four : Idioms & Phrases

Index

All fours

  • noun card games in which points are won for taking the high or low or jack or game
    high-low-jack.
WordNet
  • . See All fours, in the Vocabulary.
Webster 1913

california four o'clock

  • noun California four o'clock with purple-red flowers
    Mirabilis laevis; Mirabilis californica.
WordNet

coach-and-four

  • noun a carriage pulled by four horses with one driver
    coach; coach-and-four.
WordNet

colorado four o'clock

  • noun wildflower having vibrant deep pink tubular evening-blooming flowers; found in sandy and desert areas from southern California to southern Colorado and into Mexico
    Colorado four o'clock; maravilla; Mirabilis multiflora.
WordNet

common four-o'clock

  • noun common garden plant of North America having fragrant red or purple or yellow or white flowers that open in late afternoon
    marvel-of-Peru; Mirabilis uniflora; Mirabilis jalapa.
WordNet

desert four o'clock

  • noun wildflower having vibrant deep pink tubular evening-blooming flowers; found in sandy and desert areas from southern California to southern Colorado and into Mexico
    Colorado four o'clock; maravilla; Mirabilis multiflora.
WordNet

eighty-four

  • adjective satellite being four more than eighty
    84; lxxxiv.
WordNet

Estoile of four points

  • . Same as Cross estoilé, under Cross.
Webster 1913

fifty-four

  • adjective satellite being four more than fifty
    liv; 54.
WordNet

forty-four

  • adjective satellite being four more than forty
    44; xliv.
WordNet

four flush

  • noun the act of bluffing in poker; deception by a false show of confidence in the strength of your cards
    bluff.
WordNet

four horsemen

  • noun (New Testament) the four evils that will come at the end of the world: conquest rides a white horse; war a red horse; famine a black horse; plague a pale horse
WordNet

four hundred

  • noun the exclusive social set of a city
  • adjective satellite being one hundred more than three hundred
    cd; 400.
WordNet

four o'clock

  • noun any of several plants of the genus Mirabilis having flowers that open in late afternoon
WordNet

four times

  • adverb by a factor of four
    fourfold.
    • the price of gasoline has increased fourfold over the past two years
WordNet

four-card monte

  • noun a gambling card game of Spanish origin; 3 or 4 cards are dealt face up and players bet that one of them will be matched before the others as the cards are dealt from the pack one at a time
    three-card monte; monte.
WordNet

four-centered arch

  • noun a low elliptical or pointed arch; usually drawn from four centers
    Tudor arch.
WordNet

four-cornered

Four"-cor`nered adjective
Definitions
  1. Having four corners or angles.
Webster 1913

four-dimensional

  • adjective satellite involving or relating to the fourth dimension or time
    4-dimensional.
WordNet

four-flusher

  • noun a person who tries to bluff other people
    bluffer.
WordNet

four-fold

  • adjective satellite having four units or components
    fourfold; quadruplicate; quadruple; quadruplex.
    • quadruple rhythm has four beats per measure
    • quadruplex wire
  • adjective satellite four times as great or many
    fourfold; quadruple.
    • a fourfold increase in the dosage
WordNet

four-footed

  • adjective having four feet
    quadruped; quadrupedal.
WordNet

four-footed butterfly

  • noun medium to large butterflies found worldwide typically having brightly colored wings and much-reduced nonfunctional forelegs carried folded on the breast
    brush-footed butterfly; nymphalid butterfly; nymphalid.
WordNet

four-four time

  • noun a time signature indicating four beats to the bar
    common time; quadruple time; common measure.
WordNet

four-hitter

  • noun a game in which a pitcher allows the opposing team 4 hits
    4-hitter.
WordNet

four-hundredth

  • adjective satellite the ordinal number of four hundred in counting order
    400th.
WordNet

