c ['sē] -n

  1. the 3d letter of the English alphabet
  2. a graphic representation of this letter
  3. a speech counterpart of orthographic c
  4. one hundred
  5. a sum of 100
  6. the keynote of a C-major scale
  7. a graphic device for reproducing the letter c
  8. one designated cesp. as the third in order or class
  9. a grade rating a student's work as fair or mediocre in quality
  10. one graded or rated with a C
  11. something shaped like the letter C
  12. a structured programming language designed to be compact and efficient
  13. calm
  14. calorie
  15. canceled
  16. candle
  17. carat
  18. catcher
  19. cent
  20. centavo
  21. centi-
  22. centime
  23. centimeter
  24. century
  25. chapter
  26. circa
  27. circumference
  28. cocaine
  29. coefficient
  30. college
  31. gallon
  32. contralto
  33. copyright
  34. cubic
  35. cup
  36. curie

C -abbr

  1. capacitance
  2. Celsius
  3. centigrade
  4. Coulomb
  5. cytosine
  6. carbon

ca -abbr

  1. circa

Ca -symbol

  1. calcium

CA -abbr

  1. California
  2. Central America
  3. certified acupuncturist
  4. chartered accountant
  5. chief accountant
  6. chronological age
  7. commercial agent
  8. controller of accounts
  9. current account

ca' ['kȯl] -vb

(variant of call)

  1. to speak in a loud distinct voice so as to be heard at a distance : shout
    • call for help
  2. to make a request or demand
    • call for an investigation
  3. to utter a characteristic note or cry
  4. to get or try to get into communication by telephone
    • just call ed to say hello
    often used with up
  5. to make a demand in card games (as for a particular card or for a show of hands)
  6. to give the calls for a square dance
  7. to make a brief visit
    • call ed to pay his respects
    • call ed on a friend
  8. to utter in a loud distinct voice often used with out
    • call out a number
  9. to announce or read loudly or authoritatively
    • call the roll
    • call off a row of figures
  10. to announce the play-by-play of (as a football game)
  11. to command or request to come or be present
    • was call ed to testify
  12. to cause to come : bring
    • call s to mind an old saying
  13. to summon to a particular activity, employment, or office
    • was call ed to active duty
    • was call ed to the bar of justice
  14. to invite or command to meet : convoke
    • call a meeting
  15. to rouse from sleep or summon to get up
  16. to give the order for : bring into action
    • call a strike against the company
    • call a pitchout
  17. to manage by giving the signals or orders
    • that catcher call s a good game
  18. to make a demand in bridge for (a card or suit)
  19. to require (a player) to show the hand in poker by making an equal bet
  20. to challenge to make good on a statement
  21. to charge with or censure for an offense
    • deserves to be call ed on that
  22. to attract (as game) by imitating the characteristic cry
  23. to halt (as a baseball game) because of unsuitable conditions
  24. to rule on the status of (as a pitched ball or a player's action)
    • call balls and strikes
    • call a base runner safe
  25. to give the calls for (a square dance) often used with off
  26. to demand payment of esp. by formal notice
    • call a loan
  27. to demand presentation of (as a bond or option) for redemption
  28. to get or try to get in communication with by telephone
    • call the doctor to make an appointment
  29. to generate signals for (a telephone number) in order to reach the party to whom the number is assigned
    • call 911
  30. to make a signal to in order to transmit a message
    • call the flagship
  31. to speak of or address by a specified name : give a name to
    • call her Kitty
  32. to regard or characterize as of a certain kind : consider
    • can hardly be call ed generous
  33. to estimate or consider for purposes of an estimate or for convenience
    • call it an even dollar
  34. to describe correctly in advance of or without knowledge of the event : predict
  35. to name or specify in advance
    • call the toss of a coin
  36. to temporarily transfer control of computer processing to (as a subroutine or procedure)
  37. an act of calling with the voice : shout
  38. an imitation of the cry of a bird or other animal made to attract it
  39. an instrument used for calling
    • a duck call
  40. the cry of an animal (as a bird)
  41. a request or command to come or assemble
  42. a summons or signal on a drum, bugle, or pipe
  43. admission to the bar as a barrister
  44. an invitation to become the minister of a church or to accept a professional appointment
  45. a divine vocation or strong inner prompting to a particular course of action
  46. a summoning of actors to rehearsal
    • the call is for 11 o'clock
  47. the attraction or appeal of a particular activity, condition, or place
    • the call of the wild
  48. an order specifying the number of men to be inducted into the armed services during a specified period
  49. the selection of a play in football
  50. demand, claim
  51. need, justification
    • there's no call for such behavior
  52. a demand for payment of money
  53. an option to buy a specified amount of a security (as stock) or commodity (as wheat) at a fixed price at or within a specified time
  54. an instance of asking for something : request
    • many call s for Christmas stories
  55. roll call
  56. a short usu. formal visit
  57. the name or thing called
    • the call was heads
  58. the act of calling in a card game
  59. the act of calling on the telephone
  60. a direction or a succession of directions for a square dance rhythmically called to the dancers
  61. a decision or ruling made by an official of a sports contest
  62. decision
    • a tough call to make
  63. a temporary transfer of control of computer processing to a particular set of instructions (as a subroutine or procedure)

cab ['kab, 'käb] -n

  1. an ancient Hebrew unit of capacity equal to about two quarts (2.2 liters)
  2. cabriolet
  3. a similar light closed carriage (as a hansom)
  4. a carriage for hire
  5. taxicab
  6. the part of a locomotive that houses the engineer and operating controls
  7. a comparable shelter (as on a truck) housing operating controls
  8. to travel in a cab
    • cabbed back to the hotel
  9. cabernet sauvignon

CAB -abbr

  1. Civil Aeronautics Board

ca·bal [kə-'bäl, -'bal] -n

  1. the artifices and intrigues of a group of persons secretly united in a plot (as to overturn a government)
  2. a group engaged in such artifices and intrigues
  3. club, group
    • a cabal of artists

cabal -vi

  1. to unite in or form a cabal

cabala [kə-'bä-lə, 'ka-bə-lə] -n, adj

(variant of kabbalah)

  1. a medieval and modern system of Jewish theosophy, mysticism, and thaumaturgy marked by belief in creation through emanation and a cipher method of interpreting Scripture
  2. a traditional, esoteric, occult, or secret matter
  3. esoteric doctrine or mysterious art

ca·ba·let·ta [,ka-bə-'le-tə, ,kä-] -n

  1. an operatic song in simple popular style characterized by a uniform rhythm
  2. the lively bravura concluding section of an extended aria or duet

ca·ba·list [kə-'bä-list, 'ka-bə-] -n

  1. a student, interpreter, or devotee of the Jewish cabala
  2. one skilled in esoteric doctrine or mysterious art

ca·bal·ist [kə-'ba-list, -'bä-] -n

  1. a member of a cabal

ca·bal·le·ro [,ka-bə-'ler-(,)ō, -bə(l)-'yer-] -n

  1. knight, cavalier
  2. horseman

ca·bana [kə-'ban-yə, -'ba-nə] -n

  1. a shelter resembling a cabin usu. with an open side facing a beach or swimming pool
  2. a lightweight structure with living facilities

cab·a·ret [,ka-bə-'rā, 'ka-bə-,] -n

  1. a shop selling wines and liquors
  2. a restaurant serving liquor and providing entertainment (as by singers or dancers) : nightclub
  3. the show provided at a cabaret

cab·bage ['ka-bij] -n, adj

  1. any of several brassicas ( Brassica oleracea) of European origin
  2. a leafy garden plant ( Brassica oleracea capitata) with a short stem and a dense globular head of usu. green leaves that is used as a vegetable
  3. any of several plants related to or resembling cabbage
  4. money, cash

cabbage -n

  1. pieces of cloth left in cutting out garments and traditionally kept by tailors as perquisites
  2. steal, filch

cabbage butterfly -n

  1. any of several largely white butterflies (family Pieridae) whose green larvae are cabbage worms
  2. a small cosmopolitan butterfly ( Pieris rapaesyn. Artogeia rapae) that is a pest on cabbage called also cabbage white

cabbage looper -n

  1. a noctuid moth ( Trichoplusia ni) having pale green white-striped larvae that feed on cruciferous plants

cabbage palm -n

  1. a palm with terminal buds eaten as a vegetable

cabbage palmetto -n

  1. a cabbage palm ( Sabal palmetto) with fan-shaped leaves that is native to coastal southeastern U.S. and the Bahamas

cabbage rose -n

  1. a fragrant garden rose ( Rosa centifolia) with upright branches and large pink flowers

cabbage worm -n

  1. an insect larva (as of a cabbage butterfly) that feeds on cabbages

cab·bie ['ka-bē] -n

  1. cabdriver

cab·driv·er ['kab-,drī-vər] -n

  1. a driver of a cab

ca·ber ['kā-bər, 'kä-] -n

  1. pole
  2. a young tree trunk used for tossing as a trial of strength in a Scottish sport

cab·er·net franc [,ka-bər-'nā-'fräŋk, -'fräⁿ] -n

  1. a dry red wine often used in blends (as with merlot or cabernet sauvignon)

cab·er·net sau·vi·gnon [,ka-bər-'nā-sō-vē-'nyōⁿ] -n

  1. a dry red wine made from a single widely cultivated variety of black grape called also cabernet

CABG -abbr

  1. coronary-artery bypass graft

cab·in ['ka-bən] -n

  1. a private room on a ship or boat
  2. a compartment below deck on a boat used for living accommodations
  3. the passenger or cargo compartment of a vehicle (as an airplane or automobile)
  4. the crew compartment of an exploratory vehicle (as a spacecraft)
  5. a small one-story dwelling usu. of simple construction
  6. cab

cabin -vi

  1. to live in or as if in a cabin
  2. confine, restrain
    • significantly cabin s the discretion of administrators -- A. M. Dershowitz

cabin boy -n

  1. a boy working as servant on a ship

cabin car -n

  1. caboose

cabin class -n

  1. a class of accommodations on a passenger ship superior to tourist class and inferior to first class

cabin cruiser -n

  1. cruiser

cab·i·net ['kab-nit, 'ka-bə-] -n

  1. a case or cupboard usu. having doors and shelves
  2. a collection of specimens esp. of biological or numismatic interest
  3. console
  4. a chamber having temperature and humidity controls and used esp. for incubating biological samples
  5. a small room providing seclusion
  6. a small exhibition room in a museum
  7. the private room serving as council chamber of the chief councillors or ministers of a sovereign
  8. the consultations and actions of these councillors
  9. a body of advisers of a head of state
  10. a similar advisory council of a governor of a state or a mayor
  11. a meeting of a cabinet
  12. milk shake

cabinet -adj

  1. of or relating to a governmental cabinet
  2. suitable by reason of size for a small room or by reason of attractiveness or perfection for preservation and display in a cabinet
  3. used or adapted for cabinetmaking
  4. done or used by a cabinetmaker

cab·i·net·mak·er [-,mā-kər] -n

  1. a skilled woodworker who makes fine furniture

cab·i·net·ry ['kab-ni-trē, 'ka-bə-] -n

  1. cabinetwork
  2. cabinets
    • kitchen cabinetry

cab·i·net·work [-,wərk] -n

  1. finished woodwork made by a cabinetmaker

cabin fever -n

  1. extreme irritability and restlessness from living in isolation or a confined indoor area for a prolonged time

cab·in·mate ['ka-bən-,māt] -n

  1. one of two or more persons sharing the same cabin

ca·ble ['kā-bəl] -n

  1. a strong rope esp. of 10 inches (25 centimeters) or more in circumference
  2. a cable-laid rope
  3. a wire rope or metal chain of great tensile strength
  4. a wire or wire rope by which force is exerted to control or operate a mechanism
  5. cable length
  6. an assembly of electrical conductors insulated from each other but laid up together (as by being twisted around a central core)
  7. cablegram
  8. a radio message or telegram
  9. something resembling or fashioned like a cable
    • a fiber-optic cable
  10. cable television
    • a house with cable

cable ['kā-b(ə-)liŋ] -vb, n

  1. to fasten with or as if with a cable
  2. to provide with a cable or cables
  3. to telegraph by submarine cable
  4. to make into a cable or into a form resembling a cable
  5. to communicate by a submarine cable

cable car -n

  1. : a vehicle moved by an endless cable:
  2. one suspended from an overhead cable
  3. one that moves along tracks

cablecast ['kā-bəl-,kast] -n, vb

  1. a cable television transmission

ca·ble·gram ['kā-bəl-,gram] -n

  1. a message sent by a submarine telegraph cable

ca·bleknit ['kā-bəl-,nit] -adj

  1. having or made with a knitting stitch that produces a pattern resembling the twist of a usu. two-ply cable
    • a cableknit sweater

ca·blelaid ['kā-bəl-'lād] -adj

  1. composed of three ropes laid together left-handed with each containing three strands twisted together

cable length -n

  1. a maritime unit of length variously reckoned as 100 fathoms, 120 fathoms, or 608 feet

cable modem -n

  1. a modem for connecting a computer to a network over a cable television line

cable television -n

  1. a system of television reception in which signals from distant stations are picked up by a master antenna and sent by cable to the individual receivers of paying subscribers called also cable TV

ca·ble·way ['kā-bəl-,wā] -n

  1. a suspended cable used as a track along which carriers can be pulled

cab·man ['kab-mən] -n

  1. cabdriver

cab·o·chon ['ka-bə-,shän] -n, adv

  1. a gem or bead cut in convex form and highly polished but not faceted
  2. this style of cutting

ca·boo·dle [kə-'bü-dᵊl] -n

  1. collection, lot
    • sell the whole caboodle

ca·boose [kə-'büs] -n

  1. a ship's galley
  2. a freight-train car attached usu. to the rear mainly for the use of the train crew
  3. one that follows or brings up the rear
  4. buttocks

cab·o·tage ['ka-bə-,täzh] -n

  1. trade or transport in coastal waters or airspace or between two points within a country
  2. the right to engage in cabotage

ca·bret·ta [kə-'bre-tə] -n

  1. a light soft leather from skins of hairy sheep

ca·bril·la [kə-'brē-ə, -'bri-lə] -n

  1. any of various sea basses (esp. of the genera Epinephelusand Paralabrax) of the Mediterranean, the California coast, and the warmer parts of the western Atlantic

cab·ri·ole ['ka-brē-,ōl] -n

  1. a ballet leap in which one leg is extended in midair and the other struck against it
  2. a curved furniture leg ending in an ornamental foot

cab·ri·o·let [,ka-brē-ə-'lā] -n

  1. a light 2-wheeled one-horse carriage with a folding leather hood, a large apron, and upward-curving shafts
  2. a convertible coupe

cab·stand ['kab-,stand] -n

  1. a place where cabs await hire

cac- -comb form

  1. bad
    • caco graphy

ca·ca ['kä-,kä] -n

  1. excrement

ca' can·ny [kȯ-'ka-nē] -n, vi

  1. slowdown

ca·cao [kə-'kau̇, kə-'kā-(,)ō] -n

  1. the dried partly fermented fatty seeds of a So. American evergreen tree ( Theobroma cacaoof the family Sterculiaceae) that are used in making cocoa, chocolate, and cocoa butter called also cacao bean cocoa bean
  2. a tree having small yellowish flowers followed by fleshy pods from which cacao is obtained

cacao butter -n

(variant of cocoa butter)

  1. a pale vegetable fat with a low melting point obtained from cacao beans

cac·cia·to·re [,kä-chə-'tȯr-ē] -adj

  1. cooked with tomatoes and herbs and sometimes wine
    • chicken cacciatore

cach·a·lot ['ka-shə-,lät, -,lō] -n

  1. sperm whale

cache ['kash] -n

  1. a hiding place esp. for concealing and preserving provisions or implements
  2. a secure place of storage
  3. something hidden or stored in a cache
  4. a computer memory with very short access time used for storage of frequently or recently used instructions or data called also cache memory
  5. to place, hide, or store in a cache

ca·chec·tic [kə-'kek-tik, ka-] -adj

  1. affected by cachexia

cache·pot ['kash-,pät, 'kash-,pō, 'ka-shə-] -n

  1. an ornamental receptacle to hold and usu. to conceal a flowerpot

ca·chet [ka-'shā] -n

  1. a seal used esp. as a mark of official approval
  2. an indication of approval carrying great prestige
  3. a characteristic feature or quality conferring prestige
  4. prestige
    • being rich...doesn't have the cachet it used to -- Truman Capote
  5. a medicinal preparation for swallowing consisting of a case usu. of rice-flour paste enclosing a medicine
  6. a design or inscription on an envelope to commemorate a postal or philatelic event
  7. an advertisement forming part of a postage meter impression
  8. a motto or slogan included in a postal cancellation

ca·chex·ia [kə-'kek-sē-ə, ka-] -n

  1. general physical wasting and malnutrition usu. associated with chronic disease

cach·in·nate ['ka-kə-,nāt] -vi, n

  1. to laugh loudly or immoderately

ca·chou [ka-'shü, 'ka-,] -n

  1. a pill or pastille used to sweeten the breath

ca·cique [kə-'sēk] -n

  1. a native Indian chief in areas dominated primarily by a Spanish culture
  2. a local political boss in Spain and Latin America

cackhand·ed ['kak-,han-dəd] -adj

  1. left-handed
  2. clumsy, awkward

cack·le ['ka-kəl] -vi, n

  1. to make the sharp broken noise or cry characteristic of a hen esp. after laying
  2. to laugh esp. in a harsh or sharp manner
  3. chatter

caco·de·mon [,ka-kə-'dē-mən] -n, adj

  1. demon

cac·o·dyl·ic acid [,ka-kə-'di-lik-] -n

  1. a toxic crystalline compound of arsenic C 2H 7AsO 2used esp. as an herbicide

caco·e·thes [,ka-kə-'wē-(,)thēz, -kō-'ē-] -n

  1. an insatiable desire : mania

ca·cog·ra·phy [ka-'kä-grə-fē] -n, adj

  1. bad spelling
  2. bad handwriting

cac·o·mis·tle ['ka-kə-,mi-səl, ,ka-kə-'mis(t)-lē] -n

  1. ringtail

ca·coph·o·nous [ka-'kä-fə-nəs, -'kȯ- also -'ka-] -adj, adv

  1. marked by cacophony : harsh-sounding

ca·coph·o·ny [-nē] -n

  1. harsh or discordant sound : dissonance
  2. harshness in the sound of words or phrases

cac·tus ['kak-təs] -n

  1. any of a family (Cactaceae, the cactus family) of plants that have succulent stems and branches with scales or spines instead of leaves and are found esp. in dry areas (as deserts)

cactus wren -n

  1. a large harsh-voiced wren ( Campylorhynchus brunneicapillus) esp. of arid regions of the southwestern U.S. and Mexico

ca·cu·mi·nal [ka-'kyü-mə-nᵊl, kə-] -adj

  1. retroflex

cad ['kad] -n

  1. an omnibus conductor
  2. a man who acts with deliberate disregard for another's feelings or rights

CAD -abbr

  1. computer-aided design

ca·das·tral [kə-'das-trəl] -adj, adv

  1. of or relating to a cadastre
  2. showing or recording property boundaries, subdivision lines, buildings, and related details

ca·das·tre [kə-'das-tər] -n

  1. an official register of the quantity, value, and ownership of real estate used in apportioning taxes

ca·dav·er [kə-'da-vər] -n, adj

  1. a dead body
  2. one intended for dissection

ca·dav·er·ine [kə-'da-və-,rēn] -n

  1. a syrupy colorless poisonous ptomaine C 5H 14N 2formed by decarboxylation of lysine esp. in putrefaction of flesh

ca·dav·er·ous [kə-'dav-rəs, -'da-vər-əs] -adj, adv

  1. of or relating to a corpse
  2. suggestive of corpses or tombs
  3. pallid, livid
  4. gaunt, emaciated

cad·die ['ka-dē] -n, vi

  1. one who waits about for odd jobs
  2. one who assists a golfer esp. by carrying the clubs
  3. a wheeled device for conveying things not readily carried by hand
    • a luggage caddie

cad·dis ['ka-dəs] -n

  1. worsted yarn
  2. a worsted ribbon or binding formerly used for garters and girdles

caddis -n

  1. caddisworm
  2. caddis fly

caddis fly -n

  1. any of an order (Trichoptera) of insects with four membranous usu. hairy wings, vestigial mouthparts, slender many-jointed antennae, and aquatic larvae

cad·dish ['ka-dish] -adj, adv, n

  1. of, relating to, or being a cad
    • caddish behavior
    • her caddish husband

cad·dis·worm ['ka-dəs-,wərm] -n

  1. the larva of a caddis fly that lives in and carries around a silken case covered with bits of debris

Cad·do ['ka-(,)dō] -n

  1. a member of a group of American Indian peoples of Louisiana, Arkansas, and eastern Texas
  2. the language of the Caddo peoples

cad·dy ['ka-dē] -n

  1. a small box, can, or chest used esp. to keep tea in
  2. a container or device for storing or holding objects when they are not in use

cade ['kād] -adj

  1. left by its mother and reared by hand : pet
    • a cade lamb

ca·delle [kə-'del] -n

  1. a small cosmopolitan black beetle ( Tenebroides mauritanicus) destructive to stored grain

ca·dence ['kā-dᵊn(t)s] -n, adj

  1. a rhythmic sequence or flow of sounds in language
  2. the beat, time, or measure of rhythmical motion or activity
  3. a falling inflection of the voice
  4. a concluding and usu. falling strain
  5. a musical chord sequence moving to a harmonic close or point of rest and giving the sense of harmonic completion
  6. the modulated and rhythmic recurrence of a sound esp. in nature

ca·den·cy ['kā-dᵊn(t)-sē] -n

  1. cadence

ca·dent ['kā-dᵊnt] -adj

  1. being in the process of falling
    • with cadent tears fret channels in her cheeks -- Shak.
  2. having rhythmic cadence
    • his cadent voice

ca·den·za [kə-'den-zə] -n

  1. a parenthetical flourish in an aria or other solo piece commonly just before a final or other important cadence
  2. a technically brilliant sometimes improvised solo passage toward the close of a concerto
  3. an exceptionally brilliant part of an artistic and esp. a literary work

cade oil ['kād-] -n

  1. juniper tar

ca·det [kə-'det] -n

  1. a younger brother or son
  2. youngest son
  3. a younger branch of a family or a member of it
  4. one in training for a military or naval commission
  5. a student in a service academy
  6. pimp

Ca·dette [kə-'det] -n

  1. a member of a program of the Girl Scouts for girls in the sixth through ninth grades in school

cadge ['kaj] -vb, n

  1. beg, sponge
    • cadge a free cup of coffee

cad·mi·um ['kad-mē-əm] -n

  1. a bluish-white malleable ductile toxic divalent metallic element used esp. in batteries, pigments, and protective platings

cadmium sulfide -n

  1. a yellow-brown poisonous salt CdS used esp. in electronic parts, in photoelectric cells, and in medicine

Cad·mus ['kad-məs] -n

  1. the legendary founder of Thebes

cad·re ['ka-,drā, 'kä-, -drē; esp Brit 'kä-də(r), 'kā-, -drə] -n

  1. frame, framework
  2. a nucleus or core group esp. of trained personnel able to assume control and to train others
  3. a group of people having some unifying relationship
    • a cadre of lawyers
  4. a cell of indoctrinated leaders active in promoting the interests of a revolutionary party
  5. a member of a cadre

ca·du·ceus [kə-'dü-sē-əs, -'dyü-, -shəs] -n

  1. the symbolic staff of a herald
  2. a representation of a staff with two entwined snakes and two wings at the top
  3. an insignia bearing a caduceus and symbolizing a physician

ca·du·ci·ty [kə-'dü-sə-tē, -'dyü-] -n

  1. senility
  2. the quality of being transitory or perishable

ca·du·cous [kə-'dü-kəs, -'dyü-] -adj

  1. falling off easily or before the usual time used esp. of floral organs

cae·ci·lian [si-'sil-yən, -'sēl-, -'si-lē-ən] -n, adj

  1. any of an order (Gymnophiona) of chiefly tropical burrowing limbless amphibians resembling worms

Caer·phil·ly [kär-'fi-lē] -n

  1. a mild white friable cheese of Welsh origin

Cae·sar ['sē-zər] -n, adj

  1. any of the Roman emperors succeeding Augustus Caesar used as a title
  2. : a powerful ruler:
  3. emperor
  4. autocrat, dictator
  5. the civil power : a temporal ruler

caesarean [si-'zer-ē-ən] -n, adj

(variant of cesarean)

  1. cesarean section

caesarean section -n

(variant of cesarean section)

  1. surgical incision of the walls of the abdomen and uterus for delivery of offspring

Cae·sar·ism ['sē-zə-,ri-zəm] -n

  1. imperial authority or system : political absolutism : dictatorship

Caesar salad -n

  1. a tossed salad usu. made of romaine, garlic, anchovies, and croutons and dressed with olive oil, coddled egg, lemon juice, and grated cheese

cae·si·um ['sē-zē-əm also -zhē-] -n

(variant of cesium)

  1. a silver-white soft ductile element of the alkali metal group that is the most electropositive element known and that is used esp. in photoelectric cells

caes·pi·tose ['ses-pə-,tōs] -adj

  1. growing in clusters or tufts
  2. forming a dense turf

cae·su·ra [si-'zyu̇r-ə, -'zhu̇r-] -n, adj

  1. a usu. rhetorical break in the flow of sound in the middle of a line of verse
  2. a break in the flow of sound in a verse caused by the ending of a word within a foot
  3. break, interruption
  4. a pause marking a rhythmic point of division in a melody

CAF -abbr

  1. cost and freight

ca·fe [ka-'fā, kə-] -n

  1. a usu. small and informal establishment serving various refreshments (as coffee)
  2. restaurant
  3. barroom
  4. cabaret, nightclub

CAFE -abbr

  1. corporate average fuel economy

ca·fe au lait [(,)ka-'fā-ō-'lā] -n

  1. coffee with usu. hot milk in about equal parts
  2. the color of coffee with milk

ca·fe noir [-'nwär] -n

  1. coffee without milk or cream
  2. demitasse

cafe society -n

  1. society of persons who are regular patrons of fashionable cafes

caf·e·te·ria [,ka-fə-'tir-ē-ə] -n

  1. a restaurant in which the customers serve themselves or are served at a counter and take the food to tables to eat
  2. lunchroom

cafeteria -adj

  1. providing a selection from which a choice may be made
    • cafeteria benefit plan
    • a cafeteria curriculum

caf·e·te·riastyle [-,stī(-ə)l] -adj

  1. cafeteria
    • cafeteriastyle benefits

caf·e·to·ri·um [-'tȯr-ē-əm] -n

  1. a large room (as in a school building) designed for use both as a cafeteria and an auditorium

caff ['kaf] -n

  1. cafe

caf·fein·at·ed ['ka-fə-,nā-təd, -fē-ə-] -adj

  1. stimulated by or as if by caffeine
    • caffeinated workers
    • caffeinated rhythms of electronic music -- Marc Weingarten
  2. containing caffeine
    • caffeinated coffee

caf·feine [ka-'fēn, 'ka-,] -n

  1. a bitter alkaloid C 8H 10N 4O 2found esp. in coffee, tea, cacao, and kola nuts and used medicinally as a stimulant and diuretic

caf·fe lat·te ['kä-(,)fā-'lä-(,)tā] -n

  1. espresso mixed with hot or steamed milk

caf·tan ['kaf-(,)tan] -n

  1. a usu. cotton or silk ankle-length garment with long sleeves that is common throughout the Levant

CAG -abbr

  1. carrier air group

cage ['kāj] -n

  1. a box or enclosure having some openwork for confining or carrying animals (as birds)
  2. a barred cell for confining prisoners
  3. a fenced area for prisoners of war
  4. a framework serving as support
    • the steel cage of a skyscraper
  5. an enclosure resembling a cage in form or purpose
    • a cashier's cage
  6. an arrangement of atoms or molecules so bonded as to enclose a space in which another atom or ion (as of a metal) can reside
  7. batting cage
  8. a goal consisting of posts or a frame with a net attached (as in ice hockey)
  9. a large building containing an area for practicing outdoor sports and often adapted for indoor events
  10. to confine or keep in or as if in a cage
  11. to drive (as a puck) into a cage and score a goal

cage·ling ['kāj-liŋ] -n

  1. a caged bird

ca·gey ['kā-jē] -adj, adv, n

  1. hesitant about committing oneself
    • officials are cagey about giving out details
  2. wary of being trapped or deceived : shrewd
    • a cagey consumer
  3. marked by cleverness
    • a cagey reply

CAGS -abbr

  1. Certificate of Advanced Graduate Study

ca·hier [kä-'yā, kī-'ā] -n

  1. a report or memorial concerning policy esp. of a parliamentary body

ca·hoot [kə-'hüt] -n

  1. partnership, league usu. used in pl.
    • they're in cahoot s

ca·how [kə-'hau̇] -n

  1. a dark-colored petrel ( Pterodroma cahow) formerly abundant in Bermuda but now nearly extinct

CAI -abbr

  1. computer-aided instruction; computer-assisted instruction

cai·man ['kā-mən; kā-'man, kī-] -n

  1. any of several Central and So. American crocodilians (genera Caiman, Melanosuchus,and Paleosuchus) similar to alligators

Cain ['kān] -n

  1. the brother and murderer of Abel

cai·pi·ri·nha [,kī-pə-'rēn-yə] -n

  1. a cocktail consisting of lime, sugar, and rum

ca·ique [kä-'ēk, 'kīk] -n

  1. a light skiff used on the Bosporus
  2. a Levantine sailing vessel

caird ['kerd] -n

  1. a traveling tinker
  2. tramp, gypsy

cairn ['kern] -n, adj

  1. a heap of stones piled up as a memorial or as a landmark

cairn·gorm ['kern-,gȯrm] -n

  1. a yellow or smoky-brown crystalline quartz

cairn terrier -n

  1. any of a breed of small compactly built hard-coated terriers of Scottish origin

cais·son ['kā-,sän, -sᵊn, Brit also kə-'sün] -n

  1. a chest to hold ammunition
  2. a usu. 2-wheeled vehicle for artillery ammunition attachable to a horse-drawn limber
  3. a limber with its attached caisson
  4. a watertight chamber used in construction work under water or as a foundation
  5. a hollow floating box or a boat used as a floodgate for a dock or basin
  6. coffer

caisson disease -n

  1. decompression sickness

cai·tiff ['kā-təf] -adj, n

  1. cowardly, despicable

caj·e·put ['ka-jə-pət, -,pu̇t] -n

  1. an Australian and southeast Asian tree ( Melaleuca quinquenerviasyn. M. leucadendron) of the myrtle family that yields a pungent medicinal oil and has been introduced into Florida

ca·jole [kə-'jōl] -vt, n

  1. to persuade with flattery or gentle urging esp. in the face of reluctance : coax
    • had to cajole them into going
  2. to obtain from someone by gentle persuasion
    • cajoled money from his parents
  3. to deceive with soothing words or false promises

Ca·jun ['kā-jən] -n

  1. a Louisianian descended from French-speaking immigrants from Acadia

Cajun -adj

  1. of, relating to, or characteristic of the Cajuns
  2. of, relating to, or prepared in a style of cooking originating among the Cajuns and characterized by the use of hot seasonings (as cayenne pepper)

cake ['kāk] -n, adj

  1. a breadlike food made from a dough or batter that is usu. fried or baked in small flat shapes and is often unleavened
  2. a sweet baked food made from a dough or thick batter usu. containing flour and sugar and often shortening, eggs, and a raising agent (as baking powder)
  3. a flattened usu. round mass of food that is baked or fried
    • a fish cake
  4. a block of compacted or congealed matter
    • a cake of ice
  5. a hard or brittle layer or deposit
  6. something easily done
    • after so much studying, the test was cake
  7. encrust
    • caked with dust
  8. to fill (a space) with a packed mass
  9. to form or harden into a mass

cake·walk ['kāk-,wȯk] -n, vi

  1. a black American entertainment having a cake as prize for the most accomplished steps and figures in walking
  2. a stage dance developed from walking steps and figures typically involving a high prance with backward tilt
  3. a one-sided contest
  4. an easy task

cal -abbr

  1. small calorie

Cal -abbr

  1. California
  2. large calorie

Cal·a·bar bean ['ka-lə-,bär-] -n

  1. the dark brown highly poisonous leguminous seed of a tropical west African woody vine ( Physostigma venenosum) that is used as a source of physostigmine and was used formerly as an ordeal poison in African witchcraft trials

cal·a·bash ['ka-lə-,bash] -n

  1. a tropical American tree ( Crescentia cujete) of the bignonia family
  2. its large hard-shelled globose fruit
  3. gourd
  4. one whose hard shell is used for a utensil
  5. a utensil (as a bottle or dipper) made from the shell of a calabash

ca·la·ba·za [,ka-lə-'bä-zə, -sə] -n

  1. a large winter squash ( Cucurbita moschata) that resembles a pumpkin and is typically grown in the West Indies and tropical America

cal·a·boose ['ka-lə-,büs] -n

  1. jail
  2. a local jail

ca·la·di·um [kə-'lā-dē-əm] -n

  1. any of a genus ( Caladiumand esp. C. bicolor) of tropical American plants of the arum family widely cultivated for their showy variably colored leaves

cal·a·man·der ['ka-lə-,man-dər, ,ka-lə-'] -n

  1. the hazel-brown black-striped wood of a southeast Asian tree (genus Diospyrosand esp. D. quaesita) that is used in furniture manufacturing

cal·a·mari [,kä-lə-'mär-ē, 'ka-lə-,mer-ē] -n

  1. squid used as food

cal·a·mary ['ka-lə-,mer-ē] -n

  1. squid

calamata [,kä-lə-'mä-tə, ,ka-] -n

(variant of kalamata)

