Words starting with M — 1,282 entries

The 1,282 dictionary words that begin with the letter M, in alphabetical order, each with its first definition. Accents do not affect filing: an accented initial is shelved under its base letter.

• melody1 senseA sequence of notes that makes up a musical phrase.
• Melody2 sensesA female given name from English.
• melon11 sensesSome of the plants of the family Cucurbitaceae grown for food, generally not including the cucumber. Genus Cucumis, the true melon (including various…
• melt14 sensesTo change (or to be changed) from a solid state to a liquid state, usually by a gradual heat.
• meltdown8 sensesAn act or process of melting.
• melted2 sensesBeing in a liquid state as a result of melting.
• melting5 sensesWhich is melting, dissolving or liquefying.
• melvin2 sensesA wedgie performed from in front of the victim.
• Melvin11 sensesA surname from Old French.
• member11 sensesOne who belongs to a group.
• membership4 sensesThe state of being a member of a group or organization.
• memento1 senseA keepsake; an object kept as a reminder of a place or event.
• memo4 sensesA short note; a memorandum.
• memoirs1 senseAn autobiography.
• memorable2 sensesWorthy to be remembered; very important or remarkable.
• memorial9 sensesSomething, such as a monument, by which someone or something is remembered.
• memorize1 senseTo fully learn so as to have entirely available to the memory; to learn by heart, commit to memory.
• memory8 sensesThe ability of the brain to record information or impressions with the facility of recalling them later, usually at will.
• Memphis12 sensesA city of ancient Egypt.
• men2 senses(The) people, humanity, man(kind).
• Men3 sensesA god once worshipped in the western interior parts of Anatolia, and associated with lunar symbolism.
• menace6 sensesA perceived threat or danger.
• mend34 sensesTo physically repair (something that is broken, defaced, decayed, torn, or otherwise damaged).
• mendoza1 senseSynonym of ugly stick (“a musical instrument”).
• Mendoza3 sensesA province in western Argentina.
• Meng4 sensesA surname. A Chinese surname from Mandarin.
• menopause3 sensesThe period in a woman's life when menstruation becomes irregular and less frequent before eventually stopping altogether, usually accompanied by a…
• mental15 sensesOf or relating to the mind or specifically the total emotional and intellectual response of an individual to external reality. Occurring or…
• mentality2 sensesA mindset; a way of thinking; a set of beliefs.
• mentally1 senseIn a mental manner; an idea thought out in one's mind, as opposed to an idea spoken orally.
• mention4 sensesA speaking or noticing of anything, usually in a brief or cursory manner.
• mentioning1 senseThe act of briefly referring to someone or something in speech or writing, usually without giving much detail.
• mentor2 sensesA wise and trusted counselor or teacher.
• Mentor13 sensesOdysseus's trusted counselor. He was assigned the responsibility of raising Odysseus's son Telemachus while Odysseus was away fighting in Troy.
• menu6 sensesThe details of the food to be served at a banquet; a bill of fare.
• Menu1 senseA surname from French.
• meow6 sensesUsed to indicate the cry of a cat.
• meowing1 senseThe act of uttering a meow.
• Mercedes9 sensesA female given name from Spanish, equivalent to English Mercy occasionally borrowed from Spanish.
• mercenary4 sensesOne motivated by gain, especially monetary.
• mercer1 senseA merchant dealing in fabrics and textiles, especially silks and other fine cloths.
• Mercer13 sensesA surname.
• merchandise9 sensesGoods which are or were offered or intended for sale.
• merchant6 sensesA person who traffics in commodities for profit.
• Merchant1 senseA surname.
• merci2 sensesThank you.
• merciful1 senseShowing mercy.
• merciless1 senseShowing no mercy; cruel and pitiless.
• mercury12 sensesSenses relating to the metal. A silvery-coloured, metallic chemical element with the atomic number 80; it is liquid at room temperature, and toxic.
• Mercury7 sensesThe first planet in the Solar system with the closest orbit to the Sun, named after the god; represented by ☿.
