eveneven2 ●●○ adjective 
The floor must be completely even before we lay the tiles. You need a flat, even surface to work on. He had lovely white, even teeth.► see thesaurus at flat2not changing an even rate, speed, or temperature is steady and does not change: The room is kept at an even temperature. Wood burns at a fairly even rate.3divided equally divided equally, so that there is the same amount of something in each place, for each person etc: Divide the dough into three even amounts. an even distribution of wealth4number an even number can be divided exactly by two OPP odd: 2, 4, 6 and 8 are even numbers.5competition having teams or competitors that are equally good so that everyone has a chance of winning: The first half was very even, and neither side scored. an even contest6scores if the score in a game is even, two teams or players have the same number of points: At the end of the first half the score is even.7be even informal to no longer owe someone something, especially money: If you give me $5, we’ll be even.8calm calm and controlled, and not extreme: He read most of the speech in an even tone.9an even chance a situation in which it is just as likely that something will happen as not happen: I think we have an even chance of winning. We knew there was an even chance that the operation would fail.10get even (with somebody) informal to do something unpleasant to someone to punish them for something that they did to you SYN get revenge (on somebody): I’ll get even with him one day.11break even to neither make a profit nor lose money: We’re hoping that we’ll at least break even, and perhaps make a small profit. → even-tempered—evenness noun [uncountable]
WORD ORIGINeven2
Origin:
Old English efenEXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- After driving for so long on the gravel I was glad to get on an even stretch of road.
- an even rhythm
- an even row of telephone poles
- an even stretch of road
- Make sure the floor is even before you lay the carpet.
- Our grocery bill came to an even $30.00.
- Shape the dough into eight even balls.
- These chemicals must be stored at an even temperature.
- I was supposed to be a caretaker, charged with setting the branch back on an even keel.
- Loopy Lil gently smiled her new even welfare smile while Mrs Hollidaye darned lisle stockings.
THESAURUS
on one level, without any holes or raised areas, and not sloping or curving: · a flat roof· a flat screen· Before you lay the tiles, make sure that the ground is completely flat.
not sloping in any direction, so that every part is at the same height: · Is the top of this picture level?· After four hours coming down the mountain, I was glad to be back on level ground.
without any holes or raised areas – used especially when saying how something feels when you touch it: · her lovely smooth skin· I ran my hand across the animal’s smooth fur.
without any holes or raised areas: · Apply the paint to an even surface.· Be careful – the path is not very even here.
going straight across and not sloping: · a horizontal line· Raise both arms to a horizontal position.
Longman Language Activatorflat and smooth a place that is flat has no hills or mountains; a surface or object that is flat has no raised or curved parts: · Cambridge is very flat and you can see for miles.· a flat, sandy beach· We sat down on a big flat rock.· Focaccia, an Italian flat bread, has become very popular for sandwiches.
a smooth surface feels completely flat and has no rough or raised parts, especially in a way that is pleasant and attractive: · The marble table felt smooth and cold against her arm.· She has lovely smooth skin.
a surface such as a floor or road that is even is completely flat and all its parts are at the same height: · The floor must be completely even before we lay the tiles.· After driving for so long on the gravel I was glad to get on an even stretch of road.
WORD SETSadd, verbaddition, nounArabic numeral, nounarithmetic progression, nounbi-, prefixbillion, numbercalculate, verbcalculation, nouncardinal, nouncardinal number, nouncoefficient, nouncommon denominator, nounconstant, nouncube, verbcube root, nounD, noundecimal, noundecimal, adjectivedecimal point, noundemi-, prefixdenominator, noundigit, noundivide, verbdividend, noundivisible, adjectivedivision, noundivisor, noundouble-digit, adjectivedouble figures, nouneight, numbereighteen, numbereighth, adjectiveeighty, numbereleven, numberequal, adjectiveequal, verbequals sign, nouneven, adjectiveexponent, nounfactor, nounfactor, verbfactorial, nounfifteen, numberfifth, nounfifty, numberfig., figure, nounfive, numberforty, numberfour, numberfourteen, numberfourth, nounfraction, noungeometric progression, noungross, nounHCF, hundred, numberimproper fraction, nounindivisible, adjectiveinfinity, nouninteger, nounL, nounlogarithm, nounlowest common denominator, nounM, nounmedian, nounmedian, adjectivemillion, numbermultiple, nounmultiplication, nounmultiplication sign, nounmultiplication table, noun-nd, suffixnegative, adjectivenine, numbernineteen, numberninety, numberninth, adjectiveNo., nos., nothing, pronounnought, numbernumber, nounnumeral, nounnumerator, nounnumerical, adjectiveO, nounoblique, nounone, numberordinal number, nounpi, nounplot, verbplus, prepositionpoint, nounpositive, adjectiveprime number, nounproduct, nounproper fraction, nounproportion, nounquadr-, prefixquadrillion, numberquadruple, adjectivequotient, noun-rd, suffixroman numeral, nounroot, nounround, adjectivescore, numbersecond, numberserial number, nounset, nounsingle figures, nounsix, numbersixteen, numbersixty, numbersquare, nounsquare, verbsquared, adjectivesquare root, noun-st, suffixsubtract, verbsum, nountake, verbten, numbertenth, adjectivetertiary, adjectivetetra-, prefixthirteen, numberthirty, numberthousand, numberthree, numberthree-quarter, adjectivethreescore, numbertreble, determinertri-, prefixtrillion, numbertwelve, numbertwenty, numbertwice, adverbunit, nounV, nounvulgar fraction, nounwhole number, nounX, nounzero, number
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY You need a flat, even surface to work on. I think we have an even chance of winning.COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES It was even better than last year. A scream shattered the late afternoon calm. a chilly November morning They went for a stroll in the cool of the evening. ‘What if the two of them ...?’ ‘Don’t even go there!’ a white silk wedding gown Now that the crisis is over, we must try to get things back on an even keel. Will I see you at morning Mass? You have talent, maybe even genius. Pascal went ahead with the experiment even though he knew it was dangerous. The business could become less profitable or, even worse, could close down. Anna left yesterday afternoon.COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSNOUN
You need a flat, even surface to work on. I think we have an even chance of winning.· He stepped out and breathed in the cold morning air.
