Topic by Topic Dictionary is designed to help young learnersacquire vocabulary faster. It breaks away from the traditional approachof listing words alphabetically. Instead, the words and phrases in thisdictionary are arranged thematically. The dictionary is aimed at younglearners from 6 to 15 years old, depending on whether they studyEnglish as a fi rst, second or foreign language.

Key features• About 4,000 headwords and phrases• 101 units organised under 20 different themes• Almost 8,000 example sentences to illustrate how the headwords are used• Numerous language notes and references that supplement information about the headwords• More than 400 lively illustrations with clear captions• 101 short reading passages in a variety of styles and genres that show the headwords in context• Index of all the headwords

I SBN 981-4399-29-9

9 7 8 9 8 1 4 3 9 9 2 9 6

a division of

Second Edition

Stephen Curtis

Topic by TopicDictionary

• Nearly 4,000 headwords and phrases arranged thematically

• Example sentences and passages showing words in context

• Additional language notes for reference and active study

Second Edition

Contents

How to use this dictionary ii-iii

Contents iv-v

Pronunciation scheme vi

THEME 1 People and family 1

1 People1 2 Family4 3 Importantandfamouspeople8

THEME 2 What people do 13

4 Jobs13 5 Housework18 6 Tools23

THEME 3 People’s appearance 28

7 Howsomeonelooks28 8 Yourface33 9 Yourbody36 10 Clothes40

THEME 4 Where people live 46

11 Housesandapartments46 12 Insideahouseorapartment50 13 Thelivingroom55 14 Bedandsleep60 15 Thekitchen64 16 Thebathroom69

THEME 5 How people feel 74

17 Howsomeonefeels74 18 Yourlikesanddislikes78 19 Whyyoulikesomeone81 20 Whyyoudon’tlikesomeone84

THEME 6 Thinking, saying and moving 88

21 Movingpartsofthebody88 22 Movingthings93 23 Movingfromoneplacetoanother100 24 Thinkingandknowing106 25 Sayingandtalking111

THEME 7 Sport and games 116

26 Sport116 27 Indoorgamesandactivities124 28 Outdoorgamesandactivities129

THEME 8 Health 134

29 Health134 30 Accidentsandinjuries140

THEME 9 Food and drink 146

31 Eating146 32 Taste151 33 What’sfordinner?156 34 Snacksandfastfood161 35 What’sfordessert?166 36 Drinks171

THEME 10 Life and leisure 176

37 Holidays176 38 Attheseaside181 39 Partytime186 40 Shopping191 41 Thegarden197

iv

42 Children’sstories202 43 Music208 44 Musicalinstruments213 45 Publicentertainment218

THEME 11 At school 223

46 Atschool223 47 Classroominstructions230 48 Schoolsubjects235 49 TheEnglishlesson238 50 Themathslesson243 51 Theartlesson247 52 Peopleatschool252 53 Thingsintheclassroom257 54 Exercisesandtests262

THEME 12 Spoken English 267

55 Sayinghelloandgoodbye267 56 Gettingtoknowsomeone271 57 Askingforinformation275 58 Makingrequests278 59 Makingsuggestions282 60 Wonderful,okayorterrible285 61 ShortformsforspokenEnglish289

THEME 13 Travel 293

62 Travel293 63 Travellingbyair298 64 Travellingbyroad303 65 Travellingbytrain308 66 Travellingbywater313

THEME 14 Communicating 317

67 Computers317 68 Usingthephone322 69 Writingandmail327

THEME 15 The community 332

70 Crimeandpunishment332 71 Money337 72 Religion342

THEME 16 Position, distance and direction 347

73 Howfar?347 74 Whichdirection?351 75 Whereisit?356 76 Inthestreet361

THEME 17 Animals, birds and insects 366

77 Pets366 78 Farmanimals371 79 Wildanimals376 80 Birds381 81 Insectsandsmallcreatures386

THEME 18 Time and number 391

82 Tellingthetime391 83 Dayandnight395 84 Days,monthsanddates399 85 Measuringtime403 86 Inorder407 87 Whendidithappen?412 88 Howoften?417 89 Howmuchandhowmany?421

THEME 19 Colours, shapes and sizes 427

90 Colours427 91 Shapes431 92 Sizeandweight435 93 Whatisitmadeof?440

THEME 20 The world and space 445

94 Theworld445 95 Inthecountryside450 96 Theweather455 97 Seasonsandtemperatures461 98 Worldproblems466 99 Warandfighting472 100 Space477 101 Scienceandtechnology481

Index 487

v

Theme 1 • PEOPLE AND FAMILY

people 1

ad·ult / »Qd√lt / noun adultsAn adult is someone who has grown up and is now a man or a woman. · This medicine is for adults only.

