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“M” Words

ma
noun
An informal word for "mother".
ma'am
noun
A polite term of address for a woman, used instead of her name.
maa
intj
A word imitating the bleating sound made by a sheep or goat.
maar
noun
A wide, low volcanic crater formed by an explosive eruption, often later filled with water to form a lake.
Maarten
name
A masculine given name of Dutch origin.
mab
noun
(dated, dialectal) A sloppy or slovenly woman.
Mabel
name
A feminine given name of Latin origin, a clipping of Amabel.
mabelle
name
A female given name from Latin, variant of Mabel.
mable
name
A female given name from Latin, variant of Mabel.
Mac
noun
An informal way to address a man whose name you don't know.
maca
noun
A hardy Andean plant grown for its turnip-like root, or a supplement made from that root, often taken for energy or hormone balance.
macabre
adj
Disturbingly focused on death, or gruesome and horrifying to look at.
macadam
noun
The surface of a road consisting of layers of crushed stone (usually tar-coated for modern traffic).
macadamia
noun
An evergreen tree native to Australia, grown for its rich, buttery nuts.
macadamize
verb
To cover (a road) with macadam (small, broken stones) so as to form a smooth, hard, convex surface.
Macao
name
An alternative spelling of Macau, a city and special administrative region of China, and former Portuguese colony.
Macarena
noun
A line dance with simple, repeated arm movements and hip swaying, done to a fast Latin beat.
macaroni
adj
(historical) Fashionable or stylish in an exaggerated, foppish way, especially describing 18th-century dandies.
macaronic
adj
Jumbled, mixed.
macaroon
noun
(archaic, informal) A coarse or unrefined person.
MacArthur
name
A Scottish surname, borne notably by US General Douglas MacArthur.
Macau
name
A special administrative region of China on the southern coast, formerly a Portuguese colony and known for gambling and tourism.
Macaulay
name
A Scottish surname and given name, also used as a first name, most famously by actor Macaulay Culkin.
Macbeth
name
A tragedy by William Shakespeare about a Scottish nobleman driven by ambition and prophecy to murder his way to the throne.
MacDonald
name
A Scottish surname meaning "son of Donald," borne by Canada's first prime minister, John A. Macdonald.
macdonnell
name
A surname from Scottish Gaelic.
MacDougall
name
A Scottish surname meaning "son of Dougall," from a Gaelic clan name.
Macduff
name
A Scottish surname, famously used by Shakespeare for the thane who kills Macbeth in the play "Macbeth."
mace
noun
A heavy club, often with a spiked or knobbed head, historically used as a weapon.
macedon
name
Ancient Macedonia.
Macedonia
name
A region and historical kingdom in southeastern Europe, also the name of a modern country (North Macedonia) and a region of Greece.
Macedonian
adj
Relating to Macedonia, its people, or its language.
macer
noun
A mace bearer; specifically, an officer of a court in Scotland.
Macey
name
An English surname and unisex given name, a variant of "Macy."
Macfarlane
noun
A sleeveless overcoat with a separate cape attached at the shoulders, worn over the sleeves.
MacGregor
name
A Scottish surname meaning "son of Gregor," associated with the historic Clan Gregor.
macguffin
noun
A plot element or other device used to catch the audience's attention and maintain suspense, but whose exact nature has fairly little influence over the storyline.
MacGyver
noun
A person who can cleverly improvise a solution using whatever ordinary objects happen to be at hand.
Mach
name
A surname of Austrian physicist Ernst Mach, after whom the unit of speed relative to the speed of sound is named.
Macha
adj
(slang) Macho; exaggeratedly tough or masculine.
machete
noun
A broad, heavy knife used for cutting through thick vegetation or as a weapon.
machi
noun
A traditional healer and spiritual leader in Mapuche culture, found in Chile and Argentina.
Machiavelli
noun
A person who schemes and manipulates others cunningly and without moral scruple, in order to gain or hold power.
Machiavellian
adj
Willing to use cunning, deception, or ruthless scheming to achieve power or goals, especially in politics.
