Vocabulary Building: Essential Words and Definitions
Telegram:
A very short letter that you send very quickly.
Impatiently:
Not happily, because you are unable to wait for something.
Elementary:
Very easy.
Mud:
Very wet ground.
Housekeeper:
A woman who looks after a rich person’s house.
Waste:
To use badly.
Situation:
When things are happening around you and you feel in the middle of them.
Captain:
The leader of a group of soldiers.
Advertisement:
You pay to put this in a newspaper.
Souvenir:
A thing that you buy to remind you of a place.
Retire:
To stop working when you are old.
Major:
An officer in the army.
Governess:
A woman who lives with and teaches children in their home.
Receive:
To get something that somebody sends to you.
Pearl:
A small, round, expensive stone that is found in a shellfish.
Envelope:
A paper cover that you put a letter in.
Fingerprint:
A mark that is made by the lines on the end of your finger.
Solve:
To find the answer to a mystery.
Cab:
A taxi.
Revolver:
A gun.
Passage:
The space between rooms in a house.
Cross:
Where two lines meet in the middle like ‘+’ or an ‘x’.
Sign:
A mark that shows something important.
Fog:
Low, thick cloud that makes it difficult to see.
Lamp:
Something that gives light.
Gentleman:
A man from a good family, usually rich.
Whip:
To hit a special long, thin stick.
Ugly:
Not beautiful.
Servant:
A person who works for someone rich.
Curtains:
People close these in front of windows at night to stop people looking in.
Painting:
A picture, done with different colors and brushes.
Vase:
A container that people put flowers in.
Nod:
To move your head up and down.
Nervous:
A little afraid.
Bodyguard:
A man whose job is to protect someone.
Terrified:
Very frightened.
Breathe:
To make air move into and out of your body through your nose and mouth.
Treasure:
Something expensive, for example, gold, silver, or valuable stones.
Acquire:
To get.
Divide:
To give parts of something to two or more people.
Chest:
A large box.
Bury:
To put a dead body under the ground.
Footprint:
A mark that your foot or shoe makes on the ground or floor.
Measure:
To find out how big something is.
Space:
An empty part of something.
Half a Million:
500,000.
Expect:
To think that something will happen.
City:
(Plural cities) A big and important town.
Enormous:
Very big.
Crouch Down:
To bend your knees so that your body is close to the ground.
Twin:
One of a pair of brothers or sisters who are born on the same day.
Laboratory:
A room where someone puts things together and examines what happens to them.
Tar:
This is soft, black, and smelly; we put it on roads and there is some in cigarettes too.
Ladder:
You use this for climbing up or down tall buildings or other things.
Rope:
A very thick, strong string.
Thorn:
Something small and sharp that grows on a plant and can hurt you.
Poisoned:
With something on it that can kill you if it gets into your body.
Suggest:
To say that something is a good idea.
Mark:
Something dirty of a different color that you see on something.
Examine:
To look carefully at something.
Tiny:
Very small.
Tread:
(Past trod) To walk or step in something.
Introduce:
To bring people together for the first time by saying their names and something about them.
Candle:
It burns and gives light; in the past, people used them to see at night.
Attack:
To start biting or hitting someone.
Sergeant:
An important policeman.
Drainpipe:
Something long and round that carries water away from the roof of a building.
Associate:
Someone that you often spend time with or are in business with.
Punish:
To hurt someone because they have done something wrong.
Suburbs:
The outer parts of a town, where people live.
Mile:
1.6 km.
For Hire:
Can be borrowed after you pay something for it.
Steam Launch:
A fast boat that is powered by steam from burning coal.
Coal:
It is hard and black, and burns very well; people use it to make the fire that moves old ships and trains.
Leader:
The most important one in a group.
Exhausted:
Very tired.
Commit:
To do a crime.
Native:
A person that was born and lives in a place.
Cannibal:
A person who eats people.
Violin:
A musical instrument, made of wood with strings across it.
Disappointed:
Unhappy because you don’t get what you want.
Delay:
A time when you have to wait for something to happen.
Thrilled:
Very excited.
Mutter:
To talk unclearly in a low, quiet voice.
Whisky:
A strong alcoholic drink that is made in Scotland.
Remind:
To make somebody remember something.
Give Up:
(Past gave, given) To stop trying to do something.
Certain:
Sure.
Cigar:
A thick, brown cigarette.
Wig:
False hair.
Crew:
The people who work on a boat.
Tower:
A tall building.
Repairs:
Things that are done to make something that is broken work again.
Race:
To move very quickly.
Yard:
0.9 meters.
Searchlight:
Strong ship’s light.
Speed:
How quickly something moves.
Fire:
To shoot a gun.
Furious:
Very angry.
Companion:
Someone who travels with you.
Trouble:
To worry; a worry or problem.
Crocodile:
This dangerous animal with short legs and a long tail lives in rivers and lakes in hot countries.
At War:
When two countries are fighting.
Rebel:
A person who fights against the people who are in control.
Defend:
To fight to save something from attack.
Fort:
A strong building where soldiers live.
Gate:
A big door into a fort.
Sikh:
A person from a religious group that began in the north of India.
Disguised:
Wearing something so that people cannot recognize you.
Merchant:
A person who buys and sells things.
Cousin:
The son (or daughter) of your father’s (or mother’s) brother (or sister).
Plunge:
To push a thing suddenly into something.
Jewel:
An expensive stone.
Guilty:
Who has done something wrong.
Financial:
To do with money.
A Fifth:
20%.
Trick:
To make people believe something that is not true.