English dictionary — definitions & meanings

Phillips

name

A common surname, originally meaning "son of Philip."

phillis

name

A female given name from Ancient Greek.

Philly

name

An informal nickname for the city of Philadelphia.

Philo

name

A masculine given name, also the name of the Hellenistic Jewish philosopher Philo of Alexandria.

philogynist

noun

someone who is fond of women collectively.

philogyny

noun

Love or fondness for women.

philological

adj

Of or pertaining to the history of literature and words.

philologist

noun

A person who engages in philology (historical linguistics), especially as a profession; a collector of words and their etymologies.

philology

noun

The humanistic study of texts and their languages, especially ancient or classical languages.

Philomena

name

A feminine given name meaning "beloved", associated with an early Christian martyr saint.

philosopher

noun

A person who studies or writes about fundamental questions of existence, knowledge, ethics, and reason.

philosophic

adj

Synonym of philosophical.

philosophical

adj

Relating to philosophy or the study of fundamental questions about existence, knowledge, and values.

philosophically

adv

In a way that relates to philosophy or its methods of reasoning.

philosophize

verb

To ponder or reason out philosophically.

philosophy

noun

The academic study of fundamental questions about existence, knowledge, ethics, and reasoning.

Phipps

name

An English surname meaning "son of Phipp", a medieval diminutive of Philip.

phishing

noun

The practice of sending fake emails, texts or web pages that imitate a trusted organisation in order to trick people into handing over passwords, card numbers or other private information.

phlebotomy

noun

The practice of drawing blood from a vein with a needle, for testing, donation or treatment.

phlegm

noun

Thick mucus produced in the throat or airways, especially when coughed up during a cold or infection.

phlegmatic

adj

Not easily excited to action or passion; calm; sluggish.

phlegmon

noun

A solid mass formed by inflamed connective tissue, such as forms around an appendix in appendicitis.

phloem

noun

A vascular tissue in land plants primarily responsible for the distribution of sugars and nutrients manufactured in the shoot.

phlox

noun

A garden plant with clusters of small, brightly colored flowers, popular in flower beds.

pho

noun

A Vietnamese noodle soup, usually made with a beef or chicken broth and rice noodles.

phobia

noun

An intense, often irrational fear of a specific thing or situation.

phoebe

noun

A small grayish flycatcher bird found in North America, known for its distinctive call.

Phoebus

name

An epithet of the Greek god Apollo, meaning "bright" or "radiant", associated with the sun.

Phoenician

adj

Relating to Phoenicia, an ancient civilization on the eastern Mediterranean coast, or its people.

phoenix

noun

A mythical bird said to burn up and then rise again from its own ashes.

phonation

noun

The process of producing vocal sound by the vibration of the vocal folds that is in turn modified by the resonance of the vocal tract.

phone

noun

A device used to talk to someone over a distance, especially a mobile device that also runs apps.

phonebook

noun

A printed or digital directory listing people's or businesses' phone numbers.

phoneme

noun

An indivisible unit of sound in a given language. A phoneme is an abstraction of the physical speech sounds (phones) and may encompass several different phones.

phones

noun

Informal short form for headphones.

phoniness

noun

The condition or quality of being phony or fake.

phoning

noun

The act of making a phone call.

phonograph

noun

An early device for recording and playing back sound using grooved cylinders or discs, a forerunner of the record player.

phonography

noun

The transcription of speech using symbols.

phony

adj

Fake or fraudulent; not genuine.

phooey

intj

An exclamation showing disgust, dismissal, or disappointment.

phosphate

noun

A chemical compound derived from phosphoric acid, widely used in fertilizers and found in living cells.

phosphatization

noun

the conversion of something into a phosphate

phosphatized

adj

converted into a phosphate

phosphide

noun

Any binary compound of phosphorus, especially one in oxidation state −3.

phosphine

noun

A toxic gas, chemical formula PH₃.

phosphite

noun

any salt or ester of phosphorous acid

phosphomotif

noun

A sequence of phosphopeptides

phosphor

noun

Any of various compounds of transition metals or of rare earths that exhibit phosphorescence.

