What does interest mean

Crossword clues for interest

interest

Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English

interest

I.noun

COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES

a focus of interest

▪ Animal behaviour has long been a focus of interest for scientists.

a good/excellent/interesting article

▪ There was an interesting article on Russia in the paper today.

a keen interest in

▪ She takes a keen interest in politics and current affairs.

a leisure activity/interest

▪ Many people have little time after work for leisure activities.

a minority interest

▪ Jazz is a minority interest, but it is still an important part of musical studies.

a personal interest in sth

▪ He took a personal interest in the case.

a strong interest in sth

▪ At 16, he developed a strong interest in archaeology.

an active interest

▪ As a teenager he began to take an active interest in politics.

an explosion of interest in something

▪ There has been an explosion of interest in networking websites in the last few years.

an intense interest in sth

▪ The police are aware of the intense interest in the case.

an interest payment (=a payment of interest on a loan)

an interesting comparison

▪ The exhibition provides an interesting comparison of the artists’ works.

an interesting contrast

▪ the interesting contrast between his early and later paintings

an interesting fact

▪ The research revealed some interesting facts about the behaviour of cats.

an interesting point

▪ He has made an interesting point.

an interesting proposition

▪ A further study focussing on older people is an interesting proposition.

an interesting/fascinating subject

▪ Fame is a fascinating subject.

attract attention/interest etc

▪ The story has attracted a lot of interest from the media.

business interests (=business activities, or shares in companies)

▪ Both companies have substantial business interests in Indonesia.

charge rent/a fee/interest etc

▪ The gallery charges an entrance fee.

commercial interests (=things that bring business advantages)

▪ The President’s reform programme threatened US commercial interests.

competing interests

▪ a compromise between competing interests within the organization

compound interest

conflicting interests (=different things that people, countries etc want or think are important)

▪ The two groups have conflicting interests.

consuming interest/passion (=a strong feeling of interest, or something you are extremely interested in)

▪ During this period, politics became his consuming interest.

controlling interest

▪ The firm paid over $10 million for a controlling interest in five hotels.

defend...interests

▪ the workers’ attempts to defend their interests

engage sb’s interest/attention

▪ The toy didn’t engage her interest for long.

entrenched attitudes/positions/interests etc

▪ a deeply entrenched belief in male superiority

excite interest

▪ She is a talented young actress who has excited a lot of interest.

express an interest in sth

▪ Many property developers have expressed an interest in buying the land.

find sth/sb easy/useful/interesting etc

▪ She found the work very dull.

▪ Lots of women I know find him attractive.

▪ I found them quite easy to use.

force prices/interest rates etc down/up

▪ The effect will be to increase unemployment and force down wages.

general interest

▪ These courses are based around topics of general interest.

generate excitement/interest/support etc

▪ The project generated enormous interest.

genuine interest/concern/desire etc

▪ The reforms are motivated by a genuine concern for the disabled.

▪ a genuine fear of invasion

has...vested interest

▪ Since he owns the strip of land, Cook has a vested interest in the project being approved.

hold (little) interest/appeal/promise etc

▪ Many church services hold little appeal for modern tastes.

hold sb’s interest/attention (=make someone stay interested)

▪ Colourful pictures help hold the students’ interest.

in the public interest (=helpful or useful to ordinary people)

▪ We have to show that publishing this story is in the public interest.

interest group

interest rate

interesting

▪ The idea sounded interesting , but I didn’t think it would work.

interest...stimulated

▪ Her interest in art was stimulated by her father.

intrinsic interest

▪ the intrinsic interest of the subject

lively interest

▪ Even Paula has shown a lively interest in politics.

long-term interests

▪ the long-term interests of the company

lose confidence/interest/hope etc

▪ The business community has lost confidence in the government.

▪ Carol lost interest in ballet in her teens.

▪ Try not to lose heart become sad and hopeless – there are plenty of other jobs.

loss of interest

▪ This did not explain his apparent loss of interest in his wife.

love interest

media attention/coverage/interest etc

▪ The tragedy received worldwide media attention.

much the best/most interesting etcBritish English

▪ It’s much the best way to do it.

of historical interest

▪ places of historical interest

of particular interest/concern/importance etc

▪ Of particular concern is the rising cost of transportation.

passing interest

▪ He had only ever shown a passing interest in sport.

polite remarks/conversation/interest etc

▪ While they ate, they made polite conversation about the weather.

