Collins Primary Illustrated Dictionary. Collins Dictionaries

break a small piece off it.

      chirp chirps, chirping, chirped

      VERB When a bird chirps, it makes a short, high-pitched sound.

      chisel chisels, chiselling, chiselled

      NOUN 1 a tool with a long metal blade and a sharp edge at the end. Chisels are used for cutting and shaping wood, stone or metal.

      VERB 2 If you chisel wood, stone or metal, you cut or shape it using a chisel.

      chlorine

      NOUN a poisonous greenish-yellow gas with a strong, unpleasant smell. It is used to disinfect water and to make bleach.

      chocolate chocolates

      NOUN a sweet food made from cocoa beans

      [from Aztec xococ + atl meaning bitter water]

      choice choices

      NOUN 1 a range of different things that are available to choose from

      SYNONYMS: range, variety

      2 something that you choose • You made a good choice when you bought this book.

      choir choirs

      NOUN a group of singers, for example in a church

      choke chokes, choking, choked

      VERB If you choke on something, it prevents you from breathing properly. • He choked on a fish bone.

      cholesterol

      NOUN a substance found in all animal fats, tissues and blood

choose chooses, choosing, chose, chosen

      VERB If you choose something, you decide to have it or do it.

      SYNONYMS: pick, select

      chop chops, chopping, chopped

      VERB 1 If you chop something, you cut it with quick, heavy strokes using an axe or a knife. • Mum chopped the logs for firewood.

      NOUN 2 a small piece of pork or lamb that contains a bone • We had chops and broccoli for dinner.

      choppy

      ADJECTIVE When the sea or a stretch of water is choppy, there are a lot of waves on it because it is windy.

      chopstick chopsticks

      NOUN Chopsticks are a pair of thin sticks used for eating Chinese and Japanese food.

      choral

      Said “kor-al” ADJECTIVE for a choir

      chord chords

      NOUN a group of three or more musical notes played together

      chore chores

      NOUN an uninteresting job that has to be done

      chorus choruses

      NOUN 1 a part of a song that is repeated after each verse

      2 a large group of singers

      chose

      VERB the past tense of choose

      chosen

      VERB 1 the past participle of choose

      2 When you are chosen, you are picked to do something. • I was chosen for the volleyball team.

      christen christens, christening, christened

      VERB When a priest christens someone, they name them in a ceremony where water is poured over their head as a sign that they are a member of the Christian church.

      christening NOUN

      Christian Christians

      NOUN a person who believes in Jesus Christ and his teachings

      Christianity NOUN

      Christmas Christmases

      NOUN a Christian festival held on December 25th to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ

      chrome

      Said “krome” NOUN metal plated with chromium, a hard, silver-grey metal

      chromosome chromosomes

      Said “krome-uh-soam” NOUN the part of a cell in living things that contains the genes that determine what characteristics the animal or plant will have

      chronic

      ADJECTIVE lasting a very long time or never stopping • He suffers from chronic hay fever.

      chronological

      ADJECTIVE arranged in the order in which things happened • Tell me the whole story in chronological order.

      chronologically ADVERB

      chrysalis chrysalises

      NOUN a butterfly or moth when it is developing from being a caterpillar to being a fully grown adult

      chrysanthemum chrysanthemums

      NOUN a plant with large, brightly-coloured flowers

      chuckle chuckles, chuckling, chuckled

      VERB When you chuckle, you laugh quietly.

      chunk chunks

      NOUN a thick piece of something

      SYNONYMS: hunk, lump, piece

      church churches

      NOUN a building where Christians go for religious services and worship

      churchyard churchyards

      NOUN an area of land around a church, often used as a graveyard

      churn churns, churning, churned

      NOUN 1 a container used for making milk or cream into butter

      VERB 2 When you churn something, you stir it vigorously, for example when making milk into butter.

      churn out

      VERB If you churn out something, you produce it quickly in large numbers. • They churned out hundreds of leaflets advertising the dance.

      chutney

      NOUN a strong-tasting, thick sauce made from fruit, vinegar and spices

      cider

      NOUN an alcoholic drink made from apples

      cigar cigars

      NOUN a roll of dried tobacco leaves, which people smoke

      cigarette cigarettes

      NOUN a thin tube of paper containing tobacco, which people smoke

      cinder cinders

      NOUN Cinders are small pieces of burnt material left after something such as wood or coal has burned.

      cinema cinemas

      NOUN a place where people go to watch films

      circle circles, circling, circled

      NOUN 1 a regular, two-dimensional round shape. Every point on the edge is the same distance from the centre.

      VERB 2 to move around in a circle • Seagulls circled overhead.

      circular ADJECTIVE

      circuit circuits

      NOUN 1 the path of an electric current

      2 a racecourse

      3 A training circuit is a course of physical activities.

      circulation circulations

      NOUN 1 the movement of blood around a body

      2 the number of copies of a newspaper or magazine that are sold each time it is issued

      circumference