cstr/en-wiktionary-extracted-all huggingface dataset:
ahead
Language: English
Part of speech: adv
Pronunciation: ipa: /əˈhɛd/
rhymes: -ɛd
Etymology: From a- + head. Perhaps originally a nautical term, "beyond the head (of a ship)", then drifting into more general English usage where it is used to describe something as being "in front of".
Senses: examples: text: The island was directly ahead.
text: Just ahead you can see the cliffs.
text: Keep going straight ahead.
glosses: At or towards the front; in the direction one is facing or moving.
examples: text: He finished two laps ahead of me.
text: In all of his classes Jack was ahead.
glosses: So as to be further advanced, either spatially or in an abstract sense; to be superior.
examples: text: There may be tough times ahead.
text: You've got to think ahead so as not to be unprepared.
glosses: In or for the future.
examples: text: Set the clock ahead an hour.
text: Push the deadline ahead a day, from the 20th to the 21st.
text: Then the customer would set a rebidding deadline ahead a month - for example from September 1 to October 1 - and give everybody four weeks to submit […]
ref: 1995, Charles Edward Weber, Stories of Virtue in Business, University Press of America, →ISBN, page 55:
text: When we saw that wasn't working in 1976, we moved the deadline ahead to 1978.
ref: 1998, United States House Committee on Agriculture, Subcommittee on Department Operations, Nutrition, and Foreign Agriculture, Implementation of the Food Quality Protection Act: Hearing Before the Subcommittee on Department Operations, Nutrition, and Foreign Agriculture of the Committee on Agriculture, House of Representatives, One Hundred Fifth Congress, Second Session, June 25, 1998, page 46:
glosses: To a later time.
examples: text: He paid his rent ahead.
glosses: At an earlier time; beforehand; in advance.
examples: text: Push the deadline ahead a day, from the 21st to the 20th.
text: […] committees in Congress hae a March 15 deadline for reporting their "views and estimates" to the budget committees. The Senate Republican leadership, eager to get a jump on the annual budget process, moved the deadline ahead to March 1 for Senate committees.
ref: 1985, Congressional Quarterly Weekly Report, volume 43, page 606:
text: […] the Department is responding to the statutory requirement in the USA Patriot Act that moved the deadline ahead to 2003 from 2007.
ref: 2003, United States House Committee on Government Reform, Smooth Sailing Or an Impending Wreck?: The Impact of New Visa and Passport Requirements on Foreign Travel to the United States : Hearing Before the Committee on Government Reform, House of Representatives, One Hundred Eighth Congress, First Session, July 10, 2003, page 113:
glosses: To an earlier time.
Hyponyms: straight ahead
Derived terms: aheadness
ahead of time
bound ahead
call ahead
draw ahead
epub ahead of print
freeze-ahead
go-ahead
have one's whole life ahead of one
leap ahead
lie ahead
line ahead
loom ahead
nudge ahead
one jump ahead
phone ahead
plan ahead
power ahead
prepare ahead
quit when one is ahead
radio ahead
readahead
roar ahead
set ahead
spoiler ahead
typeahead
Related terms: ahead of
aid
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /eɪd/
rhymes: -eɪd
homophone: aide
Forms: form: aids
form: aiding
form: aided
form: aided
Etymology: From Middle English aiden, from Old French eider, aider, aidier, from Latin adiuto, frequentative of adiuvō (“assist”, verb).
Senses: examples: text: You speedy helpers […] Appear and aid me in this enterprise.
ref: 1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The First Part of Henry the Sixt”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene iii]:
text: Smith is aided in his quest by an elfin, time-jumping alien with psychic powers played by another Coen brothers veteran, A Serious Man star Michael Stuhlbarg.
ref: 2012 May 24, Nathan Rabin, “Film: Reviews: Men In Black 3”, in The Onion AV Club:
glosses: To provide support to; to further the progress of; to help; to assist.
examples: text: Rather than climb into a bottomless off-width crack, we aided an 80-foot A2 to A3 crack to the top of a pedestal. By very tenuous face climbing, we gained entry to the crack, which we followed to a tree beneath the big chimney.
ref: 1979, American Alpine Journal, page 193:
topics: climbing
hobbies
lifestyle
sports
glosses: To climb with the use of aids such as pitons.
Synonyms: assist
befriend
bestand
cooperate
help
promote
relieve
succor
succour
support
sustain
serve
Derived terms: aidable
aidance
aid and abet
aider
nonaided
unaided
unaiding
underaid
Related terms: aidant
aide-de-camp
aim
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /eɪm/
rhymes: -eɪm
Forms: form: aims
Etymology: The verb is from Middle English amen, aimen, eimen (“to guess at, to estimate, to aim”), borrowed from Old French esmer, aesmer, asmer, from Latin ad- plus aestimare (“to estimate”), the compound perhaps being originally formed in Medieval Latin (adaestimare), perhaps in Old French.
The noun is from Middle English ame, from Old French aesme, esme.
Senses: examples: text: to take aim
text: Take time with the aim of your gun.
text: 2012, "The Legend of the Gobblewonker", season 1, episode 2 of Gravity Falls, spoken by Grunkle Stan, voiced by Alex Hirsch
My ex-wife still misses me, but her aim is getting better!
glosses: The pointing of a weapon, as a gun, a dart, or an arrow, or object, in the line of direction with the object intended to be struck; the line of fire; the direction of anything, such as a spear, a blow, a discourse, a remark, towards a particular point or object, with a view to strike or affect it.
glosses: The point intended to be hit, or object intended to be attained or affected.
examples: text: My number one aim in life is to make money to make my parents, siblings, and kids happy.
text: There is no doubt at all that this is the future of machinery, and just as trees grow while the country gentleman is asleep, so while Humanity will be amusing itself, or enjoying cultivated leisure—which, and not labour, is the aim of man—or making beautiful things, or reading beautiful things, or simply contemplating the world with admiration and delight, machinery will be doing all the necessary and unpleasant work.
