Education

Vocabulary Workshop: 1000 Most Common Words in English in Alphabetical Order - Page 1

This ESL vocabulary workshop includes a part of the 1000 most common words in English placed in alphabetical order. Click on the links at the end of the page that lead to other pages that are included in this list of the 1000 most common words in English for ESL EFL English learners and teachers.

While this list is helpful for a strong beginning, more advanced vocabulary building will help you quickly improve your English. These vocabulary books will further help you build your vocabulary, especially at advanced levels.

Rank	Word	Reference	Rank	Word	Reference
5	a	Definite and Indefinite Articles	981	chick	The little chick was so cute!
422	able	Adjective or Adverb?	829	chief	Adjective or Adverb?
58	about	Preposition Help	665	child	The three year old child could walk and talk very well.
307	above	Preposition Help	256	children	Can the children come over a birthday party?
177	act		741	choose
168	add		962	chord	The C Major chord finished the piece.
917	afraid	Adjective or Adverb?	525	circle	He drew a circle around the best ideas.
111	after	Preposition Help	227	city	The city can be a dangerous place, but it offers so much to do.
191	again		899	claim	He made a claim on the money.
383	against	Preposition Help	329	class	We're having a class on phrasal verbs next week.
675	age	It's the age of technology.	719	clean	Adjective or Adverb?
481	ago		446	clear	Adjective or Adverb?
789	agree		683	climb
155	air	The air isn't very clean in the city.	831	clock	Look at the clock on the wall! I have to get out of here!
40	all		245	close
841	allow		597	clothe
157	also		678	cloud	Doesn't that cloud look like a woman?
264	always		632	coast	The west coast is beautiful.
507	am		931	coat	Get your coat on and let's get going.
500	among	Preposition Help	398	cold	It's very cold outside.
48	an	Definite and Indefinite Articles	747	collect
4	and		930	colony	The French colony was a paradise.
898	anger	You need to control your anger better.	297	color	My favorite color is blue.
192	animal	The animal was ferocious.	886	column	The column in the middle is the most important in the chart.
208	answer	The answer is correct.	80	come
101	any		472	common	Adjective or Adverb?
391	appear		856	company	The company went bankrupt last year.
927	apple	An apple a day keeps the doctor away!	812	compare
15	are		333	complete	Adjective or Adverb?
335	area	I like the Seattle area.	940	condition	My first condition is that you study hard.
513	arm	He hurt his arm playing baseball.	959	connect
868	arrange		628	consider
950	arrive		667	consonant	V is a difficult consonant to pronounce.
539	art	Art is one of the greatest things in life.	428	contain
17	as		900	continent	Australia is the only country that is also a continent.
179	ask		850	continue
22	at	Preposition Help	749	control	The situation is under control.
771	atom	Scientists used to believe that the atom was the smallest measurable unit.	619	cook
601	baby	We had a baby last year.	684	cool	Adjective or Adverb?
112	back	My back hurts!	633	copy	I'll make you a copy of the report.
724	bad	Adjective or Adverb?	811	corn	I enjoy eating corn.
502	ball	Bounce that ball!	782	corner	The house is on the corner.
934	band	I joined a band when I was sixteen years old.	421	correct	Adjective or Adverb?
746	bank	I need to go to the bank to get some money.	734	cost
972	bar	Let's grab a beer at the bar.	871	cotton	My shirt is made of cotton.
291	base	The base of operations is in Vienna.	78	could
944	basic	Adjective or Adverb?	534	count
808	bat	Hi picked up the bat and went to hit.	206	country	This is a huge country.
21	be		454	course	The English course was very difficult.
592	bear	I saw a bear on the trail yesterday.	215	cover	Can you add another cover to the bed.
646	beat		579	cow	Our cow produces 2 gallons of mild each day.
425	beauty		698	crease	There is no crease in my trousers.
