| ambassador |
a person who is chosen to represent his or her nation in an international organization. [1/3 definitions] |
| assumption |
something that is supposed or believed without questioning. For example, if you ask someone whether she is allowed to watch TV during dinner, you have made an assumption that there is a TV in her house. Assumptions are ideas people have that are not based on proven facts. An assumption can be correct or incorrect. [1/2 definitions] |
| autograph |
the name of a person, especially a famous person, written in his or her own handwriting. [1/2 definitions] |
| backstroke |
the arm motion of a swimmer moving along on his or her back. |
| bat mitzvah |
a Jewish ceremony that celebrates a girl becoming an adult and the beginning of her religious duties. The bat mitzvah usually takes place when the girl is thirteen years old. |
| black sheep |
one who is very different from all the rest of his or her family and who is sometimes rejected or looked down on by that family. |
| black widow |
a small spider of North and South America. The female has a shiny, black body with a red mark on her underside and a poisonous bite. |
| chip off the old block |
someone who is very much like one of his or her parents. |
| constituent |
someone who gives another the power to represent him or her. [1/3 definitions] |
| consul |
a government official who lives in a foreign city. A consul looks after the interests of his or her nation's citizens who live or travel there. |
| dowry |
the money or other property brought by a woman to her husband at marriage. |
| embassy |
an ambassador and his or her staff. [1/2 definitions] |
| exile |
a person who is separated from his or her country or home. [1/3 definitions] |
| eyewitness |
a person who has seen something happen with his or her own eyes. |
| go Dutch |
(informal) to go on an outing or order a meal, with each person paying his or her own share. |
| guillotine |
a device having a sharp blade that is dropped between two guide posts to execute a person by chopping off his or her head. [1/2 definitions] |
| heroine |
a woman who is looked up to for her good character or fine actions. [1/2 definitions] |
| hers |
that or those belonging to her, done by her, or having to do with her. |
| herself |
her own self (used to show that an action is done to the same female who carries out the action). [2/3 definitions] |
| highness |
(capital) a title of honor used when speaking to or about a royal person (usually preceded by "His", "Her", or "Your"). |
| homograph |
a word that has the same spelling as another but a different meaning and history. Homographs are often pronounced differently from each other. In the sentence, "She shed a tear over the tear in her dress," the two words spelled "t-e-a-r" are homographs. |