ref: 1891 February, Oscar Wilde, “The Soul of Man Under Socialism”, in The Fortnightly Review, volume 49, number 290, page 303:
text: As a matter of fact the Enlightment culture was based on a philosophy inspired to an ethical laicism whose aim was to create a better society based on principles such as solidarity, equality of rights and duties, and full freedom.
ref: 2012, Francesca Valensise, From Building Fabric to City Form: Reconstruction in Calabria at end of Eighteenth Century, Gangemi Editore spa, →ISBN, page 8:
synonyms: purpose
design
scheme
glosses: Intention or goal.
examples: text: The police officer has excellent aim, always hitting the bullseye in shooting practice.
text: He has a bad aim, so he decided to join archery classes.
glosses: The ability of someone to aim straight; one’s faculty for being able to hit a physical target.
examples: text: What you would work me to, I have some aim.
ref: 1599 (first performance), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Iulius Cæsar”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene ii]:
glosses: Conjecture; guess.
Synonyms: sense: intention
word: aspiration
word: design
word: end
word: ettle
word: intention
word: mint
word: object
word: purpose
word: scheme
word: scope
word: tendency
Derived terms: aim assist
aimbot
aim-crier
aimful
aimless
aimpoint
aimworthy
cry aim
take aim
aim
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /eɪm/
rhymes: -eɪm
Forms: form: aims
form: aiming
form: aimed
form: aimed
Etymology: The verb is from Middle English amen, aimen, eimen (“to guess at, to estimate, to aim”), borrowed from Old French esmer, aesmer, asmer, from Latin ad- plus aestimare (“to estimate”), the compound perhaps being originally formed in Medieval Latin (adaestimare), perhaps in Old French.
The noun is from Middle English ame, from Old French aesme, esme.
Senses: examples: text: He aimed at the target, but the arrow flew straight over it.
text: He aimed the gun at him and he held his hands up in surrender.
glosses: To point or direct a missile, or a weapon which propels as missile, towards an object or spot with the intent of hitting it
examples: text: to aim at a pass
text: to aim to do well in life
text: The stories did not seem to me to touch life. They were plainly intended to have a bracing moral effect, and perhaps had this result for the people at whom they were aimed.
ref: 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter I, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:
text: Risk is everywhere.[…]For each one there is a frighteningly precise measurement of just how likely it is to jump from the shadows and get you. “The Norm Chronicles”[…]aims to help data-phobes find their way through this blizzard of risks.
ref: 2013 June 22, “Snakes and ladders”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8841, page 76:
glosses: To direct the intention or purpose; to attempt the accomplishment of a purpose; to try to gain; to endeavor;—followed by at, or by an infinitive
examples: text: to aim an arrow at the deer
text: She aimed a punch at her ex-boyfriend.
glosses: To direct or point (e.g. a weapon), at a particular object; to direct, as a missile, an act, or a proceeding, at, to, or against an object
examples: text: to aim a satirical comment at Communists in general
glosses: To direct (something verbal) towards a certain person, thing, or group
examples: text: But, good my lord, do it so cunningly / That my discovery be not aimed at;
ref: c. 1589–1593, William Shakespeare, The Two Gentlemen of Verona, act 3, scene 1, lines 44–45:
glosses: To guess or conjecture.
Derived terms: aimable
aim at
aimer
aim for
aim for the sky
aim for the stars
aim high
misaim
ready
fire!
reaim
unaiming
aim
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /eɪm/
rhymes: -eɪm
Senses: glosses: Initialism of America Online AIM; AOL Instant Messenger.
duration
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /dʒʊˈɹeɪʃn̩/
ipa: /djʊˈɹeɪʃn̩/
ipa: /dəˈɹeɪʃn̩/
ipa: /djəˈɹeɪʃn̩/
rhymes: -eɪʃən
Forms: form: durations
Etymology: From Middle English duracioun, from late Old French duracion, from Medieval Latin dūrātiō.
Senses: examples: text: The duration of the flight will be about 2 hours 45 minutes.
text: She was moaning for the entire duration of the advert break.
text: To make matters worse, we pass through a torrential rainstorm, which makes window-gazing almost impossible, leaving me glad that the trip is less than 30 minutes duration.
ref: 2022 November 16, Paul Bigland, “From rural branches to high-speed arteries”, in RAIL, number 970, page 55:
glosses: An amount of time or a particular time interval.
examples: text: Rationing will last at least for the duration.
glosses: The time taken for the current situation to end, especially the current war.
raw_tags: not followed by "of"
topics: business
finance
glosses: A measure of the sensitivity of the price of a financial asset to changes in interest rates, computed for a simple bond as a weighted average of the maturities of the interest and principal payments associated with it.
Derived terms: durational
durationless
durative
Related terms: urls: https://www.dictionary.com/browse/duration
word: in
urls: https://www.dictionary.com/browse/duration
word: Dictionary.com, LLC
urls: https://www.dictionary.com/browse/duration
word: 1995–present
aimless
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈeɪm.ləs/
rhymes: -eɪmləs
Forms: form: more aimless
form: most aimless
Etymology: From aim + -less.
Senses: examples: text: an aimless life
text: In the first few days of the fourth stage the lobsterlings are good swimmers — this is their "redeeming vice" — but the swimming is strong and bears no comparison to the aimless drifting movement characteristic of larval stages.
ref: 1910, Albert Davis Mead, A method of lobster culture:
glosses: Without aim, purpose, or direction.
Derived terms: aimlessly
aimlessness
rhythm
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈɹɪð.m̩/
rhymes: -ɪðəm
Forms: form: rhythms
Etymology: First coined in 1557, from Latin rhythmus, from Ancient Greek ῥυθμός (rhuthmós, “any measured flow or movement, symmetry, rhythm”), from ῥέω (rhéō, “I flow, run, stream, gush”).
