<B>double bond,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (Chemistry.) a compound in which two single valence bonds join two atoms, a characteristic of unsaturated compounds. </DL>
<A NAME="doublebook">
<B>double-book, </B>transitive verb.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>to accept two reservations for (the same hotel room) so as to help insure its occupancy in the event of a cancellation. <DD><B> 2. </B>to make two reservations for (a hotel room or the like) to be assured of obtaining it. </DL>
<A NAME="doublebreasted">
<B>double-breasted, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> overlapping enough to make two thicknesses across the breast and having a double row of buttons. <BR> <I>Ex. a double-breasted jacket or coat.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="doublebridle">
<B>double bridle,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a bridle having two reins, one controlling a curb bit, the other controlling a snaffle bit. </DL>
<A NAME="doublebubble">
<B>double-bubble, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> having a shape or structure the cross section of which is somewhat like that of one bubble on top of another. <BR> <I>Ex. a double-bubble fuselage.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="doublecheck">
<B>double-check, </B>verb, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>v.t., v.i. </I> to check twice. <BR> <I>Ex. to double-check a report, to double-check for factual errors. Local police, who double-checked, decided he could go his way (Time).</I> <DD><I>noun </I> a check of something twice. <BR> <I>Ex. to make a double-check of safety apparatus.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="doublechin">
<B>double chin,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a soft fold of flesh under the chin. </DL>
<A NAME="doublechinned">
<B>double-chinned, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> having a double chin. </DL>
<A NAME="doubleclaw">
<B>double-claw, </B>noun. =unicorn plant.</DL>
<A NAME="doubleclutch">
<B>double-clutch, </B>intransitive verb.<DL COMPACT><DD> to engage the clutch in neutral just prior to downshifting. </DL>
<A NAME="doublecoconut">
<B>double coconut,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a large, lobed coconut of the Seychelles, in the Indian Ocean; coco-de-mer. </DL>
<A NAME="doubleconcavelens">
<B>double-concave lens,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a lens with two concave surfaces, used in reducing glasses. </DL>
<A NAME="doubleconvexlens">
<B>double-convex lens,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a lens with two convex surfaces, used in various magnifying glasses. </DL>
<A NAME="doublecounterpoint">
<B>double counterpoint,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (Music.) a counterpoint with two parts that may be inverted, the lower part becoming the higher, or the higher part the lower. </DL>
<A NAME="doublecover">
<B>double-cover, </B>transitive verb.<DL COMPACT><DD> to cover (an opponent) with two players; double-team. <BR> <I>Ex. The other teams have to double-cover him all the time (Time).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="doublecrestedcormorant">
<B>double-crested cormorant,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> the common cormorant of the coasts and inland waters of eastern North America, a large, greenish-black water bird with two crests on its head in summer. </DL>
<A NAME="doublecropping">
<B>double-cropping, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the raising of two or more crops on the same land in one season. </DL>
<A NAME="doublecross">
<B>double cross,</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>(Informal.) an act of treachery. <BR> <I>Ex. [He] called the contract "a sell-out by the union and a double cross by the company" (Wall Street Journal).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>(Genetics.) the hybrid produced by two single crosses of inbred lines. <BR> <I>Ex. Jones' solution was simply to use seed from a double cross instead of a single cross (Scientific American).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="doublecross">
<B>double-cross, </B>transitive verb, intransitive verb.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Informal.) to promise to do one thing and then do another; be treacherous (to). <BR> <I>Ex. A wealthy uncle who double-crossed them by leaving his money to charities (P. G. Wodehouse).</I> noun <B>double-cross-er.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="doublecrostic">
<B>Double-Crostic, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Trademark.) a kind of crossword puzzle in which the words formed produce a quotation, which is then transcribed so that the initial letters of its words form an acrostic of the author of the quotation and the title of the work in which the quotation appears. </DL>
<A NAME="doubledagger">
<B>double dagger,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a mark used to refer the reader to another section or to a note in a book; diesis. </DL>
<A NAME="doubledare">
<B>double-dare, </B>transitive verb, <B>-dared,</B> <B>-daring.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> to challenge or dare with double emphasis. <BR> <I>Ex. But the little boy said, "Who's scared of your grandma? I just double-dare her!" (Guy Endore).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="doubledate">
<B>double date,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a date in which two couples go out together. </DL>
<A NAME="doubledate">
<B>double-date, </B>intransitive verb, <B>-dated,</B> <B>-dating.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> to go out with a person of the opposite sex and another couple. </DL>
<A NAME="doubledeal">
