EASIER ENGLISH BASIC DICTIONARY 8 doc

flour 130 fond
your body relaxed ć She got back from
the sales and flopped down on the sofa.
2. to be unsuccessful ć The play was a
big hit on Broadway but it flopped in
London.
(NOTE: flops – flopping –
flopped)
flour
flour /flaυə/
noun
wheat grain crushed to
powder, used for making food such as
bread or cakes
flourish
flourish /flrʃ/
verb
1. to grow well; to
be successful
ć Palms flourish in hot
countries.
2. to wave something in the
air
ć She came in with a big smile, flour-
ishing a cheque.
flow
flow /fləυ/
verb
to move along smoothly
ć The river flows into the sea. ć Traffic
on the motorway is flowing smoothly.

í
noun
the movement of things such as
liquid or air, or of people
ć She tried to
stop the flow of blood with a tight band-
age.
ć There was a steady flow of visi-
tors to the exhibition.
flower
flower /flaυə/
noun
the colourful part of
a plant, which attracts insects and pro-
duces fruit or seeds
ć a plant with
bright yellow flowers
˽ in flower cov-
ered with flowers
ć Go to Japan when
the cherry trees are in flower.
í
verb
to
produce flowers
ć a plant which flowers
in early summer
ć The cherry trees
flowered very late this year.
flown

flown /fləυn/ past participle of fly
flu
flu /flu/
noun
a common illness like a
bad cold, often with a high temperature
fluid
fluid /flud/
noun
a liquid ć You need to
drink plenty of fluids in hot weather.
flung
flung /flŋ/ past tense and past participle
of
fling
fly
fly /fla/
noun
a small insect with wings
which eats food and spreads diseases
ć
He tried to kill the fly with a newspaper.
ć Cover the food to protect it from flies.
í
verb
1. to move through the air using
wings
ć When the cat came into the
garden, the birds flew away.
ć Some

birds fly to Africa for the winter.
2. to
travel in a plane
ć I’m flying to China
next week.
ć He flies across the Atlantic
twice a month.
3. to be quick ć I must fly
if I want to get home by 6 o’clock.
(NOTE: flies – flying – flew /flu/ – has
flown /
fləυn/) ȣ time flies time passes
quickly
ć His daughter is already two –
how time flies!
flying
flying /flaŋ/
adjective
flying in the air
ć flying ants í
noun
the act of travel-
ling in a plane
ć He has a fear of flying.
foam
foam /fəυm/
noun
a mass of small bub-
bles
ć This soap makes a large amount

of foam.
fog
fog /fɒ/
noun
a thick mist made up of
many tiny drops of water
fold
fold /fəυld/
noun
a piece of something
such as cloth or skin which hangs down
loosely
ć She wanted the surgeon to re-
move the folds of skin under her chin.
í
verb
to bend something such as a piece
of paper so that one part is on top of the
other
ć Fold the piece of paper in half.
ć He folded the newspaper and put it
into his briefcase.
folder
folder /fəυldə/
noun
an envelope made
of thin card or plastic and used for hold-
ing papers
folk
folk /fəυk/

noun
people (NOTE: Folk
takes a plural verb. The plural form
folks is also used.)
follow
follow /fɒləυ/
verb
1. to come after or
behind someone or something
ć What
letter follows B in the alphabet?
ć The
dog followed me all the way home.
2. to
walk or drive behind someone, e.g. in
order to see where they are going
ć I
had the impression I was being fol-
lowed.
3. to do what someone tells you
to do
ć She followed the instructions on
the tin of paint.
ć He made the cake fol-
lowing a recipe in the newspaper.
ȣ fol-
low suit
to do what someone else does
ć She jumped into the pool and every-
one else followed suit.

follower
follower /fɒləυə/
noun
a supporter
following
following /fɒləυŋ/
adjective
which
comes next
ć They arrived on Friday
and the following day she became ill.
ć
Look at the following picture. í
prepo-
sition
after ć Following his death, his
son sold the family house.
fond
fond /fɒnd/
adjective
liking someone or
something
ć I’m fond of my sister’s
children.
ć Michael’s very fond of play-
ing golf.
Basic.fm Page 130 Friday, January 16, 2004 3:10 PM
fondly 131 forehead
fondly
fondly /fɒndli/

adverb
in a way which
shows you are fond of someone or
something
food
food /fud/
noun
things which you eat ć
This hotel is famous for its good food. ć
Do you like German food?
foolish
foolish /fulʃ/
adjective
showing a lack
of intelligence or good judgment
ć That
was a rather foolish thing to do.
ć I felt
rather foolish.
foot
foot /fυt/
noun
1. the part at the end of
your leg on which you stand
ć She has
very small feet.
ć Watch out, you trod on
my foot!
˽ on foot walking ć They com-
pleted the rest of the journey on foot.

2.
the bottom part; the end ć There is a
door at the foot of the stairs.
ć There are
traffic lights at the foot of the hill.
ć
Sign the document at the foot of the
page.
3. a unit of measurement equal to
about 30 centimetres
ć The table is four
foot or four feet long.
ć She’s almost six
foot tall.
ć I’m five foot seven (5’ 7"). ı
inch (NOTE: The plural is feet. As a
measurement foot often has no plural
form:
six foot tall
;
three foot wide
. With
numbers foot is also often written with
the symbol ’
a 6’ ladder
;
he is 5’ 6
: say
‘he’s five foot six’.)
football

football /fυtbɔl/
noun
1. a game
played between two teams of eleven
players with a round ball which can be
kicked or headed, but not carried
ć They
went to a football match.
ć The children
were playing football in the street.
ć
Let’s have a game of football. ć He
spends all his time watching football on
TV.
ć He’s got a new pair of football
boots.
2. a ball used for kicking; the ball
used in the various games of football
ć
They were kicking a football around in
the street.
footballer
footballer /fυtbɔlə/
noun
a person
who plays football
footprint
footprint /fυtprnt/
noun
a mark left by

someone’s foot on the ground
ć They
followed the footprints in the snow to
the cave.
footstep
footstep /fυtstep/
noun
a sound made
by a foot touching the ground
ć We
heard soft footsteps along the corridor.
for
for /fə, fɔ/
preposition
1. showing the
purpose or use of something
ć This
plastic bag is for the apples.
ć What’s
that key for?
2. showing the occasion on
which or the reason why something is
given
ć What did you get for your birth-
day?
ć What did you win for coming
first?
3. showing the person who re-
ceives something
ć There was no mail

for you this morning.
ć I’m making a
cup of tea for my mother.
4. showing
how long something takes
ć He has
gone to France for two days.
ć We’ve
been waiting here for hours.
5. showing
distance
ć You can see for miles from
the top of the hill.
ć The motorway goes
for kilometres without any service sta-
tions.
6. showing where someone or
something is going
ć Is this the plane
for Edinburgh?
ć When is the next bus
for Oxford Circus?
7. in the place of
someone
ć Can you write this letter for
me?
forbid
forbid /fə

bd/

verb
to tell someone that
they are not allowed to do something
ć
The staff are forbidden to use the front
entrance.
(NOTE: forbids – forbidding
– forbade /
fə

bd/ – forbidden /fə

bd(ə)n/)
force
force /fɔs/
noun
1. strength or power ć
The force of the wind blew tiles off the
roof.
ć The police had to use force to re-
strain the crowd.
2. an organised group
of people
ć He served in the police
force for twenty years.
í
verb
to make
someone do something
ć He was forced

to stop smoking.
ć You can’t force me to
go if I don’t want to.
forecast
forecast /fɔkɑst/
noun
what you
think will happen in the future
ć His
forecast of sales turned out to be com-
pletely accurate.
í
verb
to say what will
happen in the future
ć They are fore-
casting storms for the south coast.
ć
They forecast a rise in the number of
tourists.
(NOTE: forecasts – forecast-
ing – forecast)
foreground
foreground /fɔraυnd/
noun
a part of
a picture which seems nearest the front
forehead
forehead /fɔhed/
noun

the part of the
front of the head above the eyes and be-
low the line of the hair
Basic.fm Page 131 Friday, January 16, 2004 3:10 PM
foreign 132 fortune
foreign
foreign /fɒrn/
adjective
not from your
own country
ć There are lots of foreign
medical students at our college.
foreigner
foreigner /fɒrnə/
noun
a person who
does not come from the same country as
you
forest
forest /fɒrst/
noun
a large area covered
with trees
ć The country is covered with
thick forests.
ć In dry weather there’s a
danger of forest fires.
ć In winter bears
come out of the forest to search for food.
forever

forever /fɔr

evə/, for ever /fər evə/
adverb
1. always in the future ć I will
love you forever.
2. a very long time ć It
took us forever to get to the hotel.
forget
forget /fə

et/
verb
1. not to remember ć
He’s forgotten the name of the restau-
rant.
ć I’ve forgotten how to play chess.
ć She forgot all about her doctor’s ap-
pointment.
2. to leave something behind
ć When he left the office he forgot his
car keys.
(NOTE: forgets – forgetting –
forgot /
fə

