<B>aubrietia, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> any plant of a group of dwarf perennials of the mustard family, native to Europe and western Asia, with bright, usually purple flowers. </DL>
<B>Aubusson rug</B> or <B>carpet,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a kind of French rug woven like tapestry. </DL>
<A NAME="auc">
<B>A.U.C.,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> in the year since the founding of the city (of Rome, in 753 B.C. according to legend); Latin, <I>ab urbe condita</I> or <I>anno urbis conditae.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="auca">
<B>Auca, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a member of a tribe of South American Indians living chiefly in the Ecuadorian region of the Andes. <DD><B> 2. </B>the Araucanian language of the Aucas. </DL>
<A NAME="aucontraire">
<B>au contraire,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (French.) on the contrary. </DL>
<A NAME="aucourant">
<B>au courant,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (French.) <DD><B> 1. </B>well informed on the topics of the day; up-to-date. <BR> <I>Ex. Europeans want to be au courant, to know what fiction has critical prestige in America (New York Times). The Northwesterner wants enough excitement brought to town to keep him au courant and amused (Saturday Review).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>(literally) in the current. </DL>
<A NAME="auction">
<B>auction, </B>noun, verb.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>a public sale in which each thing is sold to the person who offers the most money for it. <BR> <I>Ex. Many people at the auction bid on the old furniture.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>in card games: <DD><B> a. </B>the bidding, or the period of the game when the players bid, for the privilege of naming trumps, as in bridge. <DD><B> b. </B>auction bridge. <DD><I>v.t. </I> to sell at an auction. <BR> <I>Ex. Her family auctioned the paintings when the artist died.</I> <BR><I>expr. <B>auction off,</B> </I>to sell or try to sell by auction. <BR> <I>Ex. The stable auctioned off its horses when it went out of business.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="auctionblock">
<B>auction block,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> the stand or table on which items are placed to be bid upon at an auction. <BR><I>expr. <B>on the auction block,</B> </I>for disposal or sale to the highest bidder. <BR> <I>Ex. On Tuesday, $30 million Ohio bonds will go on the auction block (Wall Street Journal).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="auctionbridge">
<B>auction bridge,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a form of bridge played with 52 cards by four players divided into two partnerships which bid to win a stated minimum of tricks at a given trump suit or at no-trumps, and are credited with as many tricks as they win. </DL>
<A NAME="auctioneer">
<B>auctioneer, </B>noun, verb.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> a person who conducts an auction. <DD><I>v.t. </I> to sell at an auction. </DL>
<A NAME="auctionpinochle">
<B>auction pinochle,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a form of pinochle usually played by three persons, with a fourth acting as dealer. Each player receives fifteen cards from the dealer, and a widow of three cards is auctioned to the highest bidder. </DL>
<A NAME="auctionpool">
<B>auction pool,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a system of betting in which the bets are sold at auction. </DL>
<A NAME="auctorial">
<B>auctorial, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> of or having to do with an author. </DL>
<A NAME="aucuba">
<B>aucuba, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a plant native to eastern Asia, with glossy, leathery green leaves mottled with yellow and red berries, much cultivated for ornament. </DL>
<A NAME="aud">
<B>aud.,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> auditor. </DL>
<A NAME="audacious">
<B>audacious, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>having the courage to take risks; bold; daring. <BR> <I>Ex. John Glenn was the audacious pilot of the first U.S. spacecraft.</I> (SYN) fearless, adventurous. <DD><B> 2. </B>too bold; impudent. <BR> <I>Ex. The audacious boy went to the party without being asked.</I> adv. <B>audaciously.</B> noun <B>audaciousness.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="audacity">
<B>audacity, </B>noun, pl. <B>-ties.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>reckless daring; boldness. <BR> <I>Ex. The highest trapeze could not daunt the acrobat's audacity.</I> (SYN) confidence, intrepidity. <DD><B> 2. </B>too much boldness; impudence. <BR> <I>Ex. He had the audacity to go to the party without being invited.</I> (SYN) presumption, effrontery. </DL>
<A NAME="audemusjuranostradefendere">
<B>audemus jura nostra defendere,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (Latin.) we dare defend our rights (the motto of Alabama). </DL>
<A NAME="audibility">
<B>audibility, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the quality of being audible; distinctness to the hearing. <BR> <I>Ex. The phonograph's low audibility made the record hard to hear.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>a measure of the intensity of a sound, usually expressed in decibels. </DL>
<A NAME="audible">
<B>audible, </B>adjective, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> that can be heard; loud enough to be heard. <BR> <I>Ex. She spoke in such a low voice that her quiet remarks were barely audible.</I> <DD><I>noun </I> (American Football.) a substitute play or formation called at the scrimmage line. <BR> <I>Ex. ... standing behind the Baltimore Colts' offensive line, calling audibles to pick up a blitz (Time).</I> noun <B>audibleness.</B> adv. <B>audibly.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="audience">