  1. a brine-cured black olive grown in Greece

cal·a·mine ['ka-lə-,mīn, -mən] -n

  1. a mixture of zinc oxide with a small amount of ferric oxide used in lotions, liniments, and ointments

cal·a·mint ['ka-lə-,mint] -n

  1. any of a genus ( Calaminthasyn. Satureja,esp. C. nepeta) of Eurasian perennial mints

cal·a·mite ['ka-lə-,mīt] -n

  1. a Paleozoic fossil plant (esp. genus Calamites) resembling a giant horsetail

ca·lam·i·tous [kə-'la-mə-təs] -adj, adv

  1. being, causing, or accompanied by calamity
    • calamitous events

ca·lam·i·ty [kə-'la-mə-tē] -n

  1. a state of deep distress or misery caused by major misfortune or loss
  2. a disastrous event marked by great loss and lasting distress and suffering
    • calamities of nature
    • an economic calamity

cal·a·mon·din [,ka-lə-'män-dən] -n

  1. a small hybrid citrus tree ( Citrofortunella mitissyn. Citrus mitis)
  2. its small tart fruit resembling the mandarin and used esp. in marmalades

cal·a·mus ['ka-lə-məs] -n

  1. sweet flag
  2. the aromatic peeled and dried rhizome of the sweet flag that is the source of a carcinogenic essential oil
  3. the hollow basal portion of a feather below the vane : quill

ca·lash [kə-'lash] -n

  1. a light small-wheeled 4-passenger carriage with a folding top
  2. caleche
  3. a large hood worn by women in the 18th century

calc -abbr

  1. calculate; calculated

calc- -comb form

  1. calcium : calcium salt
    • calc ic
    • calci fy

cal·ca·ne·al [kal-'kā-nē-əl] -adj

  1. relating to the heel or calcaneus

cal·ca·ne·um [-nē-əm] -n

  1. calcaneus

cal·ca·ne·us [-nē-əs] -n

  1. a tarsal bone that in humans is the large bone of the heel

cal·car·e·ous [kal-'ker-ē-əs] -adj, adv

  1. resembling calcite or calcium carbonate esp. in hardness
  2. consisting of or containing calcium carbonate
  3. containing calcium
  4. growing on limestone or in soil impregnated with lime

cal·cic ['kal-sik] -adj

  1. derived from or containing calcium or lime : rich in calcium

cal·ci·cole ['kal-sə-,kōl] -n, adj

  1. a plant normally growing on calcareous soils

cal·cif·er·ol [kal-'si-fə-,rȯl, -,rōl] -n

  1. an alcohol C 28H 43OH usu. prepared by irradiation of ergosterol and used as a dietary supplement in nutrition and medicinally in the control of rickets and related disorders called also vitamin D 2

cal·cif·er·ous [kal-'si-f(ə-)rəs] -adj

  1. producing or containing calcium carbonate

cal·cif·ic [kal-'si-fik] -adj

  1. involving or caused by calcification
    • calcific lesions

cal·ci·fuge ['kal-sə-,fyüj] -n, adj

  1. a plant not normally growing on calcareous soils

cal·ci·fy ['kal-sə-,fī] -vb, n

  1. to make calcareous by deposit of calcium salts
  2. to make inflexible or unchangeable
  3. to become calcareous
  4. to become inflexible and changeless : harden

cal·ci·mine ['kal-sə-,mīn] -n, vt

  1. a white or tinted wash of glue, whiting or zinc white, and water that is used esp. on plastered surfaces

cal·ci·na·tion [,kal-sə-'nā-shən] -n

  1. the act or process of calcining : the state of being calcined

cal·cine [kal-'sīn, 'kal-,] -vb

  1. to heat (as inorganic materials) to a high temperature but without fusing in order to drive off volatile matter or to effect changes (as oxidation or pulverization)
  2. to undergo calcination
  3. a product (as a metal oxide) of calcination or roasting

cal·ci·no·sis [,kal-sə-'nō-səs] -n

  1. the abnormal deposition of calcium salts in a part or tissue of the body

cal·cite ['kal-,sīt] -n, adj

  1. a mineral CaCO 3consisting of calcium carbonate crystallized in hexagonal form and including common limestone, chalk, and marble

cal·ci·to·nin [,kal-sə-'tō-nən] -n

  1. a polypeptide hormone esp. from the thyroid gland that lowers the level of calcium in the blood plasma called also thyrocalcitonin

cal·ci·um ['kal-sē-əm] -n

  1. a silver-white divalent metallic element of the alkaline-earth group occurring only in combination

calcium carbide -n

  1. a usu. dark gray crystalline compound CaC 2used esp. for the generation of acetylene and for making calcium cyanamide

calcium carbonate -n

  1. a compound CaCO 3found in nature as calcite and aragonite and in plant ashes, bones, and shells and used esp. in making lime and portland cement and as a gastric antacid

calcium channel blocker -n

  1. any of a class of drugs (as verapamil) that prevent or slow the influx of calcium ions into smooth muscle cells and are used esp. to treat some forms of angina pectoris and some cardiac arrhythmias

calcium chloride -n

  1. a white deliquescent salt CaCl 2used in its anhydrous state as a drying and dehumidifying agent and in a hydrated state for controlling dust and ice on roads

calcium cyanamide -n

  1. a compound CaCN 2used as a fertilizer and a weed killer and as a source of other nitrogen compounds

calcium gluconate -n

  1. a white powdery salt CaC 12H 22O 14used esp. to supplement bodily calcium stores

calcium hydroxide -n

  1. a white crystalline strong alkali Ca(OH) 2that is used esp. to make mortar and plaster and to soften water

calcium hypochlorite -n

  1. a white powder CaCl 2O 2used esp. as a bleaching agent and disinfectant

calcium oxalate -n

  1. a crystalline salt CaC 2O 4normally deposited in many plant cells and in animals sometimes excreted in urine or retained in the form of urinary calculi

calcium oxide -n

  1. a caustic solid CaO that is white when pure and that is the chief constituent of lime

calcium phosphate -n

  1. : any of various phosphates of calcium: as
  2. the phosphate CaH 4P 2O 8used as a fertilizer and in baking powder
  3. the phosphate CaHPO 4used in pharmaceutical preparations and animal feeds
  4. the phosphate Ca 3P 2O 8used as a fertilizer
  5. the naturally occurring phosphate Ca 5(F,Cl,OH,CO 3)(PO 4) 3that contains other elements or radicals and is the chief constituent of phosphate rock, bones, and teeth

calcium silicate -n

  1. any of several silicates of calcium used esp. in construction materials (as portland cement)

calcium sulfate -n

  1. a white salt CaSO 4that occurs esp. as anhydrite, gypsum, and plaster of paris and that in hydrated form is used as a building material and in anhydrous form is used as a drying agent

cal·cu·la·ble ['kal-kyə-lə-bəl] -adj

  1. subject to or ascertainable by calculation
  2. that may be counted on : dependable

cal·cu·late ['kal-kyə-,lāt] -vb

  1. to determine by mathematical processes
    • calculate the rate of acceleration
  2. to reckon by exercise of practical judgment : estimate
    • calculate the likelihood of success
  3. to solve or probe the meaning of : figure out
    • trying to calculate his expression -- Hugh MacLennan
  4. to design or adapt for a purpose
    • he carefully calculated the timing of his arrival for maximum impact
  5. to judge to be true or probable
  6. intend
    • I calculate to do it or perish in the attempt -- Mark Twain
  7. to make a calculation
  8. to forecast consequences
  9. count, rely

cal·cu·lat·ed [-,lā-təd] -adj, adv, n

  1. apt, likely
  2. worked out by mathematical calculation
  3. engaged in, undertaken, or displayed after reckoning or estimating the statistical probability of success or failure
    • a calculated risk
  4. planned or contrived to accomplish a purpose
  5. deliberate, intended
    • a calculated attempt to deceive voters

cal·cu·lat·ing [-,lā-tiŋ] -adj, adv

  1. making calculations
    • calculating machine
  2. marked by prudent analysis or by shrewd consideration of self-interest : scheming

cal·cu·la·tion [,kal-kyə-'lā-shən] -n, adj

  1. the process or an act of calculating
  2. the result of an act of calculating
  3. studied care in analyzing or planning
  4. cold heartless planning to promote self-interest

cal·cu·la·tor ['kal-kyə-,lā-tər] -n

  1. : one that calculates: as
  2. a usu. electronic device for performing mathematical calculations
  3. a person who operates a calculator

cal·cu·lous ['kal-kyə-ləs] -adj

  1. caused or characterized by a calculus or calculi

cal·cu·lus [-ləs] -n

  1. a method of computation or calculation in a special notation (as of logic or symbolic logic)
  2. the mathematical methods comprising differential and integral calculus often used with the
  3. calculation
  4. a concretion usu. of mineral salts around organic material found esp. in hollow organs or ducts
  5. tartar
  6. a system or arrangement of intricate or interrelated parts

calculus of variations

  1. a branch of mathematics concerned with applying the methods of calculus to finding the maxima and minima of a function which depends for its values on another function or a curve

cal·de·ra [kal-'der-ə, kȯl-, -'dir-] -n

  1. a volcanic crater that has a diameter many times that of the vent and is formed by collapse of the central part of a volcano or by explosions of extraordinary violence

caldron ['kȯl-drən] -n

(variant of cauldron)

  1. a large kettle or boiler
  2. something resembling a boiling cauldron in intensity or degree of agitation
    • a cauldron of intense emotions

ca·leche [kə-'lesh, -'lash] -n

  1. calash
  2. a 2-wheeled horse-drawn vehicle with a driver's seat on the splashboard used in Quebec
  3. calash

cal·e·fac·to·ry [,ka-lə-'fak-t(ə-)rē] -n

  1. a monastery room warmed and used as a sitting room

cal·en·dar ['ka-lən-dər] -n

  1. a system for fixing the beginning, length, and divisions of the civil year and arranging days and longer divisions of time (as weeks and months) in a definite order
  2. a tabular register of days according to a system usu. covering one year and referring the days of each month to the days of the week
  3. : an orderly list: as
  4. a list of cases to be tried in court
  5. a list of bills or other items reported out of committee for consideration by a legislative assembly
  6. a list or schedule of planned events or activities giving dates and details
  7. a university catalog

calendar [-d(ə-)riŋ] -vt

  1. to enter in a calendar

calendar year -n

  1. a period of a year beginning and ending with the dates that are conventionally accepted as marking the beginning and end of a numbered year
  2. a period of time equal in length to that of the year in the calendar conventionally in use

cal·en·der ['ka-lən-dər] -vt, n

  1. to press (as cloth, rubber, or paper) between rollers or plates in order to smooth and glaze or to thin into sheets

calender -n

  1. a machine for calendering something
  2. a member of a Sufic order of wandering mendicant dervishes

ca·len·dri·cal [kə-'len-dri-kəl, ka-] -adj

  1. of, relating to, characteristic of, or used in a calendar

ca·lends ['ka-lən(d)z, 'kā-] -n pl but sing or pl in constr

  1. the first day of the ancient Roman month from which days were counted backward to the ides

ca·len·du·la [kə-'len-jə-lə, -dyu̇-lə] -n

  1. any of a small genus ( Calendula) of yellow-rayed composite herbs of temperate regions

cal·en·ture ['ka-lən-,chu̇r] -n

  1. a fever formerly supposed to affect sailors in the tropics

calf ['kaf, 'käf, dial also 'kāf] -n, adj

  1. the young of the domestic cow
  2. that of a closely related mammal (as a bison)
  3. the young of various large animals (as the elephant or whale)
  4. the hide of the domestic calf
  5. calfskin
  6. an awkward or silly youth
  7. the fleshy back part of the leg below the knee

calflove [-,ləv] -n

  1. puppy love

calf'sfoot jelly ['kavz-,fu̇t-, 'kafs-, 'kävz-, 'käfs- also 'kāvz-] -n

  1. jelly made from gelatin obtained by boiling calves' feet

calf·skin ['kaf-,skin, 'käf- also 'kāf-] -n

  1. leather made of the skin of a calf

Cal·i·ban ['ka-lə-,ban] -n

  1. a savage and deformed slave in Shakespeare's The Tempest

cal·i·ber ['ka-lə-bər, Brit also kə-'lē-] -n

  1. degree of mental capacity or moral quality
  2. degree of excellence or importance
  3. the diameter of a bullet or other projectile
  4. the diameter of a bore of a gun usu. expressed in hundredths or thousandths of an inch and typically written as a decimal fraction
    • .32 caliber
  5. the diameter of a round or cylindrical body
  6. the internal diameter of a hollow cylinder

cal·i·brate ['ka-lə-,brāt] -vt, n

  1. to ascertain the caliber of (as a thermometer tube)
  2. to determine, rectify, or mark the graduations of (as a thermometer tube)
  3. to standardize (as a measuring instrument) by determining the deviation from a standard so as to ascertain the proper correction factors
  4. to adjust precisely for a particular function
  5. to measure precisely
  6. to measure against a standard

cal·i·bra·tion [,ka-lə-'brā-shən] -n

  1. the act or process of calibrating : the state of being calibrated
  2. a set of graduations to indicate values or positions usu. used in pl.
    • calibration s on a gauge

ca·li·che [kə-'lē-chē] -n

  1. the nitrate-bearing gravel or rock of the sodium nitrate deposits of Chile and Peru
  2. a crust of calcium carbonate that forms on the stony soil of arid regions

cal·i·co ['ka-li-,kō] -n, adj

  1. cotton cloth imported from India
  2. a plain white cotton fabric that is heavier than muslin
  3. any of various cheap cotton fabrics with figured patterns
  4. a blotched or spotted animal
  5. one that is predominantly white with red and black patches

calico bass -n

  1. black crappie

calico bush -n

  1. mountain laurel

Calif -abbr

  1. California

Cal·i·for·nia condor [,ka-lə-'fȯr-nyə-] -n

  1. a large nearly extinct vulture ( Gymnogyps californianus) found most recently in the mountains of southern California that is related to the condor of So. America

California laurel -n

  1. an evergreen Pacific coast tree ( Umbellularia californica) of the laurel family with small umbellate flowers

California poppy -n

  1. any of a genus ( Eschscholzia) of herbs of the poppy family
  2. one ( E. californica) widely cultivated for its usu. yellow or orange flowers

California sea lion -n

  1. a small brown sea lion ( Zalophus californianus) that occurs esp. along the Pacific coast of No. America from Vancouver Island to Baja California and the Gulf of California and in the Galapagos Islands and that is the seal most often trained to perform in circuses

Cal·i·for·nio [,ka-lə-'fȯr-nē-,ō] -n

  1. one of the original Spanish colonists of California or their descendants

cal·i·for·ni·um [,ka-lə-'fȯr-nē-əm] -n

  1. a radioactive element discovered by bombarding curium 242 with alpha particles

ca·lig·i·nous [kə-'li-jə-nəs] -adj

  1. misty, dark
    • a caliginous atmosphere

cal·i·per ['ka-lə-pər] -n

  1. any of various measuring instruments having two usu. adjustable arms, legs, or jaws used esp. to measure diameter or thickness usu. used in pl.
    • a pair of caliper s
  2. a device for pressing a frictional material (as a brake pad) against the sides of a rotating wheel or disc
  3. thickness esp. of paper, cardboard, or a tree

caliper [-p(ə-)riŋ] -vt

  1. to measure by or as if by calipers

ca·liph ['kā-ləf, 'ka-ləf] -n, adj

  1. a successor of Muhammad as temporal and spiritual head of Islam used as a title

ca·liph·ate [-lə-,fāt, -fət] -n

  1. the office or dominion of a caliph

cal·is·then·ic [,ka-ləs-'the-nik] -adj

  1. of or relating to calisthenics

cal·is·then·ics [-niks] -n pl but sing or pl in constr

  1. systematic rhythmic bodily exercises performed usu. without apparatus
  2. the art or practice of calisthenics

ca·lix ['kā-liks, 'ka-] -n

  1. cup

calk ['kȯk] -vt, n

(variant of caulk)

  1. to stop up and make tight against leakage (as a boat or its seams, the cracks in a window frame, or the joints of a pipe)
  2. material used to caulk

call ['kȯl] -vb

  1. to speak in a loud distinct voice so as to be heard at a distance : shout
    • call for help
  2. to make a request or demand
    • call for an investigation
  3. to utter a characteristic note or cry
  4. to get or try to get into communication by telephone
    • just call ed to say hello
    often used with up
  5. to make a demand in card games (as for a particular card or for a show of hands)
  6. to give the calls for a square dance
  7. to make a brief visit
    • call ed to pay his respects
    • call ed on a friend
  8. to utter in a loud distinct voice often used with out
    • call out a number
  9. to announce or read loudly or authoritatively
    • call the roll
    • call off a row of figures
  10. to announce the play-by-play of (as a football game)
  11. to command or request to come or be present
    • was call ed to testify
  12. to cause to come : bring
    • call s to mind an old saying
  13. to summon to a particular activity, employment, or office
    • was call ed to active duty
    • was call ed to the bar of justice
  14. to invite or command to meet : convoke
    • call a meeting
  15. to rouse from sleep or summon to get up
  16. to give the order for : bring into action
    • call a strike against the company
    • call a pitchout
  17. to manage by giving the signals or orders
    • that catcher call s a good game
  18. to make a demand in bridge for (a card or suit)
  19. to require (a player) to show the hand in poker by making an equal bet
  20. to challenge to make good on a statement
  21. to charge with or censure for an offense
    • deserves to be call ed on that
  22. to attract (as game) by imitating the characteristic cry
  23. to halt (as a baseball game) because of unsuitable conditions
  24. to rule on the status of (as a pitched ball or a player's action)
    • call balls and strikes
    • call a base runner safe
  25. to give the calls for (a square dance) often used with off
  26. to demand payment of esp. by formal notice
    • call a loan
  27. to demand presentation of (as a bond or option) for redemption
  28. to get or try to get in communication with by telephone
    • call the doctor to make an appointment
  29. to generate signals for (a telephone number) in order to reach the party to whom the number is assigned
    • call 911
  30. to make a signal to in order to transmit a message
    • call the flagship
  31. to speak of or address by a specified name : give a name to
    • call her Kitty
  32. to regard or characterize as of a certain kind : consider
    • can hardly be call ed generous
  33. to estimate or consider for purposes of an estimate or for convenience
    • call it an even dollar
  34. to describe correctly in advance of or without knowledge of the event : predict
  35. to name or specify in advance
    • call the toss of a coin
  36. to temporarily transfer control of computer processing to (as a subroutine or procedure)
  37. an act of calling with the voice : shout
  38. an imitation of the cry of a bird or other animal made to attract it
  39. an instrument used for calling
    • a duck call
  40. the cry of an animal (as a bird)
  41. a request or command to come or assemble
  42. a summons or signal on a drum, bugle, or pipe
  43. admission to the bar as a barrister
  44. an invitation to become the minister of a church or to accept a professional appointment
  45. a divine vocation or strong inner prompting to a particular course of action
  46. a summoning of actors to rehearsal
    • the call is for 11 o'clock
  47. the attraction or appeal of a particular activity, condition, or place
    • the call of the wild
  48. an order specifying the number of men to be inducted into the armed services during a specified period
  49. the selection of a play in football
  50. demand, claim
  51. need, justification
    • there's no call for such behavior
  52. a demand for payment of money
  53. an option to buy a specified amount of a security (as stock) or commodity (as wheat) at a fixed price at or within a specified time
  54. an instance of asking for something : request
    • many call s for Christmas stories
  55. roll call
  56. a short usu. formal visit
  57. the name or thing called
    • the call was heads
  58. the act of calling in a card game
  59. the act of calling on the telephone
  60. a direction or a succession of directions for a square dance rhythmically called to the dancers
  61. a decision or ruling made by an official of a sports contest
  62. decision
    • a tough call to make
  63. a temporary transfer of control of computer processing to a particular set of instructions (as a subroutine or procedure)

call·able ['kȯ-lə-bəl] -adj

  1. capable of being called
  2. subject to a demand for presentation for payment
    • callable bond

cal·la lily ['ka-lə-] -n

  1. any of several herbs (genus Zantedeschia) of the arum family
  2. a house or greenhouse plant ( Z. aethiopica) with a white showy spathe and yellow spadix called also calla

cal·la·loo [,ka-lə-'lü, 'ka-lə-,] -n

  1. the edible young green leaves of a plant (as taro or a member of the genus Xanthosoma) of the arum family used as greens
  2. a soup or stew made with greens, onions, and crabmeat or pork

callandresponse -n

  1. a statement quickly followed by an answering statement
  2. a musical phrase in which the first and often solo part is answered by a second and often ensemble part

cal·lant ['ka-lənt, 'kä-] -n

  1. boy, lad

call·back ['kȯl-,bak] -n

  1. a return call
  2. recall
  3. a recall of an employee to work after a layoff
  4. a second or additional audition for a theatrical part

callboard [-,bȯrd] -n

  1. bulletin board

call box -n

  1. a public telephone booth
  2. a telephone usu. located on the side of a road for reporting emergencies (as fires or automobile breakdowns)

call·boy ['kȯl-,bȯi] -n

  1. bellhop, page

call down -vt

  1. to cause or entreat to descend
    • call down a blessing
  2. reprimand
    • called me down for being late

called strike -n

  1. a pitched baseball not struck at by the batter that passes through the strike zone

call·ee [kȯ-'lē] -n

  1. one who receives a telephone call

cal·ler ['kä-lər] -adj

  1. fresh
  2. cool

call·er ['kȯ-lər] -n

  1. one that calls

caller ID [-,ī-'dē] -n

  1. a telephone service that allows a subscriber to identify the telephone number of a caller before answering the call called also caller identification

cal·let ['ka-lət] -n

  1. prostitute

call forwarding -n

  1. a telephone service that allows a subscriber to have incoming calls forwarded to a different number

call girl -n

  1. a prostitute with whom an appointment may be made by telephone

call house -n

  1. a house or apartment where call girls may be procured

call·i·graphed ['ka-lə-,graft] -adj

  1. written or printed in calligraphy
    • a calligraphed certificate

cal·lig·ra·pher [kə-'li-grə-fər] -n

  1. a professional copyist or engrosser
  2. one who practices the art of calligraphy
  3. penman
    • a fair calligrapher

cal·lig·ra·phist [-fist] -n

  1. calligrapher

cal·lig·ra·phy [-fē] -n, adj, adv

  1. artistic, stylized, or elegant handwriting or lettering
  2. the art of producing such writing
  3. penmanship
  4. an ornamental line in drawing or painting

callin ['kȯl-,in] -adj

  1. allowing listeners to engage in broadcast telephone conversations with the host or a guest
    • a callin show

call in -vt

  1. : to order to return or to be returned: as
  2. to withdraw from an advanced position
    • call in the outposts
  3. to withdraw from circulation
    • call in bank notes and issue new ones
  4. to summon to one's aid or for consultation
    • call in a mediator
  5. to deliver (a message) by telephone
    • call in an order for pizza
  6. to communicate with a person by telephone

call·ing ['kȯ-liŋ] -n

  1. a strong inner impulse toward a particular course of action esp. when accompanied by conviction of divine influence
  2. the vocation or profession in which one customarily engages
  3. the characteristic cry of a female cat in heat
  4. the period of heat

calling card -n

  1. visiting card
  2. a sign or evidence that someone or something is or has been present
  3. an identifying mark
  4. a card displaying a number that can be used to charge telephone calls to a single account regardless of where the calls are placed

cal·li·ope [kə-'lī-ə-(,)pē, in sense 2 also 'ka-lē-,ōp] -n

  1. the Greek Muse of heroic poetry
  2. a keyboard musical instrument resembling an organ and consisting of a series of whistles sounded by steam or compressed air

cal·li·per ['ka-lə-pər] -n

(variant of caliper)

  1. any of various measuring instruments having two usu. adjustable arms, legs, or jaws used esp. to measure diameter or thickness usu. used in pl.
    • a pair of caliper s
  2. a device for pressing a frictional material (as a brake pad) against the sides of a rotating wheel or disc
  3. thickness esp. of paper, cardboard, or a tree

cal·li·pyg·ian [,ka-lə-'pi-j(ē-)ən] -adj

  1. having shapely buttocks

Cal·lis·to [kə-'lis-(,)tō] -n

  1. a nymph loved by Zeus, changed into a she-bear by Hera, and subsequently changed into the Great Bear constellation

cal·li·thump ['ka-lə-,thəmp] -n, adj

  1. a noisy boisterous band or parade

call letters -n pl

  1. call sign

call loan -n

  1. a loan payable at the discretion of the borrower or on demand of the lender

call number -n

  1. a combination of characters assigned to a library book to indicate its place on a shelf

call off -vt

  1. to draw away : divert
  2. cancel

call of nature

  1. the need to urinate or defecate

cal·los·i·ty [ka-'lä-sə-tē, kə-] -n

  1. : the quality or state of being callous: as
  2. marked or abnormal hardness and thickness
  3. lack of feeling or capacity for emotion
  4. callus

cal·lous ['ka-ləs] -adj, adv, n

  1. being hardened and thickened
  2. having calluses
    • callous hands
  3. feeling no emotion
  4. feeling or showing no sympathy for others : hard-hearted

callous -vt

  1. to make callous
    • hands callous ed by hard manual labor

call·out ['kȯl-,au̇t] -n

  1. the act or an instance of calling out
  2. an often bordered inset in a printed article or illustration that usu. includes a key excerpt or detail

call out -vt

  1. to summon into action
    • call out troops
  2. to challenge to a duel
  3. to order on strike
    • call out the workers

cal·low ['ka-(,)lō] -adj, n

  1. lacking adult sophistication : immature
    • callow youth

call sheet -n

  1. a daily schedule of filming for a movie or television show

call sign -n

  1. the combination of identifying letters, letters and numbers, or words assigned to an operator, office, activity, vehicle, or station for use in communication (as in the address of a message sent by radio)

call slip -n

  1. a form filled out by a library patron for a desired book

call to arms

  1. a summons to engage in active hostilities
  2. a summons, invitation, or appeal to undertake a particular course of action
    • a political call to arms

call to quarters

  1. a bugle call usu. shortly before taps that summons soldiers to their quarters

callup ['kȯl-,əp] -n

  1. an order to report for military service
  2. a baseball player brought up to a major league team from the minor leagues

call up -vt

  1. to summon together (as for a united effort)
    • call up all his forces for the attack
  2. to bring to mind : evoke
  3. to summon before an authority
  4. to summon for active military duty
  5. to bring up from a minor league to a major league baseball team
  6. to bring forward for consideration or action
  7. to retrieve from the memory of a computer esp. for display and user interaction

cal·lus ['ka-ləs] -n

  1. a thickening of or a hard thickened area on skin or bark
  2. a mass of exudate and connective tissue that forms around a break in a bone and is converted into bone in healing
  3. soft tissue that forms over a wounded or cut plant surface

callus -vi

  1. to form callus
  2. to cause callus to form on

callwaiting -n

  1. a telephone service that signals (as by a beep) to the user when an incoming call is received during a call in progress

calm ['käm, 'kälm, 'kam, 'kȯ(l)m] -n

  1. a period or condition of freedom from storms, high winds, or rough activity of water
  2. complete absence of wind or presence of wind having a speed no greater than one mile (1.6 kilometers) per hour
  3. a state of tranquillity
  4. to become calm usu. used with down
  5. to make calm often used with down
  6. marked by calm : still
    • a calm sea
  7. free from agitation, excitement, or disturbance

calm·ative ['kä-mə-tiv, 'käl-, also 'kȯ(l)-, 'ka-] -n or adj

  1. sedative

cal·mod·u·lin [(,)kal-'mä-jə-lin, -dyu̇-lin] -n

  1. a calcium-binding protein that mediates cellular metabolic processes (as the contraction of muscle fibers) by regulating the activity of calcium-dependent enzymes

ca·lo [kə-'lō] -n

  1. any of several Spanish argots
  2. an argot used by Chicano youths in cities of the U.S. Southwest

cal·o·mel ['ka-lə-məl, -,mel] -n

  1. a white tasteless compound Hg 2Cl 2used esp. as a component of laboratory electrodes, as a fungicide, and formerly in medicine as a purgative called also mercurous chloride

ca·lo·ric [kə-'lȯr-ik] -n

  1. a supposed form of matter formerly held responsible for the phenomena of heat and combustion
  2. heat

caloric [kə-'lȯr-i-k(ə-)lē] -adj, adv

  1. of or relating to heat
  2. of, relating to, or containing calories

cal·o·rie ['ka-lə-rē, 'kal-rē] -n

  1. the amount of heat required at a pressure of one atmosphere to raise the temperature of one gram of water one degree Celsius that is equal to about 4.19 joules abbr. cal called also gram calorie small calorie
  2. the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of one kilogram of water one degree Celsius : 1000 gram calories or 3.968 Btu abbr. Cal called also large calorie
  3. a unit equivalent to the large calorie expressing heat-producing or energy-producing value in food when oxidized in the body
  4. an amount of food having an energy-producing value of one large calorie

cal·o·rif·ic [,ka-lə-'ri-fik] -adj

  1. caloric
  2. of or relating to heat production

cal·o·rim·e·ter [,ka-lə-'ri-mə-tər] -n, adj, adv

  1. an apparatus for measuring quantities of absorbed or emitted heat or for determining specific heats

ca·lotte [kə-'lät] -n

  1. skullcap
  2. zucchetto

cal·o·type ['ka-lə-,tīp] -n

  1. a photographic process by which a large number of prints could be produced from a paper negative
  2. a positive print so made

cal·pac ['kal-,pak, kal-'] -n

  1. a high-crowned cap worn in Turkey, Iran, and neighboring countries

calque ['kalk] -n

  1. loan translation

cal·trop ['kal-trəp, 'kȯl-] -n

  1. star thistle
  2. puncture vine
  3. any of various related herbs (genera Tribulusand Kallstroemia) of the same family (Zygophyllaceae, the caltrop family)
  4. a device with four metal points so arranged that when any three are on the ground the fourth projects upward as a hazard to the hooves of horses or to pneumatic tires

cal·u·met ['kal-yə-,met, -mət] -n

  1. a highly ornamented ceremonial pipe of the American Indians

ca·lum·ni·ate [kə-'ləm-nē-,āt] -vt, n

  1. to utter maliciously false statements, charges, or imputations about
  2. to injure the reputation of by calumny

cal·um·ny ['ka-ləm-nē also 'kal-yəm-] -n, adj, adv

  1. a misrepresentation intended to harm another's reputation
  2. the act of uttering false charges or misrepresentations maliciously calculated to harm another's reputation

cal·u·tron ['kal-yə-,trän] -n

  1. an electromagnetic apparatus for separating isotopes according to their masses

cal·va·dos [,kal-və-'dōs, ,käl-] -n

  1. an applejack made in Calvados

cal·var·i·um [kal-'va-rē-əm, -'ve-rē-] -n

  1. the portion of a skull including the braincase and excluding the lower jaw or lower jaw and facial portion

cal·va·ry ['kal-v(ə-)rē] -n

  1. an open-air representation of the crucifixion of Jesus
  2. an experience of usu. intense mental suffering

Calvary cross -n

  1. a Latin cross usu. mounted on three steps

calve ['kav, 'käv] -vb

  1. to give birth to a calf
  2. to produce offspring
  3. to separate or break so that a part becomes detached
  4. to produce by birth
  5. to let become detached

calves ['kaf, 'käf, dial also 'kāf] -n, adj

(variant of calf)

  1. the young of the domestic cow
  2. that of a closely related mammal (as a bison)
  3. the young of various large animals (as the elephant or whale)
  4. the hide of the domestic calf
  5. calfskin
  6. an awkward or silly youth
  7. the fleshy back part of the leg below the knee

Cal·vin cycle ['kal-vən-] -n

  1. the cycle of enzyme-catalyzed dark reactions of photosynthesis that occurs in the chloroplasts of plants and in many bacteria and that involves the fixation of carbon dioxide and the formation of a 6-carbon sugar

Cal·vin·ism ['kal-və-,ni-zəm] -n, n or adj, adj, adv

  1. the theological system of Calvin and his followers marked by strong emphasis on the sovereignty of God, the depravity of humankind, and the doctrine of predestination

ca·lyp·so [kə-'lip-(,)sō] -n

  1. a sea nymph in Homer's Odysseywho keeps Odysseus seven years on the island of Ogygia
  2. a bulbous bog orchid ( Calypso bulbosa) of northern regions bearing a single white to purplish flower

calypso [kə-,lip-'sō-nē-ən, ,ka-(,)lip-] -n, n or adj

  1. a style of music originating in the West Indies, marked by lively duple meter, and having lyrics that are often improvised and usu. satirize local personalities and events
  2. a song in this style

ca·lyp·tra [kə-'lip-trə] -n

  1. a hoodlike structure in a plant
  2. haploid tissue forming a membranous hood over the capsule in a moss

ca·lyx ['kā-liks also 'ka-] -n

  1. the usu. green outer whorl of a flower consisting of sepals
  2. a cuplike animal structure (as the body wall of a crinoid)

cal·zo·ne [kal-'zōn, -'zō-nē, -'zō-nā; käl-'zȯ-nā] -n

  1. a baked or fried turnover of pizza dough stuffed with various fillings usu. including cheese

cam ['kam] -n

  1. a rotating or sliding piece (as an eccentric wheel or a cylinder with an irregular shape) in a mechanical linkage used esp. in transforming rotary motion into linear motion or vice versa
  2. camera
  3. video camera

CAM -abbr

  1. computer-aided manufacturing
  2. complementary and alternative medicine

ca·ma·ra·de·rie [,käm-'rä-d(ə-)rē, ,kam-, ,kä-mə-, ,ka-, -'ra-] -n

  1. a spirit of friendly good-fellowship

cam·a·ril·la [,ka-mə-'ri-lə, -'rē-ə] -n

  1. a group of unofficial often secret and scheming advisers
  2. cabal

cam·as ['ka-məs] -n

  1. any of a genus ( Camassiaand esp. C. quamash) of plants of the lily family chiefly of the western U.S. with edible bulbs

cam·ber ['kam-bər] -vb

  1. to curve upward in the middle
  2. to arch slightly
  3. to impart camber to

camber -n

  1. a slight convexity, arching, or curvature (as of a beam, deck, or road)
  2. the convexity of the curve of an airfoil from the leading edge to the trailing edge
  3. a setting of the wheels of an automotive vehicle closer together at the bottom than at the top

cam·bi·um ['kam-bē-əm] -n, adj

  1. a thin formative layer between the xylem and phloem of most vascular plants that gives rise to new cells and is responsible for secondary growth

Cam·bo·di·an [kam-'bō-dē-ən] -n, adj

  1. a native or inhabitant of Cambodia
  2. khmer

Cam·bri·an ['kam-brē-ən, 'kām-] -adj, n

  1. welsh
  2. of, relating to, or being the earliest geologic period of the Paleozoic era or the corresponding system of rocks marked by fossils of nearly every major invertebrate animal group

cam·bric ['kām-brik] -n

  1. a fine thin white linen fabric
  2. a cotton fabric that resembles cambric

cambric tea -n

  1. a hot drink of water, milk, sugar, and often a small amount of tea

cam·cord·er ['kam-,kȯr-dər] -n

  1. a small portable combined camera and video recording device

came ['kəm] -vb

(variant of come)