ɒt/ – has forgotten /fə

ɒtən/)
forgive

forgive /fə

v/
verb
to stop being angry
with someone
ć Don’t worry about it –
I forgive you!
ć Will she ever forgive me
for forgetting her birthday?
(NOTE: for-
gives – forgiving – forgave /
fə

ev/
– has forgiven)
forgot
forgot /fə

ɒt/ past tense of forget
forgotten
forgotten /fə

ɒt(ə)n/ past participle of
forget
fork
fork /fɔk/
noun
an object with a handle
at one end and several sharp points at

the other, used for picking up food and
putting it in your mouth
ć Don’t try to
eat Chinese food with a knife and fork.
ć It’s polite to use a fork to eat cake –
don’t use your fingers.
í
verb
to be-
come two parts
ć The railway line forks
at Crewe and one branch goes to the
coast.
form
form /fɔm/
noun
1. an official paper
with spaces, in which you are asked to
write information such as your name
and address ? Could you please fill in
this form with your details?
2. a state or
condition
ć Their team wasn’t in top
form and lost.
˽ in good form in a good
mood; well
ć She’s in good form today.
3. a class, usually in a secondary school
ć She’s in the third form. í

verb
1. to sit
or stand with others so as to make a par-
ticular shape
ć The children formed a
circle.
ć Form a queue here, please. 2.
˽ formed of made of ć The team is
formed of ex-students.
formal
formal /fɔm(ə)l/
adjective
1. done ac-
cording to certain rules
ć The formal
opening ceremony was performed by
the mayor.
2. serious in style; suitable
for special or official occasions
ć ‘Good
afternoon’ is a formal way of saying
‘Hello’ in the afternoon.
formally
formally /fɔməli/
adverb
according to
rules; done or spoken in a serious way
formation
formation /fɔ


meʃ(ə)n/
noun
the act
of forming something
ć The formation
of ice occurs at temperatures below ze-
ro.
former
former /fɔmə/
adjective
referring to a
person’s or a thing’s job or position at an
earlier time
ć a former army officer ć
The former champion came last in the
race.
formerly
formerly /fɔməli/
adverb
at an earlier
time
ć He was formerly head of our de-
partment.
fort
fort /fɔt/
noun
a strong army building
which can be defended against enemy
attacks
ć The soldiers rode out of the

fort.
ć He was posted to a fort in the
desert.
forth
forth /fɔθ/
adverb
forwards
fortieth
fortieth /fɔtəθ/
adjective
relating to
the number 40 in a series
ć her fortieth
birthday
ć He came fortieth and last in
the race.
ć It’s her fortieth birthday to-
morrow.
fortnight
fortnight /fɔtnat/
noun
two weeks
(NOTE: not used in US English)
fortunate
fortunate /fɔtʃənət/
adjective
having
better things happen to you than happen
to other people
ć You are very fortunate

to have such a lovely family.
fortunately
fortunately /fɔtʃənətli/
adverb
by
good luck
ć Fortunately, he had remem-
bered to take an umbrella.
ć He was
late getting to the airport, but fortunate-
ly the flight had been delayed.
fortune
fortune /fɔtʃən/
noun
1. a large
amount of money
ć He won a fortune
on the lottery.
ć She made a fortune on
Basic.fm Page 132 Friday, January 16, 2004 3:10 PM
forty 133 fracture
the stock market. ć She left her fortune
to her three children.
2. what will hap-
pen in the future
ć She claims to be able
to tell your fortune using cards.
forty
forty /fɔti/
noun

the number 40 ć She’s
forty (years old).
ć He has more than
forty pairs of shoes.
˽ forties the num-
bers between 40 and 49
forward
forward /fɔwəd/
adjective
confident ć
She was always very forward as a child.
í
adverb
1. in the direction that some-
one or something is facing
ć She bent
forward to hear what he had to say.
ć
He took two steps forward. ć The po-
liceman made a sign with his hand and
the cars began to go forward.
2. towards
the future
ć We need to do some forward
planning.
˽ to look forward to some-
thing to think happily about something
which is going to happen
ć I’m looking
forward to my holidays.

ć He isn’t look-
ing forward to his exams.
ć I’m looking
forward to seeing her again.
í
noun
a
player in a team whose job is to attack
the other side
ć The England defence
came under attack from the other team’s
forwards.
forwards
forwards /fɔwədz/
adverb
in the di-
rection that someone or something is
facing
ć She bent forwards to hear what
he had to say.
ć He took two steps for-
wards.
ć The policeman made a sign
with his hand and the cars began to go
forwards.
fossil
fossil /fɒs(ə)l/
noun
the mark of an ani-
mal or plant left in a rock, formed over

millions of years
fought
fought /fɔt/ past tense and past partici-
ple of
fight
foul
foul /faυl/
adjective
1. smelling or tasting
unpleasant
ć A foul-smelling drain ran
down the centre of the street.
2. very un-
pleasant
ć What foul weather we’re
having!
ć The boss has been in a foul
temper all day.
í
noun
an action which
is against the rules of a game
ć The ref-
eree gave a free kick for a foul on the
goalkeeper.
ć Look at the action replay
to see if it really was a foul.
(NOTE: Do
not confuse with fowl.)
í

verb
to do
something to another player which is
against the rules of a game
ć He was
fouled inside the penalty box so the ref
gave a penalty.
found
found /faυnd/
verb
to establish some-
thing; to begin something
ć The busi-
ness was founded in 1900.
í past tense
and past participle of
find
foundation
foundation /faυn

deʃ(ə)n/
noun
1. the
act of establishing something or of set-
ting something up
ć Ever since its foun-
dation in 1892, the company has been a
great success.
2. a charitable organisa-
tion which provides money for certain

projects
ć a foundation for educational
research
fountain
fountain /faυntn/
noun
an object or a
structure with a pump which makes a
stream of water come out, usually found
in a street or a large garden
four
four /fɔ/
noun
the number 4 ć A square
has four corners.
ć He’s four (years
old).
ć I have an appointment with the
doctor at four (o’clock).
fourteen
fourteen /fɔ

tin/
noun
the number 14
ć There are fourteen houses in our
street.
ć He’s fourteen (years old) next
week.
fourteenth

fourteenth /fɔ

tinθ/
adjective
,
noun
relating to the number 14 in a series ć
She came fourteenth in the race. ć The
fourteenth of July or July the fourteenth
(July 14th).
ć It was her fourteenth
birthday yesterday.
fourth
fourth /fɔθ/
adjective
referring to 4 ć
the fourth of October or October the
fourth (October 4th)
ć This is the fourth
time he’s had to go to hospital this year.
ć It’s her fourth birthday tomorrow. í
number 14 in a series ć I’ve had so
many letters – this is the fourteenth.
fox
fox /fɒks/
noun
a wild animal with red-
dish fur and a long thick tail
(NOTE: The
plural is foxes.)

fraction
fraction /frkʃən/
noun
1. (
in mathe-
matics
) a unit that is less than a whole
number
ć 0.25 and 0.5 are ¼ and ½ ex-
pressed as fractions.
2. a small part of
something
ć Only a fraction of the sto-
len money was ever found.
fracture
fracture /frktʃə/
noun
a break, espe-
cially in a bone
ć The X-ray showed up
the fracture clearly.
í
verb
to break a
bone
ć He fractured his leg in the acci-
Basic.fm Page 133 Friday, January 16, 2004 3:10 PM
fragile 134 fridge
dent. ć They put her fractured leg in
plaster.

fragile
fragile /frdal/
adjective
made from
materials that are easily broken
ć Be
careful when you’re packing these
plates – they’re very fragile.
fragment
fragment /frmənt/
noun
a small
piece
ć When digging on the site of the
house they found fragments of very old
glass.
frail
frail /frel/
adjective
physically weak, es-
pecially because of age
ć His grand-
mother is now rather frail.
frame
frame /frem/
noun
a border around
something such as a pair of glasses, a
picture, a mirror or a window
ć He has

glasses with gold frames.
ć I think the
frame is worth more than the painting.
í
verb
to put a frame round a picture ć
The photograph has been framed in red.
free
free /fri/
adjective
1. not costing any
money
ć Send in four tokens from cere-
al boxes and you can get a free toy.
ć I
got a free ticket for the exhibition.
2. not
busy; available
ć Will you be free next
Tuesday?
ć There is a table free in the
corner of the restaurant.
ć Do you have
any free time next week?
3. able to do
what you want; not forced to do any-
thing
ć He’s free to do what he wants. 4.
not in prison or a cage ć After six years
in prison he’s a free man again.

