cstr/en-wiktionary-extracted-all huggingface dataset:
hydroponics
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˌhaɪdɹə(ʊ)ˈpɒnɪks/
enpr: hī'drə-pŏnʹĭks
ipa: /ˌhaɪdɹəˈpɑnɪks/
rhymes: -ɒnɪks
Etymology: From hydro- (“water”) + Ancient Greek πόνος (pónos, “work, labour”) + -ics.
Senses: examples: text: Despite relying on water alone to grow plants, hydroponics systems require 90 percent less water than crops grown in soil, due to water recycling and the self-contained nature of the system. Because of the closed nature of the system, it is […]
ref: 2013, Nathaniel Cross, The Guide To Hydroponic Gardening For The Novice: How To Grow Great Vegetables Without Soil, Speedy Publishing LLC, →ISBN:
glosses: The cultivation of plants in a nutrient solution rather than in the soil.
Hyponyms: hydroculture
Coordinate terms: aeroponics
aquaponics
geoponics
organoponics
Derived terms: word: aquaponics
word: hydroponic
word: hydroponically
word: hydroponicist
word: hydroponicum
word: hydrozone
redolent
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈɹɛd.ə.lənt/
ipa: /ˈɹɛd.ə.lənt/
ipa: /ˈɹed.ə.lənt/
Forms: form: more redolent
form: most redolent
Etymology: From Middle English redolent (first attested in 1400), from Old French redolent, from Latin redolentem, present participle of redoleō (“I emit a scent”), from red- + oleō (“I smell”).
Senses: synonyms: aromatic
fragrant
glosses: Fragrant or aromatic; having a sweet scent.
examples: text: Most of the articles were home-made; the bread, the yellow butter, as golden as the cups to which it has given name; the thickest cream, and a honeycomb redolent of the thyme which even then echoed with the hum of the bees.
ref: 1838 (date written), L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], “(please specify the page)”, in Lady Anne Granard; or, Keeping up Appearances. […], volume I, London: Henry Colburn, […], published 1842, →OCLC, pages 163–164:
text: His breath is already redolent of whiskey.
ref: 1861, Francis Colburn Adams, chapter 32, in An Outcast:
text: Stephen, that is when the accosting figure came to close quarters, though he was not in an over sober state himself recognised Corley's breath redolent of rotten cornjuice.
ref: 1922 February, James Joyce, “[Episode 16]”, in Ulysses, Paris: Shakespeare and Company, […], →OCLC, part III [Nostos], page 572:
synonyms: reeking
smelling
glosses: Having the smell of the article in question.
examples: text: But, in the country, the green fields are so joyous, the pure air so fresh, the blue sky so clear; the fine old trees, redolent of earth's loveliest mythology, when the dryades peopled their green shadows;...
ref: 1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XXV, in Francesca Carrara. […], volume III, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), →OCLC, page 213:
text: But forth from sweat-shops, tenement and prison
Wailed minor protests, redolent with pain.
ref: 1919, Ella Wheeler Wilcox, A vision:
text: He said that the geometry of the dream-place he saw was abnormal, non-Euclidean, and loathsomely redolent of spheres and dimensions apart from ours.
ref: 1928 February, H[oward] P[hillips] Lovecraft, “The Call of Cthulhu”, in Farnsworth Wright, editor, Weird Tales: A Magazine of the Bizarre and Unusual, volume 11, number 2, Indianapolis, Ind.: Popular Fiction Pub. Co., →OCLC, pages 159–178 and 287:
text: The sums are so vast, the secrecy so shocking, that “chumocracy” doesn’t begin to capture what Britain has become – redolent as we are of banana republics, the Russian oligarchy and failed states.
ref: 2021 February 22, Polly Toynbee, “The Covid contracts furore is no surprise – Britain has long been a chumocracy”, in The Guardian:
glosses: Suggestive or reminiscent.
Derived terms: redolently
Related terms: redolence
redolency
chatter
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈtʃætə/
enpr: chătʹər
ipa: /ˈt͡ʃætɚ/
rhymes: -ætə(ɹ)
Forms: form: chatters
form: chattering
form: chattered
form: chattered
Etymology: From Middle English chateren, from earlier cheteren, chiteren (“to twitter, chatter, jabber”), of imitative origin. Compare Saterland Frisian tjoaterje (“to chatter”), West Frisian tsjotterje (“to chatter”), Dutch schateren, schetteren (“chatter”), Dutch koeteren (“jabber”), Middle Low German kidderen (“to chatter”), German Low German queteln (“to chatter”), dialectal German kaudern (“to gobble (like a turkey)”), Danish kvidre (“to twitter, chirp”).
Senses: examples: text: They knitted and chattered the whole time.
text: That teacheth trickes eleuen and twentie long, / To tame a ſhrew, and charme her chattering tongue.
ref: c. 1590–1592 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Taming of the Shrew”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene ii], page 222:
synonyms: chat
natter
glosses: To talk idly.
examples: text: He was so cold that his teeth were chattering.
synonyms: word: clatter
word: gnash
word: grind
english: said of an engine
translation: said of an engine
word: pink
qualifier: machinery
glosses: To make a noise by rapid collisions.
raw_tags: of teeth
examples: text: The jay makes answer, as the magpie chatters with delight.
ref: 1815 [1802], William Wordsworth, Resolution and Independence:
text: Is your cat intently staring out the window at a bird on a branch and “chattering” in a kind of shaky, high-pitched, breathy way? If so, she is expressing excitement at what she's observing (or maybe the desire to attack what she sees as prey).
ref: 2016, David Meyer, Abbie Moore, Pia Salk, The Total Cat Manual, Weldon Owen International, →ISBN:
glosses: To utter sounds which somewhat resemble language, but are inarticulate and indistinct.
