Vocabulary List
1. abandon (verb): to leave behind: We think that the
kitten might have been abandoned by its mother,
since it was left all alone with no sign of its litter or
parents.
2. abolish (verb): to cancel or ban: Slavery was
abolished in the United States under President
Abraham Lincoln, meaning that no one was allowed
to own slaves ever again.
3. above (adverb): in or to a higher place. If you want
to ask a question in class, you raise your hand above
your head.
4. absent (adjective): missing; not present: Tucker has
been absent from school for six days, and now he
has to make up all the work he has missed.
5. accurate (adjective): exact or precise: Your guess
wasn’t very accurate: George Washington was born
in 1732, not the early 1600s.
6. active (adjective): energetic; moving or tending to
move about a lot: My cat runs around constantly
and is far more active than most other cats.
7. adapt (verb): to get used to something: Shaun’s first
few days of high school were uncomfortable and
scary, but he adapted very quickly and was no
longer uncomfortable.
8. afford (verb): to be able to buy something: I cannot
afford to buy a new car because I do not have
enough money.
9. agree (verb): to consent to as a course of action, to
give consent. Julia said she would agree to allow her
kids to go to the party.
10. aid (verb): to provide necessary or useful help to
achieve an end. Tommy requested aid with moving
all the boxes into the new house.
11. alert (adjective): quick to notice any unusual or
dangerous things: The guards remained alert
throughout the night, and they were ready to jump
at the first sign of danger.
12. ample (adjective): plentiful: Since parking spaces at
the mall aren’t ample, we usually park the car
across the street and walk over.
13. ancient (adjective): very, very old: The dinosaur
bones at the museum are ancient; they are older
than anything else I have ever seen.
14. anxious (adjective): nervous: Yana’s daughter was
still not home at 4 AM and had not called to say
where she was, so Yana was starting to feel anxious
and scared for her daughter’s safety.
15. apple (noun): a rounded edible fruit, usually red,
yellow, or green, that grows from a tree. Mary likes
to eat apples because they are crunchy and
delicious.
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16. approach (verb): to come closer: The lawyer
approached the judge so that she could say
something to him quietly in private; she knew that
if she got very close to the judge, no one else would
be able to hear her.
17. arm (noun): a limb of the upper body. My sister has
a tattoo on her arm.
18. arrest (verb): to capture or hold back: The police
arrested the man who robbed the video game store,
so now he is in jail.
19. ban (verb): to not allow something: For part of the
twentieth century, the US government banned
alcohol, so it was against the law to buy it.
20. banana (noun): a long tropical fruit with a soft,
pulpy flesh. Taylor’s favorite fruit t is bananas.
21. barn (noun): a large building for storage of farm
products and housing of farm animals. Ava has to
go milk the cows living in the barn.
22. below (adverb): in or to a lower place. Myra’s
apartment is one floor below mine.
23. benefit (noun): something gained or earned from
something: One of the benefits of being a member
of the club is that you get discounts on plane tickets,
so joining the club is clearly a good idea.
24. big (adjective): large or great in dimension, bulk, or
size. Mario needs a big space to store the large
amount of paintings he owns.
25. bind (verb): to make secure by tying. Melissa had to
bind the balloons together so they would not float
away.
26. bland (adjective): boring or without flavor: A plain
salad is very bland, so I use salad dressing to give it
flavor.
27. blunder (noun): a mistake: Julio only made one
blunder during the chess match, but this single
mistake eventually cost him the game.
28. book (noun): a set of written or printed sheets of
paper bounded together for the purpose of reading.
Matthew likes to read books more than he likes to
watch movies.
29. bread (noun): a baked food made of flour or meal.
Margot likes the bread on sandwiches to be warm.
30. car (noun): a motorized vehicle that is driven for
transportation between places. Mary drives her car
from her house to work every morning.
31. center (noun): the point around which a circle can
be described, the middle part. Nancy needed to be
in the center of the stage to begin the performance.
32. central (adjective): in the middle: The central part
of the city is very busy because it is in the middle of
everything.
 Vocabulary List
33. chair (noun): a seat with four legs and a back used
for a person to sit in. The table has four chairs for
diners to sit in.
34. cheat (verb): to break the rules: In order to win the
board game, Quyn cheated by moving the other
players’ pieces when they were not looking.
35. chef (noun): someone who cooks and prepares
meals for a job. Jorge wants to be a chef when he
grows up because he likes to cook a lot.
