Words that start with R

The rabbit is a small animal found in many parts of the world. In Australia, rabbits are the single worst introduced pest. Rabbits make good pets, if they are properly looked after.

A race is where two or more people or animals try and take the shortest possible time to travel a set distance. The winner is the fastest. There are lots of different kinds of race. The picture is of some people racing each other on bicycles, but there are also horse races, dog races, running races, car races and of course anything that can move can be raced.

A rack is a set of shelves that are not solid. Most racks are made from a simple frame of wood or metal.

A stereo, or radio is a device for playing recorded music from tapes, CDs, or listening to music that is broadcasted through the air on radio waves.

Radishes are an edible root vegetable. They come in a variety of colors, with the most common being red and white. The root of the radish is crisp and has a sharp peppery flavour, with some radish varieties being hotter than others.
Radishes are most commonly used in salads, and can be preserved by pickling them. Radish leaves and seeds are also edible but not as many people eat them as eat the root.

Radius is the distance from the center of a circle or a sphere to its edge.

In math and science, radius helps you find other things like the diameter (twice the radius) and the area of a circle.

A rag is a small leftover piece of cloth, usually used for something like cleaning with.
Some people use rags to make things from, like rag dolls or quilts.

A rail is a long, thin piece of wood or metal that is fixed in place horizontally. Rails are often used like in the picture as a guard to stop people going past them. They can be fixed to a wall as a support somewhere people might need them, like in a shower cubicle.
A special type of rail is found on a railway track.

A railway track is another name for a railroad.

Rainbows happen when the sun shines through a very fine spray of water, like rain in the air or the spray from a garden hose or even from a waterfall.
The rainbow is colourful because as sunlight travels through the water spray, it splits into a spectrum of colours. All the colours you see in a rainbow are there all the time in normal light, but they are mixed up together so you only see white light.
You can also see the colours of the rainbow by shining light through a prism.