từ điển tiếng anh căn bản giành cho người bắt đầu học pot

double figures 100 drain
ice cream. í
plural noun
doubles ten-
nis game for two people on either side
í
verb
to multiply something by two ć
Think of a number and then double it.
double figures
double figures /db(ə)l fəz/
plural
noun
the numbers with two figures,
from 10 to 99
doubt
doubt /daυt/
noun
1. not being sure ć
Everyone sometimes has doubts about
what they really want to do.
˽ to cast
doubt on something to make people
feel less sure about something
ć He cast
doubt on the whole proposal.
2. ˽ no
doubt certainly
ć No doubt they will be
asking for more money soon.
˽ in doubt

not yet known or definite, or not yet sure
ć The result of the game was in doubt
until the last minute.
ć I’m in doubt
about whether I should take the job or
not.
í
verb
not to be sure of something
ć I doubt whether he will want to go to
the funeral.
ć I doubt her honesty. ć Did
you ever doubt that we would win?
doubtful
doubtful /daυtf(ə)l/
adjective
not sure
that something is right or good, or not
likely
ć I am doubtful about whether we
should go.
ć It is doubtful whether the
race will take place because of the snow.
down
down /daυn/
preposition
1. towards the
bottom of
ć He fell down the stairs and
broke his leg.

ć The ball ran down the
hill.
2. away from where the person
speaking is standing
ć He went down
the road to the shop.
ć The police sta-
tion is just down the street.
í
adverb
1.
towards the bottom, towards a lower po-
sition
ć Put the box down in the corner.
ć I looked in the cellar, but there’s no
one down there.
2. in writing ć Did you
note down the number of the car?
ć The
policeman took down her address.
3.
used for showing criticism ć Down with
the government!
ć Down with exams!
(NOTE: Down is often used with verbs,
e.g. to go down, to fall down, to sit
down, to lie down.)
downhill
downhill /daυn


hl/
adverb
towards the
bottom of a hill
ć The road goes down-
hill for a while and then crosses the riv-
er.
downstairs
downstairs /daυn

steəz/
adverb
on or
to the lower part of a building
ć He
heard a noise in the kitchen and went
downstairs to see what it was.
ć I left my
cup of coffee downstairs.
í
adjective
on
the ground floor of a building
ć The
house has a downstairs bedroom.
ć You
can use the downstairs loo.
í
noun
the

ground floor of a building
ć The down-
stairs has three rooms.
ć The down-
stairs of the house is larger than the up-
stairs. Compare
upstairs
downwards
downwards /daυnwədz/
adverb
to-
wards the bottom
doze
doze /dəυz/
verb
to sleep a little ć She
dozed for a while after lunch.
í
noun
a
short sleep
dozen
dozen /dz(ə)n/
noun
1. ć I need a doz-
en eggs for this recipe.
ć We ordered
two dozen (= 24) chairs.
˽ a dozen
twelve

˽ half a dozen six ć half a dozen
apples
2. ˽ dozens of a lot of ć Dozens
of people visited the exhibition.
ć I’ve
been to New York dozens of times.
Dr
Dr
abbr
doctor
draft
draft /drɑft/
noun
a rough plan of a doc-
ument
ć He quickly wrote out a draft of
the agreement.
ć It’s not the final ver-
sion, it’s just a draft.
í
verb
to draw up
a rough plan of something
draft in
phrasal verb
to ask someone to
do something
ć The Boy Scouts were
drafted in to dig the garden.
drag

drag /dr/
verb
to pull something heavy
along the ground
ć She dragged her
suitcase across the floor.
ć The police
dragged the men away from the gate.
(NOTE: drags – dragging – dragged)
í
noun
a boring thing, which stops you
doing things you really want to do
ć It’s
a drag, having to write all the Christmas
cards.
drag on
phrasal verb
(
of time or an
event
) to seem to pass slowly ć The
dinner party seemed to drag on for
hours.
drain
drain /dren/
noun
a pipe for carrying
waste water away
ć In the autumn the

drains get blocked by leaves.
ć We had
to phone the council to come and clear
the blocked drain.
í
verb
to remove a
liquid from something
ć Boil the pota-
toes for ten minutes, drain and leave to
cool.
Basic.fm Page 100 Friday, January 16, 2004 3:10 PM
This is trial version
www.adultpdf.com
This is trial version
www.adultpdf.com
drama 101 dress
drama
drama /drɑmə/
noun
1. a serious per-
formance in a theatre
ć a new TV drama
series about life in Glasgow
ć The
‘Globe’ has put on an unknown Eliza-
bethan drama.
ć I’m reading a book on
19th-century French drama.
ć She’s a

drama student or She’s studying drama.
2. a series of serious and exciting events
ć a day of high drama in the court ć the
drama of the rescue by helicopter
ć He
always makes a drama out of every-
thing.
dramatic
dramatic /drə

mtk/
adjective
sudden,
unexpected and very noticeable
ć the
dramatic moment in the film, when the
dinosaurs start to attack them
ć The
door was thrown open and she made a
dramatic entrance.
ć The TV news
showed dramatic pictures of the disas-
ter.
drank
drank /drŋk/ past tense of drink
draught
draught /drɑft/
noun
a flow of cool air
into a room

