<B>deck, </B>noun, verb.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>one of the floors or platforms extending from side to side and often end to end of a ship. The upper, main, middle, and lower decks of a ship are somewhat like the stories of a house. Often the upper deck has no roof over it. <DD><B> 2. </B>a part or floor resembling this. <BR> <I>Ex. the deck of an airplane, a parking deck. On the roof of the porch is a large sundeck.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>a pack of playing cards. <BR> <I>Ex. He shuffled the deck and dealt the cards.</I> <DD><B> 4. </B>(Journalism.) a line or lines of a headline set in the same type; bank. <DD><B> 5. </B>the basic mechanical part of a tape recorder, without amplifiers, speakers, or other attachments; tape deck. <DD><B> 6. </B>(U.S. Slang.) a package of heroin, especially a package of three grains. <DD><I>v.t. </I> <B>1. </B>to cover, dress, or adorn. <BR> <I>Ex. The little girl was decked out in white linen. Deck the halls with boughs of holly (Christmas carol).</I> (SYN) array, attire, clothe. <DD><B> 2. </B>to provide with a deck. <DD><B> 3. </B>(U.S. Slang.) to knock down; floor. <BR> <I>Ex. Bonavena struggled up at the count of eight and Ali decked him again (Time).</I> <BR><I>expr. <B>clear the deck</B> or <B>decks,</B> <DD><B> a. </B>to remove unnecessary objects from the decks of a warship, to prepare for action. </I> <I>Ex. The sailors cleared the decks for a fight before the pirate ship closed in.</I> <DD><B> b. </B>(Figurative.) to make ready for any action. <BR> <I>Ex. ... to clear the decks for an expected filibuster (Wall Street Journal).</I> <BR><I>expr. <B>hit the deck,</B> (U.S. Slang.) <DD><B> a. </B>to get up from bed. </I> <I>Ex. "Hit the deck, boys!" said the old seaman who awoke us.</I> <DD><B> b. </B>to drop on the ground or floor. <BR> <I>Ex. When the shots rang out, everyone hit the deck. The contender hit the deck twice in the fifth round.</I> <BR><I>expr. <B>on deck,</B> <DD><B> a. </B>present and ready to do something; on hand. </I> <I>Ex. The coach is sick and won't be on deck for practice for at least one week.</I> <DD><B> b. </B>(Baseball.) next at bat. A player on deck usually waits at an assigned spot away from the batter's box. <BR><I>expr. <B>stack the deck,</B> (Informal.) <DD><B> a. </B>to arrange a pack of cards dishonestly. </I> <I>Ex. The gambler's deck was stacked with five aces.</I> <DD><B> b. </B>(Figurative.) to prepare circumstances in advance. <BR> <I>Ex. When [the company] pits a piece of its "New, Super-strength ... Wrap" against "ordinary wrap," it stacks the deck by seeing to it that the "ordinary wrap" is deliberately torn and severely wrinkled (Time).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="deckboy">
<B>deck boy,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a person working on the deck of a ship; deck hand. </DL>
<A NAME="deckchair">
<B>deck chair,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a folding chair with a wooden or canvas seat and arm rests, and sometimes a footrest. </DL>
<A NAME="deckel">
<B>deckel, </B>noun. <B>=deckle.</B></DL>
<A NAME="decker">
<B>decker, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>anything with a deck or (a specified number of) decks. <BR> <I>Ex. a three-decker sandwich.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>a person or thing that decks. </DL>
<A NAME="deckhand">
<B>deck hand,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a sailor who works on deck, not rated as an able-bodied seaman; common sailor. </DL>
<A NAME="deckhead">
<B>deckhead, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the underside of a deck. <BR> <I>Ex. ... trapped between rising water and a steel deckhead (Maclean's).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="deckhouse">
<B>deckhouse, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a house or room built on the deck of a ship. <BR> <I>Ex. The Third Mate emerged from the deckhouse and thumped down his seabag (Atlantic).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="decking">
<B>decking, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> material used in constructing a deck. <BR> <I>Ex. The decking is coated with skid-proof enamel abrasive tread (Science News Letter).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="deckle">
<B>deckle, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> in papermaking: <DD><B> 1. </B>a device for keeping the pulp from spreading beyond desired limits. A deckle is used to determine the size or width of the sheet. <DD><B> 2. </B><B>=deckle edge.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="deckleedge">
<B>deckle edge,</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the rough edge of untrimmed paper. <BR> <I>Ex. The deckle edges are left at the side and bottom, the top edge alone being cut (Bookseller).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>an edge made to look like this; an imitation of it. </DL>
<A NAME="deckleedged">
<B>deckle-edged, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> having a deckle edge. <BR> <I>Ex. a book bound with deckle-edged paper.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="deckload">
<B>deckload, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the cargo or load stowed on the deck of a ship. <BR> <I>Ex. All I would have to do was step across from our deckload of timber (Harper's).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="decko">
<B>decko, </B>noun. <B>=dekko.</B></DL>
<A NAME="deckpassage">
<B>deck passage,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> traveling accommodations on the deck of a ship. It is the cheapest passage obtainable. </DL>
<A NAME="decksport">
<B>deck sport,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> any sport suitable for or played on the deck of a ship, such as deck tennis. </DL>
<A NAME="decktennis">
