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PORTABLE
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
A small light typewriter; usually with a case in which it can be carried
Classified under:
Nouns denoting man-made objects
Hypernyms ("portable" is a kind of...):
typewriter (hand-operated character printer for printing written messages one character at a time)
Derivation:
portable (of a motor designed to be attached to the outside of a boat's hull)
portable (easily or conveniently transported)
II. (adjective)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Of a motor designed to be attached to the outside of a boat's hull
Example:
a portable outboard motor
Classified under:
Similar:
outboard (located away from the midline of a vessel or aircraft)
Derivation:
portable (a small light typewriter; usually with a case in which it can be carried)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Easily or conveniently transported
Example:
a portable television set
Classified under:
Similar:
man-portable (portable by one man)
movable ((of personal property as opposed to real estate) can be moved from place to place (especially carried by hand))
take-away; takeout (of or involving food to be taken and eaten off the premises)
Antonym:
unportable (not portable; not easily moved or transported)
Derivation:
portability (the quality of being light enough to be carried)
portable (a small light typewriter; usually with a case in which it can be carried)
Context examples:
A portable 3-D scanning device developed by Sri Lankan and US researchers can quickly measure limb enlargement of patients with the disfiguring condition elephantiasis that resulted from lymphatic filariasis infection.
(New portable device to gauge severity of elephantiasis, SciDev.Net)
Researchers at the University of Minnesota, through the National Science Foundation Center for Sustainable Nanotechnology, found that a common, non-disease-causing bacterium in the environment, Shewanella oneidensis MR-1, developed rapid resistance when repeatedly exposed to nanoparticles used in making lithium ion batteries, the rechargeable batteries used in portable electronics and electric vehicles.
(Nanoparticles may have bigger impact on the environment than previously thought, National Science Foundation)
The scientist theorized correctly that he could adapt it to separate carbon nanotubes, rolled sheets of graphene (a single atomic layer of hexagonally bonded carbon atoms), long recognized for their potential applications in computers and tablets, smart phones and other portable devices, photovoltaics, batteries and bioimaging.
(Materials for the next generation of electronics and photovoltaics, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)
