miss

miss (canonical)
misses (third-person singular)
missed (past)
missed (past participle)
missing (present participle)

If you miss something, you don't hit it.

I missed the target.

If you miss someone or something when they are gone or away, you wish they were there with you.

I miss you so much. When are you coming home?

If you miss an event, you aren't able to go.

I'm going to have to miss the party because I can't find a babysitter.

If you miss something, you aren't able to get on it in time.

I'm sorry I'm late; I missed the bus.

You better hurry or we're going to miss the train!

If you miss something, you don't understand it.

You're missing the point of what I'm saying.


miss

You use miss before an unmarried woman's name, usually the last name or the full name.

Miss Brakel, the doctor will see you now.

This is Miss June Hagerty.

You call a young woman miss when you don't know her name.

Excuse me, miss, I think you dropped this.


pressure

In science, pressure is force applied over an area.

It hurt when the doctor put pressure on her cut foot.

He accidentally put too much air in his flat tire. The air put so much pressure on the tire that it exploded.

If a person is under pressure, they feel stressed.

She has been under a lot of pressure lately because of her final exams. If she fails them, she will not graduate.


pressure

pressure (canonical)
pressures (third-person singular)
pressured (past)
pressured (past participle)
pressuring (present participle)

When you pressure someone, you try to make them do something, especially something they do not want to do.

Her friends tried to pressure her into smoking, even after Maya kept saying "no."

His parents tried to pressure him into becoming a lawyer, but Jamal knew he wanted to be a doctor.


carry

carry (canonical)
carries (third-person singular)
carried (past)
carried (past participle)
carrying (present participle)

If you carry something, you lift it up and move it to another place.

Let me carry those bags in for you.

We walked through the trees, picked some apples, and carried them to the water.

He carried her out of the bathroom and dropped her onto the bed.

If a vehicle carries people or things, it moves them from one place to another.

A plane carrying 155 people crashed into the Hudson River.

As the ship carried her across the sea, she studied the map of Europe.

He hired a truck to carry beds, clothes, and food.

If a path, such as a river bed, a wire, or a hose carries something somewhere, the thing travels along the path.

The main line carrying cold water to the house can be as small as one inch in diameter.

It's the white plastic pipe that carries away the water when you empty the bathtub.

One digital cable line could carry hundreds of channels of video, several phone calls and an interactive line for playing games or tapping data bases all at the same time.

The moon has an orbit that carries it around the earth about once a month.

If moving water or air carries something, it moves it.

The river carried the leaves under the bridge.

Her voice was carried off by the wind.

The smoke from the fire filled the air, carried on the breeze.

If you carry something, you usually have it with you.

Sorry, I don't carry a watch.

Outside the country, you must carry your passport at all time.

He sat back down on his chair and pulled out the pack of cigarettes he carried in his shirt pocket.

If something carries a quality, it has it.

Those ideas now carry almost no value.

Certain foods carry with them the danger of heart disease.

Elias's vote carried a lot of weight. (=it was important)

This medicine carries with it the potential to help millions of people.

If the media carries some news, advertisement, or show, it prints it or puts it on TV or radio.

The website carried a video showing policemen beating up children.

I couldn't find a channel that carried the hockey game.

At 4:00, we'll be carrying the president's speech live.

TV stations are not allowed to carry beer advertisements.

If something carries some information, the information is printed on it.

The drug now carries a warning that it should not be given to children.

The sign carried the words: Toronto, 150 km.

If a store carries something, they have it available to buy.

My local supermarket doesn't carry my favorite brand of ice cream.

If something unmoving carries a weight or load, it supports it, keeping it up.

In a fire, the wall are not going to be able to carry the load and the house will collapse.

If you carry insurance, you have it in case of a loss.

Schools are increasing the amount of insurance they carry to protect themselves.

This American-made product carries a two-year warranty.

If you carry a disease, you can give it to other people.

Most people who carry the virus never get sick.

Flies carry diseases that can get passed on to people and animals.

If you get/are carried away, you lose control of yourself because you are so happy, angry, etc.

Teens sometimes get carried away with buying stuff.

Everyone seemed to be carried away with talk of freedom.

I just wanted to hold you, but I got carried away.

If a crime carries a punishment, that is the punishment for committing that crime.

Violating the law carries a penalty of up to five years in prison and a $50,000 fine.

If a sound carries, it can be heard a long distance away.

The sound of the bells carried for miles.

If you can carry a tune, you can sing the correct notes.

He couldn't carry a tune, but he loved to sing.

If one voice or instrument in a group carries the melody, it sings or plays the melody while the others provide harmony.

The highest voice carries the melody.

If someone or something carries the day, they win.

Don't worry if we don't carry the day this year.

If a suggestion, idea, or proposal is carried or carries, it gets the most votes and wins.

59% of the votes for approving the budget: The motion carries.

If a candidate in an election carries an area, they win in that area.

If you carry your body or yourself in a certain way, that is the way that you stand or move.

If a woman is carrying a child, she is pregnant.

He didn't know that she was carrying his child.

If you carry something too far/to extremes/to excess, you don't stop it at a reasonable time.

If you carry extra pounds/kilograms, you weigh more than you should.

If you carry a number during addition or multiplication, you add it to the column on the left.

Seven times eight is fifty six, carry five. Seven times nine is sixty three, plus five is sixty eight. Six hundred eighty six.

If you carry a loss forward, you realize it in a future reporting period.

If your net capital loss is more than this limit, you can carry the loss forward to later years.

if several unprofitable years follow, the opportunity to carry forward the loss will be gone.

If you carry something off, you do it successfully.

They tried, but they just weren't good enough musicians to carry it off.

If you carry on, you continue doing what you were doing.

We want to carry on doing this for the next five years.

I'm not sure that was, but let's just carry on as usual.

She's carrying on long conversations with people who aren't there.

Come on, lets carry on with the game.

She carried on down the road without stopping until he came to the edge of the village.

If you carry on about something, you talk about it in an annoying way.

Cindy was always carrying on about how cute her dog was.

If you carry out something requiring planning, you do it.

They weren't able to carry out the attack because of the weather.

If something carries or is carried over into a new situation, it continues to happen or be useful in the new situation.

Was there anything you learned from that experience that you have carried over into your current job?

If something carries you through, it helps you get to the end.

Their love of the game carried them through the difficult times.

If you carry something through, you complete it.

Once you have an idea, you've got to carry it through all the way.


carry

A carry is a play in American football where a player holds the ball and runs with it.

No player in NFL history has ever had that many carries.

The carry is the distance a ball, arrow, bullet, etc. travels.

The fairway is 15 yards wide and the carry was 370.

A carry is a way of moving somebody from one place to another.

He picked her up and put her over his shoulder in a fireman's carry,

Lifesavers must be able to tow a person of their own weight ten yards by each of the following methods: (a) head carry, using two arms and swimming on back; (b) under-arm carry, using two hands and swimming on back; (c) cross-chest carry, using one arm and side stroke.


inform

inform (canonical)
informs (third-person singular)
informed (past)
informed (past participle)
informing (present participle)

If you inform someone of something, you give them knowledge about it.

Unfortunately, they did not fully inform the public of the problem.

If something informs your opinion, decision, etc., it helps you come to it.

Our decision was informed by a good deal of research.


date

A date is a particular day in a month or year.

"What's the date on Friday?" "Uh, the 17th, I think."

Charles suggested they get together at a later date to sort it out.

The last date for orders is 25 October 1991.

Please write your birth date here.

A date is an agreement to meet on particular day at a particular time.

Can we set a date for the next meeting? How about June 21st?

A date is a time when you go out with a romantic partner.

I've got a date with Michael tonight. We're going to that new restaurant.

You date is the person you are meeting romantically.

Who's your date for the dance?

If you say that something is true to date, you mean in the past until the present.

To date, we've had no problems with the new computers.

A date is a sweet fruit that grows on date palm trees and is often dried.


date

date (canonical)
dates (third-person singular)
dated (past)
dated (past participle)
dating (present participle)

If you date something, you write the date on it.

You need to date this form at the top, here.

The letter was dated Jan 8, 1969.

If you date something, you find out how old it is, especially something very old.

We have not been successful in dating the painting, though we believe it is from the 17th century.

Scientists have dated it to about 2 million years ago.

If something dates, it goes out of style and looks old fashioned.

Unfortunately, this jacket has dated rather more quickly than I had hoped.

If something dates from a particular time, it first existed at that time.

The earliest electronic computers date from the mid-20th century (around 1940–1945).

If you date someone, you have a romantic relationship with them.

They dated for almost a year in high school.


mile

A mile is a measurement of distance. It is equal to 1.609 km (5280 feet, or 1760 yards).

It's about a mile and a half to the school.

She was driving at speeds over 80 miles an hour.

For ships and airplanes a nautical mile is equal to 1.853 km (6080.20 feet).

You use miles to talk about a long distance.

We're miles from home and we have no food or radio.


clothing

When you speak of clothes in general, you speak of clothing.

shoes, shirts, and trousers are types of clothing.

You need to wear warm clothing in the winter.


clothing

clothed (past)
clothed (past participle)
clothe (canonical)
clothes (third-person singular)
clad (past)
clad (past participle)
clothing (present participle)

Clothing the poor is a goal for many societies.


industrialise

industrialise (canonical)
industrialises (third-person singular)
industrialised (past)
industrialised (past participle)
industrialising (present participle)

If a place or business industrialises, it adds factories and machines to do work that was previously done by hand or not done at all.

France was slow to industrialise for most of the Third Republic (1870–1940).

Farms are getting bigger as farming is beginning to industrialise.


lord

The Lord is a Judeo-Christian title for God.

Please join me in the Lord's prayer.

A lord is a person who has authority over others; a ruler.

A Lord is a title given by a king or queen.

The royals are sailing with friends Lord and Lady Romsey and their two children.

The lords of the house will arrive later.

Lord is a title of respect used with mayors, judges, etc.

The lord mayor will be giving a speech at 12:30.


lord

lord (canonical)
lords (third-person singular)
lorded (past)
lorded (past participle)
lording (present participle)


divorce

Divorce is the legal ending of a marriage.

