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Words that start with A

Angry anteaters arguing against albino antelopes.

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A is for Arugula

Arugula, also known as rocket, is a leafy green plant. It is a kind of salad herb with peppery, slightly bitter leaves.

People often eat arugula raw in salads or on sandwiches. It can also be cooked in soups or mixed into warm dishes.

A is for Asbestos

Asbestos refers to a group of silicate rocks that have the interesting property of forming long, thin fibers. Asbestos was cheap, strong, had great insulating qualities and was widely used as a building material, with its use peaking in the 1970s.
Asbestos can cause lung cancer, mesothelioma and other issues if it is inhaled, and because of this its use is currently banned in many countries.

A is for Ascension

A group of larks is called an ascension or an exultation.

A is for Ash

Ashes are the black and grey residue that is left after a fire. Ash is also thrown out in large quantities from volcanoes. Some ash, called charcoal, can be used to draw with.

A is for Ashtray

An ashtray is a shallow bowl, usually with indentations on the edges, that is used to put cigarette butts into.

A is for Asia

Asia is the world's largest continent both by area and population. It holds around 60% of the world's population.

A is for Askew

Askew means that something is crooked or uneven. The house in the picture is askew.

A is for Asleep

You are asleep if you are sleeping. The cat in the picture is asleep.

A is for Asp

Asp is another word for snake, particularly a venomous snake. The historically named asp was probably an Egyptian cobra.

A is for Asparagus

The asparagus spears that you buy in the shops are the new shoots of a type of plant. They are eaten as a vegetable, and can be cooked in a variety of ways. They are usually eaten alone as a side dish rather than mixed into something else like a stew.

A is for Asphalt

Asphalt is the residue left from making gasoline from crude oil. It is very thick and sticky, and when it is mixed with gravel it is a good substance for making roads out of.
In some countries, asphalt is known as bitumen.

A is for Aspic

Aspic is a savory dish of meat, fish, eggs or other food set in gelatin.

A is for Aspirin

Aspirin is a drug that was originally made from willow bark. It is a commonly used painkiller for mild pain. It also thins the blood slightly and can be used to help people who get blood clots, but conversely might cause excessive bleeding and it is not recommended to take aspirin before you have surgery.

A is for Ass

An ass is another name for a donkey.
An ass is also a slang word for your buttocks.

A is for Assistance

When you help or assist someone, you are offering your assistance.

Not to be confused with assistant.

A is for Asterisk

An asterisk is a symbol a little like a star that is used to mark a footnote, draw attention to something, or mark when something might be ambiguous.

A is for Asteroid

An asteroid is very similar to a comet - it is a large rock that orbits the sun. Comets have a tail, while asteroids do not.
Smaller rocks, from the size of a grain of sand to a large bounder are called meteoroids. When they enter the Earth's atmosphere, they are called meteors. If they hit the ground, they are called meteorites. The photo is of a meteorite.

A is for Astronaut

An astronaut or cosmonaut is someone who goes above the Earth into space on a spaceship. Astronauts sometimes visit the moon, and perhaps in the future they will visit other planets too.

A is for Asymmetry

Something is asymmetric if it not symmetric. If something is asymmetric, if you cut it in half, the two sides will not be mirror images of each other.

A is for Ate

Ate is the past tense of eat.