English Dictionary — Definitions & Meanings

accipient

noun

A person or thing that willingly receives something.

acclaim

verb

To praise enthusiastically and publicly.

acclaimed

adj

Widely praised and admired.

acclamation

noun

Loud, enthusiastic clapping or shouting to show approval.

acclimate

verb

To get used to a climate that is not your own.

acclimated

adj

Used to and comfortable with a particular place or situation.

acclimatization

noun

The act of acclimatizing; the process of inuring to a new climate, or the state of being so inured.

acclimatize

verb

To grow used to a different climate or a new set of circumstances.

acclivity

noun

A stretch of ground that rises, such as the upward side of a hill.

accolade

noun

An award, honour or expression of high praise.

accommodate

verb

To provide someone with a place to stay or space to fit.

accommodating

adj

Willing to help or go along with what someone wants; obliging.

accommodation

noun

A place to stay, such as a room or house, especially for travellers or students.

accommodations

noun

Places to stay, or the arrangements made to meet someone's needs.

accommodative

adj

Willing to help or fit in with what others need.

accompanied

adj

Having someone or something else present alongside; joined by a companion.

accompaniment

noun

Music played to support a main singer or instrument.

accompany

verb

To go somewhere with someone, or to be present alongside them.

accompanying

adj

Attached to or provided together with something else.

accomplice

noun

A person who helps someone else commit a crime.

accomplish

verb

To succeed in doing or finishing something, especially something difficult.

accomplished

adj

Highly skilled, especially through training or practice.

accomplishment

noun

Something achieved through effort; an achievement.

accord

noun

A formal agreement, especially between countries or groups.

accordance

noun

Agreement or conformity, especially with a rule or plan.

according

adv

Used before "to" to show where information comes from, or to mean "depending on."

accordingly

adv

In a way that fits the situation just described; as a result.

accordion

noun

A boxy musical instrument with folding bellows, played by pressing buttons or keys while squeezing air through it.

accost

verb

To walk up to someone and speak to them in a forceful or unwelcome way.

accosted

adj

(heraldry) Placed side by side, or supported on both sides.

accouchement

noun

The act of giving birth to a baby.

accoucheur

noun

Someone, typically a man, who helps a woman give birth.

account

noun

A written or spoken description of events; a report.

accountability

noun

Being responsible for one's actions and expected to explain or answer for them.

accountable

adj

Required to explain or answer for one's actions; responsible.

accountableness

noun

The fact of being answerable for what you do; accountability.

accountancy

noun

The professional practice of preparing and analysing financial records.

accountant

noun

A professional who prepares, checks, and manages financial records for a person or business.

accounting

noun

The system and practice of recording and analysing a business's or person's finances.

accouter

verb

To equip someone with clothing or gear, particularly for the army.

accredit

verb

To say that something is the cause or source of a quality or achievement.

accreditation

noun

Official recognition that a person, course or organisation meets a required standard, granted by a body with the authority to judge it.

accredited

adj

Officially recognised as meeting a required standard.

accretion

noun

A gradual increase caused by new matter being added from outside.

accrual

noun

An amount of income or expense that has been earned or incurred but not yet received or paid, recorded in the accounts for the period it belongs to.

accrue

verb

To grow larger over time.

accruing

noun

A sum that has built up over time.

acculturation

noun

The way a society's culture shifts after coming into contact with another culture.

accumulate

verb

To gradually gather or build up over time.

accumulation

noun

The gradual gathering of something into a larger amount; also the resulting mass.

accumulator

noun

A person or thing that builds something up over time.

accuracy

noun

The quality of being correct or exact, free from error.

accurate

adj

Correct and free from error; exact.

accurately

adv

In a correct or exact way; without error.

accursed

adj

Deeply hated or thought to be under a curse; wretched.

accusation

noun

A claim that someone has done something wrong.

accusative

adjective

Suggesting or making an accusation, or reflecting a finding of fault or blame.

accuse

verb

To claim that someone has done something wrong or committed a crime.

accused

noun

A person formally charged with a crime; the defendant.

accuser

noun

A person who accuses someone of wrongdoing.

accusing

adj

Suggesting blame; expressing an accusation.

accustom

verb

To make someone used to something through repeated experience.

accustomed

adj

Used to something through experience or habit.

ace

noun

A playing card marked with a single symbol, usually ranked highest or lowest in a game.

acedia

noun

A deep lack of energy or interest in life, often leading someone to neglect their duties and feel restless or low.

acepot

noun

A poker game where you need at least a pair of aces to open the betting for the jackpot.

acerb

adj

Having a sharp, bitter taste, like fruit that is not yet ripe.

acerbic

adj

Having a sour or bitter taste.

acerbicness

noun

The quality of being sharp, biting or bitter.

acerbity

noun

A sour, bitter taste, similar to that of fruit before it ripens.

aces

intj

Used to say something is excellent or great.

acetamide

noun

In organic chemistry, the amide of acetic acid, with the formula CH3CONH2.

acetaminophen

noun

A white crystal-like medicine used to ease pain and bring down a fever.

acetate

noun

In chemistry, any salt or ester formed from acetic acid.

acetone

noun

A colourless, strong-smelling liquid solvent that evaporates quickly; used to remove nail polish and to thin paints and resins.

acetose

adj

Having a sour taste, like vinegar.

acetous

adj

Sour or acidic in taste.

acetum

noun

Vinegar, sometimes used as a medicine.

acetylene

noun

A colourless, highly flammable gas made of two carbon and two hydrogen atoms, burned with oxygen to produce an extremely hot flame used for welding and cutting metal.

ach

noun

An old name for parsley or related plants such as wild celery and smallage.

ache

verb

To feel a dull, ongoing pain rather than a sharp, sudden one.

acherontic

adj

Relating to or like the river Acheron, one of the rivers of the underworld in Greek myth.

achesome

adj

Aching or painful.

achievable

adj

Able to be reached or done; possible or likely.

achieve

verb

To succeed in doing or reaching something, usually after effort.

achieved

adjective

Reached, completed, or accomplished successfully.

achievement

noun

Something accomplished through effort, skill, or courage; a notable success.

achiever

noun

A person who achieves something.

achieving

noun

The act of successfully reaching a goal or completing something difficult.