• mercy9 sensesRelenting; forbearance to cause or allow harm to another.
• Mercy2 sensesA female given name from English.
• mere12 sensesJust, only; no more than, pure and simple, neither more nor better than might be expected.
• Mere3 sensesA village and civil parish in northern Cheshire East district, Cheshire, England (OS grid ref SJ7381).
• Meredith10 sensesA male given name from Welsh.
• merely2 sensesWithout any other reason etc.; only, just, and nothing more.
• merge5 sensesTo combine into a whole.
• merger5 sensesOne that merges.
• merit9 sensesA claim to commendation or a reward.
• merits2 sensesIntrinsic advantages, as opposed to political or procedural advantages.
• merle4 sensesA Eurasian blackbird, Turdus merula.
• Merle3 sensesA surname from French of French origin.
• merlin2 sensesA small falcon, Falco columbarius, that breeds in northern North America, Europe, and Asia.
• Merlin3 sensesA wizard in the Arthurian legend.
• mermaid3 sensesA mythological creature with a woman's head and upper body, and a tail of a fish.
• Merrick4 sensesA surname from Welsh.
• merrily1 senseIn a cheerful or merry way.
• merry6 sensesJolly and full of high spirits; happy.
• Merry4 sensesA surname transferred from the nickname. Originally a nickname for a merry person.
• Meryl1 senseA female given name from Scottish Gaelic, variant of Muriel.
• mesa2 sensesA flat area of land or plateau higher than other land, with one or more clifflike edges.
• Mesa6 sensesA place in the United States: A city in Maricopa County, Arizona.
• mess21 sensesA thing or group of things in a disagreeable, disorganised, or dirty state; hence a bad situation.
• Mess1 senseA surname from German.
• message8 sensesA communication, or what is communicated; any concept or information conveyed.
• messages1 senseShopping, groceries, errands.
• messenger13 sensesOne who brings messages.
• Messenger2 sensesA surname originating as an occupation for a messenger.
• messiah3 sensesThe one who is ordained by God to lead the people of Israel, believed by Christians and Muslims to be Jesus Christ.
• Messiah3 sensesThe promised and expected savior or liberator of the Jewish people.
• Messing2 sensesA village in Messing-cum-Inworth parish, Colchester district, Essex, England (OS grid ref TL8918).
• messy4 sensesIn a disorderly state; chaotic; disorderly.
• met1 senseTo dream; to occur (to one) in a dream.
• Met7 sensesThe London Underground Metropolitan line.
• MET1 senseThe gene symbol for C-Met, a proto-oncogene in human biology.
• metabolism3 sensesThe chemical processes that occur within a living organism in order to maintain life.
• Metabolism1 senseA post-war Japanese architectural movement that fused ideas about architectural megastructures with those of organic biological growth.
• metal16 sensesChemical elements or alloys, their ores, and the mines where their ores come from. Any of a number of chemical elements in the periodic table that…
• metallic5 sensesOf, relating to, or characteristic of metal.
• metals1 senseThe rail tracks owned by a company or organisation; a rail network.
• metaphor5 sensesThe use of a word, phrase, concept, or set of concepts to refer to something other than its literal meaning, invoking an implicit similarity between…
• meteor6 sensesAn atmospheric or meteorological phenomenon. These were sometimes classified as aerial or airy meteors (winds), aqueous or watery meteors…
• meteorite1 senseA metallic or stony object or body that is the remains of a meteoroid.
• meter8 sensesA device that measures things.
• meth5 sensesMethamphetamine, especially in the form of the crystalline hydrochloride.
• methane2 sensesThe simplest aliphatic hydrocarbon, CH₄, being a constituent of natural gas, and one of the most abundant greenhouse gases.
• method8 sensesA process by which a task is completed; a way of doing something (followed by the adposition of, to or for before the purpose of the process).
• meticulous2 sensesCharacterized by very precise, conscientious attention to details.
