2 If something is attractive, it is interesting.
aubergine aubergines
NOUN a dark purple, pear-shaped vegetable. It is also called an eggplant.
auburn
ADJECTIVE a red-brown hair colour
auction auctions, auctioning, auctioned
NOUN 1 a public sale in which goods are sold to the person who offers the highest price
VERB 2 to sell something in an auction
audible
ADJECTIVE If something is audible, you can hear it.
audience audiences
NOUN 1 the group of people who are watching or listening to a performance
2 a private or formal meeting with an important person The winners of the bravery awards had an audience with the Queen.
audition auditions
NOUN a short performance by an actor or musician, so that a director can decide whether they are suitable for a part in a play or a film, or for a place in an orchestra
auditorium auditoriums or auditoria
NOUN the part of a theatre or concert hall where the audience sits
August
NOUN the eighth month of the year. August has 31 days.
aunt aunts
NOUN Your aunt is the sister of your mother or father, or the wife of your uncle.
author authors
NOUN The author of a book is the person who wrote it.
authority authorities
NOUN 1 the power to tell other people what to do The teacher had the authority to give me detention.
2 an organization that controls public interests the local health authority
3 Someone who is an authority on something, knows a lot about it.
authorize authorizes, authorizing, authorized
VERB If someone authorizes something, they give official permission for it.
authorization NOUN
auto-
PREFIX 1 self or same autobiography
2 self-propelling automatic car
autobiography autobiographies
NOUN an account of someones life that they have written themselves
autobiographical ADJECTIVE
autograph autographs
NOUN the signature of a famous person
[from Greek auto meaning self and graphos meaning written]
automatic automatics
ADJECTIVE 1 An automatic machine is programmed to perform tasks without needing a person to operate it.
NOUN 2 a car in which the gears change automatically as the cars speed changes
autumn autumns
NOUN the season between summer and winter, when the leaves fall off the trees I love the golden colours of the trees in autumn.
available
ADJECTIVE 1 If something is available, it is easy to get or to buy.
2 A person who is available is ready for work or free to talk to.
avalanche avalanches
NOUN a huge mass of snow and ice that falls down a mountainside
avenue avenues
NOUN a street, especially one with trees along it
average averages
NOUN 1 a result obtained by adding several amounts together and then dividing the total by the number of different amounts If I shared 36 sweets between four children, the average would be nine sweets per child.
ADJECTIVE 2 standard or usual The average teenager is interested in pop music.
SYNONYMS: normal, ordinary, typical
PHRASE 3 You say on average when mentioning what usually happens in a situation. Men are, on average, taller than women.
aviary aviaries
NOUN a large cage or group of cages in which birds are kept
aviation
NOUN the science of flying aircraft
avocado avocados
NOUN a pear-shaped fruit with dark green skin, soft greenish-yellow flesh, and a large stone
avoid avoids, avoiding, avoided
VERB 1 If you avoid someone or something, you keep away from them. To avoid him, she went home the other way.
2 If you avoid doing something, you make an effort not to do it.
SYNONYMS: dodge, shirk
awake
ADJECTIVE Someone who is awake is not sleeping.
award awards, awarding, awarded
NOUN 1 a prize or certificate for doing something well
VERB 2 If someone awards you something, they give it to you formally or officially. He was awarded the prize for fastest runner.
aware
ADJECTIVE 1 If you are aware of something, you know about it.
2 If you are aware of something, you can see, hear, smell or feel it.
away
ADVERB 1 moving from a place I saw them walk away from the house.
2 at a distance from a place The nearest supermarket is 12 kilometres away.
3 in its proper place He put his CDs away.
4 not at home, school or work My friends been away from school for a week.
awe
NOUN FORMAL a feeling of great respect mixed with amazement, and sometimes slight fear Looking up at the mountains, we felt a sense of awe.
awful
ADJECTIVE very unpleasant or very bad Isnt the weather awful?
SYNONYMS: dreadful, terrible
awkward
ADJECTIVE 1 difficult to deal with an awkward situation
2 clumsy and uncomfortable The large bag was awkward to carry.
[from Old Norse ofugr meaning turned the wrong way]
axe axes
NOUN a tool with a handle and a sharp blade, used for chopping wood
axis axes
NOUN 1 an imaginary line through the middle of something, around which it moves The earth turns on its axis.
2 one of the two sides of a graph
axle axles
axle axles
NOUN the long bar that connects a pair of wheels on a vehicle
Bb
babble babbles, babbling, babbled
VERB If someone babbles, they talk in a quick and confused way that is difficult to understand.
baboon baboons
NOUN an African monkey with a pointed face, large teeth and a long tail
baby babies
NOUN a child in the first year or two of its life
baby-sit baby-sits, baby-sitting, baby-sat
VERB If you baby-sit for someone, you look after their children while they are out.
bachelor bachelors
NOUN a man who has never been married
back backs, backing, backed
ADVERB 1 When people or things move back, they move in the opposite direction to the one they are facing.