ć Don’t sit in a draught.
draw
draw /drɔ/
noun
1. a game or competi-
tion which ends with both teams having
the same number of points
ć The match
was a draw: 2–2.
2. a competition in
which the winner is chosen by a person
who takes a ticket out of a container
with a name on it
ć The draw is held on
Saturdays.
ć We are holding a draw to
raise money for the local hospital.
í
verb
1. to make a picture with a pen or
pencil
ć He drew a picture of the house.
ć She’s drawing a pot of flowers. 2. not
to have a winner in a game
ć The teams
drew 2 – 2.
3. to pull curtains open or
closed
ć She drew the curtains and let
in the sun.

ć Can you draw the curtains
– I don’t want anyone to see us in here.
(NOTE: draws – drawing – drew /dru/
– has drawn /
drɔn/)
draw up
phrasal verb
1. (
of a vehicle
)
to come close and stop ć As I was stand-
ing at the bus stop, a car drew up and
the driver asked if I wanted a lift.
2. to
write down something, e.g. a plan
ć
They have drawn up a plan to save mon-
ey.
ć Have you drawn up a list of people
you want to invite to the party?
drawer
drawer /drɔə/
noun
a part of a desk or
cupboard like an open box which slides
in and out when you pull its handle
ć I
keep my cheque book in the top drawer
of my desk.
drawing

drawing /drɔŋ/
noun
1. a picture that
has been drawn
ć I’ve bought an old
drawing of the church.
2. the activity or
skill of making pictures with a pencil or
pen
ć He studied drawing in Rome.
drawn
drawn /drɔn/
adjective
tired and ill ć
She looked drawn after spending all
night with her sick baby.
í past partici-
ple of
draw
dread
dread /dred/
noun
great fear ć The
sound of her voice filled him with dread.
ć She has a dread of meeting him in the
street.
˽ in dread of being very afraid of
ć They lived in constant dread of being
arrested.
í

verb
to fear something very
much
ć I’m dreading taking my driving
test.
ć She dreads her weekly visit to the
doctor.
dreadful
dreadful /dredf(ə)l/
adjective
very bad
or unpleasant
ć What a dreadful film!
dreadfully
dreadfully /dredf(ə)li/
adverb
ex-
tremely¸ in a way that is not good or
pleasant
dream
dream /drim/
noun
a story or series of
events that you think about while you
are sleeping
ć She had a dream about
big pink elephants.
í
verb
to experience

a story or series of events while you are
sleeping
ć He was dreaming of white
sand and a blue tropical sea.
ć I dreamt
about you last night.
ć Last night I
dreamt I was drowning.
(NOTE: dreams
– dreaming – dreamed
or
dreamt
/
dremt/) í
adjective
referring to some-
thing that is the best you could have
ć
They found their dream house in a small
town by the sea.
ć Select your dream
team for the World Cup.
dress
dress /dres/
noun
a piece of clothing
usually worn by women or girls, cover-
ing the body and part or all of the legs
ć
She was wearing a blue dress. (NOTE:

The plural is dresses.)
í
verb
1. to put
clothes on someone
ć She dressed her
little girl all in blue.
2. to get dressed
to put clothes on yourself ć He got up,
got dressed and left the house.
3. to
clean an injury and cover it with a band-
age
ć The nurse will dress the cut on
your knee.
Basic.fm Page 101 Friday, January 16, 2004 3:10 PM
This is trial version
www.adultpdf.com
This is trial version
www.adultpdf.com
dressed 102 driver
dressed
dressed /drest/
adjective
wearing
clothes
ć I can’t come down to see the
visitors – I’m not dressed yet.
í
dressed in wearing a particular colour

or type of clothing
ć She was dressed
all in black.
ć He was dressed in a tee-
shirt and shorts.
dressing
dressing /dresŋ/
noun
1. a sauce for
salad
2. a cover for an injury ć The
dressings need to be changed every
hour.
drew
drew /dru/ past tense of draw
dribble
dribble /drb(ə)l/
verb
1. to let liquid
flow slowly out of an opening, especial-
ly out of your mouth
ć The baby drib-
bled over her dress.
2. (
of a liquid
) to
flow slowly out of an opening
ć Ketch-
up dribbled onto the tablecloth.
3. to