<B>audience, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the people gathered in a place to hear or see. <BR> <I>Ex. The audience at the theater enjoyed the play.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>any persons within hearing. <BR> <I>Ex. A popular television program may have an audience of several million people.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>the readers of a book, newspaper, or magazine. <BR> <I>Ex. A best-selling book has a large national audience.</I> <DD><B> 4. </B>a chance to be heard; hearing. <BR> <I>Ex. He should have an audience with the committee, for his plan is good.</I> <DD><B> 5. </B>a formal interview with a person of high rank. <BR> <I>Ex. The visiting students were granted an audience with the President.</I> <DD><B> 6. </B>the act or fact of hearing. </DL>
<A NAME="audienceroom">
<B>audience room,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a room for formal hearings or interviews. </DL>
<A NAME="audiencia">
<B>audiencia, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a court of judges appointed in 1527by Charles I of Spain to govern New Spain. </DL>
<B>audile, </B>adjective, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> <B>=auditory.</B> <DD><I>noun </I> (Psychology.) a person in whose mind auditory images are predominant, or especially distinct. </DL>
<A NAME="audimeter">
<B>audimeter, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> an electronic recording device attached to a television set to determine the pattern of a viewer's selection of programs, used in the rating of program popularity. </DL>
<A NAME="auding">
<B>auding, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Psychology, Education.) attentive listening to speech sounds and patterns, as opposed to simple hearing. </DL>
<A NAME="audio">
<B>audio, </B>adjective, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> <B>1. </B>(Radio, Electronics.) using or involving audio frequencies. <DD><B> 2. </B>(Television.) involving or used in transmitting or receiving sound. An audio problem is a sound problem; a video problem involves the image that is supposed to appear on the screen. <DD><I>noun </I> (Television, Motion Pictures.) sound reproduction. <BR> <I>Ex. Some of the audio for this film was distorted.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="audio">
<B>audio-,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> <I>combining form.</I> <DD><B> 1. </B>of hearing: <I>Audiology = the science of hearing.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>of sound: <I>Audiophile = a lover of sound.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="audioanimatron">
<B>audio-animatron, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> an audio-animatronic figure; a computer-controlled automaton or robot. </DL>
<A NAME="audioanimatronic">
<B>audio-animatronic, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>having to do with audio-animatronics. <DD><B> 2. </B>controlled or operated by audio-animatronics. </DL>
<A NAME="audioanimatronics">
<B>audio-animatronics, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a process for making inanimate figures move and talk by means of an electronic computing system. <DD><B> 2. </B>a show or display featuring such animated figures. </DL>
<A NAME="audiofrequency">
<B>audio frequency,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> the frequency corresponding to audible sound vibrations. The range for human beings is from about 20 to about 20,000 cycles per second. (Abbr:) AF (no periods). adj. <B>audio-frequency.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="audiogram">
<B>audiogram, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the record made by an audiometer. </DL>
<A NAME="audiolingual">
<B>audio-lingual, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> of or having to do with language instruction using such techniques and devices as conversation and tape recordings instead of textbooks. <BR> <I>Ex. audio-lingual language training.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="audiological">
<B>audiological, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> of or having to do with audiology. </DL>
<A NAME="audiologist">
<B>audiologist, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a person who studies the science of hearing. </DL>
<A NAME="audiology">
<B>audiology, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the science of hearing. </DL>
<A NAME="audiometer">
<B>audiometer, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>an instrument for measuring keenness and range of hearing. <DD><B> 2. </B>an instrument for measuring the intensity of sound. </DL>
<A NAME="audiometric">
<B>audiometric, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> of or having to do with audiometry. </DL>
<A NAME="audiometrist">
<B>audiometrist, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a person who records, or studies the results of such recording of, the power of hearing or the intensity of sounds on an audiometer. </DL>
<A NAME="audiometry">
<B>audiometry, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the testing of the sense of hearing. </DL>
<A NAME="audion">
<B>audion, </B>noun. <B>=triode.</B></DL>
<A NAME="audiophile">
<B>audiophile, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a devotee of high-fidelity sound reproduction. </DL>
<A NAME="audiophilia">
<B>audiophilia, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> enthusiasm for high-fidelity sound and equipment. </DL>
