Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner's English Dictionary - silence

(silences, silencing, silenced) Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English. 1. If there is silence, nobody is speaking. They stood in silence... He never lets those long silences develop during dinner... Then he bellowed ‘Silence!’ N-VAR: oft in/of N 2. The silence of a place is the extreme quietness there. She breathed deeply, savouring the silence. N-UNCOUNT: oft the N of n 3. Someone’s silence about something is their failure or refusal to speak to other people about it. The district court ruled that Popper’s silence in court today should be entered as a plea of not guilty. N-UNCOUNT: oft poss N • If someone breaks their silence about something, they talk about something that they have not talked about before or for a long time. Gary decided to break his silence about his son’s suffering in the hope of helping other families. PHRASE: V inflects 4. To silence someone or something means to stop them speaking or making a noise. A ringing phone silenced her... VERB: V n 5. If someone silences you, they stop you expressing opinions that they do not agree with. Like other tyrants, he tried to silence anyone who spoke out against him. VERB: V n SILENCER (silencers) 1. A silencer is a device that is fitted onto a gun to make it very quiet when it is fired. ...a pistol that was equipped with a silencer. N-COUNT 2. A silencer is a device on a car exhaust that makes it quieter. (BRIT; in AM, use muffler) N-COUNT