Did you know that Richard and Sarah got a divorce?

There is a geographic divorce between the United States and Mexico.


divorce

divorce (canonical)
divorces (third-person singular)
divorced (past)
divorced (past participle)
divorcing (present participle)

To divorce is to legally end a marriage between two people.

The captain of a ship can marry couples, but cannot divorce them.

If you divorce someone, you end your marriage to them.

Lucy divorced Steve when she found that he had been unfaithful.

To separate something that was connected.

The smaller group voted to divorce itself from the larger one.

Edna and Simon divorced last year; he got the house, and she got the business.


proper

proper (positive)
more proper (comparative)
most proper (superlative)

The proper way, place, use, etc. is the right one.

What is the proper way to write a letter?

If something is proper, it is polite or acceptable.

It's not proper for you to live alone like this.

She was a very proper young lady.

Why don't you get a proper job at a good company?

The x proper is the main or important part of x, not the parts near it.

We stayed in a village and only went into the city proper during the day.


oppose

oppose (canonical)
opposes (third-person singular)
opposed (past)
opposed (past participle)
opposing (present participle)

If you oppose something, you try to stop it or fight against it.

We would strongly oppose any changes.

Do you favor or oppose more taxes?

The opposing team just scored again.


proxy

A proxy is something or someone that acts in place of another.


proxy

A "proxy x" is an x that is being used as a proxy.

He used a proxy computer for the operation.


proxy

proxy (canonical)
proxies (third-person singular)
proxied (past)
proxied (past participle)
proxying (present participle)


die

die (canonical)
dies (third-person singular)
died (past)
died (past participle)
dying (present participle)

If a person or animal dies, it stops living.

My father died last year in a car crash, I really miss him.

The song is about her brother who died young at the age of ten.

Many more people die of heart attacks than from violence.

She died from being sick.

The idea died once the money was all gone.

Rock and roll will never die.

The car died suddenly on the highway.

My computer died on me over the weekend.

If you're dying for something, you want it very much.

I'm dying for a chance to meet him.


die

A die is a piece of metal or other hard material used to shape, cut, or mold a product.


die

A die is a cube, each side of which is marked with a different number of spots from 1 to 6.


imagine

imagine (canonical)
imagines (third-person singular)
imagined (past)
imagined (past participle)
imagining (present participle)

/ɪˈmæd͡ʒ.ɪn/

If you imagine something, you make a picture of it in your head.

Imagine that you're sitting at a table with all the food you can eat.

I imagined myself fighting a monster.

I imagined myself in a forest while an animal was chasing after me.

I felt creepy when I imagined a spider crawling on me.

It feels fun to imagine myself in the 50s and 90s, i wasn't even born in those decades.

If you imagine something, you think or believe it without knowing.

I imagine everybody will be there.

Maybe you just imagined that the phone rang.


operate

operate (canonical)
operates (third-person singular)
operated (past)
operated (past participle)
operating (present participle)

If you operate a machine, you control it.

Everyone on board is able to operate the ship.

Does the device operate independently or does it need to connect to other devices?

If organizations or people operate, they work or do business.

The business will continue to operate under the same name.

The school operates a system for selling used textbooks.

It's really hard to operate with the kids running around.

If a doctor operates, he cuts into a client's body to fix it.


Bible

The Bible is name of the holy text of Christians consisting of a collection of writings of both Jews, called the Old Testament, and Christians, called the New Testament. (This is always spelled with capital B).

The Bible tells stories of God, Jesus Christ, and good and bad people.

The holy writings of the Jewish tradition, called the Old Testament, are called The Bible. (This is always spelled with capital B).

The Jewish Bible has very old stories about the Jews.

A Bible or Bibles refer to copies of The Bible. This is always spelled with capital B).

The book store sells many Bibles.

A book that is like the Bible but may be about another religion or is not religious. Often, this means a book that tells everything you need to know about something. Sometime this is used in a title to make a book sound very good.

The Koran is the Muslim Bible.

Anton LaVey wrote a book called "The Satanic Bible," for his new religion called Satanism.

We need a history Bible to help us pass our class.


fell

fall (canonical)
falls (third-person singular)
fell (past)
fallen (past participle)
falling (present participle)

The boy fell out of the tree and broke his arm.


fell

fell (canonical)
fells (third-person singular)
felled (past)
felled (past participle)
felling (present participle)

If you fell something, you make it fall.

He felled the tree by chopping it down with an axe.


really

When something is really a certain way, its very or very much that way.

I really want to see a film.

I'm really hungry now.

You did a really good job on that.

Thank you for coming and helping me this morning. I really appreciate it.

I don't really like Japanese food.

If something really exists or really happens, it does exist or happen.

Are you really going to the show?

Yes, I really will be there.


really

You can say "really?" when you are surprised.

"He won yesterday." "Really?"

You can say "really" when you agree with something.

"That girl talks about herself way too much." "Really. She's a nightmare."


mention

mention (canonical)
mentions (third-person singular)
mentioned (past)
mentioned (past participle)
mentioning (present participle)

If you mention something, you say it or talk about it, but only very briefly.

Father Poole became very excited when I mentioned your name.

As I have already mentioned, I had never tried skiing before.

The problem is not mentioned in any of the books.

He mentioned that she would probably be there.

Did you mention the changes to Susan?

Now that you mention it, I do have another key under the mat.

"Thank you for your help!" "Oh, don't mention it. It was nothing."


mention

A mention of something, is when somebody mentions it.

Kavanagh's book makes no mention of Katherine's name.

The economy received only the briefest of mentions in the speech.


recent

recent (positive)
more recent (comparative)
most recent (superlative)

Something that is recent has happened a short while ago.

Has there been any recent news on the dispute?

In recent weeks, we have seen a big jump in the price of gas.

These changes are quite recent.


drum

A drum is a musical instrument with a skin that you hit to make music.

My cousin plays drums.

They were keeping garbage in an old oil drum.


drum

drum (canonical)
drums (third-person singular)
drummed (past)
drummed (past participle)
drumming (present participle)

If you are drumming you are making music with a drum or drums.

I saw him drumming with the band.

If you are drumming, you are hitting or tapping something like it was a drum.

Sometimes I drum on my desk with my fingers.

Sometimes I drum my fingers on my desk. (same meaning as above)


behave

behave (canonical)
behaves (third-person singular)
behaved (past)
behaved (past participle)
behaving (present participle)

How you behave is what you do or how you act.

Why do you behave like that.

How something behaves is what it usually does.

We want to know how fire behaves in space.

I wish the children would behave.

If you behave I will give you a reward.


pattern

A pattern is a design that uses the same set of elements many times in the same order.

The table cloth had a simple pattern of red and white squares.

The combined qualities and activities for an individual or a group of people describes a pattern.

The people of Spain have a pattern of resting in the afternoon and eating dinner late at night.


pattern

pattern (canonical)
patterns (third-person singular)
patterned (past)
patterned (past participle)
patterning (present participle)

When you pattern something, you make it using a pattern.

Much of crime fiction is patterned from true police stories.


score

The numbers used to tell who is winning in a sport or game.

The final score for the ball game was 30 to 17.

A copy of written music, usually for an orchestra. Usually, this means all the written music for all the players for a piece of music.

I have the whole score for the Brandenburg Concertos.

You must earn a score of at least 70 to pass the test.

The number 20. This is an old meaning; people don't use score for this much any more.

Four score and seven years ago.


score

score (canonical)
scores (third-person singular)
scored (past)
scored (past participle)
scoring (present participle)

To gain points in a game, so that your score is increased.

The basketball player just scored three points!

To get a certain result on a text or quiz.

I scored a 95 on the test!

I scored some tickets to the game tonight.

If you score the paper first, gently using a knife along the edge of a ruler, then you'll be able to fold it neatly and straight.


load

A load is something carried, often something heavy.

The truck arrived with a load of dog food.

You've got quite a load. Let me help you carry it.

The ship won't leave until it has a full load of oil.

Loads/a load of something is a lot of it.

We've had a load of problems ever since we got the new stuff.

It costs loads of money.

We hired another person to spread the load a bit more.

Teachers are asking for a lower teaching load.

Load is the amount electrical power produced.


load

load (canonical)
loads (third-person singular)
loaded (past)
loaded (past participle)
loading (present participle)

If you load x on y, you put x on y to be carried. Usually there is a lot of x, and/or it is heavy.

We loaded the boxes on the truck and set off for Vancouver.

After loading up the horses, we got on and headed north.

The waiter loaded all the food onto a tray and carried it out.

If you load a machine, you put in supplies that the machine uses.

He loaded the gun, brought it up, and shot the deer in one continuous motion.

All the software has been loaded onto the computer.


secure

securer (comparative)
securest (superlative)
secure (positive)
more secure (comparative)
most secure (superlative)

When something is secure, it is firmly held in place and probably will not fall.

Mike's bicycle is very secure on the bike rack.

When a person is secure, they are not afraid of anything and are in a good emotional state.


secure

secure (canonical)
secures (third-person singular)
secured (past)
secured (past participle)
securing (present participle)

If you secure something, you make it secure in one of the ways listed above.


finance

Finance is activities related to banking and money, especially by government.

The minister of finance announced that taxes would increase by 1% in May.

Your finances is the money that you have.

She had managed to raise sufficient finances to enable her and her family to travel to Australia.

The company's finances seem to be in good shape.


finance

finance (canonical)
finances (third-person singular)
financed (past)
financed (past participle)
financing (present participle)

If you finance something, you provide money for it.

The soccer team was partly financed by a local business.

The bank is financing our car loan.


propose

propose (canonical)
proposes (third-person singular)
proposed (past)
proposed (past participle)
proposing (present participle)

When you propose something, you say that it should be done or chosen, usually in a formal situation.

She proposed that we should see a film.

We have proposed that a new group be set up to answer this question.

"I'm going to propose real cuts in taxes," said the President.

Clinton now proposes doing almost exactly the opposite.

When you propose a new theory or idea, you say that you believe it to be better than old ideas.