Senses: examples: text: Dance to the rhythm of the music.
text: Hicks is both thwarter and thwartee of Daedalean plots. Aboard a train, the rhythm of the wheels sounds to him like "wottachump, wottachump, wottachump."
ref: 2025 October 2, Dwight Garner, “Book Review: 'Shadow Ticket,' by Thomas Pynchon”, in The New York Times Book Review, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 07 Oct 2025:
glosses: The variation of strong and weak elements (such as duration, accent) of sounds, notably in speech or music, over time; a beat or meter.
examples: text: Most dances have a rhythm as distinctive as the Iambic verse in poetry
glosses: A specifically defined pattern of such variation.
examples: text: Once you get the rhythm of it, the job will become easy.
glosses: A flow, repetition or regularity.
examples: text: We walked with a quick, even rhythm.
text: If you hum or whistle the rhythm of the common English metres,— of the decasyllabic quatrain, or the octosyllabic with alternate sexisyllabic, or other rhythms, […]
ref: 1872, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Poetry and Imagination:
text: Bigeminous rhythm was followed by bursts of extrasystoles.
ref: 1967, Proceedings of the Society for Experimental Biology and Medicine, New York:
glosses: The tempo or speed of a beat, song or repetitive event.
examples: text: The Baroque term basso continuo is virtually equivalent to rhythm
glosses: The musical instruments which provide rhythm (mainly; not or less melody) in a musical ensemble.
examples: text: The rhythm of the seasons dominates agriculture as well as wildlife
glosses: A regular quantitative change in a variable (notably natural) process.
examples: text: The running gag is a popular rhythm in motion pictures and theater comedy
glosses: Controlled repetition of a phrase, incident or other element as a stylistic figure in literature and other narrative arts; the effect it creates.
examples: text: That girl's got rhythm, watch her dance!
text: I'm never gonna dance again / Guilty feet have got no rhythm
ref: 1984, George Michael, Andrew Ridgeley, “Careless Whisper”:
glosses: A person's natural feeling for rhythm.
Synonyms: word: meter
word: metre
word: prosody
sense: instruments providing rhythm
word: rhythm section
Derived terms: alpha rhythm
battle rhythm
biorhythm
circadian rhythm
counterrhythm
cross-rhythm
dysrhythmia
escape rhythm
homorhythm
isorhythm
Lombardic rhythm
Lombard rhythm
plagiarhythm
polyrhythm
poly-rhythm
rhythmal
rhythm and blues
rhythm and grime
rhythm band
rhythm box
rhythmed
rhythmer
rhythm game
rhythm guitar
rhythmic
rhythmical
rhythming
rhythmise
rhythmite
rhythmless
rhythm method
rhythmogenetic
rhythmology
rhythmometer
rhythm pole
rhythm royal
rhythm stick
sinus rhythm
tachyrhythmia
theta rhythm
Related terms: rhythmicity
rhythmics
rhythmist
rhythmize
rhythm
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈɹɪð.m̩/
rhymes: -ɪðəm
Forms: form: rhythms
form: rhythming
form: rhythmed
form: rhythmed
Etymology: First coined in 1557, from Latin rhythmus, from Ancient Greek ῥυθμός (rhuthmós, “any measured flow or movement, symmetry, rhythm”), from ῥέω (rhéō, “I flow, run, stream, gush”).
Senses: examples: text: The pamphlet, writes Muray, 'is the supremely affirmative form in which nothing can be turned around, rhythmed or played with in synonyms and rhymes'.
ref: 1987, Ian Noble, Language and Narration in Céline’s Writings, page 194:
text: And so the microchip, say, reflects a certain electronically driven speed of society, just as the invention of a flint axe, reflected a society that was rhythmed fully by biological and environmental temporalities.
ref: 2017, Robert Hassan, The Age of Distraction:
text: ISP places are, therefore, not only considered places of teaching and learning performances (see point 4): the different locations rhythmed the entire programme.
ref: 2021, Sónia Pedro Sebastião, Susana de Carvalho Spínola, Diplomacy, Organisations and Citizens, page 316:
text: rhythmed by a television show and a meal, as we grow older, things change. rhythmed by a baby's cry and school holidays, as we grow older, things change. rhythmed by monthly bills and a husband's envies, as we grow older, some things never change.
ref: 2024, Marie-Rose Cardat, Why I left my Hometown, page 184:
glosses: To impart a (particular) rhythm to.
air gun
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈeə(ɹ).ɡʌn/
ipa: /ˈɛɹ.ɡə/
Forms: form: air guns
form: airgun
form: air-gun
Senses: coordinate_terms: firearm
glosses: A gun that propels a projectile by compressed air or similar compressed gas (such as carbon dioxide).
Related terms: airsoft
air hammer
nail gun
pneumatics
staple gun
airily
Language: English
Part of speech: adv
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈeɹ.ə.li/
Forms: form: more airily
form: most airily
Etymology: From airy + -ly.
Senses: glosses: In an airy manner.
examples: text: In both those cases, the conservative majority operated similarly to how it behaved in J.G.G.—airily ignoring the danger posed by Trump’s actions to the republic and the people he has harmed.
ref: 2025 April 9, Quinta Jurecic, “What, Exactly, Is the Supreme Court Thinking?”, in The Atlantic:
synonyms: gaily
jauntily
flippantly
glosses: lightly
Related terms: air
airs
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ɛəz/
ipa: /ɛəɹz/
ipa: /eːz/
note: without the cheer–chair merger
ipa: /eəz/
note: New Zealand, cheer–chair merger
ipa: /iəz/
ipa: /eɹz/
note: Lancashire, fair–fur merger
ipa: /ɜː(ɹ)z/
rhymes: -ɛə(ɹ)z
homophone: Ayres
homophone: eres
homophone: eyres
homophone: heirs
homophone: ares (“unit of measurement”)
homophone: errs (one US pronunciation or with fair–fur merger)
homophone: ears (cheer–chair merger)
Senses: glosses: plural of air
examples: text: She put on airs, pretending to be more sophisticated than she was.
text: He walked into the room with an air of confidence, though it seemed like just airs.
text: Stop giving yourself such airs—we all know you.
glosses: Affected manners intended to impress others.