36. child (noun): a young person between infancy and
youth. The five-year-old child cried when the ice
cream was gone.
37. Chinese (noun): a person of China, or the
language(s) used by the people of China. Mandarin
Chinese is one of the most widely spoken languages
in the world.
38. civilian (noun): someone who is not a soldier:
Soldiers get access to special medical and
educational benefits that civilians do not have.
39. clear (adjective): bright, easily seen through. The
glass was so clear you could see every detail of the
garden outside.
40. coffee (noun): a drink made from coffee beans,
usually served warm. Celia has coffee with her
breakfast every morning.
41. coin (noun): a small piece of metal that serves as
money: A quarter is a type of coin worth twenty-five
cents.
42. collide (verb): to crash: Two cars collided on
Highway 16 this afternoon, but thankfully, no one
was hurt in the crash.
43. concentrate (verb): to focus: The math question was
difficult, so Max had to concentrate and focus very
hard in order to solve it.
44. confess (verb): to tell the truth, to admit: Eva
confessed that she broke the window, and her
neighbor thanked for finally telling the truth.
45. conquer (verb): to take over: Spanish
Conquistadores were able to conquer all of Mexico
within a century or two, and it became a colony
under Spanish rule as a result.
46. constant (adjective): steady or never-ending: My
boss is always incredibly rude and hits us with
constant criticism and demands.
47. cook (verb): to prepare a meal or food for eating.
Jorge likes to cook pasta for dinner.
48. cup (noun): an open vessel used for drinking. Rob
drinks water from a cup.
49. decay (verb): to decrease in health or strength: The
plant had been without water so long that it began
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to decay, and we had no choice but to dispose of the
rotten plant.
50. December (noun): the last month of the calendar
year. My favorite month is December because I
can’t wait for the start of the new year.
51. delay (verb): to make something late or slow: Bad
weather delayed my flight, so I got in to Chicago
later than planned.
52. delicious (adjective): tasting good: My
grandmother’s delicious pie is the best food I have
ever tasted.
53. demonstrate (verb): to show an example: Ms.
Thatch demonstrated the dance by slowly
performing the moves herself.
54. desire (noun): a wish or want: Charlie wants to go
to Las Vegas, but I have no desire to travel there.
55. dessert (noun): a sweet dish served after a main
meal: After eating meatloaf for dinner, we ate cake
for dessert.
56. destroy (verb): to ruin or heavily damage: The
terrible hurricane destroyed entire neighborhoods
of New Orleans, and it would take years to rebuild
them.
57. dinner (noun): a principal meal taken towards the
end of the day, sometimes a formal meal. I eat
dinner after I get home from work in the evening.
58. distinct (adjective): separate: Yolanda separated
her laundry into two distinct piles before washing it.
59. dog (noun): a four-legged domesticated mammal, a
common household pet. Tom went to the animal
shelter to adopt a dog for his son.
60. doubtful (adjective): probably not true: Since there
is a 90 percent chance of rain tomorrow, it is
doubtful that we will have our picnic outside.
61. doze (verb): to sleep lightly or fall into a light sleep:
My grandpa dozes off a lot on the couch; he’s awake
one minute then asleep the next!
62. drowsy (adjective): sleepy: Ms. Shaffer’s boring
lessons always make me feel drowsy, and a few
times I’ve actually fallen asleep in class!
63. eager (adjective): wanting to do something very
much: On Christmas morning, the children were
very eager to open their presents, and they did not
stop being excited until all the gifts were opened.
64. empty (adjective): not full: After I drank the entire
bottle of soda, the bottle was empty.
65. encounter (verb): to meet, run into, or come across:
We encountered several problems in our final
review of the new spaceship, but each problem that
we came across was fixable.
 Vocabulary List
66. English (adjective): of or relating to the English
people or English language. Maria is learning to
speak English.
67. equal (adjective): of the same measure, quantity,
amount, or number. Michelle wants an equal
amount of money for her job as her male coworkers.
68. erupt (verb): to burst or explode: When the volcano
erupted, it shot tons of ash, rock, and lava into the
air.
69. essential (adjective): very important: In order to
become a master violinist, it is essential to practice
every day, because you cannot be good at playing
music if you don’t practice.
70. exclude (verb): to leave out: The other children do
not like Ron, so they usually exclude him from their
games, leaving Ron to play by himself.
71. exhausted (adjective): very tired: Running a
marathon leaves people exhausted, since it requires
running for 26 miles without stopping!
