Es -symbol
- einsteinium
Esau ['ē-(,)sȯ] -n
- the elder son of Isaac and Rebekah who sold his birthright to his twin brother Jacob
ESB -abbr
- electrical stimulation of the brain
es·ca·drille ['es-kə-,dril, -,drē] -n
- a unit of a European air command containing usu. six airplanes
es·ca·lade ['es-kə-,lād, -,läd] -n, vt
- an act of scaling esp. the walls of a fortification
es·ca·late ['es-kə-,lāt, ÷-kyə-] -vb, n, adj
- to increase in extent, volume, number, amount, intensity, or scope
- a little war threatens to escalate into a huge ugly one -- Arnold Abrams
- expand
es·ca·la·tor ['es-kə-,lā-tər, ÷-kyə-] -n
- a power-driven set of stairs arranged like an endless belt that ascend or descend continuously
- an upward course suggestive of an escalator
- a never-stopping escalator of economic progress -- D. W. Brogan
- an escalator clause or provision
escalator -adj
- providing for a periodic proportional upward or downward adjustment (as of prices or wages)
- an escalator arrangement tying the base pay...to living costs -- N. Y. Times
es·ca·lope ['es-kə-,lōp] -n
- scallop
es·ca·pade ['es-kə-,pād] -n
- a usu. adventurous action that runs counter to approved or conventional conduct
es·cape [is-'kāp, es-, dial iks-'kāp] -vb, n
- to get away (as by flight)
- to issue from confinement
- to run wild from cultivation
- to avoid a threatening evil
- the boat sank but the crew escaped
- to get free of : break away from
- to get or stay out of the way of : avoid
- efforts to escape poverty
- to fail to be noticed or recallable by
- to issue from
- to be uttered involuntarily by
- a sigh of relief escaped her
escape -n
- : an act or instance of escaping: as
- flight from confinement
- evasion of something undesirable
- leakage or outflow esp. of a fluid
- distraction or relief from routine or reality
- a means of escape
- a cultivated plant run wild
- providing a means of escape
- providing a means of evading a regulation, claim, or commitment
- an escape clause in a contract
escape artist -n
- one (as a performer or criminal) unusually adept at escaping from confinement
es·cap·ee [is-,kā-'pē, ,es-(,)kā-, ,es-kə-] -n
- one that has escaped
- an escaped prisoner
escape hatch -n
- a hatch providing an emergency exit from an enclosed space
- a means of evading a difficulty, dilemma, or responsibility
escape mechanism -n
- a mode of behavior or thinking adopted to evade unpleasant facts or responsibilities
es·cape·ment [is-'kāp-mənt] -n
- a device in a timepiece which controls the motion of the train of wheelwork and through which the energy of the power source is delivered to the pendulum or balance by means of impulses that permit a tooth to escape from a pallet at regular intervals
- a ratchet device (as the spacing mechanism of a typewriter) that permits motion in one direction only in equal steps
- the act of escaping
- a way of escape : vent
escape velocity -n
- the minimum velocity that a moving body (as a rocket) must have to escape from the gravitational field of a celestial body (as the earth) and move outward into space
es·cap·ism [is-'kā-,pi-zəm] -n, adj or n
- habitual diversion of the mind to purely imaginative activity or entertainment as an escape from reality or routine
es·cap·ol·o·gy [is-,kā-'pä-lə-jē, ,es-(,)] -n
- the art or practice of escaping
es·car·got [,es-,kär-'gō] -n
- a snail prepared for use as food
es·ca·role ['es-kə-,rōl] -n
- endive
es·carp·ment [i-'skärp-mənt] -n
- a steep slope in front of a fortification
- a long cliff or steep slope separating two comparatively level or more gently sloping surfaces and resulting from erosion or faulting
es·char ['es-,kär] -n
- a scab formed esp. after a burn
es·cha·rot·ic [,es-kə-'rä-tik] -adj, n
- producing an eschar
es·cha·to·log·i·cal [(,)es-,ka-tə-'lä-ji-kəl, ,es-kə-] -adj, adv
- of or relating to eschatology or an eschatology
- of or relating to the end of the world or the events associated with it in eschatology
