-
1 in
in❢ In is often used after verbs in English ( join in, tuck in, result in, write in etc). For translations, consult the appropriate verb entry (join, tuck, result, write etc). If you have doubts about how to translate a phrase or expression beginning with in ( in a huff, in business, in trouble etc) you should consult the appropriate noun entry (huff, business, trouble etc). This dictionary contains Usage Notes on such topics as age, countries, dates, islands, months, towns and cities etc. Many of these use the preposition in. For examples of the above and particular functions and uses of in, see the entry below.A prep1 ( expressing location or position) in Paris à Paris ; in Spain en Espagne ; in hospital/school à l'hôpital/l'école ; in prison/class/town en prison/classe/ville ; in the film/dictionary/newspaper dans le film/dictionnaire/journal ; in the garden dans le jardin, au jardin ; I'm in here! je suis là! ; ⇒ bath, bed ;2 (inside, within) dans ; in the box dans la boîte ; there's something in it il y a quelque chose dedans or à l'intérieur ;3 ( expressing a subject or field) dans ; in insurance/marketing dans les assurances/le marketing ; ⇒ course, degree, expert ;4 (included, involved) to be in the army être dans l'armée ; to be in politics faire de la politique ; to be in the team/group/collection faire partie de l'équipe/du groupe/de la collection ; to be in on ○ être dans [secret] ; to be in on the plan ○ être dans le coup ○ ; I wasn't in on it ○ je n'étais pas dans le coup ○ ; to be in at the finish être là à la fin ;5 ( in expressions of time) in May en mai ; in 1987 en 1987 ; in the night pendant la nuit ; in the twenties dans les années 20 ; at four in the morning à quatre heures du matin ; at two in the afternoon à deux heures de l'après-midi ; day in day out tous les jours (sans exception) ;6 ( within the space of) en ; to do sth in 10 minutes faire qch en 10 minutes ; in a matter of seconds en quelques secondes ;7 ( expressing the future) dans ; I'll be back in half an hour je serai de retour dans une demi-heure ;8 ( for) depuis ; it hasn't rained in weeks il n'a pas plu depuis des semaines, ça fait des semaines qu'il n'a pas plu ;9 (during, because of) dans ; in the confusion, he escaped dans la confusion, il s'est échappé ; in his hurry he forgot his keys dans sa précipitation il a oublié ses clés ;10 ( with reflexive pronouns) it's no bad thing in itself ce n'est pas une mauvaise chose en soi ; how do you feel in yourself? est-ce que tu as le moral? ; ⇒ itself ;11 (present in, inherent in) you see it in children on le rencontre chez les enfants ; it's rare in cats c'est rare chez les chats ; we lost a talented surgeon in Jim nous avons perdu un chirurgien brillant en la personne de Jim ; he hasn't got it in him to succeed il n'est pas fait pour réussir ; there's something in what he says il y a du vrai dans ce qu'il dit ;12 (expressing colour, composition) en ; it comes in green il existe en vert ; available in several colours disponible en plusieurs couleurs ; bags in leather and canvas des sacs en cuir et en toile ;13 ( dressed in) en ; in jeans/a skirt en jean/jupe ; in sandals en sandales ; dressed in black habillé en noir ;14 ( expressing manner or medium) in German en allemand ; in one dollar bills en billets d'un dollar ; in B flat en si bémol ; ‘no,’ he said in a whisper ‘non,’ a-t-il chuchoté ; chicken in a white wine sauce du poulet à la sauce au vin blanc ; peaches in brandy des pêches à l'eau de vie ; in pencil/in ink au crayon/à l'encre ;15 ( as regards) rich/poor in minerals riche/pauvre en minéraux ; deaf in one ear sourd d'une oreille ; 10 cm in length 10 cm de long ; equal in weight du même poids ;17 ( in superlatives) de ; the tallest tower in the world la plus grande tour du monde ;18 ( in measurements) there are 100 centimetres in a metre il y a 100 centimètres dans un mètre ; what's that in centimetres? combien ça fait en centimètres? ; have you got it in a 16? est-ce que vous l'avez en 42? ; in a smaller size dans une taille plus petite ; there's only 1 cm in it il n'y a qu'un cm de différence ; there's nothing in it ils/elles se valent ; the temperature was in the thirties il faisait dans les trente degrés ;19 ( in ratios) a gradient of 1 in 4 une pente de 25% ; a tax of 20 pence in the pound une taxe de 20 pence par livre sterling ; to have a one in five chance avoir une chance sur cinq ;20 ( in approximate amounts) in their hundreds ou thousands par centaines ; to cut/break sth in three couper/casser qch en trois ;21 ( expressing arrangement) in a circle en cercle ; in rows of 12 par rangées de douze ; in pairs deux par deux ; in bundles en liasses ;22 ( expressing age) she's in her twenties elle a une vingtaine d'années ; people in their forties les gens qui ont la quarantaine ; in old age avec l'âge, en vieillissant.B in and out prep phr to come in and out entrer et sortir ; he's always in and out of the house ou room il n'arrête pas d'entrer et de sortir ; to weave in and out of se faufiler entre [traffic, tables] ; to be in and out of prison all one's life passer la plus grande partie de sa vie en prison ; to be in and out of hospital a lot passer beaucoup de temps à l'hôpital.D adv1 ( indoors) to come in entrer ; to run in entrer en courant ; to ask ou invite sb in faire entrer qn ; in with you! allez, rentrez! ;2 (at home, at work) to be in être là ; you're never in tu n'es jamais là ; I'm usually in by 9 am j'arrive généralement à 9 heures ; to come in two days a week venir au bureau deux jours par semaine ; to be in by midnight être rentré avant minuit ; to spend the evening in, to have an evening in passer la soirée à la maison ; ⇒ keep, stay ;3 (in prison, in hospital) he's in for murder il a été emprisonné pour meurtre ; she's in for a biopsy elle est entrée à l'hôpital pour une biopsie ;4 ( arrived) the train is in le train est en gare ; the ferry is in le ferry est à quai ; the sea ou tide is in c'est marée haute ; ⇒ come, get ;5 Sport ( within the boundary) the ball ou shot is in la balle est bonne ; ( batting) England is in l'équipe anglaise est à la batte ;6 ( gathered) the harvest is in la moisson est rentrée ;7 ( in supply) we don't have any in nous n'en avons pas en stock ; I should get some in tomorrow je devrais en recevoir demain ; we've got some new titles in on a reçu quelques nouveaux titres ; to get some beer/a video in aller chercher de la bière/une vidéocassette ;8 ( submitted) applications must be in by the 23rd les candidatures doivent être déposées avant le 23 ; the homework has to be in tomorrow le devoir doit être rendu demain ; ⇒ get, power, vote.E ○ adj ( fashionable) to be in, to be the in thing être à la mode ; it's the in place to eat c'est le restaurant à la mode.to know the ins and outs of an affair connaître une affaire dans les moindres détails ; to have an in with sb US avoir ses entrées chez qn ; to have it in for sb ○ avoir qn dans le collimateur ○ ; you're in for it ○ tu vas avoir des ennuis ; he's in for a shock/surprise il va avoir un choc/être surpris. -
2 in
in [ɪn]━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━1. preposition2. adverb3. adjective4. plural noun5. compounds━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━1. preposition━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━► When in is an element in a phrasal verb, eg ask in, fill in, look up the verb. When it is part of a set combination, eg in danger, weak in, look up the other word.━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━► in it/them ( = inside it, inside them) dedans• our bags were stolen, and our passports were in them on nous a volé nos sacs et nos passeports étaient dedansb. (people, animals, plants) chez► in + feminine countries, regions, islands en━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━► Feminine countries usually end in -e.━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━► en is also used with masculine countries beginning with a vowel or silent h.━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━► in + masculine country au• in Japan/Kuwait au Japon/Koweït━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━► Note also the following:━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━► in + plural country/group of islands aux━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━e. (month, year, season) en• in summer/autumn/winter en été/automne/hiver━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━f. ( = wearing) eng. (language, medium, material) en• in marble/velvet en marbre/veloursj. ( = while) en• in trying to save her he fell into the water himself en essayant de la sauver, il est tombé à l'eau2. adverba. ( = inside) à l'intérieur• she opened the door and they all rushed in elle a ouvert la porte et ils se sont tous précipités à l'intérieur━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━b. (at home, work)━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━• you're never in! tu n'es jamais chez toi !• is Paul in? est-ce que Paul est là ?━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━► to be in may require a more specific translation.━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━► in between + noun/pronoun entre• he positioned himself in between the two weakest players il s'est placé entre les deux joueurs les plus faibles• in between adventures, he finds time for... entre deux aventures, il trouve le temps de...► to be in for sth ( = be threatened with)• you don't know what you're in for! (inf) tu ne sais pas ce qui t'attend !• he's in for it! (inf) il va en prendre pour son grade ! (inf)► to be in on sth (inf) ( = know about)the new treatment is preferable in that... le nouveau traitement est préférable car...► to be well in with sb (inf) être dans les petits papiers de qn (inf)3. adjective• it's the in thing to... c'est très à la mode de...4. plural noun5. compounds• to have in-service training faire un stage d'initiation ► in-store adjective [detective] employé par le magasin* * *Note: in is often used after verbs in English ( join in, tuck in, result in, write in etc). For translations, consult the appropriate verb entry (join, tuck, result, write etc)If you have doubts about how to translate a phrase or expression beginning with in ( in a huff, in business, in trouble etc) you should consult the appropriate noun entry (huff, business, trouble etc)This dictionary contains usage notes on such topics as age, countries, dates, islands, months, towns and cities etc. Many of these use the preposition in. For the index to these notesFor examples of the above and particular functions and uses of in, see the entry below[ɪn] 1.in prison/town — en prison/ville
