Nouns denoting groupings of people or objects
- 15 May Organization
- a terrorist organization formed in 1979 by a faction of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine but disbanded in the 1980s when key members left to join a faction of al-Fatah
- A'man
- the Israeli military intelligence which produces comprehensive national intelligence briefings for the prime minister and the cabinet
- A-team
- a group of elite soldiers or a leadership group of advisors or workers in an organization
- Abecedarian
- a 16th century sect of Anabaptists centered in Germany who had an absolute disdain for human knowledge
- Abkhaz
- Circassian people living east of the Black Sea
- Abu Hafs al-Masri Brigades
- a terrorist group that has worked with Al Qaeda; claimed responsibility for attacks in Iraq and Turkey
- academe
- the academic world
- academic department
- a division of a school that is responsible for a given subject
- academy
- a school for special training
- academy
- a secondary school (usually private)
- Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
- an academy that gives annual awards for achievements in motion picture production and performance
- Academy of Television Arts and Sciences
- an academy that gives annual awards for outstanding achievements in television
- academy
- an institution for the advancement of art or science or literature
- accounting data
- all the data (ledgers and journals and spreadsheets) that support a financial statement; can be hard copy or machine readable
- accounting firm
- a firm of accountants who provide accounting and auditing services for a fee
- accumulation
- several things grouped together or considered as a whole
- Achomawi
- a community of Native Americans who speak a Hokan language and live in northeastern California
- acquirer
- the financial institution that dispenses cash in automated teller machines and collects a fee from the bank that issued the credit card
- acquirer
- a corporation gaining financial control over another corporation or financial institution through a payment in cash or an exchange of stock
- acquirer
- a credit card processing bank; merchants receive credit for credit card receipts less a processing fee
- actuarial table
- a table of statistical data
- ad agency
- an agency that designs advertisement to call public attention to its clients
- adhocracy
- an organization with little or no structure
- admass
- the segment of the public that is easily influenced by mass media (chiefly British)
- administration
- the persons (or committees or departments etc.) who make up a body for the purpose of administering something
- administrative body
- a unit with administrative responsibilities
- administrative law
- the body of rules and regulations and orders and decisions created by administrative agencies of government
- admiralty
- the department in charge of the navy (as in Great Britain)
- admiralty law
- the branch of international law that deals with territorial and international waters or with shipping or with ocean fishery etc.
- Advanced Research and Development Activity
- an agency of the Intelligence Community that conducts advanced research and development related to information technology
- advertising department
- the division of a business that is responsible for advertising
- advisory board
- a board appointed to advise the chief administrator
- advocacy group
- an interest group that tries to influence legislators or bureaucrats to act in their favor, typically through lobbying
- Aegean civilization
- the prehistoric civilization on the islands in the Aegean sea and the surrounding countries
- Aeolian
- the ancient Greek inhabitants of Aeolia
- aestivation
- (botany) the arrangement of sepals and petals in a flower bud before it opens
- affiliate
- a subsidiary or subordinate organization that is affiliated with another organization
- age bracket
- a group of people having approximately the same age
- age class
- people in the same age range
- aged
- people who are old collectively
- agency
- a business or organization that provides a particular service, especially the mediation of transactions between two parties
- agency
- an administrative unit of government
- agent bank
- a bank that acts as an agent for a foreign bank
- agent bank
- a bank named by a lending syndicate of several banks to protect their interests
- agglomerate
- a collection of objects laid on top of each other
- agglomeration
- a jumbled collection or mass
- aggregate
- a sum total of many heterogenous things taken together
- agriculture
- the class of people engaged in growing food
- Air Combat Command
- a command that is the primary provider of air combat weapon systems to the United States Air Force; operates fighter, bomber, reconnaissance, battle-management, and rescue aircraft
- Air Corps
- formerly the airborne division of the United States Army
- air crew
- the crew of an aircraft
- air division
- a unit of the United States Air Force usually comprising two or more wings
- air force academy
- an academy for training air force officers
- Air Force Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance
- an agency focused on ensuring that the United States military attains information superiority; operates worldwide ground sites and an array of airborne reconnaissance and surveillance platforms
- Air Force Space Command
- a command of the United States Air Force that is responsible for defending the United States through its space and intercontinental ballistic missile operations
- air force
- the airborne branch of a country's armed forces
- air group
- a unit of the United States Air Force larger than a squadron and smaller than a wing
- Air National Guard
- a civilian reserve component of the United States Air Force that provides prompt mobilization during war and assistance during national emergencies
- air power
- the aggregation of a country's military aircraft
- air traffic
- traffic created by the movement of aircraft
- air unit
- a military unit that is part of the airforce
- Akhbari
- a religious movement by Arab Shiite Muslims in 17th century Iraq that is opposed to the Usuli
- Akwa'ala
- a community of Native Americans who speak a Hokan language and live in Baja California
- al Itihaad al Islamiya
- a fundamentalist Islamic group in Somalia who initially did fundraising for al-Qaeda; responsible for ambushing United States Army Rangers and for terrorist bombings in Ethiopia; believed to have branches in several countries
- Al Nathir
- a Palestinian terrorist organization formed in 2002 and linked to Fatah movement of Yasser Arafat
- al-Aksa Martyrs Brigades
- a militant offshoot of al-Fatah that is the newest and strongest and best equipped faction active in the West Bank; responsible for many deadly attacks in Israel in 2002
- al-Fatah
- a Palestinian political and military organization founded by Yasser Arafat in 1958 to work toward the creation of a Palestinian state; during the 1960s and 1970s trained terrorist and insurgent groups
- al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya
- a terrorist organization of militant Islamists organized into tiny cells of extreme fundamentalists; emerged during the 1970s mainly in Egyptian jails
- Al-Jama'a al-Islamiyyah al-Muqatilah bi-Libya
- a Libyan terrorist group organized in 1995 and aligned with al-Qaeda; seeks to radicalize the Libyan government; attempted to assassinate Qaddafi
- al-Ma'unah
- a radical insurgent Islamist group consisting of disaffected middle-class professionals in Malaysia who want to overthrow the government by violent means and set up an Islamic state
- al-Muhajiroun
- a hard-line extremist Islamic group in Great Britain who support bin Laden and other terrorist groups
- al-Qa'ida
- a terrorist network intensely opposed to the United States that dispenses money and logistical support and training to a wide variety of radical Islamic terrorist groups; has cells in more than 50 countries
- al-Rashid Trust
- a terrorist group organized in 1996 after the Taliban took over Afghanistan and part of Osama bin Laden's international system; provides financial support for the Taliban and al-Qaeda and Jaish-i-Mohammed and assists Muslim militants around the world; established a network of madrasas and mosques in Afghanistan
- al-Ummah
- a terrorist group formed in India in 1992; is believed to be responsible for bombings in southern India in 1998
- Albigenses
- a Christian religious sect in southern France in the 12th and 13th centuries; believers in Albigensianism
- Alcoholics Anonymous
- an international organization that provides a support group for persons trying to overcome alcoholism
- Aleut
- a community of Native Americans who speak an Eskimo-Aleut language and inhabit the Aleutian Islands and southwestern Alaska
- alignment
- an organization of people (or countries) involved in a pact or treaty
- Allied Command Atlantic
- a major strategic headquarters of NATO located in the United States; is under the authority of the North Atlantic Council
- Allied Command Europe
- a major strategic headquarters of NATO; safeguards an area extending from Norway to Turkey
- allies
- an alliance of nations joining together to fight a common enemy
- Allies
- in World War I the alliance of Great Britain and France and Russia and all the other nations that became allied with them in opposing the Central Powers
- Allies
- the alliance of nations that fought the Axis in World War II and which (with subsequent additions) signed the charter of the United Nations in 1945
- ally
- a friendly nation
- alma mater
- your alma mater is a school you graduated from
- alphabet soup
- a confusing assortment
- aluminum business
- manufacturers of aluminum considered as a group
- amalgam
- a combination or blend of diverse things
- American Federalist Party
- a major political party in the United States in the early 19th century; founded by Alexander Hamilton; favored a strong centralized government
- American Federation of Labor
- a federation of North American labor unions that merged with the Congress of Industrial Organizations in 1955
- American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations
- the largest federation of North American labor unions; formed in 1955
- American Labor Party
- a former political party in the United States; formed in 1936 in New York when labor and liberals bolted the Democratic Party
- American Legion
- the largest organization of United States war veterans
- Amish sect
- an orthodox Anabaptist sect separated from the Mennonites in late 17th century; settled chiefly in southeastern Pennsylvania
- amphictyony
- an association of neighboring states or tribes in ancient Greece; established originally to defend a common religious center
- ana
- a collection of anecdotes about a person or place
- Anabaptist denomination
- a Protestant sect denying infant baptism and baptising only believers
- analytical cubism
- the early phase of cubism
- ancestry
- the descendants of one individual
- ancien regime
- a political and social system that no longer governs (especially the system that existed in France before the French Revolution)
- ancients
- people who lived in times long past (especially during the historical period before the fall of the Roman Empire in western Europe)
- Andromeda galaxy
- a spiral galaxy in the constellation of Andromeda that is visible to the naked eye
- Anglican Communion
- the national church of England (and all other churches in other countries that share its beliefs); has its see in Canterbury and the sovereign as its temporal head
- animal group
- a group of animals
- anthropology department
- the academic department responsible for teaching and research in anthropology
- Anti-Imperialist International Brigade
- a terrorist group organized in 1970 to overthrow the Japanese government and monarchy and to foment world revolution; is said to have close ties with Palestinian terrorists
- Anti-Masonic Party
- a former political party in the United States; founded in 1825 in opposition to Freemasonry in public affairs
- antibiosis
- an association between organisms that is harmful to one of them or between organisms and a metabolic product of another
- apparel chain
- a chain of clothing stores
- apparel industry
- makers and sellers of fashionable clothing
- appeal board
- a board of officials that are not judicial but are appointed to hear appeals
- appeals court
- a court whose jurisdiction is to review decisions of lower courts or agencies
- appointment
- a meeting arranged in advance
- Arab League
- an international organization of independent Arab states formed in 1945 to promote cultural and economic and military and political and social cooperation
- Arab-Berbers
- an ethnic minority descended from Berbers and Arabs and living in northern Africa
- Arcado-Cyprians
- the ancient Greek inhabitants of Achaea
- Areopagus
- the highest governmental assembly in ancient Athens (later a judicial court)
- argosy
- one or more large merchant ships
- aristocracy
- the most powerful members of a society
- aristocracy
- a privileged class holding hereditary titles
- arithmetic progression
- (mathematics) a progression in which a constant is added to each term in order to obtain the next term
- arm
- a division of some larger or more complex organization
- armada
- a large fleet
- armamentarium
- the collection of equipment and methods used in the practice of medicine
- armed forces
- the military forces of a nation
- Armed Islamic Group
- a terrorist organization of Islamic extremists whose violent activities began in 1992; aims to overthrow the secular Algerian regime and replace it with an Islamic state
- armed service
- a force that is a branch of the armed forces
- Armenian Apostolic Orthodox Church
- an independent Christian church established in Armenia since 300; was influenced by both Roman and Byzantine traditions
- Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia
- a militant Marxist-Leninist terrorist organization formed in 1975 to force Turkey to acknowledge killing more than a million Armenians and forcibly removing them from border areas in 1915; wants Turkey to pay reparations and cede territory to Armenia
- Arminian Baptist
- group of Baptist congregations believing the teachings of the Dutch theologian Jacobus Arminius (who opposed the doctrine of strict predestination of the Calvinists)
- Arminian Church
- the Protestant denomination adhering to the views of Jacobus Arminius
- armor
- a military unit consisting of armored fighting vehicles
- armorer
- a manufacturer of firearms
- arms industry
- an industry that manufacturers weapons of war
- army
- a large number of people united for some specific purpose
- army corps
- an army unit usually consisting of two or more divisions and their support
- Army for the Liberation of Rwanda
- a terrorist organization that seeks to overthrow the government dominated by Tutsi and to institute Hutu control again
- Army Intelligence
- an agency of the United States Army responsible for providing timely and relevant and accurate and synchronized intelligence to tactical and operational and strategic level commanders
- Army National Guard
- a civilian reserve component of the United States Army comprised of guardsmen who serve during overseas peacekeeping missions and during local emergencies
- Army of the Confederacy
- the southern army during the American Civil War
- Army of the Righteous
- a brutal terrorist group active in Kashmir; fights against India with the goal of restoring Islamic rule of India
- army unit
- a military unit that is part of an army
- army
- a permanent organization of the military land forces of a nation or state
- arrangement
- an orderly grouping (of things or persons) considered as a unit; the result of arranging
- array
- an orderly arrangement
- art collection
- a collection of art works
- art deco
- a style of design that was popular in the 1920s and 1930s; marked by stylized forms and geometric designs adapted to mass production
- art department
- the academic department responsible for teaching art and art appreciation
- art exhibition
- an exhibition of art objects (paintings or statues)
- art movement
- a group of artists who agree on general principles
- art nouveau
- a French school of art and architecture popular in the 1890s; characterized by stylized natural forms and sinuous outlines of such objects as leaves and vines and flowers
- artillery
- an army unit that uses big guns
- Ashcan School
- a group of United States painters founded in 1907 and noted for their realistic depictions of sordid aspects of city life
- Asia
- the nations of the Asian continent collectively
- assemblage
- a group of persons together in one place
- Assemblies of God
- a charismatic Protestant denomination in the United States
- assembly
- a group of persons who are gathered together for a common purpose
- assizes
- the county courts of England (replaced in 1971 by Crown courts)
- association
- (ecology) a group of organisms (plants and animals) that live together in a certain geographical region and constitute a community with a few dominant species
- association
- a formal organization of people or groups of people
- Association for the Advancement of Retired Persons
- an association of people to promote the welfare of senior citizens
- Association of Islamic Groups and Communities
- a Turkish terrorist group of fundamentalist Muslims with ties to al-Qaeda that operates in Germany; seeks the violent overthrow of the Turkish government and the establishment of an Islamic nation modeled on Iran
- Association of Orangemen
- a Protestant political organization in Northern Ireland
- Association of Southeast Asian Nations
- an association of nations dedicated to economic and political cooperation in southeastern Asia and who joined with the United States to fight against global terrorism
- assortment
- a collection containing a variety of sorts of things
- at home
- a reception held in your own home
- athenaeum
- a literary or scientific association for the promotion of learning
- Atomic Energy Commission
- a former executive agency (from 1946 to 1974) that was responsible for research into atomic energy and its peacetime uses in the United States
- attendance
- the number of people that are present
- auction house
- a firm that conducts auctions
- audience
- a gathering of spectators or listeners at a (usually public) performance
- audience
- the part of the general public interested in a source of information or entertainment
- Augustinian Canons
- an Augustinian monastic order
- Augustinian Hermits
- a monastic order of friars established in 1256 by the Pope
- Augustinian order
- any of several monastic orders observing a rule derived from the writings of St. Augustine
- Aum Shinrikyo
- a terrorist organization whose goal is to take over Japan and then the world; based on a religion founded in 1987 that combines elements of Buddhism with Christianity
- Austin Friars
- an Augustinian monastic order
- Australian Labor Party
- the oldest political party in Australia, founded in 1891; the party is moderately liberal
- autarchy
- a political system governed by a single individual
- authoritarian regime
- a government that concentrates political power in an authority not responsible to the people
- authorities
- the organization that is the governing authority of a political unit
- auto company
- a company that makes and sells automobiles
- auto maker
- a business engaged in the manufacture of automobiles
- automobile industry
- the manufacturers of automobiles considered collectively
- automobile traffic
- cars coming and going
- auxiliary cell
- a terrorist cell responsible for logistics; usually large and less compartmentalized than other terrorist cells
- avant-garde
- any creative group active in the innovation and application of new concepts and techniques in a given field (especially in the arts)
- aviation
- the operation of aircraft to provide transportation
- avifauna
- the birds of a particular region or period
- Axis
- in World War II the alliance of Germany and Italy in 1936 which later included Japan and other nations
- axis
- a group of countries in special alliance
- Azeri
- an ethnic group living in Azerbaijan
- Baader-Meinhof Gang
- a radical left-wing revolutionary terrorist group active in Germany from 1968 until 1977
- baby boom
- the larger than expected generation in United States born shortly after World War II
- bachelor party
- stag party held for a bachelor (usually on the night before he is married)
- backfield
- the offensive football players who line up behind the linemen
- backlog
- an accumulation of jobs not done or materials not processed that are yet to be dealt with (especially unfilled customer orders for products or services)
- baffled
- people who are frustrated and perplexed
- ball
- the people assembled at a lavish formal dance
- ball club
- a team of professional baseball players who play and travel together
- ball
- a compact mass
- ballet company
- a company that produces ballets
- Ballistic Missile Defense Organization
- an agency in the Department of Defense that is responsible for making ballistic missile defense a reality
- band
- instrumentalists not including string players
- Band of Partisans
- an extremist Palestinian Sunni group active in Lebanon in the early 1990s that advocates Salafism; responsible for murders and bombings; seeks to overthrow the Lebanese government and control Palestinian refugee camps; funded by al-Qaeda
- band
- an unofficial association of people or groups
- band
- a group of musicians playing popular music for dancing
- bank
- an arrangement of similar objects in a row or in tiers
- bank holding company
- a holding company owning or controlling one or more banks
- Bank of England
- the central bank of England and Wales
- Bank of Japan
- the central bank of Japan
- bank
- a financial institution that accepts deposits and channels the money into lending activities
- banking industry
- banks collectively
- banquet
- a ceremonial dinner party for many people
- Baptist Church
- any of various evangelical Protestant churches that believe in the baptism of voluntary believers
- Baptist denomination
- group of Baptist congregations
- bar
- the body of individuals qualified to practice law in a particular jurisdiction
- barbershop quartet
- an unaccompanied quartet of (usually male) voices singing sentimental songs in four-part harmony
- baronage
- the peers of a kingdom considered as a group
- baronetage
- the collective body of baronets
- baseball league
- a league of baseball teams
- baseball team
- a team that plays baseball
- basketball league
- a league of basketball teams
- basketball team
- a team that plays basketball
- Basque Fatherland and Liberty
- a terrorist organization organized in 1959 by student activists who were dissatisfied with the moderate nationalism of the traditional Basque party; want to create an independent homeland in Spain's western Pyrenees
- bastion
- a group that defends a principle
- batch
- all the loaves of bread baked at the same time
- batch
- a collection of things or persons to be handled together
- battalion
- an army unit usually consisting of a headquarters and three or more companies
- battery
- group of guns or missile launchers operated together at one place
- battery
- a collection of related things intended for use together
- battery
- a unit composed of the pitcher and catcher
- battle fleet
- a fleet of warships prepared for battle
- battle group
- an army unit usually consisting of five companies
- beanfeast
- an annual dinner party given by an employer for the employees
- bear market
- a market characterized by falling prices for securities
- Bearer of the Sword
- a small gang of terrorist thugs claiming to seek a separate Islamic state for the Muslim minority in the Philippines; uses bombing and assassination and extortion and kidnapping
- beat generation
- a United States youth subculture of the 1950s; rejected possessions or regular work or traditional dress; for communal living and psychedelic drugs and anarchism; favored modern forms of jazz (e.g., bebop)
- Beatles
- a rock group from Liverpool who between 1962 and 1970 produced a variety of hit songs and albums (most of them written by Paul McCartney and John Lennon)
- beau monde
- the fashionable elite
- bedroom set
- a suite of furniture for the bedroom
- bee
- a social gathering to carry out some communal task or to hold competitions
- Bench
- the magistrate or judge or judges sitting in court in judicial capacity to compose the court collectively
- bench
- the reserve players on a team
- bench
- persons who administer justice
- Benelux
- a customs union comprising Belgium and Netherlands and Luxembourg
- Bengali
- an ethnic group speaking Bengali and living in Bangladesh and eastern India
- bevy
- a large gathering of people of a particular type
- bevy
- a flock of birds (especially when gathered close together on the ground)
- bibliotheca
- a collection of books
- bicycle traffic
- bicycles coming and going
- big band
- a large dance or jazz band usually featuring improvised solos by lead musicians
- big business
- commercial enterprises organized and financed on a scale large enough to influence social and political policies
- big league
- the most important league in any sport (especially baseball)
- bikers
- originally a British youth subculture that evolved out of the teddy boys in the 1960s; wore black leather jackets and jeans and boots; had greased hair and rode motorcycles and listened to rock'n'roll; were largely unskilled manual laborers
- biological group
- a group of plants or animals
- biology department
- the academic department responsible for teaching and research in biology
- biology
- all the plant and animal life of a particular region
- biome
- a major biotic community characterized by the dominant forms of plant life and the prevailing climate
- biotic community
- (ecology) a group of interdependent organisms inhabiting the same region and interacting with each other
- biotype
- organisms sharing a specified genotype or the genotype (or peculiarities) so shared
- bit field
- a field containing only binary characters
- black economy
- a hidden sector of the economy where private cash transactions go unreported
- Black Hand
- a secret terrorist society in the United States early in the 20th century
- black market
- people who engage in illicit trade
- Black Panthers
- a militant Black political party founded in 1965 to end political dominance by Whites
- Black September Movement
- a former Palestinian terrorist organization (now merged with Fatah Revolutionary Council) that assassinated the Prime Minister of Jordan and during the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich killed 11 Israeli athletes
- blind
- people who have severe visual impairments, considered as a group
- blind date
- a date with a stranger
- blizzard
- a series of unexpected and unpleasant occurrences
- block
- a number or quantity of related things dealt with as a unit
- blood
- people viewed as members of a group
- bloodstock
- thoroughbred horses (collectively)
- Bloomsbury Group
- an inner circle of writers and artists and philosophers who lived in or around Bloomsbury early in the 20th century and were noted for their unconventional lifestyles
- blue
- any organization or party whose uniforms or badges are blue
- blue ribbon commission
- an independent and exclusive commission of nonpartisan statesmen and experts formed to investigate some important governmental issue
- blue ribbon jury
- a jury whose members are selected for special knowledge for a case involving complicated issues
- board
- a committee having supervisory powers
- board meeting
- a meeting for administrative purposes
- board of directors
- a group of persons chosen to govern the affairs of a corporation or other large institution
- board of education
- a board in charge of local public schools
- board of regents
- a committee of university officers who have general supervision over the welfare and conduct of students
- board of selectmen
- a board of officials elected to administer the public business of a New England town
- board of trustees
- a governing board elected or appointed to direct the policies of an educational institution
- boarding school
- a private school where students are lodged and fed as well as taught
- boat club
- club that promotes and supports yachting and boating
- body
- a group of persons associated by some common tie or occupation and regarded as an entity
- body
- a collection of particulars considered as a system
- body politic
- a politically organized body of people under a single government
- bodyguard
- a group of men who escort and protect some important person
- bohemia
- a group of artists and writers with real or pretended artistic or intellectual aspirations and usually an unconventional life style
- Bollywood
- the film industry of India
- Bolshevism
- Soviet communism
- bomber aircrew
- the crew of a bomber
- booboisie
- class consisting of all those who are considered boobs
- book
- a collection of playing cards satisfying the rules of a card game
- book fair
- fair organized by publishers or booksellers to promote the sale of books
- book
- a collection of rules or prescribed standards on the basis of which decisions are made
- bookclub
- a club that people join in order to buy selected books at reduced prices
- bootboys
- a youth subculture that appeared first in England in the late 1960s as a working-class reaction to the hippies; hair was cropped close to the scalp; wore work-shirts and short jeans (supported by suspenders) and heavy red boots; involved in attacks against Asians and football hooliganism
- border patrol
- a group of officers who patrol the borders of a country
- bosk
- a small wooded area
- botany
- all the plant life in a particular region or period
- bottle collection
- a collection of bottles
- bottler
- a manufacturer that makes and bottles beverages
- Bourbon dynasty
- a European royal line that ruled in France (from 1589-1793) and Spain and Naples and Sicily
- bourgeoisie
- the social class between the lower and upper classes
- bowling league
- a league of bowling teams
- Boy Scouts
- an international (but decentralized) movement started in 1908 in England with the goal of teaching good citizenship to boys
- Boy Scouts of America
- a corporation that operates through a national council that charters local councils all over the United States; the purpose is character building and citizenship training
- brace
- a set of two similar things considered as a unit
- bracket
- a category falling within certain defined limits
- brahman
- the highest of the four varnas: the priestly or sacerdotal category
- Brahminism
- the religious and social system of orthodox Hinduism
- brain trust
- an inner circle of unofficial advisors to the head of a government
- brake
- an area thickly overgrown usually with one kind of plant
- brass band
- a group of musicians playing only brass and percussion instruments
- brass family
- (music) the family of brass instruments
- brass
- the section of a band or orchestra that plays brass instruments
- brave
- people who are brave
- bread line
- a queue of people waiting for free food
- breed
- a special variety of domesticated animals within a species
- brethren
- (plural) the lay members of a male religious order
- bridge hand
- the cards held in a game of bridge
- brigade
- army unit smaller than a division
- Brigate Rosse
- a Marxist-Leninist terrorist organization that arose out of a student protest movement in the late 1960s; wants to separate Italy from NATO and advocates violence in the service of class warfare and revolution; mostly inactive since 1989
- British Cabinet
- the senior ministers of the British government
- British House of Commons
- the lower house of the British parliament
- British House of Lords
- the upper house of the British parliament
- British Labour Party
- a political party formed in Great Britain in 1900; characterized by the promotion of labor's interests and formerly the socialization of key industries
- British Parliament
- the British legislative body
- broadcasting company
- a company that manages tv or radio stations
- broken home
- a family in which the parents have separated or divorced
- brokerage
- the business of a broker; charges a fee to arrange a contract between two parties
- brokerage
- a stock broker's business; charges a fee to act as intermediary between buyer and seller
- Bronte sisters
- a 19th century family of three sisters who all wrote novels
- brood
- the young of an animal cared for at one time
- brotherhood
- people engaged in a particular occupation
- brotherhood
- an organization of employees formed to bargain with the employer
- browse
- vegetation (such as young shoots, twigs, and leaves) that is suitable for animals to eat
- brush
- a dense growth of bushes
- bucket shop
- an unethical or overly aggressive brokerage firm
- Buddhism
- a religion represented by the many groups (especially in Asia) that profess various forms of the Buddhist doctrine and that venerate Buddha
- building
- the occupants of a building
- building department
- the division of a business responsible for building and maintaining the physical plant
- building society
- British equivalent of United States savings and loan association
- bull market
- a market characterized by rising prices for securities
- bunch
- any collection in its entirety
- bunch
- a grouping of a number of similar things
- bunch
- an informal body of friends
- Bundesbank
- the central bank of Germany
- bundle
- a collection of things wrapped or boxed together
- bureau de change
- (French) an establishment where you can exchange foreign money
- Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms
- the law enforcement and tax collection agency of the Treasury Department that enforces federal laws concerning alcohol and tobacco products and firearms and explosives and arson
- Bureau of Customs
- the agency of the Treasury Department that enforces import tariffs
- Bureau of Diplomatic Security
- the bureau in the State Department that is responsible for the security of diplomats and embassies overseas
- Bureau of Engraving and Printing
- the agency of the Treasury Department that produces currency
- Bureau of Intelligence and Research
- an agency that is the primary source in the State Department for interpretive analyses of global developments and focal point for policy issues and activities of the Intelligence Community
- Bureau of Justice Assistance
- the bureau in the Department of Justice that assists local criminal justice systems to reduce or prevent crime and violence and drug abuse
- Bureau of Justice Statistics
- the agency in the Department of Justice that is the primary source of criminal justice statistics for federal and local policy makers
- Bureau of the Census
- the bureau of the Commerce Department responsible for taking the census; provides demographic information and analyses about the population of the United States
- bureaucracy
- any organization in which action is obstructed by insistence on unnecessary procedures and red tape
- bureaucracy
- a government that is administered primarily by bureaus that are staffed with nonelective officials
- bureaucracy
- nonelective government officials
- bus company
- a public utility providing local transportation
- bus traffic
- buses coming and going
- Bush administration
- the executive under President George W. Bush
- Bush administration
- the executive under President George H. W. Bush
- bush league
- a league of teams that do not belong to a major league (especially baseball)
- bush
- dense vegetation consisting of stunted trees or bushes
- business college
- a school for teaching the clerical aspects of business and commerce
- business community
- the body of individuals who manage businesses
- business department
- a division of a business firm
- business firm
- the members of a business organization that owns or operates one or more establishments
- business people
- people who transact business (especially business executives)
- business school
- a graduate school offering study leading to a degree of Master in Business Administration
- business
- a commercial or industrial enterprise and the people who constitute it
- business
- business concerns collectively
- business
- customers collectively
- Byzantine Church
- the Catholic Church as it existed in the Byzantine Empire
- cabal
- a clique (often secret) that seeks power usually through intrigue
- cabinet
- persons appointed by a head of state to head executive departments of government and act as official advisers
- cadre
- a nucleus of military personnel capable of expansion
- cadre
- a small unit serving as part of or as the nucleus of a larger political movement
- calendar
- a tabular array of the days (usually for one year)
- Cali cartel
- a drug cartel that seized control of cocaine production in Colombia in 1993; adopted techniques used by terrorist organizations (small cells and sophisticated communications equipment and close ties with politicians etc.)
