| brinkmanship | (noun) the policy of pushing a dangerous situation to the brink of disaster (to the limits of safety) | - |
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| brisket | (noun) a cut of meat from the breast or lower chest especially of beef | - |
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| briskness | (noun) liveliness and eagerness | Synonyms: alacrity, smartness |
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| brocket | (noun) small South American deer with unbranched antlers | - |
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| (noun) male red deer in its second year | - |
| brokenheartedness | (noun) intense sorrow caused by loss of a loved one (especially by death) | Synonyms: grief, heartache, heartbreak |
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| broker | (noun) a businessman who buys or sells for another in exchange for a commission | Synonyms: agent, factor |
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| brokerage | (noun) place where a broker conducts his business | Synonyms: brokerage house |
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| (noun) a stock broker's business; charges a fee to act as intermediary between buyer and seller | Synonyms: brokerage firm, securities firm |
| (noun) the business of a broker; charges a fee to arrange a contract between two parties | - |
| brook | (noun) a natural stream of water smaller than a river (and often a tributary of a river) | Synonyms: creek |
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| brooklet | (noun) a small brook | - |
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| brooklime | (noun) plant of western North America and northeastern Asia having prostrate stems with dense racemes of pale violet to lilac flowers | Synonyms: American brooklime, Veronica americana |
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| (noun) European plant having low-lying stems with blue flowers; sparsely naturalized in North America | Synonyms: European brooklime, Veronica beccabunga |
| brookweed | (noun) water pimpernel of Europe to China | Synonyms: Samolus valerandii |
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| (noun) American water pimpernel | Synonyms: Samolus floribundus, Samolus parviflorus |
| broomstick | (noun) the handle of a broom | Synonyms: broom handle |
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| brushwork | (noun) an artist's distinctive technique of applying paint with a brush | - |
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| buck | (noun) mature male of various mammals (especially deer or antelope) | - |
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| (noun) a framework for holding wood that is being sawed | Synonyms: horse, sawbuck, sawhorse |
| (noun) a gymnastic horse without pommels and with one end elongated; used lengthwise for vaulting | Synonyms: long horse, vaulting horse |
| (noun) a piece of paper money worth one dollar | Synonyms: clam, dollar, dollar bill, one dollar bill |
| buckaroo | (noun) local names for a cowboy (`vaquero' is used especially in southwestern and central Texas and `buckaroo' is used especially in California) | Synonyms: buckeroo, vaquero |
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| buckbean | (noun) perennial plant of Europe and America having racemes of white or purplish flowers and intensely bitter trifoliate leaves; often rooting at water margin and spreading across the surface | Synonyms: bog myrtle, bogbean, marsh trefoil, Menyanthes trifoliata, water shamrock |
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| buckboard | (noun) an open horse-drawn carriage with four wheels; has a seat attached to a flexible board between the two axles | - |
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| buckeroo | (noun) local names for a cowboy (`vaquero' is used especially in southwestern and central Texas and `buckaroo' is used especially in California) | Synonyms: buckaroo, vaquero |
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| bucket | (noun) a roughly cylindrical vessel that is open at the top | Synonyms: pail |
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| (noun) the quantity contained in a bucket | Synonyms: bucketful |
| bucketful | (noun) the quantity contained in a bucket | Synonyms: bucket |
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| buckeye | (noun) tree having palmate leaves and large clusters of white to red flowers followed by brown shiny inedible seeds | Synonyms: Aesculus hippocastanum, horse chestnut |
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| (noun) the inedible nutlike seed of the horse chestnut | Synonyms: conker, horse chestnut |
| buckle | (noun) fastener that fastens together two ends of a belt or strap; often has loose prong | - |
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| (noun) a shape distorted by twisting or folding | Synonyms: warp |
| buckler | (noun) armor carried on the arm to intercept blows | Synonyms: shield |
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| buckleya | (noun) parasitic shrub of the eastern United States having opposite leaves and insignificant greenish flowers followed by oily dull green olivelike fruits | Synonyms: Buckleya distichophylla |
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| buckminsterfullerene | (noun) a spheroidal fullerene; the first known example of a fullerene | Synonyms: buckyball |
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| buckram | (noun) a coarse cotton fabric stiffened with glue; used in bookbinding and to stiffen clothing | - |
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| bucksaw | (noun) a saw that is set in a frame in the shape of an H; used with both hands to cut wood that is held in a sawbuck | - |
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| buckshot | (noun) small lead shot for shotgun shells | Synonyms: bird shot, duck shot |
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| buckskin | (noun) horse of a light yellowish dun color with dark mane and tail | - |
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| (noun) a soft yellowish suede leather originally from deerskin but now usually from sheepskin | - |
| buckskins | (noun) (used in the plural) breeches made of buckskin | - |
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| buckthorn | (noun) any shrub or small tree of the genus Bumelia | - |
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| (noun) a shrub or shrubby tree of the genus Rhamnus; fruits are source of yellow dyes or pigments | - |
| (noun) an Old World plantain with long narrow ribbed leaves widely established in temperate regions | Synonyms: English plantain, narrow-leaved plantain, Plantago lanceolata, ribgrass, ribwort, ripple-grass |