I would like to propose that the problems we have had are actually not because of money.

When you propose to do something, you plan or intend to do it.

What does he propose to do in the future?

If you propose to somebody, you ask them to marry you.

He proposed to his girlfriend outside her house.

If you propose a toast, you celebrate somebody by raising a glass and drinking.

I'd like to propose a toast to our new manager.


reduce

reduce (canonical)
reduces (third-person singular)
reduced (past)
reduced (past participle)
reducing (present participle)

If something is reduced, it has been brought down or made smaller.

The new computer system should reduce the number of problems.

This image is too large, could you please reduce the size?

Eating well will reduce the risk of heart disease.

Our time in the country was reduced to just a few days.

Taxes have been reduced by 24 percent.

If you reduce a liquid, you boil it to make it thicker.


recognize

recognize (canonical)
recognizes (third-person singular)
recognized (past)
recognized (past participle)
recognizing (present participle)

If you recognize something, you realize what it is.

I don't recognize him. Is he a friend of yours?

If something is recognized, it is accepted.

You have to recognize that you can't be right all the time.

The government refused to recognize his passport.

He's generally recognized as the person who made the first radio.

If something is recognized, it is given an award.

John was recognized for his achievements as a scientist.


listen

listen (canonical)
listens (third-person singular)
listened (past)
listened (past participle)
listening (present participle)

If you listen to something, you try to hear and understand it.

Shhh! Listen! Did you hear that?

She listened carefully to what he said, but it was hard to understand.

OK, listen up. Here's what we'll do...

If you listen to someone, you agree with them, believe them, or do what they tell you.

Don't listen to him. He doesn't know what he's talking about.

If you listen to your mother, you won't go wrong.


listen

If you give something a listen, you try to hear and understand it.

Do you want to have a listen to this new band?


finish

finish (canonical)
finishes (third-person singular)
finished (past)
finished (past participle)
finishing (present participle)

If something finishes, it stops and doesn't start again; it comes to the end.

I finish work at 4:30 and I get home at 5:00.

In June of 1992 I had just finished university and I was looking for a job.

She finished off her homework and put it away.

Finish up your lunch quickly, please.

If something finishes somebody off, it uses all their energy or it kills them.

That last run around the track completely finished me off.

If you finish something up, you use the last of it.

I finished up the milk this morning. There's none left.

If you are finished with something, you don't need it anymore.

If you finish the surface of something, especially wood, you make it smooth and ready to use.


finish

The finish is the last part or end of something.

As the runners come to the finish, they are side by side.

It was a good day from start to finish.

The finish is the way a surface looks after it has been made smooth and ready to use.

The oil gives the wood a smooth, deep finish.


proceed

proceed (canonical)
proceeds (third-person singular)
proceeded (past)
proceeded (past participle)
proceeding (present participle)

When you proceed, you go forward with something.

The reporter proceeded with the interview.

They proceeded down the road.

After finding the money, he proceeded to put it in his pocket.


proceed

(formal) The proceeds of some individual project or sale are the money earned from doing it.

We sold the house and bought a small apartment with the proceeds.

The proceeds of tonight's show will go to charity.


raise

raise (canonical)
raises (third-person singular)
raised (past)
raised (past participle)
raising (present participle)

If you raise something you make it higher; that is you move it up.

I need to raise the car off the ground to fix it from below.

Raise your hand if you know the answer.

If you raise children or animals, you care for them until they have grown up (become adults).

I raised the children after their mother died.

I raised my dog from a puppy.

If you raise food (plants or animals) you grow it on a farm. This is also used for plants that are not food, like cotton or tobacco.

My grandfather raised corn and chickens.

If you raise a number, you make it bigger.

If you raise an idea you start talking about it.

Why did you have to raise the issue of abortion?

If you raise somebody in gambling, you make a bigger bet.

If someone raises the dead they make dead people alive again.

Jesus is said to have raised the dead.


raise

I have worked here long enough I should get a raise.

In gambling, a raise is an increased bet.


okay

You use okay to show that you agree with something.

"I'll be late tonight, mom." "Okay dear!"

"You don't have to come tomorrow." "Okay, I'll see you next week then."

You use okay to check if someone agrees with you.

I'm leaving now, okay?

You use okay to show that you are changing topic.

Does anybody have questions? No? Okay, let's look at the homework then.


okay

If someone is okay, they are fine or not hurt.

Oh, sorry! Are you okay? Let me help you.

Thanks, I'm feeling okay now.

If something is okay, it is good enough, fine, or not bad.

"Do you like this?" "It's okay, I guess. Do you have anything nicer?"

"Is it okay if I do it tomorrow?" "Yeah, it's okay with me.

"How was your day?" "Oh, it was okay--nothing special."

He's an okay guy.


okay

okay (canonical)
okays (third-person singular)
okayed (past)
okayed (past participle)
okaying (present participle)

The manager has to okay it before I can let you in.

If you okay something with somebody, you ask them to approve it.

Did you okay this with your dad?


okay

If you give something your okay, you approve it.

We got the okay to go ahead.


original

original (positive)
more original (comparative)
most original (superlative)

The original person or thing, happened or existed before others of its kind.

The book has been translated from the original Russian version.

The police were able to return to the goods to the original owners.

If something is original, it is new and creative.

Mendelssohn's C minor Trio is a highly original work.

If you are original, you are creative and different from other people.

He's one of Canada's most original thinkers.


original

An original is a piece of writing or a work of art that is not a copy.

I'll give you a copy and we'll keep the original here.


realize

realize (canonical)
realizes (third-person singular)
realized (past)
realized (past participle)
realizing (present participle)

If you realize something, you become aware of it.

John just realized that he had left his umbrella at home.

It took me some time to realize it was you.

Do you realize what you've done?

If something is realized, it is made real.

My dreams of starting my own company have been realized.


minister

A minister is a politician who is in charge of a part of the government.

The Minister of Defense has said that the army will remain in the city for at least two more weeks.

A minister is a person who acts officially in a Christian church.

The minister who performed our wedding ceremony was a great speaker.


minister

minister (canonical)
ministers (third-person singular)
ministered (past)
ministered (past participle)
ministering (present participle)

If you minister, you give help, especially through your words or by nursing.

To minister, a church must be sensitive to what is hurting its community.

Mother Theresa spent her life ministering to the sick and poor in India.


pension

A pension is money paid regularly by a government or company to someone who has stopped working, usually because of age or illness.

When her pension ran out, she had to sell her house and move in with her daughter.

He regularly puts money into a retirement pension plan.

The employees do not like how the company is investing their retirement pension funds.

I stayed at a pension during my trip to London.

A pension is what you pay for living in someone else's house or for staying at a small hotel.

Did you remember to pay the landlady the pension?


pension

pension (canonical)
pensions (third-person singular)
pensioned (past)
pensioned (past participle)
pensioning (present participle)

If a company pensions a person, they force them to retire on a unpension.


pardon

You use pardon to show that you didn't hear or understand someone.

"Could you close the door, please?" "Pardon!" "Close the door, please."

You use pardon when you have made a rude sound like a burp.


pardon

pardon (canonical)
pardons (third-person singular)
pardoned (past)
pardoned (past participle)
pardoning (present participle)

If a government pardons somebody who is guilty of a crime, it allows them to live as though they had not committed the crime.

The Ethiopian government has pardoned twenty five prisoners who were found guilty in connection to the unrest that rocked the nation.

When you pardon someone, you forgive them.

I hope he'll pardon me for what I did to him.


pardon

You say pardon me or I beg your pardon when you didn't hear someone, when you accidentally touch someone, when you want someone's attention, or when you'd like someone to move.

A pardon is given when someone is forgiven.

The soldier was given a pardon for all the acts he had committed while fighting in the war.


figure

Figures are numbers showing the value or amount of something.

The sales figures from the spring were down from last year.

According to the official figures, unemployment levels are about 6 per cent.

You only have to look at the figures for fire deaths in hotels to see this is not a problem.

A figure is a person, often a well-known person.

They have published articles about many leading figures including John Reed, J.A. Hobson, Tom Mann, and Daniel de Leon.

The figure of Margaret Thatcher towers over the Falklands War.

A figure is a person, especially the person's shape.

She did not see the figure standing in the shadows of the kitchen doorway.

Across the river is the figure of Lenin on top of an armored car carved of stone.

Her girlish figure had disappeared as she aged, sat more, and ate more.

The most popular boy's toy ever is the G.I. Joe action figure.

He looked down at the wet figures of the boy and dog.

A figure is a picture in a textbook or scientific journal. (Often written fig.)


figure

figure (canonical)
figures (third-person singular)
figured (past)
figured (past participle)
figuring (present participle)

If x figures in something that happens, x is part of that happening.

The weather figured prominently in their plans.

The fact that he wouldn't be there didn't figure among her worries.

If you figure that something is true, you think that it is true.

Few people figured that he would win.

If you figure something out, you think about it until you understand it.

He figured out that she was speaking Italian.


suppose

suppose (canonical)
supposes (third-person singular)
supposed (past)
supposed (past participle)
supposing (present participle)

When you suppose something, you guess that it is true.

What do you suppose that he will do?

I suppose he'll come back. He always does.

I know I can't do it, but I suppose it's possible.

"You've been here about an hour, I suppose." "That's right."

Do you suppose that was his plan from the beginning?

You use I suppose to show that you agree weakly with something.

"Did she know Paul pretty well?" "I suppose so."

You use I don't suppose to ask a question, especially when you think the answer is no.

I don't suppose you remember me?

You use suppose to talk about an imaginary situation.

Suppose, for example, that there was nothing there. Then what would you do?


matter

A matter is something that you can talk about or do something about a topic or a situation.

Government must make these changes as a matter of urgency.

We can discuss the matter more fully at the meeting.

Whether our people should be in the country or not is matter for debate.

At the meeting we will have time to talk about new matters arising.

They decided on a number of matters related to housing.

Try not to do anything to make matters worse.

As a matter of principle, we should try to help poor people.

It is not a simple matter to stop using gasoline.

