to [tə, tu̇, 'tü] -prep

  1. used as a function word to indicate movement or an action or condition suggestive of movement toward a place, person, or thing reached
    • drove to the city
    • went back to the original idea
    • went to lunch
  2. used as a function word to indicate direction
    • a mile to the south
    • turned his back to the door
    • a tendency to silliness
  3. used as a function word to indicate contact or proximity
    • applied polish to the table
    • put her hand to her heart
  4. used as a function word to indicate the place or point that is the far limit
    • 100 miles to the nearest town
  5. used as a function word to indicate the limit of extent
    • stripped to the waist
  6. used as a function word to indicate relative position
    • perpendicular to the floor
  7. used as a function word to indicate purpose, intention, tendency, result, or end
    • came to our aid
    • drink to his health
  8. used as a function word to indicate the result of an action or a process
    • broken all to pieces
    • go to seed
    • to their surprise, the train left on time
  9. used as a function word to indicate position or relation in time: as
  10. before
    • five minutes to five
  11. till
    • from eight to five
    • up to now
  12. used as a function word to indicate addition, attachment, connection, belonging, possession, accompaniment, or response
    • the key to the door
    • danced to live music
    • comes to her call
  13. used as a function word (1) to indicate the extent or degree (as of completeness or accuracy)
    • loyal to a man
    • generous to a fault
    or the extent and result (as of an action or a condition)
    • beaten to death
    (2) to indicate the last or an intermediate point of a series
    • moderate to cool temperatures
  14. used as a function word (1) to indicate a relation to one that serves as a standard
    • inferior to her earlier works
    (2) to indicate similarity, correspondence, dissimilarity, or proportion
    • compared him to a god
  15. used as a function word to indicate agreement or conformity
    • add salt to taste
    • to my knowledge
  16. used as a function word to indicate a proportion in terms of numbers or quantities
    • 400 to the box
    • odds of ten to one
  17. used as a function word (1) to indicate the application of an adjective or a noun
    • agreeable to everyone
    • attitude to friends
    • title to the property
    (2) to indicate the relation of a verb to its complement or to a complementary element
    • refers to the traditions
    (3) to indicate the receiver of an action or the one for which something is done or exists
    • gives a dollar to the man
    and often used with a reflexive pronoun to indicate exclusiveness (as of possession) or separateness
    • had the house to themselves
  18. used as a function word to indicate agency
    • falls to his opponent's blows
  19. used as a function word to indicate that the following verb is an infinitive
    • wants to go
    and often used by itself at the end of a clause in place of an infinitive suggested by the preceding context
    • knows more than she seems to
  20. used as a function word to indicate direction toward
    • run to and fro
  21. close to the wind
    • the gale having gone over, we came to -- R. H. Dana
  22. into contact esp. with the frame used of a door or a window
    • the door snapped to
  23. used as a function word to indicate physical application or attachment
    • he...hath set to his seal -- Jn 3:33(AV)
  24. used as a function word to indicate application or attention
    • will stand to -- Shak.
  25. to a state of consciousness or awareness
    • brings her to with smelling salts
  26. at hand : by
    • get to see 'em close to -- Richard Llewellyn

TO -abbr

  1. table of organization
  2. traditional orthography
  3. turnover

toad ['tōd] -n

  1. any of numerous anuran amphibians (esp. family Bufonidae) that are distinguished from the related frogs by being more terrestrial in habit though returning to water to lay their eggs, by having a build that is squatter and shorter with weaker and shorter hind limbs, and by having skin that is rough, dry, and warty rather than smooth and moist
  2. a contemptible person or thing

toad·eat·er [-,ē-tər] -n

  1. toady

toad·fish [-,fish] -n

  1. any of a family (Batrachoididae) of chiefly marine bony fishes having a broad flat head, a wide mouth, and usu. scaleless slimy skin and producing sounds (as grunts) by means of a swim bladder

toad·flax [-,flaks] -n

  1. butter-and-eggs
  2. any of several related plants (esp. genus Linaria) of the snapdragon family

toad·stone [-,stōn] -n

  1. a stone or similar object held to have formed in the head or body of a toad and formerly often worn as a charm or antidote to poison

toad·stool [-,stül] -n

  1. a fungus having an umbrella-shaped pileus : mushroom
  2. a poisonous or inedible one as distinguished from an edible mushroom

toady ['tō-dē] -n

  1. one who flatters in the hope of gaining favors : sycophant
  2. to behave as a toady : engage in sycophancy

toandfro [,tü-ən-'frō] -n

  1. activity involving alternating movement in opposite directions
    • the busy toandfro of the holiday shoppers
  2. forward and backward

to and fro -adv

  1. from one place to another

toast ['tōst] -vb

  1. to warm thoroughly
  2. to make (as bread) crisp, hot, and brown by heat
  3. to become toasted
  4. to warm thoroughly
  5. sliced bread browned on both sides by heat
  6. food prepared with toasted bread
  7. a person whose health is drunk
  8. something in honor of which persons usu. drink
  9. one that is highly admired
    • she's the toast of society
  10. an act of proposing or of drinking in honor of a toast
  11. a rhyming narrative poem existing in oral tradition among black Americans
  12. one that is finished or done for
    • soon their relationship was toast -- Rick Reilly
  13. to propose or drink to as a toast

toast·er ['tō-stər] -n

  1. one that toasts
  2. an electrical appliance for toasting

toaster oven -n

  1. a usu. small electrical appliance that can function as an oven or a toaster

toast·mas·ter ['tōs(t)-,mas-tər] -n

  1. one who presides at a banquet and introduces the after-dinner speakers

toast·mis·tress [-,mis-trəs] -n

  1. a woman who acts as toastmaster

toasty ['tō-stē] -adj

  1. pleasantly or comfortably warm
    • felt snug and toasty by the fire
  2. suggestive of toast esp. in flavor

Tob -abbr

  1. Tobit

to·bac·co [tə-'ba-(,)kō] -n

  1. any of a genus ( Nicotiana) of chiefly American plants of the nightshade family with viscid foliage and tubular flowers
  2. a tall erect annual tropical American herb ( N. tabacum) cultivated for its leaves
  3. the leaves of cultivated tobacco prepared for use in smoking or chewing or as snuff
  4. manufactured products of tobacco (as cigars or cigarettes)
  5. smoking as a practice
    • has sworn off tobacco
  6. a moderate brown

tobacco budworm -n

  1. an American noctuid moth ( Heliothis virescenssyn. Helicoverpa virescens) whose striped and variably colored larva feeds on buds and young leaves esp. of tobacco and cotton

tobacco hornworm -n

  1. an American hawk moth ( Manduca sexta) whose large usu. green larva is a hornworm that feeds on the leaves of plants of the nightshade family and esp. tobacco and tomato

tobacco juice -n

  1. saliva colored brown by tobacco or snuff

tobacco mosaic virus -n

  1. a single-stranded RNA virus (species Tobacco mosaic virusof the genus Tobamovirus) that occurs worldwide and causes mosaic disease in plants (as tobacco and tomato) esp. of the nightshade family

to·bac·co·nist [tə-'ba-kə-nist] -n

  1. a dealer in tobacco esp. at retail

tobacco road -n

  1. a squalid poverty-stricken rural area or community

tobe [tə-'bē] -adj

  1. that is to be : future usu. used postpositively and often in combination
    • a bride- to-be

To·bi·as [tə-'bī-əs] -n

  1. a Jewish hero who with divine aid marries his kinswoman Sarah in spite of a jealous evil spirit and restores his father Tobit's sight
  2. tobit

To·bit ['tō-bət] -n

  1. the elderly father of Tobias
  2. a book of Scripture included in the Roman Catholic canon of the Old Testament and in the Protestant Apocrypha

to·bog·gan [tə-'bä-gən] -n

  1. a long flat-bottomed light sled made usu. of thin boards curved up at one end with usu. low handrails at the sides
  2. a downward course or a sharp decline
  3. stocking cap

toboggan [-gə-nist] -vi, n

  1. to coast on or as if on a toboggan
  2. to decline suddenly and sharply

to·bog·gan·ing [tə-'bä-gə-niŋ] -n

  1. the act, art, or sport of riding a toboggan

to·by jug ['tō-bē-] -n

  1. a small jug, pitcher, or mug shaped somewhat like a stout man with a cocked hat for the brim called also toby

toc·ca·ta [tə-'kä-tə] -n

  1. a musical composition usu. for organ or harpsichord in a free style and characterized by full chords, rapid runs, and high harmonies

To·char·i·an [tō-'ker-ē-ən,-'kär-] -n

  1. a language of central Asia known from documents from the sixth to eighth centuries a.d.
  2. a branch of the Indo-European language family containing Tocharian
  3. a member of a people of presumably Indo-European speech dwelling in central Asia during the first millennium of the Christian era

Tocharian A -n

  1. the eastern dialect of Tocharian

Tocharian B -n

  1. the western dialect of Tocharian

toch·er ['tä-k̲ər] -n

  1. dowry
  2. dowry

to·coph·er·ol [tō-'kä-fə-,rȯl, -,rōl] -n

  1. any of several fat-soluble oily phenolic compounds with varying degrees of antioxidant vitamin E activity
  2. alpha-tocopherol

toc·sin ['täk-sən] -n

  1. an alarm bell or the ringing of it
  2. a warning signal

tod ['täd] -n

  1. fox
  2. any of various units of weight for wool
  3. one equal to 28 pounds (13 kilograms)
  4. a bushy clump (as of ivy)

to·day [tə-'dā] -adv

  1. on or for this day
  2. at the present time

today -n

  1. the present day, time, or age
    • today 's youth
  2. of or characteristic of today : now

tod·dle ['tä-dᵊl] -vi, n

  1. to walk with short tottering steps in the manner of a young child
  2. to take a stroll : saunter

tod·dler ['täd-lər, 'tä-dᵊl-ər] -n

  1. one that toddles
  2. a young child

tod·dy ['tä-dē] -n

  1. the fresh or fermented sap of various chiefly Asian palms
  2. a usu. hot drink consisting of liquor (as rum), water, sugar, and spices

todo [tə-'dü] -n

  1. bustle, stir, fuss

toe ['tō] -n, adj

  1. one of the terminal members of the vertebrate foot
  2. the fore end of a foot or hoof
  3. a terminal segment of a limb of an invertebrate
  4. the forepart of something worn on the foot
    • the toe of a boot
  5. : a part that by its position or form is felt to resemble a toe
    • the toe of Italy
    : as
  6. a lateral projection at one end or between the ends of a piece (as a rod or bolt)
  7. the lowest part (as of an embankment, dam, or cliff)
  8. toe dance
  9. to furnish with a toe
    • toe a sock
  10. to touch, reach, or drive with the toe
    • toe a football
  11. to drive (as a nail) obliquely
  12. to clinch or fasten by or with nails or rods so driven
  13. tiptoe
  14. to stand, walk, or be placed so that the toes assume an indicated position or direction
    • toe in

toea ['tȯi-ə] -n

  1. see kina at

toe cap -n

  1. a piece of material (as leather) covering the toe of a shoe and reinforcing or decorating it

toed ['tōd] -adj

  1. having a toe or toes esp. of a specified kind or number usu. used in combination
    • five- toed
    • round- toed shoes
  2. driven obliquely
    • a toed nail
  3. secured by diagonal or oblique nailing

toe dance -n, vi

  1. a dance executed on the tips of the toes by means of a ballet slipper with a reinforced toe

TOEFL ['tō-fəl] -trademark

  1. used for a test to evaluate the English language skills of nonnative speakers

toe·hold ['tō-,hōld] -n

  1. a hold or place of support for the toes (as in climbing)
  2. a means of progressing (as in surmounting barriers)
  3. a slight footing
    • used his money to get a toehold, then a foothold, then a near stranglehold on the political economy -- R. W. Armstrong
  4. an illegal wrestling hold in which the aggressor bends or twists the other wrestler's foot

toein ['tō-,in] -n

  1. camber
  2. adjustment of the front wheels of an automotive vehicle so that they are closer together at the front than at the back

toe loop -n

  1. a backward jump in figure skating with a takeoff from the outside edge of one skate followed by a full turn in the air and a landing on the outside edge of the same skate

toe·nail ['tō-,nāl, -'nāl] -n

  1. a nail of a toe

toenail -vt

  1. to fasten by toed nails : toe

toe·piece ['tō-,pēs] -n

  1. a piece designed to form a toe (as of a shoe) or cover the toes of the foot

toe·plate [-,plāt] -n

  1. a tab attached to the toe of a shoe (as to prevent wear due to heavy use)

toetotoe -adj or adv

  1. slugging it out at or as if at close range
    • a toetotoe confrontation over the new policy

toff ['täf] -n

  1. dandy, swell

tof·fee ['tȯ-fē, 'tä-] -n

  1. candy of brittle but tender texture made by boiling sugar and butter together

tof·feenosed [-'nōzd] -adj

  1. snobbish

toft ['tȯft, 'täft] -n

  1. a site for a dwelling and its outbuildings
  2. an entire holding comprising a homestead and additional land

to·fu ['tō-(,)fü] -n

  1. a soft food product prepared by treating soybean milk with coagulants (as magnesium chloride or diluted acids) called also bean curd

tog ['täg, 'tȯg] -vt

  1. to dress esp. in fine clothing usu. used with up or out

to·ga ['tō-gə] -n, adj

  1. the loose outer garment worn in public by citizens of ancient Rome
  2. a similar loose wrap or a professional, official, or academic gown

to·ga vi·ri·lis [,tō-gə-və-'rē-ləs, -'ri-] -n

  1. the white toga of manhood assumed by boys of ancient Rome at age 15

to·ga·vi·rus ['tō-gə-,vī-rəs] -n

  1. any of a family ( Togaviridae) of single-stranded RNA viruses that have a spherical virion and include the causative agents of German measles and the three forms of equine encephalitis

to·geth·er [tə-'ge-thər] -adv, n

  1. in or into one place, mass, collection, or group
    • the men get together every Thursday for poker
  2. in a body : as a group
    • students and faculty together presented the petition
  3. in or into contact (as connection, collision, or union)
    • mix these ingredients together
  4. in or into association or relationship
    • colors that go well together
  5. at one time : simultaneously
    • events that happened together
  6. in succession
    • was depressed for days together
  7. by combined action : jointly
    • together we forced the door
  8. in or into agreement or harmony
    • the soloist and the orchestra weren't quite together
  9. in or into a unified or coherent structure or an integrated whole
    • can't even put a simple sentence together
  10. with each other used as an intensive after certain verbs
    • join together
    • add together
  11. as a unit : in the aggregate
    • these arguments taken together make a convincing case
  12. considered as a whole : counted or summed up
    • all together, there were 21 entries

together -adj

  1. appropriately prepared, organized, or balanced
  2. composed in mind or manner : self-possessed

together with -prep

  1. in addition to : in association with

Tog·gen·burg ['tä-gən-,bərg] -n

  1. any of a breed of brown hornless dairy goats of Swiss origin with white stripes on the face

