| a gadget; dingus; thingumbob. |
| a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes. |
relative (ˈrɛlətɪv) ![]() | |
| —adj (foll by to) | |
| 1. | having meaning or significance only in relation to something else; not absolute: a relative value |
| 2. | (prenominal) Compare absolute (of a scientific quantity) being measured or stated relative to some other substance or measurement: relative humidity; relative density |
| 3. | (prenominal) comparative or respective: the relative qualities of speed and accuracy |
| 4. | in proportion (to); corresponding (to): earnings relative to production |
| 5. | having reference (to); pertinent (to): matters not relative to the topic under discussion |
| 6. | grammar demonstrative Compare interrogative denoting or belonging to a class of words that function as subordinating conjunctions in introducing relative clauses. In English, relative pronouns and determiners include who, which, and that |
| 7. | grammar denoting or relating to a clause (relative clause) that modifies a noun or pronoun occurring earlier in the sentence |
| 8. | (of a musical key or scale) having the same key signature as another key or scale: C major is the relative major of A minor |
| —n | |
| 9. | a person who is related by blood or marriage; relation |
| 10. | a relative pronoun, clause, or grammatical construction |
| [C16: from Late Latin relātīvus referring] | |
| 'relativeness | |
| —n | |