▪ Jan expressed polite interest in Edward’s stamp collection.

proprietary interest (=he does not own any part of it)

▪ He has no proprietary interest in the farm .

provoke interest

▪ Their campaign provoked great interest.

pursue an interest

▪ Always encourage children to pursue their interests.

renewed interest/confidence/enthusiasm etc

▪ renewed concern about farming methods

resurgence of interest

▪ There has been a resurgence of interest in religion over the last ten years.

revival of interest

▪ There has been a revival of interest in Picasso’s work.

safeguard sb’s interests/rights/welfare etc

▪ The industry has a duty to safeguard consumers.

sectional interests

▪ community groups seeking to protect sectional interests

serve the needs/interests of sb/sth

▪ research projects that serve the needs of industry

showed...interest in

▪ Mary showed great interest in the children.

simple interest

special interest group

special interests

▪ Special interests donate millions of dollars to political campaigns.

take an active interest in sth

▪ Not many young people take an active interest in gardening.

the interest rate (=the amount of interest charged on a loan or paid on savings)

▪ Interest rates have remained high.

the rate of interest/pay/tax etc

▪ They believe that Labour would raise the basic rate of tax.

unhealthy interest/obsession/fear etc

▪ Gareth had an unhealthy interest in death.

universal interest

▪ a topic of universal interest

whip up interest/opposition/support etc

▪ They’ll do anything to whip up a bit of interest in a book.

with interest/amusement etc

▪ A small crowd of people were watching them with interest.

COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS

■ ADJECTIVE

economic

▪ To him also was entrusted the general supervision of the economic interests of the Crown in the Forest.

▪ Sluggish economic growth means interest rates will stay low amid tepid demand for loans and a reduced risk of accelerating inflation.

▪ It was also the first clear indication of Britain putting its economic interests before those of the politically persecuted.

▪ Clearly, there is more to this movement than a group of businesspeople looking out for their own economic interests.

▪ Over the course of time, it was clear that that was where its economic interests lay.

▪ Legislators are elected by voters, not farms or cities or economic interests.

▪ Second, they had mutual economic interests.

▪ It has frequently been observed that bureaucrats have their own economic and political interests.

general

▪ It is a book for those of us with a general but deep interest in separation sciences.

▪ If the general level of interest rates rises after issue, then the market price of the bond will fall.

▪ It adds, it will be absorbing for all those with a general interest in the subject.

▪ A worse fate has befallen the general interest, mass circulation magazines, once the dominant national media.

▪ Each one of perhaps a group of four should prepare a brief summary of an article of general interest.

▪ There are, nevertheless, features of the Maastricht text which raise questions of general legal interest, irrespective of its fate.

▪ A few points of general interest might usefully be restated here.

▪ The rate may fall below that, depending on the general trend of interest rates.

good

▪ At one point he indicated that it was in the best interests of the investigation.

▪ He was also liked by his employees, who always felt Clark had their best interests at heart.

▪ All the artificial constraints of maintaining a regulated monopoly mean that it is not in the best interests of the consumer.

▪ This attitude is understandable, but in the end, not in the best interests of the children.

▪ Quite naturally, therefore, each Arab government was guided by its own considerations rather than the best interests of the refugees.

▪ It acts, in other words, in its own best interests.

▪ Where a person was not capable of understanding, the doctor must apply the best interests of the patient test.

▪ I have only your best interests at heart.

great

▪ Neither girl took a great deal of interest in me.

▪ Even in ruin the Colosseum is a magnificent edifice of great structural interest and aesthetic splendour.

▪ If employees own part of the company, they will most likely take a greater interest in its success.

▪ I have read from cover to cover with great interest, and now hasten to enclose my subscription.

▪ It is too Complicated a combustion system to be of great interest from a fundamental standpoint.

▪ Professor Slocombe picked delicately at his morning repast and listened to it all with the greatest interest.

▪ The greatest publicity and interest in the world is to be told about something, not to have read about it.

high

▪ The Labour Party has pledged that, if elected, it will introduce credit controls as an alternative to high interest rates.

▪ Neither needed the United States leading the world to higher interest rates.

▪ Indeed, it is persisting with exorbitantly high interest rates.

▪ Hopewell got a lousy credit rating, which meant investors wanted a higher interest rate.

▪ However, at current high interest rates, many employees can not afford to pay the interest on expensive bridging loans.

▪ People hold domestic deposits despite the higher interest rate on offshore deposits because they associate greater political risk with offshore deposits.

▪ The position of legal adviser to a large and growing industry can be of high importance and interest.

