Spelling Bee level 2

abide

Abide verb: to accept or act according to something. If you enter the contest, you have to abide by the rules.

accord

accord noun: a formal agreement or contract between two or more groups of people. An accord was reached between the workers and management.

acute

acute adjective: very sudden and severe. The drought has caused acute water shortages.

alcove

alcove noun: a small space or recess set off from the main part, especially in a room We couldn't fit a bed in the alcove but it was the perfect place to set up a laptop.

alight

alight adjective: burning The room looked beautiful with all the candles alight.

ambush

ambush verb: to hide and wait for someone so as to attack them by surprise The bushrangers were waiting in the hills to ambush the coach.

attack

attack verb: to set upon with force or weapons Eagles attack their prey from great heights.

baboon

baboon noun: a large monkey with a mouth like a dog and a short tail, found in Africa and Arabia The young baboon was very frightened when humans entered its habitat.

bleach

bleach verb: to put something in a special liquid to make it white or pale I had to bleach my white sports uniform after I fell in the mud.

breath

breath noun: the air taken into your lungs and let out again His warm breath made little clouds in the cold air.

chafe

chafe verb: to wear down or make sore by rubbing The bandage began to chafe against his wound, so he took it off.

convict

convict noun: in the past, a person transported to the British colonies to serve out a prison sentence The life of a convict in Port Arthur was very hard.

culture

culture noun: the state or stage of civilisation of a particular people at a particular time The ancient Greeks had a rich culture of art, drama and philosophy.

dazzle

dazzle verb: to lessen someone's vision by a sudden intense brightness Bright headlights often dazzle me when I'm driving.

deafen

deafen verb: to stun with noise I was worried that the music was going to deafen me so I took some earplugs to the concert.

dollop

dollop noun: a shapeless lump; a blob Scones are always better served with a dollop of cream.

earnest

earnest adjective: serious or sincere Is she earnest about wanting to play the violin?

engross

engross verb: to occupy the mind or attention of completely I recommend that book -- it will engross you for days.

entail

entail verb: to bring on by necessity or as a result Building a replica of the Taj Mahal with Lego will entail a lot of time and work.

exile

exile noun: long separation from one's country or home, often enforced The traitors of the kingdom were lucky that they were only sentenced to exile.

fashion

fashion noun: a style of dressing She always wears the latest fashion.

femur

femur noun: the bone of the thigh, the longest bone in the body She had to keep the cast on her leg for twelve weeks so the fractured femur could heal.

forty

forty adjective: amounting to forty in number There were forty children on the bus for the excursion.

fraud

fraud noun: deliberate cheating or trickery The accountant was charged with fraud after cheating his clients out of their money.

further

further adverb: at or to a greater distance You can see further than me -- what does that sign in the distance say?

futon

futon noun: a Japanese-style bed consisting of an unsprung mattress on a support of wooden slats You will find the futon quite comfortable to sleep on.

giant

giant noun: an imaginary creature that looks like a human but is much bigger and stronger When Jack got to the top of the beanstalk for the first time, I bet he got a big surprise when he saw the giant.

guru

guru noun: a wise and powerful teacher Thousands of people came to listen to the teachings of the guru.

handful

handful noun: as much or as many as the hand can contain Sanjay picked up a handful of peanuts as he walked out of the kitchen.

haul

haul verb: to pull hard We had to haul our heavy bags all the way up the hill.

idol

idol noun: a statue worshipped as a god The ancient tribe worshipped a golden idol as their god.

impede

impede verb: to slow down or block the way of I suspected that the heavy rains would impede the construction of my cubbyhouse.

indignant

indignant adjective: feeling or showing indignation, or anger at something you think is unjust She was indignant at being spoken to so rudely.

industry

industry noun: a large-scale business activity Telecommunications used to be the fastest growing industry in Australia.

instead

instead adverb: in place of someone or something else Instead of bouncing off the wall, the ball went straight through the window

issue

issue noun: an important topic of discussion The issue of lifting water restrictions was raised at the town meeting.

jaunty

jaunty adjective: lively and confident His jaunty approach relaxed everybody.

joist

joist noun: a length of wood or metal used to support floors, ceilings or other structures You can see a joist running the length of the exposed ceiling.

journey

journey noun: the act of travelling between two places A driver on a long journey should stop every two hours for a break.

kennel

kennel noun: a small building for keeping a dog warm and dry The kennel was full of all the things Rover had collected during the past week.

kernel

kernel noun: the inner part of a nut which you can eat I had to use a nutcracker to get to the kernel of the macadamia.

livestock

livestock noun: all the animals kept on a farm or station such as horses, cattle and sheep We had to move the livestock to higher ground during the flood.

lounge

lounge noun: a sofa or couch Our lounge seats only two people so it was very uncomfortable with three on it.

lumbar

lumbar adjective: having to do with the lower part of the back The lumbar vertebrae are those in the lower part of your spine.

marron

marron noun: a freshwater crayfish of Western Australia Mum caught a huge marron in the creek this morning.

mirror

mirror noun: glass that has been treated so that you can see yourself reflected in it Dad glanced in the mirror to make sure his tie was straight.

neither

neither adjective: not one nor the other Neither colour suits me -- I look awful in both orange and purple.

notion

notion noun: an idea, often not very clear in your mind Makiko had a notion that she could somehow train the dog to be obedient.

ordeal

ordeal noun: a severe test or difficulty Running the marathon in such heat was an ordeal.

paddock

paddock noun: a large area of land which has been fenced and is used for grazing sheep or other animals During the flood, the sheep were moved to a higher paddock.

patrol

patrol verb: to go regularly around a place to make sure there is no trouble Guards patrol the perimeter every fifteen minutes.

piece

piece noun: a bit or part of something Who would like a piece of cake?

