butter | noun (n.) An oily, unctuous substance obtained from cream or milk by churning. |
| noun (n.) Any substance resembling butter in degree of consistence, or other qualities, especially, in old chemistry, the chlorides, as butter of antimony, sesquichloride of antimony; also, certain concrete fat oils remaining nearly solid at ordinary temperatures, as butter of cacao, vegetable butter, shea butter. |
| noun (n.) One who, or that which, butts. |
| verb (v. t.) To cover or spread with butter. |
| verb (v. t.) To increase, as stakes, at every throw or every game. |
cutter | noun (n.) One who cuts; as, a stone cutter; a die cutter; esp., one who cuts out garments. |
| noun (n.) That which cuts; a machine or part of a machine, or a tool or instrument used for cutting, as that part of a mower which severs the stalk, or as a paper cutter. |
| noun (n.) A fore tooth; an incisor. |
| noun (n.) A boat used by ships of war. |
| noun (n.) A fast sailing vessel with one mast, rigged in most essentials like a sloop. A cutter is narrower end deeper than a sloop of the same length, and depends for stability on a deep keel, often heavily weighted with lead. |
| noun (n.) A small armed vessel, usually a steamer, in the revenue marine service; -- also called revenue cutter. |
| noun (n.) A small, light one-horse sleigh. |
| noun (n.) An officer in the exchequer who notes by cutting on the tallies the sums paid. |
| noun (n.) A ruffian; a bravo; a destroyer. |
| noun (n.) A kind of soft yellow brick, used for facework; -- so called from the facility with which it can be cut. |
gutter | noun (n.) A channel at the eaves of a roof for conveying away the rain; an eaves channel; an eaves trough. |
| noun (n.) A small channel at the roadside or elsewhere, to lead off surface water. |
| noun (n.) Any narrow channel or groove; as, a gutter formed by erosion in the vent of a gun from repeated firing. |
| verb (v. t.) To cut or form into small longitudinal hollows; to channel. |
| verb (v. t.) To supply with a gutter or gutters. |
| verb (v. i.) To become channeled, as a candle when the flame flares in the wind. |
sputter | noun (n.) Moist matter thrown out in small detached particles; also, confused and hasty speech. |
| verb (v. i.) To spit, or to emit saliva from the mouth in small, scattered portions, as in rapid speaking. |
| verb (v. i.) To utter words hastily and indistinctly; to speak so rapidly as to emit saliva. |
| verb (v. i.) To throw out anything, as little jets of steam, with a noise like that made by one sputtering. |
| verb (v. t.) To spit out hastily by quick, successive efforts, with a spluttering sound; to utter hastily and confusedly, without control over the organs of speech. |
utter | adjective (a.) Outer. |
| adjective (a.) Situated on the outside, or extreme limit; remote from the center; outer. |
| adjective (a.) Complete; perfect; total; entire; absolute; as, utter ruin; utter darkness. |
| adjective (a.) Peremptory; unconditional; unqualified; final; as, an utter refusal or denial. |
| adjective (a.) To put forth or out; to reach out. |
| adjective (a.) To dispose of in trade; to sell or vend. |
| adjective (a.) hence, to put in circulation, as money; to put off, as currency; to cause to pass in trade; -- often used, specifically, of the issue of counterfeit notes or coins, forged or fraudulent documents, and the like; as, to utter coin or bank notes. |
| adjective (a.) To give public expression to; to disclose; to publish; to speak; to pronounce. |
batter | noun (n.) A backward slope in the face of a wall or of a bank; receding slope. |
| noun (n.) One who wields a bat; a batsman. |
| verb (v. t.) To beat with successive blows; to beat repeatedly and with violence, so as to bruise, shatter, or demolish; as, to batter a wall or rampart. |
| verb (v. t.) To wear or impair as if by beating or by hard usage. |
| verb (v. t.) To flatten (metal) by hammering, so as to compress it inwardly and spread it outwardly. |
| verb (v. t.) A semi-liquid mixture of several ingredients, as, flour, eggs, milk, etc., beaten together and used in cookery. |
| verb (v. t.) Paste of clay or loam. |
| verb (v. t.) A bruise on the face of a plate or of type in the form. |
