Collins First Dictionary

Contents

Cover

Title Page

How to find a word in this dictionary

Features of this dictionary

How words work

Aa

Bb

Cc

Dd

Ee

Ff

Gg

Hh

Ii

Jj

Kk

Ll

Mm

Nn

Oo

Pp

Qq

Rr

Ss

Tt

Uu

Vv

Ww

Xx

Yy

Zz

Index

Copyright

About the Publisher

How to find a word in this dictionary

Think of the first letter in the word you want to look up. Once you know this, there is more than one way to find your word in the dictionary:

• You can use the Index at the back of the ebook which lists all of the dictionary words in alphabetical order. Scroll through the Index until you find the letter your word begins with, then look down the words until you find the one you are looking for. You can then follow the link to the entry in the dictionary.

• You can use the Contents page at the front of the book, which has a link to every letter in the dictionary. Follow the link to the letter your word begins with, then look through the entries in this letter until you find the word you are looking for. The entries are in alphabetical order.

Features of this dictionary

1. You can check how to spell words.

2. You can see how the word changes when it is used in different ways.

3. You can see what the word means.

4. You can see how the word is used in a sentence.

5. You can see if a word has more than one meaning.

6. You can see if a word is a noun, verb or adjective. Some words can be used in more than one way.

How words work

Nouns

A noun is a word that is used for talking about a person or thing.

arm noun

bird noun

car noun

If you have more than one of the thing, you use the word that ends in –S.

arms

Some words have special endings, or different spellings, when there is more than one.

child ➔ children

Adjectives

An adjective is a word like “big” or “beautiful” that tells you more about a person or thing.

happy adjective

wild adjective

wet adjective

Adjectives can be used in different ways.

happier, happiest

wilder, wildest

wetter, wettest

Verbs

A verb is a word like “sing”, “feel” or “eat” that you use for saying what someone or something does.

eat verb

cry verb

talk verb

Verbs can be used in different ways.

eats, eating, ate, eaten

cries, crying, cried

talks, talking, talked

Verbs can be used to talk about things that you are doing now.

He teaches people how to play the piano.

He is in the school football team.

They can be used to talk about things that you did in the past.

She took the plates into the kitchen.

She talked to him on the phone.

They can also be used to talk about things that you will do in the future.

Mum will be angry.

Our teacher will give the prizes to the winners.

We’ll come along later.

Tips to help you become a super speller!

When you have found a word you need in the dictionary, try to learn how to spell it using the “Look, Say, Cover, Write, Check” strategy:

Look at the word carefully. Look at its shape and length. Look at the letters in it to see if there are any letter patterns that might help you remember how to spell it in future, for example, bright, light, tight. Say the word out loud. Think about how the word sounds! Can you spell a word that sounds like it? Does your word have a similar sound pattern in it? Sound out the word and try to spell it. Cover the word up so you cannot see it. Write the word down without looking at it in the dictionary. As you do this, think about how the word looks! Does it look right? Is it the right shape? Is it the right length? Check that you have written it correctly.

Explore further at www.collins.co.uk/homeworkhelp for games, activities and extra support for parents and children.

Aa

abacus noun abacuses

An abacus is a frame with beads that move along pieces of wire. It is used for counting.

able adjective

If you are able to do something, you know how to do it.

She is able to swim.

about

1 About means to do with.

This book is about history.

2 About also means near to something.

His grandfather is about 80 years old.

above

If something is above another thing, it is over it or higher than it.

Lift the ball above your head.

accident noun accidents

1 An accident is something nasty that happens, and that hurts someone.

He broke his leg in a car accident.

2 If something happens by accident, you do not expect it to happen.

I dropped a cup by accident.

ache verb aches, aching, ached

If a part of your body aches, you feel a steady pain there.

My leg aches a lot.

acorn noun acorns

An acorn is the seed of an oak tree.

across

If someone goes across a place, they go from one side of it to the other.

She walked across the road.

act verb acts, acting, acted

1 When you act, you do something.

The police acted quickly to stop the fight.

2 If you act in a play or film, you pretend to be one of the people in it.

active adjective

Someone who is active moves around a lot.

