Oxford Basic American Dictionary

a • bu • sive / s'byusiv / adjective

an abusive remark

AC / ,ei 'si /

short for air conditioning

ac •a • dem • ic Ф |awl / ^b'demik /

adjective

connected with education, especially in schools and colleges Our academic year begins in September.

a•cad • e • my AWL / ³'k®dsmi / noun [count] ( plural a . cad .e . mies )

a school that teaches people certain skills a military academy

an official group of people who are important in art, science, or literature

the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

ac • cel • er • ate / sk'sebreit / verb ( ac . cel . er . ates , ac . cel . er . at ing , ac . cel . er . at . ed )

to go, or to make a vehicle go faster She accelerated up the steep hill.

ac • cel • er • a • tor / ak'selareitar / noun [ count ]

the part of a vehicle that you press with your foot when you want it to go faster

She hit the accelerator and passed the bus. -^SYNONYM gas pedal , Look at the picture at steering wheel .

ac • cent / 'reksent / noun [ count ]

( english language arts )

1 the way a person from a certain place or country speaks a language

She speaks English with a strong southern accent.

saying one word or part of a word more strongly than another

In the word "because," the accent is on the second part of the word.

(in writing) a mark, usually above a letter, that changes the sound of the letter

Fiance has an accent on the "e."

ac . cept Ф / эк'sept / verb ( ac . cepts , ac cept ing ,ac.cept.ed )

1 to say "yes" when someone asks you to have or do something

Please accept this gift.

accepted the invitation to his party.

to believe that something is true She can't accept that her son is dead.

to allow someone to join a group, a school, an organization, etc.

She was accepted at Yale and plans to start in the fall. —Look at reject .

ac .cept .a .ble О / sk'septsbl /

allowed by most people; good enough

It's not acceptable to make so many mistakes.

—ANTONYM unacceptable

ac • cep • tance / skseptsns / noun [noncount]

taking something that someone offers you or asks you to have

Her quick acceptance of the offer surprised me.

ac • cess 1AWL / '®kses / noun [ noncount ]

a way to go into a place or to use something

We don't have access to the yard from our apartment.

Do you have access to a computer at home?

ac • ceSS2AWL / 'rekses / verb ( ac . cess . es , ac cess. ing ,ac . cessed ) ( computers ) to find information on a computer Click on the icon to access a file.

ac • ces • si • ble aw / sk'sessbl /

possible to be reached or entered The island is only accessible by boat.

easy to get, use, or understand

This DVD makes history more accessible to kids.

—ANTONYM inaccessible

ac .ci .dent О / 'rekssdsnt / noun [ count ]

something bad that happens by chance I had an accident when I was driving to work — my car hit a tree.

I'm sorry I broke your watch — it was an accident. by accident

by chance; not because you planned it I took Jane's book by accident. I thought it was mine.

ac • ci • den • tal / ^kss'dentl /

If something is accidental , it happens by chance and is not planned

Police do not know if the plane crash was accidental or caused by a bomb.

► ac • ci • den • tal • ly / ^ksa'dentli / adverb He accidentally broke the window.