CHARLOTTE’S WEB. VOCABULARY.

CHAPTER 1

P.1
AXE / AX: a tool used for cutting down trees and cutting up large pieces of wood, consisting of a
long wooden handle and a heavy metal blade.
Where’s Papa going with that ax?
RUNT: the smallest and weakest animal of a litter (=a group born at the sametime)
One of the pigs is a runt. It is very small and weak.
TO YELL: to say something in a loud voice, or to make a loud noise because you are angry, afraid,
excited, or in pain.
“Control myself?” yelled Fern.
SNEAKERS: trainers that you wear for playing sports.
The grass was wet. Fern’s sneakers were sopping by the time she caught up with her
father.
P.2
TO SOB: to cry noisily while taking short breaths.
“Please, don’t kill it!” she sobbed.
P.3
TROUBLE: problems.
I know more about raising a litter of pigs than you do. A weakling makes trouble.
UNFAIR: an unfair situation is one in which the people involved are not all treated equally or do not
all have the same opportunities and advantages.
“But it’s unfair,” cried Fern. “The pig couldn’t help being born small”
STOVE: a machine or a piece of equipment that provides heat for cooking or heating a room.
The kitchen table was set for breakfast, and the room smelled of coffee, bacon, damp
plaster, and wood smoke from the stove.
P.4
LID: a cover for a container.
She lifted the lid of the carton. There, inside, looking up at her, was the newborn pig”
AIR RIFLE: a long gun that uses compressed air to fire small round bullets.
DAGGER: a weapon like a very small sword.
He was heavily armed- an air rifle in one hand, a wooden dagger in the other.
P. 5
BOTTLE (FEEDING BOTTLE/ BABY’S NURSING BOTTLE): a transparent plastic bottle with a
small rubber teat on the top from which a baby or young animal drinks milk.
Mrs. Arable found a baby’s nursing bottle and a rubber nipple.
TO POUR: to make a liquid or substance flow out of a container that you are holding.
She poured warm milk into the bottle, fitted the nipple over the top, and handed it to Fern.
P.7
TO HONK: to make a loud noise using a horn, especially the horn of a car.
The school bus honked from the road.
TO WHISPER: to say something very quietly so that other people cannot hear you.
“Its name is Wilbur”, she whispered to herself.
TO GIGGLE: to laugh in a nervous, excited, or silly way that is difficult to control.
TO BLUSH: if you blush, your cheeks become red because you feel embarrassed or ashamed.
“Fern, what is the capital of Pennsylvania”
“Wilbur” replied Fern dreamily. The pupils giggled. Fern blushed.

CHAPTER 2

P. 8
TO STROKE: to gently move your hand over skin, hair, or fur.
She loved to stroke him, to feed him, to put him to bed.
YARD: an enclosed area around a large building where people can do activities outside.
Mrs. Arable fixed a small yard specially for Wilbur under an apple tree.
P. 9
STRAW: the yellow stems of dried crops such as wheat.
She gave him a large wooden box full of straw, with a doorway cut in it so he could walk in
and out as he pleased.
TO CRAWL: to move along the ground on your hands and knees or with your body close to the
ground.
He crawled into the tunnel and disappeared from sight.
P.10
BROOK: a small river.
Fern and Avery put on bathing suits and went down to the brook for a swim.

P. 12
BARN: a large building on a farm where animals, crops, or machines are kept.
MANURE: solid waste from farm animals, often mixed with other substances and used on crops to
help them to grow.
PILE: a number of things put on top of each other.
Wilbur went to live in a manure pile in the cellar of Zuckerman’s barn.