Care Assistants help them with such matters as toileting, dressing, washing and so on.

The truth of the matter is that we do not know how to do it.

The questions about the new president are a matter of public concern.

Cheating on a test is a serious matter.

Matter is the stuff that everything is made of.

Cities are trying to separate organic matter and other garbage.

Scientists now think that there is some kind of "dark matter" in space.

You use, "as a matter of fact" to add information that may be surprising.

"Have you met anyone interesting over there?" "As a matter of fact, I met a whole bunch of people just this afternoon.

You use "what's the matter" to ask somebody why they are unhappy, or why there is a problem.

You use "for that matter" when you have just thought about something that you are comparing to something else.

He wasn't very nice today. For that matter, he's never nice.

If something is only a matter of time, it may not happen now, but it will happen after some time.

It's only a matter of days now before I start the new job.

You use "no matter what" to say that even if other things change, a particular thing will not change.

I'll be there no matter what. I promise.


matter

matter (canonical)
matters (third-person singular)
mattered (past)
mattered (past participle)
mattering (present participle)

If something doesn't matter, it is not important.

"Should I put it up there?" "Oh, it doesn't matter. Put it anywhere."

Anyone can play. It doesn't matter if you're seven or 70.

It doesn't matter what you do as long as it's fun.

Many people don't like me, but that doesn't really matter to me.

This should help a lot of people and that's what matters.

"Sorry about that!" "Oh, it doesn't matter."

It's not your money, so what does it matter?


refer

refer (canonical)
refers (third-person singular)
referred (past)
referred (past participle)
referring (present participle)

If you refer to something, you talk or write about it, usually in passing.

The teacher referred to some research, but I didn't know what he meant.

The media refers to the war as "the troubles".

He referred to her only by her first name.

If you refer to a book or other source of information, you check it.

You should refer to the dictionary to find the meaning.

The numbers refer to last year's sales.

If you refer x to y, you send x to y for help or to be dealt with.

He referred me to the science department.


remember

remember (canonical)
remembers (third-person singular)
remembered (past)
remembered (past participle)
remembering (present participle)

If you remember something that you did or knew before, you can think of it again.

He can't even remember where he left his books.

Writing my last story, I can't help but remember my first.

Sam was there, but I don't remember seeing anyone else.

When you remember something, you put it in your mind so you can think of it later.

Please, try to remember how to spell the word.

If you remember to do something that you are supposed to do, you do it because you think about it.

Please remember to ask before you take it.

Did you remember to get the milk?


reckon

reckon (canonical)
reckons (third-person singular)
reckoned (past)
reckoned (past participle)
reckoning (present participle)

If you reckon that something is true, you think that it is true.

What do you reckon we should do?

I reckon that he didn't know anything about it.

He's reckoned to be quite a good teacher.

If you reckon a number, cost, etc., you guess or calculate the value.

I reckon the cost at about $23,000.

Reckoning from the map, Lexington to the headwaters of the Pedlar and back is forty-two miles.

If you reckon on something, you expect it.

Oh dear, we didn't reckon on so many people.

If you reckon with somebody or something powerful or difficult person, you deal with them.

In today's race, the Ethiopians will be a force to be reckoned with.


OK

You use OK to show that you agree with something.

"I'll be late tonight, mom." "OK, dear!"

"You don't have to come tomorrow." "OK, I'll see you next week then."

You use OK to check if someone agrees with you.

I'm leaving now, OK?

You use OK to show that you are changing topic.

Does anybody have questions? No? OK, let's look at the homework then.


OK

OK (positive)
more OK (comparative)
most OK (superlative)

If someone is OK, they are fine or not hurt.

Oh, sorry! Are you OK? Let me help you.

Thanks, I'm feeling OK now.

If something is OK, it is good enough, fine, or not bad.

"Do you like this?" "It's OK, I guess. Do you have anything nicer?"

"Is it OK if I do it tomorrow?" "Yeah, it's OK with me.

"How was your day?" "Oh, it was OK--nothing special."

He's an OK guy.


OK

OK (canonical)
OK's (third-person singular)
OK'd (past)
OK'd (past participle)
OK'ing (present participle)

The manager has to OK it before I can let you in.

If you OK something with somebody, you ask them to approve it.

Did you OK this with your dad?


OK

If you give something your OK, you approve it.

We got the OK to go ahead.


soon

Something that happens soon happens shortly after another time, often shortly after the time of speaking.

Why did he call me so soon? Did something bad happen?

John is coming home soon.

How soon will it be ready?

If x happens as soon as y does, x happens right after y.

As soon as he finished eating, he got up and walked away from the table.


soon

soon (positive)
sooner (comparative)
soonest (superlative)

If something is soon, it is shortly after another time, often shortly after the time of speaking.

He wanted to leave, but it seemed too soon.

There will be a time when we'll need a new school, and that time will probably be soon.


therefore

You use therefore to show that something was as a result of what was previously stated.

He was sick with the flu and, therefore, did not come.

Of course, words can mean different things. It is important therefore to understand, first, the meaning behind words.


report

A report is a description of something that has happened.

There was a recent report on the election.

A report is a document that gives the results of a study of a particular situation.

He could hear the report of the explosion.


report

report (canonical)
reports (third-person singular)
reported (past)
reported (past participle)
reporting (present participle)

If the news reports something, it tells us about it.

The journalist reported that there were riots in the city.

He's been reporting on the ongoing war in Iraq.

When you report something that has happened, you describe it.

They reported to the police that their car had been stolen.

She reported hearing loud noises at the time of the incident.

He's reported to have been there at the time.

So, you should report on your progress in three days.

If you report somebody for something they've done wrong, you tell an official about the problem.

The restaurant was reported to the city because of the dangerous kitchen.

If you report somewhere, you go there and give your name.

Visitors to the school should report to the office.


us both

You use us both to emphasize that you are talking about yourself and another person together.

It would be better for us both to go?

He wants us both to come.


papaya

A type of tree that has big, yellow fruit.


you all

You use you all when you emphasize that you are talking to or about more than just one person.

I'd like to introduce our new manager to you all.

I want to thank you all for coming.


situate

situate (canonical)
situates (third-person singular)
situated (past)
situated (past participle)
situating (present participle)

If something is situated somewhere, it is there.

The school is situated in a mostly-white area.


them all

You use them all to emphasize that you are talking to or about 100% of those being addressed.

We have to make this better for them all.

I want them all to be here early tomorrow.


sheet

A sheet is a flat cloth that you cover a bed with.

Use the sheets next to the bed.

He wanted to sleep between clean white sheets in his own bed.

Can I have a sheet of paper?

A sheet is a thin flat thing, usually something square or rectangular.

Place the rolls on the baking sheet.

A sheet of ice covered the ground.

A line (rope) used to adjust the trim of a sail.


coir

The fibers around the outside of a coconut; coir is often used to make rope or mats.


loan word

loan word (singular)
loan words (plural)

Loan word is another way of spelling loanword.


them both

You use them both to emphasize that you are talking about two things or people together.

Can you give it to them both?

I want them both to come.


pass

pass (canonical)
passes (third-person singular)
passed (past)
passed (past participle)
passing (present participle)

If you pass something, it was ahead of you and you move so that it is now behind you.

Please, step to the right and let faster people pass on your left.

She was so close to the road that she could feel the wind from passing cars.

He looked in as he passed the window.

We passed through the tunnel and were back out into the light.

She passed her hand across her face.

He passed the belt through the loops in his pants.

Did you see two people pass this way, a man and a woman, walking north?

If a bill, law, motion, etc. passes, it is accepted, usually after a vote.

The House passed a law that makes it a crime to have sex with anyone under age 16.

If you pass a test, exam, etc., you get a score that is good enough, often over 50%.

You passed the test. In fact, you got 7 out of 10 correct.

If time passes, it moves from future to past.

I'm bored here. The only thing that helps me pass the time is your letters.

They passed the night in a hotel just outside town.

If a road, river, railway, etc. passes a place, it continues from one side of the place to the other side.

They are building a 150-kilometer road that passes through Yasuni Park.

The road from Karachi to Gadani passes the route once taken by Alexander the Great.

If you pass something to someone, you give it to them, usually by hand.

Could you pass me the salt, please?

The book passed from hand to hand.

I passed your name on to my manager.

She passed the information on to the police.

What has passed today must remain a secret.

If you pass a ball, puck, etc. you throw, kick, or hit it to another member of your team.

He passed to Lafleur, who put the ball in for the goal.


pass

A pass is a piece of paper, plastic, etc. that allows somebody to enter a building, vehicle, or area.

We have a season's pass for the ski hill.

A pass is a score on a test, exam, etc. that is good enough, often over 50%. Also a person or paper that gets this score.

On the last test there were only five passes; everyone else failed.

We have one of the highest pass rates for the exam in the state!

A pass is a throw, kick, hit, etc. of a ball, puck, etc. to another member of your team.

Robert's pass in front of the net is blocked by the goalie.

A pass is a place in a mountain that is easy to travel.

The mountain pass was blocked, which made it difficult to get across.

A pass is one case of a repeated action or process.

We caught some new mistakes on the third pass.


linguistics

lɪŋˈɡwɪstɪks

Linguistics is a science that studies languages and how language works.


would rather

If you would rather do something, you want to do it more than something else.

I would rather see a film than stay home.

If you would rather that something happen, you want it to happen more than something else.

I 'd rather that you not speak about my father right now.


pick

pick (canonical)
picks (third-person singular)
picked (past)
picked (past participle)
picking (present participle)

I have picked the best people to work on this job.

This was picked as the best new toy of the year.

She picked up the glass and put it down again.

Pick your clothes up off the floor!

The baby's crying. Can you pick him up?

If you pick up the phone, you answer it.

If you pick something up from somewhere, you go and get it.

Mom, can you pick me up from Austin's at 8:00?

I'll go an pick up a pizza.

If you try to pick up someone you have just met, you talk to them because you want to have sex with them.

If you pick fruit, flowers, etc., you take them off the plant.

We spent the morning picking apples in the forest.

Please help me pick up the books that I've dropped.

