Our Word List

Word List by First Letter

Word List by Subject

Numbers | Days | Months | Science | Religion | Parts of the human body | Organs (parts inside the body) | US/UK English | Prefixes | Suffixes | Weights and measures | List of English Expressions | Acknowledgments

Parts of Speech

noun	n	a person, place or thing
pronoun	pro	a word used in place of a noun
verb	v	an action word
adjective/adverb	adj/adv	a describing word
preposition	prep	a word used to show a relation
conjunction	conj	a joining word
interjection	int	a short word of emotion
determiner	det	a word used before a noun to show what the noun refers to ("Do you own any books?")

Words to do with Science

atom	n	a very small part of all things; the smallest part of an element that can join with parts of other elements
bacteria	n	living things that are one cell and can be seen only through a microscope; some cause disease
cell	n	a small mass of living material that is part of all plants and animals
compound	n	a substance containing two or more elements
dense	adj	close together; thick
electron	n	a small part of an atom that has an electrical force
element	n	one of more than 100 substances known to science that cannot be separated into other substances
genes	n	parts of cells that control the growth and development of living things; genes from the mother and father are passed to the child
genetic engineering	n	the science of changing the genes of a living organism
gravity	n	the force that pulls things toward the center of the earth
laser	n	an instrument that makes a thin, powerful light
magnet	n	a piece of iron or other material that has a pulling force; this pulling force is called magnetism
molecule	n	the smallest amount of a chemical substance that can exist
nerve	n	a thin piece of tissue that sends information through the body to and from the brain
organ	n	a part of the body that has a special purpose, such as the heart or brain
organism	n	a living thing, often so small it can be seen only through a microscope
particle	n	a very small piece of matter
virus	n	a kind of organism that causes disease
x-rays	n	a kind of radiation that can pass through most solid materials, often used in medicine

Words to do with Religion

amen	int	a word used especially at the end of a prayer to show agreement with the prayer. It means let it be so.
angel	n	a spirit who is sent by God, usually as a messenger
baptize	v	to put someone in water, or to put water on them, as a sign of receiving them as a Christian
Christ	n	'the one [person] chosen and prepared by God' a title of Jesus which comes from the Greek language
Christian	n	a person who believes in, and follows, Jesus Christ
church	n	a community of Christians who meet together to worship; a building for Christian worship
the Church	n	the whole 'body' of Christians all over the world
circumcise	v	to cut off the skin at the end of the male sex organ (this is a religious rule in some religions, but not the Christian religion)
devil	n	an evil spirit
the Devil	n	the chief evil spirit, named Satan
glory	n	great love, praise and honor; the beautiful light around God
grace(of God)	n	God's love for people who do not deserve it. People cannot earn God's grace.
Heaven	n	the 'place' or state of happiness in which God lives and rules
Hell	n	the 'place' of great unhappiness to which people who reject God will go
Israelite	n	(in Bible times) any person descended from Jacob;
Israelite	adj	for or of the Israelite people
Kingdom	n	the 'place' where God rules (this may mean 'Heaven' but it may also mean 'in the hearts of a community of Christians')
Messiah	n	a word which means the same as 'Christ'. ('Messiah' is from the Jewish word, 'Christ' from Greek). The Jewish people looked for the Messiah to come to save them from oppression, as God had promised. Jesus claimed to be the Messiah and Christians believe that he was, and is.
priest	n	(in Bible times) a man who did religious duties for the Israelite people, so represented them before God
prophet	n	a person with a special instruction from God to speak God's words into the community
Satan	n	name of the chief evil spirit; the chief devil
sin	n	wrong-doing, especially against God's rules (which may be different from human ideas of right and wrong!)
Temple	n	a building used for religious purposes in some religions; in Bible times the temple was the chief building for Israelite religious worship, which powerfully represented the presence of God. Three Temples were built in Bible times. The ruins of the last one (which enemies destroyed in 70 AD) are still in Jerusalem.
worship	v	to honor and thank God by prayer and/or singing
worship	n	the act of worshipping

