English dictionary — definitions & meanings

squarrose

adj

Rough or scaly.

squash

noun

A racquet sport played in a walled court with a small rubber ball.

squashed

adj

Crushed flat or into a pulp.

squashing

noun

The act of crushing something flat.

squat

adj

Short and thick-set; low and broad rather than tall.

squatter

noun

Someone who lives in a building or on land without owning it or having permission.

squatting

noun

The posture of crouching low with bent knees.

squaw

noun

An old term for a woman or wife, historically used especially for Native American women; now widely considered offensive.

squawk

noun

A short, harsh cry, especially one made by a bird or a person in alarm.

squawker

noun

Something that squawks.

squawking

noun

The harsh cry made when something squawks.

squeak

noun

A short, high-pitched sound, like that made by a mouse or an unoiled hinge.

squeaking

noun

A repeated high-pitched sound.

squeaky

adj

Making, or prone to making, a high-pitched squeak.

squeal

noun

A loud, high-pitched cry or sound.

squealer

noun

Someone or something that squeals.

squealing

noun

A loud, high-pitched cry or sound; the act of squealing.

squeamish

adj

Easily disturbed, nauseated, or made uneasy, especially by unpleasant sights.

squeamishness

noun

The quality of being squeamish

squeeze

verb

To press something firmly from two or more sides.

squeezing

noun

The act of pressing something tightly.

squelch

verb

To suppress or put a stop to something firmly, often suddenly.

squelcher

noun

One who, or that which, squelches.

squelching

noun

A wet, sucking sound, or the act of firmly stopping something.

squib

noun

A small firework that is intended to spew sparks rather than explode.

squid

noun

A soft-bodied sea creature with eight arms and two longer tentacles, related to octopuses and cuttlefish.

squiffy

adj

slightly drunk or intoxicated; tipsy

squiggly

adj

Wavy and irregular rather than straight.

squinch

noun

A structure constructed between two adjacent walls to aid in the transition from a polygonal to a circular structure, as when a dome is constructed on top of a square room.

squint

verb

To look with eyes partly closed, often because of bright light or to focus better.

squinting

noun

The act of narrowing the eyes.

squire

noun

Historically, a young nobleman who served and assisted a knight.

Squires

name

An English surname, an occupational name for one who served as a squire to a knight.

squirm

verb

To twist and wriggle the body, like a worm or snake.

squirming

noun

Wriggling, twisting movement.

squirrel

noun

A small rodent, often with a bushy tail, that typically lives in trees and eats nuts and seeds.

squirrelly

adj

Nervous, jumpy, or erratic in behaviour.

squirt

verb

To force liquid out in a quick, thin stream.

squirting

noun

The act of forcing out liquid in a thin stream.

squish

verb

To squeeze or crush something soft, often making a soft sound.

squishy

adj

Soft and giving easily when pressed.

squit

noun

A person of low status.

squoosh

verb

To squash or squeeze.

sry

name

the sex-determining region on Y chromosome gene

SSA

noun

The Social Security Administration, the United States federal agency that runs retirement, disability and survivor benefits and issues Social Security numbers.

SSD

noun

A storage device that keeps files and programs on flash memory chips with no moving parts, so it reads and writes far faster than a spinning hard disk and keeps its contents when the power is off.

ssh

intj

Used to tell someone to be quiet.

SSL

noun

An older protocol for encrypting traffic between two computers over a network, now superseded by TLS. The name survives in everyday use, and "SSL certificate" is still the common term for the file that proves a site's identity and enables an encrypted connection.

sss

intj

Used to represent a hissing sound, such as that made by a snake.

st

intj

Used to call for silence.

stab

verb

To pierce or wound someone or something with a pointed weapon such as a knife.

stabbing

noun

An incident in which someone is stabbed with a weapon.

stabilise

verb

Non-Oxford British English standard spelling of stabilize.

stability

noun

The state of being steady, firmly established, and resistant to sudden change.

stabilization

noun

The process of stabilizing.

stabilize

verb

To make something steady or stop it from changing or getting worse.

stabilizer

noun

Something added to a product to keep it from changing or breaking down, such as a food or fuel additive.

stable

noun

A building where horses or other animals are kept and cared for.

stablecoin

noun

A cryptocurrency designed to stay at a fixed value, usually one unit to one US dollar, rather than rising and falling like other coins. The peg is maintained by holding reserves of money or other assets, or by rules written into software.

stabler

noun

Someone who runs or works at a stable, looking after horses.

Stace

name

An informal short form of the name Stacey.

Stacey

name

A given name, originally masculine but now more commonly feminine, derived from Eustace.

stache

noun

A casual, shortened word for a moustache.

Staci

name

A feminine given name, an alternate spelling of Stacey.

Stacie

name

A feminine given name, an alternate spelling of Stacey.

stack

noun

A pile of things placed neatly one on top of another.

stacked

adj

Arranged in a pile, one on top of the other.

Stackhouse

name

An English surname, originally referring to someone who lived near a stack, or storage building, of hay or grain.

stacking

noun

The act of piling things on top of each other.

stacks

noun

Informal: a large amount of money, especially winnings.

Stacy

noun

Slang for an attractive, popular, and confident woman, often used as the female counterpart to "Chad" in internet culture.

stadium

noun

A large venue, usually with tiered seating, built for sporting events or concerts.

staff

noun

The people who work for an organisation.

staffed

adj

Having workers assigned to run or operate something.

staffer

noun

A member of an organisation's staff, especially in politics, media, or an office.

staffing

noun

The process of hiring and organising the people needed to run something.