CHAPTER 3

P. 13
HAY: long grass that has been cut and dried, used for feeding animals.
It smelled of hay and it smelled of manure.
P. 15
STOOL: a seat that has legs but no support for your back or arms.
She found an old milking stool, she placed the stool in the sheepfold next to Wilbur’s pen.
P. 17
FENCE: a flat upright structure made of wood or wire that surrounds an area of land.
Wilbur looked through the fence and saw the goose standing there.
BOARD: a long thin flat piece of wood, used especially for making floors and other parts of
buildings.
Wilbur walked up to the fence and saw that the goose was right – one board was loose.
P.18
ORCHARD: an area of land where fruit trees are grown.
TO STROLL: to walk without hurrying, often for pleasure.
“Go down through the orchard and stroll in the woods”.
P. 19
BUCKET / PAIL: a round open container with a handle, used for carrying liquid and substances
such as sand or soil.
“I’ll go and get a bucket of slops”.
P.21
TO GRAB – GRABBED –GRABBED: to take hold of something in a rough or rude way.
Lurvy missed Wilbur and grabbed the spaniel instead.
P. 23
SUCK: to pull liquid into your mouth by using the muscles in your cheeks and tongue.
(Wilbur) walked to the trough and took a long drink of slops, sucking in the milk hungrily.
CHAPTER 4

P. 25
TO DRIP: if a liquid drips, it falls in very small drops.
Rain fell on the roof of the barn and dripped steadily from the eaves.
TO GRAZE: to eat grass growing in a field.
MEADOW: a field where grass and wild flowers grow
Rain fell on the backs of the sheep as they grazed in the meadow.
P. 26
TROUGH: a long narrow open container used for holding food or water for animals.
Wilbur planned to have a talk with Templeton, the rat that lived under his trough.
TO TAKE A NAP: to sleep for a short period of time, usually during the day.
From eight to nine, Wilbur planned to take a nap outdoors in the sun.
TO DIG-DUG-DUG: to make a hole in earth or sand using your hands, a machine, or a tool,
especially a spade.
From nine to eleven he planned to dig a hole.
TO SCRATCH: to pull your nails along your skin, especially because you have an itch that makes
you want to do this.
ITCHY: if you feel itchy, you have an unpleasant feeling on your skin that makes you want to
scratch it (=rub it with your nails).
TO RUB-RUBBED-RUBBED: to move your hand backwards and forwards across a part of
someone's body while pressing firmly, especially because that part of the body hurts.
From two to three, he planned to scratch itchy places by rubbing against the fence.
TO STAND STILL: to remain there without moving.
From three to four, he planned to stand perfectly still.
SUPPER: the last main meal of the day, usually an informal meal that you eat at home. (In British
English, a very small informal meal that you eat before going to bed).
At four would come supper.
P. 28
TO HATCH: if a baby bird, fish, insect etc. hatches or is hatched, it comes out of its egg and is
born.
TO EXPECT: to be waiting for someone or something to arrive / happen.
I do not play when there are eggs to hatch. I’m expecting goslings.
P. 29
TO FROLIC: to play in a happy way with a lot of energy and movement.
It means to have fun, to frolic, to run and skip and make merry.
GLUTTON: someone who eats much more than they need.
I am a glutton but not a merry-maker.
P.30
TO CREEP-CREPT-CREPT: if someone creeps somewhere, they move there quietly and slowly.
And Templeton, the rat, crept stealthily along the wall and disappeared into ta private
tunnel.
DREARY: making you feel bored or unhappy.
TO STAND: to be willing to accept something that someone does.
This was almost more than Wilbur could stand: on this dreary, rainy day to see his
breakfast being eaten by somebody else.
SOAKED: extremely wet.
POURING RAIN: to rain continuously and in large amounts.
He knew Templeton was getting soaked, out there in the pouring rain, but even that didn’t
comfort him.

CHAPTER 5
P. 32
TO STARE: to look at someone or something very directly for a long time.
A dozen times during the night Wilbur woke and stared into the blackness.
P.33
TO YAWN: to open your mouth wide and take a big breath, usually because you are tired or bored.
Wilbur yawned and went back to sleep.
TO QUIT-QUIT-QUIT: to leave a job or school permanently.
TO DO AN ERRAND: to do a small job that involves going to collect or deliver something.
Templeton had quit work and gone off somewhere on an errand.
P. 35
TO SPOIL: to affect something in a way that makes it worse, less attractive, or less enjoyable.
The quickest way to spoil a friendship is to wake somebody up in the morning before he is
ready
TO BEG SOMEBODY’S PARDON: to say sorry.
I beg everyone’s pardon. I didn’t mean to be objectionable.

