| abele
|
a poplar that is widely cultivated in the United States; has white bark and leaves with whitish undersurfaces |
Populus alba,
white aspen,
white poplar,
silver-leaved poplar,
aspen poplar |
| acidophile
|
an organism that thrives in a relatively acid environment |
acidophil |
| acrylonitrile
|
a colorless liquid unsaturated nitrile made from propene |
propenonitrile,
vinyl cyanide |
| aerophile
|
a lover of aviation |
- |
| aisle
|
a long narrow passage (as in a cave or woods) |
- |
| aisle
|
passageway between seating areas as in an auditorium or passenger vehicle or between areas of shelves of goods as in stores |
gangway |
| aisle
|
part of a church divided laterally from the nave proper by rows of pillars or columns |
- |
| ale
|
a general name for beer made with a top fermenting yeast; in some of the United States an ale is (by law) a brew of more than 4% alcohol by volume |
- |
| allele
|
(genetics) either of a pair (or series) of alternative forms of a gene that can occupy the same locus on a particular chromosome and that control the same character |
allelomorph |
| amarelle
|
any of several cultivated sour cherry trees bearing pale red fruit with colorless juice |
Prunus cerasus caproniana |
| amarelle
|
pale red sour cherry with colorless or nearly colorless juice |
- |
| amble
|
a leisurely walk (usually in some public place) |
perambulation,
promenade,
saunter,
stroll |
| amphibole
|
a mineral or mineral variety belonging to the amphibole group |
- |
| ampoule
|
a small bottle that contains a drug (especially a sealed sterile container for injection by needle) |
phial,
vial,
ampul,
ampule |
| ampule
|
a small bottle that contains a drug (especially a sealed sterile container for injection by needle) |
phial,
vial,
ampoule,
ampul |
| anethole
|
an organic compound that is widely used as a flavoring substance. |
anise camphor |
| angle
|
the space between two lines or planes that intersect; the inclination of one line to another; measured in degrees or radians |
- |
| angle
|
a biased way of looking at or presenting something |
slant |
| anglophile
|
an admirer of England and things English |
anglophil |
| animalcule
|
microscopic organism such as an amoeba or paramecium |
animalculum |
| ankle
|
a gliding joint between the distal ends of the tibia and fibula and the proximal end of the talus |
mortise joint,
ankle joint,
articulatio talocruralis |
| anole
|
small arboreal tropical American insectivorous lizards with the ability to change skin color |
American chameleon,
Anolis carolinensis |
| antiparticle
|
a particle that has the same mass as another particle but has opposite values for its other properties; interaction of a particle and its antiparticle results in annihilation and the production of radiant energy |
- |
| apostle
|
an ardent early supporter of a cause or reform |
- |
| appendicle
|
a small appendage |
- |
| apple
|
fruit with red or yellow or green skin and sweet to tart crisp whitish flesh |
- |
| apple
|
native Eurasian tree widely cultivated in many varieties for its firm rounded edible fruits |
Malus pumila,
orchard apple tree |
| argyle
|
a covered gravy holder of silver or other metal containing a detachable central vessel for hot water to keep the gravy warm |
argyll |
| argyle
|
a design consisting of a pattern of varicolored diamonds on a solid background (originally for knitted articles); patterned after the tartan of a clan in western Scotland |
argyll |
| argyle
|
a sock knitted or woven with an argyle design |
argyll |
| armhole
|
a hole through which you put your arm and where a sleeve can be attached |
- |
| arsehole
|
vulgar slang for anus |
bunghole,
arse,
asshole |
| arteriole
|
one of the small thin-walled arteries that end in capillaries |
capillary artery,
arteriola |
| article
|
nonfictional prose forming an independent part of a publication |
- |