Derived terms: achatter
chatterer
chatter mark
chattery
outchatter
chatter
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈtʃætə/
enpr: chătʹər
ipa: /ˈt͡ʃætɚ/
rhymes: -ætə(ɹ)
Forms: form: chatters
Etymology: chat + -er
Senses: glosses: One who chats.
examples: text: During the chat sessions, two outreach team members would engage in a conversation about the topic chosen for that event in the main chat room and entice other chatters to join in.
ref: 2013, Michael K. Sullivan, Sexual Minorities, page 148:
glosses: A user of chat rooms.
Synonyms: word: babble
word: bavardage
word: bibble-babble
word: blab
word: blabber
word: blabbing
word: blather
word: blathering
word: chatter
word: chinwag
word: chit-chat
word: claver
word: clepe
word: gabble
word: hot air
word: mardle
word: natter
word: palaver
word: prate
word: prattle
word: scuttlebutt
topics: nautical
transport
word: small talk
word: tattle
word: twaddle
word: waffle
word: yackety-yak
word: yap
word: yatter
Hypernyms: word: talk
Related terms: word: chatterbox
word: talkative
word: nonsense
tweag
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Senses: glosses: Alternative form of tweague.
tweag
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Forms: form: tweags
form: tweaging
form: tweaged
form: tweaged
Senses: examples: text: Every varlet, seed and breed of them, set upon poor unhappy Bill, tweaging and pinching, and pulling at him; scolding and coaxing, and slobbering all of a breath.
ref: 1832, Tait's Edinburgh magazine: Volume 2, page 74:
glosses: Alternative form of tweak.
FOUP
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /fuːp/
rhymes: -uːp
Forms: form: FOUPs
Senses: qualifier: semiconductor industry
glosses: Initialism of Front Opening Unified Pod.
aprosdoketon
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˌæp.ɹəsˈdɑ.kɪˌtɑn/
ipa: /əˌpɹɑs.dəˈkiˌtɑn/
Forms: form: aprosdoketons
form: aprosdoketa
form: aprosdoceton
Etymology: From Ancient Greek ἀπροσδόκητος (aprosdókētos, “unexpected”).
Senses: examples: text: Is the poet saying "I do not chance on even a slight respect from you" or "I chance on a good amount of respect from you," a meaning which effectively postpones the aprosdoketon to the final line[?]
ref: 1997, T. Tarkow, Theognis 237–254: A Reexamination, in Quaderni urbinati di cultura classica 26, quoted in Roman Constructions (Don Fowler, 2000), http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0198153090&id=cVR01SLMLC0C&pg=PA12&lpg=PA12&dq=aprosdoketon&sig=az-o0Q6Pqsvfq64OEtILKFU9_VM
glosses: A figure of speech where an expected word in an idiom is replaced unexpectedly by an unusual one, as in Rome wasn't built in a teacup.
examples: text: In later restagings of the Thesmophoriazusae, as in the 1959 Frogs, Euripides made his appearance driving a motorcycle. This scenic aprosdoketon was, of course, an ingenious verbal and visual pun on the word mechane and its different meanings in ancient and modern Greek: "stage crane" and "motorbike," respectively.
ref: 2000, Gonda A. H. Van Steen, Venom in Verse:
glosses: Any surprising use or interpretation of language.
back, crack and sack
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: back, crack and sacks
form: sack, back and crack
form: back, sack and crack
Senses: glosses: A beauty treatment for men in which hair is removed from the back, from between the buttocks (crack) and from the scrotum (sack).
dead heat
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: dead heats
Senses: examples: text: Polls indicated a dead heat for the office of dog catcher.
text: Just as Hank had predicted, we had reached the work site in a dead heat with gray dawn.
ref: 1964, Ken Kesey, Sometimes a Great Notion:
glosses: a close race or contest in which no winner is apparent
Synonyms: draw
tie
Related terms: neck and neck
photo finish
dead weight
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: dead weights
form: deadweight
Senses: examples: text: His dead weight, as he abruptly collapses, pulls his lapels from her hands, reminding her to step back, off-balancing whoever is behind her, […]
ref: 2003, William Gibson, Pattern Recognition (Bigend cycle; book 1), New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, →ISBN, page 154:
glosses: Unremitting heavy weight that does not move.
topics: nautical
transport
glosses: The largest weight of cargo a ship is able to carry; i.e., the weight of a ship when fully loaded minus its weight when empty.
topics: business
construction
manufacturing
glosses: A dead load.
examples: text: She wants to shed the dead weight of so many stacks of old clutter.
text: It was Ethel Churchill, dressed as a bride, and on her wedding morning, that Norbourne had seen. She had sought the summer-house for a few moments of quiet and solitude. There was a dead weight on her spirits, which she rather sought to indulge than to shake off.
ref: 1837, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], “Unavailing Regret”, in Ethel Churchill: Or, The Two Brides. […], volume II, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 105:
text: For ten minutes he waited there, jabbed at by his nerves, with every minute mounting up a dead weight of suspense.
ref: 1938, Norman Lindsay, Age of Consent, 1st Australian edition, Sydney, N.S.W.: Ure Smith, published 1962, →OCLC, page 219:
text: They have the brains to rob a bank, but I guess only the rest of the gray matter is nothing but dead weight.
ref: 2015, Neville Ramdeholl, The Man Who Woke Up Dead:
text: Nobody could ever be bothered to imagine the Sand Snakes beyond personalized weaponry and fake-aggressive quips, none of which were very convincing, and now they don’t even register as dead weight.
ref: 2017 July 23, Brandon Nowalk, “The great game begins with a bang on Game Of Thrones (newbies)”, in The Onion AV Club:
text: “Contrasted with that, the flat is a tick against my name – it makes him think I’m a safe bet, that I’m not going to be dead weight.”
ref: 2023 July 22, Barbara Speed, quoting Rosie (31), “‘We could soon see a Jane Austen-style marriage market’: how the housing crisis is turning modern dating on its head”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:
glosses: That which is useless or excess; that which slows something down.
