English Dictionary — Definitions & Meanings

clotting

noun

The material or process resulting from clotting; matter that has thickened into a clot.

cloture

noun

(law) A procedure used in a parliament or similar body to end a debate so that members can vote.

cloud

noun

A visible mass of water droplets floating in the sky.

cloud computing

noun

The practice of using computers, storage and software that belong to someone else and are reached over the internet, paying for what is used instead of owning and running the machines yourself.

cloudberry

noun

A slow-growing bramble with the scientific name Rubus chamaemorus, or the fruit of that plant.

cloudburst

noun

A sudden, very heavy fall of rain.

clouded

adj

Covered with clouds, or made unclear and hard to see through.

cloudiness

noun

How much cloud is covering the sky at a given time.

clouding

noun

A hazy or blurred appearance, or the process of becoming that way.

cloudwards

adv

In the direction of the sky; upwards.

cloudy

adj

Covered with or full of clouds.

clough

noun

A narrow, steep-sided valley or ravine (chiefly British, especially in northern England).

Clouseau

noun

A French surname, familiar chiefly from the fictional bumbling detective Inspector Clouseau.

clout

noun

Influence or power, especially in politics or business.

clove

noun

A strong, aromatic spice made from the dried flower bud of the clove tree.

cloven

adj

Split or divided into two parts.

clover

noun

A small plant with leaves usually divided into three leaflets, often found in lawns and fields.

Clovis

noun

A male given name, historically borne by early Frankish kings.

clown

noun

A comic performer, often in bright costume and makeup, known for slapstick and silly antics.

clown around

verb

To behave in a silly, playful way instead of taking a situation seriously, usually to entertain other people or to avoid getting on with the task at hand.

clowning

noun

Silly, playful behavior, often for laughs or attention.

clownish

adj

Behaving in a silly, comical way, like a clown in a circus.

cloy

verb

To block or clog something up.

cloying

adj

So much of something that it becomes unpleasant.

club

noun

A group of people who join together for a shared interest or purpose, such as sport or recreation.

clubbed

adj

Shaped like a club, or thickened at one end.

clubber

noun

(informal) Someone who regularly goes out to nightclubs.

clubbing

noun

The activity of going out to nightclubs to dance and socialize.

clubgoer

noun

A person who enjoys visiting nightclubs.

clubhouse

noun

A building used by members of a club for meetings, socializing, or changing before and after playing sport.

cluck

noun

The short, clicking sound a hen makes.

clucking

noun

The sound made by clucking; a series of clucks.

cludgie

noun

(Scottish, informal) A toilet room.

clue

noun

A piece of information or evidence that helps solve a problem or mystery.

clueful

adj

(informal) Having a good understanding of something.

clueless

adj

Having no understanding of a situation; completely uninformed.

cluelessness

noun

A complete lack of understanding or awareness.

clump

noun

A small, dense cluster of things, especially plants or hair.

clumping

noun

A group of things gathered closely together.

clumps

noun

Plural of clump — several small dense clusters.

clumsiness

noun

A lack of physical grace or coordination.

clumsy

adj

Awkward in movement; lacking grace or coordination.

clung

verb

Past tense and past participle of cling — held on tightly.

clunk

noun

A dull, heavy sound, as of two solid objects knocking together.

clunker

noun

An old car that is in bad condition.

clunkiness

noun

The quality of being awkward, heavy or badly designed.

clunking

adj

Making a series of dull, heavy thuds; clumsy or ungainly.

Cluny

name

A commune in eastern France, also the name of places in Scotland and Canada.

cluster

noun

A small group of things growing, gathered, or occurring closely together.

clustering

noun

A number of similar things gathered together in a group.

clutch

verb

To grip or hold onto something tightly.

clutching

noun

The act of gripping something tightly.

clutter

verb

To fill a space with an untidy mass of objects.

cluttered

adj

Filled with an untidy scatter of objects; messy.