| verb (v. i.) To slope gently backward. |
better | noun (n.) Advantage, superiority, or victory; -- usually with of; as, to get the better of an enemy. |
| noun (n.) One who has a claim to precedence; a superior, as in merit, social standing, etc.; -- usually in the plural. |
| noun (n.) One who bets or lays a wager. |
| adjective (a.) Having good qualities in a greater degree than another; as, a better man; a better physician; a better house; a better air. |
| adjective (a.) Preferable in regard to rank, value, use, fitness, acceptableness, safety, or in any other respect. |
| adjective (a.) Greater in amount; larger; more. |
| adjective (a.) Improved in health; less affected with disease; as, the patient is better. |
| adjective (a.) More advanced; more perfect; as, upon better acquaintance; a better knowledge of the subject. |
| adjective (a.) To improve or ameliorate; to increase the good qualities of. |
| adjective (a.) To improve the condition of, morally, physically, financially, socially, or otherwise. |
| adjective (a.) To surpass in excellence; to exceed; to excel. |
| adjective (a.) To give advantage to; to support; to advance the interest of. |
| verb (v. i.) To become better; to improve. |
| (compar.) In a superior or more excellent manner; with more skill and wisdom, courage, virtue, advantage, or success; as, Henry writes better than John; veterans fight better than recruits. |
| (compar.) More correctly or thoroughly. |
| (compar.) In a higher or greater degree; more; as, to love one better than another. |
| (compar.) More, in reference to value, distance, time, etc.; as, ten miles and better. |
bitter | noun (n.) AA turn of the cable which is round the bitts. |
| noun (n.) Any substance that is bitter. See Bitters. |
| verb (v. t.) Having a peculiar, acrid, biting taste, like that of wormwood or an infusion of hops; as, a bitter medicine; bitter as aloes. |
| verb (v. t.) Causing pain or smart; piercing; painful; sharp; severe; as, a bitter cold day. |
| verb (v. t.) Causing, or fitted to cause, pain or distress to the mind; calamitous; poignant. |
| verb (v. t.) Characterized by sharpness, severity, or cruelty; harsh; stern; virulent; as, bitter reproach. |
| verb (v. t.) Mournful; sad; distressing; painful; pitiable. |
| verb (v. t.) To make bitter. |
chatter | noun (n.) Sounds like those of a magpie or monkey; idle talk; rapid, thoughtless talk; jabber; prattle. |
| noun (n.) Noise made by collision of the teeth, as in shivering. |
| verb (v. i.) To utter sounds which somewhat resemble language, but are inarticulate and indistinct. |
| verb (v. i.) To talk idly, carelessly, or with undue rapidity; to jabber; to prate. |
| verb (v. i.) To make a noise by rapid collisions. |
| verb (v. t.) To utter rapidly, idly, or indistinctly. |
clatter | noun (n.) A rattling noise, esp. that made by the collision of hard bodies; also, any loud, abrupt sound; a repetition of abrupt sounds. |
| noun (n.) Commotion; disturbance. |
| noun (n.) Rapid, noisy talk; babble; chatter. |
| verb (v. i.) To make a rattling sound by striking hard bodies together; to make a succession of abrupt, rattling sounds. |
| verb (v. i.) To talk fast and noisily; to rattle with the tongue. |
| verb (v. t.) To make a rattling noise with. |
flatter | noun (n.) One who, or that which, makes flat or flattens. |
| noun (n.) A flat-faced fulling hammer. |
| noun (n.) A drawplate with a narrow, rectangular orifice, for drawing flat strips, as watch springs, etc. |
| verb (v. t.) To treat with praise or blandishments; to gratify or attempt to gratify the self-love or vanity of, esp. by artful and interested commendation or attentions; to blandish; to cajole; to wheedle. |
| verb (v. t.) To raise hopes in; to encourage or favorable, but sometimes unfounded or deceitful, representations. |
| verb (v. t.) To portray too favorably; to give a too favorable idea of; as, his portrait flatters him. |
| verb (v. i.) To use flattery or insincere praise. |
letter | noun (n.) One who lets or permits; one who lets anything for hire. |
| noun (n.) One who retards or hinders. |
| noun (n.) A mark or character used as the representative of a sound, or of an articulation of the human organs of speech; a first element of written language. |