in the film/newspaper — dans le film/journal
I'm in here! — je suis là!; bath, bed
2) (inside, within) dansthere's something in it — il y a quelque chose dedans or à l'intérieur
3) ( expressing a subject or field) dansin insurance — dans les assurances; course, expert
4) (included, involved)to be in on the secret — (colloq) être dans le secret
I wasn't in on it — (colloq) je n'étais pas dans le coup (colloq)
5) ( in expressions of time)6) ( within the space of) en7) ( expressing the future) dans8) ( for) depuisit hasn't rained in weeks — il n'a pas plu depuis des semaines, ça fait des semaines qu'il n'a pas plu
9) (during, because of) dans10) ( with reflexive pronouns)how do you feel in yourself? — est-ce que tu as le moral?; itself
11) (present in, inherent in)12) (expressing colour, composition) en13) ( dressed in) en14) ( expressing manner or medium)‘no,’ he said in a whisper — ‘non,’ a-t-il chuchoté
in pencil/in ink — au crayon/à l'encre
15) ( as regards)rich/poor in minerals — riche/pauvre en minéraux
16) (by)17) ( in superlatives) de18) ( in measurements)19) ( in ratios)a gradient of 1 in 4 — une pente de 25%
20) ( in approximate amounts)in their hundreds ou thousands — par centaines or milliers
21) ( expressing age)2.in old age — avec l'âge, en vieillissant
in and out prepositional phrase3.to weave in and out of — se faufiler entre [traffic, tables]
in that conjunctional phrase dans la mesure où4.1) ( indoors)to ask ou invite somebody in — faire entrer quelqu'un
2) (at home, at work)to be in by midnight — être rentré avant minuit; keep, stay
3) (in prison, in hospital)4) ( arrived)5) Sport6) ( gathered)7) ( in supply)8) ( submitted)5.the homework has to be in tomorrow — le devoir doit être rendu demain; get, power, vote
(colloq) adjectiveto be in —
••to have an in with somebody — US avoir ses entrées chez quelqu'un
to have it in for somebody — (colloq) avoir quelqu'un dans le collimateur (colloq)
you're in for it — (colloq) tu vas avoir des ennuis
he's in for a shock/surprise — il va avoir un choc/être surpris
-
3 Shockley, William Bradford
[br]b. 13 February 1910 London, Englandd. 12 August 1989, Palo Alto, California, USA.[br]American physicist who developed the junction transistor from the point contact transistor and was joint winner (with John Bardeen and Walter H. Brattain) of the 1956 Nobel Prize for physics.[br]The son of a mining engineer, Shockley graduated from the California Institute of Technology in 1932 and in 1936 obtained his PhD at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In that year, he joined the staff of Bell Telephone Laboratories.Since the early days of radio, crystals of silicon or similar materials had been used to rectify alternating current supply until these were displaced by thermionic valves or tubes. Shockley, with Bardeen and Brattain, found that crystals of germanium containing traces of certain impurities formed far better rectifiers than crystals of the material in its pure form. The resulting device, the transistor, could also be used to amplify the current; its name is derived from its ability to transfer current across a resistor. The transistor, being so much smaller than the thermionic valve which it replaced, led to the miniaturization of electronic appliances. Another advantage was that a transistorized device needed no period of warming up, such as was necessary with a thermionic valve before it would operate. The dispersal of the heat generated by a multiplicity of thermionic valves such as were present in early computers was another problem obviated by the advent of the transistor.Shockley was responsible for much development in the field of semiconductors. He was Deputy Director of the Weapons Systems Evaluation Group of the US Department of Defense (1954–5), and in 1963 he was appointed the first Poniatoff Professor of Engineering Science at Stanford University, California. During the late 1960s Shockley became a controversial figure for expressing his unorthodox views on genetics, such as that black people were inherently less intelligent than white people, and that the population explosion spread "bad" genes at the expense of "good" genes; he supported the idea of a sperm bank from Nobel Prize winners, voluntary sterilization and the restriction of interracial marriages.[br]Principal Honours and DistinctionsNobel Prize for Physics 1956.Further ReadingI.Asimov (ed.), 1982, Biographical Encyclopedia of Science and Technology, New York: Doubleday \& Co.IMcNBiographical history of technology > Shockley, William Bradford
-
4 IN
I [ɪn]in hospital — in o all'ospedale
in school — a o nella scuola
in the dictionary — sul o nel dizionario
in the garden — in o nel giardino
2) (inside, within) in, dentro3) (expressing subject, field) in4) (included, involved)to be in on — colloq. essere al corrente di [ secret]
in May — a o in maggio
in the night — di o nella notte
6) (within the space of) into do sth. in 10 minutes — fare qcs. in 10 minuti
7) (expressing the future) tra8) (for) da9) (because of) in, per, a causa dilearning Italian is not difficult in itself — di per sé, imparare l'italiano non è difficile
11) (present in)12) (expressing colour, size, composition) in13) (dressed in)in pencil — a o con la matita
"no," he said in a whisper — "no" disse sussurrando
15) (as regards)16) (by)in accepting — nell'accettare, accettando
17) (in superlatives) di19) (in ratios)a gradient of 1 in 4 — una pendenza del 25%
21) (expressing age)he's in his twenties — è un ventenne, ha tra i venti e i trent'anni
22) in and out ofto weave in and out of — fare la gincana tra [traffic, tables]
23) in that poiché, per la ragione cheII [ɪn]1) (indoors)to ask o invite sb. in — fare entrare qcn., invitare qcn. a entrare
2) (at home, at work)to stay in — stare o rimanere a casa
3) (in prison, hospital)he's in for murder — è dentro o in carcere per omicidio
4) (arrived)the ball is in — la palla è buona o dentro
6) (gathered)7) (in supply)8) (submitted)••to have it in for sb. — colloq. avercela (a morte) con qcn.
III [ɪn]you're in for it — colloq. sei nei guai
IV [ɪn]to be in to be the in thing essere alla moda, essere in; an in place — un posto alla moda
the ins and outs — i retroscena, i dettagli
she has an in with the boss — AE la porta del capo è sempre aperta per lei
* * *(in(to) usually small pieces: The broken mirror lay in bits on the floor; He loves taking his car to bits.) in pezzi* * *abbr AmPost, (= Indiana)* * *INsigla* * *I [ɪn]in hospital — in o all'ospedale
in school — a o nella scuola
in the dictionary — sul o nel dizionario
in the garden — in o nel giardino
2) (inside, within) in, dentro3) (expressing subject, field) in4) (included, involved)to be in on — colloq. essere al corrente di [ secret]
in May — a o in maggio
in the night — di o nella notte
6) (within the space of) into do sth. in 10 minutes — fare qcs. in 10 minuti
7) (expressing the future) tra8) (for) da9) (because of) in, per, a causa dilearning Italian is not difficult in itself — di per sé, imparare l'italiano non è difficile
11) (present in)12) (expressing colour, size, composition) in13) (dressed in)in pencil — a o con la matita
"no," he said in a whisper — "no" disse sussurrando
15) (as regards)16) (by)in accepting — nell'accettare, accettando
17) (in superlatives) di19) (in ratios)a gradient of 1 in 4 — una pendenza del 25%
21) (expressing age)he's in his twenties — è un ventenne, ha tra i venti e i trent'anni
22) in and out ofto weave in and out of — fare la gincana tra [traffic, tables]
23) in that poiché, per la ragione cheII [ɪn]1) (indoors)to ask o invite sb. in — fare entrare qcn., invitare qcn. a entrare
2) (at home, at work)to stay in — stare o rimanere a casa
3) (in prison, hospital)he's in for murder — è dentro o in carcere per omicidio
4) (arrived)the ball is in — la palla è buona o dentro
6) (gathered)7) (in supply)8) (submitted)••to have it in for sb. — colloq. avercela (a morte) con qcn.
