Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s Dictionary

2 N‑UNCOUNT You can refer to women in general as woman . □  …the oppression of woman.

3 → see also career woman

4woman of the world → see world USAGE woman

It is more polite to call someone an old lady or an elderly lady , rather than an ‘old woman’. □  There’s an old lady who rides a bike around town.

-woman /-wʊmən/ COMB [ADJ n] -woman combines with numbers to indicate that something involves the number of women mentioned. □  …a seven-woman team.

wom|an|hood /wʊ mənhʊd/

1 N‑UNCOUNT Womanhood is the state of being a woman rather than a girl, or the period of a woman's adult life. □  Pregnancy is a natural part of womanhood.

2 N‑UNCOUNT You can refer to women in general or the women of a particular country or community as womanhood . □  She symbolised for me the best of Indian womanhood.

wom|an|iz|er /wʊ məna I zə ^r / (womanizers ) in BRIT, also use womaniser N‑COUNT If you describe a man as a womanizer , you disapprove of him because he likes to have many short sexual relationships with women. [DISAPPROVAL ]

wom|an|iz|ing /wʊ məna I z I ŋ/ in BRIT, also use womanising 1 N‑UNCOUNT If you talk about a man's womanizing , you disapprove of him because he likes to have many short sexual relationships with women. [DISAPPROVAL ]

2 ADJ [ADJ n] A womanizing man likes to have many short sexual relationships with women. [DISAPPROVAL ]

wom|an|kind /wʊ mənka I nd/ N‑UNCOUNT You can refer to all women as womankind when considering them as a group. [FORMAL ]

wom|an|ly /wʊ mənli/ ADJ People describe a woman's behaviour, character, or appearance as womanly when they like it because they think it is typical of, or suitable for, a woman rather than a man or girl. [APPROVAL ] □  She had a classical, womanly shape. □  …womanly tenderness.

wo man-to-wo man also woman to woman ADJ [ADJ n] If you talk about a woman-to-woman conversation, you are talking about an honest and open discussion between two women. ● ADV [ADV after v] Woman to woman is also an adverb. □  Maybe she would talk to her mother one day, woman to woman.

womb /wuː m/ (wombs ) N‑COUNT A woman's womb is the part inside her body where a baby grows before it is born.

wom|bat /wɒ mbæt/ (wombats ) N‑COUNT A wombat is a type of furry animal which has very short legs and eats plants. Wombats are found in Australia.

wom|en /w I m I n/ Women is the plural of woman .

women|folk /w I m I nfoʊk/ N‑PLURAL [oft poss N ] Some people refer to the women of a particular community as its womenfolk , especially when the community is ruled or organized by men. □  Men never notice anything in a house run by their womenfolk.

wo m|en's group (women's groups ) N‑COUNT A women's group is a group of women who meet regularly, usually in order to organize campaigns.

Wo m|en's Li b N‑UNCOUNT Women's Lib is the same as Women's Liberation . [INFORMAL , OLD-FASHIONED ]

Wo m|en's Lib|era |tion N‑UNCOUNT [oft N n] Women's Liberation is the belief and aim that women should have the same rights and opportunities in society as men. [OLD-FASHIONED ]

wo m|en's move|ment N‑SING You use the women's movement to refer to groups of people and organizations that believe that women should have the same rights and opportunities in society as men.

wo m|en's room (women's rooms ) N‑COUNT The women's room is a toilet for women in a public building. [mainly AM ]

won /wʌ n/ Won is the past tense and past participle of win .

won|der ◆◆◇ /wʌ ndə ^r / (wonders , wondering , wondered )

1 VERB If you wonder about something, you think about it, either because it interests you and you want to know more about it, or because you are worried or suspicious about it. □ [V wh] I wondered what that noise was. □ [V + about ] 'He claims to be her father,' said Max. 'We've been wondering about him.' □ [V ] But there was something else, too. Not hard evidence, but it made me wonder.