(=a small bag that a woman takes out with her in the evening)· She put her lipstick in a black velvet evening bag.
It was even better than last year.· People were out walking, enjoying the evening breeze.
A scream shattered the late afternoon calm. a chilly November morning· Mum goes to an evening class on Tuesdays.
· I don’t often have a chance to wear formal evening clothes.
British English (=one in which everyone has the same chance of winning)· One of the men was much older so it was hardly an even contest.
They went for a stroll in the cool of the evening. (=a formal dress to wear in the evening)· She arrived in a red evening dress.
· The lake looked beautiful in the pale early morning light.
· We set off early in the morning.
· The evening’s entertainment concluded with a firework display.
‘What if the two of them ...?’ ‘Don’t even go there!’ a white silk wedding gown Now that the crisis is over, we must try to get things back on an even keel. Will I see you at morning Mass? You have talent, maybe even genius.· The evening meal is served at 7.30.
· The sun broke through the morning mist.
(=2, 4, 6, 8 etc)· All even numbers can be divided by 2.
· Ian usually buys an evening paper on his way home.
· All the machines are cleaned at the end of every afternoon shift.
· The moon is the brightest object visible in the night sky.
(also a summer day/evening)· It was a beautiful summer’s day.
· We ate breakfast outside in the gentle morning sun.
· Their armour glinted in the early morning sunlight.
· The morning sunshine brightened the room.
Pascal went ahead with the experiment even though he knew it was dangerous. (=all of the same height)· His teeth were white and even.
formal (=clothes worn to formal events in the evening)· The band were dressed in evening wear.
· My cooking’s even worse than yours.
The business could become less profitable or, even worse, could close down. Anna left yesterday afternoon.· There is a suggestion that offspring do not have an even chance of inheriting a trait from either parent.· There was always better than an even chance of something like this happening.· All three machines have a better than even chance of being seen in showrooms some time in the future.
· Why is there not a more even distribution of left-and right-handed folk?· Slant wall: filling is in slanted sections giving more even distribution.· An even distribution has an added advantage, the institution will be better able to cope with the Unpredictable.
· Confusion seems to reign in many areas of your life at present, so try to get on an even keel.· So when we got up here, I was really enjoying sort of keeping things on an even keel at home.· Others may yearn for life on a more even keel but they do not feel entitled to it.· I was supposed to be a caretaker, charged with setting the branch back on an even keel.· That Nigel was on an even keel again was a double comfort.· In Chapter 11, companies' management usually remains in place while the company tries to get back on an even keel.· By the time the taxi had delivered them to the restaurant Fabia was feeling on more of an even keel.· Then maybe they are on an even keel.
· With this, we can easily flip any even number of edges, which we will see is all that is possible.· On one side of Color Bars the shades are marked with even numbers.· Knit an even number of rows without weaving before knitting another two-row woven stripe.· On early levels shapes are present in even numbers, but this is not the case later on.· It also assumes that there is an even number of coupon payment dates remaining before maturity.· Although this would give an even number of staff available, other factors must be considered.· Similarly a family of vertical parabolas is of the form y ax n, where n is an even number.· Motors with even numbers of phases must have half of the phases excited at any time.
· She had pale crimped hair over her temples, and her lips were parted to reveal large, even teeth.· It was a dead seal with light tan fur, open eyes, and a set of small, even teeth.· She had perfectly proportioned features and perfectly proportioned hands and feet and small even teeth that flashed as she smiled.· His even teeth gleamed falsely, vividly in the intense sunlight.
PHRASES FROM THE ENTRYPHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES► the honours are even► of an evening/of a weekend etc
1level flat and level, with no parts that are higher than other parts OPP uneven: - There is a suggestion that offspring do not have an even chance of inheriting a trait from either parent.
