os ['äs] -n
- bone
- orifice
Os -symbol
- osmium
OS -abbr
- left eye
- Old Style
- operating system
- out of stock
Osage [ō-'sāj, 'ō-,] -n
- a member of an American Indian people orig. of Missouri
- the Siouan language of the Osage people
Osage orange -n
- an ornamental usu. thorny U.S. tree ( Maclura pomifera) of the mulberry family with shiny ovate leaves and hard bright orange wood
- its yellowish-green globose fruit
Os·can ['äs-kən] -n
- a member of a people of ancient Italy occupying Campania
- the language of the Oscan people
Os·car ['äs-kər] -trademark
- used esp. for any of a number of golden statuettes awarded annually by a professional organization for notable achievement in motion pictures
Oscar
- a communications code word for the letter o
os·cil·late ['ä-sə-,lāt] -vi, adj
- to swing backward and forward like a pendulum
- to move or travel back and forth between two points
- to vary between opposing beliefs, feelings, or theories
- to vary above and below a mean value
os·cil·la·tion [,ä-sə-'lā-shən] -n, adj
- the action or state of oscillating
- variation, fluctuation
- a flow of electricity changing periodically from a maximum to a minimum
- a flow periodically changing direction
- a single swing (as of an oscillating body) from one extreme limit to the other
os·cil·la·tor ['ä-sə-,lā-tər] -n
- one that oscillates
- a device for producing alternating current
- a radio-frequency or audio-frequency generator
oscillo- -comb form
- wave : oscillation
os·cil·lo·gram [ä-'si-lə-,gram, ə-] -n
- a record made by an oscillograph or oscilloscope
os·cil·lo·graph [-,graf] -n, adj, adv
- an instrument for recording alternating current wave forms or other electrical oscillations
os·cil·lo·scope [ä-'si-lə-,skōp, ə-] -n, adj
- an instrument in which the variations in a fluctuating electrical quantity appear temporarily as a visible wave form on the fluorescent screen of a cathode-ray tube
os·cine ['ä-,sīn] -adj, n
- of or relating to a large suborder (Oscines) of passerine birds (as larks, shrikes, finches, orioles, and crows) characterized by a vocal apparatus highly specialized for singing
Os·coUm·bri·an [,äs-kō-'əm-brē-ən] -n
- a subdivision of the Italic branch of the Indo-European language family containing Oscan and Umbrian
os·cu·late ['äs-kyə-,lāt] -vt
- kiss
os·cu·la·tion [,äs-kyə-'lā-shən] -n, adj
- the act of kissing
- kiss
os·cu·lum ['äs-kyə-ləm] -n
- an excurrent opening of a sponge
Osee ['ō-,zē, ō-'zā-ə] -n
- hosea
oset·ra [(,)ō-'se-trə] -n
- a golden or brownish caviar from a sturgeon (as Acipenser gueldenstaedtiiof the Caspian Sea) with roe somewhat smaller than the beluga and having a usu. nutty flavor
- the fish
OSHA -abbr
- Occupational Safety and Health Administration
osier ['ō-zhər] -n
- any of various willows (esp. Salix viminalis) whose pliable twigs are used for furniture and basketry
- a willow rod used in basketry
- any of several American dogwoods
- red osier
Osi·ris [ō-'sī-rəs] -n
- the Egyptian god of the underworld and husband and brother of Isis
Os·man·li [äz-'man-lē] -n
- ottoman
- turkish
os·me·te·ri·um [,äz-mə-'tir-ē-əm] -n
- a protrusible glandular process of swallowtail larvae that emits a disagreeable odor for defensive purposes
osmic acid -n
- osmium tetroxide
os·mi·um ['äz-mē-əm] -n
- a blue-gray or blue-black hard brittle very heavy polyvalent metallic element with a high melting point that is used esp. as a catalyst and in hard alloys
osmium tetroxide -n
- a crystalline compound OsO 4that is an oxide of osmium, has a poisonous irritating vapor, and is used as a catalyst, oxidizing agent, and biological fixative and stain
os·mol ['äz-,mōl, 'äs-] -n
- a standard unit of osmotic pressure based on a one molal concentration of an ion in a solution
os·mo·lal·i·ty [,äz-mō-'la-rə-tē, ,äs-] -n, adj
- the concentration of an osmotic solution esp. when measured in osmols or milliosmols per 1000 grams of solvent
os·mo·lar·i·ty [,äz-mō-'la-rə-tē, ,äs-] -n, adj
- the concentration of an osmotic solution esp. when measured in osmols or milliosmols per liter of solution
os·mom·e·ter [äz-'mä-mə-tər, äs-] -n, adj
- an apparatus for measuring osmotic pressure