▪ The impact of inflation and high interest rates has focused increased attention on the financial implications of nearly all business decisions.

keen

▪ I assure the hon. Gentleman that it is a subject in which I take the keenest interest.

▪ Both leaders have professed keen interest in the border-its environment, its enforcement, its very being.

▪ The little man was ambling along in the middle of the street, looking around him with an expression of keen interest.

▪ Some people have expressed surprise at learning the U. S. Chamber of Commerce is taking such a keen interest in welfare reform.

▪ Ideally with keen interest in current affairs, entertainment, health and lifestyle subject areas.

▪ This part of the action was watched with keen interest by those at Union headquarters across the Antietam.

▪ There is also Cortex which we set up last year as a process engineering consultancy with a keen interest in environmental work.

▪ They took a keen interest in the color and the appearance of the brickwork on the building.

little

▪ As governor he maintained the pattern, showing little serious interest in policy detail, while maintaining heavy rightist attitudes.

▪ But Victor Amadeus seems to have had little interest in scholarship for its own sake.

▪ For there are large chunks of the remit of little or no interest to the advertisers.

▪ Sometimes the self-absorbed child also shows little interest in his parents, ignoring them or seeming not to focus on them.

▪ The Government has no little interest in this as the negative food trade gap is about £5.7 billion.

▪ With fuel cheap these days, the market has shown little interest in the issue.

▪ In the modern world they are being exploited by businessmen with little interest in the long term.

▪ They show as little interest in their customers as do the worst government bureaucracies.

low

▪ Electricity companies in particular benefit from low interest rates because they are big borrowers.

▪ A low interest loan from an anonymous benefactor allowed the concrete floor to go in.

▪ First, many large and seemingly reliable companies borrowed money from banks at low rates of interest.

▪ But until April, lower interest rates failed to offset the impact of the recession and house prices continued to fall.

▪ But along with the reduced risk comes lower interest rates.

▪ Analogously, large loans attract a lower interest rate than small loans because of the administrative economies of scale.

▪ Insurers are cutting the yield because prevailing low interest rates have made it difficult for them to meet commitments.

national

▪ Liberal policy was unpatriotic because it recognised other national interests and threatened dissolution of the empire.

▪ Still, there remains a national interest in the Arizona Wildcats.

▪ But it is likely that both would be harder-nosed in the pursuit of national interests.

▪ The 1916 Senate hearings produced no debate on the question of whether concern about leprosy was in the national interest.

▪ To have come so far, so fast, already redefines the art of the possible. National interests?

▪ Here a national interest of very nearly the first magnitude is involved.

▪ By the end of 1990, taking account of all national interests, thirty three companies are now involved in Eureka 90.

▪ Such ties and feelings, however, could not indefinitely resist some erosion as material national interests and priorities began to change.

particular

▪ Firstly, there were discussions of issues thought to be of particular interest or relevance to women, such as abortion or equality.

▪ The Advocate, based in Los Angeles, is a biweekly news magazine covering stories of particular interest to homosexuals.

▪ Second, to prevent a particular interest rate structure from becoming too entrenched.

▪ And he takes a particular interest in his garden.

▪ What your colleagues can offer will depend on their particular skills and interests.

▪ The house used by the kidnappers was of particular interest.

▪ It represents an idealized view of the information needs of an area of particular human interest or activity.

personal

▪ Now this guy, he talks about money too, but his interest is personal.

▪ I must confess some personal interest in these proposals.

▪ Lenin took a personal interest in railway and electricity technology for another reason.

▪ The module is particularly suitable for students with a personal or vocational interest in Home Economics.

▪ This public duty must not be influenced by private and personal interests.

▪ Latimer and Neville had substantial experience of campaigning in Brittany, and Latimer had some personal interests there to protect.

▪ So much will depend upon personal interest and knowledge.

political

▪ Voters' assessments of media usefulness varied more with their political interest, and in a complex way.

▪ Few political interest groups are transformed into successful political parties.

▪ The half century before 716, in fact, is full of political interest.

▪ The political party offers a well-organized and obvious structure within which an individual can direct her political interests.

▪ Economic and political interests are therefore affected - in the countryside and in the government.

▪ No matter how powerful the political interests, the same rules must apply to all.

▪ Yet popular political interest was low, and the council was rarely perceived to represent adequately the interests of local people.

▪ Some structures that are predominantly involved in the input process are political parties, interest groups, and the media of communication.

public

▪ The judge rejected the argument that publication of the information in an article would be in the public interest.