72. expand (verb): to increase in size: The hospital
added a new wing, greatly expanding its overall
size.
73. far (adjective): characterized by a great or broad
distance. The stars are far away from the Earth.
74. fast (adjective): characterized by quick or swift
movement. You have to be a fast runner to win the
race.
75. five (noun): a number that is more than four and
less than six, something that has five units. Lucille
gets off work at five. five (adjective): characterized
by the number five. There are five basketball
players on a team.
76. flawed (adjective): imperfect or correct: Kristoff’s
attempt to solve the math problem was flawed, and
he came to the wrong answer as a result.
77. flower (noun): a type of plant that blossoms.
Marlowe’s favorite flowers are roses.
78. frequent (adjective): often: Pete’s frequent trips to
the bathroom made his teachers wonder if he was
trying to miss class as often as possible.
79. frigid (adjective): very cold: The temperatures in
Antarctica are usually below freezing, and almost
no life can survive in such a frigid climate.
80. function (verb): to work: The “out of order” sign let
customers know that the vending machine would
not function properly.
81. giant (adjective): something unusually large or
powerful. My sister has a giant tree in her yard, it
leans over her house.
82. glasses (noun): an optical instrument with lenses
worn on the head to help people see better.
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Matthew has poor eyesight and needs glasses to see
things far away.
83. gradual (adjective): taking place slowly: It is better
to learn at a slow, gradual pace than to learn too
much too soon.
84. grow (verb): to become bigger or taller: At age 11,
Felix was only five feet tall, but he would grow to be
six feet tall by the time he was an adult.
85. guide (verb): to lead or show the way: So that we
could better see the city, Carla guided us around Sao
Paulo when we went to Brazil on vacation.
86. half (noun): one of two equal parts; fifty percent:
After Annan broke his cookie into two equal parts,
he gave me one half.
87. heavy (adjective): having great weight. An elephant
is a very heavy animal.
88. hopeful (adjective): having good wishes for the
future: Celine is hopeful that next year will be better
than last year.
89. horrible (adjective): very bad: Everything went
poorly today, and I had horrible day.
90. hostile (adjective): unfriendly or aggressive: Killer
bees are extremely hostile creatures that will attack
humans and other animals for no reason.
91. hot (adjective): having a very high temperature. The
food was so hot that it burned my tongue.
92. ift (noun): a present: Julian gave me a gift for my
birthday—it was a toy I had always wanted but did
not want to buy myself.
93. ill (adjective): sick: George took his daughter to the
doctor because she was ill.
94. influence (verb): to have an effect: The influence of
smoking on a person’s health is clear: cigarettes
have horrible effects on the lungs, heart, and
mouth.
95. injury (noun): something that hurts or harms
someone: Mr. McGuire is in the hospital due to his
injuries from the car accident, but doctors say he
will make a full recovery.
96. intimidate (verb): to frighten: The physics professor
intimidated the entire class; he was a brilliant but
rude scientist who was known to fail most of his
students.
97. January (noun): the first calendar month of the
year. Tammy’s birthday is in January.
98. leisure (noun): the use of free time for enjoyment:
In the twentieth century, Americans were able to
devote more time to leisure, allowing them more
opportunities to relax and have fun away from
work.
 Vocabulary List
99. lie (verb): to say something that is false, or not the
truth: Marcel lied when he said he only ate one
cupcake—I know he really ate three.
100. light (noun): something that makes vision possible.
I turn on the light in my room to see at night.
101. lovely (adjective): beautiful: Marie is a very lovely
girl; I find her to be beautiful.
102. lunch (noun): a meal taken in the middle of the day.
Marne always eats a sandwich for lunch at noon.
103. majority (noun): a larger part: Although millions of
Americans voted for Mitt Romney, the majority of
voters chose Barack Obama to be president.
104. mall (noun): a shopping center featuring a variety of
shops. Margaret needs to go to the mall to buy a
birthday present for her friend.
105. master (verb): to earn great skill: It took me years of
hard study to master French, but now I can speak
the language perfectly.
106. meeting (noun): a coming together of two or more
people: During our first meeting, Trish seemed a
little rude, but she has been polite every time I’ve
seen her since then.
107. milk (noun): a liquid for drinking that comes from
the bodies of animals and humans. The baby drinks
milk from a bottle.
108. mimic (verb): to copy: Young children often think it’s
funny to mimic adults by repeating every word they
say.