| article
|
one of a class of artifacts |
- |
| article
|
a separate section of a legal document (as a statute or contract or will) |
clause |
| article
|
(grammar) a determiner that may indicate the specificity of reference of a noun phrase |
- |
| asshole
|
insulting terms of address for people who are stupid or irritating or ridiculous |
prick,
shit,
bastard,
mother fucker,
motherfucker,
dickhead,
whoreson,
SOB,
son of a bitch,
cocksucker |
| asshole
|
vulgar slang for anus |
bunghole,
arse,
arsehole |
| asystole
|
absence of systole; failure of the ventricles of the heart to contract (usually caused by ventricular fibrillation) with consequent absence of the heart beat leading to oxygen lack and eventually to death |
cardiac arrest,
cardiopulmonary arrest |
| atole
|
eaten as mush or as a thin gruel |
- |
| audible
|
a football play is changed orally after both teams have assumed their positions at the line of scrimmage |
- |
| audile
|
one whose mental imagery is auditory rather than visual or motor |
- |
| aureole
|
the outermost region of the sun's atmosphere; visible as a white halo during a solar eclipse |
corona |
| aureole
|
an indication of radiant light drawn around the head of a saint |
halo,
nimbus,
gloriole,
glory,
aura |
| auricle
|
a small conical pouch projecting from the upper anterior part of each atrium of the heart |
atrial auricle,
auricula atrii |
| auricle
|
the externally visible cartilaginous structure of the external ear |
ear,
pinna |
| automobile
|
a motor vehicle with four wheels; usually propelled by an internal combustion engine |
machine,
motorcar,
car,
auto |
| axle
|
a shaft on which a wheel rotates |
- |
| babble
|
gibberish resembling the sounds of a baby |
babbling,
lallation |
| baffle
|
a flat plate that controls or directs the flow of fluid or energy |
baffle board |
| bagatelle
|
a light piece of music for piano |
- |
| bagatelle
|
something of little value or significance |
fluff,
frivolity,
frippery |
| bagatelle
|
a table game in which short cues are used to knock balls into holes that are guarded by wooden pegs; penalties are incurred if the pegs are knocked over |
bar billiards |
| bakeapple
|
creeping raspberry of north temperate regions with yellow or orange berries |
Rubus chamaemorus,
dwarf mulberry,
salmonberry,
cloudberry,
baked-apple berry |
| bale
|
a large bundle bound for storage or transport |
- |
| bangle
|
jewelry worn around the wrist for decoration |
bracelet |
| bangle
|
cheap showy jewelry or ornament on clothing |
novelty,
gaud,
gewgaw,
bauble,
fallal,
trinket |
| barcarole
|
a boating song sung by Venetian gondoliers |
barcarolle |
| barcarolle
|
a boating song sung by Venetian gondoliers |
barcarole |
| barnacle
|
marine crustaceans with feathery food-catching appendages; free-swimming as larvae; as adults form a hard shell and live attached to submerged surfaces |
cirriped,
cirripede |
| barnacle
|
European goose smaller than the brant; breeds in the far north |
Branta leucopsis,
barnacle goose |
| bascule
|
a structure or device in which one end is counterbalanced by the other (on the principle of the seesaw) |
- |
| basophile
|
a leukocyte with basophilic granules easily stained by basic stains |
basophil |
| bastille
|
a jail or prison (especially one that is run in a tyrannical manner) |
- |
| battle
|
a hostile meeting of opposing military forces in the course of a war |
engagement,
conflict,
fight |
| battle
|
an energetic attempt to achieve something |
struggle |
| battle
|
an open clash between two opposing groups (or individuals) |
struggle,
conflict |
| bauble
|
a mock scepter carried by a court jester |
- |
| bauble
|
cheap showy jewelry or ornament on clothing |
novelty,
gaud,
gewgaw,
bangle,
fallal,
trinket |
| beadle
|
a minor parish official who serves a ceremonial function |
- |
| beagle
|
a small short-legged smooth-coated breed of hound |
