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Spelling bee
List for Second grade Pre-intermediate
| Word | Definition | Example Sentence |
|---|---|---|
| aboriginal | A member of a race of people who were the first people to live in a country, before any colonists arrived. | The land is owned by the Aboriginals that live there. |
| accounts | An arrangement with a bank to keep your money there and to allow you to take it out when you need to. | The company's accounts show a loss in the first quarter. |
| accurate | Correct, exact, and without any mistakes. | We hope to become more accurate in predicting earthquakes. |
| adolescent | A young person who is developing into an adult. | She doesn't understand the emotional problems of adolescents. |
| advantage | A condition giving a greater chance of success | The advantage of booking tickets in advance is that you get better seats. |
| advertisement | A picture, short film, song, etc. that tries to persuade people to buy a product or service. | I saw an advertisement for the new restaurant that opened in town. |
| antibiotic | A medicine or chemical that can destroy harmful bacteria in the body or limit their growth. | I'm taking antibiotics for a throat infection. |
| appealing | Attractive or interesting. . | He had a nice smile and an appealing personality |
| architecture | The art and practice of designing and making buildings. | Almost every visitor to Edinburgh is seduced by its splendid architecture. |
| attempt | To try to do something, especially something difficult. | He attempted to escape through a window. |
| autumn | The season between summer and winter when the weather becomes cooler and the leaves fall off the trees. er hair was the colour of autumn leaves. | He attempted to escape through a window. |
| aware | Knowing that something exists, or having knowledge or experience of a particular thing. I wasn't even aware that he was ill. | He attempted to escape through a window. |
| bargain | Something on sale at a lower price than its true value. | This coat was half-price - a real bargain. |
| be in trouble | Someone who is in trouble is in a situation that is a problem or difficulty. | He would have been in real trouble if he had been caught. |
| bizarre | Very strange and unusual. | The duck-billed platypus is a truly bizarre creature. |
| blobfish | A deep sea fish that is composed mostly of gelatinous mass, lives in the South Pacific between 2,000 feet and 3,900 feet deep in the sea. | The blobfish lives in the deep sea near Australia. |
| bravery | Brave behaviour or actions. | They were awarded medals for their bravery. |
| breathe | To move air or something else into and out of the lungs. | The atmosphere in the room was so stuffy I could hardly breathe. |
| breed | To keep animals for the purpose of producing young animals in a controlled way. | The blackbird, like most birds, breeds in the spring. |
| brochure | A type of small magazine that contains pictures and information on a product or a company. | They produced a brochure on healthy eating that was to be distributed in supermarkets. |
| burrow | A hole in the ground dug by an animal such as a rabbit, especially to live in. | Rats had burrowed into the bank of the river. |
| businesses | The activity of buying and selling goods and services. Our firm does a lot of business with overseas customers. | Our firm does a lot of business with overseas customers. |
| canteen | A place in a factory, office, where food and meals are sold and can be eaten, often at a lower than usual price. I usually have my lunch in the canteen on campus. | I usually have my lunch in the canteen on campus. |
| canyon | A large valley with very steep sides and usually a river flowing along the bottom. | Birds of prey nest on rock scarps and in canyons that are difficult to access. |
| carving | Art or decorative objects made by cutting stone or wood. | He set up a workshop for his carving. |
| charity | The giving of money, food, or help to those who need it, or an organization that does this. | He visits homeless shelters out of charity. |
| chemicals | Any basic substance that is used in or produced by a reaction involving changes to atoms or molecules. | The government has pledged to reduce the amount of chemicals used in food production. |
| chlorophyll | The green substance in plants, that allows them to use the energy from the sun. The basis of photosynthesis is the trapping of light energy from the sun by chlorophyll. | The basis of photosynthesis is the trapping of light energy from the sun by chlorophyll. |
| collapse | To fall down suddenly because of pressure or having no strength or support. | The basis of photosynthesis is the trapping of light energy from the sun by chlorophyll. |
| color-blind | Unable to see different colors correctly. | Since he was color blind, he favored large, showy flowers. |
| comfortable | Comfortable furniture and clothes provide a pleasant feeling and do not give you any physical problems. | Let me sit you up in the bed so you'll be more comfortable. |
| common | The same in a lot of places or for a lot of people. | Let me sit you up in the bed so you'll be more comfortable. |
