ugly =
- Not beautiful. Seeing or hearing this feels bad for you.
- When this happens, it feels bad for you.
uncle =
- Man who has the same parent as one of your parents.
- Man who is married to a woman who has the same parent as one of your parents.
under =
- Below.
- Less than.
- What something controls.
understand, understood =
- When you hear the words someone says, you know what they mean.
- You know about something that happens and can tell someone what causes it to happen.
underwear = Clothing that is inside other clothing and touching the surface of your body.
undo, undoes, undid, undone =
- Someone caused two things to be connected, but then you cause them not to be connected.
- Something was true before, and then someone changed it and caused it not to be true. But now you change it and cause it to be true, like it was before.
unexpected = Something happens that you did not expect.
union =
- When two or more things become parts of the same thing.
- When many people do similar work inside similar businesses, and they become a group that tries to make the businesses do things that are good for all the people inside this group.
unit =
- Each amount that people count when they measure something.
- Each thing or group that people count.
- One of several things people make that can become part of something that people use.
- One.
unite = When two or more things become parts of the same thing.
universal =
- Something true you can say about all things or all places.
- Something true you can say about all things inside a group.
universe = All places that exist and all things that exist in these places.
university = School where adult people learn. People can learn in this place four or more years, and after this, they can know more about something than most other people and can help other people learn the same things.
unless =
- If not.
- This will happen if this other thing does not happen. If this other thing happens, this will not happen.
until =
- This happens at all times before this other thing happens.
- This stops happening when this other thing happens.
unusual = This is not like what happens at most times.
up =
- (See 5-18).
- Above.
- Your head is above the other parts of your body.
- More.
- Moving towards a place.
- All of this.
- There is not more.
- Doing something.
- You can do this.
upper =
- Part of something that is above most other parts.
- More than most other parts.
upright =
- Your head is above all other parts of your body, and most parts of your body are not touching the surface below you.
- One end of this thing is above all the other parts. If something moves up to this top end from the bottom end, it does not need to move towards a side.
- Good.
upset =
- You feel like something bad is happening to you, and you want to do something because of this if you can, but you do not know what to do, and you cannot think now.
- Causing things to move where you do not expect, like this: Something hits a container and makes the bottom move up, the top move down, and the things inside move out of the container.
upside down = The part of this thing that you expect to be the top is now below all other parts, and the part you expect to be the bottom is now above all other parts.
upstairs = You are inside part of a building above a big flat surface that people can be on top of. Below this, there is a different part of the building that has another big flat surface that people can be on top of.
urge =
- Tell someone that you very much want them to do something.
- Cause someone to feel like they need to do something.
urgent = This is something important that you need to do now or a short time after now.
use, using =
- (See 3-13).
- You expect this because it happened before.
- This was true before, but not now.
useful = People can use this to make or cause things that they want.
useless = You do not think this can be used to make or cause something you want.
usual, usually = Like what happens at most times.
valley = The ground surface in this long place is below the ground surface on each side of this place. Often water moves through long places like this.
valuable =
- People will give you much money if you give them this or do this.
- This can help you.
- This is important.
value =
- The amount of money people will give you if you give them this or do this.
- This can help you.
- This is important.
- Amount.
variety =
- There are several different things or several different kinds, and each is not the same as all the others.
- One of several different kinds.
various = There are several kinds, and each is different.
vary =
- This thing changes. It is different at different times.
- There are several different things, and some of these are not the same as each of the others.
vegetable =
- Plant parts that people eat, but not parts like sweet tree fruit. People carefully cause these kinds of plants to grow in many places because people eat their parts.
- Something that is a plant.
victory = When you try to do something difficult and you win.
view =
- What you can see when you look at a place.
- What a person thinks about something.
village = Place where there are several buildings where people live and where people buy things. There are not many buildings here, but more than there are near here.
violence = When someone or something is doing violent things.
violent =
- When something difficult to control causes things to move quickly and hit other things. This can damage things and people.
