Terms starting with M

Initialism of medium (the manufactured size or an item of that size).

M15

A motor vehicle fuel blend with a 15% composition of methanol.

M85

A motor vehicle fuel composed of 85% methanol and 15% gasoline.

Ma Bell

nameShop talk and trade slanginformal

Collectively, the family of companies associated with American Telephone & Telegraph, providing telephone service in the United States for many years through 1983.

Maarad

A kind of Egyptian cotton.

macaroni dress

A type of extravagant and flamboyant clothing worn by a subculture of young English men in the late 18th century.

machine lace

A style of lace that is made or replicated using mechanical means.

machine taper

nounMachining

A system for securing cutting tools or toolholders in the spindle of a machine tool.

A tool, typically a power-driven machine and typically stationary, used especially for machining (removing hard material via cutting, grinding, or other subtractive processes) and (more broadly) for any mix of subtractive, forming/stamping, or additive work.

machining center

Any of a class of machine tools with computerized control and actuation, usually and especially of the CNC type.

macrosegregation

nounMetallurgy

A variation in the composition of a metal casting caused by irregular movement during solidification

macrostructure

nounMetallurgy

The gross structure of a pure metal or alloy, as revealed by magnifications of 10X or less.

mag wheel

A wheel for a motor vehicle, made from an alloy of magnesium, typically lighter and offering better heat conduction than steel wheels; often styled in a five-point star pattern; (sometimes also) a wheel made to look like such wheels but not truly of magnesium.

magnetic equator

A line drawn on a map or chart connecting all points at which the magnetic dip (or magnetic inclination) is zero for a specified epoch.

magnetic moment

The torque exerted on a magnet within a magnetic field; a vector, being the product of the strength of the magnet and the distance between its poles.

magnetic strip

A strip of magnetic material on which data is stored for later retrieval and reading by an electronic device.

magneto-optic effect

The property changes (i.e. polarization, spectrum, phase, intensity) in an electromagnetic wave when it propagates through a medium that has been altered by the presence of a quasistatic magnetic field.

magneto-optic Kerr effect

A magneto-optic effect in which light is reflected from a magnetized surface and may change both polarization and reflected intensity.

mail car

nounRail equipment

A railroad car in which mail is carried and sorted.

main frame

the widest structural frame located near the middle of a ship

maingate

A tunnel admitting fresh air to the working face of a mine.

mainline

nounPlumbing

The pipeline carrying wastewater to the public drains or a septic tank.

major appliance

A nonportable or semiportable machine used for routine housekeeping tasks such as cooking, washing laundry, or food preservation.

make-before-break

adjectiveElectrical engineering

Of a switch or other electronic device, that creates a new electrical connection before an older one is broken.

make-ready

nounIndustrial printing

The process of preparing something for use.

makespan

The time difference between the start and finish of a sequence of jobs or tasks.

makeup

Replacement; material used to make up for the amount that has been used up.

man-tailored

adjectiveManufacturing

Of clothing, made in a masculine style, without feminine details such as frills.

Manchester coding

A line code in which the encoding of each data bit has at least one transition and occupies the same time.

manettino

A rotary switch in some Ferrari cars, mounted on the steering wheel, used to adjust the electronics governing suspension settings, traction control, electronic differential, and change speed of electronic gearbox.

manganesic

adjectiveMetallurgydated

Containing manganese

manifold

nounMechanical engineering

A pipe fitting or similar device that connects multiple inputs and outputs.

manlock

nounConstruction

An airlock through which workers pass into a chamber of compressed air, especially used in mines.

manriding

The transportation of workers around a mine by means of cages or trains etc.

mantrip

A shuttle for transporting miners down into an underground mine.

manual

A device that is operated using the hands, or by a human rather than a machine.

manual transmission

A multi-speed vehicle transmission, where gear changes require the driver to manually select the gears by operating a gear stick and clutch (which is usually a foot pedal for cars, or a hand lever for motorcycles).

manwinding

The transportation of workers up and down a mine by means of cages that are raised and lowered.

map pocket

A storage bin attached to a section in the interior of a vehicle.

mapper

nounEnergy and utilities

A software or hardware component that performs a mapping.

marabou

A kind of thrown raw silk, naturally nearly white, but capable of being dyed without scouring.

marcella

A kind of corded or ribbed fabric made from cotton, rayon, or silk.

marine glue

A cementing substance (not actually glue) used for paying seams in ships' decks after they are caulked.

market class

nounAgricultural equipment

A commodity, usually produced on farms and part of a larger category. Products within a market class have similar physical characteristics, are grown or raised under similar conditions, and are bought and sold under similar terms and conditions.

marquetry

nounWoodworking

A decorative technique in which veneers of wood, ivory, metal etc. are inlaid into a wooden surface to form intricate designs.

marrow

nounMining and extractionobsolete, slang

A miner's mate or assistant.

martensite

nounMetallurgy

A solid solution of carbon in iron; the chief constituent of steel.

Martindale

A unit for quantifying the abrasion resistance of textiles, especially when used for upholstery.

Martindale method

A test designed to measure the durability of a fabric.

mash

Ground or bruised malt, or meal of rye, wheat, corn, or other grain (or a mixture of malt and meal) steeped and stirred in hot water for making the wort.

mash tun

An insulated vessel used in making the mashing process in which grains and water are mixed and heated to produce wort prior to fermentation.

masher

A machine for making mash.

mashout

The step or process, in brewing beer, of raising the mash (e.g. by adding hot water to it) to a temperature around 75 °C or 170 °F, so as to stop the enzymatic conversion of starch to fermentable sugar and make the mash and wort more fluid.

mashwort

wort that is not separated from the grains

mass distribution

nounMechanical engineering

The spatial distribution of mass within a solid body.

mass haul diagram

A diagram illustrating the amounts of material that will be cut from the terrain and used to fill other areas, for example when building a railway.

master copy

nounIndustrial printing

The copy that acts as the main or original version among several copies, such as the master proof where changes from other author copies are combined, or a similar master manuscript with edits transferred to it.

match

nounMetalworking

A perforated board, block of plaster, hardened sand, etc., in which a pattern is partly embedded when a mould is made, for giving shape to the surfaces of separation between the parts of the mould.

match factor