III [ɪn]you're in for it — colloq. sei nei guai
IV [ɪn]to be in to be the in thing essere alla moda, essere in; an in place — un posto alla moda
the ins and outs — i retroscena, i dettagli
she has an in with the boss — AE la porta del capo è sempre aperta per lei
-
5 come
come [kʌm]∎ she won't come when she's called elle ne vient pas quand on l'appelle;∎ here come the children voici les enfants qui arrivent;∎ here he comes! le voilà qui arrive!;∎ it's stuck - ah, no, it's coming! c'est coincé - ah, non, ça vient!;∎ coming! j'arrive!;∎ come here! venez ici!; (to dog) au pied!;∎ come to the office tomorrow passez ou venez au bureau demain;∎ he came to me for advice il est venu me demander conseil;∎ you've come to the wrong person vous vous adressez à la mauvaise personne;∎ you've come to the wrong place vous vous êtes trompé de chemin, vous faites fausse route;∎ if you're looking for sun, you've come to the wrong place si c'est le soleil que vous cherchez, il ne fallait pas venir ici;∎ please come this way par ici ou suivez-moi s'il vous plaît;∎ I come this way every week je passe par ici toutes les semaines;∎ American come and look, come look venez voir;∎ familiar come and get it! à la soupe!;∎ he came whistling up the stairs il a monté l'escalier en sifflant;∎ a car came hurtling round the corner une voiture a pris le virage à toute vitesse;∎ people are constantly coming and going il y a un va-et-vient continuel;∎ fashions come and go la mode change tout le temps;∎ after many years had come and gone après bien des années;∎ familiar I don't know whether I'm coming or going je ne sais pas où j'en suis;∎ you have come a long way vous êtes venu de loin; figurative (made progress) vous avez fait du chemin;∎ the computer industry has come a very long way since then l'informatique a fait énormément de progrès depuis ce temps-là;∎ also figurative to come running arriver en courant;∎ we could see him coming a mile off on l'a vu venir avec ses gros sabots;∎ figurative you could see it coming on l'a vu venir de loin, c'était prévisible;∎ proverb everything comes to him who waits tout vient à point à qui sait attendre(b) (as guest, visitor) venir;∎ can you come to my party on Saturday night? est-ce que tu peux venir à ma soirée samedi?;∎ I'm sorry, I can't come (je suis) désolé, je ne peux pas venir;∎ would you like to come for lunch/dinner? voulez-vous venir déjeuner/dîner?;∎ I can only come for an hour or so je ne pourrai venir que pour une heure environ;∎ come for a ride in the car viens faire un tour en voiture;∎ she's come for her money elle est venue prendre son argent;∎ Angela came and we had a chat Angela est venue et on a bavardé;∎ they came for a week and stayed a month ils sont venus pour une semaine et ils sont restés un mois;∎ he couldn't have come at a worse time il n'aurait pas pu tomber plus mal∎ to come in time/late arriver à temps/en retard;∎ I've just come from the post office j'arrive de la poste à l'instant;∎ we came to a small town nous sommes arrivés dans une petite ville;∎ the time has come to tell the truth le moment est venu de dire la vérité;∎ to come to the end of sth arriver à la fin de qch;∎ I was coming to the end of my stay mon séjour touchait à sa fin;∎ there will come a point when… il viendra un moment où…;∎ when you come to the last coat of paint… quand tu en seras à la dernière couche de peinture…;∎ (reach) her hair comes (down) to her waist ses cheveux lui arrivent à la taille;∎ the mud came (up) to our knees la boue nous arrivait ou venait (jusqu') aux genoux(d) (occupy specific place, position) venir, se trouver;∎ the address comes above the date l'adresse se met au-dessus de la date;∎ my birthday comes before yours mon anniversaire vient avant ou précède le tien;∎ a colonel comes before a lieutenant un colonel a la préséance sur un lieutenant;∎ Friday comes after Thursday vendredi vient après ou suit jeudi;∎ that speech comes in Act 3/on page 10 on trouve ce discours dans l'acte 3/à la page 10;∎ the fireworks come next le feu d'artifice est après;∎ what comes after the performance? qu'est-ce qu'il y a après la représentation?(e) (occur, happen) arriver, se produire;∎ when my turn comes, when it comes to my turn quand ce sera (à) mon tour, quand mon tour viendra;∎ such an opportunity only comes once in your life une telle occasion ne se présente qu'une fois dans la vie;∎ he has a birthday coming son anniversaire approche;∎ there's a storm coming un orage se prépare;∎ success was a long time coming la réussite s'est fait attendre;∎ take life as it comes prenez la vie comme elle vient;∎ Christmas comes but once a year il n'y a qu'un Noël par an;∎ Bible it came to pass that… il advint que…;∎ come what may advienne que pourra, quoi qu'il arrive ou advienne∎ the idea just came to me one day l'idée m'est soudain venue un jour;∎ suddenly it came to me (I remembered) tout d'un coup, je m'en suis souvenu; (I had an idea) tout d'un coup, j'ai eu une idée;∎ I said the first thing that came into my head or that came to mind j'ai dit la première chose qui m'est venue à l'esprit;∎ the answer came to her elle a trouvé la réponse∎ writing comes naturally to her écrire lui est facile, elle est douée pour l'écriture;∎ a house doesn't come cheap une maison coûte ou revient cher;∎ the news came as a shock to her la nouvelle lui a fait un choc;∎ her visit came as a surprise sa visite nous a beaucoup surpris;∎ it comes as no surprise to learn he's gone (le fait) qu'il soit parti n'a rien de surprenant;∎ he's as silly as they come il est sot comme pas un;∎ they don't come any tougher than Big Al on ne fait pas plus fort que Big Al;∎ it'll all come right in the end tout cela va finir par s'arranger;∎ the harder they come the harder they fall plus dure sera la chute(h) (be available) exister;∎ this table comes in two sizes cette table existe ou se fait en deux dimensions;∎ the dictionary comes with a magnifying glass le dictionnaire est livré avec une loupe∎ it was a dream come true c'était un rêve devenu réalité;∎ to come unhooked se décrocher;∎ to come unravelled se défaire;∎ the buttons on my coat keep coming undone mon manteau se déboutonne toujours∎ she came to trust him elle en est venue à ou elle a fini par lui faire confiance;∎ we have come to expect this kind of thing nous nous attendons à ce genre de chose maintenant;∎ how did you come to lose your umbrella? comment as-tu fait pour perdre ton parapluie?;∎ how did the door come to be open? comment se fait-il que la porte soit ouverte?;∎ (now that I) come to think of it maintenant que j'y songe, réflexion faite;∎ it's not much money when you come to think of it ce n'est pas beaucoup d'argent quand vous y réfléchissez(k) (be owing, payable)∎ I still have £5 coming (to me) on me doit encore 5 livres;∎ there'll be money coming from her uncle's will elle va toucher l'argent du testament de son oncle;∎ he got all the credit coming to him il a eu tous les honneurs qu'il méritait;∎ familiar you'll get what's coming to you tu l'auras cherché ou voulu;∎ familiar he had it coming (to him) il ne l'a pas volé∎ a smile came to her lips un sourire parut sur ses lèvres ou lui vint aux lèvres∎ how come? comment ça?;∎ familiar come again? quoi?;∎ American how's it coming? comment ça va?;∎ come to that à propos, au fait;∎ I haven't seen her in weeks, or her husband, come to that ça fait des semaines que je ne l'ai pas vue, son mari non plus d'ailleurs;∎ if it comes to that, I'd rather stay home à ce moment-là ou à ce compte-là, je préfère rester à la maison;∎ don't come the fine lady with me! ne fais pas la grande dame ou ne joue pas à la grande dame avec moi!;∎ don't come the innocent! ne fais pas l'innocent!;∎ British familiar don't come it with me! (try to impress) n'essaie pas de m'en mettre plein la vue!; (lord it over) pas la peine d'être si hautain avec moi!;∎ the days to come les prochains jours, les jours qui viennent;∎ the battle to come la bataille qui va avoir lieu;∎ Religion the life to come l'autre vie;∎ in times to come à l'avenir;∎ for some time to come pendant quelque temps;∎ that will not be for some time to come ce ne sera pas avant quelque temps∎ (by) come tomorrow/Tuesday you'll feel better vous vous sentirez mieux demain/mardi;∎ I'll have been here two years come April ça fera deux ans en avril que je suis là;∎ come the revolution you'll all be out of a job avec la révolution, vous vous retrouverez tous au chômage∎ come, come!, come now! allons!, voyons!4 noun∎ it came about that… il arriva ou il advint que…;∎ how could such a mistake come about? comment une telle erreur a-t-elle pu se produire?;∎ the discovery of penicillin came about quite by accident la pénicilline a été découverte tout à fait par hasard(a) (walk, travel across → field, street) traverser;∎ as we stood talking she came across to join us pendant que nous discutions, elle est venue se joindre à nous∎ to come across well/badly (at interview) faire une bonne/mauvaise impression, bien/mal passer; (on TV) bien/mal passer;∎ he never comes across as well on film as in the theatre il passe mieux au théâtre qu'à l'écran;∎ he came across as a total idiot il donnait l'impression d'être complètement idiot∎ the author's message comes across well le message de l'auteur passe bien;∎ her disdain for his work came across le mépris qu'elle avait pour son travail transparaissait∎ we came across an interesting problem on a été confrontés à ou on est tombés sur un problème intéressant;∎ she reads everything she comes across elle lit tout ce qui lui tombe sous la mainfamiliar (give → information) donner□, fournir□ ; (→ help) offrir□ ; (→ money) raquer, se fendre de;∎ he came across with the money he owed me il m'a filé le fric qu'il me devait;∎ the crook came across with the names of his accomplices l'escroc a vendu ses complices(pursue) poursuivre;∎ he came after me with a stick il m'a poursuivi avec un bâton(a) (encouraging, urging)∎ come along, drink your medicine! allez, prends ou bois ton médicament!;∎ come along, we're late! dépêche-toi, nous sommes en retard!