| communicate | To share information with others by speaking, writing, moving your body, or using other signals. | We can now communicate instantly with people on the other side of the world. |
| composted | Decaying plant material that is added to soil to improve its quality. | Restaurants should compost food waste whenever possible. |
| conscience | The feeling that you know and should do what is right and should avoid doing what is wrong. A sense of guilt was deeply embedded in my conscience. | A sense of guilt was deeply embedded in my conscience. |
| controversial | Causing disagreement or discussion. | They hold widely divergent opinions on controversial issues like abortion. |
| creature | Any large or small living thing that can move independently. | Blue whales are the largest creatures ever to have lived. |
| cyclone | A violent tropical storm. | A cyclone swept across the island, killing several people. |
| deal with | To take action about, especially in order to solve a problem, get rid of a person, complete a piece of business. | She deals with all the customer inquiries. |
| death | The end of life. | The disease causes thousands of deaths a year. |
| debris | Broken or torn pieces of something larger. | Debris from the aircraft was scattered over a large area. |
| decrease | To become less, or to make something become less. | Total unemployment has decreased in the past year. |
| depressed | Unhappy and without hope. | He seemed a bit depressed about his work situation. |
| dialogue | Conversation between the characters in a story, such as in a book or movie. | Oscar Wilde’s plays are famous for their witty dialogue. |
| digest | To change food in your stomach into substances that your body can use. | I find that I don't digest meat easily. |
| disease | An illness of people, animals, plants, etc., caused by infection or a failure of health rather than by an accident. | They reported a sudden outbreak of the disease in the south of the country. |
| disgusting | Extremely unpleasant or unacceptable. | Passengers were kept for three hours in a disgusting waiting room. |
| earthquake | A sudden violent movement of the earth's surface, sometimes causing great damage. I | In 1906 an earthquake destroyed much of San Francisco. |
| edible | Suitable or safe for eating. | Only the leaves of the plant are edible. |
| effective | Successful or achieving the results that you want. | This cream is one of the most effective acne treatments you can find. |
| emergency | Something dangerous or serious, such as an accident, that happens suddenly or unexpectedly and needs fast action in order to avoid harmful results. | The pilot of the aircraft was forced to make an emergency landing on Lake Geneva. |
| endangered | Animals or plants that may soon not exist because there are very few now alive. | Monarch butterflies are now an endangered species idue to declining numbers. |
| equipment | The set of necessary tools, clothing, etc. for a particular purpose. | Firefighters had to cut the trapped driver free using special equipment. |
| eventually | In the.end, especially after a long time or a lot of effort, problems. | It might take him ages but he'll do it eventually. |
| expedition | An organized journey for a particular purpose. . | We're going on a shopping expedition on Saturday. |
| experience | The process of getting knowledge or skill from doing, seeing, or feeling things. I know from experience that he never keeps his promises. | I know from experience that he never keeps his promises. |
| express oneself | To show a feeling, opinion, or fac. | I would like to express my thanks for your kindness. |
| extremophiles | A microbe that lives in an environment once thought to be uninhabitable, for example in boiling or frozen water. Extremophiles can also be found in highly salty or highly acidic environments. | Extremophiles can also be found in highly salty or highly acidic environments. |
| fascinating | Extremely interesting. | I found the whole movie fascinating. |
| feedback | Reaction to a process or activity, or the information obtained from such a reaction. | We’re hoping to get feedback on how well the program is working. |
| flame | A stream of hot, burning gas from something on fire: The flames grew larger as the fire spread. | The flames grew larger as the fire spread. |
| food chain | A series of living things that are connected because each group of things eats the group below it in the series. | Corn has many uses throughout the food chain, as feed for animals and as an ingredient on its own. |
| footage | Film especially one showing an event. | Woody Allen's movie "Zelig" contains early newsreel footage. |
| foward | towards the direction that is in front of you. | The army pushed forward in the direction of the enemy camp. |
| frightening | Making you feel fear. | It is frightening to think what might happen if she left him. |
| furniture | things such as chairs, tables, beds, cupboards, etc. that are put into a house or other building to make it suitable and comfortable for living or working in. | They have a lot of antique furniture. |
| goverment | The group of people who officially control a country. | The government is/are expected to announce its/their tax proposals today. |