• metre4 sensesThe basic unit of length in the International System of Units (SI: Système International d'Unités), equal to the distance travelled by light in a…
• metro4 sensesA rapid transit rail transport system, or a train in such systems, generally underground and serving a metropolitan area.
• Metro1 senseA city in Lampung, Indonesia.
• metropolis4 sensesThe mother (founding) polis (city state) of a colony.
• Metropolis6 sensesA city, the county seat of Massac County, Illinois, United States.
• metropolitan5 sensesA bishop empowered to oversee other bishops; an archbishop.
• Metropolitan2 sensesThe Metropolitan Line of London Underground, which has its ancestry in the Metropolitan Railway.
• Mexican11 sensesA person from the country of Mexico or of Mexican descent.
• Mexico13 sensesA country in North America, located south of the United States, and northwest of Guatemala and Belize from Central America. Official name: United…
• Meyer9 sensesA male given name from Hebrew, of Jewish usage, an alternative form of Meir.
• Meyers1 senseA surname.
• mi2 sensesA syllable used in sol-fa (solfège) to represent the third note of a major scale.
• mia2 sensesAn ancient bluffing game played with dice.
• Mia2 sensesA female given name from German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, or Danish.
• MIA1 senseAbsent for a long time.
• Miami9 sensesAlternative form of Mayaimi. An extinct indigenous people of Florida.
• mic1 senseA microfarad.
• Mic1 senseA river in Romania.
• Micah5 sensesA book of the Old Testament of Bible, and of the Tanakh.
• mice1 senseTo be distracted or inattentive (possibly alluding to a cat being distracted by a mouse).
• Michael4 sensesA male given name from Hebrew.
• Michaels1 senseA surname.
• Michel1 senseA male given name from French, equivalent to English Michael.
• Michelangelo1 senseA 15th- and 16th-century Italian artist, full name Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (1475–1564).
• Michele2 sensesA unisex given name A female given name from French [in turn from Hebrew], equivalent to English Michelle, anglicized form of French Michèle, a…
• Michelle1 senseA female given name from Hebrew, popular from the 1960s to the 1990s.
• Michigan8 sensesA state of the United States.
• Michiko1 senseA female given name from Japanese.
• mick3 sensesAn Irishman.
• Mick2 sensesA diminutive of the male given name Michael.
• mickey9 sensesThe smallest distance that a computer mouse can move a cursor on a screen, which is used to measure the device's resolution or sensitivity.
• Mickey6 sensesA diminutive of the male given name Michael.
• Micky3 sensesAlternative spelling of Mickey. A diminutive of the male given name Michael.
• microphone3 sensesA device (transducer) used to convert sound waves into a varying electric current; normally fed into an amplifier and either recorded or transmitted…
• microscope3 sensesAn optical instrument used for observing small objects.
• microscopic5 sensesOf, or relating to microscopes or microscopy; microscopal
• microwave3 sensesAn electromagnetic wave with wavelength between that of infrared light and radio waves.
• mid10 sensesOccupying a middle position; middle.
• midday1 senseNoon; twelve o'clock during the day.
• middle13 sensesA centre, midpoint.
• Middle1 senseA sheading of the Isle of Man.
• middle-aged3 sensesOf or relating to middle age or a middle-ager; neither old nor young.
• middle-class2 sensesOccupying a position between the working class and the upper class.
• middleman4 sensesAn intermediary, agent between two (or more) parties.
• Middleton44 sensesAny of many placenames in England, Scotland and elsewhere, from the Old English words for "middle town", including: A number of places in England,…
• midget3 sensesA very small thing; especially one which is conspicuously smaller than expected or by comparison.
• midnight4 sensesThe middle of the night: the sixth temporal hour, equidistant between sunset and sunrise.
• midst2 sensesA place in the middle of something; may be used of a literal or metaphorical location.
• midtown1 senseThe part of a city between uptown and downtown.
• midway6 sensesThe middle; the midst.
• Midway119 sensesAn atoll in the North Pacific the site of a major World War II battle.