examples: text: Having dropped the coach, the trio returned with the Class 47 leading and the other two locomotives as dead weight.
ref: 2023 November 29, “Network News: Test runs for WCR fleet returnees”, in RAIL, number 997, page 24:
topics: rail-transport
railways
transport
glosses: The total (unpowered) weight of a train to be propelled (or hauled) by the locomotive; another locomotive being hauled dead as part of the train is a dead weight.
dead weight
Language: English
Part of speech: adv
Forms: form: deadweight
Senses: examples: text: He rolled the red in dead weight, and now he's nicely on the blue.
text: I had no escape other than trying to roll off a side cushion, just ahead of the middle pocket, and lay on a red, dead weight, about a foot from the pocket in open play.
ref: 2015, Steve Davis, Interesting: My Autobiography, →ISBN:
text: I potted a really difficult cut red into the middle pocket, dropping it in dead weight and finishing on the pink for a 59 break that pretty much got me there.
ref: 2017, Hector Nunns, The Crucible's Greatest Matches: Forty Years of Snooker's World Championship, →ISBN:
text: From behind the Brown, aim to drop in dead-weight into the back of the pack.
ref: 2018, David Horrix, Complete Book of Snooker Shots, →ISBN:
glosses: With just enough weight for a ball to drop into a pocket, or come to rest in a precisely determined position.
raw_tags: of a shot in snooker or other cue sports
direct flight
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: direct flights
Senses: topics: lifestyle
tourism
transport
travel
glosses: A flight in which the passenger makes intermediate stops but does not change aircraft.
topics: biology
natural-sciences
ornithology
glosses: A flight where the bird's altitude does not change significantly with each wingbeat.
Hypernyms: flight
leadfoot
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈlɛd.fʊt/
Forms: form: leadfeet
form: leadfoots
Etymology: From lead (“a heavy metal”) + foot.
Senses: examples: text: The leadfoot screeched to a stop inches from the tree.
glosses: One who drives quickly or without subtlety, one who often engages in and/or is fond of slamming and flooring the accelerator often.
examples: text: Out of the way, leadfoot!
glosses: A driver who does not compensate the throttle position of the vehicle for road conditions or terrain, invariably slowing down while going uphill and speeding up while going downhill.
Related terms: leadfooted
BMJ
Language: English
Part of speech: name
Etymology: Initialism of its former name, British Medical Journal.
Senses: glosses: The BMJ, a weekly peer-reviewed medical journal.
JFK
Language: English
Part of speech: name
Senses: examples: text: Or the company may not want the internet to be filled with Ghiblified photos of the 9/11 terror attacks, or Jeffrey Epstein hanging out with Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago, or the JFK assassination — all of which have gone viral on X.
ref: 2025 March 28, Jacob Shamsian, “Studio Ghibli has few legal options to stop OpenAI from ripping off its style”, in Business Insider, New York, N.Y.: Insider Inc., →OCLC, archived from the original on 28 Mar 2025:
topics: government
politics
glosses: Initialism of John Fitzgerald Kennedy, 35th US president (served 1961–1963).
examples: text: I flew into JFK, then took a cab to my hotel in Manhattan
text: Fortunately, most of these were former French colonies, and through a combination of quiet diplomacy and well-placed French nationals in the various air-traffic-control centers, the 300-mile-long stream of American aircraft flew the width of Africa as uneventfully as a red-eye flight from LAX to JFK.
ref: 1994, Tom Clancy, Armored Cav: A Guided Tour of an Armored Cavalry Regiment, New York: Berkley Books, →ISBN, page 281:
glosses: Buildings, facilities, ships, bridges, highways, and other public works informally known as the JFK or JFK, especially
John F. Kennedy Airport in New York City.
glosses: Buildings, facilities, ships, bridges, highways, and other public works informally known as the JFK or JFK, especially
John F. Kennedy Federal Building, Boston, MA.
examples: text: Traffic on the JFK was delayed by construction of the new bridge.
glosses: Buildings, facilities, ships, bridges, highways, and other public works informally known as the JFK or JFK, especially
John F. Kennedy Memorial Bridge, Louisville, KY.
glosses: Buildings, facilities, ships, bridges, highways, and other public works informally known as the JFK or JFK, especially
Either of two aircraft carriers of the US Navy:
USS John F. Kennedy (CV-67)
glosses: Buildings, facilities, ships, bridges, highways, and other public works informally known as the JFK or JFK, especially
Either of two aircraft carriers of the US Navy:
USS John F. Kennedy (CVN-79)
examples: text: Steubenville beat JFK, scoring in the final minute of play.
glosses: Buildings, facilities, ships, bridges, highways, and other public works informally known as the JFK or JFK, especially
Any of numerous schools in the US.
JFK
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: JFKs
Senses: synonyms: Kennedy
glosses: A half-dollar coin in honor of president John F. Kennedy.
JFK
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Forms: form: JFKs
form: JFKing
form: JFKed
form: JFKed
Senses: examples: text: I am not saying choosing McCain would necesarrily^([sic]) lead to Kerry getting JFKed but Democratic presidential runners need to be aware of the problem.
ref: 2004 April 5, JonZ, “Poll Picks McCain as Kerry's Vice President”, in alt.politics.bush (Usenet):
text: The way he is decimating the CIA will more likely get him JFKed.
ref: 2009 November 14, Eddie Haskell, “Obama resists Pentagon pressure on Afghanistan quagmire - will he be JFKed?”, in alt.fan.rush-limbaugh (Usenet):
text: If Obama tried to do the right thing he'd be JFKed. If Obama tried to live up to his promises, if he opposed the neocons and military-industrial complex ...
ref: 2010 June 20, Johnny Asia, “If Obama tried to do the right thing he'd be JFKed”, in alt.politics (Usenet):
glosses: To put to death; to assassinate, especially for political reasons.
examples: text: This may seem a little presumptious, but I feel that this group is pretty much JFKed out.
