Go Short: Essential Three-Letter Words: Essential Three-Letter Words, Part 2

Is your vocabulary feeling lax, with too many words beyond your ken? Dip into this vat of verbal gems of every hue and turn your woe into awe! These four lists are arranged from easiest to most challenging. Try and learn them all!

Here are links to our lists in the collection: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4
17 words 4061 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. gem
    a crystalline rock that can be cut and polished for jewelry
    The counters were polished to a high sheen, and inside the display cases, shiny bright mirrors reflected gold and silver and sparkly gems. Ruby Holler
  2. ail
    be unwell
    “Joseph, what ails you? Are you feverish again? Are you chilled?” Fever 1793
  3. lug
    carry with difficulty
    He’d been transferred back to hauling and was hunched under a basket, lugging a heavy load of salt from a barge to a railroad car. Unbroken
  4. vie
    compete for something
    We vied for our father's attention, but we knew our sister, Pesza, was really his favorite. The Boy on the Wooden Box
  5. mar
    cause to become imperfect
    The driveway was marred by nothing, not even a single drop of oil. We Are the Ants
    If you scratch the surface of an antique table, you've marred it.
  6. aft
    near or toward the stern of a ship or tail of an airplane
    The captain’s “ready room” is aft, at the very back of the ship. Challenger Deep
    On a boat or aircraft, the opposite of aft is fore.
  7. imp
    one who is playfully mischievous
    “Well”—he rubbed his hands together—“let’s see. There are a few options here. Possession is one. Maybe not by a demon, but by something a little more harmless, like a goblin or imp.” Breadcrumbs
  8. din
    a loud, harsh, or strident noise
    But the din from the right was unceasing, the noise from the other side of the hill was one long huge roar, like the ground opening. The Killer Angels: The Classic Novel of the Civil War
  9. ebb
    fall away or decline
    Gregor felt his anger ebbing and fear filling the empty spaces it left. Gregor the Overlander
    You'll most often see ebb used to describe the tide going out, but it can refer to anything else that is lessening or diminishing.
  10. ode
    a lyric poem with complex stanza forms
    That opening song-and-dance number, “Another Day of Sun,” is the film’s ode to the city of Los Angeles, a world of endless possibility, constant beauty—and repetitive disappointment. Time (Dec 9, 2016)
  11. yen
    a desire for something or to do something
    Curiosity drove him, he said, and a yen for cool clothes. New York Times (Sep 10, 2020)
  12. wan
    pale, as of a person's complexion
    She’s smudging mascara under her eyes to look exhausted and wan. Speak
  13. ram
    an adult male sheep
    Gwenforte walks up to the low stone wall, and one sheep—a ram—doesn't run away. The Inquisitor's Tale
    A ram is a male sheep and since rams frequently butt heads, it's also a verb meaning "to force through" or "to crash into," like a battering ram used to break down a castle gate.
  14. doe
    the mature female of mammals such as deer
    They said the doe was pregnant with two fawns. Washington Times (Jul 22, 2020)
  15. gig
    a job, especially a temporary job
    “They normally do gigs for, like, Waffle Houses and stuff, but I guess the country western breakfast entertainment business isn’t booming, so we got them to do the festival. Cheap, too.” Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus
    Gig is a 15th-century word for something that spins, as in a whirligig. Its meaning as a job, especially for musicians, arrived in the 20th century but its origins are unknown.
  16. nip
    give a small sharp bite to
    “Sorry,” he squeaked, as the hawk nipped his nose, making it bleed. The Girl Who Drank the Moon
  17. hub
    a focal point around which events revolve
    They also spent time studying the art in Rochester, N.Y., an important photography hub. Los Angeles Times (Dec 17, 2014)
Created on Tue Sep 22 16:16:00 EDT 2020 (updated Thu Apr 21 09:05:52 EDT 2022)

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