es·cha·tol·o·gy [,es-kə-'tä-lə-jē] -n
- a branch of theology concerned with the final events in the history of the world or of humankind
- a belief concerning death, the end of the world, or the ultimate destiny of humankind
- any of various Christian doctrines concerning the Second Coming, the resurrection of the dead, or the Last Judgment
es·cheat [is-'chēt, ish-'chēt] -n
- escheated property
- the reversion of lands in English feudal law to the lord of the fee when there are no heirs capable of inheriting under the original grant
- the reversion of property to the crown in England or to the state in the U.S. when there are no legal heirs
escheat [-'chē-tə-bəl] -vt, adj
- to cause to revert by escheat
- to revert by escheat
es·chew [e-'shü, i-; es-'chü, is-; also e-'skyü] -vt, n
- to avoid habitually esp. on moral or practical grounds : shun
es·co·lar [,es-kə-'lär] -n
- a large widely distributed rough-scaled scombroid fish ( Lepidocybium flavobrunneum) that resembles a mackerel
es·cort ['es-,kȯrt] -n
- a person or group of persons accompanying another to give protection or as a courtesy
- the man who goes on a date with a woman
- a protective screen of warships or fighter planes or a single ship or plane used to fend off enemy attack from one or more vulnerable craft
- accompaniment by a person or an armed protector (as a ship)
- to accompany as an escort
es·cot [is-'kät] -vt
- support, maintain
es·cri·toire ['es-krə-,twär] -n
- a writing table or desk
- secretary
es·crow ['es-,krō, es-'] -n
- a deed, a bond, money, or a piece of property held in trust by a third party to be turned over to the grantee only upon fulfillment of a condition
- a fund or deposit designed to serve as an escrow
- to place in escrow
es·cu·do [is-'kü-(,)dō] -n
- any of various former gold or silver coins of Hispanic countries
- the basic monetary unit of Portugal from 1910 to 2001
- the basic monetary unit of Chile from 1960 to 1975
es·cu·lent ['es-kyə-lənt] -adj, n
- edible
es·cutch·eon [is-'kə-chən] -n
- a defined area on which armorial bearings are displayed and which usu. consists of a shield
- a protective or ornamental plate or flange (as around a keyhole)
- the part of a ship's stern on which the name is displayed
Esd -abbr
- Esdras
Es·dras ['ez-drəs] -n
- : either of two books of the Roman Catholic canon of the Old Testament:
- ezra
- nehemiah
- either of two uncanonical books of Scripture included in the Protestant Apocrypha
ESE -abbr
- east-southeast
es·em·plas·tic [,e-,sem-'plas-tik, -səm-] -adj
- shaping or having the power to shape disparate things into a unified whole
- the esemplastic power of the poetic imagination -- W. H. Gardner
es·er·ine ['e-sə-,rēn] -n
- physostigmine
Esk -abbr
- Eskimo
es·ker ['es-kər] -n
- a long narrow ridge or mound of sand, gravel, and boulders deposited by a stream flowing on, within, or beneath a stagnant glacier
Es·ki·mo ['es-kə-,mō] -n, adj
- a member of a group of peoples of northern Canada, Greenland, Alaska, and eastern Siberia
- any of the languages of the Eskimo peoples
Es·ki·moAleut [-'a-lē-,üt] -n
- a language family including Eskimo and Aleut languages
Eskimo curlew -n
- an extremely rare New World curlew ( Numenius borealis) that breeds in northern No. America and winters in So. America
Eskimo dog -n
- any of an American breed of spitz dogs with a thick white coat
- any of a breed of Canadian sled dogs
ESL -abbr
- English as a second language
ESOP [,ē-,es-(,)ō-'pē, 'ē-,säp] -n
- a program by which a corporation's employees acquire its stock
esoph·a·gi·tis [i-,sä-fə-'jī-təs, -'gī-] -n
- inflammation of the esophagus
esoph·a·gus [i-'sä-fə-gəs] -n, adj
- a muscular tube that in humans is about nine inches (23 centimeters) long and passes from the pharynx down the neck between the trachea and the spinal column and behind the left bronchus where it pierces the diaphragm slightly to the left of the middle line and joins the cardiac end of the stomach
