the outer boundary of an artifact or a material layer constituting or resembling such a boundary; "there is a special cleaner for these surfaces"; "the cloth had a pattern of red dots on a white surface"
a superficial aspect as opposed to the real nature of something; "it was not what it appeared to be on the surface"
the extended two-dimensional outer boundary of a three-dimensional object; "they skimmed over the surface of the water"; "a brush small enough to clean every dental surface"; "the sun has no distinct surface"
the outermost level of the land or sea; "earthquakes originate far below the surface"; "three quarters of the Earth's surface is covered by water"
a small elite group; "it was designed for the discriminating few"
an indefinite but relatively small number; "they bought a case of beer and drank a few"
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by `a'; a small but indefinite number; "a few weeks ago"; "a few more wagons than usual"; "an invalid's pleasures are few and far between"; "few roses were still blooming"; "few women have led troops in battle"
something (a person or object or scene) selected by an artist or photographer for graphic representation; "a moving picture of a train is more dramatic than a still picture of the same subject"
(grammar) one of the two main constituents of a sentence; the grammatical constituent about which something is predicated
(logic) the first term of a proposition
the subject matter of a conversation or discussion; "he didn't want to discuss that subject"; "it was a very sensitive topic"; "his letters were always on the theme of love"
a person who is subjected to experimental or other observational procedures; someone who is an object of investigation; "the subjects for this investigation were selected randomly"; "the cases that we studied were drawn from two different communities"
likely to be affected by something (especially something unpleasant); "the bond is subject to taxation"; "he is subject to fits of depression"
being under the power or sovereignty of another or others; "subject peoples"; "a dependent prince"
make accountable for; "He did not want to subject himself to the judgments of his superiors"
cause to experience or suffer or make liable or vulnerable to; "He subjected me to his awful poetry"; "The sergeant subjected the new recruits to many drills"; "People in Chernobyl were subjected to radiation"
the act of diluting something; "the cutting of whiskey with water"; "the thinning of paint with turpentine"
a piece cut off from the main part of something
a part (sometimes a root or leaf or bud) removed from a plant to propagate a new plant through rooting or grafting
suitable for cutting or severing; "a cutting tool"; "the cutting edge"
as physically painful as if caused by a sharp instrument; "a cutting wind"; "keen winds"; "knifelike cold"; "piercing knifelike pains"; "piercing cold"; "piercing criticism"; "a stabbing pain"; "lancinating pain"
(of speech) harsh or hurtful in tone or character; "cutting remarks"; "edged satire"; "a stinging comment"
drawing a figure satisfying certain conditions as part of solving a problem or proving a theorem; "the assignment was to make a construction that could be used in proving the Pythagorean theorem"
the act of constructing something; "during the construction we had to take a detour"; "his hobby was the building of boats"
the commercial activity involved in repairing old structures or constructing new ones; "their main business is home construction"; "workers in the building trades"
the creation of a construct; the process of combining ideas into a congruous object of thought
a group of words that form a constituent of a sentence and are considered as a single unit; "I concluded from his awkward constructions that he was a foreigner"
an interpretation of a text or action; "they put an unsympathetic construction on his conduct"
the act of constructing something (as a piece of machinery)
the act of making something (a product) from raw materials; "the synthesis and fabrication of single crystals"; "an improvement in the manufacture of explosives"; "manufacturing is vital to Great Britain"