Browse dictionary
Showing 1-20 of 161559 results in 161559 entries
1. a, adj. View full entry ?a1160
...Used in an indefinite noun phrase referring to something not specifically identified (and, freq., mentioned for the first time) but treated as one of a class: one, some, any (the oneness, or...
2. a, prep.1 View full entry OE
...Expressing position within, situation, etc.: in, with; = on7a13. Now Eng. regional....
3. a, prep.2 View full entry c1275
...Representing a genitive dependent on a verb or adjective; = ofXI....
4. † a, conj. View full entry ?a1325
...= andI....
5. a, int.2 View full entry c1440
...Prefixed to a proper name as a war cry....
6. a-, prefix1 View full entry
...With verbs, implying motion onward or away from a position; hence (originally with verbs of motion) adding intensity....
7. a-, prefix2 View full entry c1275
...(No longer productive.) Expressing completeness; = y-23....
8. a-, prefix3 View full entry 1673
...(No longer productive.) Forming verbs, adverbs, and prepositions, originally with the senses ‘on’, ‘on to’....
9. a-, prefix4 View full entry
...(No longer productive.) Forming compounds with nouns, verbs, and adjectives, originally with the senses ‘away’, ‘off’, ‘from’, ‘of’....
10. A1, adj. View full entry 1776
...Esp. of a wooden ship: first-class in respect of both hull and fittings (originally and esp. as classified in Lloyd's Register: see note in etymology). Also A1 at Lloyd's. Now...
11. A2, n. View full entry 1999
...The second half of an A level which is divided into two discrete components. Freq. attrib., esp. in A2 level....
12. aardwolf, n. View full entry 1833
...A small, nocturnal African hyena, Proteles cristata, which has a mane along the back and black vertical stripes, feeding chiefly on termites. Also called earth wolf, maanhaar...
13. Aaron's beard, n. View full entry 1820
...Any of several plants which are thought to resemble a beard in growth, habit, or appearance; esp.the rose of Sharon, Hypericum calcinum, which has prominent tufts of hair-likeeither...
14. Aaron's bells, n. View full entry 1581
...Originally: the small bells attached to the hem of Aaron's ephod (see quot. 1611 in etymology). In later use also: small bells used as Torah scroll ornaments. Also fig....
15. Aaron's rod, n. View full entry 1631
...In similative and allusive use: a powerful force which devours or overwhelms everything around it....
16. Aaron's serpent, n. View full entry 1732
...= Aaron's rod1....
17. ab, n.2 View full entry 1956
...An abdominal muscle; = abdominal3. Usu. in pl....
18. ab-, comb. form View full entry 1904
...Prefixed to the names of units (esp. of electrical and magnetic quantities) in the practical system to form the names of the corresponding units in the centimetre-gram-second electromagnetic system, as abampere...
19. aback, adv. View full entry OE
...In a backward direction; to or towards the rear; back. Also fig. and in extended use: from the scene of action, away, to a distance; to a former place or...
20. † abackstays, adv. View full entry 1630
...In line with the direction of the wind; with sails positioned in this way, thus presenting no surface to the wind....