1. a
Children’s b
c
Illustrated d
e
f
g
Dictionary
robot
robots noun
a machine that can imitate some
h
i
j
k
human actions. Robots are often
used in factories, but can also be
used in homes.
l
m
n
bulb o
bulbs noun
the rounded p
glass part of an
electric light.
q
r
s
skull
skulls noun
t
the bone frame of the head
that protects the brain and u
supports the face.
v
w
sunflower
sunflowers noun
a tall plant with large,
x
yellow flowers. The
seeds can be eaten or
used to make cooking oil.
y
z

3. Children’s
Illustrated
Dictionary
John McIlwain
DORLING KINDERSLEY

4. A
B Contents
C
All about words 4 Musical instrument 133
D How to use this dictionary 6 Pet 148
E Dictionary games 8 Plant 151
The dictionary 12 Reptile 168
F Full-page entries: Sea life 178
Alphabet 16 Shape 182
G Bird 28 Skeleton 188
Boat 31 Sport 197
H Car 39 Time 216
Costume 51 Transportation 221
I Dinosaur 61 Tree 223
J Fish 79 Universe 229
Fruit 85 Vegetable 233
K Growth 94 Abbreviations 246
Horse 102 Spelling guide 248
L Insect 108 Word building 249
Jewelry 112 Facts and figures 250
M Mammal 124 Countries of the world 252
N
O
P LONDON, NEW YORK,
MELBOURNE, MUNICH, AND DELHI
Q Senior Editors Nicola Tuxworth, 2009 Edition: First published in the United States in 1994
Susan Peach Project Editor Niki Foreman This revised edition published in 2009 by
R Senior Art Editor Rowena Alsey
Project Editor Lee Simmons
Senior Art Editor Sheila Collins
Managing Editor Linda Esposito
DK Publishing
375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014
Art Editor Marcus James Managing Art Editor Diane Thistlethwaite
S Editor Claire Watts Publishing Manager Andrew Macintyre
Category Publisher Laura Buller
Copyright © 1994, 2009
Dorling Kindersley Limited
Designers Cheryl Telfer, Diane Clouting 09 10 11 12 13 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Production Editors Maria Elia,
T Managing Editor Jane Yorke Vivianne Ridgeway CD207—05/09
All rights reserved under International and Pan-
Jacket Editor Mariza O’Keeffe
Managing Art Editor Chris Scollen American Copyright Conventions. No part of this
U Production Jayne Wood
Jacket Designer Akiko Kato
Geography Consultant Simon Mumford publication may be reproduced, stored in a
US Editor Margaret Parrish retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by
V Photography by Andy Crawford,
Steve Gorton, Susanna Price,
DK India
any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording or otherwise, without the prior written
and Tim Ridley Head of Publishing Aparna Sharma permission of the copyright owner. Published in
W Illustrated by Grahame Corbett,
Design Manager Arunesh Talapatra Great Britain by Dorling Kindersley Limited.
Editorial Manager Glenda Fernandes A catalog record for this book is available from
X Peter Dennis, Bill Le Fever,
Nicholas Hewetson, Louis Mackay,
Assistant Editor Samira Sood
Designers Malavika Talukder,
the Library of Congress.
ISBN 978-0-7566-5196-1
Roger Stewart, and Jolyon Webb Govind Mittal
Y Language Consultants The Centre for Literacy
in Primary Education, London, England
DTP Coordinator Sunil Sharma
DTP Designers Dheeraj Arora,
Color reproduction by Colourscan, Singapore
Printed and bound by Toppan Printing Co. Ltd.,
Pronunciation Consultant Sheila Dignen Preetam Singh China
Z
2