tog·gery ['tä-g(ə-)rē, 'tȯ-] -n

  1. clothing

tog·gle ['tä-gəl] -n

  1. : a piece or device for holding or securing: as
  2. a pin inserted in a nautical knot to make it more secure or easier to slip
  3. a crosspiece attached to the end of or to a loop in something (as a chain, rope, line, strap, or belt) usu. to prevent slipping, to serve in twisting or tightening, or to hold something attached
  4. a device consisting of two bars jointed together end to end but not in line so that when a force is applied to the joint tending to straighten it pressure will be exerted on the parts adjacent or fixed to the outer ends of the bars
  5. a device with a joint using a toggle

toggle [-g(ə-)liŋ] -vb

  1. to fasten with or as if with a toggle
  2. to furnish with a toggle
  3. to switch between two options esp. of an electronic device usu. by pressing a single button or a simple key combination

toggle bolt -n

  1. a bolt that has a nut with wings which close for passage through a small hole and spring open after passing through the hole to keep the bolt from slipping back through

toggle switch -n

  1. an electric switch operated by pushing a projecting lever through a small arc

togs ['tägz, 'tȯgz] -n pl

  1. clothing
  2. a set of clothes and accessories for a specified use
    • riding togs

togue ['tōg] -n

  1. lake trout

To·ho·no O'odham [tō-'hō-nō-] -n

  1. a member of an American Indian people of southwestern Arizona and northwestern Mexico

toil ['tȯi(-ə)l] -n, adj, adv

  1. struggle, battle
  2. laborious effort
  3. long strenuous fatiguing labor
  4. to work hard and long
  5. to proceed with laborious effort : plod
  6. overwork
  7. to get or accomplish with great effort
  8. a net to trap game
  9. something by which one is held fast or inextricably involved : snare, trap usu. used in pl.
    • caught in the toil s of the law

toile ['twäl] -n

  1. any of many plain or simple twill weave fabrics
  2. linen
  3. a mock-up model of a garment

toile de Jouy [,twäl-də-'zhwē] -n

  1. an 18th century French scenic pattern usu. printed on cotton, linen, or silk in one color on a light ground
  2. a similar printed fabric

toi·let ['tȯi-lət] -n

  1. dressing table
  2. the act or process of dressing and grooming oneself
  3. bathroom, lavatory
  4. privy
  5. a fixture that consists usu. of a water-flushed bowl and seat and is used for defecation and urination
  6. cleansing in preparation for or in association with a medical or surgical procedure
    • pulmonary toilet

toilet -vi

  1. to dress and groom oneself
  2. to use the toilet usu. used of a child
  3. dress, garb
  4. to help (as a child or sick person) use the toilet

toilet paper -n

  1. a thin sanitary absorbent paper usu. in a roll for use in drying or cleaning oneself after defecation and urination

toilet powder -n

  1. a fine powder usu. with soothing or antiseptic ingredients for sprinkling or rubbing (as after bathing) over the skin

toi·let·ry ['tȯi-lə-trē] -n

  1. an article or preparation (as toothpaste, shaving cream, or cologne) used in cleaning or grooming oneself usu. used in pl.

toilet soap -n

  1. a mild soap that is often perfumed and colored and stabilized with preservatives

toi·lette [twä-'let] -n

  1. toilet
  2. formal or fashionable attire or style of dress
  3. a particular costume or outfit

toilet training -n, vt

  1. the process of training a child to control bladder and bowel movements and to use the toilet

toilet water -n

  1. eau de toilette

toil·some ['tȯi(-ə)l-səm] -adj, adv, n

  1. marked by or full of toil or fatigue : laborious
    • a toilsome task

toil·worn ['tȯi(-ə)l-,wȯrn] -adj

  1. showing the effects of or worn out with toil
    • toilworn hands

toing and froing ['tü-iŋ-ən(d)-'frō-iŋ] -n

  1. a passing back and forth

to·ka·mak ['tō-kə-,mak, 'tä-] -n

  1. a toroidal device for producing controlled nuclear fusion that involves the confining and heating of a gaseous plasma by means of an electric current and magnetic field

To·kay [tō-'kā] -n

  1. a naturally sweet wine from the area around Tokaj, Hungary
  2. a blend of Angelica, port, and sherry made in California

toke ['tōk] -n, vi

  1. a puff on a marijuana cigarette or pipe

to·ken ['tō-kən] -n

  1. an outward sign or expression
    • his tears were token s of his grief
  2. symbol, emblem
    • a white flag is a token of surrender
  3. an instance of a linguistic expression
  4. a distinguishing feature : characteristic
  5. souvenir, keepsake
  6. a small part representing the whole : indication
    • this is only a token of what we hope to accomplish
  7. something given or shown as a guarantee (as of authority, right, or identity)
  8. a piece resembling a coin issued as money by some person or body other than a de jure government
  9. a piece resembling a coin issued for use (as for fare on a bus) by a particular group on specified terms
  10. a member of a group (as a minority) that is included within a larger group through tokenism
  11. a token employee

token -adj

  1. done or given as a token esp. in partial fulfillment of an obligation or engagement
    • a token payment
  2. representing no more than a symbolic effort : minimal, perfunctory
    • token resistance
    • token integration
  3. serving or intended to show absence of discrimination
    • a token female employee

to·ken·ism ['tō-kə-,ni-zəm] -n

  1. the policy or practice of making only a symbolic effort (as to desegregate)

token money -n

  1. money of regular government issue (as paper currency or coins) having a greater face value than intrinsic value

to·ko·no·ma [,tō-kə-'nō-mə] -n

  1. a niche or alcove in the wall of a Japanese house for the display of a decorative object

Tok Pis·in ['tȯk-'pi-zən, -sən] -n

  1. an English-based creole that is a national language of Papua New Guinea

tol- -comb form

  1. toluene
    • tol yl

to·la ['tō-lə, tō-'lä] -n

  1. a unit of weight of India equal to 180 grains troy or 0.375 ounce troy (11.7 grams)

to·lar ['tō-lär] -n

  1. the basic monetary unit of Slovenia from 1992 to 2007

tol·booth ['tō(l)-,büth, 'täl-, 'tȯl-] -n

  1. a town or market hall
  2. jail, prison

tol·bu·ta·mide [täl-'byü-tə-,mīd] -n

  1. a sulfonylurea C 12H 18N 2O 3S used in the treatment of diabetes

told ['tel] -vb

(variant of tell)

  1. count, enumerate
    • tell the stars, if thou be able to number them -- Gen 15:5(AV)
  2. to relate in detail : narrate
    • told the whole story to us
  3. to give utterance to : say
    • could never tell a lie
  4. to make known : divulge, reveal
    • don't tell your password
  5. to express in words
    • she never told her love -- Shak.
  6. to give information to : inform
    • tell us about your job
  7. to assure emphatically
    • they did not do it, I tell you
  8. order, direct
    • told me to wait
  9. to find out by observing : recognize
    • you can tell it's a masterpiece
  10. to give an account
    • an article telling of her experience
  11. to act as an informer often used with on
    • I'll get even with you if you ever tell on me -- Inside Detective
  12. to have a marked effect
    • the pressure was beginning to tell on him
  13. to serve as evidence or indication
  14. hill, mound
  15. an ancient mound in the Middle East composed of remains of successive settlements

tole ['tōl] -n

  1. sheet metal and esp. tinplate for use in domestic and ornamental wares in which it is usu. japanned or painted and often elaborately decorated
  2. objects made of tole

To·le·do [tə-'lē-(,)dō] -n

  1. a finely tempered sword of a kind made in Toledo, Spain

tol·er·a·ble ['tä-lə-rə-bəl, 'täl-rə-; 'tä-lər-bəl] -adj, n, adv

  1. capable of being borne or endured
    • tolerable pain
  2. moderately good or agreeable : passable
    • a tolerable singing voice

tol·er·ance ['tä-lə-rən(t)s, 'täl-rən(t)s] -n

  1. capacity to endure pain or hardship : endurance, fortitude, stamina
  2. sympathy or indulgence for beliefs or practices differing from or conflicting with one's own
  3. the act of allowing something : toleration
  4. the allowable deviation from a standard
  5. the range of variation permitted in maintaining a specified dimension in machining a piece
  6. the capacity of the body to endure or become less responsive to a substance (as a drug) or a physiological insult esp. with repeated use or exposure
    • developed a tolerance to painkillers
  7. the immunological state marked by unresponsiveness to a specific antigen
  8. relative capacity of an organism to grow or thrive when subjected to an unfavorable environmental factor
  9. the maximum amount of a pesticide residue that may lawfully remain on or in food

tol·er·ant ['tä-lə-rənt, 'täl-rənt] -adj, adv

  1. inclined to tolerate
  2. marked by forbearance or endurance
    • tolerant parents
    • a culture tolerant of religious differences
  3. exhibiting tolerance (as for a drug or an environmental factor)

tol·er·ate ['tä-lə-,rāt] -vt, adj, n

  1. to endure or resist the action of (as a drug or food) without serious side effects or discomfort : exhibit physiological tolerance for
  2. to allow to be or to be done without prohibition, hindrance, or contradiction
  3. to put up with
    • learn to tolerate one another

tol·er·a·tion [,tä-lə-'rā-shən] -n

  1. the act or practice of tolerating something
  2. a government policy of permitting forms of religious belief and worship not officially established
  3. tolerance

tol·i·dine ['tä-lə-,dēn] -n

  1. any of several isomeric aromatic diamines C 14H 16N 2that are homologues of benzidine and used esp. as dye intermediates

toll ['tōl] -n

  1. a tax or fee paid for some liberty or privilege (as of passing over a highway or bridge)
  2. : compensation for services rendered: as
  3. a charge for transportation
  4. a charge for a long-distance telephone call
  5. a grievous or ruinous price
    • inflation has taken its toll
  6. cost in life or health
    • the death toll from the hurricane
  7. to take or levy toll
  8. to exact part of as a toll
  9. to take as toll
  10. to exact a toll from (someone)
  11. allure, entice
  12. to entice (game) to approach
  13. to attract (fish) with scattered bait
  14. to lead or attract (domestic animals) to a desired point
  15. to sound (a bell) by pulling the rope
  16. to give signal or announcement of
    • the clock toll ed each hour
  17. to announce by tolling
    • church bells toll ed the death of the bishop
  18. to call to or from a place or occasion
    • bells toll ed the congregation to church
  19. to sound with slow measured strokes
    • the bell toll s solemnly
  20. the sound of a tolling bell

toll·booth ['tōl-,büth] -n

  1. a booth (as on a highway or bridge) where tolls are paid

toll call -n

  1. a long-distance telephone call at charges above a local rate

tollfree ['tōl-'frē] -adj or adv

  1. having or using a direct telephone line or number (as an 800 number) for a long-distance call that is not charged to the caller
    • a tollfree number
    • called tollfree

toll·gate ['tōl-,gāt] -n

  1. a point where the driver of a vehicle must pay a toll

toll·house [-,hau̇s] -n

  1. a house or booth where tolls are taken

Toll House -trademark

  1. used for cookies containing chocolate morsels

toll·way [-,wā] -n

  1. turnpike

Tol·tec ['tōl-,tek, 'täl-] -n, adj

  1. a member of a people that dominated central and southern Mexico prior to the Aztecs

tol·u·ene ['täl-yə-,wēn] -n

  1. a liquid aromatic hydrocarbon C 7H 8that resembles benzene but is less volatile, flammable, and toxic and is used esp. as a solvent, in organic synthesis, and as an antiknock agent for gasoline

to·lu·i·dine [tə-'lü-ə-,dēn] -n

  1. any of three isomeric amino derivatives of toluene C 7H 9N that are analogous to aniline and are used as dye intermediates

toluidine blue -n

  1. a basic thiazine dye that is related to methylene blue and is used as a biological stain

tol·u·ol ['täl-yə-,wȯl, -,wōl] -n

  1. toluene

tol·yl ['tä-ləl] -n

  1. any of three monovalent radicals CH 3C 6H 4derived from toluene

tom ['täm] -n

  1. : the male of various animals: as
  2. tomcat
  3. a male turkey
  4. uncle tom

tom·a·hawk ['tä-mi-,hȯk] -n

  1. a light ax used as a missile and as a hand weapon esp. by No. American Indians

tomahawk -vt

  1. to cut, strike, or kill with a tomahawk

to·mal·ley [tə-'ma-lē, -'mä-; 'tä-,ma-lē, -mə-lē] -n

  1. the liver of the lobster

Tom and Jer·ry [,täm-ən(d)-'jer-ē] -n

  1. a hot drink that is a combination of a toddy and an eggnog

to·ma·til·lo [,tō-mə-'tē-(,)yō, -'tēl-(,)yō] -n

  1. the small round yellow, purplish, and esp. pale green edible sticky fruit of a Mexican ground-cherry ( Physalis ixocarpasyn. P. philadelphica)
  2. the plant that bears tomatillos

to·ma·to [tə-'mā-(,)tō; chiefly Brit, eNewEng, neVirginia, and sometimes elsewhere in cultivated speech -'mä-; chiefly Northern -'ma-] -n

  1. the usu. large rounded typically red or yellow pulpy berry of an herb (genus Lycopersicon) of the nightshade family native to So. America
  2. a plant that produces tomatoes
  3. one ( Lycopersicon esculentumsyn. L. lycopersicum) that is a tender perennial widely cultivated as an annual for its edible fruit

to·ma·to·ey [-tə-wē] -adj

  1. of, relating to, or characteristic of a tomato
  2. richly flavored with tomatoes

tomato fruitworm -n

  1. corn earworm

tomato hornworm -n

  1. a No. American hawk moth ( Manduca quinquemaculata) whose green larva is a hornworm feeding on leaves of plants of the nightshade family and esp. tobacco and tomato

tomb ['tüm] -n, adj

  1. an excavation in which a corpse is buried : grave
  2. a place of interment
  3. a house, chamber, or vault for the dead
  4. a building or structure resembling a tomb (as in appearance)
  5. bury, entomb

tom·bac ['täm-,bak] -n

  1. an alloy essentially of copper and zinc and sometimes tin or arsenic that is used esp. for cheap jewelry and gilding

tom·bo·lo ['tōm-bə-,lō, 'täm-] -n

  1. a sand or gravel bar connecting an island with the mainland or another island

tom·boy ['täm-,bȯi] -n, adj

  1. a girl who behaves in a manner usu. considered boyish

tomb·stone ['tüm-,stōn] -n

  1. gravestone

tom·cat ['täm-,kat] -n

  1. a male domestic cat

tomcat -vi

  1. to seek sexual gratification promiscuously : cat often used with around

tom·cod ['täm-,käd] -n

  1. either of two small fishes ( Microgadus tomcodof the Atlantic and M. proximusof the Pacific) of the cod family

