Wikipedia:Basic English combined wordlist

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This is the maximum Basic English combined wordlist. It is what the advanced student will know when moving from Basic English to the standard English language. So any student who knows all of these words has gone far beyond Basic English.

It actually contains well over 2,600 words and combines five separate word lists:

  • 50 international nouns.
  • 12 names of sciences.
  • 12 title and organizational names.
  • 50 general utility.
  • 5 onomatopoeic (sounds like) words.
  • 50 words about time and numbers.

Total: 2626 words.


Contents: Top – 0-9 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

A

Basic: a • able • about • account • acid • across • act • addition • adjustment • advertisement • agreement • after • again • against • air • all • almost • among • amount • amusement • angle • animal • answer • and • angry • ant • any • apparatus • apple • approval • arch • argument • arm • army • art • as • at • attack • attempt • attention • attraction • authority • automatic • awake

International: alcohol • algebra • aluminium • ammonia • anesthetic • April • arithmetic • asbestos • August • autobus • automobile

Addendum: absence • absorption • acceleration • acceptance • accessory • accident • active • address • adjacent • adventure • advice • age • agent • agency • ago • allowance • along • also • alternative • always • ambition • amplitude • anchor • ankle • appendage • application • approximation • arbitration • arbitrary • arc • area • arrangement • ash • asset • assistant • average • awkward • axis

Compound: afterthought • airplane • another • anybody • anyhow • anyone • anything • anywhere

Endings: actor • acting

B

Basic: baby • back • bad • bag • balance • ball • band • base • basin • basket • bath • be • beautiful • because • bed • bee • before • behavior • belief • bell • bent • berry • between • bird • birth • bit • bite • bitter • black • blade • blood • blow • blue • board • boat • body • bone • book • boot • boiling • bottle • box • boy • brain • brake • branch • brass • bread • breath • brick • bridge • bright • broken • brother • brown • brush • bucket • building • bulb • button • burn • burst • business • but • butter • by

International: ballet • bang • bank • bar • beef • beer • biology • bomb

Addendum: balcony • bale • bankrupt • bark • barrel • beak • beaker • beard • beat • behind • belt • bet • bill • birefringence • blame • blanket • both • bottom • brave • break • breakfast • breast • broker • bubble • bud • budget • buoyancy • bunch • burial • busy

Compound: backbone • backwoods • become • bedroom • beeswax • birthday • birthright • blackberry • blackbird • blackboard • bloodvessel • bluebell • bookkeeper • brushwood • buttercup

Endings: basing • based • builder • burner • burned • burning

C

Basic: cake • camera • canvas • card • care • carriage • cart • cat • cause • certain • chain • chalk • chance • change • cheap • cheese • chemical • chest • chief • chin • church • circle • cloth • clean • clear • clock • cloud • coal • coat • cold • collar • color • comb • come • comfort • committee • common • company • comparison • competition • complete • complex • condition • connection • conscious • control • cook • copper • copy • cord • cork • cotton • cough • country • cover • cow • crack • credit • crime • cruel • crush • cry • cup • current • curtain • curve • cushion • cut

International: cafe • calendar • catarrh • centi- • champagne • chauffeur • check • chemist • chemistry • chocolate • chorus • cigarette • circus • citron • club • cocktail • coffee • cognac • college • colony

Addendum: calculation • call • capacity • capital • carpet • cartilage • case • cast • cave • cavity • cell • ceremony • certificate • chair • character • charge • child • chimney • china • choice • circulation • circuit • circumference • civilization • clay • claim • claw • cleavage • clever • client • climber • clip • code • coil • collision • collection • column • combination • combine • communications • complaint • component • compound • concept • concrete • conductor • congruent • conservation • consignment • constant • consumer • continuous • contour • convenient • conversion • cool • corner • correlation • corrosion • cost • court • creeper • crop • cross • cunning • cusp • customs

Compound: cardboard • carefree • caretaker • clockwork • commonsense • copyright • cupboard

Endings: carter • clothier • clothing • cooker • cooked • cooking • crying

D

Basic: damage • danger • dark • daughter • day • dead • dear • death • debt • decision • deep • degree • delicate • dependent • design • desire • destruction • detail • development • different • digestion • direction • dirty • discovery • discussion • disease • disgust • distance • distribution • division • do • dog • door • down • doubt • drain • drawer • dress • drink • driving • drop • dry • dust

International: dance • December • deci- • degree • Dominion • dynamite

Addendum: damping • date • debit • deck • decrease • defect • deficiency • deflation • degenerate • delivery • demand • denominator • department • desert • density • deposit • determining • dew • diameter • difference • difficulty • drift • dike • dilution • dinner • dip • direct • disappearance • discharge • discount • disgrace • dislike • dissipation • disturbance • ditch • dive • divisor • divorce • doll • domesticating • dreadful • dream • duct • dull • duty