  1. to move toward something : approach
    • come here
  2. to move or journey to a vicinity with a specified purpose
    • come see us
    • come and see what's going on
  3. to reach a particular station in a series
    • now we come to the section on health
  4. to arrive in due course
    • the time has come
  5. to approach in kind or quality
    • this come s near perfection
  6. to reach a condition or conclusion
    • came to regard him as a friend
    • come to think of it, you may be right
  7. to advance toward accomplishment : come along
    • the job is coming nicely
  8. to advance in a particular manner
    • come running when I call
  9. to advance, rise, or improve in rank or condition
    • has come a long way
  10. extend
    • her dress came to her ankles
  11. to arrive at a particular place, end, result, or conclusion
    • came to his senses
    • come untied
  12. amount
    • the taxes on it come to more than it's worth
  13. to appear to the mind
    • the answer came to them
  14. to appear on a scene : make an appearance
    • children come equipped to learn any language
  15. happen, occur
    • no harm will come to you
  16. to come to pass : take place used in the subjunctive with inverted subject and verb to express the particular time or occasion
    • come spring the days will be longer
  17. originate, arise
    • wine come s from grapes
    • they come of sturdy stock
  18. to enter or assume a condition, position, or relation
    • artillery came into action
  19. to fall within a field of view or a range of application
    • this come s within the terms of the treaty
  20. to issue forth
    • a sob came from her throat
  21. to take form
    • churn till the butter come s
  22. to be available
    • this model come s in several sizes
    • as good as they come
  23. to experience orgasm
  24. to fall to a person in a division or inheritance of property
  25. to become moved favorably : relent
  26. to turn out to be
    • good clothes don't come cheap
  27. become
    • a dream that came true
  28. to approach or be near (an age)
    • a child coming eight years old
  29. to take on the aspect of
    • come the stern parent
  30. semen
  31. orgasm

cam·el ['ka-məl] -n

  1. : either of two large ruminant mammals (genus Camelus) used as draft and saddle animals in desert regions esp. of Africa and Asia:
  2. the one-humped camel ( C. dromedarius) extant only as a domestic or feral animal called also dromedary
  3. the 2-humped camel ( C. bactrianussyn. C. ferus) of Chinese Turkestan and Mongolia called also Bactrian camel
  4. a watertight structure used esp. to lift submerged ships
  5. a light yellowish brown

cam·el·back ['kam-əl-,bak] -n

  1. the back of a camel

cam·el·eer [,ka-mə-'lir] -n

  1. a camel driver

camel hair -n

  1. the hair of the camel or a substitute for it (as hair from squirrels' tails)
  2. cloth made of camel hair or a mixture of camel hair and wool usu. light tan and of soft silky texture

cam·el·id ['ka-mə-,lid] -n

  1. any of a family (Camelidae) of 2-toed ruminant artiodactyl mammals having a 3-chambered stomach and including the camels, llamas, and vicua

ca·mel·lia [kə-'mēl-yə] -n

  1. any of a genus ( Camellia) of shrubs or trees of the tea family
  2. an ornamental greenhouse shrub ( C. japonica) with glossy leaves and roselike flowers

ca·mel·o·pard [kə-'me-lə-,pärd] -n

  1. giraffe
  2. camelopardalis

Ca·mel·o·par·da·lis [kə-,me-lə-'pär-dᵊl-əs] -n

  1. a northern constellation between Cassiopeia and Ursa Major

Cam·e·lot ['ka-mə-,lät] -n

  1. the site of King Arthur's palace and court
  2. a time, place, or atmosphere of idyllic happiness

Cam·em·bert ['ka-məm-,ber] -n

  1. a soft surface-ripened cheese with a thin grayish-white rind and a yellow interior

cam·eo ['ka-mē-,ō] -n, adj, vt

  1. a gem carved in relief
  2. a small piece of sculpture on a stone or shell cut in relief in one layer with another contrasting layer serving as background
  3. a small medallion with a profiled head in relief
  4. a carving or sculpture made in the manner of a cameo
  5. a usu. brief literary or filmic piece that brings into delicate or sharp relief the character of a person, place, or event
  6. a small theatrical role usu. performed by a well-known actor and often limited to a single scene
  7. a brief appearance or role

cam·era ['kam-rə, 'ka-mər-ə] -n

  1. the treasury department of the papal curia
  2. camera obscura
  3. a device that consists of a lightproof chamber with an aperture fitted with a lens and a shutter through which the image of an object is projected onto a surface for recording (as on film) or for translation into electrical impulses (as for television broadcast)

cam·era lu·ci·da [-'lü-sə-də] -n

  1. an instrument that by means of a prism or mirrors and often a microscope causes a virtual image of an object to appear as if projected upon a plane surface so that an outline may be traced

cam·era·man [-,man, -mən] -n

  1. a person who operates a camera (as for motion pictures or television)

cam·era ob·scu·ra [-əb-'skyu̇r-ə] -n

  1. a darkened enclosure having an aperture usu. provided with a lens through which light from external objects enters to form an image of the objects on the opposite surface

cam·era·per·son [-,pər-sᵊn] -n

  1. a man or woman who operates a camera

cam·era·wom·an [-,wu̇-mən] -n

  1. a woman who operates a camera

cam·er·len·go [,ka-mər-'leŋ-(,)gō] -n

  1. a cardinal who heads the Apostolic Camera

Cam·er·oo·nian [,ka-mə-'rü-nē-ən, -nyən] -n, adj

  1. a native or inhabitant of Cameroon
  2. a native or inhabitant of the Cameroons

ca·mion [kä-'myōⁿ] -n

  1. motortruck
  2. bus

cam·i·sa·do [,ka-mə-'sā-(,)dō, -'sä-] -n

  1. an attack by night

ca·mise [kə-'mēz, -'mēs] -n

  1. a light loose long-sleeved shirt, gown, or tunic

cam·i·sole ['ka-mə-,sōl] -n

  1. a short negligee jacket for women
  2. a short sleeveless garment for women

cam·let ['kam-lət] -n

  1. a medieval Asian fabric of camel hair or angora wool
  2. a European fabric of silk and wool
  3. a fine lustrous woolen
  4. a garment made of camlet

camo ['ka-(,)mō] -adj

  1. camouflage
  2. a combination of colors and patterns typical of camouflage
  3. a camouflage garment or outfit

camomile ['ka-mə-,mī(-ə)l, -,mēl] -n

(variant of chamomile)

  1. a perennial composite herb ( Chamaemelum nobilesyn. Anthemis nobilis) of Europe and No. Africa with aromatic foliage and flower heads
  2. any of several composite plants (genera Matricariaand Anthemis) related to chamomile
  3. an annual Eurasian herb ( M. recutitasyn. M. chamomilla) naturalized in No. America
  4. the dried flower heads of chamomile that are often used in making tea and that yield an essential oil possessing medicinal properties

ca·mor·ra [kə-'mȯr-ə, -'mär-] -n

  1. a group of persons united for dishonest or dishonorable ends
  2. a secret organization formed about 1820 at Naples, Italy

ca·mor·ris·ta [,kä-mȯ-'rē-stə] -n

  1. a member of a camorra

cam·ou·flage ['ka-mə-,fläzh, -,fläj] -n, adj

  1. the disguising esp. of military equipment or installations with paint, nets, or foliage
  2. the disguise so applied
  3. concealment by means of disguise
  4. behavior or artifice designed to deceive or hide

camouflage ['ka-mə-,flä-zhə-bəl, -jə-bəl] -vb, adj

  1. to conceal or disguise by camouflage
  2. to practice camouflage
  3. made in colors or patterns typical of camouflage
    • a camouflage jacket

camp ['kamp] -n

  1. a place usu. away from urban areas where tents or simple buildings (as cabins) are erected for shelter or for temporary residence (as for laborers, prisoners, or vacationers)
    • migrant labor camp
  2. a group of tents, cabins, or huts
    • fishing camp s along the river
  3. a settlement newly sprung up in a lumbering or mining region
  4. a place usu. in the country for recreation or instruction often during the summer
    • goes to camp every July
  5. a program offering access to recreational or educational facilities for a limited period of time
    • computer camp
    • a resort offering boating and hiking camp s
  6. a preseason training session for athletes
    • the star pitcher injured in camp this spring
  7. a body of persons encamped
  8. a group of persons
  9. a group engaged in promoting or defending a theory, doctrine, position, or person
  10. an ideological position
  11. military service or life
  12. to make camp or occupy a camp
  13. to live temporarily in a camp or outdoors often used with out
  14. to take up one's quarters : lodge
  15. to take up one's position : settle down often used with out
    • camp out in the library for the afternoon
  16. to put into a camp
  17. accommodate
  18. exaggerated effeminate mannerisms exhibited esp. by homosexuals
  19. something so outrageously artificial, affected, inappropriate, or out-of-date as to be considered amusing
  20. a style or mode of personal or creative expression that is absurdly exaggerated and often fuses elements of high and popular culture
    • a movie that celebrates camp
  21. of, relating to, being, or displaying camp
    • camp send-ups of the songs of the fifties and sixties -- John Elsom
  22. to engage in camp : exhibit the qualities of camp
    • he...was camp ing, hands on hips, with a quick eye to notice every man who passed by -- R. M. McAlmon

cam·paign [(,)kam-'pān] -n

  1. a connected series of military operations forming a distinct phase of a war
  2. a connected series of operations designed to bring about a particular result
    • election campaign

campaign -vi, n

  1. to go on, engage in, or conduct a campaign
  2. to enter (as a horse or boat) in competition

cam·pa·ni·le [,kam-pə-'nē-lē, ,käm-, -(,)lā, esp of US structures also -'nēl] -n

  1. a usu. freestanding bell tower

cam·pa·nol·o·gist [,kam-pə-'nä-lə-jist] -n

  1. one who practices or is skilled in campanology

cam·pa·nol·o·gy [-jē] -n

  1. the art of bell ringing

cam·pan·u·la [kam-'pan-yə-lə] -n

  1. bellflower

cam·pan·u·late [-lət, -,lāt] -adj

  1. shaped like a bell
    • campanulate flowers

Camp·bell·ite ['ka-mə-,līt also 'kam-bə-] -n

  1. disciple

camp·craft ['kamp-,kraft] -n

  1. skill and practice in the activities relating to camping

camp·er ['kam-pər] -n

  1. one who camps
  2. a portable dwelling (as a specially equipped trailer or automotive vehicle) for use during casual travel and camping

cam·pe·si·no [,kam-pə-'sē-(,)nō] -n

  1. a native of a Latin-American rural area
  2. a Latin-American Indian farmer or farm laborer

cam·pes·tral [kam-'pes-trəl] -adj

  1. of or relating to fields or open country : rural

camp·fire ['kamp-,fī(-ə)r] -n

  1. a fire built outdoors (as at a camp or a picnic)

Camp Fire girl -n

  1. a girl who is a member of a national organization of young people from ages 5 to 18

camp follower -n

  1. a civilian (as a prostitute) who follows a military unit to attend or exploit military personnel
  2. a disciple or follower who is not of the main body of members or adherents
  3. a politician who joins the party or movement solely for personal gain

camp·ground ['kamp-,grau̇nd] -n

  1. the area or place (as a field or grove) used for a camp, for camping, or for a camp meeting

cam·phene ['kam-,fēn] -n

  1. any of several terpenes related to camphor
  2. a colorless crystalline terpene C 10H 16used in insecticides

cam·phor ['kam(p)-fər] -n, adj

  1. a tough gummy volatile aromatic crystalline compound C 10H 16O obtained esp. from the wood and bark of the camphor tree and used as a liniment and mild topical analgesic in medicine, as a plasticizer, and as an insect repellent
  2. any of several similar compounds (as some terpene alcohols and ketones)

cam·phor·ate ['kam(p)-fə-,rāt] -vt

  1. to impregnate or treat with camphor

camphor tree -n

  1. a large Asian evergreen tree ( Cinnamomum camphora) of the laurel family grown in warm regions

cam·pi·on ['kam-pē-ən] -n

  1. any of various plants (genera Lychnisand Silene) of the pink family

camp meeting -n

  1. a series of evangelistic meetings usu. held outdoors and attended by persons who often camp nearby

cam·po ['kam-(,)pō, 'käm-] -n

  1. a grassland plain in So. America with scattered perennial herbs

camp·o·ree [,kam-pə-'rē] -n

  1. a gathering of Boy Scouts or Girl Scouts from a given geographic area

camp·out ['kamp-,au̇t] -n

  1. an occasion on which a group camps out

camp shirt -n

  1. a woman's shirt having a notched collar and often patch pockets

camp·site ['kamp-,sīt] -n

  1. a place suitable for or used as the site of a camp

cam·pus ['kam-pəs] -n

  1. the grounds and buildings of a university, college, or school
  2. a university, college, or school viewed as an academic, social, or spiritual entity
  3. grounds that resemble a campus
    • a hospital campus
    • a landscaped corporate campus

cam·pylo·bac·ter [,kam-pi-lō-'bak-tər, kam-,pi-lə-] -n

  1. any of a genus ( Campylobacter) of spirally curved motile gram-negative rod-shaped bacteria of which some are pathogenic in domestic animals and humans

cam·py·lot·ro·pous [,kam-pi-'lä-trə-pəs] -adj

  1. having the ovule curved

cam·shaft ['kam-,shaft] -n

  1. a shaft to which a cam is fastened or of which a cam forms an integral part

cam wheel -n

  1. a wheel set or shaped to act as a cam

can [kən, 'kan also 'ken; dial 'kin] -vb

  1. know, understand
  2. to be able to do, make, or accomplish
  3. to have knowledge or skill
  4. know how to
    • she can read
  5. be physically or mentally able to
    • he can lift 200 pounds
  6. used to indicate possibility
    • do you think he can still be alive
    • those things can happen
    sometimes used interchangeably with may
  7. be permitted by conscience or feeling to
    • can hardly blame her
  8. be made possible or probable by circumstances to
    • he can hardly have meant that
  9. be inherently able or designed to
    • everything that money can buy
  10. be logically or axiologically able to
    • 2 2 can also be written 3 1
  11. be enabled by law, agreement, or custom to
  12. have permission to used interchangeably with may
    • you can go now if you like
  13. : a usu. cylindrical receptacle:
  14. a vessel for holding liquids
  15. a drinking vessel
  16. a usu. metal typically cylindrical receptacle usu. with an open top, often with a removable cover, and sometimes with a spout or side handles (as for holding milk or trash)
  17. a container (as of tinplate) in which products (as perishable foods) are hermetically sealed for preservation until use
  18. a jar for packing or preserving fruit or vegetables
  19. jail
  20. toilet
  21. bathroom
  22. buttocks
  23. destroyer
  24. to put in a can : preserve by sealing in airtight cans or jars
    • can tomatoes
  25. to hit (a golf shot) into the cup
  26. to hit (a shot) in basketball
  27. to discharge from employment
  28. to put a stop or end to
  29. canceled; cancellation
  30. cannon
  31. canto

Can -abbr

  1. Canada; Canadian

Ca·naan·ite ['kā-nə-,nīt] -n, adj

  1. a member of a Semitic people inhabiting ancient Palestine and Phoenicia from about 3000 b.c.

Can·a·da balsam ['ka-nə-də-] -n

  1. a viscid yellowish to greenish oleoresin exudate of the balsam fir ( Abies balsmea) that solidifies to a transparent mass and is used as a transparent cement esp. in microscopy

Canada Day -n

  1. July 1 observed as a legal holiday in commemoration of the proclamation of dominion status in 1867

Canada goose -n

  1. the common wild goose ( Branta canadensis) of No. America that is chiefly gray and brownish with black head and neck and a white patch running from the sides of the head under the throat

Canada thistle -n

  1. a European thistle ( Cirsium arvense) with pinkish-purple or white flowers naturalized as a weed in No. America

Ca·na·di·an [kə-'nā-dē-ən] -n, adj

  1. a native or inhabitant of Canada

Canadian bacon -n

  1. bacon cut from the loin that has little fat and is cut into round or oblong slices

Canadian football -n

  1. a game resembling American football that is played on a turfed field between two teams of 12 players each

Canadian French -n

  1. the language of the French Canadians

Canadian lynx -n

  1. lynx

ca·naille [kə-'nī, -'nāl] -n

  1. rabble, riffraff
  2. proletarian

ca·nal [kə-'nal] -n

  1. a tubular anatomical passage or channel : duct
  2. channel, watercourse
  3. an artificial waterway for navigation or for draining or irrigating land
  4. any of various faint narrow lines on the planet Mars seen through telescopes and once thought by some to be canals built by Martians

canal -vt

  1. to construct a canal through or across

can·a·lic·u·lus [,ka-nə-'li-kyə-ləs] -n, adj

  1. a minute canal in a bodily structure

can·a·li·za·tion [,ka-nə-lə-'zā-shən] -n

  1. an act or instance of canalizing
  2. a system of channels

can·a·lize ['ka-nə-,līz] -vb

  1. to provide with a canal or channel
  2. to make into or similar to a canal
  3. to provide with an outlet
  4. to direct into preferred channels
  5. to flow in or into a channel
  6. to establish new channels

can·a·pe ['ka-nə-pē, -,pā] -n

  1. an appetizer consisting of a piece of bread or toast or a cracker topped with a savory spread (as caviar or cheese)

ca·nard [kə-'närd also -'när] -n

  1. a false or unfounded report or story
  2. a fabricated report
  3. a groundless rumor or belief
  4. an airplane with horizontal stabilizing and control surfaces in front of supporting surfaces
  5. a small airfoil in front of the wing of an aircraft that can increase the aircraft's performance

ca·nary [kə-'ner-ē] -n

  1. a Canary Islands usu. sweet wine similar to Madeira
  2. a lively 16th century court dance
  3. a small finch ( Serinus canariussyn. S. canaria) of the Canary Islands that is usu. greenish to yellow and is kept as a cage bird and singer
  4. informer

canary seed -n

  1. seed of a Canary Islands grass ( Phalaris canariensis) used as food for cage birds

canary yellow -n

  1. a light to a moderate or vivid yellow

ca·nas·ta [kə-'nas-tə] -n

  1. a form of rummy using two full decks in which players or partnerships try to meld groups of three or more cards of the same rank and score bonuses for 7-card melds
  2. a meld of seven cards of the same rank in canasta

canc -abbr

  1. canceled

can·can ['kan-,kan] -n

  1. a woman's dance of French origin characterized by high kicking usu. while holding up the front of a full ruffled skirt

can·cel ['kan(t)-səl] -vb, adj, n

  1. to destroy the force, effectiveness, or validity of : annul
    • cancel a magazine subscription
    • a cancel ed check
  2. to bring to nothingness : destroy
  3. to match in force or effect : offset often used with out
    • his irritability cancel ed out his natural kindness -- Osbert Sitwell
  4. to call off usu. without expectation of conducting or performing at a later time
    • cancel a football game
  5. to mark or strike out for deletion
  6. omit, delete
  7. to remove (a common divisor) from numerator and denominator
  8. to remove (equivalents) on opposite sides of an equation or account
  9. to deface (a postage or revenue stamp) esp. with a set of ink lines so as to invalidate for reuse
  10. to neutralize each other's strength or effect : counterbalance

cancel -n

  1. cancellation
  2. a deleted part or passage
  3. a leaf containing matter to be deleted
  4. a new leaf or slip substituted for matter already printed

can·cel·la·tion [,kan(t)-sə-'lā-shən] -n

  1. the act or an instance of canceling
  2. something (as a hotel room or a ticket) made available by the canceling of an arrangement
  3. a mark made to cancel something (as a postage stamp)

can·cel·lous [kan-'se-ləs, 'kan(t)-sə-ləs] -adj

  1. having a porous structure

can·cer ['kan(t)-sər] -n, adj, adv

  1. a northern zodiacal constellation between Gemini and Leo
  2. the fourth sign of the zodiac in astrology
  3. one born under the sign of Cancer
  4. a malignant tumor of potentially unlimited growth that expands locally by invasion and systemically by metastasis
  5. an abnormal bodily state marked by such tumors
  6. something evil or malignant that spreads destructively
    • the cancer of hidden resentment -- Irish Digest
  7. an enlarged tumorlike plant growth (as that of crown gall)
  8. a plant disease marked by such growths

Can·cer·ian [kan-'ser-ē-ən, -'sir-] -n

  1. cancer

can·de·la [kan-'dē-lə, -'de-, -'dā-; 'kan-də-lə] -n

  1. the base unit of luminous intensity in the International System of Units that is equal to the luminous intensity in a given direction of a source which emits monochromatic radiation of frequency 540 10 12hertz and has a radiant intensity in that direction of watt per unit solid angle abbr. cd called also candle

can·de·la·bra [,kan-də-'lä-brə sometimes -'la-] -n

  1. a branched candlestick or lamp with several lights

can·de·la·brum [-brəm] -n

  1. candelabra

can·dent ['kan-dənt] -adj

  1. glowing from or as if from great heat

can·des·cence [kan-'de-sᵊn(t)s] -n

  1. a candescent state : glowing whiteness

can·des·cent [-sᵊnt] -adj

  1. glowing or dazzling from or as if from great heat

can·did ['kan-dəd] -adj, adv, n

  1. white
    • candid flames
  2. free from bias, prejudice, or malice : fair
    • a candid observer
  3. marked by honest sincere expression
    • a candid discussion
  4. indicating or suggesting sincere honesty and absence of deception
    • her candid face
  5. disposed to criticize severely : blunt
    • candid critics
  6. relating to or being photography of subjects acting naturally or spontaneously without being posed

can·di·da ['kan-də-də] -n, adj

  1. any of a genus ( Candida) of parasitic fungi that resemble yeasts, occur esp. in the mouth, vagina, and intestinal tract where they are usu. benign but can become pathogenic, and have been grouped with the imperfect fungi but are now often placed with the ascomycetes
  2. one ( C. albicans) causing thrush

can·di·da·cy ['kan-də-də-sē, 'ka-nə-] -n

  1. the state of being a candidate
    • he is expected to announce his candidacy

can·di·date ['kan-də-,dāt, 'ka-nə-, -dət] -n

  1. one that aspires to or is nominated or qualified for an office, membership, or award
    • a candidate for governor
  2. one likely or suited to undergo or be chosen for something specified
    • a candidate for surgery
  3. a student in the process of meeting final requirements for a degree

can·di·da·ture ['kan-də-də-,chu̇r, 'ka-nə-, -chər] -n

  1. candidacy

candid camera -n, adj

  1. a camera used to record subjects in a natural, spontaneous, or unposed manner
  2. something likened to a camera used in such a manner

can·di·di·a·sis [,kan-də-'dī-ə-səs] -n

  1. infection with or disease caused by a candida called also moniliasis

can·died ['kan-dēd] -adj

  1. encrusted or coated with sugar
    • candied fruits
  2. baked with sugar or syrup until translucent
    • candied yams

can·dle ['kan-dᵊl] -n

  1. a usu. molded or dipped mass of wax or tallow containing a wick that may be burned (as to give light, heat, or scent or for celebration or votive purposes)
  2. something resembling a candle in shape or use
    • a sulfur candle for fumigating
  3. required effort, expense, or trouble usu. used in the phrase not worth the candle
  4. candela

candle ['kan(d)-liŋ, 'kan-dᵊl-iŋ] -vt, n

  1. to examine by holding between the eye and a light
  2. to test (eggs) in this way for staleness, blood clots, fertility, and growth

can·dle·ber·ry ['kan-dᵊl-,ber-ē, -,be-rē] -n

  1. a wax myrtle ( Myrica cerifera)
  2. a bayberry ( Myrica pensylvanica)

can·dle·fish [-,fish] -n

  1. a very oily anadromous marine food fish ( Thaleichthys pacificus) of the smelt family that occurs along the No. Pacific coast called also eulachon

can·dle·hold·er [-,hōl-dər] -n

  1. candlestick

can·dle·light ['kan-dᵊl-,(l)īt] -n

  1. the light of a candle
  2. a soft artificial light
  3. the time for lighting candles : twilight

can·dle·light·er [-,(l)ī-tər] -n

  1. one who lights the candles for a ceremony
  2. a long-handled implement with a taper and a candlesnuffer that is used for the ceremonial lighting and extinguishing of candles

can·dle·lit [-,(l)it] -adj

  1. illuminated by candlelight
    • a candlelit dinner

Can·dle·mas ['kan-dᵊl-məs] -n

  1. February 2 observed as a church festival in commemoration of the presentation of Christ in the temple and the purification of the Virgin Mary

can·dle·nut [-,nət] -n

  1. the oily seed of a tropical tree ( Aleurites moluccana) of the spurge family used locally to make candles and commercially as a source of oil
  2. this tree

can·dle·pin [-,pin] -n

  1. a slender bowling pin tapering toward top and bottom
  2. a bowling game using candlepins and a smaller ball than that used in tenpins

can·dle·pow·er [-,pau̇(-ə)r] -n

  1. luminous intensity expressed in candelas
  2. candela

can·dle·snuff·er [-,snə-fər] -n

  1. an implement for snuffing candles that consists of a small hollow cone attached to a handle

can·dle·stick [-,stik] -n

  1. a holder with a socket for a candle

can·dle·wick [-,wik] -n

  1. the wick of a candle
  2. a soft cotton embroidery yarn
  3. embroidery made with this yarn usu. in tufts

can·dle·wood [-,wu̇d] -n

  1. any of several trees or shrubs (as ocotillo) chiefly of resinous character
  2. slivers of resinous wood burned for light

cando ['kan-'dü] -adj, n

  1. characterized by eager willingness to accept and meet challenges
    • a cando attitude

can·dor ['kan-dər, -,dȯr] -n

  1. whiteness, brilliance
  2. unstained purity
  3. freedom from prejudice or malice : fairness
  4. kindliness
  5. unreserved, honest, or sincere expression : forthrightness
    • the candor with which he acknowledged a weakness in his own case -- Aldous Huxley

can·dour ['kan-dər, -,dȯr] -n

(variant of candor)

  1. whiteness, brilliance
  2. unstained purity
  3. freedom from prejudice or malice : fairness
  4. kindliness
  5. unreserved, honest, or sincere expression : forthrightness
    • the candor with which he acknowledged a weakness in his own case -- Aldous Huxley

can·dy ['kan-dē] -n, adj

  1. crystallized sugar formed by boiling down sugar syrup
  2. a confection made with sugar and often flavoring and filling
  3. a piece of such confection
  4. something that is pleasant or appealing in a light or frivolous way
    • visual candy

candy -vb

  1. to encrust in or coat with sugar
  2. to cook (as fruit or fruit peel) in a heavy syrup until glazed
  3. to make attractive : sweeten
  4. to crystallize into sugar
  5. to become coated or encrusted with sugar crystals : become crystallized into sugar

candy floss -n

  1. cotton candy
  2. something attractive but insubstantial

candy striper -n

  1. a teenage volunteer worker at a hospital

can·dy·tuft ['kan-dē-,təft] -n

  1. any of a genus ( Iberis) of plants of the mustard family cultivated for their white, pink, or purple flowers

cane ['kān] -n

  1. a hollow or pithy and usu. slender and flexible jointed stem (as of a reed)
  2. any of various slender woody stems
  3. an elongated flowering or fruiting stem (as of a rose) usu. arising directly from the ground
  4. : any of various tall woody grasses or reeds: as
  5. any of a genus ( Arundinaria) of coarse grasses
  6. sugarcane
  7. sorghum
  8. : cane dressed for use: as
  9. a cane walking stick
  10. walking stick
  11. a cane or rod for flogging
  12. rattan
  13. split rattan for wickerwork or basketwork
  14. a tiny glass rod used in decorative glasswork (as in millefiori and paperweights)
  15. to beat with a cane
    • he sat in a professor's chair and caned sophomores for blowing spitballs -- H. L. Mencken
  16. to weave or furnish with cane
    • cane the seat of a chair

cane·brake ['kān-,brāk] -n

  1. a thicket of cane

can·er ['kā-nər] -n

  1. one who canes chairs

ca·nes·cent [kə-'ne-sᵊnt, ka-] -adj

  1. growing white, whitish, or hoary
  2. having a fine grayish-white pubescence
    • canescent leaves

cane sugar -n

  1. sugar from sugarcane

cane·ware ['kān-,wer] -n

  1. a buff or yellowish stoneware

ca·nic·u·lar [kə-'ni-kyə-lər] -adj

  1. of or relating to the dog days

ca·nid ['ka-nəd, 'kā-] -n

  1. any of a family (Canidae) of carnivorous animals that includes the wolves, jackals, foxes, coyote, and the domestic dog

ca·nine ['kā-,nīn, Brit also 'ka-] -n

  1. a conical pointed tooth
  2. one situated between the lateral incisor and the first premolar
  3. dog
  4. canid

canine -adj

  1. of or resembling that of a dog
    • canine loyalty
  2. of or relating to dogs or to the family (Canidae) including the canids

canine distemper -n

  1. distemper

Ca·nis Ma·jor [,kā-nəs-'mā-jər, ,ka-] -n

  1. a constellation to the southeast of Orion containing Sirius

Canis Mi·nor [-'mī-nər] -n

  1. a constellation to the east of Orion containing Procyon

can·is·ter ['ka-nə-stər] -n

  1. an often cylindrical container for holding a usu. specified object or substance
    • a film canister
  2. encased shot for close-range artillery fire
  3. a perforated metal box for gas masks with material to adsorb, filter, or detoxify airborne poisons and irritants

can·ker ['kaŋ-kər] -n, adj

  1. an erosive or spreading sore
  2. an area of necrosis in a plant
  3. a plant disease characterized by cankers
  4. any of various disorders of animals marked by chronic inflammatory changes
  5. a caterpillar destructive to plants
  6. rust
  7. a source of corruption or debasement
  8. dog rose

canker ['kaŋ-k(ə-)riŋ] -vb

  1. to infect with a spreading sore
  2. to corrupt the spirit of
  3. to become infested with canker
  4. to become corrupted

canker sore -n

  1. a painful shallow ulcer of the mouth that has a grayish-white base surrounded by a reddish inflamed area and is of uncertain cause but is not due to the virus causing herpes simplex

can·ker·worm ['kaŋ-kər-,wərm] -n

  1. either of two geometrid moths ( Alsophila pometariaand Paleacrita vernata) and esp. their larvae which are serious pests of fruit and shade trees

can·na ['ka-nə] -n

  1. any of a genus ( Cannaof the family Cannaceae) of tropical herbs with simple stems, large leaves, and a terminal raceme of irregular flowers

can·na·bi·noid [kə-'na-bə-,nȯid] -n

  1. any of various chemical constituents (as THC or cannabinol) of cannabis or marijuana

can·na·bi·nol [-,nȯl, -,nōl] -n

  1. a physiologically inactive crystalline cannabinoid C 21H 26O 2

can·na·bis ['ka-nə-bəs] -n

  1. hemp
  2. any of the preparations (as marijuana or hashish) or chemicals (as THC) that are derived from the hemp and are psychoactive

canned ['kand] -adj

  1. prepared or recorded in advance
  2. prepared in standardized form for nonspecific use or wide distribution
    • canned laughter
    • canned music
  3. lacking originality or individuality as if mass-produced
    • canned sales pitch
  4. drunk

can·nel coal ['ka-nᵊl-] -n

  1. a bituminous coal containing much volatile matter that burns brightly

can·nel·li·ni bean [,ka-nə-'lē-nē-] -n

  1. a usu. large white kidney bean called also cannellini

can·nel·lo·ni [,ka-nə-'lō-nē] -n pl but sing or pl in constr

  1. boiled tube-shaped or rolled pasta filled with a meat, fish, cheese, or vegetable mixture and baked in a sauce

can·nery ['ka-nə-rē] -n

  1. a factory for the canning of foods

can·ni·bal ['ka-nə-bəl] -n

  1. one that eats the flesh of its own kind

can·ni·bal·ise ['ka-nə-bə-,līz] -vb, n

(variant of cannibalize)

  1. to take salvageable parts from (as a disabled machine) for use in building or repairing another machine
  2. to make use of (a part taken from one thing) in building, repairing, or creating something else
  3. to deprive of an essential part or element in creating or sustaining another facility or enterprise
    • the energy system has begun cannibalizing the economic system it is supposed to fuel -- Barry Commoner
  4. to use or draw on material of (as another writer or an earlier work)
    • a biography that cannibalize s previous biographies
  5. to take (sales) away from an existing product by selling or being sold as a similar but new product usu. from the same manufacturer
  6. to affect (as an existing product) adversely by cannibalizing sales
  7. to practice cannibalism
  8. to cannibalize one unit for the sake of another of the same kind

can·ni·bal·ism ['ka-nə-bə-,li-zəm] -n, adj

  1. the usu. ritualistic eating of human flesh by a human being
  2. the eating of the flesh of an animal by another animal of the same kind
  3. an act of cannibalizing something

can·ni·bal·ize ['ka-nə-bə-,līz] -vb, n

  1. to take salvageable parts from (as a disabled machine) for use in building or repairing another machine
  2. to make use of (a part taken from one thing) in building, repairing, or creating something else
  3. to deprive of an essential part or element in creating or sustaining another facility or enterprise
    • the energy system has begun cannibalizing the economic system it is supposed to fuel -- Barry Commoner
  4. to use or draw on material of (as another writer or an earlier work)
    • a biography that cannibalize s previous biographies
  5. to take (sales) away from an existing product by selling or being sold as a similar but new product usu. from the same manufacturer
  6. to affect (as an existing product) adversely by cannibalizing sales
  7. to practice cannibalism
  8. to cannibalize one unit for the sake of another of the same kind

can·ni·kin ['ka-ni-kən] -n

  1. a small can or drinking vessel

can·no·li [kə-'nō-lē, ka-] -n pl but sing or pl in constr

  1. a deep-fried tube of pastry filled with sweetened and flavored ricotta cheese

can·non ['ka-nən] -n

  1. a large heavy gun usu. mounted on a carriage
  2. a heavy-caliber automatic aircraft gun firing explosive shells
  3. the projecting part of a bell by which it is hung : ear
  4. the part of the leg in which the cannon bone is found

cannon -vi

  1. to discharge cannon
  2. cannonade

can·non·ade [,ka-nə-'nād] -n

  1. a heavy fire of artillery
  2. an attack (as with words) likened to artillery fire : bombardment

cannonade -vb

  1. to attack with or as if with artillery
  2. to deliver artillery fire

can·non·ball ['ka-nən-,bȯl] -n

  1. a usu. round solid missile made for firing from a cannon
  2. a jump into water made with the arms holding the knees tight against the chest
  3. a hard flat tennis service
  4. an express train

cannonball -vi

  1. to travel with great speed

cannon bone -n

  1. a bone in hoofed mammals that extends from the knee or hock to the fetlock
  2. the enlarged metacarpal or metatarsal of the third digit of a horse

can·non·eer [,ka-nə-'nir] -n

  1. an artillery gunner

cannon fodder -n

  1. soldiers regarded or treated as expendable in battle
  2. an expendable or exploitable person, group, or thing
    • celebrities who have become cannon fodder for the tabloids

can·non·ry ['ka-nən-rē] -n

  1. a battery of cannons or cannon fire

can·not ['ka-(,)nät; kə-'nät, ka-']

