Collins Primary Thesaurus. Collins Dictionaries

      robin

      rook

      sparrow

      starling

      stork

      swallow

      swan

      thrush

      woodpecker

      bit NOUN

      A bit of something is a small amount of it.

      chunk

      Sam broke off a chunk of chocolate and gobbled it up.

      fraction

      I arrived a fraction of a moment too late. The bus was just leaving.

      fragment

      Fragments of the wrecked aircraft were found all over the field.

      morsel

      “Kind sir, please spare me a morsel of food,” begged Oliver.

      part

      A part of me wanted to stay and yet I was also desperate to leave.

      piece

      Marina cut the cake into pieces and took the largest one for herself.

      scrap

      My dad writes reminders to himself on scraps of paper.

      bite VERB

      If you bite something, you use your teeth to hold, cut or tear it.

      champ

      The horse champed at the bit as it waited impatiently for the race to begin.

      chomp

      Dad says that I chomp my food like a waste-disposal unit.

      gnaw

      Mice had gnawed through the electric wires.

      nibble

      Some creature had nibbled at the chair leg.

      bitter ADJECTIVE

      A bitter taste is sharp and unpleasant.

      sour

      If you leave milk in the sun, it turns sour.

      tart

      The lemon cake was slightly tart.

      blame VERB

      If someone blames a person for something bad that has happened, they believe that person caused it to happen.

      accuse

      The woman was accused of kidnapping the young child.

      charge

      Police charged the man with being drunk and disorderly.

      hold responsible

      At the enquiry, the bus company was held responsible for the accident.

      block (1) VERB

      If someone or something blocks a road or channel, they put something across it so that nothing can get through.

      bar

      Access to the back road was barred by a police checkpoint.

      bung up INFORMAL

      I could hardly breathe, my nose was so bunged up.

      choke

      The traffic jam choked the road into town for many hours.

      clog up

      Don’t pour liquid fat down the sink as it clogs up the drains when it sets.

      dam

      Beavers dam streams with logs to create a pool which will not freeze solid in winter.

      obstruct

      Uncle Pete tried to obstruct the door as I went through, but I ducked under his arm!

      block (2) VERB

      If someone tries to block something, they try to stop it happening.

      hinder

      Our dog, Jim, hinders Mum by attacking the vacuum cleaner.

      impede

      The walkers’ progress was impeded by an angry goat on the path.

      obstruct

      The protesters were arrested for obstructing the police.

      prevent

      Residents prevented a nightclub from being built near their houses.

      thwart

      The wicked baron was thwarted in his evil plans by a quick-thinking boy.

      block (3) NOUN

      A block is something put across a road or channel so that nothing can get through.

      barrier

      For the parade, barriers were erected to keep the crowds back.

      blockage

      “There’s a blockage in the drain under the sink,” the plumber said.

      obstacle

      Alpa had to overcome many obstacles on his road to success.

      obstruction

      If you swallow chewing gum, it may cause an obstruction in your stomach.

      block (4) NOUN

      A block is a large, rectangular, three-dimensional piece of something.

      bar

      The robbers put the gold bars in the back of the getaway van.

      chunk

      A chunk of metal fell off the back of the truck as it left the scrap yard.

      lump

      With the help of a wheel, the potter formed the shapeless lump of clay into a vase.

      blue ADJECTIVE

      If something is blue, it has the colour of the sky on a sunny day.

      Shades of blue:

      aquamarine

      azure

      indigo

      navy

      sky blue

      turquoise

      boast VERB

      If you boast, you talk proudly about what you have or what you can do.

      brag

      Alison couldn’t resist bragging about her new DVD player.

      blow your own trumpet

      I prefer modest people to those who blow their own trumpet.

      crow

      Paulo was so busy crowing about his marks, that he didn’t see Mrs Walker behind him.

      show off

      Brian is always showing off about the amount of pocket money he gets.

      boat NOUN

      A boat is a floating vehicle for travelling across water.

      craft

      At that distance, it was hard for the coastguard to identify the craft.

      ship

      Sir Francis Drake sailed in a ship he named the Golden Hind.

      vessel

      The tiny tug was nevertheless a sturdy vessel, capable of pulling much larger boats.

      Leisure boats:

      canoe

      catamaran

      dinghy

      kayak

      powerboat