kick a football along as you are running,
or to move a ball along with one hand as
you are running
dried, drier, dries, driest
dried, drier, dries, driest /drad,
draə, draz, draəst
/  dry
drill
drill /drl/
noun
1. a tool for making holes
in a hard substance such as wood or
metal
ć He used an electric drill to
make the holes in the wall.
2. the action
of practising marching, especially in the
armed forces
ć New recruits spend
hours practising their drill.
í
verb
1. to
use a drill to make a hole in something
ć Check how solid the wall is before you
drill a hole in it.
ć He drilled two holes
for the screws.
2. to do military practice
ć The soldiers were drilling on the pa-

rade ground.
3. to teach someone some-
thing by making them do or say it many
times
drink
drink /drŋk/
noun
1. an amount of liquid
such as water, juice, tea or coffee which
you swallow
ć If you’re thirsty, have a
drink of water.
ć She always has a hot
drink before she goes to bed.
2. an alco-
holic drink
ć Would you like a drink? ć
Come and have a drink. ć I’ll order
some drinks from the bar.
í
verb
to
swallow liquid
ć He drank two glasses
of water.
ć What would you like to
drink?
ć Do you want something to
drink with your meal?
(NOTE: drinks –

drinking – drank /
drŋk/ – has
drunk /
drŋk/)
drink up
phrasal verb
to drink all of a
liquid
ć The baby drank all her milk up.
ć Come on, drink up – we’re leaving
now.
drip
drip /drp/
noun
a small drop of water ć
There’s a hole in the tent – a drip just
fell on my nose.
í
verb
1. (
of a liquid
) to
fall in small drops
ć Water was slowly
dripping from the ceiling.
2. (
of e.g. a
tap
) to produce small drops ć I must fix
that tap – it’s dripping.

(NOTE: drips –
dripping – dripped)
drive
drive /drav/
noun
1. a journey, especial-
ly in a car
ć Let’s go for a drive into the
country.
ć The baby gets sick on long
drives.
ć It’s a four-hour drive to the
coast.
2. a part of a computer which
makes a disk work
ć The disk is stuck in
the drive.
í
verb
to make a motor vehi-
cle travel in a certain direction
ć I never
learnt to drive.
ć He was driving a lorry
when the accident happened.
ć She was
driving to work when she heard the
news on the car radio.
(NOTE: drives –
driving – drove /

drəυv/ – has driven
/
drv(ə)n/) ȣ to drive someone cra-
zy
or
mad to have an effect on someone
so that they become very annoyed
(
informal
) ć The noise is driving me
mad.
ć All this work is driving her cra-
zy.
drive away
phrasal verb
1. to ride
away in a motor vehicle
ć The bank
robbers leapt into a car and drove away
at top speed.
2. to take someone away in
a motor vehicle
ć The children were
driven away in a police car.
drive back
phrasal verb
to go back or
to come back in a motor vehicle
ć We
were driving back to London after a day

out.
drive off
phrasal verb
1. to move away
in a motor vehicle
ć The bank robbers
leapt into a car and drove off at top
speed.
2. to force someone or something
to go away
ć They drove off the attack-
ers with shotguns.
driver
driver /dravə/
noun
a person who
drives a vehicle such as a car or train
ć
He’s got a job as a bus driver. ć The
drivers of both cars were injured in the
accident.
Basic.fm Page 102 Friday, January 16, 2004 3:10 PM
This is trial version
www.adultpdf.com
This is trial version
www.adultpdf.com
driving 103 duck
driving
driving /dravŋ/
adjective

(
of rain or
snow
) blown horizontally by the wind ć
They were forced to turn back because
of the driving rain.
í
noun
the action of
driving a motor vehicle
ć Driving in the
centre of London can be very frustrat-
ing.
ć She’s taking driving lessons.
driving licence
driving licence /dravŋ las(ə)ns/
noun
a permit which allows someone to
drive a vehicle on public roads
drizzle
drizzle /drz(ə)l/
noun
light rain ć A
thin drizzle was falling so we took our
umbrellas.
í
verb
to rain a little ć It’s
drizzling outside, so you need a rain-
coat.

