work.
achievement NOUN
acid acids NOUN
Some acids give food a sharp, sour taste. Lemons and vinegar contain acid. Strong acid can burn your skin.
acid rain NOUN
Acid rain is rain that is mixed with dirty gases in the air. It can damage buildings, trees and fish.
acrobat acrobats NOUN
An acrobat is someone who does difficult and exciting tricks, like balancing on a high wire.
across PREPOSITION
If you go across something, you go from one side to the other.
act acts, acting, acted
VERB 1 When you act, you do something. He had to act quickly to put out the fire.
VERB 2 If you act in a play or film, you have a part in it.
NOUN 3 An act is something that you do.
action actions NOUN
An action is a movement of part of your body.
active
ADJECTIVE 1 Someone who is active moves about a lot, or is very busy.
ADJECTIVE 2 In grammar, a verb in the active voice is one where the subject does the action, rather than having it done to them.
See voice
activity activities NOUN
Activity is when there are a lot of things happening.
actor actors NOUN
An actor is a man or woman whose job is to act in plays or films.
actress actresses NOUN
A female actor is sometimes called an actress.
See actor
actual ADJECTIVE
You describe something as actual when you mean it is real. The shop said the paint was red, but the actual colour was pink.
actually ADVERB
adapt adapts, adapting, adapted
VERB 1 If you adapt to something new, you change in some way that helps you.
VERB 2 If you adapt something, you change it to suit your needs. The book was adapted to make a film.
adaptable ADJECTIVE
Someone who is adaptable can change to deal with new situations.
add adds, adding, added
VERB 1 If you add something, you put it with whatever you have already. Put flour in the bowl and add an egg.
VERB 2 If you add numbers of things together, you find out how many you have. The sign + means add. 2 + 3 = 5. I have two marbles in the bag. If I add these three, it makes five altogether.
addition NOUN
Addition is adding numbers or things together.
address addresses NOUN
Your address is the name or number of your house, and the street and town where you live.
adjective adjectives NOUN
An adjective is a word that describes someone or something. “Beautiful” and “green” are adjectives.
See Adjective on page 269
admire admires, admiring, admired
VERB 1 When you admire someone, you think very highly of them.
VERB 2 When you admire something, you enjoy looking at it. They stopped the car to admire the view.
admit admits, admitting, admitted
VERB 1 If you admit something, you agree that it is true.
VERB 2 If people are admitted to a place, they are allowed to go in.
adopt adopts, adopting, adopted VERB
If a person adopts a child, they make the child their own by law.
adore adores, adoring, adored VERB
If you adore someone, you love them very much.
adult adults NOUN
An adult is a grown-up person or animal.
advance advances, advancing, advanced VERB
If someone advances, they move forward. The army advanced nine miles in one day.
advantage advantages NOUN
An advantage is something that helps you do better than other people. His long legs gave him an advantage in the race.
adventure adventures NOUN
If you are having an adventure, you are doing something exciting.
adverb adverbs NOUN
An adverb is a word that answers questions like how, when, where and why. In the sentence “The girl came quietly into the room”, the word “quietly” is an adverb telling you how the girl came in.
See Adverb on page 269
advertise advertises, advertising, advertised VERB
If you advertise something, you tell people about it through newspapers, posters or TV.
advertisement advertisements NOUN
An advertisement is a notice in the paper, or on a poster or TV, about a job or things for sale.
advice NOUN
If you give someone advice, you say what you think they should do.
advise advises, advising, advised VERB
When you advise someone, you tell them what you think they should do.
aerial aerials NOUN
An aerial is a wire that sends or receives radio or television signals.
aeroplane aeroplanes NOUN
An aeroplane is a flying vehicle with wings and one or more engines.
affect affects, affecting, affected VERB
When something affects someone or something else, it changes them in some way.
affection NOUN
Affection is a feeling of caring for someone.
afford affords, affording, afforded VERB
If you can afford something, you have enough money to buy it or do it.
afraid ADJECTIVE
Someone who is afraid thinks that something nasty might happen.
after PREPOSITION
If something happens after something else, it happens at a later time. We’ll watch television after supper.
afternoon afternoons NOUN
The afternoon is the time of day between 12 o’clock (noon) and about six o’clock in the evening.
afterwards ADVERB
If something happens afterwards, it happens after another event or time. We went swimming, and afterwards we had an ice cream.
again