klaud n. & v. --n. 1 a
visible mass of condensed
watery vapour floating in
the atmosphere high above the
general level of the ground. 2 a mass of
smoke or
dust. 3 (foll. by of) a
great number of insects, birds,
etc.,
moving together. 4 a a
state of
gloom,
trouble, or
suspicion. b a frowning or depressed
look (a cloud on
his brow). 5 a
local dimness or a
vague patch of
colour in or on a
liquid or a
transparent body. 6 an
unsubstantial or
fleeting thing. 7
obscurity. --v. 1 tr.
cover or
darken with clouds or gloom or trouble. 2 intr. (often foll. by
over, up)
become overcast or
gloomy. 3 tr.
make unclear. 4 tr.
variegate with vague patches of colour. øcloud-castle a daydream. cloud
chamber a
device containing vapour
for tracking the paths of charged particles, X-rays,
and gamma rays. clouded
leopard a mottled
arboreal S.
Asian feline, Neofelis nebulosa. cloud-hopping
movement of an
aircraft from cloud to cloud
esp. for concealment. cloud-land a
utopia or
fairyland. in the clouds 1
unreal,
imaginary,
mystical. 2 (of a person)
abstracted,
inattentive. on cloud
nine (or seven) colloq. extremely
happy.
under a cloud
out of
favour, discredited, under suspicion. with one's
head in the clouds day-dreaming,
unrealistic. øøcloudless adj. cloudlessly adv. cloudlet n. [OE clud mass of rock or
earth, prob. rel. to CLOD]