- callathump
- a noisy boisterous parade
- Calvinistic Baptist
- group of Baptist congregations believing the teachings of the French theologian John Calvin who believed in strict predetermination
- camel cavalry
- a camel cavalry used in the early modern era by Arab, Afghan, Persian, and Indian armies
- Camorra
- a secret society in Naples notorious for violence and blackmail
- camp
- a group of people living together in a camp
- camp meeting
- religious (usually evangelistic) meeting held in a large tent or outdoors and lasting several days
- camp
- an exclusive circle of people with a common purpose
- Canadian Security Intelligence Service
- Canada's main foreign intelligence agency that gathers and analyzes information to provide security intelligence for the Canadian government
- canebrake
- a dense growth of cane (especially giant cane)
- canon law
- the body of codified laws governing the affairs of a Christian church
- Capetian dynasty
- a Frankish dynasty founded by Hugh Capet that ruled from 987 to 1328
- capitalism
- an economic system based on private ownership of capital
- captive finance company
- a finance company owned by a manufacturer to finance dealers' inventories or to make loans to consumers buying the company's products
- car dealer
- a firm that sells and buys cars
- car pool
- a small group of car drivers who arrange to take turns driving while the others are passengers
- caravan
- a procession (of wagons or mules or camels) traveling together in single file
- cargo cult
- (Melanesia) the followers of one of several millenarian cults that believe salvation will come in the form of wealth (`cargo') brought by westerners; some ascribe divine attributes to westerners on first contact (especially to missionaries)
- carload
- a gathering of passengers sufficient to fill an automobile
- Carlovingian dynasty
- a Frankish dynasty founded by Charlemagne's father that ruled from 751 to 987
- carrier
- a person or firm in the business of transporting people or goods or messages
- cartel
- a consortium of independent organizations formed to limit competition by controlling the production and distribution of a product or service
- Carter administration
- the executive under President Carter
- Cartesian product
- the set of elements common to two or more sets
- Carthusian order
- an austere contemplative Roman Catholic order founded by St. Bruno in 1084
- cascade
- a succession of stages or operations or processes or units
- case law
- a system of jurisprudence based on judicial precedents rather than statutory laws
- cast
- the actors in a play
- caste
- a social class separated from others by distinctions of hereditary rank or profession or wealth
- caste
- (Hinduism) a hereditary social class among Hindus; stratified according to ritual purity
- caste
- in some social insects (such as ants) a physically distinct individual or group of individuals specialized to perform certain functions in the colony
- caste system
- a social structure in which classes are determined by heredity
- Casualty Care Research Center
- an agency in the Department of Defense that is a national center for research on all aspects of injury control and casualty care
- categorisation
- a group of people or things arranged by class or category
- category
- a collection of things sharing a common attribute
- catena
- a chain of connected ideas or passages or objects so arranged that each member is closely related to the preceding and following members (especially a series of patristic comments elucidating Christian dogma)
- Catholic Church
- any of several churches claiming to have maintained historical continuity with the original Christian Church
- Catholic school
- a parochial school maintained by the Catholic Church
- caucus
- a closed political meeting
- cautious
- people who are fearful and cautious
- cavalcade
- a procession of people traveling on horseback
- cavalry
- a highly mobile army unit
- cavalry
- troops trained to fight on horseback
- celestial hierarchy
- the collective body of angels
- center
- politically moderate persons; centrists
- center
- the middle of a military or naval formation
- Center for Disease Control and Prevention
- a federal agency in the Department of Health and Human Services; located in Atlanta; investigates and diagnoses and tries to control or prevent diseases (especially new and unusual diseases)
- Central America
- the nations of Central America collectively
- central bank
- a government monetary authority that issues currency and regulates the supply of credit and holds the reserves of other banks and sells new issues of securities for the government
- Central Intelligence Agency
- an independent agency of the United States government responsible for collecting and coordinating intelligence and counterintelligence activities abroad in the national interest; headed by the Director of Central Intelligence under the supervision of the President and National Security Council
- Central Intelligence Machinery
- the United Kingdom's central unit for the tasking and coordination and funding of intelligence and security agencies
- Central Powers
- in World War I the alliance of Germany and Austria-Hungary and other nations allied with them in opposing the Allies
- Ch'in dynasty
- the Chinese dynasty (from 246 BC to 206 BC) that established the first centralized imperial government and built much of the Great Wall
- Ch'ing dynasty
- the last imperial dynasty of China (from 1644 to 1912) which was overthrown by revolutionaries; during the Qing dynasty China was ruled by the Manchu
- chain
- (business) a number of similar establishments (stores or restaurants or banks or hotels or theaters) under one ownership
- chain gang
- a gang of convicts chained together
- chain
- a series of things depending on each other as if linked together
- chamber
- a deliberative or legislative or administrative or judicial assembly
- chamber of commerce
- an association of businessmen to protect and promote business interests
- chamber orchestra
- small orchestra; usually plays classical music
- chancery
- a court with jurisdiction in equity
- chapter
- a local branch of some fraternity or association
- chapter
- an ecclesiastical assembly of the monks in a monastery or even of the canons of a church
- charity
- a foundation created to promote the public good (not for assistance to any particular individuals)
- charity
- an institution set up to provide help to the needy
- charter school
- an experimental public school for kindergarten through grade 12; created and organized by teachers and parents and community leaders; operates independently of other schools
- Chassidim
- a sect of Orthodox Jews that arose out of a pietistic movement originating in eastern Europe in the second half of the 18th century; a sect that follows the Mosaic law strictly
- checkout line
- a queue of people waiting to pay for purchases
- chemical industry
- the manufacturers of chemicals considered collectively
- chemistry department
- the academic department responsible for teaching and research in chemistry
- chess club
- a club of people to play chess
- chess set
- checkerboard and a set of 32 pieces used to play chess
- chicane
- a bridge hand that is void of trumps
- child welfare agency
- an administrative unit responsible for social work concerned with the welfare and vocational training of children
- choir
- a chorus that sings as part of a religious ceremony
- choir school
- a school that is part of a cathedral or monastery where boys with singing ability can receive a general education
- choir
- a family of similar musical instrument playing together
- chorus
- a group of people assembled to sing together
- chorus
- a body of dancers or singers who perform together
- chosen people
- any people believing themselves to be chosen by God
- chosen
- an exclusive group of people
- Chou dynasty
- the imperial dynasty of China from 1122 to 221 BC; notable for the rise of Confucianism and Taoism
- chow line
- a queue of people waiting for food to be served (especially at a military camp)
- Christian church
- one of the groups of Christians who have their own beliefs and forms of worship
- Christianity
- the collective body of Christians throughout the world and history (found predominantly in Europe and the Americas and Australia)
- Chukaku-Ha
- an ultra-leftist militant group founded in 1957 from the breakup of the Japanese Communist Party; includes a covert action wing
- church
- the body of people who attend or belong to a particular local church
- Church of Christ Scientist
- Protestant denomination founded by Mary Baker Eddy in 1866
- Church of Ireland
- autonomous branch of the Church of England in Ireland
- Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
- church founded by Joseph Smith in 1830 with headquarters in Salt Lake City, Utah
- Church of Scientology
- a new religion founded by L. Ron Hubbard in 1955 and characterized by a belief in the power of a person's spirit to clear itself of past painful experiences through self-knowledge and spiritual fulfillment
- Church of the Brethren
- a Baptist denomination founded in 1708 by Americans of German descent; opposed to military service and taking legal oaths; practiced trine immersion
- church school
- a private religious school run by a church or parish
- church-state
- a state ruled by religious authority
- Circassian
- a mostly Sunni Muslim community living in northwestern Caucasia
- circuit
- (law) a judicial division of a state or the United States (so-called because originally judges traveled and held court in different locations); one of the twelve groups of states in the United States that is covered by a particular circuit court of appeals
- circuit court of appeals
- one of the twelve federal United States courts of appeals that cover a group of states known as a `circuit'
- circus
- a travelling company of entertainers; including trained animals
- citizenry
- the body of citizens of a state or country
- citizens committee
- a self-constituted organization to promote something
- city council
- a municipal body that can pass ordinances and appropriate funds etc.
- city desk
- the editorial department of a newspaper that edits the local news
- city state
- a state consisting of a sovereign city
- city
- people living in a large densely populated municipality
- civil law
- the body of laws established by a state or nation for its own regulation
- Civil Rights movement
- movement in the United States beginning in the 1960s and led primarily by Blacks in an effort to establish the civil rights of individual Black citizens
- civil service
- government workers; usually hired on the basis of competitive examinations
- civilisation
- a society in an advanced state of social development (e.g., with complex legal and political and religious organizations)
- civilisation
- a particular society at a particular time and place
- clade
- a group of biological taxa or species that share features inherited from a common ancestor
- clan
- group of people related by blood or marriage
- claque
- a group of followers hired to applaud at a performance
- clarinet section
- the section of a band or orchestra that plays clarinets
- class
- (biology) a taxonomic group containing one or more orders
- class structure
- the organization of classes within a society
- class
- a body of students who are taught together
- class
- a league ranked by quality
- class
- people having the same social, economic, or educational status
- class
- a body of students who graduate together
- classical mythology
- the system of mythology of the Greeks and Romans together; much of Roman mythology (especially the gods) was borrowed from the Greeks
- clearing house
- a central collection place where banks exchange checks or drafts; participants maintain an account against which credits or debits are posted
- clergy
- in Christianity, clergymen collectively (as distinguished from the laity)
- clerisy
- an educated and intellectual elite
- clew
- a ball of yarn or cord or thread
- clinic
- a medical establishment run by a group of medical specialists
- Clinton administration
- the executive under President Clinton
- clon
- a group of genetically identical cells or organisms derived from a single cell or individual by some kind of asexual reproduction
- close corporation
- a corporation owned by a few people; shares have no public market
- close order
- a military formation for drill or marching
- closed shop
- a company that hires only union members
- closed-end fund
- a regulated investment company that issues a fixed number of shares which are listed on a stock market
- closely held corporation
- stock is publicly traded but most is held by a few shareholders who have no plans to sell
- cloud
- a group of many things in the air or on the ground
- Clovis culture
- the Paleo-American culture of Central America and North America; distinguished chiefly by sharp fluted projectile points made of obsidian or chalcedony
- clowder
- a group of cats
- club
- a formal association of people with similar interests
- clutch
- a number of birds hatched at the same time
- coal industry
- the producers of coal considered collectively
- coastguard
- a military service responsible for the safety of maritime traffic in coastal waters
- coevals
- all the people living at the same time or of approximately the same age
- cohort
- a band of warriors (originally a unit of a Roman Legion)
- cohort
- a company of companions or supporters
- coin collection
- a collection of coins
- collage
- any collection of diverse things
- collective
- members of a cooperative enterprise
- collective farm
- a farm operated collectively
- college
- the body of faculty and students of a college
- college
- an institution of higher education created to educate and grant degrees; often a part of a university
- colloquium
- an academic meeting or seminar usually led by a different lecturer and on a different topic at each meeting
- colony
- a group of organisms of the same type living or growing together
- colony
- (microbiology) a group of organisms grown from a single parent cell
- colony
- a body of people who settle far from home but maintain ties with their homeland; inhabitants remain nationals of their home state but are not literally under the home state's system of government
- color scheme
- a planned combination of colors
- column
- a line of units following one after another
- column
- a vertical array of numbers or other information
- combination
- a sequence of numbers or letters that opens a combination lock
- combination
- a coordinated sequence of chess moves
- combination
- a group of people (often temporary) having a common purpose
- combination
- an alliance of people or corporations or countries for a special purpose (formerly to achieve some antisocial end but now for general political or economic purposes)
- combination
- a collection of things that have been combined; an assemblage of separate parts or qualities
- combination in restraint of trade
- (law) any monopoly or contract or combination or conspiracy intended to restrain commerce (which are illegal according to antitrust laws of the United States)
- combo
- a small band of jazz musicians
- command
- a military unit or region under the control of a single officer
- commando
- an amphibious military unit trained for raids into enemy territory
- commercial agency
- an organization that provides businesses with credit ratings of other firms
- commercial bank
- a financial institution that accepts demand deposits and makes loans and provides other services for the public
- commercial credit company
- a finance company that makes loans to manufacturers and wholesalers
- commercial enterprise
- an enterprise connected with commerce
- commercial law
- the body of rules applied to commercial transactions; derived from the practices of traders rather than from jurisprudence
- Commission on Human Rights
- the commission of the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations that is concerned with human rights
- Commission on Narcotic Drugs
- the commission of the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations that is concerned with drug traffic
- Commission on the Status of Women
- the commission of the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations that is concerned with the status of women in different societies
- commission plan
- a municipal government that combines legislative and executive authority in the members of a commission
- commission
- a special group delegated to consider some matter
- commission
- a group of representatives or delegates
- Committee for State Security
- formerly the predominant security police organization of Soviet Russia
- commodity brokerage
- a brokerage firm dealing in commodities
- common front
- a movement in which several individuals or groups with different interests join together
- common people
- people in general (often used in the plural)
- commonality
- a class composed of persons lacking clerical or noble rank
- Commons
- the common people
- commonwealth
- a world organization of autonomous states that are united in allegiance to a central power but are not subordinate to it or to one another
- commonwealth country
- any of the countries in the British Commonwealth
- Commonwealth of Independent States
- an alliance made up of states that had been Soviet Socialist Republics in the Soviet Union prior to its dissolution in Dec 1991
- Commonwealth of Nations
- an association of nations consisting of the United Kingdom and several former British colonies that are now sovereign states but still pay allegiance to the British Crown
- commonwealth
- a political system in which the supreme power lies in a body of citizens who can elect people to represent them
- commune
- a body of people or families living together and sharing everything
- Communications Security Establishment
- Canadian agency that gathers communications intelligence and assist law enforcement and security agencies
- communion
- (Christianity) a group of Christians with a common religious faith who practice the same rites
- communism
- a form of socialism that abolishes private ownership
- communist economy
- the managed economy of a communist state
- Communist Party
- a political party that actively advocates a communist form of government; in Communist countries it is the sole political party of the state
- community
- a group of people living in a particular local area
- community
- a group of nations having common interests
- community
- a group of people having a religion, ethnic, profession, or other particular characteristic in common
- community chest
- a charity supported by individual subscriptions; defrays the demands on a community for social welfare
- community college
- a nonresidential junior college offering a curriculum fitted to the needs of the community
- community of scholars
- the body of individuals holding advanced academic degrees
- commuter traffic
- traffic created by people going to or returning from work
- company
- small military unit; usually two or three platoons
- company
- a unit of firefighters including their equipment
- company
- a social gathering of guests or companions
- company
- an institution created to conduct business
- company union
- a union of workers for a single company; a union not affiliated with a larger union
- company
- a band of people associated temporarily in some activity
- company
- crew of a ship including the officers; the whole force or personnel of a ship
- company
- organization of performers and associated personnel (especially theatrical)
- complement
- number needed to make up a whole force
- complexion
- a combination that results from coupling or interlinking
- composite school
- a large British or Canadian secondary school for children of all abilities
- compost heap
- a heap of manure and vegetation and other organic residues that are decaying to become compost
- Comptroller of the Currency
- the agency of the Treasury Department responsible for controlling the currency
- computer business
- a business that manufactures and sells computers
- computer dealer
- a firm that sells and buys computers
- computer industry
- the manufacturers of computers considered collectively
- concert band
- a group of musicians playing brass and woodwind and percussion instruments
- conclave
- a confidential or secret meeting
- concourse
- a large gathering of people
- confederacy
- a union of political organizations
- confederacy
- a group of conspirators banded together to achieve some harmful or illegal purpose
- conference
- a prearranged meeting for consultation or exchange of information or discussion (especially one with a formal agenda)
- conference
- an association of sports teams that organizes matches for its members
- conga line
- a line of people in single file performing the conga dance
- conglomerate
- a group of diverse companies under common ownership and run as a single organization
- congregation
- an assemblage of people or animals or things collected together
- Congregation of the Inquisition
- an inquisition set up in Italy in 1542 to curb the number of Protestants
- congregation
- a group of people who adhere to a common faith and habitually attend a given church
- Congregational Christian Church
- merger of the Congregational Church and the Christian Church
- Congregational Church
- a Protestant denomination holding that each individual congregation should be self-governing
- congress
- a national legislative assembly
- congress
- a meeting of elected or appointed representatives
- Congress of Industrial Organizations
- a federation of North American industrial unions that merged with the American Federation of Labor in 1955
- Congress of Racial Equality
- an organization founded by James Leonard Farmer in 1942 to work for racial equality
- conjugal family
- a family consisting of parents and their children and grandparents of a marital partner
- conjugation
- a class of verbs having the same inflectional forms
- conjugation
- the complete set of inflected forms of a verb
- conservancy
- a commission with jurisdiction over fisheries and navigation in a port or river
- Conservative Judaism
- Jews who keep some of the requirements of the Mosaic law but allow for adaptation of other requirements (as some of the dietary laws) to fit modern circumstances
- Conservative Party
- a political party (especially in Great Britain or Australia) that believes in the importance of a capitalist economy with private ownership rather than state control
- conservatory
- the faculty and students of a school specializing in one of the fine arts
- consistory
- a church tribunal or governing body
- consortium
- an association of companies for some definite purpose
- constabulary
- the force of policemen and officers
- constituency
- the body of voters who elect a representative for their area
- Constitutional Convention
- the convention of United States statesmen who drafted the United States Constitution in 1787
- Constitutional Union Party
- a former political party in the United States; formed in 1859 by former Whigs who hoped to preserve the Union
- constitutionalism
- a constitutional system of government (usually with a written constitution)
- construction industry
- an industry that builds housing
- constructivism
- an abstractionist artistic movement in Russia after World War I; industrial materials were used to construct nonrepresentational objects
- consulting company
- a firm of experts providing professional advice to an organization for a fee
- consumer finance company
- a finance company that makes loans to people who have trouble getting a bank loan
- content
- (usually plural) everything that is included in a collection and that is held or included in something
- Continental Army
- the American army during the American Revolution
- Continental Congress
- the legislative assembly composed of delegates from the rebel colonies who met during and after the American Revolution; they issued the Declaration of Independence and framed Articles of Confederation
- contingent
- a gathering of persons representative of some larger group
- contingent
- a temporary military unit
- Continuity Irish Republican Army
- a terrorist organization formed in Ireland in 1994 as a clandestine armed wing of Sinn Fein
- Contras
- a Nicaraguan counterrevolutionary guerrilla force from 1979 to 1990; it opposed a left-wing government, with support from the United States
- convent
- a community of people in a religious order (especially nuns) living together
- conventicle
- a secret unauthorized meeting for religious worship
- convention
- a large formal assembly
- convocation
- a group gathered in response to a summons
- convoy
- a collection of merchant ships with an escort of warships
- convoy
- a procession of land vehicles traveling together
- cooperative
- an association formed and operated for the benefit of those using it
- copartnership
- a partnership in which employees get a share of the profits in addition to their wages
- Coptic Church
- the ancient Christian church of Egypt
- cordon
- a series of sentinels or of military posts enclosing or guarding some place or thing
- core
- a small group of indispensable persons or things
- cornhusking
- a social gathering for the purpose of husking corn
- coronary care unit
- a hospital unit specially staffed and equipped to treat patients with serious cardiac problems
- corp
- a business firm whose articles of incorporation have been approved in some state
- corporate investor
- a company that invests in (acquires control of) other companies
- corps
- a body of people associated together
- corps de ballet
- the chorus of a ballet company
- corps diplomatique
- the body of diplomatic personnel
- corpus
- a collection of writings
- corrections
- the department of local government that is responsible for managing the treatment of convicted offenders
- correspondence school
- a school that teaches nonresident students by mail
- Corsican Army
- a terrorist organization founded in 1999 to oppose the link between nationalists and the Corsican mafia
- cortege
- a funeral procession
- cortege
- the group following and attending to some important person
- Cosa Nostra
- a crime syndicate in the United States; organized in families; believed to have important relations to the Sicilian Mafia
- council
- a meeting of people for consultation
- council
- a body serving in an administrative capacity
- council
- (Christianity) an assembly of theologians and bishops and other representatives of different churches or dioceses that is convened to regulate matters of discipline or doctrine
- Council of Basel-Ferrara-Florence
- the council in 1431-1439 that concentrated on the elimination of heresies and on reforms within the Roman Catholic Church
- Council of Chalcedon
- the fourth ecumenical council in 451 which defined the two natures (human and divine) of Christ
- Council of Constance
- the council in 1414-1418 that succeeded in ending the Great Schism in the Roman Catholic Church
- Council of Economic Advisors
- an executive agency responsible for providing economic advice to the President
- Council of Ephesus
- the third ecumenical council in 431 which declared Mary as mother of God and condemned Pelagius
- Council of Trent
- a council of the Roman Catholic Church convened in Trento in three sessions between 1545 and 1563 to examine and condemn the teachings of Martin Luther and other Protestant reformers; redefined the Roman Catholic doctrine and abolished various ecclesiastical abuses and strengthened the papacy
- Council of Vienne
- the council in 1311-1313 that dealt with alleged crimes of the Knights Templar, planned a new crusade, and took on the reformation of the clergy
- Council on Environmental Policy
- the executive agency that advises the President on protecting the environment
- Counter Reformation
- the reaction of the Roman Catholic Church to the Reformation reaffirming the veneration of saints and the authority of the Pope (to which Protestants objected); many leaders were Jesuits
- Counterterrorist Center
- an agency that helps the Director of Central Intelligence coordinate counterterrorist efforts in order to preempt and disrupt and defeat terrorist activities at the earliest possible stage
- country club
- a suburban club for recreation and socializing
- country people
- people raised in or living in a rural environment; rustics
- country people
- people living in the same country; compatriots
- country
- the people who live in a nation or country
- county council
- the elected governing body of a county
- couple
- a pair who associate with one another
- couple
- a pair of people who live together
- course
- a connected series of events or actions or developments
- court of domestic relations
- a court in some states in the United States that has jurisdiction over family disputes (especially those involving children)
- Court of Saint James's
- the British royal court
- court
- an assembly (including one or more judges) to conduct judicial business
- court
- the family and retinue of a sovereign or prince
- court
- the sovereign and his advisers who are the governing power of a state
- court-martial
- a military court to try members of the armed services who are accused of serious breaches of martial law
- coven
- an assembly of witches; usually 13 witches
- covert
- a flock of coots
- covey
- a small flock of grouse or partridge
- covey
- a small collection of people
- craft union
- a labor union whose membership is restricted to workers in a particular craft
- craft
- people who perform a particular kind of skilled work
- crammer
- a special school where students are crammed
- cream
- the best people or things in a group
- credit bureau
- a private firm that maintains consumer credit data files and provides credit information to authorized users for a fee
- credit union
- a cooperative depository financial institution whose members can obtain loans from their combined savings
- Creek Confederacy
- a North American Indian confederacy organized by the Muskogee that dominated the southeastern part of the United States before being removed to Oklahoma
- crew
- the men and women who man a vehicle (ship, aircraft, etc.)
