| abbreviation |
a shortened form of a word or phrase used in writing. |
| accent |
the stress a speaker gives to one syllable in a word. [4/5 definitions] |
| acronym |
a word formed by putting together the first letters or parts of a series of words in a longer phrase. |
| adios |
a word that means "good-bye" in Spanish. |
| adjective |
a word that describes a noun or pronoun. In the sentence, "It was a hard test," the word "hard" is an adjective. It describes the noun "test." |
| adverb |
a word that describes a verb, adjective, or other adverb. Adverbs are also used to modify a whole sentence. |
| affix |
a word part, such as a prefix or suffix, that is added to a word to change its meaning or function. The prefix "un-" and the suffix "-ness" are both affixes. [1/2 definitions] |
| ah |
a word used to express surprise, joy, pain, understanding, dislike, and other feelings. |
| aha |
a word used to express feelings like surprise, success, discovery, or satisfaction. |
| ahoy |
a word used as a greeting to attract the attention of sailors on a ship. |
| alas |
a word used to express sadness or disappointment. |
| aloha |
a Hawaiian word used for saying either "hello" or "goodbye." |
| Alsatian |
the British word for "German shepherd," a breed of large brown or black dogs that are often used as guard dogs and as guide dogs for blind people. |
| amen |
a word used at the end of a prayer or statement to mean "may it be so." |
| amigo |
a Spanish word for friend. |
| ampersand |
a sign (&). It is used in place of the word "and." |
| an |
another word for a. It is used before words that start with a, e, i, o, or u, or before words that begin with vowel sounds. |
| antecedent |
the word or group of words that a pronoun refers to. In "The girls ate their dessert first," "girls" is the antecedent of "their." |
| antonym |
a word that has the opposite meaning of another word. |
| articulated lorry |
a British word for a very large truck that consists of a cab where the driver sits and a trailer that carries goods over long distances. "Articulated lorry" often has the same meaning as "tractor-trailer." |
| aubergine |
the British word for eggplant, a plant grown for its dark purple, oval fruit. Aubergine is eaten as a vegetable. |