Clyde

name

A major river in Scotland flowing through Glasgow, also used as a male given name.

clyster

noun

A dose of medicine given through the rectum, such as an enema.

CMA

noun

Certified Management Accountant: a professional accountancy qualification focused on management accounting, financial planning, analysis and business decision support.

CMO

noun

The senior executive responsible for an organisation's marketing, brand and customer growth.

CMS

noun

Software that lets people create, edit and publish the text and images on a website through an ordinary editing screen, without writing code or touching files on the server.

CNC

noun

Computer numerical control: a system in which a computer directs a machine tool such as a mill, lathe or router, following a programmed design.

cnidarian

noun

A simple invertebrate sea animal, such as a jellyfish, coral or sea anemone, that belongs to the group Cnidaria.

cnut

name

A male given name from Old Norse, a historical spelling of Canute (Scandinavian Knut) in historical context.

co

pron

A gender-neutral pronoun used instead of "he" or "she".

coach

noun

A person who trains and instructs athletes or performers.

coachee

noun

A person who is being trained or coached by someone else.

Coachella

name

A city in California, and the large annual music festival held there.

coaching

noun

The activity of training or instructing someone.

coachman

noun

A man employed to drive a horse-drawn coach.

coachwoman

noun

A woman who drives a carriage pulled by horses.

coact

verb

(archaic) To force someone to do something.

coadjutor

noun

A person who helps or assists someone else.

coagulate

verb

To change from a liquid into a thicker, semi-solid state.

coagulation

noun

(chemistry) The process by which tiny particles floating in a liquid clump together and grow larger.

coal

noun

A black or dark brown rock, formed from ancient plant matter, burned as fuel.

coalesce

verb

To come together to form one single thing.

coalition

noun

A temporary alliance of groups or parties formed for a shared goal.

coarse

adj

Rough in texture rather than smooth.

coast

noun

The land bordering the sea.

coastal

adj

Located on or relating to the coast.

coaster

noun

Someone who lives in or comes from an area near the coast.

coasting

noun

The act of moving or gliding along without using power.

coastline

noun

The outline or shape of a coast, especially as seen on a map.

coat

noun

An outer garment worn over other clothes, typically with sleeves.

coated

adj

Covered with a thin layer of something.

Coates

name

A surname, and the name of several small towns and villages in England.

coath

noun

A general old word for illness, disease or plague.

coating

noun

A thin layer of a substance applied to a surface.

Coats

noun

Plural of coat — more than one outer garment or layer.

coax

verb

To gently persuade someone to do something through patience or flattery.

coaxing

noun

The act of gently persuading someone.

cob

noun

The central core of an ear of corn, left over once the kernels are removed.

Cobain

name

A surname.

cobalt

noun

A hard, silvery-grey metallic chemical element (symbol Co, atomic number 27), used to make alloys and pigments.

Cobb

name

An English surname, also the name of several small communities in the United States.

cobber

noun

(informal) A close friend, especially a word men use to each other.

cobble

noun

A rounded stone, roughly fist-sized, traditionally used to pave streets.

cobbler

noun

A person who repairs or makes shoes.

cobblerfish

noun

Any of several kinds of catfish.

cobblestone

noun

A smooth, rounded stone taken from a riverbed, used for paving streets or as ballast on ships.

cobbling

noun

The trade or craft of making and mending shoes.

cobnut

noun

A hazelnut, the nut of the common hazel tree.

cobra

noun

A venomous snake, especially of the genus Naja, known for flaring the skin of its neck into a hood when threatened.