Machin
noun
Any of a well-known British series of postage stamps featuring a side profile of Queen Elizabeth II, first issued in 1967.
machinate
verb
To devise a plot or secret plan; to conspire.
machination
noun
A clever scheme or artful plot, usually crafted for evil purposes.
machinator
noun
One who machinates, or forms a scheme with evil designs; a plotter or artful schemer.
machine
noun
A device with moving parts that uses energy to perform a task.
machinelike
adj
Resembling a machine; mechanical in form
machinery
noun
Machines considered together, especially the equipment used in a factory or industry.
machinist
noun
A constructor of machines and engines; someone knowledgeable about machines.
machismo
noun
An excessive masculine pride, exaggerated masculinity.
macho
adj
Showing an exaggerated, often aggressive sense of masculinity.
Macintosh
noun
A brand of personal computer made by Apple Inc.
MacIntyre
name
A Scottish surname meaning "son of the carpenter."
Mack
noun
(slang) Someone who is smooth and confident at flirting or picking up partners.
Mackay
name
A Scottish surname, and the name of a coastal city in Queensland, Australia.
Mackenzie
name
A surname from Scottish Gaelic of Scottish origin.
mackerel
noun
A small, oily edible sea fish with a streaked or speckled pattern on its back.
Mackey
name
A surname of Irish or Scottish origin, a variant of "Mackie" or "Mackay."
Mackie
name
A Scottish surname and diminutive form related to "Mackay."
mackinnon
name
A surname from Scottish Gaelic.
mackintosh
noun
A raincoat made from rubberized, waterproof fabric.
Macklin
name
An English and Irish surname, also used as a given name.
mackly
adj
Seemly; comely; good-looking.
Maclean
name
A Scottish surname meaning "son of the servant of John," associated with the Clan MacLean.
Macleod
name
A Scottish surname meaning "son of Leod," associated with the Clan MacLeod of Skye.
MacMillan
name
A surname of Scottish origin.
macnamara
name
A suburb of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia.
macneal
name
A surname, variant of MacNeal.
Macon
noun
A dry red or white wine from the Mâcon region of Burgundy, France, or a similar style of wine.
Macpherson
name
A Scottish surname meaning "son of the parson."
macro
noun
A short, saved sequence of commands that runs automatically to perform a repeated task.
macrocosm
noun
A complex structure, such as a society, considered as a single entity that contains numerous similar, smaller-scale structures.
macrodactyly
noun
Localized gigantism in fingers or toes.
macroeconomics
noun
The study of the entire economy in terms of the total amount of goods and services produced, total income earned, the level of employment of productive resources, and the general behavior of prices.
macromolecule
noun
A very large molecule, especially used in reference to large biological polymers (e.g. nucleic acids and proteins).
macros
noun (plural)
The three types of nutrient that food supplies in large amounts and that provide energy: protein, carbohydrate and fat. People who count macros track how many grams of each they eat.
macroscopic
adj
Visible to the unassisted eye.
mactavish
name
A surname from Scottish Gaelic [in turn originating as a patronymic].
macula
noun
An oval yellow spot near the center of the retina of the human eye, histologically defined as having two or more layers of ganglion cells, responsible for detailed central vision.
macular
adj
Relating to the macula, the area of the retina responsible for detailed central vision
maculate
verb
To spot; to stain; to blur.
maculated
adj
Having spots or blotches.
maculation
noun
The act of spotting; a spot; a blemish.
maculatory
adj
Causing a spot, stain or damage
macule
noun
A blur or an appearance of a double impression, as when the paper slips a little during printing.
maculism
noun
Rejection of belief in the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary.
Macy
name
A female given name, originally taken from the surname Macy.
mad
adj
Angry or annoyed.
Madagascar
name
A large island nation off the southeast coast of Africa, known for its unique wildlife.
madam
noun
A polite, formal way to address a woman.
madame
noun
Alternative letter-case form of madame.
Madan
noun
A member of the Marsh Arabs, the traditional inhabitants of the wetlands of southern Iraq.
madcap
adj
Wild, impulsive, or reckless in a way that's often funny rather than dangerous.
madden
verb
To make someone very angry or frustrated.
maddening
adj
So frustrating or annoying that it feels like it could drive you crazy.
madder
noun
A plant whose root produces a deep reddish dye, or the dye itself.
