jackpot

any outstanding award ; the cumulative amount involved in a game (such as poker) ;

jackrabbit

large hare of western North America ;

jacks

a game in which jackstones are thrown and picked up in various groups between bounces of a small rubber ball ;

jackscrew

screw-operated jack ;

jacksmelt

a relatively large silversides of the Pacific coast of North America (known to reach 18 inches in length) ;

jacksnipe

American sandpiper that inflates its chest when courting ; a small short-billed Old World snipe ;

jackson

a town in south central Michigan ; capital of the state of Mississippi on the Pearl River ; a town in western Tennessee ; a town in western Wyoming ; 7th president of the US; successfully defended New Orleans from the British in 1815; expanded the power of the presidency (1767-1845) ; general in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War whose troops at the first Battle of Bull Run stood like a stone wall (1824-1863) ; United States writer of romantic novels about the unjust treatment of Native Americans (1830-1885) ; United States civil rights leader who led a national campaign against racial discrimination and ran for presidential nomination (born in 1941) ; United States singer who did much to popularize gospel music (1911-1972) ; United States singer who began singing with his four brothers and later became a highly successful star during the 1980s (born in 1958) ; English film actress who later became a member of British Parliament (born in 1936) ;

jackson pollock

United States artist famous for painting with a drip technique; a leader of abstract expressionism in America (1912-1956) ;

jacksonia

genus of yellow-flowered Australian unarmed or spiny shrubs without true leaves but having leaflike stems or branches ;

jacksonian

a follower of Andrew Jackson or his ideas ;

jacksonian epilepsy

focal epilepsy in which the attack usually moves from distal to proximal limb muscles on the same side of the body ;

jacksonville

Florida's largest city; a port and important commercial center in northeastern Florida ;

jackstones

a game in which jackstones are thrown and picked up in various groups between bounces of a small rubber ball ; game equipment consisting of one of several small six-pointed metal pieces that are picked up while bouncing a ball in the game of jacks ;

jackstraw

a thin strip of wood used in playing the game of jackstraws ;

jackstraws

a game in which players try to pick each jackstraw (or spillikin) off of a pile without moving any of the others ;

jacob

(Old Testament) son of Isaac; brother of Esau; father of the twelve patriarchs of Israel; Jacob wrestled with God and forced God to bless him, so God gave Jacob the new name of Israel (meaning `one who has been strong against God') ; French biochemist who (with Jacques Monod) studied regulatory processes in cells (born in 1920) ;

jacob's ladder

(nautical) a hanging ladder of ropes or chains supporting wooden or metal rungs or steps ; pinnate-leaved European perennial having bright blue or white flowers ;

jacob's rod

asphodel having erect smooth unbranched stem either flexuous or straight ;

jacob's staff

desert shrub of southwestern United States and Mexico having slender naked spiny branches that after the rainy season put forth foliage and clusters of red flowers ;

jacob epstein

British sculptor (born in the United States) noted for busts and large controversial works (1880-1959) ;

jacob harmensen

Dutch Protestant theologian who founded Arminianism which opposed the absolute predestinarianism of John Calvin (1559-1609) ;

jacobean

any distinguished personage during the reign of James I ;

jacobean lily

Mexican bulbous herb cultivated for its handsome bright red solitary flower ;

jacobi

German mathematician (1804-1851) ;

jacobin

a member of the radical movement that instituted the Reign of Terror during the French Revolution ;

jacobinism

the ideology of the most radical element of the French Revolution that instituted the Reign of Terror ;

jacobite

a supporter of James II after he was overthrown or a supporter of the Stuarts ;

jacobs

Dutch physician who opened the first birth control clinic in the world in Amsterdam (1854-1929) ; United States writer and critic of urban planning (born in 1916) ; English writer of macabre short stories (1863-1943) ;

jacobus arminius

Dutch Protestant theologian who founded Arminianism which opposed the absolute predestinarianism of John Calvin (1559-1609) ;

jaconet

a lightweight cotton cloth with a smooth and slightly stiff finish; used for clothing and bandages ;

jacopo robusti

Italian painter of the Venetian school (1518-1594) ;

jacquard

a loom with an attachment for forming openings for the passage of the shuttle between the warp threads; used in weaving figured fabrics ; a highly figured fabric woven on a Jacquard loom ; French inventor of the Jacquard loom that could automatically weave complicated patterns (1752-1834) ;

jacquard loom

a loom with an attachment for forming openings for the passage of the shuttle between the warp threads; used in weaving figured fabrics ;

jacqueline cochran

United States aviator who held several speed records and headed the women's Air Force pilots in World War II (1910-1980) ;

jacquemier's sign

a purplish discoloration of the mucous membrane of the vagina that occurs early in pregnancy ;

jacques alexandre cesar charles

French physicist and author of Charles's law which anticipated Gay-Lussac's law (1746-1823) ;

jacques anatole francois thibault

French writer of sophisticated novels and short stories (1844-1924) ;

jacques bernoulli

Swiss mathematician (1654-1705) ;

jacques cartier

French explorer who explored the St. Lawrence river and laid claim to the region for France (1491-1557) ;

jacques charles

French physicist and author of Charles's law which anticipated Gay-Lussac's law (1746-1823) ;