- crew
- the team of men manning a racing shell
- crew
- an organized group of workmen
- crime syndicate
- a loose affiliation of gangsters in charge of organized criminal activities
- criminal court
- a court having jurisdiction over criminal cases
- Criminal Intelligence Services of Canada
- an agency of the Canadian government that unifies the intelligence units of Canadian law enforcement agencies
- Criminal Investigation Command
- the United States Army's principal law enforcement agency responsible for the conduct of criminal investigations for all levels of the Army anywhere in the world
- crop
- a collection of people or things appearing together
- crossroads
- a community of people smaller than a village
- crowd
- a large number of things or people considered together
- crush
- a dense crowd of people
- cubism
- an artistic movement in France beginning in 1907 that featured surfaces of geometrical planes
- cult
- followers of an unorthodox, extremist, or false religion or sect who often live outside of conventional society under the direction of a charismatic leader
- cult
- followers of an exclusive system of beliefs and practices
- cultural movement
- a group of people working together to advance certain cultural goals
- culturati
- people interested in culture and cultural activities
- Curia
- (Roman Catholic Church) the central administration governing the Roman Catholic Church
- current
- dominant course (suggestive of running water) of successive events or ideas
- customs union
- an association of nations to promote free trade within the union and set common tariffs for nations that are not members
- Cycladic civilisation
- the Bronze Age civilization on the Cyclades islands in the southern Aegean Sea that flourished 3000-1100 BC
- cycle
- a series of poems or songs on the same theme
- dada
- a nihilistic art movement (especially in painting) that flourished in Europe early in the 20th century; based on irrationality and negation of the accepted laws of beauty
- Dagestani
- an ethnic minority living on the Caspian Sea in southwestern Russia and Azerbaijan
- Dail Eireann
- the lower house of the parliament of the Irish Republic
- daisy chain
- (figurative) a series of associated things or people or experiences
- damned
- people who are condemned to eternal punishment
- dance
- a party of people assembled for dancing
- dance school
- a school where students are taught to dance
- dancing school
- a school in which students learn to dance
- data hierarchy
- an arrangement of data consisting of sets and subsets such that every subset of a set is of lower rank than the set
- data
- a collection of facts from which conclusions may be drawn
- day school
- a private school taking day students only
- day school
- a school giving instruction during the daytime
- day shift
- workers who work during the day (as 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.)
- de facto segregation
- segregation (especially in schools) that happens in fact although not required by law
- de jure segregation
- segregation that is imposed by law
- dead
- people who are no longer living
- deaf
- people who have severe hearing impairments
- deal
- the cards held in a card game by a given player at any given time
- dealer
- a firm engaged in trading
- dealership
- a business established or operated under an authorization to sell or distribute a company's goods or services in a particular area
- death squad
- a clandestine military or paramilitary team who murder political dissidents or petty criminals (usually with the government's tacit approval)
- deck
- a pack of 52 playing cards
- declension
- a class of nouns or pronouns or adjectives in Indo-European languages having the same (or very similar) inflectional forms
- deconstructivism
- a school of architecture based on the philosophical theory of deconstruction
- defeated
- people who are defeated
- defence
- an organization of defenders that provides resistance against attack
- defence
- (sports) the team that is trying to prevent the other team from scoring
- defence
- the defendant and his legal advisors collectively
- Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
- the central research and development organization for the United States Department of Defense; responsible for developing new surveillance technologies since 9/11
- Defense Information Systems Agency
- a combat support agency in the Department of Defense responsible for developing and operating and supporting information systems to serve the needs of the President and the Secretary of Defense and the Joint Chiefs of Staff
- Defense Intelligence Agency
- an intelligence agency of the United States in the Department of Defense; is responsible for providing intelligence in support of military planning and operations and weapons acquisition
- Defense Logistics Agency
- a logistics combat support agency in the Department of Defense; provides worldwide support for military missions
- Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service
- the organization in the Defense Logistics Agency that inventories and evaluates and sells reusable United States government surplus
- Defense Technical Information Center
- the agency in the Department of Defense that provides scientific and technical information to federal agencies and their contractors
- deliberative assembly
- an assembly of people for the purpose of unhurried consideration and discussion
- demimonde
- a class of woman not considered respectable because of indiscreet or promiscuous behavior
- Democratic Party
- the older of two major political parties in the United States
- Democratic-Republican Party
- a former major political party in the United States in the early 19th century; opposed the old Federalist party; favored a strict interpretation of the constitution in order to limit the powers of the federal government
- den
- a unit of 8 to 10 cub scouts
- denomination
- a group of religious congregations having its own organization and a distinctive faith
- denomination
- a class of one kind of unit in a system of numbers or measures or weights or money
- dental school
- a graduate school offering study leading to degrees in dentistry
- Department of Agriculture
- the federal department that administers programs that provide services to farmers (including research and soil conservation and efforts to stabilize the farming economy); created in 1862
- Department of Commerce
- the United States federal department that promotes and administers domestic and foreign trade (including management of the census and the patent office); created in 1913
- Department of Commerce and Labor
- a former executive department of the United States government; created in 1903 and split into two departments in 1913
- department of computer science
- the academic department responsible for teaching and research in computer science
- Department of Defense Laboratory System
- a defense laboratory that provides essential services in fundamental science for national security and environmental protection and provides technologies that contribute to industrial competitiveness
- department of economics
- the academic department responsible for teaching and research in economics
- Department of Education
- the United States federal department that administers all federal programs dealing with education (including federal aid to educational institutions and students); created 1979
- Department of Energy
- the federal department responsible for maintaining a national energy policy of the United States; created in 1977
- Department of Energy Intelligence
- an agency that collects political and economic and technical information about energy matters and makes the Department of Energy's technical and analytical expertise available to other members of the Intelligence Community
- department of English
- the academic department responsible for teaching English and American literature
- Department of Health and Human Services
- the United States federal department that administers all federal programs dealing with health and welfare; created in 1979
- Department of Health Education and Welfare
- a former executive department of the United States government; created in 1953 and divided in 1979
- department of history
- the academic department responsible for teaching history
- Department of Homeland Security
- the federal department that administers all matters relating to homeland security
- Department of Housing and Urban Development
- the United States federal department that administers federal programs dealing with better housing and urban renewal; created in 1965
- Department of Justice
- the United States federal department responsible for enforcing federal laws (including the enforcement of all civil rights legislation); created in 1870
- Department of Justice Canada
- an agency of the Canadian government that provides litigation and legal advice and opinions to the government
- Department of Labor
- the federal department responsible for promoting the working conditions of wage earners in the United States; created in 1913
- department of linguistics
- the academic department responsible for teaching and research in linguistics
- department of local government
- a permanent department created to perform the work of a local government
- department of mathematics
- the academic department responsible for teaching and research in mathematics
- department of music
- the academic department responsible for teaching music and music appreciation
- department of philosophy
- the academic department responsible for teaching philosophy
- department of physics
- the academic department responsible for teaching and research in physics
- department of psychology
- the academic department responsible for teaching and research in psychology
- department of sociology
- the academic department responsible for teaching and research in sociology
- department of the federal government
- a department of the federal government of the United States
- Department of the Interior
- the United States federal department charged with conservation and the development of natural resources; created in 1849
- Department of the Treasury
- the federal department that collects revenue and administers federal finances; the Treasury Department was created in 1789
- Department of Transportation
- the United States federal department that institutes and coordinates national transportation programs; created in 1966
- Department of Veterans Affairs
- the United States federal department responsible for the interests of military veterans; created in 1989
- department
- a specialized division of a large organization
- descendants
- all of the offspring of a given progenitor
- detachment
- a small unit of troops of special composition
- detail
- a crew of workers selected for a particular task
- detective agency
- an agency that makes inquiries for its clients
- determinant
- a square matrix used to solve simultaneous equations
- developing country
- a country that is poor and whose citizens are mostly agricultural workers but that wants to become more advanced socially and economically
- developmentally challenged
- people collectively who are mentally retarded
- diagonal
- an oblique line of squares of the same color on a checkerboard
- diagonal
- (mathematics) a set of entries in a square matrix running diagonally either from the upper left to lower right entry or running from the upper right to lower left entry
- diagonal matrix
- a square matrix with all elements not on the main diagonal equal to zero
- diarchy
- a form of government having two joint rulers
- diaspora
- the body of Jews (or Jewish communities) outside Palestine or modern Israel
- dichotomy
- being twofold; a classification into two opposed parts or subclasses
- diet
- a legislative assembly in certain countries (e.g., Japan)
- dining room set
- a suite of furniture for the dining room
- DINK
- a couple who both have careers and no children (an acronym for dual income no kids)
- dinner
- a party of people assembled to have dinner together
- diplomatic mission
- a mission serving diplomatic ends
- direct mailer
- a distributor who uses direct mail to sell merchandise
- direct sum
- a union of two disjoint sets in which every element is the sum of an element from each of the disjoint sets
- direct-grant school
- formerly a school that charged tuition fees and also received government grants in return for admitting certain non-paying students who were nominated by the local authorities
- Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence
- the Pakistan intelligence agency; a powerful and almost autonomous political and military force; has procured nuclear technology and delivery capabilities; has had strong ties with the Taliban and other militant Islamic groups
- disabled
- people collectively who are crippled or otherwise physically handicapped
- disc pack
- (computer science) a portable pack of magnetic disks used in a disk storage device
- Disciples of Christ
- a Protestant church that accepts the Bible as the only source of true Christian faith and practices baptism by immersion
- discount chain
- a chain of discount stores
- discussion section
- a small class of students who are part of a larger course but are taught separately
- Dissident Irish Republican Army
- a radical terrorist group that broke away in 1997 when the mainstream Provisional IRA proposed a cease-fire; has continued terrorist activities in opposition to any peace agreement
- distributor
- a company that markets merchandise
- divan
- a Muslim council of state
- Divine Unity
- an Islamic terrorist cell that originated in Jordan but operates in Germany; goal is to attack Europe and Russia with chemical weapons
- division
- an army unit large enough to sustain combat
- division
- an administrative unit in government or business
- division
- (botany) taxonomic unit of plants corresponding to a phylum
- division
- (biology) a group of organisms forming a subdivision of a larger category
- division
- a group of ships of similar type
- divorce court
- a court having jurisdiction over the termination of marriage contracts
- domain
- (mathematics) the set of values of the independent variable for which a function is defined
- domain
- people in general; especially a distinctive group of people with some shared interest
- Dominican order
- a Roman Catholic order of mendicant preachers founded in the 13th century
- Dominion
- one of the self-governing nations in the British Commonwealth
- doomed
- people who are destined to die soon
- Dorian
- the ancient Greek inhabitants of Doris who entered Greece from the north about 1100 BC
- dot com
- a company that operates its business primarily on the internet using a URL that ends in `.com'
- dot matrix
- a rectangular matrix of dots from which written characters can be formed
- double date
- a date in which two couples participate
- Downing Street
- the British government
- draft board
- a board to select personnel for involuntary military service
- dragnet
- a system of coordinated measures for apprehending (criminals or other individuals)
- driving school
- a school where people are taught to drive automobiles
- drove
- a group of animals (a herd or flock) moving together
- drove
- a moving crowd
- drug cartel
- an illicit cartel formed to control the production and distribution of narcotic drugs
- drug company
- a company that makes and sells pharmaceuticals
- Drug Enforcement Administration
- federal agency responsible for enforcing laws and regulations governing narcotics and controlled substances; goal is to immobilize drug trafficking organizations
- drumhead court-martial
- a military court convened to hear urgent charges of offenses committed in action
- duet
- two performers or singers who perform together
- Duma
- a legislative body in the ruling assembly of Russia and of some other republics in the former USSR
- dunghill
- a heap of dung or refuse
- dynasty
- a sequence of powerful leaders in the same family
- East India Company
- an English company formed in 1600 to develop trade with the new British colonies in India and southeastern Asia; in the 18th century it assumed administrative control of Bengal and held it until the British army took over in 1858 after the Indian Mutiny
- East Turkistan Islamic Movement
- a group of Uighur Muslims fighting Chinese control of Xinjiang; declared by China in 2001 to be terrorists although there is a long history of cycles of insurgency and repression
- echelon
- a body of troops arranged in a line
- Economic and Social Council
- a permanent council of the United Nations; responsible for economic and social conditions
- Economic and Social Council commission
- a commission of the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations
- Economic Commission for Africa
- the commission of the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations that is concerned with economic development of African nations
- Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East
- the commission of the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations that is concerned with economic development of countries in Asia and the Far East
- Economic Commission for Europe
- the commission of the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations that is concerned with economic development in Europe
- Economic Commission for Latin America
- the commission of the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations that is concerned with economic development in Latin America
- economic system
- the system of production and distribution and consumption
- economics profession
- the body of professional economists
- ecosystem
- a system formed by the interaction of a community of organisms with their physical environment
- ecumenical council
- (early Christian church) one of seven gatherings of bishops from around the known world under the presidency of the Pope to regulate matters of faith and morals and discipline
- ecumenical movement
- a movement aimed to promote understanding and cooperation among Christian churches; aimed ultimately at universal Christian unity
- ecumenism
- a movement promoting union between religions (especially between Christian churches)
- edition
- all of the identical copies of something offered to the public at the same time
- editorial department
- the department of a publishing business that edits material for publication
- educational institution
- an institution dedicated to education
- Egyptian Islamic Jihad
- an Islamic extremist group active since the late 1970s; seeks to overthrow the Egyptian government and replace it with an Islamic state; works in small underground cells
- eightsome
- eight people considered as a unit
- election commission
- a commission delegated to supervise an election
- electoral college
- the body of electors who formally elect the United States president and vice president
- electorate
- the body of enfranchised citizens; those qualified to vote
- electric company
- a public utility that provides electricity
- electrochemical series
- a serial arrangement of metallic elements or ions according to their electrode potentials determined under specified conditions; the order shows the tendency of one metal to reduce the ions of any other metal below it in the series
- electron shell
- a grouping of electrons surrounding the nucleus of an atom
- electronics company
- a company that makes and sells electronic instruments
- electronics industry
- the manufacturers of electronic products considered collectively
- elementary school
- a school for young children; usually the first 6 or 8 grades
- eleven
- a team that plays football
- Elgin Marbles
- a collection of classical Greek marble sculptures and fragments of architecture created by Phidias; chiefly from the Parthenon in Athens
- elite
- a group or class of persons enjoying superior intellectual or social or economic status
- embassy
- an ambassador and his entourage collectively
- empire
- a monarchy with an emperor as head of state
- empire
- a group of countries under a single authority
- employment agency
- an agency that finds people to fill particular jobs or finds jobs for unemployed people
- encounter group
- a meeting of people to develop mutual understanding by freely expressing emotions
- endangered species
- a species whose numbers are so small that the species is at risk of extinction
- enemy
- an opposing military force
- enemy
- any hostile group of people
- engineering school
- a technical school offering instruction in many industrial arts and applied sciences
- enlightened
- people who have been introduced to the mysteries of some field or activity
- Enlightenment
- a movement in Europe from about 1650 until 1800 that advocated the use of reason and individualism instead of tradition and established doctrine
- enosis
- the union of Greece and Cyprus (which is the goal of a group of Greek Cypriots)
- enrollment
- the body of people (such as students) who register or enroll at the same time
- ensemble
- a group of musicians playing or singing together
- ensemble
- a cast other than the principals
- ensemble
- an assemblage of parts or details (as in a work of art) considered as forming a whole
- entente
- an informal alliance between countries
- enterprise
- an organization created for business ventures
- entertainment industry
- those involved in providing entertainment: radio and television and films and theater
- Environmental Protection Agency
- an independent federal agency established to coordinate programs aimed at reducing pollution and protecting the environment
- episcopacy
- the collective body of bishops
- Episcopal Church of Scotland
- an autonomous branch of the Anglican Communion in Scotland
- escadrille
- a small squadron
- escadrille
- an air force squadron typically containing six airplanes (as in France during World War I)
- espionage network
- a network of spies
- established church
- the church that is recognized as the official church of a nation
- establishment
- any large organization
- establishment
- an organization founded and united for a specific purpose
- estate
- a major social class or order of persons regarded collectively as part of the body politic of the country (especially in the United Kingdom) and formerly possessing distinct political rights
- Estates General
- assembly of the estates of all France; last meeting in 1789
- ethics committee
- a committee appointed to consider ethical issues
- ethnic group
- people of the same race or nationality who share a distinctive culture
- ethnic minority
- a group that has different national or cultural traditions from the majority of the population
- Eton College
- a public school for boys founded in 1440; located in Berkshire
- Euclidean space
- a space in which Euclid's axioms and definitions apply; a metric space that is linear and finite-dimensional
- Europe
- the nations of the European continent collectively
- European Central Bank
- the central bank of those members of the European Union who share a common currency
- European Economic Community
- an international organization of European countries formed after World War II to reduce trade barriers and increase cooperation among its members
- European Law Enforcement Organisation
- police organization for the European Union; aims to improve effectiveness and cooperation among European police forces
- Evangelical and Reformed Church
- a Protestant denomination of Calvinist faith
- Evangelical United Brethren Church
- a Methodist denomination
- evening shift
- workers who work during the evening (as 4 p.m. to midnight)
- exaltation
- a flock of larks (especially a flock of larks in flight overhead)
- executive
- persons who administer the law
- executive agency
- an agency of the executive branch of government
- executive council
- a council that shares the supreme executive power
- executive department
- a federal department in the executive branch of the government of the United States
- Executive Office of the President
- the branch of the United States government that is responsible for carrying out the laws
- exhibition
- a collection of things (goods or works of art etc.) for public display
- expedition
- an organized group of people undertaking a journey for a particular purpose
- expressionism
- an art movement early in the 20th century; the artist's subjective expression of inner experiences was emphasized; an inner feeling was expressed through a distorted rendition of reality
- extended care facility
- a medical institution that provides prolonged care (as in cases of prolonged illness or rehabilitation from acute illness)
- extended family
- a family consisting of the nuclear family and their blood relatives
- extended order
- a military formation for skirmishing; as widely separated as the tactical situation permits
- extragalactic nebula
- (astronomy) a collection of star systems; any of the billions of systems each having many stars and nebulae and dust
- eye clinic
- a clinic where specialist care for a patient's eyes
- Fabian Society
- an association of British socialists who advocate gradual reforms within the law leading to democratic socialism
- face-amount certificate company
- a regulated investment company that pays a stated amount to certificate holders on a stated maturity date
- faction
- a dissenting clique
- faculty
- the body of teachers and administrators at a school
- fair
- a competitive exhibition of farm products
- fair
- gathering of producers to promote business
- fair sex
- women as a class
- fairness commission
- a commission delegated to ensure opportunities for the expression of opposing views
- faith
- an institution to express belief in a divine power
- faithful
- any loyal and steadfast following
- Falange
- the Spanish Nazi party under Franco
- falun gong
- a spiritual movement that began in China in the latter half of the 20th century and is based on Buddhist and Taoist teachings and practices
- family
- (biology) a taxonomic group containing one or more genera
- family business
- a corporation that is entirely owned by the members of a single family
- family tree
- successive generations of kin
- family
- people descended from a common ancestor
- family
- primary social group; parents and children
- family
- an association of people who share common beliefs or activities
- family
- a social unit living together
- fan mail
- mail sent to public figures from their admirers
- fandom
- the fans of a sport or famous person
- farm club
- a minor-league team that is owned by a major-league team (especially in baseball)
- Farm Credit System
- a cooperative nationwide system of banks and associations providing credit to farmers and related businesses; originally capitalized by the federal government but now owned by its members and borrowers
- Farmer-Labor Party
- a former minor political party in the United States in the early 20th century
- farrago
- a motley assortment of things
- Fatah Tanzim
- a terrorist group organized by Yasser Arafat in 1995 as the armed wing of al-Fatah; serves a dual function of violent confrontation with Israel and serves as Arafat's unofficial militia to prevent rival Islamists from usurping leadership
- fatigue party
- a group of soldiers on fatigue duty
- fauna
- all the animal life in a particular region or period
- fauvism
- an art movement launched in 1905 whose work was characterized by bright and nonnatural colors and simple forms; influenced the expressionists
- fedayeen
- (plural) Arab guerrillas who operate mainly against Israel
- Federal Aviation Administration
- an agency in the Department of Transportation that is responsible for the safety of civilian aviation
- Federal Bureau of Investigation
- a federal law enforcement agency that is the principal investigative arm of the Department of Justice
- Federal Bureau of Prisons
- the law enforcement agency of the Justice Department that operates a nationwide system of prisons and detention facilities to incarcerate inmates sentenced to imprisonment for federal crimes
- Federal Communications Commission
- an independent government agency that regulates interstate and international communications by radio and television and wire and cable and satellite
- federal court
- a court establish by the authority of a federal government
- Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
- a federally sponsored corporation that insures accounts in national banks and other qualified institutions
- Federal Emergency Management Agency
- an independent agency of the United States government that provides a single point of accountability for all federal emergency preparedness and mitigation and response activities
- federal government
- a government with strong central powers
- Federal Home Loan Bank System
- the central credit system for thrift institutions
- Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation
- a corporation authorized by Congress to provide a secondary market for residential mortgages
- Federal Housing Administration
- the federal agency in the Department of Housing and Urban Development that insures residential mortgages
- Federal Judiciary
- the judiciary of the United States which is responsible for interpreting and enforcing federal laws
- Federal Law Enforcement Training Center
- a center in the Department of Homeland Security that trains law enforcement professionals for more than seventy federal agencies
- Federal National Mortgage Association
- a federally chartered corporation that purchases mortgages
- Federal Protective Service
- an agency in the General Services Administration that is a security organization to provide a safe environment where Federal agencies can conduct their business
- Federal Reserve Bank
- one of 12 regional banks that monitor and act as depositories for banks in their region
- Federal Reserve Board
- the seven-member board governing the Federal Reserve System
- Federal Reserve System
- the central bank of the United States; incorporates 12 Federal Reserve branch banks and all national banks and state-chartered commercial banks and some trust companies
- Federal Security Service
- the internal counterintelligence agency of the Russian Federation and successor to the Soviet KGB; formerly led by Vladimir Putin
- Federal Trade Commission
- an independent agency of the United States federal government that maintains fair and free competition; enforces federal antitrust laws; educates the public about identity theft
- federation
- an organization formed by merging several groups or parties
- federation of tribes
- a federation (as of American Indians)
- Ferdinand and Isabella
- joint monarchs of Spain; Ferdinand V and Isabella I
- fete champetre
- a party of people assembled for social interaction out of doors
- feudal system
- the social system that developed in Europe in the 8th century; vassals were protected by lords who they had to serve in war
- few
- a small elite group
- Fibonacci sequence
- a sequence of numbers in which each number equals the sum of the two preceding numbers
- fiefdom
- an organization that is controlled by a dominant person or group
- field
- (mathematics) a set of elements such that addition and multiplication are commutative and associative and multiplication is distributive over addition and there are two elements 0 and 1
- field
- (computer science) a set of one or more adjacent characters comprising a unit of information
- field
- all the competitors in a particular contest or sporting event
- field
- all of the horses in a particular horse race
- Fifth Lateran Council
- the council in 1512-1517 that published disciplinary decrees and planned (but did not carry out) a crusade against Turkey
- Fighting French
- a French movement during World War II that was organized in London by Charles de Gaulle to fight for the liberation of France from German control and for the restoration of the republic
- file allocation table
- the part of a floppy disk or hard disk where information is stored about the location of each piece of information on the disk (and about the location of unusable areas of the disk)
- film company
- a company that makes, advertises, and distributes movies
- film industry
- the entertainment industries involved in producing and distributing movies
- filmdom
- the personnel of the film industry
- finance committee
- a committee appointed to consider financial issues
- finance company
- a financial institution (often affiliated with a holding company or manufacturer) that makes loans to individuals or businesses
- Financial Crimes Enforcement Network
- a law enforcement agency of the Treasury Department responsible for establishing and implementing policies to detect money laundering
- financial institution
- an institution (public or private) that collects funds (from the public or other institutions) and invests them in financial assets
- Financial Management Service
- the federal agency in the Treasury Department that manages the government's disbursement and collection systems and provides central accounting and financial reporting
- findings
- a collection of tools and other articles used by an artisan to make jewelry or clothing or shoes
- finishing school
- a private school for girls that emphasizes training in cultural and social activities
- fire brigade
- British name for a fire department
- fire brigade
- a private or temporary organization of individuals equipped to fight fires
- fire department
- the department of local government responsible for preventing and extinguishing fires
- firing line
- the most advanced and responsible group in an activity
- firing party
- a squad formed to fire volleys at a military funeral or to carry out a military execution
- First Council of Constantinople
- the second ecumenical council in 381 which added wording about the Holy Spirit to the Nicene Creed
- First Council of Lyons
