sq -abbr

  1. squadron
  2. square

squab ['skwäb] -n, adj

  1. couch
  2. a cushion for a chair or couch
  3. a fledgling bird
  4. a fledgling pigeon about four weeks old
  5. a short fat person

squab·ble ['skwä-bəl] -n

  1. a noisy altercation or quarrel usu. over petty matters

squabble [-b(ə-)liŋ] -vi, n

  1. to quarrel noisily and usu. over petty matters

squad ['skwäd] -n

  1. a small organized group of military personnel
  2. a tactical unit that can be easily directed in the field
  3. a small group engaged in a common effort or occupation
  4. to arrange in squads

squad car -n

  1. a police automobile connected with headquarters by a two-way radio called also black-and-white cruiser prowl car

squad·ron ['skwä-drən] -n

  1. : a unit of military organization: as
  2. a cavalry unit higher than a troop and lower than a regiment
  3. a naval unit consisting of two or more divisions and sometimes additional vessels
  4. a unit of the U.S. Air Force higher than a flight and lower than a group
  5. a military flight formation
  6. a large group of people or things
    • a squadron of limos

squadron leader -n

  1. a commissioned officer in the British air force who ranks with a major in the army

squad room -n

  1. a room in a barracks used to billet soldiers
  2. a room in a police station where members of the force assemble

squa·lene ['skwā-,lēn] -n

  1. an acyclic hydrocarbon C 30H 50that is widely distributed in nature (as a major component of sebum and in shark-liver oils) and is a precursor of sterols (as cholesterol)

squal·id ['skwä-ləd] -adj, adv, n

  1. marked by filthiness and degradation from neglect or poverty
  2. sordid

squall ['skwȯl] -vb, n

  1. to cry out raucously : scream
  2. to utter in a strident voice
  3. a raucous cry
  4. a sudden violent wind often with rain or snow
  5. a short-lived commotion
  6. to blow a squall

squally ['skwȯ-lē] -adj

  1. marked by squalls
  2. gusty

squa·lor ['skwä-lər also 'skwā- or 'skwȯ-] -n

  1. the quality or state of being squalid

squa·ma ['skwā-mə, 'skwä-] -n

  1. scale
  2. a structure resembling a scale

squa·mate ['skwā-,māt, 'skwä-] -n, adj

  1. any of an order (Squamata) of reptiles including the snakes and lizards and related extinct forms

squa·mo·sal [skwə-'mō-səl, -zəl] -n

  1. a squamosal bone

squamosal -adj

  1. squamous
  2. of, relating to, or being a bone of the skull of many vertebrates corresponding to the squamous portion of the temporal bone of most mammals including humans

squa·mous ['skwā-məs also 'skwä-] -adj

  1. covered with or consisting of scales : scaly
  2. of, relating to, or being a stratified epithelium that consists at least in its outer layers of small scalelike cells
  3. of, relating to, or being the anterior upper portion of the temporal bone of most mammals including humans

squamous cell -n

  1. a cell of or derived from squamous epithelium

squamous cell carcinoma -n

  1. a carcinoma that is made up of or arises from squamous cells and usu. occurs in areas of the body exposed to strong sunlight over many years

squa·mu·lose ['skwā-myə-,lōs, 'skwä-] -adj

  1. being or having a thallus made up of small leafy lobes
    • a squamulose lichen

squan·der ['skwän-dər] -vb, n

  1. to spend extravagantly or foolishly : dissipate, waste
    • squander ed a fortune
  2. to cause to disperse : scatter
  3. to lose (as an advantage or opportunity) through negligence or inaction
  4. disperse, scatter