es·o·ter·ic [,e-sə-'ter-ik, -'te-rik] -adj, adv
- designed for or understood by the specially initiated alone
- a body of esoteric legal doctrine -- B. N. Cardozo
- requiring or exhibiting knowledge that is restricted to a small group
- difficult to understand
- limited to a small circle
- engaging in esoteric pursuits
- private, confidential
- of special, rare, or unusual interest
- esoteric building materials
es·o·ter·i·ca [-i-kə] -n pl
- esoteric items
es·o·ter·i·cism [-'ter-ə-,si-zəm, -'te-rə-] -n
- esoteric doctrines or practices
- the quality or state of being esoteric
esp -abbr
- especially
ESP [,ē-,es-'pē] -n
- extrasensory perception
es·pa·drille ['es-pə-,dril] -n
- a sandal usu. having a fabric upper and a flexible sole
es·pal·ier [is-'pal-yər, -,yā] -n
- a plant (as a fruit tree) trained to grow flat against a support (as a wall)
- a railing or trellis on which fruit trees or shrubs are trained to grow flat
espalier -vt
- to train as an espalier
- to furnish with an espalier
es·par·to [is-'pär-(,)tō] -n
- either of two Spanish and Algerian grasses ( Stipa tenacissimaand Lygeum spartum) used esp. to make cordage, shoes, and paper called also esparto grass
- the fiber of esparto
es·pe·cial [is-'pe-shəl] -adj
- : being distinctive: as
- directed toward a particular individual, group, or end
- sent especial greetings to his son
- took especial care to speak clearly
- of special note or importance : unusually great or significant
- a decision of especial relevance
- highly distinctive or personal : peculiar
- had an especial dislike for music
- close, intimate
- specific, particular
- had no especial destination in mind
es·pe·cial·ly [is-'pesh-lē, -'pe-shə-] -adv
- specially
- in particular : particularly
- food seems cheaper, especially meats
- for a particular purpose
- built especially for research
- used as an intensive
- nothing especially radical in the remarks
es·per·ance ['es-p(ə-)rən(t)s] -n
- hope, expectation
Es·pe·ran·to [,es-pə-'rän-(,)tō, -'ran-(,)tō] -n, n or adj
- an artificial international language based as far as possible on words common to the chief European languages
es·pi·al [is-'pī(-ə)l] -n
- observation
- an act of noticing : discovery
es·pie·gle [es-'pyeglᵊ] -adj
- frolicsome, roguish
es·pie·gle·rie [es-pyeg-lə-'rē] -n
- the quality or state of being roguish or frolicsome
es·pi·o·nage ['es-pē-ə-,näzh, -,näj, -nij, Canad also -,nazh; ,es-pē-ə-'näzh; is-'pē-ə-nij] -n
- the practice of spying or using spies to obtain information about the plans and activities esp. of a foreign government or a competing company
es·pla·nade ['es-plə-,näd, ,es-plə-' also -'nād or -,nād] -n
- a level open stretch of paved or grassy ground
- one designed for walking or driving along a shore
ESPN -abbr
- Entertainment and Sports Programming Network
es·pous·al [is-'pau̇-zəl also -səl] -n
- betrothal
- wedding
- marriage
- a taking up or adopting of a cause or belief
es·pouse [is-'pau̇z also -'pau̇s] -vt, n
- marry
- to take up and support as a cause : become attached to
espres·so [e-'spre-(,)sō] -n
- coffee brewed by forcing steam or hot water through finely ground darkly roasted coffee beans
- a cup of espresso
es·prit [is-'prē] -n
- vivacious cleverness or wit
- esprit de corps
es·prit de corps [is-,prē-də-'kȯr] -n
- the common spirit existing in the members of a group and inspiring enthusiasm, devotion, and strong regard for the honor of the group
es·py [is-'pī] -vt
- to catch sight of
- among the several horses...she espied the white mustang -- Zane Grey
Esq -abbr
- esquire
Es·qui·mau ['es-kə-,mō] -n
- eskimo
es·quire ['es-,kwī(-ə)r, is-'] -n
- a member of the English gentry ranking below a knight
- a candidate for knighthood serving as shield bearer and attendant to a knight
- used as a title of courtesy usu. placed in its abbreviated form after the surname