If you pick something from somewhere, you take it out of or away from that place.

After dinner he picked the rice out of the children's hair.

If you pick a musical instrument such as a guitar, you play it by pulling its strings and letting them go.

If you pick at something, you touch it many times without doing anything.

He was too sick to eat and just picked at his food.

She picked nervously at her dress.

If you pick on someone, you are not nice to them in particular.

He was picked on by his brothers for his small size.


pick

His pick for Man of the Year was John Smith.

You have your pick of the rooms. Which one do you want?

He dug that hole using a pick.

A pick is something used to play a guitar with.

He forgot his guitar pick.


weak

weak (positive)
weaker (comparative)
weakest (superlative)

Weak is used to describe something that does not have a lot of strength.

The child was too weak to move the boulder.

Something that is weak does not have a strong taste.

This tea tastes weak and watery. Do you have anything stronger?

This place is weak. Let's go somewhere more interesting.


you both

When you use you both, you emphasize that you are talking about two people together.

I'll give it to you both?

I want you both to come.


Baldur

Baldur is a Norse god. He is the son of Odin and Freya and he is known for his beauty and near-invulnerability.


vicious

vicious (positive)
more vicious (comparative)
most vicious (superlative)

Someone or something that is vicious is evil, immoral, aggressive, or violent.


sir

You use sir to speak or write to a man formally to be polite.

Excuse me, sir, could you tell me where the nearest bookstore is?

Sir is a title used before certain men's names.


hermaphrodite

hermaphrodite (singular)
hermaphrodites (plural)

A hermaphrodite is a living organism that is both male and female.


liar

Someone who says things that are not true, that is, someone who lies.

I don't trust that liar.

Jessica made him out to be a liar.


loanword

A loanword is a word in one language that comes from another language.

"Tsunami" is a Japanese word, but is a loan word in English.

Most languages have some loanwords.

There are many loanwords in English.


sale

Proceeds from the sale of the art went to the local school.

The sale of guns in Canada is tightly controlled.

Travel agents don't make money until they make a sale.

The president said the company is not for sale.

Sales is the number or value of things sold.

The stronger economy has boosted auto sales by $650 million over last year.

Retail sales have fallen for two months in a row.

Sales is the part of a company or industry that tries to get people to buy more.

She's now Seattle's director of marketing and sales.

I'm not the kind of person who can be successful in sales.

A sale is a time when prices are lower than usual.

The computer store is having a sale: 50% off everything.

Milk is on sale for a dollar a litre.


rime

The rime is the end of a syllable, the vowel a last consonant make the rime.

If the two words have the same rime at the end those words rhyme.


poet

A poet is someone who creates poetry. If you write poems you are being a poet.


socket

A socket is a space that something fits into exactly. For example, an electrical device plugs into an electrical socket.


succeed

succeed (canonical)
succeeds (third-person singular)
succeeded (past)
succeeded (past participle)
succeeding (present participle)

If something succeeds, it has happened the way somebody wants it to happen.

He succeeded in getting everyone to like him.

If you succeed, people recognize that you are good at what you do.

It's more difficult for women to succeed in business.

The new king succeeded his father.

DVDs succeeded VHS as the main way to watch movies.


orphan

An orphan is someone who does not have parents. That is, their mother and father are both dead. This is most often used for a child.

She became an orphan when the storm killed her parents.

We could not have children, so we adopted an orphan.


poetic

poetic (positive)
more poetic (comparative)
most poetic (superlative)

If something is poetic it is a poem or sounds like poetry.

If words are poetic they are like a poem, even if they are not a real poem.

If something that happens is poetic it is like something from literature.


switch

switch (canonical)
switches (third-person singular)
switched (past)
switched (past participle)
switching (present participle)

If you switch something, you change it to something else.

He switched his book with mine.

We switched to a cheaper brand of coffee.

When they didn't seem to understand, he switched to French.

Jump ten times, switch legs and repeat.

I just switched jobs, and at my new job I don't have insurance.

When his team was losing, he switched sides.

If you switch a light or machine on, you change something so that it has power and can work.

She sat up in bed and switched on the light.

If you switch a light or machine off, you change something so that it doesn't have power and can't work.

I switched off the computer and went to bed.

If you switch over to something, you change to it, often with no plan to change back to the first thing.

We used to watch CNN, but we've switched over to BBC World News.

It was difficult when I switched over from writing to acting.

If you switch gears, you change the way you think or act to match a particular situation.

When I come home from work, it takes me a while to switch gears.

If you switch with somebody, you do something that they usually do and they do the thing that you usually do.

Sibyl couldn't work on Tuesday, so I switched with her.

If you switch a machine to a particular setting or function, you set it to work that way.

She switched the TV to another channel.

She switched the plane to automatic pilot.


switch

A switch is what you use to turn lights or other machines and equipment on and off.

The light switch is on the wall behind the door.

Where's the on/off switch on this printer?

A switch is a change from one thing to another.

It's often difficult for older people to make the switch to living alone.

A switch is a place on the track where trains can chose between two tracks.

A switch is a networking device that connects networks together by sending data (packets) only to the devices that need them.

Switches are more efficient than hubs because they understand which device needs the data that other devices send them.


suite

A series of objects; a number of things that are used or grouped together; a set.

A type of music that has a series of songs all in the same key, mostly in different dance rhythms, sometimes with a complex prelude.

My sister only stays in suites when she travels because she likes the extra space.

A location of a business in an office building or shopping mall.

I work at 123 Oak Rd, Suite 5.


Italy

Italy is a country in Europe by the Mediterranean Sea.


Monaco

Monaco is a small country in Europe near France, Italy, and the Mediterranean Sea.


poetic justice

Poetic justice is when a person has something happen to them that is like something bad they did to someone else.

After taking many peoples homes, he went broke and became homeless -- now that was poetic justice.


Switzerland

Switzerland is a country in central Europe.


Luxembourg

Luxembourg is a country in central Europe beside Germany, France, and Belgium.


us all

You use us all two emphasize that you are talking to or about 100% of the people with you.

We have to make this better for us all.

I want us all to be here early tomorrow.


morphosyntax

morphology and syntax together. This is the study of the parts of words are put together in a sentence.


Spain

Spain is a country in Europe near Portugal, Andorra, and France.


press

The press are the people and organisations that report the news.

The president gave an interview with members of the press.

The company put out a press release about the new equipment.

The press is the news as it is reported.

The next day, the fire was all over the press.

The book was published by University of California Press.

A press is a machine that prints books, newspapers, etc.

Stop the presses! We've got a new story.

A press is a machine that pushes down on something to make it flat or to push out the water or juice.

A press is a time when you push something.

She gave the button a quick press.


press

press (canonical)
presses (third-person singular)
pressed (past)
pressed (past participle)
pressing (present participle)

If you press something, you push it against something.

She pressed her nose against the window.

Please, press a button.

He found the cut and pressed down firmly to stop the blood.

If you press clothes, you use an iron to make them flat.

If you press someone to do something, you ask them strongly or many times.

When she pressed him for an answer, he hung up the phone.

The group has been pressing for new laws to reduce pollution.

If you press on or forward, you keep going even though it's difficult.

If you press a weight, you exercise by moving the weight up and away from your body.

If you press a CD or record, you make a physical copy of it.


feminine

feminine (positive)
more feminine (comparative)
most feminine (superlative)

If something is feminine it is like something a girl or woman would do.

Wearing dresses is very feminine.

If someone is feminine they act in a way that is usual for a girl or woman.

She is not very feminine, she always acts like a man.

If something is feminine it has to do with girls or women.

A tampon is a feminine item.

In some languages, feminine is a gender that a word can have.

Some German words are feminine, but English words do not have gender.


LMAO

/ɛlˌɛmˌeɪˈoʊ/

A short way to say "laughing my ass (arse) off" when you are talking on the internet.


daylights

A person's daylights are his mental stability or his wits.

You scared the daylights out of me!

My dad will knock the living daylights out of me if I'm late.


water-proof

water-proof (positive)
more water-proof (comparative)
most water-proof (superlative)

Water-proof is another way of spelling waterproof.


wonder

wonder (canonical)
wonders (third-person singular)
wondered (past)
wondered (past participle)
wondering (present participle)

If you wonder about something, you think about it because you want to know more about it.

I wonder when they will be home.

You know, it makes you wonder whether something could be done about it.

I wonder if there's any way you can actually check.

Is he really working every night? I wonder.

You use "wonder if/whether" to ask for or suggest something.

I wonder if you could give me a hand with the door.

I was wondering whether you would mind making room for a third person at your table.

If you don't wonder something, you expect it.

I don't wonder you've had problems with that old car.


wonder

A wonder is something that makes a person think.

It is a wonder why he ran away.

The Pyramids are quite a wonder.


Curitiba

Curitiba is the name of the largest city in the south of Brazil, and the capital of the state of Paraná.


Portugal

/ˈpɔːt͡ʃəɡəl/

/ˈpɔrt͡ʃəɡəl/

Portugal is a country near Spain in Europe.


General American

General American is a dialect that is common in many places in the United States.


poem

A poem is a group of words written or spoken as an art. Usually, a poem has a rhythm. Many poems rhyme (have words that end the same), and some poems repeat the same first sound in a word (called alliteration).

I have written some poems.

The poem was very beautiful.


dollar

The dollar is the main unit of money in the United States, Canada, and other countries including Australia, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, Fiji, Guyana, Hong Kong, Jamaica, Liberia, New Zealand, Singapore, the Solomon Islands, Trinidad and Tobago, and Zimbabwe. It is usually equal to 100 cents.


A symbol that means "at"; it is commonly used as part of e-mail addresses.

My e-mail address is joe@abc123.com.

Her note said "Meet me @ 6pm".


traffic

Traffic is the things that move along a path, especially cars on a road.

Traffic is slow at rush hour.

On holiday weekends there are traffic jams that stretch for miles.

He turned quickly, nearly getting hit by oncoming traffic.

Almost half of all traffic accidents are alcohol-related.

Why does it take the traffic lights so long to turn green?

As the amount of traffic on the Internet increases, there are more and more problems.

