Online OXFORD Collocation Dictionary

world noun

¹ the earth/its people

ADJ. known a medieval map of the known world | whole

VERB + WORLD create, make They believe that God created the world. | destroy One of these days, humankind will destroy the world. | take over Fast food outlets seem to be taking over the world. | 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 + NOUN leader | economy | recession, slump | market | trade | price World oil prices continue to rise. | domination A handful of Internet companies are battling for world domination. | affairs, events | attention, opinion The bombing alienated world opinion. | war | champion He was easily beaten by the reigning world champion. | championships, cup, title | class The team is world class. | beaters The Portuguese team looked like world beaters in last night's game. | record She shattered the world record for the 200 metres. | rankings He has never before featured in the top ten world rankings. | religion the major world religions | music (= music that includes influences from different parts of the world) | tour The band are about to embark on a six-month world tour.

PREP. across the ~ Astronomers across the world will be watching the night sky. | all around/over/round the ~ The ceremony was watched live by millions around the world. | in the ~ He felt he was the luckiest man in the whole world. | throughout the ~ People throughout the world will be watching the big match on television.

PHRASES 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. | the world over Scientists the world over have been waiting for this breakthrough.

² part of the earth

ADJ. Arab, English-speaking, Western, etc. Heads of state from all over the Arab world gathered for the conference. | 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.

PREP. in the … ~ In the Western world, there is a different attitude to marriage.

³ life/society

ADJ. ever-changing | cruel, dog-eat-dog, hard, tough | crazy, mad, topsy-turvy | ancient, medieval, Roman, etc. | contemporary, modern, today's | brave new the architects' vision of a brave new world of pristine concrete | vanishing These tribesmen are proud survivors of a vanishing world. | 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. | dream, fantasy, imaginary, inner, private She enjoys creating imaginary worlds for children. She lives in her own inner world. | material, physical | simulated, virtual | spiritual | spirit Mediums claim to receive messages from the spirit world. | social | animal, insect, natural, plant I like living in the country because I'm interested in the natural world. | academic, art, business, fashion, industrial, literary, medical, sports | different We come from different worlds. | sb's own (little) She lives in her own little world. | 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 Young people always think they are going to change 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 | come into, enter, escape into We come into the world with nothing. He entered the world of politics in 1997. Showbusiness gave him the chance to escape into another world. | bring sb into She had brought six children into the world. | 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 was so happy to leave school, he felt ready to take on the world. | 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. | shake, shock, stun The news of the assassination shook the world.

WORLD + VERB 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.

PREP. in the … ~ He's well known in the fashion world. | ~ about/around At this age, babies are starting to take an interest in the world around them. | ~ of In the world of high finance, there is little room for sentiment.

PHRASES experience/knowledge/perception of the world, the eyes of the world The eyes of the world are on the president. | in an ideal/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. | watch the world go by He likes to sit outside his front door and watch the world go by. | 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.