underactive thyroid(... THY-royd) Too little thyroid hormone. Symptoms include weight gain, constipation, dry skin, and sensitivity to the cold. Also called hypothyroidism.
UndercurrentA current below the upper currents or surface of a fluid body.
UnderdogA person or hand not mathematically favored to win a pot. For instance, if you flop four cards to your flush, you are not quite a 2:1 underdog to make…
UnderflowThe movement of groundwater through the soil or a subsurface stratum, or under a structure; specifically, the water flowing beneath the bed of a stream…
underground cableA communication cable designed to be placed under the surface of the Earth in a duct system that isolates it from direct contact with the soil.
underground economyMoney-making activities that people don't report to the government, including both illegal and legal activities.
Underground HomeA house built into the ground or slope of a hill, or which has most or all exterior surfaces covered with earth.
underground plantCable and wire plant, together with closures appropriate for the application, that is placed below ground in structures such as conduit or ducts. [T1.
Underground Storage Tank (UST)An underground storage tank system (UST) is a tank and any underground piping connected to the tank that has at least 10 percent of its combined volume…
Underinsured Motorist (UIM)This covers bodily injury losses for you or your passengers if you are hit by an at-fault motorist who does not have enough insurance to cover your claim.
Underinsured Motorist Bodily Injury Coverage (UIM)Is coverage for any bodily injury resulting from the operation of a motor vehicle, which is covered under a liability policy at the time of the injury…
underlapIn facsimile, a defect that occurs when the width of the scanning line is less than the scanning pitch.
Underlying AssetsAssets that are held in another investment vehicle in which a filer has a financial interest.
Underlying instrumentAn underlying instrument is a security, such as a stock, a commodity, or other type of financial product, such as a stock index, whose value determines…
Underlying investmentThe investments a variable annuity's separate account fund, a mutual fund, or other fund makes are considered the fund's underlying investments.
Underlying mortgageRefers to the first mortgage when there is a wraparound mortgage. See "wraparound mortgage."
undersecured claimA debt secured by property that is worth less than the full amount of the debt.
undershootAn arc that does not extend far enough to intersect another arc. See also dangling arc.
understockHost plant for a grafted scion, a branch or shoot from another plant; an understock may be a fully grown tree or a stump with a living root system.
UnderstoryThe trees and other woody species growing under a relatively continuous cover of branches and foliage formed by the overstory trees.
UndersunAn optical effect seen by an observer above a cloud deck when looking toward the sun, as sunlight is reflected upwards off the faces of ice crystals in…
UndertakingAny project, activity, or program that could change the character or use of historic properties.
UndertowA relatively small-scale surf-zone current moving away from the beach. Rip currents form as waves disperse along the beach causing water to become trapped…
UndervaluationAny stock that trades at a lower price than the issuing company's reputation, earnings outlook, or financial situation would seem to merit is considered…
UndervoteAn undervote occurs when the number of choices selected by a voter in a contest is less than the maximum number allowed for that contest or when no…
UnderwaterYou're underwater when your employee stock options are out-of-the-money and so currently worthless.
UnderweightedWhen you own less of a security, an asset class, or a subclass than your target asset allocation calls for, you are said to be underweighted in that…
UnderwriterAn individual in an insurance company who determines what insurance risks will be accepted and on what terms.
UnderwritingThe purchase for resale of a new issue of securities by an investment dealer or group of dealers.
undescended testiclesA condition in which one or both testicles fail to move from the abdomen, where they develop before birth, into the scrotum.
undesired signalAny signal that tends to produce degradation in the operation of equipment or systems.
undetected error ratioThe ratio of the number of bits, unit elements, characters, or blocks incorrectly received and undetected, to the total number of bits, unit elements…
UndifferentiatedA term used to describe cells or tissues that do not have specialized ("mature") structures or functions.
Undistributed profitsThe portion of corporate profits that remains after taxes and dividends have been paid.
undisturbed dayA day during which neither sunspot activity nor ionospheric disturbance causes detectable interfere with radio communications.
Undisturbed sampleA soil sample that has been obtained by methods in which every precaution has been taken to minimize disturbance to the sample.
undo check-outCancel the check-out of a document. Undoing a check-out returns the document to the state it was before the check-out.
Undue ExperimentationAn amount of experimentation required to practice a disclosed invention that would be unreasonable. MPEP 2164.01, MPEP 818.03(c).
Unearned premiumThe portion of the premium for the remaining time period that the policy will not be in force.
unencapsidatedA virus not enclosed by a coat protein or capsid.
UnenforceableA determonation by a court that a patent cannot be enforced against a party that would otherwise be infringing its claims, because the patent is defective.
unequal crossing overAbnormal meiotic event, in which one chromatid contains a duplication and the other a deletion.
unequipped indicationA code placed in unequipped channels by originating equipment to indicate to path terminating equipment that the channel is intentionally unoccupied so…
Unethical SEOUnethical search engine optimization techniques that are considered unscrupulous and can result in getting sites banned from the search engines.
unexpected frameA valid frame that cannot be processed. The frame itself is perfectly legitimate.