My grandmother is very active for her age.

add verb adds, adding, added

1 If you add one thing to another, you put it with the other thing.

Add the water to the flour.

2 If you add numbers together, you find out how many they make together.

Add three and six.

address noun addresses

Your address is the name of the place where you live.

adjective noun adjectives

An adjective is a word like “big” or “beautiful”, that tells you more about a person or thing.

admire verb admires, admiring, admired

If you admire something, you like it and think that it is very nice or very good.

I admired his painting.

adopt verb adopts, adopting, adopted

If you adopt another person’s child, you take them into your own family as your son or daughter.

adult noun adults

An adult is a person who is not a child anymore.

adventure noun adventures

An adventure is something exciting which you do, or which happens to you.

He wrote a book about his adventures in the jungle.

adverb noun adverbs

An adverb is a word like “slowly”, “now”, or “very” that tells you about how something is done.

aeroplane noun aeroplanes

An aeroplane is a large vehicle with wings and engines that flies through the air.

afraid adjective

If you are afraid, you are frightened because you think that something bad will happen to you.

I am not afraid of the dark.

after

1 If something happens after another thing, it happens later than it.

I watched television after dinner.

2 If you go after a person or thing, you follow them or chase them.

They ran after her.

afternoon noun afternoons

The afternoon is the part of each day between twelve noon and about six o’clock.

again

If something happens again, it happens another time.

We went to the park again yesterday.

against

1 If something is against another thing, it is touching it.

He leaned against the wall.

2 If you play against someone in a game, you try to beat them.

The two teams played against one another.

age noun ages

Your age is the number of years that you have lived.

ago

You use ago to talk about a time in the past.

She left two weeks ago.

agree verb agrees, agreeing, agreed

If you agree with someone, you think the same as they do about something.

I agree with you about him.

ahead

Someone who is ahead of another person is in front of them.

My brother ran ahead of us.

air noun

Air is the mixture of gases all around us that we breathe.

I opened the window and let in some air.

aircraft noun aircraft

An aircraft is any vehicle which can fly.

airport noun airports

An airport is a place where aeroplanes fly from and land.

alarm noun alarms

An alarm is a piece of equipment that warns you of danger by making a noise.

The car alarm woke us up.

alien noun aliens

In stories and films, an alien is a creature from another planet.

alike adjective

If people or things are alike, they are the same in some way.

The two cats looked alike.

alive adjective

If a person, an animal or a plant is alive, they are living and not dead.

all

You use all to talk about everything, everyone, or the whole of something.

Did you eat all of it?

alligator noun alligators

An alligator is a large reptile with a long body, a long mouth and sharp teeth. Alligators’ mouths are in the shape of a letter U.

allow verb allows, allowing, allowed

If you allow someone to do something, you let them do it.

Mum allowed us to go out and play.

all right or alright adjective

If you say that something is all right, you mean that it is good enough.

I thought the film was all right.

almost

Almost means very nearly.

I almost missed the bus.

alone adjective

When you are alone, you are not with any other people.

She was alone in the room.

along

1 If you walk along a road or other place, you move towards one end of it.

We walked along the street.

2 If you bring something along when you go somewhere, you bring it with you.

She brought a present along to the party.

aloud

When you read or talk aloud, you read or talk so that other people can hear you.

She read the story aloud to us.

alphabet noun alphabets

An alphabet is a set of letters that is used for writing words. The letters are arranged in a special order.

A is the first letter of the alphabet.

already

You use already to show that something has happened before the present time.

She is already here.

also

You use also to give more information about something.

I’m cold, and I’m also hungry.

always

If you always do something, you do it every time or all the time.

She’s always late for school.

am

Look at be.

I am six years old.

amazing adjective

You say that something is amazing when it is a surprise and you like it.

We had an amazing holiday.

ambulance noun ambulances

An ambulance is a vehicle for taking people to hospital.

amount noun amounts

An amount of something is how much there is of it.

We only have a small amount of food.

amphibian noun amphibians

An amphibian is an animal that lives both on land and in water, for example a frog or a toad.

ancient adjective

Ancient means very old, or from a long time ago.

They lived in an ancient castle.

angry adjective angrier, angriest

When you are angry, you feel very upset about something.