˽ to set
someone or something free to allow
someone to leave prison, or to let an an-
imal out of a cage
ć The young birds
were raised in the zoo and then set free
in the wild.
í
verb
to release someone
who is trapped
ć It took the fire service
some time to free the passengers in the
bus.
(NOTE: frees – freeing – freed)
freedom
freedom /fridəm/
noun
1. the state of
being free, rather than being forced to
stay somewhere or being in prison
ć
She felt a sense of freedom being in the
country after working all week in the
city.
ć His lawyer pleaded for his cli-
ent’s freedom.
2. the state of being al-
lowed to do what you want
ć They are

trying to restrict our freedom of move-
ment.
freeze
freeze /friz/
verb
1. (
of a liquid
) to be-
come solid because of the cold
ć The
winter was mild, and for the first time
ever the river did not freeze over.
ć It’s
so cold that the lake has frozen solid.
2.
to make food very cold so that it does
not decay
ć We froze the raspberries we
picked this morning.
3. to become very
cold
ć The forecast is that it will freeze
tonight.
ć Put a hat on or you’ll freeze!
(NOTE: freezes – freezing – froze
/
frəυz/ – has frozen)
freezer
freezer /frizə/
noun

a piece of equip-
ment like a large box, which is very cold
inside, used for freezing food and keep-
ing it frozen
freezing
freezing /frizŋ/
adjective
very cold
French
French /frentʃ/
adjective
referring to
France
í
noun
the language spoken in
France
frequency
frequency /frikwənsi/
noun
the
number of times that something hap-
pens over a particular period of time
ć
The government is becoming alarmed at
the frequency of accidents in the con-
struction industry.
(NOTE: no plural)
frequent
frequent /frikwənt/

adjective
happen-
ing or appearing often
ć He was a fre-
quent visitor to the library.
ć Skin can-
cer is becoming more frequent.
ć How
frequent are the planes to Birmingham?
frequently
frequently /frikwəntli/
adverb
often
ć The ferries don’t run as frequently in
the winter.
ć She could frequently be
seen walking her dog in the park.
fresh
fresh /freʃ/
adjective
1. not used or not
dirty
ć I’ll get you a fresh towel. 2.
made recently ć a basket of fresh rolls ć
Let’s ask for a pot of fresh coffee. 3. new
and different
ć The police produced
some fresh evidence.
4. (
of food

) not in
a tin or frozen
ć Fresh fruit salad is bet-
ter than tinned.
ć Fresh vegetables are
difficult to get in winter.
Friday
Friday /frade/
noun
the fifth day of the
week, the day between Thursday and
Saturday
ć We all had a meal together
last Friday.
ć We always go to the cine-
ma on Friday evenings.
ć We normally
have our meetings on Fridays.
ć Friday
is a day of rest for Muslims.
ć Today is
Friday, June 20th.
fridge
fridge /frd/
noun
a kitchen machine for
keeping things cold
ć The fridge is emp-
Basic.fm Page 134 Friday, January 16, 2004 3:10 PM
fried 135 frozen

ty – we must buy some more food. ć
Shall I put the milk back in the fridge?
fried
fried /frad/ past tense and past participle
of
fry í
adjective
cooked in oil or fat
friend
friend /frend/
noun
a person that you
know well and like
ć She’s my best
friend.
ć We’re going on holiday with
some friends from work.
friendly
friendly /frendli/
adjective
pleasant and
kind, wanting to make friends
ć Don’t
be frightened of the dog – he’s very
friendly.
ć We’re not on friendly terms
with the people who live next door.
(NOTE: friendlier – friendliest)
friendship
friendship /frendʃp/

noun
the state of
being friends
ć He formed several last-
ing friendships at school.
fries
fries /fraz/ 3rd person singular present
of
fry
fright
fright /frat/
noun
fear
frighten
frighten /frat(ə)n/
verb
to make some-
one afraid
ć Take off that horrible mask
– you’ll frighten the children.
ć The cat
has frightened all the birds away.
frightened
frightened /fratn(ə)d/
adjective
afraid
ć The frightened children ran out of the
building.
frightening
frightening /frat(ə)nŋ/

adjective
making you feel afraid ć a frightening
sound of footsteps in the corridor
ć He
had a frightening thought – what if no
one heard his cries for help?
frog
frog /frɒ/
noun
a small greenish-brown
animal with long legs, which jumps, and
lives both on land and in water
ć He
kept some tadpoles in a jar hoping they
would turn into frogs.
ć Can you hear
the frogs croaking round the pond?
from
from /frəm, frɒm/
preposition
1. away
2. showing the place where something
starts or started
ć He comes from Ger-
many.
ć The bees went from flower to
flower.
ć We’ve had a letter from the
bank.
ć He read the book from begin-

ning to end.
ć Take three from four and
you get one.
ć I took a book from the
pile on his desk.
3. showing the time
when something starts or started
ć I’ll
be at home from 8 o’clock onwards.
ć
The hours of work are 9.30 to 5.30, from
Monday to Friday.
ć From now on I’m
going to get up early.
4. showing dis-
tance
ć It is not far from here to the rail-
way station.
5. showing difference ć
Can you tell butter from margarine? ć
His job is totally different from mine. 6.
showing a cause ć He died from the in-
juries he received in the accident.
ć He
suffers from angina.
ć She suffers from
coughs every winter.
front
front /frnt/
noun

a part of something
which is furthest forward
ć The front of
the house is on London Road.
ć She
spilt coffee down the front of her dress.
í
adjective
which is in front ć She sat
in the front seat, next to the driver.
ȣ in
front
further forwards ć Her mother sat
in the back seat and she sat in front.
ȣ
in front of someone
or
something
before or further forwards than some-
thing
ć Don’t stand in front of the car –
it may start suddenly.
ć There are six
people in front of me in the queue.
ć You
can park your car in front of the shop.
front door
front door /frnt dɔ/
noun
the main

door to a house or building
frost
frost /frɒst/
noun
1. a white covering on
the ground that appears when the tem-
perature is below freezing
ć The garden
was white with frost.
2. an occasion on
which the temperature outside is below
freezing
ć There was a hard frost last
night.
ć There’s a touch of frost in the
air.
ć A late frost can damage young
plants.
frown
frown /fraυn/
verb
to make lines in the
skin on your forehead because you are
concentrating or worried
ć He frowned
as he tried to do the calculation.
í
noun
pulling your eyebrows together as a sign
that you are angry or worried

ć Take
that frown off your face – everything’s
going to be all right.
frown on
phrasal verb
to disapprove of
something
ć The teachers frown on
singing in the corridors.
ć The company
frowns on people who bring food into
the office.
froze
froze /frəυz/ past tense of freeze
frozen
frozen /frəυz(ə)n/ past participle of
freeze í
adjective
1. very cold ć Come
inside – you must be frozen out there.
2.
at a temperature below freezing point ć
We went skating on the frozen lake.
Basic.fm Page 135 Friday, January 16, 2004 3:10 PM
fruit 136 funnel
fruit
fruit /frut/
noun
a food that grows on
trees or plants, which is often eaten raw

and is usually sweet
ć You should eat
five pieces of fruit or vegetables every
day.
ć He has six fruit trees in his gar-
den.
fry
fry /fra/
verb
to cook something in oil or
fat
ć Fry the onions over a low heat so
that they don’t burn.
ć Fry the eggs in
some fat.
(NOTE: fries /fraz/ – frying –
fried /
frad/)
frying pan
frying pan /fraŋ pn/
noun
an open
pan with low sides, used for frying
fuel
fuel /fjuəl/
noun
a substance such coal,
gas, oil, petrol or wood which can be
burnt to give heat or power
ć What fuel

do you use to heat the house?
ć We ran
out of fuel on the motorway.
fulfil
fulfil /fυl

fl/
verb
to complete something
in a satisfactory way
ć He died before
he could fulfil his ambition to fly a
plane.
ć We are so busy that we cannot
fulfil any more orders before Christmas.
(NOTE: fulfilling – fulfilled. The US
spelling is fulfill.)
full
full /fυl/
adjective
1. with as much inside
as is possible
ć Is the box full? ć The
bag is full of potatoes.
ć We couldn’t get
on the first bus because it was full.
ć All
the hotels were full.
2. complete ć You
must give the police full details of the

accident.
ć Write your full name and
address at the top of the paper.
í
adverb
completely ć The story has never been
told in full.
full stop
full stop /fυl stɒp/
noun
a punctuation
mark like a small dot, showing the end
of a sentence or an abbreviation
fully
fully /fυli/
adverb
completely ć He was
fully aware that he had made a mistake.
ć She still hasn’t fully recovered from
her accident.
ć The hotel is fully booked
for the Christmas week.
ć When fully
grown, an elephant can weigh several
tons.
fun
fun /fn/
noun
enjoyment from an activi-
ty

ć Having to stay in bed on my birth-
day is not much fun.
˽ to have fun to en-
joy yourself
ć We had a lot of fun on the
river.
˽ for fun as a joke or for enjoy-
ment
ć She poured water down his neck
for fun.
ć Just for fun, he drove the car
through town dressed as a gorilla.
ć
Why did you do that? – Just for the fun
of it!
ȣ to make fun of someone, to
poke fun at someone
to laugh at
someone
ć Don’t make fun of her –
she’s trying her best.
ć He poked fun at
the Prime Minister.
function
function /fŋkʃən/
noun
1. a party, or a
gathering of people
ć We have two wed-
ding functions in the main restaurant

this weekend.
ć The Prime Minister
busy up with official functions all week.
2. the work done by someone or some-
thing
ć The function of a goalkeeper is
to stop the ball going into the net.
ć
What’s the function of that red switch?
í
verb
to work ć The computer is still
functioning well after years of use.
fund
fund /fnd/
noun
an amount of money
intended for a particular purpose
ć She
contributes to a pension fund.
í
verb
to
provide money for a special purpose
ć
We have asked the government to fund
the building of the new library.
ć The
company is funding her manager’s
course.

