- mod1 adj. 2. Fashionably up-to-date, especially in style, design, or dress.
- mode n. 6. Statistics The value or item occurring most frequently in a series
of observations or statistical data.
- moderne adj. Striving to be modern in appearance or style but lacking taste or
refinement; pretentious.
- modish adj. Being in or conforming to the prevailing or current fashion;
stylish.
- modus operandi n. Abbr MO 1. A method of operating or functioning.
- modus vivendi n. 2. A temporary agreement between contending parties pending a
final settlement.
- mogul n. A small hard mound or bump on a ski slope.
- Mogul n. 1. also Moghul or Mughal a. A member of the force that under Baber
conquered India in 1526. b. A member of the Muslim dynasty founded by Baber
that ruled India until 1857. 2. A Mongol or Mogolian. 3. mogul A very rich or
powerful person; a magnate. [Persian and Arabic mugul, from Mongolian Mongul.]
- mohel n. also mohalim or mohelim. One who performs circumcision on a Jewish
male as a religious rite.
- moiety n. 1. A half. 2. A part, portion, or share. 3. Anthropology Either of
two kinship groups based on unilateral descent that together make up a tribe
or society.
- moil intr.v. 1. To toil; slave. 2. To churn about continuously. n. 1. Toil;
drudgery. 2. Confusion; turmoil.
- moire adj. Having a wavy or rippled surface pattern. Used of fabric. n. 1.
Fabric, such as silk or rayon, finished so as to have a wavy or rippled
surface pattern. 2. A similar pattern produced on cloth by engraved rollers.
- moire effect. n. 1. The effect of superimposing a repetitive design, such as a
grid, on the same or a different design in order to produce a pattern distinct
from its components. 2. The perceived distortion or flickering of printed or
displayed high-contrast images.
- mojo n. 1. A magic charm or spell. 2. An amulet, often a small flannel bag
containing one or more magic items, worn by adherents of hoodoo or voodoo. 3.
Personal magnetism; charm.
- moke n. Slang 1. A dull or boring person.
- mola2 n. See ocean sunfish.
- mold1 n. 5. General shape or form: the oval mold of her face. 6. Distinctive
character or type: a leader in the mold of her predecessors. 7. A fixed or
restrictive pattern or form: a method of scientific investigation that broke
the mold and led to a new discovery.
- mold3 n. 1. Loose friable soil, rich in humus and fit for planting. 2. Chiefly
British a. The earth; the ground. b. The earth of the grave. 3. Archaic Earth
as the substance of the human body.
- molder v. -intr. To crumble to dust; disintegrate. -tr. To cause to crumble.
- mole1 n. A small congenital growth on the human skin, usually slightly raised
and dark and sometimes hairy, especially a pigmented nevus.
- mole2 n. 1. Any of various small insectivorous mammals of the family Talpidae,
usually living underground and having thickset bodies and strong forefeet for
burrowing. 2. A machine that bores through hard surfaces, used especially for
tunneling through rock. 3. A spy who operates from within an organization,
especially a double agent operating against his or her own government from
within its intelligence establishment.
- mole3 n. 1. A massive, usually stone wall constructed in the sea, used as a
breakwater and built to enclose or protect an anchorage or a harbor. 2. The
anchorage or harbor enclosed by a mole.
- mole6 n. Any of various spicy sauces of Mexican origin, usually having a base
of onion, chilies, nuts or seeds, and unsweetened chocolate and served with
meat or poultry.
- molecular biology n. 1. The branch of biology that deals with the formation,
structure, and function of macromolecules essential to life, such as nucleic
acids and proteins, and especially with their role in cell replication and the
transmission of genetic information. 2. The branch of biology that deals with
the manipulation of DNA so that it can be sequenced or mutated. If mutated,
the DNA is often inserted into the genome of an organism to study the
biological effects of the mutation.
- molecular formula n. A chemical formula that shows the number and kinds of
atoms in a molecule.
- molecular knife n. A synthetic enzyme capable of cutting out and destroying
specific genes such as those in a virus that control its replication or the
production of a protein.
- moll n. Slang 1. A woman companion of a gunman or gangster.
- molly also mollie n. Any of several tropical and subtropical live-bearing
fishes of the genus Poecilla or Mollienesia, commonly kept in aquariums.
- mollycoddle v. -tr.To be overprotective and indulgent toward. n. A person,
especially a man or a boy, who is pampered and overprotected.
- moly n. Greek Mythology A magic herb with black roots and white flowers that
was given to Odysseus by Hermes to ward off the spells of Circe.
- Momus n. Greek Mythology The god of blame and ridicule.
- monandry n. 1. The state of practice of having one husband at a time.
- mondegreen n. A series of words that result from the mishearing or
misinterpretation of a statement or song lyric. For example, "I led the
pigeons to the flag" for "I pledge allegiance to the flag."
- [idiom] for (one's) money According to one's opinion, choice, or preference:
For my money, it's not worth the trouble.
- [idiom] in the money 1. Slang Rich; affluent. 2. Sports & Games Taking first,
second, or third place in a contest on which a bet has been placed, such as a
horserace.
- [idiom] on the money Exact; precise.
- [idiom] put (one's) money where (one's) mouth is Slang To live up to one's
words; act according to one's own advice.
- money-grubber n. One who is intent on or preoccupied with amassing money.
-money-grubbing adj. & n.
- money machine n. ATM.
- mongrelize tr.v. To make mongrel in race, nature, or character.
- monitory adj. Conveying an admonition or a warning: a monitory glance. n. A
letter of admonition, such as one from a bishop or an ecclesiastical court.
- monkeyshine n. Slang A mischievous or playful trick; a prank. Often used in
the plural: laughed at my daughter's monkeyshines.
- monochrome n. 1a. A picture, especially a painting, done in different shades
of a single color. b. The art or technique of executing such a picture. 2. The
state of being in a single color. 3. A black-and-white image, as in
photography or on television.
- monoculture n. 1. The cultivation of a single crop on a farm or in a region or
country. 2. A single, homogeneous culture without diversity or dissension.
- monocyte n. A large, circulating, phagocytic white blood cell, having a single
well-defined nucleus and very fine granulation in the cytoplasm. Monocytes
constitute from 3 to 8 percent of the white blood cells in humans.
-monocytosis n.
- monogenesis n. 1. The theory that all living organisms are descended from a
single cell or organism. 2. Asexual reproduction, as by sporulation.
- monogyny n. The practice or condition of having only one wife at a time.