ÇÈThe opposite of adult is child.

a·live / ´»laIv / adjective

If someone is alive, their heart is beating and they can breathe. · My grandmother is still alive.

ÇÈThe opposite of alive is dead.

LANGUAGE HELP

You only use alive after a verb.

ba·by / »beIbi / noun babiesA baby is a very young child.· Their baby is only three weeks

old. · My baby sister can’t walk

yet.

WORDS THAT GO TOGETHER

You often use have and expect with baby.· Aunty Sue had her first baby in hospital

and the second one at home.· Tom said that his mother is expecting

another baby.

born / »bç˘n / adjective

When someone is born, they come out of their mother’s body.· ‘Where were you born?’ — ‘I was born in

China.’· Sally was born in 1999.

boy / bçI / noun boys A boy is a child who will be a man when he is older.· There are 12 boys and 8 girls in my class.

ÇÈThe opposite of boy is girl.

bring up / »brIN √p / phrasal verb brings, bringing, broughtIf you bring up children, you look after them and teach them how to behave.· Brian’s parents died in a road accident. He

was brought up by his grandmother.

child / tSaIld / noun children / tSIldr´n /

1 A child is a young person.· There are twenty children in my class.2 If you are someone’s child, that person is your father or mother.

baby

expecting

2 PEOPLE AND FAMILY

· Mr and Mrs Lee have three children — two boys and a girl.

ÇÈThe opposite of child (1) is adult.

dead / ded / adjective

If someone is dead, they are no longer alive.· The driver of the car was already dead when

the police arrived.

ÇÈThe opposite of dead is alive.

die / daI / verb dies, dying, diedWhen someone dies, they stop being alive.· I was only two when my grandfather died.

friend / frend / noun friendsA friend is someone you like and who likes you.· Can I invite one of my friends to come to our

house on Saturday?

girl / gŒ˘l / noun girlsA girl is a child who will be a woman when she is older.· In my class there are more girls than boys.

ÇÈThe opposite of girl is boy.

grow up / »gr´U √p / phrasal verb grows, growing, grew, grownWhen you grow up, you get older until you are no longer a child.· My mother was born in Singapore and grew

up in London.· What do you want to be when you grow up?

kid / kId / noun kidsA kid is a child.· One of the kids in my class comes from

Japan. · Those kids are making too much noise.

LANGUAGE HELP

The word kid is mainly used in spoken English.

man / mQn / noun men / men /A man is a boy who has grown up.· The old man had a long white beard.

ÇÈThe opposite of man is woman.

mar·ried / »mQrId / adjective

If a woman is married, she has a husband. If a man is married, he has a wife.· Her sister is married to a teacher.· My grandparents have been married for

almost fifty years.· They got married last year and moved to

Hong Kong.

ÇÈThe opposite of married is single. · Is Mr White married or is he still single?

neigh·bour / »neIb´ / noun neighboursA neighbour is a person who lives near you.· We have got some new neighbours.

old / ´Uld / adjective older, oldest1 You use old when you talk about someone’s age.· How old are you?· Simon is a year older than me.2 If someone is old, they were born a long time ago.· My grandparents are both very old.

ÇÈThe opposite of old (2) is young.

peo·ple / »pi˘p´l / plural noun

People means men, women and children. · There were lots of people waiting for the

bus.

children

child/kid

adult

teenager

3people

per·son / »pŒ˘s´n / noun peopleA person is a human being.· Sally is the only person I know who has blue

eyes.

LANGUAGE HELP

When you talk about more than one person, you usually use people (not ‘persons’).

· Some people spend all day in front of a computer.

strang·er / »streInʤ´ / noun strangersA stranger is someone that you do not know.· Never talk to strangers when you are on your

own.

teen·ag·er / »ti˘neIdZ´ / noun teenagersA teenager is someone who is between 13 and 19 years of age.· Some teenagers spend all their money on

clothes.

wom·an / »wʊm´n / noun women / »wImIn /A woman is a girl who has grown up.· Most of the teachers at my school are

women.

ÇÈThe opposite of woman is man.

young / j√N / adjective younger, youngestIf someone is young, they were born not very long ago.· Tom’s brother is still too young to go to

school.

ÇÈThe opposite of young is old.

‘When I was young,’ said my grandfather, ‘life was harder for me than it is for you. My parents died when I was a baby. I was brought up by my aunt. Aunt Jane was a good woman, but she was very poor. She had been married to a sailor, but he was dead too. I feel I’m lucky to be alive.’