(b) (accompany) venir, accompagner;∎ she asked me to come along (with them) elle m'a invité à aller avec eux ou à les accompagner(c) (occur, happen) arriver, se présenter;∎ an opportunity like this doesn't come along often une telle occasion ne se présente pas souvent;∎ don't accept the first job that comes along ne prenez pas le premier travail qui se présente;∎ he married the first woman that came along il a épousé la première venue∎ the patient is coming along well le patient se remet bien;∎ the work isn't coming along as expected le travail n'avance pas comme prévu;∎ how's your computer class coming along? comment va ton cours d'informatique?(object → come to pieces) se démonter; (→ break) se casser; (project, policy) échouer;∎ to come apart at the seams (garment) se défaire aux coutures;∎ the book came apart in my hands le livre est tombé en morceaux quand je l'ai pris;∎ figurative under pressure he came apart sous la pression il a craqué(attack) attaquer, se jeter sur;∎ he came at me with a knife il s'est jeté sur moi avec un couteau;∎ figurative questions came at me from all sides j'ai été assailli de questions∎ come away from that door! écartez-vous de cette porte!;∎ I came away with the distinct impression that all was not well je suis reparti avec la forte impression que quelque chose n'allait pas;∎ he asked her to come away with him (elope) il lui a demandé de s'enfuir avec lui; British (go on holiday) il lui a demandé de partir avec lui(b) (separate) partir, se détacher;∎ the page came away in my hands la page m'est restée dans les mains∎ he came back with me il est revenu avec moi;∎ to come back home rentrer (à la maison);∎ figurative the colour came back to her cheeks elle reprit des couleurs;∎ we'll come back to that question later nous reviendrons à cette question plus tard;∎ to come back to what we were saying pour en revenir à ce que nous disions∎ it's all coming back to me tout cela me revient (à l'esprit ou à la mémoire);∎ her name will come back to me later son nom me reviendra plus tard∎ they came back with an argument in favour of the project ils ont répondu par un argument en faveur du projet∎ he came back strongly in the second set il a bien remonté au deuxième set;∎ they came back from 3-0 down ils ont remonté de 3 à 0brouiller, éloigner;∎ he came between her and her friend il l'a brouillée avec son amie, il l'a éloignée de son amie;∎ we mustn't let a small disagreement come between us nous n'allons pas nous disputer à cause d'un petit malentendu➲ come by(stop by) passer, venir(acquire → work, money) obtenir, se procurer; (→ idea) se faire;∎ jobs are hard to come by il est difficile de trouver du travail;∎ how did you come by this camera/those bruises? comment as-tu fait pour avoir cet appareil-photo/ces bleus?;∎ how did she come by all that money? comment s'est-elle procuré tout cet argent?;∎ how on earth did he come by that idea? où est-il allé chercher cette idée?(descend → ladder, stairs) descendre; (→ mountain) descendre, faire la descente de(a) (descend → from ladder, stairs) descendre; (→ from mountain etc) descendre, faire la descente; (plane → crash) s'écraser; (→ land) atterrir;∎ to come down to breakfast descendre déjeuner ou prendre le petit déjeuner;∎ come down from that tree! descends de cet arbre!;∎ they came down to Paris ils sont descendus à Paris;∎ hem-lines are coming down this year les jupes rallongent cette année;∎ he's come down in the world il a déchu;∎ you'd better come down to earth tu ferais bien de revenir sur terre ou de descendre des nues∎ rain was coming down in sheets il pleuvait des cordes;∎ the ceiling came down le plafond s'est effondré∎ the dress comes down to my ankles la robe descend jusqu'à mes chevilles;∎ her hair came down to her waist les cheveux lui tombaient ou descendaient jusqu'à la taille(d) (decrease) baisser;∎ he's ready to come down 10 percent on the price il est prêt à rabattre ou baisser le prix de 10 pour cent(e) (be passed down) être transmis (de père en fils);∎ this custom comes down from the Romans cette coutume nous vient des Romains;∎ the necklace came down to her from her great-aunt elle tient ce collier de sa grand-tante(f) (reach a decision) se prononcer;∎ the majority came down in favour of/against abortion la majorité s'est prononcée en faveur de/contre l'avortement;∎ to come down on sb's side décider en faveur de qn(g) (be removed) être défait ou décroché;∎ that wallpaper will have to come down il va falloir enlever ce papier peint;∎ the Christmas decorations are coming down today aujourd'hui, on enlève les décorations de Noël;∎ the tree will have to come down (be felled) il faut abattre cet arbre;∎ these houses are coming down soon on va bientôt démolir ces maisons∎ the boss came down hard on him le patron lui a passé un de ces savons;∎ one mistake and he'll come down on you like a ton of bricks si tu fais la moindre erreur, il te tombera sur le dos∎ they came down on me to sell the land ils ont essayé de me faire vendre le terrain□(amount) se réduire à, se résumer à;∎ it all comes down to what you want to do tout cela dépend de ce que vous souhaitez faire;∎ it all comes down to the same thing tout cela revient au même;∎ that's what his argument comes down to voici à quoi se réduit son raisonnement(become ill) attraper;∎ he came down with a cold il s'est enrhumé, il a attrapé un rhume(present oneself) se présenter;∎ more women are coming forward as candidates davantage de femmes présentent leur candidature;∎ the police have appealed for witnesses to come forward la police a demandé aux témoins de se faire connaître∎ the townspeople came forward with supplies les habitants de la ville ont offert des provisions;∎ he came forward with a new proposal il a fait une nouvelle proposition;∎ Law to come forward with evidence présenter des preuvesvenir;∎ she comes from China elle vient ou elle est originaire de Chine;∎ to come from a good family être issu ou venir d'une bonne famille;∎ this word comes from Latin ce mot vient du latin;∎ this wine comes from the south of France ce vin vient du sud de la France;∎ this passage comes from one of his novels ce passage est extrait ou provient d'un de ses romans;∎ that's surprising coming from him c'est étonnant de sa part;∎ a sob came from his throat un sanglot s'est échappé de sa gorge;∎ familiar I'm not sure where he's coming from je ne sais pas très bien ce qui le motive□∎ come in! entrez!;∎ they came in through the window ils sont entrés par la fenêtre;∎ come in now, children, it's getting dark rentrez maintenant, les enfants, il commence à faire nuit;∎ British familiar Mrs Brown comes in twice a week (to clean) Madame Brown vient (faire le ménage) deux fois par semaine(b) (plane, train) arriver(c) (in competition) arriver;∎ she came in second elle est arrivée deuxième(d) (be received → money, contributions) rentrer;∎ there isn't enough money coming in to cover expenditure l'argent qui rentre ne suffit pas à couvrir les dépenses;∎ how much do you have coming in every week? combien touchez-vous ou encaissez-vous chaque semaine?∎ news is just coming in of a riot in Red Square on nous annonce à l'instant des émeutes sur la place Rouge∎ come in car number 1, over j'appelle voiture 1, à vous;∎ come in Barry Stewart from New York à vous, Barry Stewart à New York∎ when do endives come in? quand commence la saison des endives?;∎ leather has come in le cuir est à la mode ou en vogue∎ these gloves come in handy or useful for driving ces gants sont bien commodes ou utiles pour conduire∎ where do I come in? quel est mon rôle là-dedans?;∎ this is where the law comes in c'est là que la loi intervient;∎ he should come in on the deal il devrait participer à l'opération;∎ I'd like to come in on this (conversation) j'aimerais dire quelques mots là-dessus ou à ce sujet(be object of → abuse, reproach) subir;∎ to come in for criticism être critiqué, être l'objet de critiques;∎ the government came in for a lot of criticism over its handling of the crisis le gouvernement a été très critiqué pour la façon dont il gère la crise;∎ to come in for praise être félicité(be given a part in) prendre part à;∎ they let him come in on the deal ils l'ont laissé prendre part à l'affaire∎ they came into a fortune (won) ils ont gagné une fortune; (inherited) ils ont hérité d'une fortune(b) (play a role in) jouer un rôle;∎ it's not simply a matter of pride, though pride does come into it ce n'est pas une simple question de fierté, bien que la fierté joue un certain rôle;∎ money doesn't come into it! l'argent n'a rien à voir là-dedans!résulter de;∎ what will come of it? qu'en adviendra-t-il?, qu'en résultera-t-il?;∎ no good will come from or of it ça ne mènera à rien de bon, il n'en résultera rien de bon;∎ let me know what comes of the meeting faites-moi savoir ce qui ressortira de la réunion;∎ that's what comes from listening to you! voilà ce qui arrive quand on vous écoute!