- a landed proprietor
ess ['es] -n
- the letter s
- something resembling the letter Sin shape
- an S-shaped curve in a road
es·say [e-'sā, ə-'sā, 'e-,sā] -vt, n
- to put to a test
- to make an often tentative or experimental effort to perform : try
- trial, test
- effort, attempt
- an initial tentative effort
- the result or product of an attempt
- an analytic or interpretative literary composition usu. dealing with its subject from a limited or personal point of view
- something resembling such a composition
- a proof of an unaccepted design for a stamp or piece of paper money
es·say·ist ['e-,sā-ist] -n
- a writer of essays
es·say·is·tic [,e-(,)sā-'is-tik] -adj
- of or relating to an essay or an essayist
- resembling an essay in quality or character
essay question -n
- an examination question that requires an answer in a sentence, paragraph, or short composition
es·sence ['e-sᵊn(t)s] -n
- the permanent as contrasted with the accidental element of being
- the individual, real, or ultimate nature of a thing esp. as opposed to its existence
- a painting that captures the essence of the land
- the properties or attributes by means of which something can be placed in its proper class or identified as being what it is
- something that exists : entity
- a volatile substance or constituent (as of perfume)
- a constituent or derivative possessing the special qualities (as of a plant or drug) in concentrated form
- a preparation of such an essence or a synthetic substitute
- odor, perfume
- one that possesses or exhibits a quality in abundance as if in concentrated form
- she was the essence of punctuality
- the most significant element, quality, or aspect of a thing or person
Es·sene [i-'sēn, 'e-,sēn] -n, adj
- a member of a monastic brotherhood of Jews in Palestine from the second century b.c.to the second century a.d.
es·sen·tial [i-'sen(t)-shəl] -adj, adv, n
- of, relating to, or constituting essence : inherent
- of the utmost importance : basic, indispensable, necessary
- an essential requirement for admission to college
- being a substance that is not synthesized by the body in a quantity sufficient for normal health and growth and that must be obtained from the diet
- dietary protein provides the body with essential amino acids
- idiopathic
essential -n
- something basic
- the essential s of astronomy
- something necessary, indispensable, or unavoidable
es·sen·tial·ism [-,li-zəm] -n, adj or n
- an educational theory that ideas and skills basic to a culture should be taught to all alike by time-tested methods
- a philosophical theory ascribing ultimate reality to essence embodied in a thing perceptible to the senses
- the practice of regarding something (as a presumed human trait) as having innate existence or universal validity rather than as being a social, ideological, or intellectual construct
es·sen·ti·al·i·ty [i-,sen(t)-shē-'a-lə-tē] -n
- essential nature : essence
- an essential quality, property, or aspect
- the quality or state of being essential
- the essentiality of freedom and justice -- P. G. Hoffman
es·sen·tial·ize [i-'sen(t)-shə-,līz] -vt
- to express or formulate in essential form : reduce to essentials
essential oil -n
- any of a class of volatile oils that give plants their characteristic odors and are used esp. in perfumes and flavorings, and for aromatherapy
es·soin [i-'sȯin] -n
- an excuse for not appearing in an English law court at the appointed time
- excuse, delay
essonite ['he-sə-,nīt] -n
(variant of hessonite)
- a yellow to brown garnet
est -abbr
- established
- estimate; estimated
EST -abbr
- eastern standard time
es·tab·lish [i-'sta-blish] -vt, adj, n
- to institute (as a law) permanently by enactment or agreement
- settle
- to make firm or stable
- to introduce and cause to grow and multiply
- establish grass on pasturelands
- to bring into existence : found
- bring about, effect
