air-blown asphalt
nounConstruction
Asphalt produced by blowing air through molten asphalt to raise its softening point and modify other properties.
Entries starting with A
381 entries.
air-head
A horizontal channel providing ventilation in a mine.
air-to-air
adjectiveAviation maintenance
With the participants being two or more aircraft in flight.
airbag
nounAutomotive
A protective system in automobiles in which when a crash occurs, a bag containing nitrogen, formed by the explosive decomposition of sodium azide, quickly inflates in front of the driver or passenger, preventing injury to the head. Side air bags, including the back seat passengers, also prevent injury.
airbill
A waybill for cargo being shipped by air.
airbrake
A movable control surface that extends to increase drag without affecting lift (unlike a spoiler); a device that provides aerodynamic braking.
airbreathing
adjectiveAviation maintenance
Using the air from the atmosphere for combustion
Airbus
A European multinational commercial aircraft manufacturer.
aircraft station
A radio station broadcast from an aircraft.
airfield
An open field designated for the taking off and landing of aircraft, but which, unlike an airport, does not necessarily have terminals or paved runways.
airleave
An easement consisting of the right granted to a miner to ventilate onto a property.
airshaft
A device used for handling winding reels in the processing of web-fed materials, such as in continuous-process printing presses.
airship
A lighter-than-air aircraft that can be propelled forward through the air as well as steered.
airspace
nounConstruction
The cavity in a cavity wall containing air for insulation.
airspeed
The speed of an aircraft relative to the air through which it is flying.
airspeed indicator
An instrument that displays an aircraft's current airspeed.
airway
A roadway used for ventilation.
Airy disk
The bright central region of the diffraction pattern resulting from a uniformly illuminated circular aperture.
Airy pattern
The Airy disk together with the series of concentric rings that surround it.
aisle
Seat in public transport, such as a plane, train or bus, that's beside the aisle.
Albany slip
A glazing mixture made from a clay peculiar to the Upper Hudson Region of New York, used in some American stoneware pottery.
albedo
The fraction of incident light or radiation reflected by a surface or body, commonly expressed as a percentage.
Alfa
A car made by Alfa Romeo.
alginite
A component of some types of kerogen, consisting of organic-walled marine microfossils.
alidade
nounSurveying
A type of sighting device used for measuring angles.
alien reproduction vehicle
A purported advanced craft theorized to be built by humans using technology that mimics or is inspired by supposed extraterrestrial vehicles.
aligner
A system that produces integrated circuits by precision photolithography.
alignment
The precise route or course taken by a linear way (road, railway, footpath, etc.) between two points.
all-figure number
A telephone number consisting purely of digits, introduced in the 1960s to replace numbers that began with an alphabetic code for the exchange.
all-season tire
nounAutomotive
A tire designed to have long tread life in warm conditions, with rubber that remains soft down to freezing weather, for good performance in three seasons and passable performance in winter.
all-terrain vehicle
Any of a class of motorized vehicles, smaller than cars and trucks but large enough for one or several passengers and some light cargo, that is designed to operate on rough ground, and is not necessarily street-legal; either an astride-seated quad or tri-wheeled off-road recreational vehicle.
all-weather tire
nounAutomotive
A tire with rubber that remains soft in below-freezing conditions, but gives longer tread life in warm conditions than winter tires.
all-weather tyre
nounAutomotive
A tyre with rubber that remains soft in below-freezing conditions, but gives longer tread life in warm conditions than winter tyres
alligator
nounMetalworking
Any of various machines with strong jaws, one of which opens like the movable jaw of an alligator.
alligator clip
A spring-loaded metal clip, usually attached to a wire and used to create a temporary electrical connection.
alligatoring
nounConstruction
The cracking of the surfacing bitumen on a bituminous roof or coating on a SPF roof, producing a pattern of cracks similar to an alligator's hide.
allocentric
adjectiveTransport and logistics
Of a tourist: tending to be adventurous and preferring novel and unfamiliar experiences.
allochem
a grain of rock in a carbonate rock
alloy wheel
nounAutomotive
A wheel made from an alloy other than steel (a lighter and more expensive one), as for example one of aluminium alloy or magnesium alloy, and (usually) styled so as to draw attention to its sportiness and desirability.
alloyant
nounMetallurgy
A material added to a metal (possibly itself an alloy) to alter its properties.
Alma
Nonstandard form of ALMA, acronym of Atacama Large Millimeter Array.
almond furnace
A kind of furnace used in refining to separate the metal from cinders and other foreign matter.
aloft
adverbMarine and shipyard
In the top, at the masthead, or on the higher yards or rigging.
alpha acid
nounManufacturing
Any of a class of chemical compounds which collectively give hopped beer its characteristic bitter flavor.
alpha hinge
On rotorcraft, a hinge perpendicular to the plane of rotor rotation about which the blades trail or lag.
alpha rolling
nounMetalworking
The hot-rolling of titanium alloys within the alpha phase temperature range.
alternator
An electric generator which produces alternating current through mechanical means.
aluminium bronze
nounMetallurgy
An alloy of copper with about 5% to 10% aluminium
aluminosis
nounConstruction
A structural defect resulting from the degradation of poor quality concrete.
AM
nounManufacturing
Initialism of additive manufacturing.
amacratic
adjectiveOptics and imaging
Uniting the rays of light into one focus.
amalgam
nounMetallurgy
An alloy containing mercury.
ambitty
adjectiveGlass and ceramics
Of glass: covered with stony speckles, symptoms of incipient devitrification.
AMEPD
Initialism of active matrix electrophoretic display (EPD).
American
A size of type smaller than German, 1-point type.
American forge
nounMetallurgy
A forge for the direct production of wrought iron, differing from the old Catalan forge mainly in using finely crushed ore and working continuously.
American plan
A hotel rate that includes accommodation, breakfast, lunch and dinner.
amigurumi
nounManufacturing
Such a stuffed toy crocheted or knitted from yarn.
AMOLED
Abbreviation of active matrix OLED, a display technology for use in mobile devices and televisions.
amplifier
An appliance or circuit that increases the strength of a weak electrical signal without changing the other characteristics of the signal.