| noun (n.) A written or printed communication; a message expressed in intelligible characters on something adapted to conveyance, as paper, parchment, etc.; an epistle. |
| noun (n.) A writing; an inscription. |
| noun (n.) Verbal expression; literal statement or meaning; exact signification or requirement. |
| noun (n.) A single type; type, collectively; a style of type. |
| noun (n.) Learning; erudition; as, a man of letters. |
| noun (n.) A letter; an epistle. |
| noun (n.) A telegram longer than an ordinary message sent at rates lower than the standard message rate in consideration of its being sent and delivered subject to priority in service of regular messages. Such telegrams are called by the Western Union Company day, / night, letters according to the time of sending, and by The Postal Telegraph Company day, / night, lettergrams. |
| verb (v. t.) To impress with letters; to mark with letters or words; as, a book gilt and lettered. |
litter | noun (n.) A bed or stretcher so arranged that a person, esp. a sick or wounded person, may be easily carried in or upon it. |
| noun (n.) Straw, hay, etc., scattered on a floor, as bedding for animals to rest on; also, a covering of straw for plants. |
| noun (n.) Things lying scattered about in a manner indicating slovenliness; scattered rubbish. |
| noun (n.) Disorder or untidiness resulting from scattered rubbish, or from thongs lying about uncared for; as, a room in a state of litter. |
| noun (n.) The young brought forth at one time, by a sow or other multiparous animal, taken collectively. Also Fig. |
| verb (v. t.) To supply with litter, as cattle; to cover with litter, as the floor of a stall. |
| verb (v. t.) To put into a confused or disordered condition; to strew with scattered articles; as, to litter a room. |
| verb (v. t.) To give birth to; to bear; -- said of brutes, esp. those which produce more than one at a birth, and also of human beings, in abhorrence or contempt. |
| verb (v. i.) To be supplied with litter as bedding; to sleep or make one's bed in litter. |
| verb (v. i.) To produce a litter. |
matter | noun (n.) That of which anything is composed; constituent substance; material; the material or substantial part of anything; the constituent elements of conception; that into which a notion may be analyzed; the essence; the pith; the embodiment. |
| noun (n.) That of which the sensible universe and all existent bodies are composed; anything which has extension, occupies space, or is perceptible by the senses; body; substance. |
| noun (n.) That with regard to, or about which, anything takes place or is done; the thing aimed at, treated of, or treated; subject of action, discussion, consideration, feeling, complaint, legal action, or the like; theme. |
| noun (n.) That which one has to treat, or with which one has to do; concern; affair; business. |
| noun (n.) Affair worthy of account; thing of consequence; importance; significance; moment; -- chiefly in the phrases what matter ? no matter, and the like. |
| noun (n.) Inducing cause or occasion, especially of anything disagreeable or distressing; difficulty; trouble. |
| noun (n.) Amount; quantity; portion; space; -- often indefinite. |
| noun (n.) Substance excreted from living animal bodies; that which is thrown out or discharged in a tumor, boil, or abscess; pus; purulent substance. |
| noun (n.) That which is permanent, or is supposed to be given, and in or upon which changes are effected by psychological or physical processes and relations; -- opposed to form. |
| noun (n.) Written manuscript, or anything to be set in type; copy; also, type set up and ready to be used, or which has been used, in printing. |
| verb (v. i.) To be of importance; to import; to signify. |
| verb (v. i.) To form pus or matter, as an abscess; to maturate. |
| verb (v. t.) To regard as important; to take account of; to care for. |
patter | noun (n.) A quick succession of slight sounds; as, the patter of rain; the patter of little feet. |
| noun (n.) Glib and rapid speech; a voluble harangue. |
| noun (n.) The cant of a class; patois; as, thieves's patter; gypsies' patter. |