- establish ed friendly relations
- to put on a firm basis : set up
- establish his son in business
- to put into a favorable position
- to gain full recognition or acceptance of
- the role establish ed her as a star
- to make (a church) a national or state institution
- to put beyond doubt : prove
- establish ed my innocence
established church -n
- a church recognized by law as the official church of a nation or state and supported by civil authority
establishing shot -n
- a usu. long shot in film or video used at the beginning of a sequence to establish an overview of the scene that follows
es·tab·lish·ment [i-'sta-blish-mənt] -n
- : something established: as
- a settled arrangement
- a code of laws
- established church
- a permanent civil or military organization
- a place of business or residence with its furnishings and staff
- a public or private institution
- : an established order of society: as
- a group of social, economic, and political leaders who form a ruling class (as of a nation)
- a controlling group
- the literary establishment
- the act of establishing
- the state of being established
es·tab·lish·men·tar·i·an [i-,sta-blish-mən-'ter-ē-ən, -,men-] -adj, n
- of, relating to, or favoring the social or political establishment
es·ta·mi·net [e-stä-mē-'nā] -n
- a small cafe
es·tan·cia [e-'stän(t)s-(,)yä] -n
- a So. American cattle ranch or stock farm
es·tate [i-'stāt] -n
- state, condition
- social standing or rank esp. of a high order
- a social or political class
- one of the great classes (as the nobility, the clergy, and the commons) formerly vested with distinct political powers
- the degree, quality, nature, and extent of one's interest in land or other property
- possessions, property
- a person's property in land and tenements
- the assets and liabilities left by a person at death
- a landed property usu. with a large house on it
- project
- station wagon
- farm, plantation
- vineyard
estate -adj
- previously owned by another and usu. of high quality
estate agent -n
- a real estate broker or manager
estatebottled -adj
- entirely produced and bottled by a single winery
estate car -n
- station wagon
estate tax -n
- a tax in the form of a percentage of the taxable estate that is imposed on a property owner's right to transfer the property to others after his or her death
es·teem [i-'stēm] -n
- worth, value
- opinion, judgment
- the regard in which one is held
- high regard
- the esteem we all feel for her
esteem -vt
- appraise
- to view as : consider
- think, believe
- to set a high value on : regard highly and prize accordingly
es·ter ['es-tər] -n
- any of a class of often fragrant organic compounds that can be represented by the formula RCOOR and that are usu. formed by the reaction between an acid and an alcohol with elimination of water
es·ter·ase ['es-tə-,rās, -,rāz] -n
- an enzyme that accelerates the hydrolysis or synthesis of esters
es·ter·i·fy [e-'ster-ə-,fī] -vt, n
- to convert into an ester
Esth -abbr
- Esther
Es·ther ['es-tər] -n
- the Jewish heroine of the Old Testament book of Esther
- a narrative book of canonical Jewish and Christian Scripture
esthete ['es-,thēt, Brit usu 'ēs-] -n
(variant of aesthete)
- one having or affecting sensitivity to the beautiful esp. in art
es·ti·ma·ble ['es-tə-mə-bəl] -adj, n, adv
- capable of being estimated
- valuable
- worthy of esteem
es·ti·mate ['es-tə-,māt] -vt, adj
- esteem
- appraise
- to judge tentatively or approximately the value, worth, or significance of
- to determine roughly the size, extent, or nature of
- to produce a statement of the approximate cost of
- judge, conclude
- the act of appraising or valuing : calculation
- an opinion or judgment of the nature, character, or quality of a person or thing
- had a high estimate of his abilities
- a rough or approximate calculation
- a numerical value obtained from a statistical sample and assigned to a population parameter