P.36
TO WAVE: a movement of your hand used for saying hello or goodbye to someone or for giving a
signal.
 Here I am. Look. I’m waving.
P. 38
THREAD: a long thin fibre used for sewing pieces of cloth together or for weaving.
As she dropped, a tiny silken thread unwound from her rear end.
TO WRAP: to cover something by putting something such as paper or cloth around it.
She grabbed the fly, threw a few jets of silk around it, and rolled it over and over, wrapping
it so that I couldn’t move.
P. 39
TO TRAP: to catch someone such as a criminal, especially by forcing them into a place that they
cannot escape from.
A spider has to pick up a living somehow or other, and I happen to be a trapper.
TRAPPER
My mother was a trapper before me.
P. 40
TO PLOT: to make a secret plan with other people to do something bad.
He has no idea that Mr.Zuckerman and Lurvy are plotting to kill him.

CHAPTER 6

P. 47
ROTTEN: something that is rotten has decayed, it is unpleasant.
A rotten egg is a regular stink bomb.

CHAPTER 7
P. 48
TO PESTER: to keep annoying someone, especially by asking them for something or asking them
to do something.
Flies spent their time pestering others.
P.51
TO BURST-BURST-BURST INTO TEARS: to suddenly start crying.
TO MOAN: to complain about something in an annoying way.
Wilbur burst into tears: “I don’t want to die” he moaned.
CHAPTER 8

P. 52
SLINGSHOT: a children's catapult for firing stones.
Avery had finished and was upstairs looking for his slingshot.
QUEER: strange
“The goose did what?” asked Mrs. Arable, gazing at her daughter with a queer look.

CHAPTER 9

P. 55
TO WEAVE- WOVE-WOVEN: to make cloth by crossing long threads over and under each other
on a machine called a loom.
Charlotte liked to do her weaving during the late afternoon, and Fern liked to sit nearby and
watch.
TO KID: to say something that is not true, especially as a joke,
Wilbur sat bolt upright. “You’re kidding”, he said.
P. 56
CHUBBY: slightly fat, in the way a healthy baby or young child is.
“Goodness!” said Wilbur, looking down on at his own chubby legs.
TO SPIN-SPUN-SPUN A WEB: to twist fibres of a material such as cotton or wool into thread in
order to make a cloth, but in this case, it is to twist thread to make a web.
TO BOAST: to proudly tell other people about what you or someone connected with you has done
or can do, or about something you own, especially in order to make them admire you.
“I could spin a web if I tried” said Wilbur, boasting.
P.58
TEAR: a drop of liquid that comes from your eye when you cry.
TO GRIN: to smile showing your teeth.
Tears came to his eyes. Templeton grinned.
TO LACK: a situation in which you do not have any, or enough, of something that you need or
want.
You lack two things needed for spinning a web.
P. 60
TO SHOW OFF: to behave in a way that is intended to attract people's attention and make them
admire you.
SERVES ME RIGHT: used to express that you think someone deserves something unpleasant
that happens to them.
I guess I was just trying to show off. Serves me right.
TO RUSH: to hurry in order to get somewhere very quickly.
But no- with men it’s rush, rush, rush, every minute. I’m glad I’m a sedentary spider.

CHAPTER 10

P. 67
GULLIBLE / EASY TO FOOL: a gullible person is easy to trick because they trust and believe
people too easily.
“What does ‘gullible’ mean?”
“Easy to fool” said Charlotte.
P. 68
TO SWING: to move, or to make something move, backwards and forwards or from one side to
another, especially from a fixed point.
A SWING: a seat hanging from chains or ropes that moves backwards and forwards and is used
especially by children.
Mr. Zuckerman had the best swing in the country.
P. 72
STINK: a very strong unpleasant smell.
What a stink! Let’s get out of here!
P. 76
DUMP: a place where large amounts of waste are taken, usually outside a town.
When Templeton got back from the dump, around midnight, the spider was still at work.