Organs of the Body

breast	n	produces mother's milk to feed a baby
heart	n	the organ of the body which pumps blood around; also, the most important part of a person or thing; the deepest and truest expression of a person's being ("He loves his wife with all his heart.")
intestines	n	tubes through which food passes after it is broken down in the stomach; part of the intestines also remove solid wastes from the body
kidney	n	cleans liquid wastes from the body
liver	n	makes some proteins and enzymes; removes poisons from the blood
lung	n	takes in and expels air from the body
prostate	n	a part of the male reproductive system
stomach	n	breaks down food for the body to use
uterus	n	a part of the female reproductive system where a foetus develops

Common Prefixes

A prefix is a part-word added to the beginning of another word to change its meaning.
anti-	against, opposed to	anti-government
dis-	not	dishonest, disobey
pro-	for, supporting	pro-government
re-	to do again	reorganize, reunite
self-	acted upon/by self	self-declared, self-appointed
un-	not	unusual, unhappy

Common Suffixes

A suffix is a part-word added to the end of a word to change its meaning.

These four may be added to a word to mean the person or thing that does the action suggested by the word.

-ist	art > artist
-er	paint > painter
-or	act > actor
-ant	serve > servant

These five can change a verb into a noun closely related to the verb.

-ment	agree > agreement
-age	marry > marriage
-tion	protect > protection
-sion	invade > invasion
-ing	I like to read > I like reading

This suffix can change some nouns into adjectives.

-ful	care > careful
	wonder > wonderful

And this one can change some adjectives into nouns.

-ness

willing > willingness

Numbers

Number	Word	Adjective
0	zero
1	one	first
2	two	second
3	three	third
4	four	fourth
5	five	fifth
6	six	sixth
7	seven	seventh
8	eight	eighth
9	nine	ninth
10	ten	tenth
11	eleven	eleventh
12	twelve	twelfth
20	twenty	twentieth
50	fifty	fiftieth
100	one hundred	one hundredth
1,000	one thousand	one thousandth
1,000,000	one million	one millionth

Days of the Week

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday

Months of the Year

(The new century began on Saturday January 1, 2000.)
1	January
2	February
3	March
4	April
5	May
6	June
7	July
8	August
9	September
10	October
11	November
12	December

Weights and Measures

In Specialized English we use metric units to express amounts of things.

The common units are:

Length (or distance) 1 kilometer = 1000 meters 1 meter = 100 centimeters 1 meter = 1000 millimeters Volume (amounts of liquids) 1 cubic meter = 1000 liters 1 liter = 1000 cubic centimeters (often called "cc") Weight (or mass) 1 tonne (or 'metric ton') = 1000 kilograms 1 kilogram = 1000 grams 1 gram = 1000 milligrams Time 1 year = 12 months, or 365 days 1 week = 7 days 1 day = 24 hours 1 hour = 60 minutes 1 minute = 60 seconds

US/UK English

The British English way of writing words in our list, where it is different from American English.
American > British
airplane > aeroplane	apologize > apologise
archeology > archaeology	baptize > baptise
behavior > behaviour	center > centre
color > colour	cooperate > co-operate
criticize > criticise	gram > gramme
gray > grey	honor > honour
humor > humour	labor > labour
meter > metre	organize > organise
recognize > recognise	specialize > specialise
theater > theatre

English Expressions

These are some of the expressions we have used and explained in our programs.
Slang	words that people use in their own every day language. They are not official words. People who speak the same language but live in different countries may not understand each other's slang.
Living the good life	living without problems, being happy, and having everything that you need.
Road rage	the anger many people feel today when they drive in their cars. This anger is often caused by other people who drive badly, or by too much traffic. Some people get out of their cars and fight in the street.
Daily bread	anything that a person needs every day to survive.
His days are numbered	a person only has a particular number of days to live before he dies or before something bad happens to him.
Doubting Thomas	a person who is never sure that the things people tell him are true. Thomas was a follower of Jesus who could not believe that Jesus was alive, even though all his friends said it was true.
Blind leading the blind	a situation where one person teaches another but does not know any more than the person he teaches.
Prodigal son	a person who takes money from his friends or family and wastes it on bad things. In the original story, the son returns to his family and asks them to forgive him.
The Eleventh Hour	the time immediately before something important (and often bad) happens.

Acknowledgements

We copied many meanings from this website:
VoA Special English - www.voanews.com/specialenglish/
Voice of America
Washington, DC 20547
USA

Please note that we have no connection with VoA. However, 93% of the words we use come from the VoA list. Please refer to the VoA word list if the differences are important to you.