Tom Col·lins ['täm-'kä-lənz] -n

  1. a collins with a base of gin

Tom, Dick, and Har·ry [,täm-,dik-ən(d)-'ha-rē] -n

  1. the common man : anyone often used with every
    • helps every Tom, Dick, and Harry in need

tome ['tōm] -n

  1. a volume forming part of a larger work
  2. book
  3. a large or scholarly book

to·men·tose [tō-'men-,tōs, 'tō-mən-] -adj

  1. covered with densely matted woolly hairs
    • a tomentose leaf

to·men·tum [tō-'men-təm] -n

  1. pubescence composed of densely matted woolly hairs

tom·fool ['täm-'fül] -n

  1. a great fool : blockhead

tomfool -adj

  1. extremely foolish, stupid, or doltish

tom·fool·ery [,täm-'fül-rē, -'fü-lə-] -n

  1. playful or foolish behavior

Tom·my ['tä-mē] -n

  1. a British soldier

Tommy At·kins [-'at-kənz] -n

  1. tommy

tom·mygun ['tä-mē-,gən] -vt

  1. to shoot with a tommy gun

tommy gun -n

  1. thompson submachine gun
  2. submachine gun

tom·my·rot ['tä-mē-,rät] -n

  1. utter foolishness or nonsense

to·mo·gram ['tō-mə-,gram] -n

  1. an image (as a radiograph) generated by tomography

to·mog·ra·phy [tō-'mä-grə-fē] -n, adj

  1. a method of producing a three-dimensional image of the internal structures of a solid object (as the human body or the earth) by the observation and recording of the differences in the effects on the passage of waves of energy impinging on those structures

to·mor·row [tə-'mär-(,)ō, -'mȯr-] -adv

  1. on or for the day after today
    • will do it tomorrow

tomorrow -n

  1. the day after the present
    • the court will recess until tomorrow
  2. future
    • the world of tomorrow

tompion ['tam-pē-ən, 'täm-] -n

(variant of tampion)

  1. a wooden plug or a metal or canvas cover for the muzzle of a gun

Tom Thumb ['täm-'thəm] -n

  1. a legendary English dwarf
  2. a dwarf type, race, or individual

tom·tit ['täm-,tit, täm-'] -n

  1. any of various small active birds

tomtom ['täm-,täm, 'təm-,təm] -n

  1. a usu. long and narrow small-headed drum commonly beaten with the hands
  2. a monotonous beating, rhythm, or rhythmical sound

ton ['tən] -n

  1. a unit of internal capacity for ships equal to 100 cubic feet called also register ton
  2. a unit approximately equal to the volume of a long ton weight of seawater used in reckoning the displacement of ships and equal to 35 cubic feet
  3. a unit of volume for cargo freight usu. reckoned at 40 cubic feet called also measurement ton
  4. : any of various units of weight:
  5. metric ton
  6. a great quantity : lot
    • ate ton s of cookies
    • has ton s of money
    • a ton of work to do
  7. the prevailing fashion : vogue
  8. the quality or state of being smart or fashionable

ton·al ['tō-nᵊl] -adj, adv

  1. of or relating to tone, tonality, or tonicity
  2. having tonality

to·nal·i·ty [tō-'na-lə-tē] -n

  1. tonal quality
  2. key
  3. the organization of all the tones and harmonies of a piece of music in relation to a tonic
  4. the arrangement or interrelation of the tones of a work of visual art

ton·do ['tän-(,)dō] -n

  1. a circular painting
  2. a sculptured medallion

tone ['tōn] -n

  1. vocal or musical sound of a specific quality
    • spoke in low tone s
    • masculine tone s
  2. musical sound with respect to timbre and manner of expression
  3. a sound of definite pitch and vibration
  4. whole step
  5. accent or inflection expressive of a mood or emotion
  6. the pitch of a word often used to express differences of meaning
  7. a particular pitch or change of pitch constituting an element in the intonation of a phrase or sentence
    • high tone
    • low tone
    • mid tone
    • low-rising tone
    • falling tone
  8. style or manner of expression in speaking or writing
    • seemed wise to adopt a conciliatory tone
  9. color quality or value
  10. a tint or shade of color
  11. the color that appreciably modifies a hue or white or black
    • gray walls of greenish tone
  12. the effect in painting of light and shade together with color
  13. the state of a living body or of any of its organs or parts in which the functions are healthy and performed with due vigor
  14. normal tension or responsiveness to stimuli
  15. muscular tonus
  16. healthy elasticity : resiliency
  17. general character, quality, or trend
    • a city's upbeat tone
  18. frame of mind : mood
  19. intone
  20. to give a particular intonation or inflection to
  21. to impart tone to : strengthen
    • medicine to tone up the system
  22. to soften or reduce in intensity, color, appearance, or sound : mellow often used with down
  23. to change the normal silver image of (as a photographic print) into a colored image
  24. to assume a pleasing color quality or tint
  25. to blend or harmonize in color

tone·arm ['tōn-,ärm] -n

  1. the movable part of a phonograph or record player that carries the pickup and permits the needle to follow the record groove

tone color -n

  1. timbre

toned -adj

  1. having tone or a specified tone : characterized or distinguished by a tone
  2. having a slight tint

tonedeaf ['tōn-,def] -adj, n

  1. relatively insensitive to differences in musical pitch

tone language -n

  1. a language (as Chinese or Zulu) in which variations in tone distinguish words or phrases of different meaning that otherwise would sound alike

tone·less ['tōn-ləs] -adj, adv, n

  1. lacking in tone, modulation, or expression
    • a toneless voice

to·neme ['tō-,nēm] -n, adj

  1. an intonation phoneme in a tone language

tone poem -n

  1. symphonic poem

ton·er ['tō-nər] -n

  1. : one that tones or is a source of tones: as
  2. a solution used to impart color to a silver photographic image
  3. a substance (as a thermoplastic powder) used esp. to develop an image (as a latent xerographic image) on a piece of paper
  4. a liquid cosmetic for cleansing the skin and contracting the pores

tone row -n

  1. the chosen sequence of tones that serves as the basis for a work of serial music
  2. twelve-tone row

to·net·ic [tō-'ne-tik] -adj, adv

  1. relating to linguistic tones or to tone languages
  2. of or relating to intonation
    • tonetic notation

to·net·ics [-tiks] -n pl but sing in constr

  1. the use or study of linguistic tones

to·nette [tō-'net] -n

  1. a simple fipple flute with a range somewhat larger than an octave that is often used in elementary music education

toney ['tō-nē] -adj

(variant of tony)

  1. marked by an aristocratic or high-toned manner or style
    • tony private schools

tong ['täŋ, 'tȯŋ] -n

  1. a secret society or fraternal organization esp. of Chinese in the U.S. formerly notorious for gang warfare
  2. to take, gather, hold, or handle with tongs
    • tong oysters
  3. to use tongs esp. in taking or gathering something

ton·ga ['täŋ-gə] -n

  1. a light 2-wheeled vehicle for two or four persons drawn by one horse and common in India

Ton·gan ['täŋ-gən also -ən] -n, adj

  1. a member of a Polynesian people of Tonga
  2. the Polynesian language of the Tongans

tongs ['täŋz, 'tȯŋz] -n pl but sing or pl in constr

  1. any of numerous grasping devices consisting commonly of two pieces joined at one end by a pivot or hinged like scissors

tongue ['təŋ] -n, adj

  1. a fleshy movable muscular process of the floor of the mouths of most vertebrates that bears sensory end organs and small glands and functions esp. in taking and swallowing food and in humans as a speech organ
  2. a part of various invertebrate animals that is analogous to the tongue
  3. the flesh of a tongue (as of the ox or sheep) used as food
  4. the power of communication through speech
  5. language
  6. a spoken language
  7. manner or quality of utterance with respect to tone or sound, the sense of what is expressed, or the intention of the speaker
    • she has a clever tongue
    • a sharp tongue
  8. ecstatic usu. unintelligible utterance usu. accompanying religious excitation usu. used in pl.
  9. the cry of or as if of a hound pursuing or in sight of game used esp. in the phrase to give tongue
  10. a tapering flame
    • tongue s of fire
  11. a long narrow strip of land projecting into a body of water
  12. : something resembling an animal's tongue in being elongated and fastened at one end only: as
  13. a movable pin in a buckle
  14. a metal ball suspended inside a bell so as to strike against the sides as the bell is swung
  15. the pole of a vehicle
  16. the flap under the lacing or buckles of a shoe at the throat of the vamp
  17. the rib on one edge of a board that fits into a corresponding groove in an edge of another board to make a flush joint
  18. feather
  19. scold
  20. to touch or lick with or as if with the tongue
  21. to cut a tongue on
    • tongue a board
  22. to join (as boards) by means of a tongue and groove
    • tongue flooring together
  23. to articulate (notes) by tonguing
  24. to project in a tongue
  25. to articulate notes on a wind instrument by successively interrupting the stream of wind with the action of the tongue

tongue and groove -n, adj

  1. a joint made by a tongue on one edge of a board fitting into a corresponding groove on the edge of another board

tongued -adj

  1. having a tongue esp. of a specified kind often used in combination
    • sharp- tongued

tongueincheek -adj

  1. characterized by insincerity, irony, or whimsical exaggeration

tongue in cheek -adv

  1. with insincerity, irony, or whimsical exaggeration

tonguelash ['təŋ-,lash] -vb, n

  1. chide, scold

tongue·less ['təŋ-ləs] -adj

  1. having no tongue
  2. lacking power of speech : mute

tonguetie ['təŋ-,tī] -vt

  1. to deprive of speech or the power of distinct articulation
  2. limited mobility of the tongue due to a short frenulum connecting its underside to the floor of the mouth

tonguetied ['təŋ-,tīd] -adj

  1. unable or disinclined to speak freely (as from shyness)
  2. affected with tongue-tie

tongue twister -n

  1. a word, phrase, or sentence difficult to articulate because of a succession of similar consonantal sounds (as in twin-screw steel cruiser)

ton·ic ['tä-nik] -adj, adv

  1. characterized by tonus
    • tonic contraction of muscle
  2. marked by prolonged muscular contraction
    • tonic convulsions
  3. producing or adapted to produce healthy muscular condition and reaction of organs (as muscles)
  4. increasing or restoring physical or mental tone : refreshing
  5. yielding a tonic substance
  6. relating to or based on the first tone of a scale
    • tonic harmony
  7. bearing a principal stress or accent
  8. of or relating to speech tones or to languages using them to distinguish words otherwise identical

tonic -n

  1. the first tone of a major or minor scale : keynote
  2. an agent (as a drug) that increases body tone
  3. one that invigorates, restores, refreshes, or stimulates
    • a day in the country was a tonic for him
  4. a liquid preparation for the scalp or hair
  5. a carbonated flavored beverage
  6. tonic water
  7. a voiced sound

tonic accent -n

  1. relative phonetic prominence (as from greater stress or higher pitch) of a spoken syllable or word
  2. accent depending on pitch rather than stress

to·nic·i·ty [tō-'ni-sə-tē] -n

  1. the property of possessing tone
  2. healthy vigor of body or mind
  3. muscular tonus

tonic solfa -n

  1. a system of solmization based on key relationships that replaces the normal notation with sol-fa syllables or their initials

tonic water -n

  1. a carbonated beverage flavored with a small amount of quinine, lemon, and lime

to·night [tə-'nīt] -adv

  1. on this present night or the night following this present day
    • will do it tonight

tonight -n

  1. the present night or the night following this present day

ton·ka bean ['täŋ-kə-] -n

  1. the coumarin-containing seed of any of several tropical American leguminous trees (genus Dipteryx,esp. D. odorata) that is used in perfumes and as an artificial vanilla flavoring
  2. a tree bearing tonka beans

ton·nage ['tə-nij] -n

  1. a duty formerly levied on every tun of wine imported into England
  2. a duty or impost on vessels based on cargo capacity
  3. a duty on goods per ton transported
  4. ships in terms of the total number of tons registered or carried or of their carrying capacity
  5. the cubical content of a merchant ship in units of 100 cubic feet
  6. the displacement of a warship
  7. total weight in tons shipped, carried, or produced
  8. impressively large amount or weight

tonne ['tən] -n

  1. metric ton

ton·neau ['tä-,nō, tə-'nō] -n

  1. the rear seating compartment of an automobile
  2. the entire seating compartment
  3. a shape of watch case or dial resembling a barrel in profile

ton·ner ['tə-nər] -n

  1. an object (as a ship) having a specified tonnage used in combination
    • a thousand- tonner

to·nom·e·ter [tō-'nä-mə-tər] -n

  1. an instrument or device for determining the exact pitch or the vibration rate of tones
  2. an instrument for measuring tension or pressure and esp. intraocular pressure

to·no·plast ['tō-nə-,plast] -n

  1. a semipermeable membrane surrounding a vacuole in a plant cell

ton·sil ['tän(t)-səl] -n, adj

  1. either of a pair of prominent masses of lymphoid tissue that lie one on each side of the throat between two folds of soft tissue that bound the fauces
  2. any of various masses of lymphoid tissue (as the adenoids) that are similar to tonsils

tonsill- -comb form

  1. tonsil
    • tonsill ectomy

ton·sil·lec·to·my [,tän(t)-sə-'lek-tə-mē] -n

  1. the surgical removal of the tonsils

ton·sil·li·tis [-'lī-təs] -n

  1. inflammation of the tonsils

ton·so·ri·al [tän-'sȯr-ē-əl] -adj

  1. of or relating to a barber or the work of a barber

ton·sure ['tän(t)-shər] -n

  1. the Roman Catholic or Eastern rite of admission to the clerical state by the clipping or shaving of a portion of the head
  2. the shaven crown or patch worn by monks and other clerics
  3. a bald spot resembling a tonsure

tonsure ['tän(t)-sh(ə-)riŋ] -vt

  1. to shave the head of
  2. to confer the tonsure upon

ton·tine ['tän-,tēn, tän-'] -n

  1. a joint financial arrangement whereby the participants usu. contribute equally to a prize that is awarded entirely to the participant who survives all the others

to·nus ['tō-nəs] -n

  1. tone
  2. a state of partial contraction characteristic of normal muscle

tony ['tō-nē] -adj

  1. marked by an aristocratic or high-toned manner or style
    • tony private schools

To·ny ['tō-nē] -n

  1. a medallion awarded annually by a professional organization for notable achievement in the theater

too ['tü] -adv

  1. besides, also
    • sell the house and furniture too
  2. to an excessive degree : excessively
    • too large a house for us
  3. to such a degree as to be regrettable
    • this time he has gone too far
  4. very
    • didn't seem too interested
  5. so
    • I didn't do it. You did too.

took ['tāk] -vb, n

(variant of take)

