EN Vocabulary - 3000 Words

Common words beginning K

/kiːn/
adjective
  1. Having or showing eagerness or enthusiasm.
    • example - a keen gardener
    • synonyms - eager, anxious, impatient, determined, desirous, longing, wishing, itching, dying, yearning, ambitious, ready
  2. (of a sense) highly developed.
    • example - I have keen eyesight
    • synonyms - acute, sharp, penetrating, discerning, sensitive, perceptive, piercing, clear, observant
  3. (of the edge or point of a blade) sharp.
    • example - the keen blade went through the weeds
    • synonyms - sharp, sharp-edged, sharpened, honed, razor-like, razor-sharp, whetted, fine-edged
  4. (of activity or feeling) intense.
    • example - there could be keen competition to provide the service
    • synonyms - intense, acute, extreme, fierce, violent, passionate, consuming, burning, fervent, fervid, ardent
  5. Excellent.
/kiːp/
verb
  1. Have or retain possession of.
    • example - return one copy to me, keeping the other for your files
  2. Cause to continue in a specified condition, position, course, etc.
    • example - the guidance system keeps the machine on course
    • synonyms - remain, continue to be, stay, carry on being, go on being, persist in being, not cease to be
  3. Provide for the sustenance of (someone)
    • example - he had to keep his large family in the manner he had chosen
    • synonyms - provide for, support, provide food for, provide sustenance for, provide board for, feed, keep alive, maintain, sustain, subsidize, finance
  4. Honour or fulfil (a commitment or undertaking)
    • example - I"ll keep my promise, naturally
    • synonyms - comply with, obey, respect, observe, conform to, abide by, stick to, act in accordance with, act according to, have regard to, heed, follow, pay attention to, defer to, take notice of
  5. Make written entries in (a diary) on a regular basis.
    • example - the master kept a weekly journal
noun
  1. Food, clothes, and other essentials for living.
    • example - the Society are paying for your keep
    • synonyms - maintenance, upkeep, support, sustenance, subsistence, board, board and lodging, food, nourishment, nurture
  2. Charge; control.
    • example - if from shepherd"s keep a lamb strayed far
    • synonyms - safe keeping, care, custody, charge, keep, possession, trust, protection, safeguard
  3. The strongest or central tower of a castle, acting as a final refuge.
    • example - Even the gateways leading into old keeps and castles don"t escape the over-enthusiasm of some amateur restorers.
    • synonyms - fortress, fort, stronghold, tower, donjon, castle, citadel, bastion, fortification, fastness
key
/kiː/
noun
  1. A small piece of shaped metal with incisions cut to fit the wards of a particular lock, which is inserted into a lock and turned to open or close it.
    • example - there were two keys to the cupboard
  2. Each of several buttons on a panel for operating a computer, typewriter, or telephone.
    • example - press the ENTER key
  3. A thing that provides a means of achieving or understanding something.
    • example - discipline seems to be the key to her success
    • synonyms - answer, clue, solution, explanation, pointer, cue, lead
  4. A group of notes based on a particular note and comprising a scale, regarded as forming the tonal basis of a piece of music.
    • example - the key of E minor
    • synonyms - tone, pitch, timbre, tonality, tone colour, modulation
  5. The dry winged fruit of an ash, maple, or sycamore, typically growing in bunches; a samara.
  6. The part of a first coat of wall plaster that passes between the laths and so secures the rest.
  7. The keyhole-shaped area marked on the court near each basket.
    • example - he hit another jumper from the top of the key
adjective
  • Of crucial importance.
    • example - she became a key figure in the suffragette movement
    • synonyms - crucial, central, essential, indispensable, basic, fundamental, pivotal, critical, decisive, dominant, vital, principal, salient, prime, chief, major, leading, main, important, significant
verb
  1. Enter or operate on (data) by means of a computer keyboard or telephone keypad.
    • example - not everyone can key data quickly and accurately
  2. Fasten (something) in position with a pin, wedge, or bolt.
    • example - the coils may be keyed into the slots by fibre wedges
  3. Roughen (a surface) to help the adhesion of plaster or other material.
    • example - a wooden float with nails driven through it is used to key the wall surface between coats
  4. Word (an advertisement in a periodical), typically by varying the form of the address given, so as to identify the publication generating particular responses.
    • example - one keys advertisements and measures returns
  5. Vandalize (a car) by scraping its paint with a key.
  6. Be the crucial factor in achieving.
/ˈkiːbɔːd/
noun
  1. A panel of keys that operate a computer or typewriter.
    • example - Input devices may consist of computer mice, keyboards, pixels of one or more video cameras, wearable computer devices, or other sensors with which users can interact.
