Voice of America Broadcast Dictionary - F
This Special English Dictionary contains about 1,500 words and makes an excellent vocabulary goal for intermediate level learners.
N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z
Parts of Speech Key
n. (noun) - a name word
v. (verb) - an action word
ad. (adjective/adverb) - a describing word
prep. (preposition) - a word used to show a relation
pro. (pronoun) - a word used in place of a noun
conj. (conjunction) - a joining word
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face - 
n. the front of the head: eyes, nose, mouth; v. to look toward; to turn toward; to have before you, such as a problem or danger
fact - n. something known or proved to be true
factory - n. a building or group of buildings where goods are made
fail - v. to not succeed; to not reach a goal
fair - ad. just; honest; what is right
fall - v. to go down quickly; to come down; to drop to the ground or a lower position
false - ad. not true; not correct
family - n. the group that includes children and their parents
famous - ad. known very well to many people
far - ad. at, to or from a great distance
farm - n. land used to grow crops and animals for food
fast - ad. moving or working at great speed; quick
fat - n. tissue in the bodies of humans and animals used to store energy and to keep warm; ad. thick; heavy
father - n. the male parent; a man who has a child or children
fear - v. to be afraid; to worry that something bad is near or may happen ("He feared falling down."); n. a strong emotion when there is danger or trouble ("He had a fear that he would fall down.")
federal - ad. of or having to do with a national or central government
feed - v. to give food to
feel - v. to have or experience an emotion; to know by touching
female - n. a woman or girl; the sex that gives birth; ad. of or about women
fence - n. something around an area of land to keep animals or people in or out
fertile - ad. rich in production of plants or animals; producing much
few - ad. not many; a small number of
field - n. an area of open land, usually used to grow crops or to raise animals
fierce - ad. extremely strong; violent; angry
fight - v. to use violence or force; to attempt to defeat or destroy an enemy; n. the use of force; a battle
fill - v. to put or pour something into a container until there is space for no more
film - v. to record something so it can be seen again; to make a motion picture or movie; n. a thin piece of material for making pictures with a camera; a movie
final - ad. at the end; last
financial - ad. of or about the system that includes the use of money, credit, investments and banks
find - v. to discover or learn something by searching or by accident; to decide a court case ("The jury finds the man guilty of murder.")
fine - n. a payment ordered by a court to punish someone for a crime; ad. very good; very small or thin
finish - v. to complete; to end
fire - v. to shoot a gun; n. the heat and light produced by something burning
fireworks - n. rockets producing bright fire in the sky, used in holiday celebrations
firm - ad. not easily moved or changed ("She is firm in her opinion.")
first - ad. coming before all others
fish - n. a creature that lives and can breathe in water
fit - v. to be of the correct size or shape ("These shoes fit my feet.")
fix - v. to make good or right again
flag - n. a piece of colored cloth used to represent a nation, government or organization
flat - ad. smooth; having no high places
flee - v. to run away from
float - v. to be on water without sinking; to move or be moved gently on water or through air
flood - v. to cover with water; n. the movement of water out of a river, lake or ocean onto land
floor - n. the bottom part of a room for walking on ("The book fell to the floor."); the level of a building ("The fire was on the first floor.")
flow - v. to move like a liquid
flower - n. the colored part of plants that carry seeds
fluid - n. any substance that can flow, such as a liquid
fly - v. to move through the air with wings, like a bird or airplane; to travel in an airplane or flying vehicle
fog - n. a mass of wet air that is difficult to see through; a cloud close to the ground
follow - v. to come or go after; to accept the rule or power of; to obey
food - n. that which is taken in by all living things for energy, strength and growth
fool - v. to make someone believe something that is not true; to trick; n. a person who is tricked easily
foot - n. the bottom part of the leg; the part of the body that touches the ground when a person or animal walks
for - prep. because of ("He is famous for his work."); in exchange ("Give me one dollar for the book."); through space or time ("They travelled for one hour."); representative of ("I speak for all people."); to be employed by ("She works for a computer company.")
force - v. to make someone do something or make something happen by using power; n. power, strength; strength used against a person or object; military power of a nation; a military group
foreign - ad. of, about or from another nation; not from one's own place or country
forest - n. a place of many trees
forget - v. to not remember
forgive - v. to pardon; to excuse; to remove guilt
form - v. to make; to start; to shape ("They formed a swim team."); n. a kind ("Swimming is a form of exercise.")
former - ad. earlier in time; not now
forward - ad. the direction in front of; toward the front
free - v. to release; ad. not controlled by another or by outside forces; not in prison; independent; not limited by rules; without cost
freedom - n. the condition of being free
freeze - v. to cause or to become very cold; to make or to become hard by cold
fresh - ad. newly made or gathered; recent
friend - n. a person one likes and trusts
frighten - v. to cause great fear
from - prep. having a person, place or thing as a beginning or cause ("It is a message from the president."); at a place distant, not near ("The school is five kilometers from my home."); because of ("He is suffering from cancer.")
front - n. the forward part; the opposite of back; the beginning; the first part
fruit - n. food from trees and plants
fuel - n. any substance burned to create heat or power
full - ad. containing as much as a person or thing can hold; complete
fun - n. anything that is pleasing and causes happiness
funeral - n. a ceremony held in connection with the burial or burning of the dead
future - n. time after now ("We can talk about it in the future."); ad. in the time to come ("All future meetings will be held in this room.")
This dictionary was created by the VOA (Voice of English) Special English and Voice of America. It makes an excellent starting vocabulary selection for intermediate level learners. This dictionary is used as the basis on which listening selections vocabulary is chosen and can help you understand VOA broadcasts which can be found at the Voice of America Special English site.
