| aardvark |
a large mammal with a long snout, long ears, a long tail, and with long fur mostly around its legs. Aardvarks are active at night, when they use their powerful claws to dig open ant or termite nests. They catch their food with their long, sticky tongue. Aardvarks live in southern and central Africa. Although they are sometimes called anteaters, aardvarks are not closely related to any other kind of mammal. |
| abacus |
a device used for counting or calculating. An abacus has beads or other counters that slide along rods or in grooves. |
| abdomen |
Your abdomen is the part of your body between your chest and your hips. Your abdomen contains your stomach and the other parts of your body that help you digest your food. [1/2 definitions] |
| abroad |
If we talk about places abroad, we mean places that are not in our own country. If we talk about people abroad, we mean people who live in other countries or who are in other countries just now. [1/2 definitions] |
| absentee |
a person who is absent from work, school, or other duty. |
| absent-minded |
tending to not pay attention to a task or event because one is thinking about other things. |
| absorb |
When something absorbs another thing, it takes it into itself. It soaks it up. If something absorbs water or other liquid, it takes it into itself the way a towel or sponge does. [1/2 definitions] |
| accent |
When you accent a syllable in word, you say it in a stronger way than when you say the other syllables. [1/3 definitions] |
| accessory |
In law, an accessory is a person who helps another person so that they can break the law or so that they can avoid getting caught. An accessory helps in some way but doesn't actually take part in the crime of the other person. An accessory gives help before or after the crime is committed. Although it is not as serious, being an accessory is also a crime. [1/2 definitions] |
| accommodate |
If people accommodate other people, they help them in a way that is different from how they usually do things. They adapt what they are doing so that they can help these particular people. [1/3 definitions] |
| according to |
If you say that a certain movie is good according to your brother, it means that your brother says that the movie is good. You know that some people might not like the movie, but you are saying only what your brother thinks and not what other people might think. [1/2 definitions] |
| ace |
a serve in tennis that wins a point because the other player can not reach the ball. [1/5 definitions] |
| across |
from one side to the other of. [5 definitions] |
| acrylic |
a kind of plastic used to make yarns, paint, and many other things. |
| act |
a short performance by a musician, comedian, or other entertainer. [1/9 definitions] |
| address |
An address is a speech that is given by an important person while other people listen. [1/6 definitions] |
| Adriatic Sea |
The Adriatic Sea is an arm of the Mediterranean Sea, and it lies between Italy on one side and the countries of Croatia, Montenegro, and Bosnia and Herzegovina on the other. |
| adverb |
a word that describes a verb, adjective, or other adverb. Adverbs are also used to modify a whole sentence. |
| advertise |
When you advertise for something, it means you are looking for a certain thing and you put up a notice somewhere, like in a newspaper or online list. In the notice, you tell people you are looking for this thing. Sometimes people advertise for things they want to buy from other people. Sometimes they advertise for a certain kind of person who they can pay to do some work for them. Let's say you want to buy a good but cheap bicycle, you could advertise for one in the newspaper. If somebody has one they want to sell, they will answer your notice. [1/3 definitions] |
| advocate |
An advocate is someone who speaks or acts in favor of something and tries to get other people to join their cause. [2/3 definitions] |
| affair |
A big or important event where people talk with each other and often enjoy themselves. [1/3 definitions] |