Collins Primary Illustrated Dictionary. Collins Dictionaries

the crime of deliberately setting fire to something, especially a building

      art arts

      NOUN 1 the creation of objects, such as paintings and sculptures, that are thought to be beautiful or that express a particular idea • He wanted to take art classes to learn how to draw and paint well.

      2 Art is also used to refer to the objects themselves. • We saw lots of interesting paintings and sculptures at the art exhibition.

      3 something that needs special skills or ability • I would like to master the art of sewing.

      artery arteries

      NOUN the tubes that carry blood from your heart to the rest of your body

      See vein

      arterial ADJECTIVE

      arthritis

      NOUN a condition in which the joints in someone’s body become painful, and sometimes swollen

      arthritic ADJECTIVE

      article articles

      NOUN 1 a piece of writing in a newspaper or magazine

      2 a particular item • an article of clothing

      artificial

      ADJECTIVE Something artificial is created by people rather than occurring naturally.

      ANTONYM: natural

      artillery

      NOUN 1 Artillery consists of large, powerful guns and rockets.

      2 The artillery is the branch of an army that uses these weapons.

      artist artists

      NOUN a person who draws or paints or produces other works of art

      as

      CONJUNCTION 1 at the same time that • We watched television as we ate our sandwiches.

      2 because • As I like school I get there early.

      PHRASE 3 You use as if or as though when you are giving an explanation for something. • Shane walked past as if he didn’t know me.

      ascend ascends, ascending, ascended

      VERB FORMAL If someone or something ascends, they move or lead upwards. • We ascended the stairs to the second floor.

      ANTONYM: descend

      ash ashes

      NOUN the grey or black powdery remains of anything that has been burnt • We put the ashes from the bonfire on the compost heap.

      ashamed

      ADJECTIVE 1 If you are ashamed, you feel embarrassed or guilty.

      2 If you are ashamed of someone, you feel embarrassed to be connected with them.

      ashore

      ADVERB If someone or something comes ashore, they come on to the land from the sea or a river.

      aside

      ADVERB If you move something aside, you move it to one side. • She closed the book and laid it aside.

      ask asks, asking, asked

      VERB 1 If you ask someone something, you put a question to them.

      2 If you ask someone to do something, you tell them you want them to do it. • We asked him to do his card trick.

      3 If you ask for something, you say you would like to have it. • She asked for a drink of water.

      4 If you ask someone to come or go somewhere, you invite them there.

      asleep

      ADJECTIVE If you are asleep, your eyes are closed and your whole body is resting.

      aspect aspects

      NOUN one of many ways of seeing or thinking about something

      aspirin aspirins

      NOUN 1 a white drug used to relieve pain, fever and colds

      2 a small white tablet of this drug

      ass asses

      NOUN another word for donkey

      assassinate assassinates, assassinating, assassinated

      VERB If someone assassinates an important person, they murder them.

      assassination NOUN

      assault assaults

      NOUN a violent attack on someone

      [from Latin assalire meaning to leap upon]

      assemble assembles, assembling, assembled

      VERB 1 If people assemble, they gather together. • We assembled in the playground to watch the display.

      2 If you assemble something, you fit the parts of it together. • It took us ages to assemble the model car.

      assembly assemblies

      NOUN a group of people who have gathered together for a meeting

      assess assesses, assessing, assessed

      VERB If you assess something, you consider it carefully and make a judgement about it. • She tried to assess how much further they had to walk.

      SYNONYMS: judge, size up

      asset assets

      NOUN 1 If someone or something is an asset, they are useful or helpful. • He’s an asset to the school.

      2 The assets of a person or a company are all the things they own that could be sold to raise money.

      assignment assignments

      NOUN a job you are given to do

      assist assists, assisting, assisted

      VERB If you assist someone, you help them to do something.

      assistant assistants

      NOUN someone who helps another person to do their job

      associate associates, associating, associated

      VERB 1 If you associate with someone, you spend time with them.

      2 If you associate one thing with another, you make a connection between them.

      association associations

      NOUN 1 an organization for people who have similar interests, jobs or aims

      2 An association between two things is a link you make in your mind between them.

      assorted

      ADJECTIVE Assorted things are a mixture of various sorts of something. They may be different colours, sizes and shapes.

      assortment assortments

      NOUN a group of similar things that are different sizes, shapes and colours • There was an amazing assortment of toys in the shop.

      assume assumes, assuming, assumed

      VERB 1 If you assume that something is true, you believe it, even if you have not thought carefully about it.

      2 If you assume responsibility for something, you decide to do it. • I assumed responsibility for feeding the hamster.

      assure assures, assuring, assured

      VERB If you assure someone of something, you say something to make them less worried about it. • I assured him that I wouldn’t be late.

      asterisk asterisks

      NOUN a symbol (*) used in writing and printing to draw attention to something that is explained somewhere else, usually at the bottom of the page

      asteroid asteroids