- There was always better than an even chance of something like this happening.
- I'll get even with you -- just wait!
- A sexy female boss hiding dark family secrets from her past and using her street smarts to get even.
- After Alyssa and Holden hook up, things get even weirder.
- By the time I had managed to contact mum on the telephone the flooding was getting even worse.
- If they could get even some of the men in Grantley to take the blood test they would be half way home.
- The others expected and got little enough: they got even less.
- When your world falls apart, do you get mad, get out or get even?
- You need 100 percent gain from $ 25 to $ 50 to get even.
- Thankfully, we broke even in our first year in business.
- The company made a small loss last year but this year has managed to break even.
- We'll be just breaking even if we can get an average audience of 300.
- Even La Scala, where an opening-night stall seat goes for £500, rarely comes close to breaking even.
- I just figured I could come close to breaking even.
- If we can break even - as I think we will - it will be a qualified success.
- The company is aiming to break even at the pretax level in the year ending March 31.
- The hunters were not even breaking even, yet the hunt continued despite the falling catches.
- Thus the market is now a money-loser: it needs 47,000 contracts a day to break even, but manages barely 30,000.
- When you add fund expenses, you have to earn more than 2 % a year just to break even.
- With these advantages, the mission actually breaks even on the first flight.
- If you pay for my ticket, we'll be even.
- And the new bit was even harder to tell.
- He is even the subject of a play.
- I was even more irritated when I got indoors and the house was empty.
- It is even older than I am, and nearly as warped, and it may ache as much.
- My patients are even older than I am.
- The growth of cable networks is even more of a threat.
- There are even classes in organizing.
- This is even before others realize their employers no longer will be able to deduct the cost of their health insurance.
- Residents didn't even blink when the chemicals company set up business in town.
- And yet Stillman had not even blinked.
- But in the stagecraft of dethronement, Kingsley had not taken the bait, had not even blinked.
- I hold my finger in front of her nose; still she does not blink.
- It seems to us so extraordinary, yet the storyteller does not blink an eyelid.
- Mine felt as if they had not blinked for hours.
- She found that she could not even blink under the harsh glare.
- We found the village easily enough, though anyone travelling in the area in a Porsche had better not blink.
- What if Khrushchev had not blinked?
- Since you bought the movie tickets and I bought dinner, let's just call it even.
- Athletes are a mirror of society, even if sometimes their images are blown out of proportion.
- But even if that is the case, you might be well ahead by taking the loan.
- Can educators regulate the contents of school-sponsored publications or plays even if they do not cause disruption?
- He later said he had been prepared to go ahead with the attack even if it led to war.
- In such a revolution, even if it is bloodless, complete justice can never be attained.
- It is still rationalized by an elaborate and traditional, even if meretricious, theory of consumer demand.
- Scars Of Sweet Paradise is worth reading as a slice of cultural history, even if one has no interest in Joplin.
- Confusion seems to reign in many areas of your life at present, so try to get on an even keel.
- I was supposed to be a caretaker, charged with setting the branch back on an even keel.
- In Chapter 11, companies' management usually remains in place while the company tries to get back on an even keel.
- So when we got up here, I was really enjoying sort of keeping things on an even keel at home.
- That Nigel was on an even keel again was a double comfort.
- Then maybe they are on an even keel.
- These two kept her on an even keel.
- I'm going to finish this even if it kills me.
- Why don't you make a day of it and have lunch with us?
- I had known Sophie for about three months by then, and she insisted on making an evening of it.
- Imagine how lovely it would be - you could take the whole family and make a day of it.
- They make a day of it, tailgating before the game and, weather permitting, after it, too.
- No longer are her anxious snorts heard in the still of the night.
- Let's while away the hours swapping stories.
The floor must be completely even before we lay the tiles. You need a flat, even surface to work on. He had lovely white, even teeth.► see thesaurus at flat2not changing an even rate, speed, or temperature is steady and does not change: The room is kept at an even temperature. Wood burns at a fairly even rate.3divided equally divided equally, so that there is the same amount of something in each place, for each person etc: Divide the dough into three even amounts. an even distribution of wealth4number an even number can be divided exactly by two OPP odd: 2, 4, 6 and 8 are even numbers.5competition having teams or competitors that are equally good so that everyone has a chance of winning: The first half was very even, and neither side scored. an even contest6scores if the score in a game is even, two teams or players have the same number of points: At the end of the first half the score is even.7be even informal to no longer owe someone something, especially money: If you give me $5, we’ll be even.8calm calm and controlled, and not extreme: He read most of the speech in an even tone.9an even chance a situation in which it is just as likely that something will happen as not happen: I think we have an even chance of winning. We knew there was an even chance that the operation would fail.10get even (with somebody) informal to do something unpleasant to someone to punish them for something that they did to you SYN get revenge (on somebody): I’ll get even with him one day.11break even to neither make a profit nor lose money: We’re hoping that we’ll at least break even, and perhaps make a small profit. → even-tempered—evenness noun [uncountable]