English dictionary — definitions & meanings

C-suite

noun

The most senior executives in a company, whose job titles typically begin with 'chief' — the chief executive, chief financial officer, chief operating officer and so on.

c'est la vie

phrase

Said to accept a disappointment calmly, on the basis that setbacks are simply part of life.

CA

abbreviation

California, in postal addresses and other abbreviated writing.

cab

noun

A taxi.

cabal

noun

A small group secretly plotting together, especially in politics.

caballero

noun

A Spanish or Latin American gentleman or horseman.

cabana

noun

A small shelter or hut, especially at a beach or pool.

cabaret

noun

Live entertainment performed in a restaurant or club, typically featuring music, song, and dance.

cabbage

noun

A leafy vegetable grown as a round, tightly packed head, eaten cooked or raw.

cabbie

noun

Informal term for a taxi driver.

Cabe

name

A surname, a reduced form of McCabe.

cabernet

noun

Short for Cabernet Sauvignon, a variety of red wine grape and the full-bodied red wine made from it.

cabeza

noun

In Mexican and Tex-Mex cooking, meat from the head of a cow, especially the cheek, often slow-cooked for tacos.

cabin

noun

A small, simply built house, especially one made of logs in a rural or wooded area.

cabinet

noun

A piece of furniture with doors or drawers used for storage or display.

cabinetmaker

noun

A skilled woodworker who makes high-quality wooden cabinets and furniture.

cable

noun

A thick, strong rope or bundle of wires used to pull, support, or carry electricity or signals.

cabled

adj

Fitted with, or made using, cables.

cablegram

noun

A telegram transmitted via a submarine cable.

cablet

noun

A slender or small cable.

caboodle

noun

(informal) An entire group or collection of things, usually in the phrase "the whole kit and caboodle."

cabool

name

A city in Texas County, Missouri, United States.

caboose

noun

The last car on a freight train, once used as sleeping and cooking quarters for the crew.

Cabot

name

A French surname, notably borne by explorer John Cabot, and a town in Vermont.

Cabrera

name

A Spanish surname, and the name of towns in Colombia and the Dominican Republic.

cabriolet

noun

An automobile with a retractable top.

Cabron

noun

(vulgar, slang, from Spanish) An insulting term for a man; roughly "bastard" or "jerk."

Cabs

name

A nickname for Cabaret Voltaire, an English music group formed in Sheffield in 1973.

Caca

noun

(informal, often childish) Feces; poop.

cacao

noun

The dried and fermented seeds of the tropical cacao tree, from which chocolate and cocoa are made.

cache

noun

A hidden store of items kept for future use.

cache memory

noun

A small pool of very fast memory built into or beside a processor that holds copies of the data and instructions it has used most recently, so that they can be fetched again without waiting for slower main memory.

cachet

noun

A seal, as of a letter.

cack

noun

A discordant note.

cackle

noun

A harsh, broken sound like a hen's cry, or a laugh that sounds similar.

cackling

noun

The act or sound of cackling; a series of harsh, broken cries or laughs.

cacodaemon

noun

A wicked or malevolent spirit as opposed to agathodemon (a good spirit).

cacodemon

noun

An evil or malevolent spirit.

cacoethes

noun

Compulsion; mania.

cacography

noun

Bad spelling or punctuation, especially unintuitive spellings considered as a feature of a whole language or dialect.

cacophonous

adj

Containing, consisting of, or producing harsh, unpleasant or discordant sounds.

cacophony

noun

A harsh mixture of loud, clashing sounds.

cactaceous

adj

Belonging to, or like, the family of cacti Cactaceae.

cactoid

noun

A member of the cactus subfamily Cactoideae.

cactus

noun

A spiny, fleshy-stemmed plant, usually leafless, adapted to hot, dry desert climates.

cad

noun

(dated) A man who behaves dishonorably, especially toward women.

cadaver

noun

A dead human body, especially one used for medical study or dissection.

cadaverous

adj

Corpselike; hinting of death; imitating a cadaver.

caddie

noun

A person hired to carry a golfer's clubs and offer advice during a round.

caddy

noun

A small box or container used to hold and organize items, such as tea, cutlery, or cleaning supplies.