- the council of the Western Church in 1245 that excommunicated Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II and planned a new crusade against the Holy Land
- First Council of Nicaea
- the first ecumenical council in 325 which produced the wording of the Nicene Creed and condemned the heresy of Arianism
- First Lateran Council
- the first council of the Western Church held in the Lateran Palace in 1123; focused on church discipline and made plans to recover the Holy Lands from the Muslim `infidels'
- First of October Antifascist Resistance Group
- an armed wing of the (illegal) Communist Party of Spain; seeks to overthrow the Spanish government and replace it with a Marxist-Leninist regime
- first team
- a team representing a college or university
- First Vatican Council
- the Vatican Council in 1869-1870 that proclaimed the infallibility of the pope when speaking ex cathedra
- fish species
- a species of fish
- fivesome
- five people considered as a unit
- flagging
- flagstones collectively
- flank
- the side of military or naval formation
- Flavian dynasty
- a dynasty of Roman Emperors from 69 to 96 including Vespasian and his sons Titus and Domitian
- fleet
- a group of warships organized as a tactical unit
- fleet
- a group of steamships operating together under the same ownership
- fleet
- group of motor vehicles operating together under the same ownership
- fleet
- group of aircraft operating together under the same ownership
- Flemish
- an ethnic group speaking Flemish and living in northern and western Belgium
- flight
- an air force unit smaller than a squadron
- flight
- a formation of aircraft in flight
- flight
- a flock of flying birds
- flinders
- bits and splinters and fragments
- flock
- a church congregation guided by a pastor
- flock
- a group of birds
- flock
- a group of sheep or goats
- flock
- an orderly crowd
- floor
- the occupants of a floor
- flower people
- a youth subculture (mostly from the middle class) originating in San Francisco in the 1960s; advocated universal love and peace and communes and long hair and soft drugs; favored acid rock and progressive rock music
- flush
- a poker hand with all 5 cards in the same suit
- flying school
- a school for teaching students to fly airplanes
- flying squad
- a mobile group of trained people (police or executives or officials) able to move quickly in the case of emergencies
- Foggy Bottom
- United States Department of State, which is housed in a building in a low-lying area of Washington near the Potomac River
- folk
- a social division of (usually preliterate) people
- folks
- your parents
- Followers of the Prophet
- a resurgent Islamic fundamentalist organization based in Nigeria that is thought to be planning terrorist attacks
- followers
- a group of followers or enthusiasts
- Folsom culture
- the Paleo-American culture of Central America and North America; distinguished chiefly by a thin finely made flint projectile point having the shape of a leaf
- Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
- the United Nations agency concerned with the international organization of food and agriculture
- Food and Drug Administration
- a federal agency in the Department of Health and Human Services established to regulate the release of new foods and health-related products
- food company
- a company that processes and sells food
- foot traffic
- people coming and going on foot
- foot
- an army unit consisting of soldiers who fight on foot
- football league
- a league of football teams
- force
- a group of people having the power of effective action
- Force 17
- formed in 1972 as a personal security force for Arafat and other PLO leaders; became one of PLO's elite units; has built an extensive infrastructure of terrorist cells and weapon depots in Europe while attacking Israeli targets
- force
- a unit that is part of some military service
- force
- group of people willing to obey orders
- Forces of Umar Al-Mukhtar
- a little known Palestinian group responsible for bombings and for killing Israelis; seeks to defeat Israel and liberate southern Lebanon, Palestine, and Golan Heights
- foreign country
- any state of which one is not a citizen
- Foreign Intelligence Service
- Russia's intelligence service responsible for foreign operations, intelligence-gathering and analysis, and the exchange of intelligence information; collaborates with other countries to oppose proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, terrorism and organized crime
- Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court
- a secret federal court created in 1978 by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act; responsible for authorizing wiretaps and other forms of electronic surveillance and for authorizing searches of suspected spies and terrorists by the Department of Justice or United States intelligence agencies
- foreign legion
- a military unit composed of foreign volunteers who serve the state
- foreign mission
- a permanent diplomatic mission headed by a minister
- foreign mission
- an organization of missionaries in a foreign land sent to carry on religious work
- Foreign Office
- the government department in charge of foreign relations
- Foreign Service
- the part of the State Department that supplies diplomats for the United States embassies and consulates around the world
- forest
- the trees and other plants in a large densely wooded area
- form division
- an artificial taxonomic category for organisms of which the true relationships are obscure
- form family
- (biology) an artificial taxonomic category for organisms of which the true relationships are obscure
- form genus
- (biology) an artificial taxonomic category for organisms of which the true relationships are obscure
- form of government
- the members of a social organization who are in power
- form
- (biology) a group of organisms within a species that differ in trivial ways from similar groups
- formation
- an arrangement of people or things acting as a unit
- forum
- a public meeting or assembly for open discussion
- foster family
- the family of a fosterling
- foster home
- a household in which an orphaned or delinquent child is placed (usually by a social-service agency)
- foundation
- an institution supported by an endowment
- Four Hundred
- the exclusive social set of a city
- foursome
- four people considered as a unit
- Fourth Council of Constantinople
- the council in 869 that condemned Photius who had become the patriarch of Constantinople without approval from the Vatican, thereby precipitating the schism between the eastern and western churches
- fourth estate
- the press, including journalists, newspaper writers, photographers
- Fourth Lateran Council
- the Lateran Council in 1215 was the most important council of the Middle Ages; issued a creed against Albigensianism, published reformatory decrees, promulgated the doctrine of transubstantiation, and clarified church doctrine on the Trinity and Incarnation
- Franciscan order
- a Roman Catholic order founded by Saint Francis of Assisi in the 13th century
- frat
- a social club for male undergraduates
- free enterprise
- an economy that relies chiefly on market forces to allocate goods and resources and to determine prices
- Free Soil Party
- a former political party in the United States; formed in 1848 to oppose the extension of slavery into the territories; merged with the Liberty Party in 1848
- Free World
- anti-communist countries collectively
- free
- people who are free
- Freemasonry
- Freemasons collectively
- French Academy
- an honorary group of French writers and thinkers supported by the French government
- French Foreign Legion
- a former foreign legion in the French army that was used for military duties outside of France
- French Foreign Office
- the French department in charge of foreign affairs; referred to familiarly by its address in Paris
- freshman class
- the first class in college or high school
- friendly
- troops belonging to or allied with your own military forces
- fringe
- a social group holding marginal or extreme views
- front
- a group of people with a common ideology who try together to achieve certain general goals
- frontier settlement
- a settlement on the frontier of civilization
- FSB
- a federally chartered savings bank
- FTO
- a political movement that uses terror as a weapon to achieve its goals
- Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarios de Colombia
- a powerful and wealthy terrorist organization formed in 1957 as the guerilla arm of the Colombian communist party; opposed to the United States; has strong ties to drug dealers
- full house
- a poker hand with 3 of a kind and a pair
- function
- a formal or official social gathering or ceremony
- fund
- a financial institution that sells shares to individuals and invests in securities issued by other companies
- funeral pyre
- wood heaped for burning a dead body as a funeral rite
- furniture company
- a company that sells furniture
- futurism
- an artistic movement in Italy around 1910 that tried to express the energy and values of the machine age
- GAAP
- a collection of rules and procedures and conventions that define accepted accounting practice; includes broad guidelines as well as detailed procedures
- gaggle
- a flock of geese
- galaxy
- a splendid assemblage (especially of famous people)
- galere
- a coterie of undesirable people
- gallery
- spectators at a golf or tennis match
- Gallicanism
- a religious movement originating among the French Roman Catholic clergy that favored the restriction of papal control and the achievement by each nation of individual administrative autonomy of the church
- gam
- a herd of whales
- gamelan
- a traditional Indonesian ensemble typically including many tuned percussion instruments including bamboo xylophones and wooden or bronze chimes and gongs
- gang
- an association of criminals
- gangdom
- underworld organizations
- garden
- the flowers or vegetables or fruits or herbs that are cultivated in a garden
- garrison
- the troops who maintain and guard a fortified place
- gas company
- a public utility that provides gas
- gas line
- a queue of vehicles waiting to purchase gasoline
- gaudy
- (Britain) a celebratory reunion feast or entertainment held a college
- gendarmerie
- French police force; a group of gendarmes or gendarmes collectively
- General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade
- a United Nations agency created by a multinational treaty to promote trade by the reduction of tariffs and import quotas
- General Assembly
- the supreme deliberative assembly of the United Nations
- general assembly
- persons who make or amend or repeal laws
- general delivery
- the part of a post office that handles mail for persons who call for it
- General Security Services
- the Israeli domestic counterintelligence and internal security agency
- General Services Administration
- a central management agency that sets Federal policy for Federal procurement and real property management and information resources management
- general staff
- military officers assigned to assist a senior officer in planning military policy
- generation
- group of genetically related organisms constituting a single step in the line of descent
- generation X
- the generation following the baby boom (especially Americans and Canadians born in the 1960s and 1970s)
- genetic code
- the ordering of nucleotides in DNA molecules that carries the genetic information in living cells
- genome
- the ordering of genes in a haploid set of chromosomes of a particular organism; the full DNA sequence of an organism
- genotype
- a group of organisms sharing a specific genetic constitution
- gens
- family based on male descent
- gentlefolk
- people of good family and breeding and high social status
- genus
- (biology) taxonomic group containing one or more species
- geometric progression
- (mathematics) a progression in which each term is multiplied by a constant in order to obtain the next term
- German Luftwaffe
- the German airforce
- gerontocracy
- a political system governed by old men
- Gestapo
- the secret state police in Nazi Germany; known for its terrorist methods
- get together
- a small informal social gathering
- giant
- an unusually large enterprise
- gimmickry
- a collection of gimmicks
- Girl Scouts
- an organization of young women and girls founded in 1912 for character development and citizenship training
- giro
- a British financial system in which a bank or a post office transfers money from one account to another when they receive authorization to do so
- Gironde
- the French moderate political party that was in power (1791-1793) during the French Revolution
- glee club
- a club organized to sing together
- global organization
- an international alliance involving many different countries
- gob
- a lump of slimy stuff
- Golden Horde
- a Mongolian army that swept over eastern Europe in the 13th century
- golf club
- a club of people to play golf
- governed
- the body of people who are citizens of a particular government
- governing board
- a board that manages the affairs of an institution
- government department
- a department of government
- government officials
- people elected or appointed to administer a government
- government-in-exile
- a temporary government moved to or formed in a foreign land by exiles who hope to rule when their country is liberated
- gown
- the members of a university as distinguished from the other residents of the town in which the university is located
- grab bag
- an assortment of miscellaneous items
- grad school
- a school in a university offering study leading to degrees beyond the bachelor's degree
- graduating class
- the body of students who graduate together this year
- grammar school
- a secondary school emphasizing Latin and Greek in preparation for college
- grand jury
- a jury to inquire into accusations of crime and to evaluate the grounds for indictments
- grandstand
- the audience at a stadium or racetrack
- grass roots
- the common people at a local level (as distinguished from the centers of political activity)
- graveyard shift
- workers who work during the night (as midnight to 8 a.m.)
- gray
- any organization or party whose uniforms or badges are grey
- great power
- a state powerful enough to influence events throughout the world
- Greek chorus
- a company of actors who comment (by speaking or singing in unison) on the action in a classical Greek play
- Greek mythology
- the mythology of the ancient Greeks
- Greek Orthodox Church
- state church of Greece; an autonomous part of the Eastern Orthodox Church
- Green Party
- an environmentalist political party
- Greenback Party
- a former political party in the United States; organized in 1874; opposed any reduction in the amount of paper money in circulation
- Greenpeace
- an international organization that works for environmental conservation and the preservation of endangered species
- gridlock
- a traffic jam so bad that no movement is possible
- ground crew
- the crew of technicians and mechanics who service aircraft on the ground
- group meeting
- a formally arranged gathering
- grove
- a small growth of trees without underbrush
- growth
- vegetation that has grown
- growth industry
- an industry that is growing rapidly
- Grub Street
- the world of literary hacks
- guard
- a military unit serving to protect some place or person
- guerilla force
- an irregular armed force that fights by sabotage and harassment; often rural and organized in large groups
- Gymnasium
- a school for students intermediate between elementary school and college; usually grades 9 to 12
- gynarchy
- a political system governed by a woman
- Haganah
- the clandestine military wing of the Jewish leadership during the British rule over the mandate of Palestine from 1920 to 1948; became the basis for the Israeli defense force
- Han dynasty
- imperial dynasty that ruled China (most of the time from 206 BC to AD 220) and expanded its boundaries and developed its bureaucracy; remembered as one of the great eras of Chinese civilization
- hands
- the force of workers available
- Hanseatic League
- a commercial and defensive confederation of free cities in northern Germany and surrounding areas; formed in 1241 and most influential in the 14th century when it included over 100 towns and functioned as an independent political power; the last official assembly was held in 1669
- Hapsburg
- a royal German family that provided rulers for several European states and wore the crown of the Holy Roman Empire from 1440 to 1806
- Harakat al-Jihad al-Islami al-Filastini
- a militant Palestinian terrorist group created in 1979 and committed to the creation of an Islamic state in Palestine and to the destruction of Israel; smaller and more exclusively militant that Hamas
- Harakat ul-Jihad-I-Islami
- an extremist militant group in Pakistan occupied Kashmir that seeks an Islamic government and that has had close links and fought with the Taliban in Afghanistan
- harbor patrol
- patrol of officers who police a harbor area
- hard core
- the most dedicated and intensely loyal nucleus of a group or movement
- hard right
- the extreme right wing
- Haredi
- any of several sects of Orthodox Judaism that reject modern secular culture and many of whom do not recognize the spiritual authority of the modern state of Israel
- harmonic progression
- (mathematics) a progression of terms whose reciprocals form an arithmetic progression
- hate mail
- mail that expresses the writer's dislike or hatred (usually in offensive language)
- hawala
- an underground banking system based on trust whereby money can be made available internationally without actually moving it or leaving a record of the transaction
- haycock
- a small cone-shaped pile of hay that has been left in the field until it is dry enough to carry to the hayrick
- hayrick
- a stack of hay
- head
- the front of a military formation or procession
- headquarters
- (plural) a military unit consisting of a commander and the headquarters staff
- headquarters staff
- military staff stationed at headquarters
- health profession
- the body of individuals whose work helps to maintain the health of their clients
- hedge fund
- a flexible investment company for a small number of large investors (usually the minimum investment is $1 million); can use high-risk techniques (not allowed for mutual funds) such as short-selling and heavy leveraging
- hegemon
- a leading or paramount power
- hegemony
- the dominance or leadership of one social group or nation over others
- Helladic civilization
- the bronze-age culture of mainland Greece that flourished 2500-1100 BC
- hen party
- a party for women only
- herbarium
- a collection of dried plants that are mounted and systematically classified for study
- herd
- a group of cattle or sheep or other domestic mammals all of the same kind that are herded by humans
- herd
- a group of wild mammals of one species that remain together: antelope or elephants or seals or whales or zebra
- herd
- a crowd especially of ordinary or undistinguished persons or things
- Herrenvolk
- a race that considers itself superior to all others and fitted to rule the others
- hierarchy
- a series of ordered groupings of people or things within a system
- hierarchy
- the organization of people at different ranks in an administrative body
- hierocracy
- a ruling body composed of clergy
- High Anglican Church
- a group in the Anglican Church that emphasizes the Catholic tradition (especially in sacraments and rituals and obedience to church authority)
- high command
- the highest leaders in an organization (e.g. the commander-in-chief and senior officers of the military)
- High Commission
- an embassy of one British Commonwealth country to another
- high court
- the highest court in most states of the United States
- high
- a public secondary school usually including grades 9 through 12
- Hilbert space
- a metric space that is linear and complete and (usually) infinite-dimensional
- Hinayana
- a major school of Buddhism teaching personal salvation through one's own efforts
- Hindooism
- the religion of most people in India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Nepal
- hip-hop
- an urban youth culture associated with rap music and the fashions of African-American residents of the inner city
- hiring hall
- a union-operated placement office where jobs are allotted to applicants according to seniority or rotation
- histocompatibility complex
- a family of fifty or more genes on the sixth human chromosome that code for proteins on the surfaces of cells and that play a role in the immune response
- historical school
- a school of 19th century German economists and legal philosophers who tried to explain modern economic systems in evolutionary or historical terms
- hit parade
- a collection of the best or most popular people or items of a given kind
- hit squad
- a team of assassins
- hive
- a teeming multitude
- Hizb ut-Tahrir
- the most popular and feared Islamic extremist group in central Asia; advocates `pure' Islam and the creation of a worldwide Islamic state
- hobo camp
- a place where hoboes camp
- hockey league
- a league of hockey teams
- hockey team
- a team that plays ice hockey
- Hohenzollern
- a German noble family that ruled Brandenburg and Prussia
- Hohenzollern empire
- the Reich when Hohenzollern monarchs ruled Germany (from 1871 to 1919)
- hoi polloi
- the common people generally
- holding company
- a company with controlling shares in other companies
- Hollywood
- the film industry of the United States
- Holy Roman Empire
- a political entity in Europe that began with the papal coronation of Otto I as the first emperor in 962 and lasted until 1806 when it was dissolved by Napoleon
- Holy War Warriors
- a paramilitary terrorist organization of militant Muslims in Indonesia; wages a jihad against Christians in Indonesia; subscribes to the Wahhabi creed of Islam
- home folk
- folks from your own home town
- home front
- the civilian population (and their activities) of a country at war
- home guard
- a volunteer unit formed to defend the homeland while the regular army is fighting elsewhere
- Home Loan Bank
- one of 11 regional banks that monitor and make short-term credit advances to thrift institutions in their region
- Home Office
- the government department in charge of domestic affairs
- homebound
- people who are confined to their homes
- homefolk
- the people of your home locality (especially your own family)
- homeless
- poor people who unfortunately do not have a home to live in
- hood
- (slang) a neighborhood
- horde
- a nomadic community
- horde
- a vast multitude
- horse cavalry
- an army unit mounted on horseback
- horsey set
- a set of people sharing a devotion to horses and horseback riding and horse racing
- hospital
- a medical institution where sick or injured people are given medical or surgical care
- host
- any organization that provides resources and facilities for a function or event
- host
- archaic terms for army
- hostile
- troops belonging to the enemy's military forces
- house
- the management of a gambling house or casino
- house
- the members of a religious community living together
- house
- the audience gathered together in a theatre or cinema
- house
- an official assembly having legislative powers
- house
- aristocratic family line
- House of Burgesses
- the lower house of legislature in colonial Virginia
- House of Hanover
- the English royal house that reigned from 1714 to 1901 (from George I to Victoria)
- House of Lancaster
- the English royal house that reigned from 1399 to 1461; its emblem was a red rose
- House of Tudor
- an English dynasty descended from Henry Tudor; Tudor monarchs ruled from Henry VII to Elizabeth I (from 1485 to 1603)
- House of Windsor
- the British royal family since 1917
- House of York
- the English royal house (a branch of the Plantagenet line) that reigned from 1461 to 1485; its emblem was a white rose
- housewarming
- a party of people assembled to celebrate moving into a new home
- huddle
- a disorganized and densely packed crowd
- hudood
- Islamic laws stating the limits ordained by Allah and including the deterrent punishments for serious crimes
- Hudson River school
- the first coherent school of American art; active from 1825 to 1870; painted wilderness landscapes of the Hudson River valley and surrounding New England
- humanism
- the cultural movement of the Renaissance; based on classical studies
- hung jury
- a jury that is unable to agree on a verdict (the result is a mistrial)
- hunger march
- a march of protest or demonstration by the unemployed
- hunt
- an association of huntsmen who hunt for sport
- hunting and gathering society
- group that supports itself by hunting and fishing and by gathering wild fruits and vegetables; usually nomadic
- ICU
- a hospital unit staffed and equipped to provide intensive care
- identity matrix
- a scalar matrix in which all of the diagonal elements are unity
- identity parade
- a line of persons arranged by police for inspection or identification
- image
- (mathematics) the set of values of the dependent variable for which a function is defined
- imagism
- a movement by American and English poets early in the 20th century in reaction to Victorian sentimentality; used common speech in free verse with clear concrete imagery
- immigrant class
- recent immigrants who are lumped together as a class by their low socioeconomic status in spite of different cultural backgrounds
- immigration
- the body of immigrants arriving during a specified interval
- Immigration and Naturalization Service
- an agency in the Department of Justice that enforces laws and regulations for the admission of foreign-born persons to the United States
- income bracket
- a category of taxpayers based on the amount of their income
- indaba
- a council at which indigenous peoples of southern Africa meet to discuss some important question
- independent agency
- an agency of the United States government that is created by an act of Congress and is independent of the executive departments
- index fund
- a mutual fund that invests in the stocks that are the basis of a well-known stock or bond index
- Indian file
- a line of persons or things ranged one behind the other
- indie
- a pop group not affiliated with a major record company
- indie
- an independent film company not associated with an established studio
- Indus civilization
- the bronze-age culture of the Indus valley that flourished from about 2600-1750 BC
- industrial bank
- a finance company that makes small loans to industrial workers
- industrial union
- a labor union that admits all workers in a given industry irrespective of their craft
- Industrial Workers of the World
- a former international labor union and radical labor movement in the United States; founded in Chicago in 1905 and dedicated to the overthrow of capitalism; its membership declined after World War I
- industrialism
- an economic system built on large industries rather than on agriculture or craftsmanship
- industry
- the people or companies engaged in a particular kind of commercial enterprise
- infant school
- British school for children aged 5-7
- inferior court
- any court whose decisions can be appealed to a higher court
- infestation
- a swarm of insects that attack plants
- Inka
- the small group of Quechua living in the Cuzco Valley in Peru who established hegemony over their neighbors in order to create an empire that lasted from about 1100 until the Spanish conquest in the early 1530s
- Inland Revenue
- a board of the British government that administers and collects major direct taxes
- Inquisition
- a former tribunal of the Roman Catholic Church (1232-1820) created to discover and suppress heresy
- inspectorate
- a body of inspectors
- institute
- an association organized to promote art or science or education
- instrumentality
- a subsidiary organ of government created for a special purpose
- insurance company
- a financial institution that sells insurance
- intelligence cell
- a terrorist cell whose members are trained to perform reconnaissance and surveillance
- intelligence
- a unit responsible for gathering and interpreting information about an enemy
- interest
- (usually plural) a social group whose members control some field of activity and who have common aims
- Internal Revenue Service
- the bureau of the Treasury Department responsible for tax collections
- International
- any of several international socialist organizations
- International Association of Lions clubs
- club dedicated to promoting responsible citizenship and good government and community and national and international welfare
- International Atomic Energy Agency
- the United Nations agency concerned with atomic energy
- International Bank for Reconstruction and Development
- a United Nations agency created to assist developing nations by loans guaranteed by member governments
- International Civil Aviation Organization
- the United Nations agency concerned with civil aviation
- International Court of Justice
- a court established to settle disputes between members of the United Nations
- International Development Association
- an agency of the United Nations affiliated with the World Bank
- International Finance Corporation
- a United Nations agency that invests directly in companies and guarantees loans to private investors; affiliated with the World Bank
- international intelligence agency
- an intelligence agency outside the United States
- International Islamic Front for Jihad against Jews and Crusaders
- a terrorist group organized by Osama bin Laden in 1998 that provided an umbrella organization for al-Qaeda and other militant groups in Egypt and Algeria and Pakistan and Bangladesh
- International Labour Organization
- the United Nations agency concerned with the interests of labor
- international law enforcement agency
- an international administrative unit responsible for law enforcement
- international law
- the body of laws governing relations between nations
- International Maritime Organization
- the United Nations agency concerned with international maritime activities
- International Monetary Fund
- a United Nations agency to promote trade by increasing the exchange stability of the major currencies
- International Olympic Committee
- organization responsible for organizing the modern Olympic Games
- International Relations and Security Network
- Switzerland's information network for security and defense studies and for peace and conflict research and for international relations
- International Society for Krishna Consciousness
- a religious sect founded in the United States in 1966; based on Vedic scriptures; groups engage in joyful chanting of `Hare Krishna' and other mantras based on the name of the Hindu god Krishna; devotees usually wear saffron robes and practice vegetarianism and celibacy
- Interpol
- an international intelligence agency permitting collaboration among intelligence agencies around the world
- Interstate Commerce Commission
- a former independent federal agency that supervised and set rates for carriers that transported goods and people between states; was terminated in 1995
- investors club
- a club of small investors who buy and sell securities jointly
- Invincible Armada
- the great fleet sent from Spain against England by Philip II in 1588
- Ionian
- the ancient Greek inhabitants of Attica and related regions in Ionia
- Iraqi Intelligence Service
- the most notorious and possibly the most important arm of Iraq's security system
- Iraqi National Congress
- a heterogeneous collection of groups united in their opposition to Saddam Hussein's government of Iraq; formed in 1992 it is comprised of Sunni and Shiite Arabs and Kurds who hope to build a new government
- Irish National Liberation Army
- a radical terrorist group dedicated to the removal of British forces from Northern Ireland and the unification of Ireland
- Islamic Army of Aden-Abyan
- Yemen-based terrorist group that supports al-Qaeda's goals; seeks to overthrow the Yemeni government and eliminate United States interests; responsible for bombings and kidnappings and killing western tourists in Yemen
- Islamic Great Eastern Raiders-Front
- a Turkish terrorist organization that claimed responsibility for bombing a British consulate and bank in Istanbul; a violent opponent of Turkey's secular government and its ties to the European Union and NATO
- Islamic Group of Uzbekistan
- a terrorist group of Islamic militants formed in 1996; opposes Uzbekistan's secular regime and wants to establish an Islamic state in central Asia; is a conduit for drugs from Afghanistan to central Asian countries
- Islamic Jihad for the Liberation of Palestine
- a Shiite terrorist organization with strong ties to Iran; seeks to create an Iranian fundamentalist Islamic state in Lebanon; car bombs are the signature weapon
- Islamic law
- the code of law derived from the Koran and from the teachings and example of Mohammed
- Islamic Resistance Movement
- a militant Islamic fundamentalist political movement that opposes peace with Israel and uses terrorism as a weapon; seeks to create an Islamic state in place of Israel; is opposed to the PLO and has become a leading perpetrator of terrorist activity in Israel; pioneered suicide bombing
- Islamic Ummah
- the Muslim community or people, considered to extend from Mauritania to Pakistan
- Islamism
- a fundamentalist Islamic revivalist movement generally characterized by moral conservatism and the literal interpretation of the Koran and the attempt to implement Islamic values in all aspects of life
- Israeli Defense Force
- the ground and air and naval forces of Israel
- Israelites
- the ethnic group claiming descent from Abraham and Isaac (especially from Isaac's son Jacob); the nation whom God chose to receive his revelation and with whom God chose to make a covenant (Exodus 19)
- issuer
- an institution that issues something (securities or publications or currency etc.)
