English Dictionary — Definitions & Meanings

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 first name of Latin, variant of Mabel origin.

mable

name

A female first name of Latin, variant of Mabel origin.

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

A road surface made from layers of crushed stone, often coated with tar.

macadamia

noun

An evergreen tree native to Australia, grown for its rich, buttery nuts.

macadamize

verb

To build a road with layers of crushed stone to give it a smooth, hard surface.

Macao

name

An alternative spelling of Macau, a city and special administrative region of China, and former Portuguese colony.

macaque

noun

The general name for Old World monkeys placed together in the genus Macaca.

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

Muddled together; mixed up.

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.

macaw

noun

A large parrot from Central and South America, with a long tail, a strong curved bill and brightly coloured feathers.

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 of Scottish Gaelic origin.

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

Another name for 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

Someone who carries a ceremonial mace, especially a Scottish court official.

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

An object or goal in a story that drives the action but barely matters in itself.

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.

machicolation

noun

An opening in a projecting parapet or gallery floor of a fortified building, through which defenders could shoot at or drop objects on attackers below.

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 plan something secretly and often dishonestly.

machination

noun

A cunning plan, usually made with bad intentions.

machinator

noun

Someone who schemes, usually with dishonest intentions.

machine

noun

A device with moving parts that uses energy to perform a task.

machinelike

adj

Looking or behaving like a machine.

machinery

noun

Machines considered together, especially the equipment used in a factory or industry.

machinist

noun

Someone who builds machines and engines, or knows a lot about them.

machismo

noun

A strong, exaggerated sense of male pride and toughness.

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 of Scottish Gaelic of Scottish origin 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 of Scottish Gaelic origin.

mackintosh

noun

A raincoat made from rubberized, waterproof fabric.

Macklin

name

An English and Irish surname, also used as a given name.

mackly

adj

(dated) Attractive and pleasant to look at.

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 originating in Scotland.

macnamara

name

A suburb of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia.

macneal

name

A surname that is a 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 large, complicated system, such as a society, made up of many smaller similar parts.

macrodactyly

noun

Abnormal enlargement confined to the fingers or toes.

macroeconomics

noun

The study of a whole economy, looking at output, income, jobs and prices overall.

macromolecule

noun

A very large molecule, such as a protein or nucleic acid found in living things.

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

Large enough to be seen without a microscope.

mactavish

name

A surname of Scottish Gaelic origin that itself began as a patronymic.

macula

noun

A small yellowish area near the centre of the eye's retina that gives sharp, detailed central vision.

macular

adj

Relating to the macula, the part of the retina used for sharp central sight.

maculate

verb

To mark with spots, to stain, or to blur.

maculated

adj

Marked with spots or patches.

maculation

noun

The marking of something with spots, or a spot left in this way.

maculatory

adj

Tending to cause a mark, stain, or harm.

macule

noun

A smudge or doubled mark on a printed page, caused by the paper slipping while it was being printed.

maculism

noun

Denial that Mary, the mother of Jesus, was born free of original sin.

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

An alternative capitalisation 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 that originated as a matronymic.

Maddox

name

A male given name, from a Welsh surname.

maddux

name

A surname of Welsh, variant of Maddox origin.

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 first name of Sanskrit used in India origin.

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 first name that came from a family name.

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 that is often used as a middle name.

Maeda

name

A Japanese surname.

maelstrom

noun

A large, violent whirlpool.

maenad

noun

In Greek mythology, a female follower of Dionysus known for wild, ecstatic celebration.

maestro

noun

A master of an art, especially a distinguished composer, conductor, or performer.

maestrolike

adj

Resembling a maestro; masterly, skilled.

Maeve

name

A female first name of Irish origin.

maffett

name

A surname of Scottish Gaelic origin.

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").