ref: 1991 April 19, Steve Feinstein, “JFK Survey”, in sci.skeptic (Usenet):
text: I'm going to give 'nobody' the benifit^([sic]) of the doubt , seeing by his own admission that he's been JFKing it for just a couple of months now .
ref: 2009 November 14, cdddraftsman, “More indications of the investigative”, in alt.assassination.jfk (Usenet):
text: The point is that the JFK world is a very polarized world, and it does not reflect the general population. In a word, JFKing can screw-up a person's head. Look at the ridiculous assertion of Robert Harris from the other day where he said that he took Ruby's shooting of Oswald as a clear sign that Oswald was guilty.
ref: 2016 August 14, Ralph Cinque, “There are two kinds of people: JFKers and non-JFKers”, in alt.assassination.jfk (Usenet):
glosses: To conduct research about the assassination of John F. Kennedy.
examples: text: (from the standard code-word remark "I'm a JFK liberal") Examples: "He's useless...he JFKed a long time ago",
ref: 2003 November 10, zepp, “The Wingnut Dictionary”, in talk.politics.misc (Usenet):
text: JFKing is symbiotically related to the "Even Some Liberals Agree" gambit, since JFKers quickly establish their roles as the reliable house liberals who provide neocons with all their even-some-liberals-agree examples.
ref: 2004 October 6, Alex, “OT / Right Wingnut Debate Dictionary”, in alt.true-crime (Usenet):
text: He could've JFKed all the overweight babes he wanted to and that's that.
ref: 2010 May 20, Bill Bonde, “evangelical Repulican quits over sex scandal”, in alt.activism.death-penalty (Usenet):
glosses: To hold similar political beliefs or behave in a similar manner to John F. Kennedy.
RTA
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: RTAs
Senses: glosses: Initialism of radio and television arts.
examples: text: There had been several RTAs that night, but the gore did not bother her, she wasn’t one to panic at the sight of a jutting bone or dislodged eye.
ref: 2023, Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀, A Spell of Good Things, Canongate Books, pages 240-241:
glosses: Initialism of road traffic accident.
topics: video-games
glosses: Initialism of real-time attack.
topics: medicine
sciences
glosses: Initialism of renal tubular acidosis.
glosses: Initialism of real-time adjudication.
RTA
Language: English
Part of speech: name
Senses: glosses: Initialism of Roads & Traffic Authority.
glosses: Initialism of Regional Transit Authority.
glosses: Initialism of Radio Television Afghanistan.
RTA
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Senses: glosses: Initialism of restricted to adults.
Related terms: DMV
MOT
icker
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: -ɪkə(ɹ)
Forms: form: ickers
Senses: glosses: A head of grain.
histolysis
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: -ɒlɪsɪs
Forms: form: histolyses
Etymology: From histo- + -lysis.
Senses: glosses: breakdown of bodily tissues
Louise
Language: English
Part of speech: name
Pronunciation: ipa: /luːˈiːz/
ipa: /ləˈwiːz/
rhymes: -iːz
Etymology: From French Louise, the feminine form of Louis.
Senses: examples: text: Louise, thy stately name sounds in my ear / Like a sea wave, that gathering, hill on hill, / Upon the blue horizon, smooth and still, / Sweeps to the shore
ref: 1890 Arthur Weir, John Arthur Lockhart: The Romance of Sir Richard. Published by William Drysdale&Co. page 83
text: That's what I baptized her. Mary Louise. Everybody else called her just plain Mary, but that wasn't the way I intended it. I intended it Mary Louise. That's a pretty name, isn't it? Mary Louise. Mary is too...plain?
ref: 1957, Ed McBain, The Con Man, Armchair Detective Library, published 1991, →ISBN, page 47:
text: I've always thought I was too large for a soft, musical name like Louise, too untidy.
ref: 1991, Emily Ellison, The Picture Makers, G.K.Hall, →ISBN, page 111:
glosses: A female given name from French.
glosses: A municipality of Manitoba, Canada.
Derived terms: Lake Louise
Related terms: Lou
Louie
Louisa
Lula
Lulu
histone
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈhɪstəʊn/
ipa: /ˈhɪstoʊn/
Forms: form: histones
Etymology: Borrowed from German Histon, perhaps from Ancient Greek ἵστημι (hístēmi, “make stand”) or ἱστός (histós, “loom”).
Senses: topics: biochemistry
biology
chemistry
microbiology
natural-sciences
physical-sciences
glosses: Any of various simple water-soluble proteins that are rich in the basic amino acids lysine and arginine and are complexed with DNA in the nucleosomes of eukaryotic chromatin.
Derived terms: antihistone
histone deacetylase
macrohistone
nonhistone
nucleohistone
oncohistone
phosphohistone
garage sale
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: garage sales
Etymology: From garage + sale.
Senses: glosses: A sale of used household goods in the driveway or garage of someone's home.
Related terms: estate sale
flea market
jumble sale
rummage sale
tag sale
yard sale
histaminase
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: histaminases
Etymology: From histamine + -ase.
Senses: examples: text: We suggest, however, that the substance, or system, which produces a change in structure responsible for the loss of physiological activity of histamine be designated histaminase.
ref: 1930 December 4, C. H. Best, E. W. McHenry, “The inactivation of histamine”, in The Journal of Physiology:
topics: biochemistry
biology
chemistry
microbiology
natural-sciences
physical-sciences
glosses: A widely occurring flavoprotein enzyme that oxidizes histamine and various diamines.
histamine
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈhɪstəmiːn/
Forms: form: histamines
form: histamin
Etymology: From hist(idine) + -amine.