Cade

noun

(chiefly British, of livestock) An orphaned young animal raised by hand.

cadence

noun

A rhythmic flow or beat, especially in speech, music, or movement.

cadency

noun

Any systematic way of distinguishing similar coats of arms belonging to members of the same family.

cadet

noun

A student training to become a military or police officer.

cadette

noun

A female cadet.

cadge

verb

To tie, fasten.

Cadillac

name

A brand of luxury automobile, a marque of General Motors since 1909.

Cadiz

name

A historic port city in Andalusia, Spain, also the name of several places in the Philippines and the United States.

Cadmus

name

A Phoenician prince in Greek mythology, credited with founding Thebes and introducing the alphabet to Greece.

cadre

noun

A small, tightly organized group of trained people who form the core of a larger organization or movement.

Cady

name

A surname, and a town in Wisconsin named after early settler Jacob Cady.

Caesar

name

An ancient Roman family name, most famously borne by Julius Caesar, and later used as a title for Roman and other emperors.

Caesarean

noun

Short for "Caesarean section," a surgical delivery of a baby through an incision in the mother's abdomen.

caesarian

adj

Of or relating to or in the manner of Julius Caesar.

caesious

adj

Having a blue color very low in chroma.

caf

noun

A café; an informal spot for coffee and a light meal.

cafe

noun

A convenience store, originally one that sold coffee and similar basic items.

cafeteria

noun

A self-service restaurant or dining hall where people select food at a counter and carry it to a table.

Caffee

name

A surname.

caffein

noun

Dated spelling of caffeine.

caffeinate

verb

To add caffeine to something.

caffeinated

adj

Containing caffeine naturally (e.g., coffee, tea, and cacao) or as an additive (e.g., soft drinks, sports drinks, or energy drinks).

caffeine

noun

A natural stimulant found in coffee, tea, and cacao that increases alertness and reduces tiredness.

Cafferty

name

An Irish surname, a reduced form of McCafferty.

Caffrey

name

An Irish surname, a reduced form of McCaffrey.

caftan

noun

A long, loose, wide-sleeved robe that hangs from the shoulders without a fitted waist, worn as a dress, a beach cover-up or loungewear.

cag

noun

A small barrel or keg.

cage

noun

A structure of bars or mesh used to enclose and contain an animal or person.

caged

adj

Kept confined inside a cage.

cagey

adj

Careful and guarded about what you say or reveal; reluctant to share information.

caginess

noun

The quality of being cagey.

Cagney

name

An Irish surname, notably borne by actor James Cagney.

Cahill

name

An Irish surname.

Cai

name

A Chinese surname.

Caiaphas

name

A Jewish high priest in the first century CE, described in the New Testament as involved in the trial of Jesus.

caiman

noun

A crocodile-like reptile found in Central and South America, related to alligators.

Cain

name

In the Bible, the son of Adam and Eve who killed his brother Abel; also used as a male given name and surname.

Caine

name

A surname, notably borne by actor Michael Caine.

caird

noun

A travelling tinker or a tramp.

cairn

noun

A pile of stones stacked up as a marker, memorial, or landmark.

Cairns

name

A Scottish or Irish surname, and a city in Queensland, Australia named after Governor William Cairns.

Cairo

name

The capital and largest city of Egypt.

Cait

name

A short form of the female given names Caitlin or Caitlyn.

Caitlin

name

A feminine given name of Irish origin, equivalent to Catherine.

Caitlyn

name

A feminine given name, a modern spelling variant of Caitlin.

cajole

verb

To persuade someone to do something which they are reluctant to do, especially by flattery or promises; to coax.

Cajun

noun

A member of the French-speaking community in Louisiana descended from Acadian settlers.

cake

noun

A sweet baked dessert made from flour, sugar, eggs, and other ingredients.

caked

adj

Covered with a thick, hardened layer of something.

cakewalk

noun

Something that is very easy to do, requiring little effort.

cal

noun

Slaked lime (calcium hydroxide), used in building and farming.

calabash

noun

A tree (known as the calabash tree; Crescentia cujete) native to Central and South America, the West Indies, and southern Florida, bearing large, round fruit used to make containers (sense 3); the fruit of this tree.