▪ The test is whether the public interest in disclosure outweighs the public interest in the preservation of confidence.

▪ There was little further public interest in what appeared to be just another statistic.

▪ It is these qualities that have made our audit and advisory roles valuable to our clients and to the public interest.

▪ This is so not withstanding the very strong public interest in preserving the life and health of all citizens.

▪ Restrictive practices Restrictive practices, in the form of formal agreements between firms, are presumed to operate against the public interest.

▪ An alternative course would be to introduce general legislation to protect the public interest when an essential service is threatened.

▪ The period can be extended if continued secrecy is deemed to be in the public interest.

real

▪ One is the expected rate of inflation, and the other is the real rate of interest.

▪ The real interest in fiction is to learn about the ways other people live their lives.

▪ Brezhnev's real interest began on page four.

▪ But real interest rates stayed high.

▪ The real interest of the hunt for the Higgs particle is that it may not be quite what is expected.

▪ The real rate of interest is simply the difference between the market rate of interest and the inflation rate.

▪ By the time the conferences actually began in December, it had realised that real interests were at stake.

▪ It contains nothing of real interest, and I have included it in the chart with Vela.

special

▪ These set limits to the level of contributions with the aim to prevent candidates from becoming obligated to special interest groups.

▪ Surprised and delighted lobbyists for special interests were called to write legislation in their own hand.

▪ Aspects of special interest, including the Jockey Club Rooms, can be incorporated in custom made tours.

▪ The influence of pressure groups and special interests will become pervasive.

▪ Approximately ten of the students came from outside Britain, and Eva took a special interest in them.

▪ Will it be Bob Dole, who has made a career out of raising money from the special interests?

▪ Schools must design their own local units to take account of local circumstances and special interests.

▪ The idea of public virtue had been overtaken by special interests, which today have been replaced by individual concerns.

vested

▪ Professional journals support and represent a vested interest and run information about that which affects that interest.

▪ To be very hard-nosed there is also a vested interest in running an efficient information service for a band.

▪ After all, supporters have a vested interest in ground safety and comfort.

▪ Probably the last of the true amateur captains, his decisions were not controlled by monetary or vested interests.

▪ This is made doubly difficult where there is a concurrent struggle for power among vested interest groups and individuals.

▪ To that extent, I declare a vested interest.

▪ There are too many vested interests.

▪ So I had a vested interest in her being around to talk to me.

■ NOUN

business

▪ Longer-term relationships had generally only developed where particular business interests were more or less directly involved.

▪ A parliament code of conduct is being debated that would require members to disclose their assets and business interests.

▪ These business units are grouped together into divisions which represent areas of similar business interest.

▪ Two sizeable gifts were presented to Symington shortly after the governor removed heads of state agencies whose policies had displeased business interests.

▪ Those companies that persevered with longer-term planning realized that a mechanism was needed to manage changing emphases in their multiple business interests.

▪ One might think that the business interests would have more sway, but the results suggest otherwise.

▪ Robinson spent the years of the civil war and Interregnum building up business interests and achieving prominence in City politics.

▪ It looks only at the side of business interests who think only of trade liberalization.

charge

▪ Those with loans from banks may borrow more in order to pay the higher interest charges.

▪ The minority interest charge in the consolidated profit and loss account was £184,000.

▪ Operating profits dropped by 18 percent to £105.9 million and interest charges were slashed by two-thirds to £5.4 million.

▪ As it is, his overdraft increases, and so do the interest charges, at two or three points over base.

▪ The interest charge would be fully tax deductible.

▪ Expenditure on marketing, research and development and capital equipment, saw a £378,000 interest charge replace a £733,000 credit.

▪ Apart from the interest charges involved, the longer a defendant can spin out the negotiations the better.

group

▪ Compromises would not attract the support of the key interest groups in either and would be impossible to implement.

▪ So while businesses strive to please customers, government agencies strive to please interest groups.

▪ Auditors should be responsible to a wider interest group than the shareholders.

▪ The 1995 version was the first set of guidelines to include oral testimony from special interest groups and individuals.

▪ Membership of the Codex committees includes a high proportion of commercial interests, with little balancing representation from public interest groups.

▪ Some structures that are predominantly involved in the input process are political parties, interest groups, and the media of communication.

▪ The dominance of the academic tradition is patently supported by the major vested interest groups within education and the broader society.