drop
drop /drɒp/
noun
a small amount of liq-
uid which falls
ć Drops of rain ran
down the windows.
í
verb
1. to fall or
let something fall
ć He dropped the
glass and it broke.
ć The plate dropped
onto the floor.
2. to decrease ć Prices
are dropping.
ć Take a warm pullover,
because at night the temperature can
drop quite sharply.
3. to let someone get
off a bus or car at a place
ć I’ll drop you
at your house.
ć The bus dropped her at
the school.
(NOTE: drops – dropping –
dropped)
drop in
phrasal verb

to call on some-
one, to visit someone
drop off
phrasal verb
1. to fall asleep ć
She dropped off in front of the TV. ć It
took me ages to drop off.
2. to let some-
one get off a bus or car at a place
ć
Where would you like me to drop you
off?
drought
drought /draυt/
noun
a long period
when there is no rain and when the land
is dry
drove
drove /drəυv/ past tense of drive
drown
drown /draυn/
verb
to die by being una-
ble to breathe in water
ć He drowned in
a shallow pool.
drudgery
drudgery /drdəri/
noun

hard boring
work
ć Most of the work in the office is
sheer drudgery.
drug
drug /dr/
noun
1. a medicine ć They
have found a new drug for people with
arthritis.
2. an illegal substance which
affects people physically or mentally
when they take it
ć The customs are
looking for such things as drugs or alco-
hol.
í
verb
to give a person or animal a
drug, or put a drug in their food or drink,
to make them unconscious
ć They
drugged him and took him away in a
car.
ć The dog’s food had been drugged
with something to make him sleep.
(NOTE: drugs – drugging – drugged)
drum
drum /drm/
noun

1. a large round mu-
sical instrument which you hit with a
stick
ć He plays the drums in the band.
2. a large barrel or container shaped like
a cylinder
ć oil drums í
verb
1. to play
on a drum
2. to hit something frequently
ć He drummed his fingers on the table.
(NOTE: drums – drumming –
drummed)
drum into
phrasal verb
˽ to drum
something into someone to make
someone learn something
ć My grand-
father drummed it into me that I had to
be polite to customers.
drunk
drunk /drŋk/
adjective
excited or ill
from drinking too much alcohol
ć Do
you think she was drunk?
ć It doesn’t

take much for me to get drunk.
í
noun
a
person who is drunk
í past participle of
drink
dry
dry /dra/
adjective
1. not wet ć Don’t
touch the door – the paint isn’t dry yet.
ć The soil is dry because it hasn’t
rained for weeks.
2. (
of wine
) not sweet
ć A dry white wine is served with fish.
(NOTE: drier – driest) í
verb
1. to be-
come dry
ć The clothes are drying in
the sun.
ć Leave the dishes beside the
sink to dry.
2. to wipe something until it
is dry
ć If I wash up, can you dry or dry
the dishes for me?

ć He dried himself
with a towel.
(NOTE: dries – drying –
dried)
dubious
dubious /djubiəs/
adjective
thinking
that something might not be true or
good
ć Everyone else seems to believe
her story, but personally I’m dubious
about it.
ć I’m dubious about getting in-
volved.
duck
duck /dk/
noun
1. a common water bird
ć Let’s go and feed the ducks in the
park.
(NOTE: The male is a drake, the
female a duck and the young are
ducklings.) 2.
the meat of this bird ć
We’re having roast duck for dinner. í
verb
to lower your head quickly to avoid
Basic.fm Page 103 Friday, January 16, 2004 3:10 PM
This is trial version

www.adultpdf.com
This is trial version
www.adultpdf.com
due 104 dying
hitting something ć He ducked as he
went through the low doorway.
due
due /dju/
adjective
1. expected ć When
is the baby due?
ć We are due to leave
London Airport at 5 o’clock.
ć The
plane is due to arrive at 10.30 or is due
at 10.30.
˽ due for likely to happen ć
We’re due for a thunderstorm after all
this hot weather.
2. owed ć This pay-
ment is due now.
í
adverb
straight ć
The plane flew due west. í
noun
what is
deserved
˽ to give someone their due
to be fair to someone

ć To give him his
due, he works very hard.
ȣ in due
course
later
due to
due to /dju tu/
preposition
because of
ć The trains are late due to fog.
dug
dug /d/ past tense and past participle of
dig
dull
dull /dl/
adjective
1. not exciting or in-
teresting
ć The story is rather dull. ć
What’s so interesting about old church-
es? – I find them dull.
2. (
of weather
)
grey and cloudy ć a dull rainy day 3. (
of
colours
) not bright ć They painted the
sitting room a dull green.
dumb

dumb /dm/
adjective
unable to speak
(NOTE: Some people avoid this term
because it causes offence and prefer
to say speech impaired.)
dummy
dummy /dmi/
noun
a plastic object,
given to a baby to suck in order to stop
it from crying
ć The baby sat sucking a
dummy.
(NOTE: The plural is dum-
mies.)
dump
dump /dmp/
noun
a large area where
rubbish is taken
ć Take your rubbish to
the municipal dump.
í
verb
1. to put
something heavy on the ground, espe-
cially in a careless way
ć She just
dumped her suitcases in the hall.