Senses: examples: text: Mellanby and Twort have isolated from the fæces a bacillus which is able to produce from one of the amino acids normally formed in digestion of proteins a highly active body, histamine.
ref: 1913 June 1, Henderson VE, “Res Judicatae: On the Colon and Ileocolotomy”, in The Canadian Medical Association Journal, volume 3, number 6, page 521:
text: The intake of food triggers a release of histamine, which activates the acid-secreting cells.
ref: 2001, Leslie Iversen, Drugs: A Very Short Introduction, Oxford, page 46:
text: In a strongly ripened cheese, the casein proteins are broken down to amino acids, and the amino acids can be broken down into amines, small molecules that can serve as chemical signals in the human body. Histamine and tyramine are found in large quantities in Cheddar, blue, Swiss, and Dutch-style cheeses, and can cause a rise in blood pressure, headaches, and rashes in people who are especially sensitive to them.
ref: 2004, Harold McGee, chapter 1, in On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen, Scribner, →ISBN:
topics: biochemistry
biology
chemistry
microbiology
natural-sciences
physical-sciences
glosses: An amine, C₅H₉N₃, formed by decarboxylation of histidine, that causes dilatation of capillaries, contraction of smooth muscle, and stimulation of gastric acid secretion; it is released during allergic reactions.
Derived terms: antihistamine
histaminase
histaminergic
histaminic
methylhistamine
histidine
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: histidines
form: histidin
Etymology: From histo- + -idine.
Senses: topics: biochemistry
biology
chemistry
microbiology
natural-sciences
physical-sciences
glosses: An essential amino acid C₆H₉N₃O₂ found in most animal proteins; essential for tissue growth and repair.
Derived terms: decahistidine
dodecahistidine
hexahistidine
histamine
histidinase
histidinate
histidinemia
histidinium
histidinuria
histidyl
mercaptohistidine
methylhistidine
octahistidine
oligohistidine
pentahistidine
phosphohistidine
polyhistidine
hydrolysis
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /haɪˈdɹɒlɪsɪs/
ipa: /haɪˈdɹɑləsəs/
rhymes: -ɒlɪsɪs
Forms: form: hydrolyses
Etymology: From hydro- + -lysis.
Senses: topics: chemistry
natural-sciences
physical-sciences
glosses: A chemical process of decomposition involving the splitting of a bond and the addition of the hydrogen cation and the hydroxide anion of water.
Derived terms: alkaline hydrolysis
amidohydrolysis
autohydrolysis
electrohydrolysis
endohydrolysis
glycohydrolysis
hydrolase
hydrolysate
lysergic
perhydrolysis
phosphohydrolysis
photohydrolysis
prehydrolysis
thermohydrolysis
Related terms: hydrolytic
hydrolyze
cation
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: enpr: kătʹ-ī-ən
ipa: /ˈkætˌaɪ.ən/
ipa: /ˈkætˌaɪ.ɑn/
Forms: form: cations
Etymology: Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek κᾰτῐόν (kătĭón), neuter present participle of κᾰ́τειμῐ (kắteimĭ, “to go down, come down”), from κᾰτᾰ- (kătă-, “downwards, down, cata-”) + εἶμῐ (eîmĭ, “to go, come”). Coined by English polymath William Whewell in 1834 for Michael Faraday, who introduced it later that year. By surface analysis, cat(a)- + ion.
Senses: topics: chemistry
natural-sciences
physical-sciences
antonyms: anion
hypernyms: ion
glosses: A positively charged ion: one that would be attracted to the cathode in electrolysis.
wikipedia: Michael Faraday
Derived terms: bication
borocation
carbocation
cation exchange
cationic
cationization
cationize
cationoid
cationotropic
cationotropy
cation-π
countercation
dication
hexacation
monocation
organocation
pentacation
polycation
radical cation
supercation
tetracation
trication
cathode
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈkæθ.oʊd/
note: Indic
ipa: /kæt̪ʰoɖ/
Forms: form: cathodes
form: kathode
Etymology: From Ancient Greek κατα- (kata-, “down”) and ὁδός (hodós, “journey, way”), equivalent to Ancient Greek κάθοδος (káthodos, “way down, descent”). Coined by English polymath William Whewell in 1834 for Michael Faraday, who introduced it later that year. By surface analysis, cath- (alternative form of cata-) + -ode.
Senses: topics: business
electrical-engineering
electricity
electromagnetism
energy
engineering
natural-sciences
physical-sciences
physics
glosses: An electrode, of a cell or other electrically polarized device, through which a positive current of electricity flows outwards (and thus, electrons flow inwards). It can have either a negative or a positive voltage with respect to anode of the same polarized device (depending on whether the device is a load or a source, respectively).
glosses: The electrode at which chemical reduction of cations takes place, usually resulting in the deposition of metal onto the electrode.
topics: business
electrical-engineering
electricity
electromagnetism
electronics
energy
engineering
natural-sciences
physical-sciences
physics
glosses: The electrode from which electrons are emitted into a vacuum tube or gas-filled tube.
topics: business
electrical-engineering
electricity
electromagnetism
electronics
energy
engineering
natural-sciences
physical-sciences
physics
glosses: That electrode of a semiconductor device which is connected to the n-type material of a p-n junction.
Derived terms: anticathode
biocathode
cascode
cathodal
cathode dark space
cathode ray
cathode-ray tube
cathodic
cathodograph
cathodoluminescence
cathodoluminescent
catholyte
cold cathode
hot cathode
microcathode
multicathode
photocathode
Related terms: cation
hatch, match and despatch
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Senses: glosses: Alternative form of hatch, match, and dispatch.
fall through the cracks
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Forms: form: falls through the cracks
form: falling through the cracks
form: fell through the cracks
form: fallen through the cracks
Senses: examples: text: Although more than two decades have passed, not a day goes by that I don't wonder how things could and should be different for the many children like Lydia who fall through the cracks because they are misdiagnosed, mistreated, or simply misunderstood.
ref: 2008, Kari Dunn Buron, Pamela J. Wolfberg, Learners on the Autism Spectrum: Preparing Highly Qualified Educators:
glosses: To be missed; to escape the necessary notice or attention.
