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A Christmas truce

 – 

Glossary

 

 
army noun [count] 
a large organization of soldiers who are trained to 
fight wars on land.  
After leaving school, he joined the army. 
 
battle 
noun [count/uncount] 
a fight between two armies in a war 
the Battle of Waterloo 
 
burial 
noun [count/uncount] 
the process of putting a dead body into a grave in 
the ground at a funeral 
The family chose cremation rather than burial. 
 
bury 
verb 
to put someone’s dead body in the ground during a 
funeral ceremony 
All his family are buried in the same cemetery. 
 
carol 
noun [count] 
a traditional song sung at Christmas 
 
ceremony 
noun [count] 
a formal public event with special traditions, 
actions, or words 
a ceremony to honour those who died in the war 
 
Christmas Eve 
noun [count/uncount] 
the day or evening before Christmas Day 
 
Earth 
noun [singular/uncount] 
the planet on which we live 
the planet Earth 
 
exchange 
noun [count] 
a situation in which one person gives another 
person something and receives something else of a 
similar type or value in return 
The two sides agreed an exchange of prisoners of 
war. 
 
express verb 
to tell someone about a feeling, opinion, or aim by 
speaking or writing about it; used about a letter, 
book, or other piece of writing 
a poem expressing grief at the death of a friend 
 
fire 
noun [uncount] 
shots from a gun 
We heard a sudden loud burst of machine gun fire. 
 
general 
noun [count] 
an officer of high rank in the army or air force 
 
 

 
get on 
phrasal verb 
to have a very friendly relationship with someone 
I think you two would get on well. 
 
goodwill 
noun [uncount] 
a feeling of wanting to be friendly and helpful to 
someone 
As a gesture of goodwill, we agreed to do the work 
free of charge. 
 
kind 
adjective 
behaving in a way that shows you care about other 
people and want to help them 
Thank you, Mark, you’ve been very kind. 
 
no man’s land 
noun [singular/uncount] 
an area of land that separates two armies 
 
order noun [count] 
an instruction given by someone in a position of 
authority  
Captain Turner gave the order to fire. 
 
present 
noun [count] 
something that you give to someone, for example 
to celebrate a special occasion such as a birthday 
Sam’s grandma brings him huge numbers of 
presents every time she comes to visit. 
 
shake hands (with someone)
 phrase 
to hold someone’s hand and move it up and down 
several times as a way of greeting them or of 
showing that you agree to  
‘Nice to meet you,’ Larry said, shaking my hand. 
 
soldier 
noun [count] 
someone who is a member of an army 
 
spirit noun [uncount] 
the general or real meaning of something 
Each country should honour the spirit of the treaty. 
 
trench 
noun [count] 
a trench ( = a long narrow open hole dug in the 
ground) used by soldiers to protect themselves 
from enemy attack 
 
truce noun [count] 
an agreement between two people or groups 
involved in a war, fight, or disagreement to stop it 
for a period of time 
At least 750 people have died since the truce 
ended. 
 

. It is photocopiable, but all copies must be complete pages.          

Copyright © Macmillan Publishers Limited 2008. Definitions from the Macmillan English Dictionary 2

nd

 Edition © 2007 and the 

Macmillan Essential Dictionary © 2003, A&C Black Publishers Ltd: 

www.macmillandictionaries.com

   

 


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