jeal·ous ['je-ləs] -adj, adv, n
- intolerant of rivalry or unfaithfulness
- disposed to suspect rivalry or unfaithfulness
- hostile toward a rival or one believed to enjoy an advantage
- vigilant in guarding a possession
- new colonies were jealous of their new independence -- Scott Buchanan
jeal·ou·sy ['je-lə-sē] -n
- a jealous disposition, attitude, or feeling
- zealous vigilance
jean ['jēn] -n
- a durable twilled cotton cloth used esp. for sportswear and work clothes
- pants usu. made of jean or denim usu. used in pl.
jeep ['jēp] -n
- a small general-purpose motor vehicle with 80-inch wheelbase, -ton capacity, and four-wheel drive used by the U.S. Army in World War II
- a similar but larger and more powerful U.S. army vehicle
- to travel by jeep
Jeep -trademark
- used for a civilian automotive vehicle
jee·pers ['jē-pərz] -interj
- used as a mild oath
jeepers cree·pers [-'krē-pərz] -interj
- jeepers
jeep·ney ['jēp-nē] -n
- a Philippine jitney bus converted from a jeep
jeer ['jir] -vb, n, adv
- to speak or cry out with derision or mockery
- to deride with jeers : taunt
- a jeering remark or sound : taunt
jeez ['jēz] -interj
- used as a mild oath or introductory expletive (as to express surprise)
je·fe ['hā-(,)fā, 'he-; 'he-fē] -n
- chief, leader
Jef·fer·son Da·vis's Birthday ['je-fər-sən-'dā-və-səz-] -n
- the first Monday in June observed as a legal holiday in many Southern states
Jef·frey pine ['je-frē-] -n
- a tall pine ( Pinus jeffreyi) of the western U.S. having elongated cones and long needles in groups of three
jehad [ji-'häd, chiefly Brit -'had] -n
(variant of jihad)
- a holy war waged on behalf of Islam as a religious duty
- a personal struggle in devotion to Islam esp. involving spiritual discipline
- a crusade for a principle or belief
Je·hosh·a·phat [ji-'hä-sə-,fat, -shə-] -n
- a king of Judah who brought Judah into an alliance with the northern kingdom of Israel in the ninth century b.c.
Je·ho·vah [ji-'hō-və] -n
- god
Jehovah's Witness -n
- a member of a group that witness by distributing literature and by personal evangelism to beliefs in the theocratic rule of God, the sinfulness of organized religions and governments, and an imminent millennium
je·hu ['jē-(,)hyü, -(,)hü] -n
- a king of Israel in the ninth century b.c.who according to the account in II Kings had Jezebel killed in accordance with Elijah's prophecy
- a driver of a coach or cab
je·ju·nal [ji-'jü-nᵊl] -adj
- of or relating to the jejunum
je·june [ji-'jün] -adj, adv, n
- lacking nutritive value
- devoid of significance or interest : dull
- juvenile, puerile
- jejune reflections on life and art
je·ju·num [ji-'jü-nəm] -n
- the section of the small intestine that comprises the first two fifths beyond the duodenum and that is larger, thicker-walled, and more vascular and has more circular folds than the ileum
Je·kyll and Hyde ['je-kəl-ən-'hīd also 'jē- or 'jā-] -n
- one having a two-sided personality one side of which is good and the other evil
jell ['jel] -vb
- to come to the consistency of jelly : congeal, set
- to take shape and achieve distinctness : become cohesive
- to cause to jell
jellied gasoline -n
- napalm
JellO ['je-(,)lō] -trademark
- used for a gelatin dessert usu. with the flavor and color of fruit
jel·ly ['je-lē] -n, adj
- a soft somewhat elastic food product made usu. with gelatin or pectin
- a fruit product made by boiling sugar and the juice of fruit
- a substance resembling jelly in consistency
- a state of fear or irresolution
- a shapeless structureless mass : pulp
jelly -vb
- jell
- to make jelly
- to bring to the consistency of jelly
jelly bean -n
- a sugar-glazed bean-shaped candy
jel·ly·fish ['je-lē-,fish] -n
- a free-swimming marine coelenterate that is the sexually reproducing form of a hydrozoan or scyphozoan and has a nearly transparent saucer-shaped body and extensible marginal tentacles studded with stinging cells
- siphonophore
- ctenophore
- a person lacking backbone or firmness
jelly roll -n
- a thin sheet of sponge cake spread with jelly and rolled up
jel·u·tong ['je-lə-,tȯŋ] -n
- any of several trees (genus Dyera) of the dogbane family
- the resinous rubbery latex of a jelutong (esp. Dyera costulata) used esp. as a chicle substitute
