| ladle | (noun) a spoon-shaped vessel with a long handle; frequently used to transfer liquids from one container to another | - |
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| ladybeetle | (noun) small round bright-colored and spotted beetle that usually feeds on aphids and other insect pests | Synonyms: lady beetle, ladybird, ladybird beetle, ladybug |
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| laetrile | (noun) a substance derived from amygdalin; publicized as an antineoplastic drug although there is no supporting evidence | - |
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| lansoprazole | (noun) antacid (trade name Prevacid) that suppresses acid secretion in the stomach | Synonyms: Prevacid |
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| laparocele | (noun) hernia through the abdomen | - |
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| lifestyle | (noun) a manner of living that reflects the person's values and attitudes | Synonyms: life-style, life style, modus vivendi |
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| ligule | (noun) (botany) any appendage to a plant that is shaped like a strap | - |
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| lisle | (noun) a strong tightly twisted cotton thread (usually made of long-staple cotton) | Synonyms: lisle thread |
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| (noun) a fabric woven with lisle thread | - |
| little | (noun) a small amount or duration | - |
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| lobule | (noun) a small lobe or subdivision of a lobe | - |
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| locale | (noun) the scene of any event or action (especially the place of a meeting) | Synonyms: locus, venue |
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| locule | (noun) a small cavity or space within an organ or in a plant or animal | Synonyms: loculus |
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| lodgepole | (noun) shrubby two-needled pine of coastal northwestern United States; red to yellow-brown bark fissured into small squares | Synonyms: lodgepole pine, Pinus contorta, shore pine, spruce pine |
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| loophole | (noun) a small hole in a fortified wall; for observation or discharging weapons | - |
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| (noun) an ambiguity (especially one in the text of a law or contract) that makes it possible to evade a difficulty or obligation | - |
| lunule | (noun) the crescent-shaped area at the base of the human fingernail | Synonyms: half-moon, lunula |
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| mackle | (noun) a printed impression that is blurred or doubled | - |
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| macromolecule | (noun) any very large complex molecule; found only in plants and animals | Synonyms: supermolecule |
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| macule | (noun) a patch of skin that is discolored but not usually elevated; caused by various diseases | Synonyms: macula |
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| mademoiselle | (noun) small silvery drumfish often mistaken for white perch; found along coasts of United States from New York to Mexico | Synonyms: Bairdiella chrysoura, silver perch |
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| majuscule | (noun) one of the large alphabetic characters used as the first letter in writing or printing proper names and sometimes for emphasis | Synonyms: capital, capital letter, upper-case letter, uppercase |
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| male | (noun) an animal that produces gametes (spermatozoa) that can fertilize female gametes (ova) | - |
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| (noun) a person who belongs to the sex that cannot have babies | Synonyms: male person |
| manacle | (noun) shackle that consists of a metal loop that can be locked around the wrist; usually used in pairs | Synonyms: cuff, handcuff, handlock |
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| mandible | (noun) the jaw in vertebrates that is hinged to open the mouth | Synonyms: jawbone, jowl, lower jaw, lower jawbone, mandibula, mandibular bone, submaxilla |
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| mangle | (noun) clothes dryer for drying and ironing laundry by passing it between two heavy heated rollers | - |
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| manhole | (noun) a hole (usually with a flush cover) through which a person can gain access to an underground structure | - |
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| mantle | (noun) a sleeveless garment like a cloak but shorter | Synonyms: cape |
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| (noun) hanging cloth used as a blind (especially for a window) | Synonyms: curtain, drape, drapery, pall |
| (noun) shelf that projects from wall above fireplace | Synonyms: chimneypiece, mantel, mantelpiece, mantlepiece |
| (noun) (zoology) a protective layer of epidermis in mollusks or brachiopods that secretes a substance forming the shell | Synonyms: pallium |
| (noun) the cloak as a symbol of authority | - |
| (noun) the layer of the earth between the crust and the core | - |
| (noun) anything that covers | Synonyms: blanket |
| maple | (noun) any of numerous trees or shrubs of the genus Acer bearing winged seeds in pairs; north temperate zone | - |
