latchkey
- n key for raising or drawing back a latch or opening an outside door
latchkey child
- n a school-age child who is home without adult supervision for part of the day (especially after school until a parent returns home from work)
latchstring
- n opener consisting of a string that can be passed through a hole in a door for raising the latch from outside
late blight
- n blight in which symptoms appear late in the growing season especially a disease of solanaceous plants caused by the fungus Phytophthora infestans
late latin
- n the form of Latin written between the 3rd and 8th centuries
lateen sail
- n a triangular fore-and-aft sail used especially in the Mediterranean
latency
- n (computer science) the time it takes for a specific block of data on a data track to rotate around to the read/write head
- n the time that elapses between a stimulus and the response to it
- n the state of being not yet evident or active
latency period
- n (psychoanalysis) the fourth period (from about age 5 or 6 until puberty) during which sexual interests are supposed to be sublimated into other activities
latency phase
- n (psychoanalysis) the fourth period (from about age 5 or 6 until puberty) during which sexual interests are supposed to be sublimated into other activities
latency stage
- n (psychoanalysis) the fourth period (from about age 5 or 6 until puberty) during which sexual interests are supposed to be sublimated into other activities
latent content
- n (psychoanalysis) hidden meaning of a fantasy or dream
latent diabetes
- n a mild form of diabetes mellitus in which there are no overt symptoms but there are abnormal responses to some diagnostic procedures
latent heat
- n heat absorbed or radiated during a change of phase at a constant temperature and pressure