- world
- noun1 the earth/its peopleADJECTIVE▪ known▪
a medieval map of the known world
▪ entire, wholeVERB + WORLD▪ create, make▪They believe that God created the world.
▪ destroy▪One of these days, humans will destroy the world.
▪ save▪ conquer, dominate, rule, take over▪Fast food outlets seem to be taking over the world.
▪ populate▪ explore, tour, travel▪ see▪As a young man, he wanted to see the world before he settled down.
▪ lead▪Sweden leads the world in safety legislation.
WORLD + VERB▪ end▪Many people imagine the world ending with an explosion.
WORLD + NOUN▪ atlas, map▪ population▪ leader, power, superpower▪a meeting of the major world powers
▪ economy▪ order▪the new world order marked by American dominance
▪ recession, slump▪ market▪ trade▪ price▪World oil prices continue to rise.
▪ domination▪A handful of Internet companies are battling for world domination.
▪ empire▪He is at the head of a world media empire.
▪ affairs, events, politics▪ attention, opinion▪The bombing alienated world opinion.
▪ war▪ champ (informal), champion, record-holder▪He was easily beaten by the reigning world champion.
▪ championship, cup, title▪ class▪The team is world class.
▪ record▪She shattered the world record for the marathon.
▪ rankings▪He has never before featured in the top ten world rankings.
▪ renown▪scientists of world renown
▪ religion▪the major world religions
▪ cinema, music (= from or influenced by cultures outside Europe and North America)▪ premiere▪The movie had its world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival.
▪ tour▪The band are about to embark on a six-month world tour.
PREPOSITION▪ across the world▪Astronomers across the world will be watching the night sky.
▪ around the world, round the world (esp. BrE)▪The ceremony was watched live by millions around the world.
▪ in the world▪He felt he was the luckiest man in the whole world.
▪ throughout the world▪People throughout the world will be watching the big game on television.
PHRASES▪ all around the world, all over the world, all round the world (esp. BrE)▪The ceremony was watched live by millions around the world.
▪ the end of the world (figurative)▪It won't be the end of the world if you don't get the job.
▪ on a world scale▪Communist parties were formed on a world scale after the Russian Revolution.
▪ on the world stage▪The country became an important player on the world stage.
▪ a part of the world▪It's an interesting part of the world.
▪ rid the world of sth▪He is on a quest to rid the world of evil.
▪ the world over▪Scientists the world over have been waiting for this breakthrough.
2 part of the earthADJECTIVE▪ Arab, English-speaking, Islamic, Muslim, Western, etc.▪Heads of state from all over the Arab world gathered for the conference.
▪ civilized▪ free▪ developed, First, industrialized, rich▪First-World consumers will have to eat less meat.
▪ developing, Third, underdeveloped▪ New, Old▪Machismo is a New World phenomenon with roots in Old World cultures.
PREPOSITION▪ in the … world▪In the Western world, there is a different attitude to marriage.
3 life/societyADJECTIVE▪ changing, chaotic, ever-changing, fast-changing, fast-paced▪ cruel, cut-throat, dog-eat-dog, hard, tough▪ alien, crazy, mad (esp. BrE), strange, topsy-turvy▪ ancient, medieval, Roman, etc.▪ contemporary, modern, postmodern, today's▪ globalized▪In today's globalized world, telecommunications have broken down boundaries.
▪ post-apocalyptic, post-war▪The movie is set in a bizarre post-apocalyptic world.
▪ brave new▪the architects' vision of a brave new world of pristine concrete
▪ vanishing▪These tribesmen are proud survivors of a vanishing world.
▪ peaceful▪ ideal, perfect▪ imperfect▪This is an imperfect world, and we have to compromise.
▪ external, outer, outside, real▪Throughout his time in prison he had no contact with the outside world.
▪In the real world things don't always happen like they do in books.
▪ day-to-day, everyday, mundane, workaday▪She has to deal with the day-to-day world of bills, schools, and problems.
▪ dream, fantasy, fictional, imaginary, inner, make-believe, private▪She enjoys creating imaginary worlds for children.
▪She lives in her own inner world.
▪ sb's own▪She lives in her own little world.
▪ alternative, parallel▪ material, physical▪ simulated, virtual▪ digital▪ spiritual▪ spirit▪Mediums claim to receive messages from the spirit world.
▪ secular▪ social▪ animal, insect, natural, plant▪I like living in the country because I'm interested in the natural world.
▪ academic, art, business, corporate, fashion, industrial, literary, medical, publishing, sports▪ different▪We come from different worlds.
▪ whole, whole wide, wider▪She told him he was her only friend in the whole wide world.
▪The wider world learned of his illness months after he told his family.
▪ small▪I'm sure we'll meet again. It's a very small world in this profession.
VERB + WORLD▪ change, remake, reshape, revolutionize, shape, transform▪Young people always think they are going to change the world.
▪Technology has remade the world.
▪ have, inhabit, live in▪Children often have their own private world.
▪ look at, perceive, see, view▪different ways of looking at the world
▪ create▪Computer games create whole virtual worlds.
▪ imagine▪Can you imagine a world without possessions?
▪ come into, enter, escape into▪We come into the world with nothing.
▪He entered the world of politics in 1997.
▪Show business gave him the chance to escape into another world.
▪ bring sb into▪She had brought six children into the world.
▪ divide▪She tends to divide the world into ‘winners’ and ‘losers’.
▪ escape from, shut yourself away from, shut out▪He closed his eyes and tried to shut out the world.
▪ face▪For the first time since the death of her parents, she felt able to face the world.
▪ take on▪He felt ready to take on the world when he finished college.
▪ tell▪He wanted to tell the world how happy he was.
▪ prove to, show▪She was determined to show the world that she was no loser.
▪ rock, shake, shock, stun▪The news of the assassination shook the world.
WORLD + VERB▪ change▪ collapse, crumble, fall apart▪His world fell apart when his wife died.
▪ revolve around sb/sth▪She thinks the world revolves around her and her schedule.
▪ owe sb sth▪He seems to think that the world owes him a living.
WORLD + NOUN▪ knowledge▪ view▪Teachers influence the world view of their young students.
PREPOSITION▪ in the … world▪He's well known in the fashion world.
▪ world about (esp. BrE), world around▪At this age, babies are starting to take an interest in the world around them.
▪ world of▪In the world of finance there is little room for sentiment.
▪ world outside▪Aren't you interested in the world outside your window?
PHRASES▪ sb's experience of the world, sb's knowledge of the world, sb's perception of the world▪ the eyes of the world▪The eyes of the world are on the president.
▪ in an ideal world, in a perfect world▪In an ideal world, I'd like to work just three days a week.
▪ in a world of your own▪I tapped on the window to get her attention but she was in a world of her own.
▪ the rest of the world▪He just wanted to shut himself away from the rest of the world.
▪ take the world by storm▪a young writer who is taking the world by storm
▪ watch the world go by▪He likes to sit outside his front door and watch the world go by.
▪ a whole other world (informal)▪There is a whole other world outside school.
▪ the ways of the world▪He's too young to understand the ways of the world.
▪ worlds apart▪Although they are twins, they are worlds apart in their attitude to life.
Collocations dictionary. 2013.
