Collins Primary Thesaurus. Collins Dictionaries

NOUN INFORMAL

      A bug is an infection or virus that makes you ill.

      disease

      The disease spread rapidly, and soon thousands were infected.

      germ

      Lydia must have caught some sort of germ, because she’s very poorly.

      infection

      Hospitals have to fight a constant battle against infection.

      virus

      Antibiotics are not effective in curing a virus.

      build VERB

      If you build something, you make it from all its parts.

      assemble

      “Assembling a bookcase from a kit is easy,” Dad said. Ours collapsed two days later.

      construct

      Grandad helped me construct a tree house in our back garden.

      erect

      The monument was erected within a week.

      ANTONYM: demolish

      building NOUN

      A building is a structure with walls and a roof.

      construction

      The huge construction on the edge of town is going to be the new sports centre.

      structure

      The Eiffel Tower in Paris is perhaps the world’s best-known structure.

      Buildings to live in:

      bungalow

      cabin

      castle

      cottage

      flat

      house

      maisonette

      mansion

      palace

      semidetached house

      terraced house

      tower block

      Buildings to work in or visit:

      barn

      college

      factory

      fire station

      gallery

      garage

      hospital

      laboratory

      library

      lighthouse

      museum

      office block

      police station

      post office

      power station

      restaurant

      school

      shop

      skyscraper

      store

      supermarket

      theatre

      warehouse

      windmill

      Buildings to worship in:

      cathedral

      chapel

      church

      gurdwara

      mosque

      synagogue

      temple

      build up VERB

      If something builds up, it becomes greater.

      accumulate

      Snow accumulated on the snowball as it rolled downhill.

      amass

      Old Mr Godber amassed a fortune through dealing in scrap metal.

      collect

      A layer of dust and dead flies had collected on top of my wardrobe.

      bully VERB

      If someone bullies you into doing something, they make you do it by using force or threats.

      frighten

      The boys who frightened me by calling me names got into trouble.

      intimidate

      “Don’t try to intimidate me,” the old lady called. “I’m not afraid of you!”

      terrorize

      Some fanatics try to terrorize others by setting off bombs.

      threaten

      When the bully threatened me, I used my judo skills to stop him in his tracks.

      bump (1) VERB

      If you bump into something, you knock into it accidentally.

      collide with

      My bike collided with a tree at top speed.

      knock

      Julian knocked his knee against the table leg.

      strike

      Allegra fell downstairs, striking her head on the banister.

       To bump into someone is to meet them by chance.

      bump (2) NOUN

      A bump is a sound like something knocking into something else.

      thud

      I heard a thud from upstairs – my sister had fallen out of bed.

      thump

      The apple landed with a thump on the ground beneath the tree.

      bump (3) NOUN

      A bump is a raised, uneven part of a surface.

      bulge

      The bulge under the shoplifter’s coat proved to be a clock radio.

      lump

      I couldn’t sleep last night because of a lump in my mattress.

      swelling

      When I banged my head I got a swelling over my eye, but it soon went down.

      bumpy ADJECTIVE

      Something that is bumpy has a rough, uneven surface.

      rough

      The pirate’s chin was rough, as though he had shaved with a knife and fork.

      uneven

      Our soccer pitch is uneven, which makes the ball’s bounce unpredictable.

      bunch (1) NOUN

      A bunch is a group of things together.

      bundle

      The servant gathered a bundle of twigs.

      cluster

      Clusters of grapes hung from the vine.

       A bunch of flowers is a bouquet, posy or spray. A bunch of flowers for a funeral is a wreath.

      bunch (2) NOUN

      A bunch is a group of people.

      crowd

      The crowd grew restless as the floodlights stayed off.

      gang

      In the old days, gangs of sailors would use force to persuade men to join the navy.

      party