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| (noun) wood of any of various maple trees; especially the hard close-grained wood of the sugar maple; used especially for furniture and flooring | - |
| marble | (noun) a small ball of glass that is used in various games | - |
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| (noun) a sculpture carved from marble | - |
| (noun) a hard crystalline metamorphic rock that takes a high polish; used for sculpture and as building material | - |
| marseille | (noun) strong cotton fabric with a raised pattern; used for bedspreads | - |
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| martingale | (noun) a harness strap that connects the nose piece to the girth; prevents the horse from throwing back its head | - |
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| (noun) spar under the bowsprit of a sailboat | Synonyms: dolphin striker |
| mastoidale | (noun) the craniometric point at the lowest point of the mastoid process | - |
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| mayapple | (noun) North American herb with poisonous root stock and edible though insipid fruit | Synonyms: May apple, Podophyllum peltatum, wild mandrake |
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| maypole | (noun) a vertical pole or post decorated with streamers that can be held by dancers celebrating May Day | - |
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| meanwhile | (noun) the time between one event, process, or period and another | Synonyms: interim, lag, meantime |
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| mebendazole | (noun) an anthelmintic used to treat hookworm and pinworm and roundworm infestations | - |
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| megacycle | (noun) one million periods per second | Synonyms: Mc, megacycle per second, megahertz, MHz |
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| meningocele | (noun) a congenital anomaly of the central nervous system in which a sac protruding from the brain or the spinal meninges contains cerebrospinal fluid (but no nerve tissue) | - |
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| merle | (noun) common black European thrush | Synonyms: blackbird, European blackbird, merl, ousel, ouzel, Turdus merula |
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| metarule | (noun) a rule that describes how other rules should be used (as in AI) | - |
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| metronidazole | (noun) antiprotozoal medication (trade name Flagyl) used to treat trichomoniasis and giardiasis | Synonyms: Flagyl |
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| mettle | (noun) the courage to carry on | Synonyms: heart, nerve, spunk |
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| micelle | (noun) an electrically charged particle built up from polymeric molecules or ions and occurring in certain colloidal electrolytic solutions like soaps and detergents | - |
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| mickle | (noun) (often followed by `of') a large number or amount or extent | Synonyms: batch, deal, flock, good deal, great deal, hatful, heap, lot, mass, mess, mint, mountain, muckle, passel, peck, pile, plenty, pot, quite a little, raft, sight, slew, spate, stack, tidy sum, wad |
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| miconazole | (noun) an antifungal agent usually administered in the form of a nitrate (trade name Monistat) | Synonyms: Monistat |
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| micropyle | (noun) minute opening in the wall of an ovule through which the pollen tube enters | - |
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| microtubule | (noun) a microscopically small tubule | - |
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| middle | (noun) the middle area of the human torso (usually in front) | Synonyms: midriff, midsection |
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| (noun) an intermediate part or section | - |
| (noun) an area that is approximately central within some larger region | Synonyms: center, centre, eye, heart |
| (noun) the point between the beginning and the end of a temporal period or process | - |
| mile | (noun) a footrace extending one mile | - |
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| (noun) a unit of length equal to 1,760 yards or 5,280 feet; exactly 1609.344 meters | Synonyms: international mile, land mile, mi, stat mi, statute mile |
| (noun) a Swedish unit of length equivalent to 10 km | Synonyms: mil, Swedish mile |
| (noun) an ancient Roman unit of length equivalent to 1620 yards | Synonyms: Roman mile |
| (noun) a unit of length used in navigation; exactly 1,852 meters; historically based on the distance spanned by one minute of arc in latitude | Synonyms: air mile, international nautical mile, mi, naut mi, nautical mile |
| (noun) a former British unit of length once used in navigation; equivalent to 6,000 feet (1828.8 meters) | Synonyms: sea mile |
| (noun) a former British unit of length equivalent to 6,080 feet (1,853.184 meters); 800 feet longer than a statute mile | Synonyms: Admiralty mile, geographical mile, mi, naut mi, nautical mile |
| (noun) a large distance | - |
| minuscule | (noun) a small cursive script developed from uncial between the 7th and 9th centuries and used in medieval manuscripts | - |
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| (noun) the characters that were once kept in bottom half of a compositor's type case | Synonyms: lower-case letter, lowercase, small letter |
| miracle | (noun) any amazing or wonderful occurrence | - |