  1. can not

can·nu·la ['kan-yə-lə] -n

  1. a small tube for insertion into a body cavity or into a duct or vessel

can·nu·lar ['kan-yə-lər] -adj

  1. tubular

can·nu·late ['kan-yə-,lāt] -vt, n

  1. to insert a cannula into
    • cannulated the femoral artery

can·ny ['ka-nē] -adj, adv, n

  1. clever, shrewd
    • a canny lawyer
  2. prudent
    • canny investments
  3. careful, steady
  4. restrained
  5. quiet, snug
    • then canny, in some cozy place, they close the day -- Robert Burns

canny -adv

  1. in a canny manner : carefully

ca·noe [kə-'nü] -n

  1. a light narrow boat with both ends sharp that is usu. propelled by paddling

canoe [-ə-bəl] -vb, adj, n

  1. to transport in a canoe
  2. to travel by canoe down (a river)
  3. to go or travel in a canoe

can of worms

  1. pandora's box

ca·no·la [kə-'nō-lə] -n

  1. a rape plant of an improved variety having seeds that are low in erucic acid and are the source of canola oil
  2. canola oil

canola oil -n

  1. an edible vegetable oil obtained from the seeds of canola that is high in monounsaturated fatty acids

can·on ['ka-nən] -n

  1. a regulation or dogma decreed by a church council
  2. a provision of canon law
  3. the most solemn and unvarying part of the Mass including the consecration of the bread and wine
  4. an authoritative list of books accepted as Holy Scripture
  5. the authentic works of a writer
  6. a sanctioned or accepted group or body of related works
    • the canon of great literature
  7. an accepted principle or rule
  8. a criterion or standard of judgment
  9. a body of principles, rules, standards, or norms
  10. a contrapuntal musical composition in which each successively entering voice presents the initial theme usu. transformed in a strictly consistent way

canon -n

  1. a clergyman belonging to the chapter or the staff of a cathedral or collegiate church
  2. canon regular

caon ['kan-yən] -n

(variant of canyon)

  1. a deep narrow valley with steep sides and often with a stream flowing through it
  2. something resembling a canyon
    • the city's concrete canyon s

can·on·ess ['ka-nə-nəs] -n

  1. a woman living in community under a religious rule but not under a perpetual vow
  2. a member of a Roman Catholic congregation of women corresponding to canons regular

ca·non·ic [kə-'nä-nik] -adj

  1. canonical
  2. of or relating to musical canon

ca·non·i·cal [-ni-kəl] -adj, adv

  1. of, relating to, or forming a canon
  2. conforming to a general rule or acceptable procedure : orthodox
  3. of or relating to a clergyman who is a canon
  4. reduced to the canonical form
    • a canonical matrix

canonical form -n

  1. the simplest form of something
  2. the form of a square matrix that has zero elements everywhere except along the principal diagonal

canonical hour -n

  1. a time of day canonically appointed for an office of devotion
  2. one of the daily offices of devotion that compose the Divine Office and include matins with lauds, prime, terce, sext, none, vespers, and compline

ca·non·i·cals [kə-'nä-ni-kəlz] -n pl

  1. the vestments prescribed by canon for an officiating clergyman

can·on·ic·i·ty [,ka-nə-'ni-sə-tē] -n

  1. the quality or state of being canonical

can·on·ist ['ka-nə-nist] -n

  1. a specialist in canon law

can·on·ize ['ka-nə-,nīz] -vt, n

  1. to declare (a deceased person) an officially recognized saint
  2. to make canonical
  3. to sanction by ecclesiastical authority
  4. to attribute authoritative sanction or approval to
  5. to treat as illustrious, preeminent, or sacred

canon law -n

  1. the usu. codified law governing a church

canon lawyer -n

  1. canonist

canon regular -n

  1. a member of one of several Roman Catholic religious institutes of regular priests living in community under a usu. Augustinian rule

can·on·ry ['ka-nən-rē] -n

  1. the office of a canon
  2. the endowment that financially supports a canon

ca·noo·dle [kə-'nü-dᵊl] -vi

  1. pet, fondle
    • lovers canoodling in the park

ca·no·pic jar [kə-'nō-pik-, -'nä-] -n

  1. a jar in which the ancient Egyptians preserved the viscera of a deceased person usu. for burial with the mummy

Ca·no·pus [kə-'nō-pəs] -n

  1. a star of the first magnitude in the constellation Carina not visible north of 37 latitude

can·o·py ['ka-nə-pē] -n

  1. a cloth covering suspended over a bed
  2. a cover (as of cloth) fixed or carried above a person of high rank or a sacred object : baldachin
  3. : a protective covering: as
  4. the uppermost spreading branchy layer of a forest
  5. awning, marquee
  6. an ornamental rooflike structure
  7. the transparent enclosure over an airplane cockpit
  8. the fabric part of a parachute that catches the air

canopy -vt

  1. to cover with or as if with a canopy

ca·no·rous [kə-'nȯr-əs, 'ka-nə-rəs] -adj, adv, n

  1. pleasant sounding : melodious

canst [kən, 'kan also 'ken; dial 'kin] -vb

(variant of can)

  1. know, understand
  2. to be able to do, make, or accomplish
  3. to have knowledge or skill
  4. know how to
    • she can read
  5. be physically or mentally able to
    • he can lift 200 pounds
  6. used to indicate possibility
    • do you think he can still be alive
    • those things can happen
    sometimes used interchangeably with may
  7. be permitted by conscience or feeling to
    • can hardly blame her
  8. be made possible or probable by circumstances to
    • he can hardly have meant that
  9. be inherently able or designed to
    • everything that money can buy
  10. be logically or axiologically able to
    • 2 2 can also be written 3 1
  11. be enabled by law, agreement, or custom to
  12. have permission to used interchangeably with may
    • you can go now if you like
  13. : a usu. cylindrical receptacle:
  14. a vessel for holding liquids
  15. a drinking vessel
  16. a usu. metal typically cylindrical receptacle usu. with an open top, often with a removable cover, and sometimes with a spout or side handles (as for holding milk or trash)
  17. a container (as of tinplate) in which products (as perishable foods) are hermetically sealed for preservation until use
  18. a jar for packing or preserving fruit or vegetables
  19. jail
  20. toilet
  21. bathroom
  22. buttocks
  23. destroyer
  24. to put in a can : preserve by sealing in airtight cans or jars
    • can tomatoes
  25. to hit (a golf shot) into the cup
  26. to hit (a shot) in basketball
  27. to discharge from employment
  28. to put a stop or end to
  29. canceled; cancellation
  30. cannon
  31. canto

cant ['kant] -adj

  1. lively, lusty
  2. to give a cant or oblique edge to : bevel
  3. to set at an angle : tilt
  4. to throw with a lurch
  5. to pitch to one side : lean
  6. slope
  7. corner, niche
  8. an external angle (as of a building)
  9. a log with one or more squared sides
  10. an oblique or slanting surface
  11. inclination, slope
  12. having canted corners or sides
  13. inclined
  14. to talk or beg in a whining or singsong manner
  15. to speak in cant or jargon
  16. to talk hypocritically
  17. affected singsong or whining speech
  18. the private language of the underworld
  19. the phraseology peculiar to a religious class or sect
  20. jargon
  21. a set or stock phrase
  22. the expression or repetition of conventional or trite opinions or sentiments
  23. the insincere use of pious words

Cant -abbr

  1. Canticle of Canticles
  2. Cantonese

can't ['kant, 'känt, esp Southern 'kānt]

  1. can not

Can·tab ['kan-,tab] -n

  1. cantabrigian

can·ta·bi·le [kän-'tä-bi-,lā, -lē] -adv or adj

  1. in a singing manner often used as a direction in music

Can·ta·brig·i·an [,kan-tə-'bri-j(ē-)ən] -n, adj

  1. a student or graduate of Cambridge University
  2. a native or resident of Cambridge, Mass.

can·tal [kän-'täl] -n

  1. a hard cheddar-type cheese made in the south of France

can·ta·la [kan-'tä-lə] -n

  1. a hard fiber produced from the leaves of an agave ( Agave cantala)

can·ta·loupe ['kan-tə-,lōp also -,üp] -n

  1. a small widely cultivated muskmelon ( Cucumis melo reticulatus) with a heavily netted rind and reddish-orange flesh
  2. muskmelon
  3. a muskmelon ( Cucumis melo cantalupensis) with a rough hard warty rind that is not usu. grown in No. America

can·tan·ker·ous [kan-'taŋ-k(ə-)rəs, kən-] -adj, adv, n

  1. difficult or irritating to deal with
    • a cantankerous mule

can·ta·ta [kən-'tä-tə] -n

  1. a composition for one or more voices usu. comprising solos, duets, recitatives, and choruses and sung to an instrumental accompaniment

can·ta·trice [,kän-tə-'trē-(,)chā, ,käⁿ-tə-'trēs] -n

  1. a woman who is a singer
  2. an opera singer

cant dog -n

  1. peavey

can·teen [kan-'tēn] -n

  1. a portable chest with compartments for carrying bottles or for cooking and eating utensils
  2. a flask for carrying liquids (as on a hike)
  3. mess kit
  4. a chest for storing flatware
  5. a bar at a military post or camp
  6. a general store at a military post : exchange
  7. an establishment that serves as an informal social club (as for soldiers or a community's teenagers)
  8. a small cafeteria or snack bar

cant·er ['kan-tər] -n

  1. : one who uses cant: as
  2. beggar, vagabond
  3. a user of professional or religious cant

can·ter ['kan-tər] -vb

  1. to move at or as if at a canter : lope
  2. to ride a horse at a canter
  3. to cause to go at a canter
  4. a 3-beat gait resembling but smoother and slower than the gallop
  5. a ride at a canter

Can·ter·bury bell ['kan-tə(r)-,ber-ē-, -,be-rē-, -,b(ə-)rē-] -n

  1. any of several bellflowers (as Campanula medium) cultivated for their showy flowers

can·thar·i·din [kan-'tha-rə-dən, -'ther-ə-] -n

  1. a bitter crystalline compound C 10H 12O 4that is the active blister-producing ingredient of cantharides

can·tha·ris ['kan(t)-thə-rəs] -n

  1. spanish fly
  2. a preparation of dried beetles (as Spanish flies) used in medicine as a counterirritant and formerly as an aphrodisiac

can·tha·xan·thin [,kan(t)-thə-'zan-,thin] -n

  1. a naturally occurring carotenoid C 40H 52O 2used esp. as a color additive for food

cant hook -n

  1. a lumberman's lever that has a pivoting hooked arm and a blunt often toothed metal cap at one end

can·thus ['kan(t)-thəs] -n

  1. either of the angles formed by the meeting of an eye's upper and lower eyelids

can·ti·cle ['kan-ti-kəl] -n

  1. song
  2. one of several liturgical songs (as the Magnificat) taken from the Bible

Canticle of Canticles

  1. song of solomon

Canticles -n pl but sing in constr

  1. song of solomon

can·ti·le·na [,kan-tə-'lā-nə, -'lē-] -n

  1. a vocal or instrumental passage of sustained lyricism

can·ti·le·ver ['kan-tə-,lē-vər, -,le-] -n

  1. : a projecting beam or member supported at only one end: as
  2. a bracket-shaped member supporting a balcony or a cornice
  3. either of the two beams or trusses that project from piers toward each other and that when joined directly or by a suspended connecting member form a span of a cantilever bridge

cantilever -vt

  1. to support by a cantilever
    • a cantilever ed shelf
  2. to build as a cantilever
  3. to project as a cantilever

can·til·late ['kan-tə-,lāt] -vt, n

  1. to recite with musical tones

can·ti·na [kan-'tē-nə] -n

  1. a pouch or bag at the pommel of a saddle
  2. a small barroom : saloon

cant·ing ['kan-tiŋ] -adj

  1. affectedly pious or righteous
    • a canting moralist

can·tle ['kan-tᵊl] -n

  1. a segment cut off or out of something : part, portion
  2. the upward projecting rear part of a saddle

can'tmiss ['kant-,mis] -adj

  1. certain to have a favorable result, performance, or reception : surefire
    • a can'tmiss prospect

can·to ['kan-(,)tō] -n

  1. one of the major divisions of a long poem

can·ton ['kan-tᵊn, -,tän] -n, adj

  1. : a small territorial division of a country: as
  2. one of the states of the Swiss confederation
  3. a division of a French arrondissement

canton -n

  1. division, section
  2. the top inner quarter of a flag
  3. the dexter chief region of a heraldic field

Can·ton·ese [,kan-tə-'nēz, -'nēs] -n, adj

  1. a native or inhabitant of Guangzhou, China
  2. the dialect of Chinese spoken in Guangzhou and Hong Kong
  3. a style of Chinese cooking that emphasizes fresh ingredients, subtle tastes, and relatively mild sauces

can·ton flannel ['kan-,tän-, -tᵊn-] -n

  1. flannel

can·ton·ment [kan-'tōn-mənt, -'tän- also -'tün-] -n

  1. usu. temporary quarters for troops
  2. a permanent military station in India

Can·ton ware ['kan-,tän-] -n

  1. ceramic ware exported from China esp. during the 18th and 19th centuries by way of Canton (Guangzhou) and including blue-and-white and enameled porcelain and various ornamented stonewares

can·tor ['kan-tər] -n, adj

  1. a choir leader : precentor
  2. a synagogue official who sings or chants liturgical music and leads the congregation in prayer

can·trip ['kan-trəp] -n

  1. a witch's trick : spell
  2. hocus-pocus

can·tus ['kan-təs] -n

  1. cantus firmus
  2. the principal melody or voice

cantus fir·mus [-'fir-məs, -'fər-] -n

  1. the plainsong or simple Gregorian melody orig. sung in unison and prescribed as to form and use by ecclesiastical tradition
  2. a melodic theme or subject
  3. one for contrapuntal treatment

canty ['kan-tē] -adj

  1. cheerful, sprightly

Ca·nuck [kə-'nək sometimes -'nu̇k] -n

  1. a Canadian and esp. a French Canadian

can·vas ['kan-vəs] -n, adj

  1. a firm closely woven cloth usu. of linen, hemp, or cotton used for clothing and formerly much used for tents and sails
  2. a set of sails : sail
  3. a piece of canvas used for a particular purpose
  4. tent
  5. a group of tents
  6. a piece of cloth backed or framed as a surface for a painting
  7. the painting on such a surface
  8. the background, setting, or scope of a historical or fictional account or narrative
  9. a coarse cloth so woven as to form regular meshes for working with the needle
  10. the canvas-covered floor of a boxing or wrestling ring

canvas -vt

  1. to cover, line, or furnish with canvas

can·vas·back ['kan-vəs-,bak] -n

  1. a No. American wild duck ( Aythya valisineria) that has a reddish-brown head, black breast, and whitish body and is characterized esp. by the elongate sloping profile of the bill and head

can·vass ['kan-vəs] -vt, n

  1. to toss in a canvas sheet in sport or punishment
  2. to examine in detail
  3. to examine (votes) officially for authenticity
  4. discuss, debate
  5. to go through (a district) or go to (persons) in order to solicit orders or political support or to determine opinions or sentiments
    • canvass voters
  6. to seek orders or votes : solicit

canvass -n

  1. the act or an instance of canvassing
  2. a personal solicitation of votes or survey of public opinion

can·yon ['kan-yən] -n

  1. a deep narrow valley with steep sides and often with a stream flowing through it
  2. something resembling a canyon
    • the city's concrete canyon s

can·yon·eer·ing [,kan-yə-'nir-iŋ] -n

  1. the sport of exploring canyons (as by climbing, rappelling, swimming, or rafting)

can·yon·ing ['kan-yə-niŋ] -n

  1. canyoneering

can·zo·ne [kan-'zō-nē, känt-'sō-(,)nā] -n

  1. a medieval Italian or Provenal lyric poem
  2. the musical setting of a canzone

can·zo·net [,kan-zə-'net] -n

  1. a light usu. strophic song
  2. a part-song resembling but less elaborate than a madrigal

caou·tchouc ['kau̇-,chu̇k, -,chük, -,chü] -n

  1. rubber

cap ['kap] -n

  1. a head covering esp. with a visor and no brim
  2. : a distinctive head covering emblematic of a position or office: as
  3. a cardinal's biretta
  4. mortarboard
  5. : a natural cover or top: as
  6. an overlying rock layer that is usu. hard to penetrate
  7. pileus
  8. calyptra
  9. the top of a bird's head or a patch of distinctively colored feathers in this area
  10. something that serves as a cover or protection esp. for a tip, knob, or end
    • a bottle cap
  11. a fitting for closing the end of a tube (as a water pipe or electric conduit)
  12. cervical cap
  13. an artificial crown for a tooth
  14. an overlaying or covering structure
  15. a paper or metal container holding an explosive charge (as for a toy pistol)
  16. an upper limit (as on expenditures) : ceiling
  17. the symbol indicating the intersection of two sets
  18. a cluster of molecules or chemical groups bound to one end or a region of a cell, virus, or molecule
  19. to provide or protect with a cap
  20. to give a cap to as a symbol of honor, rank, or achievement
  21. to form a cap over : crown
    • the mountains were capped with mist -- John Buchan
  22. to follow with something more noticeable or more significant : outdo
  23. to bring to a climax or conclusion
    • cap off the show with a song
  24. to form a chemical cap on
  25. to prevent from growing or spreading : set an upper limit on
    • cap oil prices
  26. to supply (a tooth) with an artificial crown
  27. to form or produce a chemical cap
  28. a small amount of an illegal or legally regulated drug
  29. a small amount of a drug enclosed in a capsule
  30. capitalization
  31. capacity
  32. capital
  33. capitalize; capitalized

CAP -abbr

  1. Civil Air Patrol
  2. combat air patrol

ca·pa·bil·i·ty [,kā-pə-'bi-lə-tē] -n

  1. the quality or state of being capable
  2. ability
  3. a feature or faculty capable of development : potentiality
  4. the facility or potential for an indicated use or deployment
    • the capability of a metal to be fused
    • nuclear capability

ca·pa·ble ['kā-pə-bəl, in rapid speech 'kāp-bəl] -adj, n, adv

  1. susceptible
    • a remark capable of being misunderstood
  2. comprehensive
  3. having attributes (as physical or mental power) required for performance or accomplishment
    • is capable of intense concentration
  4. having traits conducive to or features permitting
    • this woman is capable of murder by violence -- Robert Graves
    • an outer coat of light color capable of reflecting solar heat -- Current Biog.
  5. having legal right to own, enjoy, or perform
  6. having or showing general efficiency and ability
    • a capable lawyer
    • a capable performance

ca·pa·cious [kə-'pā-shəs] -adj, adv, n

  1. containing or capable of containing a great deal

ca·pac·i·tance [kə-'pa-sə-tən(t)s] -n, adj, adv

  1. the property of an electric nonconductor that permits the storage of energy as a result of the separation of charge that occurs when opposite surfaces of the nonconductor are maintained at a difference of potential
  2. the measure of this property that is equal to the ratio of the charge on either surface to the potential difference between the surfaces
  3. a part of a circuit or network that possesses capacitance

ca·pac·i·tate [kə-'pa-sə-,tāt] -vt

  1. to make capable
  2. to cause (sperm) to undergo capacitation

ca·pac·i·ta·tion [kə-,pa-sə-'tā-shən] -n

  1. the change undergone by sperm in the female reproductive tract that enables them to penetrate and fertilize an egg

ca·pac·i·tor [kə-'pa-sə-tər] -n

  1. a device giving capacitance and usu. consisting of conducting plates or foils separated by thin layers of dielectric (as air or mica) with the plates on opposite sides of the dielectric layers oppositely charged by a source of voltage and the electrical energy of the charged system stored in the polarized dielectric

ca·pac·i·ty [kə-'pa-sə-tē, -'pas-tē] -n

  1. legal competency or fitness
    • capacity to stand trial
  2. the potential or suitability for holding, storing, or accommodating
    • a large seating capacity
  3. the maximum amount or number that can be contained or accommodated
    • a jug with a one-gallon capacity
    • the auditorium was filled to capacity
  4. an individual's mental or physical ability : aptitude, skill
  5. the faculty or potential for treating, experiencing, or appreciating
    • capacity for love
  6. duty, position, role
    • will be happy to serve in any capacity
  7. the facility or power to produce, perform, or deploy : capability
    • a plan to double the factory's capacity
  8. maximum output
    • industries running at three-quarter capacity
  9. capacitance
  10. the quantity of electricity that a battery can deliver under specified conditions

capacity -adj

  1. equaling maximum capacity
    • a capacity crowd

capapie [,ka-pə-'pē, -'pā] -adv

  1. from head to foot
    • armed capapie for battle

ca·par·i·son [kə-'per-ə-sən, -'pa-rə-] -n

  1. an ornamental covering for a horse
  2. decorative trappings and harness
  3. rich clothing : adornment

caparison -vt

  1. to provide with or as if with a rich ornamental covering : adorn

cape ['kāp] -n

  1. a point or extension of land jutting out into water as a peninsula or as a projecting point
  2. cape cod cottage
  3. a sleeveless outer garment or part of a garment that fits closely at the neck and hangs loosely over the shoulders
  4. the short feathers covering the shoulders of a fowl

Cape buffalo ['kāp-] -n

  1. the large reddish-brown to black wild buffalo ( Syncerus caffer) of sub-Saharan Africa called also African buffalo

Cape Cod cottage [(')kāp-'käd-] -n

  1. a compact rectangular dwelling of one or one-and-a-half stories usu. with a central chimney and steep gable roof called also cape Cape Cod

Cape gooseberry -n

  1. any of several ground-cherries (esp. Physalis peruviana) bearing edible acid berries
  2. its berry

Cape Horn·er [,kāp-'hȯr-nər] -n

  1. a ship that voyages around Cape Horn

cape·let ['kāp-lət] -n

  1. a small cape usu. covering the shoulders

cap·e·lin ['ka-p(ə-)lən] -n

  1. a small northern sea fish ( Mallotus villosus) of the smelt family

Ca·pel·la [kə-'pe-lə] -n

  1. a star of the first magnitude in Auriga

cap·el·lini [,ka-pə-'lē-nē] -n

  1. angel-hair pasta

ca·per ['kā-pər] -n

  1. any of a genus ( Capparisof the family Capparidaceae, the caper family) of low prickly shrubs of the Mediterranean region
  2. one ( C. spinosa) cultivated for its buds
  3. one of the greenish flower buds or young berries of the caper pickled and used as a seasoning or garnish

caper [-p(ə-)riŋ] -vi

  1. to leap or prance about in a playful manner
  2. a frolicsome leap
  3. a capricious escapade : prank
  4. an illegal or questionable act
  5. theft

cap·er·cail·lie [,ka-pər-'kā-lē, -'kāl-yē] -n

  1. a very large European grouse ( Tetrao urogallus) of hilly coniferous woodlands

cape·skin ['kāp-,skin] -n

  1. a light flexible leather made from sheepskins with the natural grain retained and used esp. for gloves and garments

Ca·pe·tian [kə-'pē-shən] -adj, n

  1. of or relating to the French royal house that ruled from 987 to 1328

cape·work ['kāp-,wərk] -n

  1. the art of the bullfighter in working a bull with the cape

cap·ful ['kap-,fu̇l] -n

  1. as much as a cap will hold
    • a capful of detergent

capful of wind

  1. a sudden light breeze

ca·pi·as ['kā-pē-əs] -n

  1. an arrest warrant

cap·il·lar·i·ty [,ka-pə-'ler-ə-tē, -'la-rə-] -n

  1. the property or state of being capillary
  2. the action by which the surface of a liquid where it is in contact with a solid (as in a capillary tube) is elevated or depressed depending on the relative attraction of the molecules of the liquid for each other and for those of the solid

cap·il·lary ['ka-pə-,ler-ē, -,le-rē, Brit usu kə-'pi-lə-rē] -adj

  1. resembling a hair esp. in slender elongated form
    • capillary leaves
  2. having a very small bore
    • a capillary tube
  3. involving, held by, or resulting from surface tension
    • capillary water in the soil
  4. of or relating to capillaries or capillarity

capillary -n

  1. a capillary tube
  2. any of the smallest blood vessels connecting arterioles with venules and forming networks throughout the body

capillary attraction -n

  1. the force of adhesion between a solid and a liquid in capillarity

cap·i·tal ['ka-pə-tᵊl, 'kap-tᵊl] -n

  1. the uppermost member of a column or pilaster crowning the shaft and taking the weight of the entablature

capital -adj

  1. of or conforming to the series A, B, C, etc. rather than a, b, c, etc.
  2. punishable by death
    • a capital crime
  3. involving execution
    • capital punishment
  4. most serious
    • a capital error
  5. chief in importance or influence
    • capital ships
    • the capital importance of criticism in the work of creation itself -- T. S. Eliot
  6. being the seat of government
  7. of or relating to capital
  8. relating to or being assets that add to the long-term net worth of a corporation
    • capital improvements
  9. excellent
    • a capital book
  10. a stock of accumulated goods esp. at a specified time and in contrast to income received during a specified period
  11. the value of these accumulated goods
  12. accumulated goods devoted to the production of other goods
  13. accumulated possessions calculated to bring in income
  14. net worth
  15. stock
  16. persons holding capital
  17. advantage, gain
    • make capital of the situation
  18. a store of useful assets or advantages
    • wasted their political capital on an unpopular cause
    • wrote from the capital of his emotionally desolate boyhood -- E. L. Doctorow
  19. a capital letter
  20. an initial capital letter
  21. a letter belonging to a style of alphabet modeled on the style customarily used in inscriptions
  22. a city serving as a seat of government
  23. a city preeminent in some special activity
    • the fashion capital

capital gain -n

  1. the increase in value of an asset (as stock or real estate) between the time it is bought and the time it is sold

capital goods -n pl

  1. capital

capitalintensive -adj

  1. having a high capital cost per unit of output
  2. requiring greater expenditure in the form of capital than of labor

cap·i·tal·ise ['ka-pə-tə-,līz, 'kap-tə-, Brit also kə-'pi-tə-] -vb

(variant of capitalize)

  1. to write or print with an initial capital or in capitals
  2. to convert into capital
    • capitalize the company's reserve fund
  3. to treat as an amortizable investment in long-term capital assets rather than as an ordinary operating expense to be charged against revenue for the period in which it is incurred
    • capitalize development costs
  4. to compute the present value of (an income extended over a period of time)
  5. to convert (a periodic payment) into an equivalent capital sum
    • capitalized annuities
  6. to supply capital for
  7. to gain by turning something to advantage : profit
    • capitalize on an opponent's mistake

cap·i·tal·ism ['ka-pə-tə-,liz-əm, 'kap-tə-, Brit also kə-'pi-tə-] -n

  1. an economic system characterized by private or corporate ownership of capital goods, by investments that are determined by private decision, and by prices, production, and the distribution of goods that are determined mainly by competition in a free market

cap·i·tal·ist [-ist] -n

  1. a person who has capital esp. invested in business
  2. a person of wealth : plutocrat
  3. a person who favors capitalism

capitalist [,ka-pə-tə-'lis-tik, ,kap-tə-, Brit also kə-,pi-tə-] -adj, adv

  1. owning capital
    • the capitalist class
  2. practicing or advocating capitalism
    • capitalist nations
  3. marked by capitalism
    • capitalist period of history

cap·i·tal·i·za·tion [,ka-pə-tə-lə-'zā-shən, ,kap-tə-, Brit also kə-,pi-tə-] -n

  1. the act or process of capitalizing
  2. a sum resulting from a process of capitalizing
  3. the total liabilities of a business including both ownership capital and borrowed capital
  4. the total par value or the stated value of no-par issues of authorized stock
  5. the use of a capital letter in writing or printing

cap·i·tal·ize ['ka-pə-tə-,līz, 'kap-tə-, Brit also kə-'pi-tə-] -vb

  1. to write or print with an initial capital or in capitals
  2. to convert into capital
    • capitalize the company's reserve fund
  3. to treat as an amortizable investment in long-term capital assets rather than as an ordinary operating expense to be charged against revenue for the period in which it is incurred
    • capitalize development costs
  4. to compute the present value of (an income extended over a period of time)
  5. to convert (a periodic payment) into an equivalent capital sum
    • capitalized annuities
  6. to supply capital for
  7. to gain by turning something to advantage : profit
    • capitalize on an opponent's mistake

cap·i·tal·ly ['ka-pə-tə-lē, 'kap-tə-] -adv

  1. in a manner involving capital punishment
  2. in a capital manner : excellently

capital stock -n

  1. the outstanding shares of a joint-stock company considered as an aggregate
  2. capitalization
  3. stock

cap·i·tate ['ka-pə-,tāt] -adj

  1. forming a head
  2. abruptly enlarged and globose

cap·i·tat·ed ['ka-pə-,tā-təd] -adj

  1. of, relating to, participating in, or being a health-care system in which a medical provider is given a set fee per patient (as by an HMO) regardless of treatment required

cap·i·ta·tion [,ka-pə-'tā-shən] -n

  1. a direct uniform tax imposed on each head or person : poll tax
  2. a uniform per capita payment or fee
  3. a capitated health-care system

cap·i·tol ['ka-pə-tᵊl, 'kap-tᵊl] -n

  1. a building in which a state legislative body meets
  2. a group of buildings in which the functions of state government are carried out
  3. the building in which the U.S. Congress meets at Washington

Capitol Hill -n

  1. the legislative branch of the U.S. government

Cap·i·to·line ['ka-pə-tə-,līn, Brit usu kə-'pi-tə-,līn] -adj

  1. of or relating to the smallest of the seven hills of ancient Rome, the temple on it, or the gods worshipped there

ca·pit·u·lar [kə-'pi-chə-lər] -adj

  1. of or relating to an ecclesiastical chapter

ca·pit·u·lary [-,ler-ē, -,le-rē] -n

  1. a civil or ecclesiastical ordinance
  2. a collection of ordinances

ca·pit·u·late [kə-'pi-chə-,lāt] -vi

  1. parley, negotiate
  2. to surrender often after negotiation of terms
  3. to cease resisting : acquiesce

ca·pit·u·la·tion [kə-,pi-chə-'lā-shən] -n

  1. a set of terms or articles constituting an agreement between governments
  2. the act of surrendering or yielding
  3. the terms of surrender

ca·pit·u·lum [kə-'pi-chə-ləm] -n

  1. a rounded protuberance of an anatomical part (as a bone)
  2. a racemose inflorescence (as of the sunflower) with the axis shortened and dilated to form a rounded or flattened cluster of sessile flowers

Cap·lets ['ka-pləts] -trademark

  1. used for capsule-shaped medicinal tablets

ca·po ['kā-(,)pō] -n

  1. a movable bar attached to the fingerboard of a fretted instrument to uniformly raise the pitch of all the strings
  2. the head of a branch of a crime syndicate

ca·po·ei·ra [,kä-pə-'wā-rə, ,käp-'wā-] -n

  1. a Brazilian dance of African origin that incorporates martial arts movements such as kicks and chops

ca·pon ['kā-,pän, -pən] -n

  1. a castrated male chicken

ca·po·na·ta [,kä-pə-'nä-tə] -n

  1. a relish of chopped eggplant and assorted vegetables

ca·pote [kə-'pōt] -n

  1. a usu. long and hooded cloak or overcoat

cap·pel·let·ti [,ka-pə-'le-tē] -n pl but sing or pl in constr

  1. pasta in the form of little peaked hats filled with a savory mixture

cap·per ['ka-pər] -n

  1. : one that caps: as
  2. a device that fits caps on bottles
  3. finale, climax, clincher
  4. a lure or decoy esp. in an illicit or questionable activity : shill

cap·ping ['ka-piŋ] -n

  1. something that caps

cap·puc·ci·no [,ka-pə-'chē-(,)nō, ,kä-pü-] -n

  1. espresso coffee mixed with frothed hot milk or cream and often flavored with cinnamon

cap·ric acid ['ka-prik-] -n

  1. a fatty acid C 10H 20O 2found in fats and oils and used in flavors and perfumes

ca·pric·cio [kə-'prē-ch(ē-,)ō] -n

  1. fancy, whimsy
  2. caper, prank
  3. an instrumental piece in free form usu. lively in tempo and brilliant in style

ca·price [kə-'prēs] -n

  1. a sudden, impulsive, and seemingly unmotivated notion or action
  2. a sudden usu. unpredictable condition, change, or series of changes
    • the caprice s of the weather
  3. a disposition to do things impulsively
  4. capriccio

ca·pri·cious [kə-'pri-shəs, -'prē-] -adj, adv, n

  1. governed or characterized by caprice : impulsive, unpredictable

Cap·ri·corn ['ka-pri-,kȯrn] -n

  1. a southern zodiacal constellation between Sagittarius and Aquarius
  2. the 10th sign of the zodiac in astrology
  3. one born under the sign of Capricorn

cap·ri·fi·ca·tion [,ka-prə-fə-'kā-shən] -n

  1. artificial pollination of figs that usu. bear only pistillate flowers by hanging male flowering branches of the caprifig in the trees to facilitate pollen transfer by a fig wasp

cap·ri·fig ['ka-prə-,fig] -n

  1. a wild fig ( Ficus carica sylvestris) of southern Europe and southwestern Asia used for caprification of the cultivated fig
  2. its fruit

cap·rine ['ka-,prīn] -adj

  1. of, relating to, or being a goat
    • caprine serum
    • the caprine family

cap·ri·ole ['ka-prē-,ōl] -n, vi

  1. a playful leap : caper
  2. a vertical leap with a backward kick of the hind legs at the height of the leap

ca·pri pants [kə-'prē-] -n pl

  1. close-fitting women's pants that end above the ankle called also capris

cap·rock ['kap-,räk] -n

  1. cap

ca·pro·ic acid [kə-'prō-ik-] -n

  1. a liquid fatty acid C 6H 12O 2that is found as a glycerol ester in fats and oils or made synthetically and used in pharmaceuticals and flavorings

cap·ro·lac·tam [,ka-prō-'lak-,tam] -n

  1. a white crystalline cyclic amide C 6H 11NO used esp. in making one type of nylon

ca·pryl·ic acid [kə-'pri-lik-] -n

  1. a fatty acid C 8H 16O 2of rancid odor occurring in fats and oils and used esp. in the synthesis of esters for perfumes

caps -abbr

  1. capitals
  2. capsule

cap·sa·i·cin [kap-'sā-ə-sən] -n

  1. a colorless irritant phenolic amide C 18H 27NO 3found in various capsicums that gives hot peppers their hotness and that is used in topical creams for its analgesic properties