2. to
throw something away, to get rid of
something
ć Someone has dumped an
old pram in the car park.
duplicate
duplicate
1
/djuplkət/
adjective
made
as a copy of something
ć Put the dupli-
cate invoices in the file.
í
noun
a copy
ć She sent the invoice and filed the du-
plicate.
duplicate
duplicate
2
/djuplket/
verb
1. to
make a copy of a document such as a let-
ter
ć She duplicated the letter and put
the copy into a file.
2. to do again some-

thing which has already been done
ć
Keep a note of where you got to – I don’t
want to duplicate your work.
during
during /djυərŋ/
preposition
while
something is going on
ć Conditions
were bad during the war.
dust
dust /dst/
noun
a thin layer of dry dirt ć
The room had never been cleaned –
there was dust everywhere.
ć A tiny
speck of dust got in my eye.
(NOTE: no
plural)
í
verb
to remove dust from
something
ć Don’t forget to dust the
Chinese bowls carefully.
dustbin
dustbin /dstbn/
noun

a large contain-
er for rubbish, kept outside a house
dusty
dusty /dsti/
adjective
covered with
dust
(NOTE: dustier – dustiest)
duty
duty /djuti/
noun
1. something which
you are legally or morally expected to
do
ć We have a duty to inform the au-
thorities about what we saw.
2. ˽ on
duty doing official work which you
have to do in a job
ć He’s on duty from
9.00 to 6.00.
ć She’s been on duty all
day.
3. a tax which has to be paid í
plu-
ral noun
duties different jobs that have
to be done as part of your official work
ć One of his duties is to see that the
main doors are locked at night.

duty-free
duty-free /djuti fri/
adjective
,
ad-
verb
sold with no tax to be paid ć He
bought a duty-free watch at the airport
or he bought the watch duty-free.
duvet
duvet /duve/
noun
a bag full of feath-
ers, used as a covering for a bed
dying
dying /daŋ/ present participle of die
Basic.fm Page 104 Friday, January 16, 2004 3:10 PM
This is trial version
www.adultpdf.com
This is trial version
www.adultpdf.com
E
e
e /i/, E
noun
the fifth letter of the alpha-
bet, between D and F
each
each /itʃ/
adjective

every ć Each five
pound note has a number.
ć He was
holding a towel in each hand.
ć Each
one of us has a separate office.
í
pro-
noun
1. every person ć They have two
houses each. or Each of them has two
houses.
ć She gave them each five
pounds or She gave them five pounds
each or She gave each of them five
pounds.
2. every thing ć Each of the
books has three hundred pages or The
books have three hundred pages each.
each other
each other /itʃ ðə/
pronoun
the oth-
er one of two people or of two things
ć
They were shouting at each other. ć We
always send each other presents on our
birthdays.
ć The boxes fit into each oth-
er.

eager
eager /iə/
adjective
wanting to do
something very much
eagerly
eagerly /iəli/
adverb
in a way that
shows that you want something very
much
ear
ear /ə/
noun
one of the parts on either
side of your head which you hear with
ć
Rabbits have long ears. ć Have you
washed behind your ears?
earlier
earlier /liə/
adjective
relating to a time
before now or before a time being men-
tioned
ć an earlier version of the book
ć I’ll try to catch an earlier train. í
ad-
verb
before now or before a time being

mentioned
ć Can’t you come any earli-
er than Tuesday?
ć I tried to phone ear-
lier but you were out.
early
early /l/
adverb
1. before the usual
time
ć The plane arrived five minutes
early.
ć We must get up early tomorrow
morning if we want to catch the first
boat to France.
2. at the beginning of a
period of time
ć We went out early in
the evening.
ć The snow came early in
the year.
earn
earn /n/
verb
to be paid money for
working
ć He earns £20,000 a year. ć
How much does a bus driver earn?
earring
earring /ərŋ/

noun
a piece of jewellery
worn attached to part of the ear
earth
earth /θ/
noun
1. also Earth the planet
on which we live
ć The Earth goes
round the sun once in twenty-four hours.
2. soil, a soft substance in which plants
grow
ć Put some earth in the plant pot
and then sow your cucumber seeds.
earthquake
earthquake /θkwek/
noun
an occa-
sion on which the earth shakes, caused
by movement of the earth’s surface
(NOTE: also called simply a quake)
ease
ease /iz/
noun
a lack of difficulty ć He
won the first round with the greatest of
ease.
ć The bottle has a wide mouth for
ease of use.
í

