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noun political group ADJ. political | centre, left-wing, right-wing | centrist, fascist, populist, progressive, radical, reactionary, revolutionary, social democratic, socialist | Communist, Conservative, Democratic, Labour, Liberal, Republican, etc. | opposition | parliamentary members of the parliamentary party (= MPs, not ordinary party members) | main both main political parties | majority, minority They are now the majority party in Parliament. | governing, ruling VERB + PARTY establish, form, found, set up | dissolve, wind up The party was officially dissolved in 1927. | split a bitter dispute which finally split the party | be/become the leader of, lead | be/become a member of, belong to, join | be affiliated to, have links with He was accused of having strong links with the Communist Party. | leave, resign from She left the party in 2000. | expel sb from | vote for | elect, put in/into power, return to power The Labour Party was returned to power in 2001. PARTY + VERB come to power, gain power, win (sth) | lose (sth), lose power The Labour party lost the vote on this important issue. | contest sth the parties contesting the elections PARTY + NOUN conference, congress | activist, member, faithful (= loyal members of the party) | chairman, leader, leadership | line Most MPs will follow the party line (= the official view of the party). | politics PHRASES the left/right wing of the party social occasion ADJ. cocktail, dinner, tea | birthday, Christmas, farewell, house-warming, leaving | garden, office, street | all-night | fancy-dress | surprise VERB + PARTY give, have, hold, organize, throw On moving in they threw a huge house-warming party. | invite sb to | attend, go to | gatecrash | leave PARTY + VERB go on There was a party going on next door. | be in full swing (= to be very busy and noisy) By now the party was in full swing. | break up The party broke up around midnight. PARTY + NOUN guest | pooper (also party-pooper; sb who does not want to join in the fun at a party) PREP. at a/the ~ I was at a party in London that night. | ~ for I'm organizing a surprise party for my sister. group of people working/doing sth together ADJ. boarding, coach, landing, raiding, reading, rescue, search, stretcher, working It was time for us to join the coach party. PREP. ~ of She arrived with a party of helpers. person in a legal case ADJ. guilty, innocent | aggrieved, injured | interested First we must notify all the interested parties. | third You must sign the document in the presence of an independent third party (= another person apart from the two main people involved) VERB + PARTY notify | be binding on/upon, bind This agreement shall be binding upon both parties.
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party verbs have a party • We’re having a party on Saturday night. hold a party • The party was held at his flat. throw/give a party (= organize it ) • Staff threw a party to celebrate the news. host a party (= give a large or formal party ) • The party was hosted by the Danish ambassador. go to/come to a party ( also attend a party formal ) • Are you going to Tom’s party? • About 500 people will attend a party in her honour. invite somebody to a party • I’ve been invited to Greg’s party next weekend. gatecrash a party (= go to it even though you have not been invited ) • Some older boys tried to gatecrash the party. a party is in full swing (= people at a party are having a good time talking, dancing etc ) • At 3 am, the party was still in full swing. there is a party going on • Somewhere near the hotel there was a party going on. a party breaks up (= it ends and people go home ) • The party broke up a little after midnight. ADJECTIVES/NOUN + party a birthday party • They met at her sister’s 18th birthday party. a Christmas/Halloween etc party • I hope you’re going to the office Christmas party. a big/small party • I don’t really like going to big parties. a dinner party (= one where people are invited to someone’s house for an evening meal ) • It’s a favorite topic of conversation at fashionable dinner parties these days. a cocktail party (= a fairly formal party, at which alcoholic drinks are served ) • I first met him at a cocktail party at the American embassy. a fancy dress party British English , a costume party American English (= one where people wear unusual clothes, for example so they look like someone from a story ) • She went to the fancy dress party as Snow White. an office party • I danced with my boss at the office party. a surprise party • Amy has planned a surprise party for his birthday. a farewell/leaving party • You didn’t come to Ken’s farewell party, did you? a street party (= one held outside in a street ) • Thousands flocked to the street party on Princess Street to celebrate New Year. a lavish party (= one where a lot of money has been spent ) • He threw lavish parties for his celebrity friends. party + NOUN the party spirit (= the way people feel when they are really enjoying a party ) • There’ll be plenty of free champagne to get the party spirit going. be in a party mood (= want to enjoy yourself at a party ) • Kate wasn’t really in a party mood, so she stayed home. party games • The children had great fun playing party games. a party dress • The little girls were wearing white party dresses. party 2 COMMON ERRORS >>> Do not say ' make a party ' or ' do a party '. Say have a party . ADJECTIVES/NOUN + party a political party • The Labour Party and the Conservative Party are the two main political parties in Britain. the Labour/Democratic etc Party • The leadership race within the Republican Party is almost over. an opposition party (= a party that is not in power ) • The tax increase was criticized by opposition parties. the ruling party (= the party in power ) • The ruling party’s level of support grew throughout the year. a right-wing/left-wing party • Support for the right-wing parties was strongest among young working-class men. party + NOUN a party member • He’s been a Conservative party member for 20 years. the party leader • He met with opposition party leaders. a party candidate (= someone who represents a political party in an election ) • The seat was won by the Socialist Party candidate with 68% of the vote. the party faithful (= strong supporters of a party ) • His policies appeal to the party faithful. a party activist (= someone who works hard for a party ) • Campaign literature is distributed by unpaid party activists. party policy (= a political party’s official plan or position on important subjects ) • There has been a change in party policy. a party conference • He will give a speech at the Tory party conference this morning. the party chairman British English • He resigned as Conservative party chairman. a party official • The incident has angered senior party officials. verbs a party wins/loses an election • Do you think the Labour Party can win the next election? join a party • Bloomfield joined the Communist Party in 1946. form/found a party • The two politicians broke away from the PDF to form a new political party. phrases a party is in power • From 1945 until 1951 the Labour Party was in power in Britain. a party comes to power (= begins to be the government ) • The ruling party came to power in May 2001.
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party a social event when a lot of people meet together to enjoy themselves by eating, drinking, dancing etc: • We’re having a party for Sarah’s 40th birthday. • I met my boyfriend at a party. get-together an informal party: • Christmas is the perfect time for a family get-together. ball a large formal party where people dance: • the end of term ball rave a large party which is held outside or in an empty building, where people dance to music and take illegal drugs reception a large formal party, especially one after a wedding or to welcome an important person: • The wedding reception is at a nearby hotel. • a reception for the Thai Foreign Minister • They attended a White House reception to mark the Queen’s visit. function a large formal or official party: • He has been asked to play at many corporate functions (= an official party held by a company ) . celebration a party or special event that is organized in order to celebrate something: • the country’s 50th anniversary celebrations • It was a 21st birthday celebration which Mary would never forget. bash informal a party, especially a big one that a lot of famous people go to – used especially in journalism: • the star’s birthday bash • a picture of him at a Hollywood bash • a showbiz bash do British English informal a party: • We’re having a do to celebrate Margaret’s birthday. dinner party a party where people are invited to someone’s house for an evening meal: • I met him at a dinner party. house-warming (party) a party that you have when you move into a new house: • We’re having a house-warming next week. cocktail party ( also drinks party British English ) a party that people go to in order to talk and have a drink together for a few hours fancy-dress party, costume party fancy-dress party British English , costume party American English a party where people dress in special clothes, for example to look like a famous person or a character in a story hen party a social event just before a wedding, for a woman who is getting married and her female friends stag night, bachelor party stag night British English , bachelor party American English a social event just before a wedding, for a man who is getting married and his male friends baby/wedding shower American English an event at which people give presents to a woman who is going to have a baby or get married