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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(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) 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 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) 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) 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 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) ...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) 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...

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

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