    • synonyms - workstation, VDU, visual display unit, PC, input device, output device
  2. A set of keys on a piano or similar musical instrument.
    • example - With the invention of the transportable keyboard, pianists may own their keyboards, which can be installed in any piano of a given make and model.
verb
  • Enter (data) by means of a keyboard.
    • example - entries would be keyboarded
    • synonyms - office, desk, back-room
/kɪk/
verb
  1. Strike or propel forcibly with the foot.
    • example - police kicked down the door
    • synonyms - boot, punt, strike with the foot
  2. Succeed in giving up (a habit or addiction)
    • synonyms - give up, break, get out of, abandon, end, escape from
  3. (of a gun) recoil when fired.
    • example - their guns kick so hard that they have developed a bad case of flinching
    • synonyms - recoil, spring back, fly back
noun
  1. A blow or forceful thrust with the foot.
    • example - a kick in the head
    • synonyms - boot, punt
  2. A sudden forceful jolt.
    • example - the shuttle accelerated with a kick
  3. The sharp stimulant effect of alcohol or a drug.
    • synonyms - potency, stimulant effect, alcoholic effect, strength, power, punch
  4. Soft sports shoes; trainers.
kid
/kɪd/
noun
  1. A child or young person.
    • synonyms - child, youngster, little one, young one, baby, toddler, infant, boy, girl, young person, minor, juvenile, adolescent, teenager, youth, stripling
  2. A young goat.
    • example - He ignored the oxen like they did not exist and treated the goat kids like they were young colts.
verb
  • (of a goat) give birth.
    • example - milk fever usually occurs in heavy milkers shortly after kidding
/kɪl/
verb
  1. Cause the death of (a person, animal, or other living thing)
    • example - her father was killed in a car crash
    • synonyms - murder, cause the death of, end the life of, take the life of, do away with, make away with, assassinate, do to death, eliminate, terminate, dispatch, finish off, put to death, execute
  2. Put an end to or cause the failure or defeat of (something)
    • example - two fast goals from Dublin killed any hopes of a famous Sligo victory
    • synonyms - destroy, put an end to, bring to an end, be the end of, end, extinguish, dash, quell, quash, ruin, wreck, shatter, smash, crush, scotch
  3. Overwhelm (someone) with an emotion.
    • synonyms - overwhelm, take someone"s breath away, leave speechless, shake, move, stir, stun, amaze, astonish, stagger, dumbfound
  4. Pass (time, or a specified amount of it), typically while waiting for a particular event.
    • example - when he reached the station he found he actually had an hour to kill
    • synonyms - while away, use up, fill up, fill in, fill, occupy, beguile, pass, spend, expend
noun
  • An act of killing, especially of one animal by another.
    • example - a lion has made a kill
    • synonyms - death blow, killing, act of killing, dispatch
/ˈkɪlɪŋ/
noun
  • An act of causing death, especially deliberately.
    • example - the community was shocked by the brutal killings
    • synonyms - murder, taking of life, assassination, homicide, manslaughter, liquidation, elimination, doing to death, putting to death, execution, dispatch, martyrdom
adjective
  1. Causing death.
    • example - a killing disease
    • synonyms - deadly, lethal, fatal, mortal, death-dealing, causing death, life-threatening, final, destructive, dangerous
  2. Exhausting or unbearable.
    • synonyms - exhausting, gruelling, punishing, taxing, draining, wearing, prostrating, sapping, crushing, tiring, fatiguing, debilitating, enervating, arduous, tough, demanding, onerous, strenuous, rigorous, relentless, unsparing, grinding, formidable
/ˈkɪləˌmiːtə/
/kɪˈlɒmɪtə/
noun
  • A metric unit of length equal to 1,000 metres (approximately 0.62 miles).
    • example - A meter is about three feet and three inches and a kilometer equals about six tenths of a mile.
/kʌɪnd/
noun
  1. A group of people or things having similar characteristics.
    • example - all kinds of music
    • synonyms - sort, type, variety, style, form, class, category, genre
  2. Each of the elements (bread and wine) of the Eucharist.
    • example - communion in both kinds
/kɪŋ/
noun
  1. The male ruler of an independent state, especially one who inherits the position by right of birth.
    • example - King Henry VIII
    • synonyms - ruler, sovereign, monarch, supreme ruler, crowned head, majesty, Crown, head of state, royal personage, emperor, prince, potentate, overlord, liege lord, lord, leader, chief
  2. The most important chess piece, of which each player has one, which the opponent has to checkmate in order to win. The king can move in any direction, including diagonally, to any adjacent square that is not attacked by an opponent"s piece or pawn.
