av -abbr
- avenue
- average
- avoirdupois
AV -abbr
- ad valorem
- audiovisual
- Authorized Version
avail [ə-'vāl] -vb
- to be of use or advantage : serve
- our best efforts did not avail
- to produce or result in as a benefit or advantage : gain
- his efforts avail ed him nothing
- advantage toward attainment of a goal or purpose : use
- effort was of little avail
avail·abil·i·ty [ə-,vā-lə-'bi-lə-tē] -n
- the quality or state of being available
- an available person or thing
avail·able [ə-'vā-lə-bəl] -adj, n, adv
- having a beneficial effect
- valid used of a legal plea or charge
- present or ready for immediate use
- accessible, obtainable
- articles available in any drugstore
- qualified or willing to do something or to assume a responsibility
- present in such chemical or physical form as to be usable (as by a plant)
av·a·lanche ['a-və-,lanch] -n
- a large mass of snow, ice, earth, rock, or other material in swift motion down a mountainside or over a precipice
- a sudden great or overwhelming rush or accumulation of something
- hit by an avalanche of paperwork
- a cumulative process in which photons or accelerated charge carriers produce additional photons or charge carriers through collisions (as with gas molecules)
avalanche -vb
- to descend in an avalanche
- overwhelm, flood
Av·a·lon ['a-və-,län] -n
- a paradise to which Arthur is carried after his death
avant ['ä-,vän(t), 'a-, -,vȯn(t), -,vōⁿ] -adj
- culturally or stylistically advanced : avant-garde
avantgarde [,ä-,vän(t)-'gärd, ,a-; ə-'vänt-,; ,a-,vōⁿ-', ,a-,vȯn(t)-'] -n
- an intelligentsia that develops new or experimental concepts esp. in the arts
- of or relating to an avant-garde
av·a·rice ['a-və-rəs, 'av-rəs] -n
- excessive or insatiable desire for wealth or gain : greediness, cupidity
av·a·ri·cious [,a-və-'ri-shəs] -adj, adv, n
- greedy of gain : excessively acquisitive esp. in seeking to hoard riches
avas·cu·lar [(,)ā-'vas-kyə-lər] -adj, n
- having few or no blood vessels
avascular necrosis -n
- necrosis of bone tissue due to impaired or disrupted blood supply (as from traumatic injury or disease)
avast [ə-'vast] -vb imper
- a nautical command to stop or cease
av·a·tar ['a-və-,tär] -n
- the incarnation of a Hindu deity (as Vishnu)
- an incarnation in human form
- an embodiment (as of a concept or philosophy) often in a person
- a variant phase or version of a continuing basic entity
- an electronic image that represents and is manipulated by a computer user (as in a computer game)
avaunt [ə-'vȯnt, -'vänt] -adv
- away, hence
AVC -abbr
- automatic volume control
avdp -abbr
- avoirdupois
ave ['ä-(,)vā] -n
- an expression of greeting or of leave-taking : hail, farewell
- ave maria
- avenue
avel·lan [ə-'ve-lən] -adj
- having the four arms shaped like conventionalized filberts
Ave Ma·ria [,ä-(,)vā-mə-'rē-ə] -n
- hail mary
avenge [ə-'venj] -vt, n
- to take vengeance for or on behalf of
- to exact satisfaction for (a wrong) by punishing the wrongdoer
av·ens ['a-vənz] -n
- any of a genus ( Geum) of perennial herbs of the rose family with white, purple, red, or yellow flowers
av·en·tail ['a-vən-,tāl] -n
- ventail
aven·tu·rine [ə-'ven-chə-,rēn, -rən] -n
- glass containing opaque sparkling particles of foreign material (as copper or chromic oxide)
- a translucent quartz spangled throughout with scales of mica or other mineral
av·e·nue ['a-və-,nü, -,nyü] -n
- a way of access : route
- a channel for pursuing a desired object
- avenue s of communication
- the principal walk or driveway to a house situated off a main road
- a broad passageway bordered by trees
- an often broad street or road
aver [ə-'vər] -vt