Related terms: airs and graces
put on airs
airs
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /ɛəz/
ipa: /ɛəɹz/
ipa: /eːz/
note: without the cheer–chair merger
ipa: /eəz/
note: New Zealand, cheer–chair merger
ipa: /iəz/
ipa: /eɹz/
note: Lancashire, fair–fur merger
ipa: /ɜː(ɹ)z/
rhymes: -ɛə(ɹ)z
homophone: Ayres
homophone: eres
homophone: eyres
homophone: heirs
homophone: ares (“unit of measurement”)
homophone: errs (one US pronunciation or with fair–fur merger)
homophone: ears (cheer–chair merger)
Senses: glosses: third-person singular simple present indicative of air
ajar
Language: English
Part of speech: adv
Pronunciation: ipa: /əˈd͡ʒɑː/
ipa: /əˈd͡ʒɑɹ/
rhymes: -ɑː(ɹ)
Forms: form: achar
Etymology: From Middle English ajar, on char (“on [the] turn”), from on (“on”) + char (“turn, occasion”), from Old English ċierr, cyrr (“turn”), from ċierran (“to turn, convert”), equivalent to a- + char. Akin to Scots char, chare (“to turn, cause to turn”), Dutch akerre, kier (“ajar”), German kehren (“to turn”). See char.
Senses: examples: text: The door was standing ajar.
glosses: Slightly turned or opened.
ajar
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Pronunciation: ipa: /əˈd͡ʒɑː/
ipa: /əˈd͡ʒɑɹ/
rhymes: -ɑː(ɹ)
Forms: form: more ajar
form: most ajar
form: achar
Etymology: From Middle English ajar, on char (“on [the] turn”), from on (“on”) + char (“turn, occasion”), from Old English ċierr, cyrr (“turn”), from ċierran (“to turn, convert”), equivalent to a- + char. Akin to Scots char, chare (“to turn, cause to turn”), Dutch akerre, kier (“ajar”), German kehren (“to turn”). See char.
Senses: examples: text: The door is ajar.
text: I know—for Death, who comes for me
From regions of the blest afar,
Where there is nothing to deceive,
Hath left his iron gate ajar, […]
ref: 1829, Edgar Allan Poe, “Tamerlane”, in Al Aaraaf, Tamerlane and Minor Poems:
glosses: Slightly turned or opened.
ajar
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /əˈd͡ʒɑː/
ipa: /əˈd͡ʒɑɹ/
rhymes: -ɑː(ɹ)
Forms: form: ajars
form: ajarring
form: ajarred
form: ajarred
form: achar
Etymology: From Middle English ajar, on char (“on [the] turn”), from on (“on”) + char (“turn, occasion”), from Old English ċierr, cyrr (“turn”), from ċierran (“to turn, convert”), equivalent to a- + char. Akin to Scots char, chare (“to turn, cause to turn”), Dutch akerre, kier (“ajar”), German kehren (“to turn”). See char.
Senses: examples: text: A plainclothes detective knocked on a slightly ajarred door.
ref: 1970, John H. Evans, Mercer County law journal, volume 10:
text: Yes, and the door also lops off stairs leading to a landing on whose landing is another door on whose hinges much of this story ajars, if it hasn't jarred too much already.
ref: 1977, Bill Reed, Dogod:
text: Just as the gates fully ajarred themselves, the Lamborghini soared through them, and out into the freedom of the poorly defined road.
ref: 2007, Loki, Shard of the Ancient:
qualifier: perhaps nonstandard
glosses: To turn or open slightly; to become ajar or to cause to become ajar; to be or to hang ajar.
ajar
Language: English
Part of speech: adv
Pronunciation: ipa: /əˈd͡ʒɑː/
ipa: /əˈd͡ʒɑɹ/
rhymes: -ɑː(ɹ)
Etymology: From a- (“in, at”) + jar (“discord, disagreement”).
Senses: glosses: Out of harmony.
examples: text: There is a sort of unexpressed concern, / A kind of shock that sets one's heart ajar […].
ref: 1819, Lord Byron, Don Juan, II.14:
glosses: Being at variance or in contradiction to something.
ajar
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /əˈd͡ʒɑː/
ipa: /əˈd͡ʒɑɹ/
rhymes: -ɑː(ɹ)
Forms: form: ajars
form: ajarring
form: ajarred
form: ajarred
Etymology: From a- (“in, at”) + jar (“discord, disagreement”).
Senses: examples: text: It clean deafened the two of us, and set all the crockery ware ajarring ; and when the neighbours heard it they came running into the street to see who was getting hurt.
ref: 1907, The English Illustrated Magazine, volume 36:
qualifier: perhaps nonstandard
glosses: To show variance or contradiction with something; to be or cause to be askew.
akimbo
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Pronunciation: ipa: /əˈkɪm.bəʊ/
ipa: /əˈkɪm.boʊ/
rhymes: -ɪmbəʊ
Forms: form: akembo
form: a kimbow
form: kimbo
Etymology: From Middle English in kenebowe, in kene bowe (“in a keen bow”, i.e. “in a sharp bend or angle”), from in (“in”) + keen, kene (“brave, keen, sharp”) + bowe (“bow, bend”). Alternately, possibly from Old Norse kengr (“bent”) + bogi (“a bow”), compare Icelandic kengboginn (“bow-bent”).