thief

thief noun: someone who steals Oh no! A thief has taken my bag!

thimble

thimble noun: a protective cover for the top of the finger, usually metal, and worn to stop the needle pricking your finger when you are sewing I use a thimble when I sew so I don't prick my finger.

unity

unity noun: a feeling of agreement in a group After much disagreement in the committee, unity was finally reached.

upkeep

upkeep noun: the work or cost of looking after something or someone The upkeep of a dog is much more than the upkeep of a guinea pig.

veal

veal noun: meat from a young cow Dad's cooking an Italian meal with some veal.

velvet

velvet noun: a kind of soft, slightly furry fabric The magician wore a cloak of dark-blue velvet.

vibrate

vibrate verb: to shake backwards and forwards quickly The boat began to vibrate when the captain started the engine.

video

video noun: a film, television show or event which has been recorded on a special tape, and which you can watch on television My aunt said she will keep the video we made of her wedding for ever and ever.

virus

virus noun: a very tiny living thing that causes disease and is easily caught from someone else The common cold is a virus.

voucher

voucher noun: a piece of paper that shows what you are entitled to receive Each club was given a $200 voucher to buy new sports equipment.

anthem

anthem noun: a song that you sing at important times or events Australia's national anthem is ‘Advance Australia Fair'.

cello

cello noun: a stringed instrument which is held upright on the floor between the knees of the player The cello is an instrument with a lovely deep sound.

fanfare

fanfare noun: a short, loud piece of music usually played on trumpets The trumpeters played a fanfare when the queen entered the room.

farce

farce noun: a comedy in which the humour depends on a ridiculous and unlikely situation I'd much rather go to see a farce than a tragedy -- they're much more entertaining!

fresco

fresco noun: a painting done on a wall or ceiling The council hired an artist to paint a fresco on the ceiling of our new town hall.

grammar

grammar noun: the parts of a language, such as sounds and words, and the way they are combined into phrases and sentences It's good to know about grammar when you study a foreign language.

interval

interval noun: in music, the difference in pitch between two notes The interval of an octave is eight notes.

poetry

poetry noun: the art of writing or speaking in rhythmical verse I love reading poetry but I'm not very good at writing it.

script

script noun: the words written down for the actors to say in a play or film I practised my part for the play by reading the script in the bath.

stencil

stencil noun: a thin sheet of paper, cardboard or metal cut so as to reproduce a design when colour is rubbed through it We used a metal stencil to create the base pattern of the artwork.

suffix

suffix noun: a word part added to the end of a word Adding a suffix to the end of a word often changes its meaning.

theme

theme noun: the main subject of a book, speech or piece of music The theme of his speech was the protection of the natural environment.

tome

tome noun: a large book, especially a learned one I borrowed a heavy tome on ancient languages from my local library.

Winton

Winton noun: an Australian novelist and short-story writer, born in 1960 It's unbelievable to think that author Tim Winton has won the Miles Franklin Award for four of his novels!

breakfast

breakfast noun: the first meal of the day My brother has two bowls of cereal for breakfast every morning.

brie

brie noun: a kind of salted, white, soft cheese Brie is a cheese best eaten at room temperature.

health

health noun: the general state of your body Eating fresh fruit and vegetables is a necessity for good health.

mushroom

mushroom noun: a type of fungus with a round top growing on a stem, which grows very quickly in slightly wet soil and which you can eat My favourite mushroom is the portobello but I do love all types.

orchard

orchard noun: a farm where fruit trees are grown The orchard was full of apple trees.

salami

salami noun: a kind of sausage with a strong salty taste It will be a simple picnic of bread and salami.

simmer

simmer verb: to cook in a liquid just below boiling point The sauce had to simmer for 10 minutes before the pasta could be mixed through.

swallow

swallow verb: to take something into the stomach through the throat She had a drink of water to help her swallow the tablet.

thermos

thermos noun: a special container used to keep liquid food or drink at a constant temperature Whenever I go to the football I take a thermos of hot chocolate and a sandwich.

tofu

tofu noun: a food made from white soya beans My curry was full of vegetables and tofu.

tonic

tonic noun: something that makes you stronger, healthier and more cheerful The doctor prescribed a tonic to help me sleep.

alpine

alpine adjective: having to do with high, mountainous country Alpine wildflowers are very delicate.

Andes

Andes noun: a lofty mountain system in South America, extending about 7250 km from northern Colombia and Venezuela south to Cape Horn The Andes extend through seven South American countries.

Britian

Britian English Channel and the North Sea Manchester was the first stop on our trip to Britain last year.

climate

climate noun: the usual weather of a particular place The climate in Australia is generally quite warm and sunny.

cyclone

cyclone noun: a storm with very strong winds The roof of their house was torn off in the cyclone.

grotto

grotto noun: a cave The scuba diver took his mask off when he surfaced inside the grotto.

iceberg

iceberg noun: a large mass of ice broken off from a glacier and floating in the sea It shocked me to learn that around 90% of an iceberg is under the surface of the water.

Lebanon

Lebanon noun: a republic in western Asia, on the Mediterranean Sea, bordered by Syria and Israel The national emblem of Lebanon is the cedar tree.

mangrove

mangrove noun: an area where trees grow on mudflats The mangrove area of the Murray River supports a huge diversity of plant and animal life.

tempest

tempest noun: a violent storm The story is about a ship that was wrecked during a wild tempest.

Armstrong

Armstrong noun: a US astronaut who was born in 1930 and died in 2012 Neil Armstrong was the first person to walk on the moon.

bisect

bisect verb: to cut or divide into two equal parts You'll get a much better result if you use a compass to bisect the line.

breadth

breadth noun: the distance from one side of something to the other The breadth of the lake is about 100 metres.