▪ What defines an anomie interest group is a group political action that emerges with little or no planning and then quickly stops.

payment

▪ If you want to get out of the scheme, you will be charged three month's interest payments as a penalty.

▪ Up to two thirds of the operating profits of owner-managed companies goes on interest payments, it is claimed today.

▪ The coupon rate of 10 percent requires an annual interest payment of $ 100 per bond.

▪ The underlying rate of inflation, excluding mortgage interest payments, rose from 3.2 percent in January to 3.4 percent in February.

▪ Underlying inflation, which excludes mortgage interest payments, rose to 3 percent.

▪ Only people whose total income is less than their personal allowances are allowed to register for gross interest payments.

▪ Investors in each tranche received interest payments.

rate

▪ Greenspan and the bond market were rewarding him with lower interest rates.

▪ Economic growth slowed down but did not stop, inflation remained in check and longterm interest rates dropped like a rock.

▪ It thereby seeks to manipulate interest rates.

▪ The impact of inflation and high interest rates has focused increased attention on the financial implications of nearly all business decisions.

▪ The cost of granting an interest rate moratorium would not be that high.

▪ But then the Federal Reserve allowed interest rates to fall.

▪ The exit rate is the agreed interest rate below which the contract rate is abandoned.

▪ The term structure of interest rates is affected by liquidity preferences, future expectations, and supply and demand conditions.

■ VERB

arouse

▪ A man doing a handstand in the town centre is likely to arouse interest.

▪ While the paintings by Miro do not arouse much interest, the ones by Klee become an instantaneous success.

▪ The case aroused much interest and reminded people of the similar murder of a local woman a year earlier.

▪ A new consumer product must be introduced with a suitable advertising campaign to arouse an interest in it.

▪ The purpose of this chapter is to arouse your interest in thinking about the question.

▪ But this work is arousing great interest and excitement.

▪ The shadow cabinet elections are arousing unusual interest because of change at the top.

attract

▪ This aluminium sea kayak trolley, to be imported by North Shore, attracted a lot of interest at Crystal Palace.

▪ Barnett Banks Inc. is still attracting the interest of analysts.

▪ Similarly the draw will attract as much interest for those it keeps apart as those it brings together.

▪ Anything that hinted of danger was what attracted our interest above all.

▪ The collection of earrings, brooches and necklaces have attracted widespread interest from buyers at the International Spring Fair.

▪ Yet even if Frankenstein had never been invented, Mary Shelley would continue to attract interest as the favoured child of romanticism.

▪ This area is one that also attracts the interest of political scientists.

cut

▪ But it rebounded almost twice as far on news that the Fed had cut interest rates.

▪ I would have cut interest rates very sharply now to three or four percent.

▪ Financial analysts now say the Bundesbank may choose to cut interest rates, wark against inflation, not an economic spur.

▪ There is speculation the bank is under pressure to cut interest rates.

▪ Since then, futures prices have been predicting a 50 basis-point cut in short-term interest rates by April.

▪ Soon, the Fed may have to decide whether to cut interest rates again, and if so how quickly.

▪ At a glance 1% cut in interest rate to 7%.

defend

▪ We have defended Britain's interests with vigour and with success.

▪ Everyone is defending the interests of his own farmers...

▪ And, true, he hacked at Mr Lawson's trade deficit; but he also defended his rise in interest rates.

▪ In order to insure that those who defend their interests stay in power.

▪ It is simply defending its own caste interests.

▪ Workers' organisations were then created and expanded, with the assistance of patronage, but in order to defend workers' interests.

▪ The pro-reform directors are now organising to defend these interests.

▪ The problem is not just one of specialist areas defending their territorial interests.

express

▪ As the gilt market has shrunk, several GEMMs have expressed an interest in making a market in non-gilt fixed-interest sterling securities.

▪ No previous evidence indicated Clinton expressed any interest in firing the travel staff before any irregularities in the office had been substantiated.

▪ Ideology can be seen as a set of beliefs and values which express the interests of a particular social group.

▪ Among those that have expressed interest is Broken Hill Proprietary Co.

▪ Many people are expressing an interest in playing the game and no doubt many parents will be interested in mini-rugby for their children.

▪ Just one of the nine expressed greater interest in the National Football League.

▪ This is used by some banks to express the rate of interest as an annual rate.

generate

▪ Will such businesses be sufficiently profitable to generate the interest of the private sector?

▪ Online services like Napster helped generate interest in a slew of new computer products in recent months.

▪ It generates interest in Apple and it sells hardware.