phosphoreal

adj

of or relating to phosphorus

phosphoric

adj

Pertaining to the element phosphorus; containing phosphorus, especially in its higher valency (5).

phosphorist

noun

A member of a group of early-19th-century Swedish poetic, idealistic, and romantic writers.

phosphorous

adj

Relating to or containing phosphorus, especially in its less-oxidized chemical form.

phosphorus

noun

A chemical element (symbol P, atomic number 15) that exists in several forms, some of which glow or ignite easily.

photo

noun

A picture taken with a camera or phone.

photocopier

noun

A machine that makes paper copies of documents by scanning and printing them.

photocopy

noun

A duplicate of a document made by a photocopier.

photogenic

adj

Looking attractive or good in photographs.

photograph

noun

An image captured using a camera.

photographer

noun

A person who takes photographs, often as a job.

photographic

adj

Relating to photographs or the process of photography.

photographing

noun

The act of taking a photograph.

photography

noun

The art, technique, or business of taking photographs.

photojournalist

noun

A journalist who uses photojournalism.

photon

noun

The smallest possible unit of light or other electromagnetic energy, with no mass or electric charge.

photonic

adj

Relating to photons or to the technology that uses light to transmit and process information.

photoshop

verb

To digitally alter a photo, especially to change or improve someone's appearance.

photoshopped

adj

Digitally edited or altered, especially to change someone's appearance in a photo.

photosynthesis

noun

The process by which plants and some other organisms convert light energy into chemical energy, typically producing oxygen as a byproduct.

photosynthesize

verb

To synthesize carbohydrates from carbon dioxide and water using the energy of light by photosynthesis

photosynthetic

adj

Of, relating to, or employing photosynthesis.

PHP

noun

A programming language that runs on a web server to build pages before they are sent to the visitor, commonly used for websites that draw their content from a database.

phrasal verbs

noun

Verbs made up of a main verb plus one or two small words such as up, off, out or with, where the combination carries a meaning you could not work out from the parts alone — for example give up, look after, put up with.

phrase

noun

A short group of words that expresses an idea, often forming part of a sentence.

phraseology

noun

Study of set or fixed expressions.

phrasing

noun

The particular way words are chosen and arranged in speech or writing.

phrenitis

noun

Madness, especially as caused by inflammation of the brain; encephalitis, encephalomeningitis, or meningitis.

Phryne

name

A name of ancient Greek origin, borne by a famous courtesan of classical Athens.

Phu

name

A masculine given name of Vietnamese origin.

Phuket

name

Thailand's largest island and the province that shares its name, a major beach and diving destination in the Andaman Sea.

Phuong

name

A unisex given name of Vietnamese origin, often meaning "phoenix" or associated with direction.

phyllida

name

A female given name from Ancient Greek.

Phyllis

name

A female given name of Ancient Greek origin, from a myth about a woman who died of grief and was transformed into an almond tree.

phyllon

noun

A leaf, or something (flat) resembling a leaf.

phylogenesis

noun

Evolutionary development of a species.

phylogeny

noun

The evolutionary history of groups of organisms, such as species or clades.

phylum

noun

A rank in the classification of organisms, below kingdom and above class; also called a divisio or a division, especially in describing plants; a taxon at that rank

physiatrics

noun

Physical medicine or therapy.

physic

adj

Relating to or concerning existent materials; physical.

physical

adj

Relating to the body rather than the mind; bodily.

physicalism

noun

A philosophical position holding that everything which exists is no more extensive than its physical properties; that is, that there are no kinds of things other than physical things, which all are of logically procedural nature, based on fundamental laws at their deepest level of causality.

physicality

noun

The bodily strength, size, or presence someone has, especially noticeable athletic or physical power.

physically

adv

In terms of the body, rather than mentally or emotionally.

physicalness

noun

The condition of being physical; physicality.

physician

noun

A medical doctor, especially one who treats illness with medicine and diagnosis rather than surgery.

physicist

noun

A scientist who specializes in physics.

physics

noun

The branch of science that studies matter, energy, space, and time, and how they interact.

physiognomy

noun

The art or pseudoscience of deducing the predominant temper and other characteristic qualities of the mind from the outward appearance, especially from the features of the face.