- |
| beetle
|
insect having biting mouthparts and front wings modified to form horny covers overlying the membranous rear wings |
- |
| beetle
|
a tool resembling a hammer but with a large head (usually wooden); used to drive wedges or ram down paving stones or for crushing or beating or flattening or smoothing |
mallet |
| belle
|
a young woman who is the most charming and beautiful of several rivals |
- |
| bible
|
a book regarded as authoritative in its field |
- |
| bibliophile
|
someone who loves (and usually collects) books |
book lover,
booklover |
| bibliopole
|
a dealer in secondhand books (especially rare or curious books) |
bibliopolist |
| bicycle
|
a wheeled vehicle that has two wheels and is moved by foot pedals |
cycle,
wheel,
bike |
| bile
|
a digestive juice secreted by the liver and stored in the gallbladder; aids in the digestion of fats |
gall |
| bingle
|
a base hit on which the batter stops safely at first base |
single |
| binnacle
|
a nonmagnetic housing for a ship's compass (usually in front of the helm) |
- |
| blackbeetle
|
dark brown cockroach originally from orient now nearly cosmopolitan in distribution |
oriental cockroach,
oriental roach,
Asiatic cockroach,
Blatta orientalis |
| blastocele
|
the fluid-filled cavity inside a blastula |
segmentation cavity,
cleavage cavity,
blastocoel,
blastocoele |
| blastocoele
|
the fluid-filled cavity inside a blastula |
segmentation cavity,
cleavage cavity,
blastocele,
blastocoel |
| bloodmobile
|
a motor vehicle equipped to collect blood donations |
- |
| blowhole
|
the spiracle of a cetacean located far back on the skull |
- |
| blowhole
|
a hole for the escape of gas or air |
vent,
vent-hole,
venthole |
| bluebottle
|
an annual Eurasian plant cultivated in North America having showy heads of blue or purple or pink or white flowers |
Centaurea cyanus,
cornflower,
bachelor's button |
| bluebottle
|
blowfly with iridescent blue body; makes a loud buzzing noise in flight |
Calliphora vicina |
| bobble
|
the momentary juggling of a batted or thrown baseball |
- |
| bole
|
a soft oily clay used as a pigment (especially a reddish brown pigment) |
- |
| bole
|
the main stem of a tree; usually covered with bark; the bole is usually the part that is commercially useful for lumber |
trunk,
tree trunk |
| boodle
|
informal terms for money |
scratch,
sugar,
wampum,
dough,
kale,
cabbage,
bread,
lettuce,
lolly,
moolah,
dinero,
pelf,
gelt,
shekels,
simoleons,
clams,
loot,
lucre |
| boodle
|
a gambling card game in which chips are placed on the ace and king and queen and jack of separate suits (taken from a separate deck); a player plays the lowest card of a suit in his hand and successively higher cards are played until the sequence stops; the player who plays a card matching one in the layout wins all the chips on that card |
Michigan,
Chicago,
Newmarket,
stops |
| bookmobile
|
a van with shelves of books; serves as a mobile library or bookstore |
- |
| boondoggle
|
work of little or no value done merely to look busy |
- |
| borecole
|
a hardy cabbage with coarse curly leaves that do not form a head |
kail,
kale,
cole,
colewort,
Brassica oleracea acephala |
| bottle
|
a glass or plastic vessel used for storing drinks or other liquids; typically cylindrical without handles and with a narrow neck that can be plugged or capped |
- |
| bottle
|
the quantity contained in a bottle |
bottleful |
| bottle
|
a vessel fitted with a flexible teat and filled with milk or formula; used as a substitute for breast feeding infants and very young children |
nursing bottle,
feeding bottle |
| boucle
|
a fabric of uneven yarn that has an uneven knobby effect |
- |
| boule
|
an inlaid furniture decoration; tortoiseshell and yellow and white metal form scrolls in cabinetwork |
boulle,
buhl |
| boulle
|
an inlaid furniture decoration; tortoiseshell and yellow and white metal form scrolls in cabinetwork |