  1. : to get into one's hands or into one's possession, power, or control: as
  2. to seize or capture physically
    • took them as prisoners
  3. to get possession of (as fish or game) by killing or capturing
  4. to move against (as an opponent's piece in chess) and remove from play
  5. to win in a card game
    • able to take 12 tricks
  6. to acquire by eminent domain
  7. grasp, grip
    • take the ax by the handle
  8. to catch or attack through the effect of a sudden force or influence
    • taken with a fit of laughing
    • taken ill
  9. to catch or come upon in a particular situation or action
    • was taken unawares
  10. to gain the approval or liking of : captivate, delight
    • was quite taken with her at their first meeting
  11. to receive into one's body (as by swallowing, drinking, or inhaling)
    • take a pill
  12. to put oneself into (as sun, air, or water) for pleasure or physical benefit
  13. to partake of : eat
    • take s dinner about seven
  14. to bring or receive into a relation or connection
    • take s just four students a year
    • it's time he took a wife
  15. to copulate with
  16. : to transfer into one's own keeping:
  17. appropriate
    • someone took my hat
  18. to obtain or secure for use (as by lease, subscription, or purchase)
    • take a cottage for the summer
    • I'll take the red one
    • took an ad in the paper
  19. assume
    • gods often took the likeness of a human being
    • when the college took its present form
  20. to enter into or undertake the duties of
    • take a job
    • take office
  21. to move onto or into : move into position on
    • the home team took the field
    • take the witness stand
  22. to bind oneself by
    • take the oath of office
  23. to make (a decision) esp. with finality or authority
  24. to impose upon oneself
    • take the trouble to do good work
    • take pains to make her feel welcome
  25. to adopt as one's own
    • take a stand on the issue
    • take an interest
  26. to align or ally oneself with
    • mother took his side
  27. to assume as if rightfully one's own or as if granted
    • take the credit
  28. to accept the burden or consequences of
    • took the blame
  29. to have or assume as a proper part of or accompaniment to itself
    • transitive verbs take an object
  30. to secure by winning in competition
    • took first place
  31. defeat
  32. to pick out : choose, select
    • took the best apple
  33. : to adopt, choose, or avail oneself of for use: as
  34. to have recourse to as an instrument for doing something
    • take a scythe to the weeds
  35. to use as a means of transportation or progression
    • take the bus
  36. to have recourse to for safety or refuge
    • take shelter
  37. to go along, into, or through
    • took a different route
  38. to proceed to occupy
    • take a seat in the rear
  39. to use up (as space or time)
    • take s a long time to dry
  40. need, require
    • take s a size nine shoe
    • it take s two to start a fight
  41. to obtain by deriving from a source : draw
    • take s its title from the name of the hero
  42. to obtain as the result of a special procedure : ascertain
    • take the temperature
    • take a census
  43. to get in or as if in writing
    • take notes
    • take an inventory
  44. to get by drawing or painting or by photography
    • take a snapshot
  45. to get by transference from one surface to another
    • take a proof
    • take fingerprints
  46. : to receive or accept whether willingly or reluctantly
    • take a bribe
    • will you take this call
    • take a bet
    : as
  47. to submit to : endure
    • take a cut in pay
  48. withstand
    • it will take a lot of punishment
  49. suffer
    • took a direct hit
  50. to accept as true : believe
    • I'll take your word for it
  51. follow
    • take my advice
  52. to accept or regard with the mind in a specified way
    • took the news hard
    • you take yourself too seriously
  53. to indulge in and enjoy
    • was taking his ease on the porch
  54. to receive or accept as a return (as in payment, compensation, or reparation)
    • we don't take credit cards
  55. to accept in a usu. professional relationship often used with on
    • agreed to take him on as a client
  56. to refrain from hitting at (a pitched ball)
    • take a strike
  57. to let in : admit
    • the boat was taking water fast
  58. accommodate
    • the suitcase wouldn't take another thing
  59. to be affected injuriously by (as a disease) : contract
    • take cold
  60. to be seized by
    • take a fit
    • take fright
  61. to absorb or become impregnated with (as dye)
  62. to be effectively treated by
    • a surface that take s a fine polish
  63. apprehend, understand
    • how should I take your remark
  64. consider, suppose
    • I take it you're not going
  65. reckon, accept
    • taking a stride at 30 inches
  66. feel, experience
    • take pleasure
    • take an instant dislike to someone
    • take offense
  67. to lead, carry, or cause to go along to another place
    • this bus will take you into town
    • took an umbrella with her
  68. to cause to move to a specified state, condition, or sphere of activity
    • took the company public
    • took his team to the finals
  69. to stop prescribing a specified regimen to used with off
    • took him off the medication
  70. remove
    • take eggs from a nest
  71. to put an end to (life)
  72. to remove by death
    • was taken in his prime
  73. subtract
    • take two from four
  74. exact
    • the weather took its toll
  75. to undertake and make, do, or perform
    • take a walk
    • take aim
    • take legal action
    • take a test
    • take a look
  76. to participate in
    • take a meeting
  77. to deal with
    • take first things first
  78. to consider or view in a particular relation
    • taken together, the details were significant
  79. to consider as an example
    • take style, for instance
  80. to apply oneself to the study of
    • take music lessons
    • take French
  81. to study for esp. successfully
    • taking a degree in engineering
    • took holy orders
  82. to obtain money from esp. fraudulently
    • took me for all I had
  83. to pass or attempt to pass through, along, or over
    • took the curve too fast
    • take the stairs two at a time
  84. : to obtain possession: as
  85. capture
  86. to receive property under law as one's own
  87. to lay hold : catch, hold
  88. to establish a take esp. by uniting or growing
    • 90 percent of the grafts take
  89. to betake oneself : set out : go
    • take after a purse snatcher
  90. used as an intensifier or redundantly with a following verb
    • took and swung at the ball
  91. to take effect : act, operate
    • hoped the lesson he taught would take
  92. to show the natural or intended effect
    • dry fuel take s readily
  93. charm, captivate
    • a taking smile
  94. detract
  95. to be seized or attacked in a specified way : become
    • took sick
  96. : something that is taken:
  97. the amount of money received : proceeds, receipts, income
  98. share, cut
    • wanted a bigger take
  99. the number or quantity (as of animals, fish, or pelts) taken at one time : catch, haul
  100. a section or installment done as a unit or at one time
  101. a scene filmed or televised at one time without stopping the camera
  102. a sound recording made during a single recording period
  103. a trial recording
  104. : an act or the action of taking: as
  105. the action of killing, capturing, or catching (as game or fish)
  106. the uninterrupted photographing or televising of a scene
  107. the making of a sound recording
  108. a local or systemic reaction indicative of successful vaccination (as against smallpox)
  109. a successful union (as of a graft)
  110. a visible response or reaction (as to something unexpected)
    • a delayed take
  111. a distinct or personal point of view, outlook, or assessment
    • was asked for her take on recent developments
  112. a distinct treatment or variation
    • a new take on an old style

tool ['tül] -n

  1. a handheld device that aids in accomplishing a task
  2. the cutting or shaping part in a machine or machine tool
  3. a machine for shaping metal : machine tool
  4. something (as an instrument or apparatus) used in performing an operation or necessary in the practice of a vocation or profession
    • a scholar's books are his tool s
  5. an element of a computer program (as a graphics application) that activates and controls a particular function
    • a drawing tool
  6. a means to an end
    • a book's cover can be a marketing tool
  7. penis
  8. one that is used or manipulated by another
  9. natural ability
    • has all the tool s to be a great pitcher
  10. to cause (a vehicle) to go : drive
  11. to convey in a vehicle
  12. to shape, form, or finish with a tool
  13. to letter or ornament (as leather or gold) by means of hand tools
  14. to equip (as a plant or industry) with tools, machines, and instruments for production
  15. drive, ride
  16. to equip a plant or industry with the means (as machines, machine tools, and instruments) of production often used with up
  17. a design (as on the binding of a book) made by tooling

tool·bar ['tül-,bär] -n

  1. a strip of icons on a computer display providing quick access to certain functions

tool·box ['tül-,bäks] -n

  1. a chest for tools

tool·hold·er [-,hōl-dər] -n

  1. a short steel bar having a shank at one end by which it is clamped to a machine and a clamp at the other end to hold small interchangeable cutting bits

tool·house [-,hau̇s] -n

  1. toolshed

tool·mak·er ['tül-,mā-kər] -n

  1. one that makes tools
  2. a machinist who specializes in the construction, repair, maintenance, and calibration of the tools, jigs, fixtures, and instruments of a machine shop

tool·mak·ing [-kiŋ] -n

  1. the action, process, or art of making tools
  2. the trade of a toolmaker

tool·room ['tül-,rüm, -,ru̇m] -n

  1. a room where tools are kept
  2. a room in a machine shop in which tools are made, stored, and issued for use by workers

tool·shed [-,shed] -n

  1. an outbuilding for storing tools

tools of ignorance

  1. a baseball catcher's equipment

tool subject -n

  1. a subject studied to gain competence in a skill used in other subjects

toom ['tüm] -adj

  1. empty

toon ['tün] -n

  1. a southeast Asian and Australian tree ( Toona ciliatasyn. Cedrela toona) of the mahogany family with aromatic dark red to reddish-brown wood
  2. its wood

toot ['tüt] -vb, n

  1. to sound a short blast
    • the horn toot ed
  2. to sound a note or call suggesting the short blast of a wind instrument
  3. to blow or sound an instrument (as a horn) esp. so as to produce short blasts
  4. to cause to sound
    • toot a whistle
  5. to take in (as cocaine) by inhalation : snort
  6. a short blast (as on a horn)
  7. a sound resembling such a blast
  8. a drinking bout : spree

tooth ['tüth] -n, adj

  1. one of the hard bony appendages that are borne on the jaws or in many of the lower vertebrates on other bones in the walls of the mouth or pharynx and serve esp. for the prehension and mastication of food and as weapons of offense and defense
  2. any of various usu. hard and sharp processes esp. about the mouth of an invertebrate
  3. taste, liking
  4. : a projection resembling or suggesting the tooth of an animal in shape, arrangement, or action
    • a saw tooth
    : as
  5. any of the regular projections on the circumference or sometimes the face of a wheel that engage with corresponding projections on another wheel esp. to transmit force : cog
  6. a small sharp-pointed marginal lobe or process on a plant
  7. something that injures, tortures, devours, or destroys
    • jealousy with rankling tooth -- Thomas Gray
  8. effective means of enforcement
    • drug laws with teeth
  9. a roughness of surface produced by mechanical or artificial means

tooth·ache ['tüth-,āk] -n

  1. pain in or about a tooth

tooth and nail -adv

  1. with every available means : all out
    • fight tooth and nail

tooth·brush ['tüth-,brəsh] -n

  1. a brush for cleaning the teeth

tooth·brush·ing -n

  1. the action of using a toothbrush to clean teeth

toothed ['tütht, uncompounded also 'tü-thəd] -adj

  1. having teeth esp. of a specified kind or number often used in combination
    • fine- toothed

toothed whale ['tütht-, 'tü-thəd-] -n

  1. any of a suborder (Odontoceti) of cetaceans (as a dolphin, porpoise, or killer whale) bearing usu. numerous simple conical teeth

tooth fairy -n

  1. a fairy believed by children to leave money while they sleep in exchange for a tooth that has come out

tooth·less ['tüth-ləs] -adj

  1. having no teeth
  2. lacking in sharpness or bite
    • spoke in toothless generalities -- Arthur Hepner
  3. lacking in means of enforcement or coercion : ineffectual

tooth·paste [-,pāst] -n

  1. a paste for cleaning the teeth

tooth·pick [-,pik] -n

  1. a pointed instrument (as a slender tapering piece of wood) for removing food particles lodged between the teeth

tooth powder -n

  1. a powder for cleaning the teeth

tooth shell -n

  1. any of a class (Scaphopoda) of burrowing marine mollusks with a tapering tubular shell
  2. this shell

tooth·some ['tüth-səm] -adj, adv, n

  1. agreeable, attractive
  2. sexually attractive
    • a toothsome blonde
  3. of palatable flavor and pleasing texture : delicious
    • crisp toothsome fried chicken

tooth·wort [-,wərt, -,wȯrt] -n

  1. a European parasitic plant ( Lathraea squamaria) of the broomrape family having pink-tinged white flowers and tooth-shaped scaly leaves
  2. any of several cresses (genus Dentaria) that have usu. fleshy scaly rhizomes and are sometimes placed in the same genus as the bitter cresses

toothy ['tü-thē] -adj, adv

  1. having or showing prominent teeth
    • toothy grin
  2. toothsome

too·tle ['tü-tᵊl] -vb, n

  1. to toot gently, repeatedly, or continuously
  2. to drive or move along in a leisurely manner
  3. to toot continuously on
    • tootled his flute

tootoo ['tü-'tü] -adj

  1. going beyond the bounds of convention, good taste, or common sense : extreme
  2. la-di-da

toot·sie ['tu̇t-sē] -n

  1. dear, sweetheart
  2. prostitute

toot·sy ['tu̇t-sē] -n

  1. foot

top ['täp] -n, adj

  1. the highest point, level, or part of something : summit, crown
  2. the head or top of the head used esp. in the phrase top to toe
  3. the head of a plant
  4. the aboveground part of a plant having edible roots
    • beet top s
  5. a garment worn on the upper body
  6. the highest or uppermost region or part
  7. the upper end, edge, or surface
  8. a fitted, integral, or attached part or unit serving as an upper piece, lid, or covering
  9. a platform surrounding the head of a lower mast that serves to spread the topmast rigging, strengthen the mast, and furnish a standing place for men aloft
  10. a comparable part of the superstructure
  11. such a part on a warship used as a fire-control station or antiaircraft gun platform
  12. the highest degree or pitch conceivable or attained : acme, pinnacle
  13. the loudest or highest range of a sound
  14. the part that is nearest in space or time to the source or beginning
  15. the first half of an inning in baseball
  16. the highest position (as in rank or achievement)
  17. a person or thing at the top
  18. aces and kings in a hand or the three highest honors in a suit
  19. the choicest part : cream, pick
  20. a forward spin given to a ball (as in golf or billiards) by striking it on or near the top or above the center
  21. the stroke so given
  22. a fundamental quark that has an electric charge of + 2/3 and a measured energy of approximately 175 GeV
  23. the flavor characterizing this particle
  24. : to remove or cut the top of
  25. to shorten or remove the top of (a plant) : pinch
  26. to cover with a top or on the top : provide, form, or serve as a top for
  27. to supply with a decorative or protective finish or final touch
  28. to resupply or refill to capacity usu. used with off
    • topped off the tank
  29. to complete the basic structure of (as a high-rise building) by putting on a cap or uppermost section usu. used with out or off
  30. to bring to an end or climax usu. used with off
    • the event was topped off with a relay race -- Paula Rodenas
  31. to be or become higher than : overtop
    • top s the previous record
  32. to be superior to : excel, surpass
  33. to gain ascendancy over : dominate
  34. to rise to, reach, or be at the top of
  35. to go over the top of : clear, surmount
  36. to strike (a ball) above the center thereby imparting topspin
  37. to make an end, finish, or conclusion
  38. to reach a summit or crest usu. used with off or out
  39. of, relating to, or being at the top : uppermost
  40. chief, leading
    • one of the world's top journalists
  41. of the highest quality, amount, or degree
    • top value
    • top form
  42. a commonly cylindrical or conoidal device that has a tapering point on which it is made to spin and that is used esp. as a toy

top- -comb form

  1. place : locality
    • topo logy
    • top onymy
  2. topology
    • topo isomerase

to·paz ['tō-,paz] -n

  1. a mineral that is essentially a silicate of aluminum and usu. occurs in orthorhombic translucent or transparent crystals or in white translucent masses
  2. a usu. yellow to brownish-yellow transparent mineral topaz used as a gem
  3. a yellow sapphire
  4. a yellow quartz
  5. either of two large brilliantly colored So. American hummingbirds ( Topaza pellaand T. pyra)

top banana -n

  1. the leading comedian in a burlesque show
  2. kingpin

top billing -n

  1. prominent emphasis, featuring, or advertising
  2. the position at the top of a theatrical bill usu. featuring the star's name

top boot -n

  1. a high boot often with light-colored leather bands around the upper part

top·coat ['täp-,kōt] -n

  1. a lightweight overcoat
  2. overcoat

top·cross [-,krȯs] -n

  1. a cross between a superior or purebred male and inferior female stock to improve the average quality of the progeny
  2. the product of such a cross

top dog -n

  1. a person, group, or thing in a position of authority esp. through victory in a hard-fought competition

top dollar -n

  1. the highest amount being paid for a commodity or service
    • willing to pay top dollar to get them -- Dean Failey

topdown ['täp-'dau̇n] -adj

  1. controlled, directed, or instituted from the top level
    • a topdown corporate structure
  2. proceeding by breaking large general aspects (as of a problem) into smaller more detailed constituents : working from the general to the specific
    • topdown programming
    • topdown design

top drawer [-'drȯ(-ə)r] -n, adj

  1. the highest level of society, authority, or excellence

topdress ['täp-,dres] -vt

  1. to apply material to (as land or a road) without working it in
  2. to scatter fertilizer over (land)

top·dress·ing [-,dre-siŋ] -n

  1. a material used to top-dress soil

tope ['tōp] -vi

  1. to drink liquor to excess
  2. a small slender cosmopolitan shark ( Galeorhinus galeus) valued for its flesh, fins, and oil-rich liver
  3. stupa

to·pee [tō-'pē, 'tō-(,)pē] -n

  1. a lightweight helmet-shaped hat made of pith or cork

topend ['täp-'end] -adj

  1. topflight
    • topend equipment

top·er ['tō-pər] -n

  1. one that topes
  2. drunkard

top·flight ['täp-'flīt] -adj, n

  1. of, relating to, or being the highest level of achievement, excellence, or eminence