Unexpired TermThe remainder of a term filled by an officer elected by special election or appointed, after a vacancy has occurred in the office.
Unfair labor practiceActions by the employer which interfere with, restrain, coerce, or threaten employees with respect to their rights as employees. Common Legal Terms.48
Unfinished oilsAll oils requiring further refinery processing, except those requiring only mechanical blending.
Unglazed Solar CollectorA solar thermal collector that has an absorber that does not have a glazed covering.
unguent(UNG-gwent) A substance used on the skin to soothe or heal wounds, burns, rashes, scrapes, or other skin problems. Also called ointment.
unicellularTissues, organs or organisms consisting of a single cell.
UnicodeA 16-bit character set designed to make it easier to exchange and display information that makes use of a wide range of different languages and symbols.
Unicode-based white space segmentationA method of tokenization that uses Unicode character properties to distinguish between token and separator characters.
UNID (Universal ID)A unique 16-byte value that is assigned to a note when the note is first created.
UNID tableThe UNID table maps a note's UNID to its note ID, which, in turn, can be mapped through the database's RRV table to the note's position within the…
unidentified flying object (UFO)Abbreviation for “unidentified flying object” which does not necessarily apply to extraterrestrial or secret governmental crafts, but can be anything…
unidirectionalThe condition where information flow is provided only in one direction. [T1.615-1992]
unidirectional operationOperation in which data are transmitted from a transmitter to a receiver in only one direction.
unidirectional pathA path that logically connects a single path source with the associated path sink. [T1.231-1997]
Unified Action Armed ForcesA publication setting forth the principles, doctrines, and functions governing the activities and performance of the Armed Forces of the United States…
Unified Block and File ArchitectureThe ability of Adaptec's iSCSI-enabled GuardianOS Snap Servers to store block and file data simultaneously on a single storage device.
Unified CommandA command with a broad continuing mission under a single commander and composed of significant assigned components of two or more Services, and which is…
Unified MessagingAn application that consolidates a user's voice mail, fax, and e-mail into one mailbox, so that the user only needs to check a single location for…
Unified Messaging server roleA set of components and services that enable voice, fax, and e-mail messages to be stored in a user's single mailbox.
Uniform Building Code (UBC)A building code published by the International Conference of Building Officials, adopted and amended by Oregon Department of Commerce.
Uniform Commercial Code (UCC)A set of statutes enacted by the various States to provide consistency among the States' commercial laws.
Uniform Election DateWith few exceptions, each general or special election in this state shall be held on one of the following dates: (1) the second Saturday in May; or (2)…
uniform encodingAn analog-to-digital conversion process in which, except for the highest and lowest quantization steps, all of the quantization subrange values are equal.
Uniform flowOpen channel flow where the depth and discharge remain constant with respect to space. Also, the velocity at a given depth is the same everywhere.
Uniform Gifts to Minors Act (UGMA)Under the UGMA, you as an adult can set up a custodial account for a minor and put assets such as cash, securities, and mutual funds into it.
Uniform Laws AnnotatedAnnotated uniform and model acts approved by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws.
uniform linear arrayAn antenna composed of a relatively large number of usually identical elements arranged in a single line or in a plane with uniform spacing and usually…
Uniform Mechanical Code (UMC)A code sponsored by the International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials and the International Conference of Building Officials, adopted and…
Uniform Residential Loan ApplicationA standard mortgage application your lender will ask you to complete. The form requests your income, assets, liabilities, and a description of the…
Uniform Resource IdentifierA character string used to identify a resource (such as a file) from anywhere on the Internet by type and location.
Uniform Resource Locator (URL)An address that specifies a protocol (such as HTTP or FTP) and a location of an object, document, World Wide Web page, or other destination on the…
Uniform Settlement StatementA standard document prescribed by the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act containing information for closing which must be supplied to both buyer and…
Uniform Transfers to Minors Act (UTMA)The UTMA allows you as an adult to set up a custodial account for a minor, who owns any assets placed in the account, although he or she can't legally…
uniform transmission lineA transmission line that has distributed electrical properties, i.e., resistance, inductance, and capacitance per unit length, that are constant along the…
UniformityTire-to-tire variation in size and properties. It's harder to control the size of a flexible tire made from rubber and fabric than it is something more…
Unilateral current transfersRecorded when transfers of resources that affect a nation's income or product in the current period occur without a quid pro quo; the country receiving…
unilateral salpingo-oophorectomy(YOO-nih-LA-teh-rul sal-PIN-goh-oh-oh-foh-REK-toh-mee) Surgery to remove the ovary and fallopian tube on one side of the body.
unilateral synchronization systemA system of synchronization in which signals from a single location are used to synchronize clocks at one or more other locations.
UnimodalA distribution having only one localized maximum, i.e., only one peak.
uninitialized variableA local variable that been declared, but has had no value assigned to it. The compiler will warn of variables which are used before being initialized.