109. minor (adjective): lesser in importance,
seriousness, or size: I made some minor edits to my
paper, changing just a few small things here and
there.
110. mix (verb): to combine or blend into one. To make
cookies you must first mix butter and sugar.
111. modest (adjective): not bragging
112. mother (noun): a woman who is a parent. I am the
mother of two boys and one girl.
113. movie (noun): a motion picture, or film, for
watching. Marco likes to go to the theater to watch
his favorite actor in the movies.
114. mutter (verb): to say quietly or unclearly: The
student muttered a bad word about her classmate
without the other students or the teacher hearing
her.
115. narrator (noun): someone who tells a story: I think
Holden Caulfield is a bad narrator because instead
of telling an honest story, he exaggerates the truth
and criticizes every character in the book.
116. necklace (noun): a piece of jewelry worn around the
neck. Mary has a diamond necklace she wears on
special occasions.
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117. nervous (adjective): scared, shy or uneasy; a bad
feeling: Before taking an important test, I always
feel nervous and afraid of getting a bad score.
118. numerous (adjective): many: The historian’s well-
researched book contained numerous sources,
hundreds more than most books.
119. offer (verb): to try to give something to someone:
Yamuna looked very cold, so I offered her my jacket,
but she did not accept it.
120. ordinary (adjective): normal or plain: I’m bored by
ordinary cheese pizzas—I prefer to add tasty and
interesting toppings like ham and pineapple.
121. originate (verb): to start or begin: Before it spread
all over the world, the swine flu virus originated in
China.
122. pen (noun): an object used for writing or drawing
with ink. I sign my name on the page with a pen.
123. plead (verb): to beg desperately: Ruth pleaded with
her parents to let her go to the dance, but they
refused to give in to her begging.
124. pointless (adjective): useless: It is pointless to try to
teach a dog to speak Spanish because the dog will
never be able to do it.
125. popular (adjective): liked by many people: The most
popular show on TV is watched by almost everyone
I know.
126. prepare (verb): to get ready: I think I will do well on
the quiz because I prepared for it for a long time.
127. priority (noun): a thing regarded as very important
or more important than any other: Hilde’s top
priority right now is school, and nothing else in her
life is close in importance.
128. provide (verb): to give or to offer: Breakfast is
provided at the hotel every morning, so don’t have
to worry about finding someplace else to eat.
129. quickly (adverb): with speed; fast: If you want to
win the race, you must run very quickly.
130. rebel (verb): to challenge an authority: The
American colonists rebelled against the British king
when they declared themselves independent of his
kingdom, directly challenging his rule.
131. red (noun): a color. Maria’s favorite color in the
rainbow is red.
132. refresh (verb): to make new or to revive: I couldn’t
remember what we did in our last lesson, so my
teacher refreshed my memory.
133. refuse (verb): to deny or not accept: Rosa Parks
remained seated and refused to stand when the bus
driver ordered her to leave her seat.
134. remove (verb): to get rid of. I had to remove the
flowers from the table because they were rotting.
 Vocabulary List
135. respect (noun): a feeling of honor or good
consideration for someone or something: Our
teacher has earned our respect, and none of us will
be rude to him.
136. retrieve (verb): to bring back: Whenever I play fetch
with my dog, she always retrieves the stick as fast
as she can and brings it right back to me.
137. routine (noun): something done repeatedly:
Sophia’s morning routine is always the same: she
wakes up, showers, eats breakfast, and goes to
work every single day.
138. sacred (adjective): holy; blessed: Mecca is the most
sacred city in Islam because it is where the Prophet
Muhammad was born; this means that Muslims see
it as a very holy place.
139. satisfied (adjective): content or happy: My father
told me I needed to earn at least a B on my next
exam, so when I showed him the 87 my teacher
wrote at the top of the test paper, he was satisfied.
140. school (noun): a place or organization where
teachers provide instruction to students. Margot
loves to go to school to learn about math.
141. secret (noun): something only a few people know: I
have never told anyone who I have a crush on; that
is my secret.
142. senseless (adjective): pointless or silly: There is no
point in arguing with your mother on this issue; she
has made up her mind so it would be senseless to try
to change it.
143. shallow (adjective): not deep: The shallow puddle
was only about half an inch deep, unlike the pool,
which was five feet deep.
144. shoes (noun): an outer covering worn on the human
foot. Mary puts her shoes on to go play outside.