physiologic

adj

Of or pertaining to physiology.

physiological

adj

Relating to physiology — the normal functioning of living things and their organs.

physiology

noun

The branch of biology that studies how living organisms and their parts function.

physiopathology

noun

Pathophysiology: the physiological processes associated with disease or injury, or the study thereof

physiotherapy

noun

Treatment for injury or illness using physical methods such as exercise, massage, or heat, rather than medication or surgery.

physique

noun

The shape and build of a person's body, especially in terms of muscle and fitness.

phytologist

noun

Someone skilled in phytology; a writer on plants; a botanist.

phytology

noun

the study of plants; botany

phytoplankton

noun

Plankton, especially those small in size, that obtain energy by photosynthesis.

pi

noun

A letter of the Greek alphabet.

pia

noun

The pia mater, the thin innermost membrane that covers and protects the brain and spinal cord.

pianissimo

adv

Indicating that the piece is to be played very softly.

pianist

noun

A person who plays the piano, especially skillfully.

piano

noun

A large keyboard instrument in which pressing keys causes hammers to strike strings, producing sound.

pianofortist

noun

A person who plays the pianoforte.

Piao

name

A Chinese surname.

piazza

noun

An open public square, especially one found in an Italian town or city.

pic

noun

An informal word for a photograph.

pica

noun

A disorder characterized by appetite and craving for non-edible substances, such as chalk, clay, dirt, ice, or sand.

picador

noun

A lancer mounted on horseback who assists a matador.

Picard

adj

Relating to Picardy, a historic cultural region in northern France.

picaroon

noun

A pirate or picaro.

Picasso

name

A surname, most famously associated with the Spanish artist Pablo Picasso.

picayune

noun

A small coin of the value of six-and-a-quarter cents; a Spanish coin with a value of half a real; a fippenny bit.

Piccadilly

name

A famous street in central London, running between Hyde Park Corner and Piccadilly Circus.

piccalilli

noun

A yellow pickle relish made from cauliflower, vegetable marrow, and other vegetables, pickled with vinegar, salt, sugar, and spiced with mustard, turmeric, and other spices.

piccolo

noun

A small flute pitched about an octave higher than the standard concert flute.

piceous

adj

Of or pertaining to pitch (“a sticky, dark brown substance obtained from distilling turpentine or wood tar, or crude oil or tar”); having a quality like pitch.

pick

verb

To choose one thing from a number of options.

pickaback

adv

on the back or the shoulders.

pickaxe

noun

A heavy tool with a pointed metal head on a long handle, used for breaking up hard ground or rock.

picked

adj

Chosen or selected, especially deliberately.

Picker

name

An occupational surname originally given to someone who worked with a pick or pickaxe.

Pickering

name

An English surname and place name, also a town in North Yorkshire, England.

picket

noun

A person or group standing outside a workplace during a strike to protest and discourage others from entering.

picketer

noun

Someone who pickets; one participating in a demonstration or posted on a picket line.

picketing

noun

The act of standing outside a workplace to protest, usually during a strike.

Pickett

name

An English surname, notably borne by Confederate general George Pickett.

Pickford

name

An English surname, borne notably by early Hollywood actress Mary Pickford.

picking

noun

The act of harvesting or gathering something, especially fruit or crops.

pickle

noun

A cucumber or other vegetable preserved in vinegar or brine.

pickled

adj

Preserved in vinegar or brine.

pickles

noun

Vegetables preserved in vinegar or brine, especially served alongside a meal.

pickling

noun

An instance of processing something in brine or in vinegar.

pickpocket

noun

A thief who steals from people's pockets or bags, typically in crowded places, without being noticed.

Pickup

noun

A small open-backed truck used for carrying goods.

Pickwick

name

A surname, most famous as that of the title character of Charles Dickens's novel "The Pickwick Papers".

picky

adj

Hard to please; fussy about details and demanding that things be exactly right.

picnic

noun

A casual meal eaten outdoors, often in a park or countryside, where everyone brings their own food.

Pico

name

A surname of Spanish and Italian origin, also found in various place names.

pictogram

noun

A picture that represents a word or an idea by illustration.

pictorial

adj

Relating to, or illustrated with, pictures.