Collins Dictionaries - Collins Primary Thesaurus

Parts of a bicycle:

bell

chain

crossbar

handlebars

mudguard

pedal

saddle

wheel

big (1) ADJECTIVE

Something or someone big is large.

WORD POWER: This word tends to be used a lot. To make your writing more varied, try to use some of the alternative words suggested here instead.

colossal

To an ant, an elephant must seem colossal.

enormous

Why do singers always get presented with enormous bunches of flowers?

extensive

View our extensive range of furniture today!

giant

Get the new giant pack of Whizzo miracle washing liquid.

gigantic

The section of bridge required a gigantic crane to lift it.

huge

Gran gave me a huge hug.

immense

The floods had covered an immense area of the county.

infinite

Outer space is infinite, with no known limits.

mammoth

Barnum and Bailey’s mammoth circus had two separate rings.

massive

“Astronomers believe a massive asteroid is heading for earth,” said the newsreader.

mighty

Mighty Tarzan flexed his muscles, then swung off through the trees.

roomy

“You’ll find this is a roomy loft,” the estate agent said.

sizable

Our house has a sizable garden.

spacious

The living room is spacious, but the kitchen is cramped.

vast

The Sahara Desert is a vast area of rolling sand dunes.

big (2) ADJECTIVE

Something big is important.

WORD POWER: This word tends to be used a lot. To make your writing more varied, try to use some of the alternative words suggested here instead.

important

It was an important day in Sophie’s life – her first at her new school.

momentous

The Prime Minister made the momentous decision – the country was going to war.

serious

A serious accident had blocked the road.

significant

Having an injured soldier to carry made a significant difference to their progress.

bird NOUN

A bird is an animal with feathers and wings.

Some birds:

blackbird

crane

crow

cuckoo

dove

duck

emu

finch

flamingo

goose

heron

hummingbird

jackdaw

kingfisher

kiwi

kookaburra

lark

magpie

nightingale

ostrich

owl

parrot

peacock

pelican

penguin

pigeon

puffin

raven

robin

rook

sparrow

starling

stork

swallow

swan

thrush

woodpecker

bit NOUN

A bit of something is a small amount of it.

chunk

Sam broke off a chunk of chocolate and gobbled it up.

fraction

I arrived a fraction of a moment too late. The bus was just leaving.

fragment

Fragments of the wrecked aircraft were found all over the field.

morsel

“Kind sir, please spare me a morsel of food,” begged Oliver.

part

A part of me wanted to stay and yet I was also desperate to leave.

piece

Marina cut the cake into pieces and took the largest one for herself.

scrap

My dad writes reminders to himself on scraps of paper.

bite VERB

If you bite something, you use your teeth to hold, cut or tear it.

champ

The horse champed at the bit as it waited impatiently for the race to begin.

chomp

Dad says that I chomp my food like a waste-disposal unit.

gnaw

Mice had gnawed through the electric wires.

nibble

Some creature had nibbled at the chair leg.

bitter ADJECTIVE

A bitter taste is sharp and unpleasant.

sour

If you leave milk in the sun, it turns sour.

tart

The lemon cake was slightly tart.

blame VERB

If someone blames a person for something bad that has happened, they believe that person caused it to happen.

accuse

The woman was accused of kidnapping the young child.

charge

Police charged the man with being drunk and disorderly.

hold responsible

At the enquiry, the bus company was held responsible for the accident.

block (1) VERB

If someone or something blocks a road or channel, they put something across it so that nothing can get through.

bar

Access to the back road was barred by a police checkpoint.

bung up INFORMAL

I could hardly breathe, my nose was so bunged up.

choke

The traffic jam choked the road into town for many hours.

clog up

Don’t pour liquid fat down the sink as it clogs up the drains when it sets.

dam

Beavers dam streams with logs to create a pool which will not freeze solid in winter.

obstruct

Uncle Pete tried to obstruct the door as I went through, but I ducked under his arm!

block (2) VERB

If someone tries to block something, they try to stop it happening.

hinder

Our dog, Jim, hinders Mum by attacking the vacuum cleaner.

impede

The walkers’ progress was impeded by an angry goat on the path.

obstruct

The protesters were arrested for obstructing the police.

prevent

Residents prevented a nightclub from being built near their houses.

thwart

The wicked baron was thwarted in his evil plans by a quick-thinking boy.

block (3) NOUN

A block is something put across a road or channel so that nothing can get through.

barrier

For the parade, barriers were erected to keep the crowds back.

blockage

“There’s a blockage in the drain under the sink,” the plumber said.

obstacle

Alpa had to overcome many obstacles on his road to success.

obstruction

If you swallow chewing gum, it may cause an obstruction in your stomach.

block (4) NOUN

A block is a large, rectangular, three-dimensional piece of something.

bar

The robbers put the gold bars in the back of the getaway van.

chunk

A chunk of metal fell off the back of the truck as it left the scrap yard.

lump

With the help of a wheel, the potter formed the shapeless lump of clay into a vase.

blue ADJECTIVE

If something is blue, it has the colour of the sky on a sunny day.

Shades of blue:

aquamarine

azure

indigo

navy

sky blue

turquoise

boast VERB

If you boast, you talk proudly about what you have or what you can do.

brag

Alison couldn’t resist bragging about her new DVD player.

blow your own trumpet

I prefer modest people to those who blow their own trumpet.

crow

Paulo was so busy crowing about his marks, that he didn’t see Mrs Walker behind him.

show off

Brian is always showing off about the amount of pocket money he gets.

boat NOUN

A boat is a floating vehicle for travelling across water.

craft

At that distance, it was hard for the coastguard to identify the craft.

ship

Sir Francis Drake sailed in a ship he named the Golden Hind.

vessel

The tiny tug was nevertheless a sturdy vessel, capable of pulling much larger boats.

Leisure boats:

canoe

catamaran

dinghy

kayak

powerboat

raft

rowing boat

sailing boat

speedboat

yacht

Working boats:

barge

ferry

galleon OLD-FASHIONED

hovercraft

hydrofoil

liner

steamboat

tanker

trawler

tug

Boats used in war:

aircraft carrier

cruiser

destroyer

frigate

galleon OLD-FASHIONED

submarine

body NOUN

Your body is all of you, from your head to your feet.

build

Although flyweight boxers only have a slight build, they are powerful for their size.

figure

My sister maintains her figure by practising yoga regularly.

form

A shadowy form hovered at the end of Nikki’s bed, but it was only her mum, tucking her in!