TOP

Definition of witch noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

witch

noun
 
/wɪtʃ/
 
/wɪtʃ/
Idioms
jump to other results
  1. a woman who is believed to have magic powers, especially to do evil things. In stories, she usually wears a black pointed hat and flies on a broomstick.
    • Many people believed her to be a witch.
    • She sat astride the broomstick, just like a witch in a fairy tale.
    • I have a pointy black hat for my Halloween witch costume.
    CultureWitches are often shown in pictures and described in stories as ugly old women with black clothes and pointed hats, who are able to fly on broomsticks . In the past, women who were considered to be witches were burnt alive or hanged. In the late 20th century some people began to call themselves witches as part of the New Age interest in ancient beliefs and cultures.
    Homophones which | witchwhich   witch
     
    /wɪtʃ/
     
    /wɪtʃ/
    • which pronoun
      • Which would you prefer—chocolate cake or carrot cake?
    • which determiner
      • Which car is yours?
    • witch noun
      • He was turned into a rat by a wicked witch.
  2. an offensive word for an unpleasant woman
  3. Word OriginOld English wicca (masculine), wicce (feminine), wiccian (verb).
Idioms
a witch’s/an evil brew
  1. (British English, informal) an unpleasant drink that is a mixture of different things
See witch in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary
elaborate
adjective
 
 
From the Word list
Oxford 5000
C1
Oxford Learner's Dictionaries Word of the Day