Calabria

name

A region forming the "toe" of Italy's boot-shaped peninsula.

Calais

name

A port city in northern France, on the English Channel, close to England.

calamander

noun

A wood from India and Sri Lanka, of a hazel-brown color, with black stripes, very hard in texture. It is a kind of ebony obtained from species of Diospyros, especially Diospyros quaesita, used to make furniture.

calamari

noun

Squid served as food, often cut into rings and fried.

calamitous

adj

Causing or involving calamity; disastrous.

calamity

noun

A serious event that causes great damage, suffering, or loss.

calamus

noun

Sweet flag (Acorus calamus).

calcareous

adj

Resembling, containing, or composed of calcium carbonate or limestone; chalky.

calceate

adj

Synonym of shod: wearing shoes, particularly (Christianity) as opposed to the barefoot mendicant orders.

calceolate

adj

Slipper-shaped, shaped like a slipper.

calcite

noun

A very widely distributed crystalline form of calcium carbonate, CaCO₃, found as limestone, chalk and marble.

calcium

noun

A soft, silvery-white chemical element (symbol Ca) essential for healthy bones and teeth.

calculable

adj

Able to be calculated; calculatable.

calculatable

adj

Able to be calculated; calculable.

calculate

verb

To work out a number, amount, or answer using mathematics.

calculated

adj

Worked out precisely through calculation.

calculating

adj

Coldly scheming and focused on personal advantage.

calculation

noun

The process of working out a number or amount using mathematics.

calculator

noun

A device, often electronic, used to perform mathematical calculations.

calculus

noun

A branch of mathematics dealing with rates of change and the accumulation of quantities.

Calcutta

noun

A betting pool in which participants bid to "own" a competitor or team in an event, then split the winnings if their pick does well.

Calder

name

A surname, and the name of several rivers in England and Scotland.

caldera

noun

A large crater formed by collapse of the cone or edifice of a volcano.

Calderon

name

A Spanish surname, an anglicized form of Calderón.

Calderone

name

An Italian surname.

caldron

noun

Archaic spelling of cauldron.

Caldwell

name

An English habitational surname, and the name of several towns in the United States, meaning "cold spring."

cale

noun

Any of several marine fish in the family Odacidae, found mainly off Australia and New Zealand.

calean

noun

A Persian oriental tobacco pipe with a flexible tube.

Caleb

name

A male given name of Hebrew origin, borne in the Bible by an Israelite who accompanied Joshua into Canaan.

Caledonia

name

The Latin and poetic name for Scotland, also used for various places in Canada and the United States.

calendar

noun

A system for dividing time into days, months, and years.

calf

noun

A young cow, bull, or the young of certain other large animals such as elephants or whales.

calfling

noun

A small, young, or miniature calf.

Calgary

name

The largest city in Alberta, Canada, named after a village on the Isle of Mull in Scotland.

Cali

name

An informal nickname for California, also a major city in western Colombia.

caliber

noun

The internal diameter of a gun barrel, or the diameter of a bullet.

calibogus

noun

A drink made of rum mixed with spruce beer.

calibrate

verb

To adjust an instrument or measurement so it matches a known, accurate standard.

calibrated

adj

Adjusted precisely to a known standard; carefully measured or tuned.

calibration

noun

The process of adjusting an instrument or measurement to match a known standard.

calico

noun

A plain, inexpensive cotton fabric, often printed with a simple pattern.

Caliente

name

A place name meaning "hot" in Spanish, borne by towns in California and Nevada.

California

name

The most populous U.S. state, on the Pacific coast, whose capital is Sacramento.

Californian

adj

Coming from, belonging to, or typical of the U.S. state of California.

Caligula

name

The nickname of Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, the third Roman emperor, who reigned from 37 to 41 CE.

caliph

noun

A Muslim ruler regarded as a political and religious successor to the Prophet Muhammad.

caliphate

noun

A state or territory ruled by a caliph, or the system of government under a caliph.