verb
to make less painful
ć A couple of aspirins should ease the
pain.
easily
easily /izli/
adverb
1. without any dif-
ficulty
ć I passed my driving test easily.
ć I can easily get there by 9 o’clock. 2.
a lot (
for emphasis before compara-
tives or superlatives
) ć Her work was
easily better than yours.
ć He is easily
the tallest man in the team.
ć Our shop
is easily the biggest in the High Street.
east
east /ist/
noun
1. the direction of where
the sun rises
ć The sun rises in the east
and sets in the west.
ć Germany is to the
east of France.
ć The wind is blowing

from the east.
2. the part of a country
which is to the east of the rest
ć The east
of the country is drier than the west.
í
adjective
relating to the east ć The east
coast is the coldest part of the country.
í
adverb
towards the east ć The kitchen
windows face east, so we get the morn-
ing sun.
ć Drive east along the motor-
way for twenty miles.
Easter
Easter /istə/
noun
a Christian festival,
in March or April, celebrating the occa-
Basic.fm Page 105 Friday, January 16, 2004 3:10 PM
This is trial version
www.adultpdf.com
This is trial version
www.adultpdf.com
eastern 106 educational
sion on which Christ died and then came
back to life again
eastern

eastern /ist(ə)n/
adjective
from, of or
in the east
ć Bulgaria is part of Eastern
Europe.
ć The best snow is in the east-
ern part of the mountains.
easy
easy /izi/
adjective
not difficult, or not
needing a lot of effort
ć The test was
easier than I expected.
ć My boss is
very easy to get on with.
eat
eat /it/
verb
1. to put food into your
mouth and swallow it
ć I’m hungry – is
there anything to eat?
ć We haven’t eat-
en anything since breakfast.
ć The chil-
dren ate all the sandwiches.
ć Eat as
much as you like for £5.95!

ć You’ll get
thin if you don’t eat.
2. to have a meal ć
He was still eating his breakfast when I
arrived.
ć We are eating at home to-
night.
ć Have you eaten yet? (NOTE:
eats – eating – ate /
et/ – has eaten
/
it(ə)n/)
eat out
phrasal verb
to have a meal in
a restaurant
eat up
phrasal verb
to eat everything ć
She ate it all up in a matter of seconds.
ć Come on, eat up – it’s time to go.
echo
echo /ekəυ/
noun
a sound which is re-
peated such as when you shout in a
place such as a tunnel
ć We could hear
the echo of voices in the tunnel.
ć If you

go to the Whispering Gallery in the
dome of St Paul’s Cathedral you can
hear the echo very clearly.
(NOTE: The
plural is echoes.)
í
verb
1. (
of sound
)
to make an echo ć Their voices echoed
down the tunnel.
2. to repeat ć The
newspaper article echoed the opinions
put forward in the minister’s speech.
(NOTE: echoes – echoing – echoed)
economic
economic /ikə

nɒmk/
adjective
1.
relating to the economy ć I don’t agree
with the government’s economic policy.
ć The government has introduced con-
trols to solve the current economic cri-
sis.
ć The country enjoyed a period of
economic growth in the 1980s.
2. not

costing much money
ć The flat is let at
an economic rent.
ć It is hardly eco-
nomic for us to run two cars.
3. using
money well
ć It is hardly economic for
us to run two cars.
economy
economy /

kɒnəm/
noun
1. the way in
which a country makes and uses money,
or the financial state of a country
ć The
country’s economy is in ruins.
2. some-
thing you do to avoid wasting money or
materials
ć She tried to make a few
economies like buying cheaper brands
of washing-up liquid.
edge
edge /ed/
noun
1. a side of something
flat

ć He put his plate down on the edge
of the table.
ć She lay down on the roof
and looked over the edge.
ć Can you
stand this coin on its edge?
ć The axe
has a very sharp edge.
2. an imaginary
line where an area ends
ć He lived in a
house at the edge of the forest.
ć The
factory is built right on the edge of the
town.
edible
edible /edb(ə)l/
adjective
which is
good enough or safe to eat
edit
edit /edt/
verb
1. to be in charge of a
newspaper or magazine
ć He edited the
‘Sunday Express’ for more than twenty
years.
2. to prepare a book for publish-
ing by doing such things as correcting

mistakes
ć I am editing a volume of
20th-century poetry.
3. to prepare some-
thing such as a film to make it ready to
be shown
ć Once the film has been ed-
ited it will run for about 90 minutes.
editor
editor /edtə/
noun
1. a journalist in
charge of a newspaper or part of a news-
paper
ć He wrote to the editor of ‘The
Times’ asking for a job.
ć She is the
sports editor of the local paper.
2. a per-
son who edits books
educate
educate /edjυket/
verb
to teach some-
one in a school or college, or give them
information that they need
ć She was
educated in Switzerland.
ć We need to
educate young people about the dangers