IHS
Language: English
Part of speech: name
Senses: qualifier: institute
glosses: Initialism of Institute for Human Studies.
qualifier: institute
glosses: Initialism of Institute for Humanist Studies.
qualifier: service
glosses: Initialism of Indian Health Service, a US health agency.
topics: Christianity
synonyms: IHC
JHC
JHS
YHS
glosses: Monogram of ΙΗϹΟYϹ (IĒSOYS), the Greek form of Jesus.
crack up
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈkɹæk ˈʌp/
Forms: form: more crack up
form: most crack up
Senses: examples: text: That joke was crack up.
text: "It was crack up!"
ref: 2017 April 23, “McDonald's say 'neigh' to horses through the drive-thru”, in Stuff:
text: In town people would stop and say to me, “Hey Becky, that cat story was crack up.”
ref: 2020 April 20, “The curious case of a fictional spa in Westport”, in Newsroom:
text: One person said it was "crack up", while the woman who uploaded it said "I'm a do it again (sic)".
ref: 2020 June 5, “Police looking into footage of woman twerking on Auckland Harbour Bridge”, in Newshub, archived from the original on 20 Sep 2020:
glosses: Funny; hilarious
all it's cracked up to be
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Senses: examples: text: This expensive software is not all it's cracked up to be. It still has a lot of problems.
text: Association executives visit one of the world's most glamorous cities and find that it's all it's cracked up to be.
ref: 1977, Meetings and Conventions - Volume 12, page 149:
text: Love is everything its cracked up to be.
ref: 2015, Heidi Jacobsen, Sunburnt: Life In The Sun:
text: She thinks the Abbeyfield idea sounds great. Let's hope it's all it's cracked up to be.
ref: 2016, Dorothy Simpson, Once Too Often:
glosses: As good as claims or reputation would suggest.
writing on the wall
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈɹaɪtɪŋ ɒn ðə ˈwɔːl/
ipa: /ˈɹaɪtɪŋ ɑn ðə ˈwɔl/
ipa: [ˈɹaɪ̯ɾɪŋ]
Forms: form: writings on the wall
form: writings on walls
form: handwriting on the wall
Etymology: From the Biblical story in Daniel 5, where, during a feast held by King Belshazzar, a hand suddenly appears and writes on a wall the following Aramaic words: מְנֵא מְנֵא תְּקֵל וּפַרְסִין (mənē mənē təqēl ūp̄arsīn, “numbered, numbered, weighed, and they are divided”) (Daniel 5:25). Daniel interprets the words as pointing to the downfall of the Babylonian Empire.
Senses: examples: text: He could see the writing on the wall months before the business failed.
text: However, regardless of evil portents, prophetic despair and a great deal too much writing on the wall, I have managed so far to write two fairly cheerful musical comedies.
ref: 1965, Noël Coward, “Note on ‘The Sixties’”, in The Lyrics, London: William Heinemann, →OCLC, page 361:
text: The Portuguese refused to read the writings on the wall and clung to their colonies, including the one in India.
ref: 2011, M. P. Prabhakaran, “Goa was Not a Settler Colony as Falkland is”, in Letters on India The New York Times Did Not Publish, Pittsburgh, Pa.: RoseDog Books, →ISBN, page 43:
text: Without a doubt these trends represent the "next big thing". Consider a sampling of recent headlines as writings on the wall: […]
ref: 2012, Jan Nederveen Pieterse, “Global Rebalancing: Crisis and the East-South Turn”, in Jan Nederveen Pieterse, Jongtae Kim, editors, Globalization and Development in East Asia (Routledge Studies in Emerging Societies; 2), New York, N.Y.; Abingdon, Oxon.: Routledge, →ISBN, page 36:
text: Don't you see the implications and writings on the wall for our family's future?
ref: 2014, Daniel Carnahan, The Manipulator, [Bloomington, Ind.]: Trafford Publishing, →ISBN, page 594:
text: It gets to the point to where you see so much writing on the wall where we may not have a choice but to step in and say 'yes, you will train every year and you'll report that training to POST' in order for things to be done right.
ref: 2014 September 15, Rhonda Cook, “Regulator may push for state-mandated Taser training”, in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, archived from the original on 25 Oct 2016:
text: As a railwayman put it to me: "When I saw chums of mine took their families down there by car, I could see the writing on the wall. We all had free passes, yet they got the car out!"
ref: 2022 February 23, Benedict le Vay, “Part of rail's past... present... and future”, in RAIL, number 951, pages 53–54:
glosses: An ominous warning; a prediction of bad luck.
wikipedia: Belshazzar
National Gallery
Rembrandt
Related terms: the writing is on the wall
urgent
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈɜː.d͡ʒənt/
ipa: /ˈɝ.d͡ʒənt/
rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)dʒənt
Forms: form: more urgent
form: most urgent
Etymology: Borrowed from Middle French urgent (“pressing, impelling”), from Latin urgēns, from urgēre (“to press”), from Proto-Indo-European *werǵʰ- (“bind, squeeze”). Equivalent to urge + -ent. Related to German würgen (“to strangle”), Lithuanian ver̃žti (“to string, tighten, constrict”), Russian (poetic) отверза́ть (otverzátʹ, “to open”, literally “to untie”), Polish otwierać (“to open”)) and English worry, wring, wreak, wreck.
Senses: examples: text: An urgent appeal was sent out for assistance.
synonyms: pressing
needly
clamant
glosses: Requiring immediate attention.
examples: text: The Egyptians were vrgent vpon the people that they might send them out of the land in haste.
ref: 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Exodus XII::
text: My kind friends here are most affectionately urgent with me to prolong my stay […].
ref: c. 1794, Jane Austen, “[Lady Susan.]”, in J[ames] E[dward] Austen[-]Leigh, A Memoir of Jane Austen: […] to which is Added Lady Susan and Fragments of Two Other Unfinished Tales by Miss Austen, 2nd edition, London: Richard Bentley and Son, […], published 1871, →OCLC:
glosses: Of people: insistent, solicitous.
