| actual |
When something is actual, it is real. If you got a toy helicopter for your birthday, nobody would be surprised, but if you got an actual helicopter, people would be very surprised! [1/2 definitions] |
| addiction |
If a person has an addiction, their body sends out signals that they must continue to take or take more of a certain a drug or similar substance. These signals cause a desire for the drug that is very, very strong, and it can make people do things that they would not normally do just to get it. Addiction is something that can ruin people's lives. Some drugs cause addiction, but most drugs that people take as medicine do not. |
| additional |
If you have an additional thing, you have one more thing than what you had before. If you had two chairs before and somebody gives you an additional chair, it means you have three chairs now. Let's say your dad got only one small pizza for your birthday party but twenty kids came. You would probably need a lot of additional pizza! |
| amount |
An amount is a total. If you wanted to buy one thing at a store that costs five dollars and another thing that costs two dollars, the amount you would pay is seven dollars. [1/3 definitions] |
| and so forth |
followed by what one would expect. [1/2 definitions] |
| and so on |
followed by what one would expect. [1/2 definitions] |
| apostrophe1 |
a punctuation mark ('). It is used to show where one or more letters or numbers have been left out. "Wouldn't" for "would not" and "'87" for "1987" use apostrophes this way. [1/3 definitions] |
| apparatus |
An apparatus is a piece of equipment, machine, or group of machines designed to let people do some specific thing. If you want to swim deep underwater, for example, you would probably wear an apparatus designed to let you breathe. |
| as if |
how it would be if. |
| ask |
When you want someone to do something, you often ask them. When you ask someone to close the door, you might say, "Please close the door" or "Would you close the door?" [1/5 definitions] |
| attachment |
When you have an attachment to a person, you feel a strong connection to them. You probably like them very much and would miss them if they were gone. [1/5 definitions] |
| behave |
When someone or something behaves, it acts or does something in a certain way. When you talk about how birds behave, you are talking about the things that birds do and how they do it. It would be funny if your cat behaved like a dog. Then it might run and catch a ball in its mouth! [1/3 definitions] |
| better |
"Better" is a word we use when we compare how good two or more things are. If your lunch is good, but your friend's lunch is very, very good, we would say that your friend's lunch is better. In grammar, we call "better" the comparative form of the word "good." [2/6 definitions] |
| bind |
If someone or something binds you in some way, or binds you to do something, they make you feel like you have to do this thing and you cannot free yourself from it. You feel that it is an obligation. If you feel bound to do something, you feel that you must do it, even if you don't want to. Maybe you promised someone you would do it or you signed an agreement to do it. [1/4 definitions] |
| blackmail |
money demanded from someone by another person who threatens to give out information that would harm that person. [1/3 definitions] |
| care |
If someone asks you if you would care for something or care to do something, they are offering you something or inviting you to do something. They would like to know if you want what they are offering. They are asking this in a polite way and in a way that doesn't make you feel that you have to say yes. [1/7 definitions] |
| cherish |
If you cherish something, you care about it very much and you appreciate it. It has great value for you, and you would feel sad if you lost it. |
| chilly |
When air or water is chilly, it's somewhat cold. It might be colder than you expected or hoped it would be. It's not comfortable to be in. [1/2 definitions] |
| clumsy |
If someone is clumsy, they sometimes use their hands, arms, and legs in ways that are awkward and are not how they would like to move. They sometimes drop things or fall over things or bump into things. They do things like this more often than most other people. |
| coincidence |
the fact of two events occurring at the same time simply by chance and, often, in a way that is is very surprising; or the fact of two or more things being the same even though there would seem to be little chance of them being the same. |
| constellation |
A constellation is a group of stars in the sky that look like certain animals, characters, or things in people's imaginations. Each of the constellations have names. One famous constellation is called the Big Dipper. If you could draw lines between the stars in the constellation, it would make the shape of a cup with a long handle. |