4000 Essential English Words 1 Unit 15: The Big Race
Word List
- across [əˈkrɒs] prep.
To go across something is to go to the other side of it.
→ He walked across the board to the other side.
- breathe [briːð] v.
To breathe means to let air go in and out of your body.
→ We need strong healthy lungs to help us breathe well.
- characteristic [karəktəˈrɪstɪk] n.
A characteristic is something that shows what a person or a thing is like.
→ One characteristic of tigers is their black stripes.
- consume [kənˈsjuːm] v.
To consume something means to eat or drink it.
→ Jack consumed a whole plate of spaghetti.
- excite [ɪkˈsʌɪt] v.
To excite someone means to make them happy and interested.
→ I heard about the school dance on Friday. This excited me.
- extreme [ɪkˈstriːm] adj.
If something is extreme, it is in a large amount or degree.
→ His workout was so extreme that he was sweating heavily.
- fear [fɪə] n.
Fear is the feeling of being afraid.
→ I have a great fear of skateboarding.
- fortunate [ˈfɔːtʃ(ə)nət] adj.
If you are fortunate, you are lucky.
→ I was fortunate to get a seat.
- happen [ˈhap(ə)n] v.
If someone happens to do something, they do it by chance.
→ I happened to meet some new friends at school today.
- length [lɛn(t)θ] n.
The length of something is how long it is from one end to the other.
→ The length of the floor is three meters.
- mistake [mɪˈsteɪk] n.
A mistake is something you do wrong.
→ My boss always yells at me when I make a mistake.
- observe [əbˈzəːv] v.
To observe something is to watch it.
→ Brian observed the sun rising over the mountains.
- opportunity [ɒpəˈtjuːnɪti] n.
An opportunity is a chance to do something.
→ I had an opportunity to take pictures in the jungle.
- prize [prʌɪz] n.
A prize is something of value that is given to the winner.
→ I won a prize for getting the best grade on my science test.
- race [reɪs] n.
A race is a contest to see who is the fastest.
→ Paul is a fast runner, so he easily won the race.
- realize [ˈrɪəlʌɪz] v.
To realize is to suddenly understand.
→ After I left my house, I realized that I left the light on.
- respond [rɪˈspɒnd] v.
To respond is to give an answer to what someone else said.
→ When the teacher asked the question, we all responded.
- risk [rɪsk] n.
A risk is a chance of something bad happening.
→ I took a risk and climbed the snowy mountain.
- wonder [ˈwʌndə] v.
To wonder is to ask yourself questions or have a need to know.
→ The young mother wondered if she’d have a boy or a girl.
- yet [jɛt] adv.
Yet is used to say something has not happened up to now.
→ We can’t go out yet; we’re still eating.