Senses: examples: text: "Now, then, mister," said he, with his head cocked and his arms akimbo, "what are you driving at? Let's have it straight, now."
ref: 1892 [January], A[rthur] Conan Doyle, “Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. VII.—The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle.”, in Geo[rge] Newnes, editor, The Strand Magazine: An Illustrated Monthly, volume III (January to June), number [13], London: George Newnes, Limited, […], page 80, column 1:
text: Girls take hold of the skirts; boys place the hands akimbo, bend forward from the waist, and bow.
ref: 1921, Lydia Clark, Physical Training for the Elementary Schools: Gymnastics, Games, and Rhythmic Plays, page 66:
text: Men preferred one pose above all others, namely, the elbow akimbo.
ref: 2004, Zirka Z. Filipczak, “Poses and Passions: Mona Lisa's 'Closely Folded' Hands”, in G K Paster et al., editors, Reading the Early Modern Passions: Essays in the Cultural History of Emotion, page 83:
glosses: With a crook or bend; with the hand on the hip and elbow turned outward.
raw_tags: of the arms
glosses: With legs spread and the knees bent in an outward or awkward way, sometimes with the feet touching.
raw_tags: of the legs
akimbo
Language: English
Part of speech: adv
Pronunciation: ipa: /əˈkɪm.bəʊ/
ipa: /əˈkɪm.boʊ/
rhymes: -ɪmbəʊ
Forms: form: akembo
form: a kimbow
form: kimbo
Etymology: From Middle English in kenebowe, in kene bowe (“in a keen bow”, i.e. “in a sharp bend or angle”), from in (“in”) + keen, kene (“brave, keen, sharp”) + bowe (“bow, bend”). Alternately, possibly from Old Norse kengr (“bent”) + bogi (“a bow”), compare Icelandic kengboginn (“bow-bent”).
Senses: examples: text: The man was standing akimbo.
text: Otherwise, it is likely that she may be accosted as "dear" or "Sally,"—invited to take "a drop o' tea," or otherwise chaffed by rough women standing akimbo at street doors.
ref: 1903, Emily Constance Baird Cook, Highways and byways in London, page 430:
text: ...and the other end window bearing the figure of a woman standing akimbo with her right hand touching her right temple.
ref: 1978, Padma Upadhyaya, Female Images in the Museums of Uttar Pradesh, page 272:
glosses: Into, in, or of the position where the arms are akimbo.
examples: text: Although it was a little impractical, Elmer held his revolvers akimbo because to him it looked cool.
glosses: Of weapons, especially firearms: one held in each hand.
akimbo
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /əˈkɪm.bəʊ/
ipa: /əˈkɪm.boʊ/
rhymes: -ɪmbəʊ
Forms: form: akimbos
form: akimboing
form: akimboed
form: akimboed
form: akembo
form: a kimbow
form: kimbo
Etymology: From Middle English in kenebowe, in kene bowe (“in a keen bow”, i.e. “in a sharp bend or angle”), from in (“in”) + keen, kene (“brave, keen, sharp”) + bowe (“bow, bend”). Alternately, possibly from Old Norse kengr (“bent”) + bogi (“a bow”), compare Icelandic kengboginn (“bow-bent”).
Senses: topics: video-games
glosses: To wield (two weapons), one in each hand.
akin
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Pronunciation: ipa: /əˈkɪn/
ipa: /ʌˈkɪn/
rhymes: -ɪn
Forms: form: more akin
form: most akin
form: a kin
form: a-kin
Etymology: From a corruption of of kin, from Middle English of kyn (“related, of kin”), equivalent to a- + kin (1550s). Compare Old English cyn, cynn (“akin, proper, suitable”, adj.).
Senses: examples: text: [W]e are too near a kin to lye together, tho' vve may Lodge near one another; […]
ref: 1722 (indicated as 1721), [Daniel Defoe], The Fortunes and Misfortunes of the Famous Moll Flanders, &c. […], London: […] W[illiam Rufus] Chetwood, […]; and T. Edling, […], published 1722, →OCLC, page 137:
text: The faces changed, passing in rotation. Youthful faces, bearded faces, dark faces: faces serene, or faces moody, but all akin with the brotherhood of the sea.
ref: 1897, Joseph Conrad, The Children of the Sea: A Tale of the Forecastle, New York, N.Y.: Dodd, Mead and Company, →OCLC:
glosses: Of the same kin; related by blood.
raw_tags: of persons
examples: text: Is not then Fruition near akin to Love?
ref: 1677, Theophilus Gale, The Court of the Gentiles, T. Cockeril, part 4, bk. 1, ch. 2, p. 27
text: She told me that she hoped my Face was not akin to my Tongue.
ref: 1710 March 20 (Gregorian calendar), [Joseph Addison; Richard Steele et al.], “THURSDAY, March 9, 1709–1710. To the Spectator, &c..”, in The Spectator, number 8; republished in Alexander Chalmers, editor, The Spectator; a New Edition, […], volume I, New York, N.Y.: D[aniel] Appleton & Company, 1853, →OCLC, page 39:
text: Mr. Winkle . . . took his hand with a feeling of regard, akin to veneration.
ref: 1836 March – 1837 October, Charles Dickens, chapter XXXIX, in The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club, London: Chapman and Hall, […], published 1837, →OCLC:
text: Something akin to a smile shone on his face.
ref: 1910 July, Zane Grey, “Old Well-Well”, in Success:
text: I'll be interested to see how this service does. It will be basic with fares to match, so will be akin to a budget airline taking on a flag-carrier.
ref: 2021 June 30, Philip Haigh, “Regional trains squeezed as ECML congestion heads north”, in RAIL, number 934, page 52:
text: Picking up speed with each passing second, the rod would then penetrate the ground and generate an explosion akin to a small nuclear weapon using nothing but gravity for its propulsion.
ref: 2025 May 12, Jeff Edwards, “Rods from God: Unleashing Orbital Kinetic Bombardment as a Theoretical Defense System”, in Mira Safety:
glosses: Allied by nature; similar; partaking of the same properties; of the same kind.