os·mo·reg·u·la·tion ['äz-mō-,re-gyə-'lā-shən, 'äs-] -n, adj
- regulation of osmotic pressure esp. in the body of a living organism
os·mo·sis [äz-'mō-səs, äs-] -n
- movement of a solvent (as water) through a semipermeable membrane (as of a living cell) into a solution of higher solute concentration that tends to equalize the concentrations of solute on the two sides of the membrane
- a process of absorption or diffusion suggestive of the flow of osmotic action
- a usu. effortless often unconscious assimilation
- learned a number of languages by osmosis -- Roger Kimball
os·mot·ic [-'mä-tik] -adj, adv
- of, relating to, caused by, or having the properties of osmosis
osmotic pressure -n
- : the pressure produced by or associated with osmosis and dependent on molar concentration and absolute temperature: as
- the maximum pressure that develops in a solution separated from a solvent by a membrane permeable only to the solvent
- the pressure that must be applied to a solution to just prevent osmosis
osmotic shock -n
- a rapid change in the osmotic pressure (as by transfer to a medium of different concentration) affecting a living system
os·mun·da [äz-'mən-də] -n
- any of a genus ( Osmunda) of rather large ferns (as the cinnamon fern) with pinnate or bipinnate fronds and fibrous creeping rhizomes
os·prey ['äs-prē, -,prā] -n
- a large fish-eating hawk ( Pandion haliaetus) with long wings that is dark brown above and mostly pure white below
- a feather trimming used for millinery
OSS -abbr
- Office of Strategic Services
ossa ['äs] -n
(variant of os)
- bone
- orifice
os·se·in ['ä-sē-ən] -n
- the collagen of bones
os·se·ous ['ä-sē-əs] -adj
- bony
Os·sete ['ä-,sēt] -n, adj or n
- a member of a people of the central Caucasus
Os·set·ic [ä-'se-tik] -n
- the Iranian language of the Ossetes
Os·si·an·ic [,ä-sē-'a-nik, -shē-] -adj
- of, relating to, or resembling the legendary Irish bard Ossian, the poems ascribed to him, or the rhythmic prose style used by James Macpherson in the poems he claimed to have translated from Ossian
os·si·cle ['ä-si-kəl] -n, adj
- a small bone or bony structure (as the malleus, incus, or stapes)
os·si·fi·ca·tion [,ä-sə-fə-'kā-shən] -n
- the natural process of bone formation
- the hardening (as of muscular tissue) into a bony substance
- a mass or particle of ossified tissue
- a tendency toward or state of being molded into a rigid, conventional, sterile, or unimaginative condition
os·si·frage ['ä-sə-frij, -,frāj] -n
- lammergeier
os·si·fy ['ä-sə-,fī] -vb
- to change into bone
- to become hardened or conventional and opposed to change
- to change (as cartilage) into bone
- to make rigidly conventional and opposed to change
os·so bu·co [,ō-sō-'bü-(,)kō, ,ȯ-sō-] -n
- a dish of veal shanks braised with vegetables, white wine, and seasoned stock
os·su·ary ['ä-shə-,wer-ē, -syə-, -sə-] -n
- a depository for the bones of the dead
oste- -comb form
- bone
os·te·al ['äs-tē-əl] -adj
- of, relating to, or resembling bone
- affecting or involving bone or the skeleton
os·te·i·tis [,äs-tē-'ī-təs] -n
- inflammation of bone
os·ten·si·ble [ä-'sten(t)-sə-bəl, ə-] -adj
- intended for display : open to view
- being such in appearance : plausible rather than demonstrably true or real
- the ostensible purpose for the trip
os·ten·si·bly [-blē] -adv
- in an ostensible manner
- to all outward appearances
os·ten·sive [ä-'sten(t)-siv] -adj, adv
- ostensible
- of, relating to, or constituting definition by exemplifying the thing or quality being defined
os·ten·so·ri·um [,äs-tən-'sȯr-ē-əm, -,ten-] -n
- monstrance
os·ten·ta·tion [,äs-tən-'tā-shən] -n
- excessive display : pretentiousness
- an act of displaying
os·ten·ta·tious [-shəs] -adj, adv, n
- marked by or fond of conspicuous or vainglorious and sometimes pretentious display
os·te·o·ar·thri·tis [,äs-tē-ō-är-'thrī-təs] -n, adj
- arthritis marked by degeneration of the cartilage and bone of joints
os·te·o·blast ['äs-tē-ə-,blast] -n, adj
- a bone-forming cell
os·te·o·clast ['äs-tē-ə-,klast] -n, adj
- any of the large multinucleate cells closely associated with areas of bone resorption
os·te·o·cyte ['äs-tē-ə-,sīt] -n
