| aardvark |
a large mammal with a long snout, long ears, a long tail, and with long fur mostly around its legs. Aardvarks are active at night, when they use their powerful claws to dig open ant or termite nests. They catch their food with their long, sticky tongue. Aardvarks live in southern and central Africa. Although they are sometimes called anteaters, aardvarks are not closely related to any other kind of mammal. |
| abandon |
If you abandon something that you have, you go away from it without any plan to return to get it. If someone abandons an animal or another person, they leave them and don't plan to ever come back. [2/3 definitions] |
| able |
When you are able to do something, it means that you can do it. If someone is able to walk, it means that they can walk. [1/2 definitions] |
| about |
If someone is about in the early morning, it means that they are active at that time. [1/9 definitions] |
| abrupt |
When a person speaks in an abrupt manner, they speak with very few words, but they don't seem as if they are shy. They seem unfriendly or even rude. [1/2 definitions] |
| abstract |
When something is abstract, it doesn't have any physical form. Feelings and ideas are abstract things. They are things, but you can't see them or touch them or even smell them! They exist in people's minds only. [2/3 definitions] |
| abuse |
When you abuse something, you use it in a way that is wrong or bad. If people abuse pills, for example, they take them in a different way from how the doctor tells them to take them. This can be dangerous. [2/4 definitions] |
| accelerate |
When you accelerate, you increase the speed or rate of something. If a driver accelerates while they are driving, they make their car go faster. [1/2 definitions] |
| accept |
When you accept something from someone, it means that you take what they want to give you. [2/5 definitions] |
| acceptable |
When something is acceptable, people think it is completely OK. They think it is fine and they approve of it. When something is not acceptable, people think it is completely wrong or bad. [1/2 definitions] |
| acceptance |
If there is acceptance of something, people approve of it, or at least they don't fight against it. If there is acceptance of a person or group, people welcome them or are not against allowing them to join their group. [1/2 definitions] |
| accessory |
In law, an accessory is a person who helps another person so that they can break the law or so that they can avoid getting caught. An accessory helps in some way but doesn't actually take part in the crime of the other person. An accessory gives help before or after the crime is committed. Although it is not as serious, being an accessory is also a crime. [1/2 definitions] |
| accommodate |
If someone accommodates another person, they help them out by giving them a place to stay or by giving them meals, or both. [2/3 definitions] |
| accompany |
If somebody accompanies you somewhere, they go along with you. You don't go alone. If one thing accompanies another thing, it comes with it. [2/3 definitions] |
| accomplishment |
If you try to do something that is hard, it is an accomplishment when you finish it. An accomplishment is something that a person has done or finished in a successful way. People are often proud of their accomplishments or just happy that they were able to do them. |
| accord |
Accord is agreement or harmony. If things are in accord, they go well together. If something is in accord with another thing, it follows it. It doesn't go against it. If people are in accord, they agree about something or they have a similar opinion. |
| account |
When someone tells the story of how something happened, they are giving an account of that event. Because different people describe things differently, they can have different accounts of the same event. [1/5 definitions] |
| accountant |
An accountant is a person who keeps track of how a business spends its money, gives advice about spending money, and often makes sure the company is paying a correct amount of tax to the government each year. All businesses have to report to the government how much money they make and pay a correct amount of tax. Some companies only use an accountant when they are reporting their income to the government and need to figure out how much tax they have to pay. People who have regular jobs also use accountants sometimes if their money affairs are complicated. |
| accuse |
When you accuse someone, you say that they have done something wrong or against the law. |
| ache |
When your heart aches for someone, it means that you are sad because they have trouble or pain. [1/4 definitions] |
| acquaint |
If someone acquaints you with something, they introduce you to it by telling you things about it [1/2 definitions] |