fundamental
fundamental /fndə

ment(ə)l/
adjec-
tive
basic; essential ć The fundamental
difference between us is that I apologise
for my mistakes and you don’t.
ć Good
air quality is fundamental for children’s
health.
funds
funds /fndz/
noun
money which is
available for spending
ć He started a
course at college and then ran out of
funds.
ć The company has the funds to
set up the research programme.
ć Funds
are available to get the project off the
ground.
funeral
funeral /fjun(ə)rəl/
noun
a ceremony
at which a dead person is buried or cre-

mated
ć The church was packed for her
funeral.
ć The funeral will take place on
Friday morning.
fungus
fungus /fŋəs/
noun
a plant which has
no green leaves or flowers and which
lives on decaying matter or on other
plants
(NOTE: The plural is fungi
/
fŋa/.)
funnel
funnel /fn(ə)l/
noun
a tube with a wide
opening and a narrow tube, used when
pouring liquids from one container into
another
Basic.fm Page 136 Friday, January 16, 2004 3:10 PM
funny 137 future
funny
funny /fni/
adjective
1. making people
laugh
ć He made funny faces and all the

children laughed.
ć That joke isn’t fun-
ny.
2. strange ć She’s been behaving in
a funny way recently.
ć There’s a funny
smell in the bathroom.
(NOTE: funnier –
funniest)
fur
fur /f/
noun
the soft covering of an ani-
mal’s body
ć This type of cat has very
short fur.
ć She was wearing a fur coat.
ć Have you got any fur-lined boots?
(NOTE: Do not confuse with fir.)
furious
furious /fjυəriəs/
adjective
very angry
furniture
furniture /fntʃə/
noun
objects in,
e.g. a house or an office such as tables,
chairs, beds and cupboards
ć The bur-

glars stole all our office furniture.
ć You
should cover up all the furniture before
you start painting the ceiling.
(NOTE: no
plural:
some furniture
;
a lot of furniture
;
a piece of furniture
)
furry
furry /fri/
adjective
covered with fur
further
further /fðə/
adverb
at or to a greater
distance
ć Can you all move further
back – I can’t get you in the picture.
ć
The police station is quite close, but the
post office is further away.
ć Edinburgh
is further from London than Newcastle.
í
adjective

more ć The bank needs fur-
ther information about your salary.
ć
Please send me further details of holi-
days in Greece.
furthest
furthest /fðəst/
adverb
,
adjective
at
or to the greatest distance
ć Some of the
staff live quite close to the office – James
lives furthest away.
ć The furthest dis-
tance I have ever flown is to Hong Kong.
fury
fury /fjυəri/
noun
very strong anger ć
He shouted at us in fury.
fuse
fuse /fjuz/
noun
a small piece of wire in
an electrical system which breaks if too
much power tries to pass through it, so
preventing further damage
ć The plug

has a 13-amp fuse.
ć If the lights go out,
the first thing to do is to check the fuses.
fuss
fuss /fs/
noun
unnecessary excitement
or complaints
ć What’s all the fuss
about?
future
future /fjutʃə/
noun
a time which has
not yet happened
ć What are his plans
for the future?
ć You never know what
the future will bring.
ć Can you imagine
what London will be like in the future?
í
adjective
which is coming; which has
not happened yet
ć They are spending
all their time preparing for their future
retirement.
ć I try to save something
each week for future expenses.

Basic.fm Page 137 Friday, January 16, 2004 3:10 PM
G
g
g /di/, G
noun
the seventh letter of the
alphabet, between F and H
gadget
gadget /dt/
noun
a small useful
tool
gain
gain /en/
verb
1. to achieve something,
or get it with some work or effort
ć The
army gained control of the country.
ć
She gained some useful experience
working for a computer company.
2. (
of
a clock or watch
) to move ahead of the
correct time
ć My watch gains five min-
utes a day.
í

noun
1. an increase in
weight, quantity or size
ć There was no
gain in weight over three weeks
2. ben-
efit or profit
ć He doesn’t do the job for
financial gain.
galaxy
galaxy /ləksi/
noun
an extremely
large group of stars
ć There are vast
numbers of galaxies in the universe.
(NOTE: The plural is galaxies.)
Galaxy, the
Galaxy, the /ləksi/
noun
the large
group of stars and planets that the Earth
forms part of
gale
gale /el/
noun
a very strong wind
gallery
gallery /ləri/
noun

1. ˽ (art) gallery
a place where objects such as pictures
and sculptures are shown to the public
2. the highest rows of seats in a theatre
or cinema
ć We managed to get two
seats in the gallery.
(NOTE: The plural is
galleries.)
gallon
gallon /lən/
noun
a measure of quan-
tity of liquid, equal to 4.55 litres
ć The
car was empty and I had to put in seven
gallons of petrol.
gallop
gallop /ləp/
verb
to go fast, especial-
ly on horseback
ć The riders galloped
through the woods.
ć He galloped
through his lecture.
í
noun
the fastest
running speed of a horse

ć The horse
went off at a gallop.
game
game /em/
noun
1. an activity in
which people compete with each other
using skill, strength or luck
ć She’s not
very good at games like chess.
2. a sin-
gle match between two opponents or
two opposing teams ć Everyone wanted
to watch the game of football.
ć Do you
want a game of snooker?
ć Our team
have won all their games this year.
3. a
single session in an activity or sport
such as tennis or cards
ć She’s winning
by six games to three.
4. wild animals
and birds such as deer, rabbits and
pheasants, which are killed for sport or
food
í
plural noun
Games a large or-

ganised sports competition
ć the Olym-
pic Games
gang
gang /ŋ/
noun
1. a group of criminals
ć a drugs gang 2. a group of young peo-
ple who do things together, especially
one that causes trouble
ć Gangs of foot-
ball fans wandered the streets after the
match.
3. a group of workers ć Gangs of
men worked all night to repair the rail-
way track.
gap
gap /p/
noun
a space between two
things or in the middle of something
ć
There’s a gap between the two planks. ć
The sheep all rushed through the gap in
the hedge.
gape
gape /ep/
verb
1. to open your mouth
wide in surprise or shock

2. to be wide
open
ć The entrance to the cave gaped
before us.
garage
garage /rd, rɑ/
noun
1. a
building where you can keep a car
ć He
put the car into the garage overnight.
ć
She drove the car out of the garage. ć
Don’t forget to lock the garage door. ć
The hotel has garage space for thirty
cars.
2. a place where petrol is sold and
where cars are repaired or sold
ć
Where’s the nearest garage? I need
some petrol.
ć I can’t drive you to the
station – my car is in the garage for re-
pair.
ć You can hire cars from the ga-
rage near the post office.
garbage
garbage /ɑbd/
noun
1. nonsense ć

I don’t believe a word of what he said –
Basic.fm Page 138 Friday, January 16, 2004 3:10 PM
garden 139 generation
it’s just garbage. (NOTE: no plural) 2.
(
mainly US
) household waste
garden
garden /ɑd(ə)n/
noun
an area of land
near a house, used for growing such
things as vegetables and flowers
ć We
grow all the vegetables we need in the
back garden.
ć Your sister’s outside, sit-
ting in the garden.
gardener
gardener /ɑd(ə)nə/
noun
a person
who looks after a garden either as a hob-
by or as a job
gardening
gardening /ɑd(ə)nŋ/
noun
the activ-
ity of looking after a garden
garlic

garlic /ɑlk/
noun
a round white vege-
table with a strong smell, which can be
separated into sections and used to give
flavour to food
gas
gas /s/
noun
1. a chemical substance
which has no form and which becomes
liquid if it is cooled
ć Air is made up of
several gases, mainly nitrogen and oxy-
gen.
ć Rubbish gives off a type of gas
called methane as it rots.
2. a chemical
substance which is burnt to make heat,
e.g. for cooking
gasoline
gasoline /səlin/
noun US
a liquid,
made from petrol, used to drive a car en-
gine
(NOTE: usually shortened to gas)
gasp
gasp /ɑsp/
verb

to take a short deep
breath
ć He gasped when he saw the
bill.
í
noun
a sudden loud breath that
you take when you are surprised or in
pain
ć She gave a gasp when she saw
the face at the window.
gate
gate /et/
noun
1. a low outside door
made of bars of wood or metal
ć Shut
the gate – if you leave it open the sheep
will get out of the field.
ć There is a
white gate leading into the garden.
2. a
door which leads to an aircraft at an air-
port
ć Flight AZ270 is now boarding at
Gate 23.
gather
gather /ðə/
verb
1. to bring things or

people together
ć He gathered his pa-
pers together after the lecture.
ć She
has been gathering information on the
history of the local school.
2. (especially
of people) to come together in one
place, or be brought together by some-
one
ć Groups of people gathered out-
side the Parliament building.
ć They
gathered together a team of experienced
people for the new project.
3. to under-
stand from what someone has told you
ć I gather that his father is in hospital.
ć We gather he has left the office. 4. to
pick plants, flowers or fruit
ć The chil-
dren were gathering blackberries.
ć
The grape harvest has been gathered.
gave
gave /ev/ past tense of give
gay
gay /e/
adjective
1. attracted to people

of the same sex, or relating to people
like this
ć It’s a club where gay men and
women meet.
ć They met in a gay bar. 2.
bright and lively (
dated
) ć The houses
along the street are all painted in gay
colours.
í
noun
a person who is attract-
ed to someone of the same sex
ć a club
for gays
gaze
gaze /ez/
verb
to look steadily ć She
gazed into his eyes.
ć He stood on the
cliff, gazing out to sea.
í
noun
a steady
look
ć She refused to meet his gaze.
gear
gear /ə/