➲ come off(a) (fall off → of rider) tomber de; (→ of button) se détacher de, se découdre de; (→ of handle, label) se détacher de; (of tape, wallpaper) se détacher de, se décoller de; (be removed → of stain, mark) partir de, s'enlever de∎ to come off the pill arrêter (de prendre) la pilule(c) (climb down from, leave → wall, ladder etc) descendre de;∎ to come off a ship/plane débarquer d'un navire/d'un avion;∎ I've just come off the night shift (finished work) je viens de quitter l'équipe de nuit; (finished working nights) je viens de finir le travail de nuit∎ oh, come off it! allez, arrête ton char!(a) (rider) tomber; (button) se détacher, se découdre; (handle, label) se détacher; (stain, mark) partir, s'enlever; (tape, wallpaper) se détacher, se décoller;∎ the handle came off in his hand la poignée lui est restée dans la main(c) (fare, manage) s'en sortir, se tirer de;∎ you came off well in the competition tu t'en es bien tiré au concours;∎ to come off best gagner(d) familiar (happen) avoir lieu□, se passer□ ; (be carried through) se réaliser□ ; (succeed) réussir□ ;∎ did the game come off all right? le match s'est bien passé?;∎ my trip to China didn't come off mon voyage en Chine n'a pas eu lieu;∎ his plan didn't come off son projet est tombé à l'eau∎ I'll come on after (you) je vous suivrai(b) (in imperative) come on! (with motion, encouraging, challenging) vas-y!, allez!; (hurry) allez!; familiar (expressing incredulity) tu rigoles!;∎ come on Scotland! allez l'Écosse!;∎ come on in/up! entre/monte donc!;∎ oh, come on, for goodness sake! allez, arrête!∎ how is your work coming on? où en est votre travail?;∎ my roses are coming on nicely mes rosiers se portent bien;∎ her new book is coming on quite well son nouveau livre avance bien;∎ he's coming on in physics il fait des progrès en physique∎ as night came on quand la nuit a commençé à tomber;∎ it's coming on to rain il va pleuvoir;∎ I feel a headache/cold coming on je sens un mal de tête qui commence/que je m'enrhume(e) (start functioning → electricity, gas, heater, lights, radio) s'allumer; (→ motor) se mettre en marche; (→ utilities at main) être mis en service;∎ has the water come on? y a-t-il de l'eau?(f) (behave, act)∎ don't come on all macho with me! ne joue pas les machos avec moi!;∎ familiar you came on a bit strong tu y es allé un peu fort∎ his new play is coming on on va donner sa nouvelle pièce(a) (proceed to consider) aborder, passer à;∎ I want to come on to the issue of epidemics je veux passer à la question des épidémies∎ she was coming on to me in a big way elle me draguait à fond(a) (exit, go out socially) sortir;∎ as we came out of the theatre au moment où nous sommes sortis du théâtre;∎ would you like to come out with me tonight? est-ce que tu veux sortir avec moi ce soir?;∎ figurative if he'd only come out of himself or out of his shell si seulement il sortait de sa coquille(b) (make appearance → stars, sun) paraître, se montrer; (→ flowers) sortir, éclore; figurative (→ book) paraître, être publié; (→ film) paraître, sortir; (→ new product) sortir;∎ to come out in a rash (person) se couvrir de boutons, avoir une éruption;∎ his nasty side came out sa méchanceté s'est manifestée;∎ I didn't mean it the way it came out ce n'est pas ce que je voulais dire∎ as soon as the news came out dès qu'on a su la nouvelle, dès que la nouvelle a été annoncée∎ when do your stitches come out? quand est-ce qu'on t'enlève tes fils?(e) (declare oneself publicly) se déclarer;∎ to come out strongly (for/against) se prononcer avec vigueur (pour/contre);∎ the governor came out against/for abortion le gouverneur s'est prononcé (ouvertement) contre/pour l'avortement;∎ familiar to come out (of the closet) (homosexual) révéler (publiquement) son homosexualité□, faire son come-out∎ the government came out of the deal badly le gouvernement s'est mal sorti de l'affaire;∎ everything will come out fine tout va s'arranger;∎ I came out top in maths j'étais premier en maths;∎ to come out on top gagner(h) (go into society) faire ses débuts ou débuter dans le monde∎ this sum won't come out je n'arrive pas à résoudre cette opération∎ the pictures came out well/badly les photos étaient très bonnes/n'ont rien donné;∎ the house didn't come out well la maison n'est pas très bien sur les photos∎ to come out of a document sortir d'un document(amount to) s'élever à∎ to come out in spots or a rash avoir une éruption de boutons(say) dire, sortir;∎ what will he come out with next? qu'est-ce qu'il va nous sortir encore?;∎ he finally came out with it il a fini par le sortir(a) (move, travel in direction of speaker) venir;∎ at the party she came over to talk to me pendant la soirée, elle est venue me parler;∎ do you want to come over this evening? tu veux venir à la maison ce soir?;∎ his family came over with the early settlers sa famille est arrivée ou venue avec les premiers pionniers;∎ I met him in the plane coming over je l'ai rencontré dans l'avion en venant∎ they came over to our side ils sont passés de notre côté;∎ he finally came over to their way of thinking il a fini par se ranger à leur avis∎ her speech came over well son discours a fait bon effet ou bonne impression;∎ he came over as honest il a donné l'impression d'être honnête;∎ he doesn't come over well on television il ne passe pas bien à la télévision;∎ her voice comes over well sa voix passe ou rend bien∎ he came over all funny (felt ill) il s'est senti mal tout d'un coup, il a eu un malaise; (behaved oddly) il est devenu tout bizarre;∎ to come over dizzy être pris de vertige;∎ to come over faint être pris d'une faiblesseaffecter, envahir;∎ a change came over him un changement se produisit en lui;∎ a feeling of fear came over him il a été saisi de peur, la peur s'est emparée de lui;∎ what has come over him? qu'est-ce qui lui prend?(a) (make a detour) faire le détour;∎ we came round by the factory nous sommes passés par ou nous avons fait le détour par l'usine(c) (occur → regular event)∎ don't wait for Christmas to come round n'attendez pas Noël;∎ when the championships/elections come round au moment des championnats/élections;∎ the summer holidays will soon be coming round again bientôt, ce sera de nouveau les grandes vacances(d) (change mind) changer d'avis;∎ he finally came round to our way of thinking il a fini par se ranger à notre avis;∎ they soon came round to the idea ils se sont faits à cette idée;∎ (change to better mood) don't worry, she'll soon come round ne t'en fais pas, elle sera bientôt de meilleure humeur(e) (recover consciousness) reprendre connaissance, revenir à soi; (get better) se remettre, se rétablir;∎ she's coming round after a bout of pneumonia elle se remet d'une pneumonie∎ his sense of conviction came through on voyait qu'il était convaincu;∎ her enthusiasm comes through in her letters son enthousiasme se lit dans ses lettres;∎ your call is coming through je vous passe votre communication;∎ you're coming through loud and clear je vous reçois cinq sur cinq;∎ figurative his message came through loud and clear son message a été reçu cinq sur cinq(b) (be granted, approved) se réaliser;∎ did your visa come through? avez-vous obtenu votre visa?;∎ my request for a transfer came through ma demande de mutation a été acceptée∎ he came through for us il a fait ce qu'on attendait de lui□ ;∎ did he come through on his promise? a-t-il tenu parole?