Browse dictionary
Showing 1-20 of 300 results in 300 entries
1. ACAS, n. View full entry 1975
...The Advisory, Conciliation, and Arbitration Service, set up by the British Government to mediate in industrial disputes....
2. Actonian, adj. View full entry 1898
...Relating to or characteristic of Acton or his work, esp. his historical writings....
3. Addison, n. View full entry 1856
...a disorder caused by chronic deficiency of corticosteroid hormones resulting from disease affecting the adrenal glands, characterized by weight loss, weakness, increased pigmentation of the skin, and episodes of vomiting, diarrhoea, and...
4. aeolina, n. View full entry 1829
...A mouth organ or harmonica, comprising metal plates enclosing free reeds....
5. AIDS, n. View full entry 1982
...A disease characterized by fever, weight loss, lymphadenopathy, and the occurrence of opportunistic infections and malignant tumours, associated with a reduction in the number of helper T lymphocytes in the blood, and...
6. Airey, n. View full entry 1945
...attrib. Designating a system for constructing houses from precast concrete sections. Of a house: built using this system....
7. Albert, n.3 View full entry 1874
...attrib. Designating the system of woodwind fingering invented by Albert, or an instrument, esp. a clarinet, featuring this. Cf. Boehm...
8. Aldermaston, n. View full entry 1958
...Used attrib. with reference to demonstrations and protest marches to Aldermarston by people opposed to nuclear weapons, as Aldermaston march, Aldermaston marcher....
9. Aldwych farce, n. View full entry 1925
...Any of a series of farces, esp. those written by Ben Travers, presented at the Aldwych Theatre in the 1920s and early 1930s, typically characterized by broad satirical humour and featuring eccentric...
10. alickadoo, n. View full entry 1961
...A person who is attached to or associated with a rugby game or club but does not play, esp. an administrative official or committee member....
11. Ally Sloper, n. View full entry 1890
...Used attrib. to designate a person or thing resembling, characteristic of, or relating to Ally Sloper, esp. in appearance or behaviour. Also (occas.): a person resembling Ally Sloper....
12. Althusserian, adj. and n. View full entry 1966
...Of, belonging to, or characteristic of Althusser; esp. relating to or designating his reinterpretation of traditional Marxism in the light of structuralist theories....
13. americium, n. View full entry 1946
...A metallic radioactive transuranic element of the actinide series, atomic number 95, which is produced artificially by the bombardment of uranium with high-energy helium nuclei. Symbol Am. ...
14. ˈApex, n.3 View full entry 1972
...A British trade union representing clerical and other non-manual workers....
15. ASEAN, n. View full entry 1967
...The Association of South-East Asian Nations, a regional organization established in 1967 and intended to promote economic cooperation and growth within South-East Asia....
16. Atkins, n.2 View full entry 1972
...attrib. Designating or typical of a high-protein, high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet, esp. one in which carbohydrates, chiefly simple sugars and starches, are severely restricted as a means of promoting weight...
17. Babe Ruth, n. View full entry 1953
...Chiefly attrib. A youth baseball and softball league in North America, originally established for players aged 13–15 but now offering a variety of age divisions....
18. Baker day, n. View full entry 1988
...Any of several days in the state school year set aside for INSET training (see INSET); an INSET day....
19. ballahoo, n. View full entry 1815
...A type of fast-sailing two-masted schooner. Also used as a term of contempt for a sluggish, slovenly, or ungainly vessel (cf. ballyhoo, ballyhoo of blazes). Now rare...
20. Banting, n. View full entry 1864
...A method of reducing corpulence by avoiding fat, starch, and sugar in food, based on a pamphlet by William Banting published in 1864....
