catastrophe catastrophes
NOUN a terrible disaster
catastrophic ADJECTIVE
catch catches, catching, caught
VERB 1 If you catch an object that is moving through the air, you grasp it with your hands.
2 If you catch a person or animal, you capture them. The police caught the thief.
3 If you catch a bus, train or plane, you get on it and travel somewhere.
4 If you catch a cold or a disease, you become ill with it.
NOUN 5 a hook that fastens or locks a door or window
catching
ADJECTIVE If a disease or illness is catching it spreads very quickly. Measles is catching.
catchy catchier, catchiest
ADJECTIVE Something that is catchy, such as a tune, is pleasant and easy to remember.
category categories
NOUN a group of things that have something in common
caterpillar caterpillars
NOUN the larva of a butterfly or moth. Caterpillars look like small, coloured worms and feed on plants.
cathedral cathedrals
NOUN an important church with a bishop in charge of it Canterbury Cathedral
Catholic Catholics
ADJECTIVE OR NOUN a Roman Catholic, or belonging to that religion
cattle
PLURAL NOUN cows and bulls kept by farmers
caught
VERB the past tense of catch
cauldron cauldrons
NOUN a large, round metal cooking pot, especially one that sits over a fire
[from Latin caldarium meaning hot bath]
cauliflower cauliflowers
NOUN a large, round, white vegetable surrounded by green leaves
cause causes, causing, caused
VERB 1 To cause something means to make it happen.
NOUN 2 The cause of something is the thing that makes it happen. The cause of the explosion was a gas leak.
cautious
ADJECTIVE Someone who is cautious acts carefully in order to avoid danger or disappointment.
cavalry
NOUN The cavalry is the part of an army that fights on horseback or in armoured vehicles such as tanks.
cave caves, caving, caved
NOUN a large hole in the side of a cliff or under the ground
cave in
VERB If a roof caves in, it collapses inwards.
caveman or cavewoman cavemen or cavewomen
NOUN Cavemen and cavewomen were people who lived in caves in prehistoric times.
cavity cavities
NOUN a small hole in something solid There were cavities in his back teeth.
CD
NOUN an abbreviation for compact disc
CD-ROM
NOUN a way of storing video, sound or text on a compact disc that can be played on a computer. CD-ROM is an abbreviation for compact disc read-only memory.
cease ceases, ceasing, ceased
VERB 1 If something ceases, it stops.
2 If you cease doing something, you stop doing it.
ceiling ceilings
NOUN the roof inside a room
celebrate celebrates, celebrating, celebrated
VERB If you celebrate something, you do something special and enjoyable because of it. We felt like celebrating the end of exams.
celebration NOUN
celebrity celebrities
NOUN a famous person
celery
NOUN a vegetable with long, pale green stalks
cell cells
NOUN 1 In biology, a cell is the smallest part of an animal or plant that can exist by itself. Humans, animals and plants are made up of millions of cells.
2 a small room in a prison or police station where a prisoner is locked up
cellar cellars
NOUN a room underneath a building
cello cellos
Said chel-oh NOUN a large, stringed musical instrument that you play sitting down
cellist NOUN
Celsius
NOUN a scale for measuring temperature in which water freezes at 0 degrees (0 °C) and boils at 100 degrees (100 °C)
[named after Anders Celsius (17011744) who invented it]
cement
NOUN a grey powder that is mixed with sand and water to make concrete
cemetery cemeteries
NOUN an area of land where dead people are buried
census censuses
NOUN an official survey of the population of a country
cent cents
NOUN In some countries a cent is a unit of currency.
centenary centenaries
NOUN the hundredth anniversary of something
centigrade
NOUN another word for Celsius
centimetre centimetres
NOUN a unit of length (cm). One centimetre is equal to ten millimetres (mm).
centipede centipedes
NOUN a long, thin creature with many pairs of legs
[from Latin centum + pedes meaning a hundred feet]
central
ADJECTIVE 1 Something central is in the middle.
2 An idea that is central is the main idea.
central heating
NOUN a heating system in which water or air is heated and passed round a building through pipes and radiators
centre centres
NOUN 1 the middle of an object or area
2 a building where people go for activities, meetings, or help We played badminton at the sports centre.
century centuries
NOUN a period of one hundred years
ceramic ceramics
Said ser-ram-ic NOUN 1 a hard material made by baking clay at very high temperatures
PLURAL NOUN 2 Ceramics is the art of making objects out of clay.
cereal cereals
NOUN 1 a food made from grain, often eaten with milk for breakfast
2 a plant that produces edible grain, such as wheat, oats, barley and rye
2 a plant that produces edible grain, such as wheat, oats, barley and rye
ceremony ceremonies
NOUN a formal event such as a wedding or prizegiving
certain
ADJECTIVE 1 If you are certain about something, you are sure it is true. She is certain she wants to be a vet.