Synonyms: word: akin
word: cognate
word: connate
word: kindred
Hypernyms: word: allied
word: related
Derived terms: akinness
unakin
Related terms: word: consanguine
word: similar
akin
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /əˈkɪn/
ipa: /ʌˈkɪn/
rhymes: -ɪn
Forms: form: akins
form: akinning
form: akinned
form: akinned
form: a kin
form: a-kin
Etymology: From a corruption of of kin, from Middle English of kyn (“related, of kin”), equivalent to a- + kin (1550s). Compare Old English cyn, cynn (“akin, proper, suitable”, adj.).
Senses: examples: text: I like to akin the P-Diddy case to Gen-Z's version of the O.J. Simpson trial.
glosses: To relate or compare; to liken.
alarm
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /əˈlɑːm/
ipa: /əˈlɑɹm/
note: Indic
ipa: /əˈlɑ(rə)m/
rhymes: -ɑː(ɹ)m
Forms: form: alarms
form: alarming
form: alarmed
form: alarmed
form: alarum
Etymology: From Middle English alarme, alarom, borrowed from Middle French alarme, itself from Old Italian all'arme! (“to arms!, to the weapons!”), ultimately from Latin arma (“arms, weapons”).
Senses: glosses: To call to arms for defense.
examples: text: The sudden drop in temperature should alarm you into taking precautions.
text: Her illness started to alarm the doctors, who ordered more tests.
text: When the carriage drew up in the grass-grown court yard before the hall-door, two lazy-looking men, whose appearance well accorded with that of the place which they tenanted, alarmed by the obstreperous barking of a great chained dog, ran out from some half-ruinous out-houses, and took charge of the horses; […]
ref: 1838, Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu, Passage in the Secret History of an Irish Countess:
glosses: To give (someone) notice of approaching danger or necessary action; to rouse to vigilance; to put on the alert.
examples: text: The tower cab supervisor and various pilots stated that the LLWAS system frequently alarms because of the thunderstorm activity present, and that airspeed losses are common as a result of convective wind shear.
ref: 1985 March 21, National Transportation Safety Board, “2.2 Environmental Factors”, in Aircraft Accident Report: United Airlines Flight 663, Boeing 727-222, N7647U, Denver, Colorado, May 31, 1984, page 39:
glosses: To produce a warning of approaching danger or necessary action; to emit a signal intended to rouse a recipient to vigilance or put them on the alert.
raw_tags: of a device
examples: text: The loud bang in the hallway seemed to alarm everyone in the building.
glosses: To surprise with apprehension of danger; to fill with anxiety in regard to threatening evil; to excite with sudden fear.
glosses: To keep in excitement; to disturb.
Derived terms: alarming
alarmist
revetment
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ɹɪˈvɛt.mənt/
Forms: form: revetments
Etymology: From French revêtement, from Old French revestiment, from revestir (French revêtir), from Late Latin revestire (“to clothe again”), from Latin re- + vestire (“to clothe”).
Senses: examples: text: Findlayson, C. E., sat in his trolley on a construction line that ran along one of the main revetments—the huge stone-faced banks that flared away north and south for three miles on either side of the river and permitted himself to think of the end.
ref: 1898, Rudyard Kipling, “The Bridge-Builders”, in The Day's Work:
text: A 200-ton rockfall recently blocked the Machynlleth sidings, trapping several locomotives; a rock-slip on the approach embankment to Talerddig required expensive revetting last year; and on the coastal section to Barmouth an 80 foot-high stone revetment was completed some time ago at Friog; [...].
ref: 1964 December, Mark Bourne, “The rejuvenation of the Cambrian line”, in Modern Railways, page 390:
glosses: A layer of stone, concrete, or other hard material supporting the side of an embankment.
glosses: An ornamental facing, as on a common masonry wall, of marble, face brick, tiles, etc.
glosses: An armoured building that provides protection against bombs.
feceate
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Forms: form: feceates
form: feceating
form: feceated
form: feceated
Senses: glosses: To discharge feces from the digestive tract.
Synonyms: defecate
shit
sham
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Pronunciation: ipa: /ʃæm/
rhymes: -æm
Forms: form: more sham
form: most sham
Etymology: Probably a dialectal form of shame.
Alternatively, sham is a term that's used to describe the bottom thick base of a glass, usually a wine or stem glass, where the stem meets the bulbous shape bowl. Glass manufacturers would increase the "sham" to deceive customers into thinking a glass holds more than it actually does. For example, a manufacturer would mold a 12oz glass with a larger "sham" in the base to reduce the volume of the glasses to fit 10-11oz of liquid. By increasing the bulge in the base, usually where the stem meets the glass, it's almost impossible to visually distinguish the difference. This gives the illusion the glass size is the same as any another 12oz glass, but the inside will hold a lesser volume. Later, bringing use to the term "you got shammed" when one party tries to hide something and/or get over on the other party using deceiving tactics.