Maddie
name
A diminutive of the female given name Madeleine.
maddison
name
A surname originating as a matronymic.
Maddox
name
A male given name, from a Welsh surname.
maddux
name
A surname from Welsh, variant of Maddox.
Maddy
name
A nickname for the names Madeleine or Madison.
made
noun
(dialectal, archaic) A maggot or grub.
Madeira
noun
A fortified wine from the Portuguese island of Madeira, often used in cooking or served as a dessert wine.
madeleine
noun
A small, shell-shaped French sponge cake.
Madeline
name
A female given name, an anglicized form of Madeleine.
Madelyn
name
A female given name, a modern spelling variant of Madeline.
mademoiselle
noun
A polite title for an unmarried woman or young girl, especially in France.
Madero
name
A Spanish surname, borne notably by Francisco I. Madero, a president of Mexico and leader of the Mexican Revolution.
madge
noun
An informal name for the magpie or the barn owl in British dialect.
Madhav
name
A male given name used in India, referring to the Hindu deity Krishna.
Madhavi
name
A female given name used in India, from Sanskrit.
madhouse
noun
(dated) An institution for people with severe mental illness.
Madhu
name
A female given name used in India, from a Sanskrit word meaning "honey" or "sweet".
madhvi
name
A female given name from Sanskrit used in India.
Madi
noun
A Central-Sudanic-speaking people living in parts of South Sudan and Uganda.
Madigan
name
An Irish surname and given name, from a Gaelic clan name.
madinah
name
A major city, the capital of Medina province, Saudi Arabia; holy to Islam.
Madison
name
A female given name, popularized after appearing in the 1984 film Splash.
madisyn
name
A female given name transferred from the surname.
madly
adv
In an extreme, intense, or uncontrolled way — often used with "in love".
madman
noun
A man who behaves in an insane, irrational, or extremely reckless way.
madness
noun
A state of serious mental illness; insanity.
mado
noun
Any of several small silvery reef fish in the genus Atypichthys, found around Australia and New Zealand.
Madonna
noun
An artistic depiction of the Virgin Mary, especially shown holding the infant Jesus.
madonnalike
adj
rare spelling of Madonna-like
Madras
noun
A spicy curry dish, typically made with a hot red-chilli-based sauce, said to originate from the Madras region of India.
Madrid
name
The capital and largest city of Spain.
madrigal
noun
A short song for several unaccompanied voices, each singing an independent line, usually setting a secular poem about love or nature. The form flourished in Italy and England in the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries.
Madsen
name
A Danish surname meaning "son of Mads," a Scandinavian form of Matthew.
madura
name
An island of Indonesia off the coast of Java.
Madurai
name
An ancient city in the state of Tamil Nadu, India, known for the Meenakshi Amman Temple.
madwoman
noun
A woman who is insane or severely mentally disturbed.
mae
name
A female given name; popular as a middle name.
Maeda
name
A Japanese surname.
maelstrom
noun
A large, violent whirlpool.
maestro
noun
A master of an art, especially a distinguished composer, conductor, or performer.
maestrolike
adj
Like a maestro; masterly, expert.
Maeve
name
A female first name of Irish origin.
maffett
name
A surname from Scottish Gaelic.
Mafia
noun
An organized crime syndicate built on secrecy, hierarchy, and intimidation, especially (capitalized) the Sicilian and Italian-American criminal network.
Mafioso
noun
A member of the Mafia.
mag
noun
Short, informal word for a magazine.
maga
adj
Supporting or associated with the political movement built around Donald Trump (from "Make America Great Again").
magazine
noun
A periodical publication containing articles, photos, or features by various writers, usually on a particular topic or aimed at a particular audience.
magdalen
name
A female given name from Hebrew, variant of Magdalene.
Magdalena
name
A female first name, a variant of Magdalene.
Magdalene
noun
A reformed prostitute (an older, now largely historical usage).