|pot /kræ kpɒt/ (crackpots ) ADJ [ADJ n] If you describe someone or their ideas as crackpot , you disapprove of them because you think that their ideas are strange and crazy. [INFORMAL , DISAPPROVAL ] □  …crackpot schemes. ● N‑COUNT A crackpot is a crackpot person. □  She was no more a crackpot than the rest of us.

cra|dle /kre I d ^ə l/ (cradles , cradling , cradled )

1 N‑COUNT A cradle is a baby's bed with high sides. Cradles often have curved bases so that they rock from side to side.

2 N‑COUNT The cradle is the part of a telephone on which the receiver rests while it is not being used. □  I dropped the receiver back in the cradle.

3 N‑COUNT A cradle is a frame which supports or protects something. □  He fixed the towing cradle round the hull.

4 N‑COUNT [usu sing] A place that is referred to as the cradle of something is the place where it began. □ [+ of ] Mali is the cradle of some of Africa's richest civilizations.

5 VERB If you cradle someone or something in your arms or hands, you hold them carefully and gently. □ [V n + in ] I cradled her in my arms. □ [V n] He was sitting at the big table cradling a large bowl of milky coffee.

6 PHRASE If something affects you from the cradle to the grave , it affects you throughout your life. □  The bond of brotherhood was one to last from the cradle to the grave.

craft ◆◇◇ /krɑː ft, kræ ft/ (crafts , crafting , crafted ) craft is both the singular and the plural form for meaning 1 . 1 N‑COUNT You can refer to a boat, a spacecraft, or an aircraft as a craft . □  With great difficulty, the fisherman manoeuvred his small craft close to the reef.

2 → see also landing craft

3 N‑COUNT A craft is an activity such as weaving, carving, or pottery that involves making things skilfully with your hands. □  All kinds of traditional craft industries are preserved here.

4 N‑COUNT You can use craft to refer to any activity or job that involves doing something skilfully. □  Maurice Murphy, one of the country's leading classical trumpeters, learnt his craft with the Black Dyke Mills band.

5 VERB If something is crafted , it is made skilfully. □ [be V -ed] The windows would probably have been crafted in the latter part of the Middle Ages. □ [V n] Many delegates were willing to craft a compromise. □ [V -ed] The author extracts the maximum from every carefully-crafted scene in this witty tale. □ [V -ed] …original, hand-crafted bags at affordable prices.

cra ft fair (craft fairs ) N‑COUNT A craft fair is an event at which people sell goods they have made.

crafti|ly /krɑː ft I li, kræ ft-/ → see crafty

crafts|man /krɑː ftsmən, kræ ft-/ (craftsmen ) N‑COUNT A craftsman is a man who makes things skilfully with his hands. □  The table in the kitchen was made by a local craftsman.

crafts|man|ship /krɑː ftsmənʃ I p, kræ ft-/

1 N‑UNCOUNT Craftsmanship is the skill that someone uses when they make beautiful things with their hands. □ [+ of ] It is easy to appreciate the craftsmanship of Armani.