n. one who holds or owns a share or shares in a joint fund or property
E.g. The meeting will make a decision to satisfy with each shareholder.
v. cut or clip hair; strip of something; remove by cutting or clipping
E.g. You may not care to cut a sheep's hair, but they shear sheep for Little Bo Peep.
n. protective covering for a knife or sword; dress suitable for formal occasions
E.g. She slid the sheath from the short sword and swiped toward him.
n. small signboard outside the office; coarse beach gravel of small water; worn stones and pebbles
E.g. After passing the law exam, she hung out her shingle.
n. shallow place in a body of water; sandy elevation of the bottom of a body of water, sandbank or sandbar
E.g. The boat struck a shoal and fetched up all standing.
a. made of or containing inferior material; not genuine; of low rank; poor quality or craft
E.g. He says earlier reports from the U.S. had been based shoddy intelligence; it's necessary to wait for new ones.
n. sharp, shrill outcry or scream; shrill wild cry such as is caused by sudden or extreme terror, pain, or the like
E.g. She heard a little shriek and a fall, and a crash of broken glass, from which she concluded that it had fallen into a cucumber-frame, or something of the sort.
v. wither; decrease in size; become or make shrunken and wrinkled, often by drying
E.g. Leaves die, fall, and shrivel.
v. avoid deliberately; keep away from
E.g. Cherishing his solitude, the recluse wants to shun the company of other human beings.
n. lawyer using questionable methods; unethical lawyer or politician
E.g. He is horrified to learn that his newly-discovered half brother is nothing but a cheap shyster.
n. device to separate larger objects from smaller objects, or to separate solid objects from a liquid; utensil for separating; coarse basket
E.g. When they are tender, strain the soup into a clean pan through a fine wire sieve.
v. separate with a sieve, as the fine part of a substance from the course; examine critically or minutely; scrutinize
E.g. We have to sift through the application forms very carefully to separate the wheat from the chaff.
n. basis or foundation of a thing; especially, a horizontal piece, as a timber, which forms the lower member of a frame, or supports a structure
E.g. There was a dining chair placed in front of the sill, as if it was a desk.
v. make a pretence of; reproduce someone's behavior or looks
E.g. He tried to simulate insanity in order to avoid punishment for his crime.
a. of simulate; not genuine or real; reproduced or made to resemble; imitative in character
E.g. You run lots and lots of tests in simulated environments on Earth, to increase confidence that the rover will perform well on Mars.
a. existing, happening, or done at the same time
E.g. In 1985, in Hamburg, I played against thirty-two different chess computers at the same time in what is known as a simultaneous exhibition.
a. tough; strong and firm; possessing physical strength and weight
E.g. Great tears rolled down his sunken cheeks, he lightly rested her forehead on his thin sinewy arm.
n. small, light sailboat; small boat propelled by oars
E.g. Tom dreamed of owning an ocean-going yacht but had to settle for a skiff he could sail in the bay.
n. long-handled stewing pan or saucepan sometimes having legs; vessel for stewing meat
E.g. Pour all but about 2 ounces of the beer over onions in skillet and cook them down over medium heat, stirring occasionally until all beer evaporates and onions are soft.
v. provide for or supply inadequately; deal with hastily, carelessly, or with poor material
E.g. They were forced to skimp on necessities in order to make their limited supplies last the winter.
a. inadequate, as in size or fullness, especially through economizing or stinting
E.g. Instead, the purpose of the story seems to be to show some really weird poses in skimpy outfits.
n. minor battle in war; minor or preliminary conflict or dispute
E.g. Custer's troops expected they might run into a skirmish or two on maneuvers; they did not expect to face a major battle.
v. increase rapidly; rise quickly; soar
E.g. Since last year we all see house prices skyrocket.
a. having an even, smooth surface; smooth; not rough or harsh
E.g. The group did invest in sleek Apple computers and other technology to help them compete against larger ad agencies.
n. skillful performance or ability in using hands; dexterity
E.g. The magician amazed the audience with his sleight of hand.
v. cast off hair, skin, horn, or feathers; discard as refuse
E.g. Each spring, the snakes slough off their skin.
v. speak indistinctly; pass over carelessly or with little notice
E.g. When Sol has too much to drink, he starts to slur his words: "Washamatter? Cansh you undershtand what I shay?".
v. melt or blend ores, changing their chemical composition
E.g. The furnace men smelt tin with copper to create a special alloy used in making bells.
n. fragments; atoms; splintered pieces; bits
E.g. A British research vessel that was nearly pounded to smithereens by a massive storm in the North Atlantic in 2000.
v. growl viciously while baring the teeth; utter with anger or hostility
E.g. The dog should not snarl at the milkman, who comes every day.
v. show contempt by turning up the nose, or by a particular facial expression; speak derisively; show mirth awkwardly
E.g. Don't sneer at religion of anyone; instead, respect choice of anyone.
v. request earnestly; seek to obtain by persuasion or formal application
E.g. Knowing she needed to have a solid majority for the budget to pass, the mayor telephoned all the members of the city council to solicit their votes.
n. act of soliciting; inciting of another to commit a crime; temptation; allurement; petition; proposal
E.g. The current level of aggressive solicitation is slowly choking the life out of this business district.
n. talking to oneself; act of a character speaking to himself so as to reveal his thoughts to audience
E.g. The soliloquy is a device used by the dramatist to reveal a character's innermost thoughts and emotions.
a. able to pay all debts; capable of meeting financial obligations
E.g. By dint of very frugal living, he was finally able to become solvent and avoid bankruptcy proceedings.
a. gloomy; depressing or grave; dull or dark in color
E.g. From the doctor's grim expression, I could tell he had somber news.
n. autonomy; independence
E.g. Iraq's Foreign Minister, Mr. Zebari let slip first thing this morning the news that it had been decided to bring forward the transfer of sovereignty to today.
a. marked by prudence and restraint in the use of material resources; limited in quantity; saving; frugal; merciful
E.g. Frugality by Japanese consumers does mean sparing returns for investors.
a. occurring, growing, or settled at widely spaced intervals; not thick or dense
E.g. No matter how carefully Albert combed his hair to make it look as full as possible, it still looked sparse.
a. avoiding luxury and comfort; sternly disciplined
E.g. Looking over the bare, unheated room, with its hard cot, he wondered what he was doing in such spartan quarters.