- to verify or prove to be true in pleading a cause
- to allege or assert in pleading
- to declare positively
av·er·age ['a-v(ə-)rij] -n
- a single value (as a mean, mode, or median) that summarizes or represents the general significance of a set of unequal values
- mean
- an estimation of or approximation to an arithmetic mean
- a level (as of intelligence) typical of a group, class, or series
- a ratio expressing the average performance esp. of an athletic team or an athlete computed according to the number of opportunities for successful performance
average -adj, adv, n
- equaling an arithmetic mean
- being about midway between extremes
- not out of the ordinary : common
- to be or come to an average
- the gain averaged out to 20 percent
- to have a medial value of
- a color averaging a pale purple
- to buy on a falling market or sell on a rising market additional shares or commodities so as to obtain a more favorable average price usu. used with down or up
- to do, get, or have on the average or as an average sum or quantity
- average s 12 hours of work a day
- to find the arithmetic mean of (a series of unequal quantities)
- to bring toward the average
- to divide among a number proportionately
aver·ment [ə-'vər-mənt] -n
- the act of averring
- something that is averred : affirmation
averse [ə-'vərs] -adj, adv, n
- having an active feeling of repugnance or distaste usu. used with to
- averse to strenuous exercise
aver·sion [ə-'vər-zhən, -shən] -n
- the act of turning away
- a feeling of repugnance toward something with a desire to avoid or turn from it
- regards drunkenness with aversion
- a settled dislike : antipathy
- expressed an aversion to parties
- a tendency to extinguish a behavior or to avoid a thing or situation and esp. a usu. pleasurable one because it is or has been associated with a noxious stimulus
- an object of aversion
- inconstancy is my aversion -- Jane Austen
aversion therapy -n
- therapy intended to suppress an undesirable habit or behavior (as smoking) by associating the habit or behavior with a noxious or punishing stimulus (as electric shock)
aver·sive [ə-'vər-siv, -ziv] -adj, adv, n
- tending to avoid or causing avoidance of a noxious or punishing stimulus
- behavior modification by aversive stimulation
avert [ə-'vərt] -vt
- to turn away or aside (as the eyes) in avoidance
- to see coming and ward off : avoid
Aves·ta [ə-'ves-tə] -n
- the book of the sacred writings of Zoroastrianism
Aves·tan [-tən] -n, adj
- an ancient Iranian language in which the sacred books of Zoroastrianism were written
avg -abbr
- average
av·gas ['av-,gas] -n
- gasoline for airplanes
av·go·lem·o·no [,äv-gō-'le-mə-(,)nō] -n
- a soup or sauce made with chicken stock, egg yolks, and lemon juice
avi·an ['ā-vē-ən] -adj
- of, relating to, or derived from birds
avian influenza -n
- highly variable influenza A of birds caused by any of the subtypes of the causative orthomyxovirus of which some strains have been or may be transmitted to other vertebrates including humans esp. after undergoing mutation called also avian flu
avi·ary ['ā-vē-,er-ē, -,e-rē] -n
- a place for keeping birds confined
avi·ate ['ā-vē-,āt, 'a-] -vi
- to navigate the air (as in an airplane)
avi·a·tion [,ā-vē-'ā-shən, ,a-] -n
- the operation of heavier-than-air aircraft
- military airplanes
- airplane manufacture, development, and design
avi·a·tor ['ā-vē-,ā-tər, 'a-] -n
- the operator or pilot of an aircraft and esp. an airplane
aviator glasses -n pl
- eyeglasses having a lightweight metal frame and relatively large usu. tinted lenses
avi·a·trix [,ā-vē-'ā-triks, ,a-] -n
- a woman who is an aviator
avi·cul·ture ['ā-və-,kəl-chər, 'a-] -n