Achilles

name

The greatest warrior on the Greek side in Homer's Iliad, famous for his near-invulnerability except for his heel.

Achim

name

A male given name of German origin, also a town in Lower Saxony, Germany.

aching

adjective

Feeling or causing a continuous dull pain.

achoo

interjection

Used to represent the sound of a sneeze.

achromatic

adj

Without colour, and letting light pass through it without distorting the colours.

achronic

adj

Describes a star rising or setting at sunset, rather than at sunrise.

achy

adjective

Suffering from aches; sore all over.

acid

noun

In chemistry, a substance that reacts with a base, tastes sour, and can turn litmus paper red; on the pH scale it measures below 7.

acidic

adjective

Having the properties of an acid; sour or having a pH below 7.

acidity

noun

The quality or level of being acidic; sourness.

acidosis

noun

A medical condition in which the blood is more acidic than it should be.

acidulent

adj

Slightly sour or acidic.

acidulousness

noun

The quality of being slightly sour or acidic.

ACK

interjection

Used to express disgust, alarm, or annoyance.

acker

noun

A ripple or small wave on the surface of a river or lake.

Ackerman

name

A surname of occupational origin, denoting a farmer, also a town in Mississippi, United States.

acknowledge

verb

To accept or admit that something is true.

acknowledged

adjective

Widely accepted or recognized as true.

acknowledging

adjective

Recognizing or admitting something, often with a nod or gesture.

acknowledgment

noun

The act of admitting or recognizing something as true.

Ackroyd

name

An English surname of topographic origin, meaning someone who lived near an oak clearing.

Acme

noun

The highest point of achievement or development; the peak.

acne

noun

A skin condition, common in teenagers, causing spots and pimples from blocked and inflamed pores.

acolyte

noun

In the Catholic Church, a person ordained to the top minor order, tasked with carrying the wine, water and candles at Mass.

aconite

noun

A poisonous plant of the genus Aconitum, also called wolfsbane or monkshood.

acorn

noun

The nut of the oak tree, oval-shaped and sitting in a small woody cup.

Acosta

name

A Spanish surname of Catalan origin.

acoustic

adjective

Relating to sound or the sense of hearing.

acoustics

noun

The scientific study of sound.

acquaint

verb

To make someone familiar with something, or to introduce people to each other.

acquaintance

noun

A person you know slightly, but who is not a close friend.

acquainted

adjective

Familiar with someone or something, usually not deeply.

acquiesce

verb

To accept something quietly, without objecting, often after being unhappy about it at first.

acquiescence

noun

Quiet agreement or acceptance, given without openly objecting but also without clearly saying yes.

acquiescent

adj

Ready to accept or go along with something without arguing or objecting.

acquire

verb

To get or obtain something, often through effort, purchase, or over time.

acquired

adjective

Developed during a person's life rather than present from birth.

acquirer

noun

A person who acquires something.

acquisition

noun

The act of getting or gaining something, especially when a company buys another business.

acquisitive

adj

Eager to gain and collect things; greedy for possessions.

acquisitiveness

noun

A strong wish to gain and own things.

acquit

verb

To decide in court that someone is not guilty.

acquittal

noun

A court decision that a person is not guilty of the crime they were charged with.

acquittance

noun

A written receipt showing that a debt has been paid in full.

acquitted

adjective

Formally cleared of a criminal charge by a court.

acrasia

noun

A lack of self-control, leading to excess or unruly behaviour.

acrasy

noun

Another word for acrasia, a lack of self-control; also, one instance of such behaviour.

acre

noun

A unit of land area equal to 4,840 square yards (about 4,047 square metres), historically the amount of land a team of oxen could plough in a day.

acreage

noun

The total size of an area of land, measured in acres.

acrid

adj

Having a sharp, harsh or bitter taste.

acridity

noun

A sharp, bitter quality.

acridness

noun

A bitter, sharp quality.

acrimonious

adjective

Full of anger and bitterness, especially during an argument or dispute.

acrimony

noun

A harsh, bitter hatred.

acrobat

noun

A performer skilled in feats of balance, flexibility, and coordination, such as tumbling or tightrope walking.

acrobatic

adj

Relating to acrobats or the skills they use.

acrobatics

noun

The performance of gymnastic feats requiring balance, flexibility, and coordination.

acromegaly

noun

A chronic disease in which the bones of the hands, feet, face and jaw grow larger, caused by an overactive pituitary gland.

acronym

noun

A word formed from the first letters of a longer phrase, especially one pronounced as a single word rather than spelled out.

acronymization

noun

The process of shortening a phrase into an acronym.

acrophobia

noun

an intense fear of heights or of being high above the ground.