3-letter English words
Every 3-letter word in the VocaFlare vocabulary, grouped by first letter with its meaning. Tap a word for its example sentence and CEFR level.
A
- acta single action or deed
- addto put something with something else
- agethe number of years someone has lived
- agobefore now, in the past
- aidhelp, assistance
- aimpurpose or goal
- airthe gas we breathe around us
- allevery one of something
- andjoins two words or ideas
- antsmall insect living in colonies
- anysome, in questions or negatives
- apelarge tailless primate
- aptsuitable or fitting for the situation
- areform of be used with you, we, they
- armthe body part from shoulder to hand
- artthe making of paintings and other creative work
- ashthe powder left after something burns
- askto say a question to someone
- awea feeling of great wonder or respect
B
- badnot good, of poor quality
- baga container for carrying things
- banan official rule that forbids something
- bara place that sells drinks
- batsports stick, or a flying night animal
- baya wide curve of a coastline
- bedfurniture for sleeping
- beea flying insect that makes honey
- begto ask for something urgently or humbly
- betrisk money on an outcome
- bidto offer to pay a certain price
- biglarge in size
- bincontainer for rubbish
- bioa short written description of someone's life
- bita small amount or piece
- bowweapon for arrows, or a bend of the body
- boxa container with straight sides
- boya male child
- braa piece of women's underwear
- buda small part of a plant that grows into a flower
- buga small insect, or a program error
- buman informal word for a homeless or lazy person
- buna small round bread roll, or a hairstyle
- busa large vehicle that carries many passengers
- butshows a contrast between two ideas
- buyto get something by paying money
- byea short way to say goodbye
C
- caba car that carries passengers for money
- canused to show ability or permission
- capa soft hat with a brim in front
- cara vehicle with four wheels for driving
- cata small furry pet animal
- caya small low island of sand or coral
- codlarge edible sea fish
- contrick someone, especially for money
- copan informal word for a police officer
- cowa large farm animal that gives milk
- crya loud sound showing pain or emotion
- cupa small container for drinking
- cutto divide something using something sharp
D
- dada word for father
- dama wall that holds back water
- daya period of twenty four hours
- didpast form of do, used in questions
- dieto stop living
- digan act of digging, especially for research
- dimnot bright, giving little light
- dipto lower something briefly into liquid
- DNAthe molecule carrying genetic information
- docinformal word for a document or a doctor
- doga common pet animal
- dotsmall round mark or spot
- drynot wet
- dueexpected at a certain time
- DVDa disc for movies or data
- dyea substance used to change color
E
- earthe body part for hearing
- eatput food in your mouth
- ebbto gradually decrease or recede
- ecoshort for ecological, relating to the environment
- egga food laid by a bird
- egoa person's sense of self importance
- endthe last part of something
- eraperiod of time in history marked by events
- ewean adult female sheep
- eyethe body part for seeing
F
- fana device for moving air, or supporter
- farat or to a great distance
- fathaving a lot of body weight
- faxdocument sent electronically over phone lines
- feemoney paid for a service
- fewnot many, a small number of
- fitphysically healthy and strong
- fixa solution to a problem, or a repair
- flucommon illness like a bad cold
- flya small flying insect
- foga thick cloud of tiny water drops near the ground
- forshowing purpose or who receives
- foxsmall wild animal with a bushy tail
- frya young, newly hatched fish
- funenjoyable, giving pleasure
- fursoft hair covering an animal
G
- gapempty space between two things
- gasa substance like air, or fuel for engines
- gaycheerful and lively, or homosexual
- geeexpression of surprise
- gema precious stone, or a wonderful find
- getobtain or receive something
- giga live music show, or short term job
- godsupreme being worshipped in religion
- gumchewing substance, or tissue around teeth
- guna weapon that shoots bullets
- guya man, used informally
- gymplace with equipment for exercise
H
- hadpast tense of have
- hammeat from a pig's leg
- hashe or she has something
- hata covering worn on the head
- haydried grass used as animal feed
- herbelonging to a female already mentioned
- heyused to greet or get attention
- himthe object form of he
- hippart of the body between waist and thigh
- hisbelonging to a male already mentioned
- hitto strike something with force
- HIVvirus that can lead to AIDS