- Ivy League
- a league of universities and colleges in the northeastern United States that have a reputation for scholastic achievement and social prestige
- Iz Al-Din Al-Qassam Battalions
- the military arm of Hamas responsible for suicide bombings and other attacks on Israel
- Jabat al-Tahrir al-Filistiniyyah
- a terrorist group formed in 1977 as the result of a split with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine; became a satellite of al-Fatah; made terrorist attacks on Israel across the Lebanese border
- Jainism
- sect founded in the 6th century BC as a revolt against Hinduism
- Jaish-e-Muhammad
- a terrorist organization founded in 2000; a militant Islamic group active in Kashmir and closely aligned with al-Rashid Trust; seeks to secure release of imprisoned fellow militants by kidnappings
- Jamaat ul-Fuqra
- an Islamic terrorist group organized in the 1980s; seeks to purify Islam through violence; the cells in North America and the Caribbean insulate themselves from Western culture and will even attack other Muslims who they regard as heretics
- jati
- (Hinduism) a Hindu caste or distinctive social group of which there are thousands throughout India; a special characteristic is often the exclusive occupation of its male members (such as barber or potter)
- Jayshullah
- an indigenous Islamic terrorist group in Azerbaijan that attempted to bomb the United States embassy in 1999
- Jehovah's Witnesses
- Protestant denomination founded in the United States by Charles Taze Russell in 1884
- Jerusalem Warriors
- ethnic Turkish Sunni terrorists who are linked with the Turkish Hizballah; killed a United States Air Force sergeant in 1991
- jet set
- a set of rich and fashionable people who travel widely for pleasure
- jewelry dealer
- a firm that sells and buys jewelry
- Jewish religion
- Jews collectively who practice a religion based on the Torah and the Talmud
- Jewry
- Jews collectively
- Jirga
- a Pashto term for a decision making assembly of male elders
- job lot
- a miscellaneous collection of things sold together
- jockey club
- a club to promote and regulate horse racing
- join
- a set containing all and only the members of two or more given sets
- Joint Chiefs of Staff
- the executive agency that advises the President on military questions; composed of the chiefs of the United States Army and the United States Navy and the United States Air Force and the commandant of the United States Marine Corps
- joint-stock company
- a company (usually unincorporated) which has the capital of its members pooled in a common fund; transferable shares represent ownership interest; shareholders are legally liable for all debts of the company
- Judaica
- materials relating to Judaism
- judicatory
- the system of law courts that administer justice and constitute the judicial branch of government
- judicial branch
- the branch of the United States government responsible for the administration of justice
- jug band
- a musical group that uses jugs and washboards and kazoos and other improvised instruments
- jungle
- an impenetrable equatorial forest
- junior class
- penultimate class in high school or college
- junior college
- a college that offers only the first two years terminating in an associate degree
- junior high
- a secondary school usually including 7th and 8th grades
- junior school
- British school for children aged 7-11
- junta
- a group of military officers who rule a country after seizing power
- jurisprudence
- the collection of rules imposed by authority
- jury
- a body of citizens sworn to give a true verdict according to the evidence presented in a court of law
- jury
- a committee appointed to judge a competition
- juvenile court
- a court having jurisdiction over dependent and delinquent children
- JV
- a college or university team that competes at a level below the varsity team
- Kahane Chai
- a terrorist organization founded for Jewish defense; fights antisemitism and hopes to restore the biblical state of Israel
- kangaroo court
- an irregular unauthorized court
- Karaites
- a Jewish sect that recognizes only the Hebrew Scriptures as the source of divinely inspired legislation and denies the authority of the postbiblical tradition of the Talmud; the sect arose in Iraq in the eighth century
- Kashag
- the advisory board of the Tibetan government-in-exile
- Khalsa
- the group of initiated Sikhs to which devout orthodox Sikhs are ritually admitted at puberty; founded by the tenth and last Guru in 1699
- kibbutz
- a collective farm or settlement owned by its members in modern Israel; children are reared collectively
- kindergarten
- a preschool for children age 4 to 6 to prepare them for primary school
- kingdom
- a monarchy with a king or queen as head of state
- kingdom
- a basic group of natural objects
- kingdom
- the highest taxonomic group into which organisms are grouped; one of five biological categories: Monera or Protoctista or Plantae or Fungi or Animalia
- kith
- your friends and acquaintances
- klavern
- a local unit of the Ku Klux Klan
- kludge
- a badly assembled collection of parts hastily assembled to serve some particular purpose (often used to refer to computing systems or software that has been badly put together)
- Knesseth
- the Israeli unicameral parliament
- knighthood
- aristocrats holding the rank of knight
- knot
- a tight cluster of people or things
- Know-Nothing Party
- a former political party in the United States; active in the 1850s to keep power out of the hands of immigrants and Roman Catholics
- koinonia
- Christian fellowship or communion with God or with fellow Christians; said in particular of the early Christian community
- Kokka Shinto
- the branch of Shinto recognized as the official state religion of Japan
- kolkhoz
- a collective farm owned by the communist state
- Ku Klux Klan
- a secret society of white Southerners in the United States; was formed in the 19th century to resist the emancipation of slaves; used terrorist tactics to suppress Black people
- Kuomintang
- the political party founded in 1911 by Sun Yat-sen; it governed China under Chiang Kai-shek from 1928 until 1949 when the Communists took power and subsequently was the official ruling party of Taiwan
- labor force
- the source of trained people from which workers can be hired
- labor party
- a left-of-center political party formed to represent the interest of ordinary working people
- labor
- an organized attempt by workers to improve their status by united action (particularly via labor unions) or the leaders of this movement
- labor
- a social class comprising those who do manual labor or work for wages
- laity
- in Christianity, members of a religious community that do not have the priestly responsibilities of ordained clergy
- lake poets
- English poets at the beginning of the 19th century who lived in the Lake District and were inspired by it
- landed gentry
- the gentry who own land (considered as a class)
- landing party
- a part of a ship's company organized for special duties ashore
- language school
- a school for teaching foreign languages
- large cap
- a corporation with a large capitalization
- Lashkar-e-Jhangvi
- a Sunni Muslim extremist group in Pakistan that collaborates with al-Qaeda; the armed wing of Sipah-e-Sahaba
- Lashkar-e-Omar
- a terrorist organization formed in Pakistan in 2002 as a coalition of extremist Islamic militant groups including Lashkar-e-Taiba and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi and Jaish-e-Muhammad and elements of al-Qaeda
- Lateran Council
- any of five general councils of the Western Catholic Church that were held in the Lateran Palace
- Latin square
- a square matrix of n rows and columns; cells contain n different symbols so arranged that no symbol occurs more than once in any row or column
- Laurel and Hardy
- United States slapstick comedy duo who made many films together
- Lautaro Faction of the United Popular Action Movement
- a violent terrorist group organized in the 1980s and advocating the overthrow of the Chilean military government; leaders are mainly criminals or impoverished youths
- law enforcement agency
- an agency responsible for insuring obedience to the laws
- law firm
- a firm of lawyers
- Law of Moses
- the laws (beginning with the Ten Commandments) that God gave to the Israelites through Moses; it includes many rules of religious observance given in the first five books of the Old Testament (in Judaism these books are called the Torah)
- law of the land
- a phrase used in the Magna Carta to refer to the then established law of the kingdom (as distinct from Roman or civil law); today it refers to fundamental principles of justice commensurate with due process
- law school
- a graduate school offering study leading to a law degree
- leaders
- the body of people who lead a group
- league
- an association of states or organizations or individuals for common action
- League of Iroquois
- a league of Iroquois tribes including originally the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga and Seneca (the Five Nations); after 1722 they were joined by the Tuscarora (the Six Nations)
- League of Nations
- an international organization formed in 1920 to promote cooperation and peace among nations; although suggested by Woodrow Wilson, the United States never joined and it remained powerless; it was dissolved in 1946 after the United Nations was formed
- left
- those who support varying degrees of social or political or economic change designed to promote the public welfare
- legion
- association of ex-servicemen
- legion
- a large military unit
- legislative branch
- the branch of the United States government that has the power of legislating
- legislative council
- a unicameral legislature
- lending institution
- a financial institution that makes loans
- levee
- a formal reception of visitors or guests (as at a royal court)
- Lewis and Clark Expedition
- an expedition sent by Thomas Jefferson to explore the northwestern territories of the United States; led by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark; traveled from St. Louis to the mouth of the Columbia River from 1803 to 1806
- Liao dynasty
- the dynasty that ruled much of Manchuria and northeastern China from 947 to 1125
- Liberal Democrat Party
- a political party in Great Britain; formerly the Liberal Party; advocates reforms and improvement of the conditions of working people
- Liberal Party
- a political party in Australia, Canada, and other nations, and formerly in Great Britain
- Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
- a terrorist organization in Sri Lanka that began in 1970 as a student protest over the limited university access for Tamil students; currently seeks to establish an independent Tamil state called Eelam; relies on guerilla strategy including terrorist tactics that target key government and military personnel
- Liberty Party
- a former political party in the United States; formed in 1839 to oppose the practice of slavery; merged with the Free Soil Party in 1848
- library
- a collection of literary documents or records kept for reference or borrowing
- library
- (computing) a collection of standard programs and subroutines that are stored and available for immediate use
- lighting industry
- an industry devoted to manufacturing and selling and installing lighting
- line
- a formation of people or things one behind another
- line
- a formation of people or things one beside another
- line of defence
- any organization whose responsibility it is to defend against something
- line of march
- the arrangement of people in a line for marching
- line of succession
- the order in which individuals are expected to succeed one another in some official position
- line organisation
- the organizational structure of activities contributing directly to the organization's output
- line personnel
- personnel having direct job performance responsibilities
- linemen
- the football players who line up on the line of scrimmage
- literati
- the literary intelligentsia
- litter
- the offspring at one birth of a multiparous mammal
- little league
- a commercially sponsored baseball league for players between 8 and 12 years of age
- little-league team
- a team that plays in a little league
- livery company
- one of the chartered companies of London originating with the craft guilds
- living
- people who are still living
- living room set
- a suite of furniture for the living room
- loan collection
- a number of pictures loaned by their owners for exhibition
- lobby
- the people who support some common cause or business or principle or sectional interest
- local authority
- an administrative unit of local government
- local government
- the government of a local area
- local post office
- a local branch where postal services are available
- locus
- the set of all points or lines that satisfy or are determined by specific conditions
- logjam
- an immovable mass of logs blocking a river
- long suit
- in a hand, the suit having the most cards
- loop
- an inner circle of advisors (especially under President Reagan)
- Lord's Resistance Army
- a quasi-religious rebel group in Uganda that terrorized and raped women and kidnapped children who were forced to serve in the army
- Lords Spiritual
- the clergy in France and the heads of the church in Britain
- Lords Temporal
- the nobility in France and the peerage in Britain
- losing streak
- a streak of losses
- Lost Tribes
- the ten Tribes of Israel that were deported into captivity in Assyria around 720 BC (leaving only the tribes of Judah and Benjamin)
- love feast
- a social gathering intended to create goodwill among the participants
- lower class
- the social class lowest in the social hierarchy
- Loya Jirga
- a grand council or grand assembly used to resolve political conflicts or other national problems
- Loyalist Volunteer Force
- a terrorist group formed in 1996 in Northern Ireland; seeks to prevent the peace process; murders Catholics and any Protestant leaders who favor peace
- Ltd.
- a company that is organized to give its owners limited liability
- Lubavitch movement
- a large missionary Hasidic movement known for their hospitality, technological expertise, optimism and emphasis on religious study
- luminism
- an artistic movement in the United States that was derived from the Hudson River school; active from 1850 to 1870; painted realistic landscapes in a style that pictured atmospheric light and the use of aerial perspective
- lumpenproletariat
- (Marxism) the unorganized lower levels of the proletariat who are not interested in revolutionary advancement
- lunatic fringe
- a political unit with extreme and fanatical views
- lunch meeting
- a meeting for lunch; usually to conduct business while eating
- Lutheran Church
- the Protestant denomination adhering to the views of Martin Luther
- lynch mob
- a mob that kills a person for some presumed offense without legal authority
- machine
- an intricate organization that accomplishes its goals efficiently
- machine
- a group that controls the activities of a political party
- machinery
- a system of means and activities whereby a social institution functions
- macumba
- (Brazil) followers of a religious cult of African origin
- madrasa
- Muslim schools in Bangladesh and Pakistan
- maffia
- any tightly knit group of trusted associates
- magazine
- a business firm that publishes magazines
- magic square
- a square matrix of n rows and columns; the first n^2 integers are arranged in the cells of the matrix in such a way that the sum of any row or column or diagonal is the same
- Mahayana
- a major school of Buddhism teaching social concern and universal salvation; China; Japan; Tibet; Nepal; Korea; Mongolia
- mail
- any particular collection of letters or packages that is delivered
- mailing
- mail sent by a sender at one time
- maimed
- people who are wounded
- main diagonal
- the diagonal of a square matrix running from the upper left entry to the lower right entry
- maintenance staff
- those in a business responsible for maintaining the physical plant
- major-league club
- a team that plays in a major league
- maker
- a business engaged in manufacturing some product
- Maktab al-Khidmat
- a terrorist organization founded by Osama bin Laden in the 1980s to provide money and recruit fighters around the world; enlisted and transported thousands of men to Afghanistan to fight the Russians; a split in the group led bin Laden and the extremist faction of MAK to form al-Qaeda
- Malaysian Mujahidin Group
- a clandestine group of southeast Asian terrorists organized in 1993 and trained by al-Qaeda; supports militant Muslims in Indonesia and the Philippines and has cells in Singapore and Malaysia and Indonesia
- man and wife
- two people who are married to each other
- managed economy
- a non-market economy in which government intervention is important in allocating goods and resources and determining prices
- management
- those in charge of running a business
- management consulting
- a service industry that provides advice to those in charge of running a business
- management personnel
- personnel having overall planning and direction responsibilities
- Mandelbrot set
- a set of complex numbers that has a highly convoluted fractal boundary when plotted; the set of all points in the complex plane that are bounded under a certain mathematical iteration
- Manhattan Project
- a former United States executive agency that was responsible for developing atomic bombs during World War II
- manicure set
- a set of implements used to manicure
- manifold
- a set of points such as those of a closed surface or an analogue in three or more dimensions
- Manuel Rodriquez Patriotic Front
- a terrorist group formed in 1983 as the armed wing of the Chilean Communist Party
- Maori
- an ethnic minority of Polynesian and Melanesian descent who speak Maori and live in New Zealand
- Maquis
- the French underground that fought against the German occupation in World War II
- march
- a procession of people walking together
- marching band
- a band that marches (as in a parade) and plays music at the same time
- mariachi
- a group of street musicians in Mexico
- Marine Corps Intelligence Activity
- an agency of the United States Marine Corps that provides responsive and broad intelligence support for the worldwide Marine Corps organization
- Marines
- members of a body of troops trained to serve on land or at sea
- Markaz-ud-Dawa-wal-Irshad
- a Sunni organization formed in 1989 and based in Pakistan; opposes missionary groups from the United States; has Lashkar-e-Tayyiba as its armed wing
- market
- the customers for a particular product or service
- market
- the securities markets in the aggregate
- marriage brokerage
- a business that arranges marriage contracts
- martial law
- the body of law imposed by the military over civilian affairs (usually in time of war or civil crisis); overrides civil law
- Marx Brothers
- a family of United States comedians consisting of four brothers with an anarchic sense of humor
- mask
- a party of guests wearing costumes and masks
- mass
- an ill-structured collection of similar things (objects or people)
- mass meeting
- a large gathering of people intended to arouse enthusiasm
- master class
- a class (especially in music) given to talented students by an expert
- mathematical space
- (mathematics) any set of points that satisfy a set of postulates of some kind
- matriarchate
- a form of social organization in which a female is the family head and title is traced through the female line
- matrix
- (mathematics) a rectangular array of quantities or expressions set out by rows and columns; treated as a single element and manipulated according to rules
- Maya
- an ethnic minority speaking Mayan languages and living in Yucatan and adjacent areas
- mechanized cavalry
- an armored unit of a modern army equipped with motor vehicles
- Medellin cartel
- a drug cartel in Colombia; controlled the production of cocaine from the 1970s until 1993 when the leader was killed
- medical community
- the body of individuals who are qualified to practice medicine
- medical institution
- an institution created for the practice of medicine
- medical school
- a graduate school offering study leading to a medical degree
- Medici
- aristocratic Italian family of powerful merchants and bankers who ruled Florence in the 15th century
- member
- an organization that is a member of another organization (especially a state that belongs to a group of nations)
- member bank
- a bank that is a member of the Federal Reserve System
- membership
- the body of members of an organization or group
- menage a trois
- household for three; an arrangement where a married couple and a lover of one of them live together while sharing sexual relations
- menagerie
- a collection of live animals for study or display
- Mennonite Church
- formed from the Anabaptist movement in the 16th century; noted for its simplicity of life
- mercantile system
- an economic system (Europe in 18th century) to increase a nation's wealth by government regulation of all of the nation's commercial interests
- merchant marine
- the crew of a merchant vessel
- meritocracy
- a form of social system in which power goes to those with superior intellects
- Merovingian dynasty
- a Frankish dynasty founded by Clovis I that reigned in Gaul and Germany from about 500 to 750
- metadata
- data about data
- Methodist Church
- a Protestant denomination founded on the principles of John Wesley and Charles Wesley
- Methodist denomination
- group of Methodist congregations
- metric space
- a set of points such that for every pair of points there is a nonnegative real number called their distance that is symmetric and satisfies the triangle inequality
- migration
- a group of people migrating together (especially in some given time period)
- Militant Tendency
- a Trotskyist political organization in Great Britain set up in 1964 inside the Labour Party
- military academy
- an academy for training military officers
- military court
- a judicial court of commissioned officers for the discipline and punishment of military personnel
- military formation
- a formation of troops
- military government
- government by the military and an army
- Military Intelligence Section 5
- the government agency in the United Kingdom that is responsible for internal security and counterintelligence on British territory
- Military Intelligence Section 6
- the government agency in the United Kingdom that is responsible for internal security and counterintelligence overseas
- military intelligence
- an agency of the armed forces that obtains and analyzes and uses information of strategic or tactical military value
- military law
- the body of laws and rules of conduct administered by military courts for the discipline, trial, and punishment of military personnel
- military personnel
- soldiers collectively
- military reserve
- armed forces that are not on active duty but can be called in an emergency
- military-industrial complex
- a country's military establishment and the industries that produce arms and other military equipment
- militia
- the entire body of physically fit civilians eligible by law for military service
- militia
- civilians trained as soldiers but not part of the regular army
- mineral kingdom
- all inorganic objects; contrasts with animal and plant kingdoms
- Ming dynasty
- the imperial dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644
- minimal art
- an art movement in sculpture and painting that began in the 1950s and emphasized extreme simplification of form and color
- mining company
- a company that owns and manages mines
- ministry
- a government department under the direction of a minister of state
- ministry
- religious ministers collectively (especially Presbyterian)
- Minoan civilization
- the bronze-age culture of Crete that flourished 3000-1100 BC
- minor-league club
- a team that plays in a minor league
- minority
- a group of people who differ racially or politically from a larger group of which it is a part
- minstrel show
- a troupe of performers in blackface typically giving a comic program of negro songs and jokes
- minstrelsy
- a troupe of minstrels
- minyan
- the quorum required by Jewish law to be present for public worship (at least ten males over thirteen years of age)
- mishpachah
- (Yiddish) the entire family network of relatives by blood or marriage (and sometimes close friends)
- mixed economy
- an economic system that combines private and state enterprises
- mixed marriage
- marriage of two people from different races or different religions or different cultures
- mixer
- a party of people assembled to promote sociability and communal activity
- mob
- a disorderly crowd of people
- mobocracy
- a political system in which a mob is the source of control; government by the masses
- mods
- a youth subculture that began in London in the early 1960s; a working-class movement with highly stylized dress and short hair; listened to rhythm and blues music and travelled on motor scooters
- Mogul empire
- an empire established by the Mogul conquerors of India that reigned from 1526 to 1857
- moiety
- one of two basic subdivisions of a tribe
- monarchy
- an autocracy governed by a monarch who usually inherits the authority
- monastic order
- a group of person living under a religious rule
- money market
- a market for short-term debt instruments
- Mongol dynasty
- the imperial dynasty of China from 1279 to 1368
- monotype
- (biology) a taxonomic group with a single member (a single species or genus)
- moot court
- a mock court where law students argue hypothetical cases
- Moranzanist Patriotic Front
- a terrorist group of radical leftists formed in the late 1980s; seeks to prevent the United States from intervening in Honduran economic and political affairs
- Moro Islamic Liberation Front
- a terrorist group in the southern Philippines formed in 1977 to establish an independent Islamic state for the Moros; have clashed with troops at United States bases
- mortality table
- an actuarial table indicating life expectancy and probability of death as a function or age and sex and occupation etc
- moshav
- a cooperative Israeli village or settlement comprised of small farms
- Mossad
- the Israeli foreign intelligence agency
- motor pool
- a fleet of military vehicles controlled by a single agency and available for use as needed
- motorcade
- a procession of people traveling in motor cars
- Movement for Revenge
- an organization of Muslims in India who killed Hindus in September 2002; believed to have ties with Muslim terrorists in Pakistan
- Movement of Holy Warriors
- an Islamic fundamentalist group in Pakistan that fought the Soviet Union in Afghanistan in the 1980s; now operates as a terrorist organization primarily in Kashmir and seeks Kashmir's accession by Pakistan
- mover
- a company that moves the possessions of a family or business from one site to another
- Movimiento Revolucionario Tupac Anaru
- a Marxist-Leninist terrorist organization in Peru; was formed in 1983 to overthrow the Peruvian government and replace it with a Marxist regime; has connections with the ELN in Bolivia
- MP
- a military corps that enforces discipline and guards prisoners
- MSB
- a state-chartered savings bank owned by its depositors and managed by a board of trustees
- mujahadeen
- a military force of Muslim guerilla warriors engaged in a jihad
- Mujahedeen Khalq
- Iranian guerillas based in Iraq
- Mujahedeen Kompak
- a militant Islamic militia that was formed in 2005 by hardliners who split from Jemaah Islamiyah
- Mujahidin-e Khalq Organization
- a terrorist organization formed in the 1960s by children of Iranian merchants; sought to counter the Shah of Iran's pro-western policies of modernization and opposition to communism; following a philosophy that mixes Marxism and Islam it now attacks the Islamic fundamentalists who deposed the Shah
- multibank holding company
- a bank holding company owning several banks
- multiversity
- a university system having several separate campuses and colleges and research centers
- municipal government
- the government of a municipality
- municipality
- people living in a town or city having local self-government
- music school
- a school for the study of music
- musical group
- an organization of musicians who perform together
- musical soiree
- a soiree assembled for the purpose of listening to music
- musketry
- musketeers and their muskets collectively
- Muslimism
- the civilization of Muslims collectively which is governed by the Muslim religion
- muster
- a gathering of military personnel for duty
- Mutawa'een
- religious police in Saudi Arabia whose duty is to ensure strict adherence to established codes of conduct; offenders may be detained indefinitely; foreigners are not excluded
- mutual fund
- a regulated investment company with a pool of assets that regularly sells and redeems its shares
- Mycenaean civilization
- the late bronze-age culture of Mycenae that flourished 1400-1100 BC
- mythology
- myths collectively; the body of stories associated with a culture or institution or person
- Nag Hammadi Library
- a collection of 13 ancient papyrus codices translated from Greek into Coptic that were discovered by farmers near the town of Nag Hammadi in 1945; the codices contain 45 distinct works including the chief sources of firsthand knowledge of Gnosticism
- nation
- a federation of tribes (especially Native American tribes)
- Nation of Islam
- a group of militant Black Americans who profess Islamic religious beliefs and advocate independence for Black Americans
- National Academy of Sciences
- an honorary American society of scientists created by President Lincoln during the American Civil War
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration
- an independent agency of the United States government responsible for aviation and spaceflight
- National Archives and Records Administration
- the independent agency that oversees management of federal government records including presidential libraries and historic collections
- National Association of Realtors
- a United States association of real estate agents which follows a strict code of ethics
- national bank
- a commercial bank chartered by the federal government
- National Climatic Data Center
- the part of NOAA that maintains the world's largest active archive of weather data
- National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency
- a combat support agency that provides geographic intelligence in support of national security
- National Guard
- United States military reserves recruited by the states and equipped by the federal government; subject to call by either
- National Guard Bureau
- the agency that administers the Army National Guard and the Air National Guard; provides liaison between the Army and the Air Force and various National Guard units
- National Institute of Justice
- the law enforcement agency that is the research and development branch of the Department of Justice
- National Institute of Standards and Technology
- an agency in the Technology Administration that makes measurements and sets standards as needed by industry or government programs
- National Institutes of Health
- an agency in the Department of Health and Human Services whose mission is to employ science in the pursuit of knowledge to improve human health; is the principal biomedical research agency of the federal government
- National Labor Relations Board
- an independent agency of the United States government charged with mediating disputes between management and labor unions
- National Liberation Army
- a Marxist terrorist group formed in 1963 by Colombian intellectuals who were inspired by the Cuban Revolution; responsible for a campaign of mass kidnappings and resistance to the government's efforts to stop the drug trade
- National Liberation Front of Corsica
- a terrorist group formed in 1976 to work for Corsican independence; attacks on Corsica are aimed at sabotaging public infrastructure and symbols of colonialism
- National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
- an agency in the Department of Commerce that maps the oceans and conserves their living resources; predicts changes to the earth's environment; provides weather reports and forecasts floods and hurricanes and other natural disasters related to weather
- National Park Service
- an agency of the Interior Department responsible for the national parks
- National Reconnaissance Office
