| a gadget; dingus; thingumbob. |
| a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes. |
relief (rɪˈliːf) ![]() | |
| —n | |
| 1. | a feeling of cheerfulness or optimism that follows the removal of anxiety, pain, or distress: I breathed a sigh of relief |
| 2. | deliverance from or alleviation of anxiety, pain, distress, etc |
| 3. | a. help or assistance, as to the poor, needy, or distressed |
| b. (as modifier): relief work | |
| 4. | short for tax relief |
| 5. | something that affords a diversion from monotony |
| 6. | a person who replaces or relieves another at some task or duty |
| 7. | a bus, shuttle plane, etc, that carries additional passengers when a scheduled service is full |
| 8. | a road (relief road) carrying traffic round an urban area; bypass |
| 9. | a. the act of freeing a beleaguered town, fortress, etc: the relief of Mafeking |
| b. (as modifier): a relief column | |
| 10. | sculpture, architect relievo, Also called: rilievo |
| a. the projection of forms or figures from a flat ground, so that they are partly or wholly free of it | |
| b. a piece of work of this kind | |
| 11. | a printing process, such as engraving, letterpress, etc, that employs raised surfaces from which ink is transferred to the paper |
| 12. | any vivid effect resulting from contrast: comic relief |
| 13. | variation in altitude in an area; difference between highest and lowest level: a region of low relief |
| 14. | mechanical engineering the removal of the surface material of a bearing area to allow the access of lubricating fluid |
| 15. | law redress of a grievance or hardship: to seek relief through the courts |
| 16. | European history a succession of payments made by an heir to a fief to his lord: the size of the relief was determined by the lord within bounds set by custom |
| 17. | (US), (Canadian) on relief (of a person) in receipt of government aid because of personal need |
| [C14: from Old French, from relever to raise up; see | |