- the raising and care of birds and esp. of wild birds in captivity
av·id ['a-vəd] -adj, adv, n
- desirous to the point of greed : urgently eager : greedy
- characterized by enthusiasm and vigorous pursuit
av·i·din ['a-və-dən] -n
- a protein found in egg white that inactivates biotin by combining with it
avid·ity [ə-'vi-də-tē, a-] -n
- : the quality or state of being avid:
- keen eagerness
- consuming greed
- affinity
avi·fau·na [,ā-və-'fȯ-nə, ,a-, -'fä-nə] -n, adj
- the birds or the kinds of birds of a region, period, or environment
avi·on·ics [,ā-vē-'ä-niks, ,a-] -n pl, adj
- electronics designed for use in aerospace vehicles
avir·u·lent [(,)ā-'vir-(y)ə-lənt] -adj
- not virulent
avi·ta·min·osis [,ā-,vī-tə-mə-'nō-səs] -n, adj
- disease (as pellagra) resulting from a deficiency of one or more vitamins
AV node [,ā-'vē-, 'ā-,] -n
- atrioventricular node
avo ['a-(,)vü] -n
- see pataca at
av·o·ca·do [,ä-və-'kä-(,)dō, ,a-] -n
- a pulpy green- to purple-skinned nutty-flavored fruit of any of various tropical American trees (genus Perseaesp. P. americana) of the laurel family
- a tree bearing avocados
- a light yellowish green
avocado pear -n
- avocado
av·o·ca·tion [,a-və-'kā-shən] -n
- diversion, distraction
- customary employment : vocation
- a subordinate occupation pursued in addition to one's vocation esp. for enjoyment : hobby
av·o·ca·tion·al [,a-və-'kā-sh(ə-)nəl] -adj, adv
- of or relating to an avocation
- an avocational interest in sports
- being such by avocation
av·o·cet ['a-və-,set] -n
- any of a genus ( Recurvirostra) of rather large long-legged shorebirds with webbed feet and slender upward-curving bill
Avo·ga·dro's number [,a-və-'gä-(,)drōz-, ,a-və-, -'ga-] -n
- the number 6.022 10 23indicating the number of atoms or molecules in a mole of any substance called also Avogadro number
avoid [ə-'vȯid] -vt, adj, adv, n
- to make legally void : annul
- void, expel
- to keep away from : shun
- to prevent the occurrence or effectiveness of
- to refrain from
- to depart or withdraw from : leave
avoid·ance [ə-'vȯi-dᵊn(t)s] -n
- an action of emptying, vacating, or clearing away
- outlet
- annulment
- an act or practice of avoiding or withdrawing from something
av·oir·du·pois [,a-vər-də-'pȯiz, 'a-vər-də-,] -n
- avoirdupois weight
- weight, heaviness
- personal weight
avoirdupois -adj
- expressed in avoirdupois weight
avoirdupois weight -n
- the series of units of weight based on the pound of 16 ounces and the ounce of 16 drams
avouch [ə-'vau̇ch] -vt
- to declare as a matter of fact or as a thing that can be proved : affirm
- to vouch for : corroborate
- to acknowledge (as an act) as one's own
- confess, avow
avouch·ment [-mənt] -n
- an act of avouching : avowal
avow [ə-'vau̇] -vt, n
- to declare assuredly
- she avow ed her innocence
- to declare openly, bluntly, and without shame
- ever ready to avow his reactionary outlook
avow·al [-'vau̇(-ə)l] -n
- an open declaration or acknowledgment
avow·ed·ly [ə-'vau̇-əd-lē] -adv
- with open acknowledgment : frankly
- an avowedly hostile review
- by unsupported assertion or profession alone : allegedly
- politicians remain skeptical of...avowedly democratic intentions -- Jerry Kirshenbaum
avulse [ə-'vəls] -vt
- to separate by avulsion
avul·sion [ə-'vəl-shən] -n
- : a forcible separation or detachment: as
- a tearing away of a body part accidentally or surgically
- a sudden cutting off of land by flood, currents, or change in course of a body of water
- one separating land from one person's property and joining it to another's
avun·cu·lar [ə-'vəŋ-kyə-lər] -adj, n, adv
- of or relating to an uncle
- suggestive of an uncle esp. in kindliness or geniality