Traffic is the buying and selling of goods, especially illegal goods.

Governments are working to prevent the abduction and sale of, or traffic in children.


traffic

traffic (canonical)
traffics (third-person singular)
trafficked (past)
trafficked (past participle)
trafficking (present participle)

If you traffic in certain goods, you buy and sell them, especially illegally.

They were arrested for trafficking in stolen goods.


ladylike

ladylike (positive)
more ladylike (comparative)
most ladylike (superlative)

If someone is ladylike she is polite in a feminine way. She behaves in a way that an important woman (a lady) would long ago.

Her ladylike ways impressed the older people in the room.

If an action is ladylike it is something that would be right for a lady. It is something someone does if she is ladylike.

Do not eat with your hands, it's not ladylike.


meadow

An open field or grassy area; meadows are often found near rivers.

They found a meadow full of flowers on their walk by the stream.


politics

Politics is the activity of controlling, affecting or studying an organisation, especially a government.

The Prime Minister entered politics when she was in university.

It is very hard to keep the Church out of national politics.

The decision about the war will be about both foreign policy and domestic politics.

Office politics have stopped her from getting the job.


women

The plural form of woman; more than one (kind of) woman.


-na

-na is added to a few words when they introduce bare infinitival clauses.

When are you gonna be finished?

I don't wanna do that.


vulgar

vulgar (positive)
more vulgar (comparative)
most vulgar (superlative)

If something is vulgar, it is obscene or offensive.

The words "cunt" and "fuck" are seen as very vulgar, you should be careful using them.

A vulgar fraction is a rational number.


settle

settle (canonical)
settles (third-person singular)
settled (past)
settled (past participle)
settling (present participle)

If you settle a fight, argument, case, etc., you find an answer that stops it.

They settled the dispute. Both men were happy with the results.

OK, it's settled: we're going to Florida this summer.

If something settles, it moves to a position where it can stay in for a long time, often in a low position.

She got a drink and then calmly settled herself in front of the TV.

After the crash, it took some time for the dust to settle.

His eyes settled on the red flower.

The put the earth back into the hole. It was high, but it would settle in time.

A feeling of sadness settled over them.

If you settle for something, you accept it even though it is not as good as you wanted.

This year, she would have to settle for third place.

If you settle a place, you move there and live there.

After moving to Canada, they settled in Toronto.

If something settles (down), it becomes still and quiet.

The noisy class needs to settle down.

If you settle (up) a bill, or your affairs, you pay the money you owe and/or receive the money that others owe you.

If your stomach settles, it doesn't feel sick anymore.


FYI

A short way of saying "for your information".

We've updated our phone system, FYI.

FYI, I'm going to be out of the office next week.


morpheme

Part of a word. A morpheme is the smallest unit of meaning in a language. Basic words (word roots) and word endings like "-ed," "-s," and "-ing" are examples of morphemes.


kingdom

A country that has a king or queen. The king or queen might control the kingdom, or might just be symbols of the country.


teenager

A teenager is a person whose age is a number that ends in "-teen." That is, someone between the ages of 13 and 19.

Many teenagers want to rebel.


consonant

consonant (singular)
consonants (plural)

A consonant is a sound or letter that is not a vowel. Consonants usually do not last long and are less loud than vowels. In a syllable (a piece of a word) a vowel will be in the middle and consonants might come before or after.

The letters "t", "s", "f", and "g" are all consonants.

Your mouth is more closed when you say a consonant than when you say a vowel.


grammars

The plural form of grammar; more than one (kind of) grammar.

Three large English grammars sit on his shelf.


corpse

From the Latin word corpus, meaning "body".


Polish

Polish (positive)
more Polish (comparative)
most Polish (superlative)

Things or people from Poland are Polish.


Received Pronunciation

Received Pronunciation is the way words are spoken by the educated classes of the south-east of England; it is considered to be a standard and is used in most British dictionaries. The abbreviation for Received Pronunciation is RP.


IP addresses

IP address (singular)
IP addresses (plural)

The plural form of IP address; more than one (kind of) IP address.

Most vandalism on Simple English Wiktionary is done by IP addresses.


prevention

The act of preventing something or hindering it; when someone or something is stopped from getting close, getting inside, or doing something.

We built a wall to help the prevention of an attack on the city.


Andorra

Andorra is a small country in Europe between France and Spain.


TTYL

A shorter way of saying "talk to you later", usually used in texting or chatting over the Internet.


RP

A shortening of "Received Pronunciation".

A shortening of "roleplay" (both verb and noun)


RP

A shortening of Rhineland-Palatinate, a federal state of Germany.


WTF

A short way of saying "what the fuck", "where the fuck", "why the fuck", "when the fuck" or "who the fuck".

You weren't at the party like you said you would be--WTF?.


catastrophe

catastrophe (singular)
catastrophes (plural)

A catastrophe is a violent, sudden and unlucky change, which makes very big problems.

The Great Fire destroyed the city completely. This was a catastrophe.

His wife left him for another man. This was his personal catastrophe.


disc

An object that is thin, flat, and circular.

A coin is a disc of metal.

Venus' disc cut off light from the Sun.

Turn the disc over, after it has finished.


-ta

-ta is added to a few words when they are followed by bare infinitival clauses.

I'm sorry, I gotta go.

You don't hafta do that if you don't wanna.


lawn

Ground (generally in front of or around a house) that is covered with grass that is mowed short.

In summer, I have to mow my lawn twice a week.


third-person

When a verb is used in the third person.

When a story is told using verbs in the third person; the storyteller is not a character in the story.


crop rotation

crop rotation (singular)
crop rotations (plural)

In farming, crop rotation is the when the same land is used to grow different crops season after season.


in spite

If x happens in spite of y, it is surprising that y did not stop x.

They couldn't move it in spite of their strength.

In spite of all the problems, the project was finished on time.


cyclamen

An indoor plant that is cultivated for its white to pink to deep red flowers.

A genus of flowering plants, the cyclamen. Cyclamen persicum is the floristic`s cyclamen.


French

The family spoke French.

Pardon my French.


French

French (positive)
more French (comparative)
most French (superlative)

The French and the English have often been at war.

We have crossed the French border with Italy.

Something that is related to the French people.

She was born in Paris, so she should know about French customs.

Something that is related to the French language.

"Sauter" is a French verb for "Jump".


truthiness

The truthiness of an idea is its ability to be believed emotionally and not because it is supported by evidence or logic.

Following incorrect ideas because you wish or believe them to be true.

Your truthiness amazes me. Don't you care that it's been proven false?


catalyst

A substance that makes a chemical reaction happen faster. The catalyst is not changed by the process and can be used again.

Someone or something that encourages progress or change, or helps it happen.

I hope the new CEO will be a catalyst for change.

Communication is a catalyst for peace.


painter

A painter is someone who paints. This might be an artist, or might be someone who paints buildings.


black-eyed Susan

black-eyed Susan (singular)
black-eyed Susans (plural)

A Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta) is a flowering plant.

You can never have too many Black-eyed Susans in your garden.


Thunbergia

Thunbergia (singular)
Thunbergias (plural)

A genus of flowering plants, like as T. alata.


artist

An artist was in the park painting the birds.

An artist is a performer on a musical track.


poetry

Poetry is much cheaper than painting since you don't need special supplies.

This is a book of poetry.

Poetry is found all over the world.

To hear my child speak is poetry.


length

The length of an object is the distance between one end of that object and the other.

What is the length of the car?

The length of a horse is used to show the distance between horses at the end of a race.

Length is the distance down the pitch that the ball bounces on its way to the batsman.


olive

A tree, Olea europaea, that is grown in the Mediterranean for its fruit and the oil that comes from it.

The small oval fruit of an olive tree; olives are eaten ripe (usually black) or unripe (usually green).

A grayish green color, the color of an unripe olive.


consistency

consistency (singular)
consistencies (plural)

The quality of being consistent or uniform.

They want their employees to have a high level of consistency in the quality of their customer service.

Mix it until it has a thick consistency.

The consistency of water is pretty thin.


fighter

A fighter is someone who fights for a cause, a job, or a sport.

Someone else whose job is to fight, is fighting, or often fights.

A fighter is small, fast airplane used for war.


overcorrect

overcorrect (canonical)
overcorrects (third-person singular)
overcorrected (past)
overcorrected (past participle)
overcorrecting (present participle)

If you overcorrect, you do too much to fix a problem, so that you make another problem.

The driver overcorrected and hit another car.


kick-ass

kick-ass (positive)
more kick-ass (comparative)
most kick-ass (superlative)

If something is kick ass it is very good (it kicks ass).

The show was totally kick ass.


loudspeaker

loudspeaker (singular)
loudspeakers (plural)

Everyone in the building heard her message as she spoke through the loudspeaker.


teen

Teens are often hard on parents.

Everyone scored in the teens.


ceiling

This room has a very interesting ceiling.

price ceilings

The highest altitude that an aircraft may fly.

The smallest integer greater than or equal to a given number.

The ceiling of 4.5 is 5.


anilingus

Anilingus is when a person stimulates another person's anus with their tongue.


adolescent

adolescent (singular)
adolescents (plural)

An adolescent is a person or animal that is older than a child but younger than an adult.

The teacher worked mostly with adolescents.

An adolescent is a person going through sexual maturation.


adolescent

adolescent (positive)
more adolescent (comparative)
most adolescent (superlative)

If something is adolescent it is typical of adolescents.

The woman still had an adolescent appearance.


Grace

Grace is a given name for a girl or woman.


daddy

Another word for father, a male parent. This is usually used by children.

The girl was very happy to see her daddy.

Someone who is better than someone else. This is often used to say you are better than the person you are talking to, especially if you have beat them at something.

You know I'm your daddy.

Who's your daddy? (Same meaning as above)

He really thinks he's the daddy!


powerful

powerful (positive)
more powerful (comparative)
most powerful (superlative)

If someone (or something) is powerful, they have much power.

The king is a very powerful man.

Big guns are powerful weapons.

A tiger is powerful animal.