<B>deck tennis,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a game played on a small court, often on the deck of a ship, in which a ring of rope or the like is tossed, caught, and tossed back over the net. </DL>
<A NAME="decl">
<B>decl.,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> declension. </DL>
<A NAME="declaim">
<B>declaim, </B>intransitive verb.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>to speak like an orator in a loud and emotional manner; speak or write for effect. <BR> <I>Ex. Everyone at the table listened as the old soldier declaimed against the lack of patriotism. His eyes and face were wild and he was declaiming, though one could not understand him (Atlantic).</I> (SYN) rail, inveigh. <DD><B> 2. </B>to recite in public; make a formal speech. (SYN) orate. <DD><I>v.t. </I> to recite aloud, especially with artificial expression. <BR> <I>Ex. He then declaimed the following passage rather with too much than too little emphasis (Scott).</I> noun <B>declaimer.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="declamation">
<B>declamation, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the act or art of reciting in public; making formal speeches. <BR> <I>Ex. That which gave most effect to his declamation was the air of sincerity, of vehement feeling, or moral elevation which belonged to all that he said (Macaulay).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>a formal speech or selection of poetry or prose for reciting. <BR> <I>Ex. He practiced his long declamation many times before giving it before an audience.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>the act of talking loudly and emotionally. <BR> <I>Ex. Declamation roar'd, while Passion slept (Samuel Johnson).</I> <DD><B> 4. </B>loud and emotional talk; a noisy speech. (SYN) harangue. <DD><B> 5. </B>(Music.) the proper enunciation of words, especially in recitative. </DL>
<A NAME="declamatory">
<B>declamatory, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>having to do with declamation. <DD><B> 2. </B>loud and emotional. </DL>
<A NAME="declarable">
<B>declarable, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> that has to be declared, as for customs. </DL>
<A NAME="declarant">
<B>declarant, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Law.) <DD><B> 1. </B>a person who makes a statement that may thereafter be used as evidence. <BR> <I>Ex. The object of requiring the signature of the declarant is to fix liability for false declarations (London Times).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>(U.S.) an alien who has signed his first naturalization papers, thus declaring his intention to become a citizen. </DL>
<A NAME="declaration">
<B>declaration, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the act of declaring. <BR> <I>Ex. a declaration of love. The king's declaration of war was a signal for the army to begin fighting.</I> (SYN) assertion, announcement, avowal. <DD><B> 2. </B>the thing declared; open or public statement. <BR> <I>Ex. The royal declaration was announced in every city and town.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>the document containing a declaration. <BR> <I>Ex. The Declaration of Tehran stated, in part, that the three Allied nations "shall work together in the war and in the peace" (Payson S. Wild, Jr.).</I> <DD><B> 4. </B>a statement of goods or other property for taxation or customs. <BR> <I>Ex. The importer gave the customs agent a declaration showing what merchandise he was bringing into the country.</I> <DD><B> 5. </B>a very strong statement. <DD><B> 6a. </B>a bid in bridge, especially the winning bid. <DD><B> b. </B>an announcement of a player's score while playing bezique and other card games; meld. <DD><B> 7. </B>(Cricket.) a tactical decision by one side to close its innings. <DD><B> 8. </B>(Law.) <DD><B> a. </B>the formal statement in an action in which a plaintiff first presents his claim and requests judgment. <DD><B> b. </B>a simple statement made by a witness instead of an oath. A declaration is subject to the laws of perjury. </DL>
<A NAME="declarationofindependence">
<B>Declaration of Independence,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> the public statement declaring that the American colonies were independent of Great Britain. It was adopted by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776. </DL>
<A NAME="declarationofintention">
<B>declaration of intention,</B> <B>=first papers.</B> <I>Ex. The law no longer requires a person to "take out first papers," or file a declaration of intention to become an American citizen (Robert Rienow).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="declarationofrights">
<B>Declaration of Rights,</B> <B>=Bill of Rights.</B></DL>
<A NAME="declarationoftherightsofman">
<B>Declaration of the Rights of Man,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> the preamble to the French constitution of 1789. </DL>
<A NAME="declarative">
<B>declarative, </B>adjective, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> making a statement; explaining. "I am eating" and "The dog has four legs" are declarative sentences. <DD><I>noun </I> that which declares. <BR> <I>Ex. The ultimatum was cast in the harsh declaratives and imperatives of Imperial Rome.</I> adv. <B>declaratively.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="declarator">
<B>declarator, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a legal declaration establishing a fact. <BR> <I>Ex. ... a declarator that tweed hand-woven in the Outer Hebrides but otherwise processed on the Scottish mainland is Harris tweed (Manchester Guardian Weekly).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="declaratory">
<B>declaratory, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>that declares or explains the law or the legal rights of parties in a dispute. <BR> <I>Ex. a declaratory act, a declaratory judgment.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B><B>=declarative.</B> </DL>