Compound: daylight • downfall

Endings: dancer • dancing (to) • designer • dressing (up) • driver • dropped • dropper • duster

E

Basic: ear • early • earth • east • edge • education • effect • egg • elastic • electric • end • engine • enough • equal • error • even • event • ever • every • example • exchange • existence • expansion • experience • expert • eye

International: eight • electricity • eleven • Embassy • Empire • encyclopedia • engineer

Addendum: each • easy • economy • efficiency • effort • either • elimination • employer • empty • enemy • envelope • environment • envy • equation • erosion • eruption • evaporation • evening • exact • excitement • experiment • exercise • explanation • explosion • export • expression • extinction • eyebrow • eyelash

Compound: earring • earthwork • evergreen • everybody • everyday • everyone • everything • everywhere • eyeball

F

Basic: face • fact • fall • false • family • far • farm • fat • father • fear • feather • feeble • feeling • female • fertile • fiction • field • fight • finger • fire • first • fish • fixed • flag • flame • flat • flight • floor • flower • fly • fold • food • foolish • foot • for • force • fork • form • forward • fowl • frame • free • frequent • friend • from • front • fruit • full • future

International: February • fifteen • fifth • fifty • five • four • fourteen • fourth • forty • Friday

Addendum: factor • failure • fair • famous • fan • fastening • fault • ferment • fertilizing • fever • fiber • figure • fin • financial • flash • flask • flesh • flint • flood • flour • flow • focus • foliation • forecast • forehead • foreign • forgiveness • fraction • fracture • fresh • friction • frost • frozen • fume • funnel • funny • fur • furnace • furniture • fusion

Compound: fatherland • fingerprint • firearm • fire-engine • firefly • fireman • fireplace • firework • first-rate • football • footlights • footman • footnote • footprint • footstep

Endings: farmer • fisher/fisherman • folder • fired • firing

G

Basic: garden • general • get • girl • give • glass • glove • go • goat • gold • good • government • grain • grass • great • green • grey/gray • grip • group • growth • guide • gun

International: gas • geography • geology • geometry • gram • glycerin

Addendum: gate • generation • germ • germinating • gill • glacier • gland • god • grand • grateful • grating • gravel • grease • grief • grocery • groove • gross • ground • guard • guarantee • guess • gum

Compound: gasworks • goldfish • goodlooking • good-morning • goodnight • gunboat • gun-carriage • gunmetal • gunpowder

Endings: gardener

H

Basic: hair • hammer • hand • hanging • happy • harbor • hard • harmony • hat • hate • have • he • head • healthy • hearing • heart • heat • help • here • high • history • hole • hollow • hook • hope • horn • horse • hospital • hour • house • how • humor

International: half • hiss • hotel • hundred • hyena • hygiene • hysteria

Addendum: habit • handkerchief • handle • heavy • hedge • hill • hinge • hire • hold • holiday • home • honest • honey • hoof • host • human • hunt • hurry • hurt • husband

Compound: handbook • handwriting • headdress • headland • headstone • headway • hereafter • herewith • highlands • highway • himself • horseplay • horsepower • hourglass • houseboat • housekeeper • however

Endings: hanger • heater • heated • heating

I

Basic: I • ice • idea • if • ill • important • impulse • in • increase • industry • ink • insect • instrument • insurance • interest • invention • iron • island

International: Imperial • inferno • influenza • international

Addendum: igneous • image • imagination • import • impurity • inclusion • index • individual • inflation • infinity • inheritance • innocent • institution • insulator • integer • intelligent • intercept • interpretation • intersection • intrusion • investigation • investment • inverse • invitation

Compound: inasmuch • income • indoors • inland • inlet • input • inside • instep • into • itself

Endings: inner

J

Basic: jelly • jewel • join • journey • judge • jump

International: January • jazz • July • June

Addendum: jam • jaw • jealous • jerk • joint • jug • juice • jury • justice

Endings: jeweler • joiner

K

Basic: keep • kettle • key • kick • kind • kiss • knee • knife • knot • knowledge

International: kilo- • king

Addendum: kennel • kidney • kitchen • knock

Endings: keeper

L

Basic: land • language • last • late • laugh • law • lead • leaf • learning • least • leather • leg • less • left • let • letter • level • library • lift • light • like • limit • line • linen • lip • liquid • list • little • living • lock • long • look • loose • loss • loud • love • low

International: latitude • lava • liter • liqueur • longitude

Addendum: lace • lag • lake • lame • lamp • large • latitude • lawyer • layer • lazy • lecture • legal • length • lens • lesson • lever • liability • license • lid • life • lime • limestone • link • liver • load • local • loan • locus • longitude • luck • lump • lunch • lung