jem·my ['je-mē] -n
- jimmy
je ne sais quoi [zhə-nə-,sā-'kwä] -n
- something that cannot be adequately described or expressed
jen·net ['he-nā, 'je-nət] -n
- a small Spanish horse
- a female donkey
- hinny
jen·ny ['je-nē] -n
- a female bird
- a female donkey
- spinning jenny
je·on [(,)jā-'ȯn] -n
- the chon of South Korea
jeop·ard ['je-pərd] -vt
- jeopardize
jeop·ar·dise ['je-pər-,dīz] -vt
(variant of jeopardize)
- to expose to danger or risk : imperil
jeop·ar·dize ['je-pər-,dīz] -vt
- to expose to danger or risk : imperil
jeop·ar·dy ['je-pər-dē] -n
- exposure to or imminence of death, loss, or injury : danger
- the danger that an accused person is subjected to when on trial for a criminal offense
je·quir·i·ty bean [jə-'kwir-ə-tē-] -n
- the poisonous scarlet and black seed of the rosary pea often used for beads
- rosary pea
Jer -abbr
- Jeremiah; Jeremias
jer·boa [jər-'bō-ə, jer-] -n
- any of several social nocturnal jumping rodents (family Dipodidae) of arid parts of Asia and northern Africa having a long tail and long hind legs
jer·e·mi·ad [,jer-ə-'mī-əd, -,ad] -n
- a prolonged lamentation or complaint
- a cautionary or angry harangue
Jer·e·mi·ah [-'mī-ə] -n
- a major Hebrew prophet of the seventh and sixth centuries b.c.
- person who is pessimistic about the present and foresees a calamitous future
- a prophetic book of canonical Jewish and Christian Scripture
Jer·e·mi·as [-'mī-əs] -n
- jeremiah
jerk ['jərk] -n
- a single quick motion of short duration
- jolting, bouncing, or thrusting motions
- a tendency to produce spasmodic motions
- an involuntary spasmodic muscular movement due to reflex action
- involuntary twitchings due to nervous excitement
- an annoyingly stupid or foolish person
- an unlikable person
- one who is cruel, rude, or small-minded
- the pushing of a weight from shoulder height to a position overhead in weight lifting
- to give a quick suddenly arrested push, pull, or twist to
- to propel or move with or as if with a quick suddenly arrested motion
- to mix and serve (as sodas) behind a soda fountain
- to make a sudden spasmodic motion
- to move in short abrupt motions or with frequent jolts
- to preserve (meat) in long sun-dried slices
jerk around -vt
- to treat badly esp. by being underhanded or inconsistent
jer·kin ['jər-kən] -n
- a close-fitting hip-length usu. sleeveless jacket
jerk off -vb
- masturbate
jerk·wa·ter ['jərk-,wȯ-tər, -,wä-] -adj
- remote and unimportant
- trivial
jerky ['jər-kē] -adj, adv, n
- moving along with or marked by fits and starts
- characterized by abrupt transitions
- inane, foolish
jer·ky ['jər-kē] -n
- jerked meat
jer·o·bo·am [,jer-ə-'bō-əm] -n
- an oversize wine bottle holding about three liters
jer·ri·can ['jer-ē-,kan] -n
- a narrow flat-sided container for liquids usu. holding about five U.S. gallons (about 19 liters)
Jer·ry ['jer-ē, 'je-rē] -n
- german
jer·rybuild ['jer-ē-,bild] -vt, n
- to build cheaply and flimsily
jerrybuilt -adj
- built cheaply and unsubstantially
- carelessly or hastily put together
jer·ryrigged ['jer-ē-,rigd] -adj
- organized or constructed in a crude or improvised manner
jer·sey ['jər-zē] -n
- a plain weft-knitted fabric made of wool, cotton, nylon, rayon, or silk and used esp. for clothing
- any of various close-fitting usu. circular-knitted garments esp. for the upper body
- any of a breed of small short-horned predominantly yellowish brown or fawn dairy cattle noted for their rich milk
Jersey barrier -n
- a concrete slab 32 inches high with slanted sides that is used in tandem with others to block or reroute traffic or to divide highways
Jersey pine -n
- virginia pine
Je·ru·sa·lem artichoke [jə-,rü-s(ə-)ləm-, -,rüz-ləm-, -'rü-zə-] -n
- a perennial sunflower ( Helianthus tuberosus) of the U.S. and Canada widely cultivated for its tubers that are used as a vegetable and as a livestock feed
- its tubers
Jerusalem cherry -n
- either of two plants ( Solanum pseudocapsicumand S. capsicastrum) of the nightshade family cultivated as ornamental houseplants for their orange to red berries
Jerusalem cricket -n
- a large-headed burrowing nocturnal orthopteran insect ( Stenopelmatus fuscus) of the southwestern U.S.