The train has a powerful engine.


electronic

Something that is electronic relates to an electron or electrons.

A device that is electronic runs on the energy caused by electrons flowing through semiconductors.

What does that electronic device do?

Something that is electronic is made by an electronic (2) device

electronic music


assimilation

assimilation (singular)
assimilations (plural)

The act of assimilating or the state of being assimilated.

Adding new ideas to an old way of thinking.

Changing a sound so that it becomes similar to the sound next to it.

When a minority group takes on the customs and attitudes of the dominant culture.


factory

A factory is a building where things are made.

This factory makes one hundred cars every day.

A factory is anything that makes other things, especially if it makes a really large amount of things.


boxer

A boxer is a person who boxes (fights for sport by hitting with fists).

A boxer is a kind of dog, that was originally bred in Germany to protect houses from burglars. They cropped their ears so people could not grab them, the same with their tail.


daylight

The light from the sun that is seen in the daytime.

The time when the sun is out and daylight can be see; the daytime.


German

A German is a person who comes from Germany.

My friend is a German.


German

German (positive)
more German (comparative)
most German (superlative)

Something or someone that is German comes from Germany.

My friend Dagmar is German.

I bought a German car last year.

Some people call themselves German because their family came from Germany, even if they have never been to Germany.

Mr. Schwartz is German, his grandmother came to the U.S. from Germany.


lyrics

The plural form of lyric; more than one (kind of) lyric.

Lyrics are the words that go to a song. Often, lyrics are like a poem set to music.

I wish I knew the lyrics to Dreams by The Cranberries.

The singer was trying to write lyrics for a new album.


debris

The bits of something that are left after an object has been destroyed; rubble, wreckage.

There was a lot of debris after the building was demolished.

litter or trash that has been discarded.

Look at all the debris in the gutters!.

Large rock fragments left by a melting glacier etc.


stepchild

stepchild (singular)
stepchildren (plural)

A stepchild is the child of a person's husband or wife. A stepchild is a child from an earlier marriage.

When I married my wife I got two stepchildren.


warrior

A person whose job is to fight and kill enemies of their people or country. Often this is used for someone from a long time ago, or to say some is like a hero from long ago.

Someone who is tough or wants to be seen as like a warrior from long ago.


supply

A supply is an amount of something that you can use when you need it.

We will need a supply of water.

During the war, the Americans destroyed their food supply.

Sadly these books are in very short supply in Britain.

The price of oil changes quickly to match supply and demand.

Supplies are things like food, water, medicine, gasoline, etc. that people need when they are not near somewhere where they can get them easily.

The Japanese government is finally planning to send medical supplies and financial support.

Supply is the act or system of supplying something.

They plan to fix the Russian economy and improve the supply of food and consumer goods.

The airplane's air supply wasn't working.


supply

supply (canonical)
supplies (third-person singular)
supplied (past)
supplied (past participle)
supplying (present participle)

If you supply something, you make it available, usually regularly.

We were supplied with a few basic tools that we needed for the job.

Our garden supplies us with all the food we need.

The office was well supplied with chairs.


term

A term is a word or group of words, usually one with a special meaning in a particular field or area.

They didn't know the meaning of the technical terms the doctor was using.

What is the definition of this term?

At age 10, she only knew that it was a term of abuse, a swear word.

She spoke in glowing terms about the progress they had made.

You use "in terms of" to introduce a topic or subject.

Simply spending more money is not useful in terms of getting people back to work.

In terms of both numbers of people and size, California is one of the largest States in America.

If you talk about something in general/economic/human, etc. terms, you talk about it from that point of view.

The changes are great in dollar terms, but the human cost is too high.

The President of Mexico is limited to serving a single term of six years.

He faces a maximum prison term of 15 years and $8.5 million in fines

The price may be up and down, but over the long term it will certainly rise.

The period of employment comes to term in three years.

She carried the baby to term.

A term is one of the times of year when school classes are held, usually September to December and January to April or June, also June to August.

A term is a number or symbol in a formula.

The equation only worked when we included an extra constant term.

If you compare money or numbers in real terms, you compare the value on an equal basis.

Today we are paying less for gasoline in real terms than we have at any time since 1918.

Although the absolute number of trucking accidents is up slightly, they are down 10 percent in the decade in real terms .

If you come to terms with something that is not nice, you accept it.

He hasn't come to terms with the fact that she's not coming back.

The terms of a contract or purchase are its rules, conditions and limits.

The company has announced generally agreement on a new contract though the exact terms still have to be worked out.

Under the terms of the purchase, we get the house on July 14th.

If two or more people or groups are on good/equal/bad etc. terms, they have a relationship that is good/equal/bad etc.

If two or more people or groups are on speaking terms, they are not close but do speak to each other.


term

term (canonical)
terms (third-person singular)
termed (past)
termed (past participle)
terming (present participle)

If you term something a particular name or description, you give that name or description to it.

The 1980s have been termed "The Forgotten Decade" by rock fans.

White House Spokesman Marlin Fitzwater termed the GNP growth "moderately healthy".

For lack of a better word, you might term it a police state.


syntax

A part of the grammar of a language. Syntax is the rules for putting words together to make a sentence.

English syntax is never easier than English spelling.

The linguist studied the syntax of many languages.

The child had a problem with syntax after his head was hurt.

The syntax of many computer languages is based on English syntax.

Syntax is the formal rules of formulating statements of a computer language.


laptop computer

laptop computer (singular)
laptop computers (plural)

A laptop computer or a laptop is a small computer that is light enough to be used on your lap and can be carried around with you.


passed

pass (canonical)
passes (third-person singular)
passed (past)
passed (past participle)
passing (present participle)

The past tense and past participle of pass.


niggas

The plural form of nigga; more than one (kind of) nigga.


regard

If you have regard for something, you respect it.

He has a high regard for his teacher.

These people have no regard for other people's feelings.

Regard is how something is though about or looked at.

We do disagree, but only in regard to how much the government is spending.

What has he said with regard to taxes?

He's made a lot of money and is certainly a success in that regard.

You use Regards as a closing in a formal letter.

You ask somebody to give somebody else your regards as a formal way to show your concern for and interest in these people.


regard

regard (canonical)
regards (third-person singular)
regarded (past)
regarded (past participle)
regarding (present participle)

If you regard something, you think about it.

How do you regard his actions?

She's widely regarded as the best tennis player in history.

When you regard something, you look at it.

She regarded him with a smile.


soldier

A soldier is someone who is part of an army.

The soldier was shot in the war.


wouldn't

My hands were full but she wouldn't open the door for me.


LOL

A short way to say "laugh out loud", "laughing out loud", or "lots of laughs" when you are talking on the internet.

Lol. You just got roasted by the reply above you.

A short way to write "Loyal Orange Lodge", a prefix that is given to all branches of the Loyal Orange Order.

LOL 1 is Portadown branch.


vagina

A vagina is a tube that goes from the vulva to the uterus of female mammals.


blowjob

A blowjob is when someone stimulates a penis with their mouth.

Mary gave John a blowjob.


syllable

A syllable is a word or part of a word that has one vowel sound in it. The vowel might have consonants around it or be by itself.

The word "potato" has three syllables, "po," "ta," and "to."


wee

wee (positive)
weer (comparative)
weest (superlative)

A wee bit, boy, while etc. is a very small one.

He was a wee bit upset about the changes.

What a lovely wee child!


wee

wee (canonical)
wees (third-person singular)
weed (past)
weed (past participle)
weeing (present participle)

If an animal wees, it passes waste liquid from its body.


serve

serve (canonical)
serves (third-person singular)
served (past)
served (past participle)
serving (present participle)

When you serve food or drink, you give it to somebody to eat or drink, especially as a host.

Shall I serve your drinks first?

Lunch is served from 11:00 until 3:00.

If something serves (as something), it used or useful for a certain purpose.

This cup can serve as a holder for my paintbrushes.

This program has served as a model for smaller enterprises throughout the state.

His experiences during the war served as the basis for his book.

The area is served by a number of schools.

The law no longer serves the function it once did.

When you serve (as something), you work.

John served in the army.

He served as the director of the company from 1992 until 2003.

He serves the king.

If you serve time in prison, you stay there because you are a criminal.

If you serve, in a game like tennis, you begin play by sending something like a ball over a net.


serve

A serve in a game like tennis is the action beginning of play by sending something like a ball over a net.

Whose serve is it?

That was a great serve!


parking lot

parking lot (singular)
parking lots (plural)

A parking lot is an open area where you can park your car.

When I got the restaurant, I parked my car in the parking lot.


waterproof

waterproof (positive)
more waterproof (comparative)
most waterproof (superlative)

If something is waterproof, water cannot go through it.

I needed a waterproof coat to walk in the rain.


masculine

masculine (positive)
more masculine (comparative)
most masculine (superlative)

If something is masculine it is like something a boy or man would do.

Playing sports is often seen as masculine.

If someone is masculine they act in a way that is usual for a man.

The character Rambo is very masculine.

She is a masculine woman, she always acts like a man.

In some languages, masculine is a gender that a word can have.

Some German words are masculine, but English words do not have gender.


kindness

The quality of being kind. When you have kindness, you do many kind things.

Kind things people do. When you help people you are showing kindness.


asshole

The anus, the hole in the butt where feces comes out.

Don't be an asshole.

Do I have to be an asshole for you to listen?


OMG

Object Management Group (who define CORBA).


Wiktionary

A collaborative project that is run by the Wikimedia Foundation. The goal is to produce a free and complete dictionary in every language.

The dictionary resulting from this project.


disk

A disk is an object that is thin, flat, and circular.

A coin is a disk of metal.

Venus' disk blocked light from the Sun.

Turn the disk over after it has finished.

He still uses floppy disks from 1979.

A disc – either a CD-ROM, an audio CD, a DVD.

She burned some disks yesterday to back up the information on her computer.


headword

A word that is used as the title of a section, especially in a dictionary, encyclopedia, or thesaurus.

A headword is the word under which a set of related dictionary or encyclopedia entries appears.

