9 would rather → see rather
10 MODAL You use would with 'if' clauses in questions when you are asking for permission to do something. □ Do you think it would be all right if I opened a window? □ Mr. Cutler, would you mind if I asked a question?
11 MODAL You use would , usually in questions with 'like', when you are making a polite offer or invitation. [POLITENESS ] □ Would you like a drink? □ Perhaps you would like to pay a visit to London.
12 MODAL You use would , usually in questions, when you are politely asking someone to do something. [POLITENESS ] □ Would you come in here a moment, please? □ Oh dear, there's the doorbell. See who it is, would you, darling.
13 MODAL You say that someone would do something when it is typical of them and you are critical of it. You emphasize the word would when you use it in this way. [DISAPPROVAL ] □ Well, you would say that: you're a man.
14 MODAL You use would , or sometimes would have with a past participle, when you are expressing your opinion about something or seeing if people agree with you, especially when you are uncertain about what you are saying. [VAGUENESS ] □ I think you'd agree he's a very respected columnist. □ I would have thought it a proper job for the Army to fight rebellion. □ I would imagine she's quite lonely living on her own.
15 MODAL You use I would when you are giving someone advice in an informal way. □ If I were you I would simply ring your friend's bell and ask for your bike back. □ There could be more unrest, but I wouldn't exaggerate the problems.
16 MODAL You use you would in negative sentences with verbs such as 'guess' and 'know' when you want to say that something is not obvious, especially something surprising. □ Chris is so full of artistic temperament you'd never think she was the daughter of a banker.
17 MODAL You use would to talk about something which happened regularly in the past but which no longer happens. □ Sunday mornings my mother would bake. I'd stand by the fridge and help.
18 MODAL You use would have with a past participle when you are saying what was likely to have happened by a particular time. □ Within ten weeks, 34 million people would have been reached by our commercials.
19 MODAL You use would have with a past participle when you are referring to the result or effect of a possible event in the past. □ My daughter would have been 17 this week if she had lived. □ If I had known how he felt, I would never have let him adopt those children.
20 MODAL If you say that someone would have liked or preferred something, you mean that they wanted to do it or have it but were unable to. □ I would have liked a life in politics. □ She would have liked to ask questions, but he had moved on to another topic.
wou ld-be ADJ [ADJ n] You can use would-be to describe someone who wants or attempts to do a particular thing. For example, a would-be writer is someone who wants to be a writer. □ …a book that provides encouragement for would-be writers.
wouldn't /wʊ d ə nt/ Wouldn't is the usual spoken form of 'would not'. □ They wouldn't allow me to leave the room.
would've /wʊdəv/ Would've is a spoken form of 'would have', when 'have' is an auxiliary verb. □ My mum would've loved one of us to go to college.
wound
➊ VERB FORM OF 'WIND'
➋ INJURY
➊ wound /waʊ nd/ Wound is the past tense and past participle of wind 2.
➋ wound ◆◆◇ /wuː nd/ (wounds , wounding , wounded )
→ Please look at category 7 to see if the expression you are looking for is shown under another headword.
1 N‑COUNT A wound is damage to part of your body, especially a cut or a hole in your flesh, which is caused by a gun, knife, or other weapon. □ The wound is healing nicely. □ Six soldiers are reported to have died from their wounds.
2 VERB If a weapon or something sharp wounds you, it damages your body. □ [V n] A bomb exploded in a hotel, killing six people and wounding another five. □ [V -ed] The two wounded men were taken to a nearby hospital. ● N‑PLURAL The wounded are people who are wounded. □ Hospitals said they could not cope with the wounded.
3 N‑COUNT A wound is a lasting bad effect on someone's mind or feelings caused by a very upsetting experience. [LITERARY ] □ She has been so deeply hurt it may take forever for the wounds to heal.
4 VERB If you are wounded by what someone says or does, your feelings are deeply hurt. □ [be V -ed] He was deeply wounded by the treachery of close aides.
5 to rub salt into the wound → see salt
wound up /waʊ nd ʌ p/ ADJ [usu v-link ADJ ] If someone is wound up , they are very tense and nervous or angry.
wove /woʊ v/ Wove is the past tense of weave .
wo|ven /woʊ v ə n/ Woven is a past participle of weave .
wow /waʊ / (wows , wowing , wowed )
1 EXCLAM You can say ' wow ' when you are very impressed, surprised, or pleased. [INFORMAL , FEELINGS ] □ I thought, 'Wow, what a good idea'.
2 VERB You say that someone wows people when they give an impressive performance and fill people with enthusiasm and admiration. [INFORMAL ] □ [V n] Ben Tankard wowed the crowd with his jazz.
WPC /dʌ b ə ljuː piː siː / (WPCs ) N‑COUNT ; N‑TITLE In Britain, a WPC is a female police officer of the lowest rank. WPC is an abbreviation for 'woman police constable'.