Cap·si·an ['kap-sē-ən] -adj

  1. of or relating to a Paleolithic culture of northern Africa and southern Europe

cap·si·cum ['kap-si-kəm] -n

  1. any of a genus ( Capsicum) of tropical American herbs and shrubs of the nightshade family widely cultivated for their many-seeded usu. fleshy-walled berries called also pepper
  2. pepper
  3. an oleoresin derived from the fruit of some capsicums that contains capsaicin and related compounds and is used medicinally esp. as a topical pain reliever

cap·sid ['kap-səd] -n

  1. the protein shell of a virus particle surrounding its nucleic acid

cap·size ['kap-,sīz, kap-'] -vb, n

  1. to cause to overturn
    • capsize a canoe
  2. to become upset or overturned : turn over
    • the canoe capsized

cap sleeve -n

  1. a very short sleeve (as on a dress) that hangs over the edge of the shoulder without extending along the underside of the arm

cap·stan ['kap-stən, -,stan] -n

  1. a machine for moving or raising heavy weights that consists of a vertical drum which can be rotated and around which cable is turned
  2. a rotating shaft that drives tape at a constant speed in a recorder

cap·stone ['kap-,stōn] -n

  1. a coping stone : coping
  2. the high point : crowning achievement
    • the capstone of her career

cap·su·lar ['kap-sə-lər] -adj

  1. of, relating to, or resembling a capsule
  2. capsulated

cap·su·lat·ed [-,lā-təd] -adj

  1. enclosed in a capsule

cap·sule ['kap-səl, -(,)sül also -,syül] -n

  1. a membrane or sac enclosing a body part (as a knee joint or kidney)
  2. either of two layers of white matter in the cerebrum
  3. : a closed receptacle containing spores or seeds: as
  4. a dry dehiscent usu. many-seeded fruit composed of two or more carpels
  5. the spore case of a moss
  6. a shell usu. of gelatin for packaging something (as a drug or vitamins)
  7. a usu. medicinal or nutritional preparation for oral use consisting of the shell and its contents
  8. an often polysaccharide envelope surrounding a microorganism
  9. an extremely brief condensation : outline, survey
  10. a compact often sealed and detachable container or compartment
  11. a small pressurized compartment or vehicle (as for space flight)

capsule -vt

  1. to equip with or enclose in a capsule
  2. to condense into or devise in a compact form
  3. extremely brief
  4. small and very compact

cap·sul·ize ['kap-sə-,līz] -vt

  1. capsule

Capt -abbr

  1. captain

cap·tain ['kap-tən also 'kap-ᵊm] -n

  1. a military leader : the commander of a unit or a body of troops
  2. a subordinate officer commanding under a sovereign or general
  3. a commissioned officer in the army, air force, or marine corps ranking above a first lieutenant and below a major
  4. a naval officer who is master or commander of a ship
  5. a commissioned officer in the navy ranking above a commander and below a commodore and in the coast guard ranking above a commander and below a rear admiral
  6. a senior pilot who commands the crew of an airplane
  7. an officer in a police department or fire department in charge of a unit (as a precinct or company) and usu. ranking above a lieutenant and below a chief
  8. : one who leads or supervises: as
  9. a leader of a sports team or side
  10. headwaiter
  11. a person in charge of hotel bellhops called also bell captain
  12. a person of importance or influence in a field
    • captain s of industry

captain -vt

  1. to be captain of : lead
    • captain ed the football team

captain's chair -n

  1. an armchair with a saddle seat and a low curved back with vertical spindles

captain's mast -n

  1. mast

cap·tan ['kap-,tan] -n

  1. a fungicide C 9H 8Cl 3NO 2S used on agricultural crops

cap·tion ['kap-shən] -n, adj

  1. the part of a legal document that shows where, when, and by what authority it was taken, found, or executed
  2. the heading esp. of an article or document : title
  3. the explanatory comment or designation accompanying a pictorial illustration
  4. a motion-picture subtitle

caption [-sh(ə-)niŋ] -vt

  1. to furnish with a caption

cap·tious ['kap-shəs] -adj, adv, n

  1. marked by an often ill-natured inclination to stress faults and raise objections
    • captious critics
  2. calculated to confuse, entrap, or entangle in argument
    • a captious question

cap·ti·vate ['kap-tə-,vāt] -vt, n

  1. seize, capture
  2. to influence and dominate by some special charm, art, or trait and with an irresistible appeal

cap·tive ['kap-tiv] -adj, n

  1. taken and held as or as if a prisoner of war
  2. kept within bounds : confined
  3. of or relating to captive animals
    • captive breeding
  4. held under control of another but having the appearance of independence
  5. owned or controlled by another concern and operated for its needs rather than for an open market
    • a captive mine
  6. being such involuntarily because of a situation that makes free choice or departure difficult
    • a captive audience

cap·tiv·i·ty [kap-'ti-və-tē] -n

  1. the state of being captive
    • some birds thrive in captivity
  2. a group of captives

cap·to·pril ['kap-tə-,pril] -n

  1. an antihypertensive drug C 9H 15NO 3S that is an ACE inhibitor

cap·tor ['kap-tər, -,tȯr] -n

  1. one that has captured a person or thing

cap·ture ['kap-chər, -shər] -n

  1. : an act or instance of capturing: as
  2. an act of catching, winning, or gaining control by force, stratagem, or guile
  3. a move in a board game (as chess or checkers) that gains an opponent's piece
  4. the absorption by an atom, nucleus, or particle of a subatomic particle that often results in subsequent emission of radiation or in fission
  5. the act of recording in a permanent file
    • data capture
  6. one that has been taken (as a prize ship)

capture ['kap-chə-riŋ, 'kap-shriŋ] -vt

  1. to take captive
  2. to gain control of esp. by force
    • capture a city
  3. to gain or win esp. through effort
    • captured 60 percent of the vote
  4. to emphasize, represent, or preserve (as a scene, mood, or quality) in a more or less permanent form
    • at any such moment as a photograph might capture -- C. E. Montague
  5. to record in a permanent file (as in a computer)
  6. to captivate and hold the interest of
  7. to take according to the rules of a game
  8. to bring about the capture of (a subatomic particle)

capture the flag -n

  1. a game in which players on each of two teams seek to capture the other team's flag and return it to their side without being captured and imprisoned

ca·puche [kə-'püch, -'püsh] -n

  1. hood
  2. the cowl of a Capuchin friar

ca·pu·chin ['ka-pyə-shən, -pə-, esp for 3 also kə-'pyü-, -'pü-] -n

  1. a member of the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin forming since 1529 an austere branch of the first order of St. Francis of Assisi engaged in missionary work and preaching
  2. a hooded cloak for women
  3. any of a genus ( Cebus) of So. and Central American monkeys
  4. one ( C. capucinus) with the hair on its crown resembling a monk's cowl

Cap·u·let ['ka-pyə-lət] -n

  1. the family of Juliet in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet

cap·y·bara [,ka-pi-'ber-ə, -'bär-, -'ba-rə] -n

  1. a tailless semiaquatic So. and Central American rodent ( Hydrochaerus hydrochaeris) often exceeding four feet (1.2 meters) in length

car ['kär, dial also 'kȯr, 'kyär] -n

  1. : a vehicle moving on wheels: as
  2. carriage, chariot
  3. a vehicle designed to move on rails (as of a railroad)
  4. automobile
  5. the passenger compartment of an elevator
  6. the part of an airship or balloon that carries the passengers and cargo

CAR -abbr

  1. civil air regulations

ca·ra·bao [,ker-ə-'bau̇, ,kär-, ,ka-rə-] -n

  1. water buffalo

ca·ra·bid ['ker-ə-bəd, 'ka-rə-, kə-'ra-bəd] -n

  1. ground beetle

car·a·bi·neer [,ker-ə-bə-'nir, ,ka-rə-] -n

  1. a cavalry soldier armed with a carbine

car·a·bi·ner [,ker-ə-'bē-nər, ,ka-rə-] -n

  1. an oblong metal ring with one spring-hinged side that is used esp. in mountain climbing as a connector and to hold a freely running rope

ca·ra·bi·ne·ro [,ker-ə-bə-'ner-(,)ō, ,kär-, ,ka-rə-] -n

  1. a member of a Spanish national police force serving esp. as frontier guards
  2. a customs or coast guard officer in the Philippines

ca·ra·bi·nie·re [,ker-ə-bən-'yer-(,)ā, ,kär-, ,ka-rə-] -n

  1. a member of the Italian national police force

car·a·cal ['ker-ə-,kal, 'ka-rə-] -n

  1. a long-legged reddish-brown nocturnal cat ( Felis caracalsyn. Lynx caracal) of savannas in Africa and parts of Asia that has long pointed ears with a tuft of black hairs at the tip

ca·ra·ca·ra [,ka-rə-'ka-rə, -ə-kə-'rä] -n

  1. any of various large long-legged hawks found from the southern U.S. to So. America that are classified with the falcons

car·a·cole ['ka-rə-,kōl] -n, vb

  1. a half turn to right or left executed by a mounted horse

car·a·cul ['ka-rə-kəl] -n

  1. the pelt of a karakul lamb after the curl begins to loosen

ca·rafe [kə-'raf, -'räf] -n

  1. a bottle with a flaring lip used to hold beverages and esp. wine
  2. a usu. glass container used to hold and serve coffee

car·am·bo·la [,ka-rəm-'bō-lə] -n

  1. a 5-angled green to yellow tropical fruit of star-shaped cross section called also star fruit
  2. a tropical tree ( Averrhoa carambola) of the wood-sorrel family that is native to southeastern Asia and is widely cultivated for carambolas

car·a·mel ['kär-məl; 'ker-ə-məl, 'ka-rə-, -,mel] -n

  1. an amorphous brittle brown and somewhat bitter substance obtained by heating sugar and used as a coloring and flavoring agent
  2. a firm chewy usu. caramel-flavored candy

car·a·mel·ise [-mə-,līz] -vb

(variant of caramelize)

  1. to change (as sugar) into caramel
  2. to change to caramel

car·a·mel·ize [-mə-,līz] -vb

  1. to change (as sugar) into caramel
  2. to change to caramel

ca·ran·gid [kə-'ran-jəd, -'raŋ-gəd] -adj, n

  1. of or relating to a large family (Carangidae of the order Perciformes) of marine spiny-finned bony fishes including important food fishes

car·a·pace ['ker-ə-,pās, 'ka-rə-] -n

  1. a bony or chitinous case or shield covering the back or part of the back of an animal (as a turtle or crab)
  2. a protective, decorative, or disguising shell
    • the carapace of reserve he built around himself -- M. M. Mintz

carat ['ker-ət, 'ka-rət] -n

(variant of karat)

  1. a unit of fineness for gold equal to part of pure gold in an alloy

car·at ['ker-ət, 'ka-rət] -n

  1. a unit of weight for precious stones equal to 200 milligrams

car·a·van ['ker-ə-,van, 'ka-rə-] -n

  1. a company of travelers on a journey through desert or hostile regions
  2. a train of pack animals
  3. a group of vehicles traveling together (as in a file)
  4. a covered wagon or motor vehicle equipped as traveling living quarters
  5. trailer

caravan -vi

  1. to travel in a caravan

car·a·van·ner [-,va-nər] -n

  1. one that travels in a caravan
  2. one who goes camping with a trailer

car·a·van·sa·ry [,ker-ə-'van(t)-sə-rē, ,ka-rə-] -n

  1. an inn surrounding a court in eastern countries where caravans rest at night
  2. hotel, inn

car·a·vel ['ker-ə-,vel, 'ka-rə-, -vəl] -n

  1. any of several sailing ships
  2. a small 15th and 16th century ship that has broad bows, high narrow poop, and usu. three masts with lateen or both square and lateen sails

car·a·way ['ker-ə-,wā, 'ka-rə-] -n

  1. a biennial usu. white-flowered aromatic Old World herb ( Carum carvi) of the carrot family
  2. the pungent fruit of the caraway used in seasoning and medicine called also caraway seed

carb ['kärb] -n

  1. carburetor
  2. carbohydrate
  3. a high-carbohydrate food usu. used in pl.

carb- -comb form

  1. carbon : carbonic : carbonyl : carboxyl
    • carb ide
    • carbo hydrate

car·ba·chol ['kär-bə-,kȯl, -,kōl] -n

  1. a synthetic parasympathomimetic drug C 6H 15ClN 2O 2that is used in veterinary medicine and topically in glaucoma

car·ba·mate ['kär-bə-,māt, kär-'ba-,māt] -n

  1. a salt or ester of carbamic acid
  2. one that is a synthetic organic insecticide

car·ba·maz·e·pine [,kär-bə-'ma-zə-,pēn] -n

  1. a tricyclic anticonvulsant and analgesic C 15H 12N 2O used in the treatment of trigeminal neuralgia and epilepsy

car·bam·ic acid [(,)kär-'ba-mik-] -n

  1. an acid CH 3NO 2known in the form of salts and esters that is a half amide of carbonic acid

car·bam·ide ['kär-bə-,mīd, kär-'ba-məd] -n

  1. urea

carb·ami·no [,kär-bə-'mē-(,)nō] -adj

  1. relating to any of various carbamic acid derivatives formed by reaction of carbon dioxide with an amino acid or a protein (as hemoglobin)

carb·an·ion [kär-'ba-,nī-ən, -,nī-,än] -n

  1. an organic ion carrying a negative charge on a carbon atom

car·barn ['kär-,bärn] -n

  1. a building that houses the cars of a street railway or the buses of a bus system

car·ba·ryl ['kär-bə-,ril] -n

  1. a carbamate insecticide C 12H 11NO 2effective esp. against numerous crop, forage, and forest pests

car·ba·zole ['kär-bə-,zōl] -n

  1. a crystalline slightly basic cyclic compound C 12H 9N found in anthracene and used in making dyes

car·bide ['kär-,bīd] -n

  1. a binary compound of carbon with a more electropositive element
  2. calcium carbide
  3. a very hard material made of carbon and one or more heavy metals

car·bine ['kär-,bēn, -,bīn] -n

  1. a short-barreled lightweight firearm orig. used by cavalry
  2. a light short-barreled repeating rifle that is used as a supplementary military arm or for hunting in dense brush

car·bi·nol ['kär-bə-,nȯl, -,nōl] -n

  1. methanol
  2. an alcohol derived from it

car·bo·cy·clic [,kär-bō-'sī-klik, -'si-] -adj

  1. being or having an organic ring composed of carbon atoms

car·bo·hy·drase [,kär-bō-'hī-,drās, -bə-, -,drāz] -n

  1. any of a group of enzymes (as amylase) that promote hydrolysis or synthesis of a carbohydrate (as a disaccharide)

car·bo·hy·drate [-,drāt, -drət] -n

  1. any of various neutral compounds of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen (as sugars, starches, and celluloses) most of which are formed by green plants and which constitute a major class of animal foods

car·bol·ic [kär-'bä-lik] -n

  1. phenol

carbolic acid -n

  1. phenol

car·boload ['kär-bō-,lōd] -vi

  1. to consume a large amount of carbohydrates through food intake usu. in order to improve performance in an upcoming athletic event (as a marathon)

car bomb -n

  1. an explosive device concealed in an automobile for use as a weapon of terrorism

car·bon ['kär-bən] -n

  1. a nonmetallic chiefly tetravalent element found native (as in diamond and graphite) or as a constituent of coal, petroleum, and asphalt, of limestone and other carbonates, and of organic compounds or obtained artificially in varying degrees of purity esp. as carbon black, lampblack, activated carbon, charcoal, and coke
  2. a carbon rod used in an arc lamp
  3. a sheet of carbon paper
  4. carbon copy

car·bo·na·ceous [,kär-bə-'nā-shəs] -adj

  1. relating to, containing, or composed of carbon
  2. rich in carbon

car·bo·na·do [,kär-bə-'nā-(,)dō, -'nä-] -n

  1. a piece of meat scored before grilling

carbonado -vt

  1. to make a carbonado of
  2. cut, slash
  3. an impure opaque dark-colored fine-grained aggregate of diamond particles valuable for its superior toughness

car·bo·nara [,kär-bə-'när-ə] -n

  1. a dish of hot pasta into which other ingredients (as eggs, bacon or ham, and grated cheese) have been mixed often used as a postpositive modifier
    • spaghetti carbonara

car·bon·ate ['kär-bə-,nāt, -nət] -n

  1. a salt or ester of carbonic acid
  2. to convert into a carbonate
  3. to combine or infuse with carbon dioxide
    • carbonated beverages

carbon black -n

  1. any of various colloidal black substances consisting wholly or principally of carbon obtained usu. as soot and used esp. in tires and as pigments

carbon copy -n

  1. a copy made by carbon paper
  2. duplicate
    • is a carbon copy of his father

carbon cycle -n

  1. the cycle of carbon in the earth's ecosystems in which carbon dioxide is fixed by photosynthetic organisms to form organic nutrients and is ultimately restored to the inorganic state (as by respiration, protoplasmic decay, or combustion)
  2. a cycle of thermonuclear reactions in which four hydrogen atoms synthesize into a helium atom by the catalytic action of carbon with the release of nuclear energy and which is held to be the source of most of the energy radiated by the sun and stars

carbon dating ['kär-bən-'dāt] -n, vt

  1. the determination of the age of old material (as an archaeological or paleontological specimen) by means of the content of carbon 14

carbon dioxide -n

  1. a heavy colorless gas CO 2that does not support combustion, dissolves in water to form carbonic acid, is formed esp. in animal respiration and in the decay or combustion of animal and vegetable matter, is absorbed from the air by plants in photosynthesis, and is used in the carbonation of beverages

carbon disulfide -n

  1. a colorless flammable poisonous liquid CS 2used as a solvent for rubber and as an insect fumigant called also carbon bisulfide

carbon fiber -n

  1. a very strong lightweight synthetic fiber made esp. by carbonizing acrylic fiber at high temperatures

carbon footprint -n

  1. the negative impact that something (as a person or business) has on the environment
  2. the amount of carbon emitted by something during a given period

carbon 14 -n

  1. a heavy radioactive isotope of carbon of mass number 14 used esp. in tracer studies and in dating old materials (as archaeological and geological specimens)

car·bon·ic [kär-'bä-nik] -adj

  1. of, relating to, or derived from carbon, carbonic acid, or carbon dioxide

carbonic acid -n

  1. a weak dibasic acid H 2CO 3known only in solution that reacts with bases to form carbonates

carbonic acid gas -n

  1. carbon dioxide

carbonic an·hy·drase [-an-'hī-,drās, -,drāz] -n

  1. a zinc-containing enzyme that occurs in living tissues (as red blood cells) and aids carbon-dioxide transport from the tissues and its release from the blood in the lungs by catalyzing the reversible hydration of carbon dioxide to carbonic acid

car·bon·if·er·ous [,kär-bə-'ni-f(ə-)rəs] -adj, n

  1. producing or containing carbon or coal
  2. of, relating to, or being the period of the Paleozoic era between the Devonian and the Permian or the corresponding system of rocks that includes coal beds

car·bo·ni·um [kär-'bō-nē-əm] -n

  1. an organic ion carrying a positive charge on a carbon atom

car·bon·i·za·tion [,kär-bə-nə-'zā-shən] -n

  1. the process of carbonizing
  2. destructive distillation

car·bon·ize ['kär-bə-,nīz] -vb

  1. to convert into carbon or a carbonic residue
  2. carburize
  3. to become carbonized : char

car·bon·less ['kär-bən-ləs] -adj

  1. being without carbon
  2. being or composed of paper that makes multiple copies without intervening layers of carbon paper
    • carbonless forms

carbon monoxide -n

  1. a colorless odorless very toxic gas CO that is formed as a product of the incomplete combustion of carbon or a carbon compound

car·bon·nade [,kär-bə-'näd] -n

  1. a beef stew cooked in beer

carbon paper -n

  1. a thin paper faced with a waxy pigmented coating so that when placed between two sheets of paper the pressure of writing or typing on the top sheet causes transfer of pigment to the bottom sheet

carbon steel -n

  1. a strong hard steel that derives its physical properties from the presence of carbon and is used in hand tools and kitchen utensils

carbon tetrachloride -n

  1. a colorless nonflammable toxic liquid CCl 4that has an odor resembling that of chloroform and is used as a solvent and a refrigerant

carbon 13 -n

  1. an isotope of carbon of mass number 13 that constitutes about of natural carbon and is used as a tracer esp. in spectroscopy utilizing nuclear magnetic resonance

carbon 12 -n

  1. an isotope of carbon of mass number 12 that is the most abundant carbon isotope and is used as a standard for measurements of atomic weight

car·bon·yl ['kär-bə-,nil, -,nēl] -n, adj

  1. an organic functional group or radical CO occurring in aldehydes, ketones, carboxylic acids, esters, and their derivatives
  2. a coordination complex involving the neutral radical CO
    • chromium carbonyl

car·bon·yl·a·tion [(,)kär-,bä-nə-'lā-shən] -n

  1. the synthesis of a carbonyl compound esp. by a reaction involving carbon monoxide

Car·bo·run·dum [,kär-bə-'rən-dəm] -trademark

  1. used for various abrasives

carboxy- -comb form

  1. carboxyl
    • carboxy peptidase

car·box·yl [kär-'bäk-səl] -n, adj

  1. a monovalent functional group or radical COOH typical of organic acids called also carboxyl group

car·box·yl·ase [kär-'bäk-sə-,lās, -,lāz] -n

  1. an enzyme that catalyzes decarboxylation or carboxylation

car·box·yl·ate [-,lāt, -lət] -n

  1. a salt or ester of a carboxylic acid
  2. to introduce carboxyl or carbon dioxide into (a compound) with formation of a carboxylic acid

carboxylic acid -n

  1. an organic acid (as acetic acid) containing one or more carboxyl groups

car·boxy·meth·yl·cel·lu·lose [kär-,bäk-sē-,me-thəl-'sel-yə-,lōs, -,lōz] -n

  1. an acid ether derivative of cellulose that in the form of its sodium salt is used as a thickening, emulsifying, and stabilizing agent and as a bulk laxative in medicine

car·boxy·pep·ti·dase [-'pep-tə-,dās, -,dāz] -n

  1. an enzyme that hydrolyzes peptides and esp. polypeptides by splitting off sequentially the amino acids at the end of the peptide chain which contain free carboxyl groups

car·boy ['kär-,bȯi] -n

  1. a large container for liquids

car·bun·cle ['kär-,bəŋ-kəl] -n, adj

  1. any of several red precious stones
  2. the garnet cut cabochon
  3. a painful local purulent inflammation of the skin and deeper tissues with multiple openings for the discharge of pus and usu. necrosis and sloughing of dead tissue

car·bu·ret·ed ['kär-bə-,rā-təd, -byə-, esp by chemists -,re-təd] -adj

  1. equipped with a carburetor

car·bu·re·tion [,kär-bə-'rā-shən, -byə-] -n

  1. the process of mixing (as in a carburetor) the vapor of a flammable hydrocarbon (as gasoline) with air to form an explosive mixture esp. for use in an internal-combustion engine

car·bu·re·tor ['kär-bə-,rā-tər, -byə-] -n

  1. a mechanical apparatus for premixing vaporized fuel and air in proper proportions and supplying the mixture to an internal combustion engine

car·bu·ret·tor ['kär-bə-,rā-tər, -byə-] -n

(variant of carburetor)

  1. a mechanical apparatus for premixing vaporized fuel and air in proper proportions and supplying the mixture to an internal combustion engine

car·bu·rise ['kär-bə-,rīz, -byə-] -vt, n

(variant of carburize)

  1. to combine or impregnate (as metal) with carbon

car·bu·rize ['kär-bə-,rīz, -byə-] -vt, n

  1. to combine or impregnate (as metal) with carbon

car·ca·net ['kär-kə-nət] -n

  1. an ornamental necklace, chain, collar, or headband

car·case ['kär-kəs] -n

(variant of carcass)

  1. a dead body : corpse
  2. the dressed body of a meat animal
  3. the living, material, or physical body
  4. the decaying or worthless remains of a structure
    • the carcass of an abandoned automobile
  5. the underlying structure or frame of something (as of a piece of furniture)

car·cass ['kär-kəs] -n

  1. a dead body : corpse
  2. the dressed body of a meat animal
  3. the living, material, or physical body
  4. the decaying or worthless remains of a structure
    • the carcass of an abandoned automobile
  5. the underlying structure or frame of something (as of a piece of furniture)

car·cer·al ['kär-sə-rəl] -adj

  1. of, relating to, or suggesting a jail or prison

carcin- -comb form

  1. tumor : cancer
    • carcino genic

car·ci·no·em·bry·on·ic antigen [,kär-sə-nō-,em-brē-'ä-nik-] -n

  1. a glycoprotein present in fetal digestive-tract tissues and in peripheral blood of patients with some forms of cancer

car·cin·o·gen [kär-'si-nə-jən, 'kär-sə-nə-,jen] -n, adj

  1. a substance or agent causing cancer

car·ci·no·gen·e·sis [,kär-sə-nō-'je-nə-sis] -n

  1. the production of cancer

car·ci·noid ['kär-sə-,nȯid] -n

  1. a benign or malignant tumor arising esp. from the mucosa of the gastrointestinal tract

car·ci·no·ma [,kär-sə-'nō-mə] -n, adj

  1. a malignant tumor of epithelial origin

car·ci·no·ma·to·sis [-,nō-mə-'tō-səs] -n

  1. a condition in which multiple carcinomas develop simultaneously usu. after dissemination from a primary source

car coat -n

  1. a three-quarter-length overcoat

card ['kärd] -vt, n

  1. to cleanse, disentangle, and collect together (as fibers) by the use of cards preparatory to spinning
  2. an instrument or machine for carding fibers that consists usu. of bent wire teeth set closely in rows in a thick piece of leather fastened to a back
  3. an implement for raising a nap on cloth
  4. playing card
  5. a game played with cards
  6. card playing
  7. something (as an advantage) compared to a valuable playing card in one's hand
    • holding all the card s in negotiations
  8. an issue esp. with emotional appeal that is brought into play to achieve a desired end (as winning a political campaign)
    • played the race card
  9. a usu. clownishly amusing person : wag
    • he's such a card
  10. compass card
  11. : a flat stiff usu. small and rectangular piece of material (as paper, cardboard, or plastic) usu. bearing information: as
  12. postcard
  13. visiting card
  14. business card
  15. credit card
  16. one bearing a picture (as of a baseball player) on one side and usu. statistical data on the other
  17. one on which computer information is stored (as in the form of punched holes or magnetic encoding)
  18. one bearing electronic circuit components for insertion into a larger electronic device (as a computer)
  19. program
  20. a sports program
    • three fights on the card
  21. a wine list
  22. menu
  23. greeting card
    • a birthday card
  24. to place or fasten on or by means of a card
  25. to provide with a card
  26. to list or record on a card
  27. score
    • a golfer card ing a 75
  28. to ask for identification (as in a bar)
    • we all got card ed
  29. cardinal

car·da·mom ['kär-də-məm, -,mäm] -n

  1. the aromatic capsular fruit of an Indian herb ( Elettaria cardamomum) of the ginger family with seeds used as a spice or condiment and in medicine
  2. this plant

card·board ['kärd-,bȯrd] -n, adj

  1. a material made from cellulose fiber (as wood pulp) like paper but usu. thicker

cardboard -adj

  1. made of or as if of cardboard
  2. unreal, stereotyped
    • a play with cardboard characters

cardcar·ry·ing ['kärd-,ka-rē-iŋ] -adj

  1. being a full-fledged member of an organization (as a Communist party)
  2. strongly identified with a group (as of people with a common interest)
    • cardcarrying members of the ecology movement -- R. J. Neuhaus
  3. being such emphatically or unmistakably
    • a cardcarrying hippie

card catalog -n

  1. a catalog (as of books) in which the entries are arranged systematically on cards

card·hold·er ['kärd-,hōl-dər] -n

  1. one who possesses a card and esp. a credit card

cardi- -comb form

  1. heart : cardiac : cardiac and
    • cardio gram
    • cardio vascular

car·dia ['kär-dē-ə] -n

  1. the opening of the esophagus into the stomach
  2. the part of the stomach adjoining this opening

car·di·ac ['kär-dē-,ak] -adj

  1. of, relating to, situated near, or acting on the heart
  2. of or relating to the cardia of the stomach
  3. of, relating to, or affected with heart disease
    • cardiac patients

cardiac -n

  1. a person with heart disease

cardiac arrest -n

  1. temporary or permanent cessation of the heartbeat

cardiac muscle -n

  1. the principal involuntary-muscle tissue of the vertebrate heart made up of striated fibers joined at usu. branched ends and functioning in synchronized rhythmic contraction

car·di·gan ['kär-di-gən] -n

  1. a usu. collarless sweater or jacket that opens the full length of the center front

Cardigan Welsh corgi -n

  1. any of a breed of Welsh corgis with rounded ears, slightly bowed forelegs, and a long tail called also Cardigan

car·di·nal ['kärd-nəl, 'kär-də-] -n

  1. a high ecclesiastical official of the Roman Catholic Church who ranks next below the pope and is appointed by him to assist him as a member of the college of cardinals
  2. cardinal number usu. used in pl.
  3. a crested finch ( Cardinalis cardinalisof the family Cardinalidae) of the eastern U.S. and adjacent Canada, the southwestern U.S., and Mexico to Belize which has a black face and heavy red bill in both sexes and is nearly completely red in the male

cardinal -adj, adv

  1. of basic importance : main, chief, primary
    • a cardinal principle
  2. very serious or grave
    • a cardinal sin

car·di·nal·ate ['kärd-nə-lət, 'kär-də-, -,lāt] -n

  1. the office, rank, or dignity of a cardinal

cardinal flower -n

  1. a No. American lobelia ( Lobelia cardinalis) that bears a spike of brilliant red flowers

car·di·nal·i·ty [,kär-də-'na-lə-tē] -n

  1. the number of elements in a given mathematical set

cardinal number -n

  1. a number (as 1, 5, 15) that is used in simple counting and that indicates how many elements there are in an assemblage
  2. the property that a mathematical set has in common with all sets that can be put in one-to-one correspondence with it

cardinal point -n

  1. one of the four principal compass points north, south, east, and west

cardinal virtue -n

  1. one of the four classically defined natural virtues prudence, justice, temperance, or fortitude
  2. a quality designated as a major virtue

car·dio ['kär-dē-(,)ō] -adj

  1. cardiovascular

car·dio·gen·ic [,kär-dē-ō-'je-nik] -adj

  1. originating in the heart : caused by a cardiac condition
    • cardiogenic shock

car·dio·gram ['kär-dē-ə-,gram] -n

  1. the curve or tracing made by a cardiograph

car·dio·graph [-,graf] -n, adj

  1. an instrument that graphically registers movements of the heart

car·di·oid ['kär-dē-,ȯid] -n

  1. a heart-shaped curve that is traced by a point on the circumference of a circle rolling completely around an equal fixed circle and has an equation in one of the forms a(1 cos) or a(1 sin) in polar coordinates

car·di·ol·o·gy [,kär-dē-'ä-lə-jē] -n, adj

  1. the study of the heart and its action and diseases

car·dio·my·op·a·thy ['kär-dē-ō-(,)mī-'ä-pə-thē] -n

  1. any of several structural or functional diseases of heart muscle marked esp. by hypertrophy and obstructive damage to the heart

car·di·op·a·thy [,kär-dē-'ä-pə-thē] -n

  1. any disease of the heart

car·dio·pro·tec·tive [,kär-dē-ō-prə-'tek-tiv] -adj

  1. serving to protect the heart
    • a drug's cardioprotective effect

car·dio·pul·mo·nary [,kär-dē-ō-'pu̇l-mə-,ner-ē, -'pəl-] -adj

  1. of or relating to the heart and lungs

cardiopulmonary resuscitation -n

  1. a procedure designed to restore normal breathing after cardiac arrest that includes the clearance of air passages to the lungs, mouth-to-mouth method of artificial respiration, and heart massage by the exertion of pressure on the chest

car·dio·re·spi·ra·to·ry [,kär-dē-ō-'res-p(ə-)rə-,tȯr-ē, -ri-'spī-rə-] -adj

  1. of or relating to the heart and the respiratory system

car·dio·tho·rac·ic [-thə-'ra-sik] -adj

  1. relating to, involving, or specializing in the heart and chest
    • cardiothoracic surgery

car·dio·ton·ic [-'tä-nik] -adj, n

  1. tending to increase the tonus of heart muscle

car·dio·vas·cu·lar [-'vas-kyə-lər] -adj

  1. of, relating to, or involving the heart and blood vessels
  2. used, designed, or performed to cause a temporary increase in heart rate
    • a cardiovascular workout

car·dio·ver·sion [-'vər-zhən] -n

  1. application of an electric shock in order to restore normal heartbeat

car·doon [kär-'dün] -n

  1. a large perennial Mediterranean plant ( Cynara cardunculus) related to the artichoke and cultivated for its edible root and petioles
  2. the root and petioles

card·play·er ['kärd-,plā-ər] -n

  1. one who plays cards

card·sharp [-,shärp] -n

  1. a person who habitually cheats at cards

card table -n

  1. a table designed for playing cards
  2. a square table with folding legs

care ['ker] -n

  1. suffering of mind : grief
  2. a disquieted state of mixed uncertainty, apprehension, and responsibility
  3. a cause for such anxiety
  4. painstaking or watchful attention
  5. maintenance
    • floor- care products
  6. regard coming from desire or esteem
  7. charge, supervision
    • under a doctor's care
  8. a person or thing that is an object of attention, anxiety, or solicitude
  9. to feel trouble or anxiety
  10. to feel interest or concern
    • care about freedom
  11. to give care
    • care for the sick
  12. to have a liking, fondness, or taste
    • don't care for your attitude
  13. to have an inclination
    • would you care for some pie
  14. to be concerned about or to the extent of
    • don't care what they say
    • doesn't care a damn
  15. wish
    • if you care to go

care and feeding -n

  1. the providing of what is needed for sustenance, well-being, or efficient operation
    • machines that don't need a lot of care and feeding

ca·reen [kə-'rēn] -vb

  1. to put (a ship or boat) on a beach esp. in order to clean, caulk, or repair the hull
  2. to cause to heel over
  3. to careen a boat
  4. to undergo this process
  5. to heel over
  6. to sway from side to side : lurch
    • a careen ing carriage being pulled wildly...by a team of runaway horses -- J. P. Getty
  7. career

careen -n

  1. the act or process of careening : the state of being careened

ca·reer [kə-'rir] -n

  1. speed in a course
    • ran at full career
  2. course, passage
  3. encounter, charge
  4. a field for or pursuit of consecutive progressive achievement esp. in public, professional, or business life
    • Washington's career as a soldier
  5. a profession for which one trains and which is undertaken as a permanent calling
    • a career in medicine
    • a career diplomat

career -vi

  1. to go at top speed esp. in a headlong manner
    • a car career ed off the road

ca·reer·ism [-,i-zəm] -n, n or adj

  1. the policy or practice of advancing one's career often at the cost of one's integrity

care·free ['ker-,frē] -adj

  1. : free from care: as
  2. having no worries or troubles
  3. irresponsible
    • is carefree with his money

care·ful [-fəl] -adj, adv, n

  1. solicitous, anxious
  2. filling with care or solicitude
  3. exercising or taking care
  4. marked by attentive concern and solicitude
  5. marked by wary caution or prudence
    • be very careful with knives
  6. marked by painstaking effort to avoid errors or omissions often used with of or an infinitive
    • careful of money
    • careful to adjust the machine

care·giv·er [-,gi-vər] -n

  1. a person who provides direct care (as for children, elderly people, or the chronically ill)

care·less [-ləs] -adj, adv, n

  1. free from care : untroubled
    • careless days
  2. indifferent, unconcerned
    • careless of the consequences
  3. not taking care
  4. : not showing or receiving care:
  5. negligent, slovenly
    • careless writing
  6. unstudied, spontaneous
    • a careless grace
  7. unvalued, disregarded

care package -n

  1. a package of useful or pleasurable items that is sent or given as a gift to another (as a college student)

ca·ress [kə-'res] -vt, n, adv

  1. to treat with tokens of fondness, affection, or kindness : cherish
  2. to touch or stroke lightly in a loving or endearing manner
  3. to touch or affect as if with a caress
    • echoes that caress the ear

caress [-'re-siv] -n, adj, adv

  1. an act or expression of kindness or affection : endearment
  2. a light stroking, rubbing, or patting
  3. kiss

car·et ['ker-ət, 'ka-rət] -n

  1. a wedge-shaped mark made on written or printed matter to indicate the place where something is to be inserted

care·tak·er ['ker-,tā-kər] -n, vb

  1. one that gives physical or emotional care and support
    • served as caretaker to the younger children
  2. one that takes care of the house or land of an owner who may be absent
  3. one temporarily fulfilling the function of office
    • a caretaker government

care·worn [-,wȯrn] -adj

  1. showing the effect of grief or anxiety
    • a careworn face

car·fare ['kär-,fer] -n

  1. passenger fare (as on a bus)

car·ful ['kär-,fu̇l] -n

  1. as much or as many as a car will hold

car·go ['kär-(,)gō] -n

  1. the goods or merchandise conveyed in a ship, airplane, or vehicle : freight

cargo cult -n

  1. any of various Melanesian religious groups characterized by the belief that material wealth (as money or manufactured goods) can be obtained through ritual worship

cargo pants -n pl

  1. pants with cargo pockets typically on the sides of the legs at thigh level

cargo pocket -n

  1. a large pocket usu. with a flap and a pleat

car·hop ['kär-,häp] -n

  1. one who serves customers at a drive-in restaurant

Car·ib ['ka-rəb] -n

  1. a member of an Indian people of northern So. America and the Lesser Antilles
  2. the language of the Caribs