The headword of a phrase is the most important word in the phrase.


fuckhead

A very insulting word to call someone you don't like; a stupid or unlikable person.

That fuckhead has been cheating on me with my best friend!


rhyme

rhyme (canonical)
rhymes (third-person singular)
rhymed (past)
rhymed (past participle)
rhyming (present participle)

If two words rhyme the end of the words sounds the same.

The words "day" and "way" rhyme.

Rhyming is a good way to remember some things.


rhyme

A rhyme is two words (or a word and a phrase) that end with the same sound, including at least one vowel sound.

"Agree" and "degree" make a rhyme, and "rhyme" and "time" are also a rhyme.


third person

The form of a verb that is used when the subject of a sentence is not the one making the statement. Some pronouns that are used with the third person are he, she, it, one, they, and who.

"Is" is the third person singular of "to be"

A form of storytelling that uses verbs in the third person to show that the storyteller is not a character in the story.


unsaturated

Not saturated; able to dissolve more of a solute at the same temperature.

Having atoms share more than one valence bond; especially of an organic compound having one or more double bond or triple bond between carbon atoms.


yerba mate

yerba mate (singular)
yerba mates (plural)

A small tree that is part of the holly family; Ilex paraguariensis. It is often used to make a tea called mate.


killer

Someone who kills. Usually this mean someone who kills other people, and does not have a good reason to kill.

The police caught the killer today.

She was happy that her brother's killer was caught.

Lighting can be a real killer.

Failing the exam was a real killer.

The show was great, a real killer.


killer

Watch out! There are killer bees!

The family barely got away from the killer storm.

That was a killer show!


hay

Hay is tall grass that has been cut and dried. Hay is often used to feed animals.


sales

The plural form of sale; more than one (kind of) sale.

Sales is the number or value of things sold.

The stronger economy has boosted auto sales by $650 million over last year.

Retail sales have fallen for two months in a row.

Sales is the part of a company or industry that tries to get people to buy more.

She's now Seattle's director of marketing and sales.

I'm not the kind of person who can be successful in sales.


musical

musical (positive)
more musical (comparative)
most musical (superlative)

If something is musical it makes music or is about music.

A drum is a musical instrument.

If a person is musical, they are good at making music or often make music.

My cousin is very musical and can play many songs and musical instruments.


musical

A musical is a theatrical production with music, dance, and spoken words.

My favorite musical is "Wicked".

Busby Berkley's old-time Hollywood movie musicals are classics.

Tom and Jerry honeymooned in New York City and bought tickets for three Broadway musicals.


pack

pack (canonical)
packs (third-person singular)
packed (past)
packed (past participle)
packing (present participle)

When you pack something, you put it in a container to carry with you.

Did you pack your swimming suit?

When you pack a container, you put things in it to carry with you.

The students have all packed their bags and left for the summer.

It's time to pack up and go.

If you pack a place or a container with something (or pack something in a place or container), you put a lot inside.

The hall was packed with visitors.

If you pack something like snow or earth, you press it to make it take up less space.

All the runners had packed the earth hard.

If you pack a gun, you carry it with you.

If you pack something away, you put it away in a container.


pack

A pack is a container that things are sold in.

Cigarettes were selling for over $10 a pack.

A pack is a bag used to carry things, usually on your back.

My spare clothes are in my pack.

A pack of cards is a set of 52 playing cards.

A pack is a group of animals, usually that hunt together.

A pack of people is a group, usually not a nice group.

A pack of lies is something that is completely untrue.

An ice pack is something cold that you put on an injury.


fur

My dog has very soft fur.

Hairy skin of an animal, often used to make of clothes.

It take many beaver furs to make a coat.

or (uncountable) Clothes made from animal fur.

She loved to wear fur.

She often wears furs.

She had fur on last night.


reader

A reader is somebody or something that reads.

I would describe myself as a reader because I'm always reading books.

We got a new card reader for the door.


jumpy

jumpy (positive)
jumpier (comparative)
jumpiest (superlative)

If you are jumpy you are very nervous or anxious. That is you may feel like jumping in fear if surprised, because you are a little afraid already.

Are you okay, you seem jumpy today.

I was a little jumpy after the car wreck.


Buddhism

Buddhism is a religion and philosophy based on the teachings of Buddha that teaches enlightenment can be achieved by ending desire and attachment.

Buddhism is often practiced in Japan, Tibet, and Korea.

Teachers in Tibetan Buddhism have sought to teach Buddhism to children.


Africa

Africa is the continent that is south of Europe, east of the Atlantic Ocean, west of the Indian Ocean and north of Antarctica.

Africa is the world's second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia.


permit

If you have a permit to do something, you have a document that says you are allowed to do it, it is legal for you to do it.


permit

permit (canonical)
permits (third-person singular)
permitted (past)
permitted (past participle)
permitting (present participle)

If you permit something, you let it happen.

If you permit something, you make it legal.


slight

slight (positive)
slighter (comparative)
slightest (superlative)

A slight increase, difference, etc. is a small change.

This year's 5.6% level is a slight increase from last year's 5.4%.

Don't worry about me. It's just a slight pain

I don't have the slightest idea what she meant.

Out stepped a slight, middle-aged woman who smiled kindly.


slight

slight (canonical)
slights (third-person singular)
slighted (past)
slighted (past participle)
slighting (present participle)

If you slight someone, you treat them as if they were not important.

Ever since that time, he's been slighted by his fellow workers.


slight

A slight is when you are not polite to someone.

Has she forgiven him for his slight?


uncountable

A word is uncountable if it means something that there is not a set number of. This usually means that it names a substance like water or wood. Uncountable words are sometimes called mass nouns, and they cannot be plural.


Taoism

The first religion of China. Taoism teaches people to live in harmony with the natural way (called the Tao, which means way in Chinese).


declaration

declaration (singular)
declarations (plural)

A written or spoken statement of a fact, opinion, or belief.

The company has released a declaration of bankruptcy.

A list of items for various legal purposes.

customs declaration

The act or process of declaring something.

The principal's declaration lasted almost 30 minutes.

When the captain of a batting side says an inning is closed.


hatred

Hatred is another word for hate. If you have hatred for someone, then you very strongly dislike that person.

I can't believe he has such hatred for other races! -- what did they do to him?


consensus

consensus (singular)
consensuses (plural)

If there is consensus among people, they generally agree on something.

There was broad consensus that the first project had failed.

Average projected value, as in the finance term consensus forecast.

A way to make decisions; consensus says that people agree to an action if no one opposes it.


production

production (singular)
productions (plural)

Production is when something is produced.

The machine is being used for production now.

The total amount of something that is produced.

They hope to increase spaghetti production next year.

A play or other presentation in a theatre.

We went to a production of Hamlet.

An event or activity that is made more complicated or dramatic than necessary.

He made a simple meal into a huge production.


yeah

Yeah, sure, I'll go with you to the store.


yeah

I won! Yeah!


relic

Something old that is kept for personal, sentimental reasons.

A part of the body of a saint, or a very old religious object, which is kept out of respect for the object.


obfuscate

obfuscate (canonical)
obfuscates (third-person singular)
obfuscated (past)
obfuscated (past participle)
obfuscating (present participle)

If you obfuscate something, you make it dark or overshadow it.

If you obfuscate a situation or comment, you deliberately make it more confusing so that you can hide the truth.

Before leaving the scene, the murderer set a fire to obfuscate any evidence of his or her identity.

If you obfuscate computer code, you change it so that it acts the same way but the code's structure and intent are hidden.

We need to obfuscate these classes before we ship the final release.


pore

Any small opening. Often an object will have many pores, not just one, and these pores let liquids pass through them.


pore

pore (canonical)
pores (third-person singular)
pored (past)
pored (past participle)
poring (present participle)

If you pore over something, you study it carefully and with great detail; you look at it many times.


embarrassment

embarrassment (singular)
embarrassments (plural)

A feeling of discomfort, shame, self-consciousness or humiliation.

A person or thing which causes another person to feel shame or humiliation.

Kevin, you are an embarrassment to this family.

Losing this highly publicized case was an embarrassment to the firm.


Sam

Sam is a male given name. It is usually short for Samuel.

Sam is a female given name. It is usually short for Samantha.


Indy

The Indianapolis 500 race is often called the Indy 500 for short.


marijuana

marijuana (singular)
marijuanas (plural)

/ˌmærɪˈwɑː.nə/

Marijuana is a drug that is smoked for a euphoric feeling.

After smoking a bowl of that fine marijuana, they ate some brownies.

The dank marijuana from Cali got me baked.

Marijuana is the hemp plant itself, Cannabis sativa.


supposed

If something is supposed, people assume that is it true without having proof that it is true.


supposed

suppose (canonical)
supposes (third-person singular)
supposed (past)
supposed (past participle)
supposing (present participle)

The past tense and past participle of suppose.


arsehole

The anus, the hole in the butt where feces comes out.

Don't be an arsehole.

Do I have to be an arsehole for you to listen?


badass

A badass is someone who is very tough or mean.

Don't mess with him, he's a real badass!

A person who has extreme attitudes and behavior and is admired by others. In this sense, calling someone a badass is a compliment.

I heard that he smashed his guitar at the end of the encore. He's such a badass!


badass

badass (positive)
more badass (comparative)
most badass (superlative)

If something is badass it is great or very good; cool.

I love my new shoes--aren't they badass?

It would be even more badass if school was cancelled.


bookshelf

bookshelf (singular)
bookshelves (plural)

The book should be on the bookshelf.

My bookshelves are so full that soon I will need a new one.


Koran

The Koran is the holy book of Islam. It contains messages that Muslims believe were given to the prophet Muhammad by the angel Gabriel. Muslims believe these messages come from God.


hull

The body of a vessel such as a ship or plane.


hull

hull (canonical)
hulls (third-person singular)
hulled (past)
hulled (past participle)
hulling (present participle)

To take the covering off of a fruit or vegetable.

She sat on the back porch hulling peanuts.


duct tape

Duct tape is a kind of strong, waterproof tape. It used to be used to tape ducts, but is now used for many purposes.

Please hand me the duct tape. I need to fix this box.