| acronym |
a word formed by putting together the first letters or parts of a series of words in a longer phrase. |
| actinide |
any of the chemical elements of the actinide series. |
| actinide series |
the series of chemical elements, mostly synthetic and all radioactive, that have from eighty-nine to 103 protons per atom. |
| action |
a movement or series of movements. [1/6 definitions] |
| action-adventure |
a genre of films, video games, and the like having an exciting undertaking involving risk and danger as its main story line, and involving one or more heroes engaged in a series of physical challenges. [1/2 definitions] |
| aftershock |
a small earthquake or a series of small earthquakes that follows a larger one and that originates at or near the same epicenter. |
| alkane series |
the series of saturated hydrocarbons that includes methane and ethane; methane series; paraffin series. |
| alternate |
the second of every two in a series of pairs; every other. [1/9 definitions] |
| -ane |
a hydrocarbon of the methane series. |
| animated cartoon |
a motion picture made by photographing a series of drawings showing stages of movement. The motion seems real when the drawings are shown quickly one after another. |
| antepenultimate |
the third item from the end in a series, esp. a syllable in a word; antepenult. [1/2 definitions] |
| arcade |
a series of arches connected and supported by pillars, columns, or the like. [1/3 definitions] |
| argument |
a series of steps in reasoning. [1/6 definitions] |
| arithmetic mean |
the sum of a series of quantities divided by the number of quantities; average. |
| arithmetic progression |
a sequence of numbers that results from adding a constant number, such as 4, to each previous number, and thus obtaining a series such as 6, 10, 14, 18, 22, 26. |
| atomic |
of, relating to, or resulting from bombs whose explosive power comes from a series of reactions beginning with the fission of the nuclei of certain atoms. [1/3 definitions] |
| aught2 |
(pl.) the series of ten years beginning with 2000 and ending with 2009 (prec. by "the"). [1/2 definitions] |
| backbone |
the series of bones that run along the center of the back; spinal column; vertebrae. [1/3 definitions] |
| Baedeker |
any of a series of travelers' guidebooks published by Karl Baedeker and his successors. |
| barrel organ |
a portable musical instrument consisting of a cylinder fitted with pegs or pins that either open valves to a series of pipes or strike metal tongues when the cylinder is rotated; hand organ. |
| basilica |
a large, oblong building of ancient Rome with a series of semicircular apses at one end, used as a public meeting hall or church. [1/2 definitions] |