- Doing something like a very angry person who wants to hurt someone or make them die.
visit = Someone moves to a place to see this place for some time or to see a person in this place for some time and say things to this person and hear what this person says.
voice = The sounds you make when you say something.
vote = When a group chooses what to do like this: Each person says what they want, and the group chooses to do the thing that more people want.
vowel = Several kinds of sounds you make when you say parts of words. When you make these sounds, the shape of your mouth does not stop the air moving through your mouth.
voyage =
- When you use a boat to move for a long time to another place far from where you started.
- When you use a flying vehicle to move very far from where people live and very far above places where there is air to breathe.
wages = For a long time, someone gives you money several times each month because you do work they want. If you do more work or work more time, they will give you more money.
waist = The centre part of your body, between your head and your legs, where the body of many people is more narrow.
wait =
- You want to do something, but you do not do it for some time, because you do not want to do it before this other thing happens.
- You are in a place for some time, and when you see that someone here wants something, you do things they want.
waiter = You work inside a business where people buy and eat food. People tell you what kinds of food they want, and you carry this food, move it to the place where they are sitting, and give it to them to eat.
wake =
- You stop sleeping in this moment.
- You cause someone to stop sleeping.
walk = To move your body, you move your feet like this many times: You lift and move one foot, and after it touches the ground, you lift and move the other foot.
wall = Long tall solid surface on one side of a place. There can be other long tall solid surfaces like this on the other sides of this place. These solid surfaces can prevent things moving into or out of this place.
wander = You move many different places, but you do not plan where you move.
war = When countries and soldiers cause many people to die like this: One country uses soldiers to try to make people inside another country do something. The soldiers can cause people to die if they do not do what the soldiers tell them. The people inside this other country do not want to do this, and they try to make the soldiers die to make them stop.
warm = When something feels good for you because it is not cold and not very hot.
warmth = When something feels good for you like something warm.
warn = You tell people that something bad is likely to happen. Because you tell them before this happens, maybe they can do something to prevent this bad thing.
warning = What you tell people when you warn them.
was, were =
- (See 1-05).
- Kind of.
- Exists.
- In a place.
wash =
- When you use much liquid to clean something.
- When water moves and cause something to move.
waste =
- You have something and you use some parts of it to do or make something you want, but these other parts of it become something you do not want or cannot use. If you are not careful, if you do not plan, if you use more than you need to use, or if you do not use it to do something good, much of what you had becomes something you do not want or cannot use after this.
- Your body uses some parts of the food you eat, but your body does not use other parts, and these parts need to move out of your body.
- When your body becomes very thin because you are not healthy.
watch =
- For some time you look at this one place all this time, because you think something can happen here, and if it happens, you want to see it.
- For some time you look at some people or things, because you want to prevent bad things that can happen to them.
- Small machine a person carries that measures time.
water =
- (See 6-01).
- Cause this liquid to move to a place.
wave =
- Move your hand towards one side one or more times to try to cause someone to look or move.
- Something that looks or moves like this: In a place where there is much water, when something causes part of the water surface to be high more than other parts, this high part moves quickly from one part of the surface to another.
way =
- Where you need to move if you want to move to this other place.
- The things you can plan to do to cause something that you want to happen.
- You know the kind of thing something does, but this is more you can say about what it looks like, sounds like, or moves like when it does this kind of thing.
- Distance.
- Far.
weak =
- Cannot move heavy things.
- Your body cannot control or do some things that most people can do.
- Not able to do something difficult.
- Less than what is needed to cause something.
- Can easily be damaged or changed.
wealth = When someone has much money and many things that you cannot buy if you do not have much money.
weapon = This is something you use to try to hurt someone or cause them to die.
wear, wore, worn =
- Use clothing to cover part of your body.
- Carry something on the surface of your body or clothing.
- Small cuts where something rubs a surface many times.
- When something becomes damaged because you use it many times.
weather = These things that you can know about what is happening in a place that is not inside a building: The air is more or less hot. The air is moving more or less quickly. There is more or less water inside the air and falling towards the ground.
weave, wove, woven =
- When you make cloth, you move a string above many strings and below many other strings. You do this many times, moving the string above and below different strings.
