English Dictionary — Definitions & Meanings

dragon

noun

A mythical, usually giant reptilian creature, often depicted breathing fire and guarding treasure in Western folklore.

dragonback

noun

The back of a dragon, especially as a place to sit and ride.

dragonet

noun

A little dragon.

dragonette

noun

A small dragon, or a female dragon.

dragonfly

noun

A flying insect with a long, slender body and two pairs of transparent wings held out flat at rest.

dragonnade

noun

A campaign ordered by King Louis XIV to frighten French Protestants into becoming Catholic again.

dragoon

noun

Historically, a mounted soldier who could fight on foot or on horseback.

drain

noun

A pipe or channel that carries away unwanted liquid.

drainage

noun

The process or system of removing excess water or liquid from an area.

drained

adj

Exhausted; completely lacking energy.

drainer

noun

Something that lets liquid drain away.

draining

adj

Tiring; steadily using up energy or strength.

drainout

noun

A channel that carries liquid away out of a system.

drainpipe

noun

A pipe that carries away rainwater or waste liquid, often running down the side of a building.

drainplug

noun

A plug that seals a drain, often found underneath an engine, gearbox or similar part to let the oil out.

drake

noun

A male duck.

dram

noun

A small measure or drink of liquor, especially whisky.

drama

noun

A play written for the stage, television, radio, or film, acted out by performers taking on characters.

dramamine

noun

A brand name commonly used for the anti-nausea drug dimenhydrinate, used to treat motion sickness.

dramatic

adj

Sudden, striking, or intense in a way that grabs attention.

dramatically

adv

In a way that is sudden, striking, or extreme.

dramatics

noun

The art and practice of acting and staging plays.

dramatize

verb

To turn a book or story into a play, or a show for radio or television.

dramaturgy

noun

The skill of writing plays for the theatre.

drank

noun

Slang for a drink, especially an alcoholic one, or a codeine-based cough syrup mixture.

drape

noun

A curtain, or heavy cloth hung over a window or doorway.

draped

adj

Covered or wrapped loosely in fabric that hangs softly.

draper

noun

A person who sells cloth or textiles for a living.

drapery

noun

Fabric arranged in loose, flowing folds.

drapes

noun

Heavy curtains hung over a window.

drastic

adj

Extreme or severe, especially describing an action taken to fix a serious problem.

drastically

adv

In an extreme or severe way; to a great degree.

drat

intj

Used to express mild annoyance or frustration.

dratted

adj

Used before a word to show that you find the thing annoying.

draught

noun

A current of cool air moving through a room, usually coming in through a gap around a door, window or chimney.

draughtboard

noun

A board for playing draughts, similar to a chessboard but sometimes with ten squares on each side instead of eight.

draughts

noun

The British English name for checkers: a board game for two players who try to capture all of the opponent's pieces by jumping over them.

draughty

adj

A standard spelling of drafty.

Draupadi

name

A central female figure in the Hindu epic the Mahabharata, wife of the five Pandava brothers.

draw

verb

To create a picture using a pencil, pen, or similar tool.

drawback

noun

A disadvantage or downside to something otherwise good.

drawbridge

noun

A bridge that can be raised or lowered, traditionally to block access to a castle or let boats pass beneath.

drawdown

noun

In investing, the fall in value from a peak to the following trough, usually given as a percentage. Maximum drawdown is a standard measure of how much an investor would have lost at the worst point.

drawer

noun

A lidless box that slides in and out of a piece of furniture, used to store clothes or other items.

drawers

noun

Underwear worn on the legs, especially loose-fitting undergarments.

drawing

noun

A picture made with a pencil, pen, or similar tool, without paint.

drawl

verb

To pass the time slowly and lazily, without any energy or hurry.

drawn

adj

Looking tired, strained, or unwell, especially in the face.

drawnwork

noun

A decorative technique in which threads are pulled out of linen or other cloth to leave a pattern.

drawstring

noun

A cord threaded through a tube of fabric on a bag or piece of clothing, pulled to close or tighten it.

dray

noun

A low cart pulled by a horse, sometimes with no sides, used mainly for carrying heavy goods.

drayman

noun

A man whose job is driving a dray.

Drayton

name

A habitational surname, and the name of many villages across England.

Dre

name

A short form of the male given name Andre.

dread

verb

To feel great fear or anxiety about something that is going to happen.

dreaded

adj

Feared or anticipated with fear or unease.

dreadful

adj

Very bad, unpleasant, or shocking.

dreadfully

adv

Very badly or terribly.

dreadlock

noun

A single rope-like strand of hair in a set of dreadlocks.

dreadlocks

noun

Long ropes of hair formed by allowing strands to mat and twist together over time.

dreadnought

noun

A type of large early-20th-century battleship armed with heavy guns of matching caliber.

dreads

noun

Short for dreadlocks.

dream

noun

A series of images, thoughts, or feelings experienced during sleep.

dreamboat

noun

An extremely attractive person, especially someone considered a romantic ideal.

dreamcatcher

noun

A decorative hoop strung with a net and hung with feathers or other charms, traditionally believed by the Ojibwa people to keep bad dreams away.

dreamer

noun

A person who has ambitious or unrealistic ideas and hopes.

dreaming

noun

The act or experience of having a dream, or a state of daydreaming.

dreamland

noun

The imaginary world experienced during sleep.

dreamlike

adj

Seeming strange or unreal, as though it were part of a dream.

dreamscape

noun

A scene or setting that appears in a dream.

dreamt

verb

A past tense and past participle form of dream.

dreamworld

noun

An imaginary place, of the kind you might experience while asleep.