She was angry at her brother for breaking the window.

animal noun animals

An animal is any creature that is alive, but not a plant or a person.

ankle noun ankles

Your ankle is the part of your body where your foot joins your leg.

I fell and twisted my ankle.

annoy verb annoys, annoying, annoyed

If something annoys you, it makes you angry and upset.

It annoys me when people are rude.

another

You use another to mean one more.

She ate another cake.

answer verb answers, answering, answered

If you answer someone, you say something back to them.

She said hello, but he didn’t answer.

ant noun ants

Ants are small insects that live in large groups.

antelope noun antelopes

An antelope is an animal that looks like a deer.

any

1 You use any to mean some of a thing.

Is there any juice left?

2 You also use any to show that it does not matter which one.

Take any book you want.

anybody

You use anybody to talk about a person, when it does not matter which one.

Is there anybody there?

anyone

You use anyone to talk about a person, when it does not matter who.

Don’t tell anyone.

anything

You use anything to talk about a thing, when it does not matter which one.

I can’t see anything.

anywhere

You use anywhere to talk about a place, when it does not matter which one.

You can go anywhere you like.

apart

1 When things are apart, there is a space or a distance between them.

The desks are too far apart.

2 If you take something apart, you take it to pieces.

He took his bike apart.

ape noun apes

An ape is an animal like a large monkey with long, strong arms and no tail.

apologize or apologise verb apologizes, apologizing, apologized

When you apologize, you say that you are sorry for something you have said or done.

He apologized for breaking the window.

appear verb appears, appearing, appeared

When something appears, it becomes possible to see it.

The sun appeared from behind the clouds.

apple noun apples

An apple is a firm, round fruit with green, red, or yellow skin.

April noun

April is the month after March and before May. It has 30 days.

His birthday is in April.

apron noun aprons

An apron is a large piece of cloth that you wear over your other clothes to keep them clean when you are cooking or painting.

are

Look at be.

They are both in my class.

area noun areas

An area is a part of a place.

We live in an area near the park.

aren’t

Aren’t is short for are not.

My friends aren’t here today.

argue verb argues, arguing, argued

If you argue with someone, you talk about something that you do not agree about.

We argued about where to go.

argument noun arguments

If you have an argument with someone, you talk about something that you do not agree about.

She had an argument with another girl.

arm noun arms

Your arms are the two parts of your body between your shoulders and your hands.

She stretched her arms out.

armchair noun armchairs

An armchair is a big comfortable chair with parts on the sides for you to put your arms on.

army noun armies

An army is a large group of soldiers who fight in a war.

around

1 Around means in a circle.

There were lots of people around her.

2 You also use around to say that something is in every part of a place.

His toys lay around the room.

3 Around also means near to something.

We left around noon.

arrange verb arranges, arranging, arranged

1 If you arrange something, you make plans for it to happen.

We arranged a party for her birthday.

2 If you arrange things somewhere, you put them in a way that looks tidy or pretty.

He arranged the books in piles.

arrive verb arrives, arriving, arrived

When you arrive at a place, you get there.

We arrived ten minutes late.

arrow noun arrows

1 An arrow is a long, thin stick with a sharp point at one end.

The soldiers used bows and arrows.

2 An arrow is also a sign that shows you which way to go.

Follow the arrows along the path.

art noun

Art is something that someone has made for people to look at, for example a painting or drawing.

ask verb asks, asking, asked

1 If you ask someone a question, you say that you want to know something.

I asked him what his name was.

2 If you ask for something, you say that you want it.

She asked for some sweets.

asleep adjective

If you are asleep, you are sleeping.

The cat was asleep under the tree.

assembly noun assemblies

An assembly is a group of people who meet together.

We were late for school assembly.

assistant noun assistants

An assistant is someone who helps another person in their work.

astronaut noun astronauts

An astronaut is a person who travels in space.

ate

Look at eat.

He ate three apples.

atlas noun atlases

An atlas is a book of maps.

attack verb attacks, attacking, attacked

If someone attacks another person, they try to hurt them.

attention noun

If you pay attention, you watch and listen.

He always pays attention in class.

attract verb attracts, attracting, attracted

If something attracts things to it, it makes them move towards it.