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size noun [ uncountable and countable ] how big someone or something is: • What size is that shirt? • The price will depend on the size and quality of the carpet. • Your desk is exactly the same size as mine. • Fire has destroyed an area of forest the size of Luxembourg. • The seeds are very small, about half the size of a grain of salt. • There were several pieces of wood of different sizes. • Cover the dough and allow it to rise until it has doubled in size. • The black spots on her skin seemed to be slowly increasing in size. • The American states vary enormously in size, from very large to very small. • In a class this size, there will always be a few problems. dimensions noun [ plural ] the length, width, and height of an object, room, building etc: • What are the dimensions of the table? measurements noun [ plural ] the length, width, or height of something, or of someone’s body: • I need to check the measurements of the window. • your waist measurement is 31 inches • The nurse took my measurements. proportions noun [ plural ] the relative sizes of the different parts of an object, room, building etc: • The proportions don’t look right to me. • You can sit in the Plaza and admire the proportions of the cathedral. area noun [ uncountable and countable ] the amount of space that a flat surface such as a floor or field covers: • To measure the area of a room, you need to multiply the length by the width. extent noun [ uncountable ] the size of a large area: • The extent of the ranch is enormous. • The island measured about 1,600 kilometres in extent. bulk noun [ uncountable ] the very large size of something: • The statue’s massive bulk made it difficult to move. • his enormous bulk • The view was dominated by the huge bulk of the power station. capacity noun [ singular ] the amount that a container will hold: • The capacity of the tank is around 500 gallons. • The computer’s memory has a capacity of over 200 megabytes. • All the storage units were filled to capacity. volume noun [ singular ] the amount of space that a substance fills, or that an object contains: • The average domestic swimming pool has a volume of 45,000 litres. • This instrument measures the volume of air in your lungs. • Help me figure out the volume of this fish tank. • The shifting of continents has an impact on the volume of water the oceans can contain.
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noun how big or small sth is ADJ. considerable, enormous, fair, good, great, impressive, large, massive, substantial, vast The kitchen is (of) a fair size. The vast size of the country made it difficult to govern. | diminutive, limited, modest, small Despite its diminutive size, the car is quite comfortable. | average, medium, middle, moderate, reasonable, sufficient | overall, total | sheer, very The sheer size of these dinosaurs was their main defence. | appropriate, convenient, correct, desirable, handy, manageable, optimum, right The ladder is a handy size for using in the house. classes of manageable size | wrong | comparable, equivalent, similar | standard, uniform The standard size for the tiles is 300mm square. | non-standard | maximum, minimum The fish grow to a maximum size of 50cm. | actual, full, life The ring is shown actual size in the illustration. a life-size model of a Roman soldier | class, family, group, household, market, population, sample VERB + SIZE increase | decrease, limit, reduce The company is reducing the size of its workforce. | double in, grow in, increase in Houses increase in size further away from the city centre. | be reduced in, decline in, decrease in, diminish in | differ in, range in, vary in These insects range in size from 2 to 5cm. | grow to, reach | estimate, guess (at) I had to guess at the size of the batteries. | overestimate, underestimate SIZE + VERB increase | decline, decrease, fall | range from, vary The size of her audience varied. PREP. from the ~ of From the size of the queues outside the cinema, it was a very good film. | in ~ How do the samples compare in size? | in the ~ of the increase in the size of the population PHRASES half, two, three, etc. times the size of sth Their house is twice the size of ours. | shapes and sizes There are people of all shapes and size in the judo class. one of a number of fixed measurements ADJ. large, medium, small The company is now going to make these products in larger sizes. | 2-litre, 4-pound, etc. The 5-litre size comes in a metal tin. | imperial, metric New radiators come in metric sizes. | children's, men's, women's | chest, collar, foot ‘Extra large’ fits chest sizes 44 to 50. | bra, shoe QUANT. range, variety VERB + SIZE be, take What size are you (= for shoes or clothes)? What size do you take? | find sth in, get sth in I couldn't find the blouse in my size. | be available in, come in The bricks come in four sizes. SIZE + VERB fit sb I have to wear children's shoes because the women's sizes don't fit me. PREP. in a/your ~ Have you got this dress in a Size 12? PHRASES be a size too big, small, etc. The jacket is several sizes too large for him. | Size 2, 10, etc.