Word of the Day archive

Every word we have featured on this site, most recent first, going back 236 days.

• 23 March 2026quartersawCut radially (towards the heart of the log), at right angles to the growth rings, for stability or the...
• 22 March 2026cat's-pawA small crowbar with a handle at a right angle to a blade with a V-shaped notch, principally used by...
• 21 March 2026gadgetbahnA public transportation scheme based on modern technology which seems to be infeasible or unnecessary.
• 20 March 2026achromatic lensA lens generally composed of two separate lenses, one convex and one concave and generally of different...
• 19 March 2026buckTo press a heavy, shaped bucking bar against the bucktail of a rivet, while the opposite end (the rivet...
• 18 March 2026overhaulThe process after the fire appears extinguished in which the firefighters search the structure for signs of...
• 17 March 2026ablativeSacrificial, wearing away or being destroyed in order to protect the underlying material, as in ablative...
• 16 March 2026K-factorThe bending capacity of sheet metal, as calculated using a formula.
• 15 March 2026reballingThe process of reapplying the balls (protruding contacts) on a ball grid array.
• 14 March 2026harnessThe part of a loom comprising the heddles, with their means of support and motion, by which the threads of...
• 13 March 2026ruleA thin plate of brass or other metal, of the same height as the type, and used for printing lines, as between...
• 12 March 2026kissA low-speed mid-air collision between the envelopes of two hot air balloons, generally causing no damage or...
• 11 March 2026dropping pointThe temperature at which a grease passes from a semi-solid to a liquid state under specific test conditions.
• 10 March 2026ribbandA long, narrow strip of timber bent and bolted longitudinally to the ribs of a vessel, to hold them in...
• 9 March 2026arc blastAn explosion produced by the extreme heat of an uncontrolled high-energy electric arc.
• 8 March 2026crop rotationA farming practice in which the same land is used to grow different crops in successive seasons or years...
• 7 March 2026knockPreignition, a type of abnormal combustion occurring in spark ignition engines caused by self-ignition; also...
• 6 March 2026flint millAn obsolete appliance for lighting a miner at his work, in which flints on a revolving wheel were made to...
• 5 March 2026latch-upA kind of short circuit caused by the inadvertent creation of a low-impedance path between the power supply...
• 4 March 2026suicide batteryA battery whose purpose is, in addition to powering an electronic device, making the powered device...
• 3 March 2026snow loadThe live load due to the weight of snow on a structure, such as a roof; included in the design calculations.
• 2 March 2026absolute scaleA temperature scale whose zero corresponds to absolute zero such as the Kelvin scale or Rankine scale.
• 1 March 2026electrochemical seriesA list of the metals in order of their electronegativity (and hence their reactivity).
• 28 February 2026scrollA spiral waterway placed round a turbine to regulate the flow.
• 27 February 2026step onTo interrupt, overpower, or override (another transmission on the same frequency) with one's own transmission.
• 26 February 2026cobotA robot intended to interact physically with humans in a shared workspace.
• 25 February 2026self-centeringTending to walk toward the proper center of a hole when cutting.
• 24 February 2026greenwarePottery that has been shaped but not yet fired, especially while it is drying prior to being fireable.
• 23 February 2026couching fabrica sheet of fabric used to separate sheets of paper during pressing
• 22 February 2026soffiettaA tool consisting of a metal tube, often swan necked, attached to a conical nozzle. The nozzle is used to...