545	bed	I went to bed late last night.	805	create
98	been		777	crop	The corn crop was very good this past year.
143	before	Preposition Help	229	cross
285	began		810	crowd	There was a huge crowd at the concert.
257	begin		409	cry
445	behind	Preposition Help	847	current
550	believe		294	cut
815	bell	He rang the bell to begin class.	968	dad	My dad went to school in Oregon.
352	best		510	dance
354	better		794	danger	There is danger in everything.
219	between	Preposition Help	410	dark
173	big	Adjective or Adverb?	77	day	Each day is a new day.
314	bird	He saw the bird fly away.	843	dead	Adjective or Adverb?
631	bit		860	deal	He made a great deal on his new house.
326	black		982	dear	Adjective or Adverb?
851	block	The house is one block away.	903	death	Death is a part of life.
727	blood	You've got blood on your face. Did you cut yourself?	461	decide
725	blow		750	decimal	Calculate the decimal as well.
459	blue		463	deep	Adjective or Adverb?
569	board	He wrote the answer on the board.	979	degree
471	boat	I got on the boat and rowed away.	816	depend
316	body	It's important to keep your body in shape.	618	describe
785	bone	The bone was showing after the accident.	845	desert	I went out ot the desert last weekend.
278	book	I bought a new book last weekend.	685	design	He submitted a new design for the home.
872	born		873	determine
267	both		437	develop
689	bottom	The water was so clear I could see the bottom of the lake.	669	dictionary	Look up the word in the dictionary.
928	bought		81	did
417	box	He opened the box.	709	die
146	boy	The boy ran home after school.	138	differ
912	branch	The branch on the tree had snow on it.	756	difficult	Adjective or Adverb?
969	bread	I eat bread every day.	319	direct	Adjective or Adverb?
720	break		921	discuss
587	bright	Adjective or Adverb?	495	distant	Adjective or Adverb?
493	bring		528	divide
893	broad	Adjective or Adverb?	955	division	There was a major division between the partners.
654	broke		52	do
546	brother	My brother lives in Seattle.	757	doctor	You can see the doctor now.
489	brought		151	does
736	brown		317	dog	My daughter really wants a dog.
197	build		921	dollar	One dollar isn't worth much anymore.
623	burn		242	don't
468	busy	Adjective or Adverb?	424	done
32	but		324	door	Can you open the door?
606	buy		948	double
29	by	Preposition Help	96	down	Preposition Help
92	call		238	draw
118	came		938	dream	I had a strange dream last night.
869	camp	Did you go to camp last summer?	677	dress	She bought a new dress yesterday.
36	can		985	drink
791	capital	Venture capital is hard to come by.	426	drive
753	captain	The captain ordered the ship return.	505	drop
274	car	I'd like to buy a new car.	477	dry
933	card	I sent the card to my aunt.	976	duck	Have you ever eaten duck?
276	care		356	during
279	carry		49	each
655	case	The case was put back two weeks.	651	ear	You need a good ear to play music well.
626	cat	My cat's name is Judy.	361	early
565	catch		199	earth	The Earth is round.
766	caught		261	ease
140	cause		497	east
549	cell	Each cell is important.	282	eat
730	cent	It costs one cent.	581	edge	The edge of the knife is very sharp.
386	center		774	effect
627	century	Last century was extremely violent.	547	egg	I'd like an egg for breakfast.
405	certain	Adjective or Adverb?	602	eight
793	chair	The chair is made of wood.	621	either
879	chance	Did that happen by chance?	775	electric	Adjective or Adverb?
181	change		779	element	One element you need to consider is bandwidth.
764	character	He has quite a kind character.	652	else
970	charge		160	end	The end is near.
852	chart	The chart showed the growth of the company.	983	enemy	Do you have an enemy?
483	check		542	energy	The world needs more and more energy.

Many thanks to Jerry Jones for providing this list of the top 1000 most commonly used (American English) words!

Kenneth Beare
English as 2nd Language Guide

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