| active |
in grammar, designating the voice or form of a verb whose subject acts through the verb, rather than being the object of the verb's action, such as "signed" in "Five petitioners signed the document". (Cf. passive.) [1/7 definitions] |
| Alger Hiss |
a lawyer and U.S. public official accused in 1948 of having acted as a Communist spy in the 1930s. Convicted in 1950 on counts of perjury related to the investigation, Hiss was sentenced to five years in prison but maintained his innocence until his death (b.1904--d.1996). |
| americium |
a synthetic radioactive chemical element that has ninety-five protons in each nucleus. (symbol: Am) |
| Ariel |
one of the five moons of the planet Uranus. [1/2 definitions] |
| astatine |
a highly radioactive chemical element of the halogen group that has eighty-five protons in each nucleus. (symbol: At) |
| asteroid |
any of thousands of celestial bodies with diameters between one and five hundred miles that revolve around the sun in orbits that lie mostly between the orbits of Jupiter and Mars; planetoid. |
| baby grand |
the smallest of grand pianos, about five feet long. |
| ballade |
a poem of three eight-line or ten-line stanzas followed by an envoy of four or five lines, the stanzas and the envoy all having the same last line. [1/2 definitions] |
| banjo |
a musical instrument with a circular body covered with skin, a long fretted neck, and four or five strings that are plucked or strummed. |
| bark3 |
a sailing ship with between three and five masts, all but one of which are square-rigged. |
| basketball |
a game played by two teams of five players each, with points scored by shooting the ball through a raised metal hoop and net at the opponent's end of the court. [1/2 definitions] |
| bingo |
a game of chance in which markers are placed on numbered squares on a card, in accordance with numbers chosen randomly and announced by a caller, and which is won by placing five such markers in a row. |
| boron |
a chemical element that has five protons in each nucleus and that occurs naturally only in compounds such as boric acid and borax. (symbol: B) |
| bromine |
a chemical element of the halogen group that has thirty-five protons in each nucleus, occurring as a toxic, volatile, dark reddish brown liquid or in various compounds such as acids and salts. (symbol: Br) |
| catty2 |
a unit of weight used in Southeast Asia, equal to 680 grams, or about one and one half pounds, but in China equal to five hundred grams. |
| cesium |
a highly reactive chemical element of the alkali metal group that has fifty-five protons in each nucleus and that occurs in pure form as a soft, silvery metal melting to a heavy liquid just above room temperature. (symbol: Cs) [1/2 definitions] |
| cinquefoil |
any of several plants of the rose family that have compound, often five-lobed, leaves. [2 definitions] |
| clairvoyance |
the supposed supernatural ability to perceive events that have not yet occurred or things not directly available to the five senses. [1/2 definitions] |
| clairvoyant |
possessing the ability to see or know things that are beyond the five senses. [1/2 definitions] |
| columbine |
any of several plants related to the buttercup, bearing varicolored flowers having five spurred petals. |
| crown |
a coin formerly minted in England worth five shillings. [1/21 definitions] |