and supervising an organization
admiral admirals
NOUN a senior officer in the navy
admire admires, admiring, admired
VERB If you admire someone or something, you respect and approve of them.
admirer NOUN
admission admissions
NOUN 1 If you are allowed admission to a place, you may go into it.
2 If you make an admission, you confess to something or agree that it is true.
admit admits, admitting, admitted
VERB 1 If you admit something, you agree that it is true.
2 If you admit to something, you agree that you did something you shouldn’t have done.
3 To admit someone or something to a place is to allow them to enter it.
admittance
NOUN the right to enter somewhere • There will be no admittance to the party after eight o’clock.
adolescent adolescents
NOUN a young person who is no longer a child, but is not yet an adult
[from Latin adolescere meaning to grow up]
adolescence NOUN
adopt adopts, adopting, adopted
VERB If someone adopts a child, they take them into their family as their son or daughter by a legal process.
[from Latin adoptare meaning to choose for oneself]
adorable
ADJECTIVE loveable and attractive
adore adores, adoring, adored
VERB If you adore someone, you feel deep love and admiration for them.
adoration NOUN
adult adults
NOUN a mature and fully developed person or animal
advance advances, advancing, advanced
VERB 1 To advance is to move forward.
NOUN 2 An advance is progress in something. • There have been many scientific advances in the past century.
PHRASE 3 If you do something in advance of something, you do it beforehand. • We booked our holiday well in advance.
advanced
ADJECTIVE If something is advanced, it is at a high level, or ahead in development or progress. • The children in the top group do advanced maths exercises.
advantage advantages
NOUN 1 a benefit, or something that puts you in a better position • The advantage of e-mail is that it is quicker than the post.
PHRASE 2 If you take advantage of someone, you treat them unfairly for your own benefit.
3 If you take advantage of something, you make use of it.
adventure adventures
NOUN something that is exciting, and perhaps even dangerous
adverb adverbs
NOUN a word that tells you how, when, where or why something happens or something is done. For example, she walked slowly, he came yesterday, they live here.
[from Latin adverbium meaning added word]
advert
NOUN an abbreviation for advertisement
advertise advertises, advertising, advertised
VERB If you advertise something, you tell people about it in a newspaper, on a poster or on TV.
advertisement advertisements
NOUN a notice in a newspaper, on a poster or on TV about a job or things for sale
advice
NOUN a suggestion from someone about what you should do
advisable
ADJECTIVE If it is advisable to do something, it is a sensible thing to do and will probably give the results that you want. • It is advisable to wear a helmet when cycling.
advise advises, advising, advised
VERB If you advise someone to do something, you tell them you think they should do it.
aerial aerials
NOUN 1 a piece of wire for receiving television or radio signals
ADJECTIVE 2 happening in the air • We watched the aerial displays at the RAF airshow.
aero-
PREFIX to do with the air, for example aeroplane
[from Greek aer meaning air]
aerobics
NOUN a type of fast physical exercise that increases the oxygen in your blood and strengthens your heart and lungs
aerobic ADJECTIVE
aeroplane aeroplanes
NOUN a vehicle with wings and engines that enable it to fly
aerosol aerosols
NOUN a small, metal container in which liquid is kept under pressure so that it can be forced out as a spray
affair affairs
NOUN 1 an event or series of events • The wedding was a happy affair.
2 If something is your own affair, then it is your concern only.
affect affects, affecting, affected
VERB When something affects someone or something, it causes them to change. • Computers affect our lives in many ways.
affection
NOUN a feeling of love and fondness for someone
affectionate ADJECTIVE
affluent
ADJECTIVE