- an intelligence agency in the United States Department of Defense that designs and builds and operates space reconnaissance systems to detect trouble spots worldwide and to monitor arms control agreements and environmental issues and to help plan military operations
- National Rifle Association
- a powerful lobby that advocates the right to own and bear arms and rejects any gun regulation by the government
- National Science Foundation
- an independent agency of the federal government responsible for the promotion of progress in science and engineering by supporting programs in research and education
- National Security Agency
- the United States cryptologic organization that coordinates and directs highly specialized activities to protect United States information systems and to produce foreign intelligence information
- National Security Council
- a committee in the executive branch of government that advises the president on foreign and military and national security; supervises the Central Intelligence Agency
- National Socialist German Workers' Party
- the political party founded in Germany in 1919 and brought to power by Hitler in 1933
- National Technical Information Service
- an agency in the Technology Administration that is a primary resource for government-funded scientific and technical and engineering and business related information
- National Trust
- an organization concerned to preserve historic monuments and buildings and places of historical interest or natural beauty; founded in 1895 and supported by endowment and private subscription
- National Volunteers Association
- an all-male organization begun in 1925 to foster nationalism in India's Hindus
- National Weather Service
- the federal agency in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that is responsible for weather forecast and preparation of weather maps
- nationality
- people having common origins or traditions and often comprising a nation
- naturalism
- an artistic movement in 19th century France; artists and writers strove for detailed realistic and factual description
- naval academy
- an academy for training naval officers
- Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division
- the principal agency of the United States Navy for research and development for air warfare and missile weapon systems
- naval forces
- an organization of military vessels belonging to a country and available for sea warfare
- Naval Special Warfare
- the agency that provides units to conduct unconventional and counter-guerilla warfare
- Naval Surface Warfare Center
- the agency that provides scientific and engineering and technical support for all aspects of surface warfare
- Naval Underwater Warfare Center
- the agency that provides scientific and engineering and technical support for submarine and undersea warfare systems
- naval unit
- a military unit that is part of a navy
- Navy Department
- a former executive department of the United States government; created in 1798 and combined with the War Department in 1947
- Nazi Germany
- the Nazi dictatorship under Hitler (1933-1945)
- Naziism
- a form of socialism featuring racism and expansionism and obedience to a strong leader
- needy
- needy people collectively
- neighborhood
- people living near one another
- neoexpressionism
- an art movement based on expressionism; developed in 1980s in Europe and United States; crudely drawn garish paintings
- neoromanticism
- an art movement based on a revival of Romanticism in art and literature
- nest
- a gang of people (criminals or spies or terrorists) assembled in one locality
- Nestor Paz Zamora Commission
- a terrorist organization in Bolivia that acts as an umbrella for numerous small indigenous subversive groups; a revival of a group with Marxist-Leninist ideologies originally established by Che Guevara in the 1960s
- Nestorian Church
- a Christian Church in the Middle East that followed Nestorianism; there is still a small Nestorian Church in Iraq
- network army
- a group of like-minded people united by the internet; a new kind of social or political of business group that may exert broad influence on a shared concern
- network
- an interconnected system of things or people
- New People's Army
- a terrorist organization that is the militant wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines; a Maoist organization formed to overthrow the government; uses hit squads called Sparrow Units; opposes United States military presence in the Philippines
- New Scotland Yard
- the detective department of the metropolitan police force of London
- news agency
- an agency to collects news reports for newspapers and distributes it electronically
- newspaper
- a business firm that publishes newspapers
- newsroom
- the staff of a newspaper or the news department of a periodical
- nexus
- a connected series or group
- NGO
- an organization that is not part of the local or state or federal government
- NICU
- an intensive care unit designed with special equipment to care for premature or seriously ill newborn
- night court
- a criminal court (in large cities) that sits at night
- night school
- a school that holds classes in the evenings for students who cannot attend during the day
- ninja
- a class of 14th century Japanese who were trained in martial arts and were hired for espionage and assassinations
- noblesse
- members of the nobility (especially of the French nobility)
- non-market economy
- an economy that is not a market economy
- nonalignment
- people (or countries) who are not aligned with other people (or countries) in a pact or treaty
- nondepository financial institution
- a financial institution that funds their investment activities from the sale of securities or insurance
- nonlinear system
- a system whose performance cannot be described by equations of the first degree
- Nonproliferation Center
- an agency that serves as the focal point for all Intelligence Community activities related to nonproliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their missile delivery systems
- nonsingular matrix
- a square matrix whose determinant is not zero
- normal school
- a two-year school for training elementary teachers
- Norse mythology
- the mythology of Scandinavia (shared in part by Britain and Germany) until the establishment of Christianity
- North America
- the nations of the North American continent collectively
- North Atlantic Council
- a council consisting of permanent representatives of all the member countries of NATO; has political authority and powers of decision
- North Atlantic Treaty Organization
- an international organization created in 1949 by the North Atlantic Treaty for purposes of collective security
- Northern Alliance
- a multiethnic alliance in Afghanistan who practice a moderate form of Islam and are united in their opposition to the Taliban
- Northern Baptist Convention
- an association of Northern Baptists
- Nouvelle Vague
- an art movement in French cinema in the 1960s
- nuclear club
- the nations possessing nuclear weapons
- Nuclear Regulatory Commission
- an independent federal agency created in 1974 to license and regulate nuclear power plants
- null set
- a set that is empty; a set with no members
- null space
- a space that contains no points; and empty space
- number
- a select company of people
- nursery school
- a small preschool for small children
- nursing
- the profession of a nurse
- nursing school
- a school for training nurses
- obeah
- (West Indies) followers of a religious system involving witchcraft and sorcery
- occupational group
- a body of people doing the same kind of work
- Occupational Safety and Health Administration
- a government agency in the Department of Labor to maintain a safe and healthy work environment
- octet
- eight performers or singers who perform together
- octet
- a set of eight similar things considered as a unit
- offence
- the team that has the ball (or puck) and is trying to score
- Office of Inspector General
- the investigative arm of the Federal Trade Commission
- Office of Intelligence Support
- agency that oversees the intelligence relationships of the Treasury's offices and bureaus and provides a link between the Intelligence Community and officials responsible for international economic policy
- Office of Management and Budget
- the executive agency that advises the President on the federal budget
- Office of Naval Intelligence
- the military intelligence agency that provides for the intelligence and counterintelligence and investigative and security requirements of the United States Navy
- office
- professional or clerical workers in an office
- oil business
- an industry that produces and delivers oil and oil products
- oil cartel
- a cartel of companies or nations formed to control the production and distribution of oil
- oil company
- a company that sells oil
- Oireachtas
- the parliament of the Irish Republic
- Old Bailey
- the central criminal court in London
- old boy network
- an exclusive informal network linking members of a social class or profession or organization in order to provide connections and information and favors (especially in business or politics)
- Old Catholic Church
- Catholic churches that broke away from the Roman Catholic Church in the 18th century
- old guard
- a faction that is unwilling to accept new ideas
- old school
- a class of people favoring traditional ideas
- oligarchy
- a political system governed by a few people
- Omayyad
- the first dynasty of Arab caliphs whose capital was Damascus
- Oort cloud
- (astronomy) a hypothetical huge collection of comets orbiting the sun far beyond the orbit of Pluto; perturbations (as by other stars) can upset a comet's orbit and may send it tumbling toward the sun
- open house
- an informal party of people with hospitality for all comers
- open order
- a military formation leaving enough space between ranks to allow an inspecting officer to pass
- open shop
- a company whose workers are hired without regard to their membership in a labor union
- open society
- a society that allows its members considerable freedom (as in a democracy)
- Open University
- a British university that is open to people without formal academic qualifications and where teaching is by correspondence or broadcasting or summer school
- opera company
- a company that produces operas
- operational cell
- a terrorist cell that performs clandestine activities
- opposition
- a body of people united in opposing something
- Opposition
- the major political party opposed to the party in office and prepared to replace it if elected
- Orange Group
- a terrorist group of Protestants who oppose any political settlement with Irish nationalists; a paramilitary group that attacks Catholic interests in Northern Ireland
- orchestra
- a musical organization consisting of a group of instrumentalists including string players
- order
- (biology) taxonomic group containing one or more families
- Order of Our Lady of Mount Carmel
- a Roman Catholic mendicant order founded in the 12th century
- order of Saint Benedict
- a Roman Catholic monastic order founded in the 6th century; noted for liturgical worship and for scholarly activities
- order
- logical or comprehensible arrangement of separate elements
- Ordnance Survey
- the official cartography agency of the British government
- organ
- a government agency or instrument devoted to the performance of some specific function
- organisation
- a group of people who work together
- organism
- a system considered analogous in structure or function to a living body
- Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons
- international organization for chemical disarmament; administers the Chemical Weapons Convention
- Organization of American States
- an association including most countries in the western hemisphere; created in 1948 to promote military and economic and social and cultural cooperation
- Organization of Petroleum-Exporting Countries
- an organization of countries formed in 1961 to agree on a common policy for the production and sale of petroleum
- organized labor
- employees who are represented by a labor union
- Orthodox Catholic Church
- derived from the Byzantine Church and adhering to Byzantine rites
- Orthodox Judaism
- Jews who strictly observe the Mosaic law as interpreted in the Talmud
- Ottoman dynasty
- the Turkish dynasty that ruled the Ottoman Empire from the 13th century to its dissolution after World War I
- outfit
- any cohesive unit such as a military company
- overpopulation
- too much population
- overspill
- the relocation of people from overcrowded cities; they are accommodated in new houses or apartments in smaller towns
- Ovimbundu
- an ethnic group speaking Umbundu and living in western Angola
- Oxford movement
- 19th-century movement in the Church of England opposing liberal tendencies
- PAC
- committee formed by a special-interest group to raise money for their favorite political candidates
- pack
- a group of hunting animals
- pack
- a complete collection of similar things
- packaging company
- a company that packages goods for sale or shipment or storage
- pair
- a poker hand with 2 cards of the same value
- pair
- two people considered as a unit
- palace
- the governing group of a kingdom
- Paleo-American culture
- the prehistoric culture of the earliest human inhabitants of North America and South America
- Palestine Liberation Organization
- a political movement uniting Palestinian Arabs in an effort to create an independent state of Palestine; when formed in 1964 it was a terrorist organization dominated by Yasser Arafat's al-Fatah; in 1968 Arafat became chairman; received recognition by the United Nations and by Arab states in 1974 as a government in exile; has played a largely political role since the creation of the Palestine National Authority
- Palestinian Hizballah
- a little known Palestinian group comprised of members of Hamas and Tanzim with suspected ties to the Lebanese Hizballah; responsible for suicide bombings in Israel
- Palestinian National Authority
- combines the Gaza Strip and the West Bank under a political unit with limited autonomy and a police force; created in 1993 by an agreement between Israel and the PLO
- Pan American Union
- the administrative agency of the Organization of American States
- panchayat
- a village council in India or southern Pakistan
- panel
- a group of people gathered for a special purpose as to plan or discuss an issue or judge a contest etc
- panel
- (law) a group of people summoned for jury service (from whom a jury will be chosen)
- panoply
- a complete and impressive array
- pantheon
- all the gods of a religion
- papacy
- the government of the Roman Catholic Church
- parade
- a ceremonial procession including people marching
- parade
- an extended (often showy) succession of persons or things
- paramilitary
- a group of civilians organized in a military fashion (especially to operate in place of or to assist regular army troops)
- paratroops
- infantry trained and equipped to parachute
- parish
- a local church community
- parliament
- a legislative assembly in certain countries
- parliamentary democracy
- a democracy having a parliament
- parliamentary monarchy
- a monarchy having a parliament
- Partiya Karkeran Kurdistan
- a Marxist-Leninist terrorist group of Kurds trying to establish an independent Kurdish state in eastern Turkey
- partnership
- the members of a business venture created by contract
- parts department
- the division of a business (e.g. a service garage) that sells replacement parts
- party
- a group of people gathered together for pleasure
- Party of Democratic Kampuchea
- a communist organization formed in Cambodia in 1970; became a terrorist organization in 1975 when it captured Phnom Penh and created a government that killed an estimated three million people; was defeated by Vietnamese troops but remained active until 1999
- party to the action
- a party of people taking a role in legal proceedings
- party
- an organization to gain political power
- Pashtun
- an ethnic minority speaking Pashto and living in northwestern Pakistan and southeastern Afghanistan
- pastorate
- pastors collectively
- Patent and Trademark Office Database
- the government bureau in the Department of Commerce that keeps a record of patents and trademarks and grants new ones
- patriarchate
- a form of social organization in which a male is the family head and title is traced through the male line
- patrol
- a group that goes through a region at regular intervals for the purpose of security
- patrol
- a detachment used for security or reconnaissance
- patterned advance
- a series with a definite pattern of advance
- payroll
- the department that determines the amounts of wage or salary due to each employee
- Peace Corps
- a civilian organization sponsored by the United States government; helps people in developing countries
- peanut gallery
- (figurative) people whose criticisms are regarded as irrelevant or insignificant (resembling uneducated people who throw peanuts on the stage to express displeasure with a performance)
- peasantry
- the class of peasants
- pedigree
- line of descent of a purebred animal
- peepshow
- an exhibition of pictures or objects viewed through a small hole or magnifying glass
- peer group
- contemporaries of the same status
- pension fund
- a financial institution that collects regular contributions from employers to provide retirement income for employees
- Pentagon
- the United States military establishment
- Pentagon Gang
- a Filipino terrorist group that broke away from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front in 2001 in order to continue terrorism and kidnapping and extortion
- Pentecostal religion
- any fundamentalist Protestant Church that uses revivalistic methods to achieve experiences comparable to the Pentecostal experiences of the first Christian disciples
- people
- (plural) any group of human beings (men or women or children) collectively
- people
- members of a family line
- People against Gangsterism and Drugs
- a terrorist organization in South Africa formed in 1996 to fight drug lords; evolved into a vigilante group with anti-western views closely allied with Qibla; is believed to have ties to Islamic extremists in the Middle East; is suspected of conducting bouts of urban terrorism
- people in power
- the class of people exerting power or authority
- peoples
- the human beings of a particular nation or community or ethnic group
- pep rally
- a rally (especially of students) before a game
- percussion
- the section of a band or orchestra that plays percussion instruments
- periodic table
- (chemistry) a tabular arrangement of the chemical elements according to atomic number as based on the periodic law
- perpetual calendar
- a chart or mechanical device that indicates the days of the week corresponding to any given date over a long period of years
- personnel
- the department responsible for hiring and training and placing employees and for setting policies for personnel management
- pesantran
- a Muslim school in Indonesia operated by religious leaders; produces young militants skilled in jihad
- Pesh Merga
- a Kurdish guerrilla force in Iraqi Kurdistan
- petit bourgeois
- lower middle class (shopkeepers and clerical staff etc.)
- petit jury
- a jury of 12 to determine the facts and decide the issue in civil or criminal proceedings
- petting zoo
- a collection of docile animals for children to pet and feed
- petty apartheid
- racial segregation enforced primarily in public transportation and hotels and restaurants and other public places
- phalanx
- a body of troops in close array
- phalanx
- any closely ranked crowd of people
- philanthropic foundation
- a foundation that provides funds for science or art or education or religion or relief from disease etc.
- philharmonic
- a large orchestra; can perform symphonies
- phone company
- a public utility that provides telephone service
- phyle
- a tribe of ancient Athenians
- phylum
- (biology) the major taxonomic group of animals and plants; contains classes
- phylum
- (linguistics) a large group of languages that are historically related
- picket
- a detachment of troops guarding an army from surprise attack
- picket line
- a line of people acting as pickets
- Pietism
- 17th and 18th-century German movement in the Lutheran Church stressing personal piety and devotion
- pipeline company
- a company that operates oil pipelines for the oil industry
- placement center
- an office that finds suitable employment for applicants
- planning commission
- a commission delegated to propose plans for future activities and developments
- Plantagenet line
- the family name of a line of English kings that reigned from 1154 to 1485
- Plantation
- a newly established colony (especially in the colonization of North America)
- planting
- a collection of plants (trees or shrubs or flowers) in a particular area
- plastics industry
- an industry that manufactures plastic articles
- Plato's Academy
- a school established by Plato in ancient Athens
- platoon
- a group of persons who are engaged in a common activity
- platoon
- a military unit that is a subdivision of a company; usually has a headquarters and two or more squads; usually commanded by a lieutenant
- platoon
- a team of policemen working under the military platoon system
- play group
- a small informal nursery group meeting for half-day sessions
- plenum
- a meeting of a legislative body at which all members are present
- pluralism
- a social organization in which diversity of racial or religious or ethnic or cultural groups is tolerated
- plutocracy
- a political system governed by the wealthy people
- pocket
- a small isolated group of people
- pod
- a group of aquatic mammals
- pointillism
- a school of painters who used a technique of painting with tiny dots of pure colors that would blend in the viewer's eye; developed by Georges Seurat and his followers late in 19th century France
- poker hand
- the 5 cards held in a game of poker
- police academy
- an academy for training police officers
- police court
- a court that has power to prosecute for minor offenses and to bind over for trial in a superior court anyone accused of serious offenses
- police department
- the department of local government concerned with enforcing the law and preventing crime
- police squad
- a small squad of policemen trained to deal with a particular kind of crime
- police state
- a country that maintains repressive control over the people by means of police (especially secret police)
- politburo
- the chief executive and political committee of the Communist Party
- political entity
- a unit with political responsibilities
- political movement
- a group of people working together to achieve a political goal
- polity
- a politically organized unit
- pool
- an organization of people or resources that can be shared
- poor
- people without possessions or wealth (considered as a group)
- pop group
- a group that plays pop music
- populace
- people in general considered as a whole
- Popular Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine
- a Marxist-Leninist group that believes Palestinian goals can only be achieved by revolutionary change
- popular front
- a leftist coalition organized against a common opponent
- Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine
- a terrorist group of limited popularity formed in 1967 after the Six-Day War; combined Marxist-Leninist ideology with Palestinian nationalism; used terrorism to gain attention for their cause; hoped to eliminate the state of Israel
- Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command
- a Marxist-Leninist terrorist organization that conducted several attacks in western Europe
- Popular Struggle Front
- a terrorist group of radical Palestinians who split with al-Fatah in 1967 but now have close relations with al-Fatah; staged terrorist attacks against Israel across the Lebanese border
- population
- the people who inhabit a territory or state
- population
- a group of organisms of the same species inhabiting a given area
- Population Commission
- the commission of the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations that is concerned with population control
- Populist Party
- a former political party in the United States; formed in 1891 to advocate currency expansion and state control of railroads
- portfolio
- a set of pieces of creative work collected to be shown to potential customers or employers
- posse
- a temporary police force
- Postal Rate Commission
- an independent federal agency that recommends changes in postal rates
- posterity
- all future generations
- Potsdam Conference
- a conference held in Potsdam in the summer of 1945 where Truman, Stalin, and Churchill drew up plans for the administration of Germany and Poland after World War II ended
- power breakfast
- a meeting of influential people to conduct business while eating breakfast
- power couple
- a couple both of whom have high-powered careers or are politically influential
- powerhouse
- a team considered to be the best of its class
- powwow
- a council of or with Native Americans
- praesidium
- a permanent executive committee in socialist countries that has all the powers of some larger legislative body and that acts for it when it is not in session
- Praetorian Guard
- the elite bodyguard of a Roman Emperor in ancient Rome
- prelacy
- prelates collectively
- prep school
- a private secondary school
- Presbyterian Church
- the Protestant denomination adhering to the views of John Calvin
- preschool
- an educational institution for children too young for elementary school
- press corps
- a group of journalists representing different publications who all cover the same topics
- press gang
- a detachment empowered to force civilians to serve in the army or navy
- price bracket
- a category of merchandise based on their price
- pride
- a group of lions
- priesthood
- the body of ordained religious practitioners
- printing business
- a company that does commercial printing
- private foundation
- a charity that does not receive a major part of its support from the public
- private school
- a school established and controlled privately and supported by endowment and tuition
- private security force
- a privately employed group hired to protect the security of a business or industry
- privy council
- an advisory council to a ruler (especially to the British Crown)
- pro-choice faction
- those who argue that the decision to have an induced abortion should be made by the mother
- pro-life faction
- those who argue that induced abortion is killing and should be prohibited
- probate court
- a court having jurisdiction over the probate of wills and the administration of estates
- processor
- a business engaged in processing agricultural products and preparing them for market
- profession
- the body of people in a learned occupation
- professional association
- an association of practitioners of a given profession
- professional organisation
- an organization of and for professional people
- Progressive Party
- a former political party in the United States; founded by Theodore Roosevelt during the presidential campaign of 1912; its emblem was a picture of a bull moose
- Prohibition Party
- a political party in the United States; formed in 1869 to oppose the manufacture and sale of alcoholic beverages
- proprietary colony
- a colony given to a proprietor to govern (in 17th century)
- prosecution
- the lawyers acting for the state to put the case against the defendant
- Protestant Church
- the Protestant churches and denominations collectively
- Protestant denomination
- group of Protestant congregations
- Protestant Episcopal Church
- United States church that is in communication with the see of Canterbury
- Protestant Reformation
- a religious movement of the 16th century that began as an attempt to reform the Roman Catholic Church and resulted in the creation of Protestant churches
- Provisional Irish Republican Army
- a militant organization of Irish nationalists who used terrorism and guerilla warfare in an effort to drive British forces from Northern Ireland and achieve a united independent Ireland
- provost court
- a military court for trying people charged with minor offenses in an occupied area
- provost guard
- a detachment under the command of a provost marshall
- psychedelia
- the subculture of users of psychedelic drugs
- psychotherapy group
- a meeting of people for psychotherapeutic purposes
- Ptolemaic dynasty
- an ancient dynasty of Macedonian kings who ruled Egypt from 323 BC to 30 BC; founded by Ptolemy I and ended with Cleopatra
- public
- a body of people sharing some common interest
- public charity
- a charity that is deemed to receive the major part of its support from the public (rather than from a small group of individuals)
- public library
- a nonprofit library maintained for public use
- public school
- a tuition free school in the United States supported by taxes and controlled by a school board
- public school
- private independent secondary school in Great Britain supported by endowment and tuition
- public utility
- a company that performs a public service; subject to government regulation
- publisher
- a firm in the publishing business
- publishing conglomerate
- a conglomerate of publishing companies
- Puka Inti
- a small but violent terrorist organization formed in Ecuador in the early 1990s; responsible for bombing several government buildings
- punks
- a youth subculture closely associated with punk rock music in the late 1970s; in part a reaction to the hippy subculture; dress was optional but intended to shock (plastic garbage bags or old school uniforms) and hair was dyed in bright colors (in Mohican haircuts or sometimes spiked in bright plumes)
- pupet regime
- a government that is appointed by and whose affairs are directed by an outside authority that may impose hardships on those governed
- purchasing department
- the division of a business that is responsible for purchases
- purdah
- the traditional Hindu or Muslim system of keeping women secluded
- Qibla
- a small terrorist group of Muslims in South Africa formed in the 1980s; was inspired by Ayatollah Khomeini to create an Islamic state in South Africa
- quadrumvirate
- a group of four men
- quadruple
- a set of four similar things considered as a unit
- quarter sessions
- a local court with criminal jurisdiction and sometimes administrative functions
- quartet
- four performers or singers who perform together
- quasi-NGO
- a quasi nongovernmental organization; an organization that is financed by the government yet acts independently of the government
- Quechua
- a community of South American Indians in Peru who were formerly the ruling class of the Incan Empire
- queue
- a line of people or vehicles waiting for something
- quilting bee
- a gathering to make quilts
- quintet
- five performers or singers who perform together
- quintet
- a set of five similar things considered as a unit
- quorum
- a gathering of the minimal number of members of an organization to conduct business
- rabbinate
- rabbis collectively
- rabble
- disparaging terms for the common people
- race
- people who are believed to belong to the same genetic stock
- race
- (biology) a taxonomic group that is a division of a species; usually arises as a consequence of geographical isolation within a species
- racial segregation
- segregation by race
- racket club
- club for players of racket sports
- radical cell
- a cell of terrorists (usually 3 to 5 members)
- raider
- a corporate investor who intends to take over a company by buying a controlling interest in its stock and installing new management
- rain forest
- a forest with heavy annual rainfall
- rajanya
- the second highest of the four varnas: the noble or warrior category
- range
- a variety of different things or activities
- rank
- a row or line of people (especially soldiers or police) standing abreast of one another
- rank and file
- people who constitute the main body of any group
- rank
- the ordinary members of an organization (such as the enlisted soldiers of an army)
- rap group
- a gathering of people holding a rap session
- Rastafari
- (Jamaica) a Black youth subculture and religious movement that arose in the ghettos of Kingston, Jamaica, in the 1950s; males grow hair in long dreadlocks and wear woolen caps; use marijuana and listen to reggae music
- Rastafarian
- (Ethiopia) adherents of an African religion that regards Ras Tafari as divine
- rave-up
- a raucous gathering
- raw data
- unanalyzed data; data not yet subjected to analysis
- readership
- the audience reached by written communications (books or magazines or newspapers etc.)