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| (noun) a marvellous event manifesting a supernatural act of a divine agent | - |
| misrule | (noun) government that is inefficient or dishonest | Synonyms: misgovernment |
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| missile | (noun) a weapon that is forcibly thrown or projected at a targets but is not self-propelled | Synonyms: projectile |
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| (noun) a rocket carrying a warhead of conventional or nuclear explosives; may be ballistic or directed by remote control | - |
| mizzle | (noun) very light rain; stronger than mist but less than a shower | Synonyms: drizzle |
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| mobile | (noun) sculpture suspended in midair whose delicately balanced parts can be set in motion by air currents | - |
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| module | (noun) a self-contained component (unit or item) that is used in combination with other components | - |
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| (noun) computer circuit consisting of an assembly of electronic components (as of computer hardware) | - |
| (noun) detachable compartment of a spacecraft | - |
| (noun) one of the inherent cognitive or perceptual powers of the mind | Synonyms: faculty, mental faculty |
| mole | (noun) small velvety-furred burrowing mammal having small eyes and fossorial forefeet | - |
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| (noun) a protective structure of stone or concrete; extends from shore into the water to prevent a beach from washing away | Synonyms: breakwater, bulwark, groin, groyne, jetty, seawall |
| (noun) a small congenital pigmented spot on the skin | - |
| (noun) a spy who works against enemy espionage | Synonyms: counterspy |
| (noun) the molecular weight of a substance expressed in grams; the basic unit of amount of substance adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites | Synonyms: gram molecule, mol |
| (noun) spicy sauce often containing chocolate | - |
| molecule | (noun) (physics and chemistry) the simplest structural unit of an element or compound | - |
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| (noun) (nontechnical usage) a tiny piece of anything | Synonyms: atom, corpuscle, mote, particle, speck |
| molle | (noun) small Peruvian evergreen with broad rounded head and slender pendant branches with attractive clusters of greenish flowers followed by clusters of rose-pink fruits | Synonyms: pepper tree, Peruvian mastic tree, Schinus molle |
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| mollycoddle | (noun) a pampered darling; an effeminate man | - |
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| monocle | (noun) lens for correcting defective vision in one eye; held in place by facial muscles | Synonyms: eyeglass |
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| monocycle | (noun) a vehicle with a single wheel that is driven by pedals | Synonyms: unicycle |
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| monosyllable | (noun) a word or utterance of one syllable | Synonyms: monosyllabic word |
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| morale | (noun) the spirit of a group that makes the members want the group to succeed | Synonyms: esprit de corps, team spirit |
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| (noun) a state of individual psychological well-being based upon a sense of confidence and usefulness and purpose | - |
| motile | (noun) one whose prevailing mental imagery takes the form of inner feelings of action | - |
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| motorcycle | (noun) a motor vehicle with two wheels and a strong frame | Synonyms: bike |
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| mottle | (noun) an irregular arrangement of patches of color | - |
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| movable | (noun) personal as opposed to real property; any tangible movable property (furniture or domestic animals or a car etc) | Synonyms: chattel, personal chattel |
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| muckle | (noun) (often followed by `of') a large number or amount or extent | Synonyms: batch, deal, flock, good deal, great deal, hatful, heap, lot, mass, mess, mickle, mint, mountain, passel, peck, pile, plenty, pot, quite a little, raft, sight, slew, spate, stack, tidy sum, wad |
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| muddle | (noun) a confused multitude of things | Synonyms: clutter, fuddle, jumble, mare's nest, smother, welter |
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| (noun) informal terms for a difficult situation | Synonyms: fix, hole, jam, kettle of fish, mess, pickle |
| muffle | (noun) a kiln with an inner chamber for firing things at a low temperature | - |
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| mule | (noun) hybrid offspring of a male donkey and a female horse; usually sterile | - |
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| (noun) a slipper that has no fitting around the heel | Synonyms: scuff |
| multiple | (noun) the product of a quantity by an integer | - |
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| mumble | (noun) a soft indistinct utterance | - |
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| muscadelle | (noun) wine from muscat grapes | Synonyms: muscadel, muscat, muscatel |
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| muscle | (noun) possessing muscular strength | Synonyms: brawn, brawniness, heftiness, muscularity, sinew |
