Compound Words: English Vocabulary
In this complete tutorial for beginners’ learners are going to learn Compound words: English vocabulary and go through the alphabet and learn some interesting compound words from A – Z and teach you one or two interesting compound words starting with each letter. so let’s get started.
Before you proceed you can watch the video here.
Compound words are when two or more words are put together to form a new word with a new meaning. There are 3 forms of compound words:
Closed form compound words
The two words are joined together without a hyphen or a space.
Examples:
Basketball
Sailboat
Railway
Notebook
Birthday
Baseball
Open form compound words
This form the words are separated by space and some examples are:
Light year
Post office
Real estate
Truck driver
Middle class
High school
Hyphenated compound words
This form is where the words are connected or joined like part – time, check – in
and sister – in – law.
Some words have more than one form, for some words both the open and hyphenated form are acceptable as in the light – year , lightyear, that’s the distance that light can travel in a year, it’s very long way and for some words both the hyphenated and closed from are acceptable as in the word easy – going, easygoing, which means relax.
Sometimes compound words are easy to understand – a bookstore is a store that sells books, it makes sense and the dishwasher is a machine that washes dishes, maybe you have one in your kitchen, but others may not have so obvious for example; brainstorm – to brainstorm is an intense process of thinking of many different ideas and the hope is getting a good idea, you can see it comes from a word brain and storm, when there’s a thunderstorm it rains a lot so is the same when brainstorm, we think of a lot if ideas.
A little harder…
Another interesting compound word is scapegoat– it means someone who bears the blame for others. Now, this word comes from a scape and goat, that’s the animal called a goat and its origin is in the Bible which described a ritual in which a goat symbolic we took on the sins the bad actions of the people and was then sent into the wild to die, but if you didn’t know that it might be difficult to understand the meaning of scapegoat.
So, in todays lesson lets go through the alphabet and learn some interesting compound words from A – Z and teach you one or two interesting compound words starting with each letter. Now, there are hundreds if not thousands of compound words in English and this is just an introduction to the world of compound words.
Compound words that starts with A to Z
A
Anchorperson – A television reporter who coordinates a broadcast to which
several correspondents contribute
Applesauce – a sweet food made from cooked apples
B
Backbite – is to say mean or slanderous things about a person behind their back.
Backfire – have the opposite effect to what was intended.
C
Capsize – to (cause a boat or ship to) turn upside down by accident while on water
A huge wave capsized the ship.
Chairman – a person in charge of a meeting, organization, or department;
The chairman thanked everyone who attended the meeting.
D
Darkroom – a room in which film or the like is made, handled
My father developed pictures in the darkroom.
Daredevil – a reckless person who enjoys doing dangerous things.
Robert is a daredevil.
E
Earphone – a piece of electronic equipment that you put over or in your ears so that
you can listen privately to radio, recorded music, etc..
Earring – a piece of jewelry, usually one of a pair, worn in a hole in
the ear or fastened to the ear by a clip
My brother was wearing an earring in his left ear.
F
Farmhouse – the main house on a farm where the farmer lives
We visited the farmhouse of my grandparents.
Fanlight – a small window over the top of a door
G
Goalkeeper – (in some sports) the player who stands in the
team’s goal to try to stop the other team from scoring
The goalkeeper made a great save in the last minute of the match.
Goldsmith – a person who makes gold articles.
H
Hairbrush – a brush for the hair.
Jenny sat down and picked up her hairbrush.
Handbag – a small bag for money, keys, make-up, etc., carried especially by women
I
Invoice – a list of goods sent or services provided, with a statement of the sum due for
these; a bill.
Inmate – a person confined to an institution such as a prison or hospital.
This meaning comes from in and mate, “friend or companion.”
J
Jaywalk – to cross or walk in a street recklessly or illegally
Jobholder – the written authority given a worker or shop to perform certain work.
K
Kickoff – a kick that puts the ball into play in a football or soccer game the opening
the start of something
Knapsack – a bag with shoulder straps, carried on the back, and typically made of
canvas or other weatherproof material
Landslide – 1. a.The downward sliding of a relatively dry mass of earth and rock.
b.The mass that slides. Also called landslip.
2. a.A percentage of votes greatly exceeding the required margin of
victory.
3. a.An election that sweeps a party or candidate into office.
b. A great victory.
Lumberjack – someone whose job is to cut down trees for wood
A person whose work is to fell trees.
M
Motherland – the country in which you were born, or the country with which you feel most
connected
Motorcycle – a vehicle with two wheels that is powered by a motor and that can carry one
or two people.
N
Nobleman – a man of noble birth or rank; a man of high rank
Newsboy – a boy who sells or delivers newspapers.
O
Over throw – 1. to depose, as from a position of power; overcome, defeat, or
vanquish: to overthrow a tyrant.
2. to put an end to by force, as a government or institution.
3. to throw or knock down; overturn; topple:
The heavy winds overthrew numerous telephone poles and trees.
Over-the-counter – (of drugs) legally sold without a prescription
(= special written instruction from a doctor):
The painkiller is available as an over-the-counter drug.
P
Playwright – a person who writes plays
Post Office – a place where you can buy stamps, send letters and packages etc
Q
Quickstep – a dance with fast movements of the feet, or music for this dance
Quicksand – wet sand that is dangerous because you sink down into it if you try to walk
on it
R
Runway – a long specially prepared hard surface like a road on which aircraft land and
take off
Rearrange – 1. to change the position or order of things
She set about rearranging the furniture in the living room.
2. to change the time of a meeting etc…
My secretary will phone to rearrange the appointment.
S
Search Engine – a computer program that helps you find information on the Internet
Screenplay – the words that are written down for actors to say in a film, and
the instructions that tell them what they should do
T
Touchdown – 1 the moment at which a plane or spacecraft lands
2 an act of putting the ball down on the ground behind
the opposing team’s goal line in rugby
Typewriter – a machine with keys that you press in order to print letters of
U
Upcountry – from a place without many people or towns, especially in the middle of
a country
Upholster – to cover a chair with material
V
Vineyard – a piece of land where grapevines are grown in order to produce wine
Vouchsafe – to promise or offer something, or tell someone something that they can
W
Woodcutter – someone whose job is to cut down trees in a forest
Watermark – a special design put onto paper, especially bank notes, that can only be
seen when you hold it up to the light
X
Xylophone – a musical instrument which consists of metal or wooden bars of
different lengths that you hit with a special stick
Y
Yachtsman – a man who sails a yacht
Yearbook – a book printed once a year by a school or college, with information
and pictures about what happened there in the past year
Z
Zero Hour – the time when a military operation or an important event is planned to begin
Zigzag – a path with sharp turns in alternating directions.
So there we go you’ve just learned some common compound words from A to Z to help improve your vocabulary.
Downloadable Material
Here’s the downloadable material of Tutorial on Compound Words: English Vocabulary here.
For more readings
- The difference between MUST and HAVE TO
- Question Tags: Basic Rules
- Present perfect tense / Part 1 -form
- Irregular Nouns in the Plural / English grammar rules
- Quiet or quite / Confusing English words
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