Words that start with S

Spinach is an edible green leafy plant that grows to about a foot tall. It is from Nepal and southeast Asia. Spinach can survive very severe frosts.
It is usually eaten cooked, on its own or with other food. Spinach goes well with cheese and garlic.

Your spine, or vertebral column is the row of bones that runs along the centre of your back. Your spine is made of lots of small bones called vertebra.

extension A spinning top is a child's toy that spins on a point. Different kinds of tops have different ways to start them spinning. Some are started by a cord, some by twisting them with your fingers, and more modern ones can have sophisticated mechanical means to get them spinning.

A spinster is a woman who is not married or in any kind of relationship.
The term is usually used to describe an older unmarried woman, while bachelor can be used to describe a man of any age.

A spire is a tall, pointed structure usually found as a type of roof on the tallest part of a grand building. Spires are common on churches and cathedrals.

A splash happens when something hits water fast. You make a big splash if you jump into a swimming pool. The splash in the picture is from someone throwing stones into a pond.

A splinter is a tiny piece of wood that is sharp at one end. You can get splinters in your hands if you work with splintery wood without gloves on.

Spoke is a singular of spokes, which form part of a wheel.

A modern day sponge is made from a kind of plastic that has been filled with bubbles while it is still liquid. The result is that sponges are soft and full of small holes. Sponges are great for cleaning things with, and because of the holes they are very good at soaking up spilled liquids.
Before modern sponges were invented, people used to use sea sponge skeletons as cleaning sponges.

lan A spoon is used for picking up food that isn't very hard or is in very small pieces, such as cereal, soup or stew. A very big spoon for serving soup is called a ladle.