noun
1. equipment for a partic-
ular purpose
ć He took all his climbing
gear with him.
ć She was carrying her
painting gear in a rucksack.
2. clothing
for a particular purpose
ć She was
putting on her tennis gear.
3. a part of an
engine that makes it possible to change
the amount of work the engine has to do
to turn the wheels
gene
gene /din/
noun
a set of chemicals in a
cell which carries information about
features that are passed from parent to
child
general
general /den(ə)rəl/
adjective
not spe-
cific; covering a wide range of subjects
ć He had a good general education, but
didn’t specialise in any particular field.
í

noun
an army officer of high rank ć
He has only recently been promoted to
general.
ȣ in general normally ć In
general, the weather is warmer in the
south.
generally
generally /den(ə)rəli/
adverb
usually
ć The office is generally closed between
Christmas and the New Year.
generate
generate /denəret/
verb
to produce
something such as power
ć We use wind
to generate electricity.
generation
generation /denə

reʃ(ə)n/
noun
1.
the production of something such as
power
ć the generation of electricity
Basic.fm Page 139 Friday, January 16, 2004 3:10 PM

generous 140 get
from waves 2. all people born at about
the same time
ć The 1960s generation
had an easier life than we did.
ć Many
people of my father’s generation cannot
understand computer technology.
3.
members of a family born at about the
same time
4. a series of machines made
at about the same time
ć They are devel-
oping a new type of engine for the next
generation of aircraft.
generous
generous /den(ə)rəs/
adjective
1.
giving more money or presents than
people usually do
ć Thank you! You’re
so generous!
2. large ć a generous help-
ing of pudding
generously
generously /den(ə)rəsli/
adverb
in a

generous way
genetics
genetics /də

netks/
noun
the science
and study of the way genes are involved
in passing features from parents to chil-
dren
genre
genre /ɒnrə/
noun
a type of something
artistic such as art, literature or theatre
ć
the three main literary genres of prose,
poetry and drama
gentle
gentle /dent(ə)l/
adjective
1. soft and
kind
ć The nurse has gentle hands. 2.
not very strong ć After a little gentle
persuasion, she agreed to the plan.
ć He
gave the door a gentle push.
3. not very
steep

ć There is a gentle slope down to
the lake.
(NOTE: gentler – gentlest)
gentleman
gentleman /dent(ə)lmən/
noun
a
man, especially a well-behaved or up-
per-class man
ć He’s such a gentleman;
he always opens the door for me.
gently
gently /dentli/
adverb
1. softly and
carefully
ć He gently put the blanket
over her.
2. not steeply ć The path rises
gently to the top of the hill.
genuine
genuine /denjun/
adjective
real; true
ć The painting was not a genuine Picas-
so.
ć A genuine leather purse will cost a
lot more than that.
geography
geography /di


ɒrəfi/
noun
the study
of the earth’s surface, its climate and the
plants and animals that live on it
germ
germ /dm/
noun
an organism which
causes disease
ć Wash your hands after
emptying the dustbin so you don’t
spread any germs.
German
German /dmən/
adjective
referring
to Germany or its inhabitants
í
noun
1.
the language spoken in Germany, Aus-
tria and parts of Switzerland and Italy
2.
a person from Germany
gesture
gesture /destʃə/
noun
a movement of

a part of the body such as the hands to
show feeling
ć She made a slight ges-
ture of impatience with her hand.
í
verb
to make a movement with your hands ć
He gestured to the audience to sit down.
get
get /et/
verb
1. to receive something ć
We got a letter from the bank this morn-
ing.
ć She gets more money than I do. 2.
˽ to get to a place or situation to arrive
at a place or situation
ć We only got to
the hotel at midnight.
ć When does your
train get to London?
ć The plane gets to
New York at 4 p.m.
ć When you get to
my age you’ll understand!
3. to start to
be in a particular state
ć I’m getting too
old for rugby.
ć He’s got much fatter

over the last year or so.
ć The sun got
hotter and hotter.
ć The carpet’s getting
dirty.
4. to have something done ć I
must get my suit cleaned.
ć We got the
car mended in time to go on holiday.
5.
to make someone do something ć Can
you get them to mend the brakes?
ć I’ll
try and get her to bring some CDs.
(NOTE: gets – getting – got /ɒt/ –
has got
or
gotten)
get going
phrasal verb
to start doing
something, or to leave
ć Come on, let’s
get going!
get across
phrasal verb
1. to manage
to cross something
ć They got across
the river on rafts.

2. to make someone
understand something
ć I’m trying to
get across to the people in the office that
they all have to work harder.
ć We just
can’t seem to get our message across.
get along
phrasal verb
to manage ć
She got along quite well when her moth-
er was away on holiday.
ć We seem to
get along very happily without the tele-
phone.
ć How are you getting along?
get around
phrasal verb
1. to move
from place to place
ć Since he had his
accident he gets around on two sticks.
2.
(
of news
) to be heard by a lot of people
ć The news soon got around that they
were married.
Basic.fm Page 140 Friday, January 16, 2004 3:10 PM
get rid of 141 giggle

get at
phrasal verb
to reach something
ć You’ll need to stand on a chair to get
at the jam jar on the top shelf.
get away
phrasal verb
to escape ć The
robbers got away in a stolen car.
get back
phrasal verb
1. to return ć
They got back home very late. ć When
did they get back from the cinema?
2. to
get something again which you had be-
fore
ć I got my money back after I had
complained to the manager.
get down
phrasal verb
1. to go back
down onto the ground
ć The cat
climbed up the tree and couldn’t get
down.
ć He got down off the ladder. 2.
to bring something down ć Can you get
my suitcase down for me?
get in

phrasal verb
1. to go inside a
place or a vehicle
ć Get in! – the train’s
going to leave.
ć The burglars must
have got in through the bathroom win-
dow.
2. to arrive home or at the office ć
What time did you get in last night? ć
Because of the train strike, we didn’t get
in until eleven o’clock.
3. to ask some-
one to come to do a job
ć We’ll get a
builder in to mend the wall.
get into
phrasal verb
to go inside a
place or a vehicle
ć They got into the
back of the car.
ć I was just getting into
bed when the phone rang.
ć The bur-
glars got into the building through a
window on the ground floor.
get off
phrasal verb
to come down

from or out of a form of transport such
as a car, bus, train or plane
ć She got off
her bicycle at the red light.
ć If you
want the post office, you should get off
at the next stop.
ć You have to get off the
train at South Kensington.
get on
phrasal verb
1. to go onto a
form of transport such as a car, bus, train
or plane
ć They got on the bus at the
bank.
ć The policeman got on his bike
and rode away.
2. to become old ć He’s
getting on and can’t work as hard as he
used to.
get out
phrasal verb
to go out of a
place or a vehicle
ć The bus stopped
and the driver got out.
ć The burglars
got out through the front door.
get over

phrasal verb
1. to climb over
something
ć They got over the wall into
the garden.
2. to recover from an illness
ć He’s got over his flu.
get through
phrasal verb
1. to manage
to go through something
ć The cows got
through the hole in the fence.
2. to be
successful
ć He got through his exams,
so he is now a qualified engineer.
get up
phrasal verb
1. to get out of bed
ć He went to bed so late that he didn’t
get up until 11 o’clock.
2. to make
someone get out of bed
ć You must get
everyone up by 7.30 if we are going to
leave on time.
3. to stand up ć When he
had finished his meal, he got up and
walked out of the room.

get rid of
get rid of  rid
ghost
ghost /əυst/
noun
an image of a dead
person which some people believe they
have seen
ć They say the house is haunt-
ed by the ghost of its former owner.
ć
Her face is white – she looks as if she
has seen a ghost.
giant
giant /daənt/
noun
(
in fairy tales and
myths
) a very large man ć a story about
a giant who lived in a castle at the top of
a mountain
í
adjective
very large ć
He’s grown a giant cabbage. ć They are
planning to build a giant car factory in
South Wales.
giddy
giddy /di/

adjective
feeling that every-
thing is turning round, and that you
could lose your balance
(NOTE: giddier
– giddiest)
gift
gift /ft/
noun
1. a present; something
given to someone
ć The wedding gifts
were displayed on a table.
ć She was
wrapping up gifts to put under the
Christmas tree.
2. a natural ability for
doing something well
ć She has a gift
for making people feel welcome.
ć He
has a gift for maths.
gifted
gifted /ftd/
adjective
with a special
talent
ć He was a gifted musician.
gigantic
gigantic /da


ntk/
adjective
ex-
tremely large
giggle
giggle /(ə)l/
noun
a little laugh, often
showing you are embarrassed
í
verb
to
laugh like this
ć When she saw her
mother’s hat she started to giggle.
ć The
class giggled at his accent.
Basic.fm Page 141 Friday, January 16, 2004 3:10 PM
ginger 142 glimpse
ginger
ginger /dndə/
noun
a plant whose
root has a sharp burning taste and is
used in cooking
ć Fry the meat with
spring onions and slices of ginger.
ć
Add a pinch of powdered ginger to the

cake mixture.
í
adjective
(
of hair
) or-
ange in colour
ć She has ginger hair
and green eyes.
ć A ginger cat lay
sleeping in the sun.
giraffe
giraffe /d

rɑf/
noun
a large African
animal with a very long neck
girl
girl /l/
noun
a female child ć a crowd
of girls waiting at the bus stop
ć They
have four children – two boys and two
girls.
ć My sister goes to the local girls’
school.
girlfriend
girlfriend /lfrend/

noun
a girl or
woman that someone is having a roman-
tic relationship with
ć He’s broken up
with his girlfriend.
give
give /v/
verb
1. to pass something to
someone
ć Give me another envelope,
please.
ć Can you give me some infor-
mation about holidays in Greece?
2. to
send or pass something to someone as a
present
ć We gave her flowers for her
birthday.
ć What are you going to give
him when he gets married?
ć We gave
ten pounds to the Red Cross.
3. to do
something to someone or something
ć
He gave me a broad smile. ć He gave
her a kiss.
ć She gave the ball a kick. 4.