Jerusalem thorn -n
- a widely cultivated tropical American spiny shrub or small tree ( Parkinsonia aculeata) of the legume family with pinnate leaves and showy racemose yellow flowers
jess ['jes] -n, adj
- a short strap secured on the leg of a hawk and usu. provided with a ring for attaching a leash
jessamine ['jaz-mən] -n
(variant of jasmine)
- any of numerous often climbing shrubs (genus Jasminum) of the olive family that usu. have extremely fragrant flowers
- a tall-climbing semievergreen Asian shrub ( J. officinale) with fragrant white flowers from which oil is extracted for use in perfumes
- any of numerous plants having sweet-scented flowers
- yellow jessamine
- a light yellow
Jes·se ['je-sē] -n
- the father of David, king of Israel, according to the account in I Samuel
jest ['jest] -n, vb
- an utterance (as a jeer or quip) intended to be taken as mockery or humor
- prank
- a ludicrous circumstance or incident
- a frivolous mood or manner
- gaiety and merriment
- laughingstock
jest·er ['jes-tər] -n
- fool
- one given to jests
Je·su·it ['je-zü-ət, -zhü- also -zyü-] -n, adj, adv
- a member of the Roman Catholic Society of Jesus founded by St. Ignatius Loyola in 1534 and devoted to missionary and educational work
- one given to intrigue or equivocation
Je·sus ['jē-zəs, -zəz also -,zəs and -,zəz] -n
- the Jewish religious teacher whose life, death, and resurrection as reported by the Evangelists are the basis of the Christian message of salvation called also Jesus Christ
- the highest human corporeal concept of the divine idea rebuking and destroying error and bringing to light man's immortality
jet ['jet] -n
- a compact velvet-black coal that takes a good polish and is often used for jewelry
- an intense black
- of the color jet
- to spout forth : gush
- to emit in a stream : spout
- a usu. forceful stream of fluid (as water or gas) discharged from a narrow opening or a nozzle
- a narrow stream of material (as plasma) emanating or appearing to emanate from a celestial object (as a radio galaxy)
- a nozzle for a jet of fluid
- something issuing as if in a jet
- talk poured from her in a brilliant jet -- Time
- jet engine
- an airplane powered by one or more jet engines
- a long narrow current of high-speed winds (as a jet stream)
- to travel by jet airplane
- to move or progress by or as if by jet propulsion
jet·bead ['jet-,bēd] -n
- a deciduous ornamental Asian shrub ( Rhodotypos scandens) of the rose family that has black shiny fruit
jetblack [-'blak] -adj
- black as jet
je·te [zhə-'tā] -n
- a springing jump in ballet made from one foot to the other in any direction
jet engine -n
- an engine that produces motion as a result of the rearward discharge of a jet of fluid
- an airplane engine that uses atmospheric oxygen to burn fuel and produces a rearward discharge of heated air and exhaust gases
jet lag ['jet-,lagd] -n, adj
- a condition that is characterized by various psychological and physiological effects (as fatigue and irritability), occurs following long flight through several time zones, and prob. results from disruption of circadian rhythms in the human body
jet·lin·er ['jet-,lī-nər] -n
- a jet-propelled airliner
jet·port ['jet-,pȯrt] -n
- an airport designed to handle jet airplanes
jetpro·pelled ['jet-prə-'peld] -adj
- moving by jet propulsion
- suggestive of the speed and force of a jet airplane
jet propulsion -n
- propulsion of a body produced by the forwardly directed forces of the reaction resulting from the rearward discharge of a jet of fluid
- propulsion of an airplane by jet engines
jet·sam ['jet-səm] -n
- the part of a ship, its equipment, or its cargo that is cast overboard to lighten the load in time of distress and that sinks or is washed ashore
- flotsam
jet set [-,se-tər] -n, adj
- an international social group of wealthy individuals who frequent fashionable resorts