- Reagan administration
- the executive under President Reagan
- Real Estate Investment Trust
- an investment trust that owns and manages a pool of commercial properties and mortgages and other real estate assets; shares can be bought and sold in the stock market
- real matrix
- a matrix whose elements are all real numbers
- rear
- the back of a military formation or procession
- rearguard
- a detachment assigned to protect the rear of a (retreating) military body
- reception
- a formal party of people; as after a wedding
- reception line
- a line of people (hosts and guests of honor) who welcome the guests at a reception party
- recession
- the withdrawal of the clergy and choir from the chancel to the vestry at the end of a church service
- record company
- a company that makes and sells musical recordings
- Red Army Faction
- a Marxist and Maoist terrorist organization in Germany; a network of underground guerillas who committed acts of violence in the service of the class struggle; a successor to the Baader-Meinhof Gang; became one of Europe's most feared terrorist groups; disbanded in 1998
- Red Cross
- an international organization that cares for the sick or wounded or homeless in wartime
- Red Guard
- a radical political movement by Chinese youths who espoused Maoist principles
- Red Hand Defenders
- a paramilitary group of Protestants in Northern Ireland that tries to prevent any political settlement with the Irish Republic; attacks interests of Catholic civilians in Northern Ireland; responsible for arson and bombing and murder
- redevelopment authority
- a public administrative unit given responsibility for the renovation of blighted urban areas
- reed section
- the section of a band or orchestra that plays reed instruments
- Reform Judaism
- the most liberal Jews; Jews who do not follow the Talmud strictly but try to adapt all of the historical forms of Judaism to the modern world
- reform movement
- a movement intended to bring about social and humanitarian reforms
- regiment
- army unit smaller than a division
- regulatory agency
- a governmental agency that regulates businesses in the public interest
- Reich
- the German state
- relay
- a fresh team to relieve weary draft animals
- relay
- a crew of workers who relieve another crew
- religious movement
- a movement intended to bring about religious reforms
- religious order
- a subdivision of a larger religious group
- religious right
- United States political faction that advocates social and political conservativism, school prayer, and federal aid for religious groups and schools
- religious school
- a school run by a religious body
- Religious Society of Friends
- a Christian sect founded by George Fox about 1660; commonly called Quakers
- remuda
- the herd of horses from which those to be used the next day are chosen
- rendezvous
- a date; usually with a member of the opposite sex
- renegade state
- a state that does not respect other states in its international actions
- rental collection
- a collection of books that can be rented by readers in return for a small daily fee
- repertoire
- a collection of works (plays, songs, operas, ballets) that an artist or company can perform and do perform for short intervals on a regular schedule
- repertoire
- the entire range of skills or aptitudes or devices used in a particular field or occupation
- repertory
- a theatrical company that performs plays from a repertoire
- representation
- a body of legislators that serve in behalf of some constituency
- republic
- a form of government whose head of state is not a monarch
- Republican Guard
- formerly Iraq's elite military unit whose primary role was to protect the government in Baghdad
- Republican Party
- the younger of two major political parties in the United States; GOP is an acronym for grand old party
- rescue party
- a party of rescuers
- research colloquium
- a colloquium at which the results of (scientific) research are reported
- research staff
- a group of associated research workers in a university or library or laboratory
- Reserve Officers Training Corps
- a training program to prepare college students to be commissioned officers
- resistance
- a secret group organized to overthrow a government or occupation force
- restaurant chain
- a chain of restaurants
- retail chain
- a chain of retail stores
- retreated
- people who have retreated
- retrospective
- an exhibition of a representative selection of an artist's life work
- reunion
- a party of former associates who have come together again
- revisionism
- a moderate evolutionary form of Marxism
- revisionism
- any dangerous departure from the teachings of Marx
- revival
- an evangelistic meeting intended to reawaken interest in religion
- revolutionary group
- a political unit organized to promote revolution
- Revolutionary Organization 17 November
- a Marxist-Leninist terrorist organization in Greece that is violently opposed to imperialism and capitalism and NATO and the United States; an active terrorist group during the 1980s
- Revolutionary Organization of Socialist Muslims
- a Palestinian international terrorist organization that split from the PLO in 1974; has conducted terrorist attacks in 20 countries
- Revolutionary People's Liberation Party
- an extreme Marxist terrorist organization in Turkey that is opposed to NATO and the United States; attacks Turkish security and military officials
- Revolutionary People's Struggle
- an extreme leftist terrorist group formed in Greece in 1971 to oppose the military junta that ruled Greece from 1967 to 1974; a revolutionary group opposed to capitalism and imperialism and the United States
- Revolutionary Proletarian Army
- an urban hit squad and guerrilla group of the Communist Party in the Philippines; formed in the 1980s
- Revolutionary Proletarian Initiative Nuclei
- a clandestine group of leftist extremists who oppose Italy's labor policies and foreign policy; responsible for bombing building in the historic center of Rome from 2000 to 2002
- Revolutionary United Front
- a terrorist group formed in the 1980s in Sierra Leone; seeks to overthrow the government and gain control of the diamond producing regions; responsible for attacks on civilians and children, widespread torture and murder and using children to commit atrocities; sponsored by the president of Liberia
- revolving door
- an organization or institution with a high rate of turnover of personnel or membership
- rich
- people who have possessions and wealth (considered as a group)
- riding school
- a school where horsemanship is taught and practiced
- right
- those who support political or social or economic conservatism; those who believe that things are better left unchanged
- road gang
- a gang of road workers
- rock band
- a band of musicians who play rock'n'roll music
- rogue's gallery
- a collection of pictures of criminals
- Roman Catholic Church
- the Christian Church based in the Vatican and presided over by a pope and an episcopal hierarchy
- Roman Legion
- a division of from 3000 to 6000 men (including cavalry) in the Roman army
- Roman mythology
- the mythology of the ancient Romans
- Romanoff
- the Russian imperial line that ruled from 1613 to 1917
- Rome
- the leadership of the Roman Catholic Church
- room
- the people who are present in a room
- root
- the set of values that give a true statement when substituted into an equation
- Rota
- (Roman Catholic Church) the supreme ecclesiastical tribunal for cases appealed to the Holy See from diocesan courts
- Rotary International
- a group of businessmen in a town organized as a service club and to promote world peace
- row
- an arrangement of objects or people side by side in a line
- row
- a linear array of numbers, letters, or symbols side by side
- rowing club
- a club for rowers
- Royal Academy of Arts
- an honorary academy in London (founded in 1768) intended to cultivate painting and sculpture and architecture in Britain
- Royal Air Force
- the airforce of Great Britain
- Royal Canadian Mounted Police
- the federal police force of Canada
- royal family
- royal persons collectively
- royal flush
- a poker hand with the ace, king, queen, jack, and 10 all in the same suit
- Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge
- an honorary English society (formalized in 1660 and given a royal charter by Charles II in 1662) through which the British government has supported science
- run
- an unbroken series of events
- Russian agency
- an administrative agency of the Russian government
- Russian Orthodox Church
- an independent church with its own Patriarch; until 1917 it was the established church or Russia
- Sabaoth
- (plural) hosts or armies; used in the book of Romans in the New Testament
- Sabbath school
- school meeting on Sundays for religious instruction
- Sacred College of Cardinals
- (Roman Catholic Church) the body of all cardinals of the church; elects and advises the pope
- Saddam's Martyrs
- a feared paramilitary unit formed in 1995 by young soldiers to serve Saddam Hussein against domestic opponents
- sainthood
- saints collectively
- Salafast Group for Call and Combat
- an Algerian extremist Islamic offshoot of the Armed Islamic Group; now the largest and most active armed terrorist group in Algeria that seeks to overthrow the government; a major source of support and recruitment for al-Qaeda operations in Europe and northern Africa
- sales department
- the division of a business that is responsible for selling products or services
- sales finance company
- a finance company that buys (at a discount) the installment sales contracts of retail merchants
- sales staff
- those in a business who are responsible for sales
- Salvation Army
- a charitable and religious organization to evangelize and to care for the poor and homeless
- same-sex marriage
- two people of the same sex who live together as a family
- sampler
- an assortment of various samples
- samurai
- feudal Japanese military aristocracy
- Sanhedrin
- the supreme judicial and ecclesiastical council of ancient Jerusalem
- sanitation department
- the department of local government responsible for collecting and disposing of garbage
- savings and loan
- a thrift institution that is required by law to make a certain percentage of its loans as home mortgages
- savings bank
- a thrift institution in the northeastern United States; since deregulation in the 1980s they offer services competitive with many commercial banks
- Saxe-Coburg-Gotha
- the name of the royal family that ruled Great Britain from 1901-1917; the name was changed to Windsor in 1917 in response to anti-German feelings in World War I
- Sayeret Mat'kal
- Israel's elite secret commando unit responsible for counterterrorist and top secret intelligence gathering and hostage rescue missions
- scalar field
- a field of scalars
- scalar matrix
- a diagonal matrix in which all of the diagonal elements are equal
- scheduled territories
- the group of countries whose currencies are tied to the British pound sterling
- scheme
- a group of independent but interrelated elements comprising a unified whole
- schmear
- (Yiddish) a batch of things that go together
- school
- an educational institution
- school
- an educational institution's faculty and students
- school
- a body of creative artists or writers or thinkers linked by a similar style or by similar teachers
- school
- a large group of fish
- Schutzstaffel
- special police force in Nazi Germany founded as a personal bodyguard for Adolf Hitler in 1925; the SS administered the concentration camps
- score
- a set of twenty members
- scout group
- a unit of Girl or Boy Scouts
- scrapheap
- pile of discarded metal
- scum
- worthless people
- sea power
- a nation that possesses formidable naval strength
- Seanad Eireann
- the upper house of the parliament of the Irish Republic
- seance
- a meeting of spiritualists
- search party
- a party of people to search for someone
- secession
- an Austrian school of art and architecture parallel to the French art nouveau in the 1890s
- Second Council of Constantinople
- the fifth ecumenical council in 553 which held Origen's writings to be heretic
- Second Council of Lyons
- the council in 1274 that effected a temporary reunion of the Greek Orthodox with the Roman Catholic Church
- Second Council of Nicaea
- the seventh ecumenical council in 787 which refuted iconoclasm and regulated the veneration of holy images
- Second Empire
- the imperial government of Napoleon III in France from 1852-1870
- Second Lateran Council
- the second council of the Western Church in 1139 which put an end to the dogmatic errors of Arnold of Brescia
- second string
- a squad of players that are available either individually or as a team to relieve or replace the players who started the game
- Second Vatican Council
- the Vatican Council in 1962-1965 that abandoned the universal Latin liturgy and acknowledged ecumenism and made other reforms
- secondary
- the defensive football players who line up behind the linemen
- secondary diagonal
- the diagonal of a square matrix running from the lower left entry to the upper right entry
- secondary modern school
- a former British secondary school emphasizing practical rather than academic education
- secret police
- a police force that operates in secrecy (usually against persons suspected of treason or sedition)
- secret society
- a society that conceals its activities from nonmembers
- secretarial school
- a school where secretarial skills (typing and shorthand and filing etc) are taught
- secretariat
- an administrative unit responsible for maintaining records and other secretarial duties; especially for international organizations
- section
- a small team of policemen working as part of a police platoon
- section
- a small army unit usually having a special function
- section
- a division of an orchestra containing all instruments of the same class
- section gang
- a work crew assigned to a section of a railroad
- sector
- a social group that forms part of the society or the economy
- Securities and Exchange Commission
- an independent federal agency that oversees the exchange of securities to protect investors
- securities law
- the body of laws governing the issuance and selling of securities
- Security Council
- a permanent council of the United Nations; responsible for preserving world peace
- Security Intelligence Review Committee
- an agency of the Canadian government that oversees the activities of the Criminal Intelligence Services of Canada and has the power to intrude on the privacy of suspected terrorists or spies
- security staff
- those in an organization responsible for preventing spying or theft
- security
- a department responsible for the security of the institution's property and workers
- segregation
- a social system that provides separate facilities for minority groups
- select committee
- a parliamentary committee appointed for some special purpose
- selection
- an assortment of things from which a choice can be made
- Selective Service System
- an independent federal agency that administers compulsory military service
- Seljuk
- any one of the Turkish dynasties that ruled Asia Minor from the 11th to the 13th centuries; they successfully invaded Byzantium and defended the Holy Land against Crusaders
- selva
- a rain forest in a tropical area
- seminar
- any meeting for an exchange of ideas
- seminary
- a private place of education for the young
- seminary
- a theological school for training ministers or priests or rabbis
- senate
- assembly possessing high legislative powers
- Sendero Luminoso
- a terrorist group formed in Peru in the late 1960s as a splinter group from the communist party of Peru; is among the most ruthless guerilla organizations in the world; seeks to destroy Peruvian institutions and replace them with a Maoist peasant regime; is involved in the cocaine trade
- senior class
- final grade or class in high school or college
- septet
- seven performers or singers who perform together
- septet
- a set of seven similar things considered as a unit
- septet
- seven people considered as a unit
- sequence
- serial arrangement in which things follow in logical order or a recurrent pattern
- series
- similar things placed in order or happening one after another
- series
- a group of postage stamps having a common theme or a group of coins or currency selected as a group for study or collection
- serration
- a row of notches
- service
- a company or agency that performs a public service; subject to government regulation
- service agency
- a business that makes its facilities available to others for a fee; achieves economy of scale
- service club
- a club of professional or business people organized for their coordination and active in public services
- service department
- the division of a business that provides customer services
- service industry
- an industry that provides services rather than tangible objects
- sestet
- a set of six similar things considered as a unit
- sestet
- six performers or singers who perform together
- set
- a group of things of the same kind that belong together and are so used
- set
- (mathematics) an abstract collection of numbers or symbols
- settlement
- a community of people smaller than a town
- sex
- either of the two categories (male or female) into which most organisms are divided
- sextet
- six people considered as a unit
- shadow cabinet
- a group of senior members of the political party that is out of power; these members would probably assume corresponding positions as ministers in the British Cabinet if their party was elected
- Shaktism
- a Hindu sect worshiping Shakti
- Shang dynasty
- the imperial dynasty ruling China from about the 18th to the 12th centuries BC
- shebang
- an entire system; used in the phrase `the whole shebang'
- shell corporation
- a company that is incorporated but has no assets or operations
- Shiah Islam
- one of the two main branches of orthodox Islam; mainly in Iran
- shift
- a crew of workers who work for a specific period of time
- shindig
- a large and noisy party of people
- Shinto
- the native religion and former ethnic cult of Japan
- shipbuilder
- a business that builds and repairs ships
- shipbuilding industry
- an industry that builds ships
- shipper
- a company in the business of shipping freight
- shipping company
- a company that provides shipping services
- Shivaism
- a Hindu sect worshiping Shiva
- shock
- a pile of sheaves of grain set on end in a field to dry; stalks of Indian corn set up in a field
- shock
- a bushy thick mass (especially hair)
- shock troops
- soldiers who are specially trained and armed to lead an assault
- shoe industry
- an industry that manufactures and sells shoes
- shore patrol
- the military police of the navy
- shower
- a party of friends assembled to present gifts (usually of a specified kind) to a person
- shrubbery
- a collection of shrubs growing together
- shudra
- the lowest of the four varnas: the servants and workers of low status
- Shuha Shinto
- any branch of Shinto other than Kokka
- Sicilian Mafia
- a secret terrorist group in Sicily; originally opposed tyranny but evolved into a criminal organization in the middle of the 19th century
- sick
- people who are sick
- sick call
- the daily military formation at which individuals report to the medical officer as sick
- side
- one of two or more contesting groups
- side
- a family line of descent
- sign industry
- an industry that produces signs
- signage
- signs collectively (especially commercial signs or posters)
- singleton
- a set containing a single member
- singular matrix
- a square matrix whose determinant is zero
- Sinn Fein
- an Irish republican political movement founded in 1905 to promote independence from England and unification of Ireland; became the political branch of the Irish Republican Army
- Sipah-e-Sahaba
- a vicious sectarian organization in Pakistan that persecutes Shiite Muslims and collaborates with al-Qaeda to attack foreigners and to disrupt the government of Pakistan
- sisterhood
- a religious society of women who live together as sisters (especially an order of nuns)
- sisterhood
- an association or society of women who are linked together by a common religion or trade or interest
- skiffle group
- a band of musicians who play skiffle
- slagheap
- pile of waste matter from coal mining etc
- slain
- people who have been slain (as in battle)
- slate club
- a group of people who save money in a common fund for a specific purpose (usually distributed at Christmas)
- sleeper cell
- a cell of sleepers
- sleeper nest
- a nest of sleepers awaiting a prearranged signal
- sleeping beauty
- a potential takeover target that has not yet been put in play
- slumber party
- an overnight party of girls who dress in nightclothes and pass the night talking
- Small Business Administration
- an independent agency of the United States government that protects the interests of small businesses and ensures that they receive a fair share of government contracts
- small cap
- a corporation with a small capitalization
- smart money
- people who are highly experienced or who have inside information
- smithereens
- a collection of small fragments considered as a whole
- smoker
- a party for men only (or one considered suitable for men only)
- snake dance
- a group advancing in a single-file serpentine path
- snarl-up
- a number of vehicles blocking one another until they can scarcely move
- social affair
- a gathering for the purpose of promoting fellowship
- Social Democratic Party
- a political party in Germany and Britain (and elsewhere) founded in late 19th century; originally Marxist; now advocates the gradual transformation of capitalism into democratic socialism
- Social Development Commission
- the commission of the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations that is concerned with social development
- social group
- people sharing some social relation
- social organisation
- the people in a society considered as a system organized by a characteristic pattern of relationships
- Social Security Administration
- an independent government agency responsible for the Social Security system
- social unit
- an organization regarded as part of a larger social group
- socialism
- an economic system based on state ownership of capital
- Socialist Labor Party
- a political party in the United States; formed in 1874 to advocate the peaceful introduction of socialism
- Socialist Party
- a political party in the United States formed in 1900 to advocate socialism
- society
- an extended social group having a distinctive cultural and economic organization
- Society of Jesus
- a Roman Catholic order founded by Saint Ignatius of Loyola in 1534 to defend Catholicism against the Reformation and to do missionary work among the heathen; it is strongly committed to education and scholarship
- soiree
- a party of people assembled in the evening (usually at a private house)
- Soldiers of God
- an Islamic extremist group of Kurds who oppose secular control with bombings and assassinations; believed to have ties with al-Qaeda
- Song dynasty
- the imperial dynasty of China from 960 to 1279; noted for art and literature and philosophy
- sophomore class
- the second class in a four-year college or high school
- sorority
- a social club for female undergraduates
- soup kitchen
- a place where food is dispensed to the needy
- South America
- the nations of the South American continent collectively
- Southern Baptist Convention
- an association of Southern Baptists
- soviet
- an elected governmental council in a communist country (especially one that is a member of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics)
- Soviets
- the government of the Soviet Union
- Spanish Inquisition
- an inquisition initiated in 1478 by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella that guarded the orthodoxy of Catholicism in Spain (especially from the 15th to the 17th centuries)
- Sparrow Unit
- a hit squad of the New People's Army in the Philippines
- spearhead
- the leading military unit in an attack
- Special Air Service
- a specialist regiment of the British army that is trained in commando techniques of warfare and used in clandestine operations (especially against terrorist groups)
- Special Branch
- a government police department dealing with political security
- special court-martial
- a court-martial to try soldiers for offenses less serious that than those committed in action; consists of at least three officers
- Special Weapons and Tactics squad
- a squad of policemen who have been trained to deal with violent and dangerous situations
- species
- (biology) taxonomic group whose members can interbreed
- speech community
- people sharing a given language or dialect
- spinney
- a copse that shelters game
- spiral galaxy
- a galaxy having a spiral structure; arms containing younger stars spiral out from old stars at the center
- splinter group
- a faction or sect that has broken away from its parent organization
- sports desk
- the editorial department of a newspaper that edits the sports news
- squad
- a smallest army unit
- squad
- a cooperative unit (especially in sports)
- squadron
- an air force unit larger than a flight and smaller than a group
- squadron
- a cavalry unit consisting of two or more troops and headquarters and supporting arms
- squadron
- a naval unit that is detached from the fleet for a particular task
- square matrix
- a matrix with the same number of rows and columns
- stack
- an orderly pile
- staff
- personnel who assist their superior in carrying out an assigned task
- stage crew
- crew of workers who move scenery or handle properties in a theatrical production
- staggered board of directors
- a board of directors a portion of whose members are elected each year instead of all members being elected annually
- Stalinism
- a form of government in which the ruler is an absolute dictator (not restricted by a constitution or laws or opposition etc.)