to organise something such as a party ć
They gave a reception for the visiting
Foreign Minister.
ć We gave a party to
celebrate her twenty-first birthday.
(NOTE: gives – giving – gave /ev/ –
has given /
v(ə)n/)
give back
phrasal verb
to hand some-
thing back to someone
give in
phrasal verb
to agree to do
something that you had refused to do
earlier
give up
phrasal verb
to stop doing
something
ć She’s trying to give up
smoking.
give way
phrasal verb
1. to let some-
one go first
ć Give way to traffic com-
ing from the right.
2. to break under a

heavy weight
ć The chair gave way
when he sat on it.
3. to stop opposing
something
ć In the end, our dad gave
way and let us go camping by ourselves.
glad
glad /ld/
adjective
pleased ć Aunt
Jane was glad to get your postcard.
ć
After shopping all day, she was glad to
find somewhere to sit down.
gladly
gladly /ldli/
adverb
with great pleas-
ure
glance
glance /lɑns/
noun
a quick look ć She
gave him an admiring glance.
í
verb
to
look quickly
ć He glanced over his

shoulder to see who was following him.
ć She glanced suspiciously at the wait-
er.
ȣ at a glance after a quick look at
something
ć At a glance, I’d say these
rugs are Chinese.
glare
glare /leə/
noun
1. a very bright light ć
The glare of the sun on the wet road
blinded me.
2. an angry look ć He gave
her a glare and walked on.
í
verb
to
look angrily
ć She glared at me and
went on reading her book.
glass
glass /lɑs/
noun
1. a hard, smooth ma-
terial which you can see through, used
to make things such as windows, vases
and bowls
ć a bowl made of glass or a
glass bowl

ć They found some very old
pieces of glass in the earth.
(NOTE: no
plural) 2.
a container to drink out of,
usually made of glass
ć She put the
dirty glasses in the dishwasher.
ć We
took plastic wine glasses on the picnic.
(NOTE: The plural is glasses.) 3. the
liquid contained in a glass
ć She asked
for a glass of water.
ć He was so thirsty
he drank three glasses.
ć Add a glass of
red wine to the sauce.
(NOTE: The plural
is glasses.)
í
plural noun
glasses two
plastic or glass lenses in a frame which
you wear in front of your eyes to help
you see better
ć She has to wear glasses
for reading.
(NOTE: no singular: for one
item, say ‘a pair of glasses’.)

glide
glide /lad/
verb
to move in a smooth
way
ć Skaters were gliding across the
ice.
ć A bird went gliding past.
glimpse
glimpse /lmps/
noun
a quick sight of
something
ć We caught a glimpse of the
princess as she drove past.
ć There was
a brief glimpse of the sun during the af-
ternoon.
í
verb
to catch sight of some-
one or something
ć We only glimpsed
the back of her head as she was leaving.
Basic.fm Page 142 Friday, January 16, 2004 3:10 PM
glitter 143 go
glitter
glitter /ltə/
verb
to shine brightly with

small points of light, as the stars in the
sky seem to shine
ć The jewels in her
crown were glittering in the light of the
candles.
ć Her eyes glittered hopefully
as she spoke.
global
global /ləυb(ə)l/
adjective
1. relating
to the whole world
ć We offer a global
parcel delivery service.
2. relating to the
whole of something
ć We are carrying
out a global review of salaries.
globe
globe /ləυb/
noun
1. ˽ the globe the
world
ć He is trying to be the first per-
son to fly round the globe in a balloon.
2. a map of the world on a ball ć He
spun the globe round and pointed to
Canada.
gloomy
gloomy /lumi/

adjective
1. unhappy
ć She was gloomy about her chances of
passing the exam.
ć He’s very gloomy
about his job prospects.
2. dark ć a
gloomy Sunday afternoon in November
(NOTE: gloomier – gloomiest)
glossy
glossy /lɒsi/
adjective
shiny ć the
glossy coat of a horse
(NOTE: glossier
– glossiest)
glove
glove /lv/
noun
a piece of clothing
worn on your hand
glow
glow /ləυ/
verb
to shine in a dull way ć
The logs glowed in the fireplace. ć Her
face glowed with pride.
í
noun
a soft

bright light
ć the warm glow of the fire
glue
glue /lu/
noun
a substance which sticks
things together
ć She spread the glue
carefully onto the back of the poster.
ć
The glue on the envelope doesn’t stick
very well.
í
verb
to stick things together
ć He glued the label to the box.
gnaw
gnaw /nɔ/
verb
to bite something again
and again
go
go /əυ/
verb
1. to move from one place
to another
ć The plane goes to Frank-
furt, then to Rome.
ć She is going to
London for the weekend.

ć It’s time the
children went to bed.
ć He has gone to
work in Washington.
ć They are going
on a tour of southern Spain.
ć She was
going downstairs when she fell.
2. to
leave
ć Get your coat, it’s time to go. ć
The last bus goes at half past two. 3. to
work
ć Can you phone the garage? –
the car won’t go.
ć He’s trying to get his
motorbike to go.
4. to fit ć It’s too big to
go into the box.
ć This case won’t go
into the back of the car.
5. to be placed
ć The date should go at the top of the
letter.
6. to become ć Her face went red
from sitting in the sun.
ć He went pale
and rushed out of the room.
ć You have
to shout, my father’s going deaf.

ć She’s
going grey, but it suits her.
7. to happen
in a particular way
ć The party went
very well.
ć Things are going badly at
work.
8. to make a particular sound ć
The balloon landed on a candle and
went ‘pop’.
ć Do you remember the
song that goes: ‘There’s no place like
home’?
(NOTE: goes – going – went
/
went/ – has gone /ɒn/) í
noun
a try;
an attempt
ć He won the lottery at the
first go.
ć She had three goes at the test
and still didn’t pass.
ć We’ll give it one
more go, and if the car doesn’t start I’ll
call the garage.
go ahead
phrasal verb
to take place as

planned
ć The project went ahead even
though there were not enough staff.
go away
phrasal verb
to leave
go back
phrasal verb
to return
go back on
phrasal verb
not to do
what has been promised
go down
phrasal verb
to go to a lower
level
ć There are thirty-nine steps
which go down to the beach.
ć Be care-
ful when going down the hill.
ć After
having a rest in her bedroom, she went
down to the hotel bar.
ć Prices have
gone down.
go in
phrasal verb
to enter a place ć
You don’t need to knock – just go in.

go in for
phrasal verb
to take an exam-
ination
go into
phrasal verb
1. to enter a place
ć She went into the bedroom. 2. to ex-
amine something; to look at something
carefully
ć The bank wants to go into
the details of his account.
go off
phrasal verb
1. to go to another
place
ć He went off to look for a parking
space.
ć She went off muttering some-
thing about buying cheese.
2. (
of an
alarm
) to start making its noise ć The
burglar alarm went off in the middle of
the night.
3. to explode ć The bomb
went off when there were still lots of
Basic.fm Page 143 Friday, January 16, 2004 3:10 PM
goal 144 good

people in the building. ć Fireworks
were going off everywhere on Bonfire
Night.
go on
phrasal verb
1. to continue ć
Please go on, I like hearing you sing. ć
They went on working in spite of the
fire.
ć She went on speaking for two
hours.
2. to happen ć What’s been go-
ing on here?
go out
phrasal verb
1. to leave a build-
ing
ć I don’t go out often at night. ć He
forgot to lock the door when he went
out.
2. not to be burning or lit any more
ć The fire went out and the room got
cold.
ć All the lights in the building sud-
denly went out.
go round
phrasal verb
1. to turn ć The
merry-go-round went round and round.
2. to visit a place ć You’ll need at least

two hours to go round the museum.
3. to
be enough for a particular number of
people
ć There wasn’t enough ice
cream to go round all twelve of us.
go up
phrasal verb
1. to go to a higher
place
ć Take the lift and go up to the
fourth floor.
2. to increase; to rise to a
higher level
ć The price of bread has
gone up.
go with
phrasal verb
to match some-
thing
ć Blue shoes won’t go with a
green dress.
ć Red wine goes best with
meat.
go without
phrasal verb
not to have
something which you usually have
ć
We often went without lunch.