Synonyms: word: acute
word: bad
word: clamant
word: crying
word: dire
word: exigent
word: imperious
word: instant
word: rash
word: severe
word: pressing
word: pressive
word: urgent
Hyponyms: word: importunate
Derived terms: nonurgent
urgency
urgent care
urgently
Related terms: urge
toy-boy
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: toy-boys
Senses: glosses: Alternative form of toyboy.
MRSA
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈɛm.ɑːɹ.ɛs.eɪ/
ipa: /ˈɛm.ɑɹ.ɛs.eɪ/
ipa: /ˈmɝsə/
Forms: form: MRSAs
Senses: topics: biology
medicine
microbiology
natural-sciences
sciences
glosses: Initialism of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus; a bacterium responsible for serious infections.
Hyponyms: CA-MRSA
HA-MRSA
Related terms: MRSE
MSSA
ORSA
VRE
VRSA
air rifle
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: air rifles
Senses: hypernyms: air gun
coordinate_terms: air pistol
pellet gun
glosses: A rifle that propels a pellet or other projectile by using compressed gas, rather than an explosion of gunpowder or other means.
Related terms: airsoft
borstal
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: borstals
form: bostal
Etymology: Inherited from Middle English *borstile, *borghstile, from Old English beorh (“a hill”) + stigel (“a stile”).
The institutions are named after Borstal Prison in Borstal, Rochester, Kent, England.
Senses: glosses: A way up a hill in the South Downs.
synonyms: reformatory
glosses: Any of the prisons set up in Britain for delinquent boys from 1895 to 1983.
examples: text: You have juvenile courts. Do you have borstal institutions for juveniles?
ref: 2004, August 3, Speaker of the Kenyan National Assembly, Kenya National Assembly Official Record, Hansard, page 3126
text: Seven years ago, I was sent to borstal. Slithering around in the societal sludge, I was forced to admit I'd made a huge mistake – committing robbery.
ref: 2011 November 7, Paris Lees, “My Transsexual Summer: a new view of gender”, in The Guardian:
glosses: Any institution which provides education to young offenders.
Derived terms: Borstalian
borstal training
chaps
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /t͡ʃæps/
rhymes: -æps
Etymology: From chap.
Senses: glosses: plural of chap
chaps
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /t͡ʃæps/
rhymes: -æps
Etymology: From chap.
Senses: glosses: third-person singular simple present indicative of chap
chaps
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /t͡ʃæps/
rhymes: -æps
ipa: /ʃæps/
ipa: /t͡ʃæps/
rhymes: -æps
Etymology: Short for American Spanish chaparreras or chaparejos. Related to chaparejos and chaparral.
Senses: examples: text: If you are going to use that chainsaw, why don't you put on a pair of chaps?
text: Chaps were a costume staple of Westerns.
glosses: Protective leather leggings attached at the waist.
examples: text: 'Mundy also points out mass of hornn, scarred faces, long chaps (unless in brushy country and the thick vegetation might pull out chap hair), and scars on the sides of the ram from his long horns rubbing away the hair as good signs that you've found a respectable shooter amongst the many.
ref: 2025 August 24, Shane Jann, “Analyzing aoudads”, in Texas Outdoors, pages 32–32:
glosses: The shaggy hair on male aoudads (barbary sheep) that extends from the throat and chest sometimes covering each leg.
Derived terms: Bath chaps
Related terms: chinks
woolies
ICBM
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: ICBMs
Senses: examples: text: Just sing out a Te Deum / When you see that ICBM / And the party will be come-as-you-are
ref: 1959, “We Will All Go Together When We Go”, in Tom Lehrer (music), An Evening Wasted with Tom Lehrer, performed by Tom Lehrer:
text: Iraq could test a North Korean-type ICBM that could deliver a several-hundred-kilogram payload to the United States in the last half of the next decade [the decade beginning with calendar year 2000] depending on the level of foreign assistance.
ref: 2002, Alexander T. Lennon, Contemporary Nuclear Debates: Missile Defense, Arms Control, and Arms Races in the Twenty-first Century, MIT Press, →ISBN:
topics: engineering
government
military
natural-sciences
physical-sciences
politics
tools
war
weaponry
glosses: Initialism of intercontinental ballistic missile.
Synonyms: IBM
Coordinate terms: ABM
SLBM
LRBM
IRBM
MRBM
SRBM
lager lout
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: lager louts
Senses: glosses: A person (especially a young male) who behaves in a violent manner when drunk.
Derived terms: Lycra lout
Saga lout
Saga lout
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: Saga louts
Etymology: A parody of lager lout. Saga is a company that specialises in holidays for older people.
Senses: glosses: An older unruly tourist on holiday in the Mediterranean area.
Barmy Army
Language: English
Part of speech: name
Forms: form: the Barmy Army
Etymology: An English football chant, in which supporters of a team would chant that they were the team manager's "barmy army", was applied to a particularly "barmy" group of supporters who followed the English cricket team to Australia in 1994–95 despite the team being seen as having little prospect of success.
The origin of "Barmy Army" was based on a soubriquet by Leeds United supporters for Howard Wilkinson, the team manager during the late eighties and early nineties. He was known as Sergeant Wilko - a skit on Sergeant Bilko, a well known comedy character portrayed by Phil Silvers a couple of decades earlier, but still at the time on TV. Sergeant Bilko's army became Sergeant Wilko's army, the barmy bit was added because it's Yorkshire and it makes a good chant. It was picked up by other teams, whereupon the Sergeant Wilko bit was dropped. Then by cricket people. The tune is the same though.