squander -n

  1. an act of squandering

square ['skwer] -n

  1. an instrument having at least one right angle and two straight edges used esp. to lay out or test right angles
  2. a rectangle with all four sides equal
  3. any of the quadrilateral spaces marked out on a board for playing games
  4. the product of a number multiplied by itself
  5. an open place or area formed at the meeting of two or more streets
  6. block
  7. a solid object or piece approximating a cube or having a square as its largest face
  8. an unopened cotton flower with its enclosing bracts
  9. a person who is conventional or conservative in taste or way of life
  10. a square meal
    • ate three square s a day
  11. having four equal sides and four right angles
  12. forming a right angle
    • square corner
  13. having a square base
    • a square pyramid
  14. raised to the second power
  15. being approximately a cube
    • square cabinet
  16. having a shape that is broad for the height and rectangular rather than curving in outline
    • square shoulders
    • a square, thick, hard-working man -- Maria Edgeworth
  17. rectangular and equilateral in section
    • square tower
  18. being or converted to a unit of area equal in measure to a square each side of which measures one unit of a specified unit of length
    • a square foot
  19. being of a specified length in each of two equal dimensions
    • 10 feet square
  20. exactly adjusted : precisely constructed or aligned
  21. just, fair
    • a square deal
    • square in all his dealings
  22. leaving no balance : settled
  23. even, tied
  24. substantial, satisfying
    • square meal
  25. being unsophisticated, conservative, or conventional
  26. set at right angles with the mast and keel used of the yards of a square-rigged ship
  27. to make square or rectangular
    • square a building stone
  28. to test for deviation from a right angle, straight line, or plane surface
  29. to bring approximately to a right angle
    • squared his shoulders
  30. to multiply (a number) by itself : raise to the second power
  31. to find a square equal in area to
    • square a circle
  32. to regulate or adjust by or to some standard or principle
    • square our actions by the opinions of others -- John Milton
  33. balance, settle
    • square an account
  34. to even the score of
  35. to mark off into squares
  36. to set right : bring into agreement
    • squared their goals with their beliefs
  37. bribe, fix
  38. to agree precisely : correspond
    • your actions should square with your words
  39. to settle matters
  40. to pay the bill
  41. in a straightforward or honest manner
  42. so as to face or be face-to-face
  43. at right angles
  44. with nothing intervening : directly
    • ran square into it
  45. in a firm manner
    • looked her square in the eye
  46. in a square shape

square away -vi

  1. to square the yards so as to sail before the wind
  2. to put everything in order or in readiness
  3. to take up a fighting stance
  4. to put in order or in readiness

square bracket -n

  1. bracket

square dance -n, vi

  1. a dance for four couples who form the sides of a square

square knot -n

  1. a knot made of two reverse half-knots and typically used to join the ends of two cords

square·ly ['skwer-lē] -adv

  1. in a straightforward or honest manner
    • we must squarely face the issue
  2. exactly, precisely
    • squarely in the middle
  3. so as to make solid contact
    • hit the ball squarely
    • feet squarely planted
  4. in a square form or manner : so as to be square
    • a squarely cut dress
  5. in a plain or unequivocal manner
    • the responsibility lies squarely with us
    • align ourselves squarely with our allies

square matrix -n

  1. a mathematical matrix with the same number of rows and columns

square measure -n

  1. a unit or system of units for measuring area

square off -vi

  1. to take a fighting stance : prepare to fight
  2. fight

square of opposition

  1. a square figure on which may be demonstrated the logical relationships of contraries, contradictories, subcontraries, and subalterns and superalterns

square one -n

  1. the initial stage or starting point
    • the failure set us back to square one

square rig -n

  1. a sailing-ship rig in which the principal sails are extended on yards fastened to the masts horizontally and at their center

squarerigged ['skwer-'rigd] -adj

  1. having or equipped with a square rig

squarerig·ger [-,ri-gər] -n

  1. a square-rigged craft

square root -n

  1. a factor of a number that when squared gives the number
    • the square root of 9 is 3

square sail ['skwer-,sāl, -səl] -n

  1. a 4-sided sail extended on a yard suspended at the middle from a mast

square shooter -n

  1. a just or honest person

squaretoed [-'tōd] -adj

  1. having a toe that is square
  2. old-fashioned, conservative

square wave -n

  1. a waveform that varies periodically and abruptly from one to the other of two uniform values

squar·ish ['skwer-ish] -adj, adv, n

  1. somewhat square in form or appearance

squark ['skwȯrk, 'skwärk] -n

  1. the hypothetical boson analogue of a quark postulated under the rules of supersymmetry

