Words that start with M

You maintain something when you keep it in its current state. For example, you might maintain a friendship with someone, or maintain your house to keep it in good condition. This is called carrying out maintenance.
The soldiers in the picture are maintaining grave sites.

Makeup is products people put on their face or body to change how they look. It can help them look more beautiful or just different.

Makeup can include lipstick, eye shadow, foundation, and powder. People will use it for everyday, special events, or to cover small spots.

A plant or animal is male if he can produce sperm or similar male cells that can be used to fertilize an egg or create a viable seed.

A mallet is a type of hammer. Mallets are often made of rubber or wood, and are used where a metal hammer will be too hard. Mallets have large heads, so they do less damage to something they hit than a smaller hammer or other tool.

Maltese are small toy or lap dogs with silky white hair. They are an ancient breed, and were used as a lap dog by ladies in Roman times. They have black eyes and a black nose, which gives them a very "cute" appearance. Maltese are cuddly companion dogs, and thrive on attention but can be snappy around children. They have a reputation for being a yappy dog.

A man is an adult male person. Your father and your grandfather are men.

A mandarin is a small citrus fruit related to the orange. The skin on a mandarin is very easy to remove, and the inside of the fruit is very easy to break up into segments. Because of this, they are not very messy to eat and are excellent to take to school in a lunchbox.

A mandolin is a musical instrument with four or five pairs of strings that are usually strummed. The mandolin is popular with the Italians and the Spanish.

A mandrill is a large African monkey with bright, colorful skin on its face and a long snout. Males especially can have blue and red markings, plus a pale beard and strong-looking cheek features. Mandrills live in forests in central and western Africa, where they move around on the ground and in trees to find food. They eat fruit, seeds, insects, and small animals, and they often travel in groups.

A mangle, also known as a wringer, is designed to squeeze water out of wet clothes, so they are not dripping wet when they are hung out to dry. Mangles are made from two rollers close together that squeeze the clothes between them. They were used before modern washing machines that have built-in spin driers.