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UK English words page 14

British English: the words, meanings and slang used in the United Kingdom that an American might not know. 2,235 words and meanings, most familiar first.

WordMeaning
rageous adjectiveFierce; violent
ragger nounAn annoying person, especially a noisy one, one who rags upon another
rasher nounA strip of bacon; a piece of bacon.
ratcatcher nounAn insult, not widely used nowadays but made popular by William Shakespeare in Romeo and Juliet.
ratchel nounGravelly stone
ratchelly adjectiveResembling or containing ratchel.
ratheripe nounA variety of apple that ripens early.
ravenstone nounA gravestone
readies nounCash, especially bank notes.
reem adjectiveCool, excellent; desirable; sexy.
remanet nounA bill that has been postponed or deferred to another session.
remould verbTo mould or shape again.
revivor nounRevival of a suit which is abated by the death or marriage of any of the parties.
rheumatics nounRheumatism.
ribby adjectiveShabby, in poor condition.
riblet nounA cut of veal or lamb taken from near the rib
rizzle verbTo creep, as ivy.
roadman nounA member of a subculture characterised by their clothing (notably puffer jackets and sportswear) as street fashion and the music they listen to, notably drill music.
rodge nounThe grey duck.
roggle verbTo shake.
roke nounMist; smoke; damp.
roky adjectiveMisty; foggy; cloudy.
rorty adjectiveBoisterous, rowdy, saucy, dissipated, or risqué.
rosland nounHeathland; land full of heather
roughings nounRowen; a second crop of hay
rozzer nounA police officer.
rudge nounA partridge.
rundel nounA circle.
rypeck nounA pole used to move a punt while fishing.
sab nounA sabbatical officer.
sandworm nounThe lugworm, Arenicola marina.
sangar nounA stone breastwork; a fortified niche or look-out post.
sarky adjectiveSarcastic.
saveloy nounA seasoned and smoked pork sausage, normally purchased ready-cooked.
sawbill nounThe red-breasted merganser.
scarfer nounAn everyday football supporter who is not involved in hooliganism.
schoolie nounAn education officer.
scobby nounThe chaffinch.
scove nounRich, pure tin ore.
scraber nounThe black guillemot.
scraffle verbTo scramble or struggle; to wrangle.
scran nounFood, especially that of an inferior quality; grub.
scranny adjectiveScrawny
scrappage nounAn amount of money paid by the government to a person trading in an old car (to be scrapped) for a more environmentally-friendly new one.
scratter nounA chav (working-class youth associated with aggression and common tastes)
scrattle verbTo scuttle.
scrawm verbTo tear or scratch.
scriggle verbTo squirm, wriggle or squiggle.
scrimshank verbTo shirk duty.
scrimshanker nounA shirker; one who scrimshanks.
scringe verbTo cringe.
scroggy adjectiveAbounding in scrog.
scrouge verbTo crowd; to squeeze.
scruffle nounA scuffle; a physical fight or struggle.
scrumple verbTo crumple, crush or wad (like a piece of paper).
scrumpy nounA rough cider, normally more alcoholic than usual, and typically produced through natural fermentation.
scuft nounScruff; nape of the neck
scummer nounA supporter of Southampton F.C..
seave nounA rush (the plant).
seavy adjectiveOvergrown with rushes
sectioning nounAn instance of a person being sectioned.
serviette nounA table napkin, now especially a paper one.
shandygaff nounA mixture of strong beer and ginger beer.
shanna contractionShall not
shant nounA drink, usually a pint.
sheld adjectiveVariegated; spotted; speckled; piebald
shilfa nounThe chaffinch.
shippen nounA stable; a cowhouse.
shirty adjectiveIll-tempered or annoyed.
shovelard nounA kind of dabbling duck; the shoveler.
shufflewing nounThe hedge sparrow.
shunter nounA railway locomotive used for shunting; a switcher.
sickie nounA day, or time, off work due to (supposed) illness.