Top 40 -n pl

  1. the forty best-selling audio recordings for a given period
  2. constituting, playing, listing, or relating to the Top 40
    • Top 40 hits
    • Top 40 stations
    • Top 40 charts

top·ful ['täp-'fu̇l] -adj

  1. brimful

top·gal·lant [(,)täp-'ga-lənt, tə-'ga-] -adj

  1. of, relating to, or being a part next above the topmast and below the royal mast
    • topgallant sails
    • the topgallant mast

topgallant -n

  1. the topmost point : summit
    • the high topgallant of my joy -- Shak.
  2. a topgallant mast or sail

top gun -n

  1. one who is at the top (as in ability, rank, or prestige)

topham·per ['täp-'ham-pər] -n

  1. matter or weight (as spars or rigging) in the upper part of a ship
  2. unnecessary cumbersome matter

top hat -n

  1. a tall-crowned hat usu. of beaver or silk

topheavy ['täp-,he-vē] -adj

  1. having the top part too heavy for the lower part
  2. having too high a proportion of administrators
    • a topheavy bureaucracy
  3. oversupplied with one element at the expense of others : lacking balance
    • a novel topheavy with description

To·phet ['tō-fət] -n

  1. hell, gehenna

tophole ['täp-'hōl] -adj

  1. excellent, first-class

to·phus ['tō-fəs] -n

  1. a deposit of urates in tissues (as cartilage) that is characteristic of gout

to·pi ['tō-pē] -n

  1. a sub-Saharan antelope ( Damaliscus lunatussyn. D. korrigum) having a glossy usu. reddish-brown coat with purplish-black and yellowish markings

to·pi·ary ['tō-pē-,er-ē] -adj

  1. of, relating to, or being the practice or art of training, cutting, and trimming trees or shrubs into odd or ornamental shapes
  2. characterized by such work

topiary -n

  1. topiary art or gardening
  2. a topiary garden
  3. a plant shaped by topiary art
  4. topiary plants

top·ic ['tä-pik] -n

  1. one of the general forms of argument employed in probable reasoning
  2. argument, reason
  3. a heading in an outlined argument or exposition
  4. the subject of a discourse or of a section of a discourse

top·i·cal ['tä-pi-kəl] -adj, adv

  1. of, relating to, or arranged by topics
    • set down in topical form
  2. referring to the topics of the day or place : of local or temporary interest
    • a topical novel
    • topical references
  3. designed for or involving local application and action (as on the body)
    • a topical anesthetic
    • a topical remedy

top·i·cal·i·ty [,tä-pə-'ka-lə-tē] -n

  1. the quality or state of being topical
  2. an item of topical interest

topic sentence -n

  1. a sentence that states the main thought of a paragraph or of a larger unit of discourse and is usu. placed at or near the beginning

top·kick ['täp-'kik] -n

  1. first sergeant

top·knot [-,nät] -n

  1. an ornament (as a knot of ribbons or a pompom) forming a headdress or worn as part of a coiffure
  2. a crest of feathers or tuft of hair on the top of the head

top·less [-ləs] -adj, n

  1. so high as to reach up beyond sight
    • and burnt the topless towers of Ilium -- Christopher Marlowe
  2. being without a top
  3. wearing no clothing on the upper body
  4. featuring topless waitresses or entertainers
    • topless bars
  5. being a place where topless women are permitted
    • a topless beach

top·line [-,līn] -n

  1. the outline of the top of the body of an animal (as a dog or horse)

top·lofty ['täp-,lȯf-tē] -adj, adv, n

  1. very superior in air or attitude

top·mast ['täp-,mast, -məst] -n

  1. the mast that is next above the lower mast and is topmost in a fore-and-aft rig

top milk -n

  1. the upper layer of milk in a container enriched by whatever cream has risen

top·min·now ['täp-,mi-(,)nō] -n

  1. any of several live-bearers (family Poeciliidae) or killifish (family Cyprinodontidae)

top·most ['täp-,mōst] -adj

  1. highest of all : uppermost

topnotch [-'näch] -adj, n

  1. of the highest quality : first-rate
    • a topnotch work

topo -abbr

  1. topographic; topographical

to·po·cen·tric [,tä-pə-'sen-trik, ,tō-] -adj

  1. relating to, measured from, or as if observed from a particular point on the earth's surface : having or relating to such a point as origin
    • topocentric coordinates

topoftheline -adj

  1. top-notch
  2. being or belonging to the highest or most expensive class
    • topoftheline camera equipment

to·pog·ra·pher [tə-'pä-grə-fər] -n

  1. a specialist in topography

to·po·graph·ic [,tä-pə-'gra-fik, ,tō-] -adj

  1. of, relating to, or concerned with topography
    • topographic maps

to·po·graph·i·cal [-fi-kəl] -adj, adv

  1. topographic
  2. of, relating to, or concerned with the artistic representation of a particular locality
    • a topographical poem
    • topographical painting

to·pog·ra·phy [tə-'pä-grə-fē] -n

  1. the art or practice of graphic delineation in detail usu. on maps or charts of natural and man-made features of a place or region esp. in a way to show their relative positions and elevations
  2. topographical surveying
  3. the configuration of a surface including its relief and the position of its natural and man-made features
  4. the physical or natural features of an object or entity and their structural relationships
    • the topography of human chromosomes
    • the political topography of our time

topo·isom·er·ase [,tō-pō-ī-'sä-mə-,rās, -,rāz] -n

  1. any of a class of enzymes that reduce supercoiling in DNA by breaking and rejoining one or both strands of the DNA molecule

to·po·log·i·cal [,tä-pə-'lä-ji-kəl] -adj, adv

  1. of or relating to topology
  2. being or involving properties unaltered under a homeomorphism
    • continuity and connectedness are topological properties

topological group -n

  1. a mathematical group which is also a topological space, whose multiplicative operation has the property that given any neighborhood of a product there exist neighborhoods of the elements composing the product such that any pair of elements representing each of these neighborhoods form a product belonging to the given neighborhood, and whose operation of taking inverses has the property that for any neighborhood of the inverse of an element there exists a neighborhood of the element itself in which every element has its inverse in the other neighborhood

topologically equivalent -adj

  1. related by a homeomorphism

topological space -n

  1. a set with a collection of subsets satisfying the conditions that both the empty set and the set itself belong to the collection, the union of any number of the subsets is also an element of the collection, and the intersection of any finite number of the subsets is an element of the collection

topological transformation -n

  1. homeomorphism

to·pol·o·gy [tə-'pä-lə-jē, tä-] -n

  1. topographic study of a particular place
  2. the history of a region as indicated by its topography
  3. a branch of mathematics concerned with those properties of geometric configurations (as point sets) which are unaltered by elastic deformations (as a stretching or a twisting) that are homeomorphisms
  4. the set of all open subsets of a topological space
  5. configuration
    • topology of a molecule
    • topology of a magnetic field

top·o·nym ['tä-pə-,nim, 'tō-] -n

  1. place-name

top·o·nym·ic [,tä-pə-'ni-mik, ,tō-] -adj

  1. of or relating to toponyms or toponymy

to·pon·y·my [tə-'pä-nə-mē, tō-] -n

  1. the place-names of a region or language or esp. the etymological study of them

to·pos ['tō-,päs, 'tä-] -n

  1. a traditional or conventional literary or rhetorical theme or topic

top·per ['tä-pər] -n

  1. one that puts on or takes off tops
  2. one that is at or on the top
  3. silk hat
  4. opera hat
  5. something (as a joke) that caps everything preceding
  6. a woman's usu. short and loose-fitting lightweight outer coat

topping -n

  1. something that forms a top
  2. a garnish (as a sauce, bread crumbs, or whipped cream) placed on top of a food for flavor or decoration
  3. the action of one that tops
  4. something removed by topping
  5. highest in rank or eminence
  6. proud, arrogant
  7. excellent

top·ple ['tä-pəl] -vb

  1. to fall from or as if from being top-heavy
  2. to cause to topple
  3. overthrow
    • topple a dictator
  4. defeat

top round -n

  1. meat from the inner part of a round of beef

tops ['täps] -adj

  1. topmost in quality, ability, popularity, or importance used predicatively
    • is tops in his field
  2. at the very most
    • will cost 50, tops

top·sail ['täp-,sāl, -səl] -n

  1. the sail next above the lowermost sail on a mast in a square-rigged ship
  2. the sail set above and sometimes on the gaff in a fore-and-aft rigged ship

top secret -adj

  1. protected by a high degree of secrecy
    • a top secret weapon
    • a top secret meeting
  2. containing or being information whose unauthorized disclosure could result in exceptionally grave danger to the nation
    • top secret messages
  3. of or relating to top secret documents
    • a top secret clearance

top sergeant -n

  1. first sergeant

topshelf ['täp-'shelf] -adj

  1. of the best quality

top·side ['täp-'sīd] -n

  1. the top portion of the outer surface of a ship on each side above the waterline
  2. the highest level of authority
  3. the upper portion of the ionosphere

topside -adv or adj

  1. to or on the top or surface
  2. in a position of authority
  3. on deck

TopSid·er ['täp-,sī-dər] -trademark

  1. used for a low casual shoe having a rubber sole

top·soil ['täp-,sȯi(-ə)l] -n

  1. surface soil usu. including the organic layer in which plants have most of their roots and which the farmer turns over in plowing

top·spin [-,spin] -n

  1. a rotary motion imparted to a ball that causes it to rotate forward in the direction it is traveling

top·stitch ['täp-,stich] -vt

  1. to make a line of stitching on the outside of (a garment) close to a seam

top·sytur·vi·ness [,täp-sē-'tər-vē-nəs] -n

  1. the quality or state of being topsy-turvy

top·sytur·vy [,täp-sē-'tər-vē] -adv

  1. in utter confusion or disorder
  2. with the top or head downward : upside down

topsyturvy [-'tər-və-lē] -adj, adv, n

  1. turned topsy-turvy : totally disordered
  2. topsy-turviness

top up ['täp-,əp] -vt, n

  1. to make up to the full quantity, capacity, or amount
  2. to replenish a supply

top·work ['täp-,wərk] -vt

  1. to graft scions of another variety on the main branches of (as fruit trees) usu. to obtain more desirable fruit

toque ['tōk] -n

  1. a woman's small hat without a brim made in any of various soft close-fitting shapes
  2. tuque
  3. a tall brimless hat worn by a chef called also toque blanche

tor ['tȯr] -n

  1. a high craggy hill

To·rah ['tȯr-ə, 'tȯi-rə] -n

  1. the body of wisdom and law contained in Jewish Scripture and other sacred literature and oral tradition
  2. the five books of Moses constituting the Pentateuch
  3. a leather or parchment scroll of the Pentateuch used in a synagogue for liturgical purposes

torch ['tȯrch] -n

  1. a burning stick of resinous wood or twist of tow used to give light and usu. carried in the hand : flambeau
  2. something (as tradition, wisdom, or knowledge) likened to a torch as giving light or guidance
    • pass the torch to the next generation
  3. any of various portable devices for emitting an unusually hot flame
  4. flashlight
  5. incendiary
  6. to set fire to with or as if with a torch

torch·bear·er [-,ber-ər] -n

  1. one that carries a torch
  2. someone in the forefront of a campaign, crusade, or movement

tor·chere [,tȯr-'sher] -n

  1. a tall ornamental stand for a candlestick or candelabra
  2. an electric floor lamp giving indirect light

torch·light [-,līt] -n

  1. light given by torches
  2. torch

tor·chon ['tȯr-,shän] -n

  1. a coarse bobbin or machine-made lace made with fan-shaped designs forming a scalloped edge

torch singer -n

  1. a singer of torch songs

torch song -n

  1. a popular sentimental song of unrequited love

torch·wood ['tȯrch-,wu̇d] -n

  1. any of a genus ( Amyris) of tropical American trees and shrubs of the rue family with hard heavy fragrant resinous streaky yellowish-brown wood
  2. the wood of a torchwood

torchy ['tȯr-chē] -adj

  1. of, relating to, characteristic of, or being a torch song or torch singer
    • a torchy ballad

tore ['tir] -n, adj

(variant of tear)

  1. a drop of clear saline fluid secreted by the lacrimal gland and diffused between the eye and eyelids to moisten the parts and facilitate their motion
  2. a secretion of profuse tears that overflow the eyelids and dampen the face
  3. a transparent drop of fluid or hardened fluid matter (as resin)
  4. an act of weeping or grieving
    • broke into tear s
  5. to fill with tears : shed tears
    • eyes tear ing in the November wind -- Saul Bellow
  6. to separate parts of or pull apart by force : rend
  7. to wound by or as if by tearing : lacerate
    • tear the skin
  8. to divide or disrupt by the pull of contrary forces
    • a mind torn with doubts
  9. to remove by force : wrench often used with off
    • tear a cover off a box
  10. to remove as if by wrenching
    • tear your thoughts away from the scene
  11. to make or effect by or as if by tearing
    • tear a hole in the wall
  12. to separate on being pulled : rend
    • this cloth tear s easily
  13. to move or act with violence, haste, or force
    • went tear ing down the street
  14. to smash or penetrate something with violent force
    • the bullet tore through his leg
  15. damage from being torn
  16. a hole or flaw made by tearing
  17. the act of tearing
  18. a tearing pace : hurry
  19. spree
    • got paid and went on a tear
  20. a run of unusual success
    • the team was on a tear

to·re·a·dor ['tȯr-ē-ə-,dȯr, 'tär-] -n

  1. torero, bullfighter

to·re·ro [tə-'rer-(,)ō] -n

  1. a matador or a member of the attending cuadrilla

to·reu·tics [tə-'rü-tiks] -n pl but sing in constr, adj

  1. the art or process of working in metal esp. by embossing or chasing

tori ['tȯr-əs] -n

(variant of torus)