| bucktooth | (noun) a large projecting front tooth | - |
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| buckwheat | (noun) grain ground into flour | - |
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| (noun) a member of the genus Fagopyrum; annual Asian plant with clusters of small pinkish white flowers and small edible triangular seeds which are used whole or ground into flour | Synonyms: Fagopyrum esculentum, Polygonum fagopyrum |
| buckyball | (noun) a spheroidal fullerene; the first known example of a fullerene | Synonyms: buckminsterfullerene |
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| bulk | (noun) the property of something that is great in magnitude | Synonyms: mass, volume |
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| (noun) the property resulting from being or relating to the greater in number of two parts; the main part | Synonyms: majority |
| (noun) the property possessed by a large mass | - |
| bulkhead | (noun) a partition that divides a ship or plane into compartments | - |
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| bulkiness | (noun) an unwieldy largeness | Synonyms: massiveness |
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| bullock | (noun) castrated bull | Synonyms: steer |
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| (noun) young bull | - |
| bulwark | (noun) a protective structure of stone or concrete; extends from shore into the water to prevent a beach from washing away | Synonyms: breakwater, groin, groyne, jetty, mole, seawall |
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| (noun) an embankment built around a space for defensive purposes | Synonyms: rampart, wall |
| (noun) a fencelike structure around a deck | - |
| bumpkin | (noun) a person who is not very intelligent or interested in culture | Synonyms: chawbacon, hayseed, hick, rube, yahoo, yokel |
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| bunk | (noun) a bed on a ship or train; usually in tiers | Synonyms: berth, built in bed |
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| (noun) a rough bed (as at a campsite) | - |
| (noun) beds built one above the other | Synonyms: bunk bed |
| (noun) a long trough for feeding cattle | Synonyms: feed bunk |
| (noun) unacceptable behavior (especially ludicrously false statements) | Synonyms: buncombe, bunkum, guff, hogwash, rot |
| (noun) a message that seems to convey no meaning | Synonyms: hokum, meaninglessness, nonsense, nonsensicality |
| bunker | (noun) a hazard on a golf course | Synonyms: sand trap, trap |
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| (noun) a fortification of earth; mostly or entirely below ground | Synonyms: dugout |
| (noun) a large container for storing fuel | - |
| bunkmate | (noun) someone who occupies the same sleeping quarters as yourself | - |
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| bunko | (noun) a swindle in which you cheat at gambling or persuade a person to buy worthless property | Synonyms: bunco, bunco game, bunko game, con, con game, confidence game, confidence trick, flimflam, hustle, sting |
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| bunkum | (noun) unacceptable behavior (especially ludicrously false statements) | Synonyms: buncombe, bunk, guff, hogwash, rot |
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| burdock | (noun) any of several erect biennial herbs of temperate Eurasia having stout taproots and producing burs | Synonyms: clotbur |
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| burka | (noun) a loose garment (usually with veiled holes for the eyes) worn by Muslim women especially in India and Pakistan | Synonyms: burqa |
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| burunduki | (noun) terrestrial Siberian squirrel | Synonyms: baranduki, baronduki, barunduki, Eutamius asiaticus, Eutamius sibiricus |
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| bushbuck | (noun) antelope with white markings like a harness and twisted horns | Synonyms: guib, Tragelaphus scriptus |
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| bushwhacker | (noun) a disparaging term for an unsophisticated person | Synonyms: hillbilly |
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| (noun) a Confederate guerrilla during the American Civil War | - |
| busker | (noun) a person who entertains people for money in public places (as by singing or dancing), usually while asking for money | - |
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| buskin | (noun) a boot reaching halfway up to the knee | Synonyms: combat boot, desert boot, half boot, top boot |
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| busywork | (noun) active work of little value | Synonyms: make-work |
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| buttermilk | (noun) residue from making butter from sour raw milk; or pasteurized milk curdled by adding a culture | - |
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| buttinsky | (noun) a meddler who tends to butt in | - |
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| buttock | (noun) either of the two large fleshy masses of muscular tissue that form the human rump | Synonyms: cheek |
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| buttocks | (noun) the fleshy part of the human body that you sit on | Synonyms: arse, ass, backside, behind, bottom, bum, buns, butt, can, derriere, fanny, fundament, hind end, hindquarters, keister, nates, posterior, prat, rear, rear end, rump, seat, stern, tail, tail end, tooshie, tush |
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| buttonhook | (noun) a hook for pulling a button through a buttonhole | - |
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| buyback | (noun) the act of purchasing back something previously sold | Synonyms: redemption, repurchase |
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| cabinetmaker | (noun) a woodworker who specializes in making furniture | Synonyms: furniture maker |
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| cabinetmaking | (noun) the craft of a joiner | Synonyms: joinery |
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| cabinetwork | (noun) the craft of making furniture (especially furniture of high quality) | Synonyms: cabinetry |
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| (noun) woodwork finished by hand by a cabinetmaker | - |
| cackle | (noun) a loud laugh suggestive of a hen's cackle | - |
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| (noun) noisy talk | Synonyms: chatter, yack, yak, yakety-yak |
| (noun) the sound made by a hen after laying an egg | - |
