Words that start with G

Gis forGranite

Granite is a common, very hard rock that is widely used for building things. It is formed from molten rock (magma) as it cools. Granite has a coarse, crystalline structure and is a mix of many different minerals. Because its composition can vary so much, granite can be found in a huge variety of different colors.

Gems & minerals

Ronald Woan / CC BY-SA

Gis forGrant

Grant is a Scottish name for boys. Grant means "great." The man in the picture is actor Grant Bowler.

Verbs, Names, Male names

David Pursehouse / CC BY-SA

Gis forGranule

Granules are small, rounded pieces of something. They can be made by grinding something down into smaller pieces or more commonly by building them up from clumping much smaller ones together. The granules in the picture are coffee granules.

Parts of things

Robert Scoble / CC BY-SA

Gis forGrapefruit

Scientific name: citrus × paradisi

Grapefruits are a member of the citrus family, like oranges and lemons, and grows on a similar tree. Grapefruit are large and yellow, but are not as sweet as oranges and have very thick skin, or rind. They come in two main colors, plain yellow with yellow flesh, and 'ruby', with reddish-pink flesh and darker skin. Grapefruits are usually squeezed for juice or cut in half and eaten for breakfast. The grapefruit in the picture are cut up ready for a lot of people to eat them for breakfast.

Citrus fruit

Pizzodisevo / CC BY-SA

Gis forGrapes

Scientific name: vitis vinifera

Grapes are the fruit of the grape vine. Grapes can be black, blue, yellow, red or green. Grapes can be eaten raw, dried into sultanas, made into jam or made into wine. Grapes grow on the vine in bunches.

Fruit, Plants

Chris Costes / CC BY-SA

Gis forGraphite

Graphite is a form of carbon. It has the interesting property of being made up of very thin layers that can be easily rubbed off, so is perfect for drawing with. Graphite is the main ingredient of the "lead" in lead pencils. Graphite can also conduct electricity, so it has many applications in engineering and electronics.

Materials

Les Chatfield / CC BY-SA

Gis forGrass

Scientific name: graminoids

Grasses are a kind of plant that grows long leaves and stems from ground level without much branching. The way grass grows makes it ideal to use as a lawn. Bamboo is a type of really tall grass.

Plants

Patrick Feller / CC BY-SA

Gis forGrasshopper

Scientific name: suborder: caelifera

A grasshopper is an insect with long back legs. They can jump a very long way, but they also have wings so they seem to jump many metres but are actually flying. They rub their back legs together sometimes to make a very high noise.

Invertebrates

William Lawrence Peterson / CC BY-SA

Gis forGrate (lid)

A grate is a piece of metal with holes in it that is used as a lid or some other covering over a larger hole. The main purpose of a grate is to let liquids through, but stop solids getting through. Grates are usually used over drains. Very large grates like the one in the picture are strong enough for cars to drive over, while still letting water drain away. You may also be interested in grating food.

Openings

Tsuacctnt / CC BY-SA

Gis forGrate (shred)

You grate food by rubbing it against a grater. A grater is a board that has lots of holes in it with sharp edges, and it scrapes small pieces of the food off with these sharp holes. The result is a pile of finely grated food. The most commonly grated foods are cheese and carrots.

Food preparation