Collins Dictionaries - Collins Primary Illustrated Dictionary

[from Old English clyster meaning bunch of grapes]

clutch clutches, clutching, clutched

VERB If you clutch something, you hold it tightly or seize it.

clutter clutters, cluttering, cluttered

NOUN 1 an untidy mess

VERB 2 Things that clutter a place fill it and make it untidy.

coach coaches, coaching, coached

NOUN 1 a large bus that takes passengers on long journeys

2 a section of a train that carries passengers

VERB 3 If someone coaches you, they help you to get better at a sport or a subject.

SYNONYMS: instruct, train

NOUN 4 someone who coaches a person or sports team

coal

NOUN a hard, black rock taken from under the ground and burned as a fuel

coarse coarser, coarsest

ADJECTIVE 1 Something that is coarse is rough in texture.

2 Someone who is coarse talks or behaves in a rude, offensive way.

coarsely ADVERB coarseness NOUN

coast coasts, coasting, coasted

NOUN 1 the edge of the land where it meets the sea

VERB 2 If a vehicle coasts somewhere, it moves there with the engine switched off. • The car coasted quietly down the hill.

coastal ADJECTIVE

coastguard coastguards

NOUN an official who watches the sea near a coast to get help for sailors when they need it

coat coats, coating, coated

NOUN 1 a piece of outdoor clothing with sleeves, which you wear over other clothes

2 An animal’s coat is the fur or hair on its body.

3 A coat of paint or varnish is a layer of it.

VERB 4 If you coat something, you cover it with a thin layer of something. • We coated the biscuits with chocolate.

coating coatings

NOUN a thin layer of something spread over a surface

coax coaxes, coaxing, coaxed

VERB If you coax someone to do something, you persuade them gently to do it.

cobble cobbles

NOUN Cobbles or cobblestones are stones with a rounded surface that were used in the past for making roads.

cobra cobras

NOUN a type of large poisonous snake from Africa and Asia

cobweb cobwebs

NOUN the very thin net that a spider spins to catch insects

cock cocks

NOUN an adult male chicken, or any other male bird

cockerel cockerels

NOUN a young cock

cockle cockles

NOUN a type of small, edible shellfish

Cockney Cockneys

NOUN someone who was born in the East End of London

cockpit cockpits

NOUN 1 the area in a plane where the pilot sits in control

2 the driver’s compartment in a racing car

cockroach cockroaches

NOUN a large, dark-coloured insect often found in dirty rooms

[from Spanish cucaracha]

cocky cockier, cockiest

ADJECTIVE INFORMAL If you are cocky, you are sure of yourself and sometimes rather cheeky.

cocoa

NOUN 1 a brown powder made from the seeds of a tropical tree and used for making chocolate

2 a hot drink made from this powder

coconut coconuts

NOUN a very large nut with white flesh, milky juice, and a hard hairy shell

cocoon cocoons

NOUN a silky covering over the larvae of moths and some other insects

cod

NOUN a large, edible fish

The plural of cod is cod.

code codes

NOUN 1 a system of replacing the letters or words in a message with other letters or words, so that nobody can understand the message unless they know the system • They wrote messages in code.

2 a group of numbers and letters used to identify something • the telephone code for Falmouth

coeducation

NOUN Coeducation is a system where girls and boys are taught together at the same school.

coeducational ADJECTIVE

coffee

NOUN 1 a powder made by roasting and grinding the beans of the coffee plant

2 a hot drink made from coffee

coffin coffins

NOUN a box in which a dead body is buried or cremated

cog cogs

NOUN a wheel with teeth, which turns another wheel or part of a machine

coil coils, coiling, coiled

NOUN 1 a length of rope or wire wound into a series of loops

2 A single loop is also called a coil.

VERB 3 If something coils, or if you coil it, it winds into a series of loops. • The snake coiled around the branch.

coin coins, coining, coined

NOUN 1 a small metal disc used as money

VERB 2 If you coin a word or a phrase, you invent it.

coinage

NOUN the coins that are used in a particular country

coincide coincides, coinciding, coincided

VERB When two things coincide, they happen at the same time. • Auntie’s visit coincided with my birthday.

coincidence coincidences

NOUN what happens when two or more things occur at the same time by chance

coke

NOUN a grey fuel produced from coal

cola colas

NOUN a sweet, brown fizzy drink, like Coca-Cola

colander colanders

NOUN a bowl-shaped container with holes in it, used for washing or draining food

cold colder, coldest; colds

ADJECTIVE 1 If something is cold, it has a very low temperature.

2 If the weather is cold, the air temperature is very low.

NOUN 3 a minor illness that makes you sneeze and cough, and sometimes gives you a sore throat

cold-blooded

ADJECTIVE 1 A cold-blooded animal has a body temperature that changes according to the surrounding temperature.

2 Someone who is cold-blooded does not show any pity.

cold-bloodedly ADVERB

coleslaw

NOUN a salad of chopped cabbage and other vegetables in mayonnaise

collaborate collaborates, collaborating, collaborated

VERB When people collaborate, they work together to produce something. • The two schools collaborated to produce a play.

collaboration NOUN collaborator NOUN

collage collages

NOUN a picture made by sticking pieces of paper or cloth on to a surface

collapse collapses, collapsing, collapsed

VERB 1 If something such as a building collapses, it falls down suddenly.

2 If a person collapses, they fall down suddenly because they are ill.

collapsible

ADJECTIVE A collapsible object can be folded flat when it is not in use. • collapsible chairs

collar collars

NOUN 1 the part around the neck of something, such as a coat or shirt

2 a leather band round the neck of a dog or cat

colleague colleagues

NOUN A person’s colleagues are the people they work with.

collect collects, collecting, collected

VERB 1 If you collect things, you gather them together for a special purpose or as a hobby.

2 If you collect someone or something from a place, you call there and take them away. • We collected Ali from school.

3 When things collect in a place, they gather there over a period of time. • Dust collects in corners.

collection collections

NOUN 1 a group of things you have gathered over a period of time • a stamp collection

2 the organized collecting of money, for example for charity, or the money collected

collective noun collective nouns

NOUN a noun that refers to a group of people or things. For example, a flock, a herd, and a shoal are all collective nouns.

college colleges

NOUN a place where students study after they have left school

collide collides, colliding, collided

VERB If a moving object collides with something, it hits it. • They collided with each other as they rushed through the door.

collision collisions

NOUN A collision is when a moving object hits something.

SYNONYM: crash

colon colons

NOUN 1 the punctuation mark (:). It is used to introduce a list, a quotation or an explanation of a statement. • We need to buy several things: bread, milk, fruit and toothpaste.

2 part of your intestine

colonel colonels

NOUN an army officer with a fairly high rank

colony colonies