▪ Here at home, recent hearings and growing media reports have begun to generate more interest in the issue.

▪ OnMoney, its financial portal, has generated scant interest despite Dollars 100m of investment.

▪ Predictably, the case has generated huge interest on the computer network that connects millions of people around the world.

▪ And can they then cut through pervasive public cynicism and generate enough voter interest to enact their recommendations?

▪ The Hersey-Blanchard model has generated interest because it recommends a leadership type that is dynamic and flexible, rather than static.

lose

▪ Providing you give us at least seven days notice you won't lose any interest on the amount withdrawn.

▪ Fannie Mae loses interest revenue in a lengthy foreclosure.

▪ Even Goneril had lost interest in it.

▪ When my daughter seemed to lose interest in breastfeeding and demanded more solid food, I spent several days feeling depressed.

▪ In reality children usually start to lose interest after about two weeks once they realize that they can earn them relatively easily.

▪ At the same time, the government lost millions in interest not earned while taxes, fees, and fines went uncollected.

▪ The little boy had lost interest and started pulling open the drawers of the dressing-table.

▪ John Alsop later recalled that Stewart seemed fascinated with his children as infants, but lost interest as they became toddlers.

pay

▪ Cheshire, Skipton and Derbyshire building societies are among those that run offshore accounts and tend to pay attractive rates of interest.

▪ How about paying 20 percent interest on a second mortgage?

▪ And I paid, with interest.

▪ Individuals would not pay taxes on interest or investment income, and businesses could not deduct the cost of fringe benefits.

▪ Accounts that pay monthly interest may offer lower rates than those where the interest is paid annually.

▪ The trust paid a rate of interest to its owners.

▪ Large corporate customers pay interest on overdrafts at the bank's base rate plus 1%.

▪ Money must be borrowed to pay for the deficit, but money must be borrowed to pay interest on the borrowings.

protect

▪ Member States are generally in a good position to protect their own interests through the organisation.

▪ So I must act to protect my interests.

▪ Organizational and ideological affinities may also lead state elites to incorporate and protect certain interests.

▪ That leaves employers powerless to protect against conflict-of-interest situations, several experts noted.

▪ Is it not clear that the multiplicity of often overlapping self-regulating authorities are not adequately protecting the national interest?

▪ However, this definition shows that blackmail protects economic interests.

▪ The Urban Planning Law gave priority to protecting the long-term interests of the state against immediate, local interests.

▪ Such a covenant was held to go well beyond what was necessary to protect the interests of the firm.

pursue

▪ Within a generation or two aristocratic Christians were pursuing the same interests as their pagan ancestors.

▪ Corinne delegated the details of the nursery to Aggie as she pursued her varied interests in town.

▪ The state bureaucracies created by eighteenth-century absolutism signified the arrival of a universal class pursuing a universal interest.

▪ Barry Cox, 53 years old, chief executive officer and president, resigned to pursue other interests.

▪ Therefore, once he has left, the employee is allowed to pursue his own interests.

▪ He succeeds Wayne D.. Wallace, who left the company to pursue other interests.

▪ There is no question of the representatives of the various States being in competition with each other or pursuing national interests.

▪ Politics is the competition among individuals and groups pursuing their own interests.

represent

▪ Professional journals support and represent a vested interest and run information about that which affects that interest.

▪ These companies represent national and transnational interests.

▪ Equity shares represent the residual interest in a company.

▪ The consultant is working to represent the interest of the owner.

▪ The General Practitioner Board was set up to represent the interests of general practitioners.

▪ Our people are denied even the semblance of political power, electing careerist politicians who allegedly represent our interests.

▪ Parties often, but not necessarily, represent the interests of classes or status groups.

▪ Mr. Heathcoat-Amory My hon. Friend has vigorously represented the interests of views of those who may be affected by this project.

serve

▪ It can not be assumed, however, that such organisational interests necessarily serve particular external interests ....

▪ Can an ombudsman serve the public interest as opposed to the institutional interests of his paper?

▪ In this way, thought and action are conditioned to serve the interests of capitalism through an ideological hegemony.

▪ Why would any nation hesitate to serve its own best interests by such sensible and humane redirection of its wealth?

▪ These groups have no reason to feel that the white male-dominated unions have ever done much to serve their interests.

▪ Is this serving our best interests?

▪ This use of power therefore serves the interests of society as a whole.

▪ Historically one important assumption has been that our ordinary lives serve the interests of the powers that be.

show

▪ Now she'd shown an interest.