5. a
Introduction b
c
The Dorling Kindersley Children’s Illustrated In addition, this book will help children develop their
Dictionary is specifically aimed at children of awareness of words and the relationships between them. d
An introductory section explains the concept of parts of
seven years and up, an age when children are
becoming increasingly independent readers
speech, such as nouns and verbs, that are also listed
under each entry in the dictionary. The final section looks
e
and writers and when a dictionary can be at word beginnings and endings, spelling patterns,
and common abbreviations. f
a valuable companion.
g
Words and pictures A dictionary with a difference
Unlike many other dictionaries, The Children’s Illustrated A unique feature of this dictionary is the 26 full-page
h
Dictionary is not just about words—it also contains pictures.
Children today are used to information being presented in
entries, where words and pictures are grouped by theme.
Browsing through these word i
a visual form through television, movies, and computers, and collections, on subjects as diverse as
are skilled readers of images. As a result, they require books
to be increasingly visually sophisticated.
costumes and time, children will enjoy
recognizing known words and concepts
j
The colorful photographs and illustrations in this
and discovering new vocabulary and
information. These pages offer many k
dictionary are fresh, exciting, and highly relevant to opportunities for discussion and
children’s interests and concerns. These images will help
to draw young readers into the book; they also work with
provide the basis for further exploration
of a wide range of topics and themes.
l
the text to give clear and concise definitions. m
A lasting work of reference n
Vital skills for readers and writers The Children’s Illustrated Dictionary combines a core of
Using a dictionary can teach children many useful skills.
One of the most important is the ability to locate information
common vocabulary with words that have a high interest
level for children of this age group. It provides them with
o
that is organized in alphabetical order. Once acquired, this
skill will enable them to use many other reference books,
both a rich source of information about the world and
an important resource for developing their reading and
p
from telephone directories to encyclopedias, that are writing skills.
organized along the same principle. The clear design and q
layout of this dictionary make it easy for children to learn
how to look things up.
r
The Children’s Illustrated Dictionary can also help to widen
vocabulary and improve spelling. Young readers and writers s
can find out for themselves what an unfamiliar word means
or check any spellings about which they are unsure. t
u
v
w
x
y
z
3

6. A
B
All about words
In every sentence that we speak or write, entry has its part of speech printed below it
C there are several types of word. They are in italic type. The parts of speech that are
called “parts of speech.” Each of them has labeled in the dictionary (verbs, adverbs,
D its own name and its own job to do in adjectives, interjections, prepositions, and
the sentence. In this dictionary, each word nouns) are explained on these two pages.
E
F
Verbs
G Verbs are sometimes called “action words” because they are
words that describe what a person or a thing is doing. Sit,
H think, sleep, sing, and climb are all verbs. A sentence
must contain a verb to make sense. There are a few special
kinds of verb, such as “being” and “helping” verbs, that do
I slightly different jobs in a sentence.
J
They were both very angry.
K
L Being verbs
Being words, such as am,
M is, are, was, and were, all
come from the verb to be.
They link someone or
N She runs to school
every morning.
The dog often lies
on the floor. something with the words
that describe them.
O
Helping verbs Verb tenses
P Verbs such as have, be, The form of a verb shows whether the action it describes
will, must, may, and do, takes place in the present, the past, or the future. This is
Q are sometimes used with
other verbs in a sentence.
called the verb’s tense. When a verb, such as hang, appears
in this dictionary, the
R They show how possible or
necessary it is that an
entry looks like this:
action takes place. Helping
S verbs can also be used to
show a verb’s tense.
T hang
It may rain tomorrow. hangs hanging hung
U verb
V
W The second line
of the entry shows how
Present tense:
She hangs up her T-shirt.
the verb is written in
X three different tenses— Continuous present tense:
the present, the She is hanging up her
Y continuous present,
and the past tense.
T-shirt.
I do like
These tenses are Past tense:
Z sandwiches!
used like this: She hung up her T-shirt.
4

7. Adverbs Nouns a
An adverb is a word that gives A noun is a word that names a thing, a person, or a place.
more information about a verb,
an adjective, or another adverb.
Cat, teacher, spoon, and city are all nouns. Nouns do not
have to be things that you can see—words like truth and
b
Adverbs can tell us how, when,
where, how often, or how much.
geography are also nouns. c
Slowly, yesterday, upward,
and very are all adverbs. d
Many adverbs end with
the letters “ly.” e
f
g
h
i
These newspapers are all They played happily They often went to The present came in a round
published daily. with the balloon. the café for a snack. box tied with ribbon. j
k
Adjectives Interjections
An adjective is a word that is used to describe a noun.
Fat, yellow, sticky, dark, and hairy are all adjectives.
Interjections are words
such as hello and good-
l
bye that can be used on
their own, without being
m
part of a full sentence.
Exclamations, such as n
Oh! and Ouch!, are
also interjections. o
p
Conjunctions
The car was big, red, and shiny.
A tall, green,
prickly cactus.
Conjunctions are words q
such as and, but, and of,
that are used to join parts
of sentences together.
r
Comparatives and superlatives
If you want to compare a person or thing with s
another, you often use an adjective in the comparative
or superlative form. Taller, easier, better, and quicker Prepositions t
are comparatives. Tallest, easiest, best, and Prepositions, such as in,
quickest are superlatives. Comparatives
either end with the letters “-er,” or
with, behind, and on,
show how one person or u
include the word “more.” thing relates to another.
Superlatives either end with
the letters “-est” or include
v
She held
the word “most.” the ball
above her
w
head.
x
y
Adjective:
This ball is big.
Comparative:
This ball is bigger.
Superlative:
This ball is the biggest. z
5

