Interlinked Thematic Vocabulary Unit NÂș30 v.05
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Main Definitions
- animal |n| a living organism which is typically distinguished from a plant by feeding on organic matter, having specialized sense organs and nervous system, and being able to move about and to respond rapidly to stimuli.
- "This animal can be trained to follow simple orders."
- "The animals were fed only on pasture."
- "He is simply not a social animal."
- beast |n| an animal, especially a large or dangerous one.
- "To most people, lions are savage beasts."
- creature |n| an animal. Used especially when describing a particular animal's characteristics or when referring to animals generally.
- "The cheetah is a magnificent creature.
- "All the living creatures in the sea."
- living thing |n| an animal considered as one of a group of things that grow and then die, including humans and plants.
- "The only living things we saw were dogs and cats."
Main Groups of Animals
- species |n| a group of animals whose members are similar and can breed together to produce young animals.
- "Seven species of birds of prey have been observed."
- breed |n| a special variety of domesticated animals within a species.
- "He experiment on a particular breed of white rats."
- family |n| a taxonomic group containing one or more genera.
- "Sharks belong to the fish family."
- colony |n| a group of animals or plants of the same type that are living or growing together.
- "A seal colony"
- "Breeding colonies of rare birds."
- drove 1 |n| a large number of people or animals, often moving or doing something as a group.
- drove 2 |n| a flock of animals being driven.
Specific Groups of Animals
- brood |n| a family of young animals, especially birds, produced at one hatching or birth.
- flight |n| a flock of flying birds.
- "A fligtht of geese."
- flock/s |n| a group of sheep, goats or birds.
- "These birds fly in huge flocks."
- "This is a large flock of sheep."
- "A flock of birds passed overhead."
- "He looks after a flock of 500 sheep."
- herd 1 |n| a group of wild mammals of one species that remain together antelope or elephants or seals or whales or zebra.
- "Zebras live in herds with a dominant stallion as the herd leader."
- herd 2 |n| a group of cattle or sheep or other domestic mammals all of the same kind that are herded by humans.
- "The animals tend to graze in a herd."
- pack |n| a group of wild animals, especially wolves, living and hunting together.
- "There was a pack of hounds."
- "Wolves hunting in packs."
- "He was attacked by a pack of savage dogs."
- pride |n| a group of lions forming a social unit.
- school / shoal |n| a large group of fish.
- skein |n| a flock of wild geese or swans in flight, typically in a V-shaped formation.
- skulk |n| congregation of vermin, especially foxes.
- swarm |n| a large or dense group of flying insects.