Ca·ri·ban ['ka-rə-bən, kə-'rē-bən] -n

  1. a member of a group of Indian peoples of So. America and the Lesser Antilles
  2. the language family comprising the languages of the Cariban peoples

Ca·rib·be·an [,ker-ə-'bē-ən, ,ka-rə-, kə-'ri-bē-ən] -adj

  1. of or relating to the Caribs, the eastern and southern West Indies, or the Caribbean Sea

ca·ri·be [kə-'rē-bē] -n

  1. piranha

car·i·bou ['ker-ə-,bü, 'ka-rə-] -n

  1. a large gregarious deer ( Rangifer tarandus) of Holarctic taiga and tundra that usu. has palmate antlers in both sexes used esp. for one of the New World called also reindeer

car·i·ca·ture ['ker-i-kə-,chu̇r, -,chər, -,tyu̇r, -,tu̇r, -'ka-ri-] -n, adj

  1. exaggeration by means of often ludicrous distortion of parts or characteristics
  2. a representation esp. in literature or art that has the qualities of caricature
  3. a distortion so gross as to seem like caricature

caricature -vt

  1. to make or draw a caricature of : represent in caricature
    • the portrait caricatured its subject

car·ies ['ker-ēz] -n

  1. a progressive destruction of bone or tooth
  2. tooth decay

car·il·lon ['ker-ə-,län, -lən, 'ka-rə-; 'ker-ē-,än, -,ōn, 'ka-rē-; kə-'ril-yən] -n

  1. a set of fixed chromatically tuned bells sounded by hammers controlled from a keyboard
  2. an electronic instrument imitating a carillon
  3. a composition for the carillon

car·il·lon·neur [,ker-ə-lə-'nər, ,ka-rə-; ,ker-ē-ə-'nər, ,ka-rē-; kə-,ril-yə-'nər] -n

  1. a carillon player

ca·ri·na [kə-'rī-nə, -'rē-] -n

  1. a keel-shaped anatomical part, ridge, or process
  2. a constellation in the southern hemisphere lying near the Southern Cross

car·i·nate ['ker-ə-,nāt, -nət, 'ka-rə-] -adj

  1. having or shaped like a keel or carina

ca·ri·o·ca [,ka-rē-'ō-kə] -n

  1. a native or resident of Rio de Janeiro
  2. a variation of the samba
  3. the music for this dance

car·i·o·gen·ic [,ker-ē-ə-'je-nik, -'jē-] -adj

  1. producing or promoting the development of tooth decay
    • cariogenic foods

car·i·ous ['ker-ē-əs] -adj

  1. affected with caries

car·jack·ing ['kär-,ja-kiŋ] -n, vt

  1. the theft of an automobile from its driver by force or intimidation

cark·ing ['kär-kiŋ] -adj

  1. burdensome, annoying

carl ['kär(-ə)l] -n

  1. a man of the common people
  2. churl, boor

car·line ['kär-lən] -n

  1. woman
  2. an old woman

Car·list ['kär-list] -n, adj

  1. a supporter of Don Carlos or his successors as having rightful title to the Spanish throne

car·load ['kär-'lōd, -,lōd] -n

  1. a load (as of occupants) that fills a car
    • a carload of tourists
  2. the minimum number of tons required for shipping at carload rates
  3. a large unspecified quantity
    • a carload of excuses

carload rate -n

  1. a rate for large shipments lower than that quoted for less-than-carload lots of the same class

Car·lo·vin·gian [,kär-lə-'vin-j(ē-)ən] -adj

  1. carolingian

car·ma·gnole ['kär-mən-,yōl] -n

  1. a lively song popular at the time of the first French Revolution
  2. a street dance in a meandering course to the tune of the carmagnole

car·mak·er ['kär-,mā-kər] -n

  1. an automobile manufacturer

Car·mel·ite ['kär-mə-,līt] -n, adj

  1. a member of the Roman Catholic mendicant Order of Our Lady of Mount Carmel founded in the 12th century

car·mi·na·tive [kär-'mi-nə-tiv, 'kär-mə-,nā-] -adj, n

  1. expelling gas from the stomach or intestines so as to relieve flatulence or abdominal pain or distension

car·mine ['kär-mən, -,mīn] -n

  1. a rich crimson or scarlet lake made from cochineal
  2. a vivid red

car·nage ['kär-nij] -n

  1. the flesh of slain animals or men
  2. great and usu. bloody slaughter or injury (as in battle)

car·nal ['kär-nᵊl] -adj, n, adv

  1. relating to or given to crude bodily pleasures and appetites
  2. marked by sexuality
    • carnal love
  3. bodily, corporeal
    • seen with carnal eyes
  4. temporal
    • carnal weapons
  5. worldly
    • a carnal mind

car·nall·ite ['kär-nə-,līt] -n

  1. a mineral consisting of hydrous potassium-magnesium chloride that is an important source of potassium

car·nas·si·al [kär-'na-sē-əl] -adj, n

  1. of, relating to, or being a tooth of a carnivore often larger and longer than adjacent teeth and adapted for cutting rather than tearing

car·na·tion [kär-'nā-shən] -n

  1. the variable color of human flesh
  2. a pale to grayish yellow
  3. a moderate red
  4. a plant of any of numerous often cultivated and usu. double-flowered varieties or subspecies of an Old World pink ( Dianthus caryophyllus) orig. flesh-colored but now found in many color variations

car·nau·ba [kär-'nȯ-bə, -'nau̇-; ,kär-nə-'ü-bə] -n

  1. a fan-leaved palm ( Copernicia pruniferasyn. C. cerifera) of Brazil that has an edible root and yields a useful leaf fiber and carnauba wax

carnauba wax -n

  1. a hard brittle high-melting wax obtained from the leaves of the carnauba palm and used chiefly in polishes

car·ne asa·da [,kär-nā-ə-'sä-də] -n

  1. a grilled Mexican dish of spicy marinated steak strips sometimes served in a burrito or taco

car·ne·lian [kär-'nēl-yən] -n

  1. a hard red chalcedony used in jewelry

car·ni·tine ['kär-nə-,tēn] -n

  1. a quaternary ammonium compound C 7H 15NO 3that is present esp. in vertebrate muscle and that in the levorotatory form is involved in the transfer of fatty acids across mitochondrial membranes

car·ni·val ['kär-nə-vəl] -n

  1. a season or festival of merrymaking before Lent
  2. an instance of merrymaking, feasting, or masquerading
  3. an instance of riotous excess
    • a carnival of violence
  4. a traveling enterprise offering amusements
  5. an organized program of entertainment or exhibition : festival
    • a winter carnival

carnival -adj

  1. suggestive of or suited to a carnival
    • a carnival atmosphere
    • carnival colors

car·ni·val·esque [,kär-nə-və-'lesk] -adj

  1. suggestive of a carnival
    • a carnivalesque celebration
  2. marked by an often mocking or satirical challenge to authority and the traditional social hierarchy
    • a carnivalesque protest

car·niv·o·ra [kär-'ni-və-rə] -n pl

  1. carnivorous mammals

car·ni·vore ['kär-nə-,vȯr] -n

  1. any of an order (Carnivora) of typically flesh-eating mammals that includes dogs, foxes, bears, raccoons, and cats
  2. a carnivorous animal
  3. a carnivorous plant

car·niv·o·rous [kär-'ni-v(ə-)rəs] -adj, adv, n

  1. subsisting or feeding on animal tissues
  2. subsisting on nutrients obtained from the breakdown of animal protoplasm (as of insects)
  3. of or relating to the carnivores
  4. rapacious

car·no·saur ['kär-nə-,sȯr] -n

  1. any of a group (Carnosauria) of very large theropod dinosaurs (as a tyrannosaur)

car·no·tite ['kär-nə-,tīt] -n

  1. a yellow to greenish-yellow mineral consisting of a radioactive hydrous vanadate of uranium and potassium that is a source of radium and uranium

car·ny ['kär-nē] -n

  1. carnival
  2. a person who works with a carnival

car·ob ['ker-əb, 'ka-rəb] -n

  1. a Mediterranean evergreen leguminous tree ( Ceratonia siliqua) with racemose red flowers
  2. a pod of the carob tree or its sweet pulp having a flavor similar to that of chocolate

ca·roche [kə-'rōch, -'rōsh] -n

  1. a luxurious horse-drawn carriage

car·ol ['ker-əl, 'ka-rəl] -n

  1. an old round dance with singing
  2. a song of joy or mirth
    • the carol of a bird -- Lord Byron
  3. a popular song or ballad of religious joy

carol [-ə-lər] -vb, n

  1. to sing esp. in a joyful manner
  2. to sing carols
  3. to go about outdoors in a group singing Christmas carols
  4. to praise in or as if in song
  5. to sing esp. in a cheerful manner : warble

Car·o·li·na parakeet [,ker(-ə)-'lī-nə-, ,ka-rə-] -n

  1. an extinct parakeet ( Conuropsis carolinensis) of the eastern U.S.

Carolina wren -n

  1. a large wren ( Thryothorus ludovicianus) chiefly of eastern No. America having a loud lively song

Car·o·line ['ka-rə-,līn, -lən] -adj

  1. of or relating to Charles used esp. with reference to Charles I and Charles II of England

Car·o·lin·gi·an [,ka-rə-'lin-j(ē-)ən] -adj, n

  1. of or relating to a Frankish dynasty dating from about a.d.613 and including among its members the rulers of France from 751 to 987, of Germany from 752 to 911, and of Italy from 774 to 961

car·om ['ker-əm, 'ka-rəm] -n

  1. a shot in billiards in which the cue ball strikes each of two object balls
  2. a shot in pool in which an object ball strikes another ball before falling into a pocket
  3. a rebounding esp. at an angle

carom -vi

  1. to strike and rebound : glance
    • the car carom ed off a tree
  2. to make a carom
  3. to proceed by or as if by caroms
    • carom from city to city

car·o·tene ['ker-ə-,tēn, 'ka-rə-] -n

  1. any of several orange or red crystalline hydrocarbon pigments (as C 40H 56) that occur in the chromoplasts of plants and in the fatty tissues of plant-eating animals and are convertible to vitamin A

ca·rot·en·oid [kə-'rä-tə-,nȯid] -n, adj

  1. any of various usu. yellow to red pigments (as carotenes) found widely in plants and animals and characterized chemically by a long aliphatic polyene chain composed of eight isoprene units

ca·rot·id [kə-'rä-təd] -adj, n

  1. of, relating to, or being the chief artery or pair of arteries that pass up the neck and supply the head

carotid body -n

  1. a small body of vascular tissue that adjoins the carotid sinus, functions as a chemoreceptor sensitive to change in the oxygen content of blood, and mediates reflex changes in respiratory activity

carotid sinus -n

  1. a small but richly innervated arterial enlargement that is located near the point in the neck where either carotid artery divides to form its main branches and that functions in the regulation of heart rate and blood pressure

ca·rous·al [kə-'rau̇-zəl] -n

  1. carouse

ca·rouse [kə-'rau̇z] -n

  1. a large draft of liquor : toast
  2. a drunken revel

carouse -vb, n

  1. to drink liquor freely or excessively
  2. to take part in a carouse : engage in dissolute behavior
  3. to drink up : quaff

car·ou·sel [,ker-ə-'sel, ,ka-rə- also -'zel; 'ker-ə-,, 'ka-rə-] -n

  1. a tournament or exhibition in which horsemen execute evolutions
  2. merry-go-round
  3. a circular conveyor
    • the luggage carousel at the airport
  4. a revolving case or tray used for storage or display

carp ['kärp] -vi, n

  1. to find fault or complain querulously
  2. complaint
  3. a large variable Asian soft-finned freshwater cyprinid fish ( Cyprinus carpio) of sluggish waters that is often raised for food and has been widely introduced into U.S. waters
  4. any of various related cyprinid fishes (as the grass carp)
  5. a fish (as the European sea bream) resembling a carp

carp- -comb form

  1. fruit
    • carpo gonium

car·pac·cio [kär-'pä-ch(ē-)ō] -n

  1. thinly sliced raw meat or fish served with a sauce often used as a postpositive modifier
    • beef carpaccio

car·pal ['kär-pəl] -adj

  1. of or relating to the carpus

carpal -n

  1. a carpal element or bone

carpal tunnel syndrome -n

  1. a condition caused by compression of a nerve where it passes through the wrist into the hand and characterized esp. by weakness, pain, and disturbances of sensation in the hand and fingers

car park -n

  1. a lot or garage for parking

car·pe di·em ['kär-pe-'dē-,em, -'dī-, -əm] -n

  1. the enjoyment of the pleasures of the moment without concern for the future

car·pel ['kär-pəl] -n, adj

  1. one of the ovule-bearing structures in an angiosperm that comprises the innermost whorl of a flower

car·pen·ter ['kär-pən-tər, 'kär-pᵊm-tər] -n

  1. a worker who builds or repairs wooden structures or their structural parts

carpenter [-t(ə-)riŋ] -vb

  1. to follow the trade of a carpenter
    • carpenter ed when he was young
  2. to make by or as if by carpentry
  3. to put together often in a mechanical manner
    • carpenter ed many television scripts

carpenter ant -n

  1. an ant (esp. genus Camponotus) that gnaws galleries esp. in dead or decaying wood

carpenter bee -n

  1. any of various solitary bees (genera Xylocopaand Ceratina) that nest in wood

car·pen·try [-trē] -n

  1. the art or trade of a carpenter
  2. the art of shaping and assembling structural woodwork
  3. timberwork constructed by a carpenter
  4. the form or manner of putting together the parts (as of a literary or musical composition)

car·pet ['kär-pət] -n, vt

  1. a heavy often tufted fabric used as a floor covering
  2. a floor covering made of this fabric
  3. a surface or layer resembling or suggesting a carpet

car·pet·bag [-,bag] -n

  1. a traveler's bag made of carpet and widely used in the U.S. in the 19th century

carpetbag [-,ba-giŋ] -adj

  1. of, relating to, or characteristic of carpetbaggers
    • a carpetbag government

car·pet·bag·ger [-,ba-gər] -n

  1. a Northerner in the South after the American Civil War usu. seeking private gain under the reconstruction governments
  2. outsider
  3. a nonresident or new resident who seeks private gain from an area often by meddling in its business or politics

carpetbag steak -n

  1. a thick piece of steak in which a pocket is cut and stuffed (as with oysters)

carpet beetle -n

  1. any of several small dermestid beetles (genera Anthrenusand Attagenus) whose larvae are destructive esp. to woolen goods

carpet bomb -vt

  1. to drop large numbers of bombs so as to cause uniform devastation over (a given area)
  2. to bombard repeatedly, widely, or excessively
    • carpet bomb the country with advertising

car·pet·ing ['kär-pə-tiŋ] -n

  1. material for carpets
  2. carpets

car·pet·weed ['kär-pət-,wēd] -n

  1. a No. American mat-forming weed ( Mollugo verticillataof the family Aizoaceae, the carpetweed family)

carp·ing ['kär-piŋ] -adj, adv

  1. marked by or inclined to querulous and often perverse criticism

car·po·go·ni·um [,kär-pə-'gō-nē-əm] -n, adj

  1. the egg-bearing portion of the female reproductive organ in some red algae

car·pool ['kär-,pül] -vi, n

  1. to participate in a car pool

car pool -n

  1. an arrangement in which a group of people commute together by car
  2. the group entering into such an arrangement

car·port ['kär-,pȯrt] -n

  1. an open-sided automobile shelter by the side of a building

car·po·spore ['kär-pə-,spȯr] -n

  1. a diploid spore of a red alga

car·pus ['kär-pəs] -n

  1. wrist
  2. the bones of the wrist

carr ['kä(r)] -n

  1. fen

car·rack ['ka-rək, -rik] -n

  1. a beamy sailing ship esp. of the 15th and 16th centuries

car·ra·geen ['ka-rə-,gēn] -n

  1. irish moss
  2. carrageenan

car·ra·geen·an [,ker-ə-'gē-nən, ,ka-rə-] -n

  1. a colloid extracted from various red algae (as Irish moss) and used esp. as a stabilizing or thickening agent

car·re·four [,ka-rə-'fu̇r] -n

  1. crossroads
  2. square, plaza
    • the farmers...preferred the open carrefour for their transactions -- Thomas Hardy

car·rel ['ker-əl, 'ka-rəl] -n

  1. a table that is often partitioned or enclosed and is used for individual study esp. in a library

car·riage ['ker-ij, 'ka-rij] -n

  1. the act of carrying
  2. deportment
  3. manner of bearing the body : posture
  4. management
  5. the price or expense of carrying
  6. burden, load
  7. a wheeled vehicle
  8. a horse-drawn vehicle designed for private use and comfort
  9. a railway passenger coach
  10. a wheeled support carrying a burden
  11. import, sense
  12. a hanger for a sword
  13. a movable part of a machine for supporting some other movable object or part
    • a typewriter carriage

carriage trade -n

  1. trade from well-to-do or upper-class people
  2. well-to-do people

car·riage·way ['ker-ij-,wā, 'ka-rij-] -n

  1. the part of a road used by vehicular traffic

car·rick bend ['ka-rik-] -n

  1. a knot used to join the ends of two large ropes

car·ri·er ['ker-ē-ər, 'ka-rē-] -n

  1. one that carries : bearer, messenger
  2. an individual or organization engaged in transporting passengers or goods for hire
  3. a transportation line carrying mail between post offices
  4. a postal employee who delivers or collects mail
  5. one that delivers newspapers
  6. an entity (as a hole or an electron) capable of carrying an electric charge
  7. a container for carrying
  8. a device or machine that carries : conveyor
  9. aircraft carrier
  10. a bearer and transmitter of a causative agent of an infectious disease
  11. one who carries the causative agent of a disease systemically but is asymptomatic or immune to it
  12. an individual (as one heterozygous for a recessive trait) having a specified gene that is not expressed or only weakly expressed in its phenotype
  13. a usu. inactive accessory substance : vehicle
    • a carrier for a drug or an insecticide
  14. a substance (as a catalyst) by whose agency some element or group is transferred from one compound to another
  15. an electromagnetic wave or alternating current whose modulations are used as communications signals (as in radio, telephonic, or telegraphic transmissions)
  16. a telecommunication company
  17. an organization acting as an insurer

carrier pigeon -n

  1. a pigeon used to carry messages
  2. homing pigeon
  3. any of a breed of large long-bodied show pigeons

car·ri·on ['ker-ē-ən, 'ka-rē-] -n

  1. dead and putrefying flesh
  2. flesh unfit for food

carrion crow -n

  1. a uniformly black crow ( Corvus corone corone) occurring in much of western Europe

car·ron·ade [,ka-rə-'nād] -n

  1. a short-barreled gun of the late 18th and 19th centuries that fired large shot at short range and was used esp. on warships

car·rot ['ker-ət, 'ka-rət] -n

  1. a biennial herb ( Daucus carotaof the family Umbelliferae, the carrot family) with a usu. orange spindle-shaped edible root
  2. its root
  3. a reward or advantage offered esp. as an inducement

car·rotandstick [,ker-ət-ᵊn-'stik, ,ka-rət-] -adj

  1. characterized by the use of both reward and punishment to induce cooperation
    • carrotandstick foreign policy

car·rot·top ['ker-ə(t)-,täp, 'ka-rə(t)-] -n, adj

  1. redhead

car·roty ['ker-ə-tē, 'ka-rə-] -adj

  1. resembling carrots in color
    • carroty hair

carrousel [,ker-ə-'sel, ,ka-rə- also -'zel; 'ker-ə-,, 'ka-rə-] -n

(variant of carousel)

  1. a tournament or exhibition in which horsemen execute evolutions
  2. merry-go-round
  3. a circular conveyor
    • the luggage carousel at the airport
  4. a revolving case or tray used for storage or display

car·ry ['ka-rē, 'ker-ē] -vb

  1. to move while supporting : transport
    • her legs refused to carry her further -- Ellen Glasgow
  2. to convey by direct communication
    • carry tales about a friend
  3. conduct, escort
  4. to influence by mental or emotional appeal : sway
  5. to get possession or control of : capture
    • carried off the prize
  6. to transfer from one place (as a column) to another
    • carry a number in adding
  7. to contain and direct the course of
    • the drain carries sewage
  8. to wear or have on one's person
  9. to bear upon or within one
    • is carry ing an unborn child
  10. to have or bear esp. as a mark, attribute, or property
    • carry a scar
  11. imply, involve
    • the crime carried a heavy penalty
  12. to hold or comport (as one's person) in a specified manner
  13. to sustain the weight or burden of
    • pillars carry an arch
    • is carry ing a full course load
  14. to bear as a crop
  15. to sing with reasonable correctness of pitch
    • carry a tune
  16. to keep in stock for sale
  17. to provide sustenance for
    • land carry ing 10 head of cattle
  18. to have or maintain on a list or record
    • carry a person on a payroll
    • carried six guards on the team
  19. to be chiefly or solely responsible for the success, effectiveness, or continuation of
    • a player capable of carry ing a team
    • her performance carried the play
  20. to prolong or maintain in space, time, or degree
    • carry a principle too far
    • carry the wall above the eaves
    • carried a no-hitter into the ninth inning
  21. to gain victory for
  22. to secure the adoption or passage of
  23. to win a majority or plurality of votes in (as a legislative body or a state)
  24. to present for public use or consumption
    • newspapers carry weather reports
    • channel nine will carry the game
  25. to bear the charges of holding or having (as stocks or merchandise) from one time to another
  26. to keep on one's books as a debtor
    • a merchant carries a customer
  27. to hold to and follow after (as a scent)
  28. to hoist and maintain (a sail) in use
  29. to pass over (as a hazard) at a single stroke in golf
    • carry a bunker
  30. to propel and control (a puck or ball) along a playing surface
  31. to act as a bearer
  32. to reach or penetrate to a distance
    • voices carry well
    • fly balls don't carry well in cold air
  33. to convey itself to a reader or audience
  34. to undergo or admit of carriage in a specified way
  35. to keep and follow the scent
  36. to win adoption
    • the motion carried by a vote of 7125

carry -n

  1. carrying power
  2. the range of a gun or projectile or of a struck or thrown ball
  3. portage
  4. the act or method of carrying
    • fireman's carry
  5. the act of rushing with the ball in football
    • averaged four yards per carry
  6. the position assumed by a color-bearer with the flag or guidon held in position for marching
  7. a quantity that is transferred in addition from one number place to the adjacent one of higher place value

car·ry·all ['ka-rē-,ȯl, 'ker-ē-] -n

  1. a light covered carriage for four or more persons
  2. a passenger automobile used as a small bus
  3. a capacious bag or carrying case

carry away -vt

  1. to arouse to a high and often excessive degree of emotion or enthusiasm
  2. carry off

car·ry·back ['ka-rē-,bak, 'ker-ē-] -n

  1. a loss sustained or a portion of a credit not used in a given period that may be deducted from taxable income of a prior period

car·rycot [-,kät] -n

  1. a portable bed for an infant

car·ry·for·ward [-'fȯr-wərd, -,fȯr-, Southern also -'fär-, -,fär-] -n

  1. carryover

carrying capacity -n

  1. the maximum population (as of deer) that an area will support without undergoing deterioration

carrying charge -n

  1. expense incident to ownership or use of property
  2. a charge added to the price of merchandise sold on the installment plan

car·ry·ingon [,ka-rē-iŋ-'ȯn, ,ker-ē-, -'än] -n

  1. foolish, excited, or improper behavior
  2. an instance of such behavior

carry off -vt

  1. to cause the death of
    • the plague carried off thousands
  2. to perform or manage successfully : bring off
    • tried to look suave but couldn't carry it off

car·ryon ['ka-rē-,ȯn, 'ker-ē-, -,än] -n

  1. carrying-on
  2. a piece of luggage suitable for being carried aboard an airplane by a passenger

carryon -adj

  1. carried or suitable for being carried aboard
    • carryon baggage

carry on -vt

  1. to continue doing, pursuing, or operating
    • carry on research
    • carried on the business
  2. to continue esp. in spite of hindrance or discouragement
    • chose to carry on despite the weather
  3. to behave or speak in a foolish, excited, or improper manner
    • shocked at how he carries on

car·ry·out ['ka-rē-,au̇t, 'ker-ē-] -n, adj

  1. takeout

carry out -vt

  1. to bring to a successful issue : complete, accomplish
    • carried out the assignment
  2. to put into execution
    • carry out a plan
  3. to continue to an end or stopping point

car·ry·over ['ka-rē-,ō-vər, 'ker-ē-] -n

  1. the act or process of carrying over
  2. something retained or carried over

carry over -vt

  1. to transfer (an amount) to the next column, page, or book relating to the same account
  2. to hold over (as goods) for another time or season
  3. to deduct (a loss or an unused credit) from taxable income of a later period
  4. to persist from one stage or sphere of activity to another

carry through -vt

  1. carry out
  2. persist, survive
    • feelings that carry through to the present

car seat -n

  1. a portable seat for an infant or a small child that attaches to an automobile seat and holds the child safely

car·sick ['kär-,sik] -adj, n

  1. affected with motion sickness esp. in an automobile

cart ['kärt] -n

  1. a heavy usu. horse-drawn 2-wheeled vehicle used for farming or transporting freight
  2. a lightweight 2-wheeled vehicle drawn by a horse, pony, or dog
  3. a small wheeled vehicle
  4. to carry or convey in or as if in a cart
    • buses to cart the kids to and from school -- L. S. Gannett
  5. to take or drag away without ceremony or by force usu. used with off
    • they cart ed him off to jail

cart·age ['kär-tij] -n

  1. the action of or rate charged for carting

carte blanche ['kärt-'bläⁿsh, -'blänch] -n

  1. full discretionary power
    • was given carte blanche to furnish the house

carte du jour [,kärt-də-'zhu̇r] -n

  1. menu

car·tel [kär-'tel] -n

  1. a written agreement between belligerent nations
  2. a combination of independent commercial or industrial enterprises designed to limit competition or fix prices
  3. a combination of political groups for common action

car·tel·ise ['kär-tə-,līz] -vt, n

(variant of cartelize)

  1. to bring under the control of a cartel

car·tel·ize ['kär-tə-,līz] -vt, n

  1. to bring under the control of a cartel

Car·te·sian [kär-'tē-zhən] -adj, n

  1. of or relating to Rene Descartes or his philosophy

Cartesian coordinate -n

  1. either of two coordinates that locate a point on a plane and measure its distance from either of two intersecting straight-line axes along a line parallel to the other axis
  2. any of three coordinates that locate a point in space and measure its distance from any of three intersecting coordinate planes measured parallel to that one of three straight-line axes that is the intersection of the other two planes

Cartesian plane -n

  1. a plane whose points are labeled with Cartesian coordinates

Cartesian product -n

  1. a set that is constructed from two given sets and comprises all pairs of elements such that the first element of the pair is from the first set and the second is from the second set

Car·thu·sian [kär-'thü-zhən, -'thyü-] -n, adj

  1. a member of an ascetic contemplative religious order founded by St. Bruno in 1084

car·ti·lage ['kär-tə-lij, 'kärt-lij] -n

  1. a usu. translucent somewhat elastic tissue that composes most of the skeleton of vertebrate embryos and except for a small number of structures (as some joints, respiratory passages, and the external ear) is replaced by bone during ossification in the higher vertebrates
  2. a part or structure composed of cartilage

car·ti·lag·i·nous [,kär-tə-'la-jə-nəs] -adj

  1. composed of, relating to, or resembling cartilage

cartilaginous fish -n

  1. any of a class (Chondrichthyes) of fishes (as a shark, ray, or chimaera) having the skeleton wholly or largely composed of cartilage

cart·load ['kärt-'lōd, -,lōd] -n

  1. as much as a cart will hold

car·tog·ra·pher [kär-'tä-grə-fər] -n

  1. one that makes maps

car·tog·ra·phy [-fē] -n, adj, adv

  1. the science or art of making maps

car·ton ['kär-tᵊn] -n

  1. a box or container usu. made of cardboard and often of corrugated cardboard

carton -vt

  1. to pack or enclose in a carton
  2. to shape cartons from cardboard sheets

car·toon [kär-'tün] -n, vb, adj, adv

  1. a preparatory design, drawing, or painting (as for a fresco)
  2. a drawing intended as satire, caricature, or humor
    • a political cartoon
  3. comic strip
  4. animated cartoon
  5. a ludicrously simplistic, unrealistic, or one-dimensional portrayal or version
    • the film's villain is an entertaining cartoon

car·top ['kär-,täp] -adj, n

  1. suitable in size and weight for carrying on top of an automobile
    • a cartop fishing boat

car·touche [kär-'tüsh] -n

  1. a gun cartridge with a paper case
  2. an ornate or ornamental frame
  3. an oval or oblong figure (as on ancient Egyptian monuments) enclosing a sovereign's name

car·tridge ['kär-trij, dial 'ka-trij] -n

  1. : a case or container that holds a substance, device, or material which is difficult, troublesome, or awkward to handle and that usu. can be easily changed: as
  2. a tube (as of metal) containing a complete charge for a firearm and usu. an initiating device (as a primer)
  3. a case containing an explosive charge for blasting
  4. an often cylindrical container for insertion into a larger mechanism or apparatus
  5. cassette
  6. a small case that contains a phonograph needle and transducer and is attached to a tonearm
  7. a removable case containing a magnetic tape or one or more disks and used as a computer storage medium
  8. a case for holding printed circuit chips containing a computer program
    • a video-game cartridge

cartridge belt -n

  1. a belt having a series of loops for holding cartridges
  2. a belt worn around the waist and designed for carrying various attachable equipment

car·tu·lary ['kär-chə-,ler-ē] -n

  1. a collection of charters
  2. a book holding copies of the charters and title deeds of an estate

cart·wheel ['kärt-,hwēl, -,wēl] -n

  1. a large coin (as a silver dollar)
  2. a lateral handspring with arms and legs extended

cartwheel -vi, n

  1. to move like a turning wheel
  2. to perform cartwheels

car·un·cle ['ker-,əŋ-kəl, 'ka-,reŋ-, kə-'rəŋ-] -n

  1. a naked fleshy outgrowth (as a bird's wattle)
  2. an outgrowth on a seed adjacent to the micropyle

car·va·crol ['kär-və-,krȯl, -,krōl] -n

  1. a liquid phenol C 10H 14O found in essential oils of various mints (as thyme) and used esp. as a fungicide and disinfectant

carve ['kärv] -vb, n

  1. to cut with care or precision
    • carved fretwork
  2. to make or get by or as if by cutting often used with out
    • carve out a career
  3. to cut into pieces or slices
    • carved the turkey
  4. to cut up and serve meat
  5. to work as a sculptor or engraver

car·velbuilt ['kär-vəl-,bilt, -,vel-] -adj

  1. built with the planks meeting flush at the seams
    • a carvelbuilt ship

carv·en ['kär-vən] -adj

  1. wrought or ornamented by carving

carv·ing ['kär-viŋ] -n

  1. the act or art of one who carves
  2. a carved object, design, or figure

car wash -n

  1. an area or structure equipped with facilities for washing automobiles

cary·at·id [,ker-ē-'a-təd, ,ka-rē-; 'ker-ē-ə-,tid, 'ka-rē-] -n

  1. a draped female figure supporting an entablature

cary·op·sis [,ker-ē-'äp-səs, ,ka-rē-] -n

  1. a small one-seeded dry indehiscent fruit (as of Indian corn or wheat) in which the fruit and seed fuse in a single grain