- stamp
- a type or class
- stamp collection
- a collection of stamps
- stand
- a growth of similar plants (usually trees) in a particular area
- standing army
- a permanent army of paid soldiers
- standing committee
- a permanent committee
- Star Chamber
- a former English court that became notorious for its arbitrary methods and severe punishments
- state
- the group of people comprising the government of a sovereign state
- state bank
- a bank chartered by a state rather than by the federal government
- state capitalism
- an economic system that is primarily capitalistic but there is some degree of government ownership of the means of production
- State Department
- a department of government in one of the 50 states
- state government
- the government of a state in the United States
- state socialism
- an economic system in which the government owns most means of production but some degree of private capitalism is allowed
- States General
- assembly of the estates of an entire country especially the sovereign body of the Dutch republic from 16th to 18th centuries
- States' Rights Democratic Party
- a former political party in the United States; formed in 1948 by Democrats from southern states in order to oppose to the candidacy of Harry S Truman
- Statistical Commission
- the commission of the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations that is concerned with statistical data from member nations
- statuary
- statues collectively
- statutory law
- the body of laws created by legislative statutes
- steel band
- a band that plays instruments made from the heads of oil drums (Caribbean Islands)
- steel company
- a company that makes and sells steel
- steel industry
- the industry that makes steel and steel products
- steering committee
- a committee to arrange the order of business for some larger (legislative) body
- stock company
- a company whose capital is represented by stock
- stockholders meeting
- a meeting at which the management reports to the stockholders of a company
- stockpile
- a storage pile accumulated for future use
- straggle
- a wandering or disorderly grouping (of things or persons)
- straight
- a poker hand with 5 consecutive cards (regardless of suit)
- straight flush
- a poker hand with consecutive cards in the same suit
- street
- people living or working on the same street
- stretcher party
- a party of people with stretchers to carry an injured person
- string orchestra
- an orchestra playing only stringed instruments
- string quartet
- an instrumental quartet with 2 violins and a viola and a cello
- string section
- the section of an orchestra that plays stringed instruments
- string
- a sequentially ordered set of things or events or ideas in which each successive member is related to the preceding
- strong suit
- a long suit including high cards
- Stuart
- the royal family that ruled Scotland from 1371-1714 and ruled England from 1603 to 1649 and again from 1660 to 1714
- Sturmabteilung
- Nazi militia created by Hitler in 1921 that helped him to power but was eclipsed by the SS after 1943
- subclass
- (biology) a taxonomic category below a class and above an order
- subcommittee
- a subset of committee members organized for a specific purpose
- subculture
- a social group within a national culture that has distinctive patterns of behavior and beliefs
- subfamily
- (biology) a taxonomic category below a family
- subgenus
- (biology) taxonomic group between a genus and a species
- subgroup
- a distinct and often subordinate group within a group
- subkingdom
- (biology) a taxonomic group comprising a major division of a kingdom
- Sublime Porte
- the Ottoman court in Constantinople
- suborder
- (biology) taxonomic group that is a subdivision of an order
- subphylum
- (biology) a taxonomic group ranking between a phylum and a class
- subset
- a set whose members are members of another set; a set contained within another set
- subsidiary
- a company that is completely controlled by another company
- subspace
- a space that is contained within another space
- subsystem
- a system that is part of some larger system
- suburbia
- suburbanites considered as a cultural class or subculture
- succession
- a group of people or things arranged or following in order
- suite
- a matching set of furniture
- sum
- the final aggregate
- summit
- a meeting of heads of governments
- Sunni Islam
- one of the two main branches of orthodox Islam
- sunrise industry
- a new industry that is expanding rapidly (especially telecommunications or electronics)
- superclass
- (biology) a taxonomic class below a phylum and above a class
- superfamily
- (biology) a taxonomic group ranking below an order but above a family
- superior court
- any court that has jurisdiction above an inferior court
- superorder
- (biology) a taxonomic group ranking above an order and below a class or subclass
- superphylum
- (biology) a taxonomic group ranking between a phylum and below a class or subclass
- supper
- a social gathering where a light evening meal is served
- support system
- a network of facilities and people who interact and remain in informal communication for mutual assistance; a network that enables you to live in a certain style
- Supporters of Islam
- a radical Islamic group of terrorists in the Iraqi part of Kurdistan who oppose an independent secular nation as advocated by the United States; some members fought with the Taliban and al-Qaeda forces in Afghanistan; said to receive financial support from Saddam Hussein
- supra expressionism
- a movement that tried to go beyond expressionism
- suprematism
- a geometric abstractionist movement originated by Kazimir Malevich in Russia that influenced constructivism
- Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic
- commanding officer of ACLANT; a general of the United States Army nominated by the President of the United States and approved by the North Atlantic Council
- Supreme Allied Commander Europe
- commanding officer of ACE; NATO's senior military commander in Europe
- Supreme Court of the United States
- the highest federal court in the United States; has final appellate jurisdiction and has jurisdiction over all other courts in the nation
- Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe
- the supreme headquarters that advises NATO on military matters and oversees all aspects of the Allied Command Europe
- surrealism
- a 20th century movement of artists and writers (developing out of dadaism) who used fantastic images and incongruous juxtapositions in order to represent unconscious thoughts and dreams
- suzerain
- a state exercising a degree of dominion over a dependent state especially in its foreign affairs
- swad
- a bunch
- symbolism
- an artistic movement in the late 19th century that tried to express abstract or mystical ideas through the symbolic use of images
- symposium
- a meeting or conference for the public discussion of some topic especially one in which the participants form an audience and make presentations
- syndicalism
- a radical political movement that advocates bringing industry and government under the control of labor unions
- syndicate
- a news agency that sells features or articles or photographs etc. to newspapers for simultaneous publication
- synod
- a council convened to discuss ecclesiastical business
- synset
- a set of one or more synonyms
- syntax
- a systematic orderly arrangement
- synthetic cubism
- the late phase of cubism
- table
- a company of people assembled at a table for a meal or game
- table
- a set of data arranged in rows and columns
- tableau
- a group of people attractively arranged (as if in a painting)
- Tadzhik
- an ethnic group (mostly Moslem) living in Tajikistan and neighboring areas of Uzbekistan and Afghanistan and China
- takeover target
- a company that has been chosen as attractive for takeover by a potential acquirer
- Taliban
- a fundamentalist Islamic militia; in 1995 the Taliban militia took over Afghanistan and in 1996 took Kabul and set up an Islamic government
- Tammany Society
- a political organization within the Democratic Party in New York City (late 1800's and early 1900's) seeking political control by corruption and bossism
- Tang dynasty
- the imperial dynasty of China from 618 to 907
- Tantrism
- movement within Buddhism combining elements of Hinduism and paganism
- Taoism
- religion adhering to the teaching of Lao-tzu
- Taoism
- a Chinese sect claiming to follow the teaching of Lao-tzu but incorporating pantheism and sorcery in addition to Taoism
- task force
- a temporary military unit formed to accomplish a particular objective
- task force
- a semipermanent unit created to carry out a continuing task
- tax law
- the body of laws governing taxation
- taxon
- animal or plant group having natural relations
- taxonomy
- a classification of organisms into groups based on similarities of structure or origin etc
- tea
- a reception or party at which tea is served
- team
- two or more draft animals that work together to pull something
- Teamsters Union
- an industrial union of truck drivers and chauffeurs and warehouse workers
- tech
- a school teaching mechanical and industrial arts and the applied sciences
- technocracy
- a form of government in which scientists and technical experts are in control
- Technology Administration
- an agency in the Department of Commerce that works with United States industries to promote competitiveness and maximize the impact of technology on economic growth
- teddy boys
- a British youth subculture that first appeared in the 1950s; mainly from unskilled backgrounds, they adopted a pseudo-Edwardian dress code and rock'n'roll music; proletarian and xenophobic, they were involved in race riots in the United Kingdom
- temperate rain forest
- a rain forest in a temperate area
- tenantry
- tenants of an estate considered as a group
- tennis club
- a club of people to play tennis
- terrace
- a row of houses built in a similar style and having common dividing walls (or the street on which they face)
- Territorial Army
- British unit of nonprofessional soldiers organized for the defense of Great Britain
- territorial
- a territorial military unit
- the City
- used to allude to the securities industry of Great Britain
- the halt
- (archaic) lame persons collectively
- theater company
- a company that produces plays
- theocracy
- a political unit governed by a deity (or by officials thought to be divinely guided)
- think factory
- a company that does research for hire and issues reports on the implications
- Third Council of Constantinople
- the sixth ecumenical council in 680-681 which condemned Monothelitism by defining two wills in Christ, divine and human
- Third Lateran Council
- the Lateran Council in 1179 that condemned the heresies of the Albigenses and the Waldenses
- third party
- a political party organized in opposition to the major parties in a two-party system
- Third World
- underdeveloped and developing countries of Asia and Africa and Latin America collectively
- threescore
- a set with 3 times 20 members
- threesome
- three people considered as a unit
- thrift institution
- a depository financial institution intended to encourage personal savings and home buying
- ticket line
- a queue of people waiting to buy tickets
- tobacco industry
- an industry that manufactures and sells products containing tobacco
- top brass
- the most important persons in a governing body
- totalitarian state
- a government that subordinates the individual to the state and strictly controls all aspects of life by coercive measures
- totem
- a clan or tribe identified by their kinship to a common totemic object
- town meeting
- government of a town by an assembly of the qualified voters
- town meeting
- a meeting of the inhabitants of a town
- town
- the people living in a municipality smaller than a city
- toy business
- an industry that manufactures and sells toys for children
- trade school
- a secondary school teaching the skilled trades
- trade unionism
- the system or principles and theory of labor unions
- tradespeople
- people engaged in trade
- traffic
- the aggregation of things (pedestrians or vehicles) coming and going in a particular locality during a specified period of time
- traffic court
- a court that has power to prosecute for traffic offenses
- trainband
- a company of militia in England or America from the 16th century to the 18th century
- training college
- a school providing training for a special field or profession
- training school
- a school providing practical vocational and technical training
- transfer agent
- an agency (usually a bank) that is appointed by a corporation to keep records of its stock and bond owners and to resolve problems about certificates
- transportation company
- a company providing transportation
- Transportation Security Administration
- an agency established in 2001 to safeguard United States transportation systems and insure safe air travel
- transpose
- a matrix formed by interchanging the rows and columns of a given matrix
- trap line
- a line or series of traps
- travel agency
- an agency that arranges personal travel
- treasure
- a collection of precious things
- treasure trove
- any collection of valuables that is discovered
- treasury
- the government department responsible for collecting and managing and spending public revenues
- triad
- a set of three similar things considered as a unit
- trial court
- the first court before which the facts of a case are decided
- tribal society
- a society with the social organization of a tribe
- tribe
- (biology) a taxonomic category between a genus and a subfamily
- trichotomy
- being threefold; a classification into three parts or subclasses
- trigon
- (astrology) one of four groups of the zodiac where each group consists of three signs separated from each other by 120 degrees
- trilogy
- a set of three literary or dramatic works related in subject or theme
- Trimurti
- the triad of divinities of later Hinduism
- trinketry
- trinkets and other ornaments of dress collectively
- trio
- three performers or singers who perform together
- trip wire
- a small military force that serves as a first line of defense; if they become engaged in hostilities it will trigger the intervention of stronger military forces
- triplet code
- the normal version of the genetic code in which a sequence of three nucleotides codes for the synthesis of a specific amino acid
- triumvirate
- a group of three men responsible for public administration or civil authority
- troika
- a modern Russian triumvirate
- Trojan horse
- a subversive group that supports the enemy and engages in espionage or sabotage; an enemy in your midst
- troop
- a group of soldiers
- troop
- a cavalry unit corresponding to an infantry company
- troponomy
- the place names of a region or a language considered collectively
- truck dealer
- a firm that sells and buys trucks
- truck traffic
- trucks coming and going
- trucking company
- a company that ships goods or possessions by truck
- trucking industry
- an industry that provides transportation for commercial products
- trumpet section
- the section of a band or orchestra that plays trumpets or cornets
- trust company
- an organization (usually with a commercial bank) that is engaged as a trustee or fiduciary or agent in handling trust funds or estates of custodial arrangements or stock transfers or related services
- Trusteeship Council
- a permanent council of the United Nations that commissions a country (or countries) to undertake the administration of a territory
- tuft
- a bunch of hair or feathers or growing grass
- Tupac Katari Guerrilla Army
- a terrorist group that is the remnants of the original Bolivian insurgents trained by Che Guevara; attacks small unprotected targets such as power pylons or oil pipelines or government buildings
- Turkish Hizballah
- an ethnic Kurdish group of Sunni extremists formed in the late 1980s in southeastern Turkey; seeks to replace Turkey's secular regime with an Islamic state and strict shariah law; responsible for bombings and the torture and murder of Turkish and Kurdish journalists and businessmen; receives support from Iran
- turnout
- the group that gathers together for a particular occasion
- turnverein
- a club of tumblers or gymnasts
- TV audience
- the audience reached by television
- Tweedledum and Tweedledee
- any two people who are hard to tell apart
- Twelve Tribes of Israel
- twelve kin groups of ancient Israel each traditionally descended from one of the twelve sons of Jacob
- type
- (biology) the taxonomic group whose characteristics are used to define the next higher taxon
- type genus
- (biology) genus from which the name of a family or subfamily is formed; it is not necessarily the most representative genus but often the largest or best known or earliest described
- type species
- (biology) the species that best exemplifies the essential characteristics of the genus to which it belongs
- typing pool
- a group of typists who can work for different persons
- ulama
- the body of Mullahs (Muslim scholars trained in Islam and Islamic law) who are the interpreters of Islam's sciences and doctrines and laws and the chief guarantors of continuity in the spiritual and intellectual history of the Islamic community
- Ulster Defence Association
- the major Protestant paramilitary group in Northern Ireland; responsible for bombing the homes of Catholics and for criminal racketeering and selling drugs
- Umma Tameer-e-Nau
- a nongovernmental organization of Pakistani scientists that has been a supporter of terrorism; has provided information about chemical and biological and nuclear warfare to Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda and the Taliban
- unconfessed
- people who have not confessed
- underbrush
- the brush (small trees and bushes and ferns etc.) growing beneath taller trees in a wood or forest
- underperformer
- a business that is less successful than expected
- underworld
- the criminal class
- unemployed
- people who are involuntarily out of work (considered as a group)
- unemployment line
- a queue of people waiting for employment
- Uniate Church
- any of several churches in eastern Europe or the Middle East that acknowledge papal authority but retain their own liturgy
- Unification Church
- a Christian church (with some Buddhist elements) founded in 1954 by Sun Myung Moon and known for staging mass weddings and other communal activities
- uninitiate
- people who have not been introduced to the mysteries of some field or activity
- union
- a political unit formed from previously independent people or organizations
- Union Army
- the northern army during the American Civil War
- union shop
- a company allowed to hire nonunion workers on the condition that they will join the union within a specified time
- unit investment trust
- a regulated investment company consisting of professional managers who issue redeemable securities representing a portfolio of many different securities
- Unitarian Church
- the Protestant denomination that rejects the doctrine of the Trinity
- United Church of Christ
- merger of the Congregational Christian Church and the Evangelical and Reformed Church in 1957
- United Methodist Church
- union of the Wesleyan Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren Church
- United Mine Workers of America
- an industrial union of mine workers in North America
- United Nations
- an organization of independent states formed in 1945 to promote international peace and security
- United Nations agency
- an agency of the United Nations
- United Nations Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice
- the United Nations office responsible for crime prevention and criminal justice and law reform
- United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization
- an agency of the United Nations that promotes education and communication and the arts
- United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund
- an agency of the United Nations responsible for programs to aid education and the health of children and mothers in developing countries
- United Nations Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention
- an agency of the United Nations that promotes drug control and crime prevention
- United Nations Secretariat
- the administrative arm of the United Nations
- United Self-Defense Force of Colombia
- a terrorist organization in Colombia formed in 1997 as an umbrella for local and regional paramilitary groups; is financed by earnings from narcotics and serves to protect the economic interests of its members
- United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing
- a celibate and communistic Christian sect in the United States
- United States Air Force
- the airforce of the United States of America; the agency that defends the United States through control and exploitation of air and space
- United States Air Force Academy
- a school for training men and women to become officers in the United States Air Force
- United States Army
- the army of the United States of America; the agency that organizes and trains soldiers for land warfare
- United States Army Rangers
- a specially trained elite unit of the United States Army
- United States Army Special Forces
- a division of the United States Army that is specially trained for guerilla fighting
- United States Border Patrol
- the mobile law enforcement arm of the Immigration and Naturalization Service that detects and prevents illegal entry of aliens into the United States
- United States Cabinet
- a board to advise the President; members are the secretaries of executive departments; the United States constitution does not provide for the cabinet
- United States Coast Guard
- an agency of the Department of Transportation responsible for patrolling shores and facilitating nautical commerce
- United States Congress
- the legislature of the United States government
- United States Department of Defense
- the federal department responsible for safeguarding national security of the United States; created in 1947
- United States Department of State
- the federal department in the United States that sets and maintains foreign policies
- United States Fish and Wildlife Service
- an agency in the Department of the Interior that conserves and protects fish and wildlife and their habitats; assesses the environmental impact of pesticides and nuclear power site and hydroelectric dams and thermal pollution
- United States government
- the executive and legislative and judicial branches of the federal government of the United States
- United States Government Accounting Office
- an independent nonpartisan federal agency that acts as the investigative arm of Congress making the executive branch accountable to Congress and the government accountable to citizens of the United States
- United States Government Printing Office
- an agency of the legislative branch that provides printing and binding services for Congress and the departments and establishments of the federal government
- United States House of Representatives
- the lower legislative house of the United States Congress
- United States intelligence agency
- an intelligence service in the United States
- United States Intelligence Community
- a group of government agencies and organizations that carry out intelligence activities for the United States government; headed by the Director of Central Intelligence
- United States Marine Corps
- an amphibious division of the United States Navy
- United States Marshals Service
- the United States' oldest federal law enforcement agency is responsible today for protecting the Federal Judiciary and transporting federal prisoners and protecting federal witnesses and managing assets seized from criminals and generally ensuring the effective operation of the federal judicial system
- United States Military Academy
- a school for training men and women to become officers in the United States Army
- United States Naval Academy
- a school for training men and women to become officers in the United States Navy
- United States Navy
- the navy of the United States of America; the agency that maintains and trains and equips combat-ready naval forces
- United States Post Office
- an independent agency of the federal government responsible for mail delivery (and sometimes telecommunications) between individuals and businesses in the United States
- United States Postal Inspection Service
- the primary law enforcement arm of the United States Postal Service
- United States Postal Service
- an independent federal agency that provides mail processing and delivery service for individuals and businesses in the United States
- United States Public Health Service
- an agency that serves as the office of Surgeon General; includes agencies whose mission is to improve the public health
- United States Secret Service
- the United States intelligence agency that protects current and former presidents and vice presidents and their immediate families and protects distinguished foreign visitors; detects and apprehends counterfeiters; suppresses forgery of government securities and documents
- United States Senate
- the upper house of the United States Congress
- United States Trade Representative
- the executive agency that administers the President's policies on international trade
- universal set
- (mathematics) the set that contains all the elements or objects involved in the problem under consideration
- university
- the body of faculty and students at a university
- university
- a large and diverse institution of higher learning created to educate for life and for a profession and to grant degrees
- upper class
- the class occupying the highest position in the social hierarchy
- Usuli
- a religious movement by Persian Shiite Muslims in 17th century Iran that is opposed to the Akhbari
- Vaishnavism
- Hindu sect worshiping of Vishnu
- vaisya
- the third of the four varnas: the commoners or yeoman farmers or mercantile and professional category
- Valois
- French royal house from 1328 to 1589
- van
- the leading units moving at the head of an army
- variety
- (biology) a taxonomic category consisting of members of a species that differ from others of the same species in minor but heritable characteristics
- varna
- (Hinduism) the name for the original social division of Vedic people into four groups (which are subdivided into thousands of jatis)
- varsity
- a British abbreviation of `university'; usually refers to Oxford University or Cambridge University
- Vatican Council
- each of two councils of the Roman Catholic Church
- vehicle traffic
- the aggregation of vehicles coming and going in a particular locality
- venation
- (botany) the arrangement of veins in a leaf
- venture capitalism
- capitalism that invests in innovative enterprises (especially high technology) where the potential profits are large
- vernation
- (botany) the arrangement of young leaves in a leaf bud before it opens
- vested interest
- groups that seek to control a social system or activity from which they derive private benefit
- vestry
- in the Protestant Episcopal Church: a committee elected by the congregation to work with the churchwardens in managing the temporal affairs of the church
- Veterans of Foreign Wars
- an organization of United States war veterans
- veterinary school
- a school teaching veterinary medicine
- vicariate
- the religious institution under the authority of a vicar
- vice squad
- a police group to enforce laws against gambling and prostitution
- Victoriana
- collection of materials of or characteristic of the Victorian era
- vigilance committee
- a volunteer committee to maintain order where an efficient legal system does not exist
- violin family
- (music) the family of bowed stringed instruments
- violin section
- the section of an orchestra that plays violins
- visit
- a meeting arranged by the visitor to see someone (such as a doctor or lawyer) for treatment or advice
- voodoo
- (Haiti) followers of a religion that involves witchcraft and animistic deities
- vote
- a body of voters who have the same interests
- Waldenses
- a Christian sect of dissenters that originated in southern France in the late 12th century adopted Calvinist doctrines in the 16th century
- Wall Street
- used to allude to the securities industry of the United States
- Walloons
- an ethnic group speaking a dialect of French and living in southern and eastern Belgium and neighboring parts of France
- War Department
- a former executive department of the United States government; created in 1789 and combined with the Navy Department in 1947
- war party
- a band of warriors who raid or fight an enemy (used especially of Native Americans)
- war party
- a political party that supports a war
- warren
- a colony of rabbits
- Washington
- the federal government of the United States
- water company
- a public utility that provides water
- wave train
- a succession of waves spaced at regular intervals
- Ways and Means Committee
- a permanent committee of the United States House of Representatives that makes recommendations to the US House on all bills that would raise revenue
- weather bureau
- an administrative unit responsible for gathering and interpreting meteorological data for weather study and forecasts
- wedding reception
- a reception for wedding guests held after the wedding
- wedding
- a party of people at a wedding
- Wei dynasty
- any of several imperial dynasties of China ruling from 220 to 265 and from 386 to 556
- Weimar Republic
- the German republic founded at Weimar in 1919
- welcoming committee
- a committee to welcome new residents to a community
- welfare state
- a government that undertakes responsibility for the welfare of its citizens through programs in public health and public housing and pensions and unemployment compensation etc.
- Wesleyan Methodist Church
- the original Methodist Church
- Western civilization
- the modern culture of western Europe and North America
- Whig Party
- a former political party in the United States; formed in 1834 in opposition to the Democratic Party; advocated a loose interpretation of the Constitution and high protective tariffs
- White House
- the chief executive department of the United States government
- white knight
- a company that is a friendly acquirer in a takeover
- white separatism
- a social system in which white people live separately from members of other races
- white squire
- a white knight that buys less than a majority interest
- Whitehall
- the British civil service
- Wicca
- a community of followers of the Wicca religion
- wildlife
- all living things (except people) that are undomesticated
- William and Mary
- joint monarchs of England; William III and Mary II
- Winchester College
- the oldest English public school; located in Winchester
- wine tasting
- a gathering of people to taste and compare different wines
- wing
- a group within a political party or legislature or other organization that holds distinct views or has a particular function
- wing
- a unit of military aircraft
- winning streak
- a streak of wins
- Wise Men
- (New Testament) the sages who visited Jesus and Mary and Joseph shortly after Jesus was born; the Gospel According to Matthew says they were guided by a star and brought gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh; because there were three gifts it is usually assumed that there were three of them
- wisp
- a flock of snipe
- wisp
- a small tuft or lock
- wisp
- a small bundle of straw or hay
- witches' brew
- a fearsome mixture
- witches' Sabbath
- a midnight meeting of witches to practice witchcraft and sorcery; in the Middle Ages it was supposed to be a demonic orgy
- wolf pack
- a group of wolves hunting together
- wolf pack
- a group of submarines operating together in attacking enemy convoys
- womankind
- women as distinguished from men
- Women's Army Corps
- an army corps that was organized in World War II but is no longer a separate branch of the United States Army
- woodpile
- a pile or stack of wood to be used for fuel
- woodwind family
- (music) the family of woodwind instruments
- working group
- a group of people working together temporarily until some goal is achieved
- works council
- (chiefly Brit) a council representing employer and employees of a plant or business to discuss working conditions etc; also: a committee representing the workers elected to negotiate with management about grievances and wages etc
- world council
- a council with representatives from different nations
- World Council of Churches
- an ecumenical organization of Protestant and eastern churches; intended to promote unity and cooperation in religious and secular matters
- World Health Organization
- a United Nations agency to coordinate international health activities and to help governments improve health services
- World Meteorological Organization
- the United Nations agency concerned with the international collection of meteorological data
- World Trade Organization
- an international organization based in Geneva that monitors and enforces rules governing global trade
- Xhosa
- a community of Negroid people in southern South Africa
- yakuza
- organized crime in Japan; an alliance of criminal organizations and illegal enterprises
- Yalta Conference
- a conference held in Yalta in February 1945 where Roosevelt, Stalin, and Churchill planned the final stages of World War II and agreed to the territorial division of Europe
- yeomanry
- a British volunteer cavalry force organized in 1761 for home defense later incorporated into the Territorial Army
- yeomanry
- class of small freeholders who cultivated their own land
- yeshiva
- an academy for the advanced study of Jewish texts (primarily the Talmud)
- yoke
- a pair of draft animals joined by a yoke
- young
- young people collectively
- youth culture
- young adults (a generational unit) considered as a cultural class or subculture
- youth gang
- a gang whose members are teenagers
- youth subculture
- a minority youth culture whose distinctiveness depended largely on the social class and ethnic background of its members; often characterized by its adoption of a particular music genre
- Zen Buddhism
- school of Mahayana Buddhism asserting that enlightenment can come through meditation and intuition rather than faith; China and Japan
- Zionist movement
- a movement of world Jewry that arose late in the 19th century with the aim of creating a Jewish state in Palestine
- zoning board
- a board of officials who divide an area into zones that are subject to different restrictions
- zoning commission
- a commission delegated to supervise the zoning of areas for residential or commercial use
- Zulu
- a community of Negroid people in eastern South Africa
- Zurvanism
- a Zoroastrian sect that claims Zurvan was the ultimate source of the universe
