Oxford Basic American Dictionary

a • ston • ish / э ' stanif /

( a . ston . ish . es , a . ston ish . ing , a . ston . ished )

to surprise someone very much The news astonished everyone.

a • ston • ished / э ' stanift /

very surprised

I was astonished to hear that he was getting married.

a • ston • ish • ing / э ' stanijig / adjective

If something is astonishing , it surprises you very much an astonishing story

a • ston • ish • ment / э ' stanij^nt /

[noncount]

a feeling of great surprise

He looked at me in astonishment when I told him the news.

as • trol • o • gy / э ' strabd3i / noun [ noncount ]

the study of the positions and movements of the stars and planets and the way that some people believe they affect people and events

as • trol • o • ger / э 'stralэdзэr / noun [ count ] a person who studies or knows a lot about astrology —Look at horoscope , the zodiac .

as • tro • naut / ' ®stremt ; ' ®strenat / noun [ count ]

a person who works and travels in space

as • tron • o • my / э ' strammi / noun [ noncount ]

the study of the sun, moon, planets, and stars

as • tron • o • mer / э 'strаnэmэr / noun [ count ]

a person who studies or knows a lot about astronomy

as • tute / э ' stut / adjective

good at judging people or situations an astute observer

at О / эt ; ®t / preposition

a word that shows where They are at school.

Jen is at home.

The answer is at the bottom of the page.

a word that shows when I go to bed at eleven o'clock. At night you can see the stars.

toward someone or something Look at the picture.

I smiled at her.

Someone threw paint at the mayor.

a word that shows what someone is doing or what is happening

The two countries are at war . We were hard at work .

a word that shows how much, how fast, how old, etc. We were traveling at about 50 miles per hour.

She got married at nineteen (= when she was nineteen years old ) .

a word that shows how well someone or something does something

I'm not very good at math.

because of something We laughed at his jokes.

the symbol @ , used in e-mail addresses after a person's name

Style

We use dot when we say a person's e-mail address. For the address ann@smith.com we say "Ann at smith dot com."

ate

form of eat

a • the • ist / ' eiSiist / noun [ count ]

( religion ) a person who does not believe that there is a God

ath • lete / ' ®eiit / noun [ count ]

( sports ) a person who is good at sports like running or jumping, especially one who takes part in sports competitions

Athletes from all over the world go to the Olympic Games.

ath • let • ic / же ' letik / adjective

( sports ) connected with sports athletic ability

( health ) having a fit, strong, and healthy body

ath • let • ics / же 'letiks / noun [ noncount ]

( sports ) sports of any kind college athletics

at • las / ' atbs / noun [count] ( plural at . las . es ) ( geography ) a book of maps an atlas of the world

ATM / |ei ti ' em / noun [ count ]

a machine that you can get money from by using a special plastic card Word building There are two main types of bank account . If you have a checking account , you can take your money out at any time by using a check or an ATM card (= a card that you put into a machine, which gives you money ) .

A savings account lets you keep your money in the bank to use later. You receive extra money, called interest , for keeping your money there.

at .mos . phere © / ' atmэsfIr /

the atmosphere [ singular ] ( general science ) the

mixture of gases around the earth pollution of the atmosphere

[ count ] the air in a place a smoky atmosphere

[ count, noncount ] the feeling that places or people give you

The atmosphere in the office was very friendly.

at . от © / 'setem / noun [ count ]