of alcohol.
educated
educated /edjυketd/
adjective
hav-
ing been to school and university
education
education /edjυ

keʃ(ə)n/
noun
the
system of teaching, or of being taught
ć
Our children deserve the best educa-
tion.
ć We spent a lot of money on his
education, and he’s got a job as a dust-
man!
educational
educational /edjυ

keʃ(ə)nəl/
adjec-
tive
relating to education, teaching and
Basic.fm Page 106 Friday, January 16, 2004 3:10 PM
This is trial version
www.adultpdf.com
This is trial version

www.adultpdf.com
effect 107 either
schools ć This game for 3 to 5 year-olds
is very educational.
ć a campaign to
improve educational standards.
effect
effect /

fekt/
noun
a result or influence
ć The cuts in spending will have a seri-
ous effect on the hospital.
ć The cream
has had no effect on her rash.
ć The ef-
fects of the shock took some time to wear
off.
ȣ with effect from starting from
(
formal
) ć Prices will be increased by
10% with effect from January 1st.
effective
effective /

fektv/
adjective
1. which

produces the required result
ć His meth-
od of keeping the children quiet is very
effective.
ć Advertising on TV is a very
effective way of selling.
2. which takes
effect
ć an order which is effective from
January 1st
effectively
effectively /

fektvli/
adverb
in a way
which produces a good result
ć The
floodlighting worked very effectively.
effectiveness
effectiveness /

fektvnəs/
noun
the
ability to produce an effective result
efficient
efficient /

fʃ(ə)nt/

adjective
able to
work well and do what is necessary
without wasting time, money or effort
ć
He needs an efficient assistant to look
after him.
ć The new system of printing
invoices is very efficient.
efficiently
efficiently /

fʃ(ə)ntli/
adverb
in an ef-
ficient way
effort
effort /efət/
noun
the use of the mind or
body to do something
ć He’s made a
big effort to learn Spanish.
ć Lifting the
box took considerable physical effort.
ć
She’s already written to three addresses
in an effort to contact the owner.
ć
Thanks to her efforts, we have collected

more than £10,000 for the children’s
hospital.
egg
egg /e/
noun
1. a round object with a
hard shell, produced by a female bird or,
e.g. snake, in which a baby bird devel-
ops
ć The owl laid three eggs in the
nest.
ć Turtles lay their eggs in the sand.
2. a chicken’s egg, used as food ć You
need three eggs to make this cake.
eight
eight /et/
noun
the number 8 ć He ate
eight chocolates.
ć The little girl is
eight (years old).
ć I usually have
breakfast before eight (o’clock).
eighteen
eighteen /e

tin/
noun
the number 18
ć There are eighteen people in our

dance class.
ć He will be eighteen
(years old) next week.
ć The train
leaves at eighteen twenty (18:20).
eighteenth
eighteenth /e

tinθ/
adjective
relating
to number 18 in a series
ć The eight-
eenth of April or April the eighteenth
(April 18th).
ć Today’s the seventeenth,
so tomorrow must be the eighteenth.
ć
That’s the eighteenth invoice we’ve sent
out today.
ć It’s his eighteenth birthday
next week.
í
noun
number 18 in a series
ć A lot of people have called me today –
she’s the eighteenth.
eighth
eighth /etθ/, 8th
adjective

relating to
number 8 in a series
ć The eighth of
February or February the eighth (Feb-
ruary 8th).
ć His eighth birthday is next
Monday.
í
noun
number eight in a se-
ries
ć He’s the eighth in line to the
throne.
ć King Henry the Eighth (Henry
VIII) had six wives.
(NOTE: eighth is
usually written 8th in dates:
April 8th,
1999; September 8th, 1866
(American
style is September 8, 1866), say ‘the
eighth of September’ or ‘September
the eighth’ (American style is ‘Septem-
ber eighth’); with names of kings and
queens, eighth is usually written VIII:
King Henry VIII
, say: ‘King Henry the
Eighth’.)
eightieth
eightieth /etiəθ/, 80th

adjective
relat-
ing to number 80 in a series
ć Granny’s
eightieth birthday is next week.
í
noun
number 80 in a series ć We’ve had a lot
of letters – this is the eightieth.
eighty
eighty /eti/
noun
the number 80 ć It’s
about eighty miles from London to Do-
ver.
ć She’s eighty (years old). ˽ the
eighties the numbers between 80 and 89
either
either /aðə, iðə/
adjective
,
pronoun
1. one or the other ć You can use either
computer – it doesn’t matter which.
ć I
don’t like either of them.
2. each of two;
both
ć There are trees on either side of
the road.

