(1) Do you think she's telling the truth ?
(2) We are determined to get at (= discover) the truth.
(3) The truth (of the matter) is we can't afford to keep all the staff on.

(1) to trim your hair
(2) to trim a hedge (back)
(3) (figurative)The training budget had been trimmed by £10 000.

(1) All plants need light and water.
(2) flowering/garden/indoor plants
(3) a tomato/potato plant

(1) to have a wide/limited vocabulary
(2) your active vocabulary (= the words that you use)
(3) your passive vocabulary (= the words that you understand but don't use)

(1) brilliant sunshine
(2) brilliant blue eyes
(3) ‘How was it? ’ ‘brilliant! ’

(1) The device had been used operationally some months previously.
(2) He may suddenly take a dislike to foods that he's previously enjoyed.
(3) He had first entered the House 12 years previously.

(1) He had a genius for making people feel at home.
(2) the genius of Shakespeare
(3) a statesman of genius

(1) immediately she'd gone, I remembered her name.
(2) Counselling is being given to those most immediately affected by the tragedy.
(3) the years immediately before the war

(1) ...the rising consumer materialism in society at large.
(2) The value theory of dialectical materialism is the important part of Marxist philosophy.
(3) The contemporary the international economic and political order should belong to the category of historical materialism.

(1) a bronze statue
(2) a figure cast in bronze
(3) bronze skin

(1) to commit a sin
(2) Confess your sins to God and he will forgive you.
(3) The Bible says that stealing is a sin.

(1) a gracious lady
(2) a gracious smile
(3) He has not yet learned how to be gracious in defeat.

(1) He claimed political asylum.
(2) He's not entitled to claim unemployment benefit.
(3) She claimed damages from the company for the injury she had suffered.

(1) She leaned on the ship's rail and gazed out to sea.
(2) a picture/curtain/towel rail
(3) to travel by rail

(1) I heard it on the wireless.
(2) a message sent by wireless
(3) wireless communications

(1) I don't want to become a burden to my children when I'm old.
(2) They have burdened themselves with a high mortgage.
(3) I don't want to burden you with my worries.

(1) the Victorian/modern/post-war era
(2) When she left the firm, it was the end of an era (= things were different after that) .
(3) ...the nuclear era...

(1) An arrow pointed to the toilets.
(2) a bow and arrow
(3) He was armed with a bow and arrow .

(1) an enormous house/dog
(2) an enormous amount of time
(3) enormous interest

(1) All you ever do is criticize!
(2) We were taught how to criticize poems.
(3) The government has been criticized for not taking the problem seriously.

(1) The bottle's nearly empty.
(2) I've worked here for nearly two years.
(3) It's nearly time to leave.

(1) a murder trial
(2) He's on trial for murder.
(3) She will stand trial/go on trial for fraud.

(1) It is accepted that the superpowers are each seeking world wide domination.
(2) The money came from world - wide contribution.
(3) Electricity lamp has found world-wide applications since it was invented.

(1) the structure of the building
(2) changes in the social and economic structure of society
(3) the grammatical structures of a language

(1) an IQ/intelligence/aptitude test
(2) to take a test
(3) (British English)to do a test

(1) ...Temple Mount, the place where the Temple actually stood.
(2) ...a list of museums and places of interest...
(3) Except for the remarkably tidy kitchen, the place was a mess...

(1) Have you read her new novel?
(2) new ways of doing things
(3) This idea isn't new.

(1) I could see a dim shape in the doorway.
(2) His eyesight is getting dim.
(3) dim memories

(1) to eat with a knife and fork
(2) Shortly before dusk they reached a fork and took the left-hand track.
(3) Take the right fork.

(1) The event was an undoubted success.
(2) ...a man of your undoubted ability.
(3) Relatively speaking, however , will undoubtedly inject more than the restructuring can be an immediate impact.

(1) the Baltic seaports
(2) ...the Baltic seaport of Rostock.
(3) Build so the big seaport in our country is the first time.

(1) She raised the gun and fired.
(2) He raised a hand in greeting.
(3) She raised her eyes from her work.

(1) The legal profession is still a largely male world, as evidenced by the small number of women judges.
(2) The police were much in evidence at today's demonstration.
(3) There is convincing evidence of a link between exposure to sun and skin cancer.

(1) stomach pains
(2) an upset stomach
(3) (British English also)a stomach upset

(1) It is not surprising that children learn to read at different rates...
(2) A surprising number of customers order the same sandwich every day.
(3) In spite of the fall from his horse, his leg was surprisingly uninjured.

(1) There was an echo on the line and I couldn't hear clearly.
(2) The hills sent back a faint echo.
(3) the echo of footsteps running down the corridor

(1) bus/taxi fares
(2) train/rail fares
(3) Children travel (at) half fare.

(1) a dark room/street/forest
(2) What time does it get dark in summer?
(3) It was dark outside and I couldn't see much.

(1) They had been invited to a Hindu wedding and were not sure what happened on such occasions.
(2) He said he didn't have time or made some such excuse.
(3) She longed to find somebody who understood her problems, and in him she thought she had found such a person.

(1) the skin's natural moisture
(2) a material that is designed to absorb/retain moisture
(3) When the soil is dry, more moisture is lost from the plant...