It’s easy to confuse viruses and bacteria. They are both extremely tiny, for one thing, and, depending on what kind of bug you get, they can make you sick. OK, “extremely tiny” and “make you sick”? We do have technical words for these things. Viruses and bacteria are microscopic, meaning they are too small to see with the unaided eye. And pathogens are “disease-producing agents,” …
By Lindsay Barrett If you have an early reader and writer in your life, you’ve likely heard of “sight words.” What are they, why do kids need to learn them, and how can you help without inciting groans of boredom? Here are the basics you need to know, and a handy list of fun practice activities that will have kids too busy moving and creating …
by John Kelly, Senior Research Editor at Dictionary.com Words that are hard to spell, sound alike, aren’t commonly used everyday, and have very technical meanings? They’re confusing! And the trio asymptomatic, asymptotic, and asystematic? Well, they make for a perfect storm of confusion. Let’s break down these words, all the way down to their nuts and bolts. Now, don’t be too daunted by all the …
There comes a time in every parent’s life when the Harry Potter books and movies take over your household! Whether you’re a reading family or a movie-watching family or maybe doing a bit of both, here’s a twist on our Disney Movie Word Challenge to engage your children and boost their vocabulary at the same time! Minerva McGonagall and Albus Dumbledore would definitely approve. First, …
For anyone who isn’t an adventurous eater, words like sushi, and especially sashimi, might be intimidating. However, these are not only easy words to pronounce (they’re entirely phonetic), but they’re also incredibly specific and therefore difficult to confuse. Both sushi and sashimi are specific kinds of Japanese foods involving raw fish, but we’re going to break them down a little more specifically so that you …
It’s time to vote on round four of our slang competition at Dictionary.com! There are only a handful of words left on Dictionary.com’s March Madness bracket, but the competition is just heating up. Last week, you voted on our Sweet Sixteen, and you wasted no time knocking out terms like big mood, hold my beer, and sorry not sorry. In a surprising upset, the 16-seed …
Prepare your middle school kids for high school with these vocab activities Do you have a middle-schooler preparing for high school? Challenge them with over 10 vocab activities designed for high school age students. Learning about roots of words Roots can form words in our current language by reconstructing original words from a parent language. Learn more about roots of words by looking for some …
There’s amid. Then there’s amidst. Can they be used in the same way or are there important differences between them? Is one considered more correct? Hey, we get it. The English language is hard! But amid this jumble of words and amidst that mess of meaning, we’re here to help clear things up. What does amid mean? Amid is a preposition, a type of word …
Ever heard someone say “rabbit rabbit,” but there’s not a floppy-eared bunny to be found for miles? There’s a reason they’re saying it … and that reason may even convince you to start saying it too, if you haven’t already. Keep reading to find out why this saying may be your next morning mantra. What does rabbit rabbit mean? Though it sounds a bit like gibberish, …
Find Week 1, Week 2, & new Week 3 ELA learning resources for preschool, kindergarten, elementary, middle school, and high school students below. As we all prepare to self-isolate, shelter in place, quarantine, hunker down at home, the time for interacting with our kids is upon us. And the fact that many parents are still working [from home] doesn’t make engaging with our kids …
by John Kelly, Senior Research Editor at Dictionary.com Most of us have never lived through a pandemic like the coronavirus before, but we have heard or learned about them, from the Spanish flu to, more notoriously, the plague, like the Black Death. And perhaps, as you’ve followed the news or talked to people about COVID-19, you have even heard the coronavirus called a “plague.” No, …