| graffiti | Words or drawings, especially humorous, rude, or political, on walls, doors, etc. in public places. | The subway walls are covered with graffiti. |
| hammerhead | Very drunk | My friends were hammerhead last party |
| handle | A part of an object designed for holding, moving, or carrying the object easily | She turned the handle and slowly opened the door. |
| highlighted | to attract attention to or emphasize something important. | The report highlights the need for improved safety. |
| hiker | A person who goes for a long wak in the countryside. On sunny days the trails are full of hikers. | On sunny days the trails are full of hikers. |
| hoax | A plan to deceive someone, such as telling the police there is a bomb somewhere when there is not one, or a trick. | The bomb threat turned out to be a hoax |
| illness | A disease of the body or mind. | He died at home after a long illness |
| immune system | The cells and tissues in the body that make it able to protect itself against infection. | he invertebrate immune system is devoid of antibodies that detect primarily peptide antigens in the vertebrate immune system |
| increase | To (make something) become larger in amount or size. | The cost of the project has increased dramatically/significantly since it began. |
| interfere | To involve yourself in a situation when your involvement is not wanted or is not helpful. | It's their problem and I'm not going to interfere |
| invade | To enter a country by force with large numbers of soldiers in order to take possession of it. | Concentrations of troops near the border look set to invade within the next few days |
| involve | If an activity, situation, etc. involves something, that thing is a part of the activity, etc The operation involves putting a small tube into your heart. | The operation involves putting a small tube into your heart. |
| journey | The act of travelling from one place to another, especially in a vehicle. | I love going on long journeys. |
| judge | A person who is in charge of a trial in a court and decides how a person who is guilty of a crime should be punished, or who makes decisions on legal matters. | The judge reminded the witness that she was under oath. |
| juggle | To throw several objects up into the air, and then catch and throw them up repeatedly so that one or more stays in the air, usually in order to entertain people. | We all watched in amazement as he juggled with three flaming torches. |
| landfill | The process of getting rid of large amounts of rubbish by burying it, or a place where rubbish is buried. | 90 percent of American rubbish is dumped in landfill sites. |
| leftover | A leftover part of something is the part that has not been used or eaten when the other parts have been. | Some leftover chicken from last night's meal |
| legalise | To allow something by law. | Same-sex marriages have been legalized in many states. |
| lively. | Full of energy and enthusiasm; interesting and exciting | It's hard work teaching a class of lively children. |
| louse | A very small insect that lives on the bodies or in the hair of people and animals. | Individual vintners left almost no direct trails in the government files on the vine louse. |
| lumpy | Covered with or containing lumps. | A lumpy bed/pillow. A lumpy sauce |
| magazine | A type of thin book with large pages and a paper cover that contains articles and photographs and is published every week or month. | She has written articles for several women's magazines. |
| majestic | Beautiful, powerful, or causing great admiration and respect. | The majestic Montana scenery will leave you breathless |
| malleable | A malleable substance is easily changed into a new shape. | Lead and tin are malleable metals |
| monsoons | The season of heavy rain during the summer in hot Asian countries. | The failure of the monsoon would destroy harvests on which a billion people rely. |
| neighbourhood | The area of a town that surrounds someone's home, or the people who live in this area. | There were lots of kids in my neighbourhood when I was growing up. |
| owner | Refers to a person or entity that possesses, controls, or has legal rights over something. | MarÃa is the owner of a small bookstore in the city. She takes care of the inventory and ensures her customers find the best books. |
| parasite | An animal or plant that lives on or in another animal or plant of a different type and feeds from it. | The older drugs didn't deal effectively with the malaria parasite. |
| pleasure | Enjoyment, happiness, or satisfaction, or something that gives this. | His visits gave his grandparents such pleasure |
| plesiosaur | A type of reptile with a long or short neck that lived in the sea. Ichthyosaurs existed from about 250 million to 90 million years ago. | Plesiosaurs were perhaps the fastest marine reptile in the Cretaceous period. |
| pollution | Damage caused to water, air, etc. by harmful substances or waste. | The manifesto includes tough measures to tackle road congestion and environmental pollution. |
| poverty | The condition of being extremely poor. | Two million people in the city live in abject (= very great) poverty. |
