| abolitionism |
a movement in the United States in the 1800s whose goal was to free the people who were slaves and make slavery against the law. |
| A.D. |
A.D. is an abbreviation of the Latin words "anno domini." The abbreviation A.D. is used in dates when people are talking about things in history that happened after Jesus Christ was born. The year that Jesus Christ was born is called "1 A.D." The year after that is called "2 A.D." Jesus Christ is considered both God and man in the religion of Christianity, and he is an important figure in the history of the world. The calendar that most people use nowadays was created by Christians. That's why the year of Christ's birth was chosen as a way to divide older times from newer times. This calendar is not the first or only calendar that people in the world have created, but most people nowadays use this particular calendar. Instead of "A.D.," though, people often use "C.E." nowadays, which stands for "Common Era" or "Christian Era." |
| adjective |
a word that describes a noun or pronoun. In the sentence, "It was a hard test," the word "hard" is an adjective. It describes the noun "test." |
| Afghan |
a person who was born in or who is a citizen of Afghanistan. [1/3 definitions] |
| African |
a person who was born in or is a citizen of a country in Africa. [1/2 definitions] |
| after all |
used to tell what really happened in the end even though there was a possibility of something else happening. [1/2 definitions] |
| Alexandria |
a city in Egypt on the Mediterranean Sea at the tip of the Nile delta. Alexandria was founded by Alexander the Great. |
| alibi |
a way of defending oneself against criminal charges by showing that one was not at the scene of the crime when it happened. [1/2 definitions] |
| along |
When something moves along, it moves forward and away from where it was before. [1/5 definitions] |
| altogether |
"Altogether" sometimes means looking at or considering everything. If you had a good day altogether, it means that some good things happened and some bad things happened, but when you look at both good things and bad things together, your general feeling is that it was a good day. [1/2 definitions] |
| American |
a person who was born in or is a citizen of the United States. [2/5 definitions] |
| ancient |
Something ancient is a thing that existed or happened a very, very long time ago, like an ancient kingdom or an ancient tribe of people. When you read about an "ancient country," that country might still exist now--like Egypt or Greece--but you are reading about that country the way it was maybe thousands of years ago. [1/2 definitions] |
| antique |
When something is antique, it was made a very long time ago. |
| any |
If it is not any colder today than it was yesterday, then it is not at all colder today than yesterday. It is not even a little colder. If your cousins are not any smarter than you, then you are exactly as smart as your cousins or maybe even smarter. [1/5 definitions] |
| apart |
When something comes apart or falls apart, it separates into different pieces. Something that was one thing becomes many things. [1/2 definitions] |
| apatosaur |
another name for brontosaur. This animal was also called apatosaurus. |
| Apollo |
the god of light, music, poetry, and healing in Greek and Roman mythology. Apollo was also the god of prophecy. People travelled to his shrine at Delphi to ask questions about future events. |
| apostle |
An apostle is a person who strongly believes in what another person is teaching, especially in the area of religion or philosophy. When people talk about "the Apostles," though, they are usually talking about the twelve earliest followers of Jesus Christ, most of whom spread his teachings after his death. Jesus Christ was a person who lived about 2000 years ago. His teachings began the religion of Christianity, and Christians consider him to be the son of God and also part of God. |
| appeal |
If someone appeals a decision of a court of law, it means that they think the decision was wrong and they make a request to a higher court to look at the case again. They hope that when the higher court reviews the case, they will come to a different decision. [1/6 definitions] |
| Arab |
a person who was born in or is a citizen of an Arabian country. [1/4 definitions] |
| Arabian |
a person who was born in or is a citizen of Arabia; Arab. [1/3 definitions] |