Jet Ski -trademark
- used for a small motorized usu. recreational watercraft
jet stream -n
- a long narrow meandering current of high-speed winds near the tropopause blowing from a generally westerly direction and often exceeding a speed of 250 miles (402 kilometers) per hour
jet·ti·son ['je-tə-sən, -zən] -n
- a voluntary sacrifice of cargo to lighten a ship's load in time of distress
jettison [-sə-nə-bəl, -zə-] -vt, adj
- to make jettison of
- to get rid of as superfluous or encumbering : omit or forgo as part of a plan or as the result of some other decision
- must be prepared to jettison many romantic notions - Christopher Catling
- to drop from an aircraft or spacecraft in flight
jet·ty ['je-tē] -n
- a structure extended into a sea, lake, or river to influence the current or tide or to protect a harbor
- a protecting frame of a pier
- a landing wharf
jetty -vi
- project, jut
- black as jet
Jet·way ['jet-,wā] -trademark
- used for a telescoping passenger ramp between an aircraft and a terminal building
jeu d'es·prit [zhœ-des-'prē] -n
- a witty comment or composition
jeu·nesse do·ree [zhœ-nes-dȯ-'rā] -n
- young people of wealth and fashion
Jew ['jü] -n
- a member of the tribe of Judah
- israelite
- a member of a nation existing in Palestine from the sixth century b.c.to the first century a.d.
- a person belonging to a continuation through descent or conversion of the ancient Jewish people
- one whose religion is Judaism
jew·el ['jü-əl, 'jül also 'ju̇l] -n, adj
- an ornament of precious metal often set with stones or decorated with enamel and worn as an accessory of dress
- one that is highly esteemed
- regarded the library as the jewel of the campus
- a precious stone : gem
- a bearing for a pivot (as in a watch) made of crystal, glass, or a gem
jewel -vt
- to adorn or equip with jewels
- to give beauty to as if with jewels : embellish
jewel box -n
- a small box or case designed to hold jewelry
- something (as a theater) of exquisite or ornate design
- a thin plastic case for a CD or DVD called also jewel case
jew·el·er ['jü-ə-lər, 'jü-lər also 'ju̇-lər] -n
- one who makes or repairs jewelry
- one who deals in jewelry, precious stones, watches, and usu. silverware and china
jew·el·lery ['jü-əl-rē, 'jül-rē, 'ju̇l-; ÷'jü-lə-rē] -n
(variant of jewelry)
- jewels
- objects of precious metal often set with gems and worn for personal adornment
jew·el·ry ['jü-əl-rē, 'jül-rē, 'ju̇l-; ÷'jü-lə-rē] -n
- jewels
- objects of precious metal often set with gems and worn for personal adornment
jewel tone -n
- any of various colors (as amethyst, emerald, and ruby) that resemble those of gemstones
jew·el·weed [-,wēd] -n
- touch-me-not
Jew·ess ['jü-əs] -n
- a Jewish girl or woman
jew·fish ['jü-,fish] -n
- any of various large groupers (esp. Epinephelus itajara) that are usu. dusky green, brown, or blackish, thickheaded, and rough-scaled
- any of various other large fishes (as Argyrosomus hololepidotus)
Jew·ish ['jü-ish] -adj, adv, n
- of, relating to, or characteristic of the Jews
- being a Jew
Jewish American Princess -n
- a stereotypical well-to-do or spoiled American Jewish girl or woman called also Jewish Princess
Jewish calendar -n
- a calendar in use among Jewish peoples that is reckoned from the year 3761 b.c.and dates in its present form from about a.d.360
Jew·ry ['ju̇(-ə)r-ē, 'jü-rē] -n
- a community of Jews
- the Jewish people
Jew's harp ['jüz-,härp, 'jüs-] -n
- a small lyre-shaped instrument that when held between the teeth gives tones from a metal tongue struck by the finger
Jez·e·bel ['je-zə-,bel] -n
- the Phoenician wife of Ahab who according to the account in I and II Kings pressed the cult of Baal on the Israelite kingdom but was finally killed in accordance with Elijah's prophecy
- an impudent, shameless, or morally unrestrained woman