- Moving like this many times: moving towards one side and then towards the other side.
wedding = When a group of people is in a place to see a man and woman become married.
week = This is a time that is a group of seven days.
weekly = Happening each week.
weigh =
- The weight of something.
- When you measure something to know its weight.
- When you think about two or more things for some time to compare them before you decide.
weight =
- (See 6-29).
- Something heavy.
welcome =
- When someone moves into a place, you say you are happy that they are here.
- You say you are happy to help someone.
- You say you are happy this happens.
well =
- (See 2-12).
- What you do is good.
- When you do this, you are careful to cause this to be the same as what someone wants.
- Very much.
- Healthy.
- Hole someone makes down into the ground. The hole is narrow, but the bottom can be far below the surface. People use this hole to find liquids like water below the surface. Then people move the liquids up out of the hole where they can be used.
went =
- (See 11-20).
- Do something.
- Happen.
- Become.
west = Towards the place you can look at to see the sun each day, a short time before the time each day when you cannot see the sun.
western = In a place towards the west.
wet =
- This is liquid.
- There is water or another liquid touching much of this.
- When liquid water falls down through the air.
what =
- (See 1-02).
- You want someone to tell you the thing that someone said something about.
- This thing.
- The thing that caused this.
whatever =
- What.
- Something, if it is one of these.
- Something, if it is like this.
- All of these things.
wheat = Kind of grain that grows less tall than a person. People grow much of this, press its seeds to make very small dry pieces, and use this to make bread. Most bread that people eat each day is made using these seeds.
when =
- (See 2-14).
- You want someone to tell you the time this happens.
- At the same time.
whenever =
- When.
- Each time this happens.
- At a time, if it is like this.
where =
- (See 1-25).
- You want someone to tell you the place this happens.
- Time.
whether =
- If.
- If this happens or not.
- You do not know if this is true or if the other is true.
which =
- (See 11-30).
- What one of these.
- This one.
- These.
- That.
whichever =
- One of these.
- You can say the same about each of these.
while = At all times that this other thing happens.
whip =
- People make something long and narrow like this: You can twist several strings to make this or use long narrow pieces from the surface of a dead animal. If you hold one end and move it a small distance, you can cause the other end to move quickly and hit something. Some people use this to hit animals to make them move.
- Quickly move something narrow through liquid food many times to mix air into it.
whisper = You breathe air through your mouth to say something that people cannot hear if they are not very near to you. You do not feel this inside part of your body near your head, like you can when you say something loud.
whistle = You make air move quickly through a small hole, and this makes a high loud sound that you can use to make music. You can move air through a small hole in something you make, or you can make your mouth have the shape of a small hole and move air through it.
who =
- (See 2-23).
- You want someone to tell you the person that someone said something about.
whoever =
- Who.
- One of these people or more.
- Someone like this.
- Each person like this.
whole =
- All of this.
- All parts of this one thing.
- All parts of this are connected. There are not pieces of it that are not connected.
whom =
- (See 2-23).
- You want someone to tell you the person that someone said something about.
whose =
- You want someone to tell you the person or thing that this belongs to.
- This same person or thing has this.
why =
- (See 12-18).
- You want someone to tell you what causes this.
wide =
- (See 6-07).
- Much more than many other things or other times.
widespread = This happens or is true in many places.
width = Distance between one side and the other side.
wife, wives = The woman that a man is married to.
wild =
- Like the plants and animals in places far from people. People do not change or control these plants and animals.
- When someone or something is difficult to control, like a big animal that is moving quickly, hurting people and damaging things.
- When something causes you to feel very much, like when you are very angry, or when you enjoy or want something very much.
- Not careful.
will =
- (See 4-21).
- What you expect if something like this happens.
- You choose what you want and try to cause it to happen.
- Something you write telling people what you want them to do with things that belong to you after you die.
willing = You want to do this, and if you know you can, you will choose to do this.
wind, wound =
- When you feel air moving.
- Cause part of a machine to turn.
- You put something like string around something solid, like this: You hold one end of the string in one place, and you move the other end many times around the solid thing.
window =
- This is a hole in the side surface of a building or vehicle. Much light and maybe air can move through this hole, but you do not expect people to move through this hole. Air can move through this hole, or something thin and solid can cover the hole and allow light but not air to move through.