squash ['skwäsh, 'skwȯsh] -vb, n

  1. to press or beat into a pulp or a flat mass : crush
  2. put down, suppress
    • squash a revolt
  3. to flatten out under pressure or impact
  4. to proceed with a splashing or squelching sound
    • squash through the mud
  5. squeeze, press
  6. something soft and easily crushed
  7. an unripe pod of peas
  8. the sudden fall of a heavy soft body or the sound of such a fall
  9. squelch
  10. a crushed mass
  11. sweetened citrus fruit juice often served with added soda water
  12. a singles or doubles game played in a 4-wall court with a long-handled racket and a rubber ball that can be hit off any number of walls
  13. with a squash or a squashing sound
  14. any of various fruits of plants (genus Cucurbita) of the gourd family widely cultivated as vegetables
  15. a plant and esp. a vine that bears squashes

squash bug -n

  1. a large black American bug ( Anasa tristisof the family Coreidae) injurious to plants of the gourd family

squash racquets -n pl but sing in constr

  1. squash

squash tennis -n

  1. a singles racket game resembling squash played with an inflated ball the size of a tennis ball

squashy ['skwä-shē, 'skwȯ-] -adj, adv, n

  1. easily squashed
  2. softly wet : boggy
  3. soft because overripe
    • squashy melons

squat ['skwät] -vb

  1. to cause (oneself) to crouch or sit on the ground
  2. to occupy as a squatter
    • squat in an abandoned building
  3. to crouch close to the ground as if to escape observation
    • a hare squatting in the grass
  4. to assume or maintain a position in which the body is supported on the feet and the knees are bent so that the buttocks rest on or near the heels
  5. to be or become a squatter
  6. sitting with the haunches close above the heels
  7. low to the ground
  8. marked by disproportionate shortness or thickness
  9. the act of squatting
  10. the posture of one that squats
  11. a place where one squats
  12. the lair of a small animal
    • the squat of a hare
  13. a lift in which a standing weight lifter drops to a squatting position and then rises to an upright position while holding a barbell on the shoulders
  14. a competitive event involving this lift
  15. an empty house or building that is occupied by squatters
  16. diddly-squat

squat·ter ['skwä-tər] -vi

  1. to go along through or as if through water
    • ducks squatter ing to the shore

squatter -n

  1. : one that squats: as
  2. one that settles on property without right or title or payment of rent
  3. one that settles on public land under government regulation with the purpose of acquiring title

squatter sovereignty -n

  1. popular sovereignty

squat·ty ['skwä-tē] -adj

  1. low to the ground
  2. dumpy, thickset

squaw ['skwȯ] -n

  1. an American Indian woman
  2. woman, wife

squaw·bush ['skwȯ-,bu̇sh] -n

  1. a strong-scented sumac ( Rhus trilobata) of western No. America with ternately compound leaves called also skunkbrush

squaw·fish [-,fish] -n

  1. any of several large cyprinid fishes (genus Ptychocheilus) of western No. America called also pikeminnow

squawk ['skwȯk] -vi, n

  1. to utter a harsh abrupt scream
  2. to complain or protest loudly or vehemently
    • opponents of the bill squawk ed
  3. a harsh abrupt scream
  4. a noisy complaint

squawk box -n

  1. an intercom speaker

squaw man -n

  1. a white man married to an American Indian woman and usu. living as one of her tribe

squaw·root ['skwȯ-,rüt, -,ru̇t] -n

  1. a No. American scaly herb ( Conopholis americana) of the broomrape family parasitic esp. on oak roots

squeak ['skwēk] -vb

  1. to utter or make a short shrill cry or noise
  2. squeal
  3. to pass, succeed, or win by a narrow margin
    • just squeak ed by in the election
  4. to utter in a shrill piping tone
  5. a sharp shrill cry or sound
  6. escape
    • a close squeak

squeak·er ['skwē-kər] -n

  1. one that squeaks
  2. a contest (as a game or an election) won by a small margin

squeakyclean -adj

  1. completely clean
    • squeakyclean hair
  2. completely free from moral taint of any kind
    • a squeakyclean reputation

squeal ['skwēl] -vb, n

  1. to make a shrill cry or noise
  2. to turn informer
    • squeal to the police
  3. complain, protest
  4. to express with or as if with a squeal
  5. to cause to make a loud shrill noise
    • squeal ing the tires
  6. a shrill sharp cry or noise

squea·mish ['skwē-mish] -adj, adv, n

  1. easily nauseated : queasy
  2. affected with nausea
  3. excessively fastidious or scrupulous in conduct or belief
  4. easily offended or disgusted