- hopshort jump
- hothaving a high temperature
- howin what way, asking about manner
- hugto put your arms around someone
- hutsmall simple shelter or house
I
J
K
L
- labroom for scientific work, short for laboratory
- lapthe flat area formed by sitting legs, or one circuit of a track
- lawa rule made by a government
- layto put something down carefully
- legthe body part used for walking
- letto allow someone to do something
- lida cover for the top of a container
- lieto say something untrue on purpose
- lipthe soft edge of the mouth
- logpiece of a cut tree trunk, a written record
- lotvery much, or a large amount
- lownot high, small in amount
M
N
O
- oaka large tree with strong wood
- oddstrange or unusual, or not divisible by two
- offnot working or not on
- oila thick liquid used for cooking
- oldhaving lived or existed a long time
- onethe number 1
- orerock or mineral from which metal is extracted
- ourbelonging to us
- outaway from the inside
- owehave a duty to pay back
- owla nocturnal bird of prey
- ownbelonging to a particular person
P
- pada block of paper, or a soft cushioned object
- pala close friend
- pana metal pot for cooking
- pawfoot of an animal with claws
- paymoney you get for working
- peaa small round green vegetable
- peeurinate, informal
- pegsmall pin or hook used to fasten or hang things
- pena tool used for writing with ink
- perfor each
- petan animal kept for company
- piebaked dish with pastry and filling
- piga farm animal with a curly tail
- pinfasten with a small sharp pin
- pitdeep hole, or fruit stone
- poppopular modern music
- potround container for cooking or plants
- proa professional, or an advantage
- puba place that serves drinks
- putto move something to a place
R
- ragold piece of cloth used for cleaning
- ramadult male sheep
- rapa style of rhythmic spoken music
- rata large mouse-like animal
- rawnot cooked, in a natural state
- raya thin beam of light
- redhaving the color of blood
- ribone of the curved bones around the chest
- ridfree something of an unwanted thing
- rimthe outer edge of something round
- riptear something suddenly and forcefully
- robto steal from a person or place
- rowa line of things, or a boat trip with oars
- rubmove something back and forth against a surface
- ruga piece of fabric used as floor covering
- runan act of running
S
- sadfeeling unhappy
- saga downward droop or dip in something
- sapthe fluid circulating inside a plant
- sawa tool for cutting wood
- sayto speak words
- seaa large area of salt water
- seeto notice with your eyes
- setto put something in a place
- sewto join cloth with needle and thread
- sexbeing male or female, or physical intimacy
- sheused for a female person
- shynervous about meeting new people
- sira polite word for a man
- sitto rest your body on a seat
- sixthe number 6
- skia long flat board for snow
- skythe space above the earth
- sobcry noisily while gasping for breath
- sona person's male child
- spaa place offering health and beauty treatments
- spya person who secretly gathers information
- sueto take legal action against someone
- sumthe total after adding numbers
- sunthe star that gives us light and heat
T
- taga small label attached to an item
- tana brownish skin color from sun exposure
- tapa device that controls water flow
- taxmoney paid to the government
- teaa hot drink made from leaves
- tenthe number 10
- theused before a specific noun
- tiea strip of cloth worn around the neck
- tina soft metal, or a metal food container
- tiphelpful advice, or extra money given
- toeone of the parts of the foot
- tona unit of weight equal to 1,000 kilograms
- tooalso, or more than needed
- topthe highest part of something
- toyan object that children play with
- tryan attempt to do something
- tuba large open container, or a bathtub
- tuga sudden strong pull
- twothe number 2
U
- useto do something with an object
V
W
- warfighting between two countries
- waspast tense of am or is
- waxa soft substance for candles, polish
- waya road, path, or method
- webthe internet, or a spider's net
- wedto get married to someone
- wetcovered in water or another liquid
- whoused to ask about a person
- whyused to ask the reason
- winto be first or best
- witthe ability to say clever, amusing things
- wooto try to win someone's love or support
- wrydryly humorous or mocking in a twisted way
Y
Z
Levels come from the CEFR-J Vocabulary Profile v1.5 by Yukio Tono, Tokyo University of Foreign Studies and the Octanove Vocabulary Profile C1/C2 by Octanove Labs, CC BY-SA 4.0 Meanings and example sentences are written by VocaFlare.
Questions about -letter words
What this list covers and where the words come from.
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