▪ Before last year, Khan showed no interest in politics and turned down Cabinet posts in two interim governments.

▪ Interestingly, I have a pair of Kribensis in the tank, but they have not shown any interest in the fry.

▪ Time Inc., the publishing unit of Time Warner has shown tentative interest in black magazines.

▪ The khthons showed no interest in the ancient relic.

▪ Online newspapers: Web surfers are showing strong interest in online news.

▪ As yet, few have shown much interest in basing their products on Windows.

▪ He showed no further interest in the magazine or in being outside.

take

▪ She has always taken an interest in youth organisations and finds time to be treasurer of the West Bank Scouts movement.

▪ In the real world, political work goes on whether or not the public takes an interest.

▪ Do you buy environment-friendly products and take an active interest in nature?

▪ Each member of the group, based in Woodbridge, has an area in which they take a special interest.

▪ The trouble with arriving early at a park is you don't look convincing pretending to take an interest in the roses.

▪ Do they ever take an interest in the increased prices Ulster people endure on food and other commodities compared to the mainland?

▪ Both Harris and Doody take a particular interest in Mary Leapor's poetry.

▪ Louise took no interest in her fortune.

PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES

advance your career/a cause/your interests etc

arouse interest/expectations etc

▪ A man doing a handstand in the town centre is likely to arouse interest.

▪ Kennedy and Wilson had both aroused expectations, which had not been fulfilled.

▪ This extraordinary and highly convoluted story has aroused interest in many quarters from time to time.

as a matter of interest

be one crazy woman/be one interesting job etc

bear interest

▪ A part of the legacy, however, ceases to bear interest.

catch sb's attention/interest/imagination etc

conflict of interest/interests

▪ A conveyancer must be acutely conscious of the problems a conflict of interest might impose.

▪ Both failed to sell stock they owned after being warned of potential conflicts of interests.

▪ Camelot then protested about a conflict of interest because Freshfields had worked for Sir Richard's Virgin company.

▪ E denied the charges, saying Satrap left while under investigation for conflicts of interest.

▪ It helps to avoid potential conflicts of interest, but equally it has pitched for business against its parent - and won.

▪ The question of conflicts of interest and duty within financial conglomerates and the regulation thereof is not entirely academic.

▪ There were gross conflicts of interest involved in that land deal.

▪ We don't see any conflict of interest.

declare an interest

▪ If you have strong feelings about a situation declare an interest and suggest that some one else temporarily takes the chair.

▪ It's probably best to declare an interest.

▪ Leeds manager Howard Wilkinson has already declared an interest in him after he spent a week training at Elland Road.

▪ Mr. Adley: I have already declared an interest.

▪ Mr. Adley: I thank my right Hon. Friend for that reply and declare an interest in the industry.

human interest

▪ human interest stories

▪ A human interest story, featuring the second-youngest Nobel laureate in history, seemed to him much more promising.

▪ For he is above all concerned to deny that the point of the universe is somehow to serve human interests.

▪ Gombe is still inaccessible by road - but despite its isolation, it hasn't lacked human interest.

▪ It is the most exciting of all, the richest in human interest, and also the most dangerous.

▪ It represents an idealized view of the information needs of an area of particular human interest or activity.

▪ One clear fact is that those reasons relate entirely to human interests.

▪ The conflict was not lacking in human interest.

▪ Undoubtedly, the human interest story of how I have managed to be a theoretical physicist despite my disability has helped.

interested party/group

▪ All interested parties are invited to attend the meeting.

▪ Almost 1500 copies were despatched, ensuring that the proposals reached as many interested parties as possible.

▪ At the other end of the political spectrum, some left-leaning think tanks take money from interested parties.

▪ Costs and expenses Article 12 of the Convention specifies that costs and other expenses must be borne by the interested parties.

▪ Every effort will be made to accommodate requests to provide all interested parties with the same information.

▪ Information memoranda should not be sent to interested parties until a signed confidentiality letter has been received.

▪ Local authorities must also respond to requests for information from a variety of interested groups.

▪ That is increasingly being recognised by many interested parties.

▪ The Department of Education is inviting interested parties to submit comments on the new support arrangements by October 31.

mutual friend/interest

▪ His earliest rape, of a 19year-old girl, happened the previous year after they met via a mutual friend.

▪ It was enough to have discovered one true mutual friend whose testimony could be relied upon.

▪ She just wanted a mutual friend's number.