‘Did you go to school?’ I asked.

‘Yes, I did,’ he said, ‘but I was just a boy when I had to leave school, not even a teenager. I worked all day in a factory like an adult to get money. I couldn’t play with my friends. I was sad until one day a pretty girl came to work in the factory too. That was the day I first met your grandmother.’

4 HOW PEOPLE FEELTheme 1 • PEOPLE AND FAMILY

aunt / a˘nt / noun aunts1 Your aunt is the sister of your mother or father, or the wife of your uncle. · My aunt is coming to dinner on Sunday.2 When you speak about an aunt, you often use her first name after the word ‘Aunt’.· We are going to Aunt Lucy’s house for tea.

ÇÇChildren often call an aunt aunty. This word is also spelled auntie.

· When are we going to see Aunty Ann again?

LANGUAGE HELP

In some countries children may also call a woman who is a friend of the family aunt or aunty.

broth·er / »br√D´ / noun brothersIf there are two children in a family and one of them is a boy, he is the brother of the other child.· I’ve got two sisters and one brother.

cous·in / »k√z´n / noun cousinsIf your aunt or uncle has a child, the child is your cousin.· One of my cousins is getting married next

week.

dad / dQd / noun dadsDad and Daddy are names that children often use for their father.· Can I go with you, Dad?· When is Daddy coming home?

family2

daugh·ter / »dç˘t´ / noun daughtersA daughter is a girl or woman who is someone’s child. · Their daughter Helen is in my class.

eld·er / »eld´ / adjective eldestYou use elder (meaning ‘older’) when you talk about the members of a family, especially brothers and sisters. · My elder sister is at university.· Peter is the eldest of the three brothers.

ÇÈThe opposite of elder is younger.

fam·i·ly / »fQmIli / noun familiesFamily usually means a mother, father and their children.· She took him home to meet her family. · There are five of us in my family.

sister

mother

brother

father

ME

family

5family

fa·ther / »fA˘D´ / noun fathersA father is a man who has a child. · Tim’s father is a pilot, isn’t he?

grand·child / »grQndtSaIld / noun grandchildrenA person’s grandchild is the child of their son or daughter.

· Aunt Sandra has got seven children and fifteen grandchildren.

grand·daugh·ter / »grQnddç˘t´ / noun granddaughtersA person’s granddaughter is the daughter of their son or daughter. · Our little granddaughter is only six months

old.

grandmother grandfather

aunt/auntie

uncle father/dad

mother/mum

uncle

cousin

brother

ME

sister

cousins

grandfather grandmother

aunt/auntie

relatives

6 PEOPLE AND FAMILY

grand·fa·ther / »grQndfA˘D´ / noun grandfathersYour grandfather is the father of your father or mother.· My grandfather takes me fishing at the

weekend.

ÇÇChildren often call their grandfather grand(d)ad or grandpa.

grand·moth·er / »grQndm√D´ / noun grandmothersYour grandmother is the mother of your father or mother. · My grandmother is nearly seventy.

ÇÇChildren often call their grandmother grandma or granny, or just gran.

grand·par·ent / »grQndpe´r´nt / noun grandparentsYour grandparents are the parents of your mother and father. · My grandparents are still alive – all four of

them.

grand·son / »grQnds√n / noun grandsonsA person’s grandson is the son of their son or daughter. · He has left all his money to his grandson.

hus·band / »h√zb´nd / noun husbandsA woman’s husband is the man she is married to. · Her husband works in a bank.

moth·er / »m√D´ / noun mothersA mother is a woman who has a child. · My mother is a teacher.

mum / m√m / noun mumsMum and Mummy are names that children often use for their mother.· Mum ! Have you seen my school t ie

anywhere?· I drew a picture of my Mummy and Daddy.

ne·phew / »nefju˘ / noun nephewsYour nephew is the son of your brother or sister.

· When I saw my nephew the last time, he was still a baby.

niece / ni˘s / noun niecesYour niece is the daughter of your brother or sister. · I always send my niece a birthday card.

par·ent / »pe´r´nt / noun parentsA parent is someone who has a child. Mothers and fathers are parents.· My parents don’t let me go out on my

own.· Are your mum and dad coming to the

parents’ evening?

rel·a·tive / »rel´tIv / noun relativesA relative is a member of your family.· All our friends and relatives are coming to my

cousin’s wedding.

sis·ter / »sIst´ / noun sistersIf there are two children in a family and one of them is a girl, she is the sister of the other one.· Your sister looks just like you.

daughterson

parents