Senses: topics: ball-games
cricket
games
hobbies
lifestyle
sports
glosses: An organised group of cricket fans which arranges touring parties of its members to follow the English cricket team on all of its overseas tours.
examples: text: The Barmy Army burst into life, and the sheer numbers of those supporting the Three Lions became evident as the stadium bowl vibrated in tune with their chants.
ref: 2022 November 29, Ian Mitchelmore, “Wales put out of World Cup misery by England as sobering tournament must signal changing of the guard”, in WalesOnline:
glosses: The England supporters in other sports, for example those of the England national football team.
organise
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Forms: form: organises
form: organising
form: organised
form: organised
form: organize
Etymology: From Middle French organiser.
Senses: examples: text: The Lancashire Tradesmen's Association organises craftsmen, semi-skilled and unskilled workmen on the surface other than the manipulators of coal, enginemen, boilermen and locomen; it also organises skilled craftsmen underground, although some craftsmen are organised by the Lancashire Area, which seeks to organise all underground workers including craftsmen.
ref: 1948, Report of the National Executive Committee [to The] Annual Conference, National Union of Mineworkers:
text: To celebrate the centenary next month of the opening of the first section (Forest Gate to Tilbury) of the former London, Tilbury & Southend Railway, the Stephenson Locomotive Society is organising a special rail tour over that route and other lesser-known L.T.S.R. lines.
ref: 1954 March, “Notes and News: S.L.S. Tour of Tilbury Lines”, in Railway Magazine, page 215:
text: Western Europe represented 20 per cent of the world's market. 'Listen, guys, go organic! I'll take care of both the shipping arrangements and la douane, the customs. I'll organise the transport of the little cutesters from South Africa […]
ref: 2011, Carol Drinkwater, Return to the Olive Farm:
text: The case reported here illustrates two rare causes of CVT observed in the same patient: the presence of antiphospholipid antibodies associated with an asymptomatic cryptogenic organising pneumopathy (COP) which were considered the origin of the venous cerebral thrombosis and heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT) which was responsible for the worsening of the thrombosis observed a few days after the introduction of treatment.
ref: 2013 July 9, J Hsieh et al., “Cerebral venous thrombosis due to cryptogenic organising pneumopathy with antiphospholipid syndrome worsened by heparin-induced thrombocytopenia”, in BMJ Case Reports, volume 2013, →DOI:
text: The yawning gap in neuroscientists’ understanding of their topic is in the intermediate scale of the brain’s anatomy. Science has a passable knowledge of how individual nerve cells, known as neurons, work. It also knows which visible lobes and ganglia of the brain do what. But how the neurons are organised in these lobes and ganglia remains obscure.
ref: 2013 August 3, “The machine of a new soul”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8847:
glosses: Non-Oxford British standard spelling of organize.
Derived terms: organisation
organised crime
organiser
re-organise
Dear John letter
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: Dear John letters
Etymology: While the exact origins of the phrase are unknown, it is commonly believed to have been invented by Americans during World War II. Large numbers of American troops were stationed overseas for many months or years, and as time passed many of their wives or girlfriends decided to begin a relationship with a new man rather than wait for their former one to return. As letters to servicemen from wives or girlfriends back home would typically contain affectionate language, a serviceman receiving a note beginning with a curt "Dear John" (as opposed to the expected "Dear Johnny", "My dearest John" or simply "Darling" for example) would instantly be aware of the letter's purpose. There are a number of theories on why the name John is used rather than any other. For starters, John was a common name in America at the time. John is also the name used in many other terms that refer to an anonymous man or men, such as John Doe or John Q. Public. Further, there existed prior to World War II a radio program starring Irene Rich which was presented as a letter written by a gossipy female character to her never-identified romantic interest. It was both titled and opened with the words "Dear John", and may have contributed to the genesis of the term.
Senses: examples: text: Thirty years later in Vietnam, he was still carrying the Dear John letter he had received from his high-school sweetheart.
text: Dear John / Dear John / By the time you read these lines, I'll be gone / Life goes on / right or wrong / Now it's all been said and done, dear John / Seems we've sung love's last song, dear John / Seems we've sung love's last song, poor John / Seems we've sung love's last song, dear John
ref: 1988, John Sullivan, “Dear John”, in Dear John (American TV series), performed by Wendy Talbot:
synonyms: Dear John
coordinate_terms: Dear Jane letter
glosses: A letter from a wife or girlfriend to her husband or boyfriend, informing that the relationship is over, often because the writer has initiated a relationship with someone else.
sentry
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: enpr: sĕnʹtrē
ipa: /ˈsɛn.tɹi/
rhymes: -ɛntɹi
homophone: century stripped-by-parse_pron_post_template_fn
Forms: form: sentries
form: centry
form: sentrie
form: sentery
Etymology: From earlier sentrie, sentery, of uncertain origin. Perhaps an alteration of sentinel or sanctuary; or perhaps from Old French senteret (“a path”), diminutive of sentier, from Medieval Latin semitarius (“a path”).
Senses: examples: text: Additional sentries are keeping watch for any signs of an ambush.
ref: 2019, Maaza Mengiste, The Shadow King, Canongate Books (2020), page 213:
glosses: A guard, particularly on duty at the entrance to a military base.
glosses: Sentry duty; time spent being a sentry.
topics: nautical
transport
glosses: A form of drag to be towed underwater, which on striking bottom is upset and rises to the surface.
glosses: A watchtower.
glosses: An animal like a marmot tasked with alerting the pack to danger.
Synonyms: sense: nautical drag
word: kite
Derived terms: sentry-box
sentry-go
sentry post
stand sentry
Related terms: sentinel
G8
Language: English
Part of speech: name
Etymology: Abbreviation of Group of Eight (nations).
Senses: examples: text: The G8 leaders also called on multinationals to make a full disclosure to the taxman over how much tax they pay in different countries.
ref: 2013 June 22, “T time”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8841, archived from the original on 27 Oct 2020, page 68:
topics: government
politics
glosses: The eight leading industrialized nations: Germany, Canada, the United States, France, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and Russia.
glosses: The former annual meeting of their leaders (prior to Russia's 2014 expulsion from the group).
Coordinate terms: G2
G20
G5
G6
G7
G7+1