Coburn

name

A surname, a variant of Cockburn, also a place in Pennsylvania.

cobweb

noun

A spider's web, especially an old, dusty, or abandoned one.

cobwebbed

adj

Covered in spiders' webs.

cobwebby

adj

Full of spiders' webs.

cobwebs

noun

The tangled, dusty remains of old spider webs, especially the grey strands found in corners, ceilings and unused rooms.

coca

noun

A South American shrub whose leaves are chewed or brewed as a mild stimulant and are the source of cocaine.

cocaine

noun

A powerful, addictive stimulant drug extracted from the coca plant, used illegally as a recreational drug and occasionally in medicine as a local anaesthetic.

coccyx

noun

The small, triangular bone at the very bottom of the spine, formed from fused vertebrae; the tailbone.

Cochin

noun

A large, fluffy breed of domestic chicken with feathered legs.

cochineal

noun

A small insect that lives on prickly pear cactus plants in warm parts of the Americas.

cochlea

noun

The coiled, spiral-shaped cavity inside the inner ear that turns sound vibrations into nerve signals.

Cochran

name

A Scottish surname, a variant of Cochrane, also the name of a city in Georgia.

Cochrane

name

A Scottish habitational surname, also the name of towns in Canada and Chile.

cock

noun

An adult male chicken; a rooster.

cockade

noun

A decorative knot or rosette of ribbon pinned to a hat, often to show rank or membership of a group.

cockamamie

adj

Ridiculous, implausible, or poorly thought out.

cockatoo

noun

A crested parrot of the family Cacatuidae, native mainly to Australia and Indonesia.

cockatrice

noun

Another name for the basilisk, a snake-like dragon whose stare alone can kill.

cockbird

noun

A male game bird, especially a male pheasant.

cockblock

verb

(informal) To stop someone, or try to stop them, from starting a romantic or sexual relationship with another person.

cockbreath

noun

(informal) A worthless or despicable person, used as an insult spoken directly to them.

cockchafer

noun

A large European beetle, of the genus Melolontha, that damages plants.

cockcrow

noun

Early morning, when a rooster first crows; dawn.

cocked

adj

Tilted or set at an angle, especially describing a hat, head, or firearm ready to fire.

cocker

noun

Short for cocker spaniel, a breed of dog originally bred to hunt woodcock.

cockerel

noun

A young male chicken.

cocket

noun

(law) An official document showing that tax has been paid on goods so they may be sold.

cockeye

noun

An eye that squints or turns in an unusual direction.

cockeyed

adj

Crooked, askew, or not aligned properly.

cockfag

noun

(informal) A thoroughly despicable person, used as an insult.

cocking

noun

The practice of raising and pitting gamecocks against each other; cockfighting.

cockle

noun

A small edible shellfish found around Europe, with a heart-shaped shell.

cockmunch

noun

(informal) A stupid or unpleasant person, used as an insult.

Cockney

noun

A person from the East End of London, traditionally one born within hearing of the Bow Bells; also, more loosely, any working-class Londoner.

cockpit

noun

The compartment in an aircraft, spacecraft, or racing car where the pilot or driver sits and controls it.

cockroach

noun

A flat-bodied, fast-moving insect of the order Blattodea, notorious as a household pest.

cockrum

name

A placename derived from the surname: a DeSoto County, Mississippi community, or a Dunklin County, Missouri community, both unincorporated.

Cocks

name

An English surname, a variant of Cox, also a hamlet in Cornwall.

cockscomb

noun

The soft red growth on top of a rooster's head.

cockshut

noun

A type of net used to catch woodcocks.

cocksuck

noun

(informal) A shortened form of a ruder word for an annoying or unpleasant person.

cocksucker

noun

A highly offensive term for a despicable or contemptible person.

cocksucking

adj

Used as a vulgar intensifier before a noun to express strong anger or contempt.

cocktail

noun

A mixed alcoholic drink, typically combining spirits with other ingredients like juice, syrup, or bitters.

cockwaffle

noun

(informal) A very annoying or unpleasant person.

cocky

adj

Overly self-confident, boastful, or arrogant.

coco

noun

Informal short form of coconut, or the coconut palm tree.

cocoa

noun

A brown powder made from roasted, ground cacao beans, used to make chocolate and in baking.