Words that start with S

A snow leopard is a kind of cat more closely related to the tiger than the leopard. They live in mountains around the snow line in central and south Asia.

Snuff is powdered tobacco leaves, designed to be sniffed through the nose. Snuff was much more popular in the past than it is today. Most people today smoke cigarettes rather than sniff tobacco. Snuff was carried around by people in their pockets in small, airtight snuff boxes, which ranged from simple wooden boxes like in the picture to quite elaborate and expensive jewelled boxes.

Something is soaked if it is completely wet. Many foods require soaking before they can be cooked, or they will be hard in the middle even after they are cooked. Dried pulses like lentils and beans often need to be soaked overnight. The larger the bean the longer it will need soaking for.

Soapstone is a soft stone that is made up mostly of talc. It feels slightly soapy to touch, hence the name. Because soapstone is so soft, it is often used to carve sculptures and household items from.

Soccer, usually called Association football or just football, is the world's most popular sport. It is played between two teams of eleven people, using a round ball. The object of the game is to get the ball into the opposite team's goal, as many times as possible. Every four years, a soccer world cup is held, where teams from all over the world play against each other.