2 When you go back to a place or situation, you return to it. She went back to sleep.
NOUN 3 the rear part of your body
ADJECTIVE 4 The back parts of something are the ones at the rear. the dogs back legs
VERB 5 If a building backs on to something, the back of it faces in that direction.
backbone backbones
NOUN the column of linked bones along the middle of the back of a human and other vertebrates
background backgrounds
NOUN 1 the things in a picture or scene that are less noticeable than the main things
2 the kind of home you come from, and your education and experience
backstroke
NOUN a style of swimming movement on your back
backward
ADJECTIVE If you take a backward look, you look behind you.
backwards
ADVERB 1 If you move backwards, you move to a place behind you.
2 If you do something backwards, you do it opposite to the usual way. He told them to count backwards from 20 to 5.
bacon
NOUN meat from the back or sides of a pig, which has been salted or smoked
bacteria
PLURAL NOUN very tiny organisms that can cause disease
[from Greek bakterion meaning little rod; some bacteria are rod-shaped]
bacterial ADJECTIVE
bad worse, worst
ADJECTIVE 1 Bad things are harmful or upsetting. I have some bad news.
SYNONYMS: distressing, grave, terrible
2 not enough or of poor quality We thought the film was very bad.
3 Bad food is not fresh.
SYNONYMS: rotten, decayed
badge badges
NOUN a piece of plastic or metal with a design or message on it that you can pin to your clothes
badger badgers, badgering, badgered
NOUN 1 a nocturnal mammal that has a white head with two black stripes on it
VERB 2 If you badger someone, you keep asking them questions or pestering them to do something.
badly worse, worst
ADVERB 1 not well, poorly The script was badly written.
2 seriously She was badly hurt in the accident.
badminton
NOUN a game in which two or four players use rackets to hit a feathered object, called a shuttlecock, over a high net
bag bags
NOUN a container for carrying things in
[From Old Norse baggi meaning bundle]
baggage
NOUN Your baggage is all the suitcases, holdalls and bags that you take with you when you travel.
bagpipes
PLURAL NOUN a musical instrument played by squeezing air out of a leather bag and through pipes
baguette baguettes
NOUN a long, thin French loaf of bread
bail bails
NOUN 1 In cricket, the bails are the two small pieces of wood placed on top of the stumps to form the wicket.
2 a sum of money paid to a court to allow an accused person to go free until the time of the trial The accused man was released on bail.
bait baits, baiting, baited
NOUN 1 a small amount of food placed on a hook, or in a trap, to attract and catch a fish or wild animal
VERB 2 If you bait a hook or a trap, you put some food on it to catch a fish or wild animal.
bake bakes, baking, baked
VERB 1 When you bake food, you cook it in an oven without using extra liquid or fat.
2 If you bake earth or clay, you heat it until it becomes hard.
baker bakers
NOUN a person who makes and sells bread and cakes
balance balances, balancing, balanced
VERB 1 When someone or something balances, they remain steady and do not fall over.
2 used in mathematics when weighing and comparing two weights. If two weights are equal, they balance.
NOUN 3 the state of being upright and steady She lost her balance and fell.
4 the amount of money in someones bank account
balcony balconies
NOUN 1 a platform on the outside of a building, with a wall or railing round it
2 an area of upstairs seats in a theatre or cinema
bald balder, baldest
ADJECTIVE A bald person has little or no hair on their head.
[from Middle English ballede meaning having a white patch]
bale bales, baling, baled
NOUN 1 a large bundle of something, such as paper or hay, tied tightly
VERB 2 If you bale water from a boat, you remove it using a container; also spelt bail.
ball balls
NOUN 1 a round object used in games such as tennis, soccer, and hockey
2 The ball of your foot or thumb is the rounded part where your toes join your foot or your thumb joins your hand.
ballad ballads
NOUN 1 a long song or poem that tells a story
2 a slow, romantic pop song
ballerina ballerinas
NOUN a female ballet dancer
ballet
NOUN a type of artistic dancing based on precise steps
[from Italian balletto meaning little dance]
balloon balloons
NOUN 1 a small bag made of thin rubber that you blow into until it becomes larger. Balloons are often used as party decorations.
2 a large, strong bag filled with gas or hot air, that travels through the air carrying passengers in a basket underneath it They went on a hot air balloon flight over the city.
ballpoint ballpoints
NOUN a pen with a small, metal ball at the writing point
bamboo
NOUN a tall tropical grass with hard, hollow stems used for making furniture
ban bans, banning, banned