- You cannot see through most parts of this surface, but you can see through this part.
wine = People press fruit and put the liquid from inside the fruit into a container. After some time, this liquid changes and contains alcohol, and many people enjoy drinking it.
wing =
- Birds and other flying animals have these body parts. One of these parts is on one side of its body, and another is on the other side. Each is big and flat and thin. When the animal moves these parts, this can cause the animal to fly.
- The parts of something that are on each side.
winter = Three months that are the cold part of a year.
wire = Something metal people make that is long and narrow and thin like string.
wisdom = You learned many important things, and you know what kinds of things can cause something good or bad to happen. Because you think about these things, you are likely to choose to do things that cause something good to happen.
wise = When you decide what to do, you use wisdom and are likely to do something good.
wish =
- You want this to happen.
- You say or think what you want.
- You want something that is not likely or cannot happen.
- You feel you can make something happen because you think or say you want it.
with =
- (See do with 2-04).
- (See compare with 6-28).
- These things are in the same place at the same time.
- Something that has this or has this part.
- You say this about something.
- Using this.
- Because of this.
within =
- Inside.
- Between now and this time.
- Less than this distance.
- Not more than what is allowed.
without =
- Does not have this.
- Not doing this.
- This is not here.
- There is not some of this.
witness = You were in the same place where something happened, and because of this, you can tell people after this what you saw and heard when it happened.
woman, women = (See 7-11).
wonder =
- You think about and want to know more.
- You want to know if something is true.
- Something happens that you did not expect, and you want to know what caused it.
- You think about something and feel it is good very much more than you expected.
wooden = This thing is made using the hard parts of trees.
wool = Long hair from animals like sheep. People use this hair to make string and cloth and clothing.
woollen, (woolen) = Something people make using wool.
word =
- (See 1-30).
- Something someone says.
- Someone says this is true.
- What someone promises.
work =
- (See 8-19).
- This thing does what you want and expect it to do.
world =
- The one very big place where all people live.
- For a long time, you are in a place and things happen to you in this place. You move to different parts of this place, but you do not often move far from this place.
worm = Small animal that does not have legs or arms or bones. Its shape is like a long narrow tube.
worry = You are thinking very often about something you fear, and thinking this feels bad for you, but it is difficult not to think about.
worse =
- More bad than these others.
- Bad more than before.
- What someone wants less than these others.
worship =
- You feel that someone is very good, and you love this someone very much.
- You say things to a god. You want to show that you love this god because this god is good or important.
worst =
- More bad than all others.
- What someone wants less than all others.
worth =
- People will give much money to buy this.
- The amount of money people will give to buy this.
- This is good for you more than some other things.
- This can help you more than some other things.
- This is important more than some other things.
- This is good for you.
worthy = You think this thing is worth more than most other things, and you want other people to think it is important.
would =
- At a time before now, this happened or you expected this to happen.
- If something like this happens, you expect this other thing to happen.
wound = When something cuts you and damages your body.
wrap =
- You put paper or cloth around something to cover it.
- You change the shape of something to put it around another thing, causing it to touch all sides of the thing that is now inside.
wreck = Something damages this thing very much, and after this it cannot do what you want.
wrist = The part of your body where your hand is connected to two long arm bones.
write, wrote, written = (See 4-14).
wrong =
- Not true.
- Something that is bad to do.
- Someone can think about this and know it is bad to do.
- Not the same as what someone wants.
- This does not cause what you wanted.
wrongdoing = Doing something that is bad to do.
yard =
- Place near a building but not inside.
- Place where people work that is not inside a building.
- Inside some countries, people measure things using this length: One metre is more than one of this length and less than two of this length.
yearly = Happening each year.
yes =
- (See 12-06).
- You say you will do this.
yesterday = Not the day happening now, but the day that happened before this and after all other days.
yet =
- Happening at this time or before.
- If you know what happened before, maybe you will not expect this.
- But.
yours = This thing belongs to you.
yourself = You and not others.
youth =
- The time when someone is young.
- The time after a person is a young child, but before the person is an adult.