Senses: examples: text: It was only a sham wedding: they didn't care much for one another, but wanted their parents to stop hassling them.
text: Artiles, a Republican operative with a reputation for a foul mouth and sharp elbows, is accused of financing a sham candidate whose candidacy was intended to siphon votes from a legitimate Democratic candidate in a state Senate race in South Florida’s 37th District. The candidate has the same last name as then-Democratic incumbent Jose Javier Rodriguez but did not actively campaign for the seat and has since admitted being recruited as a spoiler.
ref: 2021 March 18, Scott Glover, Curt Devine and Audrey Ash, “Former Florida state senator charged in spoiler candidate scheme”, in CNN:
glosses: Intended to deceive; false.
examples: text: For this young lady was not able to carry out any emotion to the full; but had a sham enthusiasm, a sham hatred, a sham love, a sham taste, a sham grief, each of which flared and shone very vehemently for an instant, but subsided and gave place to the next sham emotion.
ref: 1848 November – 1850 December, William Makepeace Thackeray, The History of Pendennis. […], volume II, London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1850, →OCLC, page 345:
text: For the subject-cities, having secured a moderate form of government, and having no fear of being called to account for their proceedings, aimed at absolute freedom; they scorned the sham independence proffered to them by the Athenians.
ref: 1881, Benjamin Jowett, transl., Thucydides, Oxford: Clarendon Press, VIII.64, p. 592:
text: But the artist[…] is equally famous for his drinking, gambling, his turbulent relationships, his famously chaotic studio, and for the mordant toast frequently attributed to him: “Champagne for my real friends, real pain for my sham friends.”
ref: 2024 May 23, Sam Jones, “Spanish police recover Francis Bacon painting worth €5m”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:
glosses: Counterfeit; unreal.
Synonyms: mock
Derived terms: shamboo
sham marriage
shammish
Uncle Sham
sham
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ʃæm/
rhymes: -æm
Forms: form: shams
Etymology: Probably a dialectal form of shame.
Alternatively, sham is a term that's used to describe the bottom thick base of a glass, usually a wine or stem glass, where the stem meets the bulbous shape bowl. Glass manufacturers would increase the "sham" to deceive customers into thinking a glass holds more than it actually does. For example, a manufacturer would mold a 12oz glass with a larger "sham" in the base to reduce the volume of the glasses to fit 10-11oz of liquid. By increasing the bulge in the base, usually where the stem meets the glass, it's almost impossible to visually distinguish the difference. This gives the illusion the glass size is the same as any another 12oz glass, but the inside will hold a lesser volume. Later, bringing use to the term "you got shammed" when one party tries to hide something and/or get over on the other party using deceiving tactics.
Senses: examples: text: The time-share deal was a sham.
glosses: A fake; an imitation that purports to be genuine.
examples: text: A con-man must be skilled in the arts of sham and deceit.
text: Tarzan would have none of it, and so he hunted alone that none might discover the sham that he was practicing.
ref: 1913, Edgar Rice Burroughs, The Return of Tarzan, New York: Ballantine Books, published 1963, page 75:
glosses: Trickery, hoaxing.
glosses: A false front, or removable ornamental covering.
glosses: A decorative cover for a pillow.
Derived terms: shamateur
Related terms: pillow sham
sham
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /ʃæm/
rhymes: -æm
Forms: form: shams
form: shamming
form: shammed
form: shammed
Etymology: Probably a dialectal form of shame.
Alternatively, sham is a term that's used to describe the bottom thick base of a glass, usually a wine or stem glass, where the stem meets the bulbous shape bowl. Glass manufacturers would increase the "sham" to deceive customers into thinking a glass holds more than it actually does. For example, a manufacturer would mold a 12oz glass with a larger "sham" in the base to reduce the volume of the glasses to fit 10-11oz of liquid. By increasing the bulge in the base, usually where the stem meets the glass, it's almost impossible to visually distinguish the difference. This gives the illusion the glass size is the same as any another 12oz glass, but the inside will hold a lesser volume. Later, bringing use to the term "you got shammed" when one party tries to hide something and/or get over on the other party using deceiving tactics.
Senses: examples: text: they find themſelves Fool'd and Shamm'd (as we ſay) into a Conviction.
ref: 1692, Roger L’Estrange, “[The Fables of Abstemius, &c.] Fab[le] CCLIII. Demades the Orator.”, in Fables, of Æsop and Other Eminent Mythologists: […], London: […] R[ichard] Sare, […], →OCLC, page 220:
glosses: To deceive, cheat, lie.
examples: text: But we muſt have a care all this while, not to […] Sham Fallacyes upon the World for Current Reaſon
ref: 1692, Roger L’Estrange, “[The Fables of Æsop, &c.] Fab[le] CLXII. A Nightingale and a Bat.”, in Fables, of Æsop and Other Eminent Mythologists: […], London: […] R[ichard] Sare, […], →OCLC, page 144:
glosses: To obtrude by fraud or imposition.
glosses: To assume the manner and character of; to imitate; to ape; to feign.
sham
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ʃæm/
rhymes: -æm
Senses: examples: text: So I orders a bottle, as if for myself; and, ‘Ma’am, says I, ‘will you take a glass of Sham—just one?’
ref: 1840, M. A. Titmarsh [pseudonym; William Makepeace Thackeray], The Paris Sketch Book, volume I, London: John Macrone, […], →OCLC, page 34:
glosses: Clipping of champagne.
chord
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /kɔːd/
enpr: kôrd
ipa: /kɔɹd/
rhymes: -ɔː(ɹ)d
homophone: cord
homophone: cored (horse–hoarse merger)
Forms: form: chords
form: chording
form: chorded
form: chorded
form: cord
Etymology: Variant of cord, with spelling alteration due to Latin chorda (“cord”), ultimately from Ancient Greek χορδή (khordḗ, “string of gut, the string of a lyre”). No relation to French accord (“chord”) and its derivations. Doublet of cuerda.
Senses: examples: text: This chording technique works well for learning any tune, but this is the only tune of the set that I will write out completely as a chorded version.
ref: 2003, Dan Levenson, Clawhammer Banjo from Scratch:
glosses: To write chords for.
examples: text: This note chords with that one.
topics: entertainment
lifestyle
music
glosses: To accord; to harmonize together.
examples: text: When Jubal struck the chorded shell.
ref: 1687, John Dryden, A Song for Cecilia's Day:
text: Even the solitary old pine tree chords his harp.
ref: 1862, Henry Ward Beecher, Eyes and Ears:
glosses: To provide with musical chords or strings; to string; to tune.