dreamy

adj

Having a vague, hazy, or dreamlike quality.

dreary

adj

Dull, gloomy, and depressing.

dreck

noun

Rubbish, or something of very poor quality.

dredge

noun

A machine or device used to scoop up material from the bottom of a body of water.

dredging

noun

The act of clearing out or deepening a waterway, harbour, or channel using a dredger.

dree

verb

To put up with something difficult or unpleasant.

dregs

noun

The gritty sediment that settles at the bottom of a drink, especially unfiltered wine or coffee.

dreich

adj

Lasting for a very long time in a tiring way, or, of speech or writing, going on for much longer than it needs to.

dreidel

noun

A small four-sided spinning top marked with Hebrew letters, traditionally spun as part of a Hanukkah game.

drekly

adv

At some point in the future, which could be very soon or a long way off.

drench

verb

To soak someone or something completely by pouring or splashing liquid on it, or by immersing it.

drenched

adj

Completely soaked through with water or another liquid.

drencher

noun

A person or thing that drenches something.

drenching

adj

Making someone or something completely soaked.

Dresden

name

A city in eastern Germany, capital of the state of Saxony, known for its baroque architecture and its near-total destruction by Allied bombing in 1945.

dress

verb

To put clothes on yourself or someone else, such as a doll or mannequin.

dressed

adj

Wearing clothes, or wearing a particular outfit.

dresser

noun

A piece of furniture with drawers, used to store clothes, often with a mirror attached.

dressing

noun

A sauce added to a salad or dish, often oil-based.

dressmaker

noun

A person, usually working to order, who makes women's clothing.

dressy

adj

Smart, elegant, or formal in style, especially of clothing.

dretch

verb

To trouble, torment or oppress someone.

Drew

verb

Past tense of "draw."

Drexel

name

A surname, notably borne by the Philadelphia banking family after whom Drexel University is named.

Drexler

name

A German surname.

Dreyer

name

A surname, notably borne by the Danish astronomer J. L. E. Dreyer, compiler of the New General Catalogue (NGC) of galaxies and nebulae.

Dreyfus

name

A surname, notably borne by French army officer Alfred Dreyfus, whose wrongful conviction caused a major political scandal in 1890s France.

Dreyfuss

name

A German surname, a variant of Dreyfus, borne by the American actor Richard Dreyfuss.

dribble

verb

In sports such as football or basketball, to move the ball forward by repeatedly bouncing or tapping it.

dribbling

noun

The technique of controlling a ball by bouncing or tapping it repeatedly while moving.

dribbly

adj

Likely to dribble.

dried

adj

No longer containing moisture; having had water removed, often to preserve food.

Drier

adj

Comparative form of "dry"; having less moisture than something else.

drift

noun

A slow, gradual movement or change, often without direct control.

drifter

noun

A person who moves from place to place or job to job without settling down.

drifting

adj

Moving aimlessly, without a clear goal or direction.

driftwood

noun

Wood that has been carried along and washed ashore by water.

drill

verb

To make a hole in something using a rotating cutting tool.

drilling

noun

The process of boring holes into a surface or material.

Drina

name

A river forming part of the border between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia; also a diminutive of the female given name Alexandrina.

drink

verb

To take liquid into the mouth and swallow it.

drinkable

adjective

Fit or safe to be drunk, especially used of water.

Drinker

noun

A person who drinks something, especially alcohol, often regularly.

drinkery

noun

A place where alcoholic drinks are served; a public house.

drinking

noun

The act of consuming a beverage, especially alcohol.

drinkle

verb

To drink alcohol, or to make someone else drink it; also, to soak or drown something.

drinks

noun

Plural of drink; beverages, or a social occasion involving alcoholic beverages.

drip

verb

To fall in individual drops.

drippage

noun

The act of dripping, or a liquid that drips.

drippiness

noun

The quality of being drippy.

dripping

noun

Fat collected from meat as it roasts, often saved for cooking.

drippy

adjective

Very stylish, especially in clothes and accessories; showing off an impressive outfit.

Driscoll

name

An Irish surname, a variant of O'Driscoll.

drive

verb

To operate and steer a motor vehicle.

drivel

noun

Nonsensical or foolish talk or writing.

driven

adj

Strongly motivated and determined to succeed.

driver

noun

A person who operates a vehicle.

driveway

noun

A short private road or paved strip connecting a house or garage to the public street.

driving

noun

The activity of operating and steering a motor vehicle.

drizzle

noun

Very light rain made up of fine, closely spaced droplets.

drizzling

noun

An amount of liquid that is drizzled.

drizzly

adj

Full of light, steady rain.

dro

noun

Cannabis that has been grown using a hydroponic method.

droid

noun

A robot, especially one built to look or move somewhat like a human.

droll

adj

Amusing in a dry, quirky, or understated way.

drollery

noun

The quality of being funny or comical.

drome

noun

The crab plover, Dromas ardeola, found in North Africa.

dromedary

noun

A camel with a single hump.

drone

noun

An unmanned aircraft or vehicle controlled remotely or by autopilot.

drongo

noun

A bird belonging to the genus Dicrurus.

droning

noun

A continuous, dull humming sound, or flat and tedious speech.

drool

verb

To let saliva trickle from the mouth, often in anticipation of food.

drooling

noun

The act or state of saliva running from the mouth.

droop

verb

To bend or hang downward, especially from tiredness, weakness, or lack of support.

drooping

adj

Hanging or sagging downward.

droopy

adj

Tending to sag or hang down; lacking firmness.

drop

noun

A small round blob of liquid.

droplet

noun

A very small drop of liquid.