sideburn nounThe unwanted rapid burning down one side of a cigarette that has been ineptly rolled.
simples interjectionIndicating that something is easy to do or to understand.
WordMeaning
sizar nounAn undergraduate at Trinity College, Dublin and the University of Cambridge who receives an allowance for his college expenses or tuition, sometimes in return for doing a defined job.
skeel nounA shallow wooden vessel for holding milk or cream.
skillo adjectiveGreat, excellent
skirling nounA small trout or salmon.
skirr nounA tern.
skrike verbTo cry, sob, cry out or yell; to scream.
slaggy adjectiveResembling a slag, especially in behaviour.
slammerkin nounA slut; an untidy or slatternly woman.
slammock nounA slattern or awkward person.
slape adjectiveSlippery; smooth
sleeving nounHollow flexible tube used as insulation for wires and cables.
slicken adjectiveSleek; smooth
sloomy adjectiveSluggish; slow
slowcoach nounA person, especially a child, who moves slowly.
slumpy adjectiveEasily broken through; boggy; marshy.
slunken adjectiveShrivelled; lean, lank.
slutch nounSlush.
slutchy adjectiveSlushy
smeath nounA bird, the smew.
smoot nounA small opening built into a dry-stone wall to allow sheep (and hares) to pass through.
snathe verbTo lop; to prune.
snattock nounA chip; a slice or fragment.
snecket nounA door latch
sned verbTo lop; lop or chop off.
snig verbTo sneak.
snuzzle verbTo rub the nose against and snuff.
socking adverbVery, extremely.
socky adjectiveWet
soddenness nounThe state of being completely drunk.
sov nounPound sterling.
sowl nounA dainty; a relish; a sauce; anything eaten with bread.
sozzled adjectiveVery drunk.
spinney nounA small copse or wood, especially one planted as a shelter for game birds.
spirling nounSparling
spitful nounA spadeful.
spondulicks nounMoney.
sportswoman nounA woman who engages in sports; a female athlete.
sprack adjectiveLively, full of energy
sprackness nounThe quality of being sprack, lively, full of energy.
spurrings nounBanns of marriage
squareman nounA stonecutter.
squary adjectiveNeat and compact
squidgy adjectiveMoist and pliant; soggy.
staith nounA landing place; an elevated staging upon a wharf for discharging coal, etc., as from railway cars into vessels.
staithe nounAn installation built at the railside or nearby for the storage of coal unloaded from wagons.
staithman nounA man employed in weighing and shipping at a staith.
stalder nounA wooden frame to set casks on.
stammel nounA large, clumsy horse.
starn nounThe European starling.
staw verbTo be fixed or set; to stay.
steamboats adjectiveDrunk; intoxicated.
stenting nounAn opening in a wall in a coal mine.
stime nounA slight gleam or glimmer; a glimpse.
stive verbTo stew; to be stifled or suffocated.
stivy adjectiveClose; stuffy; stifling
stockjobber nounAn unscrupulous stockbroker.
stog verbTo probe a pool with a pole.
stonehatch nounThe ringed plover.
stonker nounSomething highly impressive.
stoory adjectiveDusty
stoppages nounSalary deductions.
stowboard nounA place into which rubbish is put.
strany nounThe guillemot.
streamed adjectiveDivided into academic streams.
streeker nounOne who lays out a dead body; a professional attendant of the dead
strewth interjectionA mild oath expressing surprise or generally adding emphasis.
stroppy adjectiveOrnery, fractious, belligerent, or obstreperous, and hence difficult to deal with.
strub verbTo rob, plunder; clear out completely; to strip.
stull nounA framework of timber covered with boards to support rubbish or to protect miners from falling stones.
stulm nounA shaft, conduit, adit, or gallery to drain a mine.
stumer nounSomething worthless or counterfeit.
stunty adjectiveObstinate; sullen.
stythe nounChoke damp
subeditor nounA copy editor at a newspaper or magazine.
subrector nounAn assistant rector.

Meanings from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0). Sources