□ ;∎ they came through with the documents ils ont fourni les documents□ ;∎ he came through with the money il a rendu l'argent comme prévu□∎ we came through marshland nous sommes passés par ou avons traversé des marais;∎ the rain came through my coat la pluie a traversé mon manteau;∎ water is coming through the roof l'eau s'infiltre par le toit∎ they came through the accident without a scratch ils sont sortis de l'accident indemnes;∎ I'm sure you will come through this crisis je suis sûr que tu te sortiras de cette crise;∎ she came through the exam with flying colours elle a réussi l'examen avec brio➲ come to(a) (recover consciousness) reprendre connaissance, revenir à soi∎ when it comes to physics, she's a genius pour ce qui est de la physique, c'est un génie;∎ when it comes to paying you can't see anyone for dust quand il faut payer, il n'y a plus personne(b) (amount to) s'élever à, se monter à;∎ how much did dinner come to? à combien s'élevait le dîner?;∎ her salary comes to £750 a month elle gagne 750 livres par mois;∎ the plan never came to anything le projet n'a abouti à rien;∎ that nephew of yours will never come to anything ton neveu n'arrivera jamais à rien∎ now we come to questions of health nous en venons maintenant aux questions de santé;∎ he got what was coming to him il n'a eu que ce qu'il méritait;∎ to come to a conclusion arriver à une conclusion;∎ to come to power accéder au pouvoir;∎ what is the world or what are things coming to? où va-t-on ?;∎ what are things coming to when there aren't even enough hospital beds available? où va-t-on s'il n'y a pas assez de lits dans les hôpitaux?;∎ I never thought it would come to this je ne me doutais pas qu'on en arriverait là;∎ let's hope it won't come to that espérons que nous n'en arrivions pas là∎ the two roads come together at this point les deux routes se rejoignent à cet endroit∎ everything came together at the final performance tout s'est passé à merveille pour la dernière représentation□∎ the government is coming under pressure to lower taxes le gouvernement subit des pressions visant à réduire les impôts(b) (be classified under) être classé sous;∎ that subject comes under "current events" ce sujet est classé ou se trouve sous la rubrique "actualités"∎ I come up to town every Monday je viens en ville tous les lundis;∎ they came up to Chicago ils sont venus à Chicago;∎ she came up the hard way elle a réussi à la force du poignet;∎ Military an officer who came up through the ranks un officier sorti du rang(c) (approach) s'approcher;∎ to come up to sb s'approcher de qn, aborder qn;∎ the students came up to him with their questions les étudiants sont venus le voir avec leurs questions;∎ it's coming up to five o'clock il est presque cinq heures;∎ coming up now on Channel 4, the seven o'clock news et maintenant, sur Channel 4, le journal de sept heures;∎ familiar one coffee, coming up! et un café, un!∎ my beans are coming up nicely mes haricots poussent bien(e) (come under consideration → matter) être soulevé, être mis sur le tapis; (→ question, problem) se poser, être soulevé; Law (→ accused) comparaître; (→ case) être entendu;∎ that problem has never come up ce problème ne s'est jamais posé;∎ the question of financing always comes up la question du financement se pose toujours;∎ the subject came up twice in the conversation le sujet est revenu deux fois dans la conversation;∎ your name came up twice on a mentionné votre nom deux fois;∎ she comes up for re-election this year son mandat prend fin cette année;∎ my contract is coming up for review mon contrat doit être révisé;∎ to come up before the judge or the court (accused) comparaître devant le juge; (case) être entendu par la cour;∎ her case comes up next Wednesday elle passe au tribunal mercredi prochain∎ to deal with problems as they come up traiter les problèmes au fur et à mesure;∎ she's ready for anything that might come up elle est prête à faire face à toute éventualité;∎ I can't make it, something has come up je ne peux pas venir, j'ai un empêchement;∎ I'll let you know if anything comes up (if I find further information) s'il y a du nouveau, je vous tiendrai au courant; (anything that is suitable) je vous tiendrai au courant si je vois quelque chose qui vous convienne∎ when the lights came up at the interval lorsque les lumières se rallumèrent à l'entracte∎ everything she eats comes up (again) elle vomit ou rejette tout ce qu'elle mange(i) (colour, wood etc)∎ the colour comes up well when it's cleaned la couleur revient bien au nettoyage∎ did their number come up? (in lottery) ont-ils gagné au loto?; figurative est-ce qu'ils ont touché le gros lot?(be confronted with) rencontrer;∎ they came up against some tough competition ils se sont heurtés à des concurrents redoutables(find unexpectedly → person) rencontrer par hasard, tomber sur; (→ object) trouver par hasard, tomber sur;∎ we came upon the couple just as they were kissing nous avons surpris le couple en train de s'embrasser∎ the mud came up to their knees la boue leur montait ou arrivait jusqu'aux genoux;∎ she comes up to his shoulder elle lui arrive à l'épaule;∎ we're coming up to the halfway mark nous atteindrons bientôt la moitié∎ his last book doesn't come up to the others son dernier livre ne vaut pas les autres;∎ to come up to sb's expectations répondre à l'attente de qn;∎ the play didn't come up to our expectations la pièce nous a déçus(offer, propose → money, loan) fournir; (think of → plan, suggestion) suggérer, proposer; (→ answer) trouver; (→ excuse) trouver, inventer;∎ they came up with a wonderful idea ils ont eu une idée géniale;∎ what will she come up with next? qu'est-ce qu'elle va encore inventer?ⓘ Come on down! Il s'agit de la formule consacrée du jeu télévisé The Price is Right (dont l'équivalent français est Le Juste prix) qui débuta en 1957 aux États-Unis, et dans les années 80 en Grande-Bretagne. L'animateur de l'émission prononçait ces paroles ("Descendez!") pour inviter les membres du public sélectionnés pour participer au jeu à venir le rejoindre sur la scène. Aujourd'hui on utilise cette formule plaisamment pour dire à quelqu'un d'approcher ou bien pour indiquer à quelqu'un qui doit prononcer un discours ou se produire sur scène qu'il est temps de prendre place.ⓘ Come up and see me sometime... Cette formule fut utilisée pour la première fois par Mae West dans le film de 1933 She Done Him Wrong (dont le titre français est Lady Lou); la citation exacte était en fait Why don't you come up sometime, see me? ("Pourquoi est-ce que tu ne monterais pas un de ces jours, pour me voir?"). Il s'agit de l'archétype de l'invitation au badinage. Encore aujourd'hui on utilise cette formule en imitant l'air canaille de Mae West. -
6 Artificial Intelligence
In my opinion, none of [these programs] does even remote justice to the complexity of human mental processes. Unlike men, "artificially intelligent" programs tend to be single minded, undistractable, and unemotional. (Neisser, 1967, p. 9)Future progress in [artificial intelligence] will depend on the development of both practical and theoretical knowledge.... As regards theoretical knowledge, some have sought a unified theory of artificial intelligence. My view is that artificial intelligence is (or soon will be) an engineering discipline since its primary goal is to build things. (Nilsson, 1971, pp. vii-viii)Most workers in AI [artificial intelligence] research and in related fields confess to a pronounced feeling of disappointment in what has been achieved in the last 25 years. Workers entered the field around 1950, and even around 1960, with high hopes that are very far from being realized in 1972. In no part of the field have the discoveries made so far produced the major impact that was then promised.... In the meantime, claims and predictions regarding the potential results of AI research had been publicized which went even farther than the expectations of the majority of workers in the field, whose embarrassments have been added to by the lamentable failure of such inflated predictions....When able and respected scientists write in letters to the present author that AI, the major goal of computing science, represents "another step in the general process of evolution"; that possibilities in the 1980s include an all-purpose intelligence on a human-scale knowledge base; that awe-inspiring possibilities suggest themselves based on machine intelligence exceeding human intelligence by the year 2000 [one has the right to be skeptical]. (Lighthill, 1972, p. 17)4) Just as Astronomy Succeeded Astrology, the Discovery of Intellectual Processes in Machines Should Lead to a Science, EventuallyJust as astronomy succeeded astrology, following Kepler's discovery of planetary regularities, the discoveries of these many principles in empirical explorations on intellectual processes in machines should lead to a science, eventually. (Minsky & Papert, 1973, p. 11)5) Problems in Machine Intelligence Arise Because Things Obvious to Any Person Are Not Represented in the ProgramMany problems arise in experiments on machine intelligence because things obvious to any person are not represented in any program. One can pull with a string, but one cannot push with one.... Simple facts like these caused serious problems when Charniak attempted to extend Bobrow's "Student" program to more realistic applications, and they have not been faced up to until now. (Minsky & Papert, 1973, p. 77)What do we mean by [a symbolic] "description"? We do not mean to suggest that our descriptions must be made of strings of ordinary language words (although they might be). The simplest kind of description is a structure in which some features of a situation are represented by single ("primitive") symbols, and relations between those features are represented by other symbols-or by other features of the way the description is put together. (Minsky & Papert, 1973, p. 11)[AI is] the use of computer programs and programming techniques to cast light on the principles of intelligence in general and human thought in particular. (Boden, 1977, p. 5)The word you look for and hardly ever see in the early AI literature is the word knowledge. They didn't believe you have to know anything, you could always rework it all.... In fact 1967 is the turning point in my mind when there was enough feeling that the old ideas of general principles had to go.... I came up with an argument for what I called the primacy of expertise, and at the time I called the other guys the generalists. (Moses, quoted in McCorduck, 1979, pp. 228-229)9) Artificial Intelligence Is Psychology in a Particularly Pure and Abstract FormThe basic idea of cognitive science is that intelligent beings are semantic engines-in other words, automatic formal systems with interpretations under which they consistently make sense. We can now see why this includes psychology and artificial intelligence on a more or less equal footing: people and intelligent computers (if and when there are any) turn out to be merely different manifestations of the same underlying phenomenon. Moreover, with universal hardware, any semantic engine can in principle be formally imitated by a computer if only the right program can be found. And that will guarantee semantic imitation as well, since (given the appropriate formal behavior) the semantics is "taking care of itself" anyway. Thus we also see why, from this perspective, artificial intelligence can be regarded as psychology in a particularly pure and abstract form. The same fundamental structures are under investigation, but in AI, all the relevant parameters are under direct experimental control (in the programming), without any messy physiology or ethics to get in the way. (Haugeland, 1981b, p. 31)There are many different kinds of reasoning one might imagine:Formal reasoning involves the syntactic manipulation of data structures to deduce new ones following prespecified rules of inference. Mathematical logic is the archetypical formal representation. Procedural reasoning uses simulation to answer questions and solve problems. When we use a program to answer What is the sum of 3 and 4? it uses, or "runs," a procedural model of arithmetic. Reasoning by analogy seems to be a very natural mode of thought for humans but, so far, difficult to accomplish in AI programs. The idea is that when you ask the question Can robins fly? the system might reason that "robins are like sparrows, and I know that sparrows can fly, so robins probably can fly."Generalization and abstraction are also natural reasoning process for humans that are difficult to pin down well enough to implement in a program. If one knows that Robins have wings, that Sparrows have wings, and that Blue jays have wings, eventually one will believe that All birds have wings. This capability may be at the core of most human learning, but it has not yet become a useful technique in AI.... Meta- level reasoning is demonstrated by the way one answers the question What is Paul Newman's telephone number? You might reason that "if I knew Paul Newman's number, I would know that I knew it, because it is a notable fact." This involves using "knowledge about what you know," in particular, about the extent of your knowledge and about the importance of certain facts. Recent research in psychology and AI indicates that meta-level reasoning may play a central role in human cognitive processing. (Barr & Feigenbaum, 1981, pp. 146-147)Suffice it to say that programs already exist that can do things-or, at the very least, appear to be beginning to do things-which ill-informed critics have asserted a priori to be impossible. Examples include: perceiving in a holistic as opposed to an atomistic way; using language creatively; translating sensibly from one language to another by way of a language-neutral semantic representation; planning acts in a broad and sketchy fashion, the details being decided only in execution; distinguishing between different species of emotional reaction according to the psychological context of the subject. (Boden, 1981, p. 33)Can the synthesis of Man and Machine ever be stable, or will the purely organic component become such a hindrance that it has to be discarded? If this eventually happens-and I have... good reasons for thinking that it must-we have nothing to regret and certainly nothing to fear. (Clarke, 1984, p. 243)The thesis of GOFAI... is not that the processes underlying intelligence can be described symbolically... but that they are symbolic. (Haugeland, 1985, p. 113)14) Artificial Intelligence Provides a Useful Approach to Psychological and Psychiatric Theory FormationIt is all very well formulating psychological and psychiatric theories verbally but, when using natural language (even technical jargon), it is difficult to recognise when a theory is complete; oversights are all too easily made, gaps too readily left. This is a point which is generally recognised to be true and it is for precisely this reason that the behavioural sciences attempt to follow the natural sciences in using "classical" mathematics as a more rigorous descriptive language. However, it is an unfortunate fact that, with a few notable exceptions, there has been a marked lack of success in this application. It is my belief that a different approach-a different mathematics-is needed, and that AI provides just this approach. (Hand, quoted in Hand, 1985, pp. 6-7)We might distinguish among four kinds of AI.Research of this kind involves building and programming computers to perform tasks which, to paraphrase Marvin Minsky, would require intelligence if they were done by us. Researchers in nonpsychological AI make no claims whatsoever about the psychological realism of their programs or the devices they build, that is, about whether or not computers perform tasks as humans do.Research here is guided by the view that the computer is a useful tool in the study of mind. In particular, we can write computer programs or build devices that simulate alleged psychological processes in humans and then test our predictions about how the alleged processes work. We can weave these programs and devices together with other programs and devices that simulate different alleged mental processes and thereby test the degree to which the AI system as a whole simulates human mentality. According to weak psychological AI, working with computer models is a way of refining and testing hypotheses about processes that are allegedly realized in human minds.... According to this view, our minds are computers and therefore can be duplicated by other computers. Sherry Turkle writes that the "real ambition is of mythic proportions, making a general purpose intelligence, a mind." (Turkle, 1984, p. 240) The authors of a major text announce that "the ultimate goal of AI research is to build a person or, more humbly, an animal." (Charniak & McDermott, 1985, p. 7)Research in this field, like strong psychological AI, takes seriously the functionalist view that mentality can be realized in many different types of physical devices. Suprapsychological AI, however, accuses strong psychological AI of being chauvinisticof being only interested in human intelligence! Suprapsychological AI claims to be interested in all the conceivable ways intelligence can be realized. (Flanagan, 1991, pp. 241-242)16) Determination of Relevance of Rules in Particular ContextsEven if the [rules] were stored in a context-free form the computer still couldn't use them. To do that the computer requires rules enabling it to draw on just those [ rules] which are relevant in each particular context. Determination of relevance will have to be based on further facts and rules, but the question will again arise as to which facts and rules are relevant for making each particular determination. One could always invoke further facts and rules to answer this question, but of course these must be only the relevant ones. And so it goes. It seems that AI workers will never be able to get started here unless they can settle the problem of relevance beforehand by cataloguing types of context and listing just those facts which are relevant in each. (Dreyfus & Dreyfus, 1986, p. 80)Perhaps the single most important idea to artificial intelligence is that there is no fundamental difference between form and content, that meaning can be captured in a set of symbols such as a semantic net. (G. Johnson, 1986, p. 250)Artificial intelligence is based on the assumption that the mind can be described as some kind of formal system manipulating symbols that stand for things in the world. Thus it doesn't matter what the brain is made of, or what it uses for tokens in the great game of thinking. Using an equivalent set of tokens and rules, we can do thinking with a digital computer, just as we can play chess using cups, salt and pepper shakers, knives, forks, and spoons. Using the right software, one system (the mind) can be