world*/*/*/

[wɜːld] noun I

1) [singular] people and society in all countries

We want to create a safer world for our children.[/ex]

They control about a quarter of the world's oil supply.[/ex]

The terrorists pose a threat to the whole world.[/ex]

The same problems are faced by workers throughout the world.[/ex]

2) the world

[singular] the planet that we live on

changes in the world's climate[/ex]

3) [C] a particular group of countries

the economies of the western world (= the countries of western Europe and North America)[/ex]

It is the oldest institution in the English-speaking world.[/ex]

4) [C] the particular type of place or situation in which someone lives or works

the entertainment world[/ex]

5) [singular] the state of being alive

Thousands of babies come into the world (= are born) every day.[/ex]

•

do sb a/the world of good — to make someone feel very happy or healthy[/ex]

in the world — 1) used for emphasizing a particular quality that something has[/ex]

They produce some of the finest wines in the world.[/ex]

— 2) used for adding emphasis to a question in order to show that you are surprised or annoyed

How in the world did they make a mistake like that?[/ex]

mean the world to sb — informal to be very important to someone[/ex]

out of this world — informal extremely good or impressive[/ex]

the outside world — ordinary society, rather than places such as prisons or religious communities where people live separately from the rest of society[/ex]

think the world of — informal to like someone or something very much[/ex]

See:

best,

top I

II

adj

world [wɜːld]

involving all the countries of the world

the world championships[/ex]

a world war[/ex]