  1. a large molding of convex profile commonly occurring as the lowest molding in the base of a column
  2. the thickening of a membrane closing a wood-cell pit (as of gymnosperm tracheids) having the secondary cell wall arched over the pit cavity
  3. a doughnut-shaped surface generated by a circle rotated about an axis in its plane that does not intersect the circle
  4. toroid
  5. a smooth rounded anatomical protuberance (as a bony ridge on the skull)

to·ric ['tȯr-ik] -adj

  1. of, relating to, or shaped like a torus or segment of a torus
    • a toric lens

to·rii ['tȯr-ē-,ē] -n

  1. a Japanese gateway of light construction commonly built at the approach to a Shinto shrine

tor·ment ['tȯr-,ment] -n

  1. the infliction of torture (as by rack or wheel)
  2. extreme pain or anguish of body or mind : agony
  3. a source of vexation or pain
  4. to cause severe usu. persistent or recurrent distress of body or mind to
    • cattle torment ed by flies
  5. distort, twist

tor·men·til ['tȯr-mən-,til] -n

  1. a yellow-flowered Eurasian cinquefoil ( Potentilla erectasyn. P. tormentilla) with a root sometimes used in tanning and dyeing

tor·men·tor [tȯr-'men-tər, 'tȯr-,] -n

  1. one that torments
  2. a fixed curtain or flat on each side of a theater stage that prevents the audience from seeing into the wings

torn ['tir] -n, adj

(variant of tear)

  1. a drop of clear saline fluid secreted by the lacrimal gland and diffused between the eye and eyelids to moisten the parts and facilitate their motion
  2. a secretion of profuse tears that overflow the eyelids and dampen the face
  3. a transparent drop of fluid or hardened fluid matter (as resin)
  4. an act of weeping or grieving
    • broke into tear s
  5. to fill with tears : shed tears
    • eyes tear ing in the November wind -- Saul Bellow
  6. to separate parts of or pull apart by force : rend
  7. to wound by or as if by tearing : lacerate
    • tear the skin
  8. to divide or disrupt by the pull of contrary forces
    • a mind torn with doubts
  9. to remove by force : wrench often used with off
    • tear a cover off a box
  10. to remove as if by wrenching
    • tear your thoughts away from the scene
  11. to make or effect by or as if by tearing
    • tear a hole in the wall
  12. to separate on being pulled : rend
    • this cloth tear s easily
  13. to move or act with violence, haste, or force
    • went tear ing down the street
  14. to smash or penetrate something with violent force
    • the bullet tore through his leg
  15. damage from being torn
  16. a hole or flaw made by tearing
  17. the act of tearing
  18. a tearing pace : hurry
  19. spree
    • got paid and went on a tear
  20. a run of unusual success
    • the team was on a tear

tor·na·dic [tȯr-'nā-dik, -'na-] -adj

  1. relating to, characteristic of, or constituting a tornado
    • tornadic winds
    • a tornadic storm

tor·na·do [tȯr-'nā-(,)dō] -n

  1. a tropical thunderstorm
  2. a squall accompanying a thunderstorm in Africa
  3. a violent destructive whirling wind accompanied by a funnel-shaped cloud that progresses in a narrow path over the land
  4. a violent windstorm : whirlwind

tor·nil·lo [tȯr-'nē-(,)yō, -'ni-(,)lō] -n

  1. screwbean

to·roid ['tȯr-,ȯid] -n

  1. a surface generated by a closed plane curve rotated about a line that lies in the same plane as the curve but does not intersect it
  2. a body whose surface has the form of a toroid

to·roi·dal [tȯ-'rȯi-dᵊl] -adj, adv

  1. of, relating to, or shaped like a torus or toroid : doughnut-shaped
    • a toroidal resistance coil

tor·pe·do [tȯr-'pē-(,)dō] -n

  1. electric ray
  2. : a weapon for destroying ships by rupturing their hulls below the waterline: as
  3. a submarine mine
  4. a thin cylindrical self-propelled underwater projectile
  5. a small firework that explodes when thrown against a hard object
  6. a professional gunman or assassin
  7. submarine

torpedo [-'pē-də-wiŋ] -vt

  1. to hit or sink (a ship) with a naval torpedo : strike or destroy by torpedo
  2. to destroy or nullify altogether : wreck
    • torpedo a plan

torpedo boat -n

  1. a boat designed for launching torpedoes
  2. a small very fast boat with one or more torpedo tubes

torpedo bomber -n

  1. a military airplane designed to carry torpedoes called also torpedo plane

torpedo tube -n

  1. a tube from which torpedoes are fired

tor·pid ['tȯr-pəd] -adj, n

  1. having lost motion or the power of exertion or feeling : dormant, numb
  2. sluggish in functioning or acting
    • a torpid frog
    • a torpid mind
  3. lacking in energy or vigor : apathetic, dull

tor·por ['tȯr-pər] -n

  1. a state of mental and motor inactivity with partial or total insensibility
  2. a state of lowered physiological activity typically characterized by reduced metabolism, heart rate, respiration, and body temperature that occurs in varying degrees esp. in hibernating and estivating animals
  3. apathy, dullness

torque ['tȯrk] -n

  1. a usu. metal collar or neck chain worn by the ancient Gauls, Germans, and Britons
  2. a force that produces or tends to produce rotation or torsion
    • an automobile engine delivers torque to the drive shaft
  3. a measure of the effectiveness of such a force that consists of the product of the force and the perpendicular distance from the line of action of the force to the axis of rotation
  4. a turning or twisting force
  5. to impart torque to : cause to twist (as about an axis)

torque converter -n

  1. a device for transmitting and amplifying torque esp. by hydraulic means

torr ['tȯr] -n

  1. a unit of pressure equal to of an atmosphere (about 133.3 pascals)

tor·rent ['tȯr-ənt, 'tär-] -n

  1. a tumultuous outpouring : rush
  2. a violent stream of a liquid (as water or lava)
  3. a channel of a mountain stream

torrent -adj

  1. torrential

tor·ren·tial [tȯ-'ren(t)-shəl, tə-] -adj, adv

  1. relating to or having the character of a torrent
    • torrential rains
  2. caused by or resulting from action of rapid streams
    • torrential gravel
  3. resembling a torrent in violence or rapidity of flow

tor·rid ['tȯr-əd, 'tär-] -adj, n, adv

  1. parched with heat esp. of the sun : hot
    • torrid sands
  2. giving off intense heat : scorching
  3. ardent, passionate
    • torrid love letters

torrid zone -n

  1. the region of the earth between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn

tor·sade [tȯr-'säd, -'sād] -n

  1. a twisted cord or ribbon used esp. as a hat ornament

tor·sion ['tȯr-shən] -n, adj, adv

  1. the twisting or wrenching of a body by the exertion of forces tending to turn one end or part about a longitudinal axis while the other is held fast or turned in the opposite direction
  2. the state of being twisted
  3. the twisting of a bodily organ or part on its own axis
  4. the reactive torque that an elastic solid exerts by reason of being under torsion

torsion bar -n

  1. a long metal element in an automobile suspension that has one end held rigidly to the frame end and the other twisted and connected to the axle and that acts as a spring

tor·so ['tȯr-(,)sō] -n

  1. a sculptured representation of the trunk of a human body
  2. something (as a piece of writing) that is mutilated or left unfinished
  3. the human trunk

tort ['tȯrt] -n

  1. a wrongful act other than a breach of contract for which relief may be obtained in the form of damages or an injunction

torte ['tȯrt-ə, 'tȯrt] -n

  1. a cake made with many eggs and often grated nuts or dry bread crumbs and usu. covered with a rich frosting

tor·tel·li·ni [,tȯr-tə-'lē-nē] -n

  1. pasta in the form of little ring-shaped cases containing a filling (as of meat or cheese)

tor·ti·col·lis [,tȯr-tə-'kä-ləs] -n

  1. a twisting of the neck to one side that results in abnormal carriage of the head and is usu. caused by muscle spasms called also wryneck

tor·ti·lla [tȯr-'tē-yə] -n

  1. a thin round of unleavened cornmeal or wheat flour bread usu. eaten hot with a topping or filling (as of ground meat or cheese)

tor·tious ['tȯr-shəs] -adj, adv

  1. implying or involving tort

tor·toise ['tȯr-təs] -n

  1. any of a family (Testudinidae) of terrestrial turtles
  2. turtle
  3. someone or something regarded as slow or laggard

tortoise beetle -n

  1. any of various chrysomelid beetles (subfamily Cassidinae) with leaf-eating larvae

tor·toise·shell ['tȯr-tə-,shel, -əsh-,shel] -n

  1. the mottled horny substance of the shell of the hawksbill turtle used esp. formerly in inlaying and in making various ornamental articles
  2. any of several showy nymphalid butterflies (genera Nymphalisand Aglais)

tortoiseshell -adj

  1. made of or resembling tortoiseshell esp. in mottled brown and yellow coloring
    • tortoiseshell glasses
  2. of, relating to, or being a color pattern of the domestic cat consisting of patches of black, orange, and cream

tor·to·ni [tȯr-'tō-nē] -n

  1. ice cream made of heavy cream often with minced almonds and chopped maraschino cherries and often flavored with rum

tor·tri·cid ['tȯr-trə-səd] -n, adj

  1. any of a family (Tortricidae) of small stout-bodied moths many of whose larvae feed in fruits

tor·trix ['tȯr-triks] -n

  1. a tortricid moth

tor·tu·os·i·ty [,tȯr-chə-'wä-sə-tē] -n

  1. the quality or state of being tortuous
  2. something winding or twisted : bend

tor·tu·ous ['tȯrch-wəs, 'tȯr-chə-] -adj, adv, n

  1. marked by repeated twists, bends, or turns : winding
    • a tortuous path
  2. marked by devious or indirect tactics : crooked, tricky
    • a tortuous conspiracy
  3. circuitous, involved
    • the tortuous jargon of legal forms

tor·ture ['tȯr-chər] -n

  1. anguish of body or mind : agony
  2. something that causes agony or pain
  3. the infliction of intense pain (as from burning, crushing, or wounding) to punish, coerce, or afford sadistic pleasure
  4. distortion or overrefinement of a meaning or an argument : straining

torture ['tȯrch-riŋ, 'tȯr-chə-] -vt, n

  1. to cause intense suffering to : torment
  2. to punish or coerce by inflicting excruciating pain
  3. to twist or wrench out of shape : distort, warp

tor·tur·ous ['tȯrch-rəs, 'tȯr-chə-] -adj, adv

  1. causing torture
    • torturous inquisitions
  2. very unpleasant or painful
    • a torturous day
    • torturous self-doubts
  3. painfully difficult or slow
    • the torturous course of the negotiations

tor·u·la ['tȯr-yə-lə, 'tär-, -ə-lə] -n

  1. any of various fungi (genus Torula) and esp. yeasts that lack sexual spores, do not produce alcoholic fermentations, and are typically acid formers called also torula yeast

to·rus ['tȯr-əs] -n

  1. a large molding of convex profile commonly occurring as the lowest molding in the base of a column
  2. the thickening of a membrane closing a wood-cell pit (as of gymnosperm tracheids) having the secondary cell wall arched over the pit cavity
  3. a doughnut-shaped surface generated by a circle rotated about an axis in its plane that does not intersect the circle
  4. toroid
  5. a smooth rounded anatomical protuberance (as a bony ridge on the skull)

To·ry ['tȯr-ē] -n, adj

  1. a dispossessed Irishman subsisting as an outlaw chiefly in the 17th century
  2. bandit, outlaw
  3. a member or supporter of a major British political group of the 18th and early 19th centuries favoring at first the Stuarts and later royal authority and the established church and seeking to preserve the traditional political structure and defeat parliamentary reform
  4. conservative
  5. an American upholding the cause of the British Crown against the supporters of colonial independence during the American Revolution : loyalist
  6. an extreme conservative esp. in political and economic principles

Tory Democracy -n

  1. a political philosophy advocating preservation of established institutions and traditional principles combined with political democracy and a social and economic program designed to benefit the common man

To·ry·ism ['tȯr-ē-,i-zəm] -n

  1. the principles and practices of or associated with Tories
  2. the British Tory party or its members

tosh ['täsh] -n

  1. sheer nonsense : bosh, twaddle

toss ['tȯs, 'täs] -vb, n

  1. to fling or heave continuously about, to and fro, or up and down
    • a ship toss ed by waves
  2. bandy
  3. to mix lightly until well coated with a dressing or until the elements are thoroughly combined
    • toss a salad
  4. to make uneasy : stir up : disturb
  5. to throw with a quick, light, or careless motion or with a sudden jerk
    • toss a ball around
  6. to throw up in the air
    • toss ed by a bull
  7. match
  8. to send as if by throwing
    • toss ed in jail
    • toss ed out of the game
  9. to get rid of : throw away
  10. to fling or lift with a sudden motion
    • toss es her head angrily
  11. to tilt suddenly so as to empty by drinking
    • toss ed his glass
  12. to consume by drinking
    • toss down a drink
  13. to accomplish, provide, or produce readily or easily
    • toss off a few verses
  14. throw
    • toss a party
  15. vomit often used in the phrase toss one's cookies
  16. to move restlessly or turbulently
  17. to twist and turn repeatedly
    • toss ed sleeplessly all night
  18. to move with a quick or spirited gesture
  19. to decide an issue by flipping a coin
  20. the state or fact of being tossed
  21. : an act or instance of tossing: as
  22. an abrupt tilting or upward fling
  23. a deciding by chance and esp. by flipping a coin
  24. throw, pitch

toss·pot [-,pät] -n

  1. drunkard, sot

tossup [-,əp] -n

  1. toss
  2. an even chance
  3. something that offers no clear basis for choice

tos·ta·da [tō-'stä-də] -n

  1. a tortilla fried in deep fat

tot ['tät] -n

  1. a small child : toddler
  2. a small drink or allowance of liquor : shot
  3. to add together : total usu. used with up
    • tot s up the score
  4. add

to·tal ['tō-tᵊl] -adj

  1. comprising or constituting a whole : entire
    • the total amount
  2. absolute, utter
    • a total failure
    • a total stranger
  3. involving a complete and unified effort esp. to achieve a desired effect
    • total war
    • total theater

total -n

  1. a product of addition : sum
  2. an entire quantity : amount
  3. totally
  4. to add up : compute
  5. to amount to : number
  6. to make a total wreck of : demolish
  7. to damage so badly that the cost of repairs exceeds the market value of the vehicle
    • total ed the car

total depravity -n

  1. a state of corruption due to original sin held in Calvinism to infect every part of man's nature and to make the natural man unable to know or obey God

total eclipse -n

  1. an eclipse in which one celestial body is completely obscured by the shadow or body of another