goal
goal /əυl/
noun
1. (
in games
) two posts
between which you have to send the ball
to score a point
ć He was unlucky to
miss the goal with that shot.
2. (
in
games
) a point scored by sending the
ball between the posts
ć He scored a
goal before being sent off.
ć Our team
scored three goals.
3. an aim ć Our goal
is to open a new pizza restaurant every
month.
ć He achieved his goal of be-
coming a millionaire before he was thir-
ty.
goalkeeper
goalkeeper /əυlkipə/
noun
a player
who stands in front of the goal to stop

the ball going in
goat
goat /əυt/
noun
a small farm animal
with horns and a beard, giving milk and
wool
ć a herd of goats
god
god /ɒd/
noun
a being with special pow-
ers that humans do not have, who is be-
lieved in and worshipped by some peo-
ple
ć Bacchus was the Roman god of
wine.
God
God /ɒd/
noun
the spiritual Christians,
Jews and Muslims believe in and wor-
ship
ć Do you believe in God? ć We
pray to God that the children will be
found alive.
í
interjection
used for
showing that you are surprised or an-

noyed
ć God, what awful weather! ć
My God, have you seen how late it is?
goddess
goddess /ɒdes/
noun
a female god
(NOTE: The plural is goddesses.)
goes
goes /əυz/ 3rd person singular present
of
go
going
going /əυŋ/ present participle of go
going to
going to /əυŋ tu/
phrase
used for
showing future
ć We’re going to win. ć
I hope it’s going to be fine tomorrow. ć
When are you going to wash your hair?
ć He’s going to be a great tennis player
when he’s older.
ć Is she going to sing
at the concert?
gold
gold /əυld/
noun
a very valuable yel-

low-coloured metal
ć That ring isn’t
made of gold.
ć Gold is worth more
than silver.
ć He wears a gold ring on
his little finger.
(NOTE: no plural:
some
gold, a bar of gold
) í
adjective
of the
colour of gold
ć a gold carpet
golden
golden /əυld(ə)n/
adjective
coloured
like gold; made from gold
ć She has
beautiful golden hair.
golf
golf /ɒlf/
noun
a game played on a large
open course, by hitting a small ball into
18 separate holes with a variety of clubs,
using as few attempts as possible
ć He

plays golf every Saturday.
ć Do you
want a game of golf?
gone
gone /ɒn/ past participle of go
good
good /υd/
adjective
1. sensible, enjoya-
ble or of a high standard
ć We had a
good breakfast and then started work.
ć
Did you have a good time at the party?
ć It would be a good idea to invest in
these shares.
ć Her Spanish is better
than his.
2. skilful; clever ć He’s good
at making things out of wood.
ć She’s
good with her hands.
ć He is good at
football.
3. well-behaved ć Be a good
Basic.fm Page 144 Friday, January 16, 2004 3:10 PM
goodbye 145 grand
girl and I’ll give you a sweet. ć Have
you been good while we’ve been away?
í

noun
an advantage or a benefit ć The
medicine didn’t do me any good.
ć He
decided to give up smoking for the good
of his health.
ć What’s the good of hav-
ing a big garden if you don’t like gar-
dening?
ć Governments should work
for the good of the people.
goodbye
goodbye /υd

ba/
noun
,
interjection
used when leaving someone ć Say
goodbye to your teacher.
ć Goodbye!
We’ll see you again on Thursday.
(NOTE:
often shortened to bye)
good evening
good evening /υd ivnŋ/
interjec-
tion
used as a greeting when meeting
someone or sometimes when leaving

someone in the evening
good-looking
good-looking /υd lυkŋ/
adjective
(
of a person
) having an attractive face ć
His sister is a very good-looking girl. ć
He’s not especially good-looking.
good morning
good morning /υd mɔnŋ/
interjec-
tion
used when meeting someone, or
sometimes when leaving someone in the
morning
goods
goods /υdz/
plural noun
1. things that
are produced for sale
ć The company
sells goods from various European
countries.
2. possessions; things which
you own
ć She carried all her worldly
goods in a bag.
gossip
gossip /ɒsp/

noun
stories or news
about someone, which may or may not
be true
ć Have you heard the latest gos-
sip about Sue?
í
verb
to talk about peo-
ple’s private lives
ć They spent hours
gossiping about the people working in
the office.
got
got /ɒt/ past tense and past participle of
get
govern
govern /v(ə)n/
verb
to rule a country
ć The country is governed by three gen-
erals.
government
government /v(ə)nmənt/
noun
the
people or a political party which rules a
country
ć The president asked the lead-
er of the largest party to form a new

government.
ć The government controls
the price of bread.
ć He has an impor-
tant job in the government.
grab
grab /rb/
verb
1. to pick something up
suddenly
ć He grabbed his suitcase and
ran to the train.
2. to get something
quickly
(
informal
) ć Let’s grab some
lunch before the meeting starts.
(NOTE:
grabs – grabbing – grabbed)
graceful
graceful /resf(ə)l/
adjective
moving
in a smooth and beautiful way
ć She
crossed the stage with graceful steps.
ć
We admired the swimmer’s graceful
strokes across the pool.

grade
grade /red/
noun
1. a level of quality ć
I always buy grade 2 eggs. ć What
grade of vegetables do you sell most of?
2. an examination mark ć She got top
grades in maths.
3.
US
a class in school
ć students in fifth grade ć She’s a fifth-
grade student.
í
verb
to sort things ac-
cording to size or quality
ć a machine
for grading fruit
ć Hotels are graded
with two, three, four or five stars.
ȣ to
make the grade
to succeed; to do well
gradual
gradual /rduəl/
adjective
which
changes a little at a time
gradually

gradually /rduəli/
adverb
little by
little
ć His condition improved gradual-
ly day by day.
ć She gradually learnt
how to deal with customers’ complaints.
graffiti
graffiti /rə

fiti/
noun
words which
have been written or painted on walls in
public places
graft
graft /rɑft/
noun
very hard work that
needs a lot of physical energy
(
informal
)
ć She has succeeded through sheer hard
graft.
grain
grain /ren/
noun
1. a crop such as

wheat or corn
ć a field of grain ć the
grain harvest
2. a very small piece ć a
grain of sand
gram
gram /rm/, gramme
noun
a unit of
weight; there are 1000 grams in a kilo-
gram
(NOTE: usually written g after fig-
ures:
50 g
.)
grammar
grammar /rmə/
noun
1. the rules of
a language
ć I’m finding Russian gram-
mar very difficult.
ć He’s been learning
English for years, and still makes basic
grammar mistakes.
2. a book of rules of
a language
ć I’ll look it up in my new
German grammar.
grand

grand /rnd/
adjective
1. big and im-
portant
ć his grand plan for making a
Basic.fm Page 145 Friday, January 16, 2004 3:10 PM
grandad 146 grease
lot of money 2. impressive ć We went to
a very grand wedding.
grandad
grandad /rndd/
noun
1. a grandfa-
ther
(
informal
) 2. a common name used
for addressing a grandfather
grandchild
grandchild /rntʃald/
noun
a child
of a son or daughter
(NOTE: The plural is
grandchildren /
rntʃldrən/.)
granddaughter
granddaughter /rndɔtə/
noun
the

daughter of a son or daughter
grandfather
grandfather /rn

fɑðə/
noun
the fa-
ther of your mother or father
ć Tomor-
row is grandfather’s hundredth birth-
day.
ć My grandfather always tells us
fascinating stories about his childhood.
(NOTE: often called grandad or grand-
pa by children)
grandma
grandma /rnmɑ/
noun
1. a grand-
mother
(
informal
) 2. a common name
used for addressing a grandmother
grandmother
grandmother /rnmðə/
noun
the
mother of your mother or father
ć It will

be grandmother’s ninetieth birthday
next month.
ć My grandmother taught
me how to make bread.
(NOTE: often
called gran
or
granny
or
grandma
or
nan by children)
grandpa
grandpa /rnpɑ/
noun
1. a grandfa-
ther
(
informal
) 2. a common name used
for addressing a grandfather
grandparent
grandparent /rnpeərənt/
noun
the
mother or father of one of your parents
grandson
grandson /rnsn/
noun
the son of a

son or daughter
granny
granny /rni/
noun
1. a grandmother
(
informal
) 2. a common name used for
addressing a grandmother
grant
grant /rɑnt/
noun
an amount of money
given to help someone to pay for some-
thing, or to live while they are doing
something such as studying
ć Not many
students get a full grant.
ć My grant
only pays for a few books.
ć We have
applied for a grant to plant trees by the
side of the road.
í
verb
to give someone
something, especially officially
(
formal
) ć The council has granted the

school permission to build a new hall.
grape
grape /rep/
noun
a small green or red
fruit which grows on low plants, often
used to make wine
graph
graph /rɑf/
noun
a chart showing how
amounts rise and fall in the form of a
line
grasp
grasp /rɑsp/
noun
an understanding ć
She has a good grasp of physics. í
verb
to understand something ć They didn’t
seem to grasp my meaning.
grass
grass /rɑs/
noun
a low green plant,
which is eaten by sheep and cows in
fields, or used in gardens to cover the
area that you walk or sit on
ć The grass
is getting too long – it needs cutting.