8. A
How to use this dictionary
B Read the information on these two pages shown below. There are also 26 full-page
C to find out how to get the most from your entries in the dictionary that provide a
dictionary. Most pages in the book look like whole page of pictures and vocabulary on
D the double page from the letter R section a theme. The page shown here is about cars.
E What’s on a page
F Guide word Headword Guide word
Use the guide word at the top of This is the word you are looking up. The right-hand
G the page to help you find the page The headword is printed in heavy, guide word, rate,
a word is on. The left-hand guide black letters at the start of the entry. tells you that this
H the first word on the page.
word, rabbi, tells you that this is The definition underneath explains
what the headword means.
is the last word on
this page.
I rabbi rate
J New letter
Rr
A radio rag railroad rake rascal a
radios noun rags noun railroads noun rakes raking raked verb rascals noun
a device that sends or a small, torn piece of cloth. 1 a network of tracks that to gather up leaves into a mischievous person.
B b
Pictures
receives electrical signals trains run on. a pile or to smooth over soil.
and changes them 2 a transportation system that
rash c
section C into sound. uses rail tracks, together with
trains, stations, and land. rashes noun
a patch of red, itchy spots
D rake
on your skin. d
The photos and
K Each new letter
section starts with
E
F
G
rabbi
rabbis noun
racket
rackets noun
radioactivity
noun
illustrations rage
rages noun
anger or uncontrolled temper.
rain
rains noun
water that
falls from
the clouds
in drops. rally ran
raspberry
raspberries noun
a juicy, red fruit that grows
on a bush with thorns.
e
f
g
H
a teacher of the Jewish 1 a bat with
show you
the energy released by the In her rage, she slammed rallies noun from the verb to run
h
L a big letter, like this R.
religion and law. strings used center of atoms breaking the door shut. 1 a large, public meeting held 1 Last week, he ran
say rab-eye for playing up in some substances. High to discuss something that is a 400-meter race.
I
rabbit
sports such
as tennis and
badminton (see exactly what
amounts of radioactivity can
be harmful to living things. raid
raids noun
rain verb
rainy adjective
important or worrying
to people.
2 She ran a bookstore.
i
J rabbits noun sport on page 197). a sudden surprise attack ranch j
K
a small mammal with long
front teeth that lives
underground in burrows.
badminton racket things look likeby a group of people.
The police made a raid on the
house, arresting two women.
rainbow
rainbows noun
an arch of colors that appears
ranches noun
a huge farm where cattle
or other animals are reared.
say raz-bair-ee
k
M
Rabbits are normally active in raid verb in the sky when the sun
L the evening or at night. They
eat grass, roots, and leaves.
2 a loud,
annoying noise. and help to rail
shines while it’s raining.
The party held a political rally
rat
rats noun
l
M He was making in the park. a common rodent that looks m
N
a racket with
his drums. define the
They tested for radioactivity
outside the nuclear
rails noun
1 a long bar for holding on to,
or for hanging clothes on.
2 a long-distance car race
that tests drivers’ skills.
like a large mouse. Some
kinds of rat eat plants, while
others eat small animals. n
power plant. Use the rail to help you climb They can gnaw through
O radar
headwords.
say ray-dee-oh-ak-tiv-i-tee the stairs. ram stone, wood, and even metal o
N
noun radioactive adjective 2 a long line of metal track rams noun with their strong front teeth.
P a device that tells you
the position and speed of
that trains run along.
raindrop
1 a male sheep.
rang p
ships, cars, and aircraft radius raindrops noun from the verb to ring
Q q
Alphabet
by sending out radio waves. radii or radiuses noun a single drop of rain. He rang the doorbell.
a straight line drawn
R race
from the center
of a circle to rainfall ranger r
O Use the alphabet side
races noun its outer noun rangers noun
S 1 a competition of speed. edge. the amount of rain that falls a person who looks after a rate s
3 the railroad. over a particular area. forest or a wildlife park. rates noun
T radius
We traveled by rail
around Europe.
The chart shows the annual
rainfall in South America.
say rain-jer 1 a speed.
Ostriches can run at a rate
t
running down the U An airport radar screen.
say ray-dar raft rain forest
rapid
adjective
of 30 miles (50 km) per hour.
2 a level of payment.
The vacation resort charges
u car
V rafts noun rain forests noun car quick or swift. high rates for its apartments. v a
P of the page to place
help 1 a floating platform 2 a hollow mat made of rubber a dense, hot, wet jungle that cars noun
radiator w
W radiators noun
made of logs that
have been tied
or plastic and filled with
air that can
grows in tropical areas. a vehicle with wheels
that is moved by rare b
you find your X
A swimming race.
race verb
2 a group of people who
1 a thin, metal tank with hot
water flowing through it that
heats a room.
tightly together. be used as
a boat.
an engine and used adjective
to carry people from unusual or not common.
place to place. A rare blue
x c
Y share the same ancestors 2 a metal tank that allows morpho butterfly. y d
in the dictionary. and may share some
physical characteristics.
air to cool the hot water in
the engine of a vehicle.
New York City taxicab
z London taxi
Q The highlighted letter
comparisons rarer rarest
Z racial adjective say ray-dee-ay-tor life raft
spare
tire opposite common fuel can
license
plate e
antenna roof rack
162
rearview
163 tailgate
f
mirror
g
tells you that you are h
R in the R section. Word box tow hook
muffler
jeep
wheel hub wheel
trim
minivan bumper
i
j
k
Families of
S exhaust pipe tire
spoke
windshield
wiper
l
m
linked words rearview
n
mirror
are enclosed in hood wheel
o
Alphabetical order
headlight ornament
T The headwords in this letters of the words are
hatchback
p
a box. All the
fender
piston
q
words in this fan
r
dictionary are listed in used to decide which box start with s
U alphabetical order— comes first. So cat the same tire tread
vintage car
starting
handle
hood
windshield
radiator grill
steering wheel
engine
hood
t
u
the same order as the comes before cot, word, rain. trunk
v
V letters that begin with O in the A comes before
Words
of the alphabet. because
alphabet. exhaust
turn
w
x
y
pipe
sports car signal
z
W start of the dictionary, the same two letters,
A are grouped at the If words start with
light
39
followed by B words, then the third letter
X and so on up to Z. decides the order. So Full-page entries
Where several words radius comes before All the pictures and labels on a full-page
Y letter, the second
start with the same raft, because D comes
before F.
entry are linked to the main headword.
This page shows different car types,
with their various parts labeled.
Z
6

