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Possible definitions for macap

macadam
Form of pavement invented by J. McAdam. McAdam's road cross-section consisted of a compacted subgrade of crushed granite or greenstone designed to support the load, covered by a surface of light stone to absorb wear and tear and shed water to the drainage ditches. In modern macadam construction, crushed stone or gravel is placed on the compacted base course and bound together with asphalt cement or hot tar. A third layer to fill the spaces is then added and rolled. Cement-sand slurry is sometimes used as the binder.


Macao
Former Portuguese territory (pop., 1996 est.: 433,000), S coast of China. It consists of a small peninsula projecting from Guangdong province and two small islands, about 40 mi (64 km) west of Hong Kong. It occupies a total land area of 6.5 sq mi (17 sq km); Macao city (pop., 1995 est.: 424,000) is the administrative center. Portuguese traders first arrived in 1513, and it soon became the chief market center for the trade between China and Japan. It was declared a Portuguese colony in 1849 and an overseas territory in 1951. In Dec. 1999 Portugal returned it to Chinese rule. Tourism and gambling are the mainstay of its economy.


macaque
Any of about 12 primarily Asian species of omnivorous, diurnal monkeys (genus Macaca) with cheek pouches for carrying food. Some species have long tails, some have short tails, and some have none. Males are 15-30 in. (40-70 cm) long (excluding the tail) and weigh 8-40 lbs (3.5-18 kg). Troops live in mountains and lowlands and along shores. Some species, incl. the rhesus monkey, are important to humans. Malays train pigtailed macaques (M. nemestrina) to pick coconuts. See also Barbary ape, bonnet monkey, Celebes black ape.


macaw
Any of about 18 species of large tropical New World parrots (subfamily Psittacinae) with very long tails and big sickle-shaped beaks. Macaws eat fruits and nuts. They are easily tamed and often kept as pets; some learn to mimic human speech, but most only screech. A few have lived 65 years. Best known is the scarlet macaw (Ara macao), found from Mexico to Brazil, a 36-in. (90-cm) bright-red bird with blue and yellow wings, blue and red tail, and white face.


cacao
Tropical New World tree (Theobroma cacao) of the chocolate family (Sterculiaceae, or Byttneriaceae). Its seeds, after fermentation and roasting, yield cocoa and chocolate. Cocoa butter is extracted from the seed. The tree is grown throughout the wet lowland tropics, often in the shade of taller trees. Its thick trunk supports a canopy of large, leathery, oblong leaves. The small, foul-smelling, pinkish flowers are borne directly on the branches and trunk; they are followed by the fruit, or pods, each yielding 20-40 seeds, or cocoa beans.


decapod
Any of more than 8,000 species (order Decapoda) of crustaceans having five pairs of legs attached to the thorax. The shrimplike species, which can be as ...

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