Word Finder - kite

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A bird of prey of the family Accipitridae.

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(figuratively) A rapacious person.

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A lightweight toy or other device, traditionally flat and shaped like a triangle with a segment of a circle attached to its base or like a quadrilateral (see sense 9), carried on the wind and tethered and controlled from the ground by one or more lines.

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A tethered object which deflects its position in a medium by obtaining lift and drag in reaction with its relative motion in the medium.

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(astrology) A planetary configuration wherein one planet of a grand trine is in opposition to an additional fourth planet.

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(banking, slang) A blank cheque; a fraudulent cheque, such as one issued even though there are insufficient funds to honour it, or one that has been altered without authorization.

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(finance, slang) An accommodation bill (“a bill of exchange endorsed by a reputable third party acting as a guarantor, as a favour and without compensation”).

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(cycling, slang) A rider who is good at climbs but less good at descents.

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(geometry) A polygon resembling the shape of a traditional toy kite (sense 3): a quadrilateral having two pairs of edges of equal length, the edges of each pair touching each other at one end.

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(military aviation, slang) An aeroplane or aircraft.

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(sailing, dated) In a square-rigged ship: originally a sail positioned above a topsail; later a lightweight sail set above the topgallants, such as a studding sail or a jib topsail.

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(sailing, slang) A spinnaker (“supplementary sail to a mainsail”).

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(British, dialectal) The brill (Scophthalmus rhombus), a type of flatfish.

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(US, prison slang) A (usually concealed) letter or oral message, especially one passed illegally into, within, or out of a prison.

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(transitive) To cause (something) to move upwards rapidly like a toy kite; also (chiefly US, figuratively) to cause (something, such as costs) to increase rapidly.

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(transitive, slang) To tamper with a document or record by increasing the quantity of something beyond its proper amount so that the difference may be unlawfully retained; in particular, to alter a medical prescription for this purpose by increasing the number of pills or other items.

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To keep ahead of (an enemy) and repeatedly attack it from a distance, without exposing oneself to danger.

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To attack (an enemy) or otherwise cause it to give chase, so as to lead it somewhere (like a kite is led on a string), for example into a trap or ambush or away from its comrades or something it was protecting.

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To (cause to) glide in the manner of a kite (“bird”).

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(ambitransitive, rare) To manipulate like a toy kite; also, usually preceded by an inflection of go: to fly a toy kite.

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(ambitransitive, banking, slang) To write or present (a cheque) on an account with insufficient funds, either to defraud or expecting that funds will become available by the time the cheque clears.

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(ambitransitive, US, slang, by extension) To steal.

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(intransitive) To travel by kite, as when kitesurfing.

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(intransitive, figuratively) To move rapidly; to rush.

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(intransitive, engineering, nautical) To deflect sideways in the water.

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(intransitive, US, prison slang) To pass a (usually concealed) letter or oral message, especially illegally, into, within, or out of a prison.

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(Northern England, Scotland, dialectal) The stomach; the belly.

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(Egyptology) A measure of weight equivalent to ¹⁄₁₀ deben (about 0.32 ounces or 9.1 grams).