▪ The officials were eager to stress the mutual interests of our two countries and a future full of cooperation.

▪ The participating States also envisage holding future seminars on topics of mutual interest.

▪ Their mutual interest had transcended the age difference, and he had invited her back to his island home on Grand Cayman.

not half as/so good/interesting etc (as sb/sth)

not have the remotest idea/interest/intention etc

not remotely interested/funny/possible etc

▪ Life-ways are opened up which are not remotely possible, even in analogous terms, to any other species.

outside interests/experiences etc

▪ He has got to ask how things are going at home or about my outside interests.

▪ His outside interests were numerous and varied.

▪ Making a mental note not to let outside interests interfere with her work, she began to inject the puppies.

▪ Now Martin is looking forward to spending his retirement enjoying outside interests which will include travelling, walking and watching cricket.

▪ One sees again and again that such people grow in outside interests.

▪ Others found that the sheer workload of the course left them unable to develop outside interests, such as reading or the theatre.

▪ Some of his many outside interests include reading, theatre and debating.

▪ This would force campaigns to pay less attention to outside interests and more to the people at home.

pique your interest/curiosity

▪ The tour of the hospital piqued her interest in studying medicine.

▪ But organization is not the arena that piques my interest most.

▪ But something innkeeper Darlene Elders said over breakfast piqued their interest.

▪ But three recent cases are piquing our interest, and analysts say they may signal new and more venal form of corruption.

▪ Then he told me something that piqued my curiosity.

▪ What we want to do first, though, is to pique your interest by sharing some of the accomplishments.

spark of interest/excitement/anger etc

▪ But as she looked at him, a tiny spark of anger flared within her.

▪ By the time he was admitted he had lost whatever spark of interest he had felt.

▪ Despite the quiet session, sparks of excitement could still be found in the market.

▪ If he showed a spark of interest in them, Maude would be happy for the day.

▪ The unexplainable spark of excitement, at being in his presence again, shocked her.

spark sb's interest/hope/curiosity etc

vested interest

▪ Both the newspaper and the advertising agency have a vested interest in encouraging advertising.

▪ The committee should be independent of all vested interest.

▪ A person from outside the process area who has no vested interest in an issue makes the best facilitator.

▪ Enormous vested interests will need to be overcome to bring about such changes.

▪ Jerry has obvious vested interests to protect.

▪ Lots of people have a vested interest in the past.

▪ Or to create a rational design that goes against vested interests will likely not be implemented.

▪ They thus have a vested interest in their conservation.

vested interests

▪ Powerful vested interests are keeping American products out of that market.

▪ Even fewer are unattached to vested interests in the debate.

▪ In jails, at the hands of landlords, vested interests, police, during the Emergency.

▪ Jerry has obvious vested interests to protect.

▪ Others point to the rapid growth of military-industrial complexes with vested interests in international hostility.

▪ Probably the last of the true amateur captains, his decisions were not controlled by monetary or vested interests.

▪ That is partly a function of habit and experience, and partly the result of emerging vested interests.

▪ This is the strange case with the vested interests in production.

work up enthusiasm/interest/courage etc

EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES

▪ a high interest savings account

▪ Agricultural and environmental interests have both been influential in water policy.

▪ Although the government has made some shares in National Oil Products available, it intends to maintain its controlling interest.

▪ Credit companies charge huge amounts of interest.

▪ Golf is also one of his interests.

▪ He is expected to concentrate on developing his hotel interests.

▪ Her interests were the same as most young girls -- pop music, boys and clothes.

▪ If you had half a million dollars you could easily live off the interest.

▪ In retirement, Nelson added personal computing to his interests.

▪ John had put his grandfather's money in the bank, and was getting $400 a month in interest.

▪ Josie isn't really an archaeologist, it's just an interest of hers.

▪ The bank has interests in several companies, including a 15% share of Morgan's Brewery.

▪ The best rate of interest the banks can offer is around 14 per cent.

▪ The President should be doing more to advance U.S. interests abroad.

▪ What's the interest on the loan?

EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS

▪ Altering banks' liquidity or the rate of interest are indirect methods of controlling spending.

▪ She got about two hundred thousand and a life interest in another two hundred thou.

▪ They took a cool professional interest which matched the matter of fact way they were dealing with the crisis of our disintegrating home.

▪ They will be able to marry the two sets of interests to the benefit of the Province.

II.verb

COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS

■ ADVERB

really

▪ However, the same rule applies to evening classes as to joining clubs - it must be a subject that really interests you.