Collins Dictionaries - Collins Primary Illustrated Dictionary

VERB If you amplify a sound, you make it louder.

amplifier NOUN

amputate amputates, amputating, amputated

VERB If a surgeon amputates part of the body, such as an arm or a leg, they cut it off.

amputation NOUN

amuse amuses, amusing, amused

VERB 1 If something amuses you, you think it is funny.

2 If you amuse yourself, you find things to do that stop you from being bored.

amused ADJECTIVE amusing ADJECTIVE

amusement amusements

NOUN 1 the feeling you have when you think that something is funny or you have pleasure

2 a mechanical device used for entertainment, at a fair for example

3 Amusements are ways of passing the time pleasantly.

an

ADJECTIVE An is used instead of a in front of words that begin with the vowels a, e, i, o, or u. • an apple • an egg

anaemia

NOUN a medical condition in which there are too few red cells in the blood. It makes you feel tired and look pale.

anaemic ADJECTIVE

anaesthetic anaesthetics; also spelt anesthetic

NOUN a substance that stops you feeling pain. A general anaesthetic stops you from feeling pain in the whole of your body by putting you to sleep. A local anaesthetic makes just one part of your body go numb.

anagram anagrams

NOUN a word or phrase formed by changing the order of the letters of another word or phrase. For example, draw is an anagram of ward and dear is an anagram of read.

analogue

ADJECTIVE An analogue watch or clock shows the time with pointers that move round a dial.

ANTONYM: digital

analogy analogies

NOUN a comparison between two things that are similar in some ways

analyse analyses, analysing, analysed

VERB If you analyse something, you investigate it carefully to understand it or to find out what it consists of.

anatomy anatomies

NOUN the study of the structure of bodies, both animal and human, to find out how they work

anatomical ADJECTIVE

ancestor ancestors

NOUN a member of your family who lived many years ago • He could trace his ancestors back 700 years.

[from Latin antecessor meaning one who goes before]

anchor anchors, anchoring, anchored

NOUN 1 a heavy, hooked object at the end of a chain. It is dropped from a boat into the water to keep the boat from floating away.

VERB 2 If you anchor something, you hold it down firmly.

ancient

ADJECTIVE Things that are ancient existed or happened a very long time ago.

ANTONYM: modern

and

CONJUNCTION You use and to link two or more parts of a sentence together. • Let’s go to the cinema and then have pizza.

anecdote anecdotes

NOUN a short, sometimes entertaining story about a person or an event

angel angels

NOUN a being who, some people believe, lives in heaven and acts as a messenger for God

[from Greek angelos meaning messenger]

anger

NOUN the strong feeling you get about something unfair or cruel

SYNONYMS: fury, rage, wrath

angle angles

NOUN 1 the distance between two lines at the point where they join together. Angles are measured in degrees. • an angle of 90 degrees

2 the direction from which you look at something • He painted pictures of the garden from all angles.

angry angrier, angriest

ADJECTIVE very annoyed

SYNONYMS: furious, cross

anguish

NOUN great suffering

animal animals

NOUN any living being that is not a plant

animation animations

NOUN a way of making films using drawings that appear to move when you watch them

animated ADJECTIVE

ankle ankles

NOUN the joint that connects your foot to your leg

annihilate annihilates, annihilating, annihilated

VERB If someone or something annihilates someone or something else, they destroy them completely.

annihilation NOUN

anniversary anniversaries

NOUN a date that is remembered because something special happened on that date in a previous year • We celebrated Mum and Dad’s twelfth wedding anniversary.

announce announces, announcing, announced

VERB If you announce something, you tell people about it publicly or officially. • They announced the team on Friday morning.

SYNONYM: make known

announcement NOUN

annoy annoys, annoying, annoyed

VERB If someone or something annoys you, they make you angry or impatient.

SYNONYMS: bother, irritate

annoyance NOUN

annual annuals

ADJECTIVE 1 happening once a year • our annual sports day

NOUN 2 a book that is published once a year for children

anonymous

ADJECTIVE If something is anonymous, nobody knows who is responsible for it. • The charity received an anonymous donation.

anorak anoraks

NOUN a warm, waterproof jacket, usually with a hood

[an Eskimo word]

anorexia

NOUN a psychological illness in which the person refuses to eat

[from Greek an + orexis meaning no appetite]

another

ADJECTIVE OR PRONOUN one more person or thing

answer answers, answering, answered

VERB 1 If you answer someone, you reply to them in speech or writing.

NOUN 2 the reply you give when you answer someone • I received an answer to my letter.

3 a solution to a problem

ant ants

NOUN Ants are small insects that live in large groups.

antagonize antagonizes, antagonizing, antagonized

VERB If you antagonize someone, you upset them and make them feel angry.

Antarctic

NOUN the area around the South Pole

antelope antelopes

NOUN a hoofed animal, similar to a deer

antenna antennae or antennas

NOUN 1 one of the two long, thin parts attached to the head of an insect or other animal, which it uses to feel with. The plural is antennae.

2 In Australian, New Zealand and American English, an antenna is a radio or television aerial. The plural is antennas.

anthem anthems

NOUN usually a song of celebration, and sometimes a religious song

anther anthers

NOUN the part of the stamen in a flower where the pollen matures

anthology anthologies

NOUN a collection of writings by various authors, published in one book

[from Greek anthologia meaning flower gathering]

anti-

PREFIX against or opposite • an antimalaria tablet

ANTONYM: pro-

antibiotic antibiotics

NOUN a drug or chemical used in medicine to kill bacteria and cure infections

anticipate anticipates, anticipating, anticipated

VERB If you anticipate an event, you are expecting it and are getting prepared for it.

anticipation NOUN

anticlimax anticlimaxes

NOUN If something is an anticlimax, it disappoints you because it is not as exciting as you expected, or because it occurs after something that was more exciting.

anticlockwise

ADJECTIVE OR ADVERB moving in the opposite direction to the hands of a clock

ANTONYM: clockwise

antidote antidotes

NOUN a chemical substance that works against the effects of a poison

antique antiques

NOUN an object from the past that is collected because of its value or beauty

antiseptic

ADJECTIVE Something that is antiseptic can kill some germs.

antler antlers

NOUN Antlers are the branched horns on the top of a male deer’s head.

antonym antonyms

NOUN a word that means the opposite of another word • Happy is the antonym of sad.

anxiety anxieties

NOUN nervousness or worry

anxious

ADJECTIVE 1 If you are anxious, you are nervous or worried.

2 If you are anxious to do something, you very much want to do it. • She was anxious to pass her ballet exam.