    • example - The first king to move must therefore step back from his pawn, leaving him no longer able to protect it (the rules of chess forbid the kings moving within one square of each other).
verb
  1. Make (someone) king.
    • example - For history lovers, Richard the Second was dethroned by Bolingbroke, who was kinged Henry The Fourth.
  2. Act in an unpleasantly superior and domineering way.
    • example - he"ll start kinging it over the lot of us again
/kɪs/
verb
  1. Touch or caress with the lips as a sign of love, sexual desire, or greeting.
    • example - he kissed her on the lips
    • synonyms - plant a kiss on, brush one"s lips against, blow a kiss to, air-kiss
  2. (of a ball) lightly touch (another ball) in passing.
noun
  1. A touch or caress with the lips.
    • example - a quick kiss on the cheek
    • synonyms - air kiss
  2. A slight touch of a ball against another ball.
    • example - Davis looked poised to grab another frame from a seemingly lost position only for a double kiss to scupper his comeback in the fifth frame.
  3. A small cake, biscuit, or sweet.
/ˈkɪtʃɪn/
noun
  1. A room or area where food is prepared and cooked.
    • example - It was now early evening, and Vera was in the kitchen, preparing the food that she had sent Bill out for.
    • synonyms - cooking area, kitchenette, kitchen-diner, galley, cookhouse, bakehouse, scullery
  2. The percussion section of an orchestra.
  3. (of a language) in an uneducated or domestic form.
/niː/
noun
  1. The joint between the thigh and the lower leg in humans.
    • example - He will be out for the season after having an operation on his knee to repair cruciate ligaments.
  2. An angled piece of wood or metal frame used to connect and support the beams and timbers of a wooden ship.
    • example - The deck and hull are through bolted on an inward flange and structural knees and bulkheads are securely attached.
  3. An abrupt obtuse or approximately right-angled bend in a graph between parts where the slope varies smoothly.
verb
  • Hit (someone) with one"s knee.
    • example - she kneed him in the groin
/nʌɪf/
noun
  • An instrument composed of a blade fixed into a handle, used for cutting or as a weapon.
    • example - He studied the padded envelope for a moment, before pulling out a pocket knife and cutting into one of the ends.
    • synonyms - cutting tool, blade, cutter, carver
verb
  • Stab (someone) with a knife.
    • example - he was knifed to death during the argument
    • synonyms - stab, hack, gash, run through, slash, lacerate, cut, tear, gouge, pierce, spike, impale, transfix, bayonet, spear, skewer, wound
/nɒk/
verb
  1. Strike a surface noisily to attract attention, especially when waiting to be let in through a door.
    • example - he strolled over and knocked on a door marked Enquiries
    • synonyms - bang, tap, rap, thump, pound, hammer
  2. Collide with (someone or something), giving them a hard blow.
    • example - he deliberately ran against her, knocking her shoulder
    • synonyms - collide with, bump into, bang into, knock against, hit, strike, be in collision with, run into, crash into, smash into, plough into, slam into, dash against, ram, jolt
  3. Talk disparagingly about; criticize.
    • synonyms - criticize, find fault with, run down, disparage, belittle, depreciate, deprecate, detract from, give a bad press to, cast aspersions on, scoff at, deride, jeer at, carp at, cavil at
  4. Approach (a specified age)
noun
  1. A sudden short sound caused by a blow, especially on a door to attract attention or gain entry.
    • example - There was a sudden knock at the door, the noise seemingly unnatural and loud in the silence that I had gotten accustomed to in the past half-hour.
    • synonyms - tap, rap, rat-tat, rat-tat-tat, knocking, bang, banging, beating, pounding, hammering, drumming, thump, thud
  2. A blow or collision.
    • example - the casing is tough enough to withstand knocks
    • synonyms - bump, blow, bang, striking, beating, jolt, jar, jarring, shock
  3. An innings, especially of an individual batsman.
/nəʊ/
verb
  1. Be aware of through observation, inquiry, or information.
    • example - most people know that CFCs can damage the ozone layer
    • synonyms - be aware, realize, be conscious, have knowledge, be informed, have information
  2. Have developed a relationship with (someone) through meeting and spending time with them; be familiar or friendly with.
    • example - he knew and respected Laura
    • synonyms - be acquainted with, have met, be familiar with
  3. Have sexual intercourse with (someone).
/ˈnɒlɪdʒ/
noun
  1. Facts, information, and skills acquired through experience or education; the theoretical or practical understanding of a subject.
    • example - a thirst for knowledge
    • synonyms - understanding, comprehension, grasp, grip, command, mastery, apprehension
  2. Awareness or familiarity gained by experience of a fact or situation.
    • example - the programme had been developed without his knowledge
    • synonyms - awareness, consciousness, realization, recognition, cognition, apprehension, perception, appreciation
  3. Sexual intercourse.