CHAPTER 11

P. 77
FOGGY: full of fog or covered with fog.
The next day was foggy. Everything on the farm was dripping wet.
BLOCK LETTERS: letters of the alphabet written in their large form, for example 'A' rather than 'a'.
Block capitals are often simply called capitals.
There, in the center of the web, neatly woven in block letters, was a message.
SOME PIG!
P.79
UNUSUAL: strange, weird.
I think you had best be told that we have a very unusual pig.
P. 80
ORDINARY: normal, average.
Our pig is completely out of the ordinary.
P. 83
DRIVEWAY: a wide path for a car that joins someone's house to a street.
The Zuckermans’ driveway was full of cars and trucks from morning till night.

CHAPTER 12

P. 86
TO CALL THE ROLL: To read aloud of a list of names of people, as in a classroom, to determine
who is present or absent.
I shall begin by calling the roll. Wilbur?
TO GLARE: to look at someone or something in a very angry way.
“Here, here, here!” said the goose. Charlotte glared at her.
P. 90
TERRIFIC: fantastic, very good.
“How about `Terrific, terrific, terrific`?” asked the goose.
p. 91
AVERAGE: normal, standard.

I am just about average for a pig.

CHAPTER 13

P. 96
CRATE: a large wooden box used for moving or storing goods.
I want you to build a crate for Wilbur. I have decided to take the pig to the Country Fair.
P.97
ADVERTISEMENT / AD: an arrangement of pictures, words etc put in a public place or in a
newspaper, on the Internet etc that is intended to persuade people to buy something.
 When Templeton returned to the farm, he carried in his mouth an advertisement he had
torn from a crumpled magazine.
P.98
CRUNCHY: crunchy foods make a loud noise when you bite them.
It says ‘Crunchy’. ‘Crunchy’ would be a good word to write in your web.
P. 101
STRAW: the yellow stems of dried crops such as wheat.
Wilbur lay down in the clean straw.
P.104
TO BEG: to ask for help, an opportunity etc. in a way that shows you want it very much.
^Sing something” begged Wilbur.
P. 104
LULLABY: a relaxing song that helps a young child go to sleep.
So Charlotte sang a lullaby, while crickets chirped in the grass and the barn grew dark.

CHAPTER 14

P. 105
TO MAKE THINGS UP: to invent an explanation for something, especially in order to avoid being
punished or embarrassed, or invent a story.
You know it couldn’t happen. You’re making this up.

CHAPTER 15

P.114
TO GLOW: to shine with a soft light.
And now that the web said RADIANT, Wilbur did everything possible to make himself glow.

P.116
TO LAY-LAID-LAID EGGS: If a female animal such as a bird or fish lays an egg, it produces the
egg by pushing it from its body.
“I didn’t know you could lay eggs” said Wilbur in amazement.
P. 117
TO FORSAKE- FORSOOK – FORSAKEN: to leave someone, or to stop helping or looking after
them, when they still need you.
I knew you wouldn’t forsake me just when I needed you most.

CHAPTER 16

P. 118
FERRIS WHEEL: a big wheel at a fairground.
Avery lay dreaming that the Ferris wheel had stopped and that he was in the top car.
DEEP FREEZE UNIT / FREEZER: a large piece of electrical equipment used for freezing food.
Mrs. Zuckerman lay dreaming about a deep freeze unit.
P.119
RIBBON: a long narrow piece of coloured cloth or paper, usually used as a decoration or to tie
something.
He dreamed that Wilbur had grown… and was covered with blue ribbons and even had a
blue ribbon tied to the end of his tail.
P. 120
RUBBER BOOTS: high boots made of rubber.
When she returned, she wore rubber boots and an old raincoat, and she carried a bucket of
buttermilk.
P. 121
TO RUB: to move your hand backwards and forwards across a part of someone's body while
pressing firmly, especially because that part of the body hurts.
Dipping her paddle in the buttermilk, she rubbed him all over.
P.124
TO STRUGGLE: to use your strength to fight against someone or something.
When they open the crate and try to put you in, struggle!
P. 126
TO FAIINT/ TO PASS OUT/ TO FADE AWAY: to suddenly become unconscious for a short time,
and usually fall to the ground.
“I think I’m going to faint” he whispered to the old sheep, who was watching.
P. 127
SUNSTROKE: a dangerous physical condition that results when your body temperature gets too
hot, for example, when you have been working for too long in the sun.
“It’s a sunstroke,” said Mr. Zuckerman. “The heat is too much for him”
TO CHEER: to give a loud shout of happiness or approval.
Wilbur, feeling the cold water, came to. He rose slowly to his feet, while the geese cheered.