Related terms: simultaneity
mixed-interval chord
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: mixed-interval chords
Senses: topics: entertainment
lifestyle
music
glosses: A chord that does not have one consistent interval.
equal-interval chord
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: equal-interval chords
Senses: topics: entertainment
lifestyle
music
glosses: A chord characterized by one repeating interval.
interval
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈɪntəvəl/
ipa: /ˈɪntɚvəl/
Forms: form: intervals
Etymology: From Middle English interval, intervalle, from Old French intervalle, entreval, from Latin intervallum (“space between, interval, distance, interval of time, pause, difference; literally, space between two palisades or walls”), from inter (“between”) + vallum (“palisade, wall”).
Senses: examples: text: 'Twixt host and host but narrow space was left, / A dreadful interval.
ref: 1667, John Milton, “Book VI”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:
text: [M]any attempts were made to prevent the spreading of it [the fire] by pulling down Houses, and making great Intervals, but all in vain, the Fire seizing upon the Timber and Rubbish, and so continuing it set even through those spaces […]
ref: 1666 September 8, The London Gazette:
glosses: A distance in space.
examples: text: the interval between contractions during childbirth
glosses: A period of time.
topics: entertainment
lifestyle
music
glosses: The difference (a ratio or logarithmic measure) in pitch between two notes, often referring to those two pitches themselves (otherwise known as a dyad).
topics: mathematics
sciences
glosses: A connected section of the real line which may be empty or have a length of zero.
glosses: An intermission.
examples: text: Spain made three substitutions at the interval, sending on former Arsenal captain Fabregas, Chelsea's Juan Mata and Liverpool keeper Pepe Reina for Xavi, David Silva and Casillas.
ref: 2011 November 12, “International friendly: England 1-0 Spain”, in BBC Sport:
topics: hobbies
lifestyle
sports
glosses: half time, a scheduled intermission between the periods of play.
topics: ball-games
cricket
games
hobbies
lifestyle
sports
glosses: Either of the two breaks, at lunch and tea, between the three sessions of a day's play.
Hyponyms: topics: mathematics
sciences
word: open interval
topics: mathematics
sciences
word: half-open interval
topics: mathematics
sciences
word: closed interval
topics: mathematics
sciences
word: sub-interval
topics: mathematics
sciences
word: subinterval
Derived terms: augmented interval
bit interval
Boutellier interval
compound interval
confidence interval
contour interval
devil's interval
diminished interval
equal-interval chord
even-interval
generic interval
high-intensity interval training
hyperinterval
interval class
interval cycle
intervaled
intervalize
intervallic
intervally
interval of time
intervalometer
interval time
interval training
interval transit time
interval variable
lucid interval
major interval
midinterval
minor interval
mixed-interval chord
musical interval
perfect interval
punctured interval
QT interval
serial interval
superfluous interval
surface interval
time interval
unit interval
vertical interval
Wilson score interval
wolf interval
interval class
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: interval classes
Senses: topics: entertainment
lifestyle
music
glosses: An interval measured by the distance between its two pitch classes ordered so they are as close as possible.
dyad
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈdaɪ.æd/
rhymes: -aɪæd
homophone: diad
Forms: form: dyads
Etymology: From Ancient Greek δυάς (duás), δυάδ- (duád-) from δύο (dúo, “two”), from Proto-Indo-European *duwó, *duwéh₃ (*dwóh₁). The mathematics sense was coined by American scientist Josiah Willard Gibbs in 1884 in the second half of his book Elements of Vector Analysis.
Senses: examples: text: […] positing a dyad and constructing the infinite out of great and small, instead of treating the infinite as one, is peculiar to him; […]
ref: 1908, W. D. Ross, Metaphysics Book I, translation of original by Aristotle:
text: McNamee describes their grip on the company as “the most centralized decision-making structure I have ever encountered in a large company.” Their power dyad is possible only because Facebook’s “core platform,” as McNamee puts it, is relatively simple: It “consists of a product and a monetization scheme.”
ref: 2019 January 29, Tom Bissell, “An Anti-Facebook Manifesto”, in New York Times:
synonyms: word: couple
word: duad
word: brace
word: couple
word: couplet
word: doublet
word: duad
word: duet
word: duo
word: duplet
word: dyad
word: pair
word: twain
word: twosome
word: twinsome
glosses: A set of two elements treated as one; a pair.
examples: text: For each individual in a specific dyad (i.e., mother-offspring, offspring-father, sibling-sibling), […]
ref: 2003, Debra Lieberman, John Tooby, Leda Cosmides, The evolution of human incest avoidance mechanisms […] , page 20:
topics: human-sciences
sciences
social-science
sociology
glosses: Two persons in an ongoing relationship; a dyadic relationship.
topics: human-sciences
sciences
social-science
sociology
glosses: The relationship or interaction itself in reference to a couple.
topics: entertainment
lifestyle
music
glosses: Any set of two different pitch classes.
topics: chemistry
natural-sciences
physical-sciences
glosses: An element, atom, or radical having a valence of or combining power of two.
topics: biology
natural-sciences
glosses: A chromosome structure, usually X- or V-shaped, consisting of two condensed sister chromatids joined by a centromere.
topics: biology
natural-sciences
glosses: A secondary unit of organisation consisting of an aggregate of monads.
topics: mathematics
sciences
glosses: A tensor of order two and rank one.
Derived terms: dyadic
dyadwise
dyadically
dyadism
pseudodyad
Related terms: interval
trichord
hexachord
tetrachord
pitch class
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Forms: form: pitch classes
Senses: examples: text: The notes B₃, B₄, and C♭₅ all belong to the same pitch class, named 11 or e.
topics: entertainment
lifestyle
music
glosses: An equivalence class of all pitches that are octaves apart, and which would be labeled by an integer, not a traditional letter name.