grate
grate /ret/
noun
a metal frame for
holding coal in a fireplace
í
verb
to
make something into small pieces by
rubbing against a grater
ć She grated
nutmeg over the pudding.
ć Sprinkle
grated cheese over your pasta.
ć We
made a salad of grated carrots and
spring onions.
(NOTE: Do not confuse
with great.)
grateful
grateful /retf(ə)l/
adjective
feeling
that you want to thank someone for
something that they have done for you
ć
We are most grateful to you for your
help.
grave
grave /rɑv/

noun
a hole in the ground
where a dead person is buried
ć At the
funeral, the whole family stood by the
grave.
í
adjective
serious ć She looked
at him with a grave expression.
(NOTE:
graver – gravest)
gravity
gravity /rvti/
noun
the force which
pulls things towards the ground
ć Ap-
ples fall to the ground because of the
earth’s gravity.
gravy
gravy /revi/
noun
sauce made from
the juices of cooked meat
(NOTE: no plu-
ral)
gray
gray /re/
noun

,
adjective
US spelling
of
grey
graze
graze /rez/
noun
a slight skin injury ć
He had a graze on his knee. í
verb
(
of
animals
) to feed on grass ć The sheep
were grazing on the hillside.
grease
grease /ris/
noun
1. thick oil ć Put
some grease on the hinge.
2. fat that
comes from meat when it is cooked
í
verb
to cover with oil ć Don’t forget to
grease the wheels.
ć She greased the
pan before cooking the eggs.
Basic.fm Page 146 Friday, January 16, 2004 3:10 PM

greasy 147 ground
greasy
greasy /risi/
adjective
covered with
oil or grease
ć He wiped his greasy
hands on a piece of rag.
ć I don’t like
the chips they serve here – they’re too
greasy.
(NOTE: greasier – greasiest)
great
great /ret/
adjective
1. large ć She was
carrying a great big pile of sandwiches.
ć The guide showed us into the Great
Hall.
2. important or famous ć the
greatest tennis player of all time
ć New
York is a great city.
ć Picasso was a
great artist.
3. wonderful; very good ć
We had a great time at the party. ć What
did you think of the film? – It was great!
ć It was great of you to help. ć It was
great that they could all get to the pic-

nic.
greatly
greatly /retli/
adverb
very much
greedy
greedy /ridi/
adjective
wanting more
food or other things than you need
(NOTE: greedier – greediest)
green
green /rin/
adjective
1. of a colour like
the colour of grass
ć He was wearing a
bright green shirt.
ć They painted the
door dark green.
ć Go on – the traffic
lights are green.
2. relating to, interest-
ed in or concerned about the environ-
ment
ć She’s very worried about green
issues.
ć He’s a leading figure in the
green movement.
í

noun
1. a colour
like grass
ć The door was painted a very
dark green.
2. an area of public land
covered with grass in the middle of a
village
ć They were playing cricket on
the village green.
greet
greet /rit/
verb
to meet someone and
say hello
greeting
greeting /ritŋ/
noun
the words that
people say to each other when they meet
grew
grew /ru/ past tense of grow
grey
grey /re/
noun
a colour that is a mixture
of black and white
ć He was dressed all
in grey.
í

adjective
of a colour that is a
mixture of black and white
ć Her hair
has turned quite grey.
ć She was wear-
ing a light grey suit.
ć Look at the grey
clouds – I think it is going to rain.
grief
grief /rif/
noun
a feeling of great sad-
ness
ȣ to come to grief to have an ac-
cident; to fail
ć His horse came to grief
at the first fence.
ć The project came to
grief when the council refused to renew
their grant.
grill
grill /rl/
noun
a part of a cooker where
food is cooked under the heat
ć Cook
the chops under the grill.
í
verb

to cook
something in this part of the cooker
ć
We’re having grilled sardines for dinner.
grim
grim /rm/
adjective
1. serious and not
smiling
ć His expression was grim. ć
He gave a grim laugh and went on
working.
2. grey and unpleasant ć The
town centre is really grim.
grimy
grimy /rami/
adjective
covered with
old dirt that is difficult to remove
ć The
furniture was broken and the windows
were grimy.
grin
grin /rn/
verb
to smile widely ć He
grinned when we asked him if he liked
his job.
(NOTE: grins – grinning –
grinned)

í
noun
a wide smile ć She
gave me a big grin.
grind
grind /rand/
verb
1. to crush some-
thing to powder
ć to grind coffee 2. to
rub surfaces together
(NOTE: grinds –
grinding – ground /
raυnd/)
grip
grip /rp/
noun
a firm hold ć He has a
strong firm grip.
ć These tyres give a
better grip on the road surface.
í
verb
1. to hold something tight ć She gripped
the rail with both hands.
2. to be very in-
teresting to someone
ć The story
gripped me from the first page.
(NOTE:

grips – gripping – gripped)
groove
groove /ruv/
noun
a wide line cut into
a surface
gross
gross /rəυs/
adjective
total; with noth-
ing taken away
ć What’s your gross sal-
ary?
í
adverb
with nothing taken away
ć His salary is paid gross.
ground
ground /raυnd/
noun
1. the surface of
the earth
ć The factory was burnt to the
ground.
ć There were no seats, so we
had to sit on the ground.
ć She lay down
on the ground and went to sleep.
2. soil
or earth

ć You should dig the ground in
the autumn.
ć The house is built on wet
ground.
ć It has been so dry that the
ground is hard.
3. an area of land used
for a special purpose
ć a football
ground
ć a sports ground ć a cricket
ground
ć a show ground í
plural noun
grounds 1. a large area of land around
Basic.fm Page 147 Friday, January 16, 2004 3:10 PM
ground floor 148 guide
a big house or institution ć The police
searched the school grounds for the
weapon.
ć The village fair is held in the
grounds of the hospital.
2. reasons ć
Does he have any grounds for com-
plaint?
ć What grounds have you got
for saying that?
ground floor
ground floor /raυnd flɔ/
noun

a
floor in a building which is level with
the street
group
group /rup/
noun
1. a number of peo-
ple together
ć a group of houses in the
valley
ć Groups of people gathered in
the street.
ć She is leading a group of
businessmen on a tour of Italian facto-
ries.
ć There are reduced prices for
groups of 30 and over.
2. a way of clas-
sifying things
ć These drugs belong to
the same group.
3. people playing music
together
ć He plays in a jazz group. ć
She’s the lead singer in a pop group.
grow
grow /rəυ/
verb
1. (
of plants

) to live and
develop
ć There was grass growing in
the middle of the road.
ć Roses grow
well in our garden.
2. to make plants
grow
ć He grows all his vegetables in
his garden.
ć We are going to grow
some cabbages this year.
3. to become
taller or bigger
ć He’s grown a lot taller
since I last saw him.
ć The profit has
grown to £1m.
ć The town’s population
is growing very fast.
(NOTE: grows –
growing – grew /
ru/ – grown
/
rəυn/)
grow up
phrasal verb
to become an
adult
growing

growing /rəυŋ/
adjective
1. becom-
ing bigger in size or amount
2. becom-
ing stronger or more extreme
ć growing
fear of war
grown
grown /rəυn/
adjective
full size ć What
silly behaviour from a grown man!
growth
growth /rəυθ/
noun
an increase in size
ć the rapid growth of the population
since 1980
ć They measured the tree’s
growth over the last fifty years.
grubby
grubby /rbi/
adjective
so dirty as to
be unpleasant
ć A grubby little boy
asked for money.
ć He was wearing a
grubby old shirt.

(NOTE: grubbier –
grubbiest)
grumble
grumble /rmbəl/ to complain in a
bad-tempered way, especially regularly
and often about unimportant things
ć
He’s always grumbling about the music
from the flat above.
guarantee
guarantee /rən

ti/
noun
1. a legal
document in which someone states that
something is going to happen
ć The
travel agent could not give a guarantee
that we would be accommodated in the
hotel mentioned in the brochure.
2. a
promise
ć I can’t give you any guaran-
tee of success.
í
verb
to give a firm
promise that something will work, that
something will be done

ć I can guaran-
tee that the car will give you no trouble.
ć We can almost guarantee good weath-
er in the Caribbean at this time of year.
(NOTE: guarantees – guaranteeing –
guaranteed)
guard
guard /ɑd/
noun
1. a person who pro-
tects, often a soldier
ć Security guards
patrol the factory at night.
2. the man in
charge of a train
ć The guard helped my
put my bike into his van.
í
verb
to watch
someone or somewhere carefully to pre-
vent attacks or escapes
ć The prison is
guarded at all times.
ȣ to be on your
guard
to try to be ready for an unpleas-
ant surprise
ć You always have to be on
your guard against burglars.

guerrilla
guerrilla /ə

rlə/, guerilla
noun
a sol-
dier who is not part of a regular national
army
guess
guess /es/
noun
an attempt to give the
right answer or amount
ć Go on – make
a guess!
ć At a guess, I’d say it weighs
about 10 kilos.
í
verb
to try to give the
right answer or amount
ć I would guess
it’s about six o’clock.
ć Neither of them
guessed the right answer.
ć He guessed
right.
ć I’ve bought you a present – shut
your eyes and guess what it is.
guest

guest /est/
noun
1. a person who is in-
vited to come to your home or to an
event
ć We had a very lively party with
dozens of guests.
ć None of the guests
left the party early.
2. a person staying
in a hotel
ć Guests are requested to va-
cate their rooms before midday.
guidance
guidance /ad(ə)ns/
noun
advice
guide
guide /ad/
noun
1. a person who shows
you the way
ć They used local farmers
Basic.fm Page 148 Friday, January 16, 2004 3:10 PM