break a small piece off it.
chirp chirps, chirping, chirped
VERB When a bird chirps, it makes a short, high-pitched sound.
chisel chisels, chiselling, chiselled
NOUN 1 a tool with a long metal blade and a sharp edge at the end. Chisels are used for cutting and shaping wood, stone or metal.
VERB 2 If you chisel wood, stone or metal, you cut or shape it using a chisel.
chlorine
NOUN a poisonous greenish-yellow gas with a strong, unpleasant smell. It is used to disinfect water and to make bleach.
chocolate chocolates
NOUN a sweet food made from cocoa beans
[from Aztec xococ + atl meaning bitter water]
choice choices
NOUN 1 a range of different things that are available to choose from
SYNONYMS: range, variety
2 something that you choose • You made a good choice when you bought this book.
choir choirs
NOUN a group of singers, for example in a church
choke chokes, choking, choked
VERB If you choke on something, it prevents you from breathing properly. • He choked on a fish bone.
cholesterol
NOUN a substance found in all animal fats, tissues and blood
choose chooses, choosing, chose, chosen
VERB If you choose something, you decide to have it or do it.
SYNONYMS: pick, select
chop chops, chopping, chopped
VERB 1 If you chop something, you cut it with quick, heavy strokes using an axe or a knife. • Mum chopped the logs for firewood.
NOUN 2 a small piece of pork or lamb that contains a bone • We had chops and broccoli for dinner.
choppy
ADJECTIVE When the sea or a stretch of water is choppy, there are a lot of waves on it because it is windy.
chopstick chopsticks
NOUN Chopsticks are a pair of thin sticks used for eating Chinese and Japanese food.
choral
Said “kor-al” ADJECTIVE for a choir
chord chords
NOUN a group of three or more musical notes played together
chore chores
NOUN an uninteresting job that has to be done
chorus choruses
NOUN 1 a part of a song that is repeated after each verse
2 a large group of singers
chose
VERB the past tense of choose
chosen
VERB 1 the past participle of choose
2 When you are chosen, you are picked to do something. • I was chosen for the volleyball team.
christen christens, christening, christened
VERB When a priest christens someone, they name them in a ceremony where water is poured over their head as a sign that they are a member of the Christian church.
christening NOUN
Christian Christians
NOUN a person who believes in Jesus Christ and his teachings
Christianity NOUN
Christmas Christmases
NOUN a Christian festival held on December 25th to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ
chrome
Said “krome” NOUN metal plated with chromium, a hard, silver-grey metal
chromosome chromosomes
Said “krome-uh-soam” NOUN the part of a cell in living things that contains the genes that determine what characteristics the animal or plant will have
chronic
ADJECTIVE lasting a very long time or never stopping • He suffers from chronic hay fever.
chronological
ADJECTIVE arranged in the order in which things happened • Tell me the whole story in chronological order.
chronologically ADVERB
chrysalis chrysalises
NOUN a butterfly or moth when it is developing from being a caterpillar to being a fully grown adult
chrysanthemum chrysanthemums
NOUN a plant with large, brightly-coloured flowers
chuckle chuckles, chuckling, chuckled
VERB When you chuckle, you laugh quietly.
chunk chunks
NOUN a thick piece of something
SYNONYMS: hunk, lump, piece
church churches
NOUN a building where Christians go for religious services and worship
churchyard churchyards
NOUN an area of land around a church, often used as a graveyard
churn churns, churning, churned
NOUN 1 a container used for making milk or cream into butter
VERB 2 When you churn something, you stir it vigorously, for example when making milk into butter.
churn out
VERB If you churn out something, you produce it quickly in large numbers. • They churned out hundreds of leaflets advertising the dance.
chutney
NOUN a strong-tasting, thick sauce made from fruit, vinegar and spices
cider
NOUN an alcoholic drink made from apples
cigar cigars
NOUN a roll of dried tobacco leaves, which people smoke
cigarette cigarettes
NOUN a thin tube of paper containing tobacco, which people smoke
cinder cinders
NOUN Cinders are small pieces of burnt material left after something such as wood or coal has burned.
cinema cinemas
NOUN a place where people go to watch films
circle circles, circling, circled
NOUN 1 a regular, two-dimensional round shape. Every point on the edge is the same distance from the centre.
VERB 2 to move around in a circle • Seagulls circled overhead.
circular ADJECTIVE
circuit circuits
NOUN 1 the path of an electric current
2 a racecourse
3 A training circuit is a course of physical activities.
circulation circulations
NOUN 1 the movement of blood around a body
2 the number of copies of a newspaper or magazine that are sold each time it is issued
circumference