Collins Primary Illustrated Dictionary. Collins Dictionaries

      bus stop bus stops

      NOUN a place where the bus stops regularly for passengers to get on or off, usually marked with a sign

      busy busier, busiest

      ADJECTIVE 1 If you are busy, you are doing something and are not free to do anything else. • She was too busy to come to the cinema with us.

      2 A busy place is full of people doing things or moving about.

      but

      CONJUNCTION 1 used to introduce an idea that is opposite to what has gone before • I love cooking, but I hate washing up afterwards.

      2 used when you apologize for something • Sorry, but I can’t come to play tomorrow.

      PREPOSITION 3 except • There was nothing to eat but potatoes.

      butcher butchers

      NOUN a shopkeeper who prepares and sells meat

      butter

      NOUN a soft, fatty food made from cream, which is spread on bread and used in cooking

      buttercup buttercups

      NOUN a wild plant with bright yellow flowers

      butterfly butterflies

      NOUN a type of insect with large, colourful wings. Butterflies develop from caterpillars.

      buttocks

      PLURAL NOUN Your buttocks are the part of your body that you sit on.

      [from Old English buttuc meaning rounded slope]

      button buttons, buttoning, buttoned

      NOUN 1 a small, hard round object sewn on to clothing such as shirts • My new jeans fasten with buttons instead of a zip.

      2 a small object on a piece of equipment that you press to make it work • You must push the button down to switch the video on.

      VERB 3 If you button a garment, you fasten it using its buttons.

buy buys, buying, bought

      VERB If you buy something, you get it by paying money for it.

      buzz buzzes, buzzing, buzzed

      VERB If something buzzes, it makes a humming sound, like a bee.

      buzzer buzzers

      NOUN a device that makes a buzzing sound. Buzzers are used to attract attention. • I pressed the door buzzer but nobody was home.

      by

      PREPOSITION 1 used to show who or what has done something • The announcement was made by the head teacher.

      2 used to show how something is done • He cheered us up by taking us to the cinema.

      3 next to or near to • They live by the park.

      4 before a particular time • We should finish by tea time.

      PREPOSITION OR ADVERB 5 going past • We drove by her house.

      bypass bypasses

      NOUN a road that takes traffic around the edge of a town instead of through the middle • The centre of town is much quieter since they built the bypass.

      byte bytes

      NOUN a unit of storage in a computer

Cc

      cab cabs

      NOUN 1 a taxi

      2 The cab is where the driver sits in a lorry, bus or train.

      cabbage cabbages

      NOUN a large, green, leafy vegetable

      cabin cabins

      NOUN 1 a room in a ship where a passenger sleeps

      2 a small wooden house, usually in the country

      cabinet cabinets

      NOUN 1 a small cupboard • a medicine cabinet

      2 The cabinet in a government is a group of ministers who advise the leader and decide policies.

      cable cables

      NOUN 1 a strong, thick rope or chain

      2 a bundle of wires with a rubber covering, which carries electricity

      cable television

      NOUN a television service that comes through underground wires

      cactus cacti or cactuses

      NOUN a thick, fleshy plant that grows in deserts. Cactuses are usually covered in spikes.

      cadet cadets

      NOUN a young person being trained in the armed forces or police

      café cafés

      NOUN a place where you can buy light meals and drinks

      [from the French café meaning coffee or coffee house]

      caffeine; also spelt caffein

      NOUN a chemical in coffee and tea that makes you more active

      cage cages

      NOUN a box or room made with bars, in which birds or animals are kept

      caged ADJECTIVE

      cake cakes, caking, caked

      NOUN 1 a sweet food made from eggs, flour, butter and sugar

      2 a block of a hard substance such as soap

      VERB 3 If something is caked, it becomes covered with a solid layer of something else. • My shoes were caked in mud.

      calamity calamities

      NOUN something terrible that happens, causing destruction and misery • The earthquake was a terrible calamity.

      SYNONYMS: disaster, catastrophe

      calcium

      Said “kal-see-um” NOUN a soft white mineral found in bones and teeth and in some foods. Milk and cheese are good sources of calcium.

      calculate calculates, calculating, calculated

      VERB If you calculate something, you work it out, usually by doing some arithmetic. • We calculated how much money we had raised from the sponsored walk.

      [from Latin calculus meaning stone or pebble, which the Romans used for counting]

      calculation calculations

      NOUN something that you think about carefully and work out mathematically, or that you do on a machine such as a calculator

      calculator calculators

      NOUN a small electronic machine used for doing mathematical calculations

      calendar calendars

      NOUN a chart, usually organized month by month, showing the date of each day in a particular year • We marked the end of term on the calendar in red.

      calf calves

      NOUN 1 a young cow

      2 Your calves are the backs of your legs between your knees and ankles.

      call calls, calling, called

      VERB 1 If you call someone or something a particular name, that is their name. • I will call my dog Spot. • That type of machine is called a combine harvester.

      2 If you call someone, you telephone them.

      3 If you call someone, you shout their name loudly.