CAS -abbr

  1. certificate of advanced study

ca·sa ['kä-sə] -n

  1. dwelling

ca·sa·ba [kə-'sä-bə] -n

  1. any of several winter melons with usu. yellow rind and sweet white, yellow, or orange flesh

Ca·sa·no·va [,ka-zə-'nō-və, ,ka-sə-] -n

  1. lover
  2. a man who is a promiscuous and unscrupulous lover

cas·bah ['kaz-,bä, 'käz-] -n

  1. a No. African castle or fortress
  2. the native section of a No. African city

cas·ca·bel ['kas-kə-,bel] -n

  1. a projection behind the breech of a muzzle-loading cannon
  2. a small hollow perforated spherical bell enclosing a loose pellet

cas·cade [(,)kas-'kād] -n

  1. a steep usu. small fall of water
  2. one of a series
  3. something arranged or occurring in a series or in a succession of stages so that each stage derives from or acts upon the product of the preceding
    • blood clotting involves a biochemical cascade
  4. a fall of material (as lace) that hangs in a zigzag line
  5. something falling or rushing forth in quantity
    • a cascade of sound
    • a cascade of events

cascade -vb

  1. to fall, pour, or rush in or as if in a cascade
  2. to cause to fall like a cascade
  3. to connect in a cascade arrangement

cas·cara [ka-'ska-rə] -n

  1. cascara buckthorn
  2. cascara sagrada

cascara buckthorn -n

  1. a buckthorn ( Rhamnus purshiana) of the Pacific coast of the U.S. yielding cascara sagrada

cascara sa·gra·da [-sə-'grä-də] -n

  1. the dried bark of cascara buckthorn used as a laxative

cas·ca·ril·la [,kas-kə-'ri-lə, -'rē-ə] -n

  1. the aromatic bark of a West Indian shrub ( Croton eluteria) of the spurge family used esp. for making incense and as a tonic
  2. this shrub

case ['kās] -n

  1. a set of circumstances or conditions
    • is the statement true in all three case s
  2. a situation requiring investigation or action (as by the police)
  3. the object of investigation or consideration
  4. condition
  5. condition of body or mind
  6. an inflectional form of a noun, pronoun, or adjective indicating its grammatical relation to other words
  7. such a relation whether indicated by inflection or not
  8. what actually exists or happens : fact
    • thought he had failed, but that wasn't the case
  9. a suit or action in law or equity
  10. the evidence supporting a conclusion or judgment
  11. argument
  12. a convincing argument
    • makes a good case for adopting the proposal
  13. an instance of disease or injury
    • a case of pneumonia
  14. patient
  15. an instance that directs attention to a situation or exhibits it in action : example
  16. a peculiar person : character
  17. oneself considered as an object of harassment or criticism
    • get off my case
  18. a box or receptacle for holding something
  19. a box together with its contents
  20. set
  21. pair
  22. an outer covering or housing
    • a pastry case
  23. a tube into which the components of a round of ammunition are loaded
  24. a divided tray for holding printing type
  25. the frame of a door or window : casing
  26. to enclose in or cover with or as if with a case : encase
  27. to line (as a well) with supporting material (as metal pipe)
  28. to inspect or study esp. with intent to rob

ca·se·ation [,kā-sē-'ā-shən] -n, vi

  1. necrosis with conversion of damaged tissue into a soft cheesy substance

case·bear·er ['kās-,ber-ər] -n

  1. an insect larva that forms a protective case (as of silk)

case·book [-,bu̇k] -n

  1. a book containing records of illustrative cases that is used for reference and instruction (as in law or medicine)
  2. a compilation of primary and secondary documents relating to a central topic together with scholarly comment, exercises, and study aids that is designed to serve as a sourcebook for short papers (as in a writing course) or as a point of departure for a research paper

cased glass ['kāst-] -n

  1. glass consisting of two or more fused layers of different colors often decorated by cutting so that the inner layers show through called also case glass

case goods -n pl

  1. furniture (as bureaus or bookcases) that provides interior storage space
  2. dining-room and bedroom furniture sold as sets
  3. products often sold by the case

casehard·en ['kās-,här-dᵊn] -vt, adj

  1. to harden (a ferrous alloy) so that the surface layer is harder than the interior
  2. to make callous or insensible

case history -n

  1. a record of history, environment, and relevant details of a case esp. for use in analysis or illustration

ca·sein ['kā-,sēn, kā-'] -n

  1. : a phosphoprotein of milk: as
  2. one that is precipitated from milk by heating with an acid or by the action of lactic acid in souring and is used in making paints and adhesives
  3. one that is produced when milk is curdled by rennet, is the chief constituent of cheese, and is used in making plastics

ca·sein·ate [kā-'sē-,nāt, 'kā-si-,nāt] -n

  1. a compound of casein with a metal (as calcium or sodium)

case in point

  1. an illustrative, relevant, or pertinent case

case knife -n

  1. sheath knife
  2. a table knife

case law -n

  1. law established by judicial decision in cases

case·load ['kās-,lōd] -n

  1. the number of cases handled (as by a court or clinic) usu. in a particular period

case·mate ['kās-,māt] -n

  1. a fortified position or chamber or an armored enclosure on a warship from which guns are fired through embrasures

case·ment ['kās-mənt] -n

  1. a window sash that opens on hinges at the side
  2. a window with such a sash

ca·se·ous ['kā-sē-əs] -adj

  1. marked by caseation
  2. cheesy

ca·sern [kə-'zərn] -n

  1. a military barracks in a garrison town

case study -n

  1. an intensive analysis of an individual unit (as a person or community) stressing developmental factors in relation to environment
  2. case history

case system -n

  1. a system of teaching law in which instruction is chiefly on the basis of leading or selected cases as primary authorities instead of from textbooks called also case method

case·work ['kās-,wərk] -n

  1. social work involving direct consideration of the problems, needs, and adjustments of the individual case (as a person or family)

cash ['kash] -n

  1. ready money
  2. money or its equivalent (as a check) paid for goods or services at the time of purchase or delivery
  3. being a method of accounting that includes as income only what has been received and as expenses only those paid
  4. to pay or obtain cash for
    • cash a check
  5. to lead and win a bridge trick with (a card that is the highest remaining card of its suit)
  6. any of various coins of small value in China and southern India
  7. a Chinese coin with a square hole in the center
  8. a unit of value equivalent to one cash

cashandcar·ry [,ka-shᵊn-'ka-rē, -'ker-ē] -adj

  1. sold or provided for cash and usu. without delivery service

cashandcarry -n

  1. the policy of selling on a cash-and-carry basis

cash bar -n

  1. a bar (as at a reception) at which drinks are sold

cash·book ['kash-,bu̇k] -n

  1. a book in which record is kept of all cash receipts and disbursements

cash cow -n

  1. a consistently profitable business, property, or product whose profits are used to finance a company's investments in other areas
  2. one regarded or exploited as a reliable source of money
    • a singer deemed a cash cow for the record label

cash crop -n

  1. a readily salable crop (as cotton or tobacco) produced or gathered primarily for market

cash discount -n

  1. a discount granted in consideration of immediate payment or payment within a prescribed time

cash·ew ['ka-(,)shü, kə-'shü] -n

  1. a tropical American tree ( Anacardium occidentaleof the family Anacardiaceae, the cashew family) grown for a phenolic oil and the edible kernel of its nut and for a gum from its stem
  2. cashew nut

cashew nut -n

  1. the kidney-shaped kernel of the fruit of the cashew that is edible when roasted

cash flow -n

  1. a measure of an organization's liquidity that usu. consists of net income after taxes plus noncash charges against income
  2. a flow of cash
  3. one that provides solvency

ca·shier [ka-'shir, kə-] -vt

  1. to dismiss from service
  2. to dismiss dishonorably
  3. reject, discard

cash·ier [(,)ka-'shir] -n

  1. : one that has charge of money: as
  2. a high officer in a bank or trust company responsible for moneys received and expended
  3. one who collects and records payments
  4. an employee (as in a store) who handles monetary transactions

cashier's check -n

  1. a check drawn by a bank on its own funds and signed by the cashier

cash in -vt

  1. to obtain cash for
    • cashed in the bonds
  2. to retire from a gambling game
  3. to settle accounts and withdraw from an involvement (as a business deal)
  4. to obtain advantage or financial profit often used with on
    • cash in on a best seller

cash·less ['kash-ləs] -adj

  1. not having or involving cash
  2. relying largely or entirely on monetary transactions that use electronic means rather than cash

cash·mere ['kazh-,mir, 'kash-] -n

  1. fine wool from the undercoat of the cashmere goat
  2. a yarn of this wool
  3. a soft twilled fabric made orig. from cashmere

cashmere goat -n

  1. an Indian goat raised esp. for its undercoat of fine soft wool that constitutes the cashmere wool of commerce

cash out -vt, n

  1. to convert (noncash assets) to cash
    • cash out stocks
  2. to convert noncash assets to cash

cash register -n

  1. a business machine that usu. has a money drawer, indicates the amount of each sale, and records the amount of money received

cashstrapped ['kash-,strapt] -adj

  1. lacking sufficient money

cas·ing ['kā-siŋ] -n

  1. : something that encases : material for encasing: as
  2. an enclosing frame esp. around a door or window opening
  3. a metal pipe used to case a well
  4. tire
  5. a membranous case for processed meat
  6. a space formed between two parallel lines of stitching through at least two layers of cloth into which something (as a rod or string) may be inserted

ca·si·no [kə-'sē-(,)nō] -n

  1. a building or room used for social amusements
  2. one used for gambling
  3. a card game in which cards are won by matching or combining cards in a hand with those exposed on the table
  4. summerhouse

ca·si·ta [kə-'sē-tə] -n

  1. a small house

cask ['kask] -n

  1. a barrel-shaped vessel of staves, headings, and hoops usu. for liquids
  2. a cask and its contents
  3. the quantity contained in a cask

cas·ket ['kas-kət] -n, vt

  1. a small chest or box (as for jewels)
  2. a usu. fancy coffin

casque ['kask] -n

  1. a piece of armor for the head : helmet
  2. an anatomical structure (as the horny outgrowth on the head of a cassowary) suggestive of a helmet

Cas·san·dra [kə-'san-drə, -'sän-] -n

  1. a daughter of Priam endowed with the gift of prophecy but fated never to be believed
  2. one that predicts misfortune or disaster

cas·sa·va [kə-'sä-və] -n

  1. any of several American plants (genus Manihot,esp. M. esculenta) of the spurge family grown in the tropics for their edible tuberous roots which yield a nutritious starch
  2. the root

cas·se·role ['ka-sə-,rōl also 'ka-zə-] -n

  1. a dish in which food may be baked and served
  2. food cooked and served in a casserole
  3. a deep round usu. porcelain dish with a handle used for heating substances in the laboratory

cas·sette [kə-'set, ka-] -n

  1. casket
  2. : a usu. flat case or cartridge that can be easily loaded or unloaded: as
  3. a lightproof magazine for holding film or plates for use in a camera
  4. a plastic cartridge containing magnetic tape with the tape passing from one reel to another
  5. a cassette tape player

cas·sia ['ka-shə] -n

  1. a dried coarse cinnamon bark (as from Cinnamomum cassia)
  2. any of a genus ( Cassia) of leguminous herbs, shrubs, and trees of warm regions

cas·si·mere ['ka-zə-,mir, 'ka-sə-] -n

  1. a closely woven smooth twilled usu. wool fabric (as for suits)

Cas·si·o·pe·ia [,ka-sē-ə-'pē-ə] -n

  1. the wife of King Cepheus who gives birth to Andromeda and is later changed into a constellation
  2. a northern constellation between Andromeda and Cepheus

cas·sis [kə-'sēs] -n

  1. a syrupy liquor of low alcoholic strength made from black currants and used chiefly as a flavoring and sweetening agent

cas·sit·er·ite [kə-'si-tə-,rīt] -n

  1. a brown or black mineral that consists of tin dioxide and is the chief source of metallic tin called also tinstone

cas·sock ['ka-sək] -n

  1. a close-fitting ankle-length garment worn esp. in Roman Catholic and Anglican churches by the clergy and by laypersons assisting in services

cas·sou·let [,ka-sə-'lā] -n

  1. a casserole of white beans baked with herbs and meat (as pork, lamb, and goose or duck)

cas·so·wary ['ka-sə-,wer-ē] -n

  1. any of a genus ( Casuarius) of large ratite birds chiefly of New Guinea and northern Australia that have a horny casque on the head and are closely related to the emu

cast ['kast] -vb, n, adj

  1. to cause to move or send forth by throwing
    • cast a fishing lure
    • cast dice
  2. direct
    • cast a glance
  3. to put forth
    • the fire cast s a warm glow
    • cast light on the subject
  4. to place as if by throwing
    • cast doubt on their reliability
  5. to deposit (a ballot) formally
  6. to throw off or away
    • the horse cast a shoe
  7. to get rid of : discard
    • cast off all restraint
  8. shed, molt
  9. to bring forth
  10. to give birth to prematurely
  11. to throw to the ground esp. in wrestling
  12. to build by throwing up earth
  13. to perform arithmetical operations on : add
  14. to calculate by means of astrology
  15. decide, intend
  16. to dispose or arrange into parts or into a suitable form or order
  17. to assign the parts of (a dramatic production) to actors
    • cast a movie
  18. to assign (as an actor) to a role or part
    • was cast in the leading role
  19. to give a shape to (a substance) by pouring in liquid or plastic form into a mold and letting harden without pressure
    • cast steel
  20. to form by this process
  21. turn
    • cast the scale slightly
  22. to make (a knot or stitch) by looping or catching up
  23. twist, warp
    • a beam cast by age
  24. to throw something
  25. to throw out a lure with a fishing rod
  26. vomit
  27. to bear fruit : yield
  28. to perform addition
  29. estimate, conjecture
  30. warp
  31. to range over land in search of a trail used of hunting dogs or trackers
  32. veer
  33. an act of casting
  34. something that happens as a result of chance
  35. a throw of dice
  36. a throw of a line (as a fishing line) or net
  37. the form in which a thing is constructed
  38. the set of actors in a dramatic production
  39. a set of characters or persons
    • in both great houses there is the usual cast of servants -- Elizabeth Bowen
  40. the arrangement of draperies in a painting
  41. the distance to which a thing can be thrown
  42. the distance a bow can shoot
  43. a turning of the eye in a particular direction
  44. expression
    • this freakish, elfish cast came into the child's eye -- Nathaniel Hawthorne
  45. a slight strabismus
  46. something that is thrown or the quantity thrown
  47. the leader of a fishing line
  48. : something that is formed by casting in a mold or form: as
  49. a reproduction (as of a statue) in metal or plaster : casting
  50. a fossil reproduction of the details of a natural object by mineral infiltration
  51. an impression taken from an object with a liquid or plastic substance : mold
  52. a rigid casing (as of fiberglass or of gauze impregnated with plaster of paris) used for immobilizing a usu. diseased or broken part
  53. forecast, conjecture
  54. an overspread of a color or modification of the appearance of a substance by a trace of some added hue : shade
    • gray with a greenish cast
  55. tinge, suggestion
  56. a ride on one's way in a vehicle : lift
  57. help, assistance
  58. shape, appearance
    • the delicate cast of her features
  59. characteristic quality
    • his father's conservative cast of mind
  60. : something that is shed, ejected, or thrown out or off: as
  61. the excrement of an earthworm
  62. a mass of soft matter formed in cavities of diseased organs and discharged from the body
  63. the skin of an insect
  64. the ranging in search of a trail by a dog, hunting pack, or tracker

cast about -vi

  1. to look around : seek
    • cast about for a seat
  2. to lay plans concerning : contrive
    • cast about how he was to go

cas·ta·net [,kas-tə-'net] -n

  1. a percussion instrument used esp. by dancers that consists of two small shells of hard wood, ivory, or plastic usu. fastened to the thumb and clicked together by the other fingers usu. used in pl.

cast around -vi

  1. cast about

cast·away ['kast-ə-,wā] -adj, n

  1. thrown away : rejected
  2. cast adrift or ashore as a survivor of a shipwreck
  3. thrown out or left without friends or resources

cast down -adj

  1. downcast

caste ['kast also 'käst] -n

  1. one of the hereditary social classes in Hinduism that restrict the occupation of their members and their association with the members of other castes
  2. a division of society based on differences of wealth, inherited rank or privilege, profession, occupation, or race
  3. the position conferred by caste standing : prestige
  4. a system of rigid social stratification characterized by hereditary status, endogamy, and social barriers sanctioned by custom, law, or religion
  5. a specialized form (as the worker of an ant or bee) of a polymorphic social insect that carries out a particular function in the colony

cas·tel·lan ['kas-tə-lən] -n

  1. a governor or warden of a castle or fort

cas·tel·lat·ed ['kas-tə-,lā-təd] -adj

  1. having battlements like a castle
  2. having or supporting a castle

cast·er ['kas-tər] -n

  1. one that casts
  2. a machine that casts type
  3. a usu. silver table vessel with a perforated top for sprinkling a seasoning (as sugar or spice)
  4. a usu. revolving metal stand bearing condiment containers (as cruets, mustard pot, and often shakers) for table use : a cruet stand
  5. any of a set of wheels or rotating balls mounted in a swivel frame and used for the support and movement of furniture, trucks, and portable equipment
  6. the slight usu. backward tilt from vertical of the axis of the steering mechanism of an automobile for giving directional stability to the front wheels

cas·ti·gate ['kas-tə-,gāt] -vt, n

  1. to subject to severe punishment, reproof, or criticism

cas·tile soap [(,)kas-'tēl-] -n

  1. a fine hard bland soap made from olive oil and sodium hydroxide
  2. any of various similar soaps

Cas·til·ian [ka-'stil-yən] -n, adj

  1. a native or inhabitant of Castile
  2. spaniard
  3. the dialect of Castile
  4. the official and literary language of Spain based on this dialect

cast·ing -n

  1. something (as the excrement of an earthworm) that is cast out or off
  2. : the act of one that casts: as
  3. the throwing of a fishing line by means of a rod and reel
  4. the assignment of parts and duties to actors or performers
  5. something cast in a mold

casting couch -n

  1. a couch in an entertainment executive's office on which aspiring actresses are reputed to perform sexual acts in exchange for desired roles
  2. the practice of abusing one's power to obtain sexual partners

casting director -n

  1. a person who supervises the casting of dramatic productions (as films and plays)

casting vote -n

  1. a deciding vote cast by a presiding officer to break a tie

castiron -adj

  1. made of cast iron
  2. : resembling cast iron: as
  3. capable of withstanding great strain
    • a castiron stomach
  4. not admitting change, adaptation, or exception : rigid
    • a castiron will

cast iron -n

  1. a commercial alloy of iron, carbon, and silicon that is cast in a mold and is hard, brittle, nonmalleable, and incapable of being hammer-welded but more easily fusible than steel

cas·tle ['ka-səl] -n

  1. a large fortified building or set of buildings
  2. a massive or imposing house
  3. a retreat safe against intrusion or invasion
  4. rook

castle ['ka-s(ə-)liŋ] -vb

  1. to establish in a castle
  2. to move (the chess king) in castling
  3. to move a chess king two squares toward a rook and in the same move the rook to the square next past the king

cas·tled ['ka-səld] -adj

  1. castellated

castle in the air

  1. an impracticable project : daydream called also castle in Spain

castoff ['kast-,ȯf] -adj, n

  1. thrown away or aside

cast off -vt

  1. loose
    • cast off a hunting dog
  2. unfasten
    • cast off a boat
  3. to remove (a stitch) from a knitting needle in such a way as to prevent unraveling
  4. to unfasten or untie a boat or a line
  5. to turn one's partner in a square dance and pass around the outside of the set and back
  6. to finish a knitted fabric by casting off all stitches

cast on -vt

  1. to place (stitches) on a knitting needle for beginning or enlarging knitted work

cas·tor ['kas-tər] -n

  1. beaver
  2. castoreum
  3. a beaver hat

Cas·tor ['kas-tər] -n

  1. one of the Dioscuri
  2. the more northern of the two bright stars in Gemini

castor bean -n

  1. the very poisonous seed of the castor-oil plant
  2. castor-oil plant

cas·to·re·um [ka-'stȯr-ē-əm] -n

  1. a bitter strong-smelling creamy orange-brown substance that consists of the dried perineal glands of the beaver and their secretion and is used esp. by perfumers called also castor

castor oil -n

  1. a pale viscous fatty oil from castor beans used esp. as a cathartic and as a lubricant and plasticizer

castoroil plant -n

  1. a tropical Old World herb ( Ricinus communis) widely grown as an ornamental or for its oil-rich castor beans

castor sugar -n

  1. finely granulated white sugar

cast out -vt

  1. to drive out : expel

cas·trate ['kas-,trāt] -vt, n, adj

  1. to render impotent or deprive of vitality esp. by psychological means
  2. to deprive of the testes : geld
  3. to deprive of the ovaries : spay

cas·tra·to [ka-'strä-(,)tō, kə-] -n

  1. a singer castrated before puberty to preserve the soprano or contralto range of his voice

Cas·tro·ism ['kas-(,)trō-,i-zəm] -n

  1. the political, economic, and social principles and policies of Fidel Castro

ca·su·al ['kazh-wəl, 'ka-zhə-wəl, 'ka-zhəl] -adj, adv, n

  1. subject to, resulting from, or occurring by chance
    • a casual meeting
  2. occurring without regularity : occasional
    • casual employment
  3. employed for irregular periods
    • a casual worker
  4. met with on occasion and known only superficially
    • a casual friend
  5. feeling or showing little concern : nonchalant
    • a casual approach to cooking
  6. lacking a high degree of interest or devotion
    • casual sports fans
    • casual readers
  7. done without serious intent or commitment
    • casual sex
  8. informal, natural
    • a casual conversation
  9. designed for informal use
    • casual clothing

casual -n

  1. a casual or migratory worker
  2. an officer or enlisted person awaiting assignment or transportation to a unit

ca·su·al·ty ['ka-zhəl-tē, 'kazh-wəl-, 'ka-zhə-wəl-] -n

  1. chance, fortune
    • losses that befall them by mere casualty -- Sir Walter Raleigh
  2. serious or fatal accident : disaster
  3. a military person lost through death, wounds, injury, sickness, internment, or capture or through being missing in action
  4. a person or thing injured, lost, or destroyed : victim
    • the ex-senator was a casualty of the last election

casual water -n

  1. a temporary accumulation of water not forming a regular hazard of a golf course

ca·su·a·ri·na [,ka-zhə-(wə-)'rē-nə] -n

  1. any of a genus ( Casuarinaof the family Casuarinaceae) of dicotyledonous chiefly Australian trees which have whorls of scalelike leaves and jointed stems resembling horsetails and some of which yield a heavy hard wood

ca·su·ist ['ka-zhü-ist, 'kazh-wist] -n, adj

  1. one skilled in or given to casuistry

ca·su·ist·ry ['kazh-wə-strē, 'ka-zhə-] -n

  1. a resolving of specific cases of conscience, duty, or conduct through interpretation of ethical principles or religious doctrine
  2. specious argument : rationalization

ca·sus bel·li ['kä-səs-'be-,lē, 'kā-səs-'be-,lī] -n

  1. an event or action that justifies or allegedly justifies a war or conflict

cat ['kat] -n

  1. a carnivorous mammal ( Felis catus) long domesticated as a pet and for catching rats and mice
  2. any of a family (Felidae) of carnivorous usu. solitary and nocturnal mammals (as the domestic cat, lion, tiger, leopard, jaguar, cougar, wildcat, lynx, and cheetah)
  3. a malicious woman
  4. a strong tackle used to hoist an anchor to the cathead of a ship
  5. catboat
  6. catamaran
  7. cat-o'-nine-tails
  8. catfish
  9. a player or devotee of jazz
  10. guy
  11. to search for a sexual mate often used with around
  12. to bring (an anchor) up to the cathead
  13. catalog
  14. catalyst

Cat ['kat] -trademark

  1. used for a Caterpillar tractor

CAT -abbr

  1. clean-air turbulence
  2. computerized axial tomography

cata- -prefix

  1. down
    • cat ion
    • cath ode

ca·tab·o·lism [kə-'ta-bə-,li-zəm] -n, adj, adv

  1. degradative metabolism involving the release of energy and resulting in the breakdown of complex materials (as proteins or lipids) within the organism

ca·tab·o·lite [-,līt] -n

  1. a product of catabolism

ca·tab·o·lize [-,līz] -vb

  1. to subject to catabolism
  2. to undergo catabolism

cat·a·chre·sis [,ka-tə-'krē-səs] -n, adj, adv

  1. use of the wrong word for the context
  2. use of a forced and esp. paradoxical figure of speech (as blind mouths)

cat·a·clysm ['ka-tə-,kli-zəm] -n, adj, adv

  1. flood, deluge
  2. catastrophe
  3. a momentous and violent event marked by overwhelming upheaval and demolition
  4. an event that brings great changes

cat·a·comb ['ka-tə-,kōm] -n

  1. a subterranean cemetery of galleries with recesses for tombs usu. used in pl.
  2. : something resembling a catacomb: as
  3. an underground passageway or group of passageways
  4. a complex set of interrelated things
    • the endless catacomb s of formal education -- Kingman Brewster 1988

cata·di·op·tric [,ka-tə-dī-'äp-trik] -adj

  1. belonging to, produced by, or involving both the reflection and the refraction of light

ca·tad·ro·mous [kə-'ta-drə-məs] -adj

  1. living in freshwater and going to the sea to spawn
    • catadromous eels

cat·a·falque ['ka-tə-,fȯ(l)k, -,falk] -n

  1. an ornamental structure sometimes used in funerals for the lying in state of the body
  2. a pall-covered coffin-shaped structure used at requiem masses celebrated after burial

Cat·a·lan ['ka-tə-lən, -,lan] -n, adj

  1. a native or inhabitant of Catalonia
  2. the Romance language of Catalonia, Valencia, Andorra, and the Balearic islands

cat·a·lase ['ka-tə-,lās, -,lāz] -n, adj

  1. a red crystalline enzyme that consists of a protein complex with hematin groups and catalyzes the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide into water and oxygen

cat·a·lec·tic [,ka-tə-'lek-tik] -adj, n

  1. lacking a syllable at the end of a line in metrical verse or ending in an incomplete foot

cat·a·lep·sy ['ka-tə-,lep-sē] -n, adj or n, adv

  1. a trancelike state marked by loss of voluntary motion in which the limbs remain in whatever position they are placed

cat·a·lex·is [,ka-tə-'lek-səs] -n

  1. omission or incompleteness usu. in the last foot of a line in metrical verse

cat·a·log ['ka-tə-,lȯg, -,läg] -n

  1. list, register
  2. a complete enumeration of items arranged systematically with descriptive details
  3. a pamphlet or book that contains such a list
  4. material in such a list

catalog -vb, n

  1. to make a catalog of
  2. to enter in a catalog
  3. to classify (as books or information) descriptively
  4. to make or work on a catalog
  5. to become listed in a catalog at a specified price
    • this stamp catalog s at 2

catalogue rai·son·ne [-,rā-zə-'nā] -n

  1. a systematic annotated catalog
  2. a critical bibliography

ca·tal·pa [kə-'tal-pə, -'tȯl-] -n

  1. any of a genus ( Catalpa) of No. American and Asian trees of the bignonia family with pale showy flowers in terminal clusters

ca·tal·y·sis [kə-'ta-lə-səs] -n

  1. a modification and esp. increase in the rate of a chemical reaction induced by material unchanged chemically at the end of the reaction

cat·a·lyst ['ka-tə-ləst] -n

  1. a substance that enables a chemical reaction to proceed at a usu. faster rate or under different conditions (as at a lower temperature) than otherwise possible
  2. an agent that provokes or speeds significant change or action

cat·a·lyt·ic [,ka-tə-'li-tik] -adj, adv

  1. causing, involving, or relating to catalysis

catalytic converter -n

  1. an automobile exhaust-system component containing a catalyst that causes conversion of harmful gases (as carbon monoxide and uncombusted hydrocarbons) into mostly harmless products (as water and carbon dioxide)

catalytic cracker -n

  1. the unit in a petroleum refinery in which cracking is carried out in the presence of a catalyst

cat·a·lyze ['ka-tə-,līz] -vt, n

  1. to bring about the catalysis of (a chemical reaction)
  2. bring about, inspire
  3. to alter significantly by or as if by catalysis
    • innovations in basic chemical theory that have catalyzed the field -- Newsweek

cat·a·ma·ran [,ka-tə-mə-'ran, 'ka-tə-mə-,ran] -n

  1. a vessel (as a sailboat) with twin hulls and usu. a deck or superstructure connecting the hulls

cat·a·me·nia [,ka-tə-'mē-nē-ə] -n pl, adj

  1. menses

cat·a·mite ['ka-tə-,mīt] -n

  1. a boy kept by a pederast

cat·a·mount ['ka-tə-,mau̇nt] -n

  1. : any of various wild cats: as
  2. cougar
  3. lynx

catamoun·tain [,ka-tə-'mau̇n-tᵊn] -n

  1. any of various wild cats

cat and mouse -n

  1. : behavior like that of a cat with a mouse: as
  2. the act of toying with or tormenting something before destroying it
  3. a contrived action involving constant pursuit, near captures, and repeated escapes
    • played a game of cat and mouse with the police
  4. an evasive action

ca·taph·o·ra [kə-'ta-fə-rə] -n

  1. the use of a grammatical substitute (as a pronoun) that has the same reference as a following word or phrase

cat·a·pho·re·sis [,ka-tə-fə-'rē-səs] -n, adj

  1. electrophoresis

cat·a·phor·ic [,ka-tə-'fȯr-ik] -adj

  1. of or relating to cataphora
  2. being a word or phrase (as a pronoun) that takes its reference from a following word or phrase (as herin before her Jane saw nothing but desert)

cat·a·plasm ['ka-tə-,pla-zəm] -n

  1. poultice

cat·a·plexy ['ka-tə-,plek-sē] -n

  1. sudden loss of muscle power following a strong emotional stimulus

cat·a·pult ['ka-tə-,pəlt, -,pu̇lt] -n

  1. an ancient military device for hurling missiles
  2. a device for launching an airplane at flying speed (as from an aircraft carrier)

catapult -vt

  1. to throw or launch by or as if by a catapult
  2. to become catapulted
    • he catapult ed to fame

cat·a·ract ['ka-tə-,rakt] -n, adj

  1. a clouding of the lens of the eye or of its surrounding transparent membrane that obstructs the passage of light
  2. waterspout
  3. waterfall
  4. a large one over a precipice
  5. steep rapids in a river
  6. downpour, flood
    • cataract s of rain
    • cataract s of information

ca·tarrh [kə-'tär] -n, adj, adv

  1. inflammation of a mucous membrane
  2. one chronically affecting the human nose and air passages

cat·ar·rhine ['ka-tə-,rīn] -adj, n

  1. of, relating to, or being any of a division (Catarrhina) of primates comprising the Old World monkeys, higher apes, and hominids that have the nostrils close together and directed downward, 32 teeth, and the tail when present never prehensile

ca·tas·tro·phe [kə-'tas-trə-(,)fē] -n, adj, adv

  1. the final event of the dramatic action esp. of a tragedy
  2. a momentous tragic event ranging from extreme misfortune to utter overthrow or ruin
  3. a violent and sudden change in a feature of the earth
  4. a violent usu. destructive natural event (as a supernova)
  5. utter failure : fiasco
    • the party was a catastrophe

catastrophe theory -n

  1. mathematical theory and conjecture that uses topology to explain events (as an earthquake or a stock market crash) characterized by major abrupt changes

ca·tas·tro·phism [kə-'tas-trə-,fi-zəm] -n

  1. a geological doctrine that changes in the earth's crust have in the past been brought about suddenly by physical forces operating in ways that cannot be observed today

cat·a·to·nia [,ka-tə-'tō-nē-ə] -n

  1. catatonic schizophrenia

cat·a·ton·ic [-'tä-nik] -adj, n, adv

  1. of, relating to, being, resembling, or affected by schizophrenia characterized esp. by a marked psychomotor disturbance that may involve stupor or mutism, negativism, rigidity, purposeless excitement, and inappropriate or bizarre posturing
  2. characterized by a marked lack of movement, activity, or expression