- a statement of the cost of work to be done
es·ti·ma·tion [,es-tə-'mā-shən] -n
- judgment, opinion
- a poor choice in my estimation
- the act of estimating something
- the value, amount, or size arrived at in an estimate
- esteem, honor
es·ti·ma·tor ['es-tə-,mā-tər] -n
- one that estimates
- estimate
- a statistical function whose value for a sample furnishes an estimate of a population parameter
es·ti·val ['es-tə-vəl] -adj
- of or relating to the summer
es·ti·vate [-,vāt] -vi
- to spend the summer usu. at one place
- to pass the summer in a state of torpor
es·ti·va·tion [,es-tə-'vā-shən] -n
- the state of one that estivates
Es·to·nian [e-'stō-nē-ən, -nyən] -n, adj
- a native or inhabitant of Estonia
- the Finno-Ugric language of the Estonian people
es·top [e-'stäp] -vt
- to stop up
- bar
- to impede by estoppel
es·top·pel [e-'stä-pəl] -n
- a legal bar to alleging or denying a fact because of one's own previous actions or words to the contrary
estr- -comb form
- estrus
es·tra·di·ol [,es-trə-'dī-,ȯl, -,ōl] -n
- a natural estrogenic hormone that is a phenolic alcohol C 18H 24O 2secreted chiefly by the ovaries, that is the most potent of the naturally occurring estrogens, and that is administered in its natural or semisynthetic esterified form esp. to treat menopausal symptoms
es·tral cycle ['es-trəl-] -n
- estrous cycle
es·trange [i-'strānj] -vt, n
- to remove from customary environment or associations
- to arouse esp. mutual enmity or indifference in where there had formerly been love, affection, or friendliness : alienate
es·tray [i-'strā] -n
- stray
estray -vi
- stray
es·tri·ol ['es-,trī-,ȯl, e-'strī-, -,ōl] -n
- a relatively weak natural estrogenic hormone that is a glycol C 18H 24O 3found in the body chiefly as a metabolite of estradiol, is the main estrogen secreted by the placenta during pregnancy, and is the estrogen typically found in the urine of pregnant women
es·tro·gen ['es-trə-jən] -n
- any of various natural steroids (as estradiol) that are formed from androgen precursors, that are secreted chiefly by the ovaries, placenta, adipose tissue, and testes, and that stimulate the development of female secondary sex characteristics and promote the growth and maintenance of the female reproductive system
- any of various synthetic or semisynthetic steroids (as ethinyl estradiol) that mimic the physiological effect of natural estrogens
es·tro·gen·ic [,es-trə-'je-nik] -adj, adv
- promoting estrus
- of, relating to, caused by, or being an estrogen
estrogen replacement therapy -n
- hormone replacement therapy involving the administration of estrogen without progestin
es·trone ['es-,trōn] -n
- a natural estrogenic hormone that is a ketone C 18H 22O 2found in the body chiefly as a metabolite of estradiol, that is also secreted esp. by the ovaries, and that is used to treat various conditions (as ovarian failure and menopausal symptoms) relating to estrogen deficiency
es·trous ['es-trəs] -adj
- of, relating to, or characteristic of estrus
- being in heat
estrous cycle -n
- the correlated phenomena of the endocrine and reproductive systems of a female mammal from the beginning of one period of estrus to the beginning of the next called also estral cycle estrus cycle
es·tru·al ['es-trə-wəl, -trü-əl] -adj
- estrous
es·trus ['es-trəs] -n
- a regularly recurrent state of sexual excitability during which the female of most mammals will accept the male and is capable of conceiving : heat
- a single occurrence of this state
es·tu·ar·i·al [,es-chə-'wer-ē-əl, ,esh-] -adj
- estuarine
es·tu·a·rine ['es-chə-(wə-),rīn, -,rēn, -,rin, 'esh-] -adj
- of, relating to, or formed in an estuary
es·tu·ary ['es-chə-,wer-ē, 'esh-] -n
- a water passage where the tide meets a river current
- an arm of the sea at the lower end of a river
esu·ri·ence [i-'su̇r-ē-ən(t)s, -'zu̇r-] -n
- the quality or state of being esurient
esu·ri·ent [-ənt] -adj, adv
- hungry, greedy