n. peak; tall pointed formation, such as mountain peak
E.g. We could see the morning sunlight illuminate the pinnacle while the rest of the mountain lay in shadow.
n. crime of pirate; robbery committed at sea; unauthorized use or reproduction of copyrighted or patented material
E.g. Decreasing piracy is simple, give the users the best product possible at a good price and people will pay.
n. sliding piece which either is moved by, or moves against; mechanical device that has a plunging or thrusting motion
E.g. The piston is the only movable part, the force of the steam is directed to that part, and the motion is then transmitted to the crank, and to the shaft of the engine.
n. axis; focus; center
E.g. Throw stiff-armed from the shoulder, like there was a pivot there for it to turn on, like a girl; not from the wrist and elbow, with your arm out to one side, like a boy.
n. sign or notice for display in a public place; small card or plaque, such as nameplate on a door
E.g. My placard is a piece of cardboard rescued from the bin in my sister's house.
a. peaceful; tranquil; calm or quiet
E.g. After his vacation in this placid section, he felt soothed and rested.
v. steal another's ideas and pass them off as one's own
E.g. The teacher could recognize what the students plagiarize from others in their essays.
a. expressing sorrow ;mournful or melancholy; sad
E.g. The dove has a plaintive and melancholy call.
n. board; lumber
E.g. By and by she comes along, and she drifted in so close that they could a run out a plank and walked ashore.
n. all the animals and plants, which live at or near surface of waters; collection of small or microscopic organisms
E.g. By killing the sharks we are in turn killing plankton and destroying out atmosphere.
n. highland; upland; relatively flat highland
E.g. In geology and earth science, a plateau is an area of highland, usually consisting of relatively flat terrain.
n. dullness; insipidity of thought; commonplace statement; lack of originality
E.g. In giving advice to his son, old Polonius expressed himself only in same platitude; every word out of his mouth was a commonplace.
a. flexible; yielding; easily bent or shaped
E.g. In remodeling the bathroom, we have replaced all the old, rigid lead pipes with new, pliable copper tubing.
v. break and turn over earth especially with a plow; move with force
E.g. It is such a beautiful day; we saw some ships plough across the ocean under warm sun shine.
a. checking perpendicularity; exactly vertical
E.g. Before hanging wallpaper it is advisable to drop a plumb line from the ceiling as a guide.
v. fall straight down; plunge; decline suddenly and steeply
E.g. Stock prices plummet as Wall Street reacts to the crisis in the economy.
v. take goods of by force, or without right; spoil; sack; strip; rob
E.g. In the name of class, creed and religion we plunder one another with the most powerful weapons available.
v. be balanced or held in suspension; hover; carry or hold in equilibrium; balance
E.g. When I saw him lift and poise the book and stand in act to hurl it, I instinctively started aside with a cry of alarm.
a. expedient; artful, crafty or cunning; using, displaying, or proceeding from policy
E.g. Even though he was disappointed by the size of the bonus he was offered, he did not think it politic to refuse it.
v. fertilize by transferring pollen
E.g. Although honeybees are effective to fertilize under high temperature in California, they do not effectively pollinate alfalfa in western Canada.
a. slow and laborious because of weight; labored and dull
E.g. His humor lacked the light touch; his jokes were always ponderous.
v. gaze intently; stare; scrutinize; read or study carefully and attentively
E.g. Determined to become a physician, Beth spent hours to pore over her anatomy text.
a. full of pores; able to absorb fluids; full of tiny pores that allow fluids or gasses to pass through
E.g. Dancers like to wear porous clothing because it allows the ready passage of water and air.
v. depict; describe; draw
E.g. Domestically Mr. Brown is likely to portray his style as both more frugal and more transparent than before.
n. token that postal fee has been paid; charge for mailing something
E.g. For the first time this year, valid Canada Post postage stamps will be available for sale at the village office.
n. descendants collectively; the race that proceeds from a progenitor; future generations
E.g. After all, what we term posterity is but a drop of water in the ocean of Time.
n. student who continues studies after graduation
E.g. Humber's postgraduate programs are offered in an accelerated, intensive format, ordinarily two semesters long.
a. after death, as of child born after father's death or book published after author's death
E.g. The critics ignored his works during his lifetime; it was only after the posthumous publication of his last novel that they recognized his great talent.
a. occurring or done after death; relating to a medical examination of a dead body
E.g. A postmortem exam revealed large amounts of soil in her lungs and stomach, indicating that she had been alive and conscious while being buried.
n. paragraph added to letter after it is concluded and signed by the writer
E.g. He added a brief postscript to his speech, giving the latest figures.
n. domestic fowls reared for eating, or for their eggs or feathers, such as cocks and hens, capons, turkeys, ducks, and geese
E.g. Nothing has happened since the poultry was all removed - to the last feather - on Saturday afternoon.
a. feasible; capable of being effected, done, or put into practice
E.g. The board of directors decided that the plan was practicable and agreed to undertake the project.
n. someone engaged in a profession as law, medicine
E.g. Another very useful application for the legal practitioner is Google Docs, a Web-based word processing system.
a. practical as opposed to idealistic; concerned with the practical worth or impact of something
E.g. AIDS advocates are now wondering whether pragmatic is just a euphemism for cheap.
a. uncertain; risky; dangerously lacking in security or stability
E.g. But that is why NASA used test pilots, men used to handling life and death decisions in precarious situations and instantly making the right choice.
v. come before; antecede
E.g. Most English adjectives precede the noun they modify.
a. ahead; prior to
E.g. It displays the relationship between the target item and the preceding entry.
n. cliff; overhanging or extremely steep mass of rock; dangerous position
E.g. Suddenly Indiana Jones found himself dangling from the edge of a precipice.
a. rash; moving rapidly and heedlessly; speeding headlong; occurring suddenly
E.g. Though I was angry enough to resign on the spot, I had enough sense to keep myself from quitting a job in such a precipitate fashion.
n. former occupant of post; ancestor or forefather
E.g. I hope I can live up to the fine example set by my late predecessor in this office.