boule,
buhl |
| bracteole
|
a small bract |
bractlet |
| braille
|
a point system of writing in which patterns of raised dots represent letters and numerals |
- |
| bramble
|
any of various rough thorny shrubs or vines |
- |
| breakable
|
an article that is fragile and easily broken |
- |
| bricole
|
catapult operated by manpower pulling cords attached to a lever and slign to launch projectiles |
mangonel,
traction trebuchet |
| bridle
|
headgear for a horse; includes a headstall and bit and reins to give the rider or driver control |
- |
| bridle
|
the act of restraining power or action or limiting excess |
check,
curb |
| bristle
|
a stiff fiber (coarse hair or filament); natural or synthetic |
- |
| bristle
|
a stiff hair |
- |
| brittle
|
caramelized sugar cooled in thin sheets |
toffee,
toffy |
| bronchiole
|
any of the smallest bronchial ducts; ending in alveoli |
- |
| bubble
|
a hollow globule of gas (e.g., air or carbon dioxide) |
- |
| bubble
|
a speculative scheme that depends on unstable factors that the planner cannot control |
house of cards |
| bubble
|
an impracticable and illusory idea |
- |
| bubble
|
a dome-shaped covering made of transparent glass or plastic |
- |
| buckle
|
fastener that fastens together two ends of a belt or strap; often has loose prong |
- |
| buckle
|
a shape distorted by twisting or folding |
warp |
| bugle
|
a brass instrument without valves; used for military calls and fanfares |
- |
| bugle
|
any of various low-growing annual or perennial evergreen herbs native to Eurasia; used for ground cover |
bugleweed |
| bugle
|
a tubular glass or plastic bead sewn onto clothing for decoration |
- |
| bundle
|
a collection of things wrapped or boxed together |
parcel,
package,
packet |
| bundle
|
a package of several things tied together for carrying or storing |
sheaf |
| bundle
|
a large sum of money (especially as pay or profit) |
pile,
megabucks,
big bucks,
big money |
| bunghole
|
vulgar slang for anus |
arse,
arsehole,
asshole |
| bunghole
|
a hole in a barrel or cask; used to fill or empty it |
- |
| bungle
|
an embarrassing mistake |
pratfall,
bloomer,
blooper,
blunder,
boner,
boo-boo,
botch,
flub,
foul-up,
fuckup |
| businesspeople
|
people who transact business (especially business executives) |
business people |
| bustle
|
a rapid active commotion |
flurry,
hustle,
stir,
ado,
fuss |
| bustle
|
a framework worn at the back below the waist for giving fullness to a woman's skirt |
- |
| buttonhole
|
a hole through which buttons are pushed |
button hole |
| cable
|
a telegram sent abroad |
overseas telegram,
cablegram |
| cable
|
a conductor for transmitting electrical or optical signals or electric power |
line,
transmission line |
| cable
|
a very strong thick rope made of twisted hemp or steel wire |
- |
| cable
|
a nautical unit of depth |
cable length,
cable's length |
| cable
|
television that is transmitted over cable directly to the receiver |
cable television |
| cable
|
a television system that transmits over cables |
cable system,
cable television,
cable television service |
| caboodle
|
any collection in its entirety |
lot,
bunch |
| cackle
|
the sound made by a hen after laying an egg |
- |
| cackle
|
noisy talk |
chatter,
yak,
yack,
yakety-yak |
| cackle
|
a loud laugh suggestive of a hen's cackle |
- |
| cacomistle
|
raccoon-like omnivorous mammal of Mexico and the southwestern United States having a long bushy tail with black and white rings |
raccoon fox,
ring-tailed cat,
ringtail,
miner's cat,
cacomixle,
civet cat,
coon cat,
Bassariscus astutus,
bassarisk |
| cacomixle
|
raccoon-like omnivorous mammal of Mexico and the southwestern United States having a long bushy tail with black and white rings |
raccoon fox,
ring-tailed cat,
ringtail,
miner's cat,
cacomistle,
civet cat,
coon cat,
Bassariscus astutus,
bassarisk |