Compound: landmark • landslip • lighthouse • looking-glass

Endings: laughing (at) • learner • locker • locking (up)

M

Basic: machine • man • manager • make • male • map • mark • market • married • match • material • mass • may • meal • measure • meat • medical • meeting • memory • metal • middle • military • milk • mind • mine • minute • mist • mixed • money • monkey • month • moon • more • morning • most • mother • motion • mountain • mouth • move • much • muscle • music

International: macaroni • madam • magnetic • malaria • mania • March • mathematics • May • meter • meow • micro- • microscope • milli- • million • minute • Monday • museum

Addendum: magic • magnitude • manner • many • marble • margin • marriage • mast • mattress • mature • mean • meaning • medicine • medium • melt • member • mess • message • metabolism • mill • mineral • mixture • model • modern • modest • momentum • monopoly • mood • moral • moustache • mud • multiple • multiplication • murder

Compound: manhole • myself

Endings: marked • miner

N

Basic: nail • name • narrow • nation • natural • near • necessary • neck • need • needle • nerve • net • new • news • night • no • noise • normal • north • nose • not • note • now • number • nut

International: neutron • nickel • nicotine • nine • November

Addendum: nasty • nature • navy • neat • neglect • neighbor • nest • next • nice • node • nostril • nucleus • numerator • nurse

Compound: network • newspaper • nobody • nothing • nowhere

Endings: nearer • noted

O

Basic: observation • of • off • offer • office • oil • old • on • only • open • operation • opinion • opposite • or • orange • order • organization • ornament • other • out • oven • over • owner

International: October • olive • once • omelet • one • opera • opium • orchestra • organism

Addendum: obedient • officer • orchestra • ore • organ • origin • outcrop • outlier • overlap • oval • own • oxidation

Compound: offspring • oncoming • oneself • onlooker • onto • outburst • outcome • outcry • outdoor • outgoing • outhouse • outlaw • outlet • outline • outlook • output • outside • outskirts • outstretched • overacting • overall • overbalancing • overbearing • overcoat • overcome • overdo • overdressed • overfull • overhanging • overhead • overland • overleaf • overloud • overseas • overseer • overshoe • overstatement • overtake • overtaxed • overtime • overturned • overuse • overvalued • overweight • overworking

Endings: outer

P

Basic: page • pain • paint • paper • parallel • parcel • part • past • paste • payment • peace • pen • pencil • person • physical • picture • pig • pin • pipe • place • plane • plant • plate • play • please • pleasure • plough/plow • pocket • point • poison • polish • political • poor • porter • position • possible • pot • potato • powder • power • present • price • print • prison • private • probable • process • produce • profit • property • prose • protest • public • pull • pump • punishment • purpose • push • put

International: pajamas • paraffin • paradise • park • passport • patent • penguin • petroleum • phonograph • Physics • Physiology • piano • platinum • police • post • potash • President • Prince • Princess • program • propaganda • Psychology • Purr • pyramid

Addendum: packing • pad • pair • pan • paragraph • parent • particle • partner • party • passage • path • patience • pedal • pendulum • pension • people • perfect • petal • piston • plain • plan • plaster • plug • poetry • pollen • pool • population • porcelain • practice • praise • prayer • pressure • prick • priest • prime • probability • product • progress • projectile • projection • promise • proof • proud • pulley • pupil • purchase • pure

Compound: pincushion • plaything • policeman • postman • postmark • postmaster • postoffice

Endings: painter • painting • parting • playing • played • pleased (with) • pointer • pointing (at) • potter • printer • prisoner • producer

Q

Basic: quality • question • quick • quiet • quite

International: quack • quarter • queen • quinine

Addendum: quantity • quotient

R

Basic: rail • rain • range • rat • rate • ray • reaction • red • reading • ready • reason • receipt • record • regret • regular • relation • religion • representative • request • respect • responsible • rest • reward • rhythm • rice • right • ring • river • road • rod • roll • roof • room • root • rough • round • rub • rule • run

International: radio • radium • referendum • restaurant • rheumatism • Royal • rum

Addendum: race • radiation • ratio • reagent • real • receiver • reciprocal • rectangle • recurring • reference • reflux • reinforcement • relative • remark • remedy • rent • repair • reproduction • repulsion • resistance • residue • resolution • result • retail • revenge • reversible • rich • rigidity • rise • rival • rock • rot • rotation • rude • rust