CHAPTER 17

P.131
TO LAST: to continue existing or happening for or until a particular time.
And remember, the money has to last all day. Don’t spend it all the first few minutes.
PICKPOCKETS: someone who steals money and other things from people's pockets and bags,
especially in crowded places.
“Watch out for pickpockets!” cautioned their father.
TO GRAB: to take hold of something in a rough or rude way.
MERRY-GO-ROUND: a machine with models of animals or vehicles that children ride on as it goes
round in a circle.
The children grabbed each other by the hand and danced off in the direction of the merry-
go-round.
P. 133
TO BLOW YOUR NOSE: to clean your nose by forcing air through it.
Mrs. Arable stood quietly and watched them go. Then she sighed. Then she blew her nose.

CHAPTER 18

P. 138
HUMBLE: not proud and not thinking that you are better than other people , It also means from a
low social class.
“Humble?” said Charlotte. “‘Humble’ has two meanings. It means ‘not proud’ and it means
‘near the ground’.
P. 141
TO FEEL HOMESICK: to feel sad and alone because you are far from home.
He would have felt lonely and homesick, had Charlotte not been with him.

CHAPTER 19

P. 144
COCOON: a cover that the young larvae of some insects make around themselves when they start
changing into their adult form.
 Wilbur saw a curious object. It was a sort of sac, or cocoon.

CHAPTER 20

P. 155
CROWD: a large number of people in the same place.
Will the crowd please make way and let the truck pass. Thank you.
P.156
TO MUTTER: to talk in a quiet voice that is difficult to hear, especially because you are annoyed or
embarrassed, or are talking to yourself.
P. 156
NONSENSE: ideas, behaviour, or statements that are not true or sensible.
FUSS: a lot of unnecessary worry or excitement about something.
“What a lot of nonsense!” muttered the rat. “What a lot of fuss about nothing!”
P.158
TO FEEL DIZZY: to feel as if you or the things around you are spinning, especially when you think
you are going to fall.
Wilbur had been feeling dizzier and dizzier through this long, complimentary speech.
P. 159
EMBARRASED: ashamed of something and worried about what other people will think of you.
He’s fainted. He gets embarrassed easily, Run for some water, Lurvy!

CHAPTER 22

P. 182
JOY: a feeling of great happiness.
“I’m trembling with joy” said Wilbur.

 Some ANIMAL SOUNDS not to forget:

BIRDS tweet GEESE honk
CATS miaow PIGS grunt
COWS moo ROASTERS crow
DOGS bark SHEEP bleat
  MONEY

One DOLLAR has 100 cents. A NICKEL is 5 cents, a DIME is 10 and a QUARTER is 25.

 Some units of LINEAR MEASURE:

INCH (2.54 CM), FOOT (30.48 cm), YARD (91.4 cm), MILE (1.61 km)

 BRITISH AND AMERICAN ENGLISH

AMERICAN BRITISH

Ax Axe
Sneakers Trainers
Yard Pen
Queer Weird
Sod Turf
Hollering Shouting
Pail Bucket
Popover A puffed muffin with a hollow centre
Barnyard Pen
Necktie Tie
Pants Trousers
Garbage Rubbish
Station wagon estate car
Soap flakes Soap
Pop Dad
Soda Fizzy drink
Fall Autumn