List of the top English common nouns

These lists show you which words are used most often. They give you examples of their correct use in phrases or sentences. Note that some words may be used as noun, verb, adjective etc. For definitions and more uses and different meanings of these words you should refer to a good online dictionary or printed book dictionary of English.

ability

She has the ability to pass the exam.

access

He failed to access the locked room.

She uses Access database to store information.

account

act

That film star can act brilliantly.

He was coughing so badly he had to leave the theatre during act three.

The United Nations Security Council condemned the act of war and called for a ceasefire.

action

The police took action to reduce crime.

activity

After the terrorist attack, there was a lot of police activity at the airport.

This learning activity should help you to understand how to calculate the area of a circle.

I cannot see any benefit in allowing this dangerous activity to take place.

advantage

He tried to gain an unfair advantage by bribing the government official.

advice

She is manager of the advice centre.

What advice can you give me to solve this problem?

Students need careful advice about making wise career choices.

affair

They kept their love affair secret so that the newspapers would not publish embarassing stories.

age

What age are you? Only people aged 18 and over are allowed in this club.

agency

They went to the ticket agency to buy theatre tickets.

The inter-governmental agency is responsible for organizing AIDS awareness campaigns in the region.

agreement

The committee members were in agreement about the new policy proposals.

The football club signed an agreement with the city council.

Your agreement is vital. Without it, the plans will not be approved.

air

All animals and plants depend on oxygen usually from the air around them.

Air is about 79% nitrogen and 20% oxygen; the rest is other gases including air pollution.

amount

No amount of pressure will cause me to agree to your proposal.

analysis

The laboratory analysis showed that the water was dangerously polluted.

animal

The elephant is a large and strong animal but usually peaceful unless threatened.

answer

appeal

He lodged an appeal against convictiion claiming that he was totally innocent of the crime.

OXFAM and other charities launched an appeal to raise money for poor people.

application

The pharmacist said that daily application of the skin cream was necessary.

approach

His approach to the task is to be patient and persuasive; trying to bully people is not the best approach.

If you approach the airport from the south, you will see a large car park.

The scientific approach is dispassionate and rational.

area

The area of a circle is the radius squared multiplied by pi.

This learning activity should help you to understand how to calculate the area of a circle.

argument

They had a serious argument which led to a quarrel and then a fight.

The lawyer submitted a detailed argument to the court claiming that the defendant had an alibi.

His argument was very logical but based on false assumptions.

arm

army

The army has several tank and infantry regiments and an airborne division.

The foreign army launched an assault on the enemy headquarters.

art

She loves the world of art and literature.

The art gallery has a fine collection of paintings and statues from all over the world.

article

She wrote an interesting article for the school magazine.

aspect

One aspect of his proposal worried me; the new factory was too close to the residential area.

association

The Youth Hostel Association is an organization that provides cheap overnight accommodation.

The police became suspicious of his association with known terrorists and they brought him in for questioning.

The association of ideas led to a discussion covering many seemingly unrelated topics.

The Moseley Chapter of the association meets every Friday evening.

attack

attempt

His attempt to climb Mount Everest failed because he ran out of oxygen,

attention

The teacher told the students to pay attention to the explanations.

The soldiers stood to attention and saluted when the president drove past.

attitude

authority

The Health Authority gives money to the hospitals.

award

The soldier won a military award for bravery.

He asked the court to award the plaintiff $50000 for the serious injuries he has suffered.

This is the highest academic award that the university can offer.