9. How the entries work a
Headword
The headword is printed
ram
rams noun
Part of speech
This shows whether
Tenses of verbs
These three forms of
b
at the start of the entry.
This shows you how to
1 a male sheep. the word is a noun, verb,
adjective, interjection,
the verb share show
how it is written
c
spell the word. adverb, or preposition. in the present,
Find out more about continuous present, d
parts of speech on and past tenses.
Plural
This tells you how to
pages 4–5. These tenses are
explained on page 4.
e
write a noun when there
is more than one of the f
thing it is referring to.
Here, rams is the plural 2 a device for pushing against g
of the headword ram. something with force. share
shares sharing shared
verb h
Definition
This part of the
1 to have or
use together. i
entry explains what 2 to divide
the headword means.
If a word has more than
something into
parts to give
j
one meaning, the first
meaning given is They used the log as a ram
to others.
k
normally the one that to break down the door.
is most common.
Other meanings are
ram verb They shared the melon. l
listed below. m
Sample sentence
The sentence that follows the definition gives n
Comparisons you an example of how the headword is used. In
The two forms of an adjective that are
shown here are called the comparative and
the sample sentence the headword is always
written in heavy, black type like this: shared.
o
superlative. They are explained on page 5.
Rarer means “more rare” and rarest
p
means “the most rare.” radioactivity
noun q
the energy released by the
rare
adjective
center of atoms breaking up
in some substances. High r
unusual or not common. amounts of radioactivity can
be harmful to living things. s
A rare blue
morpho butterfly.
comparisons rarer rarest
t
opposite common
Related words u
Other words that are
Opposite
This tells you the word
Pronunciation guide
This guide helps you to pronounce
related to the
headword are listed
v
that is the opposite
of the headword. For
difficult words. It respells the
word so that you can sound out
here. This related
word, radioactive,
w
example, common the letters. Part of the guide is in They tested for radioactivity is the adjective
is the opposite of heavy, black type. This shows you outside the nuclear that comes from x
the headword rare. which part of the word to stress, power plant. the headword
or say more loudly. say ray-dee-oh-ak-tiv-i-tee
radioactive adjective
radioactivity. y
z
7

10. A
Dictionary games
B See if you can solve these word puzzles, with a friend. Try giving a point for each
C using your dictionary to help you. The games correct answer and then see which of you
will help you learn how to use the dictionary gets the highest score. The answers to
D quickly and easily. You can play all of the all the puzzles are somewhere in this
games on your own, but you can also play dictionary. Have fun!
E
F Alphabetical birds
How quickly can you arrange these
G 12 bird names in alphabetical
order? You could use the alphabet
H at the sideout.the page tohelp, turn
sort them
of
For more
help you
I to page 6, where alphabetical
order is explained in detail. flamingo
J pelican
parrot
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q peacock
R stork
S
T eagle
U
V owl
W
X
Y ostrich
Z duck budgerigar crane penguin
8