four-in-hand

  • noun a long necktie that is tied in a slipknot with one end hanging in front of the other
  • noun a carriage pulled by four horses with one driver
    coach; coach-and-four.
WordNet
Four"-in-hand adjective
Definitions
  1. Consisting of four horses controlled by one person; as, a four-in-hand team; drawn by four horses driven by one person; as, a four-in-hand coach. -- n. A team of four horses driven by one person; also, a vehicle drawn by such a team.
    As quaint a four-in-hand As you shall see. Tennyson.
Webster 1913

four-lane

  • adjective satellite having two lanes for traffic in each direction
WordNet

four-letter anglo-saxon word

  • noun any of several short English words (often having 4 letters) generally regarded as obscene or offensive
    four-letter Anglo-Saxon word.
WordNet

four-letter word

  • noun any of several short English words (often having 4 letters) generally regarded as obscene or offensive
    four-letter Anglo-Saxon word.
WordNet

four-lined leaf bug

  • noun yellow or orange leaf bug with four black stripes down the back; widespread in central and eastern North America
    Poecilocapsus lineatus; four-lined leaf bug.
WordNet

four-lined plant bug

  • noun yellow or orange leaf bug with four black stripes down the back; widespread in central and eastern North America
    Poecilocapsus lineatus; four-lined leaf bug.
WordNet

four-lobed

  • adjective satellite having four lobes
WordNet

four-membered

  • adjective satellite of a chemical compound having a ring with four members
    4-membered.
WordNet

four-minute man

  • noun someone who has run the mile in less that 4 minutes
WordNet

four-needled

  • adjective satellite (of conifers) having four needles
WordNet

four-o'clock

Four"-o'clock` noun
Definitions
  1. (Bot.) A plant of the genus Mirabilis. There are about half a dozen species, natives of the warmer parts of America. The common four-o'clock is M. Jalapa. Its flowers are white, yellow, and red, and open toward sunset, or earlier in cloudy weather; hence the name. It is also called marvel of Peru, and afternoon lady.
  2. (Zoöl.) The friar bird; -- so called from its cry, which resembles these words.
Webster 1913

four-o'clock family

  • noun a family of flowering plants of the order Caryophyllales
    Allioniaceae; family Nyctaginaceae; family Allioniaceae; Nyctaginaceae.
WordNet

four-part harmony

  • noun harmony in which each chord has four notes that create four melodic lines
WordNet

four-party

  • adjective satellite involving four parties
    quadripartite.
WordNet

four-petaled

  • adjective satellite (of flowers) having four petals
    four-petaled.
WordNet

four-petalled

  • adjective satellite (of flowers) having four petals
    four-petaled.
WordNet

four-ply

  • adjective satellite having a thickness made up of four layers or strands
    • four-ply yarns
WordNet

four-poster

  • noun a bed with posts at the four corners that can be used to support a canopy or curtains
WordNet
Four"-post`er noun
Definitions
  1. A large bedstead with tall posts at the corners to support curtains. Colloq.
Webster 1913

four-pounder

  • noun an artillery gun that throws a shot weighing four pounds
WordNet

four-pronged

  • adjective satellite having four prongs
WordNet

four-sided

  • adjective satellite having four sides
    quadrilateral.
WordNet

four-spot

  • noun a playing card or domino or die whose upward face shows four pips
    four.
WordNet

four-stroke engine

  • noun an internal-combustion engine in which an explosive mixture is drawn into the cylinder on the first stroke and is compressed and ignited on the second stroke; work is done on the third stroke and the products of combustion are exhausted on the fourth stroke
    four-stroke engine.
WordNet

four-stroke internal-combustion engine

  • noun an internal-combustion engine in which an explosive mixture is drawn into the cylinder on the first stroke and is compressed and ignited on the second stroke; work is done on the third stroke and the products of combustion are exhausted on the fourth stroke
    four-stroke engine.
WordNet

four-tailed bandage

  • noun a bandage consisting of a strip of cloth split in two on both ends; the central part is placed under the chin to restrict motion of the mandible and the tails are tied over the top of the head
WordNet

four-way

Four"-way` adjective
Definitions
  1. Allowing passage in either of four directions; as, a four-way cock, or valve. Francis.
Webster 1913