ć Some people don’t take sug-
ar in their coffee, some don’t take milk,
and some don’t take either.
í
adverb
used with two negatives to show that
two people or things are similar in some
way
ć He isn’t Irish and he isn’t Scot-
tish either.
ć She doesn’t want to go,
Basic.fm Page 107 Friday, January 16, 2004 3:10 PM
This is trial version
www.adultpdf.com
This is trial version
www.adultpdf.com
elastic 108 elsewhere
and I don’t want to go either. ć The re-
port wasn’t on the TV news, and it
wasn’t on the radio either.
elastic
elastic /

lstk/
noun
a material which
stretches
ć You’ll need to sew this piece
of elastic onto the ballet shoes.
í

adjec-
tive
able to stretch and contract ć She
was wearing tight shorts made of some
elastic material.
elbow
elbow /elbəυ/
noun
the joint in the mid-
dle of your arm
ć He sat with his elbows
on the table.
ć She nudged him with her
elbow.
elderly
elderly /eldəli/
adjective
a more polite
word than "old" used for describing
someone who has had a long life
ć An
elderly man sat down beside her.
ć My
mother is now rather elderly and
doesn’t drive any more.
elect
elect /

lekt/
verb

to choose someone by
voting
ć She was elected MP for the
town.
ć The president is elected for a
term of four years.
ć The chairman is
elected by the members of the commit-
tee.
election
election /

lekʃən/
noun
the process of
choosing by voting
ć After the election,
the crowds were dancing in the streets.
ć The next item on the agenda is the
election of a new treasurer for the club.
electric
electric /

lektrk/
adjective
1. worked
by electricity
ć Is your cooker electric
or gas?
ć He plays an electric guitar. ć

He cut the wood with an electric saw. ć
She gave me an electric toothbrush for
Christmas.
2. making or carrying elec-
tricity
ć Don’t touch those electric
wires.
ć Electric plugs in the USA are
different from those in Britain.
electrical
electrical /

lektrk(ə)l/
adjective
relat-
ing to electricity
ć a shop selling elec-
trical appliances
ć The college offers
courses in electrical engineering.
ć
They are trying to repair an electrical
fault.
electricity
electricity /

lek

trsti/
noun

energy
used to make light, heat, or power
ć We
haven’t paid the electricity bill this
month.
ć The electricity was cut off this
morning.
ć The heating is run by elec-
tricity.
ć The cottage is in the mountains
and doesn’t have any electricity.
(NOTE:
no plural)
electronic
electronic /elek

trɒnk/
adjective
us-
ing electricity and very small parts
which affect the electric current which
passes through them
ć an electronic ad-
dress book
ć My car has an electronic
ignition.
electronics
electronics /elek

trɒnks/

noun
the
science of the movement of electricity
in electronic equipment
element
element /elmənt/
noun
1. a basic
chemical substance
2. a basic part of
something
ć I think we have all the ele-
ments of a settlement.
3. a natural envi-
ronment
ć The vicar is in his element
when he’s talking about cricket.
4. a part
of a piece of equipment which makes,
e.g. water hot
ć I think the element has
burnt out.
elephant
elephant /elfənt/
noun
a very large
African or Indian animal, with large
ears, a trunk and two long teeth called
‘tusks’
elevator

elevator /elvetə/
noun US
a machine
for moving people up or down from
floor to floor inside a building
ć Take
the elevator to the 26th floor.
eleven
eleven /

lev(ə)n/
noun
the number 11 ć
When you’re eleven (years old) you will
go to secondary school.
ć Come and see
me at eleven (o’clock).
eleventh
eleventh /

lev(ə)nθ/, 11th
adjective
re-
lating to number 11 in a series
ć The
eleventh of July/July the eleventh (July
11th).
ć Today’s the tenth, so tomorrow
must be the eleventh.
ć That’s the elev-

enth complaint we’ve received this
week.
ć It’s his eleventh birthday next
month.
else
else /els/
adverb
other (
used after pro-
nouns
) ć What else can I say? ć Every-
one else had already left.
ć Who else
was at the meeting?
ȣ or else or if not
ć We could do it now, or else wait till
John comes.
ć You must have a ticket, or
else you will be thrown off the train by
the inspector.
elsewhere
elsewhere /els

weə/
adverb
some-
where else, in another place
ć This shop
doesn’t stock maps, so you’ll have to try
elsewhere.

Basic.fm Page 108 Friday, January 16, 2004 3:10 PM
This is trial version
www.adultpdf.com
This is trial version
www.adultpdf.com