to·tal·ism ['tō-tᵊl-,i-zəm] -n, adj

  1. totalitarianism

to·tal·i·tar·i·an [(,)tō-,ta-lə-'ter-ē-ən] -adj

  1. of or relating to centralized control by an autocratic leader or hierarchy : authoritarian, dictatorial
  2. despotic
  3. of or relating to a political regime based on subordination of the individual to the state and strict control of all aspects of the life and productive capacity of the nation esp. by coercive measures (as censorship and terrorism)
  4. advocating or characteristic of totalitarianism
  5. completely regulated by the state esp. as an aid to national mobilization in an emergency
  6. exercising autocratic powers : tending toward monopoly

totalitarian -n

  1. an advocate or practitioner of totalitarianism

to·tal·i·tar·i·an·ism [(,)tō-,ta-lə-'ter-ē-ə-,ni-zəm] -n

  1. centralized control by an autocratic authority
  2. the political concept that the citizen should be totally subject to an absolute state authority

to·tal·i·ty [tō-'ta-lə-tē] -n

  1. an aggregate amount : sum, whole
  2. the quality or state of being total : wholeness
  3. the phase of an eclipse during which it is total : state of total eclipse

to·tal·iza·tor ['tō-tᵊl-ə-,zā-tər] -n

  1. pari-mutuel

to·tal·ize ['tō-tᵊl-,īz] -vt

  1. to add up : total
  2. to express as a whole

to·tal·iz·er [-,ī-zər] -n

  1. : one that totalizes: as
  2. pari-mutuel
  3. a device (as a meter) that records a remaining total (as of fuel)

to·tal·ly ['tō-tᵊl-ē] -adv

  1. in a total manner : to a total or complete degree : wholly, entirely

total recall -n

  1. the faculty of remembering with complete clarity and in complete detail

tote ['tōt] -vt, n

  1. to carry by hand : bear on the person : lug, pack
  2. haul, convey
  3. burden, load
  4. tote bag
  5. add, total usu. used with up
    • toted up his accomplishments -- G. P. Morrill
  6. pari-mutuel

tote bag -n

  1. a large 2-handled open-topped bag (as of canvas)

tote board -n

  1. an electrically operated board (as at a racetrack) on which pertinent information (as betting odds and race results) is posted

to·tem ['tō-təm] -n

  1. an object (as an animal or plant) serving as the emblem of a family or clan and often as a reminder of its ancestry
  2. a usu. carved or painted representation of such an object
  3. a family or clan identified by a common totemic object
  4. one that serves as an emblem or revered symbol

to·tem·ic [tō-'te-mik] -adj

  1. of, relating to, suggestive of, or characteristic of a totem or totemism
    • a totemic animal
  2. based on or practicing totemism
    • totemic clan structure

to·tem·ism ['tō-tə-,mi-zəm] -n

  1. belief in kinship with or a mystical relationship between a group or an individual and a totem
  2. a system of social organization based on totemic affiliations

to·tem·is·tic [,tō-tə-'mis-tik] -adj

  1. totemic

totem pole -n

  1. a pole or pillar carved and painted with a series of totemic symbols representing family lineage and often mythical or historical incidents and erected by Indian tribes of the northwest coast of No. America
  2. an order of rank : hierarchy

toth·er ['tə-thər] -pron or adj

  1. the other

to·ti·po·tent [tō-'ti-pə-tənt, ,tō-tə-'pō-tᵊnt] -adj, n

  1. capable of developing into a complete organism or differentiating into any of its cells or tissues
    • totipotent stem cells

tot·ter ['tä-tər] -vi

  1. to tremble or rock as if about to fall : sway
  2. to become unstable : threaten to collapse
  3. to move unsteadily : stagger, wobble

totter -n

  1. an unsteady gait : wobble

tot·ter·ing ['tä-tə-riŋ] -adj, adv

  1. being in an unstable condition
    • a tottering building
  2. walking unsteadily
  3. lacking firmness or stability : insecure
    • a tottering regime

tot·tery ['tä-tə-rē] -adj

  1. of an infirm or precarious nature

tou·can ['tü-,kan, -,kän, tü-'] -n

  1. any of a family (Ramphastidae) of chiefly fruit-eating birds of tropical America with brilliant coloring and a very large but light and thin-walled bill

touch ['təch] -vb, adj, n

  1. to bring a bodily part into contact with esp. so as to perceive through the tactile sense : handle or feel gently usu. with the intent to understand or appreciate
    • loved to touch the soft silk
  2. to strike or push lightly esp. with the hand or foot or an implement
  3. to lay hands upon (one afflicted with scrofula) with intent to heal
  4. to play on (a stringed instrument)
  5. to perform (a melody) by playing or singing
  6. to take into the hands or mouth
    • never touch es alcohol
  7. to put hands upon in any way or degree
    • don't touch anything before the police come
  8. to commit violence upon
    • swears he never touch ed the child
  9. to deal with : become involved with
    • a sticky situation and I wouldn't touch it with a 10-foot pole
  10. to induce to give or lend
    • touch ed him for ten dollars
  11. to cause to be briefly in contact or conjunction with something
    • touch ed her spurs to the horse
    • touch ed his hand to his hat
  12. to meet without overlapping or penetrating : adjoin
  13. to get to : reach
    • the speedometer needle touch ed 80
  14. to be tangent to
  15. to rival in quality or value
    • nothing can touch that cloth for durability
  16. to speak or tell of esp. in passing
    • barely touch ed the incident in the speech
  17. to relate to : concern
  18. to have an influence on : affect
  19. to leave a mark or impression on
    • few reagents will touch gold
  20. tinge
  21. to harm slightly by or as if by contact : taint, blemish
    • fruit touch ed by frost
  22. to give a delicate tint, line, or expression to
    • a smile touch ed her lips
  23. to get a hit off or score a run against
    • touch ed him for three runs
  24. to draw or delineate with light strokes
  25. to hurt the feelings of : wound
  26. to move to sympathetic feeling
  27. to feel something with a body part (as the hand or foot)
  28. to lay hand or finger on a person to cure disease (as scrofula)
  29. to be in contact
  30. to come close : verge
    • your actions touch on treason
  31. to have a bearing : relate used with on or upon
  32. to make a brief or incidental stop on shore during a trip by water
    • touch ed at several ports
  33. to treat a topic in a brief or casual manner used with on or upon
    • touch ed upon many points
  34. a light stroke, tap, or push
  35. a hit against an opponent in fencing
  36. the act or fact of touching
  37. the act or an instance of handling or controlling a ball (as in basketball or soccer)
  38. the special sense by which pressure or traction exerted on the skin or mucous membrane is perceived
  39. mental or moral sensitiveness, responsiveness, or tact
    • has a wonderful touch with children
  40. a specified sensation that arises in response to stimulation of the tactile receptors : feel
    • the velvety touch of velour
  41. the act of rubbing gold or silver on a touchstone to test its quality
  42. test, trial used chiefly in the phrase put to the touch
  43. a visible effect : mark
    • a touch of the tropical sun
  44. weakness, defect
  45. : something slight of its kind: as
  46. a light attack
    • a touch of fever
  47. a small quantity or indication : hint
    • a touch of spring in the air
  48. a transient emotion
    • a momentary touch of compunction
  49. a near approach : close call
    • beaten in the championships by a mere touch
  50. the playing of an instrument (as a lute or piano) with the fingers
  51. musical notes or strains so produced
  52. particular action of a keyboard with reference to the resistance of its keys to pressure
    • piano with a stiff touch
  53. : control of the hands: as
  54. a manner or method of touching or striking esp. the keys of a keyboard instrument
  55. ability to precisely control the path and speed of a shot or pass
    • a great shooting touch
  56. a set of changes in change ringing that is less than a peal
  57. an effective and subtle detail
    • applies the finishing touch es to the story
  58. distinctive and often effective manner or method
    • the touch of a master
  59. a characteristic or distinguishing trait or quality
  60. an act of soliciting or getting a gift or loan
  61. the state or fact of being in contact or communication or of having awareness
    • lost touch with her cousin
    • let's keep in touch
    • out of touch with modern times
  62. the area outside of the touchlines in soccer or outside of and including the touchlines in rugby
    • the ball went into touch

touchandgo [,təch-ən(d)-'gō] -n

  1. an airplane landing followed immediately by application of power and a takeoff and usu. executed as one of a series for practice at landings

touch and go -adj

  1. unpredictable as to outcome : uncertain
    • it was touch and go there for a while

touch·back ['təch-,bak] -n

  1. a situation in football in which the ball is down behind the goal line after a kick or intercepted forward pass after which it is put in play by the team defending the goal on its own 20-yard line

touch·down ['təch-,dau̇n] -n

  1. the act of touching a football to the ground behind an opponent's goal
  2. the act of scoring six points in American football by being lawfully in possession of the ball on, above, or behind an opponent's goal line when the ball is declared dead
  3. the act or moment of touching down (as with an airplane or spacecraft)

touch down -vt

  1. to place (the ball in rugby) by hand on the ground on or over an opponent's goal line in scoring a try or behind one's own goal line as a defensive measure
  2. to reach the ground : land

tou·che [tü-'shā] -interj

  1. used to acknowledge a hit in fencing or the success or appropriateness of an argument, an accusation, or a witty point

touched ['təcht] -adj

  1. emotionally stirred (as with gratitude)
  2. slightly unbalanced mentally

touch football -n

  1. football played informally and chiefly characterized by the substitution of touching for tackling

touch·hole ['təch-,hōl] -n

  1. the vent in muzzle-loading guns through which the charge is ignited

touch·ing ['tə-chiŋ] -prep

  1. in reference to : concerning

touching -adj, adv

  1. capable of arousing emotions of tenderness or compassion

touch·line ['təch-,līn] -n

  1. either of the lines that bound the long sides of the field of play in rugby and soccer

touch·mark [-,märk] -n

  1. an identifying maker's mark impressed on pewter

touchmenot ['təch-mē-,nät] -n

  1. : either of two No. American impatiens growing in moist areas: as
  2. one ( Impatiens capensis) typically having orange flowers spotted with reddish brown
  3. one ( I. pallida) having typically yellow flowers sometimes spotted with reddish brown

touch off -vt

  1. to describe or characterize with precision
  2. to cause to explode by or as if by touching with fire
  3. to provoke or initiate with sudden intensity
    • the verdict touched off local riots

touch pad -n

  1. a keypad for an electronic device (as a microwave oven) that consists of a flat surface divided into several differently marked areas which are touched to choose options

touch screen -n

  1. a display screen on which the user selects options (as from a menu) by touching the screen

touch·stone ['təch-,stōn] -n

  1. a black siliceous stone related to flint and formerly used to test the purity of gold and silver by the streak left on the stone when rubbed by the metal
  2. a test or criterion for determining the quality or genuineness of a thing
  3. a fundamental or quintessential part or feature : basis
    • a touchstone film of that decade
    • now considered a touchstone of the city's life -- Michael Specter

touch system -n

  1. a method of typing that assigns a particular finger to each key and makes it possible to type without looking at the keyboard

touchtone ['təch-'tōn, -,tōn] -adj

  1. of, relating to, or being a telephone having push buttons that produce tones corresponding to numbers

touchtype ['təch-,tīp] -vi, n

  1. to type by the touch system

touchup ['təch-,əp] -n

  1. an act or instance of touching up

touch up -vt

  1. to improve or perfect by small additional strokes or alterations : fix the minor and usu. visible defects or damages of
  2. to stimulate by or as if by a flick of a whip

touch·wood ['təch-,wu̇d] -n

  1. punk

touchy ['tə-chē] -adj, adv, n

  1. marked by readiness to take offense on slight provocation
    • he's a little touchy about his past
  2. acutely sensitive or irritable
  3. highly explosive or inflammable
  4. calling for tact, care, or caution in treatment
    • a touchy subject

touchyfeely [,tə-chē-'fē-lē] -adj

  1. characterized by or encouraging interpersonal touching esp. in the free expression of emotions
    • touchyfeely therapy
  2. openly or excessively emotional and personal
    • gets all touchyfeely with his adoring fans

tough ['təf] -adj, adv, n

  1. strong or firm in texture but flexible and not brittle
  2. not easily chewed
    • tough meat
  3. glutinous, sticky
  4. characterized by severity or uncompromising determination
    • tough laws
    • tough discipline
  5. capable of enduring strain, hardship, or severe labor
    • tough soldiers
  6. very hard to influence : stubborn
    • a tough negotiator
  7. difficult to accomplish, resolve, endure, or deal with
    • a tough question
    • tough luck
  8. stubbornly fought
    • a tough contest
  9. unruly, rowdyish
    • a tough gang
  10. marked by absence of softness or sentimentality
    • a tough critic
  11. in a tough manner
    • talking tough
  12. a tough person : rowdy
  13. to bear unflinchingly : endure usu. used with out esp. in the phrase tough it out

tough·en ['tə-fən] -vb

  1. to make tough
  2. to become tough

tough·ie ['tə-fē] -n

  1. : one that is tough: as
  2. a loud rough rowdy person
  3. a difficult problem or question

tough love -n

  1. love or affectionate concern expressed in a stern or unsentimental manner (as through discipline) esp. to promote responsible behavior

toughmind·ed ['təf-,mīn-dəd] -adj, n

  1. realistic or unsentimental in temper or outlook
    • toughminded survivors

tou·pee [tü-'pā] -n

  1. a curl or lock of hair made into a topknot on a periwig or natural coiffure
  2. a periwig with such a topknot
  3. a wig or section of hair worn to cover a bald spot

tour ['tu̇r, 1 is also 'tau̇(-ə)r] -n

  1. one's turn in an orderly schedule : shift
  2. a period during which an individual or unit is on a specific duty or at one place
    • a tour of duty
  3. a journey for business, pleasure, or education often involving a series of stops and ending at the starting point
  4. something resembling such a tour
    • a tour of the history of philosophy
  5. a brief turn : round
  6. a series of professional tournaments (as in golf or tennis)
  7. to make a tour
  8. to make a tour of
  9. to present (as a theatrical production) on a tour

touraco ['tu̇r-ə-(,)kō] -n

(variant of turaco)