Ca·taw·ba [kə-'tȯ-bə] -n

  1. a member of an American Indian people of No. Carolina and So. Carolina
  2. the language of the Catawba people
  3. any of various wines produced from a pale red native American grape

cat·bird ['kat-,bərd] -n

  1. an American songbird ( Dumetella carolinensis) that is dark gray in color with a black cap and reddish coverts under the tail and is related to the mockingbird

catbird seat -n

  1. a position of great prominence or advantage

cat·boat ['kat-,bōt] -n

  1. a sailboat having a cat rig and usu. a centerboard and being of light draft and broad beam

cat·bri·er [-,brī(-ə)r] -n

  1. any of a genus ( Smilax) of dioecious often prickly climbing plants of the lily family

cat burglar -n

  1. a burglar who is adept at entering and leaving the burglarized place without attracting notice

cat·call [-,kȯl] -n, vb

  1. a loud or raucous cry made esp. to express disapproval (as at a sports event)
  2. a derisive remark : criticism

catch ['kach, 'kech] -vb, adj

  1. to capture or seize esp. after pursuit
    • catch a thief
  2. to take or entangle in or as if in a snare
    • catch fish in a net
  3. deceive
  4. to discover unexpectedly : find
    • caught in the act
  5. to check (oneself) suddenly or momentarily
  6. to become suddenly aware of
    • caught me looking at him
  7. to take hold of : seize
  8. to affect suddenly
  9. to grasp and hold on to (something in motion)
    • catch a fly ball
  10. to avail oneself of : take
    • caught the first opportunity to leave
  11. to obtain through effort : get
    • catch a ride
  12. to overtake unexpectedly usu. used in the passive
    • was caught in a storm
  13. to get entangled
    • catch a sleeve on a nail
  14. : to become affected by: as
  15. contract
    • catch a cold
  16. to respond sympathetically to the point of being imbued with
    • catch the spirit of an occasion
  17. to be struck by
    • he caught a bullet in the leg
  18. to be subjected to : receive
    • catch hell
  19. to take in and retain
    • a barrel to catch rainwater
  20. fasten
  21. to take or get usu. momentarily or quickly
    • catch a glimpse of a friend
    • catch a nap
  22. overtake
    • catch the leader in a race
  23. to get aboard in time
    • catch the bus
  24. to attract and hold : arrest, engage
    • caught my attention
    • caught her eye
  25. to make contact with : strike
    • the pitch caught him in the back
  26. to grasp by the senses or the mind
    • you catch what I mean?
    • didn't catch the name
  27. to apprehend and fix by artistic means
    • catch a person's likeness
  28. see, watch
    • catch a game on TV
  29. to listen to
  30. to serve as a catcher for in baseball
  31. to meet with
    • catch you later
  32. to grasp hastily or try to grasp
  33. to become caught
  34. to catch fire
  35. to play the position of catcher on a baseball team
  36. kick over
    • the engine caught
  37. something caught
  38. the total quantity caught at one time
    • a large catch of fish
  39. the act, action, or fact of catching
  40. a game in which a ball is thrown and caught
  41. something that checks or holds immovable
    • a safety catch
  42. one worth catching esp. as a spouse
  43. a round for three or more unaccompanied usu. male voices often with suggestive or obscene lyrics
  44. fragment, snatch
  45. a concealed difficulty or complication
    • there must be a catch
  46. a momentary audible break in the voice or breath

catch·all ['kach-,ȯl, 'kech-] -n

  1. something that holds or includes odds and ends or a wide variety of things
    • a catchall tray
    • dyspepsia is a catchall term for stomach discomfort

catchascatchcan -adj

  1. using any available means or method : hit-or-miss
    • a catchascatchcan system that relies on borrowed judges -- Patricia Nealon

catch·er ['ka-chər, 'ke-] -n

  1. one that catches
  2. a baseball player positioned behind home plate

catch·fly ['kach-,flī, 'kech-] -n

  1. any of various plants (as of the genera Lychnisand Silene) of the pink family often with viscid stems

catch·ing -adj

  1. infectious, contagious
    • the flu is catching
    • his spirit is catching
  2. catchy, alluring

catch·ment ['kach-mənt, 'kech-] -n

  1. something that catches water
  2. the amount of water caught
  3. the action of catching water

catchment area -n

  1. an area that serves to catch water
  2. the geographical area served by an institution

catch on -vi

  1. to become aware : learn
  2. understand
    • didn't catch on to what was going on
  3. to become popular
    • this idea has already caught on

catch out -vt

  1. to detect in error or wrongdoing
    • caught him out committing perjury
  2. to take unawares or by surprise

catch·pen·ny ['kach-,pe-nē, 'kech-] -adj

  1. using sensationalism or cheapness for appeal
    • a catchpenny newspaper

catch·phrase [-,frāz] -n

  1. a word or expression that is used repeatedly and conveniently to represent or characterize a person, group, idea, or point of view
  2. slogan

catch·pole [-,pōl] -n

  1. a sheriff's deputy
  2. one who makes arrests for failure to pay a debt

catch22 [-,twen-tē-'tü] -n

  1. a problematic situation for which the only solution is denied by a circumstance inherent in the problem or by a rule
    • the show-business catch22-no work unless you have an agent, no agent unless you've worked -- Mary Murphy
  2. the circumstance or rule that denies a solution
  3. an illogical, unreasonable, or senseless situation
  4. a measure or policy whose effect is the opposite of what was intended
  5. a situation presenting two equally undesirable alternatives
  6. a hidden difficulty or means of entrapment : catch

catchup ['ke-chəp, 'ka-] -n

(variant of ketchup)

  1. a seasoned pureed condiment usu. made from tomatoes

catch up -vt

  1. to pick up often abruptly
    • the thief caught the purse up and ran
  2. ensnare, entangle
    • education has been caught up in a stultifying mythology -- N. M. Pusey
  3. enthrall
    • the...public was caught up in the car's magic -- D. A. Jedlicka
  4. to provide with the latest information
    • catch me up on the news
  5. to travel fast enough to overtake an advance party
  6. to reach a state of parity or of being able to cope
    • students who miss class have difficulty catching up
  7. to bring about arrest for illicit activities
    • the police caught up with the thieves
  8. to complete or compensate for something belatedly
    • catch up on lost sleep
  9. to acquire belated information
    • catch up on the news

catch·word ['kach-,wərd, 'kech-] -n

  1. a word under the right-hand side of the last line on a book page that repeats the first word on the following page
  2. guide word
  3. catchphrase

catchy ['ka-chē, 'ke-chē] -adj

  1. tending to catch the interest or attention
    • a catchy title
  2. easily retained in the memory
    • a catchy melody
  3. fitful, irregular
    • catchy breathing
  4. tricky
    • a catchy question

cat·claw ['kat-,klȯ] -n

  1. a yellow-flowered spiny acacia ( Acacia greggi) of the southwestern U.S. and Mexico

cat distemper -n

  1. panleukopenia

cate ['kāt] -n

  1. a dainty or choice food

cat·e·che·sis [,ka-tə-'kē-səs] -n, adj

  1. oral instruction of catechumens

cat·e·chin ['ka-tə-,kin] -n

  1. a crystalline flavonoid compound C 15H 14O 6or its derivatives having antioxidant properties and used in dyeing and tanning

cat·e·chism ['ka-tə-,ki-zəm] -n, adj

  1. oral instruction
  2. a manual for catechizing
  3. a summary of religious doctrine often in the form of questions and answers
  4. a set of formal questions put as a test
  5. something resembling a catechism esp. in being a rote response or formulaic statement

cat·e·chist ['ka-tə-kist] -n

  1. : one that catechizes: as
  2. a teacher of catechumens
  3. a native in a missionary district who does Christian teaching

cat·e·chize ['ka-tə-,kīz] -vt, n

  1. to instruct systematically esp. by questions, answers, and explanations and corrections
  2. to give religious instruction in such a manner
  3. to question systematically or searchingly

cat·e·chol ['ka-tə-,kȯl, -,kōl] -n

  1. catechin
  2. a crystalline phenol C 6H 6O 2obtained from various natural sources but usu. made synthetically and used esp. in organic synthesis

cat·e·chol·amine [,ka-tə-'kō-lə-,mēn, -'kȯ-] -n

  1. any of various amines (as epinephrine, norepinephrine, and dopamine) that function as hormones or neurotransmitters or both

cat·e·chol·amin·er·gic [-,kō-lə-mē-'nər-jik, -,kȯ-, -mi-] -adj

  1. involving, liberating, or mediated by catecholamine

cat·e·chu ['ka-tə-,chü, -,shü] -n

  1. : any of several dry, earthy, or resinous astringent substances obtained from tropical plants of Asia: as
  2. an extract of the heartwood of an East Indian acacia ( Acacia catechu)
  3. gambier

cat·e·chu·men [,ka-tə-'kyü-mən] -n

  1. a convert to Christianity receiving training in doctrine and discipline before baptism
  2. one receiving instruction in the basic doctrines of Christianity before admission to communicant membership in a church

cat·e·gor·i·cal [,ka-tə-'gȯr-i-kəl, -'gär-] -adj, adv

  1. absolute, unqualified
    • a categorical denial
  2. of, relating to, or constituting a category
  3. involving, according with, or considered with respect to specific categories

categorical imperative -n

  1. a moral obligation or command that is unconditionally and universally binding

cat·e·go·rise ['ka-ti-gə-,rīz] -vt, n

(variant of categorize)

  1. to put into a category : classify

cat·e·go·rize ['ka-ti-gə-,rīz] -vt, n

  1. to put into a category : classify

cat·e·go·ry ['ka-tə-,gȯr-ē] -n

  1. any of several fundamental and distinct classes to which entities or concepts belong
  2. a division within a system of classification

ca·te·na [kə-'tē-nə] -n

  1. a connected series of related things

cat·e·nary ['ka-tə-,ner-ē, -,ne-rē, esp Brit kə-'tē-nə-rē] -n, adj

  1. the curve assumed by a cord of uniform density and cross section that is perfectly flexible but not capable of being stretched and that hangs freely from two fixed points
  2. something in the form of a catenary

cat·e·nate ['ka-tə-,nāt] -vt, n

  1. to connect in a series : link

ca·ter ['kā-tər] -vb, n

  1. to provide a supply of food
  2. to supply what is required or desired
    • cater ing to middle-class tastes
  3. to provide food and service for
    • cater ed the banquet

cat·er·an ['ka-tə-rən] -n

  1. a former military irregular or brigand of the Scottish Highlands

ca·tercous·in ['kā-tər-,kə-zᵊn] -n

  1. an intimate friend

cat·er·pil·lar ['ka-tə(r)-,pi-lər] -n

  1. the elongated wormlike larva of a butterfly or moth
  2. any of various similar larvae

Caterpillar -trademark

  1. used for a tractor made for use on rough or soft ground and moved on two endless metal belts

cat·er·waul ['ka-tər-,wȯl] -vi, n

  1. to make a harsh cry
  2. to protest or complain noisily

cat·fac·ing ['kat-,fā-siŋ] -n

  1. a disfigurement or malformation of fruit suggesting a cat's face in appearance

cat·fight [-,fīt] -n

  1. an intense fight or argument esp. between two women

cat·fish [-,fish] -n

  1. any of an order (Siluriformes) of chiefly freshwater stout-bodied scaleless bony fishes having long tactile barbels

cat·gut [-,gət] -n

  1. a tough cord made usu. from sheep intestines

cath -abbr

  1. cathedral
  2. catheter; catheterization
  3. cathode

Cath·ar ['ka-,thär] -n, adj

  1. a member of one of various ascetic and dualistic Christian sects esp. of the later Middle Ages teaching that matter is evil and professing faith in an angelic Christ who did not really undergo human birth or death

ca·thar·sis [kə-'thär-səs] -n

  1. purgation
  2. purification or purgation of the emotions (as pity and fear) primarily through art
  3. a purification or purgation that brings about spiritual renewal or release from tension
  4. elimination of a complex by bringing it to consciousness and affording it expression

ca·thar·tic [kə-'thär-tik] -adj, adv

  1. of, relating to, or producing catharsis
    • cathartic drugs
    • a cathartic experience

cathartic -n

  1. a cathartic medicine : purgative

cat·head ['kat-,hed] -n

  1. a projecting piece of timber or iron near the bow of a ship to which the anchor is hoisted and secured

ca·thect [kə-'thekt, ka-] -vt

  1. to invest with mental or emotional energy

ca·thec·tic [kə-'thek-tik, ka-] -adj

  1. of, relating to, or invested with mental or emotional energy

ca·the·dra [kə-'thē-drə] -n

  1. a bishop's official throne

ca·the·dral [kə-'thē-drəl] -adj

  1. of, relating to, or containing a cathedra
  2. emanating from a chair of authority
  3. suggestive of a cathedral
    • a cathedral grove of redwoods

cathedral -n

  1. a church that is the official seat of a diocesan bishop
  2. something that resembles or suggests a cathedral (as in size or importance)
    • a cathedral of business
    • the sports cathedral

ca·thep·sin [kə-'thep-sən] -n

  1. any of several intracellular proteases of animal tissue that aid in autolysis

Cath·er·ine wheel ['ka-th(ə-)rin-] -n

  1. a wheel with spikes projecting from the rim
  2. pinwheel
  3. cartwheel

cath·e·ter ['ka-thə-tər, 'kath-tər] -n

  1. a tubular medical device for insertion into canals, vessels, passageways, or body cavities usu. to permit injection or withdrawal of fluids or to keep a passage open

cath·e·ter·i·za·tion [,ka-thə-tə-rə-'zā-shən, ,kath-tə-rə-] -n, vt

  1. the use of or introduction of a catheter (as in or into the bladder, trachea, or heart)

ca·thex·is [kə-'thek-səs, ka-] -n

  1. investment of mental or emotional energy in a person, object, or idea

cath·ode ['ka-,thōd] -n, adj, adv

  1. : the electrode of an electrochemical cell at which reduction occurs:
  2. the negative terminal of an electrolytic cell
  3. the positive terminal of a galvanic cell
  4. the electron-emitting electrode of an electron tube
  5. the negative electrode of a diode

cathode ray -n

  1. the high-speed electrons emitted in a stream from the heated cathode of a vacuum tube
  2. a stream of electrons emitted from the cathode of a vacuum tube usu. used in pl.

cathoderay tube -n

  1. a vacuum tube in which a beam of electrons is projected on a phosphor-coated screen to produce a luminous spot at a point on the screen determined by the effect on the electron beam of a variable magnetic field within the tube

cathodic protection -n

  1. the prevention of electrolytic corrosion of a usu. metallic structure (as a pipeline) by causing it to act as the cathode rather than as the anode of an electrochemical cell

cath·o·lic ['kath-lik, 'ka-thə-] -adj, adv, vb

  1. of, relating to, or forming the church universal
  2. of, relating to, or forming the ancient undivided Christian church or a church claiming historical continuity from it
  3. roman catholic
  4. comprehensive, universal
  5. broad in sympathies, tastes, or interests
    • a catholic taste in music

Cath·o·lic ['kath-lik, 'ka-thə-] -n

  1. a person who belongs to the universal Christian church
  2. a member of a Catholic church
  3. roman catholic

Catholic Apostolic -adj

  1. of or relating to a Christian sect founded in 19th century England in anticipation of Christ's second coming

ca·thol·i·cate [kə-'thȯ-lə-,kāt, -kət] -n

  1. the jurisdiction of a catholicos

Catholic Epistles -n pl

  1. the five New Testament letters including James, I and II Peter, I John, and Jude addressed to the early Christian churches at large

Ca·thol·i·cism [kə-'thä-lə-,si-zəm] -n

  1. roman catholicism
  2. the faith, practice, or system of Catholic Christianity

cath·o·lic·i·ty [,ka-thə-'li-sə-tē, ,kath-'li-] -n

  1. the character of being in conformity with a Catholic church
  2. liberality of sentiments or views
    • catholicity of viewpoint -- W. V. O'Connor
  3. universality
  4. comprehensive range
    • catholicity of topics

ca·thol·i·con [kə-'thä-lə-,kän] -n

  1. cure-all, panacea

ca·thol·i·cos [kə-'thȯ-li-kȯs] -n

  1. a primate of certain Eastern churches and esp. of the Armenian or of the Nestorian church

cat·house ['kat-,hau̇s] -n

  1. bordello

cat·ion ['kat-,ī-ən, 'ka-(,)tī-ən] -n

  1. the ion in an electrolyzed solution that migrates to the cathode
  2. a positively charged ion

cat·ion·ic [,kat-(,)ī-'ä-nik, ,ka-(,)tī-] -adj, adv

  1. of, relating to, or being a cation
  2. characterized by an active and esp. surface-active cation
    • a cationic dye

cat·kin ['kat-kən] -n

  1. a spicate inflorescence (as of the willow, birch, or oak) bearing scaly bracts and unisexual usu. apetalous flowers called also ament

cat·like ['kat-,līk] -adj or adv

  1. resembling a cat
  2. stealthy
    • with catlike tread, upon our prey we steal -- W. S. Gilbert

cat·mint [-,mint] -n

  1. any of a genus ( Nepeta) of Old World temperate-zone herbs of the mint family
  2. catnip

cat·nap [-,nap] -n, vi

  1. a very short light nap

cat·nap·per ['kat-,na-pər] -n

  1. one who steals cats usu. to sell them for research

cat·nip [-,nip] -n

  1. a strong-scented perennial mint ( Nepeta cataria) that has whorls of small pale flowers in terminal spikes and contains a substance attractive to cats
  2. something very attractive

cato'ninetails [,ka-tə-'nīn-,tālz] -n

  1. a whip made of usu. nine knotted lines or cords fastened to a handle

ca·top·tric [kə-'täp-trik] -adj

  1. being or using a mirror to focus light

cat rig ['kat-'rigd] -n, adj

  1. a rig consisting of a single mast far forward carrying a single large sail extended by a boom

cats and dogs -adv

  1. in great quantities : very hard
    • it was raining cats and dogs

CAT scan ['kat-] -n

  1. an image made by computed tomography

CAT scanner -n

  1. a medical instrument consisting of integrated X-ray and computing equipment and used for computed tomography

cat's cradle -n

  1. a game in which a string looped in a pattern like a cradle on the fingers of one person's hands is transferred to the hands of another so as to form a different figure
  2. something that is intricate, complicated, or elaborate
    • a cat's cradle of red tape

cat scratch disease -n

  1. an illness that is characterized by swelling of the lymph glands, fever, and chills and is caused by a bacterium ( Bartonella henselaesyn. Rochalimaea henselae) transmitted esp. by a cat scratch called also cat scratch fever

cat'seye ['kat-,sī] -n

  1. any of various gems (as a chrysoberyl or a chalcedony) exhibiting opalescent reflections from within
  2. a marble with eyelike concentric circles

cat's meow -n

  1. a highly admired person or thing

cat'spaw ['kats-,pȯ] -n

  1. a light air that ruffles the surface of the water in irregular patches during a calm
  2. one used by another as a tool : dupe
    • the...government became the cat'spaw for foreign powers -- D. J. Boorstin
  3. a hitch knot formed with two eyes for attaching a line to a hook

cat·suit ['kat-,süt] -n

  1. a close-fitting one-piece garment that covers the torso and the legs and sometimes the arms

catsup ['ke-chəp, 'ka-] -n

(variant of ketchup)

  1. a seasoned pureed condiment usu. made from tomatoes

cat·tail ['kat-,tāl] -n

  1. any of a genus ( Typhaof the family Typhaceae, the cattail family) of tall reedy marsh plants with brown furry fruiting spikes
  2. a plant ( Typha latifolia) with long flat leaves used esp. for making mats and chair seats

cat·tery ['ka-tə-rē] -n

  1. an establishment for the breeding and boarding of cats

cat·tle ['ka-tᵊl] -n pl

  1. domesticated quadrupeds held as property or raised for use
  2. bovine animals on a farm or ranch
  3. human beings esp. en masse

cattle call -n

  1. a mass audition (as of actors)

cattle egret -n

  1. a small Old World white egret ( Bubulcus ibis) introduced into the New World and having a yellow bill and in the breeding season buff on the crown, breast, and back

cattle grub -n

  1. : either of two warble flies (genus Hypoderma) esp. in the larval stage:
  2. common cattle grub
  3. a related warble fly ( H. bovis)

cattle guard -n

  1. a shallow ditch with rails or bars laid across that are spread far enough apart to prevent livestock from crossing but not people or vehicles

cat·tle·man [-mən, -,man] -n

  1. one who tends or raises cattle

cattle prod -n

  1. a handheld prodding device that delivers an electric shock (as in controlling cattle)

cattle tick -n

  1. either of two ixodid ticks ( Boophilus annulatusand B. microplus) that infest cattle and transmit the protozoan which causes Texas fever

cat·tle·ya ['kat-lē-ə; kat-'lā-ə, -'lē-] -n

  1. any of a genus ( Cattleya) of tropical American epiphytic orchids with showy hooded flowers

cat·ty ['ka-tē] -n

  1. any of various units of weight of China and southeast Asia varying around 1 pounds (about 600 grams)
  2. a standard Chinese unit equal to 1.1023 pounds (500 grams)

catty ['ka-tə-lē] -adj, adv, n

  1. resembling a cat
  2. slyly spiteful : malicious
    • made several catty comments
  3. of or relating to a cat

CATV -abbr

  1. cable television
  2. community antenna television

cat·walk ['kat-,wȯk] -n

  1. a narrow walkway (as along a bridge)

Cau·ca·sian [kȯ-'kā-zhən, kä- also -'ka-zhən] -adj, n, adj or n

  1. of or relating to the Caucasus or its inhabitants
  2. of, constituting, or characteristic of a race of humankind native to Europe, No. Africa, and southwest Asia and classified according to physical features used esp. in referring to persons of European descent having usu. light skin pigmentation

Cau·chy sequence [kō-'shē-, 'kō-shē-] -n

  1. a sequence of elements in a metric space such that for any positive number no matter how small there exists a term in the sequence for which the distance between any two terms beyond this term is less than the arbitrarily small number

cau·cus ['kȯ-kəs] -n

  1. a closed meeting of a group of persons belonging to the same political party or faction usu. to select candidates or to decide on policy
  2. a group of people united to promote an agreed-upon cause

caucus -vi

  1. to meet in or hold a caucus

cau·dad ['kȯ-,dad] -adv

  1. toward the tail or posterior end

cau·dal ['kȯ-dᵊl] -adj, adv

  1. of, relating to, or being a tail
  2. directed toward or situated in or near the tail or posterior part of the body

cau·date ['kȯ-,dāt] -adj

  1. having a tail or a taillike appendage

caudate nucleus -n

  1. the most medial of the four basal ganglia in each cerebral hemisphere called also caudate

cau·dex ['kȯ-,deks] -n

  1. the stem of a palm or tree fern
  2. the woody base of a perennial plant

cau·di·llis·mo [,kau̇-thē-'yēz-(,)mō, -thēl-'yēz-] -n

  1. the doctrine or practice of a caudillo

cau·di·llo [kau̇-'thē-(,)yō, -'thēl-(,)yō] -n

  1. a Spanish or Latin-American military dictator

cau·dle ['kȯ-dᵊl] -n

  1. a drink (as for invalids) usu. of warm ale or wine mixed with bread or gruel, eggs, sugar, and spices

caught ['kach, 'kech] -vb, adj

(variant of catch)

  1. to capture or seize esp. after pursuit
    • catch a thief
  2. to take or entangle in or as if in a snare
    • catch fish in a net
  3. deceive
  4. to discover unexpectedly : find
    • caught in the act
  5. to check (oneself) suddenly or momentarily
  6. to become suddenly aware of
    • caught me looking at him
  7. to take hold of : seize
  8. to affect suddenly
  9. to grasp and hold on to (something in motion)
    • catch a fly ball
  10. to avail oneself of : take
    • caught the first opportunity to leave
  11. to obtain through effort : get
    • catch a ride
  12. to overtake unexpectedly usu. used in the passive
    • was caught in a storm
  13. to get entangled
    • catch a sleeve on a nail
  14. : to become affected by: as
  15. contract
    • catch a cold
  16. to respond sympathetically to the point of being imbued with
    • catch the spirit of an occasion
  17. to be struck by
    • he caught a bullet in the leg
  18. to be subjected to : receive
    • catch hell
  19. to take in and retain
    • a barrel to catch rainwater
  20. fasten
  21. to take or get usu. momentarily or quickly
    • catch a glimpse of a friend
    • catch a nap
  22. overtake
    • catch the leader in a race
  23. to get aboard in time
    • catch the bus
  24. to attract and hold : arrest, engage
    • caught my attention
    • caught her eye
  25. to make contact with : strike
    • the pitch caught him in the back
  26. to grasp by the senses or the mind
    • you catch what I mean?
    • didn't catch the name
  27. to apprehend and fix by artistic means
    • catch a person's likeness
  28. see, watch
    • catch a game on TV
  29. to listen to
  30. to serve as a catcher for in baseball
  31. to meet with
    • catch you later
  32. to grasp hastily or try to grasp
  33. to become caught
  34. to catch fire
  35. to play the position of catcher on a baseball team
  36. kick over
    • the engine caught
  37. something caught
  38. the total quantity caught at one time
    • a large catch of fish
  39. the act, action, or fact of catching
  40. a game in which a ball is thrown and caught
  41. something that checks or holds immovable
    • a safety catch
  42. one worth catching esp. as a spouse
  43. a round for three or more unaccompanied usu. male voices often with suggestive or obscene lyrics
  44. fragment, snatch
  45. a concealed difficulty or complication
    • there must be a catch
  46. a momentary audible break in the voice or breath

caul ['kȯl] -n

  1. the large fatty omentum covering the intestines (as of a cow, sheep, or pig)
  2. the inner fetal membrane of higher vertebrates esp. when covering the head at birth

caul·dron ['kȯl-drən] -n

  1. a large kettle or boiler
  2. something resembling a boiling cauldron in intensity or degree of agitation
    • a cauldron of intense emotions

cau·li·flow·er ['kȯ-li-,flau̇(-ə)r, 'kä-, -lē-] -n

  1. a garden plant ( Brassica oleracea botrytis) related to the cabbage and grown for its compact edible head of usu. white undeveloped flowers
  2. its flower cluster used as a vegetable

cauliflower ear -n

  1. an ear deformed from injury and excessive growth of reparative tissue

cau·li·flow·er·et [,kȯ-li-,flau̇(-ə)-'ret, ,kä-, -lē-] -n

  1. a bite-size piece of cauliflower

cau·line ['kȯ-,līn] -adj

  1. of, relating to, or growing on a stem and esp. on the upper part

caulk ['kȯk] -vt, n

  1. to stop up and make tight against leakage (as a boat or its seams, the cracks in a window frame, or the joints of a pipe)
  2. material used to caulk

(variant of calk)

  1. a cleat on the shoe of a horse to prevent slipping
  2. a similar device worn on the sole of a shoe
  3. to furnish with calks
  4. to wound with a calk

caus -abbr

  1. causative

caus·al ['kȯ-zəl] -adj, adv

  1. expressing or indicating cause : causative
    • a causal clause introduced by since
  2. of, relating to, or constituting a cause
    • the causal agent of a disease
  3. involving causation or a cause
    • the relationship...was not one of causal antecedence so much as one of analogous growth -- H. O. Taylor
  4. arising from a cause
    • a causal development

cau·sal·gia [kȯ-'zal-j(ē-)ə, -'sal-] -n, adj

  1. a constant usu. burning pain resulting from injury to a peripheral nerve

cau·sal·i·ty [kȯ-'za-lə-tē] -n

  1. a causal quality or agency
  2. the relation between a cause and its effect or between regularly correlated events or phenomena

cau·sa·tion [kȯ-'zā-shən] -n

  1. the act or process of causing
  2. the act or agency which produces an effect
  3. causality

caus·a·tive ['kȯ-zə-tiv] -adj, n, adv

  1. effective or operating as a cause or agent
    • causative bacteria of cholera
  2. expressing causation
  3. being a linguistic form that indicates that the subject causes an act to be performed or a condition to come into being

cause ['kȯz] -n, adj

  1. a reason for an action or condition : motive
  2. something that brings about an effect or a result
  3. a person or thing that is the occasion of an action or state
  4. an agent that brings something about
  5. sufficient reason
    • discharged for cause
  6. a ground of legal action
  7. case
  8. a matter or question to be decided
  9. a principle or movement militantly defended or supported
  10. a charitable undertaking
    • for a good cause
  11. to serve as a cause or occasion of
    • cause an accident
  12. to compel by command, authority, or force
    • caused him to resign

cause ce·le·bre [,kȯz-sə-'leb, -'le-brə, ,kōz-, -'lebrᵊ] -n

  1. a legal case that excites widespread interest
  2. a notorious person, thing, incident, or episode

cause of action

  1. the grounds (as violation of a right) that entitle a plaintiff to bring a suit

cau·se·rie [,kōz-'rē, ,kō-zə-] -n

  1. an informal conversation : chat
  2. a short informal essay

cause·way ['kȯz-,wā] -n, vt

  1. a raised way across wet ground or water
  2. highway
  3. one of ancient Roman construction in Britain

cau·sey ['kȯ-zē] -n

  1. causeway
  2. causeway

caus·tic ['kȯs-tik] -adj, adv, n

  1. capable of destroying or eating away by chemical action : corrosive
  2. marked by incisive sarcasm
  3. relating to or being the surface or curve of a caustic

caustic -n

  1. : a caustic agent: as
  2. a substance that burns or destroys organic tissue by chemical action
  3. sodium hydroxide
  4. the envelope of rays emanating from a point and reflected or refracted by a curved surface

caustic potash -n

  1. potassium hydroxide

caustic soda -n

  1. sodium hydroxide

cau·ter·ize ['kȯ-tə-,rīz] -vt, n

  1. to sear with a cautery or caustic
    • cauterize a wound
  2. to make insensible : deaden
    • must oust the feeling, or cauterize it -- Robert Craft

cau·tery ['kȯ-tə-rē] -n

  1. the act or effect of cauterizing : cauterization
  2. an agent (as a hot iron or caustic) used to burn, sear, or destroy tissue

cau·tion ['kȯ-shən] -n, adj

  1. warning, admonishment
  2. precaution
  3. prudent forethought to minimize risk
  4. one that astonishes or commands attention
    • some shoes you see...these days are a caution -- Esquire

caution ['kȯ-sh(ə-)niŋ] -vt

  1. to advise caution to : warn

cau·tious ['kȯ-shəs] -adj, adv, n

  1. marked by or given to caution
    • cautious investors
    • cautious optimism

cav -abbr

  1. cavalry
  2. cavity

cav·al·cade [,ka-vəl-'kād, 'ka-vəl-,] -n

  1. a procession of riders or carriages
  2. a procession of vehicles or ships
  3. a dramatic sequence or procession : series

cav·a·lier [,ka-və-'lir] -n

  1. a gentleman trained in arms and horsemanship
  2. a mounted soldier : knight
  3. an adherent of Charles I of England
  4. gallant

cavalier [-,i-zəm] -adj, n, adv

  1. debonair
  2. marked by or given to offhand and often disdainful dismissal of important matters
    • a cavalier attitude toward money
  3. of or relating to the party of Charles I of England in his struggles with the Puritans and Parliament
  4. aristocratic
  5. of or relating to the English Cavalier poets of the mid-17th century

Cavalier King Charles spaniel [-'chär(-ə)lz-] -n

  1. any of a breed of toy spaniels developed in Great Britain from English toy spaniels and having a tapered muzzle and a long silky coat

ca·val·la [kə-'va-lə] -n

  1. any of various carangid fishes
  2. king mackerel

cav·al·let·ti [,ka-və-'le-tē] -n pl but sing or pl in constr

  1. a series of timber jumps that are adjustable in height for schooling horses

cav·al·ry ['ka-vəl-rē, ÷'kal-və-rē] -n

  1. an army component mounted on horseback
  2. an army component moving in motor vehicles or helicopters and assigned to combat missions that require great mobility
  3. horsemen
    • a thousand cavalry in flight

cav·al·ry·man [-rē-mən, -,man] -n

  1. a cavalry soldier

cavalry twill -n

  1. tricotine

cav·a·ti·na [,ka-və-'tē-nə, ,kä-] -n

  1. an operatic solo simpler and briefer than an aria
  2. a songlike instrumental piece or movement

cave ['kāv] -n

  1. a natural underground chamber or series of chambers open to the surface
  2. a usu. underground chamber for storage
    • a wine cave
  3. the articles stored there
  4. to form a cave in or under : hollow, undermine
  5. to explore caves esp. as a sport or hobby
  6. to fall in or down esp. from being undermined usu. used with in
  7. to cease to resist : submit usu. used with in
  8. to cause to fall or collapse usu. used with in

ca·ve·at ['ka-vē-,ät, -,at; 'kä-vē-,ät; 'kā-vē-,at] -n

  1. a warning enjoining one from certain acts or practices
  2. an explanation to prevent misinterpretation
  3. a modifying or cautionary detail to be considered when evaluating, interpreting, or doing something
  4. a legal warning to a judicial officer to suspend a proceeding until the opposition has a hearing

caveat emp·tor [-'em(p)-tər, -,tȯr] -n

  1. a principle in commerce: without a warranty the buyer takes the risk

cave bear -n

  1. a very large extinct bear ( Ursus spelaeus) known esp. from Pleistocene deposits in European caves

cave dweller -n

  1. one (as a prehistoric human) that dwells in a cave
  2. one that lives in a city apartment building

cavein ['kāv-,in] -n

  1. the action of caving in
  2. a place where earth has caved in

cave·man ['kāv-,man] -n

  1. a cave dweller esp. of the Stone Age
  2. a man who acts in a rough or crude manner

cav·ern ['ka-vərn also -vrən] -n

  1. cave
  2. one of large or indefinite extent

cavern -vt

  1. to place in or as if in a cavern
  2. to form a cavern of : hollow used with out

cav·er·nic·o·lous [,ka-vər-'ni-kə-ləs] -adj

  1. inhabiting caves

cav·ern·ous ['ka-vər-nəs] -adj, adv

  1. having caverns or cavities
  2. composed largely of vascular sinuses and capable of dilating with blood to bring about the erection of a body part
  3. constituting or suggesting a cavern
    • a cavernous warehouse

ca·vet·to [kə-'ve-(,)tō, kä-] -n

  1. a concave molding having a curve that approximates a quarter circle

cav·i·ar ['ka-vē-,är also 'kä-] -n

  1. processed salted roe of large fish (as sturgeon)
  2. something considered too delicate or lofty for mass appreciation usu. used in the phrase caviar to the general
  3. something considered the best of its kind
    • the caviar of porcelain

cav·il ['ka-vəl] -vb, n

  1. to raise trivial and frivolous objection
  2. to raise trivial objections to

cav·ing ['kā-viŋ] -n

  1. the sport of exploring caves : spelunking

cav·i·tary ['ka-və-,ter-ē, -,te-rē] -adj

  1. of, relating to, or characterized by bodily cavitation
    • cavitary tuberculosis
    • cavitary lesions

cav·i·tate ['ka-və-,tāt] -vb

  1. to form cavities or bubbles
  2. to cavitate in

cav·i·ta·tion [,ka-və-'tā-shən] -n

  1. : the process of cavitating: as
  2. the formation of partial vacuums in a liquid by a swiftly moving solid body (as a propeller) or by high-intensity sound waves
  3. the pitting and wearing away of solid surfaces (as of metal or concrete) as a result of the collapse of these vacuums in surrounding liquid
  4. the formation of cavities in an organ or tissue esp. in disease

cav·i·ty ['ka-və-tē] -n

  1. an unfilled space within a mass
  2. a hollowed-out space
  3. an area of decay in a tooth : caries

ca·vort [kə-'vȯrt] -vi

  1. to leap or dance about in a lively manner
  2. to engage in extravagant behavior

CAVU -abbr

  1. ceiling and visibility unlimited

ca·vy ['kā-vē] -n

  1. any of several short-tailed rough-haired So. American rodents (family Caviidae)
  2. guinea pig

caw ['kȯ] -vi, n

  1. to utter the harsh raucous natural call of the crow or a similar cry

cay ['kē, 'kā] -n

  1. a low island or reef of sand or coral

cay·enne [(,)kī-'en, (,)kā-; 'kī,, 'kā-,] -n

  1. cayenne pepper

cayenne pepper -n

  1. a pungent condiment consisting of the ground dried fruits or seeds of hot peppers
  2. hot pepper
  3. any of several cultivated peppers of a variety ( Capsicum annuum longum) with very long twisted pungent red fruits
  4. the fruit of a cayenne pepper

cayman ['kā-mən; kā-'man, kī-] -n

(variant of caiman)

  1. any of several Central and So. American crocodilians (genera Caiman, Melanosuchus,and Paleosuchus) similar to alligators

Ca·yu·ga [kā-'yü-gə, kī-] -n

  1. a member of an American Indian people of New York
  2. the Iroquoian language of the Cayuga people

Cay·use ['kī-,yüs, kī-'] -n

  1. a member of an American Indian people of Oregon and Washington
  2. a native range horse