become: to change or grow to be
When he heard his name called, he became nervous.
You will become a better student if you learn how to study.

bump: to hit with a little force
Coming out of the parking space, he bumped the car behind him.
She bumped her head on the table and had to go to the hospital.

charge: to ask for payment, put on a credit card
He only charged me $10 to fix my tire.
Since I don’t have the cash, I’ll have to charge it.

decorate: to make fancy with beautiful additions
We need to decorate this room for the party tonight.
The school decorated the walls with art that the students made.

deliver: to bring to someone
The post office will deliver that package for you.
Does the restaurant deliver pizza or do we have to go there?

harm: to hurt, injure
She harmed her plants by not watering them for two weeks.
Too much sun can harm your skin.

join: to become part of
We would love you to join us for coffee after class.
At age eighteen, he joined the navy.

obey: to do what someone else tells you to do
Children should always obey their parents.
If you don’t obey the rules, you will be asked to leave.

scrub: to clean by rubbing hard
She scrubbed the floor on her hands and knees for hours.
The child scrubbed the dirt off his hands.

snore: to make a loud breathing noise while sleeping
Her husband sleeps in another bedroom because he snores all night.
Many students fell asleep and some snored during class.

tease:   to playfully make someone feel bad.
The boy was teased at school for not being athletic.
The boy is always teasing his little sister.

wonder: to think about possibilities
I wonder what she’s doing right now?
She’ll always wonder if he was the right one.

Pronunciation Exercise: Listen and repeat the above vocabulary on the audio file below.

Use these flashcards to help you study.

When you think you’re ready, do the following exercise.

© 2013 Ambien Malecot

attack: to begin fighting
I was walking through a park when a dog attacked me.
The army will attack the enemy in the early morning.

blink: to close and open both eyes quickly
The bright lights made him blink several times.
If you have something in your eye, look down and blink rapidly.

coach: to show (someone) how to do something
My teacher coached me on how to do a good interview.
In her spare time she coaches a girls volleyball team.

crash: to break or be destroyed with a loud noise
The car crashed through the wall into the living room.
The plane crashed into the side of a mountain.

earn: to get in return for working or investing
He earns enough money to support a big family.
She doesn’t earn much interest on her savings account.

fail: to not get what you want, not succeed
They failed to fix the problem, so they had to call an expert.
Her daughter failed math again this term.

laugh: to make a sound of pleasure or joy
She laughs at all my jokes.
People were laughing and having a wonderful time at the party.

repeat: to say or do again
The teacher said the new word and all the children repeated it.
Could you please repeat that; I didn’t hear you the first time.

rush: to go fast
The kids rushed to the cafeteria when the lunch bell rang.
I have to rush this morning. I’m a little late.

scratch: to rub hard with your fingernails
My cats like it when I scratch their cheeks.
He scratched his head trying to think of a solution to his problem.

tap: to hit lightly
She tapped him on the shoulder to get his attention.
I hear a bird tapping on the window.

worry: to think a bad thing will happen
Don’t worry; we’ll find your keys.
Her parents worried that she was all alone.

Pronunciation Exercise: Listen and repeat the above vocabulary on the audio file below.

Use these flashcards to help you study.

When you think you’re ready, do the following exercise.

© 2013 Ambien Malecot

bathe: to get washed in a tub
She bathes her baby everyday.
He only bathes once a week.

bury: to put in the ground after death
They buried him next to his wife.
He told me he wanted to be buried in his home country.

clear: to make empty
The police cleared the room after the shooting.
Everyone should help to clear the table after dinner.

cough: to quickly and noisily expel air
He coughed as he entered the smoky room.
The first time she tried a cigarette, she coughed continually.

excuse: to forgive, overlook
Please excuse me. I must leave now.
She excused herself for making him wait.

fool: to make someone believe something false, trick
She had to fool him to get him to his own surprise birthday party.
He fooled me into believing that I was too late.

knock: to hit with your knuckles to make noise
I wonder who is knocking on my front door.
Knock three times on the floor if you want me to come up.