four-wheel

  • adjective of or relating to vehicles with four wheels
    four-wheel; four-wheeled.
    • a four-wheel drive
WordNet

four-wheel drive

  • noun a motor vehicle with a four-wheel drive transmission system
    4WD.
  • noun a transmission that provides power directly to all four wheels of a motor vehicle
    4WD.
WordNet

four-wheeled

  • adjective of or relating to vehicles with four wheels
    four-wheel; four-wheeled.
    • a four-wheel drive
WordNet
Four"-wheeled` adjective
Definitions
  1. Having four wheels.
Webster 1913

four-wheeler

  • noun a hackney carriage with four wheels
  • adjective of or relating to vehicles with four wheels
    four-wheel; four-wheeled.
    • a four-wheel drive
WordNet
Four"-wheel`er noun
Definitions
  1. A vehicle having four wheels. Colloq.
Webster 1913

four-wing flying fish

  • noun having both pectoral and pelvic fins enlarged
    biplane flying fish.
WordNet

four-year-old

  • adjective satellite four years of age
WordNet

mountain four o'clock

  • noun leafy wildflower with lavender-pink flowers that open in the evening and remain through cool part of the next day; found in open woods or brush in mountains of southern Colorado to Arizona and into Mexico
    Mirabilis oblongifolia.
WordNet

ninety-four

  • adjective satellite being four more than ninety
    xciv; 94.
WordNet

on all fours

  • adverb on hands and knees
    • he got down on all fours to play with his grandson
WordNet

petit four

  • noun small (individual) frosted and ornamented cake
WordNet

plus fours

  • noun men's baggy knickers hanging below the knees; formerly worn for sports (especially golf)
WordNet

seventy-four

  • adjective satellite being four more than seventy
    74; lxxiv.
WordNet
Sev`en*ty-four" noun
Definitions
  1. (Naut.) A naval vessel carrying seventy-four guns.
Webster 1913

sixty-four

  • adjective satellite being four more than sixty
    64; lxiv.
WordNet

Space of four dimensions

  • as imaginary kind of extension, which is assumed to have length, breadth, thickness, and also a fourth imaginary dimension. Space of five or six, or more dimensions is also sometimes assumed in mathematics.
Webster 1913

sweet four o'clock

  • noun leafy wildflower having fragrant slender white or pale pink trumpet-shaped flowers; southwestern United States and northern Mexico
    maravilla; Mirabilis longiflora.
WordNet

The four Orders, The Orders four

  • the four orders of mendicant friars. See Friar. Chaucer.
Webster 1913

thirty-four

  • adjective satellite being four more than thirty
    xxxiv; 34.
WordNet

To be, go, or run, on all fours

  • (Fig.), to be on the same footing; to correspond (with) exactly; to be alike in all the circumstances to be considered. "This example is on all fours with the other." "No simile can go on all fours." Macaulay.
Webster 1913

To go all fours

  • to correspond exactly, point for point.
    It is not easy to make a simile go on all fours. Macaulay.
Webster 1913

trailing four o'clock

  • noun trailing plant having crowded clusters of 3 brilliant deep pink flowers resembling a single flower blooming near the ground; found in dry gravelly or sandy soil; southwestern United States and Mexico
    trailing windmills; Allionia incarnata.
WordNet

twenty-four

  • noun the cardinal number that is the sum of twenty-three and one
    24; XXIV; two dozen.
  • adjective satellite being four more than twenty
    24; xxiv.
WordNet

twenty-four hour period

  • noun time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
    mean solar day; twenty-four hour period; solar day; day; 24-hour interval.
    • two days later they left
    • they put on two performances every day
    • there are 30,000 passengers per day
WordNet

twenty-four hours

  • noun time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
    mean solar day; twenty-four hour period; solar day; day; 24-hour interval.
    • two days later they left
    • they put on two performances every day
    • there are 30,000 passengers per day
WordNet

two-by-four

  • noun a timber measuring (slightly under) 2 inches by 4 inches in cross section
WordNet