| preamble | An introduction to a speech or piece of writing. The agreement between the warring parties to talk may be a preamble to peace | The agreement between the warring parties to talk may be a preamble to peace |
| pressure | The force you produce when you press something. | He put too much pressure on the door handle and it snapped. |
| quintessential | Being the most typical example or most important part of something. | Sheep's milk cheese is the quintessential Corsican cheese. |
| relay on | Means to depend on someone or something for support, help, or trust. Students rely on their teachers for guidance and knowledge. | Students rely on their teachers for guidance and knowledge. |
| remains | To stay in the same place or in the same condition. | The doctor ordered him to remain in bed for a few days |
| remarkable | Unusual or special and therefore surprising and worth mentioning. | Nelson Mandela was a truly remarkable man |
| researcher | Someone who studies a subject, especially in order to discover new information or reach a new understanding. | She's a researcher on a women's magazine. |
| resources | A useful or valuable possession or quality of a country, organization, or person. | The country's greatest resource is the dedication of its workers. |
| retinal | Relating to the retina (= the area at the back of the eye that receives light) | The disease can result in retinal damage and loss of vision. |
| ripple | A small wave on the surface of water. | The stone she threw caused ripples to spread across the lake. |
| rotten | Decayed | The room smelled of rotten vegetables |
| royalty | The people who belong to the family of a king and queen. | She believes she's related to royalty. |
| run into | To drive a vehicle into an object or a person in another vehicle by accident. | I had to brake suddenly, and the car behind ran into me |
| scratches | to cut or damage a surface or your skin slightly with or on something sharp or rough. | Be careful not to scratch yourself on the roses. |
| scream | A loud, high sound you make when very frightened, excited, or angry. | A scream broke the silence of the night. |
| sea-snail | a small sea creature with a cone-shaped shell | Abalones are large, edible sea snails. |
| serious | Not joking or intended to be funny. | Please don't laugh - I'm being serious. |
| set off | To be the reason something happens. | The sun was already up when they set off. |
| shake | To move backwards and forwards or up and down in quick, short movements, or to make something or someone do this. | Turn the bottle upside down and shake it. |
| shipwreck | an accident in which a ship is destroyed or sunk at sea, especially by hitting rocks, or a ship that has been destroyed or sunk in such an accident. | The danger of shipwreck is much greater in fog. |
| shocking | Offensive, upsetting, or immoral. | The city's most shocking statistic is its high infant mortality rate. |
| sketch out | to give some details about something | Sketch out the situation for me. |
| soliloquy | a speech in a play that the character speaks to himself or herself or to the people watching rather than to the other characters: | a speech in a play that the character speaks to himself or herself or to the people watching rather than to the other characters: |
| springboard | a board that can bend, helping people to jump higher when jumping or diving into a swimming pool or when doing gymnastics | You transfer energy to the springboard, and you recover the energy when it pushes you up into the air. |
| stem | a central part of something from which other parts can develop or grow, or which forms a support | Champagne glasses usually have long stems |
| stepson | the son of your husband or wife from a previous relationship | He loved his family fiercely, two daughters and a stepson, six grandchildren and charming and talented sons-in-law. |
| strike | to refuse to continue working because of an argument with an employer about working conditions, pay levels, or job losses: | We're striking for better pay and improved safety standards. |
| structure | the way in which the parts of a system or object are arranged or organized, or a system arranged in this way | They have a very old-fashioned management structure. |
| succeed | If you succeed, you achieve something that you have been aiming for, and if a plan or piece of work succeeds, it has the results that you wanted. | She's been trying to pass her driving test for six years and she's finally succeeded. |
| supply | to provide something that is wanted or needed, often in large quantities and over a long period of time. | The company has supplied the royal family (= provided them with something they need) for years. |
| surround | The company has supplied the royal family (= provided them with something they need) for years. | Snow-capped mountains surround the city. |
| survival | the fact of a person, organization, etc. continuing to live or exist | The doctors told my wife I had a 50/50 chance of survival. |
| survivor | A person who continues to live, despite nearly dying: | She's a cancer survivor/a survivor of cancer. |
| symptom | any feeling of illness or physical or mental change that is caused by a particular disease. | He's complaining of all the usual flu symptoms - a high temperature, headache, and so on. |