| cackler | (noun) a hen that has just laid an egg and emits a shrill squawk | - |
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| (noun) any of various insectivorous Old World birds with a loud incessant song; in some classifications considered members of the family Muscicapidae | Synonyms: babbler |
| caipiblack | (noun) a variation of the Caipirinha made with black vodka instead of cachaça. | - |
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| cake | (noun) a block of solid substance (such as soap or wax) | Synonyms: bar |
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| (noun) baked goods made from or based on a mixture of flour, sugar, eggs, and fat | - |
| (noun) small flat mass of chopped or ground food | Synonyms: patty |
| cakehole | (noun) informal terms for the mouth | Synonyms: gob, hole, maw, trap, yap |
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| cakewalk | (noun) a strutting dance based on a march; was performed in minstrel shows; originated as a competition among Black dancers to win a cake | - |
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| (noun) an easy accomplishment | - |
| calfskin | (noun) fine leather from the skin of a calf | Synonyms: calf |
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| calk | (noun) a metal cleat on the bottom front of a horseshoe to prevent slipping | Synonyms: calkin |
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| calkin | (noun) a metal cleat on the bottom front of a horseshoe to prevent slipping | Synonyms: calk |
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| callback | (noun) a request by the manufacturer of a defective product to return the product (as for replacement or repair) | Synonyms: recall |
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| calpack | (noun) a high-crowned black cap (usually made of felt or sheepskin) worn by men in Turkey and Iran and the Caucasus | Synonyms: calpac, kalpac |
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| candlemaker | (noun) a person who makes or sells candles | - |
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| candlestick | (noun) a holder with sockets for candles | Synonyms: candle holder |
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| candlewick | (noun) the wick of a candle | - |
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| (noun) loops of soft yarn are cut to give a tufted pattern | - |
| candymaker | (noun) someone who makes candies and other sweets | Synonyms: confectioner |
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| canebrake | (noun) a dense growth of cane (especially giant cane) | - |
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| canker | (noun) a pernicious and malign influence that is hard to get rid of | Synonyms: pestilence |
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| (noun) an ulceration (especially of the lips or lining of the mouth) | Synonyms: canker sore |
| (noun) a fungal disease of woody plants that causes localized damage to the bark | - |
| cankerweed | (noun) herb of northeastern North America having drooping clusters of yellowish-white flowers; sometimes placed in genus Prenanthes | Synonyms: Nabalus alba, Prenanthes alba, white lettuce |
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| cankerworm | (noun) green caterpillar of a geometrid moth; pest of various fruit and shade trees | - |
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| cannikin | (noun) a small can | - |
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| (noun) a wooden bucket | - |
| canvasback | (noun) North American wild duck valued for sport and food | Synonyms: Aythya valisineria, canvasback duck |
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| carack | (noun) a large galleon sailed in the Mediterranean as a merchantman | Synonyms: carrack |
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| caretaker | (noun) a custodian who is hired to take care of something (property or a person) | - |
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| (noun) an official who performs the duties of an office temporarily | - |
| carjacking | (noun) the violent theft of an occupied car | - |
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| carmaker | (noun) a business engaged in the manufacture of automobiles | Synonyms: auto maker, auto manufacturer, automaker, car maker, car manufacturer |
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| carrack | (noun) a large galleon sailed in the Mediterranean as a merchantman | Synonyms: carack |
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| casebook | (noun) a book in which detailed written records of a case are kept and which are a source of information for subsequent work | - |
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| casework | (noun) close sociological study of a maladjusted person or family for diagnosis and treatment | - |
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| caseworker | (noun) someone employed to provide social services (especially to the disadvantaged) | Synonyms: social worker, welfare worker |
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| cask | (noun) a cylindrical container that holds liquids | Synonyms: barrel |
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| (noun) the quantity a cask will hold | Synonyms: caskful |
| casket | (noun) small and often ornate box for holding jewels or other valuables | Synonyms: jewel casket |
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| (noun) box in which a corpse is buried or cremated | Synonyms: coffin |
| caskful | (noun) the quantity a cask will hold | Synonyms: cask |
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| cassock | (noun) a black garment reaching down to the ankles; worn by priests or choristers | - |
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| catkin | (noun) a cylindrical spikelike inflorescence | Synonyms: ament |
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| catwalk | (noun) narrow pathway high in the air (as above a stage or between parts of a building or along a bridge) | - |
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| (noun) narrow platform extending out into an auditorium | - |
| caulk | (noun) a waterproof filler and sealant that is used in building and repair to make watertight | Synonyms: caulking |
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| caulking | (noun) a waterproof filler and sealant that is used in building and repair to make watertight | Synonyms: caulk |
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| cellblock | (noun) a division of a prison (usually consisting of several cells) | Synonyms: ward |
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