enemy

en|e|my

W2 [ˈenəmi] n plural enemies

[Date: 1200-1300; : Old French; Origin: enemi, from Latin inimicus, from amicus 'friend']

1.) someone who hates you and wants to harm you

▪ She's a dangerous enemy to have.

▪ Cats and dogs have always been natural enemies .

▪ an old enemy of her father

make an enemy (of sb)

▪ a ruthless businessman who made a lot of enemies

▪ the unforgettable sight of the president shaking hands with his sworn enemy (=an enemy you will always hate)

sb's worst enemy

(=the person they hate most)

▪ I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy .

2.) someone who opposes or competes against you

▪ political enemies

▪ He was imprisoned for being 'an enemy of the revolution'.

3.) also the enemy

the country against which your country is fighting in a war

▪ He was accused of collaboration with the enemy.

enemy forces/aircraft/territory etc

▪ a town behind enemy lines

4.) something that people think is harmful or damaging

▪ The usual enemies, cigarettes and alcohol, are targeted for tax rises.

▪ The common enemy that united them was communism.

5.) be your own worst enemy

to behave in a way that causes problems for yourself

6.) public enemy number one informal

someone famous who has done something bad and who a lot of people do not like

▪ His views made him public enemy number one in the eyes of the media.

7.) the enemy within

people in a society etc that other people think are trying to secretly destroy or damage it

▪ efforts to label environmentalists as the enemy within

8.) if one thing is the enemy of another, the second thing cannot exist because the first thing destroys it

▪ Boredom is the enemy of learning.