| noun (n.) The language or oratory of a street peddler, conjurer, or the like, hence, glib talk; a voluble harangue; mere talk; chatter; also, specif., rapid speech, esp. as sometimes introduced in songs. |
| verb (v. i.) To strike with a quick succession of slight, sharp sounds; as, pattering rain or hail; pattering feet. |
| verb (v. i.) To mutter; to mumble; as, to patter with the lips. |
| verb (v. i.) To talk glibly; to chatter; to harangue. |
| verb (v. t.) To spatter; to sprinkle. |
| verb (v. i.) To mutter; as prayers. |
administer | noun (n.) Administrator. |
| verb (v. t.) To manage or conduct, as public affairs; to direct or superintend the execution, application, or conduct of; as, to administer the government or the state. |
| verb (v. t.) To dispense; to serve out; to supply; execute; as, to administer relief, to administer the sacrament. |
| verb (v. t.) To apply, as medicine or a remedy; to give, as a dose or something beneficial or suitable. Extended to a blow, a reproof, etc. |
| verb (v. t.) To tender, as an oath. |
| verb (v. t.) To settle, as the estate of one who dies without a will, or whose will fails of an executor. |
| verb (v. i.) To contribute; to bring aid or supplies; to conduce; to minister. |
| verb (v. i.) To perform the office of administrator; to act officially; as, A administers upon the estate of B. |
after | adjective (a.) Next; later in time; subsequent; succeeding; as, an after period of life. |
| adjective (a.) Hinder; nearer the rear. |
| adjective (a.) To ward the stern of the ship; -- applied to any object in the rear part of a vessel; as the after cabin, after hatchway. |
| adverb (adv.) Subsequently in time or place; behind; afterward; as, he follows after. |
| prep (prep.) Behind in place; as, men in line one after another. |
| prep (prep.) Below in rank; next to in order. |
| prep (prep.) Later in time; subsequent; as, after supper, after three days. It often precedes a clause. Formerly that was interposed between it and the clause. |
| prep (prep.) Subsequent to and in consequence of; as, after what you have said, I shall be careful. |
| prep (prep.) Subsequent to and notwithstanding; as, after all our advice, you took that course. |
| prep (prep.) Moving toward from behind; following, in search of; in pursuit of. |
| prep (prep.) Denoting the aim or object; concerning; in relation to; as, to look after workmen; to inquire after a friend; to thirst after righteousness. |
| prep (prep.) In imitation of; in conformity with; after the manner of; as, to make a thing after a model; a picture after Rubens; the boy takes after his father. |
| prep (prep.) According to; in accordance with; in conformity with the nature of; as, he acted after his kind. |
| prep (prep.) According to the direction and influence of; in proportion to; befitting. |
suture | noun (n.) The act of sewing; also, the line along which two things or parts are sewed together, or are united so as to form a seam, or that which resembles a seam. |
| noun (n.) The uniting of the parts of a wound by stitching. |
| noun (n.) The stitch by which the parts are united. |
| noun (n.) The line of union, or seam, in an immovable articulation, like those between the bones of the skull; also, such an articulation itself; synarthrosis. See Harmonic suture, under Harmonic. |
| noun (n.) The line, or seam, formed by the union of two margins in any part of a plant; as, the ventral suture of a legume. |
| noun (n.) A line resembling a seam; as, the dorsal suture of a legume, which really corresponds to a midrib. |
| noun (n.) The line at which the elytra of a beetle meet and are sometimes confluent. |
| noun (n.) A seam, or impressed line, as between the segments of a crustacean, or between the whorls of a univalve shell. |
sucker | noun (n.) One who, or that which, sucks; esp., one of the organs by which certain animals, as the octopus and remora, adhere to other bodies. |
| noun (n.) A suckling; a sucking animal. |
| noun (n.) The embolus, or bucket, of a pump; also, the valve of a pump basket. |
| noun (n.) A pipe through which anything is drawn. |
| noun (n.) A small piece of leather, usually round, having a string attached to the center, which, when saturated with water and pressed upon a stone or other body having a smooth surface, adheres, by reason of the atmospheric pressure, with such force as to enable a considerable weight to be thus lifted by the string; -- used by children as a plaything. |