Compound: runaway

Endings: raining • reader • reading • roller • ruler • rubber

S

Basic: sad • safe • sail • salt • same • sand • say • scale • school • science • scissors • screw • sea • seat • second • secret • secretary • see • seed • selection • self • send • seem • sense • separate • serious • servant • sex • shade • shake • shame • sharp • sheep • shelf • ship • shirt • shock • shoe • short • shut • side • sign • silk • silver • simple • sister • size • skin • skirt • sky • sleep • slip • slope • slow • small • smash • smell • smile • smoke • smooth • snake • sneeze • snow • so • soap • society • sock • soft • solid • some • son • song • sort • sound • soup • south • space • spade • special • sponge • spoon • spring • square • stage • stamp • star • start • statement • station • steam • steel • stem • step • stick • sticky • stiff • still • stitch • stocking • stomach • stone • stop • store • story • straight • strange • street • stretch • strong • structure • substance • such • sudden • sugar • suggestion • summer • sun • support • surprise • sweet • swim • system

International: salad • sardine • Saturday • second • September • serum • seven • sir • six • sixteen • sport • Sunday

Addendum: sac • sale • sample • satisfaction • saturated • saucer • saving • scale • scarp • schist • scratch • screen • seal • search • security • secretion • section • sedimentary • selfish • sensitivity • sentence • sepal • service • set • shadow • shale • share • shave • shear • sheet • shell • shore • shoulder • show • sight • sill • similarity • since • skull • slate • sleeve • slide • social • soil • soldier • solution • solvent • sorry • spark • specialization • specimen • speculation • spirit • spit • splash • spot • stable • stain • stair • stalk • stamen • statistics • steady • stimulus • storm • strain • straw • stream • strength • stress • strike • string • study • subject • substitution • subtraction • success • successive • sucker • sum • supply • surface • surgeon • suspension • suspicious • swelling • swing • switch • sympathetic

Compound: seaman • secondhand • shorthand • sideboard • sidewalk • somebody • someday • somehow • someone • something • sometime • somewhat • somewhere • suchlike • sunburn • sunlight • sunshade • sweetheart

Endings: sailor • shocking • shocked • snowing • steamer • stopper • stopping • stopping up • stretcher

T

Basic: table • tail • take • talk • tall • taste • tax • teaching • tendency • test • than • that • the • then • theory • there • thick • thin • thing • this • though • thought • thread • throat • through • thumb • thunder • ticket • tight • tired • till • time • tin • to • toe • together • tomorrow • tongue • tooth • top • touch • town • trade • train • transport • tray • tree • trick • trousers • true • trouble • turn • twist

International: tapioca • taxi • tea • telegram • telephone • ten • terrace • theater • thermometer • third • thirteen • thirty • thousand • three • Thursday • toast • tobacco • torpedo • Tuesday • turbine • twenty-one • twelve • twenty • twice • two

Addendum: tailor • tame • tap • tear • tent • term • texture • thickness • thief • thimble • thorax • threat • thrust • tide • tie • tissue • tongs • too • total • towel • tower • traffic • tragedy • transmission • transparent • trap • travel • treatment • triangle • truck • tube • tune • tunnel • twin • typist

Compound: today • tonight • tradesman

Endings: talking (of) • teacher • touching (up) • trader • trainer • training • troubling • troubled • turning (over)

U

Basic: umbrella • under • unit • up • use

International: university

Addendum: ugly • unconformity • understanding • universe • unknown

Compound: underclothing • undercooked • undergo • undergrowth • undermined • undersigned • undersized • understatement • undertake • undervalued • undo • upkeep • uplift • upon • upright • uptake

Endings: used (to)

V

Basic: value • verse • very • vessel • view • violent • voice

International: vanilla • violin • visa • vitamin • vodka • volt

Addendum: valency • valley • valve • vapor • variable • vascular • vegetable • velocity • vestigial • victim • victory • volume • vortex • vote

Compound: viewpoint

W

Basic: walk • wall • waiting • war • warm • wash • waste • watch • water • wave • wax • way • weather • week • weight • well • west • wet • what • wheel • when • where • which • while • whip • whistle • white • who • why • wide • will • wind • window • wine • wing • winter • wire • wise • with • woman • wood • wool • word • work • worm • wound • writing • wrong

International: Wednesday • whisky

Addendum: weak • wedge • welcome • whether • wholesale • widow • wife • wild • world • wreck • wrist

Compound: waterfall • weekend • well-being • well-off • whatever • whenever • whereas • whereby • wherever • whichever • whitewash • whoever • windpipe • within • without • woodwork • workhouse

Endings: waiter • worker • working (on) working (out) / working (up) • writer • waiting • wasted

X, Y, Z

Basic: year • yellow • yes • yesterday • you • young

International: zebra • zinc • zoology

Addendum: yawn

Compound: x-ray • yearbook • yourself • zookeeper

Notes

  1. ↑ "Basic English Combined Word Lists".
  2. ↑ "Ogden's Basic English Word List".
  3. ↑ "Basic English Supplementary Word Lists".
  4. ↑ "The Next Steps".
  5. ↑ "Ogden's Basic English Compound Words".