clumps
NOUN a small group of things growing or standing close together • a clump of trees
clumsy clumsier, clumsiest
ADJECTIVE moving awkwardly and carelessly
SYNONYMS: awkward, ungainly
clumsily ADVERB
clung
VERB the past tense and past participle of cling
cluster clusters, clustering, clustered
NOUN 1 a group of things together • There is a cluster of houses by the lake.
VERB 2 If people cluster together, they stay together in a close group.
[from Old English clyster meaning bunch of grapes]
clutch clutches, clutching, clutched
VERB If you clutch something, you hold it tightly or seize it.
clutter clutters, cluttering, cluttered
NOUN 1 an untidy mess
VERB 2 Things that clutter a place fill it and make it untidy.
coach coaches, coaching, coached
NOUN 1 a large bus that takes passengers on long journeys
2 a section of a train that carries passengers
VERB 3 If someone coaches you, they help you to get better at a sport or a subject.
SYNONYMS: instruct, train
NOUN 4 someone who coaches a person or sports team
coal
NOUN a hard, black rock taken from under the ground and burned as a fuel
coarse coarser, coarsest
ADJECTIVE 1 Something that is coarse is rough in texture.
2 Someone who is coarse talks or behaves in a rude, offensive way.
coarsely ADVERB coarseness NOUN
coast coasts, coasting, coasted
NOUN 1 the edge of the land where it meets the sea
VERB 2 If a vehicle coasts somewhere, it moves there with the engine switched off. • The car coasted quietly down the hill.
coastal ADJECTIVE
coastguard coastguards
NOUN an official who watches the sea near a coast to get help for sailors when they need it
coat coats, coating, coated
NOUN 1 a piece of outdoor clothing with sleeves, which you wear over other clothes
2 An animal’s coat is the fur or hair on its body.
3 A coat of paint or varnish is a layer of it.
VERB 4 If you coat something, you cover it with a thin layer of something. • We coated the biscuits with chocolate.
coating coatings
NOUN a thin layer of something spread over a surface
coax coaxes, coaxing, coaxed
VERB If you coax someone to do something, you persuade them gently to do it.
cobble cobbles
NOUN Cobbles or cobblestones are stones with a rounded surface that were used in the past for making roads.
cobra cobras
NOUN a type of large poisonous snake from Africa and Asia
cobweb cobwebs
NOUN the very thin net that a spider spins to catch insects
cock cocks
NOUN an adult male chicken, or any other male bird
cockerel cockerels
NOUN a young cock
cockle cockles
NOUN a type of small, edible shellfish
Cockney Cockneys
NOUN someone who was born in the East End of London
cockpit cockpits
NOUN 1 the area in a plane where the pilot sits in control
2 the driver’s compartment in a racing car
cockroach cockroaches
NOUN a large, dark-coloured insect often found in dirty rooms
[from Spanish cucaracha]
cocky cockier, cockiest
ADJECTIVE INFORMAL If you are cocky, you are sure of yourself and sometimes rather cheeky.
cocoa
NOUN 1 a brown powder made from the seeds of a tropical tree and used for making chocolate
2 a hot drink made from this powder
coconut coconuts
NOUN a very large nut with white flesh, milky juice, and a hard hairy shell
cocoon cocoons
NOUN a silky covering over the larvae of moths and some other insects
cod
NOUN a large, edible fish
code codes
NOUN 1 a system of replacing the letters or words in a message with other letters or words, so that nobody can understand the message unless they know the system • They wrote messages in code.
2 a group of numbers and letters used to identify something • the telephone code for Falmouth
coeducation
NOUN Coeducation is a system where girls and boys are taught together at the same school.
coeducational ADJECTIVE
coffee
NOUN 1 a powder made by roasting and grinding the beans of the coffee plant
2 a hot drink made from coffee
coffin coffins
NOUN a box in which a dead body is buried or cremated
cog cogs
NOUN a wheel with teeth, which turns another wheel or part of a machine
coil coils, coiling, coiled
NOUN 1 a length of rope or wire wound into a series of loops
2 A single loop is also called a coil.
VERB 3 If something coils, or if you coil it, it winds into a series of loops. • The snake coiled around the branch.
coin coins, coining, coined
NOUN 1 a small metal disc used as money
VERB 2 If you coin a word or a phrase, you invent it.
coinage
NOUN the coins that are used in a particular country
coincide coincides, coinciding, coincided
VERB When two things coincide, they happen at the same time. • Auntie’s visit coincided with my birthday.
coincidence coincidences
NOUN what happens when two or more things occur at the same time by chance
coke
NOUN a grey fuel produced from coal
cola colas
NOUN a sweet, brown fizzy drink, like Coca-Cola