polish: to make shiny
I asked you to polish the piano last week. Did you do it?
He should polish his shoes before going to his interview.

retire: to stop working because of age or finances.
He retired after selling his Internet company.
Do you plan to retire when you reach the age of 65?

scream: to make a loud, high sound
She screamed in surprise as her boyfriend got down on one knee.
He heard someone scream next door, so he called the police.

slip: to slide by accident
I slipped on the ice and fell on my face.
The soap slipped from her hands and fell into the sink.

tow: to pull
They towed her car to the nearest service station.
He always had a place to sleep because of the trailer he towed behind his car.

Pronunciation Exercise: Listen and repeat the above vocabulary on the audio file below.

Use these flashcards to help you study.

When you think you’re ready, do the following exercise.

© 2013 Ambien Malecot

appear: to become visible or real
As we turned the corner, a beautiful moon appeared.
It appears that we’re going to have to wait a little longer.

crawl: to move on hands and knees
We crawled closer to the edge of the cliff and looked down.
You have to crawl before you can walk.

divide: to separate into equal parts
We should divide all the work so we finish by the end of the day.
If you divide 60 by 12, you get 5.

escape: to get free (of someone or something)
The two men escaped from jail last weekend.
The family moved here to escape the violence of their former country.

hope: to want very much
I hope he’ll be happy with his new car.
We hope she gets well soon.

peel: to take the outside off
She always cries when she peels an onion.
You can’t eat a banana unless you peel it first.

remind: to help someone remember something
She reminded me of my appointment this afternoon.
Let me remind you that you got into trouble the last time you tried that.

spill: to cause something to fall out of the top of a container
The children spilled milk all over the kitchen table.
I tried not to spill any salt, but I got some on the floor.

squeeze: to put pressure on the outside, hug
I can’t squeeze hard enough to open this bottle. Can you help me?
When she started crying, he squeezed her tight.

train: to teach, instruct
He trained his dog to roll over and play dead.
They trained their children to be polite at all times.

twist: to move in a circular motion
She twisted her body around to look behind her.
He twisted the thief’s arm until he dropped his wallet.

wrap: to enclose something with paper, cloth, etc.
She wrapped the package in brown paper before mailing it.
Aren’t you going to wrap that present before you give it to her?

Pronunciation Exercise: Listen and repeat the above vocabulary on the audio file below.

Use these flashcards to help you study.

When you think you’re ready, do the following exercise.

© 2013 Ambien Malecot

agree: have the same opinion
I’m afraid I don’t agree with you.
She finally got him to agree to a small wedding.

belong: be owned
That cell phone belongs to my friend.
Who does this sweater belong to?

cheer: to yell in appreciation
The whole school cheered at the good news.
Everyone cheered when the football team ran on the field.

clap: to hit one’s hands together in appreciation
At the end of his speech, the audience clapped politely.
The children clapped their hands in time to the music.

discover: to find out something new
She discovered that he was seeing another woman.
They hope to discover a cure for this disease.

face: to look at directly
He had to face his fear and talk to his boss.
You need to face the truth that she doesn’t love you anymore.

happen: to occur, take place
What happened to your hand?
Sometimes bad things happen to good people.

pause: to stop for a short time
She paused at the curb before crossing the street.
Pause that video for a moment. I’ve got something to tell you.

search: to look for, try to find
They searched the woods for the missing child.
She searched Google for information about her new boyfriend.

steal: to wrongfully take
Many office workers steal little things from their company, like paperclips.
Someone is always stealing my candy from my desk drawer.

surprise: to experience (something) unexpected
He surprised her with a beautiful engagement ring.
It might surprise you to learn that your uncle is very rich.

taste: to get the flavor of something by putting it in your mouth
That soup smells really good. Can I taste it?
He knew he was hurt when he tasted blood in his mouth.

Pronunciation Exercise: Listen and repeat the above vocabulary on the audio file below.

Use these flashcards to help you study.

When you think you’re ready, do the following exercise.

© 2013 Ambien Malecot