145. similar (adjective): almost the same: The brothers
look very similar; they are about the same height
and weight and have the same hair and eye colors.
146. slumber (verb): to sleep: The baby woke his
slumbering parents by crying loudly in the night.
147. sour (adjective): one of the four basic taste
sensations. The fruit tasted sour to me.
148. spoil (verb): to ruin or go bad: The milk in the
refrigerator had spoiled, and we had to dump an
entire bottle of ruined milk down the sink.
149. square (noun): a shape with four equal sides. Mira
cut the paper into squares for her art project.
150. startle (verb): to surprise or frighten: Keisha did not
notice that I was behind her, so when I shouted
behind her, she was startled.
151. steady (adjective): regular and even without
change: Kelly has been working as a teacher for 27
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years, and she is unlikely to move from her steady
career in the near future.
152. stick (noun): a woody piece of a tree or shrub. I need
to collect the sticks that have fallen off the tree for
the fire.
153. strategy (noun): a plan of action or policy designed
to achieve a major goal: The president presented his
strategy for ending the war and told reporters that
the plan would go in effect in January.
154. street (noun): a thoroughfare, like a road, in a city,
town or village occupied by vehicles. You should
look both ways before crossing the street.
155. sturdy (adjective): strong enough not to break: This
bridge does not look sturdy enough; I am afraid it
will fall down if we walk on it.
156. suspend (verb): to hang: The circus performer flew
over the audience, suspended on the thin wires of
her trapeze.
157. tall (adjective): characterized by a high stature or
height. The basketball player was tall enough to
touch the basket with his hand.
158. terrific (adjective): very good: I thought the movie
was terrific, and my sister agreed that it was great.
159. theater (noun): a public building or area for
showing films. Michelle likes to watch movies in the
theater on the weekends.
160. theft (noun): the act of stealing: When the police
found another man’s silver in Jean’s bags, they
accused him of theft.
161. tidy (adjective): clean and arranged neatly: My
father constantly reminds me to keep my room tidy,
since I never clean up unless I have to.
162. tiny (adjective): being very small. The ant is a tiny
bug.
163. tiny (adjective): very small: The tiny insect is so
small that you cannot see it without a microscope.
164. toss (verb): to fling or throw with a light motion.
Ginny tossed the ball across the room.
165. tradition (noun): a custom or part of a culture: It is
a tradition in most of the Western world to decorate
a tree every Christmas, but other parts of the world
have different customs.
166. tragic (adjective): very sad: The news today was
tragic, and I cried all morning because of it.
167. trim (verb): to cut off a small part: I didn’t want a
full haircut; I only wanted the barber to trim my
bangs.
168. united (adjective): together or joined as one: The
colonists knew they had to make a united nation of
the thirteen separate colonies, so they all joined
together as one.
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169. unsuccessful (adjective): failing to meet one’s goals:
Olivia was unsuccessful in her basketball career and
had to find a different job outside of sports.
170. urge (verb): to encourage: The troop leader urged
her scouts to sell as many boxes of cookies as they
could, encouraging them to sell multiple boxes to all
buyers.
171. urgent (adjective): important or desperate: After
the terrible earthquake, the people of Haiti were in
urgent need of clean water, shelter, and medical
supplies; luckily, the Red Cross helped supply the
island as quickly as possible.
172. vanilla (noun): an extract of the vanilla bean used
as a flavoring. My favorite flavor of ice cream is
vanilla.
173. visual (adjective): relating to sight: Ms. Rosso offers
many visual examples of different lesson topics,
including pictures, graphs, and charts.
174. vital (adjective): very important: It is crucial to
understand basic math like multiplication and
division before studying advanced math like
calculus, because you cannot understand any
calculus without first mastering the basics.
175. vivid (adjective): very bright or colorful: The
kindergarten classroom was painted in bright, vivid
colors.
176. vote (verb): to cast a ballot in an election or help
decide an election: We had an election to choose
class president, and each of us got to vote for the
person we liked best.
177. wealthy (adjective): having a lot of money; or being
rich: Thomas became a wealthy man early in life,
and he continued to be rich forever after.
178. wet (adjective): consisting of, containing, or
covered in liquid such as water. Chang came inside
to dry off after getting wet in the rain.
179. withdraw (verb): to take out or to remove: I had to
withdraw money from my bank account so that I
would have enough cash to pay for a new guitar.
180. yellow (adjective): a color. The sun is big, bright,
and yellow.

Norma Elena Gómez Preisser