squee·gee ['skwē-,jē] -n

  1. a blade of leather or rubber set on a handle and used for spreading, pushing, or wiping liquid material on, across, or off a surface (as a window)
  2. a smaller similar device or a small rubber roller with handle used by a photographer or lithographer

squeegee -vt

  1. to smooth, wipe, or treat with a squeegee

squeeze ['skwēz] -vb, n, adj

  1. to exert pressure esp. on opposite sides of : compress
  2. to extract or emit under pressure
  3. to force or thrust by compression
  4. to get by extortion
  5. to deprive by extortion
  6. to cause economic hardship to
  7. to reduce the amount of
    • squeeze s profits
  8. to crowd into a limited area
  9. to gain or win by a narrow margin
  10. to force (another player) to discard in bridge so as to unguard a suit
  11. to score by means of a squeeze play
  12. to give way before pressure
  13. to exert pressure
  14. to practice extortion or oppression
  15. to force one's way
    • squeeze through a door
  16. to pass, win, or get by narrowly
  17. an act or instance of squeezing : compression
  18. handclasp
  19. embrace
  20. a quantity squeezed out from something
    • a squeeze of lemon
  21. a group crowded together : crowd
  22. a profit taken by a middleman on goods or transactions
  23. a financial pressure caused by narrowing margins or by shortages
  24. a forced discard in bridge
  25. squeeze play
  26. a romantic partner
    • she's my main squeeze

squeeze bottle -n

  1. a bottle of flexible plastic that dispenses its contents when it is squeezed

squeeze off -vt

  1. to fire (a round) by squeezing the trigger
  2. to fire a weapon by squeezing the trigger

squeeze play -n

  1. a baseball play in which a runner on third base starts for home plate as the ball is being pitched and the batter attempts to bunt to give the runner a chance to score
  2. the exertion of pressure in order to extort a concession or gain a goal

squelch ['skwelch] -vb, n

  1. to fall or stamp on so as to crush
  2. to completely suppress : quell
    • squelch resistance
  3. silence
    • squelch ed the protesters
  4. to emit or move with a sucking sound
  5. to emit a sucking sound
  6. to splash through water, slush, or mire
  7. a sound of or as if of semiliquid matter under suction
    • the squelch of mud
  8. the act of suppressing
  9. a retort that silences an opponent

sque·teague [skwi-'tēg] -n

  1. any of several weakfishes (esp. Cynoscion regalis)

squib ['skwib] -n

  1. a short humorous or satiric writing or speech
  2. a short news item
  3. filler
  4. a small firecracker
  5. a broken firecracker in which the powder burns with a fizz
  6. a small electric or pyrotechnic device used to ignite a charge
  7. to speak, write, or publish squibs
  8. to fire a squib
  9. to utter in an offhand manner
  10. to make squibs against : lampoon
  11. to shoot off : fire
  12. to kick (a football) on a kickoff so that it bounces along the ground

squib kick -n

  1. a kickoff in football in which the ball bounces along the ground

squid ['skwid] -n

  1. any of an order (Teuthoidea) of cephalopods having eight short arms and two usu. longer tentacles, a long tapered body, a caudal fin on each side, and usu. a slender internal chitinous support
  2. to fish with or for squid

SQUID ['skwid] -n

  1. an instrument for detecting and measuring very weak magnetic fields

squiffed ['skwift] -adj

  1. intoxicated, drunk

squig·gle ['skwi-gəl] -vb

  1. squirm, wriggle
    • squiggling in her seat
  2. to write or paint hastily : scribble
  3. scribble
  4. to form or cause to form in squiggles

squiggle [-g(ə-)lē] -n, adj

  1. a short wavy twist or line : curlicue
  2. an illegible scrawl

squilgee ['skwē-,jē] -n

(variant of squeegee)