- a cell that is characteristic of adult bone and is isolated in a lacuna of the bone substance
os·te·o·gen·e·sis [,äs-tē-ə-'je-nə-səs] -n
- development and formation of bone
osteogenesis im·per·fec·ta [-,im-(,)pər-'fek-tə] -n
- a hereditary disease marked esp. by extreme brittleness of bones and caused by defective or insufficient collagen
os·te·o·gen·ic [,äs-tē-ə-'je-nik] -adj
- producing bone
- originating in bone
osteogenic sarcoma -n
- osteosarcoma
os·te·oid ['äs-tē-,ȯid] -adj
- resembling bone
osteoid -n
- uncalcified bone matrix
os·te·ol·o·gy [,äs-tē-'ä-lə-jē] -n, adj
- a branch of anatomy dealing with the bones
- the bony structure of an organism
os·te·o·ma [,äs-tē-'ō-mə] -n
- a benign tumor composed of bone tissue
os·te·o·ma·la·cia [,äs-tē-ō-mə-'lā-sh(ē-)ə] -n
- a disease of adults that is characterized by softening of the bones and is analogous to rickets in the young
os·te·o·my·e·li·tis [-,mī-ə-'lī-təs] -n
- an infectious usu. painful inflammatory disease of bone often of bacterial origin that may result in the death of bone tissue
os·te·o·path ['äs-tē-ə-,path] -n
- a practitioner of osteopathy
os·te·op·a·thy [,äs-tē-'ä-pə-thē] -n, adj, adv
- a system of medical practice based on a theory that diseases are due chiefly to loss of structural integrity which can be restored by manipulation of the parts supplemented by therapeutic measures (as use of drugs or surgery)
os·teo·phyte ['äs-tē-ə-,fīt] -n
- a pathological bony outgrowth
os·te·o·plas·ty ['äs-tē-ə-,plas-tē] -n, adj
- plastic surgery on bone
- replacement of lost bone tissue or reconstruction of defective bony parts
os·te·o·po·ro·sis [,äs-tē-ō-pə-'rō-səs] -n, adj
- a condition that affects esp. older women and is characterized by decrease in bone mass with decreased density and enlargement of bone spaces producing porosity and fragility
os·te·o·sar·co·ma [-sär-'kō-mə] -n
- a sarcoma derived from bone or containing bone tissue
osti·na·to [,äs-tə-'nä-(,)tō, ,ȯs-] -n
- a musical figure repeated persistently at the same pitch throughout a composition
os·ti·ole ['äs-tē-,ōl] -n
- a small bodily aperture, orifice, or pore
os·ti·um ['äs-tē-əm] -n
- a mouthlike opening in a bodily part (as a fallopian tube or a blood vessel)
ostler ['häs-lər, 'äs-] -n
(variant of hostler)
- one who takes care of horses or mules
- one who moves locomotives in and out of a roundhouse
- one who services locomotives
os·to·my ['äs-tə-mē] -n
- an operation (as a colostomy) to create an artificial passage for bodily elimination
os·tra·cise [-,sīz] -vt
(variant of ostracize)
- to exile by ostracism
- to exclude from a group by common consent
os·tra·cism ['äs-trə-,si-zəm] -n
- a method of temporary banishment by popular vote without trial or special accusation practiced in ancient Greece
- exclusion by general consent from common privileges or social acceptance
os·tra·cize [-,sīz] -vt
- to exile by ostracism
- to exclude from a group by common consent
os·tra·cod ['äs-trə-,käd] -n
- any of a subclass (Ostracoda) of very small aquatic crustaceans that have the body enclosed in a bivalve carapace, the body segmentation obscured, the abdomen rudimentary, and only seven pairs of appendages
os·tra·co·derm ['äs-trə-kō-,dərm, äs-'tra-kə-] -n
- any of the early fossil jawless fishes of the Lower Paleozoic usu. having a bony covering of plates or scales
os·tra·con ['äs-trə-,kän] -n
- a fragment (as of pottery) containing an inscription usu. used in pl.
os·trich ['äs-trich, 'ȯs- also -trij] -n, adj
- a swift-footed 2-toed flightless ratite bird ( Struthio camelus) of Africa that is the largest of existing birds and often weighs 300 pounds (140 kilograms)
- rhea
- leather made from ostrich skin
- one who attempts to avoid danger or difficulty by refusing to face it
ostrich fern -n
- any of a genus ( Matteuccia) of temperate-zone ferns
- a tall fern ( M. struthiopteris) with graceful arched fronds which are the source of edible fiddleheads
Os·tro·goth ['äs-trə-,gäth] -n, adj
- a member of the eastern division of the Goths
Os·we·go tea [ä-'swē-gō-] -n
- a No. American mint ( Monarda didyma) with showy scarlet irregular flowers