| noun (n.) A shoot from the roots or lower part of the stem of a plant; -- so called, perhaps, from diverting nourishment from the body of the plant. |
| noun (n.) Any one of numerous species of North American fresh-water cyprinoid fishes of the family Catostomidae; so called because the lips are protrusile. The flesh is coarse, and they are of little value as food. The most common species of the Eastern United States are the northern sucker (Catostomus Commersoni), the white sucker (C. teres), the hog sucker (C. nigricans), and the chub, or sweet sucker (Erimyzon sucetta). Some of the large Western species are called buffalo fish, red horse, black horse, and suckerel. |
| noun (n.) The remora. |
| noun (n.) The lumpfish. |
| noun (n.) The hagfish, or myxine. |
| noun (n.) A California food fish (Menticirrus undulatus) closely allied to the kingfish (a); -- called also bagre. |
| noun (n.) A parasite; a sponger. See def. 6, above. |
| noun (n.) A hard drinker; a soaker. |
| noun (n.) A greenhorn; one easily gulled. |
| noun (n.) A nickname applied to a native of Illinois. |
| verb (v. t.) To strip off the suckers or shoots from; to deprive of suckers; as, to sucker maize. |
| verb (v. i.) To form suckers; as, corn suckers abundantly. |
summer | noun (n.) A large stone or beam placed horizontally on columns, piers, posts, or the like, serving for various uses. Specifically: (a) The lintel of a door or window. (b) The commencement of a cross vault. (c) A central floor timber, as a girder, or a piece reaching from a wall to a girder. Called also summertree. |
| noun (n.) The season of the year in which the sun shines most directly upon any region; the warmest period of the year. |
| verb (v.) One who sums; one who casts up an account. |
| verb (v. i.) To pass the summer; to spend the warm season; as, to summer in Switzerland. |
| verb (v. t.) To keep or carry through the summer; to feed during the summer; as, to summer stock. |
supporter | noun (n.) One who, or that which, supports; as, oxygen is a supporter of life. |
| noun (n.) Especially, an adherent; one who sustains, advocates, and defends; as, the supporter of a party, faction, or candidate. |
| noun (n.) A knee placed under the cathead. |
| noun (n.) A figure, sometimes of a man, but commonly of some animal, placed on either side of an escutcheon, and exterior to it. Usually, both supporters of an escutcheon are similar figures. |
| noun (n.) A broad band or truss for supporting the abdomen or some other part or organ. |
surrender | noun (n.) The act of surrendering; the act of yielding, or resigning one's person, or the possession of something, into the power of another; as, the surrender of a castle to an enemy; the surrender of a right. |
| noun (n.) The yielding of a particular estate to him who has an immediate estate in remainder or reversion. |
| noun (n.) The giving up of a principal into lawful custody by his bail. |
| noun (n.) The delivery up of fugitives from justice by one government to another, as by a foreign state. See Extradition. |
| noun (n.) The voluntary cancellation of the legal liability of the company by the insured and beneficiary for a consideration (called the surrender value). |
| verb (v. t.) To yield to the power of another; to give or deliver up possession of (anything) upon compulsion or demand; as, to surrender one's person to an enemy or to an officer; to surrender a fort or a ship. |
| verb (v. t.) To give up possession of; to yield; to resign; as, to surrender a right, privilege, or advantage. |
| verb (v. t.) To yield to any influence, emotion, passion, or power; -- used reflexively; as, to surrender one's self to grief, to despair, to indolence, or to sleep. |
| verb (v. t.) To yield; to render or deliver up; to give up; as, a principal surrendered by his bail, a fugitive from justice by a foreign state, or a particular estate by the tenant thereof to him in remainder or reversion. |
| verb (v. i.) To give up one's self into the power of another; to yield; as, the enemy, seeing no way of escape, surrendered at the first summons. |