<B>double-deal, </B>intransitive verb, <B>-dealt,</B> <B>-dealing.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> to practice deception; cheat; deceive. <BR> <I>Ex. It is Don Lope who is ill and she who double-deals pretending to call a doctor for him with her finger pressed firmly down on the telephone rest (Penelope Gilliatt).</I> noun <B>double-dealer.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="doubledealing">
<B>double-dealing, </B>noun, adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> a pretending to do one thing and then doing another; deceitful action or behavior. <BR> <I>Ex. There were some who feared the U.S. could expect only grief and double-dealing in any ... conferences with the Communists (Newsweek).</I> <DD><I>adj. </I> ready to deceive; deceitful. </DL>
<A NAME="doubledeck">
<B>double-deck, </B>adjective, verb.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> having or consisting of two decks, levels, tiers, or layers. <BR> <I>Ex. a double-deck bus, a double-deck garage, a double-deck bed.</I> <DD><I>v.t. </I> to make or arrange in two decks, levels, etc.. <BR> <I>Ex. to double-deck a bridge.</I> </DL>
<B>double-decker, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>something with two decks, floors, levels, tiers, or layers, such as a ship with two decks above the main deck, or a bus, railroad car, or aircraft having an upper floor with seats. <BR> <I>Ex. A bed with two levels, one above the other, is a double-decker.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>(U.S.) a sandwich made with three slices of bread and two layers of filling. </DL>
<B>double-digit, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> having to do with or marked by increases of 10 per cent or more, especially as shown in economic indicators, such as the consumer price index. <BR> <I>Ex. double-digit inflation, double-digit unemployment.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="doubledipping">
<B>double dipping,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (U.S. Informal.) the system or policy of allowing a person who has retired from government service, especially military service, to continue receiving his pension after taking another government job. <BR> <I>Ex. Critics of the dual compensation ... , including many Congressmen, consider "double dipping" typical of the ways in which the military pension system has become overly generous (New York Times).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="doubledome">
<B>doubledome, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (U.S. Slang.) a person of advanced intellect and refined taste; highbrow. <BR> <I>Ex. Miss Dunham has lectured at Yale University. She must have been the most popular visiting doubledome (Wall Street Journal).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="doubledribble">
<B>double dribble,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (Basketball.) a violation in which a player dribbles the ball with both hands at the same time or stops dribbling and starts again. </DL>
<A NAME="doubledummy">
<B>double dummy,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a game of bridge or whist for two players in which two hands are exposed, so that each of the players manages two hands. </DL>
<A NAME="doubledutch">
<B>double Dutch,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a language or speech which is not understandable; gibberish. </DL>
<A NAME="doubleduty">
<B>double-duty, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> that can be used in two ways; serving two functions. <BR> <I>Ex. a double-duty food mixer that can be used as both a mixer and a drink blender (Wall Street Journal).</I> </DL>
<B>double-dyed, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>twice dyed. <DD><B> 2. </B>(Figurative.) deeply imbued; thorough; complete. <BR> <I>Ex. The speaker is a double-dyed fundamentalist.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="doubleeagle">
<B>double eagle,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a former gold coin of the United States, worth 20 dollars. </DL>
<A NAME="doubleedged">
<B>double-edged, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>having two cutting edges; two-edged. <DD><B> 2. </B>cutting or acting both ways; as much against as for. <BR> <I>Ex. a double-edged compliment.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="doubleended">
<B>double-ended, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> identical or very similar at both ends. <BR> <I>Ex. a double-ended walking stick. They grow a double-ended coconut (Time).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="doubleender">
<B>double-ender, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>anything that is double-ended. <DD><B> 2. </B>a ferryboat, trolley car, subway train, locomotive, etc., so designed and equipped as to be able to travel in either direction. </DL>
<A NAME="doubleentendre">
<B>double-entendre, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a word or expression with two meanings, one of which is often indelicate or improper. <BR> <I>Ex. He can make a double-entendre palatable to the worst prude (Newsweek).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="doubleentente">
<B>double entente,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (French.) double meaning; a vague or ambiguous sense. </DL>
<A NAME="doubleentry">
<B>double entry,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a system of bookkeeping in which each transaction is written down twice, once on the credit side of the ledger and once on the debit side of the ledger. </DL>
<A NAME="doubleentry">
<B>double-entry, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> in or using the system of double entry. </DL>
<A NAME="doubleenvelopment">
<B>double envelopment,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a closing in and surrounding both flanks of an enemy at the same time. </DL>
<A NAME="doubleexposure">
<B>double exposure,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (Photography.) the exposure of the same surface or section of a roll of film twice. <BR> <I>Ex. Inamateur photography the beginner's classic blunder is the double exposure (Newsweek).</I> </DL>