  1. a blade of leather or rubber set on a handle and used for spreading, pushing, or wiping liquid material on, across, or off a surface (as a window)
  2. a smaller similar device or a small rubber roller with handle used by a photographer or lithographer

squill ['skwil] -n

  1. a Mediterranean bulbous herb ( Urginea maritima) of the lily family called also sea onion
  2. the dried sliced bulb scales of a squill used as an expectorant, cardiac stimulant, and diuretic
  3. red squill
  4. scilla

squil·la ['skwi-lə] -n

  1. any of various stomatopod crustaceans (esp. genus Squilla) that burrow in mud or beneath stones in shallow water along the seashore

squinch ['skwinch] -vb

  1. to screw up (the eyes or face) : squint
  2. to make more compact
  3. to cause to crouch down or draw together
  4. flinch
  5. to crouch down or draw together
  6. squint
  7. a support (as an arch, lintel, or corbeling) carried across the corner of a room under a superimposed mass

squin·ny ['skwi-nē] -vb

  1. squint

squinny -n, adj

  1. squint

squint ['skwint] -adj

  1. looking or tending to look obliquely or askance (as with envy or disdain)
  2. not having the visual axes parallel : crossed
  3. to have an indirect bearing, reference, or aim
  4. to deviate from a true line
  5. to look in a squint-eyed manner
  6. to be cross-eyed
  7. to look or peer with eyes partly closed
  8. to cause (an eye) to squint
  9. strabismus
  10. an instance of squinting
  11. hagioscope

squinteyed ['skwint-,īd] -adj

  1. having eyes that squint
  2. affected with cross-eye
  3. looking askance (as in envy)

squinting modifier -n

  1. a modifier (as oftenin getting dressed often is a nuisance) so placed in a sentence that it can be interpreted as modifying either what precedes or what follows

squire ['skwī(-ə)r] -n, adj

  1. a shield bearer or armor bearer of a knight
  2. a male attendant esp. on a great personage
  3. a man who devotedly attends a lady : gallant
  4. a member of the British gentry ranking below a knight and above a gentleman
  5. an owner of a country estate
  6. the principal landowner in a village or district
  7. justice of the peace
  8. lawyer
  9. judge
  10. to attend as a squire : escort

squire·ar·chy ['skwī(-ə)r-,är-kē] -n

  1. the class of landed gentry or landed proprietors

squirm ['skwərm] -vi, n, adj

  1. to twist about like a worm : fidget

squir·rel ['skwər(-ə)l, 'skwə-rəl, chiefly Brit 'skwir-əl] -n

  1. : any of various small or medium-sized rodents (family Sciuridae, the squirrel family): as
  2. any of numerous New or Old World arboreal forms having a long bushy tail and strong hind legs
  3. ground squirrel
  4. the fur of a squirrel

squirrel -vt

  1. to store up for future use often used with away
    • squirrel away some money

squirrel cage -n

  1. a cage for a small animal (as a squirrel) that contains a rotatable cylinder for exercising
  2. something resembling the working of a squirrel cage in repetitiveness or endlessness

squirrel corn -n

  1. a No. American herb ( Dicentra canadensis) of the fumitory family with much-divided leaves and a scapose raceme of cream-colored flowers

squir·rel·fish ['skwar(-ə)l-,fish, 'skwə-rəl-] -n

  1. any of various small chiefly tropical usu. red bony fishes (family Holocentridae) with large eyes, spiny fins, and rough scales

squir·rel·ly ['skwər(-ə)-lē, 'skwə-rə-] -adj

  1. nutty

squirrel monkey -n

  1. any of several small soft-haired So. American monkeys (genus Saimiri,esp. S. sciureusof the family Cebidae) that have a long tail not used for grasping and are colored chiefly yellowish gray with a white face and black muzzle

squirrel rifle -n

  1. a small-caliber rifle called also squirrel gun

squirt ['skwərt] -vb, n

  1. to come forth in a sudden rapid stream from a narrow opening : spurt
  2. to cause to squirt
  3. an instrument (as a syringe) for squirting a liquid
  4. a small quick stream : jet
  5. the action or an instance of squirting
  6. an impudent youngster
  7. kid

squirt gun -n

  1. water pistol

squirting cucumber -n

  1. a Mediterranean plant ( Ecballium elaterium) of the gourd family with oblong fruit that bursts from the peduncle when ripe and forcibly ejects the seeds

squish ['skwish] -vb, n

  1. squash
    • squish ed the bug
  2. squelch, suck
  3. squelch, suck
    • their wet tennis shoes squish ed -- Frank Noel

squishy ['skwi-shē] -adj, n

  1. being soft, yielding, and usu. damp
  2. : not firm, steady, or fixed : soft: as
  3. lenient
    • squishy judges
  4. imprecise
    • squishy estimates

squoosh ['skwu̇sh, 'skwüsh] -vb

  1. squash

squooshy ['skwu̇-shē] -adj

  1. squishy