2 You use certain to refer to a particular person, place or thing. I like certain animals, for example cats and dogs.
certainly
ADVERB without any doubt Will you be at the party? I certainly will.
certificate certificates
NOUN an official piece of paper that proves that something took place a birth certificate
chaffinch chaffinches
NOUN a small European bird with black and white wings
chain chains
NOUN 1 a number of metal rings linked together in a line
2 a number of things in a series or connected to each other a chain of shops a chain of events
chair chairs
NOUN a seat for one person to sit on, with a back and four legs
chalet chalets
NOUN a small wooden house with a sloping roof, especially found in mountain areas or holiday camps
chalk
NOUN a soft, white rock. Small sticks of chalk are used for writing or drawing on a blackboard.
chalky ADJECTIVE
challenge challenges, challenging, challenged
NOUN 1 something new and exciting that needs a lot of effort Learning how to cook is a new challenge for me.
VERB 2 If someone challenges you, they suggest that you compete with them. She challenged me to a game of table tennis.
challenging
ADJECTIVE If you find something challenging, you find it quite difficult.
chameleon chameleons
NOUN a lizard that is able to change the colour of its skin to match the colour of its surroundings
[from Greek khamai + leon meaning ground lion]
champagne champagnes
NOUN a sparkling white wine made in France
champion champions
NOUN a person who wins a competition
championship championships
NOUN a competition to find the best player or players of a particular sport
chance chances
NOUN 1 how possible or likely something is I think weve got a good chance of winning.
2 an opportunity to do something This is your chance to be a TV star!
3 a possibility that something dangerous or unpleasant may happen
PHRASE 4 Something that happens by chance happens unexpectedly, without being planned.
chancellor chancellors
NOUN the head of government in some European countries
Chancellor of the Exchequer
NOUN the government minister in charge of finance and taxes in Britain
change changes, changing, changed
NOUN 1 money you get back when you pay for something with more money than it costs
VERB 2 When something changes, or you change it, it becomes different. The wind changed direction.
channel channels
NOUN 1 a wavelength on which television programmes are broadcast. It can also be the television station itself.
2 a passage for water or other liquid
3 The Channel, or the English Channel, is the stretch of sea between England and France.
chaos
NOUN a state of complete disorder The demonstration ended in chaos.
chaotic ADJECTIVE
chapel chapels
NOUN 1 a section of a church or cathedral with its own altar
2 a type of small church
chapter chapters
NOUN one of the parts into which a book is divided
character characters
NOUN 1 all the qualities that make a person or a place special She has a gentle character.
2 The characters in a film, play or book are the people in it.
characteristic characteristics
NOUN 1 a special quality about a person, place or thing
ADJECTIVE 2 typical of a place or person Noise and traffic fumes are characteristic of cities.
charades
NOUN a party game where one team guesses what the other team is acting out
charcoal
NOUN burnt wood used as a fuel. Charcoal is also used for drawing.
charge charges, charging, charged
VERB 1 If someone charges you money, they ask you to pay for something you have bought or received.
2 rush forward She charged into the room.
PHRASE 3 If you are in charge of someone or something, you are responsible for them. I left him in charge of the shop while I went out.
chariot chariots
NOUN a two-wheeled open vehicle pulled by horses in ancient times
charity charities
NOUN 1 an organization that raises money to help people in need
2 money or other help given to people in need
charm charms, charming, charmed
NOUN 1 something you wear for good luck
2 the quality of being attractive and pleasant
VERB 3 If you charm someone, you use your charm to please them.
chart charts
NOUN a diagram or table showing information
chase chases, chasing, chased
VERB If you chase someone, you run after them or follow them in order to catch them or make them leave a place.
chat chats, chatting, chatted
NOUN 1 a friendly talk with someone
VERB 2 When people chat, they talk to each other in a friendly way about things that are not very important.
chatty ADJECTIVE
chatroom chatrooms
NOUN an internet site where users have discussions using e-mail
chatter chatters, chattering, chattered
VERB 1 When people chatter, they talk about unimportant things.
2 If your teeth chatter, they knock together and make a clicking noise because you are cold.
chauffeur chauffeurs
NOUN a person whose job is to drive another persons car He had a chauffeur to drive him everywhere.
cheap cheaper, cheapest
ADJECTIVE 1 Something that is cheap costs very little money.
2 Cheap sometimes means of poor quality.
cheaply ADVERB
cheat cheats, cheating, cheated
VERB If someone cheats in a game or exam, they break the rules in order to do better.
check checks, checking, checked
VERB 1 If you check something, you examine it to make sure that everything is all right. Check your work carefully when you finish.