• Midwest2 sensesThe area of the contiguous United States contained in the central third of the country, especially the states of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan,…
• midwife4 sensesA person, usually a woman, who is trained to assist women in childbirth, but who is not a physician.
• might10 sensesPower, strength, force, or influence held by a person or group.
• mighty7 sensesVery strong; possessing might.
• migraine2 sensesA severe, disabling headache, usually affecting only one side of the head, and often accompanied by nausea, vomiting, photophobia and visual…
• migration5 sensesAn instance of moving to live in another place for a while.
• Miguel2 sensesA male given name from Portuguese and Spanish.
• Mika2 sensesA unisex given name. A female given name from Japanese.
• mike4 sensesA microphone.
• Mike4 sensesA radiotelephony clear-code word for the letter M.
• Mikey1 senseA diminutive of the male given name Michael.
• Mikhail1 senseA transliteration of the Russian male given name Михаи́л (Mixaíl).
• Miki4 sensesA unisex given name. A diminutive of the male given name Michael, variant of Mickey.
• mil3 sensesAn angular mil, a unit of angular measurement equal to ¹⁄₆₄₀₀ of a complete circle. At 1000 metres one mil subtends about one metre (0.98 m). Also…
• Mila4 sensesA female given name from the Slavic languages.
• milady2 sensesTo address as “milady”.
• Milan26 sensesA city and comune, the capital of the Metropolitan City of Milan and the region of Lombardy, Italy.
• mild9 sensesGentle and not easily angered
• mildly2 sensesIn a mild manner.
• Mildred1 senseA female given name from Old English.
• mile9 sensesThe international mile: a unit of length precisely equal to 1.609344 kilometers established by treaty among Anglophone nations in 1959, divided into…
• Mile2 sensesA transliteration of the Macedonian male given name Миле (Mile)
• mileage7 sensesThe total distance travelled in miles or in air miles.
• miles2 sensesA great distance in space or time.
• Miles11 sensesA male given name from an uncertain origin.
• Miley2 sensesA female given name.
• militant5 sensesFighting or disposed to fight; belligerent, warlike.
• military5 sensesCharacteristic of members of the armed forces.
• militia2 sensesAn army of trained civilians, which may be an official reserve army, called upon in time of need, the entire able-bodied population of a state which…
• milk14 sensesA white liquid produced by the mammary glands of female mammals to nourish their young. From certain animals, especially cows, it is also called…
• Milk1 senseA surname.
• milking2 sensesThe act by which any animal is milked.
• milkman2 sensesA man who delivers milk to households and sometimes businesses early in the morning.
• milkshake7 sensesA thick beverage consisting of milk and ice cream mixed together, often with fruit, chocolate, or other flavoring.
• milky7 sensesResembling milk in color, consistency, smell, etc.; consisting of milk.
• mill42 sensesA grinding apparatus for substances such as grains, seeds, etc. (Some are small and simple, and some are large and complex.)
• Mill4 sensesA surname.
• millennia1 sensea single period of 1000 years, a millennium
• millennium5 sensesA period of time consisting of one thousand years.
• Millennium2 sensesThe Kingdom of Christ on Earth, predicted by Christians to come about someday.
• miller6 sensesA person who owns or operates a mill, especially a flourmill.
• Miller16 sensesAn English and Scottish surname originating as an occupation for a miller.
• millie2 sensesA harshly-spoken working-class woman, often unemployed.
• Millie2 sensesA diminutive of the female given names Mildred, Millicent, Emily, Amelia, or Camilla, also used as a formal given name.
• million2 sensesThe cardinal number 1 000 000: 10⁶; a thousand thousand (1,000²).
• million-dollar2 sensesvery expensive.
• millionaire1 senseSomebody whose wealth is at least one million (10⁶) currency units (usually understood to exclude holders of hyperinflated currencies).
• Mills11 sensesAn English and Scottish occupational surname.
• Milly1 senseA diminutive of the female given names Mildred, Millicent, Emily, or Camilla, also used as a formal given name.
• milo1 sensesorghum
• Milo13 sensesA male given name from the Germanic languages.