aband

on
a·ban·don [ə bándən]
verb (past and past participle a·ban·doned, present
participle a·ban·don·ing, 3rd person present singular
a·ban·dons)
1 transitive verb leave somebody behind: to leave
. somebody or something behind for others to look after,
especially somebody or something meant to be a personal
responsibility
 pets abandoned by their owners
2 transitive verb leave place because of danger: to leave a
. place or vehicle, especially for reasons of safety and without
intending to return soon
 had to abandon their vehicles in the snow
3 transitive verb renounce something: to renounce or reject
. something previously done or used
 The practice was abandoned long ago.
4 transitive verb give up control of something: to surrender
. control of something completely to somebody else
 As troops closed in the town was abandoned to its fate.
5 transitive verb halt something in progress: to stop doing
. something before it is completed, usually because of
difficulty or danger
 abandoning the rescue attempt
6 or a·ban·don your·selfreflexive verb give in to emotion:
. to give yourself over to a powerful emotion
 He abandoned himself to his grief.
noun
lack of restraint: complete lack of inhibition or self-
restraint
 [14th century. < Old French abandoner < a bandon "under
control" < Latin bannum "proclamation"]
-a·ban·don·ment, noun

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abbreviat
ion
ab·bre·vi·a·tion [ə brvee áysh'n]
(plural ab·bre·vi·a·tions)
noun
1 reduced form: a shortened form of a word or phrase
.
2 reduction: the shortening of a word or phrase to be used to represent
. the full form
Types of abbreviations:
There are four main kinds of abbreviations: shortenings, contractions,
initialisms, and acronyms. 1 Shortenings of words usually consist of the
first few letters of the full form and are usually spelled with a final period
when they are still regarded as abbreviations, for example, cont. =
continued, in = inch. In the cases when they form words in their own right,
the period is omitted, for example, hippo = hippopotamus, limo =
limousine. Such shortenings are often but not always informal. Some
become the standard forms, and the full forms are then regarded as
formal or technical, for example, bus = omnibus, taxi = taxicab, deli =
delicatessen, zoo = zoological garden. Sometimes shortenings are altered
to facilitate their pronunciation or spelling: bike = bicycle 2 Contractions
are abbreviated forms in which letters from the middle of the full form
have been omitted, for example, Dr. = doctor, St. = saint or street. Such
forms are invariably followed by a period. Another kind of contraction is
the type with an apostrophe marking the omission of letters: can't =
cannot, didn't = did not, you've = you have. 3 Initialisms are made up of
the initial letters of words and are pronounced as separate letters: CIA (or
C.I.A.), NYC, pm (or p.m.), U.S. (or US). Practice varies with regard to
periods, with current usage increasingly in favor of omitting them,
especially when the initialism consists entirely of capital letters. 4
Acronyms are initialisms that have become words in their own right, or
similar words formed from parts of several words. They are pronounced as
words rather than as a series of letters, for example, AIDS, laser, scuba,
UNESCO, and do not have periods. In many cases the acronym becomes
the standard term and the full form is only used in explanatory contexts.

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bareknuc
kle
bare·knuck·le [bér nùk'l]
or bare·knuck·led [bér nùkl'd]
adverb
without boxing gloves: not wearing boxing
gloves
adjective
1 using bare hands: using hands not protected by boxing
. gloves
 He was a great bareknuckle champion in his time.
2 aggressive or competitive: characterized by open
. aggression or competitiveness
 a bareknuckle exchange on the Senate floor
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barnsto
rm
barn·storm [brn stàwrm]
(past and past participle barn·stormed, present
participle barn·storm·ing, 3rd person present singular
barn·storms)
verb
1 transitive and intransitive verb make performing tour of
. rural areas: to travel from place to place giving performances
2 intransitive verb do flying stunts: to perform exhibitions of
. aerial acrobatics at shows and fairs
3 transitive and intransitive verb POLITICS tour rural areas
. making political speeches: to go on a whistle-stop tour of
rural areas making political speeches as part of an election
campaign

-barn·storm·er, noun
-barn·storm·ing, noun

Microsoft® Encarta® 2009. © 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

barr
en
bar·ren [bárrən]
adjective
1 bare of vegetation: having no trees or other growing plants
.
2 not fruiting: producing no fruit or seed
.
3 unable to have children: not able to bear children (archaic
. or literary)
4 with no useful result: producing no valuable results or
. interesting effects
 It was a barren period in his career.
5 lacking in something: completely lacking in a particular thing
. (literary)
 Our writers seem somewhat barren of new ideas.
noun (plural bar·rens)
GEOGRAPHY flat scrubland: an area of flat, scrubby,
unproductive land (often used in the plural)
[12th century. < Old French baraigne]

-bar·ren·ly, adverb
-bar·ren·ness, noun
See baron.

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carbon
ate
noun [krbə nàyt, krbənət] (plural car·bon·ates)
1 CHEMISTRY salt or ester: a salt or ester of carbonic acid
.
2 MINERALS mineral: a mineral composed of carbonates
.
transitive verb [krbə nàyt] (past and past participle
car·bon·at·ed, present participle car·bon·at·ing, 3rd person
present singular car·bon·ates)
1 CHEMISTRY change substance into carbonate: to convert
. a chemical compound into a carbonate
2 FOOD INDUSTRY make liquid bubbly and gaseous: to
. make a liquid bubbly and gaseous by introducing carbon
dioxide into it
3 CHEMISTRY Same as carbonize (sense 1)
.

-car·bon·a·tion [krbə náysh'n], noun

-car·bon·a·tor, noun
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care
en
ca·reen [kə rn]
(past and past participle ca·reened, present participle
ca·reen·ing, 3rd person present singular ca·reens)
verb
1 intransitive verb sway or swerve while moving: to move
. forward at high speed, swaying, lurching, or swerving from
one side to the other
 a motorcycle careening around sharp curves
2 intransitive verb move rapidly: to rush or move carelessly
.  He seemed to careen from one job to the next.
3 transitive and intransitive verb NAUTICAL turn boat on
. side: to turn a boat over on its side, especially for repairs or
cleaning, or turn over onto the side
4 intransitive verb SAILING heel in wind: to heel over to one
. side while sailing
[Early 17th century. < careen "act of careening a boat," via
French carène < Latin carina "keel, nutshell"; in senses 1 and
2 influenced by career]

-ca·reen·er, noun

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