mapped into the other (the computer). (G. Johnson, 1986, p. 250)19) A Statement of the Primary and Secondary Purposes of Artificial IntelligenceThe primary goal of Artificial Intelligence is to make machines smarter.The secondary goals of Artificial Intelligence are to understand what intelligence is (the Nobel laureate purpose) and to make machines more useful (the entrepreneurial purpose). (Winston, 1987, p. 1)The theoretical ideas of older branches of engineering are captured in the language of mathematics. We contend that mathematical logic provides the basis for theory in AI. Although many computer scientists already count logic as fundamental to computer science in general, we put forward an even stronger form of the logic-is-important argument....AI deals mainly with the problem of representing and using declarative (as opposed to procedural) knowledge. Declarative knowledge is the kind that is expressed as sentences, and AI needs a language in which to state these sentences. Because the languages in which this knowledge usually is originally captured (natural languages such as English) are not suitable for computer representations, some other language with the appropriate properties must be used. It turns out, we think, that the appropriate properties include at least those that have been uppermost in the minds of logicians in their development of logical languages such as the predicate calculus. Thus, we think that any language for expressing knowledge in AI systems must be at least as expressive as the first-order predicate calculus. (Genesereth & Nilsson, 1987, p. viii)21) Perceptual Structures Can Be Represented as Lists of Elementary PropositionsIn artificial intelligence studies, perceptual structures are represented as assemblages of description lists, the elementary components of which are propositions asserting that certain relations hold among elements. (Chase & Simon, 1988, p. 490)Artificial intelligence (AI) is sometimes defined as the study of how to build and/or program computers to enable them to do the sorts of things that minds can do. Some of these things are commonly regarded as requiring intelligence: offering a medical diagnosis and/or prescription, giving legal or scientific advice, proving theorems in logic or mathematics. Others are not, because they can be done by all normal adults irrespective of educational background (and sometimes by non-human animals too), and typically involve no conscious control: seeing things in sunlight and shadows, finding a path through cluttered terrain, fitting pegs into holes, speaking one's own native tongue, and using one's common sense. Because it covers AI research dealing with both these classes of mental capacity, this definition is preferable to one describing AI as making computers do "things that would require intelligence if done by people." However, it presupposes that computers could do what minds can do, that they might really diagnose, advise, infer, and understand. One could avoid this problematic assumption (and also side-step questions about whether computers do things in the same way as we do) by defining AI instead as "the development of computers whose observable performance has features which in humans we would attribute to mental processes." This bland characterization would be acceptable to some AI workers, especially amongst those focusing on the production of technological tools for commercial purposes. But many others would favour a more controversial definition, seeing AI as the science of intelligence in general-or, more accurately, as the intellectual core of cognitive science. As such, its goal is to provide a systematic theory that can explain (and perhaps enable us to replicate) both the general categories of intentionality and the diverse psychological capacities grounded in them. (Boden, 1990b, pp. 1-2)Because the ability to store data somewhat corresponds to what we call memory in human beings, and because the ability to follow logical procedures somewhat corresponds to what we call reasoning in human beings, many members of the cult have concluded that what computers do somewhat corresponds to what we call thinking. It is no great difficulty to persuade the general public of that conclusion since computers process data very fast in small spaces well below the level of visibility; they do not look like other machines when they are at work. They seem to be running along as smoothly and silently as the brain does when it remembers and reasons and thinks. On the other hand, those who design and build computers know exactly how the machines are working down in the hidden depths of their semiconductors. Computers can be taken apart, scrutinized, and put back together. Their activities can be tracked, analyzed, measured, and thus clearly understood-which is far from possible with the brain. This gives rise to the tempting assumption on the part of the builders and designers that computers can tell us something about brains, indeed, that the computer can serve as a model of the mind, which then comes to be seen as some manner of information processing machine, and possibly not as good at the job as the machine. (Roszak, 1994, pp. xiv-xv)The inner workings of the human mind are far more intricate than the most complicated systems of modern technology. Researchers in the field of artificial intelligence have been attempting to develop programs that will enable computers to display intelligent behavior. Although this field has been an active one for more than thirty-five years and has had many notable successes, AI researchers still do not know how to create a program that matches human intelligence. No existing program can recall facts, solve problems, reason, learn, and process language with human facility. This lack of success has occurred not because computers are inferior to human brains but rather because we do not yet know in sufficient detail how intelligence is organized in the brain. (Anderson, 1995, p. 2)Historical dictionary of quotations in cognitive science > Artificial Intelligence
См. также в других словарях:
Electromagnetic field — The electromagnetic field is a physical field produced by electrically charged objects. It affects the behavior of charged objects in the vicinity of the field.The electromagnetic field extends indefinitely throughout space and describes the… … Wikipedia
Quantum field theory — In quantum field theory (QFT) the forces between particles are mediated by other particles. For instance, the electromagnetic force between two electrons is caused by an exchange of photons. But quantum field theory applies to all fundamental… … Wikipedia
Wrigley Field — For the former ballpark in Los Angeles, see Wrigley Field (Los Angeles). Wrigley Field The Friendly Confines Cubs Park Wrigley Field in 2004 Former names … Wikipedia
metaphysics — /met euh fiz iks/, n. (used with a sing. v.) 1. the branch of philosophy that treats of first principles, includes ontology and cosmology, and is intimately connected with epistemology. 2. philosophy, esp. in its more abstruse branches. 3. the… … Universalium
in — I POSITION OR MOVEMENT ♦ (The preposition is pronounced [[t]ɪn[/t]]. The adverb is pronounced [[t]ɪ̱n[/t]].) 1) PREP Someone or something that is in something else is enclosed by it or surrounded by it. If you put something in a container, you… … English dictionary
ZIONISM — This article is arranged according to the following outline: the word and its meaning forerunners ḤIBBAT ZION ROOTS OF ḤIBBAT ZION background to the emergence of the movement the beginnings of the movement PINSKER S AUTOEMANCIPATION settlement… … Encyclopedia of Judaism
France — /frans, frahns/; Fr. /frddahonns/, n. 1. Anatole /ann nann tawl /, (Jacques Anatole Thibault), 1844 1924, French novelist and essayist: Nobel prize 1921. 2. a republic in W Europe. 58,470,421; 212,736 sq. mi. (550,985 sq. km). Cap.: Paris. 3.… … Universalium
mathematics — /math euh mat iks/, n. 1. (used with a sing. v.) the systematic treatment of magnitude, relationships between figures and forms, and relations between quantities expressed symbolically. 2. (used with a sing. or pl. v.) mathematical procedures,… … Universalium
HEBREW LANGUAGE — This entry is arranged according to the following scheme: pre biblical biblical the dead sea scrolls mishnaic medieval modern period A detailed table of contents precedes each section. PRE BIBLICAL nature of the evidence the sources phonology… … Encyclopedia of Judaism
ART — This article is arranged according to the following outline: Antiquity to 1800 INTRODUCTION: JEWISH ATTITUDE TO ART biblical period the sanctuary and first temple period second temple period after the fall of jerusalem relation to early christian … Encyclopedia of Judaism
Christianity — /kris chee an i tee/, n., pl. Christianities. 1. the Christian religion, including the Catholic, Protestant, and Eastern Orthodox churches. 2. Christian beliefs or practices; Christian quality or character: Christianity mixed with pagan elements; … Universalium