Stafford

name

The county town of Staffordshire in England, and the surname and given name derived from it.

stag

noun

An adult male deer, especially a mature red deer.

stage

noun

A phase or step in a process of change or development.

Stagecoach

noun

A horse-drawn carriage that once carried passengers and mail on a fixed route.

staged

adj

Deliberately arranged to look real or spontaneous when it isn't.

stagflation

noun

An economic condition in which prices keep rising while growth stalls and unemployment stays high, so the usual trade-off between inflation and jobs breaks down.

Stagg

name

An English surname, notably borne by the American football coach Amos Alonzo Stagg.

stagger

verb

To walk unsteadily, as if about to fall.

staggered

adj

Shocked or taken aback.

staggering

adj

So great or surprising as to be hard to believe.

staggeringly

adv

To a breathtaking degree.

staging

noun

The act of putting on a performance, including how it's arranged and directed.

stagnant

adj

Not flowing or moving, and therefore often stale or unhealthy — usually said of water.

stagnate

verb

To cease motion, activity, or progress:

stagnation

noun

The state of being stagnant; (countable) an instance of this.

stagy

adj

unnaturally showy

Stahl

name

A surname of German origin meaning "steel."

staid

adj

Not capricious or impulsive; sedate, serious, sober.

stain

noun

A discoloured mark left by a substance that soaks into a surface.

stained

adj

Marked or discoloured by a stain.

Staines

name

A town in Surrey, England, and an occasional surname.

stainless

adj

Describing a metal alloy that resists rust and corrosion.

Stains

name

A surname, an occasional variant of Staines.

stair

noun

A single step in a flight of steps.

staircase

noun

A full flight of stairs together with its structure and railing.

stairs

noun

A connected series of steps used to move between floors.

stairway

noun

A set of stairs, especially considered as a passage or route.

stairwell

noun

The vertical shaft in a building that contains a staircase.

stake

noun

A pointed piece of wood or metal driven into the ground as a marker or support.

stakebody

noun

A type of truck body or wagon body composed of stakes, often easily removable from the bed, such that a flatbed can be reconverted as needed; suitable for certain kinds of loads, especially in nonhighway use, such as bales, bundles, sacks, barrels, or boxes.

staked

adj

Marked out with stakes driven into the ground.

stakeholder

noun

A person, group or organisation with an interest in a project, business or decision, and who is affected by how it turns out.

stakeout

noun

A period of covert surveillance of a place or person, usually by police.

stakes

noun

Money or property risked on the outcome of a bet or contest.

staking

noun

The act of driving a stake or stakes into the ground to mark or support something.

stalag

noun

A German prisoner-of-war camp, especially one from World War II.

stale

adj

No longer fresh; dried out or gone off, especially food or drink.

stalemate

noun

In chess, a position where the player to move has no legal move and is not in check, ending the game as a draw.

staleness

noun

The state or quality of being stale.

Stalin

noun

Used as an insult for someone seen as an extremely controlling or ruthless dictator-type figure, comparable to calling someone "a Hitler."

stalinabad

name

Former name of Dushanbe from 1929 to 1961; a city in Tajikistan, Soviet Union.

Stalingrad

name

The former name of the Russian city of Volgograd, site of a pivotal Second World War battle.

stalinism

noun

The Communist philosophies espoused by Soviet leader Joseph Stalin.

stalk

noun

The stem of a plant, or a similar stem-like part.

stalked

adj

Having a stalk or stem.

stalker

noun

A person who repeatedly and obsessively follows or watches someone, often unlawfully.

stalking

noun

The crime of repeatedly following or harassing someone in a way that causes fear.

stall

noun

A small stand or booth where goods are sold, as in a market.

stalling

noun

The act of delaying or failing to make progress.

stallion

noun

An adult male horse, especially one kept uncastrated for breeding.

Stallone

name

An Italian surname, notably borne by the American actor Sylvester Stallone.

Stalls

name

A surname, likely derived from residence near a market stall.

stalwart

adj

Strongly and solidly built; sturdy.

stalworth

name

A surname transferred from the nickname.

stamboul

name

Synonym of Istanbul (a city in Turkey).

stamen

noun

In flowering plants, a male reproductive structure in a flower that produces pollen, typically consisting of an anther and a filament.

Stamford

name

A town in Lincolnshire, England, and the name of a city in Connecticut, US.

stamina

noun

The physical or mental energy needed to keep doing something demanding over a long time.

stammer

verb

To speak with involuntary repetitions or pauses, unable to get words out smoothly.

stammering

noun

The act or habit of speaking with a stammer.

stamp

noun

A small piece of paper affixed to mail to show that postage has been paid.

stampede

noun

A sudden, wild rush of frightened animals running together.

stamper

noun

A person or tool that stamps or presses down a mark.

stamping

noun

The sound or act of stamping the feet.

stan

noun

An extremely obsessive fan of a celebrity, group, or franchise, especially one whose devotion crosses into unhealthy territory.

stance

noun

The way someone stands, including their posture and the position of their feet.

stanch

adj

Archaic spelling of staunch.

stanchion

noun

A vertical pole, post, or support.

stanchless

adj

Incapable of being stanched or stopped.

stand

verb

To be upright on one's feet, or to rise into that position.

stand down

verb

To resign from a position, or to withdraw from a contest or candidacy, leaving the way clear for someone else.

standard

adj

Usual, regular, or typical; falling within an accepted, expected range.

standardisation

noun

Non-Oxford British English standard spelling of standardization.

standardise

verb

To establish a standard consisting of regulations for how something is to be done across an organization.