How Many Words do you Know? 

Basic Words Tests

This tests the size of your vocabulary by seeing how many words you know, going from the most frequent down to the least frequent. The words are chosen from the British National Corpus frequency list; definitions have been checked against the Oxford English Dictionary. The items get more and more difficult as the test goes on; give up when it becomes just guessing. Complete the definitions; all the spaces are the same size so they do not give clues to the number of letters. Then check your answers and fill in the profile below. The Basic Words Test here tests you up to the 28,000 most frequent words. If you get through this, try the Advanced Words test, which goes beyond the 150,000 level of frequency.

Section A The most frequent 1000 words

1. a group of people meeting to decide something is a
c

2. a person who can move heavy objects about is
s

3. something which many people like is
p

4. a person who has done well in life is a
s

5. the group responsible for ruling a country is its
g

6. a building in which people live is a
h

7. the part of the body which has eyes and is joined by the neck is the
h

8. something which is consistent with the facts is
t

9. a room in which paperwork takes place is an
o

10. to allow something to happen is also to
l

Section B Words up to 2,000 band in frequency

11. a round object often used as a toy is a
b

12. something you carry and put things in is a
b

13. to think about past events is to
r

14. to divide things among people is to
s

15. a royal man who rules a country is a
k

16. to work out the meaning of written words is to
r

17. a part of the body leading to the foot is a
l

18.  to accept something given to you is to
r

19. when you have evaluated something you have made an
a

20. to go on with something is to
c

Section C Words up to 5000 band in frequency

21. to go from one place to another is to
t

22. natural, unadulterated food is
o

23. an elected member of local government is a
c

24. to look quickly at something is to
g

25. the opposite of male is
f

26. to find a new idea or a new place is to
d it

27. the person who is the best at a competition is the
c

28. a person who works for someone else is an
e

29. putting forward a new idea is making a
s

30. a temporary outdoor place for cooking and sleeping is a
c

Section D Words up to 10,000 band in frequency

31. the house or flat where someone lives is their
r

32. the place where the race ends is the
f

33. a long object for climbing walls etc is a
l

34. When countries or people refuse to deal with other people because they object to their behaviour, they are 
b them

35. a pipe or channel through which things flow is a
c

36. to give way to someone is to
y

37. a space without any air is a
v

38. something that can be carried from place to place is
p

39. getting minerals from the earth is called
m

40. a man who serves food in a restaurant is a
w

Section E Words up to 28,000 band in frequency

41. the movement to liberate women is known as
f

42. a disabled person is sometimes described as
h

43. a type of tree with silver bark is an
a

44. one type of British lawyer is called a
b

45. a person who works without being paid is a
v

46. a preparation for preventing infectious disease is a
v

47. something that is not difficult can be called
e

48. to make something for sale on a large scale is to
m

49. a kitchen device that cooks by direct heat is a
g

50. a place known for its healthy waters is a
s