| take down | to remove something that is on a wall or something that is temporary, or to remove a structure by separating its different parts: | I took the pictures down. |
| tardigrade | a type of very small creature with eight legs that lives in water: | He became fascinated with tiny eight-legged organisms called tardigrades, which can live in moss for more than a century. |
| telepresence | he use of various technologies to create the effect of being at a different or imaginary place, or to operate equipment from a different place | Telepresence systems can give the impression all users are sitting in the same room. |
| temporary | not lasting or needed for very long | The ceasefire will only provide a temporary solution to the crisis. |
| terrible | very unpleasant or serious or of low quality. | We have just received some terrible news. |
| terrified | very frightened. | She's terrified (that) her mother might find out her secret. |
| theft | (the act of) dishonestly taking something that belongs to someone else and keeping it: | Unfortunately, we have had several thefts in the building recently. |
| theory | a formal statement of the rules on which a subject of study is based or of ideas that are suggested to explain a fact or event or, more generally, an opinion or explanation: | He has a theory that the hole was caused by a meteorite. |
| thrive | to grow, develop, or be successful: | His business thrived in the years before the war. |
| throw away | to waste a skill or opportunity | You've spent three years working hard in college - don't throw it all away. |
| tolerate | to accept behaviour and beliefs that are different from your own, although you might not agree with or approve of them: | I will not tolerate that kind of behaviour in my class. |
| tongue | he large, soft piece of flesh in the mouth that you can move, and is used for tasting, speaking, etc. | I burned my tongue on some soup last night |
| treat | to behave towards someone or deal with something in a partcular way. | My parents treated us all the same when we were kids. |
| trust | to believe that someone is good and honest and will not harm you, or that something is safe and reliable: | My sister warned me not to trust him. |
| typhoon | a violent wind that has a circular movement, found in the West Pacific Ocean. | The 169,000-ton vessel went down during a typhoon in the South China Sea. |
| unexpected | Not expected or regarded as likely to happen. | The research produced some rather unexpected results. |
| unwanted | not wanted: | How can I stop unwanted emails? |
| unravel | If a piece of knitted or woven cloth, a knot, or a mass of thread unravels, it separates into a single thread, and if you unravel it, you separate it into a single thread: | You'd better mend that hole before the whole sweater starts to unravel. |
| vaccination | The process or an act of giving someone a vaccine. | Routine smallpox vaccination in the United States ended in 1972. |
| variety | The characteristic of often changing and being different. | This variety of tomato is particularly good, and is resistant to disease. |
| vehicle | A machine, usually with wheels and an engine, used for transporting people or goods, especially on land. | Her car went out of control and struck an oncoming vehicle. |
| view | An opinion, belief, or idea, or a way of thinking about something. | In my view, her criticisms were completely justified. |
| virtual | Created by computer technology and appearing to exist but not existing in the physical world. | In the game players simulate real life in a virtual world. |
| virus | An extremely small piece of organic material that causes disease in humans, animals, and plants. | All the tomato plants are infected with a virus. |
| volunteer | a person who does something, especially helping other people, willingly and without being forced or paid to do it: | The health clinic is relying on volunteers to run the office and answer the phones. |
| warn | To make someone realize a possible danger or problem, especially one in the future. | I have to warn you that there's a degree of danger involved in this. |
| warthog | an African wild pig with a large head, tusks, and little raised areas on the male's face that look like warts | Meats, such as crocodile, antelope, monkey and warthog, are sometimes hunted in the forests. From Wikipedia |
| waste | An unnecessary or wrong use of money, substances, time, energy, abilities. | This report is nonsense and nothing but a waste of paper. |
| wearable | Clothes that are wearable are easy to wear because they are comfortable, acceptable in most social situations, and look attractive in combination with other clothes: | Unlike a lot of women's fashion magazines, it features clothes that are both affordable and wearable. |
| wedding | A marriage ceremony and any celebrations such as a meal or a party that follow it. | We always celebrate our wedding anniversary with a bottle of champagne. |
| wildfire | A fire that is burning strongly and out of control on an area of grass or bushes in the countryside. | Late Monday, the wildfire was still out of control. |
Created by:
Adriana Esparza
Popular English Vocabulary sets