  1. any of a family (Musophagidae) of typically crested African birds that are related to the cuckoos and have a long tail, a short stout often colored bill, and red wing feathers

tour·bil·lion [tu̇r-'bil-yən] -n

  1. whirlwind
  2. a vortex esp. of a whirlwind or whirlpool

tour de force [,tu̇r-də-'fȯrs] -n

  1. a feat or display of strength, skill, or ingenuity
    • the movie is a comic tour de force

tour·er ['tu̇r-ər] -n

  1. touring car
  2. one that tours

Tou·rett·er [tu̇-'re-tər] -n

  1. a person affected with Tourette's syndrome

Tou·rette's syndrome [tu̇-'rets-] -n

  1. a familial neurological disorder of variable expression that is characterized by recurrent involuntary tics involving body movements (as eye blinks or grimaces) and vocalizations (as grunts or utterance of inappropriate words), often has one or more associated conditions (as obsessive-compulsive disorder), is more common in males than females, and usu. has an onset in childhood and often stabilizes or ameliorates in adulthood called also Tou*rette syndrome -ret-

tour·ing ['tu̇r-iŋ] -n

  1. participation in a tour
  2. cross-country skiing for pleasure

touring car -n

  1. : an automobile suitable for distance driving: as
  2. a vintage automobile with two cross seats, usu. four doors, and a folding top : phaeton
  3. a modern usu. 2-door sedan as distinguished from a sports car

tour·ism ['tu̇r-,i-zəm] -n

  1. the practice of traveling for recreation
  2. the guidance or management of tourists
  3. the promotion or encouragement of touring
  4. the accommodation of tourists

tour·ist ['tu̇r-ist] -n, adj or adv

  1. one that makes a tour for pleasure or culture
  2. tourist class

tourist card -n

  1. a citizenship identity card issued to a tourist usu. for a stated period of time in lieu of a passport or a visa

tourist class -n

  1. economy accommodations (as on a ship)

tourist court -n

  1. motel

tour·ist·ed ['tu̇r-is-təd] -adj

  1. frequented by tourists
    • heavily touristed seaside towns

tour·is·tic [tu̇r-'is-tik] -adj, adv

  1. of or relating to a tour, tourism, or tourists
    • the touristic tradition of visiting Roman ruins by night -- Naomi Rosenblum

tourist trap -n

  1. a place that attracts and exploits tourists

tour·isty ['tu̇r-əs-tē] -adj

  1. : characteristic of or relating to tourists
    • touristy behavior
  2. patronized by or appealing to tourists
    • touristy restaurants

tour·ma·line ['tu̇r-mə-lən, -,lēn] -n

  1. a mineral of variable color that consists of a complex borosilicate and is valued as a gem when transparent and cut

tour·na·ment ['tu̇r-nə-mənt also 'tər- or 'tȯr-] -n

  1. a knightly sport of the Middle Ages between mounted combatants armed with blunted lances or swords and divided into two parties contesting for a prize or favor bestowed by the lady of the tournament
  2. the whole series of knightly sports, jousts, and tilts occurring at one time and place
  3. a series of games or contests that make up a single unit of competition (as on a professional golf tour), the championship play-offs of a league or conference, or an invitational event

tour·ne·dos [,tu̇r-nə-'dō] -n

  1. a small fillet of beef usu. cut from the tip of the tenderloin

tour·ney ['tu̇r-nē, 'tər- also 'tȯr-] -vi

  1. to perform in a tournament

tourney -n

  1. tournament

tour·ni·quet ['tu̇r-ni-kət, 'tər-] -n

  1. a device (as a band of rubber) that checks bleeding or blood flow by compressing blood vessels

touse ['tau̇z] -vt

  1. rumple, tousle
  2. a noisy disturbance

tou·sle ['tau̇-zəl, -səl] -vt

  1. dishevel, rumple
    • tousled hair
  2. rough dalliance : tussle
  3. a tangled mass (as of hair)

tout ['tau̇t, in sense 4 also 'tüt] -vb

  1. to spy on : watch
  2. to spy out information about (as a racing stable or horse)
  3. to give a tip or solicit bets on (a racehorse)
  4. to solicit, peddle, or persuade importunately
    • not meant to tout you off the movie -- Russell Baker
  5. to make much of : promote, talk up
    • tout ed as the summer's blockbuster movie
    • the college's much tout ed women's studies program
  6. to solicit patronage
  7. to spy on racehorses in training to gain information for betting
  8. to give a tip or solicit bets on a racehorse
  9. : one who touts: as
  10. one who solicits patronage
  11. one who spies out racing information for betting purposes
  12. one who gives tips or solicits bets on a racehorse

tout·er ['tau̇-tər] -n

  1. one that touts

to·va·rich [tə-'vär-ish, -ich] -n

  1. comrade

tow ['tō] -vb

  1. to draw or pull along behind : haul
    • tow a wagon
  2. to move in tow
    • trailers that tow behind the family auto -- Bob Munger
  3. a rope or chain for towing
  4. the act or an instance of towing
  5. the fact or state of being towed
  6. something towed (as a boat or car)
  7. a group of barges lashed together and usu. pushed
  8. something (as a tugboat) that tows
  9. ski tow
  10. short or broken fiber (as of flax, hemp, or synthetic material) that is used esp. for yarn, twine, or stuffing
  11. yarn or cloth made of tow
  12. a loose essentially untwisted strand of synthetic fibers
  13. rope

tow·age ['tō-ij] -n

  1. the act of towing
  2. a charge for towing

to·ward ['tō-ərd, 'tȯ(-ə)rd] -adj

  1. coming soon : imminent
  2. happening at the moment : afoot
  3. quick to learn : apt
  4. propitious, favoring
    • a toward breeze
  5. in the direction of
    • driving toward town
  6. along a course leading to
    • a long stride toward disarmament
  7. in relation to
    • an attitude toward life
  8. at a point in the direction of : near
    • a cottage somewhere up toward the lake
  9. in such a position as to be in the direction of
    • your back was toward me
  10. not long before
    • toward the end of the afternoon
  11. in the way of help or assistance in
    • did all he could toward raising campaign funds
  12. for the partial payment of
    • proceeds go toward the establishment of a scholarship

to·ward·li·ness ['tȯrd-lē-nəs] -n

  1. the quality or state of being toward or towardly

to·ward·ly ['tō-ərd-lē, 'tȯ(-ə)rd-] -adj, adv

  1. pleasant, affable
  2. favorable, propitious
  3. developing favorably : promising

tow·boat ['tō-,bōt] -n

  1. tugboat
  2. a compact shallow-draft boat with a squared bow designed and fitted for pushing tows of barges on inland waterways

tow·el ['tau̇(-ə)l] -n

  1. an absorbent cloth or paper for wiping or drying

towel -vb

  1. to rub or dry (as the body) with a towel
  2. to use a towel to dry oneself
    • towel ed down after swimming

tow·el·ette [,tau̇-(ə-)'let] -n

  1. a small usu. premoistened piece of material used for personal cleansing (as of the hands)

tow·el·ing ['tau̇-(ə-)liŋ] -n

  1. a cotton or linen fabric often used for making towels

tow·er ['tau̇(-ə)r] -n, adj

  1. a building or structure typically higher than its diameter and high relative to its surroundings that may stand apart (as a campanile) or be attached (as a church belfry) to a larger structure and that may be fully walled in or of skeleton framework (as an observation or transmission tower)
  2. a towering citadel : fortress
  3. one that provides support or protection : bulwark
    • a tower of strength
  4. a personal computer case that stands in an upright position

tower -vi

  1. to reach or rise to a great height
  2. to exhibit superior qualities : surpass
    • her intellect tower ed over the others'

tower block -n

  1. a tall building (as a high-rise apartment building)

tower house -n

  1. a medieval fortified castle (as in Scotland)

tow·er·ing ['tau̇(-ə)r-iŋ] -adj, adv

  1. impressively high or great : imposing
    • towering pines
  2. reaching a high point of intensity : overwhelming
    • a towering rage
  3. going beyond proper bounds : excessive
    • towering ambitions

Tower of Babel

  1. babel

tow·head ['tō-,hed] -n, adj

  1. a low alluvial island or shoal in a river : sandbar
  2. a head of hair resembling tow esp. in being flaxen or tousled
  3. a person having such a head of hair

to·whee ['tō-,hē, 'tō-(,)ē, tō-'hē] -n

  1. a common finch ( Pipilo erythrophthalmusof the family Emberizidae) of eastern No. America with the male having reddish sides, white underparts, and black upperparts, head, and neck called also chewink
  2. any of the No. American finches belonging to the same genus ( Pipilo) as the towhee

to wit [tə-'wit] -adv

  1. that is to say : namely

tow·line ['tō-,līn] -n

  1. towrope

tow·mond ['tō-,mänd] -n

  1. year, twelvemonth

town ['tau̇n] -n, adj

  1. a cluster or aggregation of houses recognized as a distinct place with a place-name : hamlet
  2. a compactly settled area as distinguished from surrounding rural territory
  3. a compactly settled area usu. larger than a village but smaller than a city
  4. a large densely populated urban area : city
  5. an English village having a periodic fair or market
  6. a particular town or city under consideration
    • the circus came to town
  7. the city or urban life as contrasted with the country
  8. the inhabitants of a city or town
    • practically the whole town turned out for the parade
  9. the townspeople of a college or university town as distinct from the academic community
    • relations between town and gown
  10. a New England territorial and political unit usu. containing under a single town government both rural areas and urban areas not having their own charter of incorporation
  11. a New England community governed by a town meeting
  12. a group of prairie dog burrows

town car -n

  1. a 4-door automobile with a usu. open driver's compartment and a separate enclosed passenger compartment

town clerk -n

  1. a public officer charged with recording the official proceedings and vital statistics of a town

town crier -n

  1. a town officer who makes public proclamations

town·ee [tau̇-'nē] -n

  1. townie

town hall -n

  1. a public building used for town-government offices and meetings

town·home ['tau̇n-,hōm] -n

  1. town house

town house -n

  1. a house in town
  2. the city residence of one having a countryseat or having a chief residence elsewhere
    • stayed at their town house during the social season
  3. a usu. single-family house of two or sometimes three stories that is usu. connected to a similar house by a common sidewall
  4. row house

town·ie ['tau̇-nē] -n

  1. townsman
  2. a permanent inhabitant of a town as distinguished from a member of another group (as the academic community)

town·let ['tau̇n-lət] -n

  1. a very small town

town manager -n

  1. an official appointed to direct the administration of a town government

town meeting -n

  1. a meeting of inhabitants or taxpayers constituting the legislative authority of a town

town·scape [-,skāp] -n

  1. a representation of an urban scene
  2. a town or city viewed as a scene

towns·folk ['tau̇nz-,fōk] -n pl

  1. townspeople

town·ship ['tau̇n-,ship] -n

  1. an ancient unit of administration in England identical in area with or a division of a parish
  2. town
  3. a unit of local government in some northeastern and north central states usu. having a chief administrative officer or board
  4. an unorganized subdivision of the county in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont
  5. an electoral and administrative district of the county in the southern U.S.
  6. a division of territory in surveys of U.S. public land containing 36 sections or 36 square miles
  7. an area in the Republic of South Africa segregated for occupation by persons of non-European descent

towns·man ['tau̇nz-mən] -n

  1. a native or resident of a town or city
  2. an urban or urbane person
  3. a fellow citizen of a town

towns·peo·ple [-,pē-pəl] -n pl

  1. the inhabitants of a town or city : townsmen
  2. town-dwelling or town-bred persons

towns·wom·an [-,wu̇-mən] -n

  1. a woman who is a native or resident of a town or city
  2. a woman born or residing in the same town or city as another

tow·path ['tō-,path, -,päth] -n

  1. a path (as along a canal) traveled esp. by draft animals towing boats called also towing path

tow·plane ['tō-,plān] -n

  1. an airplane that tows gliders

tow·rope [-,rōp] -n

  1. a line used in towing something (as a boat)

tow sack ['tō-'sak] -n

  1. gunnysack

tow truck -n

  1. a truck with winches and hoist mechanisms for freeing stuck vehicles and towing wrecked or disabled vehicles

tox- -comb form

  1. poisonous : poison
    • tox emia

tox·ae·mia [täk-'sē-mē-ə] -n, adj

(variant of toxemia)

  1. an abnormal condition associated with the presence of toxic substances in the blood
  2. preeclampsia

tox·a·phene ['täk-sə-,fēn] -n

  1. a persistent chlorinated insecticide mixture with the approximate empirical formula C 10H 10Cl 8that is now banned in the U.S.

tox·e·mia [täk-'sē-mē-ə] -n, adj

  1. an abnormal condition associated with the presence of toxic substances in the blood
  2. preeclampsia

tox·ic ['täk-sik] -adj, n

  1. containing or being poisonous material esp. when capable of causing death or serious debilitation
    • toxic waste
    • a toxic radioactive gas
    • an insecticide highly toxic to birds
  2. exhibiting symptoms of infection or toxicosis
    • the patient became toxic two days later
  3. extremely harsh, malicious, or harmful
    • toxic sarcasm

toxic -n

  1. a toxic substance usu. used in pl.

toxic- -comb form

  1. poison
    • toxico logy

tox·i·cant ['täk-si-kənt] -n

  1. a toxic agent
  2. pesticide

tox·i·co·log·i·cal [,täk-si-kə-'lä-ji-kəl] -adj, adv

  1. of or relating to toxicology or toxins

tox·i·col·o·gy [-'kä-lə-jē] -n

  1. a science that deals with poisons and their effect and with the problems involved (as clinical, industrial, or legal)

tox·i·co·sis [,täk-sə-'kō-səs] -n

  1. a pathological condition caused by the action of a poison or toxin

toxic shock syndrome -n

  1. an acute disease that is characterized by fever, diarrhea, nausea, diffuse erythema, and shock, that is associated esp. with the presence of a bacterium ( Staphylococcus aureus), and that occurs esp. in menstruating females using tampons called also toxic shock

toxi·gen·ic [,täk-sə-'je-nik] -adj, n

  1. producing toxin
    • toxigenic bacteria and fungi

tox·in ['täk-sən] -n

  1. a poisonous substance that is a specific product of the metabolic activities of a living organism and is usu. very unstable, notably toxic when introduced into the tissues, and typically capable of inducing antibody formation

tox·oid ['täk-,sȯid] -n

  1. a toxin of a pathogenic organism treated so as to destroy its toxicity but leave it capable of inducing the formation of antibodies on injection

tox·oph·i·lite [täk-'sä-fə-,līt] -n, adj

  1. a person fond of or expert at archery

toxo·plas·ma [,täk-sə-'plaz-mə] -n, adj

  1. any of a genus ( Toxoplasma) of sporozoans that are typically serious pathogens of vertebrates

toxo·plas·mo·sis [-,plaz-'mō-səs] -n

  1. infection of humans, other mammals, or birds with disease caused by a toxoplasma ( Toxoplasma gondii) that invades the tissues and may seriously damage the central nervous system esp. of infants

toy ['tȯi] -n, adj

  1. flirtatious or seductive behavior
  2. pastime
  3. a sportive or amusing act : antic
  4. something (as a preoccupation) that is paltry or trifling
  5. a literary or musical trifle or diversion
  6. trinket, bauble
  7. something for a child to play with
  8. something diminutive
  9. a diminutive animal (as of a small breed or variety)
  10. something that can be toyed with
  11. a headdress of linen or woolen hanging down over the shoulders and formerly worn by old women of the lower classes
  12. to act or deal with something lightly or without vigor or purpose
    • toy ed with the idea
  13. to engage in flirtation
  14. to amuse oneself as if with a toy : play
    • they're just toy ing with him
  15. of diminutive size compared to a standard form or breed
    • a toy dog
  16. designed or made for use as a toy
    • a toy stove

toy Man·ches·ter terrier [-'man-,ches-tər-, -chə-stər-] -n

  1. any of a breed of toy dogs developed from the Manchester terrier that have erect ears of moderate size and weigh not more than 12 pounds (5.4 kilograms) called also toy Manchester

toy·on ['tȯi-,än] -n

  1. a chiefly Californian ornamental evergreen shrub ( Heteromeles arbutifolia) of the rose family having white flowers succeeded by persistent usu. bright red berries

toy poodle -n

  1. a poodle developed from the standard poodle that is not more than 10 inches (25 centimeters) high at the withers and that is often considered to constitute a separate breed