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| (noun) authority or power or force (especially when used in a coercive way) | - |
| (noun) one of the contractile organs of the body | Synonyms: musculus |
| (noun) animal tissue consisting predominantly of contractile cells | Synonyms: muscular tissue |
| (noun) a bully employed as a thug or bodyguard | Synonyms: muscleman |
| muzzle | (noun) forward projecting part of the head of certain animals; includes the jaws and nose | - |
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| (noun) restraint put into a person's mouth to prevent speaking or shouting | Synonyms: gag |
| (noun) the open circular discharging end of a gun | Synonyms: gun muzzle |
| (noun) a leather or wire restraint that fits over an animal's snout (especially a dog's nose and jaws) and prevents it from eating or biting | - |
| myelomeningocele | (noun) a congenital defect of the central nervous system in which a sac containing part of the spinal cord and its meninges protrude through a gap in the vertebral column; frequently accompanied by hydrocephalus and mental retardation | - |
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| myrmecophile | (noun) an organism such as an insect that habitually shares the nest of a species of ant | - |
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| myrtle | (noun) any evergreen shrub or tree of the genus Myrtus | - |
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| (noun) widely cultivated as a groundcover for its dark green shiny leaves and usually blue-violet flowers | Synonyms: Vinca minor |
| nacelle | (noun) a streamlined enclosure for an aircraft engine | - |
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| nailfile | (noun) a small flat file for shaping the nails | - |
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| narghile | (noun) an oriental tobacco pipe with a long flexible tube connected to a container where the smoke is cooled by passing through water | Synonyms: calean, chicha, hookah, hubble-bubble, hubbly-bubbly, kalian, nargileh, sheesha, shisha, water pipe |
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| narwhale | (noun) small Arctic whale the male having a long spiral ivory tusk | Synonyms: Monodon monoceros, narwal, narwhal |
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| nebule | (noun) a small cloud | - |
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| needle | (noun) a sharp pointed implement (usually steel) | - |
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| (noun) a slender pointer for indicating the reading on the scale of a measuring instrument | - |
| (noun) a stylus that formerly made sound by following a groove in a phonograph record | Synonyms: phonograph needle |
| (noun) the leaf of a conifer | Synonyms: acerate leaf |
| nestle | (noun) a close and affectionate (and often prolonged) embrace | Synonyms: cuddle, snuggle |
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| nettle | (noun) any of numerous plants having stinging hairs that cause skin irritation on contact (especially of the genus Urtica or family Urticaceae) | - |
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| neuropile | (noun) the complex network of unmyelinated axones, dendrites, and glial branches that form the bulk of the central nervous system's grey matter and in which nerve cell bodies are embedded | Synonyms: neuropil |
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| neutrophile | (noun) the chief phagocytic leukocyte; stains with either basic or acid dyes | Synonyms: neutrophil |
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| nibble | (noun) gentle biting | - |
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| (noun) a small byte | Synonyms: nybble |
| nightingale | (noun) European songbird noted for its melodious nocturnal song | Synonyms: Luscinia megarhynchos |
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| nipple | (noun) a flexible cap on a baby's feeding bottle or pacifier | - |
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| (noun) the small projection of a mammary gland | Synonyms: mamilla, mammilla, pap, teat, tit |
| nitrile | (noun) any of a class of organic compounds containing the cyano radical -CN | Synonyms: cyanide, nitril |
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| noble | (noun) a titled peer of the realm | Synonyms: Lord, nobleman |
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| noddle | (noun) an informal British expression for head or mind | - |
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| nodule | (noun) a small node | - |
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| (noun) (mineralogy) a small rounded lump of mineral substance (usually harder than the surrounding rock or sediment) | - |
| (noun) small rounded wartlike protuberance on a plant | Synonyms: tubercle |
| nonallele | (noun) genes that are not competitors at the same locus | - |
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| nonpareille | (noun) a 6-point printing type: a size smaller than minion. | - |
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| noodle | (noun) informal terms for a human head | Synonyms: attic, bean, bonce, dome, noggin |
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| (